Eddsworld! Alter Motives

Chapter Four, "A Little Bit of Maintenence"

Trigger Warning! (I think): Violence, kissing, running from the police, very slight trauma, and smoking.

     It had been two weeks since Matt and Tom decided to move to Tord's base. It was originally Edd's idea to move them closer to have their relationship grow stronger, but also because of how the police were on a higher search, and it would be better for them all to stay in hiding. Tom and Matt were gathering the last of their stuff, including Ringo in her little cat kennel. She was meowing constantly as Tom picked her up.
     "Don't worry Ringo, you'll be with your dad in a bit," Tom told Ringo.
Matt was grabbing the last box when he heard a knock on the door.
     "Odd, are you expecting anyone Tom?" He asked, "I thought we were meeting the guys at the base, and we already broke the lease."
     "I don't know," Tom muttered.
Matt went to the door and looked through the peephole. Two officers were standing at the door, looking stern.
     "Crap, it's the cops!" Matt seethed.
     "Oh shit!" Tom said, "I'll deal with it."
Tom set Ringo down and walked to the door. He opened it.
     "Hello officers, what do you need today?"
     One of the officers lifted a picture of Edd.
     "We are here to discuss the matter of the wanted criminal Edward Goldman," He replied, "We have received an anonymous tip that he was in this residence and that you and Mr Hartgraves are in affiliation with him."
     "Well, me and my friend used to be friends with him, but we fell out of touch, so I'm not sure what you're talking about," Tom lied.
     The other police officer shook his head and pulled out his handcuffs.
     "Unfortunately, that conflicts with the information we were given. Either way, both of you are going to have to come with us to the station for some questioning," The first officer responded.
     "I see," Tom mumbled, "Matt, take the cat and run."
     Matt grabbed Ringo's kennel and ran to the fire exit. Tom quickly slammed the door and locked it, then ran after Matt to the fire exit.
     "What do we do now Tom?" Matt asked, panicked as they climbed down the fire exit.
     "Call Patryck to pick us up at the place, ASAP," Tom stated.
     Matt pulled out his phone and dialled Patryck as they ran, sirens being heard from behind them. Brring! Brring!
     "State your name," Paul said.
     "For the love of god Paul, get a caller ID!" He yelled, "Matt, it's Matt. Our location has been compromised, and the police are after us. We need transportation now!"
     "I'll get Patryck to pick you up," Paul stated, then hung up.
     Matt looked behind them to see the police in hot pursuit.
     "How do we lose them, Tom?"
     "We run Matt," Tom responded, "Run like the wind."
     "Kinda hard considering we're outnumbered, and they are in a car!"
     "Look Matt, I don't know what to do, okay! We're gonna be fugitives after this!"
     Tom put his hands in his hair, stressing out. Matt started to think as the sirens blared. Suddenly he had an idea.
     "Find someplace crowded, a clothing store maybe. They will have a hard time finding us there!" He suggested.
     "Matt, there aren't many gingers or void eyed brits in the UK! We'll be spotted before we even get there either way!"
     "Do you have any other ideas? If not, pull your goddamn hood up, and hold on!" He demanded as he took Tom's hand and pulled him into a crowd.
     "Matt! Hold up!" Tom yelled as he pulled his hood up.
     Matt turned to Tom as he quickly pulled him into a clothing store and ducked behind one of the racks.
     "What is it?" He asked.
     "I can't run that fast. I don't have spider legs like you!" Tom replied, "How is Ringo?"
     Matt looked inside the kennel to see Ringo curled up in the corner with her hair on edge.
     "She's terrified," Matt said as he lightly stuck his finger in to calm her,"It's okay girl, we'll get out of this."
     "What now, Matt?" Tom whined.
     Matt started to pull some stuff off the racks and quickly put it on.
     "Put some stuff on, anything to hide your identity. I suggest sunglasses. Then we sneak out the back," He told Tom.
     Tom put on a coat and tophat.
     "Good thing it's fall," Tom sighed.
Matt changed his coat and quickly threw on a fedora to cover his hair. He grabbed a fake moustache and put it on Tom's face.
     "There, now let's get to the back," Matt said as he grabbed Ringo's kennel.
     "Can we at least take these off once we're out? I don't wanna be convicted of shoplifting," Tom asked.
     "We are already on the run for avoiding arrest and association with a murderer, and you're worried about stealing?" Matt whispered.
     "So?"
     "Don't worry about it, I highly doubt we will come back here," Matt murmured as he pulled Tom into the backroom.
     Tom took the carrier from Matt, making sure Ringo wasn't being tossed around. Matt took Tom to the exit.
