Chapter Eleven: Trouble Follows

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"It'd be a rather touching scene, under different circumstances."

"Can you just give it a rest?"

"I could, but why tarnish an otherwise amazing reputation?"

The Joy sighed, following the mercenary as he started out into the parking lot. While she didn't outrank them anymore--since they were no longer in a unit--she had halfway expected possibly a little bit of the old chain of command. She was sadly mistaken.

To be honest, The Fear had been taking their old system into effect. If he hadn't, he would've been downright rude to the blond. A subtle rebellion of sorts, proving he wasn't just going to play nice now that he knew what was really going on.

He looked at The Sorrow, who'd been silent for awhile as they walked. While he was accustomed to this, it didn't help.

"So what is it Fear?" Joy snapped suddenly. "There's got to be some reasoning behind this. Otherwise this is really low, even for you."

Sorrow frowned. "She shouldn't take it out on you."

"Tell me about it," he muttered, earning him a look from Joy that could have killed. He recovered quickly. "I was talking to Sorrow. He says you shouldn't take it out on me."

She held the glare a moment longer, before deflating totally. "Okay, I'm sorry. I just...You sprang this on me, and I never really had much time to...to deal with it, and..."

Fear was honestly surprised. He'd never seen Joy in this kind of conditition. She'd always tried so hard not to show herself like this, and he immediately regretted his attitude. "Jeez...I'm sorry. I was being an ass."

She wouldn't look up. "No, you have every right to...since you know what happened and all..."

"Tell her..." Sorrow prompted.

Fear reached over, tenatively pulling Joy closer. "Um...I know you probably think I'm crazy as hell, and I'm making all this up, but I'm serious. I've been helping Sorrow try and find you so he could tell you that he's not mad at you for what happened."

She smiled. "That means a lot. Thank you."

"Hey, I'm just the communication device," he replied good-naturedly. After a moment's thought, he pulled her into a loose hug. "Sorry. I forget sometimes how much crap you guys went through."

Joy shook her head. "You know, Sorrow used to ask me why I talked to you."

"It's cuz you can't get enough of my sweet body."

She started to laugh. "I don't think he ever got to see the non-evil side you hid form those guys."

This earned a smile from Sorrow as well. "So that's why I never noticed it."

A slight flush came over his face. "I dunno what you're talking about. I'm a complete jerk and badass."

She squeezed him a bit, suddenly causing him to double over with a wince. She seperated from him worriedly. "What happened?"

He straightened out with a hand to his bandaged side. "Nothin'. I'm okay. Just a cut from some glass."

"What? When did you do that?"

"When that invisible thing of Fury's stabbed me," he muttered, looking away from her. "Y'know, the one that doesn't exist?"

She looked heartbroken. "Oh...I'm sorry."

He shrugged. "It's not your fault."

She opened her mouth to speak, but didn't say anything. Finally she looked in the direction that Fear had been speaking to. "Sorrow?"

"Yeah, he's there."

She turned to the mercenary, blue eyes sad. "Do you think...I could talk to him for a minute?"

He got what wasn't being said. "Sure...but you know you can't hear him talk back."

"Well, at least I can say what i want without him interrupting," she smirked.

"Hey, I listened to her all the time..." Sorrow frowned.

He smiled. "Okay, I'll just head back. Make sure Fury hasn't lit the place up or anything, y'know, the usual," he waved at Sorrow. "You two play nice now."

Joy watched him turn the corner before speaking. "So...I guess if any of us was going to come back as a ghost, it'd be you. And I may be standing here talking to air, but I'm gonna believe Fear for a minute. Because...I'd like to believe that you're actually here."

Sorrow wanted to respond somehow. But without Fear, he was left with no verbal or visual communication. Instead he looked down at the small patch of grass beside the sidewalk. After a moment's trying, he managed to grasp ahold of a small blue flower and plucked it.

Joy watched in awe as the flower rose up from the ground. She held out a hand, and the small bud fell into it. She smiled.

"I love you too."

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The Fear was hlafway back to the hotel before he remembered something. He had wanted to ask Sorrow about what had happened around the bar. His head hurting and spinning, him acting as crazy as he did. He'd probably messed things up with Fury as well, but that would have to wait. He needed to know what it was all about. He had intended to ask the medium about it, but the shock of almost losing him had pushed it out of his mind.

Now he'd have to wait until Joy got done with him. He sighed as he turned the corner of the hotel's street. What would happen next? Sorrow found Joy like he had wanted. Was he going to leave now? Was he just going to disappear, or would he stick around?

What reason did he have to stay around here now?

Fear frowned as he realized he didn't want the ghost to leave. He was surprised how attatched he'd grown to the other Cobra. Why hadn't he seen this before?

He felt something trip him, sweeping his legs out from under him. He fell painfully on the concrete, ears ringing as his head hit the stone. Knowing better than to look for his assailant, he knicked his legs up, landing on his feet.

The mercenary took off running. There was no way he could win a fight like this in his condition. He slid to a fast halt, ducking into an alley. He was almost to the end when he caught sight of the tall chain-link fence in his way.

"CRAP!" he shouted, hopping up on the metal to climb it. At least some of his skills were working for him.

There was a loud boom, and pain shot through his leg, burning white hot. He yelled, falling from the fence back into the alley. A gun. The damn thing had a gun.

He heard footsteps come closer as his eyes closed.