Archive of Our Own

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Gerard’s tired. So fucking tired. Of everything. Everyone. And he desperately misses Mikey. More than ever today.

But of course as the prospective leader of Better Living Industries he can’t permit anyone to properly know that. Or maybe he could. If he wanted to be sent into the drab rehabilitation centers, but he knew that would do nothing but obliterate his memory of everything he had ever thought other than the strict things BL/Ind allowed.

So basically his absolute existence. Oh man. He is so fucked. He was fucked from the very terrible second he was born. Born into a charmed life that he never really wanted to have. FUCK. Born into a miserable life of pills and mind wipes. Constantly. He’s so weary of it.

He’s so tired. He absolutely could use a nap. But no. He has to complete this mission. Or at least provide enough fake evidence that he undoubtedly did to be able to fake his way home for a nap. There’s nothing he desires more at the moment. Well, that’s not precise. What he desperately desires is to get out of this hellhole he’s been ensnared in for as long as he can remember.

It was bearable for the first fifteen challenging years. And then Mikey left.

At least, that’s allegedly what the high-ranking official known as his mom draped in her flowing cloak of fucking lies informed him on that typical day three terrible years ago. He remembers that day vividly. He sits back and recalls it.

“Gerard,” He hears his mother call, in her cautious way of speaking, like any word said wrong could lead to her downfall. And he supposes as he carefully pulls on his issued hospital white combat boots, it very well could. The implemented system is rather unforgiving. He finishes lacing his boots and stands up allowing a cursory glance in the mirror to affirm that he is presentable.

Slicked back hair? Check.

Uniform in proper place? Check.

His identifying badge for getting into the office later? Check.

The awful blank look he invariably has to correctly assume to appear innocent? Double check.

The daily pills? Ha. As if. He and Mikey stopped forcibly taking them years ago. As soon as he had recognized what the did to you, he had voluntarily stopped taking them and forced Mikey to do precisely the same. Mikey. Poor Mikey. Gerard had inevitably been his mother’s favorite and he knows that if she knew that Mikey didn’t receive his pills he would be in rehab in five seconds flat. Probably faster. He remembered the first time they hadn’t taken them and the shared realization that they were breaking the law. It had been exhilarating and terrifying. That had been precisely three dreary years ago. Gerard cautiously feels a little bit off from time to time, but that’s just because he and Mikey represent the solitary ones in this whole goddamn city who perceive the brutal truth about what they do to you.

Instantly remembering that his mother had indeed called for him he responds properly, “Coming, Mother,” Ha. Like she justly deserved that title. He allowed another shrewd glance in the mirror and intentionally allowed him one last look of being alive, then proceeded to walk out of the cramped spartan immaculate and utterly drab room that has been his since before he can remember bitterly. Probably since before he was born.

He walks into the dining area and walks around the table, the soft thumps of his combat boots, the only noise he can hear other than his heartbeat. “Good morning Mother,” He says, monotonically just like he had been taught from birth and leans down to give her a swift kiss on the cheek, just as is expected. “Where’s Mikey?” He carefully questions realizing that his younger brother isn’t here.

A glazed look comes instantly into his mother’s pensive eyes. “Mikey,” She murmured then looks up her cold diluted brown eyes looking up into his hazel ones, “He’s vanished,”

“Gone where?” Gerard politely asks, fighting down the mild panic he feels rising in his chest.

His panicked anxiety merely grows when his mother completely disregards the question instead standing up and gently forcing him into his seat. “Why don’t you eat your breakfast?" She gently suggests no evident trace of emotion in her familiar robotic voice. Gerard nearly bursts into tears.

Exclusive fear holds him together. If he were to lose it, Destroya knows precisely what would invariably happen to him. Probably rooms full of nothing but disappointed faces dressed in white playing at angels and needles. Shiver. So instead of mourning what has happened to his mother he ingests his food numbly, and for the first time since he had taken the pills forced down every citizens throat by BL/Ind he experiences no emotion. Not even for his mother who had been deprived of every human emotion who had no idea where her second born was precisely. The stage of no emotion doesn’t last long and soon he is finished and pretending to be emotionless again.

Gerard shakes off the melancholy memory and stares into the moonlit desert. He wishes he would have pressed the issue further that day. Gotten more info. But he didn’t. He was a fucking coward as usual.

He knows intuitively that his unknown target was supposed to have appeared hours ago and as soon as he goes back to Battery City he will most likely be in huge trouble.

And that’s when he sights it.

Off in the sufficient distance, a dust cloud slowly getting larger on the horizon drawing nearer and nearer.

Gerard stares at it, carefully trying to gage whether it is BL/ind or if it is the Killjoys he was sent out to take down. He instantly feels a sickening drop in his nervous stomach as he identifies the uniform pair of white cars drawing near. He totals the cars and groans into his hands as he counts. Two! They either thought he needed backup, or he’s about to be in huge trouble. It’s probably the second he think numbly.

The white cars draw nearer and as he can undoubtedly see the Dracs staring steadfastly at him from behind the wheel and he genuinely feels like puking. Sure he allegedly knows that BL/Ind has reasonably suspected him for a long time, but he never thought that they would take this far.

He’s constantly assumed that he would die young. Probably executed on credible accusations of treason or intentionally killed on a impossible mission. He’s inevitably retained a target on his back from both sides of this war. From the Killjoys for being the eldest child of the prominent leader of BL/Ind and from BL/Ind for just not fitting in all the possible way. He had hoped however, that he would get to see Mikey again before he died.

It was this that flicked him out of his desolate state.

There was no fucking way he wasn’t going down without a vicious fight.

For Mikey.

He told himself carefully pulling his raygun out of his holster and stepping out of the car. He takes a deep breath for good luck and begins aiming carefully at the tires of the approaching cars. His fingers clutch the trigger turning white at the knuckles.

He hesitates for a second. If he pulls the trigger, there is no going back. Never again will he see his mother or his father. But than he thinks of everything he comprehends about the Killjoys.

Freedom. Colors. Anti BL/Ind.

The desperate chance for personal freedom from the humdrum lie he’s resided since the second his mother and father decided to have a child, the chance to maybe see Mikey again. He’s never given up hope that his brother was alive. Not even after his mother had failed to recognize Mikey’s name when he scarcely dared to bring him up.

And that’s what seals the deal for Gerard. He’d do anything to see his little brother again. He raises his blaster and carefully closing his left eye to aim, pulls the trigger. The resounding pop of the left punctured tire giving out rings out across the desert. He merely watches in grim satisfaction as the battered car swerves into the other sending sparks screeching into the brightening desert. The cars, however, manage to avoid completely crashing and escape with just some malicious scratches on the sides and a singed smell starts to tint the air. Gerard snatches a deep breath.

No going back now. He prompts himself snatching another breath and steadying his aim he pulls the trigger again.

BAM! There inevitably goes the other car’s tire he thinks grimly to himself. He watches attentively as the other car collides with the other one sending flames roaring into the night.

He extracts the appropriate keys out of the ignition of his still running car, and carefully keeping his blaster with him gradually makes his way across the moonlit sand to the wrecks.

The wrecks are emitting visible smoke billowing into the air, and Gerard feels keenly a glowing spark of panic as he realizes all the Killjoys in the local area will most likely come this way to note what the terrific explosion is from and what there is to loot from the scene.

Gerard cautiously approaches the car on the left first. He wrenches open the familiar door to the driver’s seat blaster in hand finger on the trigger ready to instantly shoot anything that moves in the cars. Nothing. Just a dead Drac. He investigates the other car with the equivalent amount of necessary caution then, certain that all the dracs are dead he levers over the trunk.

He knows that supplies are hard to find in the arid desert and if he is captured by Killjoys he can most likely use the necessary supplies to a) get information on Mikey, b) convince them not to kill him, and c) hopefully convince them not to turn him into BL/Ind. He kind of doubts that they’d get near enough to the city to turn him and risk getting caught, but hey, they’re Killjoys. Doing the impossible is kind of their whole thing.

He looks into the trunks dusty and slightly broiled interior and is not disappointed with the contents. There are five rayguns in each trunk, along with enough food rations to last about a month. He gathers everything into his arms and walks laboriously back to his car. He pops the trunk with his foot and deposits his load into the trunk. He rubs his side as three of the rayguns he carried had been digging rather painfully into his bruised ribs.

He takes an appraising look at the trunk then closes it and locks it. He has no doubt that anyone could pick that lock, but the Killjoys likely maintain too much honor to perform that, he hopes anyway.

He takes a look at the wrecks, and he knows it’s not overly long until the Killjoys show up and correctly decides that the excellentest course of action is to wait for them. He double checks that the key is secure in his shallow pocket then climbs on top of the car’s roof.

He sits passively and waits. His fingers slowly follow patterns on the roof. He relishes in the feeling of being free. All the more if that feeling is merely temporary, he’s gratified he received a taste of what it feels like to be free before he died. He looks down at his hands. He turns them this way and that regarding them. He never genuinely grasped why his hands always seemed so delicate, he’s invested hours training with every weapon left under the nuclear blasted sun sky and has spent hours typing reports of ‘crimes’ carry out by the Killjoys so one would think that he would bear some trace of that, but no his hands are so fucking smooth it’s driving him insane.

He realizes that looking down instead of looking up is an impractical idea as he doesn’t terribly feel like being attacked again so promptly.

He looks up, and his breath catches in his throat. The sunrise is astonishing.

There are all sorts of colors strewn across the sky in no particular order and there are a few last stars miraculously disappearing as he watches the sun rise slowly over the visible horizon.

He watches entranced until the sun is practically above the horizon.

At that time he hears the footsteps. He rises gradually, while staying low knowing that designating himself a more significant target would not remain a good idea. He's like to avoid being killed without even having a full day of freedom. He carefully pulls his blaster out his holster again if only to cause himself feel a little bit safer. He has no doubt that any Killjoy could easily outshoot him.

Hence, he holds it close to his side and crouching, spins around to confront the person approaching the car he’s perched on like a hysterical bird and regains his breath. There is something comforting in the way the Killjoy, for he can clearly see it’s a Killjoy because whoever it is, is decked out in a leather vest and a bright yellow shirt. AND of course the infamous mask of Frankenstein’s monster.

A flash of recognition appears in his exhausted mind. Fun Ghoul. Rather fitting given the mask. He gathered a deep breath.

This particular Killjoy had wreaked terrible havoc a couple of years ago by planting a errant bomb in a supply truck. Gerard remembers the day vividly and how he had secretly cheered for the man, because knowing that there was at least one person still out there who universally hated BL/Ind as much as him, he could keep going without Mikey. No matter how much it hurt.

The man had drifted closer now, and Gerard could clearly see that he had his blaster out and was clearly ready to execute him if he displayed any suspicious sign of violent hostility.

Gerard took a deep breath and in one smooth motion flung his gun onto the ground in front of him, placing his graceful hands on his head.

He had seen the Killjoy tense when he had moved, but the figure seemed to relax somewhat now that he was the only one with a weapon.

“Get off the car,” The Killjoy commanded, clearly not going to allow any chances.

Gerard slid down the side of the car and landed nimbly on the ground imposing his hands back on his head, which he had moved to steady himself if he fell. He placed his back up against the car and watched as the Killjoy drew nearer, blaster pointed directly at his head. Gerard just stood there, knowing full well that if the Killjoy wanted him dead he would be slain in seconds.

“Who are you?” The Killjoy said, haggard eyes boring into his.

“Gerard,” Gerard scarcely manages to choke out, suddenly very aware that the man in front of him is decked out in colors, and he is very much still in his Bl/Ind uniform which is probably enough to provide him negative incentive to annihilate him.

“Way?” Questions the Killjoy, face not giving away anything as he stares into Gerard’s soul.

Gerard moistens his lips nervously then slowly nods, not knowing if the man will kill merely because of his bloodline. The Killjoy tightens convulsively his fierce grip on his weapon, and says tersely, “Give me one reason why I shouldn’t shoot you,”

Gerard takes a breath, and he knows that bargaining will accomplish him nothing, so he answers satisfactorily, “BL/Ind wants me dead too,” He says nodding at the cars behind the Killjoy, “I was on a mission and those two came at me,”

The Killjoy extends his hand, “Stop. I don’t require the details. BL/Ind may want you dead, but why shouldn’t I kill you?”

Gerard thinks carefully for another critical second, “I haven’t taken the pills since before I turned thirteen,” He says flicking his tongue over his teeth nervously. He anxiously looks the Killjoy dead in the eye and waits nervously for his reaction.

“Keep talking,” The Killjoy monotones looking all for the world like Gerard is the most uninteresting person he has ever met.

“I really just want out of the City, and I don’t care if you shoot me, I just want out of there,” Gerard says earnestly his mind fighting off the apparent exhaustion of not having slept peacefully in three days, “I came out of that place three days ago as the future leader of that eternal hell. I’m standing here today as a traitor, with no more incentive to re-enter that place than you.” He lamely finishes looking tiredly up at the Killjoy, who has lowered his gun, a minor fraction.

“Alright,” Says the Killjoy, “Why shouldn’t I turn you in?”

Gerard tiredly smirks, “Turning me in would be the equivalent of turning yourself in,”

The Killjoy lowers his weapon entirely, “Fun Ghoul,” He says holding out his left hand for Gerard to shake, Gerard takes it and shakes it weakly before leaning against the car, sagging relieved the Killjoy has decided not to kill him for the moment.

“Even if you were going to run, I think you’re too tired,” The Killjoy comments.

Gerard’s fighting off sleep and it feels like a losing battle.

“Mmhm” He manages sleepily and through his tired haze he could swear that Fun Ghoul grins. Then he remembers that he can’t see because of the grinning green mask he wears.

“Here’s the plan,” Ghoul says taking a look at Gerard who is so tired he feels keenly like he could fall over at any possible second, “I’m going to transport you and the car to Dr. D who will decide what to do with you,” He reluctantly decides and Gerard nods sleepily along, “Are there handcuffs in the car?” He questions an apologetic wince conveying itself across his features.

Gerard intuitively understands, he takes the set he is required to carry off his belt (Fucking BL/Ind, like he was going to meet a stray Killjoy in the middle of Battery City) and offers them to Ghoul who takes them cautiously like they might be rigged. Gerard than sleepily twists the keys to both the handcuffs and the car out of his pocket and holds his hands out to Ghoul.

Ghoul bestows him an astonished look, “Just don’t damage the car,” He mutters sleepily as Ghoul puts the cuffs on his hands and Ghoul laughs, "I don't have enough sleep to worry about anything else,"

“I won’t,” He promises and directs a very placid Gerard into the back seat where after determining that Ghoul is not going to turn him in he falls asleep, feeling oddly safer than he has in a long time.

---

"Who do you think he's waiting for?" Says Jet a few hours earlier peering nervously over the sand dune. Ghoul can tell he's nervous because his afro is vibrating as he quivers with nervous energy as he slightly shakes.

“Us,” He says shooting Jet one of the grins he’s known across the desert for before pulling his mask all the way off.

It has the intended effect and Jet visibly calms down, “Yeah, right, an agent of BL/Ind is just going to sit out in the desert and wait for us,” He says rolling his eyes affectionately.

“You never know,” Says Ghoul brightly. A car’s motor suddenly permeates the air. “Where’s it coming from?” He asks as he intensely cranes his neck up trying to be able to see anything. Jet pokes his head over the dune edge they’ve been sitting behind for the past couple of hours watching and waiting tensely. Damn tall people. Why are all of his friends so tall?

“Over there,” He whispers and points one of his freakishly long fingers in the direction of the horizon where the sun is beginning to poke over the horizon cautiously, like it wishes it could go away.

Ghoul looks and sure enough in the distance he can vaguely see two white cars contrasting obviously against the desert. He moves to stand, but Jet pulls him back down, “Look,” He hisses violently in Ghouls ear and he winces. Then he looks.

The official they have spent the last few hours watch sit still has finally moved. The figure steps smoothly out of the car and smoothly pulls out a blaster. “What’s he doing?” Ghoul hisses, they’ve never seen another BL/Ind employee pull a weapon on another, much less on two cars. It’s madness. If he pulls it off Ghoul is going to be mildly impressed. He watches the figure’s shoulders rise and fall once then suddenly,

BAM!

One of the cars veers off course towards the other and Jet makes an impressed noise. Even Ghoul has to admit that was an insane shot, but this guy made it look easy. (But then again, what does he know about guns? He just blows stuff up. But Jet looks impressed so that’s good enough for him.)

He looks back at the figure, and they’ve pulled off another insanely talented shot in the time that he looked away, and he watches as the cars collide. He sees the figure’s shoulder sag in relief and he is unsure if this is some crazy training exercise, but then the figure holsters his ray gun and walk to the car crash.

They watch as he pokes around the wreckage, and Ghoul and Jet exchange startled looks when he walks back to his car arms full after looting the other two cars of any useful items they might have. The figure then proceeds to climb on top of their car and just sit there.

“I’m going in,” Declares Ghoul, realizing that this could be their chance to get inside info on BL/Ind. Jet gives him a look that says

Don’t do anything stupid

and he just grins again. Jet is clearly not reassured, but before he can do anything Ghoul is off and running across the sand crouched down, then standing up. Totally not stupid. No way.

The man spins around slowly and rises to a crouching position on the car. The man appears to recognize him, but doesn’t do anything which surprises Ghoul. Normally he would have been shot at by now. The man moves his hand towards his belt, and Ghoul tenses instantly.

He had watched this man disable two cars in the space of a few precarious seconds easily, if he wanted him dead he would probably be dead. Instead he throws his gun towards Ghoul and it lands at his feet. He looks at it cautiously hoping it won’t explode. That would be an ironic way to die he thinks morbidly as he relaxes slightly, but doesn’t ease his grip on the gun in the slightest. He looks back up at the man and realizes he has his hands on his head.

“Get off the car,” Ghoul states, tone invoking no argument, slightly amused not like he’d show that now though.

The man slides down the car moving his hands to stabilize himself as he wobbles precariously and Ghoul notices that he has lovely hands. He places them back on his head though.

“Who are you?” He asks staring the other man down and it does the intended job as he seems rather intimidated.

“Gerard,” The man says tensing like he expects something and- wait Gerard. Like the future leader of BL/Ind? Ghoul instantly tightens his grip.

“Way?” He questions.

The other man licks his lips and Ghoul pretends he isn’t staring at the sight from behind his mask, and nods.

“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t shoot you,” He states, willing to withhold his judgement until he gets an answer as to why this man just killed his companions in cold blood.

“BL/Ind wants me dead too,” The man monotones, “I was on a mission and those two came at me,”

“Stop,” Says Ghoul, this could easily be a set up he thinks, then continues, “I don’t require the details. BL/Ind may want you dead, but why shouldn’t I kill you?”

The other man hesitates then says more nervous than Ghoul has ever seen a person, “I haven’t taken the pills since I was thirteen,” Ghoul tried to hide his surprise at this. A Way?? Who didn’t take the pills? This was going to be interesting.

“Keep talking,” Ghoul tries going for as bored as he can.

“I really just want out of the city,” Way says and Ghoul is shocked. Who is this guy? “I don’t care if you shoot me. I just want out of there,” The guy says looking more tired than anyone he’s seen since- he doesn’t need to get distracted. “I came out of that place three days ago of the leader of that eternal hell,” Ghoul feels like if the stranger could see his face that h’s find it quite amusing, “I’m standing here today as a traitor, with no more incentive to re-enter that place than you,” Ghoul’s astonishment at this guy is slowly growing, first the cars now this.

“Alright,” He says, “Why shouldn’t I turn you in?” He questions knowing full well that that would be suicide. (And he has no intention of letting this opportunity get by him)

The guy smirks and holy shit he looks tired! And cute but Ghoul ignores that, “Turning me in would be the equivalent of turning yourself in,” He states matter a factly.

Ghoul grins. He’s not wrong. This guy has his respect, “Fun Ghoul,” He states holding out his left hand in a mean-spirited effort to confuse the man. He takes it in stride though and shakes it. He then sags against the car and Ghoul can’t believe how tired he looks. “Even if you were going to run, I think you’re too tired,” Remarks Ghoul and to his relief, the only response he gets is
“Mmhm”

“Here’s the plan,” Ghoul says taking a look at Gerard who is so tired looking “I’m going to transport you and the car to Dr. D who will decide what to do with you,” He reluctantly decides and Gerard nods sleepily along, “Are there handcuffs in the car?” He questions an apologetic wince conveying itself across his features. He really doesn’t want to do this, but it really is safer for him and Jet.

Gerard sleepily fumbles at his belt and Ghoul is surprised when he hands him a pair of handcuffs. He takes them looking suspiciously at them and looks up to see Gerard holding his hands out to him with two sets of keys in them. One for the car and one for the handcuffs he assumes.

“Just don’t damage the car,” He mutters sleepily as Ghoul puts the cuffs on his hands and Ghoul laughs, "I don't have enough sleep to worry about anything else," Gerard mumbles sleepily and Ghoul feels like this sleepy Bl/ind employee is either telling very much the truth or a very good actor.

“I won’t,” He promises and directs a very placid Gerard into the back seat where after determining that Ghoul is not going to turn him in he falls asleep.

Ghoul leaves him napping in the car and stand sup signaling to Jet.

“What’s the story?” Jet asks gesturing at the sleeping passenger.

“Gerard Way. Traitor and dead shot,” Informs Ghoul and he grins a little at the perfect O shape Jet’s mouth makes.

“Holy shit,” Jet breathes taking a closer look at the man.

“I know,” Says Ghoul leaning against the car, and it seems some of Gerard’s exhaustion has worn off on him. “Ready to head back?” He questions Jet who seems slightly in shock at the man sitting in the back seat.

“Yeah,” He replies snapping out of his awe inspired stupor, “You going to drive that?” He asks as he nods distastefully at the white car.

“Yeah,” Says Ghoul, “But you’d better go first to warn them what I’m driving or I’ll be dead.”

“Alright,” says Jet squaring his shoulders, “See you at the broadcast station,”

Ghoul nods then watches as his partner hikes back to where they parked their car nearly twelve hours earlier. He sighs and opening the door swings his small frame into the car and buckles up for the drive back to the Station, where he wonders what is going to happen.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

When Gerard wakes up he feels safe. It’s a brand new feeling and it takes him a couple of seconds to figure it out. He blearily blinks his eyes and winces slightly as the harsh desert sun fills them as easily as filling a glass of water. Though, you can't do that in the desert.He hears a quiet chuckle and he opens his eyes again, the previous day’s events rushing back to him. He sits up suddenly panicking. He was too tired to really process his actions, and the severity and consequences of his actions sink in.“Dude, chill,” He hears Ghoul say and he looks up wide eyed to see the man gazing at him in the driver’s mirror, “I’m not going to hurt you,” The man reassures him looking awfully concerned, and Gerard realizes he’s taken his mask off. A pair of brown eyes stare back into his and he loses focus as he looks at them. They have a silent staring contest until,“I know,” He chokes out, eyes slowly taking in the desert that they’re driving through. He’s never been this far out before, “Just-” He huffs moving to brush his hair out of his eyes, then remembering that he’s handcuffed and can’t, “Yesterday,” He pauses struggling for words angrily bouncing his knee, a habit he's had to keep in check for as long as he can remember.The Killjoy shoots him a sympathetic look in the mirror, “It’s a lot to process isn’t it,” He says smiling softly and Gerard feels like that smile is more deadly than his gun. Which he realizes is most likely still lying on the ground where he slung it. Ugh. He really liked that one.“Yeah,” He says looking out the window at a cactus, “I’m kind of just now realizing the full extent of my actions,”“Do you wish you hadn’t done it,” Ghoul questions, and Gerard thinks for a hard second. Does he? If he hadn’t done what he had he would be locked up in BL/Ind headquarters while anticipating being harshly mind wiped. “NO,” He decides strongly, “I don’t regret it, this is much better than what would have happened if I hadn’t shot those cars,”“What would have happened?” Says Ghoul looking like he actually cares, and Gerard is so unsettled by this that he feels he might just fall over. He's not used to people other than Mikey caring about him.“Mind wipe,” He answers, tone leaving no room for more questions, but the Killjoy fits perfectly into the stereotype of being pushy by pushing farther. “Really?” He questions sounding surprised.“What, do you think they wouldn’t mind wipe a Way?” He laughs sarcastically, “I’ve got news for you, I was just a way to ensure that their reign could continue, it’s not that hard to replace me. It’s a wonder I have a mind anyway with the amount of times that they’ve done it to me,” He finishes bitterly looking up at the Killjoy’s shocked face in the mirror, “Don’t look so surprised,” He says drily and Ghoul snaps his open mouth shut.“Do they not have family loyalty?” He says, looking like Gerard has just announced that he’s going to be staked for being a vampire, which he had to admit wasn't all that likely, they had moved past stakings ages ago, “Please tell your parents don’t see you like that,” His tone is desperate and Gerard feels horrible.Gerard sighs, “They do,” He says not daring to look up and see the crestfallen look on the other man’s face, “I’m not sure if my parents even remember if my parents remember the first word I said, or even were there. My parents didn’t seem to really know what love was,” He risks a look up and winces as the other man’s eyes mist over.“Out here crews are like our family,” Ghoul says, “We all love each other and always have each other’s backs,” He gives Gerard a small smile and Gerard feels like this man is trying to reassure him that love exists. “Is that what love feels like?” He asks quietly, unsure whether or not he wants to know. Though, he supposes that he does. “Yes,” Says Ghoul stopping the car, he turns around to face Gerard, “Come sit up here,” He says motioning to the passengers seat. Gerard clambers awkwardly over the center council and Ghoul is gracious enough not to mention the way that Gerard’s cheeks go scarlet when he helps him from falling on his face, “Do you really not know what love is?” He asks twisting in his seat to look Gerard in the eye, and Gerard ignores the fluttery feeling in his stomach.Gerard thinks, “I love my brother,” He decides.“Brother?” Asks Ghoul gently.“Yeah,” Gerard says, “He disappeared three years ago,”Ghoul makes a face like he’s trying to remember something than says, “Love is feeling like your world would have nothing in it with out that thing, like your heart is being split in two, like you can’t go on. It feels like your falling and can’t control it, and yet it feels terrifying and exhilarating,” He finishes.“Yeah?” Says Gerard.“Yeah,” Says Ghoul firmly, “You’ll understand one day,”“I get it,” Says Gerard, “When my brother disappeared, it felt like someone had pulled the rung out from under my feet and I hit my head on the way down,”Ghoul smiles, “That’s it,” He starts the car again and they take off again, "I hope your brother's out here," He says off-hand and Gerard feels a pang.“How far off are we?” Gerard asks looking out at the empty landscape and feeling like he is falling down Alice’s hole to Wonderland. Ghoul would be a good white rabbit, he decides. He always seems to be moving.“About five minutes,” Says Ghoul, as a building comes into view in the distance.“They’re not going to shoot at the car, are they?” Gerard asks a sinking feeling in his stomach as Ghoul grins and shrugs casually like this is an everyday happening.“Hopefully not,”Gerard feels like this should be reassuring, but he feels like it could be in fact the opposite, “What do I need to know about Dr. D?” He asks, remembering dimly something about the man being mentioned before he fell asleep.Ghoul looks surprised, “You remember that?” He asks looking amused, “You looked so out of it that I wasn’t sure what you would remember later,”“Well, I remembered,” Says Gerard waiting for an answer. He wasn’t sarcastic. Not at all.“He’s not a real doctor,” Ghoul says, “He just thought it sounded cool. He’s the closest thing we have to a leader, so don’t piss him off. And he will probably listen to you,” He adds an afterthought.“Very helpful,” Says Gerard rolling his eyes, even though he knows that any info he can get is really helpful.“Hey!” Protests Ghoul, “I could throw you out of the car, don’t sass the driver!”Gerard laughs, “IF you were going to you would probably would have already,”“Oh, yeah?” Says Ghoul pulling the car over and making a move to throw him out. Gerard dodges him though and pokes his tongue out at him childishly, “Do that again and I’ll bite your tongue off,” Warns Ghoul teasingly.Gerard rolls his eyes and looks out the window to hide his blush as the building grows nearer. It’s mostly a small shack and Gerard feels thrilled at the site. It’s so nonuniform and filthy and he just knows if his mom saw it she’d pitch a fit. He realizes that she would also throw a fit if she saw him in a car with a wanted criminal driving and laughs harder than he can ever remember.“What’s so funny?” Asks Ghoul, raising an eyebrow.“I’m thinking about what my mother would say if she saw us,” Gerard gasps in between laughs, “Probably something like; Gerard what are you doing! Stop fraternizing with the enemy! You have to run all of this someday!”“Does she really sound like that?” Ghoul asks, looking amused at Gerard’s antics, and looks very much like he is trying not to laugh.“Yes!” Giggles Gerard and the expression on Ghoul’s face when he hears it is absolutely adorable. Not that Gerard dwells on that. Not at all.“We’re here,” Says Ghoul laughing against his best efforts. Gerard suddenly snaps back to earth. Very aware that he is about to talk with the man that could decide his fate.“Ok,” He breathes out anxiety filling him up like a balloon. Totally not nervous. Not at all. Ghoul gives him a sympathetic glance.“It’ll be okay,” Says Ghoul laying a comforting hand on his arm before walking around the car to help Gerard out, and Gerard definitely doesn’t stare at his ass. And if he does, well it’s a nice ass. But why would he know that? He wasn’t staring.Gerard stands outside the car and takes a deep breath before letting Ghoul lead him into the shack. Instantly his breath is blown away. The room is full of chaotic energy. Everywhere he looks there are pre BL/Ind posters of bands and records with colorful labels. This room is everything he wishes he could be. Loud. Chaotic. Colorful. Explicit. Maybe he’s got a shot at that now. He looks around for a couple more seconds, but he can’t find anyone. All he can see are a couple of doors and a ton of stuff that looks unfamiliar.“This way,” Says Ghoul tugging on his arm and leading him through a door, through which Gerard can see a silhouette, “Dr. D!” Yells Ghoul louder than Gerard could ever imagine a person as small as he could get, “There’s someone you need to meet!”The man himself is sitting at an old radio counsel. He holds up a finger and Ghoul pouts as he waits. After a second he spins around and Gerard takes a couple seconds to stare at the man behind the revolution. He’s shorter than expected because the way Ghoul reverently says his name made him picture someone really tall. He’s also got a crazy mustache and is decked out in colorful desert wear like Ghoul.“Who’s this?” He finally says after what feels like an agonizing fifteen seconds sizing up Gerard.“Gerard Way,” Crows Ghoul cheerfully and he completely ignores the slightly panicked look that Gerard shoots him.“Way to throw me in the deep end,” Mutters Gerard out of the side of his mouth.Ghoul rolls his eyes and replies, “You’ll be fine,”Dr. D rolls his eyes, “I can hear you,’ He says and Gerard offers him a small smile in hopes to get on his good side, and Dr. D settles back down into his chair, “So what’s your story?” He asks throwing his legs up on the counsel and snapping his gum.Ghoul opens his mouth and Dr. D sighs, “Not you Ghoul. I want to hear from him,” He says spinning to point lazily at Gerard.“Me?” Gerard stammers.“Yeah,” Says Dr. D amused, “Not used to people asking to listen to you? Are you kid?”“Not really,” Gerard stammers.“So what’s the story?” Dr. D says, “I know it’ll be interesting if Ghoul is this excited,” He remarks smirking at the Killjoy. Ghoul blushes and stops bouncing up and down.“I don’t think it was that interesting,” Gerard protests.“I disagree,” Says Dr. D, “It’s not very often we get a defect from BL/Ind,”“Alright then,” Says Gerard still not convinced, “Long story short, after being suspected of breaking BL/Ind protocol I was sent into the desert on a mission with no real goal. After three days, they sent cars out to make sure I was dead. I shot the cars they crashed. BOOM! Big explosion,” Says Gerard waving his hands around to emphasize, “Then Ghoul found me, and we drove here while I was asleep and here I am,” He finished.Dr. D turned to Ghoul, “Is he leaving anything out?”Ghoul grinned, “Only the part where he shot the car’s tires from like 50 meters and made them crash,”“That’s an exaggeration,” Gerard exclaims rolling his eyes. Dr. D grins.“Ghoul could you leave us for a moment,” Dr. D asked, “Keys,” He says holding out his hand and Ghoul and drops the keys to the handcuffs Gerard remembers he's still wearing in them.“See you,” He says pressing a quick kiss on Gerard’s cheek that he doesn’t even have time to register before he Ghoul is out of the room, as Ghoul leaves appearing slightly disappointed to not be a part of the conversation, Dr. D  asks “Did you really shoot the car’s tires out?” He asks conspiratorially lowering his voice.Gerard nods, “I did,”Dr. D whistled, “Impressive. There’s not many of us who can pull that shot off.”“Really?” Says Gerard interested. From what BL/Ind has told him all the Killjoys could easily out shoot him“Indeed,” Says Dr. D, “And I want to know the full story Gerard, not just the quick version,”Gerard sighs, “Where do you want me to start?”“The beginning of course,” Says Dr. D.“Right,” Mutters Gerard, “Ok, I guess it started when I was thirteen and stopped taking the pills,”“You didn’t take the pills?” Inquires Dr. D.“No,” Confirms Gerard, “I didn’t, I made my brother stop taking them too,”“Brother?” Dr. D says.“Yes,” Gerard says soldiering on through the story, “Then when I was fifteen Mikey vanished and I started training under Korse. That was three years ago, since then I’ve amounted to absolutely nothing except being suspected of treason. Which of course is true. That eventually led to the last three days of events and here I am,”“Ok,” Says Dr. D, “What can you tell me about BL/Ind’s plans?”Gerard sighs. He’s known that this was coming, “Nothing we can trust, I’ve been different since I was a kid, so anything they told me can’t be trusted. I’ve gone through too many mid wipes to count and I don’t think anything I say about BL/Ind’s plans can be trusted,”“You know Gerard, I have a good feeling about you,”“Really?” Says Gerard slightly shocked.“Yes,” Says Dr. D standing stiffly up, “How’d you like to become a Killjoy Gerard?”Gerard’s shock must be written all over his face, “Really?” He stammers.“Yep,” Says Dr. D.“I’d love to,” Says Gerard, “But I’m not sure it’s the best idea. Most people won’t trust me because of my bloodline,”“They’ll trust you if I say to,” Says Dr. D.Gerard’s brain keeps coming up with worse case scenarios, “What if I fail?” He asks mouth dry. Because FUCK he doesn’t want to mess this up.“That’s what will make you succeed Gerard,” States Dr. D smiling, “Knowing you’re not perfect. Welcome to the Killjoys.”“Thank you,” Stammers Gerard, “There is one more thing though,”“What?” Asks Dr. D.“My brother Mikey, do you know if he’s out here?”“I do know Gerard, but you have to find him.”“Ok,” Breathes Gerard, “Oh my god, he’s alive,” He says smiling wider than he can ever remember.Dr. D smiles underneath his mustache, “There is one small issue before Ghoul comes to get you,” He says motioning at Gerard’s hands.Gerard’s brain takes a second to catch on, “Oh yeah,” He mutters sheepishly. He had forgotten that he was wearing the handcuffs still after the excitement of learning that Mikey was alive. He holds his hands out to Dr. D and he undoes the cuffs and holds his hand out to Gerard. He takes it grinning and shook it.“Ghoul you can come in and stop eavesdropping,” Dr. D calls, and Gerard rolls his eyes totally unsurprised.“I wasn’t!” Protested Ghoul, but as Dr. D raised eyebrow so artfully Gerard feels like he should clap he amends, “OK, just a little,”“Ghoul take Gerard to get new gear and help him pick a Killjoy name,” Dr. D instructs and Ghoul grins rubbing his hands demonically together.“Alright,” He grins, “This is going to be fun,” He grabs Gerard by the arm and Gerard swears he sees Dr. D roll his eyes before he is dragged violently into yet another room he didn’t notice.“Welcome to fashion paradise,” Ghoul says spreading his arms out and spinning in a circle.Gerard looks around and feels slightly overwhelmed. There are bright colors everywhere. Everywhere. He blinks eyes trying to take in the colors. When his eyes can look again Ghoul is bustling around in a fashion that reminds him of rather of the nanny him and Mikey had when they were younger. Ah, she was a the worst.As his mind expands to allow the vast world of color to sink in he hears Ghoul muttering, “Yes. No. Gross who’d want to wear that? Yeah. Nope. That would match this, but it doesn’t really,” Gerard follows the smaller boy with his eyes and he is astounded by the sheer amount of clothing Ghoul is carrying.“Who are those for?” He questions.Ghoul turns around grinning so brightly it feels like Gerard is having to stare directly into the fucking sun, “You silly!” Gerard remembers that he is still in his stark white uniform with the BL/Ind logo on the front. He picks at the hem unsure of himself as he watches as Ghoul staggers over and dumps a pile of clothes on the ground. His eyes widen as Ghoul begins pulling item after item out of the pile and holding it up against him briskly.“Is this really necessary?” Gerard asks, then wishes he hadn’t as Ghouls eyes widen dramatically.“Why of course,” He says looking at Gerard with a look that makes him feel like someone is tracing his spine. It’s absolutely terrifying and wolf-like. He then thrusts a significantly smaller pile than the one at the beginning at Gerard, “Try these on,” He demands then turns around.Gerard awkwardly strips and begins to try on outfits. He pretends he doesn’t see Ghoul peeking at him. He feels like he’s a mannequin.  He finally tries on the last  outfit after many denials and emphatic nos from Ghoul  which consists of a pair of gray skinny jeans he feels like are painted on and a blue leather shirt and yellow shirt. Ghoul squeals and jumps up and down as Gerard turns around for him to see.“THIS IS IT!!!” He yells spinning Gerard around to get the full effect.“You think?” Says Gerard skeptically.“I know,” Whispers Ghouls and Gerard feels very unsure of what to do. Ghoul is in his face looking him in the eye and then just as suddenly as he was there he isn’t, “Now you just need a mask, a gun, and most importantly a name!”He walks along the shelves looking at masks, “If you see one you like it’s yours,” He calls over his shoulder. Gerard looks at the masks. There are way too many to count. They come in all colors and shapes. Then a yellow one catches his eye. It’s small and has diamonds over the eyes and blue circles. He picks it up and knows instantly that this is the one.“Found one!” He calls out, Ghoul spins around.He rushes back and gasps, “That’s perfect! Try it on!”Gerard hesitantly ties on the mask and looks up at Ghoul.“Perfect,” Whispers Ghoul and suddenly he is being pulled through rows of shelves again until he is standing in front of a rack of guns, “Pick one,” He says gesturing at them.Gerard looks at them. They all are brightly colored and he grins as one catches his eye, it’s the same model as his other one and he picks it up and methodically fiddles with the trigger. Ghoul looks slightly alarmed and Gerard laughs, “I’m to going to shoot you,” He treasures and Ghoul smiles.“Let’s go!” He announces dragging Gerard back into the main room. He yells, “HEY SHOW PONY!!!” And Gerard catches a glimpse of a tall figure on roller skates before he is back out in the bright sun, “Come on,” Ghoul says pulling on Gerard’s arm at the elbow, and Gerard fells like he's going o dislocate it.“OK,” Says Gerard a little tired of being pulled around as he gets back into the car.Once he’s in the car Ghoul lowers his voice conspiratorially, “I know a Mikey and I’m going to take you to him, but for now you need a Killjoy name.”Gerard smiles in gratitude at Ghoul and thinks as Ghoul starts the car and takes off. It doesn't even occur to him to be miffed that Ghoul was eavesdropping.“What about Rattlesnake Kid?” Asks Ghoul with a glint in his eye that makes Gerard very very nervous.“Naw,” Gerard says, then inspiration hits him, “Party Poison,” He blurts out.Ghoul blinks at him, “I like it,” He decides, “We’ll be there in about fifteen minutes, so go ahead and ask any questions you have,”Gerard blinks slowly. He has a lot of questions, “What does it mean to be a Killjoy?” He asks after thinking for a minute.Ghoul looks at him like this is the question that makes his world go round, “It means different things to different people,” He explains slowly, “To me it means the chance for a better future, rebelling against BL/Ind, and making sure that there is still happiness in the world. There are some that are bitter and see it as a game of revenge, and those,” He says slowly, “Those are the ones who die the quickest,”Gerard nods. Ghoul’s explanation makes sense. “What are some things I should know about the person you are taking me to see?”Ghoul hesitates, “He’s very sarcastic,” he says not appearing whether or not to keep talking, “And he’s like twice as tall as me,”Gerard thinks, it’s not the Mikey he remembers, but so much could have changed in the three years since they saw each other last. He stares into the distance hoping it is the right Mikey.He sees another small out post appear in the distance and the rest of the ride is silent except for the hum of tire wheels and the engine’s quiet purr. Ghoul parks a in front of what looks like an old diner from back before the Nuclear Wars.Ghoul speaks again lookings at Gerard, “Ready?”“No,” Admits Gerard.“Perfect,” Says Ghoul clapping as they climb out of the car and walk into the diner.Gerard’s eyes take a second to adjust than he sees two figures sitting in booths.“YO! KOBRA!!!” Yells Ghoul and the tall figure slowly turns to face them.“Hey Ghoul,” Says a very familiar, but slightly deeper and more gravely voice and Gerard finds himself staring at his kid brother, all grown up, “Who’s this?” Asks Mikey and Gerard can’t speak. He's too choked up to say anything.“Can’t recognize your own brother?” He finally asks hoarsely and Mikey stares at him. Eyes wide and full of guilt that Gerard doesn't understand where it comes from.“Gerard,” He whispers and Gerard nods. Mikey flies across the room and scoops him up in a rough hug squeezing so tight it feels like he's going to burst.“Hey,” Murmurs Gerard, “I’ve missed you,” Squeezing back.“You have no idea,” Says Mikey wiping tears out of his eyes still full of guilt. “So how's life been?” Gerard asks like he would when Mikey came home from school and Mikey looks like he’s going to fall over. Gerard looks at his brother and marvels at the lanky figure he's grown into.“It’s been good,” He says weepily and pulls Gerard back into a hug. Gerard can feel his brother shaking and sobbing into his shoulder. Gerard sheds a tear and composes himself.“I’m here, and I’m not leaving,” He says softly and Mikey sobs harder.Gerard hugs his brother and wishes desperately that he never has to let go again.---Kobra leans back in the diner seat, Sandman's going to be here soon and he's kind of tired of waiting. He watches as the shadows of the diner slowly begin to fall shorter and shorter. Finally Sandman walks in, hair full of sand and Kobra breathes a sigh of relief. He never knows if Sandman is going to come back alive or in a body-bag and the anxiety blanket he's felt all morning since he left to investigate the explosion vanishes."Took you long enough," He mutters, pulling in Sandman for a quick kiss. A kiss that portrays I missed you, I wish you didn't have to leave, and most importantly I'm glad you're still alive."Hey," Laughs Sandman and Kobra feels like that laugh could be the only thing he could hear forever and he would be okay with that, even if Sandman is only laughing to try and lighten the mood, "We had to check out a couple of wrecks. Sharpshooter took out the tires and they crashed," He says. Kobra frowns, "Sharpshooter?" He asks confused, "I didn't think we had any," The last one they did have had disappeared a few months ago then turned up dead."That's the crazy thing," Says Sandman and Kobra is mildly interested, "Rumor has it, that it was a BL/Ind employee turned turncoat and shot out his own cars," He says and Kobra's heart skips a beat. He desperately wants it to be Gerard, but he knows it won't be. But that doesn't mean he doesn't hope."Anything else?" He asks cautiously."Ghoul and Jet supposedly found him on patrol and took him to see Dr. D, and do you know the craziest part?" He asks as they cross the diner to where Kobra was sitting before and sit down limbs tangled and Kobra gently picks the sand out of his hair."What?" Kobra asks, really wanting an answer but hesitant to let Sandman know about his interest about the subject."Ok," Says Sandman, "Rumor is that it's the one and only Dave Way's eldest son, that deserted," He looks up at Kobra and by the reaction he has that he isn't as good at hiding his elatedness at this news, "Why is that so interesting?" He asks, disentangling himself from Mikey to look him in the eye not used to Kobra showing this level of interest in his gossip. Kobra takes a deep breath."There's a conversation we need to have," He says refusing to meet Sandman's eye.He thinks about the catastrophic effect this could have on their relationship and decides that this conversation needed to happen, it would have eventually anyway, "So do you know the rumors about the Way's youngest son deserting and running away to the desert?" He asks."Yes," Says Sandman and Kobra struggles for words."The rumors," He chokes out, "They're true,""What?" Asks Sandman sitting up so fast it seems like he turned into a jack in the box."Yeah," Says Kobra forcing himself to look Sandman in the eye, as he says, "I- I'm Mikey Way," He looks at Sandman carefully and he is relieved to see nothing hostile in his eyes."Really?" He says leaning back in the booth to take a closer look at Kobra. "I was," Says Kobra, "But my brother and I stopped taking the pills when I was ten, When I turned thirteen I realized I needed to get out. No matter the consequences," He takes a deep breath, "So I got out to the desert, as you know, because you helped me, so if the guy who shot the cars really is my brother, that would be" He trails off looking up from the table to look at Sandman. He looks in shock."So correct me if I'm wrong," He says looking at Kobra, "I'm dating a Way,""I don't lay claim to my heritage," Kobra says darkly, but relieved that Sandman isn't dumping him right off the bat."Ok," Says Sandman, "And you're telling me that the Way kids, inheritors of the BL/Ind empire stopped taking the pills!" "Yeah," Says Kobra, "It was hard, but it felt like waking up,"Sandman stares at him in awe, "So if the man really is your brother,""Bl/Ind no longer has any leaders waiting to step up," Confirms Kobra."Oh my god," Breathes Sandman."Are you okay, with me being a Way," Stammers Kobra, incredibly nervous."Of course!" Says Sandman, like he never imagined not being okay with it, "You're still you!""Thank you," Murmurs Kobra pulling Sandman into a hug. "I have two questions though," Says Sandman, "Do you want them to be your brother?""Yes," Says Kobra, "He was my role model growing up, seeing him would be everything to me, but I feel so bad about leaving him behind. I have no idea what he's been through and if it is him he could hate me, especially for leaving him behind,"Sandman grabs his hand, "It'll be okay,"The three words make him feel all the more reassured and Sandman smiles, "Now for my second question. Why didn't you tell me? I never would have judged you. Ever, I never would have seen you as anything other than you,"Kobra smiles sadly at him, "I was scared, I'd barely had time to process what life without controlling rules and laws was, and then I met you. You were like a firework cutting through the gloom that was my life and you were everything to me. And I-" He chokes and Sandman wraps his arms tightly around him, holding him close like he's never going to let him go, "I was scared to lose that, so I never told you,"Sandman's arms tighten around him, "You never need to worry about that, you're my everything. Who you were doesn't matter to me, the only thing that matters is the here and now," And they casually make out until they hear a car engine whining in the distance."That'll be Ghoul," Sighs Sandman pulling back and taking up his position on the other side of the bench. They both look each other over and make sure that they don't look like they did nothing but make out all afternoon. "YO!!! KOBRA!!!" Yells Ghoul obnoxiously banging the door to the diner behind him. Kobra spins to look at him and is surprised to see a nervous looking figure standing next to him. The figure holds themselves in a familiar style, but Kobra doesn't want to get his hopes up. "Hey Ghoul," He says pretending to be tired of his friend already, "Who's this?" He asks gesturing at the person standing next to him and trying to act like the answer he could potentially receive isn't making him nervous enough he feels like he's shaking. He might actually be shaking judged on the look he sees Sandman giving him out of the corner of his eye.The figure looks at him and says voice static with emotion, "Can't recognize your own brother?""Gerard," He whispers, not sure if this is a dream, then Gerard nods and that's all it takes. He flies across the room and scoops his brother up into his arms, so glad he doesn't hate him but still feeling guilty for leaving him behind, he can't stop the tears pouring down his cheeks at rapid rates. He squeezes and Gerard squeezes back."Hey, I've missed you," He whispers and Kobra feels his heart shatter. His brother missed him.He feels guiltier than ever and whispers, "You have no idea," Gerard smiles softly, it's such a Gerard thing to do that Kobra feels like he's slipped back in time."So how's life been?" Gerard questions and Kobra chokes up, it's so casual, but such a reminder of the way things used to be. Gerard used to ask him this everyday."It's been good," He manages still crying he pulls Gerard in for another hug."I'm here," Gerard whispers softly rubbing his back like he would after a nightmare when they were kids, "And I'm not leaving," He reassures and Kobra just hugs him and hopes that he won't.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

