Chapter Ten
What Have You Become When They Take From You Almost Everything?
Both Gerard and Frank cried out as the gunshot reverberated throughout the room around them, and then opened their eyes as nothing hit them. Dumbfounded, Gerard glanced at his boyfriend and then up at Grace, only to see she was turned around, his gaze going to where the ray gun had really been directed at…and to where her father now lay, slumped against the wall near the door, holding his chest in agony. "Grace…" he whispered, and she closed her eyes tightly, the gun jerking in her hand as she pressed down once more.
She turned towards the two after a moment, shaking violently now and looking like she was going to be sick, even more so as she saw how scared her friends appeared. Gerard continued to stare at her, wide-eyed and dazed, and then finally whimpered softly, shaking his head and burying it against Frank's shoulder, desperately trying to regain his breath.
It was silent for a moment, and then Frank relaxed the grip he had around his love a bit, getting his knees under him and then pushing himself to his feet, helping the red head to do the same. "We have to get the others…"
Gerard blinked hard several times but gave no other acknowledgment that he had heard, and Frank sighed, looking at Grace, who seemed as disoriented as his boyfriend, clearly incapable of fighting anyone else.
Frank held his hand out. She unhesitatingly gave the ray gun to him, like she was happy just to get rid of it, and he took a deep breath, ready to help free the others—and suddenly remembered what had happened with Korse in the hallway. But had it been this hallway, right outside the door, or one three stories above them? He didn't know how long he'd been out before; it very easily could have been enough time for the man to drag him across the building.
Glancing at the ten-year-old once more, Frank asked, "Did they take you to the others?"
"No." was all he got in reply. Her eyes weren't even focused on him, nor the wall behind him, but somewhere far beyond that, stunned.
"Four…"
"What?" Frank frowned, looking at Gerard, who straightened up a bit and murmured, "Four oh five." He released a shaky breath and turned a bit towards him, now incredibly grateful for the untimely memory of his school when he and his brother were being led back before. "That's the room they're in."
Frank kissed his cheek in relief, and Gerard gave him a very worn out smile, coming out just barely as a grimace. He did appear to have regained his senses, though, and he reluctantly shrugged Frank's arms away, watching the black-haired Killjoy as he walked over to the door.
Gerard stumbled a bit but steadied himself, following Frank, along with whom he had thought only moments ago was going to kill him.
Frank clutched the gun tightly and raised it, gathering the strength he would need to take out whatever guard was outside, and then hesitated as he heard Grace murmur, "There's no one. We came alone."
Frank glanced back briefly at her before carefully opening the door, warily looking out into the empty hallway. It wouldn't stay like that for long, he knew; especially not if there were cameras.
"Thank you, Grace." he softly said, not sure what else he could say, still very much startled at what he had thought she would do.
The ten-year-old looked up at him finally, glanced at her father, and then cleared her throat. "It's Missile Kid." she replied without emotion, and Frank nodded.
"All right, Missile; let's go."
Mikey slowly came to at the sound of his name being called, the voice very familiar, one he vaguely knew he should have been overjoyed to hear. But he was so tired and everything ached, especially as he blinked his eyes open, merely wanting to shut them again but pulled into a hug before he could, finally comprehending who exactly the red-haired figure was. "Gee…?"
"It's okay, I'm here," Gerard soothed. He looked even worse than before, and yet there was a little smile on his face, faltering as the blonde sagged against him in the same moment with a moan that hurt his already irritated throat. I'm dreaming…he can't be here…
Gerard put a hand on his head, and then gasped. "Fucking shit, you're burning up!" He looked up at the others for a moment and then glanced down at his brother's injured foot, feeling his heart skip a beat, and he wrapped an arm around Mikey's waist. "We're gonna get out of here, okay?"
Mikey did not react at all, and Gerard frowned, managing to lift him up, and then cringed as the blonde groaned again in protest of the movement.
The five of them flinched as an alarm suddenly began blaring, making it almost impossible for them to hear each other.
"Did you just do that?" Ray shouted, looking at the three who'd shot down the door, and Missile gave what slightly resembled a smile and called, "No. That was me."
They looked at her, confused.
"I brought some backup!"
Cloudy Skye glanced up as the security alarms to the building began loudly going off in a constant, deafening rhythm. "Damn," she muttered. She—all of them, really—had obviously expected them, but still, it was so quick…they were hardly to the bridge.
