A/N: For those wondering, Blair's secret mission was just to see if there were any agents of the Morrigan left in the city, since she spends a lot of time wandering around in it. I'm going to try and see if I can bring her back at some point, but I have all this plot and not much space left to fit it into (I'm shooting to finish this story at 50 chapters, plus one epilogue and one prologue, so 52 in all).
Thanks for all of your reviews and support!
Review Responses:
Diana Raven, it was definitely a Maka moment for Rei, lol. He is her son, after all.
pokelover01, thanks, I'm glad you like it! And the twins were definitely double trouble for Blair (probably didn't help that they were girls, and Blair seems more likely to be naturally attached to guys, hence how in her eyes Rei is the golden child who can do no wrong). Rei is definitely incredibly awkward with Ayame, sorry about that. I kind of like Nevermore shipping for Vayne x Morgan, and I haven't even thought of Classie as a ship name. That's funny~
Arcane Student, hmm…regarding pairings, I'm not going to spoil anything (mostly because there are certain details I haven't fully decided on, but I'm going to do what makes the most sense for the characters in the end). As for the exchange in weapons, well…I wonder that too sometimes. Let's just leave it at that~
karma88, nothing as serious as she's making it out to be, lol. But yes, it's a good thing that Rei doesn't take after Soul in that respect, although like Rei points out, he did grow up with her so it's hard for him to notice her in that way.
Guest, I really want them to, but if you read the Author's Note above, I'm starting to run out of space and will probably be focusing on plot in the following chapters. If I can squeeze them in though, I will.
fanficlove2014, really glad you liked the chapter! Yes, Cassie's still a mystery, but that's also because up until this point, that's the way she liked it (Cassie and Morgan are some of the hardest characters for me, because I have to actively work to give them presence in scenes—they want to fade into the background). You should totally do both with Stein. Both is good.
Xenoprime1337, wow, thank you so much for the review! I really appreciate that you're enjoying this story and I'm glad I inspired you. As a note, a typically don't read similar stories to ones I'm writing while I'm actively writing them, because the temptation to steal is too great sometimes, but remind me again about your fic when mine is done! Glad you enjoyed Vayne and don't worry about not thinking about Cassie's backstory. She likes it that way, so it's come up very little so far. And yes, Blair. She was definitely talking up her 'mission' to impress/tease Clark/Vayne/Rei so, you know. But I wanted to remind the audience that I'm aware of her existence—she just hasn't fit very neatly into the story so far. Glad you like it and thanks again for the review!
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
To the Ends of the Earth!
"You're sure about this?" Shinigami asked, watching Maka from behind his desk. Shinigami-sama's expression was serious, his hands clasped together in front of him. Maka nodded, her own expression grim.
"She's in the sky," Maka said. "Hovering somewhere off the coast of Madagascar."
Shinigami frowned, considering that. "The sky…" he repeated.
"Fata Morgana," said Angela solemnly, turning towards the two of them.
She had been spending most of her time in the Death Room since returning from the Witch Assembly, only leaving during work hours to take reading material from the library and bring it back to look over, or during lunch breaks to borrow the dojo. The wards and spells that she had woven into the Death Room's walls required constant maintenance, and there was no telling when news about the Morrigan might come up. The room was the only place in the DWMA that was safeguarded against the Morrigan's abilities, and Angela wasn't about to let that protection slip away.
The two of them turned to look at her as she spoke, watching her expectantly, as if waiting for her to continue. Angela exhaled, slipping a bookmark into the book she was reading to mark her place. She set it aside, standing up from where she was seated at the edge of the Death Room's raised dais. "The witch Morgana's castle. A castle floating in the sky. It was supposed to have vanished after the Battle of Camlann."
"The final battle of King Arthur?" Shinigami asked.
"The very same," said Angela, pausing to glance down at the book she had left on the ground beside her. Lately she had had reason to take note of the Arthurian legend. Her frown deepened as she remembered the conversation she had had with Morgan, and she looked back up at Shinigami. "Morgana claimed that the castle was destroyed, and most of the witches believed her claim. When she was alive, at least. But she was never really active in the Witch Assembly regardless."
"You think that the Morrigan is using this castle?" Shinigami asked.
