A.N – So glad you are all still liking it. We probably only have a few chapters left, and I hope everyone will find the conclusion satisfactory at the very least.

Also, what are your thoughts on Jason? He actually becomes rather important in this chapter, so...

WARNING: mentions of suicidal thoughts, and mentins of planning a mass shooting. Nothng too big, but they're there.

Liz looked up at the sound of a wooden door scraping against stone; by now it had become familiar, even a way to tell time. For four days she and Patti had been down in Franky's dungeon — the man had a legitimate dungeon in his basement, barred cell doors and all — and the only contact with his gang was when someone brought them food. At least they were getting three meals a day.

The food deliverer was different every time, and now was no exception, but Liz was still surprised to see to see Jason carrying the tray. He walked over to them stiffly, and refused to look them in the eye when he set down the food; it looked like ham and cheese sandwiches and a couple juice boxes. Though her stomach rumbled, Liz ignored the food for now and tried to reach Jason through the bars; maybe she could get through to him.

"Jason," she began in a soft voice.

Jason's jaw clenched at the sound of his name, and his movements seemed almost robotic as he began to walk away from them. Liz sighed. "C'mon, Jason," she called to his retreating form. "Look, I know you're probably not supposed to talk to us, but we really do need to talk!" No answer but the sound of his shoes on the floor. "Jason, please! For – for Wilson's sake, if not ours!"

That stopped Jason in his tracks. "Don't you dare," he hissed, still without turning around. "Traitors don't get to say my brother's name!"

"I'm really tired of being called that," Liz answered. "Look, tell me, who have we betrayed? Not our friends, not our home, not you, personally. Our beef is with Franky – who we were never loyal to in the first place."

"You lied to me," Jason shot back. "You let me think you were on my side! That we were in this together!"

"I'm sorry, Jason, at least for not telling you the whole truth," she said, tone slightly remorseful. She hadn't wanted to hurt Jason, who had seemed truly happy to see Patti and her again. "But we aren't on the same side, not really, not if you're with Franky."

"Well, where else was I supposed to go? Huh, Liz?" Jason finally turned around, to give her a hateful glare. "Do you know, after you girls skipped town, that Franky's gang came after me 'cuz they had seen us together? And when they finally decided I was clean, and offered me a spot — well, hell, what else was I gonna do with my life?"

"It's not the life Wilson would have wanted for you," Liz insisted in a firm yet gentle tone.

"Yeah?" Jason asked angrily, coming closer to the door that separated them. "And how the hell would you know what my brother wanted for me? You never even knew him!"

Though his tone was harsh, Liz could see the pain in his eyes. It had been almost ten years since his brother's death, but clearly it still hurt him. He was right though; the only image Liz had of Wilson Atlee was his prone form laid out on the cold New York City pavement, shaggy blond hair nearly covering the dark blue eyes that stared unseeing up at the night sky. What she knew of his personality was as bad as she and Patti had been back in the day, with Wilson's catchphrase — "'Sons Atlee, at your service!" — being well known (well feared) on the streets. But still, she had the perfect answer to Jason's question.

She looked deep into his eyes, and said, "Because I know what I want for Patti. And it wouldn't be this."

Behind her, Patti made a small sound, and for a moment, Liz wondered if her sister was remembering the same thing she was.

Years ago, on a dark winter's night — thankfully with no snow — Liz and Patti rounded an alley and collapsed against the wall, breathing hard; their night's haul clattered on the ground. Patti was laughing hysterically, but Liz was not in the mood. The drug dealer they'd been trying to rob, one last score for the night, had been smarter than he looked, and he had a real gun on him. The sisters had been able to escape, even dodge every bullet (being able to transform into transparent light came in handy at times like then), but it had scared Liz. She never wanted to feel that kind of fear again.

"Patti," she said quietly. It took a while for her sister to stop laughing. "Patti!"

Finally Patti snapped out of it. "Huh? Yeah, sis?"

Liz took a deep breath before starting, "Patti, that was really close back there. Too close. I don't want to have the odds of losing you be so high."

Patti cocked her head. "But sis, we made it out alright! We did great!"

"Yeah, I know, but Patti — Patti, we...we need a plan. In case, in case you lose me —" Liz got cut off when Patti put a hand over her mouth. Liz, surprised, was startled to see the look of dead seriousness in her little sister's eyes. Slowly, Patti took her hand off Liz's mouth.

"I already know what I'm going to do if that happens," Patti told her in a quiet tone.

"What? You do?"

Patti nodded. Then she made a little gun with her thumb and forefinger. "If I ever lose you, sis, then I'll get a real gun, and I'll shoot up the whole city" — Patti waved her hand around to demonstrate — "and then I'd take that real gun, and go like this —" she then put her finger to her head, and mimed pulling the trigger.

