Maka opened the door to her apartment at a little after one in the morning. She was greeted with silence and darkness, something she was not used to. Usually, Soul at least left on a light. She cast her soul perception around, trying to locate her weapon. The search came up empty, revealing only a sleeping Blair. Where was Soul? Had he gone out? Perhaps he left a note.

Maka walked into the apartment, shutting the door quietly behind her. She strode into the kitchen, knowing that if Soul had indeed left some indication of where he went, she'd find it there. Normally when he went out, there'd be a single sheet of paper with a scrawled "Be back soon." However, when she walked to the table, she found not the slightest hint of where Soul could be.

Confused, she moved to exit the kitchen. Her foot brushed against something and she bent down to pick it up. It was a small glass vial, empty of whatever it may have contained. There was a bit of black residue at the bottom. Puzzled, Maka slipped it into her pocket. She'd ask Soul about it when he got home.

Suddenly, the phone rang, pulling Maka from her thoughts. Who could be calling at one in the morning? And why? What was so important that it couldn't wait until daylight? Shaking her head in exasperation, Maka walked over and stood in front of the telephone. She didn't feel like talking to anyone at the moment, so she'd let the answering machine get it. The phone rang five times before going to voicemail. In a cheery voice, she heard herself commanding the caller to leave a message. Soul wasn't on the recording because he thought it would be 'uncool.' Men were so annoying sometimes.

"Leave a message at the tone! Thanks!"

The tone sounded, ridiculously loud in the silence of the house. The caller cursed colorfully. After the outburst of profanity, someone began to speak clearly and urgently.

"Maka, it's Liz. I seriously hope nothing happened, but if you don't call back in twenty minutes I am going to break into your house. Please, please, please call soon."

Shocked, Maka stood frozen as the message finished. Why would Liz be calling? Had something happened to Kid? Did Liz think something would happen to Maka? Did she think something already had happened? Was Soul in danger too? All of these thoughts ran through Maka's head in a split second. Then she grabbed the telephone and dialed the number for Gallows Mansion.

"Hello?!"

Maka was stunned by the desperation that was clearly apparent in Liz's voice. Something awful must have happened.

"Liz, it's Maka."

Maka heard Liz breathe a sigh of relief. Then a torrent of questions came. "Maka, are you okay? Are you hurt? Where were you? Why didn't you answer when I called? Where's Soul? Is he with you? Have you seen him?"

Maka was stunned by the barrage of questions flying at her through the communication device in her hand. The only question that actually registered in her mind was "Have you seen Soul?" Slowly, Maka answered.

"I haven't seen Soul since I left. He's not home…I'm worr-"

"Oh, thank God," Liz breathed.

Liz was happy that Soul was missing? What if he was injured? How could Liz be so heartless? Appalled, Maka replied coldly. "What do you mean 'thank God'?"

Liz either didn't hear her or chose to ignore the comment. Instead, she began to give frantic instructions. "Listen, Maka. You have to get out of there. Pack a bag, come over here, or go to Tsubaki's…I don't really care. But you can't stay at home. If Soul comes back-"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Maka asked angrily. "You can't just tell me to go somewhere! I have to wait for Soul to get home!"

"You can't do that!" Liz shouted desperately. "Do you want to die?!"

Maka was about to yell back, but stopped. Dread coursing through her, she asked weakly, "What?"

"Maka," Liz said gently. "Soul…he's gone mad."

The next thing Maka felt was denial and an intense need to defend Soul. "That's not possib-"

"Maka," Liz interrupted. Her voice was different now, as though whatever she was going to say was painful. In a strained voice, Liz whispered, "He tried to kill Kid."

Maka dropped the phone in shock. She must have misheard Liz. Why on earth would Soul try to kill Kid? He'd been acting strangely, but Soul would never kill one of his friends. It wasn't possible! But why would Liz lie? And from the tortured quality of her voice as she uttered those last words, Maka could tell she was telling the truth. That meant…was Kid dead? No. Liz had said 'tried to kill.' That must mean he was alive. But how badly was he hurt? Maka scrambled to pick up the phone. Clutching the receiver tightly, she responded.

"Is Kid okay?!" she demanded, panicking.

Liz sounded like she was close to tears (Tears?! Thought Maka. This must be really bad. Liz never cries…) as she answered. "I just…I don't know. I did all I could, but I don't know if it will be enough. I called Stein…he was the first person I thought of. Maybe he'll know what to do. Kid's wounds aren't healing…" she trailed off.

For some reason, Maka thought of the nearly empty vial in her pocket. Could that have something to do with it? Making up her mind, Maka said, "I'm coming over."

She ran through the house, the phone still pressed to her ear, and began to throw clothes into a bag. She heard Liz telling her to be careful. Then, she thought of something.

"I can't leave Blair here. If Soul really did go…crazy…then she's in danger too."

"Then bring her." Liz replied.

Finished packing, Maka asked the question that had been on her mind the entire time. "Why would Soul do something like that?"

"Kid says there's something wrong with him."

Maka felt a prick of hope. Maybe Soul wasn't acting independently. Maybe this whole situation could be fixed! "Do you really think that?" she asked.

Anger colored Liz's voice as she growled. "I think that white-haired bastard had better hope there is, or there will be hell to pay."

Thanks for all the reviews guys! They really give me incentive to keep writing. I hope you liked this chapter! The next couple chapters are kind of 'aftermath' chapters. Will Kid live? Will Soul be free of Arachne's influence? What will Arachne do now? All these questions will be answered soon!

Thanks for reading and keep reviewing!-AngelOtaku121