PART THREE

4m/3w after Asura

Maka had been wandering the island for hours, trying to figure out a way to any sort of civiliation - but to no avail. She was laying in a pricker bush, unable to remove herself. The madness was pressing against her skull, and almost couldn't tell if it was imagined or not. She felt her heart beating slower and slower, and her vision slowed down as well.

She blinked a few times; it did nothing for her, and she settled for staring at the inside of her eyelids. She was trying to imagine a life without madness or weapons; no meisters, no evil. Just a normal life. What would have happened to her if things had gone differently? She never would have met any of her friends; her lips tugged downwards harshly, and Maka realized she wouldn't have had this go any other way. She wouldn't trade any of them for the world.

Even Agnes, who was cold and calculating but whose praise always meant the most to her. Even Rudy, who gave up too easily, but had yet to give up on her or Soul.

Soul. Her heart ached painfully; she would miss him dearly. In the end, he would probably die. She couldn't bring herself to be there for that. She had seen him die already; thousands of ways, thousands of times. Maka wouldn't be able to handle his death if it was a reality.

A strange metallic sound rang out a few feet away from her. Keeping her eyes closed, she rolled out of the bush and crawled on the ground. A few leaves got stuck in her hair, and she stabbed herself in the throat with a twig, but she felt herself getting closer and closer. There was warmth right in front of her face, and she reached out and grabbed it, opening her eyes.

Her vision was clear, her mind quiet. The madness was gone from her now - whether temporary or for good was questionable, but her savior wasn't expected. Agni pulsed in Maka's hand, not trying to take her over; there was a slow warmth that spread up her arm. Agni sent her wavelength into Maka, and in return, was given Maka's wavelength; this unbound her spirit. Maka was overwhelmed by the sudden noise of her soul, but she fought against it; eventually she carved a spot out for herself, and she felt power course through her veins.

Agni felt her own madness disappear; she could think clearly again - and every event ran through hers and Maka's mind in tandem. The only sound that went through them was the distorted wailing of numerous souls. Agni broke the silence with what sounded suspiciously like a choked sob.

"Crona? No, I didn't... Maka, oh my god. I think I killed Crona." The quiet awe and disgust in her voice made Maka want to forgive her; but still, she had hurt her best friend. She couldn't let that go. But as she examined the memories closer, she was even more distressed to notice that Soul had a heavy influence on that choice. Agni had been controlled by his madness for weeks.

"We need to meet up with the others. And end this."

Maka used Agni to cut the branches out her way. She wasn't sure where exactly she was supposed to go - Agni had fallen from the sky, and couldn't remember where she came from. She was irritated by the humidity and the scratches on her legs from the pricker bush. But still, she trekked on in search of her friends.

She tripped a few times, and Agni was far more quiet than Soul; the bulky sword was also much harder to lug around than her scythe.

"Why are you so heavy? Ugh, why couldn't you have been a scythe..." Maka groaned in frustration, stabbing Agni into the ground. Her arms were sore from carrying her around. The face on the pommel of the sword gave her a sour look before she huffed out an affirmative; Maka was amazed as she watched Agni transform into a scythe; her blade was red and gold-ish orange, and it was similar to her jagged sword blade. The eye that was up by the blade was purple, and was glaring at Maka.

"I'm not very comfortable like this, but you're the meister." Maka picked up the weapon and twirled her around before a confident smirk found its way to her face. Yeah, this would do.

"What did you mean, I was heavy? Did you never lift weights in the academy?' Maka felt her entire face take on a scrunched up look; it conveyed irritation, confusion, and anger.

"Yeah, I lifted weights! You're just.. heavy!"

"Whatever, noodle arms." Maka shrieked in anger and used the scythe to cut down some branches. She stuck out her tongue at Agni before taking the the situation she had just arrived at.

"Well, I guess our argument can wait. We seem to have arrived at our destination."

Black*Star was hanging off of her before she had time to register exactly what she had seen. She managed to get him to back off, but Rudra was insistent as well. She hadn't expected Maka to come and help them - least of all with her sister, who seemed to have switched sides.

Even stranger, Agni's body took form in the same dark scape as she was in.

"You're resonating with Maka?"

"You're impressed that Maka, who is a much better meister than Black*Star, managed to match up with me?" Rudra was across the space that came between them in no time and hugged her sister, laughing and crying at the same time. She had missed this familiar, comfortable feeling; knowing that it was all going to come out alright.

