A/N: Updating at one in the morning on a Tuesday (technically Wednesday) 'cause I can! Aww Yeah!

Props to all of my reviewers (and I got great reception for the last chapter! Yay!): GentleTouchGinger / Robinfyre / Chibijac / charmedprincess101 / dawnfire7 / Chasing the Fairy's Tail / Professor Maka / anonymous reviewer NotLoggedInNow / and 4 guest reviews!

Next chapter should be out by June 14th!

(And why did no one tell me that my title was spelled wrong? I fixed it but . . . YOU'VE FAILED ME YET AGAIN, BROWSER SPELL-CHECK!)

~Shard of Freedom

Track 9: Bringin' In the Big Dogs (Death Child Version)

(Play)

Liz ran her hands through her hair.

That certainly had gone well.

She didn't think that things could get any worse. They were going on a mission again, despite Patty's recent injury. Both of them were excited to get back into the field in different ways. Patty was whistling and skipped and talking about all the different Star Clan heads that she would crack over her knee while laughing manically. Kid, on the other hand, had eyes full of determination. He felt like he had failed—failed in his father, failed his partners, failed DWMA—when he had lost, and this was his chance to redeem himself.

Liz just wanted to go home.

Like Stein had said, they had been taken out of classes. The three of them were currently in the DWMA training room. Kid was meditating, focusing on Soul Perception—apparently, it would be vital to the mission at hand. Liz and Patty were switching off on their marksmanship, aiming at the targets 50 yards away. It was Liz's turn, and she was so distracted that she missed nearly thirty percent of her shots.

Maka and Soul were there to, but in another secluded corner, where they were practicing Soul Resonance. Eventually, after nearly a half an hour, a bright light would engulf Soul and it would glow for a few moments before dying off, and Maka would sit there with burned hands until Kim came and fixed her. Soul looked tormented every single time that Maka got hurt, but Maka insisted that they continue.

When Kid saw this for the first time, he shook his head and simply said, "Maka can't fight what she doesn't know exists."

Liz didn't understand.

Tsubaki wasn't there, and Liz was sort of grateful. She didn't think that Black was good for Tsubaki, romantically or in their partnership. He had far too many secrets, and those secrets would break Tsubaki's heart, Liz just knew it. And that girl was already so broken, so abused . . . there was no need for her to go through any more.

Liz fired Patty again.

Once again, she missed.

UoUoUoUoUoU

Tsubaki made her way through the katas. She was on the third level of Black's odd combination of martial arts. Probably the most difficult part of learning them was memorizing all of the different motions—so separate from the fighting styles that she had learned in her youth, yet she could tell how powerful they were.

Black stood next to her, adjusting her footwork occasionally, moving an elbow once and a while. He seemed content just to watch her in the dying sun. Sometimes he would walk away in order to light one of the torches hanging on the decrepit walls in order to ward off the coming darkness.

Black was content not to participate in the katas today. Just hours before, they had tried to use the Uncanny Sword and the results were . . . less than pleasant. Black still looked fatigued, although he had managed to use the weapon for a near thirty seconds, which was more than nearly anyone could boast. Still, Tsubaki knew that it wouldn't be enough for her partner, who wanted to control all parts of her, who wanted to be able to access the Uncanny Sword without fear.

Tsubaki just wished that he would stop.

She switched forms quickly and held her stance, feeling the sweat roll down her back. They were in an open part of the abandoned west wing today, with tall patches of rubble growing all around them, but the area open to the sky and the blistering sun.

Black was getting hurt because of his stubbornness.

She finished out the end of the katas with an empty mind. She was to the point where if she thought about other things, she would mess up one of her forms. And then Black would have to correct her, and Tsubaki saw how painful simply movements were for him. Of course, he would never admit that.

After the final form, Tsubaki whipped the sweat off of her forehead with the bottom of her pink tank top. She blushed when Black's eyes moved to her bare stomach. She took a calming breath.

"We need to talk, Black," she said quietly.

He stiffened.

"It's about the Uncanny Sword. You can't keep doing this."

"Yes, I'm fine—"

Tsubaki placed one hand against his chest, hard, stopping him. "No. I mean that I'm not going to let you do this to yourself anymore. We've been practicing on our own for three days and nothing has come out of it other than a few moments of power for hours of exhaustion and pain. Maybe you can continue to harm your body like that but I can't let you."

"Tsubaki," Black said earnestly, "don't worry. I've been through worse. You haven't seen me out in the field, how much those few moments can matter. You don't understand—"

"No, you don't understand!" She pushed him back a little on his chest. "I can't let you do this. You're not just getting hurt. You're getting hurt by me! We're partners, Black, equals, right?"

Black nodded solemnly.

Tsubaki took a calming breath. "Then this is where I put my foot down. Unless you decide to ask Stein for help, I won't let you use the Uncanny Sword."

Black looked like he wasn't sure if he wanted to argue with her or agree automatically.

