Disclaimer: I do not own SE. This fic is created purely for casual entertainment. Strictly not for sale. XP


Resonation Echoes (by DATsubasa)

Chapter Ten: Madness

Soul

The same duty as usual, but the atmosphere was more serious than before. The boredom was killing him.

He was in the midst of scouting the area which he accidently discovered after his massacre at the area in question. He finally recovered fully from his injuries and was up in no time. He wanted to distract himself to stop thinking about things that would cause him to go nuts, even though the results of his efforts were not very effective. Pain did slightly numb everything, but he could not keep his thoughts controlled anymore. Every day was a torture for him. He had to make a huge effort to pull himself together whenever he was on the verge of collapsing.

But he was moving towards total emotional breakdown soon, he knew it. He went to the extent to getting her picture from the prom scanned for an extra copy and cropped out so that it fitted the transparent flap of his wallet. He could not pass a day without looking at her picture. It was not a habit anymore. It was more like an addiction, an obsession. He knew it, but he loved it, and he was enjoying it. All he had of her was the recent picture, the old one which was stuck on the other side of his wallet, and the one they took together before he departed for Heilnite. Other than that, one of her favourite coat in her wardrobe which she could not wear anymore. He hugged it to sleep every day, breathing in the faint strawberry caramel scent which never failed to get him hooked. Those were the only things that were able to provide him the comfort he needed.

Maybe he should try to reach out for her soul like what she did that time, when he was recuperating. Doing that every day may seem to be a really great idea. He made a mental note to try doing that later. Ever since the first time she forced her soul resonance to echo like that, he was already addicted. He was always constantly alert to those signals, and wanted to respond to them on time, so that she would continue doing that frequently. Which proved to be right. Almost every day, he was able to catch that resonation vibration, and heartily returning the favor. He was dying for physical contact, but right now, Soul Recall was the only thing he had to feel her.

The cage around him was closing up more and more upon him. Every single day he prayed and prayed to be freed. The complications of the mission seemed to get more and more twisted like a Labyrinth. He just could not get out. He expected things to be easier when he found the hidden hideout. But it made matters worse. The other Meisters and Weapons seemed to only have commitments with nothing else but this mission. Which explains, none of them were married, or even had a partner. A partner. A life time commitment.

Not for him. Someone was waiting for him far away, and he was trying to get back to her. She was his first priority commitment, but he was not able to commit his devotion towards his former Meister ever since he left Death City. The mission was a total hindrance. Not only that, he could not enjoy university life. He did all his studies in Heilnite and there would always be someone at the headquarters would get him all his assignments, tests and exams via mail delivery. Higher level instructors who were in charge coaching him in his studies were not as relaxed as those that were in Shibusen. At the same time, that giving him more mental pressure, adding a few extra anvils to his emotional stress.

Kid drop by sometimes, but every time it lasted for less than half an hour.

This kind of life isn't any cool at all.

And her Soul Recalling was getting more and more frequent. All he knew was the fact that she was still alive and kicking. It seems that she wanted to reach for him as well. And his obsession to feel her 'touch' intensified day by day.

He and the group went into the once hidden pit, and a small industrial town revealed in front of his eyes. The numbers hidden within the town were too overwhelming for a small group to take care of. Right now, they need information about what laid in the midst of it, so that they were able to plot a flawless attack, with as little causalities as possible. The previous assault was too sudden. The previous group was attacked by a huge wave of Madness infected army of demons, which were once humans. Like the horde he slaughtered, they were able to replicate, however, double the amount of that of those which were slain dead by him. The further they went in, the more the stillness of air around them. The group could feel the chilling aura of the looming Madness form the depths of the hidden town. The atmosphere was downright eerie. Stein had got Marie by his side for good, he could worry less about the possibility of Madness influencing his mental prospect.

However, Madness was not caused just by merely overloading thoughts and the unwillingness to let go. It could target anyone, anywhere.

It hit Soul out of nowhere. He did not realize it. It was already there.

The group turned to see him still in his tracks. Head bowed, he was swaying slightly. Stein knew something was wrong. Ordering the group to keep a look out, he and Marie cautiously approached him.

"Soul!" Stein said sharply, gripping his shoulder and shook it hard. The Death Scythe had a blank look on his face when he looked up. Eerily blank. The Death Scythe looked very lost, and was staring through Stein. Marie had a frightened look stretched across her face, she knew that the way Soul was reacting had got something to do with Madness. Flashes of the past when she encountered a Madness infected Stein began to play in her mind, and comparing the symptoms of the infection, Soul was showing similar signs. But of all people, he should be the less likely one to be infected, being a stable, rational and calm guy from head to toe. What exactly triggered it in him?

The scythe collapsed onto the ground all of a sudden. He started to shake uncontrollably, and burying his hands into his face. He felt a certain pressure against his soul, and that pressure was trying to break through his barrier to get in. Was that the Madness wave? Flashes of memories of his former Meister started to flick in front of his eyes. Stein disappeared from his view. Soul raised his hands from his face to clutch his head. An intense pain shot through his head as he tried to resist the pressure.

