Episode Four
The Resonating Soul, Two Heads Are Better Than One?
A sound soul dwells within a sound mind and a sound body.
Tsarevich entered his classroom and sulked the entire way to his seat. He leaned his elbow on the table before him and rested his chin in his hand. He let out an audible sigh of depression. He had lost another Weapon partner. He was sure that this one was finally it, too. Oh, well. If he couldn't be successful as a Meister, he could always slip into a deep, dark depression, shun the world, and live as a recluse.
At least I have options.
"Geez, Tsarevich! What's eating you?"
Temporarily snapped out of the cloud of his own miserable failure, Tsarevich looked up to see who was talking to him. It was Hammer. He was reclining in his seat, feet propped up on the table before him. He was on the row beneath him, just a few seats to the right.
"Oh. Hey, Hammer. How are you?" he asked nonchalantly.
"I'm amazing! In case you didn't notice, I got accepted back into the DWMA!" Hammer announced. Tsarevich's eyebrow went up. He hated to see people state the obvious.
"Yeah. You've been back for like three weeks now. I said hi to you on your first day back, remember?" Tsarevich asked.
"Oh yeah! Sorry I didn't remember. I was too busy being excited about becoming a Death Weapon," Hammer said.
"You're going to become a Death Weapon, eh?" Tsarevich said. He might have a little fun with this.
"Yep! And not just that, but I'm going to do better in my studies too! Go ahead! Quiz me over any of the material! I stayed up all night studying! I know chapter six like the back of my hand!" Hammer announced, grinning from ear-to-ear.
"Chapter six? We're being tested over chapter eight today," Tsarevich pointed out. Hammer's jaw literally dropped to the floor as he stared at Tsarevich in wide-eyed shock and horror. His eyebrow twitched as he slowly, jerkily turned his attention to Nail. His Meister was sound asleep, mouth open, drooling on his notebook.
Hammer promptly transformed his right hand into a hammer and smashed it against Nail's skull as he slept.
"Ow! What the hell did you do that for? I was sound asleep!" Nail protested. He was up on his feet, nursing a growing knot on the top of his head while he shook his fist at Hammer.
"You stupid idiot! This is all your fault!" Hammer raged.
"What are you talking about, you idiot! I was sound asleep and you try to bash my skull in. I was having a particularly good dream too, thank you very much!"
"You told me that we were being tested over chapter six!" Hammer protested.
"So?" Nail threw his hands up in a dramatic shrug. Hammer smashed his head again with his hammer-fist.
"So? So we're being tested over chapter eight. I stayed up all night studying the wrong chapter because of you!" Hammer said. Nail got up and sat in his seat, rubbing a second knot forming at the top of his crown.
"Well, we better cram as much as we can before the bell rings," Nail said. As if fate itself had decided to mess with them, the bell sounded and Professor Aurion made his way into the classroom. Hammer looked at him and started rifling through his textbook, trying desperately to absorb as much information as he could. Meanwhile, Nail decided to go back to sleep.
"Good morning, class. I trust that you all studied hard for the big test today over chapter eight," the professor said, greeting the class with a smile. Hammer let out a whimper as he tried to make sense of the pages. Tsarevich giggled a little bit. He couldn't help himself.
"Hammer, you've got it upside-down," Tsarevich pointed out. Hammer stopped and looked. Turning it over. He gave Tsarevich a smile and a thumbs-up before returning to his rigorous reading.
"I think that you'll all be delighted to know that I am postponing the test until Friday," he said.
The class erupted into cheering. Tsarevich found himself joining in. He had studied in advance and paid plenty of attention to the lectures over the chapter, so he was prepared now. Nonetheless, not having to take a test was always a good thing in his mind.
"Instead, I have a very special lesson to teach you today. Chapter eight touched on it a little bit, but we're going to skip ahead to a subject I find most interesting. I hope that you all enjoy learning about it.
