"You sure about this?" Soul asked Maka as she began stretching her arms out in the gleam of sunlight peering through a window. Fortunately, the night had been relatively quiet, with no intrusions to the chapel. The group was now gathered on the main floor the chapel after having cleared some of the loose debris away.
"Of course," Maka said. "She needs someone to help break her back into a weapon and meister connection, and I have the most experience with a scythe. That's obviously why Lord Death asked me."
"Well, yeah, but I mean," he paused for a moment, peering over at Priscilla, who was meditating silently a few feet over in her own preparation, and lowered his voice a notch. "She's not exactly a normal weapon."
"She's still a scythe, Soul, don't worry."
"He may have a point, actually," The two jumped slightly as Priscilla now towered over them.
"How did you-?" Soul began to ask before being cut off.
"I have never worked with a mortal before," she told them. "I am unsure of how the interaction will go," she said with a small frown.
"Well, you want this to work out, right?" Maka asked her.
"But of course!" Maka gave her a warm grin.
"Well, then there shouldn't be any problems," she said simply.
"Besides," Kid now intruded on the conversation. "I have worked for years with the girls. We never really had a problem." Priscilla seemed slightly relieved at that comment. "I'm sure it will be fine. Now, are you two ready?" He asked.
Priscilla and Maka looked at each other for a moment before both nodding in agreement. Maka held her hand out in a gesture reminiscent of their meeting in the painted world. Priscilla took her hand and wordlessly began her transformation into the Lifehunt scythe.
"Oof!" Maka grunted as the shaft landed in her hands, the force knocking her back onto her rear. The scythe felt incredibly heavy in her hands, but this wasn't too surprising- they hadn't aligned their souls yet. She righted herself into a more proper sitting position and let the blade rest on the ground beside her as she held the handle in her lap.
"Alright, Priscilla. First thing we have to do is get basic resonance down. I'll reach to you with my soul, and you reach out to mine. Just a little bit to start, real cautiously. Alright?"
"Yes, lady Maka," Priscilla answered back.
Maka closed her eyes to focus, and slowly began to feel out to the soul she was now connected with. She didn't want to go too fast and scare Priscilla right out of the gate. However, as she began to reach out, she was blindsided with a huge spiritual force coming from Priscilla. A pristine silver force seemed to come from the darkness and clouded her vision, hitting her like a truck. She felt it burning across her skin like a wildfire, and in a flash, she opened her eyes and shot up like a rocket, dropping Priscilla on the spot and severing the connection.
"Priscilla!" Her voice came out a notch higher than intended, but the power of that connection had hurt like nothing she'd experience. "I said we have to start out easy on this. Not so aggressive!"
In a flash of light, the half-dragon woman re-appeared before them, knelt in a kowtowed position. "I am terribly sorry, my lady. I am… ill practiced, it seems. Please, allow me to try again."
Maka sighed and looked for a moment over at Soul, who was scowling at the weapon knelt before them.
"Of course, Priscilla. I guess it wasn't very likely we'd get this right the first try anyways. Kid looked over at her with a frown on his face, but he nodded anyways to indicate the go ahead.
"Alright, now like I said, we need to take this slowly. Give me a lot less pressure to start off this time, alright?"
"I will do my best, my lady." Not looking up from the floor, Priscilla became the scythe once more in a flash of light, falling to the floor in a clang.
Maka sat back down and closed her eyes again. She reached back to Priscilla, and with a great effort, hauled the shaft back onto her lap.
"Now, real slow, Priscilla," she reiterated again before opening the connection once more. She pushed her own soul into that connection, albeit with a touch more force than last time. She waited for a few moments, trying to find the warmth that always had indicated resonance.
"It's alright, Priscilla," she reassured the weapon. "Slow is good, but I need something."
She was rewarded with a feeling like her skin was on fire as suddenly Priscilla's soul washed over her. Maka grunted as she steeled herself for the pain.
"A… little less, Priscilla," she managed to grunt out. The burning sensation lessened slightly, but the pain was still incredible. Maka finally gave abandon to her restraint, and tried to push back against Priscilla's soul wavelength with all her might, trying to balance out the power of their souls. Lights began to dance in the darkness from having her eyes closed, and suddenly she was overcome with a dizzying sensation.
C'mon, Priscilla, we can do this, she thought. We just have to get through this rough start. A swooping sensation filled her stomach as her consciousness suddenly began to transition to the realm of soul resonance, and the darkness was suddenly lifted and it became a silvery mist all around her. She felt as though she was floating for a moment before gravity took over and she fell with a thump to a hard, dirt ground. She still felt as though she was on fire, but the sensation felt dulled by this point. She looked around in curiosity.
This must be like Soul's black room, she thought to herself. She could make out the faint outline of enormously tall, but thin trees in the distance in every direction.
