It had been the most torturous day of his miserable life. There were no injuries inflicted, no wounds reopened, no Kishin mocking him with whispered poison in his ear. He had been left completely alone, locked away in the dark. Sitting there. Waiting.
Usually, he "preferred" (if any situation could really be considered preferable) the days when he was alone: it granted him a reprieve from those mocking eyes looking down upon him, those revolting laughs of torment, and the agony which always accompanied it all. They made him feel weak. They made him feel fragile and worthless. He was a failure, they always told him.
They were right.
Yet today, nothing had happened. Nobody had 'paid him a visit'. Not that traitor Justin with his mad preachings to the Kishin with every blow that rained down upon him. Not Mosquito with his inhuman desire just to draw blood. Not his "brother", Asura, to inflict injuries on his mind with toxic words. No one. Yet Kid was very much aware of the fact it had been done on purpose. For he also knew that they knew leaving him today would inflict enough pain without having to raise a single finger.
Kid could sense every single soul inside Baba Yaga. He breathed in and felt their unique wavelengths fill his lungs. He recognised them. The wavelengths of his friends. But all he could do was sit there, knowing they were so close yet so far at the same time. He could feel their souls flicker with pain as they battled on, and he was helpless to do anything to save them. He couldn't warn them that they were going the wrong way, walking into a trap. He couldn't hold them back and prevent them from charging head first into fights he knew they just would not win.
When he felt a familiar soul disappear from the world and off his sensory spectrum, fading away into the afterlife, Kid wanted to scream in mourning. He was supposed to guide souls on to a better place once they had passed. But he had failed his duties as a Grim Reaper. He couldn't save anyone. He couldn't even provide comfort in their last moments, as he was supposed to.
It was all slowly killing him.
"Disgusting…" the young God muttered to himself, eyes stinging as they watered. He attempted to flex his wrists, giving a few testing tugs at the chains which held him down. Yet they held fast, as they had for the past two years. He struggled more frantically, making an attempt to stand in vain. But he quickly stopped with a hiss of pain when the dull throbbing returned at the movement. The boy dropped his head in shame, breathing in deeply through his nose to try and steady his trembling. A few droplets of salty tears fell into his lap. "I'm disgusting."
"Yes, you are."
Kid felt his breath hitch at the sound of that hauntingly familiar voice. When he raised his head, blinking into the darkness, the shadows around him seemed to twist and writhe, forming a shape. A figure. In the suffocating blackness, the pure white mask before him seemed to burn brighter than the sun. It was a stark contrast of blinding white to the pure black surrounding them. Those hollow, empty eye sockets drilled right into Kid, making him cringe away, ashamed.
"I never would have let myself be defeated so easily," his father's usually chipper voice sounded cold now. Full of contempt. Kid tried to lower his gaze away, yet the looming figure of the former Lord Death seemed to invade his vision no matter where he looked. The young reaper jerked as a sob escaped him involuntarily, one which he had tried to bite back.
"But you're dead, father," came the child's response, sounding feeble as he continued to wallow in his own misery. "You were defeated."
The shadows shifted again, hissing and slithering together like snakes. They twisted around the form of the deceased Death, making him grow larger and more jagged. More menacing. Kid screwed his eyes tightly shut in an attempt to rid himself of the vision. It was just a hallucination brought on by the concentration of madness in this castle, he tried to remind himself. He'd encountered them many times before. His father wasn't in the tomb with him. Kid was simply talking to thin air. Yet the Grim Reaper's voice continued to echo in his ears, and Kid was unable to hide away from it.
"I died fighting for the world! I died protecting you, because I thought you would be able to continue my legacy!" Each word smouldered with icy fire, seeping into the boy and burning away at his very core. The ivory face of the mask remained as expressionless as ever, yet the disgrace was evident from the ways those hollow eyes continued to bore right through Kid. "How wrong I was. You can't even protect your friends. They're out there, dying for you, and you aren't even able to get out of those chains. How were you ever going to truly become a God for the humans to follow?"
Clutching tightly onto the armrests of the throne, Kid's knuckles were white. His shame was briefly washed away by anger.
"You shouldn't have abandoned me, then!" he snapped at the image of his father, leaning forward as far as he could before the chain links tightened and held him in place. Yet from his body language, he looked ready to tear forward and attack the mirage before him. If he could. "You should never have left me alone if I was going to be such a disappointment!"
