It Is What It Is
Chapter 8
Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater or any of its characters.
Three red eyes.
Those were the last things Kid saw before his back slammed into the water, the cold rushing over them as he sank down several feet into the ocean's dark, murky depths, the sisters still in their gun forms as he clutched them close to his chest. He managed to stay conscious long enough so that he would not swallow water when he submerged and thought he would be able to swim back up to the surface, but he had suffered more damage than he realized. Due to the internal damage that had been inflicted upon him before, he was unable to hold out for more than a few seconds. His vision faded and his hold loosened over the twin demon pistols.
Liz and Patti, however, suffered far less damage from the impact. Both Kid and their weapon forms protected them, and though they still felt the pain from the earlier dissonance, they were able to stay conscious and retain some sense of orientation. Neither knew whether the water that filled their barrels and chambers would in some sense drown them, but they did not have to worry for long. The moment they felt their meister's grip loosen, the girls glanced at one another, took deep breaths, and transformed to their human forms. The water was cold and they could barely see anything due to the darkness. But they kept a firm hold on his arms and kicked hard back up to the surface. It was only when they broke through did they gasp for air.
"Sis—I don't think Kid's breathing!" Patti suddenly yelled as she tried to keep his head upright. "Come on, Kid, wake up!"
"What!" She moved closer to his face—why was it so pale?—and listened closely before pressing her hand to his chest and neck. He was a freaking death god and had been stabbed and slammed and even had his arm torn off. If he were to die just from a simple drowning— "No—wait I can feel a pulse and his breathing is just really faint," she said, her body relaxing with relief. "But we need to get him out of the water soon."
Patti stared at Kid, her hands gripping his arm tightly as she tried to peer closer into his face. Like her sister, she knew he had gone through a lot before and that he could take quite a beating. But she could not remember the last time she had seen look so close to…well, actual death. Kid… As she continued to hold him up, she happened to glance past him and noticed something floating nearby. Her eyes widened with recognition. "It's the skateboard!"
While Patti had been focused on Kid, Liz had tried to see if she could sense or see anything around them in the water. But at her sister's shout, she quickly turned, her eyes searching before she spotted it. "Yes!" Liz exclaimed as she swam toward it and brought it back. "Just get his upper half on here. At least we can use this to float on."
It would also save the energy, but that still left them floating in the middle of the ocean. They also had their backpacks still, but everything was soaked, including their cell phones. They also had no idea how far away they were from the nearest island and Liz could not remember seeing any boats nearby even when they were flying after the bat. Even though they had managed to survive, how much longer could they last? For now, it was just them and the ocean.
After they were situated on the board and after several failed attempts at rousing their meister, Patti stuck close by Kid before looking over the slumped shoulders to her older sister. "What do we do now, sis?"
Liz was also watching Kid from her side, glad that while the board did dip a little into the water because of their weight, they were able to keep it mostly even above the surface. At her sister's question, however, she had to avert her eyes as she looked out over the open waters before them. One good thing about their world's odd, grinning moon was that there would always be moonlight unless there were clouds to obscure it. Tonight was rather clear, but she did remember Morgan telling Kid about the incoming storm that was coming later in the week. They were already three days in.
Glancing at the sky, it did not look like there would be any stormy weather, but who was to say they would not be stuck drifting out here for more than a day? If they were to get caught in something like that… Even without the threat of a storm, the day's summer heat would also be a problem. A water bottle or two might have survived, but that was not going to last them long, either. The only good thing she could make out was the fact that there were no signs of the bat. It was a bit of a relief knowing that it had not waited for them to resurface so it could finish them off, so that was one less problem to worry about.
With the sky clear, she looked back over the water. From where they were currently floating, all she could see and hear were the rolling waves of the ocean. She tried to squint and see if she could make some distant landform or even the distant lights from a boat, but she could not. It was times like these when she wished she had the ability to transform into some kind of sniper rifle or at least have the ability to use a scope on her weapon form.
"…I really can't see anything," Liz finally admitted as she settled back into the water. "But we can't just float around here. We could try swimming in a direction…" But how far would they have to go and would they even have the strength to make it?
"Maybe we could try following the waves?" Patti suggested. "They always crash onto a beach…right?"
"Do you remember seeing any nearby islands when we were in the sky?" Liz asked, her voice lowering as her eyes drifted to the still unconscious Kid.
