Don't Threaten Me With a Good Time

In the midst of the few months Panic! At the Disco was out in the road. Kenneth kept a close watch on Brendon. Everyday seemed a tad darker for the musician. The light fading faster and faster from his eyes. It was so clear... so obviously clear. But anyone could experience dark days, couldn't they? Kenneth never stopped being a skeptic.

"Three minutes until showtime." Zack says through the crack of the dressing room door.

Kenneth finishes checking emails. Most are from Victoria. Was she always this clingy? He questions.

Brendon is sitting in a chair in the corner of the room. He's doing lip rolls and a few last minute vocal exercises. Kenneth finishes checking his emails as he slowly glances over in the musician's direction. The noises emitting from Brendon's lips slowly fade; his eyes are staring blank into the distance. The world seems to slow down for two seconds. Kenneth swears he sees waves of electric gold swim over the man's brown orbs.

Time comes back instantly, Brendon cracks his knuckles and makes immediate eye contact with the demon, "Sup, Kenny?" He looks confused.

"Nothing. Ready to hit the stage." Kenneth says as he closes the laptop. He stands up to stretch in a slight comedic fashion.

Brendon soon enough stands up as well, "Let's fuckin do it." He cheers.

Kenneth notices an attempted smile on the musician's face. But it's nothing more than a weak attempt at staying lively. This man, Kenneth thinks, is The Chosen One.

The thought stays constant when they hit the stage. The audience, the lights, and the sounds all seem to be drowned out. The near impossibility of finding the one individual Cloud would have spent the next hundred years searching for was right beside Kenneth on stage.

The tour soon enough comes to an end and Kenneth has pings of high energy. That feeling that had been slowly becoming vacant; the flicker he soon realized he missed. Brendon's human life was bound to end soon, and the unrevealing mystery of it all would take its place. He absent mindedly leaves his bags in a small rented apartment in the midst of thought. Instead of going back to New York to see his girlfriend, he immediately transports to the place he found himself at when he first got out of hell. He relaxes his being and tries his best to recall the sights and smells of hell. He senses the scene change as he opens his eyes to a dim hallway. He notes that this was around the exit for the crossroad demons, but it's extremely vacant now.

He can hear footsteps down the hallway, his intuition causes him to hide behind a wall. Clear voices are soon heard, "That rebel council, I'm glad they aren't causing trouble here anymore."

"Yeah I'm starting to like our new leader. He's way more practical."

New leader, Kenneth thinks. He had heard news about the old leader becoming frail, but a new one already...

The voices are very close now. Kenneth doesn't hesitate as he pops out of the corner in front of the two demons. Oh fuck, they're both red eyed.

"Hey, where the fuck did you come from?" The shorter one says.

"Whatever work station you ran away from, time to go back-" The taller reaches out for Kenny, but the black eyed demon is quick on his feet. He ducks and notices an object in the red eyed demon's pocket.

He's able to swiftly grab the weapon and stab the demon in the chest. The being turns to dust as the shorter red eyed demon retrieves his own weapon. Kenneth definitely didn't forget the fighting and self defense lessons Cloud personally taught him.

"Wanna fight, black eyed bitch?" He spits.

"No." Kenneth starts. The red eyed demon takes a swing and the black eyed demon dodges, "Where's the rebel council located?"

"Oh you're one of those shit stains?" The demon laughs.

Kenneth sighs, "Answer the question." He pushes the demon to the wall and he drops his weapon.

The red eyed demon throws out his poisonous nails and Kenneth is once again quick to avoid them. He backs up and swings the weapon aiming for the demon's wrists. Two very quick slices later, and the demon yells in pain. Blood pours rapidly out of the severed limbs as he begins to lose balance in the legs.

"How do I get to the rebel council?" Kenneth says.

"Off, ah, in the Western Plane." The demon whines.

"Thanks." Kenneth finishes before sticking the blade in the demon's chest and dragging it down harshly. Blood hastily pours out before the being turns to dust.

He makes haste, quickly speeding down the corridors strictly aiming west. He soon emerges upon an open hallway with double the amount of lit torches. A black eyed demon appears out of nowhere in front of Kenneth with a long blade.

"What's the secret word?" The demon commands.

"I don't know. I'm Kenneth Harris, Cloud heavily favors me."

"Kenneth Harris..." The demon seems to ponder, "Very well." He stands out of the way with an ever present caution in his eyes.

Kenneth begins to walk and in a few paces, he can feel the other demon behind him, most likely holding the blade to his back. He doesn't remember the council being this heavily cautious.

The room soon opens up to an even bigger vicinity with Cloud placed in the far back of the room.

"Sir." The demon behind Kenneth says.

Cloud looks in their direction. He cocks his head to the side, "Kenneth, you're back. I was wondering how long you were planning on playing human." He briefly nods to the demon behind Kenneth and the dark soul leaves.

