Chapter Three: Lake of Lost Souls
"What? What do you mean you can't sense Crona's soul wavelength?" came the voice of the white haired weapon, causing his cream haired meister to look at him with worry in her emerald eyes. "Like I said, I can't sense Crona's soul wavelength anymore" she admitted lowering her head in seeming defeat. "I can't explain it, one moment I could sense it, the next it was gone completely". Death the Kid grimaced and grabbed her shoulders "What?! That can't be, try again!" Kid snapped his hands trembled as he shook her. "Hey Kid calm down" Soul snapped seizing Kid's arm. Kid glared at Soul darkly "you know as well as I do that Maka's the only one of us that can track any soul wave lengths" Kid lectured, before tearing his arm out of the other boy's grasp. "Okay, well would it kill you to chill out for a second?" Soul asked before glancing at Maka and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Maka" he stated causing her to look up him 'I don't understand, why can't I detect Crona's soul wavelength?' she thought to herself as she looked up at Soul, and blinked seeing a sympathetic tone in the boy's crimson red spheres.
"We're gonna find him Maka, I'm sure there's a perfectly logical explanation for why you suddenly can't sense his wavelength" Soul told her, attempting to reason with her. The young scythe Meister looked at him, the expression in her eyes getting weak "m, maybe you're right" she admitted, trying to think of what they could do. "Maybe Professor Stein might be able to help us figure this out" She wondered aloud. "After all" she began, before looking up at the others "he is the best student the academy has ever had, so if anyone knew how to explain how Crona's wavelength, could just disappear like that, it'd be the professor, let's go you guys" she told Soul before she began running back towards Death City. "Black Star, Kid, c'mon let's go to Professor Stein's, and find out what's going on" Soul told them to which the assassin blinked looking over, before joining Soul in running after Maka.
"What? Is the fight over already? How lame, I wanted to show those guys, what a great star I am" Black star griped before running after Maka and Soul. "Kid? We should follow them" he heard Liz's voice, but Kid didn't move. 'It doesn't make sense, how could Crona's soul wavelength simply disappear? Could the witch that was after him, actually succeed in killing him? No, no, that can't be, Crona is stronger than that, there has to be an explanation to this' he thought as he soon glanced towards the direction the witch and wolf had run off in. "Kid c'mon, we need to go meet up with the others" he heard Liz lecture, before he called forth his special skateboard, and hopped on it eyes dimming. 'The witch that ran from us, she said there was a second witch after Crona, and they came from that direction, perhaps they know more then they've told us already, oh well, only one way to find out for sure' he thought to himself before starting the skateboard up, as he proceeded to take off in the direction, that Eruka and Free Wolf had headed in.
"Wait, Kidd, hey, what're you doing?! You're going the wrong way!" Liz snapped "the witch that we ran into went in this direction, so if I head this way, I may run into the witch that was with Crona, and force her to tell me what happened to him" Kidd replied stoically. He kept heading swiftly in the direction that he'd seen the blue haired witch retreat towards, in what felt like moments the young reaper ended up catching sight of them. He then raised the duel pistols before shooting the nearby trees, startling the witch and the wolf man, causing them to stop running, and looked at him. The dark haired reaper flew over to where he was a few feet from them before he landed, keeping his guns trained on them, with a dark scowl on his features.
"What are you doing?" Eruka snapped "Shut up witch!" he began, as his eyes dimmed more. "I'm the one asking the questions here" he finished. "Eruka, let's pummel this brat and get as far away from here as we can, before she finds us" Free Wolf told her. "Just a couple quick questions, and I'll leave you two alone" Kidd stated flatly. Free Wolf snarled and got into a defensive stance, but Eruka raised an arm to stop the wolf man, an emotionless glare on her face. "What do you want to know?" she spoke flatly "Eruka, what're you doing?!" Free Wolf demanded. "Stay out of this Free, this is between me and him" she ordered, before looking up at Death the Kid. "So tell me witch" he began "the name's Eruka" she interrupted "the least you could do is give me the decency of calling me by my name" she told him.
