Tom's Perspective

I desperately pushed past soldiers that were either fighting or fleeing, trying my best to get to the large beast pinned to the broken medical lab. I rushed towards the dying creature, attempting to change forms quickly. My powers weren't working. Something wasn't right. It's like the type of magic I was used to had been corrupted by Tord's demonic blood. I have to get to him. I have to save him. The bleeding creature weakly gurgled before closing his eyes, signaling the end of his pain. No. No. No he can't be gone. I quickly approached the fallen beast as the attacker flew away, placing my hand on his large body. I couldn't feel his pulse. It was gone. My hand tightened on the deteriorating skin of the dead beast, warm tears finding their way down my cheeks. I couldn't save him. With all of this power I have, even the power from him, I couldn't save him. He died before my very eyes. I'm the most powerful being on this planet right now, and I couldn't save a single person.

The background noises seemed to drown out as I broke into a sob. I did this to him, in my own way. He decided to resurrect me, as payback for his own actions. Yet he gave me much more than that, and I couldn't even save him like he did to me. I can't bring him back. I barely felt the pair of arms pulling me into a hug. I didn't feel anything but deep sorrow. We were getting to know each other, our real selves. And now he's gone before I can tell him half of what I wanted to. I thought that I would get to go to bed tonight holding him, and maybe listen to him snore. Or just hear his voice again. See him smile with these new human emotions he's never shown to anyone else. I can't hold him again. I can't tell him I love him. I can't even see his face again. All I have is this huge dead corpse that doesn't even look like him anymore. It's just a twisted mass of flesh and bone, slathered in blood. "Tom- hey- hey shh.. C'mon we have to get you to a safe place. Tom please listen. Tom.." Edd's voice softly coaxed.

I made a weak attempt to hold onto the male comforting me. "Let's get you safe Tom, walk with me." He gently spoke and slowly guided me away. Away from that decaying body that was once my.. Partner. My lover maybe, if we had continued our lives together. Edd helped me to walk every shaky step, holding me up to keep me stable. I couldn't see straight with the tears streaming down my face. Once I was carefully lead down into a bunker, Edd held me close while sitting. I relished his warmth and pressed my face into the soft material of his clothing. "I know how much you're hurting Tom, just relax here with me. You'll be okay." He whispered reassuringly and rubbed my back. I was shaking so much. "Can you say something Tom? It's okay if you can't. I just want to help bring you out of this shock." He asked and I closed my eyes, taking a few shaky and choked up breaths. "Y-yeah-." I responded and choked again, clinging to Edd for any comfort.

"Alright, alright.. Good. Just try to breathe with me Tom, alright? We can't be having a heart attack right now." He told me and helped me to slowly even out my breathing. Eventually I was breathing at a fairly normal rate, still extremely disturbed and upset. And still crying, of course. "Now we can just relax here until it's over Tom, just relax.. Matt's got a blanket for you too, if you want it." He offered and gestured to the ginger who was hunkered down next to us. I looked over at his concerned expression. "Yes.. Please." I politely requested and tried to relax as Matt wrapped a warm blanket around me. I can't tell you how grateful I am to have these two right now. I settled in Edd's arms and tried to calm down, but my mind was still racing with thoughts about Tord. I listened to Edd soothe me while I attempted to relax my mind. This would be a day I'll remember forever.

One (and a half) Year Later

Now that my army and I have finally taken over the world, it's been rough to force pedestrians to adjust to the new life style we're enforcing. It's worth the trouble though, because our system will help make the world a better place. And no, it's not communism. It's something better.

Right now, I'll be taking a bit of time to visit Tord's grave. Edd's going to cover for me while I'm taking time to silently mourn. Every day, I've taken a bit of time to visit his grave. I take a single rose, and tuck it into a bouquet until it fills completely. Then, I'll take the old bouquet and air dry the red flowers, keeping the rose petals in a jar. It's just my way of keeping him with me, even if he's gone. So now I came with another rose, and again I gently placed it in the filling bouquet. I carefully kneel in front of the marble grave and stare at the cold, smooth stone, before closing my eyes. I had asked for the letters to be engraved in gold, with a small, thorny, golden rose at the bottom of the honoring words. Patryk would have designed the headstone himself, but he's simply too depressed. He's been depressed ever since Tord died. He blames himself as much as I do, but he takes it much harder.

