Soul Gazer

Episode 1
The dance of heroes,
Zeus and Rizzo keepers of lightning.

A sound soul.
Dwells within a sound mind
And a sound body.

Legend tells of the great Grim Reaper, the lord of the departed, the God of Life… as well as Death. He and his comrades known as the Eight Powerful Warriors were the keepers of all things innocent and orderly in the world.
Probably the most skilled and talented of the Eight was the dark weapon wielder, Asura and his weapon partner Vajra. Yet as time went on, the Eight began to realize how fragile Asura's soul really was, though they said nothing. Eventually, Asura himself began to realize this and tried with all his might to make himself and his weapon stronger.
He began to take the souls of humans and gave them to Vajra in his sleep. Vajra became suspicious as he noticed his growing vulnerability to madness, as well as Asura's, but when he confronted Asura about it, he betrayed him and swallowed his weapon form whole.
Enraged by his weapon's disloyalty, Asura went into a rampage. The Eight tried to stop him, but he ended up killing three of them and wounding the rest. Finally Lord Death had to step in. Though the battle was long and hard, Death became victorious over Asura, and locked him in a sack made of his own skin. For 800 years, Asura remained in this sack made of skin, until a foolish witch set him free once again.
Fortunately, during those centuries, Lord Death opened the DWMA, an Academy for those who opposed Asura and the demons he created known as Kishins. One of the occupants of this school was Maka Albarn, the first-star scythe Meister, who led a team of Meisters and Weapons to victory over the King of Kishins.
However, before he was defeated, Asura vowed that one day he would have a successor and the world would be engulfed in madness once again… that was twenty years ago. What about now?
Lord Death: LET'S FIND OUT!

In the streets of Nyirbator, Hungary, a young lady was on the run for her life as she tried to escape from the murderous creature after her soul, however tainted it was. She was losing breath, and with every step she took she tried to remember what she did to deserve this. Finding several things, she began to pray to God for her safety. Meanwhile, the creature was about to close in on her prey.
Finally, the woman couldn't take it anymore; she spotted a bridge up ahead and didn't think twice as she threw herself over the edge. The monster looked down from the bridge only to see an empty river.
It was a thirty-foot drop; there was no way she could have survived that. The creature however was not satisfied; there was no sign of a body. Frustrated by losing her soul, the monster headed down the riverbank for a further search.
The woman was hanging from a support pole under the bridge. Only when she heard the monster walk off the bridge did she let out a sigh of relief. Now the question was how she was going to get down without crushing herself. She started sliding nervously down the pole, but just as she reached the bottom…
Snap!
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The creature had her by the neck! She gasped for breath as it dragged her upon the bridge and for the first time, she got a good look at the monster that was now squeezing the life out of her. It was a woman just like herself. She had what looked like a 1400-century outfit on and uneven hair that was put up in a bun. Her face was covered with scars and scratches, and her eyes were filled with a murderous craze. Her thin, chapped lips formed into a smile with madness written all over it. She licked her long, sharp fangs as her grip on the woman began to tighten. Then with her free hand the monster gently touched the woman's face.
"What beautiful skin you have… I use to have skin like that. Why don't you come with me? Why, with your blood and soul, I can be beautiful again."
The grip began to tighten, and the creature took out what looked like a lighter; however, when lit, her entire hand went up in flames. The monster seemed unaffected by the blaze and began to put it dangerously close to the woman's face.
Then, from behind came a very timely "Hey!"
The creature flinched to the voice behind her. Not letting go of the woman, she slowly turned her head to see a young man standing on the other side of the bridge. He had dirt blonde hair and light blue eyes and wore an orange button shirt over a green-yellow rock shirt and khaki pants. The only part of his outfit that didn't look like a Boy Scout uniform was a gold chain around his neck with a lightning-shaped charm in the middle. The monster looked at the boy with hungry eyes as she licked her lips once again.
"More blood for my beauty!"
The boy smirked. "Oh, is that right?"
The monster growled with dislike; the fact that this boy was so cocky didn't sit with her well. As almost to answer his question for the creature a second voice was heard.
"Lady, you need more than a bucket of water and plasma to make even a blind person think you're beautiful."
The monster turned again and on the other side of the bridge stood a girl with white hair so long it almost covered her face, wearing a long, sleeveless black turtleneck sweater with leggings and boots to match. She was so small you'd probably think she was 9 or 10 if it wasn't for her moderate-sized breasts. The fact that this girl was acting even cockier was making the monster even more confused and angry.
"She's right you know." The boy spoke with no hint of fear whatsoever. "Even a blind man can tell by the sound of your voice that you're not human… at least not anymore."
This boy is just stalling now, the creature thought. What can he possibly do to me? She took a step back then remembered the girl at the other end. She was trapped.
The boy spoke again. "You know what that means, don't you, Rizzo?"
He referred to the girl on the other side. She was in the middle of putting her hair up into a ponytail when she heard her name being called. When she was done, the girl known as Rizzo jumped up, did a back flip, and landed on the other side with the boy.
"Yes Zeus, I do."
