Disclaimer: If I owned Soul Eater, there will be 200% more gore.
'If you can't convince them, confuse them.'
- Harry S. Truman
If there was a definition of the biggest shock he could ever get, the current moment would be the definition of it. 'The blow in the head took the notorious manipulator away.' Soul Eater clenched his fists tightly, wanting it so bad to be a bad dream.
The stakes were raised, the pieces in place, and yet, the Queen wasn't present in the game. Madness was stronger than ever before and they needed her expertise, as much as he hated to admit it. She was an excellent leader, one that put others before herself, someone who knew the enemy Ashura the most, in and out.
He slammed the chair back, making the ash-blonde girl jump a little in fright. The albino had a deadly and resigned glint in his eyes, his posture sagging slightly as he didn't know what to do anymore.
Rushing out of the hospital room, Soul before the Thompson sisters could enter the place he had left, dragged them along outside. The pair wanted to protest, but sensing his desperation, they just went along to the direction of the gardens.
Liz and Patty Thompson sat down on the bench chair, boldly staring at the red-eyed boy, or their once nemesis. "So, what do you want to tell us, using such forceful methods?"
Soul ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. "Maka… she lost all the memories of being Revenge. Everything. She doesn't know who I am, or her gang life anymore."
The Brooklyn sisters stared at the leader of Gun Takers as if he was insane. A few seconds after the pin-dropping silence went by, the pair burst into spontaneous laughter as they smacked the albino boy, thinking that he just said a really good joke.
"Right…." Liz drawled, snickering. "As if we would believe such a thing."
"And why would I joke about such things? Do you want to go into that room and come out in despair or would you prefer me informing you beforehand?" He said coldly.
All laughter ceased again, before the two blondes pondered for a moment.
"Our leader… lost all her memories?" Patty asked meekly, before her lips curled into a huge grin. "IMPOSSIBREAU!" (A/N: Old readers, you'd know where this came from. Felt nostalgic and the need to put this in ;)
"Patty, he probably isn't lying…. And that is a serious problem." Liz said dryly, before she thought deeply about it. "You know quite well that the leaders are groomed and since she recently stepped up, no one is on par with her. But I'd wager that her body remembers, but her brain doesn't."
"That is a plausible theory. One doesn't simply forget the feeling of cold metal and blood being splattered all over them before. Perhaps we should try to get her to be triggered to remember." Soul suggested.
"Isn't she triggered enough?" Liz snorted. "I've seen the way she throws books at the people who had tried to mess with her. Poised, perfect, it would be an impossible miss. The physical sensations of her daily life are enough."
"It isn't. She doesn't don on her gear, nor does she command a crowd. She's more of a wallflower than anything else. We need something to lure her back into this."
"That's really fucking selfish of you." A soft voice cut in, making the albino turn his head swiftly to meet a pair of piercing cobalt eyes. The black-haired beauty looked like an avenging goddess, her usually soft features narrowed into a frown.
"It's not your choice! You don't have the right to do what she might not want to do! You didn't see how haunted she looked when she made first blood, and it doesn't mean her first kill being the murderer of her mother lightens the blow. It gave her that stupid namesake and expectations that she feared she could not meet. " Tsubaki ranted, shoving Soul back onto the bench, punching him square on the jaw.
"Just because we kill easily doesn't make us inhumane." Liz whispered, seeming to be muttering the sentence subconsciously.
Soul calmly gripped onto Tsubaki's arm and pushed it away, trying to find the right words to speak in order to not rile her even further. He reckoned that there would be weapons underneath her outfit and she would be able to murder him without anyone's notice.
"We have no choice either." He murmured. "Unlike you, I joined the gang in order to get the thrill, and soon for Maka, it was the same. It was to put ourselves in danger and even if we died, we feel like we deserve it to atone for our sins of killing many."
Soul met their tortured gazes. "We need her. Her brain is what makes her valuable, an extremely dangerous opponent to fight against and only she, given her current situation can help us look further than our current knowledge."
"The one who should be feared is not the one with everything, but the one with nothing for they have nothing to lose and the only way they have is scale up." The red-eyed gangster quoted.
The trio from Blade's Game sank to the ground in defeat, glancing in resignation at the albino.
"So what do we have to do now?"
Soul smirked, happy that things were finally put in the perspective that he had thought of. "We get the information that she had received years ago with a few tweaks in information to match the current situation of course. It will trigger the same reaction; to get revenge."
