Soul Eater Wonderland Ch.2

Soul Eater
Crona’s Bedtime Stories:
Wonderland
Chapter two

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Deeper in the Singing Forest, everything was dark because of the tall, thick trees sitting close together. However, Soul easily led the way and they walked past glowing mushrooms. Maka could make out more instrument-shaped flowers and even fruits. Despite it being the Singing Forest, Maka barely heard a thing since they entered. There seemed to be nothing other than their footsteps and the rustling bushes they passed.

Soul’s ears twitched. He gritted his teeth and suddenly grabbed Maka’s wrist, breaking into a run.

“Hurry!” he snapped.

Maka was going to ask why but heard a loud buzzing. They neared a clearing, where the sun was still blocked out by branches and leaves overhead. Maka looked over her shoulder.

She saw a man half her size, wearing a black top hat and suit. He had a pointed nose, grey moustache and red eyes. Also, this man floated in the air with large bug wings and multiple arms and legs. The mosquito landed on a branch on a large tree.

“Ah, what’s this?” he asked in a sophisticated and amused tone. His long nose twitched, “A couple of Medusa’s Tea Deliverers?”

Soul skidded to a stop, and Maka stopped behind him.

A loud, metallic buzzing filled the air. The branches of the trees on their right were sliced off by a chainsaw, creating an opening for a man twice as tall as Soul and Maka. He wore a wool hat over his orange hair, a nose piece, silver earrings, brown overalls, and a long sleeve blue, plaid shirt. He had sharp teeth and a sleep-deprived look to his orange eyes.

“Doesn’t matter who they are as long they’re Medusa’s, right?” the lumberjack said in a tired and slightly slurred voice.

Soul was panicking. He glanced at the mosquito, who grinned with sharp fangs, then looked back at the lumberjack, who was about to start up the engine again. Soul’s ears twitched and something unsheathed behind him. Without a word, Maka pulled out the scythe, spun it in her hands and stopped it tightly in her grasp. She had a serious, fear-less look in her green eyes. Soul turned to her, still panicked.

“Maka. You’re-” he tried to speak.

The lumberjack watched and smiled with an interested look in his eye.

“Huh, that again…” he trailed off then he slid down the hill with his chainsaw lifted and lifeless. His eyes were wide, and he yelled, “Well, let’s see how well you can wield that thing!”

Maka stepped between Soul and the lumberjack, spinning the scythe above her head. The lumberjack brought down the chainsaw and Maka blocked the attack above her head, almost collapsing from the force. She held her ground. Soul stood, surprised, then his head snapped to the mosquito, who leapt from the tree and shot towards Maka.

Soul quickly ran to a patch of tall flowers and plucked one that looked like a yellow tulip. The flower was as tall as him. He slid between Maka and the mosquito with the giant flower pointed towards the bug. Before the mosquito could change direction, his nose dug into the flower and halted. Soul grinned and his red eyes gleamed. The mosquito accidentally sucked in the nectar, stinging his nose, and he shut his watering eyes. He coughed out a cloud of pollen and hurriedly flew off, wheezing violently. The rabbit looked back at Maka, who struggled to hold up the chainsaw.

“Ha, ha. How much longer can you keep this up?” The lumberjack grinned and started the engine. The machine burst to life and sparks flew with metal scraping against metal. Soul cringed at the sound and Maka was jerked back by the force. She struggled even more and groaned through her gritted teeth. Soul caught that noise past the screeching metal and his look hardened.

He looked over at the trees up the hill and quickly hurriedly over to them. He knocked on their trunks like a door in a specific pattern, getting their attention. When Soul mentioned the cut off arms to the trees, suddenly, whip-like branches lashed out at the lumberjack and wrapped around the man’s waist.

The lumberjack was caught off guard as he was suddenly lifted in the air. Maka looked up, just as surprised as he was, but Soul skidded down the hill to her side. He grabbed her wrist and led her to an opening.

The opening was made because a small river split through the forest and showed that the sun was setting outside. Stepping stones led across the river and back into a dark forest trail. Soul ran across the stepping stones with Maka hurrying after him as he still held on to her wrist. They crossed the river and slowed down when they were back in the shade. Soul let go of Maka, and she put the scythe back in her apron strap. Soul adjusted the bag straps over his shoulders, and they kept walking. Maka looped her hands behind her back.

“Hey, Soul,” Maka asked, “how did you know what to do with those plants?”

“Heh, Tsubaki told about how to talk to them. It’s useful for getting through here. Some of ‘em won’t listen unless you sing though.”