The illusion stared back, unanswering, his silence crushing with its severity. All Kid could do was stare back, eyes narrowed yet begging for some form of a response. Honestly, he didn't know what he wanted to hear. It just had to be something. The quiet was stifling, however, and failed to bring what he needed. Emotions sparked inside him once again and his voice grew louder, becoming a desperate scream.
"Father, why?!" He tried to lunge forward again, causing the chains above his head to clatter and chime against each other noisily. Heat seared through every wound with each unsympathetic tug and pull at his body. But the constant, painful throbbing only seemed to spark a rush of new found adrenaline. "Why have you forsaken me?!" Kid screeched at the image of Lord Death once more, throat raw and scorched from the sudden rush of his voice scraping his oesophagus.
Again, a wall of silence muted his shouts and left them falling numb, crumbling away into the atmosphere without any response. The way the mirage stood there, unmoving, it seemed hauntingly serene. As though it found some odd peace with the display from the young boy.
"Answer me, father!"
When no answer came for the final time, Kid crumpled under the severe pressure, the chains relaxing and going slack when he limply slumped backwards. His head dipped forward, stinging eyes now burning from the tears which pricked at his vision, trying to force their escape. There was no point trying to fight back his emotions any more. His pride had been ruined long ago. There was no salvaging it now.
"Why…?" he whispered dejectedly. His shoulders was shuddering, accompanied by pitiful sobs. The Grim Reaper stood, unmoving. Those empty eyes were staring right into his soul; Kid could feel it. Judging him. Criticising him. There was no pity in the lifeless gaze, however.
"Look at you. You're nothing more than a child. You do not deserve the title bestowed upon you," Lord Death spoke finally, his words heavy with scorn. They slid between Kid's ribs like the tip of a knife, twisting to deepen the wound they inflicted. Kid flinched involuntarily yet kept his head bowed in humiliation, the full ignominy of failing his father in such a glorious way weighing down his body. "You're weak, pathetic, disgusting. I am ashamed to see you like this. To see what you have become. You have failed me."
A part of Kid knew that, had his father been alive, he would never had said those things. The faintest voice in the back of his mind was trying to reassure him that this was nothing more than paranoia; the Kishin's wavelength consuming him and messing with his mind. But that comforting voice was drowned out by guilt and the smothering revulsion he felt towards himself. He never was worthy of becoming a Grim Reaper, he told himself. Never was worthy of ever taking his father's place.
"You're no son of mine."
A bitter, icy breeze seemed to rustle around the boy as his sobs began to simmer out, slowly.
A shudder ran down his spine, clawing at each individual vertebra. The room seemed to darken even more so there was nothing but an ebony abyss stretching out around him, swallowing up the ivory mask of the Grim Reaper who had been standing before him.
When Kid raised his head, staring out into the emptiness with tired eyes, he saw the image of his father had gone. He was alone once more.
It was a miracle with Free's appalling sense of direction that the other group of Spartoi were able to find the main surveillance room of Baba Yaga Castle. Really, it only came down to the fact that Free did have a vague sense of where they were going. Apparently he was put on duty to monitor the security cameras around the place whilst he was working undercover, so he had visited this particular room frequently.
The group managed to get inside easily as well. It must have been pure luck that no guards were on duty inside the room. That, or Arachne had pulled all of her forces into fighting the battle outside of the castle. There was nobody to prevent the DWMA students and their guide from entering the place.
The room itself was buzzing with electricity and power. One large wall was lined from ceiling to floor with computer screens, each one showing footage of different parts of the castle. A desk of multicoloured buttons and switches sat before it, clearly linked to the system so the viewer could change perspective of the surveillance footage… or alert the castle that there were intruders.
Kilik let out a loud whistle as he observed the desk, trying to take in all the different functions he could work out. "For something that looks so old, this castle is pretty high tech!" He was quickly interrupted by Kim reaching forward and pointing at one of the screens just to his left.
"Look, there it is!"
"That's the Moral Manipulation Machine?" Anya asked, scrunching up her nose at the sight of the thing the witch was pointing at. Kim gave her a sharp nod, muttering under her breath about how she'd recognise it anywhere.
