And soon, the next morning came, and that means that the story can officially get started.
Everyone woke up to the sound of a rooster crow as Sprig began to jump out of bed in excitement. "This is it, guys," he then told the other three boys who groaned about getting up so early. "A whole new adventure awaits!"
"Boys! Time for breakfast!" Mrs. Speevak called out from the kitchen.
"...Right after breakfast of course." Sprig then told them.
"It's too early for this, man," Eddy groaned and clamped his pillow over his head. "10 more minutes or somethin'."
"Sorry, guys, but you wanted to come to the farm," Sprig reminded. "If you don't come down, my pa will hit you with his water bucket whether you like it or not."
"He wouldn't." Eddy grumbled.
"Trust me, he would," Sprig replied. "Especially on the first day of school."
"Ugh... Fine, ya twisted my arm," Eddy relented as he pulled himself from bed. "But I'm gonna be first into the shower."
"That's the spirit," Sprig replied. "I promise that breakfast will be worth it."
"Yeah, well, if I gotta milk a cow or get eggs from a smelly old chicken coop, I ain't gonna be very friendly 'bout it." Eddy rolled his eyes as he trudged on over to the bathroom.
"Gee... He always this cheerful?" Sprig asked Double D and Ed a bit sourly.
"Only on Mondays." Double D replied in the same tone.
Luckily, Sprig's parents already provided breakfast so Eddy had nothing to worry about, but right after breakfast, it was time to get ready to go to their new stop during their visit to Speevak Family Farm. The family watched in awe as Sprig and the Eds were springing into action and collecting what they needed before they would leave. Angelica smiled proudly as she stood with Sprig's parents and little sister in the doorway.
"School book, underwear..." Sprig began to list as he dashed around the room.
"Ma, Pa, if Sprig doesn't come back, can I have his room?" Sprout asked with an innocent grin on her face.
"Don't forget some pens and paper!" Double D told Sprig. "I have a label maker if you wanna use it." he then offered.
"No, Sprout, honey. Your brother isn't going away forever," Mrs. Speevak cooed with a small smile at her daughter. "He's just going away to a fancy new school for a while~"
Sprout stuck out her foot, causing Sprig to trip and fall, landing on his bed. "HA!" The annoying younger sibling guffawed. "Now can I have his room~?"
Sprig's parents looked concerned for their son, though luckily he wasn't terribly hurt.
"Why, you little-" Eddy growled through his teeth, looking like he wanted to hurt Sprout.
"Eddy~..." Double D warned as he restrained his friends. "Not in front of Sprig's parents."
Eddy grumbled and crossed his arms. Angelica soon came over to Eddy to give him a hug to calm him down and even kissed his cheek, making him smile at her.
"Thank you for having us, sir and ma'am, sorry that we have to go so soon." Double D then said to the adults in the room.
"It was no trouble," Mr. Speevak replied. "Y'all have a safe trip and new adventure to this fancy new school."
"We will, sir!" Ed replied with a nod.
Soon, everyone left the farmhouse as it was time to get going and the bus would be here any minute now. Sprig took a look around for the bus as he came out with the Eds beside him.
"We're proud of you, son," Mrs. Speevak beamed warmly at her son. "You're the first Speevak to ever go out to school. We're just sorry all you've got to wear are those hand-me-downs." she then said with an apologetic frown.
"At least it's not an old family bowling shirt." Eddy shrugged as he tugged on his own shirt.
"Ah, it's okay... Sprig knows that it's not the clothes that make the man, it's the man that makes the clothes." Mr. Speevak smiled as he wrapped his arms around his son.
The other three boys looked lost while Sprig just smiled back at his father.
"I have no idea what that means, so I'm just gonna smile at him." Sprig whispered to his friends.
The Eds just nodded as they decided to do the same.
"I was gonna knit you a sweater, but I only got halfway through." Mrs. Speevak told her son through her tears, showing her knitting at the boys as she was very emotional.
"Oh, it's very lovely either way, Mrs. Speevak." Angelica said softly as the sweater was soaking in the woman's tears.
