This chapter was originally meant to be part of the previous one, but I underestimated just how long the actual text would be. I swear, this entire chapter was only like two paragraphs in my outline notes. I wanna try to see if I can rush the last Death City chapter out by the end of the month because, honestly, I have been so out of Soul Eater for so long, it is a struggle getting through this section. I just keep second guessing myself over how innacurate everything is. I usually try to save the final world chapter for the big boss, but we're heading into two fights now thanks to this rearrangement. Who knows how long the last part will be.

It had been one mishap after another since they'd entered this world. It started with the typical Heartless mob, then it followed into a rude order to leave, then Eva of all people popped up with the ability to kill them all with her own hands, and to put a cherry on top, that Crona kid not only made them meet their match, but now they were off chasing them down in a Crona-Eva double whammy. It was a cliche statement, claiming things were going from bad to worse, but there wasn't a better way to describe the downward spiral this whole adventure had been so far. It was as if the town itself caught up on it as well. The bright and colorful streets grew all the more glum and sinister by the setting nightfall, and the encroaching Heartless that spawned aplenty with each step towards the academy ensured to make the mood the worst it could possibly be. By the time the group finally made it to the academy's quad, their mouths were left agape at the dreadful sight ahead.

There were more Heartless abound than there would've been students on a more bustling day at school. It was like staring at a pool that was being prepped for use and infected with disgustingly large vats of ink. Maka and Soul had suspected that Lord Death and the faculty were downplaying the threat that had entered their world, and this sight was the horrid confirmation.

There was no use chasing after Eva and Crona at this point. For whatever reason, those two were let through the crowd like VIP guests, just zipping right into the school building while the surrounding Heartless carefully laid out a path for the pair. The moment Cody or the others tried to push through, those damn monsters clamped right back up and blocked them off in a harsh thicket. All they could do now was assess the situation and do their best not to get dragged down by this new conundrum they unwittingly fell into. In the far distance, they could hear the vague movements of academy students trying their best to fend the crowd away from the rest of the town. And in the near distance, right here in the square, they could hear Kid diligently shooting the Thompson sisters in every direction and Black Star swinging Tsubaki wildly. Boy, could they hear Black Star.

"AaaaawwwwWWWWWW YEAH!" The boisterous ninja boy bellowed. "This is more than enough! The great Black Star is gonna wipe these things all out, and you'll all be thanking me as the guy who took down all the Heatness!"

"This isn't the time, Black Star!" Tsubaki's shrill cry reverberated in the wind as her partner continued to fling her around in her kusarigama form.

"What happened?!" Cody and the rest shouted at the others for answers, but Loudred's booming voice was the only one anyone could pick up in this uproar. Kid had to scoot himself towards the six himself just to be able to give his reply.

"We caught an eavesdropping witch, and she sent all these things out here like a tyke bomb."

A witch? They all collectively thought. Of course, they assumed that must've meant Medusa, but she was nowhere in sight. In fact, there was only one other person there who could've been this so-called witch, and she most certainly wasn't Medusa. She was the short girl in red who stood in the center of the field, completely unperturbed by the chaos around her. Her massive twintails blended seamlessly with the blackened Heartless walls. Indeed, this wasn't Medusa. This was that girl. The one who had caused them trouble back at True Cross Academy. It was Red's master, Ashley. The witch.

Her again? Cody bit his lip. His last memory of Ashley was her fury from having just been vomited on. By him. Hopefully she forgot about that. Yes, maybe, please?

Who was he kidding? No one would forget something like that. She was there for his head.

Right on cue, her eyes locked on to him with glistening flames of vengeance. Her stare was an attack itself. He could feel his heart jump in fear as his breath halted and a single scorching cold sweatdrop dripped onto his brow. That was her first move. And her second? A smile. The most dastardly of smiles. A crooked Cheshire grin with the energy of a killer out for blood. Her third move was the quick flick of her wand. A bursting blast of magical energy shot right at Cody who was left paralyzed from her previous attacks. The poor nerd was knocked straight down.

"Hey, easy there!" Loudred caught him just before he hit the ground, but he was unable to shield his friend from the second blast. Or the third. Both were targeted specifically at him. By the fourth blast, her sixth attack, he alone had been propelled away from the group and into a more secluded part of the area. Ashley lightly tapped her Mary Janes to the ground and slowly made her way towards him in a dead silent strut. In any other situation, these were the mere steps of a tired schoolgirl. Right now however? This wavering and almost ominous walk was her seventh attack.

