Don't Threaten Me With a Good Time

It’s a lazy Sunday for Jake and Kenneth. Even though hell moved a lot slower, Jake found Earth’s time to be just as prolonged. There was nothing on tv, and nothing particularly exciting with Brendon, as far as Jake knew. He’d been texting him, and the usual conversations tended to revolve around music and the occasional complaint of Sarah having a fit with the musician.
Jake lets his phone fall onto his chest as he stares up to the ceiling. The last time anything was exciting was the night he bumped into Brendon during a full moon. Ever since then, there had been more full moons, but no sign of The Chosen One. Who knows if Brendon’s dealer’s drugs had been fucking with him. Jake hadn’t even run into that bastard since then as well. Brendon barely seemed to know what he was… and this far in…
“Jake, get in here.” Kenny says from the other room.
“What?” Jake says in an irritated tone as he gets up and walks over to Kenny.
“The news just came out with an article about a strange animal attack in the greater Los Angeles area.” Kenny says looking at his phone.
“You got me off my ass to tell me about an animal attack?” Jake crosses his arms.
“A couple victims every month, following a lunar pattern. Full moons, Jake.”
The taller demon’s eyes grow wide, “Holy shit.”
“Brendon has been busy.”
“How does he kill them? Does it say? Fuck, I hope so. I mean, shit, if it looks like an animal attack… he tears into their flesh.” His fingers raise to his lips as the grotesque images swim through his mind.
“Pop a boner over this, and I’m leaving.” Kenny says blankly.
Jake sticks his tongue out in the shorter demon’s direction.
All of the sudden, they hear a knocking on the door. They both find it strange as Kenneth cautiously gets up and goes to the door. He opens it to reveal a man in a suit. His eyes flash red before saying, “Cloud has called an urgent meeting in regards to The Chosen One.”
Kenneth looks back to Jake, seeing his eyes grow wide. He says, “Let’s go.” and starts for the door.
The red eyed demon stops him, “He needs you two to dress formally.”
Jake’s excitement fades as he turns back around and walks into the bedroom.
“We’ll be there soon.” Kenneth says.
“I can wait.” He replies.
Kenneth nods slowly before shutting the door. He then proceeds to get his own suit on. As soon as they were ready, Jake says, “Now, let’s go.” and walks quickly out of the apartment. Kenneth and the messenger follow behind.
As the three of them walk down the dimmed halls of hell, they could see the back of a crowd flowing from the main bureau into a parallel hallway. The red eyed demon says, “Step aside, Harris and Sinclair must be escorted to their thrones.”
Jake smirks, liking the sound of being royal. Kenneth, however, finds it ironic. They were message men to the leader. Some demons would kill to be back on earth. Humanity was nothing special, just messy and mundane.
They walk through the crowd, seeing Cloud’s figure grow closer and closer. He radiates an excited energy, which is a rarity. As they take their seats, they look to Cloud who nods to both of them. Kenny and Jake look out at the large crowd. Jake enjoys the attention, Kenneth finds his position in this situation strange. They knew nothing of Cloud’s news and yet they are presented in front of everyone else.
Cloud clears his throat and a demon by the entrance yells at the crowd to settle down. He stands and says, “A very important step in our quest to reclaim The Chosen One has been made. A serum was successfully concocted to fully transform Brendon Urie back into his demonic self. After so long… we will have our ruler and we will take over mankind and their earth!”
The crowd erupts with clapping and cheers. It last for a few moments before Cloud raises his hand and silences the room.
“Further details of the execution of this plan will be discussed between Harris, Sinclair, and myself. No further action is necessary from any of you unless requested.”
Brendon will resort back to his true self, Jake repeats over and over again in his mind. After so long…
“Harris, Sinclair, stand before me.” Cloud says.
The black eyed demons get up from their chairs and stand in front of the red eyed demon, “Everything is falling into place. Soon, the Chosen One will be unleashed. You two will bring him to me an hour before the next full moon. Our process has to be precise and thorough….”
While Kenneth is attentive to Cloud’s words, Jake is lost in his own mind. All the talking is terribly unnecessary. Any further waiting is time wasted. He might as well take the serum himself and inject Brendon the next moment he gets. If it’s supposed to work… what could get in the way?
Kenneth begins talking, “Thorough will definitely be a necessity. There may possibly be a compromise. Jake has a suspicion.”
“Jake.” Cloud addresses the taller demon.
