Chapter 3: Of Glitz and Glory
Part 5: Desperate Measures
"They're saying that the pyrotechnics were cheap, and that's why they malfunctioned," Nazz said. Currently, both teams were watching Grubba's press conference on television at the juice bar as they drank their assorted fruit juice orders.
"I guess that could happen," Jimmy added. "But still, that sounds more dangerous than a lot of Eddy's scams."
"At least everyone got out okay," Koops added, turning to face the pale boy. "You all right there, little buddy? That Bandy Sandy chick took you out in one move."
"Only a few itty-bitty owies, but I'm alive and well," Jimmy replied. "Thanks for asking, big buddy. At least my butt wasn't knocked two Thursdays from now by a girls' curling club."
"Oui, Madame is un bit, how vous say, shaken, but she shall live to see another day," Flurrie commented.
Edd, however, remained silent. Whatever had happened, he was adamant in his belief that it was no mere accident. He couldn't tell the others, though, as his mind was swimming in questions – what if they suspected him of cheating? What if the Hand-It-Overs failed to survive the burns? Worst of all, this incident was televised live! They were all eventually bound to find the holes in the story that Grubba was feeding to the press! Edd rubbed the temples of his head in an attempt to relax his mind.
"Double-D?" Goombella called to him.
"Huh?!" he yelped, startled. Turning to face Goombella, he asked, "Yes?"
"You've been awfully quiet lately," she responded. "Is everything all right?"
"Oh… yes, all things considered," said Edd. "No need to worry. Accidents happen, I suppose."
"Still, I can't help but think something's fishy about all of this," Goombella added.
"At least-a they're saying that-a there's only minimal-a fire damage to the ring-a," Mario chimed in. "Perhaps we should-a return-a to the locker room and-a check on everyone else."
"Rolf agrees," replied Rolf. "Let us return, warriors!"
XXX000XXX000XXX
Edd, Mario, and their respective teammates returned to the Glitz Pit minor-league locker room and reunited with King K, Master Crash, Cleftor, and Bandy Andy; the latter was rather badly injured, but not incapacitated, suffering only minor burns, which were covered by gauze.
"Oh… Eduardo," said Andy to the sock-headed boy. "How weird was that?"
"And scary," added Jimmy.
"I do hope you're not too seriously hurt," Edd said.
"A few slight burns and bruises, but I'll be okay. Sandy, too," said Andy. "Thanks for gettin' me outta there."
"You're welcome," said Edd. "And what of your teammates?"
"Randy and Dandy? Yeah, they're seriously out," Andy replied. "They're in the hospital being treated for first- and second-degree burns. The medical staff is optimistic about their survival, as are Sandy and I, but they're as good as out of the competition."
"Sorry to hear that, B-man," said King K. "That kind of stuff can happen in the Glitz Pit."
"Yeah… sure," said Andy, a bit depressed. "I think I'm done fighting for a while. I'm gonna keep investigating the mystery of the missing fighters."
"Bah!" Cleftor groaned. "Andy killjoy."
"Oh, shut up, Cleftor," King K fired back. "Andy's havin' a real bad day, man. Have a heart, will ya?"
"Tough cookie. Fighters better when heartless," Cleftor retorted as Andy left the locker room.
"Pardon me, I need to use the facilities," said Edd, facing his friends. "Would you please look after the egg in the meantime?"
"Sure, man," said Koops.
As Edd left the room to enter the lavatory, Nazz opened the backpack's compartment and took the egg into her hands from there.
"It's okay, little dude," she said to the egg. "We and Double-D will take good care of you and keep you safe."
Inside the bathroom, Edd clicked on the light. The bathroom was dimly lit and very dingy, the wallpaper peeling like the rest of the locker room. The smell of urine and body odor did not go unnoticed by Edd, but he had too much on his mind to complain about the conditions as he approached the mirror. A lantern hung from the ceiling, between the light bulb and the sinks, one of which appeared to be filled with water, as if the drain were clogged.
