Thank you Chloee0x0, DarkHazen, and snitchykun for the reviews! And thank you to everyone following and favoriting the story! Means a lot to me. Onward!

*Have some smut! But not too much. *

Maka shot awake, her eyes wide as she tried to gather her bearings. She had been falling, for how long she couldn't say, but instead of hitting the ground like last time, it felt like she was suddenly jerked to a stop along the way. With a painful pounding in her head, she slowly pushed herself up, glancing at her surroundings. Soft yellow walls with a few paintings tapped into them, small white reading lamp beside her bed, yellow alarm clock, massive quantities of books overflowing from bookshelves. The desk against the wall held a small white box, a red tag dangling over the lid. A Large bay window overlooking the streets of Death City, the streetlights glowing warmly in the blanket of night. She was in her room. The familiar floral print of her comforter slipped from her chest to flop onto her lap. Had she put that there? With a foggy mind she slid from the bed, wobbling slightly as she made for her door. She couldn't remember what she had been doing.

The living room was brightly lit and empty as she wandered by towards the kitchen for some water, throat and mouth dry as the Sahara Desert. It was mid-drink that a door down the hallway opened and footsteps shuffled across the wooden floor. Soul was running a hand through his hair while mumbling under his breath, oblivious to the fact Maka was standing there staring at him, glass raised to her lips. His hand reached for her door when he stopped, becoming suddenly alert as he noticed it was opened.

"Sorry, I was thirsty." Maka said quietly, though her lips twitched at the sight of him breathing a heavy sigh of relief, his soul losing its tense wavering.

"How are you feeling? You've been out for a few hours." Setting the empty glass down on the table, she readily accepted his embrace, strong arms locking her in place.

"Headache, but fine. How did I end up in bed? Did I take a nap or something?"

"You…you don't remember?" Soul pulled back to frown at her.

"No? Soul, what happened to me?" Maka could feel the uncertainty in his soul. "What are you not telling me?"

"When you went to touch the envelope, there was a spell, or something attached to it and you suddenly became unresponsive. I couldn't touch you, there was some sort of electricity field that kept me back. You became unconscious after that."

"Envelope…what are you talking about? I don't remem—"

Maka stilled as it all came flooding back to her; the madness, the soul, the village, Viktor, the Witch of the Eternal Time… Thankfully Soul kept his grip on her as the room began to spin, trembling legs giving out. Everything, she remembered everything. With a swift movement, she was resting easily in his arms as he moved towards the couch.

"What's wrong, Maka?" He cupped her face as she settled into the cushions. "What happened to you?"

The love and concern pouring into her soul nearly made her weep, but there would be time for that later; they had an entity to hunt down. Resting her hands on his arms she leaned forward until their foreheads were touching. Instead of telling him, she could show him.

"Resonate with me, Soul, I can show you everything." Maka breathed as she closed her eyes, feeling the memory tingling in her mind. "It will explain what Viktor was trying to tell me."

"Alright." Soul agreed, feeling the familiar spark of resonance light up.

Their souls connected and they were both hurtled into Maka's memories, images flying past them at dizzying speeds. A certain frame began to glow brightly, breaking from the long chain of images to settle in front of them. Without slowing down, they entered the memory with a flash of light. Soul kept his grip tight on Maka's hand as they slowly hovered above the ground, watching as her consciousness struggled against the darkness before reaching out for the single soul. The writhing madness was gone, replaced with memory Maka hitting the ground at the top of a hill, cursing loudly.

"I don't think I've ever heard you say those words, Maka, such a filthy mouth." Soul teased as she shot him an embarrassed glare, cheeks burning red.

"S-shut up! It hurt when I hit the ground!"

"I'll have to remember this as black mail…"

"Hurry, we need to follow…memory me." Maka wrinkled her nose. It felt weird to be following herself, even if it was her own memory.

Memory Maka had just reached the edge of the village, standing there in shock as she took everything in. A figure suddenly appeared behind her, smiling ruefully at the meister.

"Viktor," Soul looked surprised to see him standing there. "How did he get in here?"