Patty looked at him suspiciously. "And what makes you think that she'll do the same thing?"
"Because she's Maka Evangeline Albarn."
"Papa, I'm fine. Quit with your pestering." Maka sighed as she slammed down onto the couch.
"Are you sure? You did just get into an accident! Papa should shower you with more love and affection!" With that line, he lunged in an ungraceful manner, wanting to embrace his daughter.
"Get away from me…." The ash-blonde muttered, her combat boots meeting his gut half way, sending him staggering back a few steps.
Spirit Albarn's eyes watered, curling his arm around himself as he rocked himself back and forth, playing with the miniature doll of Maka in the corner. "Maka-chan doesn't want papa anymore…."
Maka's jade green eyes softened before speaking the words she knew would soon regret. "I'm really okay Papa. The doctor said I will recover well with no side effects so you don't have to worry for me. Putting a roof above our heads is good enough, plus, I'll be staying home for awhile to ensure that I do not strain myself."
The red-head sniffled, giving his daughter a watery smile. "If you need anything, tell Papa okay? You should get some rest too."
"Fine," Maka muttered, although she knew she was sick of bed rest. The nurse practically strapped her onto the bed, not wanting her to move about just in case it might trigger a headache like the one that had her screaming.
'Well reading for awhile wouldn't hurt right?' She thought to herself, her fingers itching for the familiar covers of her escape object.
With that thought, she slipped into her room and kicked off her shoes before she delved deep into her newly acquired books.
After awhile, her door creaked open a little and out of instinct, she sent another book that was lying on her bed towards the gap which made the door slam abruptly such that the book wouldn't make contact with the intruder's face.
"What do you want Papa?" She asked, her attention still trained on her book.
"You have guests."
Just as he said that, the younger Brooklyn sister's head peeked in, before bounding across the room in a few strides and giving the ash-blonde a hug. "I'm glad you're okay!"
Maka sat awkwardly in Patty's hug, not sure how to reciprocate. She had never recalled associating with her, usually keeping her distance and off the radar for good purposes.
"Jeez, Patty, don't surprise Maka like that." Her older sister chided, smiling at her ruefully after pulling her pouting sibling away.
Sensing a rebuttal brewing as the rest of the gang entered her room; she stood up quickly and shut the door right in her papa's face. "What are you guys doing here?"
"What, no pleasantries?" Soul joked as he made himself home.
"Not for the likes of you." The green-eyed girl snapped back. "Get over yourself and tell me what you are here for. I've already clarified that whatever stupid things you want me to remember won't magically pop out in my head."
Soul gave his signature grin as he saw the defiant glint of hers behind her bangs, knowing that part of her was still there. That brought immense comfort to him which he never really understood well.
"Well, since you don't remember anything…. I wonder you'd be curious where your mother went off to."
She really did try not to flinch at the word 'mother' knowing that her mother had not been sending her usual letters of travels and souvenirs for a long time. She knew she came from a loveless family, well, it eventually grew to be.
She wasn't blind to the silent arguments and tension in the room when her parents were together, or the loud arguments in the living room she chose to ignore. If the fact that they had not been home till late night or even her father choosing to sleep on the couch was not a huge sign, she didn't know what was.
Soul tossed her the bonded brown envelope which she caught easily, tearing it open swiftly before she drew out the documents stored in it, only to meet a gruesome picture of her mother dead with a knife stabbed into her heart and blood splattered everywhere.
Her eyes widened as she threw the envelope onto the floor, her eyes scanning the information she had been given. A full report but had never been given to her family?
Department of Death City Police
Homicide Report
Death City, Nevada, 5 November 2011
Name of Person killed: Kami Albarn
Residence: Death City
Location of homicide: Entrance of Hook Cemetery
Day, Date, and Hour committed: Unknown
By whom reported: Officer John Kennedy
Date and Time reported: 4 November, 1o:40P.M.
Detailed Report
Victim of Homicide Kami Albarn has been presumed to be caught in the crossfire of a fight, with cuts on her upper left arm and abdomen, a stab wound near her hip bone and one straight through her heart which is her cause of death.
Multiple blood splatters have been sighted at the scene of homicide, but however, some of them did not belong to the victim and there were slash marks on the iron railing of the cemetery where it is believed that she cornered.
Murderer is still at large.
Maka struggled to make sense of what she was reading.
