Well thanks to the few lovely reviews I received (Shout outs to NickyRockit for being the first to review, NutCracker1911, BlacklegBalo and darkanimebabe23. I really appreciate the kind words) I was encouraged to present you all with chapter two.
A Fight in the Underground: Will our Heroes Prevail?
Maka's POV
The interior of the temple wasn't very impressive, though I'm not sure what more I was expecting really. I only had Arachne's hideout to compare it to and even then I hadn't gone inside, more in favor of going after Crona and Miss Marie when they when on their self appointed mission to go and take back Professor Stein from Medusa. I had only been able to catch a distant glimpse of Baba Yaga's Castle from where Soul and I had separated from Black*Star, but from what little I did manage to see I had to admit it was something to look at. Well as far as weird spider shaped castles go.
The walls, ceilings and floors of the temple were made of the same thick grey stone as the outside that was rough and course to the touch. Our shoes made soft, but definitely audible scuffing noises with each step.
The air was stale and full of dust that made me scrunch up my noise as the smell assaulted my senses, but that was to be expected of any place that had been hidden underground for so many centuries. It was also pitch black in here; the darkness growing thicker the farther in we seemed to go.
"Man, only five seconds in and this place is already givin, me the creeps," Liz whimper.
We all knew of her irrational fear of anything ghoulish or terror inducing, which in retrospect was a bit ironic if you think about it, seeing as she was the weapon partner of a grim reaper.
So technically just from that fact alone Kid would fit the description of ghoulish and terrifying quite well. But she clearly felt no fear towards him, if all the times she got angry at him for his symmetry fits were anything to by.
I suppose that was the beauty of knowing and living with someone for so long. Their friendship was what allowed Liz to get passed her fear, if only somewhat, but hey baby steps. It was obvious that to her and Patti, Kid was like another sibling, a brother that may get on their nerves from time to time buy was no less important to them.
Liz continued to rant about all the horribly scary things that could be down here. Patti being no help whatsoever, only further freaked her sister out by adding to her ever-growing list and thought it would be a great idea to adding a soundtrack for the more frightful suggestions. While it was left to Kid to try in vain to simultaneously calm Liz and scold Patti for making it worse.
'This probably makes Halloween a living nightmare for her', I thought, as I couldn't stop an amused smile from slipping on my face. In the back of my mind I could feel Soul give an amused grin of his own through our resonance, 'no kidding.'
We had reached the end of the entrance hall and had begun to descend down a long flight of stairs, Kid and I going down slowly and carefully to ensure that neither of us fell. The darkness had made it impossible to see the bottom, and made us feel as if we were walking into the abyss. Never to be seen again.
We had yet to come across Black*Star and Tsubaki, I was beginning to worry about them.
"Damn, how far was Black*Star able to get in this darkness?" He must have finally managed to settle his two weapons down, "I can't even see my hand in front of my—"
But Kid was cut off by the sudden lighting of torches that we hadn't noticed were nailed to the walls; and while I was grateful for being able to see where I was going this now had my meister's instincts on high alters.
"I don't like this," I could feel the little hairs on the back of my neck tingling.
If the torches were able to light themselves that meant we were right to assume that traps had been set and they had enough magic left in them to activate. 'But Black*Star came in before us, so shouldn't that mean these torches should have already been lit when we got here? Whatever was going on I really didn't like it'
"Maka," Soul didn't need to finish. I was already extending my soul perception outwards, eyes closed and my brow scrunched as I focused.
"The magic is definitely getting stronger," I push my senses farther, deeper underground.
"Whatever power this place was able to syphon off from the Kishin's madness seems to be concentrated much farther down in what looks like…"
I scrunched my eyes tighter as the mixture of magic and madness appeared to be scattered all over the inside of the temple, covering everything in a cloud-like hazy that tried to block my sight, "the last chamber."