"So what's been going on lately with your life?" Asks Gerard sitting down in the booth across from Mikey- Kobra he correct, as casually as if they didn't just have an overly emotional reunion and had seen each other yesterday. It's kind of odd how casual he is about this. All he wanted yesterday was to see Mikey and now it's just normal. Or as normal as this is.Kobra laughs- short and fake. Gerard can tell and so can the dark-haired man who is sitting on Kobra's left unusually close to Kobra and looking suspiciously at him. Gerard takes a closer look at the man, he's at least three inches shorter than him, has a muscular build, and looks like he could easily take him down in a fight. Not that Gerard wants to fight him. "Nothing much, just meeting my brother I haven't seen in three years, and never thought I'd see again. Nothing that huge really," Kobra says sounding really defensive. Gerard can't ever remember him sounding like this. His little brother's grown up hard as it is to believe."Babe, your not fooling anyone," Whispers the man leaning his head gently on Kobra's shoulder and Gerard feels a tear in his heart. He's glad that Kobra's found someone to love him, but he can't help but feel a little jealous. He wishes that he'd get that. Maybe he will. But he thinks that BL/Ind is more likely to surrender than someone is to fall in love with him. What is there to love about a former BL/Ind employee?"I know," Whispers Kobra, and Gerard grins, at least the sarcasm is still there. Even if the rest of him is unfamiliar."We can hear you," Ghoul says bluntly and Kobra and the other man are apparently not at all surprised by the man's statement nor the tone it was delivered in."I know that too," Says Kobra matching Ghoul's bland, and tasteless tone step by step, along with such a blank face it makes Gerard remember all the times he'd had too pull that face to get out of trouble with their mother. It makes him want to puke. Than he relaxes his face and looks at Gerard, "So what's been going on with you, other than the new look and obviously ditching BL/Ind," he says and he looks genuinely interested."That's really all that's happened," Laughs Gerard running a hand through his hair, "And you don't really want to hear about me being trained for leading BL/Ind, or being left to die in the desert on multiple occasions, so that's really it,""Actually," Says the man on Kobra's left, glaring at Gerard, "I'd like to hear about that,""Uh, ok," Stammers Gerard unsure if he's being serious or just really sarcastic. Kobra however glares at the man."I get you don't trust him yet, but at least give him a chance before you start to be rude to him," Kobra says glaring at the man leaning on his shoulder."Fine," Huffs the man and looks up at Gerard, "I'm sorry,""It's okay," Says Gerard awkwardly. He's never had anyone say that to him before, it's usually always been him apologizing for not completing his missions. Or for basically anything else he does. He realizes with a start that he doesn't have to do that anymore. No one can tell him what to do. The realization is startling. He stares into space completely zoned out until Ghoul snaps his fingers in his face, "Earth to Party," He says teasingly butting into his side, Gerard doesn't miss the weird looks he gets from both Kobra and the man on the left, who Gerard has yet to learn the name of. The touch however is comforting, and reminds him that he is here, and he's alive and most importantly, free of BL/Ind for the first time in his life."Party?" Asks Kobra looking slightly confused, while the man once again demonstrates how little he likes Gerard by completely ignoring him."His Killjoy name," Bubbles Ghoul and then continues as Kobra looks confusedly at him, "He picked Party Poison," As a further explanation. Gerard rolls his eyes at his explanation."Party Poison," Says Kobra looking at Gerard, and he wonders, if he will always think of himself of Gerard in his head or if Party Poison will become who he is, consuming his soul- and stop he was getting distracted, "It suits you," Decides Kobra and Gerard notices the other man is leaning against his brother again like it's a normal thing."So I've had the pleasure of meeting the Fun Ghoul, and the Kobra Kid," Says Gerard, "No wonder Mom was always so mad whenever you ever pulled raid," He looks at Kobra who looks slightly sick to his stomach, he doesn't know why though, "I know you two," Says Gerard, slowly trying out this new way of speaking without worrying about the consequence of being mind wiped, "But who are you?" He asks looking at the man seated next to Kobra who looks really unimpressed. Gerard is slightly impressed at how unimpressed he looks."Sandman," He says not looking up at Gerard. Kobra sighs, "This is my boyfriend, and he's only being a jerk because that's how he is with strangers," Sandman glares at him and Kobra mock glares back at him as if daring him to contradict his statement. Then Gerard catches on."Boyfriend?" He blurts out."Yeah," Says Kobra looking back at his brother breaking off the silent staring contest with Sandman, "Does it bother you?" He asks tone slightly defensive. Gerard notices that Ghoul is paying closer attention to this than anything he's seen him do so far. Curious."NO!" Says Gerard, "I'm just mad you got a boyfriend before me," He lets slip out, unintentionally, Kobra looks at him in surprise at his statement, "I've learned a lot about myself since you left," He adds narrowing his eyes in case Kobra doubts him. And it's true, his sexuality had come to light shortly after Kobra left and he caught himself staring at a guy's ass. Among other things, like the fact that BL/Ind was so much worse than he had ever imagined and they broke almost every law they put in place.Kobra looks sad, like he had been sad to miss something in Gerard's life, it's a new thing for Gerard to see, "I guess," He mutters. Gerard than realizes that Ghoul is staring at him with a wicked grin."What?" He questions. Ghoul's grin is slightly unsettling. Scratch that, very unsettling."Nothing, nothing," Says Ghoul hurriedly which does absolutely nothing to calm Gerard's suspicions. Especially since when he says it he refuses to meet his eyes. Then the quiet whine of an engine slowly becomes apparent. All of them instantly sit up straight hands moving to their weapons. Then Kobra relaxes, "It's Jet coming in the car," He says quietly and the three more experienced Killjoys relax while Gerard takes a little while to relax. He knows that it could have easily been a BL/Ind car, trying to find him, but the others seem relaxed, so he slacks his shoulders and takes his hand off of his new blaster, which he has to admit, he likes better than his old one. This one is colorful and has a better grip.They sit in uncomfortable silence as a car pulls up outside the diner. Gerard watches as a dude with the craziest hair he's ever seen walks into the diner. It sticks up in all directions and Gerard feels like this dude could hide bombs in his insane hair. Which if it is in fact THE Jet Star, wouldn't be that far-fetched. He's known for helping Ghoul blow BL/Ind's shit up. While he takes in the newcomer, he can tell that the man is doing the exact to him. He has to wonder what he's thinking. Probably something along the lines of Who the fuck is this?"So this is him," Comments the man, and Gerard feels a bit taken away at how casual he is, not to mention the fact he knows who he is, "Move over Ghoul," He says shoving Ghoul who in turn finds it hilarious when he shoves Gerard, creating a domino effect. As Ghoul cackles loudly like a hyena and Gerard feels like covering his ears, Kobra covers his eyes. Gerard finds this unusual."Why'd you cover your eyes?" He asks as he moves over in order to accommodate for Jet on the bench and Ghoul bounces over sitting right against Gerard. Kobra flushes a pale pink that reminds Gerard of a desert rose he saw once before Korse ripped it up out of anger at him."I meant to cover my ears, I got them mixed up," He mutters leaning into Sandman embarrassed. They all laugh and when they do finally stop Ghoul is bright red and Sandman is wiping tears out of his eyes."I'm Jet Star," Jet introduces himself, sticking his hand around Ghoul who is hunched over banging his head on the table which makes a hollow thumping noise, and Gerard hopes it's the table making the noise not Ghoul's head as he's still laughing."Nice to meet you," He says, shaking Jet's offered hand. He catches Kobra sharing an amused look with Sandman, "What?" He asks."I haven't heard anyone talk like that since I left Battery," Explains Kobra, "No one talks like that out here, it was a blast to the past to hear it again,""Oh," Says Gerard slightly embarrassed. It hadn't occurred to him until now how different he sounded than the other Killjoys. He made a mental note to try to get rid of his speech pattern so he's not recognized."It's fine, and Blast to the past Kobra?" Says Jet looking at Kobra scathingly, "I know your real name, but what's your Killjoy name?" He asks Gerard looking eager to know the answer."Party Poison," Says Gerard and Jet looks back at him."It fits," He decides and Gerard has to wonder what about the name makes three people agree that it suits him. He honestly has no idea."You know what he still needs?" Asks Ghoul, who apparently has stopped trying to burst their eardrums with his enthusiastic laughter, "Hair dye!" He yells doing jazz hands and Gerard sees Sandman's eyes light up."You think?" Asks Jet skeptically. Then squints at Gerard like he's trying to imagine him with different colored hair. To be fair, Gerard can't picture himself with different colored hair. Or maybe he can. He doesn't know."YES!" Yell both Ghoul and Sandman, and Kobra rolls his eyes. Anyone can tell he's thinking Idiots.  It's a very affectionate idiots though. Though Gerard notices that Sandman seems to have stopped pretending that he doesn't exist. That was progress."Isn't that illegal?" Asks Gerard cautiously and everyone turns to look at him like he's lost his mind."Yes," Says Ghoul slowly, like he's explaining something to a small child, "So is being a killjoy,"Gerard blinks, he'd kind of forgotten that part, "Oh, yeah," He says slowly.Kobra laughs, "It's not a big deal, I was the same way when I first got out here," Sandman grins."Yeah he was," "You keep your mouth shut," Says Kobra menacingly towards Sandman and he grins."One time about a month after he got here-" He's suddenly cut short by Kobra clapping his hand over his mouth and saying low, but not so low that they can't all hear,"We don't talk about that, and I won't talk about the things you say when I-" He's cut short as Sandman wrenches free of his grasp and claps a hand over Kobra's mouth."That's enough, message received," Sandman says looking panicked in Gerard's direction. Gerard raises an eyebrow, he doesn't really want to know what Kobra was going to say, but he doesn't really mind making his brother's boyfriend uncomfortable.Jet rolls his eyes, and comments, "Be quiet,"Sandman pokes his tongue out and Kobra grabs it, "Le me tho!!" Squeals Sandman and Gerard laughs. He giggles until his face turns red, and when he stops he sees Ghoul looking at him like Gerard hung the sun. Then he looks at Kobra and is delighted to find him still holding Sandman's tongue while Sandman glares at him. It's so hilarious that he starts laughing again and glimpses Kobra letting Sandman's tongue go and looking at his brother in amazement."I haven't heard you laugh like that since-" He says looking close to tears, cutting himself off."Since the first time I got mind wiped?" Gerard guesses and Kobra nods. Gerard sighs, Kobra always used to blame himself whenever Gerard got in trouble, and Gerard guesses he never kicked the habit, "It was never your fault," He says firmly and Kobra nods. He doesn't look to be convinced though, and Gerard turns to Ghoul kicks him and says, "Tell Kobra it's not his fault,"Ghoul, who has been oddly quiet this whole time as has Jet Star turns to Kobra and repeats, "It's not your fault,"Kobra glares at Gerard, "It was, I was the one who-" He stops looking at the others who were just staring, "Could you guys give us some space?" He asks looking like a small child who has been caught stealing from the cookie jar.---Kobra waits for them to slowly file out of the diner, and in the end only Ghoul and Jet leave because Sandman says firmly, "I'm your boyfriend, I'm going to join the black parade some day, but I sure as hell won't add extra incentive for the Phoenix Witch to take me by letting you face your demons alone," The statement is sappy but, Kobra's eternally grateful, because he knows he needs the support, but he wasn't going to ask this of Sandman. So of course, Sandman read his mind and insisted on staying. Gerard- Party he corrects mentally looks very confused at this statement, but doesn't ask for clarification. Kobra decides that they need to educate his brother on zone slang later.Jet leaves silently, while Ghoul whispers something in Party's ear and smacks a quick kiss on his cheek that Kobra wants to talk about at a later date.  "It was my fault," Says Kobra quietly looking at Party while gripping Sandman's hand under the table for moral support, "I thought I was doing something good, but I wasn't. I got your memory stolen," It was, he remembers the horrible wave of guilt that had crashed over him as his brother had walked back into their house with a painted smile and "Hello Micheal, how was your day?" like he hadn't seen him earlier. It was then the full implication of what he had caused set in and he had fought to remain calm. He couldn't give himself away to the watchful eyes of his parents so he had muttered blankly, "It was fine. How was yours?" Mind spinning from the consequences of his actions. That was right before he stopped taking the pills.Party looks him in the eye, and Kobra feels like those eyes are reading into his soul, seeing all the sorrow he holds, "It wasn't your fault," He repeats, and Kobra let's out a sob. Then for the second time that day he finds himself flat out crying."It was," He sobs, as Sandman rubs his back and Party stares at him, taken aback and suddenly Sandman's light touch is too much and he feels like puking, and everything is too much. He feels more tired than he can ever remember and he gently shoves Sandman away, he loves him, but the touch is too much, "I'm so so sorry Gerard," He hiccups trying to calm down."What for?" Asks Party looking confused out of his mind."I left you," Kobra sobs out hiccuping and feeling like he's drowning in his tears, "I left you in that city. I left you to a future you didn't deserve, but I was too cowardly to get you out," He cries and he can't bare to look his brother in the eye. He remembers the night he left, it was with a guilty heart he had stolen away. To find a new life, but he'd left his only positive role-model behind."Kobra," Party says softly and Kobra looks up, tears rolling down his face. It hits him that his brother used his Killjoy name and he cries harder."Do you hate me?" He asks shakily interrupting and Party looks shocked. Like someone had electrocuted him. Kobra would find it funny if it weren't for the fact he's too emotionally wound up to think about laughing. Sandman's hand appears on his back again rubbing tiny circles. "Never," Party says as sure as if he was stating a simple fact like the sky is green. Wait, the sky's blue, Kobra thinks, the tears must be making him delirious or the lack of sleep or the too many emotions. There's too many things that could be the cause of it, he thinks sleepily his mind a hurricane. Then Party is leaning across the table to gather his shaking form in his arms and Kobra leans into his brother shaking for the second time that day, "I'm glad one of us made it out," He says talking directly into his ear soothingly and Kobra feels like this is one big nightmare and he's going to wake up in a cold sweat and Party will be a figment of his imagination. He closes his eyes leaning into Party and taking in his scent, just in case it is a dream, "And we're both here now," Party continues."Yeah," Says Kobra leaning back and feeling emotionally drained. He's had enough emotion today to last him for the rest of the month. He leans into Sandman and Sandman grins tiredly down at him. He drifts off as he hears the comforting voices of the two people he trusts the most in the world talking quietly and hopes that this whole day wasn't a dream. He hopes with every ounce of his soul.---Sandman's proud of Kobra. He knows that wasn't anything close to easy and he watches with a dorky grin as Kobra falls asleep, clearly worn out. He hears a quiet sigh of discontent and looks up at Party. He's not sure if he trusts him, but he knows Kobra does and for now that works for him too. Party looks worn out too and Sandman tries not to reflect on how much like Kobra he looks when he's tired."Long day," Comments Sandman and Party grins tiredly at him. Sandman is vaguely surprised he's smiling at him, but he doesn't really have the brain power to process it right now, they're all tired."Yep," He says and suddenly looks Sandman dead in the eye. Sandman looks back at him, he looks at the man right in the eyes and sees the look there is wary but curious, "Do you love him?" He asks looking at Kobra who is asleep adorably on his arm and Sandman looks at him."Yes, I do," He says softly, careful not to wake Kobra."Good," Says Party, and Sandman is fascinated by his thought process, he'd love to get inside his head, "He loves you," He continues, "I can tell by the way he acts around you, the way he relaxes, the way he smiles,"Sandman looks up at him in shock, he was not expecting that, "Really?" He asks. Sure he knows he loves Kobra, but they've never said the words aloud, and he never dares, for fear of Kobra pulling away from him in fear."Yeah," Says Party smiling sleepily, the two siblings were both sleepy today, Sandman observed, "Just don't hurt him," He warns and Sandman looks up at him."I won't," He says quietly, than he has a quick foresight, "Just so you know, names mean something different out here in the zones," He says softly, "Out here the only people you trust with your name are the ones you know will always have your back. You don't have to trust me, Jet, and Ghoul yet, but we will be there for you. And don't tell people that you're Gerard Way," He says looking up at Party, "If anyone other than Ghoul and Jet had found you, you would be dead by now,"Party looks at  him, "Thanks for the heads up. And I do trust you. Kobra does and that's enough for me. I trust Ghoul because he saved my life and brought me and my brother back together. I don't know about Jet yet, but we'll see," He says and Sandman is a little taken aback at his statement. People don't usually trust each other that fast in the desert. "Ok," He says, "I guess I have to trust you too," He takes a deep breath, that was hard to say. But he owes it to Party to say what he does next, the only people who know his given name are Jet, Ghoul, and Kobra, it's a step to trust Party this early after meeting him, but he has to for Kobra's sake, "My name's Pete Wentz," He says softly. He feels like he owes Party that much. Kobra's the only one who will ever have the privilege of knowing the full thing. The full ridiculous name. He has NO idea what his mother was thinking. "Thanks for telling me," Says Party softly, thankfully. They're both quiet as to not wake Kobra who is drooling slightly and Sandman's heart skips a beat at how cute he looks. Of course he thought that he was cute when he staggered into the room where Sandman was stuck covered in a Drac's blood and a BL/Ind uniform then collapsed, before they were formally introduced. Then his head goes that's creepy you need sleep. "Help me get him to his bed will you," He says looking up at Party snapping out of his thoughts and Party nods. Five minutes later they have managed to drag Kobra to his room without waking him. It's kind of crazy considering how short both him and Party are. He takes Kobra's legs and Party takes his arms.When they get back to the main room Jet and Ghoul are having a fast paced discussion that stops as soon as they walk into the room. Sandman finds this mildly suspicious, but he's guessing it has something to do with Ghoul's feelings towards Party. The pair seem rather attached and they've known for less than twenty-four hours. Ghoul of course is a rather clingy person in general, but this level of it is new."Hey," Says Jet huffing at Ghoul as he beams unabashedly at Party who doesn't seem to notice and sits down next Ghoul as Ghoul smile gets larger if possible. It's like looking in the sun. Not that Sandman has ever done that. Sandman takes a seat across from the pair of them next to Jet and Jet whispers, "Ghoul's fallen. I can't tell about Party yet, but he looks on the way, and the way is the fastest possible one," Sandman snorts quietly watching a sleepy Party lean on Ghoul and slowly fall asleep as Ghoul strokes his hair, murmuring something he can't hear to him, ignoring them."He's falling fast," He replies to Jet who nods silently, then says,"It reminds me of you and Kobra when you guys first got out here. Naive and beautiful,"Sandman grins, though not as ferociously as Ghoul, no one human can match that grin and level of enthusiasm, "Not knowing anything about love other than a siblings, but learning along the way,""Yep," Says Jet popping the P.Ghoul looks up at them still grinning. Fuck, one would think that his cheeks would hurt from the amount of grinning he does Sandman absently thinks and then pinches his arm as he realizes that Kobra's sleepiness has worn off on him, and that Jet and Ghoul are having a quiet conversation. He really needs to sleep."Where's he gonna sleep?" Jet's asking and Sandman gently butts into the conversation."He can have my room, I'll share with Kobra," He says and Ghoul looks at him in thanks. Sandman wonders what for, he just wants an excuse to be able to share a bed with Kobra. Jet huffs in anger. He's done that twice now. Curious. Then Sandman realizes that he's probably just expressing his frustration at Ghoul threw them. Now that he thinks of it, Jet does that an awful lot."Okay," Jet says finally and they all stand up to wearily carry a sleeping Party to Sandman's old room. When they get there Ghoul and Jet set him on the bed and Sandman grabs his stuff and looks at the bed where Ghoul is tucking the sleeping man in. It's oddly sweet and he catches Jet's eye and they grin. Ghoul doesn't see and that makes Sandman's grin widen. He makes sure to be quiet as he steps out of the door, arms full with odds and ends he's collected over the years.He walks down the small corridor bumping from wall to wall of the small corridor with a small, "Ow!" For each bounce as he makes his way to Kobra's room. He's sure that he'll have bruises in the morning, or when ever he wakes up, but right now he doesn't care. He gently opens the door and smiles at his boyfriend's sleeping form. He makes his way into the room and he lays his stuff in a corner and takes off his boots. He makes sure the dirt isn't getting on anything than relaxes. He tiptoes across the room and sneaks his way under the covers with Kobra who in his sleep curls around Sandman. Sandman sighs happily and sinks into Kobra's warm embrace. Kobra wraps his arms around him in his sleep and Sandman feels like squealing at how happy it makes him feel. It feels like home and a warm hug from someone you love, which he sleepily he supposed this was. He pulls Kobra's arms tighter around him reveling in the warmth as the desert slowly loses heat. He rather likes this new sleeping arrangement.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

When Kobra wakes up he's curled around Sandman. It's not unusual for them to wake up like this, but it is unusual for it to happen after he's fallen asleep. (And with their clothes on.) He looks down at Sandman. His dark hair has fallen in his eyes and he's holding Kobra's arms around him like it's a life line. The sight warms Kobra's heart and he slowly begins to wonder why his boyfriend is in his bed. As he regains awareness of his surroundings, he notices Ghoul sitting in the solitary chair in his room. He’s never used it. It’s just always been there and he was honestly a little bit scared to move it. “Dude, what the fuck?” He asks, not really all that surprised by Ghoul being there. Ghoul is prone to showing up out of no where and scaring Kobra. It's a nasty habit he's developed. Ghoul just infuriatingly shrugs and Kobra glares. Then Ghoul looks at Sandman and grins. Kobra hates when Ghoul grins because it makes him look way too happy way too early."Are you scared that I'll wake up your precious Sandman?" He asks making a kissy face at Kobra. Kobra's glare if possible gets darker and he carefully pulls one of hands free of Sandman's tight grasp to flip Ghoul off. Ghoul cackles."Yes," He says defensively and Ghoul coos. Like a fucking mourning dove. That's what pushes Kobra over the edge. Sandman's sleep be damned he's not going to let Ghoul get away with this. He launches himself out of the bed at Ghoul who is laughing so hard that if Sandman wasn't awakened when Kobra dumped him on the floor to attack Ghoul he definitely is now. Kobra's wrestling with Ghoul who is still laughing and insulting Kobra even as Kobra is giving him a black eye. He's still laughing when he manages to escape from Kobra's grasp and slip out the door.Kobra turns to look at Sandman. He's still asleep. Kobra has no idea how his boyfriend does it, but he seems to fall asleep everywhere. Wait. Didn't he fall asleep on the bench in the diner? He remembers drifting off as Sandman and Gerard talked. Wait. Party. His brain moves slowly in the morning. He looks back at his boyfriend and sighing scoops him up into his arms. Sandman sighs and curls into him as Kobra walks back over to the bed and tucks him in. As he walks across the room to grab his shoes Sandman rolls over. He looks back hoping that he hasn't woken him up and sighs with relief as Sandman rolls over. He walks out into the main room of the diner and sees Ghoul sitting with his back to him. Kobra creeps up behind and jumps him. Ghoul screams loudly, and Sandman's surely awake by now. Kobra doesn’t think that even a dead man could sleep through this much racket."WHY!?" He yells, glaring ineffectively at Kobra as he laughs."Ah, yes" Says Jet sarcastically as Kobra climbs over the bench to sit down. He nearly falls on his face because of his long-ass legs, but Ghoul either doesn't notice or is choosing not to get beat up again, "The morning saga of Ghoul making bad life decisions and Kobra giving him yet another black eye," Jet glares at Kobra playfully, "It's a miracle he hasn't gotten a concussion yet," "Not that we'd know anything was different," Jokes Ghoul and Kobra punches his shoulder. Than he notices that his brother has been watching the proceedings with and amused smile."Something funny?" He asks, knowing full well that they are quite ridiculous. Many people have ditched them for other crews because, to put it simply, they're morning people."Yes," Says Party and Kobra winces. It reminds him too much of the way their mother made them answer questions and while he knows Party needs a little while to break the habit, it still hurts to see him stuck in a routine, that brings back too many bad memories for them both. "You're not in BL/Ind anymore dude," Says Ghoul punching Party lightly in the shoulder and Party winces, "You don't have to answer like a fucking robot,""I know," Sighs Party and Kobra taps him lightly with his foot under the table. Okay, he kicked him. "Be positive," He reminds with a gentle smile as Party reaches under the table to rub his shin where Kobra kicked him."Morning," Comes a rough voice from behind him and a gentle kiss is pressed sleepily to his head, before Sandman drops sleepily and clumsily into the booth next to him, (If Kobra didn’t know this was just how he is in the mornings he’d think Sandman was hungover) leaning against him as he takes in the scene at the table and Ghoul's black eye, "I had the weirdest dream," He says rubbing his eyes."What was it?" Asks Party, who hasn't heard a million conversations about Sandman's dreams yet like everyone else at the table has."Ghoul was sitting in a chair and then he turned into a dove. It was weird. I don't even know how I knew it was a dove, because I've never seen one. Then Kobra turned into a snake. It was a red one, like his jacket and pushed me on the floor and I fell down. That kind of hurt, but it was a dream so I don't know how it hurt. Then they both turned back into humans and started fighting. I think Kobra gave Ghoul a black eye. Then Kobra won and Ghoul dissipated, like he just laughed really evilly and poofed. and then I woke up in the bed." Kobra looks at Sandman. His brains capacity for turning life into lucid dreams and memories has yet to fail to astonish him."Well that actually happened," He says. Sandman looks really really confused. Then Kobra realizes Sandman isn’t all the way awake yet, “The me beating Ghoul up part, and you falling off the bed. Not the turning into animals part,” He clarifies and he hears Jet laugh. Sandman’s face clears and he nods.”Okay, no turning into animals,” Then he falls asleep on Kobra’s shoulder and Kobra wonders what his mission was that he was this tired.He looks up when he hears Party laughing softly. He smiles, it’s good to hear his brother laughing and a good nights sleep has helped him diffuse any remaining guilt towards Party. He looks at Ghoul who is looking at Party like he’s the best thing since music. Speaking of which he should probably make Party listen to some. He’s not worried that Ghoul is going to hurt his brother, Ghoul never hurts anyone on purpose unless they’re a part of BL/Ind. He hears the familiar whine of an engine. Party looks up alarmed. “It’s Dr. D,” Says Ghoul as Kobra shakes Sandman awake.”What’s going on?” Questions Sandman his voice thick from not being all the way awake. “Dr. D,” Whispers Kobra into his ear. Sandman nods and sits up. Kobra hates to interrupt his sleep because he so rarely gets any, but this could be important.Party has relaxed when’s Kobra looks over again, but still seems apprehensive. The engine grows louder and a door slams before the engine cuts. Showpony crashes through the door, the old bell ringing violently as the door slams behind the rollerblading figure.Showpony races over to them, “Get your stuff!” He yells and they all snap into action. They all always keep their bags packed in case of this. Kobra dashes down the hall with Sandman in his heels. They grab their bags and are back out in the main room in seconds. They follow Showpony out the door and pile into their car. Kobra looks over at the BL/Ind car and notices a blinking light on it. Party notices too apparently. The only difference is that he knows what it means.”GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!” He yells, loudly, urgently making sure that Showpony can hear. Party gets a thumbs up in return and the cars peel away from the diner.Just in time too. When they’re no more than fifty feet away the car blows. Kobra spins around in the car and watches the car go up in flames, thankfully Ghoul has parked it far enough away that the diner should only be slightly singed if they ever make it back. The if in that sentence makes his heart squeeze. The diner has been his home since he left BL/Ind. He feels someone squeeze his hand."We'll go back eventually," Sandman whispers and Kobra smiles at his boyfriend's positive attitude, because they both know that thanks to BL/Ind they probably won't be able to.---Gerard blinks at Sandman's dream, then laughs as he watches Kobra explain to his sleepy and delirious boyfriend that the dream was real, and then that they did not in fact turn into animals. He leans against Ghoul unconsciously as Kobra wraps up his explanation. Then he laughs as Sandman falls asleep again. He sees Ghoul giving him that amazed look again out of the corner of his eye, but ignores it as an engine's whine splits the air. He tenses, his hand automatically flying to his holster, gripping his gun nervously, fiddling with the safety"It's Dr. D," Says Ghoul pulling Party's hand off his gun. Gerard nods as the engine grows louder. A car pulls up outside and a figure jumps out of it before the driver has cut the engine. Gerard shoots a nervous look at Kobra and notices that Sandman is awake again. The figure skates into the diner at full tilt and Gerard takes in the figure as it skates over to them. Their tall, even without skates and are dressed just as loud and obnoxious as every one else. The figure yells, "Get your stuff!" And everyone jumps into action. Ghoul shoves Gerard off of the bench and Gerard watches as everyone runs to their rooms. "You don't have anything do you?" The figure asks and Gerard nods, too confused at what is going on to notice anything. "Go out to the car then," The figure directs and Gerard numbly follows the directions. He sits in the car that isn't the BL/Ind one and waits. Pretty soon they all pile into the car and that's when Gerard sees it. It's a blinking light on the car. He curses. BL/Ind must have activated the self destruct protocol when the patrol they sent to kill him didn't come back. FUCK.He yells, "GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!!!" As loud as he can, making sure the other car can hear him. He gets a thumbs up and he sinks back into his seat in relief. He plugs his ears as the cars pull out of the diner. Sitting next to him Ghoul does the same. It doesn't stop the loud noise from popping his ears though. He sinks in to his seat feeling terrible. If he hadn't defected from BL/Ind a little voice whispered in his ear, none of this would have happened, they all hate you know. He shut it out though, if he hadn't defected from BL/Ind he wouldn't be here with Kobra, and he'd most likely be dead. Take that voice.Ghoul leans against him, "I don't know how long we'll be on the road," He says murmuring into Gerard's ear as he watched Sandman whisper something to Kobra, "It's best to sleep while you can. If BL/Ind's on our trail it's hard to tell when the next time we'll sleep again is," Gerard sighs."You could just leave me here, you know," He says sitting up and moving away from Ghoul, "That would get you off of BL/Ind's radar for a while," Ghoul looks at him in surprise."You're one of us now. You're stuck with us," He says looking at Gerard like he just suggested shooting a puppy."And while it is noble to turn yourself in so we can get away," Says Kobra leaning over Ghoul's shoulder, "But you can't help us if your dead,"Gerard watches Sandman nod from behind Kobra. (Which is surprising to him, because he still doesn't think that Sandman likes him all that much.)"And how am I helping you?" He asks warily, not sure if he wants to know the answer."Right now you're the closest thing we have to an informant," Kobra states, "Even if you think that your information is useless we can still use what we can. You were in training for longer than I was, so you probably know more about their weapons and strategies,""Not necessarily," Gerard warns all too cautiously, knowing that the information he thought he knew could have changed already, "But I do know one thing," He says pausing thoughtfully, "Korse has to take the pills under supervision, I don't know why, but if we were able to get someone inside the city we could poison him pretty easily," Kobra looks elated at this, "See, you're being helpful,"Jet chimes in, "We do actually have an insider in Battery,"Ghoul looks at him, "We do?" Jet nods."Yeah. We do," Ghoul looks flabbergasted. "WHO?" He asks, looking like an amazed child who has just lost their first tooth and discovered money under their pillow in the morning."I'm not allowed to say," Jet says looking extremely pleased to have something to hold over Ghoul's head."I am," Chimes Sandman, smiling at Jet in the rear view mirror, "It's Benzedrine," He says turning to Ghoul. Ghoul looks grim."Didn't BL/Ind put out a warrant for him last month, was that really the best option?" Ghoul asks."I don't know," Sighs Sandman. Gerard gets an idea, though it may not a good one."What's the name he's operating under in the city? I might know him," He says and Sandman gives him a hopeful look."Patrick Stump," Gerard thinks. He's heard that name before. Than he remembers. Right before he left a new official had appeared. Korse had seemed to take him seriously and had appointed him in command. He remembers meeting the guy once. Then,"Yeah I know him," He says grimly, "He's the one who gave me the mission to the desert five days ago,"Sandman looks shocked, "Why would he do that?" Gerard sighs."Well, he didn't know I wasn't taking the pills, he also didn't know that I was planning to ditch as soon as I could. Unless," He says turning to Kobra, "Did he know your name?" Kobra thinks for a second then nods, "Yes, he did, he and Dr. D were the only ones other than Ghoul,""So it could be that he was sent in there to get me out," Says Gerard grimly, "And now that I'm out he'll be blamed for my escape," Ghoul looks worried.So does everyone else. Gerard feels the need to reassure them, "It'll be okay, we'll get him out as soon as Dr. D says we can,""You'd help us do that?" Asks Sandman and Gerard nods."Yes I would,""Let's speed up then," Says Jet and he punches the accelerator. They pull up next to Dr. D's van and Showpony waves from the passenger's seat. Gerard and Ghoul wave back.The car ride lasts for another couple hours and a couple of times Gerard thinks he sees a couple of cars in the distance, but just as soon as he sees them they fade out of existence over the distant horizon.  "They're following us aren't they?" Asks Ghoul from next to him, breaking off the debate he'd been having with Sandman about something that Gerard didn't understand and ignored."Yeah," Is his small reply."Let them come," Says Jet from the front seat, "You can shoot out their tires again,""That's not likely to work twice," Warns Gerard, touched that Jet is putting faith in him."We'll see," Says Jet shrugging like he knows something that Gerard doesn't. Gerard feels a shiver go down his spine. "I guess so," He says leaning back in his seat as the car ride stretched on. They saw much sooner than Gerard had anticipated. Dr. D pulled his car over and Jet followed suit.Gerard watched from the backseat as Dr. D and Jet conferred and Showpony skated in circles. Most of what he heard was, "It's worth a shot," and "Do you think he can do it?"Gerard watched with a feeling of dread growing in his stomach, he was sure that they were talking about him. He looked nervously in the direction that they had come from, like the day before there was an ominous dust cloud growing in the distance. He cursed and Ghoul looked out the window, hooking his chin over Gerard's shoulder. "They're coming," Says Ghoul and Kobra snorts."No shit honey," Kobra says before completely losing his shit and falling on the ground out of the car laughing. Gerard assumes that they had cracked the door open so not to overheat and to eavesdrop. Dr. D and Jet stop their conversation to stare at a hysterical Kobra. Sandman laughs as he steps out of the car to help Kobra up as Ghoul howls, clutching onto Gerard with such a tight grip he feels slightly suffocated."Ghoul," HE gasps, "Can't breathe," Ghoul lets him go instantly and Gerard misses the contact as soon as it is gone."Sorry," He says looking out the window at the cars again over Gerard's shoulder."It's okay," Wheezes Gerard rubbing his ribs, he's slightly surprised that they aren't broken."Party," Jet calls and Gerard climbs over Ghoul and steps over Sandman and Kobra who are lying on the ground in tears from laughing to hard, instead of opening his door, "Can you do the thing with the tires again?" He asks, pushing his bushy hair out of his eyes.Gerard thinks, he knows he can, but whether or not he's going to be able to with the sun in his eyes is debatable, "I can try," He says, looking at the pair as Showpony skates around them in circles. "Well you better try soon," Says Ghoul appearing behind him and leaning against him, Gerard's noticed that Ghoul is a very touchy person, "Those cars are almost within a mile of us," Gerard looks, and sure enough Ghoul's right."Okay," He says trying to appear calm. He puts his hand on his blaster and flips off the safety, "Ready?" He asks and they look at him confused."For what?" Asks Jet. Gerard rolls his eyes, this is why Killjoys haven't defeated BL/Ind yet, none of them are strategists."I'm going to head towards them," He explains as their eyes widen, "To make sure that if I miss the first time, I can get them on the second shot," Their faces clear and Gerard takes off running, not waiting to be told it's a stupid idea. To be granted it is, but it's one that could save their lives."Wait!" Yells Ghoul, "I'm coming too," Gerard sighs, he doesn't want to put Ghoul in danger, but he knows that he's capable of handling this."Hurry up then," He calls over his shoulder as he sprints toward an outcrop of rocks that should provide cover for him to make the shots. He reaches the rocks and quickly climbs up and lays flat. "What's the plan?" Asks Ghoul breathlessly.Gerard rolls his eyes, he's barely out of breath, "I'm going to shoot out their tires like I did yesterday, you're here to help if they get too close," "Okay," Says Ghoul laying flat next to Gerard. Gerard can feel the heat radiating off of him and shivers as the sun dips lower on the horizon.Gerard waits another couple of seconds before pulling out his gun and taking careful aim. He squints his eyes into the sun as the cars draw closer. He takes a deep breath and relaxing he pulls the trigger. The first car explodes. Ghoul looks at him in astonishment, "How'd you do that?"Gerard doesn't have time to explain because the other car is drawing steadily closer and he still has to take care of that. He aims again and finding his target faster this time it's only a matter of seconds before he's blown up the other car. He looks back at Ghoul who is watching in wide mouthed amazement. "I shot the self destruct mechanism on the bottom, or at least near enough to it that it triggered," He explains as he and Ghoul climb back down the rock and run back to the others, "Surely someone else has figured that out?" Ghoul just shakes his head. They reach the others and Jet grins at him and Kobra gives him a hug as Ghoul bounces around telling the story. "And then he shot the other one! And it was so cool!" He yells jumping in place. Gerard looks at Dr. D who gives him a nod. Gerard grins to himself. He walks over to Kobra who is trying to stop Ghoul's jumping by putting his hands on his shoulders, "Stop exaggerating Ghoul," He says rolling his eyes as he helps Kobra stop Ghoul, in the end it takes them and Sandman to calm him down. Jet climbs back into the car and they all pile back in, this time with Sandman in the passenger's seat instead of the four of them crammed into the back seat. Jet pulls out behind Dr. D and Gerard watches as the desert slowly dims again (The sunset is spectacular and they all over dramatically ooh and aww, mush to the annoyance of Jet who just wanted to drive in peace.) and they drive on in darkness.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

