A/N: Okay. So my computer has a virus. My husband is trying to fix it, but it is taking awhile. I am stealing his computer to update this chapter. I want to upload it because it's been awhile, but I sort of well...didn't proofread it. . Okay. I'm being lazy, but I also just want to get these chapters up. This is a second draft, but I didn't bother to check for typos. Yeah. So bear with me. And sorry. And, this is the part where I introduce my other OC that is supposed to be a love interest for Stein. I had a story just for them but...I had to take it down. Just cause of issues. Anyway, I still wanted to keep her so I left her in here. I know she is probably annoying and a bit pointless, but she isn't really in here a lot. Hopefully, you'll find her funny. She was meant to be funny. Okay, so now that I've bored everyone with a long Author's Note, which is only here to perpetuate my insecurities, you can read the chapter. Please enjoy. I'll probably check for typos later and do an just replace the chapter. Enjoy. Reviews are appreciated. Thank you to everyone who follows this. You guys are awesome. ^_^

TRACK 011: Waiting and…Oh, What's That?

It was one of those nights that seemed to last forever. Time couldn't have been moving so slowly, but that's not what it felt like. The door was closed and became the focal point of their misery. The Thompson sisters, Mack, and Kid were either sitting, standing, or leaning in the hall outside the Dispensary. Every face was grave and silent.

Occasionally, they would hear something beyond the door, but then it would just as quickly fall back into silence. Mack and Kid were on opposite ends of the door. They had refused to look or speak to each other since returning and Liz and Patty, positioned across from the door, looked at each of them with concern.

Mack tilted his head to rest on the wall and stare at the ceiling. She shouldn't have been so stupid. Sure, he knew that is was Aya's actions, not anyone else's, that led her to be hit, but that didn't stop him from partly blaming Kid. Fair? Maybe not, but to someone about to lose the only family they had, fair just didn't come into it. Mack's mind was as far from fair and rational as it could be, and he refused to even look at Kid until he knew Aya was okay. If she wasn't, he might do something he would regret.

Kid's eyes rested on the wall in front of him. They neither moved nor recognized anything he was seeing. Guilt. He was becoming more familiar with that word than he wanted to in the last few days. The blame for this rested on him. It was his fault. Or so he kept telling himself. Aya's convulsing body kept twitching in front of his eyes; he kept replaying the awful white light of electricity sparking around her. He couldn't focus on anything else. What had she been thinking? She could be dead now because she tried to save him. But it wasn't supposed to work like that. He had been the one trying to save her. The more he thought, the more sick he felt. Bile rose in his throat as he let the thoughts wash through him, but he repressed them again, slipping into a state of unawareness. My fault.

The door. The children's heads snapped to the handle that was now turning. It opened. Four faces crowded the entrance before Stein had a chance to get a foot out.

"How is she?" Liz spoke first. Mack's throat was too dry to allow words.

Stein slipped out and gave them a smile. Fake. As always, but a smile. "She stable."

Four sighs.

"Thankfully, the shock didn't last long and her heart hadn't suffered too much damage. The stab wound made things tricky, but she should pull through. She needs a lot of rest and to be monitored for at least a few more days to make sure her heart is okay, but she'll live."

Liz smiled and hugged Patty. "Thank you." She looked at Kid and Mack. "Can she have visitors?"

Stein shrugged. "I suppose it won't hurt, but she's not awake and I suggest she stay that way. If you're quiet, I don't see the problem."

Stein was pushed aside as they opened the door and entered the room. He took a cigarette from his pocket and his lighter. If he were to guess, he would have to say that Aya was meant to survive that attack. She must have been a part of Chara's plan somehow, or it wasn't the henchman's place to destroy her. Whatever the reason, the shock had not been at full strength and had merely knocked her out. The sword wound was the most life threatening. But, what he hadn't mentioned to the students, was the problem he saw with her soul. It was strange. Very strange.

Stein blew a puff of smoke into the air. He would have to do some research, try out a few theories and see what matched. Until then, it was just speculation and didn't do anyone any good.

"Yo."

Stein turned his head. A woman, maybe late twenties, was staring up at him with large gray eyes. He didn't recognize her as a teacher and she was too old to be a student. "Hello. Can I help you with something?"

