TWs: Explosions, weapons, a smidge of blood, 'body' modification/mutilation. Stay safe :)

Silence stood between the six persons.

Juniper eyes stared into a silver eye. Cold. Calculating. Callous.

There was a moment in which Tord realized that, no, he wasn't dealing with the person he loved.

This was a completely different person.

Before he could speak, he watched as Edd stepped forward, snatching something from Dr. John's hands. Tord realized what it was as the tall brunette aimed the barrel at the ceiling above them.

"Move back!" The Norsk yelled to the others. There was a flash of white as they did so. The ceiling caved in, and everyone got to the ground and covered their heads.

Eventually, it was over, and the rumbling stopped. The dust cleared, the group coughing as they waved it off.

"Is everyone okay...?" Tord kneeled on the ground, peering at the others.

"Uhh, yeah..." Pau uttered, leaning against the wall.

"We're alright," Matt spoke for him and Tom as they were huddled together a few feet away, the ginger shielding his partner.

Tord nodded wearily as he got up. He looked over his shoulder to what was once a hallway. He took a couple of breaths to get his thoughts together. It seemed this mission was more than just a run-and-done situation. He knew it wasn't going to be easy; nothing ever was for them. Still, he knew Edd was in danger the more he stuck around the Black Army. Tord needed to get him out of there.

Glancing at Pau, he noticed the ruffled brunette already staring back at him.

"So," The taller spoke, "What's the plan?"

The Norsk felt the faintest tug at the corner of his lips; he could always count on Pau to follow his lead, even after everything they had been through.

"Everything looks normal..." Bing muttered, "Except... something's still missing."

Shining a flashlight on the two boards, the director hummed. He had managed to find a drone with all the wires attached and decided to use it for comparison on his new companion.

He put the slip of casing back on the drone, that's when he noticed something.

"Wait, you don't have an antenna."

The drone whirled, a sound that a pinwheel would make.

"You knew this whole time that that's what was different about you?" Bing questioned, the drone answering with a chirp. The brunette huffed, "Could have at least given me a hint; this was a waste of my time."

Standing up, Bing put the drone under his arm, deciding to carry it that way.

"This has been the worst week of my life." He spoke as he continued forward, "Welp, it can't get any worse-"

The moment he exited the alley, the closer to death he was as he found himself thrown to the ground and a spear held to his throat. The drone he carried was cast aside, making a few beeping noises in dismay. Bing grunted, squinting his eyes open at the person who tackled him.

"Wha- Katya...?"

There was movement a few feet away, someone coming closer and stopping a few inches away, "Good job, newbie- you're quick on your feet."

'That voice...!' Bing's eyes widened. He began struggling, trying to pull himself out from under Katya's shoes. He winced and let out a small gasp as he felt the spear dig into his neck.

"Ah, ah, ah- be careful, friend, that lance is one of its kind." The King scolded, smiling slyly from underneath his mask. He brought up his communicator, looking from the screen and back to the movie director, "Having your friends on my side is helpful... after all, it's fun to have all the inside knowledge for once."

Bing scowled, feeling every bone in his body tense up. He couldn't go out like this; he needed to be the one to figure things out for a change. He didn't need saving...

Although he did need a little help.

Glancing up, Bing saw the drone stranded a few feet away. He knew it needed to be recharged as it had used up the last of its energy. Luckily for Bing, his satchel was still strapped around him. When Katya was looking at the King for further instructions, the brunette rifled through it.

The only thing he found were the phones.

Bing hesitated. It would be enough to get him out of the situation, but the phones would be practically unusable. He huffed. He would find his way home even if his nephew would kill him when he got back.

"Ey, you bucket of bolts, catch!" Bing yelled as loud as he could as he tossed the phones. He felt Katya poke the spear into his neck, making him choke.

The drone's red eye analyzed the communicators before tilting its robotic body downwards. It gave the phone a light tap before draining all of the phone's energy into its circuitry. It proceeded to do that with the other two before spinning and aiming its weapon towards them.

Bing felt the weight move off of him as Katya moved back, yet the King stood in the same place, eyes wide.

There was a flash of red. Concrete colliding with metal could be heard.

Bing opened his eyes, now in a kneeling position as he saw what happened; the King had been blasted through the wall of a run-down grocery store. Katya stood there, unphased and collected, as everything around her grew stiff.

A few pebbles and loose gravel gave way as the King slowly rose, "You... are much smarter than you let on... perhaps that's why Larry likes you so much."

His voice was different, more echoey and grainy, and his skin was peeling off, showing the grey parts and colorful wires underneath.

Bing's eyes widened as he clasped his neck, and his voice rasped out, "Y-You're..."

"A robot?" Hellucard spoke, giving jittery jazz hands, "Surprise! Took you this long to find out..."

The director sat there, staring at Hellucard's skinned face, acknowledging the metal underneath mixed with the wires sticking out from one of his eyeballs. It was a sight that would haunt him for months.

"Everyone assumed that Hellucard was still alive... but no, he did die. All because of future Edd." The King chuckled a bit, "Well, I'll show him, I'll show all of you..."

He laughed more, his voice coming out in sputters and spasms, and with that, he left, Katya following close behind him.

"What the fuck...?" Bing muttered, eyeing them as they left. What happened when he left? Why was Katya on their side? What was all that with the King being Hellucard and him being a robot? Bing was confused on so many levels.

He was knocked out of his thoughts by a whirling noise from his companion. Bing blinked, glancing over at the drone who was still cast aside.

"You," The director smiled, "were amazing! Do you always have an aim like that?"

Bing picked up the chirping robot, looking it over for any more scratches it might've gotten.

"We might have to test you in the range..." The slim brunette thought for a moment, "Primis."

The drone made a humming noise.

"Well, I'm not going to call you drone forever, am I?" Bing asked, "I'm going to call you Primis- it's Latin for First."

Bing flushed a bit, realizing where he got the word from. The drone, newly named Primis, made an inquisitive noise.

"Uh, it's nothing, let's get going." Bing shook his head, continuing his journey with his new robotic friend and hoping to forget about everything that happened.

Everyone kept saying to call the drone First (on Ao3), so I did...

In a different language :)

Comments are appreciated 3