Four months into her sentence, Maka's shovel hits something glassy. By now she's usually done with her hole by ten, so she had been aiming to set a new record today and be finished by nine. Being sidetracked by buried treasure in the form of a jar hadn't been in the plan, though.
Soul, who had picked a spot to dig fifteen feet away from hers, walks over casually when he notices she's no longer shoveling and complaining about the heat. "What's that supposed to be, Pigtails?"
"Uhh…" Maka scrapes the dirt off the jar's sides with her fingernail, revealing raised ridges that form pattern she can't decipher, a faint blue glow emanating from within. Must be a reflection from the sun, she thinks… Except, dirt doesn't catch the sun like that. "Maybe it's a lightning bug?"
"A bug that survived all this time underground?"
Maka rolls his eyes at him, heat rushing to her cheeks. "Okay, what do you think it is, silly?"
"Uhhh…" He jumps into the half dug hole, kneeling down beside her. "Maybe… A message in a bottle? Does it open?"
Try as she might, the lid doesn't pop off. All she gains for her efforts are lightheadedness, inflamed blisters, and a blow to her ego.
"You're going to give yourself a hernia. Step aside, let me handle this." Soul's bravado quickly wears off when he also fails to unscrew the lid. Apparently his last resort for redemption is to give up. "Ugh! It looks thousands of years old anyway. It's trash."
"You're such a drama queen, Soul. It's not that old. I think I might keep it to hold my pens or something."
She's so focused on rubbing off the grime buildup between the raised ridges that she doesn't notice a snake slithering toward her until it's inches away, jumping off the ground and barring its fangs. Paralyzed with fear and disbelief, Maka goes through the five stages of grief in a fraction of a second, regretting most that she hadn't hugged her papa back after the trial. Now it's too late -
But, the bite never comes. Before she can think, Soul pushes her out of the way in a flash, falling on top of her and using his arm as a shield - or, what should be his arm. Time isn't on the snake's side. It has no choice but to dive into Soul's scythe limb, splitting in half and jerking to a standstill in the hole with them.
"Holy shit," he pants, awed, sliding a finger along the sharp side of the scythe. Then it's gone and he's a hundred percent warm flesh again.
X
"Does it hurt when you…transform?"
"Mmm…nope. It feels like waving my arm across a fire, but that's it. Pretty much the only painless thing in my life."
Wonder lights up Maka's face, her lips pursing, the skin between her brows furrowing. It's adorable. If anything, Soul's frustration with himself heightens with every question she asks as they sit huddled in the library closet. The longer he waits for her rejection, the more he wants to believe that it won't come. She had seen him morph into something inhuman with violent potential, and hasn't even scrunched her nose up at him like Jackie now does in his presence.
Comparing them isn't fair to any of them, though. Soul had pushed Jackie away by saying all those harsh things to her - rejected her friendship even when she tried to get over his abnormality, like when she cleaned him up after their fight. He probably deserves all the derision and taunting, it's what he wanted, deep, deep, deep down… But does he really? He asks Maka these questions, too, and opens the floodgates by confiding that he's felt been alone for a long time, about losing Jackie because she saw his scythe ability, which...
It hurt, and still does. There's no other word to describe it. Hurt.
"So… yeah, that's why she keeps using that word." Ahh, he might cry. "'Freak'."
"Maybe she's acting out because she's upset? I don't know… It's pretty extreme, it doesn't warrant the bullying. Nothing does." Worrying her lip, Maka becomes entranced by the newspaper clippings in her lap. It's been weeks since they read the first set because Stein and Marie have kept a constant vigil by the library, but the waiting hadn't amounted to anything. The other articles outline the first few disappearances, including that of a six year old, but none of them reveal why or if bodies were ever found.
"Anyway," Soul yawns, scanning the room for the Oni. He's been… too quiet. "Uh - I'm not…uh, I'm not scary to you?"
