9. So, Here's What's Happening

For the second time since Danger Days, My Chemical Romance was going their separate ways. While Frank, Ray and Bob were returning home on their flight, the Way brothers were heading to Patrick's house. The two had recited the exact script they would use to question him on what he knew about the magical occurrences that had happened just a few days ago. They had texted him that they would be arriving that morning as well, though of course, he didn't answer it. Well, that made sense. He was grieving his best friends after all. Hopefully, he would be more responsive to a knock on the door.

It was only when Gerard finally turned the corner towards Patrick's house that the brothers realized there was no longer any door to knock on.

"What the hell..." Mikey whispered, following a prolonged period of stunned silence as he and Garard gazed upon the charred remains of Patrick Stump's house. They weren't the only ones gazing. Several neighbors had stepped outside onto their porches, sipping coffee as they observed the wreckage. "What happened...?"

"Courtney got here, first," Gerard said, scowling. "That's what happened."

"What if Patrick's in the wreckage?" Mikey asked. "Should we check?"

"I don't know... it might not be safe," Gerard said, carefully considering the remains of the Stump house. "And surely, if a whole house collapsed someone would have called 9-1-1, right? He would've been taken to the hospital long before now."

"That would depend on when this all took place," Mikey said. "And it must have been a while ago if all these neighbors are looking at things as if it didn't just disintegrate before their eyes. Surely, he must be alright if no one seems worried."

"You never know," Gerard said, and he shrugged. "Neighbors can be just as cruel as they are nosy."

Mikey said, "We should call him, just to make sure, he's alright."

"Of course," Gerard said, pulling out his phone. "God, he'd better answer..."

Patrick groaned as he woke up to the sound of his phone vibrating against the wooden nightstand. He rubbed his eyes and glanced at the screen, then winced at how bright it was. The lock display showed him the time was seven in the morning, but the curtains had been drawn tight, blocking the sunrise from the motel room. Still blinking sleepily, he answered the call and put the phone to his ear. He hadn't even checked the caller ID. "Hello..." he slurred sleepily.

"PATRICK!" someone shouted in his ear, so loud he winced again. He moved his phone away from his ear as if it had burned him. "Yes, you answered. Thank God you're alright."

It didn't take long for Patrick to recognize the voice on the other end. "Gerard?" he asked.

"Yes, it's me. And Mikey's here too." Patrick heard a faint "Hello," from somewhere near Gerard. "Are you alright, Patrick? Well... as alright as you can be... considering... you know..."

"Yeah, I guess so," Patrick said. If he ignored the nightmares and the paranoia, he supposed. Even after they'd found the motel to stay in for the night, Patrick hadn't been able to stop glancing out the windows, watching the darkness in case Courtney or one of her mooks suddenly appeared, ready to finish the job. He didn't properly go to bed until Elisa had wrapped him in her arms and held him down to the creaky, achy bed. And even then, she hadn't been able to chase away the bad dreams of Courtney standing over him, knife at the ready to slit his throat.

Patrick shivered slightly, shook his head and turned the lamp on to oust the image from his mind. "Um... why are you calling me?" he asked, rubbing his tired eyes.

"Well, we were actually going to try and visit you-"

"You mean, you're still in town?"

"Yes! Our flight was delayed and then we found out... well, we just have some important things we need to talk to you about. But then, when we got to your house... well, it wasn't really there anymore..."

"Oh yeah..." Patrick muttered. Beside him, Elisa began to stir. He reached out and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, rubbing his thumb against her soft skin. He'd nearly forgotten about his house, but when he thought of it again, he felt a pang in his heart. Everything, his music, his things, his memories with everyone he'd loved, including his fellow bandmates, had been in that house. And now, it was all reduced to rubble. Silence the Noise was probably going to turn his whole life to rubble, Patrick thought bitterly, before remembering that they literally were, indeed, trying to kill him. "Um, what kind of important things?" Patrick asked, brow furrowing.

"Well... let's just say..." and here, Gerard's voice dropped to a whisper. "Well, we know Courtney is after you."

"What?" Patrick said a little too loudly. His eyes widened and he sat up, now fully awake. "How do you know that?"

"It's a long story," Gerard said. "One I'd rather tell you in person. When are you free so we can meet up?"

"Well, let's see..." Patrick muttered. "I'm not doing much... so, we can talk like, right now, if you want?"

