Knowledge is power,
This is true,
But those with this power should always remember,
Even the ignorant and slow can crush you,
Given they have the numbers to do so.
Unfortunately,
They usually do.
-Seth McClissey
Soul Eater: Blood Laced Wine
The death room was silent.
The air seemed to shift, a chilling breeze was created by the words of Lord Death.
"What?" Kid breathed, he eyed his father.
He was beyond surprised, as were the others.
Lord Death looked at Kid.
"These three are Greg's children." He repeated.
DeathSmith, Cutter and Elizabeth all looked around nervously.
The gang started to tense slightly, especially Kid.
The Altered noticed everyone's expressions and moved to defend the three, Echo stood by DeathSmith and Cutter, he began to raise his left hand, though with his abnormally long sleeves, his skin remained hidden.
Hush wrapped an arm around Elizabeth.
Curiously, Alexis moved to cover Maka and Soul.
"Now now," Lord Death sighed," calm down, there's no reason for this behaviour."
The Altered exchanged looks, DeathSmith waved them away, though they didn't go far.
Maka and Soul looked at each other, Alexis relaxed slightly.
Echo lowered his left arm, the fabric of his long sleeves kept his limb hidden during the act.
"Even Echo was ready for a fight." Maka thought, she thought back to the ordeal." Wait, wasn't he the first to move, so they really thought about attacking."
She shivered slightly.
Soul wrapped an arm around her, she looked at his face, he wasn't exactly happy about the current situation.
Everyone stood in silence.
Suddenly, Cutter took a step forward, then another.
He slowly walked towards Lord Death, Kid moved to follow.
When he was about to pass Maka and Soul, Soul stopped him with a hand.
Kid looked at them surprised, Maka shook her head at him.
Cutter stopped moving forward a few meters from Lord Death.
Much to everyone's surprise, he knelt in front of Lord Death.
"It's good to finally meet you," he stated clearly, he bowed his head," the God of Reward and Punishment, it's a real honor."
"No need for formalities here," Lord Death assured him," really, MadEye."
"Of course." Cutter replied, he rose to his feet.
Maka looked at Cutter confused.
"What did he say?" she asked herself.
Lord Death turned to Shroud.
"I think we'll need some privacy Face," he stated," if you don't mind."
Shroud took a short bow.
"Of course sir," he replied," we needed to get home anyway."
He turned to the man and woman next to him.
"Right, Wrong," he called as he moved towards the guillotines," let's go."
"Yeah sure." The woman replied," C'mon Wrong."
She followed Shroud out, with the man in tow.
They watched them go, no one moved to stop them.
Right turned, she seemed to blow a kiss towards the group before disappearing.
Kid turned to Lord Death.
"Who are they!?" he almost yelled." What is going on, how do you all know each other."
DeathSmith huffed in amusement.
"You haven't figured it out yet have you?" he asked.
Kid turned to him.
"What's that supposed to mean!?" he shot back.
Cutter sighed.
"We're not your enemy." He stated, he brushed some flecks of dried blood from his chin.
Kid turned to him.
"We're friends of the reaper." Alexis added.
Liz looked at her.
"But," Kid stammered," what about everything that's happened!?"
Lord Death chuckled.
"Alexis and I have moved past the past," he assured him," and she has rejoined her team."
"We have more enemies since the last time," DeathSmith told Lord Death," that may be a problem."
Lord Death nodded.
"Yes, but I'm sure that you can still complete the mission." He stated.
"What are you talking about?" Kid asked.
Alexis wrapped an arm around Kid's shoulder.
"Relax Kid," she cooed," everything's fine."
He looked at her surprised.
DeathSmith approached the young reaper.
"A bit jumpy don't you think?" he muttered." I dunno, I beat him easy enough."
He eyed BlackStar, Tsubaki, Soul and Maka.
"Then again-" he sighed, he looked at Soul and Maka, he took a few steps back," very well."
Kid, Liz, Patty, BlackStar and Tsubaki turned to him expectantly.
He turned to face them.
"As two of you already know," he began, he spread his arms," we are the RDS."
"RDS?" Liz repeated.
"Yeah," Maka confirmed," it stands for-"
"It stands for Reaper Death Squad," Kid muttered, he looked at DeathSmith," correct?"
DeathSmith gave him a smirk.
"That's right," he stated," so you've heard of us."
"I have." Kid replied.
"What's the RDS?" Tsubaki asked.
"An elite unit," Kid began," it was supposed to be made up of weapons and meisters of exceptional skills."
He eyed DeathSmith.
"Well at least the reputation has stayed intact." Cutter mused.
Kid brushed Alexis' hand from his shoulder.
"The group was disbanded years ago," Kid continued," and now you've brought it back."
DeathSmith shook his head.
