The trouble had started on Maka's sixteenth-and-a-half birthday on August 14th, when she'd opened her gift from her childhood friend Blake.

"This necklace looks just like my mama's! Right down to the cherub pendant, it's perfect!"

Blake glowed, satisfied with himself. Not the kind that he flashed after he was caught red-handed tagging the high school last week or playing ding dong ditch at fifteen, but one that radiated pride and something softer like…affection, much like the sibling she never had.

"This is the sweetest gift ever. Like, ever. Not even everything my papa has done is this…" her voice caught and she was forced to fall silent instead of letting tears flow.

"Don't start the waterworks," he pleaded, half joking, half with that big-brotherly tone that he used to use when they were little and she scraped her knee skateboarding together. "Your old man loves you, you know? Won't shut up about you and would give you the world. He'd even bring back your mom if he could."

That cut deep. Maka almost choked on the whimper that threatened to escape her lips but soothed it away by thinking about her succulents and flowers and stuffed animals lounging on her bed. Most of them were gifts from Papa, so that only inspired more tears, and she wrestled them away by throwing her arms around Blake.

"You're the best," she sniffled.

"I know I'm the best."

But he wasn't. Far from it.

Hours later, she couldn't ignore the suspicious glances thrown their way at the mall.

"Why is everyone staring at me?" Maka shot a dirty look to the passing couple pointing to her necklace and whispering excitedly to each other.

Blake stiffened, brows furrowing and then spiking up once the gears in his head click. He cursed under his breath, yanking her by the wrist and dragging her behind him as he took off down the sidewalk. "We gotta get out of here!"

"Why? Just - calm down, wait, my sandal fell off!"

"Forget it!"

"No, forget you! The pavement is hot enough to fry an egg, and it's doing the same to my foot!"

"Don't be a baby," Blake said, not unkindly. "Just listen to me, I'm actually being serious for once. I… I'm so sorry, Maka... I stole that necklace."

Maka wished she would stop feeling. "What?"

"Please don't blow my spot, Maks. You know I'm on probation. I could go to jail! It would mess up my life. I'd go crazy in there."

"You buffoon!" Maka had seen red, seen his antics in her mind like a movie. All the visits to the principal for inciting playground fights, all the suspensions, all the mischief… Blake had never played by the rules, so why would he start now?

She was frantic. Suddenly the most thoughtful gift she received, the one thing that made her feel closest to her mama, felt tainted, wrong. It could even take her away from Papa, and the thought itself made her choke on a poignant lump in her throat for a fleeting moment. "I have a record too, Blake!"

"At school," he scoffed. "For turning in library books late. I'm eighteen, the cops don't play around with kids like me!"

The words had burst out of her before she could think: "Then why did you steal it!?"

"Because you've been so emo and mopey and sad, and I wanted you to feel better! And I didn't think it would be such a big deal, the jewelry store has so many necklaces to begin with-"

Maka's blood stopped cold despite the summer heat. Watching the news wasn't a habit of hers, but a few weeks ago, during a strained father-daughter TV dinner, they sat through a report about an after-hours break-in a month earlier in the next town over. It's hard not to connect the dots.

"Jewelry store?" she echoed.

"Yeah, Maks." Blake sounded tired, drained, like he was coming apart at the seams from holding in a secret.

"Did you…" Her hands shake as she holds him by the shoulders. "God, was that you?"

"Things are tough lately. Since Sid died, money's been tight, and after I paid some bills I didn't have enough money for your gift back in February… I had to, okay?" He grabbed her by the shoulders. "Drop it Maka, we have to get rid of the evidence and run!"

"No!" She was shrill, face hot, eyes wet. "It would be like leaving my mama behind, Blake, what's wrong with you?"

He was incredulous. "That I don't want to go to jail! And you're not getting in trouble." Sticking his head out to watch out for patrol cars, he turned to her, dead serious. "Look, I have a plan. We're going to run for it. You jump the fence and only take the alleys to your house. I'll go the other way."

"Sure," she agreed, clutching the pendant.

Blake noticed and frowned. "And leave the necklace under those pallets, I'll come back for it tonight. Promise me you'll leave it behind for now, Maks."

Though she had nodded and left, she didn't leave it behind. She was caught red-handed and arrested on the spot the next day, when she wore the necklace to school, of all places.

That's what she tells Soul when they're out digging holes the next day, and she can't believe how good it feels, again, to share a little more of her sorrow.

X

Curiosity kills Soul's relationship with Maka Albarn.

He knew it would happen, but it didn't prepare him for the hurt.

She's not subtle about wanting to know why he's in Shibusen, and they're pretty evenly matched because he's just as blunt about not wanting to talk about it.

"So," she says on a Tuesday evening when they're both sitting on the back steps to the rec center, crocheting for their home economics class. At first, something about being alone with Maka had twisted his stomach into knots, but now her company is better than anything he's ever experienced.

That means, according to his bad luck, that he's fated to lose her somehow.

