Chapter 3: I Have Appeared!
Eddy had finished his shift, so the Eds decided to hangout a few minutes longer. They talked about the usual, such as school, things at home, and what scams they could pull off in the future.
"So here's what I was thinking; we need to get a slingshot, a toothbrush, and a pound of gelatin…"
Eddy was interrupted by the ringing of the bell above the entrance door. A girl around their age in a white jacket and black jean shorts walked in. She had long, straight black hair swept mostly to one side, and wore a stressed expression.
She walked up to the front counter and addressed Tiffany. "Excuse me, did you see a boy in a yellow shirt come in here? I've lost something important to me, and I've heard from others that he has it."
The Eds immediately stopped their conversation and shifted their attention towards the girl.
"Eddy, I think she's talking about you," Double D said. He stared at his short friend critically. "I wonder...
"Don't even think about it, sock-head! I didn't steal nothing," Eddy asserted.
Tiffany replied back courteously. "I think the person you're looking for is right behind you," she pointed in Eddy's direction. "But I truly don't believe that he intentionally took anyting from you."
The girl whipped around and made a b-line straight for the boys' table.
"Hey kid, did you pick up an electronic device shaped like a rectangle?" She asked.
Eddy cocked an eyebrow. "Could ya be a little more specific?"
The girl momentarily clenched her fists impatiently before taking a deep breath and trying again. "It has a 'D' on? About this big and this wide?" The girl panamimed. "Colored jet black?"
Eddy was hit with a realization. "Uh, yeah. Give me a sec…" He stuck his hands in his pockets and began to rummage around for the weird object he picked up off the street.
That's when the jocks from outside burst into the Milk Dipper. Eddy ceased his search immediately and instead ducked under the table.
"Anybody see a short kid with only three hairs come in here?" One of the jocks called out.
All of the patrons pointed towards the Eds.
Found out, Eddy nervously crawled out from under his hiding place and gave a friendly wave. "How you guys doing? Been hitting that iron?"
"Shut up loser," another jock snapped. "Give back what you stole from Kevin, and we promise not to leave your face disfigured too much."
"You've been a bad boy, Eddy," Ed teased.
"Shut it, Ed," harshly whispered Eddy out of the corner of his mouth. He turned back to the jocks with a defiant look. "I didn't steal nothin', now leave me alone."
"Quit lying, we know you did. A witness told us," The freckled jock stated angrily.
Double D foresaw the situation taking a turn for the worse if no attempts to intercede were made. "Now gentleman, I'm sure that this is all a misunderstanding. If we just calmly sit down and talk this out…"
"Get em!" The jocks charged into the coffee shop, tossing chairs and tables carelessly out of their way.
The Eds quickly turned their own table over and braced for impact. When the jocks ran into them, everyone, including the girl and the Eds, went toppling to the floor.
"Let's get the heck outta here!" Eddy yelled. The gang sprung to their feet and dashed out the door. It took another whole minute for the jocks to untangle themselves before they did the same.
The girl was the last one to get up. She desperately ran out to try and catch up with the Eds.
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Ed, Edd, and Eddy had made it to the park when they realized that the jocks had been following the entire way. Eddy tried to speed up, but he stumbled and fell face first into the sand. Ed and Double D didn't have time to stop, so they ended up tripping over Eddy's prone form.
Seizing their opportunity, the jocks pinned the Eds down and began to beat them without mercy.
Before being punched in the eye, Eddy saw Double D being kicked in the ribs and Ed trying to struggle against three of the jocks. It took six of them to finally nail him to the ground.
Eddy tried kicking back, but his legs were stomped on with every attempt. He heard the jock on top of him saying something, but he couldn't make out the words over the throbbing in his head. All he could do was plead silently that someone would stop this before all three of them were throttled to death.
That's when he heard a tough-sounding voice speak out in his head.
*Move over so I can take these punks out!*
Before Eddy could even process where the voice came from, his senses were overtaken by a strange flow, and he watch as his body moved on its own.
From the jock's point of view, an erratic current of red static mysteriously crackled out of thin air and passed over the boy, brightening the irises of his eyes a frightening crimson. He spontaneously grew a full set of hair, random sections of it streaked red. Every strand was sprung up on end in a spiked, porcupine-like style.
As soon as the static vanished, The being in control broke out into a maniacal laugh and threw the boy on top of him into the jungle gym behind.
"I appear!" The being proclaimed in the exact same voice it used in Eddy's mind. He quickly got up and bulldozed the rest of the jocks off of the other Eds.
Taken fully by surprised and more than a bit frightened, the jocks regrouped and gawked at Eddy's sudden shift in features.
"What are you, some kind of freak!?"
