(A comment on this chapter… I unfortunately never wrote down the thought conversations, so as with other chapters, I’ve had to guess at what had been said or thought… And in this chapter, Edd seems to act more like Eddy than himself… Oy.)

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The Secret of Edd- Part 6

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Kevin and Rolf peeked around the trailer. They could see the Eds and the Kankers, as well as Jonny hiding in the bush behind them.

 

"Ed-boy has fallen, look, Kevin!" Rolf whispered, pointing towards Eddy and Lee.

 

"The little traitor..." Kevin hissed, fumbling for his radio. He dropped it and it hit the ground before him, blaring to full volume.

 

Lee and May twirled around. "What's that noise?!?" May exclaimed, looking around frantically at the shadowed areas.

 

"A radio...?" Lee wondered, quickly seeing the object on the ground, then turned and glared at Edd and Marie fiercely. "You little spies!"

 

Edd's eyes went wide. ^Shoot…^ He thought, then shouted, "Kevin! Rolf! Get out of here, now!"

 

Kevin nodded quickly, tapping Rolf’s shoulder, and the two ran off.

 

"Huh?" Ed asked, looking back where they had been standing. "Kevin and Rolf? Why were they here?"

 

Edd grabbed Marie's arm. "Let's get out of here!” She nodded quickly at him and pulled the two into the bush. They ran through it in the dirction they had come from before.

 

Jonny tried to get up, but the bush rustled and he got stuck.

 

"What's this?" Eddy wondered aloud, amused sounding, as he walked over. "Another spy?"

 

Ed got there first, picked Jonny up, and held him in the air. "What should we do with him, Eddy?" He asked.

 

Eddy grinned. "Let's torture him, and find out what he knows... Huh?!?" His eyes widened at another voice.

 

^What children… That kind of power, and this is how you want to use it?^

 

Ed, Eddy, May, and Lee all looked around frantically. "Who's saying that?!?" May cried.

 

^Very stupid of you…^ Plank continued, ignoring the question. ^And… You would know me as ‘Plank’.^

 

"We're not stupid!" Lee exclaimed angrily, staring at Plank. “And how can you talk, anyway?! You’re the stupid one, just some piece of wood!”

 

//Well, you are being stupid… Make him leave, and I’ll explain to you what you’re doing wrong.// Plank ordered softly.

 

Jonny gave a frightened stare at Plank. "What?!? P-plank…?”

 

Ed dropped Jonny on the ground, where he collapsed to his knees and stared staring down at the piece of wood in shock.

 

Lee nodded slowly. "Okay, then... Bald kid, go."

 

Jonny slowly got to his feet, dropping Plank against his will and stepping back a few times. He stopped. "But..."

 

"Go already!" May exclaimed irritably.

 

"Plank!" Jonny cried, then ran in the direction Edd and Marie had gone.

 

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

 

The two came into the clearing and began gasping for breath. Edd leaned against a nearby tree, then sat down and pulled off his cloak. Marie shook her head to the side, doing the same. The other kids who had stayed back noticed them.

 

"I can't believe it..." Marie said softly.

 

"This proves that their powers are genuine..." Edd commented. "Before, I don't believe I was entirely convinced..."

 

Sarah, Jimmy and Nazz ran over. "What happened?!?" Sarah exclaimed.

 

"I wish I knew..." Edd commented, just as Kevin and Rolf ran into the clearing. The two noticed the group, and jogged over.

 

"Double D!" Kevin exclaimed.

 

Edd looked up at him. "Hello, Kevin. I'm glad to see you got away..."

 

Rolf frowned and crossed his arms. "What are the other two Ed-boys thinking?"

 

"That Lee and May are the loves of their lives..." Edd commented. "Do you realize that they've been manipulated?"

 

Kevin nodded. "That's what I thought... But still! They knew everything that we did... All of our plans, everything..."

 

Marie crossed her arms and stepped forward, giving Kevin a glare. "What plans? You didn't have anything decided ahead of time, you simply did whatever you felt like!"

 

Kevin’s eyes widened, then narrowed. Few people talked like that to him… He growled. "You little--"

 

Edd stood up, clearing his throat loudly, and gave both of them looks. "It does us no good to get back to base, only to sit here quarreling. We need to get to someone's house and have another sleepover, so we don't get in trouble..."

 

Rolf nodded. "Yes, let us go back to the cul-de-sac, no?"

 

Sarah looked around. "But... where's Jonny?"

 

Edd tilted his head, looking around in confusion. "Well, wasn't he here with you?

 

Nazz looked up uncomfortably. "Uh, well, he um, left..." Jimmy nodded as well, not looking at Edd.

 

Edd frowned. "Well, we can't wait all night until he gets back, our parents are probably worried sick about us as it is..."

 

Kevin looked startled, remembering suddenly; "Oh, man, our parents! My dad's gonna lose it when I get home, this sucks!"

 

The younger kids present stared at Kevin in shock, not sure if what he’d said made a ‘bad word’ or not.

 

Marie shook her head. "You're right, it does suck. We went through all that trouble, and we didn't even learn anything new..."

 

Rolf nodded, in a pessimistic agreement. "It all seems to have been for a worthless cause, and yet..." He looked over at Edd. "Perhaps our remaining Ed-boy can tell us what he knows."

 

Edd jolted slightly in surprise and stared over towards Rolf. "What? Hear what I know at this kind of a time? I told you, I'll explain tomorrow..."

 

Kevin stomped over and frowned down at Edd. "Look here, Double D, me and Rolf saw you talking to the Kankers. When you told us to ignore them, we stopped doing what they said; earlier, you--"

 

"Ow!" Jonnys voice suddenly exclaimed; cutting Kevin off as the smaller boy ran into him. He fell down and looked slowly up at them.

 

"Jonny?!?" Sarah, Nazz, Rolf, and Edd chorused.

 

"What are you doing?" Kevin moaned, rubbing his back.

 

Jonny whimpered, trying to sit up and explain. "The Kankers, and Ed and Eddy, and Plank...” The boy’s eyes closed, and he shivered. “Plank… He talked to them, and told me to leave…" He whispered, then collapsed, shivering.

 

Edd leaned over him and checked his pulse. "He's all right, I think he simply fainted."

 

Jimmy clutched his heart. "Are you sure? He looks dead!"

 

Edd slowly stood and looked at Jimmy. "I just told you, he's fine..." He said, then looked at Kevin. "Can you bring him with us?"

 

Kevin nodded and picked Jonny up. "Well, oh fearless leader, where are we going to? Or have you not planned that far ahead?" He asked Edd sarcastically.

 

Edd frowned at him, picking the cloak up. "No, I hadn't... We can't stay at my house, Eddy's, or Sarah and Ed's..."

Nazz looked puzzled. "Why not? I don't think we could use my house again..."

Edd opened his mouth, but Marie spoke up. "Because we're avoiding Double D's parents, and if we stayed at Ed or Eddy's house, they'd expect Ed or Eddy to be there..."

The others nodded. "Gotcha..." Sarah commented. "So that leaves my house out of it..."

Edd looked up thoughtfully.

"Come, why do you not be guests at Rolf's house?" Rolf asked.

The other kids looked at each other.

"Um..." Sarah said slowly. "Would we have to sleep in the shed?"

Edd's face was growing green as memories of fishsticks danced in his mind. //Oh, no, no, no… I can’t eat that food again…// He thought as Rolf shook his head.

"Of course not! And I will provide nutrition from my home country as breakfast tomorrow."

Marie looked at Edd. "Why's your face changing colors...?" She asked, and the others looked at him.

"Um... heh heh..." Edd said, scratching the back of his head nervously, "Well, no offence meant to your cooking, Rolf, but my system just can't handle the... exotic foods you eat..."

Kevin blinked. "Exotic...?"

Rolf looked confused. "Then, you refuse my hospiality?"

Edd's eyes opened wide and he shook his head rapidly. "No, no, nothing like that! I just feel it would be better to go to someone like Jonny's house, as he is unconscious, and his parents would probably feel better knowing that..."

Nazz nodded wisely. "Yeah, but we'll need something to tell them about why he's knocked out... We can't just go and say 'Oh, we don't know... we let him run out in the woods by himself, and after he came back, he fainted...'"

"True..." Edd said, then rose an eyebrow. He looked over at Jonny again, then had an idea. "Kevin, do you by any chance have a lot of hard nerf balls hanging around your house?"

"What? Nerf balls?" Kevin exclaimed. "Yeah, but why do you need nerfballs?"

Edd's face grew grim, though pale. "Because I have a believable way to explain Jonny's unconscious state..."

 

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

 

Jimmy came in. "I'm the last one!" He announced.

Edd nodded. "All right... Did they seem at all suspicious of us after?"

He shook his head. "Nope. They still looked nervous, but that's all."

"Then that's everything." Edd replied, then looked to the others.

They were all in Jonny's room, equipped with pillows and sleeping bags. Jonny was still unconscious, on his bed, and the others were setting up their sleeping areas.

Jonny moved slightly and sighed.

They all looked up from whatever they were doing.

"Is he coming to?" Nazz asked worriedly.

Edd nodded and sat on the end of the bed. "Hey..."

Jonny opened his eyes slightly. "Huh?"

//I hope you're okay...// Edd thought, then smiled reassuringly at Jonny reassuringly. “How do you feel?”

"My head hurts..." Jonny murmured, opening his eyes further.

Edd grinned. "Well, obviously. You've only been unconscious for the last twenty minutes, why do you suppose your head hurts?"

Jonny's eyes didn't seem focused yet. "No, it's 'cause of the voices..."

Edd jerked back and glanced at the others, who had all started whispering frantically.

"No..." Jonny whispered.

Jimmy came over. "No what?"

Jonny looked at Jimmy, and his eyes started going back to normal. "No, I'm not hallucinating..."

Edd blinked, puzzled, then looked shocked. "What the...!" He exclaimed, leaping off of the bed. "Who did you just say that to?"

"One of the voices..."

The whispering increased, and Edd looked frantically around. "None of you mentioned hallucinations, right?" He asked, starting to sweat.

"Right." "I didn't..." "No..."

Edd looked down. //That’s impossible… I just wondered if he was hallucinating, and…// He thought, then looked up at Jonny. The small boy turned his glance towards Edd.

"What?" Jonny asked nervously.

//This can’t possibly be happening, but… Jonny, can you hear me?// Edd shook his head.

Jonny looked around. "Yeah..."

Edd fell back onto the floor and sat there, stunned.

"Whoa!" Kevin exclaimed, and "Watch out, Double D!" Nazz cried.

"This is not possible..." Edd said out loud, attracting stares from the others.

"What are you talking about, Double D?" Sarah asked.

Jonny stared down at Edd, pale. "But... that's what one of the voices was saying, how did you know that?"

//I… I am the voice, Jonny...// Edd thought slowly, his voice not working.

Jonny's eyes widened. "Your thoughts...? You mean I'm reading your mind?!?" He exclaimed, backing up form the edge of the bed.

Edd nodded slowly, and got to his feet. "Yes, you're.. reading my mind..."

 

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

 

Everyone was in a large circle around the room, Edd sitting on the edge of the bed, facing Jonny.

"An apple... a cup... Ed's face...Nazz in a bikini..." Jonny said slowly as he sat there with his eyes closed.

Edd's eyes opened abruptly. "What?!?"

Kevin snickered and Nazz blushed. "I didn't know you thought about me that way, Double D..." She said softly.

Edd's face turned bright red. "I wasn't... honest..."

Jonny giggled. "I'm just kidding, you guys!"

"Well, other than that," Edd glared at him, then shook his head, "You had it all correct. But with the others, nothing... How odd..."

Jonny shrugged. "I bet we'll figure it out eventually..."

Edd nodded. "Probably... But, anyway... You seem to pick on my thoughts, but I never heard your's... and everytime you answered me, you answered out loud, though that's probably a habit from talking to Plank..."

Nazz looked startled. "That's right, Plank! Only you two ever heard him, and Jonny's always been talking out loud to him..."

Edd nodded again. "A telepathic communication of sorts... Though why I only just started hearing in that fashion, or Jonny hearing these 'voices', I still haven't figured out..." He sighed. "Anyway, where were you? Last time I had checked, you were staying here..."

