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Maka looked down the empty hall warily and shut the door, putting the chair from the desk under the knob for lack of a lock, the only lock the door had was on the hallway side to keep them in, not to keep others out. The trembling form of her brother (Step-brother? Half-brother? It didn't matter with as much as they'd gone through together.) pressed against her back. She tried to be better, to be the brave one, but her shaking betrayed her: she was just as terrified.

It was worrisome when their parents got along well, when the sounds of their moaning and grunting leaked through the thin walls, when they violated the siblings' fragile sanctuary with that lascivious gleam in their eyes. But when they argued... When they got angry and actively sought out someone or something to take that rage out on... It was so much worse. The majority of the scars and injuries they'd gotten had been when their parents were fighting.

Crona's arms around her middle tightened and she placed her hands over them, "Maka, I'm scared."

She threaded her fingers through his, "W-we'll be fine. We know how to d-deal with this."

He nodded against her back, more reassured than she was. They both jumped at the sound of something -no, someone- hitting a wall in the hallway, "You useless bitch!"

Their fingers tightened until they turned white. Spirit, then, was the instigator this time. They flinched as one when their mother slapped the wall she'd been thrown into, "Is that all you've got, dear?" she sneered.

Crona whimpered against Maka's back. That wasn't Mizune's angry voice. This was worse than them fighting, the only thing that was worse than them fighting: when they wanted to 'play rough'. Crona went down with his sister, both of them still desperately clinging to each other, when Maka's legs gave out on her. They moved back until they were pressed against the side of the bed, tensed impossibly when the door shuddered with the force of a blow.

There was a huge crash and they clutched at one another, waiting for the blows to rain down. When nothing happened, they dared to peek and saw that the door was still there, still in its frame and, miraculously, still closed. The shouting out in the hall got louder, and for the first time in memory, it wasn't their parents shouting at each other or anybody yelling at them. It sounded like their parents were arguing viciously with someone that had... broken down the front door?

Then they flinched as the bedroom door once again shuddered from a hit, unable to hold in twin yelps. There was more arguing, too many voices to make out any words, before it got eerily quiet. It was less startling trying to knock the door off its hinges than the surprisingly gentle rap that sounded against the wood. They shared a confused glance before zeroing their eyes back on the door.

"Hello?" it was a woman's voice, a soft, gentle voice, as careful as the knock had been, "If you're in there, please answer me."

If she'd known he was going to, Maka would have tried to stop him before he could, but Crona called out, "H-hello?"

The voice sounded pleased, "Hello there. May I come in, please?"

"No!" Maka pressed back, squishing her brother against the side of the bed, not that he complained, shaking in terror anew.

There was some rustling on the other side of the door, "That's fine. Is it okay if I sit here outside the door?"

Maka fidgeted, "We can't stop you."

A slight pause, "Maybe not, but I'd still like your permission."

Crona clutched her side, whispering, "Maka, I don't know how to deal with someone not breaking the door in..."

Me, either. But she just held his hand reassuringly, she just wasn't quite sure which of them she was reassuring. The silence stretched, the woman on the other side waiting patiently until Maka felt compelled to answer, "You can stay."

"Thank you very much. That means alot to me."

"Why?"

The silence returned, "Do you know why I'm here?"

"No."

"Do you know what a Kishin Egg is?"

"A human that's strayed from the righteous path and started turning into a demon, their soul becoming the egg that could hatch a dark god if left alone."

"That's right. I'm surprised you know that. I'm impressed. Would you be surprised if I said that the adults in this house were Kishin Eggs?"

Relaxed by the talking, Maka tensed again, "Our parents aren't Kishin. The demons don't look anything like humans. Who are you? What did you do to our parents?!"

"Shh. It's okay. A person can become, for lack of a better word, infected, by the Kishin's influence. They can become Kishin Eggs without looking like demons, as long as they haven't consumed another human soul."

They were trembling again, "W-what did you do t-to them?"

"We took them away. We're from the DWMA, and it's our job to make sure Kishin Eggs don't hurt people. Have your parents hurt you?"

When she didn't answer, Crona took it upon himself, "Y-yes..."

The voice became... sad, "Then I'm so very sorry we didn't get here fast enough."

Maka didn't understand what made her say what she did, maybe it was how honest and genuine the woman had sounded, "It-it's not your fault. You'd have to have been ten years quicker at least."

If anything, she sounded even more sad, "That long? I'm so, so sorry."

Crona shook his head, "It's not your fault!" he looked at Maka, "I don't know how to deal with someone feeling bad..."

Maka looked back to the door, "Y-you never answered my question."

"Which question is that? I'm afraid I've forgotten."

"Who are you?"

"You're right, it was rude of me not to introduce myself. I'm Medusa. What's your name?"

"...Maka...Maka Albarn."

"I...I'm Crona."