In lieu of an answer, she stalked up to him, not caring that she was a good foot shorter, plucked the cigarette from his mouth and took a deep hit.

Stein watched, mildly curious.

The woman held her breath for a few seconds before breaking into a fit of coughing. She fell to the ground, rolling and emphasizing her apparent demise. When she was finished, and Stein waited patiently for this, she jumped to her feet and held the still lit cigarette back to him. "It burns a little." She put a hand to her throat. "And it tastes horrible."

His eyes never left her, and he took the cigarette and returned it to his mouth. "Well, smoking isn't for everyone. I admit, it does take a bit of getting used to, but I wouldn't recommend it."

She blinked up at him.

"Now, was there something I could help you with? While you seem comfortable enough around me, I don't know who you are and I wonder what you're doing at the Academy." Her escapade with the cigarette went overlooked.

"I don't know if you can help me…I haven't decided." She pondered, hiking up her shoulder and twirling a stray strand of midnight hair from her ponytail in her finger.

Her soul is completely erratic, bouncing around like it wants to escape. Obviously, she's full of energy and she is possessed of some form of insanity. Even her soul seems manic. Stein waited, not amused by her attempt at coy banter. If she wanted to ask him something, she was going to have to spit it out.

Taking a deep breath, the woman began to orbit him, skipping and chirping in bubbly tones as she did. "I haven't introduced myself. Madelyn Wayland, but you can call me Maddy." Her voice was incredibly girly. She watched the professor. His complete disregard for her former forwardness didn't go unnoticed. He had not reacted to her antics the way she had learned to anticipate. Now, her interested was captured. And no one suffered the interest of Maddy Wayland quietly.

"It's nice to meet you, Madelyn. And if you're done playing games, I'm interested to hear why you're at the Academy. And please be precise, I do have other things I'm supposed to be doing at the moment." She hadn't stopped moving and he followed her with his eyes as he continued to smoke.

"I'm looking for someone. You wouldn't happen to know a boy named Mack, would you?" She stopped suddenly, her face in his, their noses practically touching.

Stein closed his eyes, indifferent to the limited space between them. "Yes. I do know someone by that name. What do you want with him?"

She batted her eyes and bit her bottom lip, swinging her arms timidly. "To find him." She whispered playfully. She could feel his breath on her lips, but Maddy had never learned the rules of personal boundaries. She tilted her head to the side and stuck out her hand, tracing her fingers over his hair before forming a fist and knocking twice on the metal bolt in his head. "Whoa, fascinating."

He wasn't the type to play along, so her merely kept his gaze even, "You're not very observant of boundaries are you?" He observed.

"I like to think boundaries are made to be crossed." She giggled and then threw her head back, laughing. A rich laughter that she felt with her entire body. She wiped her eyes and had stepped a respectable distance from him. Her head tilted curiously, she squinted at him like there was something she was trying to notice. "You're not so bad on the eyes, you know?"

Stein chuckled at her bluntness. "And forward."

"I don't believe in dancing around the truth. If I want to say something, I say it. Life's too short. I mean, I pretty much died once so I should know." She began to teeter back and forth on her feet. "So. Where do I find Mack? Or are you going to make this difficult for me? I have ways of making you talk." She put her hands on her hips, maybe in an attempt to look imposing, but she just didn't pull it off.

"He's in the room behind me." Stein replied, having no desire to make it difficult for her simply because he didn't care. "But you can't go in there just yet. There's a patient that needs to rest. I have a feeling you would hinder that."

Maddy put her arms behind her back and began to dance around him again, her body twirling. "Probably a good idea. Will you wait with me? I'm new, I don't know my way around, and I don't know anyone else here." She stopped twirling and bent completely backwards, staring at him upside down. "Pretty please?"

Not charmed by the puppy eyes, Stein declined. "I have somewhere to be at the moment. But you should be fine by yourself. You seem like someone who can entertain themselves for quite some time." Not charmed, no, but definitely intrigued. If he had a better understanding of humor, he might have found her amusing. And maybe a part of him already did, but when he found something interesting, it usually didn't bode well for the subject of his curiosity. He better keep his distance from her, for her own good of course.

He turned to walk away, but she appeared in front of him. The cigarette hung from his lips and he began to get annoyed. She was not a simple person, he could see that much. And he could already see that avoiding Madelyn when she wanted to be seen was going to be near impossible. Still, he would take the challenge.

