So I changed up Soul and Maka's stories just a little bit from Briareos and Deunan's because I didn't want them to be a couple yet like in the original. Soul's story is pretty different, I forgot to mention this sooner.

Tsubaki pushed open the enormous doors and happily strode on into the office. "Hello, Shinigami! Sorry for being so late. We ran into a bit of trouble on the way here." She pulled Maka by the arm further into the room to introduce her. "Here she is, our special guest, Maka Albarn, safe and sound!" The blonde stared blankly at the old man dressed in black as his somehow hovering chair came closer to the two women. This frail looking man was one of the leaders of Mors?

"Oooh! Yes, yes, the rumors are certainly right about the Angel of Death being very beautiful!" he said, circling around to inspect her. "It's good to have you here, Maka, and I'm sorry that your first experiences in Mors have been… well, less than satisfactory."

"Everyone is safe now, so really, it's okay," she assured him and bowed slightly. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Shinigami."

"And such nice manners to match!" he said with a smile. "But I'm sure you are far more interested in meeting Shibusen." He moved out of her line of sight to reveal a large screen. "I bet that Tsubaki left explaining Shibusen to me, didn't she?" The bioroid nodded with a nervous grin. "Shibusen is a super computer that monitors all aspects of life in Mors. All decisions regarding Mors are made by discussion between myself, Prime Minister Akihito, General Medusa Gorgon, and Shibusen. It is a thinking computer, always coming up with new ways to improve the city. It also monitors the effects of bioroid interaction with humans, so as to make sure they do not cause too much unease in the humans."

"Bioroids bother humans that much, sir?" Maka asked.

"There are quite a few humans in Mors who think that bioroids mean them more harm than good," he explained. "This is why Shibusen closely monitors them, and all but two are not allowed to carry any weaponry. The regular army is comprised solely of humans.

"Bioroid emotional capabilities and reproductive functions have been suppressed so that they do not pose a threat to humans. They have a much shorter life-span than humans, and because they cannot reproduce, they must undergo life-extension processes after a certain amount of time or else age rapidly and die in a matter of hours." He turned to Tsubaki, worry etched into the wrinkles on his face. "Come to think of it, aren't you due for a procedure yourself, Tsubaki?"

"Don't you worry, I plan on having the procedure done in the next couple of days."

"Good, I'm very glad to hear that! Tsubaki works alongside a special task force called Spartoi. You've already met one of its members, Soul Evans?" Shinigami asked, now turning his attention to Maka.

"Yeah, and you want me to join, correct?" The idea of working with that muscle-headed cyborg bothered her a bit.

Shinigami shook his head slowly. "I can't really make you join with anyone you don't want to. You are welcome to live a civilian life here if you'd like. You'd make a wonderful candidate for either Spartoi or the regular army, though. I'm sure General Gorgon would rather you join the regular army. She's had her eye on you for some time now."

"Can I give it a day to think it over, sir?" the soldier asked.

"Absolutely! Now, go on and enjoy the rest of the day! You ladies deserve some time off after that scare earlier!" He shooed them out of the office and returned to Shibusen's screen. "I'm certain that was another terrorist attack. How did they learn she was in the city so quickly…?"

…

"Here! Quickly, this way!" Tsubaki giggled as she tugged on Maka's arm. "There's someone here you should meet. I think you'll become great friends if you choose to join Spartoi!"

"Okay okay, just don't yank my arm off!" She smiled. She was actually beginning to enjoy her new life in Mors, despite the few bumps along the way.

"His name is Black Star, and he's the best mechanic in all of Mors," the bioroid explained. "See all these mechs? He calls them Landmates, or 'his babies' depending on who he's talking to." She continued to giggle like a school girl as they finally made their way to an open hangar, a single man with bright blue hair standing in the center. "Black Star, I brought Maka here to see you!"

"So you're the one needing a new Landmate, huh? Must be something special if they called me in so quick with an 'emergency order'," he said with a big grin, his arms crossed over his chest. "Soul wasn't kidding though, they are tiny!"

Maka pouted. "Good thing I might not be joining your little team. I won't have to take shit from you or Cyborg-Boy."

Black Star laughed. "Eh, I get the feeling you'll be joining us soon enough. And if you really think you aren't, I'd go tell Cyborg-Boy that." He nodded over to a nearby hallway. "He seems pretty excited to have you join, so let him down easy, okay?"

Tsubaki waved her on down the hallway, and Maka sighed as she walked. She wasn't exactly eager to continue their bickering, but at the same time, she had some questions that needed answers.

The hallway led to a locker room. Soul sat on a bench, packing up whatever clothes he must have just changed out of. Feeling like she was walking on eggshells, she tried to smile at him. "Hey." No response. He didn't even bother to look up at her, just continued shifting items around in his duffle bag. "Hey, don't ignore me!" Still no response. "What's your deal? Black Star says you want me on your stupid team, but then all you do is either ignore me or give me shit! Can't you at least try to be nice?"

"Sorry, I'm busy." He pushed himself off the bench and went back to his open locker to meddle with its contents a bit.

"I still have some questions about earlier. What were those things?"

"I don't know," he answered in a bored voice, head still buried in the locker.

"Where did they come from? What did they want?"

"I don't know."

"What the hell is 'Resonance'?!"

"I don't know."

"Stop answering me like a damn machine!" She watched his spine stiffen at her words and his right hand grasp his metal arm. "I… I'm sorry… I didn't mean…"

He took a deep breath and slammed the locker door shut, returning to the bench to grab his duffle bag. "You wanna know, don't you? About me becoming a cyborg?" She thought it over, hoping she wasn't asking too much, and gave a slight nod. "Was in the war, too. Early, way early in the war. There was… an accident… Lost my arm, went blind, hurt pretty bad." His hands gripped the shoulder strap tightly. "Your mom worked with amputees long before developing the bioroids. She made them new limbs. Guess she saw me and wanted to give me my eyes back, too. That's why they're so red, you know? Machines. Later I learned she'd helped out Mors, built bioroids, all that stuff. I came here looking to repay my debt, but she was already gone."

She stared down at her feet. "So you don't know where she is either…?"

"No. Sorry." He walked over to her and ruffled her hair a bit. "Stay out of trouble now, you here? It's my mission to protect you."

"Your mission…?" she asked as he walked away towards the hangar. She watched him sling the duffle bag over his shoulder and found herself smiling like an idiot for reasons she didn't understand. "Hey!" she shouted down the hallway. "Where do I sign up for this Spartoi thing?"

"Meet here tomorrow, 9 am!" he shouted over his shoulder. He smirked. Somehow he'd known she wouldn't be able to stay away from Spartoi.