It occurred to me as I was writing this one; I never put in the disclaimer....

So here goes: I don't, never have, and never will own 'Ed, Edd, n Eddy'.

I'll warn all of you now; some of the kids won't be acting like they usually do. That's the point, I purposely did that...

Oh, and Kimi? Yes, there is going to be an Edd/Marie pairing, just read the beginning... :-)

 

 

The Secret of Edd Part 5

 

"Shoot! Where could it be?!?" Edd's voice said frantically.

Marie yawned. "What's going on?"

"It can't have gone far... why now, of all times? When I'm surrounded by every kid in the cul-de-sac..." Edd said, and Marie felt her pillow get pulled out from under her head.

"Ow! Hey, what's the big idea?" She exclaimed, sitting up.

"Shh! Everyone else is still asleep!" Edd said, then poked his head under the sofa, reaching around desperately.

"What are you looking for?" She asked sleepily.

He pulled his head out and stared at her, obviously frightened. "Do I really need to say it?" He whispered hoarsely.

She looked puzzled, then stared at him in shock. "Y-your..." She whispered.

They stared at each other for a moment.

"That's why..." Marie started, giving his head another good look.

The source of her shock was obvious; his hat was not on his head. Instead, she could see dark bluish-purple hair on his head. It stood out on his head in a rough haircut that was long for a boy's.

He looked down with a shamed look on his face.

"Did you dye it? And not be able to get the color out?" Marie asked.

"No, well, yes... I've tried dying it black, so it'd look a little more normal, but that never seems to work... This is the way it naturally looks..." Edd whispered.

"That's natural?!?" She whispered loudly.

He didn't answer.

She tilted her head, looking at it again, then grinned. "Well, it's cool looking."

He froze, and looked at her abruptly. "What?!?"

"You heard me. Now, where do you suppose your hat went?" Marie asked.

He gave a small smile, and then looked thoughtful. "Well, last time I had it on was last night, and... Oh dear..." He turned to look at Eddy. "And Eddy took it so I wouldn't lose it..." He finished.

 

"Eddy!" A voice said from above his head.

Eddy rolled over and smiled. "Don't worry, girl, you can just give me twice the money next... week..." He trailed off and started snoring again.

"Eddy, I must insist that you awaken immediately!" The voice persisted.

"Why are ya using such big words, Nazz?" Eddy murmured.

Someone giggled off to the side, and the voice above him sighed. "Eddy, please, wake up already..."

"Huh...?" Eddy muttered, opening his eyes. It was still dark out, but he could vaguely see someone standing above him. "Who's there?"

"Honestly, if you can't recognize my voice by now..." Edd said irritably. The shape moved to the side of the room, and a blinding light filled the area as the lamp turned on.

"Ow!" Eddy exclaimed, and someone covered his mouth from behind.

"Shhh!" Edd hissed, looking extremely nervous.

Eddy nodded, and the person removed his hand. "What was that for... MARIE?!?" Eddy whispered when he twirled around.

She shook her head. "This is serious, Eddy." She said firmly.

"Why are you..." Eddy trailed off, gazing at Edd's head. "Um, Double D..."

Edd glared at him. "Eddy, I believe you have something of mine...?"

Eddy continued staring. "Where's your hat?" He asked faintly.

"Oh, come on, you took it, don't play stupid." Marie said, glaring at him.

One of the kids near Eddy stirred, and Edd froze, putting a hand up to his head. "Oh dear, Eddy, please..." He said.

"What are you talking about...?" Eddy finally asked in a normal voice.

"My hat, you took it, now can you please give it back?" Edd said in a rushed tone, glancing at the others.

Nazz stretched and yawned.

"Oh my!" Edd squeaked, and with a final desperate look at Eddy, pulled his shirt up over his hair and wrapped it around like a turban.

Marie backed into a dark corner of the room, hidden in the shadows.

 

Nazz opened her eyes and looked around vaguely. "Hmm...? Time to wake up already?" She murmured, and then looked over at Edd and Eddy. "Hi, Double D. Um... Why aren't you wearing your shirt?"

 

Edd started sweating nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. "Eh, well, you see, I-I don't have my hat on, a-and I'm not going to be around other people without it..." He said nervously, letting out a deep breath.

Nazz looked puzzled. "Why aren't you wearing it?"

Edd looked at Eddy cautiously, then said, "Eddy took it."

"Huh?" Eddy exclaimed, looking up at Edd. "What are you talking about?"

Nazz frowned. "Hey, that's totally not cool, Eddy. I don't know why Double D always wears it, but I wasn't going to just pull it off to find out. I respect people's privacy, and so should you." She lectured.

Eddy stared, completely bewildered. "But... I-I already knew... and I didn't take it off his head, I--"

"No, you don't. Double D wouldn't lie about that type of thing, and you know it. Stop being such a jerk, and give it back to him." Nazz interrupted.

"But..." Eddy whispered hoarsely.

Edd reached over into Eddy's bag, searched around, and pulled out his hat. He glanced at Eddy, then turned away and stuck it under his shirt and proceeded to cover his hair with it before pulling his shirt down.

Jimmy sat up slowly and rubbed his eyes. "What time is it?" He murmured.

Eddy glanced at Edd's watch. "Um... 6:31..."

A rooster crowed from Rolf's house, and the rest of the kids woke up.

"Ow! Dang rooster, Rolf, can't you make it be quieter?" Kevin complained, putting his hat on.

"Rolf is wise enough to know that you never argue with the doodles, Kevin." Rolf replied slowly.

"Well, I hope you guys don't plan to leave making breakfast to me." Nazz complained, standing up and walking to her kitchen.

"I'll help, Nazz." Sarah said, then grabbed Jimmy's arm. "Come on, Jimmy."

"Okay, Sarah..." He said, only to be dragged into the next room.

"Hey, why is there a wet pillow over here?" Kevin asked suddenly, picking Plank's pillow.

"Cause it was in your mouth..." Eddy commented slyly.

"HUH?!?" He exclaimed, staring at Eddy, then the pillow.

Everyone except for Kevin and Edd started laughing.

"In his mouth?" Edd asked.

"Yeah..." Eddy snickered.

"You were snoring really loud... and Nazz stuffed it in your mouth... so she could sleep in peace..." Jonny explained between laughing.

Kevin glared evilly at the group. "Oh, that's really funny..." He muttered.

"Yes, it is..." Ed announced slowly.

Kevin frowned deeper and tossed the pillow against the wall as the laughing slowly died down.

Eddy was still grinning, and commented, "Ed, it's not like you can say anything about all this..."

Edd groaned. "Yes, I'm sure Ed's snoring is worse than Kevin's..."

"Hey, how would you know, anyway? You never go to sleepovers with the rest of us..." Kevin asked suspiciously.

"For Nazz to have lost her temper and thrust a pillow into your mouth, it must have been bad." Several kids snickered, and Kevin looked mad. Edd continued coolly, "But, Ed's snoring, that's simply unbearable. I don't think yours could have possibly been worse..."

Eddy nodded. "Tell me about it..."

Edd looked thoughtful, then startled, and grabbed Eddy's arm.

"Huh?" Eddy exclaimed. "What?"

"How much did you tell them?" Edd asked.

"Everything..." Eddy said, giving Edd a strange look.

Edd froze. "Everything...?" He squeaked.

"Yeah, everything about the gate, and the other worlds..." Eddy replied slowly.

Edd's expression became distressed. "You-you did leave out some... significant details... right?"

Eddy looked confused. "Significant details?"

"Did you guys not tell us everything?" Jonny asked.

"Important things..." Edd said persisted firmly, ignoring the others.

"Such as...?" Eddy slowly asked.

Edd stared. "Don't you even remember...?"

Ed came over. "I remember that Double D is really bad at baseball." He commented seriously.

"Remember what? What's going on, dorks?" Kevin demanded, looking suspicious again.

Eddy shrugged, and Ed scratched his head.

"Double D? What's going on?" Jonny asked.

Edd shook his head. "I-I'll explain later... I need to talk to Ed and Eddy for a while, alone..."

"Breakfast!" Nazz's voice called from the kitchen.

The boys glanced at Edd again, and the all went in to get some food.

 

"Nazz sure makes good waffles..." Ed commented as they walked down the street slowly.

"Indeed. Though, I believe I had one of Jimmy's... it fell apart before I could eat it..." Edd added, and then went into deep thought.

"Yeah, Jimmy can't cook. But, then again, your sister's not much better, Ed..." Eddy replied.

"Shh!" Ed exclaimed, putting a finger to his lip and covering Eddy's mouth. "Sarah may be listening to us, even as we speak..." He commented, glancing around the neighborhood in a paranoid fashion.

"Oh, who cares!" Eddy exclaimed, pulling Ed's hand off his mouth. He then turned to Edd. "So, what were you talking about earlier, Double D?"

Edd started in surprise. "Huh?"

"What... were... you... talk-ing... about...?" Eddy slowly and carefully pronounced each word.

"Um..." Edd grimaced slightly. "Well, actually, why don't you tell me what you remember from yesterday?"

 

The three walked down to Edd's house while Eddy talked to Edd. He told Edd everything that he had told the other kids.

Edd listened silently, not interrupting. When Eddy finished, he stood in silence and shock. "So..." He opened the door and walked in. "You two honestly don't remember?" He asked softly, and went upstairs to toss his bag into his room.

"Remember what?" Eddy asked when he came down. "Did you see something that Ed and I didn't?"

They walked slowly out of the house towards the middle of the street.

"No..." Edd said, and then glanced at Eddy, puzzled. "Eddy, do you have a twenty dollar bill?"

Eddy raised an eyebrow. "Of all the stupid questions, Double D..." He muttered as he reached into his pockets. "Huh? What's this?" He asked, and pulled out the twenty dollars. His eyes widened and watered slightly—as did his mouth. "Wh-when did I get this?"

Edd sighed. "You guys bring your stuff to your houses, then I'll try to explain..."

They split up, Ed and Eddy to their houses, while Edd sat on the sidewalk across the street from his house.

 

Several minutes later, they met up again.

"Well?" Eddy asked expectantly.

Edd swallowed and stood up. "Well... You remember in the world with Edward? How we stayed in Rolf's shed?"

"Yeah." Ed replied.

Edd slowly started walking down the road, and the other two followed him.

"And, after our little meeting, I went to the doorway?" Ed and Eddy nodded. Well, after that point, my memory and yours' seem to... differ..."

"You don't remember something?" Eddy asked, then noticed Edd's expression. "We don't?"

By then, they had reached the entrance to the park. Edd led them in, towards the swings.

"Well, I started thinking..." Edd began

"Big surprise." Eddy commented sarcastically, grinning innocently when Edd glared at him.

"I thought about everything that we've been doing, what we say, that kind of thing. Then about my parents, and your parents, and--- about you leaving..." Edd trailed off softly, looking at the ground before him.

