SOUL ALONE

3 months after Asura

Maka distinctly recalled that Blair was a cat. A purple cat, with a towering black witch's hat, and she even had a little collar. She liked to lay anywhere she could, but prefered to lounge on Maka. It was their way of bonding - she slept on Maka, and played pranks on Soul. It was how she showed affection for the pair.

Blair was morphing into something horrific; something inhuman, her figure twisting and bleeding. The skin would suture itself, only to tear again moments later. Her hair was falling out, each strand of violet littering the floor around her. Her teeth clattered on the ground, sanguine drops soon following. Her fingernails fell off next, and soon little plops of wet flesh were heard.

This was, by far, the worst thing Maka had ever experienced. She huddled in to corner, crying hysterically, begging for it to stop. She was holding her hands over her eyes, hoping that the familiar blackness would whisk her away to something, anything else. She only heard the stretching of Blair's skin and her raspy screams; they stopped suddenly, followed by the sound of bare feet moving across the room at a leisurely gait. She dared open her eyes, hoping that her mind was finally giving in and changing her surroundings, but she was met with one golden cat eye and a deep, forest-green one. Her mouth was contorted like a glasgow grin, and her hair was stringy with blood.

"Maka!" The voice was garbled, like static television underwater. It was a messy blend of her mother's and Blair's voices, and she could see her reflection in her eyes. The fear in her heart made her act, her hand pushing the face away childishly. She wanted this to be over. She wanted this to end.

But it persisted, and she was forced to feel the taut flesh against the cords of muscles. She felt each one twitch, before it wiggled its way further under the skin. She pulled her hand back, terrified, and it was Soul's eyes staring back at her in worry this time.

"Maka, are you alright?"

"Soul?" His eyes were wide, her hands clutching her arms even tighter when she said his name. Her viridian orbs were clear now, and it was almost as if she actually heard him. But when her hands found their way to his chest, and her eyes began to tear up, he let his hopes run wild.

"Can you hear me in there?" Her head nodded slowly and he pulled her into a hug, relief washing over him in a tsunami. His emotions got the best of him and he felt a wetness on his face that he dared no acknowledge. Maka was rigid against him for a few moments before melting into him, comforted by his presence. She knew this probably wasn't Soul, her Soul Eater, but right now this was what she wanted and no one could take this from her.

"I know you aren't real, Soul." She mumbled against him. His heart was hammering in his chest and his arms grew a bit tighter around her - and she was suddenly reminded of the time he crushed her in her palm. She wanted to pull away, but found herself weak. This felt like Soul, it smelled like him, and the real Soul wouldn't hurt her.

True to form, he released her a few moments later, his eyes searching her face.

"Are you alright?" She shook her head, and he felt his earlier concern come back tenfold. She knew she wasn't okay, and he knew it as well. But this told him that she was still fighting it, that one day she would be alright. Stein had come back from madness; hell, even Crona had come back. She would pull through. His meister was tough.

Her eyes slid closed and for some reason, Soul's heart wrenched painfully. Something told him he wouldn't talk to her again; it was enough for make him retreat from her room, not even a glance in her direction.

If Soul had a family who would ask him how school went, he would have told them he didn't remember even going. It was the truth; the entire day had been filled singularly with thoughts of his conversation with Maka. He had ignored everyone, he had brushed off Black*Star -who hadn't protested, strangely- and he had ditched the last hour of class just to walk around the city.

He found it so strange that everyone could go about their business normally. He saw a woman laughing with her friend, pointing at something on display, and wondered if one of them was excessively troubled like he was. Had one of them lost a family member, or perhaps a beloved pet? Were they in a constant fear of losing their job, or their home?

He threw his head back and watched the clouds passing overhead, noticing the way the sun drooped with sleep. It would be dark soon. He set his eyes forward, following the random passerby with his orbs. There was a couple out on a date; a few students from NOT class serving outside customers at Death Bucks. He saw a married couple arguing in front of their kids, and three little boys bullying a little girl with a superhero toy.

All these people surrounding him were living lies, and he was quite suddenly repulsed. He changed direction and headed towards home, his eyes downcast the entire time. He heard what sounded like Kilik calling his name in greeting, but he only walked faster. He wanted to get home before night fell, but it was still another twenty minutes of walking when the sun dipped below the horizon, its last light highlighting his path.

There was an echo somewhere, he couldn't make out what it was; someone further down the road had shouted something playfully. Taking a sharp turn, Soul went up the steps to his apartment and opened the door. Blair was lounging on the couch in her cat form and gave Soul a long, sideways glance.

"How was she?"

"She was... quiet. She didn't come out of her room today. You gonna be ok while I'm gone?" She hopped off the couch and transformed, laying a comforting hand on his shoulder. He let it sit there for a few moments, the question lingering. He brushed Blair's hand away and nodded firmly.

"We'll be ok, quit worrying so much. You'll get wrinkles and turn into an old hag of a witch." She smacked his arm playfully before pulling his face to her breasts for a hug. He tried to escape it, but she planted a kiss on the top of his head before skipping out the door and waving goodbye.

"I'll see you in the morning, kittens! Behave!" His back was facing her but he returned the gesture, and when the door clicked closed, he felt his eyes begin to burn. He was exhausted - emotionally and physically. It felt like his energy had been sucked out the past few weeks, and it had finally caught up with him as he trudged to his room and fell onto the bed. He groaned loudly, then turned onto his back. In the middle of his transition, he noticed something on the edge of his vision. He sat up quickly, trying to look through the darkness of his room to find it. He figured it was just a spider and let it go, laying back down and closing his eyes. He let out a long, heavy sigh.

