(I own nothing, but the plot.)

Chapter 3: Slipping Is Not Hilarious!

. . .

It was true. The castle was molded by ice. Kid stared up at it, realizing that it was definitely almost, or completely, ice. Snow fell down onto the three children from the sky, and it continued to do so. With a grin, Blackstar said. "What are we waiting for?! C'mon." He smashed the door with his foot, let out a yelp, and held his foot. "Bad idea," he murmured to himself.

Soul laughed. "Has it ever occurred in that pea-sized brain of yours to try to use the handle?" As he went to turn the handle, Kid blocked his path. Kid said, bluntly. "Don't you'll freeze." He gestured to a nearby hole he had just found. "We enter through there," Kid added. Blackstar raised a brow. "Why the heck should we go in there?" "What are you scared," Soul quipped (to Blackstar).

"I'll go then," Kid moved them out of the way. "Since both of you asymmetrical pieces of trash are procrastinating." Blackstar glared, furiously stating, "Move. I'll show you how a soon-to-be god crawls through a hole." He crawled into the opening and disappeared from sight. Soul smirked, "Well, that got him going..." Kid waited for any sign of Blackstar making it through, until both Soul and Kid heard a skidding sound, a yelp, and then a huge crack, which echoed throughout the forest.

They both winced at the sound. That couldn't be good, both knew that. Soul crawled into the hole with Kid following suit. They came through to an odd sight. A skid mark was along the floor, and the mark went to a pillar. In that pillar, Blackstar was stuck halfway in, halfway out, and he was bracing his feet on the pillar to try to remove his head from the ice.

Finally, Blackstar shoved himself out, fell, and landed on his butt. "Who in the hell of it makes a castle out of ice?!" While Soul helped up his best friend, Kid saw a few stairs leading up to another floor. He went to it and started to climb up the stairs, until Blackstar came plowing through and knocking him almost over the railing. Blackstar received a slight glare from Kid. Blackstar grinned, but it was wiped off when he slipped onto his head all the way down the stairs.

Blackstar yelled out. "Where are you witch?!" He stood up slowly, rubbing the crown of his head. Soul stated. "I think something's up there." They climbed up the stairs, heard another sound, and saw a random metal door. Blackstar beamed, threw open the metal door, and sighed. "Still nothing's here!" He looked to Soul, whose face made the kid seem as if he were scared. "Wh-what?"

When Blackstar turned around to the door, he screamed and slammed the door shut. "What the hell is THAT?!" "I would guess the witch's pet..." Kid suggested. Blackstar shuddered, while Soul laughed uneasily and said. "Cool looking pet." Blackstar turned the bolt on the outside of the metal door just as something from the other side collided with it. He leaped backwards into the others.

Soul smirked, looking like he was going to tick off Blackstar, but Kid turned away. "C'mon," Kid commanded. Soul and Blackstar followed after the older male. Kid continued to walk for some time with Soul and Blackstar behind him until they saw another stairway, this time it was long. Blackstar went up the steps, beaming. Halfway up, he yelled. "Easy as pie-" He suddenly toppled backward onto his head and down each step.

Groaning, Blackstar sat up, currently at both Kid's and Soul's feet. Soul smirked and slowly went up the stairs after Kid. Blackstar flashed their retreating backs a glare. As they waited for Blackstar to finally make it up the steps, which he only accomplished by sliding on his butt from one step to another, Soul was laughing so hard at Blackstar's situation that he nearly fell over himself.

Blackstar, finally, made it to the top and had his legs spread out, while his hands were outstretched behind him to hold his body up in a sitting position. He grinned. "Nailed that crap-" Bang! All three jumped and turned toward the sound. Bang! "Where is it coming from," Blackstar whispered as the noise came again, more loud, more aggressive (like it wanted out). He grabbed Soul's shoulder tightly.

Soul laughed, trying to sound brave. "What, are you scared," his voice said, resulting in him showing some of his nervousness. Blackstar glared and elbowed him away, "No! The Great Blackstar isn't scared of anything, stupid Soul. We went through this already," his voice boomed as he laughed loudly and patted Soul's head rather roughly. Soul's eye twitched in annoyance just as another smash erupted and an explosion.

They heard something coming, closer, closer still. As they all turned around, they saw... just a white normal cat? The white ball of fur sat down a few feet away from them, looked at them with emerald eyes, and licked its paw. It made a noise as Blackstar glared at it. "SHOO!" He ran at it, only to slip to his face inches away from it. The cat jumped on the back of his head and meowed. When Blackstar leaped to his feet, the cat stood next to his legs and bit his ankle.

Yelping, Blackstar held his ankle. "Ouch!" "Guess it doesn't like you," Soul laughed. Ignoring the starting argument, Kid's cool gaze followed the cat's retreating back. The cat paused and looked back, only to keep walking as it saw Kid start after it. Eventually, the cat stopped by a door. It was wooden and tall, with a brass doorknob. Kid heard the other males come up behind him just as he grabbed and turned the handle. The door revealed a wooden hallway with some ice along the walls and many doors that stretched as far as Kid could see. Kid turned to the others behind him, only to see the wooden door.

