Hi guys! I AM FINALLY BACK WITH ANOTHER CHAPTER. I could tell you all sorts of stories about why this was so late, but it mostly came down to school, procrastination, and a bit of a writer's block. I am so, so sorry. I made this chap a bit longer than the last, so I hope it's enough to satisfy you until my next update, which I really hope won't take forever like this one did. I'd like to promise, but time is so scarce ;-; Well, I worked super hard to get this to you guys (and it would have been up this morning if the website wasn't down) because it's Christmas! Hooray! XD Hopefully it's not over yet for some people, but, thanks a ton for waiting so long! I hope you enjoy!
I own nothing but my beloved Professor Damien! XD Soul Eater and Fairy Tail belong to their respective creators. :3
"This is where you'll be staying , " Kid said curtly, gesturing to two rooms across from each other.
Natsu whooped and dashed into one of them, Lucy and Happy right behind him and Gray sauntering in.
"Thank you for escorting us to our rooms," Erza said politely. "We appreciate it."
"Oh, it's no trouble," he half-heartedly replied. His mind was somewhere else at the moment.
I was lucky Liz and Patty weren't there... They probably would have been taken away as well.
And how will they react when the y find out they're in a world full of mages? He imagined Black Star going on a killing spree, and accidentally groaned aloud.
"Is something the matter?" the red-head asked, breaking into his thoughts.
Breaking stuff... That's all they're good for, he thought to himself. Though he admitted he started the fight back at his father's room, he didn't see the reason for leaving it a total wreck, even though it already had virtually nothing.
"This entire situation," he muttered. They had it coming anyway... Sporting their strange stamp on only one side of their bodies … It was atrocious.
"I agree. It's quite a mess."
Kid only sighed, putting both his hands on his forehead. Erza gave him one last look before going into the room to check it out herself.
"G-goodness... It's large..." she stuttered. The room was about half the size of their guild, ridiculously big for only two or three people.
"The whole floor is uninhabited. Of course, it was originally built to harbor the students, but seeing as it's impractical since they're rather far away from the classrooms, my father closed off this floor and reserved it for guests. At one point, he had a few walls knocked down, just to reduce the number of rooms."
He watched as Natsu jumped on the bed and started snuggling into the blankets, and Erza promptly throwing him off.
"You and Gray shall take the other room. I like this one," she said in her commanding tone.
"Wha-? Why?" he whined.
Kid sweat-dropped. "If you had bothered to look, they're exactly the same."
But the Queen of Fairies had already claimed her throne, sitting possessively at one of the armchairs instead of taking the bed she had just recently cleared. "Hm, it's quite comfortable. Are all the rooms in the building as quaint as this one?"
"No, not really. Though our school does have better living quarters than others."
"Gray! Put your clothes back on!" Lucy shrieked, hurling his shirt in his face.
"Shit! When did this happen?!"
"You stripped the second you walked into the room."
Kid twitched as he spied the stamp on his chest, to which the Ice Mage ' s response was to cover it, emitting a few laughs from the others.
Are they always this lively? He thought as they shouted at each other.
Heh, they seem to have it easy, he thought bitterly. He, on the other hand, had to go out on missions nearly every day to eliminate monsters that contributed to the increasing of madness.
Madness... I wonder if they had it where they came from.
"Kid, what does this school teach?" Lucy asked, interrupting his thoughts.
He blinked. I can think of such things later. "It's more of a training facility than a school. Over here, we—ah, I guess I'd have to explain everything from scratch. Make yourselves comfortable, this could get long." He took a nearby seat himself, and stiffly rested his hands on his lap. Natsu crawled back to the bed, signaling to Erza that he would leave later, and Lucy, Happy and Gray sat down in random areas of the room.
"In this world, there are humans who can transform into weapons. They come to this school to find a partner, more commonly known as a meister, to wield them. Some meisters are weapons themselves, though most are just regular humans. But there are a few weapons who never find meisters, choosing instead to do partial transformations and fight solo.
"All living beings possess souls, including monsters and other evil beings. The job of a meister and their weapon is to eliminate these monsters, and take their soul in exchange. When a weapon has consumed enough souls, they are ranked as a Death Scythe, to be used by my father, Death himself.
