Authors Notes: Sometimes I hate editing. This chapter has been rewritten nearly five times to get it just right. And while I was working on it I launched an edited version of Chapter 8 with totally new content and realized that I have to rewrite Chapter 9 because so much has changed in 1-8. The chapters are taking longer to come out so that I can go back and flesh out the bad guys, elaborate on Kid's past (well everyone's past) and add complexity to the early chapters. I realized that some people can't read into actions as well as others and I'm trying to make the reasons behind the characters' actions a lot more obvious. This is actually difficult because I like subtly and hate being spoon fed every thought running through the characters mind. Whoever pointed out I needed more scenery and description… thank you thank you thank you. I am adding it now and it's making the story a lot richer.
Okay, on to what I have planned. My next big project is to redo chapter 9. I'm going to iron out the continuity bugs and Belle will be replacing Murder in the attack on Kid's house. Most importantly I'm going to elaborate on the turning points. The turning points in this chapter were transparent and only about two people picked up on them so I'm going to rewrite them and make them stronger and more evident. Soul, who is a struggle for me to write, will be softened so he comes off as less of an asshole. It's been suggested that I show his inner thoughts more since younger readers have problems inferring feelings from actions alone. Point taken and I'm doing it.
Of course fixing chapter 9 will lead to fixing chapters10-14 as well. (Blarghf! more editing) Though I'm keeping the fluff in these chapters, I'm pushing for more action and heart pounding violence. Someone pointed out I was dialogue heavy so I'm adding scenery and character actions to make it feel more real. So as always, thanks for reviewing and providing constructive criticism I will take what is given to me.
For those who asked for Tsubaki/Black Star, sorry ain't gonna to happen. I hate disappoint you guys though so I may consider it for another story. As for the reader who wanted KidxMaka...err… the whole story is hung on the framework of Maka's journey from being a Miester to becoming a Reaper. They may not be your favorite couple but the story's not about them being a couple as much as it's about the events that occur because they become a couple and their impact on Kid's world and life. For those who don't like the KidxMaka I'm weeding out fluff like crazy and putting in more action, but most of this is happening in rewrites of earlier chapters, although it will continue through the rest of the story.
Someone suggested that everyone should pair off with someone else in the group. Also not going to happen Life doesn't work that neatly, and though I'm writing a fictional story, I believe in having some elements of realism. If didn't care about realism there would be a lot less showering eating, shopping, and classes to attend in the story and everyone would live happily ever after with the dreamboat of their choice. I don't intend for this to be a romance novel or a smutty story with lots and lots of pointless sex. I see it as a religious exploration/ urban horror piece that has both action and romance - least that's what I'm going for!
For me, the reaping is actually the most important part of the story, because the death rites of each religion are being explored as accurately as possible, and while Maka, Kid and the cast of Soul eater are bouncing around the world I hope everyone learns something from the cultural references that I throw into each chapter. It takes a shit load of research and I'd love you to feel like you're in the places the kids are traveling to, whether it's the netherworld, a Jewish funeral, a car crash on a back road in Kentucky, a war zone in the Middle East or the jungles of Vietnam. (Oops! spoiler)
If I can make you feel like you've experienced something about different places, cultures and customs without being bored, then damn it, I've done my job. As far as the story's length goes, I'm looking at a few more arcs before completion. I still have parts of the world the cast needs to go, bad guys that need killing and approximately 8 more major religions to illustrate through reaps (Sorry about your luck, Maka, it's time to get your hands dirty!) before everything winds down and we see the conclusion. The final chapter has been written but I have to fill in all the stuff in between. And sometimes writing everything that needs to happen takes me longer than I expected. Pushing back the number of the final chapter.
Okay! Question that needs answering:
Where the hell I'm getting my ideas? Home, traveling, stupid shit that has happened to me and people I know. The really scary thing about this story is how much of it is true -things I've seen and had happen to me in real life. (Not the zombies, obviously!) But I've traveled a bunch, my husband even more. Well enough jabber if you got more questions critiques just review I will answer you. OH one more thing I wanted to thank the 22,158 readers who read this story. I would have never imagined this many people would have bothered reading this, and all the folks who are nice enough to point out errors and ask questions, though I know the reviews don't actually reflect all of your thoughts I just want to say thank you and as long as you keep adding me to favorites and subscribing, and reviewing I'll be happy to write for you and continue to improve on things. Its very flattering, thank you.
Forever in the Never After
Chapter 28 Journey to the Middle East
There were very few things in the world that Liz actually hated; scary super natural bullshit being at the top of the list, followed very closely by calorie counting. The inexplicable stupidity of high school, run ins with New York law enforcement and neglectful parenting were right up there too, but traveling through the Never After using the power of Death's magic might have them all beat. Her stomach lurched as the orange and purple melody of colors wrapped around Kid. It was a good thing she was in gun form or else she would have vomited all over Patty. She stared at her sister loathsomely in the dark that was only illuminated by the warm pink glow of their own souls. She could feel things; her clothes, the earrings she'd put on this morning, the harsh scent of the hairspray she had used before the school assembly and the makeup she had pan-caked onto her face. But in the dim light of her own soul she could only look down at her naked body and see the imperfections that marred it. Being naked in the terrifying environment made her even more insecure.
Looking over in the darkness she could see Patty was still clothed in the army surplus gear Mira had given her. Her soul was lit by an electric buzzing that seemed to be all her own and now she was cheering with jubilation about the trip through Never After.
"That was so fun! Let's do it again, find us another one Kiddo!" Patty sang happily.
And Liz felt her knee hit the floor as she clutched her stomach. She chanted a constant reminder to herself that it was all an illusion. That right now she just appeared to be naked and in reality her body had transformed into a sleek gun which currently was being held in the hand of the latest addition to her family.
Kid chuckled back through resonance, acknowledging Patty's excitement. "So you like that do you?"
"Absolutely not!" Liz gagged out as Patty chanted "Again Again." in her comical sing song voice.
Kid spun the pistols on his fingers before flipping them into the air to release them. As they transformed Liz felt spider webs clinging to her hair and body. She dusted at them madly, trying to remove the feeling of something clinging to her skin with no avail. Everywhere the purple light touched her she felt them. She looked up to question Kid but found that he had stooped to the floor looking at a dead woman in front of them.
Liz glanced at the body and then turned away. There were scattered sprays of buckshot along walls spattered with a thick coat of red that reminded her of a Jackson Pollack painting she had once seen in the Guggenheim. It took her a second to realize the surreal scene was not paint but blood splattered on the grey and mint colored walls. It was everywhere, smeared where the woman had tried to find her footing right before she died. The blood slid down the walls like thin spaghetti sauce and Liz felt her nausea return. There was something else in the room too, something that Patty was talking too, and Liz felt a prickly feeling of ice climb up her skin.
"P-Patty? Who are you talking to?"
