The Star Warriors

by C. S. Cooper

  “Stay the Hell away from my meister!” he snarled.

  “You gonna behave yourselves?” asked Nathan, his voice a deep growl. Maka exchanged glances with the boy, and then nodded. Her eyes radiated hostility, but they were honest too.

  Nathan deactivated his Arms Alchemy, and willed his body back to normal. He reached down and offered the pair his hands. They took them hesitantly and he pulled them up.

  “I’m Nathan Grant,” he said with a smile. He pointed out Sakura. “That chick’s Sakura. That’s her boyfriend, Xiaolang. And that’s my friend, Astrid.”

  “I know who they are,” snapped Maka. She shot an especially dark look at Sakura. Then she looked at Nathan. “I’m Maka Albarn of the Demon Weapon Meister Academy. This is my weapon partner, Soul.”

  “I take it you’re that Starlight Lancer what’s been screwin’ everythin’ up,” said Soul.

  “You’re right about that,” said Astrid. She eyed the wrecked aircraft and sighed. “Why did the Reaper send you here?”

  “We were ordered to recover the Silver Key before the Regiment started screwing around with it,” said Maka. “We also have to neutralise Moonface.”

  “You can’t!” snapped Sakura. “Moonface kidnapped my father, and I need the Regiment to find out where he is.”

  Maka looked almost sickened by the mention of the word ‘father.’

  “It’s too dangerous. He must be taken out,” she snarled.

  Astrid and Xiaolang advanced, their weapons at the ready.

  “The Alchemic Regiment will take jurisdiction here, Albarn,” said Astrid. “We also need to know where Moonface is keeping Doctor Avalon. That’s where the other half of the Silver Key is.”

  “Also Shaula,” put in Xiaolang. “I hear you two have a bone to pick with her.”

  The hairs on Maka’s neck stood on end, while Soul clenched his teeth. They exchanged glances as they considered their options. They couldn’t well let their target out of their sight.

  Soul finally spoke up, “We’ll need to report to Lord Reaper.”

  “Lord Reaper?” asked Nathan.

  “The head of their organisation,” Astrid explained.

  “If he agrees to let you have Moonface, we’ll take you back to the Regiment,” said Maka begrudgingly. There was a twinge of hope in her voice that the Reaper would side with her.

  Nathan, Astrid, and Xiaolang exchanged glances and silently agreed. Sakura looked at the wrecked aircraft and raised a hand.

  “How do we get there?” she asked.

  Chapter 12: The Reaper

  Maka and Soul emerged from the mirror with four companions and one prisoner in tow. Maka would have preferred they’d all been prisoners, but reality rarely went her way. When everyone was through, the newcomers took a moment to get their bearings.

  Astrid and Xiaolang were quite excited to finally see the inside of the fabled DWMA. They’d heard about it many times, and had even met some of its graduates. But to stand in the legendary fortress was something else entirely.

  “It’s like something out of Cartoon Network,” said Nathan as he gazed at the skull emblem on the floor.

  Sakura pointed out all the colourful tapestries and choices of paint.

  “It looks really cool,” she said.

  Soul offered the girl a fist-bump.

  Maka noticed it and growled irately, “Let’s get going! The Reaper will want to know why a homunculus is in his house.”

  She power-walked down the hall, beckoning the others to follow. Nathan thrust Moonface into Astrid’s hands, and jogged to catch up to Maka. He began assaulting her with questions about the DWMA. Maka answered them curtly, but soon stopped listening. As far as she was concerned, this boy was responsible for their mess.

  Soul was far more forthcoming, and happily answered Nathan’s questions. He explained that DWMA taught people with Demon Weapon abilities to control their powers.

  “It’s like the school in X-Men, right?” laughed Nathan.

  “That movie ripped us off!” snapped Maka.

  “Okay, no need to get snarky,” replied Nathan defensively. He then turned to Xiaolang and Sakura. “We got magic and Witches too. Maybe the religious nut-jobs were right.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” asked Xiaolang suspiciously.

  “Well, maybe J. K. Rowling really is a Witch!” exclaimed Nathan. He was clearly joking, and Astrid and Sakura couldn’t help but laugh.

  Maka, however, stopped in her tracks, swivelled and pointed at Nathan.

  “J. K. Rowling is not a Witch,” she barked.

