HEY EVERYBODY! I am so sorry for the huge time laps, I have been very lazy and I would like to apologize for it. Thanks to those who have now favorite my story: SernaJ, LookingForAngelsEvermore, Little Snuggle, Crona-Kid332, Shadowclanwarrior, ImaginaryReader1213, souleaterzeldalover, HSidney and Chetahluv. Thanks as well to those who are now following my story: ijustwannaeatsomesouls, LookingForAngelsEvermore, Little Snuggle, HSidney, BPxSamantha, souleaterzeldalover, Skywhisper and Chetahluv. The reviews have made me so happy so thanks SernaJ, Little Snuggle, Shadowclanwarrior, ViolinistOfTheNight and Skywhisper who have reviewed my fourth chapter. The flattery is getting you all everywhere (LOL). I will continue to write my story and will always hope that you will enjoy it – Caitlin
I do not own Soul Eater or anything relating to the franchise.
[Gone]
Death City, Nevada – Maka, Soul and Crona's Apartment (next day)
"Now try not to burn it this time." Soul said as he walked away from the stove.
"I-I'll try." Crona replied.
Crona is trying to cook a sweet porridge for Maka since it was something easy to eat, but he was having problems and has burned it three times now.
"I don't see how you can't cook it right; I mean it's just porridge." Soul said sitting down on the couch
Crona fidgeted and looked down at the pot on the stove somewhat embarrassed.
Ragnarok formed from Crona's back after Soul's comment.
"Make fun all you want sharky but you can't even cook scrambled eggs." Ragnarok pointed out.
"Hmph, cool guys like me don't need to cook." Soul countered.
Ragnarok and Soul argued like that back and forth for a moment before Crona perked up.
"Maybe we should call Tsubaki. She can cook really well." Crona said.
"Ya that's perfect, her cooking is delicious." Ragnarok agreed.
"No, if she comes over then so will BlackStar." Soul pointed out, "And Maka doesn't need his loud mouth around disturbing her rest." He continued.
Crona nodded as he turned the burner off.
A loud noise was heard coming from Maka's room, effectively gaining the boy's attention.
Soul got up and headed for Maka's room as Crona followed.
"Maka, are you ok?" Soul asks opening her door.
Inside the room Maka was on the floor with the covers tangled around her as she was trying to get free.
"Maka!" Soul raises his voice. He walks over and crouches down next to the girl flailing in the sheets.
"Hey Maka, its ok calm down" Soul says in a calm voice. He reaches out to try and help but Maka sees him getting closer and flails harder trying to get away.
"Mmm ahn ou" Maka gets out.
Soul brings his arms back away from his struggling meister somberly.
"Crona, can you help her please?" Soul asks the other boy.
"Ya ok." Crona replies walking over and helping Maka out of the tangled sheets.
"Maka, you can't get out of bed yet. You might rip open your stiches if you move around too much." Crona tells her as he finally frees her.
Maka just looks up at him before she wraps her arms around his neck.
"Ahhuh" She replies.
"M-Maka! I-its ok I'll help yo-you back i-into bed b-but you have t-to let go." Crona stutters nervously.
Soul watches with clenched fists as Crona lifts Maka and puts her back into bed.
'Why Maka, why can't I get close to you?' Soul asks himself.
"Ok Maka I made some porridge for you. I will go get it so stay in bed." Crona says as he leaves the room.
Maka watches after him as he leaves.
Soul walks over to her bedside and kneels next to her; he then raises his hand to touch her cheek.
Maka looks down and notices Soul's hand coming closer to her. When his hand is just about to touch her she flinches away.
"Tsk" Soul clicks his tongue, clenches his hand into a fist and stands abruptly then walks out of the room.
Crona passes Soul on his way back into the room and notices his pained expression.
'Soul… I'm so sorry' Crona thinks as he walks to Maka to help feed her.
