(I don't own anything, but the plot. Alright, this is the Final Chapter.)
Chapter 5: Finally, Goodbye!
. . .
BANG!
The sound echoed through the room, ricocheting off the ice and back at them. Both Soul, who was presently standing (somewhat), and Blackstar, who was currently on his backside, propped up on his elbows, stared in the direction from which the sound had erupted from. Soul and Blackstar had similar expressions with their mouths slightly agape and brows narrowed a bit.
Kid was just standing there motionless. No one moved, nothing made a sound. His glazed over eyes drifted down slowly to where his chest used to be. A great crevice replaced it. He was in a state of disbelief as his eyes bore into the hole, just like everyone else (Soul, Blackstar, Kid). Instantly, he slumped to his knees, effectively smashing his face on the ice beneath him when the rest of his body followed suit.
Soul felt an individual's elbow stab him in the side, enough force that made his body arch sideways and hurtle toward the ground. His red eyes snapped up to see Maka smirking. She stomped her foot on a bump in the ice. That was strange, since the rest of the room was perfectly smooth, in fact the whole castle had any type of blemishes. Soul, realizing the ground did not stop his fall, whipped his gaze to the ground.
However, he didn't see the ground. He saw some bright and glowing lava underneath him. "Soul!" He heard Blackstar yell, and what he expected to be rushing to his aid. Wildly, Soul clawed for the edge of the ice floor. Fortunately, a pair of hands found his wrists and raised him out of danger. At first, Soul thought it was Blackstar, but the hands were different. Then, he thought it was Kid, but once again, the hands weren't theirs.
When he looked up, he gasped and nearly found his way back into the hole. It was... MAKA. Soul got ready for an attack, eyes narrowed on the ash-haired girl, but nothing came. He straightened when Maka's mouth moved. Nothing came out. She closed it soon after realizing her voice wouldn't flow out. Her eyes, surprisingly, seemed misty. "Maka, is that you," asked Soul, approaching her cautiously.
Maka took a step back, the design (the dot and lines on her chest) flared brightly. She immediately growled and lunged for him, effectively tackling him to the ground. Punching his face multiple times, she snarled. "Stay away from Her!" Her voice was low and deep.
Red eyes widened when Maka yanked him by the hair and smashed it down on the ice.
"Perish!" She hollered with another connection between Soul's head and the ground. "I told you to die!" She screamed again, three more times in a rhythm with each smack of his head. Suddenly, tears streamed down her face. "Why won't you cease?" She raised a hand and hit it on his chest, hard. "Stop ridiculing me, stop."
Soul groaned just when Maka stood and put her foot on his chest. His vision had black spots as he forced them to stay open. However, the eyelids fluttered close, breathing coming out in short agonizing pants.
"... This is your..." She exhaled roughly. "Last breath, I promise." Her arm started to shine brightly, slowly wrapping around it and forming a scythe blade. "You're dead," she muttered, disheveled hair drifting to hide her eyes. Her arm rushed down.
Blackstar rushed to help, but Tsubaki grabbed his ankle, whipped him to his back, and growled.
"Where are you going?" She tilted her head. "Don't you want to stay... Master night have use for you-"
"Never," blurted out Blackstar, raising to his feet. He was hurting bad, even breathing was nearly impossible, but he was the only one left to end this. "The-the Gr... eat... Blackstar does... not work for... anyone..." He smirked after he finally ground that out. "You sh-should know that." Pain shot up in his elbow when Tsubaki grabbed a hold of it.
She glared viciously, bringing him closer. "Wrong choice."
Instantly, he knew it was wrong, dreadfully wrong.
Tsubaki picked him up and dragged him into each of the ice columns, each hit sending sharp pains through Blackstar's body. When Tsubaki dropped him, he fell on his head and grunted. He rolled to his back, which was all he could accomplish. He also had one of his eyes clenched close, the other one was barely open. Tsubaki smirked evilly as she turned her back on him and reappeared again with something in her hand.
It glittered red, silver, and blade for its handle. It spelled out disaster. "You could have been a pet," she started, shaking her head in disappointment. "Ah, we have to disable you, permanently." She knelt next to Blackstar's head. "It's going to sting." Her face was contorted with a completely evil smirk, destroying any of the innocence that was left in her face. She was definitely not Tsubaki.
