SoxMa Poison Chapter 27

Ch 27

Soul recognized the voice at once. He spun around but before he could focus on the snake witch, something very heavy and hard hit him from his blind spot. He lost his balance and tumbled as the wind forcibly left his lungs with a long sigh. Soul held his stinging side and wheezed as he twisted around on the ground to get a glimpse of what had hit him. Free, fully transformed was standing a little ways off wearing a jagged smile. His iron ball and chain sat a little in front of him leading Soul to believe it was what had hit him.

Medusa sat in the air grinning evilly down on the scene. In her hand, hanging like a pathetic rag doll by her tarnished gold hair was Maka. Her hands and feet were bound with thick rope that was stained almost black with her blood. Her clothes were torn dirty and stained with blood. Her skin was a sickly pale gray and her bones pressed against it from within and threatened to tear through the delicate layer. Her face was expressionless and hidden slightly under her matted and tangled hair. The placid look was completed by her mouth hanging open slightly. Her eyes were open but there was no sparkle, no hint at all of Maka. She just stared unseeingly into space.

"Ma- Maka" Soul gasped, still struggling for breath. Soul felt rage unlike any he had ever experienced as he looked upon his tortured meister. She looked so frail, so helpless. What had this monster done to her!? Ignoring his pain and thinking only of Maka, Soul staggered to his feet while transforming an arm into a long blade ready to face his opponents.

"Let. Her. Go." Soul demanded in a deep growl. Medusa laughed and tossed Maka allowing her to fall the 20 feet to the stone street below.

"Maka!" Soul ran and dove, wrapping Maka in his arms as gently as he could as he caught her. He winced in pain as they landed together but he ignored it as he gathered himself and carefully searched Maka for injuries. He couldn't find anything serious but she was light in his arms. Far too light and dangerously thin.

"Maka? Come on Maka, wake up." He shook her gently, praying for a response. To his joy, she moaned softly and her eyes moved to focus on his face.

"S- S- Soul?" Maka blinked her vision clear and weakly lifted her still-bound hands to touch his face.

"Ya, it's me. I'm here Maka." He said in a quiet voice as he hugged her tightly to his chest.

"Oh, I see she's awake. Just in time too. I would have hated to have her miss this." Medusa mocked in a sickeningly sweet tone. Soul growled at the witch like a loyal guard dog and pulled Maka closer to himself for protection. His eyes darted around the cobblestone cul-de-sac for a way out. Now that he had Maka, he had to get away. She was in no condition to fight and as much as he hated it, he couldn't do a damn thing without her. Medusa followed his eyes and laughed.

"Why, trying to leave already? I'm hurt, but no matter. There is no escape from here."

"Soul, cut me free." Soul looked down at Maka and met her eyes. They were full of the determined fire he knew and loved so much. He hesitated but obeyed, slicing cleanly through the ropes with a transformed finger. She pushed him away slightly and tried to stand.

"We'll fight them together." She stated with a resolve whose effect was severely undercut when her legs collapsed landing her back in Soul's lap.

"Baka, you can't fight like this!" Soul chided as he wrapped her protectively in his arms again. He squeezed her into a quick hug before carefully laying her down placing himself between her and Free and Medusa. He had no idea how he was going to do this, but he had to try. He kissed her forehead before turning to face his opponents.

"Just stay here and let me protect you."