The being cracked a savage smile at the fear in the athelte's voice. "I can't have you morons killing off my contract holder. I should warn you though, I don't hold back and I don't start on pretenses. From start to finish, I'm at a climax!"
One by one, the jocks charged in to take another crack at the shortest of the Eds. The being easily avoided each swing that came his way and countered whoever sent them, skidding bodies across the sand. This continued until each jock sported an array of injuries that outshined even the ones they gave the Eds.
Now completely unnerved by Eddy's newfound strength, they tried to crawl away. The being casually strolled after them and ripped a bar from a swingset along the way.
"Where you guys going? I was just about to show you this cool move I thought up." He kicked one of the fleeing jocks down and raised the bar above his head. The red static sprung back up more violently than before. "My Certain-Kill Attack!"
*Don't do it!* Eddy shouted in his mind. The being controlling him stopped his swing just before the bar impacted with the jock's face. In anger, he smashed the pole through the cement curb.
"Shut up, I'm busy." He prepared to swing again before Eddy took control of his arm.
*Are you crazy?! Their jerks, but I don't want to kill them!*
Eddy forcibly caused his hand to drop the pipe, and then used pure will to take back control of his body. Feeling the being release him completely, Eddy dropped to his knees. Though his features returned to normal, the jocks still stared at him with a mix of confusion and fear.
When the other Eds tried to approach, Eddy ran off. That's when the girl from the shop finally caught up to the others. She watched Eddy run before approaching the other two Eds.
"We need to follow your friend, he's in danger." She ran off in Eddy's direction without so much as an explanation
Double D and Ed hesitated before deciding to chase after her.
With enough effort, Double D managed to catch up with the mysterious girl. "Who are you? What do you know about what's happening to Eddy?"
The girl didn't stop running. "My name's Hana, and your friend is possessed by something worse than you can imagine"
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Eddy finally came to a stop when he reached an abandoned lot. He leaned against a wall to help catch his breath and make sense of what had just occured.
"I… almost killed those guys, but it wasn't me. Am I haunted or something?" Eddy said aloud. He didn't expect an answer back.
*Yes, you are haunted.* The voice in his head stated matter-of-factly. *By me.*
Eddy clutched at his head and screamed. "Get out of my brain!"
A white stream of sand began to suddenly fall from out of his clothes and squirm at his feet like a scattered army of ants. Eddy in panic kicked and shook to dispel the seemingly live grains from his person before jumping back to watch all of it shift and shape itself into a grotesque form.
The end result of the sand's self-molding was the upper body of what appeared to be some strange variant of ogre.
"Geez, you don't need to scream about it!"The strange ogre creature complained. "Okay, time for the formalities." The creature cleared it's throat and squirmed it's way a bit closer to Eddy. "Tell me your wish, I will grant you any wish. Just compensate me with one thing."
Eddy backed away and threw anything he could grab, which happened to be a convienenly stacked pile of empty paint cans. "Help! I'm being attacked by a really ugly ghost!"
"Dumbass, I'm not a ghost!" The creature shouted back while dodging the projectiles. "Cut that out!"
"He's telling the truth." Hana and the two Eds arrived and ran up to stand at Eddy's side. "He's an Imagin."
"A what?" Eddy halted in mid-throw with a brick in hand.
"An Imagin." Hana answered. "Without all the details: it's a demon that forms a contract with people in return for the use of their memory. It then travels to the time that the memory took place in. After that, it simultaneously destroys the past and future."
"Cool!" Ed yelled joyously. He ran up to the Ogre Imagin and began poking it. "Can I keep it, guys?"
"Ed, get away from that thing!" Double D shouted. "It's a malicious entity from another dimension, who knows what kind of diseases it carries?"
"I'm not some stray dog; now get this idiot away from me!"
"I'm sorry, but I don't have time to stay and talk about this. I really need my pass back." Hana approached Eddy and held her hand out.
He pulled back defiantly. "Forget it! Not until you tell me how to get rid of that, 'thing'!"
"You don't understand, I need that pass to go back!"
"For all I know, that thing works for you," Eddy angrily accused. "None of this happened until I picked up your stupid pass!"
Hana had picked Eddy up by his collar, when everyone noticed they were not alone. At the entrance of the lot was a fuming and deranged-looking Kevin.
"This guy a friend of yours?" The Ogre Imagin asked as he slid himself along side the group.
"Not really..." Double D answered back.
They all watched as Kevin staggered towards them. He was halfway near their position when he randomly screamed out and collapsed to the ground. Sand poured out of his clothes and created the full form of a human adult-sized Bat Imagin. The sand solidified and turned into flesh and blood. The monster's fur was dark blue, it had large, black wings curled on its back, and sported sharp claws.
"Good lord, what happened to Kevin?!" Double D exclaimed in shock.
Hana stared intently. "He must have formed a contract with the Imagin."
