Sanitarium - Asylum Finale {Completed}

3. Captive, Captivated, Unwanted

"Yeah, if we crash this time, they got machines to keep us alive while the army wives choke down the war with no meaning. I stopped bleeding three years ago, while you keep screaming for revolution. Because rebellion ain't a t-shirt you sell, you keep your money and I'll see you in hell." --- Tomorrow's Money

---

Captive, Captivated, Unwanted

Party's P.O.V.

"Party Poison!" someone screams, very close to my ear.

I jerk backward, nearly falling out of my chair to the floor. A hand wraps around my upper arm and steadies me, setting me upright in my seat. My eyes fly open to see a young man, no older than twenty-one, staring down at me with anxious green eyes. His hair is bright blue and falls across his forehead, hanging in front of his eyes. He's let it grow out from how it used to be. Stress most likely led him to forget about it. I give Radio Electric a small smile and  turn my head and see his twin brother latching onto my arm, looking equally as worried and upset. "Can you let go of me?" I ask quietly. Sparx immediately drops his hand. "Now, what's the problem? Did you find any clues as to where she might be?"

Simultaneously, both men nod.

I jump out of the chair fast enough that I almost crash into Radio. I run a hand over my face, rubbing the bridge of my nose with my thumb and index finger. I must have fallen asleep. It's been three days since I retold the tale of Paranoia's disappearance to Kobra, and I hadn't gotten any sleep whatsoever until now. But I must have just passed out for a good...four hours? That's what the clock on my office wall is telling me. Weird.

I reach out and clutch at the front of Sparx's jacket, dragging him closer to me. He's taller than I am by several inches, but he gets a terrified expression on his face anyway, masking the anxiety he'd been displaying before. "What did you find? Tell me!" I snap. I should feel rested from my power nap, but instead I'm more on edge than I was before.

Sparx looks to his brother, who quickly nods and rushes over to the one of the control panels beside a large screen attached to the wall. He taps a few of the keys and the screen blinks on. A few more buttons are pressed, and a sound wave starts to flow across the screen, flashing in a bright green color as it flat lines. It's the radio feature on these new high-tec television-type monitors we've got. The flat line means no sound is being emitted. "What are you showing me this for?" I ask curtly.

Radio and Sparx both shush me. Radio scrolls over to a button on the screen shaped like a sideways arrow - the "play" button - and clicks on it. Immediately, a radio broadcast fills the room.

"Hello, Party Poison. I'm going to assume you're listening to this right now, and it's not just those two little boys from before," Korse's voice rings in my ears. My face pales. This isn't possible. It can't be possible! Paranoia killed him!

"Get Jet Star and Fun Ghoul," I hiss to the Electric brothers. They nod quickly and sprint out of the room. I look back to the screen, where the sound wave is now undulating smoothly now that someone is broadcasting. I tap the microphone button on the control panel to allow myself to be heard. My voice is a snarl when I say, "You're dead. You're not real. This is just a joke someone's playing."

Korse's cold laugh echoes around me, a sound I'd recognize anywhere. Back when all the Killjoys were still living in the Zones, spending our days constantly in fear of being discovered by Draculoids, Korse's maniacal laughter would haunt my dreams from the occasions I'd heard it before escaping Battery City for the very first time with Kobra in tow. Once we found Paranoia, however, the noise stopped. I never heard it again until Korse kidnapped Missile Kid and nearly killed us all, and I could never escape it during our time spent captive in Better Living Industries after rescuing Missile and getting Paranoia out alive. Through all the torture, the failed experiments, the inquisitions, his laughter was always there. Cold, menacing, and deadly. You knew you were really in for it if you heard it. And now it's back.