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Chapter Text

I haven’t read any of the other Soul Eater Fanfictions on this site, but I guarantee you, that this is nothing like any of them. This is the story of two brothers, brought together by blood and bonded by pain. This fan fiction takes place within the Soul Eater Anime universe, and begins a few months after the death of the Keshin. Without anyone to stand in her way a long “dead” witch awakes from her sleep to wage war on Lord Death. Without being able to leave Death City, he is forced to make the students of the DWMA fight for him once again.

The reason I say that this is unlike any other Soul Eater story out there, is because my characters are based off of two people who are no longer with me, but who I promised would live on in my heart and now will live on in my writing. I only hope that I can honor their memory and write a story that is worthy of them.

Chapter 1: Kill Number 126; The Prodigal Drest Brothers?

There was a man covered in blood running down Main Street at inhuman speeds. The world blurred around him as blood splattered all over the streets and walls of New York. Though it was night, the lights of the surrounding buildings gave plenty of light for the crazed man to see by. Turning a corner, he looked back to see if he was still being pursued and found no one there. Slowly to a slight jog, then coming to a complete halt, the man began to catch his breath. His sweat mixed with the blood of his most recent victim as he sank into the shadows, a grin of insanity crossing his face as he recalled the horribly beautiful details of Kill Number 125. The young woman’s blood still clung to his skin as he began to lick his lips and plan for Kill Number 126.

Unknown to the murderer, a teenage boy stood atop a building not too far ahead, his black trench coat flapped soundlessly in the air as his cold gray eyes pierced through the night. Knelt down next to him was another teenager who was watching the boy in his trench coat. The boy’s gray eyes continued to follow the man as they grew cold in passionate hatred. The man had begun to walk toward a church across the street from where they were now sitting perched.

The man still did not notice them, he wouldn’t until it was too late - just like the ones before him. The boy next to the boy in the trench coat glowed for a moment before turning into a blue sword. The boy in the trench coat lifted his Weapon into the air and closed his eyes. The wind blew the hood of his coat away from his head, revealing the black hair that was was hidden just moments ago. The boy raised his Weapon to be directly between his eyes. The wind around him went to a standstill, the debris of the aged building shook slightly for a moment before it too, came to a halt. Not a sound was heard from the boy, his weapon, or the church. All was silent in the City That Never Sleeps.

Slowly, the boy’s right foot slid back as he took a lunging position, moving as though preparing to attack. His blue sword cut through the still air with a faint hum. The sword was set at his side complete the form, making him look like a one winged bird preparing for flight. The humming became more intense, and when it was loud enough that it was echoing up and down the streets and could be heard on most rooftops in the surrounding blocks, there was a faint light beginning to emit from the blade. The light spread down to his hands and curled around him until he, too, had begun to glow. The light went from colorless to light blue, then it slowly began to deepen and become brighter. The silence was finally broken as the boy took a breath.

Badum…. badum…. badum… The humming hadn’t stopped, it had only grown louder and taken on the rhythm of a struggling heart. The blue light grew deeper and brighter still and then for a moment the boy’s own heartbeat could be heard, just a moment behind that of the humming. A few seconds passed in which the beats were out of sync. Then as the heartbeats began to beat in perfect harmony, the boy spoke “Soul Resonance Level 1, Heart Harmony”

With a flash the boy flung his eyes open and jumped forward. The light that was pulsing around him exploded for a moment and the heartbeat became deafeningly loud. Just when it appeared that the sound would shatter the glass of the church’s stain glass windows it suddenly stopped, and with a battle cry the boy rocketed through the glass. The light danced through the shattered glass, the boy’s trench coat kept him from being cut as he located his target at the foot of the pulpit, a young girl standing in front of him. Rage boiled up inside the boy’s heart, the man turned and look up with crazy eyes. There was a quick flash of fear before the man jumped into action, throwing himself from the pulpit to the pews below. The light emitted from the boy’s sword was suddenly pulled into the blade making it shine a brilliant blue light, that though beautiful was obviously dangerous. The look in the boy’s eye changed from one of anger to absolute rage.

“Blue Flame Wheel!” The boy opened his mouth, but the words seemed to come from everywhere. Without giving the murder the time to run or even breath he turned at an unbelievable speed and the energy was released from the menacing blue blade. It curved around him before it was thrown across the room to the unprotected man below, who was barely able to get out of the way before the pews on either side of him spontaneously combust and instantly turn to ash. He landed in front of the girl who the man was standing before a moment ago. He gave her a glance, saw that she was unharmed and turned back to the murder. The look in his eyes was one of vengeance, the knuckles on his sword hand were white as he squeezed it, barely holding himself together. There was a slight pain in the center of his chest, but he ignored it. There was not time to waste anymore, he had to finish this here and now.

“Number 126!” The man screamed his inhuman scream. He began to tear at his face, and the boy knew that Madness surrounded the fool heart. “That girl… she is number 126 in collection!” He pulled his hands away from his face, leaving red lines from where the nails had turn through the skin. He let out another bone chilling scream as the boy dropped the sword, letting it fall to the floor below where it sank into the carpet and stood straight up, as if waiting for him. “Give me….” The man began, his voice taking on a monstrous tone as the boy clapped his hands together and closed his eyes. The man shot forward with unbelievably speed throwing his hands at his sides as though they were claws that he intended to use to rip open the boy’s throat. When he was just a few steps away, the boys eyes shot open expelling a massive amour of blue light, and the air around him rippled with energy. A larger sphere of blue light began to expand from where the boy stood, and when it made contact with the murderer’s body it carried it away as though it were nothing but a feather in the wind.

“What is this?! Are you some kind of witch!?” The murderer asked, slightly panicked. He was unable to see the boys Soul. “Is this your Soul? You can move things just by letting your Soul out to its full size?”

“This isn’t even the full size of my Soul.” He spoke, the blue fading from his eyes as he took a step forward, causing the light of his Soul to press the man’s body against the wall. “If you knew who you were messing with, you would have surrendered the moment you saw me break through the glass up there.” He gestured. then with a blank face and emotionless eyes he spoke again, this time in a voice so cold that it chilled the man to his very Soul. “I am Clyde Drest, that Weapon over there is my brother Jon.”