"Mrs. Marinara sauce who else?" Patty asked quizzically before going back to her conversation with the woman's ghost. Liz finally dared to look at the dead woman. She was maybe five six years older than Liz. There was a hole in her chest and her black hair spilled all over the floor, drenched in a pool of her own blood. Her honey brown eyes stared up lifelessly and it didn't take Liz long to notice the humming of flies in the dusty little room. The woman was covered from head to toe in a hijab, not a black one like she'd seem Islamic women on TV wear, but a pastel one.
Kid coughed loudly and pulled Liz her out of her stupor. He started shuffling the two girls under the fabric that hung on the door frame.
"Go outside and look for a phone book. I have work to do and you two are in the way."
Liz didn't argue. Kid winked at her and made a quick head motion indicating that it was Patty he was really trying to get out. Liz nodded and they shared a moment of understanding. She grabbed Patty and dragged her out of the room by the wrist. Patty was being way too insensitive to the fact that someone had died and, not for the first time, Liz felt slightly embarrassed of her sister. Sure the two of them had a tough life growing up on the streets of Brooklyn but it hadn't left Liz completely desensitized to death. Sometimes Patty could be utterly callous and Liz worried that she'd been damaged by living a rough life from such a young age.
She flipped her hair away from her sweaty neck and smacked at a fly that landed on her skin. She checked out the room uncomfortably. She could tell it was a pawn shop even without being able to read Arabic. Liz could hear Kid speaking, his tongue twisting into strange words and long vowels. She found it hard to ignore the fact that he was doing his supernatural reaper voodoo crap in the back room and it gave her the creeps. It was a part of Kid's life that she'd never been privy to, or even given much thought to. He suddenly seemed like a dangerous stranger instead of her quirky little brother.
Patty obviously didn't have a problem with any of it. She browsed around touching things, examining something at the broken cash register and kicking at the bits of broken glass scattered about.
We don't need to be here, what if the cops come? Liz thought woefully. The place had obviously been robbed and she and Patty were looking for a damned phone book at the scene of the crime while Kid hunkered over the murdered girl's body, doing god knows what to it.
"OOOh, look at this." Patty sang happily from an alcove behind a curtain.
Liz yanked the cloth back to see what Patty was touching now. There was a whole wall of rifles and hand guns. Obviously not something the merchant had shown most of his clientele. Patty picked up a rather sinister looking kukri and swung it around while Liz was drawn to the well-oiled black metal rifles. Many of them were automatics and she quickly recognized the only American-made gun among them. The M16 had a gun sling spotted with a dark substance she suspected was blood. The fatigue pattern identified it as a relic of the desert storm era. Liz checked out the other weapons finding the lack of blood on them slightly less disturbing to look at.
"I can't believe we're in a war zone." She whispered, watching Patty pick up another item and leave her finger prints all over it. It was too late to tell Patty to quit touching things. She'd already left her prints all over the murder scene. Let's just pray the cops aren't as thorough as the ones in New York.
Liz's eye fell on a rifle scabbard with a stubby metal grip. She knew this gun. She peeled the scabbard off of the rifle and stared at the Avtomat Kalashnikova Skladnoy. It had a foldaway stock that allowed it to function as a sawed off shotgun for close combat or a long range rifle. The S model was one of the former Soviet Union's leading exports next to vodka and Fyodor Dostoyevsky novels. Unlike its American counterpart, the M-16, this gun was good in multiple situations. Liz knew from her peculiar interest in guns that the M-16 was prone to seizing up at inopportune moments, which usually got a person dead in the worst way.
There was something about being a weapon herself that made holding one feel good. She could appreciated a gun that could fire in when it was ten below zero or covered in muck, something at times she had experienced herself. This particular model had been modified with a scope that had spray dot targeting, which was a psychological trick to make the enemy wonder just how many people were aiming at them. It had obviously been well cared for by the store owner because there wasn't a speck of dust in the hard to clean bits, like the trigger and the space between the magazine and the places where the wood met the metal. This puppy was completely clean and didn't have a scratch on it. It probably hadn't even been used.
Patty peered over Liz's shoulder at the gun her sister was inspecting
"Cool gun! It's missing the stock though." she squealed.
"It has a stock; it's just inside the gun." Liz found the release and pulled the out rod that served as the stock.
Patty clapped while Liz lifted the rifle into position. The flickering light of the pawn shop buzzed and protested as she pressed the metal into her shoulder and made Liz shift on the balls of her feet nervously. Of course she was showing off for her little sister a bit but the comfort of holding a real weapon in her hands was actually distracting her of the direness of what was going on in the back room.
"You're so smart Sis. I bet you know the name of every gun in the world."
Liz blushed at Patty's weird compliment before opening her parched throat to speak. "No, not every gun, just the ones that I like that are too expensive to own."
The loss of light from the store front windows caught Liz's attention. Someone had walked past the heavily barred window and she had seen the shadow even through the cloud of yellow dust that was twisting in the air along the street. Another fly buzzed around and Patty smacked it absently with the bottom of a snow globe, oblivious to the world around her. Liz moved closer to the window and found herself staring squarely at a black bird pecking against the glass. Is that one of the soul birds? No, it's' eyes are the wrong color; it doesn't look like a crow or a raven either. Alarmed, Liz flicked the gunstock back down, put the weapon into its scabbard and slid it between her shoulders under her shirt. She grabbed Patty by the hand and hauled her into the back room where Kid was collecting the store owner's soul. She couldn't explain why but freaky reaper crap seemed less frightening that being stared at by the bird. The room was empty except for the body of the young woman. Liz looked around franticly for another room that Kid could have gone into, but there wasn't one. The dead woman's eyes stared at her at her and another fly landed on her hand. Liz wanted the woman to move and shoo it away but of course she didn't. In spite of the heat in the small room Liz's skin felt cold and it made her shiver in her boots.
"God damn it Kid! Kid! Where are you where did you go?"
There was a jingling of bells from the front of the store, and Liz's stomach tightened.
"We need to leave." she whispered to Patty. Liz tried to see who had entered but the curtain that covered the doorway was completely opaque. She could hear the heavy clomp of men's shoes moving around the store and the clattering of things being examined. She motioned to her sister and they transformed into weapon form. Liz expected to clatter against the cement floor of the storage room but instead the butt of the gun landed in an incredibly sweaty palm. She shrieked out loud until she realized it was Kid who had managed to snap both guns up one hand while he juggled a stack of phone books piled up to his head. He had a vacant expression on his face and his lack of emotion made Liz angry.
She ground her teeth together trying not to scream at him through resonance. Should Kid make a sound he might alert whoever was in the other room to come in there and catch the three of them red handed.
"Something wrong?" Kid inquired, trying to both put Patty into a holster without dropping the phone books.
