In this chapter you'll be meeting a few of the cannon characters, so get ready!

I get up a total of three DWMA stairs before someone calls out my name from somewhere behind me. Relief floods through my body. Yes! Now I won't have to keep up with Ellis's insane pace because he gets a head start.

"Hey, Cardinal! Wait for me!" I watch Ellis run up the stairs without me for a few moments before looking over my shoulder at whoever is calling me. A grin spreads across my face as I see Maka, one of my really good friends, running down the street, her long black coat flowing behind her. She has on her usual school uniform, a white shirt under a yellow vest and a short red plaid skirt.

I wave to her. "Yo, Maka! Long time no see!" I call back. I haven't seen her since I transferred out of the EAT class almost six months ago. She's one of the strongest students, and Meisters in that class. Not only grade wise, but battle wise too. She's definitely in the top five students at the DWMA. The fact that she's so close to getting her last soul is a testament the that. I'm pretty sure she's on number eighty-nine, so she has ten more to go.

"Yeah, I know. What have you been up to?" Maka asks as she pulls me into a hug. I hug her back. Even with Maka I'm too short, only up to her shoulders. It's a little depressing considering we're the same age.

I shrug and run through my life. Has anything interesting happened to me lately? Aside from the Traitor, I don't think so. "Same old, how about you?"

She starts up the steps slowly, gray pigtails bobbing. I walk beside her at a normal pace. See, she knows not to walks so fast I can't keep up, unlike my Meister. "Nothing really. Soul's...well he's Soul."

The two of us snicker for a moment. I know just as well as she does how Soul can be. We were in the same basic weapon class in our first year. "What about Black Star? How's that idiot been?" I ask.

She grits her teeth. "He's as stupid as ever. Yesterday he completely fumbled a mission with one of his speeches and lost thirty Kishin eggs."

I face palm. "He's hopeless." Oh, Black Star. He's one of the cockiest, most arrogant Meisters I have ever met. But he's also one of the strongest, and maybe he would be able to prove that to everyone else if he wasn't such a high-strung fool.

Maka stops for a moment and takes a long look up at the stairs. She turns back to me with a smile. "Hey Goldwing, race you to the top?"

I grin. "You're on, Albarn."

The two of us sprint up the stairs, taking two at a time. She, of course, is beating me, but not by much. As we run a small shape comes into view a little ways ahead of us. As we get closer I can make out the outline of the speck. It's a person. She has straight black hair that falls to her shoulders, and she's wearing a black school uniform with boots. "Hey, Maka. Who's that?" I ask through heavy pants.

Maka shrugs. "I'm not sure. I haven't seen her before." I'm impressed. She isn't gasping as she tries to talk. Heck, she hasn't even broken a sweat yet.

"She probably a freshman. Poor kid, I remember my first time running up these stairs." I sputter. I nearly passed out and rolled down the steps. That's how Ellis and I met. He found me sprawled out in the middle of the stairs and told me to stop lying around. At the time it was exactly the motivation I needed to hear, and when we went to the orientation room we decided to partner up. The rest is history. "She's swaying. Let's see if she's alright."

Maka nods. "Good idea, let's go."

The two of us are only about fifty steps away when the girl accidentally knocks over her brown suitcase. She reaches out for it, but its to far away and starts sliding down the stairs. The girl stands there with wide eyes, tears brimming.

"I got it!" Maka calls back to me as she speeds up. She grabs the suitcase, dragging it behind her as she catches up with the freshman. The girl gapes at Maka like she's some sort of god as she places the suitcase in front of her. She reminds me of me my first day, so wide-eyed and confused. You never know what to expect from the DWMA until your actually there. Sure, you hear rumors, but they just don't do the massiveness of the school or the craziness of students justice.

Maka flashes her a reassuring smile. "It's just a little farther. Hang in there!" Her eyes flash to me, then back to the other girl before she turns around and continues up the stairs without me. "See you!" She calls over her shoulder. I'm not sure which one of us she was talking about, but I am sure she's going to win our race.

