Chapter 14: Betrayal Is Bitter; Is This The End?

Warren led me around the ballroom as we waltz effortlessly. One nice thing about soul resonance was that it made a lot of multi-person tasks easier because of the easy communication between minds. Even just the light touching of souls that we were maintaining currently made it easy to follow his movements. I tried to avoid speaking quite yet, as I wasn't sure how I felt about him showing up so suddenly. Currently I was warring between accusing him of avoiding me and letting our regular routine of bantering begin.

As I thought, I studied him silently. Perhaps it was just the toll of the night getting to me, the stress of my earlier fight with Black*Star and the black blood that had spilled from me… or maybe it wasn't. Regardless, there was something wrong with my old meister. Though our souls had found each other and effortlessly achieved a shallow resonance I could feel that a full resonance wouldn't work – I would burn his hands or worse. An evaluation of myself led me to believe it was one of two things: either my "feelings" for Black*Star (even though I still wasn't admitting they existed) were getting in the way, or he was hiding something. Instead facing the problem immediately, I made a mental note to myself and pushed it aside slightly.

Too many things were arising my suspicions tonight. I was starting to get unnerved.

"Where were you?" I asked, careful not to let any of my suspicion leek into my voice. "I looked for you before the food was served but I didn't see you anywhere."

Warren arched an eyebrow, giving his face a cocky look that he knew I hated. "There are a lot of people here, Kai."

"No shit, Warren," I responded sarcastically, already a little irritated.

"Hey, hey," his eyes grew a little wide at my sudden response, the hand on my back rubbing soothingly. "Calm down, Firecracker."

I scoffed, my annoyance dispersing at the sound of my favorite nickname. "I just thought-"

"That I wouldn't come?" He smirked, chuckling slightly. "And give up a chance to see you? Hell no, Kai. I've missed you like hell the last few months."

My jaw tightened, his confession having the opposite effect that he had hoped it would. Eyes narrowing, I stepped back from him, extracting myself from his grasp and staring at him for a long moment. Warren shifted somewhat nervously, unable to tell anymore what I was thinking. It felt like my brain had split off onto two different paths at that moment, half of me racing to connect the clues and suspicions I had and the other analyzing his lack of ability to read me.

The broken mirrors, the black blood, and the violent relapse I'd had after not taking my pills for only a night. Suddenly everything began clicking together, forming a large puzzle. Doubt clouded my eyes, though, because I couldn't believe the conclusion I had been led to. There were very few things that would have caused these things, and only one made plausible sense.

"Kai?"

Grunting, I continued to let the gears of my mind work through the problem, not noticing what was going on around me until a fist collided with my shoulder. I growled, spinning towards the point of impact with a death glare already set to burn Black*Star alive – because who else could it be? Sure enough, the meister was grinning cockily with Tsubaki nervously standing behind him, peering at Warren with a curious expression. Black*Star, to my amusement, seemed to have already completely written my old meister off and was ignoring him, giving me his full attention.

Not that I minded…

"What did I say about running off, huh?" he asked, raising an eyebrow and grinning, "You never know what kind of creeps are at these things!"

Warren's face lost it cheerful smile and his eyes narrowed, already off-put by Black*Star's loud demeanor. I was left awkwardly between the two of them, half-turned towards Black*Star and wondering just how much more awkward this could possibly get. Instead of reassuring my meister, however, my irritation got the best of me and I clenched my fist, fixing him with an angry look. "You're the one who left me all alone. What was I supposed to do?"

"I dunno', find someone safe to hang out with until I got back!" Black*Star shrugged, "There won't be anyone as amazing as me, but-"

"Dammit, Black*Star, stop being a jackass!" I hissed, slamming the heel of my hand into his bicep and startling those around us. Even Warren, who had been my only meister and friend before Black*Star, seemed shocked by my outburst. Tsubaki, for her part, looked a bit like she thought he might have deserved it. I decided that I liked her.

"I know what you're doing!" I seethed, jerking my thumb towards Warren. "Stop being a jerk and be civil for once, alright?"