"What?" Genuine shock flickers over her face. "No way! I mean, it's different, and will take some getting used to but… you're you, and there's no one like you. And that's a good thing!"
His eyes water, and he turns his attention toward the shadow so she doesn't see.
Maybe this is what Jackie was trying to convey all those months earlier when she took Soul to the infirmary, when she tried putting the pieces together for him. He's different and has his own challenges to battle. "Maybe the nightmares and weapon abilities are related?"
Soul Evans feels like a jerk. Sure, it had been a self conscious, negative defense mechanism, but now he's lost a friend.
"I think you should try talking to her. Doesn't she seem… off to you? I mean, I don't know what she was like before the fight, but… I don't know it seems - Oh my God!" Maka cuts herself off to tug his sleeve out of the blue, pointing wildly to a newspaper article with a black and white picture of a dark, long haired man scowling into the camera. "He has the same surname as my mama's. Her maiden name was Nakatsukasa. She was- uh… She is part Japanese."
"Wow, what a small world." Though Soul doesn't spot a resemblance between Maka and Masamune, he believes anything is possible. "Do you think you're related to him?"
"Maybe! Too bad we don't have internet access here, otherwise I would use a genealogy website or video call my papa to ask..."
Soul lacks the bravery required to ask how her relationship with her dad's been going, or ask more about what happened to her mom, but… Okay, there's nothing stopping him but himself. The words almost roll of his tongue but then he feels the ghostly presence that's been bothering Maka, too: a frantic tap on the shoulder, and it's not Oni.
X
Soul knew it would happen eventually. Someone else would find out about his secret, someone who he didn't trust. He just didn't think it would be so public, so soon.
One moment he's concentrating, willing his arm to transform so he can dig his hole and go back inside, and the next he's coming to in Stein's office. The first thing he notices are the ceiling tilings, so pristine and white. Bit by bit everything else comes into focus: Maka's green eyes after she exclaims, "He's awake!" and rushes over to his bedside, an unimpressed Stein also hovering over him, and Oni in the corner cackling before escaping into the vents.
"I think he's alive," Stein announces.
"Welcome back," Marie's happy voice sings from somewhere to his right. "How are you feeling?"
"Dead…" An attempt to scratch his head results in hitting himself in the eye. "What happened?"
Maka smooths his hair back. "You passed out! It was so scary, I thought you had heat stroke or something."
"Sorry," Soul says, meaning it. For once, he'd like not to be a burden on anyone, especially Maka. She refuses to leave his bedside for the rest of the day, not falling for Marie's cajoling or bribing with extra classes or tokens for the supplies store. Curfew finally successfully removes Maka from his side. The goodie-goodie in her can't say no to rules, even if it means pausing in the middle of reading her favorite poems from The Sun and Her Flowers to him.
It's lonely in the infirmary. It's just Soul, the lights from the equipment blinking in the darkness, and occasionally Oni and his current obsession with muttering about snakes. An insane thought whirls around in Soul's brain: what if the snakes are something to be cautious of? After all, Ox's left buttcheek hasn't been the same since.
Stein walks in late the next morning, patting his coat pocket - probably in search of a cigarette. "Haven't been resting, have you? You look like you smeared baby diarrhea under your eyes."
Soul's eyes water from lack of sleep, so he bursts out giggling.
Shockingly, the doctor had been searching for a pen. He scribbles something on a notepad that Soul hopes the pharmacists mistakes for happy pills. "I'm going to write you a prescription for a sleeping aid. Don't try to sell them as drugs. I don't want to write more accident reports."
"Great. Maybe I can finally get some peace."
The hope that begins to bubble inside Soul dies as Stein goes on: "I doubt that. See, you're…interesting, Soul. An interesting specimen. You have a unique soul. And your blood is black."
X
Wes Evans had promised himself he would never settle down. Life in New York City had nurtured the idea that there were too many people in this world for him to pick only one person to love. Yes, he believes in soulmates, but not in the way that most people regard them. Relationships aren't meant to last forever. There are people destined to be in his life for only a certain stretch of the road, and that's okay.