Once Maka was released from the infirmary she refused to let anyone but Crona and Professor Stein touch her, she also could not talk properly; only being able to make noises and incoherent mumbles. Nobody can really come up with a reason why Maka is acting the way she is other than it is a side effect of the witch's spell. Stein's test results came back and he confirmed that the black blood in Maka was not only back but has taken over. Everyone hopes that when Kim takes a look at Maka there is something she can do.
Death City, Nevada – Maka, Soul and Crona's Apartment (next day)
It was about noon and Kid, Liz and Patty came over with Kim and Jacqueline to check on Maka. Tsubaki and BlackStar were already there an hour earlier because BlackStar said gods don't have to follow schedules.
"So, how is she?" Liz asks as Crona serves drinks to everyone in the living room.
"She sleeps a lot, but other than that not much of a change." Soul replies.
"Do you think she is up for visitors?" Kid asks taking a sip of tea from his cup.
"Ya, as long as no one tries to touch her." Soul says.
"So she still won't let anyone else touch her yet?" Liz asks.
"No, only Crona and Stein still" Soul replies back.
"What do you mean?" Kim asks.
"Well, since Maka was taken out of the school infirmary she won't let anyone touch her, except Professor Stein and Crona" Liz answers.
"That's unusual." Jacqueline says.
"Exactly" Soul said.
"I will take a look if someone would take me to her." Kim says getting up out of her chair.
Crona got up and led Kim into Maka's bedroom.
"Anyone want anything to eat?" Soul asks everyone as he gets up from his seat.
Everyone just shook their heads as Soul made his way into the kitchen.
BlackStar got up and joined him as Tsubaki smiled knowingly.
Soul was rummaging through a top cabinet when BlackStar walked up and leaned on the counter next to him.
"So, how are you holding up?" BlackStar asks.
Soul pauses for a moment before continuing going through the cabinet, "What do you mean?" he asks.
"Soul you know what I mean." BlackStar says back.
"I have no clue what you're talking about." Soul says again.
BlackStar looks over from the corner of his eyes, "I'm neither blind nor stupid Soul. It is obvious how upset you are."
Soul stopped what he was doing and turned to lean on the counter as well.
"We are all upset about Maka, but we all know that there are some of us that are more upset than the rest." BlackStar says.
Soul closes his eyes in thought for a moment as he takes in what BlackStar said.
"It's not fair Star, I can't talk to her be near her I can't even touch her." Soul says lowering his head.
"I know I can't even imagine what it must be like not being able to touch your partner. If I couldn't talk let alone touch Tsubaki I don't know what I would do." BlackStar says looking towards the door.
"She won't even look at me." Soul says.
BlackStar looks over at his best friend and puts a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry once Kim figures out what's wrong with Maka and reverses the spell she'll be back to her old self, and you can go on pretending you aren't madly in love with her." BlackStar says with a huge grin.
Soul looks quickly over at his best friend with a blush all the way down his neck.
"W-what do you mean?" Soul sputters embarrassingly.
BlackStar looks over and smirks, "Everybody but Maka seems to have noticed, but for someone so smart she sure is dense."
BlackStar stands straight and makes his way out of the kitchen and back into the living room waving over his shoulder at Soul as he went.
Soul looks on after his obnoxious friend left and smiles to himself.
'We have some pretty cool friends, right Maka?' Soul thought as he moved to join the rest of his friends in the living room as well.
(With Kim and Crona in Maka's room)
"So she has been like this since she woke up?" Kim asks kneeling next to Maka who was sitting up on her bed looking off in front of her.
"Yes" Crona answered.
Kim looked over at Maka, "She seems unresponsive." she says.
"She is for the most part, but she does respond to Stein and I, and sometimes she responds to sounds or noise." Crona tells her.
"What kind of sounds and noises?" Kim asks.
"Well, she will look out the window and reach out when she hears the birds chirping, and when BlackStar shouts she shrinks away." He responded.
"That is a good sign." Kim replies.
"What do you mean?" Crona questions
"Well, if she were being overtaken by the spell that the witch put on her then she would not react to anything." Kim says back.
"So does that mean you can break the spell?" Crona asks.
"I'm not sure, but I will do my best." Kim says smiling back at the timid pinkette.
