They went down slowly, Kid seeming to actually notice that Maka was desperately trying not to freak out. Once she got sick of staring at the black, seemingly bottomless, shaft below them, she noticed that Kid was staring intently at doors that they passed every few minutes. She readied herself to get off when Kid stopped at a certain door, but then he sighed dejectedly and continued their descent. It wasn't until Maka realized that that was the eighth door they'd passed that she figured out why. She would have smacked him, son of her boss be damned, if she wasn't too busy cutting off the circulation to everything below his waist.

After what seemed like an eternity, Kid finally stopped at a door farther down than she thought they'd go, and moved toward it. It was unlocked, and Maka was surprised, until she realized that no one in their right mind would want in or out a door to nowhere. Kid glided in and dismissed Beelzebub, steadying her with his hand, as she stepped off with wobbly legs. He looked around with his eyes totally blank, which Maka knew to be his odd form of soul perception, then blinked and pulled her into a dark corner and motioned for her to be quiet. It was a long time before the two souls that Kid had seen (and Maka as well, out of curiosity) came within earshot.

"Forget it, kid," a voice around the corner muttered. "You did what you had to. Lemme go, I can get to the infirmary myself."

"Bullshit," another voice replied, deeper and clearer than the other, though husky and with a very slight hint of a British accent. "You can barely walk on your own. I'm at least going to make sure you make it without collapsing."

Kid froze at the second voice, and Maka wondered why, until they came around the corner they were hiding in and she saw the sword weapon hobbling down the hall with an arm over Soul Eater's shoulders as he half supported, half carried, the older, heavily armored weapon to wherever this infirmary was. Soul Eater himself was dressed in thick black leather pants with red diamonds stitched down the outside of his left leg, heavy boots, a skin tight dark gray shirt with strips of leather armor around his sides and back, and an elaborate black padded shoulder armor held on with a collar around his neck and another belt around his chest, with two smaller straps around his biceps to hold them in place. He carried the other weapon's helmet in his free hand.

"God dammit, kid. Stop acting like this is your fault. You did what you had to out there, we all do. You gave me a few cuts. If I'd been able to keep up with you, I would have done the same. You're not obligated to make sure I don't die... You'd just be delaying the inevitable anyway."

Soul Eater snorted. "A few cuts. Judging by the fact you can't walk, I'm pretty sure I sliced a tendon or two, and you can't even lift your right arm. Might have damaged something there, too."

The older weapon sighed and shook his head. "Water under the bridge, kid. Stop worrying about it. If anything I should be thanking you. You put me on the injured list and I can have a break for a couple weeks. We're weapons, we heal quickly. I'll be fine in a week or two."

Soul Eater looked back over his shoulder at the trail of blood the other weapon was leaving behind them. "If this water under the bridge of yours doesn't get dammed soon, you're gonna need a transfusion, too. So stop being a little bitch about it and let me help."

"Ah, blood transfusion... Add another week to my break."

Soul Eater rolled his eyes. "At least make good use of your break. Get some phone time and call your wife. Let her know you're still alive. Or something."

"Sounds like a plan. Haven't spoken to her in a while. Don't get much opportunity to."

"None of us do. Some are worse off than others."

"Where's your family, kid?" The question was quiet, as if he was afraid of Soul Eater's answer.

He sighed. "No clue. Lost contact several years ago."

Maka, who had been tailing them quietly in the shadows along with Kid, stopped at that. She looked to Kid to see that he'd frozen and was staring at Soul Eater with wide eyes. He had mentioned knowing Soul Eater personally before, and she wondered how he was taking the news of Soul Eater's missing family.

She was jolted out of her thoughts when Soul Eater kicked a door open in the hallway and dragged the other weapon inside. "Come on. Try not to give the nurses too much hell this time. And don't forget your stupid looking helmet," he added, tossing it in after the other weapon and ignoring the halfhearted curses he received at that before slamming the door shut behind him. He stalked down the hallway a few steps, stopped, and turned to Maka, who berated herself for standing just out of the shadows, unlike Kid.

Soul Eater's eyes narrowed. "I'd say there are no visiting hours today, but visitors are never allowed down here anyway. Who the hell are you and how did you get here?"

Maka opened her mouth to reply, but didn't know how much she could say without giving too much away, or if she would even be able to say anything anyway under the piercing glare he held her under. When she didn't answer immediately, his eyes narrowed and a blade flashed from his wrist.

"Soul."

He froze, eyes wide and looking over her shoulder. The blade on his wrist retracted instantly. "... Kid?"

Maka turned to see Kid stepping out of the shadows and between her and... Soul, she guessed his name was.

Soul stared, opened his mouth, closed it, then tried again. "Even knowing what you are, the fact that you haven't changed a bit... at all... since I was five... is kinda creepy."

Kid stared evenly back at Soul's shocked face. "Shinigami age much slower than mortals, Soul. You know that."

"... Still creepy."

Kid continued to stare flatly at Soul, who fidgeted slightly under his gaze, looking nothing like the fierce weapon she'd seen in the arena. He rubbed his arm absently, then glanced up at Maka and smirked, seemingly glad for the ability to change the subject.

"Who's the bird?"

Bird? Maka blinked as Soul gave her a roguish grin, showing off his jagged teeth.

Kid stepped aside to reveal Maka. "This is my partner from Shibusen. I usually request her assistance for the more… delicate missions Father sends me on."

Soul nodded once, giving her an appreciative once-over. "She your weapon, then?"

