Chapter 12: Black Blood Bonding: The Terrible Screech Epsilon?!

Yo gave his work a final few sprays from the can. When he felt satisfied enough, he stepped back and pulled the cloth off from over his nose and mouth. He looked up to admire his work. It was his own take on a piece of graffiti he saw on a mission to Tokyo. It was a black cartoon cat's head with stars for eyes. Two large gloved hands posed with random gestures were positioned next to the animal. Behind the cat was a random series of multicolored streaks in no particular order. Yo had decided to add his new trademark to the artwork: his new signature, the Double B. In actuality, it kind of just looked like an eight with a line drawn down the middle, but Yo didn't care. It was a good, hidden abbreviation for this affliction that had become his life.

Arondight sprouted up like a weed and observed Yo's painting. His eyes narrowed like he was concentrating very hard.

"I don't get it," he said.

Yo looked up at his bloody partner. "There's not really anything to 'get.' It's meant to be up for interpretation. How does it make you feel?"

"It makes me feel like hurting you cuz I had no idea you were such a freakin' nerd!" Arondight laughed and began to tug at Yo's hair.

"Knock it off!" Yo delivered a vertical punch directly into Arondight's snout.

He howled in pain and sank back inside Yo's body. Yo felt several tugs inside and watched as parts of his body seemed to spike out violently. Somehow though, he didn't feel anything besides a little freaked out.

"You tried that before and you know it doesn't work on me," Yo mocked.

"Dammit! How come Blood Rejection doesn't bother you? I never had this problem with Crona! He was always willing to let me beat up on him!"

Yo smirked. "Sounds like he was kind of a pushover."

Arondight shot one larger spike out of Yo's chest. "Shut up, kid! Crona was a way better swordsman than you!"

"You got real defensive all of a sudden."

Arondight grew back out of Yo's back and crossed his arms. He closed his eyes, as if remembering fonder times.

"That kid took a lot of crap from me… Our relationship was always one-sided because I beat him up if he didn't listen to me. That, plus the abuse he got from his mom, Medusa, really screwed him up. It wasn't until he and that gun girl got together that he actually started resisting me. He made himself an equal to me."

Yo clapped, moderately. "Such a moving story."

Arondight growled. The two of them were cut off by the sounds of multiple people screaming in the distance. Yo dropped his spray paint can in surprise. It made a loud clang as it hit the ground. He raced over to his motorcycle and put on his helmet.

"What the hell are you doing?" his blood asked.

"I'm going to see if I can help."

Arondight mumbled something under his breath. Yo sat on his bike and stomped down on the accelerator, sending him flying down the streets. He drove into an open area and got a clear view of Big Ben with the moon hovering over it, ominously. The clock struck midnight, the loud dong echoing across the town.

Yo approached one of the many open parks in London that the common folk tended to use for gatherings and parties. The sound of a gunshot exploded in the park and Yo pulled his bike to a halt. He stealthily walked over to the park's entrance and hid behind the shrubbery next to it. He drew Arondight and held the tip of the sword barely over the top of the bush.

"What do you see?" he whispered.

The end of the blade morphed into one of Arondight's eyes. Yo waited a moment, anticipating a clear picture of the situation.

"There's, like, twelve guys with guns," Arondight put simply.

Yo grumbled. So much for that. He moved along the hedge until he approached a tree. He climbed to the top and took his own survey of the land. Surely enough, there were several armed men surrounding the park. What Yo's partner had failed to explain was there was also a crowd of well-dressed civilians crowded into the corner. In the center of the park was an open-roofed gazebo. Standing in which was a man about seven feet tall. He was well-built and carried himself very well. He was dressed like an aristocrat. His face looked like what Yo would think a snake would look like had it became human, slender with beady, glowing eyes. His hair was slicked back and shined brilliantly. He had one hand around a young woman's shoulder, the other waving around a pistol.

The tall man traced the edge of the woman's face with the gun. "Such a gorgeous specimen. You'll do very nicely."

Tears welled up in the woman's eyes. Yo tightened his grip around the grip of his sword.

Immediately the well-dressed man's attitude shifted. He sneered in rage and shot one of his own henchmen, shrinking them down into a Kishin Egg. He shoved the young woman away and devoured the corrupted soul, licking his lips tenderly. He popped the bones in his neck and stood straight once again.

"Sorry about that, ladies and gents," he said. "Hyde has a… unique way of showing his affection."

His head snapped to the right, as if he were looking at something. "Shut up, Jekyll, you miserable punk!" he shouted in a completely different voice. "Don't think I won't start to eat you too!"

His head looked back to the left. "Be quiet! You're making the honorable Split Gang look like buffoons!"

This process of switching personalities continued for several more minutes. Yo found this man's condition both disturbing and oddly hilarious. However, he also deemed it wise to act quickly as to keep the two of them from causing any harm to the pedestrians.

"Got any ideas about how we should go about this?" Yo asked his partner.

"Yeah." Without warning, Arondight released his wings out of Yo's back and shot them up in the air. The Black Blood's mouth appeared across the flat of the sword and grinned maniacally. It opened up and let loose an eardrum shattering scream that echoed across the entire city. The civilians and gang members alike all grabbed their ears in pain. Luckily the civilians took the opportunity and fled from the park. Arondight launched Yo downward and landed him in the center of the opening.

"How was that for a plan?" Arondight said, proudly.

Yo shook his weapon around furiously. "You idiot! Now they all know we're here! We're sitting ducks!"