Her hair was still quite in her face, but thanks to the pony tail, the monster was able to get a good look at one of her dark blue eyes. Her pupils were strangely lightening-shaped, and the fact that she had the smile of a maniac didn't help her nerves much.
"It means that this hag is no long a human but a Kishin. And it's our job to rid the world of such things… by taking their souls!" And with that, Rizzo raised her leg as if to kick the boy known as Zeus; it stopped right in front of his face. But Zeus didn't even flinch - instead he took hold of her leg, and Rizzo started to glow a bright blue. Her body shape-shifted, and as the glowing stopped, what used to be a mini teenager was now a very large and very sharp ax which, to Zeus, was as light as a feather.
"Now then," The boy spoke as if nothing unusual had happened, "Countess Elizabeth Bathory de Ecsed, also known as The Bloody Countess; your days of serial killing are done!"
The monster, still with her captive in hand, made a run for it.
"Zeus, she's getting away!" Rizzo screamed.
"Not for long," He replied cooly.
Zeus jumped along the rails of the bridge, running at top speed. He leaped on to a nearby tree and from there to a building. The moon seemed to watch with excitement as the boy started to race over the roof tops, gaining on the Kishin in the streets below. The creature noticed this and made a sharp turn to an alleyway. Zeus jumped off and followed the evil soul into the darkness. The creature was now in a state of panic; she knew who these people were, and she knew that she didn't stand a chance… but with every turn she just couldn't shake off the little brat.
Finally she came to a dead-end and, with nowhere else to turn, she played the only card she had left.
"You take one more step, and I'll kill her!" The monster shrieked. She took out her lighter and again put it dangerously close to the woman's' face, but the boy just smirked. The kishin hated it when he got like that. 'Why is he so damn cocky?' …then she saw it. The axe, it was gone. She suddenly felt a sharp pain in her back, or rather, in the shoulder blade. Pain surged through her arm, and then it felt numb. She looked over her shoulder to see her newly decapitated arm and blood positively gushing out of the once-occupied socket.
Rizzo was standing on the roof, just above the creature. An unconscious woman lay in one of her hands, and a bloody axe was attached where her other hand should be. She lay the woman down, and after she did, a second axe appeared to replace the other hand. Rizzo stared at the monster for a moment then jumped from where she stood. With her axe-hands, she blinded the poor beast in one swoop.
"HHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" the kishin screamed trying to stop the bleeding coming from her eyes. Rizzo landed gracefully next to Zeus turning back into her full weapon form. Zeus took hold of the handle and ran towards the kishin.
SLASH!
Zeus delivered the final blow. In one fatal swipe the creature was destroyed and in its place was a floating red orb with a glow that reflected all of the monsters' past deeds. Rizzo, now back in her human form, snatched the soul in her hand and held it close to her face. Her lightning-shaped pupils began to glow a bright white, as if lightning had struck right in front of her face, and the kishin egg began to shipshape until it too resembled a lightning bolt. Zeus watched as it left her hand and disappeared into her eyes.
"I know I've said this before, but… how do you do that?"
Rizzo turned to Zeus, her eyes back to normal.
"There's a reason they call me the soul gazer." She turned her attention to the unconscious woman still lying on the roof. "Is she dead?"
Zeus closed his eyes for a moment. "No, just fainted in the excitement."
"Good. Can you imagine what Lord Death would say if we came back with a dead body?"
As usual, you're as cold-hearted as ever, Zeus wished he could say to his weapon. Instead, he walked toward the wall. "Help me get her down, would ya?"

LATER…

Zeus and Rizzo were in the town-square of Nyirbator. A fountain stands in front of them and their eyes are both fixed on the watery surface. Zeus reaches out his hand and lightly places his finger on the water's surface. The ripples dance as he recites the chant, "42-42-564, whenever you want to knock on Deaths door."
The ripples take a life of their own, as the waters' transparent outlook disappears. Now in its place is a portal to a room that looks like, what many people would naïvely interpreted, as heaven. It didn't look like paradise or anything, but from the inside you could hardly tell it was a room. The walls just seemed to go on and on with never-ending clouds. Suddenly, a very flamboyant and cartoony figure stood before them. He looked like something a second grader would draw to interpret Halloween, wearing a black robe that covered every inch of his body and a skull mask that looked like it was also cut out by a second grader.
"HI!"He said cheerfully, "How's it going? How's the weather where you are? Did you catch the Kishin you were after? Hmmm?"
"Fine, a bit foggy, and yes, yes we did." Zeus answered.
"GREAT! Great! Well, according to the records, that makes your 99th Kishin soul, and you know what that means!"
"Yeah, it means one more soul and I'll be a full-fledged Death Scythe!" Rizzo said with overwhelming excitement.
Death seemed a little taken aback. "Yes… but you do know that what you need isn't just another Kishin soul, right?"
Rizzo face got serious. "Yes sir, I understand."
"You'd better!"
A voice rang out from behind Lord Death; Zeus tilted his head to see a full-grown Soul Eater enter the death room. He wore a Hawaiian t-shirt over a plain white tee, and worn blue jeans.
"It took your landlady a lot to make me into a Death Scythe; I'm not going to hand over the job to someone who doesn't deserve it," The soul Eater said sternly.
