The return of Killer Kevin

Time passed. Ed world had become a huge success, and had still not collapsed or fallen down. It continued to attract kids from everywhere.

Nazz's house was now home to five friends. Sarah was forgiven by Ed and as penance for her actions, offered to stay and help the gang as a friend.

Nazz welcomed Sarah into her house, and Sarah now slept between Ed and Edd on the sofa downstairs, an angelic look upon her face as she slept.

Occasionally Sarah would wake up in the night crying, clearly still remorseful for her actions in the past but Ed would always manage to calm her down and assure her that it was all water under the bridge now. Though she still had a short temper, she was being given anger management courses by Nazz and her brother and she was learning fast.

Though she still hung with Jimmy every now and again, it was clear she had changed sides and was now on good terms with her brother Ed.

The last few weeks had turned out well, the gang had made a tidy profit from running "Ed world", enough for them to buy more jawbreakers than they could ever have dreamed of. And with Kevin and Rolf gone, the gang generated plenty of revenue from the other kids who took great pleasure in taking repeated goes on the rides or visiting the shops.

"So glad we're friends once more Sarah" sighed Ed happily one day as he held Sarah in a hug. "you said it brother" replied Sarah happily.

"Life is good Nazz" remarked Eddy to Nazz one day as they sat at a diner table, staring at each other with deep, loved filled eyes. "Sure is, dude" replied Nazz "Sure is".

Then, on a dark and rainy night, he returned as he said he would. The police car, pulled up near the pavement and screeched to a halt. Thunder struck and lightening flashed as the door slowly opened. And stepping out of the door, were two convicts wearing striped prisoner uniforms.

And as the police car sped away, the two convicts strode towards Kevin's house grumbling with grief and sorrow. The convict on the left still wore a red baseball cap on his almost bald head, it was clear from what remained of his old face that this was Kevin. On his convict uniform he wore a name tag which said "Al Capone, prisoner number 666". The large scar on his bruised face made him look all the more intimating.

And striding beside him was his henchman, formerly known to the "cul de sac" as Rolf. His once cheerful face had faded into nonexistence and now his expression was hard and unforgiving. It was clear that prison life had not been easy on him. He too wore prison clothes and he too had a name tag which said "Tony Accardo, Big tuna. prisoner number 13".

Kevin was the first to speak. "We need to pound that double crosser and teach her a lesson" he growled "I still can't believe she would betray us like that".

"Ah yes Kevin" agreed Rolf "A lesson must be taught".

"Don't call me that, Rolf" demanded Kevin"You know that long ago Kevin died."

"Ah yes" remembered Rolf "Now I remember. Rolf changed his name too."
"So what do you have in mind, boss". asked Rolf as he followed Kevin into his garage "How do we teach trendy Nazz girl a lesson?".

"Well" replied Kevin, grinning evilly as he opened the door to his garage and beckoned Rolf to follow him in. "This is where all these jawbreakers come in" he stated, pointing to the huge loads of jawbreakers which lined the shelves of the huge garage "No one can resist a lovely, delicious jawbreaker. Those suckers would do anything to have more of these babies" snickered Kevin evilly. "Cheers". And he handed Rolf a jawbreaker. "Oh I get it" remarked Rolf as he took the jawbreaker "those Ed boys don't stand a chance".

"But first" stated Kevin "We'll give her a chance at doing the right thing. And if she doesn't, well then. I'll just have to make her an offer she can't refuse".

The two criminal masterminds began to laugh maniacally as they stayed up all night to enact their evil plan. Bribery really was a useful asset to have at one's disposal, especially when you were as evil and cunning as Al Capone.

The Eds, Nazz and Sarah grinned cheerfully as they stepped out of Nazz's house to go for a walk the following morning. Yet little did they know what awaited them down the bend...

They smiled as they headed downtown for some jawbreakers.

An ominous laughter rang out. "What was that?" asked Ed, straightening up and shivering.

The sound of heavy footsteps was heard, and they only seemed to get louder and louder.

"Whatever it is dude, its getting closer" stated Nazz, slightly terrified herself.

From the shadows, stepped an ominous figure. He wore prison clothes and the remains of a red baseball cap and a large scar ran down his face.

"What is this? " demanded Nazz impatiently. "Whats going on here dude?". "This" replied a voice Nazz knew all too well "is a trap. That you were stupid enough to walk into."

Kevin stepped forward and lit a cigarette with a lighter in his hand, and put the cigarette to his mouth. There was a loud coughing as he finished the cigarette and threw it on the ground. He then took out a bottle of gin and chugged it down, shivering as he did so. There was a loud crack as he threw the bottle onto the ground.

