( [name of city redacted] General hospital )
Crona pressed her hand against the dusted window leaving her hand print on the glass. She didn't know why she left the hand print, perhaps only as a signature of her ever having been there at that spot, waiting on the outside of the hospital taking in fresh some air, but she couldn't stay long, she had to get back to Maka, she looked up at the pink smeared dusky sky and took one last deep breath of the dry desert air and headed inside. She wandered through the hall, watching the sick and the injured, those who had nothing to do with the battle that she had just fought but who's illness mattered all the same. Because of her head injury she had also been admitted to the hospital but due to the healing nature of her Black blood not much medical attention was required, they shaved a portion of her head around the wound and strapped a bandage around her head. It would likely be heald in the next two days but the injury wasn't hardly the most concerning part, the fact that she unwittingly came so close to suicide, that's what hit the hardest, was she just as crazy as Timber Creek had claimed? losing control of her own body? Or did she subconsciously mean to do it? She hoped that no one would tell Maka. Crona stepped into an elevator, before the door closed she noticed a little girl in a wheel chair roll up just outside the door. Crona quickly blocked the door so that it would not close and welcomed the young child into the elevator. The little girl rolled inside. "thank you." she said in a small tone. "its okay, whats your name?" Crona asked leaning down to her. "Janis." she said. Swaying side to side with the wheels of her chair. "what floor are you going to Janis?" she smiled at Crona. "third." Crona pressed the button and the door closed. "looks like were going to the same place."
(meanwhile)
Agents from a vague yet menacing government agency watched her through the security monitors, their intentions purely that, to observe her every move, not that it was hardly a big deal. The world government is always watching, you, me, the president, the homeless man who lurks under the slide at the Death City Elementary school play ground, Spirit Albarn sitting in his own hospital bed back home. (get well soon friend.) being watched by the government was probably the most normal thing that had happened to Crona since she had escaped from the asylum. They watched, expressionless, Her black and white image on the monitors reflecting off of their dark Oakley sunglasses, as she stepped out of the elevator with the girl in the wheel chair and wave farewell to her. The two agents nodded at one another, although neither were exactly sure why the other nodded in the first place, one put his cigaret out in an ash tray and stood. "a good kid." said the agent who was not tall to the agent who was not short. And the agent who was not short grunted in response, he never had a response for that sort of thing, not the kind that his partner would ever want to hear, he was sensitive and he respected that, he decided to have no comment. "I'm going to get some water." he said and exited the room, leaving his partner, still staring at the screen.
(back in the third floor hallway)
Crona turned the knob and opened the door. The room was a little louder than it should have been with resting patients. The TV volume was not blaring but everyone could hear it, playing a rerun of that mornings airing of "The Price is Right Death Mach Edition", the room was a clatter with the noises of human existence. Kid was turning the pages of his news paper and Liz filing her nails to razor sharp tips while patty chattered about everything that was going on. Stien sat fully awake in his bed, but covered head to toe in bandages like a mummy, Marie fanned him with a flimsy magazine, only his eyes and eyebrows were visible but it was clear that he was very uncomfortable and agitated. Maka had still not woken up, the doctors told them that she was not in a coma but her body needed quite some time to recover and that she would sleep for some time, and then they would have to discuss her black blood before she was released. Crona took her seat next to Maka's bed, on the other side soul sitting by her as well, after a moment and an uncomfortable shuffle Soul Scooted his chair a bit closer to Maka's bed. Crona glanced over at him, raising an eyebrow. He looked away just at the second she looked at him. Crona leaned a bit closer to Maka, she inspected her resting friend then glanced over at soul again, glaring at her. She raised her head and looked directly at him, he again pretended not to have been staring daggers at her. And on and on this foolishness went until Maka Stirred, both soul and Crona raised from their seats and leaned over the railing of the bed, staring at her intently.
She slowly. cracked. her eyelids. And she stared blankly at the wall straight ahead, her fuzzy sight slowly focusing in on the two faces in her vision.
"I need...water.." she croaked.
(seconds later)
"get out of my way you creep she was talking to me!" soul and Crona engaged in a nasty nonlethal fisticuffs in front of the vending machine in the hall. A few feet away the suit and sunglasses waring agent, the one that was not tall, stood watching and snapping Polaroid photographs with an over sized camera with the flash on, he had no intentions on hiding the fact that he was watching them, but neither of them noticed him at all and by the time they were finished fighting he was gone, there was another vending machine on the third floor where he could get his water anyway.
Meanwhile back in the room Marie handed Maka, the bottle of water that the nurse had brought in only half an hour ago and then called Crona and soul back into the room, scolding them for fighting in a hospital.
