The next night, Maka was shivering in bed, gripping the bedsheets tightly as she slept; her knuckles bone white.
"Nnn... No... Please..." She mumbled.
Patty sat up in her own bed, her stuffed giraffe in her lap. She closed her eyes, trying to keep quiet so she can determine whether or not that Maka was having nightmares.
Maka panted, furrowing her eyebrows in fear.
"Don't... Please... Stop..."
Behind Maka's tainted eyelids, Kid was running across a gruesome battlefield, his back to Maka. But she can tell it was him. She ran after him, gunshots, metal clanging, and screams filling the icy cold night air around them.
"Kiddo-Kun! Please stop! You're going to get yourself killed!"
Kid ran on and on, as if Maka was the enemy he should run away from.
"Stop this! Don't leave me here, Kid!"
That's when Kid stopped running and froze, standing there motionlessly. Maka sighed in relief and almost caught up to him when two kishin soldiers grabbed her arms, lifting her off the ground and tugging her backwards painfully.
Screaming in surprise, she tried to struggle out of their clutches. But it seemed as if all of her raging strength was drained from her now fragile body. She looked up quickly to see Kid turn, and her screams caught in her throat, her eyes widening. One of the kishins who held her pressed a knife against her throat while the other held her in place.
Afraid to swallow, she screamed once more, her voice echoing throughout the entire battlefield.
"KID!"
Kid flinched as if he had just acknowledged that Maka was there and he looked down at the ground with no emotion. Blood dripped down his pale face from an unknown source and his pure golden eyes flickered brightly from the snarling flame around them. He was beautiful. It was as if angels had carved him out of glass.
"Maka..." His voice was smooth, as if it were made of velvet. "...I can't. I'm Sorry."
Betrayal crossed over Maka's face as she heard those words and she paled.
"Kid... Why...?" Her lips trembled slightly.
A figure of darkness walked behind Kid and set their hands on his shoulders.
"He can't hear you, Albarn... Your screaming is useless to everyone around you..."
That voice was so familiar...
The figure giggled mockingly and wrapped their arms around Kid, as if he were just a precious object.
"Oh... How this hurts my feelings...Who can blame you for forgetting me...? I did, after all, kill all of your loved ones..."
Maka gathered it all in and felt anger and hatred rise up within her chest. Valencia slid a hand up Kid's chest and over his eyes, his expression not changing in the slightest.
"Let him go!" She growled, kicking her feet uselessly, her legs dangling like a useless rag doll in midair.
Valencia smiled and raised an eyebrow.
"But that wouldn't be fun... Before I let them leeches behind you drain you of your soul, I would like to give you a little show..."
Maka clenched her fists tightly, kicking her feet more frantically.
"No! Please! Don't touch him, or I'll-!"
Valencia's voice held amusement as she interrupted the screaming Albarn.
"Or you'll what? Kill me?"
With a small gesture from Valencia, the kishin soldiers gripped Maka's arms more firmly, the knife placed coldly against her skin.
It was as if those who were fighting around them didn't acknowledge their presences at all.
Valencia dug her long black fingernails into Kid's face and he let out a piercing scream.
"Maka!"
Maka screamed loudly, trying as hard as she could to be released from the vice grip on her arms.
"Kid! Valencia, stop!"
Valencia removed her hand from Kid's face and Kid was shaking in pain as the fresh wounds on his face dripped venom and blood.
"Such a pathetic boy..."
Maka's eyes grew cold and she grit her teeth. How dare Valencia say such things about her Kid...
"He isn't pathetic, you cold bitch!" Maka yelled at her with a slight growl in her voice.
Valencia smirked.
"Then why isn't he fighting for his life? For you?" She thrust one of her hands behind Kid and it went through his back and stuck out through his chest. Maka's heart twisted in shock. Kid's eyes widened in pain and he lowered his head slowly to look at the bloodied hand that was through his chest. He gurgled and blood splurted out like a waterfall from his mouth and down his chin. His eyelids fluttered and his head lolled to the side.
Maka shrieked.
"NOO!"
Valencia threw her head back and barked out wicked laughter as Maka teared up heavily and her heart shattered into zillions of pieces in her chest. Valencia curled her nailed fingers and withdrew her hand with a sickening crack, blood soaking the front of Kid's chest and seeping through his torn white dress shirt like a contagious cancer.
Kid shook as his heart beat slower and slower, his body panicking as his end was near. He fell to his knees and closed his eyes, falling backward against his mother's legs. Valencia grinned demonically and reached down to rest a hand on one of his shoulders.
