INVADING HELL

3 months, 1 week after Asura

Her stomach was churning. The wind around her shuddered and rustled the leaves on the trees, making her look up at the black sky above. It had taken her about a week to walk to their meeting point; and it had been a long week.

Her trek through the sandy ground was unpleasant; her legs were sore, her thighs throbbing from the effort of churning the sands. The day she managed to find dirt and grass was the day it began raining; and it hadn't stopped since. She was wet and sticky, her clothes were rubbing her the wrong way in the worst places, and she just wanted her sister to dry her off so she could fall asleep on a real bed.

Rudy wondered how Agnes had been fairing since their departure seven days ago; and it brought her back to her treachery. Why did she tell Tsubaki and Black*Star her secret? Anger bubbled in her chest and she remembered Maka - left to wallow in madness for the rest of her life. She was terrible, and she would never forgive herself. Once their plans were achived, what would happen then? It wasn't very solid to begin with.

If the entire world was bathed in madness, free of freedom, what would they do then?

Rudy still couldn't find an answer to her question, and she was sure her sister hadn't thought that far ahead. Agnes was often the one to run headfirst into things, even if it was Rudy who got them entombed for centuries. That familiar guilty feeling came back and she frowned deeply, trying to pick up the pace. She could tell they were nearby - something about the way the air changed, the warmth of it around her. After pushing through another band of branches, Rudy found herself looking at a small hunter's cabin that was occupied by none other than her sister and their kishin, Soul Eater.

Agnes' head whipped to the side, seeing Rudy outside. She opened the door and went around the side of the home, waving her in. She closed the door and looked miserably at the pair, before Agnes ushered her into the bathroom. She didn't question the running water this far into the woods; she just stripped and got into the shower. A creeping feeling came into her chest and she faced the stream of water. Nothing good would come of their plans, of that much she had been sure of.

Tsubaki was still uneasy about Rudy's visit the night prior; and it seemed her meister was as well, seeing as how he had bags under his eyes. He must have been up all night, trying to figure out what she had been talking about. He was tempted to follow her, but something kept him from going; maybe it was Tsubaki's rational voice in the back of his mind.

Walking into class, Black*Star was even more bothered by the fact that both sisters and Soul were missing. Tsubaki bumped into his back, as he stopped at the threshold of the door; she went to tap his shoulder, but he quickly turned around and told her to follow. Tsubaki then realized that they were headed to the death room. Black*Star's gait was fast, and she struggled to keep up; he finally stopped a few yards from Death the Kid, who was talking with his father and Professor Stein.

"What the hell do you mean, she's an enemy spy? Where's Soul? What the hell is wrong with Maka? I'm tellin you to give me answers now, dammit!" Black*Star shouted, grabbing Kid's shirt and shaking him. The younger reaper pushed his hand away and gave him a hard look.

"I knew something was off about them when I caught them training privately. I thought they were going to skin me alive right there." The death room was oddly quiet. Lord Death loomed overhead in his mirror, taking in the two bickering before him. Stein had come to him months ago about the sisters Agnes and Rudy, which he had kept an eye on. Once Maka went mad and Justin Law abandoned the city, it wasn't hard for Sid to come by information of a 'certain book' missing from their library; and once they knew what that book was, they made inferences and confirmed the sisters were hiding something.

This was a dark secret.

"Settle down. I'm sure Stein would be happy to explain the situation to you." The powerful meister nodded from his place on his chair before wheeling in front of the crowd; Kid was there, sans the Thompsons, Black*Star and Tsubaki were called in, and Stein was called as well.

"Those two happen to be a set of weapons; they're identical blades, but they have very different personalities. They're known as Agni and Rudra, the fire and wind blades, respectively. Legend says Arachne made them with kishin's blood so he could have perfect weapons; but then something happened and they ended up disagreeing. The two were thrown into the Earth. Soon after, Asura was captured by Lord Death, and you know the rest. I'm guessing when he woke up, they did, too.

"From what we've figured out, they're in league with the remnants of Arachnophobia and apparently, Justin Law. Their plans were to create a kishin; Maka Albarn is their failure. And since he's been gone for the same amount of time as those two, we're guessing Soul Eater was their success. We haven't found their base yet but - Black*Star, where are you going?"

Tsubaki ran to catch up with him, calling his name the whole time. He was filled with anger; they were plotting against them the whole time? They hurt Maka, and now they were going to use Soul? He had to stop this before their plan went into motion.

"Black*Star! Where are we going? Please, talk to me."

"We're gonna find the bastards, and we're gonna get Soul back."

"You sure took your time catching up."

"Conditions weren't ideal for walking..." Rudy was eating some hot soup that her sister had prepared for them; Soul declined the meal, making Rudy leery of him. She knew Soul as a person, but she didn't know him as a kishin. What was he born of, and would he be able to control them? They had almost killed Asura; so what would happen to Soul? She noticed a shape dart out of the corner of her eye but dismissed it as the madness that Soul gave off now; everything she was seeing could be an illusion.

"When are we leaving?"

