"I truly don't know what came over me," Edd related the day's events to Eddy as they awaited Ed's return. "But I'm afraid Nazz became quite incensed by my inquiries as regarded her television program."

"'Inquiries,'" Eddy snorted. He idly tossed another twig into the creek. "Just can't learn when to shut up, can ya, Double-D?" A calculating look came into his eyes. "I still can't believe Nazz let you into her house, though..."

"Y-yes, that's just what Kevin said." Edd winced. "Perhaps we could move on, I would hate to belabor the point."

"Yeah, fine, whatever." Eddy rolled his eyes, and Edd got the feeling he hadn't heard the last of the matter. "Go back to that bit about the Kankers, then!"

Edd shuddered at the reminder. "Do you really believe they're no longer in the vicinity? I fear we're taking a terrible risk in returning to this location so soon after – "

"Relax, will ya? I told you – we've gotta be creek-side to do this scam! Forget about the Kankers, they're probably back home picking grass outta their teeth by now." Snickering, he added, "Did you really just leave 'em in that net?"

Edd cast one last nervous look around before answering. "I did indeed, Eddy." He brightened as Eddy grinned his approval. "Well, I must admit, the look on their faces was truly classic!"

"Didja hear that, girls?" May's voice jerked both Edd and Eddy to their feet. "We're classic beauties!" She rose out of a nearby bush like some inescapable shrub monster from one of Ed's science-fiction movies. Her sisters followed close behind.

"Oh dear! Oh dear oh dear oh dear!" Edd had a hard time forming any other words as blue-white jolts of panic zinged through his brain. He had to focus intently just to gasp, "Eddy, you said they'd be long gone from here!"

"Since when am I the amazing Kreskin?" The terror on Eddy's face mirrored perfectly what Edd was feeling as they crowded even closer to one another. "You're supposed to be the smart one, remember? Why'd you let me talk us into coming down here?" He cast frantically around for an escape route, but the Kankers were closing in. "Oh man, I knew things were going too well!"

The Kankers giggled ominously. "What's the matter, pipsqueak? You're not scared, are ya?"

"Scared?" Eddy stiffened and turned to face them. "Get real, I ain't scared of a few girly-gi – " May faked a lunge towards him, and he nearly fell over himself as he scrambled to duck behind Edd.

"Ooh, he's such a little coward!" Lee shivered with delight. "Relax, squirt, we ain't here for you – we just want to thank your little pal there for his 'present'." Her lip curled as she snarled that last word. "Hand him over and we might even let ya go!"

Edd yelped in alarm as he felt a sudden pressure on his back. "Eddy, no!" He spun around to face Eddy, but his friend, seemingly mesmerized by fear, continued to push him towards the Kankers. "Snap out of it, Eddy! I can't – they're going to – EDDY!!"

Eddy slowed and eventually stopped, blinking back to awareness. He looked away from Edd's panicked, pleading eyes as he muttered, "What do you want from me, Double-D, it's not like I could – "

Suddenly he paused. Eyebrows raised, he looked back up at Edd and called over to the Kankers, "You know what? You ain't getting Double-D! You don't scare me – why don't you go home and play with your dolls, you loud-mouthed, pea-brained, circus freak rejects!"

What in heaven's name was he thinking? "Eddy," Edd hissed, "please don't take this as ingratitude, but have you gone mad?? Inciting their ire can only – "

"Shut up and think, you idiot! What were we waiting here for?"

Edd thought. "But Ed's not going to be able to – " His eyes widened as the full implication of Eddy's words sunk in.

Eddy nodded. "Just think of something to get us past them, will ya? If we can lead 'em to Ed, we're home free!" Eddy looked nervously back at the Kankers as he added, "And you'd better remember this the next time you feel like complaining at me about anything!"

The Kankers had recovered from their shock and were now grinning wickedly. "Well, well, looks like it's Two-For-One Day, girls."

Edd's mind raced; what could he possibly say to give them pause? "Y-you know, ladies, I fear this whole situation has come about through a terrible misunderstanding ... I assure you, the incident from our previous encounter was meant solely in the spirit of good-natured fun – a playful gesture of affection, if-if you will?" He lost his battle to remain calm as all three girls advanced. "Please! It was just a joke!"

May prepared to spring. "Oh, we love jokes!"

