Thank you so much for the reviews! You guys make me laugh so hard xD
Here's the third chapter you've been waiting for!
Some credit goes to my sister for being the awesomest spell-check grammar doesn't-make-sense lady in the world!
-Sinistrocity
IF SOUL EATER BELONGED TO ME I WOULD KISS MYSELF. But It doesn't.
*throws Soul Eater at Atsushi Okubo* TAKE IT, IT'S YOURS.
Soul Eater belongs to = Atsushi Okubo
Chapter 3 – Of dreams and negotiations.
The news hit them hard. After Patty had finished reading from Medusa's little diary, the group of 6 stared in silence, the words sinking in.
Crona is alive as well.
Crona is alive.
"I can't believe it…" Tsubaki said softly. "She's alive."
"Crona?" Maka whispered. "Crona… Crona is-" Tears slid slowly down her cheeks; not ones of sadness though, but ones of hope.
"Should we really trust her though?" Kid said doubtfully. "I mean it's not like she has never tricked us-"
"MAKA!" Soul burst into the room, unaware of the other occupants inside the nurse's office. "Hey, are you alright? I bought the groceries today and if you're not feeling well I'll cook- oh my- are you crying? D'you need some tissue or something I'll just go grab some-"
"I'm fine!" Maka interrupted. The shock and surprise on her face was immediately replaced by a more calm and collected one. "But first, let's get you back on track. Remember the black blood leaflet you showed me?"
Soul scratched his head sheepishly. "I guess it didn't work, right? Yeah, I remember."
"First off, it's not a leaflet. It's a diary. Secondly, it did work; Patty can read it." As soon as Maka mentioned the said weapon, Soul's eyes widened (To the extreme).
"Wha- Patty!? Why can Patty read it but not me? How does that work?!"
"My hypothesis was correct." Maka watched as Patty and Liz looked over the next few pages, Patty looking on in awe while Liz stared at the supposedly 'blank' pages in confusion. "It seems as though only the kids who are fun, stupid, and carefree can read this diary. Some sort of charm was cast upon these pages."
Maka then proceeded to explain what the diary was talking about, how Medusa was still alive, how Crona was still alive as well.
"It's like she's been looking into the future and reading our minds." Maka shuddered, drawing the blankets closer to her body. "It's freaky to know that someone's stalking you."
"Wow… That's weird. And creepy." Soul raised an eyebrow, watching as the rest of the group. "So Patty is a… funny idiot?"
"It seems so. I guess she was always the type to cheer people up and laugh it off, so maybe that does clear the 'fun' part. "I guess you could also say that she is *cough*not very smart*cough* since she, well you know, has never really received a proper education."
"I know I'm stupid!" Patty waved at Maka, beaming as if that was a compliment. "I can also hear you, ya know~" Maka's face flushed in embarrassment and she looked away.
I'll pretend I never heard that… Anyway, we have to tell the professor about this."
"Shall we then?"
"Sure."
"Bakas, your voices are as loud as elephants!" Black*Star shouted. "I can hear you from a mile away!"
"That's because you're right next to us." Soul muttered. A sudden tap on his shoulder sent shivers up his spine, and he jolted, whipping his head around-
Thank goodness it was only Tsubaki.
All this Medusa stalking and witch business is really freaking me out.
I don't know… I shouldn't have been so scared but… I just don't know why I did that.
"Excuse me but can we accompany you?" Tsubaki asked politely. "Black*Star feels really energetic today and I think it would be nice if he could also spend more time looking into this."
And why do I have a sudden bad feeling about letting Black*Star come along with us?
"Sure!" He smiled nonetheless. "C'mon then, we better hurry."
"Hey Kid!" Maka called out. "Are you coming with us?"
"No thanks," he replied. "I'm going to take my girls back to the Death Mansion. Patty's feeling a little 'under the weather'." Kid tugged at Patty's sleeves, trying to pull her up. Unfortunately for him, Patty was still reading the diary and looking over some extra information. She looked up suddenly, looking at Maka and timidly raising a hand.
"Maka-chan, is it okay if I keep this diary thing for a bit?" she asked.
"Oh sure!" Maka said cheerfully. "In fact, why don't you guys keep it?" She turned to Kid. "Is it okay if you keep the diary in the Death Mansion for a while? Since only Patty can read it…" she trailed off. Kid nodded.
"Sure I can. Just as soon as I can get Patty to stand up, that is…" He continued to tug at Patty's sleeve.
As they walked out the nurse's office, Black*Star noticed something odd about the new Shinigami.
"Is it just me, or did he say my girls back there?" he whispered to Soul. "It's seems like he wants to own the Thompson sisters as pets now. We better keep a close eye on him so he doesn't put leashes on his weapons." Soul face-palmed as well as laughing to himself. It was one of those funny moments where Black*Star actually realized something that was worth realizing.
"Kid, you might want to rephrase what you said just now." he called over his shoulder. Kid looked at him with a puzzled expression.
"What is that supposed to mean?" he said confusedly. "A grammatical error you mean?" Soul ignored him and continued to laugh.
"I don't understand," he said to Liz. "What did I say that was wrong?" Liz rolled her eyes.
"Nothing, just forget it." she pulled down her cowgirl hat a little more to hide the red that was crawling up her cheeks.
"Kid, are we really yours now?" Patty smiled cheekily.
"Well obviously!" Kid grinned, throwing his hands up in the air. "I practically own you now, since you live in my house and you eat my food. But of course I don't mind, since we're all in this together, right?" he took both of his weapons and grabbed their shoulders, pulling them close to him. "Because I'll be perfectly symmetrical with you two, right?"
