Kinda went overboard with Jonny/The Gourd's monologue about "Today" being the day he gets his revenge. But instead I'll have him attempt to make his move on the Eds today. But he won't.
After the events of yesterday, Eddy woke up with a groggy moan. "Man...I'm starved!" The boy got out of bed, scratching his head, unaware of the protrusion trailing behind him.
He settled on his and the other two Ed's favorite cereal, Chunky Puffs. As he poured the puffy balls of grain into a bowl, he cast his gaze over to a wall clock, seeing that it was 7:00 AM. "Ha. As if I'm gonna go and see those two nutjobs after yesterday. I'm stayin' waaaay away from 'em."
As he polished off the bowl, his stomach growled. "Man, I'm still hungry…"
A few minutes passed as the empty cereal bowls started piling up. His hunger abated, Eddy rose up from his seat. "I don't think I've ever eaten that much cereal in my life...What's wrong with me this mornin'?" He felt a scratching at the back of his head. "Huh?" It wasn't his hand. He turned around but found no one there. "Well that was wierd."
The scratching resumed, prompting him to turn back around. "All right, who's messin' with me!?" His eyes widened as he saw the brown furred monkey tail behind him, which was attached to his body. "Whaaa!?" Eddy screamed as he nearly jumped out of his skin. He covered up his mouth, so as not to wake his parents.
The boy looked from side to side, before leaving the house, only to stop short in the doorway as he saw Double D and Ed out on the sidewalk in their pajamas.
The shocking thing was that they too had the same tail.
"I-uh...take it that this happened to you too?" The smarter sock-headed boy replied.
"Wh...what's going on here!? How did we all grow tails overnight!?" Eddy screeched as he closed the door.
"I think the answer is obvious my old chum!" Ed said, taking Eddy in arm by the head. "We have all absorbed radiation from the eighth dimension and become cyborg monkeymen!"
The other two remained silent for a minute.
"That would make a BIT more sense if we showed any signs of being MECHANICAL, Ed." Double D sternly scolded him. "Which it doesn't. My inkling of thought is that we should seek out medical attention as soon as possible-"
"Hey! You three ready yet?" A familiar voice called, but the three of them couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from. Ed looked upward, eyes widening and grinning before he tapped on their shoulders to get their attention and pointed upward.
There was Aleister, wearing the same gi outfit from yesterday. Only now he was suspended ten feet above them in the air.
"I told you guys to meet us at seven. You three really aren't good listeners, are you?" Aleister asked as he descended to ground level. "Leon's waiting in the woods, and he's not the kind of person that you should keep waiting."
"S-Stay back!" Eddy demanded, taking Ed by the feet and swinging him about like a club threateningly. "I don't know what you are, but you did this to us!"
"What are you-" The older boy asked, before he paused and took notice of their monkey-like tails. He donned a smile and pumped his fist. "Oh yeah! I knew there was something about you guys!"
"What ever do you mean?" Edd asked, cowering behind Ed. "That we're some kind of mutant freaks?"
"No, no, nothing like that." Aleister denied with a wave of his hand. "You guys are really special people. You three are like me and Leon."
"Y-you have tails too!?" Ed asked in Eddy's grip, before the latter to painlessly hit his head against the ground.
"Hey! Clubs don't talk, burhead!"
"Well, we used to. I burned mine off. Leon's was cut off. You see, I think it'd be better if you guys came with me. I'll walk with you if you want, but if you'd rather get there quicker, I can fly us there."
"Yes! Take me to the clan of ape men!" Ed cheered happily as he escaped Eddy's hold and hopped about.
"Haha. You're certainly taking things to heart." Aleister smiled. "Come along. By the way, if you'd rather, you can call me Alex to make things simpler."
As the green gi-wearing fellow walked off with Ed, Eddy turned to Double D.
"Should we go with him?" Eddy consulted his friend.
"I believe we must at this point, Eddy." Double D said. "He seems to know what's going on with us...whatever that is."
"Ohh jeez. I was hoping you'd say forget him. Fine."
0
Leon tapped his foot angrily. "Where is Aleister with those punks?" He snarled quietly. "I'm starting to get annoyed."
Speak of the devil, his friend approached, with the Eds in tow. "It's about time. I was about to hunt you down." He blinked as soon as he saw the tails the Eds had. "Huh...how about that. Looks like there's some new Saiyans in town."
Double D raised his eyebrow. "S...Saiyans? What in the devil are those?"
"You'll want to sit down for this one kid." Leon said, loosening up. "I'll start by saying this sobering fact. You've been led on your whole childhoods to believe that your ordinary humans."