Clyde’s Soul slowly began to retreat back to his body, releasing the man from the wall. The man must have heard the name before, because when he stood up he was poised to strike. The murderous look in his eyes returned and he smiled that sick smile. The man began to mumble under his breath and then took a small dagger from the coat of his pocket. It wasn’t a Weapon, it was definitely home-made, though it was very skillfully done. There was still blood on the blade from his most recent kill, Kill 125. The man wiped the blood from the dagger with leg of his pants and then pointed it at Clyde.

“I may not be a Meister like you, but I think I have more experience with killing people than you do. You’re going to be kill number 126, and then I’m going to wait until your brother comes out of Weapon form and cut him into tiny pieces. Then, I’ll kill that girl over there.” He started to laugh and was too distracted with his own humor to notice the sly smile appear on Clyde’s face.

Within a few seconds the man was suddenly gone, appearing behind Clyde, knife in hand. Clyde responded quickly with a roll to his right, leaving the man to strike the air behind him. Placing his right elbow on the ground, Clyde sent a spinning kick into his jaw and using the momentum to spin to his feet, where he stopped the spinning of the murderer by placing his hand on his throat.

“I won’t be kill 125, and there won’t be a kill 126.” Clyde’s pupils dilated and he used Soul Perception to hear his Soul. “From what I can tell, you have a sick personality. You don’t care about anyone but yourself and you find it fun to kill. It’s people like you who keep me in business.” Clyde tossed him a few feet and crossed his arms, remembering the sensation that his Soul had played within his mind. “There are many ways to understand a Soul, all the senses can be used in Soul Perception you know. Well, I guess I’m just going to end this.” He listened to the sound of the murders soul, then allowed his to flow out slightly.

Soul Wavelength 1, Soul Amplitude 2, Soul Power required 5%

He opened his eyes to see that the man had jumped to his feet and had turned to fight back. Clyde smiled again and looked over toward his brother, then back towards the man with the knife. He chuckled and raised his right hand, and with a flick of his wrist Jon shifted from Weapon to human form and jumped toward Clyde, turning back into a sword, and landing softly in his brothers waiting hand.

Resonance Level 1, Heart Harmony

The air became still, and Jon began to glow slightly, then the light built intensely until it was almost blinding. Let’s use Reaper Slice! Jon said within Clyde’s mind. Clyde smiled and slammed the blade of the sword down with groundbreaking force and flinging dust into the air high enough to hide them. Clyde jumped several feet into the air and doing a backflip, landed on the windowsill of one of the stain glass windows behind him.

The dust was already beginning to fade, but it had done its job, leaving Clyde and Jon almost ten feet away. It gave them a few moments to concentrate on the task at hand. Jon’s blade began to shimmer and the light spread out from it, building until the blade had expanded to three times its original size. Energy poured from it, fading between blue and green and then returning to blue.

When the dust was completely cleared the man looked up at Clyde and Jon. His brown eyes grew wide with fear, shock and confusion. The man hesitated and that moment was his last, because just then Clyde moved. In the blink of an eye, Clyde jumped from the window, sliced through the man and landed in a crouch a few steps behind him. Jon returned to normal size and stopped glowing. Clyde stood up and began to walk away.

“You missed!” The man said, taking a step toward them, and raising his knife to strike. “I thought you would be more fun, kill 126!” He ran toward Clyde who turned to face him. He raised his left hand and within it was a small ball of red and black light. It looked like a small ball of magma that swirled in Clyde’s outstretched hand.

“Reaper Slice, Release!” Clyde hissed, his voice echoing across the entire church, and then a multitude of bloody slices appeared on the man’s chest. Then they began to glow with blue light. Pain twisted his face and he fell to his knees trying to find where the pain was coming from, clawing at his bloody chest.

“In the time it took you to realize that I’d moved, I cut through your body five times. It happened so fast, your brain didn’t have time to realize you were dead.” Jon transformed back into his human form, and took the soul from Clyde.

“I’ve always hated these things.” Jon signed to his brother. Jon had been deaf since birth and the sign language had always been their primary form of communication even once they learned how to talk telepathically they still signed more than anything else. “They don’t have a flavor, but it’s like eating sandpaper.” Jon opened his mouth and swallowed the man’s soul.

Jon looked back with a disgusted look toward the altar where the girl was still standing, still shocked. He gestured from Clyde to the girl and started to walk away. Clyde looked around before following Jon who was already smiling a big smile at the girl, she looked terrified and had yet to speak.

“Hey! My name is Clyde. We need to get out of here, is there somewhere you need to be?” Clyde said when he was near the young girl.

From that distance he could tell that she was quite a few years younger than Clyde and Jon, maybe eleven or twelve. She was wearing a small white dress that was much too big on her little frame and her eyes were sunken and dark. She looked like she hadn’t eaten in days, and the moment Clyde saw her he knew that she was an orphan. Feeling an aching in his heart, he walked over to the girl and reached to take her face in his hands.

“Where are your parents?” Clyde asked, concern in his eyes. She looked over to the murders dead body. She didn’t say anything so Clyde asked again. “What happened to your parents?”

“He killed them…. He killed them five days ago, and left me here by myself.” Her eyes swelled up with tears and she pulled away from him, crying into her hands. Jon walked away and sat down on one of the pews that hadn’t caught fire. He pulled a PS Vita from his pocket and started playing it.

“Shhh…” Clyde said in a sweet voice. “It’s going to be okay, everything is fine. Where do you live?” She looked up into his face and took a deep breath, trying to gain her composure. It took her some time to speak again, and it was in a whisper when she finally did.

“I lived in a trailer park… he killed everyone there.” She looked it Clyde’s eyes with a hollowness that he had never seen before, her pupils so big you could barely see the dark green. “We didn’t leave anyone alive.”

Clyde wrapped his arms around the young girl and she cried into his shoulder. The whole time he forced himself not to blink, drying out his eyes to prevent them from tearing up.

“What is your name?” He asked her, trying to bring her back.

