Stein was teaching his class passively. Today they were dissecting a rare tawny owl. The entire class was bored, but that didn't distract Stein in the least. He wasn't even paying attention to the students; he was too focused on his work. Maka stared ahead with glassy eyes, trying to take notes, but something was just off about it today. No one actually had any questions until the owl began moving in the middle of the dissection.

It was just a twitch. Just a little flap of its wings as if Stein had moved it suddenly. However, Stein stared at it as if he had no clue what had happened. He was about to continue as if nothing happened when the specimen twitched again. The scalpel was jerked out of his hand and flew across the room at Kid. Kid looked up, bewildered. What did he do?

"Sorry about that," Stein said. "I guess my hand slipped."

As he walked across the room to retrieve the scalpel, the owl raised itself on its feet on the table. The students watched in horror as the owl twirled around to face them, it's eyeless sockets staring at nothing, its guts spilling all over the desk.

"That's odd," Stein noted. He walked over to the desk and grabbed the owl by the neck. The creature collapsed; it was no more than a limp corpse. Stein dropped the bird and examined his hand. He saw tiny, silky threads between his fingers. Almost like… spider silk. His eyes narrowed and he frowned.

Spider Threads; Spinning a Web of Lies?

"I found spider silk in the classroom today," Stein reported to Lord Death later that day. "My biology specimen began moving around all on its own."

"Tell me more," Lord Death said.

"They wrapped around it like puppet strings. I don't think it was a prank; I think this has to do with something evil."

"I'll look into it," Lord Death said. "But I just can't believe that Arachne would be back already. That's just not her style."

"Do you think it's possible?" Spirit asked.

"I need to call Ame," Lord Death resolved. "Don't tell anyone else what you saw, Stein. This should stay between us for now."

"I understand," Stein nodded.

Meanwhile, in town, Ame was noticing more and more spider webs, but no spiders. It made her anxious. She had to be sure to tell Kid as soon as he got home that evening. She was in the main square, right next to the clock tower. There were a lot of people here, of all places. Ame perked up as she noticed a suspicious figure limping along the edge of the square. This figure looked no different than an average civilian, but there was something off about his movements; it was as if someone were controlling him. He trembled and shook in an odd way, almost like a puppet on a stage. Ame approached him and tilted her head.

"Hey," she said, reaching out a hand. "Are you alright?"

The person looked up at her, and Ame drew back in surprise. His face was plastered into a smile, but his eyes were lifeless. Ame could tell by his scent that he was no more than a corpse. If that were so, then how could he be moving around like this? Ame looked at her hand and saw more of those silky strings wrapped around the body's arms and legs. The silk was sewn through his face as well, keeping his eyelids open and his lips peeled in a disgusting smirk.

The boy's arm raised and Ame could see his fingers tied around a knife. Ame leapt into action, transforming and lunging at the boy's neck. It was the smartest move on her part, since she had gotten so close to him. He collapsed immediately, the strings severing and his bloody body falling to the ground with a thud. Ame couldn't process the screaming around her for a moment. She thought the humans had panicked when they'd seen the knife, but they were actually screaming because they had seen a wolf goddess viciously tear a random citizen to pieces.

This was bad. Ame shifted to her human form and looked at her bloody hands. She wasn't sure how long she just stood there until a familiar voice reached her.

"Ame, what happened?" Kid asked. "I've been looking for you. What… did you do?"

Ame lowered her hands and looked up at him, her eyes serious. Something was wrong, and she knew it. She held out her hands.

"He was dead when I found him, but he was still walking around as if something was controlling him. I know this sounds crazy, but think that someone's been moving things around on their own."

"I know what you mean," Kid nodded. "It happened in class today as well. We need to report to my father."

Instead of going all the way to the academy, the two of them hid in an alleyway and Kid summoned his father himself.

"Why, hello, Kid! I've been meaning to talk to you two about something."

"Is it about things moving around on their own?" Kid asked.

"Yes…" Lord Death tilted his head in slight confusion. "I'm guessing you two already figured it out?"

"I saw a corpse in the main square today try to kill me," Ame stated calmly. "It was like he was being controlled by… something, but I'm not sure what."

"Stein told me the same thing earlier," Lord Death said. "He said that there were strings inside the owl's body. They didn't look like spider's silk, but I have a feeling."

"Impossible," Kid shook his head. "Arachne couldn't be behind this; what's left of her soul is nothing more than a water lily."

"You can never be too sure," Lord Death said. "Think about it. She may still have followers that have found a way to harness her magic for their own."

"What should we do?" Ame asked.

"Well, for starters, I'll send some meisters and weapons to Arachne's resting place, just to see if she's still there. For now, you guys just take it easy and tell me if you find anything else strange going on."