"I...I have?"
"That's impossible...Why would our parents do something like that!?" Eddy gasped.
"Probably to protect you." Aleister replied. "This is where the story begins. The five of us are from a race of aliens from a planet called Vegeta. Although you three are likely descended from some that came to Earth for a new start."
Not believing it, Eddy waved his arm. "If we're these freaky monkey aliens, then how come my mom and dad didn't have tails? And come to think of it, why would we sprout them TODAY of all times!?"
"Saiyan tails do tend to regrow periodically if they're cut off. Up about until age 20. Then if they're gone, they're kaput." Leon added with a yawn.
"Right." Aleister continued. "They'll regrow about twice during childhood. Twice during puberty. The tails are also a weak point. If they're grabbed, you won't able to move.
"I suppose you'll be wanting to sit there and let it all digest."
Ed piped up. "Hey, if we're like you guys, does that mean we have superpowers?"
"Oh, you mean how we were using energy in our fight with that Oni, right?" Aleister grinned. "Well that's a force called Ki. Energy. It's a power that all living things have. But only sapient-level organisms can tap into it.
"Humans can use it, but they're not as naturally adept as Saiyans are. Technically you use Ki whenever you move, but accumulating it and harnessing it is a far different animal."
"You see...we Saiyans are a race of warriors, or at least that's what Aleister told me. He was actually born and raised for a while in space. I was raised oblivious of my heritage like you guys." Leon described. "Back in the old days, they actually used to conquer planets."
"My...how...horrible…" Double D said. "To think I could be from a race of warmongers…"
"Well that's not entirely so today." Aleister interjected. "Way back before we were born, there was a culture shift on Vegeta. The people started to fight for the sake of improving themselves. Granted, there still were some bad, hyperaggressive ones, but that's true of any group of people."
"So...What are you guys doing here in Peach Creek?" Eddy asked. "Nothing ever happens here! It's dead as a doorknob!"
"Well...the presence of that Oni from yesterday is somewhat worriesome. It was heavily deformed and mutated. Normally they're somewhat shorter than that, and a little more humanlike," said Leon. "So what we're wondering is what THAT was doing there.
"Because we're not the only ones that can control their ki. Over the last few months, we've been fighting these billigerents. They're not human either.
"Actually, it probably wouldn't be far off base to call them demons."
"Demons?" Edd raised a brow. "Now you're just calling on old bedtime stories and tall tales."
"Not like a heaven and hell demon." Aleister said. "We're talking about physical entities as tangible as you or I. They don't have hooves and carry pitchforks."
"Right...But I suppose if that thing from yesterday was anything like what you're talking about, I'll take your word for it."
"We've been training ourselves for the past year to take the fight to them." Aleister added. "And now that we know there are other Saiyans to call on, we'd like to ask for your help."
Ed rose up. "Yes! I stand by at the ready, master!" His eyes lit up brighter than a bulb, much to Double D and Eddy's distress.
"Absolutely not!" Double D said, bursting Ed's bubble. "We are still in MIDDLE SCHOOL, Ed! We can't shirk our schoolwork, and neglect our potential future over some ridiculous crusade!"
"The thing is string bean, if these creatures get their way, there won't be a future to have. There's stories of these creatures, saying they were known to EAT humans whenever the opportunity presented itself."
Eddy paled in the face. "Y-y-y-y-you don't say!" He shook his head. "But Ed's stronger than anybody we know! So y'know, he crushed me with a run down house once! Long as we got him, we're fine."
"Is that so?" Leon raised his brow. "All right then." He started stretching before gesturing to Ed. "Come at me with everything you've got."
"Me?" Ed asked, pointing to himself. "Come at you?"
"Is there an echo? Lemme make myself clear, big guy. I want you to charge at me, and hit me as hard as you can. Then I'll show you just how strong I am."
"Well...okay." The friendly lummox agreed. "I hope I don't hurt you."
"You won't, trust me." Leon countered.
Unbeknownst to the three of them, a sinister shadow was lurking in the bushes. Jonny in his Gourd costume, a simple getup of a lime green shirt with a spiral pattern, white pants, and a shaggy purple cape, not to mention the overgrown squash on his head.
"There they are, Timber...But I don't know who those two are...I never saw them before…" Jonny whispered to Plank, who he held in his arm tied on the end of a mop handle. He could see the one in the red shirt with the wild hair gesture suggestively to Ed. "What are they doing?"
