A/N: Ah, yes, the cheesy mystery/horror, who killed who. I really hope it isn't cheesy, I'll try my best, truly. This is going to be slightly AU, they all know each other, but they've never heard of Crona and Medusa, Ragnarok does not exist, only the black blood. I was inspired to write this because I put Horror in the genre section and I just felt like doing something nice and… the-images-that-sometimes-go-through-my-mind type. So… enjoy!

Disclaimer: Soul Eater isn't mine, if it was, Crona would have killed half the world by now would pwn all.

42…

Chapter 1:

Sorting out What's Happening

Maka tapped her buckled boots on the cement of the sidewalk she was standing on, arms crossed against her chest, beginning to get impatient. She pulled at a loose thread that was hanging on the side of her black trench coat, easy to see in contrast to her white gloves, nudging at the small travel bag at her feet.

The scythe meister was waiting outside a recently opened bed and breakfast that was a bit outside the outskirts of Death City, it hadn't been heard of yet since she and her friends would be the first guests there. She, Soul, BlackStar, Tsubaki, Death the Kid, Liz, and Patty got an e-mail saying that they were to have the honors of being the first guest (free of charge).

Since they were the most powerful meisters at Shibusen, apparently the owners felt that them staying there would attract more attention. Maka, at the moment, was the only one there, waiting outside. They were specifically told to come at five in the evening, so the blonde thought that maybe she would there ten minutes early.

The bed and breakfast's door was locked, so now she was impatiently watching for anyone else to come, Soul said that he had to go get something, insisting that he brought his lighter. When she asked why he said that there was bound to be candles, it would add to the homey feel.

Maka had looked at him in confusion and the scythe admitted that he dared BlackStar that he couldn't leave his hand in a flame for more than a minute and they hadn't tested it yet. Idiocy was what Maka had described him as, but Soul shrugged and zoomed away on his motorcycle to retrieve the lighter.

Of course, once he was out of sight, the thought went through Maka's head why he had a lighter. Finally, the familiar sound of an engine and Maka perked up as she tried to see if it was Soul. It wasn't, the familiar shinigami Death the Kid came flying on his skateboard, landing next to her with the Thompson sisters in their gun form.

Out of convenience, Liz and Patty transformed back into their human selves and stretched, greeting Maka warmly. The technician calmed her anger and smiled as she greeted them back, saying hello to Death the Kid, who nodded back and unstrapped their luggage from the edge of his skateboard.

The others trickled in, Soul appearing several minutes after Death the Kid, also earning a large hard-covered novel in his head.

"Where do you hide that thing?" Soul asked agitatedly rubbing his head.

Maka crossed her arms, "It's a secret, I'm not telling you."

Everyone finally arrived, BlackStar sliding in saying that he was grateful they were waiting to see his godly presence. Tsubaki bowed apologetically toward the rest of the group, saying that they were late because BlackStar was running laps.

Suddenly the door of the bed and breakfast opened and a woman slipped out, dressed in a wavy long black skirt that went to her knees and a blouse that had two white around wrapped around her waist. She was wearing a pair of black loafers without any socks and her hair was a honey blonde that spike at the edges with a braid hanging down the middle of her chest.

The woman smiled brightly, her gold-like eyes sparkling, "Welcome, welcome, please come inside!"

She ushered them in enthusiastically, gushing how it was such an honor to have these powerful weapon and meister pairs to be her first guests. Once they were in the large foyer (for the building was eight stories and quite large and wide, it was about the size of Shibusen, almost a mansion), the woman turned to them, hands clapping together.

"It's wonderful that you are all here!" she chirped giving a small bow with her head, "I am Medusa, and I am the owner of this home."

Maka stepped up and gave a nod, "Thank you for inviting us."

Medusa's honey eyes widened, "No! It's my pleasure!"

"It's free, right?" BlackStar asked.

When Tsubaki hushed him, Medusa giggled, "Why, yes, free of charge."

Medusa skimmed her eyes over the children, "Well! I suppose I should show you your rooms, right? After you get the small tour of the place, your meal should be ready."

"Great, 'cause I'm starved!" Soul groaned, earning a whack on the back of his head by Maka.

The technician apologized, "Sorry for my partner."

"Non-sense," Medusa answered, "I have a plate of cookies right here, would any of you like some?"

