Hello. It's been a while.

As always, the chapter titles are song titles and the link is on the archiveofourown version.

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Chapter 34: Heaven (Sidewalks and Skeletons)

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Liz wasn't one to dream in the literal sense of the word. One of her little sardonic inside jokes was that her grand plans in life, in taking over Brooklyn's criminal overworld with Patty by her side and living in a life of endless luxury, were a result of her lack of her actual dreams. Liz didn't have nice little dreams of being able to fly, she had restlessness, an irregular sleep schedule, and in one late afternoon she'd never forget, a sleep paralysis demon.

So, when Liz found herself in a dark wet warehouse, manhandled by figures in black striped suits with Patty nowhere around, she was equal parts confused and terrified. She remembered somehow ending up in the Academy's HQ, then escaping with Arachne's kid to Baba Yaga, then escaping from that place again only to end up back in an Academy hideout, stuck in some twisted ouroboros-like chain of events.

She thrashed against the unseen men but their grips were preternaturally strong. They had grabbed by the shoulder and legs, facing down on the water-covered floor.

Then there was a hand tangled in her hair, pushing her head down. She struggled but her head went under, and through blurred vision the water had no end underneath her, as deep and vast as the ocean.

Something in Liz broke and she screamed, bubbles rising to the surface until she had no breath left. Her blurred vision clouded and darkened, her limbs went limp, water rushing in her lungs. The hands holding her down went slack and Liz collapsed fully into the abyss. Yet she used what little strength she had left to turn around and face the surface, a smooth red stained plane.

Despite her vision being mostly gone, she sensed a light outside of the water, not a singular point but a half-formed three-ringed halo that pulsed erratically, and even if she was already far too deep, she could reach out and touch it—

The water washed down from her as the ground turned solid and Liz flailed, half-blind but no longer choking. She scrambled to her feet while throwing up water, blindly feeling the solid yet wet concrete floor until she collapsed into a dry-heaving curled-up ball.

Her vision slowly returned and she shakily stood up, clutching her throat. Dark shadows emerged around her, the same pin-striped men, and it took her a moment to realise she couldn't see the men's faces, or read the writing on the poster, or that she couldn't rationalise what had happened, but when she did, the illusion was shattered. The men slumped and fell, their expensive suits deflating like sad balloons.

Liz sat back down and buried her face in her hands. A nightmare, this was just a fucking nightmare that made no sense, and now she was lucid dreaming or some shit, but why the fuck now of all times—

A long shadow stretched out towards her, coming from the entrance of the dingy warehouse. At first Liz thought he was another of the suited men, so he ordered her subconscious to squash him too.

"Liz?"

Kid. She'd almost forgotten his voice.

He walked to her haltingly, surrounded by what she could only describe as a dense cloth-like fog, only his head, hands and feet visible. His face was blank and above it three half-formed lines glowed slightly, a subdued version of the blinding light she'd reached out underwater—

"What. The Fuck." Liz stood up as Kid stopped his approach. "Did you fucking do this?"

He looked up and down at her, unsure. "Did what?"

She gestured to the fallen figures. "This whole… Them." Kid's expression grew more confused so Liz just shook her head. "Still. What the fuck, dude?"

Kid frowned as he looked around the warehouse. "I think we're in… your dream? Though I have no idea how I ended up here…"

Fucking figures. She doesn't have any idea either besides vague handwavy 'it's a Grim Reaper thing, don't worry about it'. "Well, since you're here…" Her face fell. "You're not a goner, are you? Not haunting my dreams or some shit?"

Kid looked away. "…No." A sardonic smile flickered on his face. "I'm not sure how I could be killed, to be honest."

Liz scoffed. That was more like the brat she was used to. "Tell me about it. Guessing Arachne and her Asura lackeys sure like to brag, right?"

Kid's half-smile fell off and looked away.

Liz bit the inside of her lip. Shit, weird dream situation aside, meeting Kid was exactly what she wanted. Did that Noah fucker know something like this would happen? "Anyway, glad you're o- uh… alive." In any case, she had to be on good terms with the Grim Reaper. Friendly and concerned and shit. If she wasn't and Kid's impression on her turned negative —not a hard feat, Liz was many things but she knew how she came off to people— she might as well drop dead. Again.

The two sat in silence; Kid blankly stared at the floor, oddly relaxed and muted. Liz shifted her weight from one leg to the other. A muffled siren echoed in the distance, broken up by cackling fire.

The water pooling around and in Liz's ratty shoes was ice cold. "I'm dead, aren't I?"

Kid stared at her as she looked down at her feet, feeling her throat constrict. "…You're dreaming."