Maka’s eyes brightened, “Wait, do you sing? Can you now?”

“No way. I don’t sing,” Soul quickly waved her off.

Maka huffed in disappointment. She decided to ask instead, “And who were those guys that attacked us?”

Soul’s smile disappeared.

“Mosquito and Giriko, loyal subjects to Arachne, Mother of all Spiders and Ruler of the Singing Forest. She’s Queen Medusa’s older sister. Gramps told me that Arachne was around even when the Grim Reaper ruled Death City. The Grim Reaper hunted her because she tormented flowers, like Black Star and Tsubaki, with her spiders, so she escaped here and took over. When Medusa released…the Kishin and overthrew the Grim Reaper, she attacked Arachne and trapped her in her own web, so she can’t move,” Soul explained and had a cold look on his face, but Maka didn’t notice with his back to her.

“So, that explains why Giriko said, ‘That again,’ but…what’s the Kishin?” Maka wondered, innocently looking at Soul for answers.

“Eh, it’s not really good to dwell on the past. But, keep in mind,” he glanced at her with a wide red eye, “Insanity is contagious.”

He looked away and Maka stared at him, slightly unsettled. He sighed and scratched the back of his head.

“Oi, that reminds me of this saying in Kishin City,” he looked over at her and tapped the side of his head with his pointer finger, “Hell is in here.”

Maka raised an eyebrow and he turned away again. Soul’s starting to act strange, she thought to herself. An orange glow appeared from down a hill, and Maka sniffed the air.

“Mmm, something smells nice,” she said as they slid down the hill.

“That would be the Tea Garden. We’re here,” Soul replied. There was a clearing in the large trees bathed in orange light from cords of electric bulbs woven through the branches. The leaves they stepped on made noises like bells, giving away their approach.

“Welcome!” two voices greeted. There were two girls a head taller than both of them with their arms out in greeting. The girl on the left was the tallest, she wore a dark green top hat over her long, dark blonde hair, also wore a yellow suit jacket and pants with a red undershirt, white shoes and white gloves. She looked bored and tired. The other girl wore a red top hat over her short, bright blonde hair, with a dark green suit jacket and pants with a yellow undershirt, white shoes and white gloves. She was happy and overexcited. They both blinked at the same time and recognized Soul.

“Oh, hey, Soul,” the tired girl greeted and put a hand to her hip, “who’s she?”

“Newbie,” Soul answered. Maka pouted at him. Deciding to introduce herself, Maka smiled and held out a hand.

“I’m Maka,” she greeted. Suddenly, the excitable girl took Maka’s hand with both of her hands and leaned in really close.

“Hey, you wanna join my tea party?” she asked. Maka didn’t know how respond. The older girl sighed.

“Patty, we have work to do. They’re here to deliver tea,” she reminded the childish girl.

The girl, Patty, gave her sister big, watery eyes and let go of Maka.

“But the tea party’s still going,” Patty murmured childishly with innocent blue eyes. Suddenly, she leapt to a long, wooden red table with wooden, red chairs lined up beside it. More lights hung over the table on the branches and a few stuffed animals sat on the chairs by the end. Patty pinched the cheeks of the dolls and patted their heads. There were tea cups and plates with chocolate cookies on them. “Do you like your tea, Giraffe? Oh, do you need more sugar, Mr. Piggy?”

“I don’t think that tea party has ever ended,” Soul chuckled.

The other girl sighed.

“No. Not really,” she smiled a little and held out a hand to Maka, “well, my name’s Liz and that was my sister, Patty. We harvest the tea that grows in those trees and pack it for Soul to take over to Kishin City.”

Liz pointed to the trees across the clearing that had dark red flower buds growing on them. Maka was fairly certain there wasn’t such thing as a Tea Flower, but then a lot could be said about everything else she’d seen so far. Liz led them to a black metal machine, with red wires and a small conveyor belt that zigzagged in, out and down the side. Soul took off his sack and laid it out in front of him. Maka watched him and repeated his movements. Liz turned on the machine and the conveyor belt started to move. Small piles of red powder moved down the belt and went in the machine. It came out in the small, brown tea bags, went back in the machine and came back out again in the white boxes. Liz took a box and handed it to Soul, who stacked them in his sack. She also handed Maka boxes one by one and Maka stacked them just like Soul.

“So, how did you and your sister end up harvesting tea?” Maka asked, as they continued the packing process.

“Well, you’ve heard of the Grim Reaper, right?” Liz asked.