They all politely, excluding BlackStar, took one, leaving the plate empty, and ate them. They were soft and warm, as if they'd just come out a few moments ago, making them all smile happily.

"Now, let me get… Crona, dear?" Medusa called.

Everyone looked toward a small hall that the one named Crona stepped out of, the teenager was wearing a calf-length black dress on the thin figure and a pair of thick black shoes. They had uneven pink lavender hair and pale blue eyes.

"Yes, Lady Medusa?" Crona asked.

Medusa smiled, "Please carry their luggage up the stairs to their room, if you could."

With a small bow, Crona replied, "Yes, Lady Medusa."

The teenager neared the group and was handed their things, huffing under the weight when BlackStar and Liz's luggage came, and Crona wondered what was inside. They noticed the kid's expression and answered that BlackStar always kept small weight lifters on trips and Liz just stuffed her bag with cosmetics and clothes.

"Please go upstairs," Medusa insisted, "Crona will be right there."

When the group disappeared from sight, Medusa dropped her cheerfulness and had on a look of seriousness. Crona shifted under the weight of the bags, leg lifted to support some of it from falling onto the ground.

"L-lady Medusa?" Crona asked, "Why are you doing this again?"

The snake witch looked over to her child, "They don't seem to recognize that I'm their nurse at Shibusen, which only adds up better for me. But from my research, they all hide a bloodlust that even they are not aware about."

"O-oh," Crona responded.

"Now," Medusa ordered, "Go back up there and show them around."

Crona began to make way over to the stairs, "Yes, m'am."

The teenager wobbled up the stairs and was met with the others at the end of the second floor hall at the large socializing table near the window at the back. The group all looked toward Crona and stood up, waiting for guidance.

"F-follow me please." Crona huffed out, wheezing still from the bags, finally adapting to some of the heaviness.

They followed the teenager and raised their eyebrow at the kid, it was hard to tell whether it was a boy or a girl, and it would surely be rude to ask. With a foot, Crona nudged at the doors which room was whose.

"This one is Mr… Evans', this is Ms. Albarn's… Death the Kid, Elizabeth and Patricia Thompson…Tsubaki Nakatsukasa…BlackStar…" Crona named off the rooms.

After everyone had memorized their room numbers, Crona led them onto the third floor, which consisted of a library on the right and a large room to the left that was closed with two doors, where Crona gestured them in with a nod. It appeared to be a ballroom, an elegant one at that, as the building was large, it seemed natural to have such a large room.

Crona heaved the luggage onto a table pressed against the wall and leaned against it breathing heavily, "…That… was heavy…"

Maka turned to the teenager, "Um… what are we doing here?"

Pale blue eyes turned to look at her wearily, visible dark circles under the eyes, "Lady Medusa instructed me to take you here beforehand, there is something that she wants to show you."

Suddenly, the door that was opened to let them in was slammed shut and a small click was heard. The group stared at it curiously and Crona paled even lighter than the skin already was, pale blue eyes panicking. Crona rushed over to the door and began yanking at the handle, trying to force it open.

"I don't know how to deal with this!" was what the teenager groaned when it was obvious the door was sealed by the lock.

BlackStar snorted and nudged the teenager away, "You're to weak and thin, the Great BlackStar will open it though!"

The ninja began to tug at the handle with more force, grunting as it still didn't budge, cursing aloud at the door. Crona glared at him and pushed him away from the door with surprising strength, as it was not known to the others about the black blood and how powerful Crona really was.

"You can't just open it!" Crona exclaimed, and looked up to the ceiling, "Lady Medusa?"

"Sorry, Crona, dear, but you are to be a part of this too." Medusa's voice was echoed around the room, and everyone noticed a small speaker in one of the corners of the room (which Kid was grumbling about quietly to himself), filling them with her voice.

Crona's eyes widened, "What! You can't do that!"

"Ah," the voice spoke again, "but you are to explain to them the rules, you'll have an advantage of knowing everything."

"Lady Medusa~…" Crona whined sadly.

Maka glared at the speaker, "What's going on!"

"Crona will explain."

Liz started to panic, "We're trapped in here!"

Patty merely giggled and patted the elder on the back, "It's okay, onee-chan!"

BlackStar growled and rushed at Crona, whose eyes widened seeing his charge, and grabbed the teenager by the neck, putting Crona in an inescapable headlock, "Tell us what the hell is happening and I'll let the girl go!"

