"This is the end of the book." The index stated. It turned to Elizabeth and her friends. "There are no more chapters, if he was in the book we would find him here." They were in the chapter of Greed, anything their hearts' desired would appear before them, except Kid apparently. The miesters and weapons were at a loss. Their whole journey, nothing they encountered so much as mentioned the young shinigami.
"Woah, woah; that can't be right." Elizabeth objected. "Shinigami-sama said that Kid would be moving towards the center of the book. If we're at the last chapter then we passed him." The index tilted his head.
"Books don't have centers, they have middles." The twin guns flanked the magical index, unable to corner him on an open plane such as this. Gold coins rained down from the sky and vanished in the ground.
"What are you talking about?" Patty shouted. "I've stood in the center, at chapter 4."
"No, you have not; you have read chapter four." The index corrected. "Chapters don't have centers, if they did, you wouldn't have been able to advance into the book." He floated up out of their reach and looked down at them, annoyed they had yet to take their leave. There was no need for such creatures in the greater collection.
"Well say there was a center." Tsubaki interjected. "If only I had a-" A sketch book and pen popped before her. Tsubaki smiled and grabbed the two. On the paper she drew seven lines and an arrow through them. "You see our passage through the book like so."
"Yes." The index agreed. Tsubaki flipped the page and drew a huge circle, with seven smaller circles inside like a target. "But say each chapter was like this for us. Each ring being a new chapter." She shaded the very center. "How would we get to the dead space here?" The spell thought.
"That would be somewhere in the back most pages I suppose, if it existed. That would be where the old one stays." The old one was an ancient magical being that chose to be contained within the book. "The only way to get there is by invitation." It tilted his head. "Well, this is the chapter Greed, what is it that you desire?"
"Hey had anyone seen Maka and Soul?" Black Star asked. The whole group stared at him. "What?"
"They are still in the chapter Sloth." The index said. There was an uneasiness amongst the teens. Once the top of their class, Maka and Soul should have been here waiting for them, not lingering chapters behind.
"Okay, thank you." He shrugged at the others, unoffended by their stares. "Jeez, is it a crime to wonder where your friends are?"
"...As I was saying," The index continued, "this chapter is based on want. If you want to find your friend, you should be able to find him from here." They nodded. The index swayed to the side. A hole opened up in the floor of the chapters. Black Star looked into the blackness. If Maka were here, she would probably have already jumped in without hesitation. While Liz cried the index floated about them. "It appears only one of you is allowed in."
"I'll go." Black Star stated.
"Black Star, no." Tsubaki called.
"No need to worry, I'm the great Black Star, after all... I'll definitely come back." Black Star chuckled. He stepped forward and fell through the hole. "Later! Kid'll do fine as a souvenir, right?"
Maka was trapped in a fierce battle within the chapter of Sloth. No sooner than Soul had found her, they were ambushed by one of Noah's henchmen. She sliced through Giriko's body with a single swing of her scythe as easily as she would a doll. The jerk had been waiting for her within the chapter and thanks to Soul's noise cancellation, they had caught Giriko off guard. A light chuckle came from behind her.
"You killed the wrong one." Maka turned and saw a woman with brown hair pulled into a straight ponytail. She revved an internal motor which made a chain run along her leg. Maka took a step backwards.
"But how?"
"Well, I messed up my body pretty bad tinkering with it. So, Gopher lent me her old one. Cost a lot too; I'll be scrubbing the floor for weeks to pay this off." Giriko smirked. "But it will be worth it to watch you bleed." 'She' chuckled and took a step forward 'her' engine revved.
Suddenly an image of the inside of the church flashed in front of his eyes. 'She' shook 'her' head and tried to brush off the brief mental projection of the dusty attic. 'She' grinned again.
"Well, aren't you going to fight?" Giriko sneered. Maka's legs trembled, she was still shaken up from the previous chapter. Soul transformed back into his human form to protect his miester.
"Soul I-" Maka began. Giriko slammed a razor-edged boot into Soul's shoulder. The chainsaw ripped through his jacket and into his flesh. Soul went flying back in a heep on the floor.
"Too late," Giriko sneered, "you really should get your head in the game." Maka ran over to Soul.
"No Maka, this is my fight." Soul insisted, he pulled himself back off the ground. Giriko hit him again, Soul blocked the attack with his blade.
