TWs: Slight bleeding, confrontation(sorta), implied/referenced shooting. Stay safe :)

Tord held the ring in his hands, clutching it like a lifeline, wondering why it was in his possession instead of Edd's. He bit his lip as he thought, 'Something must've happened to him- he would never take it off, right? We made a promise...'

He trailed off his thought process, his vision hazy as it went to the finger missing the other ring, 'Or he kept it.'

Matt looked at him from where he was sitting. He looked at Tom beside him, "We should help him."

"How? It's not like we know what to do." Tom raised an eyebrow.

"No, but we can confront Edd." Matt suggested.

"Worth a shot." Tom hummed.

The ginger glanced at the Norsk, "Hey Tord, we're going to patrol for a bit."

Tord only hummed, "Sure, sure, sounds fine."

Matt and Tom stood and left the room, leaving Tord alone to think. The leader swiveled around in his chair, looking at the map of the world tacked to the wall. He felt Ringo rub against his leg, trying to comfort him.

Tord sighed, "I'll be okay, kitten. I want to understand..."

He looked at the ring in his hands, frowning. Surely, this wasn't the end of all they've been through? Almost eleven years, and yet they haven't gotten married. Tord felt his hand shaking slightly. He promised Edd. He vowed never to leave his side again, and what did he do? Leave.

A taste of copper seeped into his mouth as Tord realized his lip was bleeding. He licked it off, not minding the sting.

Tord felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Taking it out and looking at the ID, he frowned, answering it.

"Arthur?" He spoke.

"Where's my son?" The other asked immediately.

"I don't know. He went patrolling with Tom." Tord shrugged, "Probably left his phone here."

"Oh, okay." Arthur seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Why? Is everything okay over there?" Tord stood, walking to the map, eyeing a particular area.

"Yes, everything's fine; Larry and Bing are... bantering." Arthur hummed, "I just haven't heard from Matt in a few days, so I got worried."

"Oh, well- things have been difficult at the moment. We've just discovered that the Black Army is making a doomsday device." Tord explained.

Arthur was silent momentarily before sighing once more, "I can't believe it's come to this..."

"You don't sound surprised."

"Not really, he was always fascinated by the idea..."

"I see..."

There was a crash on Arthur's side of the line.

"Looks like I have to go- Bing wrecked something again," Arthur grunted.

That's when Tord realized.

"Wait-" He spoke as he looked at the area they were in, "While you're still in Wakefield."

There was a chance. A sliver of hope... to make Edd forgive him. To get Edd to come back to him.

"I need a favor."

"Where would Edd be?" Matt muttered mostly to himself as he walked along the sidewalks of England. Tom lagged behind him, keeping a lookout.

"Maybe we should look where he normally hangs out at?" Tom suggested.

"Oh, that's a good idea! I'll go check the arcade, you go-"

"I'm going to the hill." Tom cut him off.

Matt's eyes widened, "Th-That's an open area, though; if a soldier finds you there, more are bound to come running..."

"I'll be fine, Mattie. Possessed by a demon, remember?" Tom smiled softly.

"I know, but you're not invincible... you can still get hurt while transforming." Matt frowned, "And your eyes-"

"Let me worry about it. You worry about yourself, okay?" He reached out and grabbed his hands, squeezing gently.

"Okay..." Matt nodded, "But if anything happens-"

"I'll notify you immediately."

Another nod as Matt leaned in for a kiss. They had learned how to get around the ginger's metallic chin; although it looked slightly messy and off-putting to everyone, it was perfect for them.

"I should get paid for worrying about you," Matt uttered, pulling away.

"Maybe it'll bring your fortune back," Tom smirked.

The taller glared, "Oh, hah, hah. Very funny. For your information, I still have a bit of it left."

"Define 'a bit.'"

Matt opened his mouth, then closed it, knowing his husband was teasing him. Tom chuckled at the other's expression, prompting Matt to shut him up with a kiss, making sure to bite his lip this time.

"Ow-" Tom grumbled, licking over his bottom lip.

"That's what you get." Matt glowered as he pulled away from Tom, about to walk away, "It's about time we go... we have to find Edd before it gets dark."

Tom laced their fingers together, "I love you."

Matt blushed, glancing at their hands, squeezing softly, "I love you too..."

'There it is...' Tom breathed out as he saw the view from the hilltop.

Nothing was there, yet the memories remained. Moving in, their adventures, messing with their neighbors, hanging out, the incident...

He supposed it was for the best. After all, Tord once told them if it wasn't for destroying the house, he didn't know if he would still be the enemy.

Tom knew he and Edd visited this place a few times. He wouldn't be surprised if Edd still did.

Looking around, he saw nothing but grass, grass, a tree, the red sky, grass, dark clouds, and more grass.

'A bit concerning...' Tom noted, gazing at the crimson sky.

"Tom?" A voice called behind him.

The bassist turned, "Edd! There you are!"

Tom stepped forward, about to give him a side hug, when he noticed something.

Something in his juniper-green eyes.

Cold. Dead. Unfeeling.

Tom stared at his friend, trying to see past his eyes and into whatever he was trying to hide.

"Wow, if looks could kill..." Tom joked, chuckling awkwardly.

Edd tilted his head, "What are you doing here?"

"Straight to the point, I see-" Tom cleared his throat, "It's about Tord."

"What about him?" Edd asked.

"He's miserable without you. He literally cannot do anything without thinking about you. Before you left, it was fine; I could handle it, but now... I swear I'm going to strangle him." Tom nearly pulled his hair out when explaining.

Edd was quiet momentarily. He looked to be processing what Tom said, "Tell me, Tom, do you see a ring on my finger?"

"Wha-" Tom raised an eyebrow, "No, but-"

"Then I don't have any relations with Tord." Edd told him, "I gave him back the ring."

The taller was speaking in one tone of voice, making Tom suspicious.

"Edd, what are you not telling me?" Tom asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You're acting weird- is this some sort of joke or something?"

Edd said nothing; just stared at Tom with his cold, dead, and unfeeling eyes.

Tom glared through his visor, "Edd, stop- whatever you're doing- just stop. This isn't a fucking game; this isn't funny!"

"No, but it's about to be." Edd finally spoke up.

Before Tom could comprehend what he meant, he felt a shooting pain in his back. Collapsing on the ground, Tom groaned as he gripped the earth with his sharp nails.

"What do we do with him?" He heard Edd ask.

"Leave him. This serves as a warning for the rebellion." A voice spoke.

Tom heard them walking away. Grunting, he slowly got out his phone, sending his coordinates to Matt before dropping the device. He blacked out moments later, his visor powering down aside from a green light that flashed in the corner of the screen.