It was a bit of trouble trying to sneak a drug into Corna's drink at dinner. Much to Maka's anger she flirted more with Kid than she ended up drinking. Finally it was Kid who took care of the problem by very callously walking up behind Corna and pinching a spot on her neck. Now she lay on the bed with her long pink hair in Maka's lap.

"You would make an awful spy you know that?" She asked Kid.

"I am not attempting to be one. So how does this work?" She stared back down at the girl.

"I don't know. When I did it to Wes I just thought of all the things he would have remembered about his brother and he did the rest on his own."

"This may be a bit of a fight, since as of currently she seems very unwilling."

"Well, no sense in not trying." Maka sighed and closed her eyes feeling around for Corna's memories. Unlike Wes she was suddenly transported into a different plane. Everything was white save for a large black door with a white X across it. Maka brushed her hand against it before it swung open into a sea of black.

At first Maka was going to look for something else, but in the distance she could she a small golden sand bar with light shining down on it like a spot light. Most importantly she saw a spot of pink in the center. So Maka took a deep breath and stepped onto to the black floor.

Unfortunately it was less of a floor and more of a marsh. Thick black sludge pulled at her shoes and legs with every step. It clung to her like liquid concreate and forcefully pulling away when she was finally out of range. Every once in a while she could hear whispers in a different language. Some were louder than others but they all carried a sense of dread behind them.

By the time she had reached the island Maka was coated and exhausted. She actually feared stepping into the light and tainting the small island of sand.

"Uh, Crona? Is that you?" she received no answer. "Crona?"

"Please be quiet." The voice was not commanding. It was small and weak. Almost as if it were begging her to be silent. "I am so sick of the voices. They are everywhere."

"Voices?" Suddenly the whispering words she heard picked up to a hushed wind, swirling around the two. Maka still couldn't understand them but from the look of it Crona could.

"Gah! I can't deal with this! Make it stop! Anyone!" Maka jumped into the light and pulled the girl close to her. She wrapped her arms around her and hushed her softly. She hummed to drown out the noise until it died down. She was surprised to see herself free of gunk and a pile of it outside the ring where she had been standing.

"Now, now. All better." She pulled away from the small child. Now that Maka could see better she noticed the girl's age. She was young, maybe 6 or 7 at the most. Her eyes were streaming with tears and she shook all over. "Now, why don't you tell me your name?"

"C-Crona. Are you my mom?" She sniffled before climbing more into Maka's lap.

"Aw sweetheart I wish I was." What a sweet child to end up with such a horrid woman. "Do you know where we are?"

"Mmhm… we are in my head." She pointed to her head for demonstrative purposes before wrapping her arms around Maka. "All this black stuff showed up one day and it won't go away. Now all I have left is this little bit of sand."

"It sure is messy huh?" Maka asked the girl and smiled. "Do you know what it used to be?"

The girl nodded her head slowly. "It was a beach. My favorite tree grew right here but then it died, when all the black stuff came."

The shifted in her spot and sighed looking out into the black ooze. "I don't know how to deal with this. I am in a circle of light but I am not happy…what do we do?"

"That's a good question." She pet the girl's head the way her mother used to when she was really young. She may only vaguely remember her but her memory of her mother's love was clear as day. "You know, when I was young my mother used to do this with me too."

"Get trapped in your head?" the little girl looked up with confused eyes.

"No, silly. Pet my hair, help me clean my room…. You know, normal stuff."

"I can't really remember my mom right now. Every time I try it hurts and-" She suddenly gripped her head in pain and the black sea surged against the light, barely being pushed back.

"Shh shh hunny. It's okay." May rubbed her hair again until the pain receded.

"Will you tell me more…about your mom?" She looked up hopefully at Maka. Maka was sure even if she had wanted to she wouldn't have been able to say no.

"Well…. Let's start by saying this. She was an amazing woman."

Maka talked for what felt like hours, Crona listening intently. She never knew much about her mom, only little snippets and what her father would share on rare occasions. When the topic was dried up she would talk about Justin and how they drifted apart which lead Soul to come into her life. At some point Maka began to notice the goo retreating. A small sprout grew by her hand.

"The goo is disappearing." She said off handily in one of her stories. Crona snapped out of whatever trance she had been in and the second she did the sprout started to wither. "Oh never mind my mistake…let me tell you about Thee Cupcake."

"A cupcake?"

"No THEE CUPCAKE." And so Maka went on to tell the dreaded story of how she and Justin got in the biggest trouble of their lives.

It felt like ages, but it could have been days. Maka was running on empty but the difference was noticeable. After telling almost every story she could think of the room looked significantly better. They were now on a raised bar of sand with cool blue water surrounding them. The sprout had turned out to be the tree Crona had mentioned earlier and now it towered above them while the two relaxed below.

"Okay Crona, last story."

"Aw, can't I hear more?" The girl pouted and for a moment Maka wondered if she was at all related to Patti. Just as she was thinking this something shot out of the group behind them.

