Beloved Helpless
Chapter 11: Vox Populi
"Please step forward and state your name."
It was cold, which was strange for being in the sweltering middle of nowhere. Couldn't those bastards turn down the air conditioner? He opened his mouth, trying his best not to let his sharp teeth chatter.
"Soul Evans. Um. I don't understand-"
"State your weapon class." The middle aged man in a lab coat commanded, one of the six that sat along one side of a table before him. There wasn't a lot of light in the place, which Soul was thankful for. There was just his spot light and the light on the table of his onlookers.
"But. I don't get why I have to-"
"Just answer the question, Mr. Evans."
"Agh, I'm a scythe ok? Look, can I please get-"
"You may get dressed after we finish our analysis." The only part of him that was warm were his hands since Soul was busy desperately trying to cover himself before the scrutiny of his captors. "This is common procedure when we investigate our stock, it is nothing to be embarrassed about."
"Stock? Like stuff you keep in the back room of a store, or like livestock?" The man ignored his question and jotted things down on papers Soul couldn't see from here.
"Since your type is so rare, we'll require a genetic sample."
"Like blood, or hair?" Soul swallowed.
"No. A reproductive sample." The guy just kept jotting, not even having the decency to look up at Soul when telling him he'd be treated like some prized show horse, doing god knows what with his…
"Hell no, that's not gonna happen!" Ok there had to be a way outta here. Think, Soul, think. But from his spotlight he couldn't even tell where there were walls in the darkness that surrounded him.
"You are within your pubescent years, are you not? Are you able to produce a sample?"
"Well yeah, but that doesn't mean you can-"
"Do you want your type to die out? This is for the betterment of the future."
"I promise, I can make more scythes all on my own without your help, ok? Look, you guys have already poked, prodded, measured and weighed me. I really want to get dressed and get back to the little hole you've assigned me. Amy's probably getting worried and-"
"The child is being looked after by our associates, you have nothing to worry about, Mr. Evans. Now. If you prefer to carry out your own reproduction, we can arrange a proper match and a suitable place to conceive in."
"No! I'm not some dog you guys get to breed! I'm a person! I don't remember going overseas; this is still America, isn't it? What is wrong with you people?" His voice echoed off of the walls in the large empty darkness. The men before him sat there and waited for silence before humoring him with any sort of reply.
"You're right, you're completely right. We can't force you, but in a few months or a year or two, I'm sure you won't be so contrary to the idea."
He gritted his teeth. "Trust me, I won't be here that long."
"Oh of course not, Mr. Evans." The man patronized. "Of course you won't." He waved and three guards ushered Soul out of the room and into a small changing room where his clothes were waiting. After getting dressed, he sat on the small seat provided. He couldn't stay here much longer.
Soon Soul was sent back out into Nowhere, the name the captive weapons had given the place. It was somewhere in the desert, but it was hard to tell where, exactly. Nowhere was surrounded by a seven story patrolled wall and had blocks like a regular city but these blocks were made of quickly built mostly cinderblock two story buildings that held four 'homes' and a communal bathroom in each. A home consisted of one bed, one window, one outlet, and one small table. The bathroom was just two toilets, a mirror, and a sink where they'd go to get their drinking water as well.
There were three larger and taller buildings in the center of Nowhere. One was the cafeteria where certain blocks were supposed to report at certain times to eat, only one meal a day issued. Weapons were to shower in the other large building which was closely monitored by the armed officials. Officials armed with weapons they had probably bought from the same guys that had started this whole thing.
There was one other building in Nowhere, the one he had come from that was more like a laboratory where weapons were supposed to report now and then to be re-measured and reweighed or 'volunteer' to test the government's 'painless' human to weapon interfaces. Those who volunteered almost never came back. Women and children weren't treated any kinder than the males. They were all 'stock' in the end.
Lines rose and fell over the white painted cinderblocks, windows to other places sat there unhidden in the sanctuary of their home and the small child had dominion over it all. She wasn't a captive, not when she had imagination, not while she was armed with a box of crayons and markers and all the white walls she could mark. As soon as Soul walked in, Amy jumped up and threw open her arms, pressing her back against the warming stone walls.
"Don't look I'm not done yet!" For the past five days, Soul had thanked whoever was above that he had stopped to help this little girl because if it weren't for her, who knew what condition his mind would have been in. She was an adorable distraction from everything. He quickly covered his eyes.
