Spoilers: after the Anime and sort of from Manga chapter 62/3. You have been warnied.
Warning(s): Possible swearing, mild/medium gore level potential, fluff.
Pairing(s): SoMa, possibly some TsuStar and/or KidxLizxPatty
Brief: With the Kishin defeated, what new threats will rise up to face the heroes from Shibusen? Will Kid's words of warning when the Kishin was killed come true sooner than they thought? And can the Madness be eliminated completely before it consumes the world?
Disclaimer: Atsushi Okubo owns Soul Eater, not me.
Chapter Three: Deathscythe Training; Resonance of Angels
Spirit watched from his position at the doorway, hands hanging by the thumbs from his pockets, a small smile on his lips as he saw Maka stood with Soul in her grip, an overjoyed smile on her features. So Stein told her that she can fly with the right training, he thought, walking up to the small group.
"How does that work when Arachne was a spider-type witch?" Soul asked, his voice stronger and with a more distinct metallic ring to it in his Weapon form.
"I didn't expect you to understand, Soul Eater," Spirit announced snidely. Maka turned her head to the red-head while Soul's eye facing Spirit twisted into a scowling glare at the elder Deathscythe.
"Papa?" the Meister questioned, confused by his answer too.
"What the hell did you say, old man?" Soul growled. "Get your ass over here so I can show you how much I understand!"
"That won't take long then," Spirit rolled his eyes, ignoring Soul's further rants. "You see, Maka, it isn't the witch's soul which gives you the ability to fly, but your own soul. Like your mother, you possess a Grigory, or winged-type, soul. When you resonate with a Deathscythe partner, you can use the extra power and precision to focus your soul wavelength into the form of wings. Think of it as a 'angel' form fitting for my darling girl."
"An angel..." Maka ran the idea over in her head a few times, smiling dreamily to herself. "I like the sound of that."
Angel, huh? Soul thought, staying quiet. She already is in my eyes... Wait, what? Where did that come from?
"Black Star," Stein said, the assassin quiet once more with Tsubaki in control of the hyper-active Meister. "Your soul is not the Grigory type, but it is what is known as the shadow-type, which we have dubbed Kazeshini, or wind of death. This means that you will be able to manipulate the shadows which are attached to you when Tsubaki is in Weapon state, and when they are not being used by the mode you are using, meaning if you can focus on the image of wings for long enough, you should be able to resonate and fly just as Maka can."
"Awesome! The big keep getting bigger!" Black Star yipped, puffing up his chest with pride.
"If your ego gets any bigger, you'll never be any good as an assassin," Soul commented over his friend's loudness. "Besides, I thought you said you were the biggest star around already."
"Doesn't mean I can't get any bigger a star, Soul! Yahoo!"
"If you are quite finished, we should proceed with your training in wavelength manipulation," Stein said, his monotonous voice indifferent as always. "Maka, as you have experience in advanced wavelength manipulation, you and Soul may begin practising at your own speeds. I recommend that you move elsewhere to ensure that Black Star's wavelengths do not interfere with your own while you perfect the technique. Spirit, you go with them, since you have had experience with a Meister using a Grigory soul. Kid, I want you to practice with your resonance and also try to use your other abilities with your Weapons."
Everyone nodded and headed for their various areas to train. Maka walked with Soul in her right hand, the top of the scythe resting over her shoulder. From his vantage point, Soul silently reflected on his Meister while she was distracted and could not detect his thoughts. She was still as stubborn and headstrong as she had always been, but now she seemed more relaxed in her approach to everyday life; gone was the once uncertain, easily confused nature which she had possessed when it came to activities her friends took part in such as basketball, and she was much less concerned with her reputation as a top-level student, though she was still a little concerned about having descent grades and attendance, and her definition of descent was 'in the top ninety percent', but she was definitely changing in attitude, even if only slightly.
But what got him more than that was the way she had changed physically. His words in London came back to him, and he realised how far they were from the truth. Since they had slowed down on training since the Kishin was killed, Maka's figure had filled out to a more feminine shape. If he had to guess, she was about a C-cup, maybe a bit more, and he could tell from the way her clothes, which were the same as she always had worn, hugged her body more tightly than before that her hips and butt had also widened, giving her a more elegant, hourglass effect, although it was discreet. Her well-toned legs were the same, although longer with development, and her shoulders had broadened ever so slightly. Though Soul would not admit it, his Meister was growing into a beautiful young woman in his opinion.
