Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater
A/N: I'm really sorry for the lack of updates these past few months… I know I suck haha. I was really busy what with the last month of school and exams (which turned into the first month of school), and then my life decided to explode, along with my computer. But it's settling down a little now!
I'm really sad to say that the next chapter of this will be the last. This story means a lot to me and the fact that I've been writing it for all of these months is surprising, as I've stated before. Thank you for all of your wonderful reviews. You inspire me to write more with your encouraging words *heart* I'll probably write a longer sappy A/N with the next chapter so I'm done writing now. Enjoy!
Thanks to ToastWeaselofDOOM for the wonderful beta work!
Maka's chest heaved with heavy ragged breaths and her wild eyes danced around her three opponents. Her arms were low – it looked as if she was struggling to hold Soul. Her shoulders shook with soft giggles. She had finally exited anger and entered insanity.
"Guh," Black Star muttered as he wiped blood off of his face. "This is getting annoying. A big guy like me shouldn't be beat up by someone like Maka."
"Don't underestimate her, moron," Kid cautioned as he gave Liz and Patty a shake in order to tighten his grip. He hadn't fired any shots yet and he hoped he wouldn't have to. With the way things were starting to intensify, however, it looked as if he might. "This isn't Maka anymore."
"What are you talking about? This is Maka. She talks like Maka, walks like Maka, fights like Maka, and," Black Star smiled, "she's weak like Maka."
"I'm not weak!" Maka shouted. Her voice didn't seem to match her expression in a way no one could put their finger on. "This is why I hate you!"
Maka swung back Soul – who was back in his normal scythe form – with a loud yell. She ran up quickly to Black Star and brought the black and red blade down with what looked like all of her might.
Dust rose around them in a storm, temporarily blinding Kid and causing him to lose his view of the small battle. He rubbed his golden Shinigami eyes with the back of his hands to clear his sight. When he opened his eyes again, he couldn't help but gasp.
Black Star was holding back Soul's blade with a new blade of his own. Tattoos Kid was sure that had never been there before swirled around the blue-haired ninja's face. The whites in Black Star's eyes had completely vanished, leaving his face looking frightening and demonic. The air around him vibrated with his battle cries and a new kind of wavelength filled Kid's senses.
What move was this? The power the young assassin emitted was almost as great as Kid's –if not on par with it. How was that even possible? Why hadn't Black Star told everyone that he was capable of something like this?
Maka went flying backwards at a great, forceful speed. By the look of her shocked expression, she hadn't expected such strength from Black Star either.
"Che." She clicked her tongue. "You've gotten even stronger."
"Of course I have!" Black Star boasted in a terrifying tone. "I am a man who will surpass God – I will never stop growing stronger!"
"Black Star has been practicing with Tsubaki in the uncanny sword mode for a while, Maka," Sid said gruffly. "He is stronger than you – surrender or we will have to kill you."
"Kill me?" Maka repeated slowly as her eyes narrowed in confusion. "How would you be able to do that?"
"Sid," Kid said slowly, "we can't kill Maka."
"I was always a man of reason when I was alive, Kid. Don't get me wrong. But with the intensity of hatred in Maka's wavelength, if she doesn't die, we will."
"But this is Maka!" Tsubaki shouted – her voice was different sounding whilst in uncanny sword mode, too. "No matter what, she's still our friend. Maka is Maka!"
"If anything, we'll rough her up a bit," Liz compromised.
"Knock, shoot, and beat some sense into her!" Patty agreed. "Right, sis?"
Sid sighed, but even he knew he couldn't change the student's mind.
"How… stupid."
The group turned their attention back to Maka, who was standing in the same spot a few feet away with her head down. She had loosened her grip on Soul now – his blade was dug into the ground. Slowly, she raised her face enough to make her tear-filled eyes visible.
"You piss me off so much!" She shouted as she closed her eyes, knocking down the welling water. "Don't underestimate me!"
With that, she let go of Soul completely and let him drop to the ground with a soft thud. For a moment, Kid felt relieved. When the girl raised her hands, however, he realized that she was not surrendering. She was going to use magic.
Static filled the air as the wind picked up and whipped around them all violently. Despite her sad eyes, a small smile formed on Maka's lips as she uttered incoherent words under her breath. The technicians and weapons watched in a stunned silence as Maka built up a purple mass of energy. Kid recognized it from when he fought the two witches over a year ago. It was Medusa's lackeys' magic.
"I'll show you the extent of my power," Maka said with an insane giggle. "Congratulate me now; you'll be dead in a minute."
"Maka, stop!" Tsubaki shouted as she leapt out of Black Star's hands and landed next to him. She was now in her human form. Her purple-blue eyes were sad, and a little scared. "You don't want to do this!"
"Idiot!" Nygus yelled – her shout mingled with Kid's similar insult. "Get back in your weapon form!"
"Maka, calm down and remember everything you've fought for," Tsubaki continued almost desperately, ignoring the other's shouts.
"I've only fought being who I really am! That school full was of witch hating idiots and made me hate myself. What I'm doing now is what I'm supposed to do!" Maka's voice wavered – it sounded as if she was trying to convince herself of this, too.
"That isn't true and you know it, Maka," Kid said with force. "My father's school teaches the difference between right and wrong as well as good versus evil. No one has ever said that all witches are evil."
"But what about Medusa? What has she done?" Maka shouted with desperation. "What about Mama?"
"No one was even thinking about Medusa or your mother before she sent those witches to Death City. Don't you remember what one of her followers did to Soul?" Sid exclaimed feverishly. Shibusen had been his home all of his life – and afterlife. Though Maka's crazed arguments were somewhat logical, he felt a loyalty and shot them down without hesitation.
