Tom's Perspective
As the video call began, I impatiently fidgeted and waited for Edd to accept the call. After a few minutes of no response to the call, the screen suddenly showed a young adult with messy brown hair and a ginger next to him. Both of them wore nervous expressions, until they saw me. "Tom! Oh my God! Tom you're okay!" Edd yelled happily and I smiled. "Yeah, I'm alright." I replied and Edd's happy expression shifted as his gaze turned to Tord. The once ecstatic call turned tense, and both Matt and Edd seemed much less relaxed and joyful. Tord seemed stressed as well, finding it hard to keep eye contact with Edd. Malicious red eyes stared back at kind chocolate brown ones for what seemed like forever, until Matt spoke up. "Tom, are you wearing a collar?" Edd looked at me and his face furrowed with worry. "Why are you wearing a collar?" He asked concernedly. I blinked before coming up with a good response. "Oh- I'm wearing it because.."
Well, I can't say that Tord made me. He had just offered to take it off, and I refused. "Well.. It's complicated. I sort of like it though, so don't worry about it." I explained and got down onto the soft carpet, getting closer to the laptop. "What's been going on Tom? What did he do to you?" Edd asked, his tone dripping with anger as he said 'he'. "Well.. Tord has been keeping me here for a while now and kept me in a cell. But uh, recently he's let me sleep in his room instead." I added. I could feel Edd's rage through the screen, and he's not one to get easily angered. He's usually so calm and friendly all the time. "What happened to your neck?" He asked, referring to the intense scarring and fading bruises on my neck. "Ah.. It's from me trying to get the collar off before. I don't mind it now." I told the two worried friends, who only got more worried with every bit of new information. The mood suddenly got much more violent when Edd's harsh voice snapped.
"Tord. Let go of Tom right now. Bring him back." He demanded. Tord stared at the younger man and narrowed his eyes. "I won't do that." He responded, speaking as if it was a threat. I quickly cut the tension and turned the computer to me only. "Guys, let's just talk okay?" I said and looked at the two anxious men. Edd sighed and nodded, leaning forward on the couch he was sitting on. "Okay. Tell me Tom, why is Tord keeping you there with him?" Edd asked. I stared at the brunette and sighed. "Edd, I can't answer that, but I need to ask something as well." I replied and rested my arms on the coffee table, leaning closer. "Do you guys love me?" I asked and both Edd and Matt looked at me confused. "We love you like bros do." Edd said and Matt nodded. "Like brothers!" He added and sipped the tea he had been drinking from. "How much?" I asked and placed my head in my hands. "I trust my life with you Tom." Edd told me and smiled nicely.
"Me too! We love you a lot Tom." Matt said with a big grin. I wish I could reach through the screen and hug both of them. "Well.. If you love me that much, I have a really big favor to ask." I said with guilt dripping from my voice. I felt terrible just thinking about what I had come up with. "What is it Tom?" Edd asked curiously and set down his Cola. "You guys, both of you, I need you to.. Hold on." I stopped and looked at Tord. "Leave the room." I instructed him sternly. He stared at me defiantly before getting up and slowly leaving the room, closing the door rather aggressively. "Now, I need you two to do something very important for me."
After telling them my rather detailed plan, both of them stared at me with wife eyes of confusion and disbelief. "Wait- hold on- I'm going to write this down." Edd said quickly and got up, coming back with a pen and notebook. We then reviewed the plan as he scribbled furiously. "Are you sure about this Tim?" "Tom-. And yeah, I'm sure. Please do this for me." I pleaded and stared into their eyes. both of them stared back and Edd set down the notebook. "I promise Tom, I swear that we'll follow your ideas to the letter." Edd assured me and smiled. "Thanks guys.. I guess I'll see you then?" I questioned and the brunette nodded. "I love you Tom, stay safe." He said in a warm and loving tone. I smiled slightly and nodded. "I love you guys, see you later." I said and Matt set down his tea. "Bye Bye Tom!" He said while waving. I waved in return and closed the call, also shutting the cold, silver chrome laptop. I sighed and my smile dissipated before I went to the door.
