Well, here we are: The longest chapter thus far! To be honest, I had a lot of fun writing this. All the references I got to include I thought were well placed, except for one that not everyone is going to get :P. Either way, I hope you enjoy this as the story is preparing to come to a close.
I do not own Ed Edd n Eddy and I do not own "Clocks" By Coldplay. However, I do encourage you to listen to the song. It's fantastic.
"Dr. Benson," Sarah quietly said, midnight slowly approaching, from beside the doctor's bed, "I had a nightmare."
Benson, who was having trouble sleeping as well, turned on the light and looked at her, his bald head covered in scratches and his plaid pajamas not the most attractive, "About... About what?"
"Well, it had this giant thing run after me in the middle of the street. I kept on running, my shoes came off, I was about to run off a cliff when I..." Sarah's eyes became very watery, "I looked up and saw..."
"What did you see?"
"Jimmy..." Sarah said and began crying into Benson's shirt, him giving her a big hug, "I miss Jimmy!"
Ed's head appeared from the hall, looking in to see what was going on, "Am I... Interrupting something?"
Benson shook his head, "Sarah had a nightmare."
"Aw," Ed said and picked his little sister up, holding her in his arms, "What about?"
"Jimmy... He hated me..." Sarah moaned into her older brother's jacket.
Ed stared at Benson with wide eyes, realizing that they had nearly forgotten about the pain and suffering Jimmy must be going through. Carrying her to her bed, she quickly fell back asleep and Ed met up with Benson in the kitchen, the household still silent.
Sitting at the counter, Benson was wearing round-rimmed glasses and a white robe, holding a cup of coffee in his hand, "We need to get into the Silver Nova and fast."
"But how? You said yourself that we need to find some giant first and that's about as descriptive as you got! You need to tell us more if you expect us to succeed!" Ed shouted, quickly covering his mouth in fright that he might have woken somebody up. Luckily, they were all heavy sleepers.
"Well," Benson began walking over to his desk, picking up a bulky folder with the word GIANT written in big letters with a black marker, "I've conducted a large amount of research into the exact location of where it might be, but all results point to places that we would obviously see it. I think I might have to continue with my research, but I would like you to make groups out of your friends and explore the areas that I've pinpointed from my research. With your help, we could be in the Silver Nova as early as tonight."
Ed smiled and nodded, "Alright. I'll have them wake up early enough to begin searching. In the meantime, you have got to do your best in finding that giant. If none of the places we search are right, then we're absolutely screwed."
"I will not disappoint you, Edward Irons." Benson said proudly.
"Call me Ed, please." Ed said and returned to his room for the night, falling back to sleep instantly.
"Alright, guys," Ed shouted as everyone sat in the living room, dressed in that day's clothing, "We are going on a serious mission. We must travel to other parts of the area in search of the giant that Dr. Benson told us about. If we fail, Jimmy could very well be a goner. With that said, failure is not an option. If you return without finding anything, Benson will have another area for you to look in, and with that plan set, we should find the giant very soon. Everybody okay with this?"
"Just get on with it! Who's in what group and where are we going?" Kevin said impatiently.
Ed rolled his eyes and looked at a piece of paper in his hands, "Okay, um... Nazz and Johnny are with me. Eddy, you'll have Kevin and Sarah. Double D, I'm sure you can handle things with Rolf, right?"
Double D looked over at Rolf, who was smiling back, "I think so."
"Then screw motivational speaking, we need to get this done and fast. Eddy, your group will take the farm lands north of here. Double D, I want you to investigate the forest that is in the same direction as the farms, but a bit further up. My group will be investigating a supposed mountain that is rumored to be the location of it." Ed announced. With that, they all left, leaving Benson to research other areas to search.
None of the ones he found were right.
"Double D ed-boy, how much longer until we reach the green pastures?" Rolf asked, walking along a road with his friends Edd, Eddy, Kevin and Sarah to their destinations. Eddy's group was getting ready to drop off at the farm lands while Edd still had quite a ways to go.