'This happened 2 years ago and I'm only told of it now?' She thought shakily as she backed against the walls of room, suddenly feeling like the enclosed space was suffocating her.
Murderer is still at large.
The words rang in her head, her fingers refusing to let go off the papers she was clutching onto. She couldn't deny it. Printed in black and white was her evidence for her absence, even with the weapon photographed and the places that were affected.
"Please go away." She said softly, as she knelt down, her eyes not complying with her commands of straying away from the bloodied image.
'Mama's dead. She's dead. How? What did she do to deserve it?'
"GO AWAY! GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE!" She screamed, making the gang jump back in fright. She yanked her hair with her free hand wanting to forget what she had just read.
Tsubaki approached the hyperventilating girl carefully, not wanting to scare her. She couldn't even imagine what was going in her mind, having absorbed such things so suddenly. She knelt down, prying the papers away from her hands, ignoring the pain as the girl desperately tried to push her away.
"Why the fuck won't you guys go away?" She whispered, the tears trailing down her cheeks. Tsubaki enveloped her in a hug, not caring that the girl was pounding her fists onto her back in attempt to get her away.
The hole in her head felt inevitably bigger, like she was missing something crucial in The time and space ones' mind could create. She had a feeling that she used to know this, but even with the images, it refused to trigger and allow her to know the forgotten memories.
"Maka are you –"Her father burst into her room, only to see the Brooklyn sisters blocking his view.
"Sir, please let her be. To you, she may not have lost anything, but the fact is that she lost pieces of her memories she can't remember. You being there won't help with her hysterics." Liz said solemnly, her eyes pleading for him to understand.
Spirit looked at them suspiciously, before closing the door again. He'd interrogate later, but he could feel like they were genuine from the protective stances they had.
When she finally stopped crying (or attempted to) she got herself out the camellia's hug, before pulling her hoodie over her head, feeling less insecure that her face wasn't in full view.
"Why wasn't I informed of this earlier?" She asked hoarsely.
"It wasn't that you weren't informed." Patty chirped.
"You forgot." Liz chimed in, correcting her use of words.
Maka bit her lip in frustration. She hated not knowing things. "Can you fill me in at what I forgot then?"
"Gladly." Soul smiled, meeting the trio's eyes to sit down as it might take awhile. He hadn't expected her cooperation so fast, thinking that he would have to read the documents out loud to her.
He slapped himself, cursing that he might have jinxed the situation.
"We need you to have an open mind, alright?" Tsubaki asked, smiling reassuringly at her to use her as the shoulder to cry on if needed.
Maka nodded, before waving for Soul to start.
"Kami Albarn. Code name Scarlett, the first leader and founder of the gang of Blade's game. She was an amazing person who was greatly respected in the trade and of course, a horrifying enemy to have. You could basically say that she was the Queen of Mafia or gangs alike."
"You have got to be kidding me." Maka burst into fits of laughter. "That's the best joke yet. Mama a gangster, involved in mafia? You should become a comedian except you would be a failure."
Soul sighed, before throwing out various pictures of Kami Albarn. "Can you not interrupt? Trust me; your mother definitely wasn't a pacifist, with the way she killed mercilessly."
Maka definitely wasn't going to lie; she thought her mama looked pretty badass in the pictures.
"Are you sure they aren't photo shopped? Wait, never mind, you don't have such capabilities with your non-existent brain cells."
Soul's mouth twitched a little, wanting to charge at the girl so badly. She certainly didn't lose her smart mouth or sharp tongue that had words flowing out of them that could push one's buttons easily. He urged himself to calm down, before continuing, glaring at the trio that was giggling like crazy.
The black-haired beauty turned her laugh to a cough while the sisters desperately tried to muffle their laughter.
He clenched his fists as he took three cleansing breaths before speaking again. "The reason why it wasn't widely known was because the gang that murdered your mother in cold blood was because they had connections and they wanted to use the fact that the rest of the opponents didn't know that their head was dead."
"Being a genius yourself, you should know that the element of surprise is something that is really useful, but however, his plan failed because you were informed of the death the earliest and you counter-attacked. You've been trying to chase him down ever since, in the same gang that your mother created."
Soul prayed that she hadn't caught the partial lie, although she looked like she was in disbelief from the start. He could almost see the gears in her head cranking as she digested the words being thrown at her.