Crona smiles back as Kim stands and raises her arms out in front of her over Maka.
Kim closes her eyes as she concentrates and starts to chant, "Tanunucoon Raccooncoon Ponpon Ponkitanu Pon Pon Pon"
Kim's expression becomes strained as she chants.
'I don't understand this shouldn't be possible' Kim thinks as she tries to focus again.
She once again concentrates and focuses on the spell weighing down on her friend.
"Tanunucoon Raccooncoon Ponpon Ponkitanu Pon Pon Pon" Kim chants again, but again not yielding the result she was hoping for.
Kim lowers her arms and stands back up looking down at the sleeping girl.
"I-is everything o-okay?" Crona asks hesitantly.
"No I don't think so." Kim replies as she turns around to rejoin the rest of the group.
(Back with the group in the living room)
As everyone was chatting Kim walked into the room with a nervous Crona behind her.
BlackStar was the first to notice them enter the room.
"So what is the verdict?" he asks.
Kim walks over to Jacqueline and sits next to her on the loveseat with an audible thump as she lands on the cushions.
Crona on the other hand stands next to the couch where Soul, BlackStar and Tsubaki are seated.
Soul looks up to his right at Crona to see a somewhat troubled face on his friend. This worried Soul a bit wondering if something had gone wrong.
"I think someone should call Professor Stein before I tell you what I have found." Kim says with a serious tone that left no room for questions just yet.
Without saying anything Kid got up from the chair he was sitting in between his two partners and phoned the madman's number on a hand mirror.
Once Kid was done informing their teacher that his presence was needed for Kim's findings he ended the call to wait with the rest of his friends for the Professor to arrive.
About ten minutes later the sound of an engine could be heard and not long after footsteps followed leading their way up to the apartment door.
Being prepared Soul had gotten up and waited by the door to let his teacher in. once inside Stein decided to stand as Soul sat back down on the couch.
"So Ms. Diehl, what need did you see to call me to this little get-to-gather?" Stein questioned looking over at the girl.
Kim shifted somewhat uncomfortably when all eyes landed on her with questioning gazes.
"I took a look at Maka like I was asked." She stated.
Stein nodded keeping an impassive face.
Kim looked directly at Stein, not able to look the others in the face when she told them what she had found.
"Well while I was trying to heal Maka's wounds and lift the spell that witch put on her. . ." Kim trailed off.
"Yes?" Stein probed.
"Well. . ." Kim hesitated.
"Oh for Death's sake spit it out!" BlackStar shouted.
Soul hit BlackStar on the back of the head once the words left his mouth.
"You idiot, it's obviously hard for her to talk already, don't go pressuring her." Liz says from across the coffee table at the bluenette.
Patty started giggling and Kid pinched the bridge of his nose in an effort to not comment on the situation.
"And keep your voice down; Maka is sleeping in the next room." Soul stressed.
"Geez, sorry for wanting to know how our friend's health is doing." He replied while rubbing the back of his head.
Once everyone calmed down from BlackStar's outburst Tsubaki looked over at Kim, who seemed to be having trouble voicing what she had to say; which was very unusual for her.
Tsubaki looked at her with a gentle expression as the girl fidgeted, "Kim would you like some time to collect your thoughts?" Tsubaki asks calmly.
Kim looks up somewhat startled that she was addressed.
Jacqueline puts a hand on her meister's shoulder with a small smile silently telling her that everything was alright.
But Kim knew that everything was in fact not alright, she steeled her nerves and got a determined look on her face.
"No, I need to tell you all what I have found, and tiptoeing around it won't help Maka's situation." She stated while looking up at everyone.
"What situation?" Stein asks.
Kim looks him in the eyes as she readies to tell him her findings.
"While I was trying to heal Maka's wounds and lift the spell the witch put on her, I found that her wounds would not heal no matter how hard I concentrated." Kim said with seriousness.
Stein's expression never changed, but he did shift his weight to his other foot after hearing the news.
The teens were not so composed, aside from Kid, they all became noticeably antsy waiting for someone to break the uncomfortable silence.
