It was an oddly warm night in Death City when Beowulf was walking down from the bookstore with Artemis, both talking eagerly about the books they had bought and hoped to read. The grey-haired man had removed his fur coat and rolled up his sleeves while he carried more than half the books he and the purple-haired woman had purchased, and he was still unsticking his eye patch from his face every now and then. Artemis decided to change the subject to try to distract herself from looking at the nasty scar that occupied the place where Beowulf's left eye should be.
"So where did Dante say he was gonna be tonight?" she asked, trying not to look at Beowulf's scars.
"Chupa Cabra's," answered Beowulf shortly while he adjusted his eye patch yet again, attracting the passersby's gaze. "I still dunno why the boss prefers to distract himself with the feminine body when there're many other things he can do, though."
"Well, you know Dante," replied the bespectacled woman with a shrug. "Once a ladies' man, always a ladies' man."
"Though Lady doesn't seem to wanna share him," chuckled Beowulf before he let out a sneeze. After Artemis wished him blessings, the scarred man's phone rang, and he quickly picked up, saying "Yes?"
"Gesundheit," replied a man's voice, and the call ended there. Beowulf's eye widened while he put the phone back in his pocket, and Artemis looked at him, concerned.
"Who was that?" she asked, noticing her companion's expression. "What happened?"
"I think I know that voice," answered the grey-haired man, looking around nervously. "He only called to say 'Bless you,' though…"
"That's kinda creepy…" The Laser Gun shuddered, also looking around. "Are you sure it's not just a prank call?"
"If it was, they had a damn good timing," replied the Light Armor, who was now sweating nervously while he and his partner resumed their walk back to their apartment, although their step was now lighter. Suddenly, they bumped into a pigtailed girl and her white-haired partner.
"Oh, excuse me," said Maka, bowing a little before realizing whom she had bumped against. "Oh, Artemis! It's been a while!"
"How's it going, Maka?" replied the braided woman, quickly changing her expression so her friends didn't notice the slight worry that was clouding them a few seconds ago.
"Well, you know," said the sandy-haired girl with a slight cock of her head to the side, "business in the other branches is going better; I've a trip to England to check on the Eastern Europe division before heading on a mission in Spain next month."
"Oh, I love Spain! It's so lively!" said Artemis, smiling and clapping a little in excitement.
"I know!" replied Maka with an equally wide smile. "Though personally, I prefer Puerto Rico to spend some vacations in…"
While the ladies talked happily to each other, Soul looked at Beowulf and at the large bag of books. The red-eyed boy looked at the gray-haired man and nodded silently with a grin at the man.
"You read a lot?" asked Soul Eater.
"Not as much as my friend here," replied Beowulf, "but yes, I do. I find it distracting from the boss's shenanigans every once in a while."
"So Dante is a naughty boy, too?" chuckled the Death Scythe, showing his unnaturally sharp teeth. "How'd you meet him?"
"Well… Let's just say it had to do with his old man."
"That stench… I know it!"
The white-haired boy raised his arms and took a sniff, never looking away from the winged monster that had landed in front of him. He then rolled his eyes, smirked, and said, "Gimme a break; next time I'll try and wear some cologne, okay?"
"It's the stench of betrayal! The odor of that accursed Sparda! I will annihilate every last blood relation to Sparda!" The monster roared, also baring its fangs at the youngster that took a few steps back after one of the Lightbeast's claws almost reached him.
"A son cleaning up his dad's mess, huh? Where've I heard this story before…?" said Dante, pulling out his guns with a smile.
"And he blinded me, forcing me to retreat," finished the scarred man.
"Just like that?" asked Soul, scratching his head in confusion. "You wussed out on him and he got you?"
"Not exactly…" said Beowulf, moving his head from side to side with a small shrug. Both males looked at their companions, who were still talking about books more than anything else, and they decided to walk out on them, headed for Dante's apartment to leave their purchase there.
When they reached the apartment, Soul noticed it was much bigger than the standard apartments—obviously because there were 11 people living in it. When he and Beowulf entered the place, he saw Agni and Rudra playing video games happily together, yelling at each other in the way brothers do when they compete; Revenant was there as well, and he was chatting with Cerberus in the kitchen while at least one of the dog's heads panted happily, waiting for its meal.