"Ok, ok, I won't look." Soul could hear her giggle, followed by the sounds of her markers squeaking and her wax crayons streaking across the wall. Slowly, he peeked between his fingers to watch Amy stop, tilt her head, hold out her arm and raised thumb like a painter before going back to scribbling with such enthusiasm.
"Ok done!" She got up and moved out of the way as Soul lowered his hands and stared at the picture the little girl had drawn. There, on one side of the small window, with the floor as their ground stood a stick figure with a red skirt, yellow pigtails and green dots for eyes smiling. She was holding hands with another stick figure with red dots, a zigzag smile and a squiggly line around his head to show a big puff of hair. On the other side of the window was a small stick figure of a little girl with brown pigtails and a princess crown and green dress, holding hands with her smiling stick figure mother. Green squiggles at the floor showed plush, wonderful grass and fluffy clouds floated above their heads.
"It's…" He didn't have words.
"You're not mad at me, are you?" Amy hunched her shoulders and ducked her head a little and Soul walked over to pick her up.
"No, this is great." He sat on the bed with her in his lap and Amy smiled, pulling from the large pocket on her dress a picture.
"Good, I think I really did a good job catching her likemiss." She giggled and held up the picture that Soul had left on the table of him and Maka. He took the picture back, thankful there weren't any marks on it and a bittersweet smile crossed his lips as he looked from the photo back to the wall.
"You sure did. That's just about as skinny as she is." Amy giggled at that and hugged him and it was moments like that that helped block out the darkness of this place. "You know what? We should decorate all our walls, even the ceiling."
The little girl's eyes grew as big as dinner plates at the prospect. "You...you really mean it, Mr. Soul?"
"Yeah, let's make it look just like home." He put her down for a moment and took a yellow marker before standing on the bed and drawing the grinning sun on the ceiling.
"Oh! I wanna draw the moon!" Amy jumped up and down and as soon as Soul was finished he scooped up the girl and held her up on his shoulders so her little arms could reach. Once the moon and stars and clouds were taken care of, he let the girl down and picked his own spot on the wall to decorate.
As Soul watched the line of red trail behind the waxy tip of the crayon, his mind drifted to the red-maroon walls that had towered endlessly over him when he was sweet, young and innocent like Amy. They were smooth and perfect and stretched up with the windows to the ceiling far, far, far beyond his reach. Even the walls had looked down on him there.
"Look! I got it this time!" His younger self tugged on his mother's hand, pulling her ahead over the red gold carpets and the black and white checker tile floors. He had been so proud then, with his sharp but gap-toothed grin he rushed ahead as his mother looked on with horror. On the wall in the music room he had scrawled a shaky lined staff with E G B D F next to quarter notes on each line. F A C E by half notes in the spaces. He had even added appropriate rests and divided it into proper standard 4/4 measures.
Any moment she'd say how happy she was. Any moment she'd hug him and tell him that he was progressing well, just like his brother. Any moment. After all, he had worked for hours on it. He had studied and looked over it to be sure. But instead, his wrist ached as she grabbed his hand and turned him around. His backside hurt as she spanked him again and again. His heart broke as she yelled for marring the wall with his scribbling and that he should pray that his father didn't hear about this.
He had only wanted her to be happy…
"Whatcha drawing?" Amy asked, looking over his shoulder. Soul quickly shook his head and looked at the shaky five lines he had drawn while lost in his thoughts. He quickly used the side of his hand to smear them until it was a pinkish haze on the white painted cinderblocks.
"It was nothing." But Soul paused for a moment. It wasn't that music was bad, in fact music was one of the best things out there. All kids should have a basic understanding and appreciation for it, yet his first reaction was to hide it away from her, as if he was protecting anyone but himself. "I'll show you later, ok? How's your side coming along?"
"I'm almost done! Now get back to work, slow-poke or we'll never finish our masserpiece!"
By the time their block was called for their meal, they had the sun and moon on the ceiling and the sky line of Death City on the walls. Amy drew little stick figures of her friends there amongst the shapes of the buildings and Soul had begun to draw in his friends as well. There was Black Star with big blue hair and a big smile and he had decided to draw Tsubaki next to him. There was no doubt that she'd pull through. As soon as he finished adding her long hair to her taller stick figure, he felt warmth, hope spread through him, as if that was enough to make it true. Everything would be fine because a stick figure picture existed. Soul moved on to drawing Kid with his short figure and striped hair and straight mouthed blank expression. Next was Patty with choppy yellow hair and a wide smile and blue cowboy hat. His hand stopped when he moved to draw Liz and the warmth soon faded away.