"No, not even close," he stated," the RDS used to be feared because of its strength, now it's filled to the brim with-"
He trailed off.
"Freaks." Alexis finished.
Maka eyed her feet.
Hush gave a huff of amusement.
"Well we're all here again aren't we?" he offered.
"Yeah," Elizabeth agreed, she pecked her husband on the cheek," we are."
"I guess we'll just have to go with this." Hush stated.
"But what about them being Greg's children?" Kid asked.
DeathSmith chuckled.
"Dad's been on our list of enemies for a while now," he stated," don't worry about it."
"How can we know you're telling the truth?" Kid almost spat.
"Well if Lord Death's word won't convince you," Cutter mused," than I guess you can't."
Kid gritted his teeth, he did have a point.
Lord Death looked at the kids in front of him.
" Well I think that you all should befriend each other at your own pace," he stated, he turned to Azusa and Spirit, who were both waiting more or less patiently," right now I have things to discuss."
BlackStar immediately made for the exit, with Tsubaki in tow.
Hush and Elizabeth moved next, Echo replaced his mask and followed them.
Maka and Soul waited for DeathSmith to start to leave, they followed him closely along with Alexis.
Cutter, Kid, Liz and Patty stayed behind the longest.
Cutter turned to leave, he saw Kid looking at the ground.
Kid clenched his fists angrily, Cutter walked towards him and stopped a few feet away from the angry reaper.
"Jumpy indeed, fast heart rate, unchecked rage," Cutter muttered loud enough for Kid to hear, Kid looked up at the Altered," still just a kid, Reaper Boy."
Kid's eyes narrowed.
Cutter strode forward, he clicked the dial on the side of his collar, he stopped beside Kid.
"Your blood looks appetising though." Cutter hissed with a menacing smile.
Kid almost shuddered, he looked at the boy beside him.
The crazed boy stared back at him.
"See ya later," Cutter hissed, he resumed his trek for the door, an aura of bloodlust emanated from his flesh," Reaper Boy."
Cutter turned the dial on his collar again, the sensation of his lust for violence seemed to disappear from the air.
Liz and Patty approached Kid, who was still watching Cutter go.
She nudged his shoulder, he seemed to snap from a daze.
"Let's go home." She offered.
"Yeah." He agreed, he made his way to the door.
The next day.
Maka walked through the streets of Death City, she was once again in her usual attire.
She still wore the sling from the other day.
Soul filed in next to her.
"So, first day back in class." He muttered.
"Yeah." She replied, her mind was elsewhere.
She thought about what had happened the day before.
"God of Reward and Punishment." She muttered under her breathe. "What did he mean by that?"
Her question went without an answer, Soul and Maka soon made it to the training room.
She wasn't surprised to see the Altered there.
They all wore relatively normal clothes, with the exception of Alexis, who wore her heavy parka.
There was another boy in class, she couldn't recognise him however.
Curiously, Hush was helping students along with Elizabeth.
Maka found a bench and sat down, some students began to file into one of the sparring rings, she opened a book awkwardly in one hand.
"Y'know you don't have to watch over me all the time." She told Soul, who was seated next to her.
He chuckled.
"I guess not." He agreed.
"Why not join the class?" she offered." I'm fine here."
He looked at her.
"You sure?" he asked, she nodded." Alright then."
He pushed himself from the bench and moved to the sparring ring that cheers had started to escape from.
Maka sat in silence reading, she awkwardly moved to turn the page, her grasp slipped and the book fell to the ground.
"Dammit." She muttered, she reached for the book.
Before her hand came within a foot of the book, the hand of another picked it up.
She expected it to be Soul.
"Thanks S-" she began as she raised her gaze, she stopped when she saw it was the unknown boy, he held her book in his bandaged right hand while his left was in his pocket.
He offered the book back to her.
"I think this belongs to you." The boy muttered.
His jet black hair shifted, his sleek silver glasses flashed, the glare blocked out his eyes.
He wore a black jacket with rolled up sleeves that reached his elbows, the large collar was uptuned covering his neck, his right arm was cover in bandages.
His black pants had a chain on the right side that looped around him, his skin was pale and he was very tall.
Curiously, he wore heavy combat boots, despite looking like a handsome nerd.
She grasped her book.
"Thanks." She said.
The boy motioned to the bench.
"Can I sit?" he asked.
His voice seemed familiar, but for some reason she couldn't place it.
"Sure." She replied.
The boy gingerly sat down beside her.
"Fighting isn't really my thing." He stated, he looked her over.
She reopened her book and managed to find her page.
She felt the boy's eyes on her the entire time, finally she turned to look, he was staring at the sling on her arm.
"What?" she asked.
"The sling's been on long enough," the boy stated, he removed his glasses, he began to clean them with a cloth," can I get it back."
