A/N - Despite appearances, this chapter was actually a little tough for me to write. I wanted to convey Alecto's gripping fear of failure hasn't e without it seeming to conflict earlier characterizations of her (as her fear of failure hasn't been a real focus the past two arcs). I figure the recent stress that's been building up within her over the past few weeks would exacerbate any worries she would have, especially worries that are relevant to said stress.

I've always wanted her to be a bit of a determinator and a perfectionist, but I'm not really sure how to portray that, especially as I am far from being a perfectionist. I'm much more of a Tempus than an Alecto. Perhaps you could review and tell me how I did?

Speaking of reviews, thank you to Superhero17 for reviewing, though I will say that I think my updating schedule doesn't make me a great author so much as it makes me an author that lacks a sense of time management.

Notes and translations of the Latin will be at the end of the chapter.

DISCLAIMER: Soul Eater is the intellectual property of Atsushi Ōkubo. I have no intention of monetizing my fanwork, and this is merely an enjoyable passer of time.


Chapter Eight - Graveyard Shift? Extra Classes for the Meisters? Part 2


This day is shaping up to be just horrible.

Alecto had pulled her ribbon out of her hair and was fidgeting with it nervously, yanking at it and wrapping around her hands as she, Tempus, Maka, and Soul stood outside the Death Room. A fog of anxiety had settled itself around the four young teenagers, but Alecto figured that, when said fog was coupled with the stress that had been slowly building itself up in the pit of her belly, she was probably the most nervous one here. Tempus didn't seem to be too terribly bothered by it, and Maka and Soul seemed more "apprehensively curious" than "scared out of their minds."

Sēdās, she told herself. It's probably nothing. If this really was about disappointing Lord Death or failing your duty as a meister, Maka and Soul wouldn't be summoned down either. They're great meisters! Absent-mindedly, she started to gnaw at the corner of her ribbon, trying to take deep breaths and keep her heart from leaping out of her chest like a crazed bull. But what if he called them down here for entirely different reasons than whatever reasons I was called down here for? But I suppose he'd probably call us down at different times. Is he mad about Vegas? That was mostly the Kishin's fault, I thought that fountain was pretty nice!

She glanced at Tempus, who was giving her an odd look. "Quid? I-I mean, what?"

"You're doing that thing you do with your ribbon and your mouth when you're nervous."

Alecto pulled the tip of her ribbon out of her mouth. "Yeah, so? Lord Death doesn't just call people down, of course I'm a little nervous." She tied the ribbon back into her hair, giving it an experimental tug to ensure that the bow was tied right. "Aren't you?"

"A little, but not to your levels. Jeez, calm down, would you? The way you're acting, it's like he's going to expel you or something." Tempus turned back to face the door.

He's right. It's probably nothing. Wait, no, it's probably not nothing, because if it were nothing, Lord Death wouldn't be calling us down to the Death Room. Alecto really wished she had some tea in her hands right now. Tea would be so helpful. She wondered how well tea would hold in a thermos. Perhaps she'd been preparing her school tea wrong this whole time.

As she considered the idea (mostly to drag her mind away from the crushing disquiet that plagued her mind, Maka stepped forward and banged the knocker on the door twice. "Hello?" she called out.

In response, the door swung open without the slightest sound (something that had always unnerved Alecto; doors were supposed to creak when they opened, damn it), and the four of them made their way down the guillotine archways that led to the Death Room.

Alecto hated the guillotine archways. While she knew that it was unlikely at worst and downright impossible at best, she was always worried that the blades of the guillotines would come crashing down and take off a limb or her head or something. She wondered if scaring people who walked underneath was the purpose or of the arches were there to add a morbid flair to the place.

"I wonder why Lord Death wants to see us," Maka mused.

"Who knows," Soul replied.

Alecto was baffled as to how they could be so infuriatingly calm about this. This wasn't just any teacher calling them to the front of the class, this was Lord Death. The Grim Reaper. Shinigami. Mors Dominus. A little apprehension to reassure Alecto that her fear wasn't crushing and irrational would be nice.

As if to inform her that yes, in fact, she was probably overreacting, Alecto was suddenly overwhelmed with the feeling that they were being watched. It's probably nothing. Or maybe it's just Lord Death. There's no doubt that he probably keeps an eye over the entire school through that mirror of his.

