Sorry for the late update, guys! I went on vacation for Thanksgiving break and went to Hollywood for a few days. I wasnt home to give you guys the next chapter...Sorry :(

But here it is anyway, so please forgive me..BTW, since Chrona was a girl in my last story, "it" is a "he" in this one...oh and those of you who had wished me a happy birthday, THANK YOU!

Destroying a Perfect Soul

Chapter 10: The Messenger

"I saw a vision of Soul this morning..."

"And he...He looked like he wanted to kill me..."

It was quiet…the room I was in was dark and I stared in front of me with no emotion in my gaze. I didn't want to look around…I didn't need to look around…because there was nothing there. The void around me mocked my unmoving self. It was empty, like my heart had become. Soul used to be there…he used to be right there in my heart everyday…but now he was gone. He was out of my reach…out of sight…no longer able to hold my hand and no longer there to tell me to shut up when I cry. He was gone…and he was no longer in my heart.

"Of course he's still in your heart,"

'No…' I thought to the voice I heard; which sounded almost too familiar. 'He's gone…' My blank eyes narrowed but I kept my face as emotionless as possible. Who was talking to me anyway…? 'If he's no longer here…with me…he's no longer in my heart.'

"But he 'is' still here within your heart,"

My eyes widened and I glanced down to my lips even though I couldn't see them entirely. That voice…it was coming from…me? I was talking to myself and not even realizing it! Something appeared before me and I looked back up to see that it was a bed…just a normal sheeted bed with a single red colored pillow, standing there in the pitch dark. Though, it wasn't empty…There was someone sleeping in it. "See…" I spoke to myself again without actually noticing, and then took a step forward to give the figure in the bed a better look. A small head of white stuck out from underneath the blanket and rested on the red pillow and as I reached for the covering, I paused; seeing exactly who that person was. "Soul…he…"

"I told you…Soul still exists somewhere in here…"

I shut my eyes and shook my head and let myself freeze for a moment. Then, after hearing a stir in the bed before me, I slowly pried them back open; only to flinch and take a step back. His eyes had opened and he was looking at me with curious crimson colored eyes. "Mother?" He spoke in question as he sat up; causing me to take another step back. Now I was the one who was confused…what did he mean by "mother"? I-I wasn't Roselin! I didn't look anything like her! My hair was colored like sand, my eyes were big and green… "Wh-what do you need? Am I in trouble?"

"S-Soul, I'm not—" I paused as something fell over my shoulder that didn't belong to me. Long white hair… "What?" I breathed in confusion; looking down to see that I was in a long white nightgown instead of the blue shirt and pants I had fallen asleep in. I turned around and saw that the rest of the room had appeared before me. What was going on? Why had I suddenly become his mother in his own childhood bedroom? "I…I…" Closing my now crimson colored eyes I lifted my hands and hit the sides of my head. "Wake up, wake up, wake up!"

"Mother!" I heard Soul call out in the accent he once had. As I hit my head, a thump so the floor was sounded and I felt the little boy take the side of my—No…Roselin's—nightgown in his hands. "Mother what's wrong?" I heard him then ask me as I continued on hitting myself and pulling at the long white hair that sat upon my head. "Please stop hitting yourself! You're scaring me!" I fell to my knees and dropped my hands into my lap; realizing it was nearly hopeless. Soul's small hands were set on my arm and on reflex, I looked up into his large young eyes…only to see that he had been crying. "If…if you were…g-gunna come t-talk to me about Chrona…I-I'm sorry! I'll s-stop hanging out with him—I swear!"

A little more relaxed, I lifted a brow. "Chrona…?" Who was that? Was that the childhood friend Wes had talked about at the party? The one that had hurt Soul…?

"Mother…?"

"Maka?"

"Maka, please, wake up!"