"Right!" Patty laughed.
"Just forget it Kid." Liz mumbled.
At Stein's laboratory.
"Hello Maka and Tsubaki! Hello Soul and Black*Star! What brings you guys here?" Mrs. Marie smiled and waved at them cheerily. "I've got some cookies in that cabinet over there if you're hungry. She pointed to the glass case. The mini beakers that used to be filled with potassium, astantine and the other elements were now filled with chocolate chip cookies and juice. The Bunsen burner no longer heated up Stein's experiments, but instead it heated up food. A large teakettle currently occupied both Bunsen burners.
"Wow, you really made yourself at home didn't you?" Black*Star whistled. "Sweet! Like some kind of Mad Scientist chef room or something out of a cartoon!"
"Heh… I did try to make it look a little less scary in here." Marie said. "And this is technically my home now, you know?"
"Ooh of course!" Tsubaki said excitedly. "How's the baby?"
"Guys…" Soul gritted his teeth in impatience. "We aren't here for this, we're here to see Stein." Maka glared at him. ["Maka Chop!"] And once again, a book magically appeared out of nowhere and slammed down on his cranium. A loud thump sounded and Soul knew that swelling wouldn't be far behind. Yep. A slow but growing red bump popped up from the surface of his head.
"Ouch Maka… That hurt!" he whined.
"Don't be so rude!" she snapped back at him.
"Sorry Mrs. Marie," she apologized. "Soul obviously hasn't learned his etiquette. I do hope he wasn't being too rude to you."
"Oh, don't worry." Marie winked at her. "I know boys don't like that sort of thing anyway."
"Anyway, we really need to see Professor Stein right now, so seeing him would do me some good." Maka said.
"Of course! Right this way."
"So… what brings you here today?" Stein asked wryly. "Any fights going on? Perhaps one of you messed up on your revision? Need a hand?" He held up an arm he was currently dissecting and laughed manically.
"AHAHA- No, that's not funny professor." Black*Star glared at him menacingly, fists clenched.
I think he was trying to make a joke, but I guess it wasn't funny because no one laughed. I bet if I act cool he'll take us more seriously.
Black*Star's theory was surprisingly… correct. Stein's laughter immediately seized and he looked at the four children, like he was sizing them up for a sort of fight.
"What happened?" He asked in a more serious tone.
"We've found out something, a sort of tiny book." Black*Star answered. Stein raised an eyebrow.
"A tiny book huh…" he chuckled. "And what kind of book would that be?"
"Um sir, he means leaflet. It could also be just a few pages of a diary. That would make more sense." Tsubaki said.
"Ah… I see. And why would that be serious?"
Well we found it in-" Maka started.
"Because sir," Soul butted in. "It's a leaflet on black blood."
"What?" Stein's eyes twitched, and he tossed the dissected hand aside. "Pages on black blood?"
"Yeah." Black*Star nodded.
"And where would you find something like that, huh?" Stein asked suspiciously. "It definitely couldn't have been in the level 1 section, probably not the level 2 section. And if it was on the level 3 section… I would have noticed. I was looking for books there." Stein's eyes narrowed, and a suddenly the warm welcoming atmosphere turned into a cold and hostile one. Maka gulped. Soul looked away, and Tsubaki hung her head, staring at her shoes in remorse. The only person who still felt pretty confident was Black*Star.
I totally got this. He thought to himself.
"Well, we obviously found it on level 4! You know, the one where only you guys and Death the Kid can go," he boasted. "The super VIP one."
Silence filled the room.
Soul sighed. That's it Black*Star, we're done for.
"And what," Stein said slowly. "Were you doing in the level 4 section?"
The children shuddered again, bracing themselves for full Franken Stein punishment. Black*Star however, seemed to be immune to Professor Stein's stares and continued to brag about himself being all-powerful.
"Well, since Maka and Soul got stuck together or something and Maka couldn't move, I, the one who will surpass all gods naturally had to come in and save the day. Then, while Maka finally got a lot better, she got sent to the nurse, and then Kid found this cool diary thing she had left behind, and so…" he continued to babble, and Stein and the rest of the group could only stare helplessly as Black*Star continued the long explanation.
"…And that's how I saved the day." Black*Star smiled. "Want my autograph?"
"…"
Finally, after about a minute or two of staring in silence, Stein sat up, slowly turned the gears in his head and then leaned forward, staring straight into Black*Star's eyes.
"No, I do not want your autograph." Stein said in a steely voice. "I do however, want to know what the black blood diary was about. So you might as well tell me. NOW."
"It's about Medusa!" Maka blurted out. "She's alive. Crona is too. She somehow tracked us and managed to find our exact location and our exact movements. Like she was reading our minds!"
"And why would you believe her? I admit that she does sound very much alive, but can you really trust that Crona is alive as well?" Stein asked coldly. "She could have been trying to deceive you, like she did when Crona went back to her."
Another silence.
"I'll…" Maka hesitated.
What if he's right? She thought. It would make more sense for her to lie so she could get to me and kill me. But… I have to find out more to make sure she isn't. She can't lie because I won't let her! Crona has to live she just has to…
"She didn't lie to me." Maka said defiantly.
"And are you sure about that?" Stein asked again. "You can't always expect the truth from Medusa. In fact, you should rarely expect the truth from her."
"She's not lying. She isn't, I'm sure of that."
"Hm. Always the stubborn one, aren't you? Well then, what do you need my help for? It seems as though you already know what is going on."
