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Description
Despair gripped Penelope as she fell to her knees by the body of May. She lay in the dirt, slowly dissolving into nothing. Her once sheet-white skin had been restored to its original color, and her stringy black hair had become a fine reddish-brown. She wore the elegant black dress that Samaiel had given her during their time together. As a Soul Collector, it had been part of her grotesque body, but now, you would never be able to tell that she was anything but a normal girl.
“We failed,” Penelope muttered. “She's gone... What are we going to tell Weiss? He's going to be crushed...”
“We should tell him we couldn't find her,” Manfred said nonchalantly. “We'll go out a few times, and eventually, he'll give up. Easy, right?”
“ No!” Penelope was indignant. “You might be able to keep a lie like that, but I can't!”
“Whatever. I'm not going to deal with Weiss if you tell him what happened. Moody teenagers aren't my thing, you know?”
Disgusted, Penelope sighed and turned back to May. She was almost gone, a nearly invisible outline of the cheerful, innocent girl she once was.
“I'm sorry,” she whispered. “You didn't deserve any of this, did you? I hope your soul finds something...”
She trailed off, realizing that her soul had been destroyed by the Soul Collector. Looking down, she saw her locket in the girl's hand. She reached down to pry her hand open and take the locket, but when she tried, her own hand slipped right through, as if it were water. She took the locket, and when she pulled her hand away, there was nothing left of May's.
“I'd let you keep it,” Penelope said, “But this is too important to me.” As the body completely disappeared, she noticed another necklace that May had been wearing lying on the ground. She took it, intending to give it to Weiss as a memento. But when she took a look at it, she noticed that it was nearly identical to her own. A horrible, inexplicable sinking feeling overcame her, and tears began to well up in her eyes. Stuffing May's locket into her pocket and putting on her own, she got to her feet.
“Alright,” she said, wiping the tears from her face and trying to compose herself, “We should get going. I'll think of how to break the news to him on our way home.”

“You know,” Manfred said as their train silently rushed towards the labs, “He's not going to forgive you.”
“Excuse me?” They had been silent for a long time, and Manfred's sudden opinion surprised Penelope.
“I mean, if you're trying to be friends with a guy, killing his girlfriend's probably not the best way to go about it.”
“She was a Soul Collector! There was nothing we could do! Nobody could do anything!”
Manfred shrugged. “See, that's the thing about Weiss that I've noticed. Even if things get really grim, he tends to think that things will all turn out alright. He's hopeful to a fault.”
“You told me... when a Soul Collector takes someone's soul, it's gone. Forever.”
“That's exactly right, but it's not what Weiss wants to hear. He may very well think there's a way to bring them back... or he will once he learns that May was one.”
“That's ridiculous!”
“Hey, that's just how I see it.”
Penelope turned her head to gaze out the window of the speeding train, watching the bustling city she knew as ruined go by.
“Poor guy,” she said. “I hope he'll be alright.”
“You're really going to tell him?”
“Well, yeah.”
“I guess I'll be rid of him, then.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“The second you tell him, I'm out of there. If you want to turn Mr. Cripple into a emotional wreck, you can be the one to deal with him.”
“You can't be serious!”
“Why not?”
“Because you're... you're my father. You can't abandon me like that.”
The train pulled into the station, but neither Penelope nor Manfred moved.
“Listen, Penelope... You're a nice girl and all, but... I'm not your dad.” He got up. “I'm pretty sure that man is as dead as May is.”
With that, he stepped off of the train.

. . .

