Errors In Continuity Special: Soul Eater

by ZeroVX

Just when the teenage scythe meister and the demon swordsman thought it was safe to read bad fanfics again...rated for language.

24. Wrath

Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you're ready. The next few chapters are gonna be doozies.

No reviews for a while, first of all. Instead, these will all be aside chapters, one after the other, for the next three updates. And they're going to be pretty significant in terms of plot, so you don't want to miss these.

Without any further delay, away we go.

/

Many people look to the beach as a place to rest and relax. The bright sun warming the sand, mixed with the smell and the coolness of the sea, made it one of the prime locations for folks on vacation. Whether it be to hang out with friends, play a sport, or just to rest, the beach was the perfect place to be.

Of course, this didn't apply to all beaches.

"YAHAHAHAHA! Alright, ye scurvy-ridden bilge rats! Get the cargo aboard! Move it!"

The grunts silently obeyed their captain's commands, marching onto the ship with each of their luggage in hands. Their unnaturally orange skin would have caused them to stand out amongst the normal people, but any normal people foolish enough to stick around when they showed up wouldn't be alive for very long. Even then, the bandanas and large broadswords were enough to give indication as to just who and what these beings were.

"I said move it! Get aboard this ship now, or I'll tan all of your hides, ar!"

If the grunts were noticeable, their captain was flat out impossible to miss. Wide to the point of almost being comical, a dirty, unruly red beard, rotting yellow teeth, and a grin that proudly displayed them would've been more than enough to scare people away. But the fact that he had two wooden legs, a gigantic hook for one hand, and what was unmistakably a cannon for the other, was proof that this captain was a certifiable monster.

The grunts quickly moved onto the ship, not wanting to anger the captain further. Two of them brought a treasure chest forward, placing it on the deck in front of him.

"Alright, let's see what ye scallywags managed to scrounge up." the captain growled, waddling closer to the chest, his feet making loud thunks against the wooden deck.

The grunts quickly opened the chest, allowing the captain to gaze down at their quarry. He grinned as the gentle blue light from the numerous souls within it lit up his face.

"Aye…now this be a haul…" he said, licking his lips with his oversized tongue. He raised his hook hand above his head.

"Congratulations, men! Tonight, we feast!"

A roar of victory came from the rabble of grunts, each of them raising their swords up. They continued to give cheer after cheer, the captain relishing their conquest.

"Not so fast!"

The rabble suddenly turned around to find the source of the voice. Standing on the deck that they had just left were Maka and Soul, both of them glaring at the monstrous crew.

The grunts started growling and shouting at the two of them, already expecting a fight. The thunking of the captain's feet were heard again as he marched towards the side of the ship.

"Alright, alright! Simmer down, the lot of ya!" he barked, before stopping at the side, glaring back at Maka and Soul. "And just who might you be?"

"We are students of the DWMA, assigned with slaying monsters who consume the souls of the innocent!" Maka shouted back. "More specifically, we are members of the elite group known as Spartoi!"

She readjusted the sleeve of her white uniform, before raising a hand and pointing at the captain, causing him to blink in surprise.

"Dread Pirate Long John Silver!" Maka shouted. "We've come for your soul!"

The crew behind Silver started shouting again, some of them stepping forward to prepare for battle. Silver raised his hook hand, quickly quieting them down again. A wide, toothy grin appeared on his face.

"Have ye now?" he sneered. "And just how do ye plan on doin' that? What can two little runts like you hope to do against all of us?"

"Man, I knew you guys weren't all that bright…" Soul started, slipping his hands into the pockets of his white jacket. "But I figured you guys could at least do basic math."

"Eh?" Silver grunted.

A grin came over Soul's face. "Two of us? You really sure about that?"

"…what the devil are ye-"

Silver stopped, suddenly realizing what Soul was getting at. He spun around to look back at his crew.

"They've got reinforcements!"

Silver and his crew started looking around the ship frantically, expecting an attack to come from any direction. A couple of the crewmembers almost attacked one another by accident, but beyond that, nothing happened.

Not entirely satisfied, Silver pointed at two of the grunts. "Check below deck! They may already be on the ship!"

The grunts nodded, quickly running for the door and heading below. The rest of the crew continued to watch around the area, expecting an attack to come.

Soul leaned over to Maka. "Where is he…?" he hissed through grit teeth.

"I don't know!" Maka hissed back. "He was supposed to be here by now!"

Soon enough, the two grunts came back, shrugging their shoulders and holding their hands out.

"Nothin'?" Silver shouted at them. "There was no one down there?"

The grunts shook their heads, only confusing Silver further. He then slowly turned to look back at Maka and Soul, who were both looking rather nervous.

"…a bluff, eh?" Silver remarked, his toothy grin returning. "Aw, that's very cute, children. But here be a bit of advice for ye."

He raised his cannon arm, aiming at the two of them. Maka and Soul both tensed, getting ready for battle.

"It generally be a good idea to attack while they're distracted!"

"We'll have to do this without him…" Soul whispered.

Maka gave a frustrated sigh, but nodded in acceptance.

The three combatants all stared at one another, waiting for the other to make the first move. The air around them grew tense, none of them moving an inch.

SPLOOSH!

The tension was soon broken by a loud splashing noise, the crew and Silver turning around to see a jet of water suddenly shoot up from the other side of the boat. Coming out of the jet was what appeared to be a black, screaming blur, which suddenly started falling down onto the deck.

The blur soon collided with a helpless grunt, causing them both to skid along the deck until they came to a stop. Silver blinked in surprise when he saw just what had hit one of his men.

"…oh. There he is." Soul remarked.

Crona gave a small groan, rubbing his head as he got to his knees, using Ragnarok's sword form for support. He looked up to see Maka and Soul on the deck, staring at him.

"U-Um…s-sorry I'm late…?" Crona offered.

He winced slightly when Soul's hand met his own face, while Maka just looked at him in disbelief. He quickly tried to come up with an explanation.

"W-Well, you see…when I was in the water, I-"

A low gurgling sound from underneath him interrupted him. He looked down to see that he was still kneeling on one of the grunts.

The reason for the strange sound was the fact that Ragnarok was currently embedded in his chest.

"…oops." Crona remarked.

The grunt let out one last pitiful "bleh", before his body dissolved, leaving only a red soul. A mouth suddenly split open on the sword, and Ragnarok gave a great inhale, sucking the soul closer and quickly eating it. He gave a few loud chews before swallowing, followed by a loud belch.

…well, that was easier than I thought. Crona thought, before looking back up.

He froze when he saw the furious expressions on the rest of the crewmembers.

"…uh-oh."

"KILL THAT MISERABLE RAT!" Silver roared.

The grunts let out a unanimous war cry, before quickly dog-piling on a frightened Crona. He let out a scream of his own just as they started landing on him.

"…we should probably go help." Soul remarked.

Maka rolled her eyes. "Gee, you think?"

She held out her hand as Soul transformed into a bright blue light, quickly reforming as his scythe form in her hand. She started running along the wooden path before leaping off at the end, soaring through the air before landing on the ship's deck. She was already running past Silver just as he was turning to look at her.

"'Scuse me!" she shouted, before heading for the pile of grunts covering Crona.

A couple of grunts looked up as Maka ran towards them, but she quickly knocked them aside. She started pulling and pushing the grunts away from the pile, each one giving a loud shout when she did so.

Once she got down to the last one, she suddenly had to step aside as the grunt was knocked towards her. After it had moved, she ran over to a dazed Crona, who quickly shook his head as she approached.

She held her hand out to him. "You alright?"

Crona nodded, taking her hand. "Yeah, I'm-AH!"

Crona suddenly yanked Maka down towards him, and Maka quickly learned why when she felt a blade whizz past the back of her head, taking the ends of a few pigtail hairs with it.

Maka quickly noticed that she was now incredibly close to Crona's face, partially sprawled on top of him as he laid back on the wooden deck. They both blushed and Crona looked away, but he soon let out another shout when he saw what was above him.

He pushed Maka away from him and they both rolled away just as a blade came down and struck the deck, embedding itself in the wood. Maka looked up to see the grunt holding the sword, trying to pry it back out of the deck.

She quickly ran up to the grunt and jumped up, slamming both of her feet into the grunt's face. It flew back, and Maka soon pulled the sword out of the wood.

"Here, you can have it!" she shouted, throwing the blade at the grunt just as it was getting back up. The sword landed with a THUNK in the grunt's skull, and it soon fell back once again, dissipating once it hit the ground.

Maka and Crona ran back towards one another, before turning and facing the horde of very angry pirates. They both charged forward, blades clashing with the swords of the grunts as they tried to push them away.

"Crona!" Maka called out as she knocked a sword aside with Soul. "What kept you? The plan was for you to sneak up on them while we were distracting them!"

"I-I tried!" Crona cried back, hitting a grunt with the hilt of Ragnarok. "B-But I had trouble getting out of the water!"

