Dan here. Look we didn't have time to write all we wanted to get done so we've got some cliff hangers but other than that we think the whole thing turned out okay, we'll answer some questions next week if your not all that good at foreshadowing. Also I try'd to acknowledge the holidays in this weeks chapter, which actually turned out to be a challenge for some reason. Anyway enjoy. All the very beast, and happy Holidays

(December 22, Death City)

"What of the Albarn team?" Asuza sat at her new desk sighing papers. Spirit sat across from her, he reclined back in the uncomfortable wooden chair demonstrating his unnatural ability of being able to relax in the worst of places. "My daughter and whats his face...soul? Isn't that his name? Also Stien's kid. uh.. their in japan hunting up a piece of tech to help ward off the madness wavelength." he stared at a Christmas decoration halfheartedly taped to the window. "good tell me more." she pressed. "well its in sector seventeen. You were the death scythe over in japan I'm sure you heard about it." Asuza glanced up at him "Uhm..yes of cores." "Wavelength research center. So what were looking for is a piece that they left behind when they were forced to drop research after the war crimes that were committed at one of their other research facility's. Papers say their on a 'retrieval mission for the UN, so it should be smooth sailing if there caught snooping." he fiddled with the set of newton balls on her desk. "So that that's it." Asuza nodded, she kept working in silence. "So...yeah" spirit leaned back in the chair. "Are we still going out this evening?" he asked in a sheepish manner. Asuza paused, she was an expert in hiding her emotions but things like this always tripped her up, a flustered flush crept across her face, she pushed her glasses up and looked away "We shouldn't talk about that here, its unprofessional."

("sector 17" somewhere in japan)

An explosion rocked the foundation of the sprawling abandoned compound. Maka was blown through the tin ceiling by her assailant, she soared through the air and crashed back down through a Skylight into a pile of rusted scientific instruments. Clown number one lumbered feet away standing perfectly still in the place he had struck her. Slowly it craned its head "Your not qualified, don't make me laugh." it said in a slow robotic voice. It kicked one of its legs forth and toward her like it were made of elastic, it landed ten feet away from her and he shot forth bringing himself front and center. Suddenly the canopy of rusted drip stands and floodlights were cut down in one swift blow. Maka stood above the wreckage with her sythe, her expression was stern. "You didn't die." the clown stated like Maka hadn't noticed. Maka didn't waist time talking to it. It was an obstruction, an obstacle designed by the previous occupants of Sector seventeen. The clown was a rather macabre automaton, its ability to twist its self and stretch to impossible lengths made its a challenging opponent, this was thanks to its ground braking "elastic artificial muscle fibers". He was the fail safe, the final security system to keep its masters treasures locked away. Then there was another explosion, yet another burst through a wall landing close to clown number one. Crona drug her blade on the ground and stepped through, she giggled wiped fresh black oil off of her blade. clowns one and two had sustained damage their robotic frames bussed in popped with frying circuits, clown number one inparticuler had lost its arm. "This fight is over. Your not going to split us up again!" soul shouted from his weapon form "The fight will be over when you are all proven unqualified" clown number two said twisting itself upward. "you will be tested." the two began to morph together in a flurry of twisting robotic limbs and sickening noises. Maka and Crona stood watching in determination, not so much on Crona's end, she looked on in sheer madness. After a few moments a new enemy stood before them, Clown omega, the final resort of sector seventeen. It spotted three arms (excluding the one Maka had destroyed) and two head an extra set of legs protruding from its back so it may keep moving if its knocked on its back. Crona stepped forward "This is all wrong, clowns are supposed to be funny.." she twiched "maby ill find out why after iv taken you apart!" she charged at it swinging her blade around. The clown turned her direction and opened its mouth emitting a scream. Crona stopped in her tracks as her eyes fluctuated. The omegas fist slammed into her like a wrecking ball, Maka ran forward and lept int the air sinkgin the scythe right between its sholder blades. The clown twisted its body and caught her in ts palm ans slung her to the ground pinning her under its massive hand. The clown prepared to finish her, it closed it sharp fingers together into a razor sharp cone shape but it was quickly sliced off by some flying object. Across the room Crona had cut open her palm to use a black blood projectile. Maka was able to crawl out from the clowns grip, she was directly behind the left arm, the arm that held it off the ground. She hoisted her scythe high and sliced threw the arm sending the clown crashing to the ground.