Zeus seemed slightly annoyed. "Are you saying we didn't work for this?"
"No, I've seen Zeus do enough. What I'm saying is that before I became a Death Scythe, I had to learn a lot more than you learn in your everyday classes…"
Zeus interrupted him, "Don't worry sir! Rizzo promised to work harder in her classes as well as our missions. Isn't that right…Rizzo!"
Rizzo was looking at a hotdog stand when she heard Zeus.
"Yeah," she shrugged "whatever."
"OK!" Lord Death said, trying to get back in the conversation. "Now, as I was saying, to make your weapon into a death scythe you must catch 99 Kishin souls and 1 witches' soul. I must warn you though, catching a witches' soul is extremely difficult! It's about 10 times harder the catching a Kishins', and even more dangerous. I will remind you that the school is not responsible for any deaths related to the missions handed out to the students."
"Don't worry, Lord Death," Zeus reassured him. "As a meister, I will not allow harm to come to innocent souls. That includes me and my partner."
"Getting noble, are we?" Rizzo implied while getting uncomfortably close to him.
"N-NO! I-I just pointed out that, should we get in any near-death situation, as your meister, I would take any measure to insure your, a-and my, safety."
"Yeah right, I know what your true intentions are! Save the girl the first chance you get, then as soon as we get back, give me some punch and tell me you're a zebra! Well it's not going to work! My guardian raised me into a good girl, and I'm not going to let some little pervert ruin that!"
"You can't ruin something, that's already a mess," Zeus retorted.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY!"
"Nothing, just that if you had any thought of intimidating me I would let you know that, being a meister, I wouldn't think twice on replacing you as my weapon."
"Ha, you wouldn't know what to do with yourself."
"Yeah I would! I was fine before you, and I'll be fine without you!"
"Oh, you were fine alright! How did we meet again? Oh yeah. YOU were in a dumpster and I was in an alley, trying to beat those muggers whom YOU were trying to challenge."
"That's it! This partnership is over!"
"Oh, no it's not."
"I MEAN IT THIS TIME! Ever since we became partners you do nothing but criticize me and blackmail me into your evil schemes!"
"First of all, I hardly call planting that super-sized Venus flytrap inside the professors' lab the day before he retires evil… it was more like a goodbye present. Second of all, ever since we became partners you've been saying you'd leave me for another weapon, and ever since I've been waiting patiently, but you never go through with it!"
"Well I am this time!" He turns to leave as Soul mutters to Lord Death, "I wonder if they remember that we're still here?" The water portal fades to black, and Death turns to his weapon. "One thing's for certain… their fight with the witch is going to be one to remember!"

THE NEXT DAY…

"I can't believe you talked me into coming back," Zeus said begrudgingly.
"Don't act surprised, we've been through this before, and each time you always come back."
Zeus and Rizzo sat at an outdoor café in none other than jolly old London. The people at the other tables looked at them suspiciously. Zeus tried to figure out why and asked, "Why are they all staring at us?"
"Not us, me. They think I'm a witch." Rizzo said knowingly.
Zeus looked at her in shock. "But you don't look anything like a witch!"
"Neither would an actual witch that's trying to blend in!" She retorted. "There have been a lot of things happening around here lately, things that couldn't be done by a human or kishin soul alone…"
"Hey wait, why are you the one answering the questions? I'm the meister!"
Rizzo raised her head to the sky. "Oh great watchers, readers, or listeners that are currently watching, reading, or listening to this moron, please don't be angry at him! He just feels insecure about me and my superiority!"
"N-no I don't!" He said in his defense, "And who the hell are you screaming to? YOU'RE GOING TO ATTRACT ATTENTION!" He stopped dead as soon as he realized how many people were staring at him. Rizzo turned to him. "Nice."
Zeus sat back down in his chair and casted a dirty look at her. "As I was saying… all of the witnesses say that behind each attack is a woman dressed in pink, and every time the disaster is over, the woman would raise a glowing orb above the chaos and chant 'Scarab! Scarab! Beetle! Beetle!' Or something like that."
"Please… that would have sounded a lot more interesting coming from my mouth," Rizzo murmured. Zeus was about to say something when Rizzo continued, "So what? Are we supposed to look for some Barbie dressed in pink?" Zeus tried to answer but instead was cut off again. "Oh that's right you can use Soul perception, can't you?"
Zeus had given up. "Yes," He sighed.
"Great! That makes this job so much easier!" She got up from her seat and grabbed Zeus by the hand, running at top speed.
"WAIT, WE HAVEN'T PAYED THE BILL!" Zeus yelled in protest. Rizzo was running so fast that she barely noticed when they bumped into a figure in a cloak. It seemed to be a girl. "Sorry!" Zeus apologized as Rizzo dragged him on. The girl looked after them and smiled.

"AHHHHH! THIS PLACE IS SO BORING!" After their wild escapade around town involving Zeus being dragged by Rizzo against his will and Zeus using Soul perception for hours on end in every nook and cranny of London, the two teenagers now looked tired beyond recognition. It was dark, and the moon was as happily creepy as ever. Per usual, Zeus was complaining. "I thought you said weird things have been happening here."
