Chapter Twenty-Three: Falling Star; Is Kai Too Far Gone?

Black*Star took a deep breath, doing his best to stay silent. As much as he wanted to believe that Kai was still somewhere inside the kishin, he knew that it wouldn't be safe to reveal his position just like that. Still, he couldn't help but feel like there was someone already watching him. A few times he wondered if he couldn't hear somebody else's footsteps following behind him.

The deeper he went into the maze the more he could feel the kishin's presence. It had always been there, lingering just close enough that it could toy with him, but soon the signs were undeniable. A slight growl when he attempted to go off into the wrong tunnel, the giggling as he bumped into a wall he couldn't see. Though he tried to stay alert and relaxed, all of his training was telling him that he need back-up; needed a weapon of some sort. Going in without anything definetly hadn't been one of his brightest plans.

Finally, having had enough of the game of cat and mouse, Black*Star stopped and glared into the darkness. "Show yourself, dammit!"

"Can your poor little human eyes not see?" a voice snickered. Goosebumps rose on Black*Star's arms when he realized just how close she was, her claws lightly scraping his bicep. "Do you need a nightlight?" the kishin mocked.

Swallowing his fear, Black*Star reinforced himself with his anger. "No, I need my weapon back. Where the hell is Kai?"

Cackling, the kishin moved away. As his eyes adjusted to the dark, Black*Star could barely make out her outline, doubled over with insane laughter. "Kai is gone, dummy! Aw, it's so sad!"

Black*Star felt as if someone had punched him in the gut. He had still been clinging to the hope that Kai was alive and fighting within the kishin's mind, but it seemed she really was gone. He prepared his soul wavelength, making sparks dance on his fingertips as he prepared to attack the being who had once been the girl he – well – fought with.

It felt like more than that. It was more than that. Putting words to the way he felt about Kai was a lot scarier than it should have been, though, and might make what he was about to do all that harder.

"Shut up!" the kishin snarled suddenly, "Don't talk!"

"Kishin," Black*Star growled, slightly confused by the kishin's outburst but ignoring it, "I'm here to take your soul."

A yowl of pain filled the air, startling the meister who had been about to launch himself at the shadowy figure before him. Suddenly she dropped to the ground, writhing in pain with her hands clutching her skull. "Get out! Get out!" she screeched, tearing at her hair. "I don't want you here!"

Something was definitely wrong.

I tore my way through my own body, pushing away the madness as best I could. Still, the kishin had more strength than I did. My portion of our soul was so weak from the insanity that soaked our pores that I barely took over one finger before she pushed me back. Our back arched as I kept trying, clawing my way back to control of my body, but still it wasn't enough. She quickly overpowered me and lay there, panting, tired from our mental battle. I urged Black*Star to take this chance and finish the fight but he was too shocked to understand the opportunity before him. Hell, I probably would have been too.

When the kishin recovered, she was angry. Getting to her shaky feet, she snarled at the boy in front of her. Her movements were stiff and painful – a little present from me – but she still moved like a silent hunter. Black*Star didn't even see us coming before he was suddenly crumpling to the ground in a heap, clutching the bloody scratches in his stomach. I urge him to get to his feet and he quickly does, his wavelength making sparks at his fingertips as he scours the darkness for our position. With what little strength I have, I shift our foot so that it knocks into a small rock. The pebble clatters away, only making a little bit of noise, but the kishin's angry growl gives Black*Star our location. Immediately the assassin sprints forwards, his hand connecting with our stomach.

When his wavelength meets ours we melt – falling to the ground and rolling with the impact. My ability to adapt my own wavelengths seems like it only works when I am in control and the kishin hisses with not only pain, but irritation.

The battle we are fighting now isn't one that I could ever have prepared for. Trapped inside my own body, I'm stuck watching the madness that has infected my soul attack my best friend over and over, landing hits that I know he can only take for so long. The scent of blood only drives her further and our victory seems closer by the second. Black*Star, however, fought back with everything he had. Though his blood poured from his wounds his wavelength was still strong each time his hand made contact with us. For once I was glad I was trapped within because though I could feel the bodily pain, my part of our soul was practically unaffected as we were shocked. Already the kishin was struggling to stay on her feet.

"Let me out!" I pushed, trying to convince her while she was weak.

In response all I got was a snarl, and her claws struck out at Black*Star.

It seemed that the next few seconds were in slow motion to me. A slight glint of metal as the knives that used to be my fingers sliced through Black*Star's abdomen in a clean cut. Even the kishin was shocked, seeing him drop to his knees, clutching the wound as his face went white. Somebody was screaming – was it us? – and my throat felt raw. Wetness traveled down our face, washing away the splatters of thick red liquid that had fallen on us. I struggled towards him and the kishin complied, dropping to our knees beside his fallen figure. My heart thumped painfully as the kishin bent her head down, peering at his face, still trying to figure out what was going on with our emotions.

"Why?" She asked me, leaning back on her heels. "Why do you fight so hard?"

Before I could, Black*Star answered: "Because I have things to fight for."