"You left us you jack ass! You left us at a murder scene with a dead body, what the hell were you thinking?" Liz screamed, unable to bite her tongue any longer. Her cheeks flushed over in anger, and it was a good thing he probably couldn't see her right now. Liz wasn't pretty when she was angry. She was more of the vein-popping, beet red face type who took on the appearance of a wrathful daemon than the cute girly type boys thought were attractive. Liz never pouted or stamped her foot when she got mad, she was a maniac looking for blood. Being aware of it made her take absurd lengths to hide that part of her.
"We needed to get the phone books and I figured after sitting through one reap you wouldn't want to sit through four more so I went on without you."
"You could have mentioned it. Someone is here! You idiot, we need to leave before we get caught."Liz screamed in frustration. Even in gun form she could feel the weight of the AKS-47 pressing against her back.
"You really don't have worry Liz." Kid said off-handedly.
"You don't think being discovered with a dead body is something to worry about? Can you use that special reaper magic to wipe people's minds or something?"
Kid paused for a moment to consider the question and the local authorities came into the room.
Liz froze in terror but the cops moved around Kid as if he wasn't even there. Then one stepped right through him to get a better look at the body.
"Oh my god you're a ghost!" Liz screamed.
"Well no, nothing like that, but reapers do travel between plains of reality." Kid returned to the main part of the store and went straight to another phone book buried in a drawer.
"How did you know where the phone book was? Patty and I looked all over this dump."
"The young lady on the floor told me where it was. I just hope it's not too outdated." Kid said, absentmindedly flipping through the book, "After all they haven't printed one since the early Saddam Hussein era."
More law enforcement officers entered the small pawn shop as Kid exited it. He summoned a mirror from nowhere, and stepped into it.
"It's perfectly okay Liz. Everything is just fine. We're leaving now and we're taking the books back - everything is good. "
It's not fine, I'm sick of it. Liz thought to herself. I'm always looking out for everyone else, when is someone going to look out for me? She didn't dare voice those thoughts out loud because it would hurt Kid's and Patty's feelings but whether she wanted to admit it or not she was bitter. She'd thought moving in with Kid would solve everything: they'd be treated like princesses, she would be able to provide for Patty, and they would no longer be living on the streets. Liz hadn't counted on having to look after another child, keep him out of trouble and rescue him from constant emotional breakdowns. She loved Patty and Kid but she was the mother figure who held everything together and she was still just a kid herself. Patty was discovering new things about herself and becoming independent, Kid was getting married and had his whole damned life planned out, but what had she found? Nothing. Nothing but a shit load more problems. Her heroin addict of a mother was still alive, still with the man she had left the two of them for, and was somehow wrapped up in all this zombie mess. Liz ripped at her long blond hair in frustration. Where the hell was her prince, god damn it? Who the hell was going to help her with her problems?
Liz watched as the orange light surrounded Kid again but to a lesser extent than before. He was using different magic this time, summoning mirrors to move through out of thin air. Kid holstered both guns and sprinted through the Mc. Escher-esque landscape of mirrors and black in white tiled floors. Liz felt her stomach twist into knots out of anger and sheer confusion. She seldom cried, but she couldn't help shed a few frustrated tears.
"Something wrong?" Patty and Kid asked in unison as they felt the shift of her emotions through their group resonance.
"Nothing - just get us back to the rest of the team before one of our mothers takes the opportunity to lop off one of our heads while we're out in the open like this."
Kid nodded as he darted back in forth through lines of mirrors that appeared just as his feet touched them. "You're right. You really are smart Liz; I hadn't even considered the tactical disadvantage of coming out here alone like this."
I'd rather be with someone than smart Liz moped to herself. God, I sound pathetic.
"You worried about fighting Mom and Gunter?" Patty asked.
"Aren't you? Gunter almost killed you once already." Liz snapped.
Kid's face went pale and he nearly tripped and missed the next mirror.
"He what?"
Patty's voice sounded dangerous. "I've gotten a lot stronger since then. I'm actually pretty anxious to give him a little payback."
"And what about the crack whore?" Liz growled.
"What about mom? She'll probably snort herself to death before we ever get a chance to hit her. She sounds like she's as crazy and strung out as she used to be. Frankly I don't give a crap what happens to mom. I just forget about her."
Liz's nerves eased a bit but she still wasn't satisfied. "How can you forget someone who tried to sell you in a bar?"
This time Kid stopped cold in his tracks and looked down at the guns strapped to his vest. He'd never heard that particular story before and he shivered in horror.
"How come this is the first time I'm hearing any of this." He asked, unconsciously tightening his grip on the phone books.
Patty ignored Kid's question. "The way I remember it she tried to sell us both, not just me."
"I hate her." Liz whimpered. She dried her eyes on her hand and bellowed back to Kid. "Get a move on Kid; I don't want us to be stuck out here like this."
Kid finally continued on, unable to find the words he wanted. The word 'sold' kept echoing through his mind. Someone had tried to sell the girls. His sisters. Tried to sell them for money or sex, or...Kid couldn't fathom it. He wanted to ask but it burned his belly to do so. He tumbled through the final portal awkwardly and nearly fell into the room where Tsubaki and Maka huddled around the maps.
Kid flung the books down on the floor startling the rest of the group. He noticed the room looked a lot bigger than when he had left but didn't bother asking why. He slumped against the shattered remains of the wall clutching the two guns in his hands. He pressed their grips against his forehead and looked like he might be sick, kill somebody, or both.
"What's wrong?" Maka worried, rising from the map she had been going over with Soul.
"I really don't know anything about the two of you. Why wasn't I told about this?" Kid said out loud, confusing everyone in the room.
"It's in the past Aniki. None of it matters, you're our family now." Patty said cheerfully.
Liz twisted back to her human form, disturbed by Patty's words. "It's not in the past. Gunter and the stupid crack whore are back! He almost killed you before and he's going to try it again."
"What happened?" Black Star snapped nervously while waiting for Patty to transform. When she did Black Star looked her over from top to bottom searching for cuts and bruises that didn't show. Patty was in tip top condition but seemed mildly angry.
"Quit living in the past Liz. You can't be afraid of everything!"
"You're being careless. Gunter is a freaking zombie, our mother is some sort of murderous witch and the way Gunter talked to us last time...that line about being into sisters and us taking mother's place. That was just disturbed. He wants to hurt us."
"Let him try. I'll kill him this time." Patty snarled.
"You're not invincible Patty!"
"Jesus Liz. So Gunter tried to feel you up a long time ago, what are you going do? Just sit in the corner and cry about it? You should just be pissed like I am, he ain't nothing and this time I'm going to prove it to you."
Kid stepped between them just as Liz raised her hand to hit Patty. The striking noise echoed through the building as it came down on Kid's cheek. Swarms of birds fled into the sky at the startling noise of flesh meeting flesh. For a second Kid thought Patty was going to hit him in the face too but Black Star was pulling her away while Kid stood in front of Liz helplessly. The warm stagnant air pushed against his cheek and made the sting worse.