"I said a lot of things that couldn't have been done by a normal soul have been happening. That's all the report said. Don't blame me!"
"I'm not blaming you," Zeus said with exhaustion in his voice.
Rizzo looked up to the grinning moon above. "At this rate, I'll never be a Death Scythe."
Zeus stared at her with pitiful eyes. "Hey, we're not done yet. I took a vow as a meister to make you a Death Scythe, and that's exactly what I'm going to do," Zeus proclaimed, trying to raise her sprits. It worked, and Rizzo looked at him with determined eyes.
"Yeah!" Rizzo exclaimed excitedly, "NO ONE'S GOING TO SAY ZEUS AND RIZZO NEVER TRYIED! RIZZO DIZZO!"
Zeus smiled at her sudden eagerness, and Rizzo smiled back, but then Zeus's smile faded as he suddenly froze up. She looked at him in confusion. "What's wrong?"
He didn't look at her. Instead, he simply pointed to something. Rizzo looked in the direction he was pointing and saw a cloaked girl… the same girl that they bumped into a couple of hours ago.
"Hi!" the girl said cheerfully.
Rizzo, not knowing what to do, answered her awkwardly. "Uh…hey."
The smiling girl reached into her cloak and pulled out a glass orb. "My name is Demeter, and this is a gravity ball," she said while playing with the ball in her hand. Rizzo watched as the orb seemed to defy gravity and swim in her palm. "I'm selling them to tourists, such as yourselves."
Rizzo stared in awe. "Wow, how does that work?"
Demeter then slipped the ball back into her cloak, completely ignoring Rizzo's question. "Would you like to buy one?"
"Depends on how much it costs." Rizzo said, still mesmerized by the mechanizations of the graceful gravity ball.
"Rizzo don't!" Zeus intervened.
Rizzo froze upon hearing Zeus's voice. "What?"
"I just… I don't think you should buy that," he explained. "Besides we have to focus on finding the witch!"
Rizzo stared out at him with a look of sheer annoyance. "…OH, fine!" she turned her attention back to Demeter. "Sorry, we are busy right now." Zeus was now walking towards the other side of the street and Rizzo commenced to follow him when all of a sudden….
CRASH!
A car came zooming past, an inch away from Zeus's face! It would sound pretty minor, that is, if the car were attached to the road! The vehicle smashed into a nearby building, sending shards of glass in every direction. The two of them looked in the direction of the flying car and were shocked at what they now saw. Farther down the street, in the process of tearing up a one story building was a 6 foot long, 3 foot wide, green-colored jewel beetle. Zeus shook off the shock of nearly being killed by a gigantic flying insect and turned around to see that Demeter had disappeared.
"Where did she go!" Zeus asked with haste.
Rizzo knew what they had to do and got his attention. "Zeus!"
Rizzo once again raised her leg towards him. He grabbed it, and Rizzo turned into an ax as soon as she felt his touch. Zeus charged for the bug then leaped and slashed the insect in half. The beetle's guts spilled out onto the concrete as it fell to the ground on its back; one of the legs was still twitching. Zeus landed some meters away and stared at the defeated creature, wondering if the witch who probably summoned this thing and the girl who had tried to sell them the gravity ball were connected in any way.
"Zeus!" Rizzo's voice snapped him back into reality, just in time to dodge another beetle coming towards him. It was at that time that they realized they were surrounded by the insects, all of them 1000 times the size they were meant to be. One by one, he began to cut through their easily penetrable exoskeletons. Both Zeus and the ground were painted with their green blood. Zeus was breathing heavily; he didn't know how much more of this he could take, and they still kept coming. Zeus killed each and every one of them, but more came, and more, and more, and more, until…
"AHHHHH! OOF!" A massive beetle, even bigger than the others, grabbed the tired meister with its mouth and flung him into a nearby building. Glass poked into his flesh and he fell to his knees out of exhaustion.
"Zeus!" Rizzo turned back into her human form; she held Zeus's head as if she was holding a newborn.
All he could mutter was a broken "hm", and they both looked up to see the cloaked Demeter riding the monster beetle that had attacked Zeus.
"Wow that was easy," she gloated. She removed her cloak and they both got a good look at the obvious witch in front of them. She wore a pink dress that matched her pink pigtails, and on her head she wore a golden headdress with a crystal orb in the middle, similar to the one she wore around her neck, and just like the 'gravity ball' from earlier. "I thought that taking out a couple of DWMA students would be more of a challenge… I guess I was wrong." She jumped off the beetle and walked over to the fallen Zeus making him face her. "Still, what you lack in fighting, you make up for in looks. It would be a shame to hurt such a handsome face…" She barely had time to say anything else before Rizzo sent her flying with her axe hands. Demeter, however, was saved by her beetle pet, and was quickly back on her feet. Blood ran down her check from where Rizzo had struck. Demeter merely smirked.
"How interesting, a weapon who can use soul authority; begs the question though, why do you have a meister holding you if you can easily fight on your own?"
Rizzo was growing angry. "None of your business, that's why!"
"Is it so you can use Soul Resonance?" Demeter asked coolly.