“Yeah,” Maka answered.

“Me and Patty were good friends with his son,” Liz answered.

Maka blinked. A few boxes went by Maka, and Soul scrambled after them before they fell off the belt. Maka recovered herself, resuming her packing, and she asked, “He has a son?”

Liz sighed.

“Yeah, when Medusa took over, she trapped him and made me and Patty harvest tea,” Liz said unhappily.

Soul finished sacking his tea and Maka was finishing hers. As she bent down, Liz noticed the scythe on Maka’s back. Liz gaped and she shakily pointed a finger at it, “is th-that a scythe?”

Soul and Maka stiffened, glancing at each other. They looked at Liz and she had a huge smile. She suddenly was in front of Maka and placed her hands on her shoulders.

“Do you know what this means?” Liz asked excitedly and slightly shook Maka, who couldn’t reply as she was shook, “You can free the Grim Reaper and take down Medusa!”

Soul looked doubtful, “You sure?”

Liz let go of Maka and nodded, “Mm-hm. Medusa trapped the Grim Reaper under Kishin City and his son, Death the Kid, is the only one who can free him. He also has the means to weaken her. She locked Kid in a mansion guarded by the Kishin just outside the Singing Forest.”

Liz pointed to the trail beyond Patty’s tea party, “Just go down there and follow the trail. It should lead you to the Kishin’s Mansion.”

Soul’s eyes widened and he started, “But leads right past—”

“Arachne,” Liz finished, “well, don’t worry. She’s still stuck to her web and can’t move. Just don’t listen to a thing she says and keep your distance.”

Soul glanced to Maka, murmuring, “Do you want to go through with this? This just makes it more dangerous than it already was.”

Without hesitation, she answered, “Of course! Whatever this Kid can do sounds like it’d really help. Besides, we come this far, might as well keep going.”

“If you’re sure…”

Soul and Maka loaded the tea over their shoulders and walked towards the trail. Liz gave them a thumbs-up, and Patty waved good-bye.

“Good luck!” Liz shouted after them as they went deeper in the dark forest.

“Bye, bye!” Patty called, her voice sounding quieter as they continued.

The orange glow disappeared and everything was shaded in blue and black. The trees were black, twisted and deformed with a blue-leaved canopy. The farther they walked on the pale white path, the more spider webs tangled the branches and bushes with small, black spiders crawling on them. Maka watched the spiders and shivered.

“Arachnophobia,” Soul suddenly murmured with his serious gaze staring ahead. Maka glanced at him, worriedly. Her tutor, Mr. Frankenstein, told her that arachnophobia meant a fear of eight-legged animals, or, in this case, spiders.

They approached a clearing and stopped. Maka nearly gasped but smoke hung in the air, choking her. In the center on the clearing was a very low, knee-high tree with the branches twisted into a ring with handfuls of leaves. A web was in the ring and a woman sat on the web. She was pale with dark, black hair that was held up in a small bundle on the back of her head with black bangs beside her dark blue eyes. She wore a black, shoulder-less dress with a web-designed neck, long, black sleeve that reached past her hands and the end of her dress was tied up to the web, immobilizing her legs inside. She held a long, red, smoking pipe in one of her hands and her other hand was also stuck to the web, by her side. She put the pipe to her black lips and blew out a small stream of smoke then lazily slid her eyes onto them with a small smile.

“Ah, a couple of Medusa’s Tea Deliverers. I hear you’re going to free the Grim Reaper,” she said in amusement, like she watched someone play a game. “That’s a bit difficult, don’t you think?”

Soul grinned and taunted, “What do you know about freeing the Grim Reaper? You’ve been stuck to this web since Medusa’s rule.”

Arachne closed her eyes, lowered her head and smiled, “Ah, but my cute, little children keep me informed of what goes on in Kishin City and the rest of Wonderland.”

Soul snorted, crossing his arms, “Ha! I don’t see how that’s possible. It’s practically a law in Kishin City to kill any spider seen on the spot.”

“I have ways of getting information and staying informed,” she said and stared knowingly at Soul, “as does my sister.”

Soul’s smile wiped away, and he glared at her. Arachne slid her eyes from Soul and looked over Maka.

“And you,” she whispered. Maka flinched. Arachne smiled, “you’re not from here. You seem very intent on helping everyone.”

Maka narrowed her eyes at her, “Of course. I want to help them.”

Arachne hid her mouth behind her hand and narrowed her eyes, “But this has nothing to do with you. It’s Wonderland. It’s nothing more than a dream. It doesn’t matter what you do, whether you win or lose.”

