Author's Notes: I revised this chapter as a few things have come to light since I've published this story. It was based off another story but the author quit writing deleted it and basically denounced all of Fanfiction. The traitorous asshole.

Chapter 1: The Prodigal Eds Return

"W-what?" Said the woman holding the phone, her voice was breaking has her hands started trembling; tears had started welling up in her eyes.

"Mother it's me, Eddward." His voice was calm yet couldn't hide his joy.

She couldn't hold back her tears any longer and started crying. She didn't think that after all these years her prayers would be answered, oh how she had desperately wished for this day.

It was roughly 5 years ago when Ed, Edd and Eddy did a failed scam which resulted in every kid in the cul-de-sac out for their blood. Before the situation escalated further, Edd had done the smart thing and phoned his parents causing them to call every other kids parents. They managed to intervene right when the Eds were hiding in Eddy's brother's room. After an explanation of the situation they all agreed that the damage done was irreversible and even though all three of them were to be severely punished, the anger and hatred towards them would ultimately lead to violence.

No they would be bullied or beaten on a near daily basis and so they all agreed that Ed, Edd and Eddy needed some time away from the cul-de-sac until everyone's calmed down. Not just the kids but their parents as well. They too saw the harm done to their children and would agree that the Eds had to have some form of justice dealt to them whether or not it was childish fun.

After a day of debating the parents agreed to let them accompany the Hawkings family on their business trip to China. It was still in the middle of July plus the Eds would need some form of distraction from what they had done. Edd's parents Marian and Jake Hawking were high profile businessmen who would take frequent trips around the world leaving Edd alone in the house; luckily this time they were on their way home when he called them.

Just like their son, they worry over other's well being and while they could afford to take their son away from there alone, the pleading from Edd to allow his friends to join them won them over.

The Eds had to stay inside their homes to avoid the wrath of the rest of the kids and after a few days were packed and ready to leave. A lot was said among them on their way to the airport and on the plane itself. Mostly about how they were going to have fun, or how lucky they were to be okay and have a free trip halfway across the world.

After a day they reached the Chinese airspace passing a snowy mountain and that's when the ride started to get bumpy, the captain played it off as turbulence. However being the worry warts they were, Marian and Jake urged the boys to strap in. And before they knew it a muffled explosion was heard, it was the left engine and that was when panic ensued.

The pilot tried to lower the plane but as it got lowered, the plane itself started falling apart, behind her the door blew off and someone was unlucky enough to fly through the hole in the cockpit and straight into the right wing engine just before it exploded. She looked to the side to see the boys then they hit something and the plane ripped in half. Before she blacked out she saw her son's screaming face just before he along with his friends flew out into the snowy mountains.

Her tear filled eyes screamed his name before darkness.

She later woke up in a hospital room filled with many other people, most of them bandaged. She could hear a lot of commotion and the passing by of people in white coats, presumably doctors or nurses. She passed out shortly after only to wake up a few days later with her husband Jake beside her, his face brightened up slightly when he saw her wake up.

Marian smiled a bit but then she remembered her last memory to which she asked where their son was. He became dejected and looked away not saying anything, she knew what that implied and tears ran down her face while she shouted at him in disbelief, it took a nurse sedating her to make her stop.

Search parties ran for weeks trying to find the missing passengers but all they found were corpses on the snowy plane; her heart sank each time they found one. Up until the final call for the search the three boys were not found and with a blizzard approaching, even if they had survived the crash they could not survive for weeks on end on a snowy mountain with no source of warmth.

The news hit the cul-de-sac like a rock, even the kids had to admit that even though they wanted the Eds 'dead,' actually dying was not something they would want no matter how angry they were, well most. The shock subsided in a week and everyone went about their days with the Eds all but forgotten. Their parents blamed Jake and Marian for a while but that did not get them anywhere as they had lost their children as well.

Eventually everything calmed down within a few months and everyone got on with their lives. As for Marian, deep down in her heart she kept the hope that he was still alive out there somewhere. She even left his room virtually untouched since he left, only entering to clean it every once in a while.

Now 5 years later Eddward has called her to say he is alive and has been living in China the entire time. Before she could even stutter out some questions he told her that he will be coming home in two days before he hung up saying he will explain when he got home. She kept the phone to her ears for a minute before hanging it up. Jake asked her who it was when she turned to him with tear soaked eyes

"It was Eddward Jake. He's alive and he's coming home."

…

After two days, Marian and Jake took an early work release so they could greet their son as soon as he walked through the doors of the airport. It was just after eight o'clock and apparently Ed and Eddy's parents also got similar news because they too waited at the airport for them. They each stood in a group with a cardboard sign that said each of their names.

