Prepare yourself for the angst! I'm sorry (not sorry) that I did this.
"Group three is awful today," Soul griped as he threw the clipboard next to Maka on the ground.
"Definitely not very teacherly, Soul," Maka corrected as she took one last look at the smattering of students on the training ground. "Needs improvement is kinder."
Soul shook his head, "No enemy is going to tell them they need improvement."
Maka sighed, rubbing at her stomach through her shirt. "They're all just nervous. The big mission went out today and the place feels kind of empty. It's eerie."
"Maybe we should get Stein in here, wake 'em up a little," Soul started to smirk but it was cut short by the hiccuped air from her mouth. "What was that?"
"He surprised me," Maka laughed as she tilted forward to free her other hand, both of them coming to her stomach. "Come here!"
"What?" Soul knelt down next to her and she grabbed his hand, slipping it under her shirt and pressing it to the swell of her stomach. "Maka, what-" Her skin trembled beneath his fingers for just a second, Soul moving his hand to try to find it again. "Did he just…?"
"A kick or something," Maka couldn't stop another wave of laughter.
Soul's fingers continued to travel the width of her stomach, searching for that fluttering movement again. "Come on, kid, one more time."
Maka tried to stop his motions, hands clamping over his with a sigh. "It's not exactly comfortable and Soul, the kids, we have to get back to practice."
But just as Maka feared, their boy was more willing to listen to his father even before birth, sending another wave of kicks underneath Soul's fingertips. "There you are," Soul let out a breathless laugh.
Maka had opened her mouth, ready to complain about their child already playing favorites when the first scream hit her ears. "Was that inside?"
"I don't know." Soul stood up quickly. "Teams, over here, now! Circle up!" He reached down, grabbing Maka's arm and bringing her to her feet.
As ordered, the students had started to scramble to the two of them but before Maka or Soul could conceive of the next step there was at least a second scream, this time closer as the door that connected to the practice ground from the school busted open. A few students rushed out, almost falling head over heels before making their way to the class grouping. "The cult," one of the kids gulped.
"Stay together." Soul grabbed the last struggling student by the collar, bringing them to the circle. "Keep with your partners because you're going to fight if you have to, but for right now-"
"Soul," Maka cut him off as her hand grasped his. She motioned towards the hooded figures who were funneling out the door that hadn't even gotten to close after the students. "Teams one and four together, two and three together. Each set takes on one enemy. Soul and I will handle the rest."
"Once we get rid of them, we're running," Soul hissed.
"If we can," Maka shot back. "Let's go." Soul disappeared, changing into the long, lithe weapon in her hand rather than by her side. She started off low, trying to remind herself that airborne wasn't really a safe option as her practice with this new center of gravity had been short-lived. Breathing out a low apology to her captive third wheel, Maka swung and split her first black cape. As she repositioned, Maka let her eyes dart to the student groupings, seeing the slow but maybe not so hazardous progress.
"Don't get cocky," Soul's voice was still a hiss in her ear. "To the left."
"Trying to concentrate on them and the students sucks," Maka griped as she tossed another witch-hunter slash down towards the open door, catching one or two more cultists before busting the wood off its hinges.
As she pulled back for another slash she could feel his hesitation, the slow in both of their movements. "You feel OK?"
"I'm fine," she snapped. "I promise, no maxing out, just need to get this cleared quickly and then we can try your running idea."
"Maka, team three," Soul called.
"Shit." Maka spun on her heels, throwing as much momentum as she could into the tight curve. One of the young meisters, Abigail, was splayed on the floor, her weapon, Chris, out cold next to her. It was a reach but Maka managed to literally take the feet out from underneath the cultist before gliding in to get Abigail back off the ground. "Team two, will you please circle up with team three! Let's go! No time for half-assed teamwork."
"Don't worry, darling, teamwork's not necessary anymore." The honeyed voice dripped into Maka's ear and she could barely stop herself from whipping her head around. Unlike the others, this woman did not wear the long black robe but a black trenchcoat, split with the surprising red of a tank top dress underneath. Her black hair was buzzed close to her scalp with violet eyes that glowed with delight. In her hand, she clenched the head of a student still thankfully attached to a limp hanging body, a girl who Maka could not recognize. "Mostly because I found the team I was looking for, Maka Albarn and the famous Death's Last Weapon."
"Maka," Soul growled.
"You made me go through such an awful lot of trouble," the woman lifted the student in her hand, studying the fresh droplets of blood that the movement elicited. "Since who would have imagined the great pair who defeated Arachne would retire! How droll."
"Who are you and what do you want with us?" Maka was slowly edging closer to the students, hand not holding Soul outstretched as if to guide them all into place.