"your back with us." soul said. Maka looked at him for a moment unsure of what to say to him, she smiled. "yeah..." she paused. "how long has it been?" "how much do you remember?" kid asked from over Soul's shoulder. "just..bad things, I don't want to remember..I'm much happier in this moment." she looked over at Crona, locking eyes with her. "i remember your mother. Talking to me, I wasn't me for a while, she set me straight, I didn't get a chance to thank her for that." she looked around at everyone gathered around her bed and then down at her legs, covered by a hospital blanket. "but I want to thank all of you. I cant wate the be back home." her face lit up a little "oh and we'll have to celibate, Crona what do you think?" she let out heavy breath suddenly feeling light headed, and laid her head back down into her pillow. "that sounds great Maka. Try and get some rest for now." Crona said with a hand on her shoulder. "i just cant stop thinking about how much fun were going to have." she smiled at her. "awww" Liz cooed with admiration. Patty and Soul weren't exactly pleased but they didn't let on. "i mentioned treating you to dinner a while back Maka, maybe we can make room for a few more of us." Maka nodded as her eyes slowly closed. "yeah, I think that sounds great..."
(two weeks later)
Around noon two strangers entered the DWMA reception, a man and woman, both in respectable business ware, their skin was pail, they were both in a haggard state. A few strands of the woman's unkempt hair hung in her face, her arms swinging loosely, jaw cliched. Spirit sat at his desk, under his shirt were still a few bandages but all of his surgerys were over, having finally retrieved all the bits of lead from his delicate human form. He looked up at them with a welcoming smile. "hello." the man greeted spirit. "were here from the Timber Creek Asylum." the woman clasped her hands together speaking softly. The man spoke again "we've been in contact with the DWMA, and we understand that one of our escaped patients found her way here." "its no problem, were going to get this all settled and bring her back to the asylum. These kind of things happen all the time. Little happy accidents." spirit looked at them for a long time with an expression void of any emotion. "oh yeah, okay!" he suddenly beamed. "we've been expecting you." he rose from his seat. "here, lord death gave me directions to take you straight to her when you arrive." he walked over to the door and opened it for them. "just fallow me."
he took them down the hall, through the twisting labyrinth of the academy until he was sure that they were well and truly disoriented. "are we any closer? We've been walking for a while now." the two spoke in perfect unison "almost." he assured them. He stopped in front of the large wooden doors of the library. He opened them and the walked inside, the strangers seemed impressed by the cavernous space, looking all around as spirit guided them. "why are you keeping a dangerous fugitive in a library?" "she's just been passing the time reading.." spirit shrugged. "we must hurry, we need to take her back to the asylum as soon as possible, it is imperative, for her well bei-." "yeah yeah keep you shirt on." he said. He knocked on the door of the library office. "come in." called a voice from the other side.
Maka turned in her seat, seeing the three enter her office. "hay dad." she smiled at him. "Maka, these nice people are from Timber Creek..." he he gave her a strange smile. Closing the door behind them as the walked in. "they would like to take Crona back to the asylum..." he locked the door. The man looked over his shoulder at spirit, suddenly feeling a terrible unease. Maka stood. "oh really..well that's so interesting." she said, but her by her expression she didn't seem just interested, she looked down right malicious. Maka removed her gloves and cracked her knuckles. The two strangers backed away, intimidated by her demeanor. "what is this?" the man asked. "get away from us." the woman demanded. Spirit flipped the light switch turning out the lights, the room was filled with chaos.
(California highway Rout 800, twenty miles from Death City)
A cloud of dust rolled by her new car when she hit the breaks, stopping on the road in the middle of the desert, they could hardly see Death City on the horizon now. she was still getting the feel for her new Vehicle, a Blue Hybrid that was preowned and gently used. Maka and Crona stepped out of the car, the Iron Cross patches that had been sewn onto Crona's robes had been replaced by two blood droplet shaped patches, one black one red. she wore an expression of monotone on her face as she opened the trunk. The two strangers were uncomfortably stuffed into the trunk like sardines and were sweating profusely, their clothing ripped to shreds, hanging on their body's like rags, their hands and mouths were bound with duct tape. Crona pulled them out of the trunk while Maka held a gun on them. They pleaded with muffled cry's and tear soaked eyes. "you think you people can fool us twice?" Maka asked pointing the gun at them. "who do you think the real idiots are here? Think of this moment next time you want to drag off a meister or anyone at all for your experiments." Crona pulled them both up by their collars and pushed them off of the road toward the endless desert land scape of Death Valley. "now get lost." she commanded, they took off running for their lives. she put her gun back into her coat, Crona closed the trunk, Maka looked through the window into the back seat, a new habit she had formed, no one there this time. they both got back into the car, Maka let out a breath. Looking at the clock. "too late to go back to work.." she said dryly. Crona hummed in agreement. "now what?" Crona leaned forward and took a paper bag from the floor. "i packed a lunch, Its your favorite." Maka laughed. "we're going to get along famously."
(from the author)
And so, dear reader, we reach the end of this story, this journey. There is much that could be said. But I will say only this:...this is not THE END.
Until next time, readers, until next time.
Blood for the blood god.