Soul shot up on his bed. Sweat soaking his shirt and the bed sheets.
Furiously, he kicked the covers off of him. "Fuck fuck fuck!" He groaned. He hated dreaming about Maka. It would always give him this heart wrenching pain.
Soul got up and grabbed some clothes. After changing into jeans and t-shirt he left the apartment. He took the motorcycle and drove off. Anywhere better than the lonely apartment.
The sun was just starting to rise as Soul cruised the empty streets of Death City. It was saturday and everyone was still sound asleep. What the hell could he do?
It's not like he could take a mission. He had no meister.
Soul got multiple offers to be someone's weapon but he refused. He didn't know why but he felt like he would betray Maka if he took another partner. Not like Maka would mind.
She'd want him to move on. But he couldn't.
Soul ended up in the desert, just outside the city. Where they'd found Crona, all those months ago. He sat down in the sand and watched how the sky slowly light up by the rising sun.
Weekends were the worst for him. Then everyone was busy doing something.
Black*Star and Tsubaki would go to the gym to train and Kid and the Thompson girls would go on missions.
What would they do on the weekends? Soul thought to himself. Oh yeah right, Maka would wake him and she'd make breakfast for them. Then they'd just stay in the apartment and waste the day. Maka would read and Soul would watch basketball games or play video games.
He didn't know why he couldn't stop thinking about his meister so much lately. Even the nightmares had gotten more vivid lately.
Soul realized it was no use staying in the desert. So he got back on his feet, dusted his clothes off, and returned to his bike. He could use the free time from school to spend it looking for the witch.
Soul couldn't fight a wicked grin when he thought about finding the person who took his angel away from him. From a distance he could hear the little red demon chuckling at Soul's murderous thoughts but he pushed the creature away. He didn't need that little asshole to take his head over.
Soul drove back to Death City and parked his motorcycle at a small diner for some breakfast. To his surprise he saw Spirit walking past him when he was just about to enter the tavern. "Spirit!"
The red haired Death Scythe turned to Soul. "Evans," he said, looking just as surprised as the boy in question. "What are you doing here this early? I don't recall you being a morning person."
"Believe me, I'm not."
Spirit softened a little. It's not like they had become friends but every since the loss of his daughter, they'd bonded more. "How ya doing Soul?"
Soul rubbed the back of his head. "Fine, I guess. You?"
"I'm good."
The two men stood in silence for a couple of seconds. Both not quite knowing what to say or do. "Can I do anything for you?" Spirit finally asked.
"I – I don't know."
Spirit smiled a little. "I was planning to go to Stein. Want to join?"
Fuck, why not? Soul thought and nodded. They left the bike at the diner, and walked to the lab of the doctor. As usual, it felt like Soul entered another world when they reached the front gate Stein's house. With the patchwork building and the pointy branches that lined the path.
"Stein, open up." Spirit called as he knocked the door.
The only answer was the click signing the door being unlocked. Spirit walked through as if it was his own house, followed by Soul.
They found the doctor sitting behind his computer, typing away. His eyes were fixed to the screen like fireflies to light. "Oi, Stein," Spirit said and placed a hand on the man's shoulder.
Stein turned while lighting a cigarette. When he looked up he noticed Soul standing next to the Death Scythe. "Didn't know you'd bring company."
Soul scowled but Spirit stepped in before he could say something. "We crossed paths."
Stein checked the time. "At this hour? Seems rather unusual."
"I couldn't sleep okay," Soul interjected. "Had a nightmare so I went out."
"Ah yeah, nightmares. How are they doing?" Stein asked, suddenly sounding interested.
"Still the same. Always about Maka." That made Spirit turn to Soul but the boy ignored his worried frown.
"You know Soul," Stein suddenly said. "I was wondering. About the report you wrote about that fight." Soul tensed but nodded for Stein to continue. "You said you guys were in Soul Resonance when Maka gave her final blow on the witch."
"Yeah, so?"
"I wanted to know, were you still in Soul Resonance when she died?"
Soul frowned. "Not sure, I think so. Why?"
"Well that maybe explains the nightmares about her. You are still linked to her soul, you can't let her go."
The words stung Soul hard but there was a small part of him that agreed with the doctor's words. And he knew what was coming next. "If I want the nightmares to go away, I have to let her soul go, right?" Stein nodded somberly.
"I can't." Soul declared harshly, surprising the doctor and the Death Scythe.
"Soul -!" Spirit tried to reason but Soul interrupted him.
