A/N: Ten! Ten! Ten! Hello there! This is tendaysromeo and welcome to the 13th chapter of DreamTheater Intermix: The World Within! Nothing much to say, so let's start this chapter!
10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Countdown is over, so let's get this chapter on the go!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story aside from some OCs, the plot and the settings.
The story opens at the Corona House, Tenma Daytona Romeoford, Eddward "Edd & Double D" Marion Vicente, Edwin "Ed" Horace Hall and Rolf Von Olsson, alongside Sally Bollywood and Doowee McAdam, are seen hanging out the apartments' front steps.
It's been an hour since they managed to catch the culprit behind the attacks and after Yui Kotegawa, Mii Konori and Tetsuya Kusakabe apprehended the culprit, Umi Sonoda, Honoka Kousaka and Kotori Minami made their way to their dorms to rest while the usual suspects decided to chill for now.
"We've only been here for two days..." Tenma uttered, "... thirteen chapters by meta standards..." he mentioned, "... and I can't believe that we got ourselves involved in stopping a psychopath." he expressed in disbelief.
"It is a quite an experience if I do say so myself." Double D commented.
"What do you think is going to happen to the guy?" Ed asked referring to Umi's stalker.
"Well..." Sally uttered, "... aside from stalking and assault, that culprit tried to do something way worse to Umi, so he's definitely going to get punished." she stated.
"Is he going to get expelled?" Double D assumed.
"Worse..." Doowee replied, "... what he did is very unforgivable and unwarranted, so he might face exile from this city." he revealed.
"Does that includes getting his memories erased?" Tenma asked.
Doowee shrugged his shoulders, "Pretty much." he confirmed, "As cruel as it's sound, that's just the way it is." he stated.
"Rolf feels no remorse if hooligan suffered such consequences." Rolf admitted, "If it were the son of shepherd, Rolf will tie him up like a cow, drag him across the streets while making him suffer the mighty three shoe beating!" he declared.
"Graphic but pretty much deserving." Tenma commented off-screen.
The front of doors of the apartment then opened and out came Shizuka Kasagi with tray of sandwiches and glasses of juice in hands, she then approaches the group.
"Here have some refreshments guys." Shizuka offered, "Think of it as a reward for catching the culprit from the attacks and as well as protecting Umi." she stated.
"Thank you very much, Miss Shizuka." Double D expressed in gratitude.
"Sandwich! Yum!" Ed cheered before grabbing a pair and then shoving it in his mouth, "GROM! GROM! GROM! GROM!" is the sound Ed is making which munching the food.
"Ed! I told you to eat properly?!" Tenma chastised
"Those bread crumbs is flying all over the place!" Sally complained.
"So, what are you guys going to do now?" Shizuka asked.
"We don't know." Tenma answered, "Might as well do nothing for the rest of the day and just relax." he expressed, "And at the same time trying to bleach out the memories of meeting the culprit alongside Jeff." he added with a blank look.
Double D then turns to Shizuka, "By the way, Miss Shizuka, how is Eddy doing?" the beanie-wearing asked, "We haven't heard anything from him since this morning." he stated.
"I checked his room sometime ago but he is nowhere in sight." Shizuka answered, "I assumed that he is already well enough that he decided to go out." she assumed, "But it's odd though..." she commented, "... no seems to notice that he left." he mentioned.
"Huh? I wonder where Eddy went." Double D thought out loud.
"Isn't that him over there?" Doowee pointed out.
Everyone then turns around to see Eddy Skipper McGee and Cody Emmett Jameson Anderson walking towards their direction with the latter sporting band-aids all over his face.
"Sup guys!" Eddy greeted with a grin, "What did I miss?" he asked.
"Only a lot." Tenma answered.
"Are you feeling well now, Eddy?" Double D asked.
"I feel like a million bucks upon waking up, sockhead." Eddy replied rather gleefully, "I decided to walk around town when came I across Cody." he stated while jabbing a thumb at Cody.
"Speaking of which..." Sally uttered, "... what happened to you, Cody?" she asked in concern.
"I got my ass kicked that's what." Cody answered, "I was just mindin' my own business when Dash and his goons beat me up in an alley but good thing Eddy came and drove them away." he explained.
Tenma raised an eyebrow, "Eddy did?" he uttered in disbelief, "I'm pretty sure that a coward like Eddy doesn't had a chance on beating up bullies much less driving them away." he stated.
Rolf nodded in agreement, "Yes, the short-stack Ed-boy is even afraid of an infuriated doodle." he added.
"Oh, come on, that was years ago!" Eddy reminded, "Things are different now and I'm currently on the path of greatness!" he declared.
"How so?" Double D questioned.
Eddy struck a heroic pose while slicking his hair back, "Because right in front of you is the newest recruit of the Gallery of Champions!" he declared with a grin.