The Bat Imagin took flight and charged at the group, forcing everyone but the Ogre Imagin to duck down. It arhced high into the air and prepared to dive back.
"Quick, give me the pass before it comes back!" Hana pleaded.
"So you can leave us here to get eaten? Forget it!" Eddy shouted.
Everyone ended up scattering in a hurry as the Bat Imagin fell back to earth with a thunderous stomp. A system of cracks were left were it's clawed feet touched the ground.
Double D pulled himself behind a pair of garbage cans and cowered for protection. "Can't you get rid of that monstrosity?!"
Hana shook her head. "Only certain people can destroy Imagin. Look, I promise I'll take you all with me if you just give me the pass. Hurry, before the Imagin attacks again!"
Eddy begrudgingly reached into his pocket and pulled the pass out. He started to hand it over when it's screen lit up.
Hana stared wide-eyed at the pass, and then shifted her gaze to Eddy. "…You're a Singularity Point."
"I possessed a Singularity Point?!" The Ogre Imagin cried. He squirmed in circles and pulled at his horns. "This is the worst!"
"No time to explain." Hana pulled Eddy up and pushed him forward to face the Bat Imagin. "Press the button on the Rider Pass and fight that thing!"
Eddy nervously pressed a button on the side of the so-called pass. In response, a high-tech looking belt materialized right out of thin air around his waist. The belt buckle itself was a rectangular scanner with a 'D' insignia made up of geometric shapes, just like on the pass.
Eddy examined his new accessory. "Hey Double D, if we make a few more of these things, we could sell them for a buck each."
"Just turn into Den-O and fight the Imagin!" Hana yelled impatiently.
"Listen to her! If you die, I die too... Better yet, let me do it!" The Ogre Imagin rushed forward at the Bat Imagin. "I'm pissed off!"
The bat barely kicked the ogre, causing it to fall back into a pile of sand.
"Eddy's gonna be a super hero!" Ed stated excitedly.
Double D got up and took a closer look at the belt. "It appears to function as a SetTouch System. If you just sweep the Rider Pass, I believe that's what it's called, in front of the scanner, it should give the desired results."
"Don't forget to yell 'henshin' really loud, Eddy! That's what they do in the TV shows and comic books!"
"Right, fine, whatever. Here goes nothing!" Eddy swept the pass over the scanner in an awkward motion. "Er, hen sun or whatever!"
The scanner lit up and a computerized voice activated.
"Plat Form."
Just like the belt, a suit of futuristic armor appeared out of thin air and clad itself tightly onto the boy's body.
The armor was stream-lined and colored black, white, and silver. The chestplate, boots, gauntlets, and full-helmet were crafted from some unidentifiable alloy while the arms and legs were covered in a space-age fiber. Attached to the belt were four hand-sized devices that closely resembled bullet train cars. A rail-like system ran from the center of the back, down the middle of the head, and to the lower stomach. There was no way to identify that it was Eddy underneath the entire guise, other than by his height.
"What the…"
Eddy didn't have time to finish his sentence as the Bat Imagin took flight and picked him up. It threw him through a window and into a warehouse. The others ran around through the side door to watch the fight ensue.
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Instead of fighting, Eddy was running like crazy. He hurtled over crates and boxes as the Bat Imagin smashed right through them. In a desperate ploy, Eddy hid behind a beam and grabbed a pole hanging from a shelf above. When the Imagin passed by, he slammed the pole down onto its head. Instead of hurting the demon, the pole broke and Eddy earned an uppercut that threw him into a back flip.
Next, Eddy ran up a flight of stairs to the upper level of the warehouse. The Bat Imagin soared after him and clothes-lined him from behind.
*Boy, you sure suck at this! Just fall back and let me fight!* The ogre spoke in Eddy's head.
"How do I do that?"
*Pfft, like I'd know?!*
The Bat Imagin used the distraction to pick Eddy up by the neck. It tossed him onto the bottom floor and into a pile of wooden crates.
"Eddy, you can't outrun that thing!" Double D called out. "You have to find a way to fight!"
Ed was hit with an idea. "Use your heat-vision, Eddy!"
"I don't have heat-vision, Ed! I don't even have super strength! Why am I wearing this junk?!"
*Switch with me already!*
"How?!"
"Press the red button!" Hana yelled.
"Button? This thing has a button on it?"
Eddy glanced down at the belt to see a large, red button to the left of the scanner. It stuck out like a sore thumb.
"Whoops." He pressed it, and what sounded like a ring-tone began to continuously chime. Eddy swiped the pass in front of the scanner, causing it's light to turn red and the computerized voice to activate once more.
"Sword Form."