Eddy looked solemn. "Who knows, we still might be able to talk them into letting me stay..."

Edd shook his head sadly and continued. He suddenly jumped in surprise and looked forward, startled. Howling broke out from the woods far ahead.

"Stupid coyotes..." Eddy muttered.

"Not a coyote... a wolf..." Edd replied quietly.

Eddy blinked. "How do you know...?" He asked slowly.

"Um, well, you see--" Edd started.

"Hi, guys." Nazz said, walking over with Kevin.

"Ugh! Come on..." Edd groaned, slapping his forehead in frustration.

Nazz looked puzzled. "What, did we interrupt something?"

"Never mind, Nazz... Just, never mind..." Edd muttered, walking to the swings and sitting on one.

"By the way, when are you dorks gonna finish explaining?" Kevin asked irritably.

"Dorks?" Ed asked.

"Whenever you leave..." Edd muttered under his breath.

"Huh? What'd you say?" Kevin asked.

Edd looked up, clearly annoyed. "After I have a chance to talk to Ed and Eddy without being watched and listened to the whole time." He shook his head, then started swinging.

"Hello, Ed-boys..." Rolf commented as he walked by.

"Hi, Rolf..." Eddy replied.

"Hiya!" Ed exclaimed, jumping onto the swing next to Edd.

"Ed! Be careful! You almost knocked this over!" Edd exclaimed as the entire swing set began swaying.

"Sorry..." Ed said, and sat down on the seat.

Rolf stared at them, concerned. "What is wrong with the brainy Ed- boy? He did not greet Rolf like his usual self..."

Edd started swinging. "My apologies, Rolf... Nothing's wrong..." He said.

Jonny walked over. "Hi guys.... What's that, Plank?"

Eddy glanced over at Edd, who was beginning to look really annoyed… But it was Double D, he wasn’t gonna say anything.

"Why did you four follow us here? How long til the squirts show up, hmm?" Eddy asked.

He was ignored as Jonny frowned, and lifted Plank up.

"Plank? Answer me!" Jonny exclaimed, glaring angrily at the piece of wood in his hands.

Edd stopped swinging abruptly and stared at them, without saying anything.

"What's up, Double D?" Eddy asked, and the the others looked curiously over at him.

Edd looked over at Jonny, then rested his gaze on Plank silently. He slowly turned pale.

"Plank...?" Jonny asked slowly.

“Come on, Double D, what’s with you…?” Eddy wanted to know. He jumped as Jonny suddenly yelled.

"Plank! What are you doing?!? A-are you talking to Double D?!?"

"What?" Kevin exclaimed.

"Huh?" Nazz asked, looking back and forth at Edd and Plank.

"Oh my..." Edd whispered hoarsely, and everyone stared at him. "How did you know...?"

"Uh, Double D?" Ed asked.

"Ed-boy?"

"Double dork, what are you doing?"

Edd slowly stood up, still staring at Plank.

"Why won't you answer me, Plank?" Jonny cried frantically. He looked up at Edd, then down at the piece of wood. “Whatever you’re saying to Double D, stop, it’s making him act weird…”

"No... I... I won't do that..." Edd said softly.

"Maybe this isn't Plank, but an alien scout who wants to abduct Double D and bring him back to the mother ship, where they will dissect his brain and feed his body to their pets..." Ed commented.

"I don't think I'd be that surprised..." Kevin replied.

"They'd never do that to me..." Edd whispered, then paused.

The others stared in anticipation.

"Whom is he speaking to?" Rolf asked. "Kevin, or Plank?"

"Y-you're wrong... I'll never do that... NEVER!" Edd suddenly screamed.

Plank seemed to jump out of Jonny's hand, into the air, only to fall down onto the grass. Jonny stared, looked down at his hands, and ran over. "Plank!"

Edd remained standing, and shook his head. He looked over at the others, and his eyes fixed on Ed and Eddy. "Guys..." He whispered, then his eyes rolled up and he collapsed.

"Double D!" Eddy exclaimed.

 

"Ugh..." Edd muttered, his eyes still closed.

"You're awake?" A familiar voice asked from above.

"Uh-huh..." Edd replied, slowly opening his eyes. Everything was fuzzy.

"You gave us a scare, ya know that?" The short figure beside him asked.

"...Where am I?" He asked.

The figure stood there silently for a minute. "In your room... don't you recognize it?"

Edd chuckled softly, and then froze when a pain went through his chest. "I can't exactly see..."

A taller figure walked over. "That's because it's dark in here." He said slowly and carefully.

Edd smiled. He thought, then rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times.

Everything slowly came into focus, and Edd looked over at them. There, Ed and Eddy were watching him nervously.

"Hey..." He said reassuringly.

"You're okay? I mean, you were unconscious for a few minutes, and you hit your head, and--" Eddy stammered quickly, only for Ed to cover his mouth.

"Eddy was worried about you..." Ed commented.

Edd grinned and slowly sat up. "Really? I couldn't tell..."

Eddy pried Ed's hand off his face. "Well, um... heh heh..." Eddy trailed off and rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Um, do you feel okay?"

"Well... I've heard that having a concussion usually gives temporary memory loss..." Edd said wryly.

Ed looked nervous. "Really? Uh... Who am I?" He asked Edd expertly.

"Ed..." Edd answered calmly.

"Who am I?" Eddy continued.

"Eddy... Besides, what does asking me that accomplish? Ed just called you Eddy, so even if I didn't remember, I would have been able to figure out who you are..." He said, slightly annoyed.

"Who are you?" Ed asked.

"Good question..." Edd said, looking up thoughtfully.

Ed and Eddy gasped, and stared at each other nervously.

Edd giggled. "Kidding! Just kidding! But what name should I give? Edward? Edd? Double D? Sockhead? Dork? Double Dork?"

Eddy sighed in relief. "Don't do that!"

Edd simply smiled at him, then looked thoughtful. "What exactly happened?"

"I was hoping you could tell us..." Eddy said.

"What is the last thing you remember?" Ed asked.

"Um... collapsing?" He said in a sarcastic voice, but was still smiling.

Eddy rolled his eyes. "Of all the times for you to become a smart- ass..."

"I would have figured you'd appreciate the fact that you've been rubbing off on me quite significantly..." Edd reminded him.

Eddy grinned. "Good point! But seriously, what's the last stuff you remember?"

Edd grew solemn. "Last thing I remember... we went to the park, and I was about to explain when we got interrupted from Nazz, Kevin, Rolf, and Jonny, and I heard--"

Eddy looked skeptical. "You mean, Plank was actually talking to you?"

"Something was... I think it was Plank... I mean, with some of the things that have been happening..." Edd said.

"Yeah, I know. You wouldn't be surprised. But, I don't think that annoying singing is enough of a reason..." Eddy replied.

Edd shook his head. "That's not all. What I've been trying to tell you is..." He sighed. "You see, we stayed in the shed, and I was thinking in the doorway... I'm not sure how it happened, but somehow the light of the full moon was shining on me, and..." He trailed off, trying to collect his thoughts.

"Full moon...?" Ed asked, then looked shocked. "You mean that--!"

"The light of the full moon, shining on me, and I looked down towards the ground, and noticed that my hand had gone all dark..." He shook slightly, then looked up at Ed and Eddy. "...And furry..."

"No wonder..." Eddy whispered hoarsely.

"Does that mean that you're a werewolf?" Ed asked.

Edd nodded. "Basically... I started shrieking, and Eddy, you came over, and then noticed. Ed came in from chasing the chickens, and I fully changed, and, you fainted..."

Eddy stared at him for a minute, opened his mouth, then closed it. He paced around the room in deep thought. "Then..." He muttered, and turned to Edd. "Then why don't Ed and I remember any of this?!?"

"Maybe the Kankers, or Lee and May, anyway, had something to do with this..." Edd suggested.

"Um, we haven't seen them for a few days, Double D..." Ed commented.

Edd frowned and shook his head. "Not true, we met with them last night, after Jonny left."

"You weren't even with us then!" Eddy exclaimed.

Edd shrunk, covering his ears, then straightened and gave Eddy an uncharacteristic glare. "Last night was this world's full moon, Eddy. I was with you until a short way into the conversation with the Kankers..."

Ed jumped up and down enthusiastically. "Ooh! Ooh! I know, I know!" He exclaimed.

"What is it, Ed..." Eddy said between gritted teeth.

"Remember the dog?" Ed asked.

Edd nodded happily. "Very good, Ed. Just where you came to believe the 'walking the dog' story, I'm not yet sure, but that was me the entire time."

Eddy stared at Edd. "Then, the twenty bucks...?"

Edd smiled sarcastically, and spoke in an equally dry tone. "You sold me to Lee, at her request. You refused to give 'the dog' away for free, or ten dollars, but a twenty-dollar bill? Your will power broke then, and May brought me back to the trailer while Lee talked to you two, perhaps erasing all memory of... That's it!" Edd exclaimed suddenly. "Lee must have told you to forget everything in direct connection with 'the dog', making you remember most of the things that have happened, but nothing that was closely related to that!"

"That makes sense... but why would she do that?" Eddy asked.

"Because she knew that you didn't really want to make a sale, and if you remembered it, you would go back and get me..." Edd replied.

"Oh..." Ed said, then looked puzzled. "Double D? How could you suddenly be a werewolf if you weren't bitten?"

All three sat there silently.

"Um..." Eddy started.

"Good question..." Edd murmured.

"What important and significant detail are we missing that is keeping the answer to this mystery from us...?" Ed wondered.

"...Important detail?" Edd said, then looked startled. "Of course! I had forgotten all about until now, how obvious!" He exclaimed, springing out of bed.

"What?" Eddy asked, watching Edd run to his desk.

Edd opened one of the drawers and held something in his hand. "This... this might be the answer to all of this, but why...? Mother said two weeks, and it's only been four or five days..." He said to himself, then pulled it out and turned around. He was holding the immunization from a few days before.

"A shot?" Eddy asked, cringing away. "I hate needles..."

"A vaccination. Mother told me to administer it, but I wished to learn it's purpose, and contents, before doing so..." Edd replied.

"And...?" Eddy said slowly and questioningly.

"And--" Edd started.

"I found a sticky note!" Ed exclaimed, holding up the bone.

"Ed... That's a bone." Eddy commented.

"No, see?" He spun it around, and on the other side, a sticky note was stuck on the end.

 

Dear Edward, Apologies for the incorrect instructions.

You are to administer your vaccine today

-Mother

 

Edd read it, then looked really irritated. "I thought you said there were no sticky notes, Eddy?" He demanded.

"When's this from?" Eddy asked, taking the bone from Ed and Edd.

"I don't know... two days ago?" Edd replied in an odd tone.

"Ah. The last time you did your chores was three days ago, right?" Eddy continued.

"Um, yes..." Edd replied, no longer angry, but now confused by the line of questioning.

Eddy nodded slowly. "Well, then... Double D, have your parents said or done anything... suspicious... lately? Besides this note?"

