Sweet Vendetta //Danger Days//

9. Changing Hearts

     I didn't go back home to the Nest that night. Instead, I spent it in the church. Party decided to stick around, and I wasn't complaining. In fact, it was sort of nice having him around. It felt like the good old days, where nobody was supposed to be dead, and I didn't have to worry about putting people's lives before mine.

We pulled a bunch of mattresses down to the main floor of the church. I felt kind of foolish in a sleepover setting, but this was a time to forget my responsibilities and act like a kid again. After all, tomorrow I'd be back at the Nest, being the boss or whatever.

"So Party, how do you feel about Atomic taking your job?" Smoke teased the red-head.

"Actually, I'm glad she's in charge. I wouldn't trust anyone else with that duty." He responded proudly.

"Awe, the love is real." Neon sniffed, wiping fake tears away from under his eye.

"Get a life, dickwad." I scoffed.

"Oh please, don't act like you didn't talk about Romeo over here constantly." Toxic challenged, pointing his finger at Party, who's cheeks had begun to match his hair.

"Alright, cut it out." Smoke put a stop to Toxic's embarrassing accusations.

"Have you really been talking about me?" Party asked me, making sure that his voice was out of earshot from the others.

"No shit." I almost laughed, scooting myself closer to him.

"I can't even imagine what it's been like for you." Party sighed. I shrug my shoulders.

"It's been complete hell. I'm just happy it's over." I sighed.

"When can we go and rescue the rest of the team?" He questioned, reminding me of the three other Killjoys still trapped in B.L.I

"Soon, we just need a plan." I replied, stifling a yawn.

"Get some sleep, I'm sure you have a big day tomorrow." Party advised.

"Mmmmm don't tell me what to do." I replied sleepily, lying down on Smoke's old mattress.

"Goodnight, Atomic." He chuckled, making himself comfortable on his own bed.

"Eat a dick, Poison." I smiled softly, letting the sound of my very chatty friends lull me to sleep.

---

     Coincidentally, it just so happened that Mad Gear was hopelessly lost in the desert when he caught a glimpse of three men walking towards him. After he had allowed Party to take his bike so he could go after Atomic,  he asked Vamos and Vaya to drive him to Electra's shop so he could pick up a few things.

The twins agreed to bring him to the run down store, but they decided to leave him behind, speeding away without him.  He was left in the scorching parking lot of the store, a can of pop in his hands.

"Sorry, kid." Electra put her hand on the boy's shoulder sympathetically. She had grown to enjoy Gear's company, as he frequently helped the old woman with tasks that she was unable to do on her own.

"Tell ya what. I'll get you another can of Neptune Pop, on the house." She offered, feeling bad for Gear. She absolutely despised the blue and pink haired duo. They were brash, inconsiderate and selfish.

"Thanks, Electra, but I think I'll just start walking." The boy sighed in disappointment, looking out on the long road ahead of him.

"Suit yourself." Electra shrugged, leaving Gear alone outside.

He let out another sigh, stretching his arms as he started his journey.

One thing that Gear hated about himself was his sense of direction. No matter how many times Atomic reminded him, he always forgot how to get back to the Nest.

"Stupid, good for nothing pieces of shit." Gear kicked a stone with the tip of his boot, causing it to fly across the dusty highway. He was fed up with Vamos and Vaya. They were like the older siblings he never wanted. As much as he wanted to think of them like family, due to the fact that he's lived with them for a majority of his miserable life, he couldn't find a soft spot in his heart for the two vain Killjoys. In fact, he hated pretty much everyone in that damn Nest. They either treated him like a little baby, or like a piece of trash. He thought that being the younger brother of the Killjoy leader would be enough to earn their respect, but he was wrong.

Val Velocity was never cut out to look after children, let alone Gear and Missile. Atomic always valued the two children for their cleverness and maturity, but Val absolutely despised it. It didn't take Gear long to figure out just what happened when Atomic left him alone in the living room, locking herself away in the same room as Val. The thought made him sick, especially knowing that his older sister wasn't doing all that well. He understood that she wasn't right in the head for a bit, but the little boy put on his brave face and continued to be strong when she couldn't.

For a while, Val really did try to take care of the kids as if they were his own, but it got to a point where he couldn't take Gear's constant complaining about his relationship with Atomic. As Gear grew older, his hatred for Val grew stronger, and so did Val's dislike for the boy. He stopped treating him like family, and more of a nuisance.

At that point, Missile had cleared of there. It broke Gear's heart that she just disappeared without even saying goodbye, but he also envied her courage to run away.

Gear kicked another rock.

"One day, I'm gonna move the hell out of that place." He swore to himself.

It was in that moment when he saw the faint outline of three men on the barren skyline. Gear narrowed his eyes, desperately trying to make out the distant figures. He recognized the very short man first, standing in between two other men who towered over him. It didn't take Gear very long to put the pieces together after that.

"GHOUL!" He cried out, breaking into a sprint.

Fun Ghoul's head shot up when he heard the pubescent screams of a boy. He saw somebody sprinting towards the group on the long road that they had spent an entire day walking on.

"Who's that?" Jet asked, tilting his head at the sprinting boy.

"I'm not quite sure. Do you know any scrawny teenage boys?" Ghoul retorted, continuing to keep his walking pace.

Gear continued to run towards him. His heart felt like it was about to crawl through his throat. That was his real family down the road.

"Hey, that kinda looks like Mad Gear." Kobra observed.

"Nah, it couldn't be." Ghoul scoffed, but as the boy grew closer, he did resemble Atomic's little brother. When Gear skidded to a halt in front of the three men, terribly out of breath, Ghoul realized that the teenage boy in front of him was  the little kid from the diner.

"What the everloving fuck?" Ghoul gasped.

"Dylan? " Kobra widened his eyes.

"Yep." Gear wheezed.

"But, you're supposed to be eight?" Jet reasoned, thinking of an explanation as to why this kid wasn't tiny.

"And you're supposed to be dead." Gear regulated his breaths, beaming widely at the Killjoys.

The three exchanged confused glances with each other.

"Walk with me, I have a lot I need to tell you." Gear told them, a warm feeling in his chest as he continued his journey back to the Nest.

___________

MAD GEAR MY BABY.