"You told me you were a good swimmer!" Maka shouted as she quickly sliced into a grunt's shoulder, causing it to roar in pain.

"I am! B-But I thought I could jump out of the water like in the movies!" Crona shouted back as he cut into the neck of another grunt, kicking it away as it gave a last gurgle.

"…what?" Maka cried out as she smacked a grunt with the flat of Soul's blade.

"W-Well, you know, like whenever the hero makes a big leap out of the water and onto the deck of the ship!" Crona explained, stabbing another grunt in the chest. "But I couldn't do it, so I had Ragnarok send a shockwave down to propel me up! But he sent me too high…"

Maka would've given Crona a look of utter disbelief if she wasn't so busy with the swarm in front of her.

"Crona…" Soul started. "You do know that that only happens in the movies because of wires, right?"

Crona turned his head to look at Soul. "They do?"

"Is this really the time for this, you guys?" Maka shouted.

Crona suddenly gave another shout of alarm, Maka seeing that he was looking behind them. She turned to see that, while they were pushing most of the horde forward, some of them had circled back and started coming from behind. The rest of the swarm still remained where they were, effectively leaving the group surrounded.

Maka growled slightly, edging away from the grunts in front of her. She felt Crona's back meet up with her own, and realized that they weren't about to go anywhere.

Time to put an end to this… Maka thought, holding Soul out vertically in front of her.

"OK Crona…just like we practiced, remember?" she called out.

"…OK!" Crona called back, holding Ragnarok vertically as well.

"Soul, you ready?" Maka said to him.

"Yeah." Soul replied.

"Ragnarok?" Crona asked.

"…yeah, yeah, I got it!" Ragnarok answered.

Nice of him to actually speak for once… Maka thought, before focusing on matching her wavelength with the others.

Soon enough, she felt them: Soul's cool, calming waves, the loud and furious energy from Ragnarok, and the gentle warmth that came from Crona.

Four voices then cried out.

"Chain Soul Resonance!"

Twin flashes of light suddenly lit up the area, causing the grunts to back away. Blue light surrounded Maka and Soul, and Soul's blade soon became blue energy, enlarging to a double-bladed pendulum. Crona and Ragnarok crackled with purplish-black energy, and Ragnarok's blade soon became engulfed in it, forming eyes and a mouth on a black edge.

Maka and Crona lowered their weapons, holding them horizontally in front of them. They slowly moved them back, before swinging into the horde.

"Witch Hunter!"

"Screech Beta!"

The blades of energy sliced through all of the grunts, completely decimating the lot of them. One by one, they disintegrated into nothingness, the only things left behind being their red souls.

Both Soul and Ragnarok returned to their normal weapon forms, before Crona held Ragnarok high in the air. Ragnarok gave a huge inhale, sucking up all of the souls lingering about and eating them all. He gave a loud belch once he had consumed them all.

"And that just leaves you!" Maka shouted, turning to where Silver had been standing. "…where'd he go?"

Crona looked over to see that Silver had disappeared, and quickly ran over to where he had been, Maka right behind him. They looked over the edge of the ship, not seeing any sign of the monster.

Maka looked over to the side, then cried out. "There he is!"

Crona looked over as well and saw a single rowboat, moving further and further away from the main ship.

"He must've got in while we were busy with the rest of the crew!" Maka shouted.

The two of them ran to the end of the ship, watching as Silver moved further into the distance. Not seeing many other options, Crona quickly thought up an idea. He backed away from the end of the ship, getting a good distance away.

"…Crona?" Maka questioned as she noticed that he had moved.

He started running towards the end of the ship, passing by Maka soon after.

"…no, wait a second, Crona!" Maka cried out.

By then, it was too late. Right before he reached the edge, Crona placed Ragnarok's hilt in between his teeth. He then dove off of the end of the ship, hitting the water below with a loud SPLASH.

Maka ran over and looked down, searching for any sign of Crona. She soon saw him surface a few feet away, and watched in mild amazement as he quickly started swimming towards Silver, actually starting to catch up with him.

"…wow. He is a good swimmer." Maka remarked.

"How can he be so good in that dress of his, anyway?" Soul wondered.

"Robe."

"Whatever."

Meanwhile, Crona had managed to make it to Silver's boat, grabbing the side and pulling himself up. Silver looked up as Crona boarded, and let out a growl of rage.

"You again?"

He got to his feet, swinging his hook at Crona, only for it to be blocked by Ragnarok's blade. Crona pushed him back and swung at him, but was soon blocked by the hook. This went back and forth a few times, each swing of each weapon being blocked by the other, the clangs of the metal echoing in the air around them.

"I thought the captain was supposed to go down with his ship?" Crona grunted out, blocking another swing of the hook.

"Me ship still be standing, brat!" Silver shouted back, pulling his hook back to bring Crona closer. "I can always come back fer it later!"

Crona gagged as Silver's foul breath reached his nose, and he pushed his face away from him. He swung Ragnarok again, clashing with Silver's hook. "And what about your crew? Were they just a distraction?"

"I can always get more of those!" Silver answered, pushing his hook against Ragnarok. "Ye'd be surprised how many are willing to start eatin' souls for power, child!"

He then gave another shove, pushing Crona further back. Silver then raised his cannon arm and fired.

Crona only barely noticed the loud BOOM that came from the cannon, and instead focused on swinging Ragnarok to deflect the cannonball coming for him. Ragnarok clanged with the ball as it was sent flying into the water beside them. A second BOOM was heard and Crona quickly deflected another shot. Then, a third BOOM, and Crona raised Ragnarok to block the shot.

He was surprised when Ragnarok easily sliced through the ball, sending the two halves spiraling into the water.

Silver gaped at Crona, shocked that he had managed to deflect all of his shots. Crona noticed something else was amiss.

…where's the kaboom? he thought. Isn't there supposed to be an earth-shattering kaboom?

"Hey!" Ragnarok suddenly shouted. "You mean to tell me you've just been shooting hunks of iron at us?"

"Aye, don't ye be insulting my balls!" Silver roared back. "I take great pride in me iron balls!"

The only sound that was heard for a short time was the sound of gulls in the distance. Both Crona and Ragnarok were left in stunned silence, until Ragnarok spoke a few seconds later.

"…did he really just-"

"He did." Crona answered.

"…that's it, cut off his cannon."

"Roger."

Crona ran forward, deflecting a swing by Silver's hook, then swinging to his right, cutting into Silver's cannon arm. He sliced through the flesh that was at the base of arm, soon moving through the arm and sending the cannon falling to the wooden deck.

Silver let out a cry of pain as blood rocketed out of his arm, spraying out into the water below them.

"Me arm! Me precious ar-"

SHLIK!

Silver was cut off when Crona shoved Ragnarok down his throat, the blade piercing through the back of his neck. Silver gagged a few times, struggling about like a fish on a hook. Before long, he gave one last pitiful gurgle, before disintegrating like all the others, his red soul floating where he stood.

Crona gave a small sigh as Ragnarok inhaled and consumed this last soul, somewhat thankful that his task was complete. He then heard what sounded oddly like clapping coming from behind him.

He turned around to see Maka hovering behind him, clapping while sitting atop Soul in his flying form.

"Nice job, Crona!" Maka cheered.

"Yeah, you really kicked some ass, man!" Soul added.

Crona blushed brightly, looking down while rubbing the back of his head.

"Th-Thank you…"

"One quick question, though." Maka said.

Crona looked up to see that her expression had changed to one of mild concern.

"Why did you jump off of the ship?"

Crona blinked, confused at the question.

"…I didn't want him to get away…?"

"Well, yeah, I know, but…" Maka started, before pointing down at Soul. "We could've just flown over here."

Crona looked down at Soul, suddenly realizing that he had completely forgot that he could fly.

"…oh. Right."

He looked away, his face flushing again in embarrassment. This, coupled with his blunder from earlier, only made him feel like more of an amateur.

"And you!"

Crona looked up again in surprise at the sudden change in Maka's tone of voice. He then noticed that she wasn't looking at him, but off to his side, at Ragnarok.

"Now that you're actually out here, you mind explaining to me what your problem's been lately? No one's seen you for days!"

That wasn't entirely true, but Crona wasn't about to correct her. He had seen Ragnarok, but only when it was the two of them alone, and only for brief periods of time.

He looked down at Ragnarok, waiting to see what he would say.

Ragnarok quickly transformed into black energy and returned to Crona's back, not even popping out in his normal state.

"Hey!" Maka shouted. "Don't ignore me! Get back out here and answer me!"

Crona winced slightly when Ragnarok didn't reply. He heard Maka give a loud growl of frustration, before she hovered closer to him.

"Fine, let him be a miserable sulk!" she grumbled, before she jerked a thumb behind her. "Hop on."

Crona blinked, slightly worried about the dangers of flying on Soul. He soon obeyed, however, carefully climbing on to him and sitting behind Maka.

