In The End, Fake Your Death [Danger Days/Legion of the Black Fanfic]

by novarami19

Summary:

(MCR centered fanfic featuring BVB)

Approximately 7 months after the events of LLITZ, Better Living Industries and F.E.A.R join forces.

Meanwhile in Zone 6, the Wild Ones: Prophet, Deviant, Mourner, Destroyer and Mystic wake up in an unknown part of the desert wasteland they once called home.

The Killjoys are restless after an unforgivable event transpired exactly 7 months ago and seek vengeance.

Party Poison and the rest of Fabulous Four encounter the Legionnaires and seek to become allied with them.

When F.E.A.R and BLI unleash their newest weapon, the Wild Ones and the Killjoys set their sights on taking them down.

Will they achieve their goal?

{Book 2 in Warriors of Youth Series}
{Sequel To Living Life In The Zones, Prequel to Legacy)

Chapter 1: The Past Haunts Me, I'll Never Forget You

Zone 4, October 2019

-7 months later-

Mikey/Kobra's POV
~~
Her smile, her laugh, her brown eyes...

Don't do this..

Don't pain yourself thinking about her. You have something else to do.

Better Living Industries have combined powers with another cruel organization known as For Every and All Religion or F.E.A.R for reasons unknown.

The Killjoys have been trying to take down Better Living since 2012. But what happened all those months ago fueled our revenge.

Something tells me that although we won the battle, the war is about to begin...

~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~

Andy/Prophet's POV
~~
"The Rebels will succumb to F.E.A.R. and we will reign supreme, thanks to our new friends..."

I woke to the burning sun. I squinted at the light and sat up. I looked around and saw two of the five of us scattered around. Jake was the closest. I got up and went to him.

"Jake, wake up man." I shook him.

He groaned and opened his eyes.

"Andy? What happened?"

I was about to answer when I heard Ashley.

"Hello! Anyone there?!"

I quickly helped Jake up and went to Ashley.

"ASHLEY?!" Jake yelled.

"Thank goodness you guys are okay," said Ash, "I could barely see CC near that clump of cacti over there. Don't know what he was doing though."

Jake bolted as soon as Ash finished. Ashley and I went to look for Jinxx.

We found him opposite of where CC supposedly was. He was still out cold.

"Jinxx, hey. Wake up," said Ashley, shaking him, "Mystic!"

"What's going on?" He asked, waking up.

"Neither of us know what's going on, except for the fact that we woke up in an unknown part of the desert," said Ash as I helped Jinxx up.

"Unknown is right, fellow Wild Ones," said CC, "We can't even see the Sanctuary from here."

We turned to see Jake supporting CC as I noticed his side bleeding a bit.

Must've landed wrong, I thought, looking around and confirming CC's suspicions.

"Anyone remember anything about what happened before we woke up?" Asked Jake.

"I remember confronting the Reaper outside the Camp, and before I passed out he mentioned something about a new friend or something of the nature," I said.

"We should wander around for a bit, look for shelter, a cave, anything seeing as we're a couple hours away from noon based on the sun's position," said Jinxx, starting to walk off.

At that moment, my head started to hurt and I fell on my knees and the last thing I saw were the guys looking at me with worry...

~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~

I saw a young girl, who I remembered to be Eve Black. She was with another person who I couldn't see, I didn't know why though.

What's happening...

I saw the mysterious person's thoughts as if they were the subtitles of a film.

The person fell suddenly and I could've sworn I saw his eyes flash white for a second.

"It's the Psyche," I heard a voice from behind and I turned.

I was suddenly face to face with the woman I've heard so much about before the Legion...

Veronyx

"My dear boy, what happened?" She said with a smile.

"I don't know, this has happened before right? Before I left the Sanctuary?"

She nodded.

"Before you were given Eve Black," she said, "and before the Shadows killed my helper in the Sanctuary."

I thought back to the mysterious person.

"Why did I see that person?" I asked.

"You two share a strong bond. You are the Prophet and it's a prophecy I have come to help you fulfill. The Messenger needs to save the Psyche from the Sanctuary and send him on his way to you. The Psyche is your key to defeating the Shadows and F.E.A.R. What has just happened is the activation of your spiritual connection to each other."

"We're connected?"

She laughed, "Well, yes. You are to proclaim the Psyche's visions to the Legion."

The Void began to get brighter.

"Finish what you came here for, then begin your Legacy."

I woke up.

~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~

"Prophet!"

I sat up, still dizzy from the blackout.

"I'm okay guys, really," I told them.

"Are you sure? What happened?" Asked CC.

I'll explain when we find refuge, I said telepathically.

"Well, I guess we can start our search for shelter. We have more than enough time to find one."

"Then, what are we waiting for? Let's get going," said CC.

And we started walking.

~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~

Gerard/Party's POV
~~
"Killjoys! It's Show Pony, Toxic and Mercy! Open up!"

Wondering what they were visiting for, I opened the Diner's doors.

"Long time no see. How've you guys been?" I asked.

"Not very well, we have news about the new oppressive powers that joined up with Better Living."

I was shocked to say the least.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Well, thanks to our recon squad in Battery, we now know about the guy working with Korse. He's dressed in black robes, who controls shadows or some weird crap. There's also mentions of a 'reaper' of some sorts and a psychic. There's also something about a legion led by a prophet. It's pretty strange Gerard," said Brendon.

"We'll give our thanks to Red and Queen when we can," said Ray.

"I have an idea," said Frank.

"What'd you have in mind?" Asked Pony.

"We find ourselves a prophet."

Chapter 2: Desert Wanderers

Andy/Prophet's POV
~~
"Andy! We've been walking for hours, we should stop for a bit."

I turned to look at Jake. I nodded, agreeing with him.

There was limited shade under a fallen palm tree in the distance. We walked the rest of the way and collapsed under it.

"If only we had water," gasped Ash

CC then got up and put his hands on the ground.

The earth under us shook and a small hole opened up and water began to flow, making a tiny lake.

"Destroyer, I didn't know you could do that," said Ash, still surprised.

"I didn't know either, I tried and I got results," he responded sheepishly.

We all took turns drinking from the tiny lake. It was a while before we began walking again.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Mikey/Kobra's POV
~~
"Gee, can I talk to you? Please?"

He turned and looked at me.

"Of course, Mikey."

We went inside my room; the room I used to share with Lydia.

"Has anyone found Danny yet? It's been quite a while since he left that day."

He sighed, "No, sadly. None of the other Killjoys have seen him, at least, not for 6 months. The last place he was seen was in Zone 1, and it's dangerous over there."

"Damn. I hope he's okay. He'd want to come back sooner or later, Mercy and Toxic miss him."

"Yeah. Hey, we need to discuss the new threat with Dr D so he can send out messages to the other Killjoys."

I stood up, "Ok, we have to figure out a plan to find that prophet Brendon was talking about."

"You're right, lets go."

~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~

A rumble broke through the diner.

"The hell was that?" Asked Frank.

"That hasn't happened before. I wonder what caused it," said Brendon.

The boom box radio spewed static and a voice was heard.

"Killjoys, the earth trembled beneath our feet here in Zone 5. We're a bit shaken up but all right here. I send out a request that you all check in with each other and make sure everyone is safe. This is Dr. Death Defying, signing off."

