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     The last few years had been crazy, that was for sure. No one ever expected a Norwegian nobody to be the face of the government. The country was full of Red Army recruitment posters and soldiers watching the town's every move. Claustrophobic? Yeah definitely, but at least there weren't any homeless. Even the worst of leaders can unintentionally cause good things to happen, its definitely better than England's previous downward spiral. Crazy how one betrayal sparked all this though.

     It all started back in the early 2000's when Tord returned. On a seemingly unassuming weekend; Edd, Matt, and Tom had all gone fishing together, only to find out Tord had broken in when they returned. Fast foward a few years from the accident then we have the Red Army. Tord was persistent, dead set on taking over the world, and he wouldn't settle for anything else. That time him and the boys joined the army had awoken this primal urge inside him, he knew his calling as the Red Leader, and he would stop at nothing to achieve this twisted goal.

     Red's ultimate goal however, wasn't as ill intended as most thought. The poor man was simply too stubborn and misguided to realize he was going about it all wrong. Deep down he only wanted peace and to stop the government collapse. But his way if doing that, world domination through a dictatorship that was strict as hell. A lot of his soldiers knew Red's ideas weren't exactly humane, but who were they to stop him? Tord could easily just have their heads if they tried. The only hope of not falling to the future empire was the Rebel Army, Edd's last ditch effort to stop Tord.

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     Currently the Red Tyrant himself was sitting as his desk. He was thinking about his old friends, but would never admit we still cared for them. Once again his stubbornness was the bane of his existence. He sighed, looking annoyed until suddenly an idea sparked into his head. "Wait a damn minute, if only I could just convert them to my side. I could watch over those three if they were my own recruits but there's no way I could- unless..." he mumbled. "If only I had a way to influence their thoughts without changing their personalities," he talked it out to himself, brainstorming for several hours before if finally came to him.

     The Loyalty Project, a small computer chip that could be inserted into the brain via i new scalpel attachment in his robotic arm. The chip, once inserted, would stick itself to the target's skull and use nanotechnology to form wires that lock into the pain and dopamine receptors. Each chip would be customly coded for every individual to correct their less disired behaviors like a drinking problem or swearing habit, the target would then be shocked if they did that action with not even a sense of reward at all. It would just be pure, unbridled pain and only intensify the more times said offense was repeated. (Note: yeah it's future tech if it doesn't make sense, just go with it)

     "It's gonna be beautiful... I need to make a prototype, NOW!" Red practically shouted in his head as he got to work, it was genius! Not only would it work fir his old friends, but it could be mass produced for the whole world eventually. He was gonna go down in history as the man who ruled everything, he thought to himself. But first he had to actually make the damn thing... ugh. So reluctantly he called Paul and gave him the spill over the phone, "Meet me in the meeting room and bring the best technician we have with you, this is gonna be revolutionary."

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     Red got his shit together, quickly making his way to the meeting room and trying to look as intimidating as he could. He figured the best way to keep his army in place was for them to be too afraid to rebel. His black leather boots pounded against the tiled hallway, causing a loud, almost click-like noise. His movements were st aggressive you could hear the gold accents on his blue coat clinking together or with his hoodie strings hit them. Was he supposed to be wearing a hoodie? No, but he couldn't care less. This was his army after all.

     He stepped onto the wooden floor of the meeting room, immediately eyeing Paul as he entered. "So did you understand me earlier or did I all go over your head like the smoke from that damn cigarette you currently have in your mouth, Paul? Didn't I tell you not to smoke indoors unless you crack a window, Solider?" Red grumbled.

     "Sorry, Sir," Paul mumbled back while opening a window. "But yeah, I understand the plan," he said, nodding towards Jon.

     "Then why in the seven hells did you bring Jon?" Red snapped. "He's a goddamn beat up medic for crying out loud! The fifteen year old has better programming skills!"

     "We have a fifteen year old in the amy-? Isn't that... illegal?" Paul questioned.

     "Our entire army is illegal you dimwit... plus I simply don't give a fuck at this point," Red sighed, running a hand through his unkempt hair. "I swear the only time I don't loose braincells is when I take Nika on a date.

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     "What now? Gonna go on a rant about your little girlfriend instead of working again like the teenager you are at heart, Boss?" Paul rolled his eyes sarcastically.

     "Paul were married and have like one... two- wait how many-? Theres Cross, Tyrone, Kasper and Nora I think... so... Five fucking kids now?" he mumbled. "You're lucky you're my best man or I'd have your ass for that comment by that way."

     Jon nearly spit out his drink while just watching them argue, "I'm sorry- FIVE KIDS?! Are you insane Tord?! Wait a second don't you mean four-? You said for names."

     "Ok first of all, fuck you I'm bad at math. Secondly, protection is overrated," Red scoffed.

