Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater.

Chapter 4: Constant Battles! The Madness of Dr. Stein

The sounds of the woods echoed through the night air, adding to the dark atmosphere around the house of the renowned doctor. Shinigami had been very clear in his orders: find Dr. Stein and retrieve him so that he would work at the school. It seemed like such an easy task for the qualified group. Now, however, as they stood on Dr. Stein's doorstep, dread filled each member of the group. No one knew how to make the first move.

"What should we do," questioned Zoe, her voice barely more than a whisper. Her friends shot glances at each other, unsure of how to respond to the question.

"Oh C'mon you guys, how bad can it be? I say we just go ahead," said Andreas as he pointed at the ragdoll house where the scientist resided.

"By all means, after you Andreas," replied Jake gesturing with his hand at the building they all feared. A sweat drop formed on Andreas' head as the color drained from his face. A slow creaking sound emanating from the house brought chills down their spines as they turned toward the forlorn building.

The front door was slowly opening, revealing nothing but darkness. Both meisters and weapons' hearts stopped as the door stood completely ajar, an abysmal darkness showing itself fully to the group. Even the forest seemed to go silent at the door's opening. Two bright blue orbs suddenly flickered into existence in the darkness, hanging like souls in the air. The sound of wheels on concrete slowly began to deepen as the orbs moved closer towards the group. The only audible sound was that of the rolling wheels, bringing the orbs out of the nothingness. All courage had left the group, their bodies telling them to flee from the dreaded place.

The sound of rolling abruptly stopped, replaced in an instant by a soft bump. The demon that was coming for them stumbled out of the darkness, a human form rolling out in front of them. A rolling chair clattered to the ground as its user stumbled forward. A single groan escaped from the voice of the crumpled form on the ground. As the group's fears turned to sweat drops on the back of their heads, they stared directly at the man they had come to find. The light grey hair lay covered in dirt from the fall, the thin form, and the white lab-coat he wore all seemed pretty normal, and if not for the rest of the body, he would have looked normal. The rest of the infamous Dr. Stein, however, would never be described as normal.

The rest of Dr. Stein's attire was stitched together from mixed stitch, all of them various shades of grey. The stitches were not just on his clothes, but on his whole body. The most prominent of the stitches sliced around his eye, making Stein look like he was pieced together like a ragdoll. Pale skin and large glasses gave him the perfect appearance of the scientist he was. Most shockingly of all was what protruded from Stein's head: a giant metal bolt jutted out from the left side of his head?

The sound of twisting metal rang out in the air as Stein twisted the bolt in his head. The group of students wasn't sure what to make of this, as they were still taken aback by his less than stellar entrance. As the twisting stopped, a demonic smile formed on Stein's face.

"Now then, let's start the experiment."

XXX

Sweat covered every inch of the groups' faces as the hot desert sun beat down upon them. Vast dunes of sand stretched forever in every direction, mounds of golden, grainy sand the only thing the eye could see, save for a few scattered cacti. Rays of heat and light beat down unopposed from the open blue sky, baking any creature unlucky enough to be caught in the rays. Shinigami's favorite rookies happened to fall into this category.

Every member of the group was slumped over themselves as they dragged their feet through the sand. Melissa's wheel-chair would not work in the desert sand, so Blake had the extra burden of carrying his partner. Shinigami had been overjoyed that they didn't die, which caused the group to have a certain amount of shock. Before Yao and Cain got too excited, Death Scythe had picked up on the conversation and berated them for their failures. They had been immediately dropped off in the desert (literally, as Shinigami had opened a portal, picked them up one by one, and just tossed them through the portal) and told to try again. Naturally, the group was certainly annoyed.

"WHAT THE HELL? Who drops tired kids off in the middle of a desert? There probably isn't even a Kishin here," shouted Yao as he kicked the sand in rage.

Immediately after he was done shouting, the sand below Yao exploded as a giant arm smashs the Chinese teen into the air. The whole group ducked and covered their eyes as a massive sandstorm started up, blasting waves of sand into their eyes. Arms of a cactus rose out of the sand, prickles the length of knives jutting out from their hand. The kishin's chest was made of the same grainy material as the rest of the layout. Black flesh rose from the back of the demon as a black scorpion tail appeared, ending in a giant spear of a tip. Its face was wrapped in bandages, the only thing seen were two blood red eyes. Sand flowed into the creature through the legs of the beast, which were almost non-existent.

Yao's head, sticking out of the sand, roared when he saw what attacked him. "Oh come on! Why the hell would somebody be a cactus monster when they became an evil soul?"

"Why are you so loud," moaned Maria, who struggled to get out of the sand pit he had landed in. The little child's body was coated in sand from the landing, and seemed to be moaning in pain from the sand gritting against him.