"Yeah," Lee agreed. "Ever hear this one? Why'd the runts cross the road?"

Edd glanced at Eddy, who shrugged. "U-uh, I'm not sure, why did the – "

"They didn't." The light flashed off Lee's silver tooth as she grinned. "Their girlfriends beat the living daylights out of them before they got the chance." All three girls giggled.

"Ah, I s-s-see." He attempted a laugh, but it came out as a choked squeak. Beside him, he could hear Eddy gurgling. "Well, you certainly have a way with…t-topical humor…"

"We're even better at physical comedy!" Marie circled around to one side. "Only, I don't think you'll be laughing very hard..."

"Great job distracting 'em, Sock-head," Eddy growled. "Maybe I should've just handed you over when I had the chance!"

"You're not exactly helping here!" Edd snapped back. He tried to quell his shaking as he addressed the Kankers once more. "Ladies, isn't there anything we could do to make amends?"

"Sure." Marie somehow cracked all her knuckles at once. "You can stand still and let us bash your cute little brains in!"

May took a step forward. "Nah, let 'em run, Marie, I just love a good chase scene!"

"P-perhaps we could all calm down and discuss alternate – "

Lee gave an irritated grunt. "What is this, a tea party? Enough with the chit-chat – just get 'em, girls!"

It all happened too quickly. One minute, he and Eddy were still out of reach; the next, Marie had him in a headlock while May had Eddy pinned to the ground. Edd struggled desperately, but Marie refused to let go.

Lee loomed over him. "Any last requests?"

"I, uh – " From this close, Edd could actually see Lee's tiny eyes glaring out from beneath her tangled nest of hair. Their cold, dead gaze reminded him of a documentary he'd once seen on piranha. "I-I, I don't – I can't think of…" Images of skeletonized cows filled his head, and he had to look away. "Couldn't we just – "

Suddenly, a snippet of memory from earlier in the day floated up through his terror-fogged mind, and he seized onto it like a lifeline. He forced himself to look at Lee once again. "Uh, actually, I do have a…last request…as a matter of f-fact." It was a frail hope at best, but what else did they have? "Before you…uh…b-bash our brains in," he suppressed a shudder, "could you do me the favor of answering one simple question? It's something that's been puzzling me for quite some time."

Marie pinched his cheek. "Aww, brainy to the last! I'm almost sorry we gotta thrash ya!"

"Can it, Marie, we ain't running a dating service here!" Lee turned back to Edd. "All right, runt, so what's your question? Maybe we'll answer, maybe we won't!"

"W-well, ladies," Edd noticed that Eddy was staring at him incredulously. "My question, that I'm hoping you'll be able to answer for me, is this:" He crossed his fingers and hoped that he wasn't the only one who found Jonny to be thoroughly baffling at times. "Why ... doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle?"

Silence. Edd opened one cautious eye. Brows furrowed, the Kankers were looking at each other in puzzlement.

"Why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle?" May scratched her head, stumped. She didn't even notice when Eddy slithered out from under her.

Marie distractedly released him, deep in concentration. "Maybe it's because – Hey! What kind of stupid trick do you think you're pulling?" Her screech of fury brought her sisters back to the present. "They're getting away!"

Edd tore off behind Eddy, Kankers snapping at his heels. Every thought focused on escape, he barely even noticed the burning in his lungs as his fear drove him onwards. There – not too far away – he saw what he'd been afraid to even hope for until now: Ed was trudging down the path, straining under the weight of his burden. If they could just make it a little farther…

He put his head down and redoubled his efforts. Just a few more steps – a merest fraction of a kilometer, an infinitesimally small unit of distance, hardly even –

Eddy's voice suddenly broke in on his thoughts. "NOW, Ed!"

"Hello Eddy! I am a – "

"ED!! Drop it! Drop the house NOW!!!"

"At your service with a smile!" Edd scrambled out of the way and all three girls shrieked as Ed's house landed on them with a crash. As the dust settled, Ed wiped his hands together and laughed. "Ding dong, the witch is dead!"

Edd managed a shaky grin. "Very apropos, Ed!"

"Like a life jacket, Double-D?"

"Uh, s-sure Ed." Edd leaned against the house and sank to the ground, his heart still hammering in his ears. "Oh, Eddy! I never thought we'd make it out of that in one piece – or even two or three pieces!"