When Gerard wakes up everything’s blurry, the kind of blurry you only get when you sleep safely and actually feel safe. The kind of blurry you get when you’re around people you trust. He blinks his eyes slowly and waits for them to adjust. When the world comes back into focus he realizes that the warmth he feels comes from Ghoul and Kobra. They’re each leaning on one of his shoulders and when he looks up Sandman’s smiling at him in the driver’s mirror.”Good morning Sleeping Beauty,” He says laughing at his joke, which Gerard doesn’t understand. He has a feeling that this is some type of pre-Helium Wars pop culture reference that he'll never understand.”Who’s that?” He asks, carefully disentangling his arm from Kobra’s grasp and rubbing his eyes.Sandman laughs again and says, “That’s a better question for Ghoul,””What’s a better question for me?” Ghoul says sleepily stirring raising his head ever so slightly off of Gerard’s shoulder and squinting his eyes. “Who’s Sleeping Beauty?” Gerard asks. Turning his head to look down at Ghoul.Ghoul’s face brightens and he looks very awake now, “She’s a princess who slept for a really long time, why’d you wanna know?” Jet laughs softly from the passengers seat."So helpful Ghoul,"Gerard raises an eye brow at Sandman in the mirror, “Because Sandman called me Sleeping Beauty,”Ghoul laughs and Kobra stirs slightly on Gerard’s other side. “What’s going on?” He slurs sitting up slowly and Gerard grins at him. “Nothing,” Kobra rolls his eyes and leans forward putting his hand on Sandman’s shoulder, squeezing gently, “How much farther do we have to go?” Sandman replies, “Not that much farther you all woke up about twenty minutes out,” Kobra nods, curiosity satisfied sitting back. Gerard looks out the window and sees that they are no longer in the desert, and the area around them is filled with trees. Or what he thinks are trees, he's only ever seen pictures. The view is amazing. Their high on a ridge and when he looks down into the valley he can see nothing but the tops of more trees and the faint outline of a river, "Where are we?" He asks, gaze stuck on the scenery outside the window. It's absolutely breathtaking. There’s a stunning drop and Gerard can see the dim beige of the desert peeking through the green of the forest in the valley. It seems like something out of a fairytale.Ghoul answers, voice soft, obviously in awe of nature too, "No fucking clue," Jet starts laughing again, "Once again with all the helpful answers Ghoul," He twists in his seat to look at Gerard and glares at Ghoul who's poking his tongue out, "We're in the uncharted zone," He says putting air quotes around uncharted, "According to BL/Ind, which of course means that we scoped it out back when the Killjoys first started. We just don't let any maps get close enough to Battery to get caught," Ghoul looks at him, "Does that mean that the one time we almost got caught and you pulled a map out of the glove box and ate it-"Jet nods, "Yes. I ate a map of the so called uncharted zones,"Sandman laughs and turns to look at Kobra, "I've scouted around here, we're not too far from Helena's Pass,""What's that?" Asks Ghoul, looking eager."It's a small town where Killjoys stop when they need to lay low. It's also the only settlement of Killjoys withing a hundred miles," Sandman says adjusting the rear view mirror with his right hand, "A lot of people don't know it exists because we need to lay low from BL/Ind, me, Jet, and Dr. D were the only operatives we had operating in the desert operating at the moment who knew," He finishes looking ahead at the road as the others fall silent looking out the windows.Gerard feels the need to speak up, "Actually, BL/Ind does know about Helena's Pass," He says biting his lip as Sandman turns an alarmed gaze to him, "We had a Drac come in about two years ago battered almost to death and say before he died, Helena's Pass, uncharted zones. He was disbelieved for the most part, but I was part of a scouting mission that was sent to investigate, we never found the town though. I haven't thought of that for years, so unless Korse has you're pretty safe though," Sandman lets out a relieved sigh and Kobra gives him a curious look."I thought they didn't trust you to lead major missions," Gerard shifts uncomfortably, that's a time he doesn't like to think about directly after Kobra disappeared when they had sent him to Rehab. It hadn't ended well for him, and he'd never really been able to get the stark white images out of his head, "Right after you left, Rehab didn't happen to be so kind," Kobra's mouth makes a tiny O and Ghoul squeezes his hand.Jet is the first one to speak up, "How come you were able to keep your memories after Rehab, we've never had anyone do that?" His tone says, why you? Why not any of our brainwashed allies?Gerard looks at him grimly, "I left myself notes, reminders not to take the pills and what they did to my mind, and reminders to blend in or face the consequences,"Jet looks at him and nods grimly. The conversation ends there and they all sit in quiet remorseful silence for the rest of the ride.They pull into a tiny town that reminds Gerard of the rundown sections of Battery he's seen. The houses are little more than shacks and everything appears to be taped together. He looks around taking it in as the climb out of the car and Show Pony skates over to them stirring up a small dust cloud."This place is one of the few untouched by the radiation from the Helium Wars," Sandman explains as they follow Show Pony back to Dr. D's van. Dr. D climbs out and spreads his arms."Welcome to Helena's Pass," They follow him to one of the rundown buildings and when Gerard takes a closer look he sees faded paint slowly peeling off of most of the buildings, Sandman keeps a running narration as they walk into the town, "This place was built in the early 2000s right before the Helium Wars took off. It was well hidden enough that majority of the early Killjoys before people started to trickle out of the city and join came from here," He goes on and on as Dr. D leads them to a small house that is in the same state of disrepair that most of the other houses aren't.Dr. D opens the door and shepherds them in the door before closing the door behind them. Gerard takes a look around the room, there's a small kitchen with a camp stove and a collapsible sink, there's a hallway with three doors splitting off of it, and a cot along with a table in the front room. As his gaze travels to the windows, they're boarded up he can see tiny slivers of light coming in and illuminating the room."This is where you'll be staying until we get word that BL/Inds off out case," Dr. D says before leaving the house and Show Pony gives him a friendly grin before following.Jet collapses on the cot, "I call dibs," Ghoul makes a noise of protest while Gerard rolls his eyes, he's fairly sure that there's more cots if Dr. D put them all in here.He trails behind Ghoul, who's like a whirlwind opening and closing the three doors down the narrow hallway. He can hear Jet muttering about the sad condition of the kitchen as he watches Ghoul dig through a closet from the doorway of the first room in the hall.Kobra gently pushes his way past Gerard and removes Ghoul from the closet, "This room is mine and Sandman's, there's two cots in the other one, you and Party will have to share, the other one is a bathroom," His tone leaves no room for argument.Ghoul makes a huffing noise and trudges out of the room. Gerard trails after him unsure of himself in his new surroundings and eventually winds up in the main room watching Jet make breakfast, (Lunch? Dinner? He doesn't know.) and realizes that he hasn't eaten in about three days. He just sits on the floor thinking over whatever he can to avoid the growing pain in his stomach and pretty much anything to do with food. Ghoul flops dramatically down on the floor next to him and Gerard looks over at him. His arms and legs are haphazardly sprawled everywhere and there's a dull thud and Kobra's sitting on his other side, "Sandman's sleeping," He says tone low.Gerard nods and kind of zones out, he's pulled back to reality when Ghoul's arm flies out and hits his knee, "What the fuck Ghoul?" He asks rubbing his knee as Ghoul laughs chest shaking."Foods done," Jet calls and sits down across from Gerard and Sandman comes out of the room he and Kobra are going to share to sit next to them. Ghoul sits up and crosses his legs. Jet sets down a pot and hands out plates. Gerard stares numbly at his until Kobra elbows him and he realizes with a shock that there's food on it and everyone else is eating.He takes a bite and takes a moment to try not to gag at the sudden revolt his stomach's trying to pull. He catches both Kobra and Ghoul giving him concerned looks but he ignores them. He'll be okay. The food's good, he has no idea what it is, but it's better than the rations he's had the last week. They're all silent until the dishes are cleared and they're still just sitting on the floor."Some one say something or I think I'm going to lose my mind," Jet says laying back on the floor."Who says you ever had one," Mutters Ghoul, intending to be quiet, but he was too loud and he shivers when Jet sits up and glares at him. Gerard messes with the seam on his pants until Sandman says, "What's our plan until BL/Ind calms down?" It's a valid question and Gerard doesn't have a valid answer. "Recondition Party to real life," Ghoul says lying down casually. Kobra makes a small noise of agreement."What?" Gerard says blankly, "Why are we doing that?"Kobra turns very slowly to look at him, like he's looking at a small child, "The fact you asked that question is why,"Sandman speaks up, "There's so much you've missed out of life from BL/Ind that we need to fill you in on,"Gerard shrugs. His mind is just kind of blank today, "Like what?"Jet sits up, "Food that isn't prepackaged,""Sex," Says Sandman straight faced and Kobra chokes out a tense laugh before adding with a bright red face, (Gerard chooses to ignore the implications there and refuses to tell Sandman that he's wrong, sex is in fact a part of BL/Ind life, you just have to find the people off of the drugs.)"And many many other more important things," Kobra blurts out glaring at Sandman."Like hugs!" Says Ghoul flinging himself at Gerard who hesitantly accepts the hug. Kobra laughs piling on and before too long Gerard is stuck under a hug pile. He feels slightly claustrophobic and takes a deep breath when they all climb off. He does have to admit it felt nice though."Can we start that tomorrow?" Gerard asks looking around and everyone shakes their heads."We have nothing else to do," Ghoul says shrugging and jumping to his feet, "Let's go on a hike and hope we don't get killed,""Great idea," Jet says as Ghoul pulls him to his feet, "A bunch of kids who have no idea how to survive in the woods potentially getting lost,""Not true," Comments Gerard as Ghoul helps him up too, "Me and Kobra both received training on this," Kobra rolls his eyes, "I was eight and on the pills, I don't think that anything I can remember will be helpful,"Gerard makes a small hum of agreement whilst following Ghoul out the door. He blinks in the sunlight trickling through the branches and looks at the abstract patterns set on the ground. He makes out what looks like a cactus before the door slams behind him and Kobra's shoving him down the front steps of the shitty house.Ghoul heads directly into the woods behind the house stepping on sticks and leaves appearing to try to be as loud as possible.Gerard follows and Ghoul keeps going even though Kobra and Jet keep yelling for him to slow down so they don’t get lost. Ghoul just keeps walking and stopping at random points. Sandman eventually catches up to the front and he points out different trees and plants as they walk. Jet and Kobra insist on carving marks into trees as they walk so they don’t get lost.They eventually reach a break in the trees and Ghoul lets out a quiet gasp. Gerard catches up to him and lets out one of his own. Sandman leans against a tree and a small smile flirts across his face when he watches Kobra make his way towards them. It’s small, but Gerard can tell it’s there. He looks back out over the view and now that he’s not looking at it through the car window around Ghoul it’s even more spectacular. - - -Ghoul looks out at the treetops. Their all different shades and the effect is kind of like a green rainbow. He looks over at Party who looks kind of blown away by the scene.”Pretty cool isn’t it?” Sandman asks voice low, almost reverent.Ghoul nods before turning back to Party, “What do you think Party?”Party shrugs, “I don’t know. It’s really a testament to how amazing nature is and how scary it can be. For example the thorn bush Ghoul is almost standing in,”Ghoul takes a hasty step forward and Party laughs.It’s a sound that makes Ghoul’s heart go all fluttery. To him it sounds a little bit like music. He knows he’s smiling stupidly and Kobra, who has finally caught up gives him a knowing look.Ghoul hates it when he gets that look. Kobra has many different looks and the one he has just received is usually the one he gets when Kobra is gloating over something he knows that Ghoul doesn’t. Fuck Kobra. What does he know that Ghoul doesn’t about this? It’s not his fault that Party is so- so- so just him it’s almost liking getting high. So relieving to see someone who will follow their heart to the end and that he’s attracted to. No offense to Jet, Sandman, or Kobra, but they aren’t his type.He grouches off to look at the scene from another angle and hears Kobra laughing softly. Fucking know it all.The view is just as amazing from here and he stares off moodily into the distance until Gerard yells, "Ghoul! Are you trying to get lost where the fuck are you?" He realizes that he's grouched off quite a distance from the others and should probably head back towards them to avoid being eaten by wolves. That would be a sad ending for him. BL/Ind would get a kick out of it."Fun Ghoul eaten by wolves, today in BL/Ind news," He mutters under his breath kicking a log as he heads back. Party materializes at his side and fuck it's like he's a fucking ninja coming out of fucking no where. He grins when Ghoul jumps a bit and says grinning, "Seen any wolves?" Ghoul glares at him and Party kisses him on the cheek and skips off as Ghoul stands there bright red and Kobra gives him another look.That kiss didn't mean any thing. Probably just something he's picked up on because Ghoul does it to him. Right?Oh well, he'll have time to think it over on the walk back. It’s not a good idea for him to over analyze things. He then gets so lost in his thoughts that he almost walks into a tree. Party grabs his arm and pulls him away, “No breaking of skulls today!” He declares lightly pulling Ghoul out of the trees and back towards the house.Ghoul follows helpless to do anything else and Kobra gives him another look. Party pulls him down the street and Ghoul notices that Kobra is giving him yet another look. He glares back and Sandman sticks his tongue out as Party drags him down the street.”Where are we going?” He asks tugging on Party’s hand to slow him down. Party shrugs, “Where ever this road is,” He seems very unconcerned about where they might wind up so Ghoul forces his concern out of his head and follows Party as the others trail behind.He can hear Jet laughing, but Party just keeps dragging him along and pointing out different things. Kobra catches up and says, “Hey Party, this nature hike has been great, but we should probably turn around now if we want to get back before dark,” Ghoul looks up at the sky and sees that it is indeed growing a little bit darker. Party nods and replies, “Sure, we don’t want to get eaten by wolves,” Elbowing Ghoul while grinning demonically.”Fuck off,” Ghoul says turning around to pull Party the other way. Party laughs tugging his hand so they’re walking side by side. Kobra walks with them ignoring the fact that they’re holding hands and asks, “Party, have you ever learned what sex is?” Ghoul is suddenly very much aware that he’s holding Party’s hand and drops it, face hot. Party laughs and says, “Of course I know what sex is Kobra. I’m not a fucking twelve year old. And before you ask yes I know how it works too,”Ghoul carefully speeds up leaving the two brothers to discuss topics that he doesn’t really want to engage with them on. He catches up to Sandman and Jet who had turned around farther back than they had and yells, “What are you arguing about?”Sandman and Jet turn around to look at him with aggressive looks on their faces, “Dinner,” Jet says shortly. Sandman glares at him looking murderous, “Jet won’t let me cook,” Ghoul gives Jet a curious look, “Why?” Jet turns his glare to him, “Do you not remember last time?”Ghoul took a moment to think and suddenly he remembered.Jet had given into Sandman’s pleading to let him cook and had allowed him into the kitchen, which only he was usually allowed in. Sandman had been limited to making grilled cheese and had been under strict supervision from Kobra. Which Ghoul suspected had been the problem in the first place. Kobra and Sandman did not fare well when left alone unless it was a life or death situation. “Yeah, I remember,” Ghoul says, recalling the torrents smoke that had billowed out of the kitchen as Jet had angrily started cursing Kobra and Sandman out. That was one of the few times he’d heard Jet swear.”So it’s a bad idea right?” Jet asks looking desperate for someone else to confirm that leaving Sandman to his own devices in the kitchen was a bad idea.Ghoul shrugged, “The grilled cheeses were okay,” Jet gives him a death glare and Sandman claps him on the shoulder.”No they weren’t!” Jet yells and there’s a hurried set of footsteps from behind them.”What’s wrong?” Party says looking alarmed.Jet turns to him and Kobra looking anxious, “Do you remember the grilled cheese incident?” Kobra looks pained. Maybe because it was partly his fault. “Yeah,” Kobra says slowly while Party just looks confused. Ghoul can’t blame him.”Guess who wants to cook again?” Jet says crossing his arms and looking cross. Kobra turns to Sandman and says, “No,”Sandman pouts and Party laughs. Ghoul looks up at the sky, “As lovely as this conversation has been, we do need to pick up the pace or we’re going to get back too late, and then get chewed out by Dr. D,” The sky has turned a shade of light purple and everyone turns their eyes up and there’s a collective gasp.Ghoul laughs at the star struck look on Party, his mouth is slightly open in a small smile and his eyes are wide and the sky is reflecting in his eyes. Ghoul traces Party’s profile which is highlighted against the sky and the soft curve of his lips make him shudder. Jet snaps them out of it albeit reluctantly and says, “We need to get going,” Sandman nods numbly and they all slowly trudge back down the way they had come. Kobra has grabbed Sandman’s hand and they’re bickering softly as they make their way. Jet’s musing softly to himself and Ghoul can hear him muttering spices under his breath. Party is walking along beside him humming and Ghoul feels a sense of contentment at the scene. Sandman leads the way back into Helena’s pass and Ghoul walks up the stairs to the shared house in a kind of haze. Jet beelines for the kitchen and Sandman sits on the floor with Kobra as Ghoul leans against the wall and Party sits next to him.Jet buzzes around the kitchen and they all sit in a circle eating whatever Jet’s cooked up for them this time and once they finish Sandman looks up with a determined look.”What’s our plan to get Patrick out?” Party snaps into reality as Sandman gives him an expectant look, “I don’t know,” Sandman gives him an exaggerated sigh and it’s pretty clear he’s trying not to yell. Ghoul gives him a sympathetic look. They all know how close Sandman and Patrick are. “Do you have any idea what his mission was?” Jet cuts in trying to keep the peace. Sandman nods, “Very little. I know he was sent to try to learn more about BL/Ind’s intentions to wipe out the Killjoys,” Party looks at Sandman a stricken look on his face, “They aren’t. The only thing that they have planned is using them as an example to keep citizens in line. Killjoys are the perfect example of everything that goes against BL/Ind protocol,” Sandman stands up angrily and begins to pace back and forth. Ghoul tenses, Sandman’s moods were never good. Kobra stands up and wraps him in a tight hug.- - - Sandman shook angrily as Kobra whispered in his ear. Everything was blurry and he could tell that he was going to have a breakdown. He blinked back tears and gently shoved Kobra away, “Let me go for now,” He whispered in Kobra’s ear, “I’m going to have a breakdown, I’ll be in the room,” With that he was gone and wiping angry tears from his face as he sprinted into the room he shared with Kobra. Hot tears were spilling down his cheeks and his nose was running furiously. No one understood. No one understood that the connection he had with Patrick was so- so important. No one at all understood that for all  his life until he had met Ghoul and Jet and eventually Kobra that Patrick was all he had. No one else but Patrick understood about the complete and utterly loneliness about growing up in the desert. No one really understood that feeling. Mikey came close, since he understood the feeling of growing up alone with only one other sane person. That was why he’d understood when Mikey had admitted that his brother was Gerard. He curled up on the bed and sobbed. Why had Patrick have to be so fucking noble? Why couldn’t he have let someone else go on the suicide mission? Why couldn’t he have he stayed where he was safe? Why’d he have to leave Pete alone? Why? Why? Why?!He heard the door open and close lightly and suddenly there was a hand rubbing his back. Circles. Over and over. “It’s okay to cry,” He hears Mikey say quietly and he rolled over tears suddenly gone. He had no more use for them. He stared blankly up at the ceiling.He looked up at Mikey, blinking tears away. “Why’d he have to do it?” He gasped out.Mikey cupped his face in his hands, “Because he felt like he had to do something. Anything to help the cause. He felt useless, like he couldn’t do anything to help, so when he was offered the mission,” He trails off.”He took it,” Pete finished softly. “It’s not hopeless,” Mikey says rubbing his thumbs under Pete’s eyes. “No, but it almost is,” Pete whispered.There was a quiet knock on the door, Mikey looked down at Pete and he nodded.”Come in,” Mikey called and Party opened the door slightly and slipped in.”I’m sorry,” He said casting his eyes down at the carpet, “It’s not hopeless, a lot could have changed since I left,” He sounds kind of desperate and Sandman feels like this guy hurts just as much as he does, he just doesn’t know how to show it. “It’s not your fault, I just miss him,” Sandman says sitting up and a pang goes through him when Kobra immediately wrapped his arms around him squeezing gently. Party nodded, “I get it,” Sandman has no doubt that he does. He dealt with missing Kobra for three years after all, “We can still get him back,” He says meeting Sandman’s eyes. A determined look is what he sees. The look of someone who understood the desperation he had to know that Patrick would be okay, “I have a couple of ideas on how to get info on what’s happened to him,” Party says slowly and Sandman leans against Kobra and nods slowly. Party took a deep breath before beginning, “When I left Battery there was a rumor of another city, one under the city,” He leans forward leaning on the door, “One full of rebels. Have you heard of it?” Sandman and Kobra share a dark look. Sandman sighed, "Yeah, we've heard of it," He adds in his head, And we used to live there. Not that Party needs to know that yet. Party looks intrigued though, "That's our ticket to Patrick, we can make contact with him through there," Sandman nods, sharing a nervous look with Kobra, they swore never to go back there, but if it's the only chance to save Patrick, they have to risk it. Kobra speaks up, "Let's do it. We need to help Patrick. We owe it to him," Party doesn't question why they owe him, and Kobra leans against Sandman, "Shall we go tell Jet and Ghoul?"Sandman nods, “Yep. Let’s go fill in Jet and Ghoul,” Party nodded and opened the door, no one was surprised to see Ghoul sitting there with a guilty smile. “Okay, so let’s go tell Jet,” Sandman amends laughing.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Gerard hadn't meant to make Sandman cry. He really hadn't, but his words had come out blunt and true as usual and he couldn't help but feel a little bit guilty as he drifted off to sleep after his promise to help Patrick back and telling Jet about his plan. He understood how much Sandman was hurting. He felt a little guilty that he had gotten his brother back right before Sandman lost his. It was no use thinking it over so deeply. He rolled over and tried not to worry about the fact that they're talking to Dr. D tomorrow about their plan, well the plan that Gerard had come up with. He hears Ghoul roll over in his sleep (or maybe he's still awake. Fuck if he knows) and make a small sighing noise like a kitten. Gerard tenses hoping that he hasn't accidentally woken him and relaxes when there's only silence.Deciding that there's no chance that he's going to be able to sleep, Gerard slips out of the bedroom he shares with Ghoul, wincing as the door squeaks. He pads softly down the hallway and remembers that Jet's sleeping in the front room. Cautiously he slips into the room and is relieved when Jet's fast asleep snoring quietly. Gerard pads over to the door trying to remember how loud it was when opened. He opens the door cautiously, relieved when it opens silently and steps out onto the rotting steps to the door. He jumps over the steps, afraid that they'd make too much noise if he dared to put his weight on them, grunting slightly when he lands because his knees locked. Gerard takes a couple of steps shaking his leg to try to make the slight pain go away. Gerard looks back at the house smiling slightly, he knows that these people are much better than anyone he's met inside BL/Ind, except he's met Patrick and everyone seems to think highly of him so... Whatever. Gerard looks around trying to figure out which way to go. He could walk the way they had that afternoon, or he could go the other way, or better yet he thinks spying a ladder on the side of the house, he could sit on the roof. Mind made up he walks quietly across the grass, wincing again when he remembers he forgot to wear shoes. The grass is slick with dew under his feet and he feels slightly uneasy walking after he almost falls on his ass. Gerard reaches the ladder without further event and climbs to the roof. The roof is drier than the grass and he lies back and just looks at the stars. They're even more breathtaking then out in the desert because here they're free from all of the light pollution coming from Battery.He lies back threading his fingers together and using them as a pillow. There's an idea on the edge his mind foggy and translucent and Gerard tries to focus on it hoping it will help him figure out what the fuck he's going to do. He doesn't even know if what they're chasing is real despite what Kobra says.Gerard chases all thoughts from his mind and just lies there looking at the stars mind in hurricane mode. His thoughts are a hurried whirlwind and words are coming faster than lightning strikes in a lightning storm. He laughs quietly at his metaphor and stiffens when he hears the front door open and close quietly. Gerard holds his breath as he hears soft footsteps and then the creak that means someone's put their foot on the ladder. He contemplates pretending to be asleep, but decides that it's not the wisest idea. "Couldn't sleep?" Comes Ghoul's voice softer than usual, quiet as not to wake the others, as he crawls out to join Gerard. Gerard shakes his head, "My minds a hurricane,"Ghoul gives him a curious look, "What's that mean?"Fuck. Gerard isn't awake enough to explain, but he'll try his best, "It's like when there's just so much going on that it feels like the world's spinning around you, and your head won't stop working, and no matter how hard you try you can't find the eye of the storm to make everything stop, and there's just so many things flashing in and out of your head like lighting strikes leaving residue that you can't quite seem to find," He finishes his explanation twisting his hands together uncomfortably and looks up to see Ghoul staring at him. "That makes so much sense," Ghoul says, "You just put into words what most of us are feeling like. Wow. That was amazing," His mouth is opening and closing as he runs out of words and Gerard feels a small twinge of pride at rendering a normally loud and rambunctious Ghoul who never stops talking silent. "Thanks," He murmurs and the smile Ghoul gives him makes his heart flutter a bit. They really should be illegal. The sporadic beating of his heart isn't helped by the fact that Ghoul leans against him shivering slightly as a breeze flows through. They sit in compatible silence until Gerard blurts out, awkwardly, "Do you think of yourself as Ghoul in your head or as whatever your name was before?" It's something that's been bugging him and he kind of regrets it when Ghoul sits up to look at him."It depends," Ghoul says looking deep in thought, "If I'm really mad at myself I'll use my old name, but most of the time I'm just Ghoul. Why'd you ask?" He asks cocking his head to the side like a curious puppy.Gerard shrugs, "It's been bugging me, it's like I know that I've been Gerard for most of my life, but it's slowly fading away from who I see as myself,"Ghoul gives him a thoughtful look, "That makes sense, I think though in the end it kind of comes down to who you think of yourself as. Like are you Gerard future leader of BL/Ind who just wants to escape? Or are you Party Poison a killjoy with an aim to take down BL/Id and get revenge for yourself?" Gerard starts at this he hadn't really thought of wanting to get revenge on BL/Ind, "Or are you somewhere in the middle, Party Poison who just wants to live free of BL/Ind and survive?" Ghoul finishes giving him a slightly shy look.Gerard thinks, "I'm kind of in between the two Partys," He says slowly trying to think what he says next out in his head first, "Like I want to take down BL/Ind but not for revenge for me, but for all the people who they've killed or wronged. And I still want to survive, to live a BL/Ind free life, but not so much that I'd walk away from this," Ghoul's open mouthed looking at him and says, sounding like he's trying not to choke on his words, "That's amazing. I think you've pretty much just summed up why we're Killjoys," Gerard shrugs, "No, really," Says Ghoul, words falling fast like he needs to get something out of his head as soon as possible, "That's the most accurate description I've heard of what it means to be one of us,"The word us makes Gerard inexplicably happy and he leans over and gives Ghoul a hug, "Thanks," He mutters into Ghoul's shoulder as he wraps his arms around his waist."Glad I could be of help," Ghoul says hugging him back and they stay like that until Ghoul says, "Party, we need to go back inside, your feet are turning blue," Gerard looks down at his feet and he can tell his eyes widen comically as he stares at his feet, he moves one of them, but he can't feel anything."I don't think I'm going to be able to stand up," He says leaning down and rubbing his left foot, it's so cold to the touch Gerard has to wonder why he hadn't noticed before hand.Ghoul gives him a worried look, "Can you try?"Gerard thinks for a second before saying decisively, "We're on top of a fucking roof I don't think that's a good idea," Ghoul laughs, "You know I think you're right, I'll go get your shoes," He stands up stretching, and Gerard deliberately doesn't look at the pale strip of skin exposed when he raises his arms. Ghoul climbs down the ladder and Gerard sits with his arms wrapped around himself, teeth chattering and he tries to think why he thought that coming out here was a good idea. He can't seem to remember. Before long Ghoul's back and helping Gerard lace up his boots because his fingers are blue now too."So why did you think it was a good idea to go sit on the roof in the middle of the night?" Jet demands when they walk back through the door and Ghoul shoots Gerard an apologetic look."I woke him up by tripping," He mutters into Gerard's ear. Jet crosses his arms and taps his foot, "I'm waiting," He looks rather impatient and Gerard glances at Ghoul who seems for the second time that night at a loss for words."I needed to clear my head," Gerard says crossing his arms like a disconsolate teenager with a bad attitude, sticking his chin out a little."I woke up and he was gone," Ghoul says mocking Gerard's pose, except it look really childish so Gerard immediately stops and puts his arms back at his sides, chin still jutted out defiantly, "So I went to go find him," Jet glares at them, but eventually sighs and steps aside clearing the path to the hallway, "Get some sleep," He instructs softly face relaxing.Gerard follows Ghoul down the hall and gives Jet a soft smile before disappearing into their room and flopping on his cold bed. "See you in the morning," Ghoul mutters turning on his side to face the wall. Gerard's left to ponder his own thoughts and trace the outline of Ghoul facing away from him. Soon enough he's breathing softly again and Gerard rolls on his back to try to sort out his feelings.Sure he's felt this way, butterflies in the stomach, slightly nervous around someone, pulse fluttery before, but there's something more powerful and terrifying about it this time. Ghoul's attractive, way more attractive than anyone has the right to be. And not to mention how overly touchy he is with Gerard. It makes his stomach all fluttery and his cheeks a pale pink. He knows Kobra can tell somethings there between them, but he hasn't pressed Gerard for details. Ghoul is something special, Gerard decides rolling over to face the wall, there's something about him that Gerard's self conscious is telling him that he needs to keep this person in his life.Ghoul's like a magnet, Gerard supposes as he drifts off. All shiny and everything. - - - When Jet brings up their midnight escapade at breakfast the next morning Ghoul winces. He pointedly stares down at his food refusing to look at Kobra who will be looking at him with another fucking look. When he finally dares to look up the topic's shifted to who is going to ask to talk to Dr. D. He's still looked up too early though because at the same time Party shoots him a bright smile Kobra shoots him his fucking know-it-all look. Fuck him. Fuck Sandman too, because he's snickering at the encounter and he and Kobra have definitely had a conversation about this. Desperate to shift their focus away from him he blurts out, "I'll do it. I'll go talk to Dr. D,"Jet turns to look at him, "Okay, make sure you see really respectful, we really need him on our side. Surprisingly enough Party volunteers to come with him and they set out fifteen minutes later with definite instructions from Jet to, "Be polite, be respectful, and no detours," Ghoul mocks as they walk down the street kicking a rock and hopping around holding his toe cursing, "Does he think we're fucking two year olds?" He asks when Party stops mocking his pain. Fuck him. Ghoul would be pissed at him right now if it was anyone else, but he can't get mad at him. It would be like getting mad at a flower. Impossible.Party gives him a look (it's so similar to Kobra's it sends shivers down his spine), "It is valid advice considering I got stuck on the roof at midnight with you because my dumb ass self forgot to wear shoes, and my feet were so numb I couldn't stand. Cut him some slack,"Ghoul scowls, "Fine," He kicks another rock. They reach the house Sandman had given them directions to. Dr. D's van is parked out front and Ghoul lags behind letting Party lead the way. He tries not to let his thoughts stray back to last night and the kinda deep conversation he'd had with Party. He hadn't actually expected him to be on the roof and was planning to sit up there and sulk about how pretty Party was. But the conversation had been nice and had given him a deeper understanding of how Party felt about the whole being a Killjoy. And most importantly given him a few ideas to help him adjust.He snapped back into reality when he hears Party knock on the door. He stands up straighter and hopes that Dr. D will be able to help them. It's not as if he can really stop them from doing anything, but it would be nice to have him know where they are."This is a surprise," Dr. D says amicably opening the door and inviting them in. They follow him to a shabby table where he invites them to sit and have some coffee. Ghoul watches absent minded as Party looks curiously into his mug. "What are here you about?" Dr. D asks after Ghoul finishes explaining to Party what coffee is and he's drinking, apparently hooked.Party sets down his mug and states so bluntly it makes Ghoul cringe, "We're going after Patrick," Dr. D doesn't look surprised in the slightest, "That's what I thought this might be about," He sighs leaning back in his chair, "You do know that there's nothing I can do to stop you, so I will tell you this, this is more dangerous than you thought. Killjoys are not popular in The Underground and you may attract suspicion. I'll also tell you this. There's nothing I can do to help you once you're there," He says face made into stern lines.Party nods, "But do you think we can do it?" Dr. D pauses, "I think if anyone is going to be able to save Patrick Stump it will be your team," Party nods draining the rest of his coffee in one go and Ghoul can't pretend his breath doesn't hitch when Party licks the rest of the coffee off his lips. He stands up stance determined."Next time we see you Patrick'll be with us," He says confidently and he pulls Ghoul out the door waving goodbye to Dr. D and Show Pony who appears sleepily hair a tangled mess right before they walk out the door.They walk back to the house quieter than usual an air of determination wrapping them like a taco shell and a kind of quiet peace between them that he doesn't dare break even when he stubs his toe kicking another rock. It fucking hurts though and Party gives him an amused look. A very anxious Sandman opens the door as they walk up the steps and Ghoul gives him what he hopes is a reassuring look. "Are we good to go?" Kobra asks as soon as they're all the way in the door. Sandman's bouncing up and down and looks like he's going to be sick as Party opens his mouth."Yep," At this a relieved sigh falls out of Sandman whose shoulders slump with relief and Kobra appears to be slightly less tense."When can we leave?" Sandman asks, turning to Party.Party shrugs, "Whenever, we should probably eat first though,"Sandman looks rebellious at this statement and Jet hurriedly says, "I can make sandwiches," And Sandman's affronted look dissipates.Kobra stands up stretching his arms and yawning slightly. Sandman's still bouncing up and down nervously and Jet has a slightly nervous look that he's trying to hide by shaking his hair over his face while he runs around sloppily making sandwiches. Party's awkwardly leaning against a wall while Ghoul can feel a nervous tension slowly building in his stomach. It's the nervous tension that usually comes right before one of his raids to blow shit up in Battery. It's usually not this bad and he's guessing it's something to do with the fact that this time Patrick's life is on the line. Patrick and him were never really the closest, but he's always loved him like a brother and he feels the need to do whatever he can to help get him back safely. Jet shoves a pile of sandwiches into his hands and leads the way out the door Sandman on his heels. Kobra gives Ghoul a small smile before pulling Party out the door behind him. They all pile into the car again and Jet pulls out of the driveway.They drive in silence down the road past all the dilapidated houses they've seen in the short time they've been here. Show Pony waves at them when they pass and Ghoul waves back, albeit a very lame wave, but a wave nonetheless even though it was just a lame flapping of his wrist. Party's staring moodily out the window from the passenger's seat and Ghoul's trying to ignore Sandman and Kobra making out in the seat next to him.They eventually stop and Jet turns around to give Ghoul a We're stuck with them forever look. Ghoul grins slightly and goes back to staring out the window watching the trees fade away and give way to the mess of bushes and short cacti before they reach the rolling cliffs and mesas of the desert. Ghoul stares out the window, wondering if this plan Party's come up with is actually going to work. They're relying a lot on Kobra's promise that there is an underground for this to be able to work.Ghoul eventually falls asleep because the next thing he knows Party's shaking him gently awake, "Move over," He says softly and Ghoul wearily undoes his seat belt and moves over one seat before redoing it. Party climbs in next to him and after he buckles Ghoul leans on his shoulder, not awake enough, nor intending to wake up enough to give a shit about whatever look Kobra's giving him. He closes his eyes and revels in the feeling of his cheek pressing into Party's shoulder and Party's head resting on his lightly after Party decides that he's not moving.Ghoul isn't really sure how much farther they have to go, but he's pretty sure he can't have been asleep for that long, and all his thoughts slowly become pointless as he falls back asleep. Sometimes, he thinks blurrily, that's just how it is.He wakes up a second time to Party shaking him gently, but with an urgency that snapped Ghoul back into awareness, “Wake up,” Party hisses, “Wake up Ghoul, for fucks sake wake up!” Ghoul forces open his eyes open, blinking trying to make the spots dancing in front of him blacking out bits of Party’s worried face, “I’m awake,” He murmurs, gently and sleepily moving Party’s arm away from his shoulder, “What’s going on?”Party leans back and says, “Look out the window,” Ghoul looks out the window. They’re still in the desert and nothing looks different, until he sees it. Out in the distance a small column of smoke rising steadily in the distance. Ghoul feels a panic rising in his chest. They really can't afford to lose any of their bases to BL/Ind at the moment, "What is it?" He finally finds the words to ask.Jet smiles grimly, "Let's go find out,"There's a tense silence in the car as the column grows steadily nearer, and Ghoul notices that Party's taken out his blaster and the safety's off. He's staring out the window, a small frown on his face."Jet slow down," He says abruptly, unbuckling his seat belt and leaning forward one hand on the shoulder of the passenger's seat to get a better look, "That's not a BL/Ind fire," Party says eyes sharp and focused on the column in the distance."How can you tell?" Jet asks, slowly stopping the car."Because there's too much smoke," Kobra says from the passenger's seat, and Ghoul realizes that Sandman's asleep in the seat next to him drooling slightly, "BL/Ind burns things in small areas at a time with gasoline so that everything burns more efficiently. Either this was done by an inexperienced officer, it's Killjoys burning something for fun, or," He says pausing slightly for dramatic affect, "Someone's burning stuff on purpose trying to get us to go see what it's about," "Yep," Party says, grimly smiling, "So we're going to go check it out right?" He says it with such a casual air that takes them all by surprise, "Yeah," Ghoul manages to get out after a few seconds of casual shock."Why are you so surprised?" Party asks rolling his eyes, "That's the type of reckless shit you do all the time,"The classification hurts, more than Ghoul thought it would. Sure he's been called reckless before, but not by someone who's opinion that matters. He's not really sure why Party's matters quite so much, but when he huffs in annoyance and glares at him, sinking back into his seat, Party looks almost apologetic. "Let's go," Jet says looking resigned to whatever they're going to find. He starts the car again and it's a couple of short minutes before the source of smoke comes into their view. Jet stops the car, "Holy shit,"It's a car wreck. There's two BL/Ind cars smoking and totaled. Ghoul can't take his eyes off the wreckage. There's something beautiful and tragic about it. The way the cars are twisted around each other and smoking like two dancing prisoner's on death row having their last smoke. There's scratch marks on the sides of the cars facing them and Ghoul can hear the shocked gasp come from his left side as Sandman apparently has chosen this moment to wake up. It's a twisted sort of beauty. The kind of beauty possessed by a lion, stalking their prey, lifting their head from the carcass, mouth dripping with blood and the moment when you think oh shit. it's a lion. I'm going to die, but it's beautiful. They sit there for a minute or so marveling at the catastrophe before Sandman breaks the silence."Why would two BL/Ind cars have crashed into each other?" He voices the question they've all been silently thinking and Ghoul's glad someone said it.He looks to the right taking in Party's grim face, "This wasn't an accident, it was a murder," Party speaks quietly, "This is what was going to happen to me if I hadn't shot out the tires. Evidently this guy wasn't lucky enough," They all take in his words before Sandman opens the door and climbs out."There might be someone still alive," He says quietly, walking away from the car, wiping at his eyes when he thinks they aren't looking. Kobra climbs out of the car after him.Ghoul goes out the door Sandman left open and he walks closer to the wreckage. He can feel the heat coming off the cars from several feet away, and he knows it's highly unlikely that anyone survived. Party appears at his side. They stand in silence looking at the twisted black and white wreckage. Party sighs and walks towards the cars, bending over where the driver's seat would be. He looks up grimly at Ghoul, "There's no one here," Ghoul looks at him."Who was driving then?" He asks, mind a hurricane, "Party?" He asks, voice getting desperate, "Who was driving?" He's aware his voice is rising and Party gives him a raw look.It's a look that gives Ghoul the feeling that Party's stripped down to his skeleton, that he's at a loss, that he is so shocked and horrified he doesn't know what to do. "There was no one," He whispers, "Not in this car, it wasn't a crash, it was a death sentence," He stands up and a tear rolls down his cheek. "Why?" Ghoul asks, voice hoarse."Because they were different," Party whispers, and it strikes Ghoul that if Party wasn't such a good shot, this would have been him. "It's not fair," Sandman's voice comes from behind him and he and Kobra appear at their sides, "But this," He says gesturing at the wreck, "This is why we're Killjoys. This is why we're going to take down BL/Ind. Once and for all," He says eyes red, and voice unsteady. Jet joins them and Party unties a bandanna Ghoul hadn't noticed before from around his leg and tossed it on the flames."To the fallen," He whispers, "To those who never got my chance, to those we weren't able to save," He takes a moment to wipe his eyes angrily before continuing, "And for all of those we're going to save. Starting with Patrick," He finishes looking at Sandman who's clinging to Kobra like a lifeline and sobbing."To those who will carry on," Ghoul says quietly, staring into the flames. They stand there for at least another fifteen minutes. No one says anything until Jet hesitantly breaks the silence, "I think we need to get going," He says shakily and Party nods resolutely. Ghoul can't help but be impressed by how convinced he is that they can make a difference.They all pile back into the car and it's five minutes when Ghoul comes to the realization, they never ID-ed who was in the car. "I hate to say it," Ghoul says softly, "But how do we know it wasn't Patrick in the car?" Party looks up from the window, "I saw the face," He whispers quietly, "It wasn't him, it was someone else," The way he says it implies he knew who it was and Ghoul leans against him in a silent message of support and Ghoul's heart glows when Party leans against him.A silent thank you.