"We just wanted to keep you updated you know, just some new findings that's all. I also wanted to ask you about something…" she hesitated, unsure of what to say next.
"Go on, I don't have all day." Stein said rather impatiently. "Oh and the rest of you, get out. I can't have everyone crowding around in my office so go ask Marie for a cookie." Black*Star grumbled and trudged off to find Marie, while Soul and Tsubaki wandered down the other hallways.
"There. Now that they're gone," he stared at Maka quite intensely. "We can get started. Go on then."
"Well, when I tried to look at the black blood diary through a magnifying glass I suddenly felt blind. It was like I couldn't move, like I was in some sort of trance." she winced, as if she was reliving the moments, being trapped in darkness. "And I tried to move away, tried to put the magnifying glass away but I couldn't move."
"So what did it feel like?"
"It felt like…" she trailed off.
"It felt like…?"
"It felt like strings were tying me together in a big squished up lump. It was really weird. It hurt when I tried to move. I also couldn't see a thing, and the darkness made me start to panic."
"How so?"
"I think for a moment… I stopped remembering how to think. Everything was just really fuzzy. It… It wasn't madness." she tried to think back to the time where she was trapped in the black void. "It was sort of like… sleepiness… Like I couldn't be bothered to remember, or I was too confused to remember."
"And so how did you get out of the situation?"
"Oh, I just called out to Soul so he could help me get back up on my feet." she said cheerfully.
"Interesting. Unfortunately for you, I'm not sure what actually happened there. It was most likely a curse from the witch Medusa. The problem is… it doesn't seem to resemble Medusa's magic. It seems to be completely different, I don't know why."
"Thanks anyway, professor!"
"Not a problem." Stein smiled.
"Oh, and by the way professor, what time is it?" Stein checked his watch – 5:30 in the afternoon.
"Time for you to go home, Maka. And almost time for dinner."
"Oh, okay then." and she was off, the doorknob clicking silently as the door shut behind her.
"Strings huh."
Medusa… what is she planning?
That definitely wasn't her type of magic, that confusion curse. It almost sounds like my Soul Stitching magic, but it's not. Definitely not.
Sleepiness?
I wonder.
He ran over to where his files were all stacked up, and clumsily went through it, papers slipping out as he searched.
"Where are you?" he murmured.
Then, from the corner of his eye he spotted it. An old crinkly brown stained paper. It seemed to be at least a century old, and everything on the sheet was written with a feather ink pen.
"Is this the one?" Stein peered more closely at it. It seemed to be a sort of profile of one of the witches in the community.
"Huh… A bear witch. Those are pretty rare," he whispered to himself. "Especially ones that have bear familiars that aren't black or brown bears."
Suddenly something caught his attention. It was at the very bottom of the page, something written in lowercase italic letters.
The Sloth Bear witches' most common spell is one of confusion. It mixes up the mind and forces the brain to forget the most basic things – such as blinking, thinking or eating. Some expert Sloth Bears witches can cast spells that can even make meisters and demon weapons forget how to breathe, resulting in slow suffocation.
"Stein?" Marie's voice echoed in the room, and Stein slowly turned around. She was holding a large cup of tea and some biscuits. Biscuits were her specialty.
"Hey." he smiled. "Thanks."
"No problem! Ooh, what's that?" she looked over his shoulder, examining the files that he was currently reading. "Sloth bears and Pandas as familiars? I've never heard about those before."
"They're supposedly pretty rare..." Stein murmured. "Should I report this to Lord Death - Oh right. Lord Death isn't with us anymore." he sighed.
He was never really a good friend of Lord Death, more like a working partner. But he knew how kind the old Shinigami was and had a deep respect for him. Losing Lord Death not only meant Death City in mayhem, but also meant a big loss for the DWMA.
"I guess you could report it to Death the Kid. He is technically in charge now, so maybe he'll be able to help." Marie laid a hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently.
"You're wrong, Marie. He still a child, and I highly doubt that he actually wants to become the headmaster of the school – he still has a lot of things to learn and a lot of new powers to discover." Stein sighed, and absentmindedly took out a cigarette, lighting it then placing it in his mouth. He blew out and watched as the cigarette smoke sifted down and around his fingers, dancing and wavering before disappearing completely. He was about to let out another puff when-
"Hey, don't smoke in here! Smoking is bad for you." Marie glared and snatched the cigarette out of his hands and tossing it over her shoulder."
"Ah… sorry about that." he laughed sheepishly. "I forgot about the new kid."
"It's alright. Well, I'm going to go take a shower and sleep, okay? Don't stay up to late."
He nodded and waited for her to leave the room. Marie's footsteps soon faded away, and he went on his laptop and started his search for the Sloth Bear Witch.
It wasn't until 12 o'clock midnight until he realized that there was too little information to even get a basic outline of this witch. There were only a few facts he knew about her, and most of them were really just her magic, but not her location or her appearance.
"Why doesn't anyone know about her?" he muttered frustratingly. "I don't understand, surely there must be at least a basic profile of her, not just..."
He sighed and once again went on his laptop.
Stein's Notes:
Heard about Maka's little accident – something about a spell of confusion and forgetting.
Searched my old files for something like that and found some info on a type of witch – A Sloth Bear witch.
Never really heard of those, actually. But if black bear and brown bears witches are considered quite rare, then a sloth bear witch would be considered… legendary maybe?
Here's the information I've found about the Sloth Witch:
Name: Unknown.
Age: Definitely older than Arachne, real age unknown.
Familiar: Sloth Bear – name unknown.
Associated with the Witch community?
Used to be. Current location is unknown.
