I don't know this picture.

Tom's Perspective

After Tord cleaned himself up, I scorned him more. "You're so cruel- I thought you were dead-!" I yelled and he snickered. "Well it wouldn't matter, unless you cared." He pointed out and bent over me slightly. I narrowed my eyes and muttered under my breath many profanities. "And you did care~ you cried~." He teased, grinning. "You care about me, even though I've hurt you so much. What a ridiculous idea." He scoffed and began cleaning off the bloody furniture. I crossed my arms and pouted. He's acting like I'm stupid for feeling emotions. "Well, back on the collar goes." I flinched when the black collar was suddenly put back onto my neck. "Good~ come on, I have a meeting." He said simply and snapped on my leash. "Aren't you going to get medical help or something-?" I asked confused, and he shrugged. "I've never had to for a bullet, my demon blood dissolves them after a bit. The only reason I couldn't regenerate my arm is because of how much of it there is." He explained as if it was a fact everyone knew.

"Whatever-." I huffed, still annoyed that he was dismissing my reaction to his fake death. "It's not like I care anyways." I muttered, walking out of the room. I could hear him follow me, his boots clacking against the cold tile floor. Good thing I stole- I mean- borrowed his socks, otherwise my feet would be colder. A metal arm that made my skin shiver in response grabbed my arm and kept me from walking. "You know that I was joking, right Tom? I appreciate that you care about me." He told me. I simply pulled away his arm and glared at him. "I don't care about you. I was just- confused." I coldly dismissed the situation and continued walking. I could tell he was frustrated by my rejection. I was frustrated too, at him. "Oh, what are you going to do? Hurt me? You already tried that." I snapped at him, wincing when he aggressively yanked me back by my hair. We shared a pissed glare, though his always seemed more intimidating. He couldn't say anything though, he just gritted his teeth. "Let me go!" I barked out and attempted to kick him.

He let go of me and walked ahead of me, leaving me to hold my head. My scalp really hurts now. I slowly trailed behind him, glaring angrily the whole way. The demon-like man blocked out my anger per usual and went into his meeting. He yanked me into the meeting room by my leash and I stumbled after him, swearing profusely. He then carelessly handed my leash to the nearest guard before sitting down. "Wh- don't treat me l-." I was suddenly cut off by a disciplinary harsh tug on the collar. I stumbled back and clenched my fists. Oh, that man is going to pay. A hand remained on my throat for the entire meeting, tightening every time I attempted to misbehave. By the end of it, I had plotted ten different ways I would attempt to murder everyone in this base. None of them were rational or could realistically work, but it made me feel better. I was then handed back into Tord's possession, dragged back to his office. I attempted with every ounce of my energy to get away, from tearing at the leash and collar to pushing against the ground in resistance. "Will you stop being a little nuisance- I thought feeding you and shit would fix this bullshit-." He complained, though it only encouraged me.

"No! Because you're an asshole holding me captive and I want to go back to people who love and care about me!" I yelled, the leash being tugged before I was shoved into a chair. "Oh please, nobody loves you." He snarled as he closed the door. I fell silent and stared at my lap. Nobody loves me. He's right. At best, my friends are worried about my life. But nobody misses me like a lover would. Nobody is frantically sobbing and having a heart attack over it. Nobody truly misses me. I gripped the thin material of the denim shorts and held back a few tears that threatened to fall from my eyes. "If nobody loves me.. Then why do you keep me here? If you hate me so much? Why can't you kill me?" The questions I ask every day, with varying answers that were usually sadistic. But now it felt so weighted compared to before. The room was silent for a long time, with a clock ticking quietly in the background. "No witty remarks this time?" I snapped, my grip tighter on the black denim.

I retracted from his hand as it approached me, but he managed to grab my cheek regardless. He slowly pulled my head up, wiping away my salty tears with his thumb. I couldn't understand his expression much, but he looked sympathetic. He held my other cheek with his robotic hand and sighed. "I can't make you hate me less or fix your problems, but I'm willing to make a proposition." He told me and I pushed his hands away from my face. "What is it?" I asked, clearly not wanting to put up with anything right now. He slid his hands off of the desk and leaned back in his chair. "I'm going to give you two options. Leave, and c-." "I want to leave." I demanded, not even bothered with another idea. Tord seemed unamused by my enthusiasm. "Leave here and continue your depressing life where you will be slaughtered by my soldiers, or stay here and become my second in command. No more treating you like a stupid toy, and you get to feel like something. You have immeasurable power." He stated with a neutral expression. "You have two hours. No sooner, no later." He told me and set a timer on that strange holographic device he uses.

