The Sound Of My Vendetta (A Killjoy Stori/Fanfiction)

Run Run Bunny Run

The next morning when I reported to Korse, he told me that I would have my first assignment in the zones. Naturally, I was excited. Every exterminator enjoyed the zones, but I was excited for another reason: I might actually find them, the Killjoys. He told me that I was trained to do the one thing that even he had not accomplished.
"Your assignment is to find the Killjoys," Korse began, "and kill them." His last words hung in front of me with deafening finality. I knew that if I did not succeed that I would return to training, or worse. I tried my hardest to keep my emotions in check, but I couldn't tell if my face betrayed me. "Especially that pest Party Poison. Kill him and bring me back his mask," Korse sneered as he turned away.
"Is that all?" I faked, pretending that the Killjoys meant nothing to me anymore, "Eliminate a small group of Killjoys?" I inspeceted my nails to imply that this was a simple task. Korse wore a grin when he turned back to me, assuring me that this was no easy task. He ordered me to change into the clothes he held in his hands. My old Killjoy uniform. It would burn them all the more.
When I emerged from my changing room and waltzed outside, I found a car and a small assembly of Dracs waiting for me. There were four, two on either side of the car. I waited for them to step away, but they did not. I turned back to Korse.
"I don't need them," I groaned, frowning over my shoulder at them. I crossed my arms like a huffy child. "They'll only be killed."
"That's what they're there for," Korse reminded me as he steered me back toward the car. One of the Dracs opened the door and allowed me in as all the others took their seats in the vehicle. I slid into the middle seat and buckled the belt as the last Drac squeezed in beside me, sandwiching me slightly.
It took us five minutes to reach the edge of town, and about twenty more to find the proper zone. It didn't take long to encounter the Killjoys once we were in Zone 6. I smiled slightly at the sight of the familiar car. A pang of loss fell on my heart. I hadn't realized how much I missed them until I was seeing them again for the first time in about a year.
As usual, a chase ensued. The Dracs and I were tossed around the back seat as we followed the driver's expert maneuvers. I recognized the zig-zag style almost immediately. Party Poison was driving. The Drac in the front seat rolled down his window and shot at the Killjoy's tires. His ninth shot hit the left tire.
Party swung around in his characteristic, action movie turn and stopped. We pulled up nearby, keeping a safe distance. All four Dracs fell out of the car, pulling out their rayguns. I didn't move. Much to my surprise, all four Killjoys emerged from the other car. I could feel my eyes widen involuntarily in shock. The Killjoys never went out all at once. Usually, it was two on patrol and two at home. What was this?
By the time I'd gotten over the fact that all four of them were here on patrol, all four Dracs were on the ground, shot down by the Killjoys. I watched as they began to turn back to replace the tire. Someone joked about being glad they had so many extras. A couple others laughed. I wanted to laugh with them again. But that was not what I was there for.
I unbuckled my seat belt and began sliding out of the back seat. Kobra Kid noticed the movement and brought his raygun back up. Everyone else, noticing what had caused Kobra's reaction, did the same, some glancing at each other, the others keeping their eyes on me.
When I stood and stared at them from over the car door, I heard a gasp. Party brought his raygun down and looked at me through his yellow mask. Fun Ghoul, now a little taller, pulled up his mask and gaped. Even Jet Star raised his helmet visor, as if it obscured his vision. Kobra was the only one who did not lower his raygun.
One of the Dracs that had been shot down moved behind them. I watched the Drac sit up and struggle to stand, silently, as the Killjoys were distracted. I watched him stagger toward Party Poison and raise his raygun slowly.
"Duck!" I shouted to Party before raising my raygun. He knelt down, looking over his shoulder at the same time. I fired my raygun just as Kobra fired his. My laser hit the Drac, ending him instantly. Kobra's laser just barely missed my shoulder as I leaned to the left. I glanced back at the burnt sand where Kobra's laser had made contact. When I looked back, adrenaline coursing through me, I found Kobra and Party arguing.
This wasn't the reunion I'd been expecting.
"She saved me life! What the fuck was that?" Party snapped, "Why the fuck would you shoot at her?"
"She's BL/Ind now, Party! You're blind! They wouldn't just let her go!" Kobra countered.
"She saved me! She's not with them!" Party growled.
"Maybe she just wanted to do it herself!" Kobra glared over Party's shoulder at me. Surprisingly, I didn't see just hatred in his eyes. In fact, hatred was the least noticeable. Anger flared there, and sadness. Sadness. Party shoved at him and turned back to me.
"Sonik?" he whispered.