Both Shizuka, Sally and Doowee gasped in shock as they are fully aware of what the Gallery of Champions are while Tenma, Ed, Double D and Rolf stares at the ex-scam artist for a minute before bursting into laughter.
"What's so funny?!" Eddy demanded.
"Eddy, Eddy, Eddy..." Tenma uttered in amusement, "I know Ed and I are the resident geeks in our group but for you to claim that your part of some sort nonsense is so unbelievable and hilarious!" he explained before laughing again.
"A champion?" Rolf uttered with a grin, "Rolf needs to remind the short-stack Ed-boy is the reason why our former dungeon of education's football team lost in every bout against Lemon Brook's very own dungeon of education's football team." he reminded, "Declaring yourself as a champion makes Rolf chortle in disbelief! Aha! Ahahaha!" he exclaimed in laughter.
"And Eddy often comes in dead last whenever we're having a Super Duper Smash Brethren tournament!" Ed added.
Eddy gritted in anger, "But I am chosen as a new champion!" he insisted, "I even gained God-like powers!" he added.
The boys laughed even harder upon hearing what Eddy just said, "Oh dear Eddy..." Double D uttered, "... the head injury you've gained last night must be so severe that it's causing you to start having delusions." he assumed before joining the rest in laughing.
Eddy began to shake in anger, his teeth gritting like metal, his face turning red with smokes oozing out of his head and his hands balled in tight fists which made Cody back away a little.
Tenma then seized laughing, "But seriously..." he uttered with a blank expression, "... while I admire that you saved your new friend from a group of hooligans, you don't have to lie about something that your not." he chastised.
And with that... Eddy snapped.
Eddy raised a finger up and all of a sudden Tenma, Ed, Double D and Rolf stopped laughing with their bodies going straight before finding themselves floating above everyone, much to their shock and confusion.
"W-W-What the heck is going on?!" Tenma exclaimed.
"Dear Lord! Is gravity really just a theory?!" Double D shouted.
"What is this strange phenomenon that Rolf and friends are experiencing?!" Rolf demanded.
"Gravy!" Ed cheered.
Eddy then began to whirl his finger around fast and as a result the boys began to spin around in circles while screaming in panic at the same time.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Double D and Rolf screamed.
"WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Ed hollered in glee.
"EDDY! ARE YOU DOING THIS?!" Tenma demanded.
"What gave you the idea, genius?" Eddy replied.
Eddy stopped whirling his fingers and then balling his hands into a fist which in turn cramped the boys together like a ball, the ex-scam artist then brought out a yoyo in his free hand and began to wind the toy up & down.
And just like the toy, the boys began to move up and down with their heads hitting the concrete every time they are tossed downwards.
"OW! AAAAAHHH! OW! AAAAAHHH! OW! AAAAAHHH! OW! AAAAAHHH! OW! AAAAAHHH!"
Shizuka, Sally, Doowee and Cody casually watches the boys loops up and down while taking a sip of their respective drinks.
Eddy then open his palm which separates the boys on the process before dropping the yoyo on the ground to which Doowee picks up, Eddy then brought out a rubber and began to stretch it and at the same time, the boys' bodies are getting contorted into ridiculous proportions.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Double D and Rolf screamed.
"WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Ed hollered in glee.
"EDDY! STOP!" Tenma pleaded, "WE BELIEVE YOU AND WE'RE SORRY!" he cried out, "JUST PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!" he begged.
"That goes without saying." Eddy grumbled.
Eddy then lowered his hands and the boys fell down on the ground while moaning and groaning in pain.
"Hahaha!" Ed chuckled, "Do it again, Eddy!" he egged.
"No! Please just no!" Tenma exclaimed in annoyance.
"Rolf do not wish to experience such predicament once more." Rolf expressed while Double D held his mouth to prevent himself from throwing up.
Tenma then sat up while rubbing the back of his head, "Geez!" he growled, "If you wanna prove that you weren't lyin' then you should have demonstrated it without beating us up!" he complained.
"Well you made me mad." Eddy replied, "You even laughed at me and made fun of me, and included remarks that crosses the line!" he exclaimed.
"Alright, alright, we're sorry, that was uncalled for." Tenma apologized, "But the things you just said was just so farfetched that we can't help but laugh on how ridiculous it is!" he reasoned, "Especially your claim of being chosen as a new recruit for this 'Gallery of Champions'!" he pointed out wit a finger quote.
"There's nothing ridiculous about the Gallery of Champions." Doowee said.
Tenma, Ed, Double D and Rolf turns to them in utter surprise, "Wait? You know about this Gallery of Champions?" Double D questioned.
"Everyone in this city knows about the Gallery of Champions." Shizuka replied, "Didn't Pinkie Pie told you about it during your tour here yesterday?" she inquired.
"No, she didn't." Tenma grumbled in disbelief.
"Rolf and friends must be informed about this so-called of Gallery of Champions?" Rolf requested.