It was only right to retire him with Paul, and give them Tord's room. They seem happier there, like he's still with them. My own state of mind isn't as depressed. I've helped a world full of people to become better, though it doesn't show right now. All that shows is chaos and backlash from the people. The children who hated society seem to see how much better off we are, at the very least. Speaking of children, JuJu was adopted by Paul and Patryk. She is also still upset over Tord, but is glad to have such amazing parents. She even visits my office every week to tell me how much they spoil her. I took a deep breath and ran my hands along the smooth headstone, stopping at the single golden rose etched into it. Tord embodies a rose in some ways. He comes off as thorny, but once you remove the thorns, he's just a delicate and vulnerable flower. Well, he was anyway. It's still hard for me to believe he's really gone. I must have kept my eyes closed for too long, because I was beginning to fall asleep. It wasn't easy to stop myself, thinking of Tord made me calm. It was like falling asleep by his side again, with his small body in my arms. And really, I didn't want to lose this feeling. My mind fought weakly against the urge to sleep, especially because of how restless I had become while trying to sleep at night. I easily fell into a peaceful slumber.

"Tom. Tom, wake up. Wake up already." A voice beckoned and I sleepily groaned. I attempted to shift away from the hands gently shaking me, trying to force me awake. "Come on Thomas, wake up." Wait, Thomas? Only two people have called me that before, and they're both out of my life. I quickly opened my eyes and looked up at the person standing above me. "... Commie?" I asked unsurely and smiled as he helped me stand up. "In the spirit Jehova. Welcome to my favorite demon power. Dream walking." He said and gently hugged me. I hugged the Norski tightly in my arms and buried my face in his neck. "I missed you, you stupid son of a bitch." I remarked and Tord laughed. "You're ridiculous as always. Come on Jehova, I want to show you my favorite place. I've wanted to show you for so long." He said eagerly and held my hand, leading me through strange mist. I followed through and heard faint water streaming and hitting rocks. I looked around as the mist cleared to see a huge waterfall, with many smooth rocks scattered around the bottom. He brought me onto the rocks and sat down with me, slowly swaying his legs. "It's nice isn't it? If you look into the water, you can watch the people you love." He told me and peered into the water. I followed his actions, seeing Edd and Matt looking into a laptop.

"Who do you see?" Tord asked and gently rubbed my hand. His hands felt so soft and cold, it was strange. "I see Edd and Matt, talking to one of my appointed leaders on a video chat. This one's for America, I think." I responded and relaxed slightly as Tord leaned on me. "I see my parents laying on my bed, with JuJu. She's watching a Youtube video with them." He told me and looked up at me. I returned the gaze and wrapped an arm around him. "This is really you, isn't it?" I asked and he rolled his eyes. "Of course it's me, Jehova. Ask me anything." He challenged and pushed me down on the flat rock. "Well, I'm really not sure... Hm... What's that present you got me when I was seventeen?" I asked as he pinned my arms down on the cold rock. "Well, I got you one of those stupid little trnasformer collectibles. I still don't understand why you liked that ridiculous show, much less why you'd want a mini-figure." He scoffed and bent down, inches away from my face.

"That sounds right. One other question, why am I naked in this dream? And why are you?" I asked, very concerned as to why a dream would be like that. "Oh, it's just because spirits don't have clothing unless you wish to appear that way. In dreams, your subconscious is assuming you have clothes most of the time. Here, we're just souls. You're outside of your body, in a dream-like state. So your subconscious doesn't work here." He told me and kissed my cheek. "Besides, being nude is fun." He remarked with a grin. I rolled my eyes and pulled him down onto me, causing him to fall and hit his head on mine. I didn't feel any pain from it, and it seemed neither did he. "Asshole." He muttered and rested his head on my chest. "Well, if you're gonna be like that, I guess I won't bring you back." I remarked jokingly, causing him to only scoff and flick me. "You don't even know how to anyway, dumbass." He reminded me and ruffled my hair.

"Oh yeah? Well why aren't you in Hell or something regardless? Are you being an outlaw-ish imp as usual?" I pointed out and he grinned proudly. "No need Jehova, I'm staying on Earth as a spirit. Hell can't get me here." He told me confidently, breaking character when I gently booped his nose. "Well oh damned one, how can I bring you back? Everyone's all sad, except me of course." I joked and laughed when he hit me lightly. "Bullshit, you total asswipe. But if you really want me back, you'd have to extract my demon blood from your body and find the item my soul is bound to on Earth." He explained and slowly ran his hand through my hair. "But fair warning, I'll be fully demon. I might not recognize you as anything but a threat, so you should have holy water ready." He warned and I rubbed his cheek. "Well, it's worth anything to see you again." I said with a warm smile. His face turned a light red and he shyly looked away. "I missed you Thomas." He admitted and I chuckled at his sudden shift in attitude. He was flustered. "I missed you too Tord, a lot." I told him and pulled him into a kiss. He hesitantly kissed back and slowly wrapped his arms around my neck. It felt so good to kiss him again. To hear his voice. To feel his presence. Just to know he's here with me. I'm so glad that we live in a world where death can be cheated, at the price of demonic blood. Now I know that I can save the love of my life.