"Hey!" His eyes opened quickly and he looked around the room, seeing the spider skitter again. He stood up and began walking to his light switch, flipping it on. He was horrified to see thousands of eyes wiggling around his room, covering every inch accesible to the naked eye. He looked down at his hands and was horrified to see them covering his hands and his clothes. He closed his eyes hard, and his stomach fell to his feet when they were still there, creeping up his skin.

"Soul, can you hear me? I think we got through to him."

"W-what the hell? Who's there?" He looked wildly around the room -which seemed to be moving now that it was covered with these things- trying to find the source of the voice. It was familiar to him - maybe not Maka's voice, but a little bit flatter and softer. He had heard it so recently, too -

"What the hell are you doing in my head, Agnes!"

"I'm not in your head, Soul."

"Yeah, we're in your living room dude." His door flew open to reveal Agnes and Rudy, their eyes glowing. Even stranger, Rudy's hair was as long as her sister's, swaying past her hips. He looked at the pair, confused, before their hands shot out to grab his. He tried to pull his hands back but to no avail; they were holding on tight and they both glowed, their skin radiating a silver-ish light. Their grins matched, almost insane looking - when he realized that the marks covering him and his room were coming from them.

They transformed into a pair of blades, and Soul fell to his knees. It felt like they were injecting him with themselves - their memories and experiences filling his head. It felt like he was going to implode, when the proverbial light bulb when off in his head. Everything made sense quite suddenly; holding them was the rightest feeling he'd ever had.

"Soul, let's get going." A fortress flashed through his mind, Agnes' memory. A route directly from Death City, what he assumed to be a shortcut, to his new home and allies. He smiled, a large grin splitting his face. He allowed Rudy to transform back into her human form, and he snapped his fingers; his clothes were replaced by a suit with thin, white stripes on it that seemed to shudder. A closer look told Rudy it was piano wire. He pulled his free hand up to tighten his tie before looking at his new weapon.

"Cover us and we can meet further north." She nodded and watched as he hopped out of the window with her sister, Rudy closed her eyes in concentration. Cover their tracks. How was she supposed to do that? Sighing in frustration, she turned around and left the apartment. She had something else in mind.

It wasn't hard to get there, and Rudy could remember getting lost on the short trek many times before. She ducked through a few alleys and took a shortcut over a fence, and when she had the chance, Rudy used her wind to cut her hair short once more. She hated it long, and it grew fast. Soon she found herself standing at a familiar door, knocking hesitantly. Rudy waited, noticing a light turn on before the handle jingled. Tsubaki opened the door with a smile, and upon seeing Rudy, she opened the door and invited her in. She noticed the apprehension in her friend's figure, but decided to wait before asking questions.

It was a bit late, almost 10, but Black*Star was still eating at the table; a plate adjacent to his told Rudy that they had been eating. A pang of guilt went through her, realizing she had interrupted, but then she became exctited despite herself. She was going to be able to eat Tsubaki's cooking before she left.

"Rudy, won't you join us?"

"Yeah, I could eat. You don't mind?"

"As long as you don't eat my portion! A star's gotta eat!" Black*Star had resumed shovelling his food, and Tsubaki fixed Rudy a plate and set it down on the other side on her seat. She sat down and ate each piece slowly, wanting to savor this. Black*Star noticed the lack of vigor; she had been too tense lately, she had stopped hanging out with everyone. Something was very wrong with his friend, and he felt the pit in his stomach grow larger. Something was wrong with all of his friends, it seemed.

"So, Rudy, what brings you?" Of course it would be Tsubaki who would ask, and as politely as possible. Rudy finished chewing her food and set down her chopsticks; her plate was two-thirds full still. She looked at Black*Star, who was staring at her while literally drinking a bowl of rice and beef - her gaze shifted to Tsubaki, who had her hands folded neatly in her lap and was still smiling sweetly. She frowned suddenly, and Tsubaki's smile left her face; her eyes clouded with worry.

"I wanted to tell you guys a story."

"You came all this way to tell us a story?"

"Hah! That's like a travelling bard, coming here to tell a god a simple story! I'll hear you out, lay it on me." Rudy couldn't help but smile at his ever-lasting confidence, and she noticed Tsubaki still watching her. She sighed and got her thoughts together, continuing in a clear voice.

"Almost a thousand years ago, the kishin Asura was born. And shortly after, demon weapons began appearing. Humans that could turn into swords, bows, maces, axes. One of the first weapons to be made was Giriko, a chainsaw. When the kishin crossed paths with him, he escaped with his life - and a hefty sum of black blood. He returned to Arachne, the witch who created demon weapons, and gave her this blood. Together, they created a pair of ultimate weapons for the kishin."

Tsubaki and Black*Star knew this story already; it was a children's fairy tale. There were no ultimate weapons - Asura had consumed his own weapon out of fear. There was no way he could trust two people to work with him. Rudy twiddled her thumbs for a moments before standing up and excusing herself, heading towards the door. She put her shoes on, standing in front of the door for a minute or two before continuing.

"The weapons rebelled against Asura; a kishin made of fear wasn't one they would be allied with. They fought against his influence, but were overpowered by Arachne and Giriko. They were cast into the center of the Earth for eternity; and shortly after, Asura was ensnared by his own skin and trapped. They slept for over 800 years, until recently. When Asura was awoken by the witch Medusa, the weapons woke up as well."