"Calm down. It's okay." He said, "You're just worried because things have been kind of tense lately and that's my fault. I'm trying to correct it."
"Not everything in the world revolves around you, asshole." Black Star spat over Patty's shrieking and growling. He struggled to restrain her as she tried to wiggle free.
"I didn't say it was. You and Soul have been pissed off at me because of my relationship with Maka, and I understand. I take complete responsibility for putting strain on the team."
"Kid, you don't have to apologize for anything. If they have issues because we're together than that's their problem." Maka glared around the room, daring anybody to argue with her.
"I'm calm now, you can let go." Patty told Black Star. Black Star thought better of that and kept a firm hold. Patty stomped on his foot and slid out of his grip while he hopped around crazily.
Liz's face was anything but calm. Now she felt angry and betrayed. "I can't believe you told our secrets to everyone like that Patty. You're my sister; I thought we were closer than that."
"We are close but you need to let our friends know. Kid doesn't like us hiding secrets from him and real families share burdens like this. If we don't tell everybody then we're putting them at risk too."
Maka walked from Soul's side to Patty's and placed a hand on her shoulder which seemed to reassure the younger girl. Liz scowled at Patty before giving in. "You're right. Gunter is a really sick person and it's important that all of us girls are vigilant around him. He's more than just violent; he's predatory when it comes to young girls. We've both had firsthand experience with it."
"When we told mom about it she acted like she blamed us, like Liz tried to come onto him and I was just being unruly. " Patty growled. Tsubaki gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. Soul and Black Star were utterly shocked and Maka looked murderous.
"He nearly beat Patty to death when she ignored one of his advances." Liz said darkly. In her head she was trying to remove herself from the entire situation and just see it as Patty who'd been hurt. In reality she had suffered the most. Being older more developed and being considered the pretty one had brought more woe to her than her younger sister.
"I'll kill him." Kid growled ruthlessly. His reaper's robes started coiling around him like smoke."I'll kill him and send him straight to the seventh ring of hell after I tear his soul to shreds. Why didn't you tell me about this before? Souls like that don't deserve to walk around." His eyes glowed with malevolence and Maka came over to take his hand and try to calm him down.
Soul wiped the sweat from his paling face. "No one should treat women that way – that's as uncool as it can get. I'm sorry you went through that and even sorrier you felt the need to hide it but we need to know more. Does this guy have any weakness other than being a sicko and liking little kids? Is he an alcoholic is he a smoker, use certain weapons? Does he have any sort of repetitive patterns we could use to trap and kill him? Anything you can think of could really be a huge help. "
Liz lip began to bleed from biting it so hard, and her tears left trails on her dirty face. "Gunter always drank; he could pound it back like crazy with no effect. Now that I think of it, he never seemed to eat. But then again he was just one of mom's johns; he could have been eating before he came over. "
"I don't think he was human even back then." Patty announced. She made her way to Liz and squeezed her sister's shoulder as a form of peace offering. "We can do this. You and I. I know you feel helpless and I know you're scared Liz but there are more people to lean on now than just you and me."
"Yes!" Tsubaki said, louder than necessary. A swarm of ravens jumped from the rooftops at the strength in her voice. "What one of us feels all of us do. We'll get even for the atrocities Gunter has committed. There's no need to be afraid, Liz. We will kill him, and we will restore balance to death." Tsubaki grabbed Liz up in a fierce hug. "There is a proverb in my country that says 'Gain from your opponent without sacrificing your own strength.' Liz you need to turn that pain and all that fright into your strength - you can't just keep on hiding like this."
Liz sniffled for a second before nodding her head and burying it against Tsubaki's shoulder. "I'll try. I'm just scared." She sobbed. Tsubaki teared up as well.
Black Star made his way back to the crumbled wall and began kicking bits of it into the other room. Tsubaki was hurting, Liz was terrified, Maka was acting weird and being near all these crying girls made him feel really uncomfortable. His brain ran through the information that Liz and Patty had given them.
"You know Patty said something that stands out to me," he announced, "You said you didn't even think he was human back then. What if he's wasn't, what if he's not a witch or something Kid's rotten mother created? We haven't considered that. What if he's someone else's mess, and he's been around for a long time?" Black Star mistook the shocked stare the rest of the team gave him. "Eh, what do I know right? I'm just the fists of this operation."
"What's with you?" Maka asked softly, breaking the silence.
"I don't know, maybe it's all this weird stuff. First someone kills Tsubaki's dad then they bring him back as a zombie, then we find out your mom is a zombie and of course there's Patty's and Liz's mom who, according to Patty, was pretty much a zombie even when she was alive. Wouldn't it make sense that this Gunter idiot is a zombie too? If he is then Kid's mom couldn't really be the cause of it because she was still with Kid and his dad until seven years ago. Liz's mom abandoned them for this Gunter guy before that. The math just doesn't add up. "
Soul snorted loudly "Since when can you do math?"
"I'm good at math thank you very much. It's English and reading I suck at."
"Yeah, but that's not your fault!" Maka said defensively, "You're dyslexic and English isn't your first language, plus you got started in school late."
"What you've forgiven me for being a dumb ass now?" Black Star coughed and fanned the building dust away from his face. He dropped to the floor and began to do pushups, trying to remove the tension. Maka plopped down on his back to try to stop him but Black Star acted like the additional weight didn't even faze him and just continued to work out.
"I'm not mad at you. I haven't been irritated even the slightest at you lately, for some reason you just seem more mature and easier to talk to." Maka told him as she stared at the muscles in his back as Black Star continued to do pushups.
"Yeah well I'm irritated by you." Black Star shot back.
Maka jumped of Black Star's back quickly, afraid he was referring to the added weight she she'd put on him.
"I'm sorry." Maka gulped, taken aback.
"Lately you're all wrapped up in your goofy relationship and I really don't think you're taking the fact that some supernatural force is gunning for you seriously enough."
Soul shot a rather wicked look in Kid's direction and gave Black Star a shit eating grin.
"Maka, I told you before to not worry about all this turning point crap but I never told you to stop thinking about finding a way to get out of it. It seems like you're just throwing it all on Kid; like he's supposed to do something to save your ass."
"No, I-you don't..." Maka gabbled.
"Maybe Soul, Kid and your dad were right. If you're just to wimp out and do nothing, maybe you ought to just chill out in the netherworld with Lord Death until we get this taken care of."
Maka's face turned red. She was so angry that when she opened her mouth no words came out.
"I think that's a bit much Black Star." Tsubaki corrected sternly. She looked at him with dark eyes that held wisdom beyond her years. Black Star stared at Tsubaki, noticing just how much she had changed lately and it creeped him. She felt light years away from him, and maybe the deaths of her brother and her father were pushing her into adulthood quicker than he was ready to admit.
