Chapter 56
"Okay Sarah, you can do this. Fifth time's the charm!"
The young girl watched closely at the battle in front of her. Kevin and Eddy's Brother swung their weapons back and forth at Helmy, who dodged and danced along the ground to avoid them. Doctor Andonuts knelt at the edge of the clearing, preparing what looked like a large bottle of soda with rocket fins attached to it. He activated a mechanism on the bottle and fire burst out from the bottom, launching it into the air. The doctor shouted something, and Kevin and Eddy's Brother quickly jumped away from Helmy. The bottle rocket slammed into a shield just before it could hit Helmy's head.
Sarah took that as her cue. She filled her hands with psychic energy and slammed them into the ground, creating a fissure that rocketed toward Helmy. She smiled to herself as she watched it pass by Kevin harmlessly.
Helmy noticed the fissure screaming toward him, and quickly muttered something. His shield changed color, going from a pale blue to violet. The fissure hit the edge of the shield and harmlessly split around it.
"Oh, come on!" Sarah screamed. "Just for once lemmie hit you with that!"
Eddy's Brother spared a moment to retort, "Can't you, oh, I don't know, DO ANYTING ELSE?"
Sarah clenched her teeth and rolled her hands into fists. She growled, focusing on the spot in her mind where she drew her energy from. The only thing she could think to shape it in was her ground attack. She let a defeated sigh and deflated. "…No."
"Guys! Help!" Sarah and Eddy's Brother suddenly looked to the side, where Helmy had pinned Kevin to the ground and was trying to stab his way past the boy's wrench. Kevin kicked him off, and Helmy rolled to the side as Kevin swung his wrench at him. Eddy's Brother ran back into the fray, but Sarah hesitated. She looked at her hands, which were bruised and muddy from slamming them on the ground so many times. She heard footsteps, and looked up to see Doctor Andonuts approaching her.
"Something's odd," the man said, watching Kevin and Eddy's Brother try to land a hit on their opponent. Sarah looked up at him as he continued, "The last time Kevin and his party engaged this man, he didn't hesitate to attack relentlessly, and with strong PSI at that. I don't doubt what Kevin told me, but if what he said is true, then Helmy seems to be holding back here."
Sarah looked over at the fight. Helmy did little in the way of attacking, mostly dodging Kevin and Eddy's Brothers attacks or parrying them with his knife. The only times he struck were to make one of them jump back so they wouldn't both attack him at the same time..
"Why do you think he's holding back?" she asked. "Other than to be a jerk?"
"I'm not sure," Doctor Andonuts replied, "but I don't like it."
Kevin's arms felt like they were on fire. His legs were threatening to give out and go limp, and his throat was dry from him breathing so heavily. Regardless, he kept fighting, brandishing his wrench at Helmy, using the image of his parents that was burned into his retinas to keep going. He swung left and right, up and down, but he couldn't hit the man. Eddy's Brother didn't have much better luck. Even though his weapon was considerably lighter, the man himself was bulkier and slower with it.
In the midst of the fray, Kevin heard a faint ringing noise. He instinctively dove to the side, expecting Helmy to launch a psionic attack at him or Eddy's Brother. He felt an intense cold pass over him, and scrambled to get to safety. When he looked up, however, he saw a familiar face.
Jimmy charged into the clearing, yelling and blasting a wide cone of frost from his hand. It slammed into Helmy, knocking him backward into a tree and freezing him to its trunk. However, some of the ice also grazed Kevin's back and knocked Eddy's Brother off his feet.
"Watch it, metal mouth!" Eddy's Brother screamed.
"S-sorry!" Jimmy called.
"Hey, leave Jimmy alone!" Sarah shouted. She made her way to Jimmy as Eddy's Brother got to his feet.
"Don't you tell me not to get mad at someone who nearly froze my ass in a block of ice!" the man shouted, walking toward Sarah and Jimmy.
Doctor Andonuts shifted his attention nervously between the three and Helmy. Kevin slammed his wrench into the ice welding the man to the tree, freeing him and presumably knocking the wind out of him. However, Helmy quickly rolled away to recuperate as Kevin made to attack him again. "Um…"
"Hey, it's your fault for not getting out of the way in time!"
"My fault?! The brat nearly froze the whole friggen forest with that attack!"
"You two…" Helmy got to his feet, and began attacking Kevin more aggressively than before.
"So he accidentally put in too much juice! Would you like it if he just healed Helmy instead?"
"Well at least maybe I'd get healed too if he's really that bad at aiming!"
"Quiet, both of you!" Doctor Andonuts stamped his foot on the ground. They turned toward him in shock as he opened up his coat and gathered something from the inside pockets. "All three of you, help Kevin and focus your energy on incapacitating Helmy!"
