A/N: I'M SO SORRY! It has never taken me this long to write a chapter, but what with schoolwork and my parents coming to visit me over the holiday weekend, well, I had no time to write and edit. But I swear this will make it up to you! And I'll try to get the rest of the chapters written quicker and uploaded.

Once again, sorry to keep you waiting!

Stay fabulous, killjoys!

Chapter 44: This Is How I Disappear

That ever-present dread in the pit of the Kobra Kid's stomach was becoming increasingly present the further up the stairs he went. He did feel a little better that back-up had come in the way of the Killjoys. Especially Electric Revenge, holding off NewsAGoGo…

No, it's not News anymore. Those bastards corrupted her. God, Becca, you better be careful.

"Kobra! Come on!" Fun Ghoul shouted halfway up the next flight of stairs. Kobra paused for a moment, realizing that his pace had slowed, causing both Laser Shot and Ghoul to pass by. They slowed enough to have him catch up.

"What's wrong?" Ghoul asked as they began to ascend the stairs again.

"Nothing," Kobra quickly replied. Ghoul raised his eyebrows at him, a deadpan look on his face.

"Sure."

"Look, we have bigger things to worry about right now. Like saving my brother, perhaps?"

"He's got a point," Laser interjected.

"I'm just saying," Ghoul rolled his eyes. "If you're having one of those 'gut feelings' again, I think we deserve to know."

"What gut feelings?" Laser looked at Ghoul before looking at Kobra.

"It's nothing," Kobra said behind gritted teeth as they approached the landing to the seventh floor. "Let's just get Party and Chemical and get out of here before anyone gets shot."

Ghoul pulled out his blaster, checking the charge he had left on the battery. Laser looked down at his hands, confusion on his face.

"What am I supposed to do?" Laser looked over to Kobra. "I'm unarmed."

"Shit, I forgot about that before," Kobra muttered. He took a quick look down at the white blaster in his hands. "Here, take this."

Laser grabbed the blaster with some hesitation. "What are you going to do?"

"Improvise."

"Oh boy," Ghoul rolled his eyes as Kobra kicked the door open. The three of them spilled out into the hallway, blasters raised and ready to fire.

Only to find out that it was blaringly empty, with no sign of Draculoids anywhere.

"Okay…" Ghoul replied as he looked around. "This is a bit awkward."

"Are you sure his is the right floor?" Kobra asked at Laser.

"Yeah. Those are the interrogation rooms right there." He pointed towards the dead-bolted doors down the hallway, before noticing one door standing suspiciously open.

"Kobra, what the fuck are you doing?" Ghoul stammered as Kobra made his way towards the open door. He cautiously entered the cell, studying every surface. The white cell was for the most part empty, save for two prisoner uniforms lying on the floor.

"That's weird," Laser muttered as he looked in, followed by Ghoul. Kobra picked up one of the prison uniforms, noticing a few splatters of blood near the collar of the shirt.

"So they're walking around naked?" Ghoul asked, raising an eyebrow. Kobra shook his head.

"I highly doubt that. But why would they take these off?" He shook the uniform in his hand before letting it drop back to the floor.

"You don't think they've been moved, do you?" Laser looked back in the hallway with some trepidation.

Kobra sighed as he stood. "I don't know. Almost seems like it, considering there aren't any guards on the floor."

"Well, we aren't getting anywhere by just standing here," Ghoul replied impatiently. "Let's go before the Dracs find us."

Kobra sighed as he took one last look at the discarded clothing, before leaving the cell and following the other two down the hall.

God, Gerard, where the fuck are you?


"Can anyone tell me why the hell this place is so fucking confusing?" Neon Paint blurted out loud as they turned around another corner in the hallway. A few Dracs turned at the sound of her voice and began shooting.

"You're preaching to the choir, sister," Rocket Revolver replied, firing at their attackers. It only took a minute or so with the four of them there to ghost the Dracs standing in their way.

"So where exactly did Techno go?" Jet Star asked as they continued down the hallway.

"The laboratories," Show Pony answered. "That's where the mainframe is located. I just hope they were able to upload that transmission before all these Dracs arrived."

Jet nodded as they continued down the hallway. The white hallways were beginning to confuse him as they maneuvered deeper and deeper into the underbelly of Better Living Industries.

"Hold it!" Jet placed his arms up, stopping the other three from walking around a corner at two intersecting hallways. They were roughly pushed back against the wall.

"What the hell?" Neon complained, pushing away Jet's arm.

Rocket rolled his eyes. "Do you ever shut up?"

"Well aren't you rude!"

"Would both of you be quiet?" Pony sighed.

Jet just shook his head as white laser beam shot out from around the corner. It was only a few seconds before the first Drac appeared from the hallway. It was quickly ghosted by Jet before another one appeared.