"No stoppin' now!" Rejection laughed, though her smile was more of something there solely to mask her fear.
"Great," another behind her sighed, then raised her weapon determinedly. "Let's kick these bastards' asses."
DJ smirked. "I like the attitude!"
Rejection shook her head with only the slightest bit of amusement, and the twenty-four Killjoys (Show Pony had stayed behind with Dr. D) readied themselves as they reached the entrance, shooting the guards before they could fire more than a single shot at them.
"I feel like it shouldn't be this easy!" Rock Note called, grabbing the handle to the door and yanking it open to allow the rest in.
"Shut it—we haven't even started." Rejection replied. "And neither have they."
"Shit—" Skye cursed as a shot narrowly missed her shoulder, and the group stopped dead as a large number of Dracs came into the lobby, guns up and firing.
Rejection glared at Note and then turned to DJ as she shouted, "Re! Take some others; go looking for Missile!"
Rejection nodded, and her, her brother, and six more fought their way towards the hallway.
"I really hope—" Rejection cut off, blasting a Drac out of the way. "—Missile is okay! If we're looking for nothing—" She shook her head without continuing this time, ducking a blow and killing who it had been given by.
"She'll be fine!" Rainbow Reaction shouted, silently adding, I hope.
Missile Kid would not allow herself to cry.
Not now; not when she was trying to help the others escape, or while she was the only fully aware person between the five, assuring they went the exact way she'd been led up.
And especially not when they were so close to taking down the damn place. She had to try and push back the horror of what she had just done.
You killed your father! The bastard deserved it. But he was still your dad, the only family you had left! It was for the best…right?
The voices tormented her, causing an internal battle like the one going on below the floor they were on. She'd never been planning on killing her friend; not once had the thought even crossed her mind. It had always been of whoever was guarding them at the time—and deep down she believed she had always known it would have been her father. It was over now, though—she had to focus on getting out alive with the others.
After destroying BLI's headquarters, of course.
"Wh—" Gerard grunted as Mikey let out a soft cry of pain and abruptly stopped, nearly causing both of them to collapse and bringing the five to a brief halt. Ray grabbed the blonde from Gerard, noticing he had paled even more from the effort of trying to help his injured brother, not having the strength to. "I got 'em," Ray said reassuringly, wishing he had thought to help sooner, and Gerard blinked at him without replying, stumbling as he tried to continue.
Frank was by his side in an instant, wrapping an arm around his waist, the other holding a gun. He, Ray, and Missile all had one now, the two having aquired them from the now-dead Dracs that had been around guarding. "Don't worry," he murmured soothingly, "we're almost—"
Something abruptly exploded behind them, and Ray shrieked, releasing both the blonde and his weapon, immediately dropping to the floor, holding his upper leg in agony.
Mikey staggered at once, and Gerard grabbed for him as Frank whirled around, shooting at the Drac that had snuck up behind them until it dropped to the ground.
"Oh God—" Gerard breathed, struggling to support his younger brother while Frank kneeled beside Ray, who was clutching desperately at the wound, the clothing around it already stained red. "God damn it!"
"Here," Missile said, quickly slipping off her jacket and handing it to Frank, who gratefully took it and tied it as tight as he could around the injury, despite the Killjoy's groan of pain as he did so. "You gonna make it?" he asked, and Ray cracked an eye open at him, giving a very strained laugh. "Sure—" he gasped.
"Missile! You up here?"
The eight Killjoys that had been searching for them appeared at the end of the hallway, their eyes widening as they saw the shaken ten-year-old—along with the four who they'd previously been convinced were dead.
And with how terribly pale and weak they looked, that couldn't possibly have been far off.
"Whoa," Rejection gasped, and they rushed over to them, two attempting to help Gerard after the others had taken Mikey, but he shook his head, said, "I'm fine," and nodded them towards the others.
"You don't look it," one of them said, reaching out, but the instant his hand came in contact with the red head's arm, he gasped and jumped back. "I'm fine!" he insisted, suddenly sounding pissed off, scowling as they quickly moved past him to the others.
Frank eyed him as he then winced and closed his eyes, his breathing quickened, and he carefully went over to him, murmuring, "Gee," before he put an arm around him so he wouldn't startle him. Even then, Gerard tensed and moved away from him, and Frank averted his gaze, feeling sick to his stomach and fighting against it. He knew exactly what his love was thinking, and his mind couldn't help but go to it as well.
