Heh! Venusgospel, thanks for the idea of “Eyes on Me”… I
suppose I can use that one, and make Marie into a bit of a videogame-player…
Even though there don’t seem to be any game consoles in the show anywhere… [Shrugs]
Well, anyway, my comments are on the bottom… But there will
be an epilogue 3, there’s still a few things I need to get explained after
this. Enjoy!
By the way, with FF.net’s new formatting, thought is now
represented by ^anything in between these^. It’ll be a pain going back to all
the old chapters… But I guess I’ll try to. Anyone wanna offer to be an editor
for me, and help out? ;-)
--------------------------------------------
Epilogue 2
8/4/2001 universe 8-3-2-0-0-9
--------------------------------------------
The group, without any discussion, decided to take the
"gate path", the same one that went through the forest through the
gate's clearing to the trailer park. Edwardo and Trip were found in the
clearing, trying to figure out if they’d come at the right time.
There was some excited talk about the idea of this party
(and some shouts when Edward tried to 'sample' the cookies Jimmy had brought),
but overall they walked over happily, everyone carrying some type of food or
beverage, for the most part.
"Well, you don't look so tired anymore…" Jimmy
finally remarked to Edward, tired of giving the older boy a cold shoulder.
"'Cause I'm goin' on four cups of coffee…" Edward
remarked, smirking. "The stuff is finally kicking in…"
Most of the group looked over at him, silently staring in a
mixture of doubt and awe.
Nazz shook her head. "But you're the same age as us…
Isn't it bad to have that much coffee? It wasn't black, was it?"
"Well…" Edward looked up, and a number of people
grimaced.
"Yuck..."
They continued in relative silence, making quiet remarks to
each other but no longer talking to the whole group. It took near no time to
get to the creek—Peach Creek—and cross over to where they could see May
watching for them, and waving.
"Hey!!" Ed waved back at her, and ran through the
water to the other side. Eddy shook his head as an Ed and a Kanker—grinning
at each other—embraced on the creek's far side.
"And that's even creepier than Plank…" He decided,
glancing around. Kevin snorted. Eddy ignored the sound, since looking over would
have meant he'd have to see Kevin and Nazz walking together.
As the rest of the large group carefully carried their food
and took drier routes over the water, they became aware of music in the
background, and the occasional voice.
Two voices began to awkwardly sing, and after a few lines
they began to sound comfortable together… Edd and Marie’s voices sounded to be
taking turns, every two lines or so each, then occasionally singing at the same
time, not expecting the other to go, and laughing about it.
"I
took a walk around the world to
Ease
my troubled mind
I
left my body lying somewhere
In
the sands of time
I
watched the world float to the dark
Side
of the moon
I
feel there is nothing I can do, yeah
"They ain't too bad…" Edward remarked to the air
around him. "Not a bad song either. Marie musta brought it…"
May shook her head. "Those two have been singing ever
since we finished getting the stuff ready, but…" She shrugged, and started
walking for the space the music was coming from.
“I
watched the world float to the
Dark
side of the moon
After
all I knew it had to be something
To do
with you
I
really don’t mind what happens now and then
As
long as you'll be my friend at the end"
"We haven't got the karaoke set working yet, just the
radio…"
"I can help out with that, I think." Trip
remarked, just as Edward said, "I'll get that…"
Both paused and looked at each other, then at May as the
Kanker began laughing. "Yeah, Double D said he'd get it, but there he is singing… Maybe one o' you'll have
better luck." She winked at the two, then turned to watch where she was
going.
"So what does everything—Wow…" Ed looked startled
as they rounded the corner.
The set-up wasn't all that fancy, or anything—it wasn't
really in the nature of any of the five who'd been there to be overly
interested in how things looked, unless they were trying to impress someone. As
it was, Ed and Edd were already interested in the girls, Maria wanted to focus
on getting food ready, and Eddy wasn't likely to fall for Lee just because of
the party… So they'd focused more on practicality.
At any rate, a pretty long table and two benches had been
set-up with the food the people already there had brought. Christmas tree-style
lighting had been strung from the trailer up to the clothesline and the near by
trees, as well as to another trailer nearby. The area had been cleaned of any
garbage, and a few trashcans had been put around to keep the kids from
littering.
A barbecue had been brought from somewhere and placed a little ways from the back door, and was
currently being cooked on. The other side of the door had a short,
sturdy-looking platform with speakers on each side and the radio and karaoke
set in the middle.
As the cage had never been built, there was no sign of it or
Tony's gate anywhere. Lee and Maria were moving cables and trying various
things with the karaoke set, while Marie and Edd were hanging out on the bench,
singing jokingly with each other.
"If
I go crazy then will you still call me Superman..?
If I'm
alive and well, will you be there
holding
my hand…?
I'll
keep you by my side
with
my superhuman might,
Kryptonite…."
"Hey, Double D, you're not gonna keep it on this punk
stuff all day, are you?" Eddy called out, placing the food onto the table.
Edd shook his head, and let Marie take over the singing.
"Oh, no, Eddy… You can put anything you like on. We were just listening to
that while waiting for everyone to arrive."
"So I hear you've got technical difficulties and all,
huh?" Edward put his food down and went over to the wall Maria was by.
She looked up wearily, and tossed a few cables at him.
"Pain in my…butt… What am I doing wrong here? This thing should work the
same as ours…"
"Hmmm…" Edward leaned down next to her. Lee moved
back to let him take a look. "Well…" He blinked a few times.
"Uh… The he…what did you do with
these, eat them? Things're all bitten up…"
Trip made a face, and Edwardo laughed. "Mice, probably…
They mighta crapped all over the things… Maybe you should leave 'em alone, huh
'Trip'?"
"Shuddup…" Trip shook his head, and the rest of
the group took that as their signal to put their food on the table.
Nazz headed over to the radio, and began playing with the
stations. Marie looked over at her as the Superman song stopped, then shrugged
and went to join the food-gatherers.
“Not country!” A few people chorused when she left it too
long on one station.
"What's wrong with country?" Edward wanted to
know, spinning the hat on his head around. Nazz only grinned at him and changed
the station again.
"So, everyone brought food?" Edwardo asked,
looking around. "Bet ya everyone's gonna wanna eat more than they
brought..."
"We could go get more food..." Ed remarked, and
examined something on one of the plates... It was half of a boiled egg, filled
with some yellow substance. "Huh...?"
Edd looked over, and smiled. "Ah, that's a deviled egg,
Ed."
Eddy snickered. "Egg-Ed... Egghead?" He looked to
see their expressions, and frowned when neither of them even smiled.
"Fine, don't think it's funny..."
Ed had picked the deviled egg up to his mouth, and
cautiously licked the center. Eddy burst out laughing at the face Ed made as he
grabbed for Lee’s soda bottle and chugged half of it down.
“Hey, yeah, go Ed…” Edward remarked as he looked over. “You
gonna drink the whole thing?” Lee smacked him in the back of the head, and
looked annoyed towards Eddy—Eddy only laughed harder.
Ed shook his head and put the bottle back in Lee’s hand—the
top of it more than slightly wet. Letting out a burp, he wiped the foam off of
his face and smiled. “Much better….”
Edd sighed. “I should have known you wouldn’t like them…”
----------------------------------------------------------------
May went into the kitchen, a grin spreading across her face.
She frowned as she saw a figure stooped in the fridge. “Marie?”
Marie blinked, then pulled her face out of the fridge. She
was holding a gallon of milk and some strawberry syrup, both of which she
quickly shoved onto the counter. “Uh, May? What?”
May went over to the stove and started turning burners on.
“Do you know how to make gravy?” She let off a content smile. “I’m gonna
surprise Ed with some buttered toast and gravy, I’ve heard that’s his
favorite…”
“Aha…” Marie grinned and went over to join her sister.
“Let’s see, you’ll want one cup o’ flour…”
----------------------------------------------------------------
“Ain’t
no valley low enough
Ain’t
no river wide enough
To
keep me from getting to you, baby…”
Kevin was mouthing the words from where he sat, next to
Nazz. She had snuggled up next to him, to the great annoyance of Eddy.
Edd was also ‘elsewhere preoccupied’, again, with Marie…
Eddy wasn’t thinking about it. Ed, of course, was busy too, sitting with me and
chowing down on his favorite food—or, second favorite, and that second only to
jawbreakers. Eddy didn’t want to think about that, either.
‘Both of them over there, hanging out with girls, while I’m
just sitting here… And Kevin’s over
with Nazz…!!’
Eddy frowned. There had to be something he could do, anything…!
“Awright, the thing’s working, so ya’ll can come out and
have gos with the thing…” Edward announced, as he and Lee stood up. Lee walked
towards Eddy, to his horror.
