Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Edd? Edd, can you hear me?” Edd, who had been piling bacon onto his plate, turned at the sound of his friend’s voice. Matt sounded scared, which was weird considering how much bacon was available.

“What was that?”

“I’m sorry, Edd. We can’t stop him! He’s coming.”

“What? Why would you apologize, Matt? There’s nothing wrong with bringing macaroni to a bacon party! Unless there was no bacon. That would be sad.” Matt looked down to the bowl he was holding in confusion, and dropped it unceremoniously in annoyance.

“Don’t even bother,” a gruff, unseen voice said, earning a grimace from Matt, “He’s clearly not lucid. This is pointless.”

Matt grimaced, “Shut up, Ed!”

“Hey, what did I do?”

“Not you, Edd. Ugh, nevermind. Just listen. We’ll come as soon—“

“Edd! Hey, Edd!” Matt’s voice cut through Edd’s dreams, and he begrudgingly half-answered, “Uh, wh-yeah?”

“There’s a strange man outside!” Edd rubbed his eyes and sat up on the bed to face Matt.

“Uh… Matt, what’s wrong with that? It’s probably just the mailman or something. Didn’t you order like twenty more mirrors?”

“No! I mean, yes, but that’s the problem! He’s been standing there for two hours! What if he scares the mailman away?” Edd groaned, reaching for his nearest hoodie. A couple of minutes later, now dressed, he was stumbling to the door with Matt in tow. He grumbled as he moved, wondering who could have the time or stubborn nature to stand outside a random house for so long. He was ready to greet them with a blunt, irritated question, but froze when he realized who it was at the door, their expression lighting up when they saw him.

“Tord?”

“Edd!”

“Tord!”

“Stranger!” Before either friend could do anything else, Edd was yanked back into the house, and Matt slammed the door.

“Hello?” Tord’s voice rang from the outside, “Edd? Matt? Old friends?”

“Matt, what are you doing? That’s Tord!” Matt was pressed against the door, both hands clamped down frustratingly on the doorknob.

“No way! Not until he goes away, or brings me my mirrors!”

“Okay, what’s with the racket?” Tom asked as he walked in.

“Tom! Tord’s back!”

Tom startled back in surprise, before his stance melted into irritation, “What? Why?”

“I don’t know. Matt won’t let him in the house!”

Tom grinned, “Good job, buddy! Here, I’ll help.” Edd groaned as Tom stalked away, presumably to find something to blockade the door with.

Knowing he had to act fast, he turned back to Matt, “Look, Matt, just let him inside, and… I’ll buy you a new mirror.”

“Deal!” Matt said, without any hesitation whatsoever. He glided away and Edd wasted no time in opening the door for Tord again, who still hadn’t left. His cheerful expression returned and he surged forward, greeting Edd with a death-grip of a hug this time. Edd was almost too surprised to respond at first, since Tord had never been much of a hugger. Truthfully, that was usually Edd’s thing.

“Uh, Tord? You’re crushing me.”

“Sorry.” Tord laughed and released him in favor of putting a hand on his shoulder, “It just feels like it’s been forever.”

“Aw, come on!” Impressively, the lament was much louder than the clatter of boards, nails, and various tools that fell to the floor upon Tom’s return.

Tord smirked and waltzed to the couch. “Good to see you too, Tom.”

…

Tom fumed silently, leaning against the wall apart from the group. Why did Edd have to let him back in? Why did Matt have to be so easy to bribe? Why did he have to come back anyway?

Tord now sat between Edd and Matt on the couch as though he’d never left. Matt seemingly had forgotten all his previous misgivings toward Tord, too flaky to be reliable, as usual.

“So what brings you back, Tord?” Edd asked, “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, and what was with the skulking? Don’t you still have a key to this place?” Tom added.

“Well, let’s say work can get a little… insane.” Despite his words, Tord’s smile was fond, and there was a definite note of nostalgia in his tone. “So, I thought I’d take a little break, and I thought, ‘Hey, who knows how to take a better holiday than my good friends?’”

“Holiday?” Edd asked.

Tom snorted, “Yeah, except I thought you said you wanted a break from insanity?”

Tord shrugged and smiled mischievously, “I can’t argue with you there, Tom. The truth is that I missed you all. Didn’t you miss me?”

“Of course we did!” Edd enthused, putting a hand on Tord’s shoulder. “What did you have in mind?”