"Better hang on." she remarked.

Crona instinctively wrapped his hands around Maka's waist, quickly blushing at the contact. Before his brain could tell him to let go, they took off, flying through the air and back to the mainland.

It wasn't quite the same as when Crona flew alone. He wasn't really in control, and he was in greater danger of falling at any time. And yet, he could still feel the wind whizzing past him, and that feeling of freedom was still present.

Also, Maka was with him.

So it may not have been the same. But in a way, it was better.

/

All in all, it had been a good mission.

Crona had mixed feelings about being asked to take this on. On the one hand, he was happy that he had had the chance to actually do something for Death City, rather than just reside in it for nothing. On the other hand, Lord Death had specifically asked Maka and Soul to go with him.

It wasn't that he didn't want to have Maka with him if he went out. It was that Death had asked her to. It made him wonder what Death was thinking.

Maybe he thinks I'll run off again… Crona thought, picking up a stray dead branch.

The sun had already started to set, so Maka decided that they should set up camp for the night and head back to the academy in the morning. Some part of Crona thought it was a bad idea, what with sleeping in an unprotected forest at night. As well as possibly upsetting Lord Death. But Maka had assured him it would be fine, so he tried to not worry about it too much.

He and Maka had since wandered off into the forest to look for firewood, while Soul set up the campsite. Crona couldn't help but wonder if Soul was purposely trying to get them alone together, since it was his suggestion that they go. He was almost starting to regret his talk with him.

Key term being "almost".

"Hey." Maka said, walking up beside Crona. "Sorry for how I was acting earlier."

Crona blinked in surprise, then shook his head. "I-It's OK…I know he bothers you a lot…"

Maka sighed. "It's not even that…I was getting used to him being his usual bratty self, but now he's acting completely different…"

Crona frowned, looking over his shoulder. Why is he acting so weird…? …did I do something wrong…?

"Anyway…" Maka said, suddenly wrapping an arm around Crona's shoulders. "You did a good job today, Crona."

Crona blinked, flushing slightly. "I-I did?"

"Of course you did! I mean, twenty-five souls in one mission? You're already a quarter of the way to making a Death Scythe and you've just started collecting souls! That's gotta be a record!"

Crona flushed brighter, looking away sheepishly. Truth be told, he didn't really know why he was working towards making Ragnarok into a Death Scythe. It just seemed like something he should be doing. Maybe then, he'd start to gain some degree of respect from the people of Death City.

"I-I only did it thanks to you, Maka…" Crona muttered.

"I pretty much just helped you with the faceless goons, Crona." Maka replied. "You're the one who took down the main target, and by yourself, no less."

Not exactly by myself… Crona thought.

"Not only that, but you deliberately went after him." Maka continued. "You could've just let him go, but you chose to go after him. You made that choice yourself."

Crona frowned, not sure if he should tell Maka he was just scared of making Lord Death angry with him. He then felt Maka gently turn him around to face her. He saw the warm smile on her face as she pulled him forward into a hug.

"I'm really proud of you, Crona."

Crona froze, Maka's words ringing in his head. She was proud of him. He had actually made Maka proud of him, and she told him as much. He was completely lost as to what to do.

After all, the last time someone had said that to him…

NO. Crona told himself. It's Maka. It's completely different. It's Maka. You can't let this keep happening.

So instead, he wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her close, happy that he had finally done something right. He felt Maka squeeze him back, giving a small hum as well.

The combination of having felt like he accomplished something with the usual warmth he got from hugging Maka made Crona feel absolutely wonderful. He almost wished that it would never end.

Sadly, it had to. He felt Maka start to pull away and reluctantly let her go, instead focusing on the smile on her face.

"Feeling better?" she asked.

Crona nodded. "Much."

Maka's smile widened. "Good."

With that, the two separated and Maka walked off to gather more firewood.

Crona knelt down, gathering a few more stray branches littered on the ground. He looked over at Maka, who had started gathering a few herself.

He hated to ruin the good mood, but he felt now would be a good time to ask about what had been bugging him.

"Maka?"

"Hm?"

"Does Lord Death not trust me?"

Maka turned to look at him, concern evident on her face. She then gave a small sigh.

"This has to do with me coming along, doesn't it?"

Crona flinched, looking away from her. He heard her give another sigh.

"Hey, don't worry about it. Honestly, if I was in your position, I wouldn't be all that happy either."

Crona looked back at her, watching her pick up a few more branches.

"You have to understand, Lord Death can be a tricky one to figure out." Maka explained. "He never flat out explains anything. He just lets people figure things out for themselves."

She picked up a couple more and placed them in the small pile building up in her arms. "So it's not really a matter of whether or not he trusts you. I'm willing to bet he does, because he is generally a trusting individual. I think he just wants to let you prove to everyone else that you can be trusted. He asked me and Soul to come along so that he'd have word from official Spartoi members."

She got to her feet, walking over to Crona. "But, even if he hadn't asked me, I'd have wanted to come along anyway."

Crona blinked in surprise. "Really…?"

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I want to see you kick some ass?"

Maka grinned as Crona got to his feet. "C'mon, let's head back."

She then started walking back to the campsite, Crona quietly following her.

He couldn't help but wonder if Maka wasn't being entirely truthful in her explanation. Crona didn't particularly like fighting or killing, and Maka knew that. So why say that she wanted to see him fight?

He suspected she just wanted to keep an eye on him, but he wasn't entirely sure why. It couldn't possibly be because she didn't trust him. He knew that wasn't the case.

…is she worried about me? Crona wondered. But why would she be?

/

Crona gave a slight mumble as he awoke, blinking as he saw the stars above him.

It had been an uneventful evening. After they had set up camp, and Maka called the academy to let them know what was going on, things had been relatively quiet. Since it was the first camping trip Crona had ever been on, Maka and Soul tried their best to make the experience enjoyable for him. Maka had taught him how to make s'mores, which Crona just couldn't get enough of. (though the reason for the name escaped him a bit) Soul tried to entertain them with a ghost story, but it really didn't work all that well.

Naturally, the subject of the theater had popped up, and Maka and Crona had told Soul what had happened since his appearance. The fics themselves hadn't been all that bad since, with the exception of the ones from Kid and the Thompsons' appearance and Stein and Marie's appearance. Crona had told Soul of his worries regarding more people being brought in, and Soul told him that it didn't seem very likely, but if it did happen, the best he could do was accept it and fight through it.

He hadn't told either Maka or Soul about the offer Marie had made him. The subject had never come up, and Crona didn't want to bring it up. He still had a lot of thinking to do in that regard, and felt it would be better to do it on his own. He suspected that Maka would want him to say yes, but probably wouldn't force him into it.

Just as well that she didn't. Crona would've said yes in a second if Maka asked him to, and he knew it.

Thinking about Maka brought him back to reality, and he looked beside him at the nearby sleeping bag. He smiled slightly as he saw Maka sleeping peacefully, a content smile on her face.

I should go back to sleep. he thought. She won't be happy if I start missing sleep again.

He started to turn over to return to slumber, when he felt a strange, yet familiar sensation.

…bathroom first.

He carefully unzipped his bag and quietly crawled out of it, making sure not to wake either Maka or Soul. He then slowly tiptoed away from the campsite, making sure to remember the path he was walking so he didn't get lost. He walked for a few short minutes, getting a good distance away from them.

This should be far enough. he thought. He then found a tree and carefully lifted the hem of his robe.

Once he had taken care of business, he lowered his robe and gave a sigh of relief, before turning and starting to head back.

He stopped in mid-step when he heard that always-familiar splortch, and felt Ragnarok suddenly pop out of his back, perching on top of his head.

"Ragna-MMPH!" Crona started, but was cut off when Ragnarok covered his mouth with his hand.

"Shhhhh!" Ragnarok hissed, glaring down at him. He then looked up, quickly scanning the area for any signs of life.

Once he felt it was safe, he removed his hand from Crona's mouth.

"OK. Coast is clear." he whispered. He then started pushing Crona away from the direction he was initially heading. "Let's go."

Crona blinked. "Go? Where?"

"I don't know, anywhere. Somewhere. Let's just go."

"Why?"

"Because I fucking said so, let's go."

"But we have to go back to the campsite-"

"Oh for fuck's sake…" Ragnarok grumbled, before returning to Crona's body. Crona only got a short reprieve before another splortch was heard, as Ragnarok then came out of Crona's chest.

"Do I have to fucking spell this out for you?" he hissed. "We're leaving. We're not going back to the campsite, we're not going back to the city, we're getting as far away from these people as we possibly can."

Crona stared at Ragnarok, his words only barely registering in his mind. The whole thing seemed so random and came completely out of nowhere, that Crona was caught totally off-guard.

"…what?" was all he could hiss back.

"You heard me! We're out of here!"

"…but why?"