"Hii-ya!" Ed shouted as he took off running at Leon. The unibrowed boy threw a chop at him, which he recalled from the scam Eddy set up as a bogus mock-martial arts dojo. Leon dodged the blow and grabbed Ed's arm, giving him a chop of his own to the neck.
Ed's eyes whited out as the blow stunned him. He fell over in Leon's hands. "Easy there, big guy."
"H...He took Ed out in one shot!" Eddy gasped. "HOW!? The guy's been through everything!"
"Perhaps it was a pressure point attack."
Ed shook himself off, much to Leon's delight. The older boy smirked. "So I see there's a little fire in you after all." Leon balled his fists up in a guarding stance. "Fine. I'll play a little while longer. This time I'll just take whatever hit you got!"
Ed took his jacket off and threw it over to Eddy, inadvertedly draping it over his head. "Hey! What the-!?" The shortstack grumbled as he wrestled with the green coat.
He took off running again, this time faster and threw a punch at Leon that made contact with his wrist. The Saiyan was pushed back a bit.
Leon grinned. "Good. You actually pushed me back. Now. Try and hit me harder."
"I will!" Ed charged, jumping and kicking at Leon, who was pushed back, but not as much as the punch.
"Now it's my turn." The wily haired older boy declared, balling his fist up. "Yaa!" His fist made contact with Ed's cheek, sending him somersaulting backward. Eddy and Double D's jaws hung open as their eyes followed Ed, who hit a tree, almost where Jonny was hiding.
'Cripes!' Jonny spat mentally. 'I've never someone hit Ed and send him flying like that!'
"Strong, aren't they?" A calm, quiet whisper fell against his ear.
He turned around to see if there was someone behind him. "Who's there?" Jonny whispered back in turn.
"Patience, boy. Consider me a friend." The voice continued. The costumed boy peered through the leaves to see a pair of eyes glimmering through the brush.
Sinister, yellow eyes with red pupils.
Ed rose up, rubbing his cheek, which bore a bruise. "That...hurt…
"That hurt!
"That really hurt!" Ed growled angrily.
What happened next surprised all present.
The unibrowed preteen was enveloped in a wispy bluish-white aura that vanished almost as quickly as it came.
Ed flung himself at Leon again, slamming his fist into Leon's blocking arm. The latter tried to counterattack, but Ed caught his fist and flung him over his shoulder. Unfortunately, Leon wrenched his arm out from Ed's grasp and flipped over to his feet. The lummox scowled, jumping forward, and lifting his leg, kicking Leon in the face.
"Come to think of it...Ed really is a monster when he gets mad." Eddy noted.
"Right you are, Eddy...Right you are." Double D concurred, recalling the time Ed had a pebble in his shoe and was rude and angry to everyone that he came across, without having the sense to simply remove the rock, and wrecking the local children's playground when he sought solitude.
The exchanged continued, with either Leon dodging or blocking Ed's punches and kicks, or Ed's blows connecting, but dealing no visible damage. The more it went on, the less aggravated Ed became.
In fact, he started to smile. As if there was something inside him that willed him to keep pushing forward, a rushing force in his bones that was thrilled at the thought of combat.
Leon made note that Ed's punches had more force behind them, and he was aiming a bit more accurately, but still not hitting. They came with much more precision and quantity, to the point Leon had to put in a mild effort to dodge. Seeing the opening to put an end to the sparring match, the Saiyan clapped his hands and held them around Ed's fist, just inches from his face.
"Woo!" He sighed. "That was pretty good! You really are something when you get serious. You're incredibly strong as far as ordinary Earthlings go. Freakishly so.
"But if I were to put any real effort, you probably wouldn't be standing now."
"Good show, Leon." Aleister said, stretching his limbs. "Now it's my turn. All right boys, who's next?"
"Not it!" Eddy protested, pushing Double D forward. The smarter boy shivered before him.
"Ohh...whatever...let's end this charade quickly." Double D said, straightening his cape.
"Aww…" Ed whined, taking a step back. "I wanted to play more."
Aleister grinned and gave him a rough pat on the back. "Don't worry about it, dude! We're gonna teach you and your friends here a few cool tricks too."
Inside their cover, Jonny turned back to the mysterious intruder. He was quite an unsual fellow, with sickly pale-looking blue skin, sharp pointed ears, red and yellow eyes, and a wicked-looking smile.
The strangest part about him was a wardrobe. He wore what looked like a sleeveless forest green vest, with slightly baggy red pants, puffy white shirt, and wooden shoes. A turban sat atop his head.
"Just...who are you?" Jonny whispered.
The man smiled before pointing to Leon and Aleister. "Someone with a heavy vendetta against people like them.