"Sh… Shut up!" Maka screamed. Her eyes cut into slits once more and everyone's attention was brought back to the now huge energy mass in her hands. It looked frighteningly powerful. The three technicians and Tsubaki took a nervous step back.
"K-Kid," Liz stammered. "She's not really going to…?"
Before Liz could finish her semi rhetorical question, a large blast sounded. It was devastatingly loud and bright. Instinctively, they all closed their eyes and braced themselves against the inevitable impact Maka's magic would thrust onto them, but it never came.
Tsubaki slowly opened one eye, but reflexes caused it to shut immediately. From what she did see through the flying sand, it looked as if everyone was in the same healthy state she was in. Sand pelted her in all directions like a thousand bee stings and she so desperately wanted to turn into a weapon to protect herself, but she stood her ground. After a little over a minute, the air settled and she opened her eyes again, gasping at the sight in front of her in surprise.
Soul stood over Maka, who was on the ground, with his right arm replaced with a blade that was pressed dangerously close to her throat. His chest heaved with heavy breaths and his free hand was clutching his head. It was obvious that he had just single handedly fought and won an inner war. His eyes were still wild, but it was definitely the sane Soul Tsubaki knew.
"This stops now, Maka." His gruff voice cracked slightly, but his blade never wavered.
"What are you doing?" Maka asked. Her face was twisted into a confused expression.
"What are you doing, Maka?" Soul replied as he raised his eyebrows. He was saying her name repeatedly in order to draw her out of whatever the hell Medusa had done to her.
"I…" Maka stumbled over unrecognizable words before hanging her head in what could be called shame. "I don't know."
Slowly, Maka's face shifted from the sharp, angular expression it held before into something more normal. Her eyes softened considerably.
Soul's blade turned back into his right arm in a flash. His strong stance was gone now and his knees buckled from underneath him. He fell forward, landing on a stunned Maka.
"S-Soul!" Maka was definitely back to her old self. "Are you okay?"
"Stupid," Soul replied in a strained voice. "That should be my line."
They stared at each other in silence for a long moment before Sid and Nygus – now in her human form – appeared by their side. Soul and Maka's eyes never unlocked as they allowed their bodies to be searched for any wounds – which thankfully neither had anything worse than excessively caked dirt on their skin. Even when their friends ran up to them and started asking questions feverishly, the intense red orbs never once left the scared green ones.
"Idiot!" Liz sobbed as she hugged Maka close. "I thought you were going to kill me back there! Don't do that ever, ever again!"
"Trust me, I won't," Maka laughed as she allowed herself to be crushed by Liz's love in the form of a bear hug. "I really don't know what came over me."
"This ain't cool. Get off of me," Soul grumbled as he attempted to shove off the blue-haired ninja who was clinging to him in a similar fashion as Liz was to Maka. He turned to his technician and continued to ignore his clinging friend. "What did Medusa do to you during your training?"
Maka wrinkled her brow and attempted to remember what had happened. One minute she had been fighting Crona and the next Medusa was agitating her. She remembered Medusa's cool breath blowing on her face and how she suddenly felt too hot for her skin. That was when she had gotten really angry, so was it because of Medusa blowing on her face?
"I guess she tweaked with my emotions a little," Maka finally said with a sheepish laugh. She didn't want to let Soul know that she had fought someone without him – he would get too angry.
"It seems I underestimated your will power, Maka."
The group turned around suddenly to see Medusa standing above them on an elevated platform similar to what Soul and Maka arrived on. Her arms were crossed and her orange eyes held a playful glint as she stared at Maka with a sly smile on her borrowed face.
"…Or my magic as grown weak," she continued with a mock sigh. "Since you were able to fight it, that seems to be the case."
"She's bluffing, Maka," Soul growled. "She wants you to feel weaker."
"Why would I do that if I look weaker in the process?" Medusa asked with forced appall.
"Because you know about Maka's insecurities," Soul replied quickly with narrowed eyes. His eyebrows had almost become one because of how closely they were knitted together with anger. His hands clenched into fists.
"Stop talking about me like I'm not even here!" Maka finally exclaimed. She looked at Soul. "I'm not as insecure as you think, dummy." Her green eyes dragged themselves up wearily to Medusa whose face held an unreadable emotion. It wasn't the same pleased expression it always held though and that was more than enough to satisfy Maka.
"I believe you," Soul shrugged in a nonchalant way. To Maka, however, it meant everything.
"Cute, but save it for your own time," Medusa snapped suddenly. "Don't forget who these people are and what they think of us."
"Don't put me on the same level as you," Maka replied flatly. "These people are my friends. While I don't know what they think of me, I know what I think of them."
Medusa released a cold laugh. "Really, you're adorable. Unfortunately, this isn't some shoujo manga where your faith in your comrades is your saving grace. This is the real world."
Maka did feel a bit stupid for her words, but she still stood her ground. Medusa was right, this was the real world. If you wavered for just one second, your enemy would never take pity on you. You would be destroyed in moments without a doubt.
"I'll show you just how ignorant you are," Medusa challenged suddenly just as Kid opened his mouth to speak on behalf of his father. With a smooth wave of her hand, an electric spark smarted in the air.
Soul's body gave a jolt and his arm turned into a scythe blade. His eyes widened with shock – he hadn't done that himself. Something inside him churned dangerously. His vision swam for a minute of chaos, and when it cleared his blade was pressed against Maka's throat.
"What are you doing, Soul-kun?" Tsubaki shouted with a gasp. "Maka-chan is okay now!"