"Miss Nygus and Professor Stein were right. We're all carrying too much emotional baggage. No wonder they gave us this stupid recon zombie mission." Tsubaki mumbled.
Soul turned his head toward her and asked "What was that Tsubaki?"
Tsubaki cleared her voice and got to her feet, "I said Stein was right we aren't emotionally prepared to be on any mission right now. We need to just forget everything that's happened so far, and just work together as a team. No more past from this moment. From now on we need just have one agenda and that's to kill Gunter and stop the creation of more zombies. If we keep arguing like this we're not just jeopardizing the team or our friendship, we're all likely to get hurt or wind up dead."
"Tsubaki's right." Kid whispered softly.
Black Star shook off the advice and laid back into Maka.
"No you're wrong Tsubaki, someone needs to tell her cause Kid doesn't have the balls and she's too pissed at Soul to listen to him. You need to come back down to earth and face your problems dead on like you use to do, Maka."
"Amen to that!" Soul agreed loudly.
"What exactly do you expect me to do? I think I've been pretty mature about this whole situation." Maka snapped.
"I want you to get angry and do something about it, not wait on somebody else to save you. I want you to do something yourself Maka! Right now you're nothing but a worthless quitter." Black Star yelled.
Maka stomped her foot against the dusty floor and sent a puff of dust into the air. "What the hell do you know about it? I'm getting sick and tired of everyone telling me that hiding out in the Never After with Lord Death is going to solve the problem. I'm sick and tired of everyone thinking that my not being with Kid would solve the problem. The reality is there is no solution to this problem, so it doesn't matter what I do or don't do. I'm going to die. It's already a done deal. My number is up and it was up the day I got sick. I'm on borrowed time already. I've been tiptoeing around all of you so you wouldn't be worried but I'm scared shitless right now.
What Bella Morte did to me ended any normal life I could have had. What do you think is going to happen to me when I lose all my turning points huh? That things will just go back to normal? Well they won't, because even if I manage to live through all of the eight turning points I have left I still die. The only thing that gives me any comfort is that if I make it through I'll get a chance to use my death to do some good by becoming a Shinigami like Kid. And understand this, all of you: I'm not becoming a reaper to cheat death or just so that I can stay with Kid so don't get any stupid ideas. I want to help people. Stopping Gunter and our mothers and getting through those turning points is what I'm fighting for, Black Star. It's not going to do me or anybody else any good to try to fight the rest of it. Get it through your thick head. I'm standing here arguing with you but I'm dead!" Frustration and feeling helpless had finally reached its boiling point in Maka. She backhanded Black Star with one of her famous Maka chops and stomped out side. A moment later they heard a petulant scream of frustration and the sound of fists and boots beating against the rough wall of the building.
Kid looked quietly at the scared and shocked looks on his friends' faces. "We didn't tell you because Maka didn't want you to be worried or treat her differently. My mother cursed Maka in a way that has caused her turning points to come more rapidly and more determinedly than they should. She could stay safe in the Never After for a while but she's human and she can't stay down there forever. The minute she comes out the Grand Design will be waiting for her even if we wipe out every enemy we have. Once it's been started the Grand Design can't be stopped. If you could see and hear the things I do you'd hear Maka's clock winding down and you could see the light of the Grand Design around her marking her for death. It's getting stronger all the time and its happening because my mother wants to hurt me like the rest of you have been hurt. One way or another I have to watch her die and I can't stop it. This team is a mess and Maka's dying because I love her and that's why I said it's my fault, Black Star."
Black Star stared at Kid for minute and rubbed his throbbing head. "Oh."
Patty began to choke and wheeze. Her chest felt full and tight and her eyes stung. "But you said we could get her through her turning points and everything would be okay. You said it would be okay, Aniki!"
"It will be okay," Kid said sadly, "As okay as I can make it. If she gets through all eight turning points, Maka has decided her afterlife will be spent helping others as a Shinigami. But if she doesn't make it through the turning points, if one of them kills her, she'll be gone forever. We'll lose her. I can't let that happen." Kid's face got hard and he clenched his teeth to keep his emotions under control.
"She's going to die." Soul snarled. "And you two didn't think it was important to tell the rest of us? Don't you think that was kind of a bastard move to make? I don't know about the rest of you but I'm dealing with enough shit right now without Maka dropping dead as special surprise." He stalked outside and came back dragging Maka by the collar.
"Quit having a fit out there, you stupid idiot." He growled. "I swear you're so uncool! I –." He broke off and grabbed Maka by the shoulders, shaking her until her teeth rattled. "God damn it, why the hell couldn't you tell me? Why didn't you at least tell me?" Soul's gravelly voice caught in his throat. He let go of Maka and slid to the floor. "All this time, all this time I've been thinking this reaper crap was just because you were fixated on being with Kid. You didn't say it was your only way of surviving. I would never have said..." He broke off and his shoulders shook, but he didn't make a sound. He scrubbed at his face with his hands, too overwhelmed to continue.
Maka crouched in front of him, "I wanted to that day in the kitchen. But we were so mad at each other and then finding out about your brother and Tsubaki's dad…" she looked up at the others, "Everyone losing family members, this Gunter guy…our mothers…we were having so many problems already and I wanted things to be as normal as they could be for the little time I have left. It was selfish of me. I wasn't thinking about anybody but myself and I'm so sorry."
She reached out to Soul and he grabbed her in a rough hug. Patty ran over and threw her arms around them both. Liz was staring a hole through Maka as if she wasn't even there.
"Maka carries those lights around her like we just saw?"
"Yes." Kid whispered unsteadily. He looked at Liz's uneasy eyes, and then at Tsubaki's tearful ones. Black Star stood off to himself with his back turned. His fist shook and every muscle was tense, as if he was trying to hold back an explosion of anger and keep it all to himself.
"We just had those lights all over us when we traveled." Liz said softly. "Does that mean me and Patty-?"
"NO!" Kid growled abruptly, cutting heroff.
"Then how does it work? You haven't explained that part to me. I don't understand." Liz waved her hands in exasperation.
"She doesn't understand because she's not a reaper. None of us understand half the shit you're talking about most of the time Kid." Soul snorted, getting to his feet. "You hide shit from us and we're supposed to accept that death is just a big reaper secret and maybe that's the way it's supposed to be, but if you need our help fighting against this thing then maybe you ought to just spell it out. Like what is this light all over Maka that only you can see? What does it mean, and why can't the rest of us see it?"
"It's death's highlighter." Maka growled annoyed, "Well that's what the orange is for anyway. It marks folks for Kid so he knows who to reap. It means their time is up and he can take their souls gently. It's the purple crap I'm worried about. That's the Grand Design, and when it comes it means a hard, miserable death if Kid can't get there first. It means some crazy freakish bad luck stuff is going to kill me because it's been set to get me on purpose if Belle and Gunter don't finish me off first, which I'm not going to let happen."