"It would make sense," said Angela, nodding. She smoothed her skirt out with her hands, trying not to meet Maka's eye. The teacher had looked away from her, her eyes on the ground and her hand to her mouth as if she was starting to piece something together.
"Morgana…" Angela heard her mutter. "Morgana Le Fay…"
A shiver ran down Angela's spine, her mind flashing back to that afternoon in the tearoom again. She exhaled, willing her worries not to show on her expression as she looked back at Shinigami.
"Are you going after her, sir?" she asked, wanting to change the subject.
Shinigami closed his eyes for a few seconds, breathing deep. When he opened them, his expression was resolute, golden eyes gleaming. "Of course we are," he said, placing both hands on the desk and standing up. "Alert the engineers. We'll need that airship ready to fly." He turned towards Maka. "I'll need you with me on this."
Maka nodded without missing a beat. "Of course."
"Black Star and Tsubaki too," said Shinigami, "And some of the others. We might need to suspend classes in the meantime."
"I'll talk to Soul," said Maka. "We can get a team together by the end of the day. Leave Mifune in charge?"
"That would probably be easiest," said Shinigami, nodding. "Although the students might not be pleased."
Angela watched as the two of them started hashing out the details of the mission, unable to stop herself from feeling a little like an outsider. The two of them spoke in the sort of half-code shared between family members, or between friends who were close enough that they may as well have been family. It made her remember earlier days, when she had been a child at the DWMA and Shinigami and the rest had been a team, when the seven of them had fought the Kishin together.
"And me?" she asked, when their conversation lulled long enough for her to slip in.
"We'll need you on the ship," Shinigami said with a nod, confirming what she had already suspected. "You can use your magic to hide the airship, can't you?"
"I've never used it on something that big before," said Angela, frowning as she ran through some rough calculations. "But yes. I should be able to. It'll be easier with Shelley's help." And she couldn't deny that it was an attractive prospect. Sneaking up on the Morrigan, catching her by surprise the same way that she had been surprising all of them, turn by turn, day by day for the past several months.
It seemed that she wasn't the only one who felt like taking action was overdue.
"Good," said Shinigami, the corners of his lips turning up in a grim smile. "It's about time we finished this."
The wind whipped around Rei as he moved, launching himself through the training forest's trees. One of his hands reached out, catching a branch, and he quickly used that to redirect his momentum, angling himself towards the ground. He landed on an exhale, knees soft to absorb the shock of the landing and quickly turned, drawing the ninjato in his hand through several quick forms, slashing, cutting, and stabbing at imaginary opponents. They took form in his mind as he worked his way through the motions, shadowy, faceless figures that surrounded him like ghosts. Too many of them, they quickly closed in on him and he turned, darting into the underbrush, into the shadows between the trees.
His breath caught in his chest from the exertion and Rei's eyes narrowed, turning his attention to regulating his breathing. His lungs felt starved for air, but he managed to keep himself from hyperventilating. Deep breaths. Inhale. Exhale. He skidded to a stop in a second clearing as his imaginary pursuers burst through the trees, now taking the form of a flock of crows.
Rei tightened his grip on Ayame's hilt just so, the ninjato lengthening to form a katana. He slashed at the first attacker, a one-handed side cut, then quickly brought his left hand into play, grasping the bottom of the hilt and stepping forward. He thrust, moved and danced through the flock of crows in his mind, Ayame's katana form light in his hands. Feathers flew as the sword moved through the air, sunlight flashing off the blade, and he caught a glimpse of Ayame as he drew the sword back, her eyes narrowed in concentration from within her soul space. The angle of the blade changed, and she vanished with the sun. Rei drew the sword back, the hilt close to his face and the spine of the blade parallel to the ground as he caught his breath, imagining the shadows regrouping, changing form.
They coalesced, forming the vague outline of a man. Rei tapped out a quick pattern and raised his hand to the blade, catching it just as it came apart into the twin scythes of Ayame's kusarigama form. His shadowy attacker rushed at him, hands crackling with dark power, and Rei blocked and deflected each strike with the scythes in his hand, slashing with their curved blades and redirecting his opponent's force.
