"What do you mean he's still alive!?" Matt cried, his eyes wide, fingers lodged in his hair.
Tom sat on a chair, awkwardly staring at the floor whilst twidling his thumbs.
"You shot him down! He exploded!" Matt cried, pacing around the room.
"I know, but unless I'm suddenly schizophrenic, he was definitely there." Tom said quietly, slowly putting his hands up his shirt, feeling around the swollen bruises.
"We have to find Edd... warn him.." Tom mumbled, slowly standing from the small chair, he hastily threw on his hoodie and jeans, Matt hesitated, seemingly weighing out his options before doing the same.
"Are you sure...? I mean, Tord has always had it out for you! What if he actually wants to kill you this time!?" Matt yelled, slipping back into his panic.
Tom quickly turned around, placing his hands on either side of Matt's face.
"Everything is going to be okay--"
Tom wasn't able to finish his entence as a deafening explosion went off, just a few blocks away from their apartment.
Matt screamed and fell to the floor, covering his ears wa ith his hands, his eyes squeezed closed.
Tom rushed over to the window and gasped.
The city....
It was on fire.
Buildings were burning, people were burning... everything...
Soldiers marched through the city, bullets ripping through the air.
Tom rushed over and turned on the TV.
"Hello citizens of London!"
No.... no this can't be real......
"I am the Red Leader.. You could say, I'm the reason you're lives are falling apart right now, I've already taken out your government, I've disposed of your military and I've ceased all communication with other countries. In short, no one is coming to save you."
Tom shut off the TV..
You couldn't see his face... his voice was altered, but he knew it, he knew it was Tord....
It had to be..
They needed to find Edd.... but he couldn't take Matt outside... was it safe in here...?
Damn it..
"Matt, lock yourelf in your room, okay, don't come out no matter what!" He called out to him, running out of the building.
"T-Tom, wait--!"
He ignored him and kept running, he had to..
Where would Edd go if he was mad.....
The store? No... to obvious...
Tom gasped, running down in the opposite direction.
The park! Of course!
Edd always went to the park to think..
He turned the corner and stoped, covering his mouth.
A little girl sat on the pavement, screaming at what he assumed to be her mother, crying and sobbing, shaking the woman.
On closer inspection, the mother was dead....
"Milly!?" He cried, rushing over and kneeling beside her.
"M-mister s-star fairy...?" She whispered, crying as she held onto her mothers corpse.
"H-help me... please, she wont wake up!!" She cried, trying to shake her awake.
"Mommy!? Mommy look, the star fairy is here to help us Mommy, s-so please! Y-you have to wake up!" She shouted, pulling at her sleeve.
"Milly... Milly stop..." He whispered, pulling her away, hiding her face in his
"N-no! M-my mommy! S-she-- she..." Milly cried, putting her face in Tom's chest, whimpering as she balled her eyes out.
Tom slowly pat her head, trying his best to comfort her.
"Its... its okay... Mommy is in a better place now.." He sighed, looking down at her.
"W-with m-mr snuffles...?" S-she asked, loking up at him.
"Yeah--"
"Stop... Put your hands in the air, or I will not hesitate to shoot." A soldier whispered in his ear, pressing the gun to the back of his head.
Tom froze, gently pulling milly closer, looking down at her before slowly putting his hands in his air.
"We're okay. I promise." He whispered, smiling down at her.
Milly weakly nodded, whimpering slightly.
"Get up." The soldier demanded, nudging him with the gun.
Tom sighed and slowly stood up.
"Sir... I really wouldn't do this If i were you." He said, slowly turning around, looking the soldier in the eyes.
He flinched, raising his gun higher as he saw his eyes.
"Y-you..." He whispered, pulling out a picture. "You're Thomas Ridgewell?" He asked, showing him the picture.
"Surprise." He growled, kicking him right where the sun dont shine.
The soldier cripled to the floor, groaning as he held onto his... 'family jewels'...
"Tell your stupid fucking boss he can suck my dick asshole!" He shouted, kicking him in the stomach before picking milly up and running in the opposite direction.
Milly hugged close to his chest, her tears staining his hoodie, but he didn't care, right now he just needed to find Edd and get Milly to saftey.
