One Kill

The night in the northern region of Alaska was dark and cold. Owls hooted through the darkness, hunting through the thin forests that were scattered around. As the night crept on, the small town remained quiet and serene. At its center was a clock-tower that stood high over the smaller, one to two story buildings around it. Through the dark night, a young girl walked into the clock-tower, a black dog strolling beside her. She gently scratched his head as she ascended the stairs, the dog tailing her defensively. After climbing the seemingly endless staircase, she stopped in front of a thick steel door. She took a calming breath and opened the door with a meek silence, "I'm back." She looked into the room that was at the top of the clock-tower, eyes focused on the man settled in front of one of the large windows that made up the walls.

The mysterious man was dressed in black slacks and a black sweater-vest that was worn over a black shirt. He was gazing through a pair of binoculars, a steaming pot resting just beside him on a fold out table, "Good to see you're back," He offered her a cup that held the same substance that was in the pot, "Clam Chowder?"

She gratefully accepted the cup and grinned at the chowder, "New England style," She reached behind him and snatched a bag of crackers, "my favorite." Her grin seemed to grow when the black dog laid down at her feet, calmly awaiting for his master's orders.

It was silent in the room until the girl finished her soup. She set down the now empty cup and smiled smugly at the warmth it gave her, "So you've been watching them for awhile?"

"Ever since they came into town?" He finally set down the binoculars and met her gaze. His striking green eyes were half-lidded, a haze hiding whatever emotion he was feeling, "What could you gather from up close?" He stood up and plucked his coat off the rack against the wall. He registered her slightly shocked face as he slipped on the black winter coat.

She recovered from her shock and closed her eyes, as if remembering something she was trying not to forget, "Well, they don't seem like they'd be all that powerful." She opened her eyes and watched the man slip on his leather gloves, "But make no mistake, they are definitely powerful... we'll need all we've got."

The man balled his left hand into a fist, the straining sound of leather floating through the air, "As expected," He slowly extended the balled fist and extended his index and middle fingers, "let's make this one fun." His words betrayed his emotionless look and the stoic tone of his voice. He walked back over to the window and extended his left hand again, "Sarah,"

"Understood," Sarah's body was engulfed in light before turning into a silver, M107 model sniper rifle. Her mysterious partner gripped her as he took a kneeling position against the window, "What caliber will you use?"

"Start with .45, we'll see if we need anything else after a few shots." He reached into his coat pocket and withdrew a small device with various buttons on it. He thumb grazed the buttons, checking where each one was, "Belial," He sharply barked, "keep watch on the rear." The dog barked its understanding and started pacing in front of the door. Seconds ticked by with little movement or sound, only the steady sound of the dog's paws hitting the cement floor. The sniper's finger slowly, and gently moved to the trigger, "Sarah, remember what I said to you after our first assignment." Sarah was silent, but he knew she understood where he was going, "No matter what foe we face, we always follow the code of the sniper, 'One shot, one kill'."

"I can't believe this place." Liz Thomson stared, or glared if you want to be technical, at the ceiling. She was currently tucked under the sheets of the bed, trying to escape the cold that ruled the night outside. She fought a strange mix of a pout and a scowl, fearing the wrinkles it might bring to her face, "What kind of Inn only has a bedroom with one bed?" She glanced beside her and stared the young Shinigami that was resting beside her.

As always, the son of Shinigami was sleeping on his back, perfectly straight and symmetrical. The sight would've been less strange if wasn't for the girls sleeping at his sides. Liz was pretty average in her 'sleeping posture', but Patty was a disaster zone of flung arms and randomly placed legs. Not to mention the loopy Thomson was currently muttering about giraffes and drooling over her pillow without shame. Though it often made Liz cringe, she couldn't help but be a little jealous of her sister. How can someone be so... happy all the time?

