Episode 15: Love, Blades, and War!

Author's Notes: Hey y'all! Sorry it took longer than expected... But, I present you with chapter 15... Please Read, Enjoy and Comment! ^_^

6:00 p.m. Shibusen's Infirmary—Scores of students filled the hallway, eager to catch a glimpse of what became known to be the last of the Seven Mysteries of Shibusen. However, try as they might, the door leading into the room was locked by Spirit. It was only until a certain loud knock that he opened the door.

"Eh? You opened it right away? I didn't even finish the secret knock yet," pouted the Shinigami. He was accompanied by two of his Death Scythes, namely: Azusa and Justin.

"We don't HAVE a secret knock!" exclaimed Spirit, "Would you be serious for once!" Surprised as he was, the Shinigami understood Spirit's anxiety. As a father himself, worrying over his child's safety and welfare was paramount.

But, ("SHINIGAMI CHOP!") under no circumstance should someone scream at him like that. Spirit was a Death Scythe; as such, he should've learned to handle such things professionally and with dignity intact.

"Sh-Shinigami-sama…" Spirit could only groan.

As they entered, the rows of clean beds lay before them. With nobody in sight, they proceeded towards the private room reserved for special cases. That was also the same room that Kid had previously occupied during his comatose state.

Seeing Soul and Sid standing outside the room, Azusa promptly asked Maka's condition. Neither of the two could answer for they knew nothing. Blair was also there with her cat, but they were purposely ignored. After admitting Maka inside, Stein and Nygus prohibited anyone from entering the room. Since then, there had been no word about her condition.

"MAKA!"

At that moment, the mucus-dripping, teary-eyed Spirit reappeared and went directly for the door. Pounding for it to open, he kept shouting his support for Maka by saying such things as "Everything's going to be alright!" or "Don't give up!".

Although it was done with good intentions, the possibility that Spirit could be disturbing a delicate operation made it far more of a danger than help. He became more of a nuisance when he began having delusions that Stein was actually dissecting Maka instead of helping her.

"Papa's here to save you!" he cried out. Out of desperation, he was even prepared to kick down the door—something the Shinigami readied to counter with another SHINIGAMI CHOP.

Just then, "Honorable Father, what has happened to Maka?" Kid and the Thompson Sisters made their appearance.

"Hmm? Haven't you heard? Something happened and now Maka got turned into something."

"What do you mean by something?"

While the father and son talked, Blair noticed that Patty had a large tome in her arms. It was fairly old that even the crimson-red color of its leather-cover had begun to fade. There were no distinguishable markings, but if she had to guess, that was none other than the Book of Exorcism that Patty told her about.

She was tempted to take it, but before she could, something else caught her eye. In fact, it was their eyes. Expressionless, cold, and dull were the words to describe them. It was as if they were being controlled or something. She knew Kid didn't have that power, but just to make sure, she ordered her cat to catch their attention.

The cuddly creature obeyed without question and went towards the two. She purred loudly as she rubbed her soft fur against the bare legs of Patty. But it was to no avail, so the cat opted to make a scratching post of the denim-clad legs of Liz. She dug her claws into the fabric many times, but the girl didn't even blink.

Seeing how this experiment turned out, Blair had no doubt in her mind as to what afflicted them. Now, the question was who had that kind of power over the mind? All facts pointed to Kid. But then that would beg the question why? After researching their pasts, Blair knew how those two admired and respected the boy so much so that they'd probably do anything for him. So there was no need to control them. Besides, Kid wasn't the kind of person who'd do something like that.

Then it dawned on her, 'What if Kid wasn't Kid at all?' Perhaps someone else was pulling the strings and that her beloved was just another puppet. The thought of such a powerful person chilled her blood, but at the same time, the idea that someone else was monopolizing Kid to their own ends infuriated her greatly. Whoever this person was, he just made a terrible enemy!

She signaled the cat to withdraw just as Kid finished explaining how the library got topsy-turvy due to Liz and Patty's constant horsing around.

Just then, the door slowly opened and Stein came out. "What's up?" he asked, casually.

"YOU! What have you done to Maka!" Spirit immediately grabbed his collar.