     "You're insane man," Paul sighed. "But anyways, what about this new 'Loyalty Project'?" he interjected, clearly wanting to change the topic.

     "Right, so control chip, works like a shock collar, blah blah you get the gist. I was thinking of calling it Project Pawn and my older brother Xavier can work out the financials since we all know im shit with budgets." Red scoffed. "But seriously, why the fuck is Jon here?"

     "I'll volunteer as your first test subject," Jon mumbled shyly. "After all, I owe you for saving my life after the incident. Even if you accidentally almost caused my death," he ran a hand over one of the healed burns on his face subconsciously.

     "Oh, so thats why you brought him," Red nodded. "Sounds like a plan then, ill have you sign a few forms while I work with the technicians to make the idea a reality. In the meantime you should probably get some rest and prepare yourself mentally, Jon." Red reached over, hesitantly ruffling the medic's brown hair in an almost fatherly gesture and temporarily letting his gaurd down.

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     "...then just sign here that you concent to having the chip installed and we'll prep you for surgery," those were the last words Jon could remember before he went under. He had this odd, floaty feeling from the anesthesia; but he trusted Red and the surgery team to do the installation correctly. He simply let his mind drift for a while in this peace of mind; but what was happening in the outside world was far from peaceful.

     "Scalpel," one of the surgeons demanded before making a small incision into his forehead. "Damnit why do humans always have so much blood up here? At least we only have to slightly drill into the patient's skull and not full ass brain surgery thanks to the nanotechnology," they mumbled. Once the hole was in place, another surgeon stuck the chip in place before they sewed him back up, it would likely leave a scar; but it'd be minor at the worse and the infection chance was fairly low. All they could hope for was a successful operation.

     Some hours later, Jon woke up, albeit a bit groggy. "Urgh- wha... what happened...?"

     "Morning, sleepy head," Red said teasingly, one again actually in a weirdly fatherly manor to the younger man. "The operation was a success, and so far the chip isn't messing with anything internally. How do you feel?"

     "Tired," Jon sighed. "Just... tired. How come you're being so nice to me? You're usually so closed off..." he looked at Red curiously.

     "Well you just went through a major surgery just for the sake of my science project. So this basically makes you my little lab rat now, and I prefer to keep my rats alive to get a proper study," he smirked, his robotic arm whirring as he moved it to rest on the younger man's shoulder. "With that being said, can I get you anything? Water? More pain meds?"

     "No... I think I'm ok," Jon mumbled tiredly. "I think im gonna... go back to sleep..."

     "Alright then, get some rest, Soldier. You've earned it," Red said before fixing Jon's blanket to make sure he stayed comfortable. He couldn't let, no, couldn't afford for this project to fail.

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     Red made his way to the lab with Jon after he was rested, the surgery was a success so the next logical step was testing. "Alright, let's start with a few of the basic rules programed... for the sake of testing I want you to ignore my orders, ok?" Red shot Jon a semi stern look.

     "Understood," Jon nodded nervously in response.

     Red adjusted the clipboard in his lap before speaking again, "Jon, come here." Jon didn't move as he was told to do, wincing as an electric shock went through his body.

     "Ow- that hurts!" he yelped.

     "Good, it's working as intended then. You can sit down now if you want," Red said with a cold and professional tone, a stark contrast to his earlier fatherly demeanor. "Now to test one of the more personal features..." he paused, looking Jon dead in the eyes before taking out a motorized hamster. "See this?" he held it up almost mockingly, Jon merely nodded again in response. "Its a cute, innocent little hamster... right? Wrong," Red said sternly as he sat it on the ground.

     Jon flinched, his hands trembling, "Where are you going with this, Sir?" He looked up to Red confusedly, knowing it couldn't be anywhere good.

     Red wordlessly put a pistol into his hand, "I want you to shoot it. I want you to think of that hamster as the rival army... and make it nothing but a bloody pile. Or, well I guess thus case a pile of mechanical parts," he said with a sadistic smirk, a few of his more fanged looking teeth showing.

     "WHAT?!"Jon exclaimed, "I cant just shoot the little guy! Even if he is just plastic-" He winced again as another shock went through his body from the chip.

     "I said... Shoot. It. Jon. Dont make me repeat myself," Red snarled as he stepped behind the trembling medic. He grabbed Jon's wrist, moving it to aim at the mechanical hamster. "Pull the goddamn trigger, soilder."

     Jon twitched as another he felt another pulse of electricity shoot through him, causing him to accidentally squeeze the trigger. The fake hamster went flying as force set it clattering into the wall in a mess of parts while Jon lost grip on the gun from his shock. "Good boy," Red appraised him almost mockingly, ruffling Jon's light brown hair before stepping away. He picked up the gun like nothing had happened, "I think thats enough testing for today, I'm going on break to check on my kids," he said flatly before walking out.

