Chapter Text
Friday, October 28th, 2011 9:12 PM
The insistent buzzing of the ceiling lights rang in Maka’s ears, making her already throbbing headache get even worse. She was standing outside of the Death Room Hallway, Kid having told her to wait outside for now. Her foot tapped against the tile floor, anxiety like a snake in her stomach, spewing poison into her senses. She felt like she could vomit from all this stress, confusion, anger and fear. But most of all, relief. Her heart was pounding inside of her chest as she took shaky breaths as a weak attempt to calm herself down. The beating of footsteps all around the school seemed to echo, making it obvious how dire this situation seemed to be. Men in black suits could be seen walking past, talking about the same thing. A bead of sweat dripped down the side of her face as the foot tapping got worse. She had to protect them.
She had to protect Crona.
Thursday, October 27th, 2011 6:00 PM
3 Hours prior
A quiet and slightly chilly night of October. Maka stepped out of the school’s entrance, stretching her arms and giving a slight groan, the action feeling satisfying on her tired muscles. She was getting out of school for the day, ready to head home. The day had been like any other tiring and grueling days, same old routine it has been for 2 years now. Having moved up ranks and a leader of the Spartoi group with the last Death Scythe, Maka Albarn seemed to have busier matters these days, but none as exciting as she’d hoped. Less enemies to fight, it’s all mostly just affairs with other countries and stations around the world. Graduation from the DWMA was closing in on her as the months passed, and she didn’t know whether to look forward to it or dread it.
How can I be excited about graduation if you aren’t here to graduate with me?
Maka craned her head to examine the moon, a sadness clenching in her chest around her heart. The moon didn’t shine as bright as it did before, the glow duller with the black prison surrounding it. Two years have passed since the battle on the moon, everybody seems to have gotten over it now. Everybody except Maka herself. Every day seems to stretch out for hours, being at school without Crona felt so much more dreary than it did before. Knowing there was a chance to save them, when they were in arms reach, in that void. She wished she could’ve done more, to find some other way to seal that damn Kishin. Now she waits, every day, hoping that her ongoing research with Dr. Stein will pay off, but so far there’s no luck. Reaching an outstretched arm up to the sky, she fists her hand around the moon’s image, as if she could grab it, and bring it down herself. She put her arm down and let a heavy sigh escape her.
“Hey, Maka, if you’re done grabbing imaginary things, we should head home eh?”
A voice pulled Maka out of her thoughts.
“I wasn’t grabbing any imaginary thing Soul, I was..” She paused, and looked up, “i-it’s nothing.”
Soul walked over to her and quirked an eyebrow, his hands in his pockets. “You’re thinking about Crona, huh?” He questioned.
Maka’s heart squeezed. “Yeah.. I just.. I miss them.” Was all she could say, There were about a hundred things swirling in her mind to say about Crona, and how badly she wanted them back. How she wanted to take them and hug them, show them that she still cares, that she still wants them. An image of Crona appeared in her mind, she still remembers their appearance fondly. Choppy lavender hair, navy blue eyes and a lanky, yet tall frame. She noticed how mature they seemed to have gotten the second time they found each other. That long black dress that fit their shape so perfectly, it made her face warm a bit thinking about it. Maka shook her head, realizing how deep in thought she just went, and turned back to Soul.
Shrugging off the unusual silence from his meister, Soul just took a few steps forward.
“I know you miss them, Maka. It sucks seeing you all depressed and shit lately, if I could snap my fingers and have them appear here I would, but..” He trailed off. Maka just sighed.
“I know, Soul. There’s little we can do about it. Me and Dr. Stein are doing all we can, but nothing seems to work.” A defeated and exhausted look flashed across Maka’s features. The work she was doing with professor Stein was emotionally and physically tiring.
Soul just scratched the back of his head. Maka was aware that he didn’t really know what to do to make the situation better. Nobody could really do anything. She was really the only one who went out of her way to understand and help Crona, everybody else followed along after her. She knew the others cared about them, but something about it was different between her and Crona. Something more special, and personal. Intimate? Maka shook her head at this thought. No no.. not that.. Right?