"No, Eddy, they..." He trailed off, remembering the conversation from a few days before. "Except..."

"Except?" Eddy echoed. "Except for what?"

"Five days ago, at night, I left my room to get a glass of water, and I heard my parents talking..." Edd began.

"You? Eavesdropping on your parents? Man, I'm having more of an affect on you than I thought!" Eddy exclaimed.

Edd groaned. "Anyway, they were talking about me, and saying stuff like 'he's mature enough to know', that kind of thing..." He explained.

"Uh, oh..." Ed said.

"What?" Edd asked.

"Oh, man... I knew your parents were bad news, being government scientists, probably close to the CIA and whoever does the X-files, but this? This is just wrong..." Eddy murmured.

Edd frowned. "For your information, Eddy, only Father works for the government. Mother, however--"

"Works for the government-run hospital that was recently closed for unknown reasons." Eddy challenged. "Or had you already forgotten about that?"

Edd glared. "I haven't approved of this little interrogation from the start, Eddy, but now you've simply crossed the line. Mother's job has nothing to do with this!"

His friends groaned. "Do your parents keep files of all their experiments and stuff?" Eddy asked.

"Yes, in their room, but..." He went silent, realizing what Eddy meant. "E-eddy, th-that's preposterous..." He whispered.

Eddy watched him sadly. "Double D, purple isn't a natural hair color, and you know as well as I do. Better than I, even. It's just not possible..." He said softly.

"But..." Edd whispered even softer, a vast depression falling over him.

He fell into deep thought. He shook his head and looked up at the other two.

"Let's check those files before jumping to any conclusions..." Ed suggested wisely, putting his hands on both Edd and Eddy's shoulders reassuringly.

They both quietly nodded and all three walked into Edd's parent's room.

 

"This is..." Edd started, slowly lifting the cover of a jewelry box.

"Huh...? Whoa!" Eddy exclaimed as part of the wall opened. There, some moved boards had revealed a door of a shut safe.

Edd walked over to it and spun the dial to twelve. "Science..." He whispered.

The safe clicked, and the door slowly opened. "Cool..." Ed commented.

Edd pulled it further open and flipped a switch inside it. There, a small room met their eyes, with a computer, a spinning office chair, a large pile of random papers and a large file cabinet.

"I'm guessing this is it?" Eddy asked quietly.

"Yes." Edd replied, going and sitting on the seat.

Ed followed him and jumped on Edd's lap.

"Ow!" Edd exclaimed, looking up at Ed's grinning face.

"Tell me a story, Double D..." He insisted.

The other two grinned. "Such as the story of the rat mutants who crawl out of mouse holes and chew into your head?" Eddy asked wickedly.

Ed's eyes widened. "I don't want my head to be chewed into! Then they'll eat my brain!"

"You don't have anything to worry about there, Lumpy..." Eddy muttered, and Edd glared at him.

"That was very impolite, Eddy..." He lectured.

Ed shrugged. "Where did the rat mutants come from, Eddy?"

"Remember where the lizard-man came from?" Ed nodded, and Eddy continued. "Well, kids and insects aren't the only things the mad scientist experimented on, he also subjected normal rodents to nuclear radiation, causing mutations in their DNA..."

"Whoa..." Ed said softly, and then glanced down at Edd. "What?"

Edd was shaking slightly. "In other words, they were lab rats? Bred for experiments on useless info...?"

Eddy looked puzzled. "What are you talking about, Double D? It's just a stupid story."

"Mad scientist.... mutations... lab rats..." Edd said slowly, ignoring Eddy. "Not the most appropriate story you could have come up with..."

"Oh, man... Don't be going nuts on us, Double D... We still need to deal with the Kankers..." Eddy reminded him.

"True..." Edd said, then looked up at Ed. "Can you get off my lap now? We need to look for some info..."

"Yep!" Ed exclaimed, hopping off Edd.

"Now then, what would they store such things under...?" He turned to the computer and turned it on.

"Edward?" Eddy suggested.

"Gravy?" Ed asked.

"No... Edward would be for personal files, and gravy... wouldn't be in there." Edd replied.

"Wolf?" Eddy continued.

"Too obvious, any experienced hacker who believed in the paranormal would have found such info years ago..." Edd decided.

"Experiment A?" Ed said.

Edd looked thoughtful and turned around. "Something like that would be in the filing cabinet..."

"Okay then..." Ed said, going to the file cabinet and looking through it.

Eddy walked over to the papers. "Are these your dad's papers? The ones you were supposed to organize?"

Edd looked nervous and spun around to the screen again. "Yeah..."

"Naughty boy, Double D. You're supposed to do your chores, not hide the evidence in a secret room of your house." Ed lectured.

"Hey, here's a file labeled 'Specimen A'." Eddy said, looking it over.

"That might be useful..." Edd murmured, typing something very rapidly on the computer.

"Why's a file only 5 years old experiment B?" Ed asked.

"Well... Mother and Father have only started getting well known for six years, and the earlier files are from that time..." Edd said in explanation, and then went into deep thought.

Ed took another file and looked through it. "Did anything unusual happen six years ago?" He asked.

Edd didn't answer, and Eddy looked at him quickly. "Double D?"

Edd was staring at nothing in particular, his mind lingering on a Halloween, 6 years before...

 

{Flash back...}

 

It was dark out, hard to see even with the street lights everywhere. However, little shapes wearing bed sheets, pumpkins, and witch hats were running from house to house.

A little boy came out of the closest house, holding a small plastic pumpkin. He turned around to talk to a figure behind him, then started out across the lawn.

"Mother's actually letting me go alone! I can't believe it, I'm finally old enough to trick-or-treat alone!" He chortled in his joy.

He was wearing an astronaut outfit, complete with a helmet. He took it off and gasped.

"It's too hot with that on..." He complained, rubbing his head. The boy had short purple hair, not even down to his ears. He looked up at the sky and grinned, revealing two gapped teeth at the front of his mouth.

"Edward! Be careful, and stay in the neighborhood!" A women's voice exclaimed from the house behind him.

"Okay..." He replied, and then walked across the lawn to his neighbor's house. "Trick or treat!" He exclaimed as the door opened.

"Wow, it's almost full! This is so much candy, it'll last me at least a month!" Edward said happily as he walked home.

An eerie silence filled the area, and he looked around warily. No one was in sight, simply a darkened house to his left and an old, broken fence to his right.

He shrugged and continued on, singing softly to himself.

A shadow crawled out of the woods and through the fence, where it stopped and looked around. It noticed Edward and tilted its head, then slowly followed him on all fours...

 

{Flash forward...}

 

"Double D!" Eddy exclaimed, shaking Edd's shoulders.

"Hu-huh?" He murmured, coming to reality again.

"What was that? You were completely spaced out for a minute..." Eddy said.

Edd avoided Eddy's eyes, looking down to the right. "Something strange did happen during that time... It may actually be the cause of our current situation..."

"Like what?" Ed asked.

"It's not really something I choose to discuss much... I had all but forgotten about it until now... You see, six years ago, when I was just seven--"

"SEVEN?!? But you're twelve!" Eddy exclaimed, then looked startled. "You are twelve, right?"

Edd nodded, and Eddy looked relieved. "My birthday happens to fall between now and Halloween, I'll turn 13 then..."

"You're over six months older than me! It's not fair..." Eddy complained.

"I think I'm older than Double D!" Ed exclaimed. "I'm already, um..." He began counting his fingers, then toes, then ears, and stopped, puzzled. "I don't know... 13?"

"Why am I always littler and behind everyone?!?" Eddy exclaimed. "Ed, the next thing we know, Sockhead here'll have a---"

"Hey, you home?" A girl's voice called from outside.

Eddy froze and very slowly turned to Edd. "Y-y-y-y-you have a girlfriend?!?" He screamed.

Edd turned bright red. "N-no, not a girlfriend..." He walked into the actual room and to the window, and then leaned out. "Yeah, I'm here."

"Okay, then, can I come in? I need to talk to you..." Marie asked.

Edd nodded. "Sure thing, just come up to my parents' room."

Ed and Eddy stared in absolute shock. "MARIE KANKER?!?" Eddy screamed as Ed shouted, "KANKER SISTER?!?"

Edd smiled ruefully. "Marie helped me out last night..." He explained.

"Ah. She helped you out. No wonder, that explains everything..." Eddy said sarcastically.

She walked in. "Hey."

"Hey..." Edd replied awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. He blushed slightly and turned towards Eddy. "Anyway, where was I...?"

"Edd's secret, Halloween, age 7, second floor, everyone out." Ed said.

The other three stared at him.

"Huh...?" Edd asked.

"Um..." Marie said, then paused. "What did I miss?" She finally asked.

"Double D's parents seemed to have experimented on him in the past. We're trying to see if that's why he's a-- oh!" Eddy exclaimed, covering his mouth.

"... A werewolf?" Marie asked, grinning.

"Uh..." Eddy said nervously, looking at Edd. "Um, Double D? What's going on?"

Edd and Marie glanced at each other and started giggling.

"Marie is one too..." Edd managed to gasp out before laughing again.

Ed stared.

He continued staring.

He stared some more.

And a little more.

"Then she was the source of the howling before...?" He asked.

"Yep." Marie answered, and then looked at Edd. "Did you get that?"

Edd nodded. "Yes, though I'm still not entirely sure how..."

"Huh?" Eddy said vaguely, looking confused.

"Never mind... So, where are you going to be staying? Since you don't plan to spend the next few nights with your sisters..." Edd asked Marie.

She looked nervous. "That wouldn't be the best thing for me to do, so I was kinda hoping I could stay with you..."

Eddy's eyes bulged open wider than ever. "A girl sleeping over at a guy's house?!? Double D!"

Edd fiddled with his hair nervously. "Eddy's right, of course... Besides, I'm not going to be sleeping here either, I'd rather avoid my parents for the next few days..."

"...'Specimen A shows signs of amnesia and does not appear to retain any memory of the recent events.' What's that mean, Double D?" Ed asked, reading from a paper in the file.

"Let me see that." Edd said, taking it and scanning down it. "This..."

Eddy and Marie came over to see, but Edd walked to the computer, still reading it.

"Hey!" Eddy exclaimed.

Edd ignored him and put the file on top of the monitor. He pressed a key and the screensaver went down, then moved the cursor over Internet Explorer.

"What are you looking for...?" Eddy asked.

Edd still did not answer. He typed something quickly in the website box and loaded the site. A familiar flag was on the screen.

"The US flag? What are you looking--WHOA!!!" Eddy exclaimed, standing next to Edd and staring at the screen. He stared in shock at the kid beside him, who was still typing various things in. "Double D, is this the government mainframe? You hacked into the..."

"Yes, it's not that difficult if you put your mind to it... Beside, this is the only way I can verify this..." Edd commented, still not looking up. "Here we go..."