Patti shook her head. "No…I was too focused on the bat."
Liz sighed. "Yeah…me, too. But we might as well start swimming. Let's just do it slow and hope we run into a boat."
"Okay," the younger girl nodded, and together the two sisters slowly pushed and kicked their legs against the skateboard. It was rocky going at first, with frequent stops to keep Kid from slipping off. But eventually they got the hang of it and were slowly swimming forward through the darkness.
He was dreaming. Or at least, it felt like he was dreaming. No, not dreaming. Swimming. Yes, he was swimming underwater. At first everything was a hazy blur as he slowly opened his eyes, but it began to clear as he continued to blink and tried to focus his vision. He could feel his clothes swaying in the water, the bangs of his hair drifting in front of his eyes, yet he did not feel wet. But it was deep—too deep to not have any scuba gear. Wait. He wasn't wearing scuba gear? So how was he breathing? Wait, he was breathing underwater? Small streams of bubbles flowed from his nose as he inhaled and exhaled as if he were breathing in air.
What is the power that you seek?
Ah, right. It was like that one time in the book. Yet this was not some strange environment created by the black mass of Power. No, this was the ocean. He could taste the salt of the water. One could not taste things while dreaming, could they? But when did he fall asleep? If it was not a dream, what was it? And what had he been doing before?
Bermuda…
Yes, that's right. He was in Bermuda, so this must be the Atlantic Ocean. He was here for…a mission. A mission for what? He shook his head as he felt a light but irritating pounding. His memory was fragmented, but he could feel the small bits and pieces slowly coming back into place.
As he swam forward in an attempt to orient himself, he wondered. Was this the first time he swam in the waters here? Three days in and he had yet to really dive into the ocean. There had been no time. Mission first, playtime later. That had been his mindset.
…Playtime with whom? What had been the mission again?
He was alone here, but for some reason that did not feel right. Like there was a void on his right and left.
…id….
A wave. A ripple. An underwater current of sorts. He could feel it flowing through his body and through his soul, disrupting his thoughts. This "current" caused him to stop and look around, his eyes narrowing. It was faint, but there was no mistake. It was a wave of—
Madness.
They had swum for half an hour before Liz had to call for a break and Patti made no protest. She, too, was starting to feel the fatigue from both their recent injuries and having to swim and push the skateboard with their still unconscious meister. The water made it easier to carry him, but it was still a difficult task for the two girls.
Liz was taking another look around to see if she could see anything when she heard the splash of water on her right. Quickly she turned just in time to see what she swore was a tail. Tensing she moved closer toward Kid's unconscious body and looked over to her sister who was checking on Kid again. "…Patti did you see that?"
"See what?" she answered as she looked up.
"I swear I saw someth—there, over there!" she half shrieked and pointed wildly where there had been another loud splash and yet another tail. This time she was more than certain she saw it—a flash of silver scales and tail fins that seemed to feather out like a veil.
Then came the voices.
They're stranded.
Are these the ones who made all that noise up there?
So skinny.
How did they survive?
They won't for much longer.
But we're not allowed to interact with humans.
They're not men. Well, two of them aren't.
It should be okay then, right?
But the boy…
Wait, wait—isn't that…?
…! No way!
I heard they killed those two monsters.
Maybe they could help us?
Let's help them.
Sure, why not.
"Hello."
Liz let out a loud scream when she heard the voice speak right next to her. She had been so preoccupied she stopped listening halfway through as she gripped Kid's arm, wishing that he would wake up. She actually shook him and whispered his name several times in hopes that maybe hearing his weapon in distress would rouse him.
So seeing a young girl's face suddenly staring at her with three more appearing out of the water was far from comforting. This was especially so when their eyes were wider than the standard human eye and of solid coloring with no discernable pupil. They varied, but the one closest to her had light orange eyes and she could see the slits along her neck that served as the gills. Liz could not help but stare as she watched the thin flesh move in and out as the other girl breathed. It did not take a genius to guess that the creature she was facing was a mermaid. She had heard of them and read about them, but never thought she would meet one, let alone believe they really existed.
"That one." The girl finally spoke as she nodded her head to Kid. "He is the son of Lord Death, is he not?" The voice was strange. It was stilted, but also melodic at the same time.
"…What's it to you?" Liz answered a little warily. It was getting harder and harder to keep Kid's true identity a secret, and if these really were mermaids, then it was pointless to try and lie about it.