"So," he echoes, guiding his needling through his skull patterned cloth he picked out for his pillow case.

When she sighs that one syllable word again, Soul braces himself for an uncomfortable conversation.

"Why are you here?"

Maybe playing dumb will draw out the inevitable. "Because I like spending time with you," comes out before he can think twice.

Pink watercolors her cheeks, her eyes wide, her mouth curved into a perfect o, her fingers frozen. She's not even breathing. It sinks in that he was too truthful because he feels heat creeping over his face, too. Deep down - maybe more surface level, but he won't let himself think about it - he knows what he meant by that offhand remark. Maybe Maka suspects too, and that thought makes his pulse quicken like he's being chased by a rabid squirrel. Ugh. Feelings are gross, why is this happening to him? She's the best thing that's come into his life, and he refuses to mess that up. No, no, never.

She recovers before he does, pursing her lips like a disapproving librarian torn between laughing and scolding. "No, silly, I mean, what made them lock you up here?"

He looks down to his work, wondering why the hell he's getting his hopes up talking to this intelligent, caring, sassy girl, knowing they won't see each other once they're out. The pessimist in him wants to close the door on this relationship right now.

"Nunya."

"That's mature," she chides, rolling her eyes. "I've told you so much, but you haven't told me anything."

"Your opening up doesn't mean I owe you anything. It's not a trading game."

Maka's eyebrows hike up fast. "That's not what I meant. I want us to be really open with each other-"

He's defensive. "I have been. This kind of stuff is hard for me, okay? You're not the only one with daddy issues."

That has steam blowing out of Maka's ears. She stammers and fumbles with her words, her hands balling into fists. Soul expects one of them to make contact with his face any minute now, but instead she storms off, pigtails swinging behind her as if waving goodbye. After that, all that is left for Soul to do is congratulate himself for single-handedly killing another one of his relationships.

Ugh.

Maybe he shouldn't have diminished her feelings about her dad…

"Maka," he calls, running after her, eventually catching up to her outside of the warden's trailer. "Wait. I'm… Sorry."

"I thought we were friends, Soul!" She refuses to look at him, instead peering inside the warden's car. "I told you my problems with my papa and now you're going around throwing my words in my face!"

When she says it like that, he really does sound like a downright butthole. "I'm so sorry Maka. It just-happened, I don't have an excuse. I always try to hurt people before they hurt me. It's a defense mechanism, but not an excuse."

But she's not listening, instead testing the driver side door, a devilish look on her face when she finds it unlocked.

Soul rambles on, self reflecting on his behavior as fast as he can. "I'm working on that in therapy. Marie says she notices I either try to make everything into a joke or say something to make people go away when they try to confront me with something ser-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

Never did he think he'd watch Maka Albarn, bookworm superstar extraordinaire, hot wire a car, but he's sure he's awake because for once Oni isn't bothering him… so, does that mean he's dreaming?

This is so unreal.

"I'm putting to use a skill I learned from my friend Blake and I'm running away. I'm sick and tired of it here. I'm going home and finding my mama! Don't come after me."

Maka slides into the seat, scooting it closer to adjust to her small frame. She salutes him before revving the engine and speeding off, the warden flying out of her trailer and after Maka, though it's no use. The car soon disappears into the horizon.

"Spoiled BRAT, get back here!" Shaula Gorgon then cups her hands around her mouth like she's yelling into a megaphone. "DIE OUT THERE FOR ALL I CARE!"

"Holy shit," Soul breathes.

X

Tsubaki insists on digging her own brother's grave once all of their efforts to restore his soul fail. What's a soul without a body? They couldn't find what remained of him…

"He'll be safer underground than above ground. Maybe the Earth will cleanse him. Too bad there aren't any flowers nearby…"

Wes doesn't tell her that nothing would ever grow here again. When he and Tsubaki returned from Medusa's house, they discovered that the people in the town were gone, their souls taken by the witch as an act of revenge before she died. They're all lingering around, tapping Wes and Tsukubi on the shoulder, pleading for release from their limbo. Instead of acknowledging them, he plays a song on the violon in honor of her fallen brother, holding back tears when she presents him with a cherub pendant necklace.

"It's a charm," she explains, hopeful. "I had it blessed. It'll keep you safe from Medusa's curse."

Wes shakes his head. He's had enough magic for a lifetime. "No, you wear it, and wear it forever. I'll be fine."

X

It's Soul's routine that kept him sane and prevents his feelings from swallowing him whole.

Wake up.

Dig holes.

Shower.

Eat.

Sleep.

Repeat.

Somehow he manages to ignore the sense of dread that Maka is probably dead.

Somehow he manages to make it to the bed without opening the letter she receives from her father the day after she ran away. What is Soul supposed to tell him, that she's gone?

Somehow he manages to ignore the screaming match between the warden and Dr. Mjolnir. It had drawn all the campers to the warden's trailer, minus Soul. Marie had accused the warden of negligence, child abuse, and slavery, and Shaula shrieked herself hoarse about ending the doctor's career over an 'indecent workplace relationship.' That shocked Marie into silence, who declared war before retreating.