A red ball of light flew out of the belt's scanner and proceeded to sail in circles around Eddy, splitting apart into different pieces of armor with each revolution. By the time it was done, Eddy's appearance had undertaken another, and far more formidable looking change. The helmet's visor was now covered by a red mask that resemebled the bug-eyes of a grasshopper with an additional set of antennae. The chest, shoulders, and legs were clad with a set of red equipment that looked like the modern interpretation of a samurai's war attire.
Back in control of Eddy's body, the ogre jerked his thumb (or Eddy's thumb) at himself.
"I…" He fell into a pose. "Appear again!"
The Bat Imagin swooped down for another attack. The ogre calmly pulled the train car-like devices from the belt and attached them. The devices locked and extended into a red sword that the ogre used to slash the bat down.
After tumbling to the ground, the bat stood back up and spat incensed. "You imbecile, what are you thinking?! Have you forgotten we're on the same side?! Remember our mission!"
The ogre placed the sword over his shoulder lazily. "I never really knew what it was in the first place. I used to be disappointed, but fighting you seems to be fun. I could care less who my opponent is."
The bat shook its head aggravated. "You're a complete idiot."
The ogre pointed his sword. "Shut up, I start on a climax!"
Now that the Ogre Imagin had taken control, he used Eddy's short stature to his advantage. He weaved and dodged around the bat in a display of agility, all the while slashing at the vulnerable points of his much taller opponent. When the bat tried to tackle him, he leapt onto th creatures back and slammed it to the ground. Eventually, he was able to trick the Bat Imagin into charging forward, gaining the opportunity to drop kick right through the flimsy panelling that made up the warehouse's wall.
Not waiting for the bat to get up, the ogre sliced at its exposed stomach violently. He ended his rampage by kicking the Bat Imagine hard in the ribs, causing it to fly into and break a ceramic structure.
"Finally, my special move." The ogre unclipped the pass from the belt, and swiped it over the scanner.
"Full Charge."
The sword crackled with a red current of static as the ogre brought it in front of himself in a fighting position. In another burst of power, the blade suddenly detatched from the rest of the sword, floating away to hover impossibly in the air. It fluttered about to and fro, following the slightest tilt of the hilt like a kite connected to a string.
"Certain-Kill Attack…" The ogre slashed the hilt left, causing the blade to cut through the bat at high speeds. He slashed the sword back to the right before raising it into the air.
"Part One!"
He brought the blade straight down into the bat, igniting an explosion of surging, red static. When the smoke cleared, the Bat Imagin was gone.
"It's done." The ogre unlatched the belt, causing both the belt itself and the armor to dissolve into nothing.
Eddy collapsed to the ground and the rest of the group hurried over to see if he was okay.
"Double D?" Eddy said wearily.
"What is it, Eddy? Are you hurt?"
"It's not that. Did you record everything that happened?"
"Why?"
Eddy sprung back up with his usual energy. "Do you know how much money we would make off the selling footage of that fight?! We'd be rich! Filthy, stinkin' rich!"
"Eddy's okay." Ed stated plainly.
Hana took the Rider Pass back and stepped back to face all three of the Eds. "You have the power to fight against the Imagin. They're coming to this world to destroy it, like they did to mine. Will you help me stop them?"
"What would I get out of it?" Eddy question with a raised eyebrow.
Hana stared incredulously. "What do you mean what do you get out of it'? You'll be saving your world from destruction!"
"I'll pass. Come on boys." Eddy started to walk away.
Double D grabbed Eddy's shoulder. "Eddy, be reasonable! More of those monsters are out there. Who knows when they might strike again? It's your duty to stop them if you have the ability to."
Ed grabbed on to Eddy's legs and started begging. "You have to do it, Eddy! This is like the TV show, 'Super Science Soldiers'! I always wanted to save the world!"
"No means no. Besides, I would be the only one risking his neck."
"Where is it?"
"Shut up Ed." Eddy shook both of his friends off and continued.
Double D tried one last time to persuade him. "But Eddy, if you do this, you'll be a hero. Heroes are often rewarded by society to express gratitude and thanks."
Eddy ran back and grabbed Double D by the shoulders. "No fooling? You mean people will give me anything I want, even a lifetime supply of jawbreakers?"
"I never said that, but -."
"What're we waitin' for, boys? Fortune and fame are calling!"
Hana shook her head. "As long as you're willing to help." She glanced at a watch on her wrist. "Looks like we're in luck, the DenLiner should be here soon."
"The what?"
A train horn sounded. A state of the art, black and white train flew through a vortex of light. It passed by the group and then disappeared into another portal. When it had left, the Eds and Hana had vanished with it.
Seeing that the threat was gone, the Bat Imagin limped out from behind a nearby water tower and flew off to meet back up with its contract holder.
A/N: In case your wondering, this isn't an Eddy centered fanfic. The other Eds will eventually gain their own belts. Thank you, and review please.