I don't own Soul Eater or Owl House.

If I did, I would be trying to fund an official Brotherhood style remake of Soul Eater.

Nor do I own the song Resonance. Credit for this translation of Resonance's lyrics goes to Give Heart Records/NateWantstoBattle.

"¿Papi? Are you sure you're okay?"

Spirit let out a low breath, giving Luz a smile as he folded his hands in his lap, leaning back in the comfortable chair. They sat across from each other in the living room, the window behind the Death Scythe allowing what little remained of the sunset to stream into the room with a rich orange glow, illuminating the small bookshelf beside the fireplace behind his daughter.

After he'd finally managed to compose himself enough to stand again in the book store, the trip to take Luz home had been an unusually quiet affair; she hadn't turned on the radio or put on any music. She just kept giving him the same concerned look, over and over again – and really, he wasn't in any position to blame her for it.

He had, after all, had a complete nervous breakdown in the middle of a bookstore.

"I'm fine, Luz," he assured, "Really. I just… had some nasty flashbacks is all."

"From a name?" she asked, concern still lacing her words.

"That name isn't a particularly pleasant one for him, Mija."

Luz craned her neck as Camila entered the room, carrying a trio of mugs; each of the hot cocoas was topped with a mix of foam and spice. The aroma, somewhere between sweet and bitter with the rich shadow of dark chocolate, more than enough to soothe their frayed nerves, Spirit feeling a smile stretch across his face as Luz's eyes lit up with delight.

The doctor gently set each mug down on the coffee table before walking away, and carrying over a wooden chair from the dining table nearby.

"I can take that," Spirit rose to his feet.

"No," Camila stated firmly, setting the chair down so that she was facing both of them, "You're the guest, Spirit. There's no reason for you to not have a nice chair while you're here."

"What about me?" Luz squirmed, trying to put her leg rest back down into the chair so she could stand, "I live here. I can take the kitchen chair. I can't really sit still anyways."

Camila gave a wry smile as she sat down, crossing her legs before picking up her own mug of cocoa, taking a sip, "From where I'm sitting, you seem pretty comfortable right where you are, Luz. Just stay where you are."

With that, Luz settled down, finally managing to put down her leg rest so she could reach her mug, "If you're sure."

In turn, the Death Scythe sat back down, gratefully taking a sip from his cup; sweet and bitter warmth nearly burnt his lips and tongue, but the sensation was so soothing he couldn't help but take another. He let out a contented sigh, settling back and closing his eyes as a comfortable numbness overtook him.

"It sounds like you two had quite a day," Camila began, "Did you enjoy yourselves?"

"I did!" Luz piped up.

"We spent an embarrassing amount of time trying to get my rental," Spirit confessed with a chuckle, "But yeah. I'd say today's been a good day on the whole."

"Bien," Camila nodded, "I'm glad to hear it."

"I'm surprised you're home this early, Mom," Luz wiped her mouth, getting rid of the foam moustache that had wrapped around her upper lip, "Did your shift end early?"

"Yes. Today actually went fairly smoothly, for once," she nodded, "But can you say the same about your homework, Luz?"

At this, Luz bit her lip, tapping her fingers together, the very picture of the word contrite, "… uuuuuh…"

"You were supposed to have it all done so I could drop it off today," Camila reminded, chiding, "I know we went to pick up Spirit, but that doesn't mean your homework and studies suddenly disappear."

The Latina girl slumped, deflated, "… Lo sé…"

"Hey, there can't be that much left, can there?" Spirit asked, "It is the end of the school year, and I trust you've been working hard to get it done?"

Luz raised her head, "… well, there's a couple of assignments left…"

"Do you think you could get them done by the end of the night?"

She glanced at the clock, frowning, "… well, if I were to start now, then… maybe?"

"Why don't you see how far you can get?" he suggested, "Work on it for an hour or so, then take a break. I'll still be here when you're done."

"Well…" she shifted in her chair, obviously debating to herself, if the frown on her face was any indication. She pursed her lips, obviously not actually wanting to go do her homework…

"Your father will be here for the full two weeks, Luz," Camila reminded, "The more you get done now, the more time you will be able to spend with him when you aren't studying."

"… hard to argue with that logic," she finally sighed, pushing herself up.

"Just let me know if you need any help, okay?" he smiled, "I can probably help you with just about anything you're having trouble on."

Luz gave a smile, "I will, Papi. Thank you."

With that, she picked up her mug, and left the room, walking slowly up the steps to her room as to not spill any of the hot cocoa.

Once again, Spirit's eyes closed as his smile slipped from his face, brow creasing as his mouth drew itself into a thin line.

"… you're good at hiding your distress," Camila noted, "I'm not sure if that's a good thing."

"Right now it is," he decided, bringing his hands up to rub his eyes, "It's bad enough Luz saw me collapse in the middle of the bookstore babbling nonsense. I don't need her seeing me like this, too."

"I think I have a good idea of what happened, but I'd just like to confirm," the doctor stated, once again sipping from her cup, "What exactly was it that caused such an overt reaction from you, Spirit?"

Another deep breath as he grit his teeth, trying to keep his heart rate from once again skyrocketing. Slowly he opened his eyes, staring down into the foam of his mug, trying to focus on the warmth flowing into him through his hands.

"… Stein," he finally admitted, "Luz asked me about Stein."

