Title: Furor (latin): an angry or maniacal fit.

A/N: Alright. This here story is my first Soul Eater fic. I hope to do Stein justice. To give you an idea of where it is in the timeline, I'd say it's somewhere soon after Stein goes bananas and Marie moves in. Mostly written because I wanted to get inside his head when he has these spurts of insanity. Also, to make things easier, all Stein's thoughts are in italics.

Rating: M, pretty much for course language and perhaps some shocking violent thoughts. I figured give it M just to be safe. You've been warned.

Disclaimer: Although Soul Eater and I are both totally bitchin, we are in no way connected. In other words: I don't own Soul Eater.

Stein sat in his lab, going over his research notes. There were faint murmurs coming from Marie, who was sleeping in an armchair in the corner of the room. Every so often she would let out a growl or a small squeak, unwillingly pulling Stein away from the work in front of him. He swirled around in his chair to give the sleeping woman a glare. Of course he realized she was sound asleep, but he had to express his frustration somehow.

Marie moving in hadn't really been much of a burden to him. She fussed over him a lot, yes, but she was considerate of his space. His insanity was growing. He could feel it and I suppose Marie could sense it. That was why she was by his side now. In case something were to happen, she would be right there to fight for him.

He drew his attention back to his computer, trying to focus on the words and ignore Marie's gibberish. If he wasn't so preoccupied, he might have thought Marie was cute when she slept, or maybe he would try to make sense of the sounds. Back to work. He gave his screw a few short twists. Stein's eyes grazed over the screen, not really focusing on any of it. He hated to admit it, but he was tired. All those nights he'd spent awake perfecting his science had finally caught up to him. His body needed sleep. His brain didn't want it.

He tried once again to focus on his research notes. Words darted out, springing from the computer to his eyes. Dissection. Scalpel. Needle. Heart. Liver. Dissection. Scalpel. Dissection. He set his glasses on the desk and rubbed his eyes. He inwardly cursed the thought of sleep. I don't want to sleep, there is work to be done. There is always work to be done.

"All work and no play makes the scientist a dull boy." A female voice sounded from behind him.

He spun his chair around to face Marie, only to find that she was still asleep. It very well could have been her talking in her sleep. He was quick to doubt this, she had been making several sounds, but he didn't think she would have thrown together a coherent sentence.

"Over here," the voice spoke again, this time resonating softly from his monitor.

He turned his attention back to the computer. He leaned in close, blinking his eyes, focusing on nothing but the screen. There she was. The face of a former colleague, a dangerous enemy, the source of his insanity. Medusa.

"What are you doing in my computer?" He asked.

"I'm not in your computer. I'm in your head, where you always keep me."

"Medusa." He wasn't sure what good simply saying her name would do, after all, this image was right, she wasn't there in front of him, simply in his head.

"So serious," she said, "have a laugh."

It came on quick and unexpected like a burst of thunder breaking through a clear day, ramming into his body full force. His body twitched. He fought with all he could to keep from losing control. My notes. I have work to do. Just ignore her, ignore this feeling. Words danced around the page, taunting him. Medusa sang the words to him. "Scalpel, needle, dissection, dissection." The chant played over and over. The words grew larger and larger.

Scalpel.

Needle.

Dissection.

Dissec-

He burst out in uncontrollable laughter. "Scalpel, needle, dissection, dissection!" He sang loudly, causing Marie to wake up. Confused and worried, she rushed to Stein's side.

"Stein!" She yelled, "Stein, what is it? What's wrong?" She reached out a hand, resting it on his shoulder.

This seemed to startle him and he spun around, locking eyes with her. His eyes were wide, his mouth formed a devious smile. Stein tried to stifle his laughter.

"Stein?" Marie asked, putting a hand on his leg.

"Don't touch me Marie!" He shouted, pushing her away from him so forcefully she flew backwards onto the cold cement floor. He laughed maniacally.

