Chapter five, everyone. It's a long one, so sorry about that


"You know, this place is actually really pretty." Piff spoke as he stood in the doorway of Double D's house. The sun washed over the cul-de-sac and illuminated all of the wooded areas around it.

"It's home." Double D smiled at the area before him. "If I may, what are your plans for today?"

"Well," Jane spoke from behind them. She floated over to the two. "I'd like to meet your friends."

"I can take you to their homes, but I don't know whether they will let you in or not." Double D rubbed his arm and sighed.

"We've got to try." Piff smiled at him.

"True, very true." Double D nodded. "Well, there's no time quite like the present. Shall we go?"

"We shall." Jane smiled at him.

He lead the way out of the house and back into the street. The sun felt good on Piff's skin as the night before had been quite cold, which made it difficult to sleep.

The trip wasn't long as Double D walked up to a home in the circle of the cul-de-sac. He knocked on the door and noises stirred inside of the house.

"ED, GET THE DOOR!" A rough female voice called.

A quick sound of running feet approached the other side of the door and it opened to reveal a tall boy wearing a long green coat.

"Hey Double D!" He called happily.

"Hello Ed." Double D smiled at him.

Ed then noticed the two travelers standing behind his friend and he leaned in, squinting.

Piff glanced over at Jane as the boy studied them, his brain seeming to work overtime trying to remember who they were. Then suddenly, his eyes widened and a smile spread across his face.

"Who are your friends, Double D?" Ed asked.

"This is Jane and Piff, the travelers from last night?" Double D tried to prompt his memory. "Remember?"

Ed strained to think once more, a few moments passing, then suddenly he spoke.

"I like to lick the spoon, Double D." He smiled, his eyes blinking one at a time.

Jane and Piff looked at each other with confusion on their faces before Double D turned to speak to them.

"Ed is..." Double D thought for a moment. "Unique."

"Oh, okay." Jane nodded.

Piff's brows knitted together, but he just accepted Doub;e D's explanation.

"Ed, might we come inside and talk?" Double D asked.

"Open sesemee seed bun!" Ed laughed as he walked away from the door.

Double D lead the two inside. The interior of the house was much like Double D's. It was barren of furniture and other appliances, but the house was in good condition.

Jane floated through the house, following the others, when she noticed something in the corner. She veered off the path and over to the book and, picking it up, realized it was a comic book. She smiled and quickly floated over to Ed, showing him the book.

"You like comic books?" She asked.

"Yes!" He smiled widely, grabbing the book and flipping through pages. He then turned it around and held it up to Jane's face. "This is The Invader Martian Werewolves from Planet 9! They came to earth to replinish their devilish hoards and take over the world!"

Jane smiled at the pages in front of her.

"That's really cool, Ed." She saw the boy's face light up. "I used to draw comic books."

"YOU DID?!" Ed smiled widely.

"Yep." Jane beamed. "They were about Marching Bands, mostly, but I did a few super hero ones here and there."

"Can you make one with me?!" Ed asked. "Please! I wanna be a super hero astronaut who combats the evil forces of the brain eating mutant rabbits of Zexar i3!"

Piff and Double D watched with an odd fascination as Ed and Jane spoke.

"It's like she knows his language." Piff chuckled.

"Ed loves these mindless comic books." Double D sighed. "I, personally, don't see the point in them. Especially when you look at all of the scientific impossibilities presented by them and the numerous plot holes."

Piff just nodded and smiled, fearing getting wrapped up in the boy's vast vocabulary.

"Sure, Ed, I'll make you one." Jane smiled.

"Oh, thank you!" Jane was shocked when Ed threw his arms around her and squeezed her until her face turned blue.

"Ed, I do believe you are killing the reaper." Double D giggled.

Ed released Jane and laughed as she sighed and cracked her back and neck.

"ED!" The rough female voice called again. "WHAT IS ALL THE RACKET ABOUT?!"

The little red haired girl entered the room and immediately paniced when she saw the two travelers.