Double D looked Rolf in the eye, "Not too long, Rolf. We'll be there in no time. And, hopefully, we'll find the giant and finish things soon."
"I agree. This is totally getting to be annoying." Sarah said.
"This stinks. It seems like Regal doesn't even bother with Ed anymore and just wants to kill us." Eddy growled, folding his arms and staring straight ahead.
"But keep in mind that unlocking one's cache is something never explored in the modern world before! Ed was gifted with the knowledge and memories of the greatest minds that ever lived, and if his cache is unlocked, then he might be the smartest person to ever live!" Double D said excitedly, obviously returning to his normal health.
Eddy yawned and saw the fences that blocked the farm from the road, somehow untouched. Jumping over the fence, he ignored Kevin and Sarah and walked right on ahead. Kevin stopped and looked at Rolf and Double D, "Stay safe, guys. Hopefully we can settle things soon and without any more deaths."
"I'm sure all of us concur on that, Kevin." Double D said with a smile.
Kevin looked confused, "We're what?"
Edd sighed, "Concur means agree."
The jock nodded and hopped the fence, eventually running out of view along with Eddy and Sarah. Rolf and Double D were left to travel another half mile until their destination was reached. They started walking again, seeing the forest up ahead, but their stopping point still distant.
"Boy, Ed, that mountain could be a giant itself!" Johnny said as they approached the trail at the foot of the mountain. Nazz was sitting on a rock, taking a long break while Ed examined the path, which looked rugged and dangerous.
"Well, I'm ready when you guys are." Ed said and started up the path. Nazz, while panting like mad, followed behind, next to Johnny. The group traveled up the path for a good ten minutes before being confronted by large gaps in the middle, with the only possible solution being to slide across the thin ledge. Those gaps weren't a problem up until one where Nazz nearly fell to her death until Ed grabbed her hand and pulled her up to safety. Panting and crying at the thought of nearly dying by nature, the group decided to take another break.
Looking up at the peak of the mountain from where they were, they weren't too far now. The path they were taking was straight through the rock, with both sides being solid stone. When to stop in case of falling paths became a bigger challenge than ever at this point.
Ed looked at Johnny, who was staring down the path. The teens were around half a mile into the air, the mountain reaching to about a full mile and a half into the air. Stepping to his bald friend's side, he looked at Plank, who was seated against a small rock, "How ya feeling, Johnny?"
Johnny looked at his tall friend, "Just chipper. Why?"
"No reason," Ed said and looked at Nazz, who was calmed down again, "Looks like we can start moving again. Let's hope that this giant decides to show itself soon."
Johnny leaned over and picked up Plank, "Hi Ho!" He shouted and ran ahead with Ed and Nazz following close behind. The path continued upwards, heading towards what appeared to be a tower at the peak.
Something was up there, but they weren't sure.
"This place reeks!" Sarah complained as the group made their way to what appeared to be an abandoned farm. A large, red barn house stood out mainly because it appeared to be untouched. A small, broken down chicken coop was floating in a water-filled trough that seemed to be filled with fungus. Eggs lay across the dirt, some cracked and some not scratched at all.
Kevin walked up to the chicken coop and pulled it out of the trough, "If only Rolf came with our group; We'd be set." He said and set the coop aside. He saw a gold key at the bottom of the murky water. Reaching in and pulling it out, it had the letters LOTTG engraved on it, "Found something, guys."
The other two walked over and examined the key, Eddy taking it into his own hands, "A key? To what? The last time I tried to find what a key went to, it turned out to belong to monobrow himself."
Sarah chuckled, "Well, monobrow isn't dumb anymore, so we can rule that out."
Eddy shrugged and gave the key back to Kevin, "Whatever. I'm going to see what is in the barn. You guys are welcome to come along if you want." Kevin put the key in his pocket and followed Eddy with Sarah. As they approached the front doors, Eddy pushed the doors open, creaking slowly until the dark room came into view. Sandbags filled the back wall while a wooden stair case led up to an upper landing made of old wood that was going to give in at any point in time. The ground was completely hay, which contrasted majorly with the dirt of the outside. Overall, the barn was very unusual, even for the apocalypse.
