"Hey, wait up!" Maka yelled out to the figure.
Since leaving what only seemed to be the only source of light, Maka followed the mysterious in the dark. No matter how many steps she took, the figure was always ten steps ahead so all she had was his vague outline to follow.
Often during the travel she'd hear the figure mumble and chuckle to itself. More than once she'd catch him looking back at her before he'd quickly turn back to whatever road they were on.
Maka sighed again.
"I wish I knew where he was taking me" Maka thought with another wistful sigh. She'd gotten used to her thoughts sounding louder than usual in the strange place. It was as if she were speaking them aloud in an echoing room. "We've been walking in a straight line since I left that room and that was hours ago…I think"
The figure's chuckle interrupted her thoughts. Maka stared after it as it finally stopped walking, though she didn't until she caught up to him. There was still too much darkness to make out much of the figure, but from where she stood behind him two outlines of something long traveled down its neck stopping just at the nape.
"Ponytails?" Maka couldn't help but giggle at the thought but quickly smothered it with a few coughs after receiving a rueful snarl from the figure.
"So Mister…?" Maka purposely let mister drag hoping the figure would give her its name but to no avail. The figure stayed quiet. Maka rolled her eyes. "Alright so, Mister, are you going to tell me where you brought me?"
The figure chuckled. "How do you know I've brought you anywhere?"
"Because we've walking for hours and-"
"Not hours, minutes. Two to be exact." the figure interrupted like a teacher correcting a student.
"That's impossible," Maka scoffed. As if to prove her point she rubbed her calf where the muscles ached
"Heh heh time runs differently here. In retrospect to your "flesh", we've only been walking for two minutes or more I have" the figure smirked as Maka scoffed again still unbelieving. He lifted his hand and snapped once.
All at once the darkness was smothered by light streaming down from an unseen source. Maka closed her eyes, the light too bright for her at the moment. After blinking a few times to let her eyes adjust, the figure was gone. She twisted in small tight circles looking for him but stooped instantly when a foreign fabric rubbed against her. Maka looked down to see a white and cream lacy hem where the tattered edge of her plaid skirt should have been. She looked across her body to discover her old clothes were replaced by a white-and cream dress very similar to the one she wore in the Dark Room. Maka even touched her hair to find a lacy ribbon tied there. Curious, Maka looked up, her curiosity of the room taking hold.
The walls were a soft cream and the ground was covered in a soft white carpet. An old fashioned record player played soft jazz from a corner. A dark loveseat sat on the wall and beside it a tall glass held a vase full of luscious flowers in shades of blues, yellows, oranges, and greens. A paper Japanese style folding divider sat in the opposite corner of the record player. The hem of what looked like a dress peaked from behind it.
Maka cautiously walked over to the love seat and seated herself. That's when she noticed the large flat screen television embedded in the wall across from the love seat. The screen was black though even from where she sat Maka could still hear the quit buzz of static. She looked around for a remote but found nothing. Instead Make stood and walked over to the record player. The name of the album was written in terrible cursive so the name of the music stayed mysterious to her. Looking over at the divider went behind and Maka peeked behind at the dress. Up close she could clearly see the color was a light peach. The inside was short, white probably only touching her upper thigh though around it was a thin piece of fabric –the peach – that definitely would sweep the floor. The neckline was simple, made to cover the neck but as a white see through fabric led to the dress, flowers were stitched to appear as if they were falling and flowing in the wind.
Forgetting herself Maka gingerly touched the dress, letting her fingers follow every flower stich.
Soul retreated inside his head again. This time the demon was waiting for him at the door. His hands hung by his side while he stood straight as a board, his usual grin plastered to his face.
"Welcome back Mas-"
"What took you so long?! Maka is becoming paler and her breathing is become slower." Soul growled. His eyes narrowed making the slits in his eyes appear thinner. "You better have completed your assignment or I swear I will slice that smile right off your face" his hiss was more evident now.