(thirty minutes later)

Maka and soul sat on one of the clowns severed arms battered and bruised they were having a well earned rest. "It's always has to be at the end, whenever we get close to a goal. Then suddenly a big monster pops out." "Whda-yu mean?" Maka turned her head at him "You'v never noticed? Its so predicable! I'm not even surprised when it turns out theirs some kind of trap or guardian, weather its a magical oddity or-" she paused she spit up a tooth and a bit of black blood. She sighed "..Hay Crona dose your dad do dental work?" from one of the severed heads a steady stream of parts were being tossed into the air. Crona poked her head up from the inside, a screwdriver clinched between her teeth. "hrrm?" Crona crawled out of the massive robotic skull, she stuck the screwdriver back in her poket "did one of your pieces fall out?" soul raised an eyebrow "if that's just an interesting was of saying she lost a tooth then yeah.." "just jam it back in where it came from, the black blood should take care of that." Maka seemed taken aback by that statement. "y- yeah ill just do that later.." she put it in her coat pocket. She slid off of the arm and landed on her feet, She dusted her self off. "now lets find what we came here for."

(meanwhile)

It was late evening in death city when Medusa finished some holiday shopping. Medusa was still adjusting to her new non-supervillan lifestyle, where usualy she would have just smashed in the store windows and taken what she wanted it seemed like a mad Idea to use money. "Is that what people use money for? All this time I had just been taking it. I didn't know people BOGHT things with it." she said not bating an eyelash. Stien looked down at her with a look of callused numbness to the ignorance of her evil ideals. For Stien the holidays were somewhat lonely, he was raised Jewish but didn't have family in America other than Crona whom had only been in his life for a short time, he hadn't celebrated Hanukkah seance he left Germany as a child and was content with the centimants and traditions of the people around him growing accustomed to them, it never mattered to him as long as he had someone to be with. "I guise I could get used to this." she clenched his arm wile walking down the street "Sadistic snake woman.." Stien said lowly "What was that?" she asked with a wide smile on her face "Nothing." across the street one of those guys in a Santa suit stood taking money for a local charity, stein and Medusa watched as many passers by tossed money into the jar at his feet. For Stien at least it was a comforting sight that so many would be charitable this holiday season. As they reached the end of the block they heard a commotion, they both looked back as two people on the other side of the street started in a dead run, one of them carry'd the jar. They were perseud by two civilians but were outrunning them. Medusa quickly looked to Stien. "That looks fun. Ill be back." she said with a smile as she shoved the bags she was carrying into Stien's arms and stepped out into the street walking calmly across "Ureyale wait!" he found it hard to fallow wile lugging the bags around. She crossed the street and stood in their path as they came closer. Suddenly they were ripped off of their feet and into the air and shot forward like cannonballs at Medusa's feet. The jar landed and broke on the side walk. The vector arrow that they had stepped on disappeard as the man in the Santa suit came running to them. Medusa pulled something out of her coat pocket. "Get up." she commanded. One of the theivs was a young boy, no older than fifteen, He gasped in horror looking down the barrel of a Nambu Taisho eight milometer pistol. "Both of you, up." the two boys scrambled up "this is illegal. You cant do this." "Stealing is illegal. Santa over there should give you a firm beating in the ally way and im inclined to let him." she pointed to one of the boys "You. Sing." the boy seemed dumbfounded "What?" "Sing now. Sing something for the holidays." "Are you crazy?" the boy asked, in reply Medusa cocked the pistol. "Okay! Alright." he began to sing a Christmas carol. (away in the manger) Medusa pointed her pistol to the other boy. "You. Dance." there was now a crowd watching the scene with whispers spreading the story. They boys knees shook as he began to dance. "Dance better than that. And smile. Both of you smile, be marry, its Christmas!" the boys try'd to fake smiles over there terrifyd faces. She put the pistol away and started clapped along to the rhythm of the song. There was snickering in the crowd, Stien looked on in amusement. "okay alright that's enough." Medusa's serious expression returned "now get out of here." the boys stopped. And began to slowly walk away. Medusa kicked one of them in the rear. "run you little bastards!" the boys began to sprint down the street back to their homes. She smiled and came back to Stien "now see? Didn't I handle that well?" "you handled it..that's for sure."