“Serenity…. my name is Serenity.” She said through her tears. When she was finally finished she was weak and had the hiccups. He ran through a thousand scenarios in his mind and could only come to one conclusion.

“Would you like to come home with us, Serenity? We live in a big apartment and I’m sure there is room for you. You can even have my bed if you want.” Clyde smiled and took a step back holding his hand out for her. For a moment she just stared at it. Hesitantly, she linked her fingers with his. He looked over to Jon and walked out the front door of the church without another word. Jon looked up when he walked by and followed close behind.

It was cold outside now, almost as if the city knew what had happened inside the church. The cold bit into Jon’s skin and Serenity, being as small as she was, shivered constantly, until Clyde noticed and wrapped his coat around her. When the weight of the coat began to slow her down, Clyde stopped her to let her climb on his back.

Jon looked down each alley and on every rooftop, knowing that, should anything happen, he would have to alert his brother of danger. Jon’s Soul Perception pierced through every wall, car and shadow. Clyde never took his eyes from in front of his face.

They walked for about a quarter of a mile before Serenity fell asleep. Even with dead weight, it was far too easy for Clyde to lift her; she was almost nothing but skin and bones. A deep frown settled on Clydes face and he slowed to a stop. He looked over at Jon and nodded toward a window across the street that had a bench next to it that looked pretty comfortable.

Clyde set Serenity down on the bench and walked over to the window. Though it had gotten chilly there was no frost on the glass, so he breathed onto it. When it was fogged up enough, he set his finger to write on it.

“42-42-564, when you want to knock on Death’s door.” Then with a shimmer the glass showed a man in a skull mask. It took him a moment to realize that someone had contacted him. The Lord Death look at Clyde.

“Lord Death, it’s me, Clyde.” He said, looking at the bench that Serenity was

“Hiya! How you doin’?” Lord Death replied, Spirit standing behind him.

“Yo, Clyde!” Spirit said waving in the background. “What’s going on?”

“Well, I took out Jason Dillon, but he had kidnapped this girl.” Clyde stepped aside to show Spirit and Lord Death Serenity. She was sound asleep, not even stirring one bit. “Also, with the soul collected today, Jon has 43.”

“That’s great!” Lord Death said, holding up a peace sign. “What do you plan to do with the girl?” He said, with Spirit leaning in for a closer look.

“Well, I think I’ll bring her home with us for a few days, at least until we can find her somewhere else to stay.”

“That’s a great idea! Well, I’ll see you when you get here!” Lord Death waved. “Bye now”

Clyde looked over at Serenity, then rose to walk to her side. He lifted her in his arms and gestured for Jon to follow him. They walked off, unfazed by man laying on a rooftop 2 kilometers away looking down his scope. His finger hovered over the trigger and he took a deep breath. There was a moment of silence before he looked away from his scope and stood up wiping the dust from his clothes.

The man had cold blue eyes, dirty blond hair that fell to his shoulders and a scar on his right cheek that was almost a perfect C. His sniper was completely black, except for three white lines that were on his muzzle compensator. They curved half way around the compensator.

“Let’s go, Anubis.” The man said, setting the sniper rifle on the ground and walking away. The rifle vanished and instead was replaced by a man with black hair that had three white lines around the right side of his head. The Lines of Sanzu seemed to shine in the light of the full moon, the white almost completely illuminated.

Anubis ran his hand through the Lines of Sanzu, thinking back to the perfect shot they had a moment ago. His partner was always giving up the perfect shot, much to his annoyance. Despite his displeasure, he followed, not looking back to see what the boy was doing.

“He will be ready next time, I promise.” The man said, looking back at Anubis. Anubis nodded, lost in thought.

“He wouldn’t be worth killing now, he’s far too inexperienced with his abilities for it to be with it. He wouldn’t withstand a single attack from us. Let’s just continue with the plan first.”

“I would prefer to finish him now, he may be a problem in the future. We will have our hands full with Maka, Black*Star and Death son, Death the Kid. They are a great team, this boy will definitely make that team stronger. I’ve looked into his soul, he is a monster.”

The man laughed and turned back to Anubis; the look on his face was enough to make a child scream. The sick joy was overwhelming, and even Anubis, who was used to it, felt the strength of his Madness.

“I’m a monster too, unless you’ve forgotten. I am one of the Immortal Clan, I am as strong as the Kishin was. I have the most powerful in the world at my side.” The man turned and looked back in the direction of Clyde. His smile grew, and his eyes became even colder. “I want to kill him when he’s strong enough to know just how much he should be afraid.”

Anubis knew the fear that he felt. The Madness of this man was like nothing he had ever felt. Though Madness flowed from him, he was completely sane. The most terrifying part was that, even after all this time, Anubis knew that at any given moment he would turn on him, deeming him worthy of killing…. and Anubis was sure that he would not survive.

* * *

Clyde, Serenity and Jon were standing in front of the entrance to Death’s Chamber. Serenity was now awake and was shifting on her feet nervously. Watching the young girl reminded Clyde of a time when he stood in front of this entrance ten years ago, covered in dirt and grime. Jon was in tears, completely devastated by the lose of their mother.

It was on that day they had met Professor Stein, who was the one to kill and take the soul of their mother, a witch by the name of Juno. She had many children, but they were the only ones living when Stein saw Clyde use his soul to defend himself. At the of eight, Clyde was already a adept user of Soul Menace. Though he stood no chance against Stein and his weapon, but was able to resonate with Stein’s soul, showing him the potential that the boy and his twin brother.

When Stein had returned he told them that Lord Death would allow them to stay and train at the DWMA, as long as they found a way to inhibit Clyde’s powers to be equal to that of the other students his age. For the next few he trained with Stein one on one, until he became overcome with madness, and then he didn’t continue the private training when Stein joined again at the DWMA. It was a few days after Stein’s disappearance that Lord Death placed two black bracelets on his wrists that withheld two thirds of his power. This was more than Death had expected, leaving him weaker than his fellow students.