“I worry about you sometimes, Maka.” Soul said, eyeing her suspiciously. “Seems like you’re having some kind of internal struggle, like two mini-Makas are inside your head scythe fighting to the death.”
Maka just stared at him with an unamused and slightly questioning expression on her face.
“Hey, don’t give me that look!” Soul scoffed. “It’s true!”
Rolling her eyes, Maka dropped the questioned look, too tired to think about it more. She just wanted to head home and get some rest. Shoving his hands back in his pockets, Soul eyed the city ahead, seemingly ready to head home as well. Maka was waiting on his cue to start heading down the stairs, when she thought she heard something in the distance. She perked up, her posture straightening, to listen for what it was she thought she heard. Soul noticed her do this, and turned to give her a questioning look.
“What is it now, Maka? Seriously, you really need to get some rest.”
“Shush! I’m trying to listen!” Maka whisper-shouted back to him.
“Listen for what? Great, now you’re hearing things.”
“Shhhh!!!!” Maka shushed him greatly, a finger pointed to her lips as she glared at him.
Backing down, Soul stopped talking, as Maka jerked back to continue her listening.
The sound she thought that she was hearing resembled one of footsteps, but very fast, as if somebody was running. She had to strain to hear it, wondering what direction it was coming from and what it could be. Suddenly, the noise stopped, and Maka was left listening in silence. She opened her eyes and looked around, scanning the area to try and see anything in the distance. Soul was looking at her like she just sprouted wings and grew horns, but she didn’t care. He can think I'm crazy all he wants, but I know I heard something! Maka internally grumbled. She continued to look, her green eyes focused down into the street, but it was hard to see at night, plus standing on that tall entrance at the top of the stairs made it even harder.
Maka heaved a sigh, deciding to just let it go after another minute of staring. She really thought she could hear footsteps, logically she thought it might’ve been somebody in danger or in a hurry, but a part of her mind hoped it would’ve been Crona, running back to her. Heart sinking she drooped her head to look at the floor, knowing full well that Soul was staring at her still. He shook his head and put a hand on her shoulder for a moment, before patting it.
“C’mon Maka, let’s just go home. You need some sleep.” He said, sounding as sympathetic as he could be. Maka just lifted her head and nodded.
Eyes threatening to water, Maka blinked the tears back and took in a breath, ready to just be done with today. She took a step, ready to descend down the stairs, until something stopped her right in her tracks, and she jolted upon hearing the ever so familiar sound.
“Maka!!”
Her head jerked up to look for a source, scanning the area below once again. She noticed in her peripheral vision that Soul had stopped to look as well, confirming that the call was not just in her head. Desperately, her eyes darted around the streets below, searching for the source of that call. She knew that voice that called her name just now, it was so clear. She gulped down a lump in her throat, hoping and praying that she could find them. Until her eyes finally landed on a figure moving down below.
A dark and lanky figure stepped out from behind one of the buildings below, blurry due to the distance, but it was clear who this shape belonged to. They stepped out of the shadows, and the lavender hair and pale skin was telling enough who it was that had called her name. Maka felt her heartbeat pulse in every single vein in her body, her limbs shaking and her chest losing air. She felt dizzy, like this was some kind of dream or a sick prank, but it all felt so real. She glanced at Soul to see if he was seeing that same thing, and his expression was a sure giveaway. His eyes were wide with shock, and his mouth was slightly parted in complete confusion. Maka darted her eyes right back to the figure, heart skipping a beat in fear of them being gone when she looked back, but they were still there to her relief.
“Maka?” They shouted again, somewhat like a question, to see if she was real or if that was really her.
Legs growing weak, Maka felt like she could fall over right there. Was this really happening? Are they really there, showing her name? She felt like she was going crazy, but all the while her mind was shouting one thing to her. Reply. Reply to them, let them know you’re real. Maka gulped, and took a shaky breath, her mind swirling with a million thoughts, but one was so clear. Was that really them down there? Are they really back?