I see the girl's lips moving as she says something to herself, but I can't hear what it is. As I run past her, I latch on to the wrist of her free arm and pull her after me. She gasps, but follows my lead.

"Come on!" I exclaim. "We can't stop now!"

By the time we get to the top of the stairs the girl is panting heavily and sweat is dripping down her face. Maybe I shouldn't have dragged her so fast. "Finally!" She exclaims, falling face first on to the ground. "We made it."

"Yeah," I'm impressed she could keep up. "you did pretty good for a freshman."

I can see her face flush. "R-really?"

I nod. "Yup. You keep that up and you'll fit right in here."

There's a smile on her face when she lifts her head, and she notices the can of soda and note Maka left for her at the top of the stairs. I smile. That's just like Maka. She picks up the can and note and stands up.

"Turn around?" She mumbles. She turns her back to me and gasps. "Wow, so this is Death City?"

I stand next to her, overlooking the entire city. The DWMA is the tallest point, so you can see everything from here. "Pretty amazing right?"

She nods, completely speechless.

A hand is suddenly placed on my shoulder. "Cardinal."

A yelp escapes my throat as I spin around. Ellis is standing there, hand still extended. He drops it and gives me a deadpan look. "You took too long."

I lean over and put my hands on my knees, heartbeat still racing. He always does that, sneaking up on people. He's just so quiet and unnoticeable. I don't think I'll ever get use to it. "Jeez, Ellis. You nearly gave me a heart attack."

His expression doesn't change. "Sorry."

I turn back to the girl, who's still staring at the view. "Well, I'll see you around. Good luck."

She turns back to me and flashes a smile. "Yeah, you too."

Ellis and I make our way into the school. The first thing I notice is the giant bulletin board filled with posters and missions. There are students bustling all around the halls, but only one catches my attention. Black Star. His bright blue hair contrasts with his tan skin. Combine that with his ninja get-up and its hard not to pay attention to him, which is what I think he's going for. He's arguing with a brown-haired student I've seen around a couple of times, a Meister like himself. Tsubaki, his weapon, a pretty older girl with long black hair, is hanging back with an exasperated look on her face.

I look around for anyone else I recognize, and I see two more people. "Hey, Ellis look over there." I say as I point at Leonie King, Ellis's cousin.

She is a beautiful EAT class Meister with straight, messy golden-blonde hair that's cut into a short, chin length bob which hangs carelessly about her face, and one strand hanging between her eyes. She has large catlike eyes with slitted pupils of the same golden color as her hair, and there are three small silver studs in each ear. She also has a black tribal lion tattoo wrapping around her left forearm. The head of the lion opens up on her left hand, her sword hand, like its roaring. A nice effect, though the plain white hoodie she has on covers it. Over the hoodie she wears a black collared vest with white trimming and a white skull on the breast. She also wears a short grey pleated skirt, white knee-length socks and black high-top converse sneakers, and despite her somewhat boyish looks, Leonie has a killer body.

I've known Leonie since I came to DWMA, and I've come to the conclusion she is a strong, slightly terrifying person, but I'm not afraid of her. In fact I really admire her bravery and strength. She is one of the fiercest Meisters I have ever met, with a strong will and an incredible resolve she's impossible to break. She's what one might call a child prodigy, an idol at our school. People say she's going to create the next Death Scythe, that she's going be one of, maybe even the strongest Meisters to ever graduate from DWMA. I've seen her massive soul, and I have to agree them. That chick is going to be a legend. But there's a darkness about her, a weight you can see in her eyes and the serious way she acts. That's what scares people away and makes them avoid her. That, and her ability to channel her soul wavelength into parts of her body which can strengthen her to the point where even a flick of her finger could break a bone, is pretty terrifying too. According to Ellis, he and his parents are her last living family members. Her family was all killed by a witch when she was nine, her whole village was. After that she went off the grid for three years before coming back into the world four years ago.