"We were all there. I, Nazz, Rolf, Jimmy, Andy and his team, Grubba, even the audience were all there when it happened," he said quietly to himself. "Grubba's spinning this to the press as a malfunction in the pyrotechnical systems, but that so-called 'malfunction' felt too convenient to be an accident."
Just then, the light bulb blew out, leaving the room in darkness.
"Bohemian!" he grumbled. "It should not be that hard or that expensive for the staff to replace the bulbs." In the darkness, he was just barely able to make out the form of the lantern hanging from the ceiling.
"Hmm… a lantern," he continued quietly. "This is how they plan to keep the room lit?"
He blindly felt around the sink and felt his hand touch some matches; however, the matches were soaking wet, and thus useless.
"Great… Just great," he complained quietly. "How can I possibly light this lantern without any reliable source of fire-GAH!"
Edd's hand suddenly ignited in flames again. Panicking, he immediately stuck his flaming hand into the flooded bathroom sink, putting out the flame immediately.
"D-d-d-did that j-just… did that just happen?!" he quavered to himself, pulling his hand out of the sink. He used his other hand to check his wet hand for any signs of burns. Strangely, he felt no sign of charred skin or pain. It was as if his hand was never on fire to begin with.
"Strange… there seems to be no damage to my hand… but it had just caught fire-GAH!"
Once again, Edd's hand caught fire, and once again, he extinguished the flame by sticking his hand in the sink.
How on Earth, or any other world…? he wondered to himself. He suddenly developed another theory: Wait… a-am I doing this? Every time I use the word "fire," my hand seems to ignite. Hmm… I wonder… As foolish as he felt about this, he decided to test out his theory, like any scientist would. Training his eyes to look at his hand again, he spoke the word:
"Fire."
Sure enough, his hand combusted yet again, and he extinguished the flame by dunking the burning hand in the bathroom sink.
"So it seems my hand ignites when I speak the word as I gaze at my hand," he whispered. Then that must mean, when I spoke the word "fire" during the previous battle, the resulting conflagration struck that particular area of the fighting ring. Gazing at the lantern, he formulated another theory: "Perhaps…if I point at this lantern and speak the word…"
Edd located and pointed at the lantern, and in a half-whisper, he spoke the word:
"Fire."
Almost immediately, a small flame appeared inside the lantern, just barely lighting the area around it, but not enough to illuminate the entire room. Edd waved his hand in an attempt to put out the flame; sure enough, as he did, the flame vanished.
"…Intriguing. It seems I can put out the flame with a wave of my hand," he whispered to himself. "Perhaps if I amplify the volume of my voice, the resulting amplitude will strengthen it…"
He pointed at the lantern again, and this time, spoke the word slightly more loudly: "Fire."
The flame re-appeared in the lantern, this time more brightly, illuminating more of the area around it. With another wave of his hand, Edd put out the flame, darkening the room once more.
"Enterprising," he said to himself. "The louder my voice, the stronger the flame. Hmm… if that's the case, then perhaps it's affected by my emotions, as well… Hmm, let's see…"
He pointed at the lantern again, this time thinking about his current quest, and the level of determination that he held to see it all the way through. In the process, he thought of his friends, and the strengthened bond they all shared as a result of this quest thus far. With these emotions in both his mind and his heart, he spoke the word again, louder this time:
"Fire."
Once again, the flame re-appeared in the lantern, much more quickly this time. The flame itself also appeared to be much brighter, sharper, and stronger, as well, since Edd could now smell the smoke coming from it. The boy then waved his hand again to put out the flame, darkening the room once more.
A most intriguing discovery indeed, he thought to himself. It seems I've managed to understand, thus far, how this flame ability works. But how in the Sam Hill did I come into possession of this ability? And for what length of a time frame have I been able to command such a power? …GOOD LORD!
