Helllloooooo again, my fellow SE fans! I am switching the tense from past to present as the first two chapters were to kinda get me up to speed with the storyline in my head. Sorry if this confuses you any!
A/N: I do not own Soul Eater in any way.
Chapter Three: The Truth Unfolds
Deion looks through the cabinets of their first floor apartment, listening to Dalia's loud tastes in music coming from the bedroom, for some sort of on-the-go food. He's not really all that hungry so he deems bothering Dahl to cook up something useless. He opens up the tangible holographic panels from his watch and flips through folders of information, looking for the data on the transfer portals. Transfer portals are portals that directly connect his home dimension Draeona with any other dimension without the use of a dimensional hub (kind of like a direct plane flight); the information is well hidden in case Haile somehow got a hold of it wanting the information to control the dimensions with Anine. Gotcha! He pulls up the files and reads the data collected by his friends back home.
[Direct Dimensional Transfer Portals (DDPs) open at set intervals by number, placement and location. Depending on what dimension a DDP is attached to, its interval time will fluctuate with the speed of time per that dimension in direct relation to which end of the portal the transferee is standing on, i.e. if the traveler is standing on a side of the portal with a slower time frame than the side they are used to, then how much difference there is between the dimensional time frames will result in the opening interval to occur faster or slower than the origin point.]
He should've remembered information like that, but guessing from the dimensional differences (and the forced travel), he concludes to not be able to mentally operate as fast without activating his Full Daemonic State.
Dalia comes out of the bedroom, hair up in a side ponytail (this week with magenta and gold streaks in her faux-black locks), dressed in her usual attire: a bright sleeveless top that brilliantly accents her features, a wholly punk-rock skirt that falls to one side wrapped over skin-tight ripped blue jeans, and (this week) gold converse sneakers with reddish pink laces to match her streaked hair; she had decided to wear her ice blue contacts and shimmery navy eyeliner today. "You do realize that will drive the Reaper insane, right?"
She shrugs. "He will have to get over it. I'll floor him if he touches me wrong." She smiles sweetly before pulling on a metallic pink hoodie. "So, whatcha think?"
"Different as usual."
"That's what I'm going for!" she chirps, shutting off the stereo and grabbing Deion by the wrist. "Now, we're gonna be late if we don't haul ass!" Dalia tosses him a skateboard as she takes her own from beside the door and pushing him out it lovingly. "C'mon!" She kicks once to dart down the hill towards Shibusen.
Tsubaki hears a squeal in the distance, figuring it was Black Star she doesn't bother turning around or moving since he would dodge her. She does duck, however, when air speeds over her head along with the squeal. "SORRY TSUBAKI!" Dalia calls over her shoulder, turning to the side quickly to stop. Deion follows suit, but catching higher air to not disturb the standing weapon and flipping the board up with a flick of his heel. Dalia rushes over. "I am sooo sorry. I thought I was higher than that!"
Tsubaki smiles in a laugh. "It's okay Dali-chan. Accidents happen."
"Nice jump," Kidd states coming up from behind, not noticing Dalia's attire.
"Thanks," Deion murmurs in reply. "Not that hard…" He throws the board into his backpack after it folds up like a piece of paper. Kidd is distracted by Deion's meister's attire by this time.
"WHAT exactly are you WEARING!? That is NOT SYMMETRICAL!" he bellows. "DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND THE BEAUTY OF SYMMETRY!?"
Dalia just chuckles. "Y'know you're cute when you go all paranoid. It's like a little kid and his toys, if the game isn't how he likes it, he gets mad." She winks and skips back to Deion, unfazed by Kidd's unsightly OCD mannerisms, calling out to him in some unknown language. "Deio (like DAY-O)! Kawate-a!" (Translation: Follow me.)
The weapon follows his meister without argument.
Kidd's jaw drops. "She… She just brushed me off and called my attention to detail CHILDISH! Did you hear that?"
Patti consoles him, reminding him Dalia said "cute" and not "childish". "Maybe she likes you Kidd-kun!"
Liz crosses her arms. "Impressive. It's like she's not affected by anything. If she can handle you then she's got nerves of steel." With that comment Kidd falls to the floor, banging his fists down and calling himself trash.
"What's Kidd so upset about this time, Liz-chan?" Maka inquires at the usual sight of Kidd's tantrum.
"Dali-chan said Kidd-kun looked like a kid freaking out~!" Patti exclaims in a giggle.
"So she had the balls to say that to his face?" Soul inserts. "Man, she's got guts and nerve," he laughed.
Kidd bolts up in fury. "IT'S NOT FUNNY, SOUL!" *MAKA-CHOP!* "Thank you, Maka," Kidd says, straightening his collar. "Now, back to the matter at hand. We have two sets of new students, each claiming firsthand experience against Anine, also known as the Black Queen. Both of them stick to the story that she's more powerful than the Kishin. We need a way of knowing who is telling the truth."