On the second day after Maka left, an enervated Jackie mutely sits next to him at breakfast. Soul begins to think she's turned a new leaf when she yanks on his arm as if to trigger a transformation, her mean streak then worsening throughout the day. Since being released from the infirmary, it's like she's possessed. On his way to the bathroom, he literally topples over the warden, who shoots him a look that could kill.

"Sorry, Ms. Gorgon-"

"Watch where you're going," she snaps before moving on.

Retreating to the campgrounds to avoid both her and Jackie isn't a break because it's so hot. He's sweating and irritated at everyone pitying him. Liz keeps wandering over to help shovel dirt out of his hole, Patti hurled a rock at a snake heading for him, Ox stopped complaining about his buttcheek for a second to offer Soul a single grape, and for once Soul isn't thirsty because Liz refilled his canteen when the water truck came by. Even Kilik, whose kindness knew no bounds to begin with, goes the extra mile to sit with him at dinner and play Uno. Soul isn't sure why everyone's being so nice to him, but the realization that he's not being bullied is a new, foreign feeling.

The campers' gentleness hurts, too.

Aside from the letter addressed to Maka, it's like she never existed. It's relieving and disappointing at the same time, but more than anything it's numbing. No one seems to care about her except him and a handful of others: Liz, Patti, Kilik. The weekend comes by and Soul finds himself laying in his bed feeling utterly bored, the kind that makes him want to pick at his skin. His laundry is piling up, he should sign up for some classes to take up his time, but all the energy had been drained out of his body. Instead of getting up, he stays in bed, utilizing his remaining energy to annoy Oni by trying to kick him off the bed.

"You're not real, you're just a figment of my imagination and probably a subconscious reflection of a part of me that I can't stand and am desperately trying to detach myself from but must face if I want to feel better and begin healing."

Oni steps on Soul's chest bone, stomping and dancing on him. This must be what it feels like to have someone dance on his grave, Soul thinks. "My master is returning soon, just wait and see," he keeps cooing. "Then the grand snake will eat you alive."

"Please and thanks," Soul mutters.

Cold, skinny hands grab either side of Soul's face, Oni's pointy nose dragging across Soul's. Ugh. "No, you will not enjoy it. Your soul will be hers, and your skin will become metal for all eternity. It's your destiny, your curse."

Once he fights off Oni for a little bit by kicking him hard enough in the nose, Soul makes his way to Stein's office, rehearsing a plea for stronger sleeping aids. He's not actively trying to become an addict or anything, but those magic pills provide the only reprieve from both his thoughts and demons. If it means he has to be unconscious, then so be it.

Soul's talent for overhearing conversations absolutely stuns him sometimes. When he arrives at the infirmary, he finds the door ajar, Marie's despondent voice coming from within.

"What are the chances of someone surviving out there this long, Frank?"

Poking his head into the room, Soul sees Marie and the doctor a little too close: hugging. "Zero chances, unfortunately."

"I found the warden's car crashed into a hole twenty miles away. I've searched all over and couldn't find her though... Maybe she found refuge somewhere in the desert?"

Stein puffs on his cigarette thoughtfully. "Maybe. There are too many souls out there… I can't pinpoint hers, they're all blurring together. She's fading away."

Marie buries her face in her hands and weeps.

"Come in, Soul," the doctor says as he rubs her back, the gesture sure and gentle. Intimate.

"Uhhm…" Soul knocks before entering even though his cover has been blown somehow. "Sorry to interrupt. Is - is it true?! Is she… dead?"

"If she were, I would have found a body." Marie swallows thickly. "I know she's still out there."

"Why doesn't the warden send a search party out there, or call someone for help, anyone?"

"Because she would fall under a lot of suspicion over how she's running this place." Bitterness laces Marie's voice. "It's not a camp, it's a work prison."

A pang of hopelessness hits Soul so hard he vomits on the spot.

X

Running away would be infinitely cooler if he had an audience like Maka did, but it's three in the morning and all he has is Oni. Insomnia fuels his spontaneous trip, glad that he's smart enough to stuff his backpack with snacks and water bottles he stole from the cafeteria.

"I'm staying here, there are snakes snakes snakes out there, and I must stay with my master," the little traitor rambles. He's rocking back and forth in the shovel shed, pinstripe suit covered in dust and torn as if he'd recently been in a struggle. Never would Soul have thought he'd feel abandoned by his own demon, but if this doesn't prove that he can't count on anyone, this is it.

"Fine, be that way." The irony is that Soul kind of wanted his demon to come along, if nothing else for the company. "Save my wanted poster for me, I want to see it when I get back."

"Ooo you'll be wanted, yes yes," Oni says gleefully, chewing on his hand. "My master's grand daughter will want you caught DEAD, not alive!"

