Warnings: SEVERE Angst, Kidnapping, Implied rape, character torture... Enjoy?
Pairings: SoulxMaka Implied KidxPatty and BlackstarxTsubaki
Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater.. if I did.. I'd be rich. :D
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I turned, looking to Maka and frowned, noticing she was sitting on the couch reading. There was this thumping... and I couldn't figure out where it was coming from.. I got up off the chair and walked into the kitchen, trying to locate the source of the banging - it was repetative and didn't seem to stop. How could Maka not hear it? She usually pitched a fit about something or other interrupting her reading. It.. sounded almost like a door - but there wasn't anyone there, was there? I checked the front door, then the doors to the rooms just in case... and still couldn't find anything. What the hell? The knocking became more and more insistent, almost frantic in the tempo. Oh, hey, it stopped. I guess that worked. Now I could get back to my favorite hobby - finding subtle ways to get Maka to notice me without ending in me getting chopped by a book.
"WHAT THE HELL?" I sat bolt upright, almost beaning Blackstar in the face with my fist in surprise. What the hell.. why was he in my dream? Check that, why was he in my room at.. I leaned over and checked the clock. 3:48am...What the hell? I turned on him, finding that he was looking even more serious than normal - Tsubaki standing behind him at my bedroom door. "What the hell are you doing in my room, Blackstar?' I had to hastilly check my manner of dress and was pleased to note that, while shirtless, I had shorts on.
"Soul. You need to come with us. Right Now.." I jerked at the third voice in my apartment and glared at Kid as he stepped around Tsubaki. Now all three of them were looking too serious for their own good. I sighed and mopped my face with my hand, trying to get the sleep to go away so I could be alert. This was stupid... Why were they here at such an ungodly hour?
"All right... One of you go get Maka, would you?" I snickered in my head, knowing full well that whoever woke Maka was going to get Maka-Chopped with whatever she had handy. I had been too busy snickering and sifting my fingers through my hair to notice Tsubaki dash down the hall in tears. I could hear the quiet sobbing in the living room, and watched Blackstar turn to follow her. Now I was only left with Kid, looking more somber than normal. I was awake instantly - knowing it had something to do with her. I threw back my blankets and pushed past my friend and into Maka's room. Her bed had been made pristinely, her books still on the desk. Her clothes hung over the back of her desk chair ready for the next day... but there was no Maka. I spun on my heel and tore out of her room, looking frantically through the apartment.
The bathroom was clear, and I could tell in one look that the living room and kitchen were void of Maka. I turned on Tsubaki and Blackstar on our couch. Tsubaki was sobbing into her hands with her meister sitting next to her and rubbing his hands up and down her back in consolation. That left... I rounded on Kid and before I knew it, had the immortal pinned up against the wall, my right hand at his throat, my left turning into a scythe. I didn't mean to hurt Kid, I never would - but the threat was there. "WHERE'S MAKA?" They knew something, I knew they knew something. I had to hand it to him - he stayed as cool as a cucumber, whereas I had not stayed cool at all.
"We don't know. We were hoping that with your connection to her, we could find her. Let me go, and we will go to my father's room and discuss the plan of attack. You are an important key to her disappearance, Soul. You are needed - you can't lose control now." I growled, gritting my teeth together before letting him go, not realizing that I had also pinned him so his feet were dangling. My arm turned back to my regular arm and I settled for clenching my fists at my side. I turned, glaring at Blackstar and Tsubaki before grabbing my coat from the back of a table chair and turning towards the door.
"What are you waiting for? Let's go find her." I could hardly contain my anger at the situation, but something was overlaying that anger in its entirety - Worry and fear. I feared for my partner... worried how she would handle herself without me. Weapon and Meister, alone are strong, but a magical weapon is only magical in the hands of a Meister. I was damn near useless without her, and she without me. Oh, we both had our strengths, and could handle ourselves to some degree, but there were only a few things that we could do without the assistance of the other. I threw my leg over my bike and kicked it to life before tearing down the street. I didn't care if I left the three of them behind me - Kid had his skateboard and Blackstar was fast on his own - They were fine being left on their own. I tore down the street, not caring that there were people sleeping - I knew the sound of my engine roaring would wake some - but I was more concerned with Maka's health than I was their beauty sleep.
I was quite proud of my bike - I'd been working on it off and on over the years, and because of that, it had become quite the powerful machine. I'd even begun teaching Maka how to drive it, though she showed little interest in driving... At least less than she did about clinging to my back. Not that I was complaining, mind you - I enjoyed the touch of her arms around my abdomen as we flew towards our destinations. I arrived at the school in what felt like an eternity - but in reality was probably faster than I'd ever gotten there. The trip to Death's room was even more of an eternity - but Kid and Blackstar caught up to me and the four of us marched down the hall of guillotines as if our lives depended on it. Ahead of us, Liz and Patty stood on either side of the path about halfway there, as if they were guarding the corridor... but from who?
Call me silly, but the six of us met up and we all began walking towards the door as if we were in sync or something. I thought the authoritive sound of our various boots, shoes and heels clicking on the floor in rhythm made things all the better for strength. With them, I felt as if we could tackle any obstacle and get Maka back - no matter what it took. Deathsythe was standing beside the door opposite Stein when we arrived, which shocked me - those two were usually sleeping at this hour. Deathsythe's eyes had been rimmed with red as if he'd been on a crying spree - knowing the man he had been. Kid and his two partners, Liz and Patty went in first, then Blackstar and Tsubaki. I was shocked that Blackstar wasn't shouting about something or other about his greatness, but I guess even he could be worried about our friends at some point. I followed up, bringing up the rear but was stopped by a hand on my shoulder.