Soul turned to check on Amy and saw her working on drawing a cat in a tree and as he turned to look back at his own drawing, he noticed there was another figure next to the stick figure of her mother. Amy had added a tall man with pointy brown hair, puffy and lumpy wings and a yellow halo.
"Amy, is that your dad?"
The little girl looked up at him before looking to the picture and nodding with a smile. "Yeah! Mommy says he's an angel now, helping protect people. A Garbian Angel. He's probably watching over Mommy since you're here to protect me."
Soul didn't know what to say to that and just simply turned back to the awaiting pictures of Kid and Patty. After a moment he got up, closed his markers and picked up the little girl. "Let's go eat."
They paused at the door though, to admire their work. There all around them was home, their real home, their friends and family. No matter where they were taken, no matter what happened, they'd take their memories and their angels with them.
The people from the lower three floors had moved to the fourth as fire consumed the first two floors. Maka was doing her best to keep everyone calm and organize a combined effort to push through the large metal emergency exit door. Black Star had sat Tsubaki in a corner with a wet rag to breathe through as he worked with everyone else to break through the door. Feeling was returning to her body but the burning air in her lungs and the growing warmth on her skin wasn't what was on her mind. Black Star was.
Every word he had said. Every action he had done, she had seen. Every gesture she remembered and now, to see him work so diligently to help everyone despite his own shaken loyalty, it only made her even more sure. Black Star had grown so much in the past few days, becoming the man she saw inside of him and the joy of that, the joy that she could move forward with him now outweighed the fear by far. Beside Tsubaki sat the gathered children, about five under the age of twelve that were crying, trying to stay under the growing cloud of smoke. The building groaned as the fire continued to eat the lower levels and the children cried out in fear as the floor shifted.
"It's going to be ok." She moved closer to one crying little boy. "Do you see that man there?" The little boy looked up as she pointed to Black Star as he and the other adults surged forward against the door.
"He's going to save everyone. He's a hero, and a god." Gently, Tsubaki wiped the soot from the boy's face and patted a little girl's head before standing on wobbly legs. If Black Star was a god, what did that make her?
From the front of the crowd, Black Star caught sight of Tsubaki walking over, smoke like dark clouds parting as she approached. If he was a god, then surly she was an angel. His messenger, his own personal mercy in a heavenly body. In the flickering hallway lights he saw her smile softly and read the undying trust in her eyes as she held out her hand, the end of her hair shifting back into chain and scythe.
The group of adults parted when the last remaining weapon walked to her meister. Tsubaki gave Maka a small appreciative nod and a positive grin before changing for Black Star. There were a number of unknowns. Considering what she had just recovered from, it was hard to tell if she'd be able to shift weapon forms or even return to human form after this. But there was no longer any choice in the matter, and if she was lost after this, then it would be worth it. To show the humans present that the goodness Shibusen had taught was right. That caring for one another no matter what race you were was right. If this was the last stand a weapon and meister would have, the message would be positive.
Black Star's hands tightened around her handles and he listened to the clinking of her chains. It was right, perfect in every way, the weight, the sound, the pulse they shared. It had to be the smoke, but his eyes watered a little. Never again would he dare to forget how lucky he was to hold such an amazing weapon in his hands, never would he forget how blessed he was to just have her company, to hear her voice say his name, lay down her life and trust him with her body and soul. His strength had returned. As Black Star stepped towards the door, it was clear that both of them had returned.
"Everyone, back up!" Maka shouted. "Grab the children and get to the ends of the hallway!" The adults watched, but they weren't who this was for. Adults had learned the art of justification, knowing just how to twist the honest truths they saw and heard and knew into what they wanted to see, hear and know. No, this was for the children who would remember when an angel and a god saved their lives.
Outside, there was a battle going on. Stein was currently doing what he could to stop Eruka and the now separated Mizune sisters so that the holding spell on the doors and windows would break. It only took three witches to maintain the spell, so Eruka and two of the six sisters remained in place while the other four sisters swooped and dived at Stein with their razor whiskers.
Eruka, of course, wanted nothing more than to run. It didn't even make sense, the stupid guy wasn't even armed, but he was still there challenging them. She watched in horror as he ducked a swooping rat witch and grabbed her cloak, pulling her to the ground before sending a soul wave through her. Mizune screeched in pain and then just laid there in the small crater the attack had caused.
Oh man, where was the signal? The orders were to hold the spell until the building burned to the ground or there was a signal from Medusa. Eruka's concentration on the spell was wavering as her fear increased. Why did Medusa even pick her? There were thousands of witches to choose from! It was then that it hit her. They were bait for this guy, it wasn't about the people in this stupid building at all!