Crona glared up at the ninja, "Hey!"

BlackStar blinked, "So it's a boy…"

A small chuckle was heard from the intercom, "Ah, no, I'll let my child tell you."

BlackStar shoved Crona to the side, how stumbled and regained balance, obviously not in a good mood.

Crona groaned, "Urg, I don't want to be a part of this~!"

The ninja folded his arms and looked at the boy, who cowered a bit under his stare, "So, what's going on?"

Crona sighed, "Lady Medusa is the nurse at your school-"

"That's why she looked familiar!" Soul burst in, Maka pinched him to make him be quiet.

"What's that have to do with anything?" Maka asked.

"Should I tell them?" Crona asked, question directed at the intercom.

"Yes."

"Lady Medusa is a witch."

"WHAT!" They all seemed to exclaim in unison.

Crona sped on with his speech, "She gathered you all here today because she wanted to see which one of you would snap under the pressure of insanity!"

BlackStar, reacting how he always did, grabbed a handful of the front of Crona's dress and brought him closer to his face, "How the hell is she going to do that! Somehow magically put insanity wavelengths through the room!"

"Yes."

The ninja let go of the witch's son and growled while Tsubaki tried to console him. Death the Kid spoke up, "Why all of us in the same room?"

Crona squirmed under all of the stares, he wasn't used to other people, "Lady Medusa also sees you all as threats, so when you fall into madness you will kill each other."

Maka was in daze her emerald eyes wide in shock, Tsubaki had tears trailing down her face, Liz was sobbing uncontrollably, Patty was frozen as her sister hung onto her, Kid was shaking in anger, Soul was clenching his hand around a thawing murderous Maka, and BlackStar was breathing heavily in attempt to calm himself.

"Why?" Kid growled.

Crona looked over to the shinigami thoughtfully, he felt pity for them, including himself because he was included in this mess with strangers, "Because… it will be…"

"A good experiment." Finished Medusa over the intercom.

A click of static was heard, signaling the witch had finished listening and answering, waiting to be able to start. Crona began to recite the rules to the still Shibusen students.

"Rule one…" he began, "You have to try and stay in your sanity, once you fall into madness, you cannot return sane."

'Dammit,' Crona thought inwardly, 'That's not very good for me then, now is it?'

"Rule two…" he continued, "You are able to use your weapons, the goal is to kill those who become insane before they kill you. Obstacles will be scattered around the building to test how insanity affects your fighting skill. Others will soon join into to this game-"

"This damn sadistic game!" Maka growled.

"Please do not interrupt me, I don't know how to deal with it. Others will join, they will have an advantage since they have not been affected entirely by the insanity."

Crona continued on in his monotonous depressed voice, "Rule three… If the meister is killed, the weapon still goes on, if the weapon is killed, the meister still goes on. There are other weapons, not transforming ones, hidden in random areas, you are to use them only if your partner is dead."

"Rule four…all of the exits are sealed shut, much like this door here, but it will be opened in a moment. They are closed with magic, it is impossible to open, so don't waste your energy trying."

"Rule five… there is food scattered throughout the eight floors of the mansion, but you have to work to get it."

"Rule six… Lady Medusa will occasionally give hints as to whom is falling into madness, once you go insane, Lady Medusa also has control over your mind."

Maka cut in, "H-how is that even possible! She shouldn't be able to know without soul perception, and there can't be a way to posses someone's mind!"

Crona hesitated before answering and spoke almost with a depressed innocence, "Um, the cookies you ate had some of her snakes in them, they are now implanted in your system. She can also kill you with them, but that will only happen if you find and try to attack her, or give lots of hints onto the newcomers."

With that, everybody gulped, but Liz broke in, "W-w-what about you! D-don't y-you have a snake? It would be unfair if you didn't!"

"Yes, I have a snake in my body." Crona answered dully.

Death the Kid glared in his direction, "How do we know?

The boy gave a weary sigh and responded, "Snakes sometimes react to electricity, so don't get near to much static, I can show you by getting near something…"

BlackStar held out a hand and Crona looked at it oddly, the ninja slapped a hand onto the boy's back, causing Crona to cough. A small crackle was heard from both the assassin and Crona.

"Yep." BlackStar assured, "He's got a snake."

