Author's note: Here we go... yet again. If you thought "IT'S A RAID!' was long... this one is 33% longer. I will have to admit right now, because of what happens in this chapter, I think it's likely for this story to go to a T rating. Granted, it's not like it's too harsh, but I wouldn't say it's light either. Don't worry, the rest of the chapters won't always be like this. I'm talking too much, so, I'll leave you with this: the chapter was going be EVEN LONGER, but... yeah, this is long enough. This was fun, like the other chapter I mentioned, but either way, let's get into this chapter!
Chapter 20: Blackened
Finally! We are starting a chapter on a new day. The last 6 or so chapters were all in the same day. Just thought you needed to know.
Anyways, Chris spent like, 2 hours at night playing some racing games, in his room, as he decided to move the gaming systems to his room to spend nights better. Either way, he was close to finishing up the last 3 races of an EXTERMELY long championship, that he forgot about, as he was busy helping out the Eds for the most part, that he had little time to play games. Not that he minded much, it's just that after lots of drama, you are going to want a break. Either way, he finally finished it, and got one of the better prize cars from it too, satisfying him. He proceeded to listen to music for around 1 hour to get his energy catharsis from songs like "Before I Forget", "Straight To Hell", "Angel Of Death", "5 Minutes Alone", and many, many other songs. Knowing him, it was more like close to 3 hours, as he went on a binge, as the cool kids say, on music. However, he passed out due to exhaustion that collected over the course of the whole day at around 4 AM, and he didn't wake up until literally 12:30 PM, skipping most, if not all of his morning. Chris simply laughed a bit at that, as when he stays up... that's usually something that commonly occurs. But he wasn't planning anything huge today anyways, as he planned to mostly take some time to himself to prepare a little for school, plus, the drama was something he was getting a little tired of. He didn't over exaggerate what he needed for school, his phone for music and mainly calling and texting his parents in cases where he has to, his notebooks in case either he needs to write something down for class, or gets bored, and lastly at least 5 pencils, because those are the masters of disappearing when you need them the most. He spent around 30 minutes doing that, because he realized that he left one of the three notebooks in a random drawer.
"How the heck did you get there?"
Chris dismisses this, as he probably just left there when he finished moving everything when he first arrived. Either way, he just puts it inside his black, matte backpack. He has had it for 3 or so years, but he hasn't thought of changing it really, as it works well enough for him. It's not like it has no space or anything, so he's fine with it. Either way, he begins his VERY late breakfast, which is just your normal chocolate cereal and mlik. He then watches some videos about random topics that interest him, or things that he generally finds funny. After his finishes breakfast, he takes the lanudry to the washer, in which he kills the time by taking a shower, and getting into his black shorts, plus his daily usage of a band shirt. This time he decided to wear a Slayer shirt, but either way, he decided to check the washer, and it was almost done. He just waited for 5 more minutes, and done! He drys it for 40 minutes, and kills that time by playing a different, yet same game. It's basically the same game series, just a different entry. This time he played the 2nd entry, and the dryer beeps, signaling that it's done. Then, his duties for that were done, so he spends 2 hours to himself, playing games, watching videos, and checking things in the house. It's now around 5 PM, and he just remembered to check the mail, which is something he nearly always forgets, unless his dad reminds him. Either way, he goes to check it.
"Wonder what the Eds are doing. Maybe I should check up with them."
Chris decided to do that after he checked the mail. That he does, but he doesn't find anything interesting. It's just random junk ads, that he doesn't care for at all. Seems as though the ads in the mail don't go away eve, now do they? Either way, he is rather unamused by the lack of anything interesting. But one letter gets his attention.
"Hmm..."
He read the "label", that said...
"To Chris, read ASAP. -M.K"
"Who exactly is M.K? The heck..." Chris said.
Chris took all the mail, and went inside and put all of it on the living room table. Chris thought about the M.K letter, but right now he couldn't remember who that could be. Either way, he goes to check on the Eds, to see what's up. First he goes to Double D's house, but he sees no one home at all. He did the trick that Eddy told him, where you climb on the pipe that leads close to Double D's room window. And to his surprise, he didn't see him.
"Maybe at one of the other houses?"
He went to Ed's next, and didn't see him through his window showing the basement, where it's his room. Again, Chris got confused.
"Eddy's. Right?"
Nope. Chris thinks that perhaps they went somewhere in the morning together, and perhaps they tried to get his attention, but because of his VERY late night sleeping... yeah. Chris goes back home, and remembers about the weird "M.K" letter. What, or WHO, could that even be? It's now 6:30 PM however, and Chris spent around another hour playing games, but Chris decides to read the letter from "M.K". He put it in his room out of all the mail, however he still had zero idea of who in the world that was, but... Chris opens the letter, and oh boy he is in for a surprise.
Chris, I know you just had the fight with Lee, but she's forcing us to kidnap the Eds. Me and Double D are going to make an act between us, but you must get the Eds outta here. If Lee forces us to do anything, I'll let you know what. Sorry this can't be longer, but Lee is forcing us to go do this now.
-Marie.
Chris stopped when he finished the last sentence. In order to keep this story a K rating as much as possible, let's just say this lads. Chris got so mad that he had to cool himself down with songs like, "Wait And Bleed", "(sic)", "Get This", and other anger relieving songs. He spent only around 20 minutes doing this, as he clearly had to plan out what the heck he was gonna do. This was MUCH harder in hindsight, as now, it's a lot more unpredictable. But he might have to wait a bit before planning, because he hears his name said downstairs,
"Chris! Puedes venir aqui abajo?"
For your convenience, I shall translate what isn't in English, your welcome. That said: Chris! Can you come down here?
"Great, it's mom."
