Chapter Thirteen

Author's Note: Sorry for making you all wait for this chapter. My life is getting hectic right now and I'm trying to manage my time between homework, social life (what little i have) and hobbies.

Hope you enjoy this chapter ^_^ Dive right in

Stein immediately began healing Blood's wounds once they returned to DWMA. Blood was awake by the time they arrived back at the school, but he didn't speak a word to anyone. Misao was so close to him. All he had to do was reach out for her and save her. But he was too slow. He was punishing himself on the inside, imagining what her father would say to him if he were still alive.

"You know sooner or later, you'll have to say something to someone." Stein told him while making some tea for him and Blood.

Blood was sitting upright in the bed lost in his own mind.

Stein let out a sigh as he brought the tea over to Blood, setting it down next to him. "I know you're upset about not getting her back. Like we've said before, we all care about Misao's safety. But you can't keep punishing yourself every time you fail to save her."

"Just shut the hell up!" Blood yelled. "You understand nothing about us! Misao and I don't have anyone else to depend on but each other! I appreciate all of your help and support. But…Misao and I do not share the same beliefs as you do and we never will. This place will never be a home to us."

There was a short, awkward pause between the two of them. Stein took a sip of his tea while thinking of something to say. "True, there are still many mysteries between you and Misao. However, whether or not you accept DWMA as a home or not doesn't matter." He explained. "The minute the two of you stepped onto the grounds, Lord Death made a vow to protect you with his very life."

"We all vowed to protect you." Spirit walked through the door.

"You're our friend, Blood." Soul and Maka stood outside the doorway smiling. "You and Misao are too cool to let go of."

Maka walked up to Blood and placed a hand over his. "Don't punish yourself for failing. We just have to keep trying and we'll get Misao back before it's too late."

Blood gave a small smile to everyone. The pain in his heart slowly faded and instead, filled with confidence and hope. Stein and Spirit gave Soul and Maka permission to miss their next class so they could keep Blood company and talk to him.

"You all have served me well." Asura said as he went through all of the human souls Misao and the others collected. "I will have my strength back in no time. I owe a big thanks to you, Misao. Your charm led these fools into an unsuspecting trap."

Misao sat beside him in silence, holding back a sea of tears. She watched as he dined on three of them at the same time. She flinched as his power rose dramatically with every soul he devoured. 'At this rate Blood and the others won't stand a chance against Asura.' She thought to herself. 'Time is running out. He'll soon harvest the stone inside of me. After that…the entire world will fall into chaos.'

"I understand some of Lord Death's students tried to take Misao away from us." Asura said after swallowing the souls.

"Yes my Lord. There was a teacher with them. Her weapon partner Blood was there along with a student who had two weapon partners. The student was the son of Lord Death himself." Noah explained. "I could tell from the look in his eyes."

Asura chuckled while scratching his arm frantically until some of his black blood dripped down from an open cut. Misao flinched at the sight of it. "It must've pained you to be so close to your partner, yet he couldn't do anything to save you. Tell me…did you have hope that he would rescue you?"

She didn't answer right away. Her heart pounded too fast for her to form any types of words. She felt the blood in her veins run ice cold the longer Asura stared at her. She knew his eyes peered through into her soul, claiming it as his own. "When I saw him…at first I did." She was honest, but backed it up by fear. Her throat clogged up as she continued to speak. "But I knew that we had the upper hand."

"Oh is that so?"

"Using me to fight them, Noah knew that Blood would not fight with all of his strength even with a great meister like Stein using him. Blood held back for my sake."

"Clever girl." Asura stroked Misao's cheek. "You're beginning to embrace your fear. You're giving up hope that Blood will return to save you."

Misao let out a soft chuckle without smiling. "You couldn't be more wrong, Asura." She said with confidence. "I haven't given up hope. I don't expect Blood to save me from you; because I'm going to free myself."

Asura chuckled with his hands slammed over his bandaged eyes. "You expect to escape from this place by yourself?" Asura quickly pushed Misao down on top of the bed, pinning down her arms. All she could do was look up as his bandages opened up and revealed his terrifying eyes that gazed deep within her. "You'll never escape this place. You will never escape me. Every part of you belongs to me now."

Misao let her tears go and fall on the sides of her eyes, staining the sheets. She trembled beneath him, still keeping a calmed expression.

"Can you feel the madness grasp onto your soul? Its coils wrapping around it and gripping it tightly? In due time, you'll give in and accept insanity."

"You're wrong." She kept shaking her head, feeling sudden pain in her chest and soon throughout her entire body. "I won't give in. As long as I have hope that my friends will save me, madness and insanity will never consume my soul. You'll never possess the orb."