"Do you really think I'm doing this?" Soul rasped a retort as he grabbed his right shoulder with his left hand and gave it a hard pull. "Damnit!"
"I have complete control over your weapon – he's infected with Crona's black blood. If I wanted him to, he could kill you." That stupid smug grin Maka hated appeared on Medusa's face once more.
Maka stared at Soul with wide, frightened eyes. His face was twisted into something she couldn't read very well and his free hand clutched his arm-turned-blade tightly. She heard him grunt a few times as he fought whatever it was that was controlling him and lost all hope. There was no way Soul could fight this twice in less than a thirty minute span. She dropped her head and released a resigned sigh.
"I'll do whatever you want, Medusa. Just leave Soul out of this."
"Why do you say that, puppy?" Medusa mocked. "Because you love him?"
"Of course," Maka replied sternly. "Because I love him."
"Stupid, what are you saying? There's a time for saying stuff like that and it's not now," Soul said in a low tone. He gave a humorless, devilish grin and grabbed Maka's hand tightly, stunning her. He shot Medusa a look and the smile became wider. He had spent enough time fighting whatever the hell Medusa had done to him and he wasn't going to do it anymore. "Stop wasting time, Maka."
With a somewhat unspoken agreement, Maka allowed Soul's metal shaft to slip coolly into her hands. She drank in Medusa's shocked expression with her own smile of pleasure.
Maka threw a look over her shoulder at her friends. "I could really use some help."
"That's what I like to hear!" Black Star exclaimed happily as he caught Tsubaki's spinning blades. "You can't do this without the amazing me!"
"I'm tired of being a background character who only says things to fill areas between the actual plot," Liz admitted. "I want to do some stuff, too!"
"Me, too, Sis!" Patty laughed in agreement, giving a fist pump before joining her sister in transforming into their gun shape.
"Whatever you do," Maka cautioned, "don't kill her."
"Yeah, yeah, your mom's body and all that junk," Black Star scoffed.
"No," Maka laughed. "I'm just being a little selfish." Her face took on a more serious expression. "I want to be the one who does it."
"'It'?" Black Star paused. "You mean…?"
"Maka?" Kid questioned slowly. "Don't be stupid. You're not really going to –"
"Shut up," Maka said with forced cheerfulness. "It's my duty as a Shibusen student to annihilate all evil."
Medusa backed up and narrowed her eyes. "Do you children really think you're a match for me? Even with an already dead three-star meister on your side, you won't win."
"If it's us, we'll win," Sid replied.
"What's that all about?" Nygus said from her knife with a small, almost silent laugh.
"I'm hanging around these kids too much," Sid admitted with a half hearted laugh of his own. He pulled his simple weapon out of his sheath and gripped it tightly. "It's softening me up."
"Well, let's go back to being your old self for a moment. You can play with your ponies later." Despite her flat voice, Sid knew Nygus was using her dry humor and smiled to himself the best that he could with his physical state.
"You won't even be able to come near me!" Medusa exclaimed with a laugh. She waved her hand in the direction of the approaching group. "Vector Arrow."
A line of arrows materialized before them. Soul clicked his tongue.
"Go around," he instructed. He saw that Medusa's eyes were on Black Star and Sid, giving the other two technicians and their weapons the benefit of the blind spot.
Maka obeyed and, thankfully, Kid caught on quickly, following suit in the opposite direction. Soul watched as Black Star hit an arrow hard and flew back almost just as hard with a strong gust of wind.
"How did you know that would happen?" Maka questioned. She'd never seen Medusa's defensive magic, so why had Soul?
"I didn't," Soul admitted hesitantly. Truth be told, he wasn't too sure himself. "Just a hunch."
"Do you really think those puny things can hold me back?" Black Star said with a grin as he stood up and dusted off his pants.
"Ah, so my magic has weakened…" Medusa clicked her tongue in an almost mocking way. "This body is restricting my actions."
"You wouldn't be able to hold me back regardless," Black Star challenged with a large grin. "I'm the man who will surpass God! You're just a small fry. I almost feel bad for you!"
"Well that's no good," Medusa said with a smile. "Didn't anyone tell you not to take pity upon your enemy?"
"Has anyone told you that you talk too much?" Black Star shot back as he began running again at full speed. "Oi, Tsubaki, Uncanny Sword mode!"
"Right!"
Tsubaki flashed in Black Star's hands as she changed shape into the long sword that took Black Star so long just to hold onto for five seconds. Tattoo's swirled around his face in a taunting way and he smiled wide, dodging a few slow attacks that the witch threw at him. His grin only grew in size when he saw the frustrated look on the witch's face.
"You still think you can beat me?" he yelled at the top of his lungs, griping Tsubaki's hilt even tighter. His palms burned with friction but, if anything, it made him run faster. An erratic laugh escaped his lips, echoing through the endless desert. "All I've gotta do is outrun those little arrow things, right? Boring!"
"Don't underestimate me," Medusa growled, zeroing in on the blue-haired assassin.
"Idiot, what is he doing?" Liz ticked as she watched Black Star's large showy movements from Kid's hand.
"He's being the distraction." Kid frowned and continued to charge forward, growing closer to the area Medusa was residing. "It's the perfect role for someone as loud as him."
"I wanna piss the witch off, too!" Patty exclaimed with a shrill giggle. "Shoot at the bitch, Kid-kun!"
"We'll wait our turn," Kid replied passively. He was used to Patty's impulsive determination and could tolerate it even better than her older sister, who just sighed in annoyance. "Maka wants to go for the kill."