X

Soulmates are temporary. Wes resigns himself to this fact two years after burying Masamune, two years of lost sleep thanks to surreal night terrors and accidental public scythe transformations, sometimes all of that rolled into one night. He had almost stabbed Tsubaki through the abdomen a few times when she tried to wake him from a nightmare.

It's too much. He's tired, worn down. Tsubaki was worth the effort, still is worth the effort and always will be worth the effort, but he can't do this anymore.

He'll die.

She'll die.

Medusa won, after all: he's miserable, Tsubaki is miserable, and they'll never be happy as long as they're together.

The breakup is neither explosive nor bitter. After a long day at the bank, Wes shrugs on his coat and heads home, where Tsubaki turns to look at him as he walks through the door. The way her eyebrows knit let on that she knows something is definitely wrong. "Are you okay? Did someone die?"

"No. Listen, Tsubaki…" A pause. He remembers telling her the same exact thing when he broke the news about Masamune and Medusa. "We have to talk."

But they don't need to talk. They both know he's ending this, ending them.

"So... that's it, then?" she asks, though it's not really a question. When Wes meets her eyes he sees defeat, sadness, remorse.

Wes shrugs. A strange apathy settles in his chest. "You mean the world to me…but we're not meant to be together. I don't know. I still love you, though."

"I still love you, too."

Then they're hugging. Wes squeezes his eyes shut and presses his face into her neck. When they finally break apart, he makes a vow to himself, one he knows he can keep: to live.

X

There's nothing for miles around, and even though Soul hasn't taken a break since he ran away, the mountains in the distance don't appear to be getting any nearer. For a while he walks east, coming across a cracked, ashy foundation of what must have once been a house. Then he decides to head north, the land so flat it's probably leveled. By midday Soul is able to see an overturned wagon in the distance. At first he approaches it as a hope for shelter from the merciless sun, but he notices a lump lays by it, a shoe at the end of it…

What if it's -

Who else could it be?

"Maka!"

The leg doesn't move. Soul's stomach plummets. He's been calling out for her so long his throat is sore.

"Maka?" His voice cracks this time. Crying has become an automatic response lately, so he's not shocked that tears stream down his face as he runs toward the remains of the carriage. "Maka! MAKA! PIGTAILS! CAN YOU HEAR ME?"

She moves then, rolling over and backing out from under the overturned wagon. "SOUL!"

When running doesn't carry him to her fast enough, he slides to her like a baseball player into first base. She throws herself on him, the two hugging.

"You're alive?!"

Maka pinches her own cheeks and pats herself down. "I think so. Are you really here?"

"Probably. How are you still alive?"

"Pure bullheadedness." God, her smile is so bright and beautiful. "I've been hiding under the wagon during the day and I had water in my canteen… but it's almost empty, and it was getting hard to ignore the hunger."

After she guides him under the wagon, proud of her luck for surviving out in the desert for so long, Soul tries to burst her bubble gently. "Maka… You know we have to go back."

"No!" she snaps, pigtails flying with her rage. "Never."

"We'll starve. We'll die."

"I'll never find my mama if we go back to Shibusen! And yeah I know it's going to be hard getting out of the desert now that I crashed the car, but I have to go back to my papa. I'll be a fugitive, I don't care! I can't stay there any longer. I need my mama!"

"I'll help you find her," Soul promises, tucking a stray hair out of her eyes. "But we have to go back to camp."

"NO!"

And that's the end of their discussion. She humphs, crosses her arms, and edges to the other side of the wagon. Jeez, it's like arguing with a toddler. They don't talk to each other for an hour, Soul debating if he should drag her back to safety or make his way to Shibusen and tell on her.

But he decides on honesty:

"You know, since you left… it's been hell. Every time I closed my eyes, every second I was awake, I thought about you. I couldn't even eat. At first, I thought it was because I was so mad at myself for being a jerk, but then I realized it was more than that." He takes a breath, finally looking into Maka's eyes. "It took a while to realize that… I missed you." He takes a deep, long breath. "I don't know. Guess I'm pathetic for pushing everyone away, when all I want is to be close to people…to you."

He scoots closer to Maka, giving out a hollow laugh before continuing. "I decided that I'm tired of being alone, and that I'm going to do something about it. So I came to look for you."

He scoots toward Maka, his movements carrying a sense of purpose. When he's within reach, Soul reaches his hand out to her as a truce, but she cups his faceandpecks his cheek.

It's so gentle.

It's clumsy, and full of adoration.

He's burning up.

"I missed you, too," she says, and he responds with a kiss to her forehead. The gesture opens the floodgates; Maka bursts into sobs, clutching onto the front of his t-shirt. "I'm so glad you're here, that I'm not alone…"

X

Night falls. The stars are bright and distant. They'll disappear at dawn, much like Maka fully expected Soul to do after that kiss. She figured he'd be afraid - just, afraid of what could change between them now, that she'll reject him some time down the line, but he's the same as ever: quiet, thoughtful, attentive, and cautious.

