BONDS

2 months, 3 weeks after Asura

She wasn't sure why she couldn't sleep. Was she restless after being entombed for hundreds of years, or was it because her mind was constantly flitting between Maka and this new light on the horizon? Agnes had been under more stress now than when she had been trapped; she could feel it in every muscle, from the marrow in her bones to the pores on her face. Stress was heavy, and she felt like she was under a house.

She waned between consciousness and dreamless sleep - the only thing that told her she had fallen asleep was the intensity of Rudy's gutteral snores. The heaviness of stress fell over her brow as she grew frustrated with her inability to stay asleep or awake, so she got out of bed wobbily and walked to the door. She hesitated to open it, fearful of the swirling darkness on the other side, but she was consoled by a particularly loud snore from her sister. Agnes thought she was going to snap the door handle off as she twisted it and pushed it open, horrified to see a black mass on the sofa. Her heart was beating so hard that there was a ringing in her ears, and the pulsing of the blood in her head was pushing against her brain.

"Agnes? Is that you?" It was Ragnarok's voice that came from the darkness, and as her eyes adjusted and she cautiously approached, she noticed that Crona was dead asleep on the couch. Ragnarok must have made them sleepwalk out here. Were they waiting for her? Surely they slept when Crona did? There was still much she was unsure of when it came to Ragnarok, but she sat down on the coffee table in front of the couch and cleared her throat. It drew the attention of their white eyes, and though their face was usually stoic, she could see something akin to uncertainty swirling behind their eyes.

"Ragnarok, what are you doing up?"

"I wanted to talk to you. You've got some sort of plans for us, and we don't like being left in the dark." She could admire their tenacity; confronting her like this was dangerous. Ragnarok, at the very least, knew that she could beat them. Their meister was unconscious, it was dark, and her sister was sleeping only a few feet away and would wake at the sound of a fight.

"Why should I tell you?"

"Because your blood is black, just like mine. That's something else we'd like to know - just who are you two exactly?" Ragnarok's question was frantic, and Crona stirred a bit before settling back down. She eyed the slim meister and stared at the point which Ragnarok spewed from. Her eyes slowly began to drift back up to their eyes, and her toneless reply only made the gears in their head turn faster.

"We only asked that you two keep your mouths shut. If I were to tell you, well, anything, it would further complicate things and potentially compromise us later. We don't need anyone ruining our plans."

"So, you admit there are plans? Hmph, it's not like Crona would do anything about it. They didn't do anything about Medusa, and she almost succeeded." Agnes really took a moment to take in not only what Ragnarok was trying to get out of her, but what they were implying. Truly, they must be siblings like Rudy said. They were as conniving and brash as Agnes, but they could talk their way into Lord Death's own mirror(Rudy still refuses to tell anyone what it's like in there).

Ragnarok wanted her to trust them, and divulge her secrets to them. Ragnarok was seriously implying that Crona not only would remain silent, but help them.

"Tell me about Medusa, and I'll tell you about the plans."

As Ragnarok went on, voice strangely hushed and words carefully chosen, they explained the entirety of the reign of Lady Medusa - a Gorgon sister, and incredibly powerful witch, she managed to infiltrate the DWMA and raise the kishin. Not only that, but after she was supposedly killed, she took a child's body and used her leverage to manipulate the DWMA into protecting her and setting her free. Maka had delivered the final blow, and the room grew quiet for a few moments.

"Crona's mother was a Gorgon... The one who created black blood?" A shift in the darkness told her that Ragnarok nodded. The silence was piercing, Rudy's snores like harsh, white noise against the flatness of the air. She was surprised by Ragnarok's quietness; the fact that they were waiting for her to speak rather than yelling at her to spoke volumes to the effect that her and her sister were having on the weapon. Agnes only wondered why they looked so different - maybe it's because Ragnarok was infused with artificial black blood, instead of blood from the embodiment of madness.

"We started a rebellion over 800 years ago because we hated Asura; we never really got along with him, he was too much of a coward. We fought Giriko for our freedom, but with Arachne's help it was useless. We were cast into the nickle core of the Earth ever since a few months ago, when Medusa revived him.

