PAST THE INFINITE DARKNESS

3 months 3 weeks after Asura

"Why would you suggest such a flawed plan in the first place? Kid and Black*Star work well together, but without Maka they'll begin to bicker. And here, Kim can't fight close-quarters; so a battle in the forest wouldn't work out." Rudra sighed angrily before crumpling up her paper again. She threw it hard at the wall, and it bounced off and into a full trash can.

She had been meeting with Tsubaki for over a week now; she would come late at night, slip past the guards, and they would draw plans under the light of the moon. Rudra had decided to fight Soul and Agni - but Tsubaki was the only one who knew. This is why she had needed the weapon's trust again; she knew that Tsubaki was much more tactically advanced than she.

The initial plan was for Rudra and Black*Star to fight Soul and Agni. Tsubaki quickly reminded her that they had allies; powerful ones. Justin Law, Giriko, and Mosquito would definitely be there. Not to mention the possibility of Eruka and Free also being allies - Rudra had admitted to not knowing many details, as she had kept her distance from them.

This was proving to be more of a task than she had assumed. Tsubaki had shot down every single plan and theory that Rudra had to offer. There had been some hope at the start; aside from Tsubaki's snark and Rudra's inability to understand how group resonance worked, they had made a bit of progress.

Ox, Kim, Kilik, and Crona would make up the initial wave. Black*Star and Kid would make up a secondary wave. Who they would engage and where they would meet up later wasn't even up for discussion yet; they had to decide when everyone would leave. This had to be timed right, or else they would be overwhelmed.

Crona was the only one capable of fighting Agni, as their weapon was made from the same hardened material as she was. However, Soul would be able to manipulate their madness if they spent too long around him. Black*Star would come to back them up with both weapons. Her only real concern was that if she wasn't strong enough to resist Soul, Black*Star and Tsubaki would definitely be killed this time. Breaking from him had been hard the first time, and this time her sister wouldn't be duped so easily.

"What's your connection to Soul right now?" Rudra leaned back in her chair and looked up; she tried to connect to him, but there was nothing but a dull static sound on the other end. After she had begged and wept at Tsubaki's feet, the meister had grudgingly taken her into her arms and assured her that it would be alright, in time, if she worked hard and never lied again. If it wasn't Tsubaki, she would have lied through her teeth.

"I can't hear him. But between us, I don't think I could take him on alone. Like, there's this strange sensation I get when I'm close to him; it feels like he's pulling me down, and I can't fight it. But if you and Black*Star are there, I think I could pull through."

"That's another thing we need to be clear on; have you been training with him on resonance and not taking over his soul?" She blanched and looked away, confirming what Tsubaki already knew. Rudra hadn't approached Black*Star about training yet, and she was already betting on great compatibility.

Tsubaki knew her meister would figure out how to wield Rudra, but not without practice. She was deadlier than the enchanted sword and much more powerful. He had wielded her once - but Rudra had gone over the details of that fight and she knew the truth was, that if he held on one second longer, he would have been a husk of skin with no soul.

And her meister was the type to not let go.

It crossed her mind again that she was still angry with Rudra; after all, three of her friends had been injured by her direct or indirect choices. But the guilt, the actual evidence of remorse and attempts to change the way she was going made Tsubaki believe in her again.

"Tomorrow, I'll talk with him." Tsubaki stood from her seat and headed towards the door. She paused before turning to look back at Rudra, who had laid down on her bed. They made eye contact and they stared at each other for a long while.

"I'm still angry with you, Rudy." In the dimly lit cell, she could barely make out the smile the other weapon threw her way.

"Yeah, but you're still calling me Rudy."

((one week later))

It felt like his hand was holding her heart, and he was squeezing. She struggled to escape his grasp and she fell from his hand; Black*Star gripped his arm, which was affected by the constant rejection of his weapon. Little black cracks appeared in his skin before beginning to bleed; he sat down on the ground due to the swimming in his head.

She couldn't grasp soul resonance; it seemed almost as though she didn't have a soul wavelength. More than anything, she felt like raw energy - like a force of nature, he thought ironically. Rudra was also resisting being taken over; one wrong step in this process and one of them would die instantly. He could crush her and she could drain him of life.

He put both of his hands on his head and messed up his own hair, letting out a frustrated groan that there was now blood all over him. He was starting to lose some of his hubris; she was holding them both back and there was nothing he could do to fix this.

"Why can't you sync up with my wavelength?"

"Why can't you sync up with mine?" She hissed back. His eyes narrowed, beginning to get equally as irritated. She had been the one to ask him for help - he was sure he could take on Soul, no problem, but she was there nagging him every step of the way, as if this were his fault.

He was trying to find her wavelength, but she always shied away when he got close to it. She was too scared of dying to make any progress. Rudra walked over to him and held out her hand again; Black*Star waved her off, deciding he wanted to take a break. His strength was drained, and so was his patience. He stood up and stretched a few times.

"We can't stop now-"

"Unless you're gonna stop this bullshit, then yeah, we can." She shot him a dirty look, his tone full of venom. He was tired of her giving him so much grief. She had been doing this since he had first wielded her - it was like she was too scared.

"What are you getting at, Black*Star?"

"You told Tsubaki that you went against Asura cause he was a coward - well it seems like you're the coward now. I can almost understand, since I'm such a big star - you're too intimidated by my awesome presence to be able to do anything right." She clenched her jaw and balled her fists.

He was completely right and they both knew it - she was terrified to push anything, because humans broke easier than kishins. He turned away from her and started walking, only to be stopped by her grabbing his shoulder. He turned around, wondering what she wanted to say. Her eyes were fierce and she was holding out her hand. They were going to try again, and even if he killed her, she would stop being a coward today.

His hand gripped hers and she transformed, heavy and cool in his palm before the awful pain began to creep up his arm. He began to look for her wavelength, only to hear a quiet hum come from her soul. She was trying to match him, but her wavelength was much too quiet for him to fully grasp.

It was like a bomb dropped and he was caught in the immediate vicinity. The pressure that was unleashed and the loud wail of her soul was staggering, and he was almost swallowed up. It didn't receed - it barely did anything but intensify - but he could finally hear her. He heard anguish, he could hardly hear himself; but he could be louder. She wouldn't beat him, she was counting on him to stand up to her.

After several moments of battling for dominance, it grew very quiet. The silence was overwhelming, and he wondered if he had accidentally killed her.

"Black*Star? How does everything look to you? Normal? I'm trying to move your body, but it's not working." He looked down at the hilt of the blade, where the mouth of her soul deepened its grimace. He could feel it as though they were his own feelings - she was absolutely terrified that her gamble hadn't payed off. That she had overestimated someone once again.

He lifted her up, proceeded to cut the air, and he cleared the area of all life in front of him.

She hopped out of his hands and gave him a very strange look. She looked panicked; but he knew it was because of the sudden power she had exhuded. Another thing he noticed was the way her brow was pinched. Rudra was absolutely perplexed as to how they had summoned up that power - Agni wasn't here to boost her abilities, and he wasn't a kishin.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The only way they could have gotten that kind of power is if they had resonated - even if only for a few moments, they matched wavelengths and neither of them died. He looked pleased with himself as well, and she reached out again to take his hand. They had to be perfect at this. They couldn't mess this up. She reached out and took his hand again, transforming again.

"Just be careful as to where you point me next time."