Welcome to Stratnigrad
The sun rose over the city of Stratnigrad. The freshly laid snow shone blindingly bright. Several birds flew out from a frozen tree and small clumps of snow fell from it. Inside the Academy, the occupants awoke from their rest.
Edd's internal clock woke him at the exact time everyday, 6:00am. Ed and Eddy were still asleep, they would be until at least 10:00, it was a Saturday after all. Edd really appreciated the early hours, it was his time. Everyone else was still asleep, so the whole building was quiet except for the gentle hum of computers.
Edd got changed, he wore a red shirt and combats, he wore a black long sleeve shirt over that. He put on his hiking boots, he didn't hike but he liked the boots so he wore them anyway. Edd stepped quietly out of the room and walked along the hallway. He stepped out onto the balcony and inhaled the freezing air. He exhaled and looked at the steam coming from his mouth. "um, excuse me" came a voice from behind him.
Edd turned around and saw the blue haired girl from Riverdale. "Good morning, how can I help you" asked Edd smiling, the girl smiled back, "sorry, I was looking for the gym" asked the girl, "oh, yeah. I was on my way there myself" Edd replied.
Ed led the girl to the elevator, they went up to the gym level. The gym was fairly basic and not too large. It was two storeys high, the first level was a basketball court and weights and the second floor was a track for running laps. There was also a small medical room on the second floor, just for measuring performance and in case of any accidents. The showers, lockers and drink dispensers were on the first floor down a corridor, in a different room.
"So, this is our gym, it's got everything you'd need" said Edd showing the girl the gym. "I didn't catch your name last night by the way" said Edd, "It's Marie, Marie Kanker" she replied, blushing slightly, "That's a nice name" Edd said, trying to look as if he didn't already know. "Thanks, well, I'm going to get changed now" said Marie, she headed off to the girls changing rooms. "She seems nice" Edd thought. Edd got changed and started doing weights.
Several hours later...
Eddy crawled out of bed and headed straight for the on suite bathroom. His body was on autopilot, and it turned on the shower, got undressed and got into the shower all without Eddy opening his eyes. Eddy slumped down in the bath as the shower poured water over him. After five minutes of this Eddy woke up. He stood up with exaggerated difficulty and got out of the shower. He got dressed in the same clothes he was wearing last night and went over to the fridge to get some breakfast. He made himself a cup of coffee and a bowl of cereal and ate them, still half asleep.
As Eddy half heartedly consumed his breakfast, Edd returned. "Good morning Eddy. How are you this fine winters day?" greeted Edd happily, "goomorffdoobla" mumbled Eddy. "Cereal and coffee a breakfast does not make Eddy" said Edd looking at Eddy's meal. "If you could make something better, I'd eat it" said Eddy before yawning. Edd got out a two frying pans ands began frying up some bacon and eggs.
Soon, the aroma of sizzling fats and oils awoke Ed. "Hmm, morning guys" said Ed as he got out of bed and wondered over to the kitchen corner. Edd dished out the food and Ed and Eddy ate it happily. "Ain't you gonna join us Double D?" asked Eddy noticing that Edd wasn't eating. "I've already had my breakfast today. Besides, that stuff will kill you one day" explained Edd. Ed looked at one of the slices of bacon, "Yeah, well it's worth it" said Ed as he ate the bacon.
After the Eds had had their breakfast Ed and Eddy left for the lounge, leaving Edd to clean up. "How do I let this happen to me?" Edd thought aloud. Eddy and Ed walked along the corridor towards the lift. They descended down to the lounge floor and headed for the console room. Eddy started shuffling through a pile of games while Ed began playing a racing game on the Playstation. "When are they gonna get some more games, I've played all of these" complained Eddy and continued to shuffle through the games. "I don't mind Eddy, these are classic games" said Ed and began playing his favorite game, Metal Gear Solid.
Two people entered the room. Ed and Eddy looked at the new arrivals. It was the two unmodified children from Newer York. "Can we help you?" Eddy asked dismissively. The girl stepped forward and stated "Me and Jimmy want to play, so GET LOST!" she yelled rudely. Eddy jumped to his feet and walked right up to her so their faces were only inches apart, "and who's gonna make us" Eddy demanded. The girl kneed Eddy in the groin and he collapsed where he stood. Seeing this Ed jumped away from the TV and dropped the controller.
The girl walked over Eddy as he lay on the floor, her friend followed behind giggling. Ed walked around them carefully. He picked up Eddy, who was still holding his crotch, afraid to let go. Ed left the console room and carried Eddy back to their room. Edd put the last plate in the cupboard when the door slid open and in walked Ed holding Eddy. "What the...? Ed what happened?" asked Edd as he saw Ed with Eddy. "We were the lounge and the little kiddies that arrived last night came in and told us to leave, but Eddy didn't want to, so the little girl kicked him in the goolies" said Ed, "goolies?" said Edd confused, he looked at Eddy still clutching himself for fear it might fall off, "oh right, goolies. OK, well, Eddy you just got owned by a little girl" said Edd, try to hold back laughter, "that was no girl, that was a hell spawn. I saw it in her eyes" said Eddy as he got, uneasily, to his feet.
"Oh come on Eddy, how bad could she have been?" replied Edd. "Trust me on this, no good will come of those two" said Eddy before he went and lay down on his bed. Edd rolled his eyes and went to the library. The library was 17 floors down, near the top of the school section of the building. It was a Saturday, so none of the regular students were in the library. Edd enjoyed these time, he could really get some work done without the distraction of other students. Also, none of the annoying students could bother him, the ones who only come to the library to annoy others or create distractions. Edd hated the years below him, he found them all stupid, annoying and just intolerable, he was happy when they weren't around, they were the only thing that really upset Edd, usually he could deal with anyone, but not them.