But now that he has Tsubaki, he can't imagine life without her every day, just as she can't imagine hers without her brother.
"I can't believe this," she had sobbed that first night Masamune didn't return home. "First my parents and now him. I can't do this anymore Wes, I can't, I won't!"
"He did mention wanting to move the shop to Las Vegas, maybe he went on a trip?" Wes suggests, his statement sounding far fetched to his own ears.
Tsubaki whimpers miserably, hyperventilating. Wes stays up with her, smoothing her hair back, boiling water for her tea. Nothing except pure fatigue finally wears her down. When they go to the police station to file a missing persons report, the sheriff grins as if he's heard good news. "All according to plan," he tells them.
A string of colorful, creative swears escape Tsubaki's mouth. Wes hooks his arms around her waist and carries her out kicking and screaming, the injustice of it all too ironic and cruel for her to process. "He knows something, Wes, put me down!"
"No, you'll wind up arrested."
She passes out a day later from lack of sleep. Unable to watch her suffer for much longer, Wes runs to the apothecary to find an herbal remedy for her nerves, perhaps even track down a doctor.
But what he finds instead are two older women whispering in the corner by the candles.
"He's a witch. I've told you before that Masamune was a rotten one."
"That's nonsense, Agatha! They were wiped out centuries ago during the Salem Witch Trials back east."
"No, a few escaped prosecution, fled west, and still dabble in the dark arts." The woman leans closer to the other, Wes consequently straining his ears to listen. "I've seen Masamune talking with the snakes - it's true, don't laugh. He hisses at them and they hiss back just as you and I are talking right now."
Now the woman's terror is palpable. "Do you think he's spoken with… Medusa Gorgon?"
"I've seen him leave her cottage."
Wes contemplates giving himself away to ask where to find this woman named Medusa, but if the rumors are somehow true, he'd rather not entangle these women in his problems.
"I do truly feel sorry for him," the woman continues. "His heart has become cold since his parents passed."
And all that goes against what Wes Evans believes in: human connections, feeling every emotion gifted to him in this life, keeping both his heart and mind open. Now he'll have to master the art of mental gymnastics to believe that Masamune not only fell victim to a witch, but is now working with her, involved in a heinous kidnapping… Wes had spied Masamune speaking to someone cloaked by the shadows a few weeks ago.
Could this madness be true?
No matter the hardship, Wes vows to find Masamune and change his view on the world - he fears Tsubaki might not survive if her brother doesn't return, if only in the physical sense.
X
The day after Soul is discharged from the infirmary, Maka receives a letter:
Dear Maka:
My sweet little Maka! Thank you for writing me every week. I've been missing my sweet angel and I've been thinking about you everyday. I've still been watering the flowers and feeding the cat just like you tell me in all your letters! I've been lonely with you here but Blake drops by after work to play video games with me. Oh that's right he is now an employed young man! Who would have thought? We're so close to winning your appeal because we gave our lawyer pictures of your mama wearing the necklace and it turns out that the store who reported it stolen... also stole it somehow. LOL.
But anyway I'm not sure if I should tell you angel but I think I finally have a lead on what happened to your mama! I don't want to jinx it but I thought the news would put a smile on your face and cheer you up.
KEEP YOUR FINGERS CROSSED! I love you to the moon and back my sweet angel please keep smiling and stay sweet. See you soon!
Love and hugs,
Your papa!
Poor, poor stupid Papa. Maka isn't aware that she's sobbing until she can't breathe, choking on the cries caught in her throat. Doesn't he realize that if that first person stole it, then it could mean her mama was mugged, possibly killed during that crime? It would make sense - her mama would have never left without saying goodbye, wouldn't be gone this long without at least sending a postcard.
The only thing that makes sense is Papa's word choice. He wrote 'what happened to your mama'... not 'where your mama is'.