Appearance…
Unknown.
Magic: Confusion magic, a weak form of illusion magic as well.
Stein read over his notes, brows furrowed and eyes glaring. He had barely any information about this witch and no evidence at all that this witch was the one that caused Maka to be blinded by darkness – but somehow deep within him-
It had to be a witch, he knew it. It had to be a witch, what else?
But what did she look like? Without vital information like that, how was he supposed to find out her whereabouts and her secrets?
Oh how I want to shred her apart…
And dissect her…
There-
No-
A sudden sensation took over him, bringing his knees together and slowly dropping down to the floor.
"Agh…" he clutched his head. It was suddenly as if daggers had cut into his brain, and like ice those daggers made him feel colder and scared and-
"Stein?"
"Who's there?" he grabbed anything on his desk – there, that letter opener – and spun around, shoulders tense.
"It's- It's just me!" Marie was at the doorway, and in her hands was… another batch of cookies. "I heard you screaming and laughing so I thought you started having your nightmares again, so I brought in more cookies-"
"What nightmares? I've never had a nightmare in my life! Also, don't come in while I'm working." He scowled. Marie shrugged. "You started having them a few weeks ago. I didn't want to tell you because well… I thought you already knew."
"Is that why… Is that why there were cookies spawning all over my desk in the middle of the night? Every Monday and Thursday?"
"Hehe… Yeah." she said. "I'm guilty. Don't get mad at me."
"It's fine… Just don't go into my room in the middle of the night."
"Why?" she asked curiously.
"Because I have experiments to test out, that's why. And you need your uh… what's the thing that women always need?"
"Beauty sleep."
"Exactly."
"Oh fine then, I guess I'll just go to sleep alone." she sighed. "Unwanted. Unloved. Uncared for. Un- are you even listening to me!?"
Stein had already fallen asleep.
It was funny… Being inside a dream. Everything floated around you and you floated around everything. Just like being in water or floating in space.
Stein 'swam' around in the dark.
I've never had a nightmare in my life, he thought to himself. Never ever. I'm scarier than nightmares. I'm better than them too.
On and on he floated, in the dark and empty space. It was so endless and so peaceful; he could just float around here for the rest of his entire life-
Nah. Then I wouldn't be able to dissect anything.
And off he swam, in another direction-
But if this was an empty space of nothingness, how could he tell if he was swimming away from it instead of to it?
Hm. Whatever.
"It's nice here isn't it?" Stein spun around and came face to face with-
"Medusa?" he whispered.
"The darkness is so empty and perfect it makes a great pillow to rest your head in, doesn't it?" she tilted her head upwards, staring up at the black above her. Stein did the same, wondering if there was something above him- but there wasn't. And for some reason that made him feel a little bit disappointed. He expected at least a blood-sucking squid or a ghostly white maniac or psycho, but it didn't happen. Just black all around, all above and all below, like closing your eyes and opening them at the same time. It wasn't like being blind, because you could sense all around you. This was different.
Stein turned to face Medusa, trying to strike a conversation. "You seem pretty civilized today."
"I was always civilized. In your eyes, I was. Not everyone thought of me that way." she said bitterly. The two continued to float above and below the massive grey matter, and Stein decided to break the silence.
"Where are you?" he asked.
"I'm here. Right next to you." she patted the empty space between them reassuringly.
"No, where are you? This is a dream, so where are you?" Medusa smiled at the question, and once again tilted her head up to stare at the sky. She stretched out her hands and arms, arching her back in a sort of yoga position.
"Where I've always been." she answered him furtively.
"Where are you?" he pressed on, wanting to find out the answer.
"I'm afraid I can't tell you that until you wake up."
And with that, she leaned in towards him with a hand on his shoulder and her breath on his skin-
Stein woke up screaming.
Dreamscape 1 – Maka Albarn
Where am I? Maka asked herself. Floating around in a fuzzy grey space wasn't going to do her any good. It wasn't going to help her study, wasn't going to help her make things right or rebuild a city or a nation maybe a country-
"Maka?" She jolted awake, eyes wide open and forehead matted with sweat. Across from her sat Soul, still in his pajamas. He was holding a cup of tea out to her and smiling that sweet, sweet smile he always-
Does he always smile?
And then she went unconscious.
The grey space appeared once again, but it was a lighter grey, with shadows illuminated by a light source that she couldn't see. Life was funny that way; you could never really tell where all the light sources came from. It wasn't just the sun, was it?
"It's not just the sun, right?" she said to herself.
"You're right." a voice said from behind her. It was a feminine voice, a silky smooth but dull voice, with a slight French accent. But was French language her mother tongue? It seemed fake, that accent.
Then again, a lot of things are faked, aren't they?
"You're correct." the feminine voice said.
And if what I said is correct, then that feminine voice could actually have come from a masculine person.
"Right again." the voice said. She turned around slowly.
"Hello." The feminine voice belonged to a young woman. Late twenties early thirties? Perhaps. She waved at Maka buoyantly, with a fake smile plastered onto her face.
"You have a very pretty dress, missus." Maka said blankly. There was something about this lady that seemed odd. Was it the ridiculous amount of golden baubles hanging off almost every single part of her? Was it the messy dark grey hair that seemed so untidy? – Yet the rest of her seemed so neat and clean. Perhaps it was the gloves, those horrendous gigantic sloth claws that covered her slim and slender hands. Whatever it was, it bothered Maka. Her hands twitched, tempted to remove that odd sensation that she was feeling.
"Why thank you. You look beautiful as well, Ms. Albarn." the woman replied.
