"There's so much madness," Ame mumbled, looking around the cave as she walked along. "I hope Kid and the others are okay."
"Ame," Nagi called quietly. She'd been acting a bit off lately. "I can carry you, if you want."
"No, I'm fine," Ame sighed.
"There are a lot of weird clouds around here," Liz noted quietly, trying to ease the tension.
"It's probably Madness," Kid agreed. "Be careful and tell me if you two start to feel bad, okay?"
The Cave of the Twin Demons; Alter Ego of the Gods?
She looked to the side of the pathway to see a human skeleton.
"A body," Rin said.
"Let's search it," Ame said, diving to search the corpse's pockets.
"Guess humans aren't allowed here after all. They've all been struck down by the madness."
"Okay, now I'm really worried about the others," Nagi admitted.
It was a priest, Ame discovered, with exorcism slips and a rosary. She held the rosary up to the light. The beads were a deep purple and Ame felt a deep power wavelength within them.
"This is a Divine Instrument. The Exorcism beads, if I'm correct…."
"Mom will be proud," Nagi said. Ame smiled at him.
The moment was ruined when a loud roar echoed throughout the corridor. Ame draped the beads over her neck and summoned Seven Strike as a pair of demonic monsters charged at them.
"I wonder how Ame is doing," Kid thought. "And Maka and the others. Have they gotten out of the dungeon yet?"
"Hey, Patti, are you okay?" Liz asked. "You've been quiet for a while."
Kid glanced back at Patti with a concerned look. She had her head down and was walking rather slowly. Kid slowed his pace and turned his head.
"If you transform, I'm sure I could carry you for a while," he offered quietly. Patti stopped walking entirely. Kid was worried now. "Patti?"
She didn't answer, but instead fell to her knees. She put one hand over her mouth before throwing up blood. Liz ran to her side immediately.
"Patti!" Liz turned to Kid desperately. "Kid, she can't transform like this."
"Oh no," Kid knelt on the other side of Patti and put a hand on her back. She was trembling with fear. "It's the madness. It's getting to her."
"Sis, it hurts," Patti whimpered, collapsing.
"Patti," Liz cried. "Kid, what should we do? We can't move her."
"We'll just have to wait for a while," Kid told her. "Try to be calm. I can't lose both of you here."
Liz nodded and struggled to control herself. She had to be strong for Patti's sake now.
Ame landed a final blow on the demon and sheathed her sword. "Now that the welcoming committee has given us a fair greeting, why don't we meet the host of this party?"
Ame turned a final corner and entered a large room. She looked up at the high ceiling that seemed to go on forever.
"Looks like we're here," Nagi said.
"Kid!" Ame gasped, running to the center of the room. There was an elevated circular platform, almost like a stage or an altar, with a swirly sun pattern on it. In the center of the stage was Kid's human body. Ame knelt next to him and pressed a hand against his face. "He's still alive."
"Get away from him!" a voice shouted. Ame thought the voice sounded so familiar. For a moment, she thought it was Rem and immediately stood in front of Kid. However, the figure that came into the light had vibrant white hair and mismatched eyes. The left eye was golden and the right one was green. Ame stared at the human alter ego of herself with disbelief. No wonder the voice sounded familiar; it was her own.
"Kid, she's not getting better," Liz said tensely.
"Where are those madness suppressants Father gave us?" Kid asked. Liz hesitated. Anti-madness pills affected Kid like they did Ame; being an embodiment of Madness, they are repelled by the drug. Liz uncertainly handed the pills to Kid, who offered them to Patti with shaky hands. Just holding them made him feel sick.
"Kid, no," Patti choked out. "If I take those, you won't be able to use us anymore."
"You need these more than you need me," Kid said. "Please, just take them."
She hesitantly swallowed the medicine and got to her feet with Liz's help. Kid stepped away from her; he knew this would happen. He couldn't stand to be near her now.
"Come on," he said dismissively. "We need to get moving now."
Down in the dungeon, Maka and the others found a collection of corpses.