She pulled her hand away and smiled.

“No, it doesn’t matter at all. You can fail and it won’t affect you,” Arachne said, boring her gaze into Maka, “you could free me and it won’t affect you.”

Soul grabbed Maka’s hand and led her past Arachne to the rest of the path, “Come on. Let’s hurry and get out of here.”

He added with a glare, “And away from this witch.”

Arachne smiled, looked away and smoked from her pipe again. As they kept walking, Maka saw a spider crawling on her arm, and she brushed it off. A soft rumbling started up behind them. They both glanced over and saw a swarm of spiders. The two gasped and ran.

They hurried but the swarms of spiders were only a few feet away. Soul swore through his clenched teeth.

“Of course we'd get chased while carrying twelve boxes of tea on our shoulders!” He yelled angrily. As an opening came into view, Soul and Maka slipped the sacks off their shoulders. Maka felt a few spiders crawl onto her leg but focused on the straps. The sacks fell off and squashed most of the spiders right behind them.

Soul and Maka broke out of the forest onto dark green grass under dark clouds. Maka quickly stopped and wiped the spiders off of her leg and under her heel. Soul placed his hands on his knees and caught his breath. He glanced back at the forest. No spiders followed. They must have been slowed down by the boxes of tea and wouldn't leave the forest. He grinned and lightly chuckled. He was so dead when Medusa figured out he came back to Kishin City empty handed.

The wind blowing against them interrupted his thoughts and his grin disappeared. He and Maka both looked ahead of them. A lone dirt path led to a large, black and dark mansion head. The dark grey clouds seemed to gather above it. It was surrounded by a black metal gate, with a short path leading from the gates to the large front door on the porch. The mansion had a single, round window above the door, light brown, wooden walls, a dark brown tiled roof, large spikes protruded from the corners of the rectangular roof.

“That’s it?” Maka asked, unsheathing her scythe.

Soul nodded and his red eyes gleamed.

“Mm, the Kishin’s Mansion. Even though he’s powerful, he’s a coward. He hid here as soon as he defeated the Grim Reaper and Medusa trapped him. You see Death can’t die, only be postponed. Kishin told her to never show herself to him again. That was because he was scared of her and didn’t want anyone to bother him,” Soul answered, “I guess she managed to convince him to guard Death the Kid and then she’d keep her distance.”

“So, are we going to end up fighting him?” Maka wondered, tightening her grip on her scythe. Soul shook his head.

“No, as I said, he’s a coward. He wouldn’t guard Kid and he wouldn’t trust Medusa to keep her word. He’s probably locked himself deep under the house but that means he’s probably locked Kid up, too, so he wouldn’t get free either,” Soul guessed. Maka looked at him in awe.

“How can you tell?” Maka asked, dumbstruck.

He grinned and closed his eyes. Soul answered, “Heh, us rabbits are more observant than you think. We watch where we’re going and avoid any problems.”

Maka smiled back at him. He looked back at the mansion and his smile faded.

“However, we still have watch out for something,” he continued, “remember what I said, Insanity is Contagious? Well, the Kishin is just as mad as he is powerful and a coward. This insanity is going to try and keep us from the door for sure. We’ll need to be ready for that.”

Maka nodded and walked towards the gate. Soul’s ears twitched and he followed after her. She pushed the gate open and the wind picked up, pushing against them. Between them and the mansion door was a small graveyard with blank gravestones around the small path. Maka walked down the path with Soul trailing behind her but the wind picked up with each step. Maka felt like she was going to be blown away and her steps slowed. Soul also felt the same, except he felt a familiar presence. Soul.

Soul ignored the voice and kept trying to move forward. Maka slowly pushed onward and forced her feet to move against the wind. She glanced up and the clouds looked red with a huge silhouette towering behind the house. It was a pale skinned man wrapped in a strange cloth the matched his skin color in a mummy-like manner. He had a cloth tied over his eyes with three eyes drawn on it and a crooked smile. However, Maka looked back at the door and kept walking. The insanity will try to keep us from getting to the door, she remembered Soul say. She wasn’t going to let the fear slow her down. She was going to use it to move faster.

Soul tried to keep moving, as well. If he stood still, the wind would push him away, so he had to keep moving. Soul. Soul gritted his teeth. Soul. He glanced behind him. Parts of the graveyard was replaced by red and black tile, and the surrounding gate began to turn into black walls with red curtains. Soul looked back ahead and kept walking. Soul. Soul growled and walked behind Maka. He pushed her forward with his hands behind her back. With her shielding him against the wind, he could help them both forward.

