Okay, this chapter is the first one I've written up that wasn't already made when I started this fanfic. I have deadlines again. :( Heck, that didn't stop me for my Hellsing stuff, so I'll be going on ahead with this. Oh, the black-red eyes are like the people who got possessed by the enchanted sword, Tsubaki's big brother, got, you know what I'm talking about. I forgot to say this when I originally used it, but Soul Smash is like Blair's Smashing Pumpkin attack. (Based off of Down with the Sickness and Dragula AMVs)
Maka's POV:
It stopped abruptly, and I dropped to the ground, exhausted. "Aww, look at the cute little meisters." A voice said, and Kage was suddenly right in front of my face. "Do you feel their fear?" she inhaled deeply, and her eyes momentarily glowed red. Akuma landed beside her silently. "It makes my nose burn. Hurry up and eat them already." He said in disgust, kicking a rock. Kage frowned. "Why are you in such a hurry? Don't spoil my chance for the first good meal I've had in ages. I'm starving." Her eyes glowed red again, and I saw that they had changed from a normal green to red, with the whites of her eyes actually black. "Why are you doing this! Stop it guys!" I shouted and she smirked. "Hey, they haven't figured it out yet! What a bunch of idiots!" Akuma said, laughing.
Kage bent down, twirling my shadow off the ground like it was syrup. "The people you know aren't in here anymore." She said, tapping the side of her head. "They've gone, vanished, packed up their bags and hit the metaphorical road." She purred, stretching the shadow in her hands out until it was thin as a blade. "You're lying!" Soul shouted, and we all echoed him. Kage, or whatever was in her head now, scowled. "Well, you're all much too defiant for me to eat your souls as they are now. You need more fear. And I have just the thing…" she said, dropping my shadow. I watched as it pooled back towards my legs, completely unaffected by her pulling and pushing.
She backed away, and what had once been Akuma laughed suddenly, as if he found something hilarious. "Oh that's awesome! I might even get some that way!" he said, holding his hand up for a high five. Kage glared at him, and he sighed and put it down. "You have five minutes to run. If we find you, you die. If we don't, you live. Simple enough for you meisters to understand?" she said briskly, backing even further away. We all gulped, but got up and began edging away. "Fine…" I said, and we took off running.
Nightmare Queen's POV:
Idiots. They actually think they'll survive. I watched the meisters scatter, flicking through the memories their shadows held. Blue haired kid…ego…Reaper…symmetry? Such a strange race…losers…little noisy girl…nothing much… cursed brat…partner? It will have to do… Alright children, time to show me what you fear… "Shadow take, shadow steal, shadow make, shadow real…" I chanted, waving my arms and calling to the souls of the meisters. "Shadow take, shadow steal, shadow make, shadow real. Mirror Image!" Identical copies oozed out of the ground, eyes trained on the meisters. I grinned. Such fear will rack their souls…it will be a feast.
Multiple POVs:
I ran, holding on tightly to Soul. She's planning something, I just know it… "Coward!" a voice to my left said, and I gasped, turning to a perfect copy of myself, but pitch black. "You are so scared, you have to lean on a rusty old blade to get by!" I shook my head. Ignore it; it's just trying to break me down… "Your father was so disgusted at what he raised that he left your mother in case he might make another of you! And she ran away from Death City rather than see your pathetic attempts at winning her heart!" It said, and I winced. "Shut up!"
I yelled, trying to run away. It grinned, following me. "Are you trying to run? From the truth, and from your own shadow? What a loser." It started changing as it said that, taking on Soul's face and form. "You were so weak; you let me get hacked by the DemonSword. You couldn't even recognize a real witch, so you had me attack some weird cat. You're a disgrace to your family, and your mom. Maybe I should leave you and go partner up with someone useful!" I screamed, running in the opposite direction.
I ran, trying not to summon my skateboard and zoom off. The others need you; you can't leave on them… I chanted this to myself over and over, but the urge to leave was getting stronger and stronger. "Three stripes, in your hair! You're a sick abomination!" a voice in front of me spat, and I skidded to a stop, seeing my own form there, but with no lines in his hair. "Your father is so disappointed! You can't even be symmetrical yourself, but you try to hide it by copying his dress every time you can! He's disgusted by the thought of it on your unclean hide!" it spat, and I desperately tried to ignore it, but it wasn't going away. Liz yelled "Leave him alone!" the shadow turned, and I saw its features blur. "Oh, Liz. Poor, poor Liz." It said, shaking its head.
