A/N: Hey everyone, and thank you, as always :)

Ok, little slower on this one again, sorry. But a lot of little things were bugging me in this chapter. Finally got them sorted and I hope you guys think it's worth it!

Thank you, as always, for the reviews. Great to hear from you guys!

AshtrayTragedyM.D: Thank you, glad you liked it! And yes, you never can quite tell what Saint Jimmy is up to...

GasolineDiamond: Yep, Saint Jimmy has a way of decieving people. And I know! Poor Kid. Let's just hope Jimmy doesn't know what he saw...

Right then. Next chapter! Maybe we'll see what Kobra Kid does next.

Also, for fans of a certain pairing (yes, I know, basically all of you!) There's a tiny (tiny!) bit of something in here for you guys again... Which will either make you happy, or make you want to kill me :P

Hope you guys like it, and please do review :)

The title for this chapter comes from the amazing American Idiot track... American Idiot!

own nothing/no one you recognise :)

Chapter 23 - Age of Paranoia

Saint Jimmy watched as his customer hurried away.

"Another day, another deal." Saint Jimmy said, happily. Then he heard something, behind him. Panicked skittering of feet on the sand, turning to run. Saint Jimmy whipped his head round, looked up and saw, just before it disappeared from view, a figure wearing a very familiar bright red jacket.

Saint Jimmy allowed himself a moment to worry over what the Killjoy might've seen, what he might tell the others. But then he grinned. "Can't run from me, Kiddie."

He had a plan.

Years of training meant the Killjoys were not only good in a fight (great in a fight, Kobra Kid would argue) but they could also run.

Kobra Kid was glad for this right now, as he went at full pelt towards home, back to the other Killjoys.

It was all making sense now.

Saint Jimmy was working for Better Living. He was a spy, sent to take them down from within.

Only one thing didn't make sense… If he was working for them, how come he'd helped them get Party Poison back? If he was working for Better Living… Surely he'd want Party Poison to stay there, where the company wanted him.

A thought, one that Kobra Kid barely let himself consider, barely let himself think, crossed his mind. Hardly even a fully formed thought. A flash of an idea. But still one that chilled him.

Saint Jimmy wants Party Poison for himself

Kobra Kid wasn't sure where that had come from. But he was certain he didn't want to linger on it.

So close to the safe house, then Kobra Kid heard the one thing he didn't want to.

"Why the hurry, Kiddie?" Kobra Kid stopped immediately. He turned, saw Saint Jimmy coming slowly towards him. "Stay away from me." he said, walking backwards, trying to keep the space between him and Saint Jimmy. Not far now, if I just keep going, I'll be at the safe house. He can't stop me then. "Aww." Saint Jimmy cooed. "What's the matter Kiddie?" He'd picked up his pace, and Kobra Kid tried to match it without tripping himself up. "I saw you. I know your secret. I know what you're doing. And once I tell-"

It happened so quick. Saint Jimmy sped up slightly, and just as Kobra Kid looked behind him to make sure he wasn't about to fall, Saint Jimmy took the opportunity to spring on Kobra Kid, grabbing him, pinning him to the ground. "You're not telling them anything. You are going to forget what you saw. Got it?" Kobra Kid struggled, he was now the third Killjoy to discover how difficult it is to get free from Saint Jimmy. "Face it Saint, you're done." Kobra Kid spat, trying to sound confident, sure of himself. He figured it was his best defence right now. "As soon as I tell Poison what you've been doing-" Saint Jimmy shook his head, smiling, looked like he was trying not to laugh. "Bad threat, sweetheart. Cherry Top won't do a thing." "Stop that!" Kobra Kid snapped. "Stop talking like you own him. You don't.""Maybe, maybe… But. What you haven't figured out is this. What I'm doing? I'm doing for him." Kobra Kid frowned, that didn't make any sense. "How? How is what you're doing helping Party Poison?"

