It was well after two in the morning when I slipped out the door. I crept towards the ever winding hallway instead of risking the elevator in fear of waking everyone up. I slung my bag over my shoulder and tightened the strap so it wouldn't slide around on my back. Slowly I made my way down until I felt safe enough that no one was listening for strange noises. I kept my feet light as I started running down the hall. At one of the curves I found another elevator. I used this one to gain access to the lower garage levels.

Once in the garage I went straight to the aisle that held the vehicles Dengu-san and Alexandre-san told us about. There was two motorcycles and a car still here, one stall was empty. They said Ramla took the other motorcycle, which of course was the fastest one and subsequently the hardest one to drive. Of course someone like her could handle equipment like that. I kicked the stand up on one of the bikes and walked it out the door. "I'm coming Ramla please just wait for me."

I drag the bike down a few blocks before hoping on and starting the engine. Just like Dengu-san said the bike roared to life when I pushed my soul into it. I could feel how weak and useless I really was because of it. With a soul like Ramla's I bet she could go for days without stopping or even being tired out.

"These vehicles are called Soul Vehicles for the sole reason of running on souls," Dengu-san said.

"How many times can you say soul in one sentence old man?!" Black*star laughed before being impaled with a hit from Maka.

"Anyways, all you have to do is focus your soul into the machine and it will use you as a fuel source. So, get some rest because none of you are in any condition to go anywhere right now."

"Thank you Dengu-san," Maka said while making Black*star bow.

'Yeah thanks a whole like Dengu-san,' I think bitterly. I pushed off from the street and rode off into the early morning light.


"What do you mean you can't find her?!" Tsubaki screams as she shakes the Deathscythe. "Dengu-san! She can't be running around on her own! She's just a kid!"

"Tsubaki!" Black*star grabs his partner and drags her away from the poor man. "Shaking him to death isn't going to find Helga—"

"Helena," Maka interjects.

"Whatever," he snarls. "We gotta go!" he drags Tsubaki behind him to the elevators.

"Thanks for everything Dengu-san!" Maka throws over her shoulder as she grabs Soul's hand and pulls him along.

"Come on Kiddo! We gotta go!" Patty giggled as she bounced down the hall into the elevator.

"Kid?" I turn to Liz and she was giving me a funny look. "We'll find her." I wasn't sure who she was talking about it.

"Let's go," I say as we join our friends on the elevator. We make it down into the lower levels and Soul curses.

"She took a bike," he points out. "Come on Maka," he straddles the other bike and holds his hand out.

"Why do you get the bike?" Black*star protests. Soul only smirks as Maka climbs on behind him and wraps her arms around his waist.

"Cool guys get cool bikes," he responds as they both throw their souls into the machine and it roars to life. "Let's go!" They tear out of the garage while the rest of us pile into the only other vehicle.

"Liz?" I hold the door open for my weapon.

"Thanks Kid," she smirks as she slides in behind the wheel. I sit next to her while everyone else climbs into the back. "Hold on tight and give it all you got!" Liz shouts as we all push our soul wavelengths into the car and shoot forward.


'Helena…Ramla…' my mind reels over the last conversations we had before we ended up in this strange situation. 'Things that separated her from us…' I look down at the papers Maka threw at me in the elevator to hold onto. 'Soul Stitching Theory, a soul with incalculable power, Manifestations, Maka's Grigori Soul, and what about Stein? How is he involved in this really?'

I ponder the situation as we travel across the savannah at breakneck speeds thanks to Black*star's soul. Maka and Soul stay in the lead looking out for any obscure—or familiar—wavelengths. I monitor the rear as we drive on well into the afternoon.


At around five o'clock Soul suddenly pulls over causing Liz to skid to an abrupt halt. "Give a girl a warning before you stop Soul!" she sticks her head out the window to shout.

"What's going on Maka? Soul?"

"Maka said she saw something that way," Soul points to the east. I turn to Maka for confirmation, but she was focusing hard in that direction. Instead of interrupting her I focus my Soul Perception the same way. "Whaddya see?" Soul whispers quietly to his meister.

"The bike," Maka responds suddenly. "Let's go." We all get back on our vehicles and took off towards a bunch of trees. When we pull up to the strange outcropping of trees we all see the other Soul Vehicle laying on its side in the dirt. "Hey who are you?!" Maka yells at a small girl poking at the bike. Her bright fuchsia hair blew wildly around her small frame as she quickly jumped back from us. "W-witch?"

"No time to dawdle it seems," the small girl tuts. With startling speed she picked the bike up and had mounted it. The bike roared to life under her and I got a good look at her soul. Its bright pink color was startling as the sheer mass of it was pushed into the bike. "Byeeeeeee strange people!" she shouts in glee as she rides off.