Jonny shrunk somewhat and looked ashamed. "Plank and me were supposed to be spying on you... The others believed what Eddy was saying..."

Edd's face grew cold and unreadable. "So..." He paused, looking angrier by the second. "You don't trust me either? My friends desert me, you guys don't believe me, and Plank..." He trailed off.

Jonny straightened. "Yeah, what about Plank?!? What the heck is going on?!?"

Edd stared at his feet. "...You trusted Plank, didn't you...?"

The other kids stared at Edd in confusion.

"Yeah, of course!" Jonny said angrily.

Edd slowly looked up and gave Jonny a creepy look. "You shouldn't have."

The others looked at Double D, none whispering, all trying to figure out what he meant.

Jonny's expression grew nervous. "What do you mean by that?"

Edd muttered something and rubbed his head. //Never mind… It doesn’t really matter, anyway…// He thought.

Jonny nodded, then looked puzzled. "Hey, by the way..." Edd looked over at him again, "When did I get here?"

Kevin grinned. "We decided to have our 'sleepover' at your house, after you fainted... Double D came up with a plan to explain why you weren't awake, and your parents believed it, then let us stay here. I think they made phone calls earlier to tell everyone else's parents we were here..."

Jonny nodded, then asked curiously, "What was the plan?"

"Something that I knew any parent in the neighborhood would believe..." Edd commented, grimacing. "You see..."

 

{Flashback...}

 

The kids snuck into Kevin's yard.

"Are you sure the balls will still be there?" Edd asked nervously.

Kevin nodded and pointed. "In that shed there, in the orange crate..."

Edd gestured to Sarah and Rolf. "You ready? We need to get these as quietly as possible, without attracting anyone's attention..."

"Right." Sarah whispered, then the two snuck into the shed.

"I can not see a thing!" Rolf exclaimed.

"Shh!" Sarah hissed, and there was a loud clanging noise. "Rolf! Look what you did! Now they're gonna..."

A light went on in the house.

Kevin looked at it frantically. "Shoot! My parents are awake!"

Edd glanced nervously at the house, then redirected his attention to the shed. "Hurry up, you guys!" He hissed.

"Is this it?" Rolf asked, pulling the large, orange crate out.

Kevin nodded quickly, glancing at the house again. "Yes, it is!"

"Hurry up! Back through the fence!" Edd said, opening the door. They all ran through just as the back door of the house opened.

The figure stood in the doorway and looked around. There was no sign of anything wrong, and the man shrugged. "Just my imagination..." He said in a low voice, then turned around and walked back into the house.

 

"Whew!" Edd said, leaning against the door. "That was rather close!"

Rolf nodded. "It was..."

"So..." Kevin commented slowly, putting Jonny carefully down. He looked up at Edd with business all over his face. "Now what's the plan?"

Edd mad a nervous face. "Uh, well, you see... There is a certain... activity, of gruesome sorts, that I believe you guys have been told to not play with everyone?"

"Um..." Jimmy said softly, then his face lit up. "Oh! You mean dodgeball!"

"...Dodgeball?" Kevin finally asked when the others just stared in confusion. "What does dodgeball have to do with this?"

Edd's expression grew even more nervous. "I happen to have a... bad history, with that game... going from an accident that caused me to be in the hospital for three days to me... As well as another game when I was kicked out for doing too well at it... to say the least..." He said slowly, not looking at them. He grimaced slightly, then faced the group again. "Any way, I'm no longer allowed to partake in physical education classes for various reasons, and all of the parents know about that, so if we simply say that you guys had been playing dodgeball and Jonny was knocked out..."

"Oh..." They all said, nodding to each other.

"That makes sense..." Sarah commented.

"No wonder you had that trauma attack and started screaming when Eddy aimed at you..." Jimmy said thoughtfully, then glanced all over Edd.

"What?" Edd asked self-consciously. "Is there something on me?"

Jonny shook his head. "No, I just thought that if you were in the hospital for three days, you must have some scar or something..."

"Ah. Well, no scar, aside from the permanent gap in my teeth..." Edd said, pointing at his mouth.

The others stared at him.

"You mean that's why you have that gap?" Nazz asked.

He nodded. "That's right... Now then, we really ought to hurry up..."

 

{Flash forward...}

 

Ed was still facing towards Jonny. "So we went to your house and scattered the dodgeballs around your lawn. Luckily, your parents didn't get back here until a few minutes after us. We made a big deal of it, made it seem like we had been here the entire time, and asked if it were all right for us to spend the night..."

"I see... that explains it..." Jonny commented thoughtfully.

"Now that we have this all taken care of... How about you finally explain your side of all this, Double D?" Nazz asked hopefully.

He stared and blinked. //Now…? Why must you all keep asking…?//

Marie shook her head. "Isn't it a little too late for that? It's getting close to ten 'o clock, and we should be asleep..."

The kids all burst out "TEN 'O CLOCK?!?"

Edd winced. "Yes, it's that late... So can I go to sleep? I'm sure there will be time for me to explain everything to you guys, including the stuff I didn't tell Ed or Eddy..."

Kevin's expression grew hopeful. "You mean you didn't even tell them everything?"

"No, they interrupted me too often, so I decided to not bother..." He explained, then got off the bed and went to the corner next to Marie. Everyone watched as he climbed in his sleeping bag. "Good night, everyone..."

They all blinked. "Oh, um, goodnight!" Jimmy said hastily, then looked down at himself in distaste. "We need to go to our houses right after hearing everything, these clothes are filthy and I've been wearing them all day..."

Edd opened one eye and smiled dryly. "Don't think you've got it bad, Jimmy, I'm in a much less sanitary position, I've been wearing these same clothes since yesterday afternoon...."

They all turned to stare at him. "You? Mister hygiene, wearing the same clothes for that long? Kevin demanded.

Edd smiled and closed his eye. "See? I told you, you guys aren't in as bad a situation as me..."

Nazz blinked. "Not true! You haven't had to wear a paper bag all day!" She said, pointing to her face as evidence.

The bag was not on her head.

"Huh?!?" She exclaimed, running to the mirror.

"You don't have a wart anymore..." Edd commented from in the sleeping bag.

She examined her entire face. "I-it's gone..." She stammered.

Sarah got up and looked. "You're right, like it was never even there..."

"And Jimmy's hair isn't pink. Or, hadn't you guys noticed that?" Edd asked softly, rolling over. //Now to finally get some real sleep… Honestly…// He thought 'loudly' to cover his real thoughts, rolling again.

Jimmy ran to the mirror and pulled his hat off. Sure enough, it had also turned back to normal.

"What the...?!?" Kevin exclaimed, then turned to Edd. "Double D, did you… You're going to have a lot to explain, aren't you...?"

"...Indeed, I will. Now, if we can get some sleep?" Edd requested, then rolled over one last time, nestled in, and started his quiet snoring.

The others stared at him for another minute, then all shrugged and went to going to sleep themselves.

 

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

 

Jonny woke up, but he didn't move or open his eyes to betray the fact that he was. Instead, he remained where he was, slowly breathing and listening to the 'voices' around him.

//…All in all… What an uncomfortable predicament…// Edd's 'voice' was saying to itself. Edd softly sighed, and Jonny heard him roll over.

Jonny wondered, then gave an internal shake of his head.

//And without Eddy or Ed, too!// Edd thought irritably. Jonny felt Edd hesitate, //But since the Kankers erased their memories and all, they wouldn’t have been much help, anyway…//

Jonny gasped, then covered his mouth. It was no use, Edd had heard him.

//Jonny?!?// Edd thought furiously, getting to his feet. He glared across the bed at Jonny. //I know you're awake, don't even try denying it.//

Jonny opened his eyes and looked nervously at Edd. "I-I wanted to make sure you were telling he truth..."

Edd carefully stepped over Rolf and stood over Jonny's head. "And how long were you eavesdropping on my mind, hmm?" Edd whispered angrily.

"No-not long, just s-since you thought, um, 'what an uncomfortable predicament...', that's all..."

"That's all? That's all?!? Ugh..." Edd muttered in disgust. "Couldn't you block that? I have a right to keep my thoughts to myself..."

"I-I can, but I had just woken up..." Jonny stammered nervously, mentally shoving the voices to the side.

Edd watched him for another minute, then sighed. "What were you doing, waking up this early anyway?"

Jonny shrugged. "I just woke up. How early is it, anyway?"

"4:22..." Edd replied. He yawned slightly and blinked. "We should still be asleep, okay?"

Jonny nodded and pulled his blankets back over him. He heard Edd mutter something, then walk back to his corner and get back in the sleeping bag.

//That was close… I wish I had learned a little more, though… Oh well.// Jonny thought, then slipped into sleep.

 

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

 

Ed yawned. "Sleepovers are cool, did you know that?" He asked quickly.

The other three just stared at him.

"Ed, you're as bad as Double D when you have too much sugar, you know that?" Eddy demanded.

"Yeah..." May said sleepily. "Come on, Ed, be quiet, we're trying to get some sleep!"

"Okay..." Ed said sadly, then rolled over under the blankets. He had been voted to sleep on the floor, while May and Lee had their beds and Eddy had Marie's. Of course, he didn't mind.

//I miss Double D…//Ed thought mournfully. //I wish he hadn’t gone away, and left that fake one here…//A chill ran through Ed's body.

//Oh? Why are you here, then?// He heard Plank say quietly.

Ed's eyes opened and he looked across the trailer at Plank. //Because… I came with Eddy, to save Double D…//

*~*~*

//To save Double D? By asking the Kanker sisters for help?// Plank asked slyly. Ed didn't answer, and Plank snickered slightly. //What makes you think you’re with the ‘good’ guys now, hmm?//

Ed fell silent, thinking seriously, then he realized what Plank meant. //You mean… That was the real Double D? And he was telling the truth?// He asked faintly.

Plank's grin grew slightly more sinister. //Exactly… But what are you going to do now, huh? Leave Eddy with the Kankers?//

Ed's face grew pale and frightened. //I… I don’t know…//

 

Marie opened her eyes and sat up, yawning. The kid with the baseball cap and the really tall kid were awake, but the others were all still in their sleeping bags.

//Which one was which, again…? Kevin and Rolf, but… I don’t know who’s who, here.// She thought, blinking to dry and clear her eyes.

"Kevin, the Kanker-girl has awoken..." The tall, kid, apparently Rolf, commented as she crawled out of her sleeping bag.

Kevin nodded and stepped over everyone to get to her.

She smiled slightly. "Good morning..."

He shook his head abruptly. "Don't even. Why are you with us, anyway? To get revenge on your sisters?"

"Hmm..." She said, looking thoughtful. "Well, partly... And part because I want to stay with Double D, he's the only person who seems to trust me."

Rolf put his stuff down and came over, carefully going around Edd. "Then is it true that the-- Well, that Double D is in love with you?"

Marie blinked. "I thought you referred to them as the Ed-boys?"

Kevin nodded in agreement. "Yeah, why'd you just change that?"

"Because the Ed-boys don't seem to be a group anymore...,” Rolf said wisely, looking down at Edd.

"Oh..." Kevin said, following Rolf's glance. He then looked back up. "You're right, we can't group those guys together anymore..." He commented softly, then turned to Marie. "Well?"

"I think..." She said softly, then nodded and looked him in the eye. "I think he does have a bit on a crush on me... I want to think so, anyway..."

 

Edd stayed still, listening to this conversation. He thought about it, then gave a slight smile. //Now that I think about it… Maybe I do…//

"I don't blame you, you've had a crush on the guys since you met." Kevin commented from above Edd's head.

//Before… They had those drawings in the trailer before Ed, Eddy and I knew they even existed…// Edd thought.

"Actually, we were in love with the Eds before we actually met them..." Marie replied sheepishly.

//Told me so.// Edd thought, smiling slightly more.

"So, what's Double D's big secret anyway?" Kevin asked.

"Which one?" Marie retorted slyly. "He seems to have lots of them..."

"Oh, man..." Kevin complained. Edd peeked open one eye to look up at them. Kevin looked upset. "This is going to take a few hours, isn't it?"

Marie nodded grimly. "Especially if you guys constantly interrupt him."