"Today we are going to talk about Weapon-Meister teams," he concluded. Tsarevich frowned. He was the kind of kid who read ahead to the end of the book to find out what was going to happen. He already read some about Weapon Meister teams because he thought the idea was brilliant. He also knew that while Maka Albarn had dealt the finishing blow to the Kishin Ashura, she did not work alone. Her team consisted of Black Star, Death the Kid, and their weapons.
"As you well know, the Kishin Ashura was defeated by Maka Albarn and her team of Meisters. Some of them are still teachers at this academy. Most of you have already selected a Weapon partner," the professor said. He peered right into Tsarevich's eyes when he said what he said next: "Others of you have still yet to accomplish that."
He sunk in his seat, embarrassed at the jeering looks being hurled at him by his peers. He was counting on Vyse being his weapon, but one night he was just—gone. He felt guilty, thinking to himself that he must have chased his prospective partner off with his over-friendliness.
"By the end of this semester, you will group together to form teams. The teams can include no less than three Meisters and no more than five. Don't worry, if one or two of you end up outside of the group, I will assign you one. Choose carefully who you group with because the grades that you earn must be earned together. Either all of you pass, or all of you fail," the professor explained.
Tsarevich's wheels started turning as he began to think about who he would pick for his team. He had until the end of the semester. He could pretty much rule out any team that had a Weapon-Meister pair that included a Weapon he had previously wielded. That was everyone. He slumped in his seat. That was literally every pair in his class except…
Tsarevich put on his friendly smile and hopped over the table down to the lower level and into the seat next to Hammer, his arm resting around his shoulders. Hammer looked over at him with an awkward expression.
"Hey Hammer! Did I ever tell you how happy I was to see that you and Nail were back at the Academy again? If not, let me just express the overwhelming joy swelling in my heart to know that the strongest Weapon-Meister team is back in action," Tsarevich said.
"Thanks, Tsarevich…" Hammer said. He stole a glance at Nail who shrugged and gave a raised eyebrow.
"You know, I was with the professor when he stumbled across your shack and decided to give you a second chance. I kind of talked him into it," Tsarevich announced.
"Oh…well, thanks again," Hammer replied, stammering.
"You know, I was thinking about something the professor said about forming teams. Beings as no one wants to group with the guys who got expelled, you guys should be on my team!" he suggested with a smile.
"No way. We're not going to be on your team," Nail said, speaking up and joining in on the conversation.
"Why not?" Tsarevich asked, keeping his smile plastered on his face.
"You don't even have a Weapon partner. If we did pair together we would only have half of a team," Nail explained.
"We can find room to squeeze another one in. If not, the professor is going to do the pairings for you," Tsarevich pointed out. Hammer leaned forward, started drooling as literal hearts form where his irises once were. He was staring across the room at Ayame.
"I hope he pairs us with Ayame's team! Just look at her. Perfect hair! Perfect legs! And that ass! Mmm…I think I'm in love!" he announced.
"Fat chance. She paired up with another Meister and by the looks of it she's in with Sky and Rain's team," Tsarevich said, and then added, "they already have three Meisters. See?"
"You never know. We might get lucky. Just look at all the hot girls on that team. One of them is bound to go out with me. Sorry, Tsarevich, and no offense, but Nail and I are going to try to get on that team!"
"Well, what am I supposed to do in the meantime!" Tsarevich demanded.
"Sorry, dude. Not our problem," Nail said. He put his head back down on his desk to continue his nap.
"I'll help tutor you guys if you join my team," Tsarevich offered, hoping his GPA would count for something.
"That's okay. We're actually getting average scores on our assignments now. We don't need any tutoring," Hammer replied.
"You're trying to become a Death Weapon, right?" Tsarevich asked.
"Of course," Hammer replied.
"Well, it's going to be awfully hard to do that if you don't have a high enough GPA to accept missions," Tsarevich pointed out.
"You have to have good grades to accept missions?" Nail asked.
"Of course," Tsarevich said with a smile, mimicking Hammer's response.
"Well, how does joining your team help us out with that?" Hammer asked.
"If at least one member of your team as a qualifying grade-point average, the entire team is allowed to participate in the mission," Tsarevich explained, and then added, "Considering that I don't have a Weapon partner, this works out great for you."