"Sounds good to me. Any place you'd prefer we get together?"

"We can meet where I'm staying now. I can text you where it is."

Patrick and the Way brothers hung up not long after that. Elisa sat up, rubbing her eyes just as he put his phone down. "Who was that?" she asked sleepily.

"The Way brothers," Patrick said, taking her hand. "They say they know that Courtney's after me."

"What?" Elisa's eyes widened, just as Patrick's had. "How do they know that?"

Patrick shrugged. "They said it's a long story, but they're supposed to come over here at five and explain everything. Er..." Patrick spluttered, flushed as he realized that he'd made plans completely without Elisa's input. "Um, is that alright with you?"

"Of course it is," Elisa said.

"Because I can change the time. Or the place. Or the date," Patrick said, not totally convinced. "I'll call Gerard right now and change it."

"Patrick, I swear, it's fine," Elisa said, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder. "It's not like I'm doing anything today. And trust me, I want to know what they know just as much as you do."

"But it's not that..." Patrick frowned deeply. "I wasn't being very fair to you, Elisa."

Elisa frowned too, but only for a moment. A minute later, she was smiling again, a bright, reassuring one, as she gently squeezed his shoulder. "Oh, come on. You have three dead friends and a magical cult chasing after you. You're dealing with a lot, baby. Cut yourself some slack." Then she kissed him on the cheek and climbed out of bed.

"Thanks," Patrick said dully. God, Elisa really had just spelled out how much of a nightmare his life had become, hadn't she? Well, there was no use moping about it and it really wouldn't hurt if he were to look presentable when the Way brothers came by. He pushed himself off of the bed and trudged to the bathroom where he tried his best to clean himself up with the motel toiletries. Then he let Phoenix out of her cage.

"Morning, Phoenix," Patrick said and she chirped back happily. "Thank you for all your help last night by the way. I didn't get the chance to say it before but Elisa and I wouldn't have survived Silence the Noise without you. So, I really appreciate it."

You're welcome, Patrick heard Phoenix think at him and he smiled.

Elisa went to freshen up just after Patrick and a knock, knock, knock fell upon the hotel door just as she closed the one to the bathroom. Patrick checked his watch. Man, that was fast. When he opened the door, the Way brothers were on the other side, as expected.

"Hello, Patrick," Mikey said as they stood upon the threshold. "We're here, just like we planned."

"Of course, of course, come in," Patrick said, stepping aside. "Elisa's just in the bathroom but she'll be out shortly." Gerard and Mikey nodded, stepped inside and that's when Patrick noticed the large bags, they each carried. Both seemed absolutely filled to the brim. "What's in there?" he asked, surprised.

"Witch equipment. And literature," Gerard explained. "The world of magic is large and dangerous. And I'm so sorry you and your friends have been caught up in it."

The moment Elisa popped out of the bathroom, the Way brothers were all business. Patrick and Elisa sat on the bed while Gerard paced the room. The curtains had been drawn for maximum privacy so the only light in the room was the soft, golden glow from the lamp. A series of grimoires had been stacked on the desk where Mikey sat.

Gerard turned to Patrick with a serious expression on his face. "Let's start with what you know," he said to Patrick. "What have you learned about Courtney and Silence the Noise since... well, the day before yesterday."

"As far as I know, Courtney Love is the leader of Silence the Noise, or at least ranks high within it," Patrick said, his expression equally serious, though he couldn't help the tremor in his voice as he spoke. "Silence the Noise itself is this magical... cult thing that wants to rid the world of music..."

"What a terrible thing to try and do." Mikey scoffed. He was scribbling bullet points into a notebook and when everyone turned to stare at him, he froze and looked up, an uncomfortable expression on his face. "Sorry. Shouldn't have interrupted. Continue."

"It's okay, I agree with you," Patrick said with an edge his voice often lacked. "Especially since they had to kill my friends to do it!"

"What? So, you know for sure Silence the Noise murdered Pete, Andy and Joe?" Gerard asked.

"I am absolutely certain," Patrick said.

"I mean, Courtney told it to him straight! With a smirk on her face!" Elisa said, a protective anger in her voice.

"Alright, noted," Mikey said, scribbling some more. "We suspected as much but it's good to know for sure."

"Do you guys know anything about Courtney?" Patrick asked. "You know, since you seem to know a lot about..." He searched for words, didn't find any. "This stuff..."