He finally made it to the park and gaspd, shaking his head, gently hugged Milly closer, covering her eyes from the horrific sight.
The park...
It was gone.
The trees were burnig, falling over in black lumps, people were screaming as Tanks ran them over, as soldiers shot at family's and old timers that had been visiting the small park for years.
"N-no..." He whispered, tears slipping down his cheeks.
"M-mister star fairy...?" Milly asked, gripping onto his shirt.
Tom snapped out of his daze and looked down at her.
"I-I'm sorry," He whisperd, gently kissing her head.
"I ptomise i won't leave you... I'll protect you no matter what." He said, hiding himself around the corner so the soldiers wouldn't see them.
Tom started to walk away from the park, tears streaming down his face.
Edd was in there.... and either he escaped... or he died...
He just had to hope he was alive.. he couldn't risk Milly's life for someone who could be dead...
Tom walked into the front of the building, hiding in a corner with Milly in his lap.
"Mister Star fairy? Why did that soldier know you?" She asked, shaking in his arms.
"Because the person who started this all wants me dead... very, very dead." He sighed leaning his head back.
"But.... why?" She asked, leaning her head on his chest.
"I don't know Milly..... I really dont know..."
"I think I do."
Tom gasped, quickly standing, holding Milly behind him.
"You see little girl, Mister Star Fairy is... lets just say, he likes to play hero, to much so for his own good." He chuckled, taking slow calculated steps twoards him.
"Fuck off Tord! She's just a kid!--"
"Ah, ah, ah, no swearing Thomas, there are children present.." He mused, pushing Tom aside and gently picking her up.
"You see, he, if left alone, could ruin everything. He has done so before.. you see this, this is a problem.." He chuckled, brushing some hair out of her face.
"I don't want him dead, not yet at least... he's too... Valuable.." He whispered, tilting her head to the side.
Milly whimpered, looking at Tom as if begging him to save her..
"No!! Leave her alone you monster!!!" Tom screamed, reaching out for her.
"Im not the one denying what i am. You are. You have so much potential, yet you scuander it on things like alcohol. You're pathetic. You think you have the right to judge me? To say I'm the bad guy? How many times has Matt collectively tried to kill you? How many times has Edd been to oblivious to see something thats wrong with you?" He growled, glaring over at him.
"Stop it..." Tom whispered, balling his hands into fists.
"Your depression, your anxiety, your opinion, how you feel about things. Everything. Edd just brushes you off.
He was so obsessed with the idea that i was home, the shiney new Tord, back, so he had to do everything to make me stay. Ever figure that he doesn't care about you?" He said his tone dark, looking at him with a glaring silver eye that reflected the light of the fire out side.
"Stop it, just shut up!" He cried, tears falling down his cheeks, his fingernails ztarting to cut small crescent ahapes into his palms.
"But... you love him, don't you? You would gladly die for him, which, if im not wrong is what you're doing right now, risking your life to save him." He chuckled, a huge grin on his face.
"SHUT UP!! SHUT THE FUCK UP!!" He scremed, covering his ears as he fell to his knees.
He couldn't take this.
He wasn't strong, he wasn't brave..
He was scared, but not of dying, of loosing, and currently, thats where he was.
He was loosing....
Tom had slowly been loosing everything since Tord showed up at their house a little under two years ago.
He lost Matt, at least in the way he was before. He no longer laughed, or made stupid narsacistic comments because... he hated himself. He blamed himself for what happened that day... For Tord going bad...
He tried to kill himself twice after the first six months. Thats when the pills started...
He lost Edd, in every way. He lost him as a friend, as a person you could always talk to... he would never say it out loud, but he blamed Tom for all of this, for killing Tord, for making Matt the way he is.
Worst of all he had lost himself...
And it hurt, it hurt to know that Tord was right...
"Thomas... It's okay..." He whispered kneeling infront of him, gently lifting his chin so their eyes could meet.
"Its clear that, you dont have a place in the world anymore..." He sighed, stroking the tears from his cheeks.
"But i understand you, I can help you. I would never treat you how Edd did. I could give you a new home..." He said quietly, looking down at him, his voice gentle and soft.... reassuring...
"I can take it away you know, all this pain, this war... All of it." He whispered smiling softly as he pulled out what looked like a visor.
"All you have to do is forget..."