Risenfromash: This is a super long chapter compared to my others, hence why it's taken me a while to get this one posted. I could mess around with it for a while longer, but I'm ready to move the story forward and you are probably wanting that, too, so, sit back and get comfy or split it in two with the first part ending as they head to the Avian Flu compound.
Chapter 49: Change isn't Always Inevitable; First Times for Everything?
Instead of feeling the horrible sick feeling I used to whenever Maka wielded another weapon I enjoy watching her as she teaches Brian the most basic lessons a demon weapon needs to know. He's a total punk, but I think he'll end up fitting in ok at the DWMA.
Kid is trying hard to be an effective team with Tsubaki and admittedly he is doing better than he did in class with Harvar or Jacqueline, but it still looks like a disaster.
Patti and Liz give up on attempting to coach their meister. Patti heads to her bag to rummage around it for something and Liz comes over to talk to me.
"I'll trade you," Liz says. "You can go coach Maka and the brat. I'll take a turn as look out."
"You giving up on helping Kid and Tsubaki?"
She nods. "Kid is hopeless when he isn't paired with me and Patti. Look. He's actually hitting himself with her." She shakes her head. "I guess it's a good thing that Lord Death's job is rarely on the battlefield because I would weep for the future if he was supposed to save us all."
"Well, he'll have you guys, right?"
Liz sighs, "Not if he doesn't grow some balls."
"What do you mean?"
"Don't tell Patti, ok?" Liz says nervously as she watches her younger sister munching on a snack she pulled out of her bag.
"Sure."
"I've gotten some hints from Lord Death that when you ascend to the lordship, or whatever the hell you call it, that you're supposed to be free from…entanglements."
Liz has a tendency to look bitchy, but at this moment all I can see is pain on her face.
"I'm sorry."
She shrugs as though it's no big, "I'm more worried about Kid. He needs somebody you know? He tries to be a lone wolf, but he's way too needy."
"Yeah."
"I'm just hoping the rules might get bent a little for Patti. I think they're good together."
"What about you?"
"I land on my feet," she says with a bitter edge to her voice.
"Yeah, but..." I don't know what to say. It sounds like there is more going on at the Death mansion than some light hearted sexual tension. There might actually be something more to all of Kid's denial and the mixed signals he gives his partners. "Have you talked to him about any of this?"
"No. I haven't figured out how to bring it up. But after this little episode I guess I'll have to." She cringes as she sees Kid clumsily swinging Tsubaki. She shakes her head and suddenly turns to me smiling. "But what the hell am I doin' bitchin' to you about our problems? Get over there and make sure the perv isn't molesting your meister."
"Thanks," I jog across the field to where Maka and Brian are practicing. It's odd to see Maka's techniques with a gun in her hand.
"Soul, tell me a target," Maka orders.
"Piece of shiny litter. 3 o'clock." She turns and shoots. She misses but I'm impressed by how speedy she was about turning to the target and she at least got in its vicinity. Really, it's not too bad for having virtually no practice.
"My backpack over by the bike." Oh, that was dumb…why the fuck would I want her to shoot my bag or the bike. Shit! I could really use some more sleep. When we get back to DC I'm skipping class for a whole week. It's not like they'd expel me… I wish I could convince Maka to skip with me. I swear that'd be the most awesome thing she could ever do for me…cut class and just hang out and do nothing with me for a whole day. No training, no reading, just hanging out and sleeping.
I close my eyes in fear of the devastation I will see as a result of my poorly chosen target, but then I hear cheering. "Got it!" Maka exclaims happily. So much for my only other pants and the other stuff in my backpack. I'm just relieved she didn't hit the bike. That would have been bad.
My meister hands Robin Brian. "Ok, you try. I want to talk to Soul for a few minutes." I watch as Maka and Brian instruct the lanky archer on how to properly hold a machine gun. I'm guessing Hood isn't an action movie fan or he'd already know.
"Ugh! I don't know if I can do this! Even before Geoffrey I was an archer. I don't know anything about using a gun!"
Maka pats him on the shoulder. "You'll be just fine. Brian's doing most of the work you just need to hold him steady and aim him. Don't worry." The lanky archer nods.
"I'll try my best, that's all you can do, right?" he says psyching himself up.
"Right," Maka and I encourage.
"I just don't want to let Kid and Lord Death down," the professional archer admits his head hanging downward.
"You won't," Maka tells him. "You're not only a great archer, you're an amazing meister."
He puts a hand on his heart and mouths the words, "Thank you" to my meister and she smiles.
"It's not lip service. You're good, Robin. Sometime we need to duel."
"Sure, but with our real partners."
"Absolutely," I say. "But, we'll take you and Geoffrey down just so you know. We don't pull punches for no one."
Robin grins. "You guys are going down."
"That's the spirit," I say wrapping an arm around my meister.
"I'm just glad there isn't a mirror," Robin says shaking his head. "I think I'd die if I could see how stupid I look right now."
"You do look kinda dumb," I say and Maka glares at me. "But don't worry. It's not gonna matter how you look. Everybody is gonna be running the other way when they see you and your BFG."