A heavy weight settled on her chest. "I know that. I mean in general." She brought her gaze up to stare back at him and her face was flushed from sheer effort it took to do so. "You did something. Back at the Academy, " she stated, blinking to fight back tears. She knew that to be true now, but maybe, just maybe…

Kid looked away, apathetic. "…I suppose."

Her dread gave way to rising anger. "You suppose?" She let out a bitter laugh and ran her hand through her hair. "Fuck's sake, can't even get some fanfare for my resurrection."

"I'm sorry," Kid unemotionally said and closed his eyes. "I'm tired. After I was captured, I was placed deep into one of the Clown's hideouts. " He opened his mouth to say something, but switched halfway. "It is not pleasant."

Liz huffed, she should stay quiet but her lump on her throat has turned to acid. "Yeah, not like they're gonna have another luxury castle for you to live in—"

"I'm being tortured, Liz."

She cut herself off, about to say that Kid didn't fucking look like it, before realising that they were in a dream dimension or some nonsense, and Kid had been acting more subdued and distant. And he was the Grim Reaper. held captive by Asura's insane clown posse.

Shit.

"Right now this,"Kid continued as he gestured round him, his movements slow and unsure as if he hadn't moved for some time, "is the best I've felt ever since I was captured."

Once again, shit.

Kid took a step back, halfway in and out of the warehouse. He didn't look at her at all, merely bracing against the paper-thin entrance frame and slid down, his feet disappearing under the thick veil around him.

Liz gulped. The fuck was she gonna say to that? 'Hang in there you jackass?' 'Sorry dude that sounds rough?' He was fucked anyway you put it. Unless…

Liz nonchalantly stretched her back and threw a smile at Kid. "Guess we'll have to rescue your ass."

Kid stood up straighter, but merely stared ahead at the other side of the entrance wall. "Did you miss the 'deep into the Clown's hideout'?" His eyes narrowed.. "And what did you mean by 'we'? You and Patty?"

Liz's smile widened as she squatted by Kid and placed her arm around his shoulder. "Turns out there are still a few Deathscythes roaming about and guess who ended up in their super secret hideout." Her smile turned goofy, but Kid still didn't look at her. "I'm sure if I tell them what happened to their dear master they'll throw themselves trying to rescue you—"

Kid's face broke into a grimace."The Academy…"

"Yeah, those dudes." She shook his shoulder for emphasis. "Your personal army. Cool huh?"

Kid clicked his tongue. "A disparate and disorganised group of rebels. They barely managed to invade Baba Yaga with their full strength, what hope do they have of succeeding now?"

"Yeesh, no faith for you minions. What a harsh overlord—"

Kid jerked out of her hold and Liz mentally cursed. So he had no faith in them, whatever. Liz didn't like them either, but they were their best bet, and would be excellent meat shields, probably eager to die for their lord or some shit.

"You're gonna be fine," Liz hesitantly began. "Arachne couldn't kill you and Asura's bit the dust, so you aint gonna die anytime soon." He faced away from her but Liz trudged on, she was sure she was gonna hit it spot on now. "Sure things suck right now but you'll come out of it ok at the end. You're Death, dude."

"I…" Kid began but trailed off. "Right."

"So, break out plan time. Any info on your end?"

"…You should stay out of this," Kid eventually said and Liz felt like slapping him. "Keep Patty out of danger." Her urge to slap him somewhat subsided. "I don't think the Clowns or Arachnophobia considers you my allies or too important."

That stung a bit, because Liz wasn't some random nobody… Though it was nice to know she wasn't on anyone's radar. Yet. "I'm getting you out and that's final. Just gotta work out the details."

Kid went silent as his blank expression briefly twitched in barely-suppressed emotion. "I'm guessing you want something in return?"

Ah. Liz's smile dropped and she retracted her hand. Good, she didn't want to grovel and pretend to be friends if she didn't have to. Kid, he… was decent but she wasn't about to get all buddy-buddy with the Grim Reaper.

"Help me find the bastard who did me in. I'll take care of the rest," Liz said, feeling her shoulders relax. "Oh and you'll keep me alive after that. No undo in making me a, ah… zombie or whatever the hell you did."

Liz had looked away while making her demands, and when she faced Kid he was at the same spot as before, not having moved at all. He was still blankly staring ahead at the door frame opposite to him.

"I wasn't planning to," he uttered and his hand emerged from beneath the cloak-like fog. "Deal."

Liz shook it with cold joy. There, now her revenge was backed by Death himself and she had done all she could to make sure she'd stay by Patty's side after all this was said and done. Plus Kid was gonna be freed thanks to her end of the bargain —which she would be using the Deathscythes for— so he wasn't getting a bad deal either. Everybody won.

"…What would you have done?" Kid asked her as he withdrew his hand back into the fog-like cloth around him. He was still looking away. "When we reached Baba Yaga, what would you have done if you were in my place?"