"This school teaches everything a student needs to know about souls, and offers battle-training courses. We also provide missions, jobs students can take to collect more souls. There are many facilities like ours around the world, though they all share the same purpose—to create weapons powerful enough to be used by my father."
They all fell silent, pondering all this new information. Natsu groaned into the pillow—he simply didn't understand a thing—earning him a hard stare from Erza.
"Your old man sounds... special," Gray commented.
Lucy looked at him. "Are you a weapon Kid?"
"No, no... I'm a meister."
"That's a weird way of fighting," Natsu muttered.
Kid scoffed, "Well excuse me, I don't exactly find waving around wands and chanting spells a wonderful way to fight either."
"We do no such thing!" Erza exclaimed, almost angrily.
"Well, some do, but most don't," Lucy added.
"Is that so? Well tell me, how do you use magic?" He was actually quite curious, though he would never say so.
"I use Ice Magic." He watched as Gray put a fist on his palm, and a bow and arrow, both made entirely of ice, appeared out of nowhere. Grinning, he turned it over in his hands, casually throwing the arrow up only to catch it again.
"Isn't that heavy?" he asked. And cold...
Gray raised an eyebrow. "I've lifted things way heavier than this before. Trust me, it's no problem."
...Interesting...
"Bastard! That hurt!" Natsu yelled as Gray chucked the arrow at him, pointed end away of course , hitting his chest and falling to the bed.
"Never mind that, doofus. Just tell him your magic ."
Natsu grumbled, but complied, pointedly melting the arrow in a burst of flames. "I use Fire magic. I'm a Fire Dragon Slayer!" Water dripped onto the bed, and Erza chucked a random lamp at him.
"Fire, hm? No wonder you two don't get along."
"That's what I said!" Lucy squealed.
Magic to slay dragons... It sounds powerful, but is such a thing even possible?
Kid blinked as Natsu smirked, then shot a small jet of flame in Gray's direction, hitting him in the same area the arrow struck him. Gray growled as it left a red mark on his skin, dangerously close to being permanent.
"Did you just... breathe fire?"
The pink-haired teen grinned. "I could do anything I want with fire! Punch with it, kick, fly... And eat it!"
Kid was flabbergasted. "Fly?! Eat?!"
"Well, kind of fly," he corrected. "Like the shooting-up-into-the-air kind of fly. Not dragon fly. But yeah, I can eat it."
"I see." He shook his head. Eating fire, he snorted inwardly. Though he sensed Natsu was telling the truth, he had to see for himself.
He turned to the blonde. "How about you?"
"I use these to summon spirits from another world!" the blonde chirped, holding up a set of keys.
Kid stared. "That doesn't seem all too different from what I said earlier."
"I—well—ah, I suppose not," she blustered. "But I don't like how you say it!"
She said summoning from another world... And earlier Gray said they had been to another world... Just how many are there? Or are they the same?
"Open, Gate of the Dog: Nikora!"
He snapped out of his thoughts to see a... snowman. Small, white, and... perfectly symmetrical!
He rushed over and picked it up, ogling at its perfection. "You! Absolutely perfect! Your symmetry is flawless! Even the way your eyebrows slant is perfect!" he crowed, twirling it around.
Jaws hit the ground. "Plue!" Lucy wailed. What if he gets dizzy?!
Kid held the dog to his chest protectively. "You dare give this beautiful creature such an awful name?! Shame on you!"
She clenched her fists. "It's my spirit! I can name him whatever I want!"
Natsu laughed. "It's weird right?"
"Whose side are you on?!"
"Puuun..."
"How adorable!" he squealed.
"What the hell is this kid?" Gray muttered as Lucy tried to but failed to reclaim her dog. "Wasn't he just all serious earlier?"
"Serious or not, he is still rather young," Erza replied, smiling. "Seeing him so passionate about something... it reminds me of myself."
"..."
"Give him back!"
"I don't want to! He's too perfect for you!"
"Excuse me?!"
She tried to land one of her kicks, but he dodged easily, shocking the others in the room. No one had ever avoided a Lucy Kick, it was known for its unbelievable speed and destructive power! ...Not that she ever tried it on Erza.