"Look at all those bodies."
"Looks like Rem's been using sacrifices of her own people to keep the spirit of Arachne alive," Ox said.
"Come on," Maka said, guiding them out of the dark cell to a dimly lit corridor. She paused, and the others followed suit. "I think there are others here. We should spread out some and try to get past them."
"Right," Blackstar nodded.
"We'll go first," Kim said. "I'm a witch. If anything goes wrong, I can handle it."
"Be careful," Maka nodded.
Soul Eater
When Maka and the others reached the center, Ame and Kid were there too. But Kid was still a wolf.
"Where is his human body?" Maka asked urgently.
"Looking for something?" a voice leered behind them. Rem was sitting on a high ledge.
"You witch!"
"Where's Kid?" Liz demanded.
"Let him go!" Maka shouted. Rem smirked.
"I'm sorry," she said. "But he's not here right now. If you want to see him again, I advise you listen to me very carefully."
There was silence in the room.
"I need him to complete this ritual," Rem explained, floating down to the ground. "I will revive Arachne by the spilling of your blood and the ones who are left will be her first meal."
"Not if I have anything to say about it," a voice interrupted, two figures stepping in front of Kid and the others. It was the human Kid? This was getting trippy.
"You? A pathetic human?" Rem laughed. "Don't forget your place beneath me, insect."
"You disgusting creature," Kid snarled. "You may have made me cringe before, but I'm through with fear and weakness. I will not submit to fear! I will fight not only for my own sake, but for others as well." He glanced behind him at Ame, Liz, Patti, Maka, and the others. "Liz, Patti, transform now!"
"You got it, Kid!" Patti cheered, doing as she was told.
"Ready to go?" Ame asked the wolf Kid, who nodded. The two of them transformed and growled at Rem.
"Fighting, are we?" Rem asked. "Fine, then. It'll be so much easier to get your blood on the altar."
Ame charged at the witch, Divine Instrument Exorcism Beads equipped and ready to go. Wolf Kid followed her lead, deflecting attacks with the Divine Retribution. Kid and the others fought as they always had. It felt mediocre compared to all the weird stuff that had been happening lately, but it had a sense of normality to it, which was nice.
"Sorry about what I did earlier," Kid apologized to Liz and Patti. "Throwing you guys aside like that. Believe me when I say it, I need you two."
"There's nothing to forgive," Liz replied. "We're just glad you're back. Hey, wait a minute, who were you here with?"
"You'll see in a minute," he said. "Because I'm about to throw you aside again!"
He did as he said and the girls transformed to land on their feet a few yards away. What did he do that for? As they saw Kid get hit by one of the witch's spells they realized he did it so they wouldn't get hurt. Even when he's a human he still tries too hard to protect people. A figure dressed in white stepped in front of them.
"A-Ame?" the girls stuttered, looking at her. She had no tail or ears; she was just human.
"Girls, will you transform for me please?" Although it sounded like a command, she was being more polite about it than Kid. The girls transformed in beams of light and Ame took them in her hands, spinning them once before aiming at the witch.
"Wow, I wish Kid was this polite," Liz mumbled.
"Wow, I'm badass!" Ame stared at the human version of herself in admiration.
"I know, right?!" human Ame squealed before resuming her serious demeanor and attacking the witch.
Human Ame fired one long shot right at the witch. Her soul wavelength was composed of a million colors. The witch struggled to block the attack, giving wolf Ame just enough time to sneak behind her and slash through her.
"Oh, no you don't!" Rem screeched, reaching behind her and throwing a blade of pure black at Ame. Ame let out a shout as she was thrown back against the altar, her black and red blood spreading in a pattern over the stone structure.
"Ame!" Kid cried after her. It was the worst sound in the world to hear Ame scream. "Get away from there!"
But it was too late. Rem's final act had caused an Inochigami's blood to be shed at midnight over and altar dedicated to the Spider Queen. A demonic violet-black glow shot upwards to the sky.