Edd entered the library and inhaled deeply, "ahh, the smell of knowledge" he thought. He went and took the book he was studying "The Warlord: Facts and Fiction". He began were he left off, but then he noticed he wasn't alone in the library. On the far end was the student from Illuminus, Rolf Aqabar (pronounced Akbar) Edd remembered. Edd could see, even from this distance, the blue wires coming up his neck and face. Edd remembered a book he had once read, it was about the history of Biomodification. The different types of biomods and groups involved in biomodification. The first attempts at biomodification had terrible failures, patients dieing or left horribly scared or mutilated. Most of them are dead now though, they were cursed with short lifetimes of only a few years after modification. When they invented biomods and nanites huge leaps were made in the field and fatalities almost stopped immediately. But only recently have wires been made so small that they can no longer be seen, most people have fairly visible wires, Rolf must have had his implanted in a developing county where invisible wires were unknown.
"Could all students please report to conference room 12 on floor 40." came a voice over the speakers that littered all over the building. Edd put down his book and headed for the conference room. "Hmm, probably an official welcome and introduction" Edd thought as he descended in the lift.
Eddy removed the bag of ice from his groin and stood up, "come on lumpy, let's get going" said Eddy as he heard the announcement. Ed and Eddy met Edd at the entrance to the conference room, "hey guys" said Edd as he say Ed and Eddy step out of the lift, "hey Double D. So, any idea what the meeting's about?" asked Eddy, "I think it's just an introduction" suggested Edd, "yeah probably" replied Eddy.
The trio entered the large hall, usually used for the normal school's assemblies. In the centre were 10 leather chairs arranged in a circle. Ed, Edd and Eddy sat down on the chairs and waited for the others to arrive, "These are some nice chairs, how come I've never seen 'em before" said Eddy as he admired the fine leather, "Most likely trying to impress our new guests" said Edd, "hey guys, listen!" said Ed as he sat down on the chair and it made a fart sound, Ed and Eddy both burst into laughter while Edd put his face in his palm to hide the smile he trying to control.
The two Riverdale girls entered the room, but Eddy and Ed didn't notice, so the continued to make the humorous sounds. "Stop it you idiots, look who just walked in" whispered Edd. Ed and Eddy looked up and saw the two girls and stopped immediately. Eddy tried to act as he wasn't doing anything, but just looked like an idiot. The two girls sat down on the chairs, Marie sat next to Edd and her friend, Nazz sat next to her. Shortly later the two boys from Illuminus city joined them, the red haired one, Kevin, had sweat marks around his neck and armpits. They both came and sat down sat next the girls. This left only the three Newer York kids.
The director of the Stratnigrad Academy walked in followed by the NY children. They sat down and the director began a speech. "Welcome to the Stratnigrad Academy, we trust you have had time to explore our facilities and get used to the lay out of the building" he said, the new kids nodded back. "Excellent. Well then let me introduce you all to each other." The director stood behind Eddy, "This is Eddy, he's our gambling master. Trust me, never play poker with him" said the Direct, he then moved on to Ed, "This one is Ed, he's not the brightest spark, but he is the tank of our branch. Don't worry he's a gentle giant." "And finally, we have Edd, better known as Double D. He is one the best students we have and a computer expert on a global scale. Quiet a coincidence that all three of our modified students share the same name" finished the director. "I will let you introduce yourselves properly in a minute. But first I must warn, we have received warnings from the authorities that a terrorist organisation may be operating in the area, it is probably just rumours, but keep an eye out for anything suspicious when travelling in the city"
The director then left the students to themselves. Kevin and Rolf returned to the GYM and the NY also left, but the Riverdale girls stayed with the Eds. "So, are there any good shops around here?" asked Nazz, "yeah, there's loads in the trade district" replied Eddy. The trade district was a small area of Stratnigrad that had many shops, the area surrounded the Academy and received a lot of business from all the students. "There's also a night club, Club Vox." suggested Edd. "Also, stay away from the Descender on the east side of town" warned Eddy, "What's the Descender?" asked Marie, "It's a giant lift that takes you down to the lower part of town, you don't wanna go there. It's full of thugs and weirdos" Eddy replied, "I like it there" said Ed happily.
"Well, do you guys want to come with Marie and I. We're going into town and would like some guides" asked Nazz, "Yeah, sure. It'd be out pleasure" Replied Eddy eagerly. "Cool, well, we'll see you by the entrance at about 1:00am" said Nazz, "We'll be there" confirmed Eddy happily.
The two girls left for their rooms, leaving the Eds alone in the hall. "So. What now?" asked Edd, "Supper, back at our place" suggested Eddy, Edd shrugged at the trio began walking back to their apartment.
"So what do you guys think about these supposed terrorists" asked Edd over a bowl of stir-fry chicken. "What about them?" replied Eddy without looking up from his bowl, "Well what do you think they want, what are fighting for, who are they?" asked Edd, "How the hell should I know?" said Eddy annoyed that Edd kept interrupting his eating. "They're probably just a couple of guys who were tired of people ignoring them, so they made some bombs and want money or else they'll blow up a coffee shop or something" said Eddy. "Yeah, but don't the WTO take care those people secretly and quickly" replied Edd, "How do you know they take them out?" asked Eddy, he attention finally drawn away from his meal, "I was bored a while ago, so I hacked their system." said Edd casually.
"Yeah, well don't worry. It's probably nothing serious anyway" said Eddy. He finished his meal and then went to bed.
(A/N) Thanks for reading. Post more comments and I'll update again soon.