"Well, Dr D is okay. It wasn't an earthquake," sighed Patrick

"I just hope no one got hurt," I mentioned.

~~~~~~~~

Jinxx/Mystic's POV
~~
The heat was starting to get to us.

I looked up at the sky.

It's almost one in the afternoon.

I looked back behind me and saw my brothers tired.

"We have to hurry if we'll be able to survive this harsh environment," I remarked.

"Wait, Mystic, look!" Yelled CC

At the horizon, we saw what resembled a mountain range.

"There could be people on the other side!" Exclaimed Ashley

We found determination and began our journey to the mountains.

~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~

After a while, we reached the mountains. We began to hike when Jake asked us to stop. He picked up a large stone.

"Destroyer, could you sharpen this?"

CC did so and Jake walked up to a cactus. He cut off chunks of it and used the rock to cut off the spines and cut the leaves in half. He grabbed a stick and made a kabob.

"Mystic, light a fire will ya?"

I lit a flame and kept it burning.

He grabbed two rocks and secured the stick with the cacti on it. He cooked it and then gave it to us.

"Here, I would've done it earlier but I couldn't find the prickly pears anywhere."

"Thank you Mourner," said Andy.

After we ate, we hiked some more and found a cave. We decided to stay there until morning.

I just hope we find help, and a way home.

Chapter 3: Hey, That's Our Ride!

Mikey/Kobra's POV
~~
Ray, Frank and I were in the Diner when Gerard came in from the garage.

"We're almost out of food and supplies, you guys wanna come on a run with me?"

I glanced at the guys, Ray shrugged and Frank nodded.

"Yeah, we're coming."

"Alright! I'll start the car."

I got up when something fell from my neck and onto the floor. I bent down to pick it up.

Lucky's wedding band, that I wear on my neck at all times.

I saw that the leather string had broke.

I guess I'll have to find a chain, I thought, tying the string back onto my neck.

Ray and I grabbed our helmets and followed Frank to the Trans Am. Ray got into the passenger seat and Frank and I got stuck in the backseat.

We drove to an abandoned gas station on the outskirts of Zone 5. It was dangerous to be around this area without back up.

Reason one; since the Fires burned down the land, there were no longer any landmarks to guide us. Reason two; Zone 6 was uncharted territory that leads to who knows where. There were also thieves and scavengers. The Killjoys and the Zone 6 leaders have an unspoken agreement that Zone 6 and beyond was all theirs and Zone 5 inwards to Battery City was ours.

When we arrived, Party called to us from the drivers seat.

"Guys, keep your guns close at all times, be cautious, and have each other's backs."

We went into the gas station and gathered supplies. Something felt off this time but I had no idea what. I ignored it and went back to what I was doing.

____________
Andy/Prophet's POV
~~
After we woke up, we left the cave and continued our trek through the mountains. We had gotten to the foot of the mountain and had kept walking when Ashley suddenly gasped in surprise.

"Guys, look!"

We all turned and saw a painted sign not too far away. We ran to it and saw these simple words; Zone 5, welcome.

"Brothers, we made it," I said, cracking a smile.

We found what ended up looking like a road and began to follow it, hoping for someone to find us.

~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~
Some time later, we noticed a small building with a somewhat familiar form just outside it.

I quickened my pace and noticed it was a car. Wait--a car?! Jackpot!

Before we could get any closer, Jake held me back.

"I sense life inside the building, we have to be careful," he said, glaring at the boarded up windows of what now seems like a gas station.

I had Destroyer use his ability to move stone to fling a few pebbles at the empty trash bins in the back. I heard movement and told the guys to get in the car. Jake, CC and Ashley hopped in the backseat and Jinxx got shotgun while I drove.

I was taken aback when I realized I had slightly forgotten how to start a car since it had already been years since I last drove. There was something about a key. I looked around me and noticed something sticking out from the visor in front of Jinxx.

"Mystic," I called.

He turned and I nodded towards the object. He caught on and tossed me the keys. I stuck it in the ignition and turned the car on.

I was about to drive off when a light shot through the window and hit my forearm. A warm liquid began to run down it.

Someone shot me.

It hurt like hell but I turned to see four people in colorful clothes run up to the car and bang on the windows.

I gripped my wound with my other hand and glared at the mysterious people as one tore open the door and dragged me out, the other colorful men doing the same.

We were thrown on the ground, the Wild Ones looked ready to fight. I looked back at them.

Don't try to resist, I told them, they might do something we'd all regret.

I saw them relax. The colorful men saw it too and looked skeptical, but ignored it. Then, I looked up only to see myself staring down the barrel of a yellow painted gun.

"Who are you and why are you in our territory?" Asked the one pointing the gun at me.

"I'll tell you when you get this gun out of my face!" I yelled at him.

He lowered his gun but didn't put it away.

I looked the man in the eyes. He had choppy red hair, hazel eyes hidden behind a yellow mask with a clown design on it.

I quickly took note of the other men.

Two had helmets on. One was dressed in a red jacket, donning the yellow helmet with 'Good Luck' written on the visor. The other wore a black jacket, with a spaceman design on his black helmet.

The last was pretty short compared to the others. He had a Frankenstein mask on halfway, wore a green vest and was smoking a cigarette.

Mystic, I called to him, we're going to need a distraction.

Get ready, I told the others.

I looked back up at the red headed one and smiled. I hopped up and punched him, he stumbled back.

The Mystic then jumped to action, raising a wall of fire around the strange men. Destroyer punched the ground which caused the men to fall onto the ground.

I resumed my place next to my brothers.

"We are the Wild Ones, leaders of the Legion of the Black. We woke up in this strange part of the desert. We don't know where we are and we've been walking for hours. Now if you'll excuse us we'll be leaving now," I told them.

We began to walk away, when I heard shots being fired. Then, one by one, my brothers began to fall.

I felt something strike me then the world went black.

~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~

Gerard/Party's POV
~~
The man in black smiled at me and the next thing I knew, he jumps up and punches me. I saw the other man move his hand and a wall of fire surrounds us.

"What the hell?" I heard Frank mumble.

The other punched the ground and we lost our balance.

"Now if you'll excuse us we'll be leaving now," he told us, beginning to turn away.

I took my chance and grabbed my gun, and stunned them. They fell one by one.

The fire soon extinguished itself so I got up and headed for the trunk.

I grabbed some rope we carried around and began to tie them all up, starting with the one with the diamond painted on his eye

"A little help would be nice!" I called to the others.

Knowing them, Mikey ran up first. Ray and Frank soon followed.

We had finished four out of the five. The one who punched me being the one left.

I got to him when I noticed something around his neck.

A rosary...?

I took it off of him and put it in my pocket to look at later.

"Party, they don't look like they're from here," I heard Jet say.

"They really don't," I replied, "contact Dr. D about this and let's get these guys back to the Diner."

We contacted Show Pony who then brought the van we used to escape Battery all those months ago.

We put the five men, the 'Wild Ones', in the back. Ray and I drove the van and Frank, Mikey and Show drove the Trans Am back.

Chapter 4: Interrogation

Gerard/Party's POV
~~
We sped through the desert, hurrying to get back to the Diner before the men who called themselves the 'Wild Ones' awoke.

The steady sound of the engine wasn't enough to overlap the silence in the van.

"So, what're we gonna do with these so called 'Wild Ones'?" Asked Ray.

"I'm not sure," I responded, "We don't know anything about them, seeing as they came from beyond Zone 5, we don't know where their loyalties lie. Besides, there's something strange about them, I'm just not sure what it is exactly."

——————————
Andy/Prophet's POV
~~
I felt a low hum through the darkness. I heard people talking. I tried to move but my body didn't respond.

The sound of gunshots rang through my mind. Seeing my brothers fall scared me.

Are they okay? Or have the Wild Ones fallen at the hands of these men?

The humming stopped and I blacked out again.

When I was finally came to, I saw I was in what looked like a diner. I looked to my sides and saw my brothers and I tied up, our backs to each other.

I sighed in relief, They're okay...

I heard footsteps in the other room as well as bits and pieces of a conversation.

Guys! I tried to communicate with the Wild Ones telepathically.

No response.

"Gerard!" Someone yelled, followed by a loud crash.

"I'll clean it up," replied another.

I thought about how to get out when I heard a voice close to me.

"You're awake huh?"

I looked at the man standing before me.

He had long black hair and was wearing a jade green long sleeve.

"Guys!" He yelled towards the area he had come from.

The other men from earlier made themselves known.

"'Bout time we got answers from you. Tell us, whatever happened to the 'stay in Zone 6 and off our territory agreement'? Your leaders decided to send you over to start another war?"

I furrowed my eyebrows, mirroring my confusion.

"What're you talking about? What zones?" Asked CC, voicing my thoughts.

The red-haired man grabbed his shoulders, "Trying to play innocent, huh? Who sent you?!"

His eyes were filled with fire.

"We were sent here by F.E.A.R."

"Why would fear make you come over onto Killjoy territory? Is something happening in Zone 6?" Asked the blonde.

"We don't know if we can trust them," said the redhead.

"We're just looking for a way back, our only sign of where we could be is nowhere in sight.," said Jinxx, "Please, we mean you no harm, just hear us out."

The men surrounded us as a precaution.

"Go on. Tell us, who are you? Why are you here?"

"I've told you before, we're known as the Wild Ones. We lead the Legion of the Black. We don't know how we got here or how to get back. All we know is that we can't see the Sanctuary at all, which means we're practically lost."

"I didn't mean who are you as a whole, I meant each of you. And please, make it worth my time. If you end up being undercover Dracs, we'll end you quickly."

I sighed, "We're the Wild Ones. The guys behind me are Deviant, Mourner, Destroyer, Mystic. I'm the Prophet. I'm telling you, we don't know where we are, we just want to get back home to defend our Camp."

The men went pale after I told them who I was.

"Get Toxic and Mercy over here now," he told the blonde.

The red haired man untied us quickly after that.

"So, you guys lead a legion? Where did you guys come from?"

"Our brothers and sisters in arms, the Legion of the Black, they help us in the fight against F.E.A.R. Our Camp is very far from here, the Sanctuary is nowhere in sight."

The short one looked confused, "Again with the fear, what are you guys afraid of?"

CC scoffed, "I get it now! Okay, so we're up against an anti-legion—I guess you can call it that?—known as For Each and All Religion, or F.E.A.R."

The latter sighed in understanding.

"We've told you about ourselves," said Jake, "Now, tell us who you are. We don't know if we're standing on the enemy side."

"We're the Fabulous Four. We help Dr. Death Defying lead the Killjoys. I'm Party Poison. The blond is Kobra Kid. Space man with the 'fro over there is Jet Star. And this little dude is Fun Ghoul. We're up against Better Living Industries—BL/ind—and it's ugly armies of Draculoids and S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W/S."

"Guess we're on the right side after all," said Ashley.

A pounding on the door outside caught our attention.

"PARTY! OPEN UP!"

"Coming!" He replies and unlocking the doors.

Two men stepped in, one tall brunette and a short blond man.

"Mercy, Toxic, we found him. We found the Prophet."

The men came up to me.

"We're fellow Killjoys. Please, tell us more about the group that joined up with Better Living. This is a terrible situation," begged the tall one.

"They're led by a man who calls himself the Reaper. He's in cahoots with a mystic being called the Matriarch. All hell will break loose if she's here, just know that. The Reaper controls beings called Shadows, they carry a staff that bears the sigil of F.E.A.R. We're the only ones who can fight the Shadows," explained Jinxx.

"How can you guys be the only ones to fight them?" Asked Jet.

"We might have to go outside if we're going to show you," said CC.

Chapter 5: Forging Alliances

Andy/Prophet's POV
~~
They took us outside and around the back of—I knew it!—the diner. There was a small makeshift shooting range.

I guess only the Legion has powers, I thought.

The Killjoys handed their guns to us.

"What's so special about your fighting that makes you guys the only ones to fight Shadows?"

"We don't use weapons," I said as I handed Party's gun back to him.

I hoped our powers came back and attempted to use my telekinesis to lift a large rock.

"What the hell?!" I heard Fun yell.

"Destroyer, your turn!" I said throwing the rock at him.

He laughed and held out his hands. The rock stopped and practically became sand. He then formed the sand into a pentacharm, the insignia of the Legion.

Jinxx did fire tricks as well as reveal his skilled knowledge in the mystic arts. He cast the illusion of appearance to give him Party's look.

Kobra looked amused and laughed.

Jake manipulated his black mist and Ashley formed it into a tornado-like vortex. They were about to do something with it when Jake's eyes flashed.

"Mourner, what's wrong?" I asked.

He looked at the Killjoys.

"Who's buried here?"

Kobra was about to say something when a low roar filled our ears.

"Shit, Dracs are coming. You guys want to help?"

"Prophet," said Jinxx.

I turned to look at him.

"We can't let the Reaper know we're here. We either hide or use the Killjoys' method."

I agreed with the second option.

We went inside to get weapons but two of us were left without guns. They happened to be Jinxx and I.

We decided to help from the sidelines. The Draculoids we're here by the time we got back outside.

We hid behind another large stone. From there, Jinxx would throw tiny fireballs into the vehicles and then expand them while I helped guide the colored bullets to their targets.

Party called out to the others, giving them a strategy and the Killjoys followed. The other Wild Ones were losing hope since we've never had to use weapons before. Jake looked back to tell the others something when I saw a Drac fire a shot headed for Jake's chest.

I used my telekinesis to change the target from his chest to his leg.

"Damn it!" I yelled as he fell. The others went to help him out of there and back into the Diner. The Dracs' numbers began to fall, the Killjoys had lots of experience.

The Wild Ones were out of sight, safe inside the Diner. I watched the Killjoys for a while. Seeing how they fought.

Hand crafted grenades were used, Kobra fought hand-to-hand with a Drac. Some pulled out knives.

Jinxx and I were about to join our brothers when a shot was heard behind us. My body went numb and another shot was heard. Jinxx fell too. I felt a sharp thing poke me then I passed out.

—————————
Mikey/Kobra's POV
~~
We drove off the Dracs but as they left we noticed two dark forms being taken away.

Oh shit...

"Let them go!" I yelled, firing a few shots towards the Dracs that had two of the Wild Ones.

The shots were unsuccessful, they were gone.

A memory flashed across my eyes.

Lucky's first fight. Me having to watch her be taken after thinking she was safely hidden. Me having to go after her. Seeing the van wrecked, seeing her passed out on Queen and Red's couch.

A knot in my stomach became known and guilt weighed heavily on my shoulders.

Mikey.

Mikey...

"KOBRA!"

It was Gerard.

"Are you okay? You seemed lost in though for a second there."

"Prophet and Mystic. The Dracs got 'em. Just like Lucky. We thought they'd be safe."

We went inside.

"Where's Prophet and Mystic?" Asked Mourner.

"They got taken," said Fun.

"Are we going to go after them?" Asked Destroyer.

"We know what you guys can do, I think and hope they can get out on their own. Besides if we all went on a rescue mission, you guys would be found out."