No. You've gotta be ready to help the others, he told himself, swallowing hard and turning around again.
"Come on, we've gotta go," Rejection said, and they began slowly making their way towards the stairway they'd come up.
"How's it goin' downstairs?" Missile asked, trying hard to make her voice come out without shaking.
"Not sure," Blade huffed, an arm around Ray, his sister on the other side. "We left to find you."
"We're so glad you're alive! All of you!" Rainbow exclaimed, shaking her head. "Like, you've no idea!"
"Us too, kid," Frank replied with a wince, gripping his injured arm, having given his gun to Gerard as he'd started hurting too much to use it, anyway.
As they reached the bottom floor several very difficult minutes later, they could hear the shots and yelling and fighting outside the door.
"God damn—" Rejection murmured breathlessly as she and Blade gently lowered Ray to the stairs, eyeing the others as they did the same with Mikey and then turning to the three still able to stand. "Stay here. You're already hurt, and you…" she trailed off to look at Missile with a small smile, silent for a very brief moment. "You're too young to die."
"Who says I'd die?" Missile frowned. "I can fight."
Rejection looked at her a moment longer but did not reply, her mind made up, and then glanced at the others. "You ready?"
The seven nodded, and Rejection took a breath before turning to the door, kicking out at it. It swung open, and they jumped out, joining the ongoing battle.
Gerard reached out and jerked it closed again, and the three of them stood by it in case they'd been seen, the two having guns readying them.
"I could've fought…" Missile muttered, and Gerard leaned feverishly against the wall, once again very pale. "You've already done enough." he breathed.
She did not reply, and he grimaced, closing his eyes. "I'm sorry."
"I didn't care." she shrugged, but he knew she was lying.
"And…about Neo. I…"
"Really, Party," she said quietly. "It was an accident." She looked at him and frowned, wondering if he had fallen asleep on his feet when he didn't reply or acknowledge he had heard her. Frank frowned, stepping towards him, but then he blinked several times, moving his attention past them to the two unconscious Killjoys on the stairs. His eyes narrowed as he saw there was already blood seeping through the thin fabric of Missile's jacket. No, the others had either miscalculated how fast of a victory this would be, or else hadn't taken a good look at them.
If they waited until it was "safe", Ray would die. And he feared Mikey wasn't too far from that, either; his chest hardly rose with his labored breathing.
God, they don't deserve any of this; if anyone does, it's me.
He turned to Frank, his expression desperate. "We have to go."
"Are you fucking out of your mind?" Frank demanded.
"They'll die if we stay, Frankie," he said, and then eyed the gun in his hand for the briefest second, leaning towards the door again.
Frank saw his sudden anticipation. "What're you thinking?" he began, and Gerard didn't reply, glancing at the stairs. There had to be another way into the lobby, right? A way none of the Dracs would…
Gerard abruptly turned to Missile Kid, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Listen," he said, and she frowned, instantly detecting the utter seriousness in his voice. "I need you to stay here with Ray and Mikey, okay? Please, to protect them?"
"Wh—why? Where are you going? I want to help!"
"You've helped already," he said, and she suddenly looked devastated. "But—" she began, "aren't Killjoys supposed to fight? Supposed to—well, you know—do stuff?"
"You are doing something!" he assured her. "More than you know." His smile faltered. "You just have to trust me, okay?"
She glanced down at her gun and then sighed, tightening her grip on it and gazing back up at him, determined. "Okay."
Gerard nodded, hesitated, and then hugged her for a long moment. "I promise you it'll be all right." he said, and then released her, looking at Frank and gesturing towards the stairs. "Come on."
Missile watched the two go and then exhaled for a long moment, turning back to the door in absolute silence.
"Okay." she repeated to no one.
"What the hell is your plan, exactly?" Frank asked, breathing hard as they reached the top of the stairs, concerned as the red head grabbed the banister as if he were going to faint, his eyes closed, but he recovered, moving towards the door that lead to the hallway they'd been in before. "Surprise," he murmured, beginning to walk down it, holding the gun out in case there was anyone on the floor. "That's my plan."
Frank followed nothing but his footsteps. "I don't—"
"K—" Gerard immediately stopped as if he'd choked, swallowing hard before continuing. "Korse and the guys who attacked as before…when we were rescuing Missile, I mean. They caught us by surprise. So why not do the same thing?"