"How do you know my name?" Maka asked curiously. The woman dismissed the question with a wave of her hand.
"I'm more interested in you then you are in me, Maka." she said.
It was definitely the hat that was odd. That funny crooked hat perched on top of her head – also in the shape of some sort of claw. That was what caught her attention, wasn't it?
And then something else caught her attention. Something far away, a muffled cry of help, perhaps? A wailing child or a hurt puppy?
"Maka." someone called her name, someone so, so far away.
"I think someone needs me." Maka said faintly. "Should I go?"
"I didn't hear anyone." the woman said. She was gazing into Maka's eyes, gazing so serenely-
Is it just me or do those eyes look like-
"Kami." the woman said. "Do I really? That's sweet of you."
"Maka!" the faraway voice called out again, but this time it seemed closer.
"I think I need to go now." Maka said hesitantly. She stumbled backwards, turning her head to the distant voice. It sounded so familiar, so unique and strange.
"Maka!" It was a boy. A boy was calling her. What for? She didn't know, but…
"I need to go." Maka said more strongly. She turned away from the woman and started to walk away, taking wobbly steps to wherever she could go, anywhere except next to the strange lady with the messy hair. There was something wrong about her and she didn't like it.
"NO!" the lady shouted, "Come back, I'm not finished with you!" Maka started to walk faster. Faster and faster, looking back as she walked – running would only make her stumble and spin around and around and around. She walked further and further away until the mysterious lady was only a dot in the distance, and then Maka stopped.
"You want to save her?" Maka whipped her head around-
"Do you want to save her?" the woman repeated. Her huge round eyes stared right through Maka's soul – It was almost as if she had become nothing but air.
"You- You-" Maka twisted her head back, and to her surprise, the dot in the distance was still there, still hovering. So how in the world-
"Do you want to find her?" the lady asked again.
Who is 'her'? Who is she? I don't understand… But-
"Yes." Maka whispered hoarsely. "I want to. I want to."
"Take my hand." the woman reached out to stroke Maka's wispy blond hair. She smiled softly and Maka's heart seemed to melt a little.
"O-Okay." Maka mumbled. She slowly reached out for the lady's soft, smooth palm-
"STOP!"
"Who?" Once again, Maka turned her head around. Her neck was sore now, and she was tired. But so interested and so curious. Who was the different voice?
All these voices are making me tired… Maka thought, but she turned around anyway.
"Maka, stop!" And there was it-
the world stopped spinning (but was it spinning?). Her heart stopped beating (but was it beating at all?). She stopped breathing (because she was never breathing in the first place, right?).
And right there…
That face, those pink messy strands of hair and that dark black tunic, the thin black sword held in the figure's hands- the girl's hands-
She could almost grasp that name-
"Cro- Cro-" she stuttered-
"MAKA!"
And that faraway voice wasn't distant anymore.
"MAKA!" it called out again.
"Wait!" Maka said frantically. "Cro- Cron-" The figure stared at her helplessly, mouth open and eyes a glassy dull color. Maka let go of the witch's hand and reached wildly for the person behind her.
"MAKA!" each time the voice (But who?) called out her name the world pulsed, black and then white, then black again, until-
"MAKA!"
"CRONA!" Maka screamed. "CRONA, CRONA, CRONA!"
She woke up.
"Maka." Soul was staring right into her eyes. "Don't you dare do that again, you-"
"Crona!" Maka blurted out. "In my dream, Crona she, she, she-"
"Maka, please." Soul pleaded. "Please don't do this again…"
And then something else.
Something else in her mind-
It was there and she knew it. She just had to-
"Witch." Maka whispered to herself.
"A witch."
Dreamscape 2 – Black*Star.
Black*Star hated it when he couldn't figure out where he was. It was always very frustrating, seeing as his sense of direction was horrible, and he could only rely on Tsubaki to help him. The problem was, Tsubaki wasn't responding. He had tapped on her blade, and poked the handle but she didn't respond. It was very strange, seeing as Tsubaki had always responded every time he wanted to ask her or tell her something.
Black*Star kicked at the cement-like floor frustratingly as he tried to remember how he had gotten here in the first place. Was it a sort of portal of magic? Maybe it was like the werewolf guy's magic – that teleportation thing, yeah.
"I'll get out of this mess as soon as I figure out what the heck this is!" Black*Star said to himself.
One minute he was yawning, and the next minute he was standing inside this funny grey box. He knew it was a box, because it had all the corners and the edges. Anyway, he needed to get out of here!
I wonder… This cube must have really tiny air pockets, because I seem to be breathing just fine.
Oh darn, I'm really getting off track, aren't I?
He glared at the swirling blue mass that was bubbling and frothing before him. It wasn't here at first. It only appeared when his stomach had started to grumble. There it sat, all salty and tasty.
It seemed pretty edible but-
Don't ever, ever, ever eat anything suspicious if you don't know what it is first. Tsubaki's wise words echoed in his head, and once again he turned away from the salty smelling blob, ignoring his stomach's grumbling protests.
"How are you doing, Tsubaki?" he looked down at the demon blade. She didn't respond. "Huh. Are you still mad?" she ignored him.
"Fine…" he stooped down and poked the blue mass. It swerved and bubbled, the liquid moving away from his finger.
"Hm…" he furrowed his brow and moved closer, trying to reach forward and grab the thing. Once again, it slid out of his reach and he grabbed nothing but his empty hands.
"You seem frustrated." someone called from behind him. He whipped his head around. There were two eyes staring in the darkness, coming from the corner of the grey box.