Eddy stared at Edd. "You know, sometimes you surprise even more than Ed here..."

Edd didn't answer and backed up slightly for the others to see.

The other three crowded around the computer, staring at the screen.

"So, why are we looking on the computer instead of through those files anyway?" Eddy asked.

Edd turned towards Eddy and smiled dryly. "Do you really want to sort though all of those papers?" He asked.

Eddy made a face. "Not really..." He turned back to the monitor.

"Exactly." Edd replied. He noticed something on the screen. "What the...?"

He typed something rapidly and another screen came up. This one had a long list of names, some with check marks next to them, others with Xs.

"Chro-chronolog-chro--" Ed tried to sound out, then stopped and scratched his head in bemusement.

"Chronological order of the discoveries of infected specimens.." Edd said quietly. "I'm at the top of the list..." He sighed and bowed his head.

The other three watched him nervously.

"Then again... I knew this was the case anyway..." He murmured to himself. "Well, then..." He looked up at them and smiled wryly. "Eddy, I need your opinion.... Who do you think is more important to pay attention to? Authority or peers?"

Eddy blinked. "Um... huh?"

"Parents, teachers, those types of people, or friends..." Edd explained.

"Honestly?" Eddy asked, and Edd nodded. "Friends. Who cares what adults say, they always lie to you, and keep important stuff and interesting things from you, not to mention order you around..."

Edd grinned. "Suggesting that friends never tell each other what to do?"

Eddy groaned and hit his forehead. "Double D... You know what I meant..."

Edd smiled and nodded. "And I'd have to say I now agree with you. My entire life, I blindly accepted everything my parents told me without question, and yet they were the ones to question every thing, to learn, to ask why."

"Why?" Ed asked, and the other three looked over at him.

"Ed, I don't think that saying why is going to help you." Eddy commented.

"Besides, it's finding things out, not just saying the word. Right?" Marie asked Edd.

Edd nodded his head slowly. "Correct. And if we're going to find out what's going on now, we're going to need to stick together. Okay?" He demanded.

"Yep!" Ed exclaimed.

"Sure thing." Eddy said.

Marie smiled. "Yeah, if I'm a part of this, anyway..."

Ed and Eddy looked at her for a minute.

"Would you mind keeping Kevin and Sarah from killing us in the future?" Eddy asked. "And helping with scams?"

"Sure thing." She replied.

"Okay, then." Eddy said, then grinned and slapped her on the shoulder. "Welcome to the Eds!"

"But... She can't be an Ed, she's a girl!" Ed realized.

Edd chuckled while Marie looked embarrassed and Eddy groaned. "We kinda noticed that Ed, Sockhead here more than anyone..." He said, elbowing Edd in the stomach.

"Ow! What did you mean by that?" Edd said, rubbing his stomach.

"Heh heh..." Eddy said evilly, grinning at him.

"Are you trying to imply that I--" Edd began.

"Just statin' the obvious, Double D..." Eddy said, and then ducked behind Ed.

"Any way... What are we going to tell the other kids? I don't think they'll appreciate my presence all that much..." Marie asked.

"We'll just figure that out then... But for now, let's leave here, there's no reason to be staying in here." Edd decided.

Ed ran out, Marie walking behind him. Eddy stayed a moment.

"You okay?" He asked Edd.

Edd gave him a look. "Well, I'm in a position where I and a girl who has a crush on me are werewolves. Her sisters are terrorizing the neighborhood because they suddenly have the ability to tell anyone but me what to do. Somehow, when I tell other people to stop doing whatever the girls made them do they go back to normal. My best friends have minor amnesia. My parents have been keeping secrets from me pertaining to great scientific discoveries and possibly why I have purple hair. The only people who are currently aware of what's going on are kids, and the people I have to depend on the most right now are a strong but dim-witted boy, a Kanker sister who has a huge crush on me, and a money-hungry fiend who often uses me to achieve his ends. Sure, I'm okay Eddy. Everything's going pretty normal for me, how about you?"

Eddy simply stared at him through this entire speech. He blinked once or twice and remained silent for a moment. He cocked his head, looked at Edd for another minute, then smiled. "Well." He commented. "...Money-hungry fiend...?" He asked slyly.

"Uh, well..." Edd said nervously.

"Never mind... It's not a big deal... But, that definitely surprised me. Ya know, I think this whole thing's pretty good for you, actually." Eddy commented.

"What do you mean by that?" Edd demanded quickly.

"Lemme put it this way... Earlier this summer, you were just this smart tightwad who did whatever Mommy and Daddy told you. You wouldn't think of breaking the rules and you felt bad about scamming kids. A total waste of brains. But now look at you. Keeping things from your parents, hacking into computers, lying to the others, and now a sarcastic attitude to go with it." Eddy slapped Edd on the shoulder. "You're getting to be alright, Sockhead..."

Edd rubbed his neck nervously and grinned. "Well, when you put it that way... There have been significant changes in my mental view, haven't there?"

"Yep. Now, come on, your girlfriend's waiting..." Eddy drawled out, then ducked when Edd tried to hit him.

"Eddy! It's not like that!" Edd exclaimed, then chased him down the stairs.

The computer in the room they left behind remained on, although the safe slowly closed and hid itself again...

 

Ed flung open the door of the fridge, literally.

Marie stared at him. "Um..."

"Double D? You need a better fridge." Ed declared, examining the door. He shrugged and placed it on the table behind him.

"How did you...?" Marie started, then paused, choosing her words.

"Soda!" Ed exclaimed, pulling a can out of the fridge. "Uh... how do you open this...?" He asked Marie.

"Here..." She said, opening it and giving it back to him. She then stared and watched incredulously as Ed swallowed the contents in one gulp, then proceeded to put the can in his mouth. He then chewed and swallowed.

She blinked. "Well, now I know why a sink was in your stomach..."

"That one was Jimmy's." Ed proclaimed.

"O--kay then..." Marie said slowly. "Sure thing..."

"Hey, soda? I didn't know your parents let you have that, Double D." Eddy said as he came down the stairs and into the kitchen. He then walked next to Ed and reached in and grabbed a can.

"Huh? They don't, I get hyper, and--- DROP IT! DROP THOSE THIS INSTANT!" Edd yelled frantically, grabbing the can from Eddy's grasp.

"Hey! What's the big deal?" Eddy asked irritably.

"Why did you take Eddy's soda, Double D?" Ed asked, gulping down another one and putting the can in his mouth.

"WAIT! Ed, SPIT THAT JUNK OUT!" Edd exclaimed jumping between them and the fridge. "Don't you dare grab another one!"

"What is your problem?" Eddy asked, trying to reach around Edd.

Edd gasped. "That's not soda!"

Eddy looked startled. "Then what is it?"

"Beer..." Edd replied.

The other three looked at each other rapidly.

"Beer?!?" Eddy asked, truly shocked. "You have beer?"

Edd shook his head rapidly. "Of course not! It's my parents', and it's highly alcoholic... They'll have a sip or to when they're stressed to calm down..."

"Uh, oh..." Marie said, looking at Ed. "Ed drank two whole cans..."

"Oh dear..." Edd said softly, backing away slowly.

"Let's hide behind here if he goes nuts on us." Eddy recommended, holding up the fridge's door.

Edd noticed that and looked shocked. "Is that the door to the refrigerator?" He realized what had happened. "Ed!"

"Hic!" Ed suddenly hiccupped. "I don't feel good..."

"I'd imagine not." Edd commented.

"Do you mean Ed's drunk?" Eddy asked, and Edd shook his head.

"Luckily, no. He didn't have that much, thank god... But it will have an effect on Ed's mind..." Edd said.

Eddy raised an eyebrow. "You sure it'll be noticeable? This is Ed we're talking about, after all..."

Kevin's voice came from outside. "Hey, dorks! Get out here!" He yelled.

"Huh? Kevin?" Edd asked, looking out the window.

"What's he doing here?" Eddy wondered.

Marie shrugged and Ed hiccupped.

"Eds! Get out here already, I need to talk to you!" Kevin continued.

"He needs to talk with us..." Eddy purred, grinning. "Okay, let's head out."

 

The four walked out, Eddy in front, Edd next to him. Ed looked dizzy and walked over to the side and sat down, while Marie snuck behind Edd.

"Hello, Kevin. What can we do for you?" Eddy asked cheerfully.

"We're going after the Kankers." Kevin said, frowning and crossing his arms. "They already came again, and this time they turned Jimmy's hair pink, gave Nazz a wart, and made us tell them where you guys are."

Edd heard Marie gasp, and he glanced back at her. She looked at him nervously.

"What if something happens to these guys?" She whispered.

"It won't. I'll make sure of it..." Edd replied, then turned his attention back to the conversation before him.

"Really? Pink hair? I'll have to see that... But, is that a good idea?" Eddy asked, grinning the whole time. "After all, they might make you sing again, and I'm sure none of us want to go through that again..." He continued, then looked at Edd.

Edd just looked seriously back at him, and Eddy's smile drooped slightly.

"That's why everyone is going to go, Dorky. We don't want to risk that happening again, so we're going to rely on power in numbers." Kevin replied darkly.

Edd came out of thought and frowned at Kevin. "What good will being in a group do? As I've noticed in the past, everyone will simply freeze if Lee or May show their faces, and they'll do whatever they want. After all, what did the others do to help you and Jimmy?"

"What did you say?" Kevin demanded.

Eddy watched the two nervously. He thought.

"Kevin, everyone going into angry mob form and storming the trailer park won't accomplish anything!" Edd exclaimed.

"How the heck do you know? We can take them on!" Kevin yelled.

Edd looked furious, his hands rolling into fists. "Just how dense can you be?! They won't listen to reason, if that's what you're counting on! What is your plan? To kidnap them? Knock them out? What?"

"That's what you're gonna figure out! You're supposed to be a child genius, aren't you? Show it!" Kevin replied hotly.

Edd straightened and the two glared at each other for a minute. Eddy and Marie looked between the two, shocked at the resemblance.

"Well, then... A genius? Smart, certainly. Smarter than any of you will ever be, at the rate you're going." Edd finally said.

Kevin looked flabbergasted. "W-what? Are you calling me an idiot?!?"

"I'm calling you stupid, because you are! Kevin, think about what we're up against here! We don't know what's going on, except that suddenly, May and Lee have the ability to make people do whatever they say! Do you understand the implications of that? Suppose they accidentally told someone to drop dead? Oops, there's a dead body! But I don't imagine that ever occurred to you, the biggest worry on your mind was where the Eds were, and the chance that you might get stuck singing that song again!" Edd screamed.

All four kids stared at Edd as he completely lost his temper and screamed all of this. Ed walked over and simply stood there. No one spoke for several minutes as Edd calmed down.

"Um..." Eddy finally said.

Edd sighed and looked down, his eyes closed and in deep thought.

"Double D?" Ed asked, looking concerned.