Saying that it stung was an understatement. It more like burned like hell as it broke through the skin of his neck. He couldn't hold back the screaming that arose in his throat. It was tearing him from inside out. Then, he realized the pain spread throughout the rest of his body, even if the blade was still at his neck. It drove along his neck. He screamed out again, but instead of incoherent sounds, he screamed out.
"Tsubaki, stop!" His voice wavered, and he instantaneously hated it. It showed the pain he was in, his weakness. His one eye drifted open when the blade's movement paused. He saw Tsubaki was staring at him blankly. Blackstar despised his next comment, even when he only thought it. "You're hurting me." He stated roughly, since his throat was burning.
Tsubaki's eyes looked at his neck then at his face. "Blackstar?" She gasped, removing the blade and her hands. "I-I-I-" Her dot and line design on her chest instantly grew brighter, and that cruel smirk appeared. "Ah-ah-uhhh." She wiggled a finger at him. "Don't show weakness Blackstar, gods shouldn't, unless you aren't one?" She faked surprise, eyes wide and hand slightly over her mouth.
Blackstar froze and narrowed his eyes. "I-"
Tsubaki hissed and slammed her hand on his neck. He coughed and gasped. Now not just his chest, but his throat. Fan-fricken-tastic. He continuously coughed, shoving Tsubaki's hand off his neck and going to a upright position. His hands cupped around his neck gingerly, something warm flowing over his fingers. Blood. He coughed again and again, until blood erupted out of his mouth.
Tsubaki was standing above him, glaring down at him. "You're going to die," she stated coldly. Blackstar couldn't breath still. His lungs refused it. He hunched over as Tsubaki drawled on with, "Yes a very slow and painful death, how amusing." She laughed. Her laughed was faded in Blackstar's ears; he barely registered anything but his deafening heartbeats.
His eyes watered as he felt his hands start to claw his neck. A pair of hands found themselves at the base of his neck. He couldn't understand what was being said, but he knew her intention. He struggled to escape, but the hands held him still as the fingers applied enough pressure to block out the rest of the air from reaching his lungs. He struggled harder to rid himself of the hands, trying anything, even whipping his head back and forth.
The fingers increasingly tightened. Blackstar's movement slowed; his struggling stopping. His eyes rolled to the back of his head.
"Dang it, we broke him," screamed out Patty as her and her sister looked down upon Kid.
Liz shook her head once. "I... I think we... killed him."
Patty blinked, and her body started to shake. She whispered something.
Liz drew her close. "K-Kid's-"
Out of nowhere, they heard a soft groan reach their ears. It was Kid, somehow he was alive, at least enough to be moving slightly. Patty and Liz rushed to his side as his palms strained to shove him up, barely making his body rise an inch before falling back down. "He was just tired," giggled Patty and threw her arms around the young Reaper.
A smile placed itself on Liz's face just before something flared brightly from both girls' chest. Instantly, they went from smiling happy (ish) people to smirking ticked off monsters. Patty slammed Kid to the ground once. "SIS, now!" She ordered.
Liz stomped her foot, flashing their the air and into Patty's hand. "You better not miss," the pistol growled angrily at her younger sister.
"I won't." Then, she hissed. "I'll make sure this time."
Kid's brain barely registered something press into the back of his head. He couldn't move anyway, so it didn't really make a difference. He waited for Patty to shoot, but it never came.
Soul vaguely noticed something smash right next to his left ear. He squirmed when hands lifted him into a sitting position. Will she ever stop? He swung out his hand, connection with, most likely, Maka's cheek. Her grip just tightened. "Soul, stop it," she whispered softly.
Soul froze as she brought him close, causing his eyes to shoot open.
She exhaled, relieved. "You're alright, good."
Soul wouldn't exactly call it "alright," but he didn't respond. He looked at her suspiciously. Maka stood up, offering her hand. Soul eyed the outstretched arm, expecting it to betray him as soon as he took it. However, it didn't. Maka helped him to his feet. Soul stumbled and used her shoulder to stabilize himself. He looked over at Blackstar and Kid.
Blackstar was passed out, while Kid laid on the ground with Liz pointed at his head. "We have to get their attention," he said when he turned to Maka.
