A/N: To clear up any possible confusion for this chapter:

"Ore sanjou!"= human speech
"Ore sanjou!"= imagin speech
*Ore sanjou!*= human telepathic speech
*Ore sanjou!*= imagin telepathic speech
"Ore sanjou!"= possessed human speech
"Ore sanjou!"= Terminal Belt speech
{Ore sanjou!}= speech over a media device (ie phone, television, intercom, etc.)

Chapter 18: A Crashed Bash Thrash

"Can't hear you!"

Though the student body was held captive in their cursed dance, that didn't distract from the developing confrontation between the Eds and the currently possessed Edwin. Luckily Ed, Double D, and Eddy had left the restroom still in their costumes and masks, so their identities weren't in any immediate danger of being discovered.

Still, the focus was on them, and many were hoping the three would be part of a solution to their bizarre dilemma.

"Let's get started."

With a snap of his fingers, the music came to a stop, along with the involuntary dancing.

The instant the students were free, they scattered to the far walls of the gymnasium as much as possible. Some were nearer to the exits than others, but a collective curiosity held back thoughts of leaving. After all, Peach Creek has seen its share of the atypical before. What could possibly be so different about this situation?

Of course, the cul-de-sac kids had grouped together. Past experiences taught them the value of looking out for one another.

Ed took out his Rider Pass and displayed it high above his head as he made a bold announcement.

"Fear not, citizens! Ed-O Force will put an end to this hip-hoping hooligan's hoodery!"

"Ed, what on Earth are you thinking?!" Double D whispered in alarm, yanking Ed's arm down. "We're supposed to avoid drawing attention as much as possible while incognito!"

"Yeah, you dolt!" Eddy hissed. "You want a repeat of art class? Don't give away our names!"

"Whoops, sorry guys." Ed threw his arms in the air, carelessly knocking Double D and Eddy to the ground in the process. "Forget what I said, everybody! Please don't look over here for the next hour! Thank you!" He yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Smooth, very smooth," Hana droned sarcastically.

"Hey, what the crud happened to us? And who're those guys in the costumes?" Kevin demanded. He cracked his knuckles menacingly. "If this is all part of some sick prank, I'm going to seriously pound someone's skull flat!"

"I fear this is no mere act of tomfoolery, friend Kevin," Rolf discounted with a grim shake of his head. "Darker forces are at toil, Rolf can feel it in his bones… or maybe Rolf has gas, who can tell?"

"I'm with Rolf on this one. I don't remember that Edwin kid ever looking or acting like this in homeroom before," said Nazz uneasily. "Something about him is really… off."

"That dumb, tall, yellow one sounded really familiar just now," Sarah claimed. "Ed! If I find out you're behind that mask, you're sooo gonna get it!"

"I'm so confused. Why weren't they dancing like everyone else?" Jimmy questioned nervously. "Wait a minute, why wasn't I dancing? I felt all tingly, but that was it. I have a bad feeling about this, Sarah."

"It'll be okay, Jimmy. Just stay close to me."

With another snap of the possessed Edwin's fingers, the four disguised dancers spread out across the gym floor in a wide square formation around himself and the Eds. They did nothing but Top Rock in place afterwards, but the meaning to their actions were pretty clear.

"Gentlemen, I believe the boundaries for battle have just been designated, "Double D said, tightening the grip on his Rider Pass. "Prepare yourselves."

Eddy dropped low and braced for attack. "We can take anything this chump throws at us! Bring it on!"

"Ready or not, here I come!" The possessed Edwin declared. After a couple of Cross Overs, he ran out to meet the boys head-on.

The Eds hopped back in expectancy, but were more than surprised when instead of an assault, the possessed Edwin launched into an energetic Indian Step in front of the three.

"Check this out!" The possessed Edwin challenged. "Betcha can't beat this!"

Double D huddled into Ed and Eddy hesitantly as the possessed boy circled around the three with his erratic dance movements. "I-I beg your pardon?"

The moment Eddy realized what was happening, a broad, wily grin spread across his face. "I think… he wants to challenge us to a dance off."

The possessed Edwin finished off his display with a one-footed pivot and hopped back to the other side of the 'ring'. "You guys scared now? Huh?" He childishly taunted. "'Fraidy cats!"

The siren call of the spotlight was too sweet a temptation for Eddy to resist. With the swelling feel of importance that came from having his peers' eyes upon him and his friends so attentively, the boy couldn't help but step up to the challenge.

"Yeah right, like we'd back down to somethin' like that!" Eddy shot back. He slipped into what he visualized to be a cocky, hip-hoppish pose and threw up the bowfinger. "You're gonna regret trying to step to this crew, son!"

*Hey, what the heck are you guys doing?!* Momotaros demanded. *This ain't some game! Quit wasting time and turn into Den-O!*

"Relax, will ya?" Eddy dismissed quietly so as only the Eds would hear him. "There's no danger, so why not milk the chance to show off as much as possible?"

