Episode 3: Return to Baba Yaga’s Castle (part 1)
It was only a few minutes after Kid was carried off, and Shibusen was already put on full alert. Most of the students were quickly sent home, while the more experienced fighters such as Kilik, Kim, and Ox went with Stein to search the city for any other uninvited guests. Meanwhile, a rescue party was assembled at the main entrance.
The team consisted of the meisters/technicians: Maka, Black Star, and Crona with their weapons: Soul, Tsubaki, and Ragnarok. The dual weapons: Liz and Patti will accompany them as well. They were all geared up for battle except for Black Star who had some trouble removing his necktie.
“Hello, hello!” spoke the Shinigami in his usual goofy manner, as he emerged from the school with Spirit. However, his cheeriness disappeared upon seeing their serious faces.
“Is something wrong?”
“Shinigami-sama, Kid-kun has been abducted,” explained Maka.
“Oh, I see.”
“You don’t seem worried at all?” Spirit noticed.
“No,” he sighed. Before he could explain himself, Sid’s voice sounded from their ear pieces, “Are you guys ready to go?”
“Sid-sama, are you coming with us?” asked Tsubaki as she looked around for him.
“Of course I am. Who else would be piloting your ride?” he laughed. They looked up and a large black helicopter was descending towards them. It had the Shinigami’s face mask painted on either side. Sid was piloting it together with Nygus who served as his copilot. Moments later, the helicopter carried them off.
The next morning, about several hundred miles from their location, Kid was dropped off on top of a huge rock formation. He was barely conscious.
“Where am I?” he groaned. He was still quite lightheaded after their trip. This was due to the fact that they flew at high altitudes on the jet stream to get there. He slowly sat up and looked around. Before him was a seemingly endless expanse of green trees. It was breathtaking, except for the fact that numerous large craters littered the landscape. He realized where he was. Just then, a sad melody was heard. He turned around to find his abductor not too far away. She was singing a very depressing song. Kid would have been touched had she not been a witch. Stepping through the debris and rubble, he approaches her with caution. He stopped when he felt a tingling sensation on his feet.
“Who are you? What do you want?” he asked ever so seriously. But she didn’t seem to hear him and kept singing. Kid repeated himself but this time at a higher volume.
“Relax, Kid-kun. You don’t have to shout,” she replied in a rather sleepy tone, “Do you know where you are?”
“Yes. This is Arachnophobia’s headquarters, Baba Yaga’s castle.” They were on top of the ruined structure. It was the exact location where Asura met his end.
“Precisely, and do you know why I’ve brought you here?” Kid didn’t need to use Soul Perception to sense the hundreds of Kishin eggs around him. He remembered seeing thousands of human souls released when Asura died, yet not even a Kishin egg was seen amongst them. It was strange; however they were dealing with THE Kishin at that time so a lot of things weren’t clear. Whatever she was planning had something to do with these souls.
“Where did you get so many Kishin eggs?”
“They were the last of Arachnophobia’s followers. Now, hear them sing with me,” she closed her eyes and continued singing her song. Soon enough, the souls showed signs of movement. As if that wasn’t bizarre enough, what happened afterwards was something unbelievable.
“Soul Resonance!” he blurted in astonishment. The souls around him resonated. Simultaneously or all at once, their actions seemed to be influenced by her singing. Kid was fascinated yet, at the same time, shocked.
“You know, you should have gotten away when you had the chance,” she said. She knew of the flight capabilities of Kid’s skateboard, Beelzebub.
“If I did that, then I wouldn’t be able to see this plan through. Besides, I’m trapped.” Kid’s answer amused the witch. He was standing right in the center of a magic circle that held him in place. She applauded his shrewdness. To answer his questions earlier, she started explaining herself as nothing more but a humble servant of Mabaa, Queen of all Witches, and that she was merely acting upon her orders.
“You didn’t answer my question, now who are you?”
“If you want my name, you may call me Blair.”
“So what do you need me for?” She walked around him and embraced him from behind, “You’ll find out soon enough.”
“Chi,” sounds of squeaking came from above. Then several fast flying objects dropped from the sky and circled the confused boy. They made at least three complete revolutions around him before landing.
“Ah, Mizune family, you made it.”
“Chi,” squeak one of the five Mizune sisters. Kid recognized her as the witch who intervened in his fight with the Fisher King. She started snapping her fingers while doing a chant with the word, “Chi”. She was setting up a beat. The other witches soon followed and then stack themselves in a tower formation. After the last one completed the tower, they became one witch. The combined form was a good-looking young woman with short pink hair. She had a hat, a long skirt and a revealing shirt that did nothing to cover her chest. Kid couldn’t help himself blush in embarrassment, when she came up to him.
“So this is the Shinigami’s son,” she grinned, “You know, every witch in the world would kill just to have an opportunity like this.”
“Now’s not the time for games. Let’s get this over with before the party crashers arrive,” stated Blair, taking her position a few steps behind Kid.
“Fine,” she groaned and took her position. Together, they formed a magic circle around him. “Vami vampi brato batobat!” chanted Blair, while Mizune supported her with Magic Calculation. Kid couldn’t move. He could only turn his head but the rest of his body was paralyzed.
“Chain Resonance!” cried Blair. In effect, the Kishin eggs closed in and around the circle. They resonated just like before. The two witches appeared to be in pain, while Kid watched in bewilderment. When he realized what was going on, it was too late. He didn’t know how, but the two were able to match their soul wavelengths with his. He couldn’t resist their advances. In the end, his screams of pain and agony echoed throughout the area.
