Chapter seven at last.

don't own Soul Eater.

Ayelis couldn't remember what had happened, but she could definitely feel the results of it. Her arms were throbbing, not to mention her head felt as though someone had taken a sledgehammer to it about a dozen times. She tried to sit up, but her body protested painfully. She really had to wonder just what had taken place. Looking around, she guessed she was in the infirmary. An IV in her wrist, and bandages wrapped around both arms. She was a little worse for wear to say the least.

"What on earth happened to me?" She wondered to herself. She remembered being on a mission in the mountains, with Maka, Black Star, Kid and...

"You're awake, glad to see it." the calm, familliar voice startled her. Eyes snapping forward to see who was there.

"Kid?"

She had been so busy thinking to herself, Ayelis never noticed him leaning against the wall. She tried to get up again, almost forgetting her right arm as it buckled underneath the pressure. Pain jolted through her like electricity, and she fell back again. Kid's eyes grew with worry as he darted forward. Once he could tell she was all right, he sighed, relaxing only a little. Her eyes welled up with tears, as she fought back a scream that threatened to escape.

"Take it easy. You're in no condition to be moving around a lot." he gave her a weak smile, resting a hand on her good shoulder. Ayelis flinched at the gesture, but allowed it anyway. She was surprised he wasn't freaking out over her asymmetrical injuries. Then again, it was more serious than a matter of being symmetrical.

"Where is everyone?" she took a look around the room, noticing that he was the only one there.

"Maka and the others are on their way. It was faster to take you on my own." he frowned, starring at her bandages, "You were in pretty bad shape."

She watched his eyes, and pulled the blanket up to try and cover her arms. This was uncomfortable for her. It had always been Lyall that would stay with her in these sort of situations, and Vizy was always hiding around the corner too. This time though, she guessed it couldn't really be helped. Both of them were silent, as neither could really find any words to say. Ayelis felt as if she didn't want to know what happened, and it seemed like Kid wasn't going to tell her anyway. She put her head down, starring at the ceiling.

"I hate to interrupt, but I need to get some blood samples Ayelis." a female voice broke the awkward silence.

"Oh, miss Nygus!" forgetting the pain from her previous attempts, Ayelis made the mistake of trying to sit up again. It was a quick reminder though, as she flopped back on the bed once more. Holding back another scream she knew they wouldn't enjoy hearing. Apparently she was a sucker for punishment.

"Ayelis, don't push yourself. It'll be at least a week or more before you can use your arms like that." Nygus scolded, as she prepared the syringe to take the girl's blood.

Kid took this as his cue to leave. He could see she wasn't comfortable, and didn't want to make it worse. The girl winced as the needle pierced her skin, but compaired to what she felt earlier, it was bearable. She looked up, seeing Kid turn and head for the door, walking slowly. She felt guilty, and as if she was responsible for it all. Him having to carry her back, leaving the rest of the group behind. For making them all worry over her. As soon as Nygus had finished and left to deliver the blood samples, Ayelis called out. Kid had only made it just outside the door, so it wasn't hard to hear.

"Kid?" he made himself visible in the doorway, one eyebrow raised showing he was listening. She sighed, and continued, "I'm sorry. None of you should have to worry so much on my account."

Kid shook his head, a small grin forming as he replied, "Don't appologise. Its what friends do. You can thank Maka and the others when they get back. It was their idea to send me on ahead with you."

With that, the young reaper left her alone. She stared at the doorway for a few minutes, wondering how she should thank all of them when they got back. She realized then, that she hadn't thanked Kid for helping her either. All she had done was appologized when it wasn't needed.

In another room Stein looked at the vial of red liquid, then back an Nygus. He hadn't found anything in Ayelis' blood tests, and after patching her up, he concluded she'd make a full recovery with minimal scarring. Lord Death had asked him to do some other tests, to find out exactly what was going on with her souls' wavelengths. Stein had a feeling though, he already knew the cause of the abnormalities.

"So you think its got something to do with Vizy and Lyall?" Nygus inquired, Sid standing next to her as the conversation continued.

"It's possible that their own soul wavelengths could have a negative effect on her." he paused to light another cigarrette. " Whenever she resonates with them, that negative wave takes over, causing the girl to lose controll over certain emotions. It's a rather strange effect, but even so. It can be a dangerous one if it's not handled with care."