“Eddy, come on and sing a love song to me… I won’t mind.”
Lee remarked, smiling as he shook all over.
As she left him alone, something occurred to him. Lee, of
all people, had just given him an idea… Eddy stared at the karaoke set, and a
smile slowly spread across his face.
Eddy still grinned as he walked up the path, and tapped on
the microphone. Thinking about what to sing, he got the perfect idea, and blew
into the microphone to see if they were really working... The speakers made
high-pitched noises, and a number of the kids cringed around the area.
"Sorry, sorry…" He remarked into the thing, and glanced to the side.
Lee was there again, smiling as if she thought he was actually going to sing to her.
"You, uh, you know how to fix that?" He stammered
to Lee.
She nodded, turning a few dials on the karaoke set.
"Check it now."
"R-right… This better?" He asked the group. Those
who cared nodded at him, and he grinned at the group. "Okay… To start the
show, I think I'm going to have a song to Nazz, Kevin’s request.”
A few kids made confused remarks, and most turned to look at
Kevin and Nazz. She looked hopefully at him, and confused as well when he only
shook his head.
"What are you talking about, Eddy?" He complained,
putting a hot dog down. “What song?”
Eddy stood straighter on the platform, and cleared his
throat rather than answer. Lee started the song, and after a few seconds Eddy
began to sing in an odd voice---imitating Kevin.
"I'm
so cool, too bad I'm a loooooser
I'm so
smart, too bad I can't get anything figured out"
Kevin looked annoyed and stood up threateningly, glaring at
Eddy. Eddy stepped back but continued singing, seemingly ready to run at any
moment.
‘Kevin…?’
‘Stay out of this, Double D…’ Kevin replied, focusing on
Eddy.
"I'm
so brave, too bad I'm a baby…."
‘Kevin, making him
stop through the method you plan isn't going to do you—Kevin?’
Kevin had apparently cut himself off. Edd and Jonny
exchanged looks, knowing what was going to happen now.
"I'm
so fly, that's probably why it
Feels
just like I'm falling for the first time…"
By now Kevin reached the table and grabbed for Eddy… Eddy
tossed the microphone at his head, jumped off on the far side, and bolted.
Back at one of the tables Nazz had burst out laughing, while
Sarah cheered Kevin on as he ran after Eddy around the trailer. "Get 'im,
Kevin!"
Noticing that the phrase rhymed, Jimmy grinned and joined in
the chant a few times. "Get him—Kevin…" They clapped five times,
putting it to a crowd cheer you'd see at a sports event. "Get him
Kevin…"
Off in the distance they heard Eddy's voice, taunting Kevin.
"What's the matter, Kevin? Can't catch me now that ya can't fly??"
"Oh, I'll catch you, just watch…!" Kevin's voice
yelled in response. A yelp went up, and the others glanced around as Kevin
probably threw Eddy to the ground. A few of the people—especially the
doubles—abandoned their food to watch.
"Someone should probably intervene before Kevin goes
too far… Eddy was being a pest, certainly, but…" Edd looked uncomfortable.
"I'll separate them…" Nazz decided, stretching,
and walking over to where the two had gone. Lee snuck off behind her, probably
looking to 'rescue' Eddy and make him feel indebted to her.
"…How about we let'm keep at it? A party's not much fun
without at least one fight goin’ on…" Edward sounded a little too hopeful,
and a few people glanced at him sideways.
"Kevin!! Stop that!" Nazz yelled from the other
side of the trailer, and the yelping noise quickly stopped. A few voices
started talking, while all of the other kids listened.
May shrugged. "Seems like that's taken care of… So does
anyone wanna sing yet? Or should we just let the radio play for a little
while?"
"We gotta sing our friends song…" Sarah remarked,
running up to the table and grabbing the microphone.
Rolf, of all people, turned pale and walked quickly after
her. "Uh, how about… We wait? Umm… Nazz should be here to sing that as
well, yes?"
Sarah looked upset, then nodded. "Yeah, Nazz should
sing too… Me, Jimmy, Nazz, Kevin, Jonny… Are you still being all… rude about it?"
Rolf paled further, and stepped back. "Uh, Rolf must
tend to the food, as he is one of the only children here who is good at cooking… Excuse me child!"
Sarah watched as he quickly fled.
"Hey, Double D…" Edwardo grabbed Trip's arm.
"You know, 'It's not easy to be me…'…"
Trip stared at him. "You sing that song again and I'm
going to hurt you, you know that?"
Edwardo pouted slightly. "What's wrong with it?"
"…You whine to no end when you sing that…" Trip
muttered, shaking his head.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Off to the side, Jimmy and Sarah were discussing what other
songs they "absolutely gotta
sing..!", and Edward was helping himself to the food.
Marie and Edd were sitting on a bench, talking softly about
the upcoming night—should they sneak off to the water pond and replay their last
meeting there?
"I mean, with the gate's effect, technically today is the day we did that… And with
any luck it'll be the only full moon in a row." Edd stammered, looking
upward.
Marie nodded. "'Sides, if we don't, then we never
really had that whole thing
happen…"
Eddy had returned, a little bruised, followed by Lee, Nazz,
and a sulking Kevin. True to Edd's word, Nazz began ignoring Kevin again and
took Eddy to the side, making sure he was all right-—saying it had been a
little unfair of her to blame him for something he didn't even remember, and so
on…
Every once in a while Kevin would give Nazz, then Eddy, an
annoyed look that suggested he realized hitting Eddy hadn't been the smartest
idea ever. He stubbornly kept his mind closed, as talking to them would have
made him more annoyed was that Jonny and Edd had realized this whole thing, and
tried to warn him about it.
Lee took pity on him—of a sort—and went over to talk to him.
"You know… How about I warn ya about that kinda thing
too?" She asked, raising her bangs to give him a look.
Kevin chewed on a few chips, then turned towards her.
"What's that supposed to mean? And what do you care?"
She cleared her throat, let go of her hair, and grabbed
Kevin's chin with one hand. "Look over there." Lee told him, turning
his head towards Eddy and Nazz. "Yer annoyed cause Eddy's talking…and
maybe taking…Nazz. Right?"
He swiped at her hand, and she released his head.
"Yeah, and again… What do you care?"
Underneath her hair Lee rolled her eyes. ‘What an idiot… He
needs to get a life.’ "If ya didn't notice… Eddy is over talking to her… Duh?"
Kevin blinked, then looked up to about where her eyes were.
He tilted his head, staring, then smirked. "So, what, you wanna 'form an
alliance'?"
"Bingo." The two gazed at each other, then over at
the people they wanted to go out with.
Nazz gave a ringing laugh, and covered a smile. Eddy leaned
back, grinning, and with a normal colored face… He wasn't blushing
uncomfortably; instead, he was feeling fine and hanging with Nazz!
"So… Do you have a plan already, or what?" Kevin
asked, glaring at Eddy. Unfortunately for Kevin, Eddy either didn’t notice or
completely ignored it.
“Actually, yeah.” Kevin looked over at her, and Lee smiled.
“We enlist… help. Ya see… I figured we could scare ‘im out of ‘is mind…” She
looked around to see if anyone was watching, then leaned in to whisper her
plan.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Rolf had retreated to the barbecue that had been brought
out, cooking some random food other
than the 'pitiful franks', with Maria shaking her head and trying to sneak some
hamburger patties onto the grill when he didn't look.
He noticed her most recent attempt, and glared at the girl.
“Would the other-worldly Kanker-girl stop
that…? Rolf needs all of the grill space to be in my use, or else she shall force Rolf to… sing…”
Maria groaned, taking the patties back onto her plate, and
fixed a gaze on him. “So? What’s with these songs that ya can’t sing ‘em or
nothing? Hmm?”
“They are… children’s songs…” Rolf didn’t seem very
interesting in explained, and simply stared over at Sarah.
Maria followed the gaze, and saw Sarah waving something
around—the sound track for… Cinderella? Beauty and the Beast? She couldn’t tell
or care; it was one of those random Disney Princess’s movies… She made a face.
“Ugh… Okay, okay… Tell ya what. I’ll wait ‘til yer done, and then I use it… And ‘til then we’ll both be
wicked busy helpin’ each other, so we can’t go over and sing… Hmm? Maybe when they’re
ready to start we go and get some other food from yer house to cook, and all…”
Rolf looked at her again, feeling the inklings of respect
for the girl. He smiled. “Indeed… Rolf is in agreement.”
“Good.” They shook on it, and turned back to the grill
intently. “So… There’s not even enough room for one burger…?”
----------------------------------------------------------------
Jonny was off to the side with Ed, May, and Plank, the four
having some random conversation.