"Well, who wants to go upstairs first?" Sarah asked.
Eddy and Kevin stood in their position, sweating and shaking of falling from the height. Finally, Kevin gulped and stepped forward, thinking of what Jimmy might be going through, "I'll go." He said and walked to the first step. Ants crawled all over, perhaps even being termites ready to devour the dead wood in seconds.
"Move, moron!" Sarah yelled.
Kevin jumped at the voice and accidentally moved forward onto the first step. Freezing, eyes staring straight forward, he shook even more, looking down at his feet.
He was perfectly fine.
"Ha! Look at that!" He laughed, "God, this'll be a cinch." He said and took another step. Suddenly, the step gave way and completely collapsed, taking both Kevin and the entire staircase with it to the ground. Dirt filled the barn and quickly exited into the outside. Eddy, running through the smoke, pulled Kevin out from the mess, not terribly damaged but with a few bad scratches.
"What was that? Getting a bit cocky, eh?" Eddy snorted.
Kevin pushed him, "Enough! We need to get up there, according to little miss sister there, so find a way!"
Eddy rolled his eyes and looked at the sandbags, "The obvious choice." He said and ordered for the group to start piling them into a staircase formation. One by one, the supply was depleted until the back wall was completely bare.
"Let's go, I guess." Eddy said, signaling for Kevin to follow him up. When they reached the top, they saw more sandbags in the back, all stacked up on top of each other, collecting dust for who knows how long.
Kevin took a step onto the landing, "Come on, Eddy. If the landing can support the sandbags, then it can hold us. Nothing to be afraid of."
"But we might be the unnecessary weight! With our mass plus the sandbags, this whole barns could collapse and kill us. Look around and see if there is anything up there worth checking out." Eddy yelled as Kevin wandered the landing.
"There's nothing but damn bugs everywhere... Wait, I found something! I found something!" Kevin yelled in excitement, rushing back to Eddy and Sarah, who were waiting at the door. When he arrived, he was carrying a small red chest with light blue outlining, "I found this on a desk in a corner."
Sarah looked at him with nerve, "Do you know what that means?"
Kevin looked at her and then at the chest, "I need to open it?"
Sarah nodded and walked outside. Taking a seat on a fallen tree, Kevin took a seat beside her, followed by Eddy, and opened the chest. Inside, a slip of paper with cursive was neatly tucked into a velvet pocket. Taking the slip out gently, he looked at the cursive and was just barely able to make out the reading.
"What does it say?" Eddy asked, trying to get a glimpse at the words.
Kevin looked at the cursive, "It reads...
THE LIGHTS GO OUT... I CANNOT BE SAVED...
TIDES I TRIED TO SWIM AGAINST...
OH I BEG... AND PLEAD
...A TROUBLE THAT CAN'T BE NAMED...
...TICKING CLOCKS...
GONNA COME BACK... TAKE YOU HOME...
COME OUT UPON MY SEAS...
AM I PART... THE DISEASE...
HOME... WHERE I WANTED...
Eddy looked at Kevin, who looked at the words with concentration, "Those words sound familiar. Like I heard them before, but I can't remember exactly."
"It's a song by Coldplay. I listened to it all the time when I was little... But of what relevance is it here?" Kevin wondered, sliding the paper into his pocket and setting the chest down, "We should return to Benson and let him decide." He said and hopped off the tree, walking back to the house. Sarah and Eddy looked at each other and then took off after their friend.
"Rolf thinks Double D ed-boy is leading us in circles, ya ya." Rolf announced as the pair walked through the large woods, the ground covered in leaves. The trees were dead, the grass dying, and the leaves ripped by the bugs that ate them.
Double D rolled his eyes, "Well, it's kind of hard to find a straight path when we have no path in the first place!" He exclaimed and folded his arms.
Rolf laughed and swung his arm around Double D, "Nonsense, for I am the son of an agent. We just have to decide where the wind blows and..." He said before feeling a strong gust of wind blow through his blue hair. Footsteps rung in his head, with neither him nor Double D making any movement.