"Do you think she'll actually do it?" Liz asked with a frown. She moved her eyes over to the long haired witch. That was Maka's mother's body, after all. Liz hadn't known her mom, but even still, she couldn't imagine killing the same person who gave her life no matter what the circumstances where.
"I don't know – che," Kid gasped as he dodged a stray arrow that Black Star had accidentally sent flying in his direction. Why was it taking so long to get to Medusa? It felt like they had been running for ten minutes now and it shouldn't have taken longer than three.
His eyes widened with realization.
"Maka!" he shouted over at the pigtailed girl desperately. They were a good thirty feet apart from each other – would she be able to hear him in time? He shouted her name again, trying to maneuver his feet so that he could get closer with out stopping.
Maka looked over curiously at her yelling comrade and gave him a look that asked him what was happening. She wasn't a Shinigami like he was, and the dust that was flying around her face must have been suffocating her too much to speak. Kid briefly wondered if she was even able to see through the dirt.
"We're not going anywhere!" he exclaimed, motioning to the ground with animated movements.
Maka looked down in confusion and gasped. The sand that she had been enduring on was moving like a treadmill around her. An area about fifteen feet wide and three feet long was moving in what looked like a cycle into the earth and above again, giving the illusion that when she was actually going somewhere when she was running. Her eyes widened and her heartbeat hard in her chest – so Medusa had been playing with her this entire time? She had thought she'd been getting so close to destroying her, but she was just uselessly tiring herself out.
"Damnit!" she shouted angrily, running sideways so that she could get closer to where the trap was ending. She swung Soul around so that his blade dug into the dry earth and used him as a pole to vault her away from the moving ground. Her boots slid a dangerous distance due to the lack of traction the sand gave her, but she hung on tightly to Soul to steady herself. Her knees buckled slightly – she had just been running as fast as she could while using every bit of energy she could conjure up.
"It felt like we were going somewhere," Soul mumbled from inside his weapon form. He looked at his partner's forlorn face regrettably. "I should have guessed she had something else up her sleeve."
"It's not your fault, Soul," Maka huffed. She paused and attempted to catch her breath. Medusa was occupied enough at the moment to not notice that she had escaped the trick she had set for her in a split second. Her green eyes drifted over to Kid to see he was still running with a determined look on his face. Her expression softened – he was trying to act as a distraction along side Black Star for her sake.
"Shouldn't we get off this thing, too, Kid?" Liz asked curiously as she watched Maka regain her composure and discuss a few things with her weapon.
"No," Kid replied simply. "Medusa may be powerful, but she only has two eyes. If she sees that I'm still fooled by this she'll assume that Maka is, too. I'm a Shinigami – running like this for a long time is nothing."
"What if she looks over at Maka first and not us?" Liz replied in a worried tone.
"I guess we'll worry about that when we get to it, right now isn't the time." Kid pressed forward with only half of his might – he might need the rest of it for later. "I'm willing to take any chance I get right now."
"Ready, Maka?" Soul asked. "You good?"
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure," Maka replied as she steadied herself and regained composure. "Let's go. This time, for real."
Though her mind felt exhausted from everything she'd been through in the past few days, adrenaline pumped out of her heart and raced through her veins, allowing her to keep going. She leaned back on Soul and pulled his blade from the ground, flipping it so that she was relying on the shaft. She positioned her feet to grip the ground hard and drew a large breath. In an instant, she pushed off and they were running faster than they were before towards the hovering witch.
Anticipation built up inside of her. All she needed was one good hit. Medusa was firing all she had at Black Star and Sid – who had gotten back up on his feet after a few minutes of unconsciousness – and was obviously overwhelmed. It made Maka even more excited to see such a distressed look on the witch's face. Up to this point, Medusa had shown nothing but amusement and anger, so it was good to see her show another, more satisfying, expression.
Soul felt Maka's antsy feeling and felt something like it, too. The puppet master-esque demon from before was staring at him with a large annoying smile. Soul wanted nothing more than to run across the room and beat it off of him, but that would mean he would lose concentration on the fight.
"Do you feel Maka Albarn's wavelength?" the little devil said in an all too happy voice. A grin that was too large for his face appeared and he stuck his oversized hands over it as if he was trying to hide it, but in the end, he only made it more noticeable. "Doesn't it seem to have a song?"
Soul's eyes snapped over to the devil in surprise. How did he know about what he always thought about Maka's soul? He was sure he hadn't told anyone else – ever. Ever since the opening day and Maka touched him in his weapon form for the first time, he'd always thought there was a melody drifting out of her. He'd figured it was because of his musical past and habit of comparing everything to songs, but it seemed as if Maka's soul really did have a tune.
"If her song had lyrics, what do you think they would say?" the devil pressed, drawing an inch closer.
Soul glanced up at Maka and narrowed his eyes. He'd thought about a lot of things with Maka, but he'd never considered that. He'd even composed a small piece based off of her Soul Song, but he hadn't thought of any lyrics. If he ever did, what would they say?
"I think," Little Devil began, not waiting for Soul to answer himself, "that Miss Albarn's lyrics would say 'I want to be stronger' or something along those lines, don't you?"
"Yeah…" Soul said after a few beats of silence.
Maka was rapidly approaching Medusa and her speed was still increasing.
"If you give me the reins again, Soul Evans, I can make both you and Maka stronger than you can even imagine. Maka will be able to defeat Medusa. Isn't her happiness your happiness?"
"You're being awfully quiet in there, Soul," Maka's voice thundered in. "I hope you're paying attention, because… look."
