Gerard was quickly restrained by the tallest member of the group before getting bound by another. He was then sat on the ground as the two went to bind the unconscious Fun Ghoul. Gerard glared at the one they called Future, who was going through some of their recently obtained supplies.

"Demonic must be getting soft if he allowed you to pull from half of your next month's rations." He let out a soft laugh as he slammed the trunk of the car, "That, or you've gotten very convincing, Party Poison."

"You speak like you know me." Gerard spat at the ground, "Who the hell even are you?"

Future walked over to Gerard before squatting in front of him so that they were eye level with one another. "Future Bloom." He said as he brought the hand with the rose tattoo up next to his face, "Your rejected killjoys, remember?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Gerard spoke honestly. He didn't have any fully rejected character designs. There may have been some that didn't make it past a basic outline, but never had he thrown any away or denied their existence.

Future rolled his eyes, letting his hand drop. "Whatever. It's not me who you need to discuss this with. Desert Hurricane will deal with you." With that, he stood and moved back towards Fun Ghoul's car. "I want this thing secured before the dust storm can take it, got it, Solo?"

The one with red in his hair nodded. "Yes, Sir."

Gerard pulled against his bonds, but to no avail. The binding would not give. He was forced to watch as these two, who Gerard couldn't fully remember designing, continued to poke through the car.

"Villainous!" Future suddenly called out as he brought his arm up to his face. His jacket sleeve was pulled back to expose a lit up wrist com. "Hurricane wants a meeting with the infamous Party Poison sooner rather than later." A wicked grin crossed over his face as he looked up from his wrist com, "Take him to your lady friend."

"On it, Future." A grip tightened on the back of Gerard's jacket before he was pulled up to his feet. He turned his head to the side, recognizing the tall figure that was leading him away from the car.

"Dallon, please!"

"Party's lost his mind! The rumors are true. What kind of title is 'Dallon'? What's a 'Dallon'?"

"Not the time, Solo, the storm's growing closer!"

It was true. The wind was picking up, sending dirt up and around in circles throughout the air. It didn't seem to affect the bandits, however, because they simply pulled goggles from their pockets to protect their eyes.

Gerard was dragged to a motor bike that was detailed by a vivid purple and almost neon blue. Before he could react, he was slung over the backseat like luggage.

"Where's fun Ghoul!?" Gerard yelled as he struggled against his restraints. "Villainous!" He wished his friends were real here. He was tired of playing along. He didn't want to get trapped in an ever playing recreation of his comics or, worse, become trapped somewhere between real life and fantasy like Ryan.

Villainous Pills said nothing as he climbed onto the motor bike and started it up. Gerard shut his eyes tightly, afraid of any dust that may get flung into his eyes. As he could feel the bike begin to move, he could also feel small specks fly against his face.

The ride was mind numbing.the constant sound of the engine, the occasional specks flung into his face, and the constant worry for Fun Ghoul tormented him as Villainous Pills drove to wherever their destination was. It could have been minutes; it could have been years. Eventually, however, it did stop.

A wave of relief coated Gerard as the engine stopped its noise and the weight of the bike shifted, signaling that Villainous had gotten off the bike.

"Renegades, Strays, any of you. Inform Desert of my arrival, please."

There was a chorus of replies, all with either conviction or a slight awe to their tone. Gerard didn't have much time to think about it before he was being yanked upright. He could feel Villainous wipe dust and debris from his face before forcing him to move. Gerard opened his eyes to see, what looked like, the interior to some kind of giant circus tent. Dulled oranges and reds of the material made the light that filtered through a rather ominous shade, reminding Gerard of a stage of a horror movie. Looking around, however, gave the exact opposite effect.

Kids looked back at him; scared kids. They weren't necessarily kids, but they were in no way any older than he himself was. Some were definitely small enough in stature to be much younger than he was, which Gerard found a bit unsettling. Kids should be spared from things like this.

But how did he have room to talk? He created this.

One of the faces his eyes landed on was far too familiar, though it was much younger compared to the last time he had seen it. Melanie looked fearfully up at him, wearing the tattered remains of a puffy, pink dress. It had shreds of fabric missing, which she had tied around her arms and legs with decorative bows to secure them. Huddled close to her were two equally small boys with long hair. One had a large red patch that covered most of his throat, while the other met Gerard's eyes, unafraid.

So many other faces appeared as more people came out of what seemed like nowhere. They all gathered as Villainous Pills lead Gerard to a curtain in the tent.

Nervousness ate at Gerard as they walked through the curtain; what was going to happen to him?

A laser blast shooting through the air didn't give Gerard much hope for a good outcome.

There was a tall, wooden chair in front of him, but not much else. The ground was dirt, with only a few patches of a material floor poking up anywhere. Where the shot had come from was unclear, but Gerard guessed that it had to be someone from inside this place seeing as no one had been alarmed by it.

"They're here." The voice was soft to the point of barely being audible, but Gerard caught it. He held his breath in anticipation of what the voice would bring with that announcement.

"Villainous?" A more familiar voice called out, sounding closer with every syllable.

From the corner of his eye, Gerard could see a grin cross over Villainous Pills' face. "Yes, my lady."

Gerard focused back on the chair in just enough time to see a figure walking around it. Long dark hair that was styled to the side. A masquerade mask of a deep, blue that hid the area around her eyes. The rest of the outfit that Gerard had drawn and colored in at Ryan's house before the party.