"We'll see about that" he remarked sternly, before tightening his grip on the pistols. "Back there, you mentioned you knew Crona...I want you to tell me everything that happened" Death the kid demanded. "Why you arrogant punk!" Free Wolf snapped, but Eruka glared at the wolf man in a silencing way, before looking up at Kidd. "You probably already figured it out by now, but Crona and I used to serve the Witch Medusa" she began to which Death the kid's glare darkened slightly. "Yes, that I'm already aware of" he told her. "Well, did you know that Free Wolf here, and the Witches known as the Mizune sisters, served Lady Medusa as well?" she asked. Kid began to feel slightly irritated "what does any of that have to do with what happened to Crona?" he asked sternly. "Would you let me finish?" Eruka snapped.
"...Sorry, please continue then" Kid managed, realizing the frog witch was his best chance at finding Crona quickly. Eruka lowered her head, before looking up "do you know Why we served her?" she asked. "What?" kid blinked "I thought you served her willingly, are you implying that, that wasn't the case?" he asked. "You're kidding right? I hated Medusa with a burning passion" Eruka confessed. "Then why? If you hated her that much, why the hell did you willingly help her plunge the world into Chaos?!" Death the kid snapped. "Because just like Crona, I was afraid of Medusa's wrath" Eruka confessed, causing Death the Kid's eyes to widen in shock. Eruka lowered her head and sighed mournfully. "After a meeting of the witch's counsel, the eldest Mizune sister and I attempted to confront Medusa about her conduct, and the threat her actions could create for us witches" she began solemnly.
"Crona was obviously afraid of her, he didn't even try to stop her when she placed her magic snakes in our bodies, that night, we decided we were going to rid the witches of the reckless snake, but when we confronted her, she killed the eldest Mizune sister right in front of me" she began, her small hands balling up into fists. "I had to watch those magic snakes tear her apart from the inside out" Eruka nearly cried, her body began to tremble. "She told me if I didn't do what she wanted, that my fate would become the same, the Mizune sisters were right, I am a coward; I served Medusa because I was afraid of her snakes" Eruka confessed. Death the Kid felt a pang of sympathy and lowered the guns, before sheathing them within easy reach, as he then walked over. "So, in other words, you were just as much a slave to her insanity as Crona was? Is that what you're trying to say?" he inquired.
Eruka lowered her head more covering her face "I didn't want to do it, but Medusa made me" she sobbed. Kid flinched slightly before placing a hand on her shoulder "please, tell me what she made you do" he told her. "She made me lie to the Mizune sisters, about their eldest sister's death, she made me tell them that the academy and Death City was responsible for what happened to her" Eruka confessed looking sad, before looking up at the young shinigami. "But it was all a part of Medusa's insidious plan, so that during the Anniversary celebration of the DWMA, she could use the Mizune sisters to begin an assault on Death city and the Academy, that way me and Free could slip in undetected, and inject the black blood into the Kishin Ashura, while Crona would keep anyone from coming after us" Eruka explained.
Death the Kid's eyes dimmed slightly 'Crona was always soo scared when Medusa was alive, even this witch is trembling at the very mention of that damn Medusa's name, she doesn't appear to be lying, I can sense a genuine feeling of guilt resonating from her' he thought as he looked at her. "But how does that explain what happened to Crona, forgive me, but I'm failing to see the connection here" he confessed. Eruka looked up at him, and wiped her eyes one of her long gray sleeves before looking at him. "When I found out about Medusa's death, I had to be sure, I knew that Crona was always practically at her side, so if anyone would know if it was true, it'd likely be him" she explained. "I knew it was risky to enter Death city, but I had to know if it was safe to" she began, lowering her head grabbing her arm mournfully.