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The blinding sun's high in the sky by the time the bleak city Kobra despises with all of his being appears on the horizon. There's a tense air in the car, everyone's anxiety growing with the city as it gets larger in the distance. The empty desert scenery all blurs together as they continuously get closer to Battery. Tensions have reached and all time high in the car when Kobra's the one to break the silence that's held them captive since they left the crash site. "You guys should know that people in the underground have a different attitude towards rebellion than we do. They work silently to undermine BL/Ind and let us do all of the diversions, that's what split the original rebellion in two," He takes a moment to mask his distaste for the people who made that decision instead of trying to make it work, pretty much wrecking any chance they had at beating BL/Ind once and for all, "We were originally on the same team," He continues running a hand through his hair as he tries to remember all the stories he's been told, "And they are a lot more organized than we are. They have crews like we do, but they mostly specialize in hacking different areas of Bl/Ind," Ghoul opens his mouth to ask a question but Kobra gives him a look that stops him for the time being, "And most importantly, they don't like Killjoys. There's deep seated animosity that we're going to have to work against. Hopefully the friends Sandman and I have in the underground will help us undermine the stereotypes, and get us the help we need,""So the underground really exists?" Jet blurts out, his crazy hair rippling up and down as he bounces with nervous tension, "I just thought it was a myth Dr. D told us to keep us away from the city, not that it worked," He adds rolling his eyes in the sleeping Ghoul's direction.The city's almost in front of them, the gray walls overshadowing the landscape of the desert they've all grown to love, and Kobra can feel anxiety gnawing his stomach to bits, he didn't exactly leave on the best terms with the person they're going to need on their side. That's probably going to be a problem he reflects.Jet slows down and stops the car a good distance from the city where they should be safe from patrols. Unless Kobra worries in his head, they've upped security since they found the diner. When Kobra gives Jet a curious look he sheepishly explains, "I don't know where to go," It's probably hard for him to admit, as he does most of their driving in the desert normally without asking for directions and Kobra grins at him appreciating how hard that was for him.Sandman speaks up for the first time in a while, "I do, let me drive," Of course he knows, Kobra thinks rolling his eyes from behind the shades he pulled on earlier to disguise his red eyes after the crash, it's not at all like he had to do the drive all the time for Dr. D before he and Kobra split the scene faster than an ice cream sundae with a banana on top. Sandman and Jet silently switch places while Kobra glances into the back to see Ghoul and Party still fast asleep. He rolls his eyes, they're so gone on each other, but neither can tell that the other is and it's so adorable when they awkwardly avoid each other's gaze that Kobra's not gonna say anything. And not just to torture them, but he knows it's better if Party sorts out his feelings with out and outsider's input."Wake them up," Kobra tosses over his shoulder to Jet who grins and shakes Party's shoulder, who instantly snaps awake, and it stings Kobra a little to remember that they'd had to learn to sleep light to stay alive in Battery. Party then shakes Ghoul and once everyone is semi-conscious and aware of where they are Sandman starts the car giving Kobra a small smile. "Don't do anything to make anyone hate us," Kobra instructs and Ghoul laughs nervously, "I mean it," He reiterates, this really is important, "We need to blend in, that's pretty much our only hope. So that means no yelling, or zone slang," Ghoul pokes his tongue out at Kobra rebelliously and Sandman glares at him in the rear view mirror, an ominous warning of what will happen if Ghoul won't listen to Kobra's warning."This is serious Ghoul," Sandman's words seem to make Ghoul realize the gravity of the situation because he's usually never serious about anything, and Kobra breathes an internal sigh of relief.Party hasn't said anything yet and Kobra glances back to see if he's actually still awake. He's staring blankly out the window like someone's put a block in between his eyes and his brain, preventing him from joining reality, and Kobra twists around in his seat to poke him. Party glares at him and Ghoul drags him headfirst into a conversation about Disney, which confuses Kobra until he remembers the conversation about Sleeping Beauty from earlier. Then an important piece of information he'd forgotten to talk about floated to the top of the mess in his head like a dead body in the middle of a lake.Kobra turns around, "We're going to need to talk our way in," He starts, making sure they're paying attention, "That means let me and Sandman talk, because we'll have a better chance of getting someone to let us in, but if that fails," He turns in his seat to address Jet, "That means that Jet's in charge of sweet talking the guards," He leaves them to what ever weird thing they're discussing to keep their minds off the upcoming events and turns around to share a grim look with Sandman. They're going to need an insane amount of luck to pull this off. He feels the dread building in his stomach as the landscape gives into the all too familiar downward concrete slope that leads to the rusty drain cover that hides the entrance to the underground. Sandman slows down and the others fall silent, the debate on whatever finished. As they pull up to the grate Kobra holds his breath, hoping that no one that knew them is on guard duty. No such luck. As the grate opens a familiar face greets them. Kobra hears Sandman muttering expletives furiously under his breath as the car pulls to an abrupt and jerky stop. Kobra can see the faint lights of the underground in the distance as he slumps in his seat, defeated. And they were so lucky to get this far! Sandman rolls down the window and a familiar voice says, "Names," The uncharacteristically stern tone leaves no room for argument and Kobra stays silent as Sandman tries to fake his way through, Kobra's pulled out of his dark brooding thoughts of just turning around and failing when the voice says, "Damn it Pete, you'll have to try better if you want to go unnoticed. I'll assume that Mikey's here too," Kobra sighs again and turns to view the grinning face of Joe in Sandman's window."Hi Joe," Kobra states, hoping against hope he'll let them through without too many questions. "Where have you guys been?" Joe asks leaning in conspiratorially as not be overheard. Damn it, Kobra silently curses, why'd Joe have to be so damn curious.'We're 'Joys now," Sandman says and Joe's grin doesn't falter."I know that, I meant what happened? There's been two weeks of radio silence from the Dr. That hasn't happened since the bombing two years ago," Joe's tone is worried, full of fear that their tiny spark of a rebellion is squashed and Kobra feels sorry for him when Sandman says,"We've been compromised, Zones one through probably four are now under BL/Ind supervision round the clock," Sandman says and Joe's face looks shocked."You've got to go tell Halsey," They're the first words out of his mouth, just as Kobra knew they would be, because Joe is a notorious rule follower, just as Mikey's always known him to be."Yep," Kobra says, cutting across the protest he's sure Sandman was about to start, "That's why we're here. It was great to see you Joe, maybe we'll hang out while we're here," The words sound discombobulated to him even in his head and when Joe grins at them and waves them through, Kobra feels a small amount of remorse at taking advantage of their friend before reminding himself that this is war. Some choices and betrayals you just can't avoid. The lights grow brighter and it's not that long before they're pulling into the underground's garage. Kobra glances around to make sure they're alone before launching into a lecture, "Blend in remember, and try to talk instead of me and Sandman, it's been a while since we were here, but you saw how quickly Joe coined us. Make sure not to stand out and we are going to see Halsey, and we will probably tell her the reason for the radio silence, but most importantly we need to not piss her off because we will need her help if we're going to pull this off," Party gives him a nod, and Ghoul blinks at him, "Bossy," Kobra rolls his eyes then he and Sandman lead the way into the underground. He risks the occasional glance back and sees the other three trying to look around, without looking like they've never been here before, rolling his eyes and turning back around, Kobra focuses on avoiding any one who looks even vaguely familiar. This causes them to take a zig-zag route to Halsey's. Kobra bumps into someone when he turns back around to look at the three to make sure they aren't too far behind. They're still staring around and he fights the instinct to yell at them to hurry up. Instead he takes the time to look around too, taking in the graffiti covered walls, the paper lanterns hanging from the cavernous ceiling, the stacked floors that run around the edge of the room in a spiral, and all of the people running around working to undermine BL/Ind. It's looking around that makes him remember why he loved it here, and looking at Sandman when he turns around again why he left. He goes to step forward when a hand on his chest stops him, looking up he internally groans, how the fuck did he and Sandman overlook that almost everyone knew who they were? Hopefully this guy didn't any way. He tries to move around the hand, avoiding meeting the figure in the eyes and sighs when the hand doesn't let him pass. Kobra holds out a hand to stop Sandman who looked like he was ready to fucking end the guy for laying a hand on him. It sparks a little flame of love and affection for Sandman in the dark abyss of Kobra's heart and damn that was a fucking emo and depressing thought. He tears his thoughts away from Sandman and looks up at the guy in front of him, he breaths a sigh of relief when it's not someone he recognizes. Thank fuck."Sorry for bumping you," He says hurriedly and he feels Jet and Party's worry from three feet behind him.The dude sizes him up before moving out of the way and letting him pass easily. They hurry past him and Kobra links his pinky with Sandman's allowing himself the small comfort before he drops it again leading the way toward's the room Halsey's claimed as an office. He reaches the door familiar from his time in the underground and once they reach it he looks at the others. "Let me do the talking," He says giving them no time to argue, and yes, he knows that it's hypocritical because he told them to do the opposite, but he's got the best chance with Halsey.He knocks twice in quick succession pauses for two seconds before knocking five more times and finally tapping the door with his boot and holding his breath hoping to Destroya it'll work. The secret code they'd established what seems like forever go, hopefully it'll get him in, but that's only if she'll let him in.Then the door opens and a familiar face greets them. The shock is evident and before she can react Kobra's shoving his way in through the door with the others close behind him, "We need to talk," He says briskly.Halsey gapes at him, clearly in shock, she probably had expected him to be dead already or never to have to see him again, "What the fuck? What the actual fuck Mikey? What the fucking fuck fuckity are you fucking doing here? Are you out of your fucking mind? WHAT THE FUCK?" She's shocked and when Kobra gently pushes her into a chair she hisses, "Don't touch me," And violently yanks her arm away."Shut up," Sandman hisses looking around nervously, "Not so loud unless of course you want everyone to know that we're here,"Halsey opens and closes her mouth a couple of times before glaring at Kobra again, "Explain," She says sternly crossing her arms and glaring at everyone in turn and Kobra grins internally when Ghoul shifts nervously from foot to foot."We need your help," Sandman starts and Halsey rolls her eyes. Sassy as ever."Why should I help?""It's Patrick," Kobra cuts in before Sandman can get himself killed by being a dumb-ass like usual, "He's in Battery for a mission and we need to get him out before they figure him out,"Halsey's brief questioning look evaporates and she goes back to glaring at them like she wants to cut their heads off and serve them on a silver platter with an apple in the mouth to BL/Ind officials, "What'd you do to get him into this mess?"Sandman steps forward looking for all the world like he's going to murder their only chance to get into the city. Kobra steps forward first and as he begins placating to Halsey he smoothly puts a practiced arm on Sandman's chest gently pushing him back towards the others, "We really need your help, you are really and truly our only hope for saving Patrick,""Guess you better find a new hope then," Halsey snaps, "I owe you nothing, I have no reason to help you," Kobra sighs, this outcome was better than what he was expecting. Honestly he didn't even expect to be able to plead his case to her at all."And I'm sorry, but I am going to have to report you and Pete," She says and honestly Kobra's wishing at this point that he could punch her lights out, "What you did was seriously illegal-""This whole place is illegal,"It's the first time Party's spoken up in a while (Or since the crash site) and the fact he's speaking up kind of startles Kobra, Halsey takes a predatory step out of her chair towards him, "We have our own laws Ritalin,"That's the final straw for Kobra, with out thinking about it he pulls back a fist to punch her in the face, he's not going to let anyone even Halsey get away with calling his brother a Ritalin, but Ghoul beats him to it. Before Kobra can even fully process what's going on Ghoul's come flying out of no where and punched her square in the nose and it's absolutely poring blood, and then Sandman or Party (He can't tell at the moment they're in such a hurry) grabs his arm tightly and pulls him out of the office and in the direction of where he thinks the tunnels to the surface are and people are quickly blocking them and murmuring something about invaders.Halsey's voice rings out from behind them, sounding thick like she had a cold, and Kobra smiles to himself, take that bitch, and silently sends Ghoul a hug, "Stop them," People close ranks around them blocking them in and everyone in their little group sort of clusters together back to back like in a spy movie from before and Kobra can feel hands on either side of him resting on holsters. Kobra looks around and sighs at the crowd they've attracted. The faces look hostile and unwelcoming, then Kobra has to bite his tongue to avoid making a smart-ass remark about bad hospitality when Halsey appears in front of him, clutching her nose and glaring like a demon straight from hell at them, "See you in lock up fuck ups,"Kobra raises his middle finger at her, so done with this place and they've been here for what? Half an hour? This is why he prefers being a Joy to this, they all listen to Dr. D, but he doesn't impose stupid rules on them, get mad when they do something stupid, or throw people in lock up because they punch him in the face. And not to mention that Dr. D hates the rules as much as they do so there's no chance of him promoting any. Halsey glares at him more intensely, if anyone thought that was impossible they were wrong. It feels like she's shooting metaphorical lasers into his soul and Kobra grins to himself as he wonders if there's any kryptonite around this place. A group of Undergrounders surround them and Kobra laughs crazily while still flipping Halsey off as the stun bolt hits his chest. His last glimpse before everything goes black is Halsey smiling sadistically at him while he falls to the cold floor that's probably covered in disgusting objects. It's so unnerving- even more so than the glaring, he'd expected that- and his mind starts frantically reeling as to why she's so damn vindictive towards taking them out and not helping them, he barely get's out half an idea and before he can finish his mind goes blank.Then it's just dark. ---When Ghoul wakes up, it's in a prison cell. That's not a situation he's all that comfortable or familiar with (Yet, but with the way this has gone so far... Well their luck's bound to get worse.) and he glares at Kobra waiting for him to wake up from the stunning so he can cuss him out. In the meantime he decides to be surprisingly mature and take a look around and try to get a read on their situation. He starts making a mental list of pros and cons.Pros, he's not tied up, he's conscious, the other's are all with him, and uhh..... he's alive.Cons, he's in a jail cell, he's in unfamiliar territory, no one here likes them, Patrick's clock is ticking lower as he thinks, and Kobra's still asleep so he can't yell at him. Even though it was kind of his fault for punching Halsey, Kobra was going to do the same thing, so whatever.  And she totally deserved it. Distracted, Ghoul lets his thoughts drift to ideas of punching Halsey again, but pulls himself back to earth when he remembers where he is. When he looks around it's just a plain grey cell made of concrete and across the hall he can see an identical one. Except the one across the hall doesn't have five rebels with a cause in it, it just has a sullen looking guy with crazy hair that could almost rival Jet's. He looks vaguely familiar and Ghoul tries to remember his name. He's pretty sure he's the guy who let them in, and there's really nothing he could do at this point to make the situation better so he may as well try."Joe," He hisses, pressing himself against the bars of the cell, hoping he's right and not making things worse for himself.In a crazy, incredible, insanely amazing bit of luck it's him. The guy raises his head and stares confusedly across the hall, "How'd you know my name?""I'm here with Pete and Mikey, Halsey didn't like our message," Ghoul hisses as the guy moves to the front of his cell so he doesn't have to be as loud, "Why're you here?""I didn't report you, Halsey's had a mandatory report in on all Killjoy activity in the Underground since the radio went silent. So she didn't like that I let you in to talk to her, and I wound up here," Joe rolls his eyes, "She's kind of gone off the deep end as of recently and you can see the results, she's implemented rules similar to the ones she's working so hard to oppose five hundred feet above us,"Ghoul grins, he has a feeling Joe will help them if they can get out of here. He hears someone stirring behind him and he turns around to see Sandman shaking himself awake. His eyes are blurry and unfocused and they focus in on Joe's face and Sandman blinks than grins. He slides to the front of the cell to kneel next to Ghoul and whispers, "What's up? Long time no see,"Joe flips him off and whispers back, "Why didn't you tell me what you were actually doing here?" He sounds really hurt and it's at this point that Kobra slides up besides Sandman, putting an arm around him and leaning on him."We wanted to remain as stealthy as possible, and be honest Joe, would you or would you not have reported us if we said that we were going to go punch Halsey in the face?" Kobra says looking Joe in the eyes as Ghoul watches, feeling a little like a spectator in a tennis match. "Okay, true," Joe says sighing, "I wouldn't have reported you though. Times have changed here, it's not the same as you remember,""No need to sound so melodramatic," Party says, leaning against Ghoul as Joe curiously casts him a glance. He's kind of pale, and Ghoul wonders if he's seen a place like this in Battery from the inside to make him so nervous."It's true," Joe protests as Kobra raises a sarcastic eyebrow and Sandman looks skeptical to the amusement of Ghoul, because Sandman looks so fucking comical when he's serious, "It's become more like BL/Ind than a lot of people are willing to admit, people are being thrown in prison for not reporting things," Joe says indignantly pointing to himself, "And there's been many strange disappearances and rumors that Halsey's sold out to BL/Ind and is putting undercover operatives in place only to blow their cover,"At this they all exchange worried glances and Ghoul notices that Jet's awake and has joined the debate, "So we weren't entirely honest about our reasons for being here," Sandman starts sharing a guilty look with Kobra."Obviously," Joe says cutting him off, "If you would tell me now, that would be great, but if you need to keep it a secret I understand," "Patrick," Kobra says so low Ghoul can barely hear him, and neither can Joe apparently."What?""Patrick," Sandman hisses, since clearly despite his name Kobra is not good at hissing, "He's an undercover operative and if the rumors are true, than we need to get him out sooner than we were planning," The urgency in his voice is apparent and Joe responds in kind, "Patrick? Why him of all people?""I know," Ghoul hisses, "What'd he do to deserve this?" They're clearly all about to rant about how unfair this is when Party cuts in with a dose of reality."He volunteered," Party reminds them before turning to Joe, impatient look on his face, "Are you going to help us or not?"Joe looks taken a back at Party's bluntness before solemnly nodding, "How do we start?" "That's a good question," Jet says laughing and sounding slightly insane, "We kinda came in here with out to much of a plan assuming that Halsey would help us. Pretty obviously that didn't work out, so we're back to square one,""Getting out of here would be a good start," Ghoul pipes up, feeling like he has to add something helpful to the conversation, "Do you have any idea how to do that?" The questions directed at Joe who looks blank for a second than nods."They've been coming by every now and then to check if you're still out and take pulses," Joe says, and before he can continue Kobra cuts in voice full of venom,"So now she pretends to give a shit," There's clearly a history between the two of them, Halsey, and Sandman that wasn't explained, and at this point Ghoul's wondering if he even wants to know. (Who's he kidding? Of course he wants to know. Just preferably when they're not in a jail cell.)"And when they've been taking pulses they've been opening the cell door. So if," Joe continues ignoring Kobra's outburst like it's something he's used to, "If you could all fake unconsciousness and when the guard comes to check you're alive attack him and get the keys-"He leaves the sentence dangling, "Of course we're getting you out, you're stuck with us now," Kobra says matter-a-factly.They hear footsteps coming from down the hall and they all throw themselves backwards in their respective cells a Ghoul goes limp waiting for a sign that they should attack and partly because he hit his head lightly on the wall when he threw himself back. The footsteps grow steadily louder echoing in the cement hallway and Ghoul hears Joe draw in a sharp breath of shock before everything goes quiet and the single isolated noise Ghoul can hear is the footsteps ominously drawing nearer. Ghoul tries to slow his breathing like he's sleeping then remembers if he doesn't know what the breathing pattern of someone who's stunned is. Fuck. The footsteps come to an abrupt halt right outside the door and Ghoul can hear Joe shifting nervously across the hall, "Have you seen them move? Any sign of them stirring?" The voice is clearly talking to Joe and Ghoul holds his breath, this is the moment when Joe could betray them and if he does they could be here a while."None," Comes Joe's voice and Ghoul breathes a mental sigh of relief. He didn't betray them, they still have a chance!"Be sure to yell when you do," The voice says, and when the footsteps start to move away Ghoul panics for a second. "Wait!" Joe says, "Shouldn't you check to make sure that they're alive," When Ghoul hears no response he holds his breath in hopes that the odds will be in their favor."What business is it of yours if they're alive?" The tone doesn't sound to promising to their cause, and Ghoul's faith in their plan is quickly fading when Joe plays his trump card,"I was put in here for not telling Halsey that they were here, so don't you think that means they're important? Imagine what she'd do if they died because you didn't care enough about her wishes to check that her precious prisoners were alive," Joe's tone is worried and clearly it takes effect on the stranger who (literally) holds the key to their freedom, Ghoul almost snickers to himself, but then remembers doing so could cost them their freedom.Ghoul holds his breath with the others in anticipation as he hears the mysterious person walking back towards them, the clanging echoes of the footsteps barely phasing him now he's heard it enough. Ghoul hears the footsteps stop again and the jangling as they pull keys out of their pocket. (Ghoul's trying not to assume the gender of their jailer, because hey! You never know the pronouns of the threatening individual who locked you in a concrete cell and can't see!!) There's a metallic clink of the key sliding smoothly into the lock and Ghoul holds his breath, hoping if it looks like he's not breathing they'll come to look at him and give him and the others a chance to attack. It hurts him a little to think of attacking an innocent person, but then remembers if this person is loyal to Halsey they probably aren't all that innocent. The cell door swings open tapping against the sole of Ghoul's combat boots and he feels the person step into the cell. The next thing he can comprehend is a gentle hand on the side of his neck feeling for the artery, instinctively, Ghoul knows that this is the ideal moment to strike. Without opening his eyes he grabs  the hand at his neck and kicks up. His boot makes contact and there's a hiss of pain from above him and opening his eyes he throws his other hand up onto the startled stranger's neck. Ghoul pushes up as hard as he can forcing himself to his feet and their captor against the wall. It might be a little rougher than he should have been, but he can't help but feel a little bit of anger towards them. They were willing to lock six innocent people up for not listening to the laws of a tyrant, so Ghoul decides to class it as Karma. The others are all on their feet behind him now and Party steps up next to him a cold look on his face as the jailer, who Ghoul can see has boobs, but he decides to keep using they/them just in case, he may have shoved them up against a wall roughly, but misgendering is not cool. Even if they're a slave to someone with screwy ideals who'd probably kill them if given the chance, "YOu- YOu're" The person coughed out, "FreE- FreE to gO," They're almost doubled over hacking and Ghoul drops them, letting them slump chocking the ground."Keys," Party says holding out his hand, "And where are our weapons?" His voice is commanding and Ghoul shivers, the stern tone is an unsettling reminder of who Party was before. A figure high up the BL/Ind chain of command used to bossing people around.The figure which Ghoul can now put a face to, and it's a fairly pretty one, points down the end of the hall, "Weapons are that way, keys-" More coughing, "Keys, are in my pocket," Party grabs the keys and Kobra leads them out of the cell. Party starts going through the keys trying to find the one to Joe's cell when the figure speaks out again, "If you're going to leave me here can you lock me in the cell so I have a valid reason for not pursuing you. I do want you to get away. All you have to do is close the door and it'll lock. Oh," They fumbled at their waist and pulled out a plain silver raygun, "Take my gun," They slide it across the floor and Jet bends down to take it as he swings the door shut and murmurs a quiet not quite cognitive thank you. Clearly he's not entirely clear headed from the stunning yet.Ghoul turns his attention away from the figure who's dropped their head into their hand slumped against the wall and to Party when he lets out a triumphant hiss and Joe's cell door opens. Instantly Joe's standing next to them in the cramped corridor and they cautiously start to make their way down the hall in the direction their savior had pointed. Ghoul gives Party a tentative grin and when he returns it Ghoul's stomach flutters with out his consent. Joe and Jet and quietly comparing their hair cuts and Ghoul snickers quietly as Kobra leads the way out of the tunnels with Sandman at his side, and it makes Ghoul happy when he sees that they're holding hands. The sight's so rare because they rarely show affection in front of the others other than quick kisses and touches, but it makes Ghoul happy to see the reminder that love is real.As they walk down the tunnel with noises of confusion coming from either side of them as the hurry past Ghoul can't help but be skeptical of what they're doing because they didn't really have a lot of time to think this through, but this is pretty much their only hope to help Patrick, who apparently Joe knows? Kobra and Sandman are going to have some serious explaining to do when they get out of the tunnels, because this whole trip has added layer after layer onto the complicated onion that is their unexplained life before they joined Jet and him to form a crew.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Party's really not that surprised when they run into trouble before they even reach the end of the tunnel. All things considered, (Those things being that their luck has been pretty shitty) they were pretty lucky to get this far, but what does surprise him is when in the dim light Jet practically chucks their only raygun at his head. Party barely manages to clumsily catch it before it hits the ground, surprised, "What the fuck Jet?" Jet shrugs, "I figured your the best shot out of all of us and that means you should have the gun,"Party can't argue with his logic, though he wishes he didn't have to be the one with the weapon, and hands the keys to Ghoul who looks increasingly nervous about their situation and Party grins at him, trying to fake his way into confidence, "If I stun them before they can stun me we'll be okay,"His weak attempt at humor makes Ghoul smile a little bit and Sandman outright laugh. Joe and Jet's hair seems to bounce a little more positively (Party hadn't known until that moment that hair could show emotions.) as they move down the tunnels and Kobra seems a little less tensed up. Party's walking behind Kobra now and he almost runs into him when he comes to a sudden halt staring into one of the cells."Andy, is that you?" He calls softly and a figure in the back of the cell that Party hadn't noticed looks up and then Joe's there and staring into the cell with Sandman and Kobra because apparently this is someone that they all know. The figure moves forward into the light and Party's struck by the amount of tattoos he has. From what he's seen of Killjoys with ink so far this isn't unusual, but it's still fascinating to look at."That's my name. Who the fuck are you?" The voice is surprisingly soft and Party grins to himself when Joe speaks up, sarcasm dripping with every word,"Nice to see you recognize your friends," Andy steps closer to the bars looking out into the hallway, "Fuck. Sorry Joe," Then a look of shock passes across Andy's face as Joe watches, a smug grin on his face, "Mikey? Pete? What the fuck are you doing here?" Party stares off down the long tunnel and he can see a light approaching in the far distance, "Hurry up with the touching reunion," He hisses, "We've got company,"Ghoul steps forward with the keys and fumbles to find the one that unlocks Andy's cell. The figure's getting nearer now and Party can hear the echoing footsteps coming closer. He sets the raygun on stun and moves to the from covering the others with their only weapon at the moment other than their minds. Which if Party's honest with himself are probably a better weapon in the close confines of the tunnel than the raygun.  Party hears the door swing open behind him and Sandman's at his side, "What's the plan to get out of here?"He's surprised by the question and looks over startled at Sandman, "I don't know,"Kobra steps forward and the three of them try to find away for them to get out of this without getting stunned again. "I have no ideas," Kobra says blankly and Sandman smiles demonically,"Me neither, I have absolutely no plan at all!" "We could duck in and out of the empty cells, using them as cover while I try to stun them," Party suggests rolling his eyes at Sandman's enthusiasm only for him to have no ideas and Sandman grins at him. Fucking nut job."I knew you had a plan in that head of yours. Ghoul! Joe! Andy! Jet! Come here to hear the plan," They cluster around and Party explains the plan again. Jet nods along as Party explains, adding onto his idea by saying, "We should split up and go into different cells, so that we're harder to find," Party grins at him and Jet grins back before adding, "Not that it would be that hard to find us, but it would be slightly more difficult,"The others just kind of go along with the plan and all duck into cells on either side of Party making sure not to close the doors and get locked in. He raises the gun aiming in the direction of the figure and has his finger on the trigger as the figure calls out, "Sydney! Sydney are you okay?!" Party assumes the girl they left locked in the cell is named Sydney and this person has been sent to retrieve her. It hurts him to have to hurt an innocent person, but their loyalties are unclear and they can't risk getting caught. Party raised the raygun and aims. He pulls the trigger and sends a single stunbolt down the hall. It hits the figure and they collapse and Party waves their little army out of the cells and they take off down the hallway again.The light at the end of the tunnel's getting brighter and Party assumes that their next move after getting their weapons should be finding a place to hide until they can figure out a way to get to the surface. "Nice shot," Andy says stepping up to walk alongside Party as he makes his way towards the stunned body."Thanks," Party says, not really focusing on anything other than getting out of there safely. They reach the crumpled figure and Party bends down to adjust their position. It's a young girl who looks around Kobra's age and has her hand halfway to her raygun, and Party feels shitty for shooting her. He gently moves her with Andy's help as the others catch up so she's leaning against the wall. It's probably not that comfortable, but it makes him feel slightly better about shooting her. Ghoul appears at his side like a ghost popping out of no where and Party jumps a little, because he doesn't notice him until he whispers in his ear, "Boo," The breath fans over his ear and Party spins around, startled as he slaps himself in the ear because damn that tickled. Ghoul giggles, "Something in your ear?"Party rolls his eyes and Ghoul skips alongside him as they reach the end of the tunnel. It leads to a little antechamber with a door on the other side that Party's going to assume leads to the main part of the Underground. He looks around the plain white room and sees a single white file cabinet. It's out of the place as the only piece of furniture in the room and their whole group clusters around it as Ghoul picks the lock on the top drawer. He stares intently at the lock and Party thinks it's adorable how he squints and pokes his tongue out of the corner of his mouth when he concentrates on the lock. He's fiddling with something and the lock clicks open and Ghoul pulls out their guns. He hands them out to everyone and is left with two guns that Andy and Joe step forward to claim. Cautiously Party walks over to the door opposite where they came in, Ghoul close on his heels, and both their weapons drawn. Party opens the door slightly and looks out through the crack. He can see the bustling center of the underground, and he realizes that they're on one of the upper levels of the ramps, because everything looks small. Kobra pushes past him and imperiously beckons the rest of them out."No one can see us up here," Kobra explains, "I've got a place where we can go lay low, for a while and come up with a plan,"Party follows Ghoul out of the door and Ghoul grins at Kobra and says, "You better have a good explanation for why you know where to go from the jail to you hide out,"Party rolls his eyes. It's not hard. This whole place is a circle. If Kobra knows what level they're on and what level his place is on he either has to go left or right. There's only two ways, and there's one direction to go up and one direction to go down. "I do," Kobra says suspiciously, and Party sees him glance nervously at Sandman before leading them up the angled walkway. They walk up and as the people below them get smaller and the paper lanterns on the ceiling get larger, they don't see anyone else. Party thinks this is vaguely suspicious, but it doesn't really bother him. Ghoul's bouncing along beside him, humming enthusiastically as they trek up the slow incline and Party grins. He can hear Andy, Joe, Jet and Sandman talking behind them and he guesses it's either about music or Jet's been pulled into an awkward conversation about when they all lived in the Underground.Kobra stops suddenly and Ghoul runs into him. The sight is rather comical because of the height difference, and Party giggles as the others join them standing behind Kobra as he appears to be vigorously studying a wall. Sandman edges his way around the group to stand next to Kobra and help him look at the wall. Party assumes that they have a reason to look at the wall and glances nervously back down the walkway hoping that no one's coming. "I think we might have passed it," Sandman says, after a thorough examination of the wall, "But I don't remember walking passed the snake?""Halsey probably had it painted over," Kobra says and without explaining what the fuck is going on and what is this about snakes, the two lead the group back down the hall a short way."Found it," Kobra calls softly and Party rolls his eyes, stifling a yawn. One can only come up with so many brilliant plans of escape before it catches up with them."You found the wall? 'Cause I'm pretty sure the rest of us are pretty clueless as to what the fuck is going on," Ghoul intones from next to Party.Joe speaks up next, "I have to agree with the midget,"Ghoul glares at him, "Bold words for someone who's hair is so easy to mutilate,"Kobra rolls his eyes as Joe shudders and Sandman says, "We'll explain inside," The Sandman presses down on a section of the wall and as it gives way a door appears and Kobra pushes it aside leading the way into a decent sized room that has several computer monitors and a figure in a chair that looks vaguely familiar to Party, but he can't remember from where. They spin around and the grin that splits their face as they see Kobra and Sandman is amazing. The person hurls themselves at Kobra and he laughs, sweeping them up into a hug, "You motherfucking asshole!!!" The figure yells, punching him in the shoulder, "I thought I'd never see you again!!" "Sorry," Kobra says grinning, and then the figure's throwing themselves at Sandman."You two have a lot of explaining to do!" The figure yells and Sandman nods vigorously."We do," His tone is sheepish, and he waves the whole group inside.The newest figure to join their group is still bouncing up and down excitedly and Party thinks that Sandman, Ghoul, and this person all seem to share the same maniac energy of I'll sleep when I'm dead, or I'll sleep whenever the fuck I want because fuck sleeping schedules and I'll knock you out if you fuck with me. There's one main difference though, and that is in the fact that the person is taller than Sandman and Ghoul. He's got shaggy brownish black hair that swings into his eyes and he's grinning so widely it looks like a jack 'o lantern. Further adding to the Halloween aesthetic is the detailed makeup that he's wearing. It looks like a manikin, or a ventriloquists' puppet. There's lines on either side of his lips, a bright red dot on either cheek, and meticulous eyeliner that either looks like sun rays or tear streaks done intentionally. Party likes the look, because it's so different from what he's ever seen. None of the Killjoys he's met so far have worn makeup and he briefly reminisces of one time when he stole a tube of lipstick out of his mom's trash can to try on in the dark of his room. He smiles to himself as the energetic figure keeps talking whilst gesticulating wildly when he sleepily remembers when Kobra walked in on him wearing it said, "Good look," and walked out calmly and never talked about it again.   "Why'd you come back?" The figure yells, bouncing on his heels, "That was a really dumb idea!!""We know that now," Jet mutters darkly and Ghoul nods."We do, but we had to," Sandman says, smile fading grimly, "Patrick's in danger,""WHAT?" The kid yells, clearly shocked and Party covers his ears to protect his head from the violent echoes, "EXPLAIN NOW!"Party steps forward to prevent an over-emotional retelling of their kind of exhausting tale and cuts it down to two sentences, "He's on a mission in Battery. We think Halsey's going to sell him out, and we need to get into the city to save him,""Who're you?" The kid asks.Party takes a moment to think. That's a good question, but he knows the answer right away, "Party Poison," After saying it, he sighs, a weight he didn't know was there lifted. He's not Gerard Way anymore, not forced to adhere to rules, he' s Party Poison. He's a fucking Killjoy.The kid nods, "Cool! I'm Brendon!" "Cutting the introductions short," Ghoul says briskly, "I'm Fun Ghoul. That's Jet, Joe, and Andy," He points at each of them in turn, and Brendon seems to be focusing on trying to remember names."Ghoul, Party, Jet, Joe, and Andy. Got it," Brendon nods and leads them farther into the bunker like room and the door slams shut behind them with a loud echoing clunk. Party shivers at the echo and follows behind Ghoul, drinking in his familiarity. Stifling a yawn, Party tries to focus on what Brendon's saying. But he's talking so fast and enthusiastically that Party's exhausted mind just blanks out everything that's being said and all he can hear is static and footsteps. Brendon leads them into a room that's slightly larger than the one they entered into and Party collapses on a couch next to Ghoul. "Tired?" Ghoul asks, teasingly leaning against him gently, and Party leans into the warmth like a snake."It's exhausting. So many new things to learn about and at the same time being so close to BL/Ind," Party murmurs, turning his head to bury it in Ghoul's shoulder, trying to soak in the warmth that the small person always seems to emit. "Too many people?" Ghoul asks softly as Party's eyes flutter open and shut. "Mmmhh," Party hums in confirmation. Ghoul laughs again throwing an arm around Party and pulling him in against his side gently, "Waay too many,""Yeah," Ghoul agrees.Party's eyes have been closed for a while now, and he realizes that the volume in the room has decreased again and there's a slight shift in the cushions and fingers running through his hair. He leans into the unfamiliar sensation enjoying the gentle tingling on his scalp when the fingers get tangled and gently untangle the snarl. "He asleep?" Kobra asks quietly from next to him and Party realizes the shift he felt was Kobra sitting down."I think so," Ghoul replies and Party's too tired to correct him."I worry about him," Kobra says, "This all so new for him, and he'd barely had time to adjust before we catapulted into this mess. I'm not sure how much more he can take before the stress of it breaks him,""If he breaks," Ghoul says softly, "We'll be there to put him back together,""Yeah, but I don't want him to reach that point," Kobra says, and Party feels a rush of affection for the little brother who'd always tried to act older than he was and protect him whatever the cost."That's why we're here," Ghoul replies, tone soft and caring, "To keep that from happening, but there is only so much we can do,""Take care of him," Kobra says and the sofa shifts again and it's just him and Ghoul as far as Party can tell. "Party," Ghoul sighs, "What are we gonna do with you? None of us know how to handle this, and some how you've stepped up to take the lead. You've done so much in such a short time. How on earth are you going to be able to keep up the pace you've set? I can only hope you'll drag us along for the ride," The fingers are still carding through his hair and Party struggles with whether or not to let Ghoul know he's awake."Of course I will," He mutters and Ghoul jumps, fingers accidentally tugging on Party's hair."You were awake?" Ghoul asks incredulously, and Party laughs softly."I was," He takes a moment to process his complicated feeling towards the conversation he's just overheard, "You and Kobra worry too much," He says finally, and cuts off Ghoul's protest, "I know my limits, and I'm far from reaching them. I know you'll be there to catch me when I break, but I can handle much more than this. I'm used to it," He adds slightly bitterly opening his eyes to stick his middle finger at the ceiling in the direction of Battery City.Ghoul sighs, "You don't have to do it alone any more though. You've got me, Kobra, Sandman, and Jet here to help you,""I know," Party says looking up into Ghoul's eyes which are filled with concern and what might be sadness, "I really do. But sometimes it's easier to do it alone,""That doesn't mean you have to," Ghoul says, leaning down slightly, eyes boring into Party's like he wants to memorize every part of them and burn it into his brain, and the thought makes Party get goose flesh. He's staring back just as intensely though and Ghoul looks like he wants to say something important. There seems to be a spark burning bright in between them and Party swears he sees Ghoul's dart down to his lips for a second before going back to staring intensely at him.There's only the sound of the breathing and Ghoul licks his lips nervously leaning down slightly. Then voice hoarse with tension he says, "Party I-""Are you guys going to sleep on the couch?" Brendon asks, bouncing back into the room, startling the both of them. Ghoul jerks back up so violently he almost hits his head on the wall behind the couch. The sparks gone now and Party feels a little bit mad at Brendon for ruining the moment, though admittedly he didn't do it on purpose.Ghoul curses under his breath and says, "Is there somewhere else for us to sleep?" The tones slightly aggrieved and Party wonders what he was going to say. Brendon looks abashed, "No," He says slowly, "Sorry for interrupting you. I forgot that all the other rooms were taken," With that he turns around on his heel and bounces back out of the room,Party turns back to Ghoul who briskly says, "I'll sleep on the floor,""What?" Party says, startled."There's not room for both of to lie down on the couch," Ghoul explains and Party shrugs casually."Sure there is,""There's not," Ghoul says and lets go of Party, slowly pulling away and rolling dramatically off of the sofa, snags a pillow as he falls. "Dramatic little bitch," Party mutters, stretching out on the sofa, joints creaking and popping."Good night to you too," Ghoul mutters back and Party waits until Ghoul's breathing evens out before re-examining the conversation he'd overheard. Kobra and Ghoul thought he was fragile and vulnerable. They were right, Party supposed, this was all rather new to him, but they underestimated him. He hadn't been kidding when he told Ghoul he could handle more. Their game of cat and mouse with BL/Ind has just begun, and Party feels like the scandal with Halsey won't be their last. BL/Ind has done things that the Killjoys he's fallen in with, could never even dare to imagine they could. Such dark and twisted things that Party wants to turn all the lights back on and just hug Ghoul until he falls asleep at just remembering them, but he can't. There are barriers that Party knows he can't cross. For the first time, he's got someone other than Kobra to depend on. And the thought scares him.It scares the fuck out of him.And he can't lose that. He just can't.= = =Ghoul lies looking at the ceiling for a while, letting his breaths come slower and slower thinking over the day making a list of events.One, he'd punched an important figure in the face. No surprise there, he'd always hated authoritative figures, and insulting Party gave him a reason to punch her. And as a bonus he'd gotten some of his violent energy out.Two, he'd escaped from prison. That was a surprise, Ghoul hadn't really been sure what to expect when he woke up from being stunned. All things considered, he'd been surprisingly lucky today. He's not really sure what to do next though. Getting answers out of Kobra ad Sandman would be helpful, but they're probably going to be very guarded about that, so Ghoul has to wonder if it's even worth trying. And lastly he'd made it to the fucking Underground. That was the biggest surprise, he hadn't even been sure that it existed. Well, Sandman and Kobra had been pretty convinced, and given the little he'd uncovered about their past that wasn't a surprise.So over all, Ghoul thought sarcastically, It's been a pretty fucking productive day, you know despite the fact we haven't made a grain of progress in rescuing Patrick. Fuck. We're such a lost cause. (Nothing new there.)Ghoul rolls over facing away from Party, and yawns. Party stirred and Ghoul froze at the slight noise. Party doesn't move again though, and Ghoul slowly sits up.Slipping gently out of the room Ghoul rejoins the others in the main room. They are very much not asleep and very much so discussing their next move. Ghoul is only slightly offended they didn't attempt to get him to help."HEY GHOUL!" Brendon calls over enthusiastically and is immediately shushed by everyone, "Sorry," Brendon adds in a quieter tone. "Hey," Ghoul adds absently sitting down next to Andy who's face is grim and set in determined lines. "We've kind of got a plan," Sandman says, looking over casually at Ghoul, who gives him a look like, Dude, don't keep me in suspense, tell me the fucking plan.Jet speaks up next, "It's never going to work,""Fuck off Jet," Sandman says, exaggeratedly rolling his eyes, "We can at least try it,""It's really not much of a plan," Kobra adds."It's a start," Andy comments. "Are you ever going to tell me what it is?" Ghoul asks exasperatedly after Sandman goes to defend his plan."So pretty much," Kobra says, ever the peacemaker, "Sandman wants to wait for Halsey to do something so clearly out of line that we can call her out on and turn people against her with,""It could work," Ghoul says, thinking it over, Halsey had probably already started the process up for them by locking up popular Killjoys, "But I feel like we might not have time to wait for that to happen before Halsey sells Patrick out, especially since we told her we needed her help with Patrick,""That's the main issue we all have with it," Jet says, "What if we run out of time?" Ghoul tries not to think about how close they probably are to being out of time."That's never stopped us before," Sandman protests, albeit weakly."That's right!" Brendon chimes in, "We've all heard storied about the impossible things you guys have pulled off against BL/Ind! There's got to be a way that you guys can figure this out!""Your optimism in us is alarming," Kobra says, smiling softly at Brendon, "We've gotten lucky every time,""So why not this time?" Brendon asks and Sandman sighs,"They're right Brendon, my plans a long shot. We need a here and now to save Patrick. And these are very different situations,"Andy rolls his eyes in the background and Ghoul winks at him in silent agreement."We probably could hack her right?" Joe asks, looking nervous about the idea, "I'm pretty sure that the systems haven't changed since you left,"Kobra and Sandman stop arguing in their own little lover's world to stare shocked at Joe, "That's a great idea!""I've been hacking her," Brendon adds looking proud."Really?" Andy asks, looking surprised."Yeah!" Brendon says, and Ghoul thinks he's glad to be talking about a topic he's not out of his depth in, "I was responsible for turning all the lights last week when Halsey was in a meeting with all of her supporters in the main room,""That was great!" Joe says, turning to Kobra, "Kobra you can hack too right?" "Yeah," Kobra says, making a face, "I haven't in a while though,""So what are we going to do when we hack her?" Ghoul asks, trying to come up with ideas that will create enough pandemonium for them to get to tunnels, and then they have to get back in, fuck. Why is this so complicated? Why did they think this was a good idea? "Cause some fucking chaos," Andy says completely straight-faced and Ghoul cracks up at the line."Obviously," Sandman says, looking excited at the prospect. Ghoul knows he's probably looking just thrilled, he and Sandman are two birds hit by the same stone when it comes to being a chaos loving fucker, "But how are we going to cause it?""We could hack the speakers and plant a bug that plays the same song over and over," Joe says, grinning evilly."That could work," Ghoul muses, trying to come up with ideas for chaos, "WAIT! Can you guys blow stuff up by hacking it?!""No." Is Kobra's really dumbass, I'm sure I've told you this is impossible at least a million times reply, and Ghoul smiles."Can I build bombs and we find a way to plant them then?" Ghoul asks, excited. It's been so long since he's had a chance to blow some fascist's shit up."Calm down pyromaniac," Jet says, rolling his eyes, "We have to think about the innocent people in this equation,""What about smoke and flash bombs then?" Ghoul asks, already looking around for things to build bombs with."That's a good idea," Andy adds, cutting off Jet's is this really safe protest."I think we need one more idea to put the chaos levels at max," Sandman says, before they can all start splitting off to act like the rash chaos loving fuckers they are."What if we use Sandman's original idea and spread rumours on the loud speaker to cause chaos beforehand, and then set off the song, then the bombs?" Joe asks, and Ghoul grins, well... Ghoulishly at him."Yesss," Ghoul hisses, punching a fist in the air, high on adrenaline, "Let's cause some mother-fucking chaos,""Not yet," Kobra says, rolling his eyes yet again, "We should wait for when more people are awake, and for Party to wake up,""Yeah," Andy agrees and Ghoul sighs. They were so close, but the others, are of course right, they really should wait for more people, especially Party to wake up. And they should probably have a plan for when they get into the city to get out.They all file into the various spaces they're sleeping in and Ghoul lies back down on the ground next to a sleeping Party. So over all, Ghoul concludes sarcastically in his head, a fucking fantastic day.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