His stances shifted, becoming lower to the ground as he moved through the clearing, dueling shadows. Kusarigama became shuriken as he pulled the large, star-shaped blade through the air, using it as a shield to deflect attacks before grounding himself, bending his knees and sinking down against the force of the shuriken's momentum as he swung it at his opponent. The tines of the shuriken, razor sharp, sliced through shadows, bisecting the man's slender form. He kept turning the shuriken, not wasting momentum, and spun it at his side, flinging stray shadows off the blade like blood. His eyes blinked closed.
An image flashed into his mind for an instant, the image from his dream. A stag with golden eyes, watching him, arrayed in stripes of alternating black and white, of light and shadow. A shiver ran through him as he opened his eyes.
The shuriken dissolved into light, forming the ninjato again. He spun the blade in his hands, careful of his fingers, and caught it by the hilt, tucking it into his belt behind him.
Practice ended, shadows disappearing with the light. Rei let out a ragged breath, finally allowing himself to pitch forward, resting his hands on his knees as he gasped for air.
"Not bad, Rei-kun," said a voice behind him as he breathed, "But you're still keeping your weight too far back."
Rei looked up at the sound of the voice, his eyes widening.
Behind him, he felt a weight lift from his belt, Ayame appearing at his side in a flash of light. "Mom?" she asked.
Tsubaki gave them a smile that was almost apologetic, holding up her hands. "I didn't mean to startle you," she said. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."
Rei shook his head, running a hand through his sweat-soaked hair and turning towards her. "We were just wrapping up," he said. His eyes moved from Tsubaki to the children standing beside her, Annie looking uncertain as she clung to Cori's arm. Bright Star, his hand held in Tsubaki's, gave Rei a slightly skeptical look, his other hand holding a lollipop up to his mouth. He looked back at Tsubaki. "Is it time already?"
"Afraid so," said Tsubaki. "Thank you for looking after them tonight. I know you both have other things you'd rather do."
"It's no problem, Mrs. Star," said Rei. "It's not like I wouldn't watch Annie and Cori anyway."
"Yeah, leave the kids to us," said Ayame, grinning. "You guys go off and kick butt."
"We should be back in the morning," Tsubaki said, handing Bright Star's hand over to Ayame. "If there's any trouble…"
"Hide the kids, fight if I can, call it in if I can't," finished Ayame. She took Bright Star's hand, smiling at her mother. "Not my first rodeo, Mom."
Tsubaki gave her a warm smile, raising a hand to touch Ayame's cheek. The smile had a sad edge to it, and Rei looked away to give them some privacy, busying himself with seeing to his sisters, who had come up to him.
"I know," Tsubaki said, enfolding her in a hug. "You've grown up so much, Ayame-chan. I'm so proud of you."
Ayame responded with a laugh that was just on the edge of nervous. "Come on, Mom," she said, "Don't talk like that. Just another mission, right?"
"Right," Tsubaki said, drawing back from her. That same sad smile was still on her face. "Just another mission. Call if you need anything. It will be a while until we actually get there. We'll see you all tomorrow." She glanced at him, raising her hand in a wave, then turned to leave.
Rei stared after her, aware that Annie and Cori were watching him. He cleared his throat. "Um…Mrs. Star?"
Tsubaki paused in her walk, looking over her shoulder. She frowned at him in concern. "Yes, Rei-kun?"
He walked over to her, standing just out of earshot of the others. Now that he had her attention though, he found that he couldn't speak. He lowered his eyes to the ground, shifting his weight uncertainly, aware of her eyes on him.
"Rei-kun?" Tsubaki prompted.
"How bad is it?" Rei asked, keeping his voice down. "Really?"
Tsubaki's expression darkened for an instant, and that told Rei all that he needed to know. But she placed her hand on his shoulder as he looked away, giving him a reassuring smile anyway. "Well, it won't be easy," she admitted. "But it'll be alright. We've all fought worse."
"They'll be fine, right?" Rei asked, his voice wavering somewhat. He remembered the strength of the man he had seen talking to Morgan, balancing that against what he had felt from his parents' souls, when they resonated together. They were strong, but Morgan's uncle was strong too, and even he seemed scared of the Morrigan. When he spoke, it sounded almost as if he was trying to reassure himself. "They'll be alright?"