"I don't think that's going to be hard." She gestured with her head. Soul saw Patty approaching with Liz in hand and Tsubaki heading their way. They looked ticked.
"Master isn't going to like you disobeying her," snarled all three voices.
Maka paused in what ever she was going to say and took one step back. She was scared, but she wasn't going to show it. Her hand went out, palm up. "Soul."
Soul, noticing the dimming color of the design on Maka's chest, smirked. "Let's do this." He instantly transformed into her hand. She twirled him, flipping over her knuckles and back to her palm. She darted forward, dodging Patty's shot; she swung Soul over her head, cutting it down fast. Tsubaki moved out of the way just as the blade smashed the ground around the impact area.
Maka ran at Patty just as a giant shuriken flew in her direction. Out of reflex, she brought up Soul to deflect the shuriken (Tsubaki, if you didn't know) and shoved her away. Maka jumped back as something crashed through the ceiling. It howled loudly, spraying drool from its horrid screeching.
"What is that?" Maka asked herself.
Soul flashed on the blade. "It's the witch's pet."
Maka glared slightly as it charged. "Any plans," she asked seriously.
Soul chuckled weakly. "Just don't get hurt." With that, he flashed off the blade.
"Thanks for the help." She muttered as she ducked under the arm that slashed at her. Her foot slid over the drool, nearly sending her flying into the giant beast. She gritted her teeth, putting out her other foot to hold herself up, only to get swiped at. The creature had made contact with Maka's left knee and caused her to fall backward. Maka glared as she got to her feet.
It was too late. The creature's paws struck her again, this time in the shoulder. It was super fast for being so big. She slipped on the ice, resulting in her body being propelled in the opposite direction. Before she got her bearings, something struck her head, causing her neck to whip down. She couldn't help but hesitate in her movements. She was dazed, completely.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something white dart at her. Still dazed, she was slow to react. In fact, she didn't really move, only a few steps to the left. Not enough. She thought to herself. Another hit landed, shoving her body into an ice pillar. When her back connected, she felt all the air explode out of her lungs, ears ringing. She vaguely heard someone telling her to move.
She actually thought it was her imagination, but she did as it told. She ran right this time, only to get slashed across the stomach. She flew through the air and hit the ground, skidding a few feet along the ice until she stood again. She knew she couldn't do anything as large pounding footsteps thundered close to her. A howl erupted close by, and she knew for certain that she couldn't escape the blow that came next.
She braced herself, only to feel nothing, no pain. Her eyes slid to the person in front of her. "S...Soul..?" She questioned, trying to make her eyes focus.
Soul couldn't help, but notice Maka's poor skills. It was as if her skills were nonexistent. The witch must have done something. He tried to think of a solution only to scream Maka's name. The Witch's Pet's big claws went at her slowly standing figure. Just as he was about to transform to protect her, a flash of color went in between the two, instead of Soul.
"S-Soul?" Soul heard her jumbled question.
"No, just Blackstar," Soul commented to her.
"'Just Blackstar'?! Humph, watch this!" Blackstar, who had both hands clasped around one of the creature's paws, pushed himself on top of it and ran up to its shoulder. The creature howled in anger as it flailed around to remove the pest, Blackstar. Blackstar panted as he reached the head. He drew back his fist and sent it into its eye, jumping to get more force behind it.
The jump had caused Blackstar to plummet to the ground and roll up to his knees, chest heaving up and down, gasping with each breath. He wasn't going to let this witch, or her so-called pet, win that's for damn sure! He was on his feet in the next second, rushing toward the beast again. He jumped over a slow kick, only to have to spin in the air to escape a fast moving claw.
He avoided that hit, but its arm slapped him sideways. As he landed on his feet, he sucked in a breath. Relation dawned on him. The creature's weakness was- "Soul, it's-" As if it knew what he was going to voice toward his friend, the pet grabbed hold of him and started to squeeze. He definitely couldn't breath now. He ripped at the claw, wanting- no needing- to be released from this hold.
Something snapped, everyone knew that from the loud noise that erupted right before Blackstar's yell. Soul, now transformed back to his human self, paled slightly. It didn't sound good. He looked toward Maka, who was still dazed and sitting back on her heels. He stood up straighter and went to help his friend, only to realize three bodies were in his way.