When he's rudely awoken Sandman curls into a warm Kobra sleepily muttering, "Five more minutes," He's always hated getting up when he's told to, but the stress of the situation they've gotten themselves roped into makes him want to curl into Kobra and never move. Ever again. "No, we need you to get up now," An exasperated voice comes from above him, and Sandman groans, opening his eyes. Squinting up at the blurry figure of Jet Sandman asks hoarsely, "Why?" "Because in case you forgot we have a chaotic plan to carry out," Jet says, rolling his eyes and Sandman pokes his tongue out at him childishly. The idea of chaos does wake him up a little bit though. Kobra opens his eyes and blinks at Sandman, smiling sleepily. "Don't we need to explain to Party first?" Kobra then asks, gently pushing a clingy Sandman off of him, and said leech misses the warmth immediately. Sandman sleepily remembers the first time Kobra called him a leech. It was probably about a year and a half ago now. He smiles to himself remembering it. 
"Pete," Kobra says, gently shaking his shoulder, "Pete," He says more insistently when Sandman refuses to move.

"What?" Sandman groans, burying his face in Kobra's chest, taking in the warmth of another body next to his.

"It's time to get up," Kobra says softly, brushing his fingers softly through Sandman's messy hair.

"Ten more minutes," Sandman whines, wrapping his arms around Kobra, trying to keep him close and safe for as long as he can. It's hard not knowing if you're going to be able to say hello again at the end of every day at a mission.

"No," Kobra says, and Sandman can hear the annoyed, but affectionate to he's using.

"Nine?" Sandman asks and Kobra laughs softly.

"The answer's still no,"

"Eight?"

"No,"

"Seven?"

"No,"

"Si-" Sandman's about to ask when Kobra shoves him out of the bed.

"Alright you leech, time to get up," Kobra says, rolling his eyes and Sandman knows him well enough at this point that he doesn't even need to see him to know that next he's going climb out of bed, stretch, and pull Sandman to his feet and shove him down the hall of the diner to get coffee.