"Elder Flyorova helped him seal a portion of his soul into the letter so he could help me understand why I was here." Maka smiled sadly at the man, her heart feeling heavy as she watched her memory jerk around to see him. It felt like it had been longer since she last saw him instead of just a few hours ago. "Everything was planned by the witch Mardella, including the letter and box. She's actually a really nice person."

"No ulterior motives?"

"Not that I can tell. Just listen, you'll understand everything." Maka shushed him and pointed with her free hand as they floated closer to listen in.

Soul and Maka floated above the memory, watching and listening as Viktor explained everything. As the child ran through memory Maka, the scythe mimicked her startled look, subconsciously running his hand over where he passed through as though he could feel it. Soul glanced around at everything, eyeing everything with curiosity as he strolled through history. Outside of the shrine, when the male villager began clashing with the samurai, the meister looked away and squeezed her eyes shut. Before he could ask, he heard the clang and looked over to see the man on the ground, the samurai swinging the pole above his head. Quickly pulling Maka against him, Soul covered her ears as it collided with the defenseless man, the crack of his ribs causing him to cringe. She twitched, the sound ringing clearly in her ears, even with them being encased in her partners hands.

"What the hell is wrong with these people?" Soul watched with narrow eyes as they dragged the body out of sight. "They just killed him for no reason!"

"How could they just—murder a man and then dump his body?" Maka whispered in horror, the sickening crunch ringing in her ears. The churning in her stomach made her mouth water.

"This era was constantly filled with violence, especially against those who are protecting a high-ranking person." Viktor patted her shoulder gently. "Samurai are highly trained warriors paid to protect those above the squalor of the poorest and they do not spare anyone deemed a threat. Even children have fallen at their hands."

"Monsters…"

"History is a lot more violent and cruel than you might think. The person who entered the shrine is who we must follow. Come, you must see what happens in order to better understand why you are here."

"Things were extremely different a thousand years ago, Soul, it was either fight and die or suffer and die. Ultimately, he chose to fight and die." Maka grimaced as the ringing finally died down, watching as they made their way through the crowd. "Come on, this part is important."

Mardella had thrown her hood back by the time they entered the shrine, moving to float behind memory Maka. It was fascinating to watch the golden circle glow, her celestial cloak shimmering in the light as she released her power. What she hadn't noticed the first time was that the threads on her soul were how the chains materialized. Mardella turned from glaring at the shogun to staring at memory Maka curiously, but unlike last time, her eyes briefly darted to where Soul and Maka floated.

"Can she see us?" Soul asked lowly in Maka's ear, keeping his eyes on the witch.

"She…I don't fully know what she's capable of doing. Maybe she can sense a disturbance in the flow of time," Maka suddenly felt the familiar sensation of her soul being scanned, her chest feeling warm. "I think she can sense our resonance. Maybe there's magic still lingering in the memory and she's accessing it."

They both stiffened when everything around them froze, time coming to a screeching halt. Maka locked eyes with Mardella, the witch raising her hand towards them, magic building in her fingertips. Soul shoved himself in front of his partner, willing his arm to transform. It never did.

"What the hell? I can't transform!" Soul hissed as he tried again and again with the same result. "What did she do?"

"We're in a memory, Soul, I don't think transforming will work here. Nothing can touch us while at the same time we can't touch anything here. I don't sense any hostility coming from her, I think she just wants to talk."

Maka's hunch was correct as a pathway of sorts opened between the themselves and the witch, their sudden floating turning into gravity taking over and sending them crashing a few feet to the floor in a heap. Mardella swiftly made her way over to them, an afterimage of her reading time frozen in the flow of space. Being the graceful one of the two, Maka landed easily on her feet, turning around and offering her hand to pull Soul up.

"Maka Albarn, I was expecting to see you here again." Mardella said with a small smile, turning to look at Soul. "Soul 'Eater' Evans, a pleasure to meet you."

"Uh, same." Soul replied lamely, rubbing the back of his neck. How did she know his full name?

"I was showing Soul everything that happened when I was pulled into this era. I didn't think it would be an issue coming here since it's coming from my memory and not the letter." Maka looked at the witch questioningly.