"You really think you're on the same level as me and Justin?" 'She' scoffed and slammed 'her' foot into Souls lower back. "You're nothing." Soul slumped onto the floor; he could barely hold himself up. "Pathetic."
"No, he's not!" Maka shouted. "He's stronger than you'll ever be." She grabbed Soul's hand. "Can you still transform?" Soul wordlessly turned into a scythe in response.
"Like hell you are! Just looking at you-" Giriko stopped, a lock of 'her' hair swayed in front of 'her'; but it was a deep burgundy and slightly wavy. "What the?" Maka took the chance to hit 'her' with her scythe. Giriko flew backwards into one of the chairs. 'She' snarled. "That was a lucky shot I-" Giriko cringed and gripped 'her' head. Images flashed before 'her'; the church in shambles with blood coating the floor. The only living being was a younger Justin, he trembled at the sight of 'her'. The images flickered to two Shibusen students in the door-way of the chapel. 'She' felt 'herself' charge to the dark hair student, who placed down the book of Eibon and held up his hands in surrender. He was trying to talk to 'her' like he would any other human, but 'she' couldn't understand. The scene changed and it was night, the student dragged 'her' away in silence and there was a glimpse of Justin being carted away by other Shibusen members. Strangely when the students reached the woods he let go. You'll be safe now, go.
Giriko shook 'her' head, 'she' had no time for distractions. 'She' lunged again and went to punch Maka, yet found 'her' arm lay limp at her side. 'She' growled and kicked the miester. 'She' smirked as red painted the floor. At last, 'she' would have her revenge for Arachne's death. But the blood brought back another onslaught of images. The body must have retained residual memories from it's previous owner. An attic flashed again and the images moved backward. The slaughtered priests doubled back and stood bright and alive. Gopher's old body was rebound onto a gurney. Priests talked to Shinigami-sama through a mirror as they walked backward and pulled at a fragment of a Kishen egg. The images flickered from the soul being implanted and flashed forward to the carnage that occurred afterward. Back and forth the memories went as his gaze drifted to a reflective chair within what he called reality. Staring back at him was 'her' reflection. A disproportionate body with thinning black hair and pupiless navy eyes stared blankly at 'her'. The bandaged limbs, the long thin claws, the awkwardly long legs; this was not the body he thought he borrowed, it was the body of a monster.
"Gopher?" Noah frowned, the girl jolted.
"Noah-sama!" She bowed. "Forgive me, you startled me." Noah had caught her in the middle of dusting the lamps in the hallway.
"That little stunt Giriko pulled cost us." Noah stated. The girl hid her smirk under her bangs. Giriko had tried once again to worm his way closer to the Book of Eibon against her wishes, so she punished him in the most humiliating way she knew how. She forced him to wear her hand-me-downs.
"Oh?" Gopher turned back to her dusting with a satisfied smirk. "What ever happened, please know I'll do anything to fix it."
"You can't bring back the dead Gopher." Noah said. He began to walk off when Gopher called back to him.
"He... died?" That wasn't part of her plan at all. A little humiliation, sure, maybe even a solid beating; but dead? "What happened! How did he die?"
"He stole a body from my study and used it. Naturally he went through a rejection process. He ended up ripping his soul to shred trying to cling to a dead body." Now it had reverted to it's natural state and there was no point in fixing it. Gopher clamored after him, tears in her eyes.
"I'm so sorry Noah-sama, I never meant to kill him. It's just, he tried to use the book so I-"
"You gave him that body?" Noah turned.
"Umm, I... yes." Gopher confessed. She shrank under his stare. It was empty, despite his posture suggesting otherwise. For someone usually emotionless, it was unnerving for him to show a reaction at all.
"And how, pray tell, did you manage to give him that body when it was in my study?"
"Well, I... might have taken it." She said. "It was mine after all-"
"Not since you've used the one a made for you. Everything in this church, belongs to me. Especially you." He walked off. "Next time think before you kill someone." Gopher sank to the floor.
"That's it?" She whispered. "No punishment?" Tears fell from her cheeks. No, she supposed he didn't care about anything other then his collection. "Why aren't you ever angry at me?"