"Why? Why? You're seriously asking me why?" Ragnarok growled back, before pointing back at the campsite. "Because of her, you twit!"

"…Ragnarok-"

"No, don't you even start! We're not going to discuss this, we're going to fucking leave!"

"Ragnarok, we're not leaving them just because you don't like Maka!"

"…you fucking dolt, this has nothing to do with me not liking her! It has to do with you liking her too much!"

Now Crona was even more lost than before. They had to leave because he cared about Maka? Where was the logic in that?

"…what are you talking about?"

"Oh, don't even try to act like you don't know what I'm talking about!" Ragnarok growled. "You know exactly what I'm fucking talking about!"

Crona flushed, looking away from Ragnarok. "Y-You're not making any sense…"

"It's real fucking simple! At first I thought this was just you substituting Medusa with her, but then I thought it was just you going through your first crush, but no! This is a whole lot fucking deeper than that!"

He grabbed Crona's face and turned it so he was facing him, glaring directly into his eyes.

"You think I haven't noticed the way you act around her? You think I haven't realized just how bad you've got it for her?"

"Ragnarok…" Crona mumbled.

"You would do abso-fucking-lutely anything for her, wouldn't you? You honestly couldn't imagine living without her, could you?"

Crona felt a sudden flash of anger towards Ragnarok. Why is he suddenly asking all of this now?

He smacked both of his hands away, glaring back at him.

"Why do you suddenly care? You haven't brought anything like this up before…"

"Because I didn't realize just how fucking bad you had it! But now I know, and that's why we have to go now!"

"Why? If I'm so attached to her, why would you make me leave her?"

"Because, you fucking twat, she's going to die!"

To say that that got Crona's attention would be like saying the sun rises in the east. he quickly grabbed ahold of Ragnarok's shoulders, shaking him slightly.

"What? Why? Where? How? What's going to happen? How do you know?"

"I don't know!" Ragnarok answered, smacking his hands away. "I don't know the when, where, why, how, who, or what! I just know that it's gonna happen!"

"…how?"

"Because everyone dies, idiot!"

…he can't be serious. Crona thought.

"…that's it?" he whispered. "That's why we have to leave? Because she's going to die eventually?"

"Hey, I don't know when it's going to happen, and neither do you!" Ragnarok whispered back. "It could happen decades from now, or in a few years, or in a month, a week, or even a day! She could be dying right now and you wouldn't even know it!"

He moved closer, his face getting right in front of Crona's. "And we don't know how it's going to happen, but it'll still happen! Maybe she'll get sick! Maybe she'll get in an accident! Maybe she'll get to live to be a wrinkled old hag before she finally keels over!"

"So why do we have to go if there's so much we don't know?" Crona hissed.

"Because of what I do know! And what I do know is that when she goes, it'll fucking destroy you."

Crona froze. He couldn't bring himself to admit it, but Ragnarok was right. Just the idea that one day, Maka simply wouldn't be around anymore was devastating. Not being able to talk to her, to see her, to hold her…

No, stop. he ordered himself. Don't start thinking about that. Don't.

"You can't even bring yourself to think about it, can you?" Ragnarok growled, almost as if he read Crona's mind. "It's way too much for you to even handle, isn't it? Because when it happens, you'll fucking snap. You'll lose everything that you've worked so hard to achieve, because you'll throw it all away when she keels over."

Crona glared at Ragnarok, his teeth now grit. "You have no idea what you're talking about."

"…oh, I don't, huh?" Ragnarok whispered. "Fine. Here's the worst-case scenario."

Ragnarok took a breath, then started explaining.

"We're in a battle. A big one. And we're getting our asses handed to us."

"Who are we fighting?" Crona asked.

"Doesn't matter! It could be anyone from Asura to some dumbass who got lucky! Point is, we're losing! Then…the worst happens. He gets a shot in, and Maka's dead."

Crona shivered, the image of Maka falling from some unknown attack suddenly appearing in his mind.

"Don't…" he whispered.

"You run over to her, begging for it all to not be true." Ragnarok continued. "But it's too late. She's gone. She didn't even stay to say goodbye to you."

Maka's lifeless body was vividly clear in Crona's mind.

"Stop…"

"Her body slowly dissolves away, and that precious Grigori soul of hers slowly floats up, up, and away, off to Heaven or wherever the souls wind up."

The small blue soul was flying farther and farther away from him.

"No…"

"You've lost her. She's gone forever, and there's nothing that you can do about it. …so, you snap."

It was happening in his mind. He could see himself giving a cry of pure fury, his scream resounding around him.

"You and me, we go after this guy, and rightfully so." Ragnarok continued. "We take him down, and we butcher him like a fucking pig."

He could see it happening, the face changing constantly. Asura, Justin, Noah, Arachne, Giriko, Free, Eruka, Mizune.

Medusa.

It keeps changing, and he doesn't care. He's pinned them down and just started hacking away at them, flesh and blood flying into the air with each strike.

"Finally, we fucking kill them, and I eat their soul."

The soul kept changing shape and colour, but it doesn't matter, as the Ragnarok in Crona's mind soon consumes it.

"But it's not enough, is it? It didn't change a thing. Maka's still dead. You're still hurting."

It was true. He could see the grief and pain on his other self's face. It didn't do any good.

"Then…who comes up beside you to comfort you? It's Soul. Her partner. Her best friend. You know how badly this is hurting him."

He could see it now, Soul slowly walking up to his other self. He placed a hand on his shoulder, not saying a word.

"And then…you skewer him."

Crona looked up in surprise.

"What?"

"He was her partner! He was supposed to protect her! It's his fault she's dead!"

Suddenly, he could see it. Him stabbing Ragnarok right through Soul, his body quickly dissolving before he could even register what happened.

"No…"

"I eat his soul too, because by this point, what difference does it make?"

The blue soul that once belonged to Soul Eater is suddenly swallowed by Ragnarok, the other Crona not showing any emotion other than rage.

"But it's still not enough! Then, you see the others. Black*Star and Tsubaki. They were her comrades! Her friends! They were supposed to protect her! It's their fault she's dead!"

"No, stop!"

Black*Star and Tsubaki's bodies were being hacked to pieces, their souls quickly eaten by Ragnarok.

"Kid, Liz, Patty! They were her friends too! Why didn't they protect her? It's their fault she's dead!"

"Stop it!"

Kid's, Liz's, and Patty's bodies were all flying in chunks, their souls being consumed by his black sword.

"Stein, Marie! They said that they cared about you! They knew how much you cared about her! Why didn't they try to protect her? It's their fault she's dead!"

"No!"

Stein and Marie were screaming as Crona hacked into them, his face showing the pure unstoppable fury that was consuming him.

"But it still isn't enough! Because there are still countless people in the entire world!"

More bodies being cut. More blood flying through the air.

"Shut up…"

"She died to protect all of them! She died to save them!"

More parts falling about. More bodies falling.

"Shut up."

"If they didn't need to be saved, she would still be alive!"

Souls were swarming him, being consumed by the growing Ragnarok.

"Shut up!"

"It's because of all of them that she's dead!"

"SHUT UP!"

Crona suddenly lunged forward, his hands wrapping around Ragnarok's throat and slamming him into a nearby tree. He could only barely register the fact that he was squeezing his hands tighter, just trying to get Ragnarok to stop.

Trying to make the images go away.

He could feel Ragnarok's hands clasp onto his wrists and slowly but forcefully pry his hands away, giving a loud gasp once his hands were away. Ragnarok glared back at him, still gasping for air.

"Don't you act like…I'm wrong here…" he breathed out. "You know I'm right."

"You. Are. Not." Crona growled. "I would never do that to any of them!"

"You're really trying to tell me you wouldn't blame any of them?"

"I wouldn't!"

"And why's that?"

"Because it would be my fault!"

Crona's breathing started to become ragged as well, trying to focus everything on not breaking down into tears.

"And do you really expect me to think that you would think rationally in that situation?" Ragnarok hissed back. "That you would be calm enough to realize that?"

"How do you know I wouldn't?"

"Because I know you!" Ragnarok growled, throwing Crona's hands down and jabbing a finger in his chest. "I've been stuck with you your entire life! I know you better than anyone else! Better than Maka, better than Medusa! I even know you better than you know yourself! You can't afford to lose her, because you need someone to push you in any direction, right or wrong! And you know, deep down in your heart, that everything I've said up until now is true! You know that I'm right!"

It all came falling apart. The sheer weight of Ragnarok's words finally broke through to Crona, everything registering in his mind.

Ragnarok was right. There was no way he could take Maka dying for his sake. There was no telling what he would do then.

He was a danger. To himself and to everyone else.

He slowly fell to his knees, eyes still locked on Ragnarok's.

"…you were waiting. You were waiting until we could escape."

"…yeah." Ragnarok whispered. "I was."

"That's why you stopped appearing…"

"Yeah…you'd already gotten attached to these people. I couldn't afford to do the same."