"Priscilla?" she called out. "Come on out, Priscilla!"
There was deathly silent. There wasn't even a rustle of birds, or branches swaying in a breeze.
With a sigh, Maka decided to brave the mist and began to trek in the direction her gut told her to. The ground beneath her was rock hard, like grassland that hadn't seen rain in years. All around her was just a desolate wasteland, it seemed.
But after only a few minutes of travel, she could discern the outline of a huge building, nearly as large as Shibusen academy, but with a rectangular structure. Encouraged, she marched onwards. After only a few seconds, the huge marble structure suddenly materialized in full view of her. It seemed almost Roman in structure, and incredibly out of place in this dried up land. A young woman stood in the center of it, between to massive iron doors. She looked like Priscilla, but smaller, almost human looking, with none of the draconic features. A long, flowing white dress wrapped around her. The human Priscilla looked at Maka with fearful eyes.
"Priscilla, it's alright," Maka said, taking a step forward. The burning sensation across her skin suddenly flared up worse than before and she fell to her knees.
"No, no, no, no, I am here!" human Priscilla shrieked out before running back into the magnificent mansion. A high pitched roar suddenly bellowed out from up above Maka. Gritting her teeth, she looked up to see an enormous, albino dragon perched atop the roof, its long neck sweeping down. It was coated in downy feathers, with a small, plumed crest emerging between two long horns that came from the sides of its head. With a flap of its enormous wings, the dragon jumped from the roof, with huge clawed feet aimed directly at Maka as it descended and Maka felt darkness enclose her once more…
Whump
With a groan, light exploded in her vision and slowly, her vision came into focus. Soul's face was the first thing she found, his arms on her shoulders and his face transitioning from panic to relief as her eyes opened. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his head into her shoulder. The rest of her friends were glaring to her right, and she looked over to see an inconsolable Priscilla muttering her apologies again to her from a bowed position, her face scraping the floor.
"I swear on my honor, this was not my intention," Priscilla continued on. "I did not intend you such harm, lady Maka." Maka cringed, bringing a hand to the source of her splitting headache, and was surprised to feel it slide on a slick substance. A spattering of blood coated her fingertips. She looked back to Soul.
"How bad is it?"
"Well, no worse than you do in the morning," he responded, the worry in his voice betraying the attempt at humor. She brought the wrath of her chop upon his skull and stumbled back up, managing to her feet after wobbling for a moment. She looked over at Kid in frustration.
"I was so close!" He looked over at her in shock.
"You want to try that again?" He asked, an eyebrow raised.
"I think I can do it, I just need to be a bit more aggressive, I think," she said. "Her soul, there's something powerful about it, but I think with enough force it can be managed."
"My lord," Priscilla interrupted, still bowed over. "I do not think it would be wise for me to partner up with lady Maka again. I… do not know if I can restrain myself any better than I just did. I do not wish harm upon her."
"Well, then I will do it," Kid said.
"What?!" Both Maka and Liz exploded at the comment.
"Oh hell no, you're not linking up with her!" Liz barked out.
"I can do this Kid; I almost had the connection that time!" Maka insisted.
"Liz, Father wishes her to be re-acquainted with a weapon and meister relationship. Maka, no offense, but if I let you try that again, she might kill you. For a second, we thought you were going to die." Again, a voice tugged at the back of his head.
"And that's why you can't just go running into this, Kid!" Liz countered. "I don't care if she keeps apologizing after every time she does this, an apology won't mean jack if she kills you!"
"Liz," he turned to face her square and narrowed his eyes slightly. "Have faith. Maka," he turned to face her. "You don't seem all that accusatory towards Priscilla. Would you say she's doing this on purpose?" The blond meister shook her head.
"She's… complicated for sure. And her soul is wild, but she definitely wasn't intending to hurt me."
"See?" Kid turned back to Liz with a smile. "We can do this. Besides," he added. "If she does become a weapon against Asura, I would be a pretty lousy Shinigami if I couldn't work with her. We wouldn't want that, would we?"
"But, but…. Fine," she relented through clenched teeth. "But if she tries anything funny, you're not going to be a stubborn mule like Maka, right?"
"I'm right here, you know," Maka pointed out. Liz looked at her seriously.
"And we all love your persistence, Maka. But that was dumb," Liz said bluntly. "You worried the heck out of poor Soul. I'm not letting Kid do something if it turns out to be impossible."
"Enough!" Kid cut the two ladies off. "Priscilla," he turned on a heel to face her. "Stand up. Let's do this."
"Of course, my lord," she answered, standing up. Kid's left eye visibly twitched at being called lord once more, but let it pass.