They finally reached the wooden, blue porch. Even as they stood in front of the large, dark brown, double doors, the wind still blew into the porch and tried to push them away. Soul tried to open the door but it was locked. The wind slid him back but he stopped himself against the support beam. Maka reached in her apron pocket and pulled out the key, gripping it tightly so it wouldn’t blow away. She tried to stick it in the lock but the wind was furiously pushing her away. Soul managed to get behind her and pushed Maka towards the door. Using both hands, she got the key in the keyhole and unlocked the door. Soul walked forward with Maka as she pushed the doors open. They nearly stumbled through the doorway with the wind suddenly disappearing.

Soul shut the doors behind him and leaned against the door with a sigh. Maka fixed her dress and adjusted her pigtails. The floor was stone black tile, grey pillars held up balconies on either side of the room, dark grey walls, white ceiling and at the end of the room was a black statue. What Soul noticed is that everything is that everything seemed…perfect. Neat and clean. No dust or anything that seemed to stick out. Strange, he thought.

Maka kept her key in her hand and walked over to the statue. Soul scowled at the door before following her. The statue was a boy about Soul and Maka’s age, standing perfectly straight on a large black cube of stone that was taller than Maka. It was hard to make out his features or what he was wearing in the pale, black, stone. A stone wave of black was behind him as if a wave were about to crash into him from behind. Again, Soul noticed there was something…perfect about it as well. He couldn’t put his finger on what it was called. Maka looked at the cube and saw a black metal plaque, which they read together.

“Symmetry is Key
Balance Dark and Light
Symmetry is Key,”
Maka read aloud. Underneath the plaque was a keyhole. Maka smiled and put the key in it. She turned the key but it abruptly stopped. She tried to turn it again but it wouldn’t unlock. Maka pulled the key out and stared quizzically. Soul read over the plaque again and slapped his forehead.

“That was the word: Symmetry!” Soul thought aloud. Having that solved, he read over the plaque again then looked back at Maka. He looked back at the plaque with his hand to his chin, “Hmm…”

He looked around the room and at the statue. The room…it’s in perfect symmetry, he thought. Then his ears perked up in realization. The entire mansion is in perfect symmetry!
He looked back at Maka and spoke, “Now, I get it. You’re supposed to unlock it symmetrically.”

Maka looked up at him, even more confused. Her raised eyebrow and lost look told him to evaluate. Soul paced and waved his arms around.

“Look at this place! Do you notice how everything is symmetrical? It’s ridiculous! Even so, I think that’s what you’re supposed to do,” Soul explained.

Maka put a finger to her chin. Once she thought about it, when she saw the Kishin, even he was symmetrical and the graveyard was, too. She nodded and stood in front of the statue as perfectly as she could, holding the key with both hands. She inserted it in the lock and turned it but it didn’t turn all the way. Soul heard the unsatisfying clunk and yelled, “Oh, now what?!”

Maka pulled the key out staring at it in frustration. She looked back up the statue and read the plaque. Symmetry, symmetry, she repeated in her head. Balance the Dark with Light. Maka blinked and turned to Soul.

“Why don’t we both try to put the key in at the same time and symmetrically?” Maka suddenly suggested. Soul shrugged and walked over to her right. They stood perfectly side by side and both held the key.

“If we have to both look symmetrical, it’s not even worth it, anymore,” Soul muttered.

They mirrored each other’s movements and took a step to the statue and inserted the key in the keyhole. They turned the lock and it clicked open. Their hands recoiled when it glowed light blue. Straight lines shot up the cube from the key hole up to the statue. The top of the cube flashed and the stone body of the statue softened to pale skin and black clothes. The statue was a boy wearing black dance shoes, black tux pants, a matching, plain, black tuxedo jacket with a white under shirt that had a skull design. He had sleek, black hair with long bangs and three white lines on the left half of his hair. He opened his narrow, yellow eyes and looked down at Soul and Maka. They stared up at him and blinked. He frowned.

“What is this?!” he asked, outraged and jumped down from the platform, in front of them, perfectly. Maka and Soul blinked, again. The boy squinted at them, “I never expected to be freed by someone so…asymmetrical. I mean, look at you!”

Maka was speechless and thought, is this…the Grim Reaper’s Son? Soul took it as an insult and glared at the guy.