"You sleep first, and I'll keep watch," he says. "Don't want any snakes to sneak up on us."

He hums so the desert isn't so deafeningly quiet, falling silent when she goes still. But sleep doesn't come; the floor is too hard and bumpy, and Soul's thoughts are too loud.

"Hey Maka, are you awake?"

"Mhm."

"...I ran away."

She cracks her eyes open, barely making out his figure in the darkness. Disappointment is not being able to look into his eyes and cherish the vulnerability he's showing her. The night makes things easier to say, less scary, less real. "You didn't run away from the camp, though? I did."

"No, silly, I did. I ran away from home. That's why I'm here, with the honor of sleeping on this dumb hard ground with you. I ran away from home."

Is it wrong of her to smile at this? Not only is he finally opening up to her, but he's using that term of affection they save only for each other, and he's indirectly saying he's enjoying being lost in the desert with her - right? And above all else, he's being himself: a little scared, a little brave, all at once.

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm a freak of nature - no, Maka, it's fine... let me finish, okay?"

Gulping down the lump in her throat doesn't work, it's too sour. Hearing the hurt in his voice, the rawness, the utter dislike toward himself - it's too much for her, but this isn't about her. In a way, he's recounting his story for himself, and she's a witness. She nods, and he must feel her in the darkness because he goes on.

"I've always been… weird. And it's not just the thing with my arm. I look weird. Uh…" he coughs. "I don't dye my hair, you know. Everybody thinks I do but… I just let them think that because it made me sound cool and not weird. My hair is just white. Always has been, always will be."

Something about that statement tugs at her heartstrings - he'll never change. Soul will grow and change as the years come and go, but he'll remain the same despite all his growth because there's a certain part of him that is, well, just him.

"It's the curse," he says. "That's why my blood is black. That's why I can turn into a weapon. I don't know, I just wanted to tell you… I don't even know. I'm different, and I guess that's okay. It might sound stupid but I'm tired of feeling down about myself."

"It's not stupid, silly. You're making a lot of sense, struggling with your body image and self worth is a really human thing."

He's quiet, then whispers, "Thanks."

X

Regrets hit him the worst at night.

As a child, he'd lay awake tossing and turning because his daily embarrassments wouldn't stop harassing him. His leg transforming on the swing, tripping on stage during his piano recital, not fighting back against his bullies, and not going with Jackie to the infirmary after she was bitten. That's what eats him up the worst. Every bad thing that's happened to him before Shibusen hasn't been his fault. He was a child.

But Jackie…

She would have seen the snake if he hadn't distracted her… Right? He also could have defended her like he had with Maka, but there were too many people, and he hadn't been quick enough… But then his secret would have been out. And it happened so fast.

Soul's stomach grumbles, but the ache that follows has nothing to do with hunger.

Well, he tried hadn't he? Maybe he hadn't put in enough effort to reach Jackie before it was too late… She had held up her end of the deal to beat him up that day Maka arrived at Shibusen, and she also nursed him back to health. Every time Soul doses off, Jackie pops into his head, retrieving the first aid kit, wiping his face clean of sweat and dirt, extending the fossil-turned-necklace peace offering to him…

Ironically, the answer comes to him in a dream: it's the necklace.

Startled awake, Soul rolls over and shakes Maka awake, sputtering words he isn't sure actually form sentences: "It's the necklace, Maka! The stone fossil thingy Jackie found in the first and made into her necklace… that's the problem!"

She's half-asleep, wiping drool from the corner of the mouth. "What?"

"In my dream," he says, gathering their things, which aren't many to begin with: their canteens, a few cushions she had taken from the wardens car, his backpack. "I remembered Jackie and me, when we went to the infirmary, she showed me the fossil with the snake on it, and ever since she started wearing it she's been-"

Maka blinks the sleep out of her eyes and props herself up on her elbow. "You fell asleep when you were supposed to be on guard?!"

"Lord, Maka, it's not always about you. This is about Jackie." He coughs back a cackle - hadn't Maka been out here alone, with no one to stand sentry before he arrived? He'll tease her about it later. "Anyway, she had said she found it in the dirt that day - what if it has something to do with the ghosts?"

"...A haunted necklace?" she mumbles, curling up again.

"We gotta find Stein. He'll know something." Soul taps her urgently on the shoulder again, half a mind to carry her if she doesn't get up within the next minute.

"No," Maka repeats, shaking her head. "I'm sorry Soul, I can't go back there."

"But all you've been doing is staying stuck here! Look, maybe - maybe Stein can drive us to the nearest town or something. He seems to like breaking the rules and getting under the warden's skin."

Hesitation is quickly becoming one of Maka's defaults.

"Please," he begs. "Do it for Jackie. She needs us. She needs me."

X

"You're back you're back! But you're not dead," Oni greets him when he and Maka make it into the infirmary hours later, thankfully before dawn. Somehow they had managed to avoid the snakes roaming about, their numbers somehow higher than before he left barely twelve hours before. A few stare at the pair sneaking into the camp, forked tongues flickering out.