"Plus they all know each other. And it's probably from way back. We need to know if they're working together to overthrow Shibusen and take over Death City," Liz adds to Kidd's analysis. "But, how do we find out who is telling us the truth?"
"We could let Patti question them," Soul says sarcastically.
"I don't think that will help Deion-kun open up. He's pretty shy, Soul-kun," Tsubaki replies matter-of-factly.
"Why not a get-together? Deion-kun seems a lot like Crona. Maybe if we show him that we won't harm him he'll open up. If he opens up, then his guard will be down and I could sense if he's with us or against us."
Anine's eyes narrow at the Scythe meister's idea. If that failure sides with them…. A crooked smile creeps onto her porcelain face. …then he'll be a hindrance to their chances of interfering. She projects the thought to Haile, who mirrors her devilish grin from her distant position.
Gym came along and it was time for the fitness exams. The girls are told to go first. Dalia sees Nygus and asks Maka about her. She explains that Nygus is a knife weapon, also that she is the nurse and gym coach for Shubusen; she was part of a three star meister team, her meister being Sid-sensei. Dalia seems fascinated by all the stories and such that come from Shibusen—not to mention all of the missions a meister and weapon could take on. Her name gets called up and she approaches the track.
Meanwhile, watching from the sidelines, Deion can see other guys eyeing her curvaceous figure. Normally he wouldn't care, Dalia can handle herself, but something feels unsettling to him about the situation.
"Dalia Williams, 100 meter dash, 8.4 seconds," Nygus announces. The other Shibusen students look on in awe as she doesn't even break a sweat to achieve such a fast time. "Nice job." Nygus looks to her clipboard. "Oh, there are two names added on to the list. Theresa Hales?"
Blonde locks walk confidently up to the starting line. Time is called and she finishes in 6.8 seconds. Jaws drop wide enough to start catching flies. Except for Deion. He knows everything about Theresa, and none of it is good news. While trying to burn a hole into the meister's head, his own meister and friend tosses a water bottle at him; he catches the thing without averting his gaze. "You and I both know what's going on. So, how're we gonna stop it?"
"Look," Dalia whispers, "you can't spend your whole life trying to destroy the Ace. You wanna know how you get to the top of the pyramid without climbing?" He glances up, eyes tired and ready to kill. "You break down the foundation to make it rubble! I know you can do that, Deio."
Nygus pronounces Deion's name wrong, but he doesn't correct her and goes to the track.
4.7 seconds. Eyes are wide and jaws are dropped. Black Star's record has been beaten by someone with little to no training at all being a weapon at Shibusen.
After gym class, classes go on as normal and the "death meister" team is finally introduced to Stein-sensei. Stein calls the two dark-haired students up front. "Dalia, do you know what kind of weapon your partner is?"
"Yeah. He's several different weapons actually."
Deion shoots her a menacing glare.
"Being as you're still new, explain to me how you know this." He cranks the large screw in his head before blowing a puff of smoke that lingers around the pair. "There are two ways to explain, one is through demonstration and the other through dissection."
She giggles happily. "Really? Well, watch this. HaIre!" (HI-ee-ray. Translation: Begin. Go.) Deion doesn't move, transforming into a simple whip, making some of the students scoff.
"He's a whip?" Soul asks, mildly interested in why he's that kinda of weapon.
"Deio, Katandu." She doesn't scream the next weapon name, which turns out to be a dual-bladed sword, one side white with a black hilt, the other side black with a white hilt. "You know, Mr. Stein, your obsessive urge to dissect things… Well, it's a little odd, yes, but a very hands-on battle style." She looks down to her blade. "Resie!" (Translation: Rebound)
Deion turns into a Bo staff.
"Shambo." Shuriken. (Sharp)
"Nurake." Nunchucks. (Blunt)
After his final transformation, he returns to his human state, eyes closed and hands in his jean pockets. "Dahl, I'm not a toy, y'know."
She nods. Deion turns to Stein-sensei and begins speaking quietly. "Here's something that might pique your interest. I'm not human." Stein did show interest, raising his eyebrows at such a bold statement. "I'm actually not even a weapon. A handful of us here, we don't come from your world… We come from Earth, yes. But we're from another dimension."
"Portal-jumpers if you wanna call it that."
Deion's watch started glowing until Dalia put her hand on his shoulder.
"Huh. It'd be nice to dissect something that looks human and responds humanely… but isn't." Stein murmurs.
The bell rings. Deion tells him he wouldn't care either way.
"After all, there's only one way to kill me. But only four people here know how to do it. Other than me."