"The drugs are keeping him with us. If it wasn't for the things I'm providing… We certainly wouldn't be blessed with his consciousness. You do want him awake, right?" Kobra Kid didn't understand, that wasn't what he'd been expecting to hear. "Drugs?"

"What the fuck did you think this was about?" Saint Jimmy asked. Kobra Kid blinked, thinking, trying to figure out where he'd gone wrong on this. "I… I thought… I thought I heard you with someone… From the city. I thought… I thought you were… Selling information to Better Living, on us, on Poison. I-"Saint Jimmy laughed, rolling off Kobra Kid as he did. "Holy SHIT! That's a good one, Kiddie, that really is!" Kobra Kid sat up, scowling. "Well what the fuck was I supposed to think? I heard you, with someone who sounded a lot like a city-dweller, talking about deals and-""Oh wow, Kiddie. You couldn't get that more wrong. Alright, you were right on the deal part, I'll give you that. But me and Better Living? They fucking wish they had me on board. I don't want anything to do with them and their fucking regime. They're the ones who drove me out of my fucking home. That was my city! Believe me on one thing, if nothing else. I hate them every bit as much as you do." And, scaring himself, Kobra Kid realised he did believe Saint Jimmy. You can't fake the kind of hate that was burning in Saint Jimmy's eyes.

"You lost someone too, didn't you?" Kobra Kid knew this wasn't just about a loss of home. Saint Jimmy didn't answer. After thinking a while, Kobra Kid remembered a name Rave had mentioned, a few times. Johnny. He knew better than to mention it though. Kobra Kid stared at Saint Jimmy, and, for the first time didn't see someone who was a threat to them, to Party Poison. He saw a fellow rebel who'd been just as hurt and screwed over as the rest of them.

"You were selling drugs though, not buying them. How is that helping Poison?" Kobra Kid asked, moving the conversation on, needing to know the answer to this, that part still didn't make sense. Saint Jimmy grinned again. "It's called business, Kiddie. A complicated thing. Cherry Top's not the only one in need of… Help." Kobra Kid nodded, though he noted the slight pause Saint Jimmy took. Perhaps there was more to all this?

That wasn't as important though. "You say the drugs are helping Poison? Why can't everyone know that? Why can't I tell-""No!" Saint Jimmy snapped. "If they all know, hell, if it's discovered you know about these deals, I will loose my contact, loose my source and loose the drug supply. And then, guess what? You loose Party Poison. Get it now?" Kobra Kid grew suddenly cold. He already knew what it was like to come so close to loosing his brother, he couldn't cope with the idea of going through that again. He realised he had to trust Saint Jimmy, even though his every instinct still told him not to. He didn't like it, he didn't like having to agree to keep things from the other Killjoys. And he didn't like the idea that Party Poison needed those drugs. But if it was the only thing keeping him going right now… "What if-" Again, Saint Jimmy was on him, his hand clamped over Kobra Kid's mouth, looking him right in the eyes. "Secrecy, Kiddie, is key." Saint Jimmy kissed him on the cheek, then finally got to his feet, heading inside.

Fun Ghoul was still sitting with Party Poison, though he'd moved the conversation on. "Wanna hear some good news, Poison?""Always.""We fixed the car back up. Running perfect, as soon as you're well enough to move on, we will." Party Poison grimaced, sighed heavily. "Can't we just stay in one place for a while? I like it here, it's the closest damn thing we have to a home." Fun Ghoul squeezed his hand again. "I know, Poison, I like it here too. But after everything that just happened in the city…""They'll step up the search for us again." Party Poison knew, he understood. Better than anyone.

Fun Ghoul realised his plan to try and take Party Poison's mind of things hadn't worked, and somehow Poison seemed to read his disappointment, "That's good about the car though, Ghoul. We need it." Fun Ghoul smiled slightly. He knew what Party Poison was doing, and he found it oddly sweet that he didn't want Fun Ghoul to feel bad.