"I said it's none of your business now shut up!"
Demeter grew more amused with each reply. "Or is it because you feel that a weapon should have a meister, because it's proper?"
"SHUT UP!" Rizzo charged towards Demeter, her axe hands ready to strike. Demeter dodged the attack with ease, leaving Rizzo open for a hit. The beetle-witch took the opportunity and used her magic to make normal-sized beetles dig out of the ground and hold Rizzo down by her feet. The weapon screamed upon feeling the creatures scurry up her legs. Out of desperation, she tried to move her feet only to find them glued to the ground. "AHHHHHHHH! GET 'EM OFF! GET 'EM OFF! GET 'EM OFF! GET 'EM OFF!"
Demeter could only laugh maniacally. "Now, to finish you off!" She raised her hands towards her headdress and began to chant; "Scarab, scarab, Beetle, beetle… scarab, scarab, beetle, BEETLE!" A scarab-shaped metal plate appeared on her left arm. She charged towards the grounded Rizzo, who tried to fight back to the best of her ability. Just like in Zeus's former predicament, Demeter's attacks just kept coming, and Rizzo had run out of options. It wasn't until Demeter delivered her finishing move did the beetles binding Rizzo's feet to the ground finally let go, allowing her to be thrown 10 feet into the air. She finally landed next to Zeus, who was conscious, but still too weak to fight… or to move for that matter. Nevertheless, he managed to put his arms around his fallen partner and then started speaking to her with a broken voice that tried to sound comforting. "Hey, Rizzo, remember the day you and I met?..."
Zeus walked the streets of Death city, still wearing his usual orange button shirt over a Rock shirt and khakis. In fact, the only thing missing was the lightning chain around his neck. He looked tired, as if he had been running errands all day, which he had. He didn't know what the deal was, why couldn't everyone run their own damn errands? Why did they always have to come to him? Why didn't he stop them? But he knew the answer to that: his half-brother. Even after twenty years, no one could ever forget the loser of the school… no matter how forgettable he actually was. That's why Zeus came to the academy, to prove all of them wrong! But look how that turned out. Here he was, walking home from school, doing things other people were too lazy to do themselves.
'No!' he thought. No way was he going to fall down the same path his brother took. He was going to be a great meister! He was going to finish the dream his brother never lived! He was going to prove the people at his brother's funeral wrong! …But how?
All of the sudden, there came a crash of breaking glass from a nearby store. Hidden in the shadows, Zeus decided to investigate. Three men stood in an alleyway; one was holding a stick, the other was holding a half-broken bottle, and the last was trying to pick the lock to the back door. The man picking the lock was mumbling to himself. "Come on, come on… got it!" The door swung open. "Alright!" the second guy cheered silently, "We're in!" The third guy spoke up. "Right, get the bags and grab as much dough as possible, before any meisters show up." The two bums complied and started raiding the store. Meanwhile, Zeus watched this crime scene with excitement. This was his chance! His chance to finally be recognized as the warrior he was! If he could stop these guys then maybe, just maybe, he could have his chance to be not as worthless as his brother had been. He grabbed a nearby rock and started for the door. Zeus threw the rock as hard as he could and it hit the second guy's forehead. The man toppled over, but wasn't knocked unconscious like Zeus had planned. The man got right back up on his feet again with a now bleeding forehead. "Hey kid!" The man said, "You just found yourself a good way to die!" Zeus made a dramatic pose as he cockily explained himself. "I don't think so. You see, I'm Zeus, named after the god of lightning. I'm also an official student at the DWMA, meisters division, and as a proud member of Lord Death's Academy, it is my duty to stop you! Prepare to be defeated!"
All the thieves could do was stare until one of them spoke. "So wait, if you're a meister, then where's your weapon?"

Zeus was pinned against a wall outside the store, with a broken bottle put to his throat. "I'm not usually into eating souls" the burglar holding the bottle smiled, "but for you, I can make an exception!" The two other guys came out of the store holding full bags. "We got 'em!" They exclaimed. "Great!" the third guy said, before turning back to Zeus, "you guys go on ahead! I'll take care of the brat." Zeus shut his eyes, preparing to take his last breath. 'This is it!' he thought to himself. He would never find a weapon, he would never prove himself to the academy, and he would always remain in the shadow of his brother and his shame… to his dying breath. But then something happened then that neither he, nor any of his capturers, intended.
The man holding the bottle suddenly fell to the ground with an 'oof!' and was rendered unconscious. Zeus opened his eyes to see if he was dead yet and was appalled at what he saw. There, standing over the comatose man, was what Zeus could only describe as a snowy haired, miniature yeti of some kind. He couldn't see a face; just hair, two black legs with feet, and the thing that scared him most - two things that could be blades hanging from its' arms. The other two bums were staring at the creature, terrified. When it turned to them, they took a step back, and then it spoke. "Why do you like picking on people smaller than you?" The men could only shake in fear. He wasn't sure, but Zeus could have sworn that under all that hair was the psychotic grin of a female. This theory was proven as she took a blue rubber band and pulled back her mane, revealing a beautiful yet still half-hidden face. She continued to talk to the boys as if she didn't notice their horrified expressions. "What's wrong? I'm much smaller than him so, why don't you play with me?" she suggested. The guy who picked the lock earlier was now holding a pocketknife, trying to look menacing. "GO TO HELL, YOU FREAK!" The girl only looked at the blade before raising hers. "LET'S PLAY!"