I looked down at the sand beneath my feet. Before I answered, I raised my raygun and pointed it the car I'd arrived in. I wasted what was left of my raygun on the vehicle, shooting everywhere but the tires and the engine. I looked up at the Killoys once I was finished, and tossed my raygun on the ground. My face was emotionless, a mask I had perfected over my time in BL/Ind.
"If you want to kill me now, I'm unarmed, this would be the time to do it," I said, glancing pointedly at Kobra as I threw my arms out to either side. The gesture was meant to mean 'search me,' but instead, Fun Ghoul came in for a hug.
I wasn't expecting it. I slowly brought my arms around his shoulders to return the hug. He apologized to me, though I wasn't sure why. And, even though I didn't know why he was apologizing, the words brought tears to my eyes. Fun let me go and I turned away quickly. No one needed to see me cry. I calmed myself down the best I could and swallowed back the remainder of my tears. Then I turned back to them.
"Sonik, what happened to you? You told us not to come after you..and we weren't even sure if you were alive," Party asked me, "We were going to come right after you, but we knew we wouldn't be very useful to you if we got killed trying to save you. And Fun Ghoul wouldn't let us go without him, so we had to wait for him to heal." I didn't hear all of Party's explanation. I was lost in my thoughts, remembering nights we'd stayed up talking and laughing quietly. "Sonik?" he asked, bringing my back. I looked up at him. "What happened in there?"
"I met her. The woman I'd seen in my dream. She was taken away before I save her. But I got the rest of them out," I remembered, not looking at anyone, but rather out at nothing in particular. "They beat me," I whispered, "And then they burned me, starved me, left me to dehydration while I was sick, froze me, and then beat me some more." I looked up at him. "All to train me."
I glanced from face to face. Everyone was horrified, except for Kobra, who still had that same angry, sad expression. I didn't know how to feel about the whole ordeal. I took a breath and shook my head.
"You're stronger than I could ever have imagined, Sonik Soundwave," Party Poison muttered, clasping my shoulders. He was blushing slightly, though I'm not sure he noticed. I smiled a small smile.
"And somehow, the saddest part of my whole time there was the woman. I never knew her name.. and I didn't get a chance to save her," I muttered. Then I remembered what I had saved. I looked up at Party urgently. "Did you get the super important 'handle with care' bundle?" I inquired.
Jet spoke up for the first time. "That was from you?" I glanced at him and nodded.
"Where is she? Is she alright? Are you taking care of her? She's the most important baby in the world!" I rambled. Party held up his hands to stop me.
"She's safe and sound back at the diner. There's a Sympathizer woman there taking care of her until we get back. She gave us some help last night because we're clearly not mothers," Party chuckled. I smiled, letting out a happy sigh.
"Great! Perfect! Protect her. She has to live. Above everything else, she has to live." I pointed to the Killjoy car. "Let's get that tire changed," I suggested. Once the new tire was on and secure, I started back towards the car I'd arrived in and opened the trunk. I pulled out four body bags and began putting the Dracs in them. Party came and helped me with this, and once we were finished, I stood and dusted off my hands, retreated back towards my car.
"Where are you going?" Fun Ghoul asked me. I looked back at them.
"I have to get back. They'll be missing me and send out a search party," I explained. I was about to get in the car when I remembered. "Oh! Party!" I scrambled over to him. "May I borrow your mask?" I asked him quietly.
He made a face. "Borrow?" he muttered back. I took a deep breath and just said it.
"Korse sent me out here to kill all of you. He said he wanted me to bring back your mask," I told all of them, loud enough for everyone to hear. I waited for someone to shout and shove me away. Instead someone tapped my shoulder.
"Sonik, here. If you can, I'd like it back, but if you can't.." Party's voice said gently. He shrugged at the end of the sentence. He looked down at me and smiled. I took it gingerly and smiled back. He turned back and began towards his Killjoys. When he got there he stopped and turned to look at me. "Will we see you again?"
"Soon," I promised, "I'm meeting a Sympathizer tonight at the Dolly Rocket Club who's going to take me out of town." Party smiled and nodded. Kobra looked away when I glanced at him. Jet and Fun Ghoul both smiled slightly.
"I'll meet you in Zone 2 tonight by Salem Boulder," Party called as I got into the car. I waved out the window as I backed up. Everyone waved back except Kobra Kid. I drove away, mask in hand, and smiled to myself.
Korse would think the Killjoys were dead, so there would be no more patrols. The Girl was safe, and after tonight, I would be free. I giggled to myself again as I pulled into Battery City. I wiped away my grin as I sped through the streets toward Better Living Industries. I went through the gate with no problem and pulled up to the headquarters building.
Korse approached the car as I pulled up. He looked so anxious. I carefully put Party's mask in my pocket. I waltzed right past him, pretending he wasn't there.
"Gingersnap!" Korse barked, turning to look at me. I turned to look at him. His voice considerably less harsh, he added, "Well?"