"Thank you, dear..." Mrs. Speevak sniffled. "Every time I thought about Sprig leavin', I started to CRRYYYYY!" she then bawled instantly all over again.
"It's okay, Miss," Angelica said calmly. "We'll help keep Sprig company."
"You ain't stayin'?" Sprout asked as she was hugging Eddy who looked awkward in the hug.
"Well, no, Princess Galaxandra said that we could come with your brother on this experience," Angelica said before smiling softly. "I'll miss you though, Sprout. I've always wanted a little sister."
"And I always wanted a big sister!" Sprout pouted as she came to hug Angelica. "Stay here with me! That fancy school can keep Sprig even through Thanksgivin'!"
"Sorry, Sprout," Angelica said as she patted the little girl gently. "Maybe we can be pen pal sisters?"
"Hmm..." Sprout paused before beaming. "Oki!" she then beamed, hugging the princess instantly.
"Aww... Isn't she so sweet?" Angelica smiled back at the boys.
Sprig, Ed, Double D, and Eddy just seemed to have deadpan looks on their faces.
"And Sprig, I want you to have this." Mr. Speevak smiled, handing his son something special.
"Eugh!" Ed winced and grimaced. "That's gross, even for me..."
"Huh? What?" Sprig asked as he looked down into his father's hands. "The lucky Speevak family cowpie?"
"Yep! This naturally occurring source of fuel has been in our family for five generations," Mr. Speevak nodded as he handed his son the cowpie. "It's yours now, boy."
"Wow! Thanks!" Sprig beamed.
"...Are you serious?" Eddy whispered to Sprig.
"I'm not being sarcastic," Sprig said to Eddy. "This is actually a touching family moment. It just happens to involve poop."
The other three boys grimaced slightly.
"Erm... Good for you, Sprig," Double D replied. "Let's just keep that somewhere safe and wash your hands as soon as we get over to this new school... Whenever the bus gets here." he then suggested.
Just then, there was a honking sound.
"Oh, my gosh... The bus!" exclaimed Sprig as he looked up.
Overhead was a massive, yellow vehicle with a large rocket turbine on its back and sides. A tractor beam shot down and beamed up the boys and Angelica.
"Bye, Ma! Bye, Pa!" Sprig called. "Don't give Sprout my room!"
"We'll see you later!" Eddy called out to the farm family. "We're outta here!" he then added before laughing out loud.
"Settle down, Eddy!" Double D warned the boy.
Soon, the door closed with Angelica and the boys inside of it.
"That must be one of 'em fancy floatin' city buses." Mr. Speevak said to his wife as their son had left home for the first time.
Sprig looked out the window and soon, the bus flew off to the skies, taking them straight for outer space, passing by a place called Luna Vista where a green alien family was.
"Weird..." Ed said as he looked out the window. "I could've sworn I saw LJ and Zofia's baby brother down there."
"Oh, Ed, don't be ridiculous..." Double D denied before looking thoughtful. "Though... I guess stranger things have happened."
"THIS... IS... AWESOME!" Ed exclaimed while Sprig and the others turned back to face everyone else who was on the bus: a multitude of bizarre alien creatures!
"Strange..." Double D mumbled.
"I know, right?" Eddy agreed. "...It's like seeing other students in our school other than the usual dozen."
Double D looked a bit deadpan from that statement before they went to get settled onto the bus as they saw their future possible friends and classmates. The bus driver seemed to glare at them and yelled at them, but spoke in some sort of weird language.
"Uh... What?" Eddy asked.
Spring felt scared of the bus driver and pounded on the windows, screaming out for help. The bus driver then wrapped his tongue around the five new students and forced them down to the floor.
"I don't think that's Verdigrian, but I think that he wants us to sit down." Angelica suggested to the boys.
"S-Sure... No problem..." Eddy gulped. "Maybe we should've toad-ed up so we didn't stick out like sore thumbs..."
"Toad-ed up?" Sprig repeated curiously.
