A/N: How lovely to see you again. Please enjoy.
Disclaimer: Deja owns nothing! Except Sobek. He's mine!
Ever so quietly, Stein crept around the lower roof of Bran castle, with Spirit in hand, sensing around carefully to accurately determine the number of witch souls. Maka, Kid, and Black Star, guarding the perimeter, weapons at the ready. Completing his search, the professor nimbly flipped off of the roof, landing before his students to report his findings. "I've picked up twenty kishin souls and six witch souls, besides the werewolf, within the castle, five of them being seductive and clever and the sixth one being more needy and docile," he informed the three meisters whilst he lit a new cigarette. Twisting the screw in his head back five turns. "I'm guessing they could be the Mizune sisters and the frog woman that worked under Medusa with the immortal werewolf."
"I thought Medusa was dead," Soul began as his face was shown in the blade of his scythe form. "What would her minions be doing here?"
"I don't know." Stein confessed. Fingering his cigarette, he exhaled a puff of smoke in the usual shape of a skull. "But whatever it is, we must quickly find out what they're doing and put a stop to it and collect those kishin souls."
"And why the hell did Lord Death want you two geezers to come along again?" Black Star piped up, getting Stein's attention and making Spirit fume angrily. "We're not babies, you know."
"If you actually listened to your superiors, you would remember that my father warned us that it was dangerous here." Kid rolled his eyes at the assassin.
"Pfft, danger schmanger! We just defeated the kishin and I surpassed God and a cumulonimbus! As long as I'm here, this is the safest place on earth!" Black Star shouted confidently, laughing loudly in Kid's face, only to be quickly silenced by Stein's pale hand, covering his mouth.
"I think they heard us." he hissed, guarding with Spirit. And he was correct as the aforementioned kishin souls appeared in his and Maka's peripheral view.
"They're here!" Maka warned, snapping her friends to attention as multiple armed humans, in prison garb, appeared from the bushes.
"You kids, take care the kishin souls!" Stein ordered, taking a fighting stance as five Mizunes took flight above him. "I'll handle the witches." And with that, he took off on a run toward the castle, dodging as the closest Mizune dived forward, shooting whisker beams at his feet. Two other Mizunes quickly flew overhead, dropping bombs down below, which he deflected, twirling Spirit skillfully in hand and bringing his staff down hard upon the ground, using Experimental Ectoplasm.
"Oh dear, it's raining!" the spirit body cried dramatically as the tadpole-like bombs burst against it's stitch covered skin, creating a huge cloud of smoke that blocked Stein's vision. The other three Mizunes joined into a girl of her late teens and sneaked around behind him. Coughing and waving a hand before his face, Stein strained his watering eyes to locate his opponents.
"Stein! Look out!" Spirit cried, still in the ground, as his nose spontaneously bled, spotting the joined Mizunes behind his partner.
The meister whipped around to face the witch, but was met with whisker beams, breezing his shoulders by mere centimeters, and the other two Mizunes shot near his feet, blowing him back more. Disoriented, he stumbled a little through the remaining smoke, but quickly retrieved Spirit to steady himself. Regaining his balance, he swung the heavy scythe at the combined witches, who nimbly dodged his attack and returned with a sharp kick to his back.
Maka had already taken out five kishin eggs when she heard Stein's pained gasp at the blow combined Mizune had delivered him. "Professor Stein!" she cried in concern, briefly distracting Mizune before she could use whisker beams on Stein.
Taking advantage of that moment, Stein rushed the confused witch, charging electric currents in his palms. "Twin spears!" he shouted, striking Mizune's side. Throwing her back ten feet by the sheer force of his blow. Then suddenly, he noticed their odd attack patterns. They weren't trying to finish him off. Why were they doing that? Were they trying to lead him into something? Or were they just- Wait. The werewolf! Gasping in realization, he quickly looked toward the castle again. Only to find the immortal man and Eruka Frog, standing atop the highest towers of the castle, quickly joined by the five Mizunes, aiding him for his spell.
"Wolf wolves! Wolf wolves!" Free shouted mightily with magic sparking off his claws. Forming a large green sphere around his target. "Hey, thanks for your help, girls. I owe you one."
"Professor!" Kid and Black Star looked up from their attacks at Maka's desperate cry, noticing the magic going on before the large castle. Eyes wide, they rushed to her side.