"We don't know a lot about this stuff," Gerard said. "We just seem like we do because you know nothing at all."

"Gee, thanks," Patrick deadpanned.

"But we do know that Courtney is considered an immensely powerful witch," Mikey chimed in. "An eight out of ten on the power scale."

"There's a power scale?" Elisa asked. "For who?"

"For witches," Mikey said. "It's not just us two being weirdos. Magic and witches... it's a whole underground world. One with rules and culture and well-known figures and all sorts of things like that."

"Is it witch culture to kill people just for starting bands and making music?" Patrick asked bitterly.

"Of course not," Gerard said. "Which is why we're helping you."

"And why Courtney Love is listed on the witch database," Mikey said.

Elisa raised her eyebrows. "There's a database for you guys?"

"Yes. But it's only accessible through the dark web. And we're not on it. Not notorious enough."

Gerard turned to Patrick. "Her entry mentions she's in Silence the Noise, but not why or what Silence the Noise itself is trying to accomplish. Do you have any idea why they might be trying to get rid of music?" Patrick only shrugged, shook his head sadly. "That's alright. What about how they're doing this? Does it have anything to do with why they attacked you?"

"You bet," Patrick said, rising. Earlier that day, Elisa had gone to the wreckage of his house and recovered a small pile of their things. Patrick was digging through the pile now as he spoke. "They're using some sort of weird occult spell. Apparently, they've been trying to collect our souls because they need them for some sort of ritual that will get rid of music. And they want to use these to hold them."

Patrick found what he was looking for, the briefcase Phoenix had presented him with when they'd first met and handed it over to the Ways. They opened it, looked down at the four red gemstones with wide eyes. "Oh yes, I recognize these," Gerard said. "They call them soul stones in witch circles. But they're so rare... how did you get your hands on these."

"Did you steal them from Silence?" Mikey asked, slight admiration in his voice.

Patrick flushed, spluttered, "No, of course not, I could never work up the nerve to steal anything from them... Phoenix just happened to have them and gave them to me..." He gestured to the falcon who was now sitting on her perch, grooming her wings. The Ways turned to gaze at her astonished and she looked back with an annoyed expression, as if they'd walked in on her in the shower or something.

"So, you've got a familiar?" Gerard asked. Despite the situation, there was clear excitement in his voice. "That's pretty cool, Patrick." Mikey elbowed him and he flushed, smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, it's just... I've always wanted a familiar of my own..."

"Well, I consider Phoenix more of a pet than a familiar," he muttered. "She belonged to Pete first. Maybe she was his familiar He seemed to know a lot more about this stuff than I do..."

"Wait, Pete was a witch?" Mikey asked.

"Well, I don't know, but he had some magic stuff among the things he left me in his will. Like..." Patrick turned back to the pile and picked out the magic textbook Pete had bequeathed to him. He showed it to the Way brothers. "So yeah, this was in Pete's-"

Patrick was interrupted when both brothers gasped. "No way," said Mikey. "This is one of the rarest grimoires in the world. And you're telling me Pete just had this?"

The two of them nearly snatched up the book, began flipping through it like a kid reading the new Harry Potter for the first time. "Well, I didn't know it was so coveted..." he muttered.

The Ways ignored him. Not on purpose, but they seemed to have some sort of tunnel vision at the moment. Patrick watched as they flipped through the big old pages, muttering to each other and pointing out things. "Yup, there's the entry for the Soul Stones," Gerard said in a hushed tone.

"And the spell Patrick mentioned earlier," Mikey whispered, his voice reverent. Patrick exchanged a puzzled glance with Elisa. This was all so very strange...

"Oh, no wonder this book is so rare!" Gerard said. They seemed to be at a page at the very beginning of the book now and he was pointing to a word on it. "Look who wrote this thing."

"Oh, the Herald," Mikey said. "Well, that does make total sense. I can't think of a single witch more knowledgeable in magic."

"Who the hell is the Herald?" Elisa asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"The one who wrote this book," Gerard said, closing it and holding it up. "And the one who keeps the database on all the witches. They're pretty much a pillar in the underground magic community."

Squawk! Elisa jumped as Phoenix decided to enter the conversation. Patrick went to her, asked, "What's that, Phoenix? You know something about the Herald too?" In response, Patrick was shown a memory of someone, a man cloaked in darkness, but with a gentle hand that patted the top of Phoenix's feathery head. She was little in the memory, hardly hatched form the egg...

