Authors note: So sorry about the wait! Hopefully I will be able to post more often soon! Thank you for reading!
Chapter Seven: Nightmares.
Soul felt as though he were wading through molasses, the world moving in slow motion along with the delayed movements of his own limbs, which felt double their own weight. He could hear distorted voices, pieces of conversations and a far off ticking all around him, the sounds seeping in through the inky blackness as though his head were held under water. He felt as weightless and hollow as a bit of driftwood floating on the dead sea. The darkness was cold, freezing him right down to his bones and his muscles were cramping from disuse. Time stretched on forever with just nothingness and the ticking until he could no longer tell the difference between himself and the void, between the ticking and the beat of his own heart. Until he could not discern if he had been trapped in the nothingness for several hours or only a few minutes. All he knew was that this was a place of nightmares, somewhere that no one should ever wish to find themselves.
After what felt like an eternity he began to feel movement in the void, he felt himself floating up, and up, and up towards the surface of whatever this was. The closer he got the louder everything became, the voices boomed sporadically "stop!" and "you're going to wake him up!" and the ticking was so much closer than it had been. No. Not ticking, clicking. More like… more like a shutter. A camera. "Interesting" a thoroughly amused monotone voice chuckled from one direction followed by a quiet but stern admonishment from another. Soul would know that hissing chide anywhere.
Opening his eyes, Soul squinted in the early morning light at the figures standing around him, at Tsubaki trying to softly wrestle a clicking cell phone from Blackstars grasp, and Stein avoiding Maries disapproving stare "c'mon Tsu'' Blackstar laughed, holding the phone just out of her grasp "It's just some measly ammunition for blackmail" he begged, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively as a smirk ate up his face. "Cut it out BS '' Soul groaned, digging the heels of his hands into his eyes and hoisting himself into an upright position. "SOUL!" Blackstar crowed jumping over and throwing an arm around his neck "Don't worry, i'll send you the best ones! I gotchu' bro!" he boomed which left Souls ears ringing.
Shrugging out of Blackstars grasp, Soul turned to catch Steins eye as he made for the exit "she let me in'' he sighed letting one leg slip from the sheets and dangle beside the bed "Did she?" Stein inquired with a quick turn of his head and a gleam in his eye "what did she show you?" Before Stein could probe him for answers Soul looked away, choosing to stare into a corner of the room with no questioning eyes that demanded answers he could not give. "It's bad" he answered instead, his voice cracking "it's real bad".
A knock on the door drags the rooms suddenly sullen attention away from Soul's admission and towards the entryway where Angela, Kid and the Thompson sisters now stood "what's real bad?" Patti chirped as they filed in, either not noticing or choosing to ignore the tension in the air. "Soul was just telling us how he was able to fully resonate with Maka as he slept. My hypothesis is that physical touch may have played a crucial role in this development" Stein replied with a pointed look at Soul that told him the man was unsatisfied with his deflection and would be expecting more information.
"Actually" Angela's voice cut through the air as she shot Soul a conspiratorial wink and pride shone from her eyes "I have some interesting news" she then pulled a book from her bag that had to have been centuries old by the look of it's worn leather binding and crumbling pages "I spoke with Maab, and described to her what I felt when I opened Miss Makas door. She immediately knew what kind of curse it was and helped me find a spell that will help us bring her back!" rapid-fire questions came in from all directions but her attention was locked on Soul, and the question forming on his own lips "what is it? The curse." The pleased look of accomplishment slipped off of Angela's face as the chatter around her died down. "Nightmares" she warbled, looking away "Maab said that this curse is used to trap someone inside a world of their own making, like the mind attacks itself by thinking up its own worst nightmare and then locking you inside"
"Interesting indeed" Stein declared, his inquiring gaze now turned on Angela. "But what about-" Stein's question was cut short as the door flew open, and slammed against the wall nearly coming off of its hinges. In the doorway now stood Spirit, his arms crossed over his chest and a single eyebrow arched in annoyance "having a fun little party instead of trying to get my precious Maka back are we?" he snapped as his eyes raked over every face in the room, before catching on Soul sitting in the bed. "Oh no. no, no, you get out of that bed right now" he thundered before storming across the room only to come nose to nose with Blackstar who stood protectively between the irate man and his friend "Spirit" Soul pleaded, suddenly exhausted "can we not do this right now?".