This was the first time they had been home to the DWMA in almost six months. Since the outbreak of Madness upon the defeat of the Kishin, it seemed that only the top Meister/Weapon could stand a chance against the rise in violence. So for the first time in almost six years the brothers were paired together. Their bond was stronger than most, with combined powers of Clyde’s extremely large and dense soul, with Jon’s ability to become almost any type of weapon he soon became a Three Star Meister.

Serenity coughed, bringing his attention back to the present. He felt his shoulders tense as Stein walked up toward them, twisting the screw that went through his head. There was a glare on his glasses as he pushed them up, revealing that he was looking Clyde directly in the eye. Clyde swallowed hard, and felt his right hand tense. Stein stared at him for a long while before finally speaking.

“You’ve grown Clyde, Jon. I can see that my idea to team the two of you up has paid off. Though Clyde, I’m telling you this as your friend.” He paused for effect, then he took a few steps forward, saying. “If you keep being so cocky about your own abilities you will never become the kind of Meister that you think you are. You have the potential, but you need to be humbled a bit.”

He didn’t say anything else, but turned around and started walking toward Death’s Chamber. That was all the invitation Jon needed, who jumped up from his seat on the floor and followed Stein like a lost puppy. Serenity looked up toward Clyde then took his, pulling a shocked Clyde with her. Clyde didn’t object, just followed with his mouth hanging open.

Death was waiting for them, Spirit standing beside him. The room was cold, but Clyde barely felt the effects. Despite everything that Clyde felt nervous. Something about the sudden message that had arrived that morning, telling him to report to Death’s Chamber upon arrival in Death City, had freaked him out. Jon had just shrugged.

“Maybe you’re in trouble?” He had said jokingly, though the thought hadn’t quite left Clyde’s thoughts.

“You’re probably wondering why we wanted you to come here.” Death said in his usual chipper voice. “Well the answer is quite simple. You’re being demoted to a Two Star Meister!”

Jon busted out laughing, falling to the floor with his hands to his ribs. Spirit looked at him like he was insane. Jon stayed there, laughing the whole time, until Spirit threatened to kill him. When he finally rose to his feet again Clyde’s face had sunken and there was a deep frown on his face.

“This isn’t a punishment.” said Death. “This is because we believe it is time you went back to training. We can’t spare Mifune or Stein to give you personal teachers, so the best thing to do is put you into classes. We also feel that you should have the chance to be a pair with your brother more long term. Though don’t worry, we haven’t forgotten your skill.”

“You will be in Strike Team with Maka, Black*Star and Death’s Son, Death the Kid.” Stein continued. “You will have private lessons with me and Mifune whenever we can set apart the time. Besides that you will just have to do the work that we assign you.” Stein walked over to Serenity and set a hand on her shoulder.

“You young lady have been on my mind all day!” Death said, even more excited than normal. “Would you like to be a weapon Meister?”

“What’s a Meister….?” Serenity asked, her voice barely audible in the noiseless room. Lord Death bounced over. His giant hands took both of Serenity’s and walked with her over to the window that he used to watch the world. They began to talk as Stein stood and walked over to Clyde and Jon.

“You will start class at seven a.m. Sid will be your first class of the day, and Mifune will be your second. After his class you’ll have private studies, followed by lunch. Last class of the day will be with me, and it will your entire Strike Team. Do you understand?”

Clyde nodded then translated to Jon, who nodded. Stein motioned for them to follow. Serenity was laughing over by Death, who was showing her pictures in his mirror. Clyde felt an ache as he walked away, knowing that he wouldn’t see her for at least a few hours. After only a short time her had grown attached to the young girl. Jon looked back at Spirit who nodded at him before waving goodbye.

Clyde and Jon Crest took the twenty minute walk to their apartment in the middle of Death City. The door was unlocked so they walked right in, and took turns taking showers. Clyde keep thinking about Maka and Black*Star. He knew that with Death the Kid the three had succeeded in killing the Kishin. All three were exceptional Meisters, who just had to become Two Star Meisters.

He remembered that Black*Star was the one who defeated Mifune and brought him to teach at the DWMA. This had helped Clyde quite a bit over the past few months. With regular private lessons from Mifune, he had learned to control Jon in Blue Flame Sword Mode with amazing efficiency. Though he had learned combat skills from Stein in the few months they had trained together, and years of practice had given him the skill to hold his own with most Three Star Meisters. Mifune had taught him everything about sword-fighting.

Jon came out of the shower and got Jon’s attention. Jon looked over to him, who pointed toward the door. a shadow appeared in front of the window. A moment later a boy with blue hair and all black clothing burst through the door.

“Yawhoo!” The boy said, standing in the livingroom. “I’ve bet you’ve never seen a big star like me!” The boy said, pressing his thumb into his chest.

“The names Black*Star and I’m here to see if you’re worth to join our Strike Team.” He took an offensive stance, getting low to the ground. Clyde smiled to himself, because he knew that this was actually going to be enjoyable.

“I hope you can fight as well as you can run your mouth,” Clyde said, walking out the back door. He knew that he couldn’t use his full abilities, the weight of the bracelets reminded him just how powerless he could really be. The wasn’t too worried, though. A smile crossed his face. “‘Cause if not... You’re not going to be able to walk away from this.”

Chapter Text

Black*Star was fast, appearing through the door and going straight at Clyde. The attack was predictable and when he went to make contact, Clyde was able to listen to his soul and , in turn, modify his wavelength. He knew that Black*Star was an expert on Soul Menace, and that his “Black*Star: Big Wave” was nothing to be trifled with.

He wasn’t able to resonate with Black*Star at close range like that, but he was able to lessen the effect of his attack. There was a sharp pain in his lower back, and he felt Black*Star’s soul wavelength course through him.

“Black*Star!!! Big Wave!!!” There was an explosion of Black*Star’s Soul within Clyde. He was sent flying, crashing into a building and breaking the support beams that held up front porch. The porch’s roof collapsed and landed on top of Clyde. Black*Star started to laugh, saying something about him being a big star.

Clyde was getting angry, Jon could tell pretty easily. He backed away, sitting on a bench. Jon wished he had some popcorn. It was always his favorite thing to eat when watching something this entertaining. Just then, Clyde rose to his feet and looked directly at Black*Star.

