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Rise of the Demon Forge: A Hidden Danger? (Razgriz x Karameida)


While the students were busy dragging one leg after the other on their ascent, all of them wanting to just go to lunch, Black Star had taken to doing one-armed push-ups as part of his training regiment, switching arms mid-motion about ten. Already he was very physically fit, but by this point his endurance for physical punishment was borderline masochistic. Though he paused when he heard Tsubaki state Soul and Maka, standing up after just forty.

"Hrm, thought they'd still be traveling. Wonder what brought them back." replied the ninja, taking a step back to allow Maka to land and Soul to de-shift. "Hey guys, long time no see! I thought you were over in Martin...Martin..How do you say that place's name?" he queried; Soul just grinned and replied, "Martinique. And we were there. Now we're home on some business...And to make you're not causing too much trouble."

Black Star laughed, holding out a hand "Well, it's really good to see you guys." Soul took it, responding sincerely, "Likewise. So, looks like the new gig is paying off for you. Your students have my sympathy." Black Star chuckled nervoulsy, scratching the back of his head as he went over to the edge of the stairs and saw the struggle of his students, "Ah, they'll walk it off. But maybe I should've dialed it back a little. Next time, I'll cut down the pre-run physical to thirty minutes."

Soul just shook his head in amazement, "Haven't changed a bit, have you." Standing up a little straighter he then asked the pair, So what you two been up to as of late?"
 
​

Maka grinned. Black Star really hadn't changed at all in all the years she'd known him. Black Star would always be Black Star. "I think you should dial it back a bit more than that...." Maka said shaking her head slightly a wry grin on her face. "Your students looked like they might die on the stairs. A few weren't moving. Not everyone has your stamina, Black Star. In point of fact I believe that no one at all has that much monstrous energy. You need to cut back like seventy five percent of what you've been doing. Otherwise you're gonna kill your students knucklehead." she said with an exaggerated sigh. "How do you manage, Tsubaki?" she asked her teasingly. " Too much trouble is right. Its an impossiblity to keep him completely out of trouble. I think Tsubaki deserves a bit more sympathy than the students do..." she said jokingly. "The students at least get to leave at the end of the day. Poor Tsubaki is stuck with him pretty much constantly." she said giving Tsubaki a look of sympathy. After a moment however a grin broke out across her face. " It is good to see you two though." she said.

Tsubaki smiled fondly and shook her head a little. "Not a whole lot. Things have been mostly quiet since you two left on your honeymoon." she said. "By the way...why have you two come back early?" she said tilting her head. She knew they were scheduled to be gone longer than this. She watched as the smile disappeared from Maka's face and was replaced with a troubled look. Whatever it was that had brought them back it was definitely not a good thing. Her own smile slowly dropped as she focused more intently on her friend. "What happened?" she asked the amusement leaving her eyes.

Maka let out a long slow sigh. "We actually came back here to give a report to Kid and decided to ask the two of you for a favor." she said looking between them. "While we were in Martinique we were asked by Kid to aide a meister and her weapons in hunting a Kishin.." she said trailing off. "I'm guessing that this wasn't your average Kishin then..." Tsubaki said narrowing her eyes slightly. Maka shook her head from side to side "You'd be correct." she confirmed. "Her name was Erzsebet Bathory. She was capable of speech and extended conversations. She was also able to carry out battle strategies. She had underlings. Me and Soul fought them. Two were your fairly average evil humans. The third though...he troubled me. He was like Bathory. Bathory also had the ability to harden her blood into a defensive and offensive ability." Maka said frowning as she thought back over the fight. "If the opponent was so dangerous, shouldn't you have fought her instead of the meister?" Tsubaki asked her brows furrowed in confusion. "Kid just asked us to make sure things didn't get out of hand. It was the meisters mission after all." she said on a little shrug. "However, what we wanted to ask is if the two of you would be willing to train this meister personally?" Maka watched as Tsubaki looked at her in blank confusion. "What? Why? Certainly she's being trained by her teachers?" she said. "Me and Soul watched her and her weapons fight. They have a lot of potential." she said going back over Illayna's fight. "Weapons?" Tsubaki asked emphasizing the plural aspect of the word. Maka nodded her head in acknowledgement. "Indeed. She uses twin weapons. Her name is Illayna Meoih, her weapons names are Takeshi and Daichi Yamaguchi. Her fighting style is very similar to that of Ninjas, so we thought the two of you would be able to help her hone her abilities better." she said.

Tsubaki studied Maka for awhile, while she processed the information she'd just been given "I see. Is there a specific reason you're dealing with this specific mesiter personally?" she asked as she stared unblinkingly at Maka. She watched her sigh and nod slowly. "A bit. Illayna ended up losing the fight and Bathory got away. One of her weapons was severely injured protecting her." Comprehension lit Tsubaki's eyes "Ahhh, I see." was all she said. Maka nodded slightly. "Yeah...." she said trailing off for a moment. "I imagine once things are set Illayna will go after Bathory again. I want you two to train her so that she has a chance." Maka said finishing her explanation. "I have no objections to training a meister and her weapons." she said. "But Black Star will also be training her so I think you should give the poor girl a heads up." she said a ghost of a grin hovering over her lips. She watched Maka blink before a full smile broke out over her face "You're right. I'll be sure to do that. I'll tell her to meet you guys to begin her training."

"Oh, there was something I wanted to tell you guys. Its about Blair." at the mention of the cats name Maka flinched. She knew that whatever she was gonna be told it would not be good. One way or another. She braced herself "Oh...whats going on?"she asked. "She hasn't done anything too drastic insofar as I can tell but she has seemed to have made a new friend. I was out and about and she was with this monster sized male. She seemed like she was trying help him." Tsubaki finished. However that did nothing to help her, in fact it made it worse. "Blair is trying to help someone....? Dear lord help us..." she muttered grimacing. Tsubaki looked at her for a moment before laughing.

" What did Kid want to say to the two of you? In concerns with the Meister and this Bathory?" Tsubaki asked after she'd gotten control of herself.
 

Black Star shot Maka a little look as she openly ridiculed his energy; he knew it was all in jest, but did she have to be so blunt with it? But then again, he'd be worried if she wasn't. "You talk about it like it's a bad thing. Besides, those lazy-butts need some exercise every once in a while." the ninja replied, his characteristic happy grin on his face. "Star, I think your definition of 'exercise' is very different from that of everyone else. They could do MAYBE a hundredth of what you do in a normal day and be set for the week."

Black Star just laughed, but then got serious as Maka went silent. Soul knew why, of course; that situation with the Meister was a bit of a mess. At least he would pull through alright...For the most part. If anything, Takeshi was fortunate to not likely end up as he did: Battling with Madness. No, he'd just have to keep his arm in a sling for a while. Sure it would suck, but he'd be able to go back to training without many problems. And Black Star too, knew all too well the troubles she went through; it was a rough time alright. For both of them.

Speaking of training, however, Maka just happened to bring that very topic up. Something which made Black Star's eyes grow to the size of silver dollars. "Looks like you got someone's attention." the scythe-man quipped humorously, to which Black Star added, "Two weapons? Well, I ain't letting Kid touch this one!" Soul tried to hold back a chuckle; honestly, it was refreshing to see the blue-haired spaz again.

"Just try not to kill her, Black Star. I doubt Shibusen would like their students collapsing from exhaustion." Soul stated in a joking tone, Black Star shooting back, "Maka said she's like a ninja, right? She can take it! Come on, Tsubaki! There's no time to lose" he then shouted, taking off like a runaway train. "Might want to catch him, Tsubaki...And tell him that she'll meet him at the hospital while you're at it." he then said to the raven-haired Weapon, noting that the spastic man completely forgot where it was they were supposed to meet.

