Hey, DevilWolf9 here!
I'm back continuing the story! Sorry for the long ass wait, studies are such a pain!
Anyway, a quick note to mention; there will be some 'Toon physics' moments in the story, (such as being flattened to a thin sheet or pulling large random objects from small spaces, etc.) After all, this is also an Ed, Edd n Eddy fic! Gotta keep its elements!
Now, onto the story!
Dan's Crypt
The best to go if you're looking for a dead Dan . . .
The Ed's stood back, standing clear of the light that had engulfed the skeletal body in front of them. They shielded their eyes for the brightness was far too much for them to handle close up. Slowly, the light began to die down. Removing their arms and hands to see, they stood paralyzed. The skeleton that laid before them began to twitch, then slowly stir as if awakening from a pleasant sleep.
"Touch the skeleton! Touch the skeleton!~", Ed sang happily as he went closer to the corpse, excited at the sight of magic.
"Ed!", Eddy yanked him back. "Quick, over here, he won't see us." Pulling his friends behind a pillar, they hid themselves from the rising body. "Just keep quiet, we'll get the drop on him when he ain't lookin'."
The great Sir Dan could not tell what was going on, blackness was all he saw and felt exhaustion through his body, or what was left of it at the least. Perhaps this was all a simple dream. Yes, that's probably what this all was. A dream. Just lay back and fall back to slee-
"Hey, you! Fortesque! ", A small voice was heard inside his cranium.
"What's this?", The skeleton thought.
"Come on. Get up! We have much to do!"
Dan rose up again almost immediately after. Huh? Strange, his body felt lighter while turning to look around, trying to find the source of the voice. Deciding to look down to see why his body felt different, he was horrified to see that instead of skin and flesh, was nothing but bone!
"Wha - What's going on!? Who are you!?", he stopped and realized that his lower jaw was missing, resulting in his speech becoming muffled.
"GET 'IM, ED!"
"Ed, wait!"
Out of nowhere, Dan spotted a tall boy in a green jacket leaping straight to tackle him to the ground. Luckily for Dan, he was quick enough to duck from his assailant and hear him emit a loud 'smack' sound once the boy hit the wall. The surprised knight backed back in fright at what just happened. Acting quickly, he scrambled up to his feet defensively, but failed as he continued to tremble in fear.
"QUICK, LUMPY! SACK THAT BAG OF BONES!", Turning around, he spotted another boy with a yellow shirt and blue pants. Unlike the other one, he was much shorter and had one hell of a loud mouth as it was painfully obvious to point out. The skeleton raised his hands defensively as he took several steps back.
"Hey, hey! That's no way to treat someone!", the tiny voice cried out.
"What the? Who said that?", Eddy looked around him, "Who's there!?"
"In my culture, we treat our hosts with respect and kind manners. Especially if they've been dead for 100 years. I believe a proper introduction is in order.", the voice continued.
Double D looked directly where the source of the voice came from. But he still stood frozen in place, seeing a small green cyclop creature poke his face from Dan's eye socket. "What in the world!?"
There were millions of thoughts racing through his head, this can't be possible. There just had to be a logical explanation to all this! Magic? Sorcerers? Genies? As a young man of science, he knew that Magic and such was just fantasy, a mere fairy tail used to tell children. It is pure fiction. Wasn't it?
"It is I, Al Zalam! Genie of the Sultan Prince, Razeem! Noble protector of-"
"Wow! So Cool!", Ed poked his finger into the skeleton's eye socket, trying to feel if the little genie was real. " I wish for superhuman powers! To help the people of the world! I wish for a giant ocean of gravy and buttered toast! Oh, oh, oh, I know! I wish-"
"You can't be serious!", Eddy cut in, pushing Ed away getting a closer look into the eye socket with his own eye enlarging with a critical stare. "Zombies I believe now, but a genie!? Puh-lease! Last time I checked, they're crammed in lamps, not bone-heads. I say this thing is a worm!"
Al shook his head, "You doubt ME? Well, true. We genies are usually trapped within the lamps, but that is before evil sorcerer tricks you! Traps you inside the skull of cowardly knight!"
At this, Dan rose his head in surprise. WHAT!? HE KNEW!? No, he wouldn't. The self proclaimed "Genie" wasn't there, so how could he possibly know what happened?
"Yes, yes! I was there that fateful day! I saw you hanging back, pretending to tie your bootstrap and get hit by first stray arrow! Ha ha!"
Oh god.
"PFFFFF, AHAHAHAHAHAHA! DID YA HEAR THAT, ED!? IN SHINING ARMOR HERE DIED GETTING HIS EYE POKED OUT!", Eddy held his sides in laughter.
"Oh! Oh!" Ed bounded up excitedly, "Did it hurt? Was it squishy like those blobs from 'Night of the Killer Slime-balls?' or maybe It stung really really bad like having your tongue pricked like 'Attack of the Needle Stabbers?'