It was all too much. Crona truly understood what it was that he had to do. He had to give up everything. He had to walk away from what mattered to him the most.

Because if he stayed, he would just get hurt in the end.

Before he could stop himself, the tears started to flow, and he covered his face with his hands.

The only sound that could be heard was Crona's sorrowful weeping, muffled by his hands on his face. It was the worst feeling he could imagine having. He had finally gained the happiness that he had longed for for so long, and now he had to willingly give it up. It was the only way he could protect all of them.

He then felt a hand gently touch the top of his head. He knew it was Ragnarok's, but he didn't bother to look up.

"Look…" Ragnarok started, and Crona was surprised to find his voice taking on a gentle tone. "She's done a lot for you. She's helped you. I get that, I really do. But this is the only way to do this. If she went and died on you…it'd be the worst pain you've ever felt. Nothing could ever compare to it."

Ragnarok didn't need to tell him that. He could already tell that that was true.

"It's that kind of pain that only comes when someone close to you is gone forever. No one wants to go through that." Ragnarok whispered. "But if we cut them off from us…then we won't have to worry about that. We'll only have to worry about each other. It isn't much…but it's the better alternative."

He almost wondered if Ragnarok even could die. Would he just fade away when Crona passed on? Or would he be stuck moving around a lifeless, decaying body?

It'd be almost funny if Crona wasn't feeling so distraught.

"…come on, Crona." Ragnarok said. "Let's go."

Crona slowly moved his hands away from his face, not looking up at Ragnarok. He started to think about all of the things he wanted to say to Maka before he left. He started to regret the fact that he couldn't say any of them.

Suddenly, Ragnarok whipped his head to the side, peering into the darkness.

"…shit." he cursed, before suddenly diving back into Crona's body.

Crona blinked in surprise, wondering what caused him to suddenly vanish. Then, he heard footsteps quickly coming towards him.

He got to his feet and frantically wiped at his eyes, getting rid of any tears still lingering. He blinked as Soul suddenly appeared in front of him, panting as though he had run the whole way.

"Crona!" he cried out.

"S-Soul…I-I was just-"

"It's Maka!" he suddenly interrupted. "She's gone!"

Crona stared at Soul, hoping beyond all else he didn't mean what he thought he meant.

"G…gone?"

"I don't know what happened! I just woke up and she wasn't in her sleeping bag!"

She's still alive! Crona thought, relief washing over him.

Soul turned around and started heading back. "Come on, help me look for her!"

Crona started to silently follow Soul, immediately wanting to see her.

No, you fucking idiot, STOP!

Crona stopped, a familiar voice ringing in his head.

…Ragnarok?

Don't you get it? This is your chance! Just turn and start running now, before it's too late!

Ragnarok was right, again. If there was ever a chance for him to get away, it was now. Maka was missing and Soul was busy looking for her. He'd never get another opportunity like this.

He stepped back slightly, pausing in his movement…

…and then started running after Soul.

What are you doing? Why are you going after them? Run AWAY from them, you dolt! AWAY!

There'd be time to think about what to do later.

Maka came first.

/

"Maka! Can you hear me?"

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

"Maka! Maka, please answer!"

"Come on, Maka! This isn't funny!"

The search had so far proven to be less than successful. Despite the fact that both Crona and Soul had been moving high and low throughout the forest, there had been no sign of Maka. It was as though she had just vanished into thin air, which Crona knew was impossible, but that didn't help his growing fears.

What was even less of a help was that Ragnarok was still screaming in his head to just turn and run away.

I have to find out if she's OK first! Crona thought.

Who gives a flying shit if she's OK or not?

I do!

And what good would it do, anyway? You go back to her now, you're never going to run away!

Crona wasn't entirely sure if Ragnarok was right. Nor did he want to consider the possibility that he might be.

To actually admit that he was that weak-willed…he didn't want to consider that. That he would attach himself to Maka just because he needed to attach to someone, regardless of who it was. Ragnarok had said that it was deeper than that…but was he just lying to himself? Was he just trying to convince himself there was more to it?

Suddenly, he saw something off to the side. He turned to get a better look at it.

His eyes widened when he saw those familiar blonde pigtails moving away from him.

"Soul! I found her! She's over here!" he called out, before running towards Maka.

He could hear Soul running up behind him, and soon enough, they managed to catch up with Maka, who had stopped moving once they had got close enough.

"Maka…there you are…" Crona breathed out.

Soul gave a few pants of breath, before walking up beside her.

"Geez, what's the matter with you, Maka? You scared the hell out of us by disappearing like that!"

Crona walked up on her other side, then blinked when he noticed something wrong.

Maka's eyes were staring straight ahead, and they had a strange, glazed-over look to them. She didn't move to look at either him or Soul, and seemed to only be barely aware that they were even there.

"…Maka?" Crona questioned.

Soul reached up and waved a hand in front of her face, trying to get her attention.

"Hello? You in there, Maka?"

Maka didn't make any movements, and Soul soon lowered his hand. He looked over at Crona, who looked just as confused as he was.

"…can't you hear it?" Maka whispered.

Crona and Soul looked up at Maka, wondering what she was talking about.

"That sound…don't you hear it…?"

Crona was quickly becoming even more worried. Never mind the fact that Maka was talking about some sound that he couldn't hear, but she was speaking in some strange, dazed monotone.

"…what sound?" Soul asked. "I'm not hearing anything."

Crona shook his head, confirming the same thing for him.

Soul gently grabbed ahold of Maka's arm. "Come on, let's go back to the campsite."

He then started to walk back, but Maka quickly yanked her arm away from him. Soul looked back at her in surprise.

"Maka, what are you-"

"That sound…I want to find that sound…I have to find it…"

Then, before either Crona or Soul could say anything, Maka dashed off straight ahead.

Crona quickly ran after her, Soul right behind him. As they ran further and further into the forest, Crona's mind swam with questions as to just what was going on.

Suddenly, he saw Maka run into a nearby cave, and the two dashed in after her.

The cave seemed to go on for miles, and it wasn't long before Crona and Soul had gotten lost. The two were soon engulfed in total darkness, and Crona had to fight the urge to start screaming his head off. The last thing he needed to do was have a panic attack right then and there.

He quickly found a source of light in the distance and ran towards it, hoping Soul wasn't too far behind him. He ran up the source and soon realized it was another opening. Hoping he hadn't accidentally turned around and started heading back the way he came, he stepped through.

His eyes widened as he saw what was on the other side.

A large pool of water took up most of the space of this section of the cave, with a small stone shore surrounding it. The ceiling of the section was gone, allowing the moon and stars to shine down and illuminate the area.

Close to where Crona was standing was a ship, half-sunk into the water and decrepit, looking as though it had been there for ages.

What caught Crona's eye was that Maka was standing right in the middle of the ship, looking off into the distance.

He heard Soul come up behind him, and he quickly ran towards the ship, climbing on as fast as he could.

Once he was on board, he could see something start to float down from the sky, moving closer to Maka.

His breath caught in his chest when he saw what it was.

The creature was wreathed in black, its long cape floating behind it. Its clothing was of a more regal style, and he carried an air of royalty about him as he gazed down at Maka.

But it was his face that got to Crona. The pale skin that looked almost dead. The long, white hair. The deep crimson eyes. The sharp fangs evident in his smile.

The creature landed on the ship, staring at Maka.

"I have called for you, child. And you have come."

"Yes…" Maka whispered, her voice sounding even more dazed than before.

"Do you fear me?"

"No…"

The creature moved forward until he was standing right in front of her. He placed a hand under her chin, tilting her head up.

"Such delicate beauty…" he said. "Like a stained glass window. A creature such as you should not fall victim to the curse of time."

His face lowered towards hers, still gazing into her eyes.

"You need not fear. For through me, you shall live."

His face moved past hers, moving towards her neck.

"You shall live…forever…"

His mouth opened, his fangs inching closer…

"PIGEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH!"

The creature suddenly recoiled back, Ragnarok's scream echoing throughout the cave. It stumbled away from Maka, holding its hands over its ears.

Maka suddenly blinked, acting as though she had just awoken from a dream. She stumbled back and fell to the deck just as Ragnarok's scream died away.

"Maka!" Soul cried out as he ran towards her. He helped her get up to a sitting position, and she held her head in mild pain.

"Soul…? What happened?"

"I don't know! You just got up and left, saying something about a "sound"…"

"What sound? I don't even remember-"

She then looked ahead at the creature who had come down, who was still reeling from the scream.

"…oh shit." Maka cursed.

"Yeah…that's who I think it is, isn't it?" Soul whispered.

"It is…Prince of Darkness…Count Dracula."

Dracula looked up at Maka, glaring directly at her.

"We are in way over our heads here." Soul mentioned.

"What?" Maka responded, looking back at Soul. "I'm a two-star meister and you're a Death Scythe! How are we in over our heads?"