Black*Star, at this point, looked slightly ashamed, but as quickly as it was there it was gone. It was replaced by a gruff, angry almost-pout that was completely infuriating. But at least he turned towards Warren and introduced himself. I considered that progress.

"I'm Black*Star," he grunted, sticking out a hand. I saw his eyes briefly assess the boy opposite him. Warren was slightly taller, but less defined. Where Black*Star had worn the entire tuxedo, Warren had opted to skip the jacket and just wear the dark vest. The brunette looked at ease in his formal-wear whereas I could tell Black*Star was going crazy in his, eager to be back in his normal clothing. Black*Star had a boyish appearance, but Warren's face had a somewhat aristocratic look to it, making him appear as if he was looking down at you when in reality he was – usually – quite the friendly person.

"Warren," my old meister gracefully returned the gesture and they shook hands, all insults forgotten by Warren. I couldn't say the same for Black*Star, but… well, he was special.

Biting the inside of my cheek, I glanced between them. Even though Black*Star could be rude at times I found it slightly odd that he would have just completely written off Warren like that. Within his muscled exterior was the compassionate heart of someone who – usually – cared about anyone who wasn't standing in his way of becoming stronger. I was curious to know what was going on in his head but felt that he probably didn't want to share, least of all with me.

I shoved that thought away as the odd chest pangs came back, full-force.

"Now that you've met…" I began, trailing off as Black*Star walked away suddenly, looping his arm through Tsubaki's.

Fury, white hot and raging, burned within me instantly. Warren reached out a hand to restrain me but I shook it off, stalking after Black*Star like a predator after prey. Tsubaki, luckily, glanced back before the impact and was able to distance herself before I grabbed him and whipped him around to face me. I didn't care that people were staring – for once. All I could even comprehend was the intense rage that was clear on my face and the hurt that lie underneath. Who the hell did he think he was to be so…

"What the hell is your problem?" I snapped, searching his face with angry eyes for the answer.

It was then that I noticed his starry pupils, the transformation that often took place when he was especially angry. I had yet to figure out why they did that, though I had always meant to ask.

"My problem?" Black*Star responded in a low, dangerous voice. The heat of our collective resentment was hot enough for a few people to have to step back.

"Why are you being so rude?"

For a moment I could see the compassionate side of him peek out: a small spark of guilt and hurt. Quickly it was covered up with a glare, for once his mouth not smiling.

"Why don't you just go back to your meister?" He asked – though it was more an accusation – while pointing a finger behind me where I could only assume Warren was standing in a state of awe at our display of hatred.

"Where the hell was I supposed to go, Black*Star?" I asked, some of the anger dissipating as the chest-pangs came back, damn them. "You were with Tsubaki! You can't expect me just to stand around and wait for you!"

His jaw clenched as he realized his error, but I knew immediately that he wouldn't back down. His pride was too important, his ego too large. "So what if I was with Tsubaki? You could have hung out with us."

"And done what, stood there while you two got all cozy on the dancefloor? Sure, I just love to be the third wheel!"

"No, wait, it wasn't like that!" Tsubaki interject timidly, biting her lip as she tried to edge closer to her meister. "I was just telling him about me and-"

"Dammit, just shut up already!" I hissed, directing my furious gaze at the Japanese girl. "This isn't about you! Just get out of my damn way!" My anger was too hot, too blind, for me to realize who I was directing it at until it was too late: I gave her a light shove and she tumbled backwards. Slowly, as if the world were slowly just to let me soak up the full extent of what I had done, I saw her heel catch on the edge of her dress as she fell. The rip of the fabric sounded like a scream in my ears as most of the lower half of her dress tore away from itself. My heart stopped in my chest as I beheld her, a heavy guilt descending upon me. Her face was completely still, shock radiating from her until each eye began to fill with tears as she took in her appearance. I felt instantly horrible, quaking with shame.

