Liz couldn't take it anymore. It was madness living with that brat. Everything she did, literally everything, was wrong in his eyes. They couldn't agree on anything. He also had them follow a daily schedule. And he still insisted on calling her "Elizabeth" like some stuck up snob.
"Elizabeth," No. She thought, "Kindly turn that down. I'm trying to read." His royal-pain-in-the-butt asked, not looking up from his book. Why should I listen to you? She grabbed the remote and turned it up, smirking. His eyes looked up from the book, one eyebrow rising in question, and she didn't return the stare. He shook his head and went back to reading. A commercial with a catchy tune came on, and she began humming. She saw his muscles tighten and his jaw clench. She hummed louder, now mumbling the words.
"Elizabeth." He said, tone sharp.
"What?" She retorted. He gave her a pointed stare.
"You know what." She stopped humming, rolling her eyes. Instead of humming, she pointedly turned up the volume once again. Before he could ask once again, Patty burst in the door. She flew it open so violently, a picture fell from the wall and hit the floor, shattering.
"Patty!" Kid wailed, standing up from the couch in a flash, book thrown down in distress, "look at what you've done! The symmetry is absolutely ruined!"
Symmetry. Freaking. Symmetry. Of all things, why symmetry? She thought. She'd dealt with rants already, and knew how fragile this boy was when it came to his beloved symmetry.
"Sorry Kid~!" Patty shouted, and Liz almost had to cover her ears. Kid was still picking up the shattered pieces. "Can you read me a story?" She asked, throwing her arms around his waist when he stood.
"Patricia, I'm busy!" He said, annoyance evident in his voice, "ask Liz to."
"But I want you to!" She complained, "will you do something with me then? I'm bored!" Liz stiffened. Another thing was ever since he came around, Patty devoted all her attention to him. It's not like he took care of her in the streets! It's not like he stole money to provide things for her! Liz was practically seething now, while Patty was yelling and Kid was basically in tears because of the picture.
"Elizabeth! Will you please turn that off? Patricia! I'm busy perfecting the symmetry that you ruined!" He ordered, trying to keep his voice calm. Suddenly, Liz stood up.
"WILL YOU SHUT THE HECK UP ABOUT YOUR STUPID SYMMETRY? STOP ORDERING ME AND PATTY AROUND, AND FOR ONCE, BE A NORMAL KID!" She snapped, and both Patty and Kid's eyes grew wide.
"E-Elizabeth?" He ventured.
"Stop calling me that!"
"It's 'Patty and I'," he corrected cautiously, and Liz just stared at him with absolute hatred in her eyes.
"What did you say?" She spat.
"Well, you said, 'me and Patty' when the correct way is, 'Patty and I' so—"
"Just, shut up. I'm done," she said, throwing her hands up, "I'm done. Find yourself another weapon. I can't take it." Kid looked at her, confusion swimming in his eyes.
"But Eliz—"
"I said I'm done." She snarled. Patty stepped towards her, but a glare stopped her in her tracks. Liz stormed out of the house, slamming the door. Kid and Patty winced at the sound. Kid pinched the bridge of his nose with his pointer finger and thumb, his eyes shut tight.
"Patricia, why don't you go get something to eat," he suggested quietly. Patty hesitated before scrambling into the kitchen. Kid sighed, stumped on what to do. He made his decision a little later, as he grabbed his cloak and disappeared out the door.
Liz's shoulders shook, partly from the cold and partly from the muffled sobs that were trying to escape. She didn't know what came over her, but she knew she couldn't go back. She just threw away the only chance she would get at redemption, and now Patty would be without a home once again. She walked slowly, not knowing where she'd end up and not caring. The streets were dark, only lit by a few burning lamps. She heaved a sigh, drowning in a sea of self-pity. It had been a couple of hours since her tantrum and since she busted out of the house she had hoped to call home. Her mind wandered as she recalled the events that led to the fight, playing out the scene once more in her head. She remembered the way he had overreacted at her volume control on the TV, the way he called out her full name in hopes of annoying her, the way he couldn't let her do anything . . .
She stopped walking, and her eyes filled with realization. He hadn't overreacted. He hadn't used her full name only to annoy her. He had let her do many things. Her hands fell limply to her sides, and she couldn't help but give a pitiful laugh. She was the brat; she was the jealous, over reactive, and rude girl. The girl who used her past as an excuse to get what she wanted, she was the problem. She remembered the way Kid's eyes had widened in confusion, the way he looked as if he was in the wrong. Sure, his obsession with symmetry, perfection, and grammar might be annoying, but he had saved her life. He had saved Patty's life as well, and he offered them a deal which they didn't deserve. She spun around quickly, knowing she had to apologize.
The tall girl broke into a run, but was stopped short by something that had grabbed her wrist.
Liz turned in surprise, her mouth already forming a scream, but the figure threw back that all-too-familiar cloak and she stopped.
"Eliza—Liz, I'm sorry, I," she broke him off.
