"… You knew he was her son?"

"Of course I knew. If you'd fought with Medusa, so would you. But you never did." Shinigami-sama said, and Kid glared up at his father.

"Why didn't you tell him?!" he exclaimed.

"He couldn't know, Kid! He was never supposed to find out!" Shinigami-sama called back, and Kid shook his head.

"Why? How do you know?" Kid asked. Shinigami-sama sighed and dropped his large, white hands to his sides.

"We had a suspicion that Maka's attack on Medusa had purged her of her magical powers, but that it had left her a soul. It was true." Shinigami-sama began to explain.

"She assumed another body, but seeing as her powers were gone, she had no soul protect. She was easy to keep track of." Shinigami-sama continued. Kid shook his head and scowled.

"You've known for that long?" he asked. Shinigami-sama sighed.

"We didn't know what was going to happen when she had the child." Shinigami-sama told Kid, and he crossed his arms.

"When her child was born with no magical powers, she tried to give him the same black blood treatment as she did Crona." Shinigami-sama clarified.

"But… Thomas doesn't have black blood." Kid queried, and Shinigami-sama bowed slightly.

"And he has your wife and Marie to thank for that." Kid's eyes widened and he raised an eyebrow in questioning.

"What do you mean?" Kid asked.

"Their wavelengths. When Maka purged Medusa's soul with Demon Hunter, she was still linked in resonance with Doctor Stein and Marie. Marie's healing wavelength and Maka's demon-resistant wavelength affected Medusa's soul – effectively protecting Thomas from madness. It's why he's invulnerable. It's something you couldn't detect in a soul unless you knew exactly what it was. It was easy to cover up as an anomaly." Shinigami-sama concluded, and Kid turned to the four behind him, who were standing in shock.

"What do we do?" Tsubaki asked. Kid crossed his arms and shook his head.

"I don't know. Even if they retrieve Thomas, he's still Medusa's child."

"No, he isn't." Shinigami-sama said. Kid turned around, eyes wide and furious.

"What?! You just said that-!"

"He is Martha Cameron's child." he snapped. Kid frowned.

"Medusa didn't even have the decency to give the child to someone else. She left him to die when his body neutralised the black blood. He was tiny to begin with – he shouldn't have lived." Shinigami-sama replied.

"What do you mean?" Kid asked.

"He was born very early – almost too early for a regular baby to live. Medusa kept him alive until the experiment, but when it didn't work, she abandoned him." Shinigami-sama said, and Kid crossed his arms.

"So… how did Martha find him?" Kid asked.

"There are two people other than Medusa that know Thomas' true parentage – I am one of them. The other... was Martha."

"Martha knew?" Kid asked, incredulously. Shinigami-sama nodded.

"I'd known Martha for a long time, and I met her back when you were only an infant. She taught at the school where we recommend future Shibusen students attend, she was wonderful with the students, but had no children of her own – and when Thomas was abandoned, I wouldn't have trusted anyone with him but her." Shinigami-sama explained.

"But… what about the note that was found with him?" Kid asked.

"We had to formulate something that would always deter him from finding his biological parents. We never wanted him to know." Shinigami-sama stated. Kid blinked up at his father, not sure what to think.

"It was so hard for Martha. She knew it was for him, but… she hated lying to him. She loved him more than anything else, and she took the secret to the grave to save the boy from this hurt." Shinigami-sama said. Kid sighed and dropped his arms to his sides.

"So, what do we do?" Kid asked. Shinigami-sama sighed.

"We wait and we hope that they can retrieve Thomas. And we tell him everything."


"Thomas, stop!"

The blonde man's hair flicked around in the wind as he stood at the edge of the old training ground. Maka approached slowly and gently, and she could hear his choked sobs.

"Go away! I'm just going to hurt you!"

"Thomas, come on. Look at me." Maka called. The blonde man turned around, his eyes puffy and red, his gaze sharp.

"What?!" he near-screamed, and Maka stepped back, jarred.

"We're going to help you!" Maka called.

"Don't! D-don't help me – I don't deserve h-help!" Thomas cried.