The horrifying realization hit him like a ton of bricks. I knew it! That was no simple malfunction in the pyrotechnics – I was the cause of that fire! Oh lord, I've just sent three innocent people to the emergency room! WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME?!
More than anything, Edd detested malice and violence. He had always been a pacifist back on Earth, the type of boy who would never willingly harm a fly, let alone another human being. Of course, if he did harm anyone, it was all purely accidental, like the day he became the school bully after a series of accidents that included dropping a heavy book on Lee Kanker's foot; becoming tangled in his locker and accidentally pinning Rolf with pencils; pricking his hand on a sharp fork and, while recoiling, knocking Jonny into Marie Kanker; and even becoming entangled around Ed as the big lug ran around destroying the cafeteria even though it appeared Edd was beating him up. Yet even as he had been forced to resort to an intermediate level of violence to defend himself against his foes in this strange new world, never had he expected this. More than anything, right now, he feared how his friends, both familiar and new, would react if this ability were exposed.
As unintentional as this was, this was still my fault, and I must accept the responsibility, he thought, rubbing the temples of his head. I only wish I knew how I came to be in possession of this ability.
Edd was startled out of his thoughts by a sudden knock on the door.
"Double-D? Are you all right in there?" Nazz called from outside.
"Oh, yes, Nazz, my apologies," Edd said hurriedly. "I needed a few moments to myself, that's all."
"Well, c'mon!" Nazz called. "I just reserved our next match! We've got, like, three minutes to get ready!"
"Coming!" Edd called.
He exited the dark bathroom and squinted, his eyes attempting to re-adjust to the sudden contrast in brightness between rooms. Within a few seconds, he regained a clear sense of sight and turned to face Nazz.
"Who, may I ask, are we facing in combat?" Edd inquired.
"They're called the 'Mind-Bogglers,' ranked 13th in the Glitz Pit," Nazz explained. "With a team name like that, I'm willing to bet that these guys are from the Boggly Woods. Also, Grubba said we're to refrain from jumping. That the crowd doesn't always need to see any fancy-schmancy acrobatics. His words, not mine."
"Boggly Woods, you say?" Edd inquired. "In that case, it seems Rolf would perform best in this match."
"Rolf agrees, large-in-brains Ed-boy," Rolf concurred.
The door leading to the hallway suddenly opened, and Abrams the security guard entered the locker room.
"Team Eduardo! Match time," he explained. "Let's get going."
"Wait!" Jimmy called. "What about the egg? We can't just leave it here unattended!"
"Don't worry about it, Jimbone," King K replied. "We'll take care of the egg while you guys are in the ring."
"Well… very well, I suppose I can trust you to take care of this egg," said Edd, producing the egg from his backpack. In his hands, he could feel the egg move. "Just be extra careful with it, King K. I want this egg to hatch, not be cooked on a griddle or anything else."
"I promise, E-dawg," King K replied. "Now get out there, and show 'em what ya got!"
Edd nodded as he, Nazz, Rolf, and Jimmy were led out of the room to the ring by Abrams.
"Hey, guys," said Koops, turning to face his teammates. "You want to watch Team Eduardo fight?"
"Oh yeah!" Goombella exclaimed.
"Absolutement," Madame Flurrie concurred.
"Of-a course!" Mario replied.
"Hey there, Eggy, ya wanna meet the guys?" King K said to the egg in his hands. "This is Master Crash, the Bob-omb; this rock-man here is Cleftor; and if Bandy Andy were here, I'd introduce ya to him."
"King K weirdo. He talk to egg," Cleftor grumbled sarcastically.
"For once, I'm BOMB with Cleftor," Master Crash added. "It just seems BOMB weird to BOMB talk to an egg."
"Ah, who needs ya, Cleftor?" King K shot back. "Me and Eggy here are gonna see the show. Comin'?"
"Yeah, fine BOMB," replied Master Crash. He and King K left the locker room, leaving Cleftor by himself.