"You don't exactly look like you're in any condition to fight."

"I'm fine!"

Maka started to get to her feet, but stumbled and fell back down, Soul quickly catching her.

"You were saying?" Soul remarked.

"My ears are just ringing a little, that's all!"

"Look, this isn't the time for you to get thick-headed! I'll get us out of here and then we call for reinforcements. It's the only chance we've got!"

Maka looked back at Dracula, realizing that there wasn't much choice. He was an ancient and very powerful pre-Kishin, with the number of souls that he had collected being completely unknown. And as much as she hated to admit it, Soul had a point. Her equilibrium was completely ruined. They had to retreat.

"…alright. Let's-"

Maka stopped when she noticed something amiss. Dracula was no longer looking at her, but instead off to her side.

She turned to look in the same direction, Soul quickly doing the same. They both saw Crona walk past them, Ragnarok already in his sword form.

Maka only just managed to get a look at Crona's face.

She would never admit to it aloud, but Crona used to scare her. Just the fact that he could switch from the timid, quiet boy that she was familiar with to a raving lunatic at a moment's notice was enough to terrify her. Granted, that was back when they were still enemies, and she still felt a degree of guilt for when Soul got hurt. Since then, she knew that that wasn't who Crona truly was.

But seeing the expression on Crona's face was enough to scare her all over again. Only for entirely different reasons.

That one look of pure, indescribable rage.

"…what is this?" Dracula wondered, straightening up as Crona walked closer. "Do you wish to cross swords with me, boy?"

Crona simply glared at Dracula, his teeth grit. Ragnarok remained at his side, the mouth already visible.

"…very well." Dracula answered, before reaching into his cloak. He pulled out a thin, rapier-like sword and held it vertically in front of him.

"Anything you wish to say before you die?" he asked.

Crona slowly raised Ragnarok, mimicking Dracula's movements and holding him out vertically in front of him. The two stared the other down for a few brief moments, before Crona roared his answer.

"SCREAM RESONANCE!"

Ragnarok's unique scream echoed through the air once again, this time mixing with Crona's furious cry. The ship around them shook with the sheer force of the sound, and Dracula once again staggered in his spot. Maka and Soul also felt the force of the screams, wincing as it hit them.

Soon, the waves condensed around Ragnarok's blade, causing it to vibrate violently in Crona's hand.

"Crona, don't!" Maka cried out.

But it was far too late. Crona gave another roar and dashed forward, swinging Ragnarok with all of his might.

His swing was quickly blocked by Dracula's sword, but he quickly pulled back and swung again, only to be blocked again. He did this over and over, each furious swing carefully stopped by Dracula.

Dracula then started to return the movements, giving quick slashes and stabs at every opportunity. Crona fiercely blocked each movement though, not letting a single attack get through to him.

They continued to go back and forth, Crona's wild rage clashing with Dracula's calm grace, yet neither of them managed to get a hit on the other.

Finally, the two swung at the same time, their swords meeting with a resounding CLANG. They pressed the swords against the other, trying desperately to gain an inch against their opponent.

Dracula then noticed the vibrations coming off of Ragnarok, causing him to dig into Dracula's sword. Sparks flew off of his blade, causing him to falter back slightly.

This was all the opening Crona needed. With a final push, he shoved Dracula's sword down, causing Dracula to give a slight hiss as his arm was twisted. Crona then gave another roar, before lifting his foot and kicking Dracula square in the chest.

Dracula stumbled back, his grip still firm on his sword. He looked up just in time to see the black energy crackling around Ragnarok. The dark blade formed around him, while Crona glared a hole through Dracula.

"SCREECH GAMMA!"

Dracula only barely managed to get his sword up in time to block, his sword holding out against the barrage of slashes. The energy moved in one constant fluid motion, with each slash being preceded by a furious cry from Crona, one after the other.

With the last swing, Dracula's sword was knocked out of his hands, flying off of the ship and falling into the water below. He looked back in time to see Crona suddenly duck down.

Crona charged forward, his shoulder meeting Dracula's chest as he tackled him to the ground. Dracula gave a loud "OOF" as he hit the deck, Crona quickly climbing on top of him.

He raised Ragnarok above his head, aiming the point of the blade down, and gave one more scream, swinging down.

SHUNK!

Dracula let out a howl of pain as Ragnarok pierced through his left shoulder. He glared up at Crona, who was still radiating with anger.

"…if you were aiming for my heart, boy…" Dracula growled. "Then you clearly missed-"

SHLLLLIK!

Dracula was cut off by Crona forcing Ragnarok's blade deeper into his shoulder, causing him to howl again. The blade went through the wood of the deck, essentially pinning Dracula to the floor.

Crona let go of Ragnarok's hilt, then closed his hand into a fist. He reared back, the black blood hardening under his skin.

Dracula looked back up just in time for Crona to swing.

WHAM!

His fist connected with Dracula's face, causing him to give a "whoof" as his head swung to the side.

Another fist suddenly came down.

WHAM!

Dracula's head swung to the other side, just in time for the first fist to hit him again.

WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!

Again and again, Crona's fist pounded into Dracula's face, his movements slowly picking up in speed.

Maka and Soul watched Crona in sheer disbelief. Never mind the fact that he had gained the advantage against a pre-Kishin such as Dracula, but he was actually starting to beat him.

"…am I seeing this?" Soul wondered.

Maka shook her head. "Soul, you have to go stop him…"

"What? Are you crazy?"

"He's going to get himself killed…"

"…are you watching the same fight as me? He's got Dracula pinned to the ground and his beating his face in with his bare hands! I think he'll be fine!"

But Maka knew that something wasn't right. Crona had started to scream again with each blow, but what exactly, Maka couldn't tell. They sounded like words, but they were far too incoherent for Maka to make out.

Crona wasn't normally this reckless, and Maka knew that it was going to go against him in the worst way.

Meanwhile, Crona's swinging had reached a fever pitch, his constant screaming with each punch echoing through the cave. Dracula's blood was flying through the air, some of it spilling onto Crona's face, but he couldn't care less.

He gave another swing, only for Dracula to block the fist with his hand.

"You…are beginning to annoy me…brat…" Dracula grunted out, his face covered in his own blood.

Crona pulled his fist away, before suddenly grabbing the collar of Dracula's cape. He pulled Dracula up, before thrusting his head down.

WHACK!

His forehead connected with Dracula's face, causing him to reel back and roar in pain again.

Crona looked around the ship, trying to find something else to use against him. He looked behind him and saw the mast of the ship towering above him.

An absolutely insane idea developed in Crona's mind.

He quickly reached over and grabbed Ragnarok, pulling him out of Dracula's shoulder. Dracula howled again as Crona got off of him, letting Dracula roll over and clutch his shoulder in pain. He turned and ran behind him, swinging Ragnarok as he passed by the mast.

With one quick slash, he cut through the wood of the mast, causing the structure to start to fall. Before it could get too far, he dashed behind it and started pushing it forward, towards Dracula.

Soon enough, the mast fell towards the end of the ship. Dracula looked up just as the wooden structure fell onto him.

CRASH!

The mast collided with the deck, crushing Dracula underneath it. The wood under the mast splintered and flew about, the deck starting to crumble underneath the mast.

Maka and Soul stared in awe of the damage Crona had caused. Maka looked over at Crona, who was staring at the broken mast, panting heavily.

She flinched slightly when he suddenly raised his head back and let out another scream of rage. His cry rang throughout the cave, and Maka couldn't help but worry about the cause of this.

It seemed unnatural for him. To suddenly cut loose and go on a rampage like this…why was this happening?

Crona's scream soon died out, and he lowered his head, glaring at the mast while still gasping for breath.

The area grew very quiet, no one moving from their spots. Crona's breathing slowly returned to a normal rate, but he stayed where he was.

"…Crona?" Soul questioned. "Come on, man, let's-"

CRACK!

The mast suddenly split open, and Dracula burst out from underneath it, flying into the air. Crona's, Maka's, and Soul's heads whipped up as he floated in the air, still clutching his shoulder, glaring down at them.

"…congratulations…child…" Dracula growled, wincing in pain. "You have succeeded…in earning my wrath…but you will not have my life…not tonight…"

He let out a gasp of pain, before letting go of his shoulder and pointing down at Crona.

"I promise you this…one day, I will return…and I will not rest…until I have taken my vengeance upon you…your heirs…and everyone who cares for you…"

With that threat hanging in the air, Dracula started to float away, heading for the opening in the cave ceiling.

Maka watched him fly, upset that despite all of Crona's efforts, he somehow managed to survive. But it was still a victory, and they could always fight him again. Next time, she'd be ready.

She was then horrified when Crona suddenly leaped onto the mast and held up Ragnarok.

"Ragnarok! Wings! Now!"

"…what did he just say?" Soul shouted.

No…he wouldn't…not for this… Maka thought.