Liz quietly growled, turning over to drive her face into her pillow, "This is why I hate not being able to sleep. It gives me too much time to think." She groaned and went limp, trying her best to will her body to go to sleep. Finally, after a few minutes of simply lying there, Liz felt drowsiness set in. However, just as her eyelids touched, she felt the bed shift violently. Her eyes hot open to see Kid sitting upright. It was too dark to see his eyes, but Liz could feel that something was wrong, "Kid," She gently started, "is something wrong?"

A quick yelp escaped her lips when she was suddenly snatched up by Death the Kid, Patty held under his other arm. Glass sprayed the snow covered ground outside as an explosion decimated the Inn. Kid, with the sisters under his arms, rolled away from the explosion, stopping on one knee, "W-What the,"

"Liz, Patty," Kid shook Patty awake and shot a look towards Liz. His golden eyes were sharp and focused, he sensed something, and it wasn't good. He held out his hands as the Thomson sisters changed into the Weapon forms, each pistol landing in his hands perfectly. Kid immediately jumped backwards just as the sound of another explosion covered the sound of the real danger, "Damn," Kid rolled behind another building as he stared at the bullet hole in the snow, "a sniper."

Liz and Patty exchanged looks, the same feeling of apprehension hitting them. In all their adventures together, they've never encountered anything like a sniper before. If anyone knew the dangers of gun-type Weapons, it was them, "Kid," Liz hesitantly asked, "do you know where he is?"

Another explosion masked another gunshot, forcing Kid to sink deeper behind his cover, "No, he's using sound to mask his gunfire." He dashed out into the open and across the street, ducking under another bullet of wavelength. He grunted when he still felt the air around the shot hit him, throwing him into and through the door of the shop from earlier. He instantly recovered and took cover behind the counter, "At this rate, I'll get ripped apart." Kid muttered, trying to come up with some sort of plan. He had an idea of where the sniper was, but the problem was getting close, "Liz, Patty, we're going to try and move from building to building towards the tower at the center of town. Don't change from your Weapon forms, it'll be safer that way."

"A-Alright," Liz shot him a concerned look before focusing on the quiet battle again. She felt a comforting nudge from her sister and smiled at her.

Patty twisted her face into a confident scowl, "Don't worry, if anyone can get this guy, it's Kid." He raised her fist with one of her usual grins, "Of course I want the first shot," The scowl again, "I'LL BLOW THE BASTARD AWAY!"

"They're using the buildings for cover." Sarah addressed her partner, watching Kid and the girls through her scope.

"Switching to phase 2, load fifty caliber rounds." He stood up and walked over to a section of the wall that was partially falling apart. He laid down and took aim once more. He flipped open a part of the device in his hand and pressed a button, "Let's see him slip through this one."

Kid snapped around and pointed Liz and Patty at the person who drowsily entered the shop. It was the old man from before, but his posture was different. Kid, who couldn't help but memorize certain things about people, noticed the change. The shop owner grew closer before lunging for him, a blank look in his eyes. He had no time to think as another wavelength-charged shot tore through the wall and hit the shop-owner in the head, "WHAT THE," He shielded himself when the shop owner exploded, throwing him against the far side of the building.

"Kid, are you alright!?" Liz fought the instinct to change back and help him up.

Patty, on the other hand, stared at the remains of the shop owner with a mixture of awe and curiosity, "He... exploded."

Kid got to his knees and coughed, growling in frustration, "I should've guessed, that was completely stupid on my part." He stood up and dashed out of the building, leaping into another before another shot tore the air, "I knew something was wrong in this town," He looked up when he saw a family of four step out of the shadows, the same lifeless look in their eyes, "Clay Mores." He pelted them with Liz and Patty, jumping out before they all exploded violently.

"Don't tell me," Liz stared at the scene that was outside, "the entire town is full of these things?"

Patty put a finger to her lips and hummed in confusion, "What are Clay Mores?"