After a few hours Marian saw three boys walking, they saw her, the other parents and looked at the card boards with the names on it. Two faces brightened up but one was neutral as they hasten their steps towards the parent's. Saying that she was shocked by their appearance could be an understatement, she glanced at the other parents and they had similar faces even the little girl Sarah, her eyes looked like they would pop out of her socket.

Her Eddward Hawking had matured from a small frail looking boy to a handsome 17 year old, he was significantly taller now, taller than her, his slim figure became lean with a hint of muscle, his scrawny arms and legs were now toned. His blue tinted black hair has grown significantly, it is now longer and he has tied it into a queue that reaches his back. He was wearing an orange Changshan purple slacks and black leather boots that reach his calves.

Next to him was Eddy McGee, he was still the shortest of the trio standing at 5 feet 2 inches. She noticed through his clothes that the baby fat he had was gone leaving him leaned but toned. His hair looked like it was groomed to be a gelled black sheen with his three antennae like cow licks still prevalent. He was wearing a Tangzhuang suit consisting of a yellow top, light blue slacks and red slippers.

Lastly there was Ed Galatas who had to have changed the most, visibly. He is still the tallest of the trio standing at 6 feet, his yellowish skin has turned a normal color, his monobrow was gone replaced with two cleanly shaved eyebrows and lastly his almost nonexistent hair has neatly turned into a dark auburn buzz cut. His figure showed through his shirt to have broad shoulders and dense muscles, a six pack at least.

They all ran towards their respective families save for Eddy for some reason. Ed actually managed to lift his mother off the ground with his hug while Eddy was lifted off the ground by his mother's hug. Aside from their wardrobe each boy had a rather large luggage that they carried from China.

On the drive home Marian took the time to bombard her son with questions to which he answered them calmly.

He told her that after the crash they were rescued by an old man who spent weeks tending their wounds, the search team could not find them because of the heavy snowfall plus there was a temple carved on the other side of the mountain that was accessible only through a secret pathway.

"Eddward, why didn't you contact us sooner?" Marian Demanded

"There wasn't a phone in the temple and even if there was, the constant snowfall would jam the signal so we wouldn't be able to call." Edd answered

"Son, why did it take you so long to contact us? What did you do up there for 5 years that was so important that you couldn't even tell us? We all thought you and your friends were dead." His father spoke worriedly.

Edd was silent for a while "I apologize for not contacting you father, but it was important that I-no we stayed in Tian Shan" Edd's voice was stern and frankly it surprised both of them.

In the Galatas car Ed's parents also asked him a similar question to which he replied with a solemn voice "we needed to change mom" his answer caused Sarah to look at him with a raised eyebrow.

Ed's eyelids were lowered he had his head leaned against the window and a small smile. It shocked her how Ed was so..well..so mature now, just what the hell happened to him?

"What did you and your friends do over there Eddy?" Eddy was laying in the backseat with his eyes closed and his hands behind his head when he answered

"We've been learning stuff dad, a lot of stuff" he said vaguely.

His father scowled a bit "yeah but what stuff exactly?" this time his voice was raised a bit in an attempt to exert his authority to an Eddy who seemed to be dodging the question.

Eddy let out a sigh "Oh a bunch, like Chinese history, literature, math, he even made us go over the high school curriculum and other….stuff…." Eddy trailed off.

"Other things like what?" Marian asked with a raised eyebrow at her son's reluctance to divulge information.

Edd seemed anxious but he quickly regained his composure "he thought us kungfu, mother" he sighed

That seemed to be the answer in all three cars, making everyone have a stunned expression.

"You know kungfu Ed!?" Sarah said straightening up to look at him.

"Yeah but master told us not to use it irresponsibly or else we would get in big trouble." Ed answered in his usual tone.

"I don't know about Ed or Double D but that's why I didn't leave" Eddy said as he began to sit up.

"You spent over 5 years in China learning martial arts?" Jakes asked his now nervous son.

"Among a myriad of other things father but I assure you that Ed, Eddy and I will not use it outside of self defense" he assured.

Marian could see the uneasiness in her son's eyes on the subject so she changed it.

They all arrived from the airport at around ten o'clock, by that time everyone else in the cul-de-sac was asleep. Edd went inside his room to find that it was the same as how he left it, his ant farm was there, the books on his shelf were organized even Jim the cactus was untouched. It was like the room was frozen in time, his mother came beside him to see him looking over the room in wonder.

"I never gave up the idea of you surviving Eddward" she said with a smile.

"I..thank you mother." He placed his fist in his palm and bowed respectfully to her. Marian was not shocked by this, she just embraced her son in a hug and left.