"I hate that you're right," mumbled Deviant.

"We need to hope they can get back safely, we can always ask other Killjoys to help guide them back here," said Jet.

"I've already sent a request to Red and Queen to keep a lookout for them," said Toxic.

"In the meanwhile, we can give each other more insight on BL/ind and F.E.A.R."

"Alright then. Who goes first?" Asked Mourner.

Chapter 6: A Ghoul's Presence

Andy/Prophet's POV
~~
The overwhelming smell of antiseptics filled my lungs. I woke up and saw I was in a cell. I looked around and saw I was with Jinxx, who was glaring at the small window in the door.

"You're awake," he mused.

"Yeah," I said, "Where are we?"

"I'm not sure, but I think it has to do with that industry the Killjoys were talking about before we got ambushed."

"Better Living. Those bastards! Mystic, do you know if we can we use our 'talents'?" I asked, extending out my hand trying to see if I could move anything.

"I've tried that already, Prophet. It's useless. I don't know if it's the cell, the drugs we were given or maybe even the guns they used to stun us into unconsciousness, but we're powerless."

I looked around and tried to get up but with no luck, I still couldn't feel the lower half of my body. So I decided to sit around and see what would happen.

~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~

"Prophet!"

I looked up at Jinxx and wondered what had happened.

He snapped his fingers and sparks appeared. A hope filled me with determination. The numbness in my legs went away and so I got up and looked out the window. I saw a white-masked man standing by the exit door.

"Hey!" I called.

The guard paid no attention to me.

"My friend isn't waking up, I need some help!"

Again, no response.

"Damn," I muttered under my breath.

"I'm guessing they're ignoring us," said Jinxx.

"They're a lot smarter than I thought they were," I huffed.

"Or maybe there was a past experience that caused them to strengthen their security," he suggested, while playing with a small flame.

A realization hit me then and there.

"Mystic, you know what their first mistake was?"

He shook his head.

I smirked, "They put the two of us together in the same cell."

He got the idea. He stood up and went to the door. He put his hand on the doorframe and it started to melt. When it was melted enough, I used the small bit of power I had to throw the door against the other wall.

The guard began to run towards us and I rammed him into the wall.

"Hello? Is someone else there?!"

I turned. Who else was here?

"Where are you?" Asked Jinxx.

No response.

I began to look inside each cell. When I got to the one at the end of the hall, I saw a man. He had shoulder length black hair, a thick beard and mustache, and dark brown eyes. His eyes, I noticed, were filled with many emotions, most of which were probably caused by this war that involves the Killjoys.

Jinxx melted the lock and opened the door. The man stepped out.

"Thank you," he said, before turning and going towards the exit.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"I have to get out of here. Are you coming or not?"

Sassy, yet determined.

Jinxx and I followed.

We stopped at a supply closet and the man grabbed a gun, just like the ones the Killjoys use.

"It's been a while since I held one of these," he smirked.

Just then, some guards appeared. I attempted to block the bullets with my telekinesis, but decided keeping our powers a secret was more important.

The man fired the gun with such a precision, most of our opponents went down quickly. When they were finished, he looked at us.

"C'mon, lets go!" He said, bolting towards another door.

After a while, we managed to get out of that place. The wind flung sand at us, we were finally outside.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"I'm guessing somewhere in Zone 2," he replied.

"Party and the others, I can't recall where the Diner was," said Mystic.

"You know the Fabulous Four?" He asked, "I can take you guys to the Diner. But I'll tell you, it's a walk since it's in Zone 4."

We agreed.

~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~

Hours later, we arrived at the Diner. The others were arguing, about what, I couldn't tell.

"PARTY POISON!!" The man yelled.

The commotion inside stopped and Party stepped out.

"Who are you? How do you know me?"

The man looked shocked, but replied.

"You really don't remember me? It's me, Moonlight Ghoul."

Party looked shocked.

"You look different. Never mind that, where've you been? You worried us all!"

He hesitated before answering. "I may or may not have been held in a BL/ind building for 4 months."

"Come in, all of you."

~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~

We entered and Ash, Jake and CC noticed us first.

"Guys!" Yelled CC, as he attacked us with a hug.

"You guys made it!" Said Jake.

"You worried us!" Said Ashley

"It's a miracle we got out of there," said Jinxx, "We were powerless for a while but they're coming back, thank goodness."

"Guys, come here," said Party.

We joined the Killjoys as they helped the man called Ghoul. Jet grabbed two cans of something called Power Pup and gave it to him.

"Danny, can you tell us what happened? What do you remember?" Asked Kobra.

"I remember running an errand for Queen and Red when I hear a pair of motorcycles. I turned, saw a flash of white, heard a shot go off, and when I woke up, I was in a cell. The Dracs came in every now and then, beat me, left and came back with a small tray of 'food' once a day. I lost track of time but I heard when they brought these guys in."

He gestured towards us.

"When I heard the door go down, I knew they could help me get out of the cell. They helped me out of there and I escorted them out."

"Well, we're glad you're back Ghoul."

"I'm glad to be back."

Chapter 7: Desert Beginnings

Jake/Mourner's POV
~~
We all noticed how the Killjoys welcomed the man with open arms. It was a reunion that transformed their façades of badass rebels to the faces and feelings of people scared to lose their only sense of freedom, their friends or even their families.

Which reminded me...

_______________
Mikey/Kobra's POV
~~
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw how the Mourner closes his eyes and stood there for a moment. When he opened them, they were white and practically glowing. He then walked outside. I went after him, leaving the Diner unnoticed. He walked a little ways from it when he stopped.

I then knew where he was going.

I left him and went through the shortcut and beat him to Lydia's grave. The Fab Four had put a painted mailbox near it. We nicknamed the grave Phoenix so no one could find it. Many Killjoys put letters in the box that ended up disappearing.

At least I beat him here...

"How'd you get here?" Said Mourner, eyes still glowing.

"I saw that you left and guessed where you were going," I told him.

"Who's here? A voice is calling to me but I can't reach it."

I sat down on the desert floor and looked up at him. I pulled the band from my neck and showed it to him.

"Oh," he looked down, "I'm sorry for your loss."

I thanked him.

"You know, we're not going to keep her here. If—when—we beat Better Living, we all planned on moving her someplace else, somewhere beautiful."

"Only when she's buried permanently, I can communicate with her. My powers as the Mourner are limited but in certain circumstances, they can be limitless. At least, that's what I believe."

I nodded, "We shouldn't be out for too long, we should head back."

~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~

When we entered, Gerard was giving me a look.

"Now that everyone's back, we can plan out what we'll do to keep attacks against us limited."

"You could teach us to fight how you guys would."

"Well, you'd have to become Killjoys first. Disguise your already disguised identities," declared Party as he walked over to the hallway connected to the kitchen.

"In that case, we'd have to teach them how to use the ray guns," said Jet.

"And accommodate them," mentioned Fun.

Toxic wrote some stuff on a napkin and gave it to Party.

"Spirit Eyes, Mourner that's you. Mystic, you're Flame Witch. Night Leader, that's Prophet. Sky Dragon, Deviant and finally Desert Destroya, self explanatory. You guys got that?"

"For the most part I'm guessing." I told him.

"We'll work on it."

Chapter 8: From Rebels to Killjoys

Andy/Night's POV
~~
We were guided to a garage area where the car was kept.

Party and Mercy grabbed some materials and handed them to us. Masks and guns to be more specific.

"I don't mean to be rude but we have our own versions of masks," I said sheepishly.

"But remember," Party mentioned, "You don't want your enemy to know you're here."

I laughed, "Oops. I'd forgotten about that."

We were given outfits to add on to our disguises. My brothers and I had on colorful outfits, but when we went into the dining area where the others were...

"Yeah...no," Party shook his head.

We changed back and decided to put on brightly colored shirts. I had a tattered, sleeveless, bleached red shirt with black stripes along the sides, Ashley's was a white muscle tank with paint splatters in various shades of purple. Jinxx's shirt was a gray and sky blue ombré tank, CC was sporting a jade green t-shirt with a matching bandana on his head and Jake had on a pale yellow tank on.

We were given masks that didn't really match our outfits but oh well. Jinxx conjured some light grey jackets and vests similar to the ones we wear in our Wild Ones get-ups.

"It's weird to see you guys like this, but it'll have to do. Now, we'll teach you how to use ray guns. As you've seen before, they're not like the guns before the Fires and F.E.A.R, they have a higher lethality rate and you can track the bullet because it has a tail of light," Jet Star explained, leading us back behind the Diner.

We were given large rocks as targets and funny looking guns that had a paint scheme that matched our outfits.

"Take a shot at those rocks, and we'll see how well you can use the guns."

We all took the shot and the bullets came pretty close, surprisingly. The Killjoys continued to help for a while until we all managed to get a consistent aim.

"I'd say we did a pretty damn good job with this," said Party, pleased with their success.

We all went back inside and began to make a plan to see what F.E.A.R and BL/ind were doing.

"Mercy, Toxic, have you guys gotten into contact with Red and Queen?"

"Kinda," said Toxic, "We've sent them messages, and send them back too, but they're just static and sounds, it's practically blank."

Kobra spoke up, "Did you take into account that they're in Morse code?"

"Yeah, but there's no message. They've been MIA for about two days."

The Killjoys then decided to make the mission a recon and recovery. The two people named Red and Queen seemed pretty important to them.

We'd leave at sunset.

Chapter 9: Mission

Gerard/Party's POV
~~
The day passed by quickly, and during that time, the Wild Ones learned the Killjoy ways and we saw them become formidable opponents against the S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W/S and Draculoids.

We all hoped the Wild Ones could stay out of sight long enough to not draw unwanted attention.

"Alright guys, we're about to enter Battery City," I started.

We were all getting ready at the Diner. Toxic, Mercy, and Moonlight joined in. We were gonna find Red and Queen.

"When we get there, there will be patrols coming for us. Get to cover but avoid the citizens, they will give out your location. 'Crows are smarter than Dracs and are more of a threat."

"Watch out for any Shadows as well. They can teleport but can be defeated," warned Prophet, giving us star shaped charms, " These will keep the Shadows from getting too close. Ji-The Mystic has enchanted then to keep the Shadows from noticing them as well. Hopefully they won't notice you as a result."

We then loaded up the van and the Trans Am. After we made sure we had everything we needed, we left.

We parked the cars near the tunnel, away from any surveillance cameras that could be there. I looked to the group of boulders by the entrance.

I sighed, Mikey's reckless plan would always be an unwanted reminder left behind by this place.

We got out and entered the tunnel. The toll booth was empty, no Dracs patrolling it.

Something's not right, I thought.

"What is it Poison?" I heard Mourner ask.

"It's too quiet. Normally, there'd be clamor here and there from the 'Crows."

Mourner stopped and closed his eyes.

"There's signs of life here, but faint," he said.

"Are they close?" Asked Ray.

Mourner went pale, "We need to move, now!"

We ran for it, splitting into groups of four. Mystic, Destroyer, Jet and I. Then, Ghoul, Moonlight, Deviant, and Mercy. And finally, Kobra, Prophet, Mourner, and Toxic.

We scoured the city in search of where we thought Red and Queen could be. We even checked their bases.

"Kobra, Ghoul, any sign of them?" I asked them over radio, while searching for any clues or hints they left.

"There's no one here," they responded.

Mystic and Destroyer stopped. Mystic's eyes were closed and his head was tilted as if he was hearing something.

"Prophet, Deviant and Mourner are wondering what they look like," he asked Jet and I.

"When Lucky was with us, she described them as a princess and a girl from the 80s," I answered him.

Mystic then nodded and resumed his search.

"I think we forgot to mention the fact that we're telepathic," said Destroyer, rummaging through a spare closet, "Also, I think I found something."

We went to look at what he'd found. It was a knocked over paint can, Queen's tiara comb, and a white gun with that damn logo on the side.

"They got caught," Jet voiced the exact thought I had in my mind.

We were too caught up in what we'd discovered that we never heard the extra footsteps behind us.

And then darkness...

~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~

I woke up in a haze.

I turned my head to see Mystic in a cell with me. Jet being in the cell across from mine with Destroyer.

"They're gonna find out we're here." Whispered Destroyer.

"Hopefully they won't. Just remember your Killjoy names. Desert Destroya and Flame Witch," I reminded them.

"Des, I can't reach the others. I think they're in danger."

"Well no shit! We're in here!" Said Destroyer hysterically, "You think they'll find us?"

"I think I can get us out like I did with Proph-uh-Night."

"It's too risky," reminded Jet, "we can't lose our strongest allies because of a careless mistake. We need to do it the old fashioned Fabulous Killjoy way."

"And what might that be?" Asked Mystic

"Pick the lock and fight our way out," I replied with a smirk.

"Or get backup," mentioned Jet.

"HA! Alright then, at least there's a plan A and B."

Mystic got up and looked out the window. The layout of the hall was different from the last time. It seemed to be harder to break out of.

"There are more Draculoids here," He noted.

"The 'Crows are in the adjacent hall, we'll be dead before we get to the door at the end," I stated, "We're in HQ so we'll need to be here a while if we want to be saved."

I nodded and talked to Mystic for a while.

"Party Poison and the un-killable Jet Star. Oh? And two new Killjoys? What joy!"

We turned to see Korse in the hall.

Eight 'Crows entered the two cells and grabbed all four of us.

"You've come just in time to witness our new product," he smiled wickedly.

The four of us were taken into a viewing area. Inside the room we were looking at, there was what looked like a family of 3.

"Our Miracle Pill wasn't very efficient in keeping the populations under control, hence, all you verminous Killjoys. But, when a kindred spirit came into contact with us, we began to put together a plan to permanently contain the masses. Once the idea was perfected, our S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W/S linked it into a single pill. We created the marvelous wonder that is the LightMind program. Now tell me, what do you suspect will stop us?"

"There's rumors going around the Zones about a prophet who knows your buddy," I stated.

"The Reaper told me that they won't be a problem. Which peaks my curiosity, now tell me, who are you two?" He inquired, looking at Mystic and Destroyer.

"Flame Witch and Desert Destroya you son of a bitch!" Said Destroyer.

"Des, calm down," Said Mystic.

And that's when we heard an alarm go off.

Chapter 10: Project LightMind

Gerard/Party's POV
~~
An alarm went off, Korse glared at some screens, I took a glance as well.

I saw a flash of black hair.

Fuck.

"Take these Killjoys away, maybe they'll draw in our first trials."

They led us away and I saw Mystic and Destroyer look panicked as we were put into a room.

"You trying to tell them?" I asked.

Destroyer nodded, "I'm sure Korse was told about the threats we pose."

His face then lit up and he let out a laugh of relief.