Tsubaki looked down at him, and he wondered what he must have looked like in her eyes. Probably like a child. His face burned, but she didn't tease him for it, instead squeezing his shoulder lightly.
"They'll be fine," he said. "Trust them. Focus on yourself, on keeping everyone safe. Alright, Rei-kun?"
He drew in a breath. "Alright," he said.
Tsubaki nodded, her hand sliding from his shoulder. She gave him another smile as she raised her hand in farewell, turning to leave. Rei watched her go, his heart heavy, then let out a breath and turned back towards Ayame.
Somehow, in the time that he been speaking to Tsubaki, she had gotten the kids in a line. The three of them were in varying approximations of fighting stances, and Ayame was leaning over Cori, giving her instructions as she pressed her arms and legs into place. He made his way back over to her, frowning at them.
"What are you doing?" he asked Ayame.
Ayame shrugged, continuing to correct Cori's stance. "The kids saw us training," she said. "They wanted to join in."
"Really?" asked Rei, turning his attention to Annie. She held the stance that Ayame was teaching without complaining, but looked profoundly miserable.
"Cori's idea…" she said, as if that explained everything.
Rei looked back over at Ayame, who was frowning as she tried to get Cori to straighten up. "No, no," Ayame said. "Wider stance, lower to the ground. Your weight's too far forward. And don't think you can slack off, Bright Star, I see you!"
Bright Star, whose stance was already close to perfect, let out an exasperated breath, settling into a proper stance almost effortlessly. Rei, who had spent weeks with Ayame learning the ins and outs of various stances, hated him for just a second.
"Can I help with anything?" Rei asked.
"You could get Annie started," said Ayame, smiling brightly. "You know this one, right?"
He nodded, turning towards Annie. She gave him a look of resignation so deep that it seemed etched into her very soul, her eyes tracking towards Cori for a moment as her sister struggled under Ayame's instructions. Rei nodded at her to show that he understood and crouched down, helping her get herself into stance.
Within a few minutes of this, Ayame had the twins practicing rudimentary punches and kicks, while Bright Star did flips and a handful of katas in the background. Rei, who had been feeling good about his progress just a second ago, tried not to look at the six-year-old too much. He focused on working with Annie, who, despite her obvious reluctance, actually seemed to be willing to listen to instruction.
"I already know how to throw a punch!" Cori protested, from somewhere next to them.
"Oh yeah?" Ayame challenged. "Show me."
Cori grit her teeth, winding up for the punch. There was a thud as she tripped over Ayame's foot, landing face first on the ground. Rei looked up from where he was holding out his hands for Annie to strike into, making sure that she was alright, but she was already picking herself up off the ground, a frustrated scowl on her face. Ayame, watching her with her hands on her hips, seemed to enjoy the challenge.
"That's no fair!" Cori protested. "You tripped me."
"Alright," Ayame said. "Then why don't you try again?"
A second later, Cori let out a yelp of surprise, sailing over Ayame's shoulder and landing in a bush not far from where they were training. Annie, by now working on kicks, let out a long-suffering sigh.
"They're going to sleep tonight at least," said Rei when they were done, taking a sip from his water bottle and watching the kids chase each other through the training forest—Bright Star with a bored expression on his face, Cori determined, and Annie reluctant.
"Like rocks," Ayame agreed, grinning from where she was standing next to him. She raised her own water bottle to her mouth, taking long sips. "That was fun, though."
"Really?" Rei asked, frowning at her. "You think?"
Ayame nodded. "I like teaching," she said. "It's kind of nice, seeing everyone start to get better."
Rei frowned at her words, his mind going back to their rooftop conversation, to her fears that people were going to resent her, to leave her behind because of her skill. He said nothing, but watched the children as they played together, taking another long sip.
Morgan stood on the DWMA's balcony, her eyes fixed on the horizon as she contemplated the idea of the attack. The fact that DWMA had located and was preparing to launch a full-scale attack on the Morrigan wasn't common knowledge, for obvious reasons, but she had heard about it through a carefully worded conversation with Rei, who was looking after his and Ayame's siblings for the night. It left her with a sour taste in her mouth, a bad feeling sitting like lead in the pit of her stomach. A premonition, or just her own fear? She found that she couldn't tell anymore.
