Act 3 (The part where I explain stuff)

Kid was the first to touch down on the deck of the airship, dusting off his dark Shinigami jacket as his companions landed behind him.

"I see the mission was a success." A dry voice observed.

Kid and the others looked over to see the grinning face of Professor Franken Stein. Hands in his pockets, Stein took a few steps onto the deck, stopping in front of Kid.

"Yes," Kid replied. "The clowns you designed to harness Asura's madness and use it to bind him worked perfectly, as did Soul's musical chain resonance."

Stein shrugged. "Remember, that wasn't my idea. Soul was the one who realized we could use his music sheet to join all the world's souls together in resonance to power up Maka's anti-demon wavelength and use the same trail he'd left last time to pull Crona out of Asura."

"Hey" Soul chuckled, changing back to human form, "Never underestimate the power of music. "Hearing this, Crona looked down, blushing and clutching his arm.

He thought to himself, "They did all that for me?"

He was brought out of his thoughts by a pair of bespectacled eyes staring down at him. He looked up to see Professor Stein looking at him, brow raised.

"Interesting new look Crona." Stein remarked. The others turned to look as well, not having had the opportunity to really look at him during the battle. Before them was a different Crona than the one they had seen. His pink hair, and skinny, pale body remained, however his once black puritan-style robes had now taken on a white cloth desert style appearance, making him look almost like he belonged in a Star Wars movie. Most peculiar, was that his two already now whitish grey eyes had been joined by a third pupilless one which had appeared in the center of his forehead. They all began to stare, which made Crona even more embarrassed.

"Why do you suppose...?" Kid began.

"I'd theorize it has to do with the energy he soaked in from Brew." Stein answered.

"Speaking of which..." Kid questioned, "Where is Brew?"

Silently, Crona reached into his robe and pulled out a now rusted-looking metal cube.

"So, it seems that Brew's power has finally been depleted." The scientist explained, taking the cube in his own hand, curiously examining it. Finally, he put it into the pocket of his lab coat before turning his attention back to Crona.

"And the Book of Eibon?" He inquired.

"It's here", Crona confirmed, reaching into his robe again and pulling out the book in question. This time, Kid took hold of it, placing it under his arm.

"I presume the book's power is still intact." Kid questioned. Crona nodded. "Very well, then. Once we return to the Academy, I'll place it in secure storage so it can't be used to cause any trouble."

"Speaking of trouble", Stein frowned, "where's Ragnarok?" "Crona looked down in shame. "I-I don't know, I stopped hearing him after being absorbed by Asura."

"Very curious." Stein remarked "I'll need to do some tests on you as soon possible."

"Really, Frank, you never stop finding new things to dissect, do you?" a new voice remarked, as Crona turned to face the familiar eye patch of a very pregnant Marie Mjolnir. He felt a surge of guilt come over him. He was pulled out of his thoughts by the feeling of an arm encircling his shoulders. Looking to his side, he saw that the arm belonged to a grinning Maka.

"Doesn't matter." Her grin widened, "Ragnarok or not, Crona's still Crona." She turned to the crowd gathered around them. "Right?"

Crona felt a vague sense of deja vu as he looked at the circle of warm smiles around him. He hung his head low, remembering Asura's and Medusa's words of fear and doubt.

"Crona, what's wrong?" Maka asked, her voice full of concern.

Crona sniffled. "You-you shouldn't have come back for me. I betrayed you, trapped countless people in a fate worse than death, murdered my mother, tr-tried to destroy the world. I don't even understand why what I did was wrong. I sh-should still be on the moo-" Thump. He felt the jarring sensation of a thick book hitting his head.

"Shut up." Maka's stern voice commanded.

Crona's eyes widened as he looked up and saw that she was crying now.

Her arms encircled him in a hug. Tears soaked into his robe. "Just shut the hell up and be my friend again." Maka answered, quietly. Crona definitely didn't know how to deal with this.

A firm hand soon rested on his shoulder. He looked to see Kid giving him a small smile as Maka drew away, giving him some space.