Kid ducked and weaved between the pounces of the townspeople and ran towards the tower. He had to roll and duck behind a building, only to dash out once more when a Clay More popped out, "They're puppets that explode when hit hard. Father told me about them, but there's only one person who uses them." He ducked into another building, taking a breather when he saw the Clay Mores stumble past, "It was a Witch named Medea who used them, but according to Father, she was killed years ago."

"Hm," He got up into a kneeling position, "seems we'll need more of a punch if we're going to get them." He pocketed the device and slung Sarah over his shoulder, "Sarah,"

"RESONANCE OF SOULS!" They cried in unison, light enveloping Sarah and the sniper's left arm. When it disappeared, Sarah was now a bigger gun, the sniper's wavelength crackling at the pronged barrel. He walked over to the window once more and pointed the larger sniper rifle towards the building where Kid ducked into, "Impaler charge complete, seventy percent discharge set, ready to fire at anytime."

"Number of shots available?"

"Ten, high-impact bullets available before recharge is required."

"Prepare to fire."

"Understood."

Kid's ears perked when he heard the strangest noise that's ever reached his ears. He instinctively rolled out of the building as a beam of light completely ripped through the ceiling of the two-story building. The resulting explosion was small, but the force threw him backwards, "Agh," He hissed when he rolled to a stop. He spat out the blood seeping into his mouth and stood up. His once white streaks in his hair were now red with his own blood, his suit slightly torn from being tossed around so much.

The young Shinigami leapt upwards when another shot tore through the air, the force from it forcing him higher and onto the roof of another house. Kid hit the roof running, leaping away when the house exploded with another beam of pure wavelength. Once again, the force from the blast threw him further into the air and shrapnel implanted itself into his arms and back. Kid peeled himself from the snowy ground and looked up towards the tower, a stream of crackling energy leading towards the very top of the structure, "Found you." Kid jumped into the air, Beelzebub appearing under his feet.

Without wasting a minute, he rocketed through the air on his trusted skateboard. He made sure to randomly turn and barrel-roll to make himself a harder target. Every so often, he dipped towards the ground, only to have to dodge another Clay More trying to blow him up. Kid once again ascended and closed his eyes, sensing some unknown feeling he was getting. At the last second, he pushed upwards once more, another beam shooting for him.

The shot hit Beelzebub, resulting in another explosion. However, this time Kid used the force of the explosion to throw him towards the clock-tower. With a not good sounding thud, he hit the roof of the tower and rolled towards the edge. Before either of his partners could utter any concern, he managed to flip over the edge and through the window.

Shock rang through the trio as they laid eyes on the man standing with his back to them, a crackling railgun slung over his shoulder. With a snap of his fingers, the railgun changed into a familiar young girl, "S-Sarah?" Liz blinked in shock as their newest friend curtsied politely.

Patty blinked and gave Sarah a suspicious glance, "So you were on the other side all along." She giggled and slowly looked to a rather serious Kid, "Too bad, Kid's new girlfriend is the enemy." She seemed to sing those words as Kid took a stance before the quiet sniper.

"I thought it was strange for an Egg of Kishin to use such advanced techniques. Who are you, and why are you here?" Kid glared at the sniper, unable to keep himself from admiring his appearance. His clothes were perfectly pressed and his ice-blue hair was slicked back evenly. He took a look at his soul and mentally faltered. It was slightly larger than any soul he'd seen other than Shinigami's. It was green like his eyes, and seemed either with-strained or dormant. It had the same passive expression and a cross-hair over its left eye.

"Sarah," The sniper placed one hand in his coat pocket and reached behind him with the other. He slowly withdrew a combat-knife and held at his side. His partner nodded and ran out through the steel door, Belial dashing after her, "Moving to phase 3."

"What's he talking about?" Patty mocked his stoic expression rather goofily, laughing after a few seconds of holding the look.