"We got through! Dev, uh, Sky, said they'll try to get back out. They were almost through the first floor."

"Yeah, Spirit said they're turning around as we speak. Kobra called it as a retreat."

"Thank goodness, we all would've been toast if you couldn't do your thing," Jet mentioned.

I'm sure we all agreed on that.

"Can you guys relay what just happened to the others?" He then asked.

"I'll do it. Cause the two of us screaming into our heads surely would've attracted some unwanted attention," said Mystic.

"Guess we'll have to find out way out then," I said.

A silence engulfed the cell for a while until a faint yell echoed through the walls.

"FUCK OFF YOU PIECE OF SHIT!"

We were all startled by the sudden sound. But that sass and anger could only belong to one person, Red.

"Was that—?"

"Yeah Jet, we found our gals," I smiled.

"I've told the others but I don't know how far they've gone. I don't think our conversations can withstand long distances," said Mystic.

"It's okay, cause we'll all break out of here together. I'm sure of it."

________________
Mourner/Spirit's POV
~~
We left after Mystic and Destroyer gave us the tip. Kobra shooed us back through the city.

But we found ourselves with the Reaper at the tunnel entrance. There were six Shadows and a handful of Draculoids at his side.

"I finally get to meet these Killjoys that Korse kept bringing up! You seem to be a huge threat to Better Living and I have the perfect way to get rid of you!" He stared at us and smiled, "I see you've met the Wild Ones."

My blood ran cold the moment he said that.

"What do you mean?" Asked Ash.

"I feel their symbol's power. It's strong near you."

I pulled out the pentacharm from my pocket and held it up, "You mean this thing?"

He nodded, disgusted by the sight of it.

"I found it on a supply run. It looked valuable and I kept it thinking I could trade it," I lied to his face.

He took a moment to think of if I was lying or not. Then he smiled.

"Get them, maybe those rebels will hear about this and come to the rescue."

The Shadows and Dracs charged.

Sadly, we all knew we couldn't defeat them with these guns. So we made a run for it, shooting at the Dracs to buy time, but the Shadows looked unfazed by the colored bullets.

"Moonlight, Fun, Toxic, Mercy lets hold them back. Spirit, Sky, Night, get out of here!"

They all placed something in our hands and went back. I looked down at my palm. It was their pentacharms.

Andy, Ash and I ran to the end of the tunnel, took the car and drove back to the Diner.

I looked out the window from the backseat and saw the bright colors in the monochrome city fading.

"Did anyone else's heart just drop when the Reaper mentioned us?"

"Fuck yeah it did," said Ash, looking out the window with his head in his hand, "That was too damn close."

"I just hope everyone else is okay. We got the charms but shit, I didn't know the Reaper could sense them," said Andy from the driver's seat.

"The Diner was straight ahead right? Or did we turn at a boulder?"

My mind went blank, "Uh, we're still new here. Should we ask for help?"

Andy slammed on the brakes and we all held on for dear life.

"What was that about?!" I asked, my heart about to jump out of my chest.

"There was someone in the middle of the road. I might've hit them but I'm not entirely sure," He replied, getting out of the car, Ashley and I following him.

There was a body lying on the side of the road.

"Are you guys crazy?" The figure yelled.

"I think the question is, are you okay?" Ash said.

"Whaddya think?" The figure—who happened to be female—stood up, covering her masked eyes and looked us over, "And who the hell are you guys?"

"I'm Spirit Eyes, that's Sky Leader—uh, I mean—Sky Dragon and Night Leader," I answered.

She took out her gun and pointed it at us, "On your knees now!"

We did as she told us, not wanting to die before getting back to the Camp.

"Where'd you get the Trans Am? I really doubt it's yours," she questioned.

"Before we tell you, can you give us your name please?" I asked politely.

"Electrostatic Siren. Now answer the question!"

"We took it after Kobra, Jet, Party, Fun, Moonlight and Fun held back the Dracs and Sh—shooed us out of the city. We're also new here," said Ash.

"You know the Fabulous Killjoys?" She asked.

We nodded and Andy spoke up, "We also forgot where the Diner was during our escape."

She lowered her gun, "It's a good thing I know them too. Get up, give me the keys and I'll take you."

Andy handed them over to her and we got back into the car.

"Pleasure doing business with you boys," she smirked, starting the Trans Am.

She veered off the road and straight into the desert. We ended up at the Diner a few minutes later.

Siren gave back the keys and unlocked the Diner, we followed her. She went into the kitchen and grabbed a pen and paper.

"I was on my way here to send a message from a transmission I got but I couldn't find anyone so I passed by Riley and 'Drea's place and they weren't there and fuck I just gave you names..." she blabbered.

"If I'm guessing correctly, the two you mentioned are Queen and Red?" Ash inferred.

"Yeah, you know them too?"

"Not exactly," I answered for the others, "we were in the city, looking for them with the Fabulous Four, Toxic, Mercy and Moonlight. We think they were caught."

"Moonlight's alive?"

We nodded.

"But we were given orders to stay here until they came back, our brothers in arms were captured too, so we're laying low," Andy explained.

"Why? Killjoys don't lay low, unless it's completely necessary."

"We'll explain when the others get back."

___________________
[A/N] The "Wake Up" video gave me Danger Days feels and thus, inspired this arc of the story. So yeah...

-PW13

Chapter 11: Mind Games

Danny/Moonlight's POV
~~
The roar of the Trans Am died out as they left the city. We'd given them the charms to protect their identities.

The Shadows disappeared and reappeared behind us.

I was going to shoot at it when a loud ringing resonated through my head.

"Sorry Moonlight, I didn't mean it," said Fun.

"Do not fire at them! Take out the Dracs instead," called Jet.

"Got it!"

We all switched our aim towards the Dracs and took them out swiftly. All that was left were the Shadows and the Reaper.

I felt something heavy strike me, I fell and my vision went black.

Different things were happening between multiple blackouts. I saw Mercy, Toxic, Red and Queen as well as Dracs and Korse. I felt pain and my mind went blank before the darkness returned.

I heard a muffled voice call out to me.

"Moonlight! Hey buddy, wake up."

Someone else spoke up, "Give him room to breathe, Des, he's still out cold."

I opened my eyes and immediately squinted at the bright white light staring me in face.

"Or maybe not..."

I turned to look at who was in the cell with me. I was with Mystic, Destroyer, Party and Jet.

"My head," I placed my hands on my forehead as it's throbbed. That was when I noticed that my wrists were wrapped up and bloodied.

But there was no pain when I touched the bandages. I felt the others' eyes on me as I unwrapped my wrists. I was met with a blue glowing barcodes with black veins around it.

"What the fuck did they do to me?" I looked up at the others, panicking.

LightMind...

I made eye contact with Mystic who looked terrified.

"That's what Spirit, Sky and Night, we're talking about out there. Where's the others? I saw Queen and Red, but I couldn't do anything. I don't remember anything."

"Calm down Ghoul," said Party, putting his hands on my shoulders.

I don't know what happened next but I found myself being held down by Flame and Destroya and Party had a busted eyebrow and a black eye.

~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~

Brendon/Mercy's POV
~~
Toxic and I were in a padded cell with Red and Queen.

I was shaking violently, Red curled herself into a ball in the corner, Queen was lying down staring at the ceiling in a daze and Toxic was just sitting against a wall, limp and lost in his own thoughts.

I remember seeing Moonlight earlier but passed out. I woke up hearing him screaming and being pulled out by 'Crows.

I looked at the others and myself. We all had our wrists covered in bloodstained bandages.

I was going to unwrap them when I heard Red crying hysterically.

"Red. Red stop crying, please." I tried to crawl over to her. Her head snapped up and she screamed.

Two Dracs came into the room and took her somewhere else.

What is happening?

~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~

Mikey/Kobra's POV
~~
I was staring at the ceiling in the cell I shared with Frank.

"We should've left with Pr-Night, Sky and Spirit," I told him.

Screaming erupted from a far away room, I jumped at the sound as it echoed through the halls.

"Why'd they split us up weirdly? This isn't like Korse," he stood up but the door opened and a 'Crow pushed Red in.

He shut the door again before Frank could get a punch in.

"Red! Are you okay?"

She sat up, "Don't touch me, please."

I noticed her eyes were red and she looked traumatized.

I backed away slowly, "Okay."

"We need to get out of here fast," she said.

"What happened?" Asked Frank.

"I don't know, I remember things but vaguely. My senses were clouded but there are others. Something happened back there, but it's bad."

She looked down and gasped as she saw the bandages.

"Do you want me to take them off?" I asked.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" She yelled, going wide-eyed at what she'd done.

She uncovered the bandage and we all saw the blue glowing barcodes. Black veins had crawled up half her forearms. Frank went to her side and tried to tell her it was going to be okay but he didn't get to. She looked up at him and her eyes had glossed over and looked like two black pits into Hell.

She lunged at his throat.

~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~

Mystic/Flame's POV
~~
Something was wrong. Moonlight was acting strange, screams kept echoing down the hall and the weird barcode marks were red flags.

"We might have to do something about this Des," I said, "It's gonna suck for us but we need to find out what's happening."

CC sighed, "Fine, what's the plan?"

"Are you sure about this?" Asked Jet, still holding down Moonlight.

"Yes Jet, we have to or we might never get out of here and stop LightMind."

"He's got a point," agreed Party.

"I'll melt the lock like I did with Night last time, and you guys can hold up the rear and we'll rescue the others."

The Killjoys nodded and I got up. I snapped to see if I still had my gift. Like a lighter, sparks ignited from my fingertips.

I put my hands on the door frame and let's the heat spread through until the door fell into the hall. An alarm immediately sounded.

"Des, come on!" I yelled.

He nodded and joined me. I turned towards the three Killjoys, "Where are the other cells?"

"We're in HQ, we've never been locked up here before," said Party, "I do remember a path to the nearest exit though when we were taken out. It's to the left, then pass two hallways, make another left, immediately turn right and then dead ahead."

"Thank you Party."

Another bloodcurdling scream echoed and I heard a punch land.

I followed the sound to another cell.

"M-Flame, behind you!"

I saw two bullets coming towards me. I held my breath and hoped I was able to use my magic. A wall of fire appeared and like a shield, blocked the bullets. I pushed it down the hall and took out the two Draculoids.

So much for us laying low...

I glared at CC, "Now's not the time for that Des, LightMind is a threat to both the Killjoys and our Legion."

I burned the lock freed Fun and Kobra, who was being currently being strangled by a female.

"This isn't what it looks like," said Fun trying to pull the girl off of the other.

I broke apart the two and used my magic to put her to sleep. Kobra then grabbed her and slung her over his shoulder.

We began to head back towards when we saw two figures being moved to another room.

"That's Toxic and Mercy," said Fun.

"Des, do your thing," I called to him.

"There's a teeny problem though, we're on the second floor."

"I'm sure there's sand on everyone," mentioned Jet.

CC nodded and soon he had a small scale sandstorm move through the hall.

We managed to get Toxic and Mercy our and we ran like hell through the second and first floors of HQ. We then left the city.

Before we entered the tunnel, I looked back up towards Better Living Headquarters and I could've sworn I saw a hooded figure watching us from a window on the top floor.

"Flame let's go!" Yelled Party.

We all packed ourselves into the van and headed back towards the Diner.

Chapter 12: Shadowy Effects

Andy/Night's POV
~~
Ash, Jake and I were getting a bit worried about the others. Siren sat in a booth, cleaning her gun. It'd been more than 2 hours since we arrived and we were all anxious to know if the others were okay.

We heard an engine and Siren jumped to action, "Get ready for a fire fight boys!"

She positioned herself behind the counter, gun pointed at the door. I looked out a boarded window and saw the van with Party at the wheel.

"Siren, it's them. Party's driving."

She relaxed and opened the doors, we all helped get the others in.

"What happened back there?" asked Jake as we helped Jinxx and CC in.

"Riley! 'Drea! Danny!" Siren cried as she went to the three Killjoys.

"No, wait, stop," said Jinxx, grabbing her arm as she passed him, "Something happened to them at HQ and it's not good."

She took a step back after that.

"How's everyone else?" She asked, taking note of Toxic and Mercy.

"We got out fine except those three along with Mercy and Toxic. Korse and the Reaper used them as guinea pigs for something called Project LightMind."

"How'd you get out?" I asked Party.

He shied away from my gaze and glanced at Jinxx. I knew what he was meant.

"Mystic, Destroyer, what did you two do?!" I asked them.

"It was our only way out. LightMind happened and they locked us up separately with a couple of the five of them and they attacked us. We need to stop this and we couldn't do it if we're all locked up or dead!" CC explained.

"But you two let the Reaper know we're here! The one thing we were supposed to avoid while being here and you let it happen! God, what were you thinking?"

"Prophet, calm down," said Jake.

"Calm down?! We need to get back to the Camp to defend our Legion! This wasn't our fight!"

"No, you're right. It wasn't, that is, until the Reaper and the Shadows decided to join in the fun!" Said Jinxx.

"Can you guys quit it!" Yelled Party, "I hoped for some allies that would help! Not ones who go for each other's throats! So what if they know you're here? They know that our forces combined are a threat, and now they're hoping for us to be torn apart, and you guys fighting is giving them what they want! So stop it and compose yourselves so we can put together a plan to get everyone home! Alright?!"

"Prophet," said Ash calmly, "He's got a point."

I sat down at a booth and tried to calm my anger.

"Uh, side note, but something feels off about what happened back at HQ. We need to find out all we can about LightMind," said Kobra

"There's something strange about the barcodes but I'd need some time to experiment with them," said Jinxx, "That is, if it's alright with you all."

"No, go ahead. It'll hopefully prove useful to our cause," said Jet.

"Alright then. Party, do you have a large room where I can conduct the experiments?"

"There's the garage and there's also here in the dining area."

"I guess here will be fine then," he said, "We'd just need to move some tables here cause things could get messy. Prophet?"

I looked up at him and used my talent to move the tables to one corner.

"Thank you, now can the rest of you help move them to the center of the room please?"

After they did that, he kneeled and waved his hand, a blue light surrounding the five Killjoys. He then said, "Cover all windows as best as you can and make no sounds unless absolutely necessary."

When there was mostly darkness, he lit a few flames.

"Mourner, you're on life support," Jinxx beckoned.

"I hate it when you call it that," Jake chuckled, sitting down next to him. Jake ran a ring of mist around the five Killjoys.

Jinxx grabbed Moonlight's wrist and his eyes glowed white as he ignited a bright blue flame. I smirked at the other Killjoys' expressions as they watched him. It was amusing.

I assumed Jinxx gave an instruction to Jake telepathically because Jake sent out some black mist towards Moonlight's wrist.

The mist wrapped around the wrist and Jinxx ignited the mist. I looked over and saw Fun and Siren's panicked faces as they thought Jinxx had set Moonlight on fire.

Destroyer attracted some sand and put a small handful in Jinxx's palm. The sand was sprinkled over the barcode and it slowly formed an orb the size of a marble. The floating orb then became a smoky black and appeared smudged with ash.