"ED! ARE YOU CRAZY?!" She yelled as she leapt onto her brother's shoulders and pulled his ears. "YOU LET IN THE ENEMY!"

"But Sarah, she said she would make a comic book about me!" Ed pleaded.

Sarah leapt off of her brother's shoulders, knocking him over and looked up at the travelers and Double D.

"STAY AWAY FROM OUR HOUSE!" She yelled.

Jane and Piff backed up, Piff picking at his now ringing ears.

"We're right here, you don't have to scream." Piff shook his head.

"I'M NOT SCREAMING!" Sarah insisted. "YOU HAVEN'T HEARD ME SCREAM, YET!"

"Please, don't." Double D quivered.

Jane looked passed Sarah, searching for something, anything in the house that she could relate to her on, but nothing was to be found. Panic began to set in when suddenly, Piff stepped in.

"Sarah?" He asked. "Is that your name?"

"Yea!" Sarah crossed her arms. "Don't wear it out!"

"That's a very pretty name." He smiled at her. "It suits you. A pretty name for a pretty girl."

Sarah's cheeks flushed suddenly and she looked away.

"I bet you have a ton of boys after your hand." Piff knelt down, getting on her level.

A few moments of silence passed and suddenly Sarah let out a small giggle.

"Gee, I dunno about that." She looked up at him.

"Well, you are quite pretty, Sarah." Piff smiled at her, looking over the tops of his shades at her. "Here..."

He dug through his pockets until he found what he was looking for, He pulled out a gum wrapper and began to fold it until he'd made a little flower.

"A flower for the pretty lady." He winked at her as he handed the small trinket over to her.

She took it carefully and looked at it, her face flushed. She sighed and looked up at him as he stood back up.

"Maybe the others were wrong about you, Piff." She smiled, her eyes batting dramatically. "You're welcomed here anytime."

"Thanks." Piff smirked at her, making her pretend to swoon.

Jane and Double D exchanged stunned expressions before shaking it off and coming to their senses.

"Sarah, can Ed come with us?" Double D asked.

Sarah just waved at them, being too busy with looking at the flower to care.

The group quickly left the house with Ed and followed Double D to the next home rather quickly.

"Good thinking, there, Piff!" Jane smiled at him. "You're quite the charmer!"

"Nah," Piff chuckled. "She reminded me of a red head from my school. She's always angry unless you're kissing her ass."

Jane laughed and floated up to the next door with the group. Double D knocked, Ed smiling blankly behind him. It took a few minutes, but finally the short and loud boy answered the door.

"It's 9am, Double D, what do you want?" He asked, irritated.

"Well, Eddy, we wish to speak with you." Double D smiled, albeit, worridly.

"We?" Eddy poked his head out of the door and almost shreiked when he saw the two travelers. "WHY DID YOU BRING THEM TO MY HOUSE?!"

"We need to speak with you, Eddy." Double D explained.

Eddy facepalmed and growled into his hand, his angry eyes peeking out from between his fingers.

"Hurry up and get inside before the others see you and decide to do something about it." He snarled, stepping back from the door.

"Thank you, Eddy." Double D chirpped as he stepped inside, the others following cautiously.

Once everyone was inside, Eddy slammed the door and turned to glare at everyone.

"What do you want?" He asked the travelers, his arms crossed.

"Well..." Jane looked over at Piff for a second. "I can tell you what we don't want... we don't want any hostility. Honestly, we don't mean any harm."

"It's true, Eddy, Piff and Jane aren't the enemy." Double D tried.

"Oh yea?" Eddy cocked an eyebrow at his friend. "What make you so sure?"

"Just listen!" Double D pleaded.

"Fine!" Eddy gave in. He looked at the two travelers.

"I know we look..." Jane looked at Piff again. "Odd... but we're not here to cause trouble. We're here to fix a problem that someone else, someone who was supposed to help you, caused. You have all been ripped off and you're paying a price that is not yours to pay."

"Ain't that the truth." Eddy scoffed. "If I did believe you, what would you two clowns do about it?"

