A Test of Time (TomTord)

-Six-

Follow his dreams. Make it in the big city.

Ha.

At least part of that lie was true.

He had dreams alright. But he'd spare his friends the details. For what he was planning, he didn't need friends. What he had once been was gone, all that remained was what he was to become, one way or another.

A leader.

-5 years later-

"You ready to go, Tord?"

"Yep."

Tord handed the last of his bags to Pat, who loaded them into the plane with the others. He was actually kinda happy to be doing this; he got to see his fathers again. Those 5 years has been nice, but he had bigger things in mind now. It was time.

—————-

The Red Leader was a mysterious man, for lack of a better description. He was always seen wearing his signature helmet that obscured most of his face, yet could still convey his emotions. But Tord had realized he hadn't ever seen Red Leader up close before, at least, not until now. For seemingly no reason, he had been called down to Red Leader's office.

"Larrisson. You're here. Take a seat. We need to talk." Red Leader motioned to the chair in front of his desk. Tord hesitated for a moment, but complied.

"As I'd assume you'd realized, you haven't ever really been called to my office personally. Which means you've never been much of a problem, at least not enough for me to have to intervene. But I've decided something about that..."

He paused, watching as Tord shifted in his seat uncomfortably.

"You might have noticed I haven't ever chosen anyone to be the one to replace me if something ... unfortunate... were to happen to me."

"Yes, sir."

"Do you perhaps know why?"

"No, sir."

"Because I was waiting to see what you'd turn out like." a laugh resonated from somewhere deep under the metal armor worn by the man in front of Tord," And I think we both know that you're looking to be so much more that just a soldier, isn't that right?"

"....what are you saying, sir...?" Tord's eyes widened as he watched Red Leader remove his hemet to reveal an all too familiar face underneath.

"Oh, cut it out with the sir crap, Tord. You know my real name. I belive you're the only one here who does, actually. And that's where I see my days are numbered. Unless I deal with the problem before it deals with me."

In an instant, they both had guns pointed at each other's heads.

"Oh I see. You really want this that badly. Fine then. Take it. Get your little victory with your immature way of dealing with your problems," Red Leader paused for a moment, then reached to unclip something from his chest. He held a small pin in his hand, a sign of his leadership. One of the few things proving he was the Leader. He placed the pin on the desk. He reached into the drawer in the desk, pulling out a few papers that were clipped together. He set them next to the pin, then returned his gaze to Tord, who was still pointing a gun at his head.

"Shoot me, Tord. Become the next Red Leader. It wont change anything. Nothing you do will ever bring her bac-"

It was just like the night the very man before him had done the same thing to his mother. Only now, it had been him. And the bullet rested in the skull of the former leader. How poetic.

Yet he didn't feel the anger that had caused him to pull the trigger anymore.

The pain was gone too.

He didn't feel regret.

Nothing.

It was almost a minute before he lowered the gun, setting in on the table next to the papers. The pin once again caught his eye, a small, golden shine reflecting the harsh white lights coming from above.But he pushed it aside and picked up the papers.

———————-

Tord,

I know you hate me. I knew you'd find me. So be it. Life is that way sometimes. If you really want to do this, then do it. I'm not going to stop you. Have fun as Red Leader, you might realize it's not as fun as it seems. The real purpose of this letter is to prove that this is official. You are the Red Leader now. Take the pin. It's yours. Take it all. Everything at this base is yours now. 

I hope you're happy with yourself.

Red Leader

—————————————-

"Tord!!" A familiar Polish accent rang through the door. 

"Come in, Pat."

The door opened, revealing a somewhat panicked Pat, followed by Pau.

"I knew you had been called down to Red Leader's office, and I heard a gun shots, and-"

He stopped talking mid sentence, actually seeing what was happing in front of him. And it wasn't what he expected, yet somehow, it wasn't too much of a surprise. 

"Tord...what happened....?"

Tord said nothing, simply handing the note to Pat, who held it so both he and Pau could read it.

"You shot him, didn't you?" Pau was the first to speak. Tord nodded once, then motioned to the door. Pau walked over and shut it, before returning to stand next to Pat.

"I did what needed to be done. And it's kinda ... poetic, isn't it? He died the very same way he killed my mother." 

"Wait...... oh... oh my god. Tord, I...." even Pau wasn't sure what to say in response to this.

"We should probably do something about... him... though..." Tord said quietly, almost to himself.

——————

Life as Red Leader wasn't as hard as it seemed. The main problem was that it was boring. He needed something to.... kickstart some action. Wait. The robot. He still had it, under the old house. But... Edd, Matt and Tom were still there. 

Hmmmm....

Then again, sometimes you had to sacrifice for the greater good, right?