"You do, Thomas! You're part of Shibusen, you're one of us! And we help our own kind!" Maka exclaimed. Thomas shook his head and stared at his hands before dropping his head into them.

"I don't want help! I don't want to be Medusa's child, I just want to be n-n-normal!" Thomas shook, his eyes wide.

"We need to help you!" Maka cried. Thomas clenched his fists and sped towards Maka.

"I don't want your help, don't you understand?!"

As Thomas went to swing at Maka, the blue wavelength surrounded him and jerked him backwards. He landed heavily on his backside, skidding across the stone floor and tumbling over himself. His eyes opened and he glanced up to see the doctor and the three others with him looking at him.

"Do not even attempt to hit her." Stein snapped. Thomas growled and pushed himself to his feet, turning around to face Stein.

"I don't want h-h-her help! I d-don't want pity!" he cried.

"So what do you want?" Stein asked. Thomas called out and he approached Stein, his eyes wild. Mina, Marie and Spirit backed off, but Stein stood his ground.

"I want you to be wrong. I want everyone to be wrong. I don't want to be-"

"Medusa's son. We know. There is nothing we can do about it, whether you are or you aren't." Stein told him. Thomas shook his head and approached Stein, a scowl on his face.

"You d-don't have to talk to me like that." he said, and Stein crossed his arms.

"But I can." he remarked. Thomas snarled and brought his fist up, swinging it around. Stein wasn't going to get hit by his former students three times in one day, however, and he grasped his punch.

"I don't think you need to punch me." Stein narrowed his eyes, and Thomas shook his head.

"I d-don't. I w-w-will, though." Thomas swung his other fist to hit Stein in the stomach, but Stein had anticipated the attack. Thomas hit Stein's clenched stomach muscles and felt a palm pressed against his own stomach, and before he knew it, he was sent flying backwards again.

As he skidded, Stein followed, and he had to get back to his feet. As it seemed he was getting up, he lingered, squatting down. Stein went to lean down to grab the back of Thomas' shirt, and he swept his leg, collecting Stein's foot and sending him falling to the ground.

Before Thomas could even turn, however, Stein was on his feet and utilising his soul menace once more. This time he shot the soul menace out and Thomas managed to dodge it, running towards Stein and flying at him, foot outstretched.

Stein grabbed Thomas' foot and the blonde jumped into the air, bending his knee and kicking Stein hard in the chest. Stein staggered backwards, Thomas landing back on the ground.

"Thomas, stop!" Mina cried.

"Shut up! Just stop!" Thomas called back, walking over to the scientist who was still on the ground.

He fell for his own trick.

Stein's leg flew out and caused Thomas to fall, but before he hit the ground, he was caught. Stein's arm wrapped around his neck and he held the man to his chest, but as he was about the same height as Stein, it was difficult to manoeuvre with him.

Nevertheless, a scalpel seemed to appear out of thin air and was held to Thomas' neck with Stein's free hand.

"Don't… move." Stein hissed, and Thomas took a sharp breath in. He knew very well that he was as tall as Stein.

With one quick movement, Thomas jerked his shoulder up, which caused Stein's arm to rise in turn and block his view. Thomas grabbed Stein's other arm and yanked it as hard as he could, and the scalpel clattered to the ground as Stein pulled himself from Thomas' grasp.

Thomas looked at the scalpel before noticing a stinging pain in his cheek.

His timing was obviously slightly off, and while the scalpel hadn't cut deep, an incision ran down the side of his cheek, onto his jaw.

"Are you happy now?" Stein asked, and Thomas glared at him.

"D-don't you get it?! Nobody is g-going to want anything to do with me. I'm going to be her k-kid forever!"

"No, you aren't. Even if you are, you aren't."

Thomas' eyes flicked to the redheaded meister that was now beside Stein.

"Mina, don't even bother to-"

"Damn it, Thomas, listen to her. Shut up for a minute!" Joseph walked over to Mina and Stein, staring down his meister. Thomas crossed his arms.

