TWs: Tord's in denial, feeling left in the dark, and near-death experience/explosion. Stay safe :)
"Are you sure it was him...?" Tord uttered, his eyes tracing Matt's face. The ginger only nodded, which made the Norsk look down at the floor, his mouth opening solely to mutter a few phrases that went unheard by the group, "Tord?"
His eyes closed briefly before he glanced up, "Alright, let's go."
"Go-? Where exactly?" Tom questioned.
"Keep up, Jehovah, we're going to confront him." Tord rolled his eyes, looking at Matt, "Which camera did you see him?"
"Uh... CM_LB-FVR-2." The ginger squinted his eyes as he read the label.
"Lab Fever? Weird name for a lab." Tord spoke.
"How did you get Lab Fever from that?" Pau raised an eyebrow.
"Easy; he took out the vowels." The Norsk shrugged, "Let's go."
"We don't even know which way it is, dumbass." Tom scowled.
"Don't call me a 'dumbass,' dumbass!" Tord spat back as he was walking away from the group.
"Knock it off!" Pau yelled over them, yanking the leader back by the collar, "Matt?"
"It's... down that corridor; take a right, then a left, and then walk down a few stairs," Matt responded.
"Alright, now we can go." Pau let go of Tord, who huffed and resumed to lead the way.
Tord sighed, his heart pounding in his chest. He was nervous, to say the least; he wondered if Edd was alright, how he was doing after all of this... and why he was here, of all places. Tord already knew the answer; he just didn't want to believe. His partner had been hypnotized, cast into the side of their enemies. He didn't want to accept it.
"Was it the first right or the second?" Tom asked.
"Uh... the first," Matt answered hesitantly.
"Are you sure?" Tom peered at him through his visor, his digital eyes steady.
"Y-Yes...?" The ginger's face flushed out of embarrassment as he was stared down.
"Matt!"
"What!? You know I have a terrible memory!" Matt frowned, averting his gaze, "I'm pretty sure it was the first one, anyway."
They walked and walked, being cautious of their surroundings.
"How long is this hallway? We've been walking for, like, an hour." Matt complained.
"It's been 5 minutes," Tom grumbled.
"Still- feels like an hour." The taller said.
"Hey, there's the left turn," Tord spoke, gesturing it out. Matt froze upon seeing a giant hole that cut off into the sewer, the muddy water leaking through to the lab, forming a puddle on the metal floor, and seeping into a drain.
"Matt, it's just a little water; it won't hurt you," Tom reassured.
"But-" The ginger huffed, letting out a long sigh, "After I just got rid of my old ones, this is how my hard work is repaid...?"
Tom grabbed him by his wrist, dragging him over the puddle, joining the other two who were waiting for them impatiently.
Matt glanced at his shoes, noticing the water stains, "This will take forever to clean."
"It wasn't that bad." Tom insisted.
Tord cleared his throat, "Come on, you two, we can't afford to get distracted."
"Right," Tom mumbled, pulling Matt along as they followed the others.
"Ah, up here- take a right," Matt spoke. The group turned the corner.
They faltered in their steps. Tord's eyes widened.
Silver met juniper.
"I don't get it," You spoke.
"Get what?" Yan questioned, filling up some canteens with water.
"The Black Army, Little Red, everything..." You huffed, "Does Tord talk to you?"
"Why wouldn't he?" The Russian quirked an eyebrow.
"No, I mean- talk to you about his problems." The blonde re-stated.
Yan thought for a moment, "No, not really. I figured it's best to give him time if he wants to talk."
You hesitated momentarily before muttering, "We're his friends, right?"
"Are you having doubts?" Yan turned to look at his partner to find that You had averted his gaze, opting to look at the ground instead, "You?"
"Sorry, I know I shouldn't worry. Tord is our friend, I know. It's just that he's never around anymore. No one knows what's happening with the Black Army or what's up with Tord. No one's telling us anything. Even you-!" The blonde pushed his head up, glaring at the ravenette with a piercing blue gaze.
"Me? What have I done?" Yan frowned.
You took a moment, breathing deeply, "Nothing, and that's the problem."
"What-?"
"Instead of sitting around doing nothing, we should be doing something!" You gestured wildly with his arms, "Aren't you tired of being stuck underground like this?"
"Well-"
"Why don't we help Tord by taking out the drones all at once?"
"Tord is already at the lab." Yan pointed out.
"Oh, I'm not talking about the lab... well, kinda." You took Yan by the waist, "I'm talking about the motherboard... and besides, they don't have the necessities like we do..."
You winked, Yan rolling his eyes as he felt himself relax in the blonde's grip.
"What is that...?" Bing muttered to himself as he saw something in the distance. He saw a light flashing in the distance underneath some rubble. Glancing around, no one or thing was in the area, prompting him to walk over to the cave-in.
He lifted a few rocks, heaving them up with his lanky arms. He pushed the final rock out of the way, panting as he took a breather.
'Now I know what Larry means when he says 'shape up,'' Bing huffed. Standing straight, the director looked at the object flashing a light, 'Oh, it's just a bucket of bolts- what a waste of time.'
Treading away from the drone, the brunette sighed.
As soon as he looked up, he yelped, narrowly dodging a laser. He pulled out his spray can and aimed it at the bot.
Nothing.
Bing's eyes widened as he realized he had run out of paint. He looked at his can and at the drone, "Uh, you wouldn't happen to have some more, would you...?"
A laser shot out of the drone. Instinctively, Bing threw the can and got down on the ground, avoiding the beam. The spray can hit the drone, making it lose its target as it was struck out of position.
The drone shook off the strike, aiming for Bing again.
Bing was frozen. He had no idea what to do. He didn't have anything on him he could use.
He closed his eyes, his heart beating out of his chest as he waited for the laser to hit him.
He waited and waited, and waited...
He heard the sound of an explosion. He felt the wind and some particles rush past him.
'What...?' Bing opened his eyes.
In front of him, the remains of scrap metal and gunpowder lay on the ground in the middle of the street, the results of an explosion remnant.
The sound of something whirring behind made him peer over his shoulder. The rubble he was inspecting.
The drone was somehow still active, and it had destroyed another one of its kind.
Bing turned, eyeing it closely. Its disk casing was bent on one side, and its center was scratched up, with a few wires sticking out.
"Uh, hello-" Bing spoke to it, "Did you... do that?"
He gestured behind him. The drone made a few noises.
"Was that a yes...?"
It made the same noise.
"Huh," Peering at the drone, Bing contemplated something, "Thanks, little guy."
The drone made a noise similar to that of cheering.
Bing looked towards the setting sun, "I should be home and planning right about now. Have to find a way..."
Standing up, the brunette stretched. He was cut short by the drone knocking into his thigh. He watched the bot smack the ground before him, making all kinds of noises.
"Listen, uh, buddy, I have to get going. I don't have time to deal with you." Bing affirmed, turning away.
A crying noise came from the drone, similar to a whining dog, making the director falter in his steps.
'Ugh, this is like dealing with Matt all over again...' Bing mentally facepalmed. He couldn't handle cute things. Turning back to the scrap metal, Bing sighed, "Alright, fine, you can come."
The drone made a chirping noise as it was picked up by Bing.
The drones also look like tiny UFOs, circular disks with a bump on top (where their main wiring and circuit boards are located)
Comments are appreciated 3