Stein woke up to the giggling. He rubbed bleary eyes and stepped out into the hallway, following the trail of giggles. He came around the corner to look in his lab and found Marie swaying from side to side, giggles pouring from her.

His glasses were swinging precariously from her fingertips, though he could barely tell because of the lab coat she had on. The sleeves came down over her hands, and he could just barely see a bit of his glasses. She had a cigarette clenched between her teeth, the smoke billowing up in lazy circles towards the ceiling as she giggled, her back to him.

"Marie?"

The woman turned towards him, her eye wide and vacant as she giggled. He noted that she had stitched up her own clothing as well, and that stitches mirroring his own had been painted on her face underneath her eye patch. The smoke trailed into the air as she grinned at him.

"Marie."

She simply continued giggling. With a quick motion she flipped the lab coat's sleeves up and tossed his glasses at him. He scrambled to catch them and she darted past him, laughter exploding from her. Stein slipped his glasses on and looked in the direction she had run. Twisting the screw in his head he walked after her, following the trail of smoke and giggles.

He found her on the roof.

"Marie, come here."

"The world is big and waiting." She said, her arms outstretched as her toes curled over the side of the roof.

Stein took a step towards her, the woman balancing precariously close to the edge, her body swaying with the wind as more smoke escaped from her mouth. Marie reacted violently to his approach. The cigarette fell from her mouth and landed on the rooftop; her right hand transforming.

"It's waiting and you want to take me from it?!" She hissed at the man, her back arching towards the empty air behind her, her body contorting.

Stein stopped, his hand outstretched towards her. "Marie, I just want to help you find it."

She giggled and bent to pick up the fallen cigarette, slipping it back into her mouth and Stein winced a bit. She took a deep breath of the smoke and let it trickle out her nose, watching the smoke drift up into the air as she did. She looked utterly fascinated by it and Stein took advantage of the situation to dart at her.

She didn't move or anything, just watched him come, an insane grin spread across her face. He had her in his arms a second later, dragging her away from the edge and she finally screamed. As the view of the city started to disappear she started to struggle, the cigarette falling from her mouth a second time. She nearly broke free of his grasp, but he managed to get her back into the lab, blocking the exit with his body.

A hammer transformed arm slammed into his chest, knocking the man against the door to the roof. Marie screamed incoherently, her eyes vacant even as her face contorted in rage. Stein slumped against the door after the second blow to his chest, but he forced himself to stand, ignoring the obvious pain of broken ribs, blocking the doorway.

The third time she swung his hand lashed out, grabbing her wrist and using her momentum against her. Faster than she could react he had her reversed their positions and had her hammer transformed arm pinned against the door above her head, his body pressed against hers to keep her from lashing out at him with anything.

"Marie, what is wrong with you?!" He shouted desperately, his free hand forcing the woman to stare at him.

"The world is big and waiting…" Marie said quietly as she futilely struggled against him. Stein's chest was burning in agony when she brought her knee up, trying to catch him in a very sensitive area, her struggle growing more and more frantic.

And then Stein was flying through the air, Marie hitting her knees for a moment before focusing her eye on him. A high pitched giggle escaped her as she turned her back on him and grabbed the door handle. Stein watched it all in slow motion, his eyes stinging from the electrical discharge she had hit him with. A trembling hand turned the screw in his head in time with Marie's turning of the door handle. With a strangled sound that might have been an attempt at words Stein surged to his feet, tackling Marie as soon as she got the door open.

The woman landed hard under him and Stein winced, hoping that he hadn't caused her too much physical harm, but reasoned that a few bruises and scrapes were much better than whatever she was going to be led to by the Madness.

"Marie!" He said desperately, his arms wrapping around her arms and chest as he tugged the kicking and screaming death scythe to her feet again, dragging her backwards and into the lab. He didn't stop until she was in his research lab and firmly strapped to an operating table. Turning from her he quickly mixed a sedative cocktail, and returned to inject it into her arm.

Her eye was wide and staring and Stein didn't need Soul Perception to see the anger and rage running through her. "You'll thank me when you wake up alive, Marie…" Stein said sadly.

'What has caused this? Marie has an anti-madness wavelength. What could have affected her, but left me sane?' He wondered as he injected the drug and watched her fall unconscious.

Stein sat shirtless, just strips of cloth wrapped around his chest to hold the ribs in place, in front of his computer, only a couple of feet away from Marie. His hands were lying limply on the keyboard as he read and reread the note that Marie had left for him.

Franken,

I'm going to get my Halloween costume ready- I think that you'll really like it! If you're reading this and haven't seen me yet, it means that I'm still at Helen's getting my makeup and stuff done. I'll be home soon, luv ya!

"Helen…" Stein said, rolling the name on his tongue as he tried to place it. He slammed his fist into his hand. "Helen Ewan. I remember now, Marie had mentioned going to her to get her costume for tonight." He looked over at the unconscious death scythe, an uncomfortable feeling settling in his stomach as he focused his Soul Perception on her.