"In fact, I can practically smell their kind out. The three boys there have a similar aura about them. So it's likely true what the other two are implying about them being of the same species."
Jonny's eyes widened in disbelief. "So...the Eds...and by extension Ed's little sister...as well as their families…"
"Aren't human like you."
"Unbelievable…"
"Ohh, but indeed. It is true. Shall I show you the secret history of this planet?" The blue fellow asked, extending an arm.
Jonny took ahold and in an instand was enveloped in a bright pink glow. He felt the glow permeate his very being as he vanished with a scream.
Oddly, neither the Eds, nor the two Saiyans reacted to the light, nor the noise. They continued their exercise, with Double D feebly slapping at Aleister.
0
Jonny found himself in a black void, with only his new acquaintance there with him.
"First, we must start with the beginning. And to do so, we must traverse the stream of time, and view the events of centuries past."
"Huh...Where are we!?" Jonny asked, waving Plank around as if trying to get a feel of the boundaries.
"I am what some might call a sort of magician." The pointy-eared man replied, standing at a full six-feet and three inches tall above him. "I laid a muffling field over us, so that none of those...Saiyans…" He muttered with disgust in his voice. "Could neither hear nor see us. I transported our bodies to a safe place, but they are still on your Earth.
"Ah...Here we are."
Jonny looked down and gasped at the sight before him. A planet slightly smaller than Earth, with a different geographical layout was before him. "This is planet Sadala. The homeworld of the Saiyan Race. They lived together on this world, but not in peace. Their kind was bloodthirsty, and belligerent!
"They made war on each other, until they made it unlivable, destroying it and scouring the stars for a surrogate home. Now we must go forward."
The scenery changed to a different planet, even smaller, with a red tint to it. "This is the Planet Vegeta. Formerly called Planet Plant.
"Rumors vary about how they settled on it. Some say the Saiyans were embraced almost like brothers by the World's native species, the Tuffles, and the Plants. The Tuffle side proclaimed they treated them as equals, and that one day, the Saiyans attacked them, aiming to claim it for themselves."
"The Saiyans themselves declared that the Tuffles treated them like slaves, an rose up, rebelling against their Tuffle masters.
"I personally think it's all rubbish, and the Saiyans attacked them from the start. The Tuffles as well as the Plants were fully exterminated shortly after they first came, with the barbarous Saiyans plundering their enemies' technology."
The scenery changed again, this time they were in space, and saw what looked like a battle taking place in the outer skies of the red-tinted world. Several saucer-shaped ships with black and grey hulls, and yellow circular windows were gathered around, when suddenly a huge sun-like ball flew down from around the vessels, and into the planet.
"Planet Vegeta's TRUE master became disgusted with the Saiyans, and in one fell swoop-" As the stranger continued, the sun ball struck the globe below and in a fiery explosion was no more. Molten hunks of rock flew around them. One was close to hitting the two, but it passed right through them. Jonny whipped off his Gourd mask, and looked around to see the fiery piece of earth flying past them as a sadistic laughter filled the air.
"I told you. Only our minds were here." The blue guy said as the two of them glowed pink again. They found themselves in a different area than the woods bordering Peach Creek. Instead it looked almost like the catacombs.
"P...Plank says 'H...How did they repopulate then if their planet was destroyed?'" Jonny spat uneasily.
"No one knows for sure. But they did. Perhaps large groups of them were offworld at the time.
"But on to more pressing concerns. You wish to destroy those that have crossed you." He held his hand out to Jonny to help him up. "I want to destroy they that have wronged me and my people."
"W...Who are you?" Jonny asked, taking his hand and rising to his feet.
"My name…
"Is Clovas." The blue-skinned entity replied. "And you are?"
"My name is Jonny…" He replied, before putting his squash mask back on. "But I've cast away that weakling goody-two shoes identity. I am the Gourd forever more!"
"Very well then...Gourd…Join me, and together, we will visit our wrath on all that stand against us!" Clovas declared. "Join me, and you will know what power is! The same power that those former friends of yours will achieve...But greater!"
Jonny took on an evil grin and nodded. "Yes...Yes! We'll show them! We'll show them all!"
"Good." Clovas said, wrapping his arms around him and walking along with the boy. "Come with me. I have a few...collaborators...I want you to meet."
0
Aleister stood perfectly still as both Eddy and Double D weakly assaulted his face and torso. "Well...you guys are definitely a few steps behind Ed, but I can feel the potential in you.
"So, why don't you guys take a rest for now? And while you're at it, why don't I teach you a few things about how we harness our energy?"