Before Eruka could tell Mizune to forget it, a star shaped shadow appeared over her head and the poor frog could hardly jump out of the way in time before a star shaped chunk of the wall crashed into the street.
"Today, I've earned my halo!" Black Star shouted, holding Tsubaki high. It was enough of a distraction for Stein to look up and grin to see that idiot armed and back to his normal self. When he turned back, the witches had escaped.
"Black Star, throw Tsubaki down there at the roof of that other building." Maka pointed across the narrow street. "Everyone can zip line out of here on her chain."
"Gotcha." He nodded and did as Maka had asked and soon person after person slid to safety.
Maka gave him a brief hug. "Good job, but you're still an idiot."
"I'm not the one calling people names in a burning building." He gave her a small shove and Maka slid down the chain holding onto her tie and landed safely on the roof across the street.
"I'm gonna slide over there and then you're going to change back to your human form, ok?" He touched her chain. "I'm so glad to get you back."
"I'm very glad to be back." She replied. "Now go, the whole building is shaking." He nodded and tore a section of his shirt to slide down on. Once safe on the other side he removed Tsubaki's blade from where it was lodged.
"You can change back now." But she remained in weapon form. He urged her to change shape but there was no shift.
Maka came forward and touched his shoulder. "Let me help." The saved occupants looked on as the two friends, for the first time since the world had ended, truly came together. Maka and Black Star's normally conflicting souls managed to work together in their common worries, common troubles, and common love for the weapon in hand. The pull from them both was enough to return Tsubaki, the girl landing in their arms. It had taken far too much for them to come together, to work together and break the isolation they had drifted into. Teamwork and courage in the face of danger was what they had been taught, it was finally time to put it to use. While Maka and Black Star were recovering Tsubaki, Stein had begun to help the civilians from the roof and once they were all sent to safety, he turned his attention to the three of them.
"Well done, all of you. Now, do you three know why seven witches would be trying to kill you?"
"It probably has something to do with the deal Black Star made." Maka pointed.
"What? Geeze, I didn't have any choice!" He shouted. "You would have done the same thing!"
"I would have at least thought about it a little!" Maka put her hands on her hips.
"I didn't exactly have a lot of time to think!"
Stein sighed and stepped between the two. "What deal are you talking about?"
"The nurse that used to work at the school showed up and said she'd bring Tsubaki back if I stole Kid's broach for her. So I did. It's not a big deal."
Stein just stared at him. "Please tell me you're joking."
"It's just a stupid pin! And it's not like it can mess things up even more than things are!" He was getting tired of everyone making such a big deal over something so little.
"What's it do?" Maka asked but he turned from her.
"I don't have time to explain. Shinigami-sama is in danger." That said, the man rushed to the roof's exit and Maka followed after.
"They're going to need you." Tsubaki took Black Star's hand. "Let's go."
"Sure, but I'm not gonna let them call me the bad guy. I don't regret what I did." He squeezed her hand.
Stein instantly felt foolish. He could have stopped this if he had opened that door but in the end he was played just like Kid had been, moving right along to their opponent's plans. Kid triggered the movement, Shinigami-sama had his hands tied, Black Star did something stupid to get what he wanted and now Stein listened to his perception instead of his instincts. He could have stopped her but had walked away to take the bait and help Maka and Black Star who didn't really need his help anyway. Humans, weapons, technicians, everyone had been used like pieces on a chess board and right now, the queen was moving into position.
Check mate was inevitable.
Once inside the room, Medusa had removed her soul protect and the blades on the guillotine walkway had reacted, dropping as soon as she got close. Nothing she couldn't outrun with the help of a succession of vector plates. The last blade crashed down behind her and Medusa brushed the dust from her dress before smiling at the towering Shinigami in front of her.
"Wow! You've set a new record." Shinigami-sama clapped. "No witch has ever gotten this close before! Are you here to make demands?"
"If I simply wanted to make demands, I could have done that at a safe distance." Medusa said without the slightest hint of intimidation in her tone or demeanor. "I have to say, I benefited greatly from my education here at Shibusen. It's a shame that the humans don't appreciate your brand of blood soaked schooling."
"Oh ho ho ho, then you must be insane, because any witch in her right mind would know that coming here is suicide."
