Within a week, Tom had managed to spread Tord's dark secret amongst his human followers like the white fire that Tord had spread throughout London. However he only told the followers of color to avoid being killed by someone like Mariah or Alex but he had managed to do a significant amount of damage to the army's trust within Tord. When Tom took notice of The Edd-Clone walking past him, he silently wondered if he should try to make this mysterious stranger aware of his Leader's true nature.
"Hey, you!" Tom finally decided to call out to The Edd-Clone, causing him to jump due to having been startled.
"Tom?" The Edd-Clone questioned with minor suspicion.
"Look, I don't know who you really are or how Tord brainwashed you into doing this but I think you deserve to know the truth about your "Leader"..." Tom explained himself before showing one of the many printouts Shannon had given to him that held the proof of Tord's dark secret. Indifferent, The Edd-Clone grabbed Tom by his throat and slammed him into the wall, his eyes now glowing bright-red.
"Do you really think this is a good idea, Tom?" The Edd-Clone clenched his fist and metal spikes shot from each one of his knuckles. As Tom struggled against The Edd-Clone's grasp, he took notice of a tooth wedged into the cheek of the fleshy latex that coated The Edd-Clone's face. It was Edd's tooth and Tom had recognized it from when he had been poking around in his share of Edd's ashes.
"It really is you, isn't it?" Tom's realization stunned The Edd-Clone into releasing his grip on him form pure confusion.
"Do you...have his memories? Do you...remember me?" Tom then asked him.
"Tom...of course I do..." Naturally, Tord had given The Edd-Clone all of Edd's memories so of course, The Edd-Clone recognized Tom as someone who was once a close friend.
"Edd, listen to me, buddy! You have got to help me spread the truth about Tord around; "his people" deserve to know the truth about their "Leader"..." Tom pleaded as he placed his hands on the shoulders of who he now recognized to truly be Edd.
"Even if it destroys everything we've worked so hard for?" Edd's voice broke at the thought of their Empire crumbling.
"You don't have to be his robot, Edd...You can be your own person again...You can be free...If you just help me take him down, you, me and Matt can all be free..." Tom explained and for a brief-moment, Edd began to carefully consider his words as he retracted his hand-spikes.
"Yes, we can..." Edd began as he took the proof from Tom only to quickly shred it into several pieces.
"I just showed you how..." Edd darkly stated before storming off, deciding to spare Tom's life for now. Meanwhile, Tord had just used his zombie-bots to take over Buckingham Palace of which was now in shambles. Tord admired his new throne as his creations gnawed on the bones that were once The Royal Family. Tord then walked past the gruesome scene as if it were nonexistent and made his way outside of The Palace where his cheering crowd of loyal followers awaited him. Although, he remained oblivious to the members of his audience of whom currently looked uncertain.
"Blood of my blood!" Tord called out in his Native-Language in order to silence the crowd's cheers.
"You were once stripped of everything you hold dear! Now, you are all liberators!" Tord announced, provoking his followers to begin to cheer once again.
"Alex Mahan!" Tord then called out after waiting for the cheers to cease. Alex obediently stepped forward in response.
"You have stood by me since The Comicon Rebellion! You are my most loyal of soldiers! I name you The King's Master of War!" Tord then bestowed an honor upon Alex that would invoke another session of cheering that was followed by claps.
"You have all kept your promises to me! You have slain the beasts who hide behind their computer-screens! You have torn down their flimsy allegations! You have made me King of Europe!" Tord then cheered, provoking the crowd to cheer along with him as Edd and Tom approached him from behind with equal looks of concern.
"But The War is not over! From America to Asia! From Africa to Australia! From The Pacific to The Atlantic! Men, women and children have all been crushed beneath the wheel of Cancel-Culture!
Will you break that wheel with me?!" Tord announced a question that would be responded to by another uproar of cheers as Thumin began to ascend The Palace's steps with caution.
"Your Grace?" Thumin timidly spoke up in order to gain Tord's attention.
"Yes, my child?" Tord smiled down at her with a love a father would have for his daughter.
"Is it true that you told this horrible, horrible joke?" Thumin asked before showing Tord a copy of the printed-out screenshots. The way Tord froze was enough of an answer to the now-murmuring crowd.
"T-That was a long time ago...I was a young teenager at the time..." Although Tord remained calm, he instantly became defensive.