Growling almost savagely, Kid whipped out his glowing twin pistols, spikes appearing on his shoulders. "Resonance: stable." Liz informed. "Noise: at zero point two percent."
"Black needle soul wavelength: fully charged." Patty cheered joyfully.
"Feedback: in four seconds." Liz stated. "Three."
"Two."
"One."
"Ready to fire!" Patty giggled.
"Death cannon!" Kid shouted, aiming his weapons towards the wolf-man. "Die!" he roared furiously, opening fire upon his own target.
"I don't think so, boy!" the five Mizunes retorted, now joined together, forming a mouse-like shield to protect the man with the magic eye.
Confused and becoming more panicked by the second, Stein swung his weapon at the prison-like barrier, then trying to break through with the staff of the scythe.
"Ribbit ribbit, I'll take that, dear." Eruka said sinisterly, throwing two miniature tadpole bombs directly at the professor. Knocking Spirit right out of his hands as he tried to use Witch Hunter. "Didn't your mommy tell you you shouldn't play with death scythes?"
"Clock create!" Free shouted as two large clocks appeared in the sphere, one under Stein's feet and the other on top of the barrier. "Stuck in time!" and before Stein could dodge, he was stopped as the first clock's minute and second hands shot up and seized him by his wrists, yanking him roughly down on his back.
"Damn it!" Stein yelled, trying to struggle before the hour hand wrapped itself tightly around his waist, like a snake, holding him completely still.
"Tempus reversal!" Free then thundered, causing the massive hands of the second clock to turn backwards on his command.
"Hey! Stein, what's going on?!" Spirit returned to human form, now outside the barrier as Stein shouted and actually began to shrink.
Feeling his body begin to grow smaller inside his clothes, Stein panicked and thrashed harder against his restraints. 'What the hell is happening?!'
"Stop it!" Maka shrieked before a black and blue blur shot past her.
"In case you didn't know, that four-eyed freak of nature just happens to be my four-eyed freak of nature!" Black Star screamed, leaping onto the castle roof with Tsubaki in shuriken mode. "Shadow Star! Leaf of the Moonlit Night!" he shouted, throwing the now dark shuriken with all his might.
"Whoa! What the hell?!" Free yelled when the deadly weapon knocked him from his perch on the roof as Eruka and Mizune weren't able to shield him from the attack.
With the spell disrupted, Maka, Kid, and Spirit charged forward to the professor's side as the barrier and restraints dissipated around him. But what they found was completely unexpected, shocking all three of them.
Stein's POV
'Damn witches.' Slowly sitting up, I rubbed my sore temple and reached to twist my screw a few times as I couldn't figure out what was going on, only to have my hand meet the side of my hair, in the place of my screw. Not a scar nor screw in sight. With eyes wide in shock, I suddenly noticed that my stitched lab coat and shirt now fit very baggy on my pale body. Frantically looked around, I spotted Spirit, Maka, and Kid, standing over me with bewildered expressions. Soon enough, Patricia and Elizabeth returned to human form. Both girls stared curiously at me, leaning down with their palms on their knees to examine my face as I tried to keep my brown and gray shirt from slipping down my shoulders.
"Maka, what happened?" I questioned seriously, finally finding my voice, though it was not my voice. I sounded like my younger self when he visited me in my nightmares. Blushing, I covered my mouth, blinking with irritation as Patricia smiled brightly and clasped her hands delightedly.
"Awww, he's all adorable now!" she cheered, tossing her fists in the air.
Rolling my olive eyes, I pushed my glasses up as they slipped, though my hand was now hidden in the recesses of my lab coat sleeve. Looking up at Maka again, I questioned once more. "Well?"
She jumped a little, but quickly straightened herself, "I think the wolf-man made you younger, professor." Maka replied, turning her scythe in hand so the blade showed my reflection. "You look like you're nearly four years old now." she released Soul as he transformed, laughing his head off.
"Oh man! Of all the spells they could've done, they just had to choose this one! That's a great look for you, professor! Ahahaha!" he laughed before Maka scrambled his brains with her deadly 'Maka chop'.
"This is not the time to be laughing!" she shouted in his ear.
