Heya everyone! Well, after stalking the SE front page (and not finding many good stories, non-SoMa or otherwise) I've decided to give you all a story I'm working on ;D Unlike some other stories I've started, I really want to work on this one (which should be good news to you). It's fun to write ;) I'll post this and the other chapter I finished, and you guys tell me whatcha think of it so far, 'kay? Kay. Enjoy! :D

/

Death the Kid squinted through the pitch-black darkness, trying to make something out of the black shadows. He could barely feel his way around, and had had to carry Liz and Patty around as weapons because they kept getting separated. He scowled at the amount of dust covering every trinket and the layer of dust gathered on the floor. It looked like no one had been here in years.

His honorable father asked him to come here. It had seemed a likely place for one of Eibon's tools, or perhaps even a page from his book. The Kishin had been defeated, but Shinigami had still expressed a desire to collect all of Eibon's pages and tools. He had said it was so they couldn't fall into the hands of evil, and Kid believed him fully.

Coughing, he made his way into a room. It had numerous papers and unfinished projects littering the counters. Dust covered everything, much like everything else in this abandoned shack. Kid walked over to the counter and closely inspected the mess. It made him twitch violently, so he put Liz and Patty down for a moment to try to at least make it semi-presentable. Liz and Patty transformed back into humans, stretching out. Kid could hardly hear Liz's complaint about her gun form, for he was too immersed in cleaning. Suddenly, his hand brushed against something. He picked it up in curiosity. It looked like a completed project.

Interested, Liz came over and inspected what Kid picked up. It looked like a round, glass paperweight, reminding the demon pistol of those crystal balls that the rip-off psychics in New York used to rob tourists of their money. Patty walked to her side, curious.

"What is it?" the younger sister asked, intrigued.

"I don't know," Kid replied, staring intently at the ball as if he expected it to bite. He inspected it more closely to notice that there was a faint line that traveled along the ball's circumference. It looked like it had the ability to open, so Kid took it in his hands and squeezed it, attempting to pop it open. Despite his inhuman strength, he was unable to open it. He took the ball back into one hand, glaring at it. He started to scratch his head, deep in thought. How would one open this? What's inside? Could it be dangerous? He didn't have time to think anything else, for the ball emitted a cracking sound.

"You broke it! You broke it!" Patty started chanting as she saw the line that Kid had discovered open slowly. Kid and Liz were shocked, not sure what to do. The ball cracked open a little more, a bright light shining out of it. Kid, Liz, and Patty could do nothing as they were sucked in.

One odd feeling of being sucked through a tube later, the trio found themselves landing on their backsides…in the same room they were in previously. A closer look revealed that the layer of dust covering everything had disappeared, leaving a bright gleam. Liz blinked.

"It…cleaned?" she stated dumbly. "How lame."

"Not entirely," Kid replied, observant as ever. "This room is different than before. Doesn't there seem to be less now than there was? And where's that paperweight?"

Liz was about to reply, but she was cut off by laughter coming from outside. "Someone's coming!" she panicked. The three looked around for someplace to hide when Kid suddenly whispered, "In here!" and shoved the two pistols and himself into a closet. He had just managed to close the door when two people came in.

They appeared to be boys about Kid's age. One had short brown hair and green eyes, and he was holding a notebook to his chest. He dressed in a red shirt and brown pants with green shoes, and a yellow scarf wrapped around his neck. The other boy looked almost exactly like Kid himself. He had Kid's black hair, complete with the three Sanzu lines on the left side. He also had golden eyes, and was dressed in a black cloak with many spikes and curls, with ragged black pants and black dress shoes. Two blue eyes and a golden eye watched them from the closet as they began to speak.

"We scored today, huh, Eibon? We got so much stuff!" the Kid twin exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.

"Data," the one named Eibon corrected politely.

"Uh, right," the other replied, grinning nervously and scratching his head.

Suddenly, Patty let out a long drawn gasp. Panicking, Liz hurriedly put her hands over Patty's mouth. She was too late, however; Eibon had heard and turned around to face the closet.

"Did you hear that?" he said, still talking to the closet.

The three eyes had widened at this point, and Liz's back was pressed against the back of the closet in an attempt to hide better. Even Patty knew it was time to be quiet.

"Hear what?" the black-haired boy asked, pinning up a piece of paper on the wall.

