Edgar killed those fucking ants. Every last one of them. Then he cleaned the kitchen again. Just to be sure. Now that he was done he really wanted Johnny to see his newly cleaned, ant-less kitchen. Somehow, by coincidence, Johnny usually magically appeared whenever Edgar had finished cleaning, and would see the work he'd done. But Nny was still nowhere on the main floor, so that meant he was probably still somewhere in the basement. Edgar really wanted him to see the kitchen. It had taken far more work than the bathroom. But at the same time, Edgar wasn't quite sure it was worth the risk of venturing into the abyss. Hmm. He weighed his options. He could stay up there and find something else to clean, or he could find Nny. Cleaning some more would be another toll on his now exhausted body and he wasn't ready to make another strike against the unholy filth of the house. But going to find Nny might end in various forms of torture which Edgar could only try and imagine (and he didn't want to). Then again, the latter was quite nearly always a risk, just from living with Johnny. So it wouldn't be anything new. He shrugged and shuffled through the house and down the stairs into the basement.

The screaming increased in quantity and volume the farther down he went. He was used to it by now but it didn't make it exactly pleasant. Calling out Nny's name to try and find out where he was wouldn't do any good; the other voices would drown out his. So, he figured a trial and error method would work. As he went down he opened doors and looked inside. Usually a person would be attached to some sort of device, or to the wall. Most of them were unconscious but it was the awake ones that really got to him. They were so distracting. He would poke his head in to see if Johnny was there and suddenly someone would shout at him, 'Oh god, finally! Help me, please I've been in here forever and he won't let me goooo!' Then Edgar would quickly yank his head out of the room and shut the door. Furious cries would curse him from behind the door and he would move on. He would also pause for a minute or two wondering if he was a terrible person for leaving those victims in their various rooms and not helping them. It really was a kind of horrible thing to do to someone. See them bound and in obvious distress and then walk away despite being able to do something about it. But he really wanted someone to appreciate his hard work on the kitchen. These captives would be too focused on escaping to even notice. So what would be the point in freeing them? He really was an awful human being.

Finally, he thought as he opened yet another door to reveal Nny pulling someone's teeth out with pliers. Edgar winced at the horrible shriek of pain from the woman who was the current victim of Nny's sadistic urges. He cleared his throat politely causing Nny to turn around, pliers still in hand. He cocked his head to the side and stared at him with an expression Edgar couldn't identify.

"What are you doing down here?"

"I cleaned the kitchen." Edgar's voice came out a bit distracted as he was trying to tune out the woman's agonized gurgling.

Johnny held up a hand gesturing for him to shut up. He then took his pliers and beat the woman over the head with them until she went limp, unconscious. "What was that you were saying? I couldn't hear you over her screaming."

"I cleaned the kitchen."

"Really?" Johnny squinted at him, "How did you manage that?"

Edgar felt a pop of triumph rattle within his chest at Nny's astonishment. "I just used the things I bought at the market the other day."

"Yes, I'm sure you did." Nny paused, "But I've spent years messing up that kitchen."

"I noticed…there were…ants," At that he shuddered, "in the oven, but I'm pretty sure I got them all."

"I see." Another pause. "I'm guessing you would like me to come take a look at it to satisfy your seemingly endless need for attention and praise?"

Edgar froze, but Johnny passed right by him and out of the room. His footsteps echoed off the walls as he sprinted pell-mell up the stairs. He shook his head, suddenly feeling embarrassed and quite cold. Edgar hurried up the stairs to catch up with Nny, but found that his legs would only move so fast. They seemed to be made of lead now. His words had caught him off guard. He wasn't sure they were hurtful so much as…unexpected? Edgar was sure that he hadn't meant it in an unkind way; by the way he said it. It was like he was merely thinking aloud, recanting his observations. But at the same time, Edgar wasn't entirely sure anymore, the farther up the stairs he got. Once he had reached the main floor, Edgar could hear Johnny moving around the kitchen.

He walked into the newly cleaned room with Johnny who was staring around in wonder. He turned his eyes onto Edgar and put a patronizing smile onto his face. Johnny approached him in a way that filled him with dread. He realized it was completely unnecessary when all Nny did was pat him on the head and coo things at him like 'Good cleaning woman'. He then disappeared again. Disheartened and mortified he sat down on the floor, staring at the tile. He had gone down there perhaps a little too eager for some acknowledgement. Excited at the thought of any compliments or appreciation that Nny might bestow upon him. How pathetic, as Nny had so kindly noted. Edgar sighed. Why was he still here?