Once it was over, many of the near-death students were finally relieved to have him gone; almost all collapsed on the steps, just taking a breather so that they could get enough energy to go eat and then go to their next class or go home. "Thank god we only had Sid" Soul joked, his shark-toothed grin appearing on his face.

"Oi, Maka...." he then added, turning to his wife and partner, "I'm getting a feeling we should go check in on Blair. If she's 'helping' someone as Tsubaki said, it might be a good idea to see how much damage she might have caused." Of course, Soul knew she wasn't really one to throw parties; even still, the cat-witch had a very bad habit of making a mess of things without even trying. And really, with the magic she could do by this point, it was a wonder sometimes they even had a house to come back to.
 
Maka :: Tsubaki :: Blair​
​

Maka watched Black Star and Soul go back and forth for a bit while she stood next to Tsubaki, a small smile on her face. Soul was exhausting to be around constantly, both physically and mentally but he was a good person and a good friend. Maka's smile widened, honestly, he had a one track mind. He missed every single detail except that she was "sort of like a ninja" had "two weapons" and "Would you train her?". Maka looked at Tsubaki sympathetically, the weapon sighing. "Yeah, I'll make sure he doesn't over do it. It was good seeing you two again. Take care." she said before running off after Black Star.

Tsubaki sighed heavily as Black Star came into view. "Black Star! Do you even know where you're going!?" she hollered, which he either ignored or didn't hear. "BLACK STAR!" she yelled out throwing a small blade at him.

Maka could hear Tsubaki scream Black Stars name in the distance and Maka started laughing "I guess Tsubaki caught Black Star!" she said still laughing, knowing exactly what had happened to him. Maka looked at soul and laughed a bit more at his comment "Right? I thought Sid and Stein were bad enough as teachers. I truly feel sorry for this year." she said, still laughing. Her eyes traveled over the students littering the stairs, her laughter fading to an amused grin. She was sympathetic toward their plight but, she had to admit, it was a rather amusing sight. At the mention of Blair she cringed and sighed "Yeah. I don't understand how she does it..." Maka said trailing off. "The more she tries helping someone the more damage she does to the surrounding property." she said shaking her head again in exasperation. It was frustrating for Maka, she understood Blair was just trying to be a good perso- er Cat, really, she did.. but the damages. She remembered a few incidents of Blair trying to help Her or Her dad.

"I suppose we should go see whats left of the house...." she said trailing off and turning, walking toward their home. Or, whatever remained of it.


Blair looked around the house and cringed, Maka was gonna Kill her. She looked over at Jack and then back around the house. At least they were off on their honeymoon and wouldn't be back for a long time. She might be able to fix some of this stuff. Blair looked around the room, her hope dwindling down."Uhh...I think I might be in a bit over my head...." she said, her ears flattened on her head and her tail swishing as she tried to think of what to do. The furniture was mostly broken, the entryways were very broken, there were holes in the floors and a few in the walls and she didn't even want to think about her own contributions to the mess. She cringed, chewing on her lip. "Nnnhn, I have no idea what I'm supposed to do!" she said upset by everything that needed to be done.

Could she finish before Maka got home? If she wanted to keep her eight other lives she was going to have to fix it or come up with a really good excuse. The latter sounded more feasible so she started working on one.
 

Needless to say, the house was completely destroyed: It had honestly looked like a bull had come through here with a hot iron strapped to its testicles. And honestly, only some of it was Blair's fault. Even the stairs to their apartment had looked like someone had taken a sledgehammer to them, one step at a time. Regardless of intent, it was clear that the cat-woman was in for a major punishment.

Jack, still dressed in his robe that he had been found in, had yet to try on the clothing; for now, he was watching the woman before him pace about. "Why Blair walk around so much?" the large man then asked, clearly not at all aware of the storm that was about and his lingual skills still leaving much to be desired.

For now, Soul had walked with Maka to the foot of the stairs; he was about to comment to his Meister, his attention on her, on how he was ready for a nap when he tried to take the first step and nearly fell on his face, the step giving way completely as his foot hit the ground beneath and his hands shooting out to catch the rails. "What the..." he nearly cursed, looking down at the broken slab, only to peer up and see that the rest were the very same way. And from what he could see, they went all the way to their place at the top.

"Shit..." the Weapon muttered as he tried to haphazardly race up the broken flights; it seemed that if he stepped on the outsides, then they wouldn't give. And while it would have been faster to just fly up in Weapon form, the gaps between the flights were too narrow and Maka probably would have slammed her head multiple times. Though it didn't take too long, and Soul fumbled in his pocket for the keys as he reached for the doorknob, only to find it unlocked. "How many times have I told her to lock the door?" he muttered grumpily, busting through to find the worst thing he could ever seen.

The destruction was simply too much for words: The couch was overturned, shelves were knocked down and there was stuff everywhere. And to make it worse: There was a stranger here! And a man no less! His shark-like teeth finally started to grind as he felt a surge of rage flash through him; but then, he rarely got angry like that. And it was best if they at least tried to let her explain herself...And if she didn't, well, Maka would have to work off anger too.

His fists still tight with frustration, he then asked through clenched teeth as his crimson eyes locked onto the magic cat, his brow twitching, "Blair...Mind telling us why the place is destroyed....And why there's a *stranger* in our house!?"
 
Maka :: Blair​
​

Maka yelled out surprised as Soul fell through their front steps. "What the hell..." she muttered following her partners eyes up to their front door. "What has that Cat done this time..." she said her mouth slightly hanging open in surprise at the destruction she could see on the outside. "What the hell did she do? Rent the house to Black Star to train the students!?" Maka asked incredulously.

"Oh, no reason in particular..." Blair said offhandedly to Jacks question. She wasn't sure she could explain it to him in a way he'd understand. Well, she might if she had enough time but that was something she did NOT have a lot of. So she just elected not to answer it at this point. She knew she could get some help for some of the damage to be fixed but there was so much more damage than she'd thought possible. She was good at messing things up on accident but never this bad on her own. She glanced at jack and sighed "Well, it wasn't on my own...." she thought. But that wouldn't mean much to Soul or Maka. Blair began sweating again thinking about Maka's reaction to the mess. A noise outside caused her to freeze, one of her ears twitching in the direction of the front of the house. "Uh oh...." she said, her tail twitching. What were they doing back already!?!?! She panicked and tried to think of what she could do, well, there was nothing for the mess and she wasn't sure how she'd explain it and the same went for jack. For a brief second she contemplated trying to hide Jack, then she turned and looked at him, her ears drooping. "HAH! Not even a sheet would cover him!!" she thought.

Inside the house Maka realized it was much worse than her previous statement of renting the place to Black Star. "What in the hell...." she said as her eyes traveled over her destroyed home. The entire place would have to be overhauled. She hadn't seen this level of destruction done to a place since the final battle nearly seven years ago and she didn't remember it being quite this bad at that. She wondered what the hell was even keeping the place intact. Maka tripped over some debris as she stared dumbfounded around herself. "I knew it was a bad idea leaving Blair in charge but this passes even my my expectations.." she thought to her Husband. When they finally found the Cat they also, unexpectedly found someone with her. He looked human in appearance but no one that large could possibly be completely human. However, before she could say anything she heard Soul speaking first.

Blair heard a noise near the entryway to the room and a shiver traveled up her spine at the tone she heard in Soul's voice. Slowly she turned her head to look at the two of them in defeated dread. "KYA!" she said seeing the looks on their faces. She transformed into a cat, landing on jacks shoulders. "O-oh hello, Maka, Soul. You're uh, home early...." she said nervously. Her gaze switched between the two for a second and she realized that she couldn't tell who was actually angrier and that was absolutely terrifying. Her claws bit into jack's shoulder slightly. "Uh...." she said searching for the right way to explain what had happened.

