Gerard was brought out of sleep by something being tapped against the side of his head. He swatted at it but, when that failed to detour it, he cracked his eyes open.

Ghosted Disturbance stood to the side of the couch. His arms were outstretched and there was a pair of worn drumsticks in his hands. "Angel said to wake you up." He grinned as he pulled his arms back, "How are you feeling?"

"Like someone was just drumming on my head?" Gerard looked at his friend with a slight annoyance, but couldn't hold back a smile of his own. Even here, there was a bit of Josh shining through.

"Sorry. Silent and Angel are both out like lights and they're hogging the bed. Also keeping me just out of reach of a drum pad."

"You play?" Gerard asked as he pushed himself upright.

Ghosted shrugged. "I really like beats and patterns." He replied as he twirled one of the worn sticks in his hand, "Guess it's a good quality. Hell, you guys picked me for recon, so it must be something." He grinned.

"How's the weather outside?" Gerard asked as Ghosted came to sit down on the couch next to him.

"It's still going, but not as bad as before." Ghosted replied, "We should be fine to go out in the morning."

Gerard nodded. It grew quiet, allowing the sounds of the winds outside and the distant snores of Silent and Gasoline Threat to fill the space.

Gerard's head mildly hurt, but it may have just been due to Ghosted's drumming. On the other hand, his thoughts were still in a state of a flurry. Before waking up, he had been dreaming of something that felt like a distant memory; Brendon's party. How he had tried to reach out for Ryan before everything went dark and he woke up here.

Where the hell was Ryan? Why hadn't Gerard seen him yet? So far he had run into a small chunk of his friends, but there was still a whole other half of party guests that were still MIA... Were they even part of this?

"You do remember us, sir, don't you?" Ghosted suddenly broke the silence with a soft question.

Gerard turned to him. He definitely remembered who they really were. "Of course." Gerard scanned Ghosted's face for any strangeness or abnormalities to his expression, like he had seen in some of the others during their conversations. "I just find myself more confused than ever at times."

"Dang..." Ghosted looked down, biting his lip.

"Yea..." Gerard trailed off, deciding to shift his gaze towards the boarded up windows. It appeared to be dark behind them. In was dark in the room, too, except for a small lantern that Ghosted Disturbance must have brought with him.

The dark never unnerved Gerard. He was used to spending long nights just staring into it as new comic ideas and illustrations buzzed across his mind. Here, however, there was something strange about it. Out of the corner of Gerard's eye, he could almost see somebody watching him; he could almost feel an intent gaze focusing right on-

"Party?"

Gerard sucked in a breath as Ghosted pulled him from his thoughts. With a blink, the thoughts were gone all together. "What's up?"

Ghosted rubbed his arm, nervously. "I just..." He avoided Gerard's gaze, diverting his eyes entirely from his line of sight before shaking his head. "Nothin'... Just a bad dream I had..." He shut his eyes with a sigh, "I should get back to Silent and Angel. They get cranky without a big spoon."

"Wouldn't want that." Gerard joked, though he had a slight uneasiness as to why Ghosted Disturbance had hid his expression.

"You should be good to sleep again..." Ghosted mumbled before rising from the couch and hurrying from the open space. He left the lantern, providing Gerard a ghostly light to illuminate the room.

"Goodnight?.." Gerard called out, though his volume dropped as he realized he was alone.

---

The next time Gerard woke up, the lantern was gone and Gasoline Threat was walking into the open space with a can in hand. She grinned at Gerard, signing something to him before tossing the can towards him.

"Good morning!" Gerard exclaimed as he dove for the can. He had recognized that word in her gestures, though he had missed mostly everything else. He sat upright with the can now in hand, reviewing its wrapping.

The wrapping was white with black accents & designs. A rather creepy, smiling face stared at him with the bolded words of, POWER PUP Pre-Moistened Kibble, underneath it. Microscopic listings of ingredients trailed underneath that, but the only other bold print was listed at the very bottom of the can.

Better Living

"At least your memory didn't lapse on sign language." Gasoline Threat smiled with a giggle, "Though I did call your hair stupid and you didn't react."

"Hey! I like my hair!"

"I was just kidding, sir, your hair is great." She laughed harder now, leaning against one of the shorter shelves. "Just testing your sign interpretation skills."

"They're still there." Gerard grinned, "Don't worry about that."

She grinned back. "The storm has died down, sir. I believe Fun Ghoul would like to see you."

Gerard immediately perked up. "Where is he?"

Her head jerked to the side. "Silent will take him to you. I've just gotta wake his ass up."

Gerard stood from the couch, abandoning the can of kibble he had been given earlier, and followed Gasoline Threat as she bounded down the rows of shelves. Gerard was able to watch as she stopped right in front of the mattress, bent her knees and wiggled her butt before jumping onto it. He stifled a giggle as groans rose into the air.

"Wake up, Sleepy Strike." Gasoline Threat giggled as Gerard moved to a spot where he had a clear view of the mattress.

Gasoline Threat was laying at a slight angle across the mattress, nose to nose with Silent Strike, who had his waist held by Ghosted Disturbance. She pushed her lips out, pecking Silent's before reaching out to hold his cheek. "Rise and shine." She whispered as her thumb slid back and forth over his cheek.