"We dug our way out, taking turns slicing at the magma and crust. Finally, we came to the surface in China. Arachne and Mosquito recieved us and took care of us - showers, clothes, food, a place to stay. She trained us to fight again, knowing we wouldn't fight with Asura. The last thing she told us was to find a new kishin, and that we would find one here. We connected to Maka Albarn, who has been suffering from madness for almost a month now. But we can't see souls, and we didn't know that her soul type was unbendable. You'll be relieved to know that she won't turn into a kishin." Ragnarok scoffed at her, uninterested in Maka's well-being. It was a lie, but no one had to know that Maka would never be alright aside from those who already knew.

Her information was a lot to take in. The ancient blades that were only a myth, sitting a few feet away. Ragnarok may have been an old weapon, but these were the most intimidatingly powerful swords they ever heard of. Forged with Asura's madness and blood, unable to be cut by anything and able to slice through any normal weapon with relative ease. Few stood a chance against their might.

The sun streamed like in through the window in Crona's room, and their door was open. A quick glance to the clock made her stand quickly and head to her room before she stopped and turned to face them again. Ragnarok directed their attention to her.

"You can tell Crona, but only if neither of you tell anyone our plans." She said flatly, opening her door to wake her sister.

"I have one more question." A short glance over her shoulder made Ragnarok continue on.

"If it won't work with Maka, then who was your plan B?" There was a scratching noise, followed by a creaking; as if something was bearing heavily against wood. Agnes listened closely, hearing a quiet whisper in the back of her mind. A grin split her face and she stepped into the room, slowly closing the door behind her. Rudy's eyes were open and looking at her sister's face expectantly.

"I think he's going to come to us." Rudy's voice was hushed, as to not draw Crona's or Ragnarok's attention. Her face was tight with discomfort; Agnes knew it had to do with Maka and their new specimen.

"Will she be ok?"

"I don't think she'll be the same as she was before." Rudy's crestfallen look made her avert her eyes and move towards her dresser to pick out clothes. Her sister didn't move from the bed, though there was a heavy sigh.

"It's going to work this time, right?"

"Definitely."

It was cool out that morning; Agnes wondered how her sister could be wearing a skort and a t-shirt, while she was wearing a cami, a t-shirt, the school sweater, and a light coat. She was still a bit cool, but her sister's warm hand grabbed hers. Agnes stopped to turn around, seeing that Rudy was wearily pointing towards the Pot of Fire, who was waving her over. She told Crona to see her sister to school, and approached the child shaman. She knelt down and put a hand on their head, surprised to feel that they were nervous. She pulled the child to her and consoled them, wondering what it was that was bothering them.

"You noticed, too?"

"Kilik, shouldn't you be in school?"

"Skip with me today. We should talk." She stood up, Fire still clutching her pantleg, and she wondered briefly what he was getting at. Maybe she was just being paranoid; it was Kilik, and while he was smart, she was better at covering her tracks than he was at finding her out. She actually wasn't even sure if he suspected her. Nobody seemed to be aware of hers or her sister's distorted souls except for Stein - and he liked to remind them often of this.

She nodded confidently, and he smiled and motioned for her to walk beside him. He was chattering away about a boxing tournament coming up, mentioning a mission with Ox and Harvar, but she quickly noticed when he grew quiet. Why was everyone acting strangely? She hoped that this wasn't what she thought it was. The little voice in the back of her head assuaged her fears, but did nothing for her nerves.

"What's bothering you? Does it have something to do with Thunder?" The other Pot was mysteriously absent, and his solemn nod made her grow somber. She was fond of both, as they were embodiments of her own natural element. What would make Thunder sick, and why wasn't Fire sick as well?

"Thunder got really sick the other day. Fire hasn't been doing well, either."

"Aren't they Earth shamans? Maybe there's something wrong in nature?" His eyes were on her suddenly and he nodded quickly. This is what he wanted to talk to her about; Kilik hadn't been sure of what was going on, but he knew it was something big - and he also knew he trusted her.

"When Asura was resurrected a while back, they had a similar reaction. I'm concerned that this is their way of warning us that-"

"That there's a new kishin about to be born."

"Exactly. And if that's the case, we need to find it before it finishes the transformation." Agnes nodded quickly, her heart racing. Kilik was asking her to help him find and kill this kishin; he trusted her enough to give her this information. Her heart dropped in her chest. She would miss Kilik and the Pots when the kishin was born, but she knew her mission well and she knew how to act the part.

"I'm with you, Kilik. Let me know if anything else like this happens - we'll pick up a few missions together and if it gets any worse, we'll tell Lord Death immediately." He smiled at her and, surprising her, he gave her a big hug.

"Thanks, I knew I could count on you, Agnes."