"Safe to what?" Kidd asked her "I couldn't take the guilt of knowing that I lied to the Mizune sisters anymore, you may not know it, but us Witches are actually just as capable of feelings, as you and those academy students back there" she told him, before the frog witch sighed in remorse. "The eldest of the Mizune sisters was my closest friend, and just knowing I kept the truth of her true murderer from her sisters, was becoming more than unbearable" she confessed, before looking up. "I once asked Crona, back when we were working for medusa, why he felt bad about putting one of Medusa's snakes in Miss Marie's tea, and I soon realized it was the weight of guilt, that's why I wanted to confront the Mizune sisters, so I could set things right, and finally tell them the truth" she told him.
Kid watched her realizing she really was just another victim of Medusa, almost as much as Crona was, causing him to feel sorry for her. It wouldn't be right to punish her for her actions in his mind. "So did you confront them?" he asked, carefully seizing her shoulders, and squeezed them lightly. "Please Eruka, Crona is a dear friend of ours, I can't even imagine how it felt for you to watch your closest friend die, and frankly I don't want to, if anything happened to him, I don't know what I'd do to the person responsible" Death the Kid told her, his hands shaking, not wanting the image of Crona dead in his mind. No, he had to believe that Crona would be alright, he had to, if he wanted to stay sane. Eruka blinked before looking up at the raven haired reaper eyes wide in shock, before carefully taking his pale hands, and removed them from her shoulders.
"It's my fault Crona's in this mess, I told him to come with me, so we could both go to the Mizune sisters in order for me to set things right, as Medusa's son, I felt it'd be best if he helped ensure that Medusa was held accountable for her actions, but...it didn't go how I was hoping it would" she mournfully explained. "What happened? Please, I need to know Eruka" Kid pleaded, beginning to look hopeless. "I told her the truth, but Mizune grew enraged and attacked me, Crona was just trying to protect me, he told Free and I to run and hide in Death City, he told us that he'd try to hold her off as long as he could" she began. The frog witch lowered her head a little more "but apparently Mizune decided to go after him instead of us, as for what happened to him after that I have no idea" she answered. Kid sighed and his head slumped forward "I see, so you don't know, where his current whereabouts are either" Kid told himself, seeming to feel very disappointed. "Thank you Eruka, you've been most helpful, but I need to get going now" he told her summoning his skateboard, and pulled out his pistols.
"W, wait, hold on" Eruka called out, causing him to pause and look at her. "Yes? What is it now?" he asked. She placed a slender hand on her chest "it's my fault Crona's in this mess, please let me help you find him, he saved my life back there, I owe him at least that much" Eruka told him. Kid glanced towards the ground, he knew he'd been taught not to trust witches, but what choice did he have? She was the only one aside from Crona's attacker that saw him last, and a witch's magic on his side could be useful. Trusting her went against everything he learned at the academy, but right now he didn't really care, all he could even think about was finding Crona and getting him back to the academy safely.
If what Eruka the witch said was true, this other witch probably wouldn't stop until Crona was dead, and at least at the academy his father, the death scythes, and the professors were there; they could keep him safe. "This goes against all my teachings at the academy... but right now all I care about is finding Crona, and getting him back to the academy" he stated, before glancing at her over his shoulder. "Try not to fall behind" he told her "wait a sec, Free Wolf's sense of smell could help us find him faster" she suggested "fine, but like I said, try not to fall behind, I can't afford to slow down knowing Crona's life is in danger" he told her "let's go!" he demanded, as Free sniffed and began running, to which Kid sped after them on the skateboard.
