After the battle at the Arachnophobia base, Alexander and Kaido were taken prisoner. When they arrived at Death City, they were marched through the streets until they reached Death Meister Weapon Academy, were they were imprisoned…what fate will become of them now?

Chapter 2-The Swordsman's Gift: A second chance at life?

"Traitor. Monster. Murderer" These words echoed through Alexander's head as he sat alone in a dark cell. Even though most of Death City's citizens were quiet, he could feel the hate in their souls. It had overwhelmed him, made him reel in pain. Never before had he experienced such a large degree of hate. It was rivaled only by Ashura's madness in potency. Alexander sighed and stared at the blank wall ahead of him. He wished the girl had just ended his life instead of bringing him here. The buzzing of souls, distant but constant, was enough to drive him mad. He would have chewed his own nails off if he had the guts to remove his gloves. He would never do that, though. It was too risky. Alexander was broken from his reverie as he felt a soul moving closer. It was powerful, yet familiar…the girl. What did she want? The door swung open with a mighty creak, and weak candlelight poured in. The girl spoke in a monotone fashion, "get up…and follow me. Don't try anything."

Alexander stared at her for a moment, mostly trying to discern what she was feeling. However, this one was good at hiding her soul's true thoughts, and he soon decided to comply. At least for now. He rose to his feet and allowed himself to be cuffed and led down twisting corridors to another barren room, save a table with three chairs in the center. He was placed in the lone chair against the wall, while Maka took another. Shortly afterwards, the red-eyed boy from before joined her. They both stared at him for a good while, unsure of how to proceed. The noise from their souls was great; the stronger or closer a soul, the louder the buzzing became. With two strong souls this close, Alexander started to feel light-headed, and the sound started to swell to a crescendo until he couldn't even think. "…Up…" he muttered unknowingly. The red-eyed boy cocked and eyebrow, "excuse me?" he said. "Shut. Up. Shutup. Shutupshutupshutup!" Alexander shouted, covering his ears and squeezing his eyes shut. Soul just stared in shock and anger, while Maka seemed to try to understand. Suddenly, the noise dimmed, if only by a little. Alexander could think now. Could breathe. He opened his eyes slowly and stared at the souls of the pair in front of him…ah…the girl had roped her soul's power in…perhaps even dimmed the presence of it…a kindness? Or an experiment? She opened her mouth a few times, trying to start a phrase, but failed. Soul did not. He leaned forward angrily and snapped, "What the hell is wrong with you!? You kill our friends, fight your own kind, and then have the nerve to tell us to shut up!? Who do you think you are!?" Soul pushed his chair out and stood, leaning dangerously close to Alexander. "Well!? Answer me dammit!" Alexander maintained his silence, trying to dull the pain of Soul's anger pulsing from within. Maka reached out and tugged at Soul's jacket. "Hey, come on Soul….stop it. We won't get answers from him this way…please?" The silver haired boy smoldered silently for a minute, then huffed loudly and plopped back into his seat. "Fine Maka. You do this." The girl looked relieved, then turned to face Alexander. "What's your name..? I'm Maka Albarn, and this is my partner Soul Eater." Alexander sat stone faced for a moment, then replied hoarsely, "Alexander….Alexander Andrews." Maka gave a small smile, a false smile, and reached her right hand out to him. A handshake? Alexander stared at her hand suspiciously, and didn't move. She appeared hurt for a moment, then seemed to have a revelation. "Ah…how rude, I should have taken my glove off, here, is that better?" She removed her white glove from her hand and stuck it out again. Alexander instinctively recoiled in fear and shouted, "NO! DON'T TOUCH ME!" he tried to back up but stumbled, tripping over the table and collapsing to the floor. Maka jumped up and ran over, trying to pull him back up. In the process, her bare hand brushed across his cheek and then-

Memories. A father. A mother. Division? Trust issues…pianos…red-eyes glaring, madness….friendship, truth, honor, loyalty….weapon? Kindness, earnest, blood…loneliness

The sequence ended abruptly, and Alexander was distantly aware that someone was screaming. It sounded strangely like him. Shortly afterwards, he remembered nothing.