X
Sometimes Wes thinks he's lost his mind. Two weeks of exhausting his resources to track down Medusa Gorgon has left him reeling. Questioning the townsfolk without causing alarm was quite a challenge, but now he's full of information and confident in his next course of action.
And for the first time in his life, he's terrified. The two women's gossip has come to life: Masamune is lost to black magic, to a reclusive woman who lost her medical license because the majority of her patients reported malpractice and suspicious coincidences, such as losing eyes and limbs during freak accidents at her office.
It doesn't hurt to test the theory. If it's not true, Wes can apologize, blame his outburst on stress from work, and go about his day… but if it's true, then…
Wes waits for Tsubaki to close the shop before kissing her hard, deep, wishing he could take the sorrow away from her.
Maybe he can.
When they pull away, he reads confusion on her face at his gesture.
"Listen, I have something important to tell you, Tsubaki. But first…promise me something."
X
Soul decides on a whim to take Maka's advice. Why not set the record straight with Jackie? It might not restore their friendship, but at least he'll find some closure. He doesn't even think about what he's going to say. The idea pops into his head while he's heaving dirt from his shovel, and he goes with the flow, wandering over to her hole.
The hard part is actually figuring out what to say.
She spits, adjusting her cap. "What do you want?"
He shrugs. "To say I'm sorry I guess. And to tell you to calm down."
Jackie doesn't even look like herself anymore. The lively shine of her hair has given way to frizz and knots, as if she hasn't properly combed her hair in weeks. She kind of… reminds Soul of himself, a little of a crazed, unrested sheen in her eyes. "Say that again."
Every cell in his body is telling him to turn around and stop. Maybe she's a lost cause. But he's not going to give up that easily. "I said, you need to calm down, you've been acting like a banshee ever since we got into a fight. I'm sorry… Sorry I said those things to you. I wasn't think-"
The statements rings true when he's interrupted by Jackie's fist colliding with his lip for the second time. He hits the ground, Jackie right on top of him, nails out and clawing at his face. Their combined yelling summons the other campers, though none of them find amusement in the scene for once. Kilik moves to slide Soul out from under Jackie while Patti wrestles her into submission like a pro. Even Liz looks impressed, but in a blink her grin contorts into stupefaction, her mouth hanging open in a mute scream. She points a trembling finger at Jackie, who's using Soul's hair as a tug rope while Patti and Kilik struggle to tear her off.
"Jackie, stop! He'll end up bald and they don't sell toupees at the school store!"
"Seriously," Kilik grumbles.
Liz manages a squeal of undeniable terror. "SNAKE!"
A sandy, taupe-colored thick rope hurtles inches past Soul's face. Jackie's screams split the sky as it slithers away as if its job has been completed, ignoring the other panicking teens. By now, Maka and Ox reach the group from the other side of the campgrounds, Maka chanting no, no, no, no, no like a prayer and Ox cupping his behind.
"DID IT GET HER ON THE BUTTCHEEK TOO?"
"It got her on the wrist, Ox, shut up!"
"Sissy's right, this is serious!"
"And my bite wasn't!?"
"Give her room to breath," Kilik shouts while Maka runs to Free, who's watching from the water truck in the distance. The man is too far away to say for certain, but Soul would bet his right hand that he was grinning.
X
Less than an hour later, a mix of sweat and tears roll down Soul's nose as he runs down the infirmary hall in search of Jackie. He would have been by her side this whole time if it hadn't been for Free not allowing Soul to leave the campground until his hole was completely dug. Sure, there is next to nothing he could do for her, but this is all his fault.
Stein's voice carries from the last room to the right: "Too bad she won't die. I'm too great of a doctor and inadvertently saved her."
"You really should have been a medical examiner," Shaula sneers, stepping out into the hallway. "I'm not sure if you know your job is to save lives. I need these kids alive and kicking so they can dig for me." With that, she adjusts her floppy hat and snaps forward, ready to storm away but is momentarily taken aback at seeing Soul. "And what are you doing here? You're filthy. Take a shower."