A few minutes later, Kid settled down and grudgingly gave Plue back to Lucy, who grabbed him and hugged the creature to her chest protectively. He sat down and cleared his throat. "Forgive me, I got a little... off track."
With the exception of Lucy, they all smiled back, and chorused, "It's fine~!"
"You really shouldn't be so uptight. You'll grow old before your time," Gray added.
"I don't have much of a choice. As the son of Lord Death and a Shinigami, I have to set an example for the other students."
"By rattling off about symmetry?" Gray snorted.
He pouted. "I normally don't behave in such a manner around my peers (no matter how miffed I am about their absolute lack of symmetry). However, as you are older and not students, I'm willing to make an exception."
"I'd like to be though." They all turned to look at Lucy, who reared back slightly from the sudden attention. "I-I mean... It sounds kind of interesting... And I might learn something about going back to our world..."
Kid thought it over. "You do realize you will be scorned for using magic, right?"
"I think it's worth it!" she said defensively. "And it won't really matter that much, I'll always have my friends..."
Scratching his head, he said slowly, "I'll talk to my father about it. The other teachers will have to check you out for themselves, but I believe it can be arranged." He then added, "And you'll be older than most of the students-they're really only around 14."
Erza sighed. "I suppose me attending is out of the question then?"
He glanced over at her, thinking that even though she never said her age outright, she's most certainly a couple years more than 14. "Probably, yes."
"I don't wanna go to school!" Natsu whined.
" Now now Natsu , you don't want the tutoring session I gave you when you were younger to go to waste, do you?" Erza smirked.
His eyes widened in fear in memory of that 'session.' "I'm not wasting it!" he protested. "I read Lucy's books all the time!"
"My novels?!" She gasped. "But... but..."
"So you write novels? That's quite educated of you."
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
He smiled, and got up to leave. "Ah, never mind. Forget I said anything."
Stopping at the doorway, he looked over his shoulder and said, "It's getting rather late, you may want to get some sleep. I'll be sure to have breakfast sent to you in the morning."
"Good night!" they called.
"Wait, Kid!"
He turned around to see Natsu grinning at him mischievously, and replied, "Yes?"
His grin only widened. "Are you strong?"
"...Many people would say that, yes." Of course, he knew his abilities far surpassed most of the students, but he was never one to brag about it.
"We should fight!"
A slow smile spread across his face, but he could only say, "That does sound interesting, but I can't at the moment. My partners aren't with me."
Natsu pouted, and crashed onto the bed. Erza looked dangerously close to flipping the furniture onto the teen.
"Another time," he promised. Why am I promising things to someone older than me? he thought inwardly.
"I'd like to get a round with you too," Gray said.
Erza smiled. "So do I."
He glanced at Lucy, and she quickly said, "I-I'll just watch..."
He smiled again, though this time, it reached his eyes. "I look forward to it." He then proceeded to exiting the room, leaving the others grinning after him.
A few moments after he left, Erza mused, "I never got to show him my magic."
"...Aye..."
...
"KIIIIIIIIIIIID!" Liz wailed, throwing herself on him. Patty quickly came after, and though the weight from the two would be enough to send just about anyone to the ground, he continued standing straight.
"We heard what happened! We're so happy you didn't go to another world!"
Smiling, he said, "I'm happy to see you two are alright as well."
"Hey Kid~ What happened to everyone else?" Patty asked him.
"Well, they're in another world," he said bluntly.
She tilted her head slightly, hat sliding off her blonde locks. Liz quickly moved to push it back before he could throw a fit. "Will they come back?"
"Of course, I'll make sure of that." His voice was edged with confidence, though he knew the chances they could were undetermined. He knew next to nothing about the situation, and just now realized he should have asked the others just what world they came from.
"Anyway, your dad said there's another witch in town," Liz said. "Mind if we take care of it as soon as possible? I'd really like to get home." She wasn't going to say it anytime soon, but the sudden disappearance of her friends really gave her the creeps.
He smiled, sensing her concern. "Of course." He turned on his heels and started down the hall, students automatically clearing the way for him and his weapons. Even though he was now enrolled, he never attended much. But they knew who he was.
Summoning his skateboard, he had Liza and Patty swap to their weapon f orms , the guns smoothly gliding into his hands. Gripping the cold metal, he sped off, determined to remove another threat from this painfully cruel world. But even that didn't extinguish his worry for his comrades. It hung in the back of his mind, a nagging haze.
