Whew! Those last few chapters were hard. I'm not entirely sure how I do as an action writer. I'm much more suited for the emotional mushy gushy stuff. But anyways, tell me what ya think. Did I succeed? Did I fail miserably as I suspect? Or was I simply mediocre?

Give me your feedback in a review and I'll be sure to take notes.

Now back to the story.

Lance was quickly learning to hate guns.

How many bullets can that fricken thing hold? He'd had to have fired more than a dozen by now. The problem was he wasn't wasting any bullets. All his shots were carefully placed and barely avoided. Lance had always been fast on his feet, but he feared his luck would run out soon. The gun must have been enchanted, that was the only explanation. But how? Necromancers couldn't enchant items. That wasn't their thing.

They preferred dead things.

Which rouse a number of questions as to why Patches, as Lance had started calling him in his head, was even here. If he was a body guard then he certainly was adept at his duty. But still, Lance had not heard or read about anything like this from what he could tell was a human with a wholly untainted soul.

But even enchantments had their limits it seemed, for as Lance deflected yet another shot with Mark, he heard the desired clicking that signaled an end to eyepatch boy's ammo clip.

Not one to ignore an opportunity when it presented itself, Lance leaped high to bridge the accumulated distance, bringing Veronica down hard to finally put a stop to this game they had been playing.

The effects could have been better however. Instead of the satisfying sound of metal striking flesh, the only noise heard was the clang of metal striking metal. In the brief time gap between the first click and Lance's flight, eyepatch boy had drawn his own sword and blocked Lance's heavy strike. His blade sank an inch, but no more.

So the sword's more than just for show? That's comforting. Lance quickly mused, blocking a strike of his own with Mark. He could only assume the sword was enchanted as well because he heard the shield give an audible grunt upon getting hit, the blade glowing green on impact. It didn't sound like anything too severe but Lance didn't dare risk it.

Sending his one eyed foe back with a swift kick to the abdomen, Lance growled. He didn't have time to play with this kid. Not when Josilyn and Felix were still locked against all the others. Risking a glance he saw that Josilyn had managed to down the giant stone construct. But the machine was definitely not out of the fight yet, with her concussive rounds she must have blasted it into one of the walls and brought a section of the wall down with it. Now while it struggled to return to its feet she was free to assist Felix in crowd control against the horde of zombie kishen.

The two seemed to have everything under control, there couldn't be more than thirty of them and it seemed like every one went down in a single hit, perhaps these kishen were weaker than normal ones? It could be due to the fact that these souls had never actually eaten a living soul and were just corrupted from their natural state by the necromancer.

But Lance didn't have time to ponder these things. A sudden cry from Mark showed him that eyepatch boy was back on his feet and heading straight for him. Still, unwilling to use his weapons against patch's enchanted sword, Lance had to dunk under the oncoming blade, but not without sending a few stabs at his adversary himself. All were slapped away with the flat side of his enemy's blade.

"You know you're surprisingly good at this for being a Cyclops and what not."Lance snickered as the two met blades again. Veronica's blade seemed impervious to the pain that Mark had felt when his shield form made contact with the glowing green blade. So Mark was useless in this fight, Lance noted bitterly, and at this point holding him was more of a burden than an advantage. He'd have to find a way to get him somewhere safe or end this fight now before he got hurt again.

"So what's your story Patches?"Lance asked casually."Is crow lady over there your girl? Because if not you should totally let me know. She's got a body on her."That last comment did its work perfectly. Charging without abandon, Patches swung wildly, with easy, predictable movements that Lance was easily able to manipulate to his even greater advantage.

He was angry. That was good. Angry people made simple, stupid mistakes. They got clumsy, reckless, any consideration they might have for putting themselves into harm's way is quickly overcome by their immense wrath. While this could be a useful thing at certain times, against a smart or clever opponent, it could prove disastrous.

With his accelerated rage, it didn't take long for a weak spot to show. With one misplaced stab Lance seized his chance. Instead of turning the blade away or jumping to the side, he took it with no complaints. A look of victory came to Patches' face as his sword seemingly met its mark.

But just as quickly as the smile came, it disappeared. The blade had ripped right through Lance's coat between his arm and his chest. Quickly squeezing the weapon against his torso, Lance head butted Patches straight in the face, knocking him out instantly.

Seeing her head guardsman go down, Morena yelled in shock, tears filling her eyes as she expected this to be the last she ever saw of him alive. Regaining her composure, she ordered the few kishen not in the fray and Shuujuku to carry the black chained coffin into the graveyard with her, prepared to attempt the ritual to reawake the soul that radiated such power.