"But I want t-." "Sh- no- you are thinking about this Thomas." He quickly cut me off and I huffed. "So if I say an answer before the timer goes, you'll ignore it?" I asked for confirmation. He simply nodded and began doing papers and filling orders. Two hours went by very slowly, and the two options gave me stress. On one hand, I brutally die with my friends after waiting in fear. On the other hand, I would be stuck with Tord, but respected. But I can't abandon Matt and Edd. I also can't imagine the thought of seeing them die before my very eyes, littered with bullets. But I can't just leave them to die without me either. So, I did what any sane person would do. The two hours was up, and I knew my answer. "I'll stay.. If you let Edd and Matt stay as well." I added, Tord frowning at the condition. "No." He denied without hesitation. "What- why-?" I asked angrily, though he probably had a ridiculous answer that would only make sense to him. "Because... I can't see them again." He said and looked away from me with his good eye.

"... Why not? You had no problem seeing them before and breaking their trust again." I reminded him, narrowing my eyes. "I would rather die. I already knew you hated me, but I can't see them." He insisted, visibly uncomfortable. Wait, does he really feel guilty? As he should, as he should. "Listen- if you can force me to be here then maybe y-." "I am not your friend!!" A recording shouted. I stared at the small recorder in Tord's hand. It was from the robot, probably one of the only parts that had survived. He rewinded the tape with his thumb. That was my voice. "But I thought we were... I thought we were friends?" A different voice quivered. "Hah, no! What would I need friends for when I've got this?! I'm unstoppable!" A louder voice yelled confidently. He promptly paused the recording and set down the recorder. "I can't see them again. Ever." I stared at the recorder and then looked up at him. "Is that why you were so relaxed when I was holding a gun to your head..?" I asked, my face growing pale at the thoughts I had. Everything was making sense.

He stayed quiet and put the recorder in a locked drawer. "You don't even want to live do you..?" I asked quietly, already assuming a no. "It's funny. I've never had "friends" before. Not that surprising, is it? Well, it really doesn't matter now. After all, "what would I need friends for"..?" He slowly trailed off and fakely smiled. "I don't need anyone." He stated in an unusually pained tone. "Tord." "Yes?" "Y'know, some people say that if Hitler had been in a better world, he would have never killed." I said plainly and made eye contact with him. "Other people think that he was born a psychopath and that he deserves to die regardless." I added, but got no reaction. I sighed and dropped the topic. "You need friends Tord." I told him, to which he only scoffed. "And who would be friends with a demon? A monster? Hm? A mass murderer?" He asked rhetorically, knowing that there was no good answer to that. "Besides Tom, you don't c-." "Shut up- I am so over that-." I snapped and yanked him forward by the collar of his shirt.

"Listen. I hate you, and I probably always will. You're annoying, you're a psycho, you steal my booze, and you're disgusting. But I'm not going to sit here and listen to your depressing bullshit. So instead, I have a proposition for you. Two options. Live the same miserable life you're living right now and never feel happiness again, or shove your pride up your ass and beg for forgiveness." I said sternly, my grip tightening on his shirt. I could tell in his eyes that he really did want to have his friends back and feel happy again, but I could also see how deeply he believed that idea was a lost cause. I let go of his shirt and watched him sink back into his chair, staring at the ground. I watched as cold tears trickled down from his face. He shakily covered his face and started to sob, choking on his saliva. I can't believe what I'm witnessing. I can't believe that it worked. I've never seen Tord cry in this way. He's truly crying. I got out of my chair and slowly pulled him up from his slumped position, wrapping my arms around him. Even if he deserves to be punched and shot countless times and then have his remains exploded, he can't do this alone. Besides, he's bawling his eyes out. It's really hard to not comfort him right now. He eventually returned the awkward hug and buried his wet face in my neck. I am terrible at comforting, but I guess I'll try. I slowly rubbed his back and listened to him sob. "It's okay Tord.. You can fix this. You can do it." I attempted to encourage him, but he was surely unaffected.