Wassup folks? ...ugh, ok, I won't do that again.
Anyways, I'm sorry if that plot twist caught you off guard but it's a plot twist so I kinda had to stab you guys and twist the dagger.
This will be the second last chapter (just a heads up!). All good things must come to an end... if you could call this a good thing.
Enough rambling, lets dive in!
Maka leaned against the cold stone railings of a small tower, dwarfed by other sky-piercing towers of Shibusen. She was mulling over how yesterday evening went. Every time she thought about it, another part of her thought up of at least a hundred other ways that could have gone. For the better. Now, that she put more thought into it, if Soul really hadjust wanted 'hook up', he would have tried it earlier (most pigs like her Papa would do that). Also, Soul looked angry after the interaction with the barista, not like he had a great plan under his belt to woo her.
Maka's musing was cut short by a hand falling onto her shoulder. Maka turned lazy eyes to the see Death the Kid. "Do you mind?" Maka glared. "I do mind." Kid said. "So do we!" Patty shouted with her sister behind her, checking her nails, "Yeah." She said in agreement.
"Whatever." Maka gazed back Death City which sprawled out from the academy.
A huffing sound could be heard from Liz. "Come on Maka, tell us what happened."
"Nope."
"What if we-"
"No."
"We can-"
"Nah."
"How about-"
"What's the point?"
"Urgh! Come 'ere!" Liz came at Maka with a half-hearted fist. Patty and Kid stopped her before she reached Maka, who was unchanged by Liz's anger. Once Liz had calmed down, Kid just went over Maka and Soul's assignment, hoping it would trick Maka into being more talkative. "So you're got a normal 'Sweep' job? Just clear out an abandoned mansion, near the edge of Death City, of evil humans? How fitting."
"Tell me about." Maka's tone was purposefully monotone.
Maka's eyes scanned the courtyard of Shibusen again and saw Soul's figure against the gray cobblestone. "Soul's here, I should go."
"Wait Maka," Kid said, "you know that my Father keeps people from doing assignments if they are not fit physically and or mentally." Maka nodded. Kid's eyes had a serious look in them. "You know why he does that, right?" Maka had a grave face and nodded again. Kid spoke again with the same piercing look in his yellow eyes, "Not to be rude but, you don't seem yourself and Soul may well be upset by whatever happened as well." Maka tried her best to put on a smile. "We'll be fine!"
Maka didn't yet realise how terribly wrong she was.
Maka met Soul in the vast courtyard and greeted him. He had turned and greeted her back with a classic Soul lazy face. No pain, no betrayal or hate was in his face. No emotional scars which Maka had thought she cut in him. "Hey Soul, about yesterday..." Maka said while on the train to the closest station to the mansion. Soul gracefully cut her off.
"Don't worry about it Maka, I accept full blame." Soul held his hands up as he said so.
"But it's-"Soul put his hand on her shoulder. "Water under the bridge Maka."
Even though Maka wanted to talk further, Soul was convincing enough to stop her. Yet through Maka's clothes, she could have sworn his hand was cold. As sit back and waited for the train journey to come to an end. As the Meister and Weapon waited, Maka's mind conjured up a memory of the day in class where Dr. Stein explained why Shinigami-sama keeps people from assignments if they are not fit. His voice was clear in her mind:
"Listen class up class, that includes you too Black*Star. The reason that Lord Death keeps back Meisters and Weapons from assignments if they are not at their physical or mental best is because if you have weakened in physical aspect, your are more likely to be killed. And if you have weakened in the mental aspect, such as going through trauma or some emotional experience, you are more likely to fall to madness."
Maka looked down at her hands. Could she fall to madness? What about Soul? Maka figures that yesterday evening wasn't exactly the most the best thing for them. But Soul looks fine but she still felt responsible. Ugh, what I'm I thinking? We're fine! Just as Kid said: Simple 'Sweep' job. The train slowed to a stop and a voice rang out loud telling people unimportant details. Or, at least, important to the pair as they stepped off the train and made their way out and into the part of town.
"Urm... Maka?" Soul asked.
"Yeah?"
"Where is this place?"
"Well, obviously its...its... Actually, I've completely forgotten..." That's strange; Maka knows she doesn't make mistakes like that. How could she forget?
"Well, well, well, you actually are human and not a walking wiki."
