A/N: Hey, and thank you all for reading :)
AshtrayTragedyM.D: Oh, no, definately not crocodile tears... I know it really doesn't seem like it right now, but Rave really does love the Killjoys, Poison especially, she feels awful about... Everything. Although, yeah, very, very difficult to feel any kind of sympathy for her at this point. Perhaps bear in mind how manipulative Saint Jimmy is, though...
Alright... Next chapter, it all takes a bit of a turn here, but not a good one I'm afraid...
Hope you all like it!
The title for this chapter is from the American Idiot song "Homecoming"
Yeah... I still don't own any of the boys :P
Chapter 9 - I Started Fucking Running
It'd been awkward at first. Saint Jimmy sat back on the end of the bed as Rave sat up, pulling her shirt back down as she did. Not daring to look at Saint Jimmy at all. She was shaking, feeling weak and scared of what she'd nearly done. I'm so sorry, Poison.
Eventually though, the tension faded. Saint Jimmy didn't leave the room, like Rave had expected, and he didn't say anything either. He did, however, start smoking. And Rave was almost immediately transported back in time. Back when she'd lived with Saint Jimmy. He could very easily have just got in from making a deal, from partying. It could easily be any night back in Saint Jimmy's apartment. And Rave found herself relaxing, even smiling a little. Things had been simple then (but they'd been so very complicated).
Hearing the main doors open snapped Rave quickly out of it. She glanced at Saint Jimmy, who looked mildly surprised. Rave was up and out the room in seconds, heading straight for the main doors.
She practically ran right into him. Taking a second to recover, she then threw her arms around him, more than glad to have him do the same. "Ghoul!" He hugged her tight. "I'm so glad to see you." She whispered. Then, pulling away, "Where're the others?" Roughly translated: Where's Poison? Fun Ghoul shook his head. "It's just me, Rave. The others…" Fun Ghoul paused, wondering how much to tell her. "We decided it'd be best if they went on ahead." Then, frowning slightly, he leaned in to look at Rave more carefully, a hand going gently to her cheek. "Hey, have you been crying?" He asked. Before she could reply, "Did he do something?" Rave shook her head, "No, Ghoul. I was just… Missing you guys." Pulling her back into a hug, Fun Ghoul chastised, "When you mean Poison, Rave, say Poison." And Rave nodded. "Ok. I mean, I was missing Poison most. But missing all of you too." Fun Ghoul smiled, now that he believed. "I am so sorry, Ghoul. I should've listened to you, and to Kid. I made a huge mistake, staying here."
"I was kinda hoping you'd say that." Fun Ghoul admitted. "I'm here to take you back." He stopped, making sure Rave was really listening, "It's not the same without you."
Somewhere along the line, Saint Jimmy had emerged, and as Fun Ghoul caught sight of him he said, more to Rave than Saint Jimmy, "I'm sorry, but I still can't-" That's when the cell phone rang, cutting him off. Fun Ghoul was one of the few to actually get his hands on a cell phone that worked. In fact, he'd found two. Party Poison had the other one. And they were only ever used in absolute emergencies. Stepping away from Rave, he answered it. He was a little surprised by the voice that he actually heard. "Kid? Kid is that-?" His eyes grew wide. "What? Is everyone ok? Is-?" Another silence on Fun Ghoul's end, but filled with panicked sounds from the other end, not clear enough to make out words, but certainly clear enough to know something was wrong. Rave came closer, trying to listen in. "Oh my God they… Kid! Slow down! Where's Poison?" Eyes even wider. "Oh my… Fuck." Eyes closed completely now. "But is he…? But did they…? Kid! Calm the fuck down and talk to me!" Rave was yanking on Fun Ghoul's arm now. "What's he saying? What's going on, Ghoul?"