"Well, you see, I was sitting here watching the place like you asked me too. But I left for a bit because I was really bored, so I decided to try something -at home- but I remembered that one of the ingredients I needed only grows on the outskirts of Death City and so I went out for just the teeniest bit to grab it. And while I was out uh, I found him out there just collapsed on the ground and he was completely unresponsive. Well, I couldn't just leave him out there so I brought him back here -which was really hard because he's even heavier than he looks, believe me-. So I broke a few things maneuvering him inside. When he woke up I tried finding out who he was and where he was from but he doesn't know anything." She said slightly exasperated and sliding a glance to the behemoth she now perched on. "His vocabulary is also basically non-existent and he's so large and heavy he just breaks everything." she said mentally going over the last few days here with him and the disaster after disaster that had happened. "I'm sorry Maka, Soul but I didn't know what to do." she said lowering her head a little, her tail wrapping around Jacks neck, the floor creaking under his weight.

Maka listened to the cat and sighed heavily her gaze narrowing in on the large man. "Does he have a name, Blair?" she asked through slightly gritted teeth.

Blair jumped slightly in reaction "Uh. He didn't seem to have one when he woke up so I've been calling him Jack..." she responded.

"What do you think, Soul? It sounds like Blair being Blair...but what do you make of him?" she thought to her partner as her gaze fell on Jack.
 

Blair's reasoning was good...At least, that was the only good thing about this situation. Still didn't change the fact that their place was entirely destroyed, but she was trying to do something good. So it made the next words a little harder to say, but it was the only truth he could speak. "Well, I suppose we can't be too mad at you. You're still going to help fix a lot of the damage, and find out what to do with him" he then replied, pointing with a finger to the large man who seemed to just be watching with moderate curiosity.

And then Maka brought up the very stranger himself; Soul tried to listen, but what he got was the strangest thing: Silence. Complete and utter silence, like his soul didn't even exist. How was that possible? "No way..." Soul muttered, trying to peer harder but all he got was emptiness. A pitch-dark void, like it was completely sound-proofed. "Maka...Don't say anything, but this guy...it's like he has no soul. I can't hear anything, it's like whatever he has is dampening any sound." he then said to his Meister; truth be told, he didn't know what might set this guy off, so he opted to keep it on the down low for now. He seemed harmless enough...But then they'd learned to be careful after Crona went off the deep end.

"Maka....Soul? Those names? Name Jack, Blair give Jack name. Jack no remember." Jack then asked very brokenly after pointing to himself, as if he was having difficulty stringing words together; Soul could only pause in surprise, the expression on his face indicating a heavy amount of despair. Whoever taught this guy how to speak did a horrible job. Shaking it off, Soul then stated, "Yeah, I'm Soul and that's Maka...We live here." Jack cocked his head, "Live here...Where is here?" the giant asked, Soul trying not to show exasperation, "Our house, you are in our house...Do you not remember passing out?"

Jack then pointed to the back room, something Blair had taught him how to do to more effectively communicate, "Jack wake up on...bed? First light Jack sees, dark before." The Weapon was almot rendered speechless, "First light? What does that mean?" to which the large man replied, "Jack see light for first time on bed. Before wake-up, no light." A bead of sweat could be seen rolling down the Weapon's temple after he said; how bad did amnesia have to be to not remember even waking up?
 
Maka :: Blair​
​

Blair looked between Maka, Soul and Jack, the cat nervously twitching her tail back and forth. "O-Of course, I'll help!" she said frowning at them. "I was trying to think of what to do when you two got home..." she said upset. Sure, she caused trouble now and again but she always tried to help.

Maka kept her facial features normal while Soul talked to her mentally. Maka squinted as she tried to peer at his soul to find that she was unable to. At this, she could not completely hide her surprised reaction but managed to do a credible enough job. "Just what the hell is he....?" she thought staring more intently than she intended, at jack. Soul couldn't hear anything, at all and she couldn't see anything. But that was impossible. He couldn't be alive if he didn't have one. If he did have one, then what in the hell was blocking them? "I don't like this...." she thought with a small frown. However, their conversation was cut short when Jack himself decided to speak, validating Blair to a point in the process. "I see what Blair meant by him not knowing anything...." she thought, still staring at jack, though more-so in surprised shock now. "Are you saying that you remember waking up back there...." she said trailing off and pointing to the back room "but nothing before that?" she asked trying to clarify things to which Jack nodded. "See? I told you..." Blair said, muttering slightly. "And you said you found him unconscious on the outskirts of Death City? Did he have clothes on when you found him?" Maka asked, ignoring her mutterings. "Th-thats right, and yes, he did." she confirmed, somewhat startled by the sudden question.

"I see....." was all she said. "Maka...." Blair started to say but trailed off not really sure what to say. Maka sighed deeply and closed her eyes shaking her head slightly. "Like Soul said, you're going to work your ass off to help with these repairs. Your friend too. I don't trust either of you to do any of the actual repairs, Death only knows what you two would manage to destroy in the process, so you'll both work to help pay off the bills we're going to get when we have this place fixed." she said sternly. "I already said I would help!" Blair whined in response.

"I want him looked at." she thought to her partner, troubled. "Kid or Stein first?" she thought as the silence in the room stretched on. "I'm a little worried Stein might try to dissect him though..." she thought a little offhandedly. "You know how he can get." she added, remembering when he took over teaching them. "I really don't like this situation." she thought growing serious once more. "We are used to our fair share of oddities but, this, is too much. " she thought pursing her lips as she mulled the stranger over. "He seriously doesn't know much of anything, mentally, he's a toddler. He's also big, unnaturally so. I'm not sure he's even human, I don't know what he is. He claims he has no memories before waking up in the back room but Blair said she found him unconscious on the outskirts of Death City. I don't know what to think, in all honesty. I believe him when he say's he doesn't remember anything, I don't think he's capable of lying. But I do not, for one second, believe its simply amnesia. " she though shifting her stance slightly. "Where was he going and how did he get here? Where is he even from? Even more troubling, you can't hear his soul and when I tried, I couldn't see it. We can't leave it at "He seems to be suffering from severe amnesia and might get his memories back at some point in time." I want some answers." she thought, absently biting her bottom lip.

"Why are you two being so silent? Say something!" Blair suddenly shouted into the silence that had stretched on while Soul and Maka had been conversing. "Ah, sorry, I was just thinking about something is all." she said shaking her head slightly, to clear some of her thoughts. "You two will also accompany me and Soul to visit some people." she said. "People? Who?" Blair asked tilting her head slightly. "You'll see when we get there." Maka replied. "What? No, tell me!" she said her curiosity piqued. "No, you'll have to wait." she said smiling slightly. "Thats not fair." she complained. "My house. I don't have to be fair." she said in response. Blair just pouted. "I suppose we'll have to stay elsewhere while the place is fixed." she said looking around at the now unlivable house. "Any suggestions?" she asked looking at Soul.
 

Everything Maka was saying was true; the fact that he had no soul - from their perspective, a nondetectable soul - was troubling. Not many things could exist without one, and very rarely did those things with no souls ever turn out to be on their side. And the truth was, they weren't human; still, it was hard looking at this giant lug and thinking him some kind of crazed killer. "I agree...We should probably go to Kid first; maybe he'll have some insight on how to proceed. I don't want to potentially scare this guy by having Stein start poking him with Death-knows-what...If you get my drift." he replied mentally, adding, "I don't think him having amnesia is a problem...My concern is what made it this bad. Short of having a brain transplant with an infant, I don't see how someone looking like him should be this clueless...".