It was Camila's turn to let out a deep sigh of her own, carefully setting her mug down on the coffee table, "I thought so. I can hardly blame you for having that kind of reaction, given your history with him; I only knew him through my training as a nurse, and I found him absolutely dreadful."

"… you don't know the half of it," Spirit muttered, taking a large swallow of the cocoa, paying no heed as it seared his mouth.

"How did she even learn his name?" Camila asked, "I certainly never mentioned him to her."

"She overheard me talking to Sid on the phone. Sid needed to tell me something, and… well, he came up," Spirit shrugged, helpless, "'s really not anyone's fault. I just… forgot, I guess. I should've seen her asking about a name she'd never heard before; you know how curious she is."

"She should also know not to pry into people's lives," Camila stated.

"Come on, Camila, Luz didn't do anything wrong," he set his mug down, gesturing up the stairs to where their daughter had wandered, "It's not like she knew asking about him would cause that. It's only natural to ask about what you don't know, and… honestly, I thought I was further along in being able to handle those memories a little better."

"… trauma is rarely so deftly handled, Spirit," she gave him a sad smile, though her tone remained firm, "Even for a Death Scythe, there are some things that do not heal easily."

"… yeah. I know," he agreed.

A moment of silence passed between them.

"… it's not that I hate Stein, Camila – I really don't," he set the mug down, folding his hands in his lap once more, "I spent the better part of six years as his partner. We shared an apartment; we lived together, ate together, Hell, we even shared a room for two years before we could afford a place big enough to have more than one bedroom. In all that time, he… well, he definitely gave me some funny looks, but there was a reason I was chosen to reign him in. He was almost never overtly aggressive with me the way he was with others."

"And yet, that doesn't change what he did to you," she pointed out, "He experimented on you in your sleep. You still have every incision mark he made over the course of those six years before you switched partners."

"The only reason I even know about those is because of Makoto," Spirit rubbed at his temples, "She pointed them out to me soon after we got together. It was the main reason she got me away from him in the first place… she never did like that I was stuck looking after a lunatic."

She crossed her arms, "Well, I can't say I disagree with her assessment."

"Someone had to do it-"

"I don't want to hear it."

Spirit heard more than felt his mouth snap shut, his teeth making an audible click as his jaw swiftly closed; the severity of her words, along with her expression were more than enough of an argument, though she continued regardless.

"I don't care how great a Meister Stein was or is, Spirit. I agree that he at least deserved to have someone reach out to him as a friend – however, I don't believe that there was any need for you to put your physical safety on the line just to keep him in check. Even at Death's behest as a child."

The Death Scythe managed to meet her gaze, gauging her; somehow, the glasses only added to the intensity of her eyes, and for a moment, he was taken back to those nights fifteen years ago. It had been that exact intensity that had drawn him to her, even after he'd gotten out of that hospital bed.

He managed a bittersweet smile, pushing past the beckoning nostalgia, knowing it would only lead to regret, "Never gonna be able to change your mind, am I?"

"Not on them, no."

"I still think you're a little harsh on my boss," the redhead confessed, picking up the mug again, "Lord Death's doing his best with what he's got."

"He asks too much of people who are too young. You and Maka among them."

"I wouldn't have let Maka enrol in the DWMA if I weren't sure it was the best course of action for her," he raised a finger, his smile becoming more genuine, "She's a tough kid. And bookish as she is, I just don't think she'd be content as a strict academic. She'd be too constrained."

The Latina woman frowned, "She would be safer if you hadn't let her."

"But she wouldn't be happy."

A poignant silence held between the two of them; Spirit let his eyes fall once more into his mug, idly swirling the cocoa before taking another large swallow, not wanting to let it cool.

"… so you would rather let your daughter risk life and limb than see her upset?" the doctor asked.

He finished the contents of his mug, setting it down as he spoke, "Legal custody aside, Camila… Maka has enough reasons to hate me. I destroyed my relationship with her, and I…"

He trailed off, struggling to find the words.

She did not speak; she sat, eyes fixed upon him, wordlessly waiting for him to finish.

"… I already have a tendency to be… overbearing with her," he finally continued, "If I were to pull her from the program… I genuinely think she'd despise me. And I'm not sure that I could handle that."

"… so you let her be a soldier?" she queried pointedly.

He felt his smile widen a little more, "I let her be a hero."

Once again, that uneasy silence, broken only by the ticking of the antique clock on the wall.

"… I think… the main reason that Lord Death runs the DWMA the way he does… is because it's easier to teach kids the abilities and responsibilities of their Soul Wavelength than it is to teach adults," he let his mind flow, words coming to him unbidden, "It's not impossible to teach adults, mind you, but… it's hard to learn. And Soul Wavelength is not something you want to be teaching to just anyone."

"… I know," Camila conceded, staring into the foam of her own mug, "You don't have to have a Kishin Egg for a Soul to be evil… and even immature good, in its own way…"

"… can be every bit as dangerous as genuine evil," he nodded, "Adults usually need to unlearn and relearn so much just to start down the path of being a Weapon or Meister. Like I said, it's not impossible. Oftentimes, it's worth it. But it's easier to train Weapons and Meisters who are both strong, and have a thorough understanding of why they have that strength and what they should use it for, if they start when they're kids."

"… but the DWMA doesn't just have them learning, does it?"

Once again, steel had entered Camila's voice, hard and uncompromising.