“How did it go? Did you find her? Where is she?” Weiss was up on his feet, barraging Penelope with questions at the main entrance of the labs.
The girl hesitated. “Weiss, I... I told you not to stand on that cast...”
He laughed. “Who cares about that? Just... where's May? You did find her, right?”
Penelope looked down to her feet, her voice dropping to nearly a whisper. “No. Weiss... I'm sorry... but May was a Soul Collector when we found her.”
“What... no...”
“She attacked us.”
“May...” Weiss's tone quickly turned from sorrowful to resentful and angry. “You had to destroy her, didn't you?”
“I'm so sorry, Weiss, we didn't know until it was too late...”
“Yeah? Well, didn't you think that a Soul Collector that shows up where you're looking for somebody just might be that person?!”
Weiss was livid. He screamed at Penelope, his bright red face and his uncombed hair giving him an air of insanity. His friend was pressed against the wall, tears streaming down her face. Just as Weiss was preparing to launch another volley of screams, Manfred poked his head into the room.
“'Scuse me, but before you chew poor Penny's head completely off, there's something you might want to know.”
“What the hell do you want?!”
“Penelope nearly bit it out there,” Manfred said, unfazed by the outburst. “May jumped us, and was just about to suck her soul, when I gave her a good smack, smashing that mask of hers. There wasn't a whole lot else I could do.” With that, he slipped back into the hallway.
The two others were left in silence, save for Penelope's occasional sobbing. She had fallen to her knees, and was staring at the floor. Weiss sighed, and extended a hand out to her.
“I'm sorry... I shouldn't have snapped at you like that, it's just... this is such a shock, and...” He fell silent again.
“I... I understand,” Penelope whispered as she took his hand and got to her feet. Remembering the locket, she took it out of her pocket. “Weiss... May was wearing this when... Well... Just take it.” She put it in his hand.
“Thank you.” He stared at it for a long time. “Would you please... leave me alone?”
“Yeah... of course.” She hurried out the door and caught Manfred just as he was leaving, with an old leather bag on his shoulder that contained what little he owned. She grabbed his arm.
“Hey, Manfred... why did you do that?”
He smiled, and wiped a tear from the girl's cheek. “You looked like you needed help,” he said.
“Lying like that...”
“Makes us all happier.”
“No!”
Manfred grinned. “Alrighty then, go ahead and tell Weiss that you were the one who killed her.
There was an awkward pause.
“So,” said Penelope, changing the subject, “You're really leaving?”
“Yup.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.” Manfred sighed. “Penelope, I've got this life that I was just... thrown into. My past belongs to someone else, my body belongs to someone else... I need to find out who I am. Get it?”
“I think so.”
“You do the same, okay?”
“What?”
“Find something for yourself. Don't just hide out here... You and Weiss should really go to school or something, get your lives back into some sort of normal rhythm, you know?”
“Normal...” Penelope smiled. “You're right, we should!”
Manfred laughed. “Well, I'm glad I could be of some use to you.” He tousled her hair as he walked past her and into the city.

Description
Despair gripped Penelope as she fell to her knees by the body of May. She lay in the dirt, slowly dissolving into nothing. Her once sheet-white skin had been restored to its original color, and her stringy black hair had become a fine reddish-brown. She wore the elegant black dress that Samaiel had given her during their time together. As a Soul Collector, it had been part of her grotesque body, but now, you would never be able to tell that she was anything but a normal girl.
“We failed,” Penelope muttered. “She's gone... What are we going to tell Weiss? He's going to be crushed...”
“We should tell him we couldn't find her,” Manfred said nonchalantly. “We'll go out a few times, and eventually, he'll give up. Easy, right?”
“ No!” Penelope was indignant. “You might be able to keep a lie like that, but I can't!”
“Whatever. I'm not going to deal with Weiss if you tell him what happened. Moody teenagers aren't my thing, you know?”
Disgusted, Penelope sighed and turned back to May. She was almost gone, a nearly invisible outline of the cheerful, innocent girl she once was.
“I'm sorry,” she whispered. “You didn't deserve any of this, did you? I hope your soul finds something...”
She trailed off, realizing that her soul had been destroyed by the Soul Collector. Looking down, she saw her locket in the girl's hand. She reached down to pry her hand open and take the locket, but when she tried, her own hand slipped right through, as if it were water. She took the locket, and when she pulled her hand away, there was nothing left of May's.
“I'd let you keep it,” Penelope said, “But this is too important to me.” As the body completely disappeared, she noticed another necklace that May had been wearing lying on the ground. She took it, intending to give it to Weiss as a memento. But when she took a look at it, she noticed that it was nearly identical to her own. A horrible, inexplicable sinking feeling overcame her, and tears began to well up in her eyes. Stuffing May's locket into her pocket and putting on her own, she got to her feet.
“Alright,” she said, wiping the tears from her face and trying to compose herself, “We should get going. I'll think of how to break the news to him on our way home.”