"Wait you're turn," Tsubaki smirked at him, resulting in Patty giggling like a maniac and Liz grinning evilly.
"You won't have to wait long." Patty chimed, clapping when another snap came from Blackstar's body. "Isn't this fun?!" Soon after she glanced over Soul's shoulder, her expression darkened. When she shared a look with her sister, Soul turned his head to see Kid behind him, gripping his chest.
Out of nowhere, the beast howled, gaining everyone's attention. Somehow, Blackstar managed to free himself and landed hard on the ground. He had to stumble to catch himself, only to slip to his head and collapse. The beast growled, lifting its foot and bringing it down on the unconscious boy (well it attempted to). Kid, at the last second, went forward and slid to push Blackstar out of the way.
Don't even ask him why he risked his life, but there was nothing he could do as the creature's hungry eyes locked with his. "C'mon, Soul," said someone's voice. Soul turned to see Maka, who appeared to be less dazed and had out her hand. When Soul transformed into the girl's hand, Maka took off. She dodged the others swiftly and went for the distracted pet.
She hefted Soul over her shoulder, leaping at it, and created a big fluent arch that landed directly on the pet's head. The blade sliced clean through. With one final screech, the creature burst into a million pieces, resulting in every single person going flying. Maka stopped herself from colliding with the wall by using Soul for a grip on the ice. Tsubaki, Patty, and Liz approached them.
"You killed the Master's PET?!" They chorused together angrily, lunging. Maka sidestepped them, aiming to hurt them as least as possible. They were their friends after all.
"Maka, we have to go," yelled Soul as the castle shook violently. Maka ran to Kid, assisting him to his feet. They all shared a question, 'Where was Blackstar?' No one could find him, and the ice cracked beneath their feet. They rushed out into the hall as shards of ice fell from the ceiling. They rushed down the hall, despite the impossibility of getting out, especially when they found the only dead end in the castle.
Soul appeared behind them. "That's so uncool." He stated as they all heard fast footsteps nearly upon them. They all got ready, but they relaxed when it was Blackstar barreling down the hallway.
Blackstar was gasping, so it was hard to determine exactly what he was saying, but what Maka deciphered that he was talking about the witch coming after him. The hallway shook, and suddenly it exploded. The last thing they saw was a very ticked off witch above them.
. . . .
Maka awoke in chains, eyes having to adjust to the bright light before she could see the others around her. Everyone, still unconscious, were chained up to the ground as she was. Blackstar was beside her, Kid to her other side, and Soul... Soul wasn't anywhere in the room. Maka rose to her feet, only an inch or so off the ground to be forced back to the ground by the chains.
The witch would probably want to kill Soul, since technically he was the one to kill her precious pet. Then, the rest of them would perish. Maka guessed it wasn't such a great idea to kill that creature; it would most likely have been easier to injure it. Maka pulled at the chains, finally realizing that they weren't in an ice room, but something that resembled a prison (or dungeon) cell.
It didn't exactly matter either way. A groan to the left of her made her turn to Kid, who was finally awake. Kid gazed at her, shoulders slumped forward. Suddenly, there was screaming. The screams echoed through the rooms/hallways. "My Maka!" Whoever was yelling was also crying.
Maka made a face. Of course her father was here, but did that mean he knew she was here? Beside her, Kid struggled against the restraints. He suspected his father would, as well, be somewhere down here. He yanked the chains again, putting forth effort. Maka knew that it wouldn't work; they needed to find another way. Her green eyes scrutinizing the area.
It only had one door with a small window with at least four bars over it to prevent escape. Nothing else was there. They were stuck. Blackstar made a noise next to her, yet he was still asleep. She didn't really know what to do. When she continuously thought about their escape, the door swung open to immediately smash against the wall. It was a surprise that it didn't detach from its hinges.
Standing in the doorway, a tall figure showed through. It was Tsubaki, both Kid and Maka realized. Tsubaki went up to Blackstar and knelt. No one moved, no one breathed either. Then, something flashed in Tsubaki's hand. Maka glared as the hand went toward his neck, but she didn't injure him, instead she unlocked the chains. Her look was pure sadness as Blackstar slumped forward.