"Well...?" Mikey asked. "What's she trying to say?"

"Apparently, she was the Herald's familiar," Patrick said, turning back to the others. "Even before she met Pete."

"What‽ The Herald's familiar‽" Gerard said, his eyes going wide. Mikey elbowed him again. "Sorry, sorry. I'm focusing..."

"But why would the Herald give Pete his familiar anyway?" Mikey wondered. "Especially if Pete wasn't even a witch."

"To protect him?" Elisa suggested tentatively and when everyone turned to look at her, she flushed. "I just mean... well, Phoenix is so good at protecting Patrick. And what if the Herald knew that Silence the Noise wanted to kill Fall Out Boy?"

"That theory makes sense," Gerard said. "That definitely seems like the sort of thing the Herald would know ahead of time."

"Alright, how about we review what know for sure so far," Mikey said, pulling out his notes. "Silence the Noise, led by Courtney Love wants to rid music from the world by using Fall Out Boy's souls to complete a dark ritual. They've already murdered three out of four members, and Patrick is the only one left, so they're trying to kill him as well. And once that's done, then they'll be able to complete the ritual."

"And they'll have to find my friends' souls first," Patrick chimed in.

Gerard furrowed his brow. "What do you mean? They're not in the stones?" he asked, picking one of them up and examining them.

Elisa shook her head. "Nope. They're in the music. Right, Patrick?"

"Right. Or at least that's what the grimoire and Phoenix told me. Something about a complication that happens when you mess up your murder spells or whatever..."

"But Courtney Love's an eight out of ten witch," Mikey said. "Why is she messing up spells?"

"She has a lot of younger cronies working with her," Elisa said. "Maybe she enlisted one of them to do it and they messed up."

"Not to mention, from what I've seen of her, Ms. Love has a real big ego. I wouldn't be surprised if that got in the way as well," Patrick said, his tone lace with acute dislike.

"Well, if that's the case that means Pete, Joe and Andy's souls are still vulnerable," Gerard said. "But at the same time, we do have a leg up on Silence the Noise. We just have to make sure they're never able to capture their souls, which will be pretty easy to do if we destroy the stones-"

"NO!" Patrick shouted just as Phoenix squawked loudly. Silence reigned in the room as everyone stared at them and Patrick flushed furiously.

"Wow, they're so in sync already," Gerard said, referring to Patrick and Phoenix, of course. Mikey rolled his eyes.

"Why can't we destroy the stones?" Mikey asked.

"I... I need them for something..." Patrick said, his voice faltering. He didn't quite know how to explain his new abilities to the Ways. Even if they were witches and would understand, he didn't know if he even had the words for them. He tried anyway. "They... they give me these, uh... magic powers..."

"You mean, you're a witch?" Gerard asked. Both brothers' eyes widened.

"Well, no-"

"Well, I don't know if he's a witch but he's something magic alright," Elisa interrupted. Last night, I saw it when he defended out house from Silence the Noise. Patrick would sing and this like, electric energy would rise up from the ground. He kicked Courtney's ass with it! It was beautiful.

Patrick flushed and spluttered, "Well, I don't know if it was all that..." but Gerard just smiled knowingly.

"Sounds like a witch to me," he said.

"Could you provide a demonstration for us?" Mikey asked and Patrick crossed his arms and glanced away, uncomfortable.

"Oh, I don't know if that's such a good idea. I tend to, um..." and here, Patrick flushed. "I tend to cause property damage when I do that..."

"Fair reason," Gerard said with a shrug. "Although if you're going to be a witch, Patrick, you're going to have to learn to live with lots and lots of property damage."

Patrick huffed. "But I'm not a witch!"

"Well, then if you're not a witch, then what are you?" Mikey asked.

"Well, I don't know, but-"

"You don't know because there's nothing you can possibly be other than a witch," Gerard said.

"Well, that's not-"

"Dude, why are you fighting us on this?" Mikey asked, furrowing his brow. "We're literally witches ourselves, do you think we'd call you a poser or something?"

"'Cause I gotta tell you that's a stupid fear," Gerard said, crossing his arms. "I mean, if a familiar from the Herald himself isn't a stamp of approval, then I don't know what is."

"Gee," Mikey said, exasperated.

"What‽ That's true, if anyone doesn't call Patrick a real witch, I'll fight them."