Edgar was confounded by his own actions. Most of the things in his grocery bags he owned already, and was sitting in his apartment. He could have gone and gotten them. But for some reason he was avoiding going back like the plague. On the seventh day (Today), he'd finally caved to the need to change clothes and to take a shower. He'd been avoiding going to the market again because of all the stares he'd been receiving. Was it because of how badly he smelled? He was wearing the same clothes he'd been wearing all week; he hadn't showered in a week, or put on any deodorant. He surely smelled horrific. But those were just delusions. Edgar knew why people were staring at him. It was because he'd been out to eat with Johnny so many times now, they'd been seen together. People were starting to connect him with Nny, and so they gave him looks. They were not looks that Edgar enjoyed a great deal. They were disgusted, sympathetic, and sometimes frightened looks. He was beginning to realize that people thought he was like Johnny because he was with him all the time. This theory both offended him and worried him. What if he was becoming like Johnny? It wasn't a pleasant thought. Edgar found himself pushing it to the back of his mind.

He had his hand on the doorknob, about to reenter the house when a voice stopped him. A frantic, warning-filled tone shouted at him not to go in there. Edgar turned around and saw a small boy standing on the sidewalk looking terrified. Quickly he opened the door and set his groceries inside before shutting it again and slowly approaching the traumatized looking child. He knelt down on the sidewalk next to him.

"What are you doing?" The boy squealed, "That's where the scary man lives, if you go in there he'll kill you."

That last part was said in a frightened whisper, as if Johnny could hear him from the bowels of the house. Edgar shook his head, "I'll be fine. He was going to kill me, I think, but then he decided not to."

The boy didn't look so convinced so Edgar added, "I've been living there for a week now and I'm perfectly fine."

"I think my daddy got tired of all the noise he's been making so he went over there. I was just…do you know if…if he…?"

Edgar's eyes widened in comprehension, "You're squee, aren't you?"

"My name's Todd. But…but squee is what the scary neighbor man calls me."

"It was your dad coming over that distracted him from killing me!" Edgar couldn't help the note of happiness that crept into his voice. "I don't know if he's still alive but I can ask for you if you want."

"Squee." He muttered under his breath, obviously traumatized for life. Edgar felt bad for the kid. He was about to invite him in but caught himself. That would probably be a bad idea.

"Here, I'll go ask him right now, and then I'll come and tell you. Stay here. I'll be right back." Edgar told him. Little Todd nodded his head and his eyes remained their widened terrified size.

He went back to the door, this time going in. He picked up his groceries and took them into the kitchen where he put them onto the counter. The twang of Nny scrubbing away at his saw echoed throughout the main floor from the bathroom. Edgar made his way there, pushing open the bathroom door to reveal Nny in his usual position. One foot bent under him, resting in the sink that Edgar had just cleaned that morning, and the other resting on the toilet seat (which he had also just cleaned). He would have said something but there really was no point. Either Nny would mock him for his clean freakness or he wouldn't grace him with a response.

"Squee's outside and he wants to know if you killed his dad or not." Edgar announced. Nny's head snapped up and his eyes grew intent.

"Oh, he's not dead. He's still in the basement though." He frowned, "I'm not sure what to do with him. If I kill him it will upset Squee. But if I let him go he might move them all away. Then there would be no one to look out for Squee."

"Why don't you go ask him about it?"

Without a word, he hopped off the sink and set his saw down on the floor. He flew by Edgar and out the front door. Following him outside, he then stood a foot or so away from the two of them, listening in on the odd conversation.

"Now Squee, think about this rationally, have those filthy sacks of human waste ever really done a good job of taking care of you?" Todd looked frightened beyond belief, so Edgar decided to intervene.

"Um, Todd." Both heads turned towards him, Nny appeared both frustrated at being interrupted and curious as to what Edgar was getting at. Todd merely looked relieved. "What I think Nny is trying to say is, that your parents aren't very good at being parents."