With his mother gone Edd wasted no time looking over the room again; it was covered in plastic slips with the names of the object it was attached to. It was a reminder of the severe OCD he had as a child.

'That Edd died 5 years ago' he stated in his mind before proceeding to remove the slips, careful so as not to leave any adhesive residue, after all he was still a clean freak.

It took about thirty minutes to do this, he looked over the room again with a satisfied smile before heading to the shower with clean pajamas.

Over at Ed's House

Ed was not as fortunate to have hopeful parents as his friend though, it turns out that when he 'died' his parents converted his room into a play area for his sister so he would have to sleep on the couch inside the room for the time being. Ed shrugged his shoulder at this because it really didn't bother him.

He had slept on worse in Tian Shan, compared to a piece of sheet on a pile of straw, a sofa was like heaven on his back. They were kind enough to store his belongings in the attic as a sign of respect for him, mostly his comic books and monster DVD collection, his clothes however were lost in a mass burning incident.

Over Eddy's House

"You did what!" Eddy shouted.

"Oh please, you were dead for five years. What was I suppose to do with all your crap?" his father answered indifferently with a laugh.

Eddy's eyes twitched, he gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, glaring at his father who saw this and his indifferent attitude turned into a serious one. He got up and loomed over his much shorter son

"You think because you learn some fancy moves on a mountain you think you're man enough to take me boy" his voice boomed in the room.

Eddy used to fear that voice when he was younger but right now it didn't even faze him. He stood just inches from his father and narrowed his eyes before he turned around with his luggage in tow. He stomped into his empty room which was converted to a guest room slamming the door behind him then locking it.

He looked around and confirmed with his own eyes that his father had indeed sell all of his belongings, everything. His clothes, his prized music collection including the original 70's record collection and magazines were all gone. Not that it really mattered to him though; he had grown out of them. But still, dammit, did he really mean so little to them that they couldn't even store some of his stuff, since he was, you know, dead!

"Ah, who needs em." Eddy muttered. Not even a full ten minutes in through the door and he already wished he stayed in China. He did however see that they or at least his mother bought him some clothes; strangely enough they were in his size and his taste. He may not like to admit it most times but his mother really knew what he likes unlike his asshole father. He went into his bathroom for a quick shower after he sets his luggage beside his bed.

After twenty minutes he plopped down on his bed in a new pair of boxers "why the hell did we come back anyway?" he said to himself before fading into a

*Flashback*

"[Master Ma. Why would you want us to go back?]" A concerned Ed asked.

"[This doesn't make any sense Sensei." Eddy added. "It's been 5 years, what makes you think it would be a good idea to go now?]"

"[I would have to agree with Eddy Sifu. Surely our parents have moved on with their lives without us. I don't see why we should disrupt their lives with our sudden appearance.]" Double D stated.

They all sat across from an old man, his head was balding leaving gray to his side he had a long line of gray beard that he was currently stroking. He would be even shorter than Eddy at about 5 feet 2 inches.

"[Eddward do you remember the question you asked me frequently?]" the old man asked

"[Y-yes Sifu]." He answered.

"[You asked me what I could possibly gain from passing on my knowledge to the three of you. Well as I got older with age I began yearning for a student.]" He paused to chuckle. "[As a matter of fact I was meditating on it in this very temple when I heard the plane crash. I went to investigate and out of the wreckage I saw three young boys, the only survivors of that crash.] He stood up looking at them. "[You have all done well as my students but I don't have anything else to teach you. I don't believe that it is fair to your family for you to stay here any longer as well.]"

"[No! We were the ones who agreed to stay here instead of going back to that place Sensei.]"

"[Eddy.]"A concerned Edd tried to calm his friend

"[No double D, I'm not going back. I can't stay at the temple fine. But the last place I would ever want to go back to is Peachcreek.]" Eddy spat before he folded his arms and looked off.

"[Eddy if you don't want to go home then I will grant your wish and you can stay in China.]" The old man said "[But I will tell you this Eddy, the fact that you would run from your home like this is just like your brother.]"

*End of Flashback*

Eddy's eyes opened in anger at the mention of being compared to his brother. During the years in Tian Shan Eddy has reflected over his life in Peachcreek, his style, attitude, the scams, his 'ladies man' shtick. They were all because he felt the need to fill his brother's shoes, but in retrospect he wasn't a person who deserved his respect, his brother was a sadistic bully to him, a con man to the guys and a cheesy asshole to women.

"I bet he didn't even know I was dead for five years. Not that anyone around this dump except mom would even care after that last scam we pulled." He muttered aloud. He shrugged the thought before fixing himself properly on the bed and dosing off.

To Be Continued…