"Shut up," he mutters to his demon, taking Maka's hand so she doesn't run off. Funny how he used to be the one running away, and now he's asking people to stay.

"I didn't say anything," Maka insists, her confusion cute. Ugh. When this is all over and done with, Soul is going to have to address this crush thing - and they need to talk about the kiss thing. Crap.

"Not you, silly. I'll explain later."

Oni follows them, his gait more of a series of flinches than an actual walk. "The doctor can see me, he sees the snakes too, and the souls. He's been waiting for you to come back alive but I told him you'll come back dead, deader than dead! The SNAKES WILL KILL YOU DEAD, THE SNAKES WILL KILL YOU DEAD!"

The infirmary hall sits more still and dark than usual, the glow of a computer screen the only source of light. The trio find Stein smoking in his office, tightening the screw in his head. "Your little demon talks too much. Don't leave without him next time."

Maka gulps, freezing beside Soul. "Demon?"

Stein ignores her, undivided attention on Soul. "The snakes here aren't normal," he comments off handedly, tapping the desk with his scalpel. "And the souls aren't either. There are more souls than bodies here in Death City..."

Soul and Maka glance at each other, eyes wide.

"They're ghosts, can't you see?" Stein spins in a circle, giddy. "Ghosts of Medusa's victims, here to haunt her great granddaughter Shaula and search for the jar. But it's not theirs. It's mine, now."

Maka's voice comes out a squeak. She grips onto Soul's hand tightly. "J… Jar?"

"The jar with Masamune's corrupt soul, waiting for a new vessel." The doctor pauses, taking a long drag before lazily opening one of his filing cabinet drawers and pulling out the glowing glass. "You really shouldn't leave important things lying around, Maka."

Her voice is a squeaky, childish whine: "You went through my things!"

The accusation is almost laughable to Soul - he briefly wonders if this is how endearingly ridiculous she acts with her dad, nitpicking on small details instead of focusing on the larger picture. In this case, it's the fact that the jar she dug up not only contained a soul, but that the name Masamune rings a bell. Soul nudges her softly in the rib. "... Maka, isn't that the man from the newspaper that had the same maiden name as your mom?"

She's derailed on her rant about respecting others' property. "Well, yeah, but my mama didn't have a lot of family. She was an only child, and she said her grandmother Tsubaki refused to talk about her family."

At hearing this, Stein grins from ear to ear, his grey toned skin stretched eerily over his sharp features. "Marie will love to hear this. I knew I wasn't crazy. Maybe a lunatic, a little touched in the head, but not crazy!"

Something like hope lifts Soul's spirits. "So, if you can see souls, does that mean I'm not crazy either? I see Oni all the time-"

Hearing his name, Oni plants himself in the corner, his back to them. He rocks back and forth, chewing on his hand, mumbling about snakes and, "She is coming, she is heeeere."

"No, there's something definitely wrong with you. Having your own personal demon isn't normal. But…" Stein extinguishes his cigarette on the back of his own hand. "It explains everything. The recent spike in paranormal activity, your obnoxious demon, your black blood. It makes sense. You're mad."

"No," Soul defends, subconsciously rubbing Maka's thumb to ground and comfort himself. He's not a freak. "I'm cursed. There's a difference."

"She's here she's here she's still alive and that's why I am too… I don't want to go home, though, no I DON'T!"

Taking off his glasses to clean them with the hem of his stained lab coat, Stein begins humming, almost as giddy as Oni. "Hmm… Evans, correct? You're Soul Evans, great grandson of Wes Evans?"

The name sounds vaguely familiar, but it's not like Soul paid attention when his father went on bragging sprees about the money passed down from generation to generation of Evanses.

"I don't like Medusa, she isn't fun to bother like Soul, she's MEAN-"

Maka tugs Soul's hand gently, reminding him of her existence. "Do you hear something coming from the corner? Like, a... voice?

"And what are the chances that a Nakatsukasa decedent is here too?" Stein spins in his chair again, giggling. "I knew I wasn't going mad, I knew something was off about this place the second I set foot here."

The whole situation is a circus: Maka fixated on the corner where Oni is talking to himself, Stein trying his best to convince himself he's sane, and Soul distantly worrying about his palms being sweaty as he holds hands with this pigtailed firecracker. He needs help. "Listen, Stein, I think I know why Jackie's been acting so strange. It's her-"

"Necklace, yes. I know." Stein punctuates this revelation by reaching into his shirt and pulling out the necklace. "I've been wearing it for safekeeping since she was bitten. She was supposed to die, but I did my job too well. Shaula wasn't happy at first, and then she was even more bent out of shape when I told her I don't give a flying fu-"

Beside Soul, Maka erupts in a shrill scream, pointing to Oni. "I see it now! It's so creepy and UGLY!"

"I no longer want my master to come back, nooooo no nope, I want Soul to stay with me forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever…"

"You have soul perception, just like me, Maka."