"… no," he acknowledged, "You're right about that, Camila. We do send them out on collection."

"And you already know my thoughts about that," she stated, more to herself than to him, tone somewhat muted as she raised the mug, and took another sip.

This time, he didn't answer.

"... I don't want Luz to get hurt, Spirit. I know how happy the DWMA might make her," she raised her head, pushing her glasses back up the bridge of her nose, "But… no amount of happiness is worth the possibility of losing her. In my line of work, I see families fall apart because of a risk taken all too often. I will not make that gamble with our daughter."

"… I know, Camila," he intoned, breathing deep as he once again looked to the stairs.

"I know."

Luz settled into her chair, trying to focus on what was left of her schoolwork.

All the essays were finished, albeit in boring, black and white text, despite her greatest temptation to used coloured paper and add glitter and artwork to better demonstrate her point; all her questionnaires were filled out, and she'd double checked her answers… and avoided doodling in the margins. Even her science labs were done, even if she'd had to improvise some of them with whatever she could find in the kitchen.

All that was left were her math worksheets.

She understood addition and subtraction. Luz could even do a certain amount of multiplication and division in her head.

But this?

With all the brackets and decimals and funny looking checkmarks?

"… I may as well be trying to read Ancient Greek," she murmured, staring at the first question with absolutely no idea of where to start.

Luz didn't feel like getting out her textbook – with how thick and dry it was, she would be lost in the desert of fractions and XYZ equations, spinning her wheels and going figuratively nowhere. And if she got on the internet to look up the formulas, she knew she would swiftly get distracted, and forget all about the math until it was time for Dad to go home.

And yet, for the life of her, she couldn't remember what the first step was.

"… maybe I should ask Dad to walk me through this…"

She paused, thinking over her options once again.

"… I'll just take a break," she decided, pushing the worksheets aside and flipping up the screen of her laptop, "I could use some cute cat videos right about now."

The screen came to life as she tapped her keyboard, quickly typing in her password – she always meant to switch it from 600D-W1TC#-LUZUR4 to something more complicated, but never managed to get around to it – and pulling up the browser. She smiled, ready to let her fingers take her where they may…

Then she frowned.

She looked back at her door, which remained firmly closed; if she strained her ears, she could hear Mami and Papi, still talking, though their voices were too far away for her to make out any noise.

"… looking him up couldn't do any harm, could it?" she asked aloud, turning once again to her computer.

No answer.

Apprehension rose in her chest like a snake sinking its fangs into her heart as she typed in the name.

"Stein," she repeated, trying to guess at its spelling based on its sound.

As soon as she hit enter, she felt her face scrunch in disgust, appalled as she stared at a Wikipedia article for German beer mugs.

"Stupid internet," the Latina muttered, clearing the search bar, "This is why we can't have nice things…"

With a sigh, Luz leaned back in her chair, steepling her hands and pursing her lips, staring up at the ceiling.

"Okay… so we know this 'Stein' guy is someone Papi knows…" she spoke, "Maybe he was with the DWMA?..."

This new hypothesis in mind, she leaned forwards in her chair, once again letting her fingers tap across the keyboard, "Stein Death Weapon Meister Academy."

This time, her results were more promising.

"… Doctor Franken Stein," Luz read aloud, staring at the image the internet presented to her.

The first word that came to mind for the girl was 'dishevelled.' With a messy head of hair, for a moment Luz thought she was staring at a monochrome image; it was only when she saw the pale grey-green of his eyes behind his glasses that she realized his hair and skin were grey, his pallor outright deathly. He held a cigarette between his teeth, lips upturned in a slight smile she assumed was supposed to be friendly, but only came off as thoroughly unnerving. Everything about him, his stance, the position of his shoulders beneath his haphazardly stitched lab coat and sweater, even his half lidded eyes seemed to scream of a subtle aggression, as if he wanted to reach out from his photo and hurt whoever dared to meet his gaze.

Luz's blood ran cold as her eyes fixed on the gigantic screw that embedded itself all the way through his skull, its head sticking out of his left side, the tip emerging from his right; she followed the ghastly scar that ran from his forehead down between his eyes, and then veered to the left across his cheek, thin lines of barely visible black thread running across it at regular intervals, leaving the Latina to wonder what it was all for. It seemed as if it were all intended to somehow hold him together, his head split open and then put back together with whatever was on hand…

"… okay. You're creepy," she managed a friendly smile, as if hoping to placate the figure in the photo, "But maybe you're not actually so bad."

She clicked on the article and slowly scrolled down the page, "Thirty eight years old… skipped a grade… graduated from the DWMA at seventeen… got his first PhD and research doctorate by nineteen, wow…"

She bit her lip as she continued down, squinting, "Not much about his life beyond that, though, not even his scientific career… pretty bare bones.

"Maybe that's deliberate?... the DWMA seems to really like keeping its secrets…" Luz backed out of the article, clicking on the photo and studying it closely, despite her misgivings; normally, she was all for creepy, having spent many a late night staying up reading scary stories, both by flashlight and on her phone beneath the covers.

Compared to some of the things she had read and seen, Stein – if this really was the Stein Dad had mentioned – was more than a little understated… and yet, somehow, his mere photo managed to instil something greater than anything her hunts for nightmare fuel had ever managed to procure.

Something deep. Something raw.