“That was a cheap shot! Plus you broke the porch to our neighbor’s house! You’re gonna have to pay for that.” He said, the grey in his eyes getting darker, becoming almost black.

“Big stars like me don’t worry about things like money!” Black*Star said with a smile. “You’re going down Clyde! I’m the man who surpass-- awk!” Clyde’s foot slammed into the right side of Black*Star’s face, cutting him off but barely moving him. Clyde had that blank look on his face he got when he knew he was going to win. Jon had seen that look many times, and never had it resulted in anything less than victory.

Black*Star recovered quickly, but Clyde was ready for his counter strike. He jumped back onto his shoulders, suspending his feet mere inches from the self-proclaimed assassin’s face. He spun at a blinding speed, both of his heels sinking deep into the left side of his head. Black*Star was sent flying into the street, dazed.

Clyde took on an offensive stance, waiting for Black*Star to attack. He stayed down for a moment - three or four seconds, at least. Rising slowly to his feet, Black*Star started laughing again. He seemed to be having the time of his life.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve had to actually try against a small star like you. Normally, I would have already taken you out with my Soul Wavelength. The way you fight reminds me of Stein. The only problem with you is--!” Black*Star was suddenly behind him, elbow colliding with Clyde’s lower back. “You don’t deal any damage!” Once again, Black*Star’s Soul Wavelength surged into him.

Clyde was ready this time, matching Black*Star’s soul wavelength. When his attack hit home, it had almost no effect on Clyde. Instead of flying forward like last time, he grabbed Black*Star by the back of the neck and throwing him instead. Instead of letting him fly, Clyde grabbed him by the collar and suspended him in the air with his left hand. A small ball of blue light appear in his hand.

“Soul Brigade!” Clyde slammed his hand into Black*Star’s chest, exploding on impact. A flash of blue light blinded Jon, even stunning Black*Star. Before either of them could recover, Black*Star had flown through the fence, and across the street, finally stopping after colliding with a brick wall.

Clyde’s eyes took on a lighter gray, he knew that he had won. Black*Star was not used to being hit with another person’s Soul Wavelength. He started to walk back toward the house, calm and collected as normal.

“Where are you going?” Black*Star said, rising from the crumbles of the wall. “I’m not done with you yet.” Clyde whirled around and saw Black*Star rise from the dust. There was a small amount of blood on his chin and cheeks.

“You should just stay down. That’s only 10% of what I can do.” Clyde said, a smile appearing on his face. It had been years since Clyde had a challenge. “I’m gonna give it 50% this time. I hope you can handle it, Black*Star.”

“I’m the man who surpassed god, I’m not scared of someone like you.” He replied, stretching before taking an offensive stance.

“I’ll crush you!” He charged him.

Clyde reacted instantaneously, hearing a change in his Soul Wavelength and reacting by changing his own to one that would deal heavy damage. When Black*Star was close enough, Clyde swelled up his soul, stopping him a few feet from dealing damage. Then he looked up at Black*Star, a smile on his face.

“Soul Spear!” He bellowed, the visible part of his Soul retreated back into his body, then exploded outward like an arrow about a foot in diameter. The blue light collided with Black*Star’s torso and then tore through it. “Soul Spreader!”

The spear suddenly started to tear through Black*Star’s body, with small lines of blue light coming from everywhere. Black*Star started to scream, obviously in agonizing pain. The spear sank back into Clyde’s body. Black*Star collapsed and fell face first onto the floor. His body was unharmed, but he was out cold.

“It took me years to find a way to attack people on nothing but a spiritual level. My Soul Spear doesn’t ever collide with your flesh, it actually just attacks your soul. I don’t know why I’m talking to you. You’re already-” Clyde leaned down to make sure Black*Star was knocked out. When his face was close enough, Black*Star kicked him in the back of the head with his left foot.

Then, Black*Star vanished.

Clyde was sent flying across the street and would have slammed into a car, but put his left hand on the ground, pivoting on it and using his momentum to twist in the air. He spun and then he too vanished.

“You’re impressive, Clyde. I’ve never seen someone use Soul Menace like you. Not even Stein. Where did you learn to fight like this?” Black*Star’s voice was heard, but he was no where to be seen. Clyde responded without appearing either.

“I was taught how to fight by Stein, but only for a few months. He taught me to access Souls and to use Soul Menace. This fighting style is called Dancing Dragon. It’s actually a modified Reaper Martial Art. It uses speed more than anything else, but I prefer raw power.”

Clyde appeared in the middle of a streetlights beam, the yellow light creating weird shadows across his face. He stood there saying and doing nothing. His eyes grew darker and darker as the light grew brighter and brighter. He listened with intensity, trying to find Black*Star’s Soul Wavelength.

“There you are!” Clyde yelled suddenly, throwing out his right hand almost directly behind him. A small line of his soul took form in a lance. He turned toward where his hand was pointed and charged. The head of the lance collided with Black*Star’s chest. “Soul Lance!” Clyde said on impact.

Black*Star was sent flying, while still in the air Clyde ran to where he was going to land. With his left hand on the ground, Clyde fully extended his right leg, bending into his kick to give it more power at the lower height. Black*Star cringed as as he was hit directly in the stomach and was once again sent flying through the air.

Much to Clyde’s surprise, Black*Star vanished. He was flying through the air one moment and was gone the next. Before he had anytime to react, Clyde felt a hand on his back.

“Planet Destruction Blast!” Clyde’s entire body was flooded with pain. His Soul Wavelength was set to hurt Black*Star, but this was a double edge sword because it also caused Black*Star’s attack stronger. This level of Soul Menace was higher, it was like a bomb going off inside of Clyde’s body.

Black*Star grabbed Clyde by the back of his coat, then threw him against the ground, placing his palm against him again. Clyde’s body was still screaming from Black*Star’s last attack and had yet to regain his senses. When the second Planet Destruction Blast hit, he blacked out for a moment from the pain.

“I won’t kick a man when he’s down. So I guess this means you lose. I didn’t expect anything else.” Black*Star started to walk away but heard him getting up. When he turned around Clyde had both hands in front of him, the fingers overlapping and the hands open. Clyde’s eyes were full of excitement as his Soul became visible and pooled into a large ball in front of his hands.