'Hang on Crona, I'm on my way' he thought as he sped off with his new rather unlikely allies. Maka and the others reached the stitched up looking building, catching their breaths for a moment before running over to the door, and began knocking frantically on it. The door to the lab soon opened, and a blonde haired woman wearing a black and golden yellow dress, and an eye patch over one eye opened the door. Maka recognized the woman "Miss Marie, is Professor Stein here? We need to talk to him it's urgent" Maka Explained. "Well yes he's here, but what's this about?" she asked before Marie felt a strong hand on her shoulder, she then blushed a little seeing Stein behind her. "Maka, you do realize it's the middle of the night don't you? Oh and Black Star, don't think you can try to steal answers for your tests again" he told them. "Professor it's about Crona, something happened, and I don't know what to make of it, but I keep feeling like something really horrible has happened to him, and that a witch is responsible somehow" Maka explained.
"A witch you say?" Stein commented plainly, before looking over to Miss Marie "Marie, could you get the kids some tea, I'll have a coffee if you don't mind, come inside kids" he told them moving out of the way to let them enter. He calmly went over to his stitched up office chair turning it around, he then proceeded to sit on it so that the back of the chair was facing them. He casually folded his arms over the top of the back rest and stared at them tiredly. Marie let them in before she went to the supposed kitchen, where she began making some tea for Maka, Soul, Tsubaki and Black star, while also making some coffee for Stein. Maka, Black Star and their respective weapons walked in and sat down on the couches. Maka and Soul sat upon one of the couches, while Black Star sat down next to Tsubaki on the other. "Now Maka, why don't begin explaining what happened" Stein spoke in his usual monotone, as Miss Marie entered the room, and handed them their drinks. Maka calmly took a sip of her herbal tea, before sitting her mug down on the table between the couches. "Professor, is it possible for a soul wavelength, to completely disappear into thin air?" she asked, to which Stein blinked and raised his head a little.
"what do you mean?" he asked her "I was studying for class earlier this evening, when suddenly I sensed a strong witch's soul near Death City, and what was strange, is that I sensed Crona's Soul wavelength very close to it" Maka explained. "Hmm that certainly is strange, surely Crona knows better than to conduct business with witches, especially after what happened with his mother and all" Stein told them. "I know, which could only mean one thing, the Witch I sensed was going after Crona for some reason" Maka told the pale haired professor. "It just seems soo strange" she muttered "not really" Stein murmured, causing them to look at him. "If you think about it carefully Maka, this was likely bound to happen eventually, Medusa had a lot of enemies in the academy, and it wouldn't be surprising if she'd made enemies with her fellow witches, and if that's the case, her being dead would leave them without someone to punish" Stein explained casually.
"But Crona didn't really do anything wrong, I mean it wasn't his fault, he was a victim of Medusa too, just as much as they may have been" Maka snapped. "Maka, I understand that Crona was acting primarily out of fear, but the witches may not be as rational as we are, and since Medusa liked to boast about Crona being her creation, it wouldn't be surprising if they decided to take out their wrath on him, since they can't take it out on the real culprit" Stein explained, taking a sip of his coffee. "But that's not what's really bothering you, is it?" he inquired blankly, looking at the young meister intently "so what is?" he finished.
Maka felt a hand on her shoulder and looked over at Soul "Maka, tell him about what happened to Crona's soul wavelength" Soul advised her calmly. "Okay" she replied, before looking at their professor. "When we tried to go after Crona and make sure he was alright, we ran into the man with the magic eye and a witch, they told us that Crona was being pursued by another witch, I thought she was probably lying, but she had her soul protect on, and the witch I sensed was further away as was Crona's" she explained. Stein listened intently, he knew he should've been mad at Crona for causing his madness to nearly consume him, but he knew it was an act of fear, and didn't feel it right to continue to hold Crona responsible for that.
He didn't want to admit it openly, but in a way, he felt a sort of attachment to the demon swordsman, and it didn't help that Marie and Spirit, had been secretly urging Stein to initially adopt the boy. He wasn't really sure if he could really consider himself as father material, at the moment in his mind, Spirit almost seemed sort of a better fit for that job description, but that didn't matter right now. Maka took a calming breath and continued "but when I tried to locate Crona's soul wave length, it just suddenly disappeared completely, I don't know how to explain it, but it's like it just simply vanished into thin air, Professor is that possible for a soul to simply just up and disappear like that?" Maka asked causing Marie to jolt, and stein to look up feeling surprised. "You're saying his soul simply disappeared?" Stein asked arching a brow.