Maka and I turn from the meister and his novice, temporary partner.
"You're doing better than I expected," I admit to her as we walk away.
"Yeah, me, too. Brian's actually a fast learner."
"Did you have to hit him?" I ask.
"Only twice."
"That's not too bad," I admit.
"I don't think he's into tiny tits," she says grinning at me.
"Well, then he doesn't know what he's missing…" I cup her head in my hands and kiss her not caring who sees.
"Soul," she says turning red. "Not in front of our friends."
I shrug. "They all know."
"Yeah, well…I still get embarrassed."
"Ok, then let's go somewhere private," I whisper huskily in her ear. She looks so hot all determined and focused like this.
"Shouldn't we be training?" she asks uncertainly.
"Probably," I admit. "But…" I pull her into the shadows of a big tree. "I think we both need this. Today's gonna…" My voice trails off. I don't have words for what will be happening. There are so many unknowns. At this point it's hard to imagine what the next day will bring. I'd never expected any of this. We're in fucking Mexico and Lord Death has been captured. What the hell is going on these days? And what exactly do these stupid Avian Flu people even want? You'd think that they'd be trying to contact Kid to make some kind of demand or gloat over their capture of our leader or some shit.
"Don't worry, Soul. We know our stuff and there are plenty of us here. It's not like when it's just been you and me."
I nod. "Just don't do anything too awfully stupid. Ok?"
"When have I ever done anything stupid?" She says with that teasing grin.
"I recall a time you sucked on the top of an enemy's head mid-duel." I counter.
She laughs merrily as though that's a routine part of every battle. "That was Crona; that doesn't count. Besides, it all worked out in the end."
"Which made it fucking brilliant, but if it had failed it would have been just plain stupid." I hug her.
She runs her fingers thru my obnoxiously out of control hair. "I don't know why you're lecturing me. It was you that pulled me back from madness that time. You had more to do with our success than me."
I rest my chin on the top of her head. "I guess sometimes I just worry that we're like cats and only have so many lives before our luck runs out."
"It won't run out today." She says it with such confidence that my doubts melt away.
"Well, good, because I'm actually missing having Black*Star for soul collecting competition. His trash talking keeps me motivated. Where we at anyways?"
"I think we're back at thirty-seven, maybe thirty-nine... I can't remember exactly." I groan. What's it been now, three or four times, that we've failed to bag a witch and have had to start over? I never would have thought getting one witch soul would be so damn hard.
"I didn't realize you were lacking motivation. I guess I'm not a very good meister."
"Naw, you're awesome. I'm just lazy. You know that. If it weren't for them having our friends here I might have decided to sit this one out."
"You are such a bad liar. You know you would do any mission Lord Death sent you on."
"I don't know about that," I say honestly.
"Well, now that Kid is Lord Death you will."
I nod. Of course, I will do anything Kid needs me to do. With Kid it's all more than school and career it's friendship, too. "Which reminds me. We need to look at the bike. How are you gonna ride backwards while shooting? You won't have anything to hang on to." She chews her lip which means she's not sure.
"Come on, let's go figure this out. I don't want you to fall off." As we examine the bike trying to figure out how to give Maka some stability on the bike I survey the scene to see what everyone is doing.
Robin and Brian are continuing to practice and at the moment they appear to be bickering with one another, but the argument doesn't look heated enough for anyone to need to intervene. Tsubaki has found a shady spot to sit in and is drinking water from her canteen and snacking on something near Patti, but Kid and Liz appear to be absent.
"I think Brian really likes you," Maka tells me pulling me back to what I'm supposed to be doing.
"Is that good?"
"I think so. He could learn a lot from you. I think you two should-"
"No way! When all this settles down I'm not spending my free time mentoring some creepy pipsqueak. I'm gonna be busy with you, video games, basketball, and getting caught up on Skeletoxin."
"I'm sure he'd enjoy doing some of those things with you." She says it sweetly in an attempt to butter me up.
I frown. "You missed the part about you."
"Sure, we'll spend time together."
"Lots of time," I whisper in her ear. "Special alone time."
She laughs. "Soul, you're so silly. Before long you will be tired of having me around all the time."
I give her a squeeze. "I'm not convinced of that."
She looks down at her watch. "Crap. It's almost time."
Patti skips over to us. "You 'bout ready?"
"Yeah, but where're your sister and Kid?"
"They went for a 'walk'," she says winking at me.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I ask genuinely confused.
"It's the kind of walk you and Maka take, where you disappear into the shadows for a while and come back later grinning and with your shirt untucked."
"Patti, my shirt is always untucked and Maka and I have been known to go on real walks, occasionally."
"Well, I don't think Liz and Kid do."
"Patti, I think you exaggerate things about-"
"Oh, look here they come," Patti says pointing to shadows from which Liz and Kid, in full reaper regalia, are emerging.
"Wow, Kid!" Patti says cartwheeling over to him. "I didn't know you had it with you."