"There are no issues, I just sensed the pull of your resonance and created an alternate bubble of space to speak with you." The witch clasped her hands in front of her, celestial eyes darting between the two with amusement. "I have a little bit of time to spare, so to speak. I see you have not opened the box yet."

"Ah, unfortunately, I was unconscious for a few hours after the first trip." Maka said sheepishly, cheeks tinting the barest shade of pink. "Once we get out of here, we will definitely open it."

"You will know when the correct time is to open it," Meister and weapon shared a confused glance. "There will be a sign from above when fate guides you to its mysterious pull. The numeral III will be your saving grace, as will the numerals XVI, XXIII, and IX. In that particular sequence."

"W-wait, I thought you couldn't reveal the future?" Maka stuttered as she tried to convert the numerals on her fingers.

"I am merely giving advice, nothing less, nothing more." Mardella smiled widely at the two, her eyes seemingly swirling mysteriously. "Soul, what you seek shall soon be found in the most unlikely of places, yet somewhere visited frequently."

"Uh, wait, what does that even mean?" The weapon scratched his head, giving the witch an odd look.

"You shall know when the time comes. It seems I need to return, it was a pleasure seeing you both. We shall meet again at some point." With a curtsey, the witch turned and glided back to her frozen afterimage, seamlessly merging with it.

"What just happened?" Soul turned to Maka with a confused face, scratching to top of his head. This just kept getting weirder and weirder.

"Mardella froze time, created a pocket in space within the memory, pulled us into said space, talked with us and then exited and closed the time space to return to her original timeline all without damaging the flow of time." Maka felt her lips twitch upwards as he stared at her incredulously.

"You meet the weirdest people, Maka Albarn."

"Prime example standing beside me." She teased, receiving a grunt in response.

Time began to move again and the two found themselves floating beside memory Maka, watching as Mardella touched the chain. Everything continued on as planned and they soon found themselves following memory Maka and Viktor to the edge of the forest. Time crawled to a stop once more as the two memories talked with the witch. Soul floated to look at the samurai, eyeing the impressive armor.

"Hey, Maka—"

"No, Soul, you can't have samurai armor."

"I am sorry, but there is not much time, Viktor." Mardella cast him a sorrowful look, her hands twisting nervously at her front. "Miss Albarn, I summoned you here to warn you of a disturbance in time in your era, one that my power cannot reach. You dealt with the witch Ametrine, you understand her desire to release the madness?" With a slow nod from the girl she continued. "From what my visions have foretold, her soul was not destroyed that day. In fact, I was watching when it happened and felt a warp in the time space continuum as you appeared to have destroyed her body. It seems her soul was taken, and a portion of the madness was taken out of that pocket of space by an unknown entity."

"She never died," The weapon growled, clenching his partners hand tighter. "Viktor died for nothing then and now Ametrine's soul is loose somewhere in the world with the possibly of inhabiting someone's body."

"All of this…what were we even fighting for if someone had planned to take her soul from the very beginning?" Maka clenched her jaw, burning holes into the space below her feet. "That's what I was forgetting, Soul; when we sliced through her, it almost felt like her body didn't exist, like it was empty. I could've sworn her soul was there as I swung…"

"You think maybe the rip in space happened right before Witch Hunter made contact? Maybe it was like with what Mardella just did; tore a pocket into space and entered it while leaving an afterimage behind."

Maka looked up at him with wide eyes. It made perfect sense. Why there was no soul remaining, how everything still looked normal even after she had swung the scythe down. It gave the perfect illusion, almost like a magic trick. Neither she or Kid can sense tears in the space time continuum, and if an afterimage still left residual soul wavelengths…

"That's it, Soul! That's how it was done! Kid and I can't sense time distortions, but there is someone we know who most likely can."

"Mabaa."

"As soon as we're out of here we need to contact Kid and fill him in on everything. You're a genius!" Maka grabbed her partners face and crashed her lips against his, pulling back all too soon with bright green eyes, cheeks flushed.

"Do I get back pay for all the times I had great ideas?" Soul gave her a lopsided grin, face slightly tinted.

"I-Idiot..." Maka grumbled, crossing her arms over chest, blushing hard.