Mordred's words from that afternoon came back to her, the conversation they had had at the bar before Rei had interrupted.
"Right now, she thinks that you're traipsing around Europe, rebelling in the sort of way she and your mother both did when they were young witches. I have done nothing to disillusion her, but if she finds out what you've truly been doing, Morgan, not even I will be able to save you from her…"
There was a hint of threat in the words, a hint of promise, however regretful. She had never asked her uncle what had truly happened to her mother. She had never really wanted to know.
A raven, perched at the edge of the balcony railing a few feet away from her, let out a raucous caw and took flight, a sign that Morgan wasn't alone. She relaxed her grip on the railing of the balcony, pushing herself back from it, and was about to turn around when her visitor spoke.
"I thought I'd find you out here."
Angela. Morgan's heartbeat quickened in a way that threatened to make her dizzy, and she kept her eyes fixed on the raven as it flew away, trying to focus on the interplay of sunlight and black feathers and not the way her skin crawled, the fear in her heart twisting and growing. In a lot of ways, Angela Leon scared her. Because she was another witch, and because she knew the secret that Morgan had trusted her with, held the keys to destroy Morgan's life. The fact that she hadn't done it made Morgan respect her as well as fear her, but Morgan knew that with the stakes continuing to climb, it was only a matter of time.
It felt like her whole life had been just waiting for the other shoe to fall.
"I thought you wouldn't speak to me again," Morgan said.
"It doesn't really matter now, does it?" Angela asked, walking up to her. Morgan felt a prickle travel across her skin as Angela stood next to her, a heaviness in the air that spoke of magic. A concealing spell of some kind, she thought, remembering what she knew about Angela. A chameleon witch, what she lacked in destructive magic, she made up for in endless utility. Angela's hand went out, finger tracing the stone of the railing for a few moments, and Morgan got the sense that the other witch was gathering her breath, getting ready to say something.
Morgan held hers, waiting.
"If you're out here," Angela said. "I'm going to assume you know about the launch."
Morgan nodded, not looking at the other witch. She didn't come out and say what she knew. She didn't know how strong Angela's concealing spells were, but she knew her grandmother, and didn't want to be the one that drew her attention to the DWMA at this time. But still, the heaviness in her chest demanded that she warn them anyway.
"It's a trap, you know," she said.
Angela looked at her sidelong. "Are you saying that because of your divination magic, or because you're scared of her?"
"Both," Morgan admitted. She let out a sharp exhale, her hands tightening into fists. "Neither. I'm not sure. All I know is that if it feels like it's too easy, it probably is."
"Could you find out?" Angela asked. "I might be able to put up an area-wide Soul Protect, let you use magic for a little while without being revealed."
The temptation called at her, tugging at her chest with a longingthat was almost painful. Angela had been right; she did miss using magic. Not because of the Pull, not because of its destructive potential. The bracelet took care of that, but because of what she was. Cassie helped with that, but didn't take it away.
As tempted as she was, though, she shook her head. "It wouldn't help," she said. "I wouldn't be able to see through her wards. People talk about divination magic like it's some way to see into the future, but the only thing I see are portents, omens, feelings. Those are passive—I get them even without using magic—and they're few and far between, and prone to misinterpretation. If I were actively using magic, I might be able to tell you a little more about the present, maybe the past. But not if I'm being blocked, which, knowing my grandmother, I almost certainly would be."
And any poking at those wards would reveal her. Morgan had learned that firsthand as a child, and wasn't willing to repeat the experience now.
"So what you're saying is, you just have a bad feeling?" Angela asked.
Morgan nodded.
"You'll forgive me if I take that under advisement?"
Morgan nodded again.
"But I'll take note of it," said Angela, clasping her hands behind her and letting out a sigh. "Mifune's going to be in charge of the school while we're gone. I'll tell him to be careful."
Morgan nodded, watching her for a second before looking away. She felt a pang of envy at the trust that Angela and Mifune shared, the bond between them. The closest thing she had had to a parental figure was Mordred, and she had no doubt that he would kill her himself if her grandmother ordered it. It didn't do anything to loosen the knot in her gut.
"You didn't come here to ask me that, though," Morgan said after a while. It wasn't a question.