The man charged at her, his knife poised to strike. She easily dodged the hostile attack and grabbed the man by the arms with the tips of her blades. She then twisted his arms to the point of agony before finally letting in order to handle the other punk who was coming at her with a stick. She once again moved out the way before he could hit her; only this time, instead of using her sharp hands, she saved herself the effort by just kicking him in the nuts. The man fell to the ground while the other who was now holding on to one of his arms as if it were going to stop the pain, came at her with his fist. She simply knocked it out of the way before hitting him in the back of the head with her axe hands. By this time the one with the broken bottle had regained consciousness. Instead of attacking the weapon, he decided to be a coward. "COME ON GUYS, LET'S BAIL!" he commanded. The two other men followed him into the night, but not before one of them yelled, "YOU'LL GET YOURS, YOU SADISTIC BITCH!"
The girl only stared back at them, a blank expression on her face. Finally, when the bums were out of view, she flipped her hair a little and turned to the boy sitting on the floor. Zeus had never seen anything like it… a weapon using soul authority? As far as he knew, weapons could only fight when in the hands of a meister. Then Zeus remembered the stories of the legendary Justin Long, the death scythe that could use soul authority. So he supposed it was possible…then he got it. Only a very powerful weapon would be able to do something like that. Was this girl… was it possible… that she was… a death scythe? He was so wrapped up in his own thoughts he hardly noticed that the girl was standing over him now, leaving him with nowhere to run. "Hey." She said simply. Zeus winced, but she seemed pretty sane now. "I said hey!" She repeated, annoyed.
"Oh, uhh… hey."
She looked sideways, awkwardly. There is a silence until… "Are you… hurt?"
"What? Oh…no. Wow, that was… amazing!"
The girl lost interest in him almost at once.
"I try."
That's all she said before turning away, but Zeus couldn't let an opportunity like this pass. It was obvious now that she was not a death scythe, but that just made her all the more incredible.
"Wait!" He stabbed at regaining her attention.
The girl took a glance at him. His voice was stuttering.
"W-what's your name?"
Zeus could tell that she was hesitant, like she didn't know if it was safe to give him her name or not.
"Rizzo," She said finally.
"Rizzo?" he repeated. "Like grease?"
"Rizzo like the rat," She snorted. "Who are you?"
"I'm Zeus." He tried to get up by using a nearby trashcan as a support, but it was unstable and he dropped back to the ground with a thud. Rizzo laughed.
"Are you ok?" she asked reaching out her hand.
"Yeah," he said, chuckling a little himself. He took her hand in his and she pulled him up.
"So… Zeus like the god?"
"Sort of," He said, embarrassed.
"I can see that." Rizzo smiled smartly. "So what's a god doing running around the streets of Death city?"
"Oh well you know…stuff." He blushed.
"Yes, well, maybe you could do your 'stuff' back at my place."
"W-what?" It was his first time being invited to a house… by a girl.
"If you don't want to that's fine. I mean, you can take a chance at going home by yourself and run into those punks again," She said teasingly.
"No! No, its fine!" but Rizzo was barley paying attention now.
"Nah, now that I think about it, Ms. Albarn probably wouldn't be thrilled if I brought a boy home."
Zeus's eyes lit up suddenly. "Ms. Albarn? Like, as in THE Maka Albarn?"
"You like the word 'like' a lot, don't you? But yes, that's the one; she's my aunt."
"Really?" Zeus asked feeling overjoyed.
"Yeah…" She said slowly, regretting ever mentioning her landlady.
'So that explains her amazing skill,' He thought to himself. He returned his thoughts to her proposal. "Can I stay over?"
Rizzo smiled. "Sure! So long as Ms. Albarn will let me. And even if she doesn't, I'll find a way to sneak you in." Zeus couldn't help but smile back. 'She looks so cute!'
Rizzo put her hair down as Zeus followed her out of the ally. When they got to Ms. Albarn's apartment, Rizzo was lectured for two hours, and it took another two hours to convince Ms. Albarn to let Zeus stay. The next day was Saturday, and with no school, Zeus and Rizzo spent the entire day together. Zeus did most of the talking; he told her of his quest to become a great meister in his brother's place, and of his father who remarried after his first wife died. He told her of the man who claimed he would never become a meister, and that if he tried he would come out no better than his brother. Rizzo patiently listened to his stories, adding her own tidbits here and there. She laughed when necessary and said sorry when necessary. By the end of the day, she knew everything about the god of lightning. They started home when Rizzo suggested they go somewhere special. After the fun day they had, Zeus easily agreed. She led him to the battlegrounds of the academy. At the very edge was a cliff with a perfect view of the city as the sun went down.
"I used to come here and play when my guardian and Ms. Albarn would talk," she reminisced. She sat on the ledge and beckoned Zeus to sit next to her. "They would sit right here on this ledge, while I went around and pestered any student who came close."