  “She’s a Demon Weapon,” said Soul.

  Every eyebrow went sky-high. Even Moonface was surprised. Maka and Soul led them to a nearby wall. Maka pointed to a photo on the wall, with a plaque reading, ‘N.O.T. Class of 1979.’ A young girl who clearly looked like the famous author stood to the right most of the middle row of children.

  “She’s one of the school’s most celebrated N.O.T. students,” said Maka proudly. “What? You think she got the idea on a train or something?”

  Sakura frowned. “Wait, I thought you said she was a student.”

  “Yeah, a N.O.T. student,” said Maka.

  “Why’re you saying she wasn’t a student then?” asked Nathan.

  “A N.O.T. student!” barked Maka.

  “What the fuck’re you talking about?” exclaimed Nathan.

  “It ain’t N.O.T. as in ‘no,’” Soul explained. “It’s N-O-T. It means Normally Overcome Target.”

  “Oh, so it’s an acrobat,” said Nathan.

  “Acronym!” snapped Astrid.

  Maka looked at the group, very annoyed, and snapped, “It’s a basic qualification at DWMA. N.O.T. students learn to control their powers.” She shot daggers at Sakura and Nathan. “Not exploit them,” she added.

  Sakura looked hurt, while Nathan just shrugged. He looked at Soul and said, “So J. K.’s like you, huh? She turn into a scythe too?”

  “Nope,” said Soul as he rubbed his head. He led them a bit further down the hall to a row of alumni pictures. There was Rowling as a student. Next to the photo was a picture of her weapon form. They all studied the picture closely and exclaimed, “Ooooh!”

  “Moon!” chirped Moonface. “Such majesty!”

  “Okay! Enough with the tour,” snapped Maka. “We need to get to Lord Reaper’s chambers.”

  “Yes, please,” said Sakura, thinking of her father.

  The group passed by a few faces, most of which belonged to children heading for classes. The kids recognised both Nathan and Sakura, and excitedly cried out the names by which the Internet knew them. Sakura blushed a little, while Nathan grinned cockily.

  Maka fumed.

  Finally, they stood before the doors to the Reaper’s office. Sakura took a bit of convincing to go through the doorway, the carvings of which frightened her. With Xiaolang clutching her hand, she managed to move through into the white room. All the newcomers frowned at the sight of the black crucifixes littered around the dais, upon which sat a large full-length mirror. The Reaper stood in front of the mirror, his misty black cloak wafting around him. His son, Death the Kid, stood beside him.

  “Welcome to my castle,” said the Reaper. He turned to reveal his cartoonish skull mask and large white cuboid hands. “And it is so nice to meet you all!” he exclaimed.

  “Are you supposed to be this Reaper guy?” asked Nathan.

  “Oh, but of course, Mister Grant,” said the Reaper.

  “You look like the guy from Grim Adventures of Mork and Mindy,” retorted Nathan.

  Billy and Mandy, you idiot, Astrid moaned internally.

  “Don’t be silly,” exclaimed the Reaper. “I’m way nicer than that guy.”

  “Father, could you be serious?” muttered Kiddo.

  The Reaper seemed not to have heard him, as he turned to Maka and chirped, “Maka, m’lady, where’s your gorgeous black jacket and blouse combo?”

  Maka glared at Soul and said, “I got
minestrone on it when we were in Italy. It’s soaking at home.”

  The Reaper shrugged and then looked at the newcomers. He hummed with disappointment.

  “Where’s the sixth one?” he asked.

  Xiaolang coaxed Sakura out from behind his back. The girl stammered nervously under the eyeless gaze of the Reaper. She forced herself to be polite and introduce herself, but could not stop edging away from the dark figure. She shrieked and froze as the Reaper hooked a cuboid finger under her chin to look into his face.

  “What a cute girl!” chirped the Reaper. “It doesn’t really suit you to have such a scaredy-cat look, does it?” Sakura looked into the cartoonish mask, which craned left and right. The Reaper made a sound like a cat, which made Sakura burst into laughter. “That’s better, isn’t it?” said the Reaper, patting Sakura on the head.

  “You seem like a nice person,” said Sakura. “Not what I expected from the Angel of Death.”

  “I ain’t no angel, sister,” retorted the Reaper sassily. That made Sakura laugh even more.