"Insanity?" She laughed. "Insanity is hiring staff without background checks or having virtually no security in the darkest reaches of your library." Her amused tone shifted into sharp anger. "Insanity is thinking you're untouchable. Even gods can be killed. I read all about how you lost your body after the fight with Asura and bound your soul to the city through two ancient artifacts. One is that mirror behind you and the other was your mask."
Shinigami-sama, still not taking her seriously, removed his mask and handed it to her, revealing the dark and empty cloak behind it. "Well you're going to need this, aren't you?"
"Don't insult my intelligence." Medusa frowned. "That's not your original mask."
She pulled out the broach and Shinigami-sama replaced his mask at the sight of it in the witch's hand, speckled with blood. "If you've hurt my son-"
"I didn't touch him, but you should have seen his friend slit his throat for it. As a parent as well, I can appreciate your ingenuity. Having both artifacts in the same place at the same time wasn't safe, so you made this out of your original mask and attached it to your child's neck, which I find especially amusing because decapitation is a way of killing a corporeal Shinigami like him. You knew he'd protect his neck above all else and taught him to bounce around, for his safety, maybe, but for your own as well. Is there anyone that you haven't manipulated and lied to?"
In an instant, Shinigami-sama rushed at her but tumbled forward as she gripped the broach in both hands and snapped it in half, the resounding crack echoing over the walls, sending tremors throughout the city.
Outside, as Maka, Black Star, Tsubaki and Stein ran towards the school, Maka stopped and turned her face to the sky. The blue sky seemed to grow a shade darker as the white dome of their god's soul shrunk till it just covered the school.
"Professor Stein-" Maka had begun but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her forward.
"I know. We have to keep moving."
The surface of the Death Room door was smeared with blood, but Kid kept pushing, pounding, struggling to budge the stone. His shoulder had broken, healed and broken again, breaking and rebreaking skin in its splintering. His knuckles had split the thin flesh over them, but still he kept trying. There was no other way in and again, like some horrible reoccurring nightmare, he was being held back as someone he loved was in danger. He should have tried harder to fend off Black Star, he should have been faster, stronger, more aggressive. But there had been so much pain… Kid leaned heavily against the door panting, letting his blood covered hand smear more streaks of red over the surface. Everyone had suffered so much pain because of him, his mistakes, and now…
"Look at you." Medusa looked down her nose at Death. "The terror you've inflicted on our kind for centuries ends today." That said, Medusa tossed the two sections of the pin in the air before a barrage of arrows converged on them and sent shards falling to the floor. Cracks spread over the dome of the Death Room and one by one the guillotines fell, the wood cracking, the metal breaking and bending as it collapsed.
"Surly that's not everything you have. I was expecting a much more challenging fight." And then the woman dared to turn her back on him, arms crossed as she wandered towards the wood and metal rubble, as if she had grown bored. As if she had lost all interest in even killing him in her disappointment.
The floor was rough, not that Death could feel it. He hadn't felt anything in centuries. For hundreds of years he knew life as a puppet, cloth and stone moved in order to speak to those still living and sat as a figure head as he waited patiently for his son to grow and release him. His soul clung to the earth by two strong holds and in all that time, he hadn't felt the rare embrace from his son, he hadn't felt the warmth of the sun or the cool of the night. He hadn't eaten, couldn't recall the taste of anything, he hadn't hurt or bled or delighted in any physical thing. Death hadn't left the city limits, hadn't had the chance to admire the beauty of the world, the mountains, the oceans, forests or rivers, left to look at them through his mirror from his small spot in the desert. He was a god, but bound more so than any free man.
It was a special sort of isolation in his duties and he waited, waited, waited for Kid to grow, to fully develop. But in his waiting Death had forgotten what it was like to fight, to struggle, to live when all this time, in all honesty, he was truly waiting for his turn to die. Hidden behind a funny mask, tucked behind a humorous tone of voice, that was what it had been. Maintain Shibusen, push Kid onwards so that one day he could rest.
So he could see her again.
But there was no longer anything to maintain. All his efforts, all his work was gone. He couldn't leave Kid with this, what sort of father leaves his son to rule over the ruins of a fallen kingdom? It would be easy to lay there and let this horrible creature remove his last bit of binding, but that would shame everything he had ever taught or stood for.
Medusa smirked as she heard the cloth shift as Shinigami-sama stood upright. She instantly bolted back along the walkway, jumped over fallen beams and avoided shattered metal as the death god closed in on her from behind. The door to the Death Room was just ahead.
"Are you running away? Where was all that talk a moment ago?" Death raised his hands, prepared to smash Medusa to bits.