"What the hell was that about?!" Liz screams as she kicks dust up. "Where is Helena? You don't think—" she cut herself off suddenly. "You don't think the witch…"

"Dammit," Soul growls as he throws his leg over the bike. "Come on! We gotta catch up!" We all scramble into the vehicles and tore off after the witch.


She was fast, I'll give her that but Maka's Soul Perception was better. We chased after dust for what felt like forever. The sun had set, everyone was hungry and tired, and just about out of energy when a low building appeared on the horizon. Two of the Soul Vehicles were propped against the building as we approached closer.

"What the hell?" I growl as we pull up and see a body sitting on the roof. "Ramla?!"

We parked the bike and car near the other bikes before looking up at the roof and its occupant. A sickly looking woman with red hair emerged from the building below the cause of all our grief with that tiny witch in tow. Kid was furious, he was screaming up at Ramla who was too busy smoking to look at him.

"Ramie!" the little witch chides before straight up jumping the building. She landed gracefully next to Ramla and poked her cheek. "Make them go away." A small grunt was the only response she got. "Ramie!"

"Clarabelle," her voice was rough and low. The warning was not missed by the little witch, but she seemed unafraid of Ramla.

"Ramla I demand you come down here right now! Explain everything! Where is Helena?! Helena? Helena!" Kid was ranting as he rushed the building. The sickly woman was quicker than I thought because she knocked Kid clean on his ass.

"Are these your friends Ramla?" her voice was a whisper at best. It was eerily calm and serene for such a sick person. I watch as Ramla blows out a drag and shrugs. "If you have no business at this lab I suggest you leave."

"We have Death damned business here lady!" Black*star shouts. "Goat we can't find Helga!"

"Her name is Helena! Helena you idiot!" Maka shouts frustrated. "This is ridiculous!" she rushes over to the car and pulls out the research from before. "This is you isn't it? R.A.B?" she throws the papers into the dirt. Dust flies up and a stillness overtakes the moment. "Just…what are you?"

At Maka's last question Ramla seemed to tense up before throwing her cigarette onto the pile of papers. In this dry heat the papers went up in flames in moments. We all stare in baffled amazement at the destruction. Ramla stands up and picks the witch up in her arms before flicking her in the nose. "You shouldn't have brought them here."

"I didn't mean to," the witch whines. "I tried to lose the tail, but they were too good." Ramla and the witch looks down at us. "Honest Ramie."

Ramla sighs before jumping down next to the redhead woman. "I'm sure it's done Boss Lady. Shall we go see the results?"

"Ramla!" Maka yells at her. "Helena is missing and you're just going to ignore us?!" Her back seemed to stiffen before she put the witch down.

"When?" she asked hoarsely.

"She ran out of the headquarters sometime last night," Kid says. "That bike your witch friend stole belongs to the DWMA." Ramla turns around to look at all of us with a blank expression.

"Clarabelle you stole a bike?" her tone was flat.

"Dammit Ramla," I hiss. "We don't care about whatever it is you're doing out here in the middle of the dessert with her," I jab my finger at the sickly woman. "Or a little witch you're keeping as a pet—"

"H-Hey!" the witch's lower lip trembled. Tears welled up in her large, round eyes as the sickly woman narrows her eyes at us.

"Ramla I will not tolerate this narrowmindedness from the DWMA. If I've told you once I've told you a hundred times—"

"I know Boss Lady," she snaps. "Everyone inside, now." Leaving no room for arguments we all filed in behind her and the sickly lady. The low building turned out to be a lab much like Stein's back home. "Clarabelle," she puts the little witch down and she scrambles over to a table. Lots of bubbling and smoking liquids were cooking over open fires with a ridiculous amount of papers around it. "Hold on," Ramla holds her finger up to us before walking down a hallway and entering into a room. When she comes back her outfit is completely changed. She went from a chill look to a kill look.

"What's up with the lab coat?" I ask hesitantly. If looks could kill I would most likely be dead. Her purples eyes held about as much emotion as a corpus, and her posture was rigid and formal. She unsnaps the buttons and we see that the original outfit was under it and all of her two skin color glory. Instead of saying anything she walked over to the table of fire and messed with one of the doodads bubbling.

"You're a smart bunch of people…" she looks at Black*star and adds, "kind of."

"Hey!" Black*star yells indignantly.

"Black*star I need you to understand," she starts with her back turned to us. "You are an idiot of the highest order. You're strong I'll give you that, but an idiot nonetheless." When she turned around she was holding a tube with a black goopy looking substance in it. "And I am going to need you all to pay close attention."