"No you don't understand. I loved her but then I lost her and there doesn't go a day by where I don't miss her. Yeah the nightmares suck but at least she's there with me. I don't want to loose that."
"I understand it. I loved her too," Spirit fired back. "She was my daughter Soul. I lost Kami and now her too. That hurts like a bitch. "But Soul, it has been ten months. We need to move on. You have to move on." He noticed how Soul's eyes – burning fierce just seconds ago – had turned dark with anger and hurt.
"I can't." Soul repeated himself before he turned and stomped out of the laboratory.
The two men watched the young scythe leave but neither made a move to follow him.
"He'll calm down soon enough." Stein assured. "So, what did you want to talk about?"
"I want to know more about the witch."
Stein nodded in understanding. He knew this was coming. "Her name's Meredith. She was a follower of Medusa. My guess is that she took all those souls to get the interest of Shinigami. And she succeeded. Of course he couldn't send a normal one star meister so he send Maka and the team. Which was fine for Meredith, now she could get a closer look on the team who'd destroyed her master."
"And when she had the chance to wound the team, she took it with both hands." Spirit finished. "An eye for an eye."
Stein nodded again. "But she underestimated Maka's strength though."
That made Spirit snap to attention. "So you say the rumor is true?"
Everyone had heard of the rumor. A young meister had put a piece of her soul in a witch to destroy her from the inside out. A heroic move that saved her team's life but cost her own.
"I wouldn't be surprised if it is. Seeing how strong Maka was." Stein said. "She could summon Kishin Hunter when she was fifteen. You ought to be powerful if you can do that at such a young age, Spirit."
The red head nodded with a proud smile. "She took after her mother." He mumbled.
Soul was on his way back to the diner where he'd left his motorcycle. All the way he was mumbling curses to himself. What was he thinking, stomping off like that? Of course Spirit understood what he was going through. He lost his one and only daughter for fuck's sake.
Stupid pride that got in the way.
Lost in thought, he found his bike and got on it, ready to leave. But Soul stopped himself when he felt eyes on his back. He turned and saw a figure standing in an alley, looking at him.
"What the -!" he mumbled as he got off his bike. A small part of his brain told him to stop and go home. But the other one – the over powering reckless one – urged him to go in the alley.
As soon as he walked the alley in he felt like he left the city behind him. No footsteps, no birds, no wind, just this gut wrenching silence. He was alone. The figure had disappeared. Must've imagined it, Soul thought to himself. He was just about to leave when he felt a wave of nausea wash over him. Soul fell to his knees, hacking. It was a good thing he hadn't eaten anything yet or else it would be sprawled out on the floor now.
"Soul Eater Evans?" A high voice asked.
Soul raised his head and saw a girl standing in front of him. She wore a robe with a hood, covering her body and a big portion of her face. But not enough.
Soul felt himself stagger back when he saw the violet eyes of the girl. The eyes of the witch. "You!" he gasped.
The girl smirked. "So you remember me? I'm pleasantly surprised."
"Of course I remember you," Soul growled, trying to get back on his feet. "You -!" his words got caught in his throat. A burning pain made its way through his body, making it impossible to talk.
The young witch giggled as she removed her hood, showing her face. Or what was left of it.
The skin seemed to be decaying, looking like it could fall off any moment. "Yes, it's me."
"How?" Soul managed to say before he doubled over.
"That little bitch of a meister did this to me," - The witch raised a gloved hand. "I'm falling apart because of that Grigori soul of hers. But that's okay, because you will pay for it."
Soul felt himself being thrown against the brick wall next to him. Pain soared through the left side of his body but he tried to fight it off. This was his chance, he couldn't screw it up.
Soul pushed himself from the wall and made his way to the witch, transforming his arm in a scythe. He didn't get far, for his legs suddenly stopped working on his command.
He stood there, frozen, the witch just out of hand reach from his scythe. "What the fuck!" Soul growled.
The witch giggled. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Meredith, and your soul is mine."
Soul felt white heat bubbling up inside him when he heard her say Maka's signature line. But he couldn't do anything. His limbs refused to move.
The last thing he saw was Meredith walking up to him before darkness filled his mind.
*Hi there! Told you I'd post a long chapter? :p Sorry for the terrible dumb name for the witch... :s
So tell me what you think... any theories about what is going to happen next? School won't start until next friday so I'll still be posting chapters but after that... I dunno, can't promise you anything yet :$
Have a nice day!*