The guards let him pass without a word, and he busted into the night, eyes set with resolve.
Maka, Black Star… Take care. …
"Hi everyone! I'm home!" Wendy called as she entered. The others hung cautiously behind her, surveying the rowdy crowd. The girl wasn't joking—they really could party.
"Oh, it's Wendy!" someone called.
"Oy Wendy, how was the mission?"
"Welcome home, Wendy!"
At the welcoming cheers, the girl beamed, happiness written in her eyes. Her grin quickly faltered though, as she recalled the mission. "It… was a success," she said quietly. They did manage to defeat the monster, but…
Mirajane turned her head towards the door, and immediately noticed the strangers behind her, a rather obvious crowd the others were somehow oblivious to.
Her mouth settled into a frown as she sensed Wendy's uncertainty. Where were Natsu and the others? He was never one to enter last. In fact, he always came running and screaming into the guild like-
"YAHOO! This is totally my kind of place!" a blue-haired boy obnoxiously yelled. He jumped onto an occupied table, the flimsy furniture on the edge of breaking.
That.
Everyone's jaws dropped, not a single head turned away from loud newcomer. Who the hell was this kid?
The attention didn't faze him in the least though. If anything, it encouraged him. "Hey you!" He rudely pointed a finger at a random guild member, his gaze challenging. "Who am I?!"
Stunned into speechlessness, the man could only move his mouth in a feeble attempt to speak.
"Hell if we should know?!" someone else yelled. "Who do you think you are, king of the world?"
"Nope," Black Star replied, and then snootily added, "King of this goddamn universe! HAHAHAHAHA—HEY! What was that for?!" he shouted as someone whipped a beer jug at him. Blood trickled down his temple.
"B-Black Star!" a young, dark haired woman wailed, anxiously tugging at his arm. "We just met these people! You can't—"
"Wendy? Who are they? Where's Natsu?" someone asked the poor girl.
She flinched, stammering, "U-um…"
But Black Star wasn't done. "That freaking hurt! Looks like I'll have to teach you bastards a lesson!" Holding his palms out, he glanced behind him and snapped, "Tsubaki!"
"No, Black Star!" she protested in exasperation. "Just… just calm down!"
"Wendy?!"
The said girl crouched to the ground, overwhelmed and hopelessly confused. What did happen to her friends? Who were these people?! She didn't know!
Eyes teary, she suddenly thought 'What if I brought bad people here?!'
The barmaid's widened eyes now narrowed in anger. These strangers were most definitely stressing them out, but they had no right to take it out on Wendy. "Hey…" she growled.
No one took notice, now engrossed in the scene before them. The new kid was dangerously close to starting an all-out war in the guild, and though that wasn't new, more important things had to be taken care of. Such as these strangers. She sensed… something dark in them. Something familiar.
The glass shattering in her hands, she shouted, "HEY!"
Now that caught everyone's attention. Mira rarely raised her voice, and when she did, she meant business.
Her form now screaming authority , she impatiently gestured at the blue-haired one and snapped, "You, get down from the table!" The sudden tone caught even him by surprise, and he stumbled off the table and into Tsubaki's arms, who protectively dragged him away.
Turning her head to Wendy, who had calmed down somewhat, she asked, "Are you alright?"
Slowly nodding, she replied shakily, "Y-yes…"
Letting out a slow breath, she smiled and said, "That's good. Go to the emergency room and rest all you need to, we can talk when you're ready."
Sighing in relief, she casted the silver-haired woman a grateful smile before allowing Charle to help her to the designated room.
Her voice now having toned down a few levels , she gave the strangers the kindest smile she could muster, and said, "Please have a seat, you must be tired." She shot Black Star a look that clearly said 'No more funny business,' and Tsubaki ushered him to an empty table. Sticking close to Soul, Maka slowly walked over and sat down as well, averting her gaze from the number of guild members staring at them, the majority doing so in disgust thanks to a certain assassin.
This woman… The female meister thought, as her eyes followed the woman to the bar, who was now preparing something . Maka could tell that she was certainly kind, but at the same time, there was something that told her there was something more.