XXX000XXX000XXX
Dashing through the foyer, King K and Master Crash arrived at the ring, carrying the egg that Edd had rescued, anticipating the beginning of the match.
"Coolness. Looks like we made it BOMB before the match is set to BOMB start," explained the Bob-omb.
"All right! Let's grab us some seats!" King K explained.
The two fighters looked around the stadium – the seats were rather packed, but not as much as before, considering what had happened earlier. Grubba was making his way to the center of the ring, microphone in hand. Looking up behind them, King K saw Mario, Goombella, Koops, and Flurrie taking a seat rather high up to catch a better view of the action below. A few rows down in front of them, however, sat Eddy, a bowl of snacks in his hand. King K led Master Crash up the rows of seats and joined Eddy.
"Hey, Eddy," the yellow-shelled Koopa greeted as they sat down.
"Hey, King K, my man! What's cookin'?" Eddy responded, producing the "wink and gun" style of greeting.
"Yo, King K, you know this BOMB guy?" Master Crash asked incredulously.
"Yeah, Crash, that's Eddy McGee," King K replied. "He runs that souvenir stand just outside the place at Glitzville Square. Y'know, the stand next to Hoggle's hot dog truck?"
"Ah, okay BOMB," Master Crash said, nodding.
"Speaking of which, Eddy, shouldn't you be there right now?" King K inquired.
"Naw, I took a pause for the cause," Eddy replied. "I wanted to see my friends up there in the ring up close, instead of on TV."
"Your friends? Wait, you mean the Extreme Eduardos?" King K queried.
"Yeah, man, I knew them since forever. We're from the same place, they and I," Eddy bragged. "Y'know their team leader, Eduardo? His name's actually Edd, with two D's. We call him Double-D 'cuz of that. I like to call him 'Sockhead' though, 'cuz of that hat he always wears."
"So, Eggy, ready to see your first fight?" King K asked, diverting his attention to the egg in his hands.
"Really, King K?" Master Crash chuckled. "I swear you talk to that BOMB egg as if it has BOMB eyes and ears."
"Hey, isn't that Sockhead's egg?" Eddy asked, seeing this.
"Yeah, he asked me to watch it during the match," King K. "He's really adamant that it hatch and not be used as an ingredient for food."
"Details, details," Eddy waved off.
"HOOOOOW-DAAAAY, GLITZVILLE!" Grubba shouted into the microphone.
The audience roared with thunderous applause and cheers, awaiting the next match-up.
"We had a bit of a scare wit dat fire earlier, but thankfully, no real damage was done, 'n the place is safe. Y'all think a li'l fire's gon' stop da fightin'? HECK NAW!" Grubba continued. "Guys 'n gals, we got us a good'un today! TEAMS, git on up here!"
Team Eduardo and the Mind-Bogglers each crossed to the ring from opposite sides of the room. The Mind-Bogglers consisted of Parris the Pale Piranha Plant, Paddy the spider-like Pider, and Nimbus the Dark Puff.
"Fer our next match, we got those Reckless Juvies, the EXTREME EDUARDOS 'n the Gray Entanglers… yup, a fight to the finish wit da Mind-Bogglers!"
"Prepare to be ensnared, mystified, and devoured!" Parris boasted.
"Dream on, chumps!" Nazz fired back.
"And now," Grubba yelled into the microphone. "Git yerselves ready to BATTLE!"
"Now remember, our conditions are to refrain from jumping, so that means no aerial attacks," Edd clarified.
"Got it!" Nazz yelled back. She darted up to Parris and connected with a punch to the Pale Piranha's cheek.
"Awesome job, Nazz!" Jimmy shouted.
Okay, Eddward, Edd thought to himself. Only make use of your newfound… flame abilities when absolutely necessary…
"Rolf shall go next!" Rolf shouted, exchanging a nod with Edd.