"Is there nothing more you can do?" Stein asks finally breaking the suffocating silence in the room.
Kim's expression fell somewhat from her dejection at not being able to do more, but she was determined to find the cause of her inability to hear her friend.
"No, but I know that even though Maka is under some spell I should be able to heal her wounds. Since I am not able to do that I suspect very powerful magic is in place keeping me from doing so. I will talk with Angela and a few other witches that I have kept in contact with to see if I can find a way to break the spell." Kim said once again determined to help her friend.
"Yes, that would be much appreciated. Thank you for trying Ms. Diehl." Stein said as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
Kim nodded and rose from her seat followed by Jacqueline.
The group said their goodbyes to the pair as they left in search of the witch Angela and her companion Mifune.
Once everyone was settled back in the uncomfortable silence returned.
"So what do we do from here?" Tsubaki asks calmly.
The room fell silent again as everyone thought about the answer to the question.
"Liz, Patty I want you to go back to the mansion and see if you can find anything about witches spells in the library there." Kid said as he looks to his partners.
The twin pistols nod, get up and leave after saying goodbye to their friends.
"BlackStar and I can take a look at the school library for anything of the sort as well." Tsubaki volunteers with a smile.
"What! I don't want to spend the rest of my day going through books." BlackStar grumbles.
"But were doing it for Maka" Tsubaki says sweetly to her meister.
BlackStar huffs and crosses his arms in front of his chest in indignation.
"Fine, I the great BlackStar shall help my followers with this measly task." BlackStar says as he gets up to leave.
Tsubaki smiles as she follows her partner saying her quick goodbyes.
"Alright so what should we do?" Soul asks as he sits up from the couch and looks to Kid.
"I thought about taking a look at Maka's soul." Kid suggests.
"What. Why?" Soul asks.
"Because if Kim could not heal Maka then the spell might be tied to her soul." Kid says as he gets up from his chair.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Soul asks again.
"Anti-Demon Wavelength" Crona mutters.
"Exactly" Kid replies.
"But shouldn't the damn wavelength keep her from being corrupt by anything like this?" Soul says.
"Yes but the way the witch attacked Maka may have been what allowed the spell to work." Kid said back.
"Professor Stein, will you look at Maka's soul as well?" Kid asks the scientist.
"Yes, I am curious about these details myself." Stein replied while walking into Maka's room.
Soul and Crona followed crowding the small room with five bodies leaving little room for much movement.
Maka still lay sleeping on her bed while the sun flittered in through the window giving her a soft glow.
"It's like nothing is wrong." Crona voiced.
Ragnarok materialized from the pinkettes back and grabbed onto his hair.
"Yeah right, just a boat load of mental problems and a witch obsession. She can't seem to stay away from the crazy bitches." Ragnarok jabbed.
"It's not her fault." Crona tried to defend.
"Oh yeah, then why is it every time we come across a witch they want to kill her or use her?" Ragnarok questioned.
Everyone stilled in that moment. What was the reason the witches kept perusing the girl? Everyone was having the same thought as they contemplated the reason.
'Her soul'
'The black blood'
'Her weapon blood'
'Her soul perception'
Were the thoughts running thought the minds of the four males in the room.
As the thoughts calmed down Stein and Kid closed their eyes and then opened them slowly to find themselves looking at something they had never seen before.
Kid took a step back unsure of how to react to what he was seeing.
While Stein, trying to stay composed, was rooted to his spot.
"Wh-whats wrong?" Crona asks nervously.
The reaction of the two people in front of them did nothing to help ease their worries for the girl lying asleep only a few feet away.
Soul and Crona leaned to the side to get a better look at what Stein and Kid were looking at. Unfortunately without soul perception all they could see was Maka laying there in a peaceful sleep.
Soul put a hand on Kid's shoulder in an effort to get his attention.
"Hey what are you seeing? What is wrong?" Soul asks getting a bit annoyed.
"This isn't right. This should not be possible." Kid replies never taking his eyes away from Maka.
"What? What's not possible?" Soul asks getting more and more agitated.
