(A/N: I'm going to be using italics for people's thoughts in this chapter….I think it'll make for easier writing and reading as well.)
I'm gonna puke. I'm gonna puke. I'm gonna puke. I'm gonna puuuuuuke.
They had been driving for 6 hours already and those words continued to ring over and over in Marie's mind. She felt so sick to her stomach that she actually wanted to throw up, just to make the awful feeling go away. But she couldn't. She couldn't let Stein worry about her health or find out about her pregnancy.
She looked over at Stein. She couldn't read him right now. His eyes were fixed on the road, and nothing else. All she could tell was that he was just trying to get through this. He was trying to focus on something, anything, that wasn't the madness. He looked so drained already. She wanted to cry for him but she knew that wouldn't do any good for either of them.
"Stein?" Marie finally said.
He jumped a bit at the sound of her voice breaking him away from the world he was in.
"Yes?"
"The kishin infected Celo with the madness and the entire town went crazy…everyone killed each other….but he's still there. This kishin must know about the DWMA. So why would he stay in one spot where we could easily catch up to him? Do you think he wants us to find him?" Marie said looking at Stein with concern and confusion filling her eyes; she absentmindedly touched her right hand to her stomach.
"It very well could be that he's waiting for us." Stein replied simply.
"Then we'll have to be extra careful." Marie said seriously. Suddenly her face turned into utter shock and confusion.
"Wh-what?" she stuttered.
The road had suddenly ended and in its place was a dense forest. It looked dark, confusing, and dangerous just from the outside.
"Celo is hidden within the forest." Stein explained. "We'll have to go the rest of the way on foot. It will be about 2 more hours."
"Ok…" Marie breathed. As she stepped from the vehicle, her hand flew up to her mouth.
She couldn't help it this time; the urge was too intense.
Marie fell to her knees, wrapped her arms around herself and threw up.
And after all that time to! Marie whined in her head.
"Marie! Are you alright?" Stein asked bending down and touching her shoulder.
"Y-yes…it's just been so much you know? The stress…hehe I got kind of car sick and plus I think I ate too much this morning!" she said smiling.
Stein stared at her deeply. His gaze was so intense that Marie felt a bit lost in it.
"Will you be ok?" Stein asked seriously.
"I don't really have time not to be." She answered getting back onto her feet shakily.
She turned and beamed at him.
"Let's go!" she said cheerfully.
Stein tried to force a smile but to no avail.
Marie could tell how hard this was on him.
"What about you Stein?...will you be ok?" Marie asked standing in front of him.
"I'll be fine." He replied.
There was no confidence in his voice though. It was just a stale answer that would do for the time being.
As the two began walking Stein's eyes wandered over to Marie. Even though she wasn't feeling her best and they were going to fight a kishin, Marie was still glowing. She was so beautiful and so strong. Her form seemed to be the only light in the thick woods. Her skin was so smooth, her hair like satin, her eye like sweet caramel, and that warming smile still graced her features. The way her body swayed was so enticing and attractive…so adorable and sexy at the same time but the confidence in her step made her thin frame look strong.
Marie would be a delicious specimen…I'd love to dissect that beautiful body….
Fuck!
Stein bit down on his tongue and clenched his fists. He couldn't go crazy already! Fuck. They had just gotten started and he was already feeling this way…they hadn't even reached the kishin yet.
I love Marie; I don't want to hurt her…I love Marie….that's why I have to see what her insides look like….I want to see every part of her….
NO!
Stein stopped stiffly in mid stride causing Marie to jump in surprise.
"Stein?" Marie asked slowly as she reached up and lightly placed her hand on his shoulder.
She gasped as Stein grabbed her hand that was on his shoulder and used it to yank her towards him. He wrapped one arm around her back and laced his other hand in her caramel locks and threw his face down towards hers to capture her lips. There was so much pain, worry, and angst in the kiss.