"And that means you shouldn't have to answer for it now?" Thumin inquired with an accusatory tone as Tord began to ponder over what his next move should be.
"Do you still hold these views?! Is this why you let problematic people like Kramer join us?!" Thumin then demanded.
"My Army is a safe-haven for all! We stand against Cancel-Culture! Did you forget what it was like to receive harassment just for drawing yourself as Kiki?!" Tord reminded her in order to scold her for using the same, triggering language that the entire army's abusers had used against them.
"Oh, blah! Blah! Blah! Feel bad for me!" Bill Cosby began to mock Tord from the crowd.
"It sounds like you deserved to be canceled!" Kai then accused as a majority of Tord's Army began to hiss at him like the snakes they were before picking up rocks and beginning to throw them at him. The action provoked the followers that were still loyal to Tord to begin fighting and even killing those who had turned their backs on him. Meanwhile, Leila, Gary, Mariah, Edd and Alex all formed a protective barrier around Tord in order to shield him from the flying debris as they quickly lead him back into the safety of The Palace. Tord was clearly shaken up, wondering how his followers could have possibly found out about his secret after he had broken Shannon's hands.
"Hey, Sunshine-Lolipops!" Tom then announced his presence as Gary and Leila began to barricade The Palace's doors.
"You..." Rage began to fill Tord upon realizing Tom's betrayal.
"That's right! I told your dirty, little secret!" Tom confirmed with a defiant glare.
"You ruined everything! You committed treason!" Tord growled.
"I committed treason and you slaughtered millions..." Tom pointed out.
"Take him..." Tord ordered in Norwegian as Gary and Leila were quick to restrain Tom. As Tord's siblings began to drag Tom away Tom helplessly looked to Edd of whom averted his gaze since he had warned Tom of what would happen if he proceeded with his plan. In the year of 2013, on Halloween Night: Edd opened his eyes only to find himself within a strange, dark room.
When he took notice of Kim and Katya in the process of being built out of parts from the sea-serpent animatronics, stolen from The Fifty-Thousand Leagues Under The Sea Ride, Edd was quick to realize that he was no longer in The Hospital.
"Am I dreaming?" Edd questioned when he sat up on the cold, steel table only to realize that his body, below his neck was completely made up of circuits and wires, having yet to be covered with the flesh-like latex that now covered his face.
"Yes, Edward...You are in a dream...You are in my dream..." Tord replied as he stepped out of the shadows.
"Tord..." Edd smiled briefly at the sight of his friend only to frown in confusion at just how drastically his appearance had changed since he last saw him.
"You look different..." Edd then noted out loud.
"I am different..." Tord then explained. He had used parts from the Buzzy animatronic to construct this perfect clone of Edd, having also used Edd's ashes in the mixture for his latex, flesh coating.
"Okay, now I know I'm dreaming..." Edd insisted since in his mind, Tord had gone from frail to buff seemingly overnight.
"And since you are dreaming, you can do whatever you like..." Tord smiled a warm, soft smile before helping his Edd-Clone off of the table.
"But where exactly are we? Why am I not in The Hospital?" Edd questioned. Tord gave him a pained look before telling Edd everything.
"I'm dead?" Edd seemed to be in the most shock about this fact as Tord reluctantly nodded in response.
"I don't understand...Why did you bring me back?" Edd then inquired.
"Because Edward, when you died, a piece of me died as well...I am also tired of hiding, Edward...I wish to fight for my freedom and the freedom of others...To do so, I need you by my side..." Tord explained as he briefly turned his back to Edd in order to check Kim and Katya's progress.
"Do you swear?" Tord then asked as he turned back around to fully face Edd.
"Swear?" Edd questioned.
"Do you swear to protect me through this battle we are about to face?" Tord clarified.
"You saved my life...I promise to protect you until the day that I die..." Edd promised as he knelt before his best-friend and new Master. In the present-day: Shannon gazed out of the window of London's main Hospital at Tord's quarreling army with a sinister smirk at the chaos she had managed to cause.
"Our plan is working...Forces are rising against Tord from within and without..." Shannon announced to Bing with a wicked grin.
"What about Tom?" Bing worriedly asked.
"It's too late for him but he was a worthy sacrifice..." Shannon coldly replied.