"That much I can sense as well, but I can't sense Black*Star," I felt the presence of his eyes turn to me, but I kept my own closed.
I understood the silent question in Kid's stare and focused my soul perception once more, this time narrowing my search to find the familiar soul Black*Star.
It took a few moments as the hazy was denser than expected, but surely enough I was able to get glimpse of our friend's soul before locking onto it like a homing beacon.
"Gotcha," I allowed myself a smile at my little accomplishment, until I noticed…
His soul was moving at a steady pace, then stopped…
Right at the threshold of the last chamber… What a buffoon.
I face-palmed for the second time that day, "I swear, that idiot is going to be the death of himself and me."
"Let me guess… he's already at the end where most likely there will be an enemy waiting?"
"Bingo"
"WAS HIS NAME-O. B-I-N-G-O. B-I-N-G-O. B-I-N-G-O…"
"Well, we may as well hurry before he ends up either in over his head or destroying whatever is worth us coming here to get in the first place."
Together raced down the endless steps, far less afraid of falling now that we could see. The unlit torches that were ahead of us soon burst to life as we drew closer, and I felt the presence of Black*Star's soul grow stronger. We were getting close.
It was then that we all noticed…
"AND BINGO WAS HIS NAME-O. THERE…"
"PATTI!"
"SOWWY."
3rd Person's POV
Black*Star was growing tired, which was unusual for someone like him.
He rarely every felt the bunt of physical exhaustion, even after training he still felt like he could always manage another 500 finger pushups or crunches. If he ever did tire himself out, the workout would have to be especially taxing on him both physically and mentally.
Maka had not been too far off the mark when she had noticed that something was off with the generally energetic and loud meister.
He knew he had been acting like more of an introvert recently, but he had hoped that no one would notice. Or if they did they would just leave it be; people often told him they wished he take a brake from his loud boasting of his awesome godliness. Enjoy the boring 'peace and quiet' while it lasted. 'You'd think they be grateful not to… what's that old saying? Oh yeah, not to look a gift horse in the mouth,' he thought with hollow laughter.
'Though I don't get why anyone would wanna do that. Who wants to look in some horse's mouth anyway? Sounds nasty.'
Why anyone wouldn't want to hear his amazing voice he had no idea, but he had been hoping on it.
Besides Tsubaki (he couldn't hide anything from her if he tried; they live together for one thing and she was too smart for that for another), Maka had been the only one to notice Black*Star's sudden change in demeanor.
'Damn Maka, I'M FINE. I'm always fine.'
But as his breathing was becoming labored and his already tired eyes drooping more than before, even the Great Black*Star began to doubt that he was fine. But he would never in a million years admit it to anyone, let alone out loud.
"Black*Star are you alright?"
"Heh, you sound like Maka. Don't worry about your god Tsubaki, he's just taking a breather."
He had been taking the hallways randomly, simply following wherever his feet wished him to turn in hopes of maybe finding something to fight. Anything that he could take some pent up frustration out on, and that's just what he got.
It was by mere chance that Black*Star had stumbled upon this beast of a kishin.
The thing was big, was his first thought at the sight of it. The second, it was disgusting. It had crawled out of a gaping whole in the middle of the last room; it's beady black eyes staring him down hungrily.
The kishin looked like an enormous glowworm; not particularly terrifying unless one had an immense phobia of insects. However this particular monster in addition to being pretty fast on it's six feet and wicked looking pincers happened to have the ability to shoot huge beams of light from it's tail, very similar to a laser.
So it was needless to say that Black*Star was more annoyed than anything and his fatigue was doing nothing to improve his mood. He had been dodging the kishin's attacks pretty well thus far, but that seemed the most he could do without a good opening. He was starting to think that it would have been better if he had just waited for Kid and Maka.
But if there was one thing the Great Black*Star didn't do, it was give up. He made it a point to never have such words be a part of his vocabulary; after all, that might make people think he had doubts about surpassing god one day. Couldn't have that.