Marie was in so much shock that she could barely respond as Stein pushed his lips up against hers roughly, aggressively…sadly.
Just as she placed a hand on his cheek, he pulled away and stared at her intensely.
He looked so sad, so full of anxiety…so full of fear, that it made Marie want to cry.
"Marie…if I start to go crazy….leave. Don't try and help me." Stein said gripping her shoulders tightly.
"Stein…I'll stay and help you because I lo-"
"No!" Stein shouted with his eyes widening and pupils shrinking. He gripped her shoulders harder; almost painfully, but he seemed unaware that he was doing so.
"Listen to me! You need to get away if I can't stop!" Stein said in a panicked tone as his face inched closer to hers.
"But Stein…." Marie began.
He couldn't even seem to hear her. He was so entrenched in his fear and anxiety.
Then he let go. His arms hung limply to his sides and his silver hair masked his face.
"Stein…understand. I can't leave you. I love you too much." Marie whispered.
"If I were you…if I were you….under attack…I would hesitate to kill me if I were you!" Stein said with his teeth clenched.
"How can you even say that…?" Marie whispered sadly as she began to walk forward.
Great. Stein didn't even know what to say...so he didn't speak.
The two walked in silence now.
Marie looked around. The forest was almost intimidating in itself. There was a dark, dead, and empty feel to the area. It almost fell dooming. Marie looked in front of her and gazed at Stein's back. What he had said earlier had been so alarming…poor Stein.
Maybe I reacted wrong… Marie thought. He must have been really stressed to have said things like that….like about how if he were her that he wouldn't hesitate to kill himself.
Marie shuddered at the thought of Stein dying and her eye teared up.
I love him…I love Stein so much. I need him….we need him… Marie thought as she stroked her lower stomach gently.
God how fucking long had they been walking? Marie didn't really know when they would find this place. How would they know when they were getting close?
"Wh-what is that smell?" Marie stammered, her eyes contained small traces of fear.
Stein didn't answer but instead drew her closer.
He felt frightened in doing so though….should he really be pulling Marie closer? Is that what was going to make her safe? Or was pushing her away better?...he could already feel that horrifyingly familiar headache…the madness…
Stein was woken from his thoughts by a sharp gasp from Marie. He turned to see Marie with her small hands clasped over her mouth and her eye wide. He shifted his gaze into the direction in which Marie was looking.
Bodies. Bodies everywhere. Everyone was dead. Blood and guts. Flesh and bone. Men women and children. Bodies littered every inch of the village.
Stein brought a shaky arm up to the screw in his head and turned it a bit.
Fuck. He could already sense those old feelings coming back to haunt him. It made him feel sick. It made him feel horrible because…a part of him was enjoying this sight. A part of him was drinking in the morbid fascination of what was before him. His evil desires savored the scent of the flesh and crimson splashes of color on the ground…and it craved more…
"You're here! I thought you'd never arrive! What took you so long? I'm not good at waiting…" a playful male voice dragged out.
Stein and Marie stood close. Their eyes darted everywhere.
"I'm right here stupid. Boy Stein you're an even bigger freak than last time I saw you. How does that screw in your head feel?" the voice teased.
Stein and Marie's attention flew to the top of a medium sized building.
A man with shaggy mud brown hair sat drinking tea on the roof of the home. His blood red eyes peered out from under his long bangs to stare playfully at Stein and Marie. He was very tall and heavily built like a body builder. He wore no shirt and very worn bloody, and dirty, black pants.
"You know me…" Stein said darkly.
"How could I forget you? You played such a significant role in my life. But it seems you don't remember who I am one bit…such a shame…tsk tsk…" the man said shaking his head with a smile and taking another sip of his tea leisurely.
"Aren't you going to fight?" Stein growled.
"Fight?" the man said throwing his hands into the air dramatically.
"Oh dear. I didn't realize I was going to be expected to fight." He said with a fake shocked look.