"How do you figure?" Hammer asked, scratching his head.
"Well, our team would currently only have one Weapon. That means that any Kishin souls that we collect would go to you by default, Hammer. Now you'll have not one, but two Meisters helping you collect souls," Tsarevich pointed out.
"How are you going to help us without a weapon?" Nail asked.
"I would think that after your mishap with the professor, you would know that Meisters don't necessarily need a Weapon to project their wavelength. Not-to-mention the fact that I can adjust my wavelength to wield any Weapon," Tsarevich pointed out.
"He does have a point. When I was looking for a Meister partner he was one of the only other Meisters besides you who could wield me," Hammer said, looking at Nail. It looked like he was starting to win them over.
"No way! First of all, no one wields Hammer but me. We have an understanding. Second of all, you shouldn't be worried about helping me build a Death Weapon when you don't have a partner of your own. Third of all, I have a feeling that there's a reason why nobody wants to be on your team, Tsarevich," Nail said. Tsarevich felt his cheeks flush red with anger. He thought he might have to challenge them to a duel to convince them that he could fight worth a damn. That was just fine with him.
"Actually, I think that's a splendid idea," the professor said, suddenly appear to the seat next to Nail. They all jumped in surprise that he was there.
"How does he do that?" Hammer asked.
"I don't know. He's really sneaky like that," Tsarevich said.
"What's a good idea?" Nail asked.
"I think that the three of you would work very well together. Tsarevich's Soul Perception is the best out of any of the Meister-students in this class. He could teach you a thing or two," the professor said. Tsarevich could hear the sparkle in his eyes as he swelled with pride.
"Well he's not a teacher; he's a student and I don't want to learn from him. I want to learn from you," Nail countered.
"The two of you share the strongest bond out of your class. I think you could help him find a suitable Weapon partner before it's too late," the professor said.
"Too late?" Tsarevich asked.
"You can complete this year of study, Tsarevich, but next year you can't participate in a single class without your Weapon partner," the professor said.
"The year is almost over!" Tsarevich said in despair.
"Exactly. I suggest the three of you start helping each other. I have a feeling your team will be great!" he said with a smile and walked back down to the class to continue the lecture.
"Well that's just great. First we have to come back to this dumb school, now we have to team up with Meisters that can't keep a Weapon partner. This was such a great idea, Hammer," Nail complained. His head was back on his desk. Tsarevich ignored Nail's disdain at the outcome. It had landed in his favor and he was going to take what he could get.
"So I guess we're teammates now," Tsarevich said to Hammer, extending his hand.
"Teammates," Hammer confirmed reluctantly.
"I know you guys aren't happy about this, but I promise you that I'm gonna make you glad we ended up on the same team," he promised.
"Oh I'm sure you will almighty seer of souls!" Nails said, mockingly. Tsarevich decided he was not going to let it bother him. He would prove himself to them, start his team, and then find a Weapon partner. Sure, he was doing things out of order, but he was bound and determined to be a Meister.
"Hammer, Nail, and Tsarevich. Please meet me at the edge of the forest after dinner. I have a mandatory extra-curricular assignment for you," Professor said. They tried to argue, but it was no use. They sat through the lecture about team building until the bell chimed.
I wonder what the lesson is going to be, Tsarevich thought to himself.
"Where is the professor? He said he was going to be here," Nail complained. They had been standing there for about twenty minutes waiting. They were all getting a little impatient.
"Maybe he forgot about it and we're off the hook! Maybe we can just go back to our dorms," Hammer suggested. Tsarevich shook his head, arms crossed.
"No. The professor doesn't forget. He always has a reason for doing something. You guys will see. He'll show up exactly when he means to and it will all be part of the lesson," Tsarevich said. Nail rolled his eyes. He hated that Tsarevich was usually right. There was no point in just sitting there, they might as well try to make conversation.
"So the rumor around school is that you can manipulate your wavelength without the assistance of a Weapon," Nail said. Tsarevich nodded.
