Note: I will be the first to admit I was not big on editing so I apologize for any mistakes you find. I just hope you enjoy the ride. ;) Now, let's get the boring part of this introduction out of the way.
Disclaimer: Soul Eater is NOT mine!
Although, I did come up with this angle for the Mongolian Death Worm, which I am proud of. Needless to say, I think we should get onto the story before I give away any spoilers. Happy reading!
Death Worm
Humming quietly to herself, a pallid woman carried a box under one arm. Her silver-gray hair shone eerily in the florescent lighting of the halls. She barely gave notice to the sign that read Class Crescent Moon as she entered the large room as she did every morning though she was running a tad late today. Nevertheless, she was pleased to see her students already waiting for her in their seats. The teacher dropped her box and pushed her large, round glasses up the bridge of her nose before plopping down into a swivel chair to start roll call. Only two students were absent and that seemed normal enough since they tended to cut classes every now and again.
"Okay, class," the educator said standing before her students, "today we will be doing things bit differently. We'll start by discussing some rather interesting topics in leu of the usual material."
A young boy raised his hand politely following this annoucement.
"Yes, Mako?"
"What will we be talking about, exactly?"
"I'm so glad you asked." The silver-haired teacher beamed, though she seemed to lack enthusiasm. "Today we'll start a lesson on doppelgangers."
"Doppelgangers?" a raven-haired student echoed.
"That's right, Tsubaki." She nodded as she began the lesson. A pink-haired pupil then rose their hand. Sighing, the teacher leaned back on her desk and turned an inquisitive gaze on them, "What is it, Crona?"
"Umm, nothing. Not really."
"Are you sure?" the professor pressed. "You're usually very quiet. I'm sure there is a reason you've raised your hand."
"Well, I was just wondering..." Crona paused for a moment to glance over to Mako who gave an encouraging nod, "why are we suddenly changing topics? Yesterday, you said we were going to be-"
"Ah, good point," she interjected before the student could finish, "you see, there has been a change in plans due to recent developments and I'm certain you will all benefit from this lesson. So, if there are no other questions," a cold gaze around the room ensured that there were none, "let's get started. You all may want to take notes."
The class echoed, "Yes, Professor Stein." and the lesson began.
"Doppelganger," the teacher said, as she scribbled on the board at the front of class, "comes from the German term meaning, a double goer. Doppelgangers are usually the double of a living person; however, it also may describe the sensation of having glimpsed oneself in periphiel vision, or to put it another way, in a position where there is no chance that it could have been a reflection." Stein began drawing some stick figures while she further explained the lesson to her pupils. "Often, doppelgangers are created by a being who possesses acess to a great amount of magic. However, they are considered to be rare nowadays because they don't always turn out as perfect as they are intended to be."
"Differences can vary from a detail as small as a birthmark to a change as significant as memories or personality. Now, scientifically doppelgangers can be considered a form of biolocation aka multilocation. This is when an individual or object is located-or it just appears to be located- in two distinct places at the same instant in time." She paused when she noticed one of her pupils with their hand raised. "Yes?"
"This is all very interesting, Professor, but if doppelgangers are so rare then why do we need to know about them?"
"Good question. Allow me to explain. You see, in some cultures they are considered bad luck or even omens of death. They can only live for so long-fifty days, nine hours, four minutes, and twenty-four seconds to be exact-unless they take and consume the soul of their counterpart. Of course, once they do this they take on the very life of the one they kill and forget all about their past including how they came to be and who had created them. Doppelgangers aren't always like the original copy, but they can still be very dangerous. If any of you are ever faced with one the best thing to do is let someone else fight it for you because chances are you'll be too evenly matched."
The lecture went on as the teacher explained more about the subject and her students took notes or sat listening with bored or halfhearted expressions as they tried to get into the lesson only to fail. Finally, the lesson was over and the students started to leave. A certain boy, Mako, stopped along with a close friend, Crona, who kept herself close to his side in case someone bumped into her on their way out. Both took notice of the box their teacher had dropped by her desk, regarding it with mild interest.
"What's that, Professor Stein?" Mako inquired. His teacher's dark green eyes lit up and the stitched scar marring her beatiful face appeared a bit more threatening when she gave her students a smile that held dark, sadistic intentions.
"I'm glad you asked." She said but her gaze turned from the boy to his friend. "However, it's Crona I need to speak with about this. So, if you'll excuse us to go about your business then we could get this over with much faster." The teacher dismissed the boy clearly not willing to discuss anything more with him for the time being. Huffing, the boy nodded and gave his friend a warm smile silently wishing her luck before jogging from the room to go check out the postings to see if he had any missons to attend to. That left the girl faced alone with their teacher who seemed to tower over her making the poor girl feel more than just a tad nervous.