Unbeknownst to Soul, his Meister was having similar thoughts, but in her case they were of her Weapon's words to her. She knew that he had not noticed her changes in style, but she had. Two months ago her coat had gotten a bit tight to button up, not that she ever did in the heat of the Nevada desert, and then she noticed how the trench coat was beginning to fade and show the wear of the years of abuse. By now, it was clear that it was becoming restrictive and too small to fight in, much to her dismay; the coat had done well for her, and it had saved her hide on more occasions than she would like to mention or consider, and being unable to use it any longer was like losing an old friend.
Getting back to the point at hand, however, she knew his teasing was harmless, but she had hoped that Soul would have at least acknowledged her new figure. His words the night before last had hit her heavily, and made her realise that he had no interest in her.
I know it's shallow and stupid, she thought guiltily. But I thought that my room mate and partner would have been the first to notice. Maka sighed inwardly. Maybe it's 'cause I'm nothing like Blair or Tsubaki...
The young Meister glowered with envy at the way that she was so easily ignored in terms of her body just because it was not as large as Tsubaki's or clad in as revealing clothes as Blair's. She prided herself on her more modest appearance, feeling uncomfortable in exposing t-shirts and overly short skirts or shorts, even though she liked to show some of her shapely, athletic legs. She had once contemplated wearing something which showed a little more skin, but she had always shied away under the fear of being laughed at by Soul for being so unorthodox from her usual state of mind.
"Here we are, Maka," Spirit announced, cutting off both of them from their thoughts. "Ok, before we start, I'm going to explain the basics. With this particular skill, there are actually two states; the first is the easiest, which is the transport form, and the second is the combat form, which is more advanced due to the implications behind it. I would say that it is best for you to try the transport form first and we'll see how you get on with that."
"Right," Maka nodded. She spun Soul over her head, a flamboyant display she had grown accustomed to using to clear her mind and improve both Soul's and her own focus on resonance.
"Now," Spirit went on. "You need to be able to mount Soul's scythe handle for this form, so get him low enough for you to do that." The Meister raised the scythe above her and swung the blade into the ground, driving it a fair way in so that she could swing one leg over the metal shaft. "Now, I want you to focus on the flaws with the scythe for flight and imagine a better state. Don't be too ambiguous with changes just yet; keep it simple." Maka and Soul focussed and the blade shrank inwards until it was less than half the original size, just over the length of the gold attachment over the blunt edge. "You're both doing great. Now, focus your soul wavelengths and resonate as you would normally, but this time with the image of wings in mind. Take your time, you have to settle on a design to make it work."
Their souls meshed and synchronised, imbuing them in an aura of blue light, ripples of energy running over their form as if electricity was coursing through their bodies. Their wavelengths matched, Maka and Soul appeared in the Black Room of Soul's subconscious, their clothes the same as they had been when they danced here so long ago. Soul smiled over to her from his position in the chair, standing up and walking to meet her on the checked floor.
"So, what are we going to go for?" the sharp-toothed young man asked, showing his pearly razors as he did.
"Well, we should go with something simple for now," Maka said, drawing on a piece of paper at the desk beside them. "I think something sort of like this..."
"Huh, that's pretty cool, but maybe more like this," Soul opted, rubbing out a section and redoing it. Maka frowned.
"That looks too aggressive!" she protested. Soul sighed and rolled his ruby irises at her, causing her to blush faintly, though she was not in his eyes, as he went back to the design.
"Ok, how about this?" he asked.
"Maybe... Can you draw them on your scythe mode?" Maka asked, uncertain.
"Sure... It'll probably be about here, so if we do this instead," Soul's mutters echoed with the scratching of the pencil against the paper, more directed to himself than Maka. "There, how's that?"
"Perfect!" Maka beamed. "It's just what we need."
"Cool, let's try them out," Soul grinned, the room fading but the image stayed firm in mind.
In the training ground, Spirit watched in amazement as the Meister and Weapon began to float in the air. The eyes on Soul's scythe mode lit up a bright blue and shrank inwards, contracting on the pupil. A burst of light shot out of each, twisting and contorting into the shape of wings. The wings were fairly spiky in design, sticking out of the eyes at a slight forward slant, then jutting out into a long, backward spine. On the other end was a slight curve on each wing like a talon. Between the larger of the two beams of light were three shorter spikes like feathers. The wings were very large, the span when fully unfurled from one tip to the other about that of the staff from end to end, and were a blue colour like the aura which had covered them at one stage, but had now subsided.