"I'm not very good at projecting it, but the professor is teaching me to develop it," he replied.
"I don't understand how that works. Care to elaborate?" Nail asked.
"You really want to know?" Tsarevich asked.
"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't," Nail clarified.
"Can you and Hammer resonate souls with each other?" Tsarevich asked.
"What does that have to do with it?" Hammer asked.
"Just answer the question: can you or can you not resonate your souls?" Tsarevich asked.
"We can. It doesn't always work like it should because Nail is so bad at matching my wavelength," Hammer replied.
"It's always my fault," Nail complained.
"I'm a Weapon! I'm not even capable of changing my wavelength! That's the Meister's job. I'm just supposed to amplify your power, which I do beautifully by the way," Hammer replied.
"Okay, but you are familiar with the procedure and you have done it before," Tsarevich restated.
"Yes," Nail replied.
"Manipulating your own wavelength, or projecting your own wavelength in the form of an attack is similar. What I am doing is resonating with my own soul," Tsarevich explained.
"That's impossible. How can you resonate your own wavelength? There's nothing to resonate it with?" Nail asked.
"You guys are speaking Greek now, I'm gonna take a nap until you guys are done," Hammer said.
"Oh no you don't. You need to hear this too, Hammer. Everything that your partner learns, you need to know. Even if it's not something you can do on your own," the professor walked.
"How long have you been standing there?" Nail asked.
"Long enough. Tsarevich, continue your explanation," the professor instructed.
"Now that you're here, why don't you explain it to them? You could do a much better job," Tsarevich countered.
"I want to see how well you've grasped the concept. Don't worry, I'll jump in if I think something needs clarified," the professor said. He plopped down on the ground and started eating a sack lunch.
"Alright, where was I?" Tsarevich asked.
"You said that you were resonating with your own soul and I said that was impossible because you needed another wavelength to resonate with," Nail said, bringing it all back to point.
"Right, thanks. As I was saying, what I do whenever I project my wavelength is resonate with my own soul. You're right in a sense that a soul must resonate with something. Most people think of resonating with their Weapon partner, but if you think outside of the box it starts to make sense.
"This is kind of a rough explanation, but I'm resonating my soul with my body," Tsarevich explained.
"That sounds dangerous. You can see my soul, but I can't. From what I understand it's a powerful one," Nail said.
"No doubt about it; your soul is strong," Tsarevich said.
"Wouldn't resonating your soul with your body put at risk for…I don't know…tearing yourself to pieces?" Nail asked.
"Yes. That's why you have to be very precise with it," Tsarevich explained.
"Well, go on. Get to the part where you hit someone with your wavelength," Nail insisted.
"Once you resonate your soul with your body you need to find a target and point of projection. I use my fists," Tsarevich explained.
"I use an open palm," the professor added, "technically you can use any part of your body but as Tsarevich explained, you want to be as precise as possible."
"Exactly. So you make contact with your opponent and then you force the entirety of your wavelength into them. It's no longer resonating with you, but with them—and not in a good way," Tsarevich finished.
"Is that the attack that you hit us with when you expelled us?" Nail asked.
"Yes. It's an invention of my own that Tsarevich has managed to make his own adaptation of. It's called Soul Pulsar because instead of flooding your opponent with the entirety of your wavelength in a single blow, you adjust the frequency of your output and make them endure it over the course of a few seconds instead," the professor said.
"Wouldn't it be better to hit them with the whole thing?" Hammer asked.
"Not if you can immobilize them long enough to do it again," the professor explained.
"And again," Tsarevich added.
"And again," Nail nodded, grasping the concept. It seems leagues beyond his reach. He couldn't even see souls like a Meister is supposed to let alone manipulate his own wavelength.
"We're going to do a little exercise. Hammer, I want you to transform. Nail, I want you to resonate souls with your partner," the professor said.
"What am I supposed to do?" Tsarevich asked.
"I want you to watch and learn," the professor instructed. He crossed his arms and pouted and being left out, much to Nail's enjoyment.