"Great..." Kevin muttered. //So how do I keep everyone quiet long enough to get the important stuff out of him…?//

Edd considered answering, then realized something. Kevin hadn't opened his mouth or said that out loud. //Um… Am I hearing thoughts now, too?//

 

Kevin went back to the opposite corner of the room. "So now what do we do?"

"Wait until everyone wakes up?" Marie suggested.

Rolf nodded. "Some of them will not awaken for some time, I believe..." He commented, then went back to folding his stuff up.

Edd looked back up at Marie, then closed his eyes frantically as she turned to him.

"Oh, wake up already..." Marie complained from just above his head. She straightened and walked off towards Kevin. "Could we just wake everyone up? I'm sure they won't mind, they want to hear his story..."

"Well..." Kevin commented, then Jonny yawned.

//Hi… What time is it…?// He thought loudly.

Edd didn't answer, simply opened one eye to listen.

Jonny stretched and sat up. "Why can't we hear it now?"

"They are still asleep, and Kevin hesitates against waking them...." Rolf explained.

Jonny blinked and looked around the room. His thoughts were sent towards Edd. //But… you’re already awake…//

//They don’t know that yet… Don’t tell them.//Edd answered forcefully.

//Oh… Okay… I guess.// Jonny thought reluctantly.

//Ugh, never mind… They’re not going to talk anymore, anyway.// Edd mentally complained.

Jonny thought, then turned to Rolf. "So, what time is it?"

"It is..." Rolf started, leaning over to see the clock.

"Time for everyone to wake up?" Edd commented, standing and stretching.

Rolf, Marie, and Kevin jumped. "Hey!"

Edd grinned and Marie stomped over. "Have… Have you been awake this whole time?!?"

"Yes, since 3:39 this morning..." Edd replied.

Kevin looked furious. "You mean you heard everything we just said?!?"

Edd remained smiling and started chuckling.

Marie frowned and leaned towards him. He was still giggling when he looked at her face, only for her to slap him.

"OW!" He exclaimed, covering his throbbing cheek with his hand. "What was that for?"

"Being a jerk." She said angrily, and then sat down on her sleeping bag. "I'm bored..." She announced.

The other four stared at her.

//Uh…// Edd thought.

//I think you made her mad...// Jonny replied.

Edd turned to Jonny and glared. "Oh, really? Like I couldn't tell..."

Kevin and Rolf looked confused.

"Who are you talking to?" Kevin asked slowly.

"Jonny." Edd replied. "You know, it's late enough, why don't we just wake them up?"

They looked towards Jimmy, Sarah, and Nazz. "I do not wish to awaken the evil child..." Rolf commented nervously, referring to Sarah.

"Ugh, nor do I, I'd much rather wake Jimmy..." Edd added.

Kevin looked at them. "That leaves me to wake the brat up, doesn't it?"

Marie muttered something and stood up. "Oh, you big cowards, I'll wake the runt... You can deal with your girlfriend."

"M-my girlfriend?!?" Kevin exclaimed. "Nazz isn't my--"

"Oh, sure she isn't..." Marie interrupted. "You two hang out often enough..." She stepped over Jimmy and stood next to Sarah. "Wake up, girly," She ordered, heavily tapping Sarah's head.

Kevin blinked and looked at Edd, who shrugged. "Don't ask, trust me..." Edd said, then leaned down and softly tapped Jimmy's shoulder. "Hey, wake up..."

Kevin shrugged and softly shook Nazz. "Come on, Nazz..."

The three slowly came to.

"Huh?" Jimmy whispered, then slowly sat up.

"What time is it...?" Sarah asked.

"About... 7:20..." Edd said slowly.

Nazz looked up at Kevin. "Did you just wake me up?"

Kevin started sweating. "Uh, um, yeah..."

She glared. "Well, that was really mean!" She exclaimed...then slapped him. "I was having the nicest dream too!" She got out of the sleeping bag and stretched.

"Ow..." Kevin muttered, rubbing his cheek, then looked over at Edd. "What's the deal with them?!?"

Edd shrugged. "I don't know, I don't really understand girls sometimes... And I think it would be in both of our best interests to not ask..."

Sarah got up and yawned. "Is everyone awake?"

Nazz nodded. "Looks like it..."

They all turned to Edd expectantly. "Well...?" Kevin asked. "You said that you'd tell us this morning, so what exactly is going on?"

Edd sighed. "This is going to take some time, several hours, possibly..."

"What?!?" Nazz exclaimed. They all looked at her, and she added frantically "I'll get really hungry by then, none of us have had any food for nearly 12 hours..."

"Oh, you're right..." Sarah complained.

"My tummy hurts just thinking about it..." Jimmy commented. "Maybe we should eat first, then let Double D explain everything..."

Everyone seemed to agree, and they headed downstairs to eat.

 

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

 

Eddy listened to the yelling taking place in the kitchen.

"I've just about had it with you!" May exclaimed. "First you throw Marie out and replace her with the Eds, and now you're trying to throw me out and replace me with a--a stupid piece of wood!"

"Oh, shut up! What do you know, anyway? You're too stupid to understand what's going on, that's why you like Ed! He's the only kid around who's dumber than you!" Lee retorted, and Eddy heard a slapping noise.

Eddy winced.

Ed came in. "What's going on, Eddy?"

Eddy glanced at him, grinning. "Lee's really dissing you, and beating up your girlfriend..."

"Huh?" Ed asked. "Since when was May my girlfriend?"

 

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

 

"That was an excellent breakfast, I must commend your mother for cooking for so many people on such short notice..." Edd commented.

"Yeah, that was awesome... So much better than yesterday's breakfast." Kevin commented, then looked nervous when Sarah, Nazz, and Jimmy all glared at him. "Uh, um... What I meant was, um, I like pancakes better than waffles, and so I didn't like yesterday's food as much..." They growled at him, and he looked even more nervous. "I'll shut up now..."

"Good idea, for it is not wise to insult the people who cook your meals Kevin." Rolf informed him. "They may seek revenge on you with some very poor food."

Kevin grimaced and went up to Jonny's room. "Come on, everyone, the never-ending story is next..."

Edd nodded. "It probably will be... But two things, before I start... First, I don't actually know most of what's going on, we'll have to figure it out after I explain it. Second, I'm going to have difficulty explaining some of it, for various reasons, and I'd rather you guys didn't interrupt, all right?"

A few of them looked concerned. "Okay..." Kevin replied.

Edd nodded and sat down. "I recommend that you guys get comfortable, we're going to be here for a while..."

They all settled down and began listening to what he had to say...

 

 

Edd began. "Six days ago, at night, I woke up around 11 'o clock... I knew I wouldn't be able to get back to sleep easily, so I went downstairs to get a glass of warm milk to help. However, before I entered the kitchen, I heard my parents speaking. They were discussing me, and something that they were considering telling me about..."

 

{Flashback...}

 

"He's approaching his thirteenth birthday, and he's mature enough to understand the scientific potential in all of this." Edd's father commented.

His mother sighed. "Of course he is, he's been intelligent enough to hear this for years. But I'm afraid that if he takes it the wrong way, he might not have the same innocence and trust he does now... He’ll think we lied to him, and, really, we did…"

"I understand why you feel that way, but the vaccine is wearing off in his system. Either we give him another one and pretend none of this ever occurred, or we don't and thus expand on the greatest discovery you and I ever made..." Father replied.

//What… Are they talking about? What did they not tell me…?// Edd wondered.

"Greatest discovery? A great discovery would be a cure for cancer, or a life form that is not carbon based. A great discovery would be a new energy source. This, this is not an important thing when placed among what the world needs right now... And all of our resources should be based on such." Mother retorted.

Father muttered and went to the fridge. He pulled something out, then sat down again. "If we could discover what gene it is that caused them to change forms like that, we could introduce it into new specimen. Create a super breed of humans, for... Don't you see the importance in that?"

 

{Flash forward...}

 

"Question!" Marie said quickly.

The others glared at her. "Hey, we're not supposed to interrupt!" Sarah reminded her angrily.

Marie stuck her tongue out at Sarah, then looked at Edd again. "So, do you think they were referring to, um, ya know..."

Edd nodded. "That's exactly what they were talking about, although I didn't know it at the time... That they would be speaking about preternatural possibilities in such a casual way, that I didn't expect..."

Marie blinked. "Um, what does pre-ter, um..."

"Preternatural?" She nodded. "Abnormal, supernatural... That kind of thing..."

"Oh...." She said slowly. "I get you now."

"Supernatural? Isn't that the type of thing my brother goes on about all the time?" Sarah asked.

Edd nodded. "Now can I please get back to the story?" They all nodded. "Okay then, I left off with my parents talking... They continued along that note for some time, but I grew weary of listening and snuck back up to my room. There, I feigned sleep for a time, and that was a good thing too, for my mother came up to my room... She thought I was sleeping, and so began to talk to me..."

 

{Flashback...}

 

The door slowly creaked open, and Edd remained still. He thought grimly.

He heard his mom's soft footsteps across his floor, and she gently sat on the edge of his bed.

"Hello, Edward..." She whispered, putting a hand to his cheek. "I don't know what to do... Your father wants to use you as his scientific specimen, but you're more than that, you have potential to be so much more..."

She rubbed his cheek again and sighed, sitting up again. "Also, I'm afraid to tell you about what happened... I worry that you'll question the love that I hold for you... And I don't want that, I'd rather risk losing your father's respect than your love..."

//Mother… I love you, as it is… But what are the two of you talking about, that would make you so worried…?// Edd thought.

She reached over and pulled his hat off slowly and softly and let his purple hair stream around his head. "If I had been stronger, I could have prevented all of the heartache you must go through over this... If I had..." She sighed again, then replaced the hat. She kissed his cheek, then slowly stood up and walked to the doorway. "Good night, Edward..."

 

{Flash forward...}

 

Nazz was near tears. "That's so sweet... And that was your mother?"

Edd nodded. "Yes, she's always been more sentimental than Father, he loves science too much to let his feelings get in the way..."

"...Wait a minute..." Kevin said slowly. "She took off your hat..." Edd nodded. "And your hair streamed around your shoulders..."

Edd nodded again. "Yes, yes, I have long hair…But that's not an important detail yet. May I continue now?"

"Oh, fine..." "Sure thing..." "Yep!" "Go ahead..."

"All right, then... After that, Mother left my room. I fell asleep shortly after, so I don't know if they continued talking or not..."

 

{Flashback...}

 

Edd yawned and got out of his bed. He thought, proceeding to make and iron his bed neatly.

After, he went out of his room to get some breakfast.

"Mother and Father already left, I see..." He commented to himself as he poured a bowl of Chunky Puffs...

 

{Flash forward...}

 

Marie blinked. "You iron the blankets on your bed when you make it?"

Edd's face turned red. "Uh, yes... It stays neater that way..."

The others just stared at him. "Okay then...." Some said softly. "Sure thing..."

Edd was still blushing. "Any way, can you people please interrupt less? At this rate, we'll never get to the important stuff..." They nodded and he continued....

 

{Flashback...}

 

"Strange, there's only one chore for me today. I wonder why..." Edd said to himself as he picked up a sticky note.

 

Dear Edward, please reorganize

your father's old research papers.

 

//Oh, no…// He thought miserably. //That’ll take hours…//

 

(Flash forward)

 

“As I began to collect them, and was preparing to bring them upstairs, Eddy came in, complaining that he needed something to do, desperately… Evidently there was a movie marathon on, so Ed was otherwise occupied, and the majority of you were… Not in the cul-de-sac. After a few moments time, I suggested that we go aid Rolf with his chores, and… Well, Rolf, you know how that went…”

Rolf glared at him, but the red light didn’t enter his eyes. “Indeed…”

Edd winced slightly, then looked around at the others. “Basically, it ended with Eddy and I running for our lives up the street, and we ran into Ed, who informed us that his marathon had been canceled… Now that I think about it, it was because a hospital had been closed, the one Mother works at…”

He stared at the ceiling thoughtfully. “And a detail that escaped me was that the hospital is government-funded, and ultimately controlled… So if Mother’s services were needed elsewhere, or if they were punishing her for something…” He shook his head. “I’m not really certain that that’s pertinent, I’ll need to think on it longer… Eddy became angry at how we had, again, failed to make any money, so he stomped off to his house, no doubt wrecking some of his belongings in the process. Ed and I parted ways, I to my house to do my chores… And I found a note from Mother, that told me that I needed to administer a vaccination, a tetinus booster I believe it was called, sometime in the next two weeks… I put it aside to examine later, and on went the night…”

“That shot… Is that the one that…” Marie began to say, looking curious. Edd nodded his head in reply.

