Night Out Part 2: Girls

"It all started when he tried to drown me," Keyla said as she continued to paint Liz's toenails. Maka, in her shock, swallowed her drink wrong, causing her to choke and cough. Tsubaki quickly ran over to her distressed friend and patted her back in an attempt to clear her airways while Liz and Patti stared at Keyla with a look of confusion at her statement. Keyla looked up to see everyone looking at her strangely, though she was confused as to why. "What?"

"He…tried to drown you…and you're still friends with him?" Liz asked slowly to be sure she had heard correctly.

"Yeah, that's what I said, and yeah, we are still friends."

"Ok, we are gonna need some serious information here because that doesn't sound right," she said, shaking her head and taking a drink from her wine cooler.

"Well, it's not like he did it recently. And to be honest, it was kinda my fault," she said with a laugh as she readjusted her pajama shirt after putting the nail polish down. "It happened when we were like five years old. You see, our parents used to be students here at the academy. His dad and my dad were partners and used to cause a lot of trouble. They apparently had gotten the most detentions for their class."

"Oh my. They must have been very troublesome," Tsubaki said.

"No, they were just idiots. Still are," she said, causing everyone to laugh. "Though I can see where Code gets it. Meta is just as crazy and just as lazy."

"Wait, did you just say Meta? As in Meta Phase, the greatest mace meister in all of DWMA history?" Maka asked in astonishment. "That's Code's father?"

"The very same. He taught Code everything he knows about wielding chain style weapons like me since my Dad was a chained weapon as well."

"So that means that you're the daughter of Mace Marks, right?" Tsubaki asked to which Keyla nodded her head.

"Mace and Maria Marks, the two most embarrassing parents a kid could ever have. Or, that's what my younger brother and sister say. But yes, those are my parents. Ironically, Code's mom and my mom were partners here too, and used to tell us stories about how our dad's used to get in trouble and used to hit on them all the time because they were on the same team. They used to get annoyed by them, but I guess one day they just wore them down," she said with a smile on her face.

"So what kinda weapon is your mom?" Patti asked, leaning in close as she hung off of every word.

"She's a double bladed staff."

"So your weapon form is a combination between the two of theirs," Maka said in interest as she thought how Keyla and Code had described her form. "That's interesting because of how rare it is that the child of two weapons would become a mixed combination between the two. It's usually one or the other depending on which trait is the more dominant of the weapons."

"Yeah yeah, enough technical stuff. We'll get to her weapon form later but for now, can we get back to the real story," Liz said, giving Maka a pointed look. Maka glared back at her but said nothing.

"Oh right, the real story. Ok, so our parents had been friends for a long time, but hadn't seen each other in years, and had decided to have a little get together for old time's sake. It was at this gathering that Code and I met.

Keyla stared at the boy in front of her with curiosity. He had short hair that was twisted in to cornrowed braids and bright blue eyes that stared back at her emerald green ones, the same curiosity dancing in his eyes. She vaguely remembered her mother telling her that her and her daddy's best friends from when they were in school were coming to visit them and that they were bringing a new friend for Keyla. When she had heard this, the first thing she thought about was a puppy or a pony because every girl wanted to have her own pony. Seeing that the person they were talking about was this boy, she was not happy with it at all. The boy smiled a toothy grin at her and held out his hand to her.

"Hi! My name's Code! You're really pretty!" he said, still smiling at her. Keyla only felt more annoyed with the way this boy spoke. He seemed really annoying, and she didn't like annoying things or people.

"I don't like you," she said with a pout on her face. The smile fell from the boys face as he looked at her and his hand went back to his side. "Boys are icky and stupid I don't play with boys. You're a stupid head!" Keyla stuck her tongue out at the boy to emphasize her point and turned to walk away, but soon felt a pressure on her back and a falling sensation as she tipped sideways and felt the sudden rush of water as she broke through the surface and began to sink.

Panic began to take over her as she struggled to kick her feet and move her arms, but found her struggling to be useless as she only continued to sink. As she looked around, she soon saw a familiar pair of strong arms as they reached out to her and wrapped around her. Water rushed past her before her head came up and she could breathe once again. Keyla began to cough roughly as water exited her lungs and tears began to pour down her face from the scary experience. Clinging onto her father for dear life, Keyla shook as she looked at all the people who were panicking sigh with relief. As she looked, she quickly caught the eyes of the boy she had been talking to before. His glare scared her as he looked at her wet form in her father's arms and tears ran down his face. Before she realized, the boy was being pulled away by his arm via his mother who looked very angry as they walked away from the crowd. Keyla could faintly hear the sounds of yelling and crying as the boy was reprimanded. The boy's father came over to her and her father, apologizing for his actions.

