Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater.
A/N: The first two stanzas of the witch's song were taken from the song A Gory Demise by Creature Feature, the rest of it belongs to me. Review! Enjoy!
"So. This is it."
"Yup."
"A witch's soul."
"Yup."
"Then you're a Death Scythe."
"Yup."
"A bit nerve-racking."
"Yup."
"But we shouldn't count on it yet."
"Yup."
"Are you even listening?"
"Yup."
Maka sighed. Right now, her heart was calm, her breathing steady. But she knew that once she saw that witch, her heartbeat would speed up and her breathing would become erratic. She knew that this would be nothing like harvesting kishin eggs. She had fought Blair before when they had still thought that she was a witch, and that was hard enough. But a real witch…
This was going to be tricky.
Maka tightened her grip on Soul as she walked down the street. Tall buildings lined up on either side of her, and she knew all too well that the witch could be on one of the roofs, or behind a door, or in an alleyway. The witch would know that they had come to collect her soul, for why else would a teenage girl be walking down the street with a scythe in her hands?
For what seemed like hours Maka prowled the street, looking down every alley and up at the sky. The town was eerily quiet, the only sound to be heard was that of Maka's breath and her shoes clicking on the cobblestone road. I light wind brushed against her arms, causing her to shiver.
"Are you sure that she was here?" Soul asked, his voice muffled in his scythe form.
"Yes. I think that she put her soul protect on…"
Just then, they heard a loud, high-pitched peal of laughter. Maka whirled around, trying to see the source of the bone-chilling laugh, but she saw nothing. As predicted, Maka could feel her heart beat speeding up.
"Don't get riled up yet, Maka," said Soul, his stern face appearing on the blade of the scythe.
"I know, I know!" she said, still frantically looking around. "Show yourself!" Maka called out, her voice a little shaky.
The laughter rang out again and Maka looked around, but still no sign of the witch. The laughter seemed to be coming from everywhere, like there were actually ten witches giggling at her instead of one. She hoped that this wasn't actually the case.
"Yoo hoo!"
Maka whirled around, winding up Soul like a baseball bat, but there was no one there.
"Over here!"
Looking over her shoulder, Maka saw that there was still no one there.
"Come on, deary, can't you see me?"
Maka was growing frustrated, but she didn't dare show it. She continued to search, squinting into the darkness for at least a glimpse of the witch, but she still had no luck.
"Right here," the voice whispered, this time right in her ear. Maka jumped and swung Soul around, but, yet again, the witch was nowhere to be found.
"Will you just show yourself already?" Maka shouted, her temper rising.
"Ooh, touchy, are we?" the witch's voice rang out. "But I can see more than that, Miss Maka Albarn."
"What the heck?" came Soul's voice. "How does she know your name?"
"My knowledge doesn't stop at her name Soul Eater Evans!"
"Shit." Soul cursed.
"I know that your biggest obsession, correct me if I'm wrong, is to constantly be cool. And I know that your meister's is to be the smartest student at the DWMA. Am I correct so far?"
Maka had froze. How did this witch know so much?
"And your goals, let me see… Maka wishes to be just like her mom, and Soul wishes to be a Death Scythe."
"How the hell do you know all this?" Soul called out.
"I can tell everything about anyone that I've touched." the witch called back.
"You didn't touch us!" said Maka.
"Are you sure…?"
Maka remembered the breeze that she had felt against her arms, and she realized that that had actually been the witch. Her grip tightened on Soul.
Things just got a whole lot more complicated.
"Now… I also know your greatest fears… Gives me an upper hand, when you think about it…"
Maka's eyes widened.
Now they were just plain screwed.
There was a rush of wind, and the witch appeared in front of them. She was wearing a long cloak, and she had tattoos all over her body, as was the norm for witches. Her irises were a bright red, quite unlike the warm ruby that Soul had. She had a wicked grin on her face as she looked at the weapon and meister. Maka crouched a bit, ready to spring into action on a minute's notice.
"Mr. Evans, your worst fear is that Maka doesn't… Oops!" the witch clapped her hands over her mouth with mock-apology. "I'm sorry, she doesn't know, does she? When were you planning on telling her? Hm? You better tell her soon, you'll both be dead soon… Oh, and that's another one of your fears, isn't it, Soul? For her to die? Ha! I'm on a roll…"
Maka felt Soul grow hard under her grasp. His reflection in the scythe's blade showed him with gritted teeth. "Just shut up and fight!" Soul shouted.
"Ah ah ah!" said the witch, wagging a finger. "I haven't given Miss Albarn a turn… Alas! You are a tricky one, Maka… hm… You fear death! Well, deary, we all do, and the scythe that you're holding fears your death…"
"Obviously, he's my weapon!" Maka shouted.
"I think it goes a little further than that…" the witch laughed.
"What's she talking about, Soul?" Maka asked.
"It's nothing!" Soul said back. "Just cut her open already!"
"Gladly." said Maka. "Witch Absuria, your soul is mine!"
"Is it now…?" Absuria laughed again, and as Maka rushed forward to take a slash at her, Absuria began to do something that nobody expected; she began to sing. It was an eerie song that set Soul and Maka's teeth on edge. She still managed to dodge every swing that Maka sent her way even while her lyrics echoed off of the town's walls:
"One by one we bite the dust
We kick the bucket and begin to rust
Give up the ghost when your number's up
We all fall down."