"Your name please." She smiled, looking hopeful and genuine.

"Stein." He replied.

Maddy winked. "I'll remember that. Because I like you."

"How nice." He said, trying to move past her.

"One more thing." She put her finger in the center of his chest. He looked down and then at her bright face. "Where can I get some food around here? And when do you normally go for lunch?"

Stein smiled. "Sorry, but I'm not interested in giving someone like you my eating schedule. I assume you'll only use the information to find me and force me into some sort of conversation over the meal. I have no desire to do so. Despite the fact that you are more intriguing than most of the strangers I meet, I don't think I can tolerate your chatter much longer." Nor control my itch to cut into such flawless skin and see just where you get all that spunky energy. A fluttery girl like you, with such a blunt and honest nature, so bursting with life, surely you must be even more fascinating underneath. Inside. Stein blinked and cleared his head.

Maddy stepped to his side and rested her head on his shoulder. "Oh yes, I really like you." She purred, as if he were the perfect model and color of something she would pick out at a store.

Stein, finally moving around her, retreated down the hall. Finally, able to breathe as he let the compulsion subside. Maddy walked back to the Dispensary, humming to herself. She reached into her bag and grabbed a ball, which she then began to bounce against the wall and catch. "Entertain myself…" She mumbled sourly. Then she caught the ball in her hand. "Oh, I guess I can." She giggled and continued to throw the ball harder and harder against the wall. As she continued to whip it back and forth, she took a knife from her belt and sliced it in half as it came at her. She looked at the halves on the floor sadly. "Oh man…not another one."

The heart monitor pulsed regularly, the sound both comforting and ominous. Mack was at Aya's side, his hand on top of hers. Liz and Patty were sitting in some chairs, Liz trying to tell Patty that a giraffe couldn't fit in the nurse's desk drawer.

"But…then what's that yellow thing?" Patty pointed at the item that had been caught in the drawer when it was being closed.

Liz groaned. "How would I know?"

"Then it could be a giraffe." Patty concluded.

Liz hit her forehead. "Fine, Patty. I guess it could be a giraffe."

Patty giggled and Liz then had to keep her from trying to play with it.

Kid was leaning against the window. His face was tilted toward the floor. He thought he would feel relief when he heard that Aya would be okay. And he did, to a certain extent. A definite weight had lifted in his chest, making it easier to breathe. But he didn't feel better. He kept his eyes on the tiled floor, part of him knowing that if he looked up he would try and organize something.

Mack stood up slowly. Liz watched anxiously, too concerned about him to even consider flirting, though he did look so sensitive when he worried. Mack's hand slipped off of Aya's and he turned around so that he was facing the wall directly next to Kid.

Taking a deep breath, Mack finally looked at him. "I know what you're thinking."

Kid didn't say anything.

Mack reached out a hand, his muscles seeming to strain at the movement, like it was causing him pain. He put his hand on Kid's shoulder. "It's not your fault."

Kid finally looked at Aya. Her face had been washed of blood and dirt, her body mostly covered by blankets. She looked peacefully asleep.

Mack continued slowly. "I've known Aya since she was two. She's my sister in every way but blood. And as long as I've known her, she would always put others before herself. That's just how she is." Mack swallowed. This was killing him, but he knew he had to get it over with. Damn pride. "But I think, if she was going to save anyone, she would want it to be you." He finished. He removed his hand. "We should let her sleep. I have to go and get her some things from home anyway." Mack nodded to Kid. "And you should get cleaned up a bit. We could all use some rest, ourselves."

Liz was nearly in tears and Patty was still eyeing the drawer. Kid nodded, but didn't speak. He couldn't find his voice, but he did agree that they should take the time while she was sleeping to get themselves straightened out. Since arriving at the Academy they had gone straight to the Dispensary and nowhere else. They shuffled out of the room and shut the door quietly. As soon as the door clicked into a place a voice screamed into their ears.

"MACK!"

Before he could turn, a woman had seized him around the waist and began to twirl him around. "Found you! Found you! Found—" She froze and pointed. "Butterfly."

Liz glared at the tall blue-haired girl as she spun. Mack squirmed to escape her grasp. Finally, the strange woman put him down and he stared at her with wide gray eyes.