Soul… soul…

He snapped his head upwards. An apparition appeared in front of him, glowing with a silvery light surrounding it. He squinted his eyes to have a clearer look, the light was blinding. The huge glow of light slowly took the shape of his former Meister in her teens, and it knelt in front of him, hands reaching out to touch the sides of his face. It looked at him intensely, those eyes seemed to pierce through his, and for a split second, he had the urge to pull it into his arms. It was a face he always wanted to see in person through the years of absence from Death City. He fought hard to suppress the urge, and the pain which was shooting through his head a while ago seemed to have abated. The apparition smiled at him. It looked so real…

Ne, Soul… it has been some time… do you miss me?

He slowly lifted his head a little higher. The atmosphere suddenly felt so warm. Trembling vigorously, his arms reached out to touch the apparition. It stretched out its arms in response.

Maka… Maka… I missed you, Maka… so much…

Why Soul, why did you not take me along? It hurts…

Soul felt tears trickling down his cheeks, he could not control his emotions. He took hold of the apparition and slid his arms gently around its waist, pulling it into a loving hug. He always wanted to do so for a long time. The very last time he held her was at the end of their very last mission, before he left for the current one. That was more than eight years already. The hug he gave her, with a mixture of relief, worry and a decent dose of his feelings towards her. Holding onto 'her' like that felt really nice, he did not want to let go, with fear gripping his heart, afraid that 'she' might disappear. But, how did she 'appear' in the middle of his mission? However, that question only lingered for a few seconds before a hand gently ran through his hair, and the thought dissolved into nothingness once again. Voices started to echo in the void of darkness.

Don't go… stay with me…

I won't let go…

Then come back to me… come back, Soul… come back…

How…? I can't go… I can't, I don't know how… this mission…

Run, Soul, run away… I will take you away, that's why I am here…

How…

The Organization is a total hindrance, Soul… it separated us… and this breaks my heart

I want them to disappear… this mission will never end, Soul… I want to be with you… don't go

They will

'She' held him tighter. The voices nagging at him a while ago were pushed to the back of his mind. They did not matter much anymore, as 'she' was here with him. That was all he needed.

General POV

"No good! Something is wrong with him!" Stein started to sound frantic. The scythe did not move, he was still staring into space, and the blank expression on his face did not disappear. An eerie black aura accompanied with a blood red glow blossomed from his. Marie took a few steps back, she recognized the glow. Soul was infected by the Madness wave.

"This is getting serious!" Stein said quietly. They need to get Soul out of the area fast. Everyone could feel the waves of Madness getting thicker. The air around them was getting stale and chilly. If they dragged on, the creatures would be trailing after them. The source of attraction for Madness, would be trailed by the infected creatures luring in the dungeons, since the intensity of Madness aura would increase as the infected was tempted to accept it. Madness formation wavelength was like a drug to them.

The young Death Scythe's head snapped upwards all of a sudden. Stein leapt backwards while yelling at Marie to transform. The others of the group were all ready in combat mode. The scythe stood up and remained at the spot. His eyes filled with sorrow.

"If everything disappears, I will be able to see her again."

Maka

She was in the midst of packing her things when a sudden searing pain crossed her chest. She collapsed onto the floor clutching her chest while breathing with difficulty. It was too sudden and she could not think straight or react. Agony plastered across her face while she held onto the bed post for support. The urge to cough got better of her. She rushed to the bathroom and gripped the edge of the sink, while coughing her lungs out. Perspirations broke out and dripped from her forehead as she coughed non-stop, wheezing as if she had got an asthma attack. Looking up at her reflection on the bathroom mirror above the sink, she saw a trail of crimson trickled down to her chin from the corner of her lips.

She bought a hand up to cover her mouth, a mixture of shock and fear sank into her heart. For that point of time, her coughing fits stopped. A word escaped from her lips.

"Soul…"


Author's Notes:

Cliff hanger huh? Everyone hates it. Who knows, but I assure you, there are more complications coming up in the next few chapters. Guess their lives are getting screwed up pretty badly *sulk*. Oh well x.x Soul is getting emotional here, well yea, being torn away from the person you loved so much is such a pain. What's more, for mroe than six years. I know because, lol, because there is a living example, that is, me and my boyfriend. We are living apart each other now, lol, he does travel down to visit me sometimes, he is dying over there and I am dying over here =.= Anyways, rest assured, I am not stopping this fic. Now that Soul is emotionally weak now, will he get tempted by illusions and got dragged down into Madness? Who knows? Gotta wait till my next update to find out X)

Sorry for the late update again, but yea, I am still working on it. Working right now and hardly have time to upload everything I have written. But then again, I am glad that you guys dropped by to read this =) Thank you. See you around!