Jinxx grabbed the orb and examined it. He hovered his palm over the orb and it became clear again. Jake sent more mist to Red's wrist and Jinxx ignited it, placing the orb over her barcode once more. The orb became smudged with ash again.

He then repeated the process with the last three and got the same results.

With the last orb however, he ignited a white flame inside the orb and examined it. He then used his magic to enlarge the orb into the size of a crystal ball. His eyes widened and before I could question it, I heard his voice in my head.

It's Shadow ash.

My eyes widened as well. Jinxx extinguished the flames and told the other to uncover the windows. Jake dissipated the mist and stood up.

"That was quick," began Fun, "So...? What'd you find?"

"Shadow ash," he replied, "It's in whatever their method of mental suppression is."

"The LightMind Miracle Pill," said Party, "or Miracle Pill 2.0. I don't understand why they'd use the ash though."

"From what I've noticed is that, it gives them almost the same strength as Shadows without becoming them, as well as the Matriarch's bloodlust for the Legion and the hive mind-like thinking. Though I believe Korse is turning that hatred towards the Killjoys," pondered Jinxx.

"But since they know we're here, we've most likely made that aspect worse," said Jake.

"A couple months ago, we were close to stopping the pill and gained a handful of Killjoys but we nearly lost someone again, so we never tried again," said Kobra.

"Well, you have us to back you guys up," Ash began, "We just need to plan this out carefully, but his time, we need to count in the opposing side knowing the Wild Ones are here."

"We'll have to go back to Battery City to stop this," mentioned Jet.

We all nodded and began to put together a plan to stop LightMind.

Chapter 13: City of Darkness

Gerard/Party's POV
~~
After Mystic did his weird experiment thing, we took Moonlight, Toxic, Mercy, Red, and Queen to the garage. Mourner and Mystic once again put a ring of mist around them.

"What's that for?" Asked Frank.

"To keep them asleep," began Mystic.

Mourner finished, "And I'll know if something happens so we don't have to keep anyone down here."

I nodded and we went back up to the dining area. Jasmine was sitting on the counter when we went back and she hopped down when she saw us.

"I just remembered something Ge-Party, and it's how I saw those guys," she pointed in the direction of the Wild Ones.

"The radios across the Zones were hacked while you were gone and some kind of message was sent. Dr. Death said it wasn't from any Killjoys and so we all thought it was from Zone 6 or something but it was a threat. To 'be afraid and conform' I think."

Coincidentally, the boom box in the room spewed static and the other Killjoys stopped what they were doing. We were waiting for Dr. D's message.

But a tune began to play, then more static and finally a voice.

"We expect a battle for humanity is about to begin. Within each uprising, a fake sense of safety will ignite in you, an unseen shadowy sliver of doubt towards those who protect, and defend you. Let the thoughts slip away and remain calm. Stay close to F.E.A.R., only we can protect."

Chills ran through my spine as the voice became static and then returned to the silence we were used to.

The Wild Ones looked frightened and dazed to say the least. For a second, I thought they lost it. But before I could make any of it out, Mourner bolted back towards the garage. We all startled and began to run after him when a bloodcurdling scream met our ears.

"Mourner!"

We found Mourner unconscious on the ground with black marks on him.

We all looked to the five Killjoys looking up at us. Queen was smiling, black eyes and black veins up to her elbows now, her skin color fading into a pitch black at the wrist where that fucking blue barcode mocked us.

"Mystic, plan B," commanded Prophet.

The Mystic's eyes became a bright and clear blue and started glowing. He walked up to them and sent out five light purple flames that disappeared into the five Killjoys' foreheads. They screamed and returned to their slumber.

When this is over, they're gonna have some fucking sore ass throats after all that screaming.

"This is getting a bit terrifying," said Frank

"I agree with you on that, we've never had to deal with this kind of thing before," Deviant said.

We watched Mystic as he checked Mourner to see what happened.

"I don't know how they did it, but they turned my magic against him. He's okay though."

The Wild Ones sighed in relief.

"The Shadow ash, shouldn't be able to do this though," Prophet joined him and looked at the marks.

"Not by itself," I said, "Knowing Better Living they probably thought this through with Reaper and added something else."

"No Dev, the Matriarch shouldn't be here, she can't leave the Sanctuary."

"Matriarch?" Jet asked.

Mystic turned back towards the circle of rogue Killjoys and hit them with another spell.

"We can't speak her name this close to them. It triggers the ash."

We grabbed Mourner and went back into the dining area.

"Matriarch? Who's that?"

"She's a being more powerful and more wicked than the Shadows and the Reaper," explained Deviant, "We believe she is the source of F.E.A.R."

"Why don't we just fight her and end it all now?" Asked Siren

"We've never seen her. When we were in the Sanctuary, the others trapped there talked about her like she was a myth. But when we escaped and began the Legion, we were later told that she is very much real."

A few minutes later, Mystic woke Mourner up. He then proceeded to tell us what had happened in the garage.

"I felt them wake up and went into the garage. Queen looked at me and said, 'They're coming' and suddenly her eyes went black and she knocked me out. What did she mean by that?"

"An impending attack on the Diner probably? We need to hit them first. Killjoys, we need a plan."

I could feel the tension in the room.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to go into the city and leave the Diner unguarded?" Asked Mikey.

"I know it's not, that's why we're sending Jet and Siren with the Wild Ones. There's probably more Shadows in the city than in the Zones, they can take them out."

There was a silent agreement between us all. The seven of them thought out a plan. The Wild Ones were given more weapons. Grenades, knives and one of Ray's stun bombs.

They were going to leave later today and we hoped they'd be back before midnight.

Once the sun began to set, they all crammed into the van and left.

••**••**••**••
Andy/Night's POV
~~
My brothers and I along with Jet Star and Siren drove to Battery City. We left the van near the tunnel and went inside. It was quiet. I looked to Mourner.

"They're everywhere," he said, eyes white behind his mask.

"Be careful, we still have to get to HQ," said Jet.

We hurried and a short while later, we arrived.

"This ends as soon as we enter those doors," said Siren.

We all smiled at each other and burst in. But hope faded as we saw the small army of 'Crows, Dracs and Shadows waiting for us.

"Turn back!" Yelled Jet.

We went back through the doors and were met with the citizens of Battery. All of them had the blue barcodes on their wrists, Shadow ash all the way up to their necks and black pits for eyes.

I grabbed a grenade and threw it at them. A burst of light made them hiss in pain.

Shadows surrounded us and a voice spoke.

"Welcome Killjoys and welcome Legion! Did you really think I wouldn't find you?"

The Reaper stepped into the circle.

"Flame Witch, I believe you're the Mystic. Spirit Eyes, Mourner. Desert Destroyer, it's blatantly obvious. Night Leader, Prophet. Which leaves Sky Dragon as the Deviant. You picked weak aliases."

"Wasn't us who picked them dumbass!" Smirked CC.

Mystic expanded a ring of fire that made the citizens move back a bit. What we didn't expect though was that same ring of fire to switch directions and shrink. Mystic put a spell on the two Killjoys to protect them as we were hit.

"You two need to leave!" Yelled Mystic.

Jet and Siren nodded and shot their way out with some assistance and we helped clear a path for them. They got away and we all hoped they'd bring backup.

S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W/S stepped forward and restrained us during that small distraction. Dracs came and injected us with something.

The world then turned black.

We can't lose here...

••**••**••**••
Frank/Fun's POV
~~
The Wild Ones, Jet and Siren had left a couple hours ago. We were all anxious to see whether or not they succeeded.

The radio cracked and we all perked up, waiting to hear any news from the Zones or from the Killjoys that became family to us.

"Attention citizens of Battery City and surrounding Zones, tomorrow marks the end of the war. Stay tuned for more details."

The sound of an engine approaching was faint.

"They're back!" I yelled into the hall where Mikey and Gerard were from my seat in the dining area. I heard two pairs of footsteps and I got up to join them, we met those who returned outside.

"I'm so happy you succeeded guys!" I smiled. I then noticed that there were only 2 of them.

"What happened?" Asked Mikey.

"It was a trap," explained Ray, "the city's been taken over by LightMind. The Wild Ones were captured."

"That announcement just now, could that be about them?" I wondered aloud.

"Most likely. We'll have to leave in the morning if we're going to save them."

"I have an idea," said Jasmine, "BLI is big on coding and such because of the Pill. I know how to code and learned how to hack into stuff using the Vend-A-Hack tech. What I'm saying is, I might be able to stop LightMind. I just need tech and time."

Gerard glanced at Mikey and I, we nodded.

"It's settled, what do you need?"

Chapter 14: Wake Up

Frank/Fun's POV
~~
We all woke up at the break of dawn and thought out our plan of attack. Jasmine was going to hack into BL/ind's system and try to take out LightMind through the pill.

Ray, Gerard, Mikey and I would go to Battery and save the Wild Ones. As we moved stuff into the Trans Am, we heard a noise from the garage.

"Fuck. Guys, what do we do? They're awake." I said, panicked.

"Once they're in this room, keep them from doing any damage and keep them away from Siren! Stun them if you have to."

We set our guns to stun, and we waited.

Red and Moonlight came in first and went directly for Siren. Kobra went directly for Moonlight and he wrestled him trying to keep him from sabotaging our plan.

Red kept moving and so I had to engage. We went tumbling into the tables.

"Siren try it with these five first if you can!" Yelled Party over the commotion just as Queen and Mercy came in.

Jet and Party had to move them out of the way and hopefully keep Toxic from coming in as well. But speak of the devil, and he shall appear.

Toxic went for Mikey and Gee grabbed his gun but Queen hit it from his hand. She pinned Gee to the ground and began to choke him.

"There should be numbers on their wrists! Call 'em!"

As I grabbed Red's wrist to check her barcode, numbers were being called.

"7194!"

"2619!"

"8163!"

I finally caught sight of the glowing blue numbers and I yelled, "9926!"

"Party! Call 'em!"

"Siren!" He gasped.

"I see 'em!" Called Ray, "9667!"

"Hold on, I think I have it!" Said Siren, relieved.

A few buttons more and soon the five Killjoys held their hands to their heads and fell. Party pushed Queen off and sat up coughing.

"Siren, I think you did it."

"I only managed to break the Pill's hold on them. The ash is still unpredictable."

We quickly tied up and stunned them and placed them in a round booth.

"Aaaaand now we can't leave because they're up and around!" I said glancing at the others.

"Guess we'll have to help from the sidelines."

The radio crackled and the tune from the other day played. Except the voice...was the Reaper.

"In a few minutes, the state will have justice over the rebel known as the Prophet. Let this stand as a warning to every man, woman and child tempted to follow in his path. Diversity of thought will not be tolerated. His reign of terror ends today. Our truth is the only truth. And now a message from Korse and Better Living Industries."

We waited for Korse's message and listened to the events transpiring in Battery.

"Siren, you're extremely short on time. Can you do it?"

She nodded and went into Mikey's room so she wouldn't be distracted by the radio.

Korse began his announcement.

"The Wild Ones, known in the Zones as Night Leader, Flame Witch, Sky Dragon, Desert Destroya and Spirit Eyes are to be executed by electric chair  starting with the Prophet. Our new F.E.A.R Correction Facility will serve as the venue for events such as these. As we speak, the Prophet is being moved from his cell into the chamber."

••**••**••**••
Andy/Prophet's POV
~~
I was in my cell for a while. I had woken up in here after our little standoff in front of HQ. I looked through the bars and saw my brothers in the same white clothes that I wore, each in their own cell.

CC and Jake were playing with cards that Jinxx most likely conjured for them. Jinxx was playing with matches and Ashley was just watching the others like I was.

Two guards in black, neither 'Crow nor Drac, came in and grabbed me. I looked to the others as I passed them.

Keep the Legion alive! I told them.

I didn't know what was happening. But as soon as I got to my destination, my blood ran cold as I saw the guillotine. I was going to die, sentenced by an electric chair.

They sat me down and put on the restraints. I looked up at my executioners but didn't see their faces, just my own reflection on their helmets.

Were they citizens poisoned by the ash? I might never know.

They readied the machine and across the room and through the tinted glass, I saw the Reaper and Korse.

"You will never steal my coffin!" I yelled at them.

I looked at the shadows in the room and estimated it was just before 10am. Any moment now, I'll be just a shell, the Legion will die, the Killjoys will fail, and my brothers will fall just as I have.

"And now, faithful citizens of Battery, you will bear witness to the fall of the Killjoys and the fall of a legion of demons!" The Voice of F.E.A.R rang through the speakers in the building and surely through the radio back at the Diner.

I felt a current rush through me, tingling slightly but evolving into never-ending pain. It slowly got worse and I forced myself not to yell.

But then it stopped.

My executioners fell to the ground holding their heads and one's hand stopped the current.

After a few seconds, they stood up and removed their helmets. I saw the faces of souls tortured with the Shadow Ash, a black mass going to their eyes.

They removed my restraints and helped me up.

I saw the confused faces of Korse and the Reaper and smirked at them.

The Reaper's arm moved and a staff appeared in his hand with a puff of smoke. He recited something I could not hear and I saw the black masses on the two at my feet swallow their bodies and turn into shadowy creatures. The ash could be a threat by itself.

I tried to use my powers but I wasn't at full strength due to the electric chair. I managed to push them back a few steps.

I went through the door and locked it behind me, I grabbed at the rosary around my ne—

Where'd it go?!

I then ran back towards the cells and freed my brothers. We passed a room where the Dracs were going to burn our Legion clothes.

Mystic moved the flame so that it burned the room. We quickly ran in and snatched our clothes away. We looked for an exit and when we'd found it, we saw that we weren't in Battery City.

We didn't care, we just made a run for it.

Chapter 15: A Helping Hand

Andy/Prophet's POV
~~
"Prophet, how do we get back to the Diner?"

"I don't know, we just have to hurry back before the others are attacked," I told them, "I think we should find out what Zone we're in so we can go from there."

Deviant stepped in front of me, "Proph, I think you forget that I have super speed, I think I can search in half the time. I just need you guys to run straight ahead while I see where we can find some Killjoys."

I nodded, "Hurry Sky Dragon, the rip-off Fabulous Five are counting on you."

He laughed, "Just go now before we all get killed."

He was gone in a flash, leaving a cloud of dust in his place.

We ran in the direction he told us for about 45 minutes until we saw him again.

We rested by a boulder that CC terraformed into a small shelter to shield us from the sun.

I heard a rumbling and peeked out and saw a colorful van.

-phet....you, I heard in my head.

Deviant? I called, Is that you?

Wild Ones, where are y'all?

I jumped out from the shade and waved my arms frantically.

"It's Deviant," I told the others.

The others joined me and soon, the van screeched to a halt. The door slid open and Deviant shooed us in.

I glanced at our driver and saw a dude in a crop top, polka dot leggings and a thong? He was wearing a helmet and I saw some roller blades in the passenger seat.

"You're a Killjoy." I noted.

