FLAME AND WIND

one month three weeks after Asura

"So, you called us here to tell us that you're going to kick us out if we don't do missions? We didn't even sign up for EAT class, your slimy, incompetent son did that for us!" Rudy was going to die today, and it wasn't even going to be somewhere she liked. She and Agnes had been called to the Death Room to be warned, again, that missions were part of the required curriculum. It had been three weeks since they had been forcefully put in EAT class by Death the Kid.

Lord Death had calmly explained that they needed missions in order to pay rent and buy food. It was their source of income. Missions were the only way to defeat kishins, which were their targets. If they didn't want to do missions, they could always go back to NOT! class and work at Death Bucks. However, Agnes was already irritated when they were called in, and as such, not even Lord Death was prepared for her onslaught. Rudy grabbed her sister by the shoulders and both of them bent over in a bow, whispering fiercely in Chinese before Rudy stood upright. Lord Death was displeased with this outburst, but if anyone could schmooze him, it was Rudy.

"We know, we're just nervous about going on a mission - I mean, we don't know what to expect! I bet every student here has come to you with reservations about their first difficult mission! Please, I promise we'll pick one up before the week is out."

"I allowed that last week, but it's very clear that you're avoiding missions. So, I've assigned you to remedial lessons. You will accompany an experienced pair and observe them as they capture a kishin egg. When you return, I expect you to go out on your own mission. Are we clear?" His jovial tone was dangerously close to sounding irritated, but he managed to keep his cool. Rudy sighed in relief - she wouldn't have to lie to him again.

"In fact, your partners have arrived."

Rudy twirled around, smiling apprehensivley before really looking at them. Maka Albarn waved excitedly at the pair, and Soul cooly raised his hand in greeting. Maka approached Lord Death, who handed her a file and tickets, before he told them they were all dismissed. Maka motioned for them to follow, and once safely out of the Death Room, they saw a shiver go up her spine.

"Lord Death wasn't very happy."

"Neither are we." Agnes ground out. Maka looked nervously at the older twin before shaking it off and smiling, handing her the file so they could read it together. Soul and Rudy stood across from them, waiting anxiously to hear the details of their mission. Maka sighed, seemingly unhappy with the choice, and Agnes shared her displeasure.

"It's an easy mission, and it isn't even overseas. We're going to Vermont, to look for a kishin egg who has been killing people at a skii resort, and surrounding skii cabins. They're calling him Avie King." Maka showed Rudy and Soul the file now, letting them read over some of the details. Rudy glanced up, a grin on her face as her sister frowned deeper. Agnes hated the cold, and Rudy supposed it was payback for walking through a scorching desert when they first arrived.

"When are we leaving? Could we meet up by the stairs here? It's the easiest landmark for us to remember," Rudy grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. Soul nodded, knowing that it wasn't a problem for them to meet the girls here. The school was on the way out of the city, for them at least.

"We'll meet there tomorrow, about 6 in the morning. The flight will be a few hours. Here are your tickets, don't lose them." Maka and Soul left the girls in the hallway, still confused and still dreading their first mission.

Maka woke Soul up at 5, knowing he took longer than her to get ready for a mission. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes before crawling out of bed. He didn't bother to stretch, he just grabbed clean clothes and went into the bathroom. She heard the shower sputter on before the flow was obstructed by his body, and she found herself thankful that Lord Death had given them help for their first mission since she woke up. She pulled her nightshirt off, her ribs still a little tender, and the scars were slow to heal on her arms.

She stood in front of her body mirror on the back of her door, craning her neck to get a glimpse of the giant scab on her back. It was much smaller than when she first saw it, but it was still wide and it was so itchy. Maka tried to reach back and scratch it, but gave up when she heard Soul getting out of the shower. She quickly donned her meister's regalia before opening her door. Soul had began making breakfast, two heavy coats laying on the couch. They were both his, but he knew she wouldn't care - his coats were far warmer than any of the ones she owned. They ate their breakfast in silence, mulling over the last details of the mission before grabbing their gear and heading out.

Soul was surprised to see Agnes and Rudy there before them, knowing that they still had trouble navigating the city. They strolled up casually, greeting Agnes and quietly bidding good morning to Rudy, who grunted back at them. Soul and Maka lead them out of the city, into the town surrounding it. From here, they caught a flight to Chicago, and caught a connecting flight to Vermont.