He didn't even remember walking through the door. He saw the cat and cautiously went after it. He didn't trust it. It always glanced back over its shoulder, as if it really wanted him to follow. It watched him as it stopped back a closed door. Another door, Kid thought, that can not be good. Despite his better judgement, Kid opened the door and stepped through. Slowly, his feet went glided across the floor to the only thing in the room, the window.

"What exactly is your preference, cat," Kid's voice asked it, while his fingers lifted away the white curtains. His golden eyes drifted down to the cat then back out the window. The whole city, Death City, was covered in snow, and the forest was coated in massive layers of it as well. With a sigh, Kid turned away from the window, only to realize the door was shut. He didn't shut it, he knew that for a fact.

He stared at the cat, started toward the door, and his foot collided with something, which apparently had wheels since it moved under him and threw him backwards. Straight out the window, Kid flew, while the cat peered down as he fell.

. . . .

Just a second before, he was arguing with Soul, next thing he knew, he was alone in a wooden hallway. Well, almost alone. If that cat wasn't hissing at him, he'd be alone. Only sparing the cat a glare, Blackstar strutted on by, setting his hands on the back of his head. He whistled a tune. It was so quiet, too quiet. "Well, this is boring. I thought I'd have to fight at least something... Maybe the cat..?" He looked over his shoulder, no cat.

He shrugged and yawned unexpectedly. He saw an intersection of hallways and paused. Hmmm, which one? "Eenie... meenie... miney... mo... Catch, a-" Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something shiny roll across the floor in the hallway to his right, and he stopped speaking. He hesitated. He remembered Tsubaki had warned him about following something shiny, but he dismissed it.

That coin didn't get him in trouble, necessarily. Tsubaki just was a worry-wort. Blackstar gave a hmph and went towards it. Plus, that coin only led him to a kishin, which in his opinion, was great. It was a fricken blessing. He had been itching to fight one, even if he just got out of the hospital. He made it out just fine, despite the more damage on his leg, another broken rib, and a few bruises. He had been just fine! But no! I had to go back to the hospital for no reason at all! Twelve days they said, they kept me in for twelve days, a minute, and three seconds. Bull crap!

Blackstar glared, almost missing the shiny object rolling down another hallway. He rushed after it, picking up speed, and he smirked. He neared it, about to pick it up, and a cat swatted it out of his reach. He had dove for it, but instead of getting it, he rolled onto the floor. His eyes narrowed. It was the cat from before. "Hey, that's mine!" The cat's eyes lazily swept over the kid and continued down the hall with the shiny object it its mouth.

Blackstar raced after it. "I saw it first." Finally, he trapped the cat at a dead end. "Ahah! Gotcha now." He beamed widely and crept closer and closer to the white flea-ball. The cat laid down, taunting him, and stared over at Blackstar with its bright orange eyes. The eyes seemed to narrow. Blackstar's eye twitched. "Challenge Accepted!" He dove at the cat, only to smash with the wall.

He let out a pained groan and jumped at the cat again. However, at the last second, the cat dodged, while removing its paw from a red button on the floor. Suddenly, the wall disappeared and created a hole big enough for Blackstar's body to go through. He raced down what seemed to be a metal slide. When Blackstar looked up to see the cat, it flung the shiny object into the air and caught it, waving it around.

"I'll get that from you!"

. . . .

Soul found himself in a wooden hallway. No one was there, which was strange. He had just been with Kid and Blackstar. He strolled down the hallway at a leisurely pace. He sighed. If only he could stop this crazy coldness, he would be glad. Fall would be back, and Soul wouldn't be freezing. He'd be able to do want he wanted, and he wouldn't have to listen to anyone, (except for Maka, which he tried to not remember at this moment in time). Maka... Where was she?

Soul sighed again. This week was starting to be such a downer. He saw the cat from before. The cat meowed at him. Soul looked at it. "What?" The cat stopped in front of him. "Do you have any idea where anyone is?" The cat tilted its head. Grumbling, he said. "Great, just great, now I'm talking to a dang cat." He dragged a hand to his forehead. "If only you could speak, you'd probably know where Maka is, a-and everyone else of course.."

The cat gazed up at him again. "What?" Its eyes stared knowingly up at him. "Oh no-oh no... No. You can't make me feel that way. I do not like her." The cat meowed at him. Soul glared. "She's just a friend, understand? If I did like her, I... it would be so... so..."

"Uncool," came a voice from behind him.

He jumped and gaped. "I wasn't talking to the cat about you!" A drop of sweat rolled off his forehead. He was nervous, so dreadfully nervous. He didn't know how much she heard.

Maka raised a brow at him. "Oh... kay..?" She closed her eyes. "Let's pretend you aren't crazy, and let's find a way out of here." She started forward; Soul slowly followed after her. She was wearing her normal clothes, normal hairstyle, normal everything.

"Heh, so Maka, how'd you escape?"