Standing next to her is her weapon, Neon Torro. He's reckless, almost to the point of crazy, rushing into fights without a second thought. He and Blackstar are a match made in heaven, a seriously messed up heaven. Personally, I think Neon is a good-looking guy. He's lean, and muscular with a head of thick spiky black hair. Other than his personality, the other thing that stands out about him are his eyes. His left eye is a bright blue color, while his right eye is bright green. His clothing is considerably plain, a white button down with short sleeves, a pocket on the left breast that has a black skull on it, and the first button undone. He has on no tie, and his shirt is left untucked over black slacks and black shoes.

When I make eye contact with Leonie she just nods, silently acknowledging me. I see her look over my shoulder at Ellis, and the sides of her mouth raise slightly. Neon gives us a wide grin and a wave before being tugged along by his Meister.

I look over at Ellis, but his face is a blank as usual, so I turn my attention back to the blue-haired Meister. "Hey, Black Star!" I call out. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size for once?" I'm not sure there actually is someone his size. No one can match that ego.

He turns around with a cocky look on his face. "Eh? I'll fight anyone no matter what the size because I am the great Black Star!" He exclaims, throwing the guy into a wall. He points his finger at me dramatically. "Including you!"

"He's an idiot." Ellis says. I nod in agreement. Sometimes I'm not sure whether he likes Black Star or not. They're such complete opposites its almost painful for people to witness them hold a conversation.

"Come on, Black Star." Tsubaki says, she puts her hands up in a pleading manner. "You don't need to do that."

He shakes his head. "You don't understand Tsubaki. I do have to. Maybe...Maybe then she'll realize my greatness!" The other Meister charges him again and Black Star slams his fist into his face. "HAHAHAHA! SEE? I'M THE GREATEST MEISTER IN THE WORLD!"

I roll my eyes. Like I said, ego. "Yeah yeah, I'll see you guys later."

Tsubaki let's out an awkward laugh as Black Star screams at me to challenge him so he can 'prove his godliness'. "It was good seeing you, Cardinal. You too, Ellis." She says.

We walk away just in time to avoid Black Star throwing the guy into yet another wall. Boy, that other guy sure does have guts.

"We need to find Sid." Ellis says. I notice he waits until after we're far enough away from the main hall that no one will hear.

I knit my eyebrows together in confusion. "What? Why?"

He turns a corner. "The Traitor. There was something off about him."

Oh. "Right." Memories from last night flood my brain. The traitors dead, black eyes, it's monotone voice and puppet like movement. Yeah, there was definitely something wrong there. "He should be in the teacher's lounge this early in the morning."

A long hallway, two stair cases, and a balcony later the two of us arrive at the teacher's lounge. I push the door open and walk in, not bothering to knock. What could they be doing that's so important? Nothing, unless you count planning lessons as important.

Hmmm, I've never been in here before. The teacher's lounge is a simple room with two red couches, a fridge against the wall, a microwave propped up on a small table, and a printer. There are many cabinets lining the walls filled with who knows what. Sid is sitting at the table along with his weapon partner, Nygus, who is also a school nurse. They both have dark skin and braided hair, but Nygus is covered in bandages whereas Sid dresses like a basketball player.

"Sid-sensei, Cardinal and I need to speak with you." Ellis announces. He doesn't bother whispering because they're the only two people in the room. "It's about what you asked from us."

"Huh? Oh, Right." He gets up and gestures for us to follow him into the hallway. "What's the problem? Did you take care of it?"

"We confronted the traitor as you ordered," Ellis assures "but there was something off about him."

"Off?" Sid crosses his arms over his chest. "What do you mean off?"

I flick my eyes over to Ellis. If I let him explain this will take hours. "He means the traitor didn't run away like they usually do. He practically walked into my blade."

He knits his eyebrows together, then he rubs his chin thoughtfully. "Hm, that is strange. What did you two do with him?"

"We incapacitated him." Ellis says matter'o'factly.

"Hopefully that will be enough for him to learn his lesson." I add. That last thing anyone needs is that creepy eyed freak running around the city starting problems.

Sid looks at Ellis, then me, then back at Ellis. "I hope so too."

So, what did you guys think? Please review and tell me what you think! ^_^