"Well, we'd start with fixing the first problem." Piff explained. "We'd get rid of the thing that's keeping you here."

"How are you going to get rid of purgatory?" Eddy uncrossed his arms and placed them on his hips. "This isn't a game of Dungeons and Dummies, you know."

"I believe it's Dungeons and Dragons, Eddy." Double D corrected.

"You would know." Eddy made a face at the now blushing boy.

"It's not purgatory." Jane offered up. "The Man in Black lied to you. He tricked you all into thinking you can't leave so he can drain your energy when he's running low."

"Prove it." Eddy scowled.

The two looked over at Double D, prompting him to tell his side of the story.

"Eddy, they're right." Double D explained. "After I came to the conclusion that The Man in Black was, indeed, incorrect, I discovered that I could go beyond the creek. Which means that this whole thing is based on what you believe rather than what actually it."

"You can go passed the creek?" Eddy asked, his arms falling to his sides. "... How far?"

"Not too far, I'm not strong enough, but I can go into the woods a little ways." Double D smiled at him.

"... Show me." Eddy demanded.

"Eddy, I don't think..." Double D was cut off.

"No, that's a great idea." Piff spoke up. "If the others could see you do it, they'd believe what they saw."

"This." Jane pointed at Piff.

"We'd break this thing wide open." Piff looked at Double D, pleading.

"... Alright, I'll do it." He nodded, wearing a brave face.

"Okay." Jane nodded. "But how do we get the others to come and see?"

"Most of these saps aren't hard to reel in, trust me." Eddy spoke up. "I can get most of them to the creek by this afternoon, but you two have the pleasure of convincing Nazz and Kevin."

"I have no clue who those people are, Eddy." Jane frowned.

"Nazz is the blond girl, Kevin is the red haired loud mouth that everyone worships around here." Eddy rolled his eyes.

"I see." Jane nodded. "Leave it to us."

"Good luck, you'll need it." Eddy crossed his arms once more.

"We''ll go find Kevin and Nazz, you three work on getting the others to the creek." Jane informed the Eds.

"Will do." Double D smiled up at the two travelers.

"Aye, aye, captain!" Ed laughed.

"We'll come find you once everything is in order." Piff said before he and Jane headed for the door.

"Alright, have at it." Eddy waved them off lazily.

Jane and Piff exited the house and walked to the center of the cul-de-sac where they looked around. They could see various balls, a basket ball goal, frisbies, and other objects laying around and some of the other spirits stirring, glancing at them as they went about their business, all weary of their presence.

"Sheesh." Piff made a face. "So this is what it's like having the plague."

"You're telling me." Jane raised her eye brows. "But we have a job to do. Let's get going."

"Right." Piff nodded.

They made their way towards the back of the houses, voices nearby, where a tall wooden fence stood. Jane floated through it while Piff scaled it and landed on the other side.

The two ducked behind a trash can and peeked around it barely, listened to the voices, a male and a female.

"I duuno, Kev, maybe they really are here to help." Nazz frowned

"You're kidding me, Nazz." Kevin crossed his arms.

"Well..." Nazz rubbed her arms.

"If there is one thing I know for sure, it's that no one ever does anything because they want to help." He growled. "There's a price to everything."

"... I've never done that to you." Nazz looked up at him.

"You're an exception." Kevin put his hand on her shoulder, making her smile.

"Good." She beamed.

"I'm gonna go talk to Rolf about this whole thing." Keven sighed as he hopped onto a bike. "Maybe he has some old world joo-joo that can get rid of those two."

"Okay." Nazz still seemed unsure.

"Hang in there, babe." Kevin offered a small smile before peddling off down the lot.

Nazz waved as he vanished around the corner and leaned against the lot fence, crossing her arms and making small circles in the dirt with her shoe.

"He's not very fond of us, is he?" Piff called out gently.

Nazz gasped and spun around to see Jane and Piff standing behind the trashcan, their hands up in defense.