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     Red paused, looking up as he heard footsteps approaching the lab. "Shit, who the fuck would be coming here at this time?" hes grumbled, letting go of Jon's shoulder to get the door while the younger man continued to shake. "Hallo-"

     "Bae im bac- what did you do to my child?" Nika's usually bubbly demeanor disappeared in an instant as she stepped over to comfort Jon.

     "Sorry...?" Red replied confusedly as he looked over at them.

     "Apologize. Now. And you're sleeping on the couch tonight," she snapped, looking him dead in the eyes before looking back over to Jon. "It's ok, I wont let him bully you anymore and we can have Cross build you your own robot hamster," she said in a softer tone, letting him cry in her arms.

     "Alright geez- I'm sorry," Red stuttered, the words feeling heavy and foreign in his mouth. He never apologized, he thought to himself; damn she really held a lot more power over him than he cared to admit, but he was kinda into it.

     "Good boy, now let's go get you some ice-cream," she said as she went to walk Jon out. "Oh and your still sleeping on the couch you pervert," she said as she glared at Red's now blushing face one last time.

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     On the way to bring Jon to Cross after going off at Red moments earlier, Nika started hearing this rustling sound in the vents. "Who is that?" Jon muttered to her in a worried tone.

     "I'm not sure, just stay close and I'll protect you," she put her hand on his shoulder in an effort to calm him. The rustling continued until... bang. One of the nearby vent covered clattered to the floor as an unknown figure fell out in a ball. Nika grabbed the laser gun Red made her carry without thinking. The beam crackled as it left the chamber, hitting the figure dead in the eyes.

     "Ow! What the hell?!" It was a man's voice, and an oddly familiar one at that, did she know this intruder from somewhere? 

     "Stay here," she muttered to Jon before walking over to the intruder. "Who are you and why are you in my husband's base?" her usual bubbly demeanor had turned serious once again.

     "Nixxi? Is that you? I can't see anything..." he stuttered out wearily.

     "Holy shit- Tommy?!"

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     "Oh my god- Tom I had no idea I-" she stood frozen in place, dropping the laser gun with a clatter. "We need to get you to the infirmary," then it dawned on her. She could take him to Red... Tord gets a new solider, she got to work alongside Tom, and Tom could get the medical help he needed. What could possibly go wrong?

     "U-uhm... alright. But, you're gonna have to guide me since I still cant see shit," Tom mumbled as he felt around to try and hold her offered hand.

     "Just follow my lead," Nika's tone was sweet, almost too sweet with that southern accent, but Tom was too disoriented to question it as he followed her to Red's office. "Babe! I'm back, got something for ya!"

    "So I take it I'm no longer in the doghouse- Wait is that Tom?" Red smirked sadistically. "So we meet again... Thomas."

     "OH FUCK THIS!" Tom tried his best to run off, but just ran into the wall. "O-ow shit-" 

     "Pfft, classic. Stupid. Tom," he chuckled sisterly as he walked over to grab the other man by the throat. "Ugh... you're in shit condition, no state for a soldier," he scoffed as he threw Tom back down, causing him to let out a pained groan. "Tell the medics to take care of him, I don't want to see his ass until he's healed back up." He walked over, giving Nika a peck on the cheek before she left.

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Tom couldn't remember much when he woke up, probably since Red had pumped him full of a heavy (and probably illegal) sedative. What day is it, he wanted to ask; but he couldn't feel his tongue. While he was trying to collect his thoughts, all he could hear was the annoying beep of the heart monitor. The worst part? The fact the rhythm was erratic as hell. "Stupid demonic genetics," he tried to grumble, but all his words we're slurred worse than a drunk's. Whatever Tord had given him was probably a lethal dose for a mere normal human. He could hear the medic speaking, but he was too disoriented too process the words. "Great, just what I needed. Commie just pumped me full of drugs, I can't feel my legs, and- wait did he just say cancer?!"

"Yes, it seems a rather unfortunate 'accident' happened to you're eyes, Tom." Of course it was that bloody bastard Red, Tom could practically taste the mocking sweetness in his voice. It was sickening. Red, for his part, was silent after. Only the occasional whirring of his robot arm and the sloshing sound of some sort of liquid could be heard. That liquid looked like some sort of radio active grape juice shoved into a syringe, Tom hated needles; and he had a feeling he knew what was coming. "Now roll up your sleeve and hold still, less you want this to hurt worse than it should."

After a moment of considering, he reluctantly obeyed, cringing as he felt the burning liquid be shot straight into his vein. On one hand he was no longer numb, but now everything just burned. "I'm starting to wish I was still numbed..." he's sighed before the inevitable second wave of exhaustion hit him and he passed back out.

"Make sure he doesn't go anywhere, that was just step one," Red snapped at the medic before walking out, leaving the man stunned at their own leader's sheer audacity.