"So what's the plan you guys have going with Lee and
Eddy, anyway?" Jonny asked Ed, smiling. "Double D said he wants to
see if those two will, uh… Get together?"
May nodded. “Yeah, Lee’s really sad being alone, so if both
Ed and Double D could change their
minds…”
‘But Eddy’s… different.
He’s stubborn.’ Plank commented softly.
Jonny nodded, and sat back, kicking his feet back and forth.
“So maybe those two’ll have to do this themselves… Too bad Eddy doesn’t
remember everything.” He grinned. “Then he’d know what it feels like to kiss her…”
He thought he saw something yellow-orange out of the corner
of his eye. Jonny turned to look, but there was no one there… The memory
dismissed itself from his memory unnaturally quickly, noticed by no one.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Edwardo had interrupted the conversations a few times, being
very insistent on singing something, anything, whether it was to someone or not. After realizing that
Eddy was looking for the same thing, they snuck the microphone into the trailer
and began singing with the backdoor locked, so no one could stop it very
quickly. Both had different ideas of just what
to sing and the argument over what song ended up sounding through the speakers
as well…
When the two became tired of arguing, they instead began
taking turns singing snippets of songs while Kevin, Edward, Maria, and Lee all
tried to force their way into the trailer—but none of the three wanted to risk
breaking any windows.
Edd first realized that if they simply un-plugged the karaoke
set, the two would be singing only to each other—so the microphone cord was
quickly yanked.
"That was some of the worst singing I've ever heard in
my life…" Trip remarked. "How old
were some of those songs, anyway?"
"'Edwardo' wasn't doin' any better… What was with that
one song he kept singing, any way?" Maria retorted, stretching out onto
the bench.
“Long story…” Trip replied, making an odd face that no one
watching was quite sure what he was thinking. “He ‘serenades’ me with it…”
After that comment,
what should happen next but—of course-Edwardo and Eddy finding a megaphone in
the Kankers' room? After a few random yells into it, Edwardo took the first
turn singing.
I can't stand to fly
I'm
not that naive
Trip's eyes widened along with all of the other kids, and
they turned towards the locked door. "No…" He groaned, and let his
head fall to the table, then picked it up and dropped it a few more times. “Not
again…”
I'm
just out to find
The better part of me
"…You have got
to be kidding me…" Kevin groaned as well. "What the heck is with that song?!?"
The rest of the group sat around dumbly. Edwardo hesitated,
and his face appeared in the window. Grinning broadly, he put the megaphone up
to his face and continued singing… His voice was rather exaggerated, and it was
easy to see why Trip called the singing 'whining'.
I'm
more than a bird...I'm more than a plane
More
than some pretty face beside a train
It's
not easy to beee…. Meeee…..
He made an interesting face at Trip, then tossed the megaphone
off to the side. While they watched, he unlocked the window and jumped out,
then closed it again. Eddy waved at them through the glass, and continued
walking over to where the door was.
"So does this mean you're done hogging the
singing?" Jimmy asked suddenly.
Edwardo nodded, glancing at the machine. "It took you
lot so long to think of just
unplugging us… Heheh…"
"Awright, who's got first dibs?" Edward wondered,
looking around. "I've got a couple in mind too…"
Jimmy gave him a Cheshire-cat grin under the brace, and went
over to re-plug the microphone.
"Hey, Peach Creek!" Eddy's voice suddenly
announced, and Jimmy reddened again. The color didn’t show him blushing, but
instead showed his annoyance.
"Eddy, come out here already!" Ed yelled before
Sarah noticed Jimmy's expression.
"I'm coming, I'm coming…" They watched the cord
under the door slacken slightly, and then the door slowly open. Eddy poked his
head out, and waved the microphone at them. "Here, fine, one of you guys
take it—"
"Thank you!" Jimmy seemed to suddenly appear in front of Eddy, take the
remote, and run over towards where Sarah was with a wide smile on his face.
The older kids looked worried at the expression—it was
really unnerving. "Uh… Maybe we should go, uh… Check on the gate,
hmm?" Edd asked Marie, glancing repeatedly at the group forming around
Jimmy.
She looked at him, then Ed, Eddy, Kevin, and Rolf. The
other-worlders only looked confused, but the kids of this cul-de-sac seemed
more than a little frightened. "What's the… hey, why not. It's not like
anyone here's going home anytime soon, we can sing later." Marie grabbed
his arm and pulled him up, this time finding him not pull back at all.
"Yeah, Nazz, what do you think…?" Kevin wondered,
hopefully.
She shook her head. "What is with you guys, anyway?
They're probably just gonna do the stuff we usually do at sleepovers…"
Kevin paled to an even lighter color than his skin had been
as a vampire, and began retreating. "Right… The YMCA and that stuff, or
the… other…stuff…?" Nazz seemed confused, and he coughed. "The Disney
stuff…"
Ed now looked worried. "Sarah plays those soundtracks
in her room and sings along when Jimmy's over… Eddy, I'm gonna go—go help
Double D and Marie, okay? May, you too?" She nodded, and the two quickly
followed. Eddy nodded in understanding, then looked towards Nazz. Seeing Kevin,
he grinned.
"Kevin, if you wanna leave, you can always follow
us…" Eddy taunted in Kevin's ear, whispering. He then pulled back and got
a mock-sympathetic expression. "But it's really not fair to go somewhere
with a girl and leave her all alone… And I think Nazz wants to sing too…” Eddy
looked like he’d had a great idea. “Hey, why don't you go sing with her? I bet she’d like that…"
Kevin glared evilly at him as Eddy darted off after his
friends, then moaned when Nazz smiled at him.
^She didn't hear any of that, did she…? Ughh…^ He shook his
head, and shrugged at her. "Fine, fine…"
"Thanks, dude" She said brightly, and then walked
over to where the younger kids were waiting.
Eddy disappeared into the trees on the creek's far side, and
Kevin shook his head again. ^I'm gonna hurt that kid… Or, maybe…^ He smiled
slightly, glancing over at Lee. She probably winked at him, and the two glanced
off towards the woods that Eddy had just run into… Their plan would now begin.
He sighed and canceled the 'barrier' he'd put up around his
mind. Edd and Jonny noticed, and immediately checked on him.
‘Kevin, you're all right, now?’ Jonny asked first.
‘I apologize for not doing anything about that, but you're with Nazz now, correct?’ Edd's voice
seemed soft, probably both from his being far away, and his preoccupation… The
other two thought they could sense kissing in the background of his mind.
Kevin shrugged, without any of the kids around him noticing.
Sarah was putting a CD in even now, and the rest of the kids there were
watching to see what would happen. The kids who'd just left obviously weren't
there, and other people missing included Edwardo, Trip, Rolf, and Maria…
Surprisingly enough, Edward had stuck around, for no apparent reason.
‘Huh… Wonder why he’s here…’ Kevin thought, then winced as
Sarah hit Play.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Eddy looked around the trees for any sign of the kids who had
left before him. It was getting along in the day; about three hours had passed
since the party's start.
"Uh, Ed? Double D? …Where'd you guys go?" He asked
aloud, then shook his head and whined, "C'mon…"
No one answered him, and he realized that they must have
gone ahead. ‘With their girlfriends…
Great. Who knows when Lee's gonna jump outta the woods at me…’
He groaned, looking wearily at the trees around him. Sure
enough, he heard a sound coming from somewhere nearby… But it didn’t sound like
Lee.
“Hello…?” Eddy asked shakily. Again no one answered him,
but, hey! He was Eddy! Even with out his buds, he was going to investigate…
After all, he could always run like a coward later.
The sound was a little louder, and he kept walking forward
with a frown on his face. Suppose it was
Lee… What then? He’d been safe at the party, but here, alone in the woods…?
Thoughts of the party made Kevin’s face appear in Eddy’s
mind. Kevin mocking him, back at the party, Eddy watching as Kevin kissed Nazz…
‘Aw, heck, I can just look…’
The images he’d seen scared him, and more than that, annoyed him. Eddy stepped forward a few more times, and around a
tree saw a clump of bushes. The noises were coming from it, and the bush was
wriggling a little.
^There you are…^ Instead of waiting for her to jump out on
him, he decided to surprise her… So
he ran forward into the bush.
Where he saw Ed, and Edd… And they were kissing.
“Wha…?” Eddy starred, unable to move, as the two looked over
at him.
Edd’s eyes widened, and he shook his head. “Eddy? This…This
isn’t…”
Eddy took a single step backward, then another. Neither of
the two was blushing—instead of having red faces, their faces seemed purple…
Like they were bruised, or something. Ed didn’t have his jacket on, Eddy idly
wondered if Edd had torn it odd. Come to think of it, Ed looked rather
comfortable with the idea of kissing a person, and Edd wasn’t stammering near enough to be realistic… But that
didn’t matter, as something else entirely came up in Eddy’s mind…
Memories… Memories that he shouldn’t be able to remember…
‘Eddy was
startled. The wolf nodded at him, regarding him with an odd, wide-eyed look.
