Chapter 3
Fotia awoke to the sound of loud snoring. After completing the controlling spell, she had followed Soul back to his apartment, used a suggestive spell to put him to sleep, and had enough energy to fall into the bed before sleep took her as well. Soul's snoring was echoing against the wooden floors in the room. When Fotia had suggested he sleep, she also suggested he do it on the floor. Her heart leapt to her throat when there was a sharp rap on the bedroom door.
"Soul," a young girl's voice called. "Get up or you're going to be late."
Soul continued snoring as the witch frantically looked for a quick exit. The last thing she needed was to attract unnecessary attention. Luckily there was a window that led to a small balcony. She could climb down from the second story without much effort. The girl knocked on the door again and Fotia darted to the other side of the bed and out the window. Just in time, too, as Maka came barging into the boy's room.
"Soul!" Maka yelled. "Get up, now!" The young meister left the room briefly and returned with a cup of water, which she then proceeded to dump on Soul's head.
Yelling and sputtering, Soul sat up instantly. His head turned side to side quickly as he tried to gain his bearings. He looked up, seeing his roommate and partner standing over him, empty cup in hand. He jumped up growling.
"What the hell, Maka?!" he yelled. "I was having such a great dream. You can't just wake a guy when he's having a great dream about a pretty lady!"
Maka glowered as him, "You disgust me sometimes!"
"It felt so real, too. Like the pretty little red head was actually here," Soul said trailing off. "Why was I on the floor?"
"Don't ask me," Maka ground out. "Maybe you were too busy rolling around with your imaginary girlfriend!"
Soul and Maka continued to fight, throwing insults and frustrated exclamations at each other. Fotia took it as her cue to leave. She climbed over the railing and easily hopped down the ten feet to the ground, landing lightly on the balls of her feet.
She wandered away from the apartments, relieved she hadn't let up on Soul Protect in her sleep. That girl was definitely a meister, and a powerful one at that. Fotia stretched her arms above her head and let out a yawn. It was amazing what a good night's sleep could do for a body. Being both a witch and a Shinigami, she really didn't need sleep all that often. While she was locked up she slept once every three months, but now that she was back to using her powers on a daily basis she suspected she would need sleep on a more regular basis. Once a week would do the trick until she became accustomed to the draining effects of her powers again.
Fotia made her way to the outskirts of Death City. She got a few strange looks from civilians going about their day, but no one stopped her or gave her any trouble. A desert dotted with cacti was strewn out before her, but as she took a step she felt a searing pain in her leg. She jumped back and cried out.
"Damn!" she growled. "He really has put seals up around the entire city."
She froze, feeling a strong meister soul behind her. She recognized it immediately.
"Lord Death requests your presence, witch," Stein spoke with a bite in his voice.
Fotia turned and saw the meister in an attack stance, Death Scythe in his hands.
"Oh, really?" she snorted. "He can wait. I waited for five hundred years."
"He insists that if you refuse, I can drag you back," Stein threatened.
Fotia laughed, "Where is this confidence coming from? You shook like a frightened child last I saw you in my presence."
Stein growled, but before he could say anything, Death Scythe appeared and cut him off.
"Fotia, please," he sighed. "Lord Death says he has information on the warlock named Bain."
Her eyes widened, but she showed no other signs of reaction. She turned away and began walking the perimeter again, looking for any weak spots.
"You need to come with us," Stein said.
"Don't you care about him?" Death Scythe asked.
Fotia stopped walking and laughed quietly before throwing her head back and laughing manically. "He has no idea! I've been alive over eight hundred years and he has no idea!"
Death Scythe and Stein looked at each other both feeling uneasy at the display.
Spirit reverted back into a weapon and Stein stood at the ready. Fotia continued to laugh and cry out incredulously.
"Who doesn't know?" Stein finally asked.
"My father has never been able to see what is right in front of him," she growled darkly. "He's blind to his own ambitions. I care about Bain's whereabouts, but not for the reasons you believe."
"Lord Death says he has information about the warlock's location," Stein repeated.
"I'm not stupid," Fotia snorted again. "This is a trap. He's worried about me being reckless. He has never trusted me."
"Then don't be reckless," Spirit spoke from within his weapon form.
"Oh," she said lightly, turning to fully face them again. "Like this?" She removed her soul protect, and Stein felt like he was being crushed by the depths of the ocean. Her soul was enormous, and radiating enough power to attract any meisters or witches within a hundred mile radius. "If he's so worried about me, why doesn't Lord Death just come for me himself?! Oh that's right, he can't!"
"You'll attract all manner of unwanted attention!" Stein yelled trying to fight the numbness in his bones.
"Don't be ridiculous!" she laughed. "Who said it's unwanted?"
