Bros, wassup?
I updated! Enjoy~ Sorry it took a while. Lotsa words though, so read up!
Chapter 7: Forgetful turnips and duo frogs
Faint.
Dull pain throbbed in her chest, like several bruises overlapping each other. She brushed her fingers ever so slightly over her heart, and suddenly there was sharp pain, and she yelped.
"Tsubaki?" her father asked. "Are you alright?"
She nodded quickly, a small smile across her face. Then she stood, went to the small kitchen to pour herself a cup of tea. As she drank she felt the throbbing lessen, and she sighed.
"HA!" she heard Black*Star shout. He was at it again, kicking the trunk of the thick tree outside her family's garden. He was practicing even harder now, focusing more on his close combat than with her. It wasn't really necessary, he'd been working so hard it she felt it was a waste of time…
"You really shouldn't be working so hard, Black*Star." she heard her father say. His voice was calm and soothing, but she knew he was slightly annoyed by the fact that Black*Star's kicks were making large marks on the tree. It was an old Sakura, and her father's pride and joy.
"But I need to work harder!" Black*Star cried out indignantly, and Tsubaki could her him punch the tree again. She felt her father wince in pain, and he said, "Yes, but not on the tree."
She laughed, but stopped suddenly as the pain in her chest worsened. Once again it reminded her of the fight with the witch, Lady Siesta. The fight was horrible, exhausting each and every Spartoi's stamina.
But you.
She put down her cup, and walked to the garden in a trance-like state. Black*Star and her father had moved somewhere else, to study another type of training.
She leaned against the Sakura's trunk, and pressed a hand against her chest again, ignoring the pains there.
According to 'Soul life' written by an Anonymous writer, Soul Perception is a rare ability in which the person with the ability can see someone else's soul. However, the alternative that almost every other human being uses is to hear the Soul Wavelength. Though it takes longer to perform and is not very easy, people of all ages can do this. Simply place your hand on your heart, and close your eyes. Attempt to block out all noise, and concentrate on whatever emptiness you can find. Do not let your mind wander, simply look straight at the inside of your eyelids. Do this for about a minute, and you'll be able to hear a high-pitched sound- your own soul wavelength.
A soft, high-pitched sound would mean a rather flat wavelength, and a blaring high-pitched sound would mean a very distorted wavelength. Average wavelengths should contain an equal amount of both.
A WARNING: Doing this for more than half an hour will damage your ears, and cause temporary deafness.
Tsubaki closed her eyes, placed her hand over her heart, and concentrated. She stared into the void that was her eyes, a strange black and grey space. Slowly all sounds faded into the distance and nothing remained.
Then she heard it. It started out soft, swaying, flowing… then loud, blaring and incomprehensible-
She tried to move out of it, literally stumbling away from the tree into the sunlight and attempted to open her eyes but they remained shut. And she could feel her heart beat faster-
Until the high-pitched noise was her void; she could feel it screaming in her ears, screaming straight into her mind poking, prodding as it grew louder, louder, louder, LOUDER LOUDER LOUDER-
"Thanks old man!" Black*Star said gleefully as he slammed his fist into the concrete brick, blasting it apart. Tsubaki's father smiled, carefully observing each movement Black*Star was making. He's a fine young boy, the old man thought. Strong and determined. His smile grew wider as Black*Star whooped in triumph, another brick crumbled to pieces under his hand. Just like me in my younger years.
"What else do I need to know?" The young boy looked up at him, panting. His face wet, his shirt drowned in sweat and flecks of dust. But the look in his eyes was still the same: Excited, eager to know more and learn…
Learn how to kill.
Tsubaki's father opened his mouth- closed it, and shook his head.
"I think it's time you rested." Black*Star pouted as he heard this, but nodded obediently.
"Why don't we sit down instead, and discuss tactics?" The old man said, trying to spark interest in the boy. But he received quite the opposite treatment as the blue-haired meister grumbled.
"Don't forget," Tsubaki's father reminded him, "That tactics are just as important as techniques. Without the two, you certainly won't be able to reach your goal of being a champion." Black*Star sighed in response. "But you have to think!" he groaned. The old man chuckled, and sent him off to change his clothes. Talking with a sweaty, stinky young man was definitely not his forte.
He sat there, eyes closed and thought of the young boy. If only he knew how important it was, to learn where to attack, when to strike a blow, how to stealthily reach his opponent. The boy was clever; he had the ability to master all these things yet-
He wanted to learn how to kill. It troubled the old man, stirred something deep within him, something scared.
Timing was important. It helped when knocking out a person, critically injuring them but not ending their lives, even avoiding them was a good strategy to save strength.
But the boy- his endless rants of crushing every enemy scared him. It scared him to the core, reminded him of the boy's father.
He said he would create his own path. The old man thought to himself calmly.
What could possibly go wrong with that?
Black*Star leapt into the room, grabbed his clothes and changed as quickly as he could. Training with the old geezer was fantastic! Amazing! Productive! The words floated around his dizzied head as he grabbed a pair of sneakers and thrust his feet into them. Exciting! He wrapped the strap around his waist like a belt, and checked his hair. Awesome.
"I. Am. So. Cool." He did a back flip before leaving the room.
On his way, he suddenly thought of Tsubaki. Wouldn't she be more interested in these, 'tactics'? Maybe they could switch roles- Black*Star could do even more practice while Tsubaki could listen and do all the talking. She would like that, right? She liked everything.
"Tsubaki!" He shouted across the room. She didn't reply. He frowned slightly. Usually there was a nervous 'H-Hai!' or 'Here!' and sometimes she would just run up to him and smile. Hm.
Maybe he wasn't loud enough.
"TSUBAKI!" he shouted once more. Again, nothing. He was growing slightly impatient, standing there motionless. His legs started to jitter. His fingers fidgeted. His toes wiggled. At last, he ran to the kitchen- No sign of her there though. Only a small cup of tea.
Black*Star mumbled incoherently, probably a string of random curses, before running out to the steps. Tsubaki, Tsubaki, Tsubaki.
She wasn't one to play hide and seek.
"Tsuba-" He stopped.
Broke into a run.
Her shoulders were stiffened, and her fingers were curled into fists.
Her eyes were closed, barely breathing. The high-pitched sound was everywhere, turning Tsubaki's mind into a confusing and chaotic mess. It made her twitch uncontrollably; every now and then her ears gave up listening.
She must've fainted somewhere in the midst of the sound, because soon it disappeared, and she awoke to her name.
"Tsubaki? Tsubaki!" she was in someone's arms now, hair brushed against her forehead. She tried to sit up, ignoring the protests of the person holding her, but as soon as she opened her eyes dizziness caused her to fall back.
"OLD MAN!" She heard. "MR. NAKATSUKASA!"
"No, no…" she mumbled, and she reached out with her left hand blindly. "Stop… stop…" Her fingers grazed the person's arm and suddenly he stopped calling out. It was a familiar voice, a voice she knew very, very well.
A hand grasped hers, and the boy, the blue haired boy started to talk to her.
"You'll get better… You always get better… Don't ever do that again… Just wait a few more seconds, you'll be okay, you'll be okay, what happened what happened why, why, why"
And she went unconscious.
What children do in their pastime. Or, We Need To Talk About Harvar.