"Kevin" gasped Nazz, she was shocked at how low he had fallen "What happened to you?".

Kevin chuckled "Nothing really" he replied sarcastically "Except that when you left me that day, you messed me up pretty badly."

"I've been a wreck without you Nazz" admitted Kevin sorrowfully as he sighed painfully "Without you, I feel like there's nothing worth living for. You were my one girlfriend Nazz, the one person I loved in this world of dorks and idiots. You know I didn't mean to hurt you. Honestly.".

"Look Kevin" replied Nazz, slightly touched by the sad state "I'm sorry I upset you like that Kevin. But Kevin, you and I are very different people. Sorry dude, but no."

"But Nazz, sweetie" pleaded Kevin "you're not, still mad are you?. Look, I'm sorry for what I did to you on that day, but dorky was really getting on my nerves and I had to teach him a lesson about not to scam people out of their money. Please come back to me Nazz. I've missed you badly and I'm sorry if I upset you".

Nazz looked apologetically at the boy she had once called her boyfriend and treated as an idol "Sorry Kevin" she replied "but I can never forgive you. What you did to poor Eddy is unforgivable and I can never forgive, nor forget what you did to him. You abused him even when he didn't do anything to you. He was so desperate to be your friend but you punished him for it. He was so nice to you Kevin but you still harassed the poor guy until he couldn't take it anymore. How am I supposed to trust you if that's how you treat someone as kind as Eddy?".

"Sorry Eddy" apologized Nazz to Eddy, "It was wrong of me not to do anything while Kevin did all those horrible things to you. But now I realize how wrong I was",

Kevin swore. "Hey" shouted Eddy angrily, stepping in front of Nazz as if to shield her from Kevin's foul words "don't talk to her like that. Stop that, have respect for her".

Kevin swore at Ed. "No one talks to my brother like that" yelled Sarah charging for Kevin, it took a great effort from both Ed and Edd (double D) to hold her back.
"Lemme at him" screeched Sarah furiously "he can't just insult my brother like that."It was all Ed and Edd could do to hold Sarah's arms tightly and prevent her from acting irrationally. Though they were both amazed by her anger, and could not help but wonder if this was the same spoiled and bratty girl who took great pleasure from getting her faultless brother into trouble. This was certainly not the Sarah they knew. Had Nazz's influence really turned her into such a reformed character?.

Kevin now laughed, not a jolly laugh but rather a maniacal one. He smacked his forehead with his fist and clenched his forehead as if it would burst. Then he looked at Nazz with a look of sheer sorrow and despair. "Please" he begged "I need to know Nazz, can you love me again? Please don't abandon me Nazz, I love you. I still love you now. I'm not angry with you or anything, just please, say you love me again. Please".

It was clear that Kevin's balm of lies tempted Nazz, yet with a great effort she shook her head. "Sorry dude" replied Nazz angrily "But I can tell you don't mean what you just said. You don't love me. You don't love anyone but yourself and your stupid bike. I've had enough of your lies dude. You lied to me Kevin, you lied to us all. You tried to scam us all out of our money and then tried to pin the blame on poor Eddy and his friends. Eddy was so nice to you Kevin, he tried so hard to make you happy and to fit in but you just had to go and make his life a living hell. No dude, I can never love you again"

Kevin sighed, deeply and irrepressibly. His frown became a maniacal grin as he shook his head. "Is that what you think of me?" he said at last.

"Well then" he sighed "I guess Nazz, if you won't take my offer, then I'll just have to make you one you can't refuse".

Kevin whistled, and from the shadows came every child in the neighborhood still loyal to Kevin. Jimmy came first followed by Johnny and then Rolf.

"What the hell man?" asked Eddy but when the kids got closer Eddy realized that the objects each of them held in their hand was a paintball gun.

The kids pointed their paintball guns at the Eds and Sarah. "Now the Eds will finally have their heads blown to pieces" cheered Jimmy as he aimed his paintball gun at Eddy's head. It was clear he was a tad upset to see that his girlfriend was one of the people he had to gun down, but Jimmy's burning hatred for the Eds overrode his sense of morality.

"The time of reckoning has come" sneered Johnny harshly as he held his gun, ready to fire at a moment's notice at the Eds.

"vengence will be slow and painful Ed boys" threatened Rolf menacingly. His name was no longer Rolf, but rather Tony Accardo or "Big tuna" as he preferred to be called.

And next came the Kanker sisters. The Eds, Nazz and Sarah hoped for a second that perhaps just this once, the Kankers had come to help "their boyfriends" in their time of need. But no, instead the Kankers were also armed with paintball guns which they pointed at the Eds with equal contempt.