Breezy stood before him, wiping dust off of a silver laser gun while smiling at the boy next to Gerard.

"You're safe." Her tone was flooded with relief as she held out her arms at an upward angle. This must have been queue for Villainous to leave Gerard's side, because he moved towards her immediately following the gesture. In just a few steps, he was close enough to wrap his arms around her mid section, while she draped her arms over his shoulders. "Are the others alright?" She whispered as her eyes trailed lovingly over his face.

"Yes, my lady. They have the other apprehended killjoy as well."

She pulled one of her hands back in order to swipe her thumb along his cheek. "Thank you." She smiled before he leaned down to press a soft kiss to her lips.

Gerard looked down, unsure what to think of the exchange. Did Breezy have a similar crush like Ryan did to Brendon? Is that how things got so reversed here?

"Party Poison."

Gerard looked up as he was addressed. The smile and happiness was absent from her expression. She now wore a cold frown and an icy glare that almost made Gerard shudder.

"Oh, how the mighty fall, to end up here." She took a step forward, towards Gerard, but came no closer. Villainous stood behind her, holding his hands behind his back. ""How did it feel to look upon all those you have abandoned?"

"I abandoned no one." Gerard tried to speak with confidence, but its strength wavered.

"No one but these poor, unfortunate souls you deemed unfit to stay in your safe haven." Desert Hurricane countered almost immediately, "How is it, by the way? We never even got a glimpse."

Gerard shook his head. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Desert Hurricane didn't believe him. "The fearless killjoy leader doesn't remember us? How convenient." She spat the last word, taking another single step forward. Her gaze somehow became colder with the movement. "We may have grown since our plee, but surely you remember the faces of the young ones you denied. The Strays they called themselves, remember?"

As she spoke, Melanie and the two boys that had been clinging to her side walked into the room. Melanie and the boy with the red discoloration of his skin both looked down, but the third continued to stand tall and unafraid. They stood next to Desert Hurricane, and she put her hands on their shoulders.

"Do they really mean nothing to you, outside of your inner circle of killjoys?" Desert Hurricane's voice had softened, though her gaze hadn't. "Can you even remember their names?"

As Gerard looked at them, names did pop up in his mind. The girl-hadn't he just recognized her as someone from his past?- was Crybaby Carousel. The boy with splotched skin was Golden Spark. The final boy who continued to stand tall was the Mechanical Kid. Each an orphan, and each barely in their mid teens or younger. When Gerard softly repeated their names out loud, Desert Hurricane didn't look surprised.

"So, you do know them." She said, "You remember how different they looked, when they first escaped from Battery City?"

"No!" Gerard shut his eyes tightly as pictures began to play like a slide show. He didn't draw this; he'd never draw this...

"The shot out Golden Spark's voice! Lucky considering the fate he could have encountered."

Gerard opened his eyes in enough time to see Golden's hand shoot up to his throat while Crybaby held his arm, reassuringly.

"I didn't do that." Gerard insisted, "Party would never turn someone away..."

"But you did!" Desert shouted, causing the Strays to shrink back. "You wouldn't protect us! We were left to our own devices to outrun the Dracs and anything else Battery City may throw at us!"

"It can't be that simple."

"You left me with no way to protect, or feed my people." Desert growled, stepping closer to Gerard. "All because you decided to deny us entrance to your little club!" Her next action was swift. Before Gerard knew what was happening, her weapon was being pressed against the side of his head. "How's it feel to be on the raw end of the deal?" She hissed as beads of sweat began to form along Gerard's hairline.

"Hurricane..."

"He deserves it, Villainous!" She snarled, glaring at Gerard with a hatred he had never witnessed from her real life counterpart.

"This is no way to get back at them, my lady."

Her hand started to shake, prompting her to shove the weapon rougher against the side of Gerard's head.

"They're better to us alive." Villainous' voice of reason was bringing tears to Hurricane's hate filled eyes. "Have them locked away and we can use them to barter."

When Villainous appeared behind her, she didn't attempt to stop him when he pulled her hand holding the weapon away from Gerard's head. Though he showed no outward reaction, inside he could have kissed the very ground Dallon walked on. Instead, he watched as Villainous gently pulled the weapon from Hurricane's hand before bringing her hand up to his lips to kiss.

"It will be okay." He whispered before turning to glare at Gerard.

Maybe he wasn't safe yet.

"Rebel!" Villainous yelled. A short time later, a girl with jet black pigtails hurried into the room. She wore a dark vest covered in burnt holes with dirtied, red pants covering her legs. Covering up the upper half of her pants, however, was a skirt of the same material of her vest that went midthigh. She stopped in the space between Gerard and Villainous, flashing him a salute.

Lyn-Z.

"Take Party Poison to the holding area." He ordered, to which she nodded.

"Yes, sir!" She saluted again before turning to Gerard. Despite her orders, there was a twinkle in her eye as she reguarded Gerard.

"Well, you heard my boss." She slid her hand behind her back before holding it out in front of her, freshly equipt with a black weapon with a small, red checkered pattern on its side. "Move it."

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A/N~ thank you for the cute fan art up Top!! UnintendedJoy <3

Hope y'all have a lovely day/night!

~Skittles Out~