But Stein and Kid were not paying attention their current focus was on Maka and her soul.
They could see it, Maka's soul bound by black chains; the wings of her soul crushed up against it unable to move like they should while witches runes hover around like a seal inside her body. Her soul barley moved but her wings were desperately trying to break free of the chains that bind them and the glow of her soul that was supposed to be bright was dim and weak. It was now clear that whatever spell the witch put on Maka it was not good.
"We have to stop this." Kid said lowly.
"Stop what?" Soul asked back.
"If we don't. . ." Kid trailed off trying not to think about the possibilities.
"What! What is wrong!?" Soul finally exploded.
He grabbed Kid and turned him around; he looked the other teen in the eyes waiting for him to answer.
"She will die" Stein replied in almost a whisper.
Soul, Crona and Kid all looked to their teacher as he turned to face them and not the horrible sight in front of him.
"What do you mean? What is wrong with Maka?" Crona asks becoming fearful of the answer.
Stein closed his eyes and took in a long breath before releasing.
"The witch has somehow bound Maka's soul keeping her inside of herself." He replied.
"What? But how is that possible?" Soul asks.
"That's just it, it shouldn't be." Kid replies.
"Maka's Anti-Demon Wavelength should have prevented the spell from taking hold of her soul." Stein supplies.
"So then how did the spell work if it never should have even been possible?" Soul asks.
Stein and Kid look to each other but found no answer in either of them.
"That is something I hope we can find in some of my father's books." Kid replies.
"How long before it's too late?" Crona asks looking over at the sleeping girl.
"That is unclear but from what I saw she is putting up some fight." Stein says as he straightens up.
"We don't have much time but we will use all that we have to figure out a way to break the spell on Maka's soul." Kid says as he walks to door of Maka's room.
With everyone in agreement they all head into the living room.
Stein returned to his laboratory to see if he could come up with something to break the spell or at least diminish its effects.
Not long after Stein had left Liz and Patty showed up with handfuls of books. After taking them Kid set to work in the living room reading through each one to find an answer, so the twins went back to the mansion to continue their search for more books. Soul called Tsubaki and BlackStar to find out how their search was going, but of course with BlackStar 'trying' to help they were not getting much done. Blair had come home and attacked Soul with her chest, after explaining the situation she set out to find any information she could get ahold of. Soul and Crona stayed in the living room with Kid looking through the books with the sisters periodically dropping off more books as the day grew to night.
Death City, Nevada – Somewhere in the Desert (same day)
"Oh my dear, the more you fight it the worse it will hurt." M cooed into her basin of black water.
She stared for another minuet before she turned and left the shabby room into a long hallway with no light, tattered carpet and ripped up wallpaper. The mansion she has been hiding in was extremely rundown and would fall over if the wind blew just right. Mave made her way to a larger corridor with stairs that led both up and down, her wine red robes swishing about her body as she went. She took the downward stairs in hopes of finding what she was looking for. When she had descended the last step Mave stepped down onto a cold stone floor with stone walls to her sides. She kept walking down the stone walkway and up to a wooden door barely hanging on its hinges, as she pushed it open it gave a sickening creak, alerting anyone around that someone had entered. She made her way through the room with mannequins hanging from the ceiling and walls while others where propped against the wall or in heaps on the floor. Thin almost translucent string hung from the limbs of the mannequins but this did not deter Mave in the slightest, she was able to maneuver through the webbed mess like they weren't even there and into the middle of the room. There was no light in the room so nothing could be seen but Mave knew that they were there and this brought a twisted smile to her face.
"I need you to run an errand for me." She said to the darkness.
A shuffle of someone's feet could be heard in the room as she spoke.
"We have a very important guest coming and I need you to prepare for their arrival while I am away." She said again to the darkness of the room.
The shuffling stopped but Mave knew that her orders were both heard and understood so without further address she left the room and went back to the shabby room she was first in to take one last look at her special guest.
Death City, Nevada – Maka, Soul and Crona's Apartment (later that night)
Many hours had passed and the grinning moon hung high in the sky, the three boys had fallen asleep in the little apartment reading through the books trying to find answers.