Maka's eyes remained closed as she sighed. "It was quite easy, so I wouldn't doubt they'd be showing up pretty soon." A smirk- not a smile- came to her lips. "Unfortunate, how unfortunate... for you." Her eyes slowly drifted open.

Soul blinked, taking a step back. "No, not again, you-you're not real. I must be dreaming again." He stared at her glowing green eyes. He stepped back as she smirked and approached him. Something tripped him, and he fell onto the ground. He glared at the cat. "Thanks for the help." He looked up to see Maka lifting him up with one hand.

Maka smirked evilly. "This isn't a dream, I assure you." A blade replaced her other arm. "Let's just say, you won't be under the Grand Master's watchful eyes, no, you'll be fertilizer, instead." Her laugh made Soul's blood run cold. "What, no sarcastic remarks? Pathetic Soul." Her blade went to his throat. "Plus side, you won't suffer like the rest of us."

This was real. It wasn't a nightmare. It was reality. Soul kicked her shoulders and both fell to the wooden floor. As soon as he hit the ground, he was up and fleeing. He rushed down the hallway and tried any door that would open. None would budge. Soul reached the end of the hallway. Shit, crap, frick... He watched as Maka came around the corner, and she sighed.

"Is this really necessary?" She questioned him.

"Yeah, it is, I won't die by the likes of you, Maka." Soul retorted, sounding surprisingly calm to even himself. "Your 'Grand Master' doesn't have shit on me- OW-"

Maka had just "Maka-chopped" his head. "You know I hate the swearing Soul," She grumbled angrily.

Right there, she sounded exactly like the Maka Soul knew, and he let his guard down. Her hand whipped out and stuck him onto the floor. Soul hit the floor, feeling suddenly dizzy and nauseated at the same time. His hand hit something cool, and suddenly, the floor disappeared from underneath him. He slid downward just as the floor closed up again after he went through it and Maka looked down with a menacing glare.

Soul smirked. "Maybe next time flat-chest!" He slid down more, with the angered roar trailing down along with him.

. . . .

Soul slid into the snow underneath him and sat up. He glanced up at the castle, seeing two and head splitting. He struggled to his feet and swayed a bit. The witch was controlling them, huh? He finally saw the castle stop moving and become one again. He groaned aloud. His head was killing him. Bringing up his hand, he rested on the back of his head and winced. He brought it down to reveal bright red along his palm.

"Fan... tastic..." Soul huffed, hand closed. He suddenly heard screaming and looked up. He saw a figure in black. "Kid?" Kid was falling, and from the looks of it, he would land right was Soul was. Soul tried to scramble out of the way, but found he lost find his feet. He found himself staring at the sky after he fell into the snow.

"Ow, dang it, why'd you get in the way?" A familiar voice came from next to him. It was Blackstar. Then, realization hit Soul. Blackstar must have swept his feet from underneath him from a tremendous speed. He sensed, rather than saw, Blackstar get to his feet. "C'mon, get up." A shoe nudged Soul slightly.

Soul groaned and forced himself up just as Kid landed in the snowbank next to them, showering them in the fluffy snow, causing everyone to be buried. Kid popped his head of the snow as the others did. Blackstar laughed, causing everyone, especially Soul, to twitch. "Well, that was fun! Let's do it again." Both Soul and Kid glared at him. He shrugged it off, jumped up from the snow, and grinned.

Kid got out of the snow next; only Soul had to get out. Soul slowly crawled from the snowbank, head once again spinning, and it only got worse when Blackstar bellowed out with a loud laugh. Kid had ungracefully slipped on a patch of ice and crashed into the castle's exterior. Blackstar smirked some, going to say something, but a noise from overhead stopped him. It sounded like an animal, a howl deep and long, angry and indignant. It howled twice more after the first one, seeming to approach them.

"And that's our clue to go," started Soul.

Blackstar cut him off. "Let's deal with this here and now. I can take it, you watch." He was filled to the brim with confidence, so much that he stuck out a thumb. "Maybe I'll just use my thumb."

Kid raised a brow slowly. "No." Blackstar opened his mouth to say something, but jumped as something landed inches from him. Blinking, he took a step back to see the whole creature. It looked to be at least six feet tall and three feet wide. Its white and pale blue fur covered its entire body, its almost paralyzing sea green eyes narrowed in on him, and its twenty claws on its four feet shown crystal white from the snow around it. Chains dangled from its neck and its "ankles."

It howled at them. This was the witch's pet. Not too terrible, yet. Suddenly, its fur stood up on end, its claws lengthened in size, and its eyes grew dangerous. Its precise aim of its claws connected with the castle wall right next to Blackstar's head. It growled low and ran at him. Blackstar's eyes opened wide as the beast rushed at him. In the last moment, Blackstar leaped aside only to be smashed into the ground. He rolled away to reach his feet.

The three teens ran to escape it, which only caused it to follow. Everything it moved they could feel the Earth move with it. Suddenly, a burst of wind sent the three to the ground as the Witch's Pet jumped into their path. It bared its teeth, which was unsurprisingly red already, and growled. It raised its right paw- whatever you want to call it- and brought it down.