"Keep believing that as much as you want. But soon you'll surrender." Asura got off of her, lifting the air and pressure from Misao. "I'll finish playing with you later. For now I need to rest. Escort Misao back to her room."

Noah bowed to him as he grabbed Misao by the arm and led her towards the door.

As she walked up the endless stairs, Misao felt the wave of madness surround her. Goosebumps began to form and her heart rate increased. 'The madness is inside my body. It's crawling around my soul…and it won't let go.' She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to keep her balance as they arrived at the door. Noah opened it for her and waited for her to enter the room before he shut the door behind her. Misao walked over to the window and stared out at the trees and birds that were able to feel the breeze and smell the beautiful crisp air around them. "Father…I'm afraid your worst nightmare is about come true." A gripping pain pulsated through her body at that instant. She held onto her chest and slumped over in agony. 'Damn it. It's spreading faster than I expected. I have to keep it in control, otherwise I'm not going to last very long.' Misao sat in the center of her bed and hardened the space around her, keeping the madness that filled the air out, and the bit of madness within her stabilized. She also tapped into the power of her orb to try and purify the madness. 'I should be okay if I can keep this up.' She told herself.

"Sid…Nygus, you understand your mission, right?" Lord Death asked.

"We do, Lord Death." Sid answered. "Infiltrate Aracnae's Castle and rescue Misao from the Kishin."

Lord Death nodded. "The Kishin is still weak, but he can still sense your soul. You must be clever and make sure he doesn't sense you."

"Don't worry. I can travel underground as a zombie. I was always the kind of man that was careful during dangerous missions."

"I'm counting on you two. Good luck."

The two quickly left the Death Room to get started on the mission. Just outside of the academy, they saw Blood sitting on the ground, looking up at them with a curious expression. Sid stood there calmly, knowing that Blood was going to ask them where they were going. "How are you feeling, Blood?" Sid asked him.

"I'm better." He said in a depressed tone. "I heal pretty quickly. It's the blessing of being born a weapon."

"That's good." Sid said as he and Nygus walked past him.

"Please bring her back safely." He said as they crossed paths.

Sid nodded and said nothing.

"Leave everything to us." Nygus responded. "You and Misao will be reunited in no time." With that said, she transformed herself into a knife and flew into Sid's hand. He then secured her in the knife hold he wore on the back of his pants. Sid sprinted out of Death City, soon coming into the woods. "The castle should be around here somewhere." He said.

"We need to be careful." Nygus reminded him. "The place is probably surrounded by a barrier. They could sense our presence."

"Did you forget I can travel underground? They'll never detect us."

"I think that's it up ahead." They stopped on top of a hill and got a good view of a fortress that rested on a piece of land, producing steam. Nygus returned to her human form and got a good look at it. She took out a pair of binoculars and zoomed in on it. "Oh yeah, this is the place: Aracnae's Castle."

"Can you see where they're keeping Misao?"

"Yeah I just found her. She's at the very top. What's the plan?"

"Like I said before: go in undetected and get her out of there."

Nygus didn't say another word. She turned back into a dagger and got back into the sheath before Sid jumped off of the hill and dived into the ground. "Can you lock onto her soul?"

"Already have." Sid said. "Her wavelength is very strong. She's enhancing it for some reason."

"Maybe it's to protect herself from the madness wavelength." Nygus said as they got closer to the fortress.

"We're in front of the fortress." Sid poked his head out from the ground. "Now all we have to do is get to the top without being noticed by Asura or his men." He took a moment to sense any other wavelengths to get a count of the activity within the walls. To him, it seemed calm. There was barely any activity. Misao's soul was the only one he could sense clearly; as well as the kishin's. "Everything seems clear. It's too easy."

"But we should still go for it. Remember we promised Blood this rescue would go perfectly. Plus, we can't let her stay in there much longer." Nygus told him. "Let's make a move now while everything is quiet."

"Alright then. Here I go." He leapt from the ground and ascended all the way to the top of the fortress. He landed flawlessly on the window, causing Misao to jump out of the bed and step back.

She took a few deep breaths while grasping her chest. "Sid…is that you?"

"Nygus is with me too." He entered the room just as Nygus formed and stood beside him.

"It's good to see you again, Misao. I'm glad you're safe."

Misao ran towards Nygus and embraced her with a smile on her face. The fear she felt slowly vanished as Nygus held her close. "What are you two doing here?"

"We came to get you out of here." Sid answered. "Blood and everyone else are waiting for you."

"Blood is…waiting for me?"

Sid nodded.

"Sid, we might need to get out of here before we're noticed." Nygus told him, keeping Misao attached to her side.

