Author's Note: Before we begin, I just want to clarify a few things.

1. Yes, I know Crona has no official gender. In fact, I prefer it that way. However, I refer to him as a "he" in the general sense, as gender neutral as I can. I found using they/them can be confusing and gender neutral pronouns like zhe, xe, etc., just don't sound/look quite as fluent. If I could ask Crona which pronouns s/he preferred, I would, but I can't.

2. I am also aware that Kami is not officially Maka/s mother's name, and actually stems form a mistranslation of the Japanese word for ex-wife. However, I want to use it, mainly because it is the name that some people are already familiar with, and changing it may make it weird… (also I suck at coming up with names…)

Sorry for the long intro. Armed with this knowledge, you may now continue!

Chapter One

"Hold still, will you?" Soul dabbed a washcloth at the gash on Maka's chin, one of many that littered her tired face. Maka winced slightly and drooped forward, exhausted. Soul pushed her upright and made a quick grab for the box of bandages before she slumped again. Soon he had managed to cover the most severe scratches. "Come then, off to bed." By now, Soul was sure that Maka wasn't even conscious. He picked her up as best he could and deposited her into her room. Before leaving, he made sure her nightlight was on. "How can a girl your age still be afraid of the dark?" he muttered.

It had been a long day, much too long. They had picked up their mission from Shinigami's list, now Kid's, like any other day. But they had trouble tracking down the guy, even with Maka's Soul Perception abilities. By the time they found him, it was already late and both Soul and Maka were feeling the weight of day pressing upon them. The soul was successfully collected, but not without a number of scratches and bruises due to clumsily executed techniques.

Soul shuffled to the couch and collapsed on it, grunting slightly at the impact on the bruise on his arm.

It had been a long day…

CRASH! The front door burst open with Black*Star dominating the entire room. "Never fear, the great me is here!" He stalked over to Soul, and rolled him off the couch to make room for himself. "What are you doing still sleeping at this hour, you lazy bum?"

"Star, go away," Soul swatted at Star and repositioned himself on the couch so that his feet were on Black*Star.

"Soul is tired, Star," Tsubaki spoke, tugging at Star's sleeve. "They've been out all night."

"Nothing you can't handle right?" Star gave a hearty punch to Soul's arm. Soul groaned and kicked him back.

"Star, I need your help," Tsubaki said, attempting to draw Black*Star's attention away from the clearly exasperated Soul. "Can you find some cups for tea?"

"Man, can't anyone do anything without me?" Star grinned, rifling through the cupboards. Tsubaki smirked. Asking for help was the only way to get Black*Star to do anything.

Tsubaki set a pot of water on the stove. "Is Maka still asleep?" Soul gave a grunt of confirmation from the couch and gestured toward Maka's room. Tsubaki gingerly knocked on the door. "Maka? Are you awake?" Receiving no reply she turned the handle and stepped inside. Maka was sprawled on the bed, still in her Spartoi uniform. Her signature pigtails were disheveled and sticking to the bandages on her face; Tsubaki counted a total of five. "Maka?" Tsubaki shook her awake.

Maka started awake. "Wha-? Tsubaki, what are you doing here?"

"Just visiting. You and Soul didn't come to dinner or breakfast so we wanted to check on you."

"Oh, what time is it?"

"Nearly noon."

"Noon?!" Maka bolted upright. "The day is that much gone already?" Before Tsubaki could react, Maka had grabbed a bunch of clothes and shut herself in the bathroom. She heard the shower start.

Tsubaki went back to the kitchen. The water had begun to boil and she saw that Black*Star had set out the cups haphazardly on a tray. The TV was on now. She heard the opening theme of Soul Eater blasting from the living room and Black*Star was singing along. "Tsubaki! Hurry! The show about me is going to start!"

"It's not about you, you arrogant bastard. It's obviously about me. Why else would it be called Soul Eater?"

"Tch, that's only because they couldn't fit my name into the title, because it's so BIG!"

"We have the same amount of letters in our names!"

"I have ten! What are you talking about?"

"B-L-A-C-K-S-T-A-R., that's nine!"

"B-L-A-C-K-STAR-S-T-A-R, TEN!"