With a deep breath, she shouted back.
“Crona?!”
After that call, they straightened up their posture into one of excitement and shock, happy to hear that Maka called back to them.
“Maka!” They called again, not a question this time, but with full confidence it was her. She could see now that they were starting to run towards the stairs, stumbling a bit while trying.
Heart starting to race and body feeling energized and new, Maka called their name again as she, too, started taking off in a sprint down the stairs, nearly tripping over some, desperately trying to reach them so she could embrace them after so long.
“Crona! Crona, I'm coming!” She assured them as she sprinted.
Maka felt like she could jump and fly right into the air with how happy and relieved she was to see that Crona was here, alive, and managed to even find her. She felt tears threatening to well up in her eyes again, but didn’t let them fall yet, she couldn’t let them fall right now. She continued to sprint down the tall stairs, nearly to the bottom. Crona was nearing the staircase too, a bit clumsy and not as agile as her, but still trying out of desperacy. Maka’s heart swelled knowing they were just as desperate to get to her as she was to them. She was a few steps away from the bottom, only about ten feet away from Crona, when the unthinkable happened.
“Stop where you are! Freeze!” Foreign voices shouted as Maka stopped in her tracks, shoes skidding against the ground.
She was about to look around to see where the voices were coming from, before she saw a chain being thrown around Crona, jolting them to a painful and sudden stop. The chain landed around their torso, and it was being pulled with force, obviously harming them in the process. Two other chains with cuffs attached to them were shot at them, and they got hold on Crona’s wrists, pulling their arms back in an uncomfortable and painful looking manner. Crona wailed and screamed in shock and pain, and turned around to see where all these new restrictions were coming from. Men and women in black suits surrounded them, and forces with weapons and military gear were approaching as well. The look on Crona’s face said enough. They were mortified.
“STOP! STOP WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” Maka screamed in horror, watching as Crona kicked and screamed, trying to get loose of the uncomfortable chains.
As forces continued to swarm them and take hold of them, Crona reached out with a hand to Maka, shouting her name with a breaking voice in desperacy. The sight broke Maka’s heart in two as she reached back. Crona was jerked back by the chains, ripping them away from her.
“No! No, let them go! YOU BASTARDS LET THEM GO!” Maka screamed in rage, attempting to run towards them as she was stopped and taken by Sid, who was holding her back. Maka struggled and screamed, desperately trying to get free of him. “LET ME GO, SID!”
Maka jerked her head to look at Crona, and saw that this angered them, as she examined their eyes, turning from the fearful navy blue to the enraged silvery ice. They turned to the men taking hold of them and screamed, “LEAVE ME ALONE!”, as thorns from their dress began to shoot towards them. The men yelled in shock, and one was motioning for the ones in military gear. Crona, still attacking out of fear and rage, was stopped when a device made contact with their back, and green lightning and sparks emitted from it, causing them to convulse and scream in agony.
One of the men took Crona by the shoulders and placed a singular cuffed chain around their neck, as extra enforcements to keep them restrained. After locking that cuff, he let them go, and they dropped to the ground, weakened by the soul wavelength weapon device. Green sparks emitted from their back as if they were just electrocuted, as they trembled, attempting to get up, but was shot with another wavelength again. Weakened, Crona panted on the ground, trembling and shaking. Maka let her tears fall this time, not caring enough to hide them anymore. She felt fear, anger, sadness, every negative emotion she could think of as she watched them tremble on the ground, obviously in pain and fearing for their life.
“CRONA!!” She finally screamed, attempting to struggle out of Sid’s grasp again.
Weaky lifting their head an inch, Crona attempted to lock eyes with her, desperate to see her and know she was still there. It was hard to see through the oncoming crowd of government workers, but she saw a glimpse of their expression. Her heart sank as she saw it, their eyes were filled with nothing but fear, and they looked at her as if they were shouting for help. “Crona..” she mumbled through a desperate whisper, letting a tear fall down her face. She had to do something, she couldn’t just let these people come and take them away again. Her eyes darted around the area for a possible solution, anything to help her, when she noticed that the rest of her friends had come to examine the scene. Blackstar and Tsubaki were standing on one side of the crowd, having pushed through men to see what was happening. On the opposite side closest to her, Soul was standing in the crowd, looking to Crona and then looking back to Maka. She panted from all the straining and struggling, and gave Soul a determined stare.