“You know,” Manfred said as their train silently rushed towards the labs, “He's not going to forgive you.”
“Excuse me?” They had been silent for a long time, and Manfred's sudden opinion surprised Penelope.
“I mean, if you're trying to be friends with a guy, killing his girlfriend's probably not the best way to go about it.”
“She was a Soul Collector! There was nothing we could do! Nobody could do anything!”
Manfred shrugged. “See, that's the thing about Weiss that I've noticed. Even if things get really grim, he tends to think that things will all turn out alright. He's hopeful to a fault.”
“You told me... when a Soul Collector takes someone's soul, it's gone. Forever.”
“That's exactly right, but it's not what Weiss wants to hear. He may very well think there's a way to bring them back... or he will once he learns that May was one.”
“That's ridiculous!”
“Hey, that's just how I see it.”
Penelope turned her head to gaze out the window of the speeding train, watching the bustling city she knew as ruined go by.
“Poor guy,” she said. “I hope he'll be alright.”
“You're really going to tell him?”
“Well, yeah.”
“I guess I'll be rid of him, then.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“The second you tell him, I'm out of there. If you want to turn Mr. Cripple into a emotional wreck, you can be the one to deal with him.”
“You can't be serious!”
“Why not?”
“Because you're... you're my father. You can't abandon me like that.”
The train pulled into the station, but neither Penelope nor Manfred moved.
“Listen, Penelope... You're a nice girl and all, but... I'm not your dad.” He got up. “I'm pretty sure that man is as dead as May is.”
With that, he stepped off of the train.

. . .

“How did it go? Did you find her? Where is she?” Weiss was up on his feet, barraging Penelope with questions at the main entrance of the labs.
The girl hesitated. “Weiss, I... I told you not to stand on that cast...”
He laughed. “Who cares about that? Just... where's May? You did find her, right?”
Penelope looked down to her feet, her voice dropping to nearly a whisper. “No. Weiss... I'm sorry... but May was a Soul Collector when we found her.”
“What... no...”
“She attacked us.”
“May...” Weiss's tone quickly turned from sorrowful to resentful and angry. “You had to destroy her, didn't you?”
“I'm so sorry, Weiss, we didn't know until it was too late...”
“Yeah? Well, didn't you think that a Soul Collector that shows up where you're looking for somebody just might be that person?!”
Weiss was livid. He screamed at Penelope, his bright red face and his uncombed hair giving him an air of insanity. His friend was pressed against the wall, tears streaming down her face. Just as Weiss was preparing to launch another volley of screams, Manfred poked his head into the room.
“'Scuse me, but before you chew poor Penny's head completely off, there's something you might want to know.”
“What the hell do you want?!”
“Penelope nearly bit it out there,” Manfred said, unfazed by the outburst. “May jumped us, and was just about to suck her soul, when I gave her a good smack, smashing that mask of hers. There wasn't a whole lot else I could do.” With that, he slipped back into the hallway.
The two others were left in silence, save for Penelope's occasional sobbing. She had fallen to her knees, and was staring at the floor. Weiss sighed, and extended a hand out to her.
“I'm sorry... I shouldn't have snapped at you like that, it's just... this is such a shock, and...” He fell silent again.
“I... I understand,” Penelope whispered as she took his hand and got to her feet. Remembering the locket, she took it out of her pocket. “Weiss... May was wearing this when... Well... Just take it.” She put it in his hand.
“Thank you.” He stared at it for a long time. “Would you please... leave me alone?”
“Yeah... of course.” She hurried out the door and caught Manfred just as he was leaving, with an old leather bag on his shoulder that contained what little he owned. She grabbed his arm.
“Hey, Manfred... why did you do that?”
He smiled, and wiped a tear from the girl's cheek. “You looked like you needed help,” he said.
“Lying like that...”
“Makes us all happier.”
“No!”
Manfred grinned. “Alrighty then, go ahead and tell Weiss that you were the one who killed her.
There was an awkward pause.
“So,” said Penelope, changing the subject, “You're really leaving?”
“Yup.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.” Manfred sighed. “Penelope, I've got this life that I was just... thrown into. My past belongs to someone else, my body belongs to someone else... I need to find out who I am. Get it?”
“I think so.”
“You do the same, okay?”
“What?”
“Find something for yourself. Don't just hide out here... You and Weiss should really go to school or something, get your lives back into some sort of normal rhythm, you know?”
“Normal...” Penelope smiled. “You're right, we should!”
Manfred laughed. “Well, I'm glad I could be of some use to you.” He tousled her hair as he walked past her and into the city.