"Watch this, this is gonna be awesome." Eddy smirked as he joined hands with Ed and Double D.
Sprig shrugged before watching the three boys in front of them get ready
"Let's get Warty!" The three Eds proclaimed together and they soon flashed together, suddenly becoming The BattleToads.
"Whoa..." Sprig whispered, surprised and amazed.
"Don't worry, dude; it's still us," said Ed, in the form of Pimple. "We're only changed physically!"
"Now c'mon... Let's move it." Eddy replied, as Rash, while they headed to the back of the bus.
"Heh... Sorry. Please don't kill me," said Sprig as he kept his distance, looking around at the other people on the bus who started muttering to themselves in their native languages.
"Any idea what they're saying?" Sprig asked the group with him.
"Nothing that I recognize and I know many languages from my studies back home." Angelica replied thoughtfully.
"Ugh..." Sprig groaned before smiling nervously at his future classmates. "I'm sorry... Please don't eat my brain."
One boy smirked to himself before sticking his leg out to make Sprig trip and fall before he soon landed on the floor of the bus, then did a flip as he thought quickly and then landed on something squishy next to a robotic-looking bird.
The other students on the bus soon pointed and laughed at Sprig's humiliation.
"...Chicken?" Ed asked as he looked at the robotic-looking bird as some old urges looked ready to come back, but he luckily caught himself, so he shook his head. "No, no, Ed... You're not that brainless background filler load anymore. You're an independent thinker and more importantly, a brave warrior even if you come from a cold and heartless world back home. You're Pimpul the BattleToad now."
The robotic-looking bird soon gobbled and shook his head, seeming a bit provoked.
"Uh... What?" Sprig asked, feeling even more lost and confused than ever before.
The robotic bird looked frustrated before growing arms and hands from his suit and took out ear-pieces for Sprig, the Eds, and Angelica to put an end to this language barrier once and for all. He then gobbled again to them before his words turned into plain and simple English. "I said, that's not a chair, you Earth idiot. That's my friend!"
"Whoa, dude. My apologies!" Ed replied as he lifted Sprig off. "He, like ourselves, is also new here."
The student then squashed and stretched himself out, revealing his face once Sprig was off of him.
Sprig couldn't help but laugh at that. "That's cool!" he then smiled.
"It's no big deal," The blob student smiled back. "Everybody on my planet can do that."
"What makes you guys so special?" The bird glared at them.
"Easy, Feather Brain, we happened to have helped save Princess Galaxandra and that includes Sprig here." Eddy defended sharply.
Everyone turned around in absolute shock. The bus driver even grew a third eye in surprise!
"No way; you expect us to believe that?" asked a purple-skinned alien boy. "That you're the squeebs that saved Galaxandra?"
"Even I heard about that, and I don't have any ears." added the rock creature.
"No, really!" Sprig protested. "It's true! That's why we're here!"
"And besides, my boys and I here are the greatest warriors in the universe!" Eddy added before looking at Angelica. "...Right?"
"Yes, it's true, and they're all amazing in their own way." Angelica nodded in agreement.
And so, began the backstory, which for the sake of argument will be abridged for this story for your convenience without unnecessary repetition.
"See, these guys came from the suburban jungle of Peach Creek to come and visit and I was just hard at work, doing my chores like always." Sprig began to tell the intergalactic students.
"Until a loudmouth Siren screeched to tell us about having turkey for supper." Eddy rolled his eyes a bit as Sprout reminded him a lot of Sarah, but with an even worse and more grating voice.
"What was that last part?!" The robotic turkey student glared suddenly, bringing out rocket launchers, ready to shoot if necessary.
"Oh, uh, did Eddy say 'turkey'? Heh... Let him finish," Sprig covered up nervously. "Ma made the turkey a nice sweater and we're treating him like an equal who we would never eat."
"Uh... Yeah.. .I guess that was what I meant." Eddy shrugged then.
"That's better!" The robotic turkey then said through gobbles, settling down and putting away his ammo instantly.