"… I'm probably just freaked out," Luz tried to assure herself with a weak chuckle, "I haven't even met him yet. It's not good to judge off a picture… even if Dad's reaction was…"

She trailed off, struggling to find the words…

Then her phone went off.

"Two become one, Our souls have been connected-!"

She jumped with a yelp, her chair tipping back and dumping her out onto the floor; her eyes spun as her head ached, and she was only distantly aware of her parents' calls.

"¿Mija? ¿Estas bien?"

"S-Sí, Mami," she groaned, gripping the back of her head and pushing herself up into a sitting position, "Just… fell out of my chair… ow…"

"You sure you're okay, Luz?" Dad asked.

"I'm fine!" she gave a thumbs up, despite the fact that she was still the only one in the room, "I'm fine. Just… gotta get up."

The lyrics rang in her ears as she got to her feet, carefully resetting her chair; she settled into the rhythm, letting her fingers drum to the quick paced beat, despite having missed some of the words.

"Locking eyes, becoming intertwined,

"You'll be sharing your fate with mine!

"Side by side, we'll battle through the night,

"And soon enough we'll find our way!"

"Dios mio," Luz sighed contentedly over the music, picking up her phone, "I love Resonance."

As much as she wanted to listen to the rest of the song, she knew who was calling; she could listen later.

Without even looking at the screen, she answered, and held her phone to her ear.

"Hey Maka!"

"Hey Luz," Maka huffed, the chill night air causing her breath to steam, "Am I interrupting something?"

She walked alongside her Weapon, Soul easily matching her stride as they crept across the cobblestone. It was always like this in Death City – the desert air was always unbearably hot during the day, but frigid during the night, sometimes to the point of frost forming on the rooftops. Even around the longest days of the year, Maka needed her longcoat just to keep herself from shivering in the cold of the short nights.

"Just a little bit of math homework. Stupid algebra…"

"Everything in the brackets first," Maka stated automatically, not even thinking.

"… sorry?"

"For algebra," she explained with a slight smile, "You got a pen?"

"I have my computer."

"Then let's turn this into a couple easy steps; you might want to write this down.

"Okay."

"Step one: Break it down into smaller equations. Every equation inside the brackets comes first. Step two: If there are multiple mathematic symbols, multiplication and division come before addition and subtraction. Step three: Once you solve all the equations in the brackets, complete the rest of the equation. Once again, multiplication and division come before addition and subtraction."

For a long moment, Luz said nothing; the only sound on the line was that of the clicks of a keyboard, and then for a moment, nothing.

"Luz? You still there?"

"Sorry, was trying out an equation… you are way too good at this kind of thing, Maka," Luz remarked, "I'd never have remembered that on my own."

"It really looks more intimidating than it actually is," Maka chuckled, "It's really more about breaking it down into more basic steps than anything else. It's not that the math is that hard, it's that there's a lot of it."

"No kidding. Wish my teachers explained it better though…" there was a wistful sigh, before a little bit of pep returned to Luz's voice, "Oh, well. Least I know what I'm doing now, kinda."

Maka risked a glance at Soul; aside from his footsteps, he was silent, hands in his pockets as he meandered forwards, shoulders hunched in his usual slouch. His eyes were hidden beneath his brow, but his lips were curled in an expression the Meister couldn't quite place.

She felt her own lips twist and pull, trying to avoid betraying her nervousness. Maka hadn't wanted to call Luz while Soul was in earshot, but they needed to spend as much time as possible searching for Sid – which meant getting this out of the way as soon as she could…

"So what's up, Maka?" Luz asked, curious, snapping Maka out of her reverie, "You're not usually the one calling me."

The Meister shook her head, taking a breath to steady herself, "… I just wanted to let you know that something's come up. We'll have to put off your lessons for at least a week – maybe even two."

"… oh."

Maka felt her jaw clench, screwing her eyes shut to keep herself from doubling over at the familiar stab of guilt; one word– no, not even a word, a single vocalization was enough for her to feel Luz's sudden emotional plummet, all the cheer in her voice suddenly replaced with a sobering solemnness.

She said nothing, waiting for her half sister to fully process her words…

"… is it… another mission?" Luz's tone was hopeful, but it failed to disguise the undercurrent of disappointment and sadness, "Are you starting to collect Souls again?"

"Not yet, no," she tugged at her glove with her teeth, trying to get it tight as she could, "… one of the teachers at the DWMA was murdered a few days ago."

"... oh…"

It was odd how the same basic sound could convey such different emotions – before, it was a distinct sound of sorrow. But now, Luz's voice carried something entirely different – a sudden, shocked clarity, tinged with no small amount of abject horror.

"Soul and I have been paired up with another Weapon and Meister pair for this mission," Maka explained, keeping her tone brisk, "This isn't like most missions where we can afford some level of free time and leniency – this isn't the typical Kishin Egg Collection. We've been given two weeks to track down the killer, and we need to dedicate all the time we have to finding them-"

"Maka, aren't the teachers at the DWMA all really strong? Like Papi?" there was more than a little bit of concern in Luz's voice.

"… Dad is stronger than all of the other teachers, Luz," she huffed, stifling the urge to add scathing sarcasm, "But they're all very strong, yes."

"… then why are they sending you after someone that killed one of them?"

"We won't be dealing with the killer ourselves – not if everything goes according to plan," Maka assured, "We'll just be trying to track the killer down. After we've found them, Three Star Weapons and Meisters will take it from there."

"… okay."