Kid locked eyes with the sniper and straightened. He understood what he was hinting at, and as much as he hated it, he had no choice, "Liz, Patty," He threw them behind him, "go after Sarah and the dog, I'll handle this one." He saw them hesitantly give chase to Sarah and took the Stance of Sin, "Your kind make me sick, disrupting the tranquility Father works to keep." He aggressively charged the sniper with a chop. However, he effortlessly caught Kid's hand and twisted his arm around. Before he knew it, Kid was on his back, a knife coming down towards his throat.

Through the steel door, the Thomson sisters were chasing Sarah and Belial, Liz holding Patty in her Weapon form. Liz jumped over the railing of the stairs and tried to land in front of Sarah, gun pointed between her eyes, "Hold it," She jumped back and switched with Patty when Belial lashed out, his lips folded back as he growled at her.

"Sorry," Sarah her palm towards Patty, "but I'm afraid we can't stop here." Her entire arm split in tow and changed into the barrel of a railgun, her own wavelength used for ammunition. She didn't hesitate to fire, the blast, though weaker than before, sending Patty through the door leading outside. Sarah ran outside as Patty and Liz switched again, Belial running just behind Sarah.

Liz fired after Sarah, the fifteen year old girl weaving between the pink shots with apparent ease, "Stop," She fired again, "I said stop!"

Sarah glanced back at Liz when another shot whizzed by her head, grazing her cheek. She slowed her pace and reached into her pocket, pulling out a strange looking device. She quickly pecked it and threw the device towards the clock-tower, green smoke pouring out from it, "Longshot to Black Hawk," She spun around to face Liz, "follow the trail to pick us up." She moved a bit of her hair to reveal a communicator in her ear, "E.T.A in five minutes, got it." She looked down at Belial, "Belial, we need to hold them for five minutes, don't hold back."

Belial barked an growled savagely, glaring its red eyes at Liz. The dog seemed to grow bigger as its muscles flexed and its teeth grew longer. His ears and thin tail looked to be made from black fire at they grew thicker, stronger. The now dangerous beast lunged at Liz, forcing her to go on the defensive.

Unfortunately, Kid wasn't fairing much better atop the clock-tower. Every time he tried to attack, it would always get reversed on him, "How do you know the Stance of Sin?" His question was demanding, his golden eyes sharp and angered. All he got for a response was the sniper adjusting his gloves and assuming his loose stance again. Kid got low to the ground and approached, strangely thinking of Black Star as he tried to slip in under his enemy's counter.

It proved useless as the sniper spun around, using the tail of his coat to hide the back-fist that hit Kid in the jaw. He wasn't finished with simply striking once, following up with downwards strike to the back of Kid's head. Kid hit the ground, hard, but managed to swivel around and shove his foot upwards to kick the sniper in the jaw. However, the sniper simply stepped back and gripped Kid's leg with one arm. Kid was thrown across the room, the knife slicing his leg as the sniper released it, "Disappointing," He ran a gloved hand through his hair, "Shinigami beat me within one minute, we've been at this for at least half an hour."

Kid was taken back at this, "Y-You fought Father?" He glared at the sniper, not believing him, "If that's true, than how are you still alive?"

The sniper grunted and turned to the window. Without uttering a word, he jumped out of the window and dropped to the snowy ground. As he expected, he landed between Belial and an exhausted Patty. Like always, he simply attacked without warning, kicking Patty in the mid-section. The flying kick lasted until he drove her against the side of the clock-tower. He immediately tilted his head to the right, a shot barely missing his head.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Kid dropped in and stood between Patty and the sniper, Liz changed back and protectively stood in front of Patty also. He locked eyes with his enemy again, still receiving that same passive expression in return for his glare, "Patty, are you alright?" He felt a pull inside him when he heard her cough, giving him a weak laugh for an answer, "Liz, Patty, we'll give it everything we've got."

The sisters nodded and changed into their Weapon forms. Kid aimed his partners towards the sniper, seeing him signal for Sarah and Belial to step back when they stepped forward to help out. Kid let loose a barrage of fire, dashing to the side. He felt his stomach drop when the sniper weaved between each shot, only a few grazing him every now and again, 'How,' Kid thought frantically, 'how is he able to dodge and reverse everything I throw at him!?'