“Uh, oh, yeah that last serum was to boost his memory, right, but a couple months ago, he didn’t seem to know what he was. He embraced his essence, sure, but…” Jake shrugs.
“He didn’t recall his true self? What did he look like?”
“Like a human, although his eyes flashed yellow at one point. Now, I’m pretty sure he’s tossing out his claws. The news is calling it an animal attack.”
Cloud furrows his brow, “Actions over memory can mean little to nothing, do either of you know what could have caused the setback?”
It’s silent for a moment. Kenneth looks over to Jake who looks as though he’s back to being in his own world. He speaks on the taller demon’s behalf, “Jake claims Brendon’s drug dealer may have been giving him something. The dealer is a demon himself. I never thought much of it.”
Cloud slumps back in his seat, seemingly aggravated, “Neither of you can identify this demon?”
“No.”
“Bring me these mystery drugs. We’ll have to factor them into this plan. Another fucking setback.” He rubs his forehead, “No matter, this plan will follow through. I know this will work in our favor.”
“Yes, we will get right on that, sir.” Kenneth finishes.
“No, nothing has to be immediate. There is a wait between now and then, unfortunately. You two may linger for a while if you choose to. It’s a time to celebrate the coming success after all.”
“Much appreciated, sir.” Kenneth says.
Cloud gives both of them a nod before excusing himself from the throne to be amongst others. Kenneth is surprised by this action. He remembered Cloud mingling with demons just for the hell of it in the beginning, but now, it seems out of place. Course, they were getting closer to turning Brendon back, so maybe that was an excuse to act differently.
“Let’s go.” Kenneth says; a statement he’s more than used to saying. There wasn’t much in hell to be deemed entertaining.
“No…we should hang around for a while.” Jake says in protest, “I mean, hell is actually on their feet. We are in a sure fire position to take over the earth. Brendon will be his full fledged demonic self again. Why not celebrate with our kind?”
“Sure.” Kenneth says.
Jake grins before walking into the crowd of lingering demons. Kenneth decides not to follow him, assuming he’d find some sort of amusement by himself. The black eyed demon watches as the other individuals mingle, consume mystery liquids, throw weapons at walls like a game of darts, dance, and even kiss each other. How… boring. Kenneth attempts to talk with a demon or two about the whole thing, but unfortunately most conversations were repetitive or mundane. These demons had their beliefs, but no strong thought-out opinions on the matter. Nothing to carry on a conversation. At this point, Kenneth has lost any sight of Jake, so the best he could do was wait around.
After an hour, Kenneth feels a tap on his shoulder. He turns around to see the taller demon.
Jake says, “Kay, let’s ditch this popsicle stand.”
“Sounds good to me.” Kenneth says before they both make their way out of hell.
On their way home, the taller demon says, “You know, I don’t get why there has to be so much planning. You or I could get this job done in an instant if we really wanted to. If that stuff could turn Brendon back completely, not to mention how far along that beautiful being is already, you’d think time wouldn’t matter.”
“If Cloud says it does, then it does. Plus there’s an added variable in the equation now.”
Jake facepalms, “The dealer’s drugs bullshit? Who cares? I was pissed and jealous out of my mind, I could be completely fucking wrong about it. I don’t think it matters.”
“You explained the flaw in the system. You said he couldn’t really remember who he has, and that’s an essential thing. Cloud, once again, said it matters.”
Kenny pulls into the parking garage as Jake exclaims, “Fuck what Cloud says.”
Kenneth looks to Jake, “You’re impatient. I get it, but get a goddamn grip, will you? This will get done-”
Jake exclaims, “I’m just saying, this could go faster.”
Kenneth is silent for a moment, “If you wanna defy Cloud somehow with some dumb ass alternative plan just so demonic Brendon could fuck you sooner, fine. I don’t want any part of it.” He then gets out of the car.
Jake angrily mumbles under his breath, “Fine…”

~~~

Everything had been so back and forth between Sarah and Brendon. One second they were wrapped up in each other’s arms, and another second, Sarah wanted to talk. Every potential serious conversation came back to Brendon’s mysterious outings and designer drugs. Not to mention, his temper. The musician always desperately wanted her to let go of all of that, but it continued to drive a very deep hole in their marriage. Sarah even started to distance herself in times of need from Brendon. He was still struggling with night terrors, and occasionally insomnia. He even began to question what was real and what wasn’t in his memory bank compared to his dreams.