Luz didn't sound as though her worries were put to rest; if anything, she sounded entirely unconvinced of Maka's safety, her voice tiny, even frightened.

The Meister's stomach twisted, once again churning with conflicting emotions. On the one hand, she didn't want Luz to worry… but on the other, it was somehow comforting, knowing how much Luz genuinely cared for her.

"I'll be okay, Luz. I'm not going to be doing anything dangerous – it's just investigation, nothing more than that. We're not going to be fighting anyone we're not able to handle."

It took a moment for Luz to respond this time, clearly struggling to keep herself from pursuing the issue further. Instead, she took a deep breath, "... can I ask who it is that… died?"

"… Professor Sid," Maka sighed, a wave of melancholy washing over her as she once again closed her eyes. The deep-skinned tattooed man had been a strict instructor, but a kind, honest man who did his best to help his students thrive – it was hard to imagine why anyone would want to kill him.

"... Sid? As in… Sid Barret?"

Maka's eyes snapped back open at Luz's confused tone, a chill running through her, "… yeah…?"

"... you said he was murdered several days ago, right?" the Latina asked.

"His body was found on Friday," Maka confirmed, "Luz, how do you know Sid?"

"… that doesn't make any sense, Maka. He called Dad earlier today."

The chill turned to a cold shock, making her stagger and nearly trip over the cobbles; she stared straight forwards, eyes unfocused, incredulous, "… he called Dad?"

"Yeah. I didn't hear most of what he was saying, but it sounded important. Dad said something about someone named Naigus getting angry and making sure he would "stay dead this time.""

"… Lord Death said he was turned into a zombie," Maka murmured.

"Wait, he's a zombie?" her half sister queried.

"Luz," Maka brought herself back into focus, brow creasing as her mind raced, "Did you manage to catch anything else from Sid's conversation with Dad?"

'Naigus' anger when she came to fetch us,' the Scythe wielder thought, '"Stay dead this time." Sending students after Sid instead of actual DWMA faculty… what am I missing here?'

"… not all that much, to be honest," Luz confessed, "But there was one other name that came up. Has Dad ever told you about a guy named 'Stein'?"

Maka's lips twisted into a grimace as she closed her eyes, rubbing at her temple, "… the name sounds somewhat familiar, but I don't think I ever heard it from Dad specifically."

"He freaked out when I asked him about it. Like, he really lost it – not yelling but… he kinda curled up on the floor in a ball and babbled to himself."

"That's not exactly hard to do, if you know how," she grumbled, mind drifting back to every time Dad made a fool of himself trying to 'fix' their relationship over the past month alone, a searing spike of spite embedding itself in her stomach.

"Maka, this is serious," Luz hissed, for the first time actually sounding angry, "He was scared out of his mind by a name. I have never seen him like that; I know you're mad at him, but even you have to admit that's not normal considering what he's probably seen as a Death Scythe."

Maka grit her teeth, then forced herself to take a deep breath; whatever the Meister's feelings towards their father, no matter how badly she wanted to write him off as a good-for-nothing, Luz was right about one thing at the very least.

"… okay, you make a good point," she acquiesced, "That's not normal…"

"None of this is…" Luz's voice was low, and Maka could practically see the way her brow creased as she thought, "Okay, let's take this from the top. What happened, exactly? And what do you have to do?"

"Professor Sid Barret was murdered on Friday," Maka let her tone become clinical as she recalled the sequence of events and the reports she'd since read over, "When DWMA staff performed an autopsy, they found Sid was killed seemingly without any struggle, with a statuette embedded in his forehead, completely destroying his frontal lobe. Shortly afterwards, his body went missing, and a figure with a very strong resemblance to Sid has since been seen stalking or even attacking DWMA students."

"Hence the belief that he's been turned into a zombie," Luz concluded.

"Right. Soul and I have been asked to work with Dark Arm Meister Black Star and Magic Dark Arm Weapon Tsubaki Nakatsukasa in order to track down and defeat Sid before he regains his strength," Maka finished, "Lord Death referred to all this as an 'extra lesson,' if that means anything."

"Bit of an odd way to refer to a murder investigation," Luz hummed, "Meanwhile, on my end, Sid called Papi in order to tell him something important. They mentioned someone named Naigus – don't know who that is-"

"Sid's Weapon partner," Maka confirmed, "He was a Knife Meister."

"Oh, okay. So, they mentioned Sid's partner, they mentioned Death, and they mentioned this Stein guy," Luz continued, "Dad said Naigus was gonna be angry at Sid for whatever this 'something' was. We know Stein had something to do with it – and Dad asked if Death knew about it. Sid said Death sanctioned it, if I'm remembering right."

"Sanctioned it?" Maka felt her nose wrinkle; she already didn't like where this was going.

"Apparently."

Maka brought a hand to her forehead, the fabric's warmth pleasant against her skin in the cold as the gears in her mind continued to turn. Up until a moment ago, everything Lord Death had told her had added up. But with the addition of what Luz had overheard, everything had been thrown completely off; no longer did the Scythe wielder have any certainties or solid conclusions to work with.

The only way any of it made any sense when put together with everything she'd been told so far was if…

"Are you sure you're okay, Maka?" the question once again brought her back to earth, "You seem really out of it."

"Yes, Luz, just trying to work things out," the Meister raised her head, staring up at the moon, "Look, I'll call you back later, okay? I need to figure this out."