An idea popping into her mind, she jumped into action, using her feet to kick on Sid’s legs as hard as she could as she projected herself out of his grasp when he jerked back from the sudden hit. Skidding to a halt, now free, she started to run towards the middle of the crowd, ignoring a shout of her name from Soul. Pushing through the crowd of government men and women, she stepped on a few of their shoes and dodged a few arms. Leaping out into the opening, knocking two men over in the process, she landed right in front of Crona, who was still on the ground in chains. Men hovered around them, holding the chains, but keeping a distance for safety. Shouting was heard at Maka, telling her to stand down and to stay out of it, but she didn’t listen or care.
She stood over Crona, her body acting as a protective shield, daring one of the people in the crowd to take one step. Her hands were balled into fists at her sides and her face was scrunched up in a venomous glare, rage boiling in her gut and running through her veins. Her body felt hot with anger, and her heart was racing with adrenaline. There was no way she was going to let anybody get close. Anytime any of the men would make a move, she jerked her head in that direction with her seething glare, and they would stop in their tracks. She saw Soul and the others push through the crowd, gaping at her.
“Maka?! What the hell are you doing??” She heard Blackstar shout.
“Please be careful, Maka!” Tsubaki’s voice was heard next.
It was so hard to clearly hear what they were saying, everything was so noisy. The ringing in her ears was only getting louder and the shouting of the crowd didn’t help. Everything felt blurry and it was making her dizzy, but she stayed on her feet, her muscles tightening as she gripped her balled fists even more. She panted, ignoring the calls of caution from her friends, that didn’t matter right now. Her eyes darted around the crowd, her threatening glare still plastered on her face, not letting her guard down for a second. She knew these workers couldn’t hurt her, not if she didn’t attack first. Maka was the leader of the Spartoi, not only that, but a rather important war hero. She would have to attack first for any of these men to lay a finger on her. This fact gave her the upper hand.
Still, the government workers that surrounded her inched closer every second, shouting at her to step down. They were trying to intimidate her, but it didn’t work, Maka refused to be scared right now, she needed to be strong and courageous for Crona. She wasn’t about to let these people separate them from her. As she scanned the area, she noticed Dr. Stein and Mrs. Marie in the crowd, staring at her with wide and worried eyes. Usually, Maka would feel shame at the display of disobeying rules right in front of teachers, but this time was different. If anyone here wanted her to feel shame for trying to protect someone she loves, someone who doesn’t deserve to be treated this way, then that’s on them. This is her choice. This is her decision.
“Maka! You need to stand down! This doesn’t concern you!” Sid pushed through the crowd of people to scold Maka.
She glared at Sid, the teacher she once looked up to now shrinking in value to her as he scolded her. Furrowing her brows even more, she seethed with rage.
“How DOESN’T it concern me, huh?” She snapped, an accusatory edge to her tone. “None of you understand Crona, NONE of you care! I’m the only one who ever tried to understand them!”
“You’re defending a criminal, girl! As the leader of the Spartoi, you of all people should know the consequences of severe crimes!” One of the government workers shouted, gaining the next spot under Maka’s deadly glare. “I’m not defending a criminal! ” Maka spat, “I’m defending a very important person to me. Someone who I care about! Someone who I lo…” She trailed off, stopping herself before she could say anymore. She panted, her head throbbing as she eyed the area, trying to find words. “Crona is not a criminal to me! They’re a friend! A human! That doesn’t deserve this barbaric treatment!”