"SHINIGAMI CHOP!" the strong hand of the Shinigami brought him down at once. "How is she?" he then asked calmly.

"She's alright," saying this, the good doctor took out a cancer stick and lit it. After a few puffs, he motioned them to enter but not before warning them to mind their limbs when they're inside.

"Whoa, what happened here-nyah?" asked the cat upon seeing the amount of damage inflicted to the room. It was as though an intense battle took place here. The portraits of the Shinigami lay torn on the floor, several pieces of what looked like a chair were scattered on the floor and most noticeably, massive cuts and slashes were carved deep into the reinforced-stone walls.

But, instead of commenting on the destruction, everyone (except those who knew) looked at the talking cat as though they had never seen one before. The cold silence of the room together with their speciest stares made her go, "M-Meow?" with uncertainty.

"What's wrong? Why are you looking at my cat?" asked Blair, "I said, what happened here-nyah?" She even added that awkward –nyah just to allay suspicion.

"That was odd," said Justin, "For a second, I thought it was the cat that spoke." He laughed it off whilst two very noticeable guillotine-blades were protruding from his forearms. The cat froze at the sight of those meat cleavers.

"A talking cat, eh? It would be great to disse-examine something like that," grinned Stein. He had that crazed, 'I-wanna-dissect-you!' look in his eyes. Seeing their reactions, it was then that the cat understood the reason as to why her owner wanted her silent.

"It's alright, little kitty," smiled Blair as she picked up the frightened furry feline and cuddled it. "Don't ever do that again," she whispered to its ear. The cat, ashamed by its disobedience, covered its head with its fluffy paws and nodded in agreement.

"So, where is she?" asked the Shinigami. With so much destruction here, the person responsible was nowhere to be seen.

"She's currently in the bathroom, Shinigami-sama," reported Nygus, who had been doubling as the school nurse ever since Medusa quit. "I've just given her a strong sedative to calm her down."

"You're hurt!" gasped Sid, seeing the blood-soaked bandages on her arms.

"It's okay. It's only a flesh wound. I'm fine," she replied. Not long after, the bathroom door opened. Unsure of what to do, they braced themselves for the unexpected…

"Huh? Soul, is that you?" Maka stepped out, looking normal and pretty much unchanged. The only thing surprising about her anticlimactic entrance was the fact that she wore all-yellow pajamas, which did NOT suit her at all.

They watched as she groggily walked towards Soul. "It really is you," she chuckled, patting his head like a dog.

"M-Maka-chan, are you alright?" asked Spirit.

"Huh?" she looked at her father, "Y-You look funny! Ha-ha-ha!" Her laughter crushed his confidence and sent him into a deep depression.

"It's only a side effect of the drug. She's fine," said Nygus to calm their fears that Maka had gone crazy. Regardless, things were getting weird as Maka suddenly stopped laughing and went to hide under her bed sheets in a turtle-like position. Then, she began complaining about how cold the room had become.

Soul wanted to go and help her, but Kid grabbed hold of him. "Don't," he said. A second later, a pair of sharp and pointy, curved blades grew out of the back of the shivering girl.

"What's wrong? What's everyone looking at?" asked Maka.

"Impossible," Nygus was astounded by how fast the sedative was wearing off. "I gave her enough to put down a horse. How could she—"

"W-WHAT ARE THESE THINGS!" screamed Maka. The two blades from before had grown so much so that they curved over her shoulders. Four smaller blades had also appeared from her back and curved around her sides. They all met at the front and formed an armor or shell of some sort.

"Calm down, Maka. Your emotions are controlling their growth. You shouldn't-"

"Hey!" Marie poked her head into the room. With everyone standing in the way, she didn't know what was happening. "Look who I brought," she stepped into the room with someone. "H-Hello", the person greeted.

"C-Chrona?" Maka gasped. "Get out of here, Chrona! You shouldn't see me like this," she sobbed, ashamed of her current state of weakness.

"Maka, it's alright. I'm here," she smiled, coming closer.

"NO! Get back!" screamed Maka. Just as she came within a few steps from her, several curved-blades shot forth without any warning and enclosed the two girls in a metal cocoon…

"MAKA!"