Chris goes downstairs to see what his mom wants. Of course, his mom, whose name is Maria, is usually a reasonable, nice person. This isn't an exception.
"Si, mama?" (Yes, mom?)
"Porque gritase con tando ruido?" (Why did you scream with so much noise?)
"Ahh... fue una parte de una cancioń." (Ahh... it was a part of a song.)
"Okay. Bueno... vas a hablar con amigos hoy? No hay mucho tiempo hasta escuela." (Okay. Well... do you plan to talk with friends today? There isn't much time until school starts.)
"Honestamente... si. Esta bien contigo? Decidimos a hacer una ultima cosa antes que escuela comienza. Empezará en 20 minutos." (Honestly... yes. Is that fine with you? We decided to do one last thing before schools start. It will start in 20 minutes.)
"Si. Regresa antes de las 10, okay?" (Yes. Return before 10 PM, okay)
"Si. Entendido." (Yes. Understood.)
Chris basically lied to his mother about the whole REAL situation, but can you really imagine being in his shoes, having to explain that WHOLE situation to your mother? If anything, she wouldn't fully understand the extent of the problem. Chris didn't blame her, in fact he understood himself too, but he just can't risk his mom thinking he was doing something bad or anything. Either way, at least his mom is fine with him going out to "do one last thing" before school, even though obviously this is NOT even CLOSE to the case. Chris goes to his cloest, and takes out a pure, matte black jacket out of a box. He put it here because it was something he wore a lot back in his old place, mostly due to the fact that sometimes he would get into not exactly the best of situations, and he had to go rogue sometimes. Think of it as his solution of fading into the shadows. Either way, Chris always did like the way the jacket looked, but it has a bit of history between him and it. He doesn't have the best history of course, but either way, he takes it out. He actually rolls his eyes before saying,
"Looks like we are back together old bud. If only just for this."
And so, he got the jacket out of the box and put it onto his bed. Chris decides to put on some more music while he's preparing and one of the songs he puts on is, "Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!".
"I'm not actually gonna kill, relax reader." Chris said out loud.
That was given. Anyways, Chris prepares himself with more things than usual, such as a secret taser his dad gave him in order to defend himself from any and all intruders. However, he set it to a level 2 setting out of 10, where yes it would shock, but not cause great pain, as the latter was not Chris's goal. He then decided to work on several smoke bombs, as he was sure to need them. The jacket also had 2 pockets inside, so it worked in his favor more too. As for other things he brought, he brought his nunchucks again, and two stuns in case things got really ugly, and he had nearly no other choice to solve the issue. Of course, he is going to hold Marie to her little promise, because if this doesn't get resolved easy, it's gonna leave a mark.
"It really doesn't help that school starts tomorrow too... if this starts to affect how school goes..." Chris didn't finish what he was saying, he only exhaled.
At this point, Chris sees two routes for this. One, if Lee steps down with the Eds, he will be willing to let this go, if anything just have a grudge for a bit, but nothing serious. Two, if say she is very insistent on keeping the Eds, he is not going to hesitate to use his better moves, because at this point... the whole Kanker VS Ed thing had to stop, because these two seemingly NEVER stop their fighting. Chris didn't mind helping the Eds at first, but he is not looking to make enemies here, as that never leads to good things. Plus, he doesn't gain anything from that, if anything, he would only gain negative attention and energy towards himself. He HOPES that the former can occur, but if not... he will have no choice. Although, deep in his mind, Lee is probably going to attack the very first micro second she sees him. Which... he will be prepared for. Then again, it's not like he'll make enemies with ALL of the sisters, as he has a neutral platform with May and Marie. Friends? Maybe he's slightly reluctant to say that, but he definitely isn't cut-throat with either of them. Chris then thinks of the whole Double D and Marie thing...
"Man... hope that those two don't get split up..."
The reason he says this is most likely because of the fact that those two are being thrown into more drama than most couples can endure. He does admire both of their dedication to the whole thing. But then he thinks, is there even a way to convert the other two? Ed and May doesn't seem THAT impossible, but Ed's odd fear of girls makes it unnecessarily difficult. Either way... one thing is for sure... in his mind, Eddy and Lee were IMPOSSIBLE. They don't listen at all seemingly to their teams, and they both are equally brash and bold. Chris knows more of Eddy's experience, granted he confronted him about it, but he hasn't seen Lee's side of things. Although... it shouldn't come as a surprise that someone that he beat up heavily and finished off with a move involving nunchucks... hates him. Then again, in his words... "I did not wish to do that."
"Almost done... one last thing..." he said to himself.
Chris gets something else from the closet, which was just a mask that covers his mouth and a bit of his nose. The reason he got this was because he was planning to do a whole stealth thing to get the Eds out. It was almost close to night, granted it was more orange outside, but the environment suits a stealth approach. Plus, he put on black pants to complete the perfect "stealth" attire for the whole plan. Either way, he now had to begin his whole plan. However, he contemplates whether or not he should get someone's assistance, as yeah... this plan would obviously be easier to do with another person, but one issue. Who exactly would be willing to help him?
But then Chris remembers something Double D and Eddy told him about one time, where, Ed was kidnapped by Lee and Marie for May, and Double D and Eddy both mentioned the fact that Rolf, Jimmy and Jonny helped them both save Ed. Granted, Eddy insisted that the trio of 3 be bait, but nevertheless, they saved him. Expect when Rolf and his crew were kidnapped themselves, they decided to give them Ed again... for some reason. But then Double D offered to trade Eddy for Rolf, and Rolf decided that Ed wasn't responsible, and... yeah Eddy didn't have a good time. But that's his fault, in Chris's mind anyways.