Kid cleared his throat and glanced at Soul who was looking at him for a better answer. "She's been marked by the Grand Design and death is actively seeking her but we're going to alter Maka's future by changing the turning points and forcing them to go our way. Being a reaper gives me a few extra seconds of insight when things are going wrong and and we can use it as a sort of early detection system. It's not completely foolproof, though. There aren't many turning points left and it's a race to the finish. I'm not going to let Maka die in the traditional sense of the word if I can possibly help it. And I'll need you all to help me get her through the rest of the turning points so she has the chance to turn into a Shinigami and stay here right with the rest of us. "
Why not just turn her into a Shinigami now? Then there wouldn't be a chance of losing her." Liz wondered out loud.
"Getting through the turning points is going to be easy right? Why can't we just have Black Star jump off a cliff with her a few more times and use them all up? Then Maka will be okay, right Kid?" Patty asked eagerly.
"It's not that easy anymore. The Grand Design is going to throw everything it's got at Maka to make sure she doesn't make it past the eighth point and my mother is helping it along. If we take any risks trying to use up the turning points they'll be exploited. The cliff would crumble under their feet. Or they wouldn't make the landing. Somehow something would go wrong. The only way to get her through this is to wait for someone to make a move and make sure it fails." Kid answered.
"Not that I want anything to happen to Maka, but isn't that unethical - changing a person's natural life?" Tsubaki asked sharply. "Deciding who gets to live and who gets to die all on your own? Saving some people and letting the rest suffer?" she was being harsh with him and Kid knew she was thinking of her father's torn soul.
"Originally I agreed with you Tsubaki, but to be honest I'm just not sure anymore. We're dealing with unnatural death, magic used to twist the Grand Design to its' own purpose, so why can't we fight what's not supposed to happen in the first place? I used to think that death was final and not to be muddled with no matter what the cause, but a lot of things I thought were black and white don't seem to be lately." Kid put his arm around Maka and kissed her forehead.
Black Star's finally spoke. "Oh, I'm going to muddle with death, all right. I'm gonna kick that Grand Design's ass and show it who's boss. "
Soul burst out laughing so hard it nearly brought tears to his eyes. Hearing one of Black Star's old arrogant remarks was a glimmer of normalcy in the middle of all the upheaval and uncertainty. Black Star turned to face the rest of the group and addressed Kid.
"I get that you've just been trying to keep Maka alive. You protect the people you love. But now we're all in this, understand? No more fooling around. Shit starts going down you warn us, Kid. We'll keep the bad guys back while you keep Maka safe with whatever magic reaper voodoo bullshit you've got. I'll do whatever it takes to help you."
"Oh sure, he's gonna keep her safe, all right." Soul said sarcastically.
"Jesus, Soul let it go already. It's not important anymore. You wanna keep having pissing matches with Kid or do you want to keep Maka from disappearing off the face of the earth?" Black Star said sharply.
Maka gave him a dirty look "Soul you promised."
"Yeah I did promise. I don't have a problem with Kid. The problem I have is with you, Maka."
"Here we go again." Maka huffed.
"You're my partner; I know you better than anybody. The minute something starts happening you're going to want us to be right in the middle of it because you're so damned stubborn you won't watch your own ass." Soul said, pointing at her.
"Soul's right, Kitten. You can't be in on this. You won't make it through." Kid said and Maka's face grew mutinous.
"You want me to just sit back and do nothing after all the shit Black Star just gave me? No way."
"The important thing is getting you through this safely." Kid said sternly.
"The asshole Gunter or one of our screwed up mothers comes after me I'm gonna hack them into a thousand pieces and there's nothing you can do to stop me!" Maka snarled.
Soul gave Kid a rueful smile. "I hope you understand what you're getting into, man. I've lived with her for years and this only gets worse. Good luck with that."
Kid looked back at him in surprise and then cautiously smiled back.
"Look, I'm not saying you shouldn't defend yourself." Soul argued back to Maka. "But you can't be on the offensive. I can handle this one on my own." Soul gave her a lazy grin and turned both arms into wicked scythe blades. I might have gotten a couple of pointers from Tsubaki and your dad. I am a Death Scythe after all." He stared at her hard.
Maka ran her hand through her pig tails nervously. "We'll see." She tossed her helmet aside and swiped at the sweat and grime which had accumulated on her face. "We've wasted enough time on this crap. Let's get to work." She said gruffly, reaching for one of the phone books Kid had collected.
"Maka, your dad said to keep that gear on." Black Star huffed loudly fanning at his sweat drenched shirt.
"Really what's the worst that can happen?" Maka snapped back. She leaned down laying the helmet on the floor and began shuffling the maps up to her chest. A large black raven flew in the window and landed on the map. It cawed at her loudly, dancing back and forth.
Thehe bird snapped at Maka's fingers fearlessly and prevented her from picking up the final map. Maka tried to shoo the bird but it bounded away from her grasp and cawed back at her, beating its wings at her.
From the outside of a building the loud blast of a car backfiring sent the students down to their knees ducking for cover. The raven began gagging on something. It made loud coughing noises before spitting out a small golden brown crows eye.
Maka stared in horror at the repulsive bit of eye lying on her map. But she started to move away and felt something all over her. Her hands and limbs were wrapped in purple light. She made a motion to dust the cobweb-like feeling off her but found it felt more like glue this time. She looked up at her friends but none of them noticed the waves or purple light flowing on to her skin. They stared at the crows eye, who's bloody tendrils looked up lifelessly from the map. There was one set of eyes on her though now, a golden set and they were widened with horror.
"It's happening!" Kid yelled, "The Grand Design found her!"
Another bang rang from outside was followed by a wet gurgling noise. Somewhere in the distance a violin cut through the desert air playing a tune Maka knew well. Mozart's Concerto no 5. The sweet melody turned shrill and then switched to Sonata in G minor by Bach. In the blink of an eye Kid scooped up Maka's cast off helmet and slapped it down over her eyes.
"Shit! They're here!" Soul screamed. Barbs of piano wire began skewering the room just as Kid yanked Maka into his chest and dove out of the way. He couldn't risk crossing the Ghost Plain knowing that his mother might be waiting for them there but he could keep dipping in and out of reality quickly and make Maka harder to hit if he could keep the Grand Design off of her.
"A warrior scream pierced the air as a woman leapt through a window swinging a two handed sword. She hit the support walls and cleaved through them as if she was chopping down a tree. Her blond hair danced in the dusty wind as she brought the building down on top of them.
Patty and Liz had already transformed and flipped into Kids' grip but his arms stayed thoroughly planted around Maka with the guns crossed over her back.