"I didn't see anyone come in here," he laughed. "Want my autograph?"
"Sure." The figure emerged. A man? A woman? "What are you?" he asked suspiciously. "I don't mean to be rude, but-"
"Androgynous?" the person asked. "I may look like that, but I'm a woman, thank you very much." she chuckled. "You're funny."
"I am?" No one had ever said that to him before – besides Tsubaki, that is.
"You are."
Is she really a lady? Her arms are so cut and her legs look so muscular. I think she's a woman-male. I can't seem to remember that term-
"Androgynous." the woman rolled her eyes, muttering. "I'm not a 'woman-male', thank you very much. I just resemble one."
"Whatever." Black*Star said cheerfully. "At least you want my autograph." He whipped out a piece of paper and a pen (which magically appeared out of nowhere), and scribbled out his signature. He handed it to the strange lady who took it and gazed admiringly at the name.
"Lovely name, Black*Star." she said smiling, and handed the paper back to him.
"You… don't want my signature?" he said rather disappointed.
"I already have it." she pulled out a replica of the previous signature. Each stroke was exactly the same. The star was in the right shape, and so was the curve of the 'B'.
"Oh." Black*Star glowed, smiling at the lady.
So she's nice after all.
His stomach grumbled again.
"Oh yeah," he asked. "Do you have anything to eat?"
"I have a few sandwiches." The woman reached into the folds of her dress and pulled out 3 sandwiches covered in plastic wrapper. "Take one."
He peered at the three sandwiches, and then took one at random.
"The sandwich smells good, doesn't it." the lady said.
It sure does… Black*Star thought. He opened his mouth wide, and was about to take a bite into the sandwich and then-
"Black*Star!" his name echoed in the box, startling him. It was so sudden that he had dropped the sandwich and turned around, hand reaching for-
"Tsubaki?" his jaw dropped. "What are you-" He looked at what he was-
He wasn't holding anything.
"What-"
"Black*Star!" Tsubaki hurried over to where he was. "We have to get out of here!"
"I just- my sandwich- I-" Black*Star started.
"Who are you?" the mysterious woman interrupted. She stared at Tsubaki coldly and reached out for something in her pockets. Tsubaki in turn thrust out her hand as it transformed into the enchanted sword.
"Why are you here?" Tsubaki demanded. "Get out of Black*Star's head!"
"My head?" Black*Star said. "My head?"
"And why are you here?" The woman retorted.
"Tell me your name." Tsubaki said, standing in front of Black*Star. "Why are you targeting meisters?"
"What are you talking about, stupid girl?" the woman scoffed. "I don't understand you at all."
"I saw you in someone else's dreams. I saw you."
"Maka? Ms. Albarn, you mean? I simply asked her some questions-"
"You came into her sleep, and now you're in Black*Star's too." Tsubaki said angrily. "So who are you?"
"I'm afraid I can't answer that." The lady smirked.
"Wait guys, what's going on?" Black*Star asked. His mind was whirling - everything was so confusing. One minute he was having lunch (maybe it was dinner) with this awesome woman-male and the next Tsubaki was right in front of him (in a sort of protective state too).
Wait. What?
"Hey, Hey! Stop ignoring me-"
And-
The world went wild-
Black then white, then black again-
Black*Star stumbled, dropping to his knees. Tsubaki pulled him back on his feet and put her arms around him in a protective position.
"Hey Tsubaki stop that! You're going to get hurt!" Black*Star yelled.
"You little brats…" the lady who offered him sandwiches rose, and he could see some funny looking energy crawl up her arms. It didn't actually look like energy though. "I won't let you get away!"
"We should get going Black*Star!" Tsubaki shouted. "Come one!"
"Where are we going?" Black*Star screeched as Tsubaki pulled him along.
"No time to explain!" Tsubaki screeched back at him. "Just come with-"
And then he saw it-
A cannon the size of a bear, massive and crackling with energy- it was the energy that the lady had just a few minutes ago.
It's heading straight at us. He thought. No…
"Eat this, Star clan boy." the woman sneered.
Why isn't she lighting the cannon?
No… It's already lit!?
So naturally, he did the only thing he could do in this situation-
"Black*Star?"
He woke up.
"What- What-" He reached out wildly for something, then grabbed ahold of the mattress. "Tsubaki watch out!" he cried, and then leapt out of his bed, pulling the blanket with him.
"No, nothing's happened," Tsubaki said soothingly. You're safe now."
"Someone was trying to kill you." he snarled. "I won't let that happen."
"Who?" Tsubaki asked, head tilted to one side.
"You know, that meister woman!"
"Meister?"
Dreamscape 3 – Death the Kid.
Black, like the Book of Eibon. Black, nothingness, is that considered perfect symmetry? Kid thought to himself.
"Is anyone there? Great Black Mass?" he shouted out loud. There was no answer; only his voice echoed throughout the space around him. He tried to stand up properly instead of float there sideways, but there was no use. Floating was the only way. So, using his hands as paddles he waded around in the dark murky emptiness.
"Being alone seems refreshing," he said to himself. "But also a little depressing." He continued to wade around, kicking at the 'air'. There seemed to be no surface, nor a solid floor, which made it all the more symmetrical – right?
"Wrong." and there he heard a feminine voice, silky and smooth like his own. He made a 180-degree turn and came face to face with a somewhat aristocratic woman. One glance at her face and her was mesmerized- those facial features of hers were so perfect and symmetrical. Her two dark brown eyes were just the same, her nose was right in the middle of the face (one look and he could tell it was). Her mouth was the same, each side not wider or shorter than the other.