Chris decided to TRY to ask Rolf for help, in order to make this plan easier. But if Rolf didn't want to help, he understood, and he will have to do the plan himself. And so... he leaves his room, seemingly prepared enough. Before he leaves however, he tells his mom,
"Ya voy a regresar." (I will be back.)
"Okay. Adiós!" (Okay. Bye!)
Chris said in his mind, once he left out the door, "This better not take long..."
But first thing's first, he went to Rolf's house. Chris was positivity Rolf wouldn't be a hindrance in this plan, since if he could bail out Ed and manage a small group, he would be simple to work with. That is, if he (Rolf) accepted Chris's invite. Either way, Chris goes to the door and rings the doorbell, and takes off his mask so that Rolf doesn't mix him up, or not recognize him.
"Hello there he-who-knows-the-bone-crushing-maneuvers Chris boy!" Rolf said.
"Hi there Rolf. This is pretty sudden, but I need your help with something." Chris says.
"What do you desire?" Rolf says.
"So... long story short, the Eds are all kidnapped by the Kankers, and I realized this because none of them are in their homes... and it's nighttime, and they are still not home. I got all prepared, but... some assurance would be helpful for me." explained Chris towards Rolf.
Rolf basically stares at Chris with an expression of... thinking?
"Hmm... this is true, he-who-is-dark-as-the-shadows?"
Chris simply said, "Yeah..."
Rolf simply closes the door, and Chris stand there confused. Does this mean he is going or not? Well, he gets his answer... right about now.
"Fear not! You shall get the support of the Urban Ranger!"
Chris notices how Rolf changed up into a boy-scout like attire, but he could guess that the whole thing was what the Rangers wear.
"Alright. We are going to be doing it stealthy, or... for more simple terms, sneaky." Chris explains to Rolf.
"Understood Chris-boy. Where are the Eds boys being held, hmm?" Rolf asks.
"At the trailer most likely. Or, no, FOR SURE at the trailer. Again, let's take it in a sneaky manner, and it's night time basically too. Take it slowly, and don't be rash, got it?"
And so, voila! Chris and Rolf are now teamed up, for now at least. Chris wonders however if there's a specific reason WHY Rolf wanted to help, but he dismisses this as it's really unimportant to the bigger picture. Anyways, they both start going to the trailer through the alley first, going through the construction yard, which... when is that going to be reoperated again? Eh, I guess not. Regardless, both of the two lads pass through there and into the tress leading into the Park-N-Flush. The two scanned around to find the trailer, as... well remember the fact that... it's night time, making seeing anything harder than normal. Either way, the two boys still were looking for the trailer, until Rolf hears a voice,
"LET US GO! I SWEAR, YOU'LL REGRET THIS LEE!"
"Rolf hears the mouth-as-loud-as-a-horse-Ed boy" Rolf whispered to Chris.
"Good. Finally a pointer to the location. Come on."
They move in the shadows still, or in Rolf's case, in the bushes. Either way, Chris gets closer tot the source of the voice, and he knows his close... but if only he could get another yell from Eddy. But then he hears Ed screaming and yelling in a silly way, and boom! He now sees the trailer of the Kankers, through the darkness of the night. He calls over Rolf, and says,
"Finally. Rolf, here's the plan. You will turn off the power to their trailer, so that I can do maneuvers in the dark MUCH easier. And I will get them out of there. Somehow..."
"Rolf wishes you luck, may you return with a victorious outcome!"
Chris rolls his eyes, but either way, he appreciates the support. He looks around the back of the trailer, where he last snuck into last time, but unfortunately for him, the window was not open this time. He isn't willing to give up that easy, however. He tries to shove an object beneath a very small opening for the window, but no matter how much force or anything he tried to do to open it, it just didn't work. Chris decides to try one last thing. He puts some adhesive that's soft and slippery under the opening, and he tries two objects to prop the thing open. This also fails, but why has THIS one failed? Well... Chris realizes that the window had a lock on, so nothing he could've done would've worked. Unless he shattered the glass, but that would be too reckless and he was most likely gonna do enough damage as is. So, the window is a negative option for going inside. Chris then decides to climb up and tries go through the roof... but the trapdoor to open the roof opening was ALSO locked. The thing is, he wanted to avoid the front door, because that would be very unprofessional, and it would be very noticeable that someone got in. Chris is running low on options, but then he sees Rolf, who manages to kill the light inside the trailer. That's one plus for him at least, and should he attempt to do the front door strategy... it wouldn't be AS hard. Chris signals Rolf to return, and the former gets down from the roof to meet back up with Rolf behind a tree, for cover so that no one would see either of them.
"Killed the power I see?"
"Indeed. The darkness's shadows will now eats the homes of the living here..." Rolf said, ambiguously.
"That's... what? Never mind. We have a problem. The only way we can get inside is, sadly the front door. The sisters are most likely inside doing stuff with the Eds... ugh."
"Hmm... follow Rolf."
Chris decides to do so, and they both go to the door. Rolf however, pull out a stack of random mail, and tells him,
"Rolf shall distract the beasts! You will save the Ed boys!"
"Huh... simple enough. Let me just do this."
Chris goes up to the door, and quickly hits the door two or so times FORCEFULLY, so that the sisters react to who or what is at the door. Chris however, backflips around to the back again, and sees what Rolf is doing. He sees that Lee and May noticed the noise and Rolf, and Rolf says to them,
"Ahh yes! The exchange of the paper must be done for light to return to your homes!"
"What are you talking about tough guy? Did you turn off the power?" Lee said.