"No," said Angela. "I came to warn you. Your secret isn't safe for too much longer. I think Maka-sensei might have already figured it out, but she's been too distracted by the mission to act on it."
Fear. Cold and bright and so terrible that Morgan could taste it in her throat. She felt her muscles tense and seize up, and despite the fact that her expression hadn't changed, despite the fact that she hadn't moved, her whole body felt the sudden, intense urge to run. Instead, she exhaled, forcing the tension out of her hands, forcing her limbs to relax.
"I see," she said, tone clipped. "Thank you for telling me."
"You should say something," Angela pressed. "Tell the truth before it all comes out. It will be different if it comes from you."
Morgan shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut. Her uncle's warning was still in the back of her mind, along with the memory of her grandmother's fury. She couldn't say anything. Not now. Not when the DWMA needed to focus on what it was about to do.
"It won't matter," she said, although she couldn't tell whether she was trying to convince Angela or herself. "It won't matter in the end. If you come back successful, this will be over. I'll tell them everything then."
"And if we fail?" Angela asked.
Then you won't come back, Morgan thought, but didn't say anything. Angela seemed to understand anyway. She watched her out of the corner of her eye for a moment before nodding, as much to herself as to Morgan, and turning back around.
Her footsteps quietly faded away.
"They're coming," Mordred said, standing in the shadow of his mother's throne.
"I'm aware."
The Morrigan smiled from where she sat, her chin propped up in her hand and her nails brushing against the side of her cheek, talons that flashed black in the throne room's light. Her eyes were fixed on the mirror in front of her, on the faces reflected in it, on the airship that launched itself into the sky. A woman appeared in the mirror, blond haired and green eyed, staring off into the horizon on the airship's prow with an expression of determination on her face. The Morrigan's smile widened. "Oh, Maka dear," she said, "you are nothing if not predictable."
"You'd like me to go, then?" Mordred asked.
"Yes," said the Morrigan, flicking the fingers of her other hand at him in a dismissive gesture. "Go."
Mordred nodded, lowering himself into a bow. He turned to leave, then paused, standing framed in the arched doorway of her throne room. "Should I prepare for our guests?" he asked.
The Morrigan shook her head. "I have preparations enough for them," she said. "But I doubt they'll ever arrive. The rats are ever so protective of their little desert nest, after all."
Mordred nodded, his expression so still that it may have been carved from stone. "And," he asked. "Our other guests?"
"I'm sure you'll find that everything's already been prepared," said the Morrigan, smiling. "They'll be quite comfortable here."
Mordred nodded, but there was a hint of hesitation about him now as he turned away, one that made the Morrigan frown. She watched as he started to leave the room, her eyes on him until he passed beneath the archway of the doors.
"Mordred," she said, calling him back.
He looked over his shoulder at her, his expression still stone. "Mother?" he asked.
"If you have the time, see if you can find where that granddaughter of mine got off to," the Morrigan said. "We're approaching the end of our plan. The last thing we need is a loose end."
A flicker in Mordred's expression. Unease? Well, it hardly mattered. It was gone almost before it arrived. He nodded, bowing deep. "I'll see what I can find," he said. "And if I can retrieve her, I will."
The airship soared overhead, gleaming brightly in the afternoon sunlight. Clark raised his hand to his glasses to hold them in place as the wind of its passing filtered down into the training grounds, whipping through the trees. Ahead of him, Vayne raised his head, one hand in the pocket of his jacket as he watched the airship go by. His partner's expression was contemplative, a frown on his face as the machine faded into the distance.
"Well," Clark said. "There it goes."
"Yeah," Vayne said, slowly looking away.
A stray gust of wind, kicked up by the airship, rustled through the trees, leaves slowly falling to the ground. Clark took another swig of water, then set the bottle down, extending his hand towards Vayne.
"Shall we try again?" Clark asked.
Vayne looked up at him and slowly seemed to come back to himself, his mind returning from wherever it was that it had gone. A smile spread across his face as he regarded Clark's hand. He nodded.
"Might as well," he said. "If things go south, we'll need that technique."
Clark smiled back, adjusting his glasses. Light reflected against them, the light of Vayne's transformation as he took on his weapon form.