Soul looked. Directly above them hovered Medusa, seemingly oblivious to the teenagers below her since she was focusing on a certain blue-haired one who just wouldn't stop screaming obscenities and insults towards her.
"There isn't much time, Soul Evans," the little devil whispered feverishly, as if he was scared to be overheard. "Give me just a little control and I'll make it so Maka can destroy her mother and Medusa in one blow."
Soul looked back and forth between his meister and the devil from his subconscious with a torn expression. He was unbelievably tempted to give the little devil what he wanted, but…
"Will Maka be effected like before?" Soul asked finally, realizing he didn't have much time to think things thoroughly.
"Oh, no, no," the devil replied cheerfully with a wave of its oversized hands. "Your power up is all she really needs."
Soul couldn't tell if the red creature was lying or not, but there weren't many options to take. He tightened his fist and stared at the demon with a cold determined face.
"We can handle this without you."
"Black Star, please stop!" Tsubaki's voice screamed, drawing Maka's attention towards her friends for a moment.
Her eyes widened. Black Star was barely recognizable with all of the damage he had taken. Large areas of his face were splattered with blood and his clothes were ripped in a disorderedly fashion. He was gripping the arm that held Tsubaki with his free hand and his teeth were bared in a menacing expression. His head was low, but his eyes were burning with an intensity Maka had never seen before. They held a glint that seemed to say that the lovingly stupid Black Star she'd known all of her life was gone and someone who would fight until they were nothing more than a single cell stood there.
"You're an idiot," Medusa said with a smile. "You were born an idiot and you will die an idiot."
"Not today, bitch," Black Star grumbled as he gave his sword a shake in attempt to regain his balance. "Today is your day to die."
"Are you still spouting that nonsense? When are you and your friends going to realize that you're no match for me? This is nothing more than a waste of my time since I already know the outcome." To prove her point, Medusa shot out a thin arrow from her hand and struck Black Star on his left shoulder lightly. It was enough to send the boy stumbling back.
"I won't lose!" Black Star yelled with frustration. "I will be victorious!"
A shrill peel of laughter escaped the snake witch's mouth at the ninja's words. She raised her hands and uttered the words that unleashed her fury in the form of a thousand razor sharp arrows, flying all around. A cluster struck at Black Star and he dodged it just barely. Not one second after those arrows disappeared into the sandy earth, another set attacked in a cobra like fashion, knocking the assassin off his center balance point. Before he could compose himself, at least fifty arrows shot towards him and pierced through his arms, causing him to let go of his weapon and drop to the ground in shock.
"Black Star!" Tsubaki screamed in horror as she watched her technician's blood taint the golden sand around them. She fought the urge to return to her human form for the slim chance that Black Star would grab her again and return to fighting. She bit her lip nervously – no matter how strong he was, he couldn't continue fighting this battle alone. The others had to act fast.
"Go, Maka! Now is your chance!" Kid shouted as he fired off a few shots of his wavelength through his weapons. He was still running the makeshift treadmill half heartedly while pouring every ounce of energy he had left into his attacks towards the stray arrows of Medusa's. She had attacked him at the same time so he didn't get the chance to fend off the flying knives in time to save Black Star.
"This is it," Maka breathed. Her grip tightened on Soul and she stared wide eyed at the form above her. "I can… I can kill her."
"Don't hesitate, Maka," Soul growled. "Do it."
"Soul Resonance – Witch Hunter!" the duo shouted in unison.
For some reason, his shaft felt different than before. It was buzzing and it sparked in her hands along with the air around them. Her heart raced with an unknown emotion that scared her for a second, but she quickly brushed the uneasy feeling to the corner of her mind and focused on what was in front of her. Or rather, what was above her.
Without hesitating anymore, she dug her heels into the ground and kicked off, feeling the rush of the wind as she leapt up so that she was on eye level with Medusa. She reared Soul back and swung blindly, but to no avail. Medusa had dropped faster than the scythe had been thrust; she was already on the ground when Maka had landed.
Madness knocked on the door of Maka's mind, but she ignored it. She wanted to be fully conscious when she ripped Medusa to shreds. There were so many ways she wanted to kill the person she hated, but none of them involved being crazy during it. The madness would just have to wait until another time.
With a scream of frustration, she drew Soul back and brought him forward quickly. She angled his blade perfectly so that it would be a clean cut to the witch's black soul.
"Maka, look," Kami said excitedly as she pointed out in the horizon. "Do you see that big building on top of that hill?"
"The one with all the skulls?" a six year old Maka asked in reply. She held her small hand above her eyes to shield them from the rays of the desert sun. Wind blew around them, swirling the sand that was below their feet into the air.
"That's Shibusen – Death Weapon Meister Academy," Kami explained almost dreamily. "That's where Mama met Papa and turned him into a Death Scythe."
"Oooh," Maka replied, fascinated by the building.
"Maybe one day you'll go there, too." Kami paused and looked at her young daughter curiously. "I wonder if you're a weapon or a meister."
"I wanna be a witch like Mama!" Maka replied with a laugh, not understanding what exactly a meister was. She knew what a weapon was – it was what her stupid father was – but she'd never heard the name meister before.
"A witch like Mama, huh?" Kami repeated slowly. Her green eyes looked sad for a moment as she gazed at Shibusen from her spot in the desert. The mother and daughter often did this – they left Carson City for a day or so to stand at the gate of Death City just to stare at it. Maka never understood why until it was too late – her mother missed Death City and the life it had given her.
"Look at what I can do!" Maka exclaimed as she held out her small hands. She moved them with the kind of grace she mocked from her mother and a pillar of sand rose. The six year old Maka concentrated on it hard – it was still for a moment before it wobbled and eventually fell down to its original spot. "I'm getting better!"