"So you're saying that you felt a wave?" Oxford said curiously as he sipped at the tea. Kim nodded. The four Spartoi (including the meister's weapons) were seated in Deathbucks, eating omelets and discussing. Omelets were good for discussion, right? Anyway, the four were conversing about the battle.
"If you're talking about the tingly sensation with electricity sparking through my body, then yes." she said. Kim closed her eyes, trying to relieve the moment. She had almost forgotten about it until she bumped into Harvar the next day.
Ox looked at her again, his expression unreadable. Then he broke into a smile, and looked away, blushing. Her eyes are so pretty when they're closed. He thought. Which actually didn't make sense, and he was really just talking a load of mumble jumble.
"Harvar," he said, looking away. "What did you feel in the battle?"
"Same as ever." the lighting spear shrugged. "Electricity all over again."
"But I don't understand." Kim spoke. She waved her hands around dramatically. "I almost couldn't feel your wavelength. Like it was gone, as in split off."
"Maybe Ox has felt it too." Jackie asked. "Have you?" She looked to Oxford for an answer.
"Um, I never pay attention to that part. I mean I just pick him up." Ox said. "No offense, Harvar. We've done it so many times..." his weapon shrugged again, indicating a 'None-taken' response to Ox.
"Pay attention next time." Kim scowled. "Because this is important."
"Is it?" Harvar sighed, picking at his nails. "It's just a Wavelength. It's not special."
"Wavelengths are special." Kim slammed a fist onto the desk angrily, and everyone jumped back. "I had to study them for a month." she hissed.
"Kim, studying?" Ox whistled. "Now that's something."
"She does actually study." Jackie said to him. "She was only a few points below you in the super written exam."
"Really?" Ox said. "I never really pay any attention to that either. Not that I don't care though." he gushed at Kim.
"She's always gotten around 93-95 marks." Harvar said. "But last year she got 98 marks out of a hundred. Almost as good as me." he smirked.
"How d'you know?" the tanuki witch asked suspiciously. "You stalk me or something?"
"Stalk you for him, girl." he replied, pointing his thumb at his meister. "Stalk you for him."
"That sounds like you're gay." Kim remarked. "Like, gay for Ox." Jackie spit out her drink, and Ox choked on his omelet, while Harvar looked at her with eyebrows raised.
Of course, the relationship between Ox and Harvar has always been a close one, but not romantic. They were best buds, to put it that way. Watched each other's backs, thought the same things, both smart, both skilled. So it wasn't surprising that Kim's remark felt insulting. Very insulting, in fact that in Harvar's point of view it was considered extremely offensive. Obviously.
"Excuse me?" he looked at her coldly (Well you could never really tell due to his red visor). "Did you just call me a homosexual?"
"I didn't mean anything by it," Kim shrugged. "Just teasing."
"Fine." Harvar's shoulders loosened, and he sighed, looking away. "Yeah alright. Just don't say that again."
"Unless..." Kim smirked, leaning over the table to look at Harvar in the eyes. "Unless you really are."
Harvar considered slapping her, right at that moment. He didn't like the way she toyed with people. He didn't really like her at all first, merely accepted the fact that she was an ally- that was until he fought with her on the day they fought the witch. That was when he knew she was really worth it.
So perhaps slapping her would make their relationship worse- maybe he should go along with it.
Harvar closed his eyes [She's a worthy ally, be calm and just do it.], and turned to face her. The expression on her face told him that wasn't what she expected.
"What if I proved I wasn't?" he smiled back.
"How?" she said curiously.
"Oh, I don't know." he shrugged and looked at Ox. "What do you say Ox? How would I prove it?"
"Well, you confess your love to a girl." Ox said. "Or just kiss a girl. Or hug a girl. I don't know." The meister suddenly looked up alarmingly at Harvar. "But don't you dare do anything to Kim!" he screeched. Harvar pouted at him.
"Why not?" he replied. "It's not like I'm in love with her or anything. Its just evidence of my 'straight-ness'."
"Just don't!" Ox said again. "And I get her first kiss!"
"Wouldn't be my first kiss, actually." Kim mumbled, but Ox heard it and jumped out of his seat.
"WHAT?!" He screamed, and the whole café went silent. He received deadly glares from the guests and waiters.
"Ox, you're disturbing other people." Harvar said sternly like a mother scolding a child. He pulled Ox back down. "And it's not that a big deal. I've already had my first kiss as well."
"You?" Kim raised an eyebrow. "You, the loyal, duty-oriented Harvar? When did that happen? In a bar? Was it with a guy?"
He didn't answer, merely returned to leaning against the chair in silence.
"Guys…" Jackie muttered. "We weren't supposed to be talking about this in the first place." She started sipping gloomily at her tea.
"That's it." Harvar said suddenly, and leapt to his feet, leaned over to where Jacqueline was sitting.
"I confess my undying love for you, Jacqueline O'Lantern Dupre. Let us kiss under a moonlit sky." he said dramatically.
She spat tea in his face.
"I was joking," he said miserably after they had left the café and washed his face. "It was just proof, I don't really like her at all." Oxford patted him on the shoulder. "Wasn't it obvious that I was acting?"
"Girls are weird like that Harvar." He said, and they went back home.
What about my book?
They had all forgotten about it. After all, it was just a small thing. After the fight with the witch everyone had forgotten about the black blood booklet. It went from Maka to Soul, Soul to Tsubaki and then back into the library.
It wasn't necessary, they said. After all, because of Medusa's betrayal she probably wouldn't be writing in the book anymore. She didn't need to.
So that was that, and the book went back to where it was.
Patricia Thompson smiled. She wasn't one to forget things like this. She never really 'forgot' only 'lost interest and refused to do it'. Things like homework were easy to forget. Homework was meaningless if she understood everything.
The pistol twin walked quietly into the library, smiled politely to the new librarian and handed him her card.
"I know I'm not a level 4 weapon yet," she said quietly to him. "But my meister is Death the Kid, and he needs this book." The librarian nodded quickly, returning the card. He could tell she was his weapon by her looks: Her incredibly fair hair and big blue eyes said it all.
"It should be on that shelf there. I'll get you a ladder." Patty thanked him with a smile, and he went into the storage room. A few seconds later he came out with a rather long ladder, definitely long enough the reach the top of the library.
"Thanks sir."
As she climbed up slowly, she thought about the absurd layout of the library. There was a giant hexagonal pillar in the middle where EAT and NOT class textbooks were usually found. The rest of the books were a little less organized- And the level 3 books and higher were all at the very top shelves of the library.
She was sitting down now, looking at the diary in her hands. Of course, it was up to her to read it anyway.
She scanned the pages- of course, now it was just a normal diary, it seemed as if the magic speaking to the Spartoi was gone. The old entries were still there, but they weren't moving and changing anymore. It was just a book now.
Crona is alive.
There, she saw it. The line didn't really shock her. It never did in the first place- if Medusa was still alive; there must've been more than that. She must've had help, someone else helping her.
Out of curiosity she flipped the extra page. There was still a small space where she could write. Patty took out her ink pen, and pressed it against the page. Then she watched as the ink slowly sunk into the paper.
She shrugged.
Oh
There, a word fading into the brown paper. A word she hadn't written.
Oh hello.
Someone was writing back.