Then he noticed Party Poison's eyes closing, saw him struggling to keep them open. "If you want to sleep Poison, I'm not stopping you. Just come back to us a little quicker this time, yeah?" Party Poison closed his eyes tight, then shook his head, opening them again. "I'm sick of being dead to the world." He said, pushing himself up, sitting up straighter. Finally letting go of Fun Ghoul's hand to do so. Party Poison winced as he felt his various wounds stretch and pull. "Careful." Fun Ghoul told him, reaching out a hand to help. The blanket slipped as Party Poison sat up, and for the first time he looked, saw the damage done to his body.

The expression on his face was unreadable, blank. But Fun Ghoul knew this must be hard to take in, to deal with. "Poison-"

"Get me a shirt." And then Fun Ghoul knew exactly how hard this was. "Poison, I don't think-""I don't like being exposed like this. Please, just get me a shirt, any one, I don't care.""Poison. We need to be able to get to your injuries easily, we need to be able to care for you, just wait until-""I was exposed there, Ghoul! I told you I don't remember much, but I remember that. I remember being dragged to that fucking room, I remember them getting my jacket off me, I remember them locking me to that fucking frame, and I remember them cutting my shirt off, that" He pointed to a shallow, thin cut at his side "is when that happened. The weren't exactly being very careful with me, that wasn't the idea, anyway, was it? And I remember looking up, seeing those fucking cameras and knowing everyone was seeing this. Was seeing me. I-"

Fun Ghoul shifted closer, sensing Party Poison was on the brink, and who could blame him? Carefully Fun Ghoul took the older Killjoy into his arms, who leant against him gratefully, needing the support in more ways than one. "I'm sorry, Poison. Alright. Just… Just let me check you over again before you get covered up, okay?" He wasn't sure why he'd said it, certain Party Poison would say no.

"Alright." But he didn't.

Party Poison slipped out of Fun Ghouls arms, and slowly laid back down. Fun Ghoul watched him, now unsure.

This was entirely different to caring for Party Poison while he was unconscious, Fun Ghoul was very aware of his eyes on him, watching, waiting.

Fun Ghoul picked the kit up off the floor beside the bed, where it'd been kept since they brought Party Poison back. "I'll be as quick as I can." He promised, not looking up, focusing on the contents of the box.

Then, turning his attention to Party Poison, he decided to act like this was no different to when he had checked over Party Poison before.

But it was different. As soon as Fun Ghoul's hand touched his skin, Party Poison reacted, a slight twitch under Fun Ghoul's fingers. "I'll be gentle, um, careful, too." He said, knowing that at least on some subconscious level, Party Poison was afraid of being touched. At Fun Ghoul's words, he noticeably tried to relax, though it was obvious he couldn't completely.

Fun Ghoul worked carefully, deciding that speed wasn't the important thing. Making sure Party Poison was comfortable, at ease, was the important thing. This time Fun Ghoul re-dressed everything.

As gentle as Fun Ghoul was being, it still wasn't painless, couldn't be. Party Poison winced, twitched, a couple of times tried to angle his body away from Fun Ghoul. Every time, Fun Ghoul apologised, but didn't look up from his task. Not until, while trying to check the stitches of a wound to his stomach, Party Poison actually cried out, then Fun Ghoul looked up. A string of apologises passing his lips in quick succession as he shifted up the bed slightly, closer. Saw Party Poison's eyes were closed, tight, blocking out the pain. Fun Ghoul took his hand again, "I'm sorry, I'm trying. I guess my hands aren't gentle e-""Your hands are so fucking gentle."

The silence was thick. Fun Ghoul knew he was reading too much into that. Party Poison was trying to distract himself, and he wanted this done, over, he didn't want Fun Ghoul stopping, dragging this out.

But Fun Ghoul couldn't stop staring, couldn't stop thinking about what Party Poison had said.

Party Poison opened his eyes again, looking straight up at Fun Ghoul. Something about the way he was looking at him… "They are." Party Poison said.

For fucks sake, Poison, stop this. It isn't fair.

