FicWad

Hey everyone! Sorry, when I wrote this chapter Potter Puppet Pals was on my mind...Try and guess what line I used. Hehe. And this is probably the only chapter where I won't use a lyrics for a title. my friend actually came up with the title for this so I thank her, I was drawing a blank for this one, make sure you give her some credit too!

Chapter Six - 24 Hour Service

Sunlight streamed across the desert ground, heating it up rapidly. The fiery haired man sighed softly, light grey bags forming under his eyes that danced an almost yellow color in the sun. Suppressing a yawn, he pushed himself off the large boulder that he had perched himself on to take watch. There was a muffled thump as his feet hit the ground and he crouched for a second, regaining his balance, before straightening out his back. As he stepped forward his foot glided over small pile of rocks that clacked together noisily.
"Son of a banshee!"
Party Poison lifted his eyes from the pile of rocks at his feet and looked at the ebony-haired man. His eyebrow raised questioningly as he stiffled a laugh. Fun Ghoul narrowed his amber eyes and rolled back onto his side.
"Hey, at least I'm the only one who heard that," Party Poison chuckled as he lowered himself to his knees beside the jug of water.
There was a soft snort and immediately Fun Ghoul was sitting up again, looking towards the person whose glowing eyes were slowly beginning to dim as the sun rose higher into the sky. Zany Dead watched them both for a second and took in Fun Ghoul's accusing glare.
"Poison's not the only one who heard you," she said in a stage whisper as she propped herself onto her elbow.
Just as Fun Ghoul opened his mouth to speak another voice piped up beside Zany Dead.
"Lie, awake in bed at night," Screeching Cola sang quietly, her voice shaking slightly as he tried not to be overcome by her laughter.
"Oh, for the love of my sanity, anyone who heard me just get up right now..."
Slowly Missile Kid sat up, biting her lip and looking towards Fun Ghoul with a soft smile on her face. The ebony-haired man sighed heavily and slapped his palm against his head.
"Well, at least Killer and Northern don't think you're totally insane," Kobra Kid said as he jumped to his feet, startling Fun Ghoul again.
"Well, no, but I think I'm gona go totally insane if another person gets up." He whispered to himself, not meaning for anyone to hear him.
"Then hold into your skull and hope you don't lose your mind."
"FOR PETE'S SAKE!"
Fun Ghoul flopped back onto the ground, his arms flailing into the air in exasperation. Jet Star snickered to himself and then quickly sobered up when he noticed Kobra Kid's eyes flickering to a piece of their electronic equipment. The sandy haired blonde felt the eyes that bore into him and turned to smile sheepishly at the dark haired man.
Party Poison watched the entire exchange with a smile as he straightened up again and shook his head in a loving way. His sigh was little above a whisper as he picked up the water jug and unopened cans of Power Pup. Their eyes snapped over to him and he gave them a smile.
"So," Screeching Cola said, extending the world slightly. "What's on the agenda for today?"
As soon as she finished her question she began to hum softly. Party Poison raised an eyebrow but held back a laugh. Zany Dead glanced towards her friend with a questioning glance but shook her head to dispel anyone's inquiries. They nodded their acceptance but still tried to stiffle their chuckles. Screeching Cola looked around and then her humming trailed off until she looked down and a light blush crossed her cheeks.
Party Poison cleared his throat to stop his laughter before speaking. "We were gonna head back to the diner, wanted to see if we had anything other than," he stopped and looked down at the cans in his hands. His nose crinkled in obvious distaste before continuing, "Power Pup..."
They nodded as Missle Kid turned to the two red haired boys.
"I'll wake up Killer and Northern."