Shizuka, Sally, Doowee and even Cody began to explain that the Gallery of Champions is an organization of warriors led by the Pillars of Justice which protects the citizens from shadowy figures called the Forsaken Entities and preventing these creatures from entering the city at the same time.
"Wait! There are strange creatures living outside this city?!" Tenma exclaimed in shock before looking around in panic, "Should we be just sitting around here doing nothing when those things could attack us at any minute?!" he questioned.
"Don't worry." Shizuka reassured, "Rarely any of these beings could get past through the walls and if they did, these beings would be dealt quickly and no one would notice a thing." she explained, "The same thing can't be said on a certain time of the night." she mentioned.
Rolf scratches the top of his head, "Rolf is confused." he expressed.
"You see, the walls are powered-up by a magical barrier, doubling the city's protection and preventing these beings from entering." Doowee explained, "But on rare occasions, the barrier would create a small crack through various circumstances which allowed a being or two in entering the city." he admitted, "But like I said before, these minor influxes are dealt very quick." he mentioned, "However during the certain time of the night, the barrier would be shut down for four hours to do maintenance purposes and during that time, these beings can freely enter the city and create havoc." he revealed rather grimly.
Double D gulped in response, "But why lower the barrier?" he asked.
"To keep it from weakening." Sally answered, "The barrier maybe powerful but it can't keep going for 24-hours straight, so it had to undergo maintenance purposes in order to power it up before activating it again." she explained.
"I see..." Tenma uttered, "So what time does the barrier goes for a maintenance period?" he inquired.
"Around 11:00 P.M. to 3:00 A.M." Cody answered.
"And during that time, these beings are walking around the city?" Tenma questioned in disbelief, "Do you realize that people are sleeping at that time?" he pointed out, "They're extremely vulnerable and might get attacked in their sleep!" he added.
"That's true." Shizuka acknowledged, "Fortunately, each houses and buildings are powered-up by another protective barrier which prevents these beings from breaking in." she explained, "And at the same time, the Gallery of Champions will be patrolling the streets at that time to clear this city from the threats until the barrier is back up again." she concluded.
Tenma placed a hand on his head, "This is a lot to take." he admitted, "But I'm more shock is that Eddy, of all people, had been chosen to become a member of such organization." he admitted, "Can't they choose someone better?" he questioned.
"Just admit that you're jealous that Eddy had been chosen to become a hero and not you." Ed egged with a dopey grin.
"Shut up, Ed." Tenma grumbled, "But seriously, how is that possible?" he asked, "If the Gallery of Champions are composed of warriors..." he mentioned, "... shouldn't they be recruiting someone that can fight?" he pointed out.
"Actually..." Sally spoke, "... anyone can join the Gallery of Champions." she revealed, "Those with no combat abilities or experience are often train to the bone until they are ready." she explained, "By the way, Doowee and I just sign recently as trainees." she shared with Doowee nodding in agreement.
"I'm also a trainee for the Gallery of Champions." Cody revealed.
Eddy turns to his new friend in utter surprise, "You're trainee?" he squawked, "How come you still got your ass handed by those morons?" he questioned in disbelief.
Cody rubs the back of his head, "I just started recently and I haven't improved one bit, so I'm still no match against those guys." he admitted with a sheepish grin.
"There are also rare occasions when a member from the Pillars of Justice would handpicked a person to join the organization through various reasons and I'm pretty sure that Eddy is chosen for a reason." Shizuka added, "Congratulations for you inclusion by the way, Eddy." she complimented, "When are you going to start your training?" she asked.
"Tomorrow." Eddy answered, "They said that someone will pick me up to take me to the training area." he stated.
"Then I guess we'll be seeing each other tomorrow then." Cody said with a smile.
"Yep!" Eddy chirped while sharing a fist bump with Cody, "Can't wait to see how I'll fair for tomorrow's training." he admitted.
"Well, Eddy..." Double D uttered, "... you had our support for this new path you've chosen, so work hard and make us proud!" he declared.
"Thanks, Double D." Eddy expressed in gratitude.
As everyone continue to have a conversation, they saw Edd Gould, Tom Ridgewell and Matt Hargreaves running past them.
"Hey guys!" Doowee called out, "What's the hurry?" he asked.
"The new students are getting into a fight with Dash and his goons!" Tom replied.
"Hurry up guys!" Edd egged, "Sunset won't be able to stop all of them!" he reasoned.
Everyone watches the three boys ran off to who knows where before looking at each other with concern looks on their faces.
"Oh dear..." Double D uttered, "... new students?" he mentioned, "You don't think it's Kevin or the Kankers?" he assumed.
"They mentioned Sunset and she's in-charge of showing around the new students today, so I'm pretty that they're talking about that." Sally stated.
"Then let's go see what's going on and see it for ourselves." Tenma beckoned.
A/N: Thank you very much for reading this chapter, I hope that you all enjoyed it.
Please look forward for the next chapter! I'll see you then!