"With two of us? I don't even have a gun!"
Gerard did not reply, and after a few moments he stopped, directly in front of the unmoving Drac Frank had shot before. Without pausing, he stepped around it and grabbed its gun, holding it up for him. "Do now," he said.
Frank shook his head and grabbed it, a slight grin tugging at his lips. Then it faded and he let out an exhausted sigh, putting a hand on the wall.
"Are you all right?"
"No." Frank admitted. He was dizzy, and his head hurt terribly; it had been ever since the agent had shoved him into the wall, only getting worse as he went on, honestly to the point by now that he wanted to cry from the pain. He wouldn't, though, of course; and he wouldn't complain, either. They had more important things to worry about. "But I can keep going. Are you?"
Gerard winced and nodded, no matter how much of a lie it obviously was.
"You're set on the idea we'll win this, aren't you?"
Gerard glanced at him seriously, hesitated, and then gently grabbed him and pulled him into a kiss that lasted only a few seconds, feeling like an entire lifetime in the same moment. When he broke away, he was even more solemn, determined to assure it was not the last they ever shared. "We are going to win, okay?"
Frank hesitated, then nodded. "I love you."
"I love you, too." Gerard said, starting off again before he lost the will to do so. He knew what danger he was putting both himself and Frank in, and that, even if the two of them lived long enough for his plan to be put into action, the others might not.
But he was going to do everything in his power to make certain all of them got out alive, no matter what that was, and even if it meant he himself didn't.
"Hey! Watch out!" Rejection shouted, eyes wide, shoving her brother away from a Drac behind him and shooting it.
Blade looked at her, breathing hard. "Thanks!" he gasped, turning around and firing several times. "Jesus, when the fuck are they gonna stop?"
They'd been fighting, dodging, ducking, and shooting for what must have been half an hour, though it felt much longer. The Dracs had only kept coming—she was pretty sure every single one in the entire building had been ordered to kill them—but now the number remained the same. No new enemies were appearing, but then again, the old ones weren't dropping. "I think they have. And if we keep it up," she added, just barely missing a blast to her shoulder, "we'll get rid of them all!"
"Shit!" Blade shouted, jumping back and then shooting whoever had aimed at him, glancing over to the side to see yet another Killjoy was down, feeling a jolt of fear nearly causing him to stop for a moment. How many of them were left? Sixteen? "If we don't, they will us!" he managed, and then ran off to help someone else.
I know, Rejection thought with a wince, briefly clutching her side. She shook her head and then focused again on the fight, desperately looking around for anything to help them. But they were in an enemy building—nothing there would be to their advantage.
She blasted her gun again, and then gasped in surprise as the Drac nearest to her suddenly dropped without her having done anything. It wouldn't have been so startling had everyone else not been caught up in their own fight, and though she glanced around, she couldn't see where it had come from, confused but having no choice but to turn her attention to the others, grateful.
"Nice shot," Gerard whispered with the only bit of humor he could find, and Frank gave a small, quiet laugh, glancing up at him. The red head had managed to balance himself on one foot, leaned over him to assure both of them could see and aim, an arm gently resting on his back, despite the fact both of them covertly—and yet obviously at the same time—found the position unnerving. "Thanks."
They were currently hiding in the hallway the elevator had led them to—that is, when it had been working. Gerard had made it virtually impossible to ever use again, firing at every button inside it once they'd reached the first floor, along with the downstairs caller button to assure no other Dracs, or anyone else, could get down and continue outnumbering the Killjoys. There had to be other ways down, but their goal right now was to make sure they got back down to an even amount of fighters, preferably less, before anyone else did arrive.
Gerard aimed at another Drac, the tip of his gun just barely emerging from behind the wall, and shot, dropping it to the ground before it could kill the girl before it. Take that, fucker.
"You too," Frank chuckled slightly, struggling to ignore his growing dizziness and making great effort not to allow his fear or discomfort to show, looking out at the others and wincing as a sharp pain shot up his arm, almost powerful enough to cause him to drop the weapon.
Gerard must have felt him tense under him. "You okay?" he murmured, eyeing the large bruise running along his arm.
Frank bit his lip, blasting again and holding back a grunt, blinking to clear his vision. "Y-yeah, I'm fine."
For now.
Missile Kid sighed, listening to the sounds of the battle outside, angry at the fact she was two feet away from it and yet unable to help.