She saw his eyes.
The right one was as red as a pool of blood, while the left one shone a brilliant gold.
She knew those eyes.
"C-Cutter!?" she almost yelled, he closed his eyes and moved his ears away from her.
"Don't call me that here," he said," just – call me Drake."
She was surprised – no - shocked at his behaviour.
And how he looked.
He looked completely different than the blood encrusted boy she had spent a day traveling with.
He looked clean and smart, not at all like he did in The Town.
"S-sorry." Maka managed.
He looked at her and replaced his glasses, after a few moments he gestured towards the sling with his hand.
"Oh right sorry." She blurted as she hurriedly undid the sling with her free hand.
After a few seconds she handed him his sling.
She gingerly stretched out her arm, it cracked from the act.
Her shoulder felt usable again.
'Drake' accepted the sling, he folded it and slipped it into the pouch he had strapped to his lower back, during this she noticed he had a glove on his left hand.
Maka tried to read her book, but couldn't, the boy sitting next to her was too weird.
She recalled what he had said the day before.
She closed her book.
"Hey." She muttered.
"Yeah?" he retorted.
"When we were talking to Lord Death," she began," what did you mean?"
Drake smiled.
"What, you think a reaper is just death and that's it?" he asked her, she was surprised by the question," No, a reaper is a being of Reward and Punishment."
He sighed and pushed his glasses up higher on his nose.
"Many people think Life and Death are two completely different things," he continued," but the reality is that they are the same, to let one live can be viewed as a kindness, while killing someone can be seen as a crime against nature."
He rose from the bench.
"Walk with me." He ordered.
She watched him head for the door, she moved to follow him.
They walked side by side in the hall.
"Have you ever thought about wanting to be alive?" he asked, the question confused her." I don't mean if you've ever wanted to die, but if you ever loved living."
She thought for a moment.
"Well, yeah I guess." She stammered.
"Say you did a crime, how about killing a fellow student," he began, he pushed up his glasses, she eyed him warily," if you felt regret and guilt, you'd want to die."
She eyed the ground.
"So the reaper may kill you, give you justice, a reward to both you and those that you've hurt," he turned to look at her," but what if he decided to be cruel?"
She looked at his odd expression.
"What do you mean?" she asked, she hadn't the faintest idea what he was getting at.
He huffed in amusement.
"Alright, let's say you felt no regret, no guilt," he offered," you only felt the gain of power from taking another's life, a feeling that can scarcely be described, he may let you live, but what if he decided to be smart?"
"Seriously," she started," what are you saying?"
He sighed.
"I'm saying, life and death are the same thing," he explained," they are the means of both reward and punishment, but which is which depends greatly on the person in question."
Her eyes studied the boy, he wasn't exactly making much sense.
They walked in an awkward silence for a few seconds.
He looked her over.
"A grigori soul," he said blankly," sealed inside a body with relatively little muscle mass."
"Are you insulting me?" Maka asked.
He gave a huff of amusement.
"No just," he started, he thought for less than a single second," making an observation."
Maka looked at the ground while he turned his eyes to the ceiling.
"Hey." She muttered.
"Yes?" he asked.
"Is our teacher really your sister?" she inquired with genuine interest, he nodded." But she looks so young!"
He chuckled slightly.
"She'd like to hear that," he said with a hint of sarcasm," she's twenty years old."
"Well how old is-" she stried, she realised she didn't know Hush's real name.
"Hush?" he voiced, she nodded," his name is Vlad and he's twenty one, they've been married for a couple years."
"Who is Vlad?" Maka asked.
"Are you interrogating me?" he shot back, despite the comment, his face boasted a smile.
"No, I'm just – curious." She managed.
"Ask my brother, Seth," he told her," he's better at this than me."
She looked at him confused.
"Better at what, talking?" she thought to herself," he's doing alright so far."
He looked at her again, his face changed for a moment, it looked like surprise, then he smiled.
"So," he muttered," you've come in contact with black blood."
The fact that it obviously wasn't a question chilled Maka, his tone didn't help her feel any better.
"Y-yeah but," she stammered, they stopped walking," how do you know that?"
He smirked and removed his glasses, he tapped his left temple.
"I don't see like you," he stated, he shrugged," well, not with this eye anyway."
"What do you mean?" Maka demanded.
"I see blood and bone," He revealed as he looked her blood vessels over," and at some point your blood got a lovely shade of black, fairly recently if memory on the subject serves me well."
"W-well-" she stuttered.
"Your partner," he finished for her," I know, that was the most likely cause, I hadn't noticed due to the fact that the trace is so faint."
"That's damn creepy." Maka managed.
"Well everyone has flaws and perks," he chuckled," it just so happens that mine go hand-in-hand."