"AH QUIT COMPLAINING! WE GOT WIN THIS FIGHT SO LET'S GO," Yao bellowed as he pumped his fist into the air, moments before the black jian appeared. Maria crawled his way out of the sand and shaked his body, trying to shake the sand off. Unfortunately, he wasn't destined to have a good day.

BONK! Yao had miscalculated how far he had thrown himself, and the blunt side of his sword form landed perfectly...on Maria's head. Both meister and weapon fell to the ground, sand going into the child's mouth. Luckily for the rest of the group, Yao was buried in the sand fairly deep, preventing him from speaking. Transformation was out of the question as the waves of sand from the sandstorm buried Yao completely, preventing any form of transformation. Unfortunately for the group, they had just lost their only melee fighter.

Melissa, Ophelia, and Blake transformed quickly and landed in the partners' hands, moments before the arm of the creature smashed into the ground where they stood. Both Maria and Cain landed perfectly on sand dunes nearby, while Melissa, who obviously could not jump had to roll to the side of the arm. Cain grimaced as he landed.

"How are we going to pull through? We only won last time because of those two?"

"Flashback"

"Now listen all of you. You all nearly died against such a weak kishin! Do you even know how you won," growled Death Scythe as he tapped his foot against the cold stone.

"Hoo-hoo, luckily I recorded every moment," shouted Shinigami, striking a pose. The mirror behind Shinigami flashed to life suddenly, and the whole group focused on the screen.

The group was standing on the roof of the building, moments before the blast that took them out struck. Every member of the group grimaced as the beam struck them and knocked them to the ground. As the smoke began to clear, the screen slowed to a snail's pace suddenly and the video zoomed right onto Maria. The child was mid-fall when he subconsciously made a slash with Yao. Everyone noticed that the monster was cut in half in the same style Maria had sliced.

"End Flashback"

"We only won because of Yao's hidden power. When he sliced, blades of wind sliced the kishin in the same style. Now we don't have them! How can we win?"

Melissa had a massive grin on her face, a look of pure joy an elation. "WHEE! New things to shoot at!" Moments later, a single round escaped from the barrel of Blake's weapon form, the whistling sound echoing in the air. Unfortunately, the bullet hit nothing but air. The sound of rushing sand filled the air as the Kishin sunk into the desert, the only visible body parts being the head and the cactus arms.

"Hehe, stupid fools! In this desert I'm invincible!"

Prickles turned to razors as the kishin shot like a rocket into the air, the sand of the desert flowing into his lower body. One of the cactus appendages blasted downward at Melissa, the barbs becoming like knives as they descended towards the helpless teen. Maria stood poised behind the demon, Connor's crossbow form in hand. Several bolts hurtled towards the arm of her opponent seconds later, her quick fingers allowing her to fire repeatedly. The tips of the bolts wedged themselves into the arm as it fell, having little effect on the hard skin. Maria attempted to reload, her fingers stumbling as she grew frantic. The scorpion tail of the kishin struck her in her haste, the appendage smacking into her unprotected chest. This secondary distraction did nothing to stop the arm, Melissa unable to fire her partner in time. A definitive smash was heard, the blow obviously connecting.

What the blow connected with was not Melissa, but a translucent dome barrier erected around Melissa. In the confusion, no one had heard Cain play a solo on Opheila's weapon form. Now though, he could clearly be heard playing, his fingers effortlessly plucking the strings in his hands. A feeling of warmth flooded into both Melissa and Blake, who smirked in his weapon form. A shockwave from the barrier repulsed the cactus arm, giving Melissa a clear line of fire.

"I've never been much of a fighter, but luckily for me I found the perfect weapon. As I play Opheila's guitar form, the music produced is a form of soul wavelength. Stupid demon never thought I could make barriers and send him launching back! But the best effect of my music.."

"JOKER!" Multiple bullets blasted from the barrel of Melissa's weapon, hurtling towards the demon's chest. Unable to defend against the shot, the demon watched as the bullets blasted through his chest, boring a massive crater in the sand torso.

"..Is increasing the resonance rate of others! How's that for team-work," shouted Cain as he pumped his fist in the air.

Recovering from the blow to her chest, Maria got back on her feet just in time to see Melissa shoot the demon through the chest. She was woken from her thoughts by the voice of Connor rose from his weapon form.

"Maria, are you okay? That blow was pretty vicious," Connor said the concern for his partner clear in his voice.

Brushing a streak of her azure hair out of her eyes, Maria replied, "I'm fine, but we need to get back in there! Look!"