"If he stays the way he is he will surely die," another said, her green eyes almost glowing in the moonlight. "But we can help."
"How do we know we can even trust you?" Now that the initial shock had passed, Liz was in full protective weapon mode. She knew they were at the disadvantage, especially since she was not sure if she and Patti could resonate again yet. But a glance at her sister told her she was thinking the same thing and they were going to damn well try if they had to.
"You don't have much of a choice," a third said as she swam closer, her purple eyes so dark it was as if they absorbed the light. "Do you know what we are?"
"Well you stink of fish," Patti said as she kept close to Kid's body.
Not now, Patti, Liz thought desperately before saying, "Mermaids, I guess?" She stared at them. "Though I imagined you a little differently…"
"Like there are many species of fish, so are there different mermaids of the sea," the first said. Unlike the other two, she seemed to be friendlier, but Liz was not about to let down her guard, especially since the fourth had yet to say or do anything. "Your battle caught our attention and we sensed great power here."
Liz glanced at Kid. You seriously need to stop attracting all these weirdos. "If you think you're going to take our souls without a fight—"
"We do not wish to fight," the green-eyed one said. "Like I said, we only wish to help."
"Help us drown," Liz muttered. But if they really wanted them dead, they could have done it by now, or so she guessed. "How would you help us?"
The fourth one whom had not spoken yet swam silently toward them. It was eerie how the water barely broke as she moved, as if she were part of the water. Her eyes were a light, eggshell blue and her voice was so soft Liz had to strain a little to hear her. "Your souls are disrupted and no longer aligned with one another. We can offer some of our magic to help restore their balance."
"Really?" Patti perked up a little and looked at the mermaid with a little less distrust. She was still uncertain, but if they could help them, then maybe it was worth a shot. At least to her, the mermaids had not seemed threatening. They looked quite the opposite. She glanced at her sister and could see that the older girl was listening to them very carefully.
"Yes," the blue-eyed one said as she turned to the younger Thompson sister. "Through our song."
"Some weird sound was what messed us up in the first place," Liz said, still uncertain whether she can trust them or not. But in some ways it made sense. Maybe a different kind of sound could fix their wavelength frequencies and weren't mermaids known for their singing?
The mermaids glanced at one another. Although their mouths did not move, Liz could still hear their voices. It was as if they were speaking through the water.
She doesn't trust us.
Maybe she thinks we're like our cousins?
The ones who eat men?
Ugh, I never understood that.
I thought they only drowned the ones who scorned them.
Oh, you mean those.
Wait, I'm confused.
You've listened to too many fairy tales.
You're mixing the stories of man with that of truth.
Eating a soul is taboo for all merkind, anyway.
As interesting as the conversation was, Liz thought she felt Kid stir next to her. Her spirits lifted as she turned to him, hoping that he was regaining consciousness. But the moment was short lived when she saw that he was not awake and his breathing had worsened.
"Hey—guys? Look, you're right. We don't have much of a choice so if you really can help us—help Kid…" She sounded almost desperate now. "Anyway, he's getting worse, so could you hurry it up?"
The mermaids looked at one another before the first one with the orange eyes swam closer to Kid. Liz only stiffened as she watched as the mermaid studied him, again that sense of unease rising as she watched her closely. Up close she could see that her skin was actually made of fine scales that shimmered in the moonlight. Yet even so it looked eerily like normal human skin and except for the other odd characteristics such as the pointed tipped ears and stringy hair (did they not use conditioner?), the mermaid looked just like any other attractive human girl. It was no wonder the stories depicted them as the beautiful temptresses of the sea.
After several tense moments, the mermaid backed away. "It's worsening."
"What's worsening?" Patti asked.
"Let us take them to the island," the green-eyed one said, not answering her question. "It would be safer."
"Before the others notice," the purple-eyed one nodded.
"What others?" Liz asked as she looked between them, now becoming a little exasperated. It was obvious they knew more about what was happening to their meister but were not telling them anything.
The mermaids looked at one another before they swam around behind them. "Later. Now hold on."
"Hold onto wh—GAAAAHHH!"
From deep within this ocean there was something lurking, reaching out through the dark, tendrils of insanity. Yet something was blocking it, preventing it from growing further. A strong power that he had never felt before. Could it be something similar to one of the Great Ones? Was one resting here beneath the ocean? Or was it something else entirely?