“Resonance Disrupter.” His voice was almost almost a whisper. A ray of red Soul Energy was shot from the ball in his hand and hit Black*Star in the chest before he had the chance to react. Black*Star froze a strange look crossing face before he fell flat on his face, seemingly unconscious.

“Looks like I beat the man who surpassed God.” Clyde laughed and turned to leave, letting his guard down. Then he was hit from behind by Black*Star and was knocked out cold.

“I already told you, I will win this fight, no matter what.” Black*Star said. Clyde didn’t get back up this time. Looking over, Black*Star could see Jon laughing his ass off, literally falling out of his chair. Black*Star smiled and said, “You’re next.”

* * *

Clyde woke up to Jon throwing water on his face. Black*Star had left hours ago immediately upon learning that Jon was actually a weapon - and not a Meister. Clyde shot to his feet, and signed to his brother.

“What happened? Did I win?” Clyde asked, his brother shaking his head and grabbing his ribs to refrain from laughing.

“You got your ass handed to you. You let your guard down and he stood up. Hit you once in the back of the head and you dropped.”

“So that’s Black*Star…” Clyde said, walking away as Jon started laughing again. “I can’t wait to meet the rest of them.”

“Well it’s a good thing you don’t have to then.” said a girl with blond hair that were in pigtails said. Kneeling next to her was a boy with white hair, red eyes and a devilish grin. Black*Star was there with a tall girl with black hair. “My name is Maka Albarn, Two Star Psych Meister.” The girl said, a serious expression on her face.

“You already met me!” Black*Star said, “This is my Weapon Tsubaki.” He gestured to the the girl with the black hair standing next to him. “That guy over there is Soul.”

“Soul Evans.” Clyde said walking over and offering his hand to Soul. “I’m familiar with your brother Wes. I once went to a show where he played as a special guest. I met with him backstage and he spoke about you every warmly. He is quite proud of you. If it wouldn’t be much trouble I would like to play with you some time, I am a saxophone player myself.” Soul thought for a moment before shaking his hand.

“It’s not likely you will ever get to play with me. I prefer not to play in front of others, it’s more of a hobby now.” Soul replied, standing up. He looked Clyde in the eye.

“Kid is running a little late.” Maka said, taking a seat at a table in Clyde and Jon’s backyard. “He said to get started without him. I’ve heard about you. You’re the Drest brothers. You single handedly took out an entire squadron of Arachnophobia agents.”

“You forgot the part that made it cool.” Soul said, grinning. “He did it with one swing of his sword.”

“I bet I could take out a hundred with Tsubaki in Uncanny Sword Mode.” Black*Star said, sitting down at one of the other chairs. Jon walked over and sat next to Maka. He offered her his hand and did a short sign to his brother, who nodded.

“My brother would like to talk to you using his Soul… Would that be okay, Maka?” Clyde asked, walking over and standing at the head of the table.

“Why doesn’t he talk?” Black*Star asked.

“Professor Stein told us when he gave us the mission; Jon is deaf.” Tsubaki said.

“Oh, that’s right.” Maka took Jon’s hand. “It’s okay, go ahead.”

“Hi, I’m Jon. I’ve heard a lot of great things about you Maka Albarn. Your father speaks very highly of you. I can tell everything I heard is true.” He pulled his hand away and offered it to everyone else, who took it in turn. He spoke to all of them and established a connection.

“Jon can communicate with anyone he has form a Soul Communication Link with. He prefers to use sign language but this is his next favorite.”

“Clyde. Jon. Can you tell us about yourselves? All we’ve heard are the rumors that surfaced after the fight with Arachnophobia.” Maka asked, looking from Jon to Clyde.

“Most of those rumors aren’t true. Me and my brother were only there for one thing. To kill the Kishin should Stein or Lord Death fail. You beat us to the punch. As to the rumors about me being a Three Star Meister, that’s true. I was demoted by Lord Death yesterday. He wanted me to join you.”

“I’m not a Death Scythe either, though a lot of people think I am. I am able to turn into multiple Weapons though. Stein calls me a Chimera Weapon, as I am able to turn into any Weapon my partner desires.” Jon explained. He smiled at Maka and Soul then sat down in a chair next to Tsubaki.

“Good, I haven’t missed much.” said a boy with black hair that had three white stripes on the left side only. Clyde instantly knew that this was Death the Kid. His two Weapon Partners, Liz and Patty Thompson were with him. “Hello Clyde and Jon.”

“Hey guys, how’s it going?” Liz said as she walked up to the gate leading to the backyard of Clyde and Jon’s apartment. “Nice to finally meet you, Clyde and Jon.”

“She’s sooooo cute!” Patti said, running past her sister and almost tackling a shocked Serenity. “What’s your name?”

“S-Serenity…” She said, getting pale and looking at Clyde. Her big brown eyes wide with fear. Clyde walked over and set his hand on Patty’s shoulder.

“Is anyone hungry? I know a really nice coffee shop just down the road. My treat.” No one declined, so Clyde scooped up Serenity. “Then let’s eat. I hope you like food with lots of flavor.”

It wasn’t long before everyone was sitting at Mama’s Diner, each stuffing their faces with pancakes and bacon, respectively. Kid had a perfectly symmetrical pancake on his plate that he had yet to touch, staring at it while Liz told him he needed to eat. Soul had piled on at least ten pancakes that were shaped like his face and Maka was reading a book with her left hand while eating bacon with her right.

Tsubaki was laughing as Patty and Black*Star arm wrestled again and again. Even after what seemed like a hundred loses Patty refused to give in. Serenity was laughing at everyone’s antics and trying hard to eat all the food on her plate. It was costing the two brothers a fortune, but they didn’t care because it was the first time either of them had had any real friends. Clyde and Maka exchanged a look across the table which prompted him to clear his throat.

“I believe that we should go somewhere that I can show you my skills and you can show me yours. Stein is convinced that I will make this team whole and that with me and my brother, in addition to you guys, we will be unstoppable. As of right now, I must agree because the only person to ever beat me in hand to hand combat, until last night, was Stein.” He exchanged a look with Black*Star, who grinned before slamming Patty’s arm over the table so hard she fell to the floor.