I opened my eyes and saw that I was back in Liz's bedroom on the floor within the blankets I was in when I had first fallen asleep. I felt wet all over and sat up quickly to see that they had towels in their hands and some looked worried. "You were sweating like crazy!" Liz said to me with a shout as Tsubaki came into the room with another towel. She paused in the doorway and looked at me with even more worry than the rest of them, though Liz kept talking. "A-Are you ok? What were you dreaming about?" As she asked me this, I stood up and tossed all the blankets to the side. I decided to ignore their calls and make my way out of the room. In the hall, I walked quickly in the direction of the front door and I left Kid's mansion and began to walk home…

I didn't understand…the dream wasn't even…scary. And yet…I was sweating…and I was still a little shaken up…

I turned on the coffee machine and let that sit as I opened the cupboard beside me to take out a bowl. Next to it, I set down a box of Apple Jacks cereal and made my way over to the fridge. After opening it I took out the milk, opened it, put it in the bowl and then poured the cereal into it. I took out a spoon, grabbed the mug that now had coffee in it and began eating as I leaned on the counter, my eyes just staring forward as I tried to make sense of the dream I had; my hand shaking uncontrollably.

What did it mean?

Why did I even dream it?

I hadn't realized it at first, but once I left the mansion, it felt like fingers were poking my left arm; dancing across the skin as if I were some kind of piano. I glanced down to the round shaped grains in the bowl of milk and narrowed my eyes. I woke up with Soul doing that to my arm once...he was still asleep…and when he woke up, he told me that had dreamed about playing the piano for me inside an empty ballroom…he said that it was one of the best dreams he had ever had…

The phone went off and I jumped in surprise; nearly dropping the bowl on the way. As it rang, I slowly set the bowl down and walked over to where the phone was so I could pick it up. And when I did, there was a nervous, yet excited squeal on the other end.

"H-Hello? Maka?"

"Papa…?"

"Hello darling! I…I was wondering...if you needed more comforting…"

I stared at one of the tiles on the floor and waited in case he had anything else to say. But he stayed silent, so I spoke up. "Papa…" I began with a slight quiver. He must have sensed something was wrong since he had spoken up before I could continue…

"You know! Spending time with people could help!" I heard him say with a little too much enthusiasm. "I know you've already tried a few times…I've talked to Kid…" There was a short pause. "Um…maybe go to dinner with…me? Possibly your friends…maybe I can call your mother and all three of us can—" I shook my head, even though he couldn't see and shut my eyes.

"Thank you, Papa, but no…," I said to him quietly before taking the phone away from my ear. I heard him say my name into the speaker, but I had already hung up to discontinue our conversation and I set the phone back down on its charger. Then I picked up the mug of coffee again and took a large gulp of that. My eyes wondered around the apartment as I did so and I caught sight of the clock and the time. It was around 9:00 so that meant that school was in session when Papa had called me. Maybe he had been out in the hall or possibly in the Death Room… It also meant that Black*Star and Kid were in the middle of teaching their lessons in their classes.

Was I allowed to go give them a visit…? I could get a visitor's pass…but two days in a row? Would Shinigami-Sama even let me…? I set down the mug and walked into the bedroom and over to the desk. Then I opened the drawer and took out a pen, paper and a safety pin. I set the paper down on the desk's surface so I could write "visitor" on it. Then I wrote my name and the date down before picking it up to pin it to my shirt. After that I left the room and made my way back into the kitchen. I took the mug, drank what was left of the coffee and tossed that and the bowl of cereal into the sink. "Maybe…I can ask to watch Kid teach…" I muttered to myself as I opened the front door to leave and make my way down the street. I looked up—shutting one eye because of the suns bright light—and saw the school up ahead.

…It was kind of depressing really…I kept going back to the place where I met Soul in the first place…

"The definition of the Opportunity Choice is…?" Kid paused and looked to the student in the middle of the classroom that had her hand up. He then smiled and pointed her way. "Yes, Micky?"

"You're Second Best Choice!"

Kid smiled proudly and nodded. "Exactly!" He then said to the girl; who in return made a cheerful swing of the hand and clapped it against her friend's. I ended up letting a small smile form on my face as I watched the man in front of me teach the group of students who had their desks arranged in a very…symmetrical way. "So for a review, Scarcity is the condition that results from a society not giving enough resources to produce all the things that people want. And due to this, people must make choices based on what will benefit them the most and cost them the least. Remember class, there is no such thing as "I had no choice" and remember that People's choices involve costs!"

"Meaning, to choose is to refuse something else, right?"