Soul was lying sprawled out on the floor of the living room with a book open over his face and another clutched in his hand pressed against his stomach drooling with his mouth hanging open.
While Kid was asleep leaning over on the loveseat with several books next to him and one open in his lap.
Crona on the other hand was in Maka's room on the floor with his head in his arms on her bed, one of his hands holding hers.
The whole apartment was quiet, the shadows played as light filtered in through the crack in Maka's curtains, leaving a beam of light to run over her eyes.
The digital clock on her nightstand read 2:59am and it was just a few seconds before it was to turn to three.
Once those few seconds passed and the clock read 3:00am in bright red Maka's eyes shot open, now being illuminated by the moons light.
The once bright and full of life but now dull and empty jade green eyes looked upon the ceiling of the room, making a quick movement she sat up in the bed the covers falling to her waist.
Maka looked around noticing her hand was being held she looked down to find a boy holding it. She cocked her head to the side a bit before she took her free hand and put it on the boys head. She felt the soft hair and the choppy style as she brushed it down in a familiar sense. The boy, whose head was on its side so she could see half his face, smiled and nestled deeper into the bed slightly gripping her hand a little more.
'It feels so familiar' she thought to herself.
Maka quickly stopped when she felt a sharp pain in her head and looked up and ahead of her.
Ragnarok was quietly sleeping in his meister's bloodstream until he felt something warm coax him out of his sleep, it felt pleasant and he wanted it to continue but the moment it stopped he became agitated. He formed from his meister's back and laid his head down atop his meister's. he reluctantly opened his eyes to notice that Crona was asleep and Maka was in fact awake and also talking to herself, it registered in his mind that this was probably very important and he should wake Crona to tell him, but he was really tired because Crona had kept him awake reading all of those damn books about witches and their stupid spells. So he yawned and laid his head back down onto Crona's hair as he watched Maka talk to herself, waiting to fall back asleep.
Once Maka finished her little 'conversation' she looked down to the boy, who now had a strange black being coming from his back and laying on top of him, with slightly sorrowful eyes. She did not know why but Maka did not want to leave but knew she had no choice.
Maka moved her hand from the boys gently so as not to wake him and stood up on the bed, her white nightgown fell to just above her knees. She looked to her left to see the curtains closed with a slight gap. She pulled them open only to open the window that was behind them. The cool air brushed her skin giving her Goosebumps, but she did not feel the cold. She lifted one bare foot and climbed onto the windowsill, with one last look back into the comfortable room she gave a small sad smile before jumping out and down from the third story window of her room.
The window that was left open now allowed cool air to enter the room blowing the drawn back curtains over the bed. The young demon meister and his weapon were still asleep against the now empty and rapidly cooling bed not suspecting in the slightest that Maka had left.
Maka landed in some planted bushes near the sidewalk after she jumped from the window, as she got up she noticed she had a few scratches along her exposed arms and legs that were bleeding a little, but she did not feel the sting that was there every time she moved or when the cool air brushed against the open cuts.
As she brushed off the stray leaves she stared to walk, it was the dead of night so the chances of anybody being out and about were slim to none. As she passed houses and businesses she took note that it was more than likely the last time, her empty eyes taking in all the familiar yet unknown things she saw as she passed knowing deep down she knew what she was looking at. Making her way through the streets of Death City she found her way to the entry way and exit of the city. She stood just a step away from exiting before she hesitated a moment, her eyes started to water and light was slowly creeping in as she looked up at the somewhat tired crescent moon slowly lowering from the sky. As she was about to turn around a sharp pain filled her body and she couldn't move, as fast as the light entered her eyes it vanished leaving twin pools of empty jade. As a few tears slid down her cheeks she looked ahead of her and into the never-ending desert that was in front of her. Without any more hesitation she took the last step and started to walk out into the vast desert, leaving Death City behind.
(Back at the apartment)
It had been maybe an hour since Maka left and the cool air had turned the room cold, Ragnarok shifted hitting Crona in the face.