The next details were a bit blurry. He could've sworn he tried to apologize for the vomit incident again, but he wasn't sure. Because the next thing he knew, he was back on his feet and running. Her anger was overwhelming. It would've been foolish to stay put. The Heartless density be damned, he slashed and pushed his way through entire troves of those things just to get away. He could make out vague details of the scene from the corner of his eyes. The others followed his example, just continuing to plow vigorously into the seemingly never ending crowd. Loudred roared and ravaged on, Al tossed them around with his mind, the DWMA students continued their raucous game of body count, and even Maka and Soul carried on despite Soul's obvious fatigue from his still fresh injury. If they kept this up, they might be able to clear it all out. But there had to be a source, and it had to be the witch. And he was too scared to even face that witch head on.

"Hey, look, maybe we can talk this out," he called out behind him in between leaps. It was a gut instinct comment. He knew he really shouldn't negotiate with one of that Maleficent woman's lackeys, but at that moment, the scorn of a teenage girl was somehow more terrifying than the threat of the Heartless themselves. "That was an accident! A really, really unlucky accident. I, I can replace your dress if you want. Just please stop. It's really hard to run through all this, you knoOOOOHHH!"

Cody came rolling like a soccer ball into an open clearing after accidentally tripping over Mokona. The rabbit creature's typical misplaced laughter swirled around, and all he could think about was how he was going to have to toughen up and finally face this terrifying girl face-to-face. If not for his own sake, for the sake of a certain friend.

Despite her petite frame, he could still feel the tremors of her feet nearing inch by inch. With a heavy heart and heavy breath, he bravely took his stand. "Back at True Cross," he started. Her face remained the same stone cold glare. She probably assumed he was attempting to apologize for the puke again. "What was that? With Red."

She stopped dead in her tracks.

"He kept talking about how great you were the whole time. The little guy's heartbroken right now. I know you're on the villain side or whatever, but maybe if you can just give something to reassure him—"

Her steps came back as she charged up to him with the intent to kill. She snapped her wand out, and with a quick flick, a red celestial beam burst from the gem's tip, morphing the stick's form into a mighty sword. When she flung the blade at his face, he was saved by a mere reflex jump. He could physically see strands of his bangs flutter away from the cut that could've taken his eyes along with them. She was angrier than when she was just throwing her tantrum over the vomit and accompanying humiliation. The two launched themselves into a clanging sword fight, and each swing of hers was matched with some of the most intense ferocity he'd seen. Yet somehow, he didn't feel the same sense of fear he did being chased down by her earlier. Her movement had reached its peak terror, but there was something else about them. They felt frustrated. Desperate.

Perhaps even a cry for help.

As the duel dragged on, Ashley's grip and movements turned all the more feral. She wanted this all to end as soon as possible, even if it meant decapitating her opponent in the process. No, that's pretty much what she wanted from the start. Her strikes became more targeted. She didn't just aim for him; she aimed for his neck, his face, his scalp. Cody's panic started to set back in. He could only maneuver around her in close range for so long. She wasn't the only one who wanted this encounter to close.

The young witch swung once more, and in response, he twirled to the back and dropped to his knees. If Ashley were thinking more rationally, she would've noticed just how strange an action this was, but her current state prompted her to keep moving like a cog. So when Cody turned right back with Mokona in his hands, the rabbit's head gem fizzing and glowing at a dangerous capacity, she couldn't bring herself to even conjure up a small shield. Crimson puff boomed out of Mokona's head and sent her flying into the air and, quite literally, out of this world. Yet another humiliating defeat, but…

…At least it was over.

Finally with time to breath, Cody assessed the area. She was the reason all these Heartless had clustered beyond their typical capacity. So now that she was gone, why were they all still there? His sizable crew still continued to fight them off with all their might, but the crowd didn't disperse at the very least. What was going on?

…!

That other witch. Where was she?

"I came here for backup and she still couldn't get herself together. Why do we even bother with that girl?"