"Our old boyfriends sucked" said Lee "but after this, our new boyfriends (most likely Rolf, Kevin and Jimmy) will pay us handsomely, right girls".

"Right Lee" cheered the other two Kankers in unison. "So sorry sweetie" sneered Marie as she pointed her paintball gun at Edd, her former "boyfriend".

"Things look different when you stare down the barrel of a gun ,right babydoll?" sneered Kevin, and before Nazz could react, he lunged forward and grabbed her arms. Rolf now put the barrel of his paintball gun to Nazz's head. Nazz trembled as the metal touched her skull.

"What did you do to them?" demanded Edd furiously even though he could see that the mob of bullies had formed a circle around him and his friends and were pointing their guns at Edd and his friends "Have you brainwashed them into being your mindless slaves?". Edd was trembling too by now at staring down the barrel of so many lethal guns.

"Oh no" purred Kevin coolly "they chose to join my mob because I paid them well. I can pay them more jawbreakers than you can imagine. They're all sworn members of my mob now. The Capone mob. My mob rules these streets now"

Kevin (aka: Al Capone) had clearly become a megalomaniac as he whispered into Nazz's ears his new mantra"today the cul de sac, tomorrow the world".

He signalled for Johnny to come to him and Johnny reluctantly holstered his gun as he did so but that still left four gunners pointing their guns at the Eds and Sarah.

Johnny stepped forward and present to Nazz, a huge and juicy jawbreaker. Nazz's mouth watered as she saw the delicious sweet she dedicated her life to acquiring and screamed as Johnny put it into his mouth and ate it before Nazz's very eyes. "Join the Capone mob Nazz" requested Kevin as Rolf put his finger on the trigger of the paintball gun that was pointed at Nazz's head. "Join us and I promise you all the jawbreakers you can eat"promised Kevin. "Refuse my offer, and my assistant here will blow your head off". Rolf nodded eagerly as he continued to point his gun at Nazz, the tip of the barrel touching Nazz's unprotected skull.

Nazz cried as she realized with dread the decision she had to make. If she joined the Capone mob all she had to look forward to was a life of crime and villainy alongside her sworn enemy Kevin. And she would be betraying her new friends the Eds.

And yet if she refused, Rolf (aka:Tony Accardo) would fire the paintball gun at her skull, and subject her to a slow and painful death. The thought of dying so young was frightening but the prospect at never having a chance to live her life with Eddy was unbearable. They had not yet gone on a proper date, they had yet to marry and start a family. And now all those prospects were being denied her, which ever choice she chose. If she joined the "Capone mob" she lived as a traitor, and if she refused then she would die a martyr. Neither choice seemed much better.

Sarah gave Nazz a look of sorrow and apology, she too regretted what Nazz was going through. Sarah silently cursed herself for all the times she could have stood up to Kevin and his evil gang and how she had left it too late. By being so selfish and going along with Kevin's evil regime she had endangered all her friends and her best friend Nazz.

She was shocked that Jimmy seemed to show no mercy as he pointed his paintball gun at her head, ready to shoot any second. She was gutted to see that her feelings for Jimmy and his feelings for her meant nothing when jawbreakers and a chance to see the Eds being killed were on the line for Jimmy. But most of all, she felt deep pity for her poor, mistreated brother Ed, and how she had never treated him the way a sister should treat her brother. And now she would never have a chance to redeem herself, for she knew that the second Nazz either declined or accepted Kevin's proposal, her friends and her would be gunned down by paintball.

"We've failed... its over Ed" she whispered into Ed's ear as tears welled up in her eyes. "See you on the other side, big brother".

It was all Ed could do despite the fact he was held at gunpoint, to hold his sobbing sister in a hug, trying to relish the last few seconds he had to live.

"So, girlfriend" purred Kevin "what's it gonna be? Join my mob and I'll spare your life and forgive you".

Nazz closed her eyes in sorrow as she thought of all the times she had refused to help the Eds when Kevin came to bully them. She thought of all the horrible things she had done to the Eds simply because she was ordered by Kevin. And if she wanted to live, she had no choice but to go back to doing horrible things for a horrible and heinous villain. She thought of all the horrible things she would be forced to do, she thought of being forced to live in Kevin's mansion and trying to avoid him all day. She thought of having to cook and clean for him every night for the rest of her miserable and joyless life and having no choice but to stand with gritted teeth as her parents married her off to Kevin when she came of age. It truly was a horrific thought, why oh why had she ever called Kevin "her boyfriend".

And worst of all, no matter what she did she would have no choice but to listen to the desperate screams of her friends as they were gunned down by paint-balls and subjected to an unimaginably pain-filled death. Though Nazz did not fear death as some did, it was true that she did not like having to throw her life away needlessly. But was she stuck with Kevin for the rest of her life?. Did god not support her decision of leaving him and his evil gang to lead a new and clean life among good and honest people?.

