To his right was the dead body of Alyssa. To his left was Blackstar, sleeping. The room was black and empty and he lay on the ground with the bodies. Not a sound could be heard. Kid stood up, and it was as if he was walking on the moon. There was a lack of gravity. Rubbing his eyes, when he removed his hands, he could see blood was rubbed on his pale skin. His eyes were bleeding? It seemed so.
He turned away and walked off from the bodies, into nothingness. He couldn't hear his own footsteps.
A voice called him to keep heading into the nothingness. It was in a soothing tone of a female. She was calling "Come here! Come here!" She sounded young, too. Kid couldn't speak, he simply followed blindly. What that voice lead him to was a mirror at the end of a long narrow hallway. He walked up to that mirror, and suddenly he found himself in literal blackness, seeming to float with the mirror in front of him.
Kid stared into the mirror and was startled by his eyes. His eyes were indeed bleeding out like tears. And the coloring had changed too. Instead of the two rings of gold, his eyes were a dark, hazel green. Something about that color seemed welcoming. Magical, in a way. Not like his old eyes 'magical', but... enchanting.
The voiced stopped calling out, and his eyes were their normal color again. That's when behind him as he watched in the mirror, Blackstar approached him. His friend stood, staring at Kid's eyes through the mirror. Blackstar's hands wrapped around Kid's throat and the shinigami couldn't move. Blackstar's eyes were empty darkness like the room. Kid couldn't breath and his face was turning a shade of blue.
A low groan that sounded like 'the Grudge' came from the floor. Kid glanced down without moving his head and saw that the top half of Alyssa, her eyes empty as well and blood bubbling out of her mouth, was climbing up his leg, dragging intestines out behind her along the 'floor'.
Then Blackstar dug his fingernails into Kid's throat, the reaper coughed up blood, Alyssa bit down on his thigh and tore his flesh. Then everything went black.
Kid woke up from the dream, and a mouth was cupped over his mouth. He struggled, and his heart pounded in his chest. His hands flailed wildly and grasped at the armored hand holding his mouth, pushing away.
When Kid saw who it was, he nearly screamed.
Manchester had escaped. The vines were burnt through, or pulled. Kid couldn't tell the difference. The rod was no longer lodged in the tree. How could he have reached it?!
"Look what we have here." Manchester laughed quietly. "You're gonna be real quiet now. You're gonna come with me like a good child."
"Mph!" Kid couldn't fight past the metal plated hand on his mouth. His eyes went wide with a mixture of fear and adrenaline.
"Fight all you want." Manchester smirked. "You've only been asleep for fifteen-some minutes. Your pals aren't around yet. It might take them a while, too."
In Manchester's free hand, he held the metal rod, flicking on the voltage to medium.
He pressed the rod against Kid's aching shoulder and pushed down on the 'on' button.
Vaults of electricity plagued Kid's body and he fought back even harder, managing to push himself away completely in spite of the mild spasms his limbs suffered.
Panting, Kid got up to his knees and stood on his shaky feet. The minute he stood, his vision flashed red and he was light-headed. Manchester took Kid's dizziness to an advantage and football-rammed Kid up against a tree.
Kid coughed. That hurt pretty bad, too. Manchester got off of Kid, one hand pressed against the reaper's chest to hold him in place. The soldier raised the metal rod, and in a jagged motion, forced the end through Kid's left shoulder, right below the color bone.
Kid cried out in pain, squeezing his eyes shut and coughing. He sunk to the ground.
"That enough for you?" Manchester pressed down on the 'on' button again, the rod still inside of the reaper, and electrocuted the shinigami once more. Now the reaper was laying down, having difficulty moving his body. Manchester ripped out the rod roughly, throwing it a few feet back, and pulled Kid up by his hair. Death the Kid looked at him, tears running down his cheeks and his teeth pressed together like his lips. "Are you ready to come along nicely?"
Weakly, Kid nodded, getting up on all fours and crawling away from the tree. Manchester got up and exhaled, proud of this accomplishment.
The idiot was too absorbed in what he had done to notice where Kid was crawling to. The young shinigami gingerly picked up the rod in his right hand, his left arm not being able to move well.
The distracted Manchester walked over to Kid and knelt down by the shinigami to see another look at his tearful face. "What do we have here?" he asked, leaning in to get a better view. "And you call yourself a-"
In such a swift movement, Kid swiped his arm, the rod pointed out, and penetrated the soldier's neck. It didn't rip through. Not yet anyway.