“What?” Kevin sat back, annoyed. “Double D, you haven’t really explained anything yet…”

“I’m getting there. The night passed uneventfully for me, though Eddy had an argument with his parents, from what I gathered… So the next morning found me testing the substance of the vaccination to determine its real purpose when Ed and Eddy came yelling into my home… Eddy had been told that he’ll be going away, in a few days.”

“What?!?” Several people exclaimed. Edd raised his hands and motioned for silence quickly.

 

"Anyway... Ed had said something about us going to another planet to find people who could make Eddy's parents change their minds, and I had an idea of how that could become reality... We spent the entire day building the gate, then split up to go to our homes. I immediately dealt with all of my chores, thinking about talking to my parents the entire time, but decided against it. I didn't mention either the shot or the gate during dinner, but the conversation did eventually lean towards the hospital...

 

{Flashback...}

 

Edd was sitting at a table with two unfamiliar people, adults.

One was a woman, slightly taller than Ed and several inches taller than Edd, with long brown hair. She had a face similar to her son's as well, same shaped nose, same chin, and same smile. She was wearing a flowery t-shirt and black pants, and a necklace with a sapphire flower on the end.

Opposite the table from her was a man several inches taller that her with short, black hair. He also had a large chin, but his nose was larger and more beak shaped then his wife's or son's, as well as a smile similar to Kevin's. He was wearing a collar shirt and black pants.

At the end of the table was Edd, with his black hat and red shirt as usual.

"Could you pass the salt, Edward?" Father asked in a low voice.

"Certainly." Edd said and gave it to him. The boy then put some brussels sprouts on his plate and hid a grimace.

Edd thought, forcing himself to eat some.

"How is it?" Mother asked, hiding a smile behind her hand.

He choked slightly and swallowed, then put on a fake smile. "Superb, Mother."

She gave him a rueful grin. "You're just saying that. Although, I suppose I should be glad that a boy your age doesn't spit it out..."

"Nonsense, I loved all kinds of vegetables when I was his age." His father announced cheerfully.

Edd looked uncomfortable. "Well, Father, I don't believe that geniuses can be counted as normal, and Mother was talking about normal boys..."

His parents both laughed, and he smiled. "Were you saying that your Father is a genius, or that you are?" His mother asked.

Edd blinked. "Father, of course... I'm no genius..."

"Oh, yes you are. I don't care what you say, you are a genius." Mother replied, giving him a small hug.

"But..." Edd replied as he was held in her grasp.

"Don't talk back to your mother, Edward, it isn't polite..." Edd's father said, snorting softly as he watched the spectacle.

She finally released him and he smiled shakily at her. "Sorry, Mother..."

"That's not a problem, you didn't really talk back to me." She replied, then began eating again.

Edd looked down at the food. "Oh, dear, it's gotten cold, hasn't it?"

Father nodded his head, but didn't say anything.

"Ugh..." Edd muttered, staring down at the brussels sprouts. He got himself some salad and poured salad dressing on it. "So, Mother, how was your day?" He asked, then began eating.

She froze and glanced at his father, then cleared her throat. "It was... fine, dear..." She said softly.

Edd glanced between the two of them, puzzled. He wondered, then swallowed. "I heard that the hospital was closed, why was that?"

His parents looked startled. "Where did you hear that?" Mother asked.

"Evidently it was on the news. Ed told me about it after he stopped watching TV, for I had been... playing with Eddy at the time." Edd said quickly.

Edd's father looked nervous. "Well, it was closed, but they're still... investigating why."

"Oh, I see..." Edd replied softly. He noticed his parents staring at each other, then him, but he didn't say anything.

His father looked down at his plate and a silence fell for several minutes, filled only by the sound of eating. Edd finished first and looked at them awkwardly.

"Um, may I be excused?" He asked.

His parents looked quickly at him. "O-of course, Edward..." His mom said quickly. "Certainly..."

Edd looked at the two of them again, then shrugged and picked up his plate and cup. He wondered, then went to the kitchen.

 

His parents looked at each other again after he left.

"Do you suppose he knows?" Father asked.

"Well, he is a very bright boy..." Mother replied softly. "It is possible..."

Father shook his head. "He shouldn't know yet, we need some time before we can explain this to him..."

Mother looked down, then nodded to herself. "No, we don't." He looked at her abruptly. "I-I left the vaccine in his room, with a note to administer it to himself within two weeks... I don't want him to know about this..."

Father stood rapidly. "What?!?"

She also stood and held her hands out. "Let me explain!"

He growled. "You don't need to, all there is to explain is that once again, and you've decided to halt science for some squeamish reason of yours."

Mother shook her head. "No, please... How do you think he'd take to the idea of us hiding something like that from him all these years?"

"He'll understand that it was for the good of mankind and deal with it!" Father exclaimed.

"You would, of course you would, but he won't..." She said. "He won't... He'd never trust us again, don't you understand that?"

He sighed and sat down. "You're right..." He finally said, sighing. "Of course you're right, you would know, wouldn't you? He's every bit as emotional and soft as you are, despite everything I tried..."

She sat down next to him. "But that's how it should be... Edward isn't just a scientific discovery, he's our son... You need to understand this..."

He nodded slowly. "All right..." He whispered, then looked at her. "All right... He'll take the vaccine, and that will be then end of it. Only thing is, he'll need to take in less than two weeks, as the full moon is only three days away..."

She nodded. "I'll put a note on his desk tomorrow, everything will be taken care of..."

"Then that's settled..." Father said, nodding. "Well, then... We had better finish our meals..."

 

{Note: Edd didn't hear this second conversation, he was washing the dishes}

 

{Flash forward...}

 

"And that's how the conversation went... I went to wash the dishes, then up to my room to continue with a few experiments of mine... Mother and Father stayed downstairs talking about various things, and I fell asleep shortly after..." Edd continued explaining.

"That night, I had a nightmare, and I slept in because I was still dreaming..."

"What was it about?" Sarah asked.

Edd looked startled. "Huh?"

"Your nightmare, what happened in it?" Sarah repeated.

His expression grew nervous. "Um, well... I-I saw this light spinning around in the sky, and it came down and became a mouth and ate everything... I hid, and it didn't see me, but passed over my head... I finally got up and looked around, but there was nothing left..."

The others all listened intently, none even whispering.

"All of the houses were destroyed, the forest dead, and there was no sign of any of you... I walked towards the cul-de-sac, and as I did, I realized that I was seeing the apocalypse... There was a picture that I stepped on, Eddy's school picture... I looked down at it, then jumped as the wind started howling and voices started talking behind me... I looked around, but no one was there, simply voices that kept calling my name..."

"Whoa..." Kevin said softly.

"What happened next?" Jimmy squeaked.

"Well, I don't know... Ed and Eddy came into my room just then and woke me up, so I don't know what the rest of the dream would have been..."

The other kids all looked irritated.

"Oh, come on..." Sarah complained. "It's like a ghost story, but you don't even tell us the end!"

Edd shrugged. "If I knew, I would have told you... Anyway, after they woke me up, we went to the gate to use it for the first time. We weren't the only ones to go through, but I'm sure Jonny already told you about that?"

They all nodded. "Yeah, he told us..." Kevin said.

"Then I don't need to explain?" Edd asked.

Jonny looked uncomfortable. "Well, you don't have anything to explain about that, but I do... Know how me 'n' Plank stayed behind for a few minutes?"

They all looked over at him, and Edd nodded. "Yes, I had been wondering about that..."

Jonny looked uncomfortable. "Well, Plank said something about how if you guys kept that up, you'd unlock, um, 'supernatural forces' that you wouldn't understand..."

The others all looked incredulously at Jonny, then glanced over at Edd. Edd had frozen and was staring at Jonny.

"Supernatural forces...?" Edd said slowly. "Such as what?"

Jonny shrugged. "I don't know, he didn't say... He said that it wouldn't really be 'supernatural forces', but a... 'world of impossibilities'... He wouldn't explain any more, so I ignored it and just raced him home."

Edd blinked rapidly and looked down. "I see..." He commented softly. ^So… Plank already knew, did he…?^

Jonny didn't hear that, as he was preoccupied with something else. "Double D, do you know what he was talking about?"

"I'm afraid I do..." Edd said softly. "But it didn't come into play until the next day, so I'll explain when I get there..."

The others nodded and relaxed again. "So, where were we?" Sarah asked.

"Um, after we came back... We went to the candy store and bought lots of jawbreakers with the money we got from the other Ed, then split up and went to our houses. I did all of my chores, tried some more to find out what the vaccine was, that kind of thing. The evening was uneventful, as Mother and Father didn't return until quite late... I had trouble sleeping, and around 5:30 I simply gave up and began getting ready. I felt sick and sat down, and thought about where we should go. Ed and Eddy came in moments after, and we left my house. Kevin, that's when we saw you, and Rolf and Jonny, and that's where Eddy got the jawbreakers from..."

Kevin nodded. "Yeah, I figured that out after Eddy told us what he knew..."

"Okay, then... We went in, and for some reason Ed typed a number in that would lead to a world quite different from ours... The gate opened far more rapidly and in a different fashion than before, but Ed and Eddy refused to listen to what I said, and they went in anyway... I followed behind them, although I had a really bad feeling about it..."

Jonny looked startled. "Then that's the one Plank was talking about! He said that you guys had gone, and that you were scared about all of this..."

"Yes, that was the one..." Edd said softly. "Going through it gave me a horrible headache for some reason, but Ed and Eddy weren't really affected by it. I staggered through, and collapsed, then asked Eddy where we were. He didn't answer me, so I looked up..." He paused for a moment. "It...it was a scene from a nightmare. My nightmare, to be exact... The entire cul-de-sac destroyed, etc..."

They all gasped. "So, you saw it in your dream the night before?" Nazz asked. "That's really creepy..."

Edd's head tilted down. "Was that it?" He asked himself. He looked back up at them. "That hadn't even occurred to me..."

"This is getting really weird, Double D..." Kevin commented.

"It gets worse..." Edd replied. He sat back again and looked up at the ceiling, then began speaking again. "After my immediate shock wore off, I asked Eddy where Ed was, for as you can imagine, he had already run off. Ed came towards, holding a chicken. A flying chicken."

"Um, chickens can't fly..." Jimmy said.

Edd raised an eyebrow. "Not here, they can't... But Plank was right about it being a world of impossibilities..."

Jonny looked absolutely shocked and stood up. All of them turned to him as he exclaimed, "Wait a minute! You went in that world, and a little while after, Plank said that what you were doing was changing ours, so we went to get everyone together and warn them! That's when the Kankers started being able to do this!"

Kevin spun around towards Edd "Is that true? For all we know, all of this stuff is you guys' fault!"

Edd slowly stood and watched Jonny quietly. "So, that's when the Kankers first... I see... That explains a great deal..." He looked down at his feet and paced around the room, everyone moving to avoid being stepped on. "Could a rift, formed from Ed's carelessness have caused this? Afterwards, everything was like that, with the vampire, and..." He froze and slowly looked at Marie.

"What?" She asked.

His eyes narrowed. "Marie, was the other night that ever happened to you?"

Marie looked puzzled. "Um..." she tapped her leg for a minute, thinking, then shook her head. "No, but it was the first time in about six years... Why?"

He sighed. "Then I was right... Submerged characteristics and traits forced to surface thanks to that... But my goodness, this is getting very complicated..."

Kevin looked irritated. "What did you just figure out?"

Edd glanced over at him. "I just realized why this stuff is happening, and I'm not only referring to the Kankers. But, I need to finish explaining the rest before you guys will completely understand..."

They all looked frustrated. "Oh, fine..." Sarah complained.

"Where was I?" Edd asked.