"Mmm, Ragnarok stop hitting me." Crona complained using his hand to swipe over his face.
After he did so he laid his hand back down and clutched around to find Maka's hand, but no matter how hard he tried he could not find it.
He slowly opened his eyes finding it odd that he not only could not find Maka's hand but the bed was also cold. When he looked up from his position he noticed the curtains were flapping about and Maka was not in bed. With as tired as he was he came to a logical but somewhat fooling conclusion that she must be in the bathroom or in the kitchen getting a glass of water but as quickly as those thought came they went and were replaced with panic.
'Maka can't move around by herself' Crona remembered.
He shot up from his spot on the floor and looked around only slightly regarding the open window, for who would jump out of a window on the third floor.
Ragnarok, who had been sleeping on his meister, was jostled awake when Crona abruptly stood.
"Hey what the hell Crona, I was trying to sleep." Ragnarok gripped
Crona ignored him and instead of giving an answer he ran out of the room and straight to the bathroom just to be safe. He didn't find her there so he ran to the kitchen next. When he didn't find her there either he really started to panic.
He bolted from the kitchen straight to the living room to find Soul and Kid asleep in awkward positions.
"S-Soul" Crona said quietly.
"K-Kid" he said just as quietly.
When he got no response his nerves took the front seat and he shouted.
"SOUL, KID!"
Both the boys jumped awake; Kid sitting upright looking around for any threats and Soul sat bold upright with the book falling from his face, a little drool stuck to the pages.
As both boys regained their conscious minds and looked around, only to find Crona standing a few feet away practically jumping out of his skin they sighed.
"What is it Crona, did something in the dark scare you? I told you there is nothing there and you're safe. Now go back to bed I'm exhausted." Soul said almost exasperatedly.
"N-no it's n-not th-that." He stuttered trying to tell them.
"Don't worry Crona just go back to sleep." Kid said sleepily trying to nestle back into the loveseat.
"NO!" Crona shouted.
"Damnit Crona what is it!" Soul shouted now annoyed from being woke up.
"Maka is gone!" Crona rushed out.
The room went silent for a moment the only movement being Crona's nervous fidgeting.
"What? Are you sure you weren't just dreaming?" Soul asks blankly.
"No, Maka's not in her bed, the bathroom or the kitchen, and her window was open when I woke up." He replied.
It took only a second before the two previously sleeping teens shot up and took off for Maka's room. Crona just stood in the spot he was in and waited knowing they weren't going to find her as they shot out of her room both splitting to look in the other areas of the apartment.
When they were done they rushed back into the living room panting and panic on their faces.
"She's not in my room." Soul got out.
"She's not in the laundry room or the closets either." Kid said as he looked around at the dimly lit room.
"Wh-what do w-we d-do?" Crona asks gripping his arm.
"We need to call Stein." Kid stated being the first to recover.
Kid pulled out a hand mirror and dialed Steins number. As it rang the boys held their breath waiting for an answer.
Not long after the call seemed to connect and in the mirror and image of stein, standing in front of his-own wall mirror, appeared.
"What do you need this late at night? Is it Maka?" Stein asks looking at the three boys and taking in their appearance.
"Maka has gone missing." Kid stated calmly.
Stein stood there for a moment before he replied.
"I'll be right over." Is all he said before the line was cut and the mirror just reflected their worried faces.
Kid put the mirror away and took a seat on the sofa as Soul paced the room and Crona just stood holding his arm in a vise like grip.
Not five minutes later did they hear the cut of an engine and rushed steps before the door to the apartment was opened forcefully.
"What happened?" Stein asks seemingly a bit angered.
Soul and Crona just stared at him not knowing what to say, so Kid stood up and got their teachers attention.
"We are unclear of what happened exactly, we were all sleeping when Crona came into the living room shouting that Maka was missing." He stated.
All eyes turned to Crona who jumped a little at the expectant glances.
"W-well I was as-asleep in Maka's r-room a-and the next th-thing I know I-I woke u-up and M-Maka wa-wasn't there." Crona stuttered out.