The look in the
wolf's eyes as he gazed at was creepy. He could just picture Double D looking
at him that way. In fact... Double D often gave him that look, when he was
nervous, or scared out of his wits....’
‘"Love
has come over me, Double D, nothing more than love..."’
Images swirled in his mind as these
memories came... The full moons, the look
on Sarah's face when she glared at him from in the cage, something Ed and Edd's
story hadn't been able to get across to him…
How he’d ignored Ed during their stay
with the Kankers, the way he’d started to feel about Lee, and how he’d totally
stopped fearing Kevin…
The way he’d been interacting with his
brother while being dragged towards the ruined city, dropping rocks on the
zombies…
‘”Right
with you, Double D!”’
Eddy stared ahead of him, no longer
seeing the two startled kids in the bush. He saw a rooftop in a world with a red
sky, saw the ground floating away, and saw an expanding darkness in the sky
that somehow was brighter than anything he’d ever seen before…
And he remembered the second in which
he reached out, facing his death…
More than that, Eddy realized he could
remember the second after he touched it… After he’d entered the void, the
state of non-existence…
And how, in that second, he’d learned… What would you call it? The meaning of life?
Why they were there, he knew it…
Someday he’d have to put it into words.
As Trip and Edwardo watched, Eddy’s
eyes rolled back into his head, and he collapsed.
“……”
“………”
“…So… Do you think he’s dead?” Trip
murmured, standing up to look at Eddy better.
“…Hope not…” Edwardo followed. “After
how glad that lot had been to see him alive?”
Trip put a hand to Eddy’s neck, then a
wrist. “He’s alive…”
“Phew…” Edwardo stretched. “How ‘bout
we get him back to Kevin an’ Lee?”
Trip nodded. “Yeah… The plan doesn’t
seem to have worked too well…”
Edwardo picked Eddy up, then grinned.
“That was a great look on his face, though…”
----------------------------------------------------------------
“Yo! …People!” Edwardo’s voice called
out into the middle of the song.
“Can
you see the love to—“ Sarah hit pause, and turned with a glare to the
people who’d interrupted her music.
The rest looked over as well, Kevin
sighing in relief as he did. The sight that met his eyes made him freeze and
sweat nervously.
Trip was running over to them—they
knew it was Trip because of the black eye—followed by Edward. Gasps went up as
they saw Edwardo was carrying an unconscious Eddy.
“Jeez! What happened?” Jimmy
exclaimed.
“…He fainted.” Edwardo and Trip exchanged glances.
Rolf noticed the look, and frowned. “Indeed… And what lead
to the Ed-boy’s collapse?”
Both Trip and Edwardo were careful not to look at Kevin… As
long as no mind reading took place, no one need know about Lee’s or Kevin’s
involvement. “Well, the two of us were in the woods, and he walked right into
us…” Edwardo put Eddy down on the bench.
Nazz shook her head. “But he saw the two of you before, so
it’s not like he fainted when he saw you…” The two made faces, and she frowned.
“Did he?”
Trip groaned and gestured. “Me… And Ed… look just like the
two of us from this world. We were kissing… He found us.”
The eyes of everyone there widened, a few people coughing
and snorting in reaction.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Edd was led by Marie into the Gate Clearing, and Ed and May
followed after.
“This can make a great make-out spot.” May announced.
Ed made an off strangling noise and smiled at her. “What
were you thinking…?”
“Hmmm…” Marie put a hand up, imitation one of Edd’s
thoughtful expressions. “Hmmm… Whatever might she have in mind—Oh! D-Double D!”
He had wrapped an arm around her, and a hand landed lower on
her back than he’d planned. Edd’s face was now burning, and he was about to
stammer an apology when she kissed him playfully.
Ed raised his eyebrow, then looked down at May. She smiled
as well, and he shrugged, then leaned in to kiss her.
The two pairs spent a few minutes there, kissing each
other’s hands, faces, but keeping it within a realm they could understand—only
a year ago most of them would have been worried about girls having cooties, after
all.
Just when Marie was suggesting that Edd practice his
“French”, hastily saying something about the “language of love” when Ed looked
over, Edd sat up abruptly, and stared at some distant point.
“Double D? You… Are you okay?” She wondered, trying to keep
from feeling hurt. He only nodded, closing his eyes.
Ed glanced over again. “Is it Jonny…?” He wondered,
recognizing the look.
Edd’s eyes opened, and he nodded again. “Trip and Edwardo
were in the woods, uh… together…” Edd explained. “Eddy went by them, and
collapsed… He’s only just coming to now.”
“Oh!” Marie seemed both startled and a little disappointed,
but she slid off the bench. “Well… He’s your friend, I guess we should make
sure he’s okay and all…”
Edd nodded, letting a sympathetic smile cross his face, then
began to jog back towards the trailer park.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Eddy’s eyes opened slightly, then quickly closed.
‘Bright… What happened?’
“Eddy? Are you okay, dude?” That was Nazz, who else said
dude?
He breathed out, trying to understand what was happening. It
was hot and bright enough to be day, he was lying on a bench, and kids seemed
to be crowded around him.
“What happened…?” He murmured to himself, raising a hand to
his forehead.
“He’s waking up!” Sarah remarked off to the side.
Eddy frowned, sitting up slowly. The bright light… like from
the gate… He could remember what the gate opening looked like, even though he’d
never seen it… Could remember everything that Ed and Edd had told him about,
from his own memory…
“I…” He opened his eyes, squinting, and looked around.
A lot of kids were
gathered around the area, almost all of them, and the music had been turned
off.
Jonny, and Plank, were staring at him, and as he tried remembering
what had happened, their eyes only widened more. Somehow even Plank’s eyes were
widening, he could tell. ^I…^
“There they are… Eddy, you’re awake?” Edd called out. Eddy
looked to see the four he’d been following come over to the table. “Jonny hadn’t
told me that, yet…”
“A-awake? Yeah…” Eddy shook his head slowly and remained
sitting. This was feeling disorienting… He could remember the first second of
death, and he could remember this and the last day the way he’d been without
memories, and all of what had happened with the gate, but he didn’t know how he knew it all. “Double D…”
“Hmm?” Edd went to sit next to him, and appeared puzzled.
“Yes?”
Eddy looked down at the bench, then over at Jonny. “Are you
and Jonny… talking… right now?”
Edd followed Eddy’s gaze and saw the expression on Jonny’s
face—everyone else did too. Edd shook his head. “No… Should we be?” When Eddy
nodded Edd only felt more confused, and focused. ‘Jonny, what’s…?’
^LOOK!!!^ That was both Jonny and Plank, sounding panicked. They
shoved images at Edd that he recognized as the whole journey.
He scanned through the thoughts, then shrugged. ‘Um… I’m not
seeing what’s so important…’
Jonny breathed deeply while the rest of the kids waited for
explanations. ‘Double D… These are from Eddy’s
memory! He just suddenly remembered everything!!’
Edd froze, and slowly turned to look at Eddy. The boy was
watching him, waiting for this reaction. “You…”
“What’s going on this time…?” Sarah asked, putting her head
between theirs, and looking at the two. “It’s big, right?”
Eddy muttered something, then looked intently at her. Edd
was startled by Eddy’s serious expression… He’d almost never seen it before.
“Sarah, you were ticked
at me when me and Ed first went over to talk to you, but you still couldn’t say
anything, and all… And when Ed was under the trailer, you and Jimmy hung out
together, lying together in the cage…”
Sarah blinked. “Yeah, so? Ed told ya all about over there,
right?”
“Not that… He was under the trailer, remember? And he didn’t
tell me what the look on your face was when we talked to you, either, wrinkling
your face up like you tasted a lemon or something…”
When the others didn’t understand, Edd and Jonny exchanged
looks. “He means… That he can remember being there, talking to you…
Eddy can remember all of it.”
“Huh?? How??”
Eddy avoided looking at any of them as the usual confused
babble began. He stared at the bench instead, thinking about some of the things
that he’d done while Tony controlled him. The thought led him to the last gate
he went through, and what he could remember of it…
“Just ‘cause he found us in the woods? The #$%@…?” Trip
sounded, to Edd’s ears, scandalized.
