Crona wasn't sure what they found more surprising: that they were alive, or that it looked like everything was going to turn out fine.
Okay, no, that wasn't entirely true. They knew as soon as Maka had entered the fight that the Kishin was going down. The fact that they were alive to see it was rather more unexpected. They'd known from the beginning that they wouldn't be able to kill Medusa, no matter how much it needed to be done. After all she'd done for and to them, they were well aware that all they could do was try to distract her so that Marie could save Stein.
Admittedly, they hadn't expected it to be quite so literal. They'd been completely useless and ended up needing Maka to save them yet again. They'd wanted to do something for her, but they were just too weak.
At least they were able to save her for once, even if it had taken no skill on their part. They felt bad for doing that to Ragnarok, but the world needed Maka a lot more than it needed them. More selfishly, they had finally been able to stop relying on Maka and start giving back.
Really, they would have been content if they'd died there, but when Medusa was killed her destabilizing influence vanished. Ragnarok had promptly hardened their blood enough to keep them from bleeding out, and they regained consciousness shortly thereafter. They'd immediately gotten up to try to watch Maka fight, despite Dr Stein's apparent disapproval. They were used to the pain, and as long as they weren't actively dying they would do what they could to support Maka.
They managed to stay upright until it was clear that everything would work out. They started to relax, at which point they received a swift reminder that hardening their blood didn't actually heal their wound. They tried to collapse as unobtrusively as possible. Maka and her friends would need the attention more, and Crona didn't want to be a bother.
Eventually Naigus noticed them lying there and carried them to the infirmary. They apologized the whole way, until she finally stopped in the middle of the hallway. "Look," she said. "I'm sure you have plenty of things to apologize for, but getting hurt fighting Medusa? Not one of them."
Crona swallowed. "... Thank you."
Naigus grunted in acknowledgement and kept walking. The rest of the journey was made in silence, until they made it to the infirmary. Naigus laid them on the bed gently, and began to say something. Crona wasn't sure what, though, because as soon as they closed their eyes they fell back into unconsciousness.
They slept as much as they could over the next few days, avoiding both the pain and the questions of what to do next. They woke up once to see Maka standing over them, and tried to ask if they'd done a good job. They passed out again before they could hear the answer, and the next time they woke up, they were alone again.
This worked well for them, as when they had finally gotten their fill of sleep there was no one around to see them break down. It was stupid, and they knew it. Everyone was alive and safe and they were all going to be okay. Medusa was gone and they could finally have a life for themself. But frankly, they were terrified.
They'd set out to kill their mother, and they'd done it, indirectly or not. She'd been right about them all along. Except they hadn't even been able to do it right, they'd needed Maka to step in, just like always. And now they'd betrayed anyone who might have been willing to help them, and they didn't really have skills other than killing people, and –
There was a groan from behind them. "My head hurts, and I don't even have a head at the moment!"
Ragnarok sprang into being atop their head and promptly winced. "Ohh, that was a mistake. Hey, dumbass, can you not try to get us killed again?"
"Sorry, Ragnarok."
Ragnarok harrumphed. "Yeah, sure, whatever. At least that Maka chick appreciates what you did for her. It still wasn't worth it, of course, but at least it's something."
There was that. They had saved Maka, so if they were exiled again it would be for a good cause. Hearing Ragnarok express any sort of positive reaction to it was shocking, but it was good to know that he approved, or at least didn't disapprove more than usual.
"So, now what? You're running out of people to betray, so you might want to find a new plan."
Ah, that sounded much more like Ragnarok. It was good to know that he was recovering too. "I don't know. I was hoping we could stay at the academy, but if we can't, I don't know how I'll deal with it." They could feel themself shaking just thinking about it.
Ragnarok snorted. "They better let us stay. That girl owes us, and since she's the one who saved the world that means everyone owes us. And if they don't, we can always find somewhere less boring to go!"
It was a nice thought, but after Maka had saved them so many times Crona wasn't sure she actually owed them. For that matter, she probably wouldn't have much input about what would happen to them. But if she got a chance, she'd argue in their favor, which meant they had a decent chance. Maka was stubborn, after all.
Stubborn like a hippo, they thought, and smiled. Ragnarok seized on it immediately. "Oh good, are we going somewhere less boring? I'm sick of this place; too many rules."
"We can't leave. I don't want to leave my friends behind."
"Fine, fine. But you owe me big time, okay? There's nothing saying I can't change my mind about being willing to stay."
"Okay," Crona said. "We can try to stop by the kitchen on the way back to our room."
"Good. I expect you to fix me a gourmet meal, after all you've put me through!"
They stood up with every intention of complying. As it turned out, though, Naigus wasn't happy with having them out of bed, much less trying to get to the kitchens. They were sent back to their bed under threat of a sedative. As nice as it was to have someone worried about their well-being, they had to shake their head to clear it of images of Medusa's labs.
They were at DWMA now. They were safe, and one way or another everything was going to turn out okay.
They repeated it like a mantra until they fell asleep.
