They kept it together for their first show back. The crowd, after such a long hiatus on Dethklok's part, couldn't know about the Hell they'd gone through in order to reunite. The band posed as a team, bent on reclaiming the empire nearly lost.

Riding home in the Dethkopter illuminated the cracks in their facade though, just as Nathan dreaded. Stale air peeled the years back, to when life was a lot simpler. Nathan always thought the most difficult thing he'd ever have to deal with when they got famous was figuring out which order he wanted to fuck his groupies post-concert. Now look at them.

Shock still reverberated through their group at what they'd accomplished, without any of them dying to boot. Not yet, anyway. But don't think like that. Toki was home, and in this lull after the Revengencers' dispersion and Magnus' death, they should feel safe. Nathan wanted to, desperately. He'd love nothing more than to return to his life as an overindulged rockstar, fighting with his bandmates for the remote control in the hot tub every night and holding contests to see who could drink the most beer in five minutes. Was that ancient history now? Did he take such moments for granted?

Pickles opened a bottle of vodka as soon as they got off stage, Murderface and Skwisgaar had yet to speak, and Toki. . .Toki curled up like a lost puppy on the couch, facing the back but obviously not asleep since his breathing remained even and he didn't tremble. Twinkletits worked with him on razing away the nightmares—offered his services to all of them, to which they adamantly declined—but it was too soon to see any progress. Nathan couldn't stand it. He missed the old days far too much. Toki needed to return to his old dumb self so that the rest of them could end this stupid fucking sulk. Sometimes he forgot just how Toki transformed Dethklok with his initial admittance. The amount of dysfunction in that old apartment nearly forced them to kill each other before a catalyst for peace came along. Toki never cared if they called him gay or lame for remembering their birthdays, complimenting them on their respective talents, or peddling small, homemade gifts. He stubbornly insisted upon being the light in such a dark place, and fuck, they needed that.

And now they let that light go out, all because they were just a bunch of fucking babies who couldn't find their balls.

The Dethkopter lurched against Mordhaus' primary helipad as it landed and Toki bolted immediately, arms crossed tightly over his stomach. Before Nathan could follow, Murderface punched him in the arm. "Juscht leave the kid alone, geezsch. We got him out tonight, ischn't that enough?"

The frontman crossed his arms and peered down at the bassist. "Doesn't hurt to make sure he doesn't get fucking sloppy and go into a coma. What good was getting him home if he accidentally kills himself?"

"Oogh, cans we not talk about dis again?" Skwisgaar rubbed his stomach. "I amn'ts no doctors. . .but I t'ink we maybes just need a couple drink to comes down from de concort."

"Yeeuh." Pickles grinned crookedly. "Ya knoow, jest a couple. Like a priscription."

"It'sch good for our health! We're too wound up, guysch!"

Nathan's gaze floated in the direction their rhythm guitarist disappeared. Then his shoulders slumped as he discerned no possible way to disagree and not be called out on over-parenting. "Let's get some fucking booze."

On nights like this, Nathan couldn't even tell that Toki returned. While the guys initially showed excitement to loosen up in the hot tub, they could've been in mourning for all their energy. They left something behind in the building where Toki auditioned for them; perhaps Magnus already killed their youngest bandmate's spirit before they'd arrived. Toki floated through the hallways like a ghost and, by Nathan's experience, stared through all of them as if they too were nothing more than spectres lost to time.

The frontman mumbled some half-assed excuse about going to bed so that he could leave their grim gathering. Rather than stumble into his room and ditch his clothes again, he passed in lieu to knock on the Norwegian's door. "Toki. You awake?"

"Ja."

Nathan waited for an invitation, then shrugged before pushing the door open. The bedside lamp illuminated the younger man, still dressed from the concert, laying across his bed with his ankles crossed and fingers entwined over his stomach. He didn't acknowledge that someone entered his space.

"Uhhh. . ." Nathan bowed his head. Now that he stood here, he didn't really know what to say. "Good show tonight."

"Ja."

"You gonna get some sleep?"

Shrug.

Mind racing to earn some sort of reaction, Nathan stepped inside and rested the door on its frame. "So I've been thinking. Not very hard, but. . ."

He carried on when Toki showed no curiosity. "You've been bugging us forever to do Halloween. It's coming up next week. What do you say?"

"No thanks."

"What do you mean, no thanks? Toki, I'm talking like the whole fucking deal. Making the klokateers dress up and shit, going out and fucking getting candy—"

"I can'ts, with my diabetes."

"We'll make them give us the sugar-free shit."

"Is pretties gross."

"Then let's egg some douchebag's house."

Toki sighed and rolled away.

Nathan didn't put himself out there just to be ignored. Frustrated, he shook the rhythm guitarist's shoulder. "No, this is happening whether you like it or not. You've been moping around here like a fucking baby for too long. Get back to who you were. Fuck all that shit that happened. You're really gonna let Magnus decide who you—?"

"Gets the fuck out of heres." Toki sat up with a fiery deadness to his eyes. "I don'ts wish to takes part in you stupids Halloween, and franklies, you's being kinds of pathetics right now."

"Pathetic?" Nathan bared his teeth. "I'm not fucking pathetic! You're pathetic! You think laying around in here staring at your stupid fucking airplanes is going to fix anything?"

"You thinks throwing eggs is?" Toki shot back. "Just leaves me alone! I comes home, I be's in your stupids band, but nones of you are Toki's friend right now. You leaves me there to fuckings die because you guys was too scared, so maybes consider that I don'ts want anythings to do with you rights now. Anys of you. I'd rather stares at my airplanes than even looks at your stupids face."

Nathan clenched his fist, envisioning it colliding with Toki's chin, but he left before he could lose control of himself. Some klokateers would need to come fix the Norwegian's door though, after how hard he slammed it.