Edd opened his eyes slowly and looked up. He started to speak, in a much calmer tone than before. "Look, we don't know enough of what's going on to simply charge in there..."

"Then, we'll need to find out what's going on..." Kevin murmured.

"Hic!" Ed exclaimed.

Marie and Eddy glanced over at him.

"You okay, Monobrow?" Eddy asked.

"No..." Ed complained.

Edd nodded. "Yes, and to find out what's going on, we'll have to be smart about it, not the disorganized bunch we usually are... We need a plan..."

"Then what do you think we should do, hmm?" Kevin asked.

"We'll have to spy on them, tonight, and try to figure out how they're doing all of this. It never affected me, and when I told you guys to stop, you stopped. There has to be some reason for that..." Edd murmured.

"How about we split into small groups, of two or three? That way they might not see a large group together and realize what we're doing..." Eddy suggested.

Kevin frowned. "Well, that'd take care of you guys, wouldn't it?"

Edd shook his head. "No, it doesn't..."

Marie stepped next to Edd. "I'd need someone to pair with..." She reminded him. "And I don't think any of them would want to--"

Kevin was staring. "One of the Kanker sisters?!? You guys have been with them the whole time, haven't you?!?

"What?!?" Eddy demanded, but Edd pushed him to the side.

"No, we have not. Marie is not with her sisters, they've been treating her as badly as you, if not worse." Edd explained.

Kevin regarded her darkly. "It's hard for me to see the Kanker sisters breaking up, even harder than seeing you three hate each other..." He told Edd.

"Marie is with us, cause she joined the Eds..." Ed proclaimed suddenly.

"Oh really?" Kevin asked, looking at Edd again. Then you three trust her?"

Edd nodded. "She helped me get away from May and Lee last night..."

"Huh?!? These two told us that you were with your parents! Did they lie to us?!?" Kevin yelled.

Edd winced and cleared his ear, then continued in a calm tone. "I told you already, Lee and May erased their memory somehow, they don't remember last night, like they were brainwashed..."

"Uh huh... Will you tell me what actually happened, then?" Kevin finally asked.

"Eventually..." Edd replied, then glanced at Edd and Marie. "Are we going then? We'll need to prepare..."

Eddy nodded. "Yep..." He turned towards Ed, who was now sitting on the ground and looking around him vaguely. "Come on, Lumpy..."

"But I'm stuck, Eddy..." Ed complained.

"You have to be kidding me..." Eddy muttered as he went over to pull Ed up.

Kevin watched this suspiciously, then turned to Edd and Marie. "What's wrong with Ed?"

Edd rolled his eyes. "You don't want to know... Trust me..." He tapped Marie on the shoulder. "So, you're coming?"

She smiled. "Yeah, I need to get revenge on those brats."

"Alright, Ed, let's go already..." Eddy said, dragging Ed over. "I think Ed's gonna need to be locked up, or he'll just be a menace..."

"A menace? Get it off, Edd!" Ed yelled, swiping at Eddy's hand.

"OW! Ed, you dolt, that was me!" Eddy exclaimed, sucking his hand.

Ed pouted at him. "But I don't want the menace to get me, Eddy..."

Edd shook his head wearily and tapped Ed on the head. "Don't worry, Ed, it's gone..."

"It is? I'm safe!" Ed exclaimed, then jumped to his feet. "To my house!" He yelled, then set off up the street.

The other four watched him run. "Never let Ed around illegal beverages, Kevin, never..." Edd muttered.

Kevin blinked. "Illegal beverages? You mean Ed drank beer?!?" He exclaimed.

Eddy smirked. "Yeah, the idiot thought it was soda and had two cans before Double D realized what it was... He screamed at us and told us what it was, kinda funny, actually..."

"What?!? Funny?!?" Edd stammered, then glared at Eddy.

‘Oh, here we go…’ Eddy thought.

"There is nothing funny about alcohol consumption, Eddy! Not only is it illegal for people of our age to drink that, but too much of it inhibits your ability to think, and yes, it will affect Ed too... Honestly, if I had known this would happen, I would have--"

"Ow!" Ed exclaimed from up the road.

Marie made a face. "What'd'ya think he did this time?"

"Let's go see..." Eddy said, then started running.

Marie beckoned to Edd. "Come on..."

Edd scratched the back of his hat. "Well, then..." He turned towards Kevin. "I suppose we'll see you later, after we've resolved all of this... Good bye.." With that, he ran after Eddy and Marie.

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

Edd stood next to Eddy and Marie and leaned over, gasping for air. "What's he doing?" He wheezed.

"You have to see it for yourself..." Marie simply said, and Edd looked up.

There, Ed was running along the sidewalk, laughing like mad.

"Ah, ha, ha, ha, ha, Ooof!" He suddenly said, slamming into a telephone pole. He slid back several feet and got slowly to his feet.

"My goodness! Ed, are you all right?" Edd exclaimed, and Eddy covered his mouth.

"He's not done yet..." Eddy said.

Ed grinned and started running again, laughing crazily again.

He hit the pole.

"Ed...?" Edd asked, looking deeply concerned. He looked at the other two. "How long has he been doing this?"

"Since we got here..." Marie said faintly.

Edd blinked, then stared over at Ed again.

"That long?" Edd asked.

Ed ran into the pole again.

"That long..." Eddy replied.

Ed slowly got up and began running again.

"I'm locking that drawer in the future..." Edd commented.

Ed hit the pole.

"Good idea." Eddy said.

Ed slowly started getting to his feet.

"Or better yet, I'll recommend that Mother and Father get a locked cooler to keep them in..." Edd continued.

Ed began running.

"So will I..." Marie decided.

"You have beer in your house?" Eddy said.

She shrugged. "Never looked."

Edd nodded. "Good thing..."

Ed got up as quickly as any of the other times, and ran to hit the pole again. He slid across the grass the same distance and sat there a minute, then got up again, laughing.

"Ya know... it might not be the alcohol..." Eddy commented.

"Oh?" Marie asked, looking at him. "Is Ed really that stupid?"

"Yeah. He is... After all, he's gone and repeatedly hit the pole before..." Eddy reminded them. "If Double D and I hadn't pulled him behind it, he might have kept doing that all day..."

"Good point, I had forgotten all about that..." Edd said thoughtfully.

Ed ran to hit it again.

"Anyway..." Marie slowly said.

"Yeah, I'm getting tired of this... It's about as boring as watching Sockhead here run around in search of sticky notes..." Eddy said.

"Hmmm…? Sticky notes?" She asked slowly, looking over at him.

Edd turned red, putting a hand up and shaking his head. "Never mind... Let's go already..."

"Come on, Ed!" Eddy yelled.

Ed stopped a foot away from the pole. "Huh?"

"Let's go, Lumpy. Follow me." Eddy explained, then turned to Edd. "Make any secret agent stuff lately? Fix the jetpack? Anything?"

Edd grinned. "Indeed, I did! If you three will follow me, we can get ready for spying on the Kankers!" He noticed Marie and turned red. "Uh, well, you know what I meant, anyway..."

She smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "Let's go, it's okay..."

He smiled slightly back and turned away awkwardly, then started walking towards his house.

Marie followed him, while Ed and Eddy watched them.

"I think Double D really has the hots for Marie, Ed..." Eddy commented.

"He's falling in love with her because she's showing her more feminine and sensitive side, instead of the rough and disgusting side she showed as a Kanker sister..." Ed wisely explained.

"Tell me about it... Well, that leaves less competition between me and Nazz!" He finally exclaimed, then ran off after Edd and Marie.

"Follow the leader!" Ed spouted, then ran after the others.

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

"It's... a shed." Marie commented, looking around the shed they were standing in. "Where's the stuff?"

"In here..." Edd said as he walked to the calculator hanging on the wall. He typed several things in, and the wall opened up.

"Whoa! How many other of these secret rooms do you have?" Marie asked.

"None--" Eddy started.

"A few others, but they're my personal areas..." Edd replied. He looked apologetically at Ed and Eddy. "That's why you've never seen them..."

Ed looked thoughtful. "Do they have anything to do with that voice Eddy heard when he went in your room without you?"

"Yeah... That's my security system." Edd replied, then walked into the secret room. "Because we've been constantly scamming, I haven't had time to fix most of this stuff..."

"So? I still want to see it!" Marie said, walking in behind him. She stopped and stared around in shock. The walls were covered in all types of things, the jetpack, several fake jawbreakers, the mop, the bucket, a hook shot...

"Wow, no time to fix them?" Eddy asked sarcastically, grabbing the jetpack. "This working?"

Edd shook his head. "Unfortunately, whatever you two did to it permanently ruined it... I'll need to find parts and make another one..."

Ed pouted. "But I wanted to fly like a birdie..." He complained.

Edd shook his head. "Flying's out of the question, I'm afraid... Besides, how would that help us spy on Lee and May? We'd be kinda obvious..."

"Okay, then... Um, spying on the Kankers, what would we need...?" Eddy asked himself quietly.

Edd started looking through a rack of clothes. "I wonder..."

"Hmm?" Marie asked, walking next to him. "What?"

"Ah ha!" He exclaimed, pulling out a fully black cloak. "This may look like an ordinary cloak, but when you wear it for a short period of time, it heats up..." He wrapped it around himself, "The threads will start transferring the light from one side of it to the other..."

Marie scratched her head. "So?"

He smiled and put the hood up, covering all of his skin from sight. "If you saw the light on the other side, it look as though light was going through it, and you wouldn't see it, you'd see whatever was behind it..."

Her eyes widened. "Do you mean that it's a--"

"Invisibility cloak..." He commented, slowly started becoming see- through.

"All right, then..." Eddy finally said, coming out of his deep pondering. "Double D, do you happen to have a... Um... Where's Double D?" Eddy asked.

The cloak had vanished.

Eddy looked around. "Hey, where'd he-- WHOA!" Eddy yelled, suddenly suspended in the air. "What the heck's going on?!?"

Edd's giggling came form the air below Eddy. "So you guys really can't see me?"

Ed blinked. "Double D jumped out of his body!" He exclaimed.

Edd's head suddenly appeared. "No, I did not..."

"AH! DOUBLE D IS A FLOATING, TALKING HEAD!" He yelled, and ran through the wall behind him.

"U-u-u-u-u-u-u-uh... D-d-d-double D...?" Eddy stammered. "C-could you l-let me d-down please?"

Edd looked startled. "Oh, I'm sorry!" He exclaimed.

Eddy was put back on his feet. He straightened rapidly and stared. "How did you do that, Double D?"

Edd grinned and suddenly his entire body appeared, the black cloak slowly turning visible in his hand. "For all practical uses, an invisibility cloak that I designed." He said, holding it out to Eddy. "I've got five of them in all different sizes..."

Marie looked at him, confused. "Why five?"

"Three for us, and two for Eddy and I when we grow taller... I ran out of material for Ed's larger one..." He explained.

"Cool! With these, the Kankers won't even see us coming!" Eddy yelled.