Both Soul and Maka can't help but take a few steps back when Stein rolls over to them, somehow a thousand times more creeped out by him when he's dead serious.

"You've been able to sense them for a while, haven't you? The lost ones. The lingering ones."

Always one to take action, Maka puts her foot down both figuratively and literally. She stomps on the floor tiles like a judge bringing down a gavel. "Yes, ahh it all makes sense now! You're right, Dr. Stein, and we have to do something about it! I can't sit by and watch them or Jackie or Soul suffer. We have to break their curses."

"Of course." Nonchalantly, Stein actually stands up from his chair, cracking his knuckles. "She's almost here anyway."

"My master, oh my master, how dark haired you are now, how hateful, how patient!" Oni digs the heel of his palms into his eye sockets. "Your scythe is waiting, I've been guarding him against my will-"

She's so quiet Soul doesn't hear her footsteps. The only giveaway to her presence is a shadow falling into the room, the hallway light behind her flickering.

Maka is the first to recover. "Jackie?"

But it's not her, no, the malice in her now yellow snake-like eyes no longer stems from nihilism. It's different, deeper, darker. Her smile lacks the hint of mischievousness Soul is so used to. It's sickening, terrorizing. She's more nimble, sprinting faster than humanly possible, overgrown fingernails aimed for his throat.

Stein catches her arm before she strikes. "Don't hurt my students."

"I am your student," not-Jackie sasses.

Without hesitance, Stein flips Jackie over into the ground, grabbing a broomstick to use as a weapon. "No, you're the witch Medusa Gorgon. You've finally found a vessel for your soul. Was the fossil not roomy enough anymore?"

Oni continues with his mental breakdown in the corner, like none of this is happening. "I AM LOYAL TO MY MASTER, BUT SOUL IS ME AND I AM SOUL, WHAT DO I DO?"

"Soul!" Maka stands on her tippy-toes to whisper in his ear. "Let's get out of here before they notice you're gone. It looks like you're the target!"

Leaving Stein behind feels worse than betrayal, but the doctor stepped into the fight of his own volition. Didn't Soul's parents always tell him that adults know best? He and Maka sneak into the hallway and turn the corner toward the emergency exit when Shaula steps out of the shadows, her eyes glowing a sickening purple and red.

"Your time at 'camp' is over," she cackles, throwing her head back to laugh. The general sound of violence reaches Soul and Maka, Stein's grunts pierced by glass breaking and furniture being shoved around.

Maka let's go of Soul's hand, pushing him behind her. "You'll have to get through me first to get him!"

Soul curses, Shaula taking Maka up on the challenge and slapping her once. Though stunned for a second, Maka returns the hit threefold and sends the woman flying into the wall, adding a steel-toed boot kick for good measure. Soul aids in the effort by pushing Shaula down, resorting to using a nearby fire extinguisher to knock her unconscious.

Maka shrieks, scolding him for such brute methods.

"One and done, duh! I like them to go down fast, so sue me!"

The newfound, unsettling silence is interrupted by Oni's cries: "I'M CONFLICTED, I WAS BORN TO TORTURE BUT ONCE I FINISH I'LL DIE ALONG WITH SOUL! AND THE SNAKES WILL EAT ME!"

But by the time the pair make their way over to the office again, the fighting is over. Jackie is sprawled facedown, unscathed and perfectly still. On the other hand, Stein is a bloody heap on the floor, chest rising and falling with trouble. He raises a hand, weakly tossing two pieces of something to Soul, who feels the raised ridges before he sees them: it's the fossil, now broken.

"I'm tired and going to sleep, Marie…"

Stein sends them off with a peace sign before passing out.

Oni wobbles over, jumping on the doctor like a trampoline. "I don't know what to do, should I stay or should I go should I stay or should I go should I stay or should I go should?! I STAY WITH MY MASTER OR SHOULD I GO WITH MY SOUL?"

Footsteps echo toward them, a breathless Marie diving into the room, her copper hair falling out of her bun. One glance at the aftermath and she turns red, her rage unmistakable. "He promised he wouldn't fight the student! I can't believe this! I might as well marry a toilet if he's going to give me all this crap!"

There's no time to dissect any of this: Jackie being possessed, the witch stuff, Jackie beating up Stein for godsake, and now Soul's favorite adult ever talking about bathrooms. Maybe it's not Shibusen that's insane, maybe it really is him.

"BUT I'LL BE LONELY EITHER WAY!"

Heaving one last sigh, Marie begins straightening the overturned bookshelf almost mechanically, muttering about dense men and how she shouldn't have trusted Stein to handle the overnight shift of guarding the jar. She tucks it under her armpit, her attitude now direct and sargent-like.

"Soul, give me that fossil and tell your demon to leave Stein alone. Maka, go check on Jackie and move her to the gurney. I think she'll be fine, but I have to burn all of this outside to break the curses..."

Now basking in their safety, Maka taps Soul on the shoulder, sympathy playing out on her features. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, at least I have closure that I'm not imagining things."