Patty decided it was time to do something stupid.
She wrote on the paper. Is this Medusa?
And waited. Of course, she would never be sure if it really was Medusa, or if it was someone claiming to be Medusa.
Is this Maka?
The paper replied.
Nope. Patty wrote back. And I'm being honest.
She could hear the person behind the paper laugh. She laughed too.
And I'm not Medusa.
Hm. She paused at that, her pen hovering just centimeters above the page. Was the person lying? She doubted it, and then doubted her doubt.
How would I know that you're not lying?
She wrote back.
I'm outside your window.
She shrugged. Good enough proof. She stood up; walking up to the window- of course she hadn't noticed- the curtains were drawn. With a deep breath, she drew back the curtains-
Lettuce please.
It was cold that night. They sat in a circle, hands around the fire. It was cold and so were they.
"Max." One of them said in a hoarse, feeble voice.
"Yes, Jamie?" The one called Max replied. He was a stocky young man, well built with hands the size of sledgehammers. His eyes were deeply sunken in from guarding the others all those long nights before.
"Will we have plates to eat on?" she asked. Her real name was actually Jesamelia; Her parents couldn't decide which name to choose: Jessica or Amelia? And so, they decided name her Jesamelia, a 'Jessica-Amelia'. In fact, they were so obsessed with both of the names that they decided to do the same thing with Jesamelia's middle name, which was now 'Amelissica'. [A/N: And why would you need to know this anyway?]
Jesamelia Amelissica Ford looked up at Max, her dark brown eyes full of hope. For a plate, of course, but with hope.
"No, Jamie." Max sighed. "We won't have plates to eat on. Not for a very long time."
"Of course not." Someone said crossly behind them. "We might not even eat."
"Why not, Kess?" Jesamelia said. Her stomach was rumbling now. It was cold in the desert, and she didn't like it out there. The only reason they were out here was because their master ordered them to stay outside. Apparently they hadn't done as well as she'd thought.
"Because Nico won't come back with meat tonight." Kess sighed, and his whole body sighed with him.
He caught a glimpse of a scurrying shadow and he pounced upon it, spear piercing the body of a black scorpion. He muttered in disgust. He couldn't eat this.
Kess would have to wait for the Fourth to come back.
Jesamelia saw him in the midst of a sand storm. She called to him, but he didn't answer. She usually ignored everything Kess said. Mostly because he liked to fib.
"Max!" she shouted. "Nico is back!" she pranced around the campfire happily, shouting the words, "Nico is back! Nico is back! We'll have roast meat tonight!"
"Alright, alright!" Max scowled. "I'll go get him."
He trudged towards the mini sandstorm that surrounded the man. Nico still couldn't control the sandstorm, and Max doubted he would ever be able to. It was so strong, compared to the young man's feeble body- there was no way he'd be able to calm it.
"Pass the meat, Nico!" he shouted to the man in the storm. The man shook his head, frowning.
"You found nothing?" Max almost shrieked. They'd been living on lettuce, turnip (for some reason they had an endless supply of those particular vegetables) and cactus water for days, counting on Nico to get them the meat. He was good at that, Nico. His specialty. So it surprised Max when he came back with his hands empty.
"I am so sorry." Nico called her with his super-phone. Their masters had given them phones with unlimited 4G accesses and somehow enough phone credit to last them for two years. They always seemed to have Service somewhere on the desert – their masters probably did something to the ground. Their masters said it would be important, to communicate with each other from very far away.
This proved to be extremely useful to Nico, who usually had trouble communicating due to the miniature sand hurricane that enveloped him in bits of grit.
"Its okay." she sighed. "I guess you just had a bout of bad luck."
"No kidding." He tried to laugh, but he must've opened his mouth too wide because sand started pouring in. He gagged and cursed, rearranging the scarf around his head while Jesamelia giggled.
"What will you eat then?" she asked. "You've got nothing." She could see him shrug.
"I'll think of something." he replied, and hung up.
"Yeah, he'll think of something alright." she turned around quickly, and her mouth spread into a grin.
"Fourth!" she squealed at the old man. He smiled warmly back at her, and hobbled
to the campfire.
"Hello, Second." he said to her. "How have the rest of the Six been?"
"Great!" She beamed at him. He was like a father to her, since her real parents would be needed for their Masters' experiments. Although she would reach her twentieth birthday in a few weeks she still acted like a naïve child, often making clumsy and careless mistakes.
"Although… Third isn't holding up well. He couldn't find any meat, and we can't really pass him food through the sandstorm." she looked to the young man in the storm. His face was expressionless, but she knew he was really hungry.
"Well then, we could always dial First. He's bound to have found something." the old man replied. He too sat by the fire, taking a bunch of carrots.
"Turnip mash tonight." He grunted, taking a metal pot from his knapsack. He placed it gently above the fire and it hovered there gently, swaying from side to side. Max took out his water bottle and let the water gush out of the mouth into the round metal base. Then he tossed a few turnips into it, and some salt and pepper. None of the Six really knew how to cook- that wasn't actually part of their training.
They sat around the campfire, the sandstorm man a few meters away.
He looked at them; they were happy and smiling, munching on turnip and drinking water. He felt thirsty at the thought of water, and walked into the desert. He stopped in front of a cactus tree and felt the sandstorm begin to calm. He was learning, slowly but surely, and soon he would get the hang of it.
He only had a few seconds left. Nico quickly took out his knife, plunging it into the cactus's thick stump. Then, placing a small woven grass basket under the cut, he took out the knife and watched as water began to seep from the cut.
He drank his fill and the sand started to move again. He looked up at it, watching as the desert cactus slowly disappeared behind the whirlwind of sand around him. He reached out with his hand, slowly towards the sand-
And brought it back quickly as he felt the ripping of skin. He looked at his finger; it was bleeding and there was grit in the wound. He cursed angrily, then quickly brought out a bandage and stuck it onto the finger.
The eye of the hurricane was alright, though. Sand flew in his face all the time, but it wasn't fierce and fast.
He walked on, the sandstorm moving with him.
Free gutted the boar and watched as it stumbled to the ground, blood gushing at the wound. It gave a loud screech, and the trees rustled as birds flew away from the scene. Free sighed, and gutted it again. It fell silent this time, only moaning softly and Free waited until it was still. A snake slithered and it's coils wrapped around a tree, watching as the man hefted the pig up with his one arm.
Where was he again? He could only recall landing in this wild forest a few minute ago…
A vibration in his left pocket stirred his memory, and he took the call.
"First?" an old voice called from the other end.
"Yep." he replied.
"You have the pig, right?" the Fourth said.
"Of course I do. Nice and fresh and dead." he grimaced as blood seeped from the wound down his back. It was difficult, carrying a pig and receiving a call at the same time. It took skill.
"Well come on then. Fifth is dying of starvation. No, I'm lying." And the call ended. Free looked at his cell, and he remembered where he was supposed to be. What he was supposed to do. Why he was doing it.
"C'mon boy, it'll only take a few more weeks. Then they let her go." he said to himself, and closed his eyes.
A few seconds later he was in the desert next to a startled Nico.
"Goodness gracious, boy." he grunted. "You're still in it?" The sandstorm man nodded sadly.
"Well let's go." he shrugged, and they headed towards the campfire.