"The witch Druscilla, obviously, and punishment, of course. Your list of crimes is a long one, and I'm sure I don't exactly have the time to go through all of them. But let's just put Arachne and tarnishing the book at the head and be done with this conversation." Druscilla dropped the student with a sickly crunch, her eyes sparkling as she shook the blood from her hands. "Now, let's let the children run off and play so it's just the three of us." Druscilla stood aside from the door with a flourish. "They can leave, my word of honor. I even withdrew my compatriots as soon as I found where you were."
"I can't promise it's just us," Maka started, "Kid's not going to be happy you busted into his school, and Stein-"
"You're wasting time," Druscilla purred as she snapped her fingers. A soft mutter came from her lips and suddenly there were no students, there was no building, just the training ground floor surrounded by fog.
"This is… spatial magic," Maka murmured.
"Correct, and now, yes, we are alone. For the next hour, or until I die, or maybe until the two of you die and I get bored," she grinned. "Now, can we get on with it?"
"Soul…"
"Yeah, I know." She didn't have to ask, to even breathe a word about it because the little ogre on the piano bench was already looking his way, that slick smile smeared across his face. Madness was what he had to offer, Black Blood spilled on white keys.
Stein was watching Marie check the last of the students before he brought his attention back to Kid. If Kid's hands could dig any harder into his hips they'd be grabbing his intestines as he focused on the hazy blur that was the rest of the training field. It was as if high summer had come early and the waves of heat were coming off the ground, making everything in front of him look like a mirage. "Is Black Star on his way?" his voice sounded like he did have his guts in his fists.
"He's clearing out the last of the cult on campus, though there's not many to speak of." Stein put out a hand for Marie who took it, pulling her from her squat position over one of the suffering students.
"All the students said that's where Druscilla took Soul and Maka," Marie added softly, the news like poison off her tongue.
Kid weighted calling Maba but threw it to the side, another gut reaction that wasn't necessarily for the good of all of them. Maka and Soul had to fight and calling in a witch's favor, even if she would consider it, was dangerous. It's just a witch, just a witch and Maka has fought Asura. "Did you call back the rest of the team? If she's here, that mission was utterly pointless from the beginning."
"Asuza is redirecting them." Stein nodded towards the barrier, "What actions are we taking with this?"
"What actions can we take?" Kid felt his composure crack, his voice coming as a hiss. "We let them fight."
I'm tired, Maka moaned in her head. I'm tired, and I'm slow, and the baby, oh, Death, the baby. The black dress, that beautiful armor that Soul could cultivate, was starting to lean more towards tatters as tiny trickles of blood marred each rip. They were spines or needles, Maka couldn't be sure since they moved so fast, zinging past her in endless supply. If I was faster, if I could just be faster.
"Maka, concentrate," Soul urged. "Fix on her wavelength. I can try the Soul Adagio if you-"
"If it backfires you'll be done." She tried to save her breath as she was forced to do another slide, the skin of her right leg raked raw against the hard earth.
"You can't keep this up," he growled back. "So we have to take a chance."
None of it sounded acceptable in the grand scheme of things. Maka didn't have a fleeting second, but her mind still took one, wondering what it would be like if they were normal like Soul's parents hoped for, if the two of them lived in a world where she didn't have to choose between what felt like death or death. Their resonance always felt like a heat blossoming from her head to her toes and she let that feeling wave over her again, letting him come with her to reach out for Druscilla's soul. It was black and covered in needles, that's what they were, not spines but like an urchin from the bottom of some murky depth.
His fingers were a blur on the keys as they created the antithesis of Druscilla's sound, but just as the thunder exploded from his the piano he felt it claw back into him, ripping under his nails and pulling apart the tendons in his arms and making them numb and limp. "Fuck," he moaned out as the reality overwhelmed him.
"No! Soul!" Maka howled as he suddenly wasn't in her hands anymore but withering on his knees. She grabbed his shoulders, trying to shake him free but he was immobile. As she tried to swing him again she felt the hand tighten around her throat, her detached hold on him sending him collapsing on his side in a puff of dust.
"How delicious, that you'd underestimate me, that you wouldn't think I'd do my homework." Druscilla tightened her hold around Maka's throat, ignoring as Maka's fingernails scraped at her wrist.
"Maka," the sound of her name barely leaked from his throat as he started a slow writhing on the ground.
"Oh, oh, oh!" Druscilla cawed with excitement. "I see it, I see it now! Of course, you would have to retire. What a beautiful little belly you have, Maka, darling." Druscilla kicked a cloud of dust into Soul's face, laughter erupting from her mouth as he coughed. "How rude of you not to tell me the big news. When are you due? Or should I say, when would you have been due?"
"No." It was meant to be a scream but all Soul's throat could handle was another croak as he somehow managed to curl his knees under him.