Unfortunately, the truth was far, far worse as Alecto realized when a familiar voice piped up from above and behind them. "Assassin's rule number one! Dissolve in the darkness and erase you breath! Wait for an opening to attack your target!"

The four of them looked upwards in unison to see Black Star standing atop one of the guillotines, holding Tsubaki in her chain scythe from with his arms outstretched. Wonderful, Alecto thought bitterly. Just the person I wanted to see.

"Oh, look," Maka said amiably, "It's Black Star!" Even from this distance, Alecto could see Black Star's face of shock after being caught being "stealthy."

Tempus smirked. "Nice pose. I give it a seven."

"Why are you standing up there yelling like an idiot?" Soul called out.

Black Star seemed to be frozen in place through the power of either embarrassment or incredulity. Alecto was willing to place her denarii on the latter, because she was honestly unsure of the concept of "personal humiliation" had ever crossed Black Star's mind in his life.

With a flash of light, one of the chain shifted into Tsubaki's head and upper torso. "They found us pretty easily," she said, equal parts sheepish and exasperated.

A wide grin made its way across Black Star's face. "It can be real difficult to hide when you're as big a star as I am!" he declared.

Nice recovery, Alecto thought, at the same time that Tempus muttered, "Nice recovery." The two of them shared a knowing look, and Alecto allowed herself to smile slightly.

Tsubaki changed into her fully human form, and she and Black Star leapt down off the guillotine to land gracefully on the crackled and robbled path that led to the Death Room. "Oh, well. That's a disadvantage I think I can handle!" Black Star declared. He nudged Tsubaki with his elbow, still grinning. "Pretty big of me, huh, Tsubaki?"

Tsubaki smiled encouragingly. "Oh, yes," the taller girl said.

The silence that followed could fill a hundred teapots before Maka spoke. "...Seriously?"

Seriously.

"So, Tsubaki," Alecto said, hoping to break the ice as the six of them started walking. "How have you two been doing lately?"

"Pretty good! We haven't collected any Kishin eggs recently, though," Tsubaki admitted.

"That's just because everyone we go up against is too scared to fight us!" Black Star said. "Those cowards are so scared of my massive presence that they run away before I even arrive!"

"That," Tempus said, "or they simply heard you coming from a mile away and decided that it would be smarter to just leave." He stretched his arms over his head, the sleeves of his jacket falling down his forearm. "Hell, if I were a Kishin and I knew that you of all people were coming to make my life miserable, I'd want to put as much distance between where I was and where I was supposed to be as humanly possible."

Out of the corner of her eye, Alecto saw Soul grin a little at that. Black Star's grin widened in a much less subtle way, and she suspected that he didn't interpret Tempus's statement the way the statement was meant to be interpreted. "Well, they were a bit below my skill level," he said, pointing at himself with his thumb. "But just you wait. When I surpass even the gods in strength, those Kishin will be practically begging me to defeat them!"

"I'm sure we'll all be in awe when that day comes, Black Star," Maka said.

Tsubaki turned to Alecto. "What about you two? I heard you went to Las Vegas recently to deal with a casino owner who was stealing human souls. How did it go?"

"Terribilis erat."

"Huh?"

"We got the Kishin egg. I don't really want to go into details."

"Oh, okay." Tsubaki didn't press further, and Alecto really appreciated that. Tsubaki was probably one of the most genuinely nice people that Alecto knew, and she was happy to know her. Of course, knowing Tsubaki also meant knowing Black Star, but Alecto could live with that.

As they neared the Death Room, Soul Eater addressed the elephant in the room. "So, what are you two doing here? Were you guys called in to see Lord Death too?"

"What if we were?" Black Star said. No one really had a response for that as they all walked into the Death Room.

While Alecto was certain that the endless blue skies and expansive makeshift graveyard were probably an illusion (a belief that was only solidified by the seemingly-floating windows), but there was still a certain disorienting realness to all of it that made her wonder on brief occasions if the laws of spatial relativity just didn't apply to the Grim Reaper and his living quarters.

Speaking of the Grim Reaper, Lord Death wasn't in the room. Instead, a single mirror stood in the middle of the room. Tall and thin, it towered over the students with an imposing presence that only served to further increase Alecto's nervousness.