"Shut up Soul." Maka turned to the nearest shop window and fogged up the glass and wrote 42-42-564 and said the rhyme to match it.
After an embarrassing 'asking for directions' they were on their way. The place really was on the outskirts of Death City and the taunting sun grew drowsy and descended into evening. The thing that spooked her was that the thin forest, which was apparent in the area, didn't thin or stop when get got closer to mansion. Instead the leaves wilted and died and the branches and alike trunks became thin and twisted, making the trees look as if they had been involved in a horrible accident. As cliché as it sounds, a low mist creped upon them and covered their legs up to their knees.
"Oh great..." Soul groaned as the mansion came into view.
It's what you'd expect; run down, lifeless and oozing a strange feeling of being watched. Then Maka saw it, a figure in one of the windows, pale and emotionless. "Soul..." Maka pointed to the spectre and Soul muttered in acknowledgement. A chill went down both of their spines as the shadows eyes turned blood red and a smile spread across its face.
"Soul."
"Uh-huh." As the words come out of his mouth, his body turned into a scythe and fell into Maka's hands. Soul's scythe form felt cold in Maka's hand, normally she still could feel the heat from Soul's body, even in Weapon form but this was different. There was no time to think as the buildings doors shattered in to splinters and a rough form of a person came through the explosion of rotting wood, rushing the Meister and Weapon. Maka brought down the scythe judging the evil humans next position. A clang of metal rang out as the evil human's make-shift blade crossed Soul's scythe blade.
Maka kicked the evil human in one of its shin, as it stumbled; Maka swung Soul around and cleaved its body in two. The red throbbing soul lingered while the body fell away into oblivion. "One down..." Soul muttered. Maka advanced into the building and instantly was met with two more evil humans. Sharpened objects were flying and swiping; Maka countered these attacks successfully, but couldn't find an opening to attack. Maka was pushed up a flight of stairs and then rushed up away from the evil humans to find an advantage. A shabby-looking table was the closest thing. She got behind it and pushed it to the top of the flight of stairs and kicked. The table easily smashed into the first evil human but the other had been undamaged by using the firsts body as a shield. To the table's credit, large shards of it had lodged into the body of the first enemy and forced the second to push it out of the way.
Maka had the upper hand being at the top of the stairs and used that advantage to swiftly kill her enemy. As Maka proceed to finish the injured evil human, she was met with a pool of black slime. Maka's gaze followed the trail of the sick, mockery of blood.
Maka held Soul's scythe form tight as she cautiously followed the slick liquid. Maka's body suddenly felt the cold and the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. A deafening silence fell on the mansion. Maka pushed an already opened door to reveal a large room with a fireplace. The last fire to burn in the building had been left to ruin with the rest of the residence. Yet, the shadows in the room still seemed to dance as if the flame still burned. All but a portrait above the fireplace had crumbled and rotted away. A ringing in her ears started and the creaking of the ancient manor made itself heard. Maka wished that Soul would say something but he was dead silent. The moans of the building got more frequent and ringing in her ears turned into twisted whispers, her throat tightened and refused to release any words. Maka could feel the 'Fight or Flight' response kick in and adrenaline begin to rush through her yet the cold seemed to anchor in place. The whispers flooded her head and it boiled. When she fell to her knees in pain did she realise that Soul had disappeared, in confusion her eyes scanned the room but the only thing she could focus on was the portrait. The portrait was of a person with a blank face and pale skin but the eyes were an ice blue.
They were looking right at her. Watching her. Almost curious to her fate.
The eyes pierced her soul and never left her. The ringing in her ears was now shouts of hate and despair filling her throbbing head. Maka could have been like that for an eternity, but at some point a thud reached her ears. Maka pulled herself around to see the injured evil human, dead and crumbling into ashes. But the sight that captured her eyes was the thing that caused it.
Soul hunched over, hands covering his face but his glowing, blood red eyes burning through. His arms and his back were sprouting sharp, jagged, blood red scythe blades. Blood and gore were commonplace around him. A consuming feeling of madness and despair flooded out from him. A chilling, crazy laughter came from his serrated mouth.
"Makaaaaaa!" Maka couldn't even close her eyes to this horror.
"It hurrrrrtss! Aaaargh!" He was now clutching his chest with one hand and one hand reaching for her and a mad look in his eyes. Then, another soul chilling laugh filled the air.
Muahahahaha! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!
To be continued...
Soul~