"I'm really sorry, Mace. I don't know what's gotten into that boy," the man said.

"It's alright, Meta. I know they were just playing and I'm sure he didn't mean it," her father said, cradling her.

"He's a stupid face!" Keyla suddenly yelled, still looking at the boy.

"Keyla, that's not very nice."

"It's also the reason why he pushed her into the water in the first place," her mother said as she walked over to them and handed her father a towel that he wrapped around her small frame to dry and warm her. "I was watching them, and Code was being so sweet. He had the biggest smile on his face and was holding out his hand to her, but Keyla apparently doesn't like him and decided it was better to tell him that and call him names right to his face. My guess would be that his feelings were hurt and he reacted by pushing her into the water."

"Oh, lord. Meta, I think I'm the one who should be apologizing. Apparently we're going to have to teach Keyla how to treat people," Mace said, a small grin on his face.

"Now, Code, what do you have to say?" Turning, everyone looked to see Kara, Meta's wife and Code's mother, give the boy a small push forward toward them all.

"I'm sorry I pushed you into the water, Keyla," he said, tears still staining his face and gaze to the ground.

"Thank you, Code. Keyla, what do you say?" her mother said. Keyla looked at the boy with a look of hate and stuck her tongue out at him before turning away and pouting. All of the adults sighed, a feeling of exhaustion taking them all over. "Well, that could have gone better."

"You called him stupid when he was trying to be nice, and then he pushed you into the pool?" Liz asked, a fit of laughter taking over her.

"That seems like a bit of an over-reaction," Tsubaki said though she had a smile on her face.

"I can't really blame him. I guess I really hurt his feelings, though I was too stubborn to notice it at the time," she said with a shake of her head. "That was the last time we saw each other until we were about nine. Our families decided to go on a vacation together. Of course the blood was still pretty bad between us because as soon as he climbed out of his family's car, I glared at him. Code just stood there, staring at me with this emotionless face and for some reason it just pissed me off even more that he wasn't even going to acknowledge how much I hated him. I swear he was only trying to get under my skin because he greeted both of my parents and my little brother and sister with a smile. It seriously pissed me off, and when we were alone, I asked him what his problem was."

"What'd he say?" Patti asked.

"He said "I don't waste my time on bratty little girls who think they're queen bitch". His EXACT words," she said with a laugh. "I don't know what I was more shocked at: the fact that a nine year old was smart enough to know how to swear like that or the fact that he did it with such a calm demeanor that I wasn't even sure it had really happened. Things didn't really get better after that. We pretty much ignored each other until one night when our parents sent us to the store down the street to get food. We didn't say anything to each other and it stayed that way until-"Keyla paused, eyes growing wide as she realized she had begun to ramble. The other four girls gazed at her in confusion at her sudden pause in speech while Keyla was mentally kicking herself.

That was a topic that they weren't supposed to just start telling people, regardless of how nice they were. In fact, they weren't supposed to let that information out until they had a better handle on what they were going to do about it. Sure, everyone had been really nice to them so far, and they were going to be teammates with them, but now was not the right time to tell them. No, that time would come eventually, but until then, she had to keep it a secret.

"Keyla? Are you alright?" Tsubaki asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. Keyla looked up at her with a sad look before she nodded her head.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just…reminiscing," she said quietly.

"So, what happened? How did you guys end up talking with each other?" Maka asked. Keyla sighed, lolling her head back and looking at the ceiling as she deviled back into the memory.

The two nine year olds walked silently down the dark street, the only light coming from the over head street lights and a few headlights of cars that passed by. Keyla could feel the nervousness bubbling in the pit of her stomach as she walked beside a boy that hated her as much as she hated him. The two were making their way back to the hotel, and had yet to say a word to each other, and it didn't look like they were going to, which was fine with her. He was a jerk anyway. The sounds of their flip flops slapping against the pavement was brought to a stop as Code stuck his hand out to stop her, nearly knocking her over which did not sit well with her as she glared at him.

"What?" She asked, vemon lacing her words.

"Did you feel that?" he asked quietly, eyes scanning the area around them. Keyla rolled her eyes, looking down the open alleyway near them.

"Feel what, you psycho?" Code could tell that she was clearly not in the mood to talk to him. Though, when was she ever in the mood to?

"There's something following us. Or someone. I can feel it."