Oye! What the hell am I doing back in here? Aw man, not you again. You're such a pain in the ass. Let me out damn it! The little creature was strange. He was black and white with a cross spanning his face. His body was lean and muscular but puttered off at the end into a little ghost tail. He couldn't be any bigger than a butterfly.

Crona screamed and called forth a small mason jar out of nowhere. She slammed it down on the creature and threw all her weight on top of it. Even so the jar rocked back and forth with the effort.

Let me out you useless piece of shit! You never do anything right! You couldn't just sit here quietly while I got to have fun? Noooo! Hey, don't you dare put that lid-

His screaming dissolved into muffled curses as Crona twisted the lid into place. She sat back on the beach next to Maka, staring at the jar fearfully, with her legs pulled up to her chest.

"Um… Crona. What's that?" The girl muttered into her dress and shook.

"Crona…"

"Ragnarock." She finally murmured out, her face still buried in her knees.

"Mmmhmmm. And why is he in a jar?" Maka felt a bit like an elementary school teacher asking about a questionable science project.

"He's scary."

"Why? I think he's kind of cute." She flicked the jar and she was sure he was swearing up a storm.

"He's left over. From my dad. I don't like him. He's mean and loud and yells at me. I just don't know how to handle it." Maka thought for another moment. Sure the creature was a bit creepy and he did seem rather brash. But, did he really need to spend the rest of eternity in a jar?

"You know what Crona you can have another story. But it's a short one." She smiled.

""O-okay."

"There once was a man by the name of RipVanWinkel. He was sad with his life and so he ran away. After man days of running from his problems he grew weary. So he fell asleep beneath a tree, just like the one we are under now. He slept very well, for he was very tired. However, when he woke up he felt so well rested he decided to take a stroll. But, when he got to town, he saw no one he knew. Everything had changed and people who were there when he fell asleep were long gone. It turns out he had slept for 100 years!"

"Wow. That's such a long time to sleep for a human."

"Yes. However, do you understand why I told you this story?"

Crona quietly thought with her face buried in Maka's lap. "Because I can't run from my problems."

"That's right Crona. You need to face them." She glanced at the jar before handing it to a startled Crona. "You don't have to take him out now. But, eventually you need to face him because he's a part of you. You need to work with what you have to make yourself better. Now I am going to leave for now but you'll see me again. I want you to work with him, okay?"

"Okay." Crona shook her head and got up. She waved at Maka. "Bye bye, Maka."

"Bye Crona, see you soon." The girl nodded and Maka stood up as well. She looked towards the gates she had come in, no longer the dark looming visage from before. Instead it was a little garden tress with a quaint bridge leading to it. She walked down the path until a light flashed.

000000000000000

"Ughh, God. How long was I out?" Maka grumbled. Her limbs felt like 100 year old trees and her back ached with a sharp pain. It felt like she hadn't moved in days.

"Out? Maka you just closed your eyes, when we got here." Liz said from the end of the bed. For once Maka saw something other than the look of boredom she wore. (Unless she was murdering blood thirsty wild animals by the hundreds that is.)Maka was almost touched.

"Oh…uh when was that?"

"Like a wholeeee minute ago!" Patti said from her perch on the dresser. "I counted."

"Wow. It felt like forever in there."

"In where?" Kid asked from the wall he was leaning on. However before she could answer Maka felt a shifting on her lap. Slowly, Crona's pale eyes opened and processed who was in front of her.

"Maka… You're here again… I don't know how I feel about this." She shifted into a much smaller ball. The girl already seemed different. Her posture was more closed off and gave Maka the feeling of petting a bunny.

"Are you…you now?" She asked the girl while petting her hair. The effect being the half-lidded eyes relaxing.

"I-I think so." She answered quietly.

"Good to see you are back to the normal Crona. You sure were different before." Kid stated with a smirk. The girl 'epp-ed' not realizing others were in the room. However, when she processed what exactly Kid had meant by that she burned a bright red.

"No! I- What- But- I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DEAL WITH THIS." And she promptly passed out.

"Kid that was mean." Maka chastised form her position. She might have punched him if she weren't currently a pillow again.

"I found it amusing." Liz answered.

"I did as well."

"Me three!" Maka sighed as the group laughed. It was no doubt going to be an interesting night.

All done. Still stuck thought on 30…hmmm. Anyway…

NEW STORY ALERT!

That's right kiddos and kiddets there's a new story coming to my profile. Keep an eye out for when it goes up next… Saturday? Actually it may be up. This. Very. Moment. (Notice: It is, it is called Broken Skin and is a SoMa. Let me know if you came from here in the reviews.)

I thought id start something new and short to kind of help get creative juices flowing yet I am still stuck on the next chapter. I need something to motivate me… Maybe ill go stare at fan art for hours, I don't know. Okay bye!

Don't forget to review.