It wasn't that she didn't feel scared—no, she was petrified, both for herself and everyone else—but because the others were out there helping, and she was stuck here. She knew she needed to make sure no one further tried to hurt the two behind her, but she still felt awful about just standing around, doing nothing.
A sudden cough made her jump and turn around, watching the blonde Killjoy stir, trying to lift his head and failing. "Gerard…?"
Missile frowned at the unfamiliar name and stepped towards him. "It's Missile Kid; you just gotta hold on, okay?"
"Mm," Mikey mumbled, and then coughed several times more, groaning when at last he could get a breath.
Missile glanced at his foot and winced, facing the door again. She heard another shout from outside, and she flinched. God, why couldn't she just shut the freakin' things off?
She stiffened as a door above them suddenly jerked open, and there were frantic footsteps on the stairs. A woman turned the corner and began down the stairs, stopping dead as she first noticed the Killjoys, and then glanced at Missile, scowling.
The ten-year-old aimed and shot without even thinking, and Newsagogo staggered, though still began quickly struggling back up the stairs.
"Hey!" Missile shouted. She took a step towards the stairs and then immediately stopped, looking at the two. I can't just leave them here! But if she didn't, there could be a chance she could help that she would only be ignoring. News had to know something, and despite the fact she couldn't be sure she would tell how to stop them…
No. She refused to stand around and do nothing like she had every other time in her life. When Neo had been taken, when Party had been hurt at Dr. D's, and shot by the agent—everything causing her guilt compelled her to do it.
Maybe she couldn't have done anything then, but she had a chance now.
She took something out of her pocket, bent over Mikey, and placed it in his palm, closing his fingers around it and then turning his hand over onto his chest so that he wouldn't drop it.
"I'm sorry," she murmured before she stepped past them, running as fast as she could up the stairs as she heard a door slam, wincing as she saw a bit of blood on the floor when she reached it. She yanked it open and edged out into the hallway, gun ready.
The trail ended, like she'd barely been injured at all, and then she glanced at the nearest door, thinking that would be the simplest place to hide for someone who was wounded. She shot the lock off, shoving it open and aiming at—nothing. The woman wasn't there.
Frowning in confusion, Missile lowered her gun, intrigued as she looked around at the technology—computers, screens, blinking buttons—it was even more advanced than what she had seen in the room she'd been held in before, something she wouldn't have believed was possible.
She blinked, her eyes widening, and finally she realized what it was for.
The room was what they used to brainwash the Dracs into working for them.
Anger overtook her as she thought of her brother, of every other Killjoy that had been forced to succumb to BLI, and she aimed her weapon at the machinery. What would happen if she destroyed it? Would it do anything to the ones who'd already been altered?
She scowled. Even if it didn't, she would assure no one else would be put through the same thing. No matter what happened, no one else should have to be put through what so many already had.
"Don't do that, girl."
Very slowly, Missile turned her head to glare at Korse, who had his gun pointed at her.
"What if I do?" she asked almost tauntingly. "What'll happen?"
Korse didn't move. "Get away from it, Grace. Don't think I won't shoot you. You're nothing to me."
Missile snorted. "How's that bad?"
The man took a step closer, and Missile tensed. "One more step and I'll shoot," she threatened, and he chuckled, trying to brush it off like it would be nothing if she did, but there was something hidden under it…concern?
"You should listen to me," Korse said. "You can still join everyone else. You're young; you could live out the rest of your life—"
"All drugged up and emotionless—sounds great!"
"You shouldn't care what happens to the rest of those rebels; they killed your brother, and even influenced you enough to kill your own father. Are you proud of that? Is that what you wanted?"
Missile blinked but otherwise did not move, her expression blank.
"We can correct you; make you stop thinking like this and instead focus on a better life. Think about it—you have nothing left! We've already beaten the Killjoys downstairs, and if not then we will, very soon. It's your choice, Grace. But you've got ten seconds to decide, or I will shoot you."
Missile was silent for a moment, watching the man as he very clearly readied to end her life.
"You're right," she murmured at last, monotone, and Korse, for a moment, appeared to lower the gun just a fraction of an inch, as if he were surprised.
She then glared at him, with more hatred than she had felt for anyone else in her entire life, even for her father, for the Dracs who'd taken her brother—for BLI in whole.
"I do have nothing left."
Two gunshots, one right after the other, echoed down the hallway.