But Lance was too busy holding his sore head to notice."You know, they never tell you how much doing that hurts."He groaned, pulling the enchanted sword out from his coat and giving the now unconscious servant of the witch a small kick."Not to mention my ruined coat."

"Get over it."Veronica said, her transparent appearance gleaming in the blade of the sword."Well what are we going to do with him?"

"We're going to question him later."Lance stated firmly, throwing the enchanted sword to the other side of the church."This is bigger than just a necromancer raising a few corpses in the desert now."

He hoped that was a good enough excuse. He didn't want to kill him, truth be told. He had never killed another human being and he didn't want to start today.

The others were still fending off kishen, but they were slowly being pushed out of the church by sheer lack of numbers. Lance quickly joined them as they exited back into the town. Feeling the town would be favorable to the church that was slowly beginning to fall apart.

"Hello Lance, How nice of you to join us."Josilyn deadpanned, providing cover fire as they departed the church."Thanks for the sword by the way."

The enchanted sword he had thrown had somehow managed to end up in Josilyn's belt."Though I can't really use it with this gun," She stated, tapping Reiji on stock."How about something smaller then?"

On cue the rifle started to shift and shine, changing to a massive .45 Smith and Wesson six shooter."Much better," She complemented, pulling out the sword with her now free hand.

"Well that was awesome."Felix said after a long pause where the two male meister's could only stare at the pistol she now held tightly in her hand."Care to explain it though?"

"Reiji is a shadow arm. As in he can shift into a multitude of weapon forms for different uses."She explained as she began testing the revolver out on a few new kishen.

"Just like Tsubaki then."Lance mused."That must come in handy."

"Indeed."She agreed, as she gave the sword a practice swing at an incoming kishen, the blade glowing a dark red as it passed through its flesh.

"That's odd. It glowed green when Eyepatch boy was using it."Lance noted, slaying a few kishen of his own.

"Hmm, perhaps experimentation on a later date shall be conducted."Josilyn considered."But at the present moment we have more pressing matters to deal with."

Indeed they did. For at that moment another wave came in full force, clashing with the trio of young meisters and their weapons in the center of the ghost town.

Lance met them head on with Mark and Veronica both doing their jobs splendidly, stopping and making attacks in unison. Felix and Trish worked side by side them, quickly killing any that made it past Lance's initial defense and Josilyn's gunfire. For her part, her new pistol seemed to pack much more of a punch than the previous assault rifle, so her sword went mostly unused, which was best since she didn't have too much experience wielding one.

Though their souls weren't linked, they moved in accordance to the other's movements and strengths. Despite their personal differences and gripes they were learning to work like a real unit. If nothing more they were an efficient killing force, and at the current moment that's all they needed to be in order to survive the day. Even the approaching steps of the risen stone monster seemed like something they could handle.

But then the witch started her spell.

All color seemed to drain from the sky, leaving only a dark gray horizon. Clouds formed but no rain came. Lightening cracked and thunder blared, yet still no droplets poured from the sky. Then out from the dark looming abyss several purple tendrils shot out toward the cemetery where the witch still resided.

Distantly words could be heard being chanted. But Lance couldn't make them out. They seemed dark, archaic, and forbidden. Like words that were never meant to be spoken at all. And he knew at that moment, that he had to silence them.

Everyone who had been in the former ghost town had stopped the second the clouds came."Felix, Catch!"Lance ordered, as he threw the shield his way. Mark would only slow him down, and what he desperately needed now was speed. The transfixed kishen didn't even turn their gazes as he sped past them towards the church, kicking the door open, and barreled through to the entrance of the graveyard.

And there he saw it. The black coffin had been pried open, revealing the man within. Whatever gray patches of dead skin remained, clung tightly to the white bones keeping the figure rigid. Every article of clothing was a dark black like ink on a page. The arms were crossed across the chest, while two revolvers protruded from the belt; one silver one gold. The face was obscured by the brim of a dark cowboy hat and the remaining patches of black facial hair.

This had been a man of absolute terror. Lance just knew it, he could just feel it, that this had been a man who probably wasn't mourned all that much when his eventual demise came to pass.

The thick lines of purple energy all poured into the forming orb the witch now held. And Lance didn't have a hard time guessing its use. Not daring to hesitate, he lunged to stop her with the flat of blade, still not completely wanting to kill her.