So with renewed determination, Black*Star widened his stance, the star shape appearing in his eyes confirming that this would be the start of a whole new battle between them.
"I'm through playing around, Tsubaki I think it's about time we squash this bug"
"Right," he could feel her worry for him decrease she smiled from within her chain scythe form. He finally had his head in the game and that gave her confidence.
"Black*Star!"
The sound of two familiar voices halted said meister from his counterattack. He turned his head just enough to see his comrades running up to stand by his side as he once more faced his opponent.
"There you are," said Kid slightly irritated.
"Geez guys, where have you been? Your god was actually starting to get a little lonely," he gave the creature a smirk.
"This thing's not much for company."
The glow worm had ceased its attacks when Maka and Kid arrived; it had backed up farther into the room in order gauge the nature of this new development, deciding whether or not to consider the new arrivals a threat.
"Sorry it took us a bit, the left over madness was clouding my soul perception. Made looking for your soul like trying look through a dirty windshield."
"Now that that's out of the way lets— what the hell is that suppose to be?" asked Soul, clearly both confused and appalled with the enemy Black*Star had managed to find.
"Only you would go off alone and find a giant bug kishin."
"Oooh that's just great, and here I thought monsters would be bad but HUGE BUGS? That's a whole other kind of scary I can't stand, not to mention gross!"
Now every kishin was different, as most had at one point or another started out human before becoming corrupted with evil and would then start consuming other human souls. Of course there were exceptions and their strength varied by how many souls they had consumed; another thing that varied with kishin was their intelligence. A lot of them while still dangerous, were often not very bright, which gave less experience meisters a better chance at defeating them. If there was one thing every meister could agree on, is that there was nothing worse than an enemy that was both brawn and brains.
Unfortunately for our favorite group of meisters it appeared that this kishin was one that did indeed have some form of intelligence. For it showed them that it was not only able to understand English, but could also demonstrate what it thought of Liz's comments and opinions of insects.
Suffice to say it did not take it well…
The glowworm gave a mighty screech from its mouth, snapping its pincers before charging forward.
"Aw great Liz you made it mad!" Black*Star yelled just as the three were able to dodge.
"WELL SORRY, like I was suppose to know that thing knew what I was saying!"
"Less talking more fighting Liz, I for one do not wish die by the likes of an overgrown firefly," Kid scolded as he began shooting along the glowworm's armored back.
The dust from the soul bullets cleared to reveal that the beast did have so much as a scratch.
"No good, it's back is too well protected!"
"Yeah tell me about it," replied Maka who was also having no luck getting through the creature's thin exoskeleton.
"We need to aim for the joints in the legs or the underbelly," nodding at her partner's advice Maka gripped her scythe tighter.
She waited a moment and watched as her target battled against her friends. The creature had begun racing around the room, crawling on walls and ceiling alike as Kid attempted to shoot more bullets, this time aimed to strike the thing's eyes. Black*Star, not wanting to be outdone swung one of his sickles to block it's path.
But this kishin was flexible as well as fast, redirecting its path flawlessly around the blade and bullets. Maka had to wait only a moment longer before she found the opening she had been looking for.
"Now Maka!"
Eyes wide and filled with determination she speed forward, the glowworm headed straight for her.
Raising Soul's blade in the air Maka ducked underneath the glowworm's head narrowly missing getting her own bitten off as it snapped its pincers. Bringing her blade even higher Maka cut into the beast's underside, pushing harder at the amount of friction she received as the thick shell protested against cold metal.
The kishin screamed in pain and rage, an ear splitting sound that had Black*Star and Kid momentarily stopping their attacks to cover their aching ears. The kishin then began flailing and smacking its tail on the ground in anger. Maka retracted Soul from the wound she made before spun to her left, using the momentum from her run to add extra force she managed to sever the kishin's right hind leg. Dropping to her knees Maka slid backwards across the rough ground, watching as the tail came down hard on the stone where she had been not even half a second before.