Before anyone could speak again, the gauntlets which hung from Kilik's shoulders were enveloped by bright light. Once it receded, Thunder and Fire were scrambling up onto the large control desk, quickly waddling away from their meister's hands trying to grab at them. The twins approached the screens silently, then once they were closest to the one displaying the machine in focus, Fire reached out a small hand and pointed at something just to the side of the central object.
There was a weird shimmering effect displayed on the screen, one which wasn't apparent on any of the other monitors showing different parts of the castle. It was as though the air surrounding the Moral Manipulation Machine was alive and breathing. Kilik raised an eyebrow at the sight and leaned it to get a closer look.
"What… is that…?"
"Oh my Death!" Jackie's cry caught everyone off guard, their heads all instantly turning to look where the lantern's gaze fell. On one screen, in the lowest right-hand corner, there was a live feed of what appeared to be a dungeon. And from what they could see, it looked as though the rest of Spartoi were in danger.
"Eruka…" Free sounded panicked as he pushed his way to the front of the group, eyes widening in terror when Justin Law appeared behind the witch and grabbed her shoulders. And as if he thought she might be able to hear him, the wolfman let out a panicked, desperate yell. "Eruka!"
"Shit!" Kilik cursed loudly. The Pots were quick to transform once more, the gauntlets appearing over his hands so that the students looked more than ready for a fight. The fire burning in his dark eyes only enforced that image. "We need to help the others!"
Kim turned to the group again, frowning slightly as though conflicted. "But what about the machine?"
"You all go," Anya spoke up again, forcefully. Her grip was tight around the spear in her hands, confident and strong. "Harvar and I will deal with this."
"But Anya-"
"No buts!"
Kilik and Kim glanced at each other, exchanging worried expressions. But as though they had telepathically deliberated with each other, they gave a small nod in unison and turned back to the third meister on their team.
"Are you two sure you'll be alright on your own?" Free asked the girl, yet it seemed as though it was more of a rhetorical question more than anything. He was itching, desperate to leave, and looked ready to bound off at any moment to find Eruka. Sensing his discomfort, Anya gave a firm nod.
"Of course. We'll come and find you guys the moment we're done. Okay?"
Kim hesitated again. It was possible to see in her eyes that she didn't feel comfortable leaving behind their team-mate, but the anxiety of both Free and now Kilik as he watched the monitor with horror began to creep up on her. She sighed heavily, biting her lip.
"Okay… Stay safe."
Without another word, Kim, Free, and Kilik departed as quickly as they could, their hurried footsteps echoing after them. Anya stood alone for a minute, eyes rooted on the door they had dashed out of, before she tucked a strand of golden hair behind her ear and squared her shoulders.
"Right, Harvar. What can you tell me about this Moral Manipulation doohickey?"
"It looks as if it's being protected by some sort of forcefield," Harvar's reflected image muttered as he scrutinised the computer monitor, even lifting his glasses to get a better view. "If we can shut down the power for long enough, the shield should go down and we can then destroy the machine."
"Is there we can just shut down the shield and the machine at the same time?" the meister questioned, frowning slightly. Her weapon remained stoic as he wracked his brains, trying to formulate an answer. Eventually, he responded.
"Yes, if we cut off all the power across Baba Yaga. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if we'll be able to actually access that sort of control now."
A pause hung in the air. Anya glanced over her shoulder, sapphire eyes locking onto a large box mounted on the wall behind her. Her eyes widened for a moment as realisation and an idea sunk in, then quickly hardened, determined.
"Yes… we can."
Meanwhile, Harvar was focused on a different monitor. One which was feeding images from outside the castle. A feed which showed Sid Barett and a small group of the DWMA being chased inside the castle by some of Arachnophobia's men and Clowns. If Arachne's forces were inside Baba Yaga, the rest of Spartoi were running out of time. Who knew how long it would be until they were found by the enemy? Harvar's voice went cold.
"I don't think I will be able to hack into the Castle's main control system in time-"
"Who said anything about hacking?" Anya interrupted the spear quickly as she spun on her heels to full face the power supply box. With a confident smile, she raised her spear, aiming it straight at the object mounted on the wall. "Time to turn the lights off!"
She was about to charge, spear-first, into the power supply, when Harvar's yell froze her in her tracks.