He needn't have tried at all. As soon as his sword came within a foot's reach to the necromancer another sword appeared from the shadows. The man in the bandages he had seen earlier had stopped his momentum with all the ease of an experienced veteran in the arts of swordplay. Lance, completely unprepared for the sudden turn of events, barely managed to dunk before the other katana came sliding toward him.

The purple orb began to grow in size as Lance faced his second swordsman of the day, and somehow he doubted a simple head butt would do the trick this time.

"Who are you?"Lance asked.

The only answer that came was a small point with one of his blades to the silver nametag inscribed on his chest. Shuujuku, it read in Japanese.

Both swords stood steady in his enemy's hands as they circled each other slowly, the bandaged man offering no words of challenge or mockery, Leaving it all up to Lance it seemed. But he had neither the time nor the desire for that right now."Veronica, time to resonate," He whispered, with his lips close to his blade, determined to end this fight as quickly as possible.

The redhead merely nodded her consent, closing her eyes in preparation. They had long ago mastered the art of soul resonance between their two souls. With both hands on her handle he took a deep breath. Letting her into his soul had not been easy, not the first time or any of the times that followed. The sensation was hard to describe. The connection, made him feel vulnerable, completely at her mercy, he could assume she felt something kind of similar. Yet there was a sense of comfort in that vulnerability, like she'd catch him if he fell and protect him like he always tried to protect her.

Shivers of energy spiraled up and down her blade as he concentrated on the connection. Then it shifted and morphed, creating long arches in the blade and curving slightly. Glowing a bright neon blue, it rapidly increased in size, growing a foot in length and width.

Then, with combined voices they yelled a fierce battle cry."DEMON SLAYER!"They yelled in unison, bringing down their combined soul essences at the awaiting samurai. In this state they were neither Lance nor Veronica, but a combined being of both. Even Lance's eyes were glowing the same Technicolor blue as his blade.

For his part, Shuujuku didn't even attempt to dodge or attack them while they were preparing. Instead, he just raised swords in a daring block. His knees didn't even buckle as the blow landed. They stood as firm as they ever had, not giving into the tremendous power kept at bay from his simple unenchanted weapons. Lance hardly had to time to feel discouraged before he withdrew Veronica and swiped at the man again.

Her impulsiveness had surprised him. It was always paramount to keep in mind your partner's tendencies when resonating together. Luckily in this circumstance it had worked out for the better with putting Shuujuku on the defensive.

The blade's extended reach was useless. In fact a shorter blade would have been more useful at this proximity. And Lance didn't doubt for a second that if it wasn't for his temporarily increased speed and strength he'd be at the mercy of his opponent. As it was all he could do was keep hacking and slashing until he landed home.

But the witch was still working her magic."Dammit it all," Lance hissed, gritting his teeth he did what he knew wouldn't end well for him but might just help the others. In hindsight he may have blamed Veronica but he knew then that the decision was completely mutual. Turning Veronica away from Shuujuku, he quickly turned, dragging her along the ground as he unleashed the green energy within at the occupied witch.

He didn't have time to think of the implications that he was possibly taking a life, at that moment the lives of his teammates seemed monumentally more important in comparison. If he stained his hands with blood to save other blood from spilling than he'd gladly do so.

And he almost succeeded too. In his mind the move had seemed so out of the blue and unexpected that he had suspected no immediate retaliation from his foe. So the slicing pain that engrossed his back took him completely by surprise.

The wave of blue energy that had burst from his blade sped in the wrong direction before withering out of existence moments later. Veronica shrunk back to her normal size as she fell out of Lance's grip, their connection breaking. His body slumped forward next to her as he collapsed onto the cold hard ground.

Distantly he could hear Veronica's voice, desperately trying to scream him back up. But he could feel the downpour of blood that was quickly soaking his jacket.

What a way to go. He fully expected that quick final stab that would come and end this numbness that had enveloped him. He might have welcomed it at that moment if it wasn't for the tormented wails of Veronica. With what he truly believed to be his last action he offered one more calm, reassuring smile to her before closing his eyes.

It was mostly a useless gesture he knew. He just hoped it might offer some closure to her in the days to come. That he hadn't shown regret or sadness at his impending demise and had instead gave his last moment to her, to show that she had made him happy even here. By the simple act of caring.

But the blow never came, Shuujuku merely sheathed his swords as he walked around Lance's limp body, cocking his head interestedly at the young redhead's agonized cries. He clearly could see Lance was still alive, he even made eye contact. Well, Lance stared into the empty eye sockets that the bandages didn't cover but Lance suspected they worked just as well.