Despite the searing pain she felt erupting from her knees she could help a smirk. It appeared first blood was hers to claim, as she watched clear fluid gushed from what remained of the severed leg and a small portion leaking from the chest wound. Maka vaguely thought the cut she made reminded her of her partner's own scar, received from their first encounter with Crona. 'Huh, ironic.'
The wound in the chest was shallow, not very deep due to how tough the exoskeleton still remained, even in the less protected stomach area. It wasn't enough to kill it or have it bleed to death but that wasn't a problem, minor wounds added up if you had enough of them and they took their toll on the body. No matter the creature that sustained them. As long as they could keep landing attacks the kishin would eventually go down. That is, if it didn't do the same to them first.
Catching her breath Maka slowly rose to her feet using Soul as a makeshift cane, wincing slightly as fire seemed to sizzle across the tender flesh of her knees. The movement had irritated them.
"Maka, you doing alright?"
Said girl examined the source of her pain; the coarse stone shredded the skin until there was none left to cover the pink tissue that was bleeding profusely. She grimaced at the sight; blood was steadily flowing down her shins and staining her shoes. 'That doesn't look good, I hope this doesn't get infected.'
"I'm alright," Maka yelled, loud enough to reassure the others that she was well enough to continue. She had noticed how they paused after recovering from the scream to assess her for injuries; they seemed slightly worried about the bleeding of her knees, but let it go. Maka's defense and ability to take heavy hits may not be as high as Black*Star or Kid but she was by no means made of glass, nor was she a stranger to pain. She had sustained far worse before, this was nothing as far as she was concerned.
The kishin had finally stopped it's flailing and screaming and turned it's angry stare onto Maka; it wanted revenge for it's fallen appendage and it wasn't going to wait. With it's one strangled version of a war cry it charger her again.
"I don't think so ya freak! Speed star!"
With the added boost to his speed Black*Star shot forward, avoiding the snapping of the glowworm's pincers he landed a solid punch to it's grotesque face. The blow had enough force to push the monster a whole ten feet back, but it recovered quickly. In retaliation the kishin stomped the ground, shaking the whole room before it swung its tail, sending Black*Star flying across the room and slamming into the wall on his left.
But the kishin didn't stop to see if it had taken Black*Star out, no its was still focused on Maka and didn't hesitate to go after her again.
"Here it comes again," Maka stood her ground and watched as it grew closer. The kishin was fast despite missing a leg, though it's balance was definitely thrown off. She had barely been able to dodge the first time and with her legs injured it was useless to try to dodge from this distance, "brace yourself its almost here!"
Maka could feel her heart pounding in her chest as the adrenaline rushed through her veins, 'By the time I have Soul's blade up it'll already be right in front of me!' There was no time for her to think of a plan.
Not stopping, it was almost within a few feet of her and was lowering it's head to grab her with its pincers again; Maka waited for imminent impact. But just as it was about to attack, Maka felt the wind knocked out of her as she was grabbed from the right. She felt something strong and warm wrap around her waist and watched as she was lifted high off the ground, "Gotcha."
Maka turned her head to the left and saw Kid glance down at her, smirk on his face. He had summoned Beelzebub and rushed to get her out of the way when he realized she wouldn't be fast enough to save herself. Maka sighed in relief and gave him a appreciative smile, "Thanks for the save, I owe you one."
"No problem, you looked like you needed it," a bit of a smug tone in his voice as he continued to smirk, and this irritated her enough to drop her smile.
"Yeah, well I would've been fine on my own. I didn't ask for your help," Maka said turning away from him as her cheeks turned faint pink in slight frustration and embarrassment from needing his assistance.
"Ooh yes, how did I not see that?"
"Oh shut up!"
"Uh did you two forget that we are FIGHTING A GIANT MONSTER HERE?" exclaimed Soul.