"Hammer! Weapon-form!" Nail instructed.
"Yes-sir!" he said, transforming and spinning in the air until he rested in his hands.
"Are you sure we should be doing this?" Hammer asked, speaking directly to Nail's mind.
"It'll be okay. It's just practice," Nail replied.
"If you say so. Last time we did this you ended up in a coma for a week," Hammer reminded.
"We'll get it right this time," Nail insisted.
"Alright, partner. Let's do this," Hammer said.
"—Let's go! Soul resonance!"
"—Let's go! Soul resonance!"
Their souls melded together just like they were supposed to. Nail could see the soul like he was supposed to, or hear it, but he could feel it out. He extended his wavelength ever so slightly and it happened. All of Hammer's strength and durability came flooding into his being like a waterfall. It was as if they were two separate persons existing in a single being.
"Wow! Look at that!" Tsarevich exclaimed.
"I know. Beautiful isn't it. Their power increases exponentially. If they learn to control it, there's not many opponents who can withstand their attack," the professor added.
"What attack?" Tsarevich asked.
"Legendary technique of the Axe-Meister: Divide Asunder," the professor replied.
"What now, Prof?" Nail asked. It was exhilarating to have so much power coursing through him, but he didn't want to rip their souls apart like he did last time.
"I want you to hit me with the Divide Asunder attack," the professor said.
"What? Not to blow my own horn, but you do realize how powerful that attack is, right?" Nail said.
"Just do it," the professor said. Nail shrugged and channeled the power of their resonated souls into Hammer focusing on the blade. It began to glow with pure soul energy forming into an axe head. It shone with prismatic color and made the sound of a thousand wind chimes clanging in the distance.
He rushed the professor and jumped in the air, higher than he would normally be able to because of the added strength and speed the soul resonance afforded him. He brought down the axe on the professor just as he used his palm to try to stop the attack. And then something strange happened…
"Whoa!" Hammer explained.
"You felt that too?" Nail asked. He landed safely on the ground but the energy from the attack disappeared and their souls were no longer resonating together.
"Professor! That was amazing!" Tsarevich exclaimed.
"What did he do?" Nail asked. He was completely at a loss. As soon as they made contact with his body it was if the attack and the connection between their souls were cleanly cut. It was like waking up from a dream.
"Go ahead, Tsarevich. Tell them from your perspective," the professor said.
"He studied your resonating wavelength, adjusted his own so that it was identical to yours and then cancelled both his attack and yours out," Tsarevich said.
"Huh?" Hammer said, transforming just his head so the others could see him. Nail held tightly to his handle.
"That's a fairly simple assessment, but accurate nonetheless. Let me explain it like this. If your wavelength is exactly the same as someone else's you're not going to be able to harm each other with the wavelength. One of two things will happen: you will either strengthen each other, or cancel the wavelength out entirely," the professor explained.
"That's pretty impressive. I bet if you knew enough about souls you could change your wavelength to make sure its as disrupted as possible when you hit someone with it," Nail said.
"Very good, Nail. You're learning quickly," the professor praised.
"I wouldn't go that far. I may have grasped the concept, but I am worlds away from being able to do that. I bet Tsarevich couldn't even do it," Nail pointed out.
"We're about to find out. You two, prepare your soul resonance attack. Tsarevich, you're up," the professor said.
"What? You've got to be freaking kidding me! I can't do that! They'll chop me in half!" Tsarevich flailed his arms and legs so violently he actually didn't touch the ground for a few seconds. His mouth was opened up so large that it took up nearly the entirety of his face.
"I'm not kidding. You know how to do it. You just watched me do it, and you're familiar with Hammer and Nail's wavelengths. You can do this," the professor said.
"You're not even the slightest bit worried that they'll chop me in half?" Tsarevich asked.
"Yeah, Professor. He's good, but he's not as good as you. No offense, Tsarevich," Nail said.
"None taken, I assure you," he said with a huff.
