"You're dramatic as always still I see, Laryn." Stein said calmly as the witch's hand darted towards his chest. "And as stupid as you ever were. Double Palm Soul Force!" He slammed both of his hands into her stomach before her hand reached his chest.
The witch hit the ceiling with a thud before falling to the ground, blood exploding from her mouth. Stein stood calmly. "You should have listened to her, Laryn." He said as he darted at the witch, Soul cast to the side as he did.
It wasn't fast enough. Soul still felt the surge of madness, his black blood resonating with it. Suddenly desperate Soul hit his human form, shaking his head, the little demon laughing in his head. Soul covered his ears, trying to block out the laughter only to realize that it wasn't the little demon laughing.
It was Stein.
"Franken!" Marie's voice ripped from her throat, bringing tears to her eyes as she felt something wet rush down her throat. Blood. She coughed, blood spitting from her mouth and she heard Maka gasp. She ignored it all, straining against the bonds holding her arms. "Franken!" She screamed again.
'Destroy it.' Stein darted towards the witch, his wavelength dancing across his hands, a sadistic grin on his face. 'Dissect it.' A hand reached into a pocket to withdraw a scalpel after discharging his wavelength into the witch. 'Cut the flesh, rip the muscle.' The same hand darted at the witch, the scalpel dragging across porcelain skin. His head cracked back as he cackled. 'Destroy it, dissect it!'
"Franken!" Marie screamed again, straining against her bonds.
'Protect it.' Stein froze. 'Protect… her?' He blinked, one hand reaching unsteadily to the screw in his head, his eyes unfocused until his gaze settled on Laryn. With a cackle he leapt at the witch, his wavelength crackling around his hands as Stein brought them both down on the witch, laughter ripping from him again.
"Franken!" Marie hung her head as her voice cracked; her voice gone with the last scream, silent sobs shaking her entire body.
Maka sat frozen outside of Marie's cage. "Maka!" Soul's voice called out to her, obvious agony in it. Maka looked over at him to see him rushing towards him, a dozen of those skeletal monstrosities following him. Dragging herself to her feet, Maka darted to Soul, her hand outstretched. She caught Soul as he transformed, slipping into resonance with him.
"Witch Hunter!" She screamed, slicing through the creatures easily. She then darted towards the witch, coming up behind her as Stein sent her flying backwards with another hit of Soul Menace. Maka was in the witch's path and couldn't get out of the way in time; Laryn collided with her, sending Soul skittering out of her grasp.
"Useless children." Stein muttered. "Always in the way." A peal of high pitched laughter escaped him. "Destroy them like her. Yes. But first, I will dissect." His face contorted into a sadistic grin as he charged.
Maka shook her head as she pushed the witch off of her, standing unsteadily to her feet. Marie watched in horror as Stein charged, Soul Menace playing along his hands.
Soul intercepted him. He came hurtling at the insane meister, catching Stein at the waist, knocking him away from Maka- and directly against the cage that Marie was bound in.
"Soul! Bring him here!" Marie tried to shout, but only managed a ragged whisper, her dry tongue running over dry lips.
Soul understood, using his momentum to force Stein closer to the cage. With a heave he managed to get Stein in reach of Marie, who was glowing like the sun.
"SOUL!" Maka's voice screamed out and the weapon turned in time to see the witch bearing down on him. He stood his ground, blades sprouting from his arms and back as he met the witch's charge. Maka darted towards him, her arm outstretched even as the witch hit him. There was a bright flash and-
Stein was floating. No, he was drowning. He opened his mouth to scream only to feel the salty liquid fill his lungs. He could hear sobbing coming from somewhere near, which meant that there had to be air somewhere close. Desperate, he swam towards the source of the sobbing, bobbing to the surface after a few seconds.
Marie sat on a small island to his right, the only dry land in sight. Her shoulders were shaking violently with the force of her sobs, each tear eroding the island she sat on a little more.
"She's going to die because of you, Stein." A voice said from behind him, and he turned his head to look over his shoulder, treading the water. No one was there. "She cries because of you, Stein." This time it came from directly in front of him. Yet again, there was no one there.
"She loves you, Stein, and trusts in you completely. Yet you wallow in your madness and leave her alone with a witch and two children who have no hope to save her." Stein turned, desperate to see this tormentor, and found himself facing Marie again.
He was also facing himself. "She is dying now, trying to save you. Each tear she has to shed brings her closer to her death, can't you see that? You, the doctor, will let the only person who truly loves you die, all for the sake of Madness?" His other self shook his head disapprovingly. "She will die if you don't fight for her instead of yourself."
"I will not let her die."Stein growled.
"Then prove it, protect her. Save her."
'Protect… her…' Stein opened his eyes, staring up into Marie's eye. She smiled a sad smile, lowering her head to kiss his forehead even as her eye closed and he felt her wavelength slipping away from him. Stein bolted to his feet, taking in the situation.
Maka held Soul, both of them in a corner as the witch approached them, a ball of gleaming energy balanced in her hands. Soul's eyes were closed, his breathing slow, obviously unconscious. Maka was hugging the boy close to her, her eyes closed. The witch was completely distracted.
'I will save her.' Stein thought, desperately. He lunged at the witch just as she started to cast the spell she was forming at Soul and Maka. Maka's eyes flew open as she watched her Professor slam into the witch, his wavelength hitting her hard.
"Laryn, I've toyed too long with you!" Stein hissed into the witch's ear. "You made a grave error- you could have lived your long life here in peace! I promised you that much!" He slammed his fist into her stomach, his wavelength surging through her, blood spitting from her mouth.
"You're a fool, Shibusen dog!" Laryn shouted back. "Peace? There is no peace when the world is like it is! He will set you free from your delusions soon enough!"
Stein slammed his palms against her temples, his wavelength running through her, conducting against itself. She screamed, her body convulsing as Stein kept his wavelength conducting directly through her brain.
"Professor Stein!" Maka screamed from behind him, and he suddenly felt a hand grab his arm. "Ms. Marie needs your help! The witch is dead!"
Stein stared for a few long seconds into Laryn's eyes, and then stopped his wavelength, hitting his knees. A purple, mottled soul rose from the corpse, floating above the mangled body. He was covered in her blood, his lab coat singed from the spell he hadn't even realized she had finished casting. With a trembling hand he reached out and grabbed the soul, turning towards Marie.
"I defeated the witch." He said, pushing past Maka and moving to the now unconscious Marie. "Therefore, as Marie is my weapon partner, the soul is hers. It is more than likely also the only way that she's going to survive until we reach Death City."
Soul's voice reached him and he turned to see the boy leaning on his meister. "You'll get no objections from us. It'd be way uncool to rescue her just to have her die on the way back."
Stein carefully removed Marie's eye patch, turning to shield his actions from the two young children. Slowly, gently, he fed the soul to Marie, watching her soul, hoping the strength a weapon gained from consuming a soul would be enough to bring her back from the brink of death that she was tottering on. A tear rolled down Marie's cheek.
'With each tear, she comes closer to death.' Stein remembered, and he wiped it away with his thumb. Her eye opened, focusing on him.
"I knew you would come." She mouthed, her voice too worn to even whisper now before her eye slid closed again, her breathing evening out as she slipped back to sleep.
Stein, still obscuring his movements from the other two, pressed his lips against hers gently. "I couldn't do anything but."
Marie's wavelength seemed a bit more stable when he looked at it again, and he permitted himself a smile.
A/N: There you have it. I hope that you enjoyed this. I know what I would do if this had interest in being continued- but that is, again, up to the readers.
Thanks for reading, love you all!