“Glad you asked!” As if on cue, Tord reached into his hoodie-pocket and pulled out a brochure. Matt and Edd leaned in, interested. In spite of himself, Tom skulked over. “Some coworkers recommended this place to me. They went recently and said they practically had to be forced out!”

“Oooh!” Matt grabbed it from Tord, inspected it, and waved it at Tom. “Tom, look, it’s got everything!” When his friend finally slowed down and handed it to him, Tom looked at it skeptically. The outside was a generic, albeit fancy hotel-lobby. The resort’s name was apparently Scarlet Park. To his surprise, the brochure’s inside didn’t contain any pictures. Instead, it was jam-packed with text that formed a list of all of the resort’s available activities. An amusement park? Really?

“Yeah, that sounds great and all,” Tom deadpanned, “But we definitely can’t afford that.”

Edd examined it with a frown, “Uh, yeah, he’s got a point there.”

“There’s no need to worry,” Tord assured, “I’ve got more than enough saved up for it. You could say I’ve been planning this for a long time.”

“I hope so,” Tom said, “Considering every other holiday has been a complete bust at best and an actual war zone at worst.”

“That depends on who you ask,” Tord grinned. “But you know, Tom, if you just don’t want to go, you don’t have to.” Tord waved his hand dismissively, before looking to Matt and then to Edd, “But that’s no reason you guys shouldn’t come.”

Edd looked at the brochure again thoughtfully, “You sure you can cover this? I mean, wow, an amusement park? A theater? Ten, no… twelve restaurants?”

“Cover it? That’s half the surprise!” Tord reached back into his hoodie, “I’ve already got our reservations set up, but we need to leave tomorrow. So…” He pulled out four plane tickets, “Who’s in?”

“Well, I’m definitely in,” Edd said, “This’ll be great! We haven’t been on holiday together in years, Tord!” Tom thought he saw Tord’s grin falter for a second, but he quickly restored it, and nodded.

“I still don’t know who you are,” Matt admitted, “But holidays mean spa treatments!” Tord threw a smug grin at Tom, “What about you, Tom?”

Go anywhere with Tord? No amount of luxury would make it worth it.

But.

“Come on, Tom, please?” Edd asked. “It’s been so long since we all did something together.”

But he knew Edd wouldn’t be happy with only two of his friends, no matter which two it was.

Tom sighed, “Yeah, I’ll go.”

Edd lit back up, “Yeah! This’ll be the best!”

“Good…” Tord agreed with a wide smile, but it didn’t escape Tom that he said it through his teeth.

Well, at least he’d be making Tord a bit miserable with it too.

Chapter Text

“Are these the parts you asked for?”

“Alright! Not a moment too soon, either.”

“We’ll get started pronto. We should have it done by this time tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? Are you sure? You guys already look exhausted.”

“We’ll do what we have to, don’t worry.”

…

IhateplanesIhateplanes… Tom chanted inside his head, rocking back and forth in his chair. In truth, planes weren’t actually that bad, but the repetition of the nonsensical phrase kept him from focusing his temper on his friends. Or Tord.

“Hey,” Matt nudged him and pointed at Tord who was sitting with Edd in the row directly in front of them, “So who is he?”

Tom nudged him back, “I already told you, he’s nobody.”

“Then why’d he come with us?” Matt tilted his head like a child, “And why’d he sleep over last night?”

Edd and Tord caught wind of the conversation and turned to face them, “He’s Tord, remember? You know, he was the fourth member of our group?”

Matt paused in thought, but shook his head, “No, can’t say I recall.”

“We all grew up together?”

“Doesn’t ring a bell!”

“Darn it, Matt, there’s a picture of you with him hanging in our house.”

“How could you possibly expect me to look at anyone else in a picture besides myself?” Edd groaned in surrender.

“So who is he?” Matt tried again.

“Ha ha! Good old Matt. You still spend so much time in the mirror, you can’t recognize any face that isn’t your own,” Tord said good-naturedly.

“Oh, that reminds me! I haven’t seen my reflection for at least a whole five minutes!” With that, Matt pulled out the compact-mirror he’d been keeping in his jacket-pocket, most likely forgetting what he’d been asking.