"And I know that that stings your pride. But this is hurting me. I don't care how much you think that you can take; I can't take this anymore."

Black was silent and looked away from her, his dark eyes looking up to the midday sun.

Tsubaki removed her hand from his chest and placed it to his cheek. Black flinched and looked at her in shock, but Tusbaki didn't move her hand.

"Just think about it, okay?"

Without waiting for a reply, Tsubaki wrapped her towel around her neck and took a long draught from her water bottle as she walked away.

UoUoUoUoUoUoU

Kid meditated softly as he kept one eye on Patty's and Liz's soul wavelengths. Liz was bothered about something, he could just tell. He didn't want to pry into her life, but the fact that something bothered her just gnawed on his brain.

It was almost like it was something unsymmetrical; it just wouldn't leave him alone.

Deciding that he wasn't getting anywhere, Kid snapped out of his meditation.

"Liz!" he called.

The older girl turned and threw Patty up into the air. Her sister transformed and her shoes tapped the floor lightly as she settled.

"What's up, Kid?" Liz said carefully.

Kid pulled himself up off of the mats. "Walk with me, Liz. I think that we need to talk."

Liz's brow furrowed but she said nothing as the two of the walked out of the training room and into the halls of DWMA.

Silence punctured their conversation. They walked through the hallways and eventually found themselves outside, tracing the shields that surrounded DWMA with their footsteps.

Kid stopped, turning around to look at Liz. "What's wrong?"

Liz placed her hands on her arms. "What makes you say that anything's wrong?" Her eyes stared at the shimmering yellow of the shield.

"Something's wrong. I can feel it in your soul. Like something's eating away at you. Is it the mission? The training? Our teammates?"

"No, no, no, Kid. It's nothing—"

"Is it Patty? Or Black? Or perhaps Soul and Maka?—"

"It's you!" Liz screamed. Kid reeled back in shock. "God, Kid, you would think that you were blind to your own actions. I'm just feeling a little bit neglected, that's all. Kid, Patty's not your only weapon and defeating White Star isn't your only mission. Just . . . see me sometimes, Kid."

"Oh, Liz . . ."

The hug was awkward because of Kid's height, but Liz promptly dropped to her knees and cried out her frustrations in Kid's shoulders. She wasn't even sure that she had had half of her feelings before they had pooled in her mouth and came out as tears.

Kid, to his credit, didn't flinch at the contact like he usually did and actually wrapped his arms around her.

He didn't see anything as Liz got up and wiped her eyes, and Liz was so grateful to him for that.

Hours later, in the training room, the three of them were more balanced than ever.

UoUoUoUoUoU

Maka winced in pain and Soul's handle clattered against the ground. Soul transformed into her human form and pulled her blistered hands into hers.

"We need to stop for the day," Soul said forcefully.

"But—"

"No buts. Stop." His voice allowed no argument. Soul began to meticulously pull away the fabric of her gloves away from her burns and the blood. "If you're going to continue to try to attempt resonance, you need to wear stronger gloves. Perhaps looser ones as well," Soul added as he tore away a piece of pink fabric from her palm.

"I just don't understand why it burns me like that," Maka said in frustration. "We're in sync, aren't we? I mean, I can always feel your soul and I can tell that your resonance is in tune with mine. So what's wrong? What are we not doing?"

"Maka . . . maybe it's not anything you're doing wrong. Maybe it's me." Soul led Maka out of the training room, careful not to brush her hands with anything. "I told you, my wavelength naturally isn't easy to handle."

"But I have an Anti-Demon Wavelength! It should prevent the madness from slipping in!"

Soul shoved his way into the patched-up laboratory where they had first met. "Yo, Stein! Are you in here?"

Soul pulled Maka inside. The room was lit by the glow of a computer screen and a couple of hanging light bulbs. An operating table sat in the middle of the room, crusted with something that looked specifically like blood. Bookshelves were lined up, heading back beyond Maka could see. A table filled with jars holding glowing body parts was shoved off to one side.

No one was there.

"He's probably in the back," Soul murmured. "And while I don't usually trust him as far as I can throw him, Stein is really good with handling injuries related to madness."

"Yo, mad scientist!" Soul called out again. "I've got a bit of a problem!"

"I'm in the back, Soul!" a voice came back.

Soul nodded and began pulling Maka through a maze of bookshelves. Maka glanced around. "What are all of these doing here, Soul?"

"They're all Stein's research notes," Soul supplied. "Some of them are mine, too. It used to be my job to organize them."

"That's incredible. How does he do it all?"

"The guy doesn't sleep. Has a horrible case of insomnia. It's amazing how much you can get done when you don't need to recharge."

Maka only hummed low in her throat as they walked on, trying to ignore the way that the air felt on her hands.

In the back of all the shelves was a small room that held a bed and a bunch of books piled onto a desk. It was better lighted than the rest of the laboratory, but it was still pretty dark. Standing in the middle of the room were Professor Stein and oddly, Black.