Tsubaki handed the key over to Maka, allowing her to unlock hers, who gave it to Kid to free himself, too. Tsubaki pulled Blackstar up to his feet. "Blackstar, wake up, please." She gently shook him a bit. Her frown deepened as she tore her eyes from his face to meet Maka. "She's in the throne room. And your fathers are down the hall to the right." She supported Blackstar's weight as he stirred.
Groggily, he asked. "Wh... What happened?" He grunted as his hand went to his head, gingerly skimming his fingers over it. With a wince, he brought down his hand, taking in their surroundings finally. "Hey, where's Soul?"
"Throne room," stated Kid.
"Where the witch is." Maka added.
Blackstar's face split into a big goofy grin. "Then what are we waiting for?! Let's end this!" He went to take off, only to basically crash to the floor. Fortunately, Tsubaki caught him and held him steady. Blackstar hissed painfully through his teeth. Kid walked out casually as Maka followed shortly behind him. Blackstar and Tsubaki did the same, but slower.
Kid stopped by the door, unlocking it and peering inside. "Well, hello, son." His father's cheerful voice commented. Kid unlocked them from the floor, as in them he meant his father, Spirit, and Stein.
"Is there anyone else here, father?"
Stein, however, was the first one to speak up. "Everyone's back there."
Maka was bombarded by her own father in a big hug. She pushed him away as fast as she could, glaring all the while. "Yes, nice to see you too." She turned toward the door. "We really need to leave now." As if on cue, the building shook violently once again. They had to head to the throne room and fast, who knew if Soul was even still alive. Maka led everyone down the hall and up the stairs to a door of ice.
They were going the right way, obviously. Maka went to open it with her hand, but hesitated. She remembered that the doorknob could freeze you, so she had to come up with another way. Her eyes went to a ventilation duct, which seemed oddly placed in her opinion. It was too small for anyone to really fit, so that was out. Suddenly, Blackstar ran past her and smashed into the door.
It split where his shoulder hit it. "She is not beating me," he mumbled to himself as he took another step back and retried to break the door. This time he bounced off without as much as a dent in the ice.
"Blackstar," Tsubaki's soft voice said, arms clasped together. "You might hurt yourself." She gave him a tight smile. "Maybe-"
Blackstar smirked at her. "You're right, but... I'm still going to try." Instantly, he ran into the door again, this time sending him through. He fell on his palms, inevitably gasping in pain. Ow, that hurt. He rose to his feet a few moments afterward.
Maka turned to Spirit. "I need you to go and make sure no one is in here, is that understood?" Her green eyes watched Spirit as he decided to nod. "If there is any, try to get them out. Please." She turned away just as Spirit smiled at her. She never said 'please' in that way to him before. He hugged his daughter again, less bone breaking than before.
"Don't worry about it, Maka." Spirit put his cheek to hers in an affectionate manner, which Maka made a face at. He, Stein, and Lord Death went one way, while everybody else went the opposite way. Big doors stood between them and the throne room. A crash sounded from beyond the doors then a yell escaped. "Watch it!" It was Soul. He was alive!
Maka pushed open one door and saw the witch practically smoking a white color, strange. Blackstar yelled. "Hey witch!" The witch turned her attention from Soul to him with an evil glare. Blackstar just grinned at her, despite her murderous look. "Pick on someone else for a while." He strode into the room, hands linked behind his head. He went toward the witch, confidently. "Tsubaki."
Tsubaki gave a curt nod as she flashed onto Blackstar's shoulders as a chain scythe. "Now, you'll be assassinated by the Great Blackstar!" He darted at the witch, who just dodged easily. Blackstar let out a growl as he attacked again.
Soul walked over- well limped- to Maka. "We have company." He nodded his head toward the large doors. That was all the movement he could really emit before his head reeled, and he nearly passed out. Maka, by the door, noticed Patty and Liz.
Kid went over to them hesitantly, determining if they were going to attack. They didn't move; they only stared at him with similar expression of confusion. If Kid wasn't focused on their movements, he'd probably be proud with their symmetrical stances. He had a cool expression on his face as he watched for anything that resembled what he used to know as Patty and Liz.
Suddenly, Patty sprang forward and giggled, pointing and waving her finger at him. Liz smiled over at him. "See, he's alive."
A howl from across the room brought their attention to it. It was the witch howling loudly. "NOO! You cannot break out of my spell!" Something flashed at her, hitting her square in the chest. The giant shuriken sprang back to Blackstar's hand as he sauntered over to the witch, who presently laid sprawled across the floor.