Chris quickly, but quietly goes inside the trailer. He had two things on his mind, first was what the heck Rolf was planning to do for that distraction. Second, he wondered where Marie was, as he is under the assumption that she is doing yet another act. God forbid she was caught or something, because she is going to go through hell to fix everything up, or at least not have tensions everywhere. Either way, Chris enters and sees the living room, a place he recognizes because of the stunt he did with the Eds 11 chapters ago. But he smells something pretty bad somewhere, and he finds the kitchen, and he saw some burgers that WERE ON TOP OF A PAN. Chris nearly vomits, but he couldn't be bothered with that, because he had an actual thing to do. He sees that upstairs has... light!? How?! Well, he goes up the stairs, and sees that someone has turned on a lantern. Makes sense at least. Either way, Chris opens the door, and he sees Marie and the Eds. He opens the door and says,
"AHEM."
"Who are you?!" Marie said, not recognizing him at all.
"Marie, you know me already." stated Chris, slightly annoyed.
"Chris?"
"Yeah. I snuck my way here. Plus, got some assistance."
"Who did you get to assist you Chris?" Double D asked.
"Rolf. Remember when you told me about that time Ed was kidnapped? I remembered that and I decided to ask him for help. Surprisingly, he agreed to help me out in saving you lads. Either way, let's get outta here dudes. School is tomorrow, and I'm NOT letting this stupid nonsense stop us." explained Chris.
"Isn't that the farmer dude?" Marie asked.
"Yeah. Again, he agreed to help me, and he is the reason why the power is currently off, but trust me, I'll get him to turn it on again. I do not want to leave this place in a mess, I only need no power for this operation. So, Marie, care to explain?"
"What?"
"Why or how did Lee get the idea for this crap! I thought that little loss she took back at the Pit, why is she attempting something like this!?" exclaimed Chris.
Marie responded by saying, "She wanted to get payback at you, and she forced me and May to do this! I tried to make sure May and I didn't do much to them, the Eds I mean."
"At least that's good. But we have to get them outta here, because Rolf's little distraction will not last forever. Like... at all."
"But Lee is gonna ask questions as to how they escaped!"
"Just say that you were downstairs and magically, something or someone-"
"MARIE!" Lee yelled.
"Just be quiet lads. I will handle this crap..."
Chris says that before he... fades into the dark?!? What? Okay, basically he isn't visible at all. No one in the room sees him, not even Marie.
"Did Chris just fade away into the dark?" Double D asked.
"I'm scared right now guys!" Ed yelled.
"Ugh! This is what we needed! More stupid Kanker antics, more problems for us, and more things that Chris has to save us from! Marie, I hope your little thing with Double D is worth this trouble!" Eddy yelled.
"Marie! Look who I found!"
Rolf is actually captured by the sisters, because his act wasn't convincing to the sisters, unfortunately.
"Ed boys! What have you provoked!?"
But Rolf's questions might have to wait, because May is then kidnapped and dragged away... where? Well... it seems to the cloest in the room, but... she isn't there? What the...?
"Who is doing that?! Show yourself!"
The person who is doing is he who shall not be named. Because, the person catches Marie's leg with a rope, and she is also dragged away... somewhere.
"Are you afraid to face me, whoever you-"
Lee then gets quickly hit in the face, but she didn't even see who did that, maybe half a second silhouette she saw, but nothing else. She is getting progressively more angry already.
"Let me guess, Chris."
Chris steps out of the shadows, and goes into the lantern's light.
"Yes. Give me the Eds, and I won't bother you."
"Not without seconds."
"I am serious. GIVE. ME. THE. EDS."
Chris sounded dark when he said that, and the Eds and Rolf were surprised.
"Why don't we fight for them? You won last time, so this shouldn't be an issue for you, right?"
Chris is stuck again in the position that we was in the other day. But if a fight is what she wants...
"FIGHT!" he yells out.
Because there's no announcer, I will take the helm. Lee then says,
"This time, 3 seconds to get back up, or you lose."
"Fine."
Round 1. Go!
Chris just starts with his nunchucks, and already he is landing blows. He ends his starting combo with a kick to the wall, and Lee isn't doing well for this start. Lee simply retreats downstairs, and turns on a spare light that doesn't need to be connected, and she can clearly see what he is now. She tries going into the kitchen and throws some tools from the kitchen to him. But Chris simply rolls out of the point where he would even be in hitting distance. He managed to grab a pot and throw it back at her, actually hitting her in the chest. Ouch. Lee then noticed outside that May and Marie were tied to a tree, and she could only assume that Chris was the cause of that. She then proceeds to jump at Chris, missing but landing a punch or two, which knocks him back a bit, but nothing special. She actually manages to kick him back however, due to him not having his guard up. Lee runs outside and cuts her sisters down... and now she has the numbers advantage.
"Oh wow."
"Now you're in the deep boy. Ready girls?"
Secretly, Marie and May were told by Chris, because obviously he was the one who did the trick, to simply play along for now. So, he says this,
"Don't hold back then, if you think you're gonna win. If you lose this... I won't even bother talking."
"And here, only one round, but you will get the Eds. If you win."
"Fine by me." Chris says, punching his fists together.
One round... GO!
Chris simply takes care of Marie first, as she decided to strike first, so he just uppercuts her and kicks her away. Lee however rushes toward him and slams him to the floor, but he performs a flip that kicks her in the chin and regains his stance. However, Chris gets back to her by a simple flying kick, plus jumping and using momentum to do some spinning kicks. For now, Lee is out. Marie however, recovers and charges at him, and pins him to the ground, doing, yet again, dirty combat. Chris easily blocks the punches, but to get up from the whole thing... he just hits his head to Marie and that hurts her to the point where she doesn't even continue what she was doing. May only does a similar move to Marie, which at this point Chris is used to, so he just, trips her. Not much to it then that. Lee gets up however in time,
"GET AWAY FROM THEM!"