"… okay, Maka. Te amo - love you. Keep me posted, alright?"

"I will. Goodnight, Luz."

She slipped off a glove, and ended the call, lips pulled taught across her face.

"… so. Certainly sounds like there's more to this than we thought," Soul said, breaking his silence.

"Leave it to Luz to accidentally overhear teacher conversations," Maka pocketed her phone, crossing her arms.

"Nosy, I take it?"

"Like you wouldn't believe. She means well, but Luz just doesn't know when to leave well enough alone."

"Where have I heard of someone like that before?"

Maka grit her teeth at the smugness in Soul's tone, "Stuff it, Soul."

"Hey, just saying, if I didn't know any better-"

She reached into her coat, and pulled out her hardcover notebook, cracking him upside the head with the edge – not hard enough to hurt, but hard enough to cut him off. His ensuing chuckle, however did nothing to ease her worsening temper as she flipped it open.

"Knock it off," she snapped, cutting him off before he could continue, "We've got to meet up with Tsubaki and Black Star before it gets any later. We looked over all the Sid sightings, right?"

"You and Tsubaki did, yeah. Black Star didn't want to do any reading and you stuck me with babysitting," Soul sobered, rolling his shoulders, "Arm wrestling with that guy freakin' hurts… anyways, you said you narrowed it down to a particular spot?"

"More a general area," Maka clarified, "Though we at least have a place to start looking. The Hook Cemetery."

"A cemetery? Really?" he scoffed, "Bit cliché, don't you think?"

"Hey, you want to complain, you take it up with Sid when we find him," she huffed, snapping her notebook shut.

"I'll be sure to do that," he stated wryly, "Though you gotta admit – Luz made some good points. Suddenly I'm not so sure it's as cut and dry as Lord Death wants us to believe."

"That can wait, Soul," Maka redoubled her pace, pulling ahead of her Weapon, unable to quite keep the edge out of her voice, "Collection of data now, scrutiny of data later."

"… someone's touchy," she heard him mutter, though she did not respond.

Maka, ultimately, just wanted this night over with.

It was a strange thing to adapt to – the fact that his organs didn't work anymore.

He still had his sense of sight, taste, smell, hearing and touch, but it was no longer in the conventional sense, as not only had his nervous system shut down, but so too had his brain – his frontal lobe had been completely destroyed, effectively rendering the organ entirely useless. He could follow things visually, and he had directional hearing, but his eyes and ears weren't really what conveyed the information to him.

No, what he was relying on was the perception of his Soul, returned to his corpse.

All at once, he felt more perceptive of the world than he ever had while he was alive. His vision wasn't bound to his eyes, his hearing wasn't bound to his ears – the beams of light that reflected off every surface in all their different colours, the vibrations of sound that bounced off every object and radiated through the atmosphere, the smells and tastes that wafted through the air all touched his Soul directly, all so much more vibrant to him than ever before in their direct exposure to his spirit.

But not all the sensations were pleasant.

His sense of touch, most notably, was particularly troublesome at the moment.

Without a vessel to inhabit, there is precious little a Soul can do to interact with the world. The man that had revived him had been gracious enough to prepare his body, applying relaxants to allow him to move his muscles and joints, applying preservatives to keep him in perfect working condition, but despite all this, he felt none of the familiarity that he should have. His body felt alien – his lungs would not fill or empty on their own, forcing him to consciously take breaths when he wanted to speak. His heartbeat was completely absent. His muscles felt heavy and sluggish, and every time he moved, he felt as much as he heard his bones and joints crack with quiet dismay at being forced to bend.

"… good with the bad, I suppose," he huffed, crossing his arms in the cool dark, "I'm not going to complain – that's not the kind of man I was."

He extended his senses, tuning out the physical world – the dirt and roots and stones that surrounded him, the total lack of light, the protest of his body – and sought out his targets. Provided they had already completed their research into his late night prowlings, the four young Souls should arrive at some point before the night was through.

"So you really think he's skulking around here?"

If he could, he would have blinked in surprise.

Two Souls were already present in the world above him, beyond the dirt and turf, glowing in the darkness. The first was practically electric with latent energy, zipping back and forth and bouncing against the internal confines of his body, a brilliant sky blue laden with spikes, like a newborn star.

"This is where all the sightings seem to have been centered, Black Star," a placating female voice responded – the second Soul, glowing a warm, muted yellow with a calming aura, almost perfectly still, its only motion being that of its long thin tail, wrapping around itself and constantly morphing from a tail to a chain, tipped with any number of weapons, "Maka and I checked the reports pretty thoroughly. They all seemed to be focused in the general area around the Hook Cemetery, so this seems like the most logical place to look."

"Well, at least she's good for something," Black Star snorted, "Though I bet you could've figured it out all by yourself, Tsubaki. You're a way bigger star than Maka is. We don't need their help to beat up on a dead man."

"Maybe not, but I'm sure they'll at least make our lives easier," Tsubaki assured, "Don't forget that Sid was a Three Star Meister. Even if he's weaker than normal, we shouldn't take him lightly."

"Hmph. Maybe they'll serve as a good distraction, but I'm not holding my breath. Maka's not good for much of anything that doesn't involve a book," Black Star quipped.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" A new voice, young, feminine, and snide, broke into the conversation as the third and fourth Souls finally entered his restricted field of vision, "Maybe you should make sure that the person you're insulting isn't in earshot before you take shots behind their back."