The sniper stopped advancing when Kid suddenly stopped firing. He sighed and placed his right hand over his left eye, "Silver Blood," He sharp humming sound pierced Kid's ears as the sniper removed his hand, a cross-hair appearing over his left eye, "activated, blood saturation at fifty percent." He charged forward at a blinding speed, "Soul Purge!" He thrust his palm forward for Kid's mid-section, but he was able to dodge. However, the very force of the attack made Kid stumble back, "You'll need to move faster than that."

Kid tried to get his balance, but was blown back by a successfully landed Soul Purge. He stumbled back again, more blood pouring from his mouth and now from his nose. He raised Liz and Patty, firing at point-blank range, landing every shot. However, this Silver Blood seemed to make the sniper's body tougher, because he took every shot without flinching. Kid eventually stopped firing, going numb as he was stuck for anything he could do. Soul Resonance was out of the question, there was no way he would have enough time to charge his attack. Hand-to-hand was a useless endeavor, and this wasn't anywhere near working. For the first time, Death the Kid was stuck.

The sniper grunted again, the cross-hair fading from his eye, "That's enough." He looked up just as a helicopter passed by, turning off its stealth flight to allow the unique sound of propellers. The Black Hawk slowly landed behind him and the door slid open. Sarah and Belial climbed into the helicopter, glancing back at Kid as if apologizing for fighting them, "Learn from this encounter, the next time we fight, I expect you to have grown a lot." He followed Sarah and Belial, closing the helicopter door behind him.

Kid stood petrified to the spot as the Black Hawk lifted off the ground, slowly disappearing into the distance of the night. He felt Liz and Patty change back into their regular forms, both watching him closely. His hair was covering his eyes from view, and his posture was slouchy.

Patty and Liz's concern tripled when Kid slid the ground, balling his loose hands into fists. He gripped the snow in his hands as tight as he could, trying to hold back the frustration that threatened to explode out of him. He was beaten, there was no other way to view it. Sure, he faced off against Kishin and didn't last for more than few seconds, but that was different. That man was human, powerful, but human none-the-less and he lost to him. For the first time, he felt a power gap between him and Shinigami.

He always recognized his Father as the more powerful Death God, but for him to be able to beat that man in a minute was a potent example. It was a sobering fact that he still had much to learn before being able to fully live up to his Father. His eyes shot open when he felt soft arms envelope him from one side, another set of arms hugging him from the other. He looked to either side of him to see Liz and Patty hugging him, "Liz, Patty,"

Patty gave him a sober grin, "Come on Kid, don't be sad. You did a good job."

"Yeah," Liz tightened her hold on him as she placed her head on top of his, "that guy was freakishly strong, you did the best you could."

Kid lowered his gaze and slowly smiled weakly, "I suppose you're right. I'll simply inform Father that I was unable to defeat the target." He wrapped his arms around both Thomson sisters, "Thanks."

After a pause of silence, "So," Patty looked at Kid innocently, "how are we getting home?"

"Finally," Liz stretched when they landed just outside of Shibusen, "it took us three whole days to repair Beelzebub." She looked at her hands and almost cried, "My poor manicure is ruined." She jumped back when a shot of spit hit the ground. Liz stiffly glared at her sister as she laughed loudly, her face still baring grease marks, "Patty, why are you still dressed like that?"

Patty innocently hummed in her jean overalls and striped t-shirt. She looked like a mechanic who just got done working on three cars for two days straight. Strangely, repairing Beelzebub didn't require anything more than a wrench and screw-driver, "I like what I'm wearing, it feels like... um," Patty looked upwards, "well I don't know what it feels like but it is fun."

"Patty, Liz," Kid looked back at the conversing sisters, "I'd like to confront Father by myself if you don't mind."