She arched a brow, he saw this.
"Let's put it this way," he sighed," have you ever gone through a place that sells food while hungry with no money?"
She thought for a moment before nodding.
"Well, you've seen the real me," he stated, he outstretched his arms," and I see what I eat, all the time."
She looked to her feet, though morbid, she grasped his logic.
"Maka!" Soul's voice echoed through the halls.
They both turned the way they had come.
"We should-" she began.
"Of course." He agreed, he began to walk back, she followed him.
They walked in silence for a few seconds.
"Hey can I ask you something?" she asked.
"You just did." He mused.
"Cute," she muttered, he smirked," how can you stand it here given your – situation."
"Oh that's easy," he replied, he pulled his collar down, revealing his thick, greyish blue collar," this thing taps directly into my spine and delivers a charge to my nervous system, if I get too excited or start to lose it, the level of charge increases, nullifying my wavelength."
"Wow," Maka said dumbly," does it hurt?"
He caught the last word.
"Hurt?" he repeated.
"Yeah, does it cause you pain?" she asked again.
He thought for a moment.
"I dunno," he admitted," I've never thought about it."
"How long have you worn that thing?" she inquired, surprised by his answer.
"This, since the Town," he stated," but I wore a less powerful version on my wrist up 'til that point."
"Speaking of which," she said," what's with the bandages?"
"What else," he asked sarcastically," I got hurt."
She eyed him.
"Right." She muttered, that wasn't exactly the in-depth answer she wanted.
They turned the corner, they saw Soul standing outside of the training room, when he saw them his eyes narrowed at Drake.
"Hello." Drake greeted him before moving into the class.
Soul stopped Maka from following him.
"I leave you for a second." He sighed, he trailed off.
"Sorry," she muttered," I wanted to learn something."
Soul looked at her arm.
"Where's the sling?" he asked.
"Cutter asked for it back." She replied.
"Cutter is here!?" he almost shouted.
She pointed at the door.
"He just walked past you." She told him.
"That was him," Soul managed," but-"
"I know," she agreed," I was surprised too."
"So what did he say?" Soul asked.
"He didn't say much," she admitted," just a bunch of stuff that didn't make much sense."
Soul shook his head.
"Well, he did say that he can see blood and bone." She offered.
"Really," Soul stammered," how?"
"I don't know," she stated," he didn't say."
"Anything else?" Soul asked.
"Yeah," she confirmed," he told me to talk to his brother."
"Didn't we do that already?" Soul inquired.
Maka leaned against the wall, she thought back.
"Yes and no," she finally said," Seth told us who they are, but now that I think about it, he never went in depth about WHAT they are."
Soul nodded in agreement.
"Well, we still have a class to attend." He voiced, he gestured towards the door.
She nodded and moved to rejoin the class.
Once inside she looked everyone over.
She saw all of the Altered, save one, she hadn't noticed his absence until that point.
"Hey, where's Echo?" she muttered.
Alexis approached Maka, she wrapped her arm over the shorter girl.
"Hey Girly," Alexis greeted her as she did so," what's with the face?"
"Hi Alexis," Maka sighed," do you know where Echo is?"
"Yeah," she replied almost sadly," he hasn't been cleared for normal classes yet so he's at his house with one of Seth's partners."
"Seth has two partners?" Maka asked.
"Well, yeah," Alexis stated," you didn't see them, he had them out like, yesterday."
"Two swords." Soul commented.
Alexis nodded from behind her mask.
"Well, why hasn't he been cleared," Maka asked," I mean 'Drake' was."
Alexis giggled slightly.
"Yeah, but he's under control right now." She stated, the comment confused Maka.
"What," Maka blurted," how is that keeping Echo from classes."
Alexis' mask shook.
"Trust me," Alexis warned," Drake may be dangerous, but so is Echo, just for different reasons."
Alexis patted Maka's shoulder before walking to one of the rings, she moved in beside Seth to watch a fight.
Maka noticed the cases on Seth's forearms were gone.
It seemed strange, until she saw another person standing beside him.
The person wore a black hoodie with the hood up, covering their hair, with jeans that hugged their curves revealing the fact that it was a woman, her flat shoes helped this fact.
This person was approached by Elizabeth, who seemed to ask Seth for permission.
He nodded and the two walked over to a desk that had been put in the corner as a make-shift teaching area.
They spoke for a little while, Maka moved towards them, hoping to talk to them.
On her way she walked past Vlad, he stopped her with a hand.
She eyed him surprised.
"Not now," he said, his tone wasn't threatening, which surprised her," please."
He lightly pushed her back towards the rings
She decided to watch the fight that Seth and Alexis were watching.
She arrived in to see Dominic trip a student with the training sword he was using, he rest the fake blade on his opponent's neck.