"But, yes, Soul, I think that's part of a perfectly fitting punishment." Druscilla swung Maka closer to him, her feet dangling just within Soul's grasp before yanking her in the other direction, throwing her with enough force to crack her against the barrier.
The bile swelled from Soul's mouth at the sick, wet thunk that echoed as Maka hit. "No."
"Oh, yes," Druscilla chimed as she knelt down next to him. "And now, I think, the best way to end this is to let you watch her die. No baby, no wife, no future. That sounds wonderful."
But superimposed over her was the little ogre, his face a horrible opposite of the amused Druscilla. "No baby, no Maka, no future," it repeated. "Is that what you want? Is that who you are? A useless weapon without his meister?"
"I can save her," he groaned as his arms started to extend, bringing him on all fours.
The sickly grin crossed the ogre's face. "Sure you can, if you're mad enough."
If Marie didn't know the situation, the sight would be hysterical. All four of them, Kid, Stein, Spirit, and Black Star, were standing with hands digging into hips, eyes focused on the distance. They looked halfway between a band of superheroes mourning a tough day and a boyband ready for a video shoot. Liz, Patty, Tsubaki and herself were standing quietly behind, more intent on the soft touches of hands and bumps of shoulders to offer even an ounce of reassurance. Marie was sure there was none to be had, especially as the time was ticking closer to a half-hour and she knew the tiredness that came with carrying around another human being. It took everything she had not to tell herself that there wasn't a nightmare waiting on the other end of that barrier.
"It's faltering," Stein called out, pointing to a tear in the ripple effect. "Marie."
"Ready," Marie moved right beside him, her hand slipping into his.
The haze dropped away like a curtain, leaving just Soul standing in the middle of the field, his back to the group.
"Maka!" Spirit started, moving to the limp mass that was just three feet from him. His daughter's name continued to spurt from his lips as he turned her over, watching as her head lolled to the side, mouth slightly ajar. The only saving grace was the breath that he saw flutter from her lips.
"Give her to me." It was a sick gurgle from the middle of the field, Soul slowly just rotating the top of his body, creating a sick lean to catch sight of them. "Give me Maka."
"Fuck," Black Star barely let the word from his lips but there was no way to deny it.
Tears, like black oil, were drifting down Soul's cheeks. "Give her to me!" he screeched as he finally came to a full pivot, his body lurching forward. A thick slice of Black Blood saturated his shirt over his scar.
"It's the orbs all over again," Stein murmured. "Spirit, get Maka out of there, now!"
Spirit didn't waste his breath on a reply, just trying to ease his arms underneath her to move her as gently as possible. As he turned, he heard the inhuman scream, a shockwave hitting his back hard enough to urge him forward. It was Kid and the girls that grabbed him, bringing him into a circle as Black Star, Stein and Marie slipped into the divide. "We subdue him with Soul Menace, give Marie enough time to use her Healing Wavelength. We can't rely on Maka or Kim for this, so we have to be careful of the sound waves."
"He won't even get a chance to use them." Black Star burst forward, trying to draw Soul's attention.
There was no thought to draw, Soul pitched forward as the black dripped from his face into the dust. "Give her to me! Give me Maka!" came as the constant scream, repeating as soon as it ended in a sickly gurgle from his throat.
Black Star threw himself into the hand to hand, finding that even with the screams and what should be unseeing eyes, Soul blocked his every move. "Soul, get it together!" Black Star shouted as Soul deflected another punch to his center. "We don't have time for you to steal the fucking show while she's hurt."
"Maka!" His voice was breaking, the words starting to crack with each iteration.
"Twin Spears," Stein murmured as he shot both hands into Soul's back. Black Star barely moved out of the way, just enough not to get the direct hit of Soul's body flying forward but still latched on to tumble with him in the dust. "Marie!"
She was there to meet the boys, both hands moving to cup Soul's dirt and Black Blood covered face. She let out a shaking breath, her heart aching as Soul's mouth gaped open in a silent scream. Black Star arms strained around Soul, keeping his body immobile against the ground. "Franken," Marie called, her fingers still gripping into Soul's cheeks.
"What is it?" Stein knelt next to her, a hand coming to her arm with the expectation that she'd let go but finding her unmoving.
"I don't think I can let go," she tried to keep her voice low, the strain of the words almost too much to bear. "He's not… he's not coming back. It's like limbo and I can keep it at bay, but…"
"Alright, Marie." Stein moved his hand from her arm to her hair, smoothing it gently. "Keep it up for as long as you can."
Marie let out a stuttering sigh, her eyes lingering over Black Star as he blinked up at her. It was torture, the way he was suddenly a child looking to her to restore his best friend, while Maka, the closest thing that she had to a daughter, was also in a place unreachable, unfixable. She let out a low moan, the tears threatening to spill from her eyes. Why did what they built have to be a house of cards?