Arrow? Double D raised an eyebrow. What did he mean by arrow? Then, in an instant, it hit him.
"Wait, I've read about you once.", Double D realized upon listening to the conversation and piece together some facts and possibilities. "You're him, aren't you? The Great Sir Daniel Fortesque! All this time . . . All these years, your act of valor, protecting Gallowmere as a noble hero is all a sham!?"
Sadly, Dan looked down in shame and nodded. But, his command to charge on the battlefield DID manage to get rid of Zarok after all. Or at least it should have.
Dan pointed down to the plaque built onto his coffin, stating his courage and heroism.
"Ah, never believe one's publicity. You just big coward, with a pitiful genie trapped inside his head."
"You got that right.", Eddy muttered under his breath, before getting an unpleasant look from Double D. "What?"
Daniel slid down from his coffin to the floor, what the genie had said about him was true. No matter how much he tried to forget, it was all true. All those soldiers willing to fight and give up their lives by his side, all the villagers who rooted and looked to him as well as the king had all depended on him, and because of his fear, he let them all down.
He looked down at his skeletal hands in sadness before placing them to his face, if only he still had more tears to shed.
His fault. It was all his fault.
Young Edward looked at the reanimated corpse before him. He was feeling many emotions in such a short moment. Confusion, What was going on here? Just what are they going to do? Will they ever make it back home? Was what they've seen out there truly was a sign of magic? Fear, was this where he was going to spend the rest of his days? Is this really happening? Will he ever see his beloved parents again? Anger, Why did they have to suffer such an unfortunate situation? This was supposed to be a simple expedition, nothing less. Why didn't everything they hope for come out as it should? And this knight who he once heard stories about as a child, inspired to become just as brave and noble as him was nothing more but an illusion. But his track of thoughts stopped as he saw Dan in his curled position, as if weeping silently and hiding his face, too ashamed to face the results of his terrible mistakes.
It was not coward and liar. It was a man in fear, sorrow, and remorse for everything's he's done.
Double D sighed. Although the knight who was once looked up to was but a fraud, he couldn't blame him. War was a horrifying experience. If he was in Dan's place, he would've been reduced into a spineless wimp as well before even setting foot onto the battlefield.
"Well, I can't say I blame you. I can understand why you would be ashamed. I would have felt the same way if I was in your position."
"It may be rough, but now is our time to set things right!", Al Zalam explained, "That crazy sorcerer is back from the exile! He has mastered the dark arts and is raising the dead, turning good men evil!"
Hearing this, Ed stood up triumphantly and said aloud, "I, Lothar will face the evil one! No monster shall survive the wrath of my flipper!", pulling out a spatula. Eddy saw this as an annoyance and yanked Ed to the ground with a strong pull of his jacket collar.
"Get real, Ed."
"Come on, we all forgive you. We know that you're a tough guy deep down.", Al cheered up the knight, "Why were you brought back from the dead? Was it his magic? Or fate! Fate gives you a second chance! A chance to make amends of your cowardly death!"
Yes, he was right. Although he wasn't too keen on going out there to fight what could be horrible mutilated monsters and other terrible beast he may face, it was all up to him now. Dan lifted himself off the ground and placed his fists on his hips. The life of his bad past was over and he had been given a new time, it's going to be different. This time, he will break free from his cowardly binds and face his fears as a man. This time, he will set things right. It was time to fix those mistakes and prove himself as the hero of Gallowmere.
"Oh! Be careful! Watch that gargoyle!", Double D warned, seeing as Daniel was close to knocking off it's pedestal. What happened next, however, surprised the four. The stone gargoyle awoke with life and looked at them before speaking!
"Well, well, well! If it isn't old Sir Daniel Fortesque! The "Hero" of Gallowmere!", he coughed a few times at the word, 'hero'. "Rendered lifeless and eyeless by the first arrow, rendered heroic by the mists of time! It's amazing what good PR can do . . ."
Ed squealed in delight, "It's a magical stone-troll!"
The gargoyle raised an eyebrow in annoyance, "May I continue?"
Eddy scowled, "Just get to the point, ugly!"
The gargoyle whacked him upside the head for his interruption. "Ow! Hey!" Giving the boy a frown, he resumed, " . . . now the fickle finger of fate has given him a second chance. A chance to make good his ignoble past. A chance to defeat Zarok and live up to the legend! . . . If I had any breath, I wouldn't be holding it."
Eddy snickered at Dan, looking down in shame before Double D yanked the short boy by the ear like a mother would do with her naughty child. "OW! OK, OK, I GET IT ALREADY!"
The dim-witted Ed bowed before the gargoyle in praise, "Please continue, my stony-ness! Tell us your all knowing wisdom!"
"Well, since you asked nicely.", he went on with, "Now, many of my stony kind are scattered all around Gallowmere. My brethren are known to be good sources of information and merchants to sell you any aid you and your friends may need on your journey."