"Yes, is that really possible?" She inquired worriedly. "Well, this is certainly the first that I've ever actually heard of a suddenly vanishing wavelength, the only thing I could think of, is that either soul protection was used, or the owner of the soul was killed" Stein spoke grimly. The four students rose to their feet, horror resonating on all of their faces. They had never known Crona to use the spell known as soul protection, so the only other option that they could think of; considering if the professor was right that is, was that he was dead. "Professor Stein, is there Any other way that his wavelength could have disappeared?!" Soul demanded. "None that I can really think of" Stein confessed "although if there was, that certainly Would be interesting" Stein told them. Soul looked at the broken look on Maka's face and jolted, since she looked like she was about to break down into tears. "M, Maka" Soul began as he reached for her shoulder, but she batted his hand away, and bolted out with tears in her eyes.
"Maka!" Soul called out before bolting out after her and caught her shoulder. "Maka, hey calm down willya? Where are you even going anyway?" he demanded, before she pulled away from him roughly and tried to leave, but soul grabbed her arm. "Would you stop and think for a second?" he told her sternly "you keep running off like this, makes it difficult to keep up with you" he told her. Maka lowered her head, her hands tightening into fists. "I have to find that witch we ran into, maybe she knows what's going on" she stated. "Maka, wait a second" she hear Soul's voice, but she tried to pull away from him. She suddenly felt Soul yank her arm back hard when she tried, and before she could catch her balance, she blinked though her tears, feeling a strong yet comforting embrace.
Maka soon looked up seeing Soul had pulled her into his arms, and was holding her tight. Realizing how close he was to her, she felt her cheeks burn, her heart beating furiously. "Soul?" she whispered softly, to which Soul hugged her closer to him, cradling the back of her head, as he then eased her face to his shoulder. "Let it out Maka" Soul told her. Maka tried to fight it, but she couldn't anymore, as she trembled. She hugged onto him tightly, and broke down crying into her weapon's shoulder. Soul blushed feeling her hug onto him, but he didn't bother trying to resist, he knew she needed this right now. Maka was his meister, and he'd already proven that he'd willingly put his life on the line for her. At the time, he may have told her it was because he was her weapon, but it was actually more than that. Soul hadn't expected it, but somehow along the way, he had fallen helplessly in love with his meister.
As he held his meister in his arms, all the white haired weapon could think of, was how he was going to make the witch responsible for taking away a dear friend, and worse, making his meister cry; pay dearly for the pain they caused, to Maka and to Crona. Black Star's cockiness had faded as he walked with Tsubaki, as they began to head home. "Hey, Black star, is something wrong? You're not acting like your usual self" Tsubaki asked worriedly causing Black Star to sigh. "Does this mean we failed again?" he asked suddenly "Black Star?" she asked worry in her tone. The blue haired assassin growled angrily, and punched a nearby wall enraged. "It's bad enough I failed to beat up that witch that was picking on Crona, but I failed to protect him too? What kind of friend am I?!" he snapped. "Black Star that's enough" Tsubaki stated sternly, suddenly seizing his shoulders, before pulling him towards her, and hugged him close to her.
"Black Star Think about it, this is Crona we're talking about, you know he's stronger than that, there has to be another explanation as to why his wavelength disappeared, there just has to" Tsubaki told him. The blue haired assassin blinked surprised and felt his cheeks burn, before hearing her words, and glanced at her. "You really think so Tsubaki?" he asked innocently. "He went up against some of our strongest meisters and survived didn't he?" she began, before looking at him "so what makes you think he'd be defeated by a single witch?" she asked him. "Tsubaki" Black Star uttered softly "So c'mon Black Star" she told him. "Where are we going?" he asked her, still shocked seeing this side to Tsubaki. "I bet Crona's probably hiding out somewhere, just waiting for us to find him and rescue him" she told him.