"That's great, Maka," Kami said warmly as she hugged her daughter. "That's really wonderful. You're going to be an amazing witch."
Maka giggled happily and did her simple trick again and again while her mother looked wistfully at Death City. Even though they were in their separate worlds, they were together. It was pure happiness to a naïve and childish Maka.
"Well?" Medusa smiled with a low giggle. "Are you just going to stare at me or are you going to kill me?"
Maka looked at her mother's face with a frozen expression. She had the same eyes that had looked lovingly at her daughter for years. She had the same thin pink lips that had kissed Maka's injuries, smiled at Maka's childish silliness, and released countless whispers of her motherly love. It was the same nose that wrinkled whenever she was confused or disgusted – usually with the outcome of Maka's cooking skills. They were the same eyebrows that rose playfully whenever she teased Maka…
How could Maka destroy a face which held so many memories that were so important?
Her knees buckled and she dropped to the ground. Her gloved hands buried themselves in the desert sand and she desperately wished that she could shove her head down there along with them. She wanted to disappear and never, ever show her face to her friends who had put so much faith in her while she couldn't even kill someone she hated so much just because of their outer appearance.
"I can't… I can't do it," Maka stammered as tears stung her dry, dirt abused eyes. She was staring at the ground with wide, unblinking eyes, but she saw nothing. It was all blurring together due to the tears that continued to well and spill over against her will.
"Thought so," Medusa sneered. "You're even weaker than I thought. I'm disappointed… You're truly pathetic."
"Mama," Maka whispered through her tears. She hung her head lower so that her enemy could no longer see her red face. "Mama, please…"
"Shouldn't you be begging for your life from someone else? Your mother can't save you, puppy," Medusa teased with a sadistic smile.
"Mama!" Maka shouted, ignoring the witches taunts. Her head flew up desperately to look into the borrowed orange eyes and she continued her shouts. "Mama, I know you can hear me! Tell me what to do – I don't know what to do!"
The thick air was silent for a moment. After what felt like hours, Maka hung her head in embarrassment at her feeble attempts. Of course her mother wouldn't somehow fight her way past Medusa just because Maka called to her. It was impossible.
Just when she was about to give up, a familiar voice caused her head to snap up with sudden urgency.
"Maka." Kami's face was soft, but yet strained at the same time.
Maka's eyes were wide. Her mouth opened to say something, but nothing but a rush of air came out. She let out a cough and continued to gape at her mother in silence.
"Listen to me, Maka, and listen well," Kami said in a rushed voice. "You know what you have to do to end this. There's no way out for me anymore. You can't keep fighting to save me because there is barely anything left of me to save. Just look at my soul, Maka. It's almost gone."
Maka did as she was told and felt bile rise up to her throat. Just as her mother said, the witch's soul was being overtaken by Medusa's.
"Kill her, Maka," Kami whispered hoarsely. Her face twisted into a painful expression and her arms were limp at her side – the only control the woman had was over her own voice, but even that was wavering.
Maka's eyes widened in horror. "But –"
"Kill her."
The desert air was dry and silent. For a short moment, it was just the mother and daughter staring at each other intensely. Kami's eyes were warm a smile played at her lips for a moment before a long sigh left her lips.
She opened her mouth to speak, but an arrow shot out of her throat and headed towards Maka in rapid speed.
"Maka, look out!" Soul shouted as he transformed into his human form. Onslaughts of arrows were speeding towards his technician while she was in no state to comprehend what was happening around her. In a split second, his arm was a blade and he cut through the deadly weapons with difficulty. When he had dismembered one of them, another one was coming at them. Anxiety was budding in his chest and he started to panic – this was almost too much for him to handle by himself.
Right when he was beginning to be overwhelmed, another scythe blade tore through the arrows with ease. Soul paused and looked behind him to see a small cloud of smoke coming from a cigarette in Dr. Stein's mouth which was in a small smirk. In his hands was the Death Scythe – Maka's father. Where did they come from?
"We've got it from here," Stein said simply. "Take Maka and get with the others for now."
Soul nodded in agreement, too awe struck to say anything. He picked up Maka and heaved her over his shoulder with a grunt. In a normal situation, Soul would have made a snide comment about her heaviness, but this wasn't a normal situation… In a normal situation, Maka would still be fighting and not immobile from shock.
Soul threw a glance over his shoulder after he had walked a safe enough distance away. Dr. Stein tossed his cigarette on the ground and spun Death Scythe around a few times, digging the shaft into the sand.
So cool…
"Soul?" Maka mumbled as he laid her limp body down. Four small trickles of blood ran down her face in a gory fashion; so it wasn't just emotional stress that had caused her collapse… Soul took this chance to look at the rest of her – there was blood and dirt caked all over her body and clothes.
"Yeah?" he asked, rolling down his shirt so he could wipe the sticky substance away from her eyes.
"Sorry." A dull smile that never reached her eyes appeared on her face. "I really am weak, aren't I?" She paused and looked away. "Don't answer that… I just wish I could be stronger somehow."
I just wish I could be stronger somehow.
Soul's eyes widened for a moment as something clicked inside of him. He pictured the smiling red creature that invaded his mind and clenched his teeth with a groan.
"I can make you stronger, Maka…" he said slowly, "but I can't promise your sanity."
Maka's eyes widened and she sat up quickly. She threw her hands behind her to steady her lightheadedness from sitting up too fast and stared at Soul hard for a few minutes. Finally, she spoke.
"Why the hell didn't you say that earlier, idiot?"