The crowd went silent for a moment, a pause of thought washing over them all like a tidal wave. The silence pierced Maka’s ears, as she waited in anticipation for somebody to say something, to shout at her again, for people to erupt at her again. She was ready to defend Crona for however long she needed, not caring it was quite literally the government she was battling here. Her eyes landed on movement, as a few of the military workers pull out small soul wavelength weapon devices, similar to the one used to take down Crona. Dr. Stein’s head jerked over to this, too, clearly not in agreement over the use of potential violence. Maka still had respect for Dr Stein, he hadn't said anything yet, and he seemed disturbed by what the government was doing.
“If you don’t stand down soon, we will have no choice but to use brute force, Albarn!” One of the women security shouted.
Maka fumed, her glare reaching everyone surrounding her. There were too many people, too much danger, and here she was without a weapon. Her mind searched for any and all ways out of this, but then it hit her. Soul was standing right there! She turned her head to shout to Soul, and get his attention.
“Soul. Scythe mode!” She yelled to him.
“Maka, are you sure this is a good id-”
“SCYTHE MODE NOW, DAMNIT!” Maka screamed, echoing through the night sky. It made everybody around her jump, including Soul.
Releasing a sigh, Soul hesitantly transformed into a scythe, as it flipped into the air. Maka caught it with ease, and held it out in front of her. She scanned the area, weapon in hand, ready to put up a fight for as long as she needs to. Consequences of her actions were irrelevant in her mind, all she could think about was keeping Crona safe. Every limb in her body felt like it was under a ticking time bomb, ready to explode as soon as anybody made an attack. Her focus on every single soldier, every single person in a suit, every human and weapon around her. Eyes landing on Blackstar and Tsubaki, she noticed their expressions didn’t seem scolding, but determined. They were in support of her, she knew it. This only fueled the fire in her more, the pure determination to not let anybody touch Crona, take them away from her, hurt them anymore.
“Maka, you shouldn’t be doing this. Please just make it easy on all of us and stand down. We don’t want to fight you.” Sid pulled her out of her inner thoughts as her head jerked to stare at him.
An eyebrow twitched. “I. Won't.” Her voice was low and serious, dripping with anger. Maka has just about had it, her patience has long since dissipated. She gritted her teeth, trying to restrain herself from attacking the next person that opened their mouth. “I will DIE before I let any of you lay another hand on Crona.” She seethed, her knuckles turning white under her gloves as she gripped the handle of her scythe. “Crona won’t be taken away from me again, I WON'T LET YOU TAKE THEM FROM ME AGAIN!” Maka’s voice echoed as she screamed, her vocal chords growing sore now.
Sid visibly let out a sigh, as more and more of the security agents glared at her with judgement and frustration. They all knew she wasn’t going down without a fight. One of the military agents with a soul wavelength weapon stepped forward, clearly wanting to attack Maka. She turned her head and held out her scythe, ready to be able to defend herself. Time seemed to slow down as she watched the agents around her slowly and steadily close in. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, not letting her guard down for a second. That is, until a tiny voice dropped it again.
“M..Maka..”
Every agent that was surrounding Maka stopped in their tracks as Crona spoke. Maka turned around at once, and saw that they were making an attempt to look up at her. They reached out with a shaky arm, wanting to touch her. Maka, the girl who never backed down from a fight, the girl who defeated the kishin, the girl who saved the world, dropped her weapon while surrounded by a hundred enemies, and fell to her knees. She crouched down next to Crona, her scythe clanging on the ground, and let them reach out to her. “Oh, Crona..”, she breathed, placing an arm behind their back, being able to hold them up and balance them while their muscles were still weak. She felt their arm wrap around her, tenderly holding onto her as she did them. They reached up with another arm, hesitantly wanting to touch the side of her face, to know if she was real.
“Maka.. is that really you..?” They asked, their voice weak and raspy.
“It’s me Crona. It’s me, I'm here for you now.” Maka whispered back to them, her previous state of anger seeming to have dissipated, and has been replaced with softness and care.