A day ago…
He returned in the morning, the scythe by his side. A long red scar ran down the side of his face- not that he cared.
With a yawn, he let go of the weapon and smiled as it clattered to the ground, listening to the sound of a shriek as Spirit returned his human form.
"You said you wouldn't do that!" the scythe shouted.
"I only promised not to hurt you. You weren't hurt in your weapon form, were you?" Stein snickered, walking to the couch. "Pour me a cup of tea."
"WHAT?" Spirit screeched. "Don't you dare-"
"Go on." Stein smiled. "Or I'll hunt you in the night." His smile turned to an eerie grin, and Spirit obliged.
There was a knock on the door now, and Stein stood up suddenly. His eyes narrowed at first, wondering who it was.
"It's just me." Kid called out from behind the door, reading his thoughts. "Just your regular Shinigami."
Stein smiled, flinging the door open and enveloping Kid in a crushing hug, saying, "Kid! My favorite specimen!" The Shinigami winced at that.
"I heard it went badly."
"Not that badly." Spirit said. "I managed to find her location, but the minute I snuck into her house she knew I was there. Stein tried to ambush her, but-" he glared at Stein. "He ambushed the wrong spot."
"I missed out on the practice, that's all." Stein pouted. "I didn't do too badly."
"Did you find the Six?" Kid said, sipping on his cup of warm tea. The meister-weapon duo bobbed their heads in unison. "Good."
"Their base has been located in one of the ancient pyramids, somewhere in the middle of the desert. It's underground though, so it'll be hard to find with just the two of us."
"Not a problem. I'll send four of the Spartoi with you. I'm sure they'll be of big help." Kid smiled reassuringly. Spirit smiled back, hoping that it would be Maka. The girl never really liked him, even though he was her father. He guessed he was a little perverted, but he did care about her very, very much.
"Basically," Stein rolled his eyes. "Spirit wants to ask if Maka's going to be travelling with us." Spirit squeaked.
"I thought nothing of the sort!" he replied.
"It's okay Spirit." Kid chuckled. "You said it out loud." Spirit looked at him, astonished. Had he really said all that? He'd been so immersed in his thoughts that he didn't even realize his mouth was acting on its own.
"She won't be coming with you," he said. "But I'm sending four others. Two meister-weapon pairs in total." Spirit wailed silently in his head.
"When will we leave?" he heard Stein say. The meister always wanted to go somewhere, outside, inside a cave, on a deserted island, next to a dead body, ugh! It annoyed Spirit to the very core.
"Tomorrow, at noon." Kid said. "You have no time to waste."
"Fine." Spirit glared daggers at him until he left the room, and shut the door.
Suddenly the bedroom burst open and Marie tumbled out.
"Stein?" she frowned and stood up. "What on earth are you doing drinking tea at 2am?"
"I'm leaving tomorrow." he shrugged. She nodded slowly, and murmured a greeting to Spirit before returning back to bed.
"Women." Stein rolled his eyes. "Always asking silly questions."
The dreamscape encounter.
"Maka!" She called out to her but she wasn't loud enough because the loud voice of a boy echoed throughout the dark space, and she saw her best friend and a woman she didn't know she could see a claw reaching out for Maka's hands and-
She was running away from a huge lumbering beast, running back and forth through winding corridors and empty pavements until she could see a door in front of her, a door that was nice and grey-
So she opened it and slammed it behind her. The roar of the mighty beast faded away and she sighed contently. Her shallow breath slowed and her heart started to beat normally.
She could hear noises now- the sound of a boy and a woman.
"The sandwich smells good, doesn't it?" she heard the woman say. She frowned, trying to make sense of the situation and then decided she might as well take a closer look.
And she stepped into the room- it was small and cube-like, with a jelly-like mass at the center of the room. She could see the woman- and Black*Star?
What is he doing here? She wondered. I don't- and she saw him open his mouth to eat a sandwich.
"Black*Star!" She called out to him before he could take a bite. Her voice echoed around the room.
"What-" Black*Star spluttered.
"We have to get out of here." she could suddenly feel the presence of the beast- he knew she was here. They had to get out, get out, get out, before the beast came. Why was there a beast?
"Who are you?" Tsubaki turned her head and saw her, the woman who ruined her steady wavelength: the witch.
"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. She reached out for the first thing in her head. "And why are you targeting meisters?" She remembered her more clearly now, that she was the one ho had tried to take Harvar away from Ox. She almost killed him.
"What are you talking about, stupid girl?" the woman scoffed at her. "I don't understand you at all."
"I saw you in someone else's dreams. I saw you." Tsubaki narrowed her eyes. She was the woman in Maka's dream. She could see her clearly now, the claw hands and the claw hat. She hadn't worn the hat during the fight.
"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.
"Nothing." Tsubaki muttered under her breath.
Suddenly the world went wild- Tsubaki stumbled and almost lost her footing-
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. She was a weapon, and Black*Star was her meister.
"Hey Tsubaki stop that! You're going to get hurt!" Black*Star yelled.
"You little brats…" The witch rose, and Tsubaki could see a sort of energy emanate from her. "I won't let you get away!"
"We should get going Black*Star!" Tsubaki shouted. "Come on!"
"Where are we going?" he screeched as she pulled him along.
"No time to explain!" Tsubaki screamed back at him. "Just come with-"
And then she saw something out of the corner of her eye.
A cannon the size of a bear, massive and crackling with energy- it was the bear from the fight, from the fight they fought only a day ago and it was here to kill-
It's coming towards us. She thought.
"Eat this, Star clan boy." the witch sneered.
"Black*Star!" Tsubaki yelled and reached out for him but he stepped in front of her and-
She woke up to the sound of heavy panting, and jolted upright. A monitor was beeping into her ear- painfully reminding her of her close encounter with temporary deafness.
She looked to her right and saw Black*Star and Maka. Maka looked at her, eyes full of concern and then she remembered.
"Where's my father?" she said, getting out of the blankets. Nigus gently pushed her back down ["You're not well rested yet, my dear," she said.] but she struggled back up.
"He's alright." Black*Star said between his teeth. He was still doing pushups now; sweat was pouring down his backside and made his clothes damp. "He's doing fine."
She relaxed, loosened up her tense shoulders and sighed.
"I think I had a dream." as soon as she said that, Maka rushed up to her immediately.
"What was it?" She asked. "Was it anything like ours?"
"Y-Yes," Tsubaki stammered. "In fact, I think it was yours." then she pointed at Black*Star. "And his too."
"What about me?" Black*Star said suddenly, and he plunked himself next to Tsubaki, dismissing her protests of 'you shouldn't sit here Black*Star' 'you're dirty Black*Star' 'Black*Star you're sweating on the bed'.
"I missed you, by the way." Black*Star pulled her into a crushing hug. Tsubaki would've enjoyed it more if he wasn't sweating like crazy, but she liked it nonetheless. He wasn't the kind of guy to hug people, so something like this was important.
"Thank you." She smiled. "Now I've got something to share."
Lindsey Garett, professional photographer?
She woke to the sound of birds at her window, trudged to her bathroom and whipped out her toothbrush from behind the tall sink. She watched herself smear the gooey toothpaste onto her toothbrush, and then examined her teeth in the mirror as she brushed and brushed and brushed.