  Maka groaned impatiently, but the Reaper ignored her as well. He turned to Astrid and offered a handshake.

  “Wonderful to finally meet the Spartan Valkyrie,” he said reverently. “You’ve got my utmost respect in handling Grant here.”

  “Oh, well, it’s nice to see someone’s noticing,” said Astrid, ignoring the rolling of Nathan’s eyes.

  The Reaper turned to Xiaolang and said, “I don’t usually entertain the child of a Witch, but for someone as kind-hearted as yourself, I’ll make an exception.”

  “I appreciate it, Lord Reaper,” said Xiaolang. Sakura beamed proudly as she clutched his arm.

  “Father! Could we proceed with our business?” snapped Kiddo.

  “Who’re you supposed to be then? Li’l Grim or something?” asked Nathan.

  “I am Death the Kid,” said Kiddo proudly. He sneered at Nathan’s dishevelled appearance. “I’ll ask someone so asymmetrical to not speak in my presence.”

  “Asymmetrical?” asked Nathan. Soul quickly cut him off with a non-verbal warning.

  The Reaper turned his attention to Moonface, whom Nathan hurled onto the floor. A hostile glare burst from the cartoon mask. The homunculus hardly seemed to care, or even notice, as he glanced around as if on safari.

  “So, why’ve you six brought this thing into my house?” asked the Reaper.

  Maka stepped forward. “You dispatched us to reclaim the Silver Key and eliminate Moonface.”

  “Like how you didn’t say kill,” muttered Moonface. He giggled when Astrid kicked him.

  “We didn’t let her,” said Astrid. “We need to interrogate Moonface regarding the location of his L.X.E. stronghold. That’s where we’ll find Shaula.”

  Sakura stepped forward and looked up into the Reaper’s face. “They kidnapped my Dad, Mister Reaper. They’re probably torturing him. I need to know where they took him so I can save him.”

  Kiddo cocked his head, intrigued by the wounded homunculus.

  “Where did you catch him?” he muttered.

  “He and his forces attacked my house,” said Xiaolang. “Were it not for Astrid, Nathan, and Sakura, they’d likely have succeeded in raiding our vault.”

  “And obtaining the other half of the Silver Key,” intoned Kiddo.

  Xiaolang’s jaw dropped. “How did you know about that?”

  “The Scotsman told us,” said Astrid, intercepting Kiddo’s retort.

  “You mean Eriol?” asked Sakura. “He’s working for you?”

  “He works for no one, that one,” said the Reaper. He eyed Xiaolang’s bag. “You have the other half with you, don’t you?”

  Xiaolang’s eyes shifted nervously. He tried to meet the Reaper’s piercing gaze, but couldn’t hold his ground. He quickly unzipped his backpack, procured the box, and opened it to reveal the artefact inside. Its lustrous metal shell glimmered with engraved glyphs and tracks. Nathan whistled while Sakura hummed with interest.

  “Why did you bring it with you?” exclaimed Maka. She eyed Moonface, who looked around nonchalantly. “Don’t you realise he might be leading you into a trap?”

  “How? He’s not leading us anywhere,” snapped Nathan.

  “Dude, ya shoulda told us ya had it on ya,” said Soul irately. Kiddo agreed vociferously. Xiaolang held the box close to his chest and retorted. Sakura butted in to defend her boyfriend from the verbal onslaught. Astrid backed away with her face in her hand, while Nathan just chuckled at the chaos.

  A force, like that of a meteorite hitting the Earth, floored everyone. They stood up, rubbing very sore heads, to see the Reaper, ready to karate-chop anyone else who wanted to argue.

  “No more bickering, or you’ll get the Reaper-Chop!” snapped the Reaper. He looked at Xiaolang. “Why’d ya bring the Silver Key?”

  “Safekeeping,” grunted Xiaolang. “Our family vault was damaged by this a-hole. I’m holding onto it.”

  The Reaper gazed a moment at him. Then the cloaked entity looked at Sakura, then Nathan, and then Astrid. He made a sound that resembled a sigh and shrugged, “Good enough.”

  “Father!” snapped Kiddo. Maka was also adamant that it was a bad idea, but the Reaper overruled them.

  “Look, like it or not, the Regiment is the best one to interrogate Moonface,” said the Reaper to the two protesters. He turned to Astrid. “I’m going to let you go to the Regiment headquarters in Australia. You’ll take Moonface, and interrogate him. Understand?” Astrid nodded resolutely.