Silent's nose scrunched. "Ghosted jus' got comfy..." He mumbled, sliding one of his hands down to hold Ghosted's.

"I thought you wanted to escort Party to the bosses?" She yawned before propping herself up on her elbow. Silent shook his head with an incoherent mutter. She sighed with a playful roll of her eyes. "Fine." She smiled before pressing a kiss to Silent's forehead and pushing herself up to do the same to Ghosted.

Gerard stepped back a bit, feeling as if he had intruded on a rather intimate moment. He knew he had written them close, but he didn't remember making them romantically close.

"Okay." Gasoline Threat popped back up with a smile, "Change of plans, I'll lead you, sir."

Gerard nodded, "Lead the way, ma'am." He chuckled, to which Gasoline Threat smiled and began to move forward. She lead him through the shelves and out to the garage before she stopped their progress in order to open the garage doors.

Light was already peaking through freshly unbarricaded windows, but it didn't properly prepare Gerard for the real brightness of the outside. There mustn't of been a single cloud in the sky, because the suns beams felt relentless when they were allowed better access to the garage.

"Always nice to have a bit of shine after a storm." Gasoline Threat smiled as he held her arm out under the sun's rays; she twisted her arm and delicately flicked her wrist to coat the entirety of her skin.

"I prefer when it rains." Gerard commented. He blinked a few times after his statement; since when did he think that?

"I know, you find it more practical, sir." She retracted her arm back into an area of lesser light, "It cleans off the access dust for us... But just feeling the warmth on your skin..." She shut her eyes and smiled as she brought her arms close to her chest.

Gerard smiled, but said nothing. Ashley loved the feeling of the sun, as well as, sky gazing whenever she got the chance. She liked that it didn't require her less than perfect hearing to enjoy, even in the company of others. Josh and Tyler would happily watch the sky with her in silence, only occasionally making skin contact and pointing up at a shape they found amusing.

The versions of these people Gerard used to know, anyway...

"Well, Fun Ghoul and Jet Star will be expecting you." Gasoline Threat spoke before setting off down the dirt of the makeshift town.

Gerard followed, promptly. As they walked, he let his eyes trail over the various buildings. Some were mere cloth tents while others had actual solid, protecting walls. It was a strange mixture, but it seemed to work.

Their trek lead them to the end of the row of buildings. Gasoline Threat pointed to a building that was shaped almost like a square cylinder. "That's where they are, sir."

"Thanks." Gerard nodded, still looking over the building's exterior. The pain was chipped and peeling in scorched spots of the walls. He remembered noting that it was a place that had seen combat, but he hadn't fully finalized the idea. Yet, somehow, here it was in front of him.

He stepped forward after an expectant look from his guide. He really should go see Fun Ghoul and Jet Star. This all had to be going somewhere, and maybe they had answers.

He slipped inside of the building, hearing familiar voice speaking just feet away.

"Maybe we should go for another supply run since we lost a lot in the crash." Fun Ghoul was suggesting, "Demonic has plenty back at his base."

"Demonic also has a bit of a temper." Jet Star argued, "He doesn't like having back to back visits, especially unannounced."

Gerard walked into a large map room where Fun Ghoul and Jet Star were arguing. Fun Ghoul leaned against a tacked wall with crossed arms while Jet Star held himself over a large map table with a look of concentration on his face. His hair wasn't as poofy here; he had more of a long, wavy look going on.

"A new supply run?" Gerard asked, drawing the attention of the two killjoys. Fun Ghoul immediately grinned while a look of relief crossed over Jet Star's expression.

"Party, thank god." Jet Star sighed, "Good to see you."

"Told you he was good." Fun Ghoul continued to grin as he walked over to Gerard. He bounced on his toes, pressing a kiss to the redhead's lips before turning to face Jet Star and lean against Gerard. "He can help with the final decision."

"W-what are we talking about?" Gerard cleared his throat after his stuttered words. He was still unused to the affection this version of Frank had for him.

"We're discussing the possibility of another supply run." Jet Star said as he stood upright, "We lost most of what we got on the last run during the ambush."

"I think we should revisit Demonic Devotee and Northern Downpour to explain our predicament." Fun Ghoul explained, looking up at Gerard from where he leaned against him. "Demonic always has plenty of supplies at his little wearhouse."

Gerard recognized both names, but his eyes especially widened at the second of the two. Ryan. Ryan was here, and Ryan had been the last conscious person Gerard had seen at the party. What if Ryan was having the same experience as him? Or, what if Ryan was the ringleader to all of this? He did know the most about Gerard's killjoy world.

"Yes." Gerard's response was almost automatic.

Jet Star's brow furrowed. "Sir, you know how stubborn Demonic can be."

"Yes." Gerard nodded, though he had no real experience besides what he had written. "We need the supplies, however, and he'll have to understand."

"Should I get the car ready?" Fun Ghoul asked with an excited grin.

"Can we just consider this for a bit longer?" Jet Star shot Fun Ghoul a look of irritation.

Gerard shook his head. He wanted answers. "Sorry, Jet Star, but my decision is final." His own words surprised him. He sounded so authoritative, it was strange.

Jet Star didn't look Happy, but he nodded. "Yes, sir." He reluctantly responded.

Fun Ghoul popped up, looking more excited than ever. "I'll get the car."