They floated behind Viktor and memory Maka, the meisters mind racing. If they could get ahold of Mabaa and ask her for more information on other witches with time manipulative magic, then there was the possibility of learning more about the 'entity' that was currently holding Ametrine's soul. The biggest question was why. Why was this person, or being, altering time and space for a soul? And why that particular soul? Was it because of the power the witch held? Or was it because Ametrine had merged with the madness? Revenge was usually the go-to thing for enemies against the DWMA and that just branched out into its own chart of possibilities. Maka growled in annoyance. There were still so many questions and not enough answers.

Suddenly stopping in the middle of the dirt path, memory Maka grabbed her head in frustration.

"Viktor, what does all of this mean? Ametrine isn't truly dead? And what about this entity? None of this is making sense!" Maka blurted out as she stopped in the center of the village, gripping the sides of her head tightly. "If I don't know who is causing all of this, then I can't figure out how to fix it! Please, tell me something that will help!"

Viktor slowly turned to face her, his eyes pitying. He remained silent for a few moments, staring into emerald eyes. Those pleading green eyes hit the soft spot he had for her and he let out a relenting sigh.

"Even I do not know who it is, but I can tell you that the power they possess is similar to Mabaa-dono. Her magic has the ability to alter with time and space, as you have seen, and we are to believe they are using Ametrine's soul to unleash Asura fully by alternating the timeline. Mardella will do everything in her power to stop it, but the rest will have to be up to you and your friends. I am sorry."

"I was right," She whispered, more to herself than him, "I had a feeling that opening the letter would cause the peace to end. How did I get mixed up in all of this? I just wanted a normal life; graduate from the DWMA, get married, start a family, keep the world safe for as long as I'm able to."

"And you will be able to do all of those things," Viktor enveloped her small body, much to her surprise, resting his cheek against the top of her head. "I cannot predict nor control fate, but you were put in this world for a reason, Maka. Your destiny is to protect the world, no amount of danger will sway it."

Memory Maka felt the warmth of his words as she slowly hugged him back. It was his final goodbye. They would never speak or meet again after this timeline. After a minute, they pulled apart, wavering green orbs looking into peaceful white ones.

Maka felt her face turn bright red. She hadn't thought about Soul hearing those deep yearnings and she immediately avoided his heavy stare, focusing on the surrounding villagers. He said nothing, something that both relieved and concerned her at the same time.

"Vika is waiting for me, so let us get you back home to your partner." His smile almost seemed sad and the meister nodded silently.

The remainder of the walk was quiet save for the rambunctious children of the village, running around the path with sticks and wooden swords, practicing their swings and blocks. Women passed them by, carrying large baskets of laundry at their hips, chatting cheerfully as they made their way home. A few traders pulled their carts behind them, hoping to set up in the small area, calling out their quality wares. A few dogs pranced around, hoping for scraps and affection. As they made their way up the hill, the sun began to dip lower in the sky, breathtaking hues of red, orange, and yellow making Maka pause. The world seemed so…peaceful.

Just as she was doing now, Maka turned her gaze to the sunset, taking in the serenity of the small village. An arm slipped around her waist and she leaned against Soul as they watched the perfect sunset together. After the spat with Ametrine, the meister was thankful for the small moment of peace. Lips pressed against her head and she hummed in contentment, tightening her grip on him.

"Things may have been terrible back then, but then you look at something like this and realize the true beauty of the world. Reminds you of how limited your time is on earth and to enjoy every moment of it." Maka looked up at him in surprise, a loving smile quickly adorning her face.

"As long as I have you by my side, I already enjoy every moment of my life. I couldn't imagine it without you, Soul."

"Neither could I, Maka. You're my everything and more. I love you."

"I love you too."

His fingertips traced her jaw before cupping her face, leaning in to capture her lips. With featherlight movement, Maka rested her hand against his chest, closing the distance between them. The kiss was warm, tender, full of deeper feelings than I love you. Everything Maka thought a kiss could be was nothing compared to this moment of emotions and her heart skipped a beat from being so full. She wanted to know, to see, to feel how far those emotions could go, yearning for a deeper sensation.

