Chapter Text
Tom awoke with a jolt.
He looked around his room, trying to calm himself down.
“Calm down, you’re at home,” Tom mumbled to himself. This was a common occurrence. He would wake up from his recurring nightmare and then spend time reminding himself that everything was okay. After all, it was just a nightmare.
Even though it really wasn’t.
Tom sat up in bed and rubbed his temples. What time was it? He turned to look at the clock, it was around six thirty-five in the morning. Through the gaps in the curtains, he could see the sun rising outside the window. It lit up spots on the floor in splotchy yellow and orange patterns.
“Shit.”
Tom pulled himself out of bed and started to walk to the bathroom, stumbling over clothes, books, papers, and other various items scattered throughout the floor. Once he got through the mess and into the bathroom, he cleaned himself up and then threw on his signature blue hoodie. His outfit hadn’t changed much from when he was younger, he still wore the same colored jeans, the same checkered shoes, and as always, the same blue hoodie.
There were only a few slight differences, starting with the badges on his vest. The badges symbolized his status in the rebellion. He was the Blue Leader, in charge of the blue wing of the rebellion.
Tom started at his reflection. His hair was still a little messy, and per usual, he had noticeable eye bags. He normally looked messy and tired, so he decided not to attempt to better his appearance. Similar to his room, the bathroom was messy as well. Tom never bothered to organize, he never had the energy to do it. He quickly walked out of his room and down the corridor. He needed to get to the cafeteria for breakfast. The halls were lit up and his shoes made a tapping noise against the floor. He took notice of the posters plastered against the walls, they were meant to guide soldiers on various things. As he continued to walk he passed people in the hall and was greeted with “Hi, Blue!” or “Good morning, Blue!”
Tom nodded and gave a hello in response. It had taken him a while to adjust to his new title, but it had grown on him a month or so after the rebellion had started. Tom was greeted more as he walked into the cafeteria and responded with his usual politeness. A soldier bumped into him on accident and Tom turned to face the girl.
“Sorry, sir!” She quickly exclaimed. She stared at Tom with a look of guilt. He gave her a reassuring smile.
“No worries, it was just an accident.” The girl returned his smile and then walked off in the other direction.
When he reached the cafeteria, Tom was greeted with the smell of coffee and bacon. The room was crowded with soldiers and Tom could hear the buzz of their chatter.
“Tom!” He heard someone shout.
He looked around for the source of the voice. His eyes landed on Edd, who was waving him over to the table he and Matt were sitting at. Tom briskly walked over and sat next to his friend in green, the Green Leader. Matt, the Purple Leader, paused his breakfast and looked at Tom.
“You’re here kind of late,” Matt said, placing down his cup of coffee. Tom shrugged in response.
“What were you doing?” Edd asked. Tom hesitated, he didn’t feel like sharing the details about his recurring nightmare with his friends.
“Nothing. I just woke up late.”
The rebellion had somehow made him softer and tougher at the same time. Tom never felt like sharing the vulnerable side of him with anyone, he didn’t want his friends and soldiers to lose respect for him. However, he cared more about people, he was always worried about his colleagues being safe and unharmed.
Tom felt Edd nudge his shoulder and turned to face him.
“Did you hear me?”
Tom shook his head. “No, sorry.”
Edd sighed, and Tom shifted his gaze to the shiny linoleum floor.
“We have a meeting today, it’s with the British prime minister.”
That got Tom’s attention. He must have forgotten about the meeting entirely. He wasn’t always busy with work, but sometimes important things still slipped his mind. After all, trying to stop the infamous red leader was extremely hard work.
Everyone across the world knew that name, and it struck fear into all of them, even the rebellion leaders. The red leader happened to be an old friend of Edd and Matt’s. He’d been friends with Tom once too, but some events had caused a rift between them. Despite everything, the four had been close. But now, their former friend was taking over the world.
Edd, Matt, and Tom had formed the rebellion to put a stop to it. They’d saved a few countries, but now it seemed like all they were doing was slowing down the takeover of the world, not stopping it. Unfortunately, the rebellion seemed small compared to the size and power of the red army.
But trying was better than doing nothing.
“What time is the meeting?” Tom asked, having completely forgotten everything about it.
“Three-thirty. You should have time to get whatever you need done before then.” Matt answered. He offered Tom a smile which Tom returned. Whenever Edd was upset about Tom being late Matt always tried to make him feel better about it.
Tom stood up and walked to get his breakfast. He stood in line making small talk with the soldiers until it was his turn to grab a tray. He got himself some coffee and a piece of toast. These days Tom didn’t eat much, he got too wrapped up in thought to focus on taking proper care of himself. Once he was done getting food he walked back to the table and sat down.
He ignored Edd and Matt’s conversation, opting to let his mind drift to random places he didn’t care for. He thought about his work for the day, what he would do for lunch, his schedule, and of course, he thought about Red Leader.
Tom shivered as he remembered the name. He felt a nudge on his arm and turned to face Edd, who was looking at him with concern.
“Are you okay?”