"I'm not a leech," Sandman sulks as Kobra pulls him to his feet and Kobra kisses him to shut him up.
"We did already," Jet says, reaching down to pull Sandman to his feet, effectively snapping him out of his daydream, "You guys slept in," "When do we start?" Kobra asks from beside him, and of course, Sandman thinks, he's ready to go, perfect as usual, not to mention he's already pulling on his leather jacket, which had been discarded on the floor for a pillow. Sandman follows suit, pulling on the jacket he's had for longer than he's known Kobra.Following Jet back to the main room, Sandman grabs Kobra's hand and let's him lead him. Ghoul grins spookily at them when they walk into the room sleepily, and Sandman flips him off with out a second thought when he says, "Good morning sleepy heads,""Morning," Kobra mutters back and Sandman drags him over to a spot on the floor no one's claimed yet."So you guys told Party the plan right?" Sandman questions looking around at his friends."Yeah," Party says from where he's leaning against Ghoul by the door. "And did you come up with a plan for us to get back in?" Sandman asks, reveling at their expressions when Joe mutters,"Fuck. I knew we forgot something," "Yeah, we did," Sandman grins. (Not that he blames them for forgetting last night. He's just remembered himself after all, and they were all really fucking sleep deprived)"So which way are we planning on coming out of the city then?" Party asks."There's more than one way?" Brendon asks looking surprised."Yeah," Kobra says, adorably rubbing his eyes, "The Underground and Desert Side,""What's Desert Side?" Andy asks."It's where BL/Ind gets all of there supplies in," Party explains, and to Sandman's amusement adds, "And where most of the city's illegal drug trade is,""So we'd go pretty undetected?" Jet asks and Sandman snaps back into reality from his slightly sleepy dreamworld."To some extent, those four are pretty well known though," Party says motioning towards Ghoul, Jet, Sandman and Kobra."We can't ask you guys to go with us," Kobra says, beating Sandman to the punch of cutting Party off."Well we are," Andy says, "Patrick's our friend too," "Yeah, but-" Sandman starts."But nothing," Joe says, crossing his arms, "We're not letting you leave us behind this time,"Sandman winces, Fuck. He'd hoped they'd be able to go their separate ways and let the painful memories settle again. But apparently, they were going to talk through their issues like 'adults'. Like any of them were close to being responsible adults. Not mentally anyway. Literal age was another story."Can we not do this right now?" Sandman asks, sighing, still trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes."Then when?" Joe adds scowling, and Brendon looks expectantly at him and Kobra."You have no idea how hard it was," Brendon says, looking like he's about to cry, "One day you were there, and the next you weren't. No note, no explanation. You owe us something for what you put us through,""We do," Kobra sighs, running his hands through his hair, "But we need to focus on the plan, I promise we'll explain everything after we finish planning. Okay?"Andy sighs, "Better than nothing," Sandman looks at the ground wincing, they do need to discuss this, but most important now is Patrick's safety and getting him out alive takes the priority over solving mysteries with answers Sandman doesn't feel like recovering from his memory banks. Sandman looks up from staring at the ground when Party softly coughs, he'd forgotten that the others were still here, "Now that that's done for now," He says, "What's the fucking plan?" "Agreed," Jet says, snarkily rolling his eyes, and Sandman thinks, He's clearly not had his coffee yet."Well first, we need to find Patrick," Ghoul says, rolling his eyes as if to say Duh you fucking idiots. "How do we do that?" Brendon asks, and Sandman thinks, how do they?"Do you know if Halsey still keeps files on all of the undercover operatives?" He asks, and looks around to the three who have the most chance at knowing."I think so," Joe says, "I've talked to the head of tech and he hasn't mentioned any big changes in the system,""That's good," Sandman says, concentrating, a plan emerging in his head, "Brendon, can you hack into her files?" "Obviously," Brendon says, rolling his eyes sassily."Can you do that and find out where Patrick is then?" Sandman asks hoping that Brendon will be able to."On it," Brendon says, and walks quickly over to his chair and begins tapping away on the keyboard."If it helps," Party adds, "When I saw him last he was assistant to the head of field assignments, which means that he was assigning Drac crews to Killjoys,""How'd you see him?" Andy asks, gaze calculating.Party glances uncertainly in turn at the members of the small group of people in the room who knew why, and Sandman feels a pang of sympathy for him. Telling prospective new friends that you're the heir to the corporation that ruins everyone's lives is a bad way to make new friends."Your decision," Kobra shrugs at Party and frowns."They know about you?" "Yep," Kobra says and Joe's gaze is bouncing back and forth like he's watching a competive game of Ping Pong. Which Sandman learned about shortly after he moved out to desert, and thinks briefly before pulling himself back into reality that Joe would probably be good at Ping Pong."I'm Kobra's brother," Party says simply dropping the bomb on them and deigns to say any more. "WHAT?!" Brendon yells in unison with Joe, while Andy rolls his eyes, clearly expecting something like this, and Party shrugs in response to their shock."Yeah, and until about a week ago I was future leader of BL/Ind," Party adds."How much do you know about Patrick's job in BL/Ind?" Brendon asks, clearly trying to get as much information as he can out of the stone faced figure leaning on Ghoul. Sandman looks over at the two curious, but not as to Brendon's question, he knew that Party had already told him all he knew. (Or he assumed he has)"Not anything you couldn't find out by hacking," Party says, and Sandman leans against Kobra tiredly, "Though," He adds squinching his face up in concentration, and Sandman decides to ignore the fact they all hear Ghoul's heart skip a beat and see the look on his face, "He was the one that gave me the assignment to get out in the desert, which I thought was odd, because I wasn't in his department,""So what you're saying," Sandman says, looking in shock at Party, "Is that Benzedrine is in Battery to get potential Killjoys out?""I think so," Party nods. "That means we may have a way to find Patrick," Joe adds jumping back into the conversation and Sandman grins at his friend, glad to have his ability to analyze data on their team. Joe quickly turns to Party, "Did you know anyone else who Patrick might have been sent in to get out?" "Yeah," Party, and it's obvious to Sandman that he's thought this through, "I don't know their real names though, they were all drug dealers I-," At this he glances nervously at both Kobra and Ghoul in turn, "I- I sold stuff to. They were all people who like me and Kobra, figured out that the pills were bad, and turned it into a way to make a living," "So that's what you did with the pills," Kobra says, looking at his brother sadly, and Sandman squeezes his hand softly in reassurance. A small It's okay now."Tell me what you know about them, and I'll see what I can do to find them," Brendon says, taking a break from typing furiously to spin around in his chair and stare at Party."They all operate near Desert Side, and all of them have been on the BL/Ind watch list before," Party says and Brendon nods at him, before spinning around again and a soft clacking noise Sandman hadn't realized was there becomes evident as the conversation continues."Let's work on the plan to get into Battery," Andy says, taking control of the conversation, with diplomatic skill Sandman has missed in the sheer chaos of the Killjoy lifestyle."I need to get stuff to build bombs," Ghoul says and when Sandman gives him a reproachful look he admonishes, "Stuff for smoke bombs,""I'll see if I can get a read on what Halsey's up to," Kobra says, pulling himself to his feet like an adorably awkward stork, and Sandman smiles at his boyfriend, "Brendon, is my hacking equipment still in the back room?" "Yeah," Brendon says distractedly, waving his hand towards the back, and Kobra kisses Sandman before going off to hack, and Sandman knows he probably won't emerge for at least 3 hours."So what are we going to do now?" Jet asks, and Sandman jumps a little, he'd forgotten that he was here. Then he feels guilty for forgetting about him because Jet's a vital member of the team as the only one who can fucking cook."I'm going to get stuff for bombs," Ghoul says, and offers a hand to Party, "You coming with me?""Sure," Party says, taking his hand, and no one misses the fact that neither of them let go as they walk out of the room to most likely go interrogate Kobra on where to find stuff for bombs.Sandman becomes aware of how hungry he is, and he looks at Jet, "Could you maybe cook?" "I was about to ask if I could," Jet asks grinning then lopes gently out of the room to go cook, and fuck Sandman's hungry. He doesn't know how long it's been since he's eaten. Day and a half? Two and a half? He doesn't know. Being stunned threw off his internal clock."Let's see what Brendon's come up with," Andy says, rising to his feet and walking over to the younger boy who's furious typing pauses as they make their way over. "I've got a couple of candidates," Brendon says looking up at them, "Candidate one; Tyler Joseph. He's 17 and a drug dealer. BL/Ind's never been able to find enough dirt on him to get him, because his parents are people with money, and Joseph never shows any signs of being different in school or at home. He's clearly got a slick operation going for him, and he's smart which would make him a good candidate for Patrick to find. Not to mention being a Killjoy would be a massive middle finger at his parents, and he'd probably enjoy that," "What's the next one?" Joe asks, leaning over Brendon's shoulder."Candidate two," Brendon continues, "Josh Dun. Age 17. He's got a pretty similar background as Joseph, except Dun's got infractions on his record. One instance from when he was ten and was caught humming on the way home from school by a robot, and when he was 13 his parents found a can of spray paint in his closet. That's not enough for BL/Ind to have a viable excuse when the parents have so much power, so hopefully Dun's got the sense to avoid a third offense. He's a likely candidate because he has uncharacteristically low grades on all of his classes that mention BL/Ind as good, and all As in other classes,""So it's kind of like a middle finger to the establishment, but he can get away with it because he can come up with excuses for not being able to learn it," Sandman muses and Brendon grins."Exactly. Those are the only two I've got for now, but hopefully I'll be able to find more given more time," "Keep up the good work," Joe says, grinning at Brendon his hair bouncing happily, and then turns to Andy and Sandman, "Let's try to come up with rumours we can spread to work against Halsey,""I can't wait," Sandman says scowling, "She deserves what ever Karma's got in store for her," "She does," Andy says looking calmly at him, "But try to remember that she probably has a reason for what she's doing, it's probably not a good one, but we need to remember that somewhere in there is part of our friend,""We get it peacekeeper," Joe mocks, and Sandman laughs, it feels good to be talking like old times, and yes for them that means talking through mostly playful insults, "Be nice everyone because Karma's a bitch,""Amen," Sandman adds, and Andy rolls his eyes at them so hard Sandman has to wonder how long it will be before they fall out. "Focus," Andy scolds, "What would Patrick say if he saw us?""Probably agree with us," Joe says, and Sandman nods in agreement."Yeah," Andy admits, "But we still need to focus,"Just when Sandman feels like they're about to settle down and focus on the problem at hand there's a loud bang and muffled cursing that sounds like Ghoul and Party and the three of them instantly have their hands on their weapons and are racing down the hall to get to them as soon as possible. Kobra unsurprisingly beats them there and is already berating the pair when they turn the corner. "Some warning next time you set one off please," Sandman drawls sarcastically speaking for all of them when Kobra finishes ranting and takes the fact that Ghoul and Party are covered in soot and smoke is slowly drifting out of the room behind them as a failure. He slips his weapon back into its holster and sighs in exasperation at Kobra as the two turn around and lean close to each other working on another bomb.  "Find anything yet?" Joe asks Kobra as a nice smell begins to fill the set of rooms and Kobra shakes his head."Hacking into the security cameras is harder than I remember, and Halsey has all of her stuff on lock down, I'll need more time if we want to get anything valuable,""Maybe don't try to hack Halsey," Andy says, and Sandman turns to look curiously at him, "Try hacking the easier stuff to see if you can get word from the street. It'll give us an idea of what people think of her, and give you time to get back in the groove of hacking,""That's a good idea," Kobra says grinning and then they all jump when there's another loud bang and bout of cursing."I thought we asked for a warning assholes!" Sandman yells, waving his hands to try to get the smoke away from his face."I was going to give you a warning!" Ghoul yells before coughing, "It blew up too early!""What's all the smoke from?" Brendon yells from the main room, sounding slightly panicked. Apparently he's okay with one random explosion but two is to many, "It's not Jet's cooking is it?! If it is I'm never letting him cook again!""Sandman's the only one you need worry about with that," Kobra mutters and Sandman elbows him."Ghoul's bombs!" Joe yells back and Brendon makes a noise of understanding before the clacking resumes. ===Halsey sighs, leaning back in her desk chair barely three hundred meters below the very ones scheming to take her down."Halsey!" Her aide and close friend Kenzie yells and Halsey snaps back into reality, "There's someone here to see you!" There's a tone that her voice has that tells Halsey it could only be one person. Korse."Let him in!" Halsey yells back, taking a moment to straighten the papers on her desk before HE walks in. Halsey wrinkled her nose in disdain and quickly composed her features when Korse walks through the door to her office."What news do you have for me?" Korse asks tone blank and emotionless and Halsey winces before flipping open the file on her desk. "Not much. We haven't let anyone new into the city recently," Halsey mentally crosses her fingers, hoping that he won't pick on the recently part so she'll have a little bit longer to let her friends- well former friends now get Patrick out of Battery. "Very well," Korse says blankly, not picking up on any nervousness she has and Halsey nervously bites her lip, "What news do you have on your followers?" "Can you be more specific?" Halsey asks, trying to hide the fact that her support in the Underground is sinking. Just like the plan is, she reminded herself, just like the plan. Stick to the plan she reminds herself. The plan was why she hadn't told people that they had escaped, and why she'd maintained radio silence."How large is your following now?" Korse asks and Halsey lies easily."Larger by the day,""What news have you heard from that blasted Doctor?" Korse asks face blank as the walls of one of BL/Ind's buildings."Nothing more that the usual," Halsey replies, even though she knows that isn't true, there's been a bit too much news on random BL/Ind cars that have bee blown up. The total's about five if she remembers if Halsey remembers correctly, "I'm still not giving him any news of the goings on in the Underground. Several wrecks have been found, but I'm assuming you knew of those,""You assumed correctly," Korse states blankly, no trace of sarcasm in his voice, "Have you or any of your followers seen any Killjoys in the Underground recently?"Halsey hesitates before answering this question, "A few. I had them imprisoned before they could reveal to the others the some what changed situation in the Underground. One was killed by a follower who had taken the belief I've spread that Killjoys are bad a bit too far and killed one,""Your are people are not too dissimilar from Killjoys are they?" Korse asks and Halsey shakes her head."There are a few key differences between us, the only thing we have in common being the belief that BL/Ind is the bad guy. We have failed to collaborate on anything in the past, and I doubt we will in the near future,""And have you heard an news of Gerard Way?" Korse asks and for the first time ever a little bit of emotion makes it into his voice. Anger. The worst emotion in Halsey's opinion. There's too much of that to go around these days. "Still only the vague ones that he has joined the Killjoys," Halsey replies staring him down from across the table. You have nothing to fear, Halsey reminds herself, You're just lying to one of the most feared men in BL/Ind to keep your friend safe. No pressure."Let me-" Korse begins."Let you know if I hear any thing else I know," Halsey parrots, slightly exasperated, "Now if you could please excuse me I have important work to do,""Very well," Korse sneers and Halsey is so close to ditching the plan and punching him in his ugly face, "I can tell I'm no longer welcome,""It's not that," Halsey says, scrambling to find and excuse to keep him meeting with her so she can ensure Patrick's safety, no matter how mad she is Patrick's safety comes first, "I just captured a Killjoy this week, and she's rather been a headache. There's a small number of people who protest her capture that I've been negotiating with-""You should have opened this conversation with that," Korse states coldly, standing, "Lead the way. I wish to speak with this Killjoy," He says the word with so much disdain that Halsey almost loses it again, but she holds it in. "If you could wait out side," Halsey states imperiously, playing the dictator to a T, "I need to speak with my assistant about sending a replacement to this afternoon's negotiations,""Very well," Korse says and he turns out the door and Halsey follows and waits until he's out of earshot before turning to her assistant. "I need you to dress as a Killjoy and lock yourself in a cell," Halsey hisses at her, counting on Korse's general dislike of people to hope that he doesn't recognize her. Kenzie doesn't ask questions, she doesn't have time to before Halsey's hissing, "I don't have time to explain. You have ten minutes. I'll take him round the long way," With that she takes off briskly in the direction of Korse. "Ready?" Halsey casually asks, trying to act like she hadn't just actively plotted to deceive him, and handing him a hat, "It's a disguise," She explains at his look of disdain. It probably wouldn't disguise him if any one got too close, but hopefully his attitude will keep them far enough away."Lead the way," Korse repeats stiffly and Halsey sets off in the opposite direction of the jail. All she can do is hope that Kenzie is able to get to the jail before them. They walk silently downwards around the spiral stair case for about seven minutes Halsey glaring at anyone who gives her a questioning look. She stops and presses a panel on the wall. A staircase appears and Halsey leads him up it. (It'd taken her and her friends months to find the all, and she feels bad abusing that knowledge to sneak of BL/Ind's main leaders around.) They come out of the stairwell a floor above her office and Halsey leads him in the direction of the jail. She panics for a second when she thinks she sees Kenzie, but it's not her and too soon they arrive at the jail.  Halsey uses her keycard to open the door and gestures inside, "After you," Korse silently stalks inside and Halsey leads to way through the anteroom into the long dark tunnel grabbing a flashlight on her way in. They walk silently side by side until Halsey sees Kenzie in one of the many full cells. "This is it," She indicates and Korse glares at Kenzie, Halsey silently shooting Kenzie an apology with her eyes for the verbal abuse she's probably going to endure. "What's your name?" Korse demands glaring hatefully through the bars.Kenzie looks frightened and answers, "Silent Star," "Your real name!" Korse snarls, "The one that the amazing organization BL/Ind gave you! You ungrateful brat!""That is my real name!" Kenzie shoots back like any other Killjoy would, "Not that stupid BL/Ind shit!""Why were you in the Underground!?" Korse yells at her and Kenzie holds her ground. Halsey's never been more proud of her assistant. With her bright clothes and defiant look she would right in if she were in the desert. "Like you need to know!" Kenzie scoffs, turning her back on Korse hatred that Halsey wishes she could express, rolling off of her in waves so strong even Korse (Emotionless zombie he is.) can feel it. "Tell me," Korse says, his voice deadly calm, "Or you can guess what happens next,"There's clearly an underlying threat and Halsey feels the need to intervene, but a subtle head shake from Kenzie stops her. Then Kenzie shakes her head more violently at Korse to play it off as defiance."What was that?" Korse demands, face contorting in so much anger at the gesture of defiance that Halsey feels sick to her stomach. "IT WAS A NO! YOU SICK OVER-CONTROLLING BASTARD!" Kenzie yells losing her cool and Halsey's heart stops at what happens next.Korse pulls out an old fashioned gun from before the nuclear wars and shoots Kenzie in the stomach, "That's for not answering," Korse spits on her as Halsey stands in shock as he stomps off calling over his shoulder, "Next time don't take me the long way. And be greatful I got rid of your headache for you. Hope you have fun at your negotiations," His tone is as cold as ever, and Halsey almost draws her gun and shoots him in the back. Hell knows he deserves it, but right now her main  concern is her dying friend. As she scrambles for the keys in her pocket yelling out for help Kenzie coughs up a mouthful of blood. Halsey finds the right key, and throws open the door to the cell. She throws herself onto the floor, pulling Kenzie into her lap sobbing. One hand on the hole, and the other at her neck checking for a pulse, Halsey brokenly sobs, "I'm sorry. Oh god- I'm so sorry Kenzie,"Kenzie lifts her bloody hand up to Halsey's face and cups it gently, "Not your fault," She rasps, and Halsey sobs harder."Yes it is! Why'd you have to be so good at your role?" Halsey sobs tears flooding down her cheeks."I-I-I'm a snow- snowstorm," Kenzie rasps in explanation and Halsey pulls her into her chest clutching her tight not caring about the explanation as she feels her friend's pulse fading."You- You- You can't die!" Halsey brokenly cries, "I need you!" It's a lame excuse, but it's  the best her grief stricken mind can come up with."It's my time," Kenzie rasps out, thumb rubbing Halsey's cheek smearing the blood there around, "Hal-Halsey in my room," Kenzie stops to hack up another mouthful of blood on Halsey's shirt. Not that she cares about that right now."Yeah," Halsey whispers, brushing Kenzie's hair off of her face, looking into her eyes. "There's a mask- a mask under the matt- mattress," Kenzie coughs, her pulse fading, breaths coming erratically, blood spilling from under Halsey's hands, taking her life with it, "Take it- it to the mailbox,""I will," Halsey promises, crying, "I will I swear," It doesn't matter she doesn't know what the mail box is, she'll do this for her friend if it kills her."Hals," Kenzie whispers, voice barely there, once so strong and defiant, "It'll be okay,""No it won't," Halsey sobs, hugging her dying friend."Yes it will," Kenzie insists, using the last of her energy to cup Halsey's face in her hands, "You will. Stay- Stay strong Hals,""I will," Halsey sobs, hopelessly accepting this as her last moments with her friend, "I will, don't worry about me,""She's here," Kenzie whispers, gaze fading staring at something in the distance and Halsey holds her tighter, "It's the witch," She gasps one more rasping breath and whispers, "Carry on Hals," Then her grip on Halsey's face goes slack and Halsey desperately feels for a pulse, "Kenzie!" She gasps, sobs racking her body, "Kenzie!" Halsey wails hugging her friends dead body. She yells Kenzie's name over and over, sobbing, wishing that it was her instead.Halsey's sobs eventually turn into hiccups as she holds her friend in her arms and mourns. Eventually she gently lays Kenzie on the ground, "I'll be back," She promises tears dripping down her cheeks, "Soon as I can- Just- Just wait for me," With that she turns and runs down the hall, footsteps pounding in her ears, and a new plan forms in her mind. She doesn't even stop to let her eyes adjust to the lights of the atrium and runs on.Runs to where she know they'll be. They have to be. They had no where to go.She runs to the place very few people know about. She pauses out side the door. This isn't a good idea. She knows it's not. But it's her last chance. Raising a shaking fist she knocks three times then waits a second and knocks twice more in quick succession. The emotion she feels is not dissimilar to the feeling Gerard Way had as he gave up a reliable future and climbed on top of his car. She hears footsteps from inside and lets her gaze drift to the bare spot of wall on her left. The rest of the wall is covered in anti BL/Ind sentiment, but this one spot is bare. The perfect shape for a snake. More specifically a cobra.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Brendon falls out of his seat when he hears the knocks on the door. Not only was the knock completely unexpected, he knew who it would be. There was only one other person in the Underground who knew where to find this room, not to mention the knock to get inside, "We've got company," Brendon called down the hall, hoping he could be heard over the sound of the lecture that Kobra was giving Ghoul and his brother over their irresponsibility with the bombs. They were startling at the worst to him, but it clearly put the others who had heard that sound more than he had on edge."Who is it?" Joe yells back, and Brendon rolls his eyes, his endless typing pausing for a second. For a bunch of anarchists who have a complicated plot to get into the most dangerous city on earth they sure are oblivious."Who do you think dumb ass?!" Brendon yells at Joe, and when he doesn't get a reply Brendon grabs his ray gun and exasperatedly sighs, "Just get out here and bring your guns. And maybe your brains," He adds as an after thought. Smiling at the laugh he hears from down the hall. He can't tell who it is, but he's guessing Joe or Sandman.Brendon uses the time it takes the small group of people he's managed to befriend to walk down the short hallway to quickly type a couple more lines of code and save it before standing up. Kobra's the first one out of the hall and he stares intently at the door like he's trying to see through it."So it's really her?" Sandman asks, next to emerge from the hallway and Brendon nods in confirmation."It has to be, whoever it is used the knock," Either that or someone had been spying on them enough to know the knock. Which was pretty unlikely considering it hadn't been used in about a year and a half."What's the plan?" Andy asks, ever the sensible one. Or at least the sensible one for as long as the roughly thirty six hours Brendon's known him.Kobra hesitates for a second before answering, "I'll go open the door. Party I want you to stun her as soon as you get a clear shot,""Got it," Party responds, pushing his way out of the hallway and Brendon eyes him curiously. Kobra had told him of his sharpshooting ability last night, but this is the first time he'll get a chance to see it. Not that he thinks this will be a credible demonstration, even his inexperienced ass could probably pull off the shot in the close quarters of the room. Party looks around then walks a point on the side of the door that opens, and pulls out his gun."The rest of you stand back in the hallway," Kobra instructs, but Brendon doesn't move, he feels like he should be here for some reason. The others do though, and Sandman gives Kobra an uncertain look before Ghoul pulls him down the hall."Ready?" Kobra asks, and Party nods, both hands steady on his ray gun. Brendon pulls out his own gun, not flicking off the safety, but he does switch it to stun, just in case. Kobra puts the hand holding his gun behind his back and softly opens the door. Halsey anxiously steps into the room arm poised to knock, "Thank fuck," She sighed half sobs, slowly lowering her arm and looking desperately at Kobra who's glaring at her, "I was about to-"But before she can finish the sentence, Party's shot her and as she crumples to the floor Kobra catches her, gently pulling her inside. "Get the door," Kobra instructs Party who hurries to slam the door shut. "Check her for tracers," Party instructs, kneeling over the stunned leader with his brother. Kobra looks worried for her, and Brendon is against his better judgement, "They're usually in pockets or in shoes, Brendon," Party says and Brendon jumps at the unexpected mention of his name, "Can you go get the others and a chair and rope to tie her up with?" Kobra's gently patting down her pockets and pulling off her shoes, and Brendon looks away at the oddly intimate looking gesture."Yeah," Brendon finally replies after a second of awkward silence, re-holstering his gun and running quickly down the hall calling, "All clear guys," Before heading to the storage area to find a rope.He hears the others running into the main room, and he quickly finds what he needs and runs back down the hallway dragging a clunky folding chair behind him, wincing when it banged against his shins. He really should have foreseen that issue, but it's too late now to care."Got it!" He yells, running back into the room, almost running into Joe. Everyone instantly snaps around to look at Halsey worried about the loud noise waking her, "Stop looking at her," Brendon comments, rolling his eyes, "She's stunned, she can't wake up because I'm being too loud,""Could you still be a little quieter?" Kobra asks, making a show of rubbing his ears like they hurt and Brendon flips him off."I've got what you need," He says, rolling his eyes again, dragging the chair over to where Halsey's lying down.He helps Kobra and Party drag Halsey upright into a sitting position, and winces as he sees the tear tracks on her face. He may not care about her that much (Even he can tell he's lying to himself) but it still hurts to see."Ghoul, can you get the rope?" Party asks, and Ghoul hurriedly grabs the rope from Brendon and wraps it around Halsey, making sure that her hands are behind her back. He ties some intricate knot that Brendon makes a mental note to have him show him how to tie later. It could be useful, he doesn't know what for, but you never know."Now what?" Ghoul asks, leaning against Party casually. Interesting, Brendon thinks, From what I've seen of Party, he doesn't like people touching him. But he makes an exception for Ghoul. That's something to pay attention to more in the future. "Now we wait," Kobra says, moving over to join Sandman and the others."Actually," Jet contradicts, glaring playfully, "We are going to eat now, because as much as you chaos loving fuckers like to pretend otherwise you are human and need fuel,""You care," Sandman asks sarcastically, holding Kobra's hand and Brendon laughs when Jet flips him off."Of course I care," Jet adds, tiredly rolling his eyes, "Andy, will you help me get the food from the kitchen?" Andy nods and Brendon wonders briefly why Jet asked for Andy. Brendon assumed they hadn't met before yesterday, and they hadn't seemed like they talked a lot. Jet must have some ulterior motive, and Brendon decides to look more into that later adding it to his mental list of things to learn.Halsey being taken care of and food on the way Brendon returns to his computer. He looks over the lines of code he's written so far. Hacking into the system is easy, getting it to do what he wants it to is another matter entirely though. He's managed to hack into the speakers, but he's still trying to figure out how to get the to play whatever song they decide on, they never really had come to a conclusion on that. He's also decided that he'll mess with the lights a little bit, but he'll focus on that later as he already knows how to do that. (Hopefully they haven't changed the system, but from what Joe said that's unlikely.)"Have you had any luck with the speakers?" Kobra asks Brendon, startling him."I've managed to get in, but I haven't been able to figure out a method to play the song," Brendon answers."What model are the speakers?" Kobra asks, peering over his shoulder."Give me a sec," Brendon says, saving his lines of code and starting a new sequence, "1X BATTERYBOKS," Brendon says, after about two minutes of typing.Kobra nods absently, "I think I know that model. It's from the before the war right?" Brendon types some more and nods, "Yeah,""Is it Bluetooth?" Kobra asks, face screwed up in concentration."Yes," Brendon says, reading the information off of a website he'd managed to find by hacking into the Underground's WiFi and accessing the tech files, which Halsey's tech support had stupidly created using the public WiFi boosted from Battery. Which meant that if Battery really tried that they could figure this shit out too. "Perfect," Kobra grins at him, "Do you still have that what's it called?" Kobra thinks, snapping his fingers absently, "Apple thingy from before the war we found?" He says grinning."Yeah?" Brendon questions, unsure where he's going with this. "If we can charge it," Kobra explains, grinning at him, "We can connect to the speakers, we won't even have to hack it, all you or me would have to do is create an illegal hot spot, and put the speakers on it instead of the main one-""And then they wouldn't be able to disconnect us!" Brendon finishes, grinning at him, "I've missed having your second opinion on this shit,""FOOD!" Jet yells, stepping into the main room, carrying a tray, and Andy follows him closely. "Fucking finally," Sandman says, stepping forward to grab a plate from the tray Jet has."You want it faster you can cook next time," Jet shoots back grinning and Sandman grimaces."No one would want to eat if Sandman cooked," Ghoul comments, grabbing two plates laughing, "You do remember last time,""That was Kobra's fault!" Sandman protests as Ghoul walks off, shoving the second plate at Party."Sure it was," Joe says, rolling his eyes as he grabs a plate from Andy."It wasn't," Kobra says, then adds sheepishly at a look from Ghoul, "Entirely," Brendon laughs and Kobra playfully glares at him, grabbing two plates from Andy and walking back over to Brendon handing him the other one."Thanks," Brendon muttered in response, shoving the food in his mouth looking for ways to cut off the WiFi with Kobra commenting ideas with a full mouth from over his shoulder.  The others are having a soft conversation, and Brendon's pretty much tuned them out in favor of focusing.Then Ghoul calls out, "Hey, I think Halsey's waking up," "That seems right," Party mutters, half to himself Brendon thinks to himself, but still loud enough the rest of them to hear, "I didn't turn the stun up too high,""And the food smells good," Sandman says, except it sounds like, "An duh foo shmells goo," Because his mouth is full of said food."Don't talk with your mouth full," Brendon reprimands at the same time as Jet, and they share a brief surprised glance as the others laugh before turning their attention back to Halsey. Her eyelids are fluttering, and she raises her head slightly, looking around uncertainly before focusing on Kobra."Mikey-" She gasps out before he's in her face glaring."Don't call me that. You lost the right to call me that when you threw us in jail," Kobra venomously spits out, and Brendon realizes why his alias is Kobra Kid. He can spit venom just as well as any cobra can. "Let me explain," Halsey protests, looking weakly up at him, eyes full of tears."Yes please do," Sandman adds sarcastically, moving to stand next to Kobra. "I-I," Halsey sighs, and Brendon wonders what she isn't telling them. There had to be a reason for the sudden switch from anarchist to fascist tool, "I didn't have a choice,""You didn't?" Brendon asks harshly, thought it hurts him, moving next to the others, and Halsey visibly winces when she sees him. "It would have looked bad," Halsey says, pausing before she continues, and Kobra gives Sandman a look to shut him up when he tries to rush her, "I had to do something to keep the crowd happy. They would have killed me if I had done anything other than lock you up or kill you," "Since when have you tried to focus on keeping the crowds happy?" Kobra asks harshly, "I thought you were above that Hals," The nickname gets a visceral reaction and Brendon picks up where Kobra left off, "You owe all of us an explanation,""Especially me and Joe," Andy says, glaring at Halsey, "All we did was our jobs," "I know," Halsey mutters, her eyes down cast."So explain then," Party says, stepping forward and bending over to get in her face, and speaking softly, "Take the chance to fix your mistakes. It's never too late, it's still not too late to save Patrick,""I haven't given him up," Halsey says, Party's words apparently relighting the familiar spark of defiance in her, and Brendon mentally breathes a sigh of relief. She hasn't changed too much, "I was never planning on it. I never have given anyone up either. I gave Korse false information and managed to trick him into executing several of BL/Ind's leaders for treason. It didn't matter if they protested, in his mind if they were guilty,""What else have you done?" Party asks, and Brendon senses that he gets what she's going through right now. The whole having to fake alliance to BL/Ind and suddenly being forced into a new lifestyle anyway. The situations aren't the same, but the premise is roughly the same. "Well, I've had a shocking realization that my strategy of deception wasn't going to work. Too many variables have arisen to enable me to be able to keep up the charade," Halsey answers, voice growing steadier. "What led to that?" Brendon asks curiously, looking like a questioning puppet with his makeup. "Korse killed Kenzie," Halsey states blankly and Brendon winces in recognition. Kenzie was his friend too, but they hadn't been nearly as close as she and Halsey had been. From what he remembers the two had been pretty inseparable after Kobra and Sandman left."Who's Kenzie?" Kobra asks, clearly wondering who Halsey cared enough about to illicit this reaction. Brendon feels a twinge of sympathy for Halsey, just a twinge."Kenzie was-" And at this Halsey breaks. Tears start pouring down her cheeks in torrents and Brendon instinctively steps forward to comfort her as is human nature. Party holds up a hand to stop him and motions backwards. Brendon steps back and the others follow suite. Party speaks in an undertone the others can hear, but not too loud to keep Halsey's sobs from increasing, "Halsey," He softly says, "It's okay. Trust me, Kenzie wouldn't want you like this would she?""No," Halsey whispers back, "She- she told me t-to carry on,"At this Ghoul steps forward, an urgent look on his face, "What else did she tell you?" Party frowns at him for his tone, but Ghoul presses on, "I need to know," Then he adds in a softer tone, "Please, it's really important Halsey. What did she tell you?""She told me to find a mask. And to take it to the mailbox," Halsey speaks, looking up through her tears at Ghoul, "What's the mailbox?"Ghoul winces, "The mailbox is the Killjoy's way of remembering our fallen," The name pretty clearly holds painful memories for him, and Brendon wonders what this foreign piece of Killjoy culture is, "Kenzie, did she ever tell you any other name?" Ghoul asks softly."Silent Star," Halsey whispers and Ghoul lowers his head."Kenzie was one of us," Ghoul says softly, and before Brendon can gasp in shock he's continuing, "She was one of my best friends growing up. Then she left for the Underground. I always assumed that BL/Ind got her and the Underground didn't exist,""She talked about a friend a lot," Halsey tells him, looking up, tears still rolling down her cheeks, "She told me this one story where he broke his foot jumping out the second floor of a warehouse they were raiding and they almost got caught,"Ghoul laughs weakly, clearly trying to hold back tears, "That was me. I remember that day. She got so mad at me," "She'd be proud of you," Halsey whispers and Brendon feels a part of the scenery, everyone's focused on these two."I'll take you to the mailbox," Ghoul shakily tells Halsey, "As soon as we sort out this shit. I swear it," Halsey looks up at him, tears still in her eyes. "Thank you," She whispers and Ghoul shakily grins at her, looking like he's on the brink of crying too. Then he steps back into Party's waiting arms and they move off to the side as Ghoul's shoulders shake, "If that's done with," Kobra says, sounding slightly choked up himself from all the feelings and Brendon mentally smiles at him, "Prove we can trust you. Prove that we can untie you and let you help us," There's an unsaid please at the end of Kobra's sentence and Brendon feels bad. This must be mentally draining for him, but he owes them an explanation too. "I let you escape," Halsey states blankly, apparently done with crying, done with feeling sad for herself, "Did you really think I didn't know exactly where you'd go, and though you might have forgotten it's not protocol for the guard to carry the keys with them unless they're letting someone out," Kobra looks uncertain and Brendon takes control of the situation, "If you'll excuse us for a second, we're going to go talk in the other room,""I'll be here," Halsey laughs bitterly, uselessly pulling at her bonds. Brendon leads the others into the other room and speaks urgently, "Let's vote. Those for releasing her and letting her in on the plan raise your hands," Party raises his hand and Ghoul follows suit. Joe follows after a moment of hesitation and Kobra's next. Sandman looks uncertainly at Andy, but Andy raises his hand and Sandman sighs and raises his too, "Not a good idea," Brendon hears Sandman mutter, but Kobra gives him a look and he shuts up."It's unanimous," Brendon declares marching back into the other room, "We're untying you," He declares to Halsey and she sighs in relief. "I'm still not sure this is a good idea," Sandman mutters and Halsey turns to look at him and Brendon holds back from yelling cat fight. He remembers Sandman being able to hold a grudge, but this is a new level of stubborn."Why not?" She asks, tone level, looking him directly in the eyes. It's pretty clear to all of them in the room that she had been expecting Sandman to be the one to protest untying her, "I've told you why I did what I did, what else is there for me to tell you to make me trust you?""I don't know," Sandman sighs and Andy steps in."If you can't trust Halsey, than in the same theory Joe, Brendon, and I shouldn't trust you," Andy reasons, and Sandman sighs again."That's true," Sandman says, looking Andy dead in the eyes, "But you did. So I'll trust Halsey, but that doesn't mean I have to like it,""Can you untie me now?" Halsey asks, and Brendon can sense that she's impatient to help."On it," Ghoul mutters and he and Party bend over Halsey's bonds while Brendon turns his attention back to Sandman, Kobra, Andy, Joe, and Jet. Jet's kind of standing awkwardly off to the side, and Brendon moves over to stand by him and Jet looks at him curiously."Don't you have the same beef with Kobra and Sandman that Andy and Joe do?" Jet asks him, cautious tone clearly displaying he doesn't want to overstep his boundaries, and Brendon smiles at him."I do. But I get why they left. They needed to get out of here before the word that Kobra was from Battery and from a family of power spread. Things were going south pretty fast, so they left," Brendon explains to Jet who nods along with him, "What's important now," Brendon continues, "Is keeping Patrick safe and taking down BL/Ind,"""How does everyone know who Patrick is?" Jet asks curiously, "I only ever knew him as a Killjoy," Brendon takes a moment to think over his answer, "I don't really know. My suspicion is that Dr. D had him as a messenger between us and you. Patrick always seemed to try to pitch the idea of working together at us,""That would make sense," Jet says, nodding at him and Brendon grins, happy his idea is agreed with."The food was great," Brendon says, awkwardly (He's not great in social situations, no matter what people think.), "It was better than the stuff I know how to cook," "Thanks," Jet says smiling at him happily and Brendon feels happy too. The compliment was genuine too. HE can't cook for shit, and has pretty much been living off whatever he can steal. The pantry was just full of stuff he didn't know what to do with. He walks back over to where Ghoul and Party are trying to untie Halsey. It's not going well, and the two are bickering softly while Halsey rolls her eyes, "Can you believe this?" Halsey asks Brendon, jerking her head back as Ghoul glares at Party, "The damn guy who tied the knots can't untie them,""Yes I can," Ghoul protests and Party rolls his eyes."Why haven't you then?" Party asks and Ghoul sticks his tongue out at him petulantly.Brendon sighs exasperatedly, there's so much tension between the two that even Korse could probably feel it. He shoves them out of the way, "Go make out somewhere, I'll get the knots," As he draws his knife Ghoul and Party offer no resistance to being replaced, and Brendon grins to himself as they glance bright red at each other, then stalk off to sulk in different corners."Thank you," Halsey comments, standing of and leaning back and forth to crack her back, "Those two were giving me a headache," "I know right?" Brendon says, grinning at her, "They need to sort their shit out,""I'm asssuming you guys have a plan?" Halsey half states half questions and Brendon grins maniacally at her."You just wait until you hear it,""Should I be scared?" Halsey asks, skeptical."Yes," Kobra says bluntly, sliding up beside them, the conversation with Joe and Andy apparently over, and slips his arm over Halsey's shoulder, "Nice to have you back on the team Hals," "Thanks for letting me back on," Halsey says, looking pointedly at Sandman, "I know it's not easy to trust me after what I did. I'll try to make it up. I promise,""If we're done with being sentimental," Andy says sensibly, "Can we fill Halsey in on the plan?""Good idea," Ghoul says, grinning at Andy, "You're going to love it," He promises Halsey, smiling widely at her."I hope so," Halsey replies evenly, grinning in turn at each of them.= = =Halsey loves the plan.She can tell they thought it through (To some extent, they are rash Killjoys with a reputation to uphold after all) and Halsey feels like she'll be able to help max the chaos. The part with repeating the song is genius, and Brendon's contribution of flashing the lights will definitely help create chaos. The rumours aren't a bad idea, but Halsey feels like they could use some refinement on how to spread them. All they really have is a vague idea on how to do it, and Halsey doesn't think it's a good idea for any of them to go outside right now. Especially since she hadn't informed the Underground that they had escaped. Halsey focuses back in on the conversation, which she had ignored  after it had devolved into an argument about something ridiculous. She hadn't bothered to learn the subject matter. "So I'm going to blow shit up," Ghoul concludes, pulling Halsey out of her distracted thoughts and then Kobra obviously fake coughs. "Scuse you?" Halsey says, slightly confused and not really sure whether or not to be confused. The statement is fairly straight forward and Halsey knows why Ghoul said it. The reason why Kobra fake coughed is a mystery though."That was for Ghoul," Kobra says grinning at her, sensing her confusion, the others are smiling and Halsey assumes it's an inside joke, "He meant to say he'll dropping smoke bombs, not blowing shit up,""Whatever," Ghoul mutters and there's a small amount of laughter at Ghoul's attitude. Halsey can tell that Ghoul is laughing internally though, hyping up the drama."It's a great idea," Halsey says, "I can help with the timing, we'll be able to get a pretty good timetable down. We might even be able to have some of my people help with spreading the rumours, if we can spread them now, we might get a few days to have them circulate," A spark of genius hitting her, "And if I tell them the rumours and leave out them being fake, that might help the chaos reach max!""That's a good idea," Joe says, smiling at her and Halsey shakily smiles back because Joe's smile reminds her so much of Kenzie's, "I think we might want to tell them half of them are false though, just so that there's no way for them to tell if they're real or not, especially if we tell everyone different ones are true and false,""That's great!" Kobra enthuses at them, and Halsey remembers how when she met him he was so shy and self-conscious. It's great to be able to see how far he's developed as a person, "It'll really make sure of the uncertainty!" "I agree with Joe, Kobra, and Halsey," Sandman says grudgingly, and Halsey can tell he's slowly warming up to the idea of having her in on the plan. That's good, because as genius as the plan is, they probably aren't going to be able to pull it off without full trust in each other."Let's split into groups," Party suggests cautiously, breaking off the momentary awkward silence that had fallen over the group, and everyone turns to him, "Ghoul and I will keep working on the smoke bombs. Joe, Andy, and Sandman can come up with rumours. Brendon and Kobra, you work on hacking into the speakers,""We have," Brendon says, with a proud smile and Halsey has a proud mother hen moment, Brendon has come so far, and she's really happy for him. Not to mention his skill will be vital to pulling this plan off, "We just need to connect them to an illegal WiFi service and crash your WiFi," He concludes smiling and Halsey grins at him and Kobra proudly. She doesn't have any idea what that actually means they have to do, but she trusts them to know the best way to do their job. "What about me?" Jet asks, looking at Party curiously. Halsey can tell he's a good sport because he's not offended that Party might have forgotten him. "And me," Halsey adds, realizing she doesn't have a job yet. She'd been too busy thinking about how proud she was of them for coming up with this amazing plan. Not to mention trying to think of ways she can help."You get the best job," Party says smiling in a way that lights up his whole face, and no one misses the way Ghoul unabashedly stares at him, "You get to pick the song," "Sweet," Jet says, before tuning them out, and Halsey doesn't doubt he's going through a mental music library of songs that could cause confusion and chaos. She starts to do the same in her head, and almost misses what Party says next. Halsey regrets calling him a Ritalin, and she makes a note to apologize later. "Everyone good?" Party asks, standing up and everyone nods in answer before they split up to do their thing, nobody misses how closely Ghoul and Party walk to each other though. They really are oblivious fuckers.Halsey walks over to Jet and sits nervously down on the ground next to him, "Got any ideas?" "A few," Jet says, looking uncertainly at her. Then Halsey realizes, he's just as nervous as she is about working together.Halsey gives him an expectant look, in as friendly a way she can manage. It probably winds up looking like a glare, so she tried to compensate with a friendly peaceable tone, "Well?""Uhh..." Jet says, looking at her blankly, like he delved too far into his mental music library and forgot she was there, "What?""What songs do you have?" Halsey asks, waiting patiently. Honestly, if she was in the same situation she would have had the same answer."They're all from before the war," Jet says nervously, looking up at her, a shaky smile on his face, "Shake It Off, it's by Taylor Swift, it's not too annoying the first five time, but on loop it's hard to listen to. Never Gonna Give You Up, it's by Rick Astley, it was a pretty big meme before the wars, and I bet a lot of people know it, not to mention how creepy and possessive it is. Barbie Girl, by Aqua, it's just super annoying," Halsey nods along at each one, she'd had a similar list."Got anymore?" Halsey asked and Jet shakes his head."Not yet. What about you?" "A few," Halsey says grinning before listing them off, Jet had gotten all but two of hers, "What's New Pussy Cat? by Tom Jones, it's super annoying once, so just imagine it a bunch. And Oh, Pretty Woman by Roy Orbison, it's super annoying, but honestly any song is annoying if you play it enough, we're just going for insanity level annoying,""I think we have a good list," Jet says grinning, "Let's try to come up with a few more and have the others vote on it,""Good idea," Halsey agrees amicably and they sit and rack their brains for ideas. She comes up blank though, and eventually just lets her mind wander, pointedly avoiding thinking about Kenzie or Korse. But she does any way, relives the way Kenzie's pulse faded, remember's Korse's cold stare as he shot her friend, remembers how she wanted to shoot him, could have, should have, but didn't. Halsey eventually drags her mind away from the cold emptiness and starts trying to think of songs again, sorting through her mental playlist.  "I can't think of any more," Jet says eventually, looking defeated, "I think we got all the most annoying ones," "Yeah," Halsey agrees, sighing, "Should we try to find a way to help the others?""Good idea," Jet says brightly, grinning at her, "I'll go help Sandman's group," "I'll help Ghoul and Party," Halsey says and Jet grins at her, the lights reflecting off his bright white teeth. Halsey grins at his wild hair."Have fun being a third-wheel," Jet laughs, easily helping Halsey to her feet."You're probably right," Halsey laughs, "But I know nothing about hacking, and a lot about bombs, so it's my best choice," It's true, she used to build small dangerously unstable bombs, it's been a while, but she probably manage some smoke bombs.Jet splits off to the other set of rooms where the majority of their group is plotting and Halsey goes down the hallway towards where Ghoul and Party have been setting off loud bangs at random intervals. Halsey walks cautiously down the hallway, careful not to startle them and wind up getting stunned again. That's an experience that she could probably avoid."Knock. Knock," Halsey says softly, then knocking on the door frame looking inside the smokey room, and trying to make out the two figures. She can't however, there's just too much fucking smoke."What is it?" Ghoul yells and Halsey hears someone violently coughing."I'm here to help with the bombs," Halsey calls into the smoke and Ghoul's silhouette appears, he hands her a bandanna and Halsey ties it around her mouth. Ghoul then leads her into the smoke cloud wordlessly. Halsey almost trips a couple of times, but Ghoul's guiding her hand on her elbow keeps her upright each time. They reach a bench and Ghoul sits down, motioning for Halsey to look over her shoulder. They've got all the basic supplies that can be easily. They have toothpaste, aluminum foil, a skillet, and sugar."We're working out the proportions," Party explains, voice muffled and gesturing with a sweeping arm gesture at the table.Halsey nods and looks at what they have so far, they've got about five containers ready made of the foil and the other ingredients sitting on the table, "How'd you make so much smoke?" Halsey asks, coughing, "I thought you had to heat the mixture on the stove?""We've been shooting it with our ray guns to light it," Party explains before coughing again, "And we shot the bottom of the skillet on stun to warm it up,"Halsey nods, their method makes sense, "So what about it isn't working?""I can't remember the ratio," Ghoul explains, and from what Halsey can see of him, he looks angry at himself, "And Party's never done this before,"Halsey thinks for a second, she knows this, "It's three parts potassium nitrate or toothpaste and two parts sugar,""THANK YOU!!!" Ghoul yells at her, and Halsey nods, then remembers that he probably can't see it."No problem. Do you need my help with anything else?" Halsey asks, looking for an excuse to escape the smoke."No," Party says shortly, but not unkindly and Halsey gives him a thumbs up before remembering she owes him an apology."I'm sorry I called you a Ritalin," Halsey says, looking at Party through the haze, hoping he understands how sincere she is."It's okay," Party says, looking up at her, bandanna muffling his words, "You were playing your part,"Halsey nods, part of her guilt evaporating, before feeling her way out of the room. She almost trips a couple of times, but she manages to stay upright this time again. Fucking gravity. To be honest though, the smoke didn't really help either. She probably could have helped more with the bombs, but she didn't feel like pushing her luck. And the way Ghoul and Party interact with each other it feels like she would be intruding. They clearly had a system down, and all Halsey had done was give them the final puzzle piece. Hopefully the others would be done soon and they could vote on songs. Halsey walked back into the main room that had began to serve as their main planning room and rolls her eyes at the scene that greets her. Kobra and Sandman are making out in a corner while the other's look around uncomfortably and Jet grins at Halsey as she walks into the room, untying the cloth from around her face, "Nice to see nothings changed there," Halsey says loudly and Kobra and Sandman sheepishly break apart, "Now if you two are done we have planning to do," Halsey reprimands them and Sandman rolls his eyes at her turning around and pointedly talking to Andy.Halsey makes her way over to Jet who drags her over to Joe who was staring into the distance, "How'd being a third wheel go?" Jet asks her grinning and gesturing towards the smoke cloud drifting down the hallway and Joe laughs. Laughs hard enough his face turns red and he doubles over gasping for breath. Halsey's noticed Joe is quick to laugh at things."How do you deal with those two?" Halsey laughs with Joe, feeling freer than she had in a while, "There's so much tension in that room," "I know right?" Jet says, smiling widely at both of them, "On the car ride here they slept leaning on each other the whole way here,""That's adorable," Joe says, pushing his hair out of his face as it had fallen in his eyes as he had doubled over laughing hysterically. "What's so funny?" Brendon asks, walking over to them, his puppet face and spiky hair making a slightly unsettling figure. He's grinning as happily as ever and Halsey grins at him."Ghoul and Party," Joe explains, finally catching his breath. Brendon nods in understanding."Those two are ridiculous," Kobra says, easily slipping the conversation, Andy and Sandman trailing behind them, "Party is so oblivious about it too. It's hilarious,""Did you guys come up with rumours?" Halsey asks, changing the subject to the plan and looking at Sandman for an answer, and desperately hoping forcing more interaction with him will help him understand her motive here. She needs him to understand, understand that she's trying to fix her mistakes."Yes." Sandman says shortly and when Kobra elbows him hard in the ribs continues, "We did, but we should wait for Ghoul and Party to explain,""They shouldn't be too much longer," Halsey says, looking around at the determined faces of the others, "I helped with the equation and all they have to do is make them," Kobra nods grimly and Brendon speaks up, "Did you guys come up with a song?"Halsey looks to Jet to answer and he gladly does, "We have some ideas and figured we'd vote on it, so like you we figured we'd wait for Ghoul and Party,""That makes sense," Andy says nodding.Halsey looks around, glad they'd listened to her and let her help. They have a good plain, but they're going to need a lot of luck on their side. So much of the plan hinges on what she can do and Halsey can feel the anxiety filling her from the toes to head as she bounces her knee nervously and they all sit down to wait on the pyromaniacs working in the back room.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Jet rolls his eyes as Ghoul and Party emerge covered in smoke and ashes from the back room. You can smell the smoke radiating off of them and Jet grins to himself as Party trips over his boots and Ghoul's quick to keep him from falling on his face. The two have so much natural chemistry even he can see it.He can practically hear Kobra rolling his at them and he smiles over at his friend, who is sitting hand intertwined with Sandman's as he leans against him tiredly. Kobra smiles back and Jet looks over to Halsey and Joe who are arguing about something to do with security in the Underground as Andy rolls his eyes in the background, looking utterly tired of the debate. Brendon's talking energetically to Ghoul and Party about something, and Jet feels a rush of affection for his friends, new and old. They're an odd group, but they fit together pretty well. He has no idea if they're actually going to pull this idea off, or if it will all go down the drain faster than Sandman can burn water. And that really doesn't take that long, Jet had seen it firsthand. All they can do is hope. Kobra's the one to bring the group back to order, coughing gently as everyone quiets down. He looks excited, and who can blame him, the idea they've worked on to save their friend might actually work, "We're all here now," Kobra says awkwardly when everyone looks expectantly at him, "Maybe we can take turns talking about what we're going to do?""That works for me!" Brendon yells enthusiastically and Jet grins to himself at Brendon's enthusiasm. He's just hyper enough to bring a new sense of enthusiasm to the group, but not hyper enought to be a huge fucking pain in the ass. "So what do you and Kobra have planned?" Andy asks, leaning forward intently, a curious glint in his eyes. "Well I already know how to mess with the lights," Brendon says, painted face grinning, "And Kobra helped me figure out how to play the song on the speakers, so we're all good as soon as we know the song," With this he looks over at Halsey and Jet who look at each other, and Jet motions for Halsey to explain."We have a list," Halsey starts and Jet can hear Ghoul muttering sarcastically in the back ground (Something about how of course they would have a list. Jet doesn't really care), "Shake it Off by Taylor Swift, Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley, Barbie Girl by Aqua, What's New Pussy Cat by Tom Jones, and Oh, Pretty Woman by Ray Orbison,""Those are some tough decisions," Joe says his wild hair bobbing up and down as he laughs."Any others people want to add?" Jet asks, buzzing with nervous tension. No one moves to say anything so he nods awkwardly to himself, and continues, "I guess we'll vote then,"He looks to Halsey to start the polling and breathes a mental sigh of relief when she gladly does so. Talking in front of groups is not his strong suit, "Who votes for Shake It Off?" Halsey asks, and Jet looks at his friends to try to understand their reaction. No one moves and Halsey nods, "Guess that's out of the running then. Who votes for Never Gonna Give You Up?"The sudden rush of movement catches Jet by surprise in less than five seconds all of their hands are in the air. Jet had a feeling it was going to be this song, it's the one he'd been rooting for in his head, "Alright then," Jet announces, "I believe it's unanimous,""Indeed it is," Ghoul says, mocking Jet's fake prestigious tone and everyone laughs. Jet shares a small smile with Halsey and looks around at the others, fuck he loves these dumb asses. "So when are we going to carry out the plan?" Party asks and Kobra looks at Brendon. "How long will it take for us to get WiFi router running?" Kobra asks and Brendon hesitates for a second. "Probably about a day or two depending on if we have the materials or not," And Halsey nods in agreement with Brendon. "I can get the materials you need, I'm going to have to go back pretty soon in order to avoid suspicion, and I need to work on spreading rumours," Halsey says and Sandman speaks up. "We've got some fairly decent ideas about what to tell people," He says and Jet watches as Halsey gives him her full attention, "We really only have three ideas, one is that we tell people that BL/Ind has insiders among us because that will cause chaos,""That could work, but that would mean there is no way that Korse will trust us, and he knows how to get into the Underground," Halsey says nodding, and Jet shares a scared look with Andy as the chaos factor in the room rises at least ten points, "What else?""We thought that maybe you could tell people that there is a mandatory evacuation to the desert. If we can find a way to get word to Dr. D I know he'd accept them," Kobra adds and Joe perks up."I can do that," He says looking thrilled, and turns to Halsey, "If you tell people that I've been released that should add to the chaos too!" Jet feels only slightly scared by the level of chaos this group is aiming to create. Not that it's any different than normal, except this time they actually have a plan. A plan that could potentially if they're able to swing it the right way and get the under grounders on their side could lead to the downfall of BL/Ind. The feeling is exhilarating."What's the other idea?" Andy asks, even though he was there when they decided and looking concerned for everyone's sanity. "That we pull the fire alarm,"  Sandman answers and Jet nods his head. It's simple yet it should be effective. "Even if we don't set off the alarm the smoke bombs will," Party logically points out and Jet happens to catch a glans of Brendon, who is grinning demonically. "Or I could make it so the fire alarms go off randomly through out tomorrow so no one believes that there will actually be smoke when we let Ghoul and Party do their thing," Brendon says and Ghoul bounces up and down looking thoroughly thrilled. "Yess!!" Ghoul yells and Party puts his hand on Ghoul's head forcing him to calm down. Jet smiles at the way Ghoul pouts at Party who looks bright red.