Chris realizes Lee is charging at him... something that he is getting bored of. So, he gets out... somethings from his jacket pockets, and waits until Lee is close enough. She tries punching him, but he blocks everything, and throws what are basically flash mini-bombs onto the floor, which blinds Lee. He then simply aligns his fist and... ouch. Direct hit to her face, extermely hard might I add. Chris doesn't stop there, as right after the punch, he SLAMS her head onto his knee, and as a last thing to top it off... he simply kicks her away. At this point, he is clearly done more than enough. He simply turns to the other sisters and says,
"I'm done here. This is gone ENOUGH! Just back off and don't bother me."
Oh, but someone begs to differ. Lee, SOMEHOW, gaining her power back enough, attacks Chris with a metal pipe. He senses this coming, as he expected this a mile away. He simply grabs the pipe, takes it out of her hands, throws it away, hits her by throwing a hard uppercut, and decides to do a move that is gonna be very difficult to pull off. He gets some momentum going and does a LITERAL bicycle kick, doing a total of 15 really quick hits to Lee's chest. Chris isn't done yet however, as a last thing to top it off... a HARD punch to the stomach area. That is DEFINITELY not gonna help Lee the next day. Oh lord...
"Fun time is over, moron. You can't rage if you're knocked out cold." Chris said to Lee, very annoyed.
"Hey! That's MY sister you're harming!"
"Marie! Don't you test me. Maybe if your sister was such a rash, irrational moron, I wouldn't have had to do that."
Marie was concerned that Chris was doing too much to solve the problem, as Lee hasn't even fully recovered from the last time they fought, and now Chris added basically more insult to injury. If this kept going, Marie might have to retaliate. Either way... yet again Lee loses, and Chris goes inside the trailer, and gets the Eds out of the trailer, and frees Rolf too. He is getting weirdly dark...
"Marie, and May, get your sister in recovery mode or something. And... make sure she doesn't do reckless stuff. I'm serious."
"Chris-boy! Rolf is amused! Taking the bull by the horn for the second time!" Rolf said.
"Oh yeah, Rolf? Turn the power back on for everyone, will ya? Don't exactly wanna leave this place without it having something important to everyone around it."
"You are correct Chris boy, the city must be protected from the shadows!"
The city? Well... okay then. Either way, the group of 5 left the trailer area alone, minus Double D, who quickly said his bye to his girlfriend Marie. Along the way back to the cul-de-sac, the boys decided to talk about some stuff.
"What the heck were you three doing? Or, should I say, forced to be doing?"
"They just made us do their stupid chores while they were just being lazy! Thank goodness I'm never going with either of them!" Eddy bluntly said.
"Eddy! Relax a bit, the one who was bossing us around, as Eddy would say, was surprisingly mainly Lee. She had, for some strange reason, taken lead of the roles we were meant to do." explained Double D.
"And what would happen if you refused to do them?" asked Chris.
"THEY WOULD SUCK OUR BRAINS OUT AND FEAST ON THEM!" Ed yelled in a panic.
"Relax Ed. If anything, they are not zombies, just... hmm... misguided." said Chris.
"Well... Lee commonly threatened us with hideous acts of violence... but what surprised me was the lack of any amorous acts from any of them. Surely they mustn't have had a good day from yesterday..." stated Double D.
Chris was noticing a trend in what Double D is saying. He is never referring to ALL of the Kankers collectively. No, in fact, Lee seems to be the main one causing all the problems, as Double D is never referring to May or Marie doing anything. However, just to clarify...
"Hang on... what about the other two?"
"Marie and I spent time talking when Lee or May were nowhere to be found. Luckily, if she had to be rough, it was all an 'act', as she said." Double D, chuckling a bit.
"Huh... alright. Gotta say though, the fight this time was easier. And it was all three sisters, my goodness. If anything, it proves that numbers mean nothing if they aren't helpful as a whole."
"Chris... did another fight breakout?" Double D said, out of concern.
"What...? You didn't notice?"
Double D's face was one of shock.
"Chris! You must stop this violence at once! There is no more good that comes from relentlessly attacking someone, we must use more civil and calm manners to convince them to not do evil."
"Just shut up. If Lee's first instinct wasn't to mindlessly attack what she doesn't understand... that is her fault. Not mine. I WILL defend myself when I have to." Chris barked back a bit.
"But you just caused more-"
Chris turned to Double D with an expression of annoyance and anger, and coldly stated, "I do not care. She deserves it. If you want to defend her..."
Chris didn't finish his sentence. At that point, it was clear to the other 4 boys that someone isn't exactly feeling Mr. Nice Guy right now. Double D decided to stop talking, as yeah, he will always stand up for... anyone seemingly, sometimes he has to not take certain fights. Either way, he just stops talking. Eddy, surprisingly, asks Chris,
"Hey Chris, are you gonna sleep the moment ya get home? I got some questions for ya tough guy."
"If you want to talk... yeah sure I guess. Not for long though, alright?" Chris said, emotionlessly.
"Chris-boy, Rolf wants to present you with a reward for this mission!"
"Oh yeah?"
Rolf presents Chris with a medal called "Freeing The FoolZ", with the Z looking very much put on afterwards or something. Either way, Chris accepts the medal, even if it's nothing that special to him. Regardless, the lads now reach the cul-de-sac, and all but Chris and Eddy went to their houses to go to sleep. Eddy had to ask some questions to Chris, but Chris first had to talk to his mom.
"Ah! Quién es tú amigo?" (Ah! Who is your friend?)
"El se llama Eddy. El quiere preguntarme algunas cosas. Está bien?" (He's called Eddy. He wants to ask me some stuff. Is that okay?)