“My brother can be a little overly formal sometimes, but what he is saying is that if you are willing we would like to show you what we can do.” Jon said, looking at everyone. Then Clyde stood up and took on a serious expression.

“Former Three Star, now Two Star Resource Meister, Clyde Drest.” He took a slight bow and then looked everyone in the eye. “Allow me to show you what I am capable of. Follow me to the forest.”

They left soon after, walking for almost twenty minutes before anyone broke the silence.

Black*Star walked closer to Maka and whispered in her ear.

“What’s a Resource Meister?”

“It’s a Meister who can match their Soul Wavelength with any Weapon, like Professor Stein. It means that Clyde is pretty skilled, since he is the only Meister besides Stein who I’ve heard of being able to do it.”

“He is a pretty big star. He wasn’t exactly easy to beat last night, either. At one point, he did this thing…. I think he called it Soul Disruption, or something. It made me feel strange, then I was out cold for a moment.”

“It’s called Resonance Disrupter, and yes it actually attacks the Soul.” Clyde said, able to hear them since Black*Star was practically screaming. “It binds my Soul Wavelength to yours, making it nearly impossible to use your Soul as a weapon. My Soul is nearly as flexible as Stein’s so this makes my technique stronger. I find a Wavelength that would cause you extreme damage and I use it against you.”

“He can use it with a Weapon too, besides me he has had almost twenty different Weapon partners, including two Death Scythe.”

“With a little practice I can use all of you. Even Liz and Patty together. If I try hard enough I can actually use two different Weapons at once. Though, sometimes it doesn’t make sense to do so. For instance, I wouldn’t want to use two scythes at once, unless I was trying to take out a large number of enemies in one blow.”

“So, you have skills. My father has spoken about you on many occasions. Though, he mostly speaks of your Soul being extremely large for someone your age. That’s why you rose to the level of a Three Star Meister so quickly.” Kid, who was a few feet behind Clyde, spoke with a look of slight curiosity.

“That’s true, though Lord Death gives me too much praise sometimes.” Clyde stopped, they were in the middle of a park and they could see nothing but trees around them. Jon went to the left and walked until he found a clearing. “This is as good a place as any. Okay Jon, Blue Flame Sword Mode.”

“No problem.” Jon did a backflip and transformed mid-air. Clyde caught him effortlessly. He turned to face his new friends.

“I can deal a large amount of damage on my own, but I’m not as physically strong as Black*Star. Also Black*Star is quite the genius with Soul Menace. The one thing he hasn’t managed to do is actually target the direct Soul Wavelength of his opponent or… his partner.”

“Resonance level 1, Heart Harmony.” Jon said, directly to Clyde. Clyde stopped talking and their heartbeat was instantly in line.

“This is the first level of mine and Jon’s Resonance. We call it Heart Harmony.” Clyde walked around a bit, showing them the slight glow that Jon was emitting. “With each level we increase the speed that we pass our Soul Wavelength between ourselves. I’ll show you level two.”

--Resonance Level 2, Mental Harmony--

“This is level two, Mental Harmony. Our senses become one, so Clyde’s Soul Perception that is aligned with his hearing and mine that is aligned with my sight. I can actually hear when we do level two or higher. I use his ears and he uses my eyes.”

“We only do this when we go up against strong opponent. The combination of hearing and sight makes our Soul Perception strong enough that we can sever the bond better Meister and Weapon. Level three is Soul Harmony and level four is Battle Meditation.

“Maka use Soul Perception and tell everyone what is happening during levels three and four.” Clyde said, suddenly addressing Maka to help with the demonstration, catching her off guard.

“O-Okay. I can do that.” Her pupils dilated and she concentrated on Clyde and Jon’s Souls. “Okay, they’re matching their Soul Wavelengths... But not like me and Soul do; it’s more like they’re pooling all of their energy together.”

“Level Three Soul Resonance, Soul Harmony!” They spoke in unison, as their Souls drew closer and seemed to touch.

“Their Wavelengths are so in tune that they are actually being pulled together! It’s like there isn’t any separation between them anymore!” Maka almost couldn’t believe if it wasn’t for the fact that she wasn’t seeing it for herself.

Clyde and Jon started to yell, their voices sounded like one. The energy between their Souls began to glow more intensely, until it went from sparkling static to a solid blue light. Then, the Soul of Clyde Drest became visible to them for the first time.

“I can see Clyde’s Soul!” Black*Star said, surprised. “I’ve... never been able to see someone’s soul before. It’s a dark blue, and it’s really big.”

“Everyone back up! My Soul is about to get bigger!” Clyde yell, looking at them with eyes that seemed to glow a light blue. A moment later, he let out a slight yell and his Soul shrank then exploded outward.

Clyde’s Soul was a dark blue, and it so solid that you almost couldn’t see them on the inside. There was a key hole in the very center and a large key sticking out of it. Lightning surrounded Clyde’s body and blue flames covered the surface of Jon’s blade.

“The lightning and the blue fire are products of your Soul Resonance? I’m guessing it can happen at lower levels, but you have to do it on purpose?” Kid asked, getting a few feet from the edge of Clyde’s Soul. The distance between them was almost twenty feet.

“Correct, I’m going for level four. Ready Maka?”

“Yes, I’m ready. Go ahead!”

“Level Four Soul Resonance…. Battle Meditation!” Clyde’s Soul was pulled back into his body, not longer visible. He was surrounded in blue light and lightning crackled around the surface of his skin. Jon was completely covered in blue flames.

“Jon’s Soul is completely surrounding Clyde’s. It seems like he is a shield or something.”

“Our senses are completely in tune now. I can see out of both my eyes and Jon’s at the same time. Everything I do with my Soul is instantly amplified tenfold. If I hit you with a Soul Disrupter now, there’s a big chance you and Tsubaki wouldn’t be able to resonate for hours. This is also the only level that I can use my three strongest attacks.”

“Is this the strongest you guys can get?” Maka asked. “This is impressive, but I feel that you are holding back from us.”

