My eyes shot open once they closed back on Earth. It took me a moment to realize that I was . . . dead. Away from the terrifying, futuristic world that my planet had turned into.

I sat up, squinting my eyes against the bright sun, running my hand through my dyed, red hair. That was when everything flashed before me; me and the other Fabulous Killjoys speeding away in our old car from Korse and the rest of the BLI, rescuing Gracie countless times from them, and finally, rescuing her for the final time: The time that we were terribly out-numbered.

I stood up, a bit wobbly and dizzy. I blinked several times, smoothing out my blue leather jacket and dusting off my gray skinny jeans. As calm as I looked, I was trying my hardest not to go into panicking-and-freaking-out mode. Gerard,youcandothis.You'refreakin' PartyPoison!

That was when I began checking out my current surroundings. Really, the only thing that was around me was a grassy field with flowers here-and-there. It seemed like a countless ocean of plants, which was something that had long vanished back home. Home. That was where I was far away from. So far away that I knew that I could never go back, never see my friends, never drive the awesome car that we called our own, the one with the giant spider on the hood.

I missed that car, but not as much as I missed the other Killjoys: Frankie "Fun Ghoul" Iero, Ray "Jet Star" Toro, Mikey "Kobra Kid" Way, who was also my younger brother, and Gracie, the main reason for our rebellion against the Better Living Industries. And even if they were still alive, they were without me, their leader, and their front-man: Gerard "Party Poison" Way.

I began walking on shaky legs, tears welling in my eyes. I was scared, and I had no idea where I was. I at least knew that Korse had shot me, and I hadn't survived. Maybe it was a trick. Maybe it was a stun-gun, and I was still on Earth . . . but there really was no possible way.

I crossed my arms over my chest, suddenly feeling cold. I felt so lonely, like I needed someone to hold me, or at least be with me. "H-Hello?" I mumbled in a hoarse voice. Someone would have to hear me. I couldn't be the only soul in this unknown land . . . could I?

I stopped dead in my tracks as something momentarily blocked out the sun. I looked up to see a bat-winged shape gliding down, right towards me. This didn't look human, and I didn't really want to find out what it was. So I did what I had been doing for most of my life: I ran. Ran like hell, like I had an unfathomable amount of energy.

It was catching up fast. Was it possible for me to die again? I looked back. It had landed in the grass on two legs, and had begun chasing after me. "Wait!" It called.

I was about to look back, but I was stopped by a rock in the earth that decided to trip me. After landing in the grass with a loud thud, everything went silent. I was laying face-first in the ground, so I didn't see what was standing above me. I reached for my gun, which was holstered on a leather strap on my thigh. But, ironically, it was gone. I had no way to defend myself.

So I just lay in the grass, hoping that the monster decided to leave me alone. "Are you okay?" An oddly high-pitched voice asked.

I began to get up, my body beginning to feel weaker as I propped myself up on my hands and knees. "No, I'm not okay!" That was when I realized that who-ever had spoken was the monster that was chasing me.

I spun around to see a . . . person. He looked to be about my age, but with spiky, black hair, ocean-blue eyes, and a pair of silver glasses on his nose and a silver, bead-like piercing below his bottom lip. He was dressed in a purple-and-black striped shirt, with tight black jeans and black sneakers. "Who are you?" I screamed, obviously startled.

"Hey, calm down," He said, "My name's Jimmy. Welcome to the Afterlife."

"Wait . . . the Afterlife?"

"Yeah! Let me guess: you've just heard the news that you're dead?" Jimmy reached his hand out as he stood up, and I nervously reached forward, surprised at how strong he was as he lifted me up to my feet. I nearly had to look up to him, since he was so tall and lanky.

"Umm . . . yeah. I guess you could say that." I reached my hand forward. "My name's Gerard, by the way."

"Well, you already know me as Jimmy," He shook my hand, and I couldn't help but smile back as he grinned.

"So . . . this is the Afterlife?"

"Yeah, I think so." Jimmy began walking, and so I followed. "I don't think that this is actually Heaven. It's like a purgatory, ya know?"

"I see what you mean," I said, sticking my hands in my jacket pockets. "It looks more like Heaven. Doesn't really seem like an in-between. It's beautiful here."

"Yeah, but it wasn't really what I thought it was. I kind of imagined it like an airport, like in SouthPark."

"SouthPark? What's that?" I asked, really having no idea what he was talking about.

"WHAT? You have never seen SouthPark?" Jimmy stared at me like I grew an extra head.

"Yeah! Don't kill me, but TV's don't exactly exist anymore! Don't you remember? The BLI basically took over the world."

"What are you talking about?" I almost wanted to hug him; he looked like he learned about the death of a family member. Jimmy blinked a few times. "Gerard, what year did you die in?"

"2019."

Jimmy's jaw dropped. "Seriously? My time came in 2009."

Wow. That was when I realized what the problem between us was. "So . . . I died about ten years after you."

Jim continued walking, and I followed. "Yeah, man. That's pretty . . . cool, I guess. What's Earth like?"

"Well, from what I remember, it's a freakin' nightmare. There was this company, called the Better Living Industries, who wanted to make life better for everyone else. I don't really know what caused it, but they turned the place into a living hell. They killed tons of people, and pretty soon, my buddies and I were surviving on our own. We had other people scattered around California that could help us if we needed it, but other than that, we were on our own."

