Yay! School's almost over and I'm HAPPY~!

And yet here I am with another depressing fanfic. What is the world coming to? *shakes hands dramatically at sky*

This takes place sometime after 'The Death Scythes Convene - Stop Dad's Staff Reassignment?'

Anyways. Go listen to 'A Thousand Years' by Christina Perri. It kinda set the mood for most of this. ^.^

The Slumber of Ghosts
Chapter One

Maka yawned and sat up, gazing blearily at the small pile of dusty books beside her. I must have fallen asleep doing research again... at least Soul is used to it, so he won't be worried. Although I bet he's missing having something other than burnt fish for breakfast.

Stretching, the sleepy meister stood up and shuffled into the hall. It's almost seven forty. I should get to class. With a start, she looked up to yell for Ox - he was always pacing this part of the school before class - and realized... she knew none of the students around her. She spun frantically. That girl looks like she could be Jasmine's younger sister! But that's impossible... Isabella's only two months. She's more like twenty-five.

A little spooked, she fast-walked to Class Crescent Moon and poked her head inside the door, to find some creepy lady that looked like Marie's mother (if her mother was even alive) teaching the class, staring at her in shock. Maka scanned the rows of seats with wide eyes. No BlackStar, no Tsubaki, no Soul, no Kid, no Thompsons, no Killik, no Kim, or Ox even! She ran out, ignoring the cries of the old Marie-like lady.

Quickly making it to the Death Room door, she poised her fist to knock when she realized the door was completely different. "Did they remodel during the night?" she muttered to her self.

"... Maka?"

Maka whirled around and gaped. "P-Papa?" But it couldn't be Papa. Spirit didn't have... GRAY HAIR? "Why is your hair-"

"MY MAKA!" He crushed her into a tight hug, sobbing freely. "YOU'RE BACK!"

She wriggled and said indignantly, "I never went anywhere!"

That made the Death Scythe relinquish his hold, taking a good look at his daughter. "Ah, of course you wouldn't remember. But look at you! Amazing, you haven't changed a bit." He hugged her again. "That's the strong little Maka I remember. You'll need your strength." Maka found herself too shocked to Chop him as he pulled back again and knocked on the door, hollering, "LORD DEATH! MAKA'S BACK, THE CURSE WORE OFF!"

"Curse?" Maka asked frantically.

With a bang the door flew open and an icy breeze washed out to meet them. Maka shivered and rubbed her arms, then her jaw dropped as Spirit pushed her in and shut the door. The sky is... cloudy? Like overcast cloudy. What in the hell happened?

She walked cautiously down the pathway, glancing nervously at the guillotines that all of a sudden seemed to give off an ominous air. "Hello?" she called.

Emerging out of the hallway (it was longer than she thought), she recognized the spiky black shape of Lord Death. "Sir?" she asked tentatively, then gasped and stumbled back as the shape turned around.

Lord Death was his normal self - but for just a second Maka swore she saw his appearance flicker back to his Dark Days look. She gulped.

"So you've returned." It wasn't a question, just a statement, but the voice that said it was scarier than anything one could see - it was the high-pitched jolly tone she was used to, but with a strange icy undercurrent that spoke of deep resentment. What have I done to make him so angry?

"Returned from where?" was the only thing she could think of to say.

He sighed and turned to face his mirror again. "You were reading in the library one evening when a witch that had gotten through our defenses disguised as an animal snuck up behind you and trapped you inside a book. A few meisters came running, along with your father, but the witch just laughed and said 'She won't come back 'till after it's too late' and disappeared in a puff of smoke. It's been twenty years since anyone last saw you."

"Twenty... years?" she whispered, sinking to her knees. "No... I was researching madness wavelengths... the Kishin!" Her head shot up again. "What- is he- the world- madness-"

Lord Death sighed again. "Dead."

Maka was stunned into silence. "... Dead? I missed it?"

"Yes." His tone was icy again. "You missed a lot."

"How much?" The meister was a little apprehensive to hear the answer. "Soul... BlackStar, Tsubaki, Kid, Liz, Patty... what about-...?"

The reaper's aura seemed to pulse with anger. "Go see them. I'm sure they'll welcome you. They told me to send you when you were released, and I will not deny my son and his friends no matter how much I disagree."

Maka brightened considerably. At least they're alive! Maybe they'll be a little older, but they're alive... and I hope, at least, they haven't forgotten me. No, they wouldn't. They did say to send me. Right?

Lord Death wiped a hand across the blank mirror's surface, making it fog up strangely. "Step through." Shooting him a puzzled glance, she complied and pushed her hand through the surface, then stepped all the way through.

Coughing, she blinked away the sudden plague of fog and squinted at her surroundings. A grassy hill rose before her, a tree at the top. Sighing, she looked up, narrowing her eyes against the bright sunlight and gasped involuntarily at something she saw. It couldn't be. Sprinting up the hill, she stumbled and fell to her knees. Oh no. A single tear spilled down her face. "No... no no no no no no no..."