Taken aback by the man's sudden stern voice, Eddy's Brother and Sarah closed their mouths. Jimmy grabbed Sarah's hand, and the doctor threw a small object Helmy's way. It exploded immediately upon hitting the ground.
"GO!"
The three charged into the fray without another word.
~γγγγγγ~
"Is that everyone?"
"Rolf believes it is so!"
"Yeah, I think that's everyone, dude."
Edd scanned the building he and Doctor Andonuts had found, standing just outside along with Nazz and Rolf. It was filled to the brim with the residents of Cherry Falls who weren't putting out the remaining fires or working on damage control. He was surprised at how few adults helped the three of them in evacuating the town and getting people to safety. He had asked one of the calmer citizens about it, and they told him that the town didn't have many police or firemen. Edd didn't see how that was an excuse for a bunch of kids being the only ones to bother evacuating a burning town's worth of people to safety.
"Have you gotten any word from Kevin-boy or those you sent after him?" Rolf asked.
"None so far," Edd replied. "I believe he may be in trouble at this point."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Nazz asked. "Everyone here is okay. Now we should make sure our friends are too!" She turned toward the hill and sprinted down the street.
Rolf turned to follow her, but Edd spoke up behind him. "That's odd," the smart boy muttered.
"What's odd, Ed-boy?"
"Nazz was so vehemently adamant getting everyone to safety not a few minutes ago, and now she wants nothing more than to find out who's responsible?"
"Rolf has the feeling that she simply wants to help as many people as possible," Rolf said. Edd murmured to himself in thought, but then gave an approving grunt. He turned to her before she was out of earshot.
"Nazz, wait for us!"
Nazz slowed down, but impatiently ushered Edd and Rolf to the hill with her. As they approached the base of the small mountain, all three of them suddenly heard a loud blast. They looked at the forest between the hill and Cherry Falls, and saw a burst of frost and water spray up from it.
"This way!"
Nazz quickly changed course, and Edd let out an inward sigh of relief. Making absolutely sure that no one was looking, he looked at the massive hill and briefly stuck his tongue out at it before jogging to catch up with the others.
~γγγγγγ~
Jimmy clasped his hands together and focused. Frost covered the clearing, clinging onto the ground and trees alike. Helmy had taken the brunt of his PK Freeze with a psychic shield, and didn't seem worse for the wear as he dodged Kevin's attacks. He heard Eddy's Brother complain at him for covering the man in frost again, but Jimmy blocked it out. His hands began to sizzle, and sparks jumped all around them. He slowly parted his hands, and bolts of electricity formed between them. He let the energy build and build, seemingly without limit, and his hands began to glow brighter and brighter.
He focused hard on Helmy, watching his every move. When he felt he'd built up enough energy, he shouted, "PK Thunder Gamma!"
Jimmy thrust his hands out in front of him and watched as a torrent of electricity burst from his palms. The energy streaked and crackled toward Helmy at a blinding pace, and Jimmy smiled in triumph. To his horror, however, the electricity didn't travel in a straight line. It branched out along its path, and struck Eddy's Brother as well as Kevin. Jimmy screamed, trying his hardest to stop the attack but to no avail. Eddy's Brother crumpled to the ground and Helmy was thrown back. Kevin, however, was still standing. The electricity swirled around his forehead, causing his Franklin Badge to gleam in the light.
Before Jimmy could say another word, the electricity around Kevin's badge lashed back at him. The energy knocked Jimmy off his feet and singed his skin, surging through his body and into the ground.
"Jimmy!" Sarah screamed, running to comfort her friend.
"I—I told you, idiot!" Eddy's Brother shouted from across the clearing. "You're attacking all of us at once! At least dorkbag over here can control his powers!"
"I'm… I'm sorry!" Jimmy wheezed.
Sarah shouted at Eddy's Brother, then spoke softly to Jimmy. "Don't listen to him. He's just an angry jerk."
"But he's right," Jimmy said. "I don't know how to control my powers anymore." He curled up on the ground, and summoned the energy for PSI Lifeup. As he healed himself, he paid careful attention to how he controlled the flow of energy. Back when the Voice was around, it would allocate the right amount of power Jimmy needed for an ability, and then allow him to direct it. Now he access to all the power, and there was too much of it.
When he was fully healed, Jimmy slowly got to his feet with the aid of Sarah. Eddy's Brother slowly recovered from the ice, and once again assisted Kevin in attacking a very defensive Helmy.
"What is he waiting for?" Doctor Andonuts questioned. He heard something rustle through the bushes behind him, and he quickly turned around to see Edd approaching.
"Doctor Andonuts!" Edd called. Nazz and Rolf appeared into view behind him.
