A.N. – My first Soul Eater fic! I've been a fan for a while, but it's taken me a while to figure out what kind of story I wanted to write. Hopefully I will be able to do the characters justice.
This story will mainly focus in the Thompsons' and Kid, and their relationship as meister and weapons, especially when their meister is Shinigami-sama. But the rest of the main cast will get story time, so don't worry. Pairings are on my profile if you want to see.
Also, the ages I've determined the characters to be by the end of the series are: Black*Star, 14; Maka, Soul, Tsubaki, Patti, 15; and Liz 17. At the start of this story, they are five years older, so Black*Star is 19; Maka, Soul, Tsubaki, and Patti are 20; and Liz is 22.
Okay, that's all the background I think you need, so without any further ado, enjoy!
Demon pistol Elizabeth "Liz" Thompson crossed her arms behind her head and sighed. "Man, late night border patrol sucks," she griped as she walked the streets of Death City, half-seriously looking for criminals or rogue witches. "I could be at a club, partying or talking to some handsome guy, or even shopping right now!"
Beside her, swinging her arms playfully, was Liz's younger sister, Patricia "Patti", who giggled. "Yeah, but sis, this way we can see each other! You've been soooo busy with stuff!"
"Mmm, I guess you're right, Patti," Liz acknowledged. She was in her second semester of senior year at Death City University, on a political science major, and had spent most of her free time studying for finals. This was her first night off for a while, and she certainly hadn't wanted to spend it on patrol, but had succumbed to Kid's and Patti's insistence.
When their meister, Death the Kid, had become Shinigami-sama on the death of his father, many people expected him to team up with Soul Eater, the "Last" Death Scythe and one of their good friends, instead of keeping his Demon twin pistols. But, much to the relief of the sisters (and Maka Albarn, Soul's meister and current girlfriend), Kid had continued his partnership with the Thompsons, despite opposition from his advisers, which had grown even louder the past few years. Determined to be useful to Kid as more than just a weapon, especially since he rarely went on missions anymore even though he could leave Death City, Liz had worked hard during her last year of high school and been accepted into a Pol Sci program at DCU. Patti, however, had decided after half a year of college that it just wasn't for her.
"A lot has changed these last five years, haven't they, Patti?" Liz asked, uncrossing her arms and putting them in the pockets of her jeans. They were a little nicer looking, rather than casual; her red-and white-checkered blouse covered her stomach; and she now rarely wore her cowboy hat unless in a nostalgic or partying mood. She still always wore her black high-heels and silver bracelets.
"Yeah, yeah!" Patti agreed, grinning. The younger Thompson was still content with her traditional cowgirl outfit, though without the hat or Spartoi jacket, unless it was really cold. "When doya think Soul's gonna ask Maka to marry him? Heehee!"
"Mah, well, how long have they been dating? Two years?" Liz answered, thinking. "Well, Maka probably wouldn't accept until she was done school; she's got a couple years left, so...twenty bucks he pops the question at graduation." Maka was currently attending DCU as well, aiming to be a teacher at Shibusen, while Soul had decided to go for a major in music.
"Okay!" Patti said. She twirled in the street, laughing as she did so; it made Liz smile. "We get to be bridesmaids, right? I've never been a bridesmaid!"
"I'm sure we will," Liz assured her sister. "And at Tsubaki and Black*Star's wedding and maybe even Kim and Ox's." Kim and Ox had had an on-again off-again relationship until last year when Ox had proposed — quite spectacularly, at the Shibusen anniversary ball — and, under the condition they wait until she finished medical school, Kim accepted. And Black*Star, about six months ago, had finally asked Tsubaki to be his girlfriend after crashing a date between her and Akane Hoshi, blathering on about how he would make a boyfriend boyfriend and asking if she would please accept the honor of dating him (so Tsubaki and Maka had later informed the Thompsons, as Maka and Soul had been on a date at the same restaurant).
Of course, a wedding for Black*Star and Tsubaki was a ways away, and maybe not even in the cards at all, but it was fun to dream.
Her sister smiled in response. "Can't wait," she gushed. Then, suddenly Patti stopped, then put a hand to her forehead, as if shielding her eyes from the already-set sun. "Look, sis, we're almost home!" she squealed. "C'mon, I'll race you! Last one there's a rotten egg!" Then, with no other warning, the young Weapon picked up her heels and dashed off, leaving her sister in the dust.
Liz stood there blinking for a while, then starting running after Patti. "Hey, Patti, wait! No fair, you cheated!"
When the elder Thompson finally made it to the mansion she, her sister, and their meister called home, Patti was waiting at the door, hopping in place. She then began laughing and pointed at her sister, "You're the rotten egg!"
"Only 'cause you cheated," Liz grumbled. "If you'd played fair –" she broke off abruptly, turning her head to the side of the mansion. "Patti, be quiet," she ordered in a low voice. Immediately the laughing stopped.
"What's wrong?" Patti whispered, edging closer. Liz took a step towards the mansion's side, where the cellar doors were.
"I thought I heard something," Liz murmured. It was late out, with a few streetlights keeping the night's darkness at bay; no one should be out and about now. "But maybe I was wrong..."
"Ah, that's OK, sis," Patti assured, turning back to the front door. "Let's go in; maybe Kid's finally home! He's been soooo busy, too!"
It had been a while since Kid had arrived home at a decent hour, a week at least, so Liz wasn't hopeful, but she nodded, following her sister. "Yeah, okay," she said.
BANG! The cellar doors flew open, startling Liz so badly she morphed into her Weapon form, which Patti effortlessly, almost unconsciously, caught. A red and blue blur blew past them, and without a moment's hesitation, Patti began following.