"I always have it with me, I just usually prefer not to wear it, but given that these vial creatures have taken my father they need to know that they have not disrupted the functioning of the DWMA and that we are still a viable organization."
"Are we a viable organization?" Patti asks.
"We will be doing everything in our power to be one and it is important that we give that appearance to Avian Flu."
Robin gets in the sidecar and then Tsubaki gets in, changing into weapon form to save space. Maka climbs on the bike behind me placing one of her feet on the bar that holds the sidecar in place.
"You sure you're stable enough like that?" I ask her nervously.
"Soul, I'm fine. Just because I have a tendency to fall off of things like buildings and bridges-"
"And down our stairs," I interrupt her.
"That was one time. You've fallen down our stairs once, too, you know."
"Yes, and I was shit-faced. You were completely sober when you did it."
"There was a patch of ice."
"In July?" I shake my head. That girl will never admit that she sometimes she has clumsy days where it's all she can do not to trip over those sexy, long legs of hers.
She gets herself positioned and I hand Brian to her.
"Maka, do you drink?" Brian asks. "Cause I know how to make this killer Tequila Sunrise."
I stare down at the weapon Maka is now holding. "You make alcoholic drinks?" I'm appalled. He cusses, he's more pervy than the rest of us guys combined, and now I find out he has what sounds like an extensive knowledge of adult beverages. What next? Am I gonna find out he fathered a child a few years back? Good Lord, we need to rehabilitate this kid fast.
I sling my leg over the bike. "Ok, Brian, now behave yourself. I assure you this is the one and only time you will be between my meister's legs."
Maka hits me, but I catch her hand and hold it as we wait for the rest of the group to do their final preparations.
Brian continues to blabber on about alcohol. "Yeah, in the off season they'd stick me under the bar and I'd mix drinks and hand them up to the bartender to give to the customer. Drunk people aren't super observant so it was easy to work a little magic and make it seem like they had the fastest best bartender around. I made decent money too. My favorites are mudslides, sex on the beach, grasshop-"
"Your favorites?!" I shout. "You aren't an alcoholic are you?" I have a sudden fear of us going out on a limb for our new recruit just to discover that he has a worse addiction problem than the bum who's always slumped over in front of the The Lucky Pumpkin Saloon in DC.
Kid extends his hand and his skateboard materializes. "Ladies, you ready?"
"Yeah, but you sure you want to wear that thing?" Liz asks.
"It is an honor…and an obligation. I'll be fine. Just remember, it's still me under here, all right?" He says smiling at his weapon partners. He starts to pull down the mask but Patti reaches up and places her hand on it on the way down and gives him a kiss on the cheek. He smiles and for the briefest of moments their eyes meet before a slightly redder reaper hides his face behind his skull mask.
As soon as his face is covered he says, "Soul, you got the bike all ready?"
"Yup," I nod. It's going to be a shame to wreck her, but using her as an offensive vehicle will be worth it if we can manage to knock out some of the bird people with Maka's soul wavelength.
"Ok, everyone ready?"
The group lets out a whoop.
"After you, Soul." Kid says bowing like an attendant at a fancy dress party.
"Make way for Lord Death!" Maka and I shout as we begin to fly across the remaining miles between us and Avian Flu's compound.
I run through the plan a final time in my mind as we approach the compound even though the plan in theory is damn simple. First, we ram the front gate. Robin uses his bow and remaining arrows to take out the couple of sentries at the gate. I pull into the compound and do a three-sixty while Maka uses Brian to clear the field of any enemies meanwhile Kid and the Thompsons head for the meeting of Avian Flu commanders that's held in the office building on the north side of the compound. I ditch the bike and Maka grabs me as she hands Brian off to Robin. Then the two of them along with Tsubaki will join Kid's team in annihilating the compound's higher ups while Maka and I rove around looking for our friends and to find clues to the organization's plans and motives.
"That's it," Robin tells me.
I scan the horizon and see a bunch of ugly concrete buildings in the distance on my left hand side.
"K, everybody we gotta move fast, cause they're gonna see us," I shout.
From Robin's feet I hear Tusbaki say a prayer that Black*Star is ok and my soul echoes it. That asshole better be just like he was or I'm gonna be a fucking wreck. I love all my friends, but who else can I get really stupidly drunk with or stay up till three am playing video games with?
We approach the gate and I get butterflies in my stomach. What if we get trapped in the chain link? What if they shoot us? What if we get inside and Black*Star and our other friends aren't there?
"Soul, it's gonna be ok," my meister says and I feel a hand tenderly caress my back.
"What are you doing? Hold on to your weapon and the bike! Are you crazy?"
"Calm down, Soul. Black*Star's fine."
"How do you know?"
"Cause I just found his soul."
"Oh." I feel silly. I forgot she could do that. Sometimes, I forget she has these more obscure superpowers while all I can do is turn myself into a scythe.
"Alright, I'm standing up," Robin says.
"What the fuck? You're gonna stand?"
"Don't worry, Soul. I used to do this on the back of horses."
Robin carefully stands up in the sidecar and aims his bow and loads an arrow.