Trying to look unconscious, she peered at her soul. A bright, pink face smiled at her, cheerful and welcoming. And although she saw the face solely through her mind, she couldn't help but smile back. A beautiful person inside and out. She must certainly be popular here, and the good-natured calls from within the guild towards the bar woman confirmed it.
Maka was just about to focus her sight away from the soul, when suddenly, it turned around slightly.
She almost gasped out loud, for behind all that brightness, was a dark, purple soul, with a jagged scar down one eye. It grinned at her, a grin that felt sickeningly familiar, before it turned back, having only revealed itself for a few seconds.
It unsettled her, to be sure, but she had no time to dwell on it as the woman was heading back to their table. Like the good host she was, the white-haired female soon brought a couple, alcohol-free drinks (aside from the dark haired girl, Mira could guess the others weren't very old) and served them with a smile, before taking a seat herself.
"Well, this should have been said much sooner, but welcome to Fairy Tail!" she chirped, straightening herself. "For the safety of the guild, I hope you don't mind me asking a few things."
"Not at all!" Tsubaki replied fervently, waving her hand in protest. "Really, it's the least we can do after causing you so much trouble."
But who are you? Maka thought, her hands clenched in her lap.
As if reading her mind, she then moved to introduce herself, "I'm Mirajane, a member of this guild as well as the poster girl and the everyday manager of these crazy fools," she added jokingly.
The others introduced themselves in turn, taking sips of their drink as they went along. After they were politely acquainted and somewhat comfortable, Mira pondered where to start; there were many things she was wondering after all and finally made up her mind.
"Where are you from?" she asked, trying not to sound rude.
They exchanged glances, before Soul (whom Mira noted reminded her of Gray) spoke, "Death City, Nevada. We heard a little from the little blue-haired girl—Wendy, was it?—it doesn't sound like it's anywhere near here."
"Well, I haven't heard of it," she mused. Before she retired, the mage had been to a good many cities and towns, even across the sea. She was, after all, an S-Class Mage. S-Class missions usually meant travelling. But throughout all her travels, she hadn't so much heard a wisp of that name.
Death City…. She thought, before switching gears. "How about you? Why are you here?"
Before Black Star could so much as mouth 'assassination,' he was quickly taken out by a certain bookworm. "We don't know," Maka replied cautiously, indifferent to the bloody mess. "We were at our school, and the next thing we knew, we were in a forest near here. In all honesty, we're not even exactly sure where 'here' is."
"Is that so…" Mira laced her fingers together and propped her elbows on the table, resting her chin on her hands. Ah well, might as well give them a turn. Despite all the mystery that surrounded them, there weren't any more particular things she could ask. She could ask about where they came from, but a long answer like that requires energy, and she could see they were quite low on that right now. "Alright, I'm all set for now. Would you like a rest? Or I could answer a few things before I send you up to our rooms." She could find about what they don't know in this way. It might be useful.
The others fell silent. Technically, they already knew where they were, if only by name. And they were aware that for some reason, they were drained, despite having done little more than walk a few miles.
After a few moments, Maka asked slowly, "What is magic?" What was magic? Where did it come from? Why could so many people use it? Why were people who could use it all gathered in one place? Wouldn't the nine-tenths remaining of the population who couldn't use magic be afraid of attacks?
And why were souls here so strange?
The older woman absently traced cracks in the table with her finger. "Magic, huh?" What a broad question. Could she really explain that? After all, magic was just a force in this world. Even though it's such a large part in their lives, few words could give it justice.
Honestly, Master would do a much better job with this… She sighed, and then gathered her thoughts before carefully replying;
"Magic is our lifeline. When we run out of magic, our lives end with it. As we run out of magic, our bodies get weaker. Technically, this only applies to mages, people who are capable of using their magic. Everyone possesses magic but only one-tenth of our population can manifest it. However, indirectly, it applies to non-mages as well."
Taking out her light magic pen, she walked over to stand behind them, and drew a rough diagram of the Magic Council and the guild s, as well as the dark guilds. Noticing their amazed gazes, she merely smiled and continued, "Even though guilds mainly exist to help the common people with simple jobs, such as finding something or disposing of bandits or whatnot, many other threats exist that mages are obliged to fight against, should the need ever arise. There are plenty of monsters; if they aren't taken out, there's a chance they could endanger everyone. Some monsters are intelligent enough to attack in groups."
