Chapter 11: Witches?! Part 1

Bethany was acting stranger and stranger as the hours passed by that day. She would continue her training with Stein and Kid but she seemed merciless as she brought Kid down, about to slit his throat till Stein head locked her and told her to take a break. Bethany went to the corner, getting a paper cup of water and gulping it down. Her friends had been sparing in the spare gym but Rachel wasn’t all too focused.

            “What’s wrong Rachel?” Rylie asked.

            “Bethany’s been acting strange lately.” Rachel pointed out. “She’s acting more like a killer now.”

            “She’s always been acting like that!” Jaya said and led them to the hallway where they came to the girls shower. They took out their own soaps, claiming a shower and began to bathe, calling over the roaring waters.

            “It’s just…well ever since this morning.” Rachel said.

            “What exactly happened, you didn’t really tell us Rachel.” Jaya said, washing her hair. Their weapons had already transformed back into humans and went off to bathe in the boys showers.

            “Well I woke up to Bethany kicking me in the side so I got up and tried shaking her awake.” Rachel said. “She swatted me away and then sat up screaming, I tried asking her what wrong but she gave me this creepy smile and said she was okay.”

            “That sounds like B-mel.” Rylie said.

            “The creepiest thing was her eyes.” Rachel said, shivering.

            “Her eyes?” Jaya asked.

            “Yeah, her pupils were shaped like stars…” Rachel said shivering at the memory. She turned the shower off and wrapped a towel around herself, Rylie and Jaya following. They got their clothes ready and dried themselves off.

            “You were probably seeing things Rachel.” Jaya said. “We’ll even see for ourselves if there’s something wrong with Bethany.”

The door then opened and Bethany came in, an uncomfortable silence lingering in the air around them. Bethany ignored it and proceeded to bathing herself. Once done, she dressed herself and left.

            “That was scary.” Rylie pointed out.

            “Bethany’s always scary.” Jaya reminded. “She’s just upset that she couldn’t save Yasmine. We’ll just wait and see what’ll happen when Yasmine returns to us.”

Rachel hoped and prayed she was right. The three girls left the bathroom, their weapons no where in sight as they walked to the café somewhere in town. They had finished their training but Bethany thought other wise. She was back in the training room, Stein and Kid going mercilessly on her as she grew stronger. Stein began to see Bethany’s wavelength growing rapidly and he suddenly stopped.

            “Let’s rest for today.” Stein said.

Bethany got away from Kid and walked out of the room, going to the bathroom. She met with her friends as she was about to head back to the shower, the gossip dying down. Bethany bathed in silence and just focused on her battle plan for defeating Stein, her friends staying near her.

            “Hey B-mel.” Rylie said.

            “Hey.” Bethany said bluntly. She finished, drying and lotioning herself down, putting her spare clothes on and leaving. Rylie turned to Jaya and said “That was creepy.”

            “Did you see her eyes?” Rachel asked.

            “No I was scared I was gonna get sucked into hell.” Rylie said. “What do we do?”

            “Leave her be I guess.” Jaya said. “I don’t know what to do.”

            “Let’s inform Shinigami-sama.” Rachel said and the three dashed out.

 

            Shinigami-sama’s office was cracked open a bit. They let themselves in, seeing Shinigami-sama looking into his mirror. He sighed dreadfully and said “I knew something was wrong…”

            “Shinigami-sama…” Rylie said, the girls approaching him. Shinigami-sama turned and returned to his happy self.

            “Well hello young students!” he cooed. “How may I help you?”

            “We’re worried about Bethany.” Jaya said, getting right to the point. “Something’s wrong with her.”

            “How so, she seems much focused in becoming stronger.” Shinigami-sama said.

            “She’s been acting really weird ever since she woke up from a nightmare!” Rachel said. “Her pupils became like stars all of a sudden.”

            “Stars you say?” Shinigami-sama asked.

            “Yeah, she hasn’t acted the same since….” Rylie said. “It scares me, a lot.”

Shinigami-sama absorbed all this and replied “I’ll see to it myself, would you so kindly bring her in for me?”

The three nodded, leaving Shinigami-sama be. They went to the sparing room, seeing Bethany had finally defeated Stein and Kid. The two lay sprawled on the floor, Bethany breathing heavily. They watched from the sides, Stein slowly rising.

            “Congratulations, you’ve passed.” Stein said. A smile appeared on Bethany’s face, as if she’d been dying to hear those words. She suddenly collapsed from exhaustion but Stein caught her by the arm and carried her in his arms.

            “Kid, well done.” Stein said as Kid forced himself to stand.

            “Thank you Stein-sensei.” Kid said politely. “Will Bethany be alright?”

            “Yes, just exhausted from too much training.” Stein said. “She’ll be fine once she gets rested.”

Stein then caught Jaya, Rylie and Rachel standing on the side line. He approached them and asked “May I help you?”

            “Bethany’s been summoned to see Shinigami-sama.” Rylie said.

            “Well she’s in no position to see him now.” Stein said. He handed Bethany to the girls and continued “Take her back to her current home; I’ll inform Shinigami-sama that the meeting will have to wait.”