As she pointed, the chest of the kishin refilled itself, sand covering the wound completely. A swing from his right hand was dodged by Melissa, who was able to roll to the left in the nick of time. Cain began strumming on Opheila again, the sound sof heavy metal flowing from his guitar. The sand near the kishin exploded without reason, the shockwave of which was able to knock the kishin backwards. Melissa took the distraction as a chance to unload, releasing two more bullets at the kishin. The bullets sailed not at his chest, but rather the cactus arms the kept swinging at her. Metal easily pierced and shredded the plant arms of the creature, leaving two bleeding gashes in the right arm.

"GWAH! Die little human," roared the Kishin as he lashed out with his tail, the tip aimed right at Melissa's chest. A brilliant light shone from behind the kishin, moments before the tip of the stinger exploded into broken flesh and green blood.

"FLAME SHOT!"

Cain looked up and grinned when he saw Maria standing on the hill behind the demon, a flaming arrow notched into Connor. The bolt flew through the air as the girl pulled her trigger, the flaming end heading towards its target. Metal wedged into cactus, the flaming end spreading to the area around the wound.

"Maria, Melissa, aim for the arms, it'll heal another other wound! I'll keep him occupied," shouting Cain, who began to charge at his opponent, intent burning in his eyes.

Getting a running start, Maria leapt into the air and released several bolts. The bolts that were aflame spread their fire to the arms, burning deep holes in the flesh. An attempt at sinking into the ground by the demon was abruptly cut short, an explosion blasting the sand that he sank into. Cain was stilling playing as he charged, allowing his teammates to continue to resonate. Melissa stopped rolling from the demon's right fist and unloaded several shots at the demon. From his eyes, their opponent sent beams through several of the bullets, trying to cause them to explode. He was sorely disappointed as the bullets continued through his hand. When he looked though, there was only one hole in the cactus flesh.

"Hehe, idiot doesn't realize that our Joker attack creates illusions of bullets to distract our opponents," laughed Blake from the sniper rifle.

"Yep! This is a lot of fun! Whee, die," shouted Melissa as she let another shell fly.

Bolts and bullets continued to rain through the sky to the tune of the guitar music emanating from Ophelia. The burning bolts and penetrating bullets had ripped holes in the cactus arms, which were almost hanging limp at the kishin's side.

"Alright Cain, let's bring this together with our solo," shouted Ophelia into Cain's head.

"RIGHT, time for my explosive finish!"

Cain's fingers began to move at a rapid pace, the music becoming louder and more frantic. The two other meisters stopped their attacks as the arms of the demon began to simmer. As the solo continued, small flames began to appear on the arms. The only form of attack left for the Kishin was sending blasts of sand at the meisters, taking out both the immovable Melissa and Maria. The attacks did nothing to stop what was coming.

The music began to rise as the arms grew hotter and hotter. The crescendo of the rock came as Cain finished his solo with a flourish, bringing his fingers across the strings on last times. The holes in the arms spewed fire as the arms exploded in a ball of flame, raining needles around the landscape. The demon fell back after the explosion, collapsing in the sand. Maria shook herself off and ran over to Cain, who stood near Melissa.

"What'd you think of my hidden technique?"

Maria smiled warmly at Caine. "That was a great plan, you did a great job."

"Yea it was a good job, but how are we gonna get him? When I try and make him go boom, he uses sand to block it! It's not fair," yelled Melissa as she shook her fists angrily.

Sand flowed into the empty space where the demon's arms were, forming concrete hands of sand. Pushing him from the ground, the demon's face showed pure rage at what had happened.

"THAT HURT! YOU BRATS WILL DIE NOW!"

Raising one of the sand fists into the air, the demon stood poised to attack. Cain scooped Melissa into his arms as the fist came down. All three meisters jumped backwards onto a dune, the fist hitting nothing but sand.

"Damn, if you we could get rid of the sand, Melissa could get him," growled Cain.

"Well what do you suggest genius?"

"I don't need the sarcasm Opheila."

All three meisters' heads shot up as a strong gust of wind began to blow directly at the demon. A split second later, a blade of wind sailed through the air, aimed right at the demon. The sound of whirling wind filled the air as it passed the meisters, the blade expanding as it passed through the air. Red eyes bulged as the gust of wind hit the demon dead on in the torso, blasting all sand backwards. A flimsy skeleton was revealed underneath; the neck connecting to the now comically oversized head. The eyes bulged for the last time as a bullet pierced the skull, ending the demon's afterlife. The body disappeared, revealing a floating egg soul, pulsing crimson and covered in scales.

"We did it," shouted Maria, who began clapping in joy. Cain turned around and smiled when he saw a downed Yao, hands stretching to the sky as he lay on his back. The weapon had dug himself out just in time to send a gust of wind at the demon, though the effort caused him to promptly collapse.