"YEAH! Kid! Maka! Your god did NOT say it was alright to take a break!" It seemed Black*Star had peeled himself away from the indent he had created in the wall and resumed fighting.
While his two friends had moved to the safety of the air, Black*Star had managed wrap Tsubaki's chain around the glowworm's mouth, effectively muzzling it. Then jumped onto it's back and rode it as if it were a rodeo bull as it thrashed about, trying to get free. This kishin was nothing if not persistent, but so was Black*Star.
"As much as your god appreciates that you have so much faith in his ability to defeat this opponent alone, he would appreciate it more if one of you would get this thing to stop squirming around!"
Maka observed the creature a moment before a reckless plan came to mind. "I got an idea."
"Kid, I'm going to need you to throw me," she told him without taking her eyes off the agitated beast.
"Have you lost your mind?" he shouted as he looked at her.
"I'll take it from above, you take out its legs from below. If Black*Star can keep it in one place long enough we can finish this in one go."
Kid seemed hesitant for a moment as he thought it over, but he trusted Maka's judgment, "That just might work."
"Think you can fly there fast enough?" she asked challenged, smile back on her face. Her confidence invoked a smirk to return to his.
"Please, don't insult me," he replied before sobering his expression. Kid shot toward the high ceiling, flying parallel to the wall. When he felt they had reach optimum height he used the momentum from their clime to propel them into a horizontal spin before he thrust Maka forward.
Once she left his grasp Kid took a nosedived toward the ground, "Liz, Patti get ready."
Pulling up at the last second he raced parallel across the floor, approaching the Kishin from behind. Like Maka he dove under the glowworm's raised tail and began shooting at the leg joints with the utmost precision he could manage.
At the same time Maka was dive-bombing directly above where Black*Star stood on the glowworm's back. Swinging Soul back she closed her eyes, "The legendary super-skill of the Scythe Meister: Witch Hunter!"
Through the power of their soul resonance Soul's blade grew and curved from both sides as the red eye opened wide along with something that resembling a mouth ripping opening.
"Black*Star!" she didn't need to say more as the assassin saw her approach from the corner of his eye and leapt of the creature's back. By then Kid had finished his task removing the remaining legs and had ducked under the head before the whole thing collapsed on top of him.
"There, at least when you die you'll be somewhat symmetrical," he said to himself as he turned to watch Maka make contact. The height of the fall had accelerated her original speed, adding force to the hit as Witch Hunter connected. With the additional force Maka was able to force half of her scythe into the kishin's back.
Cracks suddenly began to appear and spread from the hit, then all over it. Light erupted from them as the glowworm shrieked the loudest it ever had.
"Maka get away from it," Kid screamed at her, but the sound was too powerful to be heard over.
Maka tried to pry her scythe out but it was no use. The kishin was dying, but it would not leave this world quietly. Tremors could be felt all around the room, as the light the glowworm emitted from the cracks grew brighter, until finally it exploded.
The shockwave was so powerful Maka was hurled across the room like Black*Star had before, only with ten times more strength. The push had knocked the breath from her lungs, but it was the impact that stunned her whole body. But perhaps the most painful was the blinding white-hot energy that she was submerged in, and the sight of it was all she could see. It had all happened so fast…
Maka didn't even have enough time to blink…
Wow, that took way longer to put together than I thought. Plus you have no idea how much research and rereading I did to get this read for you guys. Now the story can really get on its way. Expect an update sometime after the 20th. By then I will have more free time to write more chapters. Like always read, review and favorite if you like this story. Your input and kind words always encourage me and your ideas help fuel my creative juices. Thank You.
P.s. to any reads that happen to play video games, see if you can spot the two references I made to a current favorite right now. I haven't played the game myself, but the story and characters are amazing. There are even fan-fictions for it as well, so I recommend you check them out, especially Tsuki the Wolf, she is AMAZING ^_^