"…have you completely lost your fucking mind?" Ragnarok yelled. "We haven't been able to do that since we came back!"

"You ate twenty-five souls, that should be enough!"

"You don't know that!"

"Neither do you!"

"I know the black blood isn't strong enough for this! It would take up way to much of your energy to even make them, much less maintain them!"

"I am not letting him get away!"

"You're going to kill us both!"

"Just give me the fucking wings NOW!"

To say Maka was shocked would be a vast understatement. Never mind the fact that Crona actually swore, which was an extremely rare occurrence, but he was demanding that Ragnarok put him at greater risk, just to get this one opponent.

Why is this so important to him? Maka frantically wondered.

"…OK, fine! Have it your way!" Ragnarok shouted.

"No…Soul, please, you have to stop him…" Maka murmured, trying to get to her feet.

"And how exactly do I do that?" Soul wondered, helping Maka up.

But it was too late. Maka could already see the black blood starting to drip out of Crona's back.

No no NO! Maka thought.

"Here goes…" Ragnarok started. "Three…two…one…"

SPLORTCH!

Crona let out the most pained scream that Maka had heard him give, as two black wings burst out of his back. The scream was joined by Ragnarok's own, resounding at such a volume that Dracula actually turned back to look at the source.

"…just what in God's name are you?" Dracula shouted.

Crona panted loudly, the pain shooting from his back becoming almost too much. His vision was already starting to blur, and he could feel the world start to spin.

"See…?" Ragnarok growled. "Didn't I fucking tell you…?"

Crona didn't answer. He slowly raised his head, then began to test the wings. One gave a slow flap, followed by the other. Soon, they were both flapping, and Crona was already starting to leave the ground.

"Crona, no!" Maka shouted, starting to run after him.

"…you're not going anywhere!" Crona growled, taking off and dashing after Dracula.

Maka stumbled and fell just as Crona flew off, Soul quickly running up to her. She watched him go up and up and up, soon catching up to Dracula.

Crona swung Ragnarok just as he flew up to him, Dracula just barely managing to get out of the way. Crona continued to swing wildly at him, each slash being dodged by Dracula.

"What will it take for you to stop?" Dracula growled, grabbing Crona's arm to stop the next swing. "Why do you fight like this?"

"I want you dead!" Crona growled back.

Crona then reared back and punched Dracula again, causing him to reel back. He then raised Ragnarok high and brought the hilt down.

CRACK!

It connected with the top of Dracula's skull, sending him falling down to the water below.

Trying to remain conscious, Crona dove after him, soon tackling him and dashing further down.

He took a deep breath as the water zoomed up to meet him.

SPLASH!

Maka ran up to the edge of the ship as Crona and Dracula hit the water. She started to climb up, but was pulled back by Soul.

"What are you doing?" he demanded.

"I'm going after him! I have to help him!"

"Did you learn how to fight underwater and forget to tell me?"

"I'm not going to let him get killed, Soul!"

"He's fine! He's got it under control!"

"No he doesn't! You heard Ragnarok, it took up most of his energy just to make those things!"

"And if you jump down there, you'll just get in his way! You're falling all over the place, Maka!"

Maka shook her head, rubbing her temple. "I'm just a bit dizzy from the hypnotic backlash."

"Dizzy from the what now?"

Maka sighed. "Dracula has a hypnotic wavelength. He uses it to lure his victims before he kills them."

"But Crona and I never felt a wavelength. And you kept going on about some "sound" that we couldn't hear."

Maka flushed, looking away. "…it only works on girls."

Soul stared at Maka for a moment, before looking over the edge, down at the water.

"…I really hope Crona hurries up and kills that freak."

"Soul, this is serious!" Maka shouted, turning back to look at him.

"Look, he's going to finish him off and then he'll have another soul and everything will be fine!"

"He forced Ragnarok to grow wings, Soul! He's not going to be fine after that!"

"How do you even know? You don't know how his body works!"

"Maybe not, but-"

Maka stopped when she suddenly saw a series of bubbles start to rapidly rise around one area where Dracula and Crona fell. What she saw immediately after horrified her.

The water where the two had fallen had started to turn jet black.

"CRONA!"

"Maka, wait!"

"I'm not waiting anymore, Soul! Either help me or stay out of my fucking way!"

"Dammit Maka!"

The two of them prepared to jump over the edge, when another sound stopped them.

SPLOOSH!

Dracula suddenly rocketed out of the water, a wave of black energy that was clearly Crona's Screech Alpha attack pushing him up into the air. He flew away from where Soul and Maka were standing until he met the wall of the cave.

WHAM!

He hit the wall, the wave dissipating as he did so. He soon fell off of the wall, quickly tumbling down to the cave floor below before landing with a loud THUD.

Dracula gave a cough as he slowly got to his knees, wiping at his mouth while doing so. He looked at his hand as he pulled it away, eyes widening as he saw the black substance on it.

"…just what is this…?" he wondered aloud.

There was another splash, followed by a loud gasp for air. Dracula looked up to see Crona come out of the water, collapsing onto the shore in front of him, panting and gasping for breath.

Maka let out a gasp as she saw Crona surface, and started running to the back of the ship.

"Crona, hang on! I'm coming!"

"NO!"

Maka froze, Crona's answer ringing in her ears. She turned to look back at him, and saw him slowly getting out of the water, Ragnarok still in his hand.

"He's mine!" Crona growled.

Maka stared at him, still utterly lost as to just what was making him doing this.

Why is he acting like this? This isn't like him at all!

Crona glared at Dracula, wiping at the fresh wound on his neck. He slowly raised his hand palm-up in front of him, looking at the small pool of black in it.

"Bloody Needle…"

Four small pins rose out of the black, floating in the air for a few seconds before zooming towards Dracula.

One pierced his wrist and pushed him back, pinning him against the wall. Dracula tried to pull it back out before a second went through his other wrist. The last two went through his ankles, piercing through the rock behind him, preventing any sort of escape.

Crona slowly staggered towards Dracula. His dizziness was even worse now, and he could only barely see the form in front of him. He forced himself to stay away, knowing that he had to finish this.

He walked right up to Dracula and raised Ragnarok, pressing him against Dracula's throat.

The two of them glared at each other, both of them panting heavily from the battle they had just been through. Crona's eyes fluttered slightly, but he focused on staying awake.

"…I see…" Dracula gasped out. "So…that's your secret…"

Crona noticed that he was eyeing the wound on his neck, the black blood still dripping from it. He then saw Dracula look up past him, back at the ship.

"…such…delicate…beauty…"

Crona tensed, pressing Ragnarok closer to his neck.

A grin spread across Dracula's face as he looked back at Crona.

"Look at you…all I have to do is speak of her…and you're ready to turn into a wild animal…you couldn't be more obvious if you tried…"

Crona's teeth grit as he glared up at Dracula. The grin on Dracula's face grew, any signs of composure now long gone.

"Do you really think you are worthy of such a prize…?"

Crona flinched at him referring to Maka as a "prize".

"After all, just look at you…" Dracula continued. "Unnatural blood…misshapen form…wild, uncontrollable actions…"

He sneered. "You're just like me…a monster, just pretending to be a man…"

Crona didn't respond, the only sound coming from him being his ragged breathing.

"What makes you think she could ever want you…? Ordinary people…they never want monsters…" Dracula continued. "That's why we take what we want…so why not just take her…? If it's your happiness that you want…it only makes sense…"

Crona continued to glare at Dracula, his words only now reaching his mind. After a few seconds, he lowered his head.

He slowly pulled Ragnarok away from Dracula's throat, causing Dracula to smile in victory.

The area around them stayed quiet for a short while, Crona's breathing continuing in ragged gasps.

"…maybe…you're right…" Crona whispered.

Dracula grinned, confident that he'd won.

"Maybe…I am a monster…"

Crona then raised his head, his glare reaching Dracula's eyes once again.

"But I am not like you."

Dracula's grin vanished, to be replaced with furious indignation.

Crona raised Ragnarok again, rearing back for an attack.

"Because…even if I'm a monster…starting now…you're just a number."

With that, Crona swung.

SHLIK!

The grimace on Dracula's face remained frozen. Even as his head fell to his chest. Then past it, past the abdomen, past his feet, and down to the floor below, hitting it with a thunk.

"You're my twenty-sixth soul…" Crona continued, lowering Ragnarok. "Nothing more…"

Dracula's body soon dissolved into nothing, the last part fading away being his head. The four Needles Crona made soon returned to his body, and Ragnarok quickly did the same, popping out of his back and grabbing the red soul.

He stuffed it into his mouth, chewing noisily and greedily, before finally swallowing. He gave a loud belch, followed by a sigh of satisfaction.

"Damn…I swear, these actually taste better when you have to friggin' work for them…"

Crona slowly turned around as he heard footsteps echoing through the cave. He knew that Maka was on her way, circling around to get to him.