Black Star's eyes widened, he now understood what Tsubaki was saying, and grinned in his usual mischievous way. "Oh I get what you're trying to say, Crona's probably been abducted by a witch, and needs me to go kick the witch's butt right?!" he blurted out. To which Tsubaki gave a nervous smile "of course" she managed. "Well alright then" he began, pointing at the sky "that settles it! Don't you worry Crona, I the Almighty Black Star is gonna save you, YAHOO!" he shouted, before bolting off towards the woods, as Tsubaki quickly dashed after him. "Wait, Black Star, don't forget you need me to fight remember?!" Tsubaki called after him, as she followed him.
Soul blinked hearing someone shouting in the distance "was that Black Star?" he wondered aloud, causing Maka to wipe her eyes and sighed. "We'd better make sure he doesn't get himself into trouble" she managed, before Soul transformed back into the scythe. Maka took hold of her weapon and ran in the direction of the woods. Soul blinked hearing someone shouting in the distance "was that Black Star?" he wondered aloud, causing Maka to wipe her eyes and sighed. "We'd better make sure he doesn't get himself into trouble" she managed, before Soul transformed back into the scythe. Maka took hold of her weapon and ran in the direction of the woods.
Marie looked at Stein worriedly as she collected the mugs from the table. "Stein?" she asked 'I've never thought about it until now, but if Medusa is Crona's mother, does that mean he inherited the powers of a witch as well? Not to mention what of the boy's father? I wonder what kind of abilities did they possess; could he be able to make his soul wavelength disappear? Or is there some other explanation as to why that happened?... I need to know' the gray haired scientist thought to himself. He soon rose from the chair and straightened up, but soon paused and glanced towards her. "Marie? I'm going to the academy now to conduct some research, you're welcome to come with me if you'd like" he told her. Marie nodded and calmly followed him out of the lab and towards the DWMA.
"Free how much further?" Eruka called out, when suddenly he skid to a halt, and transformed back into his human looking form, as he then proceeded to sniff the air. Eruka landed on her feet and looked at him "something wrong?" she asked, as Kid soon stopped and landed calmly on his feet, before walking over. "Crona's scent, he was definitely here, but the trail ends here for some reason" he told her. Eruka glanced about before walking towards the edge, and glanced down at the seemingly ordinary lake below. "Do you think maybe he fell?" she asked as Kid followed her and looked down. "Hey hold on, something's not right here, I don't remember this lake being here" he muttered. Mizune spotted them and smirked evilly. 'Perfect, I can get rid of the traitorous frog easily now' she thought as she lunged towards the cliff. Free's eyes widened when he saw the glowing lines appear.
"Eruka watch out!" he hollered, as suddenly the cliff began to move. Eruka's eyes widened in horror as she fell backwards, causing her to give off a surprised shriek. She closed her eyes expecting to die, but after realizing her fall was stopped, she soon opened her eyes and looked up. The young frog witch was shocked to see the young reaper had barely caught her wrist, and was barely managing to grip the ledge. "Hang on! I'll pull you up!" Kid shouted to her. Eruka winced and looked at him. "You don't have to do this, you can still save yourself" she told him. "And let you fall to potential death?! I don't think so" Kid snapped. "Wh, why?" Eruka asked weakly. Kid cringed in pain, struggling to maintain his grip. "Listen to me, until we find Crona and bring him home safely, you are not allowed to leave my sight, do you understand?!" Kid snapped, causing her eyes to widen through tears.
Kid cringed and attempted to pull them up, but as he did, his eyes soon widened in horror, as his grip finally slipped, and he an Eruka started to plummet, towards the watery surface below "This is not good!" he screamed "I don't wanna die!" she screamed out. Free tried to bolt over to catch them, but barely missed, and watched in horror as he reached out. "ERUKA!" he cried out before they both crashed into the water. Kid tried to swim up towards the surface, but something was pulling him down into the depths with Eruka, and to his horror, it was stronger than he was.
