TWs: ominous threats and manipulation. Stay safe :)
'There... that should be everything.' John thought as he watched the files disappear one by one. He was saddened to witness his progress being deleted, but he knew he had to.
In his hand was a USB drive. He put it in one of his inside pockets for safekeeping.
'Just in case the King changes his mind.' He frowned, tapping the edges of the keyboard impatiently.
There was a ding, signifying the files had been wiped from the computer's memory. John hummed, deciding to shut down all operating systems within the infrastructure of the vicinity. After he did that, he still had much more to do, such as finding that rogue from the rebellion and making sure Joe and Chester didn't kill themselves while working on the device.
He also needed to find Edd since he had supposedly gone missing. They looked everywhere and couldn't find him in the lab anywhere.
It was strange; a person doesn't randomly go missing. Well, the King did have that effect on people.
"Doctor, there you are!" Hellucard stormed in, face livid.
"I've been here for an hour, sir. I deleted the files as you asked." John spoke.
"Right, have you seen our newbie anywhere?" He asked.
"Who?" The scientist raised an eyebrow.
"Y'know, the chick with the blonde hair tied in a ponytail- have you seen her?"
"Uh, no, not since before noon," John uttered.
"Ugh, where could she be..." Hellucard ground his teeth, metal clashing against metal.
John winced at the churning noise, "Maybe she's outside? She could be patrolling."
"Right... well, she better return." He started stalking away, "And keep looking for that bastard."
John held his tongue, not wanting to make the King more ticked off, 'How? I don't even have a clue as to where he went.'
✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧A FEW HOURS BEFORE...✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧
After that awkward encounter with Laurel, Katya moved on to other stuff, which meant spying on others. There wasn't much to note.
Diwi was good at persuading or making others feel bad for him. She wasn't buying it, of course. Although, it reminded her of how she met Kim, which was nice.
Laurel, she noticed, was tough to crack. She had a hard shell, preventing others from seeing how she truly felt. She was also a robot made out of the same components as Hellucard, meaning they were technically siblings.
'Wait, if they're siblings...' Katya thought, 'Does that make Dr. John-?'
The blonde shook her head, clearing the thoughts away. She didn't want to think about it.
Katya continued walking down the hall, coming across the ladder for the sewer. She noticed Edd grasping one of the rungs, contemplating his next move.
The tall brunette seemed to glance toward Katya before climbing the ladder and making his way to the surface.
'Edd? Where's he going?' Katya followed him, climbing the ladder and ensuring the manhole was secure before running after him.
They seemed to be walking for quite a bit, the midday sun slowly turning the cloudy sky into an array of dark oranges.
Edd stopped once they arrived at a grassy patch of land. It seemed familiar to Katya as she looked around at the barren atmosphere.
"I remember," Edd started, "A house."
Katya's dark green eyes widened as she realized where they were.
A creme-colored house with a red roof that once stood upon this grassy field. Four friends once inhabited inside, one leaving to return to his country.
Eight years later, it would be destroyed in an explosion by the person who originally left, leaving the other three friends to live elsewhere.
That left the fourth friend alone and about to lead a whole army by himself. It felt as if the world was against him. He managed to escape his father's clutches with the help of his friends.
It's been eleven years since Tord returned to England and moved in.
"Edd?" Katya uttered behind him.
"Tom and Matt, we were all there. We had great memories here. We had amazing adventures; Matt liked collecting novelties so he wouldn't forget, and Tom, well, he's Tom, he was my best friend. And then... there was Tord." Edd frowned, his eyebrow twitching.
"Edd, maybe we should go." Katya reached for his hand.
The brunette lifted his fist away, clenching it tightly, "Tord ruined everything. Destroyed everything for his selfish benefit."
"Wha-"
"That bastard deserves everything that's coming to him." Edd turned to Katya, "And so does King Asshole."
Katya stepped back, her eyes as wide as saucers, "The King...?"
"Hellucard wants a New World...?" Edd glanced at the setting sun, "I'll give him his paradise."
Katya stuttered, her words dying on her tongue, "E- a- wha-"
"You know how to send transmissions, right?"
The blonde stopped, freezing in place, "H-How do you know...?"
"It was obvious it was you. You don't act like the other mind-controlled lackeys." Edd shrugged, "I need you to send a transmission."
Katya crossed her arms, "What makes you think I'll do it for you?"
"Despite my unreliability, the King still listens to me."
The shorter of the two was quiet for a few moments, "What about Dr. John? He knows I'm the one who sent the first one."
"I can cover for you." Edd waved it off, "No big deal."
Katya averted her gaze. Was it no big deal? What was in it for her?
Edd seemed to read her mind, promptly saying, "How long has it been since you've seen Kim? We'll both be free when this is all over."
Kim. Her wife. She was probably worried sick if not already out looking for her.
"I..." Katya hesitated, "Fine, I'll do it."
"Great! Let's head back." Edd gave her a crooked grin, having not genuinely smiled in years.
"That can't be good..." Pat muttered to himself as he adjusted the view on the surveillance.
"What's not good?" Clay asked from beside him.
"Come on." Pat gestured as he got up, "We have to tell Tord that the doomsday parts are being transported."
"What!?" Clay wasted no time following him out of the room.
The duo found Tord reading old newspapers in the mess hall. The Norsk barely glanced at them, if at all.
"Tord, they've started transporting the doomsday device," Pat spoke.
The leader stopped, staring down at an article, re-reading a sentence over and over again.
"Has that always been there...?" Tord uttered, mumbling something about a 'Paradise.'
"Tord...?" Clay spoke up.
"Right." Tord nodded, standing up and taking the newspaper in his hand, "Why are you two standing around? Let's get to planning."
He pushed past the duo, heading out of the room. Clay glanced at Pat, "Is he okay...?"
"It's Tord." Pat shrugged, "He's never okay."
✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧NOTE✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧
Fun Fact: Someone else is trans apart from Pat. There's just no indication of them being trans because it felt awkward and out of place everywhere I placed it... good thing there are side stories... the one I'm working on has 2k words at the moment :)
Another Fun Fact: This story takes place in 2033/4
Comments are appreciated 3