She slowly trudged down the stairs – still in her pajamas – and listened to the radio as she munched on some cereal. It was the same thing over and over again, the same broadcasts and songs, a whole lot of suspicious activity everywhere and every minute, 'be careful at night' shows and a lot of jiggery-pokery. Jiggery-pokery. She giggled. It was a funny word.
So, finding herself with a Sunday off, she decided to take out her camera. She examined the pictures she took that evening, and the videos as well.
She watched the movements the witch took, the way she handled each and every Spartoi like they were toys- and there was the moment when she was knocked over by the bear. At first she thought she was going to get killed, but he didn't want her. He only wanted to protect his 'mother'. Oh dear.
"There's the Shinigami." She said to herself as she poked the camera screen. He was weaker than she thought, and then she replayed the scene where the lightning struck the witch. She paused at that bit, examining all their expressions- the exact minute when the Spartoi woke from their trance, when the other girl stabbed the witch with the weapon boy, and when the bear roared, and the witch screamed, and-
She narrowed her eyes, pressing her face closer to the screen. The witch was fondling one of her baubles at that minute, and afterwards- she pressed play and the witch and bear disappeared completely- gone.
She strolled to the living rom and plunked onto the sofa, reaching out for the telephone. She dialed a number and waited.
"Cora." She said when the receiver picked up the phone. "I got the footage."
"How are they?" Cora Devine replied. "Are they any good?"
Lindsey Garett smiled, and said, "Almost as good as us." The girl on the other end of the receiver paused, contemplating. After a while she coughed into the phone,
"Tell Free." Cora replied, "And call the Shinigami." she hung up.
Lindsey sighed, and then dialed his number. She adjusted her voice slightly, and hummed quietly to herself, waiting for the phone to be picked up.
"Who is this?" Someone said curiously.
"H-hi." Lindsey mumbled in a faux voice. "U-um… This is the p-professional photographer…"
"Oh." Kid replied. Did he give her his number? He couldn't remember doing that.
"Give me a moment." and the receiver went silent. Kid called on Liz and Patty and they came running to his assistance.
'Elizabeth!" he barked. "Did you give that photographer my phone number?"
Liz frowned, and shook her head. "You mean Garett? I don't think so." Kid thanked her and returned to the call. "How did you get my phone number?" He asked suspiciously.
"I um… called your school reception and they gave it to me. You're 'headmaster' now, aren't you?" Lindsey said in a 'so obvious' voice.
"Um yeah, alright." Kid paused. "What do you want?"
"W-well…" Lindsay lowered her voice and said softly. "I was w-wondering if you and your weapons could meet me somewhere, and have lunch? I mean, there's this great photo-shoot thing and I'm thinking of taking you guys along since you're s-such a good model…" Lindsay murmured. "If you don't mind…" she trailed off and waited for his answer. He replied almost instantly with the words, "Yeah sure, what time?"
She was surprised by his trust in her. She would've thought he wouldn't have agreed so quickly.
"12 o'clock today at D…Deathbucks?" she said hesitantly, looking at the café's coupon in her other hand.
"Elizabeth!" She could hear the Shinigami call over his weapon. "We're going to DeathBucks for lunch. Bring Patty."
"Thank you so much!" she said into the phone, and hung up quickly. She smiled- her 'shy photographer' voice wasn't perfect yet, still needed altering but still… It was good enough to fool Death the Kid, right?
Perhaps...
"Kid!" Elizabeth said crossly as Death the Kid knocked on the door for the fourth time. "Kid, I'm not finished changing yet!"
"But you've been in the room for half an hour!" Kid groaned. "Just throw something on!" She ignored the Shinigami and looked to her sister for an answer.
"Patty," She asked. "Do I look better in red or green?"
"Just wear your cowgirl outfit sis!" Patty said. Liz shook her head and replied, "But that's in the wash. I need something else."
She ran her fingers through multiple layers of clothing hanging inside her closet, and slowly reached in for a low neck T-shirt and denim jeans.
"Maybe this one…" she paused for a moment and then slipped them on-
Kid couldn't take it any longer and burst into the room.
"LIZ!" He shouted angrily. "THIS IS SHINIGAMI ABUSE!"
"What?" She raised an eyebrow.
"YOU MADE ME WAIT OUTSIDE YOUR ROOM FOR HALF AN HOUR WHEN YOU ALREADY HAD YOUR SHIRT ON!"
"Excuse me?" Liz said. "I didn't ask you to wait for me outside. You could've just left."
"I CAN'T JUST LEAVE MY WEAPONS AT HOME! And… we're late." he stopped ranting and hurried out the room.
Elizabeth shrugged and followed behind, Patty at her side.
"Why Deathbucks?" Liz sighed. "We've been here thousands of times."
"Because we're meeting someone there." Kid huffed, stomping up the steps to the café. "And it isn't polite to refuse an invitation from a lady. Even if she isn't symmetrical."
They entered the café; tinkling chimes alerted the manager that a customer had arrived. He waved to them jauntily (He recognized both weapons as they had worked in his café before.) before returning to his table.
Kid scanned the room for the girl- there she was, sitting alone sipping tea at the farthest corner of the room. He took Liz's arm and dragged her with him to Lindsey Garett's table.
"Hello there." she waved to them and the three sat down. "We have things to discuss." She didn't bother hiding her real voice now- she could tell from the Shinigami's expression that he knew she was behind a disguise all along. She was… not a photographer. She had experience with cameras, obviously, but by no means a professional camerawoman. It seemed as though her professional photographer voice didn't work as well as she wanted- but no matter.
"What do you want?" He asked slowly. A waited brought him the menu- as well as a small slip of paper.
He read it slowly.
Do not do anything suspicious (e.g bring Garett out of the café) or you and your weapons will be dealt with.
It chilled him to the core- not that they were threatening him, but the fact that they were threatening the Thompson sisters as well.
"Nothing much." The customers close to their table stopped talking and silently ate their food. The waiter bowed and took the menu away as well as the slip of paper. "Just need you to help out." Lindsey smiled, and leaned across the table, looking at Kid in the eyes.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"I'm Lindsey Garett." She said matter-of-factly. "Professional 'photographer'."
"And help out for…" Kid waited for her answer. He could feel Liz and Patty go tense.
"We work for Free." Lindsey said. "Free and Eruka. Over the past year they've been forming a group for people like us… It's sort of like a gang…club." she corrected and drew back. Kid furrowed his brow.
Free was a good man… At first he seemed like an enemy to the DWMA, but overtime he aided the Spartoi and even saved Maka's father and Mrs. Marie from the Black Blood. Kid had asked for his assistance in rebuilding Death City, but Free had plans of his own. He took Eruka with him and they disappeared into the desert- that was the last they saw of him.
"Anyway." she cleared her throat. "Eruka's been captured. Taken by another group stronger than our own. We've only just started, and our new recruits aren't powerful enough to take on those who attacked her."
"Where do we come in?" Liz interrupted. "Are we helping you rescue Eruka?"
Lindsey nodded. "Free told us about you. Said that the Shinigami would help."
"Why should I help you?" Kid said.
"Because Eruka is your former ally. She's a friend of the Shinigami-"
"Friend?"