“Resonance Release!” Clyde and Jon said in unison. Their souls separated, then Jon shifted back into his human form.

“That’s because we are. We have two more levels of Soul Resonance, and you haven’t even seen my special ability yet.”

“What’s your special ability? Is it your ability to disrupt Souls? Or is that just a byproduct?” Liz asked, walking close to them.

“His special ability is that he can use his Soul to interact with others.” Stein said, shocking everyone by suddenly appearing from the shadows. “It’s why Lord Death and I want him on your team. The seven of you are very capable, but we believe that Clyde will give you an extra edge.”

He pushed his glasses closer to his face, the glare fading as he looked Clyde in the eye. “Would you care to show them, Clyde?”

“I was just getting to it actually.” Clyde smiled, and walked over to Black*Star and Tsubaki. “Would it be okay if I borrowed Tsubaki for a moment?” He asked Black*Star.

“Yea, it’s okay. But don’t go stealing my Weapon, or I’ll kick your ass again.”

“Is it okay with you Tsubaki?” Clyde asked, standing directly in front of her.

“Yes, it’s fine. What do you need me to do?” she inquired.

“Black*Star mentioned something about an Uncanny Sword Mode, can you do that for me?”

“If Tsubaki uses that mode, it can really screw with your body, I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Black*Star wasn’t one to warn people.

“You should listen to Black*Star, it took him almost six months to learn to use that form.” Tsubaki said nervously. “This isn’t a good idea.”

“I know what I’m doing, trust me.” Clyde said completely calm. Tsubaki nodded and turned into a sword that was completely black. Clyde caught it in the air and immediately began to feel it tugging onto his Soul Wavelength.

Clyde gripped the sword tightly. His knuckled became white, then his Soul became visible and solid. It expanded around him and the key turned slowly. There was a loud clicking sound. Clyde opened his eyes and black lines appeared on his skin. His Soul began to resonate with Tsubaki.

“My special ability has multiple uses. I can unlock the potential of someone else’s Soul, or lock it. My Soul Disrupter is just a weak version of the Sealing Wavelength. But what’s better is this: my Unravel Wavelength. I can either amplify Soul Resonance or use my Soul Wavelength to alter someone else’s. This is a more extreme modifier.”

Clyde’s Soul Key pulled out of the lock, then Tsubaki’s Soul appeared in front of him. The Soul Key turn and a lock appeared. The key inserted itself into the lock, then it turned. There were three clicks then…. silence.

“Soul Evolution!” The key turned the rest of the way around, then her Soul swelled. It doubled, tripled quadrupled in size. Tsubaki started to yell her blade glowing a dark gold.

There was a flash of golden light, Clyde and Tsubaki screamed in unison. Then, all sound abruptly stopped. The light from Tsubaki started to fade, leaving the surface shimmering with blue light. Instead of the usual black, the Uncanny Sword was now a bronze color. It was embroidered with black dragons and had grown to about three feet long.

“I feel impossibly strong. How do you do something like this?” Tsubaki asked, her reflection appearing in the thicker handle of the blade. “I feel like a completely different person now.”

“I use my Soul Wavelength to amplify yours to the point that you evolve to something stronger than your normal self. This allows you to use more complex techniques and harness more of your own power.” Clyde walked over to Black*Star and handed him Tsubaki.

“I’d call this Evo Sword, but the name is up to you. You can use this if you push your Resonance up while she’s in Uncanny Sword mode.”

“So, can you do this with any Weapon? Or only certain ones?” Maka asked, standing a good ten feet to Clyde’s left. He turned to look at her.

“I can even do this with a Meister, every Soul has locked potential and all this does is let me get it back. Your Soul may be small but you have a Grigori soul from what I can hear. I can hear it’s wing flapping.”

“None of that matters,” said Death the Kid, unable to hold back his anger any longer.

“What I want to know is what enemy is so strong that we have to include a Three Star Meister in our Strike Team?!” He walked over to Stein and got in his face. “The Kishin is dead! We are supposed to be in a time of peace. What are you and my father not telling us?!”

“I’d calm down if I were you. You may have learned how to use the Lines of Sanzu in battle, but you’re still too inexperienced to fight someone like me. An overwhelming amount of power can only get you so far.” Stein took a step back and walked to the edge of the clearing. “Have any of you ever wondered why there was only one family of Shinigami?”

“Yea, I used to ask myself that all the time. It seems like there should be more than just one. Besides Kid and Lord Death I’ve never heard of another one.” Maka asked, “Is there more out there that we don’t know about?”

“There used to be… Lord Death killed all the other Shinigami.” Everyone froze and at that moment an uncomfortable tension filled the air. Jon felt a cold chill down his spine.

“There were thought to be only two such creatures left on the planet, but that’s not the case anymore. Last night, when you were fighting with that murderer, did you feel anything strange?”

“No, but when I was walking away I did feel a slight chill.” Clyde walked over to where Serenity was sitting. He kneeled down next to her. “Why do you ask?”

“I was tailing you last night. That said, I have been tailing you for months. Although the last few missions you were on, I wasn’t the only one doing so. There were two people, a Weapon and a Meister, that were also following you. They were far enough back you couldn’t possibly hear there so Wavelengths, but they were there. One of them had three white stripes on only the left side of his head.”

Kid gasped, looking at Stein. Clyde looked over at his brother and they exchanged a look of grim realization.

“So there’s a third Shinigami?” Liz asked, looking at Kid for confirmation. He nodded. “That’s a good thing right? That would mean Lord Death doesn’t have to work so hard to keep things in order.”

“The reason Lord Death killed the other Shinigami is because they were abusing their power. There’s something else about this Shinigami. He isn’t a Meister; he’s a Weapon. An unbelievably strong one.”

“I can’t imagine what a Shinigami Weapon would be capable of… It’s a scary thought.” Liz said, shaking in fear. She stepped closer to Kid.

“So, this Soul Evolution is how we are going to win against it?” Black*Star asked looking at Stein. He nodded.

“We better get to work then.” Clyde said. “Everyone, let’s get out of here. We need to learn to work as a team.”