"One second, Kid. I said, one second!" Then he looked to Rave, both sadness and worry worn plainly. "There's been an accident. The car crashed." Panic quickly worked its way into Rave's eyes, Fun Ghoul carried on, hurriedly, "Everyone got out fine, I think. But…" Quick sigh. Carried on. "There just happened to be a bunch of Dracs lurking nearby." He didn't know how to break the next part to her. "They've taken Poison." Rave clamped a hand to her mouth to stop herself screaming. Now Fun Ghoul was back to Kobra Kid. "Are you and Jet ok? Good. What about the car, can you-" Rave only just managed to register that apparently Kobra Kid and Jet Star were alright. But really, all her head was filled with was Oh God, Poison. They've got him. They've taken him and they're gonna take him back to Better Living and they're going to lock him up and try to 'reprogram' him and make him one of them and what if they do and what if they can't and what if they don't even try and they hurt him and torture him and what if they- Rave didn't realise that she'd collapsed against the wall until she heard Fun Ghoul call out to her. Phone still to his ear, he crouched down beside her, a hand on her shoulder, then to her cheek, then taking her hand, holding it tight. His eyes filled with understanding (and almost hidden fear) I know. But he was still talking to Kobra Kid too, "Kid! Stop it! Panicking is not going to help anyone!" And, the first sentence from that end of the phone that was clear "Easy for you to say! You didn't just see your brother get dragged away by the fucking enemy!" Fun Ghoul closed his eyes, despairingly. No, he hadn't, but now Kobra Kid had put it like that, he sure could see it. When he opened his eyes again, he saw, he knew Rave could too. "Alright." He said, gently. "Kid, sit tight and keep yourselves safe, we'll be right there, how far out are you? Kid! Please!" Getting close to panic himself now. How the hell could he keep Kobra Kid and Rave calm and still get where they were needed? It was too much. Poison would be able to do it. That wasn't helpful! Looking briefly behind him, Fun Ghoul saw Saint Jimmy, and, without even thinking about it asked, "Can you drive?" Without so much as a smirk or a smart comment, Saint Jimmy nodded. Standing up, Fun Ghoul helped Rave up with him. As they headed out to the car (one that Fun Ghoul had 'acquired' en route) Fun Ghoul asked, carefully of Kobra Kid, "Could you put Jet on, please?" Amazingly, there was no protest. "Jet. How are you holding up?" A quick nod. "Good. Can you tell us where you are?"
The drive was a silent one. Rave and Fun Ghoul were in the back, Rave holding tight to his hand. Saint Jimmy driving, only having to be told the route once, he drove fast, and not always carefully, but that hardly mattered. Kobra Kid had eventually got the phone back off Jet Star, but apparently had only managed a few words before dropping it. That had worried Fun Ghoul until he heard Jet Star again. "He's just a bit… I'm gonna make sure he's ok. Get here fast, ok?" Fun Ghoul promised he would.
They hadn't got all that far, it seemed, but the car had gone off the road completely. Fun Ghoul swore when he saw it. As they got close, they saw Jet Star, a little way off, getting up from the rocks the car had crashed into. Fun Ghoul and Rave barely waited for Saint Jimmy to stop the car before they'd jumped out and headed towards him. "Thanks for getting back so quick." Jet Star said, Fun Ghoul nodded. "Oh course, where's…?" And then, from a couple more paces away, behind the rocks, Kobra Kid emerged. "I'm here, Ghoul." He looked awful, drawn and spent. The blood trickling down his face from a cut hidden somewhere in his hairline didn't help, and neither did the sore looking redness around his eyes. "Kid, I'm sorry I yelled on the phone I-" Kobra Kid shook his head. Then he looked up, and saw Rave standing beside Fun Ghoul, clinging to his hand and arm like her life depended on it. He actually managed a small smile. "Rave." And suddenly it was him Rave was clinging to, arms tight around each other. "You came back." Kobra Kid said softly. Then, a little suspiciously, "You didn't just come back because…?" Rave shook her head violently, "I was already coming back when you made the call." There was that smile again. "Knew you would. I knew you wouldn't stay away. I knew you loved-" He stopped. And they fell into silence together. Because, of course, everyone knew the name at the end of that sentence. Fun Ghoul and Jet Star, though still scared and worried out of their minds about Party Poison, could only watch as these two shared what they were feeling and tried to take comfort in not being alone.
The moment was shattered as soon as Saint Jimmy came into view.
"What the fuck is he doing here?" Kobra Kid snarled, slowly letting go and stepping away from Rave. It was quite clear he was more than ready for a fight. Fun Ghoul stepped in, quickly. "He's helping." Kobra Kid shot a glance at Fun Ghoul, who continued to explain, "I had Rave falling apart, you freaking out down the phone, I couldn't help both of you and drive!" Kobra Kid glared back, indignantly, "But Poison-""Isn't here right now!" Fun Ghoul snapped. "And I for one would like to work on getting him back, and you know what? If Saint suddenly decides he wants to be helpful, great! We'll take all the help we can get. When we get Poison back we can get back to hating Saint. Right now, it's a waste of fucking energy!" No one missed the emphasis on the 'when' part. There was no 'if'. Getting Party Poison back wasn't optional, it was mandatory.