"'Star' is not a letter, you dumbass."

Tsubaki placed the tray of tea on the coffee table. "Alright, that's enough, you two."

The three of them watched and sipped on their tea, commenting all the while. "Do I really sound like that?" "Isn't my voice cooler?" "That's not how it happened…" "Were we really that short?" The Maka on TV then announced the title of the episode, "Black-blooded Terror- There's a Weapon Inside Crona?" The room suddenly quieted. Soul threw a quick glance at the bathroom door. The shower was still running. "Maybe we shouldn't watch this episode now," Soul muttered.

"Why not! It's a new episode! I haven't seen it yet!" Black*Star reached for the remote to raise the volume. Tsubaki slapped him and furrowed her eyebrows. "Ow! Why'd you hit me?!" Tsubaki grabbed his face and directed it toward the bathroom. "What?! I don't need to go!"

"Ma-ka," Tsubaki enunciated through gritted teeth.

"What? Maka- OH!" Black*Star's eyes widened with realization. Tsubaki rolled her eyes and released his face.

At that moment, the shower stopped. All three fumbled for the remote as they tried to cover up the sound of Crona talking on TV. Somehow they managed to knock the batteries out. They finally switched the channel to the weather and stared at the screen as Maka stepped out, running a brush through her hair.

"Hi Black*Star, Tsubaki, Soul. What are you guys watching?"

"Oh, nothing really, just the weather," Black*Star replied. "It's going to be pretty sunny today, 89 degrees…hehe…"

"The weather? Isn't Soul Eater on at this time? I thought I heard the opening song. You were even singing along."

"It was just a rerun. We've already seen it!"

"But it's Monday. It's a new episode, isn't it?"

"Err…"

Maka picked up the remote and flipped to Soul Eater. TV-Maka was standing outside the door of a large church, noting the peculiar presence of two souls surrounded by a large crowd. Soul, Black*Star, and Tsubaki held their breath, unsure of how Maka would react.

Maka pursed her lips, but remained on the channel and sat down. "This is going to be a fun episode," she said quietly.

"You don't have to watch it if you don't want to." Soul patted her shoulder.

"No, I do." Maka took a tea cup and took a long drink.

They watched TV-Maka enter the church, and Crona say, "The doors open inward." Trying to lighten the mood, Black*Star said, "Did he really say that all the time?"

"Yea," Soul answered. "It was kind of a weird thing to say all the time."

Maka gave a short laugh. "Those doors don't open inward any more though, right Soul?" Maka remembered finally finding Crona in that same church, only to be told that Crona had barely any memory of Maka. And then he announced that he wanted to destroy the order in the world, beginning with the door, by completely pushing it off its hinges.

"Yea…"

"MA-KAAAA!" Spirit lunged toward Maka, narrowly missing Soul. He threw his arms around his daughter. "Where were you last night? I was so worried! You have scratches all over your face! Don't you ever leave Papa like that again! I should ground you, you know!" Tears formed at the edges of his eyes.

"Papa..." Maka tolerated the hug before squirming out. "You're making a scene."

"Is a father not allowed to show his love for his daughter?" He dived for her again, but Maka easily ducked to the side, bumping into another person. Looking up she saw a woman's face framed with pale blonde hair, much like her own...

"Mom...?"

Spirit ran around behind the woman and gripped her shoulders excitedly. "Kami's come to visit!" He pressed a quick kiss on to her cheek. "I've missed you."

Kami slapped him. "Don't," she reprimanded him sternly. Spirit rubbed his cheek, but his face showed no sign of regret. Kami turned to Maka and spread her arms. "Miss me?"

Maka buried herself in her arms. "Mom...it's been so long..." Three years to be exact. Just thinking about it made her heart ache. "I miss you."

Kami squeezed her reassuringly. "I'm sorry. I would've come sooner, but I've been so busy."

"There's so much to tell you!" Maka broke the embrace and grabbed her hand. "I can tell you all about at Deathbucks!"

Kami smiled and allowed herself to be tugged down the road to the cafe.

Soul and Spirit watched them jog away. Spirit had a pained smile on his face. He was glad Maka was so happy about her mother, but it hurt to see how differently she treated him. Though it had gotten better since the divorce, he could still feel the coldness in her interactions with him. She still blamed him.

