What's the Point of it All? (Danger Days Oneshot)

What's the Point of it All?

Fun Ghoul wasn't surprised to find Party on the roof of the diner far past midnight. The redhead often came up here for reasons Ghoul had never bothered to ask for. Tonight, though, something was different. Ghoul didn't know how he could tell, but he sensed that something about Party Poison was...off.

Ghoul slowly approached Party and sat down next to them. "...Is everything okay?" Ghoul asked softly, hoping that Party would face him.

Unfortunately, Party kept their face turned away from Ghoul as they replied, "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Ghoul pressed. He knew Party wasn't fine. No one was really fine anyway, but tonight Party seemed to be more not fine than usual.

Party let out a long sigh. "I don't know," they replied quietly. They lowered their gaze to their feet, still facing away from Ghoul. Ghoul watched Party patiently, waiting for them to elaborate.

After what felt like an eternity of silence, Party finally spoke.

"What are we even doing?" Party asked miserably. "What's the point of it all? It's not like we're accomplishing anything. BL/ind. is still in control, Battery City is still full of mindless drones hopped up to the max on those damn pills. And what have we done about it? Nothing. We're not heroes, we're not rebels. We're just cowards, playing a fucked up version of hide and seek with the dracs."

"Party—" Ghoul began, unnerved by the note of hollow defeat in Party's voice. If Party Poison was starting to give up... Ghoul couldn't even bring himself to entertain that thought. It was too painful.

"It's like a video game," Party went on with a bitter sigh. "Like those ones that have a certain amount of levels before you go into infinite mode. Level one, realizing that BL/ind. is total shit. Level two, quitting those mind-numbing pills. Level three, escaping the city."

Party paused for a moment, letting out a despaired laugh. The sound sent shivers down Ghoul's spine. "Now we're in infinite mode," Party murmured. "Running around in little crews, trying to stay alive as long as possible." Their voice grew even softer as they added, "Except in a video game, you can respawn. You can start over, you can perfect your gameplay. But out here...you don't get a second chance. When you're gone, you're gone for good."

Party finally turned to face Ghoul. "One day, there'll be a troop of dracs that's just...too many to defeat. We'll be gunned down one by one until we're all dead. And that'll be it," they whispered, their voice trembling slightly. "That'll be the end."

As Party finished speaking, a lone tear slid down their cheek, glittering in the bright moonlight.

Suddenly it all made sense.

Party was afraid. Afraid for themself, afraid for everyone else. Afraid that everything they were doing was pointless.

Now that Ghoul had come to that realization, he was gripped by the same icy fear that Party must be experiencing. Because all of them were going to die one day. It didn't matter how or where or when. What did matter was that it was inevitable. In the end, everyone in the Zones met the same fate. Everyone in the world met the same fate. Death. They were all going to die.

Wordlessly, Ghoul scooter closer to Party and enveloped the redhead in a tight hug, hoping to comfort them. Party threw their arms around Ghoul and hid their face against Ghoul's chest, audibly crying. Ghoul held them as their body shook with heart-wrenching sobs.

They stayed like that for a long time, Party shaking and crying in Ghoul's arms while Ghoul held onto them tightly, trying to provide silent comfort.

After a while, the chill of the desert night began to seep into Ghoul's bones. He knew Party was feeling the cold too, with the way they were shivering.

"We should probably go back inside," Ghoul suggested gently. Party nodded wordlessly. Ghoul took this as permission to let go of them. He stood up slowly, his legs aching from sitting so long. Party stood stiffly beside him, hugging themself as they shivered. Together, the two killjoys made their way down from the roof and back into the diner, where it was at least a little warmer.

As the two of them made their way toward their separate rooms, Party turned to Ghoul with a small smile on their face. "Thank you," they murmured softly. "For listening and not judging and just...being there."

Ghoul returned the smile warmly. "No problem," he assured Party. "If you ever need to vent again, I'm always available."

Party's smile widened as they said, "I'll hold you to that."

Ghoul laughed softly. "Goodnight, Gee," he whispered.

"Goodnight, Frankie," Party whispered back.

* * *

The next morning, neither Party nor Ghoul brought up last night. The conversation was still stuck in the back of Ghoul's mind. He suspected it would be stuck there for a long time, just like it was probably stuck in Party's mind. But as he watched Party put on their fearless leader persona, he knew everything would be okay—as okay as things could be in the Zones, anyway.

In a way, Party was right. They were all just trapped in infinite mode, trying to escape a fate that would eventually catch up to them no matter what. But despite that knowledge, they still fought.

Everything they stood for—freedom, expression, creativity, imagination—it was worth fighting for. Perhaps it was futile, but that wouldn't stop them. They would keep fighting for their cause, regardless of if it made an impact or not.

Because if they stopped fighting against BL/ind., there was no point to anything anymore. So they fought, and they would continue to fight.

Until the day they died.