Manchester couldn't comprehend what had just happened, but he knew he was a goner the moment Kid's murderous glare met his.
Kid, using what strength he could muster, tore through Manchester's throat and veins, blood squirting out in a most unpleasant manner. Kid could care less about the blood. After all, most of the blood on his own body was his. Manchester's head was half-decapitated once Kid had dropped the rod, exhausted.
He gripped his shoulder, grimacing. His last minute efforts may have been successful, but he was still injured.
Liz and Patty helped Amber wash off, and the girls had pulled everyone to shore. Finally some of them started waking up. Amber quickly ran and got Dinya, removing her from Alyssa's corpse.
Maka and Soul were up along with Blackstar. It appears for Keira and Akiri that on regular humans, the drugs last longer.
"Oh~" Maka asked sleepily "Where's Kid?"
"We sent him back to camp." Liz explained. "Someone needed to check on mister prisoner, and Kid got hurt, too."
"How?" Soul asked. "What happened to him?"
"He was stabbed in the shoulder." Patty answered for her sister, casually. "But we defeated the bad people, as you can see."
Blackstar and the others glanced over at the dead soldiers. Indeed they had defeated them!
The group made their way back to camp. Akiri was carried by Blackstar, and Keira was carried by Liz and Patty. Maka tried to help Dinya cope with the frightening loss, but Dinya just couldn't. Not yet, anyways. Not so soon...
Upon seeing blood splattered on the ground reaching camp, everyone exchanged worried glances and wasted no time on entering their 'fortress'.
Liz was shocked, seeing Manchester's dead body on the ground with his throat practically ripped out. Blackstar paled and set Akiri down on a clean bed. Some of the beds were covered with blood.
"Where's Kid?" Soul asked. No one answered.
Patty tugged on her sister's clothes and Liz laid Keira next to Akiri.
Maka noticed a frightening trail leading out of camp. Blood droplets and red, unsteady footprints dragged out from Manchester's bloodshed through the trees caught the pig-tailed blonde's attention. She followed the tracks without a word, the smell of all the blood filling her nostrils.
"Where are you going?" Liz asked, noticing Maka walk away.
"Follow me." Maka instructed, her guts twisting. "Two of you better stay here and watch the girls."
Blackstar and Soul stayed to keep an eye on Akiri, Keira, and Dinya, while Amber walked out with Liz, Patty, and Maka.
Where the tracks ended, Kid was sitting up against a tree facing out over the drop's edge that met at the river below. He stared blankly out, deep in though. His right hand over his mouth and his knees up against his chest, his left arm cradled in between.
He was covered in blood, and that was enough to set Liz off.
The older blonde knelt down by her meister, panic rising in her voice. "What did you do?" She noticed the new stab wound and her eyes widened with fear for her meister.
Kid's eyes met hers and he removed his hand from his mouth. There was blood in his palm and dripping down his lip.
"No talking today, huh?" Patty asked, looking down at her bloodied meister.
Kid shook his head.
"You killed him, didn't you?" Maka asked, furrowing her brows.
Kid nodded with his eyes closed. When they opened, Maka could see a tinge of remorse.
Liz asked "Can you stand?"
Kid shook his head. He felt so ill, and was so ill, that if he would stand, he'd likely throw up.
"Hm..." Patty smiled kindly "Do you want to be carried back?"
Kid thought about it for a moment, and then shook his head. He didn't want any more motion. The world was already spinning beneath his feet and he was starting to see double again.
"You want to stay here all night?" Maka walked over and knelt down, placing a hand on Kid's unwounded shoulder.
He nodded, gave a faint smile, and looked away, coughing up more blood into his hand.
"I think he'll be fine." Liz thought out loud. The girls took the short walk back over to the others. Blackstar and Soul were already working on removing all the blood. Keira and Akiri had awaken, and were hiding Manchester's corpse. Amber knelt down by the couple bloodied beds, and started pushing away the leaves.
"This is an issue." Amber sighed, lacking a smile. "This isn't good at all."
"How come?" Soul asked, turning to the black haired, blue eyed girl.
Liz and Patty helped start a fire while Maka aided once again the sorrowful Dinya.
"It's just... All this blood can attract predators." Amber informed. "Dinosaurs we'd have to worry about."