In a flash of light, she transformed again, spinning through the air, to be caught by Kid. He twirled the weapon around a few times, lacking quite the practiced grace of Maka with Soul, but clearly wielding Priscilla with much more ease.
"Alright, Priscilla. Let's attempt the same thing you did with Maka. Are you ready?"
"Yes, my lord."
Kid closed his eyes, and allowed his consciousness to stream to Priscilla. He felt a familiar swooping sensation, not dissimilar to the first time he had connected as such with Patty and Liz. When he opened his eyes, he was standing in a grand, marble room. The ceiling, over a hundred feet in the air, was held aloft by magnificent, pearly pillars, each one draped with a pristine, red banner on both near and far sides. The arrangement was absolutely perfect! He couldn't help himself as he marveled at the perfect symmetry of the room. No matter which side one approached from, they were faced with perfect rows of pillars. He slowly caressed one of the banners, and relished the feel of perfectly smooth velvet.
"Beautiful…"
"My lord?" He snapped out of his reverie, and turned his attention to the far end of the room, where a young woman with long white hair and wearing a long, silky white dress, stood in the middle of the open doorway.
"This room pleases you?" she asked.
"It's marvelously constructed and beautifully furnished," he said in awe, returning his rapt attention to drinking in the sight, trying to observe each angle possible. The young woman smiled and began to float just a few inches off the ground. With surprising speed, she closed the gap, her dress fluttering slightly as she came to a stop and rested her feet back on the ground. She stood just before Kid, with a gentle, warm smile on her face.
"And I told you, it's Kid," he continued.
"You recognized me?" The human looking Priscilla asked.
"You look much as you normally do. Just smaller and without some of the… more unique features."
"You do not seem in pain as lady Maka was," she said. "It pleases me that I am not completely incompatible, at least."
"So, where is this, exactly?" Kid asked, gesturing to the hall.
"It is much like father's old home in Anor Londo," she answered. "It was the gods' great capital. The painted world was safe, but I missed home." She turned her gaze down from Kid's face. "And, I admit… I missed company. Many of the gods did not like me for my heritage, but some were kind. It has been lonely, unable to be with others like me for so long." She looked back up at him, almost… shyly?
"What do you mean by that, exactly?" He asked. He could feel an odd, warm, tingling sensation dance across his skin.
"I never met Mother, but Father said she was an immortal. Even though Father's draconic side sometimes reared against it, I wished for the company of others like her… like you." She continued, taking a few steps towards Kid. It felt as though his muscles had frozen up. Suddenly, Priscilla was inches away from him, gazing into his eyes.
"Would you offer me such company…Kid?" she asked, an almost pleading look in her eyes. "There are so few of us left, even if I am only part god." She placed a hand on his arm.
"I… this is not proper, Priscilla," Kid stammered out. His minds kept flashing to memories of his first confessions to Liz over six months ago, of all that she had risked with him, her patience with his bouts of OCD, her natural ease offsetting his mania.
"But this is only what's most proper, Kid," she said, wrapping her free arm around his back and pulling him to her. "Or… have I misjudged? You are already married?"
"I… no." Why was talking become so difficult? He looked her up and down. Certainly she was pretty- a slim figure with pleasing curves and a flattering, yet tasteful silk dress that left her shoulders bare. Still, he had seen plenty of beautiful women before that did not urge the primal parts of him so. He looked back into her silver eyes. They had a ghostly, almost ethereal touch to them.
"It's… I committed to Liz," he stuttered out. The corners of Priscilla's eyes turned downwards just slightly and she allowed herself a frown.
"The young weapon who insisted against this?" She asked. He nodded, but remained frozen to his spot.
"But she is mortal… I am sure she is a lovely mortal, but that is all she is." She leaned her head forward and rested her cheek on Kid's neck. "There is no such way she can understand you as I could. I admit, I am not a god, not purely, but I am still immortal, like you." As she said that, the memories that had been running through Kid's mind turned from the ones of joy to the times of doubt- the ones where he had questioned to himself how much he could relate to the young woman from Brooklyn. They turned to the time Honorable Father had pointed to him the downsides of becoming so attached to someone so frail, someone so impermanent. Father had supported his decision with gusto in the end, but had felt it necessary to raise practical issues to make sure Kid had thought things through.
She lifted her head back up and gazed into his eyes once more. "Do I not please you? I have attempted my best to cooperate with you and your friends. I am very sorry for my incompatibility with lady Maka. But does that not prove why this is proper? She could not even enter the bounds of this great house, and you came directly into it. You are truly magnificent."
A blush intensified on Kid's face. "That… that… that's very nice of you to say, but I'm flawed greatly as well. We're all flawed in some-"
As if on cue, Kid was interrupted by a hissing sound behind him, causing him to wheel around and break off Priscilla's hold. A great albino dragon slinked stood behind him, rearing on its back legs, allowing its head to stretch nearly halfway to the vaulted ceiling. It snorted briefly before slinking down onto all fours. Its plumed and horned head lowered down to the ground, and it crawled forward with deliberate motions, staring down Kid.