"Three wins in a row," Seth muttered," his style isn't even that original, though is rather effective."
Maka looked at the boy in the ring as he boasted obnoxiously, she saw his partner on the other side of the ring, Lin was shaking her head.
"So he can fight without his weapon," Alexis commented," though he's not fighting meisters."
Maka turned.
"Huh, he's not?" she asked.
Seth shook his head.
"He's just fighting weapons who probably never fought alone a day in their life," he stated," he's even getting them to partially transform for an 'additional challenge' if you can believe that, so far only three have even done that, it's insulting."
Alexis whispered in his ear, a large smile broke over Seth's face.
"Yes that would be fun to watch." He stated.
Maka nudged his shoulder, he turned to her.
"Hey can I talk to you about your brother?" she asked.
His smile grew.
"Good timing if you mean Drake," he stated, she hadn't but nodded nonetheless, anything was better than nothing, Seth turned in the crowd," hey Drake!"
Drake approached.
"Yeah bro?" he asked.
Seth pointed at Dominic in the ring.
"No blood." Seth replied.
Dominic orbited the ring once more cheering himself on the entire time.
"Another win." He thought to himself.
The previous combatant opened the door to the chainlink wall and stepped out, Dom saw someone else take his place through the corner of his eye.
He turned to face this person directly.
He recognised the glasses wearing nerd as one of the new students, he didn't recall his name though.
"Your funeral newbie." He scoffed.
The person smiled slightly, he removed his jacket, a large pouch and his glasses, he handed them off to the person Dom recognised as Fisher, Dom's eyes narrowed.
The person shifted their weight, he turned a dial on a large collar.
He cracked his neck and spread his bare feet.
"Why isn't he wearing his boots?" Maka asked.
"Because they're designed to break bones." Alexis stated.
Maka was surprised by the answer.
"Ok then." She said dumbly.
She watched Drake turn the dial on his collar.
"Hey," she huffed," where's Drake's weapon?"
Seth chuckled.
"You say that like he has one." He said.
"Well don't all of you?" Maka asked.
"No, there are two of us who don't have partners," Alexis stated," they are Drake and Echo, it's because they don't want to fight with one."
"Drake is too dangerous to be used in battle," Seth stated," though Echo doesn't have a partner for other reasons."
"I thought you all were meisters," Maka stated," well, except for you Alexis."
"Well, even a suit of armor isn't much good without a weapon." Alexis muttered.
"Both of you be quiet," Seth ordered, he smiled," It's about to begin."
"Are you going to stand there all day?" Dom asked loud enough for Maka to hear.
Drake untucked his left hand from his pocket.
He clenched this fist quickly, a blade similar to Justin Law's shot from his forearm.
Maka arched a brow, as the two fighters circled.
When Drake was close enough, she noticed the blade was serrated slightly.
"Is that – a saw?" she asked.
"A bone saw to be more precise." Seth replied, she turned to him.
"A bone saw!?" she repeated." Isn't that a medical tool?"
Alexis giggled.
"You haven't seen anything yet." She stated.
Maka turned to Seth.
"Let's just put it this way," he began," how'd you think he became the medic?"
Maka didn't quite understand his meaning, she turned back to the circling combatants in the ring.
Dom swiped at the newbie's head, his opponent blocked with the blade on his arm.
"So who are you anyway?" Dominic asked as he brought his training sword away.
"I'm Drake." The boy replied.
Drake shifted his feet.
"This Dominic has some skills," he thought," but he has weaknesses."
Dom stepped forward and stabbed for Drake's gut.
Drake sidestepped.
"Slight limp," Drake noted silently," healed veins and arteries in his right leg, hairline fracture, also healed, childhood injury no doubt, it's healed enough for it to barely be noticeable."
His gaze rose to Dom's arms, the blood rushing into his opponent's muscles allowed him to see them clearly.
He waited for Dom's next strike, which came quickly, a high slash that Drake ducked.
"Torn biceps, both arms, they've healed over, over training," Drake thought to himself," maybe."
Dom's ribs showed some wear and tear also.
"A few repaired ribs, holes in the bone, metal cuffs most likely," Drake noted," possible shot nerve endings, possible over-sensitive nerve endings in surrounding area."
He finally eyed Dom's jaw, it still had some bruising under Drake's expert vision.
"Bruises are gone, but they aren't healed properly," Drake muttered under his breath," yes, this'll work."
Dom raised his sword, halfway through the swing, Drake moved forward.
Drake side stepped Dom's swipe, Dom saw this and moved to kick Drake, with his left.
Drake ducked to the side and made a stomp for Dom's right foot, which was countered with a hurried hop away.
Dom clumsily raised his sword again.
In this moment Drake shot forward, he elbowed Dom in a specific part of his chest, just as expected, metal cuffs were in place, though he hadn't aimed directly at them.