He nodded, "Yup, Show Pony's the name. Now hold on tight while I get us to the Fab Four's Diner."

He slammed his foot on the gas pedal, causing Mourner—who hadn't even sat down yet—to fall forwards onto the floor. We all laughed.

"So, you know the Fabulous Four?" He asked.

"Yeah, but it's a long and complicated story though," said Destroyer.

A few minutes passed and we found ourselves at a small colored shack with a radio tower.

"Welcome to Zone 5 boys, we can rest here for a while and I can ask the Doc to send a message for you."

We got out of the van and went inside. It was a small space, not ideal for this many people, so we were very cautious with our steps, trying not to break anything. We went into a room, hidden by a loose wooden board nailed to the wall.

It was filled with radio transmitters, cd and record players, and in the middle of it all, an older man in a wheelchair.

"Doc, I came back and with company too. These are the Killjoys that are assisting with the Shadows."

"Welcome, my displaced friends, to where all the magic happens in this burning desert land. I am Doctor Death Defying, the voice in the static airwaves assisting my fellow Killjoys. And who might you be?"

Deviant stepped forward, "We're the Wild Ones. But here, we're Sky Dragon, Night Leader, Flame Witch, Spirit Eyes and Desert Destroya."

"You're the ones who were gonna be executed today!" Show Pony pointed out.

"We need to send a message to the Fabulous Four and warn them about LightMind. It's a long story but we don't have the time. We just need to get there in time."

"Don't worry, after Dr Death sends the message I'll take you five there."

The Doc nodded and switched on the transmitter.

~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~
Gerard/Party's POV
~~
We watched the shadowy Killjoys when the radio turned to static.

A while ago, the last message was the sound of Prophet being electrocuted. But a familiar voice and a comforting phrase was heard throughout the Diner.

"Look alive sunshine! 109 in the sky but the pigs won't quit, you're here with me, Dr Death Defying. My desert rebels, we got some traffic for you. We got word that 5 Killjoys are looking for some static on the Fab Four. They almost bit the dust out here on Route Guano and want to send some words. Poison, you got company."

Shit. Usually that meant something's gonna happen.

"The Wild Ones escaped! Good job Siren!" Cried Jet.

"Thanks. But, wouldn't that mean that the guys are in Zone 5?"

"Probably, but we need to hold our ground here, especially after that message. Hopefully Show can bring them home."

Something fell over and I turned and saw the now-ash covered bodies of Red, Queen, Toxic, Mercy and Ghoul.

"Siren, I thought you killed the program," stated Fun, grabbing his gun.

"I did, but I don't know what happened."

I stuck my hand into my pocket and pulled out Prophet's rosary.

"Guys, the Mystic said that the ash was still unpredictable. This is probably what's happening. Where's your charms?"

I went up to Ghoul and pressed the charm onto his skin, he moved erratically as if it was burning him.

"I think Mourner put them in the kitchen," Jet took off to retrieve them.

Kobra grabbed some string and tied the charms together once Jet came back and we placed them on the Killjoys. We also gagged them because we couldn't hear ourselves think with their screaming.

We heard engines in the distance and our blood ran cold as we prepared for a fight.

Chapter 16: Fight For Our Lives

Gerard/Party's POV
~~
We scrambled to put on masks, find our weapons and lock down the Diner. We hoped the Wild Ones would get here quickly to help defend. Each of us stood at an exit, waiting for the enemy to come and attack.

Nothing.

Waiting patiently was stressful.

"Kobra behind you!"

I turned to see a Shadow in the room strike my little brother with a staff. He fell and the Shadow disappear.

"Hold your positions!"

"Party, we'll be cornered in here if we stay," yelled Jet.

"We don't have a choice, we're trapped anyways," I said grimly, "Kobra? Go into the safe room if you can walk."

He nodded, he tried to get up but fell back down. His hand was on his side which was now drenched in blood. He limped under a booth table.

"We'll cover you Kobra, just hold on."

"Party, we need to engage! We won't stand a chance in here!"

I gave in to the idea, "We can split up, I'll make sure these guys won't attack, but we can't risk them being taken. I'll stay with Kobra and cover you guys from behind."

They nodded and I watched them run out to meet the BL/ind subordinates.

We were outmanned but we did our best to fight for the Diner and for our Killjoy family.

Through the firefight, a familiar sound was heard. With my peripherals, I saw a white van approaching.

It slid to a stop beside the Diner and I watched as five men, clad in black, hopped out guns blazing.

The Shadows turned their attention to them and all hell broke loose.

__________________
Jake/Mourner's POV
~~
We got to the Diner just in time.

It was surrounded by Shadows, Draculoids, and 'Crows, and it looked like the Killjoys were losing.

Show Pony dropped us off close to the Diner.

"I can't stay, but kick some ass for me!" He shouted.

We got out and began shooting at the Dracs and 'Crows.

"You guys made it!" Jet called.

"Fashionably late but yeah."

The Wild Ones used our powers and did our best to use the ray guns as well.

"Where's Party and Kobra?" I asked, noticing their absence.

"They're inside, guarding the others."

I nodded, going to join them.

As I ran in, a Shadow appeared inside as they were fighting some Dracs. I sent out some black mist to stop the Shadow but it went after Kobra, who was under a booth, and dragged him out and began to strangle him with smoke.

Party seemed outnumbered to help so I was left to defeat the Shadow on my own. Turning it to ash, I noticed that Kobra wasn't doing too great. With my powers, I could tell that Kobra was losing strength. I supported him with my arm.

Just then, a loud boom was heard, followed by a voice.

"GO! GO! GO!"

I looked up. Everyone retreated back inside, wounded and with defeated spirits.

"What happened?" Kobra asked.

"We were outnumbered, and couldn't fight back. We had to retreat otherwise we'd be dead."

"What's you guys do?" I asked.

"Mystic sent out a wall of fire," explained Destroyer, "and I punched the ground and that made them run."

Kobra took a step towards Party and fell.

We took him into a room and placed him on the bed.

"Mourner, you're on life support," said Prophet.

I tried using my powers but nothing happened.

"Party, Kobra's dying. I can keep him stable for a while but I'd need to know his name, to connect with his soul."

The Killjoys looked to each other cautiously. Party had an anxious look to him and looked me in the eyes.

"His name's Mikey, Micheal James Way."

I felt my power grow strong and heard a few quiet gasps. My eyes had probably turned white.

I closed my eyes and saw Mikey's life force and saw it fighting back death. I noticed his wound start to close up slowly.

I can heal? I thought to myself.

Then something happened, his soul was fading, and I saw another soul with him for a split second.

"Lucky," he said softly, a tear falling from his eye.

I summoned all my strength and broke him away from the soul and he was stable again.

I opened my eyes to see mist surrounding us.

"He'll be alright," I told the Killjoys.

"He mentioned Lucky, was he dying?" Asked Party.

"For a second, but it's nothing now. He'll recover."

"Thank you Mourner."

Chapter 17: Unbroken Trust

Gerard/Party's POV
~~
After Mourner saved Mikey, we all gathered in the kitchen.

"Normally, Killjoys never reveal their names, ya know? But I trusted that you'd keep him safe."

"Thanks," Mourner replied, "And a name given tends to have a name given in return. Jake Pitts."

"It's a cycle," I chuckled, "Gerard Way. Mikey's my brother."

"Your life force is almost identical, I hadn't even noticed that."

"We're grateful to have you here, Wild Ones. The Killjoys would be long gone by now if you hadn't come here," Ray smiled.

"I think it's finally time we had proper introductions. I mean, we hold each other's lives in our hands on this journey to beat Better Living and F.E.A.R. I'm Andy, Andy Biersack."

"CC Coma, and yes, that's my real name," Destroyer laughed.

"Call me Jinxx, Ferguson's my last name."

"Hi I'm Ashley Purdy," said Deviant.

We all glanced at Fun and Jet. They introduced themselves and we got acquainted. We found out the Wild Ones were our age.

"There's just one thing bugging me though, who exactly is Lucky? I'm guessing it's a Killjoy name," Jinxx inquired.

"It is," I confirmed. Memories of the last few years made themselves known in my mind as I spoke, "Lucky Rabbit, also known as Lydia Fayris was an childhood friend of Mikey and I before the Fires of 2012. She escaped Battery City with Danny, Moonlight Ghoul, and found us. She died almost 8 months ago and married Mikey right before that."

I choked up a little bit, thinking about her.

"No wonder I felt her strong spiritual essence near him."

"Whats that about?" I asked.

"It's a little complicated to explain, but then again, not even I know what's going on."

I nodded.

"Is anyone else okay?"

A few of us nodded, others were bleeding in a few places.

"We weren't expecting an ambush. They know they can overpower us too. We're going to have to move over to Red and Queen's hideout if we're gonna make it though this."

"So, doesn't that mean we need to get moving? In case they come back?"

"Yeah," Party grabbed a couple bags from a cupboard under the sink and tossed them to us.

"Take what you need and we'll take the van and get out of here."

"Where's the shadowed Killjoys?" Asked Prophet.

"Still in the dining area. They've been surprisingly quiet. We wrapped them in the pentacharms you gave to us."

Andy, Jake and Jinxx went to check on them—and probably to move them to the van—while the rest of us packed necessities.

The Wild Ones, Siren, and Fun all clambered into the van, taking charge of the decommissioned Killjoys. The rest of the Fab Four went in the Trans Am. Mikey was in no shape to drive his cycle, so we left it.

••**••**••**••
Jake/Mourner's POV
~~
Jinxx and I watched the tied up Killjoys, while Siren drove. Andy and Fun were having a conversation. Meanwhile, Ash and CC found their playing cards from earlier.

"Shouldn't you have gone with Kobra?" Jinxx asked me, "His condition could reverse."

"He'll be alright for now. I can tend to him when we arrive; besides, they're more of a threat."

About half an hour later, we arrived at a little shack.

"Welcome to Zone 4, this is Red and Queen's bunker," introduced Siren, "I come here so much, I practically live here."

"There aren't many rooms, so you'll have to make do."

We went in and checked it out.

"Kobra can be placed on the couch," She continued, "The shadowed Killjoys can stay in the van. Mystic, come with me. I'll need your help with finding the cure."

We all collectively agreed to let Siren have her own room while everyone else found a space in the shack.

••**••**••**••
Jinxx/Mystic's POV
~~
"So...do you think a mix of magic and science will cure them from the ash?"

I turned to look at Siren.

"We can only keep trying until we get the result we want, but probably."

I took Ghoul, imprinted the Legion's symbol onto his hands, and placed him in a corner.

I was still new to my powers, as it'd only been a couple years since we left the Sanctuary. Nevertheless, we made many attempts at finding the solution to our predicament.

Siren thought of creating a counter drug to see if could reverse the effects of the LightMind Miracle Pill. She carried a box over to a table and stubbed her foot on the way, both went tumbling onto the floor. The contents spilled across the floor.

I helped her pick up the objects.

"Mystic, could you pass me that magnet? It's by your foot."

"Siren, you just gave me an idea," I told her, putting the magnet in the box.

"What is it?"

"We could try to extract the ash from their bodies as well as make the counter drug. But when curing them, we'd have to do both at the same time or it might not work."

"It sounds like a plan but where would we put the ash? Because it seems like the ash—in this case—is sentient."

"No, it's controlled. The only question is, where the ash would go if it's being controlled."

"Or who? Someone must be willing to take in the ash."

"I guess we should tell the others, cause that might work. But I'll need to do it as a test, the Wild Ones have had more expose to it and I think we have some kind of immunity from our powers but I'm not sure."

She came up to me with a pentacharm, some rope, and a worried look on her face.

"Then let's try it."

Chapter 18: Return From The Shadows

Jinxx/Mystic's POV
~~
"Will this work?" Asked Siren, a little skeptic.

"Probably, but could you get everyone in here?"

She nodded and left.

I thought about the possible aftermath of this and frankly it was a bit terrifying. The Wild Ones could be controlled. Prophet is tied to the Psyche and I'm the only one who can save the others if we do get controlled. It was a headache to make a decision. Someone would have to volunteer.

"Mystic? Did you need anything?"

I turned and met my brothers' eyes. I explained my theory of a method to remove the ash and the costs of doing so.

"Is this really the only thing we could try? We're all important to the Legion."

"I know, but this is just to test my theory."

"I'll do it," Jake walked up to me.

I nodded and tied him to a seat.

"You might need this," Gerard placed something on Jake's neck.

"How do you have my rosary?" Andy asked.

"Uhh, I took it off you when we first met at that abandoned gas station. I've just been forgetting to give it back."

He nodded.

I pulled two small purple stones out of my pocket and put them in both hands.

I placed one hand over Ghoul's heart and the other on Jake's.

"Ya know, I can probably tolerate the ash a bit more than the others since my power is the closest to controlling ash," he joked half-heartedly.

I closed my eyes and focused my power. I could feel the ash and I used my magic to draw the ash out of Ghoul's body and into Jake's.

Jake made a noise as if he'd been burned but I kept going.

Moments later, I felt the ash settle and removed my hands.

"Is he okay?" Asked Gerard.

I glanced over at Jake and saw him unconscious.

"He's just recovering from the Shadow ash."

"Where the hell am I?"

We all turned and saw Ghoul open his eyes, taking in his surroundings.

"We had to evacuate the Diner cause we got ambushed. We're at 'Drea and Riley's place."

He nodded, "I'm not pressing for details since it seems like a lot happened."

"It wasn't too bad," Jake said weakly, opening his eyes and squinting at the change in lighting.

"Hey! You're back!" Exclaimed Ash, relieved.

He smiled and began coughing violently. He placed his hand over his mouth but when he removed it, we could all see small black spots.

"Jake—"

"I'm fine. It worked, now let's do the others," he mumbled.

I repeated the process with the other Shadowed Killjoys and soon enough, everyone was okay. Their barcodes no longer glowing, but still marked with ash.

I looked at Jake's hands and saw his fingertips were a darker shade. The same would happen to us, the process was just much slower.

I repeated this revelation with the Wild Ones telepathically and I met their eyes.

Party, Jet, Fun, Kobra, and Siren caught up the other Killjoys on introductions, names and events that took place while they were out. Turns out, they don't remember much except having their vision clouded over.

The rest of the Wild Ones and myself were worn out from the ash. Hopefully, this wasn't a mistake.

We focused on using this time to give everyone the chance to recover.

Chapter 19: Shadows Within

Gerard/Party's POV
~~
We let ourselves rest, knowing that this location wasn't known to BL/ind. We could gather our thoughts, plan, and recover from our injuries as well as the ash that was still plaguing us.

I looked at the Wild Ones and noticed their fingertips were slightly darker than the rest of their hands. They didn't really wear fingerless gloves to reason it towards a tan line.

Was it the ash?

To kill time, we caught up the others on what had happened in their 'absence'.

They were shocked as we told them about LightMind and it's effects.

"We really did all that?" Andrea said, glancing at Mikey and Frank, guilt in her eyes.

"Yeah, but we know you didn't mean for it to happen."

Later, Jinxx woke up and he and Siren began to work on a permanent way to remove the ash and save Battery City.

"We might not need the anti-drug," Danny spoke up, "When Lydia and I lived in Battery City, she happened to misplace her pills somehow and hours later, she was freed. That was the day we decided to escape."

They then had him join them in their research.