Soul Eater

It was dark, but he didn't like the light. He could see just fine. His home was filled with dead bodies that he ran through with thin cord to control them like puppets. Sometimes he hung them in poses like dolls. He created different scenes and stories with them. They were just his dolls.

He was fiddling with a particular doll right now. It was a girl. He'd bleached her hair until it was white, and gouged her left eye out and replaced it with an emerald stone, shaped perfectly like an eye. He brushed his hands through her hair and held her close.

"One more," he said, setting the corpse down and looking at the rest of his collection. He had so many that looked like her. Some would call him a fanatic.

Ame was in the art studio. It was a nice room on the third floor of Gallows. One of the walls was entirely made of glass, overlooking the garden and the forest around the academy's second campus. The studio had shelves and cabinets filled with paints and sketch pads and whatever they may need. Ame was standing at her easel, running the tip of her paintbrush tail over the canvas. She was drawing a large water lily with a snake wrapped around it. That was an idea. Arachne did have a sister. If anyone, she would know whether or not Arachne was still at peace.

Ame turned her head slightly, not taking her eyes off her painting, when she heard Kid approaching her. He looked over her shoulder silently.

"Beautiful, as always," he commented, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Me, or the painting?" Ame asked. Kid chuckled and kissed her cheek softly.

"Both, of course," he replied. Ame smiled and continued painting.

"Is dinner ready?" she asked. Kid hesitated. It always had to do with food. He was thinking about saying no just to spite her. Ame noticed his silence and got a little nervous. "Is it?"

"No," Kid shrugged. "I burned it. You're going to starve."

"What?!" Ame set down her paint tray and tore her eyes away from her painting to glare at him in disbelief. Kid chuckled.

"Of course it's ready, you glutton. Come on."

Once everyone was seated and eating, Kid decided to make small talk.

"So, Nagi, how was your day?"

"Fine," Nagi shrugged.

"He spied on Liz," Rin interjected. Nagi dropped his fork and glared at his brother.

"Rin!" he whispered furiously.

"I already knew," Liz shrugged. "It's not like I mind. I was just doing homework all day."

"Sure you were," Kid rolled his eyes. "Ame? What were you painting just now?"

"…" Ame thought about it for a moment. "I think I know who we can speak with about our suspicions against Arachne."

"Medusa?" Kid asked in a dark tone. Ame nodded.

"If anyone would know, it would be her. And they fought against each other more often than not."

"Do you know what Medusa did to the academy?!" Kid demanded. He was kind of upset at Ame's naïve thinking. He was usually more patient about it, but this was just too far. "She's the one that screwed the world over. She forced Crona to betray the academy. She's too dangerous to engage, if she's even still alive."

"Medusa has a defining quality in the sense that she never dies," Ame said rather sarcastically. "Her soul was never collected. I think it would be better if we checked up on her to make sure she's behaving herself, in the very least."

"You're insane sometimes, you know that?" Kid sighed. "You don't even know where she is."

"She's close by," Ame said. "She never needed to go far from Death City, and she didn't have a community of witches to return to. I assume the mice and the frog are still with her?"

"How should I know? But you're probably right."

"Are you two hearing yourselves?" Liz asked. "Kid's right; she revived the Kishin and left her mess to us. All she wants is chaos in this world."

"So we should pursue her while she's not doing anything," Ame insisted. "What are you so worried about?"

Kid sighed. There was really no changing Ame's mind. And it wasn't safe to let her go alone.

"I'll talk to Father about it," Kid said. "But don't get your hopes up."

However, when he did speak to Lord Death about it, his reaction was completely in Ame's favor.

"I don't see why not," he said. "I guess I have been wondering what she's been up to since her sister died. Why don't you take Liz and Patti and go with Ame to pay her a little visit?"

"Are you being serious right now?" Kid asked. "Don't you think it's dangerous?"

"Ame's going to be with you, Kid; there's really nothing to worry about. Medusa simply used the Kishin's madness to control everything. Ame's the embodiment of madness; even if Medusa tried something, Ame could channel it out. It's probably best if you don't bring Maka or the others, though. With how things are among them, they'd probably kill Medusa while she didn't have the upper hand."

I realized that I had used Arachne as a key plot point for half of my last fanfiction, using her as a parallel to the Spider Queen in Okami. However, I never mentioned Medusa or her followers. So, this is how it's going to be! I don't think I'll make her a main villain, but I did want to put her in this time. Also, I would have finished this yesterday, but after getting blood drawn at the children's hospital, they gave me a lollipop that I suspect was drugged because I slept all day and through the night afterwards. Last time I take candy from a doctor.