"My… Jackie. Snake," he pants, hands on his knees to catch his breath from sprinting. "Visit."
"Yes, I suppose you can visit while you still can…" When Soul peers at her through his bangs, she responds with a venomous smirk. "Everyone's time at this camp is running out starting now."
"But…" He swallows, wishing he had a cold glass of water. "I don't want to go home."
"You won't."
And then she's off, long flowy skirt dancing around her black cowboy boots. Soul waits until she's out of sight to question Stein, but the doctor shakes his head from his rolly chair.
"Whatever your questions are, the answers are: I don't know, no, yes she'll live, and no I don't know what your friend's anger problem is about." Turning the screw lodged in his head, Stein slumps back thoughtfully. "Maybe that necklace she's been wearing was too tight around her neck. I took it, just in case Shaula didn't approve."
All Soul can do is lean against the doorframe, stifling down his anxiety.
"Don't go near her, Soul. Your blood is back."
"What are you talking abou - ugh, okay, yeah. Whatever."
Everyone and everything here at Shibusen is weird. Stein reminds Soul too much of Oni and his cryptic rants. No thanks.
X
Confronting the witch is easier said than done.
Wes is risking his life to come out here. Medusa Gorgon's unkempt wooden house resembles a shipwreck in the middle of a dried up sea, miles away from anyone or anything. From what Wes learned, she's lived here since before the first settlers founded Death City. How she survived without a nearby source of water or food inspired doubts about her origins. Supernatural creatures don't require the same basic needs for survival as humans, after all. Adding to the mystery are claims that the woman appears untouched by time, never aging according to those who've caught sight of her as children and then again as adults.
Wes parks his car thousands of feet away from the front door, catching sight of rattlesnakes curled up along the house as if guarding it.
"Wish me luck," he says aloud, not expecting an answer. Once he reaches the porch, the temptation to look back almost overcomes him, but he uses all of his will to knock instead.
The door creaks open, as if by invisible hands.
"Hello, pardon me…" Wes pushes his way inside, shaking off baby spiders after walking right into a huge spider web. There's a click behind him that signals the door closing, the light vanishing. "I've come for your help…"
It's so dark inside he can't see his hands in front of him. He hadn't noticed the windowless state of the house, nor the bulky dining table in the middle of the room until he topples over it. How odd. A nasty cackle echoes from wall to wall as he pulls himself together, fighting off the sensation of a snake slithering itself around his feet.
"I need your help!" Grinding his teeth, Wes balls his hands into fists, choosing to be angry about having to beg, for having to come here to ebb Tsubaki's suffering. "You have someone important-"
"Someone important to someone who means the world to you," a voice finishes, bored. "I've never heard this story before. I'm impressed. No one has knocked on my door in centuries…"
"It's true. Tsubaki means everything to me. She's my life."
Thick silence.
Wes squints into the nothingness, straining his ears to listen for movement or the source of the voice. "I know you have Masamune."
"I possess many souls," Medusa corrects. "I collect them. I'm searching for the right soul to recharge my Death scythe, you see. I can kill whoever I please with it at full power."
Good, keep talking, Wes thinks, praying to God that the witch can't hear his thoughts. Nevermind the utter madness spilling out of her mouth - he'd betray the world to ease Tsubaki's pain. "I assure you Masamune isn't the right one for your. Give him back."
"No. He's mine."
Snakes, snakes everywhere. Slithering up Wes's pant leg, around his neck, his waist. Reminding himself that it's a mind game doesn't quell the fear boiling in his stomach.
Medusa Gorgon is ruthless. "And now you're mine, all mine, too…"
Wes can't help but beg. "What if I gave you my soul in exchange for his?"
The world stops abruptly, the witch's curiosity tangible. "Your soul for his?"
"My soul for his," Wes confirms, heart threatening to thump out of his chest.
"Why would you do that for someone you've only recently met?" Yellow eyes open in the darkness, staring him down. "Someone who might not love you forever…you don't believe in happily ever after, do you, Wes Evans?"