"R-rule… s-seven…" Crona continued, "You cannot kill someone who is not insane, unless you are the one who went insane, then you'd have to die as well. If you think that they are insane, it doesn't matter, you have to be positive."

"Rule eight… one only counts as being insane when Medusa gives the clues, other that that, even if you're sure your positive, the only way to be sure is if Medusa says."

"But," Crona warned, "Don't think Medusa is above lying, she may leave the one who's insane with you just for fun. She's cruel that way."

"Rule nin-"

"Eight rules are enough," Death the Kid cut in.

Crona raised an eyebrow at the shinigami, "You should listen to the others if you want to survi-"

Death the Kid interrupted again, "I'm a shinigami, the ones here can't kill me! Going above eight is criminal! Everything else is unsymmetrical!"

"But-"

"Unsymmetrical!"

Liz, even in her panic, hit Kid on his head to get the reaper to shut up, tears running down her face, "Quit your OCD for once! We're going to die!"

"You may not…" Crona mumbled, "The last one to survive is going to have a day of freedom because you are so powerful, but Medusa says that the ones too powerful she will kill you herself… yeah, you're all going to die."

Soul jabbed a finger in Crona's direction, "What do you mean we're all going to die, what about you?"

Crona's pale eyes looked up and answered easily, "If I was the one to survive, Medusa wouldn't kill me because I'm on her side."

BlackStar snorted, "What make you think you'll survive?"

Crona merely shrugged, "Rule nine… When you kill someone or something, dispose of it's body in another part of the mansion, this is part of the obstacles others will have to face."

"Rule ten… we're all going to be locked in this building for several days, so don't eat all of the food in one go."

"Rule eleven… the obstacles will animate and inanimate, there will be some loose Kishin eggs throughout the- what?"

Everyone stared at him with wide eyes, Patty chirped, "How'd ya' get Kishin eggs to agree that they were going to die?"

Crona sighed, "Medusa stated that they were to get several powerful Shibusen students to kill. Continuing rule eleven… Kishin eggs, overhead guillotines, poison gas, etc. Don't be oblivious to your surroundings."

The boy looked to the strange teenagers in front of him, he know that he hadn't a clue of who they were, but they would have to be alliances to live, "That's it."

Death the Kid was grinning at how eleven was a symmetrical number happily. Crona informed them that the weapons should transform now, since the game started once the doors were opened.

"Insanity will affect you, Lady Medusa wants to see the changes. Madness wavelength will be surrounding you everywhere while Medusa is safe." Crona added in.

Soul squinted his eyes, "Why should we trust you?"

"Because I don't want to die. If you trusted me, if I survive, you do. Though if I don't, you'll either escape fortunately, or die along beside me."

Maka huffed, "Who knows, Soul? Maybe he'll be of help."

BlackStar laughed and picked up one of Crona's thin arms, "This small thing? Why would we need him? I bet he'll be the first to go down, he doesn't look like he'd be able to kill one of us."

Death the Kid's gold eyes studied the thin boy in the black dress, "Well, you are right, he seems like he'd be more troublesome than helpful."

Crona's expression was unemotional as the others debated to kill him or not, Tsubaki timidly added, "He is the son of the witch, he probably has a Kishin egg soul."

Crona sighed, "I know every trap, every bonus, all the advantages and disadvantages hidden around this mansion. You'd be throwing out your guide."

"H-he makes a good point." Liz stuttered.

Patty ran up to Crona, "Okay, we'll keep you around! But if you try and get us, I'll kill~ you!"

The boy's pale eyes blinked toward the blonde pistol a bit fearfully and nodded his head, "Alright. The only way I'd murder you is if you had fallen into insanity, those are the rules. If you break an important rule, Lady Medusa will kill you."

Maka clenched her gloved hand, forest green eyes serious, "Soul."

Soul nodded and transformed, and the other weapons followed his example, landing in their meister's hands. Maka spun the scythe in her hand, the blade glinting in the lights of the ballroom. BlackStar caught Tsubaki in her chain scythe mode, the metal clinking. Kid spun Liz and Patty in his hands, the guns polish shining.

Crona gave a weak smile, "Now that that is settled, let's start the game."

The double doors of the ballroom began to creak open, Crona being the closest to it, and the game began.

42….

A/N: was it good, was it good? I hope it was. The only way I'll know is if you review, so pleeaase review! You KNOW you want to press the blue button that says review, please.