"Um, excuse me.", Double D interrupted, "But there is NO way my companions and I are going back out there! We aren't very familiar to this predicament and besides, we don't know where to go."
"Worry not, my boy. 'The Master'; as he likes us to call him, leaves a sulfurous green ether as he passes through the land. Seek out this spiffy trail, and you might be on the right track."
"As much as I hate sayin' this, but Sockhead's right." Eddy leaned back against the wall, "I'm WAY too young and handsome to be zombie chow. I say the chump fit for this picture is old bone-head over here."
The gargoyle spoke, "This quest may be the only chance you may have to find what you are looking for. It is a once in a lifetime chance, shorty. This is your chance to experience the world unknown to you and learn from it through adventure, great treasures and perhaps learn more about yourself."
His ears perked up with a greedy smile plastered onto his face, "Treasure? As in Money? Moolah? GOLD!? I'M IN!"
Double D looked at the shortest Ed in shock, "WH-WHAT!? Eddy, you cant be serious! We've seen whats out there and what almost happened, we have no way of defending ourselves!" He couldn't speak any further once Ed popped up from behind them and gave them a great big bear hug.
"ADVENTURE, YOU GUYS!", Ed begged, "We get to see goblins and fairies and trolls and dragons and vikings and ghosts and-" It took a swift moment to shut him up when Eddy grabbed the boy by the lip and zipped it shut.
"Yeah, Sockhead,", Eddy wriggled his way out of the boy's iron grip. He walked over to Dan and slung an arm over the skeleton's shoulder. "We ain't got any other ideas! And don't worry about protection, we got our "bodyguard" Right here!"
"M-Me?!", Dan muffled.
"Please, Double D?", Ed begged, "Pretty please with buttered toast with gravy on top?"
He was about to deny the request once more but by looking into the pleading puppy dog eyes the lovable oaf was giving him, he caved in. "Oh, alright . . . We'll go. But promise me to stay close and out of danger! I don't want you wandering of with your vivid imagination!"
"YAAAAAAAYY!" Ed picked him up in a hug and twirled him about, completely delighted. He could finally witness the world he could only imagine seeing in his dreams! Oh what joy this brought into his heart!
Dan looked at them in confusion and curiosity. What strange boys. Their clothing seemed far different from many other children and villagers of Gallowmere. What did they mean by heading back home? Where they foreign? Who where they? Shaking his head, he took his mind off the matter as he made his way through his tomb. It was surprising how well built it was as he looked around, only the best for a hero he thought.
"Heh, nice decor!" Al Zalam complimented, "Early macabre."
There was an extra room that caught his eye. Peering in, he saw several items on display, looks like this was also meant to be an attraction of some sort. On a nearby pedestal laid a familiar book making the skeleton smile. His Journal! Thank goodness it was still intact! For you see, before his death, before his rise to fame, it was all he had close to him in his younger days. He would spend long hours scribbling his thoughts and wishes, he didn't have any friends then so it was all he had to ease his loneliness.
"Ah! You got a journal? Never pegged you for a reader and writer! Heh, you use a monocle, right?" The genie chuckled, making the knight roll his eye.
Along with the journal was a small satchel that was wide enough for other items, this he thought would be useful. Taking both out, he wore it over his shoulder while glanced down at his journal once again.
"What'cha got there, bone-head?", Dan jolted in surprise when he turned to see Eddy peeking over his shoulder. He shook his head, hiding the journal into his armor. It was unclear to him why, but by the looks of the boy, there was a nagging fear that he wasn't so trustful. "You done looking over some old junk? Cause we need to get this show on the road! I ain't getting any younger here! Heheh, I'm gonna be rich." The boy whispered the last part to himself while he greedily rubbed his hands together.
Dan ignored this as he headed up the stairway to leave and waited for the three boys to catch up, leaving him to take out his book and start writing with a writing quill.
While with the Eds, they themselves were talking to each other and figuring out how to make there way out of the graveyard once they were to leave their temporary "Safe Haven".
"But why him? He lied to everyone about his accomplishments and his victory in battle, we don't even know if he is capable of fighting with an actual sword." Double D held himself in a thinking pose, "I'm just not sure."
Eddy on the other hand, "Don't be such a baby! They should've taught him SOMETHING while in his army junk boot camp of his. Besides, if things go wrong, mono-brow will bail us outta there. He's got a real knack of delivering pain ya know!"
"Well, if you-"
"ONWARD, TO BATTLE WITH THE EVIL SPAWNS OF THE UNDEAD!"
They whipped around to witness Ed charging his way towards them getting tackled and heading straight up the stairs where Dan awaited. Dan looked up from his writing and panicked, heading straight for the doors and struggled to open them before he himself was hit as well, bashing them through the hard doors as they tumbled outside into the graveyard and cried out as they were sent rolling down the hill.
Now, their adventure begins.