With a strength I was unaware was left within him, Black*Star surged upwards. Just as the snarl started on our face his face came as close as it dared, his mouth lighting on my lower lip in a kiss. We sucked a breath in, startled by his actions. Our body's instincts took over and suddenly we were returning his gift. It was sweet and innocent, gentle in ways I never thought my partner could be. Though he couldn't have known it, that kiss was the crippling blow for my madness. The kishin wailed inside our mind, struggling to move as I began to rise in power, beginning to move our arms for the killing blow.

All at once I snapped back into myself, a short second before we plunged our hand into his chest and ripped out his soul.

I stopped our arm – my arm – a fraction of a second before it claimed his life. Already I could feel my kishin aspects receding, but not completely.

"I understand," she said quietly, finally accepting her feet with an irritated sigh. "We need each other, you and I. We're the same."

The madness I had been fighting with for so long was my own. There was no kishin vs. me, there was only me vs. madness. As I accepted my past, and my madness, I could feel my body changing in new ways. My teeth lost their sharpness, all but my incisors, and my pupils returned to normal. The sharpened, lengthened tips of my ears retracted until I just looked like an elf – a fact that I knew I would eventually end up getting teased for. Metallic fingers reverted to their natural state of flesh, leaving behind glinting silver fingernails that were hard and cold to the touch, and sharper than need be. My sharpened senses stayed, and the madness buzzed in me all the same, except now it was controlled. The body that had fought against itself for so long was now one person. Black blood flowed through my veins just the same as red, madness and sanity both rested within me. I was capable of both greatness and evil, and you know what I chose?

"Black*Star," I sighed, my hands reaching for him in ways I never knew I craved. As partners we grew in those seconds, our souls reaching and our wavelengths matching and molding until I knew separation would be almost impossible to bear. As a weapon I would never accept another partner to make me a Death Weapon, and as a girl I would never accept another boy to make me feel the way I did now.

Even though the moment was happy, it was bittersweet. I could still feel the wetness of his blood soaking through my shirt where our chests pressed together. If he continued losing as he was now our reunion was going to be a lot shorter than I would have liked. Thinking quickly, I cut open a slit at my wrist and pulled away from his mouth, noticing how short his breath was coming.

"You have to trust me," I whispered, replacing my lips with the dripping wound in my wrist. The touch of his lips made my skin burn.

"Kai?" He mumbled wearily as the black blood began to drop onto his tongue.

"This is really gross but the black blood will heal you, Black*Star." I tried not to flinch when his tongue brushed my wrist, but at least he was complying with my somewhat awkward solution to his wound. As soon as he groaned I tooked my wrist away quickly, watching as his skin bubbled and slowly began knitting itself back together. It was possible that I had just tainted my partner's blood indefinetly but at that moment, as his eyes opened again, I really didn't care.

"Hey there," I grinned, brushing a lock of his blue hair away from his face.

"You're not dead!" This time, when his lips met mine, they were ecstatic. "Dammit Kai, if you ever do that again…" his voice was low and fierce, his eyes flashing.

I punched him lightly, "Not going to happen."

Getting to my feet, I pulled him up as well. He had to lean on me slightly, but we made good time through the maze. As we walked he filled me in on the plan to defeat Calypso. At once we both knew that we weren't going to be leaving the castle, not when there was still a bit of fight left in us. The black blood worked quickly, and soon we were racing through the halls towards the sounds of fighting. The coral walls were a sickly color of pink and as we closed in on the explosions and cries of determination and pain, I began to notice more signs of a fight.

"Time to suit up?" Reaching out with my hand, I made eye contact with my meister and we shared a mischievous smirk. Completely trusting his grip on my hand, I transformed in a flash of light. To both of our surprise, my blade was unaffected by my altered state. We burst into the throne room just as the noise died, just in time to see Kid fall.

"Kid!" Black*Star shouted, watching the young Shinigami collapse to his knees. Patti clattered away as Liz fell out of her weapon form, weakly trying to protect Kid's body from their adversary. Warren stood over him, a dark grin on his face, his eyes glowing red and his teeth tinted with blood. In his hands was a pitch black sword. The sword almost looked normal – almost- except for the singular eye that rested near the hilt. It was red and orange, colors shifting like a flame, gazing straight at us.

"Armageddon," I shuddered, my reflection appearing in my blade.

"The Dark Weapon?" Black*Star asks, shifting his weight.

Armageddon was a Dark Weapon everyone had heard of – at least every weapon who wanted to be a capable Death Scythe. He had once been one of the greatest accomplishments of the DWMAA branch, but was now one of the most notoriously evil Dark Weapons that existed. I shivered, feeling his madness even from the distance we were at.

Warren, finally noticing our presence, swung to face us jerkily. The effects of the sword's madness had affected him noticeably, his body oozing insanity. "I wondered when you guys would show up," he greeted, his voice a creepily cheerful growl.

"Warren, we're here to take your soul." Black*Star skipped the intro, just settled into a fighting stance. I could still feel his slight bit of weakness and willed the black blood to continue working within him.

"Well then," our opponent hardened his stance, "I suppose we had better get to it then."

With an ecstatic yell from my partner, the fight began.