"I have news, sir." Kenneth says.

"Come closer." Cloud demands loudly.

Kenneth walks up to Cloud and stops a few feet away from him. He notices how on edge Cloud seems to be. No wonder, really, considering the new ruler kicked the council out of the main section of hell.

"Speak." Cloud booms, his eyes falling into a skeptical squint.

"The Chosen One is on earth, I caught sight of him."

Cloud's eyes draw wide, "You.... found him?"

"I can't take full credit. My friend Jake Sinclair introduced me to him, but I picked up the signs you had talked about."

Cloud grips the side of his chair; his eyes averted to the ground. He exhales a shaky breath as though he was trying his best to keep his composure. He looks back up at Kenneth, "Bring me this Jake Sinclair."

"How will I go about that, sir?" Kenneth asks.

"Does his goodness outweigh his sins?"

Kenneth thinks for a moment, he knows Jake is one of the most genuine men he's ever met, "Yes."

"Go down the corridor to the East and find the armory. Grab the pair of golden daggers from the back table. Seek out Sinclair and jab the weapons into his inner shoulder blades. Six symmetrical inches down both sides. Get this done in no longer than a week."

"Yes, sir." Kenneth says.

"One more thing." Cloud continues, "Come back to me immediately when the job is done. Within this time I will have a plan to retrieve him from the exit of Purgatory."

"Yes, sir." Kenneth repeats.

He proceeds to go to the armory, grab the weapons, and gently place them in his pocket. When he's back on Earth, he double checks the blades' placements in his pockets and feels the outline of his phone. He takes it out and checks the several missed calls from his girlfriend. He could spare an hour or so and at least attempt to get her off his back. He could only contemplate what kind of batshit crazy move she'd pull if he went even just a few more hours without saying anything.

He closes his eyes and pictures his apartment. Soon enough he feels the cold air nip at his skin as the familiar street is presented in front of him. He walks up to his door and gets out his key. He's glad he has it this time.

"Kenny, that you?" Victoria says from a different room.

"Yes, dear." Kenneth says. The pings of annoyance ring in the back of his mind.

She walks out with a concerned face, "I could have picked you up from the airport, was your flight delayed? I thought you'd be back sooner." Her arms are soon wrapped around the unamused demon.

"I'm sorry." Is all that could come to mind.

"You should have picked up your damn phone at least."

"I know." He replies.

She stops hugging him, "I don't know what's gotten into you. Ever since that crash you've been so off. Are you sure they took good care of you at the hospital?"

"Everything is fine. I only came back to check on you. There's still more work I have to get done, so I can't stay long."

She crosses her arms with an angry look planted on her face, "You just got back."

Kenneth places both his hands on her shoulders, "I have to do this as soon as possible. My career depends on it. You encouraged me to get back out there. Well, here I am, touring the country and getting big bucks." He tenderly kisses her forehead.

"It's just, it's so lonely when you're gone." He brings her in for another tight hug. God, just get the fuck over it, he thinks.

"What do you have to do if you're not touring?" She says as he goes into their room to get supplies. He didn't need much of anything, really, but he has to play his part well.

"Secret stuff. Secret music stuff." He says.

"What does that even mean? And where are your suitcases, by the way?"

"They're back in LA."

"You really planned to just visit... but nothing? You didn't bring anything-"

Blah, blah, blah. As much as she needed to shut up, he admits to acting poorly from point A to point B. If there was a demon grading scale, he'd probably get an F. Thankfully, she is slightly accepting over the chain of events.

"Can you not even stay the night?" She says in the doorway of their bedroom.

He rolls his eyes. Fuck it, he's gonna have to spare a few extra hours. He stops what he's doing and rushes over to Victoria. His lips land almost harshly on hers. He alternates from her lips to her neck. His hands graze the skin under her shirt as her breath starts to become heavy. Clothes are viciously tossed to the floor as they crash together on the bed.

Two hours and several orgasms later, Kenneth leaves a sweaty and sleeping Victoria to her dreams as he quickly gets his clothes back on. In the rush of things, he notices the blades had fallen out. He's glad Victoria didn't see them. He grabs them quickly off the floor and stows them back: one in each pocket. In that moment, he pictures his apartment in LA and soon enough appears inside what would be considered the living room. There's his luggage untouched near the door. Next time, bring the bags. Look damn convincing and practical for once, he thinks.

He gets out his phone and calls Jake. There could be a chance he isn't preoccupied.

"Hey dude, what's up? How was tour?" Jake says in a cheery voice.

"It was good, I'm still in LA. I was wondering if I could swing by. I know it's late."

"It is." Jake laughs briefly, "But hey, my day is clear tomorrow, so I wouldn't mind you dropping by right now. I got some beers in the fridge, and you can tell me about the tour!"

"Perfect, see you soon." Kenneth finishes. The demon estimates arrival to Jake's apartment by cab. He figures driving there would be a little suspicious considering the next stop is hell.