"What's wrong, Rolf?" Double D asked.
The foreigner began shaking radically, "The tall... man in a... suit..."
"Suit?"
"He's tall... Rather slender..."
Double D rolled his eyes, "Oh please. What's so scary about that?"
Rolf slapped Double D and ordered him to be quiet, "He's watching our every move... I should have known running into him would be common in the forest of the dead..."
"Rolf, you're starting to sound like Ed before his cache was messed with." Double D said and began moving.
More footsteps rung inside Rolf's head. Looking around anxiously, he saw a spiderweb in the distance, devouring a large tree, "It's a sign! He's here! He's followed Rolf into the new countries!"
Double D slapped Rolf, "Shut up so we can get out of here! It's pretty obvious that we'll find no giant here, so we might as well head back and get another location."
Suddenly, Rolf picked up Double D and began sprinting at amazing speeds, eventually bursting out of the forest and into familiar grounds. Wind blew through Double D's eyes, forcing them shut.
"Rolf, could you slow down a bit!" Edd cried as Rolf came to a stop.
"We're here!" He announced.
Double D opened his eyes to find himself on the driveway in front of Benson's lake house, "I guess Rolf sort of knew what he was doing, but only when he was in panic. Strange." He said and stood up, walking to the front door.
"A new location?" Benson said to Ed, who had returned with Nazz and Johnny after finding out the supposed tower was really a tree. The lack of proper nutrition was screwing with their heads now, "Okay let's see..."
"What areas could be possible?" Nazz asked, sipping on a soda at the kitchen table while Benson flipped through the papers. Ed was seated on the kitchen counter while Johnny was in the bathroom.
"I'm... Not sure. Oh, here; An old mall that is now empty! Check the hallways deep underneath to see if there could be a giant there..." Benson trailed off after realizing how absurd his statement sounded. Nazz giggled at what he said.
"Wow, that was stupid!" Johnny announced as he entered back into the kitchen, clutching Plank in his arm.
"Well, I can't think of anything else... I'm sorry guys, but nothing else adds up." Benson said and walked back to his office, taking a seat at his desk and staring at his lion-shaped clock hanging on the wall. A door was in the middle of the lion's open mouth, but it apparently didn't open. It looked as if it had a keyhole in the middle of the door, but he thought it was just decoration.
Ed walked in, depressed that they had most likely failed. Looking at the clock, he noticed the intricate detail of the hair on the lion and the condition it was in, "How old is the clock?"
"I found it when I bought the house. Apparently it's been with this house since it was first built in the 1700s." He said and began looking through his papers again. He began banging his forehead against the top of his desk in anger.
"This house is that old?" Nazz said, astonished.
Benson nodded, "That door in the lion's mouth really is a strange addition to such a marvelous treasure. I just wonder if that key hole in the middle really was for a purpose."
Suddenly, Kevin burst into the house and sprinted into the office with Eddy, Sarah, Rolf and Double D behind him. Panting, he held up the gold key, "This... I found... This..." He said and held up the key for everyone to see. Benson stood up and grabbed the key, looking at the letters engraved into it.
"Where did you find this?" Benson asked with a surprised look.
"The farm... Inside a trough..." Kevin said and pulled out the slip of paper, "And I found these words..." He said and handed the paper to the doctor who examined it.
"These are... Rather disturbing." Benson remarked, looking at each word carefully, "I still can't decipher them. This is quite exceptional! Great work, Kevin and guys."
Kevin chuckled, "It's a song, Benson. By Coldplay."
"Uh-huh. What's it called?" Benson asked.
Ed ripped the key and paper from Benson, "Clocks!"
Everyone looked at Ed in realization at the rare coincidence.
"And?" Benson asked.
"The lyrics must have some sort of purpose that we don't know. But the only way to know," He said and inserted the key into the keyhole in the door on the clock, "Is by venturing deeper into the meaning."