Ah shit. Was this a test, or was he just being dramatic? Still. Liz had to give a good, though not necessarily honest, answer. She couldn't come off as too moral, Kid had seen her in action.

"I'd have killed her," Liz said, paraphrasing from her initial urge to yell 'killed the bitch'. "Then again, you weren't sure that you were Death, or something like that, right?" She added, trying to sound more diplomatic. "So if I was there, and I wasn't sure either, I would have waited to see how things played out as well." There, that ought to do it.

Kid curled closer to himself in response. "But we know now."

Liz paused as she tried to parse his words. Know, as in he knew he was a Grim Reaper? Or that he knew he should have killed Arachne? Shit, he was too vague…

"I mean," Liz said, each word hesitant as she was testing the waters. "I didn't wanna say it out loud cause you looked like a momma's boy, but Arachne's a piece of shit." She got no response, so she became more forward. "I mean, what the hell, she just happened to find you and adopt you out of the blue?" A terrible thought struck her. "It's like she fucking planned it—"

The change in Kid's composure was instantaneous and Liz cursed herself for rambling.

"Did she?" His voice went hollow and his eyes wide. The mist around him shifted erratically and though Liz was no expert on preternatural Grim Reaper body language, she knew very well what the lead up signs to a panic attack were, and shit, now she had really fucked up—

"I'm just guessing," Liz said in a hurried tone of forced nonchalance, "I mean it could— probably is just come fucked up coincidence—"

"Mother doesn't let herself be ruled by chance," Kid mechanically said before catching himself and then buried his face in his hands. "You're right, what if she did—? It all makes sense… The Academy's assault was a complete surprise, but if that hadn't happened, then what would she have done—?"

"Hey, hey," Liz cut him off, going in full damage control mode. She reached out for his hand and after ensuring he wasn't gonna zap it dead or something, she pulled it away and made him face her. "Don't think about that, it's no good getting lost on all those what ifs, alright?"

"But—"

"No buts, right now you gotta focus on the present and how the hell you're gonna get away, you hear me?" She needed him in fighting shape, not moping about.

"But did she—?"

"That doesn't fucking matter!" Liz snapped, and it was silly to think that this scrawny panicky kid before her was the supposed feared God of Death. The Universe had a sick sense of humour. "You're still stuck wherever the hell you are and she ain't gonna be helping you, so just… There's no point in thinking about it, what's done is done."

Her forceful tone seemed to calm him down surprisingly, and Liz let go of his hand. "What's done is done…" he echoed.

"Exactly, Arachne made her bed and you're gonna make sure it's full of needles when she sleeps on it."

Kid went silent again and Liz sat by him with a suppressed sigh. What a fucking mess. Even if their relationship was nothing but business, this was still a dogshit situation. Torture, by the Clowns no less? She'd much prefer to kill herself.

Around them, the fire died out and the sky darkened. The void that stayed just out of sight before slowly ate at the edges of the dream world.

Kid tensed. "We're waking up."

Liz silently cursed. Now she'd have to somehow convince the Deathscythes that she knew where Death was, and explain how she knew in a semi-coherent matter, which this mess she found herself in definitely wasn't.

"I haven't seen her since I was captured," Kid said, his voice barely above a whisper. "But she's going to visit sooner or later…"

Liz sighed. Add to all that having to stop Kid from having a mental breakdown. "Hey, listen to me," she said with a gentle shake on his shoulder, "you're gonna be fine."

Kid sniffed. "I'm not—"

"Yes you will be, these assholes can't do anything permanent to you. It's gonna fucking suck, but hang in there. Don't let these fucking bastards break you." Liz was on full vulgar autopilot support mode and found herself telling Kid what she would have said to her younger self if given the chance. "The worse it is now, the better you'll feel when you get your revenge."

Kid went silent again as the darkness closed in around them. Just when she considered whether she should say goodbye Kid lunged at her and she reeled back, only to be caught in a tight hug.

"Thank you," Kid's voice came out muffled as he buried his face on her neck. "I hope I see you again."

And despite the coldness of his touch, the creepy unsettling environment and terror at being held so closely to the Grim Reaper, Liz found herself wishing likewise.

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What a fucking year this has been. Lack of posting is because PhD's kicking my ass, plus Current Events, but I'm still out there. Thank you all for your patience and feedback/comments. Feel free to pm me Sleepy#3903 on discord if you wanna gab about Soul Eater.

Finally this story has fanart (one of which is the cover of the story!), which can be seen on tumblr (post/183190014318/trade-commission-with-annita-sleepdeprivedfemale) or on ao3 (works/25308001/chapters/61358596), so go check it out and give lots of love to the artist!