"Edd, Helmy is the one behind all of this," Doctor Andonuts explained.
"I figured that." Edd replied. He looked at Kevin and Eddy's Brother, and asked, "How long have they been fighting?"
"A good few minutes. For some reason, all that Helmy has done throughout the entire fight is dodge their attacks, making nothing but the weakest attempts to hurt them. I think he may be stalling for something, but I don't know what."
"Well, let Rolf teach this hooligan a lesson then!" Rolf brandished his giant trout, and jumped into the fray.
"I'll assist as well," Edd said. He moved toward the fight, but Doctor Andonuts held him back.
"Take a few of these," he said. He opened up his lab coat, revealing a myriad of explosive weapons lining his inner pockets.
"A-are th-those…?!"
"You're young and spry. You'll be able to use these more effectively than I can," the doctor explained. Seeing Edd hesitate, he quickly grabbed a handful of bombs and two bottle rockets and presented them to Edd. "Quickly! Your friends need you!"
At that, Edd grabbed the weapons, put them in his pockets and quickly turned his attention toward the fight.
"Dude," Nazz said. "Have you been carrying those things around all this time?"
The man smirked beneath his mustache. "I told the lot of them and I'll tell you; I'm not as old as I look."
Helmy leapt and danced through the air as three weapons madly swung around him, desperate to hit their mark. Kevin, Eddy's Brother and Rolf made little effort to coordinate their attacks beyond trying not to get in the other's way. Kevin was exhausted at this point, and swung his wrench slowly. Eddy's Brother was also beginning to tire out, but he managed to brandish his katana more quickly. Rolf had the heaviest weapon of all, and Helmy spent the most of his concentration avoiding it or using it as a springboard to leap away from other attacks.
One particular attack from all three of them at once forced Helmy to jump far away from them. When he landed on the ground, a small, round object rolled to his feet. He looked down at it just before the object violently exploded. Helmy flew through the air and slammed into a tree. Disoriented, he scrambled to his feet, and barely managed to dodge Kevin's wrench. He dove across the clearing to put as much distance between himself and his opponents as possible while he regained his bearings.
Helmy turned to see where he was going, but his vision was greeted by the sight of something crashing into his visor.
"SMAAAAASH!" Ed shouted gleefully. His frying pan struck Helmy hard, sending him flying back clear across the clearing. He slammed into a large boulder sitting a little into the forest, and fell down to his knees.
When they saw that he didn't make an effort to get back to his feet, everyone gathered and circled around him.
"Who are you?" Edd asked. "What do you want with us?" He looked to the side, and saw Kevin. The boy gripped onto his wrench so hard that his knuckles were a ghostly white, and he gritted his teeth as if he was forcing back a scream.
Helmy looked up at Edd. His visor was cracked, and his clothes were ripped and dirty. He slowly lifted up a limp hand, turning his head and scanning everyone around him.
His hand twitched, a ringing sound filled the air, and an intense glow filled the air. Before anyone could react, Helmy swept his arms apart and a tidal wave of fire launched out in an arc in front of him.
Everyone ducked as the inferno blasted out toward them. Jimmy screamed something, but his voice was drowned out in the roaring noise of the fire. Kevin dove to the ground and closed his eyes tight. He felt an intense heat wash over him. As quickly as it had come, the sound of fire began to vanish, and he heard a low boom in the distance.
A beat passed. Then another. The forest became silent.
Ed was the first to finally open his eyes. He uncurled from around Edd, who slowly rose to his feet. A red, glowing shield hung over everyone. Slowly, tentatively, it vanished as Jimmy stirred.
Everyone soon worked up the courage to open their eyes and stand up. The trees on one side of the clearing had been burnt to a crisp, but no flames remained. There was no sign of Helmy. However, an object lay on the ground where he had been knocked against the rock. Edd stood up, and carefully stumbled toward it. Everyone silently watched him kneel down and carefully put it in his hands. He stood back up, his back turned from everyone else, and didn't move.
A minute passed. A tense, choking air filled the area. Nazz finally worked up the courage to ask, "Wh-what did he leave behind?"
Edd turned around. His mouth was closed, his lips pressed together in a tight frown. His eyes were wide open, in a mixture of shock and exhaustion. He looked at Nazz, then at Ed, and then looked down at his hands. He walked forward, his steps shaken and uneasy. He gingerly pressed his fingers around the end of a small chain, and pulled it up off of his hand. Everyone's eyes widened as they saw something attached to the chain rise out of Edd's hand and unfold before them.
A wallet, light brown in color, dangled from the chain. Out of it slipped a picture, depicting a frustrated boy in formal attire. It fluttered gently to the ground, landing in front of Ed.
Ed dropped to his knees, and Edd cradled Eddy's wallet back into his hands.