"How long have you been there?" She asked, flustered. "Were you eavsdropping?!"

"Yea, we were." Piff admitted. "But, look, we just want to talk."

"We didn't know how else to get close enough without scaring you away." Jane added softly.

Nazz looked up at them, settling down once she knew they weren't up to anything shadey.

"Well, I gotta say, guys, hiding in the lot is kinda sketch." She cocked an eyebrow at them.

"We know." Piff chuckled. "But while we're all here, let's just chat for a while."

Jane crossed her legs and hovered to the ground as Piff sat down, one leg bent to his chest and the other stretched out in front of him.

Nazz sat on her knees, waiting to hear what the two had to say.

"I promise that everything I said yesterday was true." Jane began. "I truly want to help you guys cross over. This isn't where you belong. You belong somewhere with endless space and wonder. A place big enough for your imaginations."

Nazz looked at Jane for a long time, then at the ground.

"Tell me, Nazz," Piff spoke up. "Are you happy here?"

"... Well..." Nazz began. "... I mean, I'm happy that I have my friends, and I'm happy that we're all still together, but... I want to see other places. I don't like being trapped here. I want to be free..."

"Well," Piff smiled at her softly. "What if we told you that you can see other places?"

"We can't go passed the creek..." Nazz frowned.

"That's because you believe you can't." Piff smiled. "But if you believed you can, then you can."

"What?" Nazz asked.

"As I said before, The Man in Black put a spell on this place to keep you here." Jane explained. "But almost every spell either wears off or there is a loop hole of sorts. The loop hole in this one is that it only works if you believe it does. That's why he lied to you. He wanted you to believe you couldn't leave so he could keep you here and feed off of your energy when he was running low."

"Why would someone do something like that?" Nazz pouted.

"He's not a nice person, Nazz." Piff frowned. "He was even mean to me when I was a kid. He's just a bad guy."

"Well..." Nazz glared suddenly. "That's not cool! I don't want to be stuck here anymore!"

"I'm glad." Jane nodded. "I tell you what, everyone's gonna meet at the creek this afternoon. You go there, too, and we will put an end to his little trick."

"Alright." Nazz nodded. "I'll do it. I'm gonna get out of here and I'm taking my friends with me!"

"Yes you are." Piff smiled.

Nazz stood up and started off down the lot, but she paused for a moment to look back and speak.

"Thanks, guys!" She waved and took off again.

Piff and Jane stood up and looked at one another, sharing a sigh of relief before going through and over the fence once more.

"Well, one to go." Piff stated.

"I think I know how to handle Kevin." Jane thought out loud. "Follow me.

She floated off towards the middle of the cul-de-sac again, Piff in towe.

"Where are we going?" Piff asked.

"To play a game of horse." Jane smiled at him.

"What?" Piff cocked an eyebrow.

"You heard me." Jane smirked as she floated over to a basketball that was sitting against the curb.

"Do we really have time for this, Jane?" He asked. "I mean, we still have work to do."

"Just play." Jane threw the ball at him.

Piff looked at the ball and then at Jane before just accepting her orders and throwing the ball at a goal set up at the end of the cul-de-sac. The ball made a racket as it hit the backboard and went in.

"Good shot!" Jane cheered. "My turn!"

Piff passed the ball to her and she stood in the spot he had stood. She threw the ball and it hit the backboard and bounced off of the rim.

"Dang!" Jane frowned. "That's an h for me."

She passed the ball back to Piff who stood back and took another shot. The ball went through the net without a sound.

"Wow, you're actually really good at this." Jane made a face of approval. She caught the ball when he threw it and made another shot.

The ball hit the rim but went in, which made Jane yelp.

"I got one!" She smiled. She passed the ball back to Piff.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that they were attracting attention from the other spirits. They stood along the sidewalk and in their yards and watched the game unfold.

The ball went through the net once more and Piff passed it back to Jane.

"Seriously, were you on the team at your school?" Jane asked.

"No, I just have good hand-eye coordination, I guess." Piff shrugged.