Then another.

Then another.

It wasn't long before an all-out firefight began between the intruding zone runners and the Dracs. Lasers passed by, grazing arms and legs and nearly missing heads. As soon as a Drac was ghosted, two more stood in its place.

"Where the hell are these all coming from?"Jet asked to no one in particular as he ghosted his fifth Drac. Or was it his sixth?

"Jet Star?"

Jet looked up from the Draculoid he had just shot to see the shocked face of Techno Beat standing at the opening of one of the hallways, her eyes wide underneath her tear-stained purple mask. Behind her he could see another white-clad person running towards her, but the lack of a latex mask assured Jet that this wasn't an enemy, but instead Techno's partner.

Digital, was it?

But what Jet didn't see was a Draculoid behind him aim at the frozen form of Techno.

"Look out!"

In a split-second decision, Rocket ran at Techno as the Drac fired. They collided roughly as Rocket felt a searing pain pass on the left side of his face. Jet, having felt the shot graze past his own face, turned around and shot the Drac square in the chest. He fired two more shots on the unmoving body before he was convinced it was dead. Only then did he look back over at Rocket and Techno.

"Rocket? Are you okay?" Jet asked as he ran over. Techno had crawled out from underneath him, rubbing her right arm where it had hit the ground. She looked over at the one who saved her, only to see him doubled over, his body shaking. His hand was plastered tightly over his left eye as blood began to drip from between his fingers.

She pulled at his hand, trying to see what was causing the blood. A gasp of shock escaped as her eyes landed on the charred skin running across his left temple, from his eye to his hairline. Blood was dripping down the side of his face as his white of his eye began to turn red. She gripped his left hand tightly as he tried to twist out of her grip, stopping him from placing it back over his eye. He looked at her, confusion in his uninjured eye.

"It'll be fine," she whispered. "Just don't touch it. I don't want it to get infected."

Jet crouched down by the two of them, taking in the injury. "Shit," he muttered as he let his hand hover over the wound. "This looks pretty deep."

"Can you do anything?" Techno asked turning to him, her voice full of concern.

"Not here," he replied. "Pony? A little help?"

Pony looked over his shoulder at the scene behind him. "Holy…" He looked around, noticing Digital standing a bit away from Rocket and Techno.

"Digital, catch." He threw his pink blaster at the timid-looking rebel before rushing towards Jet. He caught it, giving Pony a nod before he joined his original partner in the firefight.

Pony crouched down, pulling some bandages out of the messenger bag he had brought with him. Jet nodded a silent sign of thanks as he quickly wrapped the bandages around Rocket's eye. Rocket let a shudder course through his body as the gauze was first pressed against the raw wound, but at least the general shaking had subsided. Techno never let go of his blood-covered hand.

"Are you going to be okay, Rocket?" Jet asked as he finished wrapping the wound. Neon and Digital ran over as the last Drac fell, watching as Jet finished tending to the serious injury. Rocket nodded a little.

"Yeah," he replied, his voice shaky. Jet and Pony helped Rocket to stand, only to have his knees buckle underneath him. Techno was able to catch him as he pitched forward, placing her shoulder underneath his.

"Let me help." It was a statement, not a question as she looked into his unbandaged eye. The three helped Rocket get back on his feet, letting him get used to the sudden elevation.

"Are you going to be able to walk out of here?" Jet asked. He quickly inspected Rocket, making sure he wasn't showing any signs of delirium.

"I should," Rocket removed his arm from around Techno's shoulder. "Thanks for the help."

"I should be thanking you," she replied. "You saved my life."

"No problem," Rocket gave her a half-smile in response. Techno shyly smiled back.

"Did you get the transmission uploaded?" Neon interrupted, ending the tender moment between Rocket and Techno.

Digital shook his head. "Dracs were waiting for us in the lab. They had us pinned down the moment we got in there. We barely escaped."

"But we can still upload it, right?" Neon asked, looking between Digital and Techno. "Right?"

A look of sadness took over Techno's face as she became visibly upset.

"What's wrong?" Rocket asked, his voice still shaking.

"I dropped the drive when a Drac grabbed me," Techno replied, tears forming under her mask again. "I failed Pika-chan."

"Who?" Rocket asked, confused.

"Never mind," Digital replied with a wave of his hand. "It's no problem, Tech. We just need to get back into that lab and grab the drive."

"Are you sure about that?" Pony asked, pointing down the hallway. They turned to see another swarm of Draculoids running towards them, blasters firing.

"No time now." Jet shouted as he began to fire back. "Come on!"

With that, the six of them began to run again, shooting their pursuers as they tried to escape the maze-like hallways of Better Living.

"I hope Electric is having better luck than we are," Neon muttered.