"Tsarevich, if you had a weapon partner we could work on things like soul resonance attacks. Since you have failed to find a suitable partner up until now, I have no choice but to teach you how to develop your skills in manipulating your wavelength. This is a part of that process.
"Besides, do you really think I would ask you to do something that I didn't think you were capable of?" the professor asked. Tsarevich shook his head like he knew it was no good to argue. He forced a look of determination and stood where the professor once had.
"Don't worry, I'll coach you through the whole thing," the professor said.
"—Let's go! Soul resonance!"
"—Let's go! Soul resonance!"
Nail and Hammer resonated their souls again. It was a little bit easier and Nail was a lot calmer now that he had done it before without injuring himself. When the worry drifted away he noticed that it was much easier to extend his wavelength. He almost didn't have to think about it at all.
"Legendary technique of the hammer Meister: Hammer of Ruin!" Nail said, deciding to change it up. He knew the professor knew about the axe technique, but did he know that he was also able of the hammer technique?
"What are you guys doing? That's not the attack you used before?" Tsarevich said, starting to panic.
"No, this is better. Keep going with the exercise, Nail," the professor said.
"Are you crazy?" Tsarevich asked the professor.
"Ready, Hammer?" Nail asked.
"Yep! Let's do it!" he confirmed.
"Ah! Wait! Don't do it, guys! Seriously! I'm not ready for this," Tsarevich said, stepping back. Nail was already charging.
"Professor! Make them stop!" Tsarevich pleaded. He received no help from him. Nail was airborne, hammer held high in the air. Nail kept his eyes locked on his target as he brought it down. Tsarevich had the look of fear in his eyes up until the very end. He threw his hands up in a guarding position and stopped the attack. It didn't happen the way it did with the professor. He just held them in the air. The energy from their soul wavelength was still there, but there was something different.
"Wavelength reversal!"
A rush of his own energy started flooding through Hammer and finally into him. It was no longer just the two of them inside of their minds and souls. Hammer felt Tsarevich present as well. His thoughts, emotions and memories came to him in clips and phrases he could not quite comprehend. The soul resonance connection was broken but, as always, the Weapon and Meister were connected and they both felt it. It wasn't nearly as powerful as the hit that the professor had hit them with but was enough to knock them on their butts.
"Ow, Tsarevich! What did you do that for? You were just supposed to cancel out the attack," Nail said.
"I told you guys to stop," Tsarevich replied with a huff. The single hand-clap from the professor sounded as he approached Tsarevich and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Good job. I don't think that anyone was ever done that with their wavelength before," the professor said.
"Really? Not even you?" Tsarevich said.
"No. You've given me ideas for another way to use the soul wavelength. The student is teaching the teacher now," the professor said.
"What exactly did you do?" Nail asked.
"Don't answer him Tsarevich," the professor interjected.
"Why? Don't want us learning super-Meister trade secrets?" Nail asked.
"That's not it. I want to see if you can tell me what he did," the professor challenged.
"Well, he didn't cancel our soul resonance attack or connection; he did something else. It's like he adjusted his wavelength to match ours, resonated with us, took control of the wavelength and then flooded our wavelength and his through Hammer. By that time, the connection between us was broken as far as soul resonance was concerned, but Hammer and I are always connected. He must have known that.
"When our resonance was disconnected I naturally let my wavelength go back to normal so the wavelength he fired through us became harmful—but only slightly," Nail said.
"That's a pretty good explanation, Nail. What should Tsarevich have done?" the professor asked.
"Wait a minute! I invent a technique that no one has thought of and there's already room for you to criticize it?" Tsarevich said.
"Don't let your pride blind you from becoming a better Meister, Tsarevich. There is always room to grow and improve. Right now, this isn't about you. We're trying to help Nail. Be quiet and let him answer," the professor scolded. His face turned red as he leaned against the tree and pouted.
"If I could control my wavelength like he does, I would have done the exact same thing except when I took control of it and started to project it, I would have changed the frequency of the wavelength back to my own so that when I fired it through my opponent it would have been devastating," Nail offered.
"Actually, that's a good idea. I can't believe I didn't think of that," Tsarevich said.