Kid took a deep breath and again shoved against the door, taken by surprise as it swung open and he stumbled inside. Medusa smiled at him as she flipped over him, daring to even pat his head before sticking her landing. With Kid suddenly between them, Shinigami-Sama hesitated in his strike. It was all Medusa needed.
Kid's confused eyes turned from Medusa to his father as he wrapped the boy in his cloak.
"I'm sorry Kiddo…" He had heard in the warm darkness of the icon of his father. "I am proud."
Medusa sent a barrage of arrows through both Shinigami, piercing through cloak and body within as they sped past and through, casting speeding shadows and splatters of blood over broken ruins. Under the cracked dome where fake blue sky stretched, black arrows sped ahead to their reflection. They missed the yellow throne where the hard working, expecting prince had sat, admiring his father and dreaming of the time he'd reign in his place. Their unfeeling tips hit the cool surface of the mirror with no remorse, one after the other crashed through, shattering the glass. The giant mirror creaked and groaned before spilling the reflective shards to the floor. Just as the cloak had fallen, the three pronged mask clattered and cracked on the floor.
Cautiously, Medusa stepped closer, lifting an edge of the cloth to see the bleeding, unconscious, and last remaining Shinigami inside. She called forth an arrow and aimed it carefully. It would be so simple, a quick decisive move with her arrow and she could sever his head and there'd be no more gods to fear. The arrow moved back, preparing for deployment but ultimately she let it fade away as Medusa dropped the edge of the cloth to pick up the cracked mask instead.
The poor boy had suffered so greatly and after that sort of suffering, death would be too great a release. Besides, he was still a powerful asset, perhaps a tool she could use even more later on or a valuable research subject to explore in the future. For now, he could sleep in the last physical remains of his father. Besides, the shining, slightly larger than normal white soul caught her attention; a Shinigami's soul, an object of power unmatched by any other on earth, now vulnerable and there for the taking. Medusa held it in her hand and felt the tingle of the power spread over her skin.
Witches were the voiceless hunted of the world, and as much as Medusa would claim that it was for them. In all honesty, this was for her. This power, in her hand, it was for her. There had never been a living creature that had eaten a Shinigami's soul before, so this would make for a very interesting experiment. Medusa parted her lips and like a true snake unhinged her jaw to take the whole thing into her mouth and swallowed it whole. She had to admit, the irony was delicious.
Stein stopped the kids outside of the blood smeared door.
"It's not true, is it, please, tell me it's not." Maka stared up at her professor with wide, fearful eyes.
"Let's go in and see." Black Star moved forward but Stein grabbed his shirt and pulled him back. "I hate it when you two get all soul-persp-whatever and leave the rest of us out."
Before Stein could explain anything to Black Star a sudden shock wave made the four of them stumble forward. Maka fell to her knees. For the first time she wished so much not to be special. It would be better if she were like Black Star and had no idea what was going on. She could tell past that door was Medusa, her soul huge and surging with new power, Kid's own weak, faint wavelength and no sign of Shinigami-sama anywhere at all. But it was what had happened outside that had stolen her strength and sent her to her knees.
"What the hell was that?" Black Star shouted.
"Black Star…" Tsubaki was standing by the window. "Come look."
Outside was the wide desert sky and grinning sun and the endless stretch of desert past that, but a dark moving band stretched between sky and earth and dotted the air. An army of witches was approaching on foot and by air and their numbers stretched thick and as far as Black Star could see either way.
"There's gotta be thousands!"
"42, 564." Stein said as he helped Maka to her feet.
Tsubaki turned from the window to Stein. "What can we do?"
"Shinigami-Sama's gonna come out and-" Black Star had begun but Stein hit the boy in the back of the head to shut him up.
"He can't do anything because of you. He's gone and Medusa's eaten his soul." He paused and looked out the window. "It's not likely any of us are going to survive without our weapons."
The three students stared at him at that before Black Star shook his head. "You're joking, right? We have to have a plan."
"There's only one way." He turned to Maka. "You still have Soul's bike, right?" She nodded weakly, her mind still trying to comprehend it all.
"Then the three of you take it and leave on the east side exit since their numbers are weaker in that direction. Head to the weapons camp. It's a few miles north east of Searchlight, Maka's soul perception should help you locate it. Once you get there, free the weapons at any cost and bring them back."
"What about you?" Maka asked and Stein patted her head.
"That's a question I expect more from Black Star. Now go." He didn't have to say it, and Maka didn't want to accept it. Stein was a bit of a mentor, sometimes even acting as father figure when she had hated Spirit, and it was clear in his eyes, past the glare on his glasses. This could be…perhaps was goodbye.