"It's so nice to meet you, Maka and Crona. Can you tell me about your parents? They weren't very happy with us and refused to talk."

Maka shifted uncomfortably, "Um... Papa, his name is Spirit."

"M-mother's name is Mizune."

The voice was so calm, "Is there anything else you can tell me? Anything is helpful."

The siblings shared a look before nodding uncertainly, "Papa's a Death Weapon."

"Mama's a Witch."

There was a sharp breath from the other side of the door, "Medusa?"

"Yes, Maka?"

"What's going to happen to us now?"

"You have to come with me. Not just now, I'll wait until you feel ready to open the door, but we do have to leave."

Crona shook his head, "I don't want to leave! Don't take me from Maka! I don't know how to deal with this!"

"It's okay Crona, no one's going to take you two away from each other."

"Y-you're not?"

"No. If you'd like, you can come live with me, together."

"Even the Little One?"

"Little one? What's that?"

Maka wiggled in place, "Our... our pet. Mizune wanted us to kill it, but we wouldn't. We let it go when she wasn't looking. We got punished badly for that."

"I'm sure the Little One can come live with us, too. You don't have to come out right now, but would you please open the door? I'd like to see the faces of the people I'm going to live with."

Maka didn't remember either of them saying they would go with the woman, but there was no reason not to, it couldn't be worse than where they were. Together, they got up and made their way over to the door, shaking hands reaching out to dislodge the chair. Crona went back to clinging to her middle as Maka took a deep breath and pulled the door open with a yank, flinching and closing her eyes in expectation of a blow that didn't come.

She winced open her eyes and saw the beautiful woman sitting cross-legged on the floor of the hallway smiling up at her softly, "Hello, Maka."

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Maka folded her arms in front of her deficient chest (everyone always said how pathetic it was that her breasts were so small) hiding the white lacy bra that she was wearing. Medusa was gorgeous, with dark blonde hair and shining golden eyes; not at all like her own pale, ash-blonde hair as it brushed over her shoulderblades, or her own too-green eyes. She looked away, "H-hi."

Medusa slowly moved so she was resting on her knees, and took off the thing she was wearing, holding it out to Maka, "You're very pretty, Maka, but I think it's probably best if you had a bit more covered."

It was nothing like she'd ever heard before. It was almost intelligible: everyone she met always told her how ugly she was, how thin, how flat, how scarred... And they always wanted her to take things off, more and more off. This was the first time someone had ever said she was pretty, the first time someone had wanted her to put something on, let alone gave her their own clothes to cover with! She reached out and hesitated, watching the woman until she nodded reassuringly, then took the... the... she didn't even have enough experience with garments and outfits to know what it was.

Seemingly understanding the problem, Medusa spoke, "It's a cloak. Put it around your shoulders, there's a clasp in the front to keep it closed."

It was black, and long enough to cover Maka to her ankles, with a hood that looked like it had white snake eyes. It was almost... cute. And so soft. It wasn't scratchy or uncomfortable like the other things she had to wear sometimes. Her hand clenched around the wonderfully soft material between her fingers and she couldn't stop herself from rubbing her cheek against the fabric on her shoulder.

Medusa's voice was still quiet and soft when she spoke, "Where's Crona?"

Glued to his sister's back, he peeked up over her shoulder under the cloak, "Here." then ducked back down again. As long as Maka was there with him, it was fine. They protected each other, helped each other, as long as they were together it didn't really matter where he was.

The woman smiled, "Would please come out from behind Maka? I can't see you very well from there."

Slowly, so exceptionally slowly, Crona crept out from under the cloak and around to stand beside his sister, hugging her arm to him. He was wearing the long black nightshirt they'd found the last time they were outside, when their parents forgot to unlock the front door for the night. It went down to his feet, with a white collar and three buttons at the top.

It was Crona's, Maka had gotten the sweater they'd found the time before that, though it had more holes in it now than solid parts and was hidden under the mattress.

Medusa stood up, and Maka and Crona flattened themselves against the wall. The adult was careful, though, not to brush against them as she peered inside the room, "Is this your bedroom?"

They both nodded as she went past and looked around the small area. There wasn't much to look at: a desk with a chair, a bed with straps on it, a closet; and that was it. There were no lights, and only one window, that had bars over it. Shaking her head at the travesty, she turned back to the teens, "Are you ready to go now?"

After sharing a look, they nodded shakily, "Yes, Ma'am." She put a hand on each of their shoulders, mindful of how they tensed, and steered them out into the livingroom.

Maka and Crona pressed back against Medusa's hands as they were led into a room full of people. There were three of them, two men and a woman. The woman and one man looked like they could have been siblings, both tan skinned and dark haired, but the last man with silver hair didn't look like anyone they'd ever seen before.

Medusa's grip tightened slightly, "Maka, Crona, this is my team: Nygus, Sid, and Mifune. Guys, this is Maka, and Crona."

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