"Soul... I...I-..." I frowned when Deathsythe broke into tears, but his shaking had increased as he tried to hold them back - which was different. His expression had hardened, his eyes taking on a somewhat dangerous gleam to them. "Bring her back to me, Soul. I can't... stand it if she were to get hurt... "I reached up and took his hand from my shoulder, bringing it to a handshake rather than him clasping my shoulder. I gave the man by best toothy grin, full of confidence that we'd find her in no time.
"Sure. I'll find her, she *IS* my Meister after all." I stepped back from him and into the door, knowing his footsteps were right behind me. I could see Kid, Liz, Patty, Blackstar and Tsubaki all lined up on the podium, Death in front of the Mirror as they all watched something. Liz and Patty were in tears even as Tsubaki was. When I stepped up to the platform, Death turned to me with a cheerful wave of both of his large hands, his chipper voice filling the room.
"HEY~HO! Good to see ya, Soul!" I tch'd at his exuberant greeting and stuffed my hands in my pockets. Goofing off like this when Maka was in trouble was just not cool.
"Where's Maka, Old man? I know you know something... you had better tell me, or so help me I'll -" I was stopeped by Deathsythe's hand on my shoulder, glaring up at him with a somewhat scary smile. "What?"
"You may not be Deaths' primary weapon, but you have to take into consideration that you are still a Deathsythe and have a power at your fingertips that should not be flaunted needlessly." I stopped glaring and tch'd slumping my shoulders in on myself as I listened to him.
"Yea, Yea... Just... get on with it would you?" I felt him squeeze my shoulder before he stepped back - he knew my suffering, I guessed... Maka was his daughter, but god damnit! She was my meister! My teeth ground together and I almost missed what Death was saying before he cleared his throat. I looked slightly apologetic, but I was still pissed beyond all reason at the situation.
"As I was saying. You are all aware that Maka Alborn has gone missing from Death City - Of course you're aware of that, you wouldn't be here if you weren't! Well, as of 3:00 am this morning, we received a message giving us a clue to the whereabouts of the missing meister. Of course, this message was in the form of a video, and I would suggest you turn your head if you don't wish to see the specifics!" What the hell? He turned to his mirror and said a command, causing the three girls plus Deathsythe to break into tears all over again. What could be so bad as to bring Tsubaki to tears? Or Patty? Liz and Deathsythe cried all the time it seemed. I would have scoffed more, but the images on the mirror caught and held my attention.
I wanted to go shoot the bastard who had sent this video... more than that; I wanted to gut whoever was taping it. This was almost enough to bring tears to my eyes - and cool guys don't cry. Maka was sprawled out on a floor of some sort, her jacket missing, leaving her school uniform the only cloth covering her petite form. If it could be called that... Her plaid skirt was shredded, revealing uncountable cuts and lashes on her legs, I could even see some of them partially hidden by the skirt. If that wasn't enough, her tie was missing, leaving her white shirt torn and bloodstained, and revealing *WAY* too much skin to be decent. Her neck and arms were covered in the same gashes and lacerations that her legs were covered in. She looked to be unconscious, by the looks of her closed eyes, but it was nearly impossible to tell if she was breathing from the video.
My eyes traveled to her hair, the sandy brown locks hanging matted and bloody around her face. Her face was also splattered with blood, and bruises marred her entire body - I couldn't see any broken bones, but god, she'd been treated... I growled, clenching my fists, so angry that I had almost missed the person talking in the video.
"-All we demand in return is the lives of your son... Oh, and the complete surrender of Death City." Medusa... My blood boiled and I spun around, my fist slamming so hard into the wall at my left that it cracked the framework slightly. There was almost a suffocating silence after my unannounced attack on the inanimate wall. I stood there, my right hand embedded in the wall, my left fist curled up at my chest. My head was hanging down, and I knew I was panting irregularly... and to my surprise, there was sweat dripping down my face and hair onto the floor.
There was a touch to my back that didn't even gain a reaction out of me, only left me panting and shaking. The touch shifted up my back to rest around my neck, and I could smell the familiar scent of Vanilla - that caused me to spin around. There wasn't anyone there, and I lifted my hand to rest it at the back of my neck where I'd felt her hand... Or had I imagined it?
"Soul?" I sighed, unclenching my fists and then massaging the one that I'd used to punch the wall as I turned to look at Death and the gathered members.
"We're going to get her."
"We don't even know where to look, Soul! If we charge out blindly, we will become lost... in both our path and our goal." I would have loved nothing more than to punch Kid in the face right about then, but I knew he was right - but I couldn't just *LEAVE* her. I walked up to the podium and left my hands return to my pockets.
"I'm her partner... right? I can try to find her through Soul Resonance and the Black Blood that infects us both." There was a deafening silence after that and I growled at them, shaking my head. "I'm telling you - that's our best chance of finding her. You can look at me like I'm nuts all you want... I know it'll work." Eventually. I moved to sit down on the steps where I rested my arms on my knees and closed my eyes. I had noticed Deathsythe's vaunted look of hope before I'd closed my eyes - and I didn't want it to distract me from what I had to do. I knew that at this distance, I would most likely not find her, but I could have sworn that her hand had been right there.