But then Lance got it. He didn't want to kill an opponent who couldn't fight back. His blow had clearly intended to kill but now that he had failed he was unwilling or uninterested in someone who didn't offer a proper challenge or thrill. Small victories. Lance noted grimly.

But Veronica didn't see this, quickly turning to human form she morphed her arm into its blade shape, standing protectively over Lance's broken and bleeding form."Stay away."She growled, murderous intent clear on her tear streaked face.

Without a second's thought the samurai reached to pull out a katana, not seeing a need to draw the other for such a distraught adversary."No you idiot!"Lance shrieked from underneath her. Grabbing a hold of her ankle and letting loose what remained of his soul wavelength into her.

She crumpled to the ground quickly, joining him in his dirt nap."There."He said."She poses no threat to you now."

For a moment he thought the bandaged man was going to kill her anyways. But he nodded his understanding and turned to join his master. Even those on the other side have honor it seems. Lance thought weakly.

Veronica was out cold. It was possible he had poured a little too much of his wavelength into her in his rush to stop her from dying to defend him. But at least she was silent now. She looked almost peaceful now.

Brushing a few strands of crimson red hair from her forehead, he held her in his arms. Clinging to her warmth as the world seemed to get colder with every second. She was so beautiful, he thought, noticing it again more vividly than he usually did. He recalled his surprise at seeing her the night of the dance. How mesmerized he had been. How he had danced with her for one single slow song. He thought then and there that the thing he'd miss most when he died, which would probably be in a few minutes, would be those big emerald green eyes of hers.

Smiling again, he gently planted a soft kiss on her cheek and turned away. This wasn't the worse way to go. He doubted he'd survive but by now Lord Death must have seen the unlikelihood of their success and sent reinforcements. She'd live, and so would the others.

He was feeling drowsy so he decided to take another nap. He considered using her for a pillow but figured if she woke up with a corpse on top of her that might leave emotional scares. So he just lied beside her instead, clasping her hand tightly in his.

What a way to go. He thought again. No thoughts of distress on his mind, just peaceful acceptance.

His only regret being his unkept promise.

"Is….is he dead?"Morena asked as the swirling orb of energy completed in her palms.

A simple shake of the head was Shuujuku's only response. She valued his skills as a swords man and all but sometimes all she wanted out of the deceased samurai was a conversation."Ah, that's too bad. He would make an excellent slave."

She of course knew that she could always order Shuujuku to strike him down right now. He wouldn't like it, but he'd do it if she commanded it. Still, she refused to fill the stereotype of the cruel witch. She'd spare who she could and kill who ever forced her hand."Leave him. We have other matters to attend to."

With that out of the way she returned her focus to what lay in her hands. She'd never done a spell this strong on her own. The corpse practically reeked of power even though the soul had long left the empty husk. The spell required immense concentration and a series of vocal commands. From what she had heard remembering the words was the easy part. It was harnessing the power and bending the spirit to your will that was the hard part.

Well, she had harnessed the power already. She felt a little drained but still it had been easier than expected. The next steps were the words. She had had every spell beaten into her the hard way from a life lived among other witches who didn't share her desire to escape from the norm. They're methods were cruel but admittedly effective.

"Old spirit that dwells in the deep," She began."Awaken now from your eternal sleep. Return once more to the life that you crave. And come forth as my immortal slave. Cast off the chains that contain your soul and rejoin to your body and once again be whole. Obey me who has given you back what it was you lost and strive to defend me at whatever cost."

With the words said and the spell cast she wasn't sure what would happen next. Then, seemingly of their own accord, her arms shot up and the energy poured into the casket. The light emanating from her fingertips was blinding. She couldn't even see the point where it hit the corpse. But the effects were immediate.

Jerking from right to left the body shook, the limbs kicking and bucking in every direction. The eyes were open now, the pupils scanning anything and everything within sight. The light quickly consumed the insides of the coffin and only his shadow could be seen as he rocked and kicked. Fighting against his new found return to life.

Morena fell to her knees as the last of the light left her to go into the reanimated husk. That now walked towards her. This was the vital moment. She could feel each of her kishen slaves dying to the hands of the DWMA students and if she didn't succeed with this she may very well join them. She had to be strong now if she wanted to survive. Leveling her descending gaze she faced the kishen head on, staring into its dead eyes."Bow," She commanded. She was too tired and too panicked to think of anything better than the simple order.