"Kishin, you've killed many innocent people and devoured their souls. We'll be taking your soul now." Stein said harshly with his eyes narrowing.
"Killed them? I haven't killed anyone. They killed themselves…I was simply, well, a bad influence. But they killed themselves. I'm no murderer. So if you've come to punish me for that than I'm afraid you've come aaaaall this way for nothing." He joked.
"Stop it." Stein said darkly.
This time the man sneered and jumped off the building.
"My forehead still hurts Stein…" the man said as he cracked his neck back and forth.
"It still has a scar on it too…" the man finished.
"What are you talking about?" Stein asked.
"Oh my!" the kishin said ignoring Stein's question entirely.
"What is this delectable object you have with you?" he said huskily as his eyes ran up and down Marie's body.
"Stop looking at me like that!" Marie shouted.
"How can I help myself? You're so beautiful. You're not his girlfriend are you? Please tell me you're not." He said.
All Marie could do was glare at him as Stein pulled her closer. The kishin smirked.
"Did you know that Stein cuts open innocent things for fun? He likes to hurt innocent creatures and has no heart whatsoever. If he's told you that he has a heart for you, all that means is that he can't wait to cut you open." The kishin said half smiling but with a dark tone.
"That's a lie!" Marie cried.
"He stapled a cute little boy in the forehead…he thought it was funny…I bet he can't wait to do it to you." The kishin replied.
"I like her Stein…you're still a weird little kid…juuuust like I remember. You haven't changed. You're just an uglier more pathetic version of the old Franken. Be a good little brat and hand her over." The kishin said cruelly. More of his evil was showing now, as his eyes gleamed with lust and hatred.
"You make me sick!" Maire shouted.
"I'd never cut you open Marie. I'd treat you like a queen…I'll give you whateeeeever you want…." The kishin purred.
"Shut up! Every word that comes out of your mouth makes me want to puke!" Marie yelled back.
The kishin snarled and his face scrunched up.
"Very well then beauty…but I only hope that he doesn't jam a staple in your forehead and make you rip it out…it'll leave a nasty scar….like the one on my forehead." The kishin breathed with an evil smile.
Stein's eyes widened.
"Mark!" Stein shouted.
"Took you long enough. You're so stupid. How could you forget me?" the kishin purred.
Marie remembered. Stein had told her about a boy named Mark Aldridge who had picked on him at school…they got in a fight and he put a staple in his forehead.
"Why are you doing all of this?" Stein asked.
"Because….I want to make you lose your mind." Mark said laughing evilly.
"Once you go crazy you'll lose everything! I lost everything because of you! It's all your fault Stein! All your fault you fucked up little kid! It was all because of you and your fucked up little hobbies! You fucked up my school reputation as number one! It started there you bastard! After that got fucked up, my grades went down! My parents started to hate me! In a fit of frustration with me they went for a drive and got in a wreck! Now they're both dead and rotting! It allll got worse from there! I'm going to take away from you what you stole from me you sick bastard!" Mark said throwing back his head laughing uncontrollably.
"Marie!" Stein said.
"Right!" she replied as she changed to her weapon form.
"You're gonna beat me with that?...you've already lost Stein….you're going to need more than two people to take me down…" Mark said.
Then Mark's head shot up and his eyes darted around.
1…2…1….2….1…2! I can only see two people! But there's more! There's definitely more! It's almost untraceable…but I can sense it…there's another soul here! It's so faint…where the fuck is it? It's…right…RIGHT WHERE STEIN'S WEAPON IS! The soul wavelength is coming from that very spot! Mark thought quickly…then he understood and an evil smile spread across his face from ear to ear.
I'll take that young soul away from you Stein…no…I'll make you do it for me. Yes…you'll kill your hopeless squeeze and the child inside her….I'll make you kill them…
(A/N: Look out Stein and Marie you're in for a whole lotta hell! Thank you guys for reading! Keep reviewing too :D btw the village name Celo is Latin for "to hide". Thought it would be a good name.)