“So we’re good then?” Halsey asks, easily standing and stretching.Jet watches as Kobra gives everyone an appraising look before nodding, “We’re good,” He confirms and Halsey nods, a chaotic smile spreading over her features.”I’ll be off then,” She announces, making her way towards the door, throwing a wave over her shoulder and turning around as she reached the door, “I’ll be back tomorrow morning with updates!” With that she slips out the door and Jet smiles softly to himself as she goes. He's fucking glad she's on their side. He waits for the next member of their group to move and he decides to take action. Jet lazily climbs to a standing position and looks at the others, "I'm going to go cook food for you idiots, try not to fall into ruin while I'm gone," With that he leaves the group and lets the chaos slowly take over the group as he walks away to the small kitchen he's kind of taken over. He easily pulls a pan from under the counter and files through the ancient fridge Brendon has apparently been able to keep running for years. He pulls out a couple items that look edible and sets them on the small space in between the stove top and sink.Jet rolls his eyes at the number of dirty coffee mugs in the sink and on a whim checks to see if the coffee pots empty yet, already knowing the answer he grabs the pot off of the antiquated machine and refills it without much thought. Jet hears voices from outside the kitchen as he turns the flame on, butter melting in the pan and throws a piece of bread into the mix. He lets it crisp a little before he adds a mound of cheese and a slice of butter before putting the other piece of bread on the top and flipping it easily with the spatula he's found. The others are growing louder, the adrenaline beginning to course through everyone in light of the quickly approaching mission and Jet smiles to the empty kitchen. He wouldn't trade this little life he's carved for himself with these idiots for anything. = = =Party was surprised when Ghoul leaned on his shoulder, yawned and said, "Don't move. You're a pillow now." Then promptly to pass out on Party. He'd ignored the blush on his cheeks and the knowing smirk from Kobra in favor of turning to talk to Andy and Joe, who seemed less likely to poke fun at him. But as Joe winks horribly at him Party reconsiders. Why did everyone have to be such assholes?The smell of food began wafting from the kitchen and Joe broke the surprisingly calm silence with, "So when are you going to tell us that you and Ghoul are deeply and love and plan on defeating BL/Ind with the power of love?" He has a shit eating grin on his face and Party rolls his eyes. "We are-" He starts to say, but then Ghoul just has to gently take a fist of Party's jacket and burying his face in Party's chest, "God fucking damn it Ghoul," Party groans as Joe bursts out laughing. "You sure?" Andy asks, and Party despairs his fate. "Is no one here on my side?" He asks, faking an melodramatically despairing look around the room. "Not a single one of us," Brendon giggles from his computer monitor, where he'd been scrolling through lines of some computer jargin Party could understand if he tried. Party collapses like he's been shot and moans in fake agony. "The betrayal," He sprawls on the ground and his whole thing is ruined by the fact that Ghoul doesn't stir at all and just curls into his side. Party stares at the ceiling and tries not to think about the city right above them. He thinks about Halsey instead, she'd seemed pretty nice once they'd gotten past the whole you shot me and tied me to a chair thing.  Plus she'd been a major asset to their plan, what with the whole song thing. "Jet!" Party yells, sitting up and looking towards the kitchen, "What was the song again?" "Never gonna give you up," Jet yells back in a slightly more indoor voice. "Have you not heard it before?" Sandman asks from where he's leaning over Kobra's shoulder to look at Brendon's screen."I've never heard any music before," Party shrugs and recoils at the shocked look Sandman gives him. "NEVER?" Sandman asks and Party shakes his head in confirmation. Sandman just gives him a blank look, like his mouth is catching up to his brain and Party waits for an explanation of why this is such a crisis. Sandman takes a few more seconds before turning to Brendon, "We left the record player, did you keep it?" "Yeah, it's in the back," Brendon says and Sandman runs off in a hurry and Party turns to Andy and Joe. "I don't get it," Party says bluntly, "Why should it matter?""Music is an important thing we've managed to preserve from before the war," Andy explains, because Joe looks just as flabbergasted as Sandman, "It's a core element of Killjoy and Underground life, it's surprising that you've spent almost a week with them and haven't heard any,""We've been a little busy," Kobra adds, turning around to grin at them, "what with getting arrested and such.""Fair enough," Andy allows, smiling calmly as Jet walks out of the kitchen with a plate of grilled cheeses. At the same time Sandman walks back into the room carrying a boxy looking contraption in one hand a struggling to balance a box in the other. Sandman sets the contraption on the ground and pulls a sheet out of the box and sets what looks like a giant flat bagel on the other box and lifted a needle before flipping a switch. And with that Party's musical education began with 'Toxic'.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Halsey creeps back to her office where she turns away from the door with the realization that Kenzie won't be sitting at the desk chewing gum like usual. Never see her laughing at some stupid joke she'd thought up. Halsey takes a deep breath and tries to deal with the fact she'll never see Kenzie again, the memory of holding a dying Kenzie in her arms flooding her mind.Halsey braces herself, takes another breath and walks into the room to be met with a dozen angry raised voices. "Where the fuck were you? Why is Kenzie dead? What happened?" A constant stream of noise attacks Halsey's ears and she holds her hands up for silence, looking around at the panicked faces. Halsey straightens her back and prepares to wreak havoc. Holding up a hand she starts, "One at a time please," The others all started to speak again before looking guiltily at each other and shutting up. Halsey grins to herself mentally and points to the person standing closest to her, "Where were you?""Damage control," Halsey replies, not bothering to elaborate further, it wasn't a lie anyway. The person standing to the left of the one who had first asked Halsey a question speaks up next at a prompting glare from Halsey, "What happened to Kenzie?"Halsey looks down dramatically, taking a moment of silence, "She pissed Korse off and he killed her," A half truth. "Did she do it rightfully?" The same person asks and Halsey looks up from the floor to look them in the eyes."Absolutely," The person nods and gives Halsey a sad smile."What happened to the rebels we were going to discuss?" The next person demanded, a haughty glare on his face and Halsey has the sudden urge to punch him the face."I sold them to Korse," Halsey ignores the outcry and pushes her way through the crowd towards her office room. Hopefully that should be enough of a rumour, but as a precaution she adds, "We got a good deal and a couple of pieces of tech," Once she reaches the door a few bruises worse for wear as the group jostled she turned to address the group again, "It was in our best interest and I don't care if you tell anyone. If they protest tell them they'll be next," Halsey slams the door behind her as she finishes speaking and as a precaution locks it after herself. She crosses the room quickly and pulls open a long unused filing cabinet drawer.She pays no attention to the whispers of alarm outside of the door and rummages through the dusty papers. Halsey hadn't looked through this drawer since Kobra and Sandman had left and the dust showed. She flipped to the very last file marked X and pulled a slip of paper out of the bottom of the folder, the only contents. She walked over to her desk and collapses in her chair, staring at the piece of paper that could make or break their whole operation. The info she needed to contact Dr. D. There's a report sitting on her desk with the BL/Ind logo on the front staring up at her and Halsey groans as she sets the note card down to pick up the packet.She scans the first couple pages boredly, it's all routine information. Then a black and white picture of a familiar face catches her eye. It's under the heading Suspects of Treason Halsey stares at the paper. She's never gotten this section of the report before and she racks her brain as to why she was given this. Then she takes another look at the picture and then at the heading and gasps. The image is under a fake name of course, but the face in the image is unmistakably Patrick. Shit. They're out of time. They've figured Patrick out. Halsey grabs her ray gun off the desk, the info to contact Dr. D, and on second thought grabs the info packet. She dashes to the door and runs into it when she tries to open the door and run in one movement. She slapped herself in the face and unlocked the door and stalks through the entry way reveling in the hushed silence that falls over the gossiping group. She salutes the group with a grin, "Catch y'all later!" Halsey ignore the cries of confusion and takes off running, not bothering to try and blend in. She remembers about the rumours part and yells, "FREE FOOD AT THE CANTEEN!" There's a sudden rush of movement and Halsey easily uses the chaos as a way to slip into a back tunnel to cut up a few levels and get back to the others. Halsey is short of breath by the time she makes it to the door and frantically knocks. She doubles over, hands on her knees as someone opens the door. Halsey looks up to see Ghoul giving her a curious look, "What's the rush?""We're out of time," Halsey says grimly as soon as she gets her breath back and Ghoul gives her an incredulous look. "Really?""Yes, really," Halsey snaps, pushing her way into the room past Ghoul and looking at the others, who look quite alarmed at her abrupt entrance, "If you could stop staring, and focus on the fact that we have less than 48 hours to get to Patrick that'd be great," Halsey deadpans and she could swear that someone lets out a laugh. "When did you find this out?" Andy asks, and Halsey turns to him, relieved someone is fucking asking questions instead of sitting in shocked silence. "About five minutes ago," Halsey replies, slapping the packet into his hands, and watching him pour over it."So are we going to put the plan into action?" Brendon asks, spinning around in his chair and quirking an eyebrow at Halsey. "That's up to whether or not you guys think that we have time to," Halsey replies grimly and Sandman speaks up next."We don't really have a choice," He says calmly and Kobra nods in agreement with him. "Now or never," Joe shrugs, like they're talking about going for a hike, and not risking their lives to sneak into a city. that even getting spotted in would end with them dead. "Do you know if we can remotely hook the speakers in the center room to a new WiFi router?" Kobra asks Halsey and Halsey thinks for a second. "Yes, you have to have an access code for the speakers, but I know it and Joe and Andy probably do too," Halsey explains and Brendon beckons her over to his monitor where he's already pulled up the speakers' systems and a box blinks in the screen waiting for a password. Halsey punches in the code that she'd been forced to change after some one played Christmas music on repeat for five hours. Normally that wouldn't have bothered Halsey, hell she loved Christmas music, but it was the exact song over and over. All I Want For Christmas is You had played on repeat until Halsey had snapped and stormed down to the tech room to put a stop to the nuisance. It takes a second to load and then Brendon grins manically at her, "Houston we have lift off," "How good are we on the smoke bombs?" Kobra asks Ghoul who grins insanely in response. "We have a couple dozen," Party answers, cutting off Ghoul's likely to be long winded rant about how many they had managed to make.Ghoul pouts and Halsey nods, "I managed to start a few rumours, probably won't help much, but should cause a little chaos," "We're good on the speakers," Brendon adds and Halsey nods, thinking over the few things they hadn't had time to go over yet. "We can't all go,"  Andy speaks up, and Halsey thinks it over. If she went there would be the liability of being recognized, and she didn't have the advantage of knowing the layout of Battery like the others. "I'll stay," Halsey volunteered, "I have to stay and contact Dr. D anyway," "I'll stay too," Brendon says, like was expecting this to be the outcome from the start, "I can help Halsey and make sure the rest of you can get to the tunnels," Halsey looks around at the others and sighs, "We need more people to stay behind, there's no way all seven of you can make it unnoticed into Battery," "I'll stay," Andy says, "I'll be more help here than in Battery, plus someone has to make sure you idiots don't forget to eat, or god forbid try to cook," Halsey grins at him, thankful for his easy going attitude and ability to step up when no one else would."I'm staying too then," Joe says, and Halsey smiles at him."That's good, we'll probably need your help with keeping the tech crew from sabotaging us on accident," Brendon chirps, and Halsey reminds herself to give him a hug later for knowing exactly how to lift the mood. "So you guys are going to go to the city while we contact Dr. D for backup, and try to help all we can from down here," Halsey summarizes and Ghoul nods, and Halsey can tell that he's just itching to go and grab the smoke bombs. Fucking pyromaniac. "Yep," Sandman says, taking a step towards the door, only to have Kobra grab his arm and roll his eye. "We have to establish some sort of communication system first idiot," Kobra reprimands him and Halsey grins at Sandman's pure exasperation. "Do you have walkie talkies?" Sandman asks, clearly impatient to get going, turning to Brendon.Brendon shrugs, "I don't know, shouldn't take too long to rig some sort of radio together," Sandman growls at him impatiently and Halsey rolls her eyes. Somethings never changed. Sandman was still an impatient little fuck, "You should be able to steal radios from the guard station," Joe pipes up, hair bouncing enthusiastically, "Brendon will easily be able to tap into the signal and communicate with you guys," "Yeah! I can do that?" Brendon affirms, and Halsey sees Sandman relax just a touch. He turns around and clacks away at his keyboard and Halsey assumes he's working on tuning into the radio channels, "So are we ready then?" Party asks, and Halsey looks at him. She hadn't spoken to him much, other than apologizing for the whole Ritalin thing, but she could tell that he was determined, though undeniably nervous. Halsey looks around, waiting for someone to answer and she tilts her head at Kobra, who seems to have fallen into the role of leader for this operation. Kobra gives her a small- almost not there smile before turning to address the group at large, "I think we're as ready as we'll ever be,"Sandman starts towards the door and Kobra grabs his arm again, "We have to grab weapons and smoke bombs first, probably let Brendon start playing the music before we leave," Sandman grumbles an inaudible protest, but doesn't go running out the door, which Halsey counts as a win in her book. = = =Kobra leans against the wall as people run around him in the small room they'd turned into their base over the last few days. Or however long it'd been since they'd showed up. It wasn't like they'd been keeping track or sleeping that much. He doesn't really have anything to do. He and Brendon had set up the WiFi already and had the song loaded and ready to play as soon as Halsey gave the go ahead. Kobra wasn't really sure how she'd wound up having a major influence on this project, but he was glad to have her on board. He watched as Party and Ghoul walked back and forth carrying the boxes of smoke bombs they'd made in the short amount of time, which Kobra was impressed and scared by. The boxes are smoking slightly and Kobra smiles as he watches how easily Ghoul and Party danced around each other in the hallway. Joe and Andy were hunched over Brendon's counsel and Halsey and Jet are flitting around in the background with Sandman helping where they could. Jet's made a ton of food with stuff Halsey had managed to smuggle up to the room and they're packing it away in backpacks they'd found in the back room. Party had been smart enough to point out that Battery's food was complete and utter shit, which Kobra was thankful for because he'd completely forgotten that. Kobra hadn't been able to find anything to do, so he'd leaned up against the wall and watched the chaos unfold. Ghoul carried what seemed to be the last box as Party trailed down the hallway behind him and Kobra pushed easily off of the wall to walk over to them. "We're done," Party says, glancing up at Kobra, pushing his hair back, which has started to hang over his eyes and Kobra wonders if they have time to cut and dye it before they go. Probably not, plus it would give them away in Battery. "How much longer do you think the others will be?" Ghoul asks, his eyes looking slightly manic. Kobra shrugs. "I don't know," He really doesn't, "Jet, Halsey, and Sandman are packing food, which shouldn't take too much longer and I have no clue what Brendon, Joe, and Andy are up to,""They're finding a route for us to the tunnels," Party says, voice sounding more natural, and Kobra knows it's a weird way to think about his brother's voice, but he remembers how stiff he was at communicating when he had first gotten out of Battery, and compared to now it's like he'd gone through a second puberty, "Andy's going to go with us to the tunnels and then go to the tech room to keep the song playing for a while longer until Halsey, Brendon and Joe have communications set up and Halsey can get away to do damage control," Kobra blinks at Party, "How'd you figure that out?" Party shrugged easily, "I heard bits and pieces as we were carrying stuff, it wasn't too hard to put the rest of the picture together," Kobra knows he's downplaying it, but he doesn't push, just gives his brother and easy nod. "I'm gonna go check how close the others are with the food if you guys want to go check on the computer nerds," Kobra says, feeling tension rise in his stomach as they draw closer by the minute of completing their goal of getting into Battery. Ghoul nods, dragging an uncomplaining Party towards Brendon's huddle and Kobra makes his way to the small kitchen full of people. Jet's bossing Halsey around and Sandman's packing food neatly into white backpacks. Jet gives Kobra a nod as he walks into the room and leans in the door frame, "Wise choice not letting Sandman cook," Kobra teases his boyfriend."Indeed," Jet replies, "We didn't need to burn the Underground to the ground in order to escape,""Hey," Sandman protests, "It was one time-""Or five," Jet cuts him off and Kobra grins at his pouting boyfriend. "How much more do you think we need?" Halsey gently cuts in, question directed at Jet.Jet shrugs, "Probably good, we aren't planning on being there for long anyway,"Halsey nods and zips the last backpack shut, "Let's get you guys out of here then,' Kobra nods in agreement and Sandman grabs the bags, before he lurches out of the kitchen, easy gait thrown off by the unevenly distributed bags, fucking dumb ass. They follow him slowly and their little group gathers in the main room to set the plan into action. Brendon stops typing away as Kobra makes his way over to him and looks up, eyes mournful, almost tears threatening to ruin his makeup, "You'll come back won't you?' He asks quietly, "You won't just leave again?"Kobra's heart breaks at the questions, "I don't know," He says quietly, "We'll try, you know I can't promise anything,""I know," Brendon says, looking up at the ceiling and blinking before, switching back to his happy go lucky personality, "So are we ready to get this party started Party?"Kobra groans at the bad humor, but Party grins at Brendon, which makes Kobra's heart feel happy. He knows it's irrational, but seeing Party happy always reminds him that things can change for the better, "Ready," Party confirms, and Halsey speaks up next."Be careful," She says, giving each of them a glare, "Try not to be major dumb asses, and come back okay?" "We will," Sandman says, and Kobra glances at his boyfriend, who looks torn, "You too," Sandman finally blurts out, and Kobra grins at his stubborn idiot. "Alright then," Brendon says, looking around the group, before turning back to his screen, "Let's get this bullshit started," He clicks a button on the screen and Kobra watches nervously as the screen stalls. Then a green check appears and Brendon whoops triumphantly as music starts playing from outside of their room. [Listen to this]"Alright, let's get out of here," Ghoul says, and turns to Halsey and the others staying behind, "Catch y'all later," He walks towards the boxes he and Party haves stacked by the door and waits for the others to start moving, "I left extra food in the cabinet," Jet tells Andy and Halsey, with a smile, "Just to make sure you idiots don't forget to eat," "Thanks," Andy grins back at Jet."Fro bros?" Joe asks, sticking a fist out and Jet fist bumps him before walking to the door, as Kobra rolls his eyes."Good luck," Party says next, giving Halsey a smile, and winking at Brendon, "Tell Dr. D hello from us,""Will do," Joe confirms giving Party a high five as he walks over to Ghoul."Bye Hals, Bren, Joe, Andy," Kobra says, fighting back tears, at least this time before they leave, they're saying goodbye."Don't say good bye," Brendon glares at him, "We'll see you again soon," "See you soon then," Sandman says, choking on his words and Kobra waves at the group before following his idiots into the hallway. There's no one else around them and Kobra takes a moment to adjust to the sudden onslaught of Rick Astley's smooth voice coming at him from all directions. They set the boxes of smoke bombs down by the railing and as Ghoul pulls out his lights, Kobra turns to the group, "We ready?'"Ready as we'll ever be," Jet says grimly, and Kobra nods."Alright Ghoul, time to blow shit up," Sandman teases, clearly trying to lighten the mood. Kobra can see the general chaos from the floors below and he grins, because it's about to get a whole lot worse. Ghoul lights the first smoke bomb and drops it smoking over the railing, and grins at the others, "Come on what are you waiting for?" He yells gleefully, and Kobra is reminded of a small child on a sugar rush. He pulls his lighter out of his pocket and lights a smoke bomb before throwing it over the railing. Jet tosses one up into the air in the middle and Party shoots it, a grin on his face. Sparks tumble down and Kobra lobs another one as Sandman helps Ghoul with his face covered in an identical maniac grin. They throw half of the boxes over the railing, before they start moving. Sandman sets a quick pace down the ramp, the growing cloud of smoke hiding their identities as they grow closer to more people, Ghoul setting off more along the way, and Party and Kobra covering their group with guns set on stun. Jet jogs besides Sandman and Ghoul drops the last box as they reach the last layer of the spiral before they enter the screaming horde of confused people. Kobra grabs Sandman's hand tightly in his and together they fight their way through the crows. Kobra tries to keep track of all of their group, and he manages until Ghoul disappears as he jogs through a group of tall people. Kobra's about to yell for him when Party pops up and gives him a thumbs up.Kobra pushes through the crowd, keeping his face down now that he knows where everyone is, to avoid being recognized. There are a few times he looks up, and someone looks like they recognize him, but the crowd's swept them away before they could be sure. Jet's waiting for them on the other side of the crowd as they make it out. Kobra grins at him as Sandman takes the lead down the hallway Joe had told them would lead to the tunnels.Rick Astley become more manageable as they make it farther away from the loud crowds of people screaming. None of them say a word as they jog down the hallway. There's an unusual air of seriousness over the group and Kobra watches as Ghoul and Party run step in step. They've fallen into a rhythm and Kobra is growing extremely tired of getting continuously rick rolled. "We're here," Jet says eventually, looking from the map to a door marked in big red letters saying KEEP OUT, "Let's break one more rule," He says with a grin, easily slicing through the tension as he pushes the door open, hand on his holster. "I'll go first," Party whispers, "I'm not as obviously Killjoy as you guys are," He ignores their protests of yes he is, and slips in through the door, after double checking that his blaster's on stun. Kobra waits for the okay, and there's one ringing shot over the screeching music before Party pokes his head around the door and grins at them, "All good," Kobra's next through the door and he looks around the room. It's grey, large, and the music echoes horribly. Water drips from the ceiling, and Kobra shivers as Sandman grabs his hand, "Ready?" Ghoul asks them, and Kobra nods."Here goes nothing," Jet grins, as they walk towards the tunnel at the end of room. A fluttering piece of caution tape hangs over the entrance, and the BL/Ind logo is spray painted on the floor. Kobra scowls at it, and stops walking for a second. "Hold on," Ghoul says, and pulls a can a spray paint out of his bag that he got from god knows where, and handing it to Party, "Paint it," Ghoul takes the cap off, and Party looks at the can before he takes it and points it at the ground. Party presses the nozzle and Kobra watches his brother smile as neon yellow covers the logo that'd plagued his life for so long. He hands the can back to Ghoul and grins, "Now we're ready," He turns and walks into the tunnels, not looking back as they all follow. Kobra holds onto Sandman with one hand and his gun in the other as they walk into the tunnel.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Ghoul follows behind Party as they make their way through the tunnel. The ceilings are high enough they aren't going to hit their heads, (Kobra excluded of course- freaking tall ass) and water drips down the walls. It's colder in the tunnel than Ghoul's used to, and he hunches his shoulders, hand steady on his gun as they walk down the tunnel. Ghoul glances back at the others and smiles to himself as he sees Kobra and Sandman walking hand in hand, "Are we going for a stealth approach when we're in the city?" Ghoul asks the group, turning to walk backwards facing the group. "I guess it depends where the tunnel entrance is," Kobra answers, "If we don't have to fight out way through I would say that we should avoid making a mess," Ghoul runs in to Party who gives him an exasperated tired look before continuing on. "Don't step on my heels," He hisses and Ghoul makes a point of staying a step behind of Party, just close enough he could step on his heels. If he wanted to. The utility lights strung out against the wall flicker and Ghoul shifts closer to Party, "I know that Korse probably wouldn't have a tunnel where people could find it easily," Party shrugs casually, "And I probably would have gotten out years ago if people knew it existed," "So it's probably guarded and in BL/Ind territory at the least," Sandman grumbles, "And at most it comes up in his basement," "His office doesn't have a basement," Party deadpans to Sandman as he leads the way down the tunnel, looking straight ahead and Ghoul wonders how Party knows that.  (And snorts in amusement as he wonders when the fuck he learned how to do that.)The tunnel curves gently ahead of them and Party pulls their little group to a halt, holding up a hand for silence, "What's up?" Jet whispers as Party glares at the shadow cast around the corner. "There's a Scarecrow or a Drac around the corner," Party whispers back to their group, "We can take him out, but I don't know how quietly we can do it, the tunnel is echoey and we don't need to give them a heads up," "I've got an idea," Ghoul whispers, and beckons Sandman, who grins at him as they creep towards the corner. "Hit 'em?" Sandman whispers and Ghoul nods, making sure his gun is holstered before jumping around the corner and throwing a hand across the mouth of the Drac in front of him. Sandman bashes the Drac's head and Ghoul catches said Drac, dragging him back around the corner. Kobra looks at them with Jet, "Real subtle," Jet mumbles under his breath and Ghoul grins at him. "He didn't have time to set off an alarm," Sandman shrugs, "And there was no loud noise," He and Ghoul grin proudly at each other."Shouldn't we radio Brendon and the others?" Kobra questions, slinging his bag over his shoulder, pulling out the radio they'd stolen. "Good idea," Ghoul agrees, grinning at Kobra, "Nice to know your brain's working," Kobra rolls his eyes, but there's a little smile at the corner of his mouth."Shut up short stuff," Kobra mutters back at him, extending the antennae and fiddling with the dial until they get Rick Astley's smooth voice playing. Kobra presses a button on the side and static replaces singing, "This is Road Runner, do you copy Wiley Coyote?" He speaks into the mic, releasing the button. "We copy," Brendon's cheery voice echoes, "What is your status?" "All groovy," Ghoul steals the radio, jumping back as Kobra tries to snatch it back from him playfully, "Your end?" He questions, ducking under Kobra's arm."Chaos," Brendon replies, "And delicious, thanks again J," Jet smiles at that and steals the radio from Ghoul when he goes by him, Ghoul pouts crossing his arms and sneaking a look at Party who's smiling softly at him. "Any pushback?" Jet asks, looking warily at Ghoul tries to look like he's not planning to make another pass on the radio. "Nothing major," Halsey's voice answers and Jet hands the radio off to Party when he holds out his hand. "Any luck with Dr. D?" He asks, and Ghoul watches as he worries his bottom lip between his teeth. His teeth catch the chapped lip and Ghoul feels a shiver up his spine. He looks away quickly, blushing when he catches Kobra smirking at him out of the corner of his eye. Know it all. "We were waiting for you check in before we used the radio to go long distance," Brendon explains and Party nods to himself, clearly thinking. it's cute, Ghoul thinks, he tilts his head a little and his eyes tilt up towards the ceiling losing focus. "Catch you on the flip side guys," Sandman calls and there's a moment of static before a reply comes. "Stay safe," Brendon says before the connection cuts and there's silence. Kobra takes the radio back from Party, tucking it back into his bag easily before rejoining hands with Sandman. "Let's keep moving," Party says, turning down the tunnel, puling out his ray gun and turning the corner cautiously. Ghoul copies his move, close on his heels as they make their way further into the tunnels. The only noise in the tunnel is their footsteps and Ghoul had a flash back to Party leading the way out of the jail probably only like 24 hours ago. Ghoul doesn't keep track of time all that well when he can see the sun, sticking him underground has made him a lost cause. Who needs time when you blow shit up for a living. Jet follows ahead of Sandman and Kobra, who are whispering between each other and Ghoul turns his attention forward to avoid tripping as they reach another bend in the tunnel. "Any thing?" Jet whispers to Party who shakes his head. "I can't see, but there might be," "Sandman," Ghoul hisses, turning around to look at him, "Hit 'em again?" Sandman nods and they creep around the corner again. There's another Drac and it takes them even less time than the last to have him out cold and around the corner. They prop him on the wall and Ghoul looks up at Party expectantly as Sandman rejoins Kobra. "This would be easier if they made silencers for ray guns," Party mutters under his breath and Ghoul grins at him as they go around the corner. "But it wouldn't be nearly as fun," He points out and Party rolls his eyes at him. He mutters something along the lines of chaos loving fucker under his breath, but Ghoul can't really hear him. He does see the strategy though, it's just not his style. It's less than five minutes before they reach the next bend and Sandman and Ghoul are first around the corner again, and there's no Drac this time. Ghoul peers up the tunnel and furrows his brow in confusion as no white uniform stands out, "Maybe it's shift change?" Jet suggests. "That means we have even less time before we get discovered," Party scrunches him face up in frustration, "Subtle is looking less and less like an option," "We'll be alright," Kobra grins, "We've got guns," "I don't think that was as reassuring as you thought it was," Jet tells Kobra with a snort after a beat of silence. "How long do you think we have?" Ghoul asks Party who shrugs again. "I'd say probably 5 minutes plus however long it takes to get to the end of the tunnel from here, which is probably about 10 minutes," Party replies, hand absently tapping on his holstered gun. "Let's get moving then," Sandman insists, no doubt fueled by the prospect of getting to Patrick before it was too late. Party moves down the tunnel again and Ghoul falls into step with him, "You ready to go back?" He asks Party who stares ahead resolutely. "I have to be," He replies grimly, "I'd have to do it at some point and now is as good a time as ever,"

Ghoul almost says something sappy about how he’s not alone, but the look on Party’s face makes it clear that meaningless epitaphs will not be welcome. So Ghoul walks in silence next to Party as the tunnel slopes gently upwards. That's all he can do for his friend right now.

The tunnels grows slightly wider as they draw nearer to the surface and the moisture lessens, the air becoming drier. Ghoul's eyes feel dry and he rubs them absently. Jet joins Ghoul and nudges his shoulder, “Think that we’ll be able to get out of this one?” His hair looks more staticky and poofy coming out of the humidity of the Underground and Ghoul pulls one of the strands teasingly. Jet bats his hand away with a reprimanding look and Ghoul rolls his eyes. ”Never found a situation I couldn’t blow my way out of,” Ghoul grins, winking lewdly at Party while Jet rolls his eyes.

Party blushes a bit under the dim lights of the tunnel and Jet falls back a few steps to let them walk ahead. Ghoul spies another bend and he throws his hand out in front of Party. Party draws up short, apparently having been too drawn into his own world to notice the bend.

Sandman joins Ghoul up front again and they jump around the corner. There's no one there again and Sandman gives the all clear to the rest of the group who join them, "If the shifts really are changing aren't we going to have to face all of the Scarecrows and Dracs coming on duty?" Jet asks, and Ghoul groans, he hadn't thought of that when they'd discovered the shift change. "Shit," Kobra ran a had through his hair huffing out a breath, "I mean we're almost there and we've only seen what? Five spots where they could be? We can take those odds," "We've just got to shoot first," Party says grimly, pulling his gun out of his holster, "Really wish we had silencers now," "I think we'll be able to handle it," Jet sarcastically intones. Ghoul nods, and gives Party and Kobra encouraging smiles.  Ghoul doesn't think that the rayguns make all that much noise anyway. "Let's go," Sandman pushes them forward impatiently, "We don't know how much time Patrick has left," A somber mood falls over the group and Ghoul pulls his raygun out as Sandman leads the way around the corner. The BL/Ind workers freeze as they see them from about 10 yards away and Party gets out his first shots before they have time to yell. Ghoul and the others follow suit and doesn't have time to check if it's still on stun before the Scarecrows and Dracs are shooting back at them. Ghoul just fires and hopes for the best. The baddies go down quickly and Sandman is moving forward before the rest of them can blink. Ghoul spares a glance at Party, who's face is set in grim determination before hurrying after Sandman. The door at the end of the tunnel comes into view around the corner and Ghoul looks at Jet who grins nervously at him. "What's our strategy?" Kobra asks, pulling Sandman back from storming through the door with one hand, and pointing at Party with the other. "Jet and I will pull open the door with you guys on the other side to cover us," Party replies with out hesitation and Ghoul nods at him. It's a good plan. They hurry to the positions, Kobra towering over Sandman and Ghoul as they pull out their rayguns in anticipation. Jet cocks head to the side, hair bobbing, "Ready?" He asks with a hard glint in his eye and when Kobra nods he and Party throw the door open. Party's carefull not to let it hit the wall with a bang. Ghoul moves around the corner, close on Sandman's heels and looks from side to side in an empty room. "It was shiftchange," Party sighs in relief and Ghoul grins at him. "Where to next fearless leader?" Sandman asks Party or Kobra, Ghoul can't really tell who he's talking to, but at any rate he looks two seconds away from pulling out a megaphone and straight up screaming for Patrick. "We should check office buildings," Party replies, and Ghoul watches as Kobra nods in agreement, "You said Patrick was impersonating a BL/Ind official right?""Yeah," Sandman nods and he bolts for the door. Kobra lunges forward and grabs him by the back of his shirt. "Don't be stupid," Kobra glares at him, "Patrick will kill us if we let you get yourself get killed," "Fine," Sandman mutters and Ghoul sees Party smile slightly out of the corner of his eye. Party leads the way out of the room, holstering his raygun and Ghoul follows his example. Don't want to give away their identities too quickly. Party leads them out of the building, head held high into a street that has only one or two passerby who pay them no attention. He walks with purpose, and Ghoul does his best to mimick it. Ghoul has no doubt that Party is their best hope of managing to blend in for longer than five minutes. The others follow his example and Ghoul fights down a cocky grin. Party and Kobra lead them to an area of the city filled with plain grey buildings and Ghoul fails at hiding a wince at their horrible design. BL/Ind seriously lacks style. Who ever designed these buildings was clearly looking for depressing and no individuality. Kobra breaks him out of his train of thought, clearing his throat, "Ready?" He speaks in a soft undertone to their group, and they all mumble their ascent. Party turns to the nearest building, with a poorly hidden glare that has Ghoul thinking that he shares his aversion to the architecture. Kobra leads them into the building, which has surprisingly little security and Ghoul feels instantly on alert. His shoulders tense, and he can feel his hand creeping towards his raygun. "Relax," Party hisses low, into his ear, and Ghoul lets the shiver up his spine run it's course, "Stop looking like you can't wait to shoot someone," "That's your job," Ghoul whispers back, and Party gives him a subtle smile, and Ghoul can feel the tension drain from his body. Party looks back up ahead, and Kobra and Sandman are approaching a reception desk, armed by a lady who looks bored out of her mind, if she's even in it to begin with. Ghoul swaps a look with Party before they're hurrying to catch up to Kobra and Sandman before they shoot the poor lady. Though Ghoul admits in his head, they probably would just stun her, but it would be much easier to find Patrick with her help. = = = Sandman knows objectively that he shouldn't glare at the poor desk lady just for being BL/Ind, she'd probably been brainwashed, but honestly, with Patrick so close, and in danger he doesn't really give a fuck about it. Just a little bit of a fuck, not a full fuck. "Hello," Kobra speaks, his voice reverting to a tone that Sandman hasn't hear in years. (Since they met, God it's unnerving) It's blank and emotionless and it matches the woman's when she replies. "Hello, what can I help you with. I am fully equipped to help any and every loyal citizen of Battery City," She says this all with a blank face and Sandman watches his boyfriend handle the interaction. He's so highly strung right now that he might shoot someone if they pissed him off. On stun of course. He's not a monster. He fights down the internal voice that says otherwise. "Could you help me find someone?" He asks, keeping his voice flat, "I was given information to pass along.""Of course," The lady replies, her eyes are so blank. Sandman ignores the thoughts in his head reminding him that this is what BL/Ind does to people. What they could have done to Patrick, "Do you have a name?" She puts her hands up onto her keyboard, fingers sitting eerily still, staring blankly at the screen. "Patrick Stump," Kobra replies smoothly, and the lady types quickly. The clacking of the keys the only noise in the office now that the others have stopped walking to catch up to them. "He's in a meeting in the building to the right of this one, floor two, room two-seven," The lady looks up at them, "Should I send a message telling them your coming?" "No need to bother," Kobra speaks, nodding once, before spinning on his heel and leading the way out of the building. Sandman can feel the gaze of the lady behind them on his back, and he only turns when he hears a gasp. He turns just in time to see Party shoot her, "The fuck dude?" Sandman calls to him softly, and Party shrugs. "She might have given us away. I only stunned her, she'll be alright," Party meets his eyes with a challenge and Sandman turns around. His need to find Patrick overriding his need to be a petty bitch and have a staring contest. He'll just challenge Party to one later. They step back out onto the street and Sandman blinks for a second, eyes readjusting to the sun as they turn right towards the building Patrick was in. Almost there. Just a couple flights of stairs and steps and everything would be okay. Breath. He reminds himself and follows Kobra, who's walking side by side with Party now. Ghoul and Jet have moved to flank him and he blinks at them in silent gratitude for the support. "Here we go," Kobra tells him, his voice still flat, but the worry is clear on his face. They don't know what they're walking into. He pulls open the door and they walk in. There's no one in the empty lobby, but as they walk further into the building, they can see a desk.There's another lady at the desk and Kobra ignores her in favor of leading them to a stair case. Sandman does the same."Excuse me-" The lady calls, and Sandman can here the wheels of the rolling chair squeak as she stands up, "You need authorization to go in there," There's a shot, a thump and a snicker from Ghoul, with a defensive noise from Party, and Jet shakes his head fondly from next to Sandman. The message of, those idiots deserve each other is clear. They make their way up two flights of stairs silently, their footsteps echoing. Sandman misses the way the sand muffles their steps.Party and Kobra have taken the lead, and Party peers out the small window in the door to the second floor, "It's clear," He whispers to them, voice echoing in the stairwell mutely, "I can see 207 from here," "Let's go," Sandman hisses, pushing forward and Kobra catches him by the shirt again. Two times was humiliating enough, three? That was embarrassing on another level. Kobra just glares at him "We need to have a plan," Kobra hisses at him, "For fucks sake we can't just walk in there guns blazing," Sandman huffs, but he understands the logic, "Right, Ghoul could hit Patrick with his abysmal aim," "Hey," Ghoul protests, but it's halfhearted. The weight of what they're about to do bearing down on all of them. Not really, what's a little more illegal activity, they're just worried about Patrick."So what is our plan then?" Jet asks after a beat and Party looks out the window again, squinting at the door marked 207. "Send me in," Party decides. Hand on the door handle, Sandman looks to him for reasoning, so far the guy's had pretty good plans."Absolutely not," Kobra and Ghoul snap at the same time. So much for that idea. Sandman watches as Ghoul swats Party's hand off of the handle. "He'll know who I am, and that I should be dead," Party argues, "Who ever's in there won't, I'll ask him to talk with me, and bring him out to the hall way where you guys will be waiting, and then we can work on getting the fuck out of here,""It's not a bad plan," Sandman interjects into Ghoul and Kobra's arguing of why he should absolutely not go in there by himself, "It could work. I'm down," "Thank you," Party huffs to him, pointedly ignoring Ghoul and Kobra. "I'm in too," Jet adds, "So you guys are outvoted," He adds, with an apologetic look, "Sorry," "Fine," Ghoul huffs, and Kobra glares, but doesn't speak against it. Party seems to count that as a win."Alright," Party says, sighing in relief in a way Sandman knows he'll only be able to do when he can see Patrick alive and well in front of him. Party walks through the door, the others close on his heels. He motions them to stay back and Sandman pushes his way to the front of their little group so he can hear what's happening on. Party spares one glance towards Ghoul before he knocks promptly on the door. The door swings open and Sandman watches as Party steps confidently into the room, careful to leave the door open. "I need to speak to Patrick Stump," He speaks, tone carefully controlled, "I was told he was in this meeting," "I'm him," Patrick speaks, tone level, and Sandman almost cries in relief. He's alive. "In the hallway please," Party says, and Sandman hears the scraping of a chair as he assumes Patrick stands. "And why pray tell should Mr. Stump follow you into the hallway Mr. Way?" A cold voice asks and Sandman feels his blood go cold. Kobra looks terrified of the voice, and Ghoul's halfway to the door already. Party subtly waves him back with his hand behind the door where the occupants of the room can't see it. "Who?" Party asks, tone blank, "I think you have me confused with someone else sir," His voice is neutral and Sandman makes a note to have Party give him acting lessons. "I don't think he does," Patrick speaks, voice cold, and that's the moment Sandman feels his heart stop. Patrick's voice has never been like that for as long as he can remember and he'd pissed him off plenty, "I sent you into the desert myself to die, barely a week ago. Bold of you to come crawling back already," Sandman can hear Party's exaggerated sigh, "It was worth a shot," Sandman sees a blur and three shots ring out, Party has a flair for the dramatic that he can appreciate, "Your covers blown," He informs Patrick calmly. "Shit," Patrick groans, "Sorry about the desert thing dude," "We're cool," Party laughs, Sandman can't wait much longer, "I've got some people with me that you might want to see," Party leads Patrick out into the hallway and Sandman bounces on his toes, freezing when Patrick comes into view. Patrick makes startled eye contact with him, and his eyes barely have time to widen before Sandman's hugging him tight, Kobra close behind him. "You could have gotten yourselves killed," Patrick snaps at them, pushing them off, "Why the hell did you think it was a good idea to come here? Why did you let them?" He snaps at Jet, "You're supposed to be the one with your head on straight," Jet shrugs, a gesture that implies, you really think I could have stopped them?"You were going to die if we didn't," Kobra snaps and Patrick softens, directing his attention back to them."It's good to see you guys," Patrick admits. A small smile curls at his lips. It's small, but Sandman finally feels like he can breath again. Patrick hugs them both for a second before pushing them away again with a mock glare, "Don't do it again," "No promises," Sandman grins.There's a noise from the room and Party pops back around the door, and there's another shot before he comes back, "Korse," He says shortly, and Sandman feels a shiver up his spine, he knows the name. No wonder Kobra was scared, "He was waking up," "How?" Patrick asks, "Didn't you just stun him?" Sandman can see the gears in his mind turning with theories and he internally groans. They don't have time for this. Not everything has to be investigated, sometimes the stunners just didn't work like they should.Party shrugs, "Does it really matter? He's not getting up this time," He brushes it off like it's nothing. To him it might be, Sandman thinks. Sandman then takes a second to back track and process that Party just killed someone, and Ghoul beats him to it, "You killed him?" His tone is far less judging that Sandman's would have been, so it's probably a good thing he didn't speak. Besides it's not like Party hadn't already killed people when they were there. "He wasn't a good man," Party meets their eyes, a determination that burned to look at, "He wasn't on the drugs and he still chose to do all those horrible things," What the horrible things were would go unsaid. Sandman pointedly doesn't think about them. Sandman meets his eyes and nods, he doesn't have to like it, but he understands the motivation behind it. Hell, he can respect it. "We need to get out of here before someone raises the alarm," Jet tells them, eyes scanning their surroundings. He's level headed through it all, and offers Patrick a handshake when he walks up to him with a smile. "They probably already have," Kobra confirms with a glare at the floor. "Then we'll have to be faster than them," Ghoul grins, and Sandman can practically see the adrenaline kicking in. Idiot lived for shit like this. He can't lie he does too. He matches Ghoul's grin. Time for the fun to begin."Let's go," Party hisses, pushing them towards the stairwell, "We need to hurry, we won't be able to use the tunnel to get out, and we need to get to the outskirts before they catch us.""Pushy, pushy," Ghoul teases him, and Sandman can hear the fucking softness in his voice. Gross. Was that how everyone felt around him and Kobra? Probably not, they were definitely way cuter. Not that it was a contest, but if it was he and Kobra would be winning. Party grins tightly, and leads them down the stairs, past the unconscious secretary, and onto the street. There's a red light flashing on the light posts and Kobra curses under his breath in unison with Patrick. Sandman smiles. He's missed that. Party takes the lead confidently, and it's not long before the grey office buildings glowing red in the lights fall behind them, replaced by shabbier buildings with signs of life. People whisper at their little group, but no one stops them. Sandman can see the wall of the city coming up in front of them, and they all match pace with Party as he speeds up, seeing something in the faces of the people around them that Sandman can't see. He breaks out into a sprint and skids to a stop around the corner. Ghoul runs into him again, and Kobra's arm thrown out, is the only thing preventing them from becoming a three person train wreck. More of a train wreck than usual he should say. They walk to catch up and Sandman hears Kobra's gasp as they round the corner. He shoots a glance at Party and Ghoul, Party seems to have a similar reaction to Kobra and Sandman glances over to Patrick and Jet, who have their faces set in a hard line. There's a woman standing in front of them, cruel eyes, looking to Kobra and Party, "Boys. How nice of you to pay your mother a visit," Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. This isn't good. It's just their luck, Sandman thinks bitterly, that of all the people trying to stop them from leaving the city it would be Party and Kobra's mom. He sees Ghoul grab Party's hand for moral support out of the corner of his eye and copies the gesture to Kobra. It doesn't go unnoticed by their mother, who narrows her eyes in disgust and disapproval. Kobra hasn't told him much about his mother, but he knows enough. "Mother," Party tips his head to her, sarcasm dripping off his voice, "I think you're in our way," "So it's true," She glares harder at her sons, "You both really have turned traitor," Kobra and Party hold their heads up high, but Sandman doesn't miss the wince that flashes across Party's."Fraid so, Mrs. Way," Ghoul pipes up and Sandman almost slaps him for talking, not a good time, "Full blooded traitors," "I can't say I'm surprised," She drawls, ignoring Ghoul's comments, "You two were always disappointing, failures, little Gerard always covering for Mikey, lying pitifully, refusing to take his medicine," "Still not as much of a failure as your attempts at being a mother," Kobra bites out, cold, and meets his mother's gaze defiantly. Sandman squeezes his hand. There's a flicker of regret in the woman's eyes, but it could have been Sandman's imagination. He can feel Patrick stiff next to him, and Jet, has a hard stare on his normally cheerful face, "Such a shame," She coos, eyes going hard, "It will be a pain having to find new heirs when the old ones are dead," Sandman moves on instinct, tackling Kobra, Ghoul, and Party to the ground as one of the soldiers next to their mother fires off a shot. The other three hit the ground in time, but Sandman bites back a cry of pain as a shot hits his arms. He shakes it out, and ignores the blood on his sleeve as he pulls his own gun out. "Good to know we can shoot to kill," Kobra bites out bitterly, and Sandman just wants to hold him and let him cry, but first they have a battle to win. The ache in his arm is dulling as they turn to face the soldiers of BL/Ind and he dimly hears Ghoul ask Party what the plan is before his head starts spinning and he hits the ground, world fading out. The last thing he hears is Kobra's startled shout as he hits the pavement. Fuck.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