"Was the window open when you fell asleep?" Kid asks.
"Window?" Stein inquires.
"Yes Maka's room is very cold from the night air and her window and curtains are wide open." Kid informs him.
Stein nods as Crona continues.
"N-no, it was s-shut when I-I fell asleep." Crona gets out.
"Well it's not like anyone, let alone and injured person, is going to jump from a window on the third floor." Soul adds in.
"That is correct but Maka is not in her right mind right now. For all we know she could have jumped." Kid stated.
"Then why is her body not on the sidewalk outside?" Soul asks a bit annoyed with the situation.
"Then she might have been taken." Kid stated again.
"Before we start accusing people of kidnap we should probably figure out what actually happened." Stein said trying to get the situation under control.
"But how, no one saw anything." Soul said looking to the Professor.
"Did anyone notice anything strange about Maka's behavior before they went to sleep?" Stein asks looking at the three teens.
The three thought hard before they all shook their heads.
"Does talking to yourself count?" Ragnarok, who had been lounging on Crona's head the whole time, said sarcastically.
Everyone looked to the demon weapon somewhat confused.
"What do you mean Ragnarok?" Crona asked looking up trying to see his weapon.
"Well I woke up and found the fat cow sitting up in her bed, and then she started muttering to thin air like someone was there." Ragnarok said as he propped himself up on his elbow.
"What did she say?" Stein asks.
"Hmm, she said something about meeting and said yes a lot then a couple of no's, then she started talking about who all was in contact with her since Semon." Ragnarok finished.
"You couldn't have said something about this sooner!" Soul hollered.
"Hey I was half asleep; I thought I was dreaming at first but the crazy girl goes and opens the window and then that's when I fell back asleep." Ragnarok hollers back.
"Oh death" Kid says as he covers his mouth.
"This is not good, we need to find Maka as soon as possible." Stein says as he heads for the door.
"Wh-whats wrong?" Crona asks getting worried.
"If Maka did in fact jump from the window I believe she is hurt." Stein says back.
"But wouldn't getting hurt keep her from moving around after the fall?" Kid asks.
"No, not in this case, in the infirmary Maka did not react to painful stimuli, so I believe that even though her body is hurt she will still continue to move around quite possible endangering her life further." Stein says as they head out of the apartment building.
They boys grew even more anxious after hearing what Stein said, and as they arrived in the parking lot Stein made a b-line for the sidewalk. The side of the building where Maka's room was ran along this sidewalk and street. As they arrived under the open window three storied up they all noticed the bushed and scattered about leaves and small broken branches.
"It seems she landed in the bushes after she jumped." Stein said a little relieved.
"Is that good?" Crona asks.
"It's better than the alternative, she may not be as wounded as she could be but the landing and her moving around so carelessly will lead to the reopening of her stiches, if she doesn't bleed out she might get an infection if we don't find her soon enough." Stein says looking around.
"I will call BlackStar and Tsubaki to let them know what is going on, they might be able to help find her." Soul says as he runs to a closed window to call his best friend.
"And I will call father to inform him of the recent events." Kid says as he goes off to call Lord Death.
Crona fidgets as he stands on the sidewalk wondering if Maka was ok.
Stein walks up to him and puts a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry Crona, we will find Maka and bring her home safe." Stein tries to comfort.
Crona gives a small smile but it soon turns back to worry as he thinks about trying to find the girl he loves.
The whole group; Soul, Crona, Kid, Liz, Patty, BlackStar, Tsubaki and Stein search all over Death City. Kid on Beelzebub and Crona using Ragnarok's dragon form took to the skies looking from above, Liz and Patty looked through all the alleyways and shady places of Death City since they knew them like the back of their hands, BlackStar and Tsubaki took the populated areas asking people that they saw if they had seen Maka, and Stein and Soul took the roads on their motorcycles looking around neighborhoods, the school and anywhere else they could find.
Little did the group of searching meisters and weapons know that the girl they were all searching for was already far from the city and out into the far-reaching desert, far beyond their grasp.