There was of course the possibility of the man suffering from mental retardation, but something told the Last Deathscythe that this wouldn't be the case. "Hey, Jack...How would you like to meet some friends of ours?" Soul then asked the giant, the latter responding "Friends...What are friends?" He then pointed to himself, "Is...Jack friend?" Soul seemed a little uneasy about answering this, but just said "Friends are people we've known for a long time or have come to place trust in...They're people you can...Uh...." His voice trailed off, trying to find more words to help explain it simply. Jack just nodded and replied, "Jack not friend...Okay"

"Hey...You don't have to say it like that..." Soul responded exasperatedly, to which Jack just seemed even more confused, stating "Say...like? What Soul say like?" The Weapon could only sigh and reply, "Just...never mind...There are some people I think you should talk to. That's all. Ones that can help you figure out who you are." The lumbering giant didn't seem at all fazed, just curious about what was going on. "Jack want to know more...Jack go with Soul and Maka." The poor Weapon let out a small sigh, already wishing he was back in Martinique facing down that butler...

Least he could hold a conversation.


Soon enough, the quartet had reached Kid's mansion; unlike his father, Kid was not bound to one room and could move about freely in the City. Thankfully, the Teams he had now were more than capable of handling the highest-level threats, so he could teach all newcomers about who their Weapon partners were and what they could do as a Meister. And given that they'd contacted Kid about their newest arrival, the new 'Lord Death' was fairly interested in seeing them.

After Soul had knocked on the door, Kid himself answered the door and gave them a friendly smile, "Ah, Maka, Soul...Welcome, welcome. Please, come in. Patty and Liz are out at the moment, but they should be back soon and I would imagine want to say welcome...Sorry about the business in Martinique, by the way.. As they stepped inside, Soul just replied, "Nothing we couldn't handle; that Illayna woman's probably a bit upset about her partner taking a hit like that, but he seems to be recovering well." Kid just nodded and turned his attention to the large giant that stood among them, his eyes seeming to scan every inch of the large lounge in the home. "Home...Big home...Why so high up?" Jack then asked, pointing to the ceiling; Blair's home had the upper surface much closer to him, but Kid ignored his comment for the moment, "You'd mentioned he was a large fellow...But he even outclasses dear Sid...Just not in brainpower, it seems." Soul couldn't help but chuckle a little, adding "Ah, I don' think it's his fault; something happened to him to make him this way...The question is what."

And with this, Kid then turned his attention to Death City's resident troublemaker, "What indeed. So....Blair, tell me again how exactly this 'Jack' fellow came to reside in Soul and Maka's home while they were away, would you? I'm curious if there was anything you saw before you happpened across him." He knew better than to think Soul and Maka would lie to him to cover for her, but maybe the cat didn't take everything out of the bag, so to speak.
 
Maka :: Blair​
​

Maka gave soul a curious look but did not say or think anything. She wondered if she was just looking into it too much. Amnesia, there was nothing else, logically, that it could be. Either naturally or magically induced. If amnesia wasn't the answer, the only other thing that it could be is that he had no memories to recall. But that was impossible, he was a grown man, not a newborn babe. "I hope its just that." she finally thought, absently after another long period of silence. There were too many questions surrounding this strange man and he could answer none of them. She couldn't help but frown, troubled as she looked at the giant. "I don't think he's evil...but..." she thought trailing off. Even if someone doesn't intend to do bad, doesn't mean they won't be used for just that. She would never forget everything that had happened with Crona. "Alright. Good idea, stein means well but he's too curious sometimes..." she thought sighing heavily. "Besides, would be a good idea to have Kid aware of his presence in the city." she thought. With that decided they looked at the destructive pair.

Maka smiled ruefully as Soul tried to explain what a friend is. "Friends have nothing to do with how long or short you've known someone. You should know this, Soul." she said looking at her partner, teasing him. She looked at Jack. She could definitely explain what a friend was but she was unsure if he would understand it. "Friends are people that you know. They are people who you can depend on and trust." she said a little slowly. The concept of a "friend" was hard to grasp unless you could identify the emotions tied with the words. She didn't know if Jack could. The giant stared at Maka for a bit with an odd expression "Trust?" he said tilting his head. The meister pursed her lips and tilted her head "Trust, is...well..." she said trailing off. "Its when you..." she started again only to trail off.

"Trust is like when you followed and listened to me, even though you didn't know." Blair finally said, her tail wrapping around part of the mans neck. "Or how we are going to follow Maka and Soul even though we have no idea where we are going or their motives. Thats kind of what trust is." she said giving another example. Jack nodded slowly and looked at the cat "Blair is friend?" he asked curiously. Maka blinked in surprise, the corners of her mouth lifting ever so slightly. "Awwwwwwh" the cat witch said. "Blair is jacks friend!" she said cheerfully.


Maka smiled warmly at Kid as he opened the door "Heya Kid, how are you?" she asked as she was let into the spacious room. "Don't worry about it, she needed the back-up." Maka added in. "She and her partners are promising. We asked Tsubaki and Black Star to train them. Well, when he's recovered." she said laughing a little at Kids expression. "I know. But Tsubaki will keep him from going too far." she added. "What are Liz and Patty doing?" she asked curiously. However, as the conversation changed, switching over to the giant, Maka's smile was replaced by a troubled expression. "He outclasses just about everyone in size by a large margin." she said pursing her lips as she thought over everything she'd learned thus far.

Blair jumped slightly as the new Lord Death addressed her. "Uh..." she started her mind momentarily blanking out on her. "Well, I went out looking for something I needed and I came across him." she said placing her paw on the side of Jacks head. "He was laying face down in the ground not too far from the city. He was wearing what he's wearing now. There was nothing else around, near or on him." she said tilting her head slightly. "I brought him back to Soul and Maka's house and he was unconscious for a long while. When he woke up, he didn't seem to know a single thing." she finished frowning a little. "He didn't know his name, where he was from. He didn't know where he was either. He even seemed confused about his own body when he first awoke." she added, remembering some of the odd things she'd seen him do and say. "I've been slowly trying to teach him things as we went along but he's never showed signs of remembering things or even recognizing things." she said.

"......Speaking of that....I think he should be enrolled in classes so he can be properly taught things. If he truly needs to re-learn everything, it should be done the right way." Maka said. She didn't want to think of what would happen if Blair continued to teach the poor man.
 

Kid just listened silently, watching as the large man's gaze went from here to there, his eyes taking in the entirety of the mansion. It was strange indeed to think someone with this man's appearance would be so unrealistically dull, and yet here he stood. Like a toddler's brain in a grown man's body, minus the crying and needing to be changed, he supposed. To not know his origin, nor his name, body or where he was...It screamed to him of deliberate memory alteration. And deep down...Kid felt his arrival here wasn't by chance. It was fortunate Blair found him; airheaded as she seemed, he knew she was more than enough to suppress this giant in case things got really out of control.

Maka's suggestion, however, had Kid raise an eyebrow. "Classes, huh? We do teach some basic courses at the Academy...After all, with Asura gone we don't have to devote everything to studying Weapon-Meister tactics." Closing his eyes, Kid brought a hand up to his chin, yellow eyes staring down at the floor in contemtplation, stating as he looked back up to Soul and Maka, "We'll probably have him skip advanced courses, and I'll personally assign a tutor to teach him basic arithmetic and vocabulary...In the meantime, I'll have him housed in an empty dorm room at the Academy."