"Oh very funny. Try to scare me so you can laugh about it later. Well it's not going to work so don't bother. I'm not in the mood for some stupid prank. It's dark and I wanna go home," Keyla said, stepping around his arm. Code reached out and grabbed her just as a tentacle whipped out and lashed at the ground when she had been standing a moment ago. Keyla's mouth gaped open like a fish as she turned to see a creature with long, vines coming from its green body begin to stalk toward them from across the street.

His eyes glowed an ominous red as he licked his lips, bypassing his large, sharp teeth. As Code looked upon the creature in fright, his face paling a little, he was quickly reminded of a Venus fly trap that his class kept as a pet, except on a much larger, scarier scale.

"What is that thing!?" Keyla screamed, hiding behind Code as they stepped away from the approaching monster.

"I think my Mom and Dad used to tell me about these things. I think they're called kishins," Code said, his gaze never leaving the monster.

"You mean the soul eating things that they used to fight when they were teenagers!?" she said, pure terror running through her as tears fell from her face. "I don't want to die!"

"Then stop screaming and run!" He yelled, grabbing her hand and running, their bags of snacks easily forgotten. As Code pull her along, he was suddenly jerked back as he watched in horror as the girl was pulled into the alleyway. "Keyla!" he shouted. Code looked around, beginning to weigh his options. He was only a few blocks from the hotel, he could get their parents. But if he did that, it might be too late. He could stay and try to fight it off, but as far as he knew, he wasn't a weapon type, and there for could not transform. 'Even if I was, I've got no training! I'd be walking into my own death!' Turning, he began to run when Keyla's terror filled scream reached his ears. Before he could even understand what he was doing, Code was in the opening of the alleyway, staring as the monster held Keyla against the wall, preparing to devour her.

He met her eyes as she screamed in terror and began to look for a weapon he could use when he came across a discarded trash can lid. Grabbing it, he quickly tossed it like a Frisbee, watching as it bounced off the skull of the green soul devourer. Code could feel the adrenaline pumping into his veins as his pride swelled. Maybe he could do this! Maybe he could save her. The kishin, however, was not as excited about the boy hitting him, and turned around, whipping out another tentacle at him. Code quickly pulled a lid off the can next to him, using it as a makeshift shield to block the attack, but the force was too much and knocked him over. Taking advantage of his defenselessness, the kishin wrapped another tentacle around his ankle, dragging the boy over and throwing him at the girl.

The two children collided, landing in a heap against the wall. Code groaned as he moved off of Keyla but soon a stream of felt panic as she remained unmoving, though he had little time to ponder what was wrong as the creature began trying to whip at him again. Picking up his can lid, Code began to block as many attacks as he could, standing in front of the unconscious girl's form, but was no match for the furiousness of the attacks, and began to take many hits. Some hit him in the side, some went for his legs, but the ones that stung the most were the ones that hit him in the head or the face.

As a small trail of blood trailed down his face, Code could feel his panic start to grow in size as the adrenaline he had felt earlier was beginning to fade. Code could feel the various bruises and scratched that he had obtained, a few bleeding and staining his white shirt, yet he refused to move from his spot. Just when he thought it wasn't going to get any worse, a tentacle came up from under him and wrapped around his throat, cutting off his air before slamming him into the wall behind him. Code's grip loosened at that moment, and his only weapon fell to the ground with a loud clank.

Code struggled to breathe and to get his body to move, but his arms and legs remained hanging limp at his sides, and it was at the moment that he truly thought he was going to die. He had failed. His father had told him that it was his job to watch out for Keyla and to make sure she was safe when they went to the store. And here he was, hanging on the wall, suffocating and about to be eaten by a monster. 'I'm sorry Dad. I guess I can't ever be as good as you and Mom.'

"Feed," the kishin said as it looked at the two children in its grasp. Code was sure he was about to be swallowed whole, when he watch a tentacle snake across the ground and wrap around Keyla's waist, bringing her up to the monster's eye level. Code's eyes widen in horror as she was brought closer to its mouth, almost touching its teeth.

"No!" he croaked out as best as he could, fury suddenly taking full control of his vision. A wave of energy began to flood his now boiling blood as his arms suddenly grabbed onto the vine holding him and pulled at it. "NO!" He yelled more clearly. "Leave her alone!" he screeched.

