Well happy birthday to the one and only sass queen, Gee Way, sheriff of emo town. And yes, I know, I killed him off. But just wait...this part of the story is really important.
I woke up in a strange place. Everything was in black in white and ash was falling on my face. I sat up and looked around. I was looking for some people and lucky me, I found a few people wandering. Confused, scared, and ambitious, I ran up to the group. But I slowed my pace when I realized these people looked familiar.
"Adrenaline? Nightmare? Wild? Silver?"
The confused people turned around and broke into smiles as soon as they saw me. "Neon!" We all hugged each other, talked story, answered questions. "Okay, yeah. We're all together and shit. That's great. But where the hell are we?" Wild Fire asked, crossing her arms.
We all jumped when we heard a response. It appeared to be two similar female voices. "You are in..." "...the Black Parade."
We all stared. The females who spoke were two women with short black hair, black eye masks, and black dresses that made them look like baton twirlers or something. "Wait, like, the Black Parade?" Deadly Adrenaline could hardly believe her own ears.
"Those who die and believe in the Black Parade..." "...come here in the afterlife."
"Um, okay." Silver Insanity said, not really understanding. "Anyway, who are you two beautiful and definitely not creepy women?"
"She is Fear..." "...and she is Regret." "Our creator made us..." "...to help those who have just passed over from the Living..." "...and guide them around the parade."
I frowned. "Wait, you said those who believe in the Black Parade come here when they die. Surely if Lindsey was Gerard's wife she'd be here too?"
"She was not..." "...a believer." "Therefore she is now..." "...somewhere else."
It was Alchemic Nightmare's turn to frown. "Okay, no offense, but that's really fucked up. And I'm confused. Is this like, heaven or hell? How long has this place existed?"
"This is neither..." "...heaven nor hell." "And Gerard, our creator..." "...gave this place life ever since he thought of it." "We have been waiting a very long time..." "...for our creator to come for us." "And now that he is here..." "...he can run the parade with his friends."
"Gerard?" I thought. The last time I saw him was when Korse killed him. Which, come to think of it, wasn't that long ago. Or at least, that's what it felt like. "He's here? He's my boyfriend."
Fear and Regret glanced at each other for a split second before turning to me. "When our creator came here he told us..." "...that a special girl would be holding the medal."
Okay, what the fuck is the medal? But then I remembered the item that Gerard had given me before he died. I felt around my pocket since that is where I put it, and grasped my fingers around a small, cool object. I pulled it out and showed it to Fear and Regret. It was a small medal with a skull on it. Nothing that special, really. But Fear and Regret's eyes flashed with something I couldn't recognize.
"Very well. Let us take you five..." "...to the parade float."
That's right. This story ain't over yet! We're just getting started! To find out more, keep your eyes peeled for the new book of the Era Gerard x Reader series: Parade Gerard x reader.