"NO!" Priscilla screamed from behind him. Her normal, melodious voice seemed to echo and reverberate. She ran in front of him, arms held out as she glared at the beast. "I need him!" The feathered, but otherwise reptilian head inched its way towards her, bobbing up and down, alternating glances between her and Kid. After a few seconds, it finally opened its mouth and an oddly haunting sound, a crooning mix that reminded Kid simultaneously of a songbird and an aquatic mammal. "Of course!" Priscilla answered it back. "I already know that!" Without warning, the dragon's head turn its full attention to Kid and sniffed around. It seemed pleased, as it settled for a short nuzzle into his neck. It then retreated, the dragon backing onto its haunches, and took off from the ground with a great gust. It shot straight at the ceiling, and vanished through it as though it wasn't even there.
Priscilla turned back to Kid and locked an arm around his shoulders, once more pulling him to her.
"Was that also you?" He asked. He heard a faint tune begin to play, though from where he could not tell. It was a soft, string tune, likely a harp, if he was any judge. "There are two of you?"
"Well, yes. I am two things, as one. I am dragon, yet god. I am a contradiction, but exist as a single entity. We share this realm. That… me is not always so welcoming. I believe she likes you," Priscilla said with a warm smile. "It is not surprising, since she is also me." She began to move the two of them slowly to the soft string tune, giving Kid at least the assurance that he was not going mad.
"Priscilla, I do not think-" She cut him off by putting her free hand up and placing a pointer finger on his lips.
"My lord. Kid. Please," she said, her ghostly eyes sad yet hopeful. "Allow me this opportunity." She put her hand down, placing it around his waist and brought her lips to his, placing upon him a kiss deep with passion and tinged by desperation. Kid felt himself leaning into it, responding. Something inside of him burst open at that moment, a force that clamored for understanding. It felt natural, embracing the young woman before him, knowing that she had seen what he could see, feel what he felt.
After a few seconds, a second part of his conscience kicked back violently, and he pulled away, suddenly ashamed at allowing himself such weakness. This was a betrayal of Liz' trust! He had told her this would work, this would be okay. It was him who had asserted to her back on that day they could work through things despite their natural differences.
And yet, that first part of him reasoned back, this was different. The woman before him was as him. She would not be frail, not a transient thing he would outlive thirty, forty times over.
"Kid?" she asked, her eyes suddenly becoming fearful. "I am… I displease you?"
"I-no, you are. Uh. You're very nice, Priscilla. I… I need time. Please, give me that." She smiled warmly again.
"Of course. I can give you all the time you require."
And then, the swooping sensation returned to Kid as the world around him dissolved into darkness. His eyes opened, and he was back in the Church of Fina, holding the Lifehunt Scythe in his hands. He stood and gave Priscilla a few more twirls again. He gave a basic extension of his soul wavelength over to her. He felt it returned to him, seemingly magnified ten times over. With a hitch in his breath, he realized that he hadn't yet felt such a magnification of his wavelength on a single resonance before. He lent more of his power back into her, and she responded again. They continued to bounce it back and forth, until Kid realized he could actually see Priscilla's soul wavelengths etching into the bound of his soul, which was now stretching to fill the entire room. Silver streaks ran through the blue wisps around him. He could almost feel his blood pressure rising with this simple resonance. He looked down at Priscilla's blade, and his eyes widened as the bluish steel was glowing white.
He finally dropped her, severing the connection. It was then finally noticed his friends gathered around him, cheering at the success of his obvious resonance with the Lfehunt scythe. As Priscilla transformed back, Liz nearly tackled him with the force of her hug, muttering about his idiot self getting her worked up over nothing and apologizing for herself earlier. He was vaguely aware of Solaire giving him congratulations with a pat on his shoulder. Everything felt completely bizarre and ethereal.
Apologize. That's what he should do. To both of them. But not right now. Later. He spared a quick glance at Priscilla, who was looking back at him with that warm smile of hers, before finally snapping himself back to reality and returning Liz' hug. He had all the time in world, after all. Right?
A/N: I hope y'all are still enjoying this in spite of my poor update schedule. Like I said in the previous chapter, I'm hoping to improve this with better schedule and RL hopefully being a bit nicer. As well, for those curious, this *is* the story formerly known as Dark Soul Eater. That was, frankly, a terrible story name that I'd always intended to be placeholder, but I didn't get around to changing the name longer than intended. Anwyays, next time 'round, we'll begin the trek for the second bell and start to see some of the other divergences in the plot continue cropping up.