"Tsubaki, I'm so-"

"Just get away!" Black*Star stepped in front and roughly shoved me away, rising like a shield in front of his weapon. "And don't expect me to come back. I'm quitting this stupid program and going home." He spat at me, turning away just in time before I began breaking down. I paused, like a deer in headlights as a million pairs of eyes glared at me from the entire room, and then I ran. I pushed through the crowds and blocked out the words they were saying. A shadow was stirring in me, connecting with the feelings of anguish and loneliness that were gripping my very soul as it shrank away from those surrounding it. I broke through, rushing through the dining hall and running out back into the hallway, searching for my stashed bag just as the trembling began.

I reached the pills just in time, popping one in my mouth and swallowing it dry. My muscles relaxed, then tensed again as the grief hit. Until the blood dripped into my mouth, past my teeth, I didn't even register that I was biting my lip so damn hard to keep myself from sobbing. I couldn't help it.

Heaving, I shoved my knuckles between my jaws and pushed my hand into the marble floor to ground myself. I smacked my head against the wall roughly, trying to jar my thoughts from the depressing thoughts that swirled through it. Who would ever want to be around me now? Word would soon spread from everyone who had seen the fight. Everyone would know, even people who didn't know me. People from each and every branch of the DWMA would hear of the angry redhead who'd made a complete jackass of herself in front of everyone. Team Maka… God, I would never be able to face any of them again.

It could be argued that I didn't deserve to.

"You worthless piece of shit," I whispered to myself, tears brimming in my eyes as the last bit of fight left me after I tore off my heels. "I can't believe I did that."

I buried my head in my hands, letting my insignificant hours of primping wash away in the flood of my tears. My sobs were silent, thanks to years of practice, and I curled in as tiny a ball as I possibly could. Only when I was drained, my entire face and arms and dress covered in the saltiness of the liquid, before I raised my head and considered my options. Really, all I could do was go back home. There was no point in waiting because it wasn't as if I had anyone to wait for. Slowly I peeled myself off of the floor and picked up my bag, leaving the heels with a look of disgust.

First thing was first, I found the bathroom I had vomited in earlier and changed into a pair of the clothes that I had packed in my emergency bag. As soon I was in my usual half-shirt, vest hoodie, cargo shorts, and combat boots, I felt tons better. Well, maybe no better, but at least more comfortable. And I washed my face after a glance in the mirror revealed black tracks all the way down my chin. Afterwards I felt cleaner, more me, even if I didn't feel normal.

I just shoved the dress in the trash, feeling the guilt of throwing away such a beautiful gift add itself to my transgressions. It would never be needed by me again.

As I walked back to the Hall of Mirrors my mind whirred. Somewhere in the time it had taken me to change a plan had begun forming. It was a terrible, ruthless, and lonely plan, but it sounded… right. If I just left, damn, that would be one less problem for Lord Death to worry about. I didn't have to die, no. All I would have to do was disappear. Hide out in some forest and learn how to hunt and forage. I had always loved the woods.

It wasn't as if the DWMA needed someone like me, and my lack of control over myself just cemented that fact. Someone with my illness shouldn't have even been allowed to continue existing and I was disgracing the mercy that I had been shown. Maybe I could find a little town to live near and protect. Even little towns had their problems, right? I could control their cat population, or be a shadow in the night that found lost dogs and car keys and other things.

It wasn't glamorous, but it would be satisfying. It would give me a purpose that would keep me from continuing to be a pain in the ass to other people.

Sighing, I pushed through the large doors to the Hall of Mirrors and decided to begin packing as soon as I got home that evening. Then, something stopped me in my tracks:

Broken glass.

Everywhere there was glass, each and every mirror shattered. I gaped, dread filling me as the full meaning of those broken mirrors assailed me: there was no way to get out. Shaking, I stepped past the threshold and searched in vain for one unbroken mirror, and found one. It was solitary, in the center of the room. A tall, golden mirror that reflected my dismayed and horrified look, and also the figure standing behind me, shutting the door and then approaching me menacingly.

With a yelp I threw myself to the side, ignoring the pinpricks of pain that came from hand- and kneefulls of broken glass. The hammer that had been raised slammed into the floor with such force the shards jumped from the floor, tinkling about like broken windchimes. I turned and face my assailant, fearful once I took in her appearance. She was tall, dressed in an all-black dress that had a flow, octopus-like skirt. Her hair, in a bun, had thick tendrils snaking around her head that reminded me of tentacles. Her eyes were a greasy, oily black.