"The flying chicken." Rolf replied. "Was that chicken the beast, by any chance?"

Edd nodded. "Yes, and Ed made a large ordeal about us saying hi to Nestor... After we both did so and continued talking for a while, Eddy decided staying there would be pointless because you can't make much money if no one is around... So we decided to leave, when Ed screamed at us to duck. He pulled us to the ground and this large bat swooped right over our heads, but it wasn't a bat..."

"A vampire...?" Jimmy asked. "But they're so disgusting, wanting to drink people's blood and all..."

Edd nodded. "Yes, I know... He stopped in mid-flight and changed back into a human... One who we all know quite well..."

Everyone gasped. "One of us?!?" Jonny asked.

"One of the boys, sitting right here?" Nazz exclaimed.

Edd sighed and looked over at Kevin, who shrank back. "It was... me?" Kevin whispered.

"Whoa..." Nazz said softly, staring at him.

Marie looked confused, then glared at Edd. "Hey, wait a minute!"

"What?" He asked, truly confused.

"If somehow the gate causes hidden stuff like that to surface, then why doesn't jock-boy here have long pointy fangs and all that stuff?" She paused and looked back at Kevin, then grabbed his mouth and pulled his upper lip up, revealing normal human teeth.

Kevin pulled her hand off. "Hey, I think you would have already noticed something like that, stupid."

Edd nodded. "It would seem that Kevin isn't actually a vampire, just that the Kevin from that world was bit by one."

"Oh..." They all said, and with final glances at Kevin, relaxed again.

Edd nodded. "Anyway... As you can probably assume, he declaimed us as dorks and said something about getting rid of us, then flew at us again. We split up and I reactivated the gate, and we all ran for it. Ed and Eddy got in before I did, and there were several seconds where I thought I wouldn't make it, for he was gaining on me... I leapt through and shut it, and he didn't get me."

Jonny nodded. "Good thing too, or else we'd have to worry about you biting us..."

Edd blinked and didn't say anything. He thought. He came out of thought and shook his head.

"You okay? You looked kinda... dazed for a second..." Nazz asked.

He nodded and sat down again. "Yes, just thinking... After we got through, we sat there just thinking for several minutes, trying to regain our composures... I felt sick for a few minutes, from the shock, no doubt. I decided that I would be picking the gates in the future to avoid something like that occurring again. I typed a number in, but Ed and Eddy ran in before me, so I chased immediately after them."

Jonny nodded slowly in understanding. "Okay, then that's what me and Plank saw. We watched you go in, then he told me that we should gather everyone together, so we left to get the Kankers first, and that's when they started all of this..."

"Really? That's when?" Jimmy asked.

"Then it was the Ed-boys who caused this after all..." Rolf commented.

Edd didn't answer that, but sat there silently, until Marie patted him on the back. "It's not entirely your fault, you didn't know this would happen, anyway."

He sighed, then looked up and nodded. "Right..." He sat up straight and continued speaking. "We went into another world and looked around for a few minutes. For some reason, we were in the middle of the cul-de-sac instead of in the woods like the other two worlds..."

Nazz spoke up. "Um, Double D? How do you know that the one before that was in the woods if everything had been destroyed?"

"Good question..." Edd said softly. "It may very well be that it wasn't in the clearing, thank you for pointing that out, Nazz..."

She smiled and nodded.

"Well, the first people we saw were Eddy and Rolf. Rolf was chasing after Eddy, because that Eddy had apparently stolen from him. Rolf stopped just in front of us, then noticed us. I quickly reassured him that he wasn't imagining things, and after a few minutes of talking, he invited us to his house... We had gone inside and just began explaining what was going on when the animals in his backyard began going berserk. We ran to the window, and saw this enormous lizard that Ed began explaining to us. It was a creature that in real life, shouldn't exist..."

"Then, how could it be there? That was a different world than that..." Jimmy trailed off.

Edd looked over at him. "Just call it the Other world, I'll know what you're talking about... But it seems that such things had plagued them for several months, not just the two days we've been putting up with it for. Ed instructed us in how to make some bait, and we lured it away, then went back to talking. We found out that in that world, I wasn't there... Or more accurately, I didn't live in the cul-de-sac, but the trailer park..."

"WHAT?!?" Several kids exclaimed at once.

"You living near the Kankers?"

"In that place?"

"Yes, and that me isn't friends with Ed and Eddy.... Thought I'm not entirely sure that I still am, considering where they went... But anyway, we discussed other such things with him, then made arrangements to sleep in his shed for the night. Eddy talked to us and we decided that in the morning we'd check out the trailer park, then head back here in time for dinner..."

"'Hang on!" Kevin exclaimed. "Sleep? Night? Is time different in those worlds or something?"

"Indeed, it is. Early morning here, late evening there. It would be no good to sneak around at night, so that was really for the best. But after that discussion, Ed went outside, Eddy got ready to sleep, and I went to the doorway to think about everything that's been going on... After thinking for several minutes, I idly noted the resemblance between the gate, the moon, and the light from my dream. With that, I--I looked down at the ground, and my hand caught my eye... I-I stared down at it be-because..." He trailed off, unable to speak.

Everyone looked at him, and Jonny looked concerned. "Because... why?"

Edd closed his eyes and didn't say anything.

Nazz stood up and walked over to him, then softly placed her hand on his shoulder. He looked up startled and gazed at her face.

"What happened?" She asked gently.

"Well..." He said softly, paused, and then looked at Jonny. "Jonny, last night, when the other night, when you saw Ed and Eddy, did you see me anywhere?"

Jonny shook his head. "No, not you, just them and a dog that belonged to Eddy's uncle..." He replied, then thought for a minute.

Edd looked down at his feet and realized what Jonny was doing. He thought, then let that night's memories flash through his mind.

Jonny's eyes widened and he backed up. "No way..."

 

Kevin looked at them, severely confused, and by now, annoyed. He thought irritably. He opened his mouth to complain when Double D began talking again.

"I stared at my hand because... even though it was in the full moon's light, it had gone blackish... I slowly reached down to touch it, and..." He trailed off again.

Kevin realized what he was talking about, and his jaw dropped.

Edd slowly looked up, right at Kevin and stared him in the eyes, then very slowly and slightly nodded his head.

Kevin's shoulders sagged. "Dude, that's... not possible..."

Edd had a weird look on his face, one Kevin had never seen before, and it was really creepy. "Nor are vampires, Kevin, but that didn't seem to stop him, did it?"

The others gasped as they all realized what was going on.

"A werewolf?!?" Jimmy squeaked, backing away and into Sarah.

Nazz looked away sadly and didn't say anything, while Rolf stared at Edd. "Head-in-sock Double D is one of them?!?" He stepped slowly back, staring at Edd in fright.

Edd looked at the others and sighed. "It would seem to be the case..."

 

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

 

"Wheeee!" May squealed. "Throw me up higher, Ed! Higher!"

"Okay, May..." Ed said, tossing her about 70 feet in the air.

Eddy, Lee, and Plank were all on lawn chairs watching this. Eddy sipped some lemonade out of a glass. "They amuse themselves too easily..."

Lee nodded. "Tell me about it, I've had to put up with that from her for years..."

Plank commented. ^I can't imagine how you could have put up with it, I would have just slapped her and taught her to behave.^

"I should have... But it's too late now, I just have to put up with having an idiot for a sister..." Lee replied, picking up her own glass.

Eddy glanced over at her as Ed grabbed May and tossed her up again.

"Lee, what'll we do today? Continue with the plans?" Eddy asked cautiously.

She nodded. "Yeah, and even if we didn't, you could be sure Marie and Double D would goad all their little friends into coming here..."

^They would simply come over here…?^ Plank paused thoughtfully. ^Odd, he seemed too intelligent to run into a trap.^

Eddy rolled his eyes wearily. "The guy's a genius, I'll give him that, but he's incredibly stupid sometimes... After all, look at him now. He's with those jerks, probably telling them all his secrets in an attempt to get attention..."

^Well, I doubt that’s why…^ Plank said softly. ^But what would you do to make him come here?^

"Hostages, maybe?" Eddy asked, watching May soar even higher in the air. He frowned. "How the heck does he catch her without killing either one of them?"

Plank ignored that. ^What were you saying before…?^

"Oh! I said, hostages? If you kidnapped some of them, like Sarah, I could torture her as revenge, and Double D would be sure to her rescue..." Eddy explained. "He's always soft like that..."

Lee looked hopeful. "Is she that other red-head?"

"Yeah, the loud, irritating one..."

^Strange… You have so much in common, why don’t you two get along…?^ Plank said slyly.

Eddy twirled around and glared at the piece of wood. "Excuse me?!?"

There wasn’t any further comment from Plank.

Eddy frowned, then shook his head and relaxed back on his seat. He looked over towards Ed and May, who were now talking. "What is with those two anyway?"

"They're both... less smart than us." Lee stated.

 

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

 

"What do you think they're talking about?" Ed asked, getting ready to throw May up again.

"Huh? Wait a minute!" May exclaimed, and Ed relaxed as she held his arm. "What'd'ya say?"

Ed held her in his arms and looked down at her. "I said... What do you think they're talking about?" He gestured towards Eddy, Lee, and Plank.

May blinked. "They're planning stuff without me?!?"

"I think so..." Ed replied nervously. "But maybe it's just that they don't want me over there..."

She looked up at him and smiled. "No, don't worry about that... They're just being jerks again, probably."

"Oh..." Ed said slowly. "I get it..."

"Right." She said, then tensed up. "Can you throw me even higher than that?"

Ed nodded. "Yep!"

"Then, throw me!" She commanded.

"Okay.... Buttered-- TOAST!!!" He yelled, flinging her as high as he could.

"Wheeeeeee!" May screamed as she flew more than 150 feet in the air. "It's like I'm flying!"

 

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

 

Kevin shook his head. "I've known you for a while, Double D... I don't remember you ever howling at the moon or anything before..."

Edd smiled wryly. "Nor do I, for that matter... But, do you remember that immunization shot I mentioned earlier?"

The others nodded reluctantly, still giving him odd looks.

"Well, it would appear that it was a vaccine to stop the full moon form affecting people like myself." Edd continued.

They all looked puzzled, then realized what he meant.

"Oh, wait! you mean your parents knew about... all of this?" Nazz asked.

He nodded. "They most certainly did... I even have evidence from the government mainframe to prove it..."

Jimmy shook his head. "It really is a government plot, isn't it? That's what you said earlier..."

"Unfortunately, yes..." Edd replied. "My parents only became well-known a few years ago. Before, we lived in the city in an apartment, Mother working in the hospital, and Father as a researcher somewhere. But they developed a vaccine to some mysterious disease and began getting their names out. Eventually, Father had a job offering in the government, and we got enough money to move out to the suburbs five years ago. I had... issues making friends, and I suffered my incident in gym, so we moved around a bit. After four-and-a-half years, we moved to another neighborhood, Peach Creek..."

Marie nodded. "On the surface that looks fine, but that disease wasn't really a disease, was it?"

Edd shook his head slowly. "No, it wasn't... But I'm not to that yet, I didn't put all of this together until yesterday."

"So, get back to where you were!" Sarah demanded.

He smiled. "Okay, then... I stared at my hand in shock and shrieked slightly, enough to get Eddy, then Ed, to come over. He noticed my hand and recoiled as Ed walked in, and the moon came back out... I changed shape, and after we realized what happened, Eddy fainted, and Ed and I simply stared at each other in shock for several minutes..."

 

{Flashback...}

 

Ed and Eddy stared as Edd collapsed, and seemed to mutate in the light.

"The light of the full moon..." Ed murmured, staring at his friend in shock. "Eddy, I think Double D is a werewolf..." Ed commented Eddy.

Eddy stared at Ed in disbelief, then looked at the dog-like figure before him. "Double D?" He asked softly.

Edd nodded slightly, then stared at him.

"You're really, I mean, you're you?" He asked.

Eddy was startled.

Images spun in Eddy's mind, then everything went black as he collapsed, and he remembered no more.

 

Ed and Edd went immediately to Eddy's side.

"Eddy? Are you okay?" Ed asked, shaking Eddy slightly.

Edd put a paw on Eddy's face. He thought, then sat up and looked at himself again.