The long dead eyes studied her for but a moment before turning to leave in the other direction. "No."It said as it sauntered out of the cemetery.

"No?"She repeated incredulously."You don't just say "no" when someone brings you back from the dead."She tried to stand but her legs failed and she fell to the dusty ground, getting dirt all over her dark blue feather designed robes.

"I do believe I just did."The dead man said, closing the gate behind him as he left.

He hadn't obeyed her. She had brought him back from the grave and he had refused her? Oh that simply wouldn't do. He had to die for such insolence.

"Shuujuku."She said, looking to the samurai by her side."Kill him."

He nodded his consent as he pulled a katana free from its sheath and made chase.

That would solve that problem. Now she could rest. Shuujuku had truly been the greatest gift she had ever received. She may not have been powerful enough to summon him herself but he was as loyal as any other minion she had controlled. His loyalty was only rivaled by garik.

Garik, that stupid brave fool, she dared not hope that he had survived. After all the one who had engaged him in battle was unconscious and dying just a few feet away. The boy in the hood had seemed more than willing to kill her with his energy attack. She saw no reason why he would have been merciful to Garik and not her.

Well, there was the fact that she was a witch and Garik was not.

The unfairness of it quickly made her regret not killing him when she had had the chance. Now she was too exhausted however from the failed spell. All she could do was lie there and wait while Shuujuku and the golem finished off her enemies.

And now she would wait, but not before examining this boy who had tried to take her life,

Weakly she approached the body, still afraid that it might spring to life once more. The coat had holes in it and was soaked with blood from the wound Shuujuku inflicted. Tentatively she reached down and pulled off his hood, revealing the black locks and the glasses that adorned his face. she didn't know much about what was considered attractive but she assumed this boy would have passed in better circumstances.

As it was his bangs were clinging to his forehead from where a trickle of blood had poured. And she wasn't sure of how she felt about the glasses. And he seemed to be drooling, which she found to be irritating. The short haired red head no doubt would have agreed with the habit being disgusting if he hadn't have knocked her out.

It was good to get a close up look of your enemies she decided then and there. To know who you were fighting was something she'd not soon forget.

They were no older than she and yet they were told to kill her, and she to do the same in return. The thought was quite saddening and she was ashamed to feel tears begin to form in her eyes.

Witches never cried.

Crona let herself indulge in the rare feeling of hope as she and Kid descended unto the desert battlefield. Many kishen souls littered the dusty old town but no human bodies. The battle still waged however. Felix was holding off multiple zombie kishen with Trish and Mark while Josilyn ran circles around the golem Soul had identified. It was only as she drew closer that doubt enveloped her. Where's Lance? and Veronica too?

The sword and her Meister were nowhere to be seen. She saw that Kid noticed this two as they landed. His skateboard Beelzebub vanished as they rushed to join the fray. The sister's and Ragnorak taking out any they crossed paths with as they made their way towards Felix.

"So the cavalry finally arrives?"Felix grinned as they joined him."Well I suppose late is always better than never."

Kid wasted no time with Felix's jest."Where's Lance?"He questioned, gunning down two zombified kishen who made the mistake of drifting too close.

"Dunno, haven't seen him since he ran into the church when clouds came."Felix answered, casually stabbing Trish through a bearded old cowboy."He just threw Mark at me and took off."

"Mark?"Crona said, remembering the young boy's weapon form.

"Hi Crona," Mark's transparent image waved from the shield's surface, completely pleased with the action going on around him.

"Oh, uh hello Mark."Crona greeted awkwardly, shifting uncomfortably.

"Oh look the runt."Ragnorak sneered, receiving a scowl from the young shield.

"Crona, go investigate the church. I'll stay here and help end this."Kidd interrupted, leveling Liz and Patti." And Crona," He added in a soft whisper next to her ear, "Bring him back if you can."

Crona was frozen. Kidd was putting Lance's safety into her hands. If Lance got hurt Kidd would hate her forever. And she'd hate herself too. She quickly started feeling weak and panicked. She was going to say how she didn't know how to deal with that much responsibility when she felt his hand on her shoulder again.

"Hey, it's okay. I know you can deal with this."Kidd smiled, defying her own thoughts."I wouldn't want anybody else watching over him."

Her mouth failed to formulate a response. Numbly, she nodded and turned to run off to the church. Once she stepped inside she nearly collapsed. She was supposed to ensure Lance's safety when she was hardly capable of defending herself. She wasn't sure if his words were unbelievably kind or cruel.