"Kid said something about it. He told us her soul wavelenth changed the moment she touched her weapons." Nygus thought back to when Kid had first brought her to the infirmary. "Something about an angry sort of wavelength, and something else he couldn't quite describe."

Stein nodded, taking in the information and considering it cafefully in his mind. Chances are if Kid could sense it, Then no doubt Maka had as well. It wasn't madness, at least not yet. However, if she continued to let her emotions grow out of controll, then it could evolve into something that would lead to it indefinitely. It was odd though, the trio's souls were compatable, yet they had this sort of effect.

"I'll let Lord Death know about this. The next chance I get, I'll have to see if I'm right." Stein twisted the screw in his head, thinking hard on the subject. "In any case, we can't do much while she's recovering. She'll be stuck here for a couple of weeks at best."

Ayelis had been sleeping, when the door suddenly flew open. The loud slam jolting her awake, she nearly fell off the bed. Glarring at the person who had disturbed her sleep, her hard stare soffened when she saw Maka. Behind her were Vizy, Lyall and the rest of the group all standing behind Black Star. Two days had passed with her unable to move, and the group had made it home at last. The sight of her friends nearly made her tear up. Kid had come by a few times to check up on her, but seeing the rest of them there made her feel happy.

"Ayelis! Thank goodness you're ok." Maka smiled wide upon seeing their companion alive and well.

"Of course. I'm sorry for worrying you." the pesemistic look she gave, and her sad physical state made her seem so helpless. Maka couldn't beleive this was the same girl who had tried to take on their last target.

"You're just lucky I was there to get your sorry ass out of trouble. If it hadn't been for me, you'd be monster chow by now." Black Star laughed, recalling how he'd stunned the beast and dragged her to safety.

"Right." Ayelis shuttered at the thought of being rescued by the noisy assasin. Her stomache twisting, as nausia accompanied the image.

"In any case, How are you feeling?" Lyall forced a smile. Still very aware of what he and his brother failed to do. Vizy however didn't seem quite so bothered by it.

"Yeah! Kid didn't drop you on the way back or anything did he?" he laughed, earning himself a deadly leer from the reaper he was mocking. "I mean, he does spazz out at the worst times you know. I just wanted to make sure you got back ok." Vizy went on. The faint sound of a kettle boiling could be heard somewhere in the background.

"Vizy knock it off. Kid wouldn't do that." Liz frowned at him. Somewhat perterbed that he was making such jokes about her meister.

"Hey, I'm just sayin he's done stupid stuff before, with the whole symmetry spazz thing." Vizy shrugged, but that was all it took.

"HOW CAN YOU STAND THERE AND INSULT MY MORALITY LIKE THAT!" Kid snapped, "I HOLD A FRIENDS LIFE WITH A LOT HIGHER RESPECT THAN THAT YOU TWIT!" heaving an angry breath, Kid regained his composure quickly. Although the looks from everyone in the room, clearly stated he'd made his point. "Despite that it wasn't symmetrical to carry her, I..did... NOT, drop her."

"Give him a break will you? Kid's a good guy, and besides..." Liz rolled her eyes at the whole thing, "Ayelis is fine. So why make a big deal out of it anyway?"

"Hey! Thats my meister's safety you're scoffing! I..."

"VIZY YOU JACKASS! SHUT UP!" Liz had, had enough.

Her hard stare aimed directly at the axe boy, signalling if he didn't drop the subject now, she would probably grab hold of Patty and shoot him in the face. Patty just giggled, as she watched the exchange between the two older weapons. Ayelis was laughing herself, though it was a little painful. They were all insane, she was sure of it. Although she enjoyed having them all back again. It was far too quiet by herself most of the time, and she had gotten used to them being around. It had only been a couple of weeks but she was really beginning to like being part of this group.

"I owe you all a debt of gratitude. I'm sorry I didn't listen to Maka's warning." Ayelis stared at her hands in her lap, afraid that the scythmeister would be angry with her.

"Live and learn. We all make mistakes, right Soul?" she looked at her weapon, who gave her a nod in response. Then she gave their injured teammate a wide grin. Maka was just glad nobody else was hurt along with her.