"Well, of course not, Eddy... That's the whole point of being invisible, no one can see you..." Edd commented.

Eddy glared at him. "I knew that, don't act so condescendingly..."

Edd blinked. "How is it that you never seem to be with your tutor, but you always suddenly say a word not previously in your vocabulary?"

Eddy shook his head. "None of your business..." He ran over to the clothes. "Where's mine?"

"Um... It's next to the pink rabbit costume..." Edd said, looking away in embarrassment.

Eddy raised one of his eyebrows and held out the pink suit. "What on earth is this thing for?"

Edd looked up, his face bright red. "Never mind..."

"Uh huh, sure thing..." Edd said, tossing it to the side. "Where the heck... Ah hah! This one's mine, right?"

Edd looked at it and nodded. "That's it."

"Sweet! I can be invisible and sneak around... Oh, man! Double D, why didn't you tell me about this sooner?!? Do you know how many times we could have snuck off with our money instead of getting caught?!? Why do I have to be leaving in three days?!? It's not fair!"

"Leaving?" Marie asked, looking at him curiously. "Why are you leaving, anyway?"

"Still don't know, my parents won't tell me. When I asked my dad, he just looked at mom and said 'God, not only is he a rotten, spoiled kid, but he's an idiot too...' The jerk..." Eddy complained, and kicked at the floor.

Edd looked shocked. "Your own father said that about you?"

"Yeah..." Eddy said, then wrapped the cloak around him. "Hey, it isn't working!"

"It takes a minute... Now, what else do you two think we'll need?" Edd asked, then looked around. "Oh dear..."

"What?" Marie said, as Eddy looked down at himself.

"Ed's missing again..." Edd said, and looked frustrated.

"Oh, I think it's working!" Eddy exclaimed, his body slowly vanishing.

"Put the hood on and you'll be entirely invisible..." Edd commented.

Eddy' hood covered his head, and he went entirely invisible. "Ha! Now you can't find me!" His voice yelled.

"Actually, Eddy, I can. Right now, both your body and the cloak are producing heat. Heat-seeking missiles would go after you, and night vision goggles can see you..." Edd informed him, pulling out the red goggles. He put them on and looked to the right. "You're standing on the barrel."

Eddy's faint shape stared at him. "So, if we wear the cloak and the goggles, the only people who can see us will be us?"

"Exactly." Edd replied, then looked around the room. "Will we need anything else? After all, I believe the other kids will need something, and I don't have enough cloaks for everyone."

"Oh, how about this? Or this?" Eddy asked, various items floating in the air.

"Actually, the second would be useful, let's see what else I can make before tonight..." Edd said, then went to work.

Eddy grinned and pulled off the cloak, watching in interest as it slowly reappeared in his hands. “Too cool…”

"Well, that seems to be everything... But where on earth is Ed?" Edd asked, turning the shed's light off. The room went dark, as the sun was setting outside.

"We have a problem, guys..." Ed's voice suddenly said.

"Ah!" Edd yelled.

Marie fell over. "Hey!"

"Don't do that, Ed!" Eddy exclaimed, looking irritated. "And where the heck have you been all day?"

"That isn't the matter at hand, Eddy. We have a big problem." Ed said slowly.

Edd blinked. "Well, you certainly sound serious enough, what is the problem?"

"Well, um... Yesterday, or last night, anyway, you two changed, right?" Ed started.

"Yeah... It was the full moon..." Edd replied.

Ed pulled the hood down and looked awkward. "Well, I think you're gonna change tonight, 'cause the moon is full again..."

"WHAT?!?" Edd and Marie exclaimed.

"How is it...?" Eddy said faintly.

Edd shook his head rapidly to clear it. "That isn't possible, Ed. If last night was the full moon, tonight couldn't because the moon revolves around the Earth, and for it to be the full moon again, the moon would have stopped, and that's not possible, because an object in motion stays in motion, and there is nothing that could simply stop the moon from moving, but still keep it from being sucked into the Earth's atmosphere and destroying the planet!"

Eddy blinked twice, and everyone just stared at Edd.

"Um..." Marie said slowly.

"Did you two understand any of that?" Eddy asked.

"No..." Ed replied.

Edd glared at them. "Look, I'll prove it to you, the moon couldn't possibly be full again..." He said, walking to the door and looked towards the horizon. There, the moon was slowly rising, the full moon.

"Well...?" Marie asked.

"N-no..." Edd exclaimed, lurching away, then out of the moon's light. There he collapsed into a sitting position and stared at the others. "This isn't possible..."

"You mean it's really full?" Eddy asked, looking out.

"Some how, the laws of gravity, and physics, and motion, they're all being defied... How is this possible?" Edd whispered.

"Weird..." Eddy said, then shrugged and looked at Edd, then Marie. "So how are you two going to go without changing? If you don't, then Kevin will accuse you of sneaking to their trailer, again, and being in league with them..."

Edd simply stared. "Eddy, I hadn't even thought of that, how on Earth can I... Unless..." He smiled and held up the cloak. "Maybe wearing this will work..."

"But won't you become invisible?" Ed asked.

Edd nodded. "Yes, but I'm sure I can find some way of getting, hiding and taking the cloak off, and taking part in the conversation without changing."

"If you say so..." Eddy said, not believing him. He shrugged. "Any way, have we got everything?"

Edd nodded. "I believe everyone will be in the lane..."

"Okay, then, you two put on those cloaks, and we'll set off!" Eddy said.

Edd and Marie nodded at each other, putting on the goggles, then the cloaks.

"I'll make sure this works..." Edd said, walking out into the moonlight. He stood there a minute, and then looked at his hand. "It works, Marie..."

"All right, then..." She said, picking up some of the stuff. Edd turned invisible to Ed and Eddy's eyes.

"Should we wear the goggles too?" Eddy asked the air around him.

"Yeah, it'd work out better if you could see us... They're right in there..." Edd said, pointing an invisible finger out.

"Where?" Ed asked, looking around hopelessly.

"Ugh..." Edd complained, then walked in and grabbed them. "Here..." The two pairs floated over towards the visible Eds.

Ed and Eddy grabbed them and put them on.

"I'm a Cyclops again!" Ed yelled, running around in circles.

"I hate the way everything looks with these on..." Eddy complained to Edd.

Edd shrugged. "That's the only way I can get them to work, sorry..."

"Oh well... Any way, we should get going..." Eddy said.

"Right, let's go." Marie said, then they all set out for the path.

 

All of the kids were gathered in the alley, talking frantically about the Kankers. Jimmy was wearing an odd hat in order to cover his hair, and Nazz had another paper bag over her face.

"Are you sure they're going to show up, buddy?" Jonny asked.

"........." Plank replied, and the other kids looked at him.

"How are you so sure? Or does it have something to do with that conversation you had with Double D earlier?" Jonny demanded.

"........." Plank said, causing Jonny's frown soften.

"I know you're sorry, but you didn't have to butt me out of it..." Jonny complained.

Kevin shook his head. "If it weren't for what Double D did earlier, I'd just ignore Jonny... But now I'm wondering if Plank is real..."

"I know what you mean, Kevin. Double D wouldn't have been pretending, and he did faint, after all..." Nazz replied through the paper bag.

"Speaking of Double D, where are those guys? And why on Earth is Marie hanging out with them?" Sarah asked.

Edd leaned against the fence, standing in shadow. "We're here..."

"AH!" Most of the kids screamed, jumping back or falling down.

"He just appeared, like a ghost!" Jimmy cried, grasping Sarah's leg. "Don't let him get me!"

Sarah glared at Edd. "Now you went and scared Jimmy, you jerk!"

Edd looked startled. "Oh, dear, I'm sorry, Jimmy..." He said apologetically.

Ed and Eddy jumped over the fence, without the goggles on. Eddy held out the bag of stuff Edd had made that day.

"What's that stuff?" Nazz asked, walking over.

"Just some things I thought would come in useful..." Edd said, then looked to his right, where the fence opened and Marie came out.

Several of the kids backed up, wondering what she would do.

"There you are, what took you so long?" Edd asked, taking the cloak from her.

"The goggles wouldn't unfasten..." She replied, handing them over.

"Wouldn't unfasten? That's not right... They should have fit perfectly..." Edd said, examining them all over. "How strange..."

Eddy shook his head and turned to Nazz. "All right, if we're all done watching the lovebirds, it's time for business."

Edd froze and spun around. "Eddy!" He exclaimed, his face turning red.

Eddy chuckled and Ed grinned. "They've been like this all day..." Ed seriously explained to Nazz. "Eddy says they're in love..."

"Hello..." Rolf said, and Kevin snickered.

"No wonder you two wanted to pair up..." He said slyly. "How long have you had it for Marie, Double D?"

Edd turned even redder, and then Marie started blushing also. "I-I haven't a clue what you're talking about, Kevin..." Edd stammered.

"Yeah, right..." Sarah commented, then pulled Jimmy over with her to Ed and Eddy. "What did you guys bring?"

"All kinds of things, and no, we won't charge you for them..." Eddy said quickly when she glared suspiciously at him. "The basic things: night vision goggles, walkie-talkies... That kind of thing..."

"Really? Cool!" Jonny exclaimed, running over to the bag. Everyone walked over and looked through it.

"Neat-o, look through this, Plank!" Jonny exclaimed, holding the goggles to Plank's eyes. He spun him around, letting him see the kids, when Jonny noticed Edd staring at them.

Kevin elbowed Nazz and Rolf and they silently watched Edd.

Edd looked at Jonny, then down at Plank. His eyes closed abruptly and he turned away, leaning against the fence.

"Yo, Double D, you okay?" Eddy asked from where he was showing Sarah and Jimmy something.

"I'm fine, Eddy. Just... fine..." Edd said, then shook his head.

Marie looked curiously at him. "What did I miss?"

"...Never mind..." Edd whispered.

"Plank talked to Edd, and neither one of them will tell me what it was about." Jonny commented.

Eddy looked up abruptly. "That's right! You never got around to telling me what that was about!"

Edd looked at them, an odd look on his face. "I never got around to telling you most of the stuff I know, since you interrupted me so much..." He reminded him. He sighed. "But, it's not as if it matters, because the one thing we need to know, I don't know..."

"Dang..." Kevin said, then shrugged. "Anyway, we're all here, and we need to get going soon."

"Are we having a sleepover again? If we're out late, it'd be better if the parents think there's a reason..." Edd asked.

"Plus, you don't want to go back to your house..." Eddy commented.

Nazz looked puzzled. "What? Why don't you want to go to your house?"

"Oh!" Eddy exclaimed, covering his mouth. "I didn't say anything..."

Kevin was thoughtful for a minute, then remembered. "Oh yeah! What was it that you said? That you weren't actually with your parents last night?"

All of the kids looked startled and crowded around to hear what was going on.

"That's right, I wasn't." Edd said.

"Then where were you, hmm? The word Kanker seems to be sticking in my mind right now..." Kevin challenged.

