Scars And Stories

Epilogue

Written by rac06h10ael

Patrick's eyes fluttered open, a bright light nearly blinding him as he did so. He blinked a few times, his eyes adjusting to his surroundings. The room around him slowly came into focus, the bland colored walls, the pale pink chair sitting in the corner across from the bed he was lying in, the IV inserted into his arm.

He gasped and sat up straight, his heart racing as he went to tug the IV out, a hand shooting outward and stopping him before he could touch the clear tube. He turned his head and saw that hand belonged to you.

"Y-Y/N?" He stammered, his mind spinning and tears wavering in his eyes. He didn't understand what was going on, or where he was, or what you were doing there with him.

"Calm down, Patrick," You tell him softly, the corner of your lip curling upward into a reassuring smile, "You're safe. Don't worry. It's all over now."

Without a second thought, he flung himself at you, draping his arms around your shoulders and pulling you in a crippling hug. He needed to know you weren't lying to him, he needed to know you were real.

You chuckled and hugged him back, weaving your fingers into his slightly sticky hair. "Hon, you're safe. You, Ryan, Pete, Brendon and Andy were found at the Syndicate's headquarters. We thought you all died, but-"

The blond's eyes traveled over to the bed next to him, seeing his friend lying there unconsciously, a bandage around his head and a breathing tube protruding from his mouth. His bloodshot eyes widened in horror, the event that led him to this point in time flashing before him.

"I'm sorry," Patrick apologized as he raised the gun and aimed it at the computer.

He couldn't help but notice the fear in Pete's eyes as his index finger wrapped around the trigger, fearing that he was going to shoot him. After all he'd done, he wouldn't be entirely shocked. He'd betrayed him in the worst kind of way, and for that, he felt he deserved to die. So he squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath, preparing for the darkness.

However, that darkness never arrived.

Instead, a loud sound erupted in right ear, sparks flying out from behind him as the bullet lodged itself into the mainframe. The power from the machine and the computers connected to it almost instantly ceased to exist, as well as the chips inserted into the four men standing in the room.

They all collapsed to the ground, the silence that replaced the whirring blanketing over them.

Patrick pulled away from you, his eyes locked on Pete. "So what?" He muttered, "We're just done?"

"Yeah," You told him, taking his hands in yours and giving them a slight shake, "Everything's back to normal." You bite your lip and shift your gaze away from his, finding it hard to have confidence in the words coming out of your mouth.

"So music's back?" He asked the one question you didn't want to answer.

You feigned a grin, stammering, "Y-Yeah. Music's...back."

Patrick's eyebrows furrowed together, detecting the falsity lacing your voice. "What really happened?" He demanded to know.

"Look, Patrick," You began, heaving a sigh and standing up from the chair you were in, his hands slipping out of yours as you wandered over to the window and gazed outside, "Music's back, but it's not like it used to be."

"Why?" The singer questioned, "I saved it. I shut down the Syndicate. Why aren't things back to the way they used to be?"

You tilted your head down and closed your eyes. "There was someone who wasn't controlled by the chip, someone who willingly caused all of this trouble. You may have shut down the Syndicate, and freed all of your friends, but...there's someone still out there."

Patrick swung his legs over the side of the bed, facing away from you as he tried to process everything he had just been told. "Who is it?"

"No one knows," a third voice joined the conversation, attracting yours and Patrick's attention. Standing in the doorway, dressed in his normal clothes with the addition of the hospital band hanging loosely from his wrist, was Brendon. He wore a solemn, disappointed expression on his pale face. "All we know is that they're out there, and they're keeping music from making its return."

"So what you're saying..." The blond started, using what little energy he had to stand up on his own two feet, "...is that this was all for nothing?"

"Not necessarily," The taller of the two disagreed, entering the room and sitting Patrick back down on the hospital bed, "This person, whoever it is, they're only fighting by themselves. They don't have an army like they did before. But we? We can unite, and we can take down whoever this person is. You just have to be willing to fight for what you believe in like before, but this time, it's all us. We don't have the Novocaine to make us strong. All we have is ourselves."

The blond frowned, glancing over his shoulder at you and his best friend, "But I don't want to fight anymore. I just want to live again. I want what I had before."

"But don't you get it?" Brendon asked, grabbing Patrick's cheeks and bringing his attention back to him, "What you had before is gone. We have to start all over." He paused for a brief moment, taking in a deep breath, before continuing, "It's not going to be easy for any of us, but I know we can do it. If we get everyone together again, I know we can bring music back, and keep it this time. No more sides, we're all together. What do you say?"

Patrick looked back at you, his bloodshot eyes meeting your teary ones. He purses his lips, internally debating which path he wanted to take - the one that let him live happily ever after with the love of his life with no interruptions, or the one that gave him his true passion back but took away from the person he couldn't live without.

With a swallow of the lump on his throat, he returned his gaze back to Brendon. "I'm in," He announced, sticking his index finger up and tacking on quickly before the dark haired man could interject, "On one condition."

The former front man of Panic! At The Disco crossed his arms. "And that would be?"

"That Y/N gets to fight with us this time."

Both singers looked back to see the surprised and shocked expression plastered on your face.

"Music means just as much to her as it does to us," Your boyfriend went on to say, the corner of his lip curling up into a smirk, "And I don't want to lose her again. I won't."

You broke into a wide grin, rushing over and jumping at Patrick to hug him tightly, causing him to grunt in pain before hugging you back.

Brendon awkwardly rubbed his hands on the tops of his thighs as you began to shower the blond in kisses and muttered, "I don't think I have much of a choice but to let her join. I mean, we're going to need as many people as we can."

You and Patrick separated and looked at Brendon, smiling and telling him, "We're in."