CHAPTER 18

A/N – Hello everyone! As usual, a big hug to all of you for your reviews, favorites and follows! Hopefully today's chapter will answer some of the questions ;) (And no, the time for magnificent Excalibur has not yet come… hardcore fans of the Holy Sword shall have to be patient LOL) And yes, sadly work piling up + writer's block = delay… :(

Night had come and an eerie moon hung up high in the skies above, casting its pale rays onto the large stone terrace and onto the figures crowded onto it, motionless and expectant, with a sinister vibe about them. Upon the sight, Maka's first impulse had been to try and turn back inside, but it was too late. She had only bumped into Kid who was right behind her and now all she could do was to stay pressed to him, her heart pounding madly inside her ribcage and hands fisted into the fabric of his cloak. And he wasn't planning to run either.

There they were, all the Death Gods living at the temple – and the blonde had never realised they were so many – gathered now outside, waiting for something. Waiting for them, no doubt. She flinched violently when the closest hooded, masked figure took a step forward and reached out with a bony, blackened hand.

"There is but little time," the Death God whispered faintly. "We have made them sleep, but soon they will wake! Give us the ball! Set us free!"

They? They did it? But I thought… that their minds were gone… "Kid, do you think we should trust them? What could they really want the tool for?" Maka whispered.

But the young shinigami didn't answer. He pushed past her, shielding her with his body as he took a step forward, holding up the accursed crystal ball which was the Kishins' magic tool. The blonde could tell he was tense like a bow and could feel the chagrin within him, for it was no real anger, just chagrin, almost disappointment. She waited for him to speak, but Kid did not say anything. Instead he simply relaxed his pale, delicate fingers, letting the magic tool slip from his hand. The ball landed onto the stone slabs and smashed into a million tiny, sparkly shards, with a startling noise.

"Oops! You wanted this?" he asked bluntly, oblivious to the unanimous gasp his gesture had caused.

"Kid!" she cried, unable to understand what he'd just done. Maybe the tool was important, maybe-

"What?"

"What the hell is that?!" the other meister cried again, clinging onto his arm and all previous questions forgotten as she pointed at the grayish fumes now emanating from the remains of the magic tool. But to her surprise, they did not scatter randomly in the wind. Instead, they split into a multitude of thinner ghostly spirals and flew into the bodies of the Death Gods present, like a breath of life long lost and now magically returned. Maka saw the figure who had reached for the tool hiding its masked face in its bony hands, sighing loudly, in relief. "At last… we are free," the Death God seemed to say, although the blonde could hardly make out his voice now, it was like a faint whisper of wind.

Suddenly there was a silent commotion among those present, as the old beggar had appeared out of nowhere and pushed her way through the crowd, as fast as her old legs could carry her. The black veil had fallen off her head and her grey, tangled strands were windswept and awry, but she didn't care.

"Grigori… you're alive!" the old woman whispered, nearly out of breath. "For so long I have been waiting for you… it's been… a very long time…" Tears were now running freely down her dirty, wrinkled cheeks as her trembling hand rose to remove the cloaked figure's white bone mask and peel back the black hood. And then Maka saw that the Death God was a young man, with pale skin and raven hair streaked with white just like Kid's, and very beautiful.

"And I you," he said, and where his gentle hand touched the woman's cheek the skin instantly began to smoothen and lighten, the transformation gradually and rapidly taking over her whole body, until she was young again and very pretty, somewhat like in the blonde's dream, as young and beautiful as her beloved was.

So she was telling the truth! She had been waiting for him all along, and now… "Kid, what is going on?"

But the young reaper wasn't paying any attention to the reunited couple. Instead he pointed to a sort of vortex, like a whirlpool of light which had mysteriously appeared at the far end of the terrace and where the other Death Gods were now headed. "They're leaving, Maka," he said seriously and with a surprising tinge of sadness. "…you should go with them. Here, I'll show you how you can summon Beelzebub once you're out of here"

The blonde blinked, unable to comprehend what he was saying as she stared dumbstruck at his raised hand. He was explaining something, but she couldn't hear a word. She couldn't make another word past what he'd just said.

"What … did you say?"

"Maka-"

"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST SAY!?"

Kid shook his head, gripping her shoulders. "Please, there isn't much time! They're all leaving because this is a fight they're unlikely to win! If you stay here, you'll die! And I want you to leave, please Maka, that's all I'm asking, just stay alive, for me! Please!"

"No, no, NO! You knew this, you fucking knew! You knew everything and wouldn't tell me any of it! Why aren't you coming with me then, huh? Why do you want to fight if you can't win?! Just because your father said so? He just… I mean I'm sure he wouldn't want this, you're his son, Kid!"

Kid snorted angrily, pulling away from her. "I'm his fucking tool, Maka! Me and the crap Eibon has created!"