"Don't be hard on yourself. I was a new, improvisational attack; you did just fine. Alright. The three of you did great. Hammer and Nail: the two of you just increased your grade by an entire letter. Tsarevich, the previous exercise that you failed no longer counts against you. If you want to do more extra credit, just let me know," the professor said.
"Woo-hoo! That means that we can take missions on our own now, doesn't it?" Hammer asked.
"It sure does. Well, I guess since you guys don't need me anymore I'll try to look for another team," Tsarevich said. He picked up his bags and started along.
"No way, man! We could use a Meister like you on our team," Nail said.
"What? I thought you said this guy was a dweeb," Hammer pointed out.
"He is a dweeb, but he's also a damn good Meister," Nail said. Hammer couldn't argue with that. What other student could say that he or she had invented a technique that they had never thought of?
"You really mean it?" Tsarevich said. His eyes formed into wet, puppy-dog-looking saucers, glistening as if he might burst into tears.
"I have two conditions before we seal the deal, though," Nail said.
"What's that?" Tsarevich asked.
"The first one, and probably the most important one: you have to promise that you will find a Weapon partner before the end of the year," Hammer said.
"Consider it done. If I have to settle with one of the first-year kids," Tsarevich promised.
"The second one is this: you have to help me develop my use of my soul wavelength," he said.
"The professor is going to do that," Tsarevich said, "and he's a much better teacher than I am; he's actually a teacher."
"He's still going to help me, but I'm going to need all the help that I can get. This time around I'm not going to slack off. I'm going to be the greatest Meister at this Academy and I'm going to make the strongest Death Weapon ever. I'm still far away from that, but every journey begins with a single step, right professor?" Nail asked.
"That's right. I think it's a great idea. It will give Nail motivation to try harder, and Tsarevich the motivation to find a Weapon partner. I like it. Alright, we're done for the day. You can go back to the Academy. I'll see you in class tomorrow."
"I think this mission might be a little more than we can handle," Tsarevich said. Hammer was getting tired of hearing him complain. They were in the Midwest, taking on a mission for extra credit—and souls, of course.
"Relax, Tsarevich. Try to enjoy yourself while we are here. As long as we are on a mission, we are exempt from classes. It's like getting a free passing grade for doing nothing," Hammer pointed out.
"Yeah, but we have to actually come back with the Kishin soul to get the passing grade. It's not like we can just take vacations and come back empty-handed and expect that the Academy will pass us," Tsarevich said.
"Doesn't mean we can't take our time while we're here," Hammer said.
"We have to collect enough information about this Dahmer character anyway. It's not like we can go door-to-door and ask people, 'excuse me, sir. Are you a flesh-eating-soul-devouring Kishin criminal with a bounty on your head by Death himself?'" Nail chimed in.
"That would be more productive than going to comic book and video game stores all day long," Tsarevich pointed out.
"Don't be a hypocrite! You bought more comic books than either one of us put together," Hammer said.
"Fine, whatever. Can we please talk about how we're going to find this guy? Every second that we waste could mean another victim. This guy is out there kidnapping people in the night, eating their flesh and consuming their souls. We took this mission to stop him, remember? Innocent lives are depending on us to stop him before he gets too powerful to stop," Tsarevich said.
"You three must be Meisters from the Death Weapon Meister Academy." The voice came from the comic book store clerk behind the counter. He was a balding, fat, hairy guy in his thirties. He obviously overheard their conversation.
"So much for being covert," Tsarevich complained.
"They're Meisters. I'm a Weapon," Hammer replied proudly, walking over to the guy.
"We're supposed to be undercover. He's not supposed to go saying this like that to just anyone," Tsarevich said.
"Are you guys here to investigate the missing people?" the clerk asked. Nail decided that he was going to take charge of this conversation.
"Yes. We believe that a Kishin named Dahmer might be responsible for the kidnappings. We are here to find him and stop him. Is there any information that you can provide that might be helpful?"