The son of a shepherd ran up to Parris and prepared to strike. Parris, however, was very quick – so quick that he was able to counterattack with a bite to Rolf's leg when the blue-haired youth got close. Rolf went down with a shout.
"Whoa, Nellie, that's one heck of a counter," Grubba commented.
"Rolf! Are you okay?" Jimmy asked worriedly.
"That monster has bitten Rolf," Rolf replied, his body turning numb and sore. "Pain comes to pay a visit to the son of a shepherd…"
"Oh, dear, it seems this Pale Piranha injected you with some kind of poison," Edd quavered. "It should be temporary at best. Do what you can to endure it until it dissipates."
"R… Rolf shall endure… Ed-boy," Rolf said, straining himself against the pain. "The son of a shepherd is strong…"
Hmm, we're prohibited from jumping, so the Pider and the Dark Puff are out of reach, Edd thought. Perhaps if I zero in on the Pale Piranha…
Edd grabbed his rod and charged at Parris head-on. He raised the weapon to strike Parris in the head, but Parris countered this attack as well by clamping his teeth on the rod and angling himself to slam Edd onto the ground.
"Jeepers! This guy's really good at counters!" Jimmy quavered.
"How's it feel, chumps?" Parris taunted. "We ain't called the Mind-Bogglers for nothin'!"
Enraged, Jimmy charged at the foes with his staff in hand. He managed to strike Parris across the cheek, dealing a considerable amount of damage. Parris remained standing, however, and took his turn. Instead of retaliating against Jimmy, however, Parris decided to zero in on Edd, ducking down and re-emerging to bite the sock-headed boy in his leg as well. Edd shrieked in pain and fell to his knees. Nimbus used the opportunity to charge itself electrically, spouting out sparks. Paddy kicked up small rocks toward the Eduardos, who managed to evade this move before Edd, too, became sore.
"Oh, dear… the poison is kicking in…" Edd groaned.
"Yes… Rolf feels it, too…"
"Hey! No fair!" Eddy shouted from the stands. "That gray fish-plant's cheating!" His shout, however, was drowned out by the noises of the crowd.
"What do we do, guys?" Nazz asked nervously.
"Rolf and I will sit out this turn to defend and recuperate," Edd explained. "You and Jimmy try what you can, but remember – no jumping." With Rolf and I down, we lose strength and cunning, he thought to himself. While we still have style and agility on our side, what good will they be without performing aerial strikes?
"Let me try!" Jimmy shouted, charging at Parris once again. Parris attempted to bite Jimmy before the boy could strike, however; robbed of his chance to attack, Jimmy instead used his staff to shield himself from the Pale Piranha's counterstrike.
"My turn!" Nazz shouted. She dashed forward to attack Parris with another punch, but Parris countered too quickly for Nazz to react; the Pale Piranha bit her hand, forcing her to draw back. She then fell to her knees as well, as the poison began to spread through her system. Parris followed up with a bite to Jimmy's leg, sending the pale boy to his knees with a shout of "Owie!"
"NO!" Koops shouted from where he was sitting. "JIMMY! Fight it, little buddy! FIGHT IT!"
"Come on, Sockhead! You're smart! Think of something!" Eddy shouted.
Fully charged up, Nimbus released a lightning-fueled Thunder Rage on the Eduardos, sending them to the floor. They weren't unconscious, but they were just barely moving. To add insult to injury, Paddy followed this up by kicking more rocks from hammerspace toward the Eduardos, who were rendered unable to dodge this move after Nimbus's attack.
"Dude, this is not good," King K whispered to Master Crash.
"Aw, man, looks like the Extreme Eduardos could be handed their first loss here," Grubba commented.
Grubba's right, Edd thought to himself, worried and in pain. This could be all over for us… unless…
Edd had hoped he wouldn't have to resort to this. Seems I have no other option… desperate times call for desperate measures… Slowly and straining himself, Edd climbed to his feet, as it seemed the poison in his system was starting to wear off, as was the case with Rolf, who tended to Nazz and Jimmy.