The boy suddenly turned to Soul, which threw the rabbit off guard, and briefly observed him, “Hmm…your clothes seem symmetrical enough but your hair! And those ears—”

The boy grabbed Soul’s ears and made them straight, not noticing Soul’s red, burning glare. He let go of Soul’s ears and his right ear drooped like it always did. The living statue reached for Soul’s ears to fix them again but Soul slapped his hands away. He leaned in close to the statue and angrily pocked the skull on the boy’s chest.

“Don’t. Touch. The ears,” Soul threatened. The statue was surprised by this sudden movement but was intent on fixing Soul’s ears. However, Maka quietly spoke up.

“Um…so, are you Death the Kid?” she hesitantly asked.

“Why, yes. I am,” he held his hands behind his back and turned to her, looking momentarily professional. He looked at her and his unreadable, yellow eyes glinted. He was suddenly in front of her, causing her to flinch, and he had a hand to his chin as he directly looked at her face, “Hmm, you seem pretty symmetrical. Although, your bangs should be adjusted-”

His eyes fell to the scythe blade behind her shoulder, “Ah! A scythe! Ohh, that’s not a very symmetrical weapon. Especially, when-ah…wait. A scythe? Oh, that means that you’re here to help revive my father!”

“Yes, I’m Maka and this is Soul” she introduced them and felt very relieved. Soul crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. Kid cleared his throat and spoke.

“Ah, well, good. Nice to meet you. Now, I have already formulated a plan to free my honorable father,” he reached in his tux pocket and pulled out a small, green, bag, “I assume you two are from Kishin City and are Tea Deliverers? I recall that Medusa would have no other reason to allow her subjects to roam outside the city. Well, in this bag is poison. I need you to put the poison in Medusa’s tea. Now, it is, unfortunately, very unlikely to kill her but I assume it will weaken her for short period of time, however, that is not the main purpose of the poison. With it being found in her tea, she should assume it was fault of the Tea Harvesters-”

“Wait,” Soul interrupted, “if Medusa suspects that the Tea Harvesters, your friends, tried to poison her, don’t you think she’ll have them executed and Liz and Patty will be in danger?”

Kid shook his head, “No. I will have already taken Liz and Patty with me and arrange it so Arachne is to blame. If that’s successful, Medusa should direct her attention on attacking Arachne and allow me to easily free my father.”

Maka nodded and Soul just stared at Kid emotionlessly. Kid gave Maka the poison and she held it carefully, feeling the weight of a city’s freedom. Soul and Maka headed for the door but they stopped by the closed doors and Maka looked back at Kid.

“Do you think you should come with us, so you can get Liz and Patty?” Maka asked. Kid had his back to them and observed the room around him with a hand to his chin.

“No…you may go on ahead. I will leave shortly, after I check to see if everything remained symmetrical while I was trapped,” he answered, not moving from where he was.

Maka sighed and went out the door with Soul. They were on the porch and he shut the door behind them. The wind stopped completely. With Kid free, the insanity in the area must have disappeared. Maka looked back down at the small bag in her hand as they walked down the path. She stared at it excitedly, excited that she was helping save a city, maybe even most of Wonderland. She didn’t notice that the other half of the graveyard, where the entrance was, was replaced by a red and black tiled, dark, wall-less room surrounded by endless blackness and dark red curtains with the blackness ahead of them.

She started to look up as she put the bag in her apron pocket with her key but a large red hand grabbed her arms. Maka gasped. A small, waist-high, red skinned demon had a hold of her. He wore a black suit with two rows of small silver buttons going down his chest. The demon had long arms, a hairless red head with crooked, white horns, red, cat ears, two large, white eyes, a pointed nose, a black mask around his eyes and a thin, wide, sharp-teethed smile. Maka tried to break from his grasp but it felt like an iron grip. He chuckled deviously and looked up at her with his gleaming yellow pupils.

“Ah, confident, weren’t you?” he tilted his head and spoke, amused.

Maka continued to struggle and looked over at Soul, who was silent. His head was lowered and turned away from her.

“Soul?” Maka called out. What was going on? The Demon chuckled again.

“Well, we have been waiting for the moment to stop you. Her Majesty shall be informed about this. We shall make sure of that. We always have,” the demon stated. He lightly bit his fingers with an insane laugh that he failed to contain. Maka panicked looked back and forth at Soul and the Demon.

“Soul? Soul!” Maka called out. Lost, confused, worried. Scared. Soul didn’t reply and turned away.

“We are the eyes and ears of Queen Medusa,” the Demon stated. Something veiled over Maka’s sight and she was engulfed in darkness.