The glass exploded into the building, scattering across the tile floor. Gerard slowly lowered his weapon, focusing on keeping his breathing even and calm. As cool as that moment had felt, fear also threatened to overtake him.

"Holy shit, Party." Gerard couldn't distinguish which killjoy behind him gasped. "You're a madman."

"Feels like it." Gerard muttered, scanning the room he had just created access to. No one came running out. Nothing but the glass and a small scortch mark on the wall looked out of place. Could it be so simple?

Northern Downpour came up beside Gerard and stepped past him. Before he could get too far, however, Gerard put a hand on his shoulder.

"Not yet." He said as the rest of the group stepped forward as well.

"Do you think someone is coming?" Rebel asked, nervously looking around. She still held her weapon close to her chest.

"Better question is whether or not someone knows we're coming." Demonic countered, scanning the area around them with narrowed eyes.

"Hard to miss the sound of that." Fun Ghoul laughed. He had somehow made it to the point of the group and was stepping onto the broken glass. "No blasts raining down on us yet."

"We need to find the stairs." Gerard instructed. "Elevators may be compromised."

"Scouting for stairs." Demonic nodded. He grabbed hold of Rebel's wrist. "You with me so we know you won't run."

She turned to him with a scowl on her face. "Where exactly would I go?" She snapped, yanking her wrist from his grasp. "I'm safer with you lot, even with Party's noise." She cast a glance in Gerard's direction, but he didn't meet it.

"Stay alert." Gerard said as he slowly made his way across the glass on the ground. "We don't know who or what could be waiting for us."

Demonic and Rebel both nodded. Northern followed the two, holding his weapon at the ready.

Gerard kept moving forward until he was just a step away from the wall that had caught his laser blast. He reached out, letting his fingers graze the dark mark. It felt so real. What if all of this was real?

"Party, check this out." Fun Ghoul drew his attention to the elevator that he was pulling open. The shorter killjoy grunted as he pulled at the doors, struggling to separate them. Gerard hurried over to help, pulling from the other side.

On the other side of the door, lights flickered in the elevator shaft. Both boys peered inside, looking up and down for the elevator. "There." Fun Ghoul pointed down to a sparking mess at the bottom. It looked as if the elevator had been cut and dropped.

"Guess elevator was never an option." Fun Ghoul chuckled nervously as they pulled back.

"They wanted to limit how we went up." Gerard said, trailing his eyes up the wall and to the ceiling. "Like mice in a maze."

Fun Ghoul wore a worried expression as he looked back at Gerard. "Why does this guy have it out for you?" He asked as the others hurried back over to them.

Northern gave a quick salute. "Party! We found the stairs. Dark but accessible."

"Are you sure about this?" Fun Ghoul spoke under his breath, low enough for only Gerard to hear.

Gerard nodded. "Excellent work." He gulped back the fear he felt building in his chest. "Lead the way and I'll take point once we're on the stairs."

Northern nodded. "Yes, sir." He turned on his heel and began to backtrack. Demonic and Rebel followed his lead. Gerard began to follow, but a light grip clasped around his wrist. He turned, locking eyes with Fun Ghoul.

"We don't have to do this." He spoke softly, staring into Gerard's eyes unblinking. "We can go back and think something through. We can give the others a proper burial."

Gerard hesitated. They could push this off. He could have more time with Frank like this...

He shut his eyes. It wasn't Frank, it was Fun Ghoul. This was a character talking back to him, not his friend. His friend was passed out at a party somewhere, and who knows how long it had really been since Gerard saw that Frank?

"There will be time for that later." He finally said, pulling his hand away. He opened his eyes, seeing the glimmer of something familiar in Fun Ghoul's eyes; almost like a tired confusion. Gerard ignored it and nodded towards the others, who had haulted when they realized they weren't being followed. "We need to do this now."

Fun Ghoul frowned, but nodded. The two moved to catch up with the other killjoys, who lead them to a door that seemed to have been violently jerked open. Northern gestured towards it.

"I'll be your second." He said, preparing his weapon.

Gerard nodded. "Any sign of light?" He asked, noting how dark the stairwell appeared.

Demonic shook his head. "Not so much as an emergency light." He tapped the goggles that sat on his hat, "I've got your back on that, though."

Northern pulled his own goggles down over his eyes and flashed a grin. "Ready when you are." He said, tapping the lens over his left eye. He shuddered slightly, but held his grin.

Gerard frowned. "Keep low and close." He said, keeping an eye on Northern as he spoke. The closer they got to the Game Master, the weirder the others closest to him seemed to act...

He shook it off. He needed to focus on the task at hand: ending this party game. He needed to get everyone back to normal.

He stepped forward, into the darkness of the stairwell. It was now or never. "Let's move." He told the others without looking back. He took the steps at a carefully quick pace. The others followed steadily behind him.

Around and up they went, weapons carefully trained in front of them. Their footsteps dully echoed around the stairwell. Their breathing was the only other sound.

"How high are we going?" Rebel asked, softly, breaking the rhythm of footsteps and breathing.

"I imagine our target is at the top." Gerard replied, though he wasn't certain. He had no real way of knowing if the Game Master would follow along with his world's layout when he already seemed to be able to change the surroundings. Gerard held back a shudder thinking about the Strays and Renegades that could be who knows where now...

Eventually, they reached the top of the stairwell. Northern stepped beside Gerard as he slowed, twisting one of his goggle lenses. His mouth was turned to a frown and his eyes were hidden.

"What's the verdict?" Gerard asked softly.

"We shouldn't be here, Gerard."

Gerard's heart sank. Of all the times for Ryan to slip back into control, this was far less than ideal. He turned to the other three. "Check back three floors down to make sure no one's followed."

They nodded, slowly turning and making their way back down. Gerard turned back to Ryan.

"What did you mean? Ryan," he put his hands on his friend's shoulders, "why do you have such a strong connection with what's happening?"

The goggles over Ryan's eyes reflected back the panic and uncertainty in Gerard's. He looked like a kid, not the commander he had written the great Party Poison to be; he wasn't that at all.

"I don't know." Ryan was practically whispering, "My head feels really funny, but also really clear here. Something's going on."

"It has to be him." Gerard gulped. "The Game Master... He has to be close."

Ryan reached up and ripped the goggles down his face, letting them fall back into their usual placement around his neck. It was the most clarity Gerard had seen in them throughout the entire ordeal. "I'm still behind you. You can get us out of this."

Gerard swiped his arm across his eyes, trying to avoid tears. "I don't know if I can. Ryan, what if it doesn't work? I have no idea what I'm doing! I'm not Party Poison!"

Ryan laughed. "Yes you are." He said, now placing his hand on Gerard's shoulder. "You made Party Poison. You embody the hero you created. No plan? No problem."

"No sign, Party." The others were hurrying up the stairs. Gerard let out a sigh as Ryan pulled his hand away. Even if the others were trapped as Killjoys at the moment, at least he had his friend by his side.

"Good." Gerard nodded. "Guess there's nowhere to go but in, right?" He turned, looking at the doors that stood between him and ending this mess. without another word, he stepped forward and pushed them open.

A long hallway rested on the other side. One side was a wall of windows while the other was a sleek gray. Every few feet sat a plant with bright, exotic colors.

The Game Master wasn't there.