"Correct."

He sure taught them well…School had just started recently and they were already calling out answers as easily as ABC …Back when it was my class in ECON the students always sat there and waited for the teacher to call someone out in frustration…Kid was a great teacher… "Uh…someone here in the class name the Factors of Production," Kid said as he set down his notebook and looked up. Someone raised their hand and he called on them by their name.

"Land, Labor, Capital and Entrepreneur!"

"CORRECT!" Kid called out to the boy happily with a clap of his hands. Just then, he seemed to notice me and grin…symmetrically of course. I smiled lightly right back, but it disappeared as soon as the bell rang, and, Kid seemed to jump in surprise. Then, with a slightly nervous squeak he turned his attention back the class. "Alright, class is dismissed. Stand and bow!" Each student did as they were told and called out their good-byes to their sensei and then made their way out of the classroom. I stepped away from the doorway so they could leave without a problem and walked over to Kid's desk as he erased things that had been written on the board.

"One class down, only three to go…huh?"

I heard Kid sigh and turn to face me with a small smile. "If only there were eight classes every day and not throughout the year..." He then said to me quietly as his eyes fell down onto some papers on his desk. "That would be nice," He set down the eraser and took a step forward to shuffle through the papers, before looking back up. "Can you do me a favor and grab their notebooks? They turn them in every week on Wednesday, by leaving them on their desks…" His hand lifted so he could point behind me and when I looked over my shoulder, I saw the students' notebooks scattered about their desks. With a small smile, I nodded and made my way over to the closest desk so I could start collecting the students' "homework" of the week. "So…what brings you here, Maka-San?"

I paused only for a moment as I reached for a blue colored notebook labeled "Micky's Notebook" and then looked in Kid's direction. "Oh…I wanted to know if maybe…" My speaking softened and I went back to staring at the girl's notebook for awhile. What was the reason I came here, anyway? I didn't even think of anything…I just came. "Um…" I picked it up and set it on the stack in my hands before turning to walk over to his desk to set it down on it's surface, while he signed a few papers. "I wondered if maybe…you'd like to go to dinner tonight." His writing stopped and he looked up at me just as the door opened for the next class to enter.

"You mean…like a Date—"

"N-No! I mean…" I stuttered as I pondered on what to say next. Geez…that is what happened when I just blurted out things without thinking! "Like…you can bring Patty and Liz…and I'll ask…Black*Star and Tsubaki to come along…" I then said to Kid as he set down his pen to lift his brows in a symmetrical way. I let a small nervous smile appear and I scratched my right cheek as he stared at me patiently. "Like…a dinner for us friends…you know…just the six of us…y-you can sit next to Liz if you w-want!"

With a small smile of his own, he nodded to me with closed eyes. "Alright then," He then said; opening his eyes again. "Maybe we could go to Tsubaki's restaurant, since the sisters and I haven't been there yet." I nodded to him as he stood from his seat, and at first, it looked like he was about to say something to the class, but something on his desk caught his eye. "Ah, that's right," I heard him mumble as he reached down and took a purple notebook in his hand. "This belongs to Rachel. She's in my first and last period of the school day…but because of certain "tutoring" schedules, she was sent to your place for the very thing this morning…" He looked at me with a soft chuckle. "You should head home and meet up with her before she waits outside your door for too long."

"Oh, geez…" I gasped lightly as he set the notebook back down. "Alright then, I'll be going then—"

Though as I turned, he took my hand and pulled me over to whisper so the students wouldn't hear him. "Maka," Kid breathed in a serious tone; which actually freaked me out a bit. "Please, be careful of what you say around that girl…" He then said to me as he looked at his class in the corner of his eyes. "She was abducted last year by someone named Eruka, and was missing for months. When she returned she wasn't the same…so please…many things that I have said, have caused her to nearly go insane…Don't try and talk to her about it…she doesn't remember a thing about the abduction and she feels awfully bad about it. So…just, watch your mouth, your tone, and just please make sure you don't let her find anything that could cause her to slip…got it?"