“But we watched the kid die…”
Edwardo mused, looking Eddy over. “An’ he didn’t come through the gate, like
us… So he should just be alive and without memory…”
Edd nodded. “Indeed. I’m not certain how he survived going
through nothingness, but—“
“I didn’t.” They all turned to see him tuck his knees
between his arms, and hold them to his chest. He wasn’t shaking, or rocking, or
anything, which was a little reassuring. “I can remember going through… and
being on the other side…”
They stared at him.
“You… remember being dead…?”
Kevin was speaking softly, almost reverently… At the least his tone was awe, if
not anything religious.
As they considered the implications of that, Jimmy’s face
lit up. “Then…” He ran over and stood in front of Eddy. Pulling out a
twenty-dollar bill, he waved it in Eddy’s face. “Eddy! What’s the meaning of
life?”
Eddy grinned, of
all things, and pushed the money-holding hand out of his face. “Hey, don’t
tempt me! I can’t say… That’d sorta spoil the surprise, wouldn’t it?”
“No…” Jimmy whined in response. “Maybe a hint…?”
Eddy shrugged. “Well, not right now…”
The other looked at each other more than a little
uncomfortably.
“You actually know it…?” Nazz wondered.
Shrugging again, Eddy leaned back. “Yeah, well… Can we just
figure out how I remember everything?
I’ve got back on the roof, when Tony finally left my brain alone… Then I’ve got
all of us about to go in the gate, me getting knocked loose ‘cause of that
concrete, and… Going up.” He frowned. “I remember a few fragments of after
that, and after going through… But I don’t really remember going back through
time… I mean, I didn’t go through the gate with you guys…”
Ed sat on another part of the table, shaking his head. “Boy,
Eddy, you talked almost as long as Double D just now… Maybe you should try…not
dying…from now on.”
Edd ignored the comment. “Hmm… Perhaps the presence of two
simultaneously open gates had an affect on their actual operation… Eddy passed
through one just before us, then we
went through, and as far as I see Tony didn’t pursue any of us… And all of us
remember. There’s bound to be some connection… We never saw Tony enter a gate…
So maybe, as the gate was spreading to include that universe, you simply were
pulled back through with us? He would simply have entered that void, after the
‘Zero’ gate enveloped out own…” He was speaking aloud, but from the look on his
face it was to himself.
Eddy reached over and tapped Ed’s arm. “I think we’ve lost
him…”
Marie laughed, and she and Eddy grinned at each other. “Yep,
there’s no way Double D’s gonna be found on this planet any time soon…”
Jimmy was pocketing his wallet; a little disappointed that
everyone was calming down now… He’d rather wanted to hear what the actual
meaning of life was; it’d make a great poem, and a nice thing to brag about… He
looked up to see Sarah smiling widely.
“He’s fine… So we can go back to the party, and sing!” She exclaimed.
“Hey! Yeah!” Jimmy jumped up to follow her.
Edwardo made a face. “Hey! No!” He complained. “At least let
us get out of—never mind.”
Sarah and Jimmy had run over to the karaoke/stereo, and hit
Play together.
“—Love
tonight…”
The Lion King music came back on, and a few people prepared
to make rapid retreats.
----------------------------------------------------------------
The kids who’d run off all headed for the creek—where Eddy
fell in—and proceeded to have a sudden splashing contest to see who could soak
the others while remaining the driest… Edwardo and Trip found themselves pitted
against May and Ed, while Edd and Marie were against Eddy and Maria… Edward and
Rolf stayed up on the bridge until someone sent a huge wave in their direction.
With a quick nod to each other, they both jumped in manners
that swamped the other eight with water, and a free-for-all started.
Their ‘battle’ lasted at least twenty minutes, until someone
noticed that music off to the side had been switched to something normal… And a few of them immediately
left to try taking control of the system—Edwardo first.
“You better not dare trying to sing that same song again,
Ed, or…” They heard Trip exclaim as he chased after the taller boy.
Edd and Ed looked at each other, and Edd shook his head.
“Oy, vey…”
“That about says it.” Eddy climbed out of the creek too, and
twisted water out of his clothes.
“So, Eddy…” Ed grinned oddly. “You remember everything… Even
when me and May were hanging out, and you and Lee were…?”
Edd smiled as well, and they looked over to him expectantly.
Eddy made a groaning noise, and nodded without looking at
them—the rest of the kids there laughed, and also started getting out.
They noticed the music change again, and recognized
Edwardo’s voice again. This time Trip joined in, then Edward…
This
ain't a song for the broken-hearted
A
silent prayer for the faith-departed
I
ain't gonna be just a face in the crowd
You're
gonna hear my voice
When I
shout it out loud
Chorus:
It's
my life
It's
now or never
I
ain't gonna live forever
I just
want to live while I'm alive
(It's
my life)
My
heart is like an open highway
Like
Frankie said
I did
it my way
I just
wanna live while I'm alive
It's
my life
The eight who’d been elsewhere went in to see what was going
on… The kids there were watching the platform, where Trip and Edwardo were
singing---unusually well, too. Edward was joining in on the chorus from his
spot on the bench—there was a good amount of space around him, as the dry kids
had all backed away when he first sat down.
Lee was over by the speakers, doing the ‘DJ’ work, and
making sure it worked for anyone who wanted to sing.
This
is for the ones who stood their ground
For
Tommy and Gina who never backed down
Tomorrow's
getting harder make no mistake
Luck
ain't even lucky
Got to
make your own breaks
Chorus:
It's
my life
And
it's now or never
I
ain't gonna live forever
I just
want to live while I'm alive
(It's
my life)
My
heart is like an open highway
Like
Frankie said
I did
it my way
I just
want to live while I'm alive
'Cause
it's my life
Better
stand tall when they're calling you out
Don't
bend, don't break, baby, don't back down
Chorus:
It's
my life
And
it's now or never
'Cause
I ain't gonna live forever
I just
want to live while I'm alive
(It's
my life)
My
heart is like an open highway
Like
Frankie said
I did
it my way
I just
want to live while I'm alive
Chorus:
It's
my life
And
it's now or never
'Cause
I ain't gonna live forever
I just
want to live while I'm alive
(It's
my life)
My
heart is like an open highway
Like
Frankie said
I did
it my way
I just
want to live while I'm alive
'Cause
it's my life!
The song ended, and the two grinned at each other. They both
looked surprised as Jimmy, then Nazz, and the majority of the kids started
clapping.
“Jeez, didn’t think it was that good…” Edwardo said gruffly, putting the microphone down
again.
Nazz elbowed Kevin. “Well, since Eddy’s not up there this
time… How about you and I sing something?”
Kevin’s eyes widened, but when she didn’t start laughing he
realized she was serious. “Uh… Hey, why not… What did you have in mind?”
She raised one finger and smiled. “I’ll see if they can play
it… Hang on.” He watched Nazz run up to where Lee was. The two talked in low
voices, then Lee nodded. She pressed a few buttons, then gestured for Kevin to
come over.
“So, what song…?” He asked as he stepped on the platform.
“Sacrifice? I know you don’t like the Beach Boys, or
anything, so…”
Kevin made weighing motions with his hands, then shrugged.
“Yeah, that one works… Lee?” She pressed play, and the two picked up the
microphone.
Hello
my friend
We
meet again
It's
been a while
Where
should we begin?
Feels
like forever
Within
my heart
Are
memories
Of
perfect love that
You
gave to me
When
you are with me
I'm
free, I'm careless
I
believe
Above
all the others
We'll
fly
This
brings tears
To my
eyes
My
sacrifice
We've
seen our share
Of ups
and downs
Oh,
how quickly life
Can
turn around
In an
instant
It
feels so good to reunite
Within
yourself and
Within
your mind
Let's
find peace there
'Cause
when you are
With
me
I'm
free, I'm careless
I
believe
Above
all the others
We'll
fly
This
brings tears
To my
eyes
My
sacrifice
I just
want to
Say
hello again
I just
want to
Say
hello again
When
you are with me
I'm
free, I'm careless
I
believe
Above
all the others
We'll
fly
This
brings tears
To my
eyes
'Cause
when you are
With
me
I'm
free, I'm careless
I
believe
Above
all the others
We'll
fly
This
brings tears
To my
eyes
My
sacrifice
My
sacrifice
(I
just want to
Say
hello again)
I just
want to
Say
hello again
My
sacrifice
The kids applauded again—Kevin hadn’t sung for a reasonable
amount of the song; they assumed because he didn’t know the words, and hadn’t
noticed the screen with the lyrics on it.
Marie stretched, then grinned at Edd. “Heh, Double D… I
think I got a pretty symbolic one for us…”
Edd paled, and shook his head slightly. “I, uh, think I’d
rather not sing, right now…”
“Baby.” She shrugged, and smiled. “Well, it’s okay for just
me… Lee! Is ‘Eyes on Me’ on that thing too?”