Tom suppressed a growl. Well, that had almost been a distraction, he supposed. Now it was over, and he still had to endure about two more hours of the four-hour flight. At least it was mostly quiet though. Besides them, there weren’t actually many other people on the plane. Tord had guessed that there wouldn’t be many people on board, since not many could afford to stay at Scarlet Park. Apparently, the plane itself was owned by the company that owned the resort since it was a private island.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t anything all that fancy. Just a standard coach flight. Tom guessed that either the resort was so fancy and spectacular that they hadn’t bothered to put much effort into the travel-method or this whole thing was a scam and the resort would turn out to be a dump.

Tom, of course, hoped for the latter.

“Excuse me… sir.” Tom allowed his stewing to be interrupted once again to face the attendant. Her look of jaded-exhaustion made her the most relatable person on the plane to Tom. She looked mildly sympathetic to him, but didn’t paste on a fake smile, which he appreciated.

Except that she took away his flask earlier.

“Is there anything I can get you?”

“Yeah. The sooner you can bring me some alcohol (literally any will do), I’ll be fine.”

“I’m sorry, sir, we’re all out.” Tom scoffed as she excused herself. What kind of vague answer was that? Tom didn’t miss her expression as she left, either. Skittish. Probably guessed he was an alcoholic from the flask (not that he’d been trying to hide it).

Well, that certainly wasn’t helping anything.

“This is officially the worst way to travel ever,” he said, sinking back into his seat with twice the force.

“Please, Tom,” Tord smirked at him from around his own seat again, “This isn’t half as bad as I’ve seen.”

“Oh yeah? Enlighten us then. Now’s as good a time as ever to finally fill us in on what you’ve been doing all this time.”

“Yeah!” Edd enthused, “We’d love to hear about that.” He was trying to hide it, but Tom could hear the barest traces of hurt in his voice. Aside from a vague phone-call every now and then, Tord had basically dropped out of their lives.

“Hmmm, well, I guess you could say I do a bit of everything,” Tord said thoughtfully.

“So you’ve had a hard time holding down a job then?”

“Tom!”

“What?”

“Well, no, but I guess I do tend to dabble in a few areas I hadn’t originally planned on.” Tord smiled as he tilted his head in a slight, sudden way as though in question. “Some might call me easily-distracted, but I’d say I’m richer for it.” He sounded smug and proud and this wasn’t working the way Tom had hoped, darn it.

“Okay,” Tom deadpanned, “But what do you really do for a livin—“

His question was cut off by a cry of alarm, instantly followed by an ice-cold splash that greeted nearly his entire left-side. He failed to hold back a growl this time and glared at the cowering attendant next to him.

“I’m sorry, sir,” the attendant spluttered. She scrambled to put the half-empty bottle back on the shelf. “I-I just found out that we weren’t out, after all, so I was coming to bring it to you when the bottle slipped out of my hand.”

“Great.” Tom rose to his feet as the stewardess tried to clear out of his way.

“If you come with me, I can help with—“

Tom shoved past her, “I’ll take care of it myself.”

He made his way to the bathroom, forcing himself to look ahead and not at the smug expression that he just knew that Tord had about now.

…

“Oh boy.” Edd said in sympathy as he watched Tom storm away. “That’s not fun. I think that was his twelfth-favorite hoodie.”

“There are worse things. But you know…” Tord shifted to a lighter tone, “Now I think I want to hear all about what you three have been up to since I left.”

Despite himself, Edd brightened a little, “I guess it is only fair.”

“And I can tell you all the parts that were about me.” Matt leaned over their seats, eager to join in.

“Where do we start? Okay, as soon as you left, we found this whole underwater city and…”

…

“Attention, passengers, we’re about to land, yadda yadda… Seatbelts and so on… I know, Pat. Shut up. Yes, I know how to work the speaker, I just wanted everybody to hear how dumb you sound. What do you mean they can only hear me?”

Edd shifted in worry, “Hey, Tom’s been gone a while, maybe I should go check on him.”

Tord reached a hand out to still him, “You heard them though. We can’t get up. I’m sure he’s fine.”

“He is.” The attendant came back, “He locked himself in the restroom a while ago. I stopped offering to help after he growled at me for the third time.”

“Yeah,” Edd conceded, “That does sound like Tom.”

A little while later, they landed and made their way off of the plane. Thankfully, Tom was able to join them a few minutes later, though he looked none too happy to be carrying his stained-hoodie. He wanted to ask his friend if he had been okay, but the look on his face throughout their trek through the airport was nothing short of livid and Edd decided to give him his space.

…

“You sure volunteering to have it done by tomorrow was such a good idea, Eduardo?”