Mirajane pointed to the small cluster of dark guilds she drew on the right. "There are also dark guilds, groups of mages who perform selfish jobs for other people for money, such as killing non-criminals or dealing with illegal products. Though we mostly leave them to the higher-ups, if they become troublesome, we're called upon to take them out." Finishing up her chart of the dark guilds, she pointed back to the council. "This is the top dog, the Magic Council. Most guilds that aren't dark guilds work under them. The ones who don't are Independent Guilds, but they're not important so don't worry," she said cheerfully.
She just dismissed them! They all thought, slightly incredulous. By now, it was quite difficult for them to follow along. Black Star was still knocked out and Soul was on the verge of falling asleep. Tsubaki was politely listening, but she had gotten lost quite a while ago. Not surprisingly, only Maka was still undeterred, engrossed in the diagram and the explanation.
"Hm… I believe I'm getting a bit off topic," she realized, tapping her lip with the pen. "Well, it's under this system that we use magic to help other people. We get missions and requests from the council, and if the job is too big, we ask other guilds for help." Finished with the diagram, she tapped it with the back of the pen, and the light marks faded. "Does that help at all?"
Maka slowly nodded. She understood some of what magic was, what it was for and why such a power was tolerated, but still… "What is magic though? Where does it come from?"
My my, she's a curious one. She mused . What would Master say?
"It's the manifestation of feelings. Someone's heart," she said simply, throwing Maka into confusion. In a way, it was true. Such a thing shouldn't be possible, but for members of Fairy Tail, the power of their will, the will to protect each other, would often give them just enough strength to get the job done. Magic is an immeasurable, unchangeable force.
"That's enough for today," Mira said kindly, but firmly. It wouldn't do for their guests to be sleeping at tables, and she was tired of constantly speaking herself . "Ah, but one last thing…" Staring them straight in the eyes, she said in almost a low growl, "Will you attempt to attack us?"
"No," the two women responded, as well as Soul, whom Maka roughly elbowed and forced a half-hearted 'Huh? Yeah,' from the teen.
The bubbly smile returned to her face. "That's good." She collected their empty glasses to carry to the sink, and said, "I'll lead you to your rooms for tonight. Please sit tight for a bit."
"Okay~" they responded. They sat silently, collecting their thoughts while trying to restrain potential headaches coming up. Really, this was all a bit much to handle within a few hours.
"M-Maka?" Tsubaki whispered. When the addressed person turned to look at her, she asked pleadingly, "Would you mind at all sleeping with Soul tonight? I know this is really selfish of me, but I really don't want to be separated from Black Star here."
Maka blinked, and then replied, "Sure." It wasn't anything new, after all. To save money, she and Soul often slept in the same room. Hell, they lived together. Besides, she could understand Tsubaki's fears; they were in a place full of strangers, and she was Black Star's weapon. If they needed to fight their way out, there might not be enough time to meet up and switch places. Remembering that her partner was dozing off, she quickly hit him awake. There was no way she's carrying him.
As promised, within minutes Mirajane returned, gesturing towards the stairs on the far side of the room. A questioning look crossed her face at their meister-weapon pairing, but she quickly recalled it. It wasn't her business who was with who, though being the matchmaker she was, she was curious. Alas, now was not the time. She wouldn't be surprised if they fell asleep on the spot, with the way they were walking.
Mirajane gently took Tsubaki by the arm, who was carrying the sleeping Black Star as if he weighed nothing. And Maka and Soul knew otherwise, he ate the most out of them. "There's a room this way, I'll show you where." The white haired woman turned to the other two, and said, "If you don't want to wait for me, the other room is just down the hall. It's a bit of a walk, but keep going until you reach the second door on the right, it should be unlocked." She smiled, and then continued leading the other pair down the opposite end.
"We'll just go ahead, thank you," Maka called out. A small wave responded before the dark hall engulfed her completely.
Sighing, she began trudging down the hall as the directions stated, finally feeling the effects of today's events in her limbs. "It's a bit of a walk, eh?" she muttered to no one in particular. As things are , the floor seemed preferable to taking another step.