"May I admire your face?" Kid asked somewhat bluntly. He couldn't find any other way to say it other than that.
"Of course."
So he continued to stare.
There must be a flaw in this woman – perhaps a misplaced hair on her brow? He thought. He checked both of her eyebrows, only to find that they were just exactly the same. He looked down at her dress, and her necklace – they were symmetrical as well. How beautiful.
"How do you-" he choked, hiding back tears of happiness. "How do you manage to look like this? If possible, teach me how."
"I'm afraid I can't." the lady said sadly. "All my appearances are natural, I haven't really messed with them at all.
"Oh." Kid sighed. If only he could come to such perfection.
But surely there must be a flaw in this perfect piece of artwork, there must be.
And then there-
Her hair-
It was so wild and messy, the more he stared the more it irked him. He looked at one side, then another. Her hair was messed up; it looked like she had just waken up. Part of her hair was frizzy and there were knots in it. Those knots… it made him feel queasy inside. The other part of her hair was in clumps, some bits were curly and some weren't.
Kid's eye twitched. His hands fidgeted. Sweat rolled down his face slowly, travelling down his cheek then dropping into the infinite abyss.
"Miss." he said in a dry tone. "Have you ever considered using gel?"
"No, never." she shrugged. "Why?"
"Your hair," he said casually. "Is the ugliest piece of filth I have ever laid my eyes on. No offense meant." and with that, he stalked off, head high and hands in his pockets.
"Hey, wait up!" the woman cried out, and ran after him. "I still have other things you might be interested in, such as-"
"Nothing about you interests me- PFFFT." that preposterous woman had grabbed his left cheek and was pulling him back to her.
"Lepht gohp augh mbght." Kid tried to say crossly. What he actually meant was 'Let go of me.' But then again, the woman's large mitten-claws were really getting on his nerves. That beautifully symmetrical face no longer seemed to exist from the moment Kid had taken a glance at her monstrous wild hair and fur coat. All the hairs were out of place, and if she ever wanted to look symmetrical wearing that thing on, it would take ages and the result would still look ugly. She had horrible taste after-all.
"I know you want to save her," the woman said. "You want to save that Crona girl, right? Just like everyone else."
"So you know about Crona, huh?" he wasn't surprised. The news had spread fairly quickly about Crona and the black [blood] moon, so almost everyone was bound to know what had happened and who the mysterious girl was.
But why bring up this conversation so suddenly? Am I really worth her attention? That's quite flattering, I admit but still…
"Of course I do." she smiled sweetly. "I know Medusa well. She's a good friend of mine."
"What?" Kid said astonished. "I don't believe you." he attempted to remove himself from the lady, but her hands were clenched and she had a grip like an iron fist. It hurt to move.
"Woman!" he barked. "Let go of me this instant."
"No, I won't." she narrowed her eyes.
Goodness, even when she narrows her eyes the wrinkles are symmetrical. I wish I were born with a face like that.
"Woman, if you don't let go of me this instant I will-"
"Kid!"
"Huh?" Someone had called out his name. Someone… Who was it again?
Liz or Patty? He couldn't really tell the difference between the-
No… Liz is older and perhaps a tad more symmetrical than Patty.
"Kid!" the voice called out again. It annoyed him slightly. If whoever was calling out his name really wanted his attention then they should have come out by now. Nevertheless, he replied with a, "Speak up!"
"DEATH THE KID!" The level of noise that came next was so sudden that it sent the mysterious lady and Kid whirling further back into the abyss of black.
"NOT SO LOUD!" Kid screamed back. "CONTROL YOUR NOISE!"
"Kid!" and suddenly two pairs of hands were reaching for him wildly. The owners of the hands were shrouded in darkness so he couldn't really tell who they were. He was about to shout out something else when suddenly the almost-not-quite symmetrical woman grabbed a hold of his shoulders and kicked back at the air. They went tumbling back into the black space. The hands started to fade away.
"Why did you do that?" Kid snapped. "They were trying to help us!"
"They were trying to help you," the woman pointed out. "But I prefer the darkness. It's refreshing and quite. Peaceful and beautiful. Look at the emptiness above and below, it just makes you want to fall asleep."
Kid did as she said, staring at the black above him and the black below him. Unlike her though, it didn't make him feel sleepy at all. Instead, it made him feel more vibrant and on the lookout for anything solid at all.
And the more he thought about the feeling of darkness, the more scared he became of it. Yes, it was symmetrical, but not the symmetrical that he was so used to. There was nothingness, and though nothingness was indeed sort of symmetrical, it wasn't the symmetrical he liked.
He glanced at the floating figure of the strange woman and wondered to himself, how did she even come here in the first place?
"I live here." she murmured sleepily. "I live in everyone, for as long as I like."
"That is disgusting." he scoffed.
"I find it rather interesting." she chuckled.
"You and I have very different views."
"You're going to try and leave again, aren't you?" Kid nodded.
"Well then, I guess I can't stop you. Go ahead."
And with that said…
"Kid?"
Beep. Beep. Beep.
"Where am I?" he blinked. Everything was blurry. What was that white blotch over there? Who was staring at him?
"Kid! Look over here!" He rubbed his eyes and slowly regained focus.
"Where…" he murmured.
Bandages. Little carts containing medicine. A lady wrapped in white. Nygus?
"The nurse room?" He sat up almost immediately-
"OW!" Liz yelped in pain. "I was right in front of you!"
"Oh, sorry about that Elizabeth. Where am I?"
"Kiddo-kun's been asleep for the past three days." Patty answered.