The two stopped their conversation and turned to Soul and Maka.

Soul's brow furrowed. "What are you doing here, Black?"

Black shrugged, his muscled arms crossing over his chest. "Tsubaki's orders. We've hit a roadblock."

Maka had a distinct feeling that if it wasn't for Soul, the assassin would have already left.

Soul nodded sympathetically. "Us too." He immediately turned to Stein and held out Maka's hands. "We've got a problem."

The light glinted across Stein's glasses as he leaned over. "Well, I would say that you do. You don't properly know how to handle your wavelength, do you?"

Maka shrugged.

"We'll fix that soon enough. Come with me, young lady." Stein grabbed Maka on the top of her arm, pulling her back towards the bookshelves.

"I'm coming too, you crazy scientist," Soul retorted. "I'm not letting you mess with my meister without me there. You'll do weird things."

Stein gave a completely unrealistic "Who, me?" face and Soul rolled his eyes.

As the three of them began to leave, Stein glanced over his shoulder at Black, who was standing with a barely-there smile on his face.

"Tomorrow, seven in the morning. Don't be late."

"I won't be."

Maka watched as Black seemed to slip into the shadows and disappear.

She jolted as Stein draped an arm over her shoulder. "Now, young lady, why don't we get started?"

Her plain green eyes widened. She was really beginning to doubt Soul's choices.

UoUoUoUoUoU

"Well, isn't this a surprise. To whom do I owe the pleasure of your company?"

"Shut it, Stein. I need your help."

" . . .This is quite unlike you. Why would you swallow your pride for me?"

"Tsubaki asked me to."

"Ah. So you're willing to swallow your pride for her. Maybe she's a good partner for you after all. You care about her, don't you?"

"This isn't about that. I . . . we . . . need a new way of handling the Uncanny Sword that won't completely drain my wavelength."

"Perhaps you should try getting closer to her. You know that secrets aren't good for soul resonance."

"Other than that."

"You'll have to tell her eventually."

" . . . I feel like we've had this conversation before, Stein. My answer remains the same."

"Well, then. If that's the way that you want to play it. I have other ways of helping. You'll be exhausted after my training however."

"Try me, Stein. I can take whatever you think you can dish out."

"Oh, you're going to regret those words."

UoUoUoUoUoUoU

When Black came back to the west wing, Tsubaki was sitting on a broken piece of wall and staring up at the sky. She glanced over as soon as she sensed his presence.

Black froze. "I . . . I thought that you weren't coming back."

Tsubaki tilted her head in confusion. "Why wouldn't I come back? I practically live here these days."

Black came and sat next to her on the rock. "You said that you couldn't do this anymore. That you couldn't take it. I thought that it meant that you needed to leave."

Tsubaki moved her eyes from the stars to his face. "Black, why would I leave you? You're the only partner that truly understands me. You're the first person who actually cared about me. If anything, you should be the one who leaves me."

"I would never," he said earnestly. "All of what you said—it goes for me too. No one was able to handle me before you came along. No one was able to understand me."

Tsubaki moved closer to him. "When I said that I wanted you to stop using the Uncanny Sword . . . I wasn't trying to hurt you. I just . . . I just wanted to stop you from hurting yourself. I can't stand to watch you get hurt. I especially can't stand to see you get hurt by me. Do you know how much it killed me to see your wavelength drained by me? To know that I was inflicting the pain? I couldn't watch it."

"I'm sorry," Black said softly. "I didn't know it hurt you." He paused and looked up at all the stars, the moon cackling next to them. "I talked to Stein."

Tsubaki twisted her head to look at him. "You did?"

"If you're okay with it, we can start work on the Uncanny Sword tomorrow at seven in the morning. But . . . only if you're comfortable with it."

She smiled serenely. "You swallowed your pride for me. I can swallow my discomfort for you."

"Thank you, Tsubaki."

Tsubaki almost flinched when she felt his callused hand touch her own. But then she relaxed and placed her head against his shoulder as he weaved their fingers together and they watched the stars.

UoUoUoUoUoU

"Is it ready?"

"You're impatient, aren't you, Sting? Don't worry, everything is in place. They won't know what hit them."

"Do you think it wise to allow the beast out of captivity?"

"Wise, no. Needed, yes. Which is why you're going to go to keep an eye on him."

"Tsk. Ever since you lost Erika and Mitsune three years ago, you've been treating me like I'm a slave. Don't forget, Medusa, that I'm just as powerful as you are and I don't have your sister's level of restraint."

"Do you want me to unleash your demons? I can, Sting, and wouldn't it be entertaining to watch you tear yourself apart under two different influences? I think it would be."

"Fine. I'll go. But if I come across the boy . . . let's hope he's as strong as you say he is. I have no problems if he dies. Then let's see how your experiments work."

"Don't fail me, Sting."

"I'll be doing my hardest to do just that, Medusa."