He noticed Ed looking at him curiously.

"Is Eddy okay, Double D?" Ed asked seriously.

Edd nodded, and Ed looked relieved. "Okay, then..." He said, then stood and stretched. He carefully picked Eddy up and placed him on the hay, then came back and sat next to Edd. "Are you okay?"

Edd felt frustrated. He thought, then sighed and nodded.

"You don't want to bite me? Cause werewolves are supposed to want to bite and kill humans, but you don't seem to..."

Edd jumped slightly. He thought-exclaimed, shaking his head furiously.

Ed nodded. "Okay, then... Well, if you're still you, and you're not gonna hurt anyone, then I'm going to bed..." He commented, then walked over to the cow. "Good night, Bessie..." He then plopped into the hay and began snoring.

Edd blinked. He thought, then 'smiled' and curled into a ball.

 

{Flash forward...}

 

"Ed simply didn't care after that point, and we just went to sleep." Edd continued.

"That's really wierd." Kevin said.

Edd nodded. "I know... I woke up early the next morning, before Ed or Eddy..."

 

{Flashback...}

 

Edd opened his eyes slowly and looked around. It was dark out, but he could see that everything was still black and white.

He thought, sitting up.

Ed and Eddy were still asleep in the hay, and the cow was eating at Ed's hair. The door to the shed was slightly open, leaving a crack of light coimng in.

Edd shook his head and went to the door. Outside, the sky was starting to get light, and the moon was on the horizon.

He thought, then backed into the shed and looked down at himself.

His paw seemed to mutate before his eyes, the fur rising, then flattening and seperating from his body, his old clothes seeming to rise out. The paws split, becoming human hands, and his hair grew down to it's normal length. Suddenly, everything switched into color, and the mutating stopped.

"Ah!" Edd whispered. He raised a hand up and wiggled his fingers, then broke out into a grin and looked out the door. Sure enough, the moon was out of sight.

"Well, then..." He commented, rubbing his neck awkwardly. His hand felt his hair, and he froze.

"My hair...? Shoot!" He hissed, spinning around and looking frantically throughout the shed. Ed was stirring, Eddy was still asleep, and his hat was no where to be seen.

"Where could it be... There!" He whispered, sneaking over to the other side of the barn. The cow had the hat on its back.

Edd reached out and put it on his head quickly. "How did it get here?" He wondered, turning around. Ed was sitting up and looking at him. "Ed!" Edd exclaimed, falling over. "You scared me!"

"Sorry, Double D..." Ed said, reaching out and pulling Edd up.

Edd smiled. "How long have you been watching me anyway?"

"I just woke up, and noticed you standing there... Which is good, I've got to say." Ed replied seriously.

Edd looked puzzled. He wondered. "What do you mean?"

Ed examined Edd's face. "You're normal again, that's all... You know, things have been really weird lately."

"I noticed..." Edd replied, irritated.

"Eddy leaving, us going to other universes, Kevin being a vampire, you being a werewolf... Really wierd stuff. Especially since you guys always act like this tuff is impossible." Ed continued.

Edd crossed his arms, even more irritated. "That's because none of his should be possible, Ed. It's all scientifically impossible, according to--"

"Are you sure?" Ed asked.

Edd felt near the bursting point. "¡Claro qué sí! Ed, I'm interested in science, remember? Of course I would know if this type of thing should be possible!" He exclaimed, then took a deep breath.

Ed was giving him an incredulous look, then shrugged and examined the cow. "Hello, Bessie..." He said, hugging it.

Edd glanced at him. "Ed, that's a cow."

"No, it's Bessie! Get it straight, Double D." Ed said, then looked over at Eddy. "Eddy is sleeping."

"Let him sleep a little longer, it's not morning yet." Edd replied, then leaned against the wall and sighed.

Ed looked over at him. "It's almost morning now..."

A rooster crowed outside the shed, and Edd jumped slightly. "Then wake him up, I don't care..." He commented, leaning against the wall.

 

Ed looked down at Eddy curiously. //Is Eddy stil asleep and in dreamy land and all…?// He wondered, leaning down.

Eddy opened his eyes slowly and saw Ed. "Ah!" He yelled, jumping back.

Ed stood up. "Sorry, Eddy."

"Grrr.... Oh, that's okay..." Eddy muttered sarcastically, then looked puzzled. "Ed, what are you doing in my-- um, why are we in Rolf's shed?"

"We slept here, and I hugged the cow." Ed remarked.

Eddy looked lost, then startled. He slowly turned towards the door and looked at Edd. "Double D?" He asked softly.

Edd opened his eyes and looked up. "Yes, Eddy?"

Edd and Eddy stared at each other across the room for a minute. Ed gazed between the two in a puzzled silence.

"It wasn't a dream, was it?" Eddy murmured.

Edd sighed and turned his head to the right, staring at the floor. "It would appear not..."

"Then, what happened? How-how did you...?" Eddy exclaimed.

Edd grew rigid and looked back at Eddy, his hand tensed up. "You think I know!?!" He said in a strangled voice, then raised it, his hand in a fist. "If I knew what was happening, do you think I would have been as startled, as terrified, as I was?!?" His voice rose even more sharply, and he half-yelled, "Do you?!?"

Eddy drew back, shocked at his friend's behavior, and didn't answer.

Edd looked puzzled, then startled. Somewhat appalled, he calmed down and relaxed his fist, leaning against the wall again. He gazed up at the ceiling and murmured, "I just don't know what's going on, Eddy.... I just don't know..." He whispered softly.

Ed wondered.

"Ed-boys?" Rolf's voice came from outside. "Will you assist Rolf in his hunt?"

Eddy gave Edd another look, then walked to the door and opened it, going through towards Rolf. Ed glanced in a puzzled way at Edd, and then followed Eddy.

 

{Flash forward...}

 

"Eddy was asleep, and Ed doesn't remember any of it, but I lost my temper at him for no real reason, and I still don't know why..." Edd commented looking away from the others. "My mind was on edge the entire time, and I simply--snapped, I suppose..."

Nazz nodded slowly, understanding everything he was saying. "You were under a lot of stress, Double D... Not only had you changed into a--monster from old mythology, but the laws of science, that you hold so dear, were being broken, and you didn't understand what was going on anymore. Of course you snapped."

Marie nodded and squeezed Edd slightly from behind him. "Yeah, lighten up!"

Edd shook his head. "But, I can't... All of this is my fault. If I hadn't built the gate, we woldn't be in this situation, and if I had been behaving normally, they would have stayed with us. After all, Ed and Eddy left because I wasn't acting like me. "

Jonny shrugged. "Not necessarily, Double D." They looked over at him. "Who knows, maybe the Kankers brainwashed them at some point. You can't keep thinking it's your fault..."

"Yes, do not behave as if we blame you." Rolf commented.

"Well..." Edd whispered, then nodded slightly. "Where did I leave off at?"

"You guys leaving the shed cause Rolf wanted you to help him with something." Jimmy answered.

Edd nodded. "Okay, then... We went out, and talked to Rolf. I was still feeling awkward, as I had just yelled at Eddy also..."

 

{Flashback...}

 

Edd gazed after them. He wondered, then silently got to his feet and walked out.

It was light out, about 7:00am, although Edd's watch said 4:30pm.

"What hunt?" Edd asked curiously.

"There is a werewolf around here," Edd froze. He glanced over at Ed and Eddy, who were looking nervously at him, "Who has been terrorizing Wilfred and Victor all night. Did you not hear it's howling?"

"Well, Rolf, we did, but we thought it was coyotes. Are you sure that it was a werewolf?" Eddy stammered.

"Yes. Will you help me to hunt it down?" Rolf asked expectantly.

"Um, we'd love to help, but, uh..." Eddy started.

"But our parents will be expecting us soon, and we still want to look around here some more." Edd added.

"So, we'll have to be going." Eddy finished. "See ya around, Rolf." Eddy started walking towards the street.

"Farewell, Rolf..." Edd said, then followed Eddy.

Eddy glanced at Edd. "Was that you?"

Edd shook his head. "No, it wasn't... I stayed in the shed the entire night, just ask Ed."

Ed bounced over cheerfully, and Eddy sighed. "Doesn't matter... But we should hide form the other kids, just in case..."

 

{Flash forward...}

 

"We snuck along the side of the house, but no one was there. It seemed that that Nazz was holding a party, and everyone was attending it. Eddy led the way to the trailer park so we could see if what Rolf had been saying was the truth..." Edd continued, looking up at the ceiling and leaning against the wall.

"Ed put a tree across the creek, and we snuck in to avoid detection. At the Kankers' trailer, there were not three, but... five kids in sight, and two more who came out later. Marie, Lee, two boys who were playing catch, and one boy with a large cowboy hat on. May and another boy came out, appearently from kissing, only for Marie and the cowboy-hatted boy to yell at them."

Marie grinned. "Lemme guess... The cowboy kid was you, right?"

Edd nodded, and she grinned. "No wonder you said that..." She commented.

"Huh?" Jonny asked.

Edd turned pink and looked away uncomfortably. "Never mind..."

Nazz smirked. "I bet I know what he said..." She said to Marie.

Edd looked up at them. "People, please..." They all quieted down. "I don't know that you could really call him another me, for he had appearently been living there for a few years, and it had definite affects on him. He called people names, slapped May, that kind of thing."

They all looked startled. "Wow, that really doesn't sound like you..." Jonny commented.

Kevin smirked. "Especially if that slap actually hurt her..."

Marie frowned. "Oh, shut up."

"Make me!" Kevin replied angrily, and they both stood up.

Nazz glared and stepped between them. "Stop acting so immature, you two! This is really important, and Double D still has a lot to explain!"

The two continued glaring at each other, but slowly relaxed and sat back down. Nazz turned to Edd. "Go ahead..."

"Okay..." Edd replied. "The entire time, I was feeling appalled at his behavior and attitude towards the people around him, although now, it makes more sense..." Edd said. "Marie microwaved a pie and gave him a piece, and they discussed various stuff, like who they should 'freak out' that night. Lee and May went in and declaimed them as being freaks and told them not to bite anyone, when Ed sneezed. We ran and hid on the other side of the trailer, only for--Edward--to come out and see us. We explained what was going on, and Ed made some comment about how I was not normal, and that the previous night, something odd happened to me. He looked suspicious, and asked me what it had been. I didn't answer, and he got angry...

 

{Flashback...}

 

Edward looked curious, then angry. "What happened last night that you didn't tell us about?" He asked in a low voice.

"Um... Nothing, nothing at all..." Eddy said nervously.

Edward glared and stood up slowly and menacingly. "What happened?" He repeated in a threatening tone.

"Nothing that concerns you!" Edd exclaimed as Edward stepped towards him.

"Oh, yeah right..." Robbie said.

Edd thought frantically.

The 'Edds' stared at each other for a minute, and then Edward spoke in a low, rough voice. "Well, do you understand me...?"

"Y-yeah...." Edd whispered in an equally rough voice, backing down to the ground.

"Your friends can't..." Edward said slyly.

Edd started. He turned and stared at Ed, then Eddy.

"What?" Eddy asked.

"Did you...?" Edd started, glancing at Edward, then back at him and Ed.

"Did I... do what?" Eddy repeated in an annoyed voice.

Edd thought, feeling rather puzzled. "Never mind..."

 

{Flash forward...}

 

Marie grinned. "I get it!"

Edd looked startled, and all of the kids looked at her. "Y-you do?"

She nodded. "Well, duh! He wasn't speaking in a human language, he was testing you to see if you were a werewolf! After all, didn't you say that the conversation he and those girls had involved biting someone?"

Edd's face looked completely shocked. "My goodness... That's what it was, waan't it? Those two were the source of the howling, and why Rolf's animals were freaking out... Of course..." He murmured to himself, and a smile lit his face. "That makes so much sense now!"

Kevin looked confused, then shrugged. "Does it have anything to do with this?"

"No, it was just something that had puzzled me..." Edd replied.

"Okay, then." Kevin answered.

Sarah glared at Edd and complained, "Keep going..."

