A/N: Part Forty! Woot woot!
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Mari woke up on a soft couch. She kept her eyes closed cause she felt so cold. Her head was in someone's lap and when she moved they sighed with relief.
"Thank goodness!" Ray's bubbly voice said.
"R-ray?" Mari said, her words still shaking with cold. She opened her eyes and looked up at the blonde. She tried to move but Ray put a hands to Mari's forehead, stopping her.
"Mari." Ray said, her voice stern. "Just sit and rest, you dummy."
Mari laid back down, her head pounding. She put a hand to her forehead, her breathing shallow. "I'm fine." Mari said, but she knew she wasn't. She closed her eyes, feeling exhausted.
Ray moved her hand and felt Mari's neck. Mari felt her soft fingers and her body felt a little better. But she also noticed Ray's hands shaking. She cracked her eyes, the light seeming harsh, to looked at Ray.
"Your pulse is really slow, Mari..." Ray said. She drew her quivering hands back to herself. Ray didn't meet Mari's eyes as she adjusted herself on the couch.
"Ray...?" Mari asked and they girl looked away. Mari sat up, her head rushing. "Ray what's wrong?"
"Mari, lay back down!" Ray said.
Mari's hand snapped out, grabbing Ray's wrist. The girl flinched as Mari stared her in the eyes. "What happened?" Mari asked.
Ray eyes filled with tears, pushing Mari away. "I said I was fine, damn it! Just leave me alone!" Ray stood and stormed out of the room, slamming the door.
The energy that had caused Mari's hand to flash out was gone and when she stood to run after Ray, her steps were sloppy and she stumbled and fell. "Ray...?" she called, her breathing thin. She squeezed her eyes shut. Why did her body feel so terrible? She drew in a narrow breath and her body slumped.
"Mari?" someone said and opened the door. "Whoa!" Black Star said as he almost tripped over Mari. Mari looked up at him through slitted eyes as he started laughing. Leave it to him... "Mari! You have finally realized your rightful place at the feet of the almighty Black Star!"
Mari weakly tried to punch his foot, but she missed. "Damn it... Black Star..." she said.
"Black Star!" someone said, but Mari felt to crappy to open her eyes. "What the hell are you doing?!" it was Maka.
"Dude... that's so not cool." Soul said. He knelt next to Mari and lifted her. He set her down on the couch that was on one of the walls in the room. She sank into the cushions and Maka pulled a blanket over Mari.
"Black Star! You're an idiot!" Maka said and bent next to Mari. "Are you okay?" Maka asked, her eyebrows knitting together.
Mari nodded, a fake smile on her face. "I feel..." her smile vanished as a wave of cold ran over her.
Maka moved her hand to Mari's forehead, feeling her temperature. "You're burning up..."
"I feel awful..." Mari said. She pulled the blanket up to her nose, her body feeling like ice.
"You have hypothermia. We would've given you medicine, but it's a shot." Maka trailed off.
Mari laughed a little. "I'd take a shot if it meant not feeling like this." she said.
Maka looked back at Soul and Black Star. "Go get Kidd." Maka said. The two boys nodded and ran out. Maka turned back to Mari. "We saw Ray run out of the house... did you guys get into a fight or something?" she asked.
"No... but, I think she was mad at me..." Mari said. She moved her legs into her chest and held her arms with her hands in an attempt to stay warm. "What happened to her?"
Maka sighed and shrugged. "I don't know... she's seemed... I don't know, different, ever since the first time you... umm..."
Mari nodded, her heart slowly being crushed. "When I went rogue the first time." Mari looked down.
'So it's all my fault...' she thought. 'It's all my fault again.'
Maka took Mari's hand. "Mari... She'll be okay." Maka said, squeezing her hand.
The door opened slowly and Kidd walked in with Soul, Black Star clearly lost along the way somewhere. "We're back..." Kidd said, holding up a small bottle. He smiled at Mari, walking to her and sitting on the couch at her feet. "I'm glad you're up." He took out a syringe from his coat as Mari sat up with Soul's help. "Are you sure?" Kidd said, holding the needle in his hand.
"We can leave... if you want, Mari." Maka said, taking Soul's hand.
Mari grabbed the needle from Kidd and clenched in her hand. "Where does it need to be injected?" she asked. Kidd reached out to take it from her, but she pulled away. "No..." Mari said. "I can do it."
"Mari-" Kidd said.
"I can give myself one stupid shot!" Mari yelled, her head pounding. She sloppily moved her hair behind her ears.
Maka and Soul left the room, the door shutting quietly behind them. Kidd turned back to Mari, his eyes hard. He held out his hand. "Mari, I don't want you to hurt yourself." He said.
Mari tried to catch her breath. "Kidd... just let me do... the fricken shot..." she said.
"No." Kidd said firmly and Mari raised the needle in the air.
"Then it's just gonna go in my stomach!" she said, tears of frustration in her eyes.
Kidd lashed out and grabbed the needle from her. He moved his arm under her chin and readied to put the needle in her neck. He pushed her into the couch so she couldn't move, causing her back to press into the armrest. She screamed and pushed weakly at his chest, trying to get him off her. She felt as the needle went into her neck and she let her hands fall to the edge on the couch, her heart fast and uneven as he pushed the plunger down.
He got off her, drawing the needle out of Mari. She sat up, holding her neck. She looked up at Kidd, angry tears running down her cheeks. "I hate you." She said.
He flinched and his shoulders slumped as the words sank in. Mari drew the blanket back around herself, her shoulders shaking with cold. Kidd turned, the fear in his eyes catching Mari off guard. "M-mari..." He walked to her, his hand outstretched. "You... you don't mean that..." he said.
Mari slapped his hands away from her. "You're just like my father. You did the same exact thing as him." She looked up at him. She laughed a little. "Except... I never though you would do this to me." She held her shoulders. "Even though it was for my health... to help me, I hate you." She said, her neck stinging.
Kidd turned, his expression blank as he walked out of the room. Mari held her hands over her mouth. She reached out a hand to the closed door. "I-I didn't mean it... come back..." she said. The door stayed shut and she drew her hand back to her chest.
"You nasty little child." A woman's sultry voice said. "Why would you say such terrible thing to someone you love?"
Mari whipped her head around, her heart pounding as she tried to find the voice. "Who...?" she asked.
"Oh, dear. You don't know who I am?" a pool of spider collected in the center of the room, gathering and forming into the shape of a woman, all in black. She opened her dark, purple eyes and looked at Mari's petrified form. "What is it? You should be honored that I came to get you myself, and didn't send one of minions." Arachne paused for a moment, a smile creeping across her lips as she saw Mari's horrified face. "Oh? What's that face?"
Mari moved back, holding her neck as she tried to speak, to scared of the witch in front of her.
"Are you scared of me, Mari?"