"Hold it right there, mister!" Patti cried angrily, her cute voice becoming slightly darker. The blur did not obey, nor did he respond; Liz wasn't great at Soul Perception, had only gotten a little better at it over the years, but she could at least tell they were chasing after a human male.
He led them over streets they'd just been on, turned a few corners as if trying to lose them, and then finally stopped in the middle of town. When the guy stopped, Patti slowed, if only because the guy had joined a group of about six others. While Patti took up a battle stance, Liz surveyed the situation. Excluding the blur, who was a young teenager with dark hair and skin, dressed in ratty blue jeans and a red T-shirt, there were six other guys, ranging from early twenties to thirties, all wearing dark suits.
"Who are you?" Liz demanded, still in Weapon form.
"Well, well, just the girls I wanted to see!" One of the men, the oldest by far, exclaimed, stepping forward. Short and stocky, he had black, slicked back hair, dark skin, and a menacing grin that revealed a gold tooth on his lower row. He spoke with a Brooklyn accent, and seemed kind of familiar to Liz.
Patti raised Liz threateningly and glared. "My sister asked you a question," she growled. "Who are you creeps?"
The man who had spoken, who seemed to be the leader, spread his arms wide; in the street lamps' glow, a dozen rings sparkled on his fingers. "C'mon, gals, it's me! Franky! Surely you didn't forget about me once you hit it rich with that death kid, did you? I'm hurt!"
Suddenly something clicked, and Liz gasped. She morphed out of Patti's hands and landed in front of her sister, positioning herself protectively. "Franky," she ground out. "Long time no see."
Franky's grin got wider. "Ah, Liz, darling! So glad you remember me! You're looking good!"
"What do you want, Franky?" Liz asked irritably. Francesco "Franky" Scaffidi was a relatively well-known mobster, being the leader of a gang of Italian mobsters back in Brooklyn; the Thompson sisters had gotten into a few fights with them when they lived on the streets. "And what are you doing here? Last I heard, you were serving a twenty-year sentence."
"My lawyers got me out on a technicality," the mobster replied, waving his hand dismissively. "And as to why I'm here..." His eyes narrowed coldly. "Well, Liz, sweetie, don't think I've forgotten you gals were the ones who got me into that mess in first place."
A shiver went down Liz's spine as Franky's henchmen fell in line behind him. She soon shook it off, however; she was one of the infamous Thompson Sisters, a Devil of Brooklyn, and Shinigami-sama's own weapon. She had nothing to be afraid of. Still..."Patti, transform," she said.
"Right." In a flash of light, Patti became a gun and landed in her sister's ready hand.
Franky whistled. "Never get tired of seeing that," he marveled, eyes wide.
"I'll only ask one more time," Liz warned. "What do you want, Franky?"
"I want you to pay off your debt," the gangster replied. Liz tilted her head, confused.
"What?"
"The debt you owe me for ratting me out to the cops and then bailing on the city," Franky elaborated. "You girls were great for business! I could charge protection rates from you two, and no one ever gave me a hard time about it! But once you left, it all went dooowwwnnnhill from there." Franky made a slight curving motion with his hand.
"Yeah, so?" Liz challenged.
"Yeah, so?" Patti repeated angrily. "We like it with Kid and our friends a whole lot better than being on the streets!"
"I don't really care what you like," Franky informed them flatly. "I just want my debt repaid. And that involves you girls working for me. And," he held up a hand when Liz opened her mouth, "since I figured you wouldn't...take too kindly to that arrangement, I had my boys place little presents around your lovely city." He face twisted into something cruel. "Think of 'em as...early Christmas in July presents. Ha!"
As Franky and his men laughed, Liz paled. Franky was also known as "Fireworks Franky" for his love, and regular use, of explosives; Liz had once heard, when a couple of dirty cops had wanted to come clean, Franky had them tied to a chair, under which he lit a stick of TNT. That same man had been snooping around her city? Her home, the place where she'd spent, and was continuing to spend, the best years of her life? Anger surged through her, and in two seconds flat she had raised Patti and fired two shots at the mobster.
Fear crossed Franky's face for a moment, but when, to the sisters' shock, he appeared unharmed, he laughed long and hard. He unbuttoned the first few buttons on his shirt to reveal a glowing blue vest. "A soul wavelength bullet proof vest," he exclaimed proudly. "Paid a witch an extreme amount of money for this – which has been added to your debt, by the way – but, oh, it was worth it! And the look on your face – priceless! Ahahaha!"
Sis, this isn't good, Patti thought worriedly, speaking through their souls.
Yeah, I know, Liz thought back.
Franky stopped laughing. Reaching into his pocket, he produced a small black device. "This," he declared, "is all that's standing in the way of me turning your home, your school, and other wonderful parts of this city to rubble, should you refuse. So, ladies, what's it gonna be?"
Liz clenched her fist. She hated giving into this guy, but she had seen what he was capable of, and had no doubt he would take joy in exploding Death City. Patti, what do we do? She wished Kid was here, or even Maka or Soul, or anyone of their friends to counsel them.
We can't let him hurt anybody, Patti said after a while. We have to protect everyone; Kid would want that.
Yeah...wait, what if we pretended to go along with them? Liz said, an idea stirring in her brain. If we could get him to trust us...
Like when we worked with the police officers? Patti asked.
Yeah, just like that, Liz agreed. What do you think?
"I'm waiting," Franky said in a warning tone, tapping his finger against the opposite wrist, thumb posed over the big red button on the black device.
Well...we...wouldn't be going back for real, right, sis? Patti said hesitantly. We'd just be...pretending?
I promise, Liz assured. Patti, I promise, we'll never go back to that. Never.
A longer pause. Then, Okay.
Liz looked up at Franky, scowling. After a few moments, she took a deep breath, and said, "Alright, here's how's it's gonna be..."