"Well... After that little conversation, he turned to that Marie, and they kissed... She said something about a date, and the two just walked off. Eddy decided we might as well leave, as it was getting rather late in this world, and we didn't want to get in trouble. We left and headed to the clearing that the gate was supposed to be in... But it wasn't there. It was in the middle of the cul-de-sac..."

 

{Flashback...}

 

The gate didn't appear.

"Um, Double D...?" Eddy asked nervously.

"Hang on... oh yeah! The gate's not here, it's in-- the middle of the cul-de-sac..." Edd trailed off dully and looked nervously at Eddy.

"Uh, oh..." Eddy said softly.

"Mayday! Mayday! We have a situation, sir!" Ed exclaimed suddenly.

They looked at him, and then towards each other. "We do... If those kids see the gate, who knows what they'll do..." Edd said nervously.

"Then what are we waiting here for? Let's get through it and shut it down so they don't do anything!" Eddy exclaimed, then began jogging towards the cul-de-sac.

"Right." Edd said, nodding, and looked at Ed. "Ed, come on!" He then ran off.

Ed blinked, then chased after Edd and Eddy.

 

{Flash forward...}

 

"We ran back there, only to find every kid from the neighborhood around it. Eddy decided we'd break for it, and they made it on top. Kevin grabbed me, but they all freaked out when they saw two Eds and two Eddys..."

Kevin snorted. "If I had seen that many Eds in one area, I would have freaked out too..."

Edd looked annoyed. He thought irritably, and then shrugged. "Well, he let go of me, and we went through the gate. Ed was reccomending that we go buy some jawbreakers when he saw a mushroom, a poisonous one at that, and ate it... Thus causing the reaction you guys saw."

"Oh..." "I get it now..."

"We rushed back home, only to hear the singing... You guys saw everything that happened there, so I don't need to explain it--"

"Yes you do!" Jimmy exclaimed.

"Yeah, you need to tell us how you stopped us!" Kevin added.

Edd sighed. "But I don't know how... If it weren't for yesterday, I would have dimissed it, but now..."

Jonny looked determined. "Double D, you have to tell us everything, even the stuff you never told anyone. It's important."

Edd nodded quickly. "I realize this! It's just, I don't really understand how that happened. Last night, I had a theory, and tested it. I told Nazz that she no longer had a wart, and that Jimmy's hair was no longer pink, and what do you know! They were fine again."

Marie blinked, then looked nervous. "Shoot..." She whispered, and he turned towards her. She looked up, very nervous by now. "Double D, it sounds like you did the same thing May and Lee were doing..."

The other kids thought for a second, then started talking loudly and frantically to each other.

"Double D? Doing that?!?" Nazz asked Sarah.

"No way..." Sarah said softly.

Jonny frowned. "Do you know if that's true?" He thought.

Edd glanced up at the ceiling. "I have a theory that it might be the case... After I told Kevin and Jimmy to stop singing, they stopped; I was able to ignore the Kankers; and finally I was able to keep Kevin and Rolf from doing what the Kankers say. Needless to say, I've gotten somewhat suspicious."

"Ah... I don't blame you..." Jonny said.

"Exactly." Edd replied. "But, like I said earlier, I don't know much more than you guys, for I haven't pieced most of it together yet..."

Sarah looked annoyed. "Yeah, you said that already, Double D, so just get on with it!"

They all glanced at her, and she looked puzzled. "What?"

"Never mind..." Edd said, shaking his head. "Anyway...I brought Ed back to my house and gave him some medicine, which erased the effects of the mushroom. Eddy asked me what time it was, and he and Ed ran off to their homes so that they wouldn't get in trouble. I made some dinner and ate, then perpared for the sleep-over...."

Marie stretched. "What time was it, anyway?"

Edd glanced back at her. "Um, about 5:50... Why?"

She nodded. "Because, Lee and May were beating me up then, and left me on the floor... I didn't explain this to you, yet, but here goes..."

 

{Flashback...}

 

Marie cringed as Lee kicked her. "Stop it!" She exclaimed.

"Where were you?" May asked in a dark tone.

Lee stopped kicking her. "Yeah, why'd ya sneak off?"

"I was here... I didn't want to go..." Marie cried.

"Tell the truth." Lee commanded darkly, crossing her arms and glaring at her sister.

"I wanted to stay away from you, so this wouldn't happen!" She said, obviously against her will.

May pointed at her, then slowly turned it towards the wall, then towards the ceiling abruptly. Marie floated where where May's finger had pointed, then slammed against the roof.

"Ohh!" She cried out. She thought as May slammed her to the ground. There she lay, in a pocket of the full moon's light, as though she were unconscious.

"Let her lie there, the #^@%#." Lee said, then walked to the kitchen door. "Are you coming?" She demanded.

May stood there, staring down at Marie. "Something's weird..."

"Huh?" Lee asked, then jumped.

Marie's body was glowing slightly. "Ugh..." She whispered, putting a hand to her head. "Wha...?"

May looked out the window at the full moon, then at Lee. "Lee, you don't think that maybe... everything's back to normal, do you?"

Lee looked startled. "Normal?!?"

May nodded as Marie backed aganst the wall, holding her head. "Yeah... Remember what mom said? About our dads, how they were weird? My dad and your dad always making people do stuff, and Marie's dad was a--"

"--Werewolf... And she was, when she was little. I remember..." Lee said slowly, then walked over to Marie. "Is that it? Are you gonna be a little puppy now?"

Marie looked up at her, pain in her eyes. She wondered.

Lee frowned. "Change already!"

"Ah!" Marie whimpered, crouching into a ball. The glow vanished, and her body began to mutate.

"Cool..." May said. "Can she be my watchdog?"

Lee snorted. "Not exactly... It's only on the full moon, stupid."

"Oh..." May said, then grinned. "Well, we'll need to find her a playmate, won't we? And a cage to keep them in, so they don't get lost!"

Lee also grinned. "Good point... Do we have a cage anywhere?"

May nodded. "In my room, I kept it for when mom bought us a dog."

"Get it."

May ran off, and Lee crouched down next to Marie. "Oh, you look so cute, absolutely adorable..."

Marie snapped at her, and Lee shook her head.

"Uh uh uh! No biting, you bad doggie." Lee said, still smirking. She looked up as May came in. "Okay, let's put her in it."

Marie growled, backing away from them.

May smiled sweetly and put the cage net to the window. "Stay still, Marie..."

Marie's body froze. She thought frantically, trying to get away.

Lee picked her up and put her in. "And stay in there." She commented, then stretched. "Well, what did you say about another dog?"

 

Marie was curled up, miserable.

The front door opened, and May came in, carrying a dog. "Here's a little playmate for ya..." She said sweetly. "Stay in there!" She told him.

Marie glanced at the dog, who was curled up and shivering.

Lee came in. "Don't get any ideas, Marie..." She said sadistically.

Marie made a face.

May and Lee went ino the kitchen. "I'm starvin'..." May commented.

She growled something, then glared towards the kitchen again. Marie yelled, then noticed that the dog was watching her. She exclaimed. She thought nervously.

It blinked. He asked.

Marie exclaimed, startled.

He replied. He stopped, realizing what he had said.

She froze.

"Yo, keep it down it there, or else!" Lee yelled from another room.

Marie thought, then looked back at the dog.

He started.

She finished.

They stared at each other.

He commented.

She snorted.

He asked, looking around at the bars of the cage.

Marie replied. She wondered, then went over to see what he was looking at.

He looked at her for a minute. He pulled himself on the side of the cage, and stretched as far up as he could.

"Stay in that cage." May said, walking by with some cake.

Marie thought, feeling depressed. The boy ignored May and looked around from where he was.

He muttered, getting down. He then noticed her staring.

She reminded him.

He said.

Marie thought, freezing in place.

He said, looking puzzled.

Marie continued cautiously.

He said slowly.

Her eyes widened. She tilted her head and studied him. She thought, smiling. She paused, then shook her head.

He looked around again, and then got an idea. Edd suggested.

She exclaimed.

He said reassuringly.

She said nervously, and then walked over to him. She leapt onto his back and into the window.

Edd backed up, ready to spring.

"Hey! Lee, they're getting away!" May yelled, running over.

"What?!" Lee exclaimed, jumping up from her chair. "Stay in there, you stupid dogs!" She continued, running into the room.

Edd glanced back, then jumped as high as he could as May tripped over the cage and fell below him.

Marie exclaimed, and the two jumped out and ran as fast as they could.

"Get back here, Marie!!! > Lee screamed, then the two ran out of hearing.

 

Edd and Marie stopped running by the swimming hole. He panted, out of breath, while she sat down and looked out at the view.

When he had his breath back, he looked up at her. He asked.

She nodded, and he stared.

He asked.

She looked down awkwardly.

Edd said, looking severely confused. He exclaimed.

They sat there silently for several minutes, gazing out and thinking.

She thought. She looked up quickly.

She said.

Edd asked.

Marie closed her eyes.

Edd whispered. He sighed, and looked up.

She looked at him quickly. She exclaimed.

Edd continued slowly. He sighed again, and looked at her.

Marie started, and then looked down, silent for a moment. She started giggling.

He demanded.

She started laughing out right, and he chuckled.

Edd said.

Marie asked, looking up at him from where she was lying.

Edd answered.

Marie said softly, then 'grinned' at him.

Edd asked slyly.

She said, giggling.

Edd started.

She finished, and then they both started laughing again.

Marie thought.

Edd commented.

 

They laughed again, and then Edd looked startled.

Marie asked.

He looked nervously at her.

Marie said.

Edd started.

Marie exclaimed, getting to her feet.

Edd replied, and they ran towards the cul-de-sac as fast as they could.

 

{Flash forward...}

 

Edd was gazing at Marie, and gave a small smile when she finished. "Well, that certainly explains a few things..."

She smiled back at him. "Yeah, well... Ya know..."

They stared at each other uncomfortably for a moment, and Nazz began giggling. Everyone turned to her. "What?"

Nazz smiled slightly. "Just listening to these two. They're so cute like that..."

Edd blinked and turned bright red. "Um, heh heh, I have no idea what you're talking about, Nazz..." He said faintly, glancing at Marie. To his surprise, she was also blushing.

Kevin, Jonny and Rolf all grinned. "Aw..." They all said, then started laughing. Jimmy smiled. "That's sweet, young love..."

Edd turned even redder. "People, please... I still have stuff to explain,and we're only getting side-tracked..."

Nazz nodded. "Okay, yeah, you guys. We probably still have a lot of stuff to go, and we've already been here two hours..."

That got their attention. "Two hours?!?"

"Actually, about two hours and twenty minutes..." Edd commented. "And I still have to explain yesterday. Trust me, a lot happened."

Marie nodded. "Yeah... But back to last night: We ran to that sleepover and snuck in, ready to stop Ed and Eddy if we needed, but they had already finished talking."

"Oh, that's why the door was open!" Jimmy exclaimed.

"Exactly." Edd replied. "Seeing how everyone was going to sleep and we were too late, we decided we just stay there and ask Eddy what he had said the next morning... However, I had a problem. We slept behind the couch, so no one would see us, but when I woke up, I realized my hat was missing..."

Kevin looked startled. "Whoa! You, without your hat? None of us have even seen you without it!"

"And trust me, Kevin, that's just as well..." Edd replied. "I searched frantically for it, around wher I slept, among you guys, under the sofa... Marie woke up and saw me searching."

Nazz blinked. "That's, like, almost what Kevin did, letting wear his hat... I mean, he never takes his off either..."

Marie smiled thoughtfully. "It was, kinda, wasn't it?"

Edd looked nervous and began sweating "Just how often are we going to get off track, people?"

Sarah yawned. "Tell me about it, this is getting so boring..."

"Why don't we just let Double D finish, and only interupt when we have something important to say?" Jimmy suggested.

They all looked at him.

He looked back. "What?"

"That is a good idea, for if we don't, the tale will not be finished until nightfall, and we would all be punished by our parents..." Rolf commented.

"I'm game... Be quiet, everyone." Kevin decided, leaning back.

Edd smiled. "All right, then... After Marie got over her intial startlement, she helped me to remember that Eddy had taken the hat the previous night, so I wouldn't lose it... We went to immediately awaken him, and retrieve my hat."