Lee nodded at her. “After you went and bought all those
games’ soundtracks? Yeah, it’s in here…”
Marie nodded again, and walked up to it, watching Lee press
a few buttons to get that song ready. “I love this song… Here goes.”
Whenever I sang my songs
On the stage, on my own
Whenever I said my words
Wishing they would be heard
I saw you smiling at me
Was it real or just my fantasy
You'd always be there in the corner
Of this tiny little bar
My last night here for you
Same old songs, just once more
My last night here with you?
Maybe yes, maybe no
I kind of liked it your your way
How you shyly placed your eyes on me
Oh, did you ever know?
That I had mine on you
Darling, so there you are
With that look on your face
As if you're never hurt
As if you're never down
Shall I be the one for you
Who pinches you softly but sure
If frown is shown then
I will know that you are no dreamer
Darling,
so there you are
With that look on your face
As if you're never hurt
As if you're never down
Shall I be the one for you
Who pinches you softly but sure
If frown is shown then
I will know that you are no dreamer
So let me come to you
Close as I wanted to be
Close enough for me
To feel your heart beating fast
And stay there as I whisper
How I loved your peaceful eyes on me
Did you ever know
That I had mine on you
Darling, so share with me
Your love if you have enough
Your tears if you're holding back
Or pain if that's what it is
How can I let you know
I'm more than the dress and the voice
Just reach me out then
You will know that you're not dreaming
“Okay, uh… anyone else?” Marie asked, looking around. Most
of the kids hesitated, and shook their heads… Edwardo’s hand shot up, and she
shrugged. “No one else…? I guess this is it, then… Ed, you get the last song.”
She put the microphone on the speaker, and walked to Double D.
Edwardo ran up as she walked back to the table, and Trip
groaned in anticipation.
“Awright, I know the perfect one to end the singing… C’mon,
Double D! This is definitely on you
should be singing… Come up here!” He exclaimed loudly, then looked around the
area. “Uh, Edwardo, You, Marie… Double D, Marie…” He gave the group another
look, then grinned. “Vamp-boy, don’t go sneaking off yet, c’mon…”
Edd smiled good-naturedly, stretching. “Why, what song is it
that you think all of us should be singing…?”
Edwardo only grinned, trying to seem mysterious, and handed
the microphone to the first person that reached him. “’We’…? I’m sitting this
one out, I just know the lot of you
need to sing this one… So get up here, line up… Yeah.” He waited until all the
kids he had called were on the platform, then hit Play.
A second or two passed, then the music started. Trip
immediately grinned, and Maria started laughing.
“What song is--?” Edd began, then was interrupted by Ed
getting up and running towards the group.
“Monster Mash!!” Ed exclaimed, also grinning. He set himself
behind Edd and grinned at him, then over at Edwardo. “Great choice!”
The few kids on the ‘stage’ who didn’t know the song waited,
confused, watching the screen that the lyrics were supposed to show up on.
“I’ve got the main part.” Edward announced, only to be
shoved. He looked over to see Trip grin at him.
“You kidding? I’ve known these guys longer than you, I get
dibs…”
The two glared at each other, only for the song to begin—and
for Ed to begin singing it.
Everyone turned slowly and stared at Ed. The expression on
his face was an ordinary Ed-grin, his eyes seeming no more focused than usual,
but his voice… It was surreal. He
sounded incredibly good, not
mimicking the actual voice of the song, but… They shook their heads and
listened to him.
I was
working in the lab late one night
When
my eyes beheld an eerie sight
For my
monster from his slab began to rise
And
suddenly to my surprise
All of the other kids on stage grinned at each other as
everyone up there finally recognized the song, and joined in at the chorus…
Hesitantly, awkwardly, they joined in.
He did
the mash
He did
the monster mash
The
monster mash
It was
a graveyard smash
He did
the mash
It
caught on in a flash
He did
the mash
He did
the monster mash
Trip elbowed Ed, and the two now sung the main part, with
Edward joining in shortly after—not to be outdone by Trip.
From
my laboratory in the castle east
To the
master bedroom where the vampires feast
The
ghouls all came from their humble abodes
To get
a jolt from my electrodes
The group was grinning, laughing, as they went into the
chorus a second time. The others, not yet singing, were also having fun,
clapping along with the beat as well as they could… Which, admittedly, was not
very good. It seemed that the cul-de-sac wasn’t one for having kids unleash
their musical potential… Then again, with every song and every chorus they were
improving.
They
did the mash
They
did the monster mash
The
monster mash
It was
a graveyard smash
They
did the mash
It
caught on in a flash
They
did the mash
They
did the monster mash
Marie and Maria stepped forward, noticed the other stepping
forward, and laughed at how they’d thought of the same thing at once… Edd and
Edward glanced at each other, as if to say, ‘See? It’s not our fault we can’t
tell them apart!’
The
zombies were having fun
The
party had just begun
Dracula
and his son
Trip gestured dramatically towards Kevin with the last line,
and looked around as if he expected to see Kevin’s son around somewhere… Kevin
shook his head.
Ed and Edd now took the front, and Edd’s face turned pink.
It was one thing to be in charge when you’re constantly in danger, adrenaline
running through your body… And it was another thing when everyone’s eyes were
on you, with the leisure to judge your every action.
The
scene was rockin', all were digging the sounds
Igor
on chains, backed by his baying hounds
The
coffin-bangers were about to arrive
With
their vocal group, "The Crypt-Kicker Five"
The humans other than Edwardo, Kevin, and Ed now decided to
join in the chorus, so now everyone’s
voices were trying to sing it… Even Rolf and Plank gave it a try.
They
played the mash
They
played the monster mash
The
monster mash
It was
a graveyard smash
They
played the mash
It
caught on in a flash
They
played the mash
They
played the monster mash
Edward pulled Kevin forward with him. Kevin hesitated and
was rather quiet while Edward belted the first lines.
Out
from his coffin, Drac's voice did ring
Seems
he was troubled by just one thing
He
opened the lid and shook his fist
And
said,
"Vhatever happened to my
Transylvania twist?"
Most of the group jumped as Kevin suddenly joined in, in the
microphone, his voice ringing with a Transylvanian accent.
It's
now the mash
It's
now the monster mash
The
monster mash
And
it's a graveyard smash
It's
now the mash
It's
caught on in a flash
It's
now the mash
It's
now the monster mash
Eddy had, at some point, joined them all at the front… Now
he swept his arms wide and stood in the middle of the plat form, and pointed at
Kevin as he sang the first line.
Now
everything's cool, Drac's a part of the band
And my
monster mash is the hit of the land
He grinned out at the kids in front of him, noticing briefly
that there were at least four extra faces… Robbie, Will, and Tom, those three
boys from Edward and Maria’s world, and a girl he didn’t recognize immediately.
She was in the middle of the kids, completely ignored as she
grinned and joined in the singing. She had the usual ‘peach’ skin of the area,
brown hair pulled back in a loose ponytail, and looked to be about Sarah’s age.
She was wearing a yellow tank top, orange shorts, and had a yellow bow holding
her hair up.
Eddy felt like he knew her immediately. Before how could
think about how, though, his mouth opened and he continued singing the song.
His eyes remained focused on the girl, though, as he studied her face.
For
you, the living, this mash was meant too
When
you get to my door, tell them Model A sent you
Everyone rose their voices for the last chorus, looking
around and grinning at each other as they did so.
Then you can mash!
Then you can monster mash
The monster mash!
And do my graveyard smash!
Then you can mash!
You'll catch on in a flash!
Then you can mash!
Then you can monster mash!!!!
They began cheering loudly as the song ended, and Ed
suddenly swept up Eddy in a hug. As soon as he was let down there were people
high-fiving him, including Kevin?!? Eddy stared at the boy, confused, and lost
track of the girl he’d been staring at. When she occurred to him again, he
looked around but saw no sign of her… She had vanished.
“Oh, that was awesome
Double D! I love that song so much…” Ed was rambling off to the side, sounding
like his normal self again.
Eddy frowned, trying to look around once more. Edward and
Maria had gone over to greet their friends, the Kankers were all gathering,
Sarah and Jimmy has gone over there… Everyone was hanging out with whom they
usually hung out. And there was nothing to say that girl had ever been there.