"Yeah, and we wouldn't have if it weren't for my idea for Ed's Home Movers!" Eddy strutted over, grinning ear-to-ear. "If Ed hadn't been toting his house down here to give the kids a taste of what they're missing, you'd be just a messy splotch on the ground by now!"

"Thank you for that mental image, Eddy, I certainly wasn't traumatized enough quite yet." Edd rubbed his temples and shut his eyes. "Well, regardless, I'm grateful to you both for your timely intervention, I never could have eluded their wrath on my own."

"Darn right, Sock-head, and don't you forget it!"

A thought came to Edd, and he frowned. "But you do realize, don't you, that the Kankers will undoubtedly seek to exact vengeance on all three of us now? I'm afraid you've both put yourselves in quite a precarious position for my sake."

"Yeah, well, what were we supposed to do, just leave you to 'em?" Eddy raised an eyebrow. "You really thought I was gonna, didn't you?"

Edd coughed uneasily. "Uh, w-well, I – " He paused, brow furrowed. "Um, actually I believe you were, Eddy."

"Eh, heh." Now it was Eddy's turn to look uncomfortable. "Nah, would I do that?" Eddy grinned. "Where am I supposed to get a new egg-head around here if they crack yours, eh? If those Kankers show their ugly faces around us again, we'll just get Ed to drop an even bigger house on 'em! We ain't scared of them – are we, Ed?"

"We are absolutely terrified, Eddy!" Ed chuckled as he tried to peer under the house. "I think I see a foot, guys!"

"Shut up, Ed." Eddy started to walk off, but then he paused. "So, uh, Double-D…" He looked around awkwardly. "Why doesn't…uh…"

"Ordinary household glue is made with a quick-drying solvent that prevents it from adhering to anything – it's not until after it's out of the bottle and the solvent evaporates that it acquires its adhesive properties."

"Oh." Eddy nodded. "Yeah, I knew that." He glared at Edd, daring him to contradict him.

"Of course, Eddy." Edd smiled. "I merely sought to remind you."

Eddy narrowed his eyes suspiciously, but then shrugged. "Whatever – let's just go, unless you two wanna stay here and chit-chat all day? I'm sure the Kankers will be real glad to see you waitin' around for them after they dig themselves out."

Edd shuddered. "You're right, Eddy, we'd best be – "

"ED!!"

All three Eds tensed. Edd gasped as the memory struck him. "Oh my…"

"ED!!" Sarah's window slid open and she glared down at the scene below her. "What did you do to the house, you idiot?"

"Sarah?" Ed looked up at his sister and jumped with glee. "Guys, it's Sarah! She was not taken by the Spaghetti Men after all!" He swept his friends up and skipped around in circles. "I am so happy I could eat a horse!"

"Sure, that's great Ed, but we oughta scram before she – "

"Sarah's back! Sarah's back! Sarah's – " Ed stopped mid-bounce. He gasped. "Guys, Sarah's back! Sarah's back, and I am outside when I am supposed to be – "

"You're still grounded, Mister! Ohh, you're in big trouble, Ed! I'm telling Mom!"

"Grounded! Run away! Run away!" Ed crashed into the side of the house and fell backwards, spilling his friends to the ground. "Hey, how did my house get here?"

Eddy picked himself up and glared at Sarah. "Oh great, that brat's gonna spill the beans on us again, isn't she!"

Edd sighed. "Yes, I believe you're correct, Eddy."

"All that running around, and we're gonna end up right back where we started, aren't we?"

"That does seem to be the way things tend to go around here."

Eddy turned his glare on him. "And you'll probably end up with – what, an hour of grounding, while me and Ed are stuck inside until we turn 80?" He crossed his arms and grumbled.

"Oh, no, I don't think so! Mother and Father clearly don't appreciate the importance of a sufficiently long sentence; I believe I'll impose my own this time. Why don't you come retrieve me when you and Ed are free once more – after all, it's only fair that we receive the same punishment for the same wrongdoing, wouldn't you say?" Edd stood up and dusted himself off. "All for one, and one for, uh, 'the Gipper,' correct?" He glanced at Ed and giggled. "Well, I'll see you later, fellas." With a last fond look at his friends, he turned and strolled off towards home to begin his grounding. His room probably needed dusting again by now, anyway.