"Y-Yes…"

"I'm sorry," Kid said to me as he let me take a step back. He looked at me with a sad expression before looking down again. "I thought that I may have needed to warn you,"

I shook my head. "N-No, that's alright." I then said to him; causing his golden eyes to look into my green ones again. "Just…next time…try and be a little more…calm about it, ok?" I tried to smile away the strange feeling of fear as I looked at him. Something about what he had said gave me the chills…for the first time…Kid actually scared me. "Just…try not to freak me out…"

I could already see the teenager waiting for me before I was even half way up the stairs to the apartment. She was dressed in some pretty casual clothes, almost similar to the outfit I saw her wearing on Monday, though the only difference was that she was wearing a thick jacket to shield her body from the cold morning air. "Hello Rachel," I said to her lightly as I reached the top of the stairs. She seemed to flinch upon my arrival and look my way as I walked over; my hand in my pocket digging for the key. "I see you're here, for tutoring?" She nodded as I dug the key into the door and finally opened it.

"S-Sorry about this Miss. Albarn,"

"it's ok," I said to her as I opened the door and let her inside. Then I shut the door and made my way over to the counter so I could set the key down. After that, as she got settled, I grabbed the mug from inside the sink and began to wash it out. "Go ahead and sit at the table and take out what you need." I told her as I began filling the mug again with more coffee; the steam from being heated earlier that morning lifting into the air. "Do you have any books on your animal? If not, I might have—"

"It's a reptile…and yes I do."

I turned around as I used a spoon to stir the cream into the coffee, and lifted a brow. "Reptile?" I then asked as she took a seat in front of an open bag and books and paper scattered about the table. I saw her nod and I then began making my way over. Now that I think about it…Shinigami-Sama said something about it being an animal, Reptile or even a fish…right? But…"What kind of reptile?"

"The kind with no legs and feet." Rachel answered as I took a place next to her chair. Then as I looked at her paper, she told me her report subject. "The Vipera Aspis." She said as I stared at the Egyptian reptile. "Otherwise known as—"

"The Asp Snake."

"Yeah!"

Why did looking at that snake remind me of Medusa? No, not just Medusa…but her own pet snake she had as well. Something in the back of my mind rang and, quickly, I set a hand on Rachel's shoulder; causing her to flinch in surprise. Then, suddenly, I felt a surge of energy charge through my arm from the young high school student. I shut my eyes in pain as she—for some reason—let out a painful sounding squeal. The next thing I knew was that she had passed out; my hand still on her shoulder…and the room was going dark…and growing cold…

My hand broke free from Rachel's shoulder and in a panic I saw my surroundings fade in the dark quickly. Even the floor disappeared along with the table and, soon, Rachel was gone as well. "What?" I gasped as I took a step back. It was as if I was standing in nothing…just like my dream that morning…just like a large black room—completely pitch dark—Though I could see myself as clear as day!

As I kept stepping back, I ran into something and stopped. Though it was more like I had bumped into 'someone' since a pair of hands had appeared on my shoulders and pushed me back forward. "H-Hey!" I yelped as I turned around and made a scared—but still angry—expression. Though it disappeared when I saw who had shoved me. It was a man…a tall one with brown hair and broken shackles on his wrists. He was dressed as if he had just broken out of jail…

"Hello Missy~"

"Wha—"

"It's nice to see you again, Maka~"

My eyes widened and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as chills ran up and down my spine. That voice…it could only belong to one person! "M-Medusa!" I yelled out as I turned around quickly. And…there she was…the blond nurse with the snake like gaze and her lips shaped in a demonic smile. Her long braid that fell onto her chest swayed as she shifted her weight to her right foot and crossed her arms.

"No need to yell, Maka-Chan." I went to yell again, but she held up a finger to shush me. And just then, in the corner of my eyes two more figures appeared in the same direction. But I refused to look… "Now, I'm happy to see that my messenger got to you," Medusa hissed as she reached up with her left hand and brushed a few strands of hair away. "As you can see, Maka, I've figured out how to tamper with the human soul…you're not the special one anymore—" I took a step forward but she held her hand out again. "Uh-Uh, take one more step and…" Trailing off, Medusa shifted her yellow snake like gaze over to my right where the other two figures were. "…I'll just have him killed right 'now'"

Quickly taking the hint that she wanted me to look, I spun to my right and shot a glance over to the two figures. One was standing—her long silver hair falling over her shoulders and a knife in one hand—and the other person was in a chair—tied up with rope and chain and their head bowed down as if they were sleeping. At first I was confused about the frog like woman, but as soon as I saw the white hair and the torn pin striped suit, I knew exactly what was going on…

Medusa had Soul! And she…she was going to kill him!