"Oh my God . . . I wonder if my friends are all right . . ." Jimmy looked pretty shaken up.

I squeezed his shoulder. "It's gonna be okay. You have me to keep you company!"

"Oh dear God . . . not you . . .," He laughed sarcastically as I playfully glared at him. "There it is!"

I stared to where he was pointing. "What . . . Oh sweet Christ!"

Right in front of us was a massive tree with several small, house-looking buildings scattered around it on different branches. As we came up to it, I stopped and looked up. The tree had to be at least fifty-feet tall, and each house looked about as big as a large tree-house. "Welcome to my home!" Jimmy yelled as he opened up his black and purple wings, jumping up and gripping the branches with what appeared to be silver claws hidden among the feathers.

Jim stopped his climbing and looked down, noticing that I hadn't climbed up yet. "You comin'?"

"Holy crap! How am I supposed to get up there?"

Jim climbed down using only his wings, and soon planted his feet against the main trunk of the tree, crossed his arms over his chest, and looked me deep in the eyes. "You have wings yourself, don't you?"

I didn't really noticed how close he was to me when I saw the beautiful blue color that his eyes were. I took a step back, my heart oddly racing. "Umm . . . I-I don't know . . ."

That was when my jacket began to feel oddly tight on me. I zipped it off, and right then and there, the most awesome thing happened: my own pair of golden-red wings popped out with a woosh. "Oh my . . . how did you do that?"

"Me? I didn't. Maybe it was your imagination!" He even moved his hands to make it look like he was holding a rainbow.

I laughed, holding my jacket in my hands, and realizing that the only thing I was wearing underneath was a black, baggy, wife-beater tank-top. "Now, can you show me how to get up there?"

"Well, let's see if you have claws on your wings, like me." Jimmy delicately took the right one in his hands, running his hands through the soft, shiny feathers, leaving a tingling sensation that went all the way to my shoulders. "Wow. They're beautiful, Gee."

"Thank you." I found myself blushing and tried to hide it.

"I think I found them!" He tugged on what looked like a thumb, and felt like it, the way that he was pulling on it. "Try moving them, like hands."

Without thinking, I moved my own, human hands, and watched in awe as the wings moved like giant feathered arms. "This is amazing, Jim!"

"I know . . ." He let go of my wings, glanced at me, and then turned his attention back to the tree. "Now, just watch me, and follow my instructions."

I paid attention as Jimmy climbed up the tree, using his arms, legs, and wings now. He stopped at looked down at me once he reached a wooden platform. "Now, your turn, Gerard."

I threw my jacket up, making sure that Jimmy caught it, (He did, and placed it behind him) and began my first try. I dug my claws into the bark, planting my feet on the tree, and using my arms to grab the branches that surrounded me. "I'm doing it, Jim! I-" I gasped as my claws grasped thin air; apparently I hadn't noticed a big chunk that was missing from the bark.

Freaking out, I began to fall back when Jimmy leaned forward at the last possible second and grabbed my wrist. "You need to watch where you put your claws!"

Embarrassed as hell, I smiled as he pulled me up onto the platform. "Thanks, Jimmy."

"No problem. Here's your jacket, too." He handed me my coat as I carefully folded in my wings, noticing that my new limbs had torn holes in the back of my shirt. "So, what do you think of the place?"

Now that we were in the main part of the area, I could see that this place was even more incredible than I thought; there were at least six small houses, each connected with platforms and bridges. A bigger one sat towards the back, and that one was obviously Jim's.

"So, the bigger house is mine, and that means that you can have any of the smaller ones."

"What? I called that one first!" I playfully called, already running across one of the bridges to the main building.

"Since when?" Jimmy laughed, quickly following me.

"MY MIND!"

Jimmy cackled like a maniac and flew above me, dodging the branches and making it to the building before me. "Hey! NOT FAIR!" I ran even faster, praying that the bridge wouldn't collapse under me.

"It is, too!" He smiled, landing on the platform in front of me, preventing myself from the door to the main house.

"Fine then, selfish jerk," I giggled, poking him in the chest and began walking to the left to another, smaller house.

I opened the door, and was surprised at what I saw. There was mainly a large, king-sized bed on the floor, with a blood-red bedspread and black and red striped walls. Two extra doors sat at the back, one apparently leading to a bathroom, and other to a closet. "Do you like it?" Jimmy came up from behind me, looking into the room.

"I love it! This is awesome!" I squealed like a little girl, dropping my coat on the floor and falling onto the bed. I kicked my boots off and stretched, hearing the satisfying cracks of my stiff, sore back. I sat up, noticing that my new friend was still standing in the doorway. "Thank you, for everything, James."

"James? How did you know that was my full name?" He smiled and stuck his hands in the back pockets of his jeans.

"Wild guess? Well, I figured that since your name was Jimmy, you're full first name was James."

We both just stared at each other, right in the eyes. It was almost like an awkward silence, but there was nothing awkward about it; it was almost like a longing for each other. But why would I be having those kinds of feelings? I didn't like guys . . . ordidI? I blushed once again, noticing that it was the first time that I felt like this in my whole life.

"Well, Gee, I'm gonna go. I have some things I need to take care of, so . . . just let me know if you need anything. Okay?"

"Okay, Jimmy. I'll see you later." I smiled to myself as he closed the door. Laying back down onto the bed, I put my hands behind my head and stared at the ceiling. Maybe this wasn't really Heaven, but it certainly was close to it.