Maka ran with Soul in hand, and soon skid to a halt. "Maka, what's wrong?!" Maka's face was a ghostly white. "I just sensed the witch's soul again" she managed. "What?! You did?! Where is it?!" Soul voice called out. Maka closed her eyes to concentrate, and soon bolted towards it looking increasingly worried. "What's wrong Maka?! What aren't you telling me?" Soul demanded. "I just sensed another soul wavelength disappear" she told him. "Y, you're kidding right?! Who was it this time?!" Soul blurted out. "This is bad...really bad" she managed, as she kept running. "What is it? C'mon Maka, spit it out already" Soul demanded. "The soul wavelength that just disappeared...is Death the kid's" she told him. Soul's eyes widened in horror "WHAT?! Maka tell me you're kidding" he called out. "I wish I was Soul, but unfortunately I'm not" she told him.
Maka managed to keep running before all of a sudden, she crashed into Black Star, and they both fell backwards, landing on their rear ends, and almost dropped their weapons. "Black Star?! Why are you here?!" she asked in shock. "Maka?! What are you doing here?" Black Star asked wide eyed blinking, before getting up. The blue haired assassin held out a hand, and helped her up. "We've got a serious problem" Maka managed as she dusted off her skirt. "What's up?" Black Star asked, not liking the grave expression on her face. "Another wavelength has just disappeared" she told him. "Wow another one? Seriously?" the male meister asked dumbly. "Yes, and what worse, is that it happened in the same area that Crona's did" she told him. "It was this way, c'mon, we've gotta hurry" she told him. Black Star blinked before running after her. "So Maka, who was it this time?" he asked as they ran together. "Death the kid" she answered, before she managed to make it to the cliff side and saw Free Wolf. Upon seeing the man with the magic eye, she skids to a halt, gripping her weapon. "What have you done with Crona and Death the Kid?!" she demanded gripping the scythe tighter.
Black Star caught up and skid to a halt, quickly getting himself into a battle stance. Free snarled "Hey I didn't do this, it was Mizune that did this, she the one that knocked Eruka and the kid with the stripes in his hair, into that lake down there" he told them. "Now if you excuse me, I'm getting out of here before I disappear like they did" he told them, before dashing off. Black Star walked over to the edge and looked down. "So, they fell in this lake huh?" he wondered aloud, before looking over at Maka. "Hey Maka, think you can sense them in there?" he asked her. "I'll try" she told him, before she began focusing on the water, and soon her eyes widened. "Something's not right here, this lake isn't normal" she managed. "So let me see if I got this straight here, all I have to do is jump in there and grab em right? Ha that's sooo easy, I'll have them outta there in seconds, don't worry Maka, you just leave this to the great Black Star YAHOOO!" he called out, as he took a running leap off the cliff, and dove towards the water.
Maka's eyes widened "W, wait, Black Star! come back here!" she called after him, as she ran to try to stop him, and soon blinked in surprise. Her emerald eyes widened, when she soon realized Black Star's wavelength had disappeared as well, as she then straightened up and stepped back. "What is it Maka?" Soul asked. "I think I get it now, so that's why their soul wavelengths disappeared, this strange lake made it happen somehow" she thought aloud, before pulling out a device and wrote the number into it. "Lord Death? It's scythe meister Maka, there's a lake in the east woods near Death City, it's somewhere in the witches' territory that can make soul wavelengths disappear into thin air, I'll send you the coordinates" she told him, before sending it to them, and clicked the device closed. "Let's go Soul" she told him, before she took a running leap off the cliff, and dove into the water. She soon felt a strange sensation of something heavy pulling on her, it was almost suffocating, but she tried to force herself to endure it, as a single thought remained on her mind "wait for me guys"