Edgar felt his tongue stick to the roof of his mouth. He wasn't sure why until he realized that he'd never actually said Nny's name out loud before. It seems like they never said each other's names because there was no need. They never had to specify who they were talking to as they were the only ones in the house besides the numerous nameless victims in the basement. It felt very odd to say the name, Nny, pronounced knee. It was like he'd forgotten that the sound formed by the movements his tongue made was actually a name, the name of the man he was living with sort of not really. His focus homed in on the small boy standing in front of him when he began to speak quickly and defensively.

"No, they're fine! Really! They don't mean all the things they say-Schmee, that wasn't nice." The child's attention was captured by the stuffed bear in his hands.

Edgar sighed. He was surrounded by crazy people; even cute, innocent seeming children were insane. What was wrong with this place? He tried a different approach, "Todd, though I'm sure that it doesn't seem like it at times, I think Nny really does care about your wellbeing and he's just trying to do what's best for you. Which, it looks like your parents aren't very good at."

Nny nodded vigorously in agreement with this statement. Todd gazed forlornly down at the sidewalk. Edgar could feel the annoyance and impatience radiating off of Johnny and sought a way to placate the situation. He picked the boy up off the sidewalk and carried him towards the house.

"Here, how bout this Todd, we take you to see your dad. You can talk to him if you want, and then you can decide whether or not you still want Nny to let him go." Todd stared at the house that was rapidly approaching with every long stride Edgar took.

"Squee." He murmured.

Nny was hot on their heels, following them through the house and down into the basement. Eventually Edgar realized that he didn't know where Todd's father was so he allowed Nny to lead the way. Todd was curled against Edgar's chest, shrinking into himself the farther down they went. Edgar was really starting to wonder if this was a good idea. The poor boy was so scared that he was hiding his face against the chest of a man he didn't even know. After a while they came upon a door in a section of the basement that Edgar hadn't spent very much time in. Nny opened it and walked in. There was a man cuffed to the wall in there that Todd apparently recognized because he threw himself out of Edgar's arms. Nny's latest victim was extremely unremarkable in the true sense of the word. He looked to be a young parent, in his late twenties or early thirties. He was of average height, an uninteresting shade of brown hair, brown eyes and pinkish skin. The only thing that stuck out about him was that his had quite hairy legs that showed in the gap between the hem of his pants and the cuffs of his socks. He also had a bit of a gut that Edgar found only added to his average appearance.

"Daddy! Are you okay?" Todd cried, genuinely concerned.

"Ugh, NO, I am NOT fine! What makes you think I'm fine?" The man growled, "First you had the nerve to be born instead of miscarrying, and no matter what we do you continue to love us and talk to us! Then, your idiotic 'scary neighbor man' chains me to a wall and leaves me down here to rot! No, I am not fine!"

Todd appeared unfazed, as if this was a perfectly normal thing to hear from one's parent. Edgar was repulsed. No wonder Nny was so torn. But the boy seemed to care for his parents despite their repugnant personalities, so what were they supposed to do.

"But Daddy, I came down here to get you!"

"Oh, that's really encouraging. I'm being rescued by the sniveling, sanity challenged child I accidentally brought into being!"

"Daddy, they're going to let you down and we can go home." Todd's cute face was growing more and more crestfallen. Nny was becoming infuriated; Edgar could feel it from his side of the room. He had to get the boy out of here before Nny did something to the pitiful excuse of a father.

"Todd, c'mon we should probably get out of here. Maybe you should try talking him later…" Edgar picked up the boy who felt boneless in his arms. He glanced back at Johnny who was shaking with rage.

"Stay right here, okay?" Edgar set Todd down on the floor in the hallway just outside the room. He checked with him for confirmation, he nodded. "I'll be right back."

Edgar reentered the room and shut the door behind him. He carefully came up behind Nny and rested a hand on his shoulder. He whirled around and backhanded Edgar so forcefully he fell backwards a few steps. His face prickled as if it was numb and just starting to wake up. But once it woke up it burned with a vengeance. Nny screamed obscenities at the man, and occasionally spun around at Edgar to tell him to stay out of it, if he took but a step. When he saw Nny pull out his swords, Edgar knew he had to do something. He had told Todd that he would get to make the choice, not Nny.