Meister and weapon pulled apart, faces flushed, eyes bright, to see memory Maka turning around at Viktor's voice. They watched as the two shared an emotional moment, tears welling up in emerald orbs.

"This is where we part, Maka." Viktor said quietly, watching as she slowly tore her eyes from the setting sun. "No more than an hour should have passed in your world. I…hope you can forgive me for the way I acted when we first met."

"There's nothing to forgive, Viktor, I assure you. I know you were just following orders. Friends forgive each other," She smiled brightly, moving to stand beside him. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you, back in the cavern. If I had been stronger…"

"You are perhaps the strongest person I have met in a long time, Maka Albarn, and I can tell you have a strong heart and desire to protect everything around you. Fate was ready to take me, and I readily accepted. In a lot of ways, you remind me of Vika." He smiled before it faltered, his eyes distant. "Give Black Star and the others my regards."

"Of course."

"Farewell, Maka Albarn, it was a pleasure knowing you." Viktor extended his hand.

"Goodbye, Viktor, we'll never forget you. Go, Vika is waiting for you." Maka clasped his hand back tightly, giving him a watery smile as tears slipped down her cheeks.

"Soul is waiting for you as well. We will be watching over you all."

Memory Maka was suddenly pulled out of the era, leaving Viktor and an unknown woman grasping his arm. They turned toward the sunset, arm in arm, walking to their final resting place with loving smiles. Maka didn't stop the tears threatening to spill over once more as she smiled at the retreating forms, letting them trail freely down her cheeks.

"They're together again, Soul, just as they wanted."

The resonance died out and the two found themselves embracing, lips moving together slowly. Maka wasn't sure how long they had been kissing, but she didn't complain as she ran her fingers through his hair. The large hand on the back of her neck drifted up to support the back of her head, the other slipping beneath her knees. Without breaking contact, Soul scooped his meister up from the couch and made his way to his room, pushing the door open with his shoulder. As if he were handling a priceless piece of work, he laid her down on the bed with the utmost care.

"Soul," Maka whispered after they broke apart for air, her lips red and swollen.

"Maka?" He mumbled against her neck, enjoying the way her breath hitched with every featherlight touch of his lips against her skin.

Soul felt the hesitation in her soul and shifted back to look at her. Lying there, on his bed, she looked like an angel with her hair fanned out around her, cheeks flushed, green eyes bright. Death above, she looked so perfect resting beneath him.

"What's wrong?" He lightly traced her cheek with the backs of his fingers. Maka instinctively leaned against his touch, hooded eyes staring back at him with a deep want.

"We, uh, don't have any…" Heat traveled up her neck into her face, wide green eyes suddenly looking anywhere but at him.

"Any what…oh. Oh." Soul felt his face heat up as well, suddenly nervous. Oh shit, he wasn't prepared for this yet! Or…was he? Shit, probably not!

"S-Sorry, I didn't think…" Maka slapped her hands over her face, the heat of embarrassment making her dizzy. "I mean—uh, I uh…if you're…"

"You're going to give yourself heatstroke," Soul teased with a lopsided grin as he laid beside her with one hand propping his head, the other lightly tracing her arm. "If you're not ready, we can wait—"

"I am ready!" Maka blurted through her hands, much to his surprise (and joy). "I-I think I am…just...if you're okay with…it…"

"Y-yeah, I mean, if you're okay, I guess I am too."

"I—should we go get…stuff?" Maka asked meekly, peering through her fingers at him.

"Uh, y-yeah, we can go get…stuff." Soul couldn't stop stuttering like an idiot. Not cool. "M-maybe Blair has extra?"

Maka locked eyes with Soul, neither saying a word for a solid minute before a muffled snort broke the tension. They both doubled over in laughter, tears streaming down the meisters face while Soul held his stomach, guffawing into his comforter as he tried not to roll around.

"Death above, we—we're so terrible at this," Maka wheezed as she tried to control her laughing, failing when Soul let out a muffled snort. "I can't freaking breath! I-I think my lungs are going to give out at this rate!"

"I'm not into necrophilia, Maka," Soul gasped as he rolled onto his back, placing his arms over his eyes, still chuckling. "I love you, but that's too much to ask of me."