"We can't just let Tord kill him!" Bing exclaimed.
"And we're not gonna!" Eddie bravely announced as he entered the Hospital-room with a harpoon in hand. Meanwhile, Tord watched from Buckingham Palace's balcony as his people fought amongst themselves with an expression of utter brokenness at his failure to end Cancel-Culture.
"Look at them! People...They're all ungrateful savages! All of them! After everything you've done for them, they repay you with scorn...
You will never end Cancel-Culture with unity because this is just how people are...They are naturally of a mob mentality of shunning...It's just like your SheezyArt days..." Tord could hear the voice of his Grandfather practically berating him for placing his trust in a bunch of strangers. Slowly, Tord placed the tip of the barrel of his Kalashnikov into his mouth in preperation for the worst.
"Tord?!" Tord was then startled into quickly removing the Rifle-tip from his mouth by the sound of Edd's voice as the robotic copy of his best-friend rushed in with a look of concern.
"I was just cleaning it, really..." Tord calmly lied to his best-friend before returning his gaze to his new mob of haters.
"Right..." Edd began, uncertain of Tord's obvious fib but ultimately deciding to not question it out of fear of agitating his Master further.
"I am so sorry...I should have told you what Tom was planning straight away..." Edd then gently apologized as he approached Tord with caution.
"Edward? Why do you think Tom came to you with this?" Tord asked as he refused to even look at Edd.
"Because he trusts me..." Edd replied, knowing for certain that he had betrayed the trust of both of his friends.
"He trusts you..." As Tord repeated Edd's answer, his voice wavered for the first time in years.
"He trusted you to spread secrets that have destroyed your Leader..." Tord was then quick to regain his composure in order to scold Edd.
"Tord, if I've failed you, I'm sorry..." Edd attempted to apologize once again.
"I HAD HER!" Tord bellowed as he whipped around to face Edd, causing him to jump.
"MY HAND WAS ON HER THROAT BUT YOU TOLD ME TO LET HER LIVE!" Tord began to shout at Edd who flinched and backed away. Tord now knew he would have no choice but to go back into hiding like the beggar King he now saw himself as.
"I am not going back into hiding, Edward! I AM DONE HIDING!" Tord then refused to let this stupid joke he told years ago to force him back into hiding yet again. He refused to let Cancel-Culture win over him again.
"What are you going to do?" Edd then questioned after he had tripped over the carpet whilst backing away from his enraged Master.
"I am going to Crucify Tom and burn all of the followers who don't fall in line alive..." Tord practically snarled between gritted teeth.
"You don't approve?" He then inquired with a mocking tone at the horrified look upon Edd's countenance.
"Tord, you promised no harm would come to those who chose to leave..." Edd reminded him of his own speech during The Comicon Rebellion.
"They are just as bad as our enemies! They are not simply choosing to leave, they are choosing to stay and attack me!" Tord argued.
"Might I offer an alternative solution?" Edd began before the two were interrupted by a brick crashing through one of the windows, causing both men to flinch.
"Sorry!" Alex called from outside having accidentally missed whilst throwing that brick at one of the traitors. Tord then glared at Edd before storming off to plan for Tom's execution. This argument reminded Edd of the argument he had with Tord just a few months before his death. He remembered flying out to Norway in spite of being bald from his Chemotherapy Treatments. He wanted to visit Tord in The Asylum after hearing the News of his suicide-attempt.
"How is he?" Edd asked Leila about Tord's wellbeing.
"He won't eat..." Leila somberly replied. Edd then took a deep breath before entering Tord's cell where Tord quietly stood in the corner, staring at the wall.
"Tord?" Edd gently broke the silence as he winced at the nasty burn-scar that now covered a majority of Tord's right forearm.
"I saw the way people looked at you when we were in Oslo...There was once a time when people looked at me that way but not anymore..." Tord lamented as he turned to face Edd. Edd practically flinched at just how sick Tord looked: His cheeks were sunken-in, he was a deathly shade of pale and there were dark patches beneath his sad, tired eyes.
"To be respected, I either need to have love or fear...I have no love here..." Tord further vented to his friend with a broken look.
"I love you..." Edd reassured him.
"Do you?" Tord's tone was accusatory since Edd only told him just to block and ignore his harassers instead of doing more to help him.