Maria smiled at her new teammates. "Who should get the soul? I mean we all did pretty good."

"I vote guitar boy! He came up with the plan, and I got to make kishin go BOOM. He should get the soul."

Cain smiled, stunned that they thought he deserved the soul. Not wanting to seem ungrateful, the rocker strolled down the sand dune, his feet leaving imprints in the hot sand. The defeated soul hung in the air before him, pulsing violently. Smirking, Cain grabbed the soul with his right hand, waiting for Opheila to absorb it. Opheila, however, absorbed souls in an unnatural way. Her strings began to glow as Cain put the soul on her, using the soul as a pick for the strings. Music filled the air as the soul gradually disappeared into Opheila.

After the soul was absorbed, the three weapons transformed back into their human forms, stretching their arms after being cramped up as weapons. Yao had reawakened and had dragged Maria from the sand, who he was now pulling across the desert surface. Despite this only being there second major battle, they were unharmed for the most part. Every member was grinning at their success, happy that they had won the day. Shinigami's special squad had gotten off the ground, and proved that they could work together. They might succeed at becoming Death Scythes yet.

XXX

Silence hung in the air as Stein collected himself, seating his lanky body in his spinning chair. His last statement that he had uttered had made the group uneasy to say the least. Without having to be asked, the weapons took form in their meisters' hands, who eagerly grabbed their partners hoping for some comfort. Zoe, cautious of the man they were facing, made a move to approach the mad doctor, but was stopped by an abrupt hand motion from Andreas. The spiky-haired teen grasped the ebony shaft of his scythe partner tightly, his white knuckles contrasting the black metal and chain that hung from Carressa. Beside him, Jake held his chokuto partners defensively, their blades perpendicular to his body in front of him. Both male meisters made moves toward Stein, their feet cautiously brushing up the worn dirt with every step. Smiling wickedly, Stein pushed the rim of his glasses further up his nose and beckoned for the two to come to him.

"Kuroi Gengetsu!" From the tips of Jake's blades, waves of black energy bursted forth, shooting directly at Stein. The waves of energy tore paths right through the dirt. Predictably however, the man they were hunting was prepared for the attack. Spinning around in his chair, Stein spun in a circle as the two blasts tore past him. Stein lifted his hand after he stopped spinning, only to snagged by a black chain. With a tilt of his head, Stein saw Andreas charging at him, the black blade of Caressa raised above his head. His battle cry filled the air, the teen ready to prove himself in this battle.

As Andreas was upon the doctor, Stein delivered a knee right into Andreas' gut, using his momentum to smash the teen through the glass window of his home.

"Interesting. Using dual partners' energy to send soul waves toward your opponent in a burst of energy. Good control of your wavelength, and good unity between partners. The other one relies mainly on physical strength, but also some strategy in the unique chain of your scythe. Some fine specimens indeed, let us continue."

Jake growled at his opponents' analysis of the meisters, his rage giving him strength to charge at his opponent. Another Kuroi Gengetsu blasted at the doctor, once again easily dodged by the wily doctor. This time however, Jake was ready for it. The chains from his partners snapped around Steins' chair leg, trying to yank the chair from Stein. The blades of the weapons were aimed at Stein's chest, eager to cut the cold flesh of the demon doctor. A stitched hand grasped the chains around the chair, yanking Jake forward. The palm of Stein crackled with gold lightning, the force of his soul wavelength bubbling forward. Jake's eyes bulged as he prepared for the blast from Stein. Luckily for the teenager, he was not alone.

Metal smashed Stein in the chest, the chain of Carressa shooting out of the window. Andreas charged once again, the blade actually striking the chair of Stein. The cut toppled Stein to the ground, allowing Jake to wrap his chains around Stein. Andreas whipped his own chain around so that Stein was on his knees, wrapped in black metal.

"YEA, we got him!" The voice of Delaine rang out in Jake's head, as the teen smirked at his victory.

"Excellent strategy. You two worked perfectly together without actually speaking. Now I'm bored with you two. Next test."

Stein's hands grabbed the chains around him and realized his soul wavelength into the chains. Yellow lightning shot up the length of the chains until it hit the hands that were holding them. Neither Jake nor Andreas had time to react, the force of Stein's overwhelming soul shooting both teams backwards, crashing them through the walls of the lab. Their partners reverted to human form, as they landed on their feet. The blast from Stein had caused the three weapons to be covered in scratches. Their partners taking the brunt of Stein's energy attack, so the weapons were still able to fight. Caressa's left arm became her scythe blade, while Delaine turned into a blade for Lucia to fight with.

"You stupid prick! How dare you do that to our partners! You are going down," shouted Caressa as she charged fire in her eyes, much like the eyes of her partner had.