With a sneer Spirit sidestepped Blackstar to look down at him "when Eater? When is a good time for you? If it were me I would have already found some way to bring her back!" he shrieked. Soul knew that he shouldn't let Spirit goad him into a fight, in his experience it was best to just ignore the man. But he was tired. Tired of Spirit talking down to him and of always having to explain himself. He was tired of how Maka always felt like she had to apologise for the way her father acted, and how she would lock herself in her room after just a short visit with him. But most of all he was tired of being told that he wasn't good enough. "You know what old man?" he blustered, sharp teeth flashing "this isn't the time or place for one of your tantrums! And if you aren't going to be helpful or even civil then you need to leave!" silence fell on the room as they regarded each other.
With a seething stare Spirit scrutinized everything about the demon weapon in front of him, from the man's obnoxiously apathetic face framed by youthfully floppy white hair, to the tense hunch of his shoulders. 'Why Maka?' he thought miserably 'why this kid? What is it about HIM?' Soul shuffled his feet under the scrutiny, his eyes dodging the vicious probing gaze of Maka's father who stood glaring daggers at him, his hands fidgeted in his lap nervously trying to find the right place to settle.
"What is it exactly that you think you get from my daughter Eater?" Spirit began breaking the tense silence "what selfish, idiotic reason could a dog like you have for ignoring my every threat to stay away? What do you get out of it?" Spirit spat, pausing victoriously as he watched the man in question turn away and search Maka's face, as if all the answers could be found in the curve of her mouth or the feathering of her eyelashes. "She-" Soul paused then, wracking his mind for any words that he could possibly say that would do her justice, before laughing in spite of himself at how utterly un-cool he was about to sound "-She has given me... everything" he concluded, with what he knew had to be the most ridiculous lovelorn sigh pushing past his shark-like teeth.
Looking up defiantly into Spirits face for emphasis, Soul was momentarily taken aback by the shock he found hanging there. The red haired man seemed to be short-circuiting as his mouth hung open- jaw working rhythmically before he snapped it closed, his body loosened in defeat, a new kind of realized horror snaking across his face as he stared at- no. through Soul, digesting whatever connection he made of his answer before his eyes ticked back up to Souls "when my Maka was small" he started, pushing the words past his teeth as if they would cut him on their way out "the shit that happened with her Mama and me, we should have handled that better. Death, we should have handled it, period. We should have been the adults then. But we were so young, young and selfish, we only had the time and energy for ourselves and how we were feeling."
With a shuddering sigh Spirits shoulders seemed to sag lower "So, Maka did what Maka does best. She stepped up and took on responsibilities that weren't hers to take." Palpable tension settled on the room then, casting all eyes away from the two men in a useless show of privacy and causing them all to shuffle their feet under the weight of the situation. Spirit sighed then, long and hard before continuing, he roughly shoved his hands into his pockets, allowing gravity to drag his back into a steep hunch "I try, really i do but- i started trying too late, by then the damage was already done" Spirit then trudged up to Soul with leaden footsteps and laid an awkward hand on the man's shoulder.
Stone would have been softer than his muscles as Soul sat there tensely, waiting for the spring loaded insult he was sure would jump from spirits mouth any second now. Instead he heard a steel resolve in Spirits voice that betrayed his shaking hands "Bring my little girl home" he ordered "Bring her home. Soul" with a final pat on his shoulder Spirit turned on his heel and left the room as quickly as he had arrived. "Well" Stein sighed after a beat of silence, "that was certainly something."