"Everyone's going to depend on you three bringing all of our partners back. Black Star, you're the only technician right now with a weapon, this is your chance to shine, don't mess it up."
"You can count on me!" He gave the man a thumbs up and Tsubaki rushed over to hug Stein and Maka quickly joined.
"Thank you for everything, Professor." Tsubaki said and Maka couldn't find words to say and still remained after Tsubaki had let go and joined Black Star's side.
Stein gently pulled from her and knelt a little more to her height. She wasn't his, but getting to see the girl grow stronger somehow made the troubles of the past seem worthwhile. "Maka, they're probably holding your father in a higher security sector of the camp. If you see him, tell him he's an idiot for me." It was enough to make her smile despite her constricted chest and dry throat.
She let go and nodded. "You can count on me," before rushing to her friends and down the hall.
Once alone, Stein lit a cigarette as he watched the approaching siege. So this was it, huh? What better way was there to go than in a battle of this scale? It beat dying alone and peaceful like a forgotten lab rat. After a long drag, he smashed his last cigarette under foot before turning his attention to the blood smeared door. So the black queen might have taken their king, but as a bishop, he still had a move left to play. Two good cranks of his head screw, and Stein pushed on the door, feeling it give and open easily.
Amy was taking her after meal nap and Soul was busy trying to refresh his memory on simple music theory. A small FM/AM radio he had brought from home was plugged into their one outlet and he wasn't truly paying attention to the scratchy reception until he heard the broadcast.
"Breaking news, an unprecedented number of witches has gathered around Death City, the former home of Shibusen. When asked about the evacuation of the citizens inside, local officials stated that the threat was too great on the newly formed law enforcement and that any attempt to evacuate the city would only put volunteers in danger. Officials also reported that since they are still organizing the newly recovered weapons, deployment to aid the city simply isn't possible." Soul dropped his pencil, all air leaving his lungs as he forgot to inhale. "All attempts to contact Shinigami have failed and there doesn't seem to be any defensive action from the city. All are expecting a massacre. More information at six."
Soul stood and instantly moved to wake Amy, but he couldn't possibly wake her to take her into a battle like that. So, Soul grabbed a piece of paper and wrote her a note instead, sticking it to his stick figure on the wall. Hopefully the girl would know to take the letter to someone who could read.
'Dear Amy, I need to go back home to help protect Maka and your mommy. If I don't come back, don't worry. I'll still be there to protect you. Your friend, Mr. Soul.'
Before leaving he paused to look at the girl and took the picture of him and Maka from his pocket and placed it by her pillow. "Be good, sleep tight."
If all else went wrong, Amy would remember them. She'd remember this room and the way their home had been, recorded in marker and crayon and memory forever.
Outside, it seemed a number of other weapons had heard and soon they were gathering in the streets. Typically, the heat of the sun kept them from moving from block to block and really talking to one another, but this. It couldn't be ignored. At the moment it was all chatter, everyone was panicking and speculating. Soul climbed to the top of a cinderblock home.
"Hey! Everyone listen up! If we don't do something now, everyone we know and care about is going to die!"
"What are we going to do? We can't leave!" Someone shouted at him. Soul took a deep breath and tried to think. How would Maka handle this? What plan would she come up with?
"We outnumber all the guards here. All we have to do is plan a decent attack. Now, are there any people here that are both weapon and technician?"
"Soul?" The familiar voice had him scanning the crowd and he smiled when he spotted Patty jumping up and down. "Me! I'm both!"
"Patty! Awesome, anyone else?" Five others stepped forward. "You guys pick a weapon, anyone else that can do a partial transformation get ready." After that, a plan was quickly formulated. As proud as he'd like to be for being able to take leadership for a bit and get things under control, there was just too much worry. Their apartment wasn't that far from the edges of town. Maka might still be waiting for him back home.
"Get on the bike already!" Maka screamed but Black Star just shook his head.
"I'm not getting on behind a chick."
"It's my weapon's bike, Stein told me to get it, just get on the bike or we're all going to die!"
Tsubaki was currently in her chain scythe form around his neck and Black Star shook his head, hands on his hips. "For someone so smart, you're awful dumb. A motorcycle has no defense and we need to drive through a wall of witches." He climbed up and sat on the handlebars, feet resting on top of the shocks for the front wheel. "Now we're ready."
"I can't see past your big head." She frowned. Why did he always have to be so difficult? This mess was part his fault now, the least he could do was listen!