Maka closed her eyes tightly, gritting her teeth until they bled.
"Kill me... This couldn't be happening..."
When she reopened her eyes Kid stood directly in front of her, his once golden eyes a dark shade of crimson.
"It already did."
Maka's eyes snapped open and she screamed.
"No!" She grabbed a nearby pillow and smothered her tear filled eyes with it. "Kid!"
Patty shot up out of bed and ran down the hall to Maka's room as fast she could. Since she moved in with her, Maka has been having numerous nightmares about different ways Kid would die. And he was killed over and over in front of Maka in the most brutal ways. Patty had moved in with her for a purpose- to protect her from doing anything reckless, like suicide for one, and to be there for her like Liz was for herself. She still felt Liz's soul within Maka, and it brought her blissful comfort. Patty charged in through the door with concern filled eyes, seeing Maka shaking and whimpering into the pillow.
"Kid..." She whispered with a slight sniffle. "...I miss him so much..."
Patty frowned and sat down gently next to Maka on the bed, running her fingers through Maka's unkempt blond hair lightly.
"I know, Maka... I know..."
…:oOo:...
Kid stood up from the floor of his cell when he heard footsteps approach. He wiped at his eyes with dirty hands and yawned quietly. He hadn't slept so well during the day; student's footsteps and chatter became quite a nuisance. Marie stood in front of his cell door and slid it open. Under one arm, she carried a change of clothes. Kid bit his tongue. They were white. Oh, how he hated that pure, pale abomination...
But he was grateful. He smiled slightly and nodded his greetings to Marie.
"Good evening, Marie-san. Did you go through any trouble finding those clothes?"
Marie tried not to stare and shook her head, handing the clothes to him.
"No... no trouble at all... Stein used to wear those when he was your age and he decided to pass them down to you."
Kid scrunched up his nose in disgust, staring at the clothes that adorned stitches.
Now he just hated the color white a tad more...
He sighed and looked back up at her.
"They will do."
Marie smiled warmly and slid the door shut so he can have his privacy. Kid looked back down at his new clothes and sighed again, setting them off to the side so he can have more room to remove the dirt-filled clothing. Once that was through, he slid on Stein's clothes from the old days. As he threw the shirt on over his head, he felt the metallic stitches brush against his face, the coolness they conducted sending a massive chill down his spine.
He straightened out the new clothes and neatly folded the old ones, putting them in the corner. He knocked on the door and Marie opened it back up. When she saw him, her eyes widened.
"Do they fit okay...?"
Kid nodded.
"They're a perfect fit."
Marie giggled nervously, itching the back of her head.
"If it weren't for the hair, I would've thought you were Stein."
She also would've thought she'd be yelled at again, like last time, but to her surprise, Kid burst out in insane laughter, imitating Stein.
Soon, Marie began to laugh too.
"Come on, joker, let's get you to class."
With a slightly smug smile, he walked beside Marie down the corridors and up to the corridors above. Kid's eyes adjusted to the slight brightness despite that there were no lights on, but the moon shined through the windows.
"Marie, did you see Maka today? How is she?" Kid asked casually.
Marie didn't even glance at him and sighed.
"I did see your Maka, but..."
Kid's eyes grew sharp and they snapped to look at her.
"...but?"
Marie paled and she stuttered.
"K-Kid... Please calm down."
He breathed in and out evenly and looked away, his eyes returning to their blank state.
"Alright. Please continue."
Marie smoothed out the front of her skirt, trying not to look him in the eye.
"She's been depressed... and her grades are dropping dramatically. But no need to worry... Patty is taking care of her."
Kid furrowed his eyebrows in thought.
"...Damn." He tried not to snap and his body shook with the effort.
Marie walked him into Stein's classroom, where Stein just finished gathering his paperwork. He looked up at Kid and smiled slightly, seeing himself as a teenager. But seeing how Kid looked, his smile faded and his pushed his swirly chair in, walking up to Marie.
"What did you just say to him...?" He whispered quietly, but Kid could still hear.
Marie gulped and gripped her hands together nervously.
"Well... I..."
Stein chuckled and lightly pecked her on the cheek, causing her to blush.
"Don't act nervous;we can talk about this when we get home, alright?"
Marie nodded.
"Sounds fine by me. Goodbye, Franken."
Stein looked over at Kid.
"Goodnight, Kid."
Kid mumbled his goodnight in return and Stein smiled, walking past them and out the door.
Kid walked up to a seat in the front and sat down as Marie walked to the front of the classroom.
Let class begin...