Maka's Soul was a matte forest green, small, but bright. It didn't bear Black Star's excitable energy, but it wasn't calm the way Tsubaki's was, either; it bore a quiet determination, resolute with the refusal to allow herself to be pushed around.

"Well, look who decided to show up," the ninja jeered, "And here I thought I wasn't gonna be able to tell you that to your face tonight."

"Shut it," Maka snapped, "I'm not in the mood and we have a job to do. I'm not willing to waste my time listening to you spit into the wind."

"Alright. Have it your way," the blue Soul snickered.

The final Soul's glow was a brilliant mix of alternating red and white; one overtook the other in a constant flow like an eternally spinning kaleidoscope, mesmerizing, almost calming in its own way, a stark contrast to the annoyed sigh he let out, almost more of a growl, "Please don't make me play babysitter tonight. I really don't want to mediate between you two."

"Then tell Black Star not to pick fights, Soul," Maka ran a hand along a gravestone, studying its inscription.

"I'm sorry, Maka, but who just said she wasn't in the mood?" Black Star asked.

As the back and forth gradually began to rise into a squabble, the man beneath the soil mused to himself, turning his attention from one Soul to the other.

Maka Albarn.

Soul Eater.

Tsubaki Nakatsukasa.

Black Star.

Four of the students he had taught while he was alive.

All excellent students in their own ways, but all uniquely frustrating in others.

Now would be the perfect time to spring an attack and catch them off guard – arguing and distracted, it would not be difficult to knock them off kilter, and from there take them down one by one.

But that wasn't his job right now.

"Too used to thinking like an assassin in the field," he grumbled to himself, certain his words wouldn't carry; this far beneath the earth, there was no way they would hear him.

His job in this moment was to observe them; to see how each pair acted as a team in both their investigation of the area, and in their ability to actually function in combat.

The combat aspect of this mission would come later.

For now, he would simply see how they intended to search the area.

"Let's just get to work," Maka finally growled, "Soul and I aren't quite as agile, so for now, we're going to stick to ground level. Black Star, Tsubaki, do you think you two can keep an eye on things from higher ground?"

"It would allow us to survey the area better," Tsubaki agreed.

"I was planning on doing that anyways!" Black Star declared, "It'll be perfect for my dramatic entrance!"

"Whatever. Just get up into the trees and keep an eye out. And whatever you do, don't act on your own; this is a joint mission, and if you act out, it won't just be yourself that you're sabotaging, Black Star."

"Hey, last time I checked, I was the big star around here, Maka. You stick to your bit part and don't order me around."

Before Maka could respond, Black Star addressed his partner, "Tsubaki, Kusarigama Mode."

"Right!"

With that, the shape of Tsubaki's Soul changed. It retained its golden brilliance, but the ponytail took on a more definite shape, solidifying into a chain with a pair of small handheld scythes at the ends.

"YAHOOOOOOO!" Black Star shouted as he leaped upwards, his Soul growing more and more distant, rising into the dark above.

Though he could not tell where the boy had gone from beneath the ground, the man knew Black Star had scampered up into the trees.

"Surveying the area from a higher angle during the night is actually a decent strategy," he mused, "In addition, it keeps me from keeping any real track of him as far down as I am – I can't sense his Soul anymore. I was having a hard enough of a time doing that with all this stone and dirt muting them, but now he's totally beyond reach. On the one hand, this restricts my ability to keep an eye on him… but on the other, it's an entirely tactically sound move.

"Which leaves me to instead watch Soul and Maka…"

"… God," Maka moaned, "How does Tsubaki put up with him?"

"Well, the big difference is that Black Star actually likes Tsubaki," Soul noted, "He doesn't really like you all that much."

"Yeah, I noticed," Maka bit out, taking in a seething breath before finally seeming to settle, "… okay. Okay, I'm good."

"Usual method?" Soul asked.

"Usual method. Let's go."

With that, Soul and Maka set off.

The man reached out, and dug, grunting as he wriggled through the dirt and between stones and roots to keep pace with the Weapon and Meister; having gotten accustomed to the Hook Cemetery, Sid knew they were roughly at the west entrance, making their way north, right along the wrought iron gates.

They moved slowly, but with purpose; popping his head up just enough to get an actual glimpse of their physical forms past the dirt, he studied their actions closely. Despite the earlier argument, the two now seemed almost completely at ease; Maka kept her head firmly forwards, only occasionally glancing to the right or the left before resuming her path, clearly on the lookout for anything amiss.

Soul, on the other hand, kept his gaze to the right, looking into the cemetery; to the untrained eye, one might say he seemed distracted, but the man knew better, especially given the unusual focus in the boy's crimson eyes. His gaze traced the gravestones, the blackened, twisted trees and the hundreds upon hundreds of hooks that hung from their withered branches, rusted beyond all hope of repair.

'Committing his battlefield to memory,' the man observed with a grim satisfaction, 'Allowing his Meister to search for their target while he takes note of not only the nature of their terrain, but all possible escape routes, both for the purpose of cutting off their target and for the sake of making an escape if the battle goes wrong, all of which he can communicate to her in an instant during a Resonance. On top of that, he's keeping to her right side, so she has immediate access to him with her dominant hand should they spot me or be taken by surprise – a subtle, but important move, and he seems to have it down to a habit. Soul may act like a delinquent, but he's far more diligent than he lets on.