It’s a quiet afternoon in the Urie household. Brendon is alone, once again. He decides not to call Zack since he’d already stopped by enough during the week. With everything going on, all the musician could ever do was complain to his good friend. He contemplates filling the loneliness through periscoping. His fans could always manage to bring up his mood. He lets the idea sit in his mind for a few more minutes until he hears the doorbell ring.
He gets up, not recalling an expectation of a visitor or delivery. He looks through his phone on the way to the door just to double check. Without another thought, he opens the door revealing Jake.
“My apologies for the random stop by. Hope I’m not intruding.” He says with a small smile.
“No, it’s fine. Come on in!” Brendon steps aside to let his friend in.
“No plans for the afternoon?” The taller man questions.
“Unfortunately. Just me by myself today.” The musician replies.
“Mind if I grab a drink?” Jake asks.
“Feel free, dude.” Brendon says, motioning his hand in the direction of the kitchen.
They both walk into the kitchen as Jake prepares himself a drink. Brendon stands by, resting his arms on the marble countertop and letting his thoughts briefly wander.
“I was thinking we could just chat about stuff. See your progression with the album.” Jake says.
Brendon snaps out of his thoughts, “Oh, yeah that would be cool. Music first?”
“Sure.” Jake says with a smirk.
They both head into the studio. Brendon turns on the computer and looks over to Jake, “So, were you just in the neighborhood?”
“To be honest, no. I just wanted to see you.” He says. His expression seems darker than usual. Brendon finds it almost off putting.
The musician looks back to his computer, “Ah, well, text or call me next time. I could have been out or something.”
“True. Gotta give me credit for being good with my timing.”
Brendon awkwardly laughs, “True, anyway-” He begins playing Victorious.
He looks over to Jake who is very attentive to the sound. They make eye contact as the taller man takes a drink of his scotch.
The song ends as Jake says, “That surely is one of my favorites. So devious, yet extravagant.”
Brendon smiles, “For sure, thanks man! Sometimes too much confidence can pull a monster of you.”
“Or heartbreak.” Jake says blankly.
A chill runs up the musician’s spine. Jake was acting way too weird. There’s an uncomfortable feeling in his gut, but he isn’t sure if ignoring it would be wise. He rubs the back of his neck nervously before saying, “Why did you come over, really?” An anxious smile is raised on his lips.
“To talk.” He says, cracking his neck with an eager smile.
“Alright. You don’t have to be so cryptic about it. It’s kinda creepy.” Another nervous laugh escapes his breath.
“Over the last few months, you’ve been changing, haven’t you?” Jake asks.
“Uh, not particularly. My music has sure-”
“No, not just that.” The taller man walks over to Brendon, placing his drink near the keyboard, “Your mind and body. Your thoughts and actions.”
Brendon stands up, flabbergasted, “What? How could you know-”
“How could I know what you’re becoming? I know what you are, Brendon.”
“What I am?” The musician wants to think his friend is crazy, but he can’t run from himself completely. How could he know about these changes, but what does he mean by what he is?
“You are a monster, Brendon.”
The words shock Brendon’s system as he takes a step back,”Get out of my fucking house, Jake.” Brendon says, trying to resist his thoughts.
As soon as the taller man begins to step closer, Brendon sprints out of the room and heads inside his house. Just before he can manage to reach the door, Jake’s body manifests in front of him as he grabs the collar of the musician’s shirt.
“What the fuck?” Brendon yells, trying to pry Jake’s hands off of him, but he’s too strong.
“I bet you dream about it. Tearing people’s throats out and tasting their blood.”
These words rattle Brendon’s core as he feels a wave of emotion rush over him. The musician becomes frozen for a moment. Jake lets him go as he briefly stumbles back.
“That’s… all I dream about. How could you fucking know-” Brendon pushes out his words harshly yet quietly.
“Those aren’t dreams. And you’re so much stronger than this.” Jake shakes his head in disappointment.
Tears begin to fall down Brendon’s cheeks as rage builds up inside, “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“Wrong with me?” Jake looks puzzled, “I’m just stating the facts. Cut yourself and you’ll barely bleed.”
Brendon closes his mind off and shouts, “You’re fucking insane, Jake. Get out!” He shoves the taller man against the door.
Jake begins to laugh menacingly, “Time to wake up, Chosen One.” He reaches in his pocket, pulling out a syringe full of liquid. He then stabs it into the side of Brendon’s neck. The musician whines and attempts to retaliate, but it’s already too late as the world fades out around him.