It was here that Soul interjected, "I don't think having him live alone would be the best option..." before Kid responded, "Oh, he won't, because you two will be staying with him as well." Soul seemed quite stupefied by this, Kid clarifying "I know all about what happened to your house; the reason your stairs were broken was because Jack here fell down and smashed every step...Seems he's quite hard-headed, should give Black Star a run for his money." Soul just grimaced, "Now's not the time to be cracking jokes, Kid!"

Kid straightened up and stated, "I'm not joking, I'm afraid; you two will need a place to live while your home is restored, yes? We have a teacher's suite available at the Academy. A Classic Seven: Full living room, a formal dining room, Three full bedrooms, a separate kitchen, two full bathrooms with one being en-suite. Meaning you won't have to share, and it should be ample space for your friend to reside." Soul sighed, "Isn't there any way you can take him in? Maka and I..." He then leaned over and whispered something in Kid's ear, the new Death's eyes impassive as he just replied, "I see..."

"I'm sorry to inconvenience the two of you, but I'm afraid with Jack here being a rogue variable, we can't afford to be *too* carefree." he then replied, stepping towards the large man who seemed to just be staring thoughtlessly at the whole thing; silent as he was, he was technically behaving himself. "What say you?" Jack just stared down at Kid, "What say...What? You? You not I....I am I...Jack is...Jack. You are...Soul?" Kid seemed a little exasperated; it seemed he truly did not know to speak. "It is very clear that you need assistance, but I am asking if you would accept..." he then paused to point at Soul and Maka, continuing to speak "Being under their guidance...To help you learn more about yourself, Jack. They will introduce you to others, as well, that will teach you."

Jack then looked to the Meister-Weapon pair curiously, only saying "Jack want to know more...Jack stay with Soul and Maka." Kid smiled, stating "Well then...I believe that settles that. I'll try to see if I can't squeeze him into some basic classes; I don't think it would be appropriate to place him in a kindergarten program, even though it seems like that would help him best. In the meantime, have Stein look at him. Maybe he can provide more insight...Just, try not to let him get too curious, yeah?"

Soul's face indicated a clear expression of exasperation and displeasure, his voice small as he just said "If this guy eats as big as he looks...He'll run through the budget in a matter of weeks."
 
​


"You mean to tell me you actually thought it was a good idea to continue letting Blair be his teacher?" she asked the two males in front of her. She placed a hand on her hip and just sighed. "For whatever reason, be it natural or unnatural, he has no memories. He knows nothing. We can't let someone like that just wander around under the cat's influence only. Who knows what he'd pick up." she said eyeing Blair.

Maka couldn't help but redden a bit as her partner leaned in and whispered to Kid, she couldn't really hear him but she could guess what it was about. "Well, theres not much we can really do about it, Soul." she said managing to hide the embarrassment in her tone. "As he pointed out, we don't exactly have anywhere else we can stay. And, to be honest, I don't think Kid would last very long if he had to deal with Jack and Blair." she said laughing a little bit. She didn't think anything was going to remain symmetrical in their presence, not for long anyways. He'd have a nervous breakdown before the day was out. "Well, at least we have somewhere to stay while the house is being fixed. Thats one problem taken care of and it isn't going to cost us anything." she thought to her partner, sighing again. The uneasiness Maka had been feeling for some time got worse.

"Now, now, soul..." she said placating-ly as she patted his back at the look on her partners face after Jack had answered Kid. "Also, bringing up Black Star. Why did you let him teach the gym class, Kid?" she asked him with a raise of her brow. "Those kids were so done they looked like a weak breeze would topple them over. I wouldn't be surprised to find some of them still passed out on the steps." she said shaking her head. "I think it would be far safer in the future, just to cancel the gym class if no one else can substitute for it, or else you may end up with a bunch of very angry parents asking you why you let black star kill their children." she said smirking a bit.


Tsubaki and Black Star walked down the hospital halls to the injured weapons room where they were to meet their new pupils. Black Star was chatting away, listing off their soon to be training regime for the week. The numbers were more than a little daunting if not flat out impossible. She just shook her head and sighed a little. "Black Star, we're here to train them. Not work them to death." she said with a wry smile on her face. "What? This is light!" the meister replied furrowing his brows. The response elicited another sigh from the woman. "Black Star, you're going to have to realize that no one has the stamina you do. Its sometimes hard to believe you're actually human." she said shaking her head.

Before long they were walking into a small hospital room where three people sat inside. One on the bed bandaged while the other two sat on each side. One was another male who looked identical to the one on the bed and the other a female. "So you're the ones Maka and Soul mentioned." Tsubaki said as he eyes fell on each of the individuals. "Pleased to meet you, I'm Tsubaki." she said with a smile. "Yeah, yeah, I'm Black Star, now, lets start talking about your training." he said. "Black Star...." she sighed out shaking her head. "What?" he responded. "This is hardly the time to start that now. Besides with your regime, he's going to need to heal completely before he starts anything." she said placing a hand on her hip. Black Star just scowled slightly. "Yeah but she's ok and so is the other one." he stated stubbornly. "Black Star...." she said despondently.

Illayna turned her head at the sound of approaching footsteps. She then watched the two come in and start talking. She had heard a lot about the pair and more-so about Black Star in particular. Until now she'd never had to deal with him as a teacher. "I'm a little scared..." she thought to herself. "U-uhm, actually, if its ok, I would like to start my training as soon as possible..." she stated. She would greatly come to regret this. Black Star smiled broadly at her but Tsubaki had a look of pity on her face.

- Fifteen Hours Later

Illayna bent over, her hands on her knees and her breathing coming in short ragged gasps. Sweat beaded her entire body making the clothes stick to her in an uncomfortable way. "Holy shit, he's going to kill me!!" she thought as she tried to catch her breath, a painful stitch in her side. It wasn't like she was out of shape, she was actually in very good shape. But apparently it wasn't good enough to keep up with her teachers ridiculous training. From a distance she could hear someone screaming at her. "HEY! ITS NOT TIME FOR A BREAK YET, LETS GET GOING!"

It was Black Star, her new teacher. Illayna groaned and fell back on her ass and sat there on the ground. Her body ached all over, in places she hadn't even known could feel pain and she was completely exhausted. "I'm done, I can't take another step..." she said. She realized she sounded whiny but she was so far gone she didn't particularly care. She saw him run back towards her "Done? We just started!" he said scowling at the meister. "What!? No way...." she said slightly crying. "Are you even human? Theres no way you are." she said exhausted. "You may not be but I AM human and I need to rest!" she said falling back until she was laying down on the ground.
 

Black Star's regiment could easily be described as inhuman, especially given the warm-up itself was about three hours long. And the degree of the exercises themselves seemed like each one could be done by itself and the person would be set for the week. How someone like him managed to not kill himself just from the pressures of his own training was a mystery to this day.

"Hey, hey! This is not time for slacking!" the Meister said as he marched over to stand over Illayna's prone form. And despite her protests, he didn't seem on keen on having them stop, crossing his arms and tapping his foot impatiently. Letting out a huff, he just retorted as she called him not a human, "You think I got like this by going soft? If you wanna get strong, you have to push past the pain! Force your legs to move even if they scream for rest! Even if your lungs feel like they're about to collapse, keep sucking down air!"

Still...Even he could see that she was at her limit for now, and conceded. "Alright, a twenty minute rest break...We only have thirty more miles to go, then it's onto weights! While you catch your breath, I'll be up here doing crunches!" And before Illayna might be able to get a word in edgewise (if she could even speak by this point), he was already hanging by his legs off the branch of a nearby tree. Naturally, his policy was to meet or exceed a certain limit, and if that couldn't be done, he would do twice as much of another exercise to punish himself and make him succeed the next time.