Turning the key and pulling open the door, he reached in and pulling out a small photograph which looked to be circa 1971, the same year his father graduated high school. The photo was of the lake they were situated on, titled Lake Ulysses. There seemed to be a large dark spot in the middle of the water, not visible from surface level.
"This photograph shows that something is apparently in the water of the lake," Ed said, handing the photo to Benson, "And then... The lyrics come in! Tides that I tried to swim against... Come out upon my seas... They must somehow be related."
Benson nodded and led everyone to the screen door, everyone staring at the lake, "So, you're saying that something lives under the lake?"
"Not just anything... The giant." Ed said.
Down at the dock, the teens crowded around Ed, who was looking into the water where the dark spot in the photograph was, "The giant might be here, but we have no idea how to bring him out." He said, staring at the dark spot several meters from the front of the dock. It became more visible, but still faint.
"Well, look at the lyrics again then." Kevin suggested. Ed pulled the paper out from his pocket and read the words again, trying to see if a clue was hidden within the words.
"Let's see... Hmm... Nope, nothing. All it says is about struggle and stuff. Maybe this is how he was put in the lake? I've always wondered how it was done. But other than that, nothing." Ed said, taking a seat on the edge of the dock, dipping his feet into the water.
Sarah stood up from her chair and kicked Ed in the head, "You idiot! You expect everything to be set out in front of you like a damn meal! You have the knowledge of the greatest people from history; Use that to your advantage."
Everyone suddenly began agreeing with Sarah, who smiled with pride as she realized she was the smartest at the moment. Ed stood up and looked at everyone, "What do you think I've been trying to do? I've been skimming through my knowledge all day in hopes to find something, but nothing!"
Sarah looked at her brother, "There has to be a way! We can't... We can't leave Jimmy to die in that hell in the sky!"
Ed put his hand on his sister's head, "Enough with the cursing. We'll find a way, trust me. We may not be the brightest minds, but we certainly don't give up."
"Then do something." Sarah demanded.
Ed nodded and turned to the dark spot in the water. Walking to the edge of the dock, he stared at the spot and focused his sight on it, "The water... It's not a wall, but it's own bridge..." He said. Slowly, he closed his eyes and lifted his foot forward, over the water. Everyone stared in confusion, trying to figure out what exactly Ed was trying to do. Finally, he let his foot drop.
It stepped on the water. Slowly, he placed his other foot in front and repeated the process. In a matter of seconds, he was stepped across the water beautifully as if there were stones guiding him. The teens stared in amazement, shocked by the marvel they were witnessing. Finally, Ed was standing over the dark spot in the water, staring straight forward. Slowly, taking his precious time, he switched to a crouching position then to a praying position, facing the sun in the distance. The kids stood up and stepped to the side of the dock, watching and trying to listen in on what Ed was saying.
"Oh great lake of the True Giant, summon thee giant for the end is thy only friend left..." Ed said calmly before standing up and returning to the dock. As he stepped on, everyone began congratulating him on such an amazing trick before he collapsed to the ground. Everyone gathered around as he slowly opened his eyes, looking at everyone and then towards the sun. Lifting his finger, he pointed, "There it is."
Everyone turned towards the lake as the ground began shaking violently, sending tides from the lake onto the deck and wetting the wood, including Plank. A large stone being, colossal in size and rugged in texture, it's face was carved with red, fiery glows emitting into the air. It rose to several miles in the air, looking like the tallest thing in all of Rhode Island by far. It stared down the teens, looking at each one of them at a time before looking eagerly at Ed, who was on his feet and not shaking like everyone else, including Dr. Benson.
"Yoooouuuu..." The giant growled, "Aaarrreee the child... Ooofff Opus..."
Ed shook his head, "My father wasn't Opus. My father was Cliff Irons, not Opus Irons!"
The giant looked Ed down, "Child..." It roared, hurting the teens ears. They all clamped their ears with their palms except for Ed, who continued to watch the giant's every move, "Yoouuu were meant to ssaavvee the planet... But iiss that the ttrruutthh?"
Ed nodded and stood his ground.