He looked down. "Maybe I gave it too much?" He didn't want to defeat her that quick. Tsubaki transformed into a chain scythe again. Just as Blackstar went to finish the witch, something extraordinary happened. The witch started to shimmer, a shimmer of colors of the rainbow and beyond that. The light that shown from her increased. Blackstar felt a hand bring him back.
Soul gripped his shoulder to prevent him from getting closer. It was unnatural; no one knew what to expect. The witch stood just as the light exploded from her. She growled, looking more like her Pet, but with more human characteristics, such as her figure, her hands, her mismatched facial features. Now, however, her nails resembled a smaller claw than her pet, but just as deadly and her hair was the exact color of her deceased pet's fur used to be.
Her eyes narrowed on the closet person, Blackstar at the time. "You'll all going to DIIIEEEE!" She screeched, causing her castle floor to shatter in some areas. Quick, like a flash, she lunged forward, only to jump back as a shot rang out. Kid came from behind the others, holding two twin pistols.
"Don't you mean, you are." His gaze was cold as he held a symmetrical pose, pinkie fingers itching to pull the trigger. One wrong move and the witch will get her head blown right off. A flash to Kid's right caused him to relax a bit.
Soul, now in Maka's hand, smirked. "Time to give her a taste of her own medicine."
"Wait, what medicine?" Blackstar turned his head toward the scythe blade.
"Nothing." Soul chuckled as he flashed off the blade. All three of the meisters shot forward, two swinging, one shooting. The witch twirled around, sending blasts of ice at her attackers, but anyone could see that she was extremely exhausted. Even more so now since the red dot on Maka's chest was totally gone. There was no trace on it, like all the others.
The witch huffed, pausing in her steps as her eyes grew wild. Out of nowhere, something snaked around her whole body. The chains tightened and brought her to her knees. Blackstar had her all tied up. Kid took the opportunity to aim at her and fire, numerous times as he remarked about her being complete and utter trash, that she wasn't symmetrical, like usual.
Now Maka jumped high to give the fatal sweep of Soul onto the witch. It sliced clean through, giving way for the witch to have a surprised face before she exploded to reveal a soul. Soul flashed next to the weird looking soul. "Who's going to take it?" He asked, despite him wanting it for himself.
"I say it should go to me." Blackstar commented while everyone stared at him. "You guys always get one, so this time it's mine."
"You mean Tsubaki's." Kid stated. He wasn't going to take it because his weapons wouldn't have the same amount of souls.
"No, mine." Everyone gave him a look again. "What? Soul says they taste good sometimes!"
Tsubaki smiled nervously. "Soul can have it." Blackstar blinked and went to argue, but Soul already ate it. Blackstar crossed his arms over his chest stubbornly. Tsubaki gave a light giggle at his pout. Around them, the castle started to melt underneath. They rushed outside and looked back to the castle. It was caving in on itself and melting at the same time. Eventually there was only a big puddle of water.
Soul put his arm around Maka's shoulder. "At least you're not trying to kill me again." Maka flashed him a glare, which he let slide over him. Then, unexpectedly, she smiled at him. Soul grew suspicious, removing his arm slowly. Soul momentarily froze as something ghosted across his cheek, and it warmed up. His red eyes went to Maka, who smiled a knowing smile.
Blackstar walked ahead, eager to leave this place. Tsubaki followed as he complained. "I think I should have got it." He told her, which made her just smile. Sometimes her partner was something else, but in a good way.
Liz and Patty were talking to Kid, as well. Liz's small smirk appeared. "That was good, Kid. You made it through the day without passing out about your torn clothes."
Kid glanced down and screamed, swaying. "No! I'm-I'm-"
"Here we go," Liz shook her head as Patty giggled at Kid's pale face and poking his cheek. Kid fell, but Liz and Patty caught him in time to prevent him from slapping his head off a rock. Liz put him on her back with a sigh. "We better get him home." She and her little sister walked side-by-side.
They made it back in one piece, and eventually the damage that was done to their city was repaired. That witch and the experience would stand by them from that day forward.
(Thanks for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and following. See you guys! This is finally finished; I hoped you enjoyed it.)