'… now if only he showed this kind of dedication for his actual coursework.'

"Pretty big place… should we pick up the pace?"

"We need to be thorough. We need to cover the entire perimeter before searching the rest of the grounds. This isn't like that stupid Slender game Luz sent me where all the pages are in pre-set locations."

"Wait, that was her?" Soul gave his partner an amused grin, "I was wondering what that was doing on your laptop."

Maka scoffed, crossing her arms, "Knock it off. I'm saying that Sid could be anywhere, and we gotta search this place top to bottom if we want to actually find him. Edges first, internals second."

"Yeah, yeah, I know… does she know you were too scared to go into the woods for a week after that?"

"Shut it."

"Alright, alright…"

They continued for a long few minutes in silence.

"… you gonna use that new technique?" Soul queried.

"What new technique?" Maka asked suspiciously.

"You know, the eye thing," the Scythe reached up, tapping the side of his right eye, "Didn't you say you were practicing to see Souls?"

The man went stock still, surprise running through him like an electrical jolt.

"… it's not perfect, yet," Maka admitted with a sigh, "I really gotta focus to actually pull it off, and I'm still having a hard time finding all the nuances of different Souls. They largely still look the same to me."

He stared openly at Maka now, keeping himself as still as he could, lest his shock give him away; they were talking about a technique even Three Star Weapons and Meisters had difficulty performing. He had mastered it himself out of necessity, but it had still taken him a great many hours of practice to learn to perceive Souls. It wasn't something One Star Weapons and Meisters, much less ones that were only on the cusp of beginning their second year of official training, should have been able to perform.

And yet Maka was talking as if she had not only done it once already, but had actively been practicing it…

"Well, only other people here are Black Star and Tsubaki," Soul pointed out, "Chances are nobody else is gonna be out here. This isn't exactly a pleasant time to visit the dearly departed."

"And yet, in a way, that's exactly what we're doing," Maka noted wryly, smiling slightly.

"Heh. In a way," Soul chuckled, "But come on. At the very least it's worth the practice."

"… alright, fine, you win," Maka finally conceded, coming to a complete halt. She breathed, deep through her nose, and then exhaled slowly through the mouth, the tension in her shoulders gradually disappearing…

And when she turned to survey the graveyard, her eyes were completely unfocused, as though she were staring into some empty void only she could perceive, the faint ripple of her Wavelength changing almost imperceptibly – a clear sign she was perceiving the world around her not with her eyes, but with her Soul.

'… amazing,' he thought, 'That she can perform this technique even imperfectly is astounding… you really are an incredible Meister, Maka Albarn.'

"See anything, Maka?" Soul asked.

"Not yet…" she murmured, letting her gaze sweep the graveyard-

And then her head snapped to the side, her eyes fixing right on his position.

Before he could force his sluggish body to act, Maka was moving. She gripped Soul's arm, and he did not hesitate to react in turn. Immediately, his body disappeared in a flash of white light, replaced with a plain steel staff with a curved crescent blade of red and black at the end.

Maka leaped forwards in a forward flip before driving her Weapon down with every ounce of force she could muster, the Scythe in her hands gleaming in the moonlight as it arced down, seeking to draw blood.

Knowing he couldn't dodge in time, he instead went for the next best thing.

He gripped the gravestone to his right, and pulled it out of position, causing it to topple over right into the blade's path; Soul's blade easily bit into the stone, but stopped just short of his head, leaving him with just enough time to extract himself from the earth, gravestone in hand.

'That was a little too close for comfort,' he grit his permanently bared teeth, 'If I'd still been alive, I could have easily dodged that attack, even parried it with my bare hands. This body just isn't responding like it used to – and my Soul is still recovering, on top of it.'

"Sid Barret!" Maka shouted, sinking into her stance with both hands on her Weapon, "You have died and been unnaturally raised from the grave! Your Soul is mine!"

Sid only glanced at the name on the tombstone before returning his attention to the young Meister and Weapon, 'Apologies, Mr. Graham. I'll pay to have your tombstone repaired personally once this is over.'

He pulled his lips back in a vicious grin, hefting the cross shaped stone up onto his shoulder, "You're going to have to try much harder than that, Miss Albarn. If that's all you've got to offer, then you won't even be taking a finger from me, much less my Soul.

"Besides, you two didn't even give me the time to wish you a good evening; it seems I'll have to teach you some manners."

"I don't think you have much room to be lecturing us about manners," Soul's distorted voice echoed out from the Scythe, "Especially with all the skulking around you've been doing, Sid."

"Maybe not," he conceded, "But I've always been an enthusiastic educator; that's the kind of man I was. And would you look at the time…"

As if on cue, the nearby church bell began to ring. Once… twice… six times total.

Sid let his grin widen, sinking into his own stance, legs wide, knees bent, his dead, blue skin catching an eerie sheen in the golden moonlight, "Class is now officially in session."

Finally, getting into some action! Feels good to know an actual fight scene is in the near future.

Just don't expect it to go as smoothly as it did in canon. Even off kilter like this, Sid's a tough cookie.

Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. I was making very merry across Christmas and New Years and it's hard to keep up with writing with family obligations and all.

Thank you all for reading and for your patience and understanding with me. Let me know what you think! I hope you all enjoyed the sixth chapter of Owls and Souls, Witches and Resonance!