Elsewhere, Takeshi and Daichi were to be paired with Tsubaki to help them be taught the ways of the Weapon. Being a ninja's tool, it was obvious she was the best choice for them; her Meister had already explained what they were and how they functioned. But for this, they were going to be doing exercises in feeling the resonance of each other...And trying to help awaken them spiritually to the Wavelength of their Meister. Harmonious as they were, it was painfully clear that there was too much distance between them.

"So...Tsubaki, what exactly are we going to be doing? I mean, I appreciate you taking the time to help us...But aren't we supposed to be with our Meister?" Daichi asked, to which Takeski responded, "Did you go deaf or something when it was being explained? We have to learn to synchronize, be able to feel our Meister's Wavenlength" Daichi's eyes narrowed "Yeah, well, I still think if that's the case then Illayna should be be here with us!"

Takeshi just grinned, "What, afraid Black Star's going to try and steal her away or something? Who'd be crazy enough to ditch someone like Tsubaki?" Daichi flushed, "DUDE! Show some respect, she IS trying to help us be better Weapons!" At this, Takeshi just poked his brother's forehead with his good arm, "You're such a dweeb, it's no wonder you couldn't get that one girl's attention in class." Daichi's face turned about as red as a fresh-cooked lobster, "Man, you promised never bring that up in front of someone else"
 
​

Illayna stared up at her new instructor forlornly, what had she gotten herself into? No human could survive this intense regiment even once a year, let alone every single day! "Ahhhhhaaahahah" was the only sound she managed to actually make before promptly passing out where she was, completely dead to the world.


The female weapon stared at the two siblings mentally shaking her head as they went back and forth. "Now, why does this seem familiar..." she thought to herself.

"Well now, I wonder if you're the one whose actually worried Illayna will be "snatched" away, Takeshi?" Tsubaki cut in before the siblings could go any further, placing a hand on her hip "I mean, after all, whats that saying about the dog who barks the loudest...?" she added with a quirk of her brow. For a few moments there was nothing but silence and in that, Tsubaki cracked a smile, flicking Takeshi's forehead. "I'm only teasing. Try not to torment Daichi or Illayna so much." she said, her kind features turning serious. " You two may be brothers but first and foremost you are weapons and partners with Illayna. You need to act more like that and less like typical siblings if you want to improve. If you can't it will continue to affect you in battle and it will be more of a drain on Illyana." she cautioned. "A three way soul resonance is hard enough as it is, there are few who can successfully pull it off. You do not want to be making a difficult task even more difficult. " she finished, staring at them in turn.

Her serious features once more softened up as she spoke again "Don't worry though. Black Stars so dense he forgets to notice everything when you mention training, so Illyana is perfectly safe. Or at least, she is for the time being...." she said trailing off " So, lets start training before that changes." she said clapping her hands together, managing to hide an amused smile. The only real danger the girl was in, and admittedly it was a very real danger, was extreme exhaustion as she was put through his training regiment. She might be Black Stars partner but even she had to wonder how he survived it from time to time.
 

Black Star finished his crunches, looking back down to see if his newest charge was ready to go...Only to find her passed out. "Man...Well, I guess that's it for today then." he said, dismounting the tree before going over to poke her forehead. Letting out a sigh, he just hoisted her over his shoulder and went to look for Tsubaki. Maybe he could see how the brothers were reacting.


Takeshi's cheeks pinked a little, Daichi grinning "Uh oh, is someone getting flushed?" Takeshi just shoved his brother, "Shut up, dweeb! You're the one always hounding..." But before the argument could go any further, they both noticed that Tsubaki's facial expression hardened considerably, making them both pale a bit; was she going to kick their ass for fighting? If she was Black Star's partner...Then she was likely strong as hell too.

However, they both kind of relaxed when she went on to explain that her Meister was too dense to make any moves like that. "Good thing I suppose...Means we don't have to worry." Daichi replied, Takeshi nodding "I doubt she'd go for him anyway; Illayna's straight as an arrow, but I think even he might be too much for her to deal with."

"Who might be too much for who to deal with?"

At this, both brothers turned to see none other than Black Star there...Holding Illayna's unconscious figure over his shoulder. Both of them were speechless, their jaws open as he set their Meister to lay down on the grass. "Oi, Tsubaki...How're things going over here?" he then asked, before long being bullrushed as the brothers came to check on Illayna.

"Illayna?! Illayna!"

"What did you do to her, man!?"

Black Star tapped his foot as well as a finger against his temple, answering rather nonchalantly "Well...First a five-mile swim, 500 pushups, then 1000 squats...And then we were set to do a fifty-mile run, but I guess she ran out of gas halfway through that."

"RAN OUT OF GAS!?" both brothers would reply almost unanimously, Daichi shouting "Dude, what kind of screwed-up regiment is that?!" and Takeshi butting in, "There's no way anyone could survive that!"

Black Star just shrugged, "Honestly, that's a light workout...Maybe her just being back from a mission didn't have her at full energy. We'll try again tomorrow." Both Takeshi and Daichi were utterly speechless; mostly because of how Illayna was...But then it occurred to them that THEY might have to go that too! He was going to kill them!
 
Maka :: Blair :: Marie​
​

Maka looked around herself as they sat in Stein and Maries living room, Marie had obviously added her own touches here and there but it was still more or less unchanged. She remembered the first time they had come to this house, an involuntary shiver going through her as she remembered their fight with him. He had completely kicked their asses, hers, Souls, Black Stars and Tsubakis. She had thought they were going to die there, instead he turned out to be a teacher who gave them all a passing grade. He had been a great, if a bit eccentric, teacher to them all and was one of the reason they were as strong as they were now. She was a little worried about her former teachers potential reaction to jack and hoped marie was home too in case he started going overboard with things. Again. "Exhausted." maka said quietly sighing. Her eyes went to jack with a scared looking black cat clinging to his shoulders and she wondered again about the strange visitor. "How long are we going to be here?" Blair asked looking around the room uncomfortably, her tail twitching. "Dunno." maka replied shrugging her shoulders "As long as necessary." she added.

Their conversation lapsed into silence and after a few minutes a door opened and in walked Marie and Stein. "Hey again Maka, Soul. Hello Blair and...." Marie said trailing off at the strange male "His names jack." the cat replied, still perched on his shoulders. "Nice to meet you jack, my names Marie." she said smiling kindly. "Did kid get a hold of you, Stein?" Maka asked the scientist. "Ah, yeah. He told me there was someone he wanted me to look at?" he replied twisting the screw on his head. "I'm assuming its Jack here." he said turning his eyes on the large male. "Yes, sir." she replied. "What can you tell me?" he asked, still staring at jack. "Well, not much really." she admitted shrugging. "Blair is the one who found him...." "Found him?" he asked raising a brow. "Yes, apparently she found him passed out on the outskirts of Death City and brought him to our house." she answered, a corner of steins mouth lifting in amusement. "According to Blair when he woke up he had no memories or really any other kind of knowledge or information. She's taught him a handful of words but...well, he's honestly like an adolescent child. He didn't even know his own name. Additionally when I tried to see his soul...I was also unable to." she added furrowing her brows in a troubled expression. "We didn't know what to make of him so we brought him to Kid and...well, now we're here. " she finished. Stein had remained silent, observing Jack curiously as Maka told him as much as she could. "Curious..." he said when she finally fell silent.

"How sad" Marie murmured looking at the large male, her gaze turning to look at Steins own a little smile playing on her lips at his expression "I suppose I'll go make coffee for everyone, this might take a little while." she said turning and walking out of the room. After a moment, Steins gaze shifted to Blair, the cats tail puffing slightly "Is there anything else you can add, Blair?" he asked her. "Uhm..." she started nervously. "Not...really..." she added her tail twitching slightly. Steins gaze turned back to jack, his hand going up to twist the screw on his head once more as he considered what he'd been told. "Well, lets see what we can find out..." he said finally, rolling up the sleeves on his lab coat a bit.
 