He strode forward and ducked quickly when Nny spun around to hit him again. Edgar grabbed Johnny's wrists and forcefully twisted them the wrong way. His fingers reflexively loosened and his swords slipped from his hands. Desperately he kicked them across the room out of his reach. Johnny glared at him, screaming at him but Edger rolled his eyes. He used his larger frame and heavier stance to push Johnny backwards into a more fragile position.

"Okay, you know what? You need to suck it up and calm down." Edgar forced his voice to lose its frustration and be more reasonable. This was very hard to do with a wiry, flexible little bastard writhing in your grip trying to get back to his weapons.

"Calm down? Calm down?" Johnny's voice was reaching new pitches that Edgar was happy he had not heard before this moment. His ears were starting to ring.

He twisted Nny's arms behind his back and forced him up against the wall, allowing him to move his head to the side so he could breathe. Stepping on his feet he kept him as still as possible.

"You're acting childish, and immature. You need to stop screaming and whining and insulting people for just a minute."

That silenced him. He settled for a quiet huffy tantrum that involved much glaring and sneering. Edgar sighed. "Remember? I told Todd that he could talk to his dad if he wanted, to compromise. But right now, this isn't working so we're taking a break."

"I don't remember putting you in charge of what I do."

"You didn't put me in charge; I put me in charge, because you were acting like an emotional little brat who can't control himself." Edgar paused, "You don't get to do that stuff in front of the kid. If his parents are as horrible as you make them out to be, then be better than them."

"How dare you compare me to those worthless feculent degenerates? Of course I'm better than them!"

"Then prove it! Go ahead, be crazy, and sadistic, and disgusting all you want down here in the basement, I can deal with it, but don't do it in front of Todd. Do you understand?"

Nny did not respond to that but he had ceased glaring. He was staring at the door, Edgar turned. Todd had come in and was standing a few feet in from the doorway and he was staring right past them at his father. The man had fallen suspiciously silent during the altercation, Edgar had nearly forgotten he was in the room.

"Daddy, do you love me?" Todd asked the floor.

"No, son, you ruined my life and I hate you for being born." His father replied in exasperation, as if he'd had to say this too many times.

Todd was silent for a moment. He continued staring at the floor, or he might have been looking at Schmee, the bear. Then he looked up at his father and asked his father if 'mommy' loved him either. His father answered tonelessly with a much similar answer. Todd chose to gaze at the ceiling then, inspecting the light bulb with rabid fascination. Then, he turned to Edgar and Nny, peering at them intently.

"Mr. Neighbor man?" He inquired.

"Yes Squee?" Nny answered.

"You can kill my daddy if you want." He murmured meekly, "And my mommy if you feel like it."

"What?" His father yelled, "No! Son! Don't leave me here!"

Todd turned and went out of the room. He returned to the doorway a minute later and looked meaningfully at Edgar. "'Scuse me, could…could you walk upstairs with me? The screaming is frightening me."

"Sure." Edgar released an all too eager Johnny from his hold, and padded over to the doorway.

He could hear Nny lunging for his swords, so Edgar hurriedly picked up Todd and pelted up the stairs away from the room. Thankfully, soon the other screams drowned out what was probably Todd's father's. Edgar never lessened his pace as they went up the stairs. He didn't want to stop until he was all the way out of the horrifying basement. THERE. He skidded through the doorway at the top and slammed the door shut on all the pained voices. He shuffled into the bedroom that seemed to never be inhabited. Edgar put Todd down on the bed and tried to catch his breath. There were so many stairs.

"'Scuse me," Again with the soft voice, Edgar looked up at the boy, "what's your name?"

"Edgar." He answered.

"Thank you for going with me up the stairs. I don't like the screams."

"No problem kiddo, I don't like 'em either. Kinda creepy huh?"

The boy nodded his head vigorously. Edgar chuckled.

"I'm gonna go clean the bathroom, and take a shower, okay?"

Todd's eyes widened, and Edgar sighed, "I promise, I'll be right across the hall, I'm not leaving you."

"Promise?"

"I promise. I might go outside though because I need to bury the…er…things in the tub before I scrub it out."

"What things?"

"Oh…things you don't wanna know."

"Okay!"