"I'm home, gentlemen!" called out Beowulf happily, and the present residents greeted him in their own way. "I also brought Soul Eater to visit us!"
"Hey, guys," said Soul, waving at the boys who had paused the game to look at the newcomer and at Revenant and Cerberus, who were both munching on some DFC (Death Fry Chicken) that was leftover from the night before.
"Soul Eater!" said Agni, running to fist-bump with the white-haired boy. "It's been a while!"
"Indeed, Agni," said Soul happily before turning to Rudra, who was still holding his controller and waiting for Agni. "What, no 'hello' or anything, Rudra?"
"He's been losing against me for, like, the last hour or so," chuckled the red-haired boy while he led the Death Scythe to the living room. "Rudra, bro, you can at least be a gracious host!"
"Right, sorry," muttered the cyan-haired boy before he shook Soul's hand. "I can't seem to master these controllers… it's not the same as I'm used to."
"What are you used to, then?" asked Soul, curious.
"I'm more of a PC gamer myself," replied the Wind Scimitar, looking back at the screen. "A Keyboard and Mouse set is so much easier than this stuff!"
"Really?" asked the Death Scythe, crossing his arms and with genuine interest. "Funny, Black Star also plays in his laptop mostly, though that's cause he can't afford consoles or games."
"Torrents, then?"
"Torrents indeed," replied Soul with a chuckle.
Maka and Artemis were still talking about the half of the books the latter was carrying when they noticed they were alone.
"Why, that asshole, Soul!" growled Maka, irritated.
"Not very gentlemanly, coming from them," commented Artemis, removing her glasses to clean them. "D'you think they went to your place?"
"Knowing Soul," replied the pigtailed Meister, "they probably did. Shall we go check on them, then?"
"Yeah, that'd be great," said the braided Weapon before the pair walked to Soul and Maka's apartment. They commented on how men these days had no chivalry and such, and also on how some men were so attractive but dense relationship-wise. Maka pulled out her apartment keys from her coat's pocket and was about to open the door when she and Artemis heard some odd noises.
"The hell is going on in there?!" said the sandy-haired girl, placing her ear on the door to hear the moans more clearly. What she heard was beyond disturbing:
"Nyah~ Oh, fuck yeah, take me right there~~! Ahhn~" said a feminine voice loudly, and the sound of what was unmistakably a spank was heard. The female moaned again, "Ohh~ Yes, spank me harder~ I've been so bad!"
A man's voice replied to the moans. "Yes, you have. And I'm here to punish you, you little minx!" The sound of skin slapping quickly against skin was heard more loudly, and Maka's jaw fell even lower.
"A-aahn~~! Oh, my god~! I'm in heaven, nyaah~~!"
"No, Blair; you're in Hell, and I'm the Devil!"
"Y-yes, you are~~ You're dragging me so low I can't consider myself nothing more than your pet~!"
"Oh, yes you are, baby~ And you're rockin' it!"
"What… the… fuck?!" muttered Artemis, who had also stuck her ear to the door and was wearing a disgusted face. "I can't believe he wouldn't even have the decency to introduce that bitch to us!"
Maka's green eyes were fixed on the door, however, and she looked horrified. "N-no way…"
"What is it, Maka?" asked the purple-haired woman, looking at her shorter companion.
"That's no bitch," replied the girl, not looking away from her door. "That's a cat."
"Well, I ain't gonna get technical on you now," said Artemis with a shrug, but Maka interrupted her again.
"No," she said. "I mean Dante's literally fucking a cat!"
"Eh?"
"Blair is a magical cat that can transform into a human…" explained the Meister quickly. "But she's still a cat!"