"What the hell are you waiting for? Get her out of here!" Soul hollered as the building began crumbling around them. Sickle shaped spines leapt from his legs and he sliced at the tar-covered witch in front of him. Murder hadn't gathered all her crows yet and was still forming, so Tsubaki and Black Star left Soul to handle her and went after the other woman with the massive blade.
"You know your husband and everyone always said that you were real hot shit Kami. Frankly I don't see why. You've been called the one of the best Meisters there ever was." Black Star said snidely. He wrapped Tsubaki's chain around the long handled sword. He kneed Kami in the stomach and smacked her head against the same knee. Her lip split and pungent green blood trickled from it.
"You're just overrated and all used up. Of course you're not the real Kami are you?" Black Star yelled scathingly, hitting Kami with a spinning foot kick. He bounced back away from her sword and a large chunk of the ceiling hit him square in the forehead right before the roof came down. As the rubble fell Black Star stared at the spot Kid and Maka had been and watched Soul leap out the window after Murder who was still trying to pull herself together with a hoard of angry soul birds in hot pursuit.
Kami laughed, easily dodging the collapsing building. She put the heel of her boot down on the rubble trapping Black Star. "If I'm not the real Kami I doubt I'd be able to do that, now would I you little punk?"
Kami dabbed at her bleeding lip with sapphire handkerchief as Black Star coughed up blood on the cement in front of him.
"Nah, the real Kami wouldn't have been caught off guard so easy." Black Star coughed again as Kami ground the heavy chunk of flooring into his chest.
Tsubaki rushed up and swung a katana style blade at the blonde's throat, making a deep gash along the woman's wind pipe. Her eyes darkened as she pulled the blade back to lop off Kami's head, but her blade made contact with another Japanese style Katana.
Black Star used his feet to push the cement off his chest and sent it straight into Kami, who was gulping like a fish out of water. The green emerald necklace around her throat fell into the wound Tsubaki had given her and the thick gold chain fell inward to the cavern of her throat.
Black Star didn't waste time. He gathered himself and his eyes locked onto Tsubaki's opponent. The Japanese swordsman's face was pale and the veins clearly visible under his skin. He parried his daughter's swings over and over and Tsubaki was losing ground. Her foot hit the rubble that had once been the building they'd made their base. It looked like a massive amount of explosives had been detonated inside it.
"Outousan stop this!"Tsubaki shrieked, blindly swinging the katana she had brought with her from the pile of weapons at the school.
"There is only Seppuku. There is no Outousan, not any more", the zombie growled as the katanas rang against each other. Tsubaki's foot twisted as she tried to move up the mound where Black Star was standing. The sun above cast his shadow down on and she listed to his voice instead of the grunts of her opponent.
"Quit trying to be the star and do this on your own Tsubaki. Transform already."
Tsubaki smirked to herself and turned into a black katana. Its' blade glowed fiery red as Black Stars eyes switched from normal to star crossed. The sword she had been using clattered to the ground as Black Star raised two of his fingers in front of him and used the other to hold shivering blade in position.
"You ready for this?" he asked through resonance.
"Yes" Tsubaki whispered, finding comfort in the darkness. Merging with Black Star washed away all her fears; she wouldn't have to fight her father. Black Star would do it, and Black Star wasn't afraid of anything. She felt Black Star lift from the ground in silence and then ninja and the samurai were pounding steel against steel. The blade forged from Tsubaki's soul chipped at her father's blade and Black Star sent him parrying back.
Nearby Soul was doing a fine job, of soloing Kami. The blond swung at him with the heavy handed sword slicing the air as if it were a scythe or a battle axe. Soul managed to sidestep in and jammed his scythe arm into her ribs. Green spurted from her wounds, but Soul was having less luck avoiding the wire his brother was whipping around.
Soul growled irritably and used a projectile launch with his right elbow. He flung the curved blade out like a boomerang, and it sliced through the wires Rasp was sending forth.
"You seem like your getting better little brother. You're fighting differently than before."
"Oh how nice of you to notice," Soul growled, taunting Rasp to come after him. "Yeah I've had a lot of time lately - been practicing by myself a lot more instead of just relying on Maka, and I was given a couple of pointers by a very intelligent female ninja. She's pretty damn amazing; a lot better weapon than you. Not that it's hard considering you're a complete noob at this."
Soul slid under the array of wire flipped at him and used Kami as a shield. For an instant the zombified face of his brother contorted into one of fear. He eyed Kami, assessing at the damage he'd done to his comrade just as Kid slipped behind him and spun Maka toward him. He was moving Maka around the battle field as if she were a chess piece, while Maka used the Thompson sisters to slap holes into anything that got in her way. And Wes was in her way.
Soul watch distractedly as crazy-looking purple and black energy burst from Kid's fingers and he pulled a mirror out of nowhere. Kid whirled Maka around and drove them both through the mirror with a weird dancing motion. Soul couldn't see what Kid was trying to avoid but he was awed by the amount of power Kid was throwing around. Then Kami hit the mirror with her sword and it disappeared. Its contained magic exploded outward, blowing her into a nearby building as Kid and Maka reappeared across the street.
Kid looked at the ground and saw that the purple light was thinner and less pulled together in some places than others. The purple light moved like clouds rolling in over the mountains. Dangerous clouds. Already he had seen turning point: the wall falling down, the stray wire that nearly pierced Maka's forehead when Rasp missed Soul. The Grand Design was hitting Maka hard and to say she was accident prone right now seemed a little bit of an understatement.
Unfortunately without the calming anti-madness wave she gave off, Kid was unable to fire just one gun again. Instead he let Maka use Patty and Liz while he tried to keep her out of harm's way long enough to get her the hell away from the battlefield.
Liz exploded into her human form and jerked Maka away from the tip of Tsubaki's father sword. Somehow they'd landed right in-between the duel between Black Star and Seppuku. Kid concentrated on making a mirror form on his left side and then he shoved Maka through it. Unfortunately that left the Thompson sisters unprotected in human form. Patty reached out for her sister and in an instant of split second understanding Liz turned back into a weapon. Patty released a hail of bullets, comfortable with her grip and her wild crazy shots. They ricocheted this way and that and Kid thought she was shooting blindly until he noticed through the fine line of the ghost plane that all the bullets were pushing at Kami in order to send her into one of Soul's blows.
"I'm useless." Maka screamed, frustrated and angry on the other side of the mirror.
Kid couldn't say anything to make her feel better and he noticed the black crows were swarming again. Murder was trying to pull herself together. The birds had been distracted by the soul ravens that had engaged them in fierce battle. While his back was turned Maka saw a zombie appear behind Kid and she jumped back through the mirror to save him.
A few of the fighting ravens and crows ripped along their faces and Maka ducked out of the zombie's reach, dragging Kid down with her. Patty began snapping shots off at the sky. The sun was setting zombies were appearing from the darkness and shadows that had started to move in.