"We were kind of in a hurry," Soul reminded her with a sigh. He plopped down on the ground in front of her and crossed his legs, burying his hands between them in the sand. "This black blood crap Medusa put in me is messing with my mind. I don't even know if it'll work."
"What choices do we have?" Maka exclaimed exasperatedly. Her expression softened slightly. "No sane person can kill her mother, Soul."
"I hate when you word it that way," Soul said with a closed eye. He rubbed his neck awkwardly. "I don't know if I want to do it, though. I don't want anything bad to happen to you because of me."
Maka shot out her hand and grabbed Soul by his shirt, bringing him closer. Her other hand went up the opening she created, feeling his bare chest.
"What are you –?"
"You've already gotten hurt enough because of me! You can't even tolerate magic pressure because of this scar!" She ran her hand down the risen skin. "You have this unnatural black blood flowing inside of you apparently, and you wouldn't if it weren't for me." She let him go, sending him back into the sand. "Honestly, Soul, I don't care if anything happens to me."
"You have got to be the biggest idiot I know!" Soul shouted in aggravation. "I already told you that I don't care about that stuff!"
"And I already told you that I don't care that you don't care," Maka snapped in retaliation, narrowing her eyes in a stubborn expression. "We've got to defeat Medusa and the only way to do it is to kill her. We'd be doing a lot of people a favor this way – who cares if I lose my life in the process?"
"What the hell is with this hero talk? That is so not cool," Soul huffed. "We're not heroes, Maka."
Maka froze at that statement and the intensity in her eyes turned into a burning glare. Soul watched as her face contorted from blank to pissed.
"Stupid Soul!" she exploded. "Stupid, dense, oblivious, idiotic, dumbass Soul!" She didn't even seem to mind that her insults were horribly redundant. "You don't get it! I'm not trying to be a hero! I'm trying… I'm trying…" Her words wouldn't form in her frustration so she gave up on them. "Fine! I don't care. I'll do it without you."
"Fine!" Soul shouted automatically. He caught himself too late and grabbed Maka's hand quickly before she could run away. "Wait, what? What are you talking about? By yourself?"
"I'm a witch, remember?"
"Only half, idiot."
"And the other half is a Death Scythe," Maka snapped. "Idiots aren't allowed to call other people idiots."
The two stared at each other for a long moment. Soul could clearly see the pure determination in his partner's face that looked out of place with her tired eyes. He knew as well as she did that this mindset wouldn't last long – he needed to make his final decision now or face the possibility of Maka going off alone and dying when he could have done something.
He had no choice, it seemed.
"You're not going to kill her alone," he said as he got to his feet. He shoved his hands inside of his pockets and gave Maka a lopsided grin, showing off his sharp teeth. "Cool guys don't let their partners fight alone."
With their understanding, Soul transformed to a scythe and landed in Maka's hands. She gripped him tightly and smiled.
"You're pretty cool, Soul," she said earnestly. She looked at her weary friends with a fond expression. "We're doing this for everyone. As students of the DWMA, we can't let this continue any longer than we already have. Are you ready?"
"Always," Soul said gruffly, getting a firm grasp on Maka's soul wavelength. The harmony of the two linked easier than it ever had before.
Maka began to run.
"Don't sleep, Black Star," Nygus said as she roughly wacked the injured ninja aside the head. "You have a concussion. Do you want to sleep forever?"
"Then why did you hit me?" Black Star shouted as he held the area that the older woman had smacked.
"Quiet down," Nygus sighed as she used a thick bandage to tend to a large, open wound on his arm. "You took on three times more damage than an average person could survive."
"Of course I did. I'm a man who will surpass god. Calling me average is just an insult to my strength." Black Star held a shaky thumbs-up and gave a weak smile. His vision was blurring and his head was spinning due to the amount of blood loss he suffered from, but he refused to let it show.
"Black Star," Tsubaki called from her weapon form in his hand, "please listen to Nygus and calm down. The bleeding won't stop if your heartbeat is too fast."
"Yeah, yeah," he scoffed with a wave of his hand.
"You alright, Kid?" Liz asked from her gun form. "You did a lot of running back there."
"It's no problem. I am a Shinigami, after all," Kid replied passively as he kept his golden eyes on Medusa and Stein. His eyes squinted against the intense blaze coming from the laughing sun at the three figures in the distance and paused. He quickly counted again – though he was sure he hadn't messed up the first time, he had to check once more – and his eyes widened. "Where's Soul and Maka?"
"Huh?" Liz asked in confusion. "They should be right behind us resting. Maka took on some damage and…" She died off, seeing what he was seeing. "Oh."
"Sid," Kid called. "Why are Soul and Maka headed to where Medusa and Stein are?"
"What?" Sid exclaimed, jumping up from his spot on the sand. He ran over to where the young Shinigami stood and followed his line of sight. He released an aggravated sigh and scratched his head hard. "Those kids… They're going to be the second death of me."
"What are you going to do?" Kid asked curiously, his eyes still following the figure that was running quickly up to Medusa.
"What can I do?" Sid shrugged. "Trust them, I guess. Maka has a good head on her shoulders. Soul won't let anything get too out of control."
"Aw, man, those two get all the fun action," Black Star whined. "I took damage to my body as well as my ego when I went head on with that stupid witch so Maka could get an opening to kill her, but she missed it. Now she gets a redo while I'm stuck here?"
"Shush," Nygus chided with another swat. "Maka isn't as injured as you." She paused and looked at the same figure everyone else was before whispering, "Yet."