Both girls looked at each other with stone faces, not saying a word for about twenty seconds. There was a sound of something shattering, Blair's giggle, and Dante's seductive growl, which made Maka's face flush at the thought of the Demon Hunter dancing the horizontal tango. Artemis noted the shorter girl's expression and cleared her throat, saying, "Well, um… should we leave those two to their stuff…?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah… um," Maka and Artemis moved around, trying to shake the awkwardness off while Blair's moans became screams of pleasure and the sound of a sofa being crushed under too much force was heard. Maka finally rubbed her temples and said, "Ugh, let's just get outta here…"
"Yeah…"
Both girls turned around to head to Dante and his weapons' apartment when they bumped into a certain four people they didn't expect: Black Star, accompanied by Ebony and Ivory, and Nevan. The blue-haired young man was the first to speak in surprise.
"The hell are you doing here, Maka?" said he, scratching his head in surprise.
"Well, technically I live here, Black Star…" replied the pigtailed girl, resisting the urge to pimp-slap him for his stupidity.
"Technically?" asked Nevan, looking at Artemis for an explanation.
"Well, the apartment's occupied for now," replied the purple-haired weapon, crossing her arms. "One of its habitants decided to lock the door on us."
"What are YOU doing here, though?" asked Maka, looking at the four suspiciously. Ebony was still showing her bra underneath her open jacket, Ivory's breasts were more than half-exposed inside her open corset, and both sisters and Black Star were sweaty for no apparent reason.
"We're looking for Dante," answered the redheaded woman quickly. "We lost him at Chupa Cabra's and it took us a while to track him down to this… building…" Nevan's eyes widened when Artemis made a quick gesture with her lips, pointing them towards the door in the middle of the hallway. "No way…"
"What is it, Nevan?" asked the gun sisters, looking at the curvaceous woman, who was now wearing a slight grimace. "Is Dante with that chick he was dancing with in the Club?"
"What were YOU doing in the club, though, Black Star?" asked Maka, who put her hands on her hips and looked at the green-eyed boy dead in the eye. "Aren't minors not supposed to go there?"
"I snuck in," said the Assassin with a confident shrug. "It was easy, plus Ebby, Ivy, and I were looking for him for a while to tell him… what, again?" he directed his gaze to the sisters, and Ebony snapped her fingers quickly.
"That's right!" said the dark-skinned girl, looking a bit more alarmed now. "Artemis, Yamato's in town!"
"WHAT?!" asked the braided woman and the redhead at the same time. Nevan continued, "Why didn't you say that sooner?!"
"We needed to tell Dante first, to see if he'd consider it a threat or not…" answered Ivory, playing with her index fingers.
"Is Nero around?" asked Artemis, adjusting her glasses. "Maybe the little moron just came for a visit and Yamato got lost?"
"No," replied Ebony, turning serious. "Nero didn't seem to be around, plus Yamato attacked us!"
"Oi," interrupted Black Star, crossing his arms and frowning, "I don't mean to interrupt, but we chased him first, so he had a right to defend himself."
"Is that so?" asked Nevan, looking at the sisters, both of whom looked down and nodded slowly. "Girls, I'm disappointed. I thought you'd at least say hi to him for me."
"He was observing Black Star in the hospital wing, Nevan," noted Ivory. "I don't think he wanted to ask you out again…"
"Darn, and he said he'd miss me," said the redheaded woman rolling her eyes, continuing the irony. All of her partners crossed their arms, and Nevan then added, "Fine, but you girls could've texted us, or something."
"We… didn't think of that," said Ebony, looking down. Ivory looked like she'd just been slapped with a cold dose of reality, and she looked down too.
"He came to you?"
"Aye, and even though he seemed calm and composed, I noticed the Madness that was emanating from him."
"How come you weren't affected?"
"Believe me, Professor Stein, I was."
Kid had called for a faculty meeting in his late father's office and Stein, Marie, Sid, Nygus, and Azusa were all looking at each other worriedly when the office's mirror lit up and Tezca Tlipoca appeared on its surface.
"Sorry I'm late," said the masked man with his Latino accent. "It took me a while to find a good mirror to transmit in. Bathrooms are horrible!"
"It's okay, Tlipoca," replied Stein, whose hands were in his coat's pockets.
"What'd I miss?"
"Remember Dante and Rebellion?" said Azusa, crossing her arms.
"Oh, yeah; the guy that had the emo black hair?" said Tezca with a chuckle. "I remember he used to hit on you a lot, but you preferred his weapon Rebellion."