"Who are you?" I demanded, stepping back slightly as her posture relaxed. She sighed, as if my question caused her pain, and then began to examine the nails of the hand that wasn't gripped the heavy hammer.

"My name is unimportant, child. You've caught me at quite the inopportune moment to be asking complicated questions. All you need to know," glinting, her eyes returned to me, "is that I am a witch, and you my dear, are definetly in the wrong room. I'm going to have to kill you, which is a shame because you're such a precious little weapon." She frowned at me like I had just killed her favorite puppy, puckering her lips then in a pout.

My mind raced, dread once again pushing to the top of my most immediate reactions as she confirmed my earlier suspicions: there was a witch plotting against the DWMA, and if I was right she was more than just plotting against the DWMA, she had infiltrated it. Something told me that she had worked her way right to the top.

"You're behind all my broken mirrors, aren't you?" I asked, more calm this time as I searched for an escape route without taking my eyes from her. "That's how you know that I'm a weapon, because you've been keeping me from talking to my meister"

She looked mildly surprised that I had figured it out so quickly, but she giggled madly. "Yes, little Kai. That was me. I thought the tornado was quite the touch, don't you? I love being dramatic. If I wasn't such a powerful witch I might have been an actress!" Sniggering quietly to herself, she daintily covered her mouth with her hands. "You amuse me, little Kai. It's a shame I'm going to have to kill you."

Then the witch began to advance again, coming close enough for me to see the pure insanity that lurked within her fishy black eyes. I retreated quickly, grasping for some sort of plan to get myself out of this mess, until suddenly I hit the wall and realized I had stupidly backed myself into a corner. Silently I cursed myself, looking desperately around for something - anything - that would save my life.

The door, right then, burst open to reveal my would-be knight in shining armor. Warren, looking slightly disheveled, burst into the room. "Lady Calypso, we have a problem!" Then, suddenly noticing the scene, froze.

That moment I felt as if everything I had known about my meister was a lie. "Warren, you're… she's… how?"

Calypso the witch cackled, sitting back lazily on her heels as she gazed adoringly at Warren. "Don't be worried about speaking in front of my guest, Warren dear. It's unfortunate, I know, but little Kai won't be much of a problem for us anymore!"

Warren's eyes grew wide, "But you said she would live!"

The witch considered for a moment, but then shook her head (much to my dismay), "Warren dear, what are we going to do? She's seen too much already."

"I can convince her!"

Already I could tell him anything he said would be futile – already I had grown disgusted and foolish for not believing in my suspicions about him. There had been something off. He had been dealing with a witch! She took one look at my face and shook her head, a not-so-surprising lack of disappointment on her face.

"She's already decided, Warren dear. Now, tell me, did all go according to your plan in the ballroom?"

My ex-meister glanced at me nervously before nodding. "Any second now."

At that moment, as if beckoned by his prediction, a resounding explosion echoed through the hallways. The tremors shook the floor so violently that Warren and I were both thrown to the floor, though Calypso stayed on her feet by some sort of magic. She giggled quietly, madly, as she gazed at my prone figure.

"I used to be like you, you know." She smiled slightly, considering my determination and rage, "That is, before I learned the true extent of my powers and began to use them. Killing for the first time gives you such a thrill doesn't it?" she asked, noting my look of shock. "Yes, little Kai, I know of your past. I know of what you did, what you became."

"No!" I hissed, pushing to my feet, "You don't know anything!"

Her smile grew wider, baring more teeth than any human should have been capable. "Oh, but I do. We are so much alike; the same innocent blood coating our hands like oil. I've seen with my own eyes the extent of your power, so why do you lock it inside of you? Why do you hide you madness?"

"I am nothing like you!" I shook my head violently, nearly screeching the words as they clawed at me like tangible things.