     He pulled him out and they started to blend into the crowd. He checked his phone to see if he got any updates from Paul on where he could find Patryck.
     A text from Patryck read, "At Middle Plane Park. I'll come up to you when I see you three."
     Matt looked over to Tom.
     "Patryck is meeting us at Middle Plane Park," He told Tom.
     Tom nodded and looked at the ground. He was still stressing about the situation he and Matt were in. Matt could see how stressed Tom was, and he squeezed his hand.
     "It's going to be okay Tom, we will get out of this," He said, trying to ease him.
     Tom smiled, but it quickly turned into an uncomfortable frown. He put his hands in his pockets and tried to think of something different, but it didn't work. Matt squeezed his arm as they walked.
     "Trust me, Tom. It's going to be okay."
     "Will it though?" Tom contemplated.
     "We've been through worse. We've gone through zombies, Atlantis, and even an army of clones. We can walk to a park in disguise," Matt replied, "Just don't panic."
     Tom sighed and linked his arm with Matt's. A bit later, they arrived at Middle Plane Park, seeing Patryck's car.
     "There he is, let's go!" Matt said as he started pulling Tom to the car.
Patryck noticed Tom and Matt were running to his car and unlocked the door. He started the car as they entered.
     'Thanks, Patryck," Matt said as he buckled up next to Tom.
     "No problem," Patryck replied.
Tom buckled up and put his head on Matt's shoulder. He also put Ringo's carrier on his lap. Matt lightly stuck his finger in Ringo's cage as he wrapped his other arm around Tom.
"You can relax Ringo, we are on our way home, we're safe." He smiled as he looked at Tom.
"I guess this is our new life now. Criminals," Tom mumbled.
Matt rubbed Tom's shoulder.
"It's going to be okay Tom, we have each other at least, right?" He asked, "You have me, Tord, and Edd by your side."
Tom muttered, "I just hope we won't regret this."
"We were going to have to go off the grid anyway, why not go out with a bang huh?" Matt replied, trying to cheer Tom up.
"Yeah," Tom said, "Out with a bang."
Matt looked up to the front to see Patryck tapping on the steering wheel as he drove.
"Hey Patryck, how long is it going to be until we get back to base?" Matt asked.
"Not long," Patryck responded, "Why?"
"Just wondering. Ringo is not really a big fan of the kennel, so I was wondering how long it would be before we could let her out."
"I see. Well, as I said, it won't take long."
Soon they were back at the base. Matt and Tom were standing in the elevator as they went up to Edd's room.
"Hey Tom, was there anything in that last box that you needed?" Matt asked, "The one we kind off... left at the apartment?"
"No, not really," Tom said.
"Just checking," Matt said as the elevator stopped.
They walked out of the elevator and went to Edd's room. Tom lightly knocked on the door.
"Edd, we're back!" Tom called.
"Come in!" Edd yelled back.
He was on his bed, drawing a picture of them all in a lake. Tom walked to his bed and let Ringo out.
"What'cha drawing there?" Tom asked.
Ringo let out a soft meow as she got out of the kennel and went to her owner's lap and started to knead. Matt went over and sat next to Edd.
"Yeah, what are you drawing?" Matt inquired.
"Us, at a lake," Edd replied.
Matt took a peek at the drawing.
"Looks like you've gotten pretty far on it."
"Yup."
Ringo stopped kneading and curled up on Edd's lap. She looked up at him, expecting to be scratched behind the ears. Edd looked down and did so, smiling in the process.
"She really missed you Edd," Tom said, "She would always be sitting in front of your room, meowing to be let inside."
"It's sad to think she tried to come for me when I was..." Edd paused, not finishing his sentence.
Matt wrapped his arm around Edd.
"Don't worry about that now Edd. Look on the bright side," Matt said, "We're all here together now. You're much happier and open, and we get to see Tord more. This is a bright new horizon for us."
"But my psychotic breaks won't be leaving that easily," Edd explained, "My stressor is Tord and the fact he tried killing us. Sure, I've come to terms with him, but killing is just fun."
Edd smiled and looked back at the paper, continuing to draw.
"My depression isn't just going to go away either, but what matters now is just this moment, not worrying about... killing people," Tom said, "We will cross that bridge when it comes up."
Edd continued to draw, adding Tom to the photo. He made Tom look like he was jumping in from a cliff.
"Well, that's one place to put me," Tom smiled.
"Yeah," Edd told him, "I feel like you'd cannonball in and somehow manage to fall hair-first."
"I'd do it for 20 pounds."
"Bet."
"Find me one, Cola Boy," Tom smiled as he ruffled Edd's hair.
"I will, Fork Man," Edd countered.
"You want to go that far, Little Drawing Boy?"
"I will, Smirnoff Man."
"Hey! I want a nickname!" Matt butted in.