It changed into someone I didn't recognize, but Liz and Patty gasped. "You stay with this bratty rich boy? You could have as much money as you want and leave, but you insist on staying. Why? He berates you for being so unsymmetrical to your sister, the hypocrite." She said, but Liz didn't say anything. Patty whimpered. "And little Patty. Are the monsters real? Do you really think your big sister can protect you from them? She jumps every time she sees something spooky." It continued, looking at Patty's gun form. Fear was clouding my mind, making it hard to think. Patty and Liz weren't in a much better state, their souls were trembling.
I ran, trying to find the others and get out. Where are they! Ugh, probably running scared. BUT I WON'T BACK DOWN IN FRONT OF A STUPID DEMON! A shape on the wall blurred, and I saw myself peel of it, but black. "What a loser." It said, and I growled. "Tsubaki, this thing wants a fight! Let's get him!" I shouted, but the next thing's words froze me in my path. "Yes, that's your standby response. Honestly, you're like a broken, loud, repetitive track record. Even your friends say so, behind your back. You're so scared of being weak you puff yourself up and act tough, even though you aren't." it said, and I growled. Not true, not true, IT'S NOT TRUE! "You've lost, to like, how many people so far? The Reaper, yes, that's all. But then, you were fighting without your weapon, she's had to bail you out of every fight you've been in. The Enchanted Sword, Mifune, all of them, she's saved your sorry life."
I fell to my knees, trying not to give into the overwhelming aura of fear and despair. "Shut up." I muttered, my hands clenching tighter on Tsubaki's handles. It cackled. "Aww, look at FailStar. He's going to break down and cry like a little baby. What's wrong baby, lose your blanket?" it taunted, shaking with laughter. I howled with rage, but didn't attack. Its words had struck a tiny note of fear in my heart, what would it do if I attacked it? It was a shadow, you can't kill those.
Kage's POV:
"BWADOOOOOM!" A smoking crater appeared where Queenie had been standing before, and she swung the shadow back at me. I dodged, trying to avoid the tombstones and trees. "Stand still and let me silence you peacefully." She growled, whipping it back around her hand. I did a handstand on the branch as I landed, swinging back down to the ground. "Give me my body back and I might consider it!" I yelled, slamming all the shadows in my range at her body. A forest of black spears rose up around me, all arrowing straight for Queenie. She made a face and dismissed them to either side with a cross wave of her hand. "My dear, I'm getting tired of your games. LET'S END THIS!" She raised her arms, and the sky above us was blocked out as thousands of individual arrows all started heading straight for me. I gritted my teeth, ignoring them and running straight for her.
They spiked into the ground in front of me, forcing me to move from side to side as I ran towards her still form. Shadows around her body, and then shot straight towards me, branching out more and more every second. I called on Akuma. YOU STILL HERE ENOUGH FOR A SONG RESONANCE!? I felt him, waver, then agree. "Boys and girl of every age, wouldn't you like to see something strange?" I called, diving into the air and twisting to avoid the shadows. "Come with us and you will see, this our town of Halloween." Akuma said, shimmering into the air in front of me.
"This is Halloween, this is Halloween. Pumpkins scream in the dead of night." We sang, as Akuma shifted into sword form. "This is Halloween, everybody make a scene, trick or treat till the neighbor's gonna die of fright!" I shouted, resonating with him and charging towards her. "It's our town, everybody scream! In this town of Halloween." Unexpectedly, we split apart, me moving one way and Akuma moving the other, shifting back to human form. "I am the one hiding under your bed, teeth ground sharp and eyes glowing red!" he shouted, blasting the shadows apart with his normally weak, but now enhanced, Soul Force. I shifted my lower body to shadow form, for easier movement. "I am the one hiding under your stairs, fingers like snakes and spiders in my hair!" I sang, moving towards her at the speed of…well, not light, but shadow.
"This is Halloween, this is Halloween! Halloween, Halloween! Halloween, Halloween!" we landed on either side of her, and prepared for a devastating twin Soul Force. "In this town, we call home, everyone hail to the Pumpkin Soul!" she staggered back, overwhelmed by our double hit. "In this town, don't we love it now; everybody's waiting for the nest surprise!" Akuma said, slashing her back with a shifted arm. She didn't seem affected at all, and the shadows we were trying to avoid in the sky were getting closer every second. "Round that corner man, hiding in the trash can, something's waiting now to pounce and how you'll SCREAM!" I shouted, slamming into her stomach with a tackle, as well as hitting her with my Soul Force.