She tilts her head at Oni, who is now beating his head against the wall. "Does that thing really… is it really your demon?"

"Yep, my one and only. He's not very loyal, though."

"THE SNAKES! THE SNAKES! WHY DON'T YOU EVER LISTEN, SOUL?" Suddenly the imp is tearing his blazer off, dragging his claws over his face. In a flash, he's climbing Soul, tearing chunks of hair out of his scalp like weeds. "SHE LIVES IN THE SNAKES! LONG LIVE MEDUSA!"

It's Soul's turn to beat up Oni. A shudder goes through Soul's entire being at hearing those words: Medusa lives in the snakes. No wonder the creatures constantly seek out humans, why the fossil was marked by a baby snake. But if that's all true, and if Oni's actually a demon sent by her to torture him because of the curse, then…

No one is safe yet.

The nightmare is not over.

Soul clutches Maka's shoulders, the same thoughts apparently zooming through her mind because she lets out a tiny whimper. "MARIE!" they shout in unison, taking off to search for her.

"SHE'LL BE DEAD SOON TOO, ALL OF US! BUT I DON'T WANT TO DIE SOUL!" Instead of lagging behind them, a surge of determination propels him in front of them to lead the way outside. The trio heads into the campgrounds, passing hole upon hole until Oni skitters to a stop by a rather steep one, pointing with a bony, crooked finger into its depths. "SHE'S NO LONGER LOST, SHE'S BEEN FOUND! MASTER HAS HER!"

Marie is only recognizable by her hair. Something tame inside him shatters at the sight of a thick, large snake coiled around her legs, tightening. She's out cold, unaware of Soul jumping in blindly to the rescue.

"Let her go, how dare you!"

"Soul get out of there! Watch out!" Maka screams, sliding down as the snake sneers at him, fangs out and aiming for his neck. Dodging to the right saves Soul's life, but barely - a sticky wetness spills down onto his collar. A brief tap reveals inky black. Black.

"I DON'T WANT SOUL TO DIE!"

Maka stares daggers at Oni. "Then help, you puny turd!" When she turns to Soul, her gaze brims with strengths, bravery. "Soul, your scythe! USE IT!"

God, how did he do it the other times? It just… happened. Accidentally. Panic sets in, making his stomach queasy, his blood pound in his ears. Is he going to bleed death? He watches Maka try to strangle the snake but all it accomplishes is the snake laughing like it's being tickled.

Frustrated, Oni grabs onto Soul's face, looking at him sternly. "I DON'T WANT SOUL TO DIE!"

"I DON'T WANT TO DIE EITHER!"

And then he and Oni are one. The demon leaps in through Soul's eye. It makes sense - they're the window to the soul, and that's where the power lays hidden. The world blurs in black and grey shadows, Maka's struggles fading, going away, and a wave if it sadness hits him because he'll miss her. That emotion gives way to an uproar of undiluted power, his whole body contorting, his limbs melting into steel, his very being transformed into the embodiment of destruction.

"Use me, Maka!" he finds himself screeching, sounding too much like Oni.

Maka Albarn doesn't need to be told twice. She picks up his weapon form like it's meant to be hers, swing it overhead to gather momentum. For a second time the world spins, surreal blues and violets and silver coloring his surroundings before she strikes him down onto the snake's head. It pops off easily, the body disintegrating to dust like a video playing in fast forward. When he tears through the glass jar by Marie's side, the grey light within turns white and then vanishes in a blink.

All that's left is Marie, breathing softly.

More pain engulfs Soul, Oni sitting in a red draped room in his mind's eye, waving goodbye.

"I'm going to be lonely," are his last words before he falls through the black and white tiled floor and out of Soul's body, probably headed straight to hell.

Day breaks. The sun peeks out through angry, dark clouds overhead, thunder clapping in the distance. Soon it'll rain, and he and Maka will have to carry Marie and seek shelter inside. Jackie and Stein will wake up to utter confusion. Shaula will be arrested for assault of two minors, and Stein will claim a coyote attacked him. Each of the campers will submit to new rules set by the new warden: Marie. Once she's home, Maka might even hug her papa and finally find her mama.

Maybe.

It's what Soul hopes for, anyway. Wiping at his neck inspires all of these dreams: his blood is red. Does this mean… Is the curse broken? His mind speeds a million miles a minute until Maka touches his face, wiping his hair out of his eyes. "Are you okay? What are you thinking about?"

"I'm going to be lonely," Soul says wistfully, touching his chest. Oni is gone forever, and Soul will have to go home eventually…

"No, you won't, silly. You have me." Maka laces her fingers between his gently. "You know what? I have a feeling that we're meant to know each other for a long, long time. Is that weird?"

"Good," he says, kissing her on the forehead. "I look forward to it."

Thick raindrops begin to splatter on the dirt around them, darkening the land and Maka's hair. He hugs her tight, ready for the future and even the pain it might bring.