Your body, your life (Eddsworld fanfic)

Tord - What are monsters, really?

Matt's pupils were dilating and his mouth opened wide like that of a goldfish. He was trembling, his hands shaking to the point he almost let go of his beloved mirror as he gasped loudly. Tord was unsure whether he should just knock him out right then and there or just let things happen. If he did knock him out, Matt would obviously not be able to tell Edd about any of this for now, which was a huge plus. Unfortunately, Tord wouldn't be able to keep him unconscious forever though. Unless he killed him, and that was obviously out of question. And how would he explain a knocked out ginger to his friend, when he had already undoubtedly cast suspicion on himself with some of his previous odd behaviour? Just how the hell had Tori managed not to get caught so far?!

This whole mess wasn't what he had planned at all. It was supposed to be so much easier with him just having to follow Tom's habits. Which was much harder than he thought, although he could still get better at it. But how could he have possibly known that Tom transformed into some giant purple monster? Even though this was actually Tom's secret, it was technically his own now. And he had nothing to gain and everything to lose by them finding out. Him replacing Tom just wouldn't work if Edd and Matt were suddenly deathly afraid of him and decided to kick him out for their own safety. And then what? He might as well give Tom his body back and be hated even more for his stunt. Then he'd have ruined three lives, including his own.

So Tord quickly stumbled as far away from him as the room allowed, into a dark corner, and held his claws up in the air to show Matt he was not a threat. If he didn't think the monster would harm his precious face in any form, he wouldn't be so terrified. Hopefully. And if he was, then maybe he wouldn't even realise Tom was the monster because he was that much of an idiot. But that was just wishful thinking on his part. 

Matt suddenly grinned at him and screeched, "TOM, YOU ARE THE MONSTER?!?!" It was so loud he had to cover his ears. His screech was loud enough for the whole world to hear. And before Tord could even blink, Matt was right next to him, staring at him with awe, examining his claws like an overexcited child. Having his claws stared at with so much excitement made him feel uneasy. He had slashed someone's tires already, who knew what they could do to someone's face? It was one thing to hold a gun, another to have sharp claws. And Tord had always had a short fuse... "That's so awesome! And so meeean! The police hunted me down back then. You could have helped me!" He whined, glaring at him.

"I... uh, I didn't-"

"Oh my gosh, is that a tail?" His anger completely forgotten, Matt had begun poking Tord's tail, his eyes sparkling. Tord attempted to wrap his tail around the narcissistic idiot to get him to stop moving around and touching him, but he had no idea how to actually move it. Anime made it look way easier. He glared at the chuckling ghost beside him who looked like he was having the time of his life - or, well, death. None of this was even remotely funny. Things were on the line here.

"What's all that yelling about a monster?" Edd had appeared in the door frame, frowning a little. He looked around, but didn't seem to notice them standing in the corner. But not for long.

"Tom's the monster!" Matt grinned, grabbing Tord's claw and dragging him back to the middle of the room before he even realized what was happening. Maybe he really should have just gone with the murder route... but it was way too late for that now. He had hesitated for too long.

Edd stared at Tord for a moment, who felt small under his gaze. Which was pretty hilarious since he was actually taller than either of them thanks to his little monster growth spurt. It made you realise just how Edd's eyes could judge people. "You're the monster that fought me and Eduardo!" Edd whispered and stepped closer. "Tom... why didn't you say anything?"

Just like Matt, Edd seemed more amazed than terrified. Their survival instincts were at an all time low, that was plain to see. How the fuck had they survived this long? Granted, they had died a few times even when he had still been around... but still, Tord was worried for their safety. You do not just approach a monster like that, especially one that had apparently attacked multiple people at one point. That was just horror movie decision making at its finest. And that could easily get you killed.

"You really shouldn't get so close-"

"Bullcrap, you'd never hurt me," Edd said. Matt nodded beside him, grinning for some reason. Probably because he was still excited at seeing the monster? Tord wasn't sure. Matt's head was an empty abyss he would never understand.

"Er... that's not true..." Jon frowned. He was floating right next to him, seeming pretty frustrated. Probably because Edd would never hear what he had to say.

Tord just blinked. Edd really trusted Tom that much, huh? Was that even justified? Tom had messed up a lot. There was no way he hadn't done so at some point. Besides... "But I... but I already did? While fighting you and... and the other guy?" Truth to be told, he was still confused about what all that was about. Two guys fighting a giant monster. How had that happened? 

"Oh." Edd frowned. "That, uh, that did happen."

"Yeah..." Tord didn't know what else to say. This was so awkward...

"But you really don't need to be scared, Tom!" Matt beamed at him. "You being a monster changes nothing! We would never judge you for that!" Suddenly, both of them wrapped their arms around him and he was in the middle of a group hug. He froze, unsure how to react. His eyes searched for Jon to beg him for help, but the ghost watched them with a sad expression. Oh right, his own friends couldn't see him. Jon had his own issues to deal with.

The hug wasn't bad or anything, but Tord didn't really enjoy it. Couldn't enjoy it. He didn't belong here, experiencing this. This was Tom's secret getting revealed, Tom's moment of relief for them not caring. And he wasn't there to experience it. Instead, Tord was. Even though he didn't want to, Tord felt... guilty. But he shouldn't! This was Tom's fault, not his!

When they finally pulled away, he faked a smile. It was all he could do, even if his feelings of discomfort and guilt only grew.