The announcement of the King's engagement left everyone stunned. First, they all happened to know that none of his harem had chosen to be there. The people's hearts went out to Nazz's family. When Kevin found out... he was livid. If you could take the rage Eddward felt previously and double it, you'd have Kevin's reaction. And no matter what he did, Eddward couldn't calm Kevin down. It was painful to watch, painful to hear him talk about it. As long as he'd known Kevin, he'd known him to be in love with the blonde. So when this news came out, Edd really couldn't say he was surprised with Kevin's reaction, but still... somewhere in him there was this pang of an unknown feeling. As reliable as the brass clock tower in the centre of town, Edd would stay by his side, all the while pondering what this strange feeling was. Listening to Kevin rave, sometimes drunk off his ass, sometimes so sober he said things that he never meant. Most of all, he wanted to get Nazz out of there.

When Kevin stopped visiting Edd in Rolf's basement, the boy began to worry. Days passed and still no word from the red headed Hunter. The pang in his chest grew, hurting with each passing day and he wondered idly if he was sick. Eddy kept visiting, bringing with him items Edd had asked for. The newest device was much more violent than his air purifier... but when preparing for war, one doesn't show up with roses abound. Yet still his work was hindered for a month, worrying about Kevin and where the boy possibly could have gone.

Finally, the project was complete, the gears meshed perfectly, the steam vent functioned without breaking, it served as a brick breaker, slamming through almost any substance that was stationary. Wood, brick, even weaker metals weren't immune. But of course in his success, only terror filled him.

Kevin had been found.

At first, when Eddy told him he was there, he was confused, Eddy actually sounded frantic, had the Con done something to upset him. The question was soon answered, Kevin was carried down by Rolf and Ed, battered and bloody, his entire left leg missing off his body. The brass armor plating had been torn off his torso piece, an article worn by Hunters to protect them. The green shirt torn open and the word 'Rogue' crudely carved into his chest. Edd couldn't breathe. Why? Why was it that anyone he cared for got hurt?

The moment he thought that, his body went cold. Cared? Was that the pang? The feeling of warm wonder that ultimately made him dread and cold with terror? He had no time to think about it, he had to help. The bloody cloth was removed, shards of his shattered brass torso piece embedded in skin, the other males left Edd to remove them, standing close by, as Double D was the one who'd be more likely to remove them without causing further damage. Someone had made a tourniquet out of rubber around the stump that was his leg, to be completely honest, the only way he could think of to stop the bleeding was to grab the blowtorch off his desk.

"What happened?!" Edd asked, eyes wide.

"...Went for Nazz..." Kevin's voice was broken, a wisp of what it once was.

Edd was quiet for a while, thinking over his next course of action. "Y-you're going to have to hold him down..." He swallowed, looking at the other three men in the room. Ed and Rolf moved to keep him still, grabbing his arms, Kevin looked horrified, questioning what was going on. No one answered.

"You too, Eddy." Double D was getting more frantic, the short boy agreed, moving silently over.

The moment the flame touched the stump, Kevin was screaming, masculinity be damned, begging for him to stop because it hurt so bad. He didn't stop until he was sure that he'd be okay, he'd had to be extremely wary of how close the flame was to him, knowing that too much would damage his skin forever. Unfortunately, pain caused him to black out.

There was silence for a long, long time before Edd finally stood and grabbed the device he'd made.

With a shaky, low voice he spoke, averting his face from the other boys. "Take care of him... make sure he'll be okay... I'll be back."

"Wait! Double D what if you get caught out there? Big bro won't listen to me if I asked him to spare ya..." Eddy tried to discourage him from leaving, but Double D said nothing as he stepped up the stairs and out of the Farmer's house.

The pang grew stronger.

~.~.~

"What do you mean someone's broken in?! How?! This place is solid concrete!" Eugene swore at the guard who'd come to alert him of the breech.

"W-we aren't sure, we can't find him now! One of my men says they saw him and identified him as that Rogue Mad Scientist."