"Acquaintance," Lindsey Garett rolled her eyes. "Of the Shinigami and she would prove to be useful in the coming battle."
"Battle?" Patty spoke up. "Are we beating anyone up?" the girl disregarded Patty's question.
"Help us, and we'll give you information." Lindsey finished. Kid looked down, thought about the deal and then,
"What kind of information?" Kid asked. "I honestly doubt it'll be useful to us right now. I'm quite sure you don't know who we're dealing with." Lindsey looked at him strangely, her eyes a mixture of anger and confusion.
"Ah, I see now." Lindsey stood. "You're still in your ignorant little world compromised of Spartoi and school."
"What did you say?" Kid stood as well, his face contorted with anger. "IGNORANT?"
"You heard me." Lindsey snarled. "Ignorant. You think you've got the situation down and everybody's safe now- don't look at me like that- And you're still throwing stupid parties in a crisis. You don't know who's died and who's alive, you aren't aware of the backstreet bad guys just around the corner and the people they mess with, you cry about your father but not everybody else's and you're already going to leave Death City when your people need your help." She gasped out of breath and stopped, her heart hammering inside her lungs. She was foolish, insulting the Shinigami, especially since she mentioned his father. Stupid, stupid, stupid! The girl thought to herself. But she couldn't hold it back, it was a boiling rage inside that caused her to strike.
Patty gasped in shock, as if something horrible had just happened (Well I guess something horrible did, but not the horrible she expected). Kid slowly sat back down, and Lindsey did the same, ignoring the stares they got from other customers in the café [A/N Just a reminder that not everyone in the café is part of Lindsey's group!]
"…Sorry." Lindsey awkwardly apologized.
"How do you know all these things?" Kid said after a while. "Have you been monitoring us?"
"Ever since day one of Eruka's disappearance, yes." Lindsey sighed. "I also recorded your fight with the witch."
"Why didn't you help us?" Liz said.
"Because I obviously should have since you're my best friends!" She said sarcastically. "Of course I didn't help you, not my business anyway. I was only there to see if you were good enough."
"And were we?" Liz asked. Lindsay waved her hands around, gesturing to the room.
"Well what do you think?" she said. "Why else would I bring you here? I you weren't worth it, I wouldn't have wasted even a second of my time with you."
"Hey, that wasn't very nice." Liz snapped.
"I don't have time to be nice." Lindsey shot back. "My friend is in a dungeon and might die. I can't be nice all the time."
"A-" Liz stared at the table embarrassed. "Alright then, we'll help you." she prodded Kid in the rib. "Right Kid?" The Shinigami said nothing, just stared at the girl across from him.
"Who are you?" Kid said.
"Not someone you know." Lindsey shrugged. "Now do we have a deal or not?"
"Why should I trust someone with my weapon's lives, when I don't even know who or what they are?" The Shinigami said in a lower voice. "What if you don't work for Free or Eruka? What if you decide to kill us the minute we walk out of the café?"
"Oh, you'll trust us." Lindsey said with a smile, and reached for something in her pocket. She took out a small circular mirror and tapped it three times. Free's face materialized on the screen. He was sleeping soundly.
"Free!" She said sharply and the man woke up with a jolt, and then took out a mirror identical to the one Lindsey was holding.
"Garett?" Free rumbled. "I told you not to bother me-" he stopped mid-sentence when he saw Death the Kid, and his eyes widened in recognition.
"Death the Kid?" he said in amazement.
"Oh my Shinigami…" Kid muttered under his breath. "It's Free." He hadn't seen the man since the end of the Kishin. Kind of a long time ago.
"Kid, I know this is a bad time to be asking for your help but Eruka's in danger." Free said in a low voice, then said to Lindsey, "Have they agreed to the plan yet?"
"Still hasn't." Lindsey shrugged, then turned to Kid saying, "But will you now?"
"I- I don't know." Kid stammered. "I need to stay in the city right?"
"Actually, you don't." Free said. "I don't know much, but I do know that a kid like you shouldn't even be allowed to take over a city, even if he is the heir to his father's position."
"Then who would be next in charge?" Kid bit his lip, frowning.
"Your head Professor, perhaps?" Lindsey said. "Or if you have a deputy head master…?"
"In that case, Spirit would be after your father." Elizabeth said.
"Then you gotta tell him to stay. If he's next in charge of the school and city, then he shouldn't leave." Free suddenly looked up- "Holy-"
"Who's this?" Someone else popped up in the screen and met face to face with Death the Kid. She had short chestnut hair and brown eyes, with a mark on her left cheek. Kid look at her astonished and they stared at each other for a second- then the connection was cut off and the mirror turned blank.
"Damn." Lindsey scowled and put the mirror back into her knapsack.
"Who was that?" Elizabeth questioned. "One of your men?"
"No…" Lindsey sighed. "It's a long story."
"Make it short then." Kid leaned back and crossed his arms. Lindsey nodded and explained.
"Free's infiltrated the group 'Six' and killed the member called 'First', replacing that man with himself. He's currently using his powers of illusion to disguise himself as that man. That girl you saw just now was one of the Six."
"Wow." Patty whistled. "Cool." And after a moment, "Is he gonna beat the Six up too?" Lindsey laughed and shook her head.
She looked back at Kid- and almost jumped in her seat. He was staring at the mirror as if it was a miracle, and he grasped his own face like he was fortunate to be alive. She had a feeling he was going to accept her proposal now.
"We accept." he said, still staring into deep space. Yep. She was right.
"Great." Lindsey smiled widely. "And just to make sure…" she whipped out a sheet of paper and pen, sliding it across the table to the weapon/meister trio.
"You'll need to sign this as proof that you voluntarily agreed to assist us in the rescue of Eruka Frog." Kid nodded absentmindedly and signed the paper, but making sure that each letter was perfect.
"When do we start?" Liz said anxiously.
"Tomorrow." Lindsey replied, taking back the document and placing it in her bag. "Although we don't have much time left, Cora and I still need to work some things out with the team."
"Team?" Patty said. "Who else is coming?"
"Myself and my meister." she replied. "We're organizing the operation 'Rescue Eruka' after all." Kid stood and hurriedly dragged Liz and Patty to their feet.
"Sorry," he said to Lindsey. "But if Spirit stays then I need to get to him fast and tell him. He's leaving Death City in around 20 minutes."
"Go." Lindsey said, and thrust him a piece of paper. "On there is the time and location where we will be meeting you to start our rescue operation. I really hope you'll be there." Kid nodded and tucked the piece of paper in his pocket. Patty waved her last farewell before she disappeared from the room.
As soon as the trio left the café Kid summoned Beelzebub and the Thompson sisters changed into their demon weapon forms. They raced home as fast as they could, dodging the occasional passersby and streetlamp.
At last they reached their destination, and Kid ran up the steps to the DWMA, bursting through the doors to meet Stein and Spirit. Luckily they were still there, just about to set out. Kilik and Ox was with them, and the weapons in their demon weapon form.
"Spirit!" Kid gasped out of breath. "Spirit, you can't go. Let Marie go instead."
"What? Why not?" he said. Kid dragged him away while Stein looked at them with a puzzled expression on his face.
"Our former allies are in danger and people need our help. The Thompson sisters and I need to leave Death City and accompany them, but if we leave then no one will be in charge. Although we're in a rather dire situation, someone still needs to run the school." Kid explained.