Fun Ghoul felt sure Party Poison knew what he was doing, but at the same time he was just as certain that he had no clue.

Either way, Fun Ghoul wished he would stop, worried about what he'd do if Party Poison didn't stop.

"Ghoul." Party Poison said, quietly, "Can I-"The question was never finished.

A sharp knocking on the door which immediately caught their attention, and then, without pause, Saint Jimmy walked in.

"Hey boys." He said, cheerfully. "Not interrupting anything, am I?" Fun Ghoul stood up, a little too quickly for his leg to take, but he ignored it. Glared at Saint Jimmy, furious at him for barging in. Then he noticed Party Poison trying to hurriedly sit back up. He didn't want to be lying down with Saint Jimmy around, he felt too vulnerable, too open. Again Party Poison cried out, he'd moved too fast, and it hurt, in too many ways and places, it hurt.

Fun Ghoul was there, helping him, small words of encouragement and reassurance offered as he did.

Saint Jimmy was smiling as he watched.

"What do you want, Saint?" Fun Ghoul snapped when he saw this. "I heard your dear leader was awake again, I simply wanted to come and welcome him back to the world." Saint Jimmy wasn't looking at Fun Ghoul when he answered though, utterly focused on Party Poison as he walked closer. Party Poison forced himself to stay still, to not back away from Saint Jimmy. He knew he couldn't show any weakness around this man.

He was just glad Fun Ghoul was there, made him feel a little more safe.

Ghoul will stop him, if he tries anything. I'm safe. I'm ok, I'm ok, I'm ok, I'm-

"It's so good to have you back, Cherry Top." Saint Jimmy said, still coming closer. Then he glanced at Party Poison's hair, obviously thinking that the nickname didn't fit so much anymore. He shrugged, he clearly didn't care. "And, just so you know, if you need anything, just ask, I'll be more than happy." Saint Jimmy was beside the bed now, the opposite side from Fun Ghoul, who was becoming more and more on edge as the encounter went on.

Saint Jimmy leant down then, close to Party Poison's ear, a hand reaching out, lightly touching his arm, stroking ever so slightly. "And I mean, anything." The whisper was hot, dirty, the meaning behind it clear. Party Poison closed his eyes, he didn't want to see the grin on Saint Jimmy's face.

Fun Ghoul reacted quickly, pushing Saint Jimmy away. "Stay the fuck away from him."Saint Jimmy smiled, innocently. "I was just offering my… Assistance."

"Don't try that-""Ghoul." Party Poison interrupted, quietly. "Leave it." Not quite understanding why Party Poison wanted him to, Fun Ghoul still silenced then.

"I'll leave you both to it, shall I?" Fun Ghoul glowered at Saint Jimmy again, but he was already heading out the door.

"Poison." Fun Ghoul said, sitting back down again, "Why did you-""Get me a shirt, Ghoul, please." Party Poison's eyes were closed, his head bowed.

He looked terrifyingly defeated.

Fun Ghoul did as he was asked this time, finding a shirt and holding it out for Party Poison to take. He offered help, but Party Poison shook his head.

Once covered up, Party Poison slunk back down. And still, that horrible, hopeless look on his face.

"He hasn't won, you know?" Fun Ghoul told him. "And neither have they."

Party Poison turned his face away. He wasn't so sure he agreed.

Later, that night, and everyone started coming back to the bedroom.

Rave and Jet Star had spent the rest of the day inside, checking over supplies, coming to the conclusion they had enough to see them through for a while, at least. Though they, like Fun Ghoul, had considered they might need to move on as soon as possible, lest the powers at BL/I come looking.

As Rave walked in, Jet Star not far behind, she smiled at Fun Ghoul, who smiled back, as usual, as best he could. He stood to allow Rave to sit in his place beside Party Poison. "Hey baby, you doing ok?" Party Poison nodded, smiled, Rave decided to ignore how forced it looked.