Medusa was back, taunting them with that venomous smirk of hers from above. Of course she'd be the one to pick up the reins. Cody did the only thing he could at the moment; he fruitlessly tossed his Keyblade in her direction only for it to sail through the air and stab a hapless Wight Knight instead. He cringed. He could feel that wretched woman get off on his screwup just on instinct, and he couldn't even bring himself to shift his unease into anger.

"Would you like another go?" She teased him with a sultry voice as she flew herself closer to the school's entrance.

It was such obvious bait, but he was too caught up in a flustered stammer to look away. He resummoned his Keyblade and watched it once again miss its mark miserably. That sick grin of hers only grew wider and wider. He almost found himself gearing up for another humiliating round, and by the time he finally regained his composure, it was already too late. He gripped onto Mokona's body and begged his little friend for another long ranged attack, but any chance for the two to properly coordinate was interrupted by the bump and trip of nearby Heartless. It was now almost impossible to move around the area freely. The duo had to redirect their attention to this hapless mob just so they wouldn't die a useless death from trampling or drowning.

"It's overwhelming, isn't it?" They could barely hear her over the Heartless chatter. "The immense chaos in full display."

Even overwhelming would be an understatement. Night was upon them, and the flood of Heartless blended into an indecipherable blur. It became almost impossible to keep the flood from spreading. They could fight all they wanted, but they wouldn't be able to catch all the fumes that would leak out, nor would they be able to slip off and stamp out the leakages that began to form throughout the city. Medusa could barely contain her glee. These were the fruits of her labor. For months, she snuck around from right under the academy's nose and planted the seeds to this fateful day. By the time that idiotic reaper noticed something was amiss, it was already too late. Seeing him and his school's staff scramble around and pretend everything was fine and manageable was like watching a comedy act catered specifically to her. Only the finest entertainment worthy of a true witch.

"And we just need one more to join in," she lulled melodically to herself.

She snapped her finger.

It was hard to describe what happened next. The town was already eclipsed in the moonlit sky, yet that flick of her fingers brought upon a sudden sensation that they were encased in something even darker than night itself. Everyone in the vicinity froze. The Heartless grew restless. Whatever she did, she had triggered something in them.

The sky morphed into a sickly gray hue, and in the distance, screams sounded off into a demented chorus. The Heartless had successfully infiltrated themselves into every corner of Death City, and the hapless residents' last line of defense, the DWMA students and staff, were already running on fumes. Cody could feel every inch of his body freeze to ice. It was at this very moment it dawned on him that he might have just failed. This was it. This was the end. He was the Keybearer who was supposed to save all the worlds, and he screwed up. All of Yuffie's pep talk was for naught. Maybe things would've turned out differently if someone else was the Keybearer. Or maybe it would've all been the same. After all, apparently Keybearers were the keys to destruction themselves. That's what freaking Death said to his face. Perhaps it was his own strange way of coping, but his mind blocked out the noise in favor of going a mile a minute mulling over how his worst fears had been confirmed. The deafening doom grew by the second, but despite all that, there was still an inkling inside that begged for him to get ahold of himself. A voice that gripped onto his shoulders and wrung him frantically like a sauntering doll.

"What are you doing?!" He could feel that voice say. "It's not over! That bitch hasn't won shit!" He could feel her voice say.

Perhaps it was the sheer might of the voice's emotions itself that summoned the crackling bolt that split the air. Perhaps this voice's power was so immense, she had the strength to drag Death himself out to heed her bidding. No matter the reason though, the voice was right. Things were far from over.

Lord Death, the hulking phantom that neither resembled a living being nor skeleton, loomed over the town with a monstrously large scythe in hand and zipped towards the school, his own turf. That mascot-like skull mask he wore creased into vicious wrinkles, and his sing-song voice was almost unrecognizable in his gruff mumblings, no doubt relaying orders to his weapon partner. Finally, with Medusa in sight, he readied himself for what he thought would be the finishing blow that would put an end to this nonsense. He was Death after all. All this Heartless tripe was no match for him.

Medusa, the sadist that she was, clasped her hands joyfully as the scythe made its botched impact. The blade screeched against an invisible plane. The man who acted as the scythe could be heard gritting his teeth in pain while Death's face, normally completely unreadable from behind his mask, had faltered into mortified shock. Getting to see this right in front of her with her very own eyes was the real prize in this calculated calamity. A god of humanity's one absolute looked at her with defeat.