"Soul Resonance!" the two of them said in unison. A ticking sound rang in Clark's ears, a thousand clocks, a hundred thousand all moving together as one as his hands closed around Vayne's hilt. A thousand clocks that fell silent in an instant, winding down to nothing.
Leaves fell from the trees, drifting slowly towards the ground. They twisted and turned, buoyed this way and that by the breeze.
And then they stopped.
The airship sped across the ocean, chasing the horizon. The waves beneath it were untouched by its passing, the ship not leaving so much as a shadow. Angela stood on the airship's prow, a look of concentration on her face as she placed one hand on Shelley's scalpel form, magical energies crackling around her like electricity. Once in a while, some of those energies would brush up against Maka's Soul Perception, making her shiver. She stood on the bridge next to Kid, her eyes on the horizon as they inched ever closer towards the Morrigan's castle, closer and closer to the ends of the earth.
It felt wrong. Everything about this felt wrong. She found herself weighed down by an uneasiness she couldn't name, something that felt like more than the usual pre-battle nervousness. The wrongness had hung in the air since the airship had taken off, and it had only gotten worse as their voyage lengthened, as they grew ever closer to their goal, and ever farther from the city behind.
It seemed too easy, entirely too easy. Finding the Morrigan hadn't been simple, but at least it had been possible. She had agreed with this plan in the beginning, but the more she thought about it, the more she felt concerned. It wasn't like it was a secret that her Soul Perception was strong. Kid didn't talk about it much, didn't make a point of saying just how strong her Soul Perception was, because doing so would give up whatever tactical advantage having her on their side gave them, but with time and resources, it wouldn't be hard to infer the truth. And the Morrigan had time and resources.
If anything, the Morrigan had always been one step ahead of them.
A chill ran through her, and she extended her Soul Perception, her hands tightening into fists as she pushed past the airship, past the souls on board, moving her thoughts back towards the city. Towards the city that they had left, that they were now speeding away from, heading towards it's antipode, to the exact opposite side of the world.
Her eyes widened and cold gripped her heart. The noise of the airship faded to static, her world focusing in to a point as fear filled her, bright and terrible. For a second, she wasn't standing there, wasn't standing on the bridge of an airship next to her husband and partner, surrounded by her team and the rest of the DWMA's finest warriors. For a second she was back there, looking over the city, seeing the threat that was quickly approaching. The vision released her as the ship hit a patch of turbulence and she staggered forward, nearly falling over. She caught her balance and remained crouching, not getting back up.
"Maka?" Soul was by her side in an instant, a hand on her shoulder as he crouched down next to her. His eyes were wide. "Hey—are you alright?"
Maka held one gloved hand close to her face, clenching it into a fist. She grit her teeth, focusing in on that vision, focusing on what she had seen. Her eyes snapped open, fear giving way to anger, and she opened her hand.
"Soul!" she said, extending the hand towards her partner.
Rei carried Annie up the stairs, cradling the small girl in his arms as she slept peacefully. He hadn't been wrong—the twins had fallen asleep almost immediately after dinner, dozing off on the sofa in front of the cartoon that Ayame had put on for them. He hadn't even had to remind them about their bedtime. In his arms, Annie squirmed, turning her head into his chest and murmuring something in her sleep. Rei smiled down at her, shaking his head and shifting her weight to one arm so that he could open her bedroom door.
He'd already carried Cori to bed, and the older twin barely twitched as Rei stepped into the room, laying Annie in the bed closest to the window. He put her down as carefully as he was able, pulling the blanket up around her shoulders and patting her on the head once before heading outside. She slept on, only stirring to pull her blanket up closer to herself.
He looked back at the two of them to make sure that all was well, then closed the door, letting out all of his breath in a long sigh. His eyes moved towards the bathroom, where Ayame was arguing with Bright Star about brushing his teeth, her voice carrying down the nearly silent hallway. She seemed like she had it under control, so Rei turned and walked down a path he hadn't walked in a long time, in two years that felt like forever.
He walked down the path to his childhood room.