"For what real reason would we need to know this? I'm not still entirely convinced I want to join your...group." Double D retorted as he and Eddy took a few steps back, sitting down on a fallen log. "I'm a fellow that prides himself on the mind. I wouldn't fit in with burly brutes."
"A sharp mind is often a warrior's best weapon." Aleister continued. "In fact, our ability to use ki is brought about by a connection between the body and mind. It can be used without a balance, but a perfect balance is allows you to master it.
"You have to reach deep within yourself, with your force of will. Feel the fire burning within." He turned, raising his hand and pointing two fingers toward a rock face. "And let it all out! Dodon-pa!"
As he said the energy attack's name, a thin beam of yellow light shot from his fingers, flying through the air, and exploding with the stony wall on impact.
"Do it again! Do it again!" Ed cheered, nearly wetting himself with excitement as the remaining rock crumbled away.
"Not now." Aleister denied. "But you have to be VERY careful with how much energy you put out. Ki is essentially tied to your life force to."
"If you burn it all out…" Leon said, making a popping gesture with his fingers. "You're dead."
"So...How much can someone use?" Eddy asked.
"It depends on the person, how much experience, and how well trained they are. But we Saiyans, given our natural affinity, can gather our power quickly.
"Say...Would you three like to learn to fly?"
"I would! I've always wanted to be a superhero! Teach me the ways of the soymen!" Ed asked, shaking his clasped hands as he crawled up to them on his knees.
"'Saiyans', dude." Aleister said, finger to his forhead and lightly shoving him away. "Well...Flying is another tricky ability. But once you get used to it, it's as easy as walking."
Like it was nothing, both Aleister and Leon suddenly hovered, inching off the ground before flying up into the air, fists pumped upward.
Eddy and Double both watched, almost starstruck. "To think...we can probably fly like that." Eddy asked. "Heh...Looks like I can finally get back at all those stupid birds that stole my quarters over the years."
After soaring around for a bit, the two older Saiyans set foot back on the ground.
"Once again, flying can be tricky, and it requires a certain bit of energy to maintain, as well as to fly faster. So you have to really get a feel of your reserves before you go jetting away." Leon intoned.
Aleister pumped his fist. "Okay, so who's ready to earn their wings?"
"Me!" Eddy jumped out. "Let's fly!"
"Me too, Alex!" Ed added with joy, jumping into the air, and waving his arms like a bird would flap it's wings. He actually hovered a bit before faceplanting into the dirt. "Ow."
"This could be Ed's obsessive love for comic books and manga coming over me, but I would like to learn as well. It seems like a particularly useful ability." Double D said.
"Great!" Aleister gave a smile not unlike that of the legendary hero Goku, as he walked forward. "In order to get started, we have to build your awareness of your own ki. So first things first. Time to meditate!"
The three younger boys paused. "M-meditate?" Double D inquired.
"You mean sitting still for a really long time with your fingers together?" Ed asked.
"Not necessarily Ed. It's mostly concentrating and controlled breathing."
"That's bunk! Forget that! Just give us the quick course." Eddy demanded.
"No shortcuts, little guy." Aleister said, giving him a pat on the head, making him flush red. "I had to show Leon how to do it too, because flying is a Crane School course, but not a Kame School course."
Eddy grumbled. "Fine." He took a quick jaunt over to rest with his back against a boulder. "But this'd better make me happy."
Ed looked to Double D, who shrugged and walked over to join Eddy. Ed did as well in turn after smiling and chuckling to himself.
"You three'll be thanking us later." Leon said. "If your town gets attacked, you might even be able to defend yourselves, given we aren't there to help."
The senior Saiyans watched their three "pupils" as they sat still against their backrest, and closed their eyes, aiming to master the art of flying. Only time could tell if this would prove fruitful. Double D himself winced, eye twitching as he felt the undeniable force well up inside.
Revelations dawn as the Eds regroup with the two martial artists from yesterday, with the news that they belonged to an alien race! Can they master their hidden powers, and stand against a potential demonic onslaught? And who is the mysterious Clovas, and what sinister intent does he harbor, taking Jonny as his apprentice?
Next Ed Edd N Eddy Z Another Road! The Eds Take Flight! The Bulb Order Convenes!
Author's Note: If I had been able to animate this, my choice in intro songs would be either Dan Dan Kokoro Hikareteku, or the opening to the Super Dragon Ball Heroes Anime. Both songs would be solid for this series. Anyway, hope you all have a Merry Christmas, and a happy New Year ^^