"My, I'd like to see Maleficent pull off a feat like this," she giggled softly to herself.

"What are you after?" He asked her. It was more of an instinctive gut reaction than an actual question.

"Oh, you know full well what it is," she glared. "Isn't that sad? You had months to prepare for this, and look where you are now. Just ordering people around as if you knew what you were doing, and the moment the key boy showed up, you shooed him off. Though with how pathetically he performed against Crona of all things, maybe he was all talk and no bite after all. Why, I might've even had a chance without that green hag's help. Maybe I should be the one calling the shots, hm?" She chuckled again. "That'll be the next goal I suppose. I'll wrap this all up first."

Medusa's spiel had done enough to anger Lord Death's scythe that he demanded the shinigami to try striking at her again. It seemed pointless with that force field in place, but there wasn't anything else they could do. He swung his scythe once more with enough force to smash down a wall, and this time, the blade flew through effortlessly. A violent shing sounded off in the decaying darkness, yet there was no reaping to be seen. The attack went through this time for a reason. Medusa was already long gone.

"Sir!"

The death god snapped back into reality through the calls of his students who had gathered at the school steps down below. He thought about their current situation. He thought about how he more or less strung all these poor kids along in a hapless endeavor. He thought to himself, it was time to come clean.

"Beneath the depths of the school," he began. "Is where Asura lies."

Confused murmurs erupted from Death's audience. Even his own scythe reacted in surprise.

"He's a being of madness that I trapped beneath the school a long, long time ago. He very nearly destroyed the entire world with his own hands. There was only one place I could think of that I thought would be enough to seal him off for good."

Having been shooed off once before by Death, Cody and friends timidly stood off to the side. But the way the shinigami spoke his last lines was like he had beckoned to them specifically. He knew they'd be the only ones to truly understand. And he was right. Their eyes all widened as they quickly put two and two together.

"You sealed him with the Keyhole?!" Cody shouted in disbelief, startling the students who were busy failing to piece everything together.

"Are you insane?!" Al gawked.

"Maybe so." They expected some kind of justification or anything, but the god instead admitted defeat in a solemn tone. He turned away from the students and looked down upon the outsiders. Beyond his mask, he held a humble and apologetic air. It was a complete one-eighty from his earlier attitude. "I suspect that's who she was after this entire time. I don't know how she was able to gain control over the Heartless, but it made her plan all the more easier. Who knows what will happen if Asura is unleashed. Who knows if Asura will stop at just our world."

Cody gulped. No orders were needed, and no hard feelings were left. They all knew what needed to be done and who needed to do it. The boy simply nodded with a determined and cocky grin and said, "We'll stop her. Don't you worry."

"Right," Death the Kid nodded in response. "And we'll stay behind and help level things out here."

"Aw, hell yeah," Black Star punched his fists together with a haughty cadence. "We'll take down five times the quota easily."

The liveliness Cody grew to expect from this crowd had regained its roots. Patty joined in on Black Star's enthusiasm while Liz and Tsubaki attempted to chide him for his skewed priorities. They expected Kid to agree with them only to hear him blabbering about the exact number of Heartless he'd need to take down to fulfill his hypereven needs. They were an odd and wild bunch, but Cody and friends knew that with them here, even a darkened night as deep as this one could come to an end.

The group of four started off towards the school's entrance. Knowing first hand exactly what lay ahead for them, they were maybe a bit more cautious in their steps than usual. But despite it all, they knew this was something they had to do. It was something only they could do.

"Walk even slower, why dontcha?" The four jumped in surprise over the gruff remark from Soul who had already power walked past them alongside Maka.

"You two?" Al asked quizzically.

"Yeah, us. So what?"

"Shouldn't you two stay back?" Cody asked uneasily.

"Yeah," Loudred continued. "Crona cut you up pretty bad back there."

"Well that's exactly why we're coming with you," Maka chirped in response.

There was no need to elaborate more. Those two were in the same boat as them. Up ahead was something only they could accomplish. The only question now was how any one of them planned to fulfill their goals.

With that, they took their first steps into the school.

Me: Hey, the Death City world story is a reinterpretation of an actual Soul Eater story arc. Maybe I should actually try to reread or rewatch the series just to make sure I'm getting the details right?

Me: Nah.