Within the inner most part of the book, Khonsu dark void seemed to stretch on for miles. It was chilling and calming all at the same time. Gone was the background noise of anxiety that clung to Kid everywhere he walked. The ancient god of chaos looked at him, expecting an answer. If this is what a sliver of power could do, he could only imagine the amount of control he'd have if he made a deal.
"What do you think of your new power?" Khonsu asked. "The ability to pursue desire without inhibition." A wicked smile spread across Kid's striped lips. "What is your desire?"
"A symmetry beyond symmetry; nothingness." Kid closed his eyes. "In this void there is no good, no evil, no people to judge, no problems to deal with." He chuckled. "There is nothing to tip the balance and thus is perfectly balanced. A perfect world with no one-" He froze. He could feel another wave length invade this sancturary, faint yes, but still a blemish in the emptiness. If only he could concentrate.
"Another has appeared in search of power. This is your chance to test your gift." Khonsu said. Kid ignored the pestiferous wavelength and focused on the task at hand. Black Star rushed past him towards the deepths of the void. The other boy looked up at the shinigami in surprise. He seemed to be in one piece, with brand new clothes even. Yet, something about the shinigami's eyes were off, and strange black markings were painted on his face.
"Kid!" There was a brief smile on Black Star's face, but soon he realized Kid wasn't happy to see him. "I'm a little late, aren't I?" Black Star found his bearings to meet the shinigami at eye level. Kid was stoic, but never uncaring. Something was definitely wrong. "Well I'm bringing you back with me, even if I have to drag your ass out of here."
"Like you could do such a thing." Kid kicked him in the stomach and sent him flying. "Someone like you could never see past you delusions long enough to lay a finger on me." He went to lunge, but was stopped by the ancient one. Khonsus dripped between them, two luminous eyes observing them like lab rats.
"You are right, this fight is not a fair one." It held Kid in place and drifted over to face Black Star. "What power do you desire?"
"What power?" Black Star said. He felt something attach itself to his soul, worming past his false bravado in order to find his true intentions. As much as he tried to fight it, something had caught the god's attention and he brought it out front and center.
"Maka, what's wrong?" The young ninja asked. He had just turned six not a few days ago. Now he found his friend, still five sulking on the steps of Shibusen. All of the big kids had gone home for the day. Only the employees at the school were still milling about, grading papers and checking in with Shinigami-sama for the next assignments that could be delegated to the trainees.
"Oh; hey Black Star," The little girl sniffled, "nothing's wrong." She whipped away a few tears and tried to hide her face. He came up behind her and put a boot on her shoulder, nudging her playful only for her to tense up instead.
"If you don't want to tell me, you don't have to." Black Star huffed. He pulled back, his arms behind his head as he tried to look cool. "I'm just your friend after all, why should I care?"
"I'm sorry." Maka hung her head. "I just..." He sat beside her on the stairs.
"Come on, tell me." Black Star said, shaking her arm up and down. "Tell me, tell me, tell me!"
"O.K., O.K.; stop it!" She pulled her arm back and glared at him. Then she looked back to the city. "I saw papa with another lady."
"So, he's talked to a lot of ladies." Black Star shrugged.
"But this time's different! I told mama and she got really mad. She fought with papa for a long time." She sniffled. "Then papa told me to be strong and I think s-something bad is going to happen." She started to cry some more.
"No, no don't cry." Black Star flailed. "Uh... you will stop being sad right how!" He posed and wiggled his fingers.
"...what are you doing?"
"I'm taking away your sadness." Black Star insisted. Maka whipped her eyes.
"You can't do that, you'd have to be a god or something." Black Star thought a moment.
"Then I'll become one." He stated.
"What?" Even at the tender age of five she was realistic, she didn't believe him. No one really believed him when he made promises, but that didn't mean he wouldn't try. He'd prove all of them wrong.
"I will be the bestest, most powerful god ever and I will protect you and you won't have to be sad ever again!" Maka smiled at him and giggled.
Black Star felt something like a key clicking in a lock, and with it came a flood of relief. Who cared about the approval of others or looking like the 'good guy'. In order to take down the current world order, he would have to beat them at their own game. Be more unyielding, more callous, more terrifying; and what better place to start than with a god that had yet to ascend the throne?
"The power I want is power." He smirked, a deranged look in his eyes.