Stein cracked his neck, unfazed by the young weapons' plans. Carressa bellowed as she brought her left arm down at Stein's neck. A single finger stopped Carressa's assault in its tracks, Stein barely moving a muscle. His right hand shot forward and roughly grabbed the blade of Carressa, allowing Stein to deftly toss Carressa away like a ragdoll. Beams of dark energy shot forward at breakneck speed at Stein, bursting forth from Delaine's blade. The beams bounced directly off of Stein's chest, leaving not a single burn mark. Lucia blasted forward at the mad doctor, her blade poised at his chest. Unfortunately, Stein smashed his elbow into Lucia's chest, sending the dark haired girl backwards.

"Not as interesting, you tried the same strategies as your meisters. You are nice specimens though, so I did not do much damage. Now who's next? You two are unlucky however, as I fight worse in my chair."

Zoe's knuckles had turned white as she had a death-grip on Vir's demon sword form. Zack's claw form pulsed with soul energy from Erin, who also was scared of Stein. As she nodded at Erin, Zoe began to slowly approach her opponent, Vir held out in front of her. Erin took position behind her, her claws pointed right at Stein. Their dreaded opponent just stood on looking, a queer smile on his face.

Knowing sooner or later one of them would have to make a move, Zoe bravely charged at Stein, Vir's blade gleaming sickly in the moonlight. The crimson blade tore through the air at Stein, the air chilling between the demon blade and the demon doctor. The chilled air was all the blade hit, as Stein effortlessly side-stepped to the left. A loud thump echoed in the air, causing Zoe to turn towards her opponent. Erin stood behind Stein, blood dripping from her three pronged claws.

Fear filled both girls soon however, as the effect of the attack was revealed. Stein slowly turned around, a demonic look on his face. Not a single grunt or remark about the three long cuts in his back. His hand glowed with a now familiar yellow lightning, his soul wavelength once again manifesting in his palm. The blow came quickly and without warning, Stein's glowing palm smashing into Zack's claw glove, the energy coursing through both weapon and arm. Erin leapt backwards, her face contorting in pain from her hand, still smoking from the residual effect. The wild grin spread wider across Stein's stitched face as he whirled around, catching Zoe's leg mid-strike. Monstrous was the only word that could describe the strength which flowed through the sick doctor as he threw Zoe away like a rag doll. Splintered wood pierced Zoe's soft body as the force of the blow sent the meister smashing through a tree.

Warm blood oozed out of Zoe's left hand, the splinters tearing into her arm. The concern filled voice of Vir rang in Zoe's head, the sword's eye gazing at the girl worriedly.

"Are you okay Zo? This guy is a monster! How could Shinigami send us on this stupid mission, this is suicide!"

"Yeah I'm fine, but I can barely will myself to move. This monster just stops me where I am, look how quickly he beat us! Vir, what can we do?"

From across the clearing, Erin and Zack were having similar thoughts. The team had more or less recovered from the assault, though both claw and arm were covered in scratches from the force of the lightning.

"This guy's a monster Zack! Did they train you to take out demonic, stitched up scientists in boot camp?"

"What do you think?"

Shrugging off the pain, Erin lunged once more at Stein, her claw blades pointed towards his chest. Stein got into a striking position, his glowing hands raised in front of him, the lightning crackling in the air. A split second before the blades connected, Erin tore her feet to the left, arching her body so that her blades tore into Stein's left side. The doctor couldn't counter fast enough, his hands passing through air, Erin now standing behind him with a determined look on her face. As Stein turned, a boot smashed into his pale face, the force of the kick sending him flying backwards.

"FORM-SHIFT!"

The shout pierced the air as Stein flew a blast of light appearing in the corner of his eye. Bringing his feet to the dirt, Stein was able to stop his body from flying backwards. Stopping in his tracks, he whirled around to face the light he had seen. Nothing stood where the light had been, the trees before him blowing in the night wind. Without warning, intense pain shot through his stitched form. Warm blood flowed from the diagonal cut that had been slashed across his chest, staining his dingy white lab-coat. Ignoring the pain, dulled by his corpse-like body, the mad doctor spun on his heels to catch the shining blade of Vir's saber form.

"Intriguing. When most meisters and weapons resonate, they gain some sort of power-up, be it a stronger attack or a new weapon form. You two however, seem to be able to change the shape and form of the weapon when you resonate! What do you call this ability?"

A smirk shot across Zoe's face as she responded, "We call it Formshift. We call you a sucker."