After school, the Shibusen gang tries to come up with a plan. Dalia runs up to them. Without Deion? "Sorry guys… Dee's not feelin' like himself today." Her face shows actual emotion that isn't hidden behind a smiling mask. "Maka, remember what I told you when he was really hurt?" The blonde nods. "Well… I didn't tell you everything. What he said today is true. But we're not really portal jumpers. We were shoved through a space-time portal that connects our dimensions… So when he said we're from another dimension, he wasn't lying." The group's eyes widen at what Dalia is saying. She plops down on the low brick wall. "People scare him. The reason why is because of his mother and his older sister. They physically abused him when he was little. Soul, you asked why I'm always happy. Well, it's because he's never experienced positive emotions and only knows to be a cold-blooded killer. But his mother, well, she's a complete nut-bar. She loves controlling people. And one of her puppets is Dee…"
Her distress is almost overwhelming to the gang. They can't believe so much information at once. "Don't believe me? Then look at this." She pulls off her watch and sets it on the ground. "HaIre." She tells it. It opens up a holographic display of a world with mythical creatures everywhere. "This is where we come from. We live in this beaten up castle over called Heisn (HIGH-sin) Palace. My mother lives there with all of us. It's filled with creatures of Darkness, but we're not all evil. Kids like me and Deion come out of there and act as ambassadors to those who see us a dangers to society to change their minds." Her eyes go downcast as she continues. "Deion is a puppet because he has no soul yet. His mother locked it away when we just children… After he met me. I swore after I saw that happen that he'd never see me anything but happy. I'm the only backbone he has left in that world. But here in your world I'm hoping that's different."
She sighs heavily and shuts the holograph off. "He cares about you all… It's because he knows what will happen if Anine isn't stopped. She will absorb the Kishin's madness and thrust the world into chaos. And neither of us want you guys to live that fate. How you face the Asura is up to you, but Anine is our problem as well as yours. And he won't stop until she's back in our world to be locked up." The watch beeps. "Believe or don't. It's your choice. But I can't control Deion when he's a puppet. I can't protect you from him if Anine gets to him first. No, he's not human. He's never bled since his soul was taken from him. He's relying on the part of him that scares him most."
"That scares the boy who tried to murder somebody on his first day?" Liz asks, pretty enthralled in the story.
"His dark side. Since he's not human, he can die infinitely. Shoot him through the heart, it heals almost instantly here. Our time moves much faster than yours, which is why we run faster without trying. But this dark side… It's pure insanity. It has no form because it's just energy, which doesn't need a soul in order to move in our realm. However, here, it's slowly consuming him because your dimension's laws state that every living being needs a soul to operate."
"Those damn kids! Haile!" Anine calls from her throne in the mountain. "Handle it for Mommy will you?"
"Sure thing. Emery, let's jet."
Mocking and laughter fills Deion's ears as he sits in the cold stone room. He never had much… Never wanted much. But every time he tried to earn what he wanted, he failed. His heart pounds wildly as he struggles against his eldest sibling's unceasing iron grip; her smile is filled with blood lust, ready to see the blackish-red liquid fall to the ground and splatter the walls. She's ready to wring his neck, to hear it crack under pressure against the stone wall of the training room. The girl's pale blonde hair looks straight enough to have each strand be razors.
Deion closes his eyes. "Go ahead, sis. I dare you."
"You dare!?" She cackles maniacally. "Why would you dare someone who'd already kill you?"
"Because I'm done."
"What?" His sister and mother ask simultaneously.
"I've already lost. So I'm done. There's no point in fighting if you know you're going to lose, Momma. Sis… no matter what, you'll always be physically better in a fight. I won't deny it." He relaxed his body. "I know I won't pass the test. So I don't want to take it if I'll never pass. I'm not ruthless… I'm not cold…"
His vision goes black and his body numb.
Deion bolts up with a start, his heart ready to burst out of his chest, the blood pounding in his ears; a strangled cry comes from his throat as he clutches his head, trying to fight the nightmare's aftermath off. He thought he was going to die that day.
The hall light comes on, flooding the front part of the bedroom, hiding him in the shadows. "Deion?" It's Dalia's voice… But she never calls him his real name unless something horrific happens. He still doesn't understand why she cares so much about him. They've grown up together, sure, but all he's done is treat her coldly. He doesn't understand her reasoning. Again her voice echoes in the apartment. "Dee? You still here?"
That one is real… he tells himself. He wills his body to move but it's like his bones are lead. The fear is too much. Her shadow go into the room. No words have to be said; she walks over to the edge of the bed and pulls him into a gentle hug. Her warmth is strangely calming.
Haile looks down at the couple. "She thinks she's his sister. Or at least she acts like it. It's disgusting. The worst part is he lets her. As a puppet, he shouldn't have feelings. He should just be a mindless, cold-hearted body that can't think!"
"Haile, don't you think she's breaking through to him?" Emery asks like a dunce. "I mean, she's been caring for him ever since he lost his rights to be free. What if… he gets it back? It's possible."
"Not while we're alive. We'll kill him if he gets in the way. But a nightmare isn't anything to fuss over. That's just Stage One."
End Chapter Three. Loves you all fandom-ers! ~soulhunter