"Crona," Stein spoke softly, matter-of-factly, "I need you to take this somewhere for me. It's very crucial that you follow my instructions exactly, understand?"
"Y-yes, Professor Stein, I understand. But what's inside it?"
"Another good question, you know of how our usual lessons consist of anatomy, dissections, and so on?"
The pink-haired girl nodded.
"Well, last time you seemed to do very well on both the written and unwritten parts of the assignments. It actually seems you scored the highest in the entire class."
"I-I did? Even higher than Ma-"
"Yes. Do you know why?"
She shook her head. Although, some part of her knew it was because she had prior training, but she wasn't willing to think much about it. Crona just didn't think she was that smart. Her partner had always told her that she wasn't very bright and she was more than willing to believe it considering how smart everyone else seemed in comparison. Although, her friends and teachers tried to make her think differently she knew she wasn't as smart as them because her grades typically weren't very high and usually got help studying from either Kid or Mako.
Stein snapped the girl from her gloomy silence with a loud snap of her fingers. "Pay attention." the teacher commanded. Crona nodded obediantly and perked right up to listen. "I think you understand the material better than you do some of the other lessons we've had so I think you may understand this mission better than others would." Stein waited for Crona to speak to show she was paying attention before continuing.
"Okay. So what do I do?"
"You take this box into the desert and you remember that hole you fell into before when you tried to run off?" Crona nodded blushing vaguely at the memory. "I need you to drop this box inside and fill the hole with as much sand as you can, understand?"
"No, I'm afraid I don't. Why would I need to do that?"
"Inside this box, Crona, are a pair of Mongolian death worm larvae."
"I thought those were made up."
"Yeah, well," Stein countered, "some people think witches and magic cats are made up but are they really?"
Crona felt herself shudder as she shook her head 'no' despite how she knew the question to be rhetorical.
"You see," the professor explained, "Mongolian death worms die shortly after reproduction. The female devours the male and then dies a few hours later once the eggs are laid. From there, the female worm's body decays and feeds the larvae once they hatch. Then the newly hatched larvae eat their unhatched siblings to prevent any major competion. Only three or four larvae tend to survive hatching and eat whatever is left of the mother worm in addition to the unborn. They then seperate to start the cycle all over again once they reach reproductive maturity ten to twenty years later."
"Why do you want me to bury the...babies...of something like that? I mean, it won't kill them. They live underground, right? So won't they get away and live in the deserts around Death City? Or tunnel under the city and cause trouble? And what if they reproduce and cause an infestation? Won't they kill people?"
"No, actually these two are males. Worst case scenerio is that they kill each other when they reach sexual maturity, but that fact aside I can assure you that I have researched the worm and its diet. It's very interesting, Crona, very interesting indeed. In fact, before you leave I think I'll help seperate fact from fiction so you fear them a bit less, which will help you in the long run because these guys can pick up on fear and it makes them rather aggressive."
"O-okay." Crona squeaked, taking a seat in a desk that was just across from where Professor Stein was sitting. Giving the screw in her head a small turn, Stein lifted the box up and sat it on her desk then turned to face Crona, who waited obediantly for her teacher to start the afterclass lesson, whilst she fiddled nervously with the white material of her usual robe.
"So, Crona, can you tell me some rumors you've heard about these guys?"
"Umm, w-well, I heard that they spit acid, use electricity, and that they eat lost people and wild animals."
Smiling, Stein gave her student a nod of approval. "That's right. But only half of that is actually true. The truth is Mongolian death worms can't use electricity. They are usually asleep underground for a large portion of the year, though they wake up every once in awhile to roam or feed. I know what you're thinking but they don't eat people like some believe. They do, however, prey on wild animals and seem to have a special taste for witches."
"W-witches?"
"That's right. Apparently, they like the taste of purple souls. It gives them an energy boost and improves their overall health. They'll ignore all other souls and if you give them a taste of a witch's soul they become addicted like ordinary humans would be to nicotine or some other drug after prolonged use. That is why this mission will be particularly dangerous for you, Crona. Your soul isn't that of a witch, but it's close enough that these guys might try to take a bite out of you."
"Oh. Umm, Professor? If they're just larvae then they aren't really that dangerous, right? I mean, they aren't as dangerous as an adult...are they?"
"Well, yes and no. Yes, because they are small, soft, slow, and very fragile in their current state, as well as the fact that they have no way to hear you. But then no because they are quite strong with slippery skin and can easily slip from your grip, which is why I am giving you a special pair of gloves to grasp them with just in case they try to escape. Also, they have heat glands in the sides of their heads and their bite is very painful, not to mention deadly. Actually, the saliva they produce contains enough toxins that a single drop can kill approximately two thousand men if ingested or introduced to the bloodstream."