"Thanks, Gerard, but that's not really what I'm worried about. I just..." Patrick ran his hands through his messy blonde hair. "I don't want to be a witch. Not because it's bad, like, no offense, but it's just... why me? Why us?" Patrick put his face in his hands and sat on the bed. "Fall Out Boy wasn't meant to be tangled up in any of this. We were normal guys; we were a normal band. And now I have to make sure some cult doesn't use my friends for something evil..."

Patrick flopped down on the bed, kept his hands over his face as the tears came, hot and wet. He tried and failed to force back a sniffle as he felt everyone in the room watching him, even Phoenix. "Sorry, sorry," he muttered. "God, this is so stupid..."

"No, it isn't," Gerard said. He and his brother approached the bed as Elisa scooted over to be next to him. Even Phoenix stopped her grooming to flutter over. "There's nothing stupid about mourning your dead best friends."

"Especially when they were murdered," Elisa said, taking Patrick's hand.

"Especially, especially when their murderers want to kill you next. And the only way to defeat them is to wield a force you didn't even know existed by putting the most vulnerable parts of yourself on display." Patrick sobbed at that, and Elisa and Gerard turned to Mikey, annoyed expressions on their faces. "What?" He blinked. "Oh, I probably only made you feel worse, didn't I?"

"No, no..." Patrick said, shaking his head, faintly. "It's just... it's not fair... I still need them..."

Patrick began to cry in earnest then. He didn't want to, but he couldn't help it. Fortunately for him, no one seemed to mind too much. Elisa simply took him into her arms without a word while Phoenix tugged at his heart with feelings of warmth and love and comfort.

"We can't claim to know exactly how you feel, Patrick," Gerard said, seeming genuinely forlorn. "But it does hurt for all of us too. We all still needed Joe and Pete and Andy. The whole world did. And yeah, it's not good enough, but we're all still here, helping each other and working together. And we're more than willing to take down Silence the Noise with you and protect your bandmates." Gerard looked round the room. "Isn't that right, everyone?"

"Of course! We'll always stand with you, Patrick," Mikey said.

"You already know how I feel," Elisa said as she began to stroke his hair. Beside her, Phoenix squawked as if agreeing with everyone else.

Gerard reached out and placed a hand on Patrick's shoulder. "You're not alone, Patrick."

They were all being so supportive, so Patrick tried to collect himself for them, taking a deep breath and wiping his eyes. Gently, he released himself from Elisa's hold. "Thanks, guys, really. Your support means a lot. I don't know what I'd do without you. Die, probably..."

"You wouldn't die," Elisa said. "You'd land on your feet somehow."

"With Silence the Noise chasing him?" Mikey asked. When Gerard and Elisa gave him disapproving looks, he held up his hands, saying, "I mean, realistically speaking..."

"But there's one more thing we have to figure out," Gerard announced. "If Fall Out Boy's souls aren't in the stones, where are they? And how do we get them out?"

"They're in the music, of course," Patrick said.

"The music?" Elisa echoed, sounding confused. Gerard and Mikey too had puzzled expressions.

"Yes, that's right. They left all sorts of things behind. Lyrics, guitar riffs, that's where their souls are."

"How'd you figure that out?" Gerard asked.

"Phoenix told me," Patrick said, flushing.

"It's a theory that makes sense," Mikey said, nodding. "But then, if Fall Out Boy's souls are trapped in their musical ideas, how do we get them out?"

"We turn the ideas into songs, of course. It's just a theory of mine, but I think if I take what my bandmates left me, and make a complete song out of it like we used to do, that might... shake their souls loose... or something..."

Silence. For a moment, Gerard, Mikey and Elisa simply stared at him, as if they couldn't believe what he'd said, and Patrick began to grow self-conscious. Perhaps his idea to save his friends wasn't as well thought out as he'd felt it was. After all, what did he know about souls or magic? Practically nothing. He felt his face burn up as Gerard shook his head and chuckled, for he expected him to (respectfully) tell him that his idea would never work.

But instead, he said, "That's one of the most genius magical ideas I've ever heard..." He looked up at Patrick. "You're going to be a great witch, Stump."

"I'm not a witch..." Patrick argued, faintly. But inside, he couldn't deny that the praise had made him glow a little. Perhaps things could turn out alright, after all. After this whole Silence the Noise shitshow was over, of course.