"Ok, guys, I'm lining us up. Kid, you good?"
"Right behind you."
On either side of the gate there is a guard. I can't tell what they are armed with. I'm focusing on the gate. If I can hit it just right I can get the chain link to simply crumple yanking the gate off its hinges, but I gotta hit it just right…I hold my breath. I've done some crazy things on Brunnie. Maka and I have ridden in all kinds of conditions, I've driven up and down staircases, through crowded marketplaces, across sand so hot it threatened to melt the tires, but I have never done anything like this.
I pray that Kid's physics lessons have paid off and that I can really bust through this thing, because not only will it make for a dramatic entrance it will get us well on our way to having the upper hand in the conflict.
I start counting down to the impact. Robin takes his shots at each of the guards and as the arrows whiz through the air, I shout the numbers out seven…six…five…four…three…two…ONE!
The bike impacts the gate and makes a horrible sound as it yanks and twists metal on its mission to get through and then we lurch forward with part of the gate scraping across the tops of our heads.
I feel blood leaking from the cut as I send the bike into its turn. We see people, some more bird like than others, come pouring from the rooms.
Maka, her skull necklace glowing, showers the area with soul wave 'bullets' and then I hear the Demon Twin Weapons begin their rhytmic banging. The air is filled with what sounds like a drum regiment having some kind of seizure.
"One more time, Soul!" Maka shouts to me and I spin us one more time. I hear Robin moan and complain that this is worse than a roller coaster and Tsubaki say that she's glad she can't see anything.
"Are there a lot of them?" she asks.
"Yeah, but don't worry. There won't be for long," I say.
The demons are a blur and I hope there are no innocent people here because everyone is getting pelted by Maka. Brian is hooting and hollering. It is obvious that this is his calling.
"Maka, you're amazing!" I hear him say in awe of my meister's shooting.
"None of that now," I shout back to him.
"Soul, he was just complimenting me!" Maka says as she blasts the chest of a particularly intimidating bird person.
"That's how it starts, Maka. I of all people should know. K, we ready to ditch?"
"Yes, please!" Robin moans sounding nauseous and I'm glad we don't expect him to do any more sharpshooting because I'm guessing none of us will be able to walk in a straight line for a while.
I dump the bike and as planned Maka hands Brian to Robin while Tsubaki jumps out of the sidecar in human form and begins fighting a couple of nearby birds. A few have started taking to the skies and I look overhead.
"Soul, let's find Black*Star and Geoffrey. They're over this way somewhere." I almost ask how she knows and then I realize that she probably pinpointed them before she went postal on the compound. She begins using me to hack and slash through every demon between her and a building with a door labeled '3A'.
"Maka, you sure you want to go in there alone?" I ask her already knowing the answer.
"I'm not alone. I've got you."
I smile. "Fair enough."
She creeps up to the door and gives it a yank before jumping in with me at the ready, but instead of a hiding enemy we find only an empty stairwell leading down to an ominous dark area.
"Creepy," I say happily. "Let's go check it out."
"Already on it," she says running down the stairs. We can still hear the rain of bullets from the others, but here it seems surreal because it's so empty. It has an abandoned, hollow feeling. The stairs continue down but we've reached the first subfloor labeled 'B1'.
She cautiously approaches the door and opens it finding a hallway with a bunch of doors. Maka throws each door open, but there is nothing of any significance. Office supplies, a meeting room with a table, chairs, and a chalkboard…another room with a bunch of chairs…cleaning supplies…
"Maybe this building is just storage," I say.
"No, I sense there is something here. We just need to go further down." We return to the stairs and descend another floor. The next floor, 'B2', starts out much the same, but at the end of the hall there is a windowless door that is locked and is labeled 'Strategic Planning'.
"We need to get in there," Maka states.
"OK. We can take that door down. It doesn't look especially strong."
"I don't want you to get hurt." She says it not with the whimpering of a lovesick teenager, but a meister calculating that sacrificing her weapon at this point in the game isn't ideal.
"Then don't take the whole door down, just cut a hole so you can reach through and unlock it."
"Good idea."
She backs up and swings me like an ax and I hack a hole into the wooden door and she carefully reaches through and unlocks the door. Stepping into the room, at first I think that there's nothing special here. It's just another messy office space. There a couple tall metal file cabinets, a bookcase with some medical and science text books, and a big oak desk at the far end of the room that is covered in papers but then my eyes land on the bulletin board behind the desk and see what is pinned up all over it. It's covered with the names and photos of hundreds of DWMA students.