He had to find out. He knew it was also calling him to it, but he also needed to know. He only had to resist and make sure he did not go farther than needed.
As he continued to swim forward, the waves of madness only grew stronger. But there was a light. A faint shimmer that glistened even in these dark depths. A light green color with tinges of bright blue. But there was some red in there. Red, orange, black. Purple? Was that possible? He did not know why, but these colors meant something and the purple and black ones were the most troubling. Diving down further, one started to drift up to him. It puzzled him. How could a crystal float in water? It seemed to defy all sense of logic and physics, but then again this whole experience defied everything.
He reached out and took it. It seemed like a normal light green crystal, one that could be found anywhere.
…Where had I seen this before?
It seemed familiar, as if he had seen something similar not too long ago. Yet it was different. This one…
Turning it this way and that, he studied it before it started to change. As if it had been injected by a dye, the color started to change, starting from the inside center and spreading out to the outer edges. First it was a light orange, to red, and then black. The moment the black color reached where his fingertips touched the crystal, he felt a sharp sting as if the once smooth edges became jagged and sharp that cut into his flesh. Some of his blood seeped into it, mingling with the darkening color before he released his hold. The crystal plummeted back down like a heavy rock, the water doing little to slow it down. He stared at the small cut on his finger, the blood still flowing out and dispersing into the water before his natural healing abilities closed the wound.
Pain. He had felt pain. Was this really not a dream?
That was when the coldness started to sink into his skin and spread throughout his body. It felt like small ice crystals chipping into his insides, a million needles pricking into him as it spread.
Two pulses.
…id…
He had stayed too long, had gone farther than was safe. He needed to find a way out, but his arms and legs felt stiff. Just moving one took great effort. But he had to move. Move before he turned into crystal.
Turned into crystal? Didn't he mean become frozen?
It was so cold. Suffocating. Stiffening. Freezing.
It was as if he was turning into glass.
No, I have to move.
So he moved.
While her sister let out a whoop of excitement, Liz was screaming at the top of her lungs as she felt something large rise up beneath them, lifting them out of the water. The surface was hard but also smooth and slippery, and it only took a glance down to realize what they were on.
A giant whale.
"This is a dream. No I'm dead. We died when we hit the water," Liz only repeated under her breath as she kept a firm hold on her still unconscious meister. Kid you bastard stop sleeping and wake up, dammit!
"Yahoo! We're riding on a whale!" Patti yelled beside her as the large creature sped through the waters, standing atop the back of the whale's large back and oblivious to her sister's distress. "This is awesome!"
"Patti, get down!" Liz cried out. Unlike her sister, she was finding this less than thrilling, particularly when she could see the mermaids leaping out of the water as they swam alongside their large friend or pet or whatever it was.
"It's too bad Kid is knocked out—he would have enjoyed this," the younger girl continued as she spread out her arms to feel the cool night wind rush past her, the occasional spray of water splashing her face. When one of the mermaids swam up close to her side, she called down to her, "Is this guy your friend?"
"Yes, he is," the mermaid called out. "You need not fear, for he is very gentle."
As if in response, a low rumble came from beneath them followed by a small spray of water that shot up from its spout behind them. It did little to ease Liz's nerves, though, and she just closed her eyes and continued to mutter various mantras of distraction and hope that they were not being taken to their secret home to be cooked for some weird mermaid dinner.
"Why do you talk so funny?" Patti giggled as she sat down to better converse with the swimming mermaid.
"Human tongue is not our native language."
"Whoa, really? What do you speak then?"
"That of merfolk of course."
"What does it sound like?"
The mermaid smiled. "It is very beautiful. Much better than your stiff words and gestures and flows like the waters of the seas. You will see when we sing. It will be in our native language."
You all sounded pretty normal to me. Liz did have to wonder a little about the difference in speech, but her mind was elsewhere. Glancing back down at Kid with a worried crease on her brow, she looked at the two mermaids that were on her side. "How much farther is it?" Liz asked.
"Not too far," one of the mermaids answered, her light blue eyes almost glowing in the dark. "There is one with a small village on the other side. Once we perform our song you should be able to get help from there." She then raised a hand. "See? Over there."