"This is Halloween, red and black and slimy green!" I sang, pummeling her with my own, smaller shadows as well as the ever present Soul Force. "Aren't you scared?" Akuam said, pulling me away just as they exploded outwards, impaling themselves on the trees and sliding down to the ground. "Well that's just fine! Say it once, say it twice, take a chance and roll the dice!" I shouted, charging towards her and slashing the shadows away with my very own, and stabbing them with blades projecting from my hands. "Ride with the moon in the dead of night!" I said, jumping up and getting ready to hit her with a Soul Smash. "EVEYBODY SCREAM!" she was crouching, but not giving into the Soul Smash. "Everybody scream! In our town of Halloween!" Akuma sang, whirling in from nowhere in weapon form and slicing her back.
"I am the clown with the tear away face, here in a flash and gone without a trace." I sang, vanishing into thin air and slamming into Queenie invisibly. "I am the who when you call who's there, I am the wind blowing through your hair." Akuma said, copying me and slamming into her from a different direction. "I am the shadow on the moon at night, filling your dreams to the brim with fright!" I shouted, appearing above her and hitting her with another Soul Smash. "This is Halloween, this is Halloween! Halloween, Halloween! Halloween, Halloween!" Suddenly, I was lifted up and slammed against a tree, and I dimly realized those shadows she summoned had finally arrived. Sadly, there was a teensy tiny problem. You can't stop a full Song Resonance until the song's done. "Tender lumplings everywhere, life's no fun without a good scare." I sang, being slammed against the tree, the ground, and several other trees before the shadow impaling me through my middle slipped out.
"That's our job, but we're not mean, in our town of Halloween." We sang, as I propped myself up on my elbows, seeing Akuma in the same state. "In this town, don't we love it now; everybody's waiting for the next surprise!" He sang, eyes burning with anger as he shakily stood up. A tiny grin was fixed on his bloody face, and I was grinning too. We've both missed this. "Skeleton Jack might get you in the back, and scream like a banshee make you jump out of your skin!" we sang, slamming into the shadows a few inches from Queenie's irritated face. "This is Halloween, everybody scream, won't you please make ready for a very special guy!" I sliced deeply into her forearm, and she winced. We were hacking into her now like a pair of crazed butchers, grinning psychotically. "Our man Jack is King of the Pumpkin patch, everyone hail to the Pumpkin King now!"
She battered us into a tombstone taller than all the rest, slamming us into it again and again. "This is Halloween, this is Halloween! Halloween, Halloween! Halloween, Halloween!" We sang, still grinning, choking a bit as blood spurted through our open lips. "In this town, we call home-" She was inches in front of my face, ready to slam a shadow into my gut and end it once and for all. "EVERYONE HAIL TO THE PUMPKIN SOUL!" I screamed, stabbing her with my hand, which had just turned into a razor-sharp, black blade. "LA, LA, LA, LA-LA-LA, LA, LA, LA, LA-LA-LA, LA, LA, LA, LA, LA, LA, LA!" we sang, as power surged, then faded around us, and my sight went dark.
Maka's POV:
Suddenly the shadow-me-Soul dissolved, and I heard a howl of rage. I sighed, and tightened my tie, running off to find Blackstar and Kid. I spotted Kid on the ground, curled up in a ball and whimpering. I tapped his shoulder. "Not symmetrical, I was right the whole time, father does hate my guts." He said, slurring it all together in his panic. I saw a hand reach down and yank him up, and was shocked to see Kage, looking a bit more tired, but otherwise fine, and more importantly, sane, holding his collar and yanking his face close to hers. "It was all lies." She growled, shaking him hard. "Lies something made up to scare you!" he stared at her, but thankfully stopped sobbing.
'C'mon Akuma, let's find the rest of the idiots." She snarled, draping Kid's arm over her shoulder and hauling him to his feet. Akuma walked by me, picking up Liz and Patty and shoving them in Kid's pockets. "HEY! Wait a minute; you guys need to explain a few things!" I said, putting my hand on my hip and shouldering Soul. They both glared at me. "Would you prefer that to be before we're discovered and killed, or after?" Kage said sweetly, narrowing her eyes. "Or should we just listen to the only people who haven't nearly gotten themselves killed ten times tonight already?" I bit my lip and looked away. She grunted in satisfaction and walked off, seemingly looking for Blackstar's soul.
We found him kneeling on the ground, apparently in conflict about something. "Up bro!" Akuma said, kicking him gently. "We need the Blackstar we all know and love, not a stupid silent one." Blackstar looked up at him; them shouted and got to his feet. "Yahoo! Where were you guys! You probably got lost without me! You guys couldn't find your own feet if it wasn't for me!" Kage rolled her eyes and continued silently towards the gate. A living, moving, or whatever, skeleton wobbled out from behind it, frowning, or at least as much as skeletons could. "Meisters?" it said disapprovingly, looking at Kage and Akuma. "Friends." Kage said, shifting Kid's arm on her back. The skeleton shook its skull slowly. "You've made some enemies in your time, but making friends with meisters? You'll hunted, young ones."