A grunt escaped from Stein as something impacted his back, sending blood flowing from his wounds. The doctor just in time to see Erin punched him a second time, the impact of the soul wavelength boosted punch blasting him forward. His hands shot out in front of him as he brought his body down, dragging both feet and hands to stop himself. A split second after he finally stopped, Stein was hit again from the side, a wave of ebony energy smashing into his unprotected side. The Kuroi Gengetsu launched Stein into the air, the remaining wave smashing into a tree and cutting it in two. Metal clanked as Stein's arm was snared, black chain sealing itself around the doctor. Two objects hurled past Stein, another chain smashing into his gut as they did. Spinning his head, the doctor saw Jake clutching both of his weapons and smirking at his victim.

The chain that bound Stein's arm spun off and snared itself around his chest, knocking the air out of him. Andreas appeared in the air above Stein, a victorious grin on his face. Black metal once more smashed into Stein as Carressa's weapon form impacted, sending Stein spiraling to the ground. Before he had even landed, the other two chains around his torso snaked around his body even more, growing tighter against his body. Both chain-bearing meisters landed next to the kneeling Stein, looks of determination etched on their features. Stein's hands began to crackle with yellow lightning, preparing to repeat the incident from earlier. The only thing that escaped from his hands was warm blood, as Erin pierced her claws gloves into his flesh. The tip of Vir's blade came to his throat, the cold steel pressed against his cold flesh.

"Excellent job, you all yielded some interesting data. Oh well, time for a new experiment. Take me away."

The sweating meisters shot quick glances at each other, not wanting to let Stein out of their sights. What had they gotten themselves into?

XXX

Steel met steel, the ringing of metal echoing in the mountains. The pure white snow that covered the entire area was speckled crimson, an effect of the battle that had been raging on the slope. Bits of garment were scattered over the ground, torn bits of the clothes the combatants wore. The only thing beside rock and snow visible on the battlefield was a stone doorway, revealing a bleak darkness.

The force of the impact from the blades connecting knocked Richter back, jarring the older teen. The clothes on his right shoulder were torn, a shallow bleeding in the space. Normally, an opponent like the one he was facing would have been easy for Richter to handle. Unfortunately for him, the enemies he had found over the ridge were united. All wore black robes that covered every inch of their bodies, save for their heads and faces, though hoods could be seen hanging from the back. There had been eight figures standing in the clear, now there stood four. This was not because Richter had triumphed against some of his opponents or because they had escaped. The real reason was the cause of Richter's struggle.

One of the enemies, a pale faced girl with short black hair and ruby red eyes, lunged at him, swinging her weapon at his body. The weapon she wielded was a large black flail; the head of the weapon was adorned with spikes with razor edges, each of which looked ready to rip flesh. Swinging the massive ebony head down with alarming strength and speed, the demonic girl was able to smash the ground where Richter stood. The girl's partner was a truly frightening weapon.

"Hey Richter, what's the deal? Why haven't we trampled these guys yet?" Eve's loud voice rang in Richter's head, the voice of the sword weapon conveying no sense of concern.

"Are you alright Richter? You have sustained wounds and your body is showing signs of fatigue." The voice of the axe weapon was far lower than that of her sister, actually conveying concern about the situation.

"I'm fine. These clowns are starting to get on my nerves. Let's end this, this fight bores me."

With that affirmation, Richter launched himself at his opponents, the black blades of both Eve and Gloria shining before him. One of the four opponents, who held a razor-edged saw blade in his hand, was slashed across his chest, Gloria's blade cutting through the cold flesh. Her sister's blade simultaneously pierced another opponent, his halberd not moving fast enough to counter the rapid strike. As both fell to the ground, Richter planted his feet in the crisp snow and delivered a punch to the third enemy's jaw, a loud cracking sound heard over the howling mountain wind. A sawed-off shotgun toppled out of his pale hands as he fell. As the enemies' blood spilled onto the snow, the female who had attacked Richter earlier swung the massive flail head going wide as Richter batted it away with his axe. A strong kick blasted the girl backwards, her dragging feet leaving tracks in the snow.

When she finally came to a stop, a snarl escaped from the girl's mouth. Her companions shot to their feet, jumping backwards from Richter as they moved. All four weapons abruptly turned into a solid black mass that flowed over the four. As the black masses engulfed the meisters, throbbing and pulsing as they covered the four, thin outshoots shot out of the masses, hanging in the air next to the meisters. When the pulsing finally stopped, four new weapons had formed in four new meisters' hands.

"Impossible! They were both weapons and meisters at the same time? What are these guys? And come to think of it, why do they all look so similar?"

Small facial details aside, all four of the new meisters were exact replicas of each other. More than that, three of the four other weapons had been replicas as well. Long black coats covered their bodies, deeply contrasting the pale skin of the male warriors. The same crimson eyes and black hair that the female had possessed were present in her companions, which chilled Richter to the bone. The new weapons in the warriors' hands were even similar to the warrior's own weapon forms. All of the weapons were jet black, with no defining features on the instruments of death. The forms the four had taken were that of a mace, a trident, two barbed knives, and a shotgun, all of which were held tightly in the enemies' hands.