"Hang tight, it's probably almost there." Soul yawned.
Maka suddenly stumbled, and Soul snapped out of his daze to catch her before she hit the ground. "Hey, are you alright? Are you that tired?"
"No, that's not it…" she mumbled, trying but failing to get up. "My head, it's hurting…"
Stein shifted the bag on his shoulder, stiff from the constant weight. Combined with the walking, the expedition was actually quite tiresome. He glanced at the academy behind him and grinned before resuming his course.
Despite the fact that Lord Death had asked him to visit this professor with the kids, he couldn't bring himself to wait. And he knew from Kid that the others were asleep.
It's been a while since anything excited him like this. A person, who traveled between worlds and made it back home… It excited him greatly. Perhaps they didn't make it back unscathed, but the Shinigami hadn't made any particular remarks about his health, so nothing shocking must have happened. And the location was actually quite nearer than he originally thought. Though outside the city, it was only half an hour's walk. He could bring the kids there any time he wanted.
Once upon a time, he had researched such travel, going in between worlds. None of his experiments ever made it back though, much less in one piece, and even he grew tired of failing. Dissecting was far more interesting anyhow. For someone to have done a successful travel in his lifetime, waiting another second seemed too much to ask.
Through the dark, he trudged on, eventually pulling out a cigarette to help kill his boredom. The moon grinned as red streamed from his teeth. Hm, how lovely… he mused.
Before he knew it, he reached his destination, a sand dune that stretched far above his head. Nonchalantly, he pulled the note of instructions from his pocket and muttered them as he completed the steps. "Lessee… draw a square, then a star, line across the middle…" He looked up as rumbles sounded from beneath his hand, and pulled away to see a button. "Press the button with your fourth finger… Hm, is this really necessary?" He stared at his hand, now a finger short. Just a few nights before he had performed an experiment on his hand and never got a chance to sew it back on, thanks to a certain interrupting red-headed meister.
"Could this really even be called my fourth finger anymore?" he droned thoughtfully. After a few moments of thinking, he then pulled out his other hand, still whole and functioning. "Ah, well. Can't be helped."
He completed the instructions, and sand fell away from the dune to reveal a doorway, behind which unraveled stairs that descended into the dark unknown. Grinning, he took out a flashlight and walked down the stairs, already aware that there weren't any railings to hold on to. His footsteps echoed back to his ears, and he twisted the screw in his temple to block out some of the noise.
What a quaint place this is… He thought, eyes flickering to the unlit torches hung on the walls. Within a few minutes, he finally reached a door, solidly made of metal. How this man managed to make this place under a pile of sand baffled him. He knocked a few times, and was responded with, "Who goes there?"
Who even says that in this day and age? He snickered through his cigarette. How long has he been in Edolas? "Professor Stein, acquaintance of Lord Death. He told me your location, among other things. Care to let me in?"
After a few seconds, the door slowly opened, revealing a man who appeared to be in his late forties, standing of equal height to himself. "Come in," he said in a welcome tone. "A friend of Lord Death is a friend of mine."
He quietly entered the small room with a gracious nod, scattered with papers and writing utensils wherever you look. He was led to a small sofa on the far side of the room, and a cup of coffee was handed to him. "Ah, thank you."
"Not a problem." The man pulled a chair for himself, and sat at a desk away from the sofa. "Lord Death actually funded much of my research, so while nothing compared to how he's helped me, it's the least I can do. Professor Stein, was it? I'm Professor Damien, it's a pleasure to meet you."
"Pleasure's all mine," he responded in kind, slowly sipping at the coffee. It wasn't bad at all.
"I assume you're here about my trip to Edolas?" Damien asked, jumping straight to the point.
"Well, you're a sharp one. Indeed I am," he droned. "I have a few questions about it. An… interesting bunch showed up at the academy, they could be related to that world."
Damien turned in surprise. "People from Edolas?!"
He lazily glanced at him. "According to Lord Death, it's possible but unlikely. They have a ton of magic about them, enough to easily rival a witch's." He set down the cup and leaned into the sofa. "Unfortunately, our students got swapped in their place, so we have no choice to help them get back." It would have been nice to dissect them… He thought ruefully. "Even if they aren't from Edolas, travel between worlds is virtually unheard of, so any information from you, someone who actually managed it, would be appreciated."