"If you're Medusa's kid, she didn't give a shit about you." Mina snapped. At that second, Joseph understood what Mina was talking about. Thomas blinked and his shoulders shook.

"She's not the one who raised you, man. You always said you didn't care who your biological parents were." Joseph continued. Thomas took shaky breaths and stared down at the floor.

"I – I – I…"

"Thomas. It's okay."

All eyes flicked to the woman sitting up in the back of Justin's vehicle, her legs swung over the side.

"I told you to go back to Shibusen." Stein snapped.

"You tell me a lot of things, Papa." Stitches tried to push herself up off of the edge of the vehicle, but her legs buckled underneath her and she fell. Automatically, the blonde and silver-haired meisters ran over to her, Stein reaching his daughter slightly faster. Marie was not far behind Thomas, and the group moved towards Stitches, Naigus and Justin as well.

"This is why I didn't want you out here." Stein replied, bracing his arm across her back, and Stitches looked at him, shaking her head.

"I had to, Papa." she looked at him, her eyes wide and vulnerable as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I know." he murmured quietly, helping her to her feet. She stood shakily, still holding onto her father for support as she spoke to Thomas.

"Martha Cameron is your mother. Not Medusa." she said, quietly. Thomas glanced up in the air and stammered.

"But, I-"

"Martha Cameron was my mother, and will forever be my mother." Mina began, and Thomas recognised the words as the beginning of the eulogy he had written for Martha.

"Family is not completely biology." Joseph continued, and Thomas' eyes flicked frantically to his weapon.

"Your family is the group of people that you surround yourself with that make you feel good inside." Stitches stated, and Thomas exhaled shakily.

"My mother taught me that." he murmured, tears streaming down his face. Mina shook her head and pushed past the group, wrapping her arms around Thomas' neck.

"... God, you're such an idiot." Mina shook her head, and Thomas dropped his head to her shoulder.

"You're also gonna get blood on me." she pulled away, and Thomas brought his hand up to his cheek.

"What happened?" Stitches asked, sitting back on the side of the vehicle.

"We got into a fight. It was stupid on my part." Thomas replied.

"We?" Stitches asked. Thomas glanced at Stein, who glanced at Stitches in turn.

"I'm getting just about sick of you guys not getting along." Stitches replied.

"It's not that they don't get along," Marie interjected, standing beside Stitches, "it's that they're too similar for their own goods."

"What?" Stein asked, and Marie saw Thomas raise his eyebrow. Azusa spoke up this time.

"Just because you're scared of him doesn't make you any less similar. You're powerful but you're introverted. You're both calm but can become overwhelmed. You're also similar in the fact that, if I remember correctly from Shibusen, Stein used to stammer." Azusa remarked.

"Please, do tell everyone." Stein remarked, and Thomas blinked and rubbed at his eyes.

"And you both care about your families. Then again, so do I, so I'm not sure that's the best example." Spirit continued, and Thomas' head whipped around to look at him. He then glanced at everyone in the group, and dropped his head.

"How could I be so stupid?" Thomas asked.

"You're twenty. The twenties are the stupid years." Soul stated, and Thomas couldn't help but give a small smile. There was the notable absence of his meister, but no sooner had everyone noticed that she had returned. She moved forward through the group.

"Thomas." she said, quietly putting a portable mirror into her pocket. Her green eyes were teeming with something not dissimilar to regret, and Thomas swallowed.

"Yes?" he asked.

"That was Kid." she said, quietly. Thomas raised an eyebrow, not knowing that Kid had spoken to Shinigami-sama.

"Okay…" he began. The look in Maka's eyes became known to all but Thomas – it was sympathy. For a split second, Stein's eyes met Maka's, and she gave a small nod. Stein's eyes then flicked to Stitches', and he nodded to her. Stitches blinked and sighed, dropping her head. No matter what Thomas said, this was still going to be difficult.

"He spoke to Shinigami-sama. Thomas, you need to know that he was only doing what was best for you, and –"

"I'm Medusa's biological son, aren't I?" he asked, a look of near resignation on his face. Maka's eyes softened and she gave a small nod.

