Maka remained quiet throughout Thanksgiving dinner. Wes and Blair were missing, Tsubaki is shot, and Blackstar was furious and leaving every day. Maka was so confused. Did Soul still trust her? He acted as if he did, but how could he, even she didn't trust herself.
"Maka, eat up please." Soul said as he placed a plate of turkey before her. Maka glanced up at him before pushing the plate away. Both held the others stare before she stood.
"I'm sorry Soul, but I'm to blame for all of this. I'll find your brother and Blair then I will leave." She whispered before pulling on a jacket and leaving the apartment. Soul cursed as he stood and chased after her.
He found her sobbing in the park a few minutes later. Her ash blond hair fallen from their pigtailed restraints. She looked so fragile to him, making his heart ache.
"Maka, angel it's alright, you're ok." He cooed as he tried to comfort her.
"Life only goes one way Soul, I'm a killer." She wept clinging to his shirt and turning her hands white. He stroked her hair before pushing her back to see her face.
"Your right, life only goes one way; forward. You were a killer, but that can change just like life." He said holding her tighter. "You killed my parents and I know you feel horrible, but I also know it was the Gorgon sisters and your parents that aided you. Maka Albarn I love you for the person you are now." He told her clinging to her body for all her warmth.
"Soul," she whispered smiling as her heart felt lighter. He felt so warm and he was holding her so tightly. "I love you too," she replied.
Soul smiled as he kissed her forehead.
"Let's find Wes and Blair together then we can destroy your past just like we had planned at the record studio." He smiled never letting go of the hand he had entwined his fingers with. Maka nodded getting up from the frozen ground to follow Soul back to the apartment where they would decide what to do.
"Death the Kid hated the look Wes Evans was giving him as the four sat divided by a cell. Patty was laughing as she watched her sister paint her nails and listen to their boss.
"Are you sure you don't know where she is?" Kid repeated as Wes continued to glare.
"Like I said she is most likely with Soul, now where is Blair!" Wes growled losing his patience. Kid sighed as he placed the folder in his hands on Liz's lap.
"Blair is being held captive by the Gorgons, Tsubaki has been shot by Capone's gang and is in critical condition, and your brother is in a romantic relationship with your parent's killer." Kid said before leveling his golden eyes back on the man in the cell. Wes remained silent; there were rumors that Death the Kid worked his ears around the underground circuit. But could he really get that information that quickly.
"Is Blair alright?" was his first question, Soul would be fine with a killer he hoped.
"Yes for the moment, we just need to get Maka and trade." Liz smiled as she had been the one to get the bar owner kidnapped in the first place.
"What do I need to do?" Wes asked defeated, sure, he wanted to protect the sewer rat they had adopted. But Blair's life was in danger.
"Just find Maka and explain to her what has happened because of her." Kid explained calmly never taking his eyes from the albino. Wes nodded as Patty walked over to her boss.
"My friend managed to make her remember, so now things will be easier for us, right Kiddo?" she asked as her boss nodded.
"What friend?" Wes asked feeling braver than he looked. Kid and the twins turned to him with a smile.
"You know our friend as Crona Gorgon," Kid replied before leading his hit men out.
Wes sat frozen in his cell, Crona Gorgon, the experiment that befriended Maka and turned her against everything. They had kept that monster here right under their noses. The experiment was unstable everyone knew that. It's split personality, summoning its sword Ragnorok when angry. You couldn't stop it. They had kept the juggernaut here.
Medusa and her sister held their ears as Blair continued to yell from her cell. In all honesty the woman sounded like a cat in heat.
"Shut her up Eruka," Medusa ordered as her sister Arachne held onto the ears of her lover Asura. The frog girl jumped at the sound of her name before running to the cell to quiet the screaming woman.
"Albarn best get here soon if she wishes for the bar maid to live." Arachne said as the screaming stopped, her sister nodded in agreement.
Blackstar hovered next to Tsubaki's unconscious form as Maka and Soul explained their plan to him.
"Capone is my problem, I've had a personal vendetta against him for years, and this just sealed his fate." The ninja snarled.
"Blackstar, they want me," Maka said moving forward only to have the tip of his demon sword at her throat.
"No Maka, you take care of the Gorgon's, I'll handle Capone. Mifune of the Chameleon family is already tracking him down for me." He smirked as Soul moved forward and embraced him in a bro hug.
"Don't get hurt, I'd hate to see another friend in the hospital or the morgue." The albino announced. Blackstar nodded as he watched his two friends leave. Maka's retreating back made him smile surprisingly. She had regained her memories, which meant she would fix her families mistakes just like he was doing.