            “Okay.” Rylie said. They took Bethany back home, Kid carrying her home and leading them inside his house. Leading the way to Bethany’s room, he set her on the bed, pulling the covers over her.

            “Hey Kid, is this Yasmine’s room?” Jaya called. Across from Bethany’s was Yasmine’s, Tyki sleeping on the pillow that still contained her scent. The bed as it was before Yasmine had left to assist them into retrieving the stolen students. Tyki heard them come in, bolting awake.

            “Hey Tyki.” Rylie said, tickling his stomach. He laughed, licking Rylie’s knuckles. He didn’t have time to glare at Jaya, still not liking her. He sat back on the pillow, looking out the window. He sniffled, Rachel sitting beside him and scratching him on the head.

            “We’ll get her back soon.” Rachel reassured. Tyki looked up at her and leaned his head on her leg, silently weeping. Bethany soon began to stir in her sleep, moaning in her dreams then falling silent again.

            “She’ll be fine.” Kid said. “Oh I just remembered, my father has found you a house to stay in till graduation!”

            “How exciting!” Jaya said. “I’ll finally be away from Black Star.”

            “Aw, but I enjoyed staying with Death the Kid.” Bethany whined, returning to her normal self. She had somehow woken up and was soon next to them. “Can’t I stay here?”

            “Uh…no, in fact my father is giving you your own home so that he can keep a closer eye on all of you.” Kid replied.

            “What do you mean?” Rachel asked.

Kid looked behind him, making sure Liz and Patty weren’t in hearing range. He sat on the bed that used to be Yasmine’s and motioned for the girls to huddle closer.

            “My father thinks there’s something strange about you girls.” Kid said. “What really caught his attention was when he sensed a familiar aura from Yasmine.”

            “I had a dream Shinigami-sama was having a conference with someone about us, Kid could you tell us more?”

            “I really shouldn’t…but you have a right to know.” Kid said. “I can’t really go into detail because father hasn’t really been clear.”

            “In other words you were spying on one of your fathers conferences?” Jaya asked.

            “Yes, I was hoping he’d be talking about Asura but the conference was based on you girls and Yasmine.” Kid said. “I’ve also heard that Medusa lost Yasmine.”

            “So now we don’t know where she is?” Rachel asked.

            “Possibly, her watch is still active but we can’t pick up the signal.” Kid said. “Kirikou, Ox and Kim are still looking for her. We’re just hoping the madness hasn’t taken her already.”

            “Let’s go look for her then!” Bethany said. “We can find her; we can save her from the madness!”

            “B-mel, we can’t.” Jaya said. “Shinigami-sama will kill us, even expel us. We have to remain here.”

            “They’ll find her Bethany, don’t worry.” Rylie reassured. Bethany was growing frustrated, her blood boiling under her skin.

Don’t unleash your insanity just yet… a voice echoed in her head, catching her attention. Her cat suddenly came in, purring at her ankle and meowing to bring her back to Earth. Bethany looked down at her cat, smiling and picking her cat up so she rested on her shoulder.

            “Yeah, she’ll be okay…” Bethany said, then thought My insanity’s getting the best of me, whoever that boy was, he’s messing with me.

Am not, I’m merely preparing you for your master. Your friend’s closer to finding hers then you’ll ever be. The boy said through her mind again. Bethany’s breath got caught in her throat and she thought urgently You can find Yasmine?!

Barely, she’s in a pretty bad state right now. The boy said. She has to go through the insanity to find her master so just calm down…Brookes got it all under control hopefully…

Brooke? Bethany thought but her conversation was cut short when thunder clapped outside, Jaya just gazing out the window. It seemed to have begun to rain, the weather following Jaya’s emotions. Rylie put a hand on her shoulder and said “Something wrong Jaya?”

            “Just worried that’s all.” Jaya said, she put a hand to her head. “I think I’m coming down with a fever, I’ve been feeling strange ever since that rescue mission.”

            “Feeling guilty maybe?” Rylie asked.

            “I thought about that but it’s getting worse, I’m going home.” Jaya said and started going out the door.

            “I’ll come with you, Tsubaki and Black Stars house isn’t very far from Maka’s and Soul’s house. We should start packing.” Rachel said.

            “Oh yeah, wait up.” Rylie said then turned to Bethany. “B-mel, you gonna stay here?”

            “Yeah, I’m tired and I need a shower.” Bethany replied. “I need to sort things out…”

Rylie gave Bethany a small smile before heading out the door, leaving Kid and Bethany alone in Yasmine’s room. Bethany collapsed in Yasmine’s massive Shinigami bed, sinking into the mattress. Tyki just looked at her as he made his way to the pillow where he soon fell asleep.

            “Bethany, what’s wrong?” Kid asked. “You’ve been acting strange lately, are we going too hard on you in training?”

            “No, no, it’s just…ah forget it, I’m going to bed.” Bethany said, getting up and heading to her room. She closed the door behind her leaving Kid in the bedroom, she fell on her bed, throwing the sheets over her and turned towards her window. Her eyes fluttered close as she fell asleep but instead of having a dream, she just returned to the dark room she was in before. The fox boy appeared before her, smiling smugly at her. Bethany wore the same dress as before.