"S-shut up!" Maka smacked him on the chest, taking deep breaths. "That's just wrong of you to bring up, Soul."

"You started all of this by initiating the kiss during resonance," Soul promptly received a pillow to the face.

"You kissed me in the memory!" Maka huffed with a smile as she continued beating him over the head with his pillow, enjoying the muffled protests. "This is your fault, Soul Eater."

Hands suddenly latched onto her wrists and she shrieked as she was pinned against the bed, pillow still clutched tightly in her fists. Soul straddled her hips, a devious look in his eye as he pushed her arms over her head, securing them with a hand to the bed. Maka stared up at him with wide eyes as he leaned over her, a smirk on his face as he blew a hot breath against her ear, feeling her squirm beneath him as he traced his fingers along her side.

"I guess I better fix it then, Maka Albarn."

"Uh…s-same problem." Maka mumbled out, mind going blank. Soul taking control when they were in the black room dancing was nothing new, but with him straddling her like this…

"Ah, I never said we'd be doing that. I've got other ways to tease you..."

"S-Soul, w-wait—!"

Keys jingled and the two froze, staring at each other with deer-in-headlight wide eyes. Whipping his eyes to the clock on his desk, he saw it was nearly one in the morning; Blair had gotten off work. Moving faster than they've ever moved, meister and weapon quickly separated to different areas of the apartment, attempting to look natural. Soul shot towards the bathroom while Maka ran to her room, shutting the door none too quietly.

"Nyah, today was a long day! I think I need a good snack and a bath!" Blair quietly shut the door behind her, using her magic to peel her thigh-high boots off.

Looking up, she noticed that the kitchen and living room lights were still on, something that rarely, if ever happened. Curious, the feline decided to do some snooping around, checking anything that was out of place. A sound coming from Maka's room drew her silently towards it as the edges of her lips curled upward. She had been trying for some time to push them together, even going as far as to work longer shifts so they could have more time alone, and here was hoping it had finally paid off. With a gentle rapping of her knuckles on the door, she heard Maka squeak before shuffling followed. The handle slowly turned, and the door creaked opened.

"B-Blair? Did you need something?" Blair could see the color on her cheeks and held back a wide grin.

"Bu-tan was wondering why the lights were still on? Is everything alright?"

"Y-yeah, sorry, I got distracted and forgot to turn them off. I need to get a drink anyways, so I'll shut them off when I'm done."

"Maka-chan~" Blair purred as she saw the sudden shiftiness in her eyes, wide green orbs glancing down the hallway. "You're hiding something from Bu-tan! Scooch, I want the details!"

Without waiting for an answer, she transformed into a cat and slid right through the crack in the door, twirling around Maka's ankles. Sending an S.O.S. via wavelength to Soul, the meister groaned internally before shutting her door, not looking forward to Blair's prying of her, still new, love life. Once the feline caught wind of anything remotely romantic it was over. Moments later she received a 'You're on your own!' message and she could almost hear him laughing from down the hallway. She'd get her revenge during the festival tonight, but for now, she had a devious love-obsessed cat to deal with.

Soul won't know what hit him.

~*B*~

He could feel her sending an S.O.S. every thirty seconds and the scythe couldn't help but snicker in the safety of the bathroom. Better her than him when it came down to Blair's nosiness about anything romantic. Though thanks to a certain partner, there was a certain…problem…he had to take care of before he exited the bathroom. It almost felt sinful, thinking about her that way, but the way she was sprawled out beneath him, eyes shining with her hair fanned out on his bed. There was only so much the death scythe could take as a man. Running a hand down his face tiredly, Soul decided a cold shower would suffice for now.

At least, until the moment came when she could help with it.

This chapter got a little dirty because who doesn't like smutty things? Also, it was a filler because I'm running low on ideas right now. Doesn't help when I'm in the process of buying a new vehicle and I've been extremely stressed over it. Had my truck for eight years and it's sixteen years old, but it needs thousands in pretty urgent repairs and it just doesn't make sense to keep pouring money into something that continuously breaks. Just paid $450 within the last two months for an air pump and they want $2k more to fix everything else. Not happening. Updates will be a bit slower while I'm dealing with all this stuff.