^Weird… I did see
someone there, didn’t I?^ It was strange. Something about the girl’s face had
been really familiar, and more than that, he felt like he should have known
her… Like he did know her, and just
hadn’t been able to remember it…
“Eddy, are you all right?” Edd’s face suddenly came into
focus, concerned. “Maybe you shouldn’t have joined in, after earlier…”
Eddy shook his head, disoriented. “Oh, nah… I’m fine. Just…
Nah, I’m fine.” Eddy met Edd’s eyes and smiled. “This is just so weird… Did you
see Kevin? He high-fived me, and didn’t go all ‘Dork!’ or anything…”
“Ah, I see…” Edd smiled oddly at him—Eddy noticed that being
familiar too, then placed the feeling. Edd shrugged, and he put the thought on
hold “Well, you remember everything that happened, so you know why… But when you get caught up in
things it does still seem odd, I’ll admit. …Oh! Marie!” He had caught sight of
Marie off behind Eddy, and with a quick, “excuse me,” Edd chased after her.
Eddy watched him go, and mentally compared the thoughts,
frowning. ‘She looked like… Double D…’
----------------------------------------------------------------
Edwardo, or Trip, caught Eddy’s arm before he walked
off. He started, then glanced at the
two’s faces. Edwardo seemed bored and Trip apologetic-Trip was probably making
Edwardo join him in this, whatever it was.
“So, yer okay? I’d never seen anyone just collapse like
that…” Trip even sounded
uncomfortably. “I’ve knocked kids out, plenty o’ times, but I’ve never seen one
just… fall like that…”
Eddy nodded. “Yeah, I’m good. That really freaked me out, but… I don’t think it’s why I
collapsed.” Everyone seemed to have followed Rolf’s example in using
‘collapsed’, not wanting to say ‘fainted’… Maybe because it sounded too girly?
Or maybe just because it sounded more serious than ‘collapsed’.
“Then he’s okay, yer okay…” Edwardo looked down at Trip. “So
can we go awready…? I’m bored as
hell…”
Eddy raised his eyebrows. Whenever the younger kids were
around this ‘Ed’ had acted nicer than he seemed to actually be, and here he was
going back to the sort of person he was in his own world… He wasn’t just a jerk
for the sake of it, more unpredictable than that. Earlier he’d seemed so
good-natured, arranging for them to sing a song, conspiring with Eddy to get
the microphone… He’d do random things like give people money for being friends
with his look-alike, and yet back in his world he was the neighborhood
bully…Was it just from a lack of sleep, or was he not thinking of Eddy as being
one of the younger kids? That he was old enough to deal with the ordinary
‘Edwardo’? Eddy rather liked the second of the two better, and grinned.
“What, now that we’re done messing around with everyone, and
the party’s over?”
“Exactly.” Edwardo shrugged, then pulled out the controller
to point it out to Trip. “Double D, I’m going… Can you imagine the crap we’re going to be getting, being missing this
long?”
Trip’s eyes widened and he seemed paler, shuddering. “Don’t
remind me… Let’s just deal with it when we get home.” The two walked off.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Nazz laughed with Kevin, giggling as he imitated Eddy’s song
from earlier.
“I liked when you came into the Monster Mash, but I thought
you couldn’t talk like that…?”
Kevin shrugged, walking a little straighter, not unlike
Eddy’s puffed-out chest walk. “Wasn’t a big deal, really… I think it’s actually
harder to do it with the fangs,
though. Like, when you say something like ’vhere’, your teeth would go and cut
your lower lips…”
She nodded, smiling, and he couldn’t help smiling as well.
Other than when Eddy came around, he felt more easy-going than he had in a long
time… What was this?
“So, anyway, do you wanna come over to my house, watch TV?
Hang out without all the other guys around…?”
Nazz beamed at the suggestion, and the two turned on the
path to head straight towards Kevin’s house.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Eddy was now watching Lee warily… Drat her for keeping her
bangs down like that, he couldn’t safely guess when she was staring at him!
“So, Double D… What’s going on with you two?” Eddy asked,
shaking his head and turning to the pairs of Eds and Kankers.
Edd and Marie smiled at about the same time, standing
together as they were. It was a lot
easier to watch now that he could remember when Marie’d been hanging out with
them… Ed and May would take more work.
“Well, tonight should be the full moon, judging by last
night’s moon still being waxing… And it’s not as though my father will be in
very early, so I was suggesting we go out…”
“And my mom won’t care, so we can go ahead out and—well,
remember when we first ‘got together’…” Marie decided to add.
Ed frowned off to the side, where he and May were picking
from some of the remaining plates. “But, what about your mom…?”
“Oh, hey!” Eddy’s eyes widened as he remembered something.
“Weren’t you planning to talk to her about… it…?”
Edd nodded. “Yes, but not for a few days… First I’d like to
feel certain of whether there are any physical repercussions from our little
“alternate timeline”… For example, make sure the moon continues its normal trek
around Earth, and so on…”
“Okay…” Ed nodded too. “I getchya.”
“So, I guess we’ll be seeing you boys around…” Marie tugged
on Edd’s arm, not so subtly hinting at him for them to get goin. Edd let
himself be pulled with an awkward nod to Eddy, and grabbed his tray with what
food was left, to bring it home. They then headed off into the woods.
Eddy watched them go, and turned to find that Ed and May had
just wandered off, not bothering to make awkward excuses of needing to be
somewhere, and leaving Eddy and Lee alone, the two staring at each other. The
rest of the kids were, sadly, long gone—They’d begun leaving just after the
monster mash, as it was about 4 in
the afternoon. Eddy had hung around to listen to the radio a few minutes—and to
not come across Nazz and Kevin in the woods… He learned quickly that it’d been
a bad choice.
“So, you really remember all o’ that…?” Lee was asking him.
Eddy blinked, and gave a half-smile. “Yeah… So, uh, you know
I was being controlled there too,
right…?”
She looked a little disappointed, but nodded. “Yeah… So, you
really hadn’t wanted to kiss me?” Lee outright grinned when his face glowed
again, and he shivered.
“W-well…” Eddy felt, of all things, a need to explain
himself… To Lee, of all people! And he didn’t have the need to wet
himself and run through the woods at the sight of her, or anything… And she wasn’t pulling out her lipstick to
try kissing him, either…! The
cul-de-sac was never going to be the same…
Lee sighed, and he looked at her again. Her left hand had
picked up her bangs, and she peered at him a minute. “Y’know… Your friends got
it down pretty good. How ‘bout we at least do what Double D and Marie did, at
the start, huh? Start our whole knowin’ each other thing from the start…”
“‘A new beginning…?’” It was an odd wording for Eddy, but
something about the phrase sounded familiar… Eddy was getting really creeped
out by all the familiar feelings. Was it from his time in the void, maybe…?
“What, you stop chasing me, and we… just try to be… friends?”
She nodded at him, a serious look across all of her face.
“If you’ve got a crush on that blond girl, there’s not much point to me tryin’
and… y’know. So…”
He nodded slightly, understanding, and shrugged. “‘Find our
own meaning…’” Eddy mused aloud, referring to something else that Lee didn’t
know about. Shrugging again, “Sure, why not? Better than spending the rest of the summer the way we did…”
She looked to see him extend a hand, willingly moving to
touch her. His eyes were fixed on hers, and he wriggled his fingers slightly.
“Shake on it?”
Lee looked at his hand again, then dropped her bangs and
reached her right arm out. Their hands touched, and they shook.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Eddy paused before walking through the Gate clearing, and
blinked. A small person was pressing buttons, on both the usual panel, and on
what looked like one of the controllers…
And he blinked as he noticed the person’s appearance. She
was turned away, looking to be about his height… And dressed in yellow, and
orange, with the bow in the back of her hair…!!
“Hey! You’re that girl!” He exclaimed, and ran over before
she could bolt.
She turned around, and he noticed that he’d been right, she
really did look like Double D. A few
years younger, and a girl, but that was definitely the same face.
“E-Eddy…?” She stepped back and banged into the control
panel, staring at him.
He walked over until they were about 2 fee apart, and then
stared at her. ^Huh, the ‘familiar’ thing isn’t just ‘cause she looks like
Double D… I think I know her from somewhere…^
“Where do I know you from?” He wondered aloud.
The girl sighed, and leaned back against the panel. “…You
don’t… You don’t know me, yet.” She
groaned, and seemed to be talking more to herself than to him—definitely like
Edd. “I’m not supposed to be here, Double D told me I shouldn’t go using the
gate without someone around… I’m not supposed to be now…”
Eddy blinked a few times. First it got through that he’d
been right, the girl was somehow
connected to Edd… But…
^”I’m not supposed to be now…?”^
His eyes widened.
“You traveled through time…”
He informed her, and watched as she nodded, shrinking into herself slightly.
“From the future… since you used the gate, and it’s new… So how do I know you?”
“Nihh…” The girl made another groan sound. “You… I know you
‘now’, my time, when you’re…” she glanced up for a second, “Mmm… about,
twenty-three years old?”
Eddy let out a whistle, and sat on the closest bench,
looking up at her. “So, you… That still doesn’t say who you are.”