"That's why you said to leave Alyssa's corpse behind." Liz had an 'oh my!' moment and Amber nodded. She had instructed them to do that back when everyone was waking up.
"Yes. Chances are, hungry prehistoric fishes are munching on her flesh right now." Amber stated in a matter-of-fact manner. "Maybe we'll last tonight, but we need to move camp."
"I understand." Blackstar nodded, having listened to what she was saying. "It's plenty of work, but it'll do."
"Anything to keep up alive." Soul grinned. "At least in that case, we may find other people looking to solve this problem."
"That's the way of thinking!" Patty laughed. To Liz, her sister's laughter was a beautiful symphony. "We can go play and eat and dance and sing and have so much fun!"
Keira sighed, listening to Patty's laughter. It was... nice. But it didn't seem right for their situation.
Akiri hugged her machete after the body was hidden. No way would she lose her weapon now. So much time had passed, and yet so little since she last saw Death City or her father. "It's been a while." she spoke.
"What's on your mind?" Soul asked. The sun was setting, and Kid was probably watching it this very moment.
Akiri answered "Since I was last at Death City. Why don't we try to find a city or something, nice and alive?"
"Any city we find is probably taken over by now." They were all laying in bed as Liz added that bit of pessimism to the air.
"Doesn't matter." Akiri stated bluntly. They had all eaten, too. Liz brought Kid's food out to him, which consisted of blueberries and raspberries. "If anything is there, at least it'll give me some hope that the world isn't completely destroyed."
"It's not." Maka interrupted.
"How do you know?" Dinya asked in sobs. "Even now, I still have hope... Let it be that Alyssa's death shows us that there are still people out there who believe there will be a future. Who believe there is a future and they'll be around to see it."
Keira got up from her bed, something calling her in her mind and speaking to her. "Hm..." silently, she walked out to where Kid was. He had eaten, luckily, and was also given boiled water (cooled, of course. Who drinks boiling water?).
Kid noticed Keira and the brunette sat down by the reaper. She could tell that the wounds were already healing just by looking at them. It is amazing really, how fast he can heal. "Kid, what do you see in the night sky? Whisper it if you must. I'm just a bit curious."
Kid cocked an eyebrow. That question is very random, obviously, and he was quite confused. But he simply sighed and in an airy whisper he answered "I see the stars. I see the universe."
"Do you see symmetry?"
"... Not really. The stars are unorganized, and things are going on all over the place. There isn't much symmetry there."
"Do you see balance?"
"I see the possibility of balance." Kid answered, yawning. "I see what can be, and I see what is. It's not symmetrical, but in some ways there is perfect balance. Everything is... and so everything can be and cannot be. There are millions of possibilities I've thought of. The only symmetrical world is nothing... But that's not a good place to be, because if nothing exists, nothing can be and nothing is. But, if there is a universe of possibilities, where everything is and can be, that universe is perfectly balanced, because anything can be nothing while still being something. In this universe, everything can be. And so anything can not be. I know it sounds crazy and I'm ranting, and maybe you can't hit what I'm aiming at. But in a perfect world, there is perfect balance. When there is perfect balance, whatever it is balances itself. When something balances itself, it can be and it cannot be. It is and it isn't. Perfect balance exists, but... I'm starting to see things that... perfection is not perfect balance."
Although Keira hadn't known Kid long, she could tell by the look in his thoughtful eyes as he stared up at the stars that he had discovered something very deep in his soul. Maybe the death gods aren't just death. There's something more to it. No... There's way more to it. "Does that all matter in the end?" she asked with a sigh. At least she understood what he was saying. She saw what he was aiming at.
"In some ways, perhaps." Kid smiled softly, turning his head to face her. "I believe... it does if you want it to. I don't know what happens after we die, and how balance plays into it precisely. I do know that balance helps you while you're alive, though. That's what matters anyways. Don't worry about afterward, and enjoy yourself when you know you can. There is no definite answer... So far, I've been opening my eyes to more things. I feel like I'm beginning to understand more things as well... I'm not as worried about symmetry like I usually am, and I have to admit, it's barely been on my mind of late compared to how it had been."
"I think, therefor I am. That's what I got from your speech." Keira said quietly. "In a way, that logic applies to yours in a close fitting way. Like when you're doing nothing, you're still doing something."