  “I’ll go to supervise the interrogation,” said Kiddo.

  “Not a chance,” said the Reaper. “Not after you ran out on the last meeting. Instead, I’m sending my Death Scythe along.”

  Maka cried with dismay. She clambered at the Reaper’s cloak, begging for someone else. Before Nathan or Sakura could ask what her problem was, the doors of the chamber flew open, and in walked a man who looked like something out of a Quentin Tarantino movie. His long red hair waved about as he strode to the dais and said, “Your Death Scythe is ready to embark, Lord Reaper.” He winked at Maka, who wailed.

  “I’m not going anywhere with you, Papa!” snapped Maka.

  Spirit Albarn tried not to look hurt as he eyed the rest of the group. “You gonna introduce me to your new friends, darlin’?”

  “Not even if they were my friends!” roared Maka.

  “Well, I’ll introduce them,” said the Reaper. He gave the names of each newcomer. Spirit gave an especially forward greeting to Astrid and Sakura, which made Maka’s blood boil. She turned to the Reaper, who interjected, “My decision has been made, Maka. End of discussion.”

  Maka continued to fume, and Soul laid a hand on her shoulder to calm her. Xiaolang tried to put himself between Sakura and Spirit, while Astrid tried to ward the man off with a glare that crinkled her nose scar. Nathan leaned over to Kiddo to ask what the man’s problem was, but the Reaper’s son just shook his head.

  “Now that everyone’s introduced, it’s time you all popped off,” exclaimed the Reaper. He waved his cuboid finger over his mirror, and it flashed to life. “This portal will take you to the Regiment headquarters.” He pointed at Moonface. “Kindly get that piece of shit out of my house,” he added politely.

  “Moon!” snarled Moonface.

  Chapter 13: A Much-Appreciated Call

  The sterile white room hummed with an odd noise. A single chair composed of titanium composites sat right in the middle of the chamber. From the observation window, Sakura, Maka, and Soul watched as four men dragged Moonface toward the chair and strapped him in violently. As soon as the yellow-skinned homunculus entered the room, he grit his teeth with discomfort, and tried in vain to block his ears with his shoulders.

  Bravo entered the observation booth with Spirit in tow. They approached the window and gazed down at the homunculus. Bravo smirked at the sight of the uncomfortable creature.

  “We’ll leave him to stew in there for a while, then take a crack at him,” said Bravo.


  “Is this how you usually interrogate prisoners?” asked Spirit.

  “Just homunculi,” said Bravo. “The room is vibrating with a dull noise just outside the human aural range, so we won’t hear it. But him,” He grinned at the shuffling creature. “He won’t be able to stand it.”

  “You’re torturing him?” asked Sakura meekly.

  “So we can get your father back, yes,” said Bravo. He placed a hand on her shoulder and said, “Don't feel bad for that thing. He’s murdered countless innocent people. It’s a gift as opposed to what he deserves.”

  Though Sakura could see the logic, she couldn’t shake the feeling of empathy as she watched Moonface cringe. Bravo left the room, but Spirit lingered a little longer. He stepped up to her and patted her head.

  “Don’t you worry, little one,” said the red-haired man. “We’ll figure this whole thing out.” Sakura smiled a little. “Yeah, that’s much better. You’re just as cute as my little Maka, you know?” He took Sakura’s hands and his smile widened. “Perhaps, later, you and I could grab a coffee?”

  Spirit hit the ground. He clutched his groin and curled into a foetal position. Maka stood over him, murderous rage in her eyes.

  “Make yourself scarce, Papa!” snarled the pig-tailed girl. Spirit fled from the room, wailing and decrying his daughter’s terrible treatment.

  Sakura backed away flabbergasted. Soul leaned over and said, “Don’t worry about it. Spirit Albarn is a notorious womaniser.”

  “He’s a pig!” snarled Maka. “Forget that, he’s just a man.”

  Sakura gasped and stammered a retort. Soul quickly silenced her and, with a shake of his head, told her not to worry. Despite his uncouthness, Spirit’s presence reminded her of her own father. That then made her think of her family.

  “I just realised,” she thought aloud. “Big Brother doesn’t know what’s going on. I should call him.” She raced out of the booth and chased after Bravo.