"Are you two ready?" Maka and Black*Star got into attack positions, and everything was quiet. There was a low rumbling noise, which turned into a chuckle; it evolved into a full on manic episode, as Soul clutched his stomach and bent over. Maka's eyes narrowed and her grip on Agni tightened.

"You can't beat us. But I gotta say, it'll be refreshing to see you both fighting your friends when I'm done here."

"Sheesh, Maka, you hearin' this guy?"

"Yeah, I am, Black*Star. It sounds like he's underestimating us." Agni and Rudra's hands intertwined and a resonance link was established between the four of them; with the extra boost, the blades of each sister began to glow. This was true power.

Black*Star was the first one to attack; he brought Rudra down on Soul, who blocked with a combination of piano wire and bloody needles. Maka came in overhead, and with a roar she cut the attacking wires and prevented them from coming back with Agni's flame. Black*Star danced around Soul, coming in close for attacks when Maka was there to take out the wires.

One or two got through to him, piercing his thigh and shin. He hissed painfully and took a knee from the surprise of the pain. Maka swung Agni in front of him; the blade sent out a short flame that seared his wounds shut, allowing him to continue fighting without losing blood. She brought the blade up just in time to hit Soul in the chin with the dull side - Agni's flames swallowed his body, and he yelled in pain and frustration-

The flames were extinguished immediately and his body was being covered in black marks. Soul's grin was the last thing they saw before a burst of power flattened a few trees in the surrounding area. Rudra had no idea he was capable of digging into his true powers; but Agni had been. She knew this fight had only just begun when they arrived.

Now they had to fight even harder - he was beginning to take them seriously, now that he was well aware of their ability to break his blades. Even if he was a kishin, even if he had black blood in his veins, it still didn't change the fact that their blades were specifically made to stand against that same power.

"Hey, I have an idea!" Ragnarok popped out of nowhere, and Agni had to question it. Rudra explained the entirety of the fight prior to their arrival, as she seemed to have forgotten a few bits and details. Ragnarok looked a bit more like they did now - his skin was darker than theirs, and his eyes were a slightly darker shade of purple. His face was a bit more angular than Rudra's, and he had taken on the form of a young boy.

"If scythe meisters can use Genie Hunter, sword meisters can use a smiliar technique; it's called Eradicator. It seeks out evil and purifies it. In theory, Soul could be alright after this is all said and done." They had nothing else to go on; Maka and Black*Star had gone from offense to defense, and Soul was getting more aggressive the longer they fought.

The sun was beginning to set. It had to be now - they would never be able to fight him at night; in his domain of fear and shadows. The thought ran through their meister's heads, and though Maka had summoned Genie Hunter, Black*Star was struggling with Rudra's form. He couldn't figure out how to use his wavelength with hers.

"Do you trust us?" Maka took longer to answer than Black*Star, but both nodded in the affirmative.

This was their fight to finish. Agni and Rudra took over their respective meisters; Rudra attacked Soul first, as she was faster than her sister. They had to get this right the first time, or else he would be wise to their plan. She took a hit from one of his last wires, a long cut down the side of her face. Black blood shot out from the wound and stabbed him in the neck.

"What was the point of being made for me, if you'll always rebel against me?"

"Maybe we were never made for a kishin; maybe we were meant to defeat you." Agni dropped in from overhead, a Kishin Hunter aimed for his head. He had no time to move, as he was busy trying to block Rudra's Executioner - their blades both glowed bright white, and as they cut through his skin, an explosion of sorts threw them far away.

They relinquished control back to Maka and Black*Star, and they witnessed what came next.

Soul stood up wobbily and looked around, almost confused. A sudden horror filled his face as he looked down at his legs. The black suit was turning into skittering eyes, and he began to shrink. He screamed, and the more he did, the more his body disintegrated into madness. He tried to crawl away when he was only a torso, but he couldn't run away from it. It swallowed him up, all the way to the tip of his middle finger - before completely rendering down into the Earth.

Agni felt her soul become lighter, and her blade went dark. She passed out cold, and Rudra was trying to get her to turn back. It was useless; her soul was no longer in the blade. She put Maka's head in her lap and pet her hair; she hoped desperately that someone she had tried to protect was still alive. Her eyes fluttered open, and Rudra was staring into identical shades of violet.