"Muh...ree...?" Jack responded, tilting his head a bit; Stein nodded with a gentle smile and added, "Yes, that's my wife, Marie...I'm Stein." Poor Jack seemed like he was about to blow a head gasket, "Ste..Ste...ehn?" Now Stein usually wasn't one to be surprised, but this took him completely off-guard. No one had ever pronounced his name quite like that before, and it was kind of surprising to be perfectly honest. His eyes peered curiously over the titan, seeming to ponder what exactly was going through his head. And Jack would stare right back, rather blankly in fact...As if he still had no real understanding of emotional cues or body language.

Even so, he wouldn't get flustered, just giving another bit of a smirk and stating "No, no...Say it with me, let's sound it out. Ste?" Jack seemed to catch on with this, replying "Ste..."

"Good, now say 'Aye'...."

"Aye"

"Now Ste-Aye..."

"Ste-Aye..."

"Now say Ehn"

"Ehn"

"Now say "Ste-Aye-Ehn"...."

"Ste-Aye-Ehn"

"Good, good, now all together..."

"Ste-Aye-Ehn"

Well....At least he tried; what could have happened to the lad to make him so damaged? No way it was voluntary; was the poor soul born this way? If what Blair had said was true, then it was a true miracle he didn't perish out in the scorching heat of the desert. Meanwhile, Soul was trying his hardest not to laugh; he'd never heard someone butcher his former teacher's name that badly before. Even if this was a stranger of questionable mental fortitude, it was still childishly humorous to see it happen.

"I know you're not a woman of ill repute, Blair, but at the same time I can't help but question your taste in men." Stein joked, adding "Even so, you are a curious one, Jack..." At this Jack seemed to reach up and tap against Stein's head-screw, causing the Professor to laugh. At this Jack couldn't help but just tilt his head the other way, like a lost puppy. "What it for?" he asked, Stein's reply being straightforward "Ah, that...I imagine you would be curious about that. Call it a failed experiment of mine...Now it's kind of well, stuck there."

"Stuck...What stuck mean?" Jack asked, Stein's smile starting to falter a bit; his vocabulary was rather limited, apparently. The heat must have cooked his brain, the poor thing. "Ah...Never mind that for now. Jack...I'm going to look you over, OK? Nothing serious, just want to make sure you're alright...If anything hurts, just let me know."

The lack of a soul could very well mean he suffered a similar fate to Sid; that much was easy to check, himself soon producing a stethoscope. It was quite simple, really; if he had a heartbeat, he could rule out that much. If not, well...That would warrant further investigation. Placing it over the man's clothed chest - the giant dressed in a plain black T-shirt and shorts that could probably serve as a tent to house a family of three comfortably - Stein listened and heard it. The characteristic 'Thump thump' of a beating heart...Though it did sound hollow for some reason, almost like it was echoing inside his body. THAT was strange, for sure. "Hmmm....That would rule out resurrection it seems." Stein mused, Jack looking down and tilting his head, "Resu..Resu...wreck..shion?" the giant sounded out the word, and Stein just grinned a bit, "Nothing you need to be concerned about, Jack. Just means you werent' dead."

Jack shook his head, "Not dead...Woke up. On bed. Saw Blair after first light." Now it was Stein's turn to tilt his head; first light. "Don't worry, I didn't get it either...It's almost like he woke up from a coma or something." Stein gave the screw in his head another twist, trying to contemplate options. And it was here he pressed a hand to Jack's arm, and seemed to develop a small expression of surprise. "Maka, Soul...If it's alright with you, I'd like to take a sample."

Soul just shook his head, "Stein...Marie talked to you about this, remember?" But Stein could only laugh, "It's nothing like that; his heartbeat sounded hollow. As if it were reverberating. Not only that...But if you feel his skin, there's no give. It would be easy to attribute to a hypertrophic musculature, but look at this..." And at this, Stein pinched...And Jack didn't react in the slightest, only keeping his eyes on the former professor.

And if they were to inspect more closely, they would see that Stein didn't even have a lump of skin between his fingers; no it was more like his nails dug in at the surface, but he couldn't actually pull it. "See what I mean? Curious I'd say; it's not so much a sample as it is more a biopsy. You can supervise if you like."
 
Maka :: Blair :: Marie​
​

Marie whistled to herself, as she prepared coffee for the small group. She could hear someone in the living room laughing riotously; if anyone was laughing, she was certain it would be Soul but wondered what had happened to make him laugh so much and so loudly. Especially here. Placing the coffee, some sugar and creamer on a tray she started walking down the hall, catching snippets of the conversation as she drew closer to the double doors that led to the living room area; reaching them she backed her way through and sat the coffee down on a nearby table, Maka and Stein standing close to Jack, Soul relaxing on the couch and Blair still perched on the massive being. "Coffee is here for anyone who wants some." she said.

"Thank you, I'll get mine in a second." Maka said without looking up.

Grabbing one of the cups she walked over to Stein and handed it to him, taking it he looked at her and smiled "Thank you, Marie." he replied taking a drink before setting it down next to him and returning his attention back to Jack.

Maka chewed on the inside of her lip, her expression troubled. He was an enigma in pretty much every way possible, she wasn't even sure what he actually was. She could see no soul but he carried a beating heart, he had skin but it did not act as skin should, no one knew where he'd come from and he looked like an adult physically but mentally he was akin to a newborn infant. Shaking her head a little she straightened up. "It would probably be for the best if you did take a sample, we'll stay here and watch. I'm curious as to what you'll find out." she said looking at Jack before turning and walking over to where the coffee was and making herself a cup.
 
"Thank you, Maka...I promise to be as gentle as I can." Stein would reply, Jack cocking his head quizzically at the man as he pulled up a small scalpel. "What that for? Sample?" the giant would ask, Stein nodding "That it is; since your skin seems to have no give in it, I'm going to just make a little cut on your body. and take some blood into this tube here." Stein would then take out a small glass culture tube from his coat pocket, adding "See? Now can you sit perfectly still?"

Jack nodded in response, his body turning quite rigid...So much so that even Soul was a bit taken aback. "Man...Jack doesn't half-do that; even looks like a statue. Won't lie, that's a little bit creepy..." he would comment, Stein snickering "Well, he seems to take what he understands quite literally...But this kind of compliance is a little alien, even for someone who doesn't seem to possess higher cognitive processing, I will admit".

However, Stein would find that was the least alien about him; when the edge of the scalpel poked against the surface of Jack's upper right arm, there was the tiniest 'ting' as it bounced back ever so slightly. Like he hit a metal plate. "Hmmm. That's peculiar; seems to be a metal plate in his bicep area. Even stranger, there's not even the smallest indentation." Stein commented, poking it again. "Eh? You mean you can't cut him? Makes me wonder if he's a Weapon then?" Soul mused; Stein said nothing in response at first, continuing to poke his scalpel all over Jack's exposed skin. From his arms to his thighs, the doctor had the same result: With the scalpel at least, his body showing no capacity of being lacerated. Not even surface scratches to show evidence of where he attempted to cut him.

"Jack, you grow more curious by the second...There's one last thing I would like to try" Stein would then say, reaching into his bag and pulling out what appeared to be a high-gauge needle. There was more than a little hint of a mad gleam in the doctor's eyes; clearly Jack's resistance to being cut was making his old 'mad scientist' persona re-emerge ever so slightly. "Whoa, whoa, Stein! Easy! You'll figure out another way!" Soul shouted, trying to bring the man back to his senses...But it was too late.

