by C. S. Cooper
Maka grasped at the dirt, looking for some kind of lifeline. Nothing she did made any difference, and she wept. Still, no one but Sakura paid attention. And even then, Sakura seemed almost indifferent.
“What did I do wrong?” Maka finally cried. “Why don’t I have Papa? Why don’t I have Mama? Why am I alone?”
Sakura shrugged, “You ain’t alone. I’m here, after all.” Maka gazed up at her. She went on, “I wish I could have my Mommy back. I miss her so much. But I can’t get that. It don’t mean I can’t have anyone else. I mean, I got a bunch of friends, and an awesome boyfriend. As Mick Jagger said, you can’t always get whacha want, but if you try, you get whacha need.”
“What would I need?” moaned Maka.
“You’re here all alone,” said Sakura. “How ’bout a compadre? A buddy? Ain’t ya got that with Soul?” Maka gasped softly as she recalled the albino who had been her friend for so long. She couldn’t believe she’d been taking him for granted so much.
Sakura crouched down and said, “Plus, you’re a weirdo. You’re quirky.” Maka frowned as Sakura smiled and held out her hand. “Because of that, will you be friends with me?”
Maka opened her eyes and the playground melted away. She was back on the roof of the Regiment headquarters. Her right hand was still limp and swollen, and her left was in Sakura’s hand.
“Will you be friends with me?” said the girl, this time with an English accent. She had an earnest smile that Maka couldn’t help but return, though she had no clue why. Sakura pulled her to her feet and held her hand tightly.
“Well?” blurted an Aussie accented voice. “Say yes!”
“Nathan!” yelled another voice.
Maka and Sakura looked over to see Nathan, Astrid, Xiaolang, and Soul. Franklin stood a bit further away, beside the roof exit. They all had grins on their faces, tainted a bit by embarrassment at Nathan’s outburst.
“What?” replied Nathan. “They’re just sitting there.”
“You make it sound like a marriage proposal,” chuckled Soul.
Xiaolang paled at that thought and quickly pulled Maka and Sakura apart.
“Don’t say things to make Sakura question her identity, thank you very much,” he exclaimed in jest. Sakura only giggled, as did Maka.
Soul leaned to Franklin and said, “I didn’t really think it would work so easily.”
Franklin just grinned proudly. “That’s my Sakura. She’s a girl who makes things happen.”
Soul shook his head in amazement, unable to disagree with the man. He then walked over and slung his arm around his meister.
“Feelin’ better?” he asked.
Maka nodded. She inhaled sharply as she cradled her hand. Xiaolang quickly procured a paper charm and healed her broken bones. The blonde sighed and leaned back against the railing.
“Sorry, everyone,” she said embarrassed. “Just … all this stuff with Sakura’s dad had me worked up. Plus, when Papa hit on you, I just –”
“It’s alright,” said Sakura. “I was a bit creeped out by it too.”
“What? Did your dad actually hit on a girl right in front of you?” asked Nathan. Maka nodded shamefully. Nathan chuckled, much to her surprise. To Astrid, he said, “Well then, you don’t get to call me creepy anymore.”
“Says the one trying to kiss me all the time,” retorted Astrid.
“You too, huh?” Xiaolang jibed.
Sakura slapped his shoulder at the comment, but laughed all the same. Soul hooted while Nathan and Maka jokingly pressed for gossip. Though she would have been happy to continue clowning, Astrid had to stop the conversation.
“Listen, everyone,” she said. “Shaula and Moonface’re still out there. This fiasco isn’t over yet.” She turned to Maka. “Did you manage to find her?”
“No, my senses can’t reach that far,” said Maka. “Even when my mind is clear.”
The group grumbled with disappointment. Gazes downturned in thought. Then Sakura had an idea.
“Why don’t we resonate again?” she suggested. “When I resonate with my Cards, I can provide them more power and control. Maybe I can resonate with you and boost your range?”
Maka chewed her lip thoughtfully. “That could work.”
“I’ll get in on that too,” said Nathan. He pointed to his chest and said, “This thing makes me damn powerful.”
“He’s right, it does,” said Astrid.