What if Lance was already dead? What would he say then? What if she found him and couldn't protect him like Kidd said she could? He'd never talk to her again. He'd just ignore her with that same dead eyed stare her mother always gave her. And all her other friends would no doubt follow suit. And she had just started to get used to friendly faces…

It was then that she took notice of her surroundings. It was a cathedra, smaller than the one in Italy but no less terrifying to her. It was a perfect reminder of what she really was, a monster too afraid to be anything else… but that was before she had met Maka, before she knew what friendship was. Now she had Maka and Kidd and even Lance was her friend when he seemed so indifferent to everyone else.

"Friends protect friends."She whispered aloud, standing up straight."Even if they're scared," She wouldn't let someone she cared about to be harmed. Not ever. Kidd's faith in her only added to her determination.

With her new found resolve, she searched the wrecked church, looking under pews and fallen beams from where the golem had probably tore pieces from the building. She held Ragnorak gingerly by her waist, ready to send a screech alpha at any unwanted people she might run into. She had completely searched the area in a matter of minutes without any sign of Lance and Veronica, save for a few left over kishen eggs and bloodstains she hoped didn't belong to them. Seeing no other options she made her way to the back door behind the altar. Preparing herself for anything she pushed open the door.

The door gave way beneath her force, letting the desert sun engulf her completely. The door had led to a small cemetery with freshly dug up graves, she thought she heard a quick rustling so she walked cautiously as she explored further.

She soon found what she was looking for.

Both of them were sprawled next to each other on the hard dirt ground. Veronica looked fairly unharmed but Lance was another thing altogether. He had multiple rips in his jacket and blood covered the top part of his face, but that wasn't the worst of it. The smell of warm blood was all around him.

"Lance."She said softly, reaching to check his pulse. The second their skin made contact he pulled away. Even unconscious he was still reluctant to be touched by anyone. But at least she knew he was alive.

Distantly she heard the sound of what could only be Kidd's Death Cannon. Hopefully that meant the battle was over. She knew she couldn't lift Lance up herself so she set to work on waking Veronica instead.

The brit snapped back into awareness on the first nudge, screaming and slicing at Crona. Crona quickly stumbled back and hit her head on a tombstone as she dodged the blade."You stupid cow!" Ragnorak screeched."We're on your side idiot!"

The insults must have jogged her memory because she put her blade down, her other hand never leaving Lance."Crona?"She asked, confused."What are you doing here?"

"We're here to save you."Crona panted, rubbing her sore head."Kidd and the others are finishing up the kishen."

"Then I guess I haven't lost you after all."Veronica whispered softly to herself. And Crona could swear she saw tears in the redhead's eyes."Help me pick him up. I can't carry him on my own."

Letting Ragnorak slip back inside her, she helped Veronica drag Lance by the shoulders through the cemetery gate. He groaned and occasionally muttered some nonsensical word or phrase but besides that he hardly seemed alive at all. The back of his coat had very little black left on it at this point.

He was lighter than Crona would have liked, as if he was an empty shell with no life left inside. They were just past the church when the other's spotted them. They were all worse for wear than when Crona had left them and a few fresh cuts and bruises decorated most of their bodies, all except Kidd, who was as fine as when he arrived.

"Good you're okay-"He started before seeing Lance's condition. For one short second she saw absolute fear in Kidd's eyes and she knew she had let him down. Dismay quickly spread on all their faces before Kidd retained his composure."Is he alive?"

"Just barely," Veronica explained frantically."You have to get him back to the school as soon as possible."

"I'll do it at once."Kidd said calmly, throwing Liz and Patti behind him, and summoning Beelzebub."Hand him to me."

Reiji and Felix assisted in helping Lance into Kidd's outstretched arms, their expressions grim as the reaper flew off.

"Crona what's the status on the Witch and her servants?"Josilyn asked as soon as Kidd was out of eye sight.

"I didn't see them."Crona muttered quietly.

"So he let them escape."Josilyn sighed."I knew he'd end up a liability."

Veronica sprung at her with full force."Shut your damn dirty mouth!"She spat as Reiji held her back."Don't you dare say another word about him."

Josilyn just rolled her eyes and walked away from the distraught sword. Receiving glares from everyone around her.

"Veronica."Mark said his sister continued to struggle against Reiji."Lance is going to be okay right?"

She froze in her captor's arms and no words came from her mouth.

"He's going to be okay," He asked again."Right?"