"Couldn't agree more. Let's hurry." Sid pulled Misao close to him as Nygus handed her to him and lifted her into his arms. Ready, Nygus?"

"Ready!"

"Hang on tight, Misao. We'll be back at DWMA in a matter of minutes." Sid jumped out of the window and into the ground, traveling as fast as he could to get out of that area before they were discovered. Although, Misao already knew that Asura knew of her escape. She kept it to herself, and just thought about seeing Blood again after what seemed like years.

After they were a good distance from the fortress, Sid emerged from the ground and stopped to let Misao stand on her own. "Well…that's an interesting way to travel." Misao wiped the clenching dirt off her clothes and body.

"Were you okay oxygen-wise?" Sid asked.

"Sort of. When I was younger, a friend of mine taught me how to hold my breath for a long time. Good to know it comes in handy somewhere besides water." She let out a small chuckle as she looked up towards Death City. The feel of fresh crisp air against her skin and through her hair lifted the veil of madness that surrounded her. But she still felt pain from the madness that still clung to her soul. She could feel the black blood course through some parts of her bloodstream because her cells became cold and parts of her body numbed slightly. 'Blood…I get to see you at last.'

"Let's keep moving." Sid said. "We're almost there."

"Sid, just to clarify…we are walking on solid ground, right?"

Sid chuckled. "Yes Misao. From this point on, we are free to walk."

"Now I wouldn't go and say that just yet." A voice echoed around them.

Sid and Nygus huddled around Misao in order to protect her. "I knew it was too easy." Nygus said. "They must have been tracking us."

Misao didn't look surprised. There was more fear in her eyes than shock as Noah and Gopher appeared in front of them.

Noah tilted his hat while staring at Misao with a disappointed look. "You are a very bad girl, Misao. Running away out of nowhere. Also…I distinctly remember you telling Lord Asura that you were going to save yourself and not rely on your friends. Am I correct, Gopher?" He addressed Gopher without taking his eyes off of Misao. "Those were her exact words, were they not?"

"They were, Master Noah." He answered, taking a few steps closer to Noah. "I remember it clear as day."

"Me too." He chuckled, opening the Book of Eibon. "Now then, come back with us nice and easy. If you do, Lord Asura might be merciful in your punishment."

Nygus flew into Sid's hands while he got into a defensive position. "If you want her, you have to go through us!" Sid said. "Misao, stay close to me."

Misao nodded as she clung to his back.

"Now come on. Do you really want to do this?"

"I was never the type to abandon a scared girl when she was in trouble. That's the kind of man I was!" Sid rushed towards Noah, slashing and stabbing. Noah dodged every attack with ease. "Misao, get out of here! Get to DWMA as fast as you can!"

"What about you?"

"We'll be fine. Hurry and get out of here! We'll try to catch up!" Sid continued attacking, even though he wasn't landing any blows directly on Noah. "Run now!"

Misao didn't want to leave them to fight her battle. She wanted to run away, but what if they got hurt just as she escaped? "I promise I'll come back for you guys after I get help!" Misao quickly turned around and ran towards Death City as fast as her legs could go.

"Gopher, go after her!" Noah commanded.

"Yes, Master Noah." Gopher turned his sleeves to wings and flew after Misao as per Noah's orders.

"No, Misao!" There was nothing Sid could do because Noah was doing everything he could to keep him there.

"I'm almost there. I can make it!" Misao ran as fast as she could towards Death City. The moment she set foot on the hard concrete street, a sharp feather-like projectile landed a few feet in front of her. She stopped in her tracks and stared at it before turning around to look at Gopher who touched down. All she could do was slowly and steadily take small steps away from him.

Every time she moved, Gopher fired more projectiles at her feet. "Don't bother attempting to escape." He warned her. "No matter where you go, or how far you run…we will find you."

"I'm not going back there!" she said, attempting to get into a fighting stance. She kept telling herself that she had to fight her own battles; Blood wasn't coming to save her this time. 'I have to save myself. No longer will I allow others to fight my battles.' Yet as that thought ran through her head, she remembered that Sid and Nygus were still fighting Noah in the woods. "I won't run away from you, Gopher. If you want to take me back to Asura…you'll have to force me into submission!"

Author's Note: Two things I must address.

1. The characters Gopher and Noah are cannon from the 'Soul Eater' manga. Look on the wiki page. Just thought I'd address this for those not familiar with these two characters.

2. I will be going back to previous chapters and fix the transitions between Blood and Misao. I didn't do a good job at that, so I apologize and will fix it.

That's all. Please R&R. See ya soon ^_^