Finally being able to touch the side of her face, Crona’s navy blue eyes began to sparkle with tears. Seeing now that they were safe in her arms, they finally broke down, and wrapped themself entirely around her. Maka placed their head into the crook of her neck, pulling them close to her. She rubbed their back and whispered comforting words over and over to them, “It’s okay,” “I’m here,” “You’re safe.” With Crona’s body racking with sobs against her, Maka couldn’t help but start to shed a few tears herself, still comforting them all the while. She had never felt such relief to have them in her arms again, finally being able to hold and touch them like this was something she dreamed of for months and months on end. One of her hands found its way into their hair, as she started to thread it, taking their soft locks in between her fingers.
Preoccupied with comforting and reuniting with Crona, Maka let her guard completely down, having dropped her weapon and being completely vulnerable. One of the weapon-wielding agents took this opportunity to continue to approach her, the wavelength device sparking. The other agents were hesitant on doing anything, so they let him inch closer to the couple still on the ground. He was about to take a swing at Maka, who was completely unaware this was happening, before a clang was heard. Maka jerked up, and looked behind her to see what was going on, and stared wide-eyed when she saw none other than Blackstar standing in front of her, with Tsubaki in her weapon form in hand. He knocked the weapon out of the agent’s hand, and was staring at him with a rather angry look.
“Not very big of you to interrupt my friend’s reunion, pal.” Blackstar grumbled.
The agent took a step back, clearly intimidated. The others in the group raised their weapons, approaching on Crona’s side now, since it was unprotected. Maka’s hold on Crona got tighter, more protective as she glared up at the agents, who were closing in. Crona whimpered, and hid their face in Maka’s chest, too exhausted to show any emotion other than fear. Weapons were about to be swung, before Soul took on his human form except for one arm, which was still in scythe mode. Blackstar and Soul stood on different sides of Maka and Crona, protecting them from the large crowd of agents. To everyone’s surprise, Stein and Marie took their spots on the two open sides as well, Marie turning one arm into a hammer.
Now surrounded by four individuals, Maka and Crona looked up at their last minute heroes. Crona’s expression was nothing short of shock as they tried to recognize their old friends, while Maka was admiring her dear teachers, friends, and weapon partner, for stepping in to help. The agents, now shocked that two DWMA elite teachers stepped in to defend Crona, took a couple steps back. Maka felt like all the muscles in her body could just melt as exhaustion overtook her, but she refused to pass out here and now, while she was still in some sort of danger. She saw that Crona was looking up at her, wide eyed with some mixture of fear and wonder. She let herself smile at them as a form of comfort, a silent “it’s okay,” and at that she saw them visibly relax. They snuggled into her chest again, clinging onto her like she could disappear into thin air. Maka was doing the same, not wanting this to end, not wanting them to disappear again.
“What are all of you waiting for?! We have to complete our mission!” One of the agents shouted in frustration. “Contain and secure the demon sword kishin!”
“I wanna see you try, buddy.” Soul said, eyes narrowing.
“Is that a challenge, shark boy?!” Another agent angrily shouted.
“Maybe it is a challenge, dude! Me and Soul make a pretty good team, together we could wreck all of you! Hahaha!” Blackstar boasted, pointing at the agents surrounding them.
Arguments started throughout the crowd, some agents agreeing to take the challenge and fight their way to Crona and Maka, while some detested the idea, stating that they can't fight DWMA elites. The four surrounding the couple took part in arguments as well, angrily shouting with agents on all sides, trying to keep them away as much as possible. Crona hid their face from all the shouting as they started to tremble, terrified of all the commotion. The chaos and frenzy only got worse and worse, as the agents were backing her friends close and closer in. “Backup is here!” She heard a shout from the crowd, and a moment later, the sound of sirens and helicopters made that fact clear. Maka held onto Crona as tightly as she possibly could, afraid that they could be ripped from her in any moment. The sounds only got louder as the chaos started to close in on them.
“HOLD IT! EVERYBODY HOLD IT!”
A foreign shout echoed over the raging crowd, as all the shouting stopped in unison. Agents and military personnel, the DWMA staff and students, Maka and Crona, all looked in the direction of the voice. Death the Kid, or rather Lord Death, in his pajamas hovered above the scene on his trademark skateboard. He had two twin pistols at his sides, as he glared down onto the crowd. A wave of relief washed over Maka, knowing her friend, the one who could control all these forces surrounding her, had come to her aid. Descending into a clearing made by the crowd of agents backing away, Kid landed right in front of the small DWMA protection group.
