Here's the last chapter! I hope you enjoy!
They know that they aren't safe to stop at a hotel anymore, so they press on through the night. The adults take turns driving and everyone tries to sleep as best they can on the bumpy bus.
"What are we going to do about Angela?" Maka asks. She's sitting on the back of one of the seats talking with Soul and Kid as the scenery flashes by outside the windows.
Kid frowns. "I'm not really sure. She's told Tsugumi that she's a witch."
Soul shoots a triumphant look at Maka as if to say I-told-you-so, but he wisely chooses not to voice that.
"Aren't witches supposed to be the enemy of our kind? Like in traditional lore and stuff?" Maka asks, frowning.
Kid nods. "But she's young enough that her destructive tendencies haven't started coming out yet. If only there was a way we could train her to be good instead of evil, we might be able to take her with us..."
"Leave it to me!" Kim is suddenly there, sounding more serious and earnest than Maka has ever heard her.
Maka frowns. "Kim? What's going on?"
The pink-haired girl looks away for a moment. "I'm both a meister and a witch."
"You're a witch?" Soul exclaims incredulously.
Kim gets a little flustered. "I am, but I have healing magic instead of destructive magic! I've always been an outcast among witches. But if you let me, I can train Angela to be a good witch, and use her magic positively instead of negatively!"
Soul, Kid, and Maka exchange a look. "Fine," Kid finally agrees. "But we'll be keeping a close eye on her, and you too. We don't need any more surprises here."
Kim bows her head. "I understand. I'll do my best."
The bus rattles on throughout the night, and they finally pull up to Stein's laboratory as the first pink tinges are staining the sky. The lab is very strange looking, Maka thinks. It's covered in stitching, like it was taken apart and sewn back together haphazardly. The building looks a little crooked, as well. It creeps Maka out, though she can't say why.
They are all quiet as they disembark, even Angela, who is nearly asleep in Tsubaki's arms. It is strange to think that, after all they have gone through, they are nearing the end of their journey.
The door opens as they near the entrance and a man comes out. He creeps Maka out even more than the laboratory. He, like his lab, seems to have been dissected and sewn back together. Even his clothes have the strange stitching underneath his lab coat.
"Marie?" he says, flicking the ashes from his cigarette aside. "What on earth are you doing here? And who are all these people?" He looks through his glasses at the assembled group, mostly children.
Marie bows her head, her blond hair tumbling over her shoulder. "I need your help, Stein. It's sort of important."
Stein hesitates. "You're the group of weapons and meisters that's been on the news since yesterday, aren't you?"
Marie nods miserably. "I know it's been forever since we've dated, but we need help. We need a safe haven."
Stein suddenly grins. "You want me to take you to Death City, don't you?"
She nods again.
Maka feels her hopes raise. "So it really exists? You've been there?"
Stein looks at her long and hard. "You look awfully familiar, girl. What's your name?"
"Maka Albarn, Sir," she answers immediately.
His grin grows even wider. "Albarn, you say? Ah, so you're Spirit's daughter."
Maka frowns. "You know my father, Sir?"
"I'll say," Stein nods. "He used to be my partner way back in the day. Until that Kami stole him away from me. She's your mother?"
Maka nods, unsure of how to process this information.
"She was an excellent meister. Nothing compared to me, of course," Stein grins. "But yes, Death City does exist. I'm surprised you didn't know that. Both your mother and father attended school there."
"There's a school?" Ox says excitedly. "In Death City?"
"Why, yes. Of course. It's called the Death Weapon Meister Academy, or the DWMA for short," Stein explains. "It's a school that teaches weapons and meisters about their abilities and how to use them for the greater good. You'd all learn quite a lot there, I'm sure. Please, come inside. You all look exhausted."
Soul glances at Maka as they gather their belongings from the bus and follow Stein into the stitched-up laboratory. "You okay?" he asks. "You didn't know any of that stuff about your parents, did you?"
"No," Maka shakes her head, still frowning. "I mean, I guess I never really asked them about it, but it's strange to think they had these secret lives."
Soul takes her hand and gives it a reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry. You and I, we're going to learn how to be the best weapon and meister pair. You'll make me a death scythe and we'll go find your parents and bust them out of whatever prison they're in."
Maka smiles and allows his fingers to close around hers. "Thanks, Soul."
The group of fugitives hides out at Stein's laboratory for the following week, resting up and gathering supplies for the journey. They can't abandon the church bus - as it's the only vehicle large enough to transport them all - so they paint it yellow and try to make it look like a normal school bus.
Eventually, however, the time comes to leave the safety of Stein's laboratory and they load back onto the bus.
"So where exactly is this Death City place?" Maka asks, leaning over the back of the seat to address Dr. Stein.
"Nevada, of course," Stein answers, blowing smoke out of the corner of his mouth. Even in the bus, he is a chain smoker. "It's in the middle of the Nevada desert."
Maka sits back in her seat, frowning. "The desert, eh? Doesn't sound like a very nice city to me."
"Don't judge. You haven't even seen it yet," Soul grins.
"Hmph." Maka crosses her arms. She's so impatient. She can't wait to get to this city and it's protection.
The ride from California to Nevada takes several hours, and they spend the last two driving through the scorching desert. Maka is grateful the bus has air conditioning.
"Hey, wake up kiddos," Stein calls from behind the wheel. "You're about to get your first look at Death City."
Maka and Soul scramble to press their faces against the dirty window, their noses squashed and their shoulders pressed tightly together. As she squints though the desert dust, Maka can just make out something in the distance and, as she watches it grows larger and larger until she can tell that it is a busting metropolis of strangely-shaped buildings.
"Dr. Stein?" she calls, still squinting. "What is that strange thing surrounding the city? It looks like some sort of force field!"
Stein smiles shortly. "That's Shinigama-sama's soul. It's what protects Death City and keeps it secret."
Maka feels her heart stop. "His soul is that big? It's enormous! What kind of person is this Shinigama-sama anyway?"
"Can't you tell from the name?" Stein asks, tipping ashes out the open window. "He's the Grim Reaper."
Maka falls silent, shocked into silence. In fact, the entire bus seems to have grown silent as it hurtles towards the ever-growing city.
Her heart is pounding as the bus screeches to a top just outside the barrier. Stein puts it in park and turns to look at his passengers. "This is it. The bus won't pass through the barrier, so we'll have to go on foot now."
Even Angela is silent as they gather their belongings and walk single-file off the bus. The sun is relentless overhead, and the wind whips sand against their faces and necks. They pause just outside the barrier. It's like a visible wall, tinged slightly blue. They line up shoulder-to-shoulder, too anxious to take the first step.
Soul takes Maka's hand, linking their fingers together. "You ready to do this?" he asks, grinning.
She smiles back. With Soul by her side, she can do anything, she knows. "Yep!" And together they step through the barrier into Death City.
The End!