After 20 minutes, Kenneth pictures Jake's street and is soon enough doused by a dimly lit streetlight and a cool breeze. He takes his time walking up to the apartment complex.

He rings Jake and only a few seconds pass before his friend says, "Hey c'mon up!"

Kenneth is immediately welcomed by Jake who seemed to be waiting at the door for a brief time.

"Hey!" Jake says, bringing Kenneth in for a quick hug.

The demon walks inside and they both sit on Jake's couch. Jake brings out a few beers and sets them on the table next to the couch. Kenneth proceeds to talk about all the shenanigans on tour. Jake's face is lit in amusement and Kenneth senses an ever subtle hint of nostalgia. He recalls all the times he and Jake would converse during late nights. It was mainly during the time they were in The Films. Usually the conversations turned personal and by the end of the night the conclusion was either a long hug or staying the night. The rest of the band always considered him and Jake to be almost inseparable.

The hours pass and it almost seems as though nothing has changed until Kenneth leans his body into the arm of the couch and feels one of the blade's hard exteriors. Oh right, of course.

Kenneth stands and says, "Well this was a nice night, but time is of the essence."

"Time of the essence, interesting vocabulary." Jake says, a tad buzzed.

"I came here for a specific purpose." The demon says.

Jake gets up and faces Kenneth, "Oh, besides catching up?"

"Yes, actually. I want to thank you for introducing me to Brendon. He's someone more significant than you and I could even fathom."

Jake squints, "Oh yeah, how so?"

"You'll find out, eventually. Time to go." Kenneth finishes. He opens his arms cuing a hug.

"Hmm." Jake says, still bewildered, but accepting of Kenneth's hug.

Kenneth takes out the weapons from either side of his pockets and stabs them into Jake's shoulder blades. He can feel a jolt from Jake's body. The man emits a brief choking sound before his legs start to give out. Kenneth quickly runs the blades down. Jake's body moves fast to the ground, dragging Kenneth down with him. Jake's arms are swung randomly around Kenneth's shoulders and neck.

"Shit." The demon curses at the weight of his now dying friend. He takes out the blades and flings them to the sides of the room. He quickly lifts Jake's body and lays him on the floor. Jake isn't dead yet as he struggles to breathe; the blood slowly pooling in his mouth. One of the man's hands shakily grips Kenneth's jacket as his eyes become locked on the demon's. It looks like he's trying to speak.

Kenneth places a hand on the side of Jake's face, he says, "There was a purpose to this. You'll see."

He slowly strokes the side of his dying friend's face, watching the light leave his eyes. His once lively friend is becoming cold. For a moment, Kenneth swears he feels his heart break.

He quickly shakes it off, and grabs the blades off the floor. He can't help but look one more time at his deceased friend. He'll see him soon, he tells himself. He pictures the rebel council and is soon standing in the main bureau.

He sees Cloud and says, "The task is done."

"Good," Cloud says before whistling; getting the attention of the other demons present in the room, "All of you, head out. Retrieve Sinclair safely or there will be consequences." He shouts.

Kenneth isn't sure what to do, he asks, "What do I do, sir?"

"Your job is done." Cloud finishes.

A strong silence fills the room, but just yards away Kenneth contemplates how many demons are set to bring Jake here safely. He assumes it could be challenging when escorting anyone from one side of hell to the other.

Kenneth says, "Has this been done before, sir?"

"No," Cloud says, "There will be a high amount of casualties, but this is a necessary extreme."

"Of course, sir." Kenneth replies. He questions it, but he doesn't say another word. He can imagine how many would die in the crossfire. Hell isn't as simple as earth in terms of power use. You can only run here, at least for the black eyed demons.

It takes just about an hour before a collection of voices and heavy footsteps are echoing down the halls. Cloud is quick on his feet as Jake is escorted in. He's wearing the same clothes he died in and a blank expression is plastered across his face.

The other demons are tattered and scarred, and Kenneth is not surprised. Cloud exclaims, "Leave us." The demons drag their damaged souls back down the halls leaving Jake standing a few feet in from the doorway.

"Jake Sinclair, come forward." Cloud says.

Jake slowly starts to walk towards Cloud and notices Kenneth. His mouth opens like he's about to say something, but he looks back to the red eyed demon. Cloud sticks his hand out and Jake almost hesitates before briefly shaking his hand.

"What's going on," He turns to Kenneth and points, "You, you killed me."

"Jake... Sinclair. You're a very important individual." Cloud says with a small smile.

"Is this, the uh, thing about... Brendon?" Jake questions.

"Brendon Urie, yes. He is the chosen individual who will lead the battle against human civilization. You found him, noted along with Harris. Both of you will serve special purposes for me and for the future."

Jake's mouth hangs slightly agape, as though he can't find words to respond.

"Welcome to hell." Kenneth says to Jake.