"Anya, stop! Don't be ridiculous!"
She glared at the weapon in her hands, teeth ground tightly together. "I'm not being ridiculous. You generate electricity when we resonate! We can just blow the power."
"You'll hurt yourself, or worse!" protested Harvar, but once more he was cut off by his stubborn meister.
"Oh pish posh." Her loose curls bounced when she shook her head, and determination glinted in her hard eyes. "We need to help everyone else as much as we can. That is our priority."
"Anya…"
"Can you think of another way?" she snapped suddenly, speaking with a force Harvar had never heard from his meister before. "Or one as quick as this? You said it yourself: we don't have time. And we need to make sure this mission is successful." There was a pause. Anya released a frustrated breath. "If we can weaken Arachnophobia's forces, even just a bit, by stopping that machine projecting Asura's wavelength, the others will be so much more successful."
Where Harvar didn't respond to her, she took it as though she had got her point across and had successfully convinced him. Anya swallowed thickly, ignoring the sensation of sweat beading on her forehead. Tightening her muscles, she focused on reaching out for her weapon's soul and grabbing onto it. Never letting it go.
"Let's go Soul Resonance!" their cry in unison echoed around the room, reverberating to such an extent that the images on the computer screens seemed to flicker. Electricity flooded through their link, lightning sparking at the tip of the golden spear. And then, Anya leapt forward, stabbing the weapon straight through the box before her.
For a moment, the world was still. Numb. Then, it sparked. The lightning crackled, tearing through the air. The power supply all but exploded, creating a bright light of gold where the spear met the wires.
And it was at that moment that the current surged and poured straight through Harvar, conducted by his mental form, and went tearing into his meister. The power flooded through her agonisingly, setting every nerve aflame. Anya could feel the electricity singeing her insides, burning her heart, overheating her core. If she was screaming, she couldn't tell anymore. It was overwhelming, jolting her entire body. She shook violently, yet still held on firmly.
"Anya!"
It was as Harvar screamed out that suddenly, everything went dark. The monitors went black, the entire castle plunged into complete empty darkness. The hum of energy and power disappeared from the air. They had done it. They had overridden the power. It was a victory…
When Anya collapsed, dropping her weapon with a clatter, Harvar knew that she wasn't going to get back up again. He still reverted back to his human form and tried to shake her awake, even though he knew it wouldn't do anything. Her skin was horrendously burnt, her clothes and hair singed. She was almost unrecognisable, and Harvar felt sick to his stomach.
She wasn't breathing. He couldn't feel a pulse.
They had succeeded, but it had cost them so much. Just like he had known it would.
He just held her for a moment. Cradling her, as though it would provide her some comfort. When he heard the sound of footsteps approaching the room they were in, he didn't look up. He didn't look up when the door was thrown open and a small group of Arachnophobia's men rushed in. He didn't look up when they surrounded him and his partner. Harvar just held onto Anya, even as they tried to rip him away from her, hoping against hope that they had been able to help the others with their act. And knowing that he would never see the rest of his team again.
Maka had never felt this sick before. She hadn't been able to look when the blade had sliced right through Eruka's neck, as though it was a knife passing through butter. She had recoiled away, closed her eyes, tried to block out Liz's horrified screech. But when she felt something hot and wet splatter against her cheek, she flinched and dared to open one eye.
The head lay directly across from her, those lifeless eyes staring into Maka's green. And Maka couldn't even make a sound. She wanted to scream, but the sound was lodged in her throat. She wanted to look away, but she was paralysed by the sight. Soul and Black*Star's furious shouts were drowned out by the sound of her own heart racing, beating out like a war drum inside her head. Through the haze, only one clear thought could surface. Eruka's dead.
Reality suddenly crashed around her again, waking her up from her daze like a wave of freezing water had been thrown over her exposed body. Maka instinctively shivered the moment she felt Giriko's foot remove itself from its position on her back, suddenly freeing her. She was no longer pinned down. She could move.
Maka was about to scramble to her feet, ready to throw a punch at the chainsaw, when she felt herself hoisted up by a painfully strong grip. Soul's angry protests grew louder, something which she wasn't used to hearing from her usually more reserved partner. But she knew in her gut what was happening, and her stomach lurched and twisted at the realisation. The meister struggled, trying to free herself from Justin's grip, but her held her firmly, refusing to let go.