The room hadn't changed much since the last time Rei had seen it. It seemed bare, sparse now that most of his things had been moved to his DWMA apartment, but Maka had laid fresh sheets out on the bed and his old books and posters were still here, shelves lining the walls that told of a life lived. There was a bench by the window, a cushioned little alcove on top of a low shelf that held some of his old treasures, and Rei took a seat at it, drawing one knee up to himself and letting the other dangle over the side of the shelf. He looked out over the city and thought about a time when he had lived in this room, when this room and this house had been his whole world, and when he hadn't really known Ayame. The room, just like those memories, felt small, like they didn't fit him anymore. Like a favorite shirt he had outgrown.
It was sad, in a way. His life at the DWMA was exciting and colorful, his friends were great, and Ayame was something else entirely, but living here had been safe, comfortable. It was something he would have wanted, if he could only have one without giving up the other.
"Worried?" Ayame asked, from his doorway.
Rei glanced over at her, tearing his eyes away from the window. She was holding Bright Star's hand, the two of them already dressed for bed. Bright Star blinked up at him, not looking at all sleepy. "What makes you think that?" Rei asked.
Ayame frowned. "You have that look on your face," she said. "That faraway look you get when you're worried about something. Are you worried about your parents?"
Rei blinked, the question taking him by surprise. He turned back towards the window, glancing at his reflection in the glass. "A look on my face, huh…" he repeated. He hadn't been thinking about his parents. But given the circumstances, he maybe should have been. "I wasn't worrying about them, actually. I don't know what it is, but they always come back."
A weight settled onto the cushion beside him, making Rei look up. Ayame sat next to him, having crossed the room so quietly that Rei almost didn't notice. She smiled, one hand on Bright Star's as she perched close to the edge of the cushion, so close that when Rei turned his head to face her, she filled his vision. The warmth of her filled the air between them as she turned towards him.
"I know what you mean," she said. "They seem larger than life, don't they? Like they can't ever die."
"Yeah," said Rei, nodding, "I guess that's it."
"We'll get there someday," said Ayame, "You and me. We'll get there together."
She spoke with that breathless quality that she acquired when she was dreaming of the future, and he stared at her. It was when she was like that that she was most distracting, most enchanting, and he found that he couldn't look away. His eyes fixed on hers as she stared off into the distance, at the reflections of light in her violet eyes, at the way the glory of her dream seemed to suffuse her, making her shine brighter, making her almost glow. A flush spread over his cheeks, his own eyes widening, and she turned towards him then, her eyes widening in surprise before he could make himself look away.
Ayame stared back at him and it was like he was trapped. No, he thought, it was like the two of them were trapped. Stuck in place, locked in sync, the universe dwindling down to a point until they were the only things that existed in the world, until the only thing that mattered was that his heart was pounding and she was close and he wanted her to be closer…
Until Bright Star tugged on her sleeve and broke the spell.
Ayame jerked her head away, breaking their gaze, and warmth spread its way across her cheeks. She jumped up quickly, a wave of cold air rushing to replace her warmth, and Rei would have mourned the loss if his own face wasn't quickly turning an impossible shade of red.
"Right," she said to Bright Star, speaking fast. "You want to sleep, huh? No worries, I'll put you to bed. Come on." She looked back over her shoulder, her expression almost apologetic as she flashed him a grin. "Sorry, Rei. I'll see you in the morning."
"I'm not sleeping for a while," Rei said, the words leaving his mouth before he could even really think about them. "You could…" come back. She could come back, and talk to him, and maybe they could figure out what that had been all about, why his heart was still pounding.
Ayame's grin grew a shade more sheepish. "Sorry," she said, and it sounded genuine. "I can't leave him alone. He'll get into some kind of trouble."
Rei glanced at Bright Star, looking back at Ayame. "He seems really well-behaved," Rei pointed out.
"Yeah, just you wait," Ayame said, tugging Bright Star's hand in the direction of the door. "Twenty bucks says he'll do something to make you take it back before my parents leave town. Come on, kid, let's go to sleep."
Ayame left the room, Bright Star following her. Rei listened as their footsteps moved down the hallway, heading towards the master bedroom. He spread out his Soul Perception, tracking them until the door to the room closed behind them, cutting him off. Then he exhaled, letting out a long sigh as he returned to looking back out at the city, the room somehow feeling smaller and emptier than before.
