Gerard glared up at the Game Master. It was just like their meeting in the desert. His bald head was covered in glowing blue marks. A blueish haze hovered around his eyes.

"I didn't create you." Gerard tried to move from the man's grip, but it was like steel. "What the hell are you?"

The man just grinned. "Wouldn't you like to know?" He replied before quickly releasing Gerard's chin and pushing him back.

Gerard cried out, loosing hold of Ryan as he rolled back and slid from the force behind the push.  He landed on his back, spread out, looking up at the ceiling. His chest immediately ached. The force of that blow didn't feel human. As he moved to push himself up, he noticed that he had landed next to a very still figure.

"Ghoul?" He looked up at the Killjoy. Fun Ghoul was frozen like a statue. His body was rigid. He stared straight ahead. It didn't even look like he was breathing.

The Game Master tisked. "The puppets aren't for playing with right now." Gerard snapped his attention back to the man that was now crouched over Ryan's body. "Really a shame about this one," he continued, "Such a strong willpower yet little control over how to use it."

"Get away from him." Gerard growled.

The man laughed. He made no motion to move from his position. "Oh, you silly child. You may have created this world, but I brought it to life."

There was a thud behind Gerard before arms wrapped tightly around him. "Hey!" He tried to fight as he was lifted completely to his feet, but it was no use. The grip was just as firm as the Game Master's.

"You could have had it good here." The Game Master pressed his hand against Ryan's cheek. "The boy you wanted without the real girl of his affection in the way. A reality you drew up with the ideal version of those you hold close." The hand pressed against Ryan's cheek began to brightly glow blue. "It could have been beautiful."

"Whatever you're doing to him, stop!" Gerard yelled, feeling helpless against whatever was holding him. He looked down at the arms around his torso. Familiar jacket sleeves covered them. Gerard practically held his breath before turning his head to the side in an attempt to get a better look at whoever it was. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the wild dark hair. "Frank..."

He turned back to the scene in front of him. The Game Master was rising to his feet. His hand still glowed. "What did you do to him?" Gerard demanded, trying to keep all of his heartbreak out of his voice. "What have you been doing to him?"

The Game Master smirked. "I haven't done a thing but give them the influence of your world." He gestured down to Ryan's still figure, "He just didn't take to it. Perhaps he knew too much of it from the reality you came from."

Ryan had always been the first one to see Gerard's drafts. Ryan even contributed some of the ideas to help Gerard through the world building process. It was Gerard's fault Ryan had been so tortured through this experience...

"He was an interesting one to figure out." The Game Master stepped over Ryan like he was nothing. "The others took to the story so easily. The one girl only fell back to reality because of the sudden change to the environment after getting you out of that little glitch in the desert."

"What did you do to all of them?" Gerard's voice grew quiet. The camp had just vanished. He had been there before suddenly waking up at Demonic and Northern's base. Everyone just vanished.

"They weren't an essential part of your story, so they were snipped from the narrative." He replied simply.

Gerard's heart skipped a beat. "S-snipped?"

"Oh, Gerard." The Game Master's grin twisted wickedly, "I'm a creature that thrives on dreams like this. The moment I bumped into you on the street that day I knew you had the potential to feed me for a long time. The creativity that flows through your veins and bleeds onto the page was far too good to pass up."

"Did I even make it to Brandon's party?" Gerard questioned, "Did you just rip us off the street and drug us or something!?"

The Game Master laughed, stepping forward. "Oh no, your memories up to that party are very real. All I did was slip some of my poison into the shared drink and waited. It was only a matter of time."

"What the hell are you?"

Laughter was the Game Master's initial response as he stepped closer. "I got by many names, but none of them will matter to you. I just need to plop you somewhere new with a little reset."

"No!" Gerard began to struggle against the killjoy's hold again. It had taken so long to get here, he couldn't let himself be lost to whatever the Game Master had in store for him. "I won't let you!"

The Game Master stopped his trek forward, tilting his head. "How do you propose to stop me?" He looked behind Gerard after speaking and smiled.

The arms around Gerard pulled away. Unprepared for the motion, Gerard fell to the ground. He landed hard on his knees and palms, hissing with an intake of air.

"If you stop him, you can't have me." Gerard shut his eyes at Frank's voice. Not Frank. That wasn't Frank... "Aren't I enough for you?"

"You love Jamia, Frank." Gerard shut his eyes tighter as the words came out of his mouth, "You've already bought the ring."

"It could just as easily be for you." Frank replied, "Open your eyes."

Despite his better judgment, Gerard opened his eyes and looked up. Frank kept in front of him. His weapon was in his waistband and his hands were clasped around a small box. Gerard could see Frank's hands shaking as he he slowly opened it, as if he was trying to fight it. "We can be together here."

Tears brimmed in Gerard's eyes. "You don't want that." He whispered, looking at the ring with blue gems spaced evenly along its outside. They almost seemed to glimmer in the dull light. "This isn't real."

"It is here." Frank encouraged, "It can be! Just take it and let him restart all of this." He smiled at Gerard, though it didn't reach his eyes.

Gerard looked down. Between everything that had taken place since the stairwell, he had lost his weapon. He had nothing to use to fight against the Game Master.

"He's like a genie, Gerard." At the sound of his real name coming past Frank's lips, he couldn't help but look back up at his friend. Frank's eyes were blue, catching Gerard immediately as he continued to speak. "A djinn. He made this real. He can make us real!"

Gerard felt trapped by those eyes. They weren't Frank's eyes. Frank had captivating hazel eyes with a unique pattern of color. This wasn't Frank talking. None of it was Frank.

Behind Frank, the Game Master had crept closer. His gaze was focused on Frank. The brightness of the blue on his skin had dimmed. Was he using his power to influence Frank into seducing Gerard into staying?

"Say yea." Frank encouraged again, scooting closer. "We can stay here together. We could stay young forever without fear of the future. It can be anything you want here. You can be happy."

Gerard blinked. "I can be happy?" He repeated. Didn't the Game Master previously mention something about keeping him happy?..

Frank continued to smile at him. The blue in his eyes almost hurt to look at. Gerard leaned forward. He could have everything. He could be the hero he wrote Party Poison to be, with Fun Ghoul right by his side...

"Everyone can come back." Frank whispered, "No one has to be dead." He reached out, pressing a bad against Gerard's cheek. "We can be happy."

Gerard let himself lean in for the kiss Frank was pulling him towards. He rested his hand on Frank's side, letting it slowly trail down as the kiss continued. He could hear the Game Master laughing to his side as tears welded in his eyes.

"So, it's settled?" The Game Master asked with a condescending tone.

Gerard pulled his lips away from Frank's. He leaned his forehead against the other boy's, letting out a soft breath. "Yea," Gerard agreed, "it's settled. I want to be happy."

Before either Frank or the Game Master could respond, Gerard pulled Frank's weapon from its holster and spun to face the Game Master. He pulled the trigger, landing a shot right through his stomach. "I'll be happy to be out of this nightmare."