Panic rose again, and the members of Spartoi all began to yell frantically, protesting to the events unfolding before their eyes. Maka demanded to be let go, thrashing furiously. As she stumbled, she felt her feet splash in the growing scarlet puddle which tarnished the floor. A repulsed shudder trembled down her spine, yet the guillotine remained unfazed. A crazed grin was locked on his face and he leered down at the girl, making her flinch back.
There was a clatter, and all eyes turned to the entrance of the room. There stood Free, Kim, and Kilik, the two meisters with their weapons at the ready. They were panting heavily, clearly having sprinted all the way there. The two students were watching the scene with wide eyes, gaze darting from Maka and Justin, to Giriko, to their friends locked in the cell. Free, on the other hand, had his eyes rooted on the floor. On the large pool of blood Maka was standing in. On Eruka's body. His expression was blank. He was silent.
Maka felt her blood turn to ice when the wolfman lifted his head and she saw the feeling of pure murder in his eyes. She winced and closed her eyes as he growled and bent his knees, about to strike.
Then she was free. It took a moment for Maka to register what had happened, but her clarity returned when she saw Justin and Free grappling with each other on the ground, Free having clearly tackled the Death Scythe away from her.
She let out a gasp and stumbled backwards, her eyes shooting up just in time to see Kim using Jacqueline's weapons form to weaken the lock of the cell which had trapped Patty, Tsubaki, and Black*Star. Once the metal had warped, both of the trapped weapons transformed to fall into the hands of the boy, who gave the door a powerful kick and forced his way out.
Meanwhile, Kilik was trying to land a punch on Giriko, who was ducking out of the way whilst still managing to keep Liz and Soul in his grip. As they scrambled around, Black*Star leapt at the chainsaw, throwing him off balance. Giriko struggled, swearing furiously as he suddenly came under attack from the two young meisters, and released the two weapons in an attempt to shove Kilik and Black*Star away from him.
The moment he was free, Soul was rushing over to Maka and dragging her away from the conflict. In a series of various flashes of light, Patty ended up holding Liz and firing shots at Giriko whilst he flailed angrily as Kilik and Black*Star continued to try and pummel down on him. The scene was chaotic, wild. With no clear victor, the group continued thrashing at each other madly.
Then, suddenly, Black*Star and Kilik were pulled away from the chainsaw by another figure, who slashed at Giriko, landing a slice on his arm. The free fist of the figure connected with Giriko's jaw, snapping his head to one side from the force of the blow.
Spartoi could only watch the scene in awe, gasping at the sudden appearance of their teacher.
"Sid…" Maka breathed, watching as the zombie grappled with the weapon furiously. Free and Justin were still struggling with each other, and now Giriko was finding himself pinned in a similar position as his ally.
"Azusa told you to evacuate!" came Nygus' voice from the blade which Sid swung, shouting with the force of a warrior to the children.
Nobody had a chance to reply, because their attention was suddenly caught by the already dim lights abruptly going out in a heartbeat. The power had gone out. There was a gasp as everyone froze, squinting through the blackness to try and make out their surroundings. Time was stilled for a while as the group collectively tried to figure out what had happened.
Then, everything sprung back to life when Free released a roar of anguish and tried to throw Justin off his back with the brute force of a wild beast. The guillotine kept his grip firm, however, and tried to stab the blade protruding from his arms into the gut of the wolfman. The moment that fight kicked off once more, Giriko began struggling with Sid again.
"Go! Now!" Sid bellowed at the group forcefully, momentarily releasing Giriko to turn to the kids once again. His tone caused Liz and Kim to instinctively take a step back, yet the others stood firm. Black*Star clenched his fists, eyes blazing in the dark.
"We're not leaving you!"
The zombie grunted and span round, shoving at the students situated at the front of their small group. They stumbled, forcing the others backwards as well until they were all past the threshold of the door. Once that had been cleared, Sid yelled again, a command of "Just go!" before he slammed the door shut, locking it from the inside.
When he turned again, he was face to face with Giriko. The chainsaw smirked and spat onto the floor, leaving a splatter of red. He raised the back of his hand to wipe away the blood from his mouth, yet his sharp teeth still were stained crimson.