"Yee-haw! Looks like Eduardo's still got some fight left in him!" Grubba commented loudly.
Courage, Eddward, Edd thought to himself. You only mean to frighten them, not outright scorch them… Fighting the subsiding poison left in his system, Edd raised his right arm, pointing near Parris.
"What now, Eduardo?" Parris taunted. "We've boggled your minds, and ya still got something to say?"
As Edd readied himself, he spotted a small, but bright, light emanating from his outstretched fingers. The sock-headed youth stared down the Mind-Bogglers dead-on, as the light from his fingers became brighter and hotter. Finally, he spoke:
"Fire!"
Right then and there, the light transformed into a glowing ball of fire, launched from his fingers and flew across the ring, striking the Mind-Bogglers in a fiery explosion similar to the one that defeated the Hand-It-Overs and creating a hot wind that blew in all directions. Struggling to remain on his feet and holding his hat with his free hand, Edd waited for about two seconds, then waved his free hand. Just like that, the explosion of flame and wind died down instantly. The Mind-Bogglers seemed to only suffer minor burns, since Edd did not intend to inflict third-degree burns, but the opponents were both weakened and bewildered amid what had just transpired.
"Whoa… this kid… he just boggled the Mind-Bogglers," Parris groaned, coughing. He, Paddy, and Nimbus all crashed to the ground, defeated.
Immediately, the crowd's shouting stopped in an instant, the noises replaced with stunned, shocked silence. Grubba seemed lost for words, his eyes just as wide as the rest of the crowd's eyes. Even Eddy, King K, Master Crash, Rolf, Nazz, Jimmy, and Team Gonzales were at a loss as to how to react, and they too could only stare at Edd with eyes wide as saucers and mouths agape. Aware of the fallout, Edd pulled his hat over his eyes, trying to hide his guilt.
"You… saw that, right?" Goombella whispered to her teammates from her seat.
"Sacre bleu," Flurrie added.
"Has… he always been able to do that, Mario?" Koops whispered.
"Normally it would-a take a Fire Flower for-a me to do that," Mario replied.
Reluctantly, Edd pushed his hat back to his original position and approached Grubba, who was still holding the microphone. It wasn't until this moment that Grubba was able to find his voice again.
"Great Gallopin' Gulpits, that sure was unexpected," Grubba proclaimed.
"Um… Mr. Grubba, may I borrow your microphone?" Edd asked. "I have some things I need to confess."
Grubba slowly handed the microphone to Edd, who proceeded to address the spectators.
"Um… my name's Eddward, but you know me as Eduardo," Edd said, in a tone of voice associated with guilt and shame. "As you've all just witnessed, I somehow possess the ability to wield the power of flame. I don't know for sure exactly how long I've had this ability, as I had no idea that I did until… just recently, when we faced the Hand-It-Overs in our previous match."
The audience began to murmur once again as Edd continued: "Yes… That spontaneous combustion earlier was not caused by malfunctioning pyrotechnics… it was caused by me, by my stumbling."
Collective gasps of shock emanated from the audience.
"But I swear, it was all an accident! I hadn't intended for it to happen – it just happened!" Edd managed to hand the microphone back to Grubba before again pulling his beanie over his eyes, ashamed of himself.
"Well, hey, son, accidents happen," Grubba said, trying to reassure Edd, putting his free arm around the sock-headed boy's shoulder. "What, ya think it's the first time we done seen people to the hospital after a match?"
"I guess he's got a point," King K whispered, still holding Edd's egg in his hands.
"So ladies and germs, whaddya say?" Grubba asked the crowd. "Y'all forgive the kid?"
The room remained silent for a tense few seconds. Edd reluctantly began to return his beanie to his original position, waiting nervously with bated breath for the crowd's reaction. Finally, Eddy spoke.
"HECK YEAH!" he shouted, a big grin on his face. "Eduardo, you just got 20 times cooler in my book!"