"Alright, Strawberry Narc," Edd laughed.
"Ok, I immediately regret saying that," Matt chuckled.
Edd laughed and hit the table. Matt groaned in embarrassment and put on his hood, pulling on the strings to hide his slightly red face.
"Oh come on Matt, don't be like that," Tom said, "You're hiding your beautiful face from the world! What will all the mirrors think?"
He slid off his hood and looked in a mirror.
"You're right," Matt said, "I shouldn't be hiding my sexy face."
Edd turned to Tom with a goofy smile.
"Now look what you've done Tom, you've inflated his ego." He joked.
"Someone as hot as me should never be hiding this," Matt smiled as he pointed to himself.
Edd smiled as he walked over to Matt.
"You're right about that," He said.
Edd lifted him and looked into his eyes.
"I always wondered how you got those beautiful eyes," Edd sighed.
Matt smiled as he looked into Edd's eyes.
"I guess I've always had them."
"One thing's for sure though," Edd told him, "I love my Strawberry Narc."
"And I love my Fork Man and Cola Boy," Matt replied.
Edd laughed and put Matt down, kissing him on the forehead. Matt hugged Edd back.
"Hey, where's Tord?" Tom asked.
Suddenly, Tord came into the room.
"Hey guys, wanna watch me train with this?" Tord asked as he lifted his metal hand.
"I'm down," Tom said as he stood up from the bed, "What about you Edd?"
"Sure," Edd sighed.
"I wouldn't mind," Matt said.
"Great! Then follow me!" Tord exclaimed as he walked out of the room.
Edd, Tom, and Matt followed him. They went into the elevator and went down to the second floor, where they were greeted by Paul.
"Hey, guys, here to watch Red train?" He greeted them.
"Yup," Edd replied.
Tord walked into a near-empty room with a large window. The only things inside were a table and a few targets on it. He opened a panel in the robot arm, seeing three buttons, a screen on the glass, and a keyboard.
"What first, Paul?" Tord asked.
Paul pulled out a pack of cigarettes as he talked.
"We should check if the laser works. It should be the first blue button on your arm," He said as he pulled one out and stuck it in his mouth.
Tord pressed the blue button.
Then, a voice said, "Laser activated."
Tord aimed at one of the targets and shot a laser from his palm. The target got blasted and disintegrated, leaving only a small pile of ash on the ground.
"Wow, this thing is powerful," Tord responded.
Paul lit his cigarette and said, "Bound to be, that was one of the old things from your robot."
"Old things?" Tord said overstimulated.
"How do you think I made that thing?" Paul replied. "Parts from the wreckage."
Edd looked away when Paul mentioned the robot. His face looked like he was feeling a bit of pain. He crossed his arms and sighed.
"What else can this thing do?" Tord asked as he pressed the red button next to the previous one.
"That's a pocket knife," Paul said unfazed as each of Tord's fingers suddenly changed to a knife, a flathead screwdriver, a regular screwdriver, a wrench, and a... bottle opener?
"That's slightly less impressive," Matt commented.
Paul turned and glared at Matt.
"I'm sorry I'm more into functionality than cosmetics," He said as he blew a small smoke cloud Matt's way.
"Anyways," Paul explained, "Press the blue and red buttons at the same time."
Tord pressed the two buttons, and his hand turned into a mini chainsaw.
"Ok, that's cool Paul," Tord said as he started to swing his arm, "Kind off reminds me of those Friday the 13th movies."
Paul replied, "I was inspired."
Tord pressed the two buttons again and the chainsaw reverted to normal.
"Try the yellow button next, I think you might like it," Paul suggested.
Tord eagerly pressed the button and his hand changed into the tip of a flamethrower.
"Woah! That's cool man!" Tord laughed as he looked at Paul through the window, a big cheeky grin on his face.
"No problem, Red," Paul smiled.
Tord took aim at the next target and fired, burning the target to the ground.
"Isn't this so cool guys?" Tord exclaimed as he turned to look at his friends.
Matt put a thumbs up, Tom nodded, but Edd just stared at the ground. Tord could see Edd was uncomfortable, so he decided to finish up.
"Maybe just one more for the day, Paul?" Tord asked, "Then I can pick this up tomorrow."
"Oh," Paul realised the situation, "Yeah. The yellow and blue button makes a flashlight."
Tord pressed the buttons and the small circle on his palm lit up.
"That's useful," Tord said as he quickly shut it off and exited the room.
Tord looked to Edd, seeing how upset he was.
"Are you ok buddy?" He asked.
"Just... Memories..." Edd whispered back.
Tord shook his head.
"How about we go to the cafeteria and get something to eat?" He suggested.
"Sure," Edd sighed.
Edd uncrossed his arms and followed Tord to the cafeteria. Matt and Tom followed after.

Credits: To Thecheese159846! I don't know any other ways to thank people I'm sorry.

I did something but I fixed it, yay for me, I think.