The Demon continued to grin though his hand twitched slightly. "I'm almost done. The girl has just stepped into the room. She has most likely found your gift though it's probably ruined from the light of her room"
"Is that the only good news you have for me?"
The Demon nodded. Soul clicked his tongue dissatisfied. "Not to worry as she comes here, the dress will be normal once more"
Soul's arm transformed into a blade. He placed it underneath the Demon's chin forcing him to look up, "If I return and you and her aren't here I will make sure you end up as you did before, understand?"
For once the Demon's grin fell away to a frown. "Yes Master Evens"
Soul removed the blade and without another word leaving the Demon alone to scowl in the room. He snapped his fingers once and was gone.
The dress surprisingly fit Maka's body well. She spun in circles in front of a mirror that was hidden behind the panel, marveled by its beauty. Maka stopped long enough to look at herself again. She didn't have much of a curve like Tusbaki, Liz, Patty, and definitely not Blair but the dress seemed to find some anyway and then enhance them five times over. Maka smiled.
She looked over at her own dress which was hanging neatly over the arm of the loveseat. Maka's smile faded into a sad grin. She sighed and looked back into the mirror. "I hope whoever this dress belongs to doesn't get upset"
"Why would you be upset about your own clothing Miss Alburn?"
Maka jumped knocking over the panel. It landed with a hard thump on the carpet.
She turned to the sound of snickering only to jump back into the wall, her body tensing. A tall figure with red skin and sharp teeth stood before her. Its black suit and the way it stood straight made him look like a butler. A demon butler.
"Did I scare you Miss?" Maka didn't answer but crept off the wall stepping cautiously to the butler. He snickered. "Forgive me for not introducing myself. I have no true name but you my master simply calls me Demon." Maka's eyes widened as she realized who led her to the room and now stood before her. The Demon chuckled. "So you do know who I am now?"
Still too surprised Maka stayed silent though her mind had plenty to say. "He's alive! l I was right there next to Soul when he that thing swallowed whole. How is it alive?! And why does it look so different?!"
The Demon's eyes narrowed inside the white mask as he grimaced. "Yes I remember that…experience well." He shuddered then smiled, "Though my transformation was quite an enjoyable thing I'm sure my master's was better." He looked away thinking for a moment then turned back to Maka his hand extended. "We shall thank the Black Blood together in the Dark Room, yes?"
Maka broke from her shock long enough to ask, "Where am I and how are you reading my thoughts?"
The Demon giggled as if the answer was obvious. "We are inside your head. Any thought you think is said as though it were spoken aloud." He sighed at Maka's reaction. "Let me explain. The room we are in is the same as Master Evens' Dark Room – though not as extravagant. Your Light Room if you will. Before now, your mind stayed closed to this room. Like how Master Evens needed a certain amount of insanity to reach his room, you needed purity"
"Then how are you here?" Maka asked.
The Demon turned. He snapped his fingers casing a door to appear on the empty wall opposite of where she entered. "We can talk in Master Evens room, time is wasted here" he began walking.
Seeing the Demon's elongated horns, Maka remembered herself. Her arm transformed into a blade and she pressed the point at the Demon's neck. He stopped mid-stride. "Answer me"
The Demon was silent for a while. He suddenly turned his head as far as it would go and smiled, showing off his sharp teeth. "Master Evens sent me to get you of course."
Maka's arm changed back to normal, her hostility lost in her shock. The Demon smiled wider then continued on to the the dark door. He opened it and looked back at Maka who was still in her spot. She was shaking and her head was down. "Tell me, who is your master?" She looked up, "Who is Master Evens?"
The Demon's eyes narrowed and his smile thinned. "That's obvious is it not? It's the new young kishin, Soul "Eater" Evens." His grin widened as he turned his back to Maka who quickly looked up. "And he's waiting for you little girl"
Maka took a shaky step forward. "Why?"
The Demon laughed. "So you can stop his destruction into the true madness that created him"