"What the…?!" I say transforming out of weapon form. I dash over to the board. Maka's green eyes have attracted my attention as they stare back at me from a copy of her student ID photo pinned to the board. The photo is mounted on a card with various info creating a profile of her. Below her name is listed her height, weight, and blood type followed by her relatives and their skills and attacks. The special attacks we do when resonating together are listed as well as her soul perception and her extensive knowledge of various meistering techniques. They even mention her exposure to Black Blood through her partnership with me. A section called 'personality traits' lists her as being hard-working, loyal, well-read, brave, and opinionated. Then it says, "Current weapon partner: Soul Eater Evans- to be eliminated Future Partner: Justin Law." Below the typed profile handwritten in red ink are the words, "Apprehension top priority. Generation of Enlightenment: Mother. Resistance will be above average. Bonded Level 1A to Soul Eater. Also bonded with Tsubaki, Death the Kid, Black*Star, Liz and Patti Thompson"
I rip the card off the wall. I am enraged. They have attempted to reduce her spirit and talents to a three by five card.
"Maka," I turn to her. She has tears in her eyes as she is looking at a poster listing names. I see mine as well as Patti's and at the top it is titled, "Rejected Hopefuls Scheduled For Elimination." I see the names of friends and people I don't know. A few have been crossed out and a date marked beside them. Harvar's name has been crossed out and then circled with the word 'escaped' written across it in lopsided letters pressed hard into the paper. Someone was not pleased he got away with his life.
"This is horrific…she says backing away from the list."
I nod. Do I show her the card in my hand? I think not. I go to stuff it in my pocket, but she sees it and snatches it from me before I can.
"Justin Law?! What does this Enlightenment bullshit mean?" she asks me.
"I'm not sure."
"Soul, grab that poster and all the cards you can reach," she starts flipping through files on the desk. "We should take these, too."
I look around for anything to stuff the papers into. All I can manage to find is a wire waste can and I start tossing files in it like crazy. She runs over and pulls down more of the profiles from the wall.
"We don't have time to get them all. Just grab what you-"I hear something from the hall. "Maka," I grab her hand and pull her next to a tall metal file cabinet. I transform into weapon form, but she points to how big that makes me. I'm visible, so I have to switch back to human form. I hold her hand and wrap myself around her. Worst case scenario I can shield her from an attack in human form. I know she doesn't like hiding, but it's our best option till we get a sense of whether the person is alone or not.
The person enters the room. My heart is beating like crazy. This person will not have missed the damage to the door and that things look torn apart in the office. It's obvious they office has been compromised.
"I know you're in here…Maka Albarn," a man's voice says. "You couldn't have gotten past me in the stairwell. We've been expecting you. We have great plans for you. You will be a mother of the Generation of Enlightenment. I know you want to know what that means and to learn what an honor it is to have been selected. Why don't you come out so we can discuss things like mature adults?" We hear the speaker take a few more steps into the room. "I know you are either under the desk or hiding by the file cabinet. I'd say that there is a sixty-five percent chance you are using the file cabinet for cover and a thirty-five percent chance that you are relying on the desk. You'll have to pardon me. I'm a bit of a statistics nerd."
This is bad. We are trapped. Our only option is to jump out and attack. We ready ourselves. When she jumps out I'm going to have to act fast to transform as she starts to swing me.
"Soul, you're here, too, aren't you? I'm sorry that you've been deemed unworthy. I tried to convince the council of your potential but they are such traditionalists that not having a traceable lineage was a major black mark against you. That and those piss poor grades of yours. It's really amazing that Maka puts up with your slacking." The man takes a dramatic pause, presumably to see if he has hit a nerve that is sensitive enough to cause us to reveal ourselves, but my meister and I resist saying or doing anything other than continuing to hide out of sight next to the file cabinet.
"Is it true that Soul doesn't even know who his father is? So sad. Things like that won't be happening any more with Avian Flu in power. There will be order like never before. Everyone will be paired with the person that best helps them to serve the world. Unlike Maka who right now has done a poor job in choosing a weapon partner, but that is a mistake that can easily be fixed."
This guy's remarks aren't getting under my skin, at least not yet, because I've heard it all before. Rumors have existed for years related to my red eyes and pale skin. When I was in grade school some cruel kids claimed I was the result of a demon raping my mother. Other people have gossiped that my conception occurred during some dark ritual known only to witches and kishins. And, of course, I've heard plenty of people insinuate that Maka deserves a more studious partner, but that is no longer a criticism that hurts, because time and time again I've proven myself and not to gain anyone's approval but hers. The girl who didn't care what was whispered about me and my red eyes, but treated me like a normal person worthy of love like anyone else. It's only now that I remember how alone I felt prior to her partnering with me.
"And rumor has it that your partnership has recently gone to a new level of intimacy. Really, Soul, how unprofessional of you to exploit your meister for pleasure." I can feel Maka's agitation rising. I try wiggling my fingers in her palm to remind her that no matter what this asshole says we're here together and that's all that matters, but I know that look in her eye. She is pissed.
"Shut the hell up, you bastard!" she shouts as she jumps out swinging me mid transformation. "Soul is the best weapon partner for me and he proves it every time we claim a soul together. It is your lack of compassion and love of numbers and figures that makes you fail to see that. Some things only make sense in the soul, not on paper, not with statistics."