True to her word, the dark shadow of the approaching island could be seen not too far from them. At the speed the whale was swimming it would only be a few more minutes before they reached it, and with each passing moment Liz could allow herself to relax a little more. She pulled around her backpack, taking out a few supplies to see if she could try to salvage whatever was left. She could hear the glass bauble she had received earlier clinking against the other items inside and was a little relieved. It was a neat little thing and she would have felt bad if she lost it within a few hours of receiving it. Though that did make her wonder about another item she had acquired that day. Where is that crystal…
But before she could search deeper, she felt the whale slowing its pace. Or rather, she felt a sudden jerk and had to throw her arms forward to brace herself. "Ah—crap!" she yelled as a few loose items slipped out of the still open bag, but there was not much she could do about it now. She just gave a dismissive wave when one of the mermaids stopped as if to retrieve the items. They had more important things to take care of.
The whale went as far inland as it could without beaching itself, and with Patti's help Liz took the skateboard and Kid's right arm before they slid off the whale's back and swam the rest of the way to the beach. Once there, they dragged him onto shore. Liz had to groan and mutter about how this used to be so much easier when the young death god had been much shorter than them. Why did you have to grow so much within the past year? she thought as she glanced at him. After setting him carefully down on the sand, the girls joined him and sat down on either side of him, facing the mermaids who waited in the shallows of the water.
"Okay, so what now?" Liz asked.
"We will restore the balance within your souls," the purple-eyed mermaid said. "It will hopefully help calm his as well," she added, nodding to Kid's still body lying on the sand.
Patti was ready, but a glance at her sister told her what she already knew. "It's okay, sis," she said as she reached out and took her sister's hand. "Plus if they wanted to eat us, they could have done that back while we were on the whale," she grinned.
"Patti, that really doesn't help," Liz sighed, but she squeezed the hand and turned back to the mermaids. "Okay." Let's hope this works.
As one, the four mermaids closed their eyes. Liz watched them closely, but their mouths did not open. In fact, she could not hear anything other than the soft crash of waves and the sounds of the island's nocturnal inhabitants. But a moment later she heard a melody that added to the chorus of frogs and insects: a soft hum that rippled through the air like the waters of the ocean. Then she heard the female voices sing words that she could not understand. The melody rose and fell as smooth as a still water's surface, a stark contrast to how they spoke before. It was soothing, and when she closed her eyes to try and pick out more of the melody, all other sounds seemed to disappear as they were replaced by the mermaids' song.
Images of the ocean flashed through her mind. The sun's rays filtered through the water to cause the familiar shimmer of light through the dark green coloring. Schools of fish danced about as they darted left then right, forming small bubbles in their wake. Sea cliffs and rainbows of coral rose from the depths, creating a landscape she had only seen through pictures and TV. It was like looking into a painting that had come to life.
Is this what they mean…to sing from the soul? Liz wondered as she allowed the song to ease her own soul and her own worries. Was that how they were singing so silently? Could Kid hear this, too? She found herself so much at peace that she was actually a little disappointed when it finished.
"That was…" she breathed.
"So cool!" Patti exclaimed. "How did you guys sing like that?"
"It is a special talent of the mermaid," the light blue-eyed mermaid smiled. "But now you should be healed."
Liz looked over at her sister as she slowly stood up. "I guess we should give it a try." Come on, Patti."
The younger girl gave a salute as she hopped up. "Roger!" Within the next instant there was a flash of light and she transformed, landing in her sister's waiting hand.
She had braced herself for the possible pain, but upon feeling none of it Liz stared in slight disbelief. "Wow, it worked!"
"I feel stronger, too," Patti called out, her face appearing on the side of the gun.
"Yeah it's like…the channel between us is clearer or something," Liz added before letting Patti transform back out and turning to the mermaids. "Thanks."
"It was our pleasure. Now all your souls should be he—"
At that precise moment Kid let out a yell as his body shook, a hand clutching his chest. The mermaids watched wide-eyed as Liz and Patti crouched down to him.
"Kid!"
He tried moving up, but something was tugging him back down. Something strong. Something powerful. He glanced down, but though he could not see it he could feel something wrapped around his leg.
The thing that lurked wanted him.
It could sense his soul, could sense who and what he was. It knew just like how he knew that it existed.
Two beats.
He still could not see it, but he could feel it. It was there. Something that was drawing in the madness. Something that was producing even more in return.
Souls.
Their presence was so sudden it was as if a million candles lit a dark room at once. In fact, that was exactly how it felt to him. He could sense the souls of hundreds, no, thousands, no…millions. They glittered around him like tiny shards of glass. Blue flames of life frozen in the depths of the ocean. Why were there so many?