“So I could prob’ly give you a boost too,” said Nathan.
“Let’s all pitch in,” said Soul. “I mean, if Eriol’s right and we really are supposed to work together.” Astrid and Xiaolang nodded in agreement.
Maka drew a deep breath and held out her newly healed hand. Sakura placed her hand on top. Then Nathan placed his hand below. Soul placed his hand above. Then Astrid on top, and then finally Xiaolang below. They reached out through the aether.
Maka’s soul, a blue orb crowned by wings, matched its beating to the pink, feathery energy of Sakura’s soul. Then Nathan’s shining crimson soul, thrumming a million times a minute, slowed to a dulcet tone. Astrid’s soul, in the shape of an ethereal echidna, sung in tune. The beat in Soul’s head sped up to match. Xiaolang’s focused wolf-like spirit aligned with that of his beloved’s mind.
With harmony achieved, their spirits sung louder. Their synchronised, resonating roar burst across the astral landscape, touching every soul they could find. With ease, they traversed the horizon many times over.
Then they saw it: the slick, galling sensation not unlike dining on rotten meat. There Shaula stood, within a needle-like tower, surrounded by a sprawling harbour-side metropolis.
Maka broke the resonance and everyone hunched over. They smiled with delight.
“She’s in Centrepoint,” said Nathan.
“Where’s that?” asked Soul.
“Sydney,” said Astrid.
“We should tell Bravo and the others,” said Xiaolang.
“No,” barked Astrid. Everyone looked at her, quite perplexed. “We tell them, they’ll just bicker for hours more. We’re working together right now. Why shouldn’t we see it all the way through together?”
Nathan grabbed Astrid’s shoulders and looked at her.
“Astrid, are you sure?” he said. His hands trembled with nervousness. “I don’t know if I can control this.”
Astrid grabbed his hands and gripped them tightly.
“You can,” she said resolutely. “We have to do this, and we can only do it together.”
“Are you serious?” asked Xiaolang, wondering where the Astrid he knew had gone.
“Yes, I am,” said Astrid with a cocky grin. “Screw regulations and jurisdictions. Let’s get this done.”
“How’re we going to get there?” asked Sakura.
“The plane we used to get to Somerset Dam,” said Maka.
“Let’s go then,” said Astrid. She locked her gaze onto Nathan, and seemed to transmit her resolve to him. With a deep sigh, Nathan grinned. He then punched the air.
“Let’s do it!” he exclaimed.
As everyone entered the fire escape, Sakura and Maka lingered. Maka turned to Franklin and coughed nervously.
“I haven’t introduced myself properly,” she said deferentially. “I am Maka Albarn. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Same here, Miss Albarn,” said Franklin, shaking her hand.
“I’m sorry I attacked your daughter,” said Maka.
“Hey, if she’s forgiven you, then no need to apologise to me,” replied Franklin with a smile. He then turned to Sakura, who wrung her hands nervously. “You’re going to save the world?”
“I don’t know,” stammered the girl.
Franklin hooked his finger under her cheek and pulled her gaze to meet his.
“I don’t think they’ll be able to do it without you,” he said.
“I agree,” said Maka, threading her fingers through Sakura’s.
Franklin beamed with unfettered pride and said, “Go, and be my magic girl.”
Sakura trembled with excitement and trepidation. She threw her arms around Franklin. Her father returned the hug, before shooing her off to follow the others.
The group walked down the staircase and into the building. After traversing a few floors toward the hangar level, they ran into the face they’d least expected.
“Eriol?” exclaimed Sakura.
“How did you get out?” asked Xiaolang.
“A wizard did it,” said Eriol. He glanced at the whole group, and grinned excitedly. “Look at you all, teamed up and everythin’,” he chirped. He raised a finger. “But, before y’all get into the action, I think you’re missin’ somethin’.”
“What?” asked Astrid, her excitement overriding her annoyance only slightly.
Eriol pointed to a nearby locker room. The six of them walked into the room and looked around. They glanced back at the Scotsman with confused expressions.
“On the bench there,” said Eriol. “I’ll run interference for ya.” Then he disappeared down the hall.