He turned back, and began writing things down. "Well, you're right to ask me. Even if they aren't from Edolas, it undoubtedly has something to do with their world. After all…" He stopped for a second to look at him, and said, "Edolas is the Gateway between worlds."
Stein blinked, and leaned forward. "Is that so?"
"I speak nothing but the truth. You're already aware that Edolas is this world's counterpart, correct?"
"I am," he replied. It was in multiple texts in the library.
"After doing more research there, I found out that it's every world's counterpart. It has no magic, weapons, meisters, or anything of the sort. Nothing but limited, though growing technology. There, the counterparts of ourselves live there, living life but in a way different from ours." Returning to his scribbling, Damien continued, "It's where all worlds converge. But it's a terrible place to be in, if you weren't originally from there."
Stein raised an eyebrow. "Did something happen while you were over there?"
"Indeed, but it's the same everywhere. Go to world you weren't born in, your body will experience side effects. The gravitational pull, the distance from other celestial objects, these factors shape the world and therefore its inhabitants and their bodies. Throw them anywhere else, something will go wrong." Damien chuckled drily. "Me going to Edolas was no different. After a few days on it, I was struck with insanity. I couldn't think or live or behave properly a couple days, and felt disconnected from my mind and soul. I believe you refer to it as… madness." He recalled. "I don't research madness, so I don't know its particulars, but I believe that everyone has a bit of it inside them. It gets pulled out when near demons, does it not?"
"…That's right," he replied.
"Well, after it went away, I found out there were monsters in Edolas too, monsters that could use magic."
Stein looked up. "Weren't you the one who said magic didn't exist there?"
"As far as the people of Edolas know, it doesn't. Apparently the king had decided that magic will only corrupt them, and completely wiped it off their land. The people have no access to it. But the monsters still have a bit of them in it, and I only realized later that I was spending nights quite near them. And that's when I realized, magic draws out madness."
"Magic draws out madness…" he repeated. Interesting theory. Did it apply to this world as well? He always felt a little off when fighting witches, but it didn't seem to have any effect on the kids.
"Well, that's my conclusion. I would have liked to investigate it more, but my body had already become accustomed to it so it was impossible." Damien got up to get another cup of coffee, refilling his as well. "I also figured out that the more soul-perceptive you are, the more quickly and longer lasting madness hits you. I haven't an ounce of soul perception, so mine came and went quickly. My partner, on the other hand, who was a meister and a scientist, got it within a few hours and died of starvation. When you're insane, food's the last thing on your mind," he said bitterly. "I couldn't do a thing to stop him. I had no weapons or any idea of how to use one."
"That's a shame. You have my sympathies," Stein commented.
The other professor smirked. "I could say otherwise, but thank you nonetheless. The words are appreciated." He turned back around. "You get used to the different atmosphere eventually, but the first week or so there is absolute hell. Edolas doesn't have much magic there, so that probably contributed to why I snapped back to my senses so quickly. If it had more magic it probably would have been worse." Finally done taking his notes, he leaned back into his chair, head turned up towards the ceiling. "If people from this world went there… it's the meister that would get hit first."
Maka's whimpers were on the verge of becoming screams, as she curled up on the ground, cradling her head. "It hurts… It hurts!"
Her weapon's alarmed cries were getting even more frantic. What the hell was going on?! "What's wrong?! Hang in there!" He felt nothing but fear at the moment, fear and helplessness because he had absolutely no idea what to do.
Suddenly, she stopped, and Soul let out a relieved sigh. "That's good. Are you better?"
Her eyes shadowed by her bangs, she slowly sat up. "Hey, Soul, did ya' know?"
The said person could only blink. "Huh?"
Finally she turned to him, wearing a crazed expression and grinning madly. "My blood is black."
Thanks a ton for reading! I hope you liked it. :) If I can get enough inspiration, I'll TRY to update again before my vacation's over, but chances are I won't be able to get it up before then. cries.
I'll try to make a habit of writing out my progress on my profile, so if you'd like to see what I'm working on or how far I am on the next chapter, feel free to drop by!
Thanks again, you're all the best! I'd love to hear your thoughts, so please leave a review on your way out! :D Until next time!