"I'm sorry." she spoke quietly. Thomas sighed and dropped his shoulders.

"I… It doesn't matter. So, she carried me. So, biologically, I'm a Gorgon. I… It's something I wasn't sure I could deal with, but-"

"How did nobody pick up that he was Crona's brother?" Soul remarked, and the whole group had to laugh. Thomas, however, did not know Crona.

"W-Wait… Crona?" Thomas asked. Everyone gasped.

"… Surprise! You have a half-brother… sister… sibling!" Maka's eyes brightened, and Thomas gave a tiny smile.

"O-Okay." he said, slightly shaken. Maka grasped Thomas' hand, and he looked at her.

"There are some other things that Shinigami-sama will need to explain to you, but he wants to talk to you personally. I think he wants to apologise." Maka said. Thomas shook his head.

"He... he doesn't have to." Thomas remarked.

"Wow, kid, how do you let something go so fast?" Spirit asked. Thomas glanced over at the redheaded scythe.

"My mother taught me to forgive quickly. And she also taught me to apologise for being a total idiot." Thomas replied. Spirit smirked, and Thomas looked at Maka.

"I'm sorry for threatening you." he said. Maka smiled and nodded.

"And I'm sorry for the fight." Thomas looked at Stein, and he nodded.

"Likewise." Stein replied. Thomas looked at Stitches.

"I'm sorry for starting all this. If I hadn't researched Medusa, if I hadn't left, if I hadn't pulled my hand away… nothing would have happened." Stitches' eyes filled with tears, and Thomas walked over to her, sitting beside her. He looked at her before looking at the whole group.

"Uh…" he murmured.

"Clear off, everyone, they're gonna suck face and do naughty things." Mina remarked.

"Mina!" Thomas exclaimed. The group laughed, and Stein stayed for a moment longer.

"Justin will take you two back to the DWMA. And then, Stitches," Stein looked at his daughter, "you will be getting medical attention." Stitches nodded and reached out for her father's hand.

"Thank you, Papa." she said, quietly. Stein nodded and leant down to kiss Stitches on the forehead.

"It's okay." Stein stood up to walk away, but he turned back once more.

"Oh, also, if you have sex with a concussion, you will pass out, I will find out and I won't be happy." Stein told them, and Stitches laughed, Thomas even giving a small smirk. Stein turned to follow the rest of the group, his hands shoved in his pockets.

As Stein left, Thomas lent down and gently pressed his lips against Stitches'. She kissed back gently – she hadn't kissed him since the morning of the day she set off for Medusa's hideout.

"You don't have to be sorry." Thomas pulled away. Stitches shook her head.

"I do. This is all a big mess." Stitches said, and Thomas gently pressed his hand to her cheek.

"It's okay. It was bound to come out at some point. Plus, now I know I have a half-brother-sister-sibling. I don't get what-"

"Nobody can quite tell what gender Crona is. We mainly stay away from gender pronouns and stick with Crona." Stitches said. Thomas shrugged and nodded.

"Fair enough." Thomas said, standing up and helping Stitches to lie down in the back of Justin's vehicle.

"Are you going to be alright back there, you two?" Justin asked.

"We'll be fine, thanks." Thomas hopped in beside Stitches, and Justin turned on the vehicle and drove off.

"This is all a lot to take in, Thomas." Stitches said. Thomas sighed.

"I have to deal with it at some point. I mean, it's the truth, after all." he murmured. Stitches sighed and dropped her head to Thomas' shoulder.

"I'm sorry." she murmured, and Thomas shook his head.

"Don't be sorry." he mumbled, and she sighed. Thomas sat beside Stitches, his hand firmly holding hers the whole journey.

A/N: I didn't want this chapter to be completely heavy, also because I wanted this chapter to be a conclusion of this arc, allowing the next couple of chapters to conclude the story.

On that note, I want to thank you all. I know I'll have that at the end of chapter 30 (or chapter 120 in the series) but I just wanted to let you know. Also, next chapter you'll find out why, but there's no factoid this chapter.