The girl blinked. "Don't you recognize me? Huh? Remember?" She pointed at her face and then at his, as if trying to make him see a connection.

"Wha…but how…?" He blinked rapidly. "Maddy?"

She threw her arms around his neck. "Oh Mack, you remember me!" She held him by the shoulders, seeming to appraise him. "How's it hanging little brother?" And she bent down and pinched his cheek.

Grin took his time up the steps to Lady Chara's chamber. He wanted to plan what he would say before speaking to her. He wanted to word things carefully. Chara was temperamental and he didn't like upsetting her. No one did.

The door to her chamber was open, and he showed himself inside. He was one of the few people allowed to enter without expressed permission. Bowing politely he looked up, expecting to see Chara. And he did, her face taut and cold not even bothering to acknowledge his entrance. However, Grin did not expect to see Hyde.

Chara addressed Grin, still not bothering to look at him. "Grin. Is there something you wish to report?"

Grin glared at Hyde, who was lying on his back in the middle of the floor, arms and legs spread apart, making carpet angels. Grin shook his head. "Yes. I just returned from England, the site we were using to gather the Children."

"I know what the site is for. What is the point? What happened with Aya and her friends? Did you capture her?"

"Not exactly…"

"Then you killed her." Her voice dipped icily. She did not sound happy about this outcome.

"No…" He began, looking apprehensive.

Chara rose quickly. She was a tall woman, even without her heels. The dress she wore was a murky blue and flowed around her body like a bubble of water. "We need that child. I have stressed this. And now she has run all the way to the DWMA, to the Reaper himself. What do you expect me to do with only a partially complete experiment?" Her voice was rising in fury and dropping in volume. "Do you think my plans can continue without her?"

At this, Hyde sat up. He didn't care how angry Chara sounded, he couldn't resist speaking. "The partial experiment you had me look into when I got here?" He asked of his master. His head was cocked to the side.

Chara sat down with a frown. "Yes. She was the first trial. The start of my research."

"So this is that girl? All these years later…" He tapped a finger on his chin. "The one you severed. Hm…" Hyde's mismatched eyes were sparkling. "I have gone over these files. Such a delicate nature she has. All the information we have from just that little piece and we still can't capture her? We know her weakness. What is the trouble?"

Grin closed his eyes. "That may be true, but she is not alone. The girl has friends who are just as strong as she is. She has learned to use her weapon partner in the time we've spent looking for her. And she has grown in strength and skill. The damage to her soul seemed to heal well enough, and though the strength of it is weak, it fights to hold on to what is left. She cannot resonate, but she can fight. Her and that boy have always had a connection, and their souls still sync for her to fight. I doubt she would be able to use any other weapon, but the boy is all she needs. They work well together."

Hyde spun his finger in circles as Grin talked, rolling his eyes around like he was watching clothes tumbling over and over in a dryer. "Yes. Yes. Are you really so stupid? The friends are the weakness."

"I know that!" Grin spat. He was losing his patience. He looked to Chara to intervene, but she was resting her head on her palm, looking like she had the most infuriating headache. "She nearly destroyed herself trying to save one of them." He finished.

Chara lifted her head. "Nearly?"

"I…when I saw her approach I lessened the charge. I knew I was not to kill her. She would have been seriously injured, but her soul was still holding steady as I retreated. If she had been taken to a hospital quickly enough, she is still alive."

Chara looked pained. "You must remember I do not want her dead. If she should, and it had better not be by your hand, it is her soul I need. If she is killed in a fight, because she will never be taken quietly without necessary persuasion, I need you to collect her soul. If you lose her soul then we will have failed."

"I understand that—" Grin bit his tongue as he was interrupted.

"There is another way to weaken her. I think we should concentrate on the boy. Her partner. Once he is destroyed she will be defenseless. She cannot wield another weapon." Hyde took out an exact-o knife and began tracing patterns in the carpet. "She is already half dead, how hard can if be to finish the job?"

Grin crossed his arms hotly.

"Enough." Chara said, rubbing her temple with the tips of her fingers. "It doesn't matter. Finding her is all that we need right now. Hyde is nearly finished with his progress on the crystals. And the Children have been growing in number even faster than I had hoped." She looked at her nails. "Hopefully our little butterfly will do her job and save you all this failure."

