The group wearily climbed the stairs of the school building. They had taken the knife out of Kid's chest and liz and Patty were now carefully carrying him up the stairs, his coat used to stop the bleeding- the knife was now in Liz's pocket. Soul had Garry's body slung over his shoulder, grunting with each step he took. Garry's face was pale from the loss of blood, the substance crusting on his face.
"Why… are there so many…. stairs?" Black Star panted, "so… tired!"
"Are you…. serious?!" Soul gasped for breath as they reached the top. He plopped himself on the concrete and lay down, Garry's body hitting the cement with a crack. Blood started oozing out of his cuts again.
"Soul! Don't break the guy!" Maka scolded as Soul closed his eyes.
"You weren't carrying him up the stairs!" Soul complained.
"Well, he needs hospitalization and dropping him won't do any good!" Maka retorted. Black Star wiped sweat from his forehead and scanned the area. The front entrance to the school was empty, except for themselves. He then pointed at the door, which creaked on its hinges.
"Professor Stein is here," he said. Stein gave a small wave. Maka turned and grimaced when she saw her dad with him. Crap…. she thought as he waved his arms wildly.
"MAKA!" he cried, running and giving her a hug, lifting her off her feet. Soul snickered.
"Hi, Dad," Maka said, an annoyed expression on her face. Stein helped Soul get up as Tsubaki and Black Star help Liz and Patty with Kid. Stein stood over him, inspecting the wound.
"Jus thought," he said, "It's a good thing you got the knife out. All he needs now is bed rest. Do you have the knife with you?" Liz nodded, then reached in her pocket. Holding it gingerly between her fingers, she handed it to him.
"Yeah, here," she said, "why do you need it?" Taking a plastic bag from his coat, he opened it and dropped the knife inside.
"Piece of evidence for the case," Stein explained as he sealed the bag shut, "take this, Spirit." He shoved the bag at Spirit, who took it carefully in his outstretched hands. He jerked his chin at Garry.
"That the kid?" Spirit asked.
"Yeah," Maka said, "is he going to be okay?" Stein shrugged.
"We'll need to bring him in to get a good look- this looks really bad," Stein lifted Garry's head to look at the cuts, then gently picked him up, "how about we get Marie?" Carrying Garry bridal-style, Stein walked back into the school, the others following.
"Marie!" Stein shouted in the corridor, his voice booming in the silence, "Marie!"
"Yes! I heard you! I hear-" Marie yelled back, then smiled when she saw them, "Oh, hi guys! How was the mission?" She twirled a piece of blond hair on her finger.
"Well, we were able to rescue at least one of them," Soul explained. Spirit raised an eyebrow.
"One?" he asked, "what about Ib?" Soul stared at the ground, tapping the floor with the toe of his shoe.
"She, uh," his voice was somber, "…."
"She what?" Spirit asked excitedly, "escaped on her own? Developed death scythe powers?"
"She died."
Spirit's face fell once Soul said this. The finally of the statement was like a dead weight was crushed onto his shoulders. She shouldn't have died, Soul thought, it wasn't right. Spirit hefted Garry over his shoulder.
"Well, we should probably get this one to the infirmary, no?" he asked, breaking the silence. Marie raised an eyebrow.
"Are you sure you should be carrying him like that?" she asked, "what if the blood rushes to his head?" Stein grunted.
"It's fine, it's fine," Stein said as he walked away, "he's unconscious anyway. Now follow me. We'll need your help.
Sid's jaw fell open when Stein walked in, carrying the kid on his back. Marie and Spirit were with him as well, along with Maka, Soul, and the others. Stein jutted his chin at the cot by the window.
"Can we put this one there?" he asked. For a moment, Sid stood there, not knowing what to do, then authored his sense, rushing to pull back the covers. Gently, Stein placed Garry down. The boy's purple hair swayed a little as his head lolled to the side.
"Is this the kid?" Sid asked, grimacing as he turned the boys head to look at the cuts.
"Yeah, got cut pretty bad, I'm afraid," Stein said, "Lord Death's son got stabbed as well, and Tsubaki will need a bandage for that arm." Tsubaki waved her hands. Pulling out a drawer, Sid retrieved the roll of bandages and pulled at it, ripping it off with his teeth.
"No! No, I'm fine!" she protested. Stein rolled his eyes.
"Do you want that to get infected?' he asked.
"No, sir," she said, as Sid wrapped her arm, tying it tightly with a large knot. She bowed, "Thank you."
"So what's the deal?" Sid asked Maka and Soul as Liz and Patty helped Sid put Kid in the cot next to Garry's, "I mean, almost everyone got hurt- this one especially." He laughed as he pointed at Garry's face.
"I'm sorry we didn't get fatally injured for your enjoyment," Maka said flatly. She grabbed Soul's arm and started walking with him towards the door, "Come on, Soul," she said, "we should probably get back to the dorm, let them rest up." Soul shrugged and followed her, dragging his feet,
"You guys wanna join us?" he asked the others, peering over his shoulder.
"Sure, why not?" Liz said. Stein watched the kids go, the door making a loud slam behind them. Spirit followed, questioning Maka until their voices could no longer be heard. Sid cracked his knuckles as he put the bandage roll back in his desk, taking a seat on the plush swivel chair.
"So, what're we gonna do now?" he asked, "I mean, both are unconscious, so we won't be able to get answers outta them-"
"We'll wait until they wake up," Stein interrupted, "we'll be able to know for sure what happened." Marie gaped at him, fixing her black eyepatch.
"But that will take a while, don't you think?" she asked, "I mean, Kid may wake up tomorrow, or even in a few hours-"
"And that's helpful," Stein said.
"- But with the other one-"
"His name is Garry," Stein corrected her.
"- it may take a few days, weeks, months- heck it may take years!" She hadn't realized she was practically yelling, her voice rising to a higher volume. Kid moaned and rolled over on his side. Stein put a finer to his lips, shushing her.
"And Garry is even more helpful," he said, "so we'll just have to wait, even if it does take that long."
"But how would he be more helpful?" Marie asked as she stared at him, carefully inspecting the injuries on his face.
"Because he was there longer then anyone. Longer then Ib, and definitely longer then Maka and the others were," Stein explained. Sid grunted.
"How long was he there?" Marie's voice was trembling- she was a very sensitive, emotional person and hated seeing others get hurt.
"Eh, about three, three and a half months," Stein said. Reaching up, he grabbed the bolt in his head and twisted it, "give or take, you know?" Sid grunted again. Stein jutted his chin at him, "And what's so grunt-worthy about it, huh, Sid?"
"Well, if the kid was there for three months, who knows what he was exposed to in that time?" Sid said. Stein shrugged.
"And what are you suggesting?" he asked as he took his pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, placing it tightly between his lips.
"What do you mean? You of all people should know what I'm saying," Sid guffawed, "he might be, well,, you know…"
"Insane?" Stein asked. Sid nodded as Stein then went to light the cigarette in his mouth and said, "I know. That's why we have Marie here." He gestured to Marie.
"And why am I here?" she asked with a pleasant smile.
"Because you're gonna do what you did with Crona," Stein said.
"Help him?" Marie was confused, "I mean, I tried helping Crona, but he didn't really want to open up. What if that happens with Garry?" Stein blew a cloud of smoke in her direction. She coughed and waved it away from her face.
"If that happens, we'll have to get the kids to help him, similar to Crona."
"And if that doesn't work?"
"We'll have to scare the answers out of him," Stein said, "and I really hope we won't have to go there.