"You liked Rebellion, too?" said Marie, looking at her friend.
"It's in the past now," snapped the bespectacled woman, whose cheeks flushed. "Dante's looking a lot better now, though…"
"We're talking about Yamato here, you know," commented the young Shinigami aloud, and Sid cleared his throat.
"That's right," said the zombie. "We shouldn't dwell too much on the past when the present has so much importance."
"Oh, you said Yamato?" asked the person in the mirror. "Never really liked him; what about him?"
"He's hanging around the city, apparently," answered Nygus. "He came to Kid and said he'd… what did he say?"
"He wants a meeting with Black Star." Death the Kid adjusted his shirt's cufflinks while sighing. "Honestly, though, if it was only just a meeting, I'd've allowed it. However, I saw in his soul a strong sense of purpose, as if he was set on doing something very important to him. Not to mention I read reports that after Vergil's disappearance, many people wielded him and lost their souls to him until a young man named Nero partnered up with him; though that was only temporary."
"So all we need to do is find Black Star and make sure he's safe?" asked Marie, rubbing her belly. "Seems simple enough."
"You don't know how much Yamato's changed," replied Kid severely, and Stein took off his glasses to clean them. "His soul practically oozes with the Madness of Power, almost on par with Black Star's. I didn't know Vergil, but I assume his catchphrase must've been 'I need more power!' if they influenced each other as deeply as Dante influences his weapons."
"Though Dante's a nice guy," interrupted Tezca, shrugging. "I think his weapons would have more liberty than Vergil's, in any case. Vergil was a bit of a control freak when we studied together… kinda like you, Azusa."
"Be grateful you're in a mirror, Tlipoca," snapped Azusa while adjusting her glasses with a click. She then turned to the rest of the staff and said, "Well, for now, all we need to do is keep a lookout for Yamato, and make sure Black Star doesn't find him—"
"Wait," interrupted Stein. "I'm starting to think we're too late for that."
"How come, dear?" asked Marie, looking up at her husband.
"When Black Star fought Dante and lost, the kid said he'd gain more power to defeat him," explained the stitched man while turning his bolt with a loud cranking noise. "He'd been more reserved about his might before that, so I assume his newfound lust for power must have to do because Yamato found him already."
"Then we need to find Yamato, and quickly," said Sid. "We can't risk those two meeting again. We don't know what might happen next…"
"I'll have Maka monitor the city with her Soul Perception," added Stein quickly. "She could track the Kishin's Fear wavelength all the way to the Moon thanks to her resonance with Soul Eater, so I trust she'll be able to sense a second Madness of Power wavelength within the city."
"But we still don't know what he's been trying to do, guys," said Azusa. "So remember not to hurt him; we'll only approach him to interrogate him civilly."
"I dunno if Dante is aware of his brother's weapon hanging around," added Marie, "but we should give him a heads-up just in case. Maybe he's more aware of Yamato's intentions than we are, so we must count on him to find him as well."
"We should also tell Spirit," noted Kid. "The imbecile must be out partying again, and he missed the meeting again."
Finally~! I feel like it took us way too long to post this chapter but college is a bitch plus we're working on a research project (and no we're not getting paid unfortunately XP ) and we're pretty much losing a lotta time studying and shit instead of writing for you guys ;-; but here it is~! about time, too~ Yamato's around, and nobody knows where he vanished off to! that katana's as dodgy as that one skinny kid that beat everyone in dodgeball back when I was in 8th grade XDDDDDD
still~! Dante hooked up with Blair?! ...was she a virgin? I don't know, I just work here :P anyways, I feel bad for Maka and Artemis... poor girls had to hear all that stuff (and yes, girls DO say that shit when having sex) o-o what else...? oh, yeah, and Black Star was hangin' out with Ebony and Ivory and stuff looked kinky XDDDDD poor Tsubaki has no idea what's going on, though, does she? .3. we'll find out in the next chapter!
~Humbert
Also, in case you guys do ask, Dante IS doing illegal stuff with Blair, if we're going to get technical.
-Klaus