"You see, the reason why we want to eradicate the Madness Gang is because they have the capacity to destroy and kill in mass numbers and they don't stop until they have reached their acquired agenda. One wrong move could land half of us dead."
"But now…." Liz spoke, meeting her leader's eyes, "Is your choice if you want to continue to aid us to destroy the murderer of your mother."
"Are you serious?" She looked at them in amazement at their stupidity. "I appreciate you for telling me what I have forgotten, but I'd just be a burden because I have indeed forgotten."
"It's not the memories that we need you for." Patty said with glee, her eyes wandering back and forth the room.
Tsubaki tapped the ash-blonde girl's head lightly. "We need your brain for the strategy. You were an excellent planner when you were in the gang and even if you don't remember, such skills don't leave you ever so suddenly."
"But who's the leader of Blade's Game?" She wondered out loud.
"Tsubaki of course. Although it's not customary, in fact it's not allowed to know others' identities for obvious reasons, in order to make your transition back to the gang easier, we'll make an exception." Liz muttered a part of the sentence under her breath, plastering a smile to cover it up.
"I can see why." Maka looked at the cobalt-eyed girl deviously. "Her build is clearly made for fighting and I'm pretty sure she has weapons hidden around her body easily and plus, she's the kind of leader that supports and steps in when it goes way out of hand."
Tsubaki flushed slightly. "You compliment me. I could never beat the legacy of the third."
"But who is the third?"
The tension in the room thickened, so much that Maka felt like she could cut it.
"She is not to be spoken of yet. Time will tell." Liz said in a matter-of-factly tone, patting her shoulder comfortingly. "Every gang has its own secrets, and no worries, you didn't even know it either."
'They're hiding something.' Her subconsciousness whispered. Maka vehemently pushed it away, knowing that one day, she will know ever faucet of the truth, even if it meant going through dangerous lengths to get it.
"I suppose you will accept the offer to help us once again? It's not often you get two gangs approaching you for help." Soul said quizzically, flashing a toothy grin.
"And where do you play a part in this?" She asked dubiously, pointing her book threateningly at the albino.
"I'm the gang leader of the other clan of course." He said cheekily.
"They must have really bad judgment…." Maka muttered.
"What's that suppose to mean?" Soul asked, offended.
"Do the math, sweetheart." She said in a sickly sweet voice.
"You know nothing."
"Oh, I know enough alright."
"You forgot, remember? You don't know how good I was."
"Wow, low blow. Right now you're sounding like the obnoxious what's-his-name? Bull*Shit?" (A/N: Sorry Black*Star fans, I couldn't resist XD)
"You mean Black*Star? And it's not a low blow. It's a fact." He stressed.
"Fabulous. You actually remember names. That's an upgrade. Now Soul, do you know what quiet means? Heck, do you know how to spell it?" Maka taunted.
"Of course I do. What do you treat me as? An idiot?"
Maka placed a hand over her heart, wiping away fake tears. "Oh my goodness, you finally learnt to take hints. Sharky is all grown up now."
"Oh shut up woman."
"Ran out of insults, have we?"
"No, I've decided you weren't worth my time to argue and I have better things to do rather than read a dictionary of insults."
"That totally wounds me."
"They're at it again sis." Patty giggled, her head moving back and forth comically as she watched the pair fight it out verbally.
Liz sighed in exasperation. She hoped that there could be peace now that she forgot the feud, but it was clearly not the case. "Enough of your bickering. You can get a room later and continue because the sexual tension is clearly getting ahead of you."
"We are not—"
"STOP COPYING ME!"
"YOU'RE COPYING ME!"
"CAN YOU NOT!"
"You idiots better shut the hell up." Patty bellowed in her maniacal voice, the pair instantly going quiet.
"So, will you join?"
"No. Get out of my house. As much as I love Revenge, I refuse to pull people down to Hell with me."
Holy crap, that was 3529 words right there *being a proud mama* I hope you've enjoyed the chapter as much as I loved writing their silly arguments ;) And hopefully, you understand why the memory-losing was necessary.
Imagine: Yuu muttering random words and giggling as she thought of it. Yeah, I basically went psycho for you guys.
Loved the entire thing? Recommend to others and Review of course :D Share your little jokes and I may put it in. Dedications will be involved!
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Read my other stories! There's Awaiting Death, SoulxMaka Love is Complicated, Mysterious Changes and To Trust!
Till next time ;)