"Si, solo que no tomás tanto tiempo. Okay?" (Yes, just don't take so much time. Okay?)
"Eddy, before we head up to my room to talk, want a drink or something from the fridge?"
Eddy says, "Why the heck not? A bit thirsty anyways, so I could a drink."
Chris simply nods his head, and passes him a soda and Chris also grabs another soda for himself. The two of them then go to Chris's room, and Eddy looks around and is actually pretty intrigued by what's there. He saw many things, such as the various posters of albums such as "Diary Of A Madman", "Painkiller", and "Ace Of Spades", along with posters of band pictures. He noticed the logos for the bands themselves too, such as the ones for Black Sabbath, Anthrax, Motley Crue, Pantera, and others. Eddy sees also that Chris moved his systems for playing games into his room, but he didn't really mind that, as Eddy was actually pretty interested in the things he saw, granted Eddy himself wasn't the biggest Metal fan, but he doesn't mind the occasional song here or there, unlike Double D, who doesn't really like it. Either way, Chris asks Eddy,
"You like the posters or something?"
"These look pretty cool man. But uh... hey, I was wondering how you've been. You didn't seem very, up? I guess you could say." Eddy asked slightly sheepishly.
"Alright... not really. Look, this feud between you, your friends and the Kankers? This has gotta stop someday. You guys are really gonna enter 18 or so years of age still doing this same old stupid crap?! This is just old as hell to me! I'm sorry dude, but you and the boys need to figure out how to bury this hatchet, because I'm sick of having this burden placed on me. I can easily take any of them down, I can easily save you guys from them, but this is going to start being a negative very soon if you six cannot get it together. The more I think about it, I'm happy for Double D and Marie. They moved past their... past, and look where they are now. I'm not suggesting you get into a relationship or something with one of them, not that you would... just... find a way to end it."
Eddy was stunned by what Chris just said, as to the former, it sounded as though the latter was selling his soul trying to manage this problem, as it seemingly never stopped following everywhere. Of course, Eddy had to respond to what Chris said, so he says,
"I get what you say man... heck... remember that time me and the boys told you about? We almost got the Kankers away from us, playing into their game?"
Chris chuckles, surprisingly, and says, "Oh yeah... didn't you mess that up at the literal last moment or something?"
"Well... Double D led the whole thing. I still don't understand how they friggin found out. Ugh... but look, I understand what you say, but Lee is just too persistent. I don't even get it, why?! Why does she keep doing this? This isn't even funny or attractive! It's straight up creepy to me, tell ya the truth. Maybe I should figure out how we can time travel, and make that stunt we did before you came work."
"How the heck did that whole thing even start again? I kinda forgot, sorry."
"No worries my guy. Basically, Double D saw Rolf destroy a rock with another smaller rock, and got the idea from that. Honestly, what got him to think that is something I'll never understand. You know what's the more funny part? Ed actually started the whole thing. Yes, I'm not even joking. I'm surprised May didn't also join with him, in fact, she got shy or something. So, it was going well, Double D did his parts for Marie... or rather all the sisters, and then he gave me some flowers to start my move... but I STILL don't get it! How did they catch me, or us?"
"Were you nervous? Did you slip up?"
"I have no idea. Man... we should scored big time. Ah... next time huh?"
Eddy and Chris both share a laugh at Eddy's last statement, before the former continues talking, saying,
"Still... I have no idea what to do to get rid of those... or, it seems mostly Lee..."
Chris then offers a suggestion, "There's an idea I have in mind, however to be honest with you it's highly unlikely it will occur, considering how Lee is. I mean, I see that you're changing up a bit. But her? Yeah, not likely at this rate."
"What is it?"
"Maybe you should get together with her, and have a full, and actual conversation about things. Notice how I say, maybe though? Yeah... you know why..."
"Alright alright, I won't say no if I get the chance, but something tells me that I probably won't get the chance." Eddy responds.
"Never say never my dude." Chris says before chuckling a little.
Eddy and Chris realize that it's surprisingly only 8 PM right now, and they still had plenty of stuff to talk about.
"Did I ever tell you about the situation we had with Jimmy?"
"Yeah. Where you told me he framed you and the other Eds for things you didn't do? That's dirty man... jeez, even to someone like me." Chris says.
"The Kanker appeared taking us from a fence once his blaming was over. His reasoning for the whole thing was stupid anyway."
"Why did he do it?"
"Because, earlier in the day, me and the boys came in after they finished singing a song about friends being there to help you, which I shall say is good, but at the time, we didn't really care. Well, Double D did. Anyway, Jimmy wanted everyone to show love and all that other stuff, and I saw it as a great time to do a prank. So I just did a wedgie on him, and everyone laughed at him. However, I guess then he started to do his plans and stuff, because then we got blamed for throwing a hockey stick into the heart the kids built, erasing Plank's mouth, and stealing red paint."
"Okay... honestly? The lads in the cul-de-sac are extermely rash and stupid for not thinking more about it. No offense to them, but ya know..." Chris commented.
"Right? Anyway, it got worse when we found Jonny all... tied up with Jujubes or something. We tried getting him down, but the kids found us and again, they assumed we were the cause of the problem." Eddy explained further.
"Oh my lord... idiots. Jesus, even a five year old would think more than they did as to what would actually be occurring in that situation." Chris said, annoyed at the fact that the kids simply assume things within a second, and don't think.
"Tell me about it. We ran away to a shed, where... we thought Rolf was the one there, but it was somehow the Kankers, morphed together to make Rolf's shape. We were stuck between giving them... I have no idea how many kisses, but it wasn't gonna be pretty. It was either that or, deal with the kids."