Three of the henchman gang members charged Yo with crowbars in their hands. Yo ducked and parried the opponents, then delivered a single slash horizontally, killing all three of them. Yo felt proud of himself for such a successful move, but his happiness quickly faded when he realized the rest of the mob had surrounded him with machine guns aimed at him. The man called Jekyll grinned maliciously.

"Men don't usually whet Hyde's pallet as well as women, but seeing how you scared off the rest of our meal, I'm afraid you'll have to do."

Instinctively, Yo hardened the Black Blood and covered his face with his arms. The roaring of gunfire filled the park square, and Yo felt the nonstop rain of bullets pummel against his body. They all bounced off, but they still packed quite a punch and soon Yo felt his strength begin to give out.

"We're in trouble here, kid!" Arondight shouted in Yo's mind.

Suddenly, Yo remembered something that Professor had said the night he got his new partner; something he had written off as mad drivel up until now. And since Arondight was inside Yo's mind, he already knew what the plan was. Together they yelled the chant that was famous among meisters and weapons.

"Let's go, Soul Resonance!"

Yo felt his Soul Wavelength build up and flow through his body and Arondight, rejuvenating them. He observed the changes occurring to his Black Blood weapon. The handle grew longer to that of a staff. The blade shrank in length, but became wider and more cross-like. A blue eye emblazoned the new weapon's blades. It was a mighty halberd. Yo adjusted his grip and shouted the name of his new weapon.

"Screech Epsilon!"
He broke out of his guarding position and began to twirl around the longer weapon at a speed he didn't think was possible. Every shot fired by the gang was being deflected and launched back at them. Soon only Jekyll, aside from the new collection of Kishin Eggs surrounding him, was left.

The leader switched personalities and Hyde screamed in defiance, unleashing a barrage of bullets. Yo stabbed the blade of Screech Epsilon into the ground. After lifting the weapon, he waited a few moments, letting the bullets uselessly bounce off him. Then the sound of ground breaking appeared and Hyde's shooting stopped. He looked down to see a solid black hand reaching out of the ground and grabbing his ankle. He reeled away in panic as a black duplicate of Yo crawled its way out from the soil. The Copy Yo delivered a swift kick to Hyde's torso and pinned him to the ground. Yo approached his prey and pointed his blade under Hyde's chin.

"Consider this world off the menu." He plunged the halberd into the Kishin's neck, causing it to retreat into its Egg form.

Yo sighed in relief. Arondight shifted from his weapon form and grew out of Yo's back. He opened his mouth and inhaled deeply. All of the Kishin souls in the area were sucked into his mouth like a vacuum.

The Black Blood monster smiled with his sharp teeth. "Man, I haven't had any souls in a while. Funny that you never realized how hungry you are until you start chowing down!"

Yo heard the clicking of heels. He turned to see the young woman from before who was being harassed by Jekyll.

"My, what a weird sight," she said in a voice as smooth as silk.

Yo looked up at his partner, then realize his mistake. He punched Arondight in the midriff. "Why didn't you hide, you idiot?!"

Arondight tugged on Yo's hair. "Well excuse me for trying to enjoy my food!"

The girl giggled. Yo forced his annoying partner off of him. "It's probably best you forgot you saw us. We're not exactly… supposed to be together like this."
"I'm Destiny Callahan," the girl introduced herself, cutting off Yo's words.

Yo reluctantly returned the introduction.

"You're going to the Academy starting tomorrow, right? Don't worry, your secret's safe with me. You did safe my life tonight, after all. I'll see you there!"

Without waiting for Yo to reply, Destiny took off down the street.

Yo lifted his hand and looked at his palm. That power was unlike anything he had ever felt before. And he could tell Arondight had liked the way it felt as well.

"Wonder why Crona and I never did anything like that…"
"Probably because most of your resonances with him were more one-sided," Yo responded. "Since our souls are more equal, we might be capable of more power."

Yo closed his fist and sat down on his bike. As he flew down the streets of London, the wind flowing through his hair, something tugged away at him deep within. That power was something else. It was incredible. It was almost…

Addicting.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

A few days later…

"Aw you gotta be kidding me!"

Jarid gently punched Max in the shoulder to shut him up. "What's got you all worked up, Maxio?"

Max growled. Aqiza explained, "The mission in London we were going to complete as practice for the tournament was already completed."
Krystal frowned. "That's unfortunate."

Max threw his hands up in the air. "There's gotta be some quick way for us to get stronger! We HAVE to win the tournament so the world can see how absolutely awesome I am!"

"There is a way."

Jarid, Max, and their partners turned to see Veronicka approaching them along with Darcy and Nik.

"What do you mean, blondie?" Jarid wondered.

Veronicka glared at him. "How many times must I ask you to stop calling me that?"

Jarid smiled and stuck up his hands in surrender. Veronicka was pretty, but she sure could be cold sometimes.

Max was literally shaking with excitement. "What is this super mazing power-up? I have to know!"

"It's one of the most powerful, if not the most powerful weapon ever created," Darcy said.

"Legend says wielder gains wings of light and power unimaginable," Nik added.

Veronicka blinked slowly and said, "Of course we mean, the Legendary Holy Sword,

Excalibur!"

[Hey guys. Sorry about the really super late upload. School is being a pain and I actually have a job now (ick) and that all tends to get in the way of typing and coming up with new chapters. I hope you all will forgive me if I happen to stray from my original pattern of uploading a chapter every week, but I promise that I will keep this story going until its completion. Thank you all and I hope you continue to enjoy Soul Eater Type 2!]

[PS. Props to anyone who can point out where Yo's graffiti came from. ;)]