Crona's eyes grew at hearing that.
"Oh, don't worry," Stein said softly, "this is another reason I chose you. If they do get away and try to bite you then Raraka can harden your blood and prevent the venom from entering your bloodstream. Then you can dump them, bury them, and come back here without much of a hassle. In any case, even if the venom does get into your bloodstream then you could always come back here for the antidote. Sound good?"
"I-I guess." Crona mumbled as she pulled her gloves on. Glancing up to her teacher she asked, "But do you really have an antidote?"
"Of course I do." Stein said solemnly. "It's bitter but you have the option of drinking it or getting it injected directly into any artery of your choosing. I wouldn't lie to you about that, Crona. Now, you would best to get going before it gets too late. The later it gets the more active they'll become. They're currently asleep so I'd think you would want to be as gentle as you possibly can otherwise you might wake them."
Nodding, Crona stood and lifted the package with more ease than she had expected. After establishing once more what was to be done she headed out to complete her mission being escorted out to the city's outskirts where Professor Stein stopped and stood with the pink-haired girl at her side.
"Okay, Crona," she said seriously as she gained a sullen expression, "are you sure you'll be able to find your way back once you're out there?"
"Don't worry, Professor Stein, I have a good sense of direction."
"All right. Once those larvae are buried you can come back to class and help me clean up, seeing as you don't have anything else to do for the day."
"Right." Crona quickly agreed. Turning Crona began off on her assignment. "Oh," the silver-haired woman called a few minutes later, "and Crona be careful! Those larvae can produce a strong, acidic chemical that's capable of dissolving almost anything!" She froze at that and turned with a startled shriek, but saw that Stein had already started to leave silently trusting Crona to go bury the larvae as she had been instructed and return without fail.
Whimpering, Crona continued on her way but felt somewhat frightened as she carried the box feeling one of the little monsters scuttle about inside for a moment before stopping. Walking through the desert, Crona felt really bad and it wasn't just because she was carrying a box of Mongolian death worm larvae. Crona, you spineless gimp! The voice of her partner, Raraka, internally insulted. We were gonna go to that stupid Shinigami brat's place! They promised us candy if we helped out, you stupid bitch!
"I know and I'm sorry but I couldn't say no to Professor Stein. It might have made her mad."
Boo-hoo! Her partner mocked. Grow a spine! At least we'd have gotten paid for work.
"I'm sorry, but maybe Kid won't mind if we're eight minutes late. I mean-"
Uh, Crona?
"Yeah?"
When did those creepy bugs wake up? Looking down, Crona gave a yelp at seeing the box was beginning to dissolve as a liquid dripped from the sides and bottom. She ran then, seeing the large crater was just ahead. Tossing it, she stumbled, as she kept up the pace watching as the box flew towards the hole still dissolving from the chemicals the larvae had released.
"Oh no!" She yelped at seeing one of the larvae fall from the bottom and onto the hot desert sand just a few feet ahead of her. Diving for it, Crona plucked it from the sand and held on tight in spite of how it squirmed and hissed in her hold.
Sighing in relief, she was quite thankful she had been given the gloves. In a way, the infant worm reminded her of a snake with its length and width but the pale, rosy pink of its body coupled with its thin slimy layer of skin along with the numerous blue and purple throbbing veins reminded her of some sort of grotesque giant slug. Crona moved quickly towards the crevice and tossed it in with the other larvae, which lay hissing and viciously biting at the air.
However, she wasn't quick enough and the baby death worm managed to slip from her grip for her gloves were now dripping with the animal's slime. Its body slapped her in the face and it fell to the ground where she kicked it straight into the hole. The sibling made purring noises upon realizing its brother was nearby. Crona's eyes stung but she managed to finish the job, burying both of the larvae in the sand before she started to slowly make her way back to Death City. She tossed the gloves after several minutes of sluggishly walking. She rubbed at her sore, irritated eyes hoping to get the slime out.
Whimpering she rubbed and rubbed but it seemed to only make things worse. Her vision was blurring and she felt scared that soon she wouldn't be able to see. Fortuneately, she was able to clear her vision enough to return home where she cleaned herself up before heading on over to Kid's and arrived only eight minutes late.
I hope that was enjoyable.
I wrote this on the spur of the moment and, as of late, I have been inspired to complete any and all of my unfinished stories before pursuing new works. Meaning, I will try my best to complete my oldest works first before my more recent ones.
Let's face it, I have been very busy, troubled, and negligent for too long so I will get on that task ASAP. In the meantime, enjoy my one-shots or any other of my completed stories. Or, if you're still with the old ones, follow along as I update. The choice is yours! x) Have a good day everyone and God bless you all for your love and support!
~With Love, Fairylust~