"Let me guess, you and the lads chose the latter?"
"Without a question. But it didn't even matter, because later on that's when we were tied to a fence and the Kankers got us." Eddy said, letting a sigh out of annoyance.
"Well, karma dude. It bites back. Also, I would say that Jimmy is like, lower than low. Yes, I get being mad at someone for making you look insanely bad, no one likes that being done to them, of course, but to take it out on them by making THEM look much worse than what they did to you? You're no better. Actually no, you're way worse! So, Jimmy's little victory? Yeah, disgusting in my eyes. I mean, I'm not saying you're in the clear Eddy, what you did was a little... yeesh, but compared to Jimmy? Two different levels my guy, I'm just gonna say that." Chris said, before laughing with Eddy.
"Do the kids always assume things in half-a-nanosecond? Holy..." Chris asked, due to him being baffled by the fact that the kids didn't even seem to have brains when they were in those situations.
"Don't worry, they don't anymore. I mean, of course Sarah and Jimmy do sometimes, but it's no big deal really. Everything changed after a situation when me and the boys were chased down after a scam went... really bad, tell ya the truth my man."
"You never told me about this..."
"Yeah. I'll say this though, me and the boys soon became good friends with everyone shortly afterwards. I just admitted that everything I did, everything we threw did was just an act because of my brother. I'll save you the details and just say he was just a jerk I shouldn't have followed, as everything he did I thought was perfect, but it just wasn't."
"I get ya man. Personally, I understand how you felt, following someone's shadow, I mean, I've never had a brother or anything like that, but sometimes you see someone doing things that work REALLY well in their favor, but for you it's not the same. It's best to take your own persona, because copying others is gonna be an act that dies quick."
Eddy laughed, agreeing with what he said, before then saying, "Yeah, I see what you're saying dude. It's funny because the other two have been the same mostly. Ed has always been the goof he is, but jeez he is impossible to deal with sometimes. Double D always blabs about sciencey stuff and honestly, I just let him talk because I guess he likes to hear himself chat."
"That's funny. I'll tell ya now, the person I talked to for the correction mixtures for the bombs and stuff was like that too, but hey, maybe to me Double D will be different, but who knows."
"Did you seriously never get into the romantic stuff with her? Sounds like you were into her!" Eddy asked, as he was curious.
Chris laughed a bit before saying, "Nah. Tell ya the truth, yes she was attractive okay, but I guess I just wasn't interested in that sort of stuff, because keep in mind my guy, I had to train and all for this martial arts stuff. So, I would've just been a ghost in the whole thing. It's not like I was wanting to go that route anyways too, so yeah. Again, I will say me and her still keep contact here and there. She was curious about how it's been since I've moved here, fun fact for ya."
Eddy chuckles before then saying, "I think I get ya. Would you try it now?"
"Hmm... perhaps. I won't get too tail-happy though. Patience my good friend, it will help. How about you? Any chances you've gotten?"
"Nah. I'm still waiting for my own shot. Gotta get all prepared."
"I just hope your not so picky about it. Trust me dude, the more the you expect, the less you get."
"You got any?"
"Nah. I just have to enjoy being with them really. Looks to me can go many ways, in my personal opinion. Either way, I mainly just look for a great connection between me and that persona. I mean, if it's about music... let me tell ya, it just might be the best thing ever!"
Chris and Eddy both shared a laugh at that, before the former continued, saying,
"What about you?"
"I'm just lookin for the best looking one!"
"Good luck with that... because from my experience, those relationships where you only care for the looks will not last very long. No offense Eddy, but a connection is important, because then you two are gonna grow bored or are just going to be flat out uninterested for each other. It sucks to think about the possible endings... but it's the truth."
"Yeah... maybe you're right in some ways, but I'll take my chances and i swear I'll make it work."
"I'll try to help you, if you do manage to get one working and all."
"Same for you."
"Thanks dude. Regardless, hey, look in the bright side, we have school starting, you have ALL the opportunities. Just be smart about it and don't be reckless. Trust me, like I've been saying, patience pays off. Always."
"I gotcha. But do you seriously not care for looks my guy?"
Chris laughed a bit before saying, "It's not that I don't care my guy! It's just that... how do I put this? You know how a book has a cover, right? You might assume things based on that cover... but the thing is, when you start to go into the chapters of the book... it gives you a whole new perspective on things. Like, you learn things about it that the cover would never tell you, because you went into the details! Not just the surface level of information. Look... what I am trying to say is, try to look at other things besides what you initially see."
"That was... actually pretty smart. I understood what you mean. Alright, I'm convinced you have a point. I'll see if I can do both."
"Trust me, you can. It's not an impossible task, it's just a matter of... patience, care, and most importantly, listening. Listen to the persona if you want to get to know them better than a basis level."
Chris and Eddy continued spent the next 40 minutes talking about stories from both of their lives. Eddy continued shared his random antics he and his other Eds would do sometimes, and Chris told Eddy some more stuff from his old place, such as more stories about the martial arts stuff, his school, and many other things. Eddy was lucky that Chris was cooled down by the first few minutes they initially started talking, because it was unlikely Eddy would've stayed and still talked to Chris if he was still being threatening to him, like he was with Double D. Nevertheless, the two boys were just having a great time, talking about the several different adventures they both went though in their times. Heck, it makes it seem as though they reached their 70s or something, but that is HARDLY the case my good lads. Either way, they both chat and all, but then they both realize that it's 8:40 PM, and that it would be smart to save anymore conversations for tomorrow in the morning, as they both planned to walk to school with the other two lads.
"Alright, I would love to continue talking my dude, as I've been enjoying having this conversation but we gotta get sleeping sooner or later."