Jane threw the ball and it bounced off of the rim again.

"Dude... I suck." Jane laughed.

"It's because you're short." Piff teased.

"Probably!" Jane laughed. "I have an h and an o so far."

Piff took a shot and the ball hit the rim, bounced, and fell off of the side, making him loose a point for the first time.

"Dang." He frowned. "I have an h now."

"Yup!" Jane laughed.

Piff passed her the ball and she took her shot. The ball hit the backboard and went in.

"Sweet!" Jane clapped. She picked the ball up and threw it back at Piff who caught it and took a quick shot. The ball went through the net with a light swish.

"You're really good, dude, no lie!" Jane laughed, slightly shocked by the goth boy's skill.

"Thanks." He smiled as he passed the ball back to her.

Jane glanced around quickly and noticed Kevin standing on the sidewalk next to a tall dark haired boy who she presumed to be Rolf.

She quickly took the shot and the ball bounced off of the back board and over to Piff.

"Okay, that's an h, an o, and now an r for me." Jane laughed. "I am obviously not a basketball player."

Piff chuckled and threw the ball. It hit the backboard, bounced off of the rim and went into the net. He picked the ball up and threw it back to Jane.

"No s, no s, no s..." Jane murmered as she took the shot. The ball clipped the side of the back board and bounced right back at her. She caught the ball and passed it to Piff. "Dang it!"

Piff laughed and took his shot, making the net again. He passed the ball back to Jane, amused by her horrible basketball abilities.

"Last shot!" Jane winced. She took a deep breath and threw the ball. It hit the rim, paused, and then fall off, costing her the game.

"Noooooo!" She laughed. "I am awful!"

Piff laughed and walked over to her, and patted her back.

"Yea, yea you are." He teased.

She smacked his hand away with a laugh and picked the ball up. She looked around at the spirits who were all watching.

"Anyone wanna play?" She called.

The others remained quiet, unsure and did not answer.

"Anyone?" She called. "A game of horse?"

"I'll play." Kevin spoke up.

Jane and Piff turned around and looked at him.

"Cool." Jane smiled. "Pick a team mate."

"I choose Rolf." Kevin looked over at the tall boy.

Rolf nodded and walked with him to meet Jane and Piff.

"Let's make this interesting, why don't we?" Kevin spoke lowly to Jane and Piff. "If we win, you leave this place and never come back."

"Alright." Jane nodded. "And if we win, you have to come to the creek this afternoon."

"Game on." Kevin smirked. "Take your shot, ponytail."

Piff adjusted his shades and threw the ball. It went through the net and hit the ground, rolling over to Rolf.

Jane and Piff backed up as the tall boy threw the ball. It hit the backboard and went through the net.

Rolf tossed the ball to Jane who aimed carefully and threw the ball. It hit the rim and rolled off of the side.

"Awww." Jane pouted.

"That's an h for you dorks." Kevin smirked.

Jane tossed him the ball and he wasted no time making the shot and sending the ball straight through the net.

Kevin picked the ball up and passed it to Piff with some force behind it.

Piff ignored the hostility and threw the ball. It went through the net, making a swishing sound. He picked it back up and passed it to Rolf.

Rolf aimed and threw the basket ball, but it hit the backboard too hard and Jane caught it.

"H for you guys." Jane pointed out.

"We'll see how long we stay tied." Kevin crossed his arms.

"Indeed." Jane nodded. She aimed carefull and threw the ball. It hit the rim, balanced, and rolled into the hoop. "Yes!"

She picked the ball up when it rolled back to her and she tossed it to Kevin.

Kevin, once again, made a flawless shot and passed the ball over to Piff.

Piff threw the ball and watched as it hit the back board, bounced into the rim, and through the hoop. Piff retrieved the ball and passed it over to Rolf.

Rolf threw the ball and it hit the rim and fell into the hoop. He smiled and passed the ball to Jane.

She aimed and took the shot. The ball hit the backboard and then the rim, falling off of the side.