Maka used a flying roundhouse kick on the zombie that had nearly grabbed Kid. It fell back into a group of them that were gathering and Kid used his magic to push them back and away from Maka. The purple light faded around Maka as the sun moved down into the sand dunes which gave Kid a glimmer of hope. Kid watched as Patty and Liz switched places. Liz pulled off a quick set of controlled shots, concentrating on only one target. Her eyes blazed as she brought the pistol level with her arm.
"Stupid crack whore, its Humpty Dumpty time for you. I'll kill all of these birds and leave you lying in so many pieces that you won't have anything left to put back together."
Liz grinned maliciously and stepped up her pace; snapping off shots like Kid had ever seen her do before. Maka too seemed to stare at Liz but then she abruptly knocked Kid to the ground just as explosion of earth burst from the ground.
Kid's eyes fell on Maka fearing the worst, but the earth shattering boom had come from another direction closer to Liz.
"Black Star!" Liz screeched as the dirt and dust cleared. She saw the ninja drop to one knee and she skidded across the broken dirt to the road just as Seppuku slithered up behind him and raised his Wakazashi into the air. Black Star had only been holding Tsubaki's father back, not wanting to kill him in front of her and now it was too late.
"No!" Liz screamed, looking for help. Kid and Maka were on the far side of the battlefield. Soul was closer, but he'd never make it to Black Star in time.
"Shoot the bastard Liz! Shoot him NOW!" Patty screamed inside Liz's head.
Seppuku's blade whistled through the air as it came down on Black star's head. Black Star knew he couldn't avoid the killing blow and used his final seconds throw Tsubaki's gleaming dark blade across the field toward Soul. A shot rang out and Seppuku's hand twisted away from Black Star and dropped the blade. Liz watched in horror as her mother stepped in to finish the attack. She clubbed Black Star repeatedly across the head and he crumpled to the ground. Liz fired a second and then a third shot at her mother, but the bullets spun uselessly through her inky form. Murder lifted Black Star up by the throat and arched her arm back to skewer him on her long claws and Liz did the only thing she could think of.
She ran. Her combat boots seemed to hit the dust in slow motion as she pulled her shoulders in and flung herself into her mother. Murder's whole form bent and separated in a liquid fashion. She twisted up her head to stare at Liz while her lower half engulfed Black Star in her inky blackness. Her mouth opened in a silent scream and oily tar burst forth across Liz's face. The thick liquid felt suffocating out in the heat as it soaked into her desert fatigues and slid down her chin into her mouth.
Liz tried to throw Patty free and save her the way Black Star had saved Tsubaki but the gluey substance that poured from her mother had already covered her hand.
"I hate you!" She coughed as the viscous liquid forced its way into her eyes and nostrils. The last thing she remembered was feeling alone and wondering how her limbs could feel so cold when the desert heat had been burning them only moments before. The tar ran across her head and into Liz's long hair as she fell limp, staining it grey and black.
Soul ran to protect Maka, yelling "Kid, go! I've got her!"
Kid screamed in panic and threw everything he could at the never ending mass of zombies that ripped and tore at any part of him they could reach. "Liz-hold on Liz!"
He screamed until nothing came from him but animalistic cries. Something snapped inside him as he ran and his heart and soul shuddered. As they did, the first and second lines of Sanzu connected and blue lightning erupted across the battle ground, twisting into a mushroom cloud dispersal of power. Soul quickly grabbed Tsubaki's blade from the ground and slammed into Maka, knocking her into the dust as he covered her and Tsubaki with his body. White hot fire and static electricity shot over them and Maka and Soul felt their hair stand on end as Kid leveled the entire army of zombies.
"We're leaving! Retreat now." Rasp bellowed. He slashed at Soul's inert form at it with a tight line of piano wire as he ran past it. "Cut your losses and run you idiots!"
Murder winked at Kid before exploding into a flock of crows and disappearing. Rasp used his wires to push him upward and landed near Seppuku, who plunged the wakazashi into the ground. A mouth of earth swallowed them second before Kid's wave of raw power reached them.
Kid skidded to a stop and looked around in a dead panic. "Patty! Did anyone see Patty?" he panted, barely able to speak.
"She was with Liz and with…Black Star." Tsubaki cried, "I can't believe he tossed me away like that. What was he thinking why didn't he…why didn't he hit my fa-father-oh god Black Star!"
Tsubaki began weeping hysterically and Maka reached over Soul to hold her friend. "It's okay. We'll get him back; we'll get them all back. He's with Liz and Patty and they're pretty resourceful. It will be okay."
"Liz was unconscious. She tried to save Black Star from that witch." Tsubaki cried.
"She won't kill them. She's Liz and Patty's mother, she couldn't kill them right?" Kid wailed, "They're not dead, if they died I would feel it, right? Patty and Liz and Black Star have the sense not to run off. Their souls would still be here."
Soul nudged Maka with his elbow. "He's freaking out. You need to do something." He said quietly.
Kid shook and babbled in panic, "Their mother can't be like mine. She just abandoned them. She's not going to kill them, right? She won't kill them?"
"But what about Black Star?" Tsubaki shrieked. "She doesn't know him! What's to stop her from killing Black Star?"
Kid rocked back on his heels again began to pace the sand. "If they were dead their souls would be here. There aren't any souls to reap so they aren't dead. Patty and Liz would come to me." Kid assured himself. He felt his stomach lurch and he began gagging as Tsubaki's wails grew even louder.
Maka felt like hitting them both. She wanted to smother Tsubaki and then knock Kid senseless but she rose from her place on the sand, pushed Tsubaki into Soul's arms and went for Kid. She understood why they were panicking but she was violent with misplaced fury. Those assholes had the audacity to steal her friends, and she would end them. She grabbed hold of Kid and shook him a few times.
"Stop it and get a hold of yourself. They aren't dead. Quit questioning your logic. We will get them back. I swear it!" Maka snarled, staring at him with rage in her eyes. She was mad as hell and Gunter and Company were damn well going regret pissing her off when she got a hold of them.
Kid seemed to deflate and he wrapped himself around Maka's body, but she was in no mood to be gentle with anyone. She wanted blood. She grabbed Kid's neck roughly and crushed his head against her shoulder.
"They're dead. My fault all my fault. I should have had them both in my hands."
Maka kicked at the cracked earth under her feet, twisting her combat boot into the ground.
"It's okay." She told him venomously. "We will get them back. Calm down Kid. I'm right here. I need you to be strong right now; can you do that for me? We can't fall apart. We need to figure out where they went. Do you feel any dead nearby they could have used for a portal?"
"I…yes there is someone dead nearby. I can feel the crows picking at him."
Maka felt her stomach turn. "We need to go there. Kid, get us into the Design."
"Are you sure about that?" Soul cried staring at her determined face.
"Yes I'm sure. Kid, take us into the light!"