"What happened to your guardian?" Zeus's curiosity got the better of him.
"He's far away from here."
He didn't say anymore on the subject. There was a silence.
"Why did you ask me here?" Zeus finally asked.
Rizzo stood up and stared down at the still sitting boy. "Wanna dance?"
"What?"
"I need to get farther into the academy if I want to become a Death scythe."
'Is she sleepy?' Zeus thought to himself, 'she can't be thinking straight.'
He stood up beside her. "But… this isn't a dance academy. You know that, right?"
"Do you think I'm an Idiot?" her sudden attitude surprised him, "I've been here long enough to know what kind of school this is!"
"I'm sorry," he apologized. But she carried on as if she didn't hear him. "I need to get farther into this academy, but to do that I need a partner. Not just any partner…but a dance partner!"
Then Zeus understood. He didn't know what to say. Didn't they have to go through an official sign-up sheet or something? Was it really this easy?
"B-but I can't dance," was all he had to say. He realized how stupid it sounded.
Rizzo just smiled. Zeus was relieved to see her face lighten up a bit. Then the world turned upside down when she took his hands in hers. He blushed deeply and the blush broadened when she pulled him closer to her. He could feel her warm breast against his chest; her scent was so sweet smelling… he thought he could just die! As he was on the verge of a nosebleed, she leaned over to his ear and whispered:
"I can teach you."
She then pulled away and reached into her pocket, retrieving a gold chain necklace with a lightning- shaped charm in the middle. Zeus now got a good look at the weapon's eyes, whose pupils were the same shape as the charm. She placed the necklace around his neck and he took a moment to stare at it.
"So long as you wear this, you and I are connected. Like every typical meister and weapon pair. But so long as you wear this, everyone else will know it, too."
She took a step away from him and put out her hand. "From now on you are my dance partner, and as long as you wear that, it's going to stay that way. I am to match your movements, and you are to match mine. Zeus, God of lighting, and Rizzo his lightning bolt!"
Her declaration was more than Zeus could bear. He looked at her outstretched hand; he didn't know what he was about to get himself into, but he knew that with this weapon he would become powerful. Plus, at this point he really wanted to see if he could get any further with this girl. After a moments' hesitation he gingerly took her hand. She smiled. The sleepy sun was reading his bedtime story, about a boy and a girl, who at that moment, became the keepers of lightning.

Blood stained Zeus's shirt. He was breathing heavier by the completion of his story. Rizzo lay under him, completely still, showing no signs of consciousness; He snuggled closer to her.
"After that, I thought everything was going to change, and it did. We were so close, Rizzo; everything we wanted was just a few steps away. But the witch is still alive. You and I still have a chance, I know it. This can't be over yet…"
Meanwhile, Demeter was standing on her largest beetle yet, watching the boy embrace his weapon. "Oh please," she said to herself, before ordering the beetle to move closer to the students. "So are you guys going to fight me some more, or can I have my beetles eat your souls now?"
There was only silence. The two seemed frozen. Demeter waited awhile for an answer, and then grew bored of their unresponsiveness.
"Fine," she said finally.
The large insect lifted its leg and Zeus and Rizzo stayed where they were. Then something happened that almost defied the possible. Zeus, while still holding Rizzo in one hand, used the other and grabbed the giant beetle by the leg. At first, Demeter didn't understand what was happening. Then she let out a piercing shriek. "W-what, what are you doing?" Demeter whispered almost to herself.
Zeus looked in her direction; his eyes glowed with a sudden power that seemed to reach Rizzo, who got to her feet and lifted her leg for Zeus to grab. In a single motion, Zeus pushed the beetle away with such a force that it flew a distance of two football fields. When it finally landed, it was lying on its' back, dead. Demeter fell to the ground with a thud; she quickly got to her feet and stared at the display in disbelief. Zeus stood on top of the steaming carcass, his eyes still filled with a powerful pulse. In his hand he held a large, sharp, two- bladed ax that filtered an electrical charge that surged through both of their bodies. He looked at Demeter who was reluctant to look back; she wasn't frightened, more like in shock with a hint of awe. Demeter only had a second to prepare herself before Zeus charged at her at the speed of lightning. She blocked his attack with her shield which made their blades lock together before he pushed away and attempted another blow. They locked blades at least four times, each time weakening Demeter a little more until Zeus finally got a hit that sent her flying. She tried attacking him in mid-flight, but was pushed away even further than she would have been. Regardless, a huge grin came over Demeter's face. "You are probably the most annoying guy I've ever met… I like that about you. We should go out!"
He didn't answer her. Instead he came at her again, and she happily did the same. They were in close combat, something Demeter seemed to like more then she should have.
"Come on! That weapon can't be all that fun to be around. Stop teasing me and let's have some fun!"
That was it. Demeter had left herself open and Zeus released Rizzo who now wielded her ax hands. Demeter was hit so hard she went flying into a nearby rock and she started coughing up blood. The fight was over; Zeus and Rizzo had won.