"WHAT!?" he screamed. "How are the paintings? Are they perfectly symmetrical, have you checked on them, what about the flower pots and the statuettes of Lord Death are they-" Patty clamped a hand on his mouth and he shut up.
"What did you see?" Liz asked. "Patty, let go of his lips will you?"
"Yessir!"
Kid waited a little, waiting for the blurriness in his head to fade.
"She knew about Crona." Kid croaked. It was the only thing he had to say.
"She knew how to save Crona."
Far, far away. No, Medusa's place.
Medusa sighed in content and relief.
So they still haven't found me after all. To think that I managed to stay alive after the almost fatal stabs from Ragnarok – He will pay.
She got up and went to the kitchen, taking two cups of tea and setting them on the dinner table. She then brought out her prized china teapot, watching it sleepily as it sizzled and hissed above the fire.
It took quite a while to get herself back on her feet and into a human again – That Crona girl had really done her in good – even Medusa's snake form has a dozen cuts and bruises. She had to remain inside her egg until Crona left. Then all she needed was time and a human body.
The body was the bigger problem though. Several times she had encountered many villagers trying to stab her with pitchforks and toss her in the fire but that wasn't going to happen, no it wasn't. But when she had finally gotten a hold of a child's body that was easy enough to control. She slowly transferred her soul to different ages and different people.
But this body… it still wasn't good enough.
She grimaced as she stroked the stubble on her – on his – chin. Taking control of a man's body was the only way, seeing as no man would allow a snake into their bedroom with a woman.
She scratched her hairy legs in disgust. The beautiful robes and clothing that she was so used to, it had to be changed into something completely different – oh well, soon she would seduce a woman and that would be that.
Knock. Knock.
"Who's there?" Medusa demanded. She – ugh, he – hadn't made any appointments with any rouge witch recently. It annoyed her for some unknown person to coming right up her door.
"Medusa Gorgon, Is it?" the voice on the other side asked. "You've taken quite a style to your clothing, haven't you?"
"How do you know about me?" Medusa said sharply. "And who are you?"
"I'm none other than Siesta Clandestine, Medusa. And Ms. Clandestine knows all."
"To be honest with you, I've never heard that name before." Medusa opened the door to reveal a slightly shorter than average but beautiful lady. She had a heart shaped face and lovely brown eyes, with ruffled messy hair and necklaces circled not just around her neck but on her waist, on her hands, and even on her wicked looking hat.
"I've been hibernating." Siesta beamed.
Medusa felt male hormones coming in.
Goodness, this is why I hate men. Medusa thought irritatingly.
"Well come in then." she – he - muttered.
"Thank you." Ms. Clandestine had a voice like smooth velvet. She walked into the house rather joyously and looked about, as if she had seen this place before.
"And indeed I have." Ms. Clandestine winked and tapped her head. "Please don't try to think too much when you're speaking to me Ms – or should I say Mr? Gorgon."
"Just sit down." Medusa grumbled.
"You need a new name." Siesta chimed, stroking her wild locks of hair.
"I like the name Medusa." the snake witch protested. "It suits me well."
"Not anymore." Clandestine murmured and shook her head.
I love how her hair floats… And those pretty little eyes. Medusa thought. Then shook his head when he realized what he had just said (in his head). I should have become a woman.
"Stop thinking." Clandestine blushed. "I can't help it if I read your mind. Anyway, I didn't come here for this." Siesta leaned forward, her arms touching Medusa's skin.
You have got to be kidding me! Medusa thought frantically. I should never have come into this body, is this guy a pervert of something?
"I didn't come here for this." Siesta repeated. "I came here to make a deal with you. A big one."
"Name your conditions then!"
"You're already starting to speak like a man," the witch across her laughed softly. "That's adorable."
"Name your conditions, woman!" Medusa snapped.
"I want to live here. And I want you to help me add special trinkets to my collection." she held up her hand, showing off the gleaming golden baubles. However on closer inspection, Medusa realized that they weren't golden at all – just painted with gold paint. They were actually a glowing blue.
"Are those…"
"Pretty little souls." the woman cooed. She stroked one of the trinkets adoringly.
"And what do I get in return?" Medusa said.
"You get… nothingness."
"What?" The snake witch (Or was he a wizard now?) cried out incredulously. "What kind of deal is-"
She never had time to finish your sentence, and suddenly she appeared in a space- of darkness.
"Where am I-"
"Hush…" a voice whispered. "Close your eyes."
Medusa did as asked, and closed his eyes. Slowly a feeling of comfort and safety, of happiness and satisfaction came into his head. He felt as if he was floating on clouds.
"I like this feeling." Medusa smiled happily. "I like it."
"That is what you will get. Whenever you are sad, visit me and you can spend as long as you like in here."
"Interesting…" Medusa murmured. "I think I'll accept the deal then."
"Good."
Medusa blinked, and found himself staring into the eyes of the woman across form him.
"Wait, what-"
"I call it a sort of drug." Clandestine smiled. "It's just something I can do."
"Who are you?" Medusa asked suspiciously.
"I'm Siesta Clandestine, sloth bear witch, hibernated for a few hundred years. By the way, you've accepted my deal. So… So long. I'll see you tomorrow, right?"
And suddenly she was gone, no poof, no sound, just gone in a blink of an eye.
"Happiness and satisfaction for a couple of trinkets?" Medusa thought to himself.
"I like that."
WOAH third chapter! R&R would be nice!
Apologies for those who read this without the update - I was in a bit of a hurry. The newer version makes more sense now, doesn't it? :)