The seven weapons and meisters watched silently as Maka's running figure grew closer and closer to where the now battle was happening between Medusa, Stein, and Spirit. They all had different thoughts and worries about the matter, but none of them objected. They knew that whatever Maka did would be the right thing in the end – she was a smart, calculating girl who rarely acted on feeling and instead acted on what was logical.
Maka, however, was feeling something slightly different.
"Do you have a plan?" Soul asked from her hands curiously. "Don't tell me that you're just going to barge in their fight."
"That's the plan," Maka replied humorlessly. She was only about twenty feet from the battling adults. Anticipation laced throughout her body and pumped through her veins. This was her last shot; she was going to make it work even if it killed her – something she was fully prepared for to happen.
"Great," Soul groaned. The little demon was waiting patiently at the door of his mind. His lips curled into a snarl. "I guess I should get started."
"That's probably a good idea," Maka huffed in annoyance. Why did it take him so long to realize that?
Soul looked up at the demon and winced at its eerie grin. He floated up to the door and took a step in the black room, feeling a suit wrap around his originally bare body. He walked up to a red cushioned chair and took a seat, looking at the demon with an expecting expression.
"So I see that you finally decided to take the easy route," the demon said as he stuck his oversized hands into his grinning mouth. His shoulders shook with small laughs. "Just say the word and I'll take the reigns."
"You're not going to get full control," Soul said as he crossed his arms. "This is my mind. Even if you want the reigns, you won't be getting them. You saw what I'm capable of earlier. If you get too out of control, I will stop you." Soul glared at the demon for a long while before his lips formed an arrogant smile. "Do we have a deal or not?"
"I suppose so," the demon grumbled. His sly grin faltered for the first time. "After all, if you die, I die. I can't have that. Damn you, Soul Evans. Backing me into a corner like this is dirty."
Soul smiled triumphantly. He knew Maka was annoyed with him for waiting so long to talk with his inner demon, but if he had done it any sooner he wouldn't have had the upper hand. The demon tried to act like it was its own entity, but the truth was that it was the black blood pumping through Soul's body. It was just a parasite – it couldn't live if the host wasn't.
Soul closed his eyes and allowed himself to be submerged in the black blood inside of him. He didn't quite understand the blood and how it worked yet, but he had a gut feeling. It thrived on madness and it induced insanity.
Maka felt power buzz through her hands and she smiled. It was right at the time where she was within a leaping distance of the battling adults.
"—Thanks for the offer, but no thanks. This is too interesting," Stein was saying as he spun the Death Scythe in his hands. His eyes were wide and his lips held a sadistic smile. "I want to dissect you."
"Then by all means," Medusa said with a large, taunting smile, "continue."
She shot a large arrow out of her back at lightening speed. It soared towards Stein, but he sliced it in half with envious ease at the last minute. His eyes caught sight of Maka and he froze for a split second.
What is that student doing? He thought rapidly as he charged towards the witch again. A few minutes ago she was immobile. Does she have a death wish?
Part of him wanted to point her out and use her as a distraction, but another part – the science-obsessed part – wanted to see how this situation would play out. How would the daughter of the body that the witch Medusa was using react to this situation? By the look of sheer determination and slight insanity in her eyes, would she kill her? A hundred variables whipped through his mind, but he quickly decided on what he would do.
He would be the distraction.
Spirit, Stein thought to his weapon, don't say anything about Maka.
Right, Spirit replied a little hesitantly, I have faith in my daughter, Stein. Do you?
Not sure. But I guess that's a risk we have to be willing to take.
"Witch Hunter!" Maka and Soul shouted in unison. Soul's blade grew at an alarming speed and he grew lighter in Maka's hand. She kept her balance and felt power surge through her body – it was like she was simply walking on air. Her legs were no longer heavy and her mind was the clearest it had been all day. She narrowed her eyes – this was it.
The unsuspecting witch was focusing too much on Stein and the Death Scythe to know what was coming for her from behind until it was far too late. Maka went for the snake like arrow Medusa was balancing on first, knocking her to the ground. Medusa's eyes widened and, for the first time, Maka didn't see Kami's face any longer. She took a quick look using her Soul Perception and felt peace knowing that her mother's soul was no where to be found in her old body.
"Now, Maka!" Soul shouted as she struggled against the madness. He was fighting it for both of them – Maka was too vulnerable for any more madness than she already had seeping into her mind. He wasn't going to let his demon touch her more than he already had.
With a face full of hate and disgust, Maka raised her scythe and brought it down with an alarming pace with a yell. She felt the blade go through the witch's skin and she didn't stop putting pressure on the shaft until it was digging into the sand on the other side. Blood splattered on her face and her heart pounded its way up to her throat.
Maka's entire share of anguish, frustration, hurt, fear, sadness, and insecurities that she had accumulated throughout the years released in her scream. Flashes of memories with her mother shot through her brain fast enough that it gave her a headache. The bubbling madness inside of her released itself in the form of hot, salty tears that overflowed from her eyes as she stared at the stolen face of her mother. She pressed harder on the scythe, not caring about how much energy was being sucked from her or how deep into the earth she was taking Medusa. It was as if she wasn't going to stop until she had successfully brought the manipulating witch to Hell herself.
Medusa stared blankly at Maka in shock. Her body was starting to deteriorate into nothing but a soul.
"You had so much potential," the witch rasped. She didn't seem surprised at all that this was her end. "If only you would have let me control…"
Before she could finish, Kami's body exploded. Blood rained on the desert and landed in globs on Maka's crying face. When only one soul appeared, she dropped to the ground so that it was at level with her face.
"The only person who can control me is me," she whispered, hugging the soul that had consumed her mother close to her chest.
It was over.