Episode 2: Soul! Will doors enslave us all?
"How have you been doing?" Maka asked.
She and Crona were sitting on the bed. She was seated at the side, while her friend leaned against the headboard. Fortunately, it was high noon. The Panting Sun was directly above Shibusen, so its rays couldn't enter through Crona's window. It seemed that Maka was the bringer of good tidings. The room temperature cooled down to a normal 22 degrees. The smelly walls didn't stink at all. However, something was still missing.
"Where's Ragnarok? Shouldn't he be talking trash right about now?" she asked. Crona was depressed. She couldn't look at Maka directly; it was only until the latter gave her a comforting hand.
"He's gone. And I don't know how to deal with…" she was hardly able to finish her sentence when the tears came. Then, she hugged her knees and buried her face in them. What does she mean by gone? Did that freaky little midget just disappear? Maka didn't understand the situation, and she felt helpless. Her friend was greatly upset over something and the only thing she could do was to console her as best as she could.
Meanwhile, outside the room, Soul had just regained consciousness. He got up in a daze. His nose and lips were numb. He gently touched them and a sharp pain made him flinch.
"Ouch! What the heck?" he discovered some blood on his fingers. His nose was bleeding alright, but to what extent? The metallic door that did this to him appeared to feel sorry as it began to reflect his cool image.
'What's this? Some kind of peace offering?' he thought. Well, it couldn't hurt to check. It was a bit blurry, though. This was likely because the only light source in that place were the candles on the walls. Regardless, he was determined to look at himself in this makeshift mirror.
"Looks like it isn't that bad," he was relieved. The damage to his nose was only minor, a small stream of blood and not a river. This kind of wound was easily correctable with a few cotton balls lodged up the nostrils. "You're not so bad," he chuckled, patting the door.
"Soul!" the metal door violently swung open and hit him in the face…again. Who knew the door could open both ways?
"Hey, can you help me-" Maka stopped to find her partner lying on the floor, twitching in agony. There was major nosebleed action on his face. It was like Niagara Falls but only red. "Whoa, you don't look so good there," was her response. "Um, maybe you should head up to the clinic and have that checked out, okay?" she said with a wry smile.
Soul was barely able to raise a thumbs up, "O-kay," before passing out. Maka slowly closed the door so as not to disturb him anymore.
"Poor Soul…He's having his own problems right now. He shouldn't be bothered," she sighed.
"Is he alright?" murmured Crona.
"Soul's fine. He's just goofing around," she put on a happy face to lighten the mood, "Say Crona, would you like to play a little game with me?" she smiled.
Meanwhile, outside, Soul was still unconscious. It took some time before he was able to come to. But by then, his nosebleed had clogged up. The blood on his face had dried up and he only needed to wipe it off.
"What happened?" he composed himself. There was some giggling and laughing coming from Crona's room. He dared not to check it out for fear of the swinging metallic wrath of the evil cursed door, which he suspected to be waiting for another hapless victim to get closer…then BAM!!! A truly diabolic plan hatched by only the darkest of minds. Beware of doors! They may rise up one day and enslave us all! The thought crossed his mind.
Anyway, they were probably doing some girly stuff like dressing up or doing each other's hair. These were things a "cool" guy shouldn't get involved with, so he decided to leave them alone and went to visit the clinic.
An eerie silence met him at the third floor. The hallways that should have been packed with bustling students were now void of life.
"I have a bad feeling about this," he said as he made his way through the empty hallways. At the upper floors, he passed by rows and rows of empty classrooms before reaching the clinic. No surprise, it was empty. From out of the blue, music began playing through the intercom. Then, the sound of the cheering masses echoed throughout the hallway. He recognized the music and knew where the cheering came from.
"Is there a fight?" he thought upon reaching the terrace. Sid, Nygus, and a whole bunch of students were watching something…
"Deadly Black Star Big Wave!!!" Black Star's voice was heard. He got closer and found his best friend fighting Blair while the crowds of students cheered them on.
"What's happening?" he asked Sid.
"It's a test battle between Black Star and that person," he replied, "but now, it's turning into something else." As he said this, Black Star got kicked in the face and was sent flying towards his partner.
At the same time, Maka and Crona had just left the room and were heading towards the third floor. The latter had changed into a more casual look with flip-flops, blue jeans, and a white T-shirt with the logo of certain yellow sponge. She did this because her dark robe was soaked in tears.
"Where are we going?" she mumbled, clinging on to Maka's arm.
"You'll see," she said. After they got to the third floor, they were puzzled with the loud music and the absence of students. With her Soul Perception ability, Maka led the way towards the school entrance where all the souls gathered.
"What's going on here?" she was surprised. Near the stone steps, Black Star was standing over Blair with his partner in hand. Tsubaki was in Fey Blade Mode. Blair was bleeding from several cuts on her limbs and body, but she still managed to grin.
Silence has once again swept through the school. The music had finished playing and the students stopped cheering. Everyone including Stein, the Death Scythes, and the Shinigami watched for what was going to happen next.
Black Star raised Tsubaki into the air for the finishing blow.