It was generally agreed that though the car probably was salvageable, it'd currently just be a hindrance. So they carried on in the newly acquired car. Kobra Kid drove, despite slightly doubtful looks from both Jet Star and Fun Ghoul. "You sure you're ok to drive?" Kobra Kid nodded. "Give me something to concentrate on." Then, with a glance at Saint Jimmy, "Just keep him away from me." So Saint Jimmy was in the back, and somehow Fun Ghoul found himself between him and Rave, who had gone back to refusing to leave his side. Fun Ghoul spent the drive ignoring Saint Jimmy (and trying to forget what he'd done), and concentrating on Rave. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean… I know I wasn't exactly helpful when we… When Kid called and…""Hey, hey." Fun Ghoul interrupted, soothingly. "It was understandable. I'm sorry if I made it sound like it wasn't." Then, leaning forward, "You too, Kid." Kobra Kid just nodded.
Eventually, they were there. Home, technically. But there was no time wasted on nostalgia or even settling in. Fun Ghoul headed straight for the already ringing phone inside. He knew who it was, someone checking in to make sure they'd got this far, ready to carry out whatever the next part of the 'plan' that'd apparently been so important. The rest of the Killjoys (but not Saint Jimmy) followed to hear what they could of the conversation. "Yeah, this is Fun Ghoul. No… Poison's not… Look. He's… He's been taken… Of course by Better Living! Who the fuck else? Sorry. Of course. Anyway, we're going to get him back… No. I don't give a fuck what the original plan was! We are getting Poison back. And until we do, nothing else matters! Good… Glad you see it that way." After slamming the phone back, Fun Ghoul turned to see the shocked looks on everyone's faces. "What?" Fun Ghoul shrugged. No one answered, mainly because they were all so pleased they hadn't had to have that conversation. Flicking on the nearby light, Fun Ghoul stated, "Alright. Let's get some sleep, yes! I know it's not going to be easy, but at least if we try we might be in better shape for tomorrow. When we plan and carry out our plan to save Poison. Trust me, I would love nothing more than to head out right now, but we need to be smart about this or…" He trailed off. Everyone knew what that 'or' was. But no one was willing to say it.
Kobra Kid was the hardest to convince on the whole 'sleeping' part. He eventually came around to the idea when both Fun Ghoul and Jet Star told him they would knock him out themselves if they had to. And Saint Jimmy had surprised everyone (again) by telling them he'd keep watch tonight. "Might as well put the insomnia to good use…" The room, the beds were familiar, but no one took much comfort in that. Least of all Rave.
This had been the first place the Killjoys had taken her after Party Poison rescued her. This was the first place she'd felt safe since… Since leaving Saint Jimmy. Party Poison had offered her his bed for the night, but she hadn't let him leave her. So, even before there was any sort of romance between them, 'his' bed had become 'their' bed.
Rave wasn't crying. But she was shaking, badly, because the bed was cold, in every sense of the word. Because she shouldn't be in this bed without Party Poison, or at least knowing he was going to be there when she woke up. Thankfully, Kobra Kid was dead to the world by then, and Jet Star was dutifully ignoring her, knowing she'd be embarrassed. Fun Ghoul noticed of course, though. Barely awake, he climbed out of bed, and went over to Rave. A gentle hand on her shoulder, "Hey, come on." She uncurled herself and got up, letting Fun Ghoul take her by the hand and lead her back to his bed. As soon as Fun Ghoul laid the covers over them both, Rave huddled up as close as she could. "It's gonna be alright." Fun Ghoul whispered. "We're going to get him back, I promise."
Meanwhile, far too far away:
"Get the fuck away from me!" Party Poison screamed, though his throat felt like he'd screamed it raw. He was tied up again. A nasty little chuckle in his ear, hot breath on his neck. "Now, now Cherry Top. You almost sound like you don't want me. And we both know that's not fucking true." Saint fucking Jimmy. "Fuck off Saint! Leave me alone!" Another chuckle, and a flick of the tongue to his neck. "No." He was told, as Saint Jimmy's hand started fiddling with his belt. "Please, Saint. Leave me alone."
"Oh dear, Cherry Top, you're not very quick on the uptake, are you?" Silence in return. Saint Jimmy at his ear again. "This isn't real, baby. This is just a dream. You don't wanna know what's really fucking happening to you right now." He didn't think it possible, but Party Poison was even more terrified than before. "Trust me, Cherry Top. You're better off in here with me than you are out there."
Party Poison didn't exactly wake up then, just came to slightly. Became more aware than he'd wanted to.
Screamed again.
"Told you so, Cherry Top…"