"I DON'T CARE! YOU'RE MY FUCKING HUSBAND!" the blonde shouted, running her hands through her hair desperately, as anger mixed with panic washed over her. She could not, she would not lose Kid. "And what the fuck are you thinking anyway?! How the hell are you going to fight them without a weapon? Are you out of your mind?"

She was so angry and just simply exhausted that a wave of dizziness made her vision blur and everything almost spin for a few moments, before the meister could pull herself together and notice the eerie silence which had fallen once more. The terrace was now empty under the cruel moonlight and the air was still. Everyone was gone and the vortex was gone too. Kid was crouched down on the stone slabs, holding his head in his hands without saying a word. He's probably mad at me…but seriously, what the hell? Maka squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head, taking a deep breath. She should have said something, but what? By Death, this is such a bad time to have this argument! Or any argument… Why the hell is he such a handful? But I love him, how could he possibly think I'd just leave without him?

"I never wanted to hurt you," Kid finally spoke, almost causing her to flinch. His voice was strained, choked, it was obvious that he was suffering. And Maka had never wanted to make him suffer, ever. She kneeled down in front of him, reaching to cup the side of his face and make him look at her.

"Then don't hurt me," the blonde said as gently as she could. "Don't leave me! I love you, don't you understand? Can you still not believe this?"

"I believe you. I just wish I could keep you safe…" the shinigami whispered and Maka couldn't help but lean and place a quick peck on the tip of his small nose. By Death, he was so sweet! She could spend an eternity just gazing into the large golden pools of his eyes. The blonde hastily pulled him up to his feet, wrapping her arms around his neck as she kissed him passionately, desperately even. His arms holding her fragile frame tightly, just like that, was all she would ever want, all she would ever need to be able to keep breathing.

But then suddenly the ground began to shake violently, out of the blue, startling them both. Very soon they realised it wasn't just the ground under their feet, the whole mountain was shaking, causing larger and larger chunks of rock to roll down the slope from above and smash down onto the terrace. They were now standing at the very edge of it, near the gates which only opened for pilgrims and would never open for them, but it wasn't any safer than anywhere else. Horrified by what was happening, Maka briefly wondered if this was how it was all going to end, whether they'd end up crushed by stones before they even had a chance to confront the Kishins. But there was no escape, all they could do was to wait.

"The spell wore off at last and The Three are awake now," Kid observed. "Don't worry, they won't let us die crushed like this, it would be too easy, after what we've done. They'll have nothing less but tear us to shreds themselves before they devour our souls"

Well, that was awfully reassuring, the blonde thought, observing the unfolding disaster. But only when the large wooden doors of the Temple collapsed, followed by more crumbling stone, did she realise that the whole portion of the mountain where the Temple was located was about to go down, the whole labyrinth inside was caving in with the horrible earthquake.

"But…" She couldn't help thinking of the Brothers and Sisters trapped inside the habitations area, sentenced to be crushed, every single one of them, probably in their sleep. But they weren't human – the meister reminded herself – none of them were human anymore. Most likely in truth they had all died, a long time ago and she could feel nothing but an infinite sadness and a dull ache at the thought of all those lives lost, wasted only to appease the Kishins and serve to fulfill their horrid feeding rituals.

"But this doesn't make any sense!" she shouted, trying to cover the infernal noise. "Why would they destroy the Temple? Why would they kill all their servants?"

"Without the Death Gods there can be no Temple. Not here anyway. Now all they want is revenge," Kid said, holding her tightly as the blonde buried her face into his shoulder, waiting for the whole turmoil to be over.

And over it was, sooner than she'd expected. The whole infernal chaos did not last long - indeed it was as brief as it was destructive – before the eerie silence settled back around them, this time more ominous than before. Maka looked up to see that, where the Temple mountain had stood before, tall and deep, now lay a vast open space of blackened stone slabs covered from place to place with random piles of debris. It… just wasn't possible. She turned and glanced past the terrace railing, at the slope below and the valley unfolding downwards, into the plain fields marking the horizon. That piece of landscape had remained the same, only the Temple of Death had disappeared, like an evil dream crumbling at the arrival of dawn.

But the only thing which had not disappeared, which had endured, were the Kishins. The Three were still there, Maka knew, since she could now feel their poisonous presence stronger than ever. And now they would finally show themselves, because there was no place left to hide.

"Get ready, it's time," her meister warned, his gaze anxiously sweeping over the seemingly empty space. They were both on the edge, the tension was almost unbearable.

"Honestly Kid, you shouldn't worry, please don't worry about me, I'll be okay!" Maka said without much thinking, but trying her best to sound reassuring. "After all, it was me who defeated Asura, remember?"

Kid just buried his face in his hands. "Oh… thank you," he grumbled humorlessly.

To be continued