They quickly got down to business; Soul and Agnes were to look in one area, while Rudy and Maka checked another. The idea was to introduce the girls slowly to the mechanics of a mission, and the best way to do that was to make meister-weapon pairs with a 'designated senior'.

Soul and Agnes were scouring the resort while Maka and Rudy set out into the cold night; Maka was grateful that the forecast hadn't called for snow for at least two more nights. She looked around carefully, trying to use her soul perception to find the kishin egg faster. Rudy was humming quietly, though she didn't seem particularly perturbed by the cold like her sister had been. Actually, Rudy only had a pair of jeans, ear muffs, gloves and a long-sleeve t-shirt on to guard against the cold. She also appeared to have a ratty scarf that matched the one that Agnes had. Maka made a mental note to take the girls shopping, as they seemed ill-prepared for this trip.

"Maka, something's coming." Rudy's eyes were darting along the treeline when Maka held out her hand expectantly. Rudy looked at it questioningly.

"Take my hand and transform, so we can move faster." Rudy looked absolutely stricken by this, and instead of transforming she grabbed Maka's hand and pulled her. Maka yelled, surprised, until a giant cylinder of ice shot up where she had just been. She landed on top of Rudy, who was trying to push Maka behind her.

"Come out, I can feel you hiding out there."

Maka could not have planned for a worse opponent.

A man came from the woods, where he had been hiding. He wore a black t-shirt with striped pants, and a cuff was around his ankle. Maka recalled a chain ball attached to it when they had last met, but it seemed he had lost his taste for it. One of his eyes contained witch symbols, shadowed by "NO FUTURE" running across his one brow. He grinned, excited to be able to use his power again. Maka grabbed Rudy again and tried to get her to transform, but the weapon stayed firm - one arm defensively out in front of Maka, the other propping up her torso.

She hoped Soul and Agnes would show up, because at this rate, they were going to die.

"Maka, you gotta get outta here. This guy, he's dangerous like you wouldn't believe." Her voice was filled with a quiet awe, which was uncharacteristic for her. There was something akin to fear in Rudy's eyes and Maka wondered how Rudy had come in contact with the immortal werewolf. He was casting another spell, and without a choice Rudy went against everything she was told to do.

Maka was flung a few feet away, landing in a snowy bush. Rudy had transformed both of her arms into short blades, which had wind swirling around them. Her hair seemed to grow a bit, but the wind chopped it off every so often. She looked back for a moment before jumping away from an ice spike.

"Maka, run! I can handle this if you can get me some back up!" She ran up towards the wolfman, slicing him in half with barely the tips of her blades. His body fused back together and he grabbed her head before headbutting her several feet back. Blood was running down her forehead, staining the snow. Maka was on her feet and torn - if she left, Rudy would die alone at the hands of Free, the man who stole the Grand Witch's eye. But if she stayed, Rudy would keep protecting her instead of focusing on staying alive. Against her better judgement, Maka turned and ran, searching for Soul and Agnes.

"I'm not leaving you! I'm coming back!" She shouted as she ran. She ran harder and faster than she could ever remember; she was running towards something, not away from it. She could make out Soul's energy and she willed her legs to keep up with her. When she felt she was close enough, she began to scream at the top of her lungs. She saw the frantic energy of the soul as it made its way towards her location. She met with them only a few hundred yards away, breathing the cold air in gulps as she tried to formulate a sentance.

"Free... The immortal... Rudy wouldn't... Let me wield her..." She panted out, and Agnes was looking around wildly, trying to find her sister. Before Soul or Maka could say anything else, Agnes had pulled Maka onto her back and was running towards where the fight was, and Soul followed behind quickly, hoping Maka was alright, and that they wouldn't be too late.

Rudy wiped the blood from her forehead, and when Maka was gone, she a grin threatened to split her face in two. She lifted her head to look the immortal in the eyes.

"I never thought I'd get to see the Eighth Wonder. The man who stole the Grand Witch's eye and lived to tell the tale! I'd like to hear it, if you don't mind." He shot magic blast after magic blast at her, cylinders landing just centimeters away from her, spikes barely grazing her flesh. He let out a frustrated growl before twisting his hands.