The monster turned, perplexed as the boy's body was suddenly surrounded by a bright blue light. The boy was screaming at the monster, but it paid no attention as he could only focus on the delicious scent of the boy's soul as it expanded. It once again dropped the girl, planning to save her for later and reached out to the boy, when a blinding light exploded from the boy's body, and a layer of ice ran up his vine like arm. The monster roared in anger and pain, causing him to drop the boy who landed on his feet, head held down as his short dreadlocks casted a dark shadow over his eyes. The monster lashed out at the boy, only to see the boy had disappeared in an instant.

The boy came down so fast, the kishin didn't even see him until he felt the powerful kick to the side of his face, sending him into the wall. With a graceful flip, the boy landed, head still hanging as if he were staring at the ground. The kishin peeled itself out of the wall and roared as he lashed out at the boy, narrowly missing his head. The boy vanished once more, running up the wall with something in his arms. Landing on the sidewalk, Code laid Keyla on the ground tenderly, haunting bright blue completely consuming his eyes, pupils, whites and all.

"Must protect…" he mumbled quietly. The kishin roared at the boy who turned, eyes finally casted up at the creature. "Must…destroy."

Unbeknownst to him, the girl began to stir and looked up to see him standing over her in a protective stance as the creature roared at them. Fear began to run through her all over again before a cold sensation flew over her. Looking up, she stared, wide eyed as the boy she hated seemed to be glowing a slight blue color.

The calm look on the boy's face changed to one of fury once more as he jumped up, running along the wall around the creature's attacks as they smashed into the bricks. Pushing himself off the wall, the boy threw a glowing blue fist into the monster's stomach, making it scream. A battle cry ripped from the boy's throat as he threw another and another in rapid succession, crippling the creature. As it raised an arm to attack, the boy roared again, thrusting his hand into the creature's chest, breaking it's ribcage and grasping it's heart in his hands.

Both cried out, one in pain, the other in rage. As the energy poured from his body to his arms and into the creature's chest, the boy yelled out, "I will protect them all!"

It all happened in an instant. The explosion of energy engulfed the ruined alley, causing an uproar of arctic cold air to sweep pass the girl who was almost thrown back by the pure power contained in blast. Covering her eyes in an attempt to keep the battle in site, Keyla called out to the boy.

"CODE!" but her voice as drowned out.

As the wind settled and the light began to die out, Keyla was stunned as to see Code, eyes still ablaze with blue energy as he stood beside a glowing red orb. Opening her mouth to speak, Keyla could feel her vocal cords tighten and her body shake with fright as he stared at her.

"Must protect…Keyla…" he said, voice hallow and ominous as it echoed. "Secret…promise…" As he raised his hand, Code's legs gave out, bringing him to his knees before he fell to the ground and lost consciousness.

"Code!" Getting to her feet, Keyla ignored the various pains she felt over her body, and knelt beside her savior. "Wake up, please," she begged, eyes dripping as tears fell onto him. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry for everything and how I treated you! Just, please, don't die! Code, don't die!"

As Keyla came back into reality, she looked at the three weapons and the single meister.

"After I was knocked unconscious, I came too to find that Code had passed out too, and looked like he's just been in a fight with a pack of rabid dogs with a kishin egg floating next to him. I ran over to him and kept trying to wake him up because I thought for sure he was dead. Not long after our parents showed up and were relieved to see that we were alive. When our parents saw him on the ground, out cold with a kishin egg next to him, they rushed us to the hospital. I feel asleep on the way there.

"I came to a few hours later, and the doctor told me that I should be fine and that I only had a few scraps here and there. When our parents asked me what happened, I explained that we were attacked on the way home, and that I only remembered being knocked out until I woke up and didn't know what happened to the kishin besides it obviously being destroyed. They went to sign some release forms, and as the door shut, Code spoke up."

Keyla leaned back into her pillow, not sure why, but feeling like she had done the right thing. She hadn't told them the complete truth. She hadn't told them about how Code had been acting or the glowing or how he was the one who destroyed the kishin. But why hadn't she? 'Could it have something to do with what he said before he passed out?'

"Keyla…"

Surprised, Keyla nearly fell out of her bed as she turned to see the boy in question, wrapped and bandaged, looking at her with his normal deep blue eyes.

"Code…" she whispered before feeling the tears coming to her face. Hopping out of her bed, she ran over to his side and hugged him, burying her face in his neck. "Oh, Code, I'm-so-sorry-you got hurt-because of me," she cried.

"Thank god you're safe," he said, wincing at the pain. "When he had me pinned against the walk, and he had you…I thought you were gonna die…I thought…I had lost and that I was gonna lose a friend," he whispered as tears trailed down his face too.

Keyla looked up at him, tear streaks staining her face with the shocked look that she had. "Lose…a friend?"