Dom winced, his body shifted.
Drake turned, he placed the backs of his hands on Dom's biceps, he pushed Dom's arms away from each other.
Sure enough Dom's arms were forced to separate, in this moment, Drake spun on one foot.
His left foot traveled behind him to its destination; Dominic's jaw.
Drake's foot collided with the bones in Dom's jaw, knocking the fighter off balance, though not with enough force to break anything.
Drake gripped Dom's shoulder and tripped him with a well-placed foot.
Dom landed heavily on the cushioned floor.
He attempted to rise, Drake lay a knee on his back.
The feeling of a serrated blade on his neck stopped Dom's movements.
The fight was over.
"Whoa." Maka stammered.
"Yeah." Soul agreed.
"When'd you get here?" Maka asked, she hadn't noticed him.
"Just before the fight started." Soul replied, he looked back up to the ring.
"And that is why you don't boast about a victory that is assured." Seth muttered.
The group watched as Drake rose and made his way to the door of the ring.
Alexis moved to the door.
Drake walked away from his defeated opponent.
He saw Alexis open the chainlink door.
She was carrying his glasses on top of his jacket.
He heard Dom rise.
He eyed his glasses, in the reflection he saw Dom take a step towards him.
Drake sighed.
He raised his bandaged arm.
The training sword impacted the bandages, the blade broke.
The tip kept moving past Drake's face, he raised his hand in time to catch the piece of wood.
He spun and stabbed Dominic in the leg with the tip of the sword.
Dom dropped his broken weapon and fell to the ground once more, he clutched the new wound.
It took a few seconds for Elizabeth and Vlad to push through the stunned crowd.
"Damn it Drake," Vlad scolded as Elizabeth moved towards Dominic, Lin had pushed through the crowd to the entrance," not one day."
"Hey, he decided to be a sore loser!" Drake shot back.
Vlad sighed.
"How is he?" he asked.
"He's going to be fine after this thing gets out of him," she waved the medical staff that was standing near the door forward, they brought a stretcher," he'll need some mild surgery, it hasn't hit an artery."
She rose and approached Drake.
"Guess who has a job for the next four hours." She asked sarcastically.
"Hey that's bullshit and you know it!" he yelled.
"Too bad, it's this or you're getting suspended." She warned.
He sighed.
"I hate you so much," he sighed, he raised his arms defensibly," fine, screw it."
The medical crew entered the ring and placed the writhing Dominic on the stretcher.
Drake huffed disappointed.
Maka saw Drake's expression.
"What's happening, why's he mad." She asked.
"He's on surgery duty." Alexis stated, she had overheard Drake's conversation with Elizabeth and Vlad.
"Well I warned him." Seth muttered.
"Why don't either of you look surprised," Soul asked," or concerned for that matter?"
Alexis shook her masked face.
"Lizzy is a very simple person," she stated," and one of her morals is: you break it you fix it."
"And," Seth added," Drake's the best surgeon this planet's ever seen, bar none, that bleeding dumbass is going to be fine."
Seth was approached by the hooded person he was with before.
"What happened?" the shaky voice asked, it definitely was a girl.
"Drake stabbed his opponent with his own weapon." Seth replied.
Maka tried to see the new comer's face, but the hood stopped her.
The new person looked at her for a split second.
Surprisingly the right half of her face was tanned, but the left was slightly less so.
She wore some sort of eye covering, it had a blue visor and reached down to her nose.
The tall girl seemed surprised, she quickly turned back towards Seth.
Seth noticed Maka's stare.
"C'mon, let's go wait for Drake." He said as he moved to follow the medical crew.
They were almost out the door when Kid stopped Maka, the others lagged behind to wait for her.
"Hey, what happened?" he asked.
"Drake stabbed Dominic," she answered frankly," we're going to go wait for him."
"Which one's Drake?" Liz asked from beside Kid.
"The black haired one." Soul replied.
"Why would you wait for Dominic?" Kid asked.
"What," Alexis cut in," who said anything about waiting for him, we're waiting for Drake."
"Why?" Kid asked.
"Because apparently Drake's the one in charge of the surgery." Maka replied.
"What!?" Liz almost shouted.
Patty was looking around the room, her eyes moved to Liz at the outburst.
Alexis pulled Kid out of the room.
"C'mon then if you're just going to ask questions." She ordered.
They walked in silence to the infirmary.
When they arrived Elizabeth was outside of the door, she was talking to Vlad.
"Look just," she tried, she turned her head to the approaching group, she sighed," watch the class."
Vlad glanced over, he sighed too, but nodded.
He kissed her and walked past the group.
"What are you all doing out of class?" Elizabeth asked when they were close.
