"Maybe you should... like... actually try being nice to your brother..?"

Cass grunted in reply, a noise only to signify that he heard, not that he actually had taken in what the boy had said. He had been talking with the boy for nearly half an hour now. 

"He wants me to go to our parents' house with him. Family gathering, of sorts. Which is kinda stupid of him, if you ask me, considering how his home life is right now." 

The words, though they could appear somewhat caring, held a dark undertone to them, a hint of something bitter, something almost... careless. As if he wanted his brother to suffer. That wasn't how family was supposed to be...

"But he's family... at least you have him... I don't know where my family is.."

He saw Cass's gaze soften for a moment, but as soon as it came, it was gone. The brunette glanced at the camera again, suddenly irritated.

"I can't-"

Ginger tilted his head, confused.

"My brother works for the biggest rival of my employer. He'll kill me if I have too much contact with the outside world, anyway. I have a lot of information that many people would kill me for, including my boss. The only reason why he pays me so well is because he knows how dangerous I am. I nearly failed my last mission, kid. I'm not anywhere near safe enough to talk to my brother." Cass paused, then looked at Ginger for a moment," What?"

"...Mission?"

"I've already said too much-" he glanced at the camera again, then pulled his laptop out of the small shoulder bag he carried with him. Ginger looked up as well, noticing that the camera was no longer sweeping back and forth as it had when he first entered, but was now centered directly on them.

They were being watched.

Cass typed absently on some coding program on his computer. Ginger looked over his shoulder curiously. 

"You're an awfully curious little kid, aren't you?" it reminded him a bit of both his brother and himself when he was younger. Pat was always asking questions, always talking; and he was silent, watching everything. This kid was both, he now realized.

"Yeah, I guess so. What are you doing?"

"Can't tell you that-" his tone changed again, becoming cold and clipped once more.

He typed a few more lines of code, then shut his laptop. There was a look of urgency in his eyes, but he did not explain.

"Come on, let's go."

Ginger nodded, letting Cass take his hand. He pulled him over to the wall, which was seemingly blank, but as they approached, Ginger could make out the faint lines of what seemed to be a ladder. Cass let go of Ginger's hand, using the bracelet around his wrist to unlock something, then took the boy's hand, stepping back. A metal ladder of interlocking parts unfolded from the wall, and as soon as it was fully extended, he ushered Ginger up, then followed after the little demon boy. Ginger crawled through of a hole that had opened in the ceiling, and Cass followed, only pausing for a moment to glance across the room at the camera, which had gone dark, its lens pointed at the ground. 

-----------------

"Edddddddddddddd, where the hell did you put my Smirnofffffff-?" Edd suddenly sat up, startled.

"Tom?"

"Who else would I be, dumbass?" 

"But what about- How? What?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, but I haven't had anything to drink in like- 4 days. I need my alcohol."

"Tom... what's the last thing you remember...?" Edd chose the words carefully, looking over at the figure on the makeshift bed beside him. Tom's expression shifted thoughtfully.

"The city was like... on fire or something... Tord was... attacking me... I passed out... I haven't seen anything but a black void for like... days...."

"Days...?"

"Yeah... was I in a coma or something? What did that commie bastard do to me-?" He seemed to suddenly realize that he could not see," Why can't I see? What did he do?"

"I..." for once, Edd was speechless. Tom was back. Real Tom. But how? Something must had triggered his memory," Tom... you've been gone.."

"What does that even mean? I WAS in a coma? How long has it been?"

For some reason, he did not tell Tom what really happened, as much as some old instinct told him otherwise.

"A long time... Over a year, I think..." He could not truly remember, he had been so blinded by his anger for so long that the days had blurred together into a seamless mesh of hostility.

"What?!?" Tom almost yelled, then dropped his voice again, trying to get his headache under control," What the hell did he do to me?"

Edd didn't answer this time. He simply stared at the wall in silence.

----------------

Tord paced back and forth in front of his desk, his steps tirelessly repetitive; almost hypnotic. Pat was, for SOME reason, trying to get his family together for some reunion, or something. They all knew it was just a distraction from what had happened to Ginger and Tom, even Pat himself wasn't quite trying to disguise it anymore. Tord's adopted father planned to take his husband and son to meet his parents, and hopefully, hopefully, Cass would agree to meet them as well. They hadn't seen him since the Gala, but Pat knew Cass had been there. Maybe he was trying to see what his twin knew about what had happened. But he also knew his brother would not easily agree to go. Inseparable as they had once been, Cass no longer seemed to have any wish to speak to his brother.

Pat had hoped to take his entire family to meet his parents, but he couldn't do anything about their situation. He simply hoped to maybe distract his son from the pain he felt, so that perhaps he could return to his relatively stable state of mind. But Tord had lashed out angrily at him, and though the response was unsurprising, Tord was well aware that he had hurt his father's feelings by reacting as he did. But he had not cared.

Tord walked over and picked up the small box on his desk, only maybe half the size of the last case for the device. There was no chip inside now, he knew it was still attached to his love's head. He was not sure what compelled him to take it with him, but he slipped the box into one of the pockets on the inside of his coat. He gathered his things, then, just before he was about to leave, Pau gently tapped on the door.

"What?" For once, Tord's voice wasn't aggressive.

"Your father really wants to see his family again, you know. I know Cass will just be angrier if I'm there. Please go with him. I'll stay here and watch the base."

Tord looked up, somehow managing to meet his father's gaze. He could see it even in Pau's eyes just how upset Pat was. He dipped his head slightly in acknowledgement, brushing past his father, who simply watched him go.

Tord walked away, staring at the ground. He turned a corner, making sure he was out of Pau's sight, then stopped. There was this.. urge.. to go. He didn't know why. Was that.. regret..? Empathy..? He didn't even know he could still feel those emotions.

He pulled his phone out, dialing the number as he walked decisively down the hall towards the hangar bay where his jet was kept.

"Pat, I changed my mind. Let's go."