Code nodded. "I've never hated you, Keyla. I was just acting that way because I thought you didn't want to be my friend. But I never wanted you to get hurt."

"Is…that why you protected me from the monster?"

"Yeah. But…I thought I had failed because when the monster had me against the wall…I was too weak to get away. It had beaten me so badly, I couldn't move. I was so scared that you were gonna die…" he continued to cry. "And to wake up and see that you're safe…"

"But Code, you saved me. You saved us. We wouldn't have survived if it wasn't for you," she said, as her hand came up and grasped his, being careful of the I.V. "And I'm sorry for making you feel like I didn't want to be your friend. From now on, we're going to be friends. And not just friends, best friends. Ok?"

Code looked up at her, and, seeing the sincerity in her face, he smiled too, and nodded. "And I promise to protect you from everything that tries to hurt you. I'll grow up and get bigger and make sure nothing and no one ever hurts you again." Keyla had a sudden flashback as she remembered the hallowness of his voice as it echoed in her mind.

'Secret. He said secret.' Looking at the smiling boy, Keyla began to wonder if he didn't remember anything that happened last night. 'He said he thought I was gonna die and that he only remembers waking up here…me must not remember killing the monster. That must be what he meant last night…his power…it's a secret. And he wanted me to make a promise to keep it.'

Smiling down at her new friend, Keyla could only smile and nod her head as his secret that was foreign to even him, became hers to protect.

As tears rolled down her face and her body shook with sobs, Keyla could feel the other girls embrace her, holding her tight in an attempt to comfort her.

"It's ok, Keyla. Everything's ok now," Tsubaki said in a soft tone.

"You know, I still find it ironic that he's the one who promised to always protect me, and I end up being the weapon," she said with a small laugh as her tears started to slow. "But he kept his promise. Every time I needed someone, he was there for me. And I never appreciated him more then when I got my heartbroken and he literally begged his parents to let him come stay with my family just so that he could keep his promise and protect me from myself."

"From yourself?" Liz asked, a bad feeling bubbling up inside her chest. Keyla nodded.

"I got kinda depressed after the whole thing with Soul because I was being picked on, and people were calling me ugly. Soul had been the one person other than Code who had seen the real me, and I was so happy because of it, that I really thought I was in love with him. So when he left, I thought I had nothing to live for. I thought about ways to make the pain go away. I even thought about cutting myself, which did not sit well with Code, which is why he came to live with us. Code was the light that brought me back out of the darkness, and I don't ever think I'll be able to show him just how much he means to me because of it."

All of the girls looked down at her, but all were having similar thoughts about their own partners.

"I understand," Tsubaki said. "Blackstar may act like an idiot sometimes, but he really is considerate. Like when I had to battle with the sacred sword, he sat by my side, cheering me on and protecting me. I've…"Tsubaki paused to wipe her tears. "I've always held respect for him, but that seemed to bring out something more."

"Patti and I know where you're coming from too," Liz said, looking at her little sister who had a sad smile on her face too. "When we lived on the streets, it was hell. We did things that we can never take back and will haunt us forever. But the day that Kid came and took us away from all that was the best day of our lives. That's why we've sworn to never fail him and to help him to get through everything. Especially that OCD ness of his." This caused everyone one to laugh at the young Reaper who was not present to defend his actions. Keyla looked to Maka who had fresh tears rolling down her face.

"Soul…he's…an idiot. The King of all idiots. That…uncool bastard," she said before looking up at everyone with a smile. "Again, Keyla, I'm really sorry for all the hell he put you through. But I'm sure he didn't mean any harm that he caused. To be honest, he and Code have a lot in common." Maka looked away as she remembered the long scar that now adorned Soul's chest because of his sacrificing himself to protect her from Crona's attack.

"I am your weapon partner, Maka. That means I am always ready to die for my meister!"

She remembered the feeling of dread she felt as she watched his face contort in pain and his blood spill and pool around her. She remembered crying and feeling numb as she thought about losing him. She also remembered the promise she made to get stronger so that they could protect each other.

"Ok, enough of this moping around. We're here to have fun and to talk trash about the boys," Liz said as a smile came to her face and a wine cooler was held in the air.

"Yeah!" Patti cheered, following her sister's lead.

"Agreed," Tsubaki said, holding up her glass of wine while Keyla smiled and held her own.

"To dealing with annoying boys and their stupid mucho complex!" She cheered. Maka smiled and held up her can of soda, her worries temporarily forgotten.

"You got that right!"