Alexander awoke a few minutes later in an unfamiliar room. The sky was overhead…tombstones surrounded him…a large mirror took up the center of the room. On a throne near the mirror, sat a young boy. His hair was black with white stripes, and at his side were two girls of the same age. They all seemed to be judging him. The boy stood and approached him, and cleared his voice. "Mr. Andrews, you have quite a lot to answer for. Murder. Betraying the Academy. Siding with witches. What do you say to that?" Alexander struggled to speak, his voice hoarse from the screaming. "I will…not make excuses for my actions…where was the Academy when I needed them? They damned me…I am a monster born of your sins…not mine." The boy stared down at him in disdain, "You do know who you speak to, correct? I am Death the Kid, the new Reaper. Your judgement." Alexander stiffened slightly, realizing how deathly quiet the room was. No souls were here….just emptiness. Death the Kid snapped, and the two girls materialized as pistols in his hand. One pointed directly to his temple, the other…at Kaido. The sword looked sullenly at his meister, his topknot messily undone, causing his hair to fall shaggily down his face. "Now…choose which of you lives, and which dies." Alexander's eyes widened, and he began looking for a way out. No way to run. He can't fight. Kaido…no…he can't die here. Before he could speak, Kaido said, "me. Kill me. Let my meister live." Alexander looked in shock at Kaido and protested, "No! You can't die here! Please, Reaper, take my life, not his!" Death the Kid stared in surprise. "You would both die…? I offer each of you a life in exchange for the other and you both choose death? How…admirable." The Reaper pushed the guns closer to the pair and stared them down. "I will grant your wish then." Kid applied pressure to the trigger, while the pair both closed their eyes and awaited oblivion.

Suddenly, the door to the Death Room burst open and Maka ran in, shouting, "KID WAIT!" Kid halted suddenly, surprised at the outburst, while Alexander braced himself for the soul noise that was about to batter him, but he was caught off guard when only a slight wave hit him. She was dimming her soul again...why? "Maka? What is the meaning of this?" Kid asked quickly, panic slightly tinging his voice. The girl panted and tried to speak between gasps, "Please….don't do this…I saw their souls…they're untainted! They didn't absorb any human souls! They can be saved!" Kid stared at the girl, then at the pair. "You think they deserve to be spared after what they did to your fellow meisters? And who will watch them, you? Like you did with Crona? They are a THREAT to us all! You know what that sword can do!" Maka marched up to Kid and defiantly stared him down. "Trust me on this Kid…I saw something…when I touched him. I saw his mind, his thoughts…he didn't want to hurt the ones he did. He is incredibly sensitive to souls, so much that the mere presence can create a static soul wave. The stronger the soul, the more chaotic and loud the wave. It causes him to black out…and touching him allows his soul to connect to others…he can be saved. Kid please…" Alexander stared at the girl, feeling a strange tug of emotion in his heart. What….why was she protecting them? What did she have to gain? Kid struggled over the conflicting emotions, then finally relented. He lowered the guns and sighed. "Fine….but you watch them. They are assigned to your home, with you and Soul. They are not to be left alone until we know they can be trusted. If I find out that you break this….then I will have no choice but to execute them. Do you understand me?" Maka nodded quickly and gave a smile of relief at the Reaper, then turned to the two captives and gave another brief smile. Kaido stared in shock at her, and Alexander felt another twinge of emotion. What was this girl? Why risk so much for strangers who had killed her comrades?

Maka reached down to Kaido and uncuffed him, and helped him to his feet. Kaido stared in shock for a moment longer then bowed deeply and said hesitantly, "T-thank you Miss…for sparing my meister." The girl blushed lightly and stammered, "Y-you don't have to be so formal…" The girl turned towards Alexander and stared down at him, her emerald eyes conveying mixed emotions that he couldn't quite grasp. She silently undid his cuffs and offered a gloved hand down to help him up. Alexander just stood on his own and stared back at her, or more accurately down at her, as he was slightly taller than her. She huffed and retracted her hand and stared right back at him boldly. "….thank you." Alexander said softly, then turned his back to her. "Well….follow me to your new homes then…" the girl said as she walked past the pair. She halted for a moment and whispered, "You're not as evil as you think you are…." Then continued on her way, meeting with the boy known as Soul outside the Death Room, where she explained the situation. He was none too pleased with the situation but after a lot of yelling and a book to the skull, he begrudgingly agreed. Kaido sidled up to Alexander and began to speak, "Hey…about what happened back there…" Alexander held a hand up and shook his head, "Stop. You saved me more than once, and I saved you. You don't have to say anything. We're cool." He gently patted Kaido on the shoulder with a gloved hand and walked ahead. Kaido stood still for a moment, surprised at the show of affection. "He rarely does something like that…" he thought. Shaking his head, he jogged to catch up, wondering at their future.