THE STRENGTH OF A MEMORY
Ch 1: a Battle
"Ah!" Soul hissed as he clutched at his head, a sudden and blinding pain shot its way through his skull like a bolt of lightning and he felt his legs go weak with the shock "what the fuck?" he gasped into his hand, Soul had been walking with their group of friends to meet up with Maka at the edge of the woods surrounding Death city when the pain shot through his head and his mind filled with the feather light touch of his Meister.
Soul looked up from where he collapsed on the steps just outside Shibusen at the worried and confused faces of his friends who stood around him protectively, ready to fight off whatever or whomever had attacked him.
"It's Maka" he breathed "somethings not right" pushing his palms into the hard step he stood shakily and began to run in the direction he felt her soul wavelength.
Without question Black star and Kid followed, their other friends already having shifted to their weapon forms. "What's going on Soul?" Kid questioned from behind him glancing briefly at the sky for any visible sign of danger "I don't know Kid" Soul answered honestly with a shrug "one minute i'm walking with you guys joking and goofing off, and the next, Maka and I aren't resonating any more and my head feels like it's being split in two" sliding his golden eyes from the sky to Souls back Kid let out a breath "you and Maka resonate even when you aren't in battle" he observed as he skidded around a hydrant on his hoverboard.
Although Soul couldn't quite place it there was something in Kids voice that he didn't like "it happened after our fight with Arachnophobia" he answered breathlessly while swiping at his now sweaty bangs "when we used Makas anti-demon wavelength and soul perception to protect everyone from the madness, once the fight was over and everything went back to normal the resonance never stopped" normal? What IS normal Soul? The demon in his head mused with a low chuckle.
Shaking his head to clear out the last of the demon's laughter he glanced at Kid who was uncharacteristically quiet, Soul suddenly became acutely aware that the sound of their footsteps echoing off the nearby buildings bounced back to sound louder than they were. As loud as an army. His soul reached out for Makas once again as a frustrated sigh was torn from his lungs, he still could not reach her. Kid's face was pensive and his brows furrowed as he watched Soul "what?, what about it?" Soul called back, his cheeks reddening at being caught in such an easy lie. The truth was that they could have stopped resonating any time they wanted. Probably. Kid opened his mouth to reply before turning sharply and glaring up at the clouds "that way!" he yelled before making a beeline towards a thin trail of smoke in the sky.
Once they saw the smoke Black star shot into the air with a YAHOO! And disappeared over the jagged stone wall that seperated Death city from the wandering witch woods, that was when Soul noticed the icy feeling of dread that had begun to creep up his spine like cold water poured over his back in reverse you'd better hurry Soul, or you'll lose your meister this time the disembodied voice of his demon cooed 'shut up' Soul sneered causing his demon to cackle.
Soul shook his head again harder this time to rid himself of the demonic laughter as he tore around the stone wall begging his muscles to go faster until they ached. With a final shake of his head Soul was able to push his demon back into the red room in his mind but was immediately frozen in place by what he saw. A battleground. His jaw went slack and his mouth hung open as he took in the scene; huge clumps of earth and stones were haphazardly strewn across the area and the entire field was littered with scorch marks of varying sizes, and at the edge of the woods a single tree had a burning hole gouged out of its side barely leaving any tree at all left standing, the smell of burning wood and upturned earth assaulted his senses causing him to scrunch up his nose as he absorbed the scene in front of him, movement at the base of the burning tree catching his attention. Cautiously they approached,and as they got closer the figure came into focus and Soul recognized professor Stein as he crouched to the ground slowly cranking the large bolt in his head, 'it's just Stein' he sighed to himself as his body automatically relaxed.
"Hey Stein" he began as he took in his former teacher's appearance "what happened here?" Death scythe business Soul in action. Soul noted that Stein's coat and pants were unusually well kempt and free of dirt and the usual wear that came to clothes worn in a fight, he made a mental note for his report later and was taking a step forward when he was pulled to a stop by Kids hand on his arm, he turned ready to question him but snapped his mouth closed when he saw fear in Kids eyes, fear and uncertainty. Something was definitely wrong. Instinctively his soul reached out for Makas again. There. There she was, it was faint but she was there. Soul swung his head in the direction of her wavelength as his crimson eyes scanned the area for any sign of his Meister.
Soul's eyes then focused on the ground in front of Stein and the tuft of blonde hair that he could see just beyond the tail of Stein's white lab coat. Reflexively his body shot forward as the pit of his stomach fell through the floor "MAKA!" her name felt thick and sharp on his tongue, but Kids grip only tightened on his arm.
"Soul…" Kid spoke his name with the kind of voice that you might use on a scared animal; his other hand coming up in what Soul could only guess was a plea to wait "let go" Soul deadpanned, his eyes searching Kids face, when Kid made no move to remove his hand Soul squared his shoulders against the reaper, his blood red eyes dilating to an impossible size "I said let go" he demanded and tried to yank his arm out of Kids grasp.
With a yelp and a curse Kid jumped back as the arm that he was gripping turned into a blade "Soul wait!" Kid reached out after him but Soul was already running towards Maka, his entire body going cold and his mind reciting her name over and over.
'makamakamakamakamakamakamakamaka'
His gut was twisting and bending with every step closer to his meister, with every deafening crank of steins bolt his fear rose a little more until he circled them and was able to look down at Maka.
Her hair had been pulled loose from its ties and lay in a limp ash blonde curtain over her face, her body lay in a lifeless heap like a doll, Soul fell to his knees and reached a shaking hand towards her but stopped just before he made contact, fear gripped his mind, heart, and soul.
"Maka?" he breathed as he begged his hand to move "Ma-kaa get up, please get up" a slight breeze danced around them catching on her shirt and her hair and Soul couldn't help but wonder absently how cool guys were expected to act while their entire world was lying broken on the ground. He felt a gravity in his palm then, an unyielding force drawing his touch to her beyond his control, however before he could connect a hand shot out and grabbed his wrist, with a soft gasp Soul trailed the hand with his eyes to find Stein staring at him, his bolt long forgotten. "Don't touch her Soul. There might be some residual curse left on her body that could pass to you" Steins crass and clinical tone sent Soul reeling, how could he be so calm? 'What is wrong with this guy?' he thought angrily 'this is my Meister! My Meister!' Soul hadn't realized until Stein sighed and released his wrist that he had said the last part aloud.
"I know how important Maka is to you Soul, but I also know that both Maka and Marie would dissect me if I let anything happen to you so let's just get Maka here to the infirmary and…" Stein trailed off when Soul collapsed onto his hands as his entire body shook with relief "she's alive, she's alive right?" his bright red eyes begged Stein to say yes, she was alive and she would be alright. As if reading Souls' thoughts Stein laid a hand on his shoulder, warm and firm. A lifeline. "I can't say with any certainty right now that she'll be okay, but for now she is alive and that's a damn good place to start"