These words gave Calypso pause, and suddenly her smile vanished and was replaced by thoughtful, calculating look. Then, slowly, she grinned. She began laughing, quietly at first. Suddenly her laughter was booming against the walls, a thousand insane faces reflected in the broken mirrors. Her head thrown back, her neck exposed, my killer instinct led me to lunge desperately for her throat. My wrist sprouted a long dagger, assassin-style, and I nicked the soft skin before a force slammed me into the ground so violently that my teeth clamped down on my tongue and filled my mouth with blood. Spots danced in my vision so thickly that I could barely make out her face above mine before suddenly I was being lifted again by my armpits, raised, and then pierced through the abdomen. Blood poured from the wound and I desperately grasped at the flesh to keep myself in one piece as I was then set back onto the floor, almost as gently as one would a child.

A bloody hand caressed my face. "Little Kai, I almost hope you live. Things would be so much more interesting with you around."

Then Calypso was gone, I saw her dress leave a trail of my blood behind her. The door, she left open, so I could hear the panicked screams of the thousands of meisters and weapons in the ballroom. I ached to know what was happening, praying silently to any deity that would listen that everyone would make it out alright. All of Team Maka, who had shown me kindness despite not known anything about me. Black*Star, even though he probably hated me, I prayed for fervently. With my remaining energy I wished with all my might he would live.

I couldn't fight it anymore. I was dying, and I was in love with Black*Star.

Cursing myself, cursing everything about my life, I wallowed in self-pity for a split second before I realized it was doing me no good to lie in a pool of my own blood, waiting for Lord Death to take me. In her rush to kill me Calypso had forgotten the one unbroken mirror!

Getting on my feet was pointless, but I did my best to drag myself to a standing position. One hand pressed against my shredded stomach, I vaulted towards the door like a starving man towards food, desperate to catch the attention of anyone who had escaped whatever was happening. I barely made it past the door before falling to my knees, coughing up a stream of suspiciously black blood.

Footsteps.

I gathered my strength and raised my head, not even needing to see her face before I knew who was coming. There were too few of them, but they were still a team. I counted less than there should have been, and panicked as I searched for the missing persons: Maka, Patty, Tsubaki. Bastian, Nanuk, and the two Australians. Team Maka wasn't whole, and they looked bedraggled and panicked. Liz was a blubbering mess slung over Nikolai's shoulders as he ran, Snow was carrying a katana that looked suspiciously like a description of one of Tsubaki's weapon-forms that had been in Black*Star's file. Soul was covered in blood, someone else's, and his eyes had a dead, desperate look to them.

Brie, reaching me first, dropped to her knees beside me as the rest of them ran up. They were all panting as if they had just run a marathon.

"Kai, God, what happened?"

I gave a weak smiled, closing my eyes and letting my head hang, the limp tendrils of my hair trailing through a pool of red liquid that had begun collecting underneath me. How much blood did one person have? But at least it was red, not black, which was as puzzling as it was relieving. I didn't think I had long enough to figure out why it was the way it was. "Ah, clumsy me, ran into a witch in the process of taking out the DWMA. Couldn't really do much without a meister, but I tried."

"We need to get out of here," Kid said urgently, kneeling beside me and doing his best to stay away from the blood. "Are any of the mirrors intact?"

I nodded, "One, she forgot to smash it after she stabbed me. Luck for you guys, huh?" I gave a wry smile, tiredly looking at my red reflection. Then, a coughing fit made me spasm, my arm dropping my weight. A pair of arms picked me up before I hit the floor and I flopped like dead weight in them, barely holding back a shriek.

"Lead the way, Kid." I felt Soul's chest rumble as he spoke, and the slightly movement as he began running towards the final, unbroken mirror in the hall.

The last thing I felt before I slipped away was the cool, liquid-like feeling of mirror-travel as I said my final goodbyes.

(Author's Note: Ever heard the phrase "No tears in the author, no tears in the reader"? I pretty much died when I wrote this. Yes, I know it might be a little more dramatic than needed, but I am master of [at least attempting] such scenes. I hope you liked this chapter! Review! Bye little ducks!)