Maka grimaced as she looked around the locker room, until she found a bench in the middle. A package resting on it caught her eye, and she walked over to it. There was a gift-card attached to the package with her name on it. Inside it read, “Dear Scythe Meister. From a certain traitor, Eriol.” There were five more packages, addressed to Cardcaptor, Coyote, Soul Eater, Spartan Valkyrie, and Starlight Lancer.
Sakura picked up hers and found the pink costume Tomoyo had given her at the airport in Japan. Xiaolang’s contained the green costume.
“I thought I’d left these in Hong Kong,” she exclaimed.
Maka’s contained her blouse, cardigan, checkerboard skirt, and black coat, along with a pair of brand new Converse shoes. She beamed with utter delight.
Soul’s contained his yellow and black jacket and his red trousers. He drooled excitedly.
Astrid and Nathan opened theirs and found matching cargo pants, as well as the shirts Ariadne had made for them. Nathan held them up for the rest to see. The star on Nathan’s shirt still shone, while the crucifix of Astrid’s shirt glimmered in the light. Nathan squeaked with glee at the sight of his red scarf.
“Well, if we’re going to save the world, we might as well do it lookin’ cool,” exclaimed Soul.
“Soul, you’re as bad as Tomoyo,” said Sakura.
Nathan looked over the top of his shirt and grinned almost evilly.
“In the words of Barney Simpson,” he chuckled. Then he yelled, “Suit up!” And he walked off with his shirt.
Astrid groaned.
“It’s Stinson, you moron!” she cried. She looked at the others and moaned, “I swear, he does it just to annoy me.”
Chapter 19: Haka!
The control room of Regiment headquarters had fallen into chaos. The technicians and officers hurriedly repaired the damage incurred by Moonface’s attack. They were making progress, much of which seemed for naught, as the leadership couldn’t work out what to do. All they did was bicker in the conference room.
Bravo was particularly vociferous against engaging the assistance of other organisations to find the enemy, while Spirit insisted that a mirror be found with which to contact DWMA. The other generals wanted to remove the two men from the decision-making process for their incompetence. Rodrigo stood in the corner and shook his head with dismay, while General Vasuman chuckled.
“Is this a time to laugh?” growled Rodrigo.
“Oh, it’s just absurd, isn’t it?” chimed Vasuman. “The world’s about to end, and all we can do is point fingers. It’s just absurd.”
The shouting grew so loud that Rodrigo almost didn’t hear the beep on the intercom nearby.
“General Rodrigo, we have a problem,” said a nervous technician. Rodrigo was sure he could hear a Scottish accent in the background. He and an intrigued Vasuman left the room, and the other generals soon noticed their departure and followed. Their jaws dropped when they saw Eriol standing in the control room, his sun-shaped staff in-hand.
“Lord Lamperouge, you mean to make an enemy of us at a time like this?” exclaimed Rodrigo.
Bravo stepped forward and donned his Arms Alchemy. He clenched his fists and proclaimed, “Let me deal with this joker.”
Eriol gazed at a screen nearby. A widget started to beep on the console.
“Uh, Generals … Sirs, everyone in the hangar is walking away,” said the technician. Upon a command from Vasuman, he brought a feed from the hangar to the main screen. The repair teams in the hangar had halted their work, and had retreated to the edges of the chamber. Then a group of six marched across the hangar toward the one remaining stealth craft.
One wore a black long coat over a crème cardigan and checkerboard skirt.
One wore red trousers, a yellow jacket, and bobbed to the beat in his head.
One had a green and gold shirt with a star on the chest, and a red scarf.
One had a blue shirt with a crucifix.
One boasted a green suit plated with armour, the face of a wolf emblazoned upon his chest.
One marched in a pink suit, holding a shimmering star-shaped wand above her head.
“What the Hell are they doing?” exclaimed Bravo.
“What I gathered them to do,” said Eriol, an infuriating grin plastered on his face.
Everyone watched as the stealth craft lifted away from its moorings and flew into the sky. Only Rodrigo had the presence of mind to say, “Get all communications up. I want to know where they’re going.”
“So we can bring them back?” asked Bravo, sighing with resignation. “They obviously know where Shaula is.” He glanced at Eriol. “Right?”