Andy collapsed a while back but has since woken up. He talked about a Sanctuary and their Camp. He'd talked in private with the other Wild Ones.

In the time they spent in that room, there was a bit of yelling every now and then, but soon enough they all came back into the room calmly.

_____________________
Andy/Prophet's POV
~~
As we discussed our predicament, I was reminded of my trip to the Void minutes earlier.

"Prophet, I have something to tell you. It's about your arrival to this part of the desert."

I turned to see Veronyx, "What is it?"

"Once the Reaper left the Sanctuary and your desert Wasteland, I knew that I had to send you all too so that you could stop him. Sadly, he has to be bound before I can return you all to the Legion, to be sure that he can go no further than the Camp."

"I understand Veronyx, because he's our responsibility."

She nodded and a light shone.

"I have something to tell you," I said, grabbing the attention of my brothers, "Our arrival was intentional. Veronyx sent us here because of the Reaper. We need to give her a chance to bind the Reaper to the Sanctuary and only then, will we be able to go back."

"She wants us to do that but we still can't properly use our powers," said Ashley.

"But we need to get back as soon as possible," Jinxx defended, "We have to put in the work to complete the task."

"He's right."

"We also need to put together a plan to help the Killjoys, bind the Reaper and get us home."

"Gerard, we need to talk," I said, beckoning him into the room we had disappeared into a while ago.

I explained to him that once we recover, we need to train and plan. I also shorthanded the conversation the Wild Ones had earlier.

"Sounds like a plan, you guys do have your own people to save."

"It's settled then. So, we'll discuss it in a week?"

"Yeah."

________________________
[A/N] Here's a short chapter cause I can't write fillers.

-PW13

Chapter 20: Gifts From Beyond, and Below

Jinxx/Mystic's POV
~~
[A Week Later]

We were mostly all healed up. The ash had crawled up to our wrists, but no one had said anything about it. The Wild Ones ventured outside to the makeshift training ground to work on their powers. Sometimes the Killjoys would give their own input and advice.

"You gotta make it so that you aren't pushing yourself, it's got to come naturally," Jet said to CC.

He tried to mold the sand again and got the result he wanted. He formed a dagger.

After a while, we went back inside.

"Okay everyone, there's a topic that we've been avoiding for a while now," Gerard stated, rallying up everyone in the cabin.

"The Wild Ones can't go back to defend their Camp until the Reaper is bound to their desert. In which case, we have to be able to take down Better Living at the same time."

"With the Wild Ones' powers, that should help us a lot. Since the last couple of times in Battery, they were holding back to stay hidden," mentioned Frank.

"What if we were to completely destroy Battery City?" CC asked, curiosity lacing his question.

"Like...total destruction?" Mikey asked.

There was a nod of approval.

"That'd be disastrous. It makes a statement, but still, we'd risk hundreds of lives in doing so. Mostly innocents under BL/ind's bullshit."

"We'd just have to draw them all out from the buildings. A massive taking back of the city, with all of the Killjoys and maybe some of the Zone Sixers on the frontlines with us."

"Do you think it'll work?" Jake asked, a little skeptical.

"I know it'll work, we just have to keep the faith."

____________________
{Location: Battery City, Better Living HQ}
Third Person POV
~~
Korse led the way through the corridors of HQ, the Reaper behind him. They entered an elevator that took them to the basement level. The doors hissed open, revealing three 'Crows in front of a dark-haired android.

"Here it is, Reaper, by your request."

"It's not identical but it'll suffice as a temporary replacement."

The Reaper went up to the android and placed his palm to its forehead.

"Serpent Queen, join us in this place. Take this shell for a while to strengthen the ash that your humble servants have scattered for you!"

The Reaper then put a modified version of the LightMind Miracle Pill into the android's mouth.

And it turned on, without needing to charge. It stood up slowly, Korse watched in awe.

"This thing is a crude attempt at a compatible body. But it will suffice, as my true host is still not ready yet," She sneered, looking at its limbs.

"Not yet, but perhaps soon," The Reaper then turned to Korse with a prideful smile, "Behold the Serpent Matriarch!"

F.E.A.R will take over this city, thought the Reaper.

We will indeed.

Before Korse could even act, the android murdered the three S/C/A/R/EC/R/O/W/S.

"Do not let the Killjoys nor the Wild Ones know that she is here. They shall only meet her presence when she is truly brought to this world."

"Agreed."

Chapter 21: Rally the Warriors!

Gerard/Party's POV
~~
We went to see Dr. Death, to see if we could broadcast a message across the Zones to rally the Killjoys and also to see if the broadcast reaches Zone 6.

We got to the shack at the Zone 4 border. Show Pony was at the door, waiting for us.

"Welcome! Dr. D is broadcasting the traffic right now, but he'll be done soon. Come in."

We clustered together inside the small room.

"...don't let your stars fade away, make them burn brighter until their lights are put out. This is Dr. Death Defying, signing off," we heard from the broadcasting room.

A minute later, he emerged from behind the loose boards.

"Well I'll be damned, what brings you boys here?"

"We need to unify the Zones. Does your broadcast reach Zone 6?"

Even with the sunglasses on, we could tell his eyes widened in concern, "Zone 6? Now why would you want to contact them when this isn't their fight anymore?"

"Because," Andy spoke up, "We need all the help we can get. We could at least try to get them to side with us."

He nodded, asking Andy and I to follow him into the broadcast room. He opened the airwaves and spoke into the mic.

"Zone Runners, the doc is back and with a message brought to you by some very special guests."

He pointed to us and I spoke first, "To Zones 1 to 5, and even anyone in Zone 6, lend me your ears for a bit. I'm Party Poison of the Fabulous Four and this is a call to arms for all who are ready to act!"

I glanced at Andy, and he spoke, "My name is the Prophet. I am one of the Wild Ones and one of the leaders of the Legion of the Black, some of you may know me as Night Leader. We ask you all for your help to take down Better Living and F.E.A.R by storming Battery in an attempt to take back the city."

"We ask that you spread the message across the Zones and to the lands beyond. We need all the help we can get. Meet us at the Zone 5/6 border at midnight if you're in. Party Poison and Prophet signing off."

Dr D, closed with a thanks for those who listened and the noise in the airwaves turned to static.

"Thank you," I said.

He nodded in response and we left for Zone 5.

~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~
[Location: Battery City, BL/ind HQ]
Third Person POV
~~
[Transmission Intercepted]
Place of Origin: unknown
Destination: Zones 1-5, Area 06
No transcript available...

Korse slammed his hand down on the console.

"Get me that transcript!"

"It seems to be an all call coming from one of the Zones."

"The tides are turning."

Korse flinched at the sound of the android's voice. He didn't like the idea of one of his units being possessed by some spirit, "Come again?"

"There are emotions rippling through the desert. Hope, rebellion, chaos," the Matriarch said, stumbling forward.

"Are you still not used to your form?" Mused the Reaper.

The android craned its head, pure darkness in its eyes, "This isn't where I am meant to be, I do not plan on getting used to this body."

The Reaper nodded and looked to Korse, "Surely it must be the Wild Ones, letting the Killjoys know they are here and trying to reach the Legion. However, they are too far to reach them."

"Or perhaps they are gathering the Killjoys? An attack in retaliation is imminent, so we must prepare."

Korse turned to a S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W, "Up the dosage of the LightMind Miracle Pill, we must strengthen them."

"Yes sir."

~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~
[Location: Zone 5/6 Border]
Jinxx/Mystic's POV
~~
We got to the border which I remembered from when we arrived. It was nearing midnight. Mikey, Ray, Jake, and I were surveying, waiting to see any Killjoys or Zone Sixers approaching.

"Do you think anyone heard the call?" Wondered Mikey aloud.

"I don't see anyone around or afar," said Ray, putting down his binoculars.

"Jet," said Jasmine, walking up with Riley and Danny, "We got the fire started. Come on."

Sighing, he nodded and we all followed her. Everyone else had gathered around the fire, socializing or playing games in the sand.

"Calm down, hopefully someone comes around." Said Frank.

I looked down and saw the ash had reached halfway up my forearm with help from the fire's light.

Half an hour passed and we all considered leaving when we heard engines revving and cries of rebellion.

We turned towards the sound, which was approaching from Zone 6.

"You guys did it," said Ash, glancing at Gerard and Andy.

"Not yet, look."

We saw painted cars blasting crazy rock music and all kinds of multicolored hair coming from the opposite direction.

"Sorry we're fashionably late, the traffic sucked," said one Killjoy with pink hair.

CC had a confused expression on his face at that statement.

It's a joke, I told him, probably a Killjoy thing...

Everyone who showed up gathered together by the fire, awaiting their orders.

Just then, CC placed his palms on the ground and the ground shook as he raised a stone, making some sort of platform.

Andy and Gerard got onto it and called out for silence.

"Everyone here has amazed us, you heard the call of rebellion and came here to unite under one cause. Killjoys, Zone Sixers, and Wild Ones, we are going to storm and decimate Battery and Better Living HQ. Whatever may come our way, we'll fight to the last breath. So keep your boots tight and your guns close. Die with your masks on to show how much we sacrificed for the cause. Tomorrow morning, we ride! KILLJOYS MAKE SOME NOISE!" Party cried.

I'm pretty sure our cries of hope sounded through the Zones that night.

Chapter 22: The Uprising

Gerard/Party's POV
~~
We all clambered into our vehicles, ready for what was to come. The Zone Sixers brought gasoline as a peace offering to the Killjoys and we all filled our tanks, to make sure we could get there and back if we needed to retreat far in the worst case scenario.

We, the Fabulous Four, led the horde in our spray painted Trans Am. The white van with the others and the Wild Ones to our right and Show Pony and his friends in another van to our left.

"Hit it!" Yelled Jet.

And with a squealing of tires, the motorcade of rebels made their way to Battery City, blasting Dr. Death Defying's station which was playing songs by a Killjoy named Mad Gear.

~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~

We made it to Zone 1 when I noticed something in the air.

"Is that smoke?" Mikey asked.

"—Poison, —copy!?" A walkie-talkie given to Andy and I by the Sixers sounded from the backseat.

Frank handed it to me.

"Poison to Prophet, what's up?" I asked.

"STOP!"

I hit the brakes.

"What was that about?" I asked.

"Something's wrong, the air is thick with the scent of smoke and ash. The Shadows, I think they've infested the city."

"Or maybe, it's because of that," said Frank, pointing into the dark tunnel.

I peered in and saw something unpleasant.

"Proph, you seeing this?" I questioned, my eyes meeting a dark form that held no resemblance to the Shadows.

"Yeah, we'll have to make the walk to HQ. Everyone has charms, so hopefully we'll be protected."

Everyone left their vehicles on the sides of the road and finished the walk to Battery on foot with us leading the way. Danny, Brendon and Patrick all stayed behind with a couple others along with Prophet's walkie-talkie in case we needed back up or if we all ended up dying. The Wild Ones had split in half, half at the frontlines and the rest holding up the back. We ventured into Battery City which had gone dark.

We made it to HQ without being ambushed.

"Welcome to the end Killjoys! Glad you could join us!" Korse stood at the HQ entrance, the Reaper by his side, "My sources were reliable, you have called for help, and the scum answered."

He snapped and the Reaper tapped his staff to the ground three times.

Shadows appeared, surrounding us but something else was with them.

Citizens overtaken by the ash in the LightMind Pill. Bodies twisted by black veins, ash covered skin and blue barcodes, which turned them into something animalistic.

They began to attack and we all braced ourselves. The Mystic raised a wall of fire around us, which stopped them.

The light hurts them.

The Shadows, however, came forward instead and broke through the wall, Draculoids and 'Crows following them. Killjoys fired their ray guns, hoping to do some damage.

Kobra, Jet, Fun and I fired to clear a path towards the HQ entrance, without luck.

I grabbed at the walkie-talkie at my belt furiously. I managed to unbuckled it and I called to those outside.

"Poison to Mercy, punch it!"

The hand piece was shot out of my grip. Killjoys and Sixers were progressively losing numbers.

"Go, go, go!" I yelled, continuing to push towards the entrance.

The ground trembled due to Destroyer using his powers, but I didn't lose my balance.

Was it a figment of my imagination?

I felt something hit me, and my gun fell from my hand. My heartbeat became a throbbing in my brain as well as the only thing I could hear. Pain in my right shoulder grew stronger. I fell to my knees

I heard something but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Something sped past the fight and I felt the impact of something being ran into.

My senses cleared up a bit and I felt hands on me.

"Party—, okay? —'s Kobra."

"Mi—."

He placed his hand over my mouth.

"Don't speak, c'mon we're not done yet."

He helped me up, and my hearing and sight were back. The pain intensified.

"They rammed the Trans Am into HQ. The Shadows scattered. The citizens didn't though."

We stormed the inside and made our way to the Pill Lab. We would destroy the catalyst of our suffering.

Then, Deviant dropped in pain and started screaming.

________________________________
[A/N] Sorry, I'm trying to make these last few chapters take as long as they need to. We're almost to the end.

-PW13

Chapter 23: The End.

Jinxx/Mystic's POV
~~
Deviant dropped, ash reaching his neck. He screamed.

Deviant! What's happening? I asked.

My mind suddenly went blank, my senses numbing. Darkness fought to take control, but I fought back.

Jet came running towards us.

"Don't." I commanded him, I wasn't letting anyone get hurt.

He seemed confused but saw how far the ash had gotten, nodded then left to inform the others.

We won't lose, we have to stop the Reaper...

___________________________
Jake/Mourner's POV
~~
I felt something inside me shift. Looking down I saw the ash progressed considerably since arriving into the city.

The ash in the air was infecting everyone.

I had to tell the Killjoys but something has happening. I knew my power was connecting with the dead and the living as well as control over a black mist, but ash and smoke in it's purest form? I don't know if I could expel the ash from my body.

I had to try.

I heard Ashley and Andy screaming. Jinxx was fighting it. CC was calm but not in a good way.

I gathered my power and surged the energy within me.

The next thing I knew, there was a Shadow that looked human lying on the ground. My ash was gone.

I did it.

I ran to the others and surged their light-filled souls within their bodies expelling the ash from them too.

"Mourner?" Deviant asked, "What happened?"

"Near-disaster that's what. Now c'mon, we have a city to help save."

We followed the sound of gunfire to a factory-like room.

Through the fight, I noted that Kobra and Siren were hidden behind a console in the far back corner while everyone else was by equipment. Killjoys and Sixers didn't have the chance to destroy equipment as the Shadows, citizens, Dracs and 'Crows were right behind them trying to stop their plan.

"We can't do this on our own!" Yelled a Sixer, fighting a Drac as she tried to shut off the machines.

Mystic ran into the fight, "I got you! Everyone out!"

Prophet used his telekinesis to push everyone into the hallway. We cleared the room and Mystic set the whole room on fire.

The tide turned and soon Killjoys, Sixers and us Wild Ones we're chasing the Dracs, 'Crows, Shadows and citizens back into the main lobby.

As we ascended, Mystic kept setting fires and soon, the whole floor was up in flames.

"Des, take it down!" He called.