"Actually, she is a meister. I left my weapons behind for this mission, as I felt it would be too dangerous, and because Father recommended I do not bring any weapons, given the… nature… of this place."

Soul scowled. "Yeah, that's probably a good call."

Kid stepped in front of Maka again, expression serious. "What happened, Soul?"

Soul blinked, taken aback by the sudden change in mood. "What do you mean?"

Kid scowled. "The Evans family as a whole has always been adamantly against weapon combat. Why are you here? The Soul I once knew wouldn't even set foot within a ten mile radius of this place. So why are you suddenly one of the star combatants?"

Soul's eyes narrowed. "The Soul you knew died years ago, Kid. And not losing a single fight tends to stick you with the whole star combatant bullshit."

"Have you killed?"

Red eyes widened in offense. "Fuck, no. There's no reason to. Maimed, removed limbs, sure, I've done that, but only in self defense when cutting tendons and muscles wasn't stopping them. Sure that doesn't make me very popular sometimes, as the crowd is always out for blood and nothing makes them happier than a fatality victory, it seems, but I don't see it as necessary."

Kid nodded slowly. "Perhaps the Soul I once knew is still in there, somewhere. But that doesn't answer the question as to why you're here in the first place."

Maka felt her soul waver as Soul's expression just… died. She would have preferred the venomous look he had been giving Kid earlier to the blank look with dead eyes he gave them now.

"Do you honestly think most of us are here of our own will, Kid?"

Now it was Kid's turn to look shocked. "… What?"

"I have my reasons for being here. I haven't lost a fight yet because I have a reason to win. Don't insult me by thinking even for one bloody second that I want to be here. True, you'll actually find some weapons here who do, and who love it here, for some twisted reason. But I'm not one of them. Stop talking to me like you know me, Kid. A lot of things have happened in the past thirteen years." He reached up and unsnapped the collar around his neck, pulling off his shoulder armor and shoving it in his belt. "There's not much you can say or do that will help me, honestly. Go back to Nevada."

Kid scowled. "Maka, if you would, please."

Maka sighed. She hated doing this, but was also pretty sure that it was why she'd been requested. She walked up to Soul, who raised an eyebrow in confusion, and took his hand. Ignoring his surprised and slightly offended cries, she closed her eyes and concentrated on his wavelength, then forced her own into it.

Soul cried out in pain and dropped to his knees, his hand still in hers, before his whole body was consumed in light and Maka was left holding a large scythe with a blade almost as long as she was tall. There was an eye where blade met shaft, and it squinted before clamping shut entirely against the pain. Maka's eyes were still closed, trying desperately to hold her focus over his distorted cries of agony that could still be heard through the steel of his weapon form.

Kid stepped calmly forward. "The pain you are currently feeling is your soul being overwhelmed. Maka is an exceptional meister who can not only see souls, but has a unique wavelength that makes her all but immune to insanity, and is also quite adept at subduing an unruly weapon, such as yourself."

Soul appeared as a reflection in the blade, teeth clenched in pain as he glared at Kid through squinted red eyes.

"I had hoped it would not have come to this, but the mission she and I were sent here for specifically, is to help you, whether you think we are capable of it or not."

Soul showed brief surprise before another wave of pain wracked through him.

"While we do have a rudimentary knowledge of your situation, we will need your help as well if we are to succeed. Are you willing?"

"D… Don't…. seem to… haveafuckingchoice."

"You do," Kid replied. "I just needed you to listen, and to show you a small portion of what we are capable of." He looked from the reflection of the blade to Maka, who still stood motionless in concentration, tears forming in the corner of her eyes. She hated doing this. "Maka, release him."

She did immediately, and Soul slumped to the ground on his side, now human. The pain was gone, but the memory and exhaustion were still there, and he curled slightly, sweating bullets and panting hard as he clutched at his chest with one hand.

Kid knelt down and laid a hand on his shoulder, and Soul jerked upright in response and backed a bit away, still clutching at his chest and looking wildly from Kid to Maka. She had let some tears fall after releasing his soul, and while he was still terrified of what she was able to do to him, his eyebrows furrowed slightly, something Kid did not miss. Even when he was young, Soul did not like seeing women cry.

"Soul," he said gently, trying his best to not frighten the weapon further. "Like it or not, we are on your side, and were sent to help you. But we can't do it alone. We need your knowledge, and your help. Despite the display earlier, you do have a choice in this matter. We will not force you one way or the other. Nor will we leave, if that is in fact your choice. We will see this mission through, with or without your help, but it will be much easier for all involved should you choose to help us."

Soul was silent, and looked from Kid to Maka a few times, hardly daring to believe Kid's words. He tried to stand, but his legs failed him and he collapsed back to the floor ungracefully on his ass. Maka hesitantly offered him a hand, and he stared at it for a moment, not moving. His eyes slowly traveled up her arm to meet hers, and she smiled sadly at him.

She had put him in unimaginable pain only moments ago, but he had also felt something behind it. The force pushing him down was also full of nothing but remorse and apology, almost as if she was in as much pain as he was. He raised his hand from the floor, hesitated halfway, then raised it the rest of the way and wrapped his fingers around her wrist. She returned the gesture, and pulled him to his feet, supporting him with her slight frame until he was steady enough to stand on his own.

Kid watched the entire exchange with intrigue, then slowly stood from the crouch he'd been in to speak to Soul earlier, trying to look as nonthreatening as possible to the clearly rattled weapon.

Soul looked down at Maka, who still had his arm around her shoulders as his knees were still a little wobbly, then back to Kid, face set in a determined expression.

"What do you need me to do?"