Dancing With Demons

(Sorry this one is late. Stay tuned for more madness related drama and action.)

The following day, nothing felt comfortable to anyone. Christian and Nikki, who had not been present for the blow-up yesterday because they were out on a junk food binge, returned to a quiet and sullen group to spend the weekend with. Everyone had their usual lunch out with each other on Saturday. But it was almost painful. They were all so intensely in-tune with each other that everyone was being incredibly careful. Even after apologies had been passed around to those they were due to, the tension was still breathable. Kian had said sorry to everyone for his explosive behavior and personally added extra emphasis to Rachele and William, too. William also apologized and Odette adequately explained that he was still in treatment to subdue the effects of the black blood in him and that it caused him to have a black out. Thankfully the group was largely sympathetic and understanding—if not a little worried. William watched Kian smile at him and stick out his hand, telling him there were no hard feelings. He shook it and it seemed like water under the bridge now. Except voices were low and the conversation was spotty, even when Christian tried to liven it up with some stories and humor. It certainly still felt like last night wasn't over. But maybe that was because Kian was still thinking about Avetta. He explained to the group that he foolishly tried to look for her last night but didn't make it off campus for being cut off by Soul himself who was not about to let him leave.

Christian talked around the enormous bite of his chicken sandwich. "You fought Death Scythe?" Nikki elbowed him harshly for speaking with his mouth so crudely full.

"No! Hell no. He just turned me around back into the castle."

Rachele sat with her chin on her fist. "You thought about it."

"Well, yes. Of course I thought about it. I was really fired up. But I'm not stupid." Kian leaned forward. "And William, I'm sorry for getting in your face last night. It's not your fault. And I shouldn't have accused you of being close knit with Avetta. I was just—"

"Blind with rage," Rachele finished.

Her partner sighed. "Yeah."

William released a breath quietly with his hands in his lap. "It's okay. I shouldn't have snapped on you."

Odette put her hand on his arm. "That wasn't you. Everyone knows it wasn't you."

"It kind of was," he mumbled towards the table.

Tim sat back in the half-circle booth with his arms crossed. "So, that really was the black blood? I thought, uh… I wasn't aware you guys were still having… problems with that."

"We've been trying to keep it maintained but we've decided we need to meet with Dr. Stein again tonight and talk about this. They've started resonating with each other as a form of therapy for it. Maybe they need to do it more often. We're not quite sure yet." The redhead looked back at her weapon but he wasn't meeting anyone's eyes right now. She knew he didn't mind that people knew about his prior involvement or about the inky poison that ran through his veins but he certainly didn't like to talk about it much.

Katy's eyebrows angled in sympathy. "We really hope you guys get it worked out. We love you and we want you to do what it takes to… stay on top of it."

Nikki tried to hide her staring at William before she straightened in her seat. "What about Avetta? Are you going to talk to Lord Death?" she asked Kian.

He nodded. "Yeah. I need to. He didn't want me to find out but I found out. And… I have to know if he's seen her recently. If she's back here…" He shook his head. "She's apparently not one to be trifled with."

Christian sipped on his soda. "Kian? Why did she kill you?" The table all tuned their ears to the answer to the question they had tried not to ask. Bless Christian's obliviousness.

He didn't look anywhere but at his half-empty plate. "I don't know. Part of me… part of me suspects that she wanted me to become a Ghost Scythe. But how did she know I would become a Ghost when I died?"

Nikki furrowed her brow. "There's no, like, rule for becoming a Ghost when you die?"

"If there is, I haven't heard of it," Kian shrugged. He paused and looked up at William. "Do you know?"

He shook his head. "No. You're the only Ghost Scythe I know."

The silver-headed boy scratched his chin. "Maybe Ol' Grim knows."

"Of course he knows," said Katy, "I've decided that he has to know everything. He just keeps, like, ninety percent of it to himself."

"Perhaps we should check under the school to see if he's trapped Avetta there," said Christian before he took another drink of his soda. He received several 'that's not funny' looks from his friends and was forced to turn his gaze down.

Odette looked back to the Ghost. I'm sure you're going to find some closure to this, Kian. But I hope you're prepared for it to take some time."

"Thank you," he replied before turning his metallic eyes upward to the ceiling. "But that's the hard part."

Dr. Stein swiveled around in his chair with his arms behind his head and his knees spread apart with his signature cigarette tucked in the corner of his lips. "That sounds like a real problem."

"If he had been out of it any longer he would have hurt Kian," Odette said while sitting daintily in a chair beside her weapon.

"William, what do you remember in this blackout," said the professor as he found a loose stitch in his lab coat and decided to pick at it.

He shook his head loosely. "Just… the same stuff I see when…" He shrugged in place of finishing his sentence.

The doctor's green eyes flicked up to his face without moving his chin. "What do you see," he asked evenly.

The student didn't blink. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"William," Odette scolded, "be cooperative."

"That's all right, Odette." Dr. Stein stood from his chair and leaned backwards to pop his lower back. "Perhaps if he doesn't want to talk about it he would be more comfortable just showing me." He cocked his head at William.