Ayelis smiled back, but it was an empty one. Her memory of the whole thing had vaguley returned to her, and she couldn't understand what had come over her in the middle of the fight. She had spent the last couple of days trying to figure it out, but had no luck in putting it together. It was only her second mission with all of them and she messed up.

Liz and Patty saw the discomfort in the bedridden girl, and it reminded the older Thompson of the gift the group had gotten for her on the way home. Patty watched her sister, as she pulled something out from behind her. Stepping forward, Liz flashed a small smile at the girl, before handing her the treat bag. Ayelis blinked at it, and when she reached inside to find her present, her eyes lit up in pure joy at what she found. It seemed Liz had remembered the little incident back on the pirate island, and she and Patty had pitched in with everyone and gotten her a get well gift. A whole bag full of chocolate treats and bars. Enough for a weeks worth of a sugar rush.

"We thought you could use a pick me up. So we stopped on the way in and got you a few things." Liz laughed at the nearly drooling girl in front of her.

"YEAH! Sis and everybody picked out a bunch of stuff!" Patty stated, obviously happy with the reaction they recieved.

Ayelis Thanked them all, wanting to do nothing less than jump out of bed and hug every one of them, even Black Star. Her green eyes sparkling with gratitude and a bit of hunger as she went back to her bag of goodies. Digging through it to see exactly what she got. Vizy had been scowling at the tall blonde who only moments before had put him in his place, but smiled at the sight of his meister feeling better. Lyall had remained silent, as he watched the group interacting with the fragile soul lying in bed. His mind couldn't get past what had taken place only a couple days before. Maka and the others had all told him it wasn't their fault, but he still felt the guilt rise up, regardless of what they said.

Ever since Lord Death had requested the brothers to keep an eye on their meister, Lyall had felt responsible for more than just keeping a close watch over her. He was one of her partners, and therefore her life was put before their own. While the others all laughed and carried on, happy that the mission was over and despite injury, everyone was all right. Lyall was in his own little world, seeming to pass judgement on himself for what everyone else knew was out of his controll.

Maka wasn't blind. She and Soul could both see the look on the younger brother's face, and it wasn't hard to guess what he was thinking. When it was time for them all to leave, the scythmeister and her partner waited patiently by the door, while everyone else said good night to Ayelis. Maka would have to talk with Lyall about it. Soul watched his partner, knowing exactly what was on her mind.

"Maka...I doubt he's gonna listen. The guy's convinced it's his fault." Soul spoke softly, watching as the group all began to head out of the room.

"I know. But still." she stopped her gaze on Lyall. The pained expression still on his face. "We have to figure this out. Not just for Ayelis."

Soul gave her a nod, as they turned to follow the group. Lyall being the last one out of the room, he walked quietly behind the others. Hands tucked in his pockets, and his eyes firmly glued to the floor as he walked. Visy walked in front of his brother, knowing that if he said anything it wouldn't help much. The obnoxious boy sighed, shaking his head at his little brother. Sure Visy felt guilty, but it wouldn't do them any good to wallow in self pity over the whole thing. They just had to keep trying and make it so they could do better, and then next time they could protect Ayelis from getting hurt. He waited for the others to be out of earshot, before speaking.

"Hey, bro. Give it a rest will ya? She's ok and its already in the past." his tone was serious, but lighthearted. " So kick yourself in the ass and lets not let it happen again all right?"

"Easy for you to say. Since when do you take things seriously anyway? Its our fault." Lyall glared intently at him, "Not just for being unable to protect her either."

"I know that, but I'm not busting my balls over something thats already done, and neither should you." Vizy frowned, "We gotta worry about what we can do."

Lyall only rolled his eyes at his brother's words, but he knew it was exactly what he needed to hear. However Blunt Vizy was, he did know what was needed. Both brothers arrived back at their appartment, tired and worn out. Loup was waiting for them, but he didn't say much. The white feline already knew about Ayelis, and wasn't about to go making things more tense between him and the boys. Neither of the two even bothered to change or get ready for bed. They simply crashed on their respective matresses, and passed out.