Stein could feel other meisters approaching, searching for the location of the witch's soul. He felt Kid, Maka, and Blackstar closing in. He needed to end this before they got involved. She really was powerful. Her soul was crushing him. Looking around quickly, he saw no easy way to end this fight quickly, the desert sands began to rise around the pair, the heat of the mid-morning sun accentuated by the flames swirling around the witch. Before his eyes Stein saw the witch transform, her elongated canines grew even more resting just over her bottom lip in a malicious grin. Her pupils stretched into vertical slits while the golden color of her eyes seemed to glow and reflect the light of the sun. A crackling sound could be heard as the earth beneath their feet rumbled and began to split from the heat of the flames and the crushing weight of the witch's power.
"It's like I said," Fotia hissed. "Lord Death's meisters won't stand a chance."
"Death Scythe!" Stein called as he pulsed his soul wavelength into the weapon.
"On it!" Death Scythe responded as they two began resonating for the ultimate attack, Witch Hunter. Stein swung the weapon with practiced ease, but was shocked when he heard Death Scythe cry out in pain and the edge of the blade turn red from the heat of the flames surrounding the witch. "Spirit, what's the damage?"
"We can't get close to her," he called back. "She'll destroy me before we can land a hit!" Spirit transformed out of his weapon state his left eye closed tightly as the skin from his temple to his neck blistered.
"Papa!" Maka yelled having just arrived and seeing the state her father was in.
"Maka, no! Stay away! All of you get back!" Spirit yelled desperately seeing the three young meisters approach.
Fotia laughed as she commanded the flames to grow and push away from her suddenly, sending them rushing toward the group. They all jumped back to avoid the heat. Soul partially transformed and pointed harshly toward her, "It's you! You tricked me last night!"
"Oh sweet boy, it was a spell," she cooed at him. "You really were too easy to compel."
"Soul, what is she talking about?" Maka asked.
"She's the pretty lady I was telling you I was having a dream about!" Soul answered. "She said…she said if I want to share my bed with her I need only ask," he whispered the last bit.
"Like I said," Fotia sneered at the pair, "Too easy to compel. I could have gotten a few more hours of sleep if your meister hadn't so rudely pounded on your door this morning."
The color drained from both the meister and weapon's faces. "YOU LET A WITCH SLEEP IN OUR APARTMENT?!" Maka screamed. While the two continued to scream at each other, Kid watched his sister's grin grow, the flames around her slowly dimming. Without another thought, Kid raised his twin pistols and pulled the triggers. Tim seemed to slow in that moment. Maka and Soul ceased their yelling, Blackstar turned to look at the young reaper. The blue haired assassin wasn't stupid; he knew he couldn't endanger Tsubaki in this fight after seeing what had happened to Death Scythe. As the two bolts of pink energy raced toward the witch, a cloud of sand blew toward Kid. He closed his eyes to avoid it and when he opened them again she was gone. Everyone gasped turning frantically every which way to try to track her.
"Over here," Kid felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand at attention and a chill run down his spine as her voice whispered barely an inch from his ear. She placed her hand on his back ensuring he wouldn't move. The others zeroed in on the witch's new location, nervous for Kid, Liz and Patty.
"But how?" Kid asked. "You shouldn't be able to move that fast!"
"I can't," she laughed. "My specialty is illusions. While you were all so focused on what was directly in front of you, you failed to pay attention to what was going on behind you."
"I was shooting something that wasn't even there," Kid realized. "But when did you?"
"Hmm?" she chuckled.
"The flames," Stein supplied.
"Very good," she turned her gaze toward the scientist.
"I don't follow," Maka said.
"Me neither," Blackstar shook his head. "What's going on?"
"When she pushed that ring of flames toward us," Stein explained. "We all jumped back or closed our eyes as a reflex. She replaced her position with an illusion and moved to attack us from behind."
"Then why didn't she attack us?" Blackstar growled. "Does she think I'm not so big a star I can't handle a witch attack?!"
"Because," Kid said feeling her hand come away from his back. "She never intended to attack any of us." He turned around to face her, eyes and teeth back to normal, soul protect in place, and no flames in sight.
"Then why?" Soul yelled coming fully out of his weapon form. Tsubaki, Liz, and Patty followed suit and stood beside their meisters.
A mischievous glint came into the witch's eyes as she grinned wolfishly. Bringing a single finger close to her lips she said in a sing-song voice, "secrets secrets are no fun, unless you tell everyone!" She giggled as her eyes darted around at the faces fixed on her position before falling on Kid again, "Isn't that right, little brother?"
"WHAT?!" Maka, Soul, Blackstar and Tsubaki yelled in shock.