Todd leapt further onto the bed and dove under the covers. Soon he was no more than a very, very still lump on the mattress. Edgar sniggered, he grabbed the shovel that was leaning against the wall and one of the buckets next to it. Into the bathroom he went. He set down his shovel and bucket and plucked the saw off the floor so he could lean it up against the wall. Then he picked his Playtex gloves off the floor and started loading limbs into the bucket until it was full. He usually had to make no more than three trips, sometimes four if he procrastinated. Out into the front yard he went. More time must have passed than he thought because it was getting dark out. There were few people walking the suburb this late so he didn't have to worry about the weird looks he got.

Cleaning out the tub was always an interesting venture. Once he grew so insensitive to the act of touching amputated body parts of tortured human beings that it was disturbingly meaningless, it became such a chore. When he first got used to it was when he noticed the looks. No one said anything, no one came near him. In fact, sometimes people ran across the street to walk on the opposite sidewalk. It sort of helped to be thought of as a Johnny clone. No one really talked to him, they seemed to like talking to Johnny, but they avoided talking to Edgar. Maybe it was his more healthy weight and size? He actually looked like he could beat the crap out of someone? Who knows. What both elated and irked him was the fact that no one was whipping out their cell phones to dial 911. Or, better yet, there was the happenstance that when Sherriff cars went cruising by they did nothing. Was it completely fine for him to be burying body parts of people in his front yard? Would no one stop him? No, no they wouldn't. It was quite odd really.

Edgar examined the yard. He distinctly remembered burying in this section just yesterday. He moved across to the other corner and started digging a significant hole. Grabbing the bucket by the handle and hoisting it over sideways he poured the limbs into the hole and went inside for more. After repeating the process a predicted three times he filled in the hole and replaced the bucket and shovel in the bedroom. Todd, he noted, had wriggled up so his head poked out of the covers slightly. He was sleeping peacefully, and Edgar also noticed, Nny had yet to come out of the basement. Oh well, it wasn't all that tragic that Todd's father was dying a very painful, torturous death. At least, it wasn't tragic now that Todd had given the ok. If it had turned out that under that hateful shell the man had been a decent person and Nny had ended up killing him, that would have been bad. But, the hateful shell was really a hateful whole person. So now he was being murdered. Yippee.

After scrubbing the tub thoroughly, he went into the kitchen and got all of the bathroom things he'd purchased earlier that day. Several bath towels, some shampoo, soap, and wash cloths. Hand soap for the sink and a profuse number of packets of clean underwear. He put everything in their newly designated places before wandering into the bedroom. Edgar wasn't sure about this, well, he was sure and he wasn't. He was staring at the one thing in the bedroom he knew that Johnny used: the dresser. Carefully so as to not awaken Todd, Edgar opened the drawers. Inside was an abundance of clothing. He picked out some he hadn't seen Johnny wear and shut the drawers before heading out of the room and across the hall. He peeled his disgusting clothes off of him and let them fall to the floor. Then he stepped into the freshly cleaned bathtub and reached for the faucet. When the hot water came on it shocked him a little, he was preparing himself for frigid water droplets hitting him in the eye. Instead he was provided decent, warm water that broke through the shell of dirt that had been encasing him for the past few days. Then he grabbed the shampoo and dumped more than he probably needed onto his head. He scrubbed it into his scalp and through his lank hair. As he rinsed off the shampoo he could feel the stink melt away. It was a sublimely unique experience, he relished it.

Just as he was stepping out of the tub and reaching for a towel the bathroom door opened. Nny stood in the door way with a bucket of limbs to put in the tub. He stared at Edgar in a mixture of confusion and frustration that Edgar found slightly disconcerting. Still, knowing how easily he'd been able to get Nny under control, Edgar moved out of his way and began drying himself off and getting dressed. Nny moved around him, pouring the fresh limbs into the tub and grabbing his saw and a sponge. He propped himself up on the counter and glared at Edgar in a way that was probably supposed to be intimidating. Edgar pulled on the clean clothes he's picked out and then grabbed the dirty ones off the floor. He walked out of the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. Across the hall in the bedroom he set his dirty clothes in the corner, designating that spot as the dirty clothes corner. He glanced at Todd to check on him and found that he'd been tucked in, a pillow put under his head. Edgar climbed into the bed next to the boy, but leaving a respectable distance, and fell asleep.

TBC…