"Absolutely!" King K concurred.
"Desperate times call for desperate measures," Goombella added.
"Yeah… hey, Eduardo, we forgive ya, too, man," said Parris as he, Paddy, and Nimbus recovered. "You're quite the mind-boggler yourself. And ya seem like you're in great company!"
Finally, the audience cheered, effectively forgiving Edd for his actions as a result of his confession and the encouragement of friend and foe. Edd finally managed to find it in himself to smile.
"Well, there we have it, y'all!" Grubba proclaimed over the crowd's cheers and applause. "All's forgiven, Eduardo! With that, our winners, the EXTREME EDUARDOS! Who knew that in one day, such events would be happenin'? Only in GLITZVILLE, ladies 'n germs! 'Til later, this is Grubba sayin', 'Y'all come back now, y'hear?!"
XXX000XXX000XXX
The Extreme Eduardos fully recovered from the poison that Parris had inflicted on them, as well as the fallout from Edd's fiery revelation. They had gone on to win two more battles, moving up to rank 11 and effectively giving them a shot at the major leagues, as Jolene had told them. Team Gonzales was not that far behind them, having achieved rank 13 by the end of the day.
As he constructed the incubator for his egg, recent events weighed heavily on Edd's conscience.
"Mario?" Edd asked, turning to face the plumber.
"Yes?" Mario replied.
"Do you see me as some kind of freak?"
"Not at all," Mario reassured. "In this-a dimension, having-a powers is considered-a relatively normal."
"Nazz? Rolf? Jimmy?" Edd asked his teammates. "…I'm not a freak, am I?"
"No way, dude," Nazz said. "It seems some form of magic powers should be common in this world. Especially after our bout with the Shadow Sirens at Boggly Woods."
"Do not fret, flame-throwing Ed-boy," Rolf reassured him, smiling and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Rolf is still your friend, too."
"Besides, you saved me from the last fire," Jimmy said, smiling warmly. "Even though you caused it, I don't think you're a monster. You've cross-pollinated a rose with a Baby Blue Gym Sock before, and that can only be done by hands as gentle as hummingbirds' wings."
"You really gave it to 'em, E-man!" King K congratulated. "Just remember to be more careful with those fire hands of yours."
"Hey, has anyone seen Bandy Andy?" Koops inquired, noting the absence of the green-cloaked Bandit.
"No, not since the fire," Nazz replied. "Where could he be?"
"Perhaps he-who-is-paranoid is still searching for those who are missing," Rolf added.
"Really? At ten o'clock at night?" King K inquired incredulously. "Naw, not my boy Andy."
"For all we know, he could be at the hospital, along with his teammates," Edd interjected. "Perhaps tomorrow, we can find out."
"Good night, guys," said Nazz, yawning and stretching. "See ya in the morning."
Nazz, Goombella, and Flurrie returned to the ladies' bunks to catch up on some well-deserved sleep. Mario, Koops, Rolf, King K, Master Crash, Cleftor, and Jimmy each entered their respective bunk beds to get their sleep and prepare for the next day's fights. Edd, however, was still making adjustments to the incubator, into which he had placed the egg.
"What are you BOMB doing, Eduardo?" Master Crash asked.
"I'm perfecting this incubator for the egg, so it can fully mature from within until it hatches," Edd replied.
"What do you think it'll be, Double-D?" Jimmy asked from his bed, which was situated above Edd's bed.
"I honestly haven't a clue, Jimmy," Edd said, placing a glass dome cover onto the incubator as the egg sat inside. "I suppose we'll know what it is once it hatches. Sweet dreams, fellows."
"Good night, Double-D," Jimmy said, yawning.
Edd crossed to the doorway and flicked off the light switch before climbing into his bunk bed, situated beneath Jimmy's, and closed his eyes, allowing himself to drift off to sleep and into his dreams…
End of Part Five