"Well what?"
"Did you complete the task?!" Korse threw his arms up, raising his voice and his eyebrows. This distracted me.
"Do your eyebrows control the volume of your voice?" I joked, unable to contain it. I snickered.
"Answer me!"
I pulled the mask out of my pocket and hung it by its string from my finger. "Does this answer your question?" I taunted, holding up my hand so that he could watch the mask swing back and forth.
He took it slowly and examined it. "Extremely good job Gingersnap," Korse muttered, turning away. He still had Party's mask in his hands. I cleared my throat.
"Korse," I said, putting my hand on his shoulder to turn him. He spun to look at me. I snatched the mask out of his hands. "This is mine," I reminded him, waving it in front of him, "I did the work, I get the trophy." Korse glared and began to turn as I stepped toward my room. "Oh, and I'm going out tonight. I need a drop off."
Korse merely nodded and walked away. I smiled and shuffled into my room, putting Party's mask back in my pocket. Hours later, there was a knock at the door and a voice asked if I still wanted to go out. I opened my door and followed the official to the car. He dropped me off in The Lobby and disappeared.
The Lobby was a newer name for the sleazy part of town where prostitutes walked the streets and illegal activities were not really illegal. There were thefts almost every day and violence was common. I bumped into a woman on the way out of The Lobby. She cursed at me and continued walking. I shuddered at the thought of having to sleep with people for money. I'd learned from my time in BL/Ind that the company was considering a line of prostitute droids. Droids. BL/Ind was all for it and all over it.
I stepped into Dolly Rocket's Club just outside The Lobby. The place was dimly lit, but more as mood lighting than anything shady. The bar was decorated in red, tan and black. I smiled at the simplicity of it all. I could almost drown in the nostalgia.
"Heyy," a smooth, familiar voice called out. I looked over at the bar. "You made it!"
The voice belonged to a boy I'd gone to high school with. His name was Dyllan Colvey and I'd met him in Better Living Industries a couple weeks ago. We hadn't known each other very well in high school, but we were friends now. He was a Sympathizer who had heard about me in Sleepover. He was also an undercover agent in Better Living Industries. He was my ride out.
I plopped down on the stool next to him. We were supposed to look like a couple. "I missed you!" I exclaimed giving him a giant hug. He grinned and hugged me back. "Nice suit," I teased, tugging on his lapels.
"Wanna get out of here?" he suggested, nodding towards the door. I smirked and nodded.
"Let's go."
The moment we got in the car, I informed him of the plan. Party was going to meet us at Salem Boulder, a desert landmark to which I would direct him. He nodded and smiled at me.
"I'm glad we can get you out. I saw what they did. I can't imagine," he said.
"You don't want to. But if you get caught, you'll do more than imagine. Make sure it's not you they accuse for getting me out, or they'll get you," I warned. He nodded as we crossed through the city. There were very few people out, and the majority of them were BL/Ind officials or Dracs. I grinned when we crossed the city line. I could feel the power grid fall away as we sped into the desert.
"Where?" Dyllan muttered. I pointed.
"South east for fifteen minutes. It should be right around there," I directed, looking out in the dark. The headlights illuminated the sand, which blew this way and that in front of the beams. I could see little sand-vortexes outside the window. There was sand twirling in the wind everywhere. Sandstorm. The thought danced in my mind like the sand outside. I frowned, hoping we didn't get turned around in the storm.
"Wind is strong tonight," Dyllan commented, struggling to keep the car on course. He laughed and grinned at me. I smiled back nervously.
"Fun fun fun," I mumbled, though nothing in me considered this fun. The elements were not something to mess with. I was just about to look at the time when we came across a pair of blinkers. Dyllan stopped suddenly and shifted around to shine the lights on the car.
"Is that him?" Dyllan asked, examining the car as best he could. There was a spider on it from what could be seen through the sand. I smiled. I could see Party's bright red hair through the windshield, though his hand was covering his face.
"That's him," I laughed, smiling wildly. I was so excited to be going home. I leaned over and hugged Dyllan. "Thank you so much!"
"Anytime," Dyllan replied with a smile, "Live well Nellie."
I was half way out the door when he said it. I wasn't used to that name anymore. I shut the door before the sand could get into the car. As soon as there was nothing to barricade me from the wind, I was almost swept away.
I let the wind carry me toward the Killjoy car. Party reached his hand out the window and caught me as I almost blew past. I held on to his hand with one of mine as the other opened the back door. I tumbled into the car and the door slammed behind me.
"You alright?" Party asked, looking back at me in the rearview mirror. I nodded with a grin, holding his mask out to him.
"Run, baby. Drive!" I laughed, crawling into the front seat.