"This lady is psycho!" Soul exclaimed.
"Ashes to ashes, bones to paste
You'll wither away in your resting place
Eternity in a wooden case
We all fall down."
"We all die at some point, kids!" Absuria said as she flipped over Soul.
"Yeah, and for you that day is today!" Maka shouted at her.
"You still have yet to touch me, Maka!"
"Alive and well to dead as a nail
Placed underground, so cold and pale
Your skin will rot and your bones become frail
We all fall down."
"You want to tell her now, Soul? You kids don't have much time left!" Absuria sang as she darted to Maka's back and grabbed a handful of Maka's hair.
Maka screamed and careened over backwards, Absuria yanked her to the ground and blood spurted from Maka's mouth as her head hit the cobblestones.
"Maka!"
"Tell her, Souly!" said Absuria, disappeared again.
"No!" Soul shouted back as he morphed into his human form.
"I'm okay, Soul," Maka said, standing up and wiping her mouth off with her sleeve. She held her hand out for Soul to take.
Soul looked down at her hand then back up at her face, doubt flitting across his ruby eyes.
"I'm giving you a gift, Soul! Tell her now, or she'll never know!"
Soul's jaw clenched.
"What is she talking about?" asked Maka, her hand still outstretched.
Soul clasped Maka's hand in his. "I love you, Maka."
He morphed into scythe form, and Maka gripped Soul hard.
"What?"
Soul sighed. "I love you."
Before Maka could react to Soul's sudden confession, Absuria cut in. "Well, I'm glad that we got that out!" she said, appearing before them. "So, you were trying to claim my soul, yes?"
Maka gritted her teeth. "Yeah, that seems about right."
Absuia laughed again, running at Maka. She swung Soul upwards, missing the witch by an inch. Maka cursed, jumping back as Absuria blasted a spell at her.
"Bugs begin crawl over your face
Backs propped up by a wooden brace
Detectives leave, given up your case
We all fall down."
"I'm really starting to get sick of this song," said Soul.
"I'll let you in on a secret!" said Absuria, launching herself into the air and sending spell after spell at Maka. "I can see the future of people who I have touched, and yours doesn't look too bright!"
"LIAR!" cried Maka, jumped up and taking another swing at Absuria.
"Touchy!" said Absuria. "You'll fall by my hands, Maka Albarn! I guarantee it!"
"Don't listen to her, Maka!" said Soul. "I wont let you die!"
They both landed, breathing a bit harder than normal. Absuria's hands began to spark, and she rubbed them together. "Now the real game begins…"
Before they knew it, ten Absurias encircled them.
"What the-?"
"She's duplicated herself!"
The Absurias laughed, their whole arms sparking now. They rubbed their hands together, causing their whole bodies to give off blue electricity. They cackled madly, getting into identical fighting stances. Then they all sang the next part of the song, so that the lyrics rang through Soul and Maka's ears.
"Love wrenched away from your cold breath
We all melt down as we face Death
Wonder what exactly you left
We all fall down!"
They emphasized the last word as they all sprang forward, and twenty electrified fists pummeled down on Soul and Maka.
"MAKA!"
Soul phased and crouched over his meister's crumpled body. Blood was pouring down her forehead, and her leg was bent at a weird angle. She had scorch marks all over her body, and her eyes were wide open, unblinking. Her mouth was closed and her chest wasn't rising. He felt the side of her neck, and her pulse was growing weak. He looked around; Absuria was gone, but her voice remained:
"Cling to your weapon's warm, dark hands
This is the cost of your failed plans
Your weapon has lost his most precious lamb
We all fall down…"
"Soul…"
Soul looked down at his meister, her eyes were closed now, scrunched together in pain. "Don't leave me…"
Soul brushed her hair out of her burnt face and held her face in his hands. "I wont… just don't leave me…"
She opened her eyes again, looking deeply into his. Her face was expressionless.
Maka took in a shaky breath. "I love you…"
Her body went limp.
"MAKA!"
"Soul!"
Soul sat bolt upright, breathing heavily and sweating. He looked around. He was in his room.
"Hey, Soul." said Maka, sitting at the base of Soul's bed. "Bad dream?"
Soul still couldn't speak. It had felt so real... Seeing Maka, beaten, lifeless...
"Are you okay?"
Soul looked into his meister's concerned eyes. He shook his head, rolling onto his knees so that he was on all fours, his face an inch away from Maka's.
"Maka..."
He cupped her chin in his hand and brought her mouth to his. Maka was surprised, but before long she melted, kissing him back. It was tender, and when they pulled away, Soul had his head hung low.
"I'm sorry..."
"For what?" asked Maka.
"For not telling you sooner. I love you, Maka. Do you love me?"
Maka smiled. "Yes, Soul. I love you."
Soul smiled, pushing his lips onto hers again. Maka jerked back a bit, giggling.
"What?" Soul asked. Was he that bad at kissing?
"Your teeth hurt," Maka giggled, rubbing her lips.
Soul blushed. "Oh, sorry..."
"It's okay," said Maka. "Aren't you going to kiss it better?"
"Gladly."