"Yeah... I guess you're right. You cooled down though man?"
"Don't worry, I'm doing alright now. I'll have to say sorry to Double D soon though, kinda feel bad for being like that toward him. But this stuff gets you stressed man, you have no idea..."
"You know what, I'll go figure something out for you alright? Once I leave, I promise to talk to him and try to resolve the small thing between the two of you. You two are my friends, and I really hope not civil war occurs or something."
"Dude! You're being ridiculous! Even if it doesn't get resolved, the worst that can happen is we don't speak to each other for a week at best!"
They both share a laugh before they both leave Chris's room and start to walk to the door. Chris tells his mom,
"Mom! Eddy's leaving!"
"Ahh... Eddy! Bye!" Maria says.
"See ya Chris's mom! Thanks for letting me be here."
"No issue."
Chris then tells Eddy,
"Alright, see you tomorrow for school brother."
"Wait, I thought your mom only spoke Spanish?"
"She can speak English a bit, just not as much. Tomorrow, we will talk some more about that and hey, I'll even add in some other things while we get to school with the lads. For now, take care, alright?"
They both fist bump each other and say their goodbyes. Chris officially now gets ready for sleep, going to his room and taking off his jacket and putting back his mask. Chris then says, to the jacket,
"Well... still no rest for either you or me, is there? Ugh... you are gonna need a break man... jeebus."
Chris takes out the extra stuff he packed in case he had to do more to things than he wanted to. He simply put in a drawer on his desk to keep it as backup items, since he had no need for them at all. Although Chris knew he caused some damage, he was glad that he didn't have to use the taser, as he REALLY didn't want to use that, so there's... a small plus? Either way, Chris puts back the jacket in the same box as before, and so, he put the box back in the cloest, out of view. Chris was exhausted to the point where, at this point, it was enough, as he has now dealt with two fights in the span of two days, and he has made the tensions between the two groups worse in the span of two days. Rest, and more rest. He told his mom good night, and he went to bed. He thought about a couple things before he went to sleep, but right now there isn't more stuff for him, to do, for now at the very least. Then again, he knows that this is hardly the end for this feud. Sadly. Oh boy...
Why don't we go check up on Eddy?
Eddy had decided to go and talk to Double D to perhaps clear up some POSSIBLE tension between him and Chris, as he didn't want to have any problems between them. Besides, Eddy saw a chance to help out in someway, even if it be minor. Either way, Eddy went to Double D's house and knocked on the door. No response. Eddy rang the doorbell, since he presumed that Double D didn't hear the knocks. Still nothing. Eddy doesn't want to give up that easy, but he rings the doorbell three times in a row. Now? Double D opens the door, surprised to see Eddy at the door.
"Eddy? It's almost time to go to sleep. What are you doing here?"
"You and Chris doing fine? Wanted to make sure you and him don't hate each other or something."
"Ahh... well. I'm sure that he was just angry or grumpy at the time, trust me Eddy, I am sure me and him will remain friends."
"Yeah... that's good. He's just getting frustrated with the whole problem, because he seems to be doing everything, while we are doing very little." Eddy explains.
"Hmm... well, I can certainly understand his frustration, although it will take time for this problem is able to resolve itself. However it can."
Eddy shakes his head to agree with him, before he says, "Yeah. But my main thing is, you and him are fine right?"
"Yes Eddy, no issues from me."
"Good. What about Marie? I can tell you tried to talk with her, but didn't get the chance."
"Well... I suppose me and her need to have another conversation tomorrow. Preferably I plan to speak with her after school ends, as I doubt talking during class time is going to be the best of ideas. Speaking of school Eddy, have you prepared for it? You must your supplies and everything ready, as academic learning requires everyone to be fully prepared and aware for the information we learn!"
"Ugh! I'll be fine, all you need are just pencils, no!?"
"Eddy... that is so superficial. If you need anything extra, let me know before or during class."
"Fine. But I'll see you and the boys tomorrow in the morning, alright? We are in for a really boring ride."
"Of course, take care Eddy. And education isn't boring my friend."
"Yeah, sure it isn't, see ya Double D."
And so, Eddy leaves and goes to his home. Of course, he was sarcastic about the statement he told Double D, as Eddy has probably never enjoyed studies one single bit, as every time he is in class he just zones out completely, and just tries to find literally anything else to do. Heck, even Ed's rambling about monster movies and comics and several other similar things were more interesting to him than his classes. His grades... well, as expected with how he is with the classes, usually don't end well. Surprisingly, the school has given a pass, but if he continues... it's unlikely he'll get passes every time.
Right now however, he is currently sitting in his thoughts a bit while going back to his house, as he is currently thinking about Chris's stress. Eddy never would've expected to realize it, but now he sees the weight of everything being put on his friend, and that he, his friends, and the Kankers have to bury the hatchet, as Chris put it. Although, Eddy was just not sure how in the heck he and his crew were supposed to do that. Granted, he knows a solution will arise sooner or later, but the thing is... what will that solution be? Will it be that they flat out don't talk to each other EVER? Will it be that they get together? Eddy was curious of it the whole way to his home. He simply got ready for sleep, just like everyone else is, or is sleeping.
Everyone's gonna have a very odd start to the school days. Oh joy...
"Shut up already. I need sleep..." Eddy says.
I'm just... nevermind. Jeez.
Author's note: Man... this chapter was quite the thing to write about! Anyways... why am I talking here? Well... I will say this. Ten Seconds To Love has reached the halfway mark of what I planned for it. I'm pretty proud of it, but of course things can be improved. No biggie, because there's always more that you can do. Anyways, this story still has more to say, so... I will see you in Chapter 21: Among The Living!