"Fun's over," Zeus commented. He took a moment to breathe. Rizzo however headed to where Demeter had landed. She looked at the witch for a moment, and then the witch looked back and started giggling. "That was fun! But I think I better pick up my toys before I go home."
The orb on her headdress glowed again; as it did, all of the buildings and dead beetle bodies disappeared. The street was now empty of its' former chaos.
"You… you fixed everything!" Rizzo exclaimed, shocked.
"Of course!" Demeter explained, "That's the fun of it all!"
"You mean, all this time we've been fighting nothing?"
"Except for me. You really did fight me."
"But how…?"
Demeter pulled out the gravity ball from before, and ignored the question.
"Normally, someone has to be holding one of these in order to experience the full effect, but it seems that just by looking at it you were under its' spell." Demeter smiled.
"I am so taking your soul!" Rizzo raised her ax hands but before she could do anything, a sharp light started emitting from Demeter's headdress. The next thing Rizzo knew, the witch was flying away on one of her beetles.
"COME BACK HERE YOU WHORE!" she cried.
"Rizzo let her go," Zeus sympathized.
She looked with disappointment at her technician before sighing and turning back to the sky.
"DAMN BITCH! IF I EVER SEE YOUR FACE AGAIN, I KILL YOU!"

THE NEXT DAY

Zeus and Rizzo were walking up the very long steps to the DWMA; there was a silence between them - not the awkward kind, but the pure stable kind that made it seem there was nothing to say. However, Zeus had something clear on his mind he was desperate to share. "Rizzo?"
"Yes?"
"What Demeter asked back there, about you not needing a meister… is that true? And if it is, then why do you have me?" he clutched his necklace.
Rizzo stopped walking and looked him strait in the eye.
"I need someone."
Zeus didn't understand until she put her hand on his chest. He blushed greatly.
"If I'm going to have the pleasure of being a Death scythe, I want someone to share it with."
He felt her face getting closer to his; instinctively, he closed his eyes. After a moment of nothing he opened them to see Rizzo continuing her way to the academy. Disappointed, he followed her. When they finally reached the top, a horrifying scene awaited them. There, standing in a school uniform, was no other than Demeter. Zeus felt Rizzo's soul grow angry, and it showed. Suddenly Demeter noticed them and waved happily.
"Hey, guys! Look, I'm a schoolgirl!"
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" Zeus yelled, confused.
"Well I think it pretty obvious; I joined up!"
"Yeah right, they'd never let a witch join the academy!"
"Oh really?" Demeter showed them her school ID. "See? I'm an official student of the DWMA! Isn't it great? Now we can hang out together and you won't be able to kill me!" She tackled Zeus. "And now, you and I can get to know each other better," she said very seductively. Rizzo was on the verge of exploding. Before he knew it, Rizzo had her axe hands out and was charging head-first at them.
Later that evening Zeus, Rizzo, and an unknown woman with blonde pigtails sat around a small table. The woman's expression was hidden, Rizzo was looking rather blank, and Zeus was tense. Something was about to happen that seemed to occur quite frequently. Rizzo was the first to speak.
"So… you hear about that new movie about the-"
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!" The blonde woman exploded. Rizzo looked unaffected by it. The woman breathed heavily, and then Rizzo spoke, "I don't know what you mean."
"You know very well what I mean! How could you get yourself suspended AGAIN!"
"I have a strange way of expressing myself."
"DON'T GIVE ME THAT CRAP! WOULD IT KILL YOU TO SHOW A LITTLE SELF-CONTROL?"
"Yes."
"Your guardian never had this problem!"
Rizzo seemed to be getting angry now. "When are you going to get it through your head that I'm not my guardian?"
"WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO GET IT THROUGH YOUR HEAD THAT YOU'RE CLOSE TO GETTING EXPELLED!"
Zeus tried to settle them down. "Hey, so what's for dinner Ms. Albarn?"
"I AM CLOSE TO THROWING YOU OUT OF THIS HOUSE YOUNG LADY!"
"GO AHEAD! ILL JUST GO LIVE AT ZEUS'S PLACE UNTIL YOU BEG ME TO COME BACK!"
"AND WHY THE HELL WOULD I DO THAT?"
"'CAUSE MY GUARDIAN – "
"YOUR GUARDIAN OWES ME IN WAYS YOU CAN'T EVEN BEGIN TO IMAGINE!"
Rizzo stared at Ms. Albarn for a bit before saying anything. "Ok. By all means, enlighten me."
Ms. Albarn stared at her for a moment, and then sighed before turning to Zeus. "You have school tomorrow; Go get some homework done before dinner."
Zeus obeyed and walked off to his room. Ms. Albarn turned to Rizzo.
"You are going to take a bath and get to bed before 7:00; no dinner tonight."
Rizzo stared angrily at her, and then she got up roughly, marched off to her room, and slammed the door. Zeus thought to himself, "I don't think she deserved what she got but at least I can have her plate tonight."
End.

A princess who wished to be loved… a popper who wanted to be known for his love. But when their worlds' collide, will they have the power to take out the most dark of all witches? Or will they fall into the world of sadness and madness forever?
Next time on Soul Gazer:
The princess and the pea.
Enter, the wielder of the thief wipe.