"Well, the sun should be up in an hour or two. We'll go then; it isn't far from here." Rudy pushed her empty bowl towards the center of the table before folding her hands in her lap. She was thinking of Maka, and thoughts of Maka trailed to thoughts of Black*Star, Tsubaki, Kilik, and Liz. She missed her friends; she had bonded with them in their short time together.

"Rudra, you aren't having second thoughts, are you?" Soul purred, reaching out to brush her hand. She hissed and pulled it back; he had dosed her with madness, making the room spin and her senses dull. She shook her head convincingly, but Soul stared at her knowingly.

Agnes had trailed outside, and Soul stood up to pace around the table. Rudra watched carefully as he slowed down near her, only to whip his head to the door. She heard it as well; sounds of a battle, somewhere in the dark woods.

She was behind Soul, then quickly transformed and he held her tightly in his palm. She was reading the wind patterns, directing his body to where the disturbances were. They stumbled upon Agnes engaging Black*Star and Tsubaki; the opposing duo seemed to be having trouble against the lone blade.

"Agni!" The fire blade stopped her assault, finding Soul's voice in the blackness comforting. She transformed and soon, the kishin was wielding both blades. Their auras combined into layers of scorching fire and sharp wind blades, whipping out and searing the assassin if he got too close. Soul grinned and launched himself towards Black*Star, who jumped over the attack before diving his palm into Soul's back; he blocked with Rudy instantly, who absorbed the brunt of his wavelength attack. Black blood dripped from the blade and splattered against the ground, unnoticed.

"Soul, let's see you grit those teeth!"

Black*Star ran towards them, using Tsubaki's kusarigama to push the blades upwards so he could punch Soul in his face. The kishin was pushed back a few inches but only smirked in retaliation. The blood at his feet shot up and pierced his shoulder. Tsubaki shouted for him to pay attention, and he looked up to see Soul looming over him. He rolled away as he brought the blades down, scorching and cutting the Earth he had just occupied.

He scrambled to his feet, shouting for Tsubaki to go Enchanted Sword. As he ran back at them, Soul took a knee and swept at the meister's feet, only for Black*Star to dodge. He brought Tsubaki down on him; Soul blocked with both blades, pushing them back. They flew into a tree, and he closed his eyes against the impact.

"Soul, you dumbass." He uttered weakly, unable to pry himself from the splinters surrounding him.

Tsubaki fell from his grasp and clattered to the ground somewhere below. Soul was using Rudra's wind powers to propel him at the meister quickly, and spun himself into a razor-sharp pinwheel as he aimed for Black*Star. He feebly put up his arms, still dazed from the hit he took. He could feel the heat of the blades and his eyes snapped open, looking his best friend in the eyes only to see a kishin looking back. For once, he was pretty sure he was going to die.

Soul was pushed back harshly, almost like he was repelled. Rudra crouched over Black*Star, her arms short blades. As Soul hit a tree, he was pounded into it by a blast of wind.

"You bastard, what did you do..." He began dazedly; his eyes caught hers and saw the raw fear in them - like a cornered animal. Her hand found his and she whispered something, but he couldn't quite make it out. A worn, and much heavier weapon replaced her palm. He could feel it attaching itself to him, its memories filling his head like a movie going too fast; every fighting move, every battle, every kill.

"Black*Star! They are going to kill you!"

"Rudy? What the hell?"

"Listen to me, you idiot - run away from my voice! Stay awake, don't die. I can get you both out of here, but only if you stay awake." It was strange to see his body moving this way; her fighting style was vastly different to his own, but it was easy to see that she was much faster, and much more graceful, than he was. She kept Soul and Agni at bay, protecting Tsubaki while she tried to devise a plan to get the hell out of here before she a) changed her mind and b) accidentally killed the meister she was leeching off of.

Soul's attacks were still a bit sloppy - Agnes didn't know how to process his wavelength yet, and they hadn't figured out how to resonate. While she was in the same boat, it made it easier to slide out of the way of his attack, running her blade across his back. Black blood spewed only Black*Star's face, but Rudy used it to her advantage; she commanded his blood as easily as he could, bloody needles piercing him as they lept back.

She circled the kishin and her sister, a large blast of flames heading her way. With a downward strike, the flames were drained of all their oxygen. Soul's grip tightened on Agnes and he sent out his piano wire, piercing Black*Star's right arm. Rudy felt their connection go a bit faint before it stabilized again.

His conscious was heavy against hers, like they were squished on a chair too small for two people. It suddenly lessened its pressure, which made her realize that parrying wouldn't be enough. She had to hit her sister and Soul. Her heart dropped; this isn't what she wanted. But saving Black*Star, saving her friends, it felt more right to her than joining Soul, who could barely lift the combined blades. She believed in Black*Star. She was willing to risk her life for them.

Summoning a small amount of Black*Star's wavelength, she combined it with her own madness wavelength; she expended too much, but she managed to summon a woman made of wind.

She resembled a willow tree, her hair long and her body slim and frail. She wobbled before Soul and Agni for a few minutes before he laughed at the attack and rushed in, ignoring the fire blade's warnings -

Agni transformed right before he brought her blade down to attack, and pushed him away before the woman wrapped her arms around her and cut her a thousand times; black blood spewed from her wounds before they sealed closed. She turned her head to see that their opponents had fled, and with them, her little sister.