Odette replied before he could. "I think that's a good idea. Maybe you both need to resonate more often and the problem will fix itself."

The scientist put his cigarette away. "William?"

He stared harshly with his feet cemented to the floor. Every time he resonated with him he only lost more control of himself—as addicting as it was to let go, reluctance to offer himself to the meister again was keeping him still.

It seemed as though they had resonated enough previously for Dr. Stein to infer from his stance and expression what he was thinking. "We have to find out for sure what exactly is making the madness worse in you. Don't forget your impetus." He gave a steely stare.

William gave one back—perhaps with more hostility than he. But with a quick flash of white light he leapt into Stein's hand and transformed into his zanbato form. Dr. Stein flipped the handle about and swung the hefty blade around once before grasping below the hilt with both hands. Odette stepped back as the resonance aura swept up around her instructor's feet. He closed his eyes and dipped his head while a glare took over his glasses.

William's eyes opened this time with his arms outstretched on either side of him. The piano was in front of him with the key guard already raised. A tight grip clamped to each wrist. He first looked to his left to find the sticky black womanly figure with her hair swinging forward while pulling him towards the piano. He looked to his right to see three abyssal Kishin eyes cutting through Dr. Stein's once-recognizable face. Drool strung from his jaw as he aided the other dark figure in pulling him to the bench. One of their hands clasped the back of his neck and shoved him forward. William fell onto the bench with a grunt but when his hands were so close to the keys his panic went away. His fingers twitched eagerly towards the pristine ivory pieces. Now he couldn't remember why he ever resisted. It was the one thing he did better than anything he could actually be proud of. So, why not be proud of this? The sound he created, the sound that filled him and gave him life..x. Why deny what moves you?

He slammed his fingers down on the keys with a harsh bass sound. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Stein's warped, almost skeletal figure sweep the black womanly silhouette in his arms to actuate a dance. The candles blazed hotter around them and William started to play a tantalizing bobbing tune. The muscles in his neck started to spasm and a grin took over his features. The addiction had hooked him through the heart. He was baited and caught and he didn't even care. It felt amazing.

Dr. Stein collapsed backwards into his desk, making the monitor rock and some papers fall off. With a grunt he tossed the sword away from him.

"Professor!" Odette raced forward and knelt next to him with a hand on his shoulder. "Are you all right?"

He lifted a shaking hand to his face and took his glasses off. He set them down in his lap and rubbed between his eyes.

"… Professor?"

He huffed a single laugh. "Interesting. It seems this really is my fault."

"What? No, it's not. It's not your fault, this couldn't be helped."

"I'm afraid you're wrong. Having resonated with William has… for some reason…"

Odette furrowed her brow. "What happened?"

The man started to stand up slowly. The redhead braced his arm and helped him. "I'm sorry to have to ask this of you, Odette. But I really need you to trust me. William and I… have to go back to the drawing board."

She stared up at him. "Sir, please. There has to be something I can do to help."

Dr. Stein sauntered across the room and bent over to pick up the zanbato with both hands, one cradling the blade. "All you can do is give us some time." He curled back up to his full height. "And your support."

Odette stared at her weapon in his hands. "Is he all right?"

"Yes. But I want to keep him here tonight." He went back for his glasses.

She let her eyes follow him across the room. "Why?" she squeaked.

Dr. Stein slid his glasses back up the bridge of his nose and didn't look at her. "For your safety."

She kept staring and hoping he would say something else, something helpful. Odette glanced between him and the black blade as he made his way to the back of his office. He spoke again without turning around. "Come back tomorrow morning. Try to get some rest tonight." And with that he left her sight.

Odette wished Miss Marie were here to mediate whatever was happening. What did he mean? What happened? The therapy obviously wasn't working, but had it been made worse because of their resonance? With nothing left but to stand dumbly in his office, Odette sadly turned and went back into the hallway and made her way to her dorm. Alone. She hugged herself and found herself whispering under her breath. "Please let him be okay."

Dr. Stein set the zanbato down on the only spare furniture he had away from the living room, which was regrettably an examination table. He plopped down heavily into another rolling chair and shoved his fingers under his glasses to rub his face again before resting his cheek on his fist while staring at the sword. "… Hmhm. You were right, William. I suppose this hasn't been going as well as I had hoped it would. It seems… there is another side of me who doesn't find it in your best interest to escape the madness. But instead to embrace it. As I once had." He leaned forward and covered his face to think. Images of what he had just seen meshed with images from his dreams and he started to drift again, watching William play the piano with Marie lying on her back on its sleek black surface with her golden hair falling seductively over his fingers and the keys. He forced himself to sit back up with a sharp inhale, his eyelids twitching. Then his nose started twitching. Then his mouth. He clasped his hands tightly over his face before standing up and breathing heavily through his fingers. In a blink he had slung his rolling chair across the lab into a counter, rattling and dismantling an entire set of utensils and letting them clatter to the clean floor. Dr. Stein slid down the counter and sat back on the floor. He took off his glasses yet again and started to chuckle, which turned into a steady laugh. "One thing is for certain. We can make some music together."