Not long after, Kobra Kid re-appeared, pre-occupied look on his face, but only a shake of the head in answer to "What's wrong?"

"Just tired." He said. Already shrugging out of his jacket then sitting on his bed to kick off his boots.

"That looks like a pretty fucking good idea." Fun Ghoul said, following Kobra Kid's actions. He was so tired, though he knew he wouldn't sleep. Rave nodded, "It's been a long day again, guys, I think you're right." Then, "Jet, do you mind keeping watch tonight?" Jet Star nodded, "It's my turn anyway." It was about then that Party Poison spoke up.

"Um… Guys, I don't… I'm not sure how much you're gonna want to stay in the room with me tonight. I…""Why wouldn't we want to stay with you?" Rave asked, gently. "I… I'm scared I…""Nightmares." Fun Ghoul said, figuring it out. That was why Party Poison hadn't wanted to rest earlier, he was worried about having nightmares.

Party Poison didn't respond, but the answer was obvious.

"There is no way we're leaving you tonight, Poison, no way." Fun Ghoul told him. "I don't care if you wake me, I'm staying here." Rave nodded in agreement. "Poison, you don't need to worry. I'll be right here, ok? I'll look after you for a change." Though still reluctant, Party Poison accepted Rave's promise.

Rave watched as Party Poison slowly fell to sleep, he kept opening his eyes, fighting it. Everytime he did, Rave squeezed his hand, stroked his hair, told him it was alright.

A small amount of fear crept into her when Party Poison did finally fall asleep. Flashbacks of him being unconscious the last few days flicked across her mind, but she knew this wasn't like that.

She could hear the steady breathing of the other two Killjoys, telling her they were also asleep, and, finally, she allowed herself to drift.

She wasn't sure how long she'd been asleep before the scream pierced through the silence, instantly waking her.

Rave didn't even have to take a second to figure out where the scream had come from.

Party Poison was on his side, his back to Rave, curled up tight. Fuck, he'd hurt himself like that. Rave leant over, easing him, as carefully as possible, onto his back again. He struggled against her, reacting as if she were a threat. "Poison, please." But she eventually got him there. Though that only meant we wasn't hurting himself physically anymore. Party Poison was still caught up in his nightmare. His breathing heavy, uneven, choking on tears.

Rave knew she had to figure a way to wake him up, find a way out of it for him.

He screamed again.

Fun Ghoul had only pretended to be asleep. He'd known when Party Poison's nightmare had started. He'd heard him crying, softly at first. By the time he screamed, Fun Ghoul was already out of bed. Now, after the second one he got up, went over to the bed where Rave was desperately trying to comfort Party Poison, hoping (once again) that he'd wake up. "You got him, Rave?" Fun Ghoul asked, as he got up close, standing beside where Rave was sitting. Rave nodded. She'd carefully moved Party Poison so she could hold him on her lap, stroking his arms, face, trying to calm him down. Alternately shaking him, gently, trying to wake him. But it wasn't doing any good. "I don't know what to do, Ghoul. I don't know how to-" Then, without warning, Party Poison opened his eyes, wide.

He stared up at both of them for a while, visibly calming as he did. Then, finally, he closed his eyes again, falling into a deeper, more peaceful sleep.

Rave sighed with relief, chocked back a sob of her own.

Knowing Party Poison was alright again, Fun Ghoul headed back to bed again, that's when he noticed Kobra Kid, sitting up in bed, staring straight at Party Poison.

He looked terrified.

"It's ok, Kid." Fun Ghoul told him. Kobra Kid didn't react, like he didn't hear him.

Fun Ghoul went over to him, a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Kobra Kid jumped, but it got him to look at Fun Ghoul finally. "Hey, it's alright." Fun Ghoul assured him, softly. "He's ok, just a nightmare. It's fine." Kobra Kid nodded. But he didn't look anymore relaxed. "C'mon, Kid, I wanna get back to sleep." Fun Ghoul lied. "You should too." Again, Kobra Kid nodded, slowly lying back down.