“Yeah, you guys already look exhausted.”

“Pipe down. We’ve got another all-nighter ahead of us.”

“But Ed—“

“I said shut it. This might be the only chance they’ve got.”

Chapter Text

“How’s it coming?”

“It would help if some loser wasn’t on my case every ten minutes.”

“Sorry.”

“Ugh, I get it. By the way, any sign of Tom yet?”

“He sent a message to let me know he’s fine, but he doesn’t think he’ll be back for another week at best.”

“Maybe it’s for the better. Red Loser probably expects us to send him.”

…

If Tom hadn’t already decided to make a point not to be impressed by anything on this trip, he probably would have been floored. It was certainly fancier than anything he thought he’d ever see, that much was sure. But he didn’t want to focus on the pompous chandelier that must have been hanging from seventy-five feet in the lobby. Or the flat-screen televisions that were just casually inserted into the walls here and there, playing various shows or the news. Or the butlers walking around with samples like it was some fancy evening shindig and not a quarter-past-five.

Instead, he tried very hard to focus on something, anything dull. Anything he could use to complain about if his opinion was asked, however unlikely. Unfortunately, his friends’ reactions were making that really hard.

“Oooh,” Matt said, already pawing at some finger-sandwiches.

“Aaah,” Edd continued with his gaze moving from screen to screen.

“Ah, so I see you like it so far then?” Tord said, coming in last. Tom’s scowl deepened at the sight of his self-satisfaction and forced himself to glare ahead while Edd and Matt sounded their approval.

Instead, he said, “How long are we staying here, anyways?”

“Oh, don’t worry about that right now, Tom,” Tord said with a dismissive cheerfulness, and walked away toward the front desk. Edd grinned and shrugged when Tom looked at him, “Sounds like he’s got it all figured out.”

“Edd, look!” Matt grabbed Edd’s shoulder, “Soda fountain!” Edd gasped and they barreled off together across the lobby. Tom stared at them for a moment, already exhausted from the trip and antsy without his hoodie. Resisting the urge to settle into one of the dozens of chairs littering the lobby, he busied himself back into the task of nitpicking.

Soon, his gaze rested on a pair standing near the edge of the lobby. They weren’t wearing any kind of work uniform as far as he could tell, so of course they must have been guests. It was a man in a plain, grey shirt and a girl with short, blonde hair. The only thing was… they didn’t exactly seem… happy? They actually looked kind of burned-out. They leaned against the wall together, rather than sitting in any of the nearby chairs.

For the first time all day, Tom smiled.

He could work with this.

Wrestling the smirk of his face, Tom sauntered over to them. “So, uh, how’s this place treating you so far?” The girl’s expression didn’t get any less glazed. Good, good.

“It’s, uh, alright. Beat’s working, I guess.”

The man snorted, “Ha! Speak for yourself. I happened to enjoy the job we were on before we got here, even if the boss was crazier than--” Okay, well a workaholic probably wouldn’t be his best example, but it’s not like his friends had to know that. As long as these two were dissatisfied with the place, he could make it work.

“Russel,” the girl tugged on her friend’s arm, “I forgot, you have to help me… wash my tires!” She flashed a wide-eyed look in Tom’s direction. The man nodded eagerly, and the pair hurried away across the lobby with their heads down, leaving Tom to stare after them. “Okaaay.” It was a start, anyways.

“Hey! Earth to Tom.” Tom glared at Tord as he turned to face him.

“What do you want? I’m busy trying to gather evidence that your little vacation plan is a load of cr—“

“Yes, very interesting, Tom, but Edd and Matt have probably found their rooms already.” Tord motioned impatiently and Tom followed him across the lobby with little choice. “You mean we’re not rooming together?”

“As wonderful as that sounds, no. I thought we’d all enjoy it a little better if we each had our own suite.” They came to a stop at an elevator, where Tord pointed at a bellhop slumped by a cart that held Tom’s bags, his abandoned hoodie lying on top. Tom allowed himself a sigh of relief. At least he’d be able to replace it soon.

“Ulrich here will show you to your floor,” Tord said. He nodded to the employee, “Floor five.”

The doors opened and Tom waited for the bellhop to drag the luggage cart into the elevator first. Before he could step into it, however, Tord clutched his shoulder suddenly, “Oh, and Tom? Try not to ruin this for everybody.” There was a strange shift in Tord’s tone that Tom couldn’t quite place. Not quite the cheery one he’d been using, but more of an odd, strained imitation.