Sitting in front of her, nestled neatly in the rustling grass, were six neat gravestones in a perfect circle.

Her legs moved unconsciously, shuffling her knees into the middle. Eyes blurry with tears, Maka choked on a sob and just barely made out the writing on the one she was facing, reading it quickly and spinning - still on her knees - in a circle.

Tsubaki Nataksukasa
Dark Arm Weapon to BlackStar
Gentle, kind, and smart even in her last moments.

BlackStar
Only known survivor of the Star Clan
Meister to Tsubaki Nataksukasa
In the end, he beat the God that mattered.

Patricia Thompson
Demon Pistol Weapon to Death the Kid
Spirited and a fun-loving friend.

Elizabeth Thompson
Demon Pistol Weapon to Death the Kid
Cunning sister and forever a good friend.

Her eyes blurred and the sobbing meister had to wipe her eyes, spinning so fast she completely skipped a few stones and came face to face with one she never thought she'd have to see.

Soul Eater Evans
Demon Scythe Weapon to the Late Maka Albarn
Loyal partner and friend, even without a meister.

Late? Why...? The grief became overwhelming, but she sucked in a breath and held it as she turned 180 degrees to read the one she'd missed. The last one.

Death the Kid
Meister to the Thompson Sisters
Son of Lord Death
A Grim Reaper who fought until the end.
[There was a request from him in his dying moments to add this message:

Hey Maka!
I know you'll be reading this, one day. Sorry you missed the big battle. Everyone's dead but me now. I've got messages for you: Soul says your chest is still tiny, but he misses you. Died with your name on his lips. BlackStar may say he hated your guts, but he wishes you'd come back as much as the rest of us. Liz misses someone to test all her new fashion prototypes on. Patty says she loaned you a stuffed giraffe, but she doesn't mind that you keep it now. Tsubaki just smiled and held BlackStar's hand as she died.
Me? Well, looks like I've got about thirty seconds, but I miss you too. We could have used your help.
Not that I'm blaming you. It wasn't your fault.
We just wanted to say goodbye ourselves.
Who knows? Maybe we still will.
But for now, know...
A group of seven doesn't seem so bad anymore.
Symmetrically yours,
Death the Kid

There was no holding back now. Tears flowed freely down her face as she hugged Kid's gravestone tightly, the salty drops landing on the words carved onto the black obsidian, her hands tearing up clumps of grass. No... no... no... this isn't happening...

"You know, I still don't blame you. I'm glad you're back."

Maka's eyes opened impossibly wide. That voice. Looking to the side, she gasped as she saw black flip flops... following up to the black cargo shorts... the neat white dress shirt... to his face.

"K-... Kid?" she whispered hoarsely, still crying. But it couldn't be him. Kid was dead. And this... ghost? Yes, ghost, for he seemed to be see through to some degree, wasn't wearing the suit and tie and everything she was used to. But it was him. Just... beach attire.

Then the ghost smiled, and it was his smile, that gentle small smirk she was so used to seeing. "Yep." His voice was echoey and strange, but it was his voice. It was Kid.

"I thought you were dead!" she cried, hiccuping like there was no tomorrow and curling her legs up tighter against her chest, leaning against his gravestone and sobbing. "This message... you, everybody, you're all dead! Please tell me this is a nightmare and I'll wake up!" She pinched herself. Nothing.

"I'm sorry. It's not a nightmare. But it really is me - we may be dead, but we're not gone."

Maka looked up, blotchy cheeks and all, emerald eyes watery and hopeful. "We?"

He laughed. "Leave it to you to notice that slip-up. Yes, 'we.' The others are here too, you just can't see them; I can, since I'm a reaper, but you'd need chichiue's permission for them to become visible. I was tied to my gravestone for some reason... but now I think, since you've come back, I've accomplished my dying wish. We're free." Then the ghost cocked his head to the side and snickered. "Soul says to 'Hurry it up, Tiny Tits.'"

Laughing and hiccuping at the same time, the meister got shakily to her feet and looked towards the bottom of the hill. A small rectangle of light with fog pouring through it, the doorway she'd stepped through, was still there. "You'll follow me?"

"Of course. We all will."

A little happier now, she found the strength to keep walking, stepping through the doorway with a puff of fog, and the courage to take a deep breath and face Lord Death again.

This time with her team at her side, whatever form they may be in.

So? *twiddles thumbs* Do you like it? Review and I shall continue! (Or don't review and I'll continue anyways. I'm weird like that.)

Also, for those of you who know me, this is DeaththeKidKat speaking/writing/whatever, I changed my pen name. ^.^

Kid: YOU KILLED ME! T^T

Maka: *hiccuping* Why are you so cruel?

Kat: Hehehehe... I have plans for the both of you. *looks around shiftily* That do NOT involve a pairing, thank you very much! Sorry for the Kima fans. But I don't do romance.

Maka: *still hiccuping* What's Kima?

Kat: ... *facepalm*

-Kat-