"Patti, what the hell!" Liz was horrified and grabbed her sister's finger, as if it was the real gun she was talking about. "How could you ever say that to me! How could you ever think that! B-bad! That's— that's — never ever do that! I forbid you!"

"If I was gonna do it, then you wouldn't be here to forbid me, sis," Patti pointed out, seeming nonplussed by her sister's reaction.

Liz shook her head. "I don't care! Whether I'm alive or not, you will never, ever hurt yourself like that! I'll forbid you from the grave, got it?!"

Patti still tried arguing her case. "But sis, what would be the point of staying in this world without you? Especially if it was the world that took you from me?"

"Oh, Patti," Liz cried, throwing her arms around the younger girl, fury giving way to sadness and the urge to comfort her sister. "Oh, Patti, I hear you, I understand why you'd think that, but please, please, don't ever do that. I love you, okay? If you can't think of any other reason not to do that, then just remember that I love you and don't want you to do that. Okay?"

There was a long pause before Patti answered. "Okay, sis."

Liz drew herself out of the past to look at Jason; she would have plenty of time to talk to her sister later, if Patti even was thinking about that.

Jason was searching her face, as if looking for dishonesty or a trick. He looked down for a while, but when he raised his head again, his eyes held a determined light in them. "Even if I did leave this life, leave Franky's gang," he said slowly, "where would I go? What would I do?"

"You could come with us," piped Patti, moving from the corner of the cell to the door. "Kid is gonna be reeealllyyy upset with everyone in Franky's gang, but if we put in a good word for you, I'm sure he'll be alright with that."

Jason blinked. "Go with you...to Death City? Why? I mean, what would I do there? I'm not a fr— I'm not like you guys."

Liz let the almost-insult pass her by. "So are a lot of the residents, more than you might think," she replied. "Not all our operations are about fighting; we run like a normal city. You'll be able to find something. And we'll help you."

Jason stepped back from the cell door, and stood there thinking for a long time. Finally, he sighed. "What do you need me to do? Bust you out?"

A surge of hope and relief filled Liz, and she exchanged smiles with Patti. She turned back to Jason and said, "No, not yet; if we upset Franky, he'll take it out on Death City. What we need from you, is to get the detonator from Franky's pocket. Once his power is gone, we can do what we like to him."

"O..okay," Jason replied, looking a little worried. But then he nodded and turned, ready to head down the hall and complete his mission. Then he paused, and looked back at Liz, face red. "Y-you know, Liz, t-there's something I've always wanted to tell you."

Liz blinked, startled. "Um, okay? You can't...tell me later?"

Jason shook his head, and his blush deepened. "I-I may not have the courage to do it later. But, Liz, I — you're beautiful. A-and I know you never liked that word 'cuz you always thought beauty on the streets meant being like your whore of a mother, but — I've always thought that. You're beautiful."

And before Liz could respond, he turned on his heel and ran down the hall.

After a while, the stunned silence was broken by Patti's giggling. "Aww, sis, someone's got a crush on you ~!"

"Oh, shut it," Liz responded, her own face red. "We've got more important things to worry about now."

Patti gave one last giggle. "Okay, sis."

...
Kid's office, Death City...

"...so your big plan is to go over to Brooklyn and basically beat the snot out of Franky Scafidi, which is something you could do entirely on your own, but you need us there as a loophole in not upsetting the witches," clarified Soul as he looked at Kid.

Kid nodded in response. "Yes, that sums it up, if in a somewhat crude manner."

Tsubaki, standing between her meister and Maka, frowned. "I understand that you need to go after the witch, or at least say you did, so the witches can't accuse you of sending one of your people after her," she began, "but how do we fit in?"

"It's a three part mission, technically," Kid answered. "Someone to go after the witch, someone to go after Franky, and someone to find Liz and Patti."

Black*Star pounded a fist into his other hand. "Sounds good to me! Ready to show those punks what happens when you mess with a god's city, Tsubaki?"

"Hold on, hold on," Maka interjected, waving her hands. "I want to help Liz and Patti as much as you do, but is it really necessary to send out a Death Scythe, his meister, and a Weapn and meister who are on the same level, along with a full-fledged shinigami? Shouldn't this be given to some EAT teams, or something?"

Kid pursed his lips. "You have a small point," he conceded, "but no EAT team so far has quite the qualifications we did when we were their age, Maka. And with a situation this precarious, I prefer to leave it the experts."

Soul grinned, his shark teeth prominently displayed. "Aw, shut up, Kid," he said with a chuckle. "You just want your friends to help come rescue our other friends."

Kid crossed his arms. "Hmm. And what's wrong with that?"

Around him, his friends broke into smiles – Soul kept his punk grin; Black*Star's had a hint of pugnacious glee at the thought of battling; Tsubaki seemed just genuinely happy that Kid wanted them with him; and Maka's eyes glinted with determination.

"Nothng at all, Kid," Soul answered. "Nothing at all."

"Alright," Kid said. "Then let's go."