Electric Revenge couldn't believe what she was doing. In the brief time she had had her parents' katanas in her possession, nothing had compelled her to actually use them. Not like this.

Hell, she didn't even think she knew how to use them. But something felt right when she pulled out her sword to protect Neon and Pony. The situation compelled her to use them, as if her life depended on it.

Well, at this point, it did.

Electric countered each attack, using her swords defensively rather than offensively. It had taken her months to actually pull them out to use; it was going to take much longer to actually use them for bloodshed.

At least Electric knew the glove on her right hand was working. She could feel the electricity prickling through the fabric onto her skin, empowering her to continue fighting with a somewhat familiar weapon. She didn't know that the electricity was going to also course through the steel of the sword, causing it to spark every time it impacted her opponent's blade. It was a surprise the first time steel clashed with steel, but now it was another obstacle to avoid.

Electric shoved off another attack, sending the grey-clad woman backwards a few steps. The woman—Airi, was it?—lowered her sword as she raised her head, a smile on her face.

"What's so amusing?" Electric asked between gasps of air, her swords raised in defense. She was getting winded from the extended period of physical movement.

"I underestimated you, zone runner." Airi continued to smile as she circled around Electric, staring at her with cold black eyes. "There is something different about you."

What the hell is she rambling about?

"Do you want to know how I ended up in this position?"

"Not really." Electric tightened the grip on her swords. If this is an excuse to let my guard down, she's pretty pathetic.

"Those friends you have, the Killjoys?" The words came out bitter on her tongue. "They will leave you in the dust to die if it does not further their cause. Better Living found me, made me better and ready to fight against those who betrayed me."

"You lie!" Electric raised her weapons as Airi continued to circle her.

"It is no lie. You ask your friends." She raised her sword, pointing it at Electric.

"If you get the chance."

Without warning, Airi ran forward, sword high above her head ready for a killing blow. Electric barely had time to defend herself from the attack, but it came late as the blade sliced through her leather jacket, down onto the skin of her left arm. Pain began to throb through the limb before she was able to knock the sword away, only to grow as the blade exited her wound.

The weapon in her left hand felt heavy. She looked down, watching as the sticky substance of blood begin to seep through the yellow jacket and drip down onto her hand and the sword.

"You bitch," she moaned as she tried to lift her arm. It just caused her to cry out in pain.

Airi huffed as she wiped the blood on her sword off on her skirt. "I guess I was wrong. You are like every other zone runner. Weak and naïve."

I'll show you weak.

Electric holstered the sword in her right hand, before transferring the one in her weakened left to her uninjured right. She clutched her left arm against her body as she moved into an attacking stance. With a burst of adrenaline, Electric brought the sword up in a spectacular arc that caught Airi by surprise. Steel hit steel, knocking away the sword in Airi's grip and sending it skittering across the white-tiled floor. It wasn't long before Electric had Airi pinned to the wall, the sword pressed against her opponent's throat.

"Weak, huh?" Electric spat as she pressed the blade closer, nicking the skin. Airi stared at her defiantly.

"It does not matter. If I die, there are plenty to take my place. You will never win."

"You're wrong. We will win, because I know the truth about Better Living. And soon everyone will."

"You mean this truth?" Electric stiffened as the barrel of a blaster touched the back of her head. She slowly turned around, only to stare at a Draculoid, its white blaster now aimed at the middle of her forehead. Something told her this wasn't an ordinary Drac by the way it was standing; an air of authority permeated from it.

But what caught her eye, and made her stomach fall, was an unscratched black USB drive clutched in its left hand.

In the momentary distraction, Electric felt her sword being ripped from her gloved hand before it was placed in front of her neck, against her throat.

"You zone runners have been a menace," the Drac replied, letting his gun settle against Electric's chest. "But it will be a small victory to see at least three rebels Exterminated today."

"We do not kill her now?" Airi sounded a bit disappointed as her grip tightened around Electric's sword, causing her to hiss as the skin broke.

"No," the Drac replied, authority prevalent in his voice. "The Chief Exterminator will want to have her join her brother and the Killjoy for the public Extermination. His orders," he added as a disgruntled look passed Airi's face.

"You are lucky, zone runner," she hissed in Electric's ear. "If it was my choice, you would be dead right now."

The sword was removed from around Electric's neck as she was pushed forward. She looked up to see the Drac's blaster still aimed at her.

"Don't try anything funny." The Drac grabbed Electric's arm, placing its blaster in the small of her back. Airi came up on the other side, her own sword replaced in her hilt, while Electric's was pointed at the owner.

"Just in case," Airi replied to Electric's look.

Electric felt herself being pulled down the hallway, stuck in between her enemies as she was marched to the elevators.

And for the first time that day, Electric Revenge was truly afraid that she wasn't going to get out of this alive.