"I forgave the witches, so I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't forgive you." The young shinigami calmly stated, his voice stern, yet gentle. "You may be pleased to know that we've since managed to remove your mad blood barriers. However, your crimes will still not be without consequence, such things are never truly forgotten. You will be prohibited from leaving Death City, unescorted, and I expect you to work with us to help keep the order", he continued,"but still, it's good to have you back."

"Yo!" A loud voice interrupted, Crona turned to see the egotistic assassin, Black Star giving him a blinding grin and a thumbs-up.

"A great star such as I shines far too brightly to hold a grudge", his expression softened, "right Tsubaki?"

There was a flash of light as Tsubaki changed back to her human form, the dark haired woman's expression a soft smile. She simply nodded.

"Ahem." Crona turned at the sound to see the now serious face of Marie Mjolnir. "You know, it didn't take long before we figured out that you were the one who gave me that snake." She stated plainly, as Crona's face lowered in shame. He couldn't see her face, instead he just listened as she continued. "For a while, I was a bit angry, and a bit disappointed, I mean, you did betray us." Her voice rose in pitch as tears built up under Crona's eyes. "So, here you are and I've just got one thing to say..."

Crona braced himself for a slap or some angry, scolding words when...

A soft hand stroked his cheek.

Confused, he looked to see Marie, her expression still serious, but somewhat softer. "Don't you dare worry me like that again." She said sternly, smirking a little. She took a step back as Maka cupped Crona's face in her hands.

Maka looked into his confused blue eyes, her own glistening with happiness. "So please, Crona, forgive yourself. Because the thought of you, alone on the moon, forever, away from everyone who cares about you..." She paused before speaking quietly, almost a whisper, "I wouldn't know how to deal with that."

Crona's eyes widened, somewhat comforted by someone speaking the same words as himself, as Maka wrapped him in a hug once more. He placed his arms on her back to return the gesture as he looked to see Soul grinning at him.

"Like I told you before, get lost in the music now and think about it later." The demon scythe advised.

Crona nodded, placing his head on Maka's shoulder, a movement he thought he'd never feel again. This was his best friend, the person who would care for him no matter what, the person whose happiness he'd gladly suffer eternal imprisonment for. Even if the rest of the world would never truly accept him, at least she would. He smiled a little, this was something he could deal with.

The words of Medusa and Asura faded, replaced by Shinigami-sama's words of faith and guidance.

Maka, in turn, rested her head against Crona's. This was the boy who'd taken so many lives, who'd been so convinced of his own evil, who had the power to cause such destruction, who'd seemed beyond saving again and again.

Yet, none of that mattered to her. To her, he wasn't the Devil Sword or the next kishin. He was simply Crona, the brother she never had, the sweet, shy boy who sat next to her in class, the one who would suffer anything on her behalf.

A warmth steadily grew in both of them as their souls locked together in harmony. Their friendship and devotion to each other, mixing perfectly. This resonance of their souls enveloped them, as Maka remembered the wise words of someone very close to her.

"In the end the shape and form don't matter. All that matters is the soul."

...

This moment, however, was soon interrupted as the airship suddenly swerved at a 90 degree turn, sending all on board hurtling into the ship's railing.

Infuriated, Kid rose from the crumpled heap that the group had become.

"Liz, what the hell's going on! I thought you were steering the ship!" He shouted into the com device on his jacket collar.

"Sorry Kid, I went to use the restroom and left it on autopilot, but then Patty took control of the steering wheel!" Liz's frantic voice answered back.

"Hee-hee-hee, let's play Hindenburg!" Patty giggled.

"DAMMIT PATTY!" Kid shouted, stomping toward the lower deck.

As Maka helped Crona up from the ground, Crona chuckled a little as he thought to himself.

"Apparently, some souls never change."

END

Well, there it was in all it's what-I-hope-was-glory. Please leave a review and try and be as precise as possible in both your praise and criticisms. I hope to make more fanfictions set in the same universe (I think I'll do a soma next), so you will be seeing more of Crona and the rest of Soul Eater's awesome characters. :)