"Well, it wasn't easy. Let me show you what I showed her." His flesh turned to fur before her eyes, and she was mesmerized. She had never thought werewolves existed, but she was now staring him directly in the eyes. It took him offguard, and he shot a cylinder between them. Once again, it barely missed.

"How the hell can you dodge my homing attacks?"

"See, the funny thing about ice is that it's just water and cold air." She crossed her blades in an 'x' over her chest before flinging them outwards, wind shooting out at high speeds. While he dodged the attack, the trees behind him did not and they fell helplessly into the snow. The silence that ensued was deafening as he worked through what had just happened. He looked carefully at her, trying to remember where he had seen her before, when they had fought. He wished he could get closer to investigate, really fight her the proper way, but if he moved beyond this point, they might be able to slip around him. He hoped they hadn't noticed his obstinence, and he hoped she was ok. When he tried to shake the thoughts from his mind, he turned his attention back to the blood that had dripped onto the ground.

"Wait a minute, who are you?"

"Rudy!" Agnes' screech could be heard in the distance, and Rudy smirked at him, cocky.

"Why don't you find out?" She flipped backwards and stuck herself in the snow, fully transformed. Her handle swirled with a black energy for a few seconds before Agnes' hand enveloped the pommel. She tugged the blade before pointing it at Free threateningly. Her eyes were narrowed and her hair danced behind her, like fire. Maka came up beside her, Soul in her hands.

"We don't stand a chance against this guy."

"I got him on the ropes!" Rudy's image didn't reflect in the blade, but if Maka was behind Agnes she would have seen the mouth at the hilt moving, forming her words.

"We know he is immortal. That doesn't mean we can't run him off. We're here to back you up, Maka. Tell us what you want us to do." Maka sighed before putting on her brave face and clutching Soul tighter. She began to charge at Free, who dodged her attacks. Each time he came close to swiping her, his aim was suddenly off and it went right past her. He was looking irritated and perplexed before hopping back. He was aiming to drop a giant cylinder over all of them, which he had formed moments before Agnes had showed up. Rushing in and deciding it was worth the risk, Agnes pointed Rudy upwards and shot out a wave of ultra-heated air, which melted the ice instantly.

"Free!" There was a frog hopping through the snow behind him, and he actually turned his back on the battle to usher her away, towards cover. Maka made to attack, but to her surprise, Rudy spoke up. "Maka, hang on. He didn't move from that spot the entire time, right? Maybe he'll run away." Her tone was shaky, as if she were nervous. Maka was as well - it's not like they could kill him or contain him, so they could only hope for his retreat.

The frog turned into a young girl, the witch Eruka if Maka recalled, and she was surprised they had stayed together after the kishin incident. Eruka had big tears in her eyes, and Free seemed to be concerned about her safety. Maka began to wonder if Medusa was still controlling the two before dismissing the thought - she had killed Medusa, she knew the Gorgon sister was gone for good. If that was the case, what was keeping them together?

"Eruka, get out of here!"

"No, Free, I don't think you- eek! We really gotta go, they're dangerous!" Eruka's tone changed to frantic when she glanced around his large body, which was shielding her from view. Behind her was a giant, black tadpole that seemed to perpetually grimace. Eruka's hand was pulling his arm, hard, trying to escape from the group behind him. She had recently heard from the Mizune sisters that they didn't have to worry about the school looking for them here - did the sisters figure out she had lied to them and ratted them out? That didn't matter now - they had been discovered and they had to get moving fast.

"Says who? I got them on the ropes!" Eruka dropped her voice down so they couldn't hear, and Free gave nothing away. He grabbed her and ran off into the forest, the tadpole following suit. Maka and Soul watched the whole thing, utterly confused. Rudy sprung out of Agnes' hands, standing beside her sister and looking into the woods after them. She turned to say something to Soul and Maka, but the scythe was extended behind her, as though with one tug she could be ripped in half. Her eyes showed nothing as she looked up at Maka, until the pain of being cut in half never came. She dared to turn around, and she saw a simple kishin egg floating. Soul extended out of the blade and ate it, making dramatic sounds as he did so.

"Well, at least we got what we came here for." Soul said bluntly before transforming back, standing beside Maka. The entire incident was terrifying and all of them where still feeling it. The immortal Free was still around, a witch was with him, and they could be planning anything. Maka didn't look forward to telling Lord Death all of this, but at least she could say that Agnes and Rudy had finally completed their first mission.