For the first time we get a look at our adversary. He's a man in his mid to late twenties of Asian or Polynesian descent with a muscular physic and a set of magnificent white feathered wings. Unlike the other Avian Flu members we've met, he is extremely attractive. If melding with birds made most people transform into this instead of goose-stepping, long-necked weirdos I could see the appeal, as it is I think this guy was just super lucky.
"Tell us where our friends are and I'll allow you to live…for the time being," threatens my meister waving my cutting edge dangerously near him.
"Why, Maka, you seem confused. We are friends. Everyone here is your friend. Black*Star is fitting in well, as will you."
"I refuse to be brainwashed. I will never join an organization that transforms children into demons."
The expression on the man's face changes to one of disgust. "I don't know to what you refer."
"Like hell you don't. You kidnap kids and then you do something to them. You turn their souls into kishin eggs against their will."
"Are you sure it's against their will? You see that scroll on my desk? That's the list of people queuing up to have their souls melded with birds so that they can claim the skies, which was formerly only the territory of birds and gods."
"I have no need of flight. I am perfectly happy on the ground."
"And, therefore, you would deny others the choice? Tsk, tsk, Maka I thought you were more open-minded than that."
"You haven't given anyone a choice."
"That's because we are the only logical choice. Avian Flu is powerful and we will redistribute the world's resources so that everyone has an equal share. In exchange, each member of the Generation of Enlightment will contribute their talents and skills to the world to the fullest extent possible. Everyone will do what they are best at and, therefore, there will be no failure. Everyone will be perfectly suited for what they do and who they do it with. For example, you will partner with Justin Law. You have amazing compatibility with one another, a fact you have neglected to notice due to your childish preoccupation with the demon bastard you currently…resonate with." He says it creepily and I get that same sick vibe I did when Falconer talked about Crona. I feel like there is a weird sick undertone to all of this, but then again maybe I only feel that way because they seem to want to kill me and pair my meister and girlfriend with a Deathscythe she hardly knows.
"I could slice your head off right now," asserts my meister with confidence.
"Are you sure of that? Would you really kill me when I have made no move to attack you?"
Her answer comes fast. "You bet. That's why I'm here. You have turned your back on humanity so we are here to claim your soul. Your soul is mine!" Despite her words, I can sense that his words have had an effect on her soul wavelength. It's more staccato than normal and I sync with it and try to guide her to a more relaxed beat. I don't fault her for questioning if killing him is the right course of action, because he doesn't appear to have a weapon and he hasn't done anything to us other than some mud-slinging. He's coming at us with an entirely different approach than Falconer, but there is no doubt this dude is evil.
The dark haired man laughs, "That isn't you. That's Soul's influence and a reflection of the poor training you have received from the DWMA, an obsolete school for thinkers of age old paradigms. Maka, join the new generation and allow yourself to be enlightened."
"Maka," I whisper to her. "We need to either attack or capture him. We don't have time for this. He's an Avian Flu member. You know what they've done: Hiro, the midget demons, Lord Death, our school, the hotel-"
As I list his organizations blights on humanity I see him doing something odd with his right hand, but he's sloppy and my meister has seen it as well.
"Now, Maka!" I shout and she kicks him with her front legs pushing him away from her. Then I see the glint and figure out what he's got in his hand. He's brandishing a small throwing star. That's gonna hurt like a bitch… He throws it and Maka leaps narrowly dodging the star hitting her in the chest, but then he's got another one in his hand again. He has some kind of dispenser built into his shirt that feeds them to him! Great!
Maka scrambles to get behind the desk as a throwing star hits my handle. I let out a yowl, 'cause as I predicted getting hit by one of those hurts super bad.
"Come on, Maka," the man says. "You're making me do this. You don't need to get hurt. We haven't hurt your friends. Wanna see?" He leans slightly back and directs his voice to the hall. "Black*Star, can you come in here please?"
My best friend wanders in casually and then sees us and runs over to in front of the desk. "Maka, Soul, is that what all that noise was? When did you guys get here? And why are you bleeding?"
"Cause we're getting you out of here and have met some resistance," my meister explains.
"Oh, you must have misunderstood. This is Ling," Black*Star motions to the man. "But I call him Ramen. He's my buddy."
"Black*Star, you fucking idiot," I greet my old pal. "This guy is trying to kill me and turn Maka into some kind of…I don't know, weapon breeder or something. It's disgusting. We're getting you out of here. This is all very weird. You see that don't you, buddy?"
Black*Star scratches his head. "That does sound weird. You say he used throwing stars against you? What'd you do to piss him off? Cause you really don't want to piss him off. He's cool unless you don't do what he tells you to do."
"Black*Star, what has he been telling you to do?" Maka asks.
"Hang out here. Watch some movies. Get to know this one chick, Sandra, practice my fighting-"
"None of that seems odd to you?" She asks her eyes focused on the dude and not Black*Star.
"No, not really. It's pretty much what I do at home…or did. This is my home now. Me and Sandra have a little-"
"Ugh!" Maka groans. "Do you remember fighting them? They brought you here by force. Do you remember Harvar? He told Lord Death the whole thing."
"I think it was a big misunderstanding," the assassin says.