"You sacrificed a lot to make sure those brats wouldn't get hurt," he sneered, as though he knew exactly what was about to happen. Sid's expression didn't change as he reached for his utility belt, taking a grenade in his hands. The pin was pulled out with his teeth, his dead eyes locked on Giriko the entire time.
"That's the kind of man I was."
Just outside the door, Black*Star was pounding at the wood with one fist, trying to yank it open with the other. That was right up until there was a rumble which reverberated through every single member of Spartoi standing there, in the dark.
The explosion shattered the atmosphere, blasting through the dungeons and throwing the group off their feet. Rubble of stone and wood went flying through the air in a plume of thick, black smoke. A blazing inferno roared over them, blazing in the room they had once all been in. Black*Star was the first to his feet, screaming passionately as he tried to rush forward, into the flames. Tsubaki had to transform back to her human state and pull him back, despite how he thrashed and continued screaming for his caretaker.
It took a moment for the others to pull themselves up from the ruined ground, coughing on the smoke and groaning at their throbbing injuries. When they realised what had happened, every other student felt their eyes widen at the sight. They stood for a moment, aghast. Then, Soul was shouting over the smoke, encouraging everyone to move as quickly as possible.
And as they ran, Maka felt the heavy locket thumping against her chest. Thundering like her heart. Almost as though the DIJINN itself was mocking her with each beat, reminding her it was there. Reminding her that it was the one which had dragged her to the hell because of her stupid mistake. Reminding her that she was one who had ruined everything. That she had hurt people she cared about.
Swallowing back her guilt, she squeezed Soul's hand and continued running up the stairs as fast as her legs would carry her, away from the darkness. Away from the dungeons. Away from their allies.
Nobody looked back.
The mood surrounding the group was sombre as they stood in the empty hallway, hidden in the shadows. They were covered in cuts and bruises and dust from the explosion, but otherwise, thankfully, they were unharmed.
Black*Star was seething, and he looked as though he was about to punch a wall in order to take out his frustrations on something. Whilst he was struggling to contain himself, Jacqueline was pacing up and down the small space they had huddled up in, wringing her hands nervously. Her eyes kept darting around, scanning the hallway for signs of anyone else.
When she spoke, she was unable to mask the nervous tremble in her words. "Anya and Harvar should have been back by now."
At that, Soul finally raised his head and locked his gaze onto the lantern. His eyes were dark, hooded. And he just looked exhausted. It was as though the weight of a hundred sleepless nights had been piled upon him and were now crushing him down. No longer was he horrified by the madness, or watching his friends and allies get harmed. He was just so tired of it all now. And as though he was fearful that she would vanish if he let go, his grip remained firm on Maka's hand. She made no move to pull away either.
"I think… it's just us now."
Soul's words sent a revolting shiver down the spines of his friends. Deep down, no matter how much they wanted to believe something else, they all knew that the scythe was right. They were alone now. A silence fell over them, however, and it stayed like that for a minute or so. As though they were collectively mourning their friends through a shared, momentary peace.
"Well, at least we know Anya and Harvar successfully shut down the power," Kim eventually muttered as she squinted up at the chandeliers which now cast no light at all. The witch released a sharp sigh, before turning her attention to Maka. "That means the Moral Manipulation Machine should be off as well. Has Asura's wavelength cleared enough for you to use your Soul Perception and locate Kid yet, Maka?"
Maka frowned to herself and concentrated, breathing in the atmosphere around her. Despite the fact that she could still feel the madness crawling over her skin, it was less amplified than before. Reduced enough so she could make out something through the fog, most likely.
"I'll give it a shot," the pigtailed meister quietly responded when Soul gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, and she closed her eyes. Her breathing slowed and she focused on the sound of her heartbeat, drowning out the sounds around her. The world went silent. She focused in on something in the distance, imaging herself reaching out for it. If she concentrated hard enough, directed every sense in one place, she could just make out a tiny glimmer flickering in the darkness.
Her eyes opened abruptly as her jade irises pulsed for a beat, shattering the void her mind had created. Instantaneously, her soul expanded, causing a jolt to shatter through the entire castle.
And somewhere, hidden in the dark, a pair of golden eyes snapped open in time with hers.
Maka released a gasp. Her eyes hardened.
"I found him."