"C'mon sis-" Seth began in a forced tone.
"Don't do that to me," she warned," brother or not I'll have you in there with him in a second."
Seth thought for less than a second, then nodded in defeat.
"Anyone else want to try?" he asked.
Their teacher shook her head.
"Whatever," she removed her sunglasses with closed eyes and ran her hand through her ginger hair," just find some chairs or something."
She reopened her eyes, the right one was an ominous grey, mild scarring could be seen around the eye socket, the other eye was a very pale blue.
Maka saw her grey eye, Elizabeth turned and walked down the hall, she opened a random door and entered.
Maka nudged Seth's shoulder.
"Hey, what happened to her eye?" Maka asked.
He looked at her.
"Well she's like me," he stated," we have the same kind of soul."
"That doesn't answer my question." She replied.
"Believe it or not," he started," it does."
Elizabeth entered the hall once more, she carried a few chairs with her.
"There's a bunch in here." She stated as she approached .
The group moved to collect chairs.
They all sat down more or less surrounding the room Drake was in.
"So when's this going to start?" Kid asked.
"It started the second I left for chairs." Elizabeth stated.
"What," Soul stammered," how can you tell?"
Their teacher lowered her sunglasses enough for her eyes to show once more.
"Because I can." She stated.
Before he could reply, the sound of yelling was heard just beyond the door.
They all turned to it.
"And there's that." Seth mused with a smirk.
"You know what," Drake's voice boomed," out NOW!"
There was a muffled reply.
"Yes I'm being serious!" Drake yelled, he began speaking another language.
"What's he saying?" Maka asked.
Seth chuckled.
"He's speaking Russian and you don't want to know." He replied with a smirk.
Soon after the entire staff for the surgery, excluding Drake was in the hall.
"Well what now?" one asked.
Elizabeth laughed.
"Just have a break or something," she offered, they gave her quizzical looks," hey, you're not getting back in there while he's here."
They all shook their heads and moved down the hall.
They passed Stein, who watched them go with a confused look on his face.
He moved towards the group.
"Hey ." Maka greeted him.
"Hey," he replied," I heard there was an incident are those doctors going to it?"
Elizabeth shook her head.
"Nope they just got kicked out of the operating room." She told him.
"Well then who's inside?" He asked.
"Drake." Seth muttered.
"Why?" Stein inquired.
"You're welcome to join him." Elizabeth stated, she gestured towards the door.
Stein looked from the door and back to Elizabeth.
He began to open it.
"Incoming." Elizabeth muttered as she eyed her nails.
Stein ducked out of the way of a scalpel that was thrown at him, it stuck into the wall on the other side of the hall.
"Thanks." He said calmly.
"No problem," she replied," just watch what you do or say, he's a bit touchy."
Stein walked into the room.
"Who the hell ar-" was all they heard before," oh finally someone competent!"
The door slowly clicked shut.
Stein looked at the boy, he was in doctor's scrubs with a mask and everything.
He currently was cutting into Dominic's leg, Dom had been put under.
"That was fast." Stein thought to himself.
Stein looked around the O.R. it was devoid of all life other than Drake, Dom and himself.
"Is there a reason you're doing this by yourself?" Stein asked.
The boy muttered something in Russian.
"In English." Stein prompted.
"I work better alone." Drake replied as his scalpel cut into Dom, Stein noted that the boy was left handed.
Stein shook his head, his eyes rested on the table that was for holding the surgery tools, scalpels, forceps, clamps and the like were strewn on the table in an orderly manner.
Everything looked fine, one scalpel was missing.
Stein suddenly remembered the scalpel that was thrown at him.
"Shouldn't there be two missing?" he thought to himself.
He approached the boy.
He watched the boy bring his hand away from the incision, there wasn't a scalpel in his hand.
He saw the blade that had formed on the boy's index finger.
"He's what!?" Liz asked.
Alexis had removed her mask, she turned her ears away from Liz.
They had been talking about Drake.
"He's the perfect surgeon," Seth repeated," he's not a weapon, he's an array of surgical equipment."
Everyone including Maka and Soul looked at him in awe, while Elizabeth, Alexis and the mysterious girl didn't react.
"I don't see what the big deal is." Elizabeth huffed.
"So what exactly is he?" Maka asked.
"Well what do you use for surgery," Alexis shot back," because that's exactly what he is, bonesaw, rib spreader, forceps, scalpel, everything."
"Whoa." Soul mused.
"That's-" Liz began, she searched for the right word," useful."
"That it is." Seth agreed." Thanks to his rather unique form, he was the best candidate for the team medic."
"And torturer." Alexis added.
"We don't call him that," Seth snapped," he prefers info gatherer."
"Doesn't change what he does," She muttered," I've been freaked out by anyone who uses a scalpel ever since."