"Tthheenn let's see iiff yyoouu are the ttrruuee hero of eeaarrtthh..." The giant roared and lifted it's hand from underneath the water, causing a miniature tsunami that rocked the dock. The giant set the hand down directly in front of Ed, it open and meant to be stepped on, "I wish ttoo see yyoouurr ttrruuee face..."
Ed nodded and stepped onto the palm of the giant's stone hand. Looking at it, he noticed that the entire giant was made of Obsidian, but it didn't like it because of the sun glare. The monster was quite beautifully crafted. After easing a bit, the teen stood in place as the giant lifted the hand up to it's head, staring him down face to face.
"I see you." Ed said.
"Lleett'ss see if that rreemmaaiinnss..." The giant roared. Suddenly, it tensed it's hand, turning it into a fist and crushing Ed within it's solid fingers. The teens on the dock stared up in shock of their leader being crushed to death by the one thing that they had been searching for this entire time!
"Brother!" Sarah screamed at the top of her lungs. Nazz grabbed Sarah and they both looked away, crying in pain. Kevin and Eddy looked on with horrifying glances to each other.
"I can't believe that bastard!" Eddy cursed.
Kevin eventually hugged Eddy and began to, surprisingly, cry real tears. At that point, Eddy realized that Kevin had truly cared about the Eds the entire time and never wanted to show his true feelings. However, the time had come for nothing to be hidden anymore.
Ed was gone.
Double D stomped over to Benson while everyone tried to cope with the situation, "What the hell is going on? You said we were going to have this thing help us, not destroy us!"
"I swear, Eddward, I had no idea!" Benson said, trying to remain calm, "I don't get what went wrong!"
"How about that fact that our best friend was just crushed to death!" Eddy screamed at them, handing Kevin to Rolf, "The least you could do is show some sympathy, you heartless ass."
Benson was about to burst into tears as well before looking back up at the giant and smiling, "Take back those words. Look!" He said and pointed at the giant's fist that had killed Ed.
Everyone followed the direction he pointed and the fist was now gone and it was merely his hand holding a still alive and standing Ed, who had somehow survived the extremely dangerous crush. The giant laughed a deep laugh and flipped his hand over, dropping Ed into the water in front of the deck. Swimming back up to the surface and climbing onto the dock with the help of his friends, he looked at his friends who were all smiling and cheering, yet at the same time confused.
The giant looked down upon the teens again, "Yyoouu are the oonnee..." It roared. Suddenly, it moved it's arms into a cross position on it's chest and stared off in the opposite direction that the teens were facing. It's eyes rapidly flashed from Red to Blue to White to Gray to Black then, faster than the speed of light, the entire giant exploded, sending the shards of obsidian all over the place. Into the water, into houses, everywhere.
The teens continued to look up, blocking the shards that went at them, and noticed a tall, male figure floating in the air where the giant's chest was located. Slowly, it floated down to the dock, it's arms crossed and it's eyes closed. It had damp, black air stroked back along his head. He wore a black and red general uniform from what looked to be several centuries old, about the 1700s. It donned a monocle, which dropped and shattered into tiny pieces on the dock. As soon as it broke, the man opened his eyes instantly and stared at the teens with his clear green eyes, "Children."
Ed stood in the front of the group, "More like teens."
The man shook his head, "Nope. Adults."
"Who are you?" Ed asked.
The man cracked his neck, stretching a bit before looking Ed in the eye, "The tides have kept me down, the fierce waves crashing upon my grave. There is nothing like being called part of the disease, my boy."
"Are you referencing Clocks?" Kevin asked.
The man nodded.
Ed stepped forward, "That doesn't tell me who you are!"
"Oh, I almost forgot!" The man laughed and held out his hand to shake with Ed, "I am the son of a judge and a gatherer. I am siblings to a farmer and chef. I am nothing like them for I know the darkest secrets this corner of the galaxy. That doesn't matter, but my name is of severe importance," He said and smiled, "Please, call me Regal. Prescott Regal VII."
To be continued...