When She Returned- Soul Eater Fanfiction

Chapter 11- An Old Foe

"Maka's gone missing!"
Soul immediately felt sick. He swayed with dizziness but grasped the doorframe as soon as he could.
He took a deep breath. "We need to tell him! Go wake the others!" And with that last statement, he ran down the hall to the teachers' dorms.
Soul frantically knocked on Spirit's door. "Death Scythe?! Spirit! It's Soul! Open up!"
The door opened soon after. The exhausted red head looked down at the young scythe.
"Soul? What's wrong, little guy?"
"Maka's missing! She's nowhere to be seen!"
Spirit had to register it for a moment, before he began to shake. "Shit.. Shit! Soul, get dressed and tell the others to do the same- we need to fully search for her. Go! I'll meet you in the reception in 10 minutes. We have no time to lose!"
He watched Soul sprint off to do what he asked, before frantically knocking on the door where Kami, Megara, and Marie slept. Out of respect, he never opened the door.
"Girls! Wake up!"
Through the door, he heard someone bolt up.
"Spirit?! What's the matter, sweetie? You sound worried!" Kami called back, her voice shaking.
"Maka's vanished! We need to find her!"
"Fuck! Marie! Get up! We have to find her. Meg, you stay! You're still injured!" Kami shouted frantically.
"Okay!" Marie panicked and fell out of bed. The pair rapidly threw clothes on.
Spirit waited anxiously until he heard Kami shout.
"You can open the door!"
Spirit did as she requested and looked at them. A voice appeared behind him.
"What's going on? What's all this about?" Stein asked.
"Maka's gone missing. We need to look for her."
The four rushed down to see the team of students waiting downstairs.
Spirit spoke up. "Who was the last to see Maka?"
"Me!" Tsubaki spoke. "She said at about 11pm she'd be going to bed 10 minutes after standing there for a bit." She pointed to the window. "I woke up at 3 and she wasn't in bed. I came down here to see if she'd fallen asleep here but she was nowhere. I looked everywhere for her."
"No one had her in their dorms?" Kami asked.
Everyone shook their head.
"This isn't good." Marie said. "This isn't good at all."
Stein glanced at Spirit. "What now?"
Spirit sighed. "We make teams. Give ourselves until 8am searching then meet back up. Hopefully, one of the teams will find her. Use your soul perception to the best of your ability. If all else fails, then I'll carry on searching alone. Team Stein- I'll assign Kim and Jackie, Patty, Liz, and Kid. Team Marie- I'll assign Crona, Black Star and Tsubaki, Ox and Harvar. Kami- You'll have Rinko, Hero, Killik, The Pots and Soul. I'll go alone."
"No, Death Scythe, you can't go alone."
"I'll be fine, Soul."
"I'm coming with you." Soul said, deathly serious. "To be alone out there is the worst thing imaginable. We need to stick with each other."
Spirit nodded, discovering that Soul's method had more logic. "I guess it will be better that way."
"Yeah." Kami nodded. "Be careful, though."
"I promise." Spirit nodded. He placed his hand on Soul's shoulder. "I'll protect you to the best of my ability."
"We're gonna find her, Spirit." Soul assured.
"I hope so."
Soul gripped his hand tightly. "We will."
Spirit nodded, squeezing it back. "Okay everyone, let's split! We got until 8am!"

The darkness seemed to envelope the entire range with a deep sense of danger. It was enough to send shivers down your spine.
A lantern glowed through the darkness.  Kim, wielding Jacqueline's lantern form, raced down the peak. Stein cautiously made his way down.
"Kid, keep me covered. I'm only a meister, remember? I have the gift of perception but I am vulnerable to attack without a weapon." Stein advised.
Kid nodded. "Alright. Girls! Keep your guard up."
"Okay, Kid!" Patty chirped.
Liz however, didn't sound as cheerful. "Hnnng"
Kid sighed. "What's the matter, Liz?"
"This place is creepy at night. I hate it."
"It's not a good time to be scared, Liz. Maka needs to be found, remember?"
"Yeah."
A sound was heard in the distance. A crunch.
"Ahhh! What was that?! Kid, I'm scared!" Liz panicked, in her weapon form. Patty giggled beside her.
Kid hissed. "Shush! Enemies will hear us!"
Liz cried quietly. "I hope Bigfoot doesn't exist."
Stein sighed. "Bigfoot prefers forests anyway. Mountains are too much for its big feet."
"That's a relief- and another reason why I don't go to forests!"
"Professor Stein! I found footprints!" Kim shouted.
The footprints were fresh and led down the mountain.
"Let's follow them. Everyone stay close."