With a crack of his knuckles, Richter beckoned his opponents to attack. The response from the enemies was instaneous, as all four of the clones charged the red-haired meister. Two of the enemies cut to the sides, trying to surround Richter, eager to trap the meister. One of the clones who had stayed in the front picked up speed as one of his counterparts charged in from the side. With a flourish, Richter dropped both of his partners into the snow, their hilts jutting upward from the ground. Knives and trident shot towards Richter, eager to shred his body. As both clones were upon Richter, flames burst from the meisters' right hand, while pieces of stone formed on his left foot. Earth and flame connected with their targets, blasting both enemies backward with a surge of soul wavelength. Not missing a beat, Richter brought his left foot down while raising his right, the flames and stones evaporating into the air. A blow from the mace wielder went wide as an ice-encased fist collided with his body, while his companion was slashed with blades of wind. Both of the meisters rocketed backwards, joining their allies in the snow.

"Humph. What a bunch of amateurs." Richter glared at the meister who were struggling to get to their feet again.

Without warning, the meisters suddenly stopped their attempts to get to their feet, their head shooting upward. The ground beneath them turned black, magic pulsing out of the circle that formed. As they sank into the ground, Richter only noticed one thing. A look of fear in their eyes, which were glued to a nearby peak. The wind began to howl even louder, blasting waves of ice and snow through the air. His view obscured temporarily, Richter tightened his grip on his two weapons, knowing that whatever could make emotionless husks flee in terror was not something to be taken lightly. A lull in the wind allowed Richter to gaze at the peak once more, revealing a terrify truth. The peak was empty of any life.

Searing pain exploded on Richter's back, the warmth of gushing blood emanating from his new wound. His blade hit nothing but air as he spun in counter-attack. A blow connected with his face, the force of the punch sending him shooting backwards. The sounds of howling wind mixed with the sounds of smashing stone as his body impacted the nearby mountain. Sliding to the ground, Richter went on his knees in pain from the rapid assault. As he looked up, the wind abruptly stopped, giving him a clear view of his assailant.

Richter's attacker stood calmly in the mid of the clearing, smiling at Richter with a grin like a demon. From the way the jacket protruded of off the man, Richter could tell that he was muscular and well built for his size. Short black hair blew in the cold mountain hair, the black bandages that were wrapped loosely around the man's wrists blowing in sync with his hair. A long white scarf was wrapped around the man's neck; the loose hanging ends resembling claws to Richter. Nothing, however, caught Richter's eyes like the man's eyes. Dark shadows wrapped around the man's diamond shaped eyes, the dark blue irises gleaming insanity at Richter. Just what was this man?

"I can't hold back against this one, I have to go full force if I want to win this without getting severely hurt."

Thrusting both of his weapons into the snow, Richter shot forward at the enemy, his hands bursting into flame and ice. Mortal summer and mortal winter smashed into the assailant, the flaming fist connecting with his jaw while the ice-covered fist plowed into his gut. Richter lunged backwards with a roar, his fists' energies disappearing. Both fists were launched into the assailant's chest, a massive pulse of soul wavelength coursing into the assailant as Richter's Enduring Equinox attack concluded.

"Jiiiii, was that an attack? That felt weird, but that's about all. Hey, you wanna see mine!"

Stunned that his soul pulse failed to have any effect on his opponent, Richter had no time to dodge the fists that connected with his gut. The force of the blow shot him backwards, blood spitting out of his mouth as he was sent backwards. Looking up in his pain, he noticed that the hand that hit him had SICKO tattooed on the fingers. Something smashed into his side, shaking his entire form. His body met rock once more as Richter collided with the mountainside again, sending snow raining to the ground. The scarf that hung around the man's neck was hovering near where Richter had just stood, the cause of the blow now apparent.

"He can control his scarf? His soul wavelength was so...chaotic as well, my pulse was torn to shreds as soon as it hit. What the hell is this guy?"

"Richter! Are you okay?" The voice of Eve escaped from the blade lying near Richter, real concern present this second time.

"Ooooh, you're a meister! Wait a minute, that axe must be one too! WHY DO YOU GET TWO WEAPONS! NO FAIR! You're a cheater! Jiiiiiiiiiii, I think I'll use mine too!"