"Shoot." Jane frowned.

"You got an o." Kevin called as Jane tossed the ball over to him.

He made a one handed shot and the ball went straight in. He smirked and threw the ball over to Piff.

Piff carefully aimed and threw the ball. It went straight through and bounced back over to him. With a smile, he passed it to Rolf.

"You are good, ponytailed boy." Rolf smiled.

"Thanks." Piff chuckled.

Rolf made his shot and the ball hit the rim and bounced off. He caught it and passed it to Jane.

"We, too, have an o now." Rolf kept score.

Jane took a minute to aim and threw the ball. It hit the backboard and went in, to her surprise.

"Yay." She clapped. She picked the ball up and tossed it to Kevin, who made his shot skillfully.

The ball went in and the threw it back over to Piff.

Piff threw the ball and it bounced off of the backboard and missed the hoop.

"Aww." Piff frowned aas he retrieved the ball and passed it to Rolf.

Rolf took the shot and made the hoop cleanly.

"Right in the middle!" He laughed, passing the ball to Jane, who couldn't help but smile at the tall boy's enthusiasm.

She careully aimed and threw the ball, but it hit the rim and bounced off.

"Well crap." She said flatly as she caught the ball.

"R!" Kevin pointed.

Jane passed the ball to him and he, once more, made a masterful shot. The ball barely grazed the net and hit the ground.

He retrieved the ball and threw it over to Piff.

Piff thre the ball and it went through with no problem. He picked it up and passed it to Rolf.

Rolf aimed and made the shot, but the ball hit the backboard and missed the hoop.

"R." Jane nodded as Rolf passed the ball to her. She took longer to aim and then threw the ball. It hit the rim and fell in, making her smile as she passed it over to Kevin.

Kevin aced the shot again and passed the ball over to Piff.

Piff aimed and threw the ball. It hit the rim, bounced and seemed to pause there forever. Finally it fell off of the side and rolled back to him.

"S." Piff frowned as he passed the ball to Rolf.

Rolf threw the ball and it hit the backboard and then the rim before bouncing off of the side.

"S." Jane whispered.

Rolf passed the ball to her and she looked up at the goal, aiming more carefully than she had at anypoint in the game. She took a deep breath and finally let the ball go.

She closed her eyes and only peeked to see what was happened. Suddenly, her eyes shot wide open as the ball went through the hoop with a swish.

"Oh milanta..." She gaped as she retrieved the ball. She passed it to Kevin who glared at her. He turned away from the goal and threw the ball over his shoulder.

It flew through the air and hit the backbaord. He turned suddenly in just enough time to see it miss the hoop and hit the ground. He was stunned, as were the others who were watching.

"... That's e." Piff spoke. "That's game."

The other spirits looked at one another, mumbling and whispering when something caught their attention.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls!" Eddy's voice rang out.

Everyone turned to see Eddy standing off to the side with a handmade megaphone.

"This afternoon, come see the daring, the outrageous, and the totally unbeliveable magic of Double D the Amazing!" He made a dramatic gesture to his friend, who stood, figiting. "This very afternoon, Double D the Amazing will attempt to cross beyond the creek!"

The entire cul-de-sac began talking. They were in shock at what was being said.

"I'll believe it when I see it!" The small pale boy called.

"Then come see it!" Eddy retorted. "And be AMAZED!"

And with that, he ran off into the woods with the other two Eds.

"This I gotta see." Sarah crossed her arms, glancing over at the pale boy. "Whad'ya say, Jimmy?"

"Okay, Sarah." He smiled.

Jane and Piff watched as the others dispersed and returned to what they were doing before the game had begun.

Piff turned to look at Jane with wide eyes behind his shades.

"Can you believe that just happned?" He asked.

"Somethings are just meant to be." Jane said, equally as shocked. "C'mon, let's get some food in you before this afternoon. I got a feeling we may end up in a bit of a stich later."

"Same here." Piff nodded, following Jane as she lead him into the woods.


For more awesome, go to the next chapter.