If I weren't in weapon form I'd face palm at this point. I've never heard Black*Star use the word 'misunderstanding' in his life. Hell, that would have been a great thing to say to Tsubaki a few days ago, but was that word in his vocabulary then? No, of course not. Wow, my best bro can be a real winner, sometimes.
"Black*Star! You have been manipulated and brainwashed. Can't you see that?" I shout. I'm terribly upset at him and his stupidity even though I think that by default if you've been brainwashed you don't have control over your thoughts so it isn't really your fault.
"Brainwashed by who?" Black*Star asks looking around the room as though he expects the Boogeyman to suddenly appear.
"Maka, this is pointless. You know how Black*Star gets. We can knock some sense into him later. We need to take out Noodles."
My meister groans, but her eyes never leave Noodles. "You realize that the two of you are being incredibly racist, right now, don't you?"
"What? Because I called the guy who just nailed me with a throwing star 'Noodles'? Fine, I'll call him what he deserves to be called…Assbag Cock-sucking Shit for Brains Mother Fucker, my meister and I are going to take you down."
"Ok, I prefer 'Noodles'," Maka says.
"I knew you would. You can't take filthy language."
"If I couldn't take it I wouldn't last as your partner. I simply believe there are better words that you can use in place of expletives such as 'fuck'."
Noodles laughs. "See what I mean? You two are terrible together? You waste so much time fighting each other, I could have run out the door!"
"Yeah, Maka, you haven't changed one bit, have you?" marvels Black*Star. "You're still super annoying and super brainy. I'm not even sure I want to have you come live with us, but whatever."
Our friend starts to walk towards us.
"No, Black*Star," the Asian man says. "Only her."
"What? You telling me my buddy, Soul, doesn't get to hang out? But he's super cool and I totally love him. I can't live without him, man. We do everything together and you gotta see him shoot hoops. He's really good for a white guy, especially a really, really white one."
"He is not to be enlightened," says the winged man firmly.
Black*Star looks puzzled and waggles his finger back and forth between the two of us. "So, you're breaking up Soul and Maka?"
"Maka will be paired with a far more compatible weapon."
"Then what happens to Soul?" asks the befuddled assassin.
"He will not be part of the new generation."
"Yeah, and what does that mean?"
"He is to be eliminated. You may do it yourself if it makes you feel better." Oh, yes, I'm sure that Black*Star will feel better about my death if he does it himself, what kind of fucked up logic is that? These people's brains are diseased, I swear.
"Eliminated? You mean like killed?" Black*Star says as calmly as if he were considering what item to order from a menu at a restaurant.
"Yes, killed. Soul is not to be part of the Generation of Enlightenment. The council has deemed him unworthy."
I survey the scene. We are behind a huge wooden desk, much too heavy to flip. Black*Star is standing in front of the desk between us and the winged freak and both him and Noodles arebetween us and the door. My meister keeps looking left and right trying to decide which way to bolt when we have the chance. At some point we are just going to have to make a run for it, but Black*Star is blocking Maka from getting a good swing at Noodles.
"So, you want me to kill him," Black*Star says once again confirming what is very clear to me which is that this guy wants me dead.
"That is correct, or you may leave the room while I do it."
"Oh, no. He's my friend I guess I better do it."
I am feeling very uncomfortable with this, but I'm way too proud to beg for my life even from a friend…or former friend. I can't say I know what we are now. At least, I'm in weapon form and they aren't using that purple mist crap on me, because I'm a lot more durable as a metal scythe than a dude of flesh and blood.
"What you got I can use?" Black*Star says turning to the man and holding out his hand. The man looks down to draw something from his waist and my friend kicks him in the face knocking him backward into the bookshelf.
"Maka, now!" he yells signaling us that it is our time to be on the offensive. Maka charges at the man swinging me as she goes and slices him cleanly in two as Black*Star rushes to get out of her way.
"Black*Star, I love you, man! You really had me going!" I say while transforming back into human form as I walk up to the man's soul and open my mouth.
"Aw, no worries. I can't believe that douche was gonna split you two up. Some of the people here are so stupid, but don't worry. I can get things straightened out so you both can be in the new generation or whatever. I mean, you two have gotta be together. You belong together, just like me and Sandra."
"Whose Sandra?" Maka asks giving me a wary look.
"She's my fiancée. You'll love her. She's super nice and we're super compatible like you and Soul. She's gonna help me to become greater than a god."
"Dude, you're getting married?" I ask waiting for the punch line.
"Yup. Awesome, huh?" he says patting me on the back. "Life here is pretty sweet. All we gotta do is occasionally go out on missions when they tell us to."
Maka continues to wear a look of concern upon her face. "Won't you get in trouble for us killing-"
"Naw. It's no big. I'll just tell them he was spouting old paradigm bullshit. They off people for that all the time." It's the casual way in which he says this that makes me know for sure he isn't pulling my leg. He has really changed. They've messed with my best friend's head to the point where I can't trust him anymore and my partner and I are now somewhere under the compound with no way of communicating to Kid and the others what's happened. This is not good.