Eugene stopped, face turning red, heated by fury. "Then find him! Find him! I want him alive!" He hissed, storming off to try and locate the traitor himself. Though rage clouded his mind, he didn't stop to think that perhaps the boy had come for his bride, for his friends. This is exactly where Edd had gone to, leaving holes in walls with his device, the machine whirred, steam leaving through designated ports, the overheating gauge was still in the green. He used it sparingly, not wanting to call attention to himself. He peeked through doors and around corners, making his way to the decorated room where all the girls were. When he found it, he let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh my god it's Double D!" Sarah's voice was shrill, calling over the other girls surprised gasps. Jourdon and Sarah stepped up to him, grinning.

"Dude, what are you doing here?" Jourdon asked.

"I'm trying to find Nazz... are you two okay?" He frowned. "I can take you two with us but I came here for her."

"Why's that? Not that it's a bad idea, just... why her specifically?" Sarah asked.

"... First off, it was announced she was supposed to get married to the King." This fact seemed to stun not only the two girls in front of him, but every girl around him. "Second, Kevin tried to get her... he's been hurt sufficiently enough that I fear for his life."

"She was taken out of the room... but... we don't know where." Jourdon frowned.

"It seems this has turned into quite the rescue mission..." He gestured for them to follow. "If you ladies here would like to come with me, you're all more than welcome."

Nearly everyone of them got up to follow. A few stayed, likely out of fear, but this time, it was their choice to stay.

"Jourdon, can you lead these girls out of here? I trust you'll be able to fight back enough." Edd asked, hoping she could defend them.

"Not if guards find us..." Jourdon frowned.

"Alright..." Edd took the machine to the wall, bursting one hole after another, the girls following behind him until they reached the outside. It was an instant flood for freedom, running and racing about the grass and enjoying the sun.

"Take care of them..." Edd looked worried.

"We got this, you go find Nazz." Jourdon grinned.

He nodded, the guards would follow the noise, so the girls would have to leave soon. He went back to hiding in shadows as he searched around, whispering sharply the name of his friend in hopes she might hear. As if the biggest cliche weren't enough for him, Edd finally heard her reply in the tallest tower of the castle.

"Double D? Is that you?"

He let out a sigh of relief. "Thank god... I'm here to get you out."

"You can't! After what they did to Kevin... and with the King after your head..."

He burst a hole in the wall. "I think we'll be sufficiently out of here before he can discover us. Kevin's alive in case you were worried about his wellbeing."

"Thank god for that." She sighed, tucking blonde hair behind her ear. "So how are we getting out? With that thing?" She frowned.

"Do you have any other ideas?"

"... Nope."

"Well, then let's leave this wretched place." He grabbed her hand and the two bolted down spiraling stairs, it was chaos, especially when guards were chasing them. They finally made it to the hole he'd made earlier with the other harem women.

"Go! They're waiting with the Farmer!" He shouted, shoving her away. He hoped she understood who he was talking about. "I'll be out soon!" He watched her hesitate before she ran.

The guards were around him shortly after, he was about ready to give up, but the image of Martin flashed before his eyes. He had to finish this for him... this device wasn't meant to be used as a weapon, but...

Unleashing the device on the men proved more satisfying than he'd thought... watching the metal connect with them, sending them flying in the air to the walls and hearing the muffled cries that came with head trauma. He was smart, but now the "mad" in Mad Scientist was showing and he had no intent to stop it until he was free.

But there was too many of them.

Too many for his machine to knock away, and he was crushed in a dogpile, bodies packing him down so he couldn't move. Once the device had been confiscated, the king stepped forward, that same, sick grin on his face as he messed with Eddward's machine.

"We'll be needing more of these, Xavier." He sneered, handing the device over to the scientist to the side. The tall, black haired boy looked sort of dead and nodded silently.

"It'll be easy... I'll have the plans by tomorrow."

"Xavier! She's safe! Your sister is safe!" Edd tried to win him back, but the king spoke quickly.

"And she will only stay that way if you keep doing as you're told. Wouldn't want dear Jourdon pulled back to the harem now would we?"

Edd couldn't believe this. It was over, he could practically hear the plans for his execution waiting in the wings. As the guards carried him off, he couldn't fight, not just because they were stronger, but because he didn't know what to do if he did escape. It was over, he was done now... The dungeon was as black and blank as his mind.