"Of course! You're my best-friend, Tord..." Edd reassured him further.
"A friend?" Tord inquired.
"Yes?" Edd confirmed, somewhat unsure of what Tord was getting at.
"Is that...all I am to you?" Tord questioned as he took a step closer to Edd of whom backed away with a sigh in response.
"Oh...Oh, I see...Let it be fear..." Tord then darkly stated.
"It's not like that, Tord; it's just...I think you went a bit too far when you doxxed Cheryl..." Edd then admitted.
"Get out..." Tord demanded before forcefully throwing Edd out of his cell.
"Ow! Hey!" Edd protested as he stumbled out of the cell, just barely catching himself before turning to glare back at Tord.
"I don't know who you are...You are not my Edd...My Edd would have believed me..." A single tear escaped from Tord's tired right-eye before he slammed the door to his cell. Edd then turned to see Tord's siblings glaring at him with disapproval for upsetting their baby-brother.
"I didn't mean to..." Edd began only to be cut off by Gary.
"Maybe it is best if you go..." Gary demanded as Edd recalled leaving with a sigh of defeat. In the present-day: Tord had chained both of Tom's wrists to a cliff by the sea. As Tom dangled from the height, he struggled to breathe as gravity began to suffocate him. Tord calmly made his way over to Tom not even flinching at the rocks that were thrown at him by who were once his followers even as the rocks just barely missed him.
"Be quiet! STOP IT!" Tord then bellowed, effectively silencing the crowd.
"I have never yelled at anyone like this but I created this resistance to stand up against something that has caused many deaths and you are all just going to treat this like a joke?! You do not know where I come from or what I have been through! I loved you! I was rooting for all of you! How DARE you?!
You all need to learn how to take responsibility for yourselves because after today, nobody else is going to take responsibility for you...Let what happens next set an example for you..." Tord shouted at his former followers before then turning his attention to Tom.
"Thomas Ridgewell! I, Tord Maximillion Cyrano-Wellhaven, Third of my name, Father of The Free-Folk, Breaker of Chains, sentence you to death for your crimes of treason..." Tord announced Tom's fate.
"Tord, stop! Please don't do this! Tom is our friend!" Edd begged as he rushed over to his Master.
"So were Patryk, Paul, Hellucard, Bing and Matt...The two of us were once great friends..." It was then that Edd began to remember everything that Tord had initially programmed him to forget.
"We still are..." Tord corrected.
"I know...That's why this is going to be so hard..." Edd sighed as he pulled a Pistol from his pocket.
"You changed me...You made me into a monster..." Edd then accused as Tord looked at him with concern.
"I made it so you could survive..." Tord firmly insisted.
"What good is surviving if you're just as bad as them? Now, I see how all of this will end...Where you will lead us..." Edd cocked his Pistol.
"You don't want to hurt me, Edward..." Tord warned as he menacingly stepped forward. He and Edd both knew that with one sentence, Tord could completely revoke Edd's freewill.
"No...Tord, I could never hurt you; I'll protect you until the day I die..." Edd then reassured as Tord gradually began to lower his guard.
"I'm sorry, Tord...I can't protect you anymore..." Before Tord could even have time to react, Edd placed the Pistol to his temple and shot himself in the head. Tord flinched as he was splattered with oil, beginning to twitch as he watched his creation's lifeless body collapse to the ground. Everyone watched with silence as Tord dropped to his knees beside Edd, violently twitching all the while. For the first time in years, Tord would cry over his creation's body as oil began to pool beneath the both of them.
Everyone was at a loss for what they should do next as they watched Tord scoop up Edd's limp form into his arms before beginning to walk into the ocean until the two were completely submerged. Only seconds later, The Horned King Animatronic emerged from the water with a fierce roar. Tord had of course been the one controlling the massive animatronic as he set his enraged sights on Tom with the full intent of taking his anger out on him. In spite of tensing up, Tom would somehow manage not to scream at the horrifying sight before him.
"You know killing him won't make a difference? They still aren't going to listen to you..." Tord began to seethe as he listened to his Grandather's disembodied voice.
"Care to take a bit of advice from an old man? I had many enemies in my lifetime and I outlived them all...However, I did what I thought was right and I was murdered for it by the one person I trusted most...Do you know why? Because I was a sheep...