"…Ragnarok…"

"What?"

"…the wounds…heal them, please…"

"…you're seriously thinking about her now?"

"W-We'll talk about it later…just…I don't want her to see them…"

Ragnarok sighed, quickly diving back into Crona's body.

Crona could feel the open wound on his neck slowly close, along with the spots on his back where his wings once were. Soon, they were all gone.

Crona started to slowly walk towards where Maka was coming from. His vision was now blurrier than ever, and he was only barely moving forward.

He could make out a shape running towards him…it looked like Maka, which made him smile.

She's…OK…

He then realized that he was falling. Falling forward. Falling into someone's arms.

And yet, he was still falling.

/

The first thought that popped into Crona's head was his wondering why he felt like he was floating.

It was a strange sensation. He felt completely weightless, yet he wasn't moving at all. He just stayed in one spot, floating aimlessly.

He gently clenched and unclenched his hand, and felt a strange resistance to the movement. Strange, yet familiar.

…water? he thought.

He slowly opened his eyes, noticing a bright light shining down on him. He saw that light, but it was obscured slightly by the vast blue surrounding him, stretching on forever.

…what am I doing underwater…? he wondered. Didn't I make it back onto land…?

He let out a breath, the bubbles floating away from him. He didn't feel the expected sudden rush of water enter his lungs.

…how am I still breathing?

"Hey. It's later."

Crona blinked, recognizing the voice. He slowly turned his body around, searching for the source.

Deep down into the water, he could see a giant form beneath him. The long, serpentine body seemed to extend on forever, the creature's four legs floating weightlessly beneath it. Its huge wings remained folded on its back as it raised its long neck, his pointed face staring right at Crona.

Crona saw that he was staring right into the eyes of a black dragon. But, even if he didn't see the white X across its face, he would've known what this dragon was.

"…Ragnarok?"

"Who else?"

Crona looked around him, observing the water around them.

"Where are we…?"

"Your mind? Your soul? Your dream? Who knows? We've got more important shit to discuss than that."

Crona looked back at Ragnarok. He didn't want to revisit this subject so soon, but he didn't appear to have much choice in the matter.

"Look…" Ragnarok began. "I know you don't want to talk about this…but do you have any idea how dangerously close you came to proving me right?"

"…I know…"

"Crona, you completely lost your shit! And Maka didn't even die! She wasn't even hurt! If this is how you react when someone almost hurt her, just imagine how bad it'll be when she does get hurt!"

"It's not that simple, Ragnarok…" Crona muttered. "I was just-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Ragnarok interrupted. "I know what happened. Doesn't change the fact that you were completely out of control."

Crona looked away, realizing that there was no point arguing that.

"They've already taken us back to the Academy." Ragnarok explained. "I didn't want to do this, but I don't see us getting another chance any time soon. Once you've recovered, we'll pack our things and make a run for it before-"

"Ragnarok, stop."

Crona looked back at Ragnarok, his mind finally made up.

"I'm not going."

Ragnarok stared at Crona, before giving an annoyed sigh.

"Crona, why are you-"

"Ragnarok, please." Crona interrupted. "You already said your piece…let me say mine."

Ragnarok stared at Crona more. Crona almost wished he could give some sort of expression in this form, so he had an idea of what he was thinking. When Ragnarok didn't protest, Crona decided to continue.

"…you're right. I did lose it today…and I could easily lose it again…that's something I need to work on…"

"No shit, Sherlock."

"But you're wrong about running being the right choice. If we ran…I wouldn't be happy. All I would be doing would be thinking about all the things I could've been doing with her instead…that would just make me miserable."

Crona gave a small sigh, not wanting to continue onto the next subject.

"And I know…she won't live forever. One day, she'll die…just like I will…just like everyone will…and when she goes, it'll hurt worse than anything I've ever felt…but…I want to stay with her anyway."

A small smile came over Crona's face. "I want to spend all of the years with her…until that day comes…"

"…so, that's it?" Ragnarok asked. "You're gonna stay with her until she's a wrinked old grandma, until she dies in her bed, you kneeling beside her?"

"Maybe…" Crona answered. "Or maybe I'll get lucky…"

"Huh?"

The smile on Crona's face widened. "Maybe I'll die a day before her…so I never have to live without her."

Crona had never seen a dragon look exasperated, but he could swear that was the look Ragnarok was giving him right then.

"…really, Crona?"

Crona's grin turned sheepish. "I think it fits…"

"…yeah, I guess it does…" Ragnarok replied. "Why can't you ever be so damn devoted to anything but her?"

Crona gave a small shrug, as best as he could in the water.

Ragnarok let out a sigh. "So, this is it, huh? We're gonna be stuck in this city for the rest of our lives?"

"Unless Maka moves." Crona answered. "If she goes, we go."

"…you realize that you could be wasting your time, right? I mean…you don't know if she feels the same way."

"…yeah, I know…I'll worry about that later…"

"Yeah, one thing at a time…" Ragnarok replied. He then looked behind Crona. "You should probably wake up now. Don't want her to worry too much."

"Right…"

Crona turned around again, facing the light. He started to swim away, but stopped.

"…Ragnarok?" he asked, looking over his shoulder.

"Yeah? What?"

"Could you…start coming out again?"

"…yeah, yeah, fine. I know, people are starting to worry…"

"Yeah…and…I was starting to miss you…"

He couldn't really tell if this surprised Ragnarok or not. He heard him give a loud snort.

"Fine, fine, whatever…stupid sappy brat…"

Crona gave a small smile, before looking ahead and swimming.

The area around him grew bright as he swam closer to the light. It became almost blinding the closer he got to it.

Brighter.

Brighter.

/

Crona's eyes were closed again, but he could still hear voices around him.

"…be OK…"

"Lost…need rest…"

There was a strange buzzing in his ears that made it harder for him to hear. He wasn't sure what the voices were saying, but they sounded familiar.

"…happened…him…"

"…screamed…kept beating on…wings…"

They were talking about him. He wasn't sure he liked that. He decided he should ask them to stop.

He tried to move his mouth, but it felt heavy. All he could get out was an "mmm".

He heard footsteps suddenly come closer to him. He felt someone's breath on his face.

"Crona…?"

He definitely recognized that voice.

Maka.

He slowly and carefully opened his eyes, the sudden brightness making it hard for him to see.

There was a shape hovering in front of him. It was hard to see what it was.

Slowly, his vision began to come back into focus, the shape becoming very clear.

He couldn't help but smile when he saw Maka's face.

"Maka…" he whispered.

A wide smile spread over her face. "He's awake!"

"Yeah, I think we figured that out, Maka."

Crona blinked slightly as Soul walked up behind Maka, showing a wide, toothy grin.

"Mornin', superhero. Sleep well?"

"…superhero…?" Crona wondered.

"What? Don't like the new nickname? And I worked so hard on it…"

Maka rolled her eyes, turning to look back at Soul. "Oh please, you came up with it out of nowhere and just kept repeating it like it already fit."

"It does fit, though."

Crona smiled wider as Maka gave an annoyed sigh.

To think…I almost gave this up…

He heard more footsteps and looked to his other side as a third form appeared within his line of sight.

"…Professor Stein…?"

Stein stared at Crona, his expression neutral as always. "Well, from what Maka and Soul have told me, you've been through quite an ordeal, Crona…"

Crona blushed slightly. "Y-Yeah…I guess so…"

"You've lost quite a bit of blood in the battle…but, if the black blood works at all like normal blood, then you can just rest here for the day and you'll be fine soon."

Crona slowly looked around, recognizing the tiled ceiling and feeling the bed underneath him.

Nurse's office back at the academy… he thought.

"So, now that that's all out of the way…" Stein said, before looking across from him. "Soul, would you accompany me to give Lord Death the official report?"

Soul gave a quick salute. "Yessir."

Crona noticed Soul then look back at him and give a quick wink, before following Stein out of the room. He couldn't help but blush at the implications.

He then looked back at Maka, realizing that the two of them were alone. He blinked when he noticed that Maka's eyes were a bit red.

"…Maka? Are you OK…?"

Maka stared at Crona for a second, before gently reaching forward and hugging him around his shoulders.

"Of course I'm OK, you…I'm just glad you're alright…"

Crona wondered if she was being completely truthful, but decided not to worry about it.

"Just…just don't do something that crazy ever again…OK…?" Maka whispered.

Whether it was out of tiredness, wanting to comfort Maka, or both, Crona automatically responded with "OK…"

He then slowly moved his arms out from under the blanket and wrapped them around Maka's back, pulling her close and giving a happy sigh.

There were a lot of things Crona was unsure of right then. But there was one thing he knew for a fact.

He wasn't going anywhere.

/

Well! That's finally done. I had some fun writing this, but I'm still glad it's over.

But! The story isn't finished just yet! Stay tuned for the next part, coming very soon!

Ta-ta for now!