I slowly turned the handle and looked out to see Tord talking to some of the soldiers, probably giving orders or answering a request. "Rød leder sir, vennligst ta deg tid til å gjennomgå de medisinske dokumentene. vi trenger dem signert for forskningen vi planlegger." One of the soldiers said with a clear Norwegian accent before holding out a packet of papers. "ja selvfølgelig soldat, og ikke glem hendelsen som skjer senere i dag. samle alle soldatene." Tord responded in his foreign language, keeping a proud and confident posture throughout the conversation. "ja sir, med en gang. det er godt å snakke med deg, takk for at du tok deg tid." The soldier responded before the group saluted and promptly left without looking back. I watched them leave before approaching Tord and looking at the packet in his hands. It was all printed out in Norwegian. "What was all of that about?" I asked and leafed through the packet, though he didn't seem to mind my intrusion.
To me, the packet just looked like a bunch of official documents that I couldn't understand. "Oh, it's just the usual procedure for the experiments that my army is running." He said without a worry, knowing I couldn't tell anyone else what I knew regardless of what he told me. "Oh. What experiments?" I asked curiously and followed him through the hall. He kept his proud and professional upright posture, glancing at me as we talked. "You'll see soon Thomas, we have an event coming around the corner soon though. I must prepare, and get you dressed properly." He informed me and looked back at the path he was walking. My head was overflowing with curiosity and concern. For one, where are we going? I looked around for any signs and saw that we were walking towards the "Leader's wing", which really meant the section of the base dedicated to housing Tord, working for him, keeping his office guarded and cared for, and overall just staying centered around him. Like a mini government within the base.
I think I've always been around in this area for the entire time I've existed in this base, because I could recognize most of the rooms as we passed them. Tord stopped at his door and took off his glove, placing his uninjured left hand onto the scanner to unlock his room. The door slid open and he walked in, yanking me in by my arm before the door shut. "Soo.. What are you making me wear? And what for?" I asked and looked around, noticing a small box on Tord's bed. Tord approached the box and took out his concealed dagger, dragging it along the tape and opening the sealed box. I stood next to the taller male and watched curiously as he opened up the package and set out the contents on his bed. "Welcome to your new position, Blue Angel." He said with a grin as I stared at the outfit. It was certainly an outfit designed for special occasions, so I'm guessing my casual suit is left in the box. I was in awe at the specially tailored outfit. A fancy loose royal blue blazer over a black dress shirt, with many intricate details like black trimming and a special pin in a separate small bag.
"The back is my favorite part." He commented before picking up the blazer and showing me the detailing on the back. A large sewn-in pair of black feathery wings that looked so real that I wanted to reach out and touch them. "Woah." I said simply with my expression clearly showing awe. I've never seen a top quite like it, which I guess makes sense because it's specially tailored. "I get to wear that for whatever you're planning later?" I asked and reached out, running my hand along the sewn-in feathers. Obviously it didn't feel like real wings, but it was so intricate and beautiful. "Yeah, and this pin as well." He told me and set the blazer down, opening the small bag. He held out the golden lined pin and I took it into my own hands so that I could see it better. It was a pin that showed a dark blue snake with large black, gold trimmed wings sprouting out from its back. "You know, snakes are thought of to be one of the forms of angels from the translation in the Bible. That's why I chose it for your pin." He explained the snake as I rubbed the small gold pin.
"This is.. Amazing." I whispered and looked up at Tord. "You got all of this for me?" I asked in disbelief. "Of course, the second in command can't just look like a nobody. You're important here Tom, you mean something as soon as you put that pin on." He told me and placed a robotic hand on my shoulder. I stared at the cyborg with a loss for words. This position means a lot more than I was first willing to admit. "... Let's move on." I dismissed my tense heart and shoved off his hand, turning back to the outfit. The pants were very simple black dress-pants, cuffed at the bottom with my new symbol embroidered into both cuffs. "Should I put it on..?" I asked, though as soon as I said it I knew the answer was a yes. "Yes, in the bathroom. I must change as well." Tord commanded and I rolled my eyes, though nobody could tell. "Whatever big bitch boy, you can't talk to me in such a haughty tone once I have the on." I snapped at him and picked up the outfit before walking to the bathroom. Before I could close the door, Tord stopped it with a hand. "Don't you want me to take that collar off now?" He asked and I placed a hand on the collar holding my neck snuggly. It would definitely look weird with me in an official outfit and a black pet collar on. "... You got a choker?" I asked and he blinked in surprise. "Uh.. Yeah, I didn't think you'd want it though. Honestly I don't know if I have it in here, I can get it from my tailors though." He said and I stared at the collar in the bathroom mirror. "Yeah, go get it." I said more confidently before closing the door, just missing his fingers as they pulled away.