“But I can’t!” She jumped up, startling him, and began
pacing. “If I tell you… I might not end up existing!”
The two stared at each other, then her eyes widened with
some recollection. “A ‘conversation’… Wait… You told me about this…!”
Eddy waited to see what she’d do. He’d entered this mental
zone of not being surprised by anything… So when she suddenly plopped down on
the bench next to him he didn’t jump.
“Okay, okay. I’m… I’m sorta like a little sister with you, sorta… I usually call you ‘Uncle Eddy’,
since you’re about thirteen years older than me…”
“And you’re related to Double D… How? His…?” He tried to
figure out her age. The words ‘his kid’ tried to quickly dismiss themselves
from his head; Double D wasn’t the sort to be having any kids any decade soon…
His parents didn’t seem the sort to be having any more kids soon, either. Clone, maybe?
“His sister.” She looked amused, and it occurred to him that
she might know how to read minds too. “Little sister. If things go right… I’m
born about ten months from now.”
Eddy shook his head. “But… But his parents have separate beds…”
The girl—-Edd’s future sibling—-nodded. “Yeah, they should
have a fight in, oh, a week… Be made up in about a month, and… Well, here I
am.”
“Wow.” Eddy stretched, and looked the girl over again. “If
I’m twenty three… You’re nine. Huh… What’s your name?”
“Mmmm…” she wet her lips, shrinking forward awkwardly, then
shrugged. “I’m called Tash a lot… My name’s Natasha.”
Eddy nodded, and then the ‘mind-reading’ thing came to mind
again. “Shoot! You didn’t wanna tell me, cause now Double D and Jonny’ll know…”
“That’s what I first thought, but then I had a… an epiphany…
and I put a few important things together. One, you’re like a big brother in
the whole ‘worldly teachings’ department, two, you’ve always seemed to know
what I’m gonna be like when I’m older, and three… You’re the one who taught me how to read minds.”
She gazed at him as he swallowed his immediate
reactions---‘What!?!’ very loudly, disbelief… She already knew what was going
on upstairs in Eddy. And somehow he knew that.
Knowing it or not, though, Eddy’s eyes still widened
again—it seemed like they were going to permanently become larger and rounder.
“But I don’t know how those other guys… how could I…?”
“Mmmhmm…” Natasha nodded. “No, you don’t. But you’ll learn
sometime in the next nine years, as you did teach me… And before you go asking
me to prove it, look at this.”
He had been about
to ask her to prove it… So he watched as she pulled out a dollar bill.
“I keep this with me wherever I go… It’s my first dollar,
the first one I ever made.”
Eddy looked at the numbers on it. “Two thousand seven… Okay,
when you’re five. But how’s that proof that I taught you anything…?”
“Well, you see, I didn’t earn this dollar. I didn’t get it
as a gift, and I didn’t steal it… I made
it. Counterfeit. Fake money… You
think Double D would teach me that? I hear he’s a lot better than he used to
be, but he’d always rather earn than make it…”
Eddy stared at the dollar, then at her eyes. In that second
something happened, and the two came to some deep understanding of one another.
They both had the same kind of spirit, similar enough desires from life, and
both realized the same truth about Double D…
He realized that he couldn’t go out, remembering all of,
this, as Jonny and Edd would end up knowing things they shouldn’t… He knew
Tasha wasn’t going to erase his memory, and he knew that she knew both of these
things… So there was only one solution, one thing to be done. There was only
one question, though…
“How are you going
to teach me all of it? The same way Tony--?”
“Yep.” She closed her eyes, and against any thought of his
Eddy did so too. The connection strengthened itself, many times over, and
fifteen seconds passed… Outwardly. Inside their minds hours might have passed,
even days or weeks. She showed him what it was that let you peer into another’s
thoughts, and they did so back and forth, again and again, until at the end
they each knew the other as well as they knew themselves… Eddy had a general
understanding of how the next ten years of his life should go, knew what would
be happening to each of his friends… And felt that this, too, was very…
familiar.
When they opened their eyes again, both were grinning, and
Eddy carefully hid the memories so no one would ever find them, or suspect that
they were missing.
“So, which came first, the chicken or the egg…?” Natasha
asked.
His grin widened. If anyone had said that to him at any
moment before this, he wouldn’t have known what he or she meant… But now he
did. She had just taught him how to read minds, use telekinesis, etc… And at
some great many points in the future he would end up teaching her all the
things that he’d just learned. So, her question was where had either of them
learned to do it in the first place…? Where had the knowledge come from?
“Maybe the egg laid itself…?”
She turned her nose up slightly, and had a tone to her voice
that reminded him both of Jimmy or Sarah doing the rich club thing, Edd when he
knew something the rest of them didn’t, or himself when he was lording
something over Kevin… And he liked the combo. “That’s not possible.”
He smirked. “So, where’d the universe come from? The big
bang? What was before it?” He laughed when she made a frustrated expression.
“Oh, don’t go dragging philosophy into a normal
conversation…” Tasha smiled, and rose to walk over to the gate. There she typed
some final figures: date, specific time, and the universe number… coordinates
had been the first figures.
Eddy stood to go near her, and looked up at something
between two trees. “I think… the reason I knew you was ‘cause I’d died back in
‘zero’… but do I remember the whole thing because of you?”
She nodded, and pressed enter. The two watched the light
collected in the center and fill out, a similar light/dark as the void.
“Yeah… I had gone into EightThreeTwo just so I could restore
it now…” Natasha laughed. “Actually, I panicked, ‘cause I meat the original
‘doubles’ there… Edward, Maria… Those four. I had to erase their memory of it,
which I really hate doing…”
“Right.” Before Tasha went to go around, and into the gate,
Eddy put a hand on her shoulder. “So, you keep traveling with the gate all
through time, and all… so… Is the reason you seem older than nine ‘cause--why?”
“Uhmmm… Well, the way we usually have it set, no matter how
long you spend in another world, you physically go back to your own age when
you go to your original world… I’ve been around for, oh, thirteen years now?
Eddy nodded, then smiled. “So, I guess you’ll see me soon… And I’ll see you in a little
less than a year…”
“I won’t be much for conversation, then…” She nodded, giving
him an infinitely familiar smile, rapidly hugging him, and running over to the
steps before he could react. “See ya soon, ‘Uncle’ Eddy!”
“Hey, hang up!” He ran over to the base of the steps and
looked up at her, watching the breeze move her hair around, and the light swirl
endlessly behind her. “Who does Nazz end up going with? Me? Or Kevin?”
She shook her hair, and the yellow bow bounced around.
“Can’t tell you for a few more months… It’d spoil things!” She waved, and
turned around to enter the light. The gate deactivated the second she vanished,
and he sighed in the suddenly dim clearing.
“Time travel… Whooo…”
Eddy muttered, and staggered over to a bench to clear his mind for a few
minutes. He suddenly felt very alone, and he’d only known the girl for a few
minutes…!
It might’ve had something to with the circle in time they’d
just created, each teaching the other use of their psychic powers… Somehow that
had joined them. The word ‘soulmates’ came to his mind, but he very quickly dismissed it… A
thirteen-year difference in their ages, and she was Double D’s sister… A little too awkward.
At the same time, he couldn’t deny that something had
happened that neither of them could quite understand… And he’d have to figure
out what, apparently alone. It wasn’t like Eddy could bring this to Ed, or Edd,
or Jonny… And yet, Tasha had said that she couldn’t tell him for a few months… Maybe she’d be making more trips
into the past.
‘Anyway… It’d probably just wreck things.’ He switched
subjects quickly, over to his ordinary personality—Eddy just wasn’t naturally
an introspective person, and sitting in a clearing thinking about stuff like
this just wasn’t interesting for long.
‘Speaking of wrecking things… I wonder what big Ed’s up to
right now… I’ll go find them.’
----------------------------------------------------------------
End of Epilogue 2
----------------------------------------------------------------
Well, I had lied. Do you all know that this chapter’s as
long as some of the longer chapters earlier in this story, and I still have to do the upcoming night, with what happens to Edd and Marie, and… some certain issues
that arise…? This was only supposed to be the first half of the last chapter…! Hoo, boy. So in the meantime,
here’s this! I hoped you enjoyed, and please review!
^_^*
Um, finally, please keep in mind that pretty much every time
I post a chapter I also go and reload the older chapters, fixing some of the
grammar and spelling errors… So go ahead and tell me about stupid things I
didn’t catch in the editing, or if there’s any song that occurs to you that
you’d like to sung there, by all means… I’m even willing to toss in a daydream
sequence of characters like Vampire-Kevin, Tony, or any of the doubles… So say
something in an email or review!