            “Please, have a seat.” The boy said, sitting in a black chair, a black metal table in between him with a red tea set.

            “I’m not big on tea.” Bethany mentioned.

            “Don’t worry, you’ll love this type of tea.” The boy said and turned his back on her, sipping his tea. Bethany made her way to the table and sat down across from him. She took his tea cup, looking into the cup seeing a purple gelatin liquid inside, she leered at the boy across from her.

            “What is this?” Bethany asked with disgust.

            “Just drink it and see.” The boy replied, taking another sip. Bethany continued to leer at him but brought the cup to her lips, taking a sip. She coughed the force so strong that she released the cup and it crashed to the floor. Her throat felt like it was on fire as her eyes became dilated, her star shaped pupils widening. She blinked once, her eyes watering as she saw a scene before. She looked around her; she was in Medusa’s forest. Bethany heard heavy breathing, seeing a figure walking by shrouded in the shadows. Bethany tried focusing in on it better, seeing a black girl roaming the forest but her arm was covered in blood red fur, her fingers clawed. The red fur was spreading as the girl walked by, her eyes soulless it seemed.

Where am I going again Brooke? The girl asked, silence answering her. Ah…Shibusen…..Why?

More silence as the girl looked blankly at her feet. The girl laughed to herself lightly before keeling over and vomiting blood.

Oh yeah…to find this “Bethany”, but Shinigami-sama will be there…I’m suppose to hate Shinigami-sama right?

A twig cracked and the girl became alert, her evasive emotion causing fox ears to replace her human ones. Her eyes widened in fear as she looked around, Free pouncing on her through the trees.

Get off me!!! she screamed.

Bethany then recognized the girl as Yasmine, she was wild it looked. Free was holding her head to the ground, making sure not to touch her demon like arm. He whistled and Chrona was there, putting her sword next to Yasmine’s ear.

S-Screeching Alpha! Chrona said, sounding nervous. The lips on the sword opened and a loud screech echoed, making Yasmine scream in pain. The red fur on her arm spread till it reached her shoulder, her eyes turning white and her teeth sharpening. She swiped at the sword, making it fly from Chrona’s hands and bit on Free’s arm making him scream in pain, releasing Yasmine so she could run. Bethany lost the contact, finding herself on the floor back with the boy, she was breathing heavily and sweat was dripping down her forehead.

            “Valentine…” the boy said suddenly.

            “Wha-what?” Bethany asked, looking up at him.

            “My names Valentine, so you can address me more like a friend…” Valentine said and took another sip of the liquid. He rose from his chair, handing Bethany her unfinished cup- it seemed to have come back together- but Bethany refused to take it.

            “Take it…” Valentine said, seeing Bethany take a second glance at it. Bethany was trembled, her eyes were still dilated and sweat was rolling down her body.

            “Take it…” Valentine said again, his face darkening in the shadows only showing his white soulless eyes. Bethany’s hand reached out to it and she took the cup, her hands trembling. Valentine took a seat back in his chair and watched Bethany as she looked down at her cup. The gelatin rippled in her hands as her arms shook. She took the cup quickly to her lips and gulped down the fluid. The burning returned, but more intense then before. She found herself on the floor, trembling, moaning at the pain that was exploding in her body. Valentine patted her head and said “Good girl…”

~ ~ ~

            Jaya had been feeling rather ill lately, in fact to an extent where she would sit up and instantly faint. Rylie was feeling the same way too, her emotions really affecting her daily life. Rylie had stopped by Black Star’s place to help Jaya pack her things; a car was waiting outside. Rachel had already made it to the new home, claiming her own room and getting her things unpacked.

            “Something bothering you Jaya?” Rylie asked.

            “It’s this headache of mine…” Jaya said, feeling her head, the room felt hotter all of a sudden. Jaya began to breath heavily as she forced herself to her feet. She crumbled to her knees and Rylie was there in a second.

            “Jaya, you okay?” Rylie asked.

            “I-I don’t know….” Jaya said, loud knocking heard at her door.

            “JAYA, I WANT A REMATCH!” Black Star yelled.

            “Go away.” Jaya said. “I’m not feeling well.”

Black Star simply kicked the door open and let himself in, jumping into the air about to kick Jaya in the head. Jaya turned and glared at him, a mix of emotions swirling inside her. The wind began to pick up in her room till a black cloud formed overhead. Thunder flashed and Black Star froze  mid jump, soon orbiting around Jaya. Jaya unconsciously put her hand out, stopping him and threw him out, the door closing on the way. Black Star landed with a loud thud along with the sound of pots and pans crashing to the floor.

            “Jaya, Jaya!” Rylie said shaking her. Jaya blinked, all the flying objects orbiting around her dropped and Jaya went to the floor. She curled into a ball, trembling violently.

            “Wha-what happened?” Jaya asked.

            “Jaya…I think you’re a witch…” Rylie said in a plain tone.

Author's Note

ooooo!!! can't wait!!!