Voices…he could hear voices. Were they the voices of the souls trapped here?
Save us…help us…
He thought he heard a song echoing faintly in the distance and turned toward it. It was as if it was trying to reach him, calling out to him. Maybe if he could…
Clink.
Bubbles exploded from his mouth as he let out a silent yell of pain, clutching his chest as he hunched forward. The screams returned in his head as bloody images flashed through his mind. Dismembered corpses, monstrous creatures, sunken ships, three eyes—
What was this? Was he drowning? Was this the pain he was feeling? What were these images?
…Kid!
"Kid! Hey, Kid!" Liz shouted, a hand on his shoulder.
"Kid, what's wrong! What happened?" When there was no response, Patti turned toward the mermaids watching from the shallows. "I thought you said you would help him!" she yelled angrily.
He could hear them now. He could hear their voices. Liz and Patti. They were the ones he had been missing, the ones that always filled that void on his right and left. But they were not with him right now. They were somewhere else. Where? Why? What happened to them?
Bit by bit, the fragmented pieces started to come together. Images of them flying over the ocean, chasing something. Their target. The mission. The reason why they were in Bermuda.
That's right…we were fighting…and then…
The bat's face appeared in his mind with that twisted face smirking down at him even as the water had engulfed them.
He had used the power of madness.
He had tried to force his soul wavelength onto his weapons so they could resonate.
They had been completely broken, and as their meister he had led them to only more pain and suffering.
What kind of meister does that?
What kind of death god does that?
He could hear their voices; see their disappointed and hurt looks. It hurt more than the physical pain he felt inside as the sharp glass like pricks and punctures continued to spread. Was this why he was down here alone? Or was he alone because—
They're dead.
Fear gripped his mind as their fall replayed over and over in his mind, each time the ending changing. First he had them safe, but then they were drowning in the water, trapped in their weapon forms and unable to change back.
No, no, no, no—!
"We did," the orange-eyed one said quickly. "We do not know what happened."
"The song should have healed him," the purple-eyed one added.
"There must be something else," the blue-eyed one cried as she looked to the others.
"But we do not know…" the green-eyed one started but gasped and jerked backwards, almost diving into the water.
At her reaction, the other three turned to look and also stiffened. The sisters stared at them in slight confusion until they heard a soft crunch of sand behind them.
Clink, clink, clink.
He had hurt them and was unworthy of being their meister.
He had abandoned them when they needed him most.
He should just let the coldness overtake him. His body already felt stiff and each breath felt as if sharp grains of glass were scratching against his throat and lungs. It was too difficult now. And with his weapons gone…with this mission failed…was there a point in returning?
Closing his eyes, he tried to hear their voices again, but he could not. He could not even feel the warmth of their souls.
Instead he felt the cold waves of madness trickling into him, poisoning him. But maybe it was better this way. Maybe he should just let the madness consume him.
Maybe it would be better if he stayed down here.
A/N: Oh my lord this is another chapter that somehow exploded from what I originally had in mind and was cut in two. I had it all written up and then right before I went to upload I had a sudden thought on how to change it and…well this is it. This was supposed to be a more humorous chapter, too, sob.
There's a lot of perspective shifting going on here between the segments with Liz and Patti and the segments with Kid. I tried to match the two as well as I could since they were happening simultaneously, but eh. Well I tried. At least it gave the girls some much needed time in the spotlight. Oh, and this was a normal whale. Not a sky whale. It does not go BWOOOOOOOO. (Those who read the manga scanlations would know what I'm talking about.) …But it might go MWOOOOO. Where's Dori, she would know.
And last side note—I am not sure how to feel about FF's new story cover image thing. I don't really plan on making one so it's currently using my default profile pic. Though I did change that to have Liz, Kid, and Patti so it kind of fits? And no, that's not fanart—that's from the most recent chapter, 99 (as of 6/13/2012). Aaah, we finally see that Kid has grown! I always suspected he had since the Salvage Arc, but it was always hard to tell without him standing next to his weapons and now we have proof! I am excited since I had wanted to write that in here as well but I was hesitant about including it (in fact one of my drafts had reference to their heights, but that part of the fic won't be for a few chapters yet if I do include it). Now I can without any worries. So hurrah \o/