"No, I'm sorry, kid. I'm the one who's screwing things up. I'm the one who needs to apologize," she saw his eyes widen, "and if you'll give me a second chance, I'd like to make things right."
"Liz, I," He paused, and Liz thought we would decline, "of course I'll give you a chance. Patrici—Patty, needs you. I'll try to make things work as well." He finished with a bashful grin. Liz smiled, and without any words they headed back to where Patty waited.
The next few days, after they finally agreed on things that wouldn't make the other run out of the house, they decided to try their hand at training. Walking out into the shooting range, next to the weapons training, Liz and Patty transformed and fit snugly into his hand. He held them up, holding them the correct way to hold a gun, and fired at the target. His first rounds were sloppy, he was still getting used to the feel of things.
But Liz and Patty were growing worried at the increasing number of rounds wasted and targets still standing. Kid was growing frustrated as well, and it was disrupting their wavelengths. Eventually, Liz and Patty had to jump out of their forms because of Kid's wavelength.
"Kid, you've got to focus!" She cried, "Remember, we're not like normal weapons. We fire soul energy of our holder." Kid nodded glumly, his face looking defeated. Liz scoffed, while Patty crackled in laughter.
"You really have been able to master practically every weapon?" She asked, and he nodded slowly, still disappointed at his failure.
"We'll continue tomorrow." He said and stalked off. Liz and Patty exchanged a worried glance, although Patty didn't look worried in the slightest.
They decided to try again in the morning. No new results sprung from their second time, and it ended again in failure. Still, Kid was persistent, so the next morning they tried again. He was firing rapidly at the target, only hitting it 6/10 times. With these kinds of weapons and the distance he was at, he should be hitting them 10/10 times. They pushed on
Liz heard a large crack and felt herself fall to the ground suddenly. Patty popped into her human form, and Liz did as well to see Kid clutching his wrist, which was turned at an odd angle.
"I think I broke it," he muttered, and Liz was surprised he wasn't crying on the floor. "It'll heal," he said ruefully, twisting his wrist, "Let's continue."
"Oh no you don't. We're gonna take a break, Kid," she ordered and was met with a glare, "You're hurt. Don't push yourself." He reluctantly sulked back inside; a laughing Patty and a confused Liz trailing close behind. They found him sitting at a counter, pondering over his thoughts.
"The backfire was too much," Liz suggested, "It normally would be on a regular gun, but for us its added force, and you're holding the both of us." Kid nodded.
"So how do I reduce the fire? How do I put less strain on my soul as well?" He asked out loud. Liz stood helplessly, and Patty wasn't exactly helping. He got up and went to the library, but since Liz didn't enjoy reading books and she didn't even know if Patty could read, they stayed.
The next morning, he came down determined, both wrists wrapped.
"I thought you only hurt one wrist?" Liz asked, eying the bandages.
"Well, if I only wrapped one it would be asymmetrical," he explained as they walked outside.
"Of course." Liz muttered, while Patty laughed. He stopped walking, and motioned for them to transform. Liz gave him a look that said, "Don't push yourself," but she didn't know if he got the message. He caught them like he always did, but Liz and Patty yelped as they felt their world being flipped upside down.
"Kid, what the heck?" Liz cried, and Patty giggled.
"We're upside down! We're upside down!" She chanted. Kid ignored them, and instead placed his pinkies on the triggers. "Kid?" Patty asked, not used to the feeling. He held his breath and fired, and fired, and fired.
"It's working!" Liz gasped, observing the targets being shot down one after another. Kid grinned, and began to aim at more targets.
"Are you two ready?" He asked, and Liz scrunched her eyebrows together. Knowing that he couldn't see her face, she replied,
"No, what are you talking about?"
"Just follow my lead," he said, giving her a warm smile that somehow made her blush. Staring ahead at a group of targets, he said, "Soul Resonance." Liz and Patty gasped as they felt their souls swelling, filling with power. They could feel Kid's soul as well as his determination, so they put in their all. On the outside, his wavelength had swelled to the size that it covered them in blue light. Black streams of dark light swirled around him, enclosing them in power. Three black spikes appeared on his upper arms, and Liz and Patty transformed into much larger guns—like cannons. He burst out, ending in a squat on the ground.
"Resonance Stable!" Liz called, and she didn't know why. Information was being fed to her brain, and she felt like she had to share it.
"Feedback in 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . Ready to fire!" Patty shouted, and he aimed the cannons.
"Death Cannon." Kid whispered with a cold tone. He fired, and the group of targets exploded in the shape of a skull much like his father's. He stood up and Liz and Patty transformed into their human forms. They all stood, observing the damage.
"Wow." Liz whistled.
"I say that went well," Kid commented, relief washing over his face, "Let's call it a day, then." He suggested, and they walked back inside. Kid almost laughed at the thought of reporting what had happened to his father. Maybe a year ago he would've. Maybe, but not now. Liz shot a questioning glance at the brooding boy, but didn't get an answer in return.