A fire-resistance spell was cast on him and he went towards the center. Moments later, the floor caved and we all ran out of the building. We all watched as Better Living HQ crumbled to the ground.

______________________
Mikey/Kobra's POV
~~
As the building crumbled and panic on both sides ensued, I took the chance to grab Siren and run to the electrical grid. We climbed to the top of the tower and began to set up.

We had managed to grab the LightMind protocol sequence when we entered the Pill Lab. It contained the codes for each victim of the LightMind Miracle Pill. We cut off all power to Battery City and sent out a frequency to stop the Pill.

Citizens began to scream and dropped like flies; their blue barcodes stopped glowing.

Their behaviors became more human and less Shadow-like. The ash was still ever-present however.

I noticed an android atop another building, black hair and dark eyes, watching the scene with intensity. What bothered me was the fact that it wasn't one of those BL/ind droids either.

The fight wasn't over yet, I radioed Dr. Death.

"Ready!"

We made some adjustments to the frequency and soon anything with a speaker became a channel for individuality.

Music began to blare throughout the city.

We got down from the tower and headed back to the fight.

Party, Jet and Moonlight had Korse surrounded and in the blink of an eye, he was dead.

Red and Queen we're running around, ripping off Drac and 'Crow masks.

Mystic performed a spell and the Reaper dissolved into ash, wrapped in chains. The Shadows disappeared at the same time. The citizens' ash marks faded quickly.

I heard him say, "It won't end here."

Five human-shaped Shadows disappeared and the android from earlier was closer, hiding in an alley.

I raised my gun at it and shot a bullet through it's head.

I turned around and saw that the fight was over.

Better Living's tyranny was over.

We had won.

Chapter 24: Til Death Do Us Apart

Danny/Moonlight's POV
~~
The Shadows disappeared and the citizen including the Dracs and 'Crows under LightMind were freed.

I looked to Korse's lifeless body and I sighed in relief, collapsing onto my knees. I shed a tear behind my mask for Lydia, who wouldn't be here to celebrate with us.

At least now you can find peace...

I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up.

"You okay?" Mikey asked, helping me up.

"Yeah, just thinking about Lyd. She would've loved being here."

He nodded, smiling sadly, "But we can finally have a proper send off for her."

We walked off together, aiding citizens and rebels who were wounded. After a couple hours, we all had partially moved on from the era of Better Living Industries. Although, many were still in shock of the events since the Fires.

"So, what's next for the Killjoys and Battery City?" Asked Andy, "We bound the Reaper to the Sanctuary, taking his Shadows and ash with him; he's gone for good."

"Korse is dead," said Party, "We took back the city, now we have to reverse the damage done."

"Need any help?" Asked CC.

"Thank you Wild Ones, but this is something that the citizens of both the city and the Zones should do."

"Then that's okay."

Jake came up to Kobra and I, "Uh, before the Wild Ones go back, I'd like to do something for you Killjoys."

~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~
Mikey/Kobra's POV
~~
A funeral.

That's what Jake wanted to do.

Not a memorial for all the rebels who gave their lives to the fight against BL/ind, but a funeral for one Killjoy.

A funeral for Lydia Fayris Way, the Killjoys' Lucky Rabbit.

The Wild Ones had to go back soon, so he told me to hurry.

Gerard and I went back to the Diner and dug up the box buried under the spray painted mailbox, the one with her ashes in it.

We went back to Battery City and Danny led the way to a small house like building with 'C16-480' on a post out front. He took the box from me and hand-dug a hole into the ground.

"This was where our lives as Killjoys began," he reminisced as he placed the box into the hole, "She'd want to be here. To remember what began our true lives."

Gerard came up behind me and handed me another small box, the one I had placed her things from Atlanta in.

"You almost forgot this," he said.

I buried it alongside her, as it was all she had left of her family.

Mourner's eyes began to glow and a light shone where the mound of dirt was. A woman with long brown hair and brown eyes dressed in white clothes appeared.

"Mikey!"

She ran up to me and hugged me.

I could hold her...

"Lydia," I cried, holding her tight, "How are you here?"

She turned to point at Mourner, "That man guided me back here; I was calling out to him for a while now, since he arrived at the Diner."

She tore her eyes from mine, and her face twisted into one of sorrow and regret.

"I-I went to check up on you earlier, when you were hurt. You were dying and I wanted—I wanted to be there watching over you, but your soul kept wanting to join with mine and I almost killed you, so I'm sorry. Once you buried my ashes, he was finally able to hear me and told me I could walk through the veil and come home to see you guys. However..," She trailed off.

"However, she can't be an apparition for long since she doesn't have a body here on Earth anymore. My presence and power is the only thing keeping her here."

I placed a hand on her chin and raised her head to lock eyes with her.

"Then, don't just waste your time with just me. Everyone else here misses you too," I told her, kissing her on the cheek.

She smiled somberly and went up to everyone else: the rest of the Fabulous Four, Red, Queen, Pony, Mercy, Toxic and Danny. They all gave her their last words and goodbyes. She met the Wild Ones and the Zone Six leaders and thanked them for helping to end the Zones' misery.

Mourner went up to her, eyes glowing, and placed a palm on her forehead. She then left us, smiling. She knew we were at peace and she ended up seeing it herself.

The Wild Ones made eye contact with each other and came up to Party and I.

"I guess it's time for us to head back," Andy said, extending his hand out, "Until we meet again?"

He took his hand, "I hope our paths cross again someday, just—not in circumstances like this one, okay?"

He chuckled and Party stopped him.

"Let's take a photo, Frank found a camera in a gas station a while back. It'd be nice to have a memory of the men who helped, right?"

After taking a photo of the Killjoys and the Wild Ones, Gerard gave Andy the photo, "Keep it safe."

At last, the five men clad in leather left behind their masks, Jinxx performed one last magic trick. Saying their goodbyes, they left.

••**••**••**••
Andy/Prophet's POV
~~
We appeared in the desert, right where we were last.

"Well that was a crazy trip, right guys?" CC exclaimed.

We nodded.

"We should go back to our dorm and check up on Healer. She's probably worried as hell."

Agreeing, we left.

Arriving, we were greeted by Juliet, the Healer, and her many frantic questions. She went back into the dorm with us.

Needing a breather, I went off into one of the rooms and looked at the photo. I smiled in remembrance when I felt a sharp pain in my skull and my legs give way.

"Jinxx, come here!"

I could only call out for help before I fell to the ground.

••**••**••**••
[A week later]
Gerard's POV
~~
It took us this long but we finally decided on what to rename Battery.

Guano City, after the historic Route Guano where many Killjoys were ghosted.

We had plans already made and now it was time to execute them.

Chapter 25: Rebuilding Our World

Gerard's POV
~~
We cleared the site where the final standoff took place, a crater where Better Living Headquarters used to stand. Jet had the idea of putting a memorial for all the fallen rebels there.

"So, who'll lead them?"

"I could," said Jasmine.

I chuckled, "That'd be some kind of responsibility."

"I'm up for the challenge," she smirked as she jumped onto the roof of a spray painted van.

"Can I have your attention, please?"

Eyes looked up at her expectantly, but afraid. The people gathered hesitantly, unsure of what was happening.

"Hi, my name is Jasmine Gutierrez. Last week, I was known as Electrostatic Siren. Now that the threat to individuality has been conquered and defeated, you need someone to help guide you all back to the way things were, before the Fires, before the suffering and the oppression, before the fear of death for simply being human. I ask that you let me lead you, with those who fought on the frontlines as the Fabulous Four acting as your representatives and my advisors. What do you say?"

There was silence for a few seconds, then clapping. The sound building up into a thunderous noise. Some were crying, others were conflicted as they clapped and cheered as their emotions had been suppressed for so long.

Jasmine looked pleased as she hopped down, Frank catching her.

"'A lot of responsibility', my ass," she taunted walking past me, a smile on her face.

I smiled back.

~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~

Many volunteered to assist with the clean-up of a few areas of Guano City. Old BLI buildings were being cleared out and repurposed. Those with Killjoy or Sixer statuses were there helping with the most artistic side.

The Fab Four watched the progress continue after our clean-up shifts ended.

We asked to have the wall surrounding the city stay up, to protect us against F.E.A.R's return, with the Legion's star engraved on the top every .5 miles just to be sure.

It would hopefully be temporary. The wall would come down when the Wild Ones returned with the news of their victory.

We were done with our war, but I had a feeling the Wild Ones' was only beginning.

"Did you guys know that Danny, Patrick and Brendon are planning a small-scale festival in the center? They wanna have Killjoys with art pieces, Sixers and a few others with live music...and they're calling it the 'MemoryFest'," Ray mentioned, "They said they want to use the festival to help remind people of what life used to be like—the good parts of it at least."

"Did they bring it up with Jasmine?" Asked Frank.

"I'm not sure, they haven't confirmed anything."

"I could talk to her myself about it, if that'd help."

I looked down and saw people exchanging their spots.

"I don't know about that. It's their idea, they should be the ones to get it through to her," I said, "Also, they're shifting. We don't want to be late."

The others nodded and we soon left.

Everything was starting to come together. We accommodated the rebels with housing and restored the utilities.

Some Killjoys wanted to house together, since they'd been sharing a base or hideout for years now, which helped open up some space. We removed the cameras scattered across the city and stored them away until we could repurpose them.

Everything began to come to a close, and we couldn't wait to see what Guano City would become.

Chapter 26: ...And Where We Go From Here

Danny's POV
~~
After a little over two years, Guano City was fully functioning and beautiful. We had all re-adjusted back into a society. Jasmine continued to lead us all, and got incredibly stressed at times.

With a cup of coffee in hand, I knocked on her door. She opened it, dressed in a soft onesie, and beamed.

"Danny! Hey, what're you doing here?"

I handed her the cup, "Oh, you know, just checking up on you to see if you were okay. Frank thought you'd need a little extra push to start the day. It's hazelnut, your favorite."

"He doesn't know when to stop babbling. Well, that's what I get for marrying him. But hey, thanks, you're the best."

"Are you going to the concert tonight? The Fab Four are finally debuting their band after so long."

She chuckled, "Of course I am, I've only ever heard their music whenever I was in the Diner and we weren't being attacked. It'd be a nice change."

"How've you been as of late? You and Mikey have had a more emotional Killjoy experience, so I'm just checking up on you two."

"There's still days when I miss her so much I wanna cry. But we got to say our final goodbyes, the way it should've been, so I guess it helped me? It's been years now, but overall I'm at peace."

"That's good. Crap, I'm running late! I have to go see someone about an inquiry they had about restoring the education system."

"Really?! School was boring as hell from what I remember."

"Yeah, but this time, we'll actually be preparing students for the world. And teaching them good morals in a natural and humane way, not like how BL/ind did it."

"But you're wearing that?"

"Yes! It's my way of showing that I'm a person like you, I don't need a professional façade to do my job. Now move, I'm busy!"

"Okay, bye!"

We then separated and I went to help the Fab Four set up.

As I set up the stage, a young girl and a boy who looked a year older, ran right into me.

"Uncle Danny!"

"Hey kiddos. Be careful! I don't want Mikey to get mad at me because you two are being careless."

They apologized and went off into the field.

"They don't listen," I heard someone chuckle behind me.

Gerard, now sporting brownish-black hair with the ends a faded red, came in with a mic stand, "I've told them they won't like it when they get hurt—Grace, get off that chair!"

"Hey Gee, you must be psyched. Especially since you're finally getting your music out there."

"Definitely! We've been waiting for this moment for so long."

Riley and Andrea walked in, flowers in their hands, stopping dead in their tracks once they caught sight of Gerard.

"Fuck! What're you doing here?! You weren't supposed to see these!" Yelled Riley

"Don't curse in front of the kids," Mikey said, "I don't want them hitting the rebellious phase a whole eight years early."

"Coming through!"

Brendon and Patrick ran past with Show and the Doc in tow.

"Sorry we're late," Patrick said, catching his breath, "Beebo over here wouldn't stop getting distracted."

"Hey, we made it though."

~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~

That night was one to remember.

A large crowd had gathered, music filled the air. I was stuck babysitting Grace and her brother, Marc. It wasn't that bad though.

After the concert, the Fab Four and I went to see Lydia.

We sat on the lawn and talked all night. After the kids fell asleep, instruments were brought out and we all sang for her.

"So long to all of my friends
Every one of them met tragic ends
With every passing day
I'd be lying if I didn't say
That I miss them all tonight
And if they only knew what I would say

If I could be with you tonight
I would sing you to sleep
Never let them take the light behind your eyes
One day I'll lose this fight
As we fade in the dark
Just remember you will always burn as bright

Be strong and hold my hand
Time becomes for us, you'll understand
We'll say goodbye today
And I'm sorry how it ends this way
If you promise not to cry
Then I'll tell you just what I would say

If I could be with you tonight
I would sing you to sleep
Never let them take the light behind your eyes
I'll fail and lose this fight
Never fade in the dark
Just remember you will always burn as bright

The light behind your eyes

The light behind your

Sometimes we must grow stronger and
You can't be stronger in the dark
When I'm here, no longer
You must be stronger and

If I could be with you tonight
I would sing you to sleep
Never let them take the light behind your eyes
I failed and lost this fight
Never fade in the dark
Just remember you will always burn as bright
The light behind your eyes..."

~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~

This all began because I remember running.

Through all that I've lived through, I remember where we, Lydia and I, came from. And this...

This is where we go from here.

Killjoys never die.

______________________________________
[A/N] OMFG it's finally over. After numerous instances of Writer's Block, juggling middle and high school and now college while writing this. I didn't want to leave this series the many times I had lost inspiration, because I began a story and I needed to see it through to the end. Thanks for choosing to read my fics, I know my writing kinda sucks in some of the earlier chapters but I'll get to it when I get to it.

Long story short, there is still one final 'chapter' to end the Warriors of Youth series. It's an epilogue and hopefully within the week I'll have it put together. I'm vague in this chapter because I don't want to force any endings I didn't feel were right. It's up to you guys, but let me remind you the non-Fab Four (and Pony and Dr. D) Killjoys are based on actual people I know. So, keep that to you, yourselves and your headcanons, PLEASE.

And loose ends or confusion that needs clarifying, comment them because I might've lost track of some of those. Or even if I made some mistakes/inconsistencies while writing.

Congrats if you got to the end of this A/N. Love you all!

- PW13/The real Lucky Rabbit 💝

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 2 of The Warriors Of Youth