"You could say that." Kid was pleased that someone understood what he barely could. He had explained things so terribly, while Keira put it simply. Not the most organized of explanations, but any deep thinker could get at it with ease. "So, how have things been?" he asked.
"You could say things have gone fine, considering this isn't the worst possible outcome from how things have gone for other people."
"Do you think... the others are still hopeful? That they are looking to the future?"
"Hm?"
"Well... I've killed quite a few people today, but my mind didn't start running until I killed Manchester. I... I don't feel like it was right... but I saw no other chance for me. I-"
"It's okay." Keira assured with a sigh. "If your life was in danger, what you did is justified. He was attacking you, wasn't he?"
Kid gave a slight nod.
"Then he could have killed you. When your mind is buzzing with uncertainty and different outcomes, you don't have much time to choose right or wrong, what to do, what not to do. Even if you hadn't meant to, you killed him when it seemed there was no other way. There really wasn't another way, was there?"
"At the time, not really." Kid answered. "I understand. I don't know why I would feel guilty about it... I know I was at a disadvantage this time and had to do what I was physically capable of."
"Ah..."
"Can you get Liz?" Kid laughed in his breath "I've been meaning to talk to her, but I was coughing up blood. This talk was nice. You're someone I can speak to."
"Same goes for me." Keira stood up, and before going to get Liz, she said "If you need to talk about something, I'm here to listen."
"Thank you."
At least he was alive. That night, he'd let Liz in on this discovery of his, and she was surprised without a doubt.
"Really!" Liz went all wide-eyed, kneeling down by her meister. "By the way, tomorrow, we're moving camp."
"I figured all that blood would attract something." Kid whispered. "Especially with all these deadly prehistoric predators. I wouldn't be surprised if we attracted some modern beasts as well."
"Will you be good to go?"
"Yes. I believe so. How's Dinya doing?"
"She's still not talking much... But, she has hope for the future."
"That's an unusual feeling to get after your best friend dies right in front of you."
"Yeah... You still love symmetry, don't you?"
"Of course I do!" Kid sounded almost insulted and got up on his knees. "Who doesn't love symmetry? Symmetry is the most beautiful thing in the entire universe! Just because I said perfection isn't perfect balance doesn't mean symmetry isn't as well! You can be perfect without being symmetri- No! No asymmetrical being is perfect! I take it back! I take it back!"
"Kid, don't yell or you'll cough up blood again!"
"S-sorry."
Liz snickered to herself, clearly upsetting her meister even more. He seemed rattled himself, having said something that one could say is 'against his religion'. "I've been wanting to talk to you about something. Will you listen carefully?"
"Sure." Kid sat down on his bottom and said "Go on, Liz."
"Remember when we first met?"
"Hm... Yes. Every last bit."
"Do you think I've changed since then?"
"You have very much. And you've changed for the better, too. No more drugs, no more smoking. No more anything that hurt you. No more unhealthiness. Why?"
"Thank you. Just... Thank you."
"...I should be thanking you myself, Liz. You've done more for me than what you'd ever imagine."
"Ha!" Liz got a good laugh, there. "You're younger than me, Kid, and you had practically babysat Patty and I-"
"Doesn't matter." Kid stated firmly, staring Liz in the eyes. "I was alone until you girls came along. I had no partners, and I was glad to make you girls mine. You filled my mansion... Even if it's just the two of you, It's not empty anymore. All of my friends have helped me, in fact. Before you girls came around, I didn't even interact with most kids my age."
Liz was happy to hear that. "It's nice that we've done you good, as well." That gnawing sensation came back in her chest. If she didn't tell him now, she'd have to tomorrow, and have that sensation in her chest all night long. "I've been meaning to tell you..."
"What were you going to say?" Kid asked. He felt much better, but he also didn't feel like facing the others quite yet. He really just wanted to sleep.
"Never mind." Liz decided to let this slide another day because she could see how tired Kid was and didn't want to keep him up. She stood up and left without a word, leaving Kid's question unanswered.
She had an answer. The answer... How could she say it at this time?!
Everyone fell asleep. Even Kid who, luckily, didn't have any nightmares.
It's surprising how much can happen in one day. Sometimes you want to relax, sometimes you want to be active. But when you look back at it all, didn't everything go by so fast? And do you wish then to go back and take everything in? Live in the moment? Maybe even be the moment?