"That's great," Spirit announced, happy to see his daughter flying. "See how high and fast you can go. If you're in trouble, don't worry; this room is covered in a special magic to protect the occupants from serious injury."
The pair set off, gliding steadily over the groups and watching the sights unfold beneath Maka's feet. She smiled from atop her Weapon, letting their souls do the work.
"This is kinda relaxing, isn't it?" she said suddenly. Soul smiled, his reflection glinting in the short blade which jutted downwards like a rudder.
"Yeah," he said. "It's pretty cool to watch the world from up here; none of the noise from Black Star reaching us, nothing from those damned witches or Kishin souls... It's so much better up here."
Maka smiled at the thought, the Weapon floating downwards a little and then accelerating gradually until they were flying at incredibly high speed overhead. The pair let out a laugh at their capability, distracted from the scenes below.
A blast of dark blue shot passed them, missing by a tiny margin, burning through the right wing. Startled, they wobbled in mid-air, their resonance disturbed and their flight lost. Abruptly, the blue wings vaporised, making them fall away from one another and plummet downwards. Maka gripped Soul's handle tightly, but their falling speed was too great to re-establish the transport mode.
"Soul, match my wavelength!" she yelled over the rushing air. The Weapon muttered a hurried word of acknowledgement, then attempted it, focussing on the wings once again.
A pulse of light emerged behind Maka, splitting into two beams which then contorted into a pair of wings, but this was different to before. A smaller version of the transport form's wings had sprouted from her heels, reminding the young Meister of the Greek god Hermes, but from her back was a pair of pink, fluffy wings, feathered in design and more curvy than angular, much like the wings angels are seen with in paintings. I didn't think of these... Is this Soul's doing? Maka wondered silently.
Guess it is, Soul's voice echoed inside her cranium. I figured this would work better for you. The wings on your heels are for stability, so they are my design, and I thought you might like to look like an angel; after all, wasn't that your first thought when wings came to mind?
Maka smiled at how her partner knew her, using the larger wings to balance them out and land gracefully on the ground beside a bemused and shellshocked Death the Kid. He watched as the wings vanished gradually into nothingness, then Soul as he transformed and gripped him by the collar.
"Dammit, Kid, was that you?" he growled.
"I apologise for that," the Grim Reaper replied sheepishly. "I tried the Death Cannon as Stein-sensei suggested, but the amount of power was more than I had anticipated and I lost my footing. Is it's any consolation, you two are not injured, and I almost shot Black Star too." Said assassin came stomping over, a look of intense annoyance on his face and large tick mark evident on his forehead.
"ALRIGHT!" he roared, his obnoxiously loud tone drawing everyone's attention. "Who the hell tried to shoot the almighty Black Star? Your god will not tolerate insolence or murder plots!"
"Chill, man, it was an accident," Soul said, trying to calm his friend while the other Weapons transformed back into their human states. "Kid tripped, that's all."
"Kid, you bastard!" the blue haired boy growled, trying to grab the OCD Meister, only to be restrained by Tsubaki, Soul and Maka. "I'll kill you for your insolent behaviour!"
"Calm down, Black Star!"
"Black Star, please, there is no need to be so violent!" Tsubaki pleaded as Maka was swatted away with a heavy swing. A huge tick mark erupted on her flesh.
"MAKA CHOP!" she shouted over the uproar, slamming a very thick book into Black Star's skull and making him fall silent. "Now would you just shut up for a minute?"
Silence fell upon the room as Marie ran in through the doorway.
"Stein, Spirit!" she called out, her eyes then falling on the group. "Oh, Spartoi is already assembled, I see. That will save some time then!" Everyone looked at the one-eyed woman intently, waiting for her to continue. "Lord Death has just received word of outbreaks of Madness in three areas around the world. He wants everyone in Spartoi, including the teachers involved, to report to the Death Room immediately for orders about their assignments."
Alright, I hope that isn't too rushed.
I lucked out and got an extra long time to write this weekend, so this was finished in a very short time for once.
Anyway, as always, let me know what you think and where I can improve.
Also, thanks for the support so far, everyone; I really appreciate it!
Anyway, it's getting late and I'm going to bed soon.
'Night guys and girls!