"…nothing, never mind." Eibon turned back around reluctantly. He set the notebook down on the counter and stared at it, deep in thought. The Kid look-a-like peered at him for a moment, then grabbed his hand.

"Come on, I bet my mom's got sandwiches!" he said enthusiastically, dragging Eibon out the door. The trio was about to step out before the other boy came back in, minus Eibon, and peering suspiciously at the closet. He slowly approached the door, tiptoeing to it before throwing the doors open. "Ah HA!" he shouted, but frowned at the sight of nothing there. He squinted closely at the corner before scowling and rubbing his head, exiting without a second word.

"Why couldn't he see us?" Liz asked, turning to face air where Kid should have been. She looked around, but she could see neither Kid nor Patty. "Kid? Patty?"

"What?"

"Mmph!"

Liz heard the muffle of her sister and the disgruntled whisper of her Meister, but she still couldn't see them. She gasped. "Kid, we're invisible!"

Kid opened his eyes and immediately shimmered into being. The two weapons followed, turning visible again. The shinigami stared at his hands and blinked. "Did I do that…?" he wondered incredulously. The duo's conversation had faded away, and so they exited the cramped closet.

"That kid looked just like you!" Patty exploded after Liz lost her hold on her mouth. Kid groaned and rubbed his head as he sat up.

"I know. Perhaps that ball brought us to some sort of different universe?"

"Where you're friends with Eibon?" Liz asked, standing up. "…Possibly."

"At any rate, where's that ball? We need to get back home," Kid said. The trio ransacked the place, looking everywhere in the small little shack, but after ten minutes of searching and searching again, they came up with nothing. Liz sighed as Patty looked in the closet for the millionth time, while Kid was putting his hands on his hips. "Well, we're in a slight predicament," he sighed.

"Slight predicament? You mean we're stuck here!" Liz shrieked, shaking Kid roughly. Kid removed her hands and spoke calmly.

"Calm down. For starters, let's follow Eibon. Maybe he has something we can use to get back home." Liz seemed pleased at this plan, and so the trio set out of the shack.

They skid to a halt immediately after they left the front door. Death the Kid remembered coming to this place, and it was desolate, barren wasteland. Before them, however, was a lush, green, hilly area, with a few trees spotting the tops of the hills. Luckily, from his vantage point at the top of the hill, Kid could see that Eibon and his friend hadn't gotten far. Using the hills for cover, the trio quietly stalked the two boys. Well, almost quietly; they had climbed into a tree in order to get cover, but it turns out it wasn't as big as it looked. Patty had planted her foot firmly in Kid's cheek, while Liz had clutched the branch like a lifeline, effectively shoving Patty off. Patty had said some choice words, while Kid was irritated and trying not to get them spotted.

Eibon and his friend had, unfortunately, overheard this conversation. The black-haired boy turned around and grinned manically. Motioning for Eibon to stay there and watch, he slunk over to the other side of the tree and climbed it with ease, then perched himself on the branch above the three strangers.

The trio noticed this, and looked up into a grinning face.

"Hiya."

Screaming, the three unceremoniously fell out of the tree and crashed, one by one, on the hard roots. Kid heaved as Liz, then Patty fell on his stomach. The boy jumped out of the tree, landing on his feet on the soft grass. He turned around to face them.

"You guys are horrible stalkers," he teased. The trio had gotten up at this point, and was now in their common formation of Liz, Kid, and Patty, from left to right. Kid stared blankly at the other version of what looked so much like him.

The boy grinned back before frowning and looking him over. He tilted his head and half his body, taking on a pose that made Kid inwardly gasp, recognizing the position. He frowned. It couldn't be; it wasn't.

"Say, you look kinda familiar!" the kid said, his voice loud and commanding, but friendly at the same time. He was like a nicer and less egotistical but just as loud version of Black Star. He circled Kid, giving him another once-over. "Hmm…" He saw Kid's hair, and he gasped.

"Your hair! You have Sanzu lines! You're a shinigami, aren't cha?" the boy exclaimed, pointing to the offending lines. Kid stuttered, but didn't have time to say anything more as the boy cut him off.

"Don't worry; I'm a shinigami too! Your secret's safe with me! I'm Death the Kid!"

This didn't surprise Kid.

"Shinigami CHOP!"

This did.