“What in the name of my father is going on here?!” He shouted, voice straining.
“Lord Death!” Sid called, running over to Kid.
“Sid.. care to explain why there are government officials and military personnel surrounding my friends at 8 PM?” Kid quirked a brow, he was clearly exhausted.
“Well.. you see..”
“Kid!” Maka shouted. Blackstar took a step aside to let Kid see what was really going on. Kid turned to Maka, and took a few steps towards her before halting.
“Is that…?”
“Yes Kid.. it’s Crona.”
“But.. but how are they..?”
“There’s no time to explain that right now, can you just please call off all these crazy agents trying to kill them please?!”
Kid eyed the area around them, aware of all the commotion that was taking place. He then looked back to Crona, and saw how terrified they seemed. They were hunched up in Maka’s arms, clinging to her. They had chains and cuffs covering their arms, neck and torso, and they looked exhausted despite their eyes being wide with fear.
Maka could tell that the state of his old friend made Kid’s expression twist into worry, so he turned back to the crowd and raised his voice so everyone could hear his order.
“Attention all government agents and military personnel! Please refrain from doing anymore harm to my old friend, Crona. I, as well as Dr. Stein, Marie, and Spartoi leader Maka Albarn, will take it from here on out. Two agents may escort us.”
Questioning mumbles and whispers could be heard rippling across the crowd at that announcement, but nobody outwardly protested. Maka helped Crona get to their feet, still in chains. She places an arm around them to help them gain balance. Dr. Stein and Mrs. Marie walked on either side of the two, with Soul following behind. Tailing the group were two agents, holding the chains that were on Crona’s neck and arms. Maka’s brows furrowed in anger over the chains still being around them, but she decided against saying anything about it now. Kid at the front of the group, they made their way through the crowd of whispering agents. Judgemental eyes all on Crona, who looked like some sort of chained up animal.
They ascended the school steps, now out of the crowd of the government men and women, but some still followed, on their way to head into the school with them. The blazing lights of helicopters and police vehicles were made much more apparent in the dark of the night around them, making it seem like there was some kind of horrible crime scene taking place. Maka’s eyes squinted around the lights before she entered the school building again, arm still around Crona, whose head was hung low.
As they ventured through the school, police and government officials walked the halls, talking to staff and to each other about the situation. It made an uneasy feeling settle in Maka’s stomach. The group made it to the hallway that led to the door of the Death Room, passing more police on their way. Travelling down the hallway as they approached the door, Kid came to a stop when they finally reached it. The group stopped with him, everyone giving him their attention.
“Stein, Marie, please come inside with me. The two agents escorting Crona, kindly take them downstairs into the holding cells. We will discuss matters with them personally soon enough, but for now they must stay there.” Kid ordered. The two who were keeping hold of Crona nodded and tugged on the chains to get them to start following them. Crona obeyed, and turned to follow them, but not before giving Maka a fearful look as they walked passed her.
Maka’s heart ached for them as she shared the fear, eyes not leaving them until they were out of sight. Once they were, she turned to Kid, who was about to head into the room after Stien and Marie.
“Hey! What about me? Can’t I go with Crona?” Maka demanded, her hands balling into fists.
“No, Maka, and you can’t come in here yet, either. You need to stay out here for the time being, I don’t trust your temper. You can see Crona shortly.” Kid stated calmly. Before Maka could get another word out, he just said “I’m sorry..” Before slipping into the door and closing it.
Left alone in the hallway, feeling her legs weaken and her heart sink, Maka was defeated. She leaned against the wall, looking in the direction of the door to the Death Room, then down the hallway where Crona just left from. She heaved a sigh and folded her arms over her chest, before looking up at the fluorescent light hanging on the ceiling.
The insistent buzzing starting to find itself into her ears.