He could just barely see it, but it was there, the remnants of a spell. Checking Marie's restraints he readministered the sedative and left the lab.

Stein strode through the streets of Death City with a purpose, the hot sun beating down on him. His lab coat was still tucked around Marie, and he could feel the sun burning his arms. His ribs, even with the bandaging on his chest, ground against each other with each step. It took him fifteen minutes to get to the address he had found in Marie's things.

Deciding to be courteous enough to knock, he did. He waited on the stoop, twisting the screw in his head until an old, gray haired woman opened the door.

"Can I help you?" She wheezed out.

"Actually, I was wondering if you were Helen." Stein said, keeping his tone purposefully while the woman nodded even as he slipped into the prepared lie. "A friend of mine had you do her costume for tonight, and recommended you."

"I am, dearie, I am. Come on in. You'll be a hard size to match, but I think I can do it. Is the screw in your head part of the costume you want?"

Stein was patient, waiting until the woman had closed the door and walked into the next room before slamming her against the wall.

"You know it isn't. You know who I am, don't you?" Stein hissed out.

"Franken Stein. It's a pity you don't know what you've gotten into this time!" The old woman's form melted around Stein's hand and he pulled it back as if burned, watching curiously as years dripped off the woman's face like so much candlewax.

A rustle from behind him alerted him of the other two individuals walking into the room, their features morphing and melting like the first. The trio surrounded the meister, and spoke in unison.

"Round and round the cauldron go,
drop the bones of those we harrow,
add their eyes, add their tongue,
add the songs best left unsung.

Take their voice, take their love,
promise them blessings from above.
Keep them from seeing the truth now,
take away their cares, we care not how."

Stein could see the magic gathering between the three, and fought against the paralysis that had settled over him. With an extreme surge of will he broke it and darted out from between them as they begin their last verse.

The witches' eyes were closed, all three of them giving themselves completely over to the spell they were casting. A single attack from Stein disrupted it, driving the first one, Helen, through a wall; the other two rounded on him, but were incredibly weakened from the spell they had been casting. With little effort Stein put an end to them, the three obviously unable to work effectively without each other. Capturing the three souls Stein allowed himself a smirk as he stepped out, the souls wrapped in a bag that he had found in the home.

He detoured to Shibusen to give the souls to a thankful Shinigami-sama before returning to the lab, and the first thing he heard was Marie screaming his name at the top of her lungs, obvious rage and anger playing in it. He smirked as he slipped into the research lab and looked down at the irate death scythe.

"Franken Stein, you let me go right now!" Marie shrieked.

"You have to promise not to hit me again, Marie." Stein said calmly, his hand resting beside the restraint that held down her left arm as he bent over her to look her in the eye.

"What do you mean again?" Marie demanded, returning his stare and tugging at the restraint. "I haven't hit you yet!"

Stein stripped his shirt off, letting Marie see the bandages that covered his chest. "I forgive you for not remembering, I know how it is to be lost like you were," he said gently. "Believe me, Marie. I did what I had to to keep you from killing either of us."

Marie's eye went wide as she stared at the crisscrossing bandages. "I… I went to Helen's… then I came home…"

"Helen was a witch Marie. I'm sorry; she cast a spell on you, presumably the same one that she tried to cast on me with her sisters when I confronted her." Marie was still staring at the bandages, and didn't even realize that Stein had removed the restraints on her left side until he crossed over to remove the ones on her right.

"What… what did I do?" Marie asked, and Stein could see the tears playing in her eye. He helped her sit up, balancing her when she swayed, her head light from the medication.

"You were speaking of how big the world is, and how it was waiting for you. I was afraid you would jump from the roof, Marie. I wanted to make sure that didn't happen, and you became violent when I tried to stop you. It came to blows from you, and I was forced to sedate you." Marie just shook her head, tears running down her cheek. Stein placed a finger under her chin and forced her to look into his face.

"Marie, don't worry, don't cry. I'm here when you need me, no matter what it is," he said before kissing her lightly. "I'll be here through everything, you know that. You've been with me through this kind of thing- I've done more than just break a few of your ribs, and yet you've stayed. Marie, I would do anything to keep you safe, so don't cry over a few ribs you couldn't have helped."

The death scythe broke down sobbing and the scientist just wrapped his arms around her, letting her cry into his lab coat. "I love you too, Marie." He whispered quietly when she had calmed down and heard her muffled reply come up a moment later.

"Until death do us part, remember?" Stein said and Marie nodded, kissing him suddenly.

A/N: I had started working on this a while ago, and couldn't decide where I wanted to go with it, so that is what you got… I'm still slightly disappointed with it, but that's to be expected when you mull something over so long before finishing it. I hope you enjoyed!

I don't own Soul Eater.