"But the underground base!" Spirit exclaimed.
"No, no, no." Kid put a hand on his shoulder. "They have even more valuable information than all of ours put together."
"How?" Spirit asked incredulously.
"Remember Free?" Spirit nodded solemnly. "He's infiltrated the 'Six.' He practically lives in their underground base."
"Oh my god." Spirit said, shocked. "For how long?"
"We don't know, but whatever information they have, it's bound to be useful to us." Kid said. "So can you stay?" Spirit hesitated- then nodded slowly. Kid thanked him, then rushed off to the Death Mansion, head spinning. Spirit watched him, and slowly walked back into Lord Shinigami's room, where Stein, Kilik and Ox were waiting.
"So are you coming with us?" Stein asked. Spirit shook his head.
"I need to stay here. Kid's orders. You'll have to bring Marie with you." Stein nodded walked off, the two meisters following after him.
Spirit looked around the room- it was only him now. Only him and him alone. He walked up to Lord Death's mirror, and thought about him. Once in a while Spirit would accidentally talk to Lord Death, like he was still there. Although the two didn't always come to an agreement, Lord Death was one of his close friends apart from being his boss. Him not being there, well, it sort of bothered him a little.
Spirit unconsciously stroked the mirror's frame, and decided to call Maka. She would cheer him up.
A few seconds later a reflection of his daughter appeared on the mirror. She appeared to be in the hospital's bathroom.
"DAD!" She screamed. He shrieked.
"What!?" he said. "It's not like you're using the toilet!" She looked on angrily, and punched the mirror.
"What do you want?" she said crabbily. "No gifts, thank you. I've had enough lingerie from you."
"No, no." he laughed shakily and tried to act natural. But looking at his daughter just made him want to swoon, and praise her. "I just wanted to ask how you were doing." she didn't seem to trust him on that, and scowled in response.
"I'm alright." she said. "I'm going to leave now. Tsubaki's hurt." She waved a hand across the mirror and her reflection vanished, leaving him alone.
He sighed. He had hoped that his daughter would appreciate him more, but after all those incidents of buying perverted things and nose bleeding he wasn't the same ad he used to be. Now he was just her perverted dad.
Suddenly an idea popped up in his head. He took out something from his breast pocket- a piece of rumpled paper, and quickly wrote the number onto the screen. He squeezed his eyes shut and hoped she would be there.
"No." he heard her say, and before he had a chance to look at her she vanished. He sighed, and pressed his forehead against the mirror. He was alone now, no Lord Death, no Maka, not even Stein. Well at least Kami said something, even if it was just a simple word. He still remembered her fondly, as the truest love he ever had. No other woman would be as spectacular as she was.
But now she was gone.
"Why?" he whispered to the mirror. "Why am I so alone?"
The mirror did not reply.
Slumber…
Siesta Clandestine sighed and sank into her armchair. She was floating in her little world again, created the black armchair and a black TV, which only showed a black screen. The only thing with color was herself and her pretty pet. She closed her eyes, trying to relish the peaceful atmosphere.
But no, she couldn't. She was still in Gear 3. Although tired and exhausted from yesterday's fight with the Spartoi, she was angry. Her fists were still clenched and her eyes were still filled with fury.
She lowered her head and blindly reached for something behind her: a gear drilled into the back of her neck. There was an arrow painted onto one of the gear's edges, and a round circular plate beneath the gear with a full set of numbers ranging 1-10. It currently pointed at the number 3.
"Which one this time, Slumber? I think seven is a good choice…"
"F-fi…ve." Slumber growled.
"Alright, I'll do seven-" Slumber roared and stamped his feet, implying that the number seven should definitely not be chosen.
"Why do you want it to be five?" Siesta whined, her fingers feeling around for two sides of the gear so that she could spin it.
"Fi-ve…" Slumber growled menacingly, and she complied.
"You won't be the same." She reminded, and he nodded. She twisted the gear and it clicked soundly. A moment passed and she fell to the floor, and the glass of water she was holding hit the ground and smashed into pieces. Across from her, Slumber growled again, and suddenly he started to change. His front legs disappeared, and the bounteous fur coat began to fade away, revealing a thick brown jacket. Hands replaced the front legs and the bear's crouching position became a standing one. In Slumber's place was a man, with a slouch and depressing eyes. He looked away as Siesta started to twitch.
"Agh." Siesta groaned, and cracked her knuckles. "I hate shifting gears." She felt much more relaxed now, and faster… yes, a useful advantage. But as she stood up the weight in her hands seemed to have vanished, and she just knew that the unimaginable power she had only 12 hours ago was gone, speed replacing her strength instead.
"Life." She muttered. "Why can't I just have everything?" She looked up to see the man, his back to her.
"Oh." she wrinkled her nose. "You look horrendous." and she walked away into the darkness. The man followed her, and watched as she created thousands of things- from remote controls to buildings, to skyscrapers and then clouds.
"How come you didn't do this before?" he said. He had a low, rough quality to his voice.
"Couldn't is the better word." she replied. "Slumber, not everyone gets everything they want. I lost the strength I used to have." she clenched her teeth, but couldn't find the anger in herself a few moments ago. All that was left was her sad self and her low-spirited bear-turned-human.
"But the buildings." he said, and reached out to touch one.
"Not everyone can see them, Slumber. It's just you and me." She laughed, and Slumber watched as a bell tower crumbled to dust.
"And what have you gained?" he asked.
"Abnormal speed, higher magic tolerance and more magical skill." she said, and examined her fingernails. They were practically pulsing with energy; each twitch of a finger made her shudder.
Slumber walked up to her, reached out to touch her shoulder but she shrank away. He sighed, and then sat down on a nearby stool. She turned that one to dust as well, and felt the satisfying bump as he hit the ground.
"We're running out of time." he said, unaware of the throbbing pain that would soon settle on his behind. She growled and kneeled down, lowering her head and once again searching for the switch.
"I'll have to change into something more suitable for the both of us," she said. "What about Gear 8? That one makes me feel all sleepy."
"What will change?" he said. She didn't reply, simply trying to get a grip on the gear dial.
"Will I be human again?" he said sadly. She stopped fidgeting.
"What does it matter?" she replied harshly. "I am your mother, so do as I say-"
"You're really not." he said, and suddenly she felt his hand on hers, slowly prying her fingers off the gear's edged.
"Don't touch that." she snapped, and stumbled away from him, trying to shift gears again. She finally got her hands around the gear, and spun it so the dial landed on number 8. Again, she fell to the floor, but this time she hit the floor of reality. The black around her was gone, and her head rested against a carpeted floor. She was at home now, a small cottage in an alternate universe. Of course she wasn't given this room- switching between dimensions was an extremely difficult skill that she had no knowledge of- only the master knew how to do it. She relied on him to open the gateway between the two worlds.
Behind her Slumber roared in his cage. She turned around and shook her head, smiling at him. He didn't understand.
"You may not like it," she said and went up to him, "But it has to be like this." she went up to him and stroked his fur-
Then reeled back in shock as she stroked metallic skin. Electricity and fire shot up her arm and she yelped in pain, examining her hand as burns and bruises started to form. She looked up angrily and Slumber met her angry gaze with his. Siesta looked away and stormed off.