"Stein! Fight it off!"

"Scalpel, needle, dissection, dissection!" He sung, ignoring her plea.

Marie didn't move from the floor. She watched in horror as Stein got up out of his chair and inched towards her until he was looming over her. He knelt down to her level. He tilted his head in a playful manner, examining the worry on her face, his eyes piercing her own.

"Stein, I know you can fight this off. Just don't think about the madness," she said, slowly backing herself against the wall.

He couldn't concentrate on her words. There was a take-over going on in his mind. His thoughts were running together like wet watercolors, slowly flowing down a painting. Marie, stay away, I might be dangerous. This feels like the beginning, it is only going to get worse. I don't think I can hold it off. He rolled his head from side to side, and fumbled for his cigarettes. He lit the end and sucked in a long stream of tobacco, exhaling with a chuckle. Words flashed quick in his head like lightning. Flesh. Blood. Scalpel. Dissection. His thoughts came out clear and staccato, making his grin widen further. All the sanity was drained from every inch of his body, he had lost control.

"Don't let the madness control you, you can get control of your mind," Marie said.

Stein turned his attention back to Marie. He was glad she was here, he wanted badly to dissect something. Marie would make a fine specimen. He closed what little of a gap there was between them. Eying her small frame up and down. His eyes rested on the pale skin of her neck. I bet it's soft, smooth. He couldn't help himself, he had to feel it for himself, he had to taste it for himself. He leaned in closer, somewhat suprised Marie wasn't pushing him away. Of course she never was one to push people away. He ran his tongue along her neck. Mmm. Just as I thought. "Smooth and delicious," He said, absentmindedly.

"St-Stein..." she stammered, "I'd like to get up."

"I need your help with something Marie," he said coolly, backing off her and standing up.

"Of course. I'm here to help you and I'll help you get through this," she answered, standing up, herself.

"No. I need your help with something else. An experiment. I want to dissect you."

Marie let out a gasp, "I can't help you with that. I have to help you get bet-"

Stein cut her off, taking her by the neck and shoving her forcefully into the wall. Marie screamed. Marie was strong, but so was Stein, especially in his fits of madness. Try as she might, the weapon couldn't push him off. She stood and watched in horror as he traced patterns along her bare arm with his fingers. He wanted to see her bound to his operating table. Her blood. Her insides. He wanted to see all of it. His scaplel would glow red in the light once again. Scalpel. Dissection. He dragged her alongside him, though she put up an awful fight.

"Stein! You bastard! Listen to me!" She screamed and scratched at his face.

Stein almost had her to the table when she raised a hand to his screw. She wrapped her fingers around it and pulled down forcefully, it clicked a few times as it jolted his head down. It hurt. It was enough to make him loosen his grip. Marie slipped out of his grasp and bolted to the other side of the room. She knew she was in danger, but she wasn't about to leave him, she'd be prepared for the next attack.

Fuck. My head. My brain. My head.

Stein fell to his knees, "Ow. That really hurt Marie." He laughed like it was some kind of joke. "And I always thought you were fond of me."

"You're crazy Stein." Marie said, out of breath.

"I want you Marie."

Marie looked stunned. She obviously wasn't sure to make of those words. She probably assumed this could have be part of the game to him. This could have been him playing on her emotions.

"Liar." She said.

"I want to dissect you Marie," his wide grin returned, "I want to see how red your blood is. I want to see how your body works. I want to learn everything about you Marie."

Tears welled up in her eye.

"I'll stitch you back up, of course." He offered.

"Is there no bit of you left in that head of yours?" She sobbed.

Stein drew himself inward, curious of the answer, himself. I don't know. I don't know what is left of me.

"Who are you?" She asked, suddenly much quieter and calmer than she'd been before.

"I-um-I'm-"

I'm not sure.

"Think about it. Think hard." She prompted.

Who am I? I am a scientist. Yes. Answer her.