And so, the Earth boys shared their story with the alien students on the bus and why they were accepted into the space school to become fellow students and then Angelica told them all about how she and her dear friend, Professor Byrd chose the Eds to become the universe's greatest warriors known as The BattleToads: Pimple, Rash, and Zitz, and to help her hide and be protected from The Dark Queen and anyone else who would probably get in their way.
"So that makes you the first Earth kids to be enrolled in the Celestial Academy?" asked the purple kid.
"That's right!" the Eds exclaimed.
"Hey, everyone! It's this year's charity cases!" taunted the purple kid, laughing.
There was silence on the bus.
"...Rockwell?" The purple kid then prompted.
"On it," said the rock monster. "I believe Ving just told a joke."
As if on cue, the students all laughed.
Sprig soon began to look downtrodden.
"Aw, man... This is just like Peach Creek Junior High." Eddy complained.
"Don't worry about them, Sprig," Angelica coaxed. "You still got us."
"Thanks... I guess that's a bit better than my old school..." Sprig shrugged.
They soon came over to the school which was in some sort of barrier dome with the school, that resembled a castle, standing on an asteroid in the deep vacuums of space. The school rocket then flew right through the barrier, coming into a landing station and soon, the students left the rocket once it landed and opened up, allowing them to do so. Luckily for Sprig and the others, there was breathable air as they exited the school rocket.
"Oh, my gosh! We're here!" Sprig beamed as he took in all of the sights. "The Celestial Academy."
"This must be like what Galaxy High School was like based on what LJ and Zofia told us from one of their adventures." Ed said as they began to wander around campus and explore.
"That's one school over." Bert, the cyborg turkey student, noted, pointing at a nearby futuristic-looking school building.
"...Good to know." Eddy remarked.
The others nodded as they went to adjust to their new surroundings in The Celestial Academy. Sprig looked around before running into what looked like a fish-like/tiger hybrid student.
"Hey, you again!" The student smirked at the group, standing beside Rockwell before swiping up his paw, growing a sharp claw with a dark look in his eyes. "Time for your welcoming wound. Don't worry... I have plenty for everybody~"
Sprig reached into his bag and took out a ball of yarn that he conveniently packed with him just before ending up here.
"Oh, boy! YARN!" The tiger student grinned and beamed, looking like a playful cat.
Sprig then tossed the ball of yarn down the hallway, making the tiger student chase after it, laughing hysterically to himself.
"...Really?" Eddy mumbled in disbelief as he lowered his sunglasses.
"At least it worked." Ed replied.
"I guess it never fails." Eddy shrugged.
"Yeah, my aunt's cat is the same way," Ed groaned. "The only way I can get it away from me even though I'm allergic to it, no matter what Mom thinks about me being sent there for my own good."
The blob and turkey student seemed to smile with Sprig before they went away. Soon, they were given class schedules and it was time to get started.
"Looks like it's time for class." Angelica suggested.
"All right, cool!" Sprig smiled, checking his class schedule. "Galactic Defense 101, Top 5!"
"Let's just hope the teacher's nice." Angelica said hopefully.
"Taught by..." read Double D.
LATER...
"Pam Dromeda!" declared a dark-haired, green-skinned female in a suit. "You wanna be heroes? You little clusters think you got what it takes to pilot the thought-activated, hyperdrive-enabled, Nebula-5 Battle Suit?"
"Yes, ma'am!" Sprig grinned.
"...That was a rhetorical question," replied Pam. "AND YOU'RE WRONG! NOW... ALL OF YOU, GIVE! ME! LAPS!"
The other kids shot Sprig death-glares and scowled at him.
"Hey! What're you mad at him for?" Eddy complained.
"I wouldn't question it," Ed said. "Let's just show this Pam Dromeda what The BattleToads are made of."
"Yeah!" Eddy and Double D then agreed heavily.
Pam soon brought out her wrist which made a whistle come out of her glove and she soon blew her whistle to make the students run their laps and they soon did as followed.
"You keep this up and everyone will hate you by the end of the *gobble-gobble* day!" Burt warned Sprig as he hovered around the track due to not being able to run.