"You may hate me now," Siesta shouted to him as she left. "But we obey the master. So do as I say." with that she slammed the door behind her and went out the cottage. A lush forest surrounded her home, but she never really bothered exploring it. She was too busy to look at a few leaves and flowers.
"Ess." she turned around to see Slumber again, but in his human form.
"Don't call me that!" she said and stumbled away from him and reached for her dial- no, of course it wasn't there. It could only be used in her black dimension.
"How are you doing that?" she hissed. "Go back!" she threw a stick at him and he flinched. "Give me Slumber back!" He looked at her sadly.
"But I am Slum-" he jerked suddenly and a piece of fur popped out of his skin on his right arm. She laughed.
"That's right!" she jeered. "You have no place here, human." He looked up at her- his teeth were starting to change as well, but not as fast as the skin on his face. The larger jawbone caused his skin to split and blood spilled down his chin. He didn't flinch, merely gazed at her as his eyes turned black.
"Ess, it's me." he said and growled angrily. Fur started to grow around his face and his ears grew into furry round shapes.
"Grow, Slumber!" Siesta cackled. "Come back to me!" The bear roared and after a momentary flash of light it returned to its normal beast shape.
"Mo-Mo-" it grunted. Siesta smiled, and reached out for something in her pocket. She produced a cold, frozen soul and the bear sucked on it greedily.
"Yes darling?" she replied, and pat him on the head. "Don't worry. The human won't bother you anymore." Something sparkled below her and she gasped. A bauble around her neck was glowing brightly, trembling.
"Whatever." she said, and shoved the necklace into her shirt. Then, she took out her phone from her coat-pocket, and dialed a number.
"I need out…" she said into the microphone, and a vast black space appeared in front of her. It was round and circular, and through it she could see a pathway to the other universe.
"Come along dear," she said and hopped into the circle. She landed squarely on her feet, and looked down. Below was nothing but emptiness, much like her black dimension.
As she walked farther away from the cottage, Slumber growled again and dropped the solid soul, but she was out of earshot.
"Mo-Mo-" the letters were forced. He could hear in his throat, pushing their way into his mouth.
"Mo-Mothe-" he tried to swallow but it didn't work. At last he blurted the words out,
"Mother…" another beast took over and Slumber faded away. Another creature took his place. The bear with his voice.
"Mother…" the bear spoke once more and padded to his mommy.
The overlord speaks.
"What are you doing here?" Siesta muttered as she entered her master's home.
"I work for him." Medusa said. "Same as you." She flashed Siesta a small smirk.
"Happy to be back in your female form?" The sloth witch said. Medusa nodded happily, fiddling with the large braid she plaited. After spending a night at a bar she managed to seduce a drunken young woman, and finally got rid of the hideous manly figure she was attached to.
They entered the grand hall of the master's castle at the same time, eager to see their leader's face. Siesta had never worked under anyone before, she didn't quite remember being lead by anyone other than herself. She just did as she pleased, with Slumber at her side.
Sit.
The slithery voice of their leader made Siesta tremble, and she almost toppled over Medusa. Two chairs whooshed out from the darkness and rammed into the two witches, causing them to fall into the cushiony seats.
What do you have for me?
"If I may-" Siesta started.
"Well I'm quite well today," Medusa butted in, and the Sloth Bear witch shot her a dark look. "After evading the meister/weapon duo Spirit and Stein, I relocated to my old desert underground. I currently have a witch hostage there, where she cleans my bed sheets. She's trying to poison me, but she's actually really nice." A low rumble erupted from the darkness ahead, and Medusa assumed it was laughing.
"If I may." Siesta glared at Medusa.
Go on.
"After running away from the Spartoi-" Medusa chuckled at this point, and Siesta swung a fist at her. The snake witch dodged it expertly and smiled at her amusedly.
"As I was saying," Siesta carried on, "After escaping I went back to my little dimension and shifted gears again."
Which one?
"Gear 8." the darkness bobbed up and down.
Shift to seven.
"But Slumber doesn't-" The darkness shook and Siesta complied, resting her head back into the armchair-
Seven~
Siesta reappeared in the dark empty space, and Slumber looked at her with sad round eyes.
"What's the matter sweetie?" she said, stroking his fur. "The man isn't bothering you anymore, is he?"
He shook his head, and sat down. She knelt down as well, and once again reached for the gear in her neck. Her hands seemed awfully clumsy; she just couldn't get a hold of the gear's sides…
Finally she clicked Gear 7 into place, and crumpled to the ground.
"Don't-" She whipped her head around and saw the man again- He was quite disturbing really. He reached out a hand, trying to touch her but the witch shrank back. Her eyelids felt heavy and she knew she was going to lose consciousness soon.
"Go away-" she said and fainted.
The man sat there in the darkness and waited for her to wake up, but she didn't. He sighed. Gear 7 was one of the most difficult Gears to shift into.
Slumber?
He cocked his head to a side and turned around slowly. A woman was there, sitting cross-legged on a small armchair. She was a petite, nimble-looking woman, but her face implied that she was much stronger than what her appearance showed.
"Who are you?" he said dully. "Is this Ess?" he looked back at the witch, but she was still asleep. She would be asleep for a long time, until she shifted gears again.
I'm not Ess. The woman hopped off the seat- she seemed very light. When she jumped it was almost as if she floated down.
"Who are you?" he asked again. "If not Ess, than who?"
My name is… Suddenly something vibrated in her left pocket, and she looked at it in surprise.
She dug deep into her shirt and took out a small cell-phone. Slumber frowned. Usually cell-phones didn't work in the black space. There was no service, not unless Siesta created some.
Ugh. She looked up at Slumber's puzzles expression. Family matters.
She flipped it open- he could see now why it worked. This wasn't a cellphone- it was a mirror of some sorts. One for makeup, when applying lipstick.
Slumber nodded solemnly. He knew these things; living with a witch for over 800 years taught him about the many pleasures woman took part in. Dressing up was a very common pleasure as well.
No. She said at the mirror and clamped it shut. A sigh emanated from her mouth and she sat back down again. Sorry. She looked up at Slumber.
"You can." he finally realized.
Sorry, what?
"You can… 'be'." he said, gesturing at her body. "Only I can do that in here." she laughed at him.
It took a while. She said. And I'm not fully here. You can tell by my voice. It was a float-y, ghost-like voice.
"Have you been…" he made small gestures with his hands, as if capturing a small insect. She chuckled and nodded.
I'm trapped in her necklace, yes. And I need your help to escape.
"I don't know." he shifted uncomfortably. "Ess won't let me." he looked at Siesta again. She was still sleeping.
If you do, I can fix her. He stiffened at the mention of fixing.
He wanted her to be fixed.
He did not want to be her pet anymore.
After a moment of hesitation, he turned to the woman. She was flickering now- she couldn't hold her image here any longer. He wondered if Siesta would notice something.
"What is your name?" he said.
A frown replaced her smile.
I am different now.
I am not the woman I once was.
He shrugged.
My name…
I think I used to be called…
Kami.
She smiled before flickering into nonexistence.
Sososo sorry there's a lot of storytelling going on. Not much action right now, but there might be some in the next chapter (Which I am currently starting ;3)
R&R guys~