Several of the kids gasped and looked at Eddy.

"You lied?" Nazz asked.

"Big surprise..." Jonny muttered.

Edd shook his head. "Eddy didn't lie, he only told you what he remembers... It would seem that the Kankers, or Lee, anyway, erased his memory. I was actually with them last night, but Jonny never saw me..."

Jonny frowned. "But Ed told me that your parents had plans, and that they brought you with them..."

Edd looked up uncomfortably. "I'd rather not explain this right now, with all of you surrounding me in such a hostile way... Can I please explain everything tomorrow? Maybe we'll be able to piece what I know and what we learn tonight to figure out just what is going on..."

The other kids talked amongst themselves for a minute, and Ed, Eddy, and Marie came over.

"Can't say that I blame you..." Eddy commented. "I'd want to keep that whole thing secret too..."

Edd nodded. "You two will help explain, though, right?"

"Yep! You can count on us!" Ed said, saluting.

"Okay, then." Edd smiled, then stood up. "Huh?"

Marie looked around. "What in the world?"

"What?" Eddy asked, looking around frantically. "What are you two looking at?"

Edd shook his head. "It's not a question of looking at, it's listening to. Don't you hear it? High-pitched noise, I'll get a headache if it doesn't stop soon..."

Ed and Eddy looked at each other.

"What noise?" Ed finally asked.

Marie blinked and uncovered her ears. "You really don't hear it?"

"No..." Eddy asked, then started as both Edd and Marie winced.

"What could it be, that you and I hear it but... Oh, no..." Edd finally said, slapping his forehead. "Marie, do either May or Lee own a dog whistle? You know, those things humans aren't supposed to hear, since they have such high pitches?"

She looked frustrated. "Yeah, Lee has one... Is that what that racket is?"

Edd nodded. "Probably..."

Eddy opened his mouth, shut it, and then opened it again. "Um, I thought humans couldn't hear those things?"

Edd looked sideways at him. "Well, I've been understanding what every dog or wolf barked and howled all day long, so it kinda makes sense..."

The other two stared at him.

"Well, that has to stink..." Eddy finally said.

Edd nodded, then glanced over at the others, who were coming out of their huddle.

"All right, you can tell us tomorrow. But you have to tell us, or else." Kevin remarked.

"Gotcha..." Edd said, then held up his cloak and goggles. "Are we going, then?"

"Hey, what's that?" Sarah asked, and she and Jimmy ran over to grab it.

"Be careful! If you rip this even once, I'll..." Edd started, then sighed.

"It's so silky, I want one!" Jimmy said.

Eddy walked over and grabbed it from them. "That's great, Double D will try and make you one tomorrow, okay?"

"Fine..." Jimmy complained.

"Besides, I don't think letting all of you have one would accomplish anything..." Edd commented, putting on the goggles. "There would be no point in them if all of you had a pair of the goggles and one of the cloaks..." He then pulled the black cloak on and wrapped it around himself.

"What do you mean by that?" Rolf asked.

"Well, remember how Jimmy said I simply appeared over there? He was telling the truth, I did suddenly become visible..."

Ed, Eddy, and Marie all put their stuff on.

"Are we getting ready or not? All of you have goggles, right?" Eddy asked.

"Yeah... AH! H-h-he's vanishing!" Nazz yelled, pointing at Edd.

Edd pulled the hood off as his body vanished. "That's the whole point, Nazz, this is an invisibility cloak..." He explained.

The others stared at his head. "You're kidding..." "No way..." "Cool!" They commented.

Jimmy nodded his head. "I want one, then. Can you make me one?"

Edd groaned. "I used all of the material, and Mother and Father ran out of the certain chemical that makes the light pass through he cloth, so now I can't make anymore..."

"Darn it..." Jimmy said. "Well, if you find any more, can I be the first you make one for?"

"Certainly... Now, can we finally be off? It's already approaching 8 'o clock..." Edd commented, putting the hood back up.

"But how will we see you guys?" Kevin asked, noticing that the other three were invisible also.

"Those goggles..." Edd explained.

"Oh! I can see you!" Jonny exclaimed. He gave the thumbs up. "Plank and I are ready to go!"

Edd eyed Plank again, then looked hastily at the others. "Are all of you ready?"

"Yep!" "Yeah." "Rolf is ready." "Me and Jimmy are ready..."

"Then let's go!" Eddy said, and they all went through the park to the woods.

 

Edd remained cloaked the entire time, as did Marie, but Ed and Eddy took them off.

"Those things get hot after a while..." Eddy commented.

"They're not too bad..." Edd replied, then stopped suddenly.

"Ow!" Kevin said, walking right into Edd. "Why'd you stop?"

Edd looked around. "Um, Eddy, shouldn't we be heading further right?"

Eddy glanced at the trees around them, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"Well, this is the way to the gate, not the trailer park..." Edd said.

Eddy nodded. "You're right, this is the way to the gate. I figured that we might as well just head to it and make our plan there instead out here..."

"Right. All right, let's keep going." Edd said.

"So, Double D, why don't you want to tell us your side of all of this?" Nazz asked.

Edd sighed. "You guys don't really know me, so you wouldn't understand what I'm going through..."

Rolf looked startled. "We know you, Ed-boy..."

"Not really... You guys are always hanging out together, while I'm always one of the Eds. When I'm not vaguely referred to as an Ed, I'm the 'brainy-Ed-boy', or 'Sockhead', or a dork... You don't spend time with me. None of you are exactly any of my friends, and besides, the fact that you guys know where I live and what I look like, even what I usually act like, doesn't mean you know me."

The others fell silent, thinking this over.

"He's right, of course..." Nazz finally said.

Eddy nodded. "None of you guys really know any of us, except Ed and Sarah, but that's because you two are brother and sister. You always... I can't really explain it, like us when we're mean, and hate us when we're nice..."

"Huh?" Jimmy asked.

Edd looked back at them. "I believe what Eddy meant was that you guys are always suspicious of us when we're being honest and helpful, and that you almost always believe us when Eddy has a scam... Like when I was awake for 26 hours straight, and Eddy wanted to make Ed's Sea Ranch, and all of a sudden, I was the most popular person in the cul-de-sac. If you had all let me sleep, then consulted me, things would have gone much smoother..."

Eddy stared at him. "You were awake for 26 hours straight?!?"

"Yes... The day before, we had been doing scams all day, and when I went home, I did all of my chores, then worked on a difficult model that took me 14 hours 7 minutes to complete..."

Kevin nodded in understanding. "That explains why you were out of it all day long, toothpaste, indeed..."

Edd grimaced and watched where he was going.

Jimmy looked thoughtful now. "Speaking of all-day-scamming, why do you three always scam us?"

"Cause we want jawbreakers, stupid..." Eddy snapped.

Sarah shook her head. "Don't be a jerk, Eddy. Everyone knows you guys always want jawbreakers, but why do you scam us?"

Edd looked back again. "That would be because Eddy no longer receives allowance... In fact, now that I think of it, I don't think you've ever gotten allowance, Eddy. Why is that?"

"I used to, before you moved here, but I broke some expensive stuff, so my parents said I was in debt to them and that they'd use my allowance money to pay it off... I've gone and almost been out of debt a few times, but then I'd lose my temper, or something else would break... You get the idea..." Eddy explained.

"Indeed..." Edd said. "Well, Eddy never has money, while I do get allowance, but I'm saving it all for an electron microscope with my paper route money, and Ed... I'm not sure. You always have money, Sarah... Why doesn't Ed?"

"Cause he's an idiot, and he breaks stuff all the time too..." Sarah said.

"Ah... Well, there you have it, we never have any money, while you guys always have lots, so Eddy would obviously have the idea of getting you to pay us for stuff, thus letting us have a source of money..."

"Oh..." Nazz said slowly, nodding.

"Well, here we are..." Edd said, looking around the clearing.

"Wow, that's the gate? And it works?" Jimmy said, running up to. "That's so neat... Can we try it?"

Sarah and Edd followed him.

"I'm afraid not right now... we have other things we should be doing..." Edd said, then gestured. "Over here..."

They all went around to the backside, where several benches had been placed, on in shadow. Edd immediately sat on the shadowed one and pulled off the cloak. "Much better... That does get somewhat stuffy..."

Jonny tilted his head and watched Edd. "Then why did you wear it the entire time?" He asked.

Edd shook his head. "I'll explain all of those things tomorrow..."

Marie sat next to him, and Jonny on the bench across from him.

"So what's the plan?" He asked Edd.

Edd looked up at him, and Marie noted that he carefully avoided looking at Plank. "That's what this meeting is for, I may be a child genius, as Kevin put it, but I'm not the best at this type of thing... It would be more of Eddy or Kevin's area..."

"So the rest of us are just kinda hanging out?" Jonny asked. Edd nodded, and Jonny yawned. "Then I'll take a nap until then..." He murmured, then stretched out over the bench.

"That's a good idea he had, can I sleep too?" Marie asked, grinning.

Edd made a face. "The bench isn't long enough for you to lay on, and me sit down..." Marie made a pout face at him, and he sighed. "Oh, fine..."

She stretched out the moment he stood up. He looked down at her, shook his head wearily, and then leaned against the tree creating the shadow.

Eddy and Kevin were yelling at each other at the other side of the clearing, surrounded by the rest of the kids who were trying to calm them down.

Edd thought, then looked down in deep thought.

another voice thought in his head.

Edd didn't budge, but his mind went alert.

Plank asked him.

Edd thought coldly.

Plank regarded him for a minute. <I don't know why you're being so rude...> He said finally.

Edd exclaimed in his mind.

Plank sneered.

 

On the other side of the clearing, Ed stopped talking and looked over at Edd. The boy was standing with his hat draped over his face, but Ed still knew something was wrong.

"Eddy?" Ed asked.

"No, that won't do us any good either!" Eddy yelled at Kevin.

"You're just ignoring what I have to say because I said it, right?" Kevin demanded.

"Break it up already, you two! We won't get anything accomplished by being at each others' throats!" Nazz yelled.

"Um, Eddy? I think something's wrong with Double D..." Ed continued.

Eddy paid no attention to Ed. "Look, I think it would be better for me, Ed, Double D, and Marie to go up close with the rest of you as cover, since we can be invisible, and you can't!"

"But we're all smarter than you or Ed, and sneakier than Double D! Plus, we wouldn't want Marie going, what if she's spying for them?!?"

Ed glared at them and stomped off towards Edd.

Ed wondered as he stepped in front of Edd.

"Double D?" Ed asked softly.

Edd didn't answer.

 

"Why do we not sneak up and simply listen to what they are talking about?" Rolf asked practically.

Both Kevin and Eddy opened their mouths to answer when Ed yelled.

"Huh?" Nazz asked, and everyone looked over.

"Double D!" Ed exclaimed, shaking Edd.

Edd still didn't say anything, and Ed fell back, trying to figure out what was happening. He sat down, on Jonny.