His blood runs cold, a chill running down his spine and freezing him on the spot. Does she read minds? If she does, his mission will be in vain. He'll fail Tsubaki, fail Masamune -
"Why would a level headed young man such as yourself surrender everything for love?"
That's so easily answered but much harder to articulate. Wes knew from the moment he saw Tsubaki: he would fall in love with her as time passed and they shared their struggles with one another, shared their dreams and nightmares. Yes, she's physically beautiful, but that pales in comparison to her gentleness, her softness, her empathy.
Her soul.
"Yes, I'll gladly sacrifice myself for her happiness. Tsubaki needs her brother more than she needs me."
The truth hurts Wes, but Witch Medusa finds it amusing. "The fire I started didn't gather enough souls to awaken my weapon…but Masamune was a step in the right direction. His hatred runs deep and serves as fuel for my weapon. Why should I trade him for you?"
A ray of light beams into the house from behind Wes, who gulps before whirling around.
"Wes?" Tsubaki stands there in the light, perplexed, unshed tears in her eyes. "You knew what Masamune was up to…you knew this whole time?"
Medusa cackles. "Drop the act. My snakes told me you brought her along, Wes…"
Dread hits him like a brick upon realizing that she's known his and Tsubaki's plan this whole time, that his plan was fated to meet disaster from the start.
But he's never been one to give up.
"I see everything through my snakes," Medusa hisses. "They saw her hiding in the car. She's been listening this whole time…"
Wes knows it's now or never. "I came here to say I'd rather live my life with you, Medusa! I swear it."
The snakes stop tightening their grip on him. Tsubaki gasps, trembling against the doorknob, which jiggles in her hands.
It's now or never. He throws himself at Medusa's feet, groveling, suffering. "You can make me immortal, can't you? With you, I can live forever. I won't need a happy ending because there won't be an ending."
Only half of Medusa's face is visible, but the crazed look in her eyes overtakes him for a moment, voices screaming in his head. The bones in his arm burn. Death is inevitable, death will be his only escape. The ground trembles like an earthquake, Wes knocked to his knees in front of her. Pressure builds up in his head, blurring his vision to the point he expects his eyeballs to explode. Fire engulfs his entire body and then the pain is over - and his arm isn't his anymore, isn't human. It's metal, cold and unfeeling.
But powerful.
"Is that what you want, Wes? To be my weapon, my lifeline?" Blood drops from Medusa's teeth as if she's bitten into a live animal. "Imagine your whole being a weapon, the ability to shift between human and weapon!"
"Yes," Wes agrees, giving into the insanity.
Tsubaki runs up to him, holding on to his hand. "I won't beg you to stay, but I'll ask you, Wes - I love you, please don't leave me?"
The snakes crawl to their master, inserting themselves into her head like strands of hair. She beckons Wes over, his legs moving without his consent, Tsubaki trailing along. Mere inches from the witch, Wes licks his lips, noting his new, unusually pointy teeth.
"Now, Tsubaki!"
Tsubaki's grip on Wes is determined and steadfast as the rest of his body morphs into a scythe at his command, swinging him through the air and through her like a knife through butter. Medusa slumps against the flowery wallpaper, black blood gurgling from her mouth.
"Don't think you've defeated me…I'll live on in your blood, in your nightmares…you'll never be able to use your weapon powers as you wish."
She dies laughing, her yellow eyes staring unblinkingly at them, gleaming with lifelessness. Human again in a blinding flash, Wes nudges her with the toe of his shoe to ensure she's gone for good, half expecting her to reawaken and grab him by the ankle. But Medusa never moves, not even as Wes lights a match and sets her and the house on fire.
It's poetic justice, he thinks.
When Wes brushes his hands off and kneels next to Tsubaki, who is still snifflinf and cradling Masamune's soul in the jar she had found in Wes's car. "He'll never be the same, will he, Wes?"
X