Turning my head at the sound of loud breathing, I carefully stood up and picked up my discarded screw, holding onto my coat and shirt for coverage as my pants slipped right off. Luckily my shirt now nearly came to my knees with my extreme loss of weight and height. But, of course, Spirit burst out laughing as well. "Not funny, Spirit."
"Whatcha gonna do about it, shorty?" he cooed smugly, standing tall over me, much like he did when we were kids.
"Shut up." I grumbled, irritated by the whole thing.
"Aww, not so tough now, aren't you, Stein?" he continued mocking me. Getting in my face, he patted my head in a rough fashion. "You can't scare me anymore now. How do you like that, Stein?"
Not amused, I raised my screw in both hands and brought it down hard on his head. Effectively knocking him out and ridding his face of that sickeningly smug grin. My smirk returning, I stuffed the screw into my pocket and looked up as Black Star returned. Leaping off of the castle roof right in front of us as Spirit bled on the dirt.
"Fear not, people! For I, the mighty Black Star, scared off those lame witches and werewolf, because I'm way too big a guy for them to handle!" he announced proudly before noticing me. "Whoa! Who's this little kid? Why does he look like the nutty professor? And why the hell doesn't he have any pants?" Black Star asked, getting down on one knee in front of me as Tsubaki transformed to stand beside him.
"Where is the professor anyway?" she asked, looking around.
"That is the professor." Soul answered, getting back off the ground.
Third POV
"Say what?!" Black star howled with laughter as he snatched Stein up by the back of his lab coat. "You mean this is what that spell was for?! He's so cute! Now I'm the biggest star, literally!"
Unable to harm students, Stein ignored the boy's laughter, pulling the bottom of his shirt down to better cover his legs before Maka knocked Black Star out with her book, catching the little professor with her other arm as Black Star fell to the ground.
"We should report to Lord Death." Stein stated flatly as Maka held him, under his bottom, to her chest.
Soon Patty bounced over, smiling with her arms out stretched. "I wanna hold him too!" she declared happily as Maka handed the not-so-happy professor to the excited teen. With a squeal of delight, she cradled the silver-haired boy in her arms, hugging him tightly and nuzzling his cheek with her's as he tried squirm out of her grip. Nearly suffocating when she squeezed his face to her ample bosom, he panted for much needed oxygen. Though doubtful that she realized his struggle for freedom and breath. "Awww, who's the cutest professor in the whole wide world? Huh, is it you? Is it you?" she giggled in a babyish voice that made Stein throw up in his mouth a little.
"Excuse me, Mish Thompson?" his voice skewed as she merrily pinched his right cheek, shaking his face a little with it. "Could you pwease puth me thown now?" he growled at the close contact, pushing her face away and rubbing his offended cheek, half tempted to use Soul Menace.
"Yeah Patty, he doesn't like it." Liz agreed, putting her hands on her hips. "You might wanna put him down before he decides he wants to dissect you."
"Aww, is the poor doctor Stein getting all cranky?" Soul cooed mockingly, snickering along with Black Star. Kid remained silent, but pressed a hand to his mouth to stifle his bubbling laughter.
"Maybe he just wants a bedtime story before he has to be tucked up for a nap." Black Star laughed in the same tone, making Soul and Kid laugh harder as their dear little professor's cheeks turned crimson. Three Maka chops later, the boys shut up and Patty reluctantly set Stein back on the ground.
"Thank you." he muttered as he sat down. Grabbing the cargo pants he wore earlier, he pulled a pair of scissors and a needle and thread out of his coat pocket. Having several of the same thing, this one pair wouldn't be missed at all. After several snips and a lot of needle-work, he made them into a little pair of shorts. Satisfied, he pulled them on and stood up straight again. "Alright, let's go, shall we?" but as he started walking, Patty quickly came and took his hand to walk with him.
"Liz, take his other hand so he's not asymmetrical!" Kid quickly ordered, pointing harshly at them.
"Ugh, fine whatever." the older girl rolled her eyes. Rushing to the little professor's right side, she reached down and took his hand as commanded.
Sighing irritatedly, Stein continued walking, hand in hand with the two girls, as Kid, Black Star, Maka, and Soul followed, leaving Spirit behind. This is why he didn't want any kids.
A/N: Adorable, Stein. See you next time, please review. Best of love.