“Any trip with you is already ruined,” Tom shot back. He shook Tord’s hand off and got into the elevator. Once inside, he turned around and caught a glimpse of Tord’s sharp grin before the doors closed.

…

“What is that and why is there a hole in the time machine?”

“Wait, what hole?”

“Oh hey, Matt. That’s a coffee machine. I made it using the parts from the… From the… Oh. My bad.”

“Do you know how hard it was to get those things? I had to rummage through Red Leader’s shoe closet!”

“You numbskull! How could you use parts of our time-machine to build a coffee-maker?”

“Well, we were working all night, and I thought the coffee would help us keep the work up.”

“We can’t work on the machine without parts, you idiot.”

“Mark, how did you even do that without Eduardo noticing?”

“Simple. He was obviously too tired to notice, and I was so tired I lost my foresight.”

“…”

“… It’s not going to be pretty, but I might still be able to work with this…”

…

It hadn’t even been twenty minutes and Edd knew that he and his friends were each going to have the time of their lives. After Tord parted ways with them, they were led to a large elevator (that smelled like toffee!) by a bellhop who tended to Edd’s luggage. Also accompanying them was a cheerful assistant who couldn’t seem to make sure they were comfortable enough.

“We’ll arrive in just a few minutes, but is there anything you’d like in the meantime? Soda? Plush toys? Soda?” She produced two cans of cola and a stuffed tiger seemingly from midair to the boys’ delight.

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

“And yes!”

Edd’s fingers fidgeted on each of his cola cans in anticipation, wondering what they would do first. They’d all want to do different things, of course. He’d been too overwhelmed with excitement to study all the resort’s choices, but a few had stood out to him as things he and his friends would enjoy. A bar, a toy store, art classes. Edd particularly knew that he’d be paying a visit to the last of those. Truth be told, however, what he really wanted from this trip didn’t have to do with any of the listed activities.
The real fun would surely come from the things he and his friends would all do together as a team, like old times.

…

“How’s the progress… now?”

“Almost there, Purple.”

“Please stop calling me that.”

“Whatever you say, Leader.”

“That’s even worse and you know it!”

“Heh heh. Yeah.”

…

Tom struggled to catch up to the bellhop in the hotel corridor. His pace had begun to slow about ten minutes ago by his estimation. “Hey!” He gasped out, “Slow down!” Just as he had, for the last twenty minutes, the man ignored him and kept walked. Growling, Tom somehow found just enough strength to catch up and wrap a hand around one of the cart's handles. Unable to ignore him anymore, he stopped and gave him a frustrated look, “What? What do you want?”

Tom pointed to the wall, “I’m pretty sure we passed that portrait of a muffin seven times already. Can you just take me to my room already?”

“Mate, I don’t know where your room is. I was just told to lug these bags around!”

“What? You’re a bellhop, you were supposed to show me to my room.”

“On the contrary, I was told to show you to your floor,” he threw up his hands, “I’m assuming that’s this floor. Look, I don’t know what to tell you, except that maybe you should go back to the lobby and talk to the front desk.”

“Ugh, fine,” Tom said, too tired to argue, “Just help me get my bags back into the elevator.”

To his exasperation, however, the employee gave him a look as though he was the one having a bad day, “I don’t think so. I just spent twenty minutes lugging this stuff around. You’re on your own, lad.”

Tom groaned, trying to steel himself for the trip back downstairs. However, through the exhaustion, his mind was clear enough to pinpoint the blame for this situation.

Who else?

…

Matt took in his suite, having left the door open for the bellhop(s) who had had to wait to use the nearest elevator to bring in all his luggage. Matt was actually impressed that they’d managed to fit all of it on only three carts.

The sooner they came, the better, as his room was in dire need of his personal touch.

Not that he didn’t think the suite was lovely, and he had excellent taste, after all. There was a living-area that surrounded a flat-screen television and a couch where his friends could enjoy his company and watch his favorite shows. There was a neat little kitchen-area, stocked with candy, and a tasteful little mahogany table a few feet away. The bedroom was wonderful as well, with a king-sized bed, done in a lovely lavender that matched the suite’s wallpaper. There was even a balcony behind glass doors that provided so much daylight, Matt hadn’t even needed to turn the lights on, yet.

It was just that the suite was a bit… barren in his opinion. It lacked the lived-in sense that got from his own room. It wasn’t just that, though. It was something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. Something in the bathroom. He frowned as he wandered back into it for the third time.

