Well, look who's back?! I have been neglecting most of my stories due to the fact that school has gotten over-whelming as there happens to be a lot of homework and . . . What is this? I actually have a social life? I never thought that would ever become a thing, but apparently I do stuff with people outside of school! Past me would be exhilarated that I actually have friends to do things with. I'm a bit surprised I've developed an outside life, but it happened! Oh, the joys of growing up!

Anyways, I decided to start this back up. It's been a while since I last updated, and since I last updated I believe to have gained some writing skills so I hope that it shows. If not, then I suppose I didn't gain much skill!

With that said, lets rev this old engine up and get it running again!

-Mama Pocky

The First Visit:

Maka Albarn was nervous, to say the least. As her feet padded against the cold, grimy, stone floor of the lower dungeons, she couldn't help but feel an undeniably strong sense of nervousness shoot through her stomach. She had to say- There was a strong feeling that she truly shouldn't have come down here. The feeling turning in her stomach told her that if she came down here, she would find something that she would be disturbed to see. Perhaps, she thought, she should have simply listened to Stein. But she had let her partner-in-crime talk her into coming down here, even when she knew that it was wrong.

Wringing her pale hands, she looked around. It was so quiet that silence seemed to vibrate off the walls of the hallways. Stone walling was damp- Though not damp enough to grow anything on it. Simply damp enough to make her feel a bit nauseous- Damp enough that when she placed her hand on it, momentarily, she was slightly grossed out and had quickly retracted her hand from the surface of it.

Door after metal, barred, locked, door she had passed and there had been nothing. No sounds of despair or denial that what they did was wrong. It was simply silent- In the most dreary way as possible.

So, this lead Maka to ask herself these questions: If there seemed to be nothing down here, then why would it be barred off? It wouldn't be barred off if there was nothing down here, though. That wouldn't make sense. Most of the dungeon was barred off because the torture chambers were close to it- But those sections were on the complete opposite side of the dungeon. So what was so important that they had to keep it away from the mass majority of the children? These were all questions that she needed to find out.

Despite her attempts to stay as quiet as possible, her feet scraped the ground slightly. She was dragging her feet- Though, why? She had never dragged her feet before. Needless to say, it had been a habit of hers to feel heavy when she was nervous and subsequently, that called for the unconscious dragging of her feet. A habit that her father had called her out on, but she denied.

Continuing to walk down this hallway, she craned her neck and desperately listened for any sounds of anything or anyone that might be detained within the walls. Of course, she needed to be wary of her minds playing tricks on her. She couldn't fool herself into believing that she heard quiet breathing- As it could very well be something else that her mind was amplifying out of fear.

The hall seemed to stretch on forever- Having no knowledgeable end to it. There was simply row after row of prison cells. It appeared to be the longest hallway that the dungeon had to offer.

Maka heaved a sigh. Perhaps there was nothing here, and that Lord Death simply didn't want kids in this dungeon because they were renovating it. The girl shook her head violently, disapproving that theory. There was no way that that could be true- Professor Franken Stein had seen to sincerely adamant about the students staying out of the dungeons. The girl swallowed as she contemplated what might be the consequences of her getting caught- And quickly shoved that to the side. She would find what it is and quickly leave to find Soul, who she knew was waiting for her back at the stairwell. Soul wouldn't leave her- Not even on the verge of getting caught. If he couldn't hide, he would make up an excuse as to why he was there and then stall so that she would have time to escape. How did she know this? Because she would have done the exact same thing for him.

Continuing her walk, which was one that was far from a leisurely stroll, she finally came to a door on the right, paralleled by endless doors on either side of it, and rested against it. Her feet weren't hurting- But she simply needed to stop and rest, just for a moment.

"There probably isn't anything here" The girl sighed, her braids falling against her shoulders as she shifted on her back slightly. She shouldn't be idle, especially when there was such a high risk of getting caught where she wasn't supposed to be. But it wasn't going to hurt her to stop for a moment. "I bet Lord Death just wanted to cause a big hype, like the time he thought it would be funny to tell us that we weren't allowed to go into the cafeteria freezer . . ." Maka trailed off. Of course, there had been nothing of value in the freezer and Lord Death later openly laughed at the kids who thought that the freezer held Kishin corpses or something of the sort, and accidentally got themselves locked in there while investigating it. "I should probably go find Soul . . . But I have no idea where the exit is . . . Maybe I should come out where I came?"

The problem was that Maka had taken so many twists and turns to get to this long hallway, that she didn't remember which ways she had turned and which ways she had simply remained on a straight path. She crinkled her nose slightly, in a flurry of uneasy thoughts as she attempted to remember what exact route she had taken to get to this long stretch of hallway.

"Are you lost, devout follower of Lord Death?" Questioned a voice in a lightly amused manner, seemingly near-by.

The girl jumped, every muscle in her body tensing before she was thrown into defense mode- Her hands up in a manner in which she could strike anyone that came within her radius.

She knew that the voice was very familiar- So familiar that she couldn't shake it off of her mind. She also knew that it was a male voice. But what male did she know of would be locked up in the Shibusen Dungeons? It didn't belong to that Giriko character- Though she could barely remember his voice, she knew that this voice sounded far too fluid and soft to belong to someone like that Giriko man. She also knew that the voice was coming from the cell in front of her- Not the one who's door she had been leaning against just moments ago.

The girl made swift movements toward the door, resting her hands against it's metal surface with narrowed eyes. Breathing in a very strong tunnel of air, she shifted toward the door slightly.

"Who the hell are you?"

"You know, I can help you see the light of your errors! I can help you find your way back onto the path of righteousness! Did you know you're very far off of this path of righteousness I speak of? That Lord Death is the path toward caged breeding of humanity? I can suggest to you a path that will lead you to a place of complete freedom!" This man's arms expressed everything he was talking about- She could hear the shuffling of fabric as he swung his arms to symbolize this path he was speaking of. "I am obligated to push you down this path, and to help you walk down it until you can stand on your own!" The man made a walking motion with his two fingers, though Maka could not see it. "Of course, if you wish to walk down the Holy Path of the Kishin, then you must aide in setting me free!"

Realization shined against the mind of Maka Albarn as her eyes seemed to narrow even more, her forehead resting on the metal of the door above her hands, which were also resting on the door in a heavy, guarded, manner.

She had come to figure out who was lingering down in the dungeons- And as to why Lord Death was so adamant about keeping everyone away from it. The light of realization had helped her identify the identity of this thing, now known to her as a person.

"I know exactly who you are" Spoke Maka Albarn, in a low and threatening manner.

And, through the thick door of the retaining cell, she could feel a thin, darkly amused, smirk spread across the narrow face of the male that was being held behind the door.

Cliffhanger!

I feel cruel. Please forgive me for yet another cliffhanger- But they seem to be my favorite things. That and cliffhangers are good ways to keep relative tension within readers. Somewhat, at least.

Until next time!

-Mama Pocky