A look of concern crossed Liz's face, even Patty looked a bit hesitant to let him, "O-Okay, we'll see you back at the mansion." She turned and led the way back, Patty following with a slight pout.

The walk to Shinigami's office was a quiet one. Most of the students were away on assignment, and the teachers were taking the opportunity to prepare their lesson plans for later days. Kid entered Shinigami's office and calmly approached the platform holding the all too familiar mirror, "Father, I'm here to report on the mission you gave me."

The image of the Death God appeared before Kid, the goofy Shinigami greeting his son, "What up boyo?" He gave him a white foam-fingered 'V' sign and chuckled at the look Kid gave him, "So what do you have to report?"

Kid closed his eyes and bowed his head slightly, "I'm sorry Father, but I was unable to defeat the target. He got away after I gave it all I had." He knelt down on his knees and bowed low, "I am terribly sorry Father."

Shinigami stared down at Kid and scratched the back of his head... skull mask... thing, "Huuh," He made his thinking sound and moved to stroking his chin... skull mask teeth... oh you get it, "That's not what I heard." He turned to his left, "You can come out now."

Kid felt his heart stop when the sniper stepped out from behind the mirror, his hands in his pockets, "H-How, w-what are you doing here?" His body tensed, but he figured since Shinigami knew him, he wasn't an enemy anymore.

"Kid," Shinigami motioned towards sniper, "This is Michael, one of my elite Meisters known as Angels. I sent him to test your abilities and to report to me on how you did." He paused. Kid was sure he would be smiling if he could see it, "From what I heard, you did better than expected. At the rate you're growing, you'll make a fine Shinigami."

"I still don't understand," Kid looked at Michael, "that still doesn't explain your abilities."

Michael slowly blinked and sighed, "I am an ex-member of Black Water, a Privet Security Company. I am a master of CQC and a trained marksman."

"And the Clay Mores?" Kid glanced towards Shinigami and saw him scratch his head again.

Michael didn't answer and started towards the door, "They were made by my associate, it's top-secret even to you, so I'm sorry I can't answer your question on that." He waved back to Shinigami, "I have to get back to my assignment."

"What about the people who were in that town?" Kid showed some concern on this subject, surely it wasn't always filled with explosive dolls.

Shinigami shrugged, "They are all enjoying a vacation in the Caribbean, compliments of Shinigami." He laughed heartily at his brilliance, earning another look from Kid.

"Father," Kid started, but stopped when Shinigami held up his large white hand.

Shinigami sighed heavily, his eyes growing serious, "Kid, every Angel was hand picked by me. Each one of them fought against me and lasted at least thirty seconds. They are all very powerful Meisters."

"Then why not have them hunt down Kishin as well?" Kid immediately regretted asking that question when Shinigami's eyes thinned.

"They are looking into an even more pressing matter." He looked down before continuing, "Kid, I am going to tell you about the darkest day this world has ever faced. I am going to tell you about," He paused, "Halloween Night."

A/N: A little threesome in there, but not too much to be unbearable. So in case you haven't noticed, this is a companion piece to Dreary Silver, alluding to a bigger story focused on an interesting idea I had. Anyway, I am going to finish Dreary Silver and see how things go from there. To spark some interest, here's a preview:

There are two worlds that exist. There is our world, full of witches and Eggs of Kishin. Then there is the other world, a world of warlocks. In both worlds I have agents working to prevent a repeat of the worst night for both worlds. Halloween Night, a night when the power of witches and warlocks are increased ten fold. Kid, the war between us and the witches has become mild since the old days, but if the machine that will make Hallow Night permanent is completed, it will become a bloody war once more.

"Soul, what was your father like?"

"I don't really know, all I know is that he was known as the Pianist of Lost Hymns, Lucifer."

And there you have it, I hope that interests some of you. I can't promise it'll be up soon, school is filling my schedule lately. Thank you for reading, please leave a review!