The loud response shocked Richter, sounding not at all like something he would have expected from the man. Snarling, Richter grabbed the hilts of his partners, raising them defensively in front of him. His attacker took the bait, charging full force at Richter. Dull grey cloth shot out from behind the man, the scarf once again shooting at the meister. This time, however, the attack was expected. A strong kick from Richter sent the cloth smashing away, the scarf blasting to the side from the force. A left arm swung at Richter, only to be batted away by Gloria's axe blade. Eve's blade gleamed for a second before slashing at the enemy's chest, only to be blocked half-way.

A large black sword blocked Eve's blade, shocking both weapon and meister. The blade was curved downward in a crescent, a perfect weapon for beheading. The man flashed a toothy grin, glad that the reveal had shocked his opponent. It did not hold Richter's attention for long, however, as Gloria dug into the man's side. A grunt of pain escaped from the man's mouth as another blow smashed into his chest, Richter's knee digging into his torso. A slice from the black sword was parried by Richter, who swung to the side of the man. With a roar, Richter smashed the blunt end of Gloria into his opponent's head, ricocheting off of the thick skull.

The counterattack came quicker than Richter could have expected, the scarf smashing into his right leg. As he went down, Richter received a blow to the chest from the man, his strength once again sending Richter backwards. A slash from the curved blade was knocked away by Gloria's blade, the man's anger turning to his disadvantage. His chest opening, the man could only grunt as the blade of Eve sliced through his jacket, a thin line of red forming on his chest. A thrust at the man's chest from Richter was stopped dead, as the curved blade tore Eve from Richter's hand. The arc of the sweep that knocked Eve away allowed the man to strike immediately at Richter's chest, the blade looking to tear through the red-haired meister's chest. Thinking fast, Richter batted the ebony blade away with Gloria as stones burst from his foot. Rock met flesh once more as Richter drove his foot directly into the man's chest, the soul wavelength blasting out of the Enduring Autumn attack.

As the man's head richochetched backwards, Richter felt something wrap around his back. The scarf was now held tight around Richter's waist, though his hands were still free. Burning eyes, pulsing with hate, glared at Richter as the man's head snapped back into place.

"Darkurai, could you get serious about this thing? Waste this bastard!" Richter's eyes widened as a female voice escaped from the black blade that was pointed at his neck.

"You don't have to worry about that, this fight is through!" Darkurai's voice was filled with hatred as he glared at his opponent, the fire still burning in his dark eyes.

An Ah escaped from Darkurai's mouth as his tongue slithered out of the jagged teeth. Something glittered from deep in his throat as a gurgling sound filled the air. Golden metal rose out of the demonic man's throat, ending in an ornate point. Ornate brown metal could be see after the point, obviously a handle for the weapon, a vajra. A small orb of pulsing purple energy appeared in front of the point of the weapon as Darkurai opened his mouth wider. Horror gripped the trapped Richter as a massive beam of dark purple energy blasted at him, energy fired from a weapon that came from the monster's chest. The scarf tightened around his waist as the wave of energy impacted.

Stone and ice jettisoned from the nearby face of the mountain as the beam tore through the ancient mountain like paper. Snow and dust blasted into the air as the resulting explosion deafened any creatures nearby. As the vajra sank back down Darkurai's gullet, he snarled with rage. Richter lay in the bloodied snow, pieces of the scarf lying next to his form. As the scarf wrapped itself around Darkurai once again, the end could clearly be seen as sliced by a weapon. As Richter shot back to his feet, both opponents stared each other down, each impressed with the other's skill.

A loud rumbling from the mountain broke their concentration, allowing both men to take their eyes off their opponents to see what the noise was. A pile of snow that hung to the face of the moutain dislodged, crashing to the ground near Richter and Darkurai. The rumbling sounded again, dislodging more piles of snow into the clearing. Having an idea what was about to happen, Richter leapt backwards, his agility allowing him to reach the cliff he had been watching the dark meisters on. Darkurai followed suit, landing a good distance from Richter.

Their suspicions were confirmed when the rumbling grew louder as a slow rush of snow began to move from the peak of the mountain. The wave of snow sped faster as it tore down the mountain, the noise growing louder as it went. Shooting his head to look at Darkurai, Richter cursed. The demonic warrior was no longer standing there.

"Richter, I think that he caused an avalanche!"

Gloria could be heard sighing in Richter's head. "Must you point out the obvious sister?"

Knowing he had no time to escape down the mountain or out run the wave, Richter did the only thing he could. The red-haired meister stabbed the blades of his weapons deep into the snow and kneeled. He could only try to brace himself as the tidal wave of snow and ice collided with his form, drowning him as it continued on its deadly path down the mountain. Nothing could be seen of the meister as his body disappeared beneath snow and ice.

XXX

Another chapter down. I apologize for taking a while on this one, and ending it on a cliffhanger once again. The story will continue and it won't take me three months to update. Thanks for reading and please review.