Tom nodded and gave Edd a small smile. He wasn’t okay but Edd didn’t need to know that.
Soon Tom finished his breakfast and he got to work. He did some training on target practice with the newer recruits and filled out some different types of paperwork. Before he knew it, three-thirty rolled around and he was walking down a clean, brightly lit hallway with Edd and Matt. They walked into the British prime minister's office. The three leaders sat down together, with Tom in the middle. Edd and Matt seemed a lot calmer than Tom did.
For some reason, being in the office was making Tom nervous, something didn’t feel right.
“Thank you all for coming,” said the British prime minister. “I apologize for it being on such short notice.”
“It’s no problem, sir,” Matt replied, sounding friendly as he always did. Tom kept his gaze down and tried to ignore his unease.
“Can we cut to the chase, please? Why did you want to have a meeting with us?” Edd questioned. Tom knew Edd didn’t like meeting with people on short notice, he got irritated when he had to shift his schedule to fit new things in. Tom looked back up at the British prime minister, he looked uncomfortable due to Edd’s irritated tone.
“Of course,” He began to explain. “As you all know, Red Leader has been targeting different areas in Britain, attempting to gain control of them. However, he’s recently gotten in contact with me and offered to make a deal.”
Tom raised an eyebrow.
“What deal?” He asked.
The British prime minister looked at Tom and hesitated. He seemed even more unconformable than he had before. He cleared his throat and then spoke.
“Well, Red Leader said he would stop attacking Britain for an undisclosed period of time if we hand you over to him, Blue Leader.”
Tom froze. He couldn’t believe what he just heard. His gaze shifted over to Matt, who had a look of shock similar to his own. Tom then looked at Edd, he looked angry.
Edd suddenly stood up and sent his chair flying back. His demeanor scared everyone in the room. Edd shot a glare at Matt and Tom.
“Get up. We’re leaving.” He ordered. Neither Tom nor Matt moved. Matt was too afraid, and Tom was too wrapped up in his thoughts to grasp what was going on. Matt gently touched Tom’s shoulder in an attempt to ground him.
Edd pulled the two other rebellion leaders out of their seats and started dragging them toward the door.
“Wait!” The British prime minister cried.
“Don’t tell me to wait,” Edd snapped. He paused his march out of the room and turned to look at the man. “You just told me to give my friend to that bastard! You’re out of your goddamn mind if you think we’re complying with that.”
Matt grabbed Edd’s hand and led him out of the room, and Tom followed behind them. Matt walked his friends down the hall into an empty office room. He shut the door then placed both of his hands on Edd’s shoulders and tried his best to calm Edd down. Tom stood nearby but stayed quiet. He was afraid, very afraid. Red Leader had specifically requested Tom, but why? Was he going to be forced to go with Red Leader? Tom’s breathing began to get heavier.
Edd and Matt’s voices sounded far away. Tom felt like he needed to gasp for air even though he could breathe perfectly fine. He felt his heart beating, he felt every agonizing pump of it. He couldn’t hear his friend's voices anymore, all he heard was the droning sound of ringing in his ears. Tom was starting to shake, and he leaned against the wall for support. The shaking continued and Tom felt himself slump down onto the floor. His skin was starting to feel like static, it felt numb.
“Blue? Blue!” Tom didn’t react to his name being called. He continued to sit on the floor and panic. His mind went to a place he desperately wished for it not to.
It was dark, and he felt trapped. No, he didn’t feel trapped, he was trapped. The house had been destroyed and he was trapped in the ruins. It felt like the smoke and ash were suffocating him. He desperately tried to push debris off himself. Every part of his body hurt and he wanted to give up, but he couldn’t. He could hear the faraway voices of Edd and Matt. There was one other voice too, the voice of someone he despised. The voice of the person that caused the mess he was in, the voice of the person who was now known as ‘Red Leader’. He noticed his harpoon gun, and suddenly Tom knew what to do.
Tom snapped back to reality when he felt someone shaking him harshly.
“Edd! That is not how you help with a panic attack!” Matt scolded. Tom noticed Matt and Edd were bent down next to him, looking at him with concern. Edd was gripping Tom’s shoulders and had been shaking him before Matt told him to stop.
“Well, he’s paying attention now so it worked.”
Tom watched as Matt shook his head and rolled his eyes. He shifted his attention back to Tom, who had calmed down a little bit.
“He’s not here, you’re with us. You’re safe.” Matt did his best to reassure Tom that everything was okay but his efforts were in vain.
“No. I’m not safe.” Tom shuddered and his mind began to drift back to that same place it had before. He put his head in his hands and tried to fight back tears. He felt Edd move closer and place an arm around him.
“Take a deep breath, okay? You’re gonna be fine.”
“It’s not fine. What does he want me for? He’s gonna try to kill me again.” Tom talked quickly and panic could be heard in his voice. He was still fighting to hold back tears, and it seemed like he was losing the battle. Edd sighed and stood up.
“I’m going to talk with the prime minister. Stay here.” With that, Edd walked out of the room and left his friends to do whatever they needed to do.