(down the street)

Death bucks was a warm environment for a date, the lights were never to bright and its was always reasonably quiet. But something about Asuza made the corner of the coffee house as cold as the great soviet north. She merely saw her "date" with spirit as a business conference. She had spread out a map on the table along with her notes and laptop. Spirit and Asuza were once good friends, in their early school years they often had intellectual discussions and studyd together, all back before they went their separate ways. Spirit fucked around to much, chasing girls and doing to many drugs and drinking to much liquor, while Asuza became increasingly conservative and after graduating from the DWMA she went off to west point. Spirit watched as two kids ran past the window, he smiled. "great evening ain't it. Kids out playen in the streets, not a cloud in the sky.." "its fine suppose." she said with a dry voice. "don't you ever think of anything other than work?" he asked reclining in his chair. "sure sometimes I think about sleeping eating..." she looked up from her laptop and into his eyes. "but seriously, shat else is there? I have no to depend on, I don't have to make anyone happy or spend quite evenings by the fire with anyone. to tell you the truth spirit I intend on keeping it that way." she went back to typing. spirit sipped his coffee and then set the cup on the table. "so why did you agree to this?" "its business." spirit laughed "bullshit." she looked up at him flustered "you don't believe me? Here." she sat a file in front of him "find a team for the next assignment." "you could have just given that to me in the office and you wouldn't have had to go through all this trouble yu know." she stopped typing and looked up at him "spirit will you quit poking holes in my logic?" spirit smiled he picked up his cup. "you know, you used to say the same thing all the time when we were kids." she closed her laptop "fine, Whatever. But this isn't a date." spirit made a stupid looking face "you can call it whatever you want~" "if you keep being creepy I'm leaving."

(back at sector seventeen)

Crona sat contently in the floor of a dark lab room gutting a piece of machinery. This is what they came to find, the "wavelength saturation device" would make Death City safer from the Cthulhu's madness wavelength, although not completely safe, not until he was stopped. "Soul pleas had me a five milometer socket "she said over her shoulder." he nodded. Maka stood guard at the door, she watched every shadow as the facility became darker with every moment. "Crona try and speed this up, we don't want to risk being discover by any more monsters." she dug around in her backpack for a flashlight. Crona began to take notes on the machine so her and her father might replicate the device, she took photos and took out a few parts of interest. "don't worry Maka, the only monster here is- Rrnn!" she convulsed "neurosis.." she rubbed her eyes... "sorry the dark is just messing with my head." she held her flashlight tighter and focused on her work. Maka vigilantly watched the hall, to her dismay she caught sight of several lights down the hall. They appeared to be flashlights, she heard voices as well. "guys someones coming." soul came closer to her in case the shit went down. Uniformed men, Japanese police officers. More than likely the locals herd commotion from the fight and called the police, by the time they navigated the rural aria. The lead officer, the shortest one of the group came up to Maka. He stared down at her and after a moment he pulled out a thick book (easy Japanese to English), He flipped through some pages and paused. "ware is the bathroom?!" he said in a very stern voice. Maka raised an eyebrow "uuuh.." she looked to the others and then back at him. He turned to the other police officers jabbering in their native language, he turned back to Maka and flipped through the book again "is this seat taken?!" again he was very stern. Maka took out her DWMA badge and showed it to the officer. He wrinkled his nosed and observed it closely Mainly recognizing the seal of lord Death. He looked at his fellow officers and then back at the book, he read something and then faced Maka. "this pizza is Delicious." he said bowing. Soul marched up to him and tore the book from his hands "that isn't working!"

(meanwhile)

"Its been good talking to you Asuza." spirit smiled at her in a non-creepy way. "Yes it was interesting, but I'm sorry I have to go home now." "Maybe we can do it again some time?" "We'll talk about it spirit." across the room one of the Deth Bucks employees shushed everyone "Yo its on again!" he turned up the volume of the TV, It was on some news channel. "We take you again live to San Francisco were our field reporter Tanya Richmond." the news feed cut to a news woman in San Francisco California. "Thank you tom, there is no way to describe the city other than it is in a state of devastation, an hour ago at seven thirty PM something rose from the harbor and made a five minute rampage threw the lower west side of the city smashing cars and heavily damaging buildings there is no estimated death tole but we have reason to believe that hundreds have been injured and several dozen have been killed. Again we urge everyone to stay indorse wile emergency and rescue workers clear the streets and locate the injured, make not attempts to reach loved ones and reserve emergency calls for a very last resort. The California national guard has been deployed and several USN ships have been dispatched." spirit pulled his attention away, not surprisingly Asuza had already gotten her laptop and maps and files back out. "i guise this means were not going home yet." spirit asked. She looked up. "your still here? Go and get a team for an investigation what are you waiting for?!" "alright! Jesus Christ!" some guy stood up across the room "hay its Jesus's birthday asshole have some respect." spirit rubbed his eyes and hurried out of the coffee house.

RE-Note: Spirit X Asuza?! Dear god I am playing with fire!