Grin frowned. "The girl? I really don't think we can trust her."

"Of course we can't. But she has been programmed, molded and wired to do this one thing. She is to find Aya and bring her back to me." Chara shrugged. "If it doesn't work then it doesn't. But she will have a hell of a fight on her hands if she thinks she can just go back to being friends."

Grin nodded. "Then we just continue to hunt her down until we see results from her?"

Chara sat back. "That is the only option. We cannot move forward until we have her. Yes, she is our first priority."

Hyde started humming and he was now slashing violently at the carpet with the knife. "Find her. Kill her. Slice her. We need her soul and nothing more." Then he tipped back his head and laughed.

"Wait a minute. Brother?" Liz repeated, suddenly feeling a bit silly. Looking between them, she could see the resemblance now. Midnight hair, gray eyes, and thin pale faces. But then…their personalities were two different sides of an extreme.

Mack closed his eyes. "I thought…we thought you were dead."

"I cut it close." Maddy smiled and it was the first time she appeared sad. "But enough about that. Where's Aya?"

Mack looked at the door. "She's…"

Maddy nodded in understanding. "Is she okay?"

Her brother nodded, not knowing what to say to the sister he thought had died fourteen years ago.

Maddy extended a hand to Liz. "Hi. I'm Maddy. Mack's big sister."

Liz took it and smiled. "Yeah, you said that."

The bubbly woman turned to Patty. "Hi. I'm Maddy, Mack's big sister."

"Oh wow! Mack has a sister!" Patty giggled.

Maddy turned to Kid, but he held up a hand. "Yes, I remember. Maddy. Mack's big sister."

She frowned. "Actually, I was going to say that my name is Madelyn, but you can call me Maddy and that Mack is my little brother."

Kid opened his mouth then closed it. Suddenly, he thought he might have something more annoying than Excalibur. Actually, they might actually work well together and he briefly wondered who would drive who crazy first. "You just took what I said and switched the words around. It has exactly the same meaning."

Maddy winked at her brother and then gave Kid her attention, resting a hand on his head. "Oh, I really like this one. What do they call you?"

Kid took a step backward, brushing her hand off him. "I'm Death the Kid."

"But we just call him Kid." Liz explained. She liked Maddy already, even more now that she knew she wasn't competition.

Kid recoiled slightly when Maddy winked at him. Honestly, he found her mildly revolting. She did not adhere to symmetry in the slightest, but seemed to fight and put effort into being as off balance as possible.

"So." Maddy started pleasantly. "This Professor Stein guy. Is he single?"

Everyone stared at her, their jaws dropping with a mixture of shock, confusion, and a bit of the 'ew' factor. Because to them, well, eeewww.

"What?" Maddy shrugged, unsure why everyone found her question so horrifying. "He's kind of hot." She then ignored the groans and exclamations of disgust. Whatever, to each their own.

"Well, I'm sure you have a lot of catching up to do." Kid offered once he had swallowed the bile rising in his throat. "I'll leave you to it." He made a quick retreat. All things considered, he felt he handled himself well. Most notably being how completely asymmetrical she was. She didn't even wear the same shoes. One boot was laced only half way, the ends of the laces wrapped several times around her calf so the top hung open. The other was laced to the top and seemed to be a different style of boots that were black and not brown like the other one. Her pants were tucked into the boots, but her shirt was wrinkled and only half tucked in. Her tight jacket was lopsided. Her hair was sticking everywhere where it wasn't secured by a ponytail. He just wasn't in the mood to deal with someone like her. Kid tucked his hands into his pockets and ducked out of the hallway. Liz and Patty didn't try to follow him. Giving him some time alone was the best thing.

Once in his home, Kid mechanically moved to clean himself up. Shower, change of clothes, throwing away the dirty ones…normally, they could be cleaned, but these were beyond repair. A button on one of the cuffs had fallen off. Once he was finished he sat on his bed to decide what to do next. Nothing came to him. He thought about eating, but food made him feel sick. He considered getting some sleep, but the images in his waking mind didn't make him keen to see them embellished as a nightmare. He thought he might get some studying done, but who was he kidding? He didn't need to study. He was the son of Death. The only thing he kept coming back to was visiting the Dispensary. Finally, he concluded that he had no other choice. He wouldn't relax until she woke up and he was going to be there when she did.