Maka kicked at a stray rock as they made their way to the burned down Evans compound. Both hoped that some clues would be found as they rummaged through the debris. She felt hopeless and confused as memories flashed through her head unsorted, like a movie that's been unedited and mixed into the wrong slots. And Blackstar, he was her friend even before all of this mess. Looking over at Soul she smiled, he was so calm throughout this. He had learned that she was responsible for his parent's death and the death of her own parents and wasn't fazed.
Soul heaved another sigh as he kicked aside another door. Neither she nor Wes knew the truth about him, about his talk with Maka's mother the night his parents died. Even he had killed over time, not on her level of course, but what person in this city had not committed a crime, it was called Death City for a reason. Everyone here had committed some crime in his or her life to live here. Did she even remember they were betrothed? Sure it was his mother and Kami's idea, but he had gone along with it, even then he had loved her.
He remembered sitting in the piano room when the two women had cornered him. He was about six leaving Maka to be five, she had been with her father that day.
"Soul, Maka is a very nice girl, right." His mother Elizabeth had said.
"Yeah, but she's cool for a girl, hangs with Blackstar and me all the time, even Wes doesn't do that." The boy smiled. Kami smiled as well as she took a seat next to him.
"Soul, Maka will be in trouble one day, we want you to protect her." Kami said gently as Soul looked up confused.
"Is she okay?" Soul asked genuinely worried for his best friend.
"Not really Soul, her father has her in a tight spot thanks to another family, she needs you to protect her and love her where we cant." Kami continued.
"Will you do that Soul?" Elizabeth asked her son before he nodded eagerly. Both adults smiled before Kami reached into her pocket. Soul looked curious as she handed the small box to him.
"Soul, this box contains a locket with both her fathers and my pictures. When she's older give it to her please." Kami asked.
"Why can't you give it to her?" Soul asked eyeing the small black box.
"Because Soul, Maka won't be with her family much longer." Kami replied with a sad smile. At the time, Soul had no clue what that meant, but when he and his brother had gone to find Maka and play, she would forever change the lives of the two brothers and herself.
Crona huddled, shivering in a corner as it watched Eruka eye the bar maid Patty always visited. That also meant that Maka knew her as well.
"Crona, get over here and make sure the hostage remains silent, ribbit." Eruka ordered before running back upstairs. The experiment nodded before sulking over to the cell to see the purple haired girl.
"Maka needs your help; you can't let her return here." Crona whispered hoping its voice was low enough not to be detected upstairs.
"Why should I trust you?" Blair hissed her voice like venom causing the teen to flinch back in fear. "You are the main reason she is in this mess." Blair continued. She was right of course, it was always Crona's fault.
"They call you Crona bearer of Ragnorok, the most feared person alive, yet your stuck scared here, why is that?" Blair asked. Crona shivered again, it hated questions.
"Pass," the experiment replied shaking its head madly.
"But that's an easy question!" Blair whined as Crona continued to shake.
"Fine nya, what about Maka, how did you meet her?" Blair continued.
"Pass," Crona repeated, Blair tried a few more stopping when Crona finally lost its temper and summoned Ragnorok from his own blood.
"Maka is my friend, just like Patty, her sister, and her boss." Crona whimpered causing Blair to back up.
"Life only goes one way, I'm a killer too you know." Crona smiled slashing at the purple haired woman.
Wes glared at his brother as he walked over the debris of their childhood home.
"Wes what's going on, where have you been?" Soul asked holding Maka protectively behind him.
"They have Blair, the Gorgons have Blair and only that sewer rat can get her back, Kid said so." The older Evans yelped as he stumbled forward. Grabbing hold of his brother's shirt Wes began to cry.
"They have Blair, Soul. I love her." he managed out as Soul comforted the fallen elder. Maka closed her eyes as more of her past mistakes showed themselves. They should never have helped her, they should have let her drown in that sewer.
"I'll get her back," Maka whispered as she began to walk towards the towns exit.
"Maka," Soul whispered.
"I'll get her back and make everything right again. I promise." She smiled stopping when four hands stopped her.
"It's not that easy Maka," Liz stated as Kid walked forward.
"You may have to die," he said, as he looked her in the eyes. Maka felt her blood run cold as the mayor's son signaled for Patty. The young blond smiled as she placed the barrel of her 4mm to Maka's head.
"You'll understand," she giggled as Soul's scream filled her ears.
Red was all he saw as he ran to grab the girl of his dreams in his arms. Her body was still warm though her heart had ceased beating. Soul glared at his political friend and his minions.
"You better explain before I assassinate your ass." The man growled as Wes held firm to his jacket.
"Grigori," Kid smirked as Maka turned cold.
Mifune smiled, he had located Capone and his henchmen, bad news was they had located Maka Albarn.