TWs: Guns, hostages, mild violence, and mention of death/killing. Stay safe :)
Edd and Pat stepped back towards the door, only to realize it had been blocked by two soldiers who aimed their guns at their backs.
Looking back at the leader before them, they managed to get a clear look at him; tannish-brown skin, stone-blue eyes, square glasses with one of the lenses cracked, blonde hair put up in a spiky ponytail with bangs covering a part of his face, and a stubble dabbling his chin. Despite Arthur's description of him being chubby, the leader was tall and relatively slender, having a bit of an athletic build.
"This is nice. Just the three of us, having a little chat together." William spoke, stepping over Yan as he stalked closer. More soldiers appeared from out of nowhere, cornering Edd and Pat.
Pat reached for the C8 Carbine hanging on his back, ready to pull the trigger at any time.
"Ah-ah, I wouldn't do that if I were you." William snapped, then pulled out a Glock, aiming it at Yan's head, "You shoot one of my soldiers, I kill your friend."
Pat's eyes widened as he looked from the gun in the leader's hand to Yan's unconscious body. He lowered the firearm, not finding an easy way out of this situation.
"That's right..." William smirked, "I just wanted to talk."
"Yeah, right." Edd rolled his eyes, feeling the barrel of a gun bore into his back.
There was a sort of childish glee in William's eyes as Edd spoke back, "Oh, and here I thought this was going to be a one-sided conversation."
William put his gun back in its holster, keeping a firm hand on it as his eyes gazed at the duo. Two Black Army soldiers were by his side, both having blonde hair. Their faces weren't clear to see due to the masks they wore.
"Let me guess; instead of facing me, Arthur chose the coward's way out?" William grunted, "And I thought we were friends..."
"He would never be friends with a sociopath," Pat spoke.
"Harsh." The leader cocked his head, "You claim to know Arthur, yet none of you realize what he's capable of. After all, he's the one who gave me the blueprints to over half of my technology."
Edd and Pat faltered, their faces dropping as they stared wide-eyed at William.
"You're lying." Edd glared, seeing the mischief in his eyes.
William hummed, "Not really. This technology is his- I just put it to good use."
As the leader continued talking, Edd leaned toward Pat, "If he knew we were gonna be here, does that mean he knows about the others?"
"I wouldn't doubt it," Pat whispered, "He seems confident."
While the confrontation was happening, Jon looked on from the sidelines, invisible to the others. He glanced from the unconscious bodies on the floor to the duo standing before his leader.
The person who had control over his life. His leader.
There was a time when he gave Edd drawing ideas, he and Matt shared baking recipes, he and Tom shared their opinions on music, and when Tord helped him get to the nurse's office after he got bullied, even if Tord seemed peeved about it.
He glanced at Kim and Katya, both by William's side. Were they really okay with hurting people they knew?
He was conflicted; it was either to harm the people he loved and live or protect them and die.
Jon stepped back, taking in the situation. It was all too much for him. Peering at Yan and You, he decided as he got out his pocket knife.
Tord gasped as he crawled out of the vent, feeling breathless. Pau helped him up, rubbing his back in reassurance.
"Breathe, Tord..." He muttered, "Breathe."
Matt looked around the corner, peering down the hall as he was steadily getting anxious, "He's somewhere on this floor..."
Pau saw how fidgety Matt was getting by the second, lightly glaring at him, "I know you want to rush in and grab him, but it won't be that easy."
"I know." Matt frowned, biting his lip.
"We'll have to take it slow. There are probably soldiers guarding where he is." Tord spoke.
"Right." Matt nodded.
The trio walked down the hall, Matt leading the way. He stopped at a corner, peeking his head around it.
"No one's there." He uttered, seeing a door at the end of the hall, "Tom's in that room."
"Anyone with him?" Tord asked.
Matt sniffed the air around them, "Four people have passed through this hallway recently. I don't know if they're still in the room."
Tord and Pau glanced at each other, nodding. They unholstered their guns, preparing for a confrontation.
Walking up to the door, Tord placed the palm of his metal hand on the keypad. He transferred a burst of energy from his arm to the pad, effectively sabotaging the circuit.
Pau and Tord walked in, guns aiming at supposed threats. Tord's face fell when he saw someone familiar wearing a black uniform and aiming a gun at him.
"Hellucard?" Tord raised an eyebrow as he glared, "You're working with them?"
Unlike other soldiers, Hellucard and the person he was with didn't have masks covering their faces.
"Tom!" Matt yelled, noticing the monster behind protective glass.
"Hello, guys!" Hellucard smiled, "Glad you could make it! You're just in time."
"What-?" Pau got cut off.
"Laurel, do the honors, would you?"
The blue-haired woman nodded and pressed a button. Slowly the glass lifted, making Hellucard and Laurel back away.
Matt was about to run up to Tom when he noticed something off. It was like a predator stalking its prey, crouched down and growling lowly. His sharp canines showed, dripping with saliva. His claws were somewhat sharper and ready to attack at any moment.
"Tom...?" The ginger uttered.
"What did you do to him?" Tord glared at Hellucard.
"We just made some readjustments." He spoke, "You're welcome."
Looking into his eyes, Tord saw nothing, not a single emotion that held guilt for what he had done.
"You son of a-" Tord reeled back his metallic arm.
"Tord, don't-" Pau warned as he saw Laurel go for her gun.
Tord's fist made contact with Hellucard's face, letting out a loud metallic sound as they clashed together.
Hellucard stumbled back, his face blank as he gazed at the floor.
'What the fuck?' The Norsk's eyes widened as Tord looked at his hand.
'What was that...?' Pau looked at Hellucard, 'That wasn't a normal sound.'
There was a low grumble, causing them to turn to Tom, who was stalking up to Matt.
"Tom, snap out of it- it's me, remember?" The ginger pleaded, stepping back.
"We should go." Hellucard smiled, seemingly making a swift recovery from getting punched in the face, "Good luck."
The two of them left, leaving the others to deal with Tom.
"What do we do?" Tord asked, looking as Matt tried his best to talk through to Tom.
"You guys, run. I'll distract him." Pau spoke.
"What?" Tord's eyes looked between Tom and Pau.
"Edd's not here, so I'm the only one who can take him." Pau reasoned.
Tord thought momentarily, "You better not die, Pau."
The shorter called out to Matt, "We have to go, Matt!"
Matt looked back at his friend, uncertainty crossing his face, "But..."
Tord gave him a look, silently saying that everything would be alright. Matt glanced at Tom before running over to Tord.
"We have to get out of here." The Norsk started walking to the doorway but stopped when he noticed Matt wasn't following, "Come on, Matt, we'll find a way to get Tom back. I promise."
Matt nodded, hesitantly following Tord.
"So, how do you want to do this, Tom?" Pau asked, crouching in front of him.