Everyone looked at her.
"Right," Maka blurted, she decided to change the subject, she turned to Elizabeth," so Elizabeth, what happened to your eye?"
Her teacher turned to her, she removed her sunglasses.
"I have a Grey Eye soul." She stated.
"That doesn't-" Maka tried.
"Believe it or not, it does." Both Seth and Elizabeth stated at the same time.
They both looked at her.
"They really are siblings." She thought to herself.
"Well fill us in on the blanks," Soul offered," we only heard of that a little while ago."
Elizabeth sighed.
"Whatever," she muttered," I used my 'gift' one too many times and my eye was damaged."
"What happened?" Maka asked.
"What happens to every Grey Eye," Seth cut in," her soul adapted to the ability being used and blinded her right eye."
"Just the right one?" Kid asked.
"Yes," Elizabeth confirmed," what he said is pretty much the best way you can put it, however there's a lottery of sorts with what can happen."
"What do you mean?" Maka asked.
"There are two possibilities," Seth replied," both eyes go blind or just one."
"And this happens to everyone with a Grey Eye soul?" Kid inquired.
Seth nodded.
"Eventually," he sighed," even I'll lose my vision at some point."
The girl beside him seemed to try to shrink into her seat.
Seth noticed this, he wrapped an arm around her and held her close.
Maka saw this, he was trying to comfort this girl, it worked after a few seconds, she stopped her strange behaviour.
"She doesn't really like other people." He stated when he saw Maka's gaze.
The girl pulled her hands from her pockets, the right one was slightly more tanned than the left.
She seemed to notice Maka looking at her hands, she quickly hid them once more.
Maka had seen this behaviour before, with Chrona though not at this level, this girl was absolutely terrified of people.
The group sat in silence for what felt like forever.
Finally, the door slid open.
"Why are you all still here!?" Drake yelled at them, his voice seemed to echo through the halls.
"Nice to see you too, how was the procedure?" Seth asked.
"Procedure," Drake repeated, he practically spat the word," shit-for-brains in there is gonna be fine, as for me, I'm getting a drink."
"Oh no," Elizabeth denied she rose to her feet," no alcohol for you."
"Who said anything about alcohol?" he asked, he raised a blood pack.
Stein swiped the plastic from his hands.
"I don't think so." He said plainly.
"Hey what the fuck!?" Drake yelled.
Seth reached over and turned the dial on Drake's collar a few times, with every click his expression softened.
"Agh," he yelped, he jumped away from Seth," go to hell, stop trying to make me normal!"
His pupils grew after a few seconds.
"Glasses," he muttered, Alexis handed him his glasses, he slipped them on and walked down the hall, he swiped his jacket from her before he got too far," was getting boring anyway."
The group watched him go.
"What – just happened?" Liz asked.
"What happened is the collar still works," Seth explained," thank god for that."
"We should probably get him home," Elizabeth offered, Seth sighed but nodded, they both rose," see you all tomorrow."
They began to move away from the group, the mystery girl quickly rose to follow them.
The group all rose and moved down the hall, a lot of time had passed.
When they were a ways down the hall, Maka heard someone talk to , she turned to see Lin looking up at him.
She asked him something, he shook his head, he pointed down the hall towards the group, Lin looked in time to see Maka turn the corner.
"She waited for us to leave?" Maka asked herself.
She looked at Alexis who was walking beside her, her mask was back on.
"Strange." Maka thought to herself.
She eyed Alexis for a moment.
"Hey Alexis," Maka started, the girl turned to her," why didn't you leave with them?"
Alexis seemed to think for a few seconds.
"Huh," she huffed," that's a good question."
She thought for a few more seconds.
"I guess I'm just getting used to being around you guys." She tried, it seemed as good an answer as any.
This simply earned her a smile from Kid and Maka.
They all returned to their homes, classes were over.
On their walk home, Maka watched Alexis walk to her house.
"Getting used to us." She repeated with a slight smirk.
She turned and followed Soul the rest of the way.
Author's Note: Hey guys it's me, Gorse.
Just wanted to say, sorry.
The start of this chapter is god awful, I don't know why I wrote it like that.
This is not my best work, I'm willing to admit.
Though, there's a little more insight on Drake and how he fights, and how he acts.
A little schizophrenic, but he is wearing a shock collar so that's to be expected.
Oh first f-bomb of the chapters, nine chapters without one, a new record for me.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed reading this more than me, then I guess it'd be worth it.
I find it strange how I hate my writing style, but I guess there are people that don't.
Thank you if you are one of those people.
Whatevs, next chapter is coming out…..when it's done.
Til then feel free to scour the chapters for mistakes, I'm sure there's plenty. Jk Jk
See you next chapter, BYYEEE.
-GorseT