She would without a doubt, regain her popularity when she went back to Kevin, but if popularity meant having to do horrible things to innocent people like the Eds then she would rather be a nobody. She would rather the whole world hated her than have to do Kevin's evil bidding just to be socially accepted. She had done Kevin's evil bidding for 10 years now, for ten long years she had helped a monster accomplish his dark and twisted desires. Enough was enough.

But was there nothing she could do?. Was this the end of "double crosser Nazz" and the return of "Nasty Nazz, Kevin's evil henchman?" Was it really going down like this?

"No" muttered Nazz to herself "no, I got the Eds into this situation and its my responsibility to get them out." She remembered how she still had a little something left in her pocket when she and Edd had conducted their last experiment. She felt the item in her pockets where it still lay, and as her mind cleared and she calmed herself to better asses the situation she thanked god for giving her a chance to finally leave Kevin for good.

She slowly mouthed a phrase to Sarah silently, who in turn nodded gently and mouthed a phrase to Ed. This went on until all five friends knew the phrase and because they had taken care to be subtle with their mouthing, Kevin didn't have a clue as to what they just said.

Nazz put on the best crying face she could and forced herself to cry bitterly and desperately. "I hate you, you dorks!" she shouted, looking the Eds in the eye. To make the performance all the more convincing, she used the worst swear words she could think off as she began to hurl insults at the Eds and Sarah.

Kevin was a bit shocked himself as he heard such vulgar insults being hurled at the Eds, yet he was pleased. "Welcome back, girlfriend" he announced as he ordered Rolf to immediately lower his paint-ball gun. "i love you Kevin" said Nazz, trying her best to sound emotional and realistic. "Aww, what a sweet thing to say" replied Kevin joyfully as he released his grip on Nazz.

Nazz gave a sly wink in the direction of the Eds and Sarah, unseen by Kevin or the others, and when they winked back to show they understood Nazz pulled from her pocket a bag of some mysterious powder and threw it.

As the bag exploded, Sarah and the Eds covered their eyes and noses as did Nazz. Too late Kevin realized he had been tricked. The bag released a large cloud of green smoke which stung the eyes of every kid in the area and released a pungent smell so horrible that it felt as if you were inhaling carbon monoxide when you sniffed it. But because Nazz and her friends had covered their eyes and noses, they were unaffected.

Nazz managed despite the fact she could not see, to make her way out of the cloud of smoke successfully. With the help of her guiding voice as well as some good old fashioned teamwork, Sarah, Ed, Edd and Eddy were able to follow Nazz and to leave the cloud of smoke successfully.

The other bullies were not so lucky. The smog had completely blocked their eyesight and the pungent smell had caught them completely off guard. As Nazz hoped, they were confused and disorientated. Johnny even fired a few paint-balls into Kevin's shoulder as he struggled to get out of the cloud of smoke. Since the bullies were confused and did not know in advance what would happen, they could not fire a successful shot as their eyes were totally blinded by the cloud of mysterious smoke.

The powder had as good an effect as any smoke grenade a police officer was likely to be issued with. And Nazz's fingers were so fast when she detonated the powder bag that the bullies had no time to fire their paintball guns as she drew it from her pocket like fluid.

The other bullies screamed in agony and howled in panic and fear when the smog came. They ran around, tripping each other over and dropping their weapons on the ground. Even Kevin was caught off guard and he could but grumble as he stumbled clueless through the green fog, trying to grab his enemies without success.

Nazz and the others quickly sped away from the ruins of what was once their most successful "scam" and only stopped to rest when they had made 2 blocks distance and were hiding in the shelter of an alleyway.

"That was close" gasped Eddy, trying to catch his breath. "Well I've done my exercise for the year. I hate running" grumbled Edd as he lay down on the ground and panted.

"So what now smartypants?" asked Sarah looking at Nazz, who looked extremely downcast and yet unusually calm in the face of the danger they had barely escaped. Had luck been one bit less kind to them, they would surely have been mowed down by Kevin's gang by now and Nazz would have been forced into joining "the Capone mob" against her will. It was still hard to believe how low Kevin had fallen. He was evil but never did Nazz think he would become such a maniac. A maniac with the intention of bringing back one of the most feared gangs in America, with the power to threaten all of America if not stopped. Kevin intended to rebuild "the Capone mob" and he intended to assume the mantle of "Scarface Al".

Nazz was silent for nearly a minute before she finally replied. "Well..." she began "we definitely can't go back to the cul de sac."

End of chapter. Stay tuned for epic conclusion.