As the two exsausted boys slept, the rest of the group were already home. Each of them knowing they wouldn't see Ayelis in any missions or classes for a little while. Chances were they wouldn't see much of Vizy or Lyall either. For everyone else though, school life would resume like normal. Although Liz would admit she'd miss picking on Vizy, and she was sure Patty would miss Lyall being around all day. They had both gotten used to the idea of them all hanging around. Maka, Soul, Tsubaki and Black star would all admit to the same. Liz sat at the dining room table, head in her hands as she thought about the last couple of days. She watched her sister scribbling away, no doubt another masterpiece with giraffes of some kind. She admired the carefree attitude that Patty had, though most people gave her little credit of anything else. Liz knew her sister wasn't completely stupid. Childish maybe, but not stupid.

The older Thompson stared blankly at the table, sighing heavilly as the younger girl continued to scribble away, humming a quiet tune to herself. Liz thought about the day Ayelis had been taken back to the DWMA, and had to wonder. Kid had been there with her the whole time right? He was probably just as bothered by the whole thing, if not more. Since he'd been the one responsible for getting her back in time. Liz had no doubt in her mind that he'd easily be able to do it, she knew her meister well enough and had complete faith in him. But she still couldn't help feeling that he was under a lot of pressure, and the stupid coment Vizy had made earlier didn't help.

"Kid's been pretty quiet since we got back huh sis." Patty's words interrupted Liz's thoughts,"Wonder whats up?"

"Good question." Liz's face scrunched up in thought again, "I think when he bit Vizy's head off today was the first thing he'd said since we got back. Of course I can't really blame Kid for it. That doofus had it coming"

"Kid wouldn't drop anybody. Even if he goes all funny like usual." Patty gave her sister an innocent look.

"We know that, but I guess some people just don't get it."

Liz glanced towards the door, knowing their meister was somwhere in the mannor. Something had been bothering him since the first mission with Ayelis and the boys, and Liz could tell. Kid hadn't been the only one acting funny either. She noticed Maka and Soul's behavior as well, and it was like they saw something that made them nervous or something.

Darkness covered the snowy ruins, as cold eyes stared out on the horizon. Unimpressed with the news that they had whitnessed, but not put off by it in the least. It wouldn't matter in the end. The tall shadowed man stepped inside his frozen refuge, the sneer never leaving his slim features as he returned to the inner chamber.

"Lydia!" his tennor voice echoed through the empty halls. At the mention of her name, the young witch scurried to the center chamber to meet him.

"Yes master?" her eyes were lowered, not willing to meet his.

"What word have you brought from our colleagues?" his face was eager, and she could tell he wanted to hear some better news than the most recent had been. He stroked the feathers of a large Raven that made its pirch on his shoulder, waiting patiently for her reply.

"Sir, the wargs are returning with a fresh batch of souls as we speak. As for the others, it's still going as planned. The reaper hasn't found them yet." she kept her violet eyes low, still not willing to make contact.

"Good then. A feast fit for a kishin, soon to be devoured." his dark laughter erupted, as the girl before him trembled. She didn't like the idea of having the Grim Reaper's lap dogs chasing them down at every turn. Unfortunately she didn't have much choice.

Lydia avoided the prying eyes of the raven on her master's shoulder. It seemed to search her soul, and that was not a comfortable feeling. The dark man dismissed her, as he walked deeper inside. He was pleased with the information for now. Lord Death could take out all of his pawns if he so desired. It wouldn't make much difference. The reaper would have to come after him to stop his plan completely, and even then it would be no easy feat. With the difficulty they had with other witches and such, it would be no challenge for him to hold his ground against the DWMA. The cruel smile that played across his lips grew wider, with the thought.

"Let the little worms come. Their own souls will be forfeit to me if they do." he turned his attention once more to his pet, "Now then, show me that witch's child. He could be useful to us if the cards are played right."

The bird let out a loud caw in reply to its master's request, before taking flight once again to complete the task. Black wings spread out wide, as it left the man's shoulder with a gust from its dark feathers. He watched it leave, all the while laughing low to himself.

And at last I have chapter seven done. I've had a couple people asking for it so yeah, here you go. Its more or less a descriptive chapter. Ayelis does need her recovery time after all. She wont be the only one either when the story progresses.

Leave a review, they make me happy ^_^