"When he woke up, he had no idea what we were talking about, although we didn't believe him. I guess now that was my sisters' fault, but we figured he was just lying to us..." Marie added.

"Indeed." Edd replied, then continued. "Nazz happened to wake up before I convinced Eddy to return it, so I said immediately that he had taken it. That was true, of course, but not in the way that I had suggested it... I was feeling a bit spiteful, understandable considering he had sold me the night before, and I wished to revenge myself on him..."

Nazz nodded. "No wonder you said that... I couldn't understand after why you lied to me, it just didn't seem like you."

Edd looked up awkwardly, still sweating. "Well, I was mad, and I don't have the best judgement when I'm angry... To say the least..."

"Nazz..." Kevin said irritably, glaring at her.

She blinked, then covered her mouth. "Oh! Sorry, guys, I'll be quiet now."

"Anyway..." Edd said slowly. "Let's get back to the story, shall we?"

Jimmy yawned. "Actually, why don't we take a break? I learned a lot in he last two and half hours, and my brain wants a break..."

Sarah smiled. "That'd be cool! We could meet up in a little while to finish!"

Nazz nodded. "Yeah, in about an hour, but where would we meet? I don't think Jonny's parents like having us run all over their house..."

"Actually, I don't think they'd mind..." Jonny said. "They'd be glad to think I've finally gotten friends other than..." He paused and looked down.

Edd went over to him and patted him on the back. "You're not the only one who's lost his best friend, Jonny. I've lost both of mine..." He whispered.

Jonny looked up at him and nodded. "I guess..."

Edd nodded. "Well, then..." He patted Jonny on the back one final time, then stood and stretched. "Will we break this up for the time being?"

The others nodded and set out of Jonny's room.

Jonny smiled slightly at Edd.

Edd replied, stretching one final time as Jonny left.

Marie tapped him on the shoulder, and he jumped. "Whoa!"

She giggled. "Gotcha!"

He turned around. "Marie!"

Marie started giggling again. "Hee hee, you didn't expect that, did you?"

Edd gasped slightly, and smiled faintly at her. "No, I most certainly did not..."

"Well... What are we gonna do?" She asked, plopping onto Jonny's bed.

He looked thoughtful. "Good question..."

Marie nodded, then grinned. "I know! How about you show me this 'Other world', so we can go scare the bejeezis out of that vampire?"

Edd began sweating and rubbed his neck uncomfortably. "You aren't really interested in doing that, are you? You just want to go somewhere with me..."

She grinned even wider and nodded. "If anything's going to work out between us, there has to BE something between us, and that means go out on a little date!"

Edd groaned. "If you want to look at it that way, I suppose that's the truth..."

She grabbed his arm. "Then, come on! We only have an hour, and that includes getting there, using that thing, and getting back here."

He stood. "Okay, but can you release my arm?"

"Nope!" Marie replied, still grinning.

Edd sighed, then led the way out. "Ladies first..."

 

Nazz and Kevin walked out of Jonny's house and towards the street.

"Well..." Nazz said slowly.

"Those two are really something together, aren't they?" Kevin commented.

"Mm-hmm..." She whispered.

"Marie's a little annoying... Did you hear what she said before I woke you up?" He asked.

She shook her head. "No, I was asleep, remember?"

Kevin groaned. "I know, I thought you might have heard that as a part of your good dream... She said that I should wake you ap, as you were my girlfriend..."

"Huh?!?" she asked, stopping suddenly. "Your girlfriend?"

He began sweating. "Yeah... She said that, with all the time you and me spend together, we must be boyfriend and girlfriend..."

Nazz rose an eyebrow. "Oh, really..."

He nodded slightly, looking at her carefully.

She snorted and continued walking. "I don't know where she got that idea, but I don't have a crush on anyone yet."

Kevin's shoulder sagged, and he followed her, miserably.

 

Jimmy skipped along the sidewalk. "Sarah! I'm going to my house to change, okay?"

She nodded. "I'll meet you in the park in a few minutes, Jimmy!"

"Okay!" He replied, then ran into his house. "Wow, this is all so neat! And scary, but it's still neat. I feel bad for Double D, though..."

He ran up to his room and looked in his closet for some clothes. "What to wear... Aha!" He pulled something out, then began to get changed.

 

Jonny sat on the swing, tracing a square pattern in the sand below his foot.

He thought, leaning ito the swing again.

Sarah skipped by, heading towards the flowers. "Whee!" She exclaimed happily.

Jonny looked up at her.

Jimmy walked by, in cleaner clothes. "Hi, Jonny."

Jonny looked at him. "Hello, Jimmy..."

Jimmy stopped and came over. "Are you okay? You look upset..."

"It's nothing, don't worry about it..." Jonny said.

Jimmy frowned. "Well, if you say so... But, do you want to come play with me and Sarah?"

"No thanks, I'm okay..."

Jimmy nodded slowly. "Well if you change your mind, you know where to find us..."

Jonny smiled and began swinging as Jimmy ran off towards Sarah.

He thought, then stopped abruptly and stared towards the woods.

Edd and Marie were walking in the direction of the gate, Marie partially dragging him along.

"Marie! You really don't need to pull so hard, I can get there by myself!" Edd was exclaiming.

Marie stopped and shook her head, letting Edd take a deep breath. "No, you walk too slow. We'd never get there on time..."

"But..." Edd began, then Marie set off again. "Ow!"

Jonny giggled. "They're going on a date?" He focused on Edd.

Edd gave him a weary glance as Marie dragged him into the woods.

Jonny replied, then went back to swinging.

 

Nazz looked at Eddy's house thoughtfully. "This really stinks, you know?"

Kevin looked annoyed. "What?"

"That Ed and Eddy aren't with us. Annoying as they are, I miss having the Eds around..." Nazz replied.

He snorted. "I don't, all they ever did was get in the way."

She looked shocked. "Kevin! That's so mean!"

Kevin shrugged. "What? It's the truth!"

"Still..." She replied, then shook her head. "Oh, heck with it. I don't think I can sit here and talk to you while you're in this kind of mood." She snapped, then walked off towards the lane.

"Huh?!?" Kevin said, watching her leave. "What did I say?"

 

Edd pressed a few keys on the gate, then looked at Marie. "Be ready, it might get a little--windy, when I start this up."

Marie nodded nervously. "I gotcha."

He smiled. "Well, then..." He pressed enter, and the light began in the gate. The wind picked up and made standing straight difficult.

"Oh, wow..." She said softly, staring at the light. "It's so cool..."

Edd smiled, and tugged on her arm. "Well, come on..."

She grinned, and they walked through the gate together.

 

Nazz stomped over towards the park. "Why is Kevin being such a jerk? Even Eddy rarely got that mad..." She complained, then sighed. "Maybe this is just what he's really like... Why did I have to act like I liked him?"

She noticed Sarah and Jimmy next to some flowers.

"Oh, they're so pretty, Jimmy..." Sarah crooned, staring at the blooms.

Jimmy smiled. "I'm going to be having this type in my garden next year, don't you think that'll be cool?"

Nazz walked over as Sarah nodded. "Hi, you two..." She said.

They looked up. "Oh, hi Nazz!" Sarah exclaimed.

She sat down. "Can I hang out with you two?"

Jimmy nodded. "Sure! Jonny might come over too, if he gets too lonely."

"Yeah..." Nazz said, leaning back and laying on the grass. "I feel bad for him, his best friend deserting him like that..."

The other two nodded. "I know... But, there's not exactly anything we can do about it, is there?" Sarah asked, laying down too.

Jimmy looked up. "Sure are a lot of clouds... That's one looks like a butterfly!" He exclaimed, pointing up.

They looked. "It does, kinda..." Nazz said, smiling. "And that one over there looks like a cat..."

The three admired the clouds for several minutes, when someone spoke behind them. "Don't say a word." The familiar voice commanded.

They all twirled around, to see May and Ed grinning at them.

Nazz thought, opening her mouth to scream.

May covered her mouth "Uh, uh, uh! Don't say anything, don't cry out, and don't try to get away. You three are coming with us."

Sarah and Jimmy hugged each other nervously as Ed walked over and grabbed them. "Come on, baby sister. Be good, and I'll make sure Eddy isn't mean..."

May grabbed Nazz. "With me, girlie..." She sad, holding her arm. "Follow us."

 

Jonny slowly came to a halt and stretched. "I guess I'll go hang out with Jimmy and Sarah, there's nothing else to do..." He commented, looking towards where Jimmy said they'd be.

No one was there,

"Huh?" Jonny asked, looking around the park. No one was there.

"Yo, Nazz! I'm sorry, okay?" Kevin yelled from the entrance to the park.

Jonny looked at him. "Nazz isn't here, Kevin..."

Kevin blinked. "But... I saw her come in here. Where is she?"

Jonny walked towards him. "I don't know, and Jimmy and Sarah vanished too! They were just over there a few minutes ago, when I started swinging, then they were just gone!"

They stared at each other. "You don't suppose that maybe... The Kankers got them, do you?!?" Kevin exclaimed.

 

Edd and Marie were sitting on the top of the little cliff the waterfall went off of. "Sure is quiet here..." Marie commented.

Edd nodded. "Indeed... I wonder why none of those creatures have shown their faces..."

She grinned. "Maybe they're afraid of werewolves..."

Edd made a face. "I doubt that..."

She leaned back and looked up. "Do you think our world will ever get like this? Polluted sky, near no life, destroyed towns and cities?"

He looked up as well. "I-I hope not... Especially with all the work the government is doing to prevent that..."

Marie nodded. "True..." They sat there for a minute, then she spoke again "Hey, what time is it?"

He glanced at his watch. "...10:57... We'll have to get back in about forty minutes..."

Marie sighed. "So, we still have some time..." She leaned back into the dirt, pulling him down with her.

"Hey!" He protested, then shook his head and laid down. "Why do you still insist on holding my hand? I think you're cutting off the circulation..."

She gasped and let go. Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't know I was holding you that hard..."

Edd smiled. "Well, why do you think I was complaining so much? Obviously..."

Marie groaned. "You could have said something earlier..."

"No, I wouldn't do that..." Edd commented, shaking his head. "You seemed to be enjoying yourself..."

Her eyes widened and she looked quickly at him. He was staring innocently at the sky, but she knew he was paying a lot of attnetion to her. "And were you enjoying yourself? Aside from the pain?"

He turned pinkish and smirked slightly. Not a mean smirk, a 'I almost fooled you' smirk. "I had more than one reason for not complaining..." He commented, and Marie immediately understood what he meant.

"...You've never had a girlfriend, have you?" She finally asked.

"No..." Edd replied quietly. "That time you guys kissed us on the raft, that was my first kiss..."

"Oh?" Marie asked innocently, turning towards him. "Tell, me, oh genius, does a first kiss mean anything?"

He nodded, not meeting her eyes. "Yes, it does. Many people hope that the person they share their first kiss with is meant to be their true love..."

She nodded understandingly. "What about when it's the first kiss for both of them?"

Edd blinked. "Well, in old stories, based on knights in shining armor, and fragon, and damsels in distress, the first kiss for a princess was shared with her true love..."

Marie smiled and looked up again. "Oh, really? And, isn't it the knight who's supposed to kiss the princess?"

He looked at her, a mischeivous glint in his eye. "Indeed, that's how it was supposed to occur... After rescuing the maiden in distress, he would swear his everlasting love for her, then kiss... And they would live happily ever after..."

Marie nodded. "Well, then, the other day, you saved me when I was in distress, my fair knight... Isn't about time you kissed me?"

They both sat up and looked into each other's eyes.

"I believe... It is..." Edd whispered, leaning forward.

She also leaned forward, their eyes closed as they were about to kiss...

"There you two are!" Kevin suddenly exclaimed from behind Edd.

"Ah!" Marie and Edd exclaimed, leaning back and staring at Kevin in shock.

He blinked. "Oh, did I interupt anything?"

Edd groaned and rubbed his face irritably. "No, nothing, Kevin... What is it?"

Kevin looked startled. "Oh yeah! Look, we have a really big problem... The Kankers seem to have kidnapped Sarah, Jimmy, and Nazz..."

Edd's eyes widened and he looked slowly at Marie. "Dang it..." She whispered.