Pam soon blew her whistle on him since he was hovering. "Hey, Turkey! No floating!" she then scolded.
Burt groaned before he soon expanded robotic legs and began to run like everybody else. As they continued running, Sprig glanced back at the Nebula-5 Battle Suit, which seemed to fill him with hope and confidence. Eventually, the period ended, and the students were released back into the hallways.
While Sprig stuck around to take another look at the Battle Suit, he suddenly found himself face-to-face with a chalk-white-skinned girl with antimatter for hair. "Lemme tell you something, Earth-monkey," she threatened. "If you make us have to run laps again, I'll vaporize you!"
"Does that voice sound familiar to anyone else?" Eddy asked Double D and Ed who just shrugged in response.
"I guess... Like Lincoln Loud's sister, Luna, or Martin and Jenny Mazinsky's mom." Ed remarked.
"That must be it." Double D added.
"Uh... That's what she said... What she meant was..." Sprig started to say more about the white-faced girl.
"I'll vaporize you!" The girl still threatened, sounding very firm.
"That's what she meant..." Sprig then sighed in realization.
"And that goes for you giant frogs too!" The girl then warned the Eds.
"We're toads, not frogs!" Double D clarified.
"Whatever!" The girl retorted before she stomped away.
"Crazy broad..." Eddy grumbled and rolled his eyes. "We should probably avoid here from now on."
"Probably a good idea." Ed agreed.
"You can vaporize what's left of 'em after we're done." Ving smirked as he arrived with his cronies.
The other students then began to look concerned and even the girl who had threatened them, though she didn't say anything.
"Hey! Get away from my soon-to-be girlfriend, squeeg!" Ving glared as he stormed over to Sprig to block him from the girl.
"Oh, quark off, Ving. I don't date matter." The girl scoffed and turned away from him.
"What?" Ving glared at her.
"Is that a burn?" Eddy asked Double D and Ed.
"Probably?" Double D shrugged.
"Eh. Whatever," Eddy shrugged before calling out in a Michael Kelso fashion. "BURN!"
"You plan on taking on the charity case and his band of mutant losers too?" Ving then asked the girl in annoyance.
"Watch it, purple boy!" Eddy snapped.
Ving and Sprig glared at each other, with Felos and Rockwell backing the former up, but Sprig was backed up by Burt, Diff, Angelica and the Eds.
"HEY! *gobble-gobble* BACK OFF" Burt shouted. "You want him? You hafta go through us!"
"Wait... What's going on?" asked Sprig.
"You're the only ones who talk to us," replied Dif. "Us losers gotta stick together!"
"Sounds almost like how we first met." Ed said to Eddy and Double D.
"Wait... We're losers?" Sprig asked out of concern.
"Burt's a turkey, I'm a blob, those three kids are giant mutant toads, you're a moderately evolved ape," Dif clarified with a small smile. "What did ya think we were?"
"Great... We're junior high losers, just like in Peach Creek." Eddy then groaned.
"Don't think like that, Eddy," Ed told him. "We're all fine as long as we're all together, no matter what kids like Ving and Kevin think."
Burt soon flew over and then brought out his rocket launchers and ammo, ready to attack the bullies if he needed to. "Here, KITTY-KITTY-KITTY!" he squawked before firing at Felos, who made a run for it, leaping and dodging.
Rockwell lunged at Dif, who just caught him within his mass. "He-Hey! I'm not hungry anymore!" he commented.
"Let's get something straight, Earth kid," snapped Ving. "There's only room for one space hero in this class, and it's me. You don't have what it takes, and you never will."
"Aw, don't listen to that old Shovelchin," Eddy told Sprig. "You still got us."
"Thanks," Sprig smiled before looking curious. "...Shovelchin?"
"That's just what he calls a bully of ours back home." Double D told the farm boy.
"Yeah... Kevin..." Eddy rolled his eyes. "He's a real jerk with a capital U."