I whisper to Maka, "I think we may end up needing to knock him out."
"I agree, but first let's have him give us the tour."
"Agreed."
Black*Star proceeds to lead us on a walk through a labyrinth of underground tunnels. This place seems to be easier to get lost in than the DWMA's basement which is saying a lot. I'd love to hang back some and talk to Maka about our situation but I'm worried that either Black*Star will hear us or we'll hang back too far and lose him in the twists and turns of the corridors.
Most of the hallways are plain concrete and the doors iron. It makes me think of a prison or some kind of archaic mental hospital never more so than when we pass a room where we hear some crying.
"What's in there?" Maka asks.
"Oh, that's where some of the hatchlings are kept."
"They sound upset."
"They probably are." His lack of empathy chills my blood.
"Can we go inside and talk to them...the 'hatchlings'?" She is looking at me for back up.
"Yeah…uh…if we're gonna live here don't you think we should meet everyone?" I ask.
Black*Star shrugs. "Ok, but it won't be super interesting. Just a bunch of sobbing kids."
He punches a code into a panel by the door and it opens.
"Black*Star! Have you come to keep us company?" a brown-haired boy asks.
"Do you want to play a game with us?" another little kid asks. This one could be a boy or a girl…I can't tell. I scan the room. There are four kids all younger than Brian, but all old enough to be in primary school.
One little girl is sitting on her knees clinging to a coffee table. "Who are you?"
"I'm Maka and this is Soul."
"Are you Bird Sick people?"
I grin. I think I like this kid. "No-"
"Not yet," Black*Star says happily. "But they will be."
"Don't do it!" she shouts running up to us. "Don't! People change! They come here to gain wings and strength and powers they should never have. Don't change like Black*Star." Tears are running down her cheek. She must have seen him before.
Maka leans over and hugs the girl and pulls her aside. I try to distract Black*Star with some stupid questions hoping that will give Maka the opportunity to tell the girl something to calm her down or let her know that the compound is under siege and that we will be taking them with us.
As we leave the room I notice that the girl who had been upset is gathering the other children around her. Maka winks at me to let me know that they will be expecting our return. I take Maka's hand in mine. I'm not sure how much more of this place I want to explore right now. The quiet is creeping me out and I'm ready to check that our comrades are ok. Maka pauses for a moment and closes her eyes. Then she leans my way and whispers in my ear. "They're all ok. We've won."
I exhale a breath I didn't realize I was holding and my step becomes a bit of a strut. Now I feel like we can come up with a strategy for dealing with Dumb Ass here. I shake my head. If I find out that the Avian Flu mindfuck only works on the weak minded I'm never going to let him live it down. How could he have let this happen?
Black*Star leads us up a couple flights of stairs and then opens a door and fresh air comes pouring in as we blink at the bright light of the laughing sun. We step out and I quickly orient myself. We seem to now be between buildings four and five coming out of a little shed like building labeled '3B'.
We hear a shout and Patti comes running up to us. "We've been looking for you everywhere! Kid said you were ok, but I was so worried."
"Black*Star!" She flings her arms around him, startling him so that the hug is completely a sided affair that pins his arms at his sides.
"Oh, hey, Patti!" Black*Star says startled by her exuberance. "Nice to see you, but you might not want to-"
"Black*Star! What do you think you are doing?!" An unfamiliar voice is coming from above us and I look up to see a form standing on the roof of building five. "If that is another woman, I will beat you!"
"Uh…yeah, Patti. My fiancée is a little possessive. Sorry. You better get offa me. You don't want to know what she did to the last girl who-"
The woman jumps from the roof landing about ten yards away from us. "What the hell Black*Star, you've moved on from porn mags to other women?"
She walks up to my friend and slaps him in the face completely ignoring the rest of us. "I'll be at home and if you know what's good for you, you will get your ass there in the next five minutes. I'm setting my watch."
"Sandra," he whines. "I was just saying 'hi' to some old friends of mine-"
"There is no excuse for your philandering and wild ways. You are mine." The girl has dirty blond hair and is dressed entirely in hot pink and black with a bow in her hair about the size of Kid's hover board. So far I'm not impressed by her manners or her taste in clothes and I can tell by the expression on my meister's face she's thinking the same thing. After consulting her timepiece, Sandra stomps off in the direction of whatever corner of this hellhole Black*Star and she refer to as home.
I'm so busy watching her storm away that I don't notice Tsubaki emerge from one of the neighboring buildings. "
"Star!" She shouts his name and rushes to him tears of joy pouring from her eyes. "You're ok. Thank, Lord Death! I've been so worried. I'm so sorry about everything! Let's not fight!"
Maka and I start shouting for her to stay back, but her entire being is focused on nothing but her former meister as she runs to him, wraps her arms around his neck and kisses him on the lips. Sandra whirls around rushing to attack this female throwing herself at her man, but even before Sandra reaches his side, my friend has pulled Tsubaki's arms off him.
"Hi," he says smiling, obviously not having minded the kiss. "But do I know you?"