"SOUL!"

"Shush, he's sleeping." Medusa said as I watched the man I love twitch to the sound of my voice. I glared at her again and took a step in her direction, and this time, instead of stopping me, she just nodded in the other woman's direction. "Eruka," She simply said; causing me to stop and look over. The woman known as Eruka lifted her free hand and took a chunk of Soul's hair in it. My eyes widened as she lifted his face up and placed the sharp end of the blade up to his jugular. I couldn't help but scream at the top of my lungs.

"NO! DON'T TOUCH HIM!" I shrieked as I fell to my knees and watched the blood that had already been on his chin, drip down to his lap. Eruka just looked up at me with a narrow grin as she began to shove the knife into his skin. "STOP IT! PLEASE!" I screamed as I burst into tears and set my hands on the ground. "P-Please…don't h-hurt him…" I was shaking now…like crazy…as if I was lost in the middle of the polar ice caps…I couldn't take it. Soul being hurt in front of me shook my up back in Junior year...back before we were even a couple seeing him get hurt scared the living day lights out of me…and now…he was everything to me…I loved him too much to just bare look at him in that state!

"You know…you could end all of this…" Medusa said to me as she waved the knife away from Soul's neck. My body continued to shake as she made her way over to me and knelt down beside me. Then, my head, with great struggle, turned to face her and I saw her snake like smile spread across her lips. "My whole conflict with his family started out when two little boys became friends and didn't play safe..." She began as if telling a story to a small child. In the corner of my eyes, I saw Soul's head rise again, but this time he had no help…He was awake. "Remember a few years ago…when I mentioned to your friends that I had killed his family for money…?"

-"For one thing…Soul Eater isn't his name." I felt Soul shudder within my arms. He was listening…he was thinking just about the same thing I was.

"WHAT?"

Medusa held up her hand to silence the blue haired boy who had spoken up. "He has an older brother named Wes. And both of them are very talented young men…" Her snake like gaze fell upon Soul and I and she grinned like the very snake she was. "Isn't that right, Soul?" She then asked; causing him to shudder again and lean more into my embrace. I found myself glaring at her with all the fury I could find in myself. But she didn't seem to notice as she looked at the puzzled group again. "His brother is the violinist of the family…and your dear Soul is the pianist." I looked at the group and saw that their eyes widened to show realization but still a little bit of confusion; meaning that they weren't getting it exactly yet… "I killed Soul's parents a long time ago for money. They wouldn't give it to me, so I used force." Medusa confessed with a small but creepy giggle. "Figure it out yet? His name is Soul Evans."-

"…How could I forget?" I asked with a bit of a sarcastic shudder. She let out a small giggle and looked over to Soul and Eruka. I looked as well and saw that he had his tired red gaze upon me and at the same time, he wore a confused expression. "S-Soul…" I breathed out quietly as he watched the two of us. He went to speak, but as soon as a single noise shot out of his mouth, Eruka swung down the handle of the knife and hit him in the back of the head; causing him to let out a painful yell that nearly overpowered my own. "SOUL!" I shouted as a response as I tried to get to my feet, but Medusa took my arm and pulled me back down.

"Get me my money, Maka…and I'll be glad to give Soul back." She grinned an evil smile. "After all, it was his parents who took the money in the first place~ never was it 'his' fault…"

My eyes widened as I watched Soul struggle to get out of the chair; Eruka hitting him and holding him down by the shoulders every here-and-there. At one point, he had spit out some of his own blood… "H-How much…?" I asked Medusa as I watched the one I love get tortured. Suddenly he and Eruka disappeared, and the man that had appeared before me first faded as well. As I watched my apartment come back to life, I felt the witch of the modern century's breath in my ear one last time.

"My whole life's savings…let's leave it at that, for now~"