It sounded more like a command. Maybe he was thinking what Maka had instructed him with the remote. I had no choice but to shrink back into the farthest reaches of his head, bored.
Once I felt that the elevator had stopped, I moved myself to look through Byoki's eyes. This was still very strange, and I was getting used to it only in bits. He walked into the dim hallway with the prisoners, and suddenly I heard a thought. 'No. No.'
I was puzzled at first, but then Byoki faded back into the 'cage'. As I was put back into control, I smiled happily. That was a first. I rushed to Liz's cell, wanting to talk to her desperately. "Liz...?" I whispered, not wanting to disturb her.
"Go away, freak." I heard her voice hiss. She thought I was still being controlled.
I moved closer to the cell. "It's okay, Liz, Byoki is gone." I said, louder this time. Realizing that she didn't know what this meant, I shook my head. "I mean, I'm back to normal. For now. Can I come in?" I asked.
"Fine." Liz huffed, coming into view now. She looked up at me with wide, sparkling eyes for a moment, then she lowered her brow when she caught sight of the still-fading lines of insanity.
I carefully slid open the bars, walking into the cell. I didn't bother to close them behind me. As I walked to sit down, Liz shuffled herself with her arms to the farthest corner of the cell. I raised an eyebrow, curious about her behaviour. "So, I... I guess I should explain all of this." I started, looking at the ground. When I looked back up, Liz's eyes were narrowed to small slits as she nodded. "Well, Maka caught me and Black Star on the outskirts of town," I didn't mention my hideout, I would have no one know it's wherabouts except Black Star. 'I might need it when and if this stuff is over...' I thought, and realized that I'd stopped talking while I was thinking.
I looked at Liz's expectant face and continued carefully. "And she brought us to this place, apparently. Which I can't really remember since..." I paused, thinking about my faint. "Well, anyway, she took my powers, and sometimes she controls me." My eyes flitted from Liz to the faded lines on my chin.
She caught on and nodded, eyes widening. I could tell she was suspicious about the part I couldn't remember, but she didn't ask which I was grateful for. I didn't need to tell a girl I'd fainted, even if Maka already knew. Liz seemed to ponder this for a while, then she nodded again, moving closer to me. Was she starting to trust me? I smiled mentally, trying to keep a straight face. This didn't seem real. Liz always criticized me, but now that she was powerless, she acted a lot differently.
"So... At random times?" Liz asked skeptically. I could see that she only half believed me about the insanity. She shifted her weight so that she was on her knees, looking at me doubtfully. Her half-lidded gaze met mine, and I smiled.
"Only when she wants me to do something for her." I replied, getting to my feet. A sinister feeling came over me as Byoki came into control. I shrank back into his head, not wanting to see what would happen next. His hand lashed out like a whip, slapping Liz across the face. She fell over, clutching the now-bleeding bruise left on her cheek.
"...Byoki, is it? I want... I want you to know... That I hate you. Get out of Kid's head." Liz hissed, narrowing her eyes once more. She moved her hand away from her face, hoisting herself up to stand at Byoki's eye level. Her left palm was stained a deep red, and I whirled to look through Byoki's eyes to see her cut. It seeped the dark liquid, making her cringe every now and again. Her left eye was squeezed shut, I imagined it hurt to open it. This made me feel bad, but Byoki didn't. He stared at her mercilessly, a wicked smirk forming on his lips.
"That's a nice look for you, sweet-" Byoki began to call Liz 'sweetheart' in a sinister tone, but he was cut off. Liz lifted her blood-stained fist and punched him square in the nose.
As soon as she'd made contact, I was put back in control. "OW!" I screamed out, dropping to my knees. I held my face in my hands, and when I lifted my head, both of my hands were red with blood. Liz had given me a bloody nose. It might've even been broken. I stood up slowly, cupping my hand around my nose in pain. "...Good one... Ouch." I struggled to say.
Liz's eyes immediatly lowered to a dull color, somehow. She frowned and looked at me, on the verge of tears. "I'm sorry, Kid, I..." She started, but trailed off slowly into a whimper. I saw tears forming at the corners of her eyes.
I let go of my nose, wiping my hand on my pant leg. This removed some of the blood, at least. I put my hand on her shoulder, and her eyes sparkled as much as before, putting the tears on hold. "It wasn't your fault. It was Maka. She... Wanted this to happen. And no matter how much we hate it, she is in control here." I sighed, letting go of her shoulder when I'd finished.
"I should've known she'd do that... That... That..." Liz's fists clenched and she spat these words between gritted teeth. She took a step back, sitting down on the floor with her head in her hands. I could tell she didn't care about the dried blood on her hand.
Byoki lurked back into control, eyebrows lowered. "You really shouldn't have done that, sweetie." He smirked, taking a step forward.
Liz looked up, half of her face red with blood. Through Byoki's eyes, I saw hers. They were tired and weak, no longer holding the sparkle I'd seen before. "What...?" She whispered, taking a minute to register that it was Byoki talking. Her mouth turned into a scowl, eyes glowering up at him.
I apologized silently, but it was trying to be as loud as possible. 'I'm sorry! I don't know what he's going to do, I-' I was shouting in his head, but Byoki pulled his leg back and kicked Liz in the stomach as hard as he could.
Liz clutched her stomach and fell onto her side, cringing and whimpering. Her arms went limp as she passed out comepletely. In Byoki's head, I screamed, 'NO! This isn't right! I have... To... Get... Control...' I thought, struggling to get back into my own body.
I heard a faint thought. Byoki's, obviously. He was screaming. In agony. His eyes were squeezed shut, and now he was screaming on the outside, too. Suddenly, his-no, my-eyes flew open.
I had commanded control. Take that, Maka.