They're trying to contact Dr. D. Joe's trying to use the radio while Halsey hovers nervously over his shoulder. They're all tense and Andy is sitting next to Brendon as Brendon taps desperately at his keyboard trying to get into BL/Ind's security systems. It's harder than usual and Brendon would be having fun doing this if he wasn't trying to see if his friends were dead yet. Fun. Joe sighs in frustration behind him and Andy stands up and walks over to him. Brendon can hear him muttering something about taking a turn at the radio as he types frantically. Halsey puts a hand on his shoulder, snapping him out of his hyper focus, "Take a break," She instructs him and Brendon glares up at her. "Not until I know they're okay," He insists, and Halsey glares back at him. "You can't be any good to them if you give yourself carpal tunnel trying to hack BL/Ind Brendon," Joe adds to the conversation. Brendon turns a wounded look to him, "I've got a little experience with this, enough to make sure that nothing will go drastically wrong if you go get a snack," Joe stares him down until Brendon shrugs in defeat. He stands from his chair, becoming aware of just how long he had been sitting hunched over his keyboard, and walks to the small kitchen. There are sandwich standing in a neat stack on a plate on the counter and Brendon blinks back a tear of frustration at the reminder of the people he desperately needs to know are okay. He grabs a sandwich from the top of the pile before he moves back to his chair. He sits, shoving Joe out of the chair, sticks his sandwich in his mouth before resuming his typing. He's so close and he knows it won't belong before all he has to do is scan through the different cameras. The cameras finally come into view, the quality grainy and grey, but there nonetheless. Brendon whoops and Halsey jumps over from watching Andy mess with the radio to stare at the computer, her face inches away from his. Joe comes to stand on his other side as they begin to look through the footage. "Try to search the outskirts," Halsey instructs, "Look for any conflicts, God knows those idiots won't be able to pull this off with out causing a scene," Her tone is ridiculously fond. "True," Brendon huffs, typing again, the images shifting to a far sketchier looking scene. He spots what looks like a drug deal in one screen before he's shifting away again. This time he lands on a group of alleys, the shadows making it hard to see what's happening, but he can't see any people in the frames, so he switches again. "More alleys," Joe mutters, "They must have been really committed to the whole shady alley deals will happen here idea when they designed it," "Why would they have designed places for illicit activities to happen?" Andy pipes up from the radio and Joe shrugs in the corner of Brendon's eye. "Just trying to lighten the mood," He grins, ignoring the mutter from Andy that clearly indicate his failure. Brendon has to agree with Andy. Brendon scans through about fifty more alleys before he finds something that looks promising. There's a group of BL/Ind agents making their way somewhere rapidly, and Halsey snaps to attention, "Can you follow them?" She demands, stabbing the screen with her finger. "You bet," Brendon mutters, typing again. They follow the soldiers through a few frames before they find the scene where the action is. There's stretchers outside of a building, Dracs and S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/Ws laying on them, "I think we found the tunnel exit," He comments."Search the area around, see if you can find any thing else that says where they've been," Halsey tells him, and Brendon would be offended at someone telling him what to do, but at this point he knows that they're both so worried about their friends that he lets it slide. Just this once. He scans again, and there's nothing until he spots a group of very clearly not BL/Ind employees sneaking out of a building, not far away from the tunnel, "That's them," Joe snorts, "I'd recognize Sandman's angry stomping anywhere," Halsey elbows him, but she nods at Brendon, indicating that she agrees they've found their idiots.Brendon zooms in on the image that they want, following them through the city. It takes them a ridiculously short amount of time before they run into trouble. Fucking typical. There's a woman standing in their path and all they can do is watch through the screen as their friends draw up short, "Any way we can get audio?" Halsey asks Brendon, who just shakes his head. There's a few moments of still, the parties staring at each other before it happens. There's a blurry moment of motion, they watch as one person tackles two others out of the way, Brendon can make out the shots flying on the screen. The others duck into cover and the three stand shakily and Brendon and company watch in mute horror as one of them collapses. Typical. Fucking idiots. "Andy," Halsey speaks, her voice tight and worried, "We really need that back up now," "I'm working on it," Andy hisses back, "What's with the sudden rush?" Right. Andy's not watching this play out in front of him. "One of the idiots went and got themselves shot," Brendon replies, eyes still glued to the screen. "Alrighty then," Andy grimaces, "I think I've got it," Halsey and Joe spin around immediately rushing to his side, but Brendon stays stock still, watching. They've managed to get the downed player to cover, and someone Brendon assumes is Party is taking out BL/Ind soldiers with deadly accuracy while the others try to cover themselves. Loud radio static suddenly fills the air and Brendon claps his hands over his ears. He keeps his eyes on the screen and waits for the next big move. The two have managed to drag the wounded into an alley way and Brendon toggles to another camera, seeing if he can get a better view of what's happening.  There's another camera closer to the alley and Brendon can't see all that well, but its better than the other one and he manages to make the fact that it was Sandman who got shot. Party and Kobra are hovering over him and the others aren't in the same alley as the rest of them. Brendon quickly scans back to the larger picture and sees the rest of the group in an alley across from the one the trio are in. Brendon watches anxiously as Party covers their alley as the others dash to them madly and Kobra shakes Sandman like a fucking rag doll until he comes to. The static in the background fades away in Brendon's head as he watches his friends defending their position in the alley until out of no where another group of people come into the alley. They help take out the BL/Ind henchmen and once they finish with that one of them moves to help Kobra with Sandman. Brendon sighs in relief and he comes back to the room a little bit calmer. He notices that Halsey has returned to hovering over his shoulder and when she notices he's back to paying attention to the outside world she puts a hand on his shoulder and squeezes. It's not as bad as he thought it would be, and the gesture is grounding. He manages to spin his chair around, trusting that Halsey will keep watching and let him know if anything major happens. Hopefully nothing would. Joe and Andy are staring at the radio and Brendon watches for a short while before he makes himself to walk over to them and help with the radio. They're scanning through the different channels trying to find the one that' s written on the piece of paper clutched in Andy's hand and when they manage to find it music starts faintly playing through the speaker.Brendon scoops up the radio instantly, a little bit frantic and manic in the way he says, "Hello?", barely breathing, hoping that the message would go through. The music on the other end of the line cuts and Brendon is about to yell in frustration when another voice cuts through, rough and low, but its fucking there and hell if that isn't all that really matters to him right now, "Who is this?" Brendon sees Joe and Andy exchanging high fives and Halsey takes the radio from him, gently pushing him back to sitting in his chair."This is the Underground," She says plainly, voice calm but Brendon can see the tension in her shoulders, "This is Halsey speaking,""This is Dr. D," The voice on the other end replies, less gruff at the mention of Halsey's name "What can I do for you today?""How about double slider blt with a side of fish sauce, double fry large, triple raspberry smoothie with chocolate chips, and a gallon of fish and chips, fish preferably alive," Halsey answers, looking amused, nauseous, and anxious all at once. Brendon's impressed by the code. It'd be pretty damn hard to imitate that. "Confirmed," Dr. D replies, "What do you need Underground?" "We think we've got a chance to take down BL/Ind," Halsey replies, speaking quickly, "But we'll need your help to do it. We've got people here, but I don' t know how many of them i can count on to help us fight," She winces and Brendon remembers that a lot of the probably think she's sold out, what with her abandoning them suddenly,  "A lot of the people here just want to exist." She finishes, voice strained. "I'll send out the word to the joy's," Dr. D replies, barely concealed joy in his voice and Brendon watches as Halsey's shoulders slump in relief, "When and where?" He continues."The main entrance to Battery," Halsey spits out quickly, "And as soon as you can get people in, we've got a team inside now who were on a rescue mission for a friend inside who was about to get his cover blown, but it went south, but they do have people on the inside helping apparently though," There's a brief moment of silence, "They did it," Dr. D sound impressed, and Brendon's not even surprised that he knows who they're talking about. His voice makes him sound like someone who just knows everything, "We'll be there as soon as possible, I can't promise everyone will turn out, but it sounds like this is our best shot, with both of the way boys in the city they're sure to have their best and brightest on the job.""Stay in touch if you can," Halsey replies, a steely glint in her eye that Brendon would be scared of if they weren't on the same side now, "We'll update you if anything major happens," "Roger that," Dr. D says, "This is Dr. Death Defying going dark for a minute on this channel," Halsey sets the radio down and almost immediately Brendon remembers about their friends in the city and forgets about the revolution they might be about to win. He spins back to his console and sighs in relief as he sees that the group hasn't moved. He counts and sees that their little group is now up two members the rest of the saviors having vanished. Sandman's up and about again and Brendon grins at the screen, he'll give him a hard time about worrying them like that when they get back. They're going to be alright, they are going to win. Brendon pushes his chair back and stands, grinning at the others. Right now he has to start a rebellion, starting with the folks in the Underground.= = = Halsey leaves Brendon and Andy in their hideaway and she makes sure that she's got her gun before they make their way back to her office. The get a few glances thrown towards her and Joe, but nothing so much that she thinks they're going to be stormed before they get to the PA system. Halsey storms into her secretary area, she's not particularly sure what it is and doesn't look at Kenzie's seat. She won't look, the memory haunting her. The same group of people she'd yelled at maybe five maybe eight hours ago, who the hell knows, are still sitting in the room and they all jump up when she enters. "Where the hell have you been?" One of them hisses, "We've got a load of people claiming there's free food, there's rumours that you sold out to BL/Ind, and to top it off you told us that you sold Joys to Korse and then fucking ditched us?" The voices clamor for attention, getting louder and louder.Halsey holds up her hand, trying to stop the torrent of questions heading her way, "I'll explain in a minute, if you would just give me a second to speak," She lowers her hand, "Thank you," She says before continuing."It was a distraction," She explains, "I had an operative in battery who was in danger of being exposed and in order to sneak the joys into the city we had to raise a little hell. I didn't actually sell them to Korse that was just red herring i had to cause some chaos which was what the song was about too," She takes a breath, "because a persons life quite literally depended on it," she says all of this in one breath before she continues, blinking away memories of Patrick.She ignores the still coming questions and keeps talking over them, "Since then we have discovered that this may be an opportune time to take down BL/Ind once and for all," She tells them, the group finally falling silent at that, "We have a team in the city, and the Joys have agreed to work with us to take down BL/Ind, I know that we will have to reveal ourselves, " Halsey says calmly looking in turn to each of the confused faces, "But to take down BL/Ind i think it would be worth it, don't you?" She stops talking and the one from before speaks again, "How do we know that we can trust you?""You don't," Halsey replies grimly, "I certainly haven't given you much reason to as of late, but even if this was a set up if you had a decent enough sized group together you would be able to do some damage and get out with minimal casualties," The others are considering her point and Joe speaks up, "It's true," He backs her up and Halsey is glad that she's regained his trust, "We talked to Dr. D himself via radio and we really do have a team on the inside," Or at least sort of inside, Halsey tells herself, the outskirts of Battery count as inside.It's hard to sit and wait for their decision when Halsey lets them go off to make a decision in her office, but she's smart and removes the phones before she lets them in, they can't trust her and that goes two ways. She sits in Kenzie's chair and spins idly, taking in her scent lingering while Joe stands by and bounces on his toes, hair jumping with him. They come back out before too long and Halsey stands to attention as they come back out, "We're in," Their appointed leader speaks, "We don't really have a reason to trust you, but we need to take down BL/Ind especially since they know of the Underground, it's better to help take them down now then sit and wait for them to get us," The group nods in agreement and Halsey lets out the breath she'd been holding."Thank you," Halsey drops her head before looking back up to them, a resolve settling in her bones, "You won't regret this," "What do we need to do?" One of them asks and Halsey thinks for a second, to be honest she wasn't sure they'd get this far. "Get your crews together and spread the word," She decides, "In two hours we move on BL/Ind hopefully for the last time, make sure that they shoot to stun anyone who isn't a high ranking BL/Ind official, a lot of the people are brainwashed," She finishes, making sure they understand her last point."Understood," the group rushes to listen and their leader stays for a second, looking back at Halsey with a glare "You haven't done us dirty before," She tells Halsey, "I think that we really do have a chance, but if we don't-" she lets it hang in the air. Halsey understands the meaning, and so does Joe by the look he gives her out of the corner of her eye as she keeps talking."Then you get first dibs on me," Halsey promises. The girl nods before she follows the rest of the group out of the door. Hasley collapses back in the chair, running a hand through her hair and sighing. "Better than expected," Joe grins at her, blatantly ignoring the fact she'd just signed her death certificate if they fail, and she's glad for his confidence in them, "Shall we get back to our room before they change their minds?" Halsey smiles tiredly at him. "I think we'd better get armed to the teeth first," She tells him, waving him into her office before shoving her book case and revealing a small room full of weapons. She ignores the fact that Kenzie had been the one to suggest hiding them here. They grab what they can carry and set the rest out in the entry way if anyone comes looking for guns. They run back out into the hallway and Halsey is pleasantly surprised to see the Underground humming with activity. People are visibly armed and calling out for each other, grabbing supplies and running around. A group runs past her, stopping in front of her, "Where are we going to attack ma'am?" One of them asks her and Halsey takes a moment to respond, the shock of being called a ma'am a little much. "Main entrance to Battery," Joe tells the group, picking up when Halsey fails to speak, "We should go in cars, spread the word," They nod at him before dashing off and shouting. Joe turns to Halsey, "Ready?" "As I can be," She nods to him, forcing the dread down, "Let's do this shit," They run back to the room, loaded down with guns and Halsey bangs on the door until Andy opens the door, an inquisitive and slightly annoyed eyebrow raised, "We did it," Joe confirms as Halsey rushes into the room to go back to looking at the screen with Brendon. He's followed the group to the edges of Battery and he's relaxed since they left. She takes this as a sign that nothing has gone majorly downhill in the last fifteen minutes."You good?" Brendon asks her, and she summons her best grin like she isn't nervous as all get out at the upcoming events."Just fine," She replies, refusing to meet his perceptive eyes, "You?"Brendon shrugs, "Give me a gun and we'll see in three hours?" He smiles at her. "That I can do," She snarks, handing him a couple and watching as he studies the gun, "We said stun unless it's a recognized member of the higher ups," Halsey informs him and he nods. She turns back to Joe and Andy, "Are you guys ready?" "I'll get the car keys," Andy tells her, he's tied his hair back and Joe's doing the same, when he sees her looking he tosses her a hair tie and she throws her hair up in a ponytail, making sure it won't slip in the coming action. "I'll braid it for you in the car," Joe offers and Halsey nods to him before taking a last look around the room and stepping out the door.Brendon leaves his computer with a last look before he moves to join them at the door, "Let's do this," He tells them and Andy leads them out the door, setting the pace at a quick jog as they head for the garage. They move through the crowds and Halsey answers as many of the questions about the attack as she can as they run. They reach the garage quickly and Halsey shakes her head at Sandman and Kobra's iconic car, the idiots hadn't even bothered painting it since they'd left. Andy slides into the drivers seat and Halsey jumps up on the hood, whistling at the crowd gathered. When they fall silent and the last few people slip in through the door they turn to her as she takes a deep breath before speaking, "I know I have some explaining to do," She starts and a low murmur of agreement runs through the crowd, although they fall silent when she raises her hands placatingly."I'm not here to make excuses," She tells them, keeping her tone neutral and face soft,  "I'm here to plot the overthrow of BL/Ind, but since I understand that you don't particularly have a reason to trust me right now, and we've got time to kill," She grins and some people smile in the crowd, not a lot, but some, "I might as well explain," And so she talks. Halsey tells them about a girl who met two boys who fell in love and how they left her behind.She tells them about Kenzie, about her smiles and she tells them about how she died. Talks about how Korse had forced her hand. She tells them about finding her friends again after throwing them in jail and a few people laugh when she tells them about being tied up and stunned. She tells them about the smoke bombs and about finding a song to play, tells them about eating sandwiches and pining idiots she hopes will be okay. She talks for what seems like forever until she finishes. Her voice is going hoarse and she lets her story settle for a few seconds before continuing, "So that's everything," She looks at the crowd, "You don't have to trust me, not completely," She begs them at this point, hoping someone understands, "But please trust that I wouldn't set my friends up to go into a massacre," A murmur runs through the crowd, she doesn't know if it's a positive or negative, hopes for good, "I am under no illusions that all of us are coming back," She tells them and she can see the acceptance in their eyes, "So I wouldn't blame you if you back out, but know this," She tells them, hardening her words, making eye contact, "We have a chance today to take down BL/Ind once and for all, to end the oppression, hit them where it hurts." She leaves it at that, and she's ready to watch people run, to see them flee back into the Underground, but not a soul moves. Her brave people stand in front of her and she grins proudly on the inside."We've sat around long enough," Someone in the crowd yells, "To hell with being sitting ducks! Down with BL/Ind!" Some one else yells. There are yells of agreement and the crowd takes up the chant. Halsey feels the energy in the room grow and smiles, hope filling up her chest."We're with you," Someone near the front tells her and she looks down, meeting the eyes of a young girl with fiery hair and a ridiculous number of weapons, "Back up or not we can at least make a dent," Halsey smiles before she draws the crowds attention back to her. "So who's ready to kick some BL/Ind ass?" She yells and everyone cheers, "Let's roll out!" She tells them and the engines whine as they pull out of the garage. She listens to the echoes for a second before relaxing her shoulders. She climbs off of the hood and sinks into the back seat, "Nice speech," Brendon tells her, offering a fist bump. "Thanks," Halsey tells him, grinning tightly, nerves coiling in her stomach as Andy peels out of the garage. The desert sun is hot and Halsey puts a hand on her gun and looks out the window as Joe braids her hair gently. Now or never, she tells herself and pictures Kenzie's smile on last time before she focuses on the fight at hand. They've got a job to do.= = = They sit in a conference room, looking out at the desert. Korse stands, hands behind his back as he paces in front of the window. "We're getting reports of raised Killjoy activity," One of his underlings speaks, and they shrink back into their seat as Korse turns to glare at them. "I am aware," He hisses at them, "You've told me the same thing everyday for the last year, they just keep multiplying," "My apologies," The underling speaks and Korse ignores him. "What of our hold on the Underground?" He asks, sun glaring on his white outfit. "Gone," Mrs. Way speaks, voice cold, "Killing that girl was rash, and you cost us an asset," "I did what had to be done," Korse turns, growling at her, "She was turning the asset against us,""You caused an even bigger problem is what you did," Way tells him coldly, her glare icy and pointed, "Be happy it wasn't more of an issue," "It is hardly an issue," Korse yelled at her, face going red, "I know what I need to do, don't you dare tell me otherwise." "Then how do you explain how you haven't received reports from the Underground in over 15 hours?" She asks him and he freezes for a moment. "We don't need them," Korse snarls at her and stalks forward. He slams his hands on the table, "WE don't need the filthy rats who hide from conflict and the sun," Spit drips down his chin and Way meets his gaze cooly. "Would you give us a moment?" She asks the underling who nods and practically sprints out of the room. "What are you doing?" Korse demands, stepping closer. "You have served us well Korse," She replies smoothly, unfolding her hands from the table, "But you are wrong, we need the Underground, however," She pauses, tipping her head to the side in cool consideration, "We do not need you," Korse laughs at her. He's still laughing when she shoots him. It's a single shot to the head and she neatly sets the gun on the table with manicured hands. She walks out of the room and the underling standing by the door snaps to attention, "Ma'am," They start and she holds up a hand. "There is a situation that needs to be taken care of," Way informs them coldly, "See to it," Before stalking away. "Yes ma'am," They mutter, pushing open the conference room door, not pausing at the sight of the body before radioing in for help, "We need a clean up crew in conference room 103," A pause, "Yes the kind that handles dead bodies," They turn off the radio before carefully picking up the gun and tucking it away. With a final look towards Korse they turn and walk calmly out of the room. The problem would be taken care of. The gun would be disposed of. Korse would never be spoken of again.And hopefully if the rumours they'd heard were true from the outskirts BL/Ind would soon cease to be a problem.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Ghoul had hear Kobra's cry of frantic worry when Sandman had gone down. He'd barely had time to look in their direction before he'd been pulled in the other direction by Jet. Patrick's with them and Jet's got a hold on him too keeping him from running out into the fight. "You can't help him if you get fucking shot," Ghoul hisses at Patrick, grabbing at his other arm, "Wait until they can give us cover to get to them,"Patrick glares at him, but he stops straining against them like a dog whose just seen a horde of squirells with peanutbutter covered tennis balls. Ghoul lets him go and directs his attention back to their friends across the street. Hopefully Jet can keep a hold on their friend. Kobra's bent over Sandman muttering furiously to himself, shaking his shoulders. Party's covering the two, casting occasional worried glances at the two and at their alley. He's also shooting the BL/Ind agents with deadly precision and Ghoul can see his eyes scanning for a new threat. He wonders what it would take to shut that mind off. Patrick lets out a choked sob in Jet's grip when Sandman opens his eyes. Ghoul manages to get off a few shots as Party helps Kobra drag Sandman into the alley opposite theirs. The BL/Ind soldiers just keep coming though. Ghoul thinks that they're about to be overwhelmed, there's no way their blasters can keep going, it's a miracle they've lasted this long, there's a sea of white separating the alleys and he can't see the others. The BL/Ind soldiers are closing in aorund them, and Ghoul is almost desperate enough to try one of the smoke bombs that he’d snuck into Battery with him before their master plan had gone south. He’s not quite that desperate though, he knows it’s a bad idea, even if he just wants to see the expressions of the BL/Ind soldiers when they blow up.Patrick has tears tracking down his face and Ghoul still can’t see across the alley to check in on his friends. He grits his teeth and gets off a few more shots before he pulls back further into the alley, dragging Jet and Patrick with him to a better cover spot.“What are we going to do?” Jet asks Ghoul, who starts, but in his defense he is very unused to being put in charge of situation since his usual go to is just to blow shit up. “What can we do?” Patrick asks bitterly and Ghoul internally agrees with him, but BL/Ind can go out to the desert and fuck a vulture corpse for hours before he’d even think abot going out with a fight. And preferably several cool explosions in the background, he’s thought this through before.“Heard you might need a hand,” Two kids pop out of the alley, and Ghoul says kids, but they look the same age as Brendon, who is actually younger than him, so yeah, they’re kids. They’re at least armed, and as they hunker in the alley they hand new ray guns to all three of them, which is helpful“That would be great,” Jet thanks the two, who have yet to introduce themselves. “Who are you exactly?” Ghoul asks, and the two look up at him, bandanas covering the lower halves of their faces.“I’m Tyler and he’s Josh,” The shorter of the two introduces himself. Ghoul feels a flicker of recognition at the names, but it’s Jet who makes the connection. “You two work the outskirts of Battery right?” Jet asks and Tyler breaks into a grin. “Yup, that’s us,” Josh agrees, he’s taking pot shots at the BL/ind soldiers as they talk and Ghoul joins him, letting Jet take the talking role.“I’m Jet, and this is-” Jet starts, but Tyler and Josh interrupt and talk over each other. “Oh we know,” Tyler starts. “Y’all are kind of famous here,” Josh continues, “The two of us have all of your wanted posters,” Ghoul blinks, a little taken aback and flattered, “Thanks, but we’ve got a situation here,” Patrick reminds them. “Yessir,” Tyler and Josh chorus and Ghoul ignores them in favor of shooting people, they seem nice enough though, and they brought guns, which gives them an A in his class, if he was a teacher, which he isn’t.“We need to get to our friends across the street,” Jet tells the pair and they nod in unison. “On three,” Patrick tells them, a new resolve in his voice. Probably his face too, but Ghoul can’t see that at the moment. “Three,” Ghoul yells, tired of waiting and as he starts shooting and making his way across the alley he can hear Jet muttering something under his breath about irresponsible idiots named Ghoul who can’t count to three. Ghoul has no idea who that means.The five of them make it to the others easily now that their fire power has almost doubled and Sandman is leaning on Kobra as Party helps to cover their dash to them. “Good to see you finally joined the Party,” Ghoul grins at Party, who makes a face at the awful pun, but he doesn’t tell Ghoul to shut up, which he counts as a win in his book. “This is Tyler and this is Josh,” Jet tells them as they take out the rest of the BL/Ind soldiers, Party and Kobra’s mom has dissapeared and Ghoul watches for Party to put his gun away, trusting the other to have better eyes for the situation than he does. “Can you get us out of here?” Party turns to Tyler and Josh, taking control of the situation, which Ghoul admittedly thinks is kind of hot. The two nod and Party gestures with his hands out of the alley, “Then what are we waiting for?” “Alright,” Tyler grins, taking off at a jog with Josh by his side, and Ghoul shares a grin with Party before pulling his mask down over his face when he hears them mutter something about how cool it is that they get to guide a group of highly wanted Killjoys through the edge of Battery. “We sure this is a good idea?” Kobra asks, half dragging Sandman as they move. “They saved our asses back there,” Party shrugs, somehow not tripping as they jog and he looks around. Ghoul would be jealous if he didn’t think it was just another ridiculously unfair about the dude that made him hotter, “And as far as I know if Brendon’s information was correct then they should be pretty open to joining the cause, ““I think they already have,” Ghoul adds, more out of breath than he would care to admit, “They have our wanted posters,” Party raises an eyebrow in a manner that reminds of Kobra’s looks, “Think they have mine?” “If you have one then probably,” Sandman grinds out as they move and Kobra hushes him and Ghoul watches as Sandman glowers at Kobra.“I don’t doubt it,” Patrick grins, in a better mood now that Sandman isn’t lying on the pavement, and honestly, Ghoul thinks, what a mood. Sandman shakes off Kobra’s worried arm and starts to jog on his own, “It was just a stun,” He reminds them and they follow after the two, who are jumping over a fence now and Ghoul watches as party numbly scales the fence, before he has to haul himself over the fence and hope for the best. Party very kindly doesn’t laugh just offers him a hand up as he tumbles to the ground from the top of the fence. His hands are cool and Ghoul doesn’t want to let go as they keep going so he doesn’t. Party again doesn’t say anything, but he squeezes Ghoul’s hand lightly and Ghoul can see a dusting of pink covering his cheeks under his mask. Ghoul’s own face is probably pink under his mask, but no one can see him so what does it matter. They reach a series of tents and Josh and Tyler wave them inside with them. There’s a few other people sitting around, cleaning weapons and it makes Ghoul homesick for the diner. “You guys can stay here as long as you need to,” Tyler tells them, settling on a bed and waving his hand around. “Thanks,” Kobra tells him, before leading their group into an unoccupied corner of the tent and Goul notes the defensive nature of the spot. They can see the door and their backs aren’t to any one of the strangers in the tent. They all sit down and Sandman leans softly onto Kobra, a hand on Patrick’s knee as if to remind him that he’s still there. Jet pulls out the radio and Ghoul grins at him. He turns it on and several of the tent’s occupants look over at the sudden burst of noise.“Come in Underground,” Jet says into the speaker and Ghoul waits. “This is us,” Brendon’s voice crackles back, “How are things going, we saw that things got a little hairy on the security cameras,”“We’re all good here,” Jet tells Brendon, and Ghoul pulls his mask off, it was getting stuffy. “Well there’s been a change of plans here,” Halsey cuts in, “Dr. D and us decided that it’s now or never, so we’re all on our way to you,” “When you say all?” Jet questions and Ghoul agrees, all is a very broad term when it’s not specified what it’s all of.“I mean Underground and Killjoys rolled into a package deal,” Halsey confirms and Ghoul grins, they might actually stand a chance. “I think we could get some additional support here in Battery,” Jet responds, and Ghoul looks around the tent to notice the others listening in and nodding in support, “How far out are y’all?” “We’re about forty five minutes away from out rendezvous with the Joys,” Halsey replies, “An hour and fifteen from attack probably,” “That’ll work,” Jet smiles, looking around at the others, anticipation growing, “Where are we meeting?” “Main road into Battery,” Halsey tells them, “Think you slow pokes can make it in time?” She teases and Ghoul watches Party’s face light up, as he lets out a huff of laughter.  Cute. “Can you?” Jet replies and Halsey’s laugh comes clear through the radio. “See you then,” She tells them, “Stay safe as you can,” “No promises,” Jet tells her before he switches off the radio and looks around to the others again, the gravity of what they’re about to attempt catching up with them. Tyler and Josh have made their way over to sit with them and Tyler looks ready to jump out of his seat in anticipation. “You all heard that?” Party stands up, directing his attention to everyone in the tent, “We’re about to fight BL/Ind hopefully for the last time, any one want in?” “We do,” Tyler and Josh chorus, and Party grins at them. “Me too,” A couple of the others in the tent chorus and Ghoul watches as Party nods at each one of them in thanks. “What the hell,” One of the tent people throws their hands up, “Not like I had anything else planned today,” A few of the others agree and eventually all of the people in the tent have agreed. “Spread the word,” Party directs them, “Everyone you can, doesn’t matter if Bl/Ind finds out, at this point I’m guessing they’re already somewhat aware of the plan anyway,” People nod before slipping away and eventually only Tyler and Josh remain, “Anything else we can do?” Party gives them an appraising look, with a focus that Ghoul wishes was directed at him. “You have more weapons?” Party asks, and Tyler nods, “Then make sure that everyone’s armed,” Party directs them, “We don’t need anyone going in empty handed,” The two nod in agreement before slipping out of the tent with a promise that they’d be back in time to take them to the meeting point. Party sits back down and sags into Ghoul’s side with out preamble. Ghoul drapes an arm over his shoulder and leans his head on top of Party’s. He ignores Kobra’s look, it’s not like he can talk he’s doing the same thing with Sandman. He blinks his eyes shut and resolves to get a couple minutes of shut eye before they go and topple an oppressive regime. Fun times. = = = Halsey’s buzzing in her seat as Joe braids her hair. The adrenaline is finally kicking in and she doesn’t quite know how to feel about the prospect that in 24 hours BL/Ind might not exist any more. SHit, she hasn’t even thought about like government stuff and resources and she stops that train of thought right before it derails and sends her into a panic attack. She focuses on Joe’s hands in her hair and breaths. First they have to take down BL/Ind. Not too hard right? Halsey thinks, slightly deliriously. Hopefully Dr. D is able to get the word out to everyone that he can and they aren’t going into this with little to no backup except for what ever people their crew in Battery has managed to find. Not that she doubts their ability, they’re just not known for their ability to plan on a short notice. Ahead of them the cars are slowing to a stop in the middle of the desert as they reach the coordinates that Halsey and Dr. D had set as a meeting point. She notices with a little flicker of hope that there are more cars than she remembers leaving the garage, so hopefully the Killjoys have decided to show. They join the group of parked cars and Halsey exits after Joe takes a moment to tie the end of the braid up. She pulls her gun out of the seat pocket where she’d stashed it and sticks it in her holster. Joe and Andy flank her as she leads their little group towards a van that matches the description that Dr. D had given her. A man steps out of the van and Halsey’s only thought is that he looks exactly like he sounded on the radio. Another person, on skates climbs out and skates over to them quickly. Halsey nods in greeting, but they don’t waste time with greetings, they have a war to win. “Dr. D,” The man says, sticking out a hand as they get near and Halsey shakes, dipping her head in greeting. “Halsey, Joe, Andy, and Brendon,” She introduces their group and tips her head, “So what’s out play? Guns blazing?”Dr. D tips his head back, “Seems like out only option at this point, though BL/Ind is likely to outnumber and outgun us,” “So we get Ghoul to blow some shit up,” Joe jumps in, “That’s probably what he’s best suited to do in the upcoming fight. “True,” The skater agrees, “I’m Show Pony,” They skate another circle around the group and Halsey nods a greeting. “We can work on getting word to Ghoul that he should start preparing bombs,” Joe says, holding out his hand for the radio, which  Halsey hands over. “Tell Party that we want him playing sniper,” Dr. D adds and Halsey nods, she hasn’t had the opportunity to see his shooting but the others had mentioned it. The desert sun beats down on them and Dr. D and Halsey gather their troops together. Halsey climbs on top of a van and Show Pony hands her a megaphone, “Thanks,” Halsey tells them before whistling loudly to gain the groups attention and holding up her megaphone. “Listen up,” She tells the Joys and Undergrounders, “We’ve got a good chance, but we need some strategy out side of just shooting shit. Dr. D and I have decided that we’re going to attack in three waves, send one of your crew to talk to Show Pony here,” Halsey points at them, “And they’ll tell you your assignment,” The crowd mutters and Halsey holds up a hand for quiet. “We plan on going five minutes apart, backing up each other and as soon as the replacement group shows up you get out and recharge your guns, you’ll hopefully be able to get about seven minutes down time,” “Are we clear?” Halsey asks and the crowd cheers, “Now form a line for your groups and we’ll get going in about forty five minutes to Battery,” She jumps off the hood of the van and hands the megaphone to Dr. D as Show Pony is already swamped with people clamoring to be first. He nods to her and she moves back to her group of three, “We’re the first group,” Halsey tells them and Joe nods. “We got word to Battery and Ghoul is going to target their weapons and leaders,” Andy explains, “And Party is going to work on covering out backs and taking out their leaders from above,” Joe adds on and Brendon nods in agreement, he’s subdued, like the nature of what they’re about to do is finally catching up with him. “It’s not too late to back out,” Halsey tells the three of them, but it’s mostly directed towards Brendon. He looks up and meets her eyes and shakes his head resolutely “We’ve come this far, right?” He says and Halsey is reminded again that he should be too young to fight in a war. But she also knows that he wouldn’t take it well if she tried to put him on the sidelines. “Do you think that if we get you to a computer that you can cause some havoc?” Joe asks him, clearly thinking along the same lines as Halsey and Brendon glares at him, “I’m not trying to sideline you,” Joe tells him, holding up his hands placatingly, “You’re just the best with tech that we have and I think that you would be of more use to us doing what you’re good at rather than getting shot at with the rest of us,” “Alright,” Brendon admits, “I can cause some chaos online,” Halsey nods, glad Joe had been able to talk him into staying out of the main fight, and admittedly she thinks that Brendon will be of more use to them on a computer than a gun.“Half an hour,” Show Pony yells, using the megaphone they’d reclaimed from Dr. D. Halsey looks at the people around them and hope grows in her stomach. She believes in them, even if they fail they’ll make a big enough dent in BL/Ind ranks that they should be able to take them down anyway. She sits with Joe, Andy, and Brendon and they eat a sandwich each, grateful that Jet had left them food. Halsey thinks that rebels they might be, cooks they are not. Halsey manages to keep the food down, but Brendon looks a little green around the gills and she tells him to go get some air before they leave. He walks a little way out into the desert, making sure to stay in line of sight with them. “Fifteen minutes,” Show Pony yells, the crowd around them dissipated, and Halsey looks to her friends. “Ready?” Andy grins, pulling his hair back and Halsey grins back, albeit a little shakily. They’re ready to take down BL/Ind once and for all. Joe leads the way to the car and hands the wheel to Andy, “We’ll try to get close to a building,” Andy tells Brendon, “But after that it’ll be up to you,” Brendon nods, hand on his hip. “Are we ready?” Dr. D calls from the top of the van and Halsey whoops with the rest of the crowd, “Let’s try not to die!!” Show Pony yells and there’s a smattering of laughter as the Joys and Undergrounds alike climb into their cars after saying goodbye to their friends in other cars. Halsey pushes down the thought that this is the last time that some of them will see each other. Andy starts the car and the cars shift to allow the first attack group to get to the front to leave. Halsey is ready for this, and their car peels away and leads the charge.The hum of the engines is soothing and Halsey almost lets herself imagine that they’re just driving around in the desert, but the tense posture of Joe and Andy in the front seat rids her of that notion. Halsey keeps a hand on her gun, drawing when the city begins to come into view. She shoots a reassuring look to Brendon, gently squeezing his shoulder and letting him lean into her touch for a moment. “Be safe alright,” Brendon tells them when they can see the hordes of BL/Ind soldiers standing in front of them. Halsey cranks her window down and gets ready to fire. “You too,” Joe tells Brendon, and Brendon unclips his seat belt. “I’m going to try and cut around their troops,” He tells them, “Slow down and I’ll just jump out,” Halsey doesn’t have time to protest before he throws the  door open and Andy slows enough for him to land in a roll and salute them before running into the dust cloud all of the cars are kicking up. Halsey leans out her window, gun outstretched and takes a deep breath before the shooting starts. She doesn’t know who gets off the first shot, them or BL/Ind, but she does know who’s responsible for the boom and large plume of flame that shoots into the sky, sending BL/Ind flying as the first wave of their attack hits. She starts shooting and Andy and Joe do the same. If they weren’t in a life or death situation she would take a moment to admire Andy’s steady steering of the car and shooting at the same time. They fire at BL/Ind picking down their numbers and Halsey feels the flames when one of their cars goes up in flames, Killjoys jump from the car and a group of cars covers them as they climb into other cars. There’s another explosion and Halsey watches as BL/Ind scrambles to recover from the boom. She keeps shooting and the sea of white starts to dissipate and before she knows it Andy’s pulling them out of the fight as the second wave catches up and picks up the fight for them. The shots fade in the distance and Halsey takes a moment to breath as she settles back into the seat, “Everyone good?” Joe asks, twisting around to look at her and Halsey nods, the adrenaline limiting her words, her only instinct fight or flight. Andy too confirms and they sit and wait for the second wave to start heading back so they can go to relieve the third group. Halsey checks her gun and makes sure that she’s ready to fight when they go back in. Andy restarts the engine and they lead their group back into action. Halsey looks at the number or cars they have now compared to the first charge, and surprisingly they only appear to have lost one or two. Halsey leans back out the window with her gun, ready to help end the fight. = = = It doesn’t take long for Party and Ghoul to slip away from the others as they go separate ways to help the fight in different ways. They stick to each other as they near the back of the BL/Ind forces, the killjoys and undergrounders already having started their fight, and Party won’t deny that he is impressed with how well they seem to be doing. Party is about to slip up to the top of a building that looks like it has a good view to start shooting when Ghoul grabs his arm. He looks at Ghoul, who’s pulled his mask up so you can see his face, Party follows suit and they look at each other. Ghoul seems to be weighing his option and Party waits, taking in the sight of the other’s face. Ghoul grabs his collar and pulls Party down to face level, Party doesn’t have time to ask what the hell he’s doing before Ghoul presses his lips to his and his brain stops. It doesn’t last long and Party imagines he looks rather dazed. He blinks at Ghoul who looks nervous, “Just be careful,” Ghoul whispers to Party, leaning their foreheads together. This time it’s Party who kisses Ghoul, “The same goes for you,” He tells Ghoul, grinning at Ghoul who seems estatic, “Don’t get rash because you get to blow shit up,” He warns and Ghoul kisses him again. This one is longer, but neither of them moves. “I’ll see you soon,” Party promises Ghoul, knocking their foreheads together before moving away. He trails his fingers along Ghoul’s arm and gives him a smile before pulling his mask back on and heading for the fire escape on the side of the building. He looks back once he’s two floors up and is glad to see that Ghoul’s moved on, no trace of either of them on the ground. He finishes climbing, and sprints to the edge of the building overlooking the fight. He catches a glimpse of a figure running behind BL/Ind lines in a blur of green. He grins before pulling out his gun and getting to work. He spots a vaguely familiar man yelling at troops in white and takes aim. The figure goes down and he ducks under the edge of the roof when some of the men he’d been commanding spin around to look. He peeks and sees that they’ve gone back to shooting at the cars and he looks for another to take out when Ghoul’s first explosion goes off, taking out a storage unit that he’d seen troops carrying weapons out of a minute ago. He finds another commander and repeats the same pattern as last time. He and Ghoul fall into a pattern, Party shooting and ducking, and Ghoul then causing a big enough distraction for his actions to be forgotten while the number of people milling around with out command grows larger and larger, before diminishing every time the cars wage a new wave of attacks. He can see his brother and the others causing havoc on the sidelines and he laughs when he sees Sandman deck a BL/Ind soldier in the face. He keeps firing until he thinks he’s gotten all of the higher ups and begins to pick off the troopers at the front who seems to be causing the most damage. He gets a lucky shot that ignites one of the bigger weapons they’d been using to blow up cars to self destruct and Ghoul continues to blow shit up in the background. After what seems like hours the remaining BL/Ind numbers lower their weapons and Party practically jumps off the last level of the fire escape in his rush to get to the ground action now that they’ve neared the end and he’s of more use not being a sniper. He meets up with Kobra who gives him a nod before they wade in together, stunning those left who haven’t surrendered and rounding up those who have. All of the cars have arrived now and Party sees Halsey, Joe, and Andy running towards them, “Where’s Brendon?” Sandman asks as they fight their way towards the last commander standing that Party had missed. “We sent him to be tech support,” Andy tells them, while cleanly taking out a soldier who was about to shoot another Joy. They nod to him in thanks before disappearing back into the fight. Party takes out about a dozen who haven’t put down their arms, and there are a few that have stripped their BL/Ind clothes and have clearly been fighting side by side with them for a while if the cuts and bruises are anything to go by, and it makes sense that Dr. D and Halsey had more spies than just Patrick in Battery. He catches occasional glimpses of Ghoul fighting on the other side of the crowd, mask still on and eventually they manage to coral the BL/Ind troops into a corner, their backs against a wall. The troops seem to be breaking their conditioning and more of them are lowering their weapons and joining their crowd until there’s just one familiar person left against the wall, still shooting. “Hi Mom,” Party calls out cockily and she turns to stare at him and Kobra, a vicious glare on her face. “Of course you two good for nothings are behind this,” She snarls at them, throwing her gun on the ground and raising her arms, “Go ahead then,” She tells them, “Might as well just shoot me now because I’m not surrendering,” Kobra has his gun up in a second and pointed at their mother’s heart. Party’s is up only a second after his brother’s. Kobra glances at him and they have a silent conversation with their eyes before Kobra steps back, gesturing for Party to take the lead on this one. “Not even going to kill me yourself,” His mother yells at Kobra, “I always knew you were a coward,” Party takes a step forward, pressing his mother up against the wall. “Don’t you dare,” He whispers to her, “Not after you tried to kill both of us,” He sticks the barrel of his gun into her ribs and stares her down, holding it there hard enough to bruise for a second, “But I’m not going to kill you,” He tells her, taking a step back and glaring at her, “And you know why?” He asks her, “Because I’m going to be better than you,” He whispers to her, and her eyes go wide before he stuns her. She slumps to the ground and Party throws his fist in the air, feeling triumphant, “Down with BL/Ind!” He yells and the chant takes hold and he takes this moment to remember. Ghoul pops up at his side, Sandman in the background tying up his mother, BL/Ind turncoats talking to Killjoys and Undergrounders. And Party thinks, that this is what they’ve been fighting for. The chance to prove that they will be better than BL/Ind and that things can get better, around them those who had been stunned earlier start to wake up. Party knows that their fight isn’t over yet, they still have folks to round up and laws to dismantle, but he believes in them. Ghoul takes his hand again and they lean together, “Proud of you,” Ghoul murmurs to him, and Party hums.“Those were some pretty great explosions,” He replies and they look out together, people are finding their friends, some looking through the ranks of the BL/Ind for familiar faces from before they left. Ghoul squeezes his hand and the look at each other. Party leans down and kisses Ghoul again, just because he can. He hears Sandman wolf whistle in the back ground and calls of finally, but the only thing he cares about is Ghoul. They’ll worry about the future later. They pull apart and Ghoul leads them towards their other friends. Halsey is leaning on Andy, but otherwise seems okay, she gives them a thumbs up and Party blushes. He watches Brendon come dashing out of a building with a grin and almost tackle Joe in a hug. Jet comes to stand next to them and smiles at them. “We did it,” Jet tells them, smiling again, almost in disbelief and Ghoul grins back, still holding Party’s hand. “Did we ever doubt that we would?” Ghoul asks, smile widening adorably as the others come to stand with them. There’s a chorus of yeses and Party laughs at them all. He didn’t doubt, not for a second. He’s so proud of this little family he’s found for himself.