"Here, I'll call him," Maka said, stepping forward. Breathing on the glass, she began to write, muttering as she did, "Forty-two, forty-two, five sixty-four, whenever you want him, knock on death's door."

The polished surface of the mirror rippled and began to glow. "Lord Death," Maka said, "are you there?"

The glow faded away, the mirror turning into a window to… somewhere and revealing Lord Death himself. "Yah, yah!" the Shinigami said, and the friendly note in his voice was such that Alecto almost allowed herself to relax. "Hi, hello, what's up?" Lord Death leaned forward slightly, and it looked like he was going to lean out of the mirror altogether. "Thanks for coming!"

"Scythe meister Maka reporting in!" Maka said.

"Yeah, and dark arm meister Black Star, too."

"And Tsubaki, I'm his partner."

Alecto forced herself to speak. "Buckler spear meister Alecto Bellatore reporting in, s-sir!"

"Clockwork buckler spear Tempus reporting."

"Well?" Soul said. "What did you want with us?"

Lord Death straightened up, the tone of his voice taking on a slightly more serious quality. At least, Alecto thought it was that way. Sometimes she wished that Lord Death had facial expressions so that she could read his emotions better. "Right. I have a little assignment for you guys to take on."

"Assignment?"

"Some extra lessons."

"Q-quid?" Alecto stammered, her blood turning to ice in her veins. Extra lessons. Students only got extra lessons if they requested them or if they were doing poorly in class. Alecto hadn't remembered requesting any, and one glance at Tempus revealed that he was just as confused and distressed as she was.

As was Maka, it seemed. "Huh?! Those extra lessons that stupid people get? Those lessons?!"

"Not how I would have worded it," Tempus said, "but probably those extra lessons, yeah."

"Well, screw that!" Soul snapped, turning away from the mirror and scowling. "I'm gonna be a Death Scythe, I'm way too cool for extra lessons."

Alecto's only response to that was an incredulous whimper.

Lord Death's face was unchanging as always, but Alecto figured that he was probably giving Soul a disapproving stare. "Do you remember your duty as meisters and weapons?"

"Yes," Maka replied emphatically, standing straight and tall. "Our duty as meisters is to feed our weapons ninety-nine Kishin souls and one witch's souls. We collect evil souls in order keep the world at peace. We work to create a Death Scythe, a weapon of the Grim Reaper, Death!" The very first thing they taught in the Academy, and Maka Albarn had recited it word for word.

"You are absolutely right," Lord Death said. "But do you know how many souls you and Black Star have managed to collect for your weapons?" He held up his hands, forming O's with his thumbs and forefingers. "Exactly zero."

Maka, Soul, and Tsubaki looked equal parts stunned and shamed. Tempus's brows had knitted together, his face a mask of confusion. Black Star… laughed?

One Reaper Chop later, however, Black Star was sprawled on the ground and no longer laughing. "It isn't something to laugh about, Chuckles," Lord Death reprimanded.

Tempus cleared his throat politely, sticking his thumbs in his pockets and staring up at the Grim Reaper with inquisitive golden eyes. "Excuse me, sir? Alecto and I have managed to gather sixteen souls. Last I checked, that was more than zero. So why are we getting extra lessons?"

"Ah, yes," Lord Death said. "While it's true that you two have managed to gather souls, after the incident in Vegas…"

I knew it I knew it was about Vegas. "Mē miseret, sir!" Alecto exclaimed. "If I'd known about the blackjack table, I would never have-"

"After the incident in Vegas," Lord Death repeated, "it's become apparent that the two of you could use the extra lessons."

"Sir," Tempus said, "with all due respect, it was only one fountain."

"And half a hotel," Lord Death pointed out. "Regardless, the two of you have talent, but you need to find a less dangerous and destructive method of hunting Kishin souls. That's why you're receiving these lessons. Anyway, are you all ready to learn what your extra lessons will entail? Maybe you've already heard to rumors."

"Rumors?" Alecto said blankly. She hadn't heard of any rumors. Unlike Tempus, she didn't eavesdrop on people's conversations before class.

"About Sid," Lord Death elaborated, "who taught here at the Academy until recently."

"Sid? So, I was right. It wasn't just a story," Soul said.

What story? What rumors? Alecto cast a desperate glance at Tempus, who gave her an I'll-explain-later look.