"You tell me that you love, then you go and leave me!"
Party Poison sighed and tried to fight the smile that threatened to cross his face as he turned the steering wheel in a rough way. The tires on the Trans-Am squealed against the rough terrain. Then the growling of the motorcycles engines beside the vehicle snarled louder as the gas was pushed into the engines.
"Why you do this to me baby? I'm love, sick!"
In the passenger's seat Missile Kid had squeezed in beside Kobra Kid who was grinning as the young girl sang along quietly with the two motorcyclists. Screeching Cola grinned as she pulled up beside the passenger's window, shooting a large smile at Missile Kid.
"C'mon Missile!" Zany Dead shouted from beside the driver's side window. "Sing it with us!"
The younger girl nodded enthusiastically as a wide smile broke across her face and she sang louder, already knowing the chorus that they had sung before.
"I just can't eat! Just can't sleep! Can't do much of anything at all."
The two on the motorcycles nodded to each other over the Trans-Am and broke off, letting Missile Kid sing the last line of the chorus.
"Cause I'm sick and in love with you, dear!"
Zany Dead and Screeching Cola cheered her on when she finished the last line. Missile Kid blushed a deep shade of red and ducked her head embarrasingly as Kobra Kid grinned down at her.
In the backseat the brother exchanged a quick glance and nodded, communicating through the looks that they exchanged with each other. Fun Ghoul and Jet Star were sitting on either side of them, trying not to laugh at the girls who continued to sing.
"Dear, I wrote you this song, in hope that you would sing along." Screeching Cola continued, recovering from her encouraging laughter first.
"Dear," Zany Dead picked up where Screeching Cola stopped, "I'll be walking my a..."
Party Poison cleared his throat loudly, effectively cutting off their song. Fun Ghould laughed in the backseat while Kobra Kid just shook his head good-naturedly.
"Man, Poison!" Screeching Cola called, falling behind the Trans-Am for a moment before pulling up beside his window. "You had to ruin my song again!"
He rolled his eyes but smiled as he pressed his foot farther onto the gas pedal.
"We're almost there anyways! You would have had to stop singing either way!" He called out the window, throwing her a quick glance.
As if to put emphasis on his words, sunlight glinted in the distance. Everyone turned their eyes towards the desert that extended in front of them. Squinting, they all tried to capture a glimpse of the building that they neared.
Slowly the three vehicles pulled to a halt a few yards away from the building. The four newcomer's eyes roved over it, taking in each detail from top to bottom.
The neon sign on top of the building that had once read 'DINER' now simply read 'DIE' as the n and the r had fallen from the sign. Around the doorway various posters and signs had been put up, including the Exterminate posters of the four men who lived there themselves. There on the right side of the doorway posters of Party Poison, Kobra Kid, Fun Ghoul, and Jet Star, a large red 'X' placed over their faces and a black bar put over their eyes with the words in white reading, 'EXTERMINATE'. Other posters, promoting bands were postitioned around the Exterminate pictures, sometimes covering the edges to take the eyes away from the faces.
Then the windows were placed all along the front of the diner, a black sing reading in red letter, 'Wake Up...Time To Dine' was positioned in the window upon the door. Beige, sun faded shades were drawn over some of the windows, covering the view into the diner.
For a few seconds the four all gaped at it while the other held back slight snickers at their expressions. Finally one of them broke the silence.
"That's cool," Cyanide Killer breathed, not tearing his eyes away from the diner.
"Well, it's home," Missile Kid smiled, turning to glance at Party Poison who gave her a slight grin back that quickly faded when her eyes were back to her newly found friends
A pained emotion filled his chest as he watched her skip up between Nothern Lights and Cyanide Killer, smiling at them before attempting to drag them into the diner. If he could have changed it, this was not the life he would have choosen for her. Unfortunately he didn't have a choice, this was the only option other than to turn her over to the large corporation that controlled most of the world now. A grimace crossed his face and his brow furrowed at the though. Even if he had no other choice, he would never willingly turn her over to their clutches.
"Poison."
The fiery-haired man jumped as a hand was placed onto his shoulder. His bright hazel eyes, somewhat muted by the anger and pain that he felt, turned to the sandy blonde beside him. He nodded to his brother, all anger quickly fading at the reassuring glance that the light brown eyes gave him.
"I know," his brother murmured, pulling him into a tight one-armed hug.
Arms still wrapped each other's shoulders they stepped towards the diner, watching the way the young girl smiled joyously at her friends. She pulled them into the building, grinning with such happiness it seemed to brighten the room. The brothers followed her into the building, Kobra Kid giving his brother a last squeeze before going to the cupboards behind the counter.
He jumped with ease over the top and landed with a muffled thud, beside an electronic mannequin. Non-chalantly he lifted his hands to the racks placed behind the counter and began to sift through the cupboards. There was a soft sigh as he came up empty with anything besides the obvious, Power Pup.
As he bounced back over the counter he shook his head towards Fun Ghoul and Jet Star who groaned.
"No luck?" Party Poison asked as he came back with Missile Kid behind him.
Kobra Kid shook his head again, and reached back to lazily grab a magazine he had dropped when his foot hit the counter. He flicked it open in his hands and scanned through it briefly as Party Poison reached into a small cubby hole hidden behind a panel and pulled out some spoons. He turned to the next page, his eyes skimming quickly over the words as the mannequin shook violently and slumped onto the counter top. Briefly his eyes traveled over to it, and he raised an eyebrow before shrugging and flipping to the next page.
Party Poison motioned to his brother who walked over to the booth and sat across from him. They each grabbed a can and pulled it open, grimacing as the strange scent hit them. Fun Ghoul pretended to gag but stopped when Jet Star kicked him under the table. He shrugged and hastily pulled a spoonfull to his mouth, hurrying to swallow it before the taste could linger on his tongue.
Nothern Lights and Cyanide Killer frowned at the cans that they had been handed but followed their example and pulled a mouthful down their throats. Northern Lights fought back the urge to spit it back out, just grateful that he didn't actually puke. He shared a quick glance with his brother who held the same expression of distaste.
Zany Dead shrugged and shoveled a spoonful into her mouth, hurrying to swallow and barely managing to taste it. She refused to drop her eyes to the material in the can, knowing that if she actually looked at the lumped mass then she would gag. Screeching Cola sat beside her, attempting to swallow her own mouthful. Suppressing a groan she choked it down and nudged Missile Kid who stared at the so called 'food' in her own can.
"Sorry, Missile," Screeching Cola murmured and nudged her again.
The young girl just nodded and pulled a small amount out of the can and placed it in her mouth. Her nose crinkled in distaste as she quickly swallowed it.
Party Poison watched her with somber eyes before he sighed and unconciously put another spoonful in his mouth. He gagged audibly as the taste hit him unexpectedly. His tongue popped out of his mouth, still holding some of the brown mass and Kobra Kid quickly aimed a harsh kick at his brother under the table. Party Poison quickly pulled his tongue back into his mouth and swallowed, looked down at the table.
Fun Ghoul looked across at Jet Star whose mouth had become a thin line at the attempt to halt his laughter but soon they were both in fits.
"Yeah, laugh it up." Party Poison scowled and glared playfully at his friends. "At least i didn't say 'son of a banshee'." He challenged as Fun Ghoul gasped.
Amber eyes turned to him with mock betrayal in them. Soon all in the diner the group was laughing, enjoying this moment in between the horror of the desolate world they lived in. Even if they had lost everything else they still had each other in moments like this.
That's all they could really ask for.


(A/N: The songs used are A Beautiful Lie - 30 Seconds to Mars and Lovesick - Never Shout Never (that one my friend actually requested herself. Well, hope you enjoyed and next chapter I'm bringing in another new character! She knows who she is already..)