"I've never heard of anyone named Dahmer, but the only people who have disappeared were last found leaving this club on the west side of town. You might want to start looking there," the clerk offered.
"See, Tsarevich! Comic books and video games did pay off," Hammer said.
"Well, what are we waiting for? We got our first lead so let's go," Tsarevich said. He started for the door.
"Not until you admit that I was right and you were wrong," Hammer said. Nail was already heading for the door. He knew that Hammer wasn't serious. He was just trying to get a rise out of Tsarevich by being a pest.
"I'll concede that when we find Dahmer," Tsarevich countered.
"No, dude! Concede to it now," Hammer insisted.
"I will not," Tsarevich said resolutely. Nail just giggled as the argument continued and they walked their way to the west side of the city.
"Yeah, dude! Just say it! Say, 'Hammer, you were right and I was wrong and I will try to do better in the future,'" Hammer pressed.
The covered a lot of ground as the sun started to set. Tsarevich was becoming so aggravated with Hammer, Nail thought they might come to blows. He had to admit that it was funny to see steam spout out of Tsarevich's ears and nose when he got angry enough. Still, it was time to get serious because they were outside of the club.
"We're here, guys. Cut it out," Nail complained. The three of them looked over at the club. Neon lights and lasers illuminated the place and the sound of rumbling, bass-heavy dance music could be heard from inside. There was a line at the door with a bouncer. The people were filed into a red-rope line and he was letting people in one-or-two-at-a-time.
"Now what? It's not like we can get into a night club. Hammer's the oldest, but he doesn't look anywhere near twenty-one," Tsarevich pointed out. He tore the sleeves off of his shirt and danced around as he flexed his muscles. Nail looked at him, embarrassed to call him his Weapon.
"Once they get a load of these moves, they'll have to let us in," Hammer said.
"I'm sure you'll fit right in with that crowd," Tsarevich said with a chuckle. Nail started looking at the people in line, realized what he meant by the comment and started laughing.
"Are you kidding? I'll be a big hit in there. The girls won't be able to get enough of this sexiness," he said, kissing his own biceps.
"Hammer, have you looked to see exactly what kind of club that is?" Nail asked, scarcely able to contain his laughter.
"We should have just let him go in. That would have been a riot if he figured it out then," Tsarevich said.
"You're right. We shouldn't have spoiled it," Nail added. Hammer was getting frustrated at being left out.
"What are you guys talking about?" Hammer asked. He looked and when he saw that the girls were not girls at all but guys in full-on drag he shrieked in horror. Nail and Tsarevich had a good laugh at this.
"Very funny. They would have eaten me alive!" Hammer said.
"That's the most hilarious part of the whole thing," Nail admitted. After the laughter died down, and they figured that the front door was out. They agreed that they would sneak into the club through the back and see if maybe this Dahmer guy was preying on people at this club. They walked through the alleyway beside the building. It was dark, lit low, and creepy.
"Guys…I don't like this place. Let's come back tomorrow when it's day time," Hammer suggested.
"There won't be anybody here in the day time, Hammer. It's a night club," Nail replied. When Hammer didn't continue to press and argue, Nail looked back.
"Hey!" he yelled in alarm. A slender, shadowy figure was behind Hammer pumping his neck with some sort of fluid inside a syringe. Tsarevich looked too and as they both advanced, the shadowy figure slivered away with Hammer into his grasp down inside of the manhole they had just walked over.
They peered down into the hole and saw only darkness. They knew they had found the Kishin, and what more. He had just abducted their friend.
"We have to go after him," Tsarevich said.
"How come you didn't see him coming? I would think you would recognize a Kishin soul among all of the rest," Nail said. He didn't mean to blame Tsarevich but if carelessness cost Hammer his life, there would be hell to pay.
"It is on. I tried to see his soul before he got away and there was nothing. He's done something to himself to keep his soul invisible," Tsarevich explained.
"There's no time for this now. We gotta go," Nail said. Tsarevich nodded and both of them jumped feet-first into the dark manhole, not knowing what was waiting for them.
Hold on, buddy. I'm coming to get you.