Kage and Akuma, startlingly, laughed. "That's as normal as far as we're concerned." Kage said, tossing her head. "Miss you Skull. Tell the others?" it nodded. "Miss you Kage. Cursed meet." Kage and Akuma bowed their heads. "Cursed part." They all said at once "Dead we meet again." We walked out of the entrance in silence, which lasted until we were across the field and into the forest. "So…you guys know a skeleton?" Soul said, flashing back to human form. Kage and Akuma snorted. "Yes, along with several dozen ghosts, Kishin, and pretty much any and all types of the undead. We get around." Kage said, letting Kid go experimentally, then sighing and helping him up. "That reminds me…can you all stand in a line?" She said, and we all assembled, even the weapons. Kid still had to be propped up on Liz. Kage moved forward and slapped us all across the cheek, scowling.
"YOU DAMN IDIOTS! WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU COME HERE, OF ALL PLACES!?" she screamed at us, obviously in a towering rage. I gulped. "What the hell! We came to help you guys!" Blackstar said, nursing his wounded cheek. Kage sighed, pinching her nose. "The sign didn't even register with you people, did it? What do you think it was for, decoration?" she growled, still pissed at us. We all shrugged sheepishly. "We thought they were exaggerating…" Tsubaki said meekly, rubbing her upper arm. Kage screeched in frustration, slamming her head into the trunk of a nearby tree. "YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! YOU PEOPLE ARE JUST AS DUMB AS JACK SAYS!"
"When you were…singing…you mentioned a "Skeleton Jack". Was he that skeleton you talked to earlier?" Soul said, making air quotes as he said "Skeleton Jack". Akuma snorted and Kage stopped banging her head against the tree and stared at us. "My god, they are that stupid…" she whispered, obviously in shock. "Okay, our life in a few sentences." She said, walking off into the trees so fast we all had to jog to keep up. "We were born in that town as Nightstalker, which you may or may not have heard of, if you have, shut up about it around everyone else, it's not something you should talk about." She said briskly, sliding through the underbrush without a sound.
"We have the three part souls and everything, so don't ask. About around the time of our sixth birthday, we got kicked out for reasons I won't explain now, suffice to say, we hate Jack's guts. When we were possessed, did you see a man, dark hair, looks like Stein when he's in a "crazy dissection mode", creepy grin, and stuff like that?" I nodded. "He almost killed us." Kage nodded. "Well that's him. Skeleton Jack, controller of the Pumpkin King. Head of the Nightstalker, and one heck of a crazy creep." She growled, obviously not a fan. "You know the whole bit about pumpkins on the sign, and the architecture, and that statue above the gate?" Akuma said, interrupting her. Tsubaki nodded. "Yes." They both sighed. "That's him. He's sorta a cross between Lord Death and a god to the Nightstalker, everything we do has something with him. Even our building style."
Blackstar blinked. "Do you worship him as much as you worship me?" he said, clearly convinced that we did, in fact, worship him. Kage and Akuma shook their heads violently. "Heck no!" Kage said loudly, shuddering. "You saw Jack, do you think we'd worship anything that had to do with him?" She said in disgust, rubbing her upper arms. "Wait, what does that guy have to do with this Pumpkin King guy?" Kid said dazedly, rubbing his forehead. Kage rolled her eyes. "You know how the DemonSword is fused to that Ragnarok thing? They're fused like that, only their souls are fused, not their actual bodies. The Pumpkin King hasn't had his own body in, well…never." Akuma said, keeping his eyes ahead on the trail.
Ouchie! My hand hurts from all this frantic typing! But, I've done my bit for today, no more writing required by self-law today. *Sighs in satisfaction and shakes hand out again* Listening to Soul eater AMVs, Vocaloid, and writing for my fanfics at the end of the school year! Life is good…*sighs happily* Who knows what Vocaloid is? Okay, maybe you know the songs, in Japanese, Trick and Treat, Alice Human Sacrifice, Black Cats of the eve/ Black cats of Halloween, ringing any bells here? (I only know those three; I haven't bothered to listen to any of the others) Okay…I don't know if this helps, because I don't know exactly who these two are, except for the fact they're Vocaloid characters…Rin and Len? Bells rung yet? You know what, I don't really care if anyone knows what I'm talking about, people rarely do anyway. Review, Request, Rcomment, Auf Wedersien!