Your closest allies are probably arguing over who should be the one to put you down like Old Yeller as we speak...Are you a sheep? No, you're a dragon...Be a dragon!" Tord's Grandfather encouraged his Grandson to act upon his worst impulses.
More tears fell as Tord seethed. He remembered being banned from SheeztArt for getting revenge on his ex and he remembered using his Grandfather's grenade to blow up SheezyArt Headquarters after being harassed by his bullies into deleting his YouTube-Channel. Tord let out a war-cry before using The Horned King animatronic to begin laying waste to his own army. Tom watched with horror as giant tentacles began to slam into the crowd, just barely missing him. Matt's jaw dropped in disbelief as he watched as Tord used a massive machine to begin to slaughter the people he once swore to protect. Slowly, Alex raised his own Rifle, taking Tord's attack as permission to shoot Thumin in the head neck and chest.
Alex's actions provoked another fight to breakout amongst the crowd with Alex managing to kill most of Tord's traitors.
"Nooo! Get back!" Matt then began to fight off his own people with his Katana as Alex watched him with a glare of disapproval. Little did Tord know that Eddie was swiftly approaching in a speedboat that had been equipped with a giant harpoon-gun. Shannon was also along for the ride in the hopes of getting to see the full effect of Tord's downfall.
"Just a little closer..." Eddie fired a harpoon at Tord's robot but missed.
"Turn it around!" Eddie instructed Shannon to move the harpoon-gun as he reloaded it. The Horned King then released a metallic screech when one of the harpoons struck it in the chest. Tord growled as his android began to spark. He refused to give up on this battle as he pressed the button that would make The Horned King begin to suck up a bit of the ocean.
The Horned King then sent a nasty tidal-wave out from beneath its undercarriage, flipping the boat Eddie and Shannon were in. Eddie smacked his forehead upon the boat's side-rail during the crash, rendering himself unconscious as a majority of Tord's army would be swept out to sea by the attack. Tom fought against his restraints beneath the powerful, rushing waters until he finally managed to crack the rock, breaking his wrists free from the cliff.
"We have to go now!" Gary instructed before scooping Marcel up into his arms and grabbing Leila's hand in order to lead her away from The Palace that a gargantuan tentacle was now beginning to destroy. John Enter, one of Tord's followers began to cough the water out of his lungs when he was suddenly tackled and pinned by Mariah.
"No! I'm Aesexual!" John begged as Mariah began to rip off his shirt. It was then that Matt used his Ninja-suit's strength to pull the overweight girl off of John. Mariah responded by shoving Matt away with a smirk before Matt promptly used his Katana to stab her through the heart.
As Shannon picked herself up from the ground, her forehead was bleeding as she began to run for her life until Alex shot her down. Tom was soon washed up onto shore, next to the pile of debris that was left of Eddie's boat.
"No..." Tom whispered to himself before checking Eddie's pulse, sighing in relief once he found it. He then took notice of the fact that the harpoon-gun was still intact before quickly scrambling over to it.
"Come on...Where are you, Commie?" Tom took aim at the huge robot, trying desperately to figure out where Tord would be from within its body. He then ultimately decided to fire at the neck, figuring that Tord must be controlling it from the head as the harpoon sliced The Horned King's head clean off. As The Horned King's head spiraled toward the sea, Tord struggled to press a button that would cause airplane-esc wings to launch from the sides of the skull-like head, ultimately allowing Tord to catch himself.
The animatronic's massive body fell upon what was left of Tord's army as Tom was forced to leap out of the way as The Horned King's gigantic hand crushed the harpoon-gun. Tord then began to fly the animatronic's head toward an unknown location with a grimace, knowing that if he did not flee now, he would be killed for certain. Tord began to softly cry as he fled from the carnage of what was once his army, knowing that he did not have the mental strength it took to be a leader. He also knew that he would be forced to go back into hiding now that a bounty had been placed on his head but a smirk made its way over his lips at the fact that he had at least gotten his revenge.
"Now what?" Matt questioned as he, Tom and Alex all watched as Tord's makeshift aircraft disappeared into the clouds.
"I don't know..." Tom honestly replied. Though, one thing he did know is that he and many others would forever live in fear of Tord returning for revenge. At that moment, Tom truly began to wonder if being mean to people online was really worth losing a good night's sleep over.