"You'll be fine once I stand up, just go already! Soul's waiting!"
Maka growled in annoyance, revved the engine and tried to recall everything Soul had showed her that one random afternoon they had taken a drive. The bike lurched ahead and with just a little wobble Maka left the apartment garage and took off down the street.
Despite the situation, Black Star threw up his arms, letting out a nice loud Yahoo. Yeah, they could be plowing into certain death, but right now he was the only armed tech in the whole world! It really was his time to shine! As they approached the exit and the arch of the city's wall opened to the vast open sky, Black Star stood on the handle bars of the bike.
Maka bit her lip at the sight. It really was thousands of withes, their footsteps shaking even the ground as they rode head long towards them. Her heart pounded. Who knows what they'd throw at them and everyone in the city was depending on them to make it through and reach the camp. Soul was depending on them. She had to push through. Maka swallowed and sent the bike to top speed. They were seconds away from impact and seconds from either victory or death.
"All of you weren't expecting the world's best weapon and meister team coming at you top speed!" Black Star shouted at them, using Tsubaki to create his large chain star shield. With a deep breath, he braced for impact, still with a smile on his face.
"SKY ABOVE, SKY BELOW, I ALONE STAND ALMIGHTY!"
Their magical attacks bounced off of the high velocity moving shield and Maka stared in awe as they hit and plowed through the first few witches. Most of the rest moved out of the way, while others were run over or sliced when necessary. When their numbers broke away and all that was left was desert horizon, Maka couldn't help but laugh. They had done it! They had faced a wall of death and come out on the other side!
"Today I have surpassed the gods!" Black Star cheered, hands raised to the sky.
He hadn't expected the sky and ground to trade places.
One last magical attack from the witches caught the back of the bike, smashing the rear lights and sending it spinning from asphalt into the desert earth. Black Star was thrown early on, tumbling in the hard red dust, but Maka had spun and skidded with the bike for a distance before the machine left her behind and came to rest a short distance ahead.
"Black Star!" Tsubaki shifted out and knelt by his side and to her relief he lifted his head. "Can you get up? We have to hurry." She urged, a group of witches rushing back for them.
"Yeah I'm fine." He groaned, forcing himself to his feet with a little help from Tsubaki and the two hurried over to Maka.
Maka took in a deep breath, fighting to return air to her lungs and immediately tasted the bitterness of the earth in her gasp. The world was still spinning and her body ached, each nerve screaming in pain as she lifted her head. This was wrong…what was the bike doing over there? She had to get up, she had to keep moving. Soul was waiting. One hand pressed hard against the dirt followed by the other and Maka lifted her upper body up, cringing as her muscles shook. Soul needed her to get up. She had to get back to the bike. He'd be so mad if it was scratched. Her right leg moved under herself, but the left wouldn't move.
"Maka!" Black Star's voice turned her head and she saw them running towards her, four witches running after them and gaining. Again Maka tried to get up, able to stand on her right leg but her left thigh was gashed deeply, streaked with blood and crusted with dirt. She took a step forward and cried out in pain before tumbling forward, back onto the desert floor. The bike was just a little further ahead, her only hope of seeing him again just feet from her outstretched hand. After another failed attempt it became clear. This was as far as she'd get, this was the end of it. Black Star grabbed her but Maka shook her head.
"You don't have time, just go. If all of us are captured then there's no hope."
"I'll bring him back for you, so don't die before I get back." Black Star offered her a big grin before grabbing Tsubaki's wrist and pulling her ahead. And there, on the ground, Maka watched as Tsubaki brought the bike upright and Black Star jumped on it, took his weapon's hand, taking off. By the time she was snatched up and forced into standing by the witches, Black Star was a shrinking dot in the distance. Maka had so wanted to be there, to see the camp, to see Soul, reclaim him…hold him in her hands. To hold him close, feel his wavelength, hear him say the words she had stopped before. Now it was doubtful that she'd live long enough to see nightfall…
A/N: So. Recap: Shinigami-Sama is gone, witches are coming to massacre everyone in the city, Medusa is crazy powerful, Stein's going to confront her, Kid's out cold, Maka's captured, Soul's getting ready to help the weapon rebellion and Black Star's off to save the day. The next chapter's going to be fun, loooong and dark!
Right now there's a special music based preview of chapter 12. Check it out cuz in two days or so, I'm going to change it to a limited text preview. I also have a poll and would appreciate your input!
Thank you to all of you who have been reading so far!