Soul's voice broke his thoughts. "She loves you more than she lets on, you know."

Spirit brushed his hand across his eye. "I know..."

"...and so now, Asura's trapped on the moon with Crona..." Maka finished. Saying those words aloud made her burn with determination. "I will get Crona off the moon." Believe in me, Crona.

Kami stirred her coffee. "It's been over two years. How can you be sure he still lives?"

"My soul perception still senses his soul on the moon."

"You have soul perception abilities?" Kami looked up with slight shock. "How strong you've gotten."

"Not strong enough," Maka sighed. She had indeed grown in strength and technique; she had made Soul into the last Death Scythe and possessed a rare Grigori soul, but everyone around her had also gotten stronger. Death the Kid had taken the place of his father as Shinigami and headmaster of Shibusen. Black*star had unmatched combative abilities but continued to train to achieve his goal of surpassing God. And despite all of her strength, the moon had remained black.

"This Crona character interests me," Kami said. "You said he was the child of Medusa?"

"If you can call Medusa a mother." Anger welled up in Maka. "She abused him," she spat. "She replaced all his blood with this black blood infused with a Demon weapon just so she could create the ultimate kinshin. Crona was terrified of her and she used his fear to manipulate him."

"Is she still alive?" Kami asked cautiously.

"No. Crona killed her." Maka remembered finding Crona in Santa Maria Novella Basilica for the second time. The joy she felt when she saw him quickly plummeted when she saw the lack of recognition on his face. His voice shook with madness as he told her what had happened and what he planned to do.

Kami nodded slightly. "It was for the best."

"I don't know if she's actually gone though." Maka absentmindedly shredded a straw wrapper on the table. "Papa and Stein thought they had killed her the night the Kinshin was raised, but she came back. She could still be out there somewhere."

"This black blood, it's covering the moon?"

"That's Crona's Mad Blood." Seeing Kami's questioning look, she continued. "It's a variation of the black blood. It's imbued with the insanity from Crona's wavelength so no one can touch it without going insane."

"So that's why you can't get him off the moon..."

"I don't even know if your natural resistance to Madness would be able to handle it."

"It could be a problem." Kami took a sip of her now cold coffee. "As soon as I arrived at Death City, I could feel a disturbance in the air. But I never suspected that it came all the way from the moon. I could only imagine how it feels to stand beside it."

"I was only there briefly, when it was first put in place." Maka twisted the silver ring on her finger. "Your ring helped protect me from it."

"Oh?" Kami took Maka's hand and examined the band. "Spirit gave it to you?"

"Yeah."

"Do you mind if I have it back for a while?" Kami looked at Maka.

"O-of course! It's your ring, after all."

Kami slipped the ring onto her own finger. She finished the last of her coffee. "Walk with me to Shibusen?" Maka nodded and followed her mother out.

"Ready my bath." Mary opened the door into the dark room. Her butler disappeared into the bathroom. Mary hung her coat on the back of her chair and sat down in front of the vanity. "I can't believe how impossibly dumb that girl can be. Even with her soul perception, she couldn't see past this disguise." She gave herself a smirk. "Though I did go through a lot of trouble to put it together." She proudly recalled tracking down Kami and tearing her soul from her body. She possessed Kami's body and attached her soul to a seal in the middle of her chest. Separated, but it still seemingly connected. She hid her own soul with Soul Protection. The perfect costume. Her outward appearance in every aspect appeared to be Kami's.. It's perfect, she thought. Almost.

She tilted her head, running a hand through the pale blonde hair. "This color is bland." She leaned closer to the mirror. "This body has so many tiny wrinkles, not to mention scars," she growled in disdain. "Motherhood is really aging. You could have been beautiful, Kami..."

She slumped back down in her seat. Her eye caught the silver ring on her finger. She help it up to the light. "But the black blood intrigues me." The ring was dented in some areas and completely plain. Just a simple silver band. "All in the name of beauty I suppose."

"Your bath, milady."

"Thank you, love." Mary gave the ring to her butler. "Have that polished."

"Yes, milady."

"I'll dispose of this body soon enough. I just need that blood."