"I am a scientist."

"What else?"

Shit. What else? What else do I need to be? I am a scientist. I do experiments. I dissect. Stein giggled at the thought of dissection.

"Stop it!" Marie's voice was assertive and clear, "Focus. Fight of the madness. Now tell me, who are you?"

I'm a scientist. I'm Franken Stein, a skilled weapon meister... I'm Stein. I am Stein and I'm not usually as crazy as all this...

He knew who he was. His sanity was beginning to come back to him. He just wasn't sure if he could hold onto his mind for long. His body, his mind, was pure chaos. His head began to race again, a million thoughts flowed through all at once, only one stuck out. I have to fight.

So he did. He fought against the insanity, which was a painful thing to do, but he had to pull through. For Marie.

"Stein?" She cautiously inched closer to him, attempting to anticipate his next move.

"Marie?" He looked up, a smile twitched at his lips but never quite formed. His cigarette fell from his hand to the floor. "I- I'm not okay. Not yet," he warned.

He covered his head with his heads, grasping his gray locks with his fingers. Weakness surged through his body, his head got light, and his stomach churned as it fought the urge to vomit. He drowned in his own mind and his body trembled with fear as he teetered between reality and his nightmare. The sickness coursed through his body. He wanted to purge his stomach of all it's contents. He felt insanity encasing him, filling the room from all sides and looming ominously above his head.

No. I won't give in. Not without a fight.

The power of the insanity was almost overwhelming. A tornado enveloped his body, a hurricane blew in his mind, breaking his brain into tiny glass shards that leaked painfully out of his ears. Bugs crawled beneath his skin as he struggled furiously to fight them off. He felt like he was slowly being suffocated. His breaths came quick until he couldn't tell if he was breathing anymore. He wracked his brain, trying to remember how to breathe.

You suck in air and spit it back out. Shit, why can't my body comprehend that?

He felt a warm hand on his shoulder, slowly pushing him down to the floor. Too dizzy to refuse, he sat down. Marie joined him, bringing his face to her level. He looked into her eye, studied it, looked for comfort among the gold and yellow specks. His heart continued to race, palpitating a quick rhythm. His head spun, stomach churned. He gasped for air, he choked on it. I'm choking on goddamn air.

Stein couldn't help himself, he buried his face in Marie's chest and sobbed. He was far from the type to sob. But lost between reality and chaos he felt hopeless. He felt Marie's hand stroke his hair gently. "Don't let me go crazy," he begged.

"I never will." She assured him.

The air felt thick. The walls felt like they were closing in. His brain sloshed like water in his head and his eyes slowly attempted to roll out of their sockets. Ugh. "It hurts Marie."

Without saying anything Marie took the scientist's hand and brought it to her lips, planting a soft kiss on his palm. "You are doing great."

And just like that, it was over. I... I feel fine. There was no more pain. No more chaos.

"I- I feel much better now. Normal again."

Marie just smiled. The pair sat there in silence for several minutes, trying to soak in the calm.

"I'm so sorry Marie. Did I hurt you? When I pushed you ba-"

"No, I'm fine. Now that you are fine, I'm fine."

He threw his arms around her. Pulling her close, holding her tight. Relief. She saved me. Marie saved me. She feels soft. Warm... Motherly. Pulling away, he gauged her expression. Shock. Her face lit up pink. Her eye was wide and glistening from her tears.

"I'd be lost forever without you." He told her.

"I love you Stein."

I know.

He cranked the bolt in his head a few times and pulled out a fresh cigarette. Lighting it, he let his head fall to Marie's shoulder. His body, exhausted from the struggle, went limp like a ragdoll.

"Marie," he murmured, "thank you."

A/N: First Soul Eater story complete! Please let me know what you think. I should mention, this wasn't beta'd, but I edited to the best of my ability. Of course if I missed something please feel free to point it out. Thank thank thank you a million times for reading!