Hmmm. It wasn’t dirty. It also seemed to be well-stocked with beauty supplies already.

Perhaps looking at himself would help? It had been a while, after all…

He searched the wall above the sink and did a double-take when his eyes fell on a barren wall.

Of course! A mirror! There was no mirror over the sink. It was such an essential item, that Matt couldn’t have comprehended anyplace without one.

“Hey, Matt!” His musings interrupted, Matt turned to face…

“Hey… You!” He greeted.

“I just came to see how you like your room?” Oh, so he must work here or something. Hotel employees did stuff like this, right?

“Oh, it’s marvelous! Except… there aren’t any mirrors.” Sure, he could just get out the ones he brought with him (and he was certainly going to unpack the pictures of himself), but somehow, he just would have expected better. After all, in Matt’s opinion, a fancy hotel should want to cater to its best-looking patrons. “Or trinkets. Or vases. Or wall ornaments.”

“Oh?” The visitor asked with a bit of amusement. Matt didn’t mind. He was a very entertaining person, after all.

“Yes. Anything shiny will do in a pinch,” Matt explained.

“Is that all, Matt? Not to worry!” The man in red pulled out a little booklet, “The front desk was nice enough to give me a map,” he explained, “And it just so happens that I found a couple of places you might like.”

…

Tord allowed Matt to step outside the elevator first, watching as it began to work its charm on him all at once. For once, Matt didn’t seem to be sure what to focus on first. At first glance, the place almost seemed like some kind of museum, albeit one that was very much disorganized, like the curator couldn’t decide between art and history. There were statues and vases and displays of jewelry and suits of armor and a smattering of other things that hugged the walls and dotted the space in between. However, if one were to look closer, they might notice that the one thing they all had in common was that they were all well-polished enough to see one's reflection if they were close enough. The things that weren't shiny would also stand out as being more childish, further down the hallway. A puzzle on a table here, a claw machine there.

Last but not least, there were a great many mirrors there of all shapes and sizes. Every so often, a full-length mirror would break up the monotony of decor along the wall. They weren’t clustered together, however, as though they were meticulously positioned so that one could see only one full reflection at a time.

The halls went like this in both directions, transfixing Matt for a full sixty seconds before he could speak.

“Even I’ve never seen so many reflective surfaces!”

“This is nothing,” Tord encouraged, “To tell the truth, there are so many hidden mirrors and treasures that I couldn’t even imagine where to begin. Say, Matt?”

Grinning at himself in the closest mirror, Matt was just barely able to pull his focus away. Just slightly. “What’s that?”

“This is kind of embarrassing, but I have a little favor to ask you, but it’s really only for the best guests,” he pretended to study one of the framed paintings, which was actually just a canvas covered in gallons of glitter-glue.

“Then I can definitely help,” Matt pointed proudly to himself, “I’m actually the best at everything!”

“Wonderful!” Tord gestured to the décor around them, “The goal of the challenge is very simple: I need you to figure out which object in the hotel is the shiniest.”

“Really? Is that all?” Matt’s innocent reaction was exactly what Tord hoped. His question was aimed at the simplicity of the task and not its strangeness.

“Yes, like I said, it’s a special challenge created by Scarlet Park. They only expect the best to participate and they say that the winner gets a prize of their choosing.”
Matt’s smile turned more smug with each word, “Wonderful! I’ll win and take whatever thing I like the most!”

Tord pounded his shoulder playfully, “I just knew you’d be up for it!” Matt, meanwhile, already seemed to be overwhelmed with childish glee as he pranced over to some ornaments on the wall nearest to him.

“Good luck! There are plenty of bathrooms and food-stations around if you need them.” Matt murmured something in reply that sounded like a mix between gratitude and a comment about a vase he’d just found.

Tord smiled wider as he walked away. As expected, Matt was too hopelessly occupied to realize that Tord hadn’t given him a map, nor any means to keep track of his progress.

Surely, Matt wouldn’t give him any trouble now.

…

Tom dragged his luggage out of the elevator, finding to his annoyance, that there seemed to be more of a crowd in the lobby this time around. The front desk held a line of about a dozen people. Too exhausted to stand that long, Tom instead ambled to one of the nearby chairs. He allowed himself to close his eyes for a few moments, before noticing the gentle sound of running water beside him. Looking to his right, he realized that there was a small, but elegant fountain set into the wall. It wasn’t unwelcome, really. He closed his eyes again for a few rejuvenating moments, then got up to examine it.