"Yeah. But a zombie? I always thought he was a really good teacher," Maka said.

Lord Death nodded. "You're right. When he was alive, he was regarded as an excellent teacher. But, when he became a zombie, he changed. He has been released from the fear of death, and now he wants others to have the same freedom he does."

Tempus looked to be a little taken aback at this. "Surely being a little afraid of dying is healthy," he said. "It keeps people from getting overly reckless, right?"

"That's not what Sid thinks," Lord Death said. "He is trying to train students to free themselves as well, but when a student won't listen, Sid attacks. Another difficulty is that we still don't know who changed Sid into a zombie, or what their motive could possibly have been."

In the blink of an eye, Black Star was on his feet. "Okay!" he yelled. "You can leave it all to me, sir! For our extra lessons we just have to eliminate these guys?"

"Eyup, that's pretty much it!" Lord Death said cheerfully. "Now, I don't want to put too much pressure on you, but if you happen to fail at these extra lessons… Then you're all going to be expelled."

"QUID?!"

"WHAT?!"

Everyone except Black Star reacted simultaneously and in the same manner, equal expressions of shock and horror and blood draining from their cheeks. Alecto couldn't believe it. She'd put so much work into her duties the past few weeks, hell, she'd put so much work in her duties the entire time she'd been a meister, and now all that work, all that effort, hung in the balance of a single mission.

What had she done wrong?

Where had she failed so disastrously in her duties? How badly had she let down Lord Death and his expectations of her, whatever they were? How badly had she fucked up? She realized that she'd subconsciously yanked her ribbon out of her hair and was fiddling with it again, but right now she didn't care about keeping her hair tidy.

Black Star didn't seem to be too bothered by this news. "There's nothing to worry about!" he said. "I can take care of guys like this in my sleep!"

"Well, in that case, you'd better get started!" Lord Death said. "I'll be waiting to hear you report in. Remember, if you fail you'll be expelled!" And on that final note, Lord Death's image faded away, revealing the mirror underneath.

"This is awful," Maka groaned. "I can't believe we're getting assigned extra lessons."

"I can't believe that I might get expelled without becoming a Death Scythe!" Soul exclaimed. "That is so not cool!"

"I can't believe we might get expelled because of Vegas," Tempus said. "It's not like there were any humans in that hotel."

"What happened in Vegas, anyway?"

"Not the point."

"I can't believe that you guys are so worried about this!" Black Star said. "This is gonna be a piece of cake!"

For once in her life, Alecto admired Black Star's overconfidence.

She didn't think this was going to go nearly so well as he did.


A/N - When I started writing this fanfiction, I knew that I wanted my OCs to not be perfect students and that I wanted there to be proportionate consequences for their actions, be those consequences good or bad. I also needed an excuse to have Alecto be in the battle against Sid and I wanted to hammer in just how badly Alecto doesn't want to mess up her duties as a meister, so I put two and two and two together and made plot.

Also, Vegas. What the hell happened in Vegas, anyway? While I don't have any intention of telling you lot all the details (because really, what would be the fun in that), I can say for certain that Alecto and Tempus did not blow up that fountain and that hotel. I know that's probably what you all were thinking from the way it was presented, but that did not happen..

But Vegas isn't important right now. What's important is today's lesson in rudimentary Latin.

Sēdās: Essentially means "calm down." It's the second-person active present tense (wow grammar is complicated) form of "sēdō" which means "to calm" or "to assuage," so Alecto is pretty much telling herself to assuage those fears of hers.

Terribilis erat: Means "It was terrible." More grammar info: "Erat" is the third-person past tense version of "Esse," which is the Latin verb that means "to be."

Mors Dominus: "Lord Death." Should be a given, given the context it's used in.

Mē miseret: Means "I'm sorry." There are actually two forms of "I'm sorry" in the Latin language. There's "Excūsā" which is what you use if you didn't hear something and are basically asking "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" and there's "Mē miseret," which is what you say when you're apologizing for a mistake.

On a related note, Alecto mentions denarii in this chapter. A denarius was a coin commonly used in the Roman Empire that cropped up in about 211 BC and lasted until the third century AD.

Learning is fun!

Chapter nine will rear its ugly head soon. In the meantime, please feel very free to favorite and leave a review telling me what you think! I love hearing people's thoughts on my work!

- Diana "Nocte"