Sprig looked to them before feeling inspired as he glared back at Ving. "You think you have what it takes? All we've seen is you cower behind your thug friends!" he soon retorted to the purple boy. "What can YOU do?"
"This." Ving smirked before he put his thumb in his mouth.
"That's your power? Thumb sucking?" Sprig smirked.
Eddy soon started to laugh. "Really?! Ooh, look out, everyone! It's the purple kid who can suck his thumb like he's in his Mommy's baby carriage!" he then taunted.
However, despite the silly act, the other students began to run away and even Rockwell came out of Dif's blobby body almost like something scary and frightening was about to happen.
"Jeez! What's with everyone?" asked Eddy. "Why are they so scared of thumb-sucking?"
Suddenly, Ving's body began to inflate... It grew, bigger and bigger until he was 20 times his size!
"Huh... So that's what he can do!" Sprig commented.
"Oh..." The Eds then said with low groans as now it made sense of why they were all suddenly afraid of Ving.
"...At least Kevin can't do that." Eddy commented.
Double D and Ed nodded in agreement. Ving snarled as he began to lift a giant fist in the air and went to smash the ones remaining on the floor before they all ran out of the way as Sprig pushed the strange white girl out of the way with them before they could get hit.
"All right, pal... You wanna dance? Then let's dance," Eddy grinned as he cracked his knuckles as he got into position with Double D and Ed. "Time to show you what BattleToads can really do!"
"Yeah! Time to show him our Smash Hitz!" Ed declared as he turned his right hand into a meat tenderizer, then slammed it right on Ving's foot.
"Yaaaugh!" Ving yelled out.
"Angelica, get back to safety," Eddy told his princess. "I'll take it from here."
Double D and Ed then looked at him.
"With help from the fellas of course." Eddy then quickly added with a nervous smile.
They then nodded as they faced Ving again.
"Come on," Angelica told the white girl. "We better stay out of their way."
"Those guys aren't normal, huh?" The girl guessed.
"Not exactly," Angelica nodded. "They're great warriors. I've known it from the moment I first met them on Earth."
"Huh..." The girl nodded, before turning back to face the battle.
Eddy ducked and avoided Ving's fists before turning his hand into an anvil, then smashing him in the chin. The girls cringed slightly before smirking at Ving's punishment as he pretty much deserved it. Ving soon snarled as he brought out a fist to strike down the boys. Luckily for Sprig, he was able to flip himself away from Ving and soon looked over in the distance. There seemed to be the exit, so he ran for it and Ving soon ran after him, smashing with his fists and all of his might before he pounded a giant fist right at the door.
"You get away from him if you know what's good for you!" Double D glared before he lunged out at Ving.
"Get away from me, you Warty Weirdos!" Ving glared back as he punched him away. "You're gonna wish you never ever knew me!"
"It's a little late for that, muscles magoo!" Ed remarked.
Sprig leapt away as Ving tried to smash him again. "This is all my fault..." he groused as he landed next to a control panel. "I'm calling for help!" And he quickly smashed the PANIC button next to him.
Eddy then flung Ving from his legs, sending him flying in the air and crashing into the wall.
"NOOOOOO!" The other girl in the room, named Ani, suddenly cried out.
Even Ving seemed to look concerned at the panic button pushing after he got back up. Suddenly, alarms blared as the lights went out and the exit doorway was sealed shut.
"Something tells me that wasn't the right thing to do." Double D remarked.
The ceiling soon opened up and there was an open hatch that sucked the room clean, almost like a giant vacuum cleaner. Burt panicked as he floated beside Dif before growing arms and grabbed the floor.
"I have got to start thinking these things out more." Sprig said nervously.
"Nah. Ya think?" Eddy rolled his eyes.
"AAAAUGH! YOU IDIOT!" Ani yelled out as she was sucked in suddenly.
"Ani!" Sprig cried out to her before seeing his bag from home going next. "MY STUFF!"
After being shot out through the tubes and into the void of space, Ani nearly suffocated, before she activated her space helmet. However, only when she had her air back did she realize that she was heading towards a massive black hole!