"Do hold still, alright? This might sting a little"

And with a mighty downward thrust, Stein slammed the needle home....But the response was not like anyone was expecting.

*CRASH*

The needle popped out of Stein's hand, clinking loudly against the floor as it landed and bounced a few times before finally coming still. "Dang it, Stein! What were you thinking?! You could have..." Soul started to say in a chastising tone, but one look at Jack would shut him up. After something like that, just about anyone else would be crying about how a madman was about to run them through with a large pointy bit. But...The giant seemed as calm as ever. If anything, it was like he hadn't moved at all.

"Can Jack move?" Jack would ask, turning his head to look at Stein. Who seemed utterly puzzled now that he was looking at the situation; just what manner of human was he? "Yes...You can move. Sorry if I hurt you..." Stein would say, Jack standing up and looking around when the tray of coffee cups caught his eye...But even more so, he would kneel down to get a closer look at the small spoons that came with them.

Without even asking, he would then stick his tongue out - which seemed just normal despite everything that was abnormal about him - and licked it. "Oi, Jack, don't do that...That's not yours..." Soul would then say, but Stein then replied, "Wait...Let's see how this plays out..." But if the fact that knives and needles couldn't puncture wasn't enough, then this was surely at least one major clue that he wasn't a normal being.

*KIRIK*

Jack's mouth instantly opened wide and shoved the spoon inside, his teeth crunching down and shearing the metal with apparent ease. And yet, despite the fact that said teeth should be breaking into tiny pieces with that...He continued to chew as if he were eating a piece of bread. Only when he finished and he visibly swallowed the mangled ware did he say, "Iroooooon...Good iron....Jack like. Can Jack have more?" That last question left the man utterly stupefied; even with everything weird they had faced...Never before did he encounter something that could devour metal.

"Perhaps later...Uhm, Blair...." Stein would then turn his attention to the cat-witch after a few moments of trying to process, asking "Could you possibly show us where exactly you found him? I know you said it was on the outskirts...But I would like to get an idea of where he might have come from, if it's not too much trouble."
 
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Maka :: Blair :: Marie
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Maka only nodded to Stein as he promised to be as gentle as possible during the examination. Setting her coffee cup down she crossed her arms over her chest, her fingers tapping against her upper arm lightly. "Hmmmmm." she said at jacks over-compliance, her ears picking up the faint ting as their old professor pressed the scalpel against his arm. "Metal plates in his biceps? Why would he...or anyone else do that?" she wondered aloud. "Not like any weapon I've seen before." she said to Souls comment as she watched the examination even closer. "Well, if he is covered in those metal plates, would explain his slow movement and weight. But why do something like that? There are other ways to increase your defensive abilities; Better too." She said, her brows furrowed slightly. "If it really is metal plates." she added.

Blinking a few times, Maka looked over at Stein and cringed, noticing that familiar mad look. She took a few quiet steps back towards soul and watched. "Well...we need answers..." She said trailing off as she and Soul watched things the way one might watch a train wreck; The high gauge needle bounced off of Jack as harmlessly as the scalpel had, the small group watching the needle roll across the floor. "Uh oh....." Maka thought to herself. Looking over at Soul she shook her head, her hand motioning him to stop. When stein got like that, there was no telling who he might view as an experiment/test subject next. Marie was fairly safe but Maka didn't want to test how safe she and Soul might be. Though she shouldn't have worried as Soul cut off anyway when he glanced at Jack, expecting him to be shaken at least a little, only to find him sitting and acting the same as before. No changes noted whatsoever.

Maka's brows rose as he asked if he could move, her brows climbing higher in surprise as he began to eat the silverware. He and his actions so out of the norm it even snapped Stein out of it as he went back to observing the strange man. After a moment of silence he spoke, Blair jumping in surprise and letting out a startled hiss as he did so, the fur along her back and tail puffed out. "W-what?" she asked nervously, her tail swishing back and forth. "O-oh....y-yeah...I can do that." she said nodding her head slightly, her ear flicking a bit as she calmed herself down. She'd always been a bit scared of Stein.

Hours later they were all heading outside of the City, following Blair as she headed off to where she'd found their mysterious guest. "He was out quite a ways. What were you doing out here, Blair?" Maka asked the cat as they trekked through the desert. "Oh, I wanted to try a new spell but I was short an item I needed, it only grows out here." she replied simply. "Its a good thing she didn't get to try....I imagine we would have come back to an even bigger disaster..." the Scythe meister thought to herself, sighing slightly. After awhile, the magical cat came to a spot and stopped "I found him here. He was lying face down in the sand...this way..." she said gesturing a bit, showing his head had been facing Death City.
 
It took some time, because Stein had to help Marie get their child settled in; such a trek was going to be a little bit, and all would see that Stein was capable of being quite the nurturing father. Though Soul had to admit that even with all this time, it was still weird to see the man with a baby harness, the little platinum-haired toddler looking around curiously, a wide-brimmed brodie hat on his head helping to shield him from the sun. Granted it wasn't high noon, so it wasn't that hot nor was the sun that intense; even still, Stein didn't want his and Marie's child to be exposed to unnecessary danger, no matter how slight.

Even now, Stein and Marie would seem like quite the happy couple; it was so funny to imagine how she had been so adamant on them never being together, Kid's father being the one to tease them about how they seemed quite happy together. Funny how even 'Death' was able to see such things; then again, it made sense considering Shinigami-sama's power.

Though as Maka asked what Blair was doing out here, Soul just snickered, "Forget what she was doing out here; what the heck was this guy doing? If he was lying face-down, that means he walked here, doesn't it?" There was only one road that led into Death City; everywhere else was houses and inaccessible cliffs. No way someone as heavy as him would be able to climb that...Right?

"Seems that way...But from where? There's nothing around here for miles..." Stein then asked, the toddler on the front of his chest giving a little giggle as Jack stared at the baby curiously, the infant waving a small rattle happily. "Small...This is...human? Why small?" Jack asked, Stein raising a brow in surprise; this man must have been incredibly sheltered to not know what an infant was. Given everything he'd seen thus far, it was very clear that the man was not natural. But as to why he was as unnatural? There simply wasn't enough information.

"All humans start off this way, Jack; I'm sure even you were at one point." Stein replied, turning more to the man and asking, "Jack...I want you to stand over here. Face towards the city....And tell me if you remember anything..." Jack seemed a bit confused by this, but nodded and complied, soon standing where Stein had instructed him. His eyes just stared blankly at the City, the wind rippling the loose pure white cloak around his massive figure.

"Jack....Remember....Was here. Before Darkness....Before First Light...." the giant then said, Soul expression's changing to one of surprise, "You were out here....Just standing here? The heck, it must have been a hundred and ten plus! No wonder he can't remember anything, the heat must have fried his brain." Possible, Stein thought....But not likely at all; he could have suffered heat stroke, sure, but even the memory impairment would have been short-term unless he was out here for weeks. And he'd be long dead before then.

"Jack...Do you remember anything else?" Stein then asked, Jack replying "Nothing...Here...Darkness....Then First Light. See Blair...Touch Blair....Fall down stairs..." And as Jack started to ramble in a robotic fashion, Jack was then interrupted by a pat on the shoulder, "Jack, that's enough. You did very well. Now then, Maka, Soul? I hate to apologize for the inconvenience, but while Jack is staying with you...Could you keep an eye on him? And let me know if he experiences anything strange, or remembers anything?" Soul's face instantly turned to one of displeasure, "You're gonna have to be more specific...He had a metal snack not a couple hours ago...Pretty sure most things he'll experience will be strange..."
 
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