"Hey!" Jonny exclaimed, waving his arms and dropping Plank. "Get off of me, Ed! Why are you sitting on me?!?"

Ed jumped up and spun around. "I'm sorry, Jonny. I didn't see you..."

Marie yawned and stretched. "Do we have a plan yet?"

"No, Eddy and Kevin are still bickering..." Ed replied, then looked at Edd. "Are you okay, Double D?"

Edd picked his head up and looked around vaguely. "Wha...?"

"You're okay! There was something wrong, and you wouldn't answer me or anything..." Ed said.

Edd rubbed his head and looked down, where he saw Plank. He froze, then slowly backed away.

"What's wrong?" Jonny asked, picking Plank up. "What is scaring you so much? You've been looking at Plank like that all day..."

Edd shook his head. "It doesn't really matter, perhaps I'm simply losing my sanity..." He commented, then looked across the clearing towards the others. "Well, do we have our plan yet?"

Kevin and Eddy looked at each other.

"Um..." Eddy said, and Kevin commented, "Not really..."

Marie frowned. "Then what have you two been doing? Look, Double D, why don't you and I just go spy on them now, we're not doing much here..."

Edd nodded slowly. "We might as well, it looks like these two are never going to make a plan as it is..." He stretched, then picked up the cloak and wrapped it around himself.

She grinned up at him and put hers on. "Will we go in the trailer?"

"No, too risky..." Edd said, looking up thoughtfully. "We'll just go outside the kitchen window and listen to what they're talking about."

Eddy looked at the two, then at Ed. "All right Ed, we'll do the same thing. Get your stuff."

Ed saluted and put his cloak on, then picked up the bag of stuff. "Are you two going to need anything?"

Edd pondered that for a minute. "Um, let's see, something with a tape recorder... That should work." Edd said, picking up a large sponge. He put it in his pocket and his cloak went see-through.

Ed stared. "Hey, that's Jeff!" He exclaimed angrily.

"Huh?" Jimmy asked. "Who's Jeff?"

Edd held the sponge out. "Ed, are you talking about this?"

Ed grinned and nodded. "Yep, that's Jeff."

Eddy looked irritated. "First you name seagulls, then chickens. Now you're naming the members of your sponge collection? Ed, you've got problems..."

"Yes, he does..." Marie commented, then looked at Edd. "Let's go." She said, putting the hood up.

He nodded and the two walked off.

 

"Okay, Ed, let's go." Eddy said, putting his own hood up.

"Have we got everything we'll need?" Ed asked curiously.

Jimmy looked up. "Won't you need a radio?" He asked, holding one up. Ed and Eddy didn't notice, but Jimmy's finger pressed the talk button so that it was locked down.

"Oh, right! Gimme that, and we'll be on our way..." Eddy said, taking it from Jimmy's grasp.

"Hey...!" Kevin exclaimed, looking frustrated.

The Eds ignored him and ran off in the direction Edd and Marie had gone.

"I guess we'd better just follow Eddy's plan..." Jonny recommended as he got to his feet and walked over.

Rolf frowned. "This is not very organized..."

"Oh, heck with it..." Kevin said. "All right, Rolf, you'll come with me, we'll watch Ed and Eddy to make sure they don't try pulling anything..."

Nazz looked at Jimmy and Sarah. "Will you guys be staying here?"

Sarah nodded. "No reason to risk them doing anything worse to poor Jimmy here..." She explained.

"Gotcha... Then I'll stay here with you, and we can be home base." Nazz decided. "Everyone can meet back here after."

"And Plank and I will follow Marie and Double D..." Jonny proclaimed. Most of the kids looked at him, and he tried to explain. "I still want to know what it is that he's hiding from us, and why neither he nor Plank will tell me what's going on..."

"Right. Okay, let's get going." Kevin said, and they all went in their separate directions.

 

Ed and Eddy were slowly walking along, talking.

"Ed, what do you think is going on?" Eddy asked. "And be serious, no mutants or aliens, or any of that junk..."

Ed looked thoughtful. "Good question, Eddy... I don't really know. Do you think it has anything to do with the gate? I mean, the Kankers never could tell us what to do before now..."

Eddy shook his head. "Double D still hasn't proven that anything he said was the truth. I don't really think that May and Lee know enough of what they're doing to be able to erase memory."

"Um..." Ed said slowly, then sighed. "Eddy, do you not believe Double D?"

Eddy fell silent for a minute. "I don't know what to believe, Ed." He finally answered. "He hasn't been acting like he normally does, have you noticed? Sure, finding out his parents have been keeping stuff from him would make him act odd, but not this odd. And that thing, about our memories being erased, how do we know that's true? What if it was his memory that was altered, hmm? You just never can figure that kind of thing out..."

Ed looked startled. "What if it wasn't a matter of him memory being altered?"

"Than what would it have been?"

"What if that's not the real Double D? He told us he was taken to the trailer park, but he never said what happened after... And talking to Plank? He's never done that before either..."

Eddy's mouth was wide open. "Ed! You-you found a brain! I mean, that's it! It must be! That kid isn't even Double D!" He accused.

Ed pondered this for another minute. "Then, the real Double D...?"

"At the trailer park..." Eddy said, and they nodded simultaneously.

"We need to rescue him." Ed decided.

"Right. Come on, before the fake one gets back there..." Eddy recommended.

They then both set off through the woods.

 

Jonny snuck from bush to bush in pursuit of Edd and Marie. The two stopped and looked at each other, then began talking. Jonny hid behind the tree they were standing under, setting the radio to talk so the others would hear.

"You had another reason for pairing up with me, didn't you?" Marie asked.

Edd nodded and sat on a nearby log. He made sure he was in shadow, then pulled the cloak off. "Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about earlier... Though now I feel rather awkward..."

"Try me." Marie said, smiling and sitting next to him.

"Well... I don't know..." Edd commented, looking uncomfortable.

"Remember this morning? You should have seen the look on your face, when you pulled your head out from of under the sofa, it was too funny.."

He made a face. "Do you really blame me? I just wake up, not entirely sure where I am, then I realize my hat is gone, revealing one of my more mortifying secrets... I had forgotten that I gave it to Eddy yesterday, and I freaked..."

 

Nazz gasped, looking shocked as the three listened to this conversation. "Did Double D just say what I think he did?!?" She exclaimed.

Jimmy nodded, equally amazed. "He gave it to Eddy, and yet he went and told us that Eddy took it... He lied!"

Sarah was concerned. "He's done that at least once before, when they stole my diary, he said he never looked in it..."

Nazz shook her head. "This is bigger than a diary... That means that Eddy was telling the truth the whole time... What if Eddy was right about that not really being Double D? He has been acting weird..."

"Whoa... I hadn't thought of that..." Jimmy whispered.

"Actually, all four of them have been acting odd... Double D, Eddy, my brother, and that Kanker..." Sarah commented.

Jimmy nodded. "You're right... And I should tell Kevin all of this." He set the radio on another frequency and pressed talk. "Kevin? You there?" He asked quietly.

"Shh!!!" Kevin hissed. Rolf came on. "We are just behind the other Ed boys, they are approaching the trailer..."

"Rolf, tell Kevin that Eddy was telling the truth about the hat thing, and that Nazz suspects he might be right about Double D..." Jimmy whispered.

"Certainly..." Rolf replied. "How do you say it?"

"Out, Rolf..." Kevin's voice faintly said.

"Out? All right, then, out..." Rolf said, then the radio went dead.

Sarah nodded, then looked at Nazz. "They still talking?"

Nazz nodded. "Listen..."

 

"I don't really blame you for feeling that way, things have been rather hectic lately..." Marie said, leaning against the tree.

Edd nodded his head. "Tell me about it... It doesn't help that Ed and Eddy don't remember, and it really doesn't help that it's your sisters..."

She glared at him and pushed him off the log. "That's not my fault!"

He grinned ruefully, then froze and stared at his hand. "Shoot!" He exclaimed, leaping up.

"What?"

"The shadow isn't as complete as I originally thought..."

"Oh...! W-well, we should be going anyway, shouldn't we?" Marie asked.

"Yeah, let's go... Ed and Eddy are probably wondering why they got there before we did..."

The two put their cloaks back on and continued walking through the woods to the trailer park.

 

Jonny stood up and spoke in the radio quietly. "Did you guys get all of that?"

"Yep..." Nazz's voice said faintly. "What do you think that shadow thing was about?"

Jonny shrugged. "I don't know... Do you, Plank?"

Plank didn't answer him.

"Plank!" Jonny exclaimed.

Still no answer.

"Oh, fine, be that way... Nazz, Plank won't tell me, I think he knows... I'll keep following them."

Sarah came on. "Whatever you do, don't let them see you, all right?"

"Right." Jonny said. "Jonny, out." He put the radio in his pocket and looked up the path. Edd and Marie were almost out of sight.

//And there they go…// He thought bitterly.

Jonny looked down at Plank. "You do too, you're just being a brat. You should feel lucky I let you come with me."

Plank went silent, so Jonny shook his head in frustration, then began running after Edd and Marie.

 

Ed and Eddy stopped at the edge of the creek. "Now, how are we going to get across this without being caught?" Eddy whispered, then started and grabbed Ed's arm. "Don't get a tree, okay Ed?"

Ed pouted. "How else do you expect me to make a bridge?" He asked.

Eddy looked thoughtful. "Good question..."

"Hmm... How about this log?" Ed asked, pointing to a log behind him.

"As long as it's not in the ground still, it would make too much noise that way..." Eddy replied.

Ed immediately turned and picked the log up, then carefully set it across the creek. "Bridge ready, Eddy!"

"Right. Follow me, and be quiet." Eddy whispered, then snuck across the log towards the Kanker's trailer.

 

Kevin and Rolf came to the edge of the woods. "There they go..." Kevin said softly. "Off to alert the Kanker sisters, probably..."

"I think that the Ed-boys really believe that the Kanker Sisters are holding the real Edd-boy captive..." Rolf commented.

"They probably do, but I know they're wrong... I just know it." Kevin replied, then gestured with his head. Come on, we have to make sure they don't--"

"EDDY!" Edd's voice rang out from in the trailer park. "What do you think you're doing?!?"

Kevin and Rolf jumped in surprise. "They blew it!" Kevin exclaimed.

"We must find out what it is that they are doing..." Rolf reminded him. "Let us sneak in and watch."

He nodded quickly, and they both ran across the log.

 

Edd and Marie stood next to each other, staring at Ed and Eddy, and the two people they had been talking to. Eddy turned and smiled at Edd.

"Hi, Double D... What brings you here?" Eddy asked sweetly.

Edd shook his head. "Eddy, you're conspiring with the enemy! What on Earth has come over you?!?"

May and Lee, the other people smiled sweetly at Edd.

"Love has come over me, Double D, nothing more than love..." Eddy said, then leaned over and kissed Lee...