It was made of white stone that poured water through a small vent and ended in a small, subtle pool in the floor. The water itself seemed to cling to the wall and as Tom gazed at it, he realized that it seemed to be obscuring some kind of image. It shimmered, bright-red and misshapen. A symbol? Maybe like a letter or…

“There you are, Tom!” Tord’s voice grated through the almost-calm Tom had established for himself, causing a slight, furious tremble as he met his not-friend’s gaze.

“Very funny, slipping that bellhop a tip to lead me around in a circle.”

Tord held his hand up with a smirk, “It isn’t my fault you didn’t realize that I hadn’t given you your room key.” The shine of the key in Tord’s hand taunted Tom with the prospect of rest, but he refused to thank him or even ask. Instead, he held his hand out, “Are you going to give it to me, or not?”

Tord rolled his eyes but obliged, then walked back to the elevator, “Come, we’d better make sure you don’t get lost again.” Tom followed, far too tired to gripe this time, yanking his luggage along him again.

…

Tom supposed, just this once, he wouldn’t mind if he couldn’t find anything wrong with his room. Abandoning his things by the door for the entrace, he gave the room a scan. Little kitchen-area, flat-screen TV, doorways to other rooms, light-blue color-scheme, yadda yadda… Big armchair. Bingo. Tom wasted no time in collapsing into the chair.

“Great! I’ll tell the others you love your room too. Seeyoulater!” Slam!

And Tom was too relieved to be angry.

…

It didn’t take long for Edd to begin enjoying his suite to the fullest, though, he hadn’t yet explored all of it, if he was being honest. He did pry himself away occasionally to glance around, the back of his mind taking note of a little arcade-area and a balcony for starters, but he always wandered back to the kitchen as if under a spell.

And who could blame him? A soda fountain? Right in his suite? Sure he'd been to one downstairs, but this one had every option replaced with cola! So everything had been kind of a blur, except that he somehow discovered that the fridge also contained cans of the stuff.

“Edd! So you found one of your surprises!” Finally pulled out of his enchantment, Edd faced Tord, who looked very pleased with himself.

"Are you kidding? Tord, this is the best day of my life," he said seriously.

“I’m glad you like it, old buddy, but I’m afraid you’re probably not going to see much of it.”

“I’m not?”

“’Cause we’re going to be so busy you won’t even remember you have a house.”

“You mean suite?”

“Yes, exactly!”

“Right! Let’s just grab Matt and Tom, and—“

“No need. I just ran into them and they both already found something to do. Tom decided to sulk around in his suite, and Matt is…” Tord laughed, “Well, he’s looking at his reflection.”

“Oh,” Edd paused, “Well, that’s great, I mean, I guess we can all meet up later.”

“There’ll be plenty of time, don’t worry. Let’s just not rush them for now.” Tord walked back to the suite entrance at a relaxed pace, motioning for Edd to follow, “There’s so much here I want to show you.” Edd grabbed one last can of cola for the road and followed, but not without casting a questioning look at the open door to Matt’s suite.

…

“It’s ready. We think.”

“You think?”

“I mean this is the best we can do for now. We’ll pull you out if anything goes wrong.”

“… Here goes.”

…

Matt broke into a sudden stumble in the luxurious corridor. He snatched his head with his hands and crumpled against the wall, vaguely noting a glassy surface. As his vision came into focus, he ran one hand down the side of his face, noting the soft, fleshy texture of his jaw. He worked it around and exhaled.

“I… I made it?”

He stood up straight and searched himself for a few moments before his gaze finally found its way to the mirror inches away from him. He leaned away from it, holding his face again as it broke into an uninterrupted grin. “Yes, it worked! I finally made it and I look great! Now I can hit Red Leader and save E—“

Zap!

Though the noise hadn’t come from anywhere he could see around him, it was loud and clear in Matt’s ears.

“No.”

Crack!

“NO!”

…

Matt blinked, unable to remember what he’d been thinking about. “Ah, well,” he said aloud. “It isn’t like it’s unusual for me to space out or anything.” He turned around lazily, “Oooh, a claw machine!”

…

“Send me back! I-I was there! We’re so close now!”

“Hold your horses, will ya? The console’s worse than I thought. I think I can send you back soon, but only in brief bursts.”