“Aye, laddie,” said Eriol.
“And they’ll need all the support we can give them,” said Rodrigo. To the technicians, he ordered, “Find out where they’re going, and evacuate that area.” He gave Bravo a reassuring pat. It did little to assuage Bravo’s nerves, as the man could not deter the mental images of another Victor incident. He stood there, immobile, and waited for the Regiment’s systems to be repaired.
There’s no more planes, so they’re on their own, he thought. And they’re going to bust everything wide open now. No way can we cover this up now.
Eriol moved to Bravo’s side and said, “You should take a page out of Sakura’s spell book.”
“Oh yeah? And what would that be?” asked Bravo, his arms folded.
“Just tell yourself, ‘You’ll definitely be alright,’” said Eriol. “Works like a charm for her.”
Bravo rolled his eyes and wondered aloud, “Pray the day never comes when she eats those words.”
* * *
The jet pierced through the skies. It pitched as Astrid twisted the yoke, and directed the plane southward to Sydney. Her GPS readout indicated an ETA of half an hour. It wasn’t that much of a hassle to pilot the plane, but Nathan rasping in her ear made it a lot harder than she wanted.
Finally, after the umpteenth time she’d refused, Nathan marched back to his seat with a growl.
“Bitch,” he murmured under his breath. Everyone else in the cabin could hear it though.
Soul turned to him and chuckled, “Your girl’s a bitch too, huh?”
Maka flared her nostrils and slapped him. Soul quickly retaliated with a slap of his own, and before long the pair were roughhousing beside Nathan.
Sakura looked at the pair in dismay, and wondered how they could ever work together. She turned to Xiaolang, who fought to suppress his snickers, and said, “We don’t act like that, do we?”
Xiaolang stroked her fringe and said, “Of course, not.” And he kissed her cheek.
“Cute,” said Maka with a faux sneer. Sakura poked her tongue out at her.
Maka’s expression softened and she said, “Good job distracting those guards before.”
“No problem,” said Sakura, saluting with her Star Wand. She cocked her head to the side, and then said, “Maya says thanks.”
Soul turned to Nathan and ask
ed, “So, dude, why’s Valkyrie such a bitch?”
“Oh, she keeps poo-poo-ing my awesome ideas,” complained Nathan.
“What are you? Six?” asked a disbelieving Xiaolang.
Nathan went on, “And I had an awesome idea for our team’s name too.”
“No, you don’t,” yelled Astrid from the cockpit.
“It’s awesome!” cried Nathan.
“For Christ’s sake, Nathan,” Astrid exclaimed. “We are not calling ourselves ‘The Avengers!’”
“Why not?” cried Nathan, while everyone else in the cabin fell over laughing, except Maka.
“Could you be serious for one minute, Grant?” she chided. “We’re going into a battle that could very well affect the fate of our world. Not to mention we’ve disobeyed direct orders, which could get us all demoted or imprisoned. This is hardly the time to be naming … whatever this is.”
Nathan’s eyes narrowed at her and he said, “Oi, sheila, is it comfortable sittin’ down?”
“Why does that matter?” asked Maka confused.
“I’m just surprised the stick up your bum doesn’t get in the way,” retorted Nathan.
At that, Maka filled with so much rage she almost shut down. Astrid and Sakura exploded with involuntary laughter. Xiaolang tried to repress his own chuckles, but Soul wore his merriment right on his sleeves.
“Oh, burn! Epic burn, Albarn!” he proclaimed.
Maka’s nostril’s flared again, this time at Nathan. She shot out of her chair and glared at him.
“I don’t need Soul to kick your ass, Grant,” she snarled.
Nathan stood to meet her. “Mc-Mac, I could suck the life right out of you.”
Maka stuck her nose right in his face. “Suck me, then!” A split second later, utter dread filled her and she backed away. “I shouldn’t have said it like that!” she cried, absolutely red-faced. The whole cabin erupted with even more laughter. “Shut up,” pouted the blonde as she crossed her arms over her chest.
Sakura sobered first and said, “It’s alright, Maka. I understood what you meant. And I agree, Nathan’s a big meanie.”