"I have my own doubts against this, but I must admit it's not feasible to transform with so many witnesses," Double D reluctantly said. "And I guess we could use this opportunity to put the kids at ease, lest this dance falls to a riot."

"And it'll be fun!" Ed decided to add.

*Hmm… Eddward makes fine a point, Red,* Urataros stated.*When things eventually come to blows, it would be troublesome trying to fight with a panicking mob stampeding in the way.*

*If we can avoid needless trouble, we should,* Kintaros concurred simply. *You boys have to do what you have to do. We should stay inactive until our strength is truly needed.*

*Grrr… whatever! Do what ya want!* Momotaros grudgingly conceded. *But you better not leave me out of kicking the imagin's ass!*

Eddy pulled his two friends closer before addressing the crowd.

"Ladies and Gentleman, we are the Technicolor Crew! I'm Cardinal, this guy to the right is Azure, and the lug over to my left is Golden Rod! Now who wants to get this shindig on a real roll?"

The carefree attitude was infectious. People were actually starting to get pretty excited. Students chanted enthusiastically for a show, egging on a dance battle that would have more significance riding on it then they could ever know.

Johnny, being the hyper and impulsive kid he was, eventually got carried away He scurried onto the stage like a squirrel and took it upon himself to man the vacant turntables. He threw on the first fast-paced song he ran across and turned the volume up.

"Yeehaw! Me and plank know just how to get this party started!"

A roaring cheer went up from the crowd as anticipation reached its boiling point.

Eddy pointed out to the center of the floor. "You're up first, Golden Rod! Show 'em how we do things!"

Ed was more than happy to comply. "The forks are on the left, the knives are on the right, the table's set up, and you're about to get served!" He declared as he strut his way out to the dance floor.

Double D tugged his mask closer to his face in mortification "Oh lord, this is going to turn into a bad reenactment of a music video."

Ed came to a stop right in the middle of the floor, pulled his arms against his sides, and began to river dance.

"I learned this from the last family reunion! Kick and step and kick and step, and step and kick and…"

"Looks good on ya!" Eddy said, smug as ever. "Let's see dancer boy beat that!"

"Um, I must admit, at least Ed's posture has significantly improved," Double D conceded. "Well done, E—er, Golden Rod. Bravo."

The crowd too was getting a real kick out of Ed's performance. They laughed, hooted and cheered Ed's name for more. He was a riot, and the kids couldn't get enough of him. Everyone took his goofy antics as one, big gag, and a really good one at that.

"Yes, a fine performance! Rolf respects the traditional jig of the potato farmer, it is so shiny!" Rolf clapped his hands and stomped his feet to the timing of Ed's routine. "The yellow jester is injecting the sweaty life into this dance!"

The avid reception encouraged Ed to do more. "Saint of the step I am, take me to your bridge!" He flailed his arms in a wave and moved out around the floor while holding up his dance without a beat. The move would've looked ridiculous for anyone else, but not for Ed.

"Wow…so this is what counts as dancing in this world," Hana wondered. "Back home, they called that having a seizure. How is he bending backwards and doing that at the same time?"

The imagin in possession of Edwin's body was less than amused. "Hey, don't clap for him! His dancing's stupid, clap for me! I'm better!"

No one stopped cheering.

"Don't ignore me!" The possessed Edwin was falling into a juvenile fit. "I said stop it, stop it right now!" He tried to shout over the crowd. "Stop it, stop it, stop it!"

The crowd continued on.

"That's it!" The possessed Edwin snarled. He snapped his fingers and then pointed straight at Ed. "Get rid of him! Get him off my dance floor!"

The gymnasium's main doors burst open with the entry of two more disguised dancers. The crowd parted a path for them without resistance as they flipped and danced their way onto the gym floor.

The duo back flipped into the ring before pouncing on Ed at the same time.

"Hey, what gives?!" Eddy exclaimed in outrage. "I thought this was a dance off!"

"That's right! This is an absolutely appalling exhibit of poor sportsmanship!" Double D furiously stated. "Leave our friend alone!"

The possessed Edwin waggled his fingers next to his head and blew a raspberry in response. "Nyah-nyah, I'm gonna win, bakae! My contest, my rules, and the number one rule is you lose!"

The two dancers succeeded in taking Ed down with their surprise attack, but failed to keep him that way. Once the boy regained his bearings, they were tossed off like ants.

"Ha! Looks like you guys are a bunch of lightweights!" Eddy mocked. "That all you got?"

The imagin angrily directed all his dancers to the floor.

"Get them! Beat all three of them up!"

"…Crud."

The four dancers who were responsible for maintaining the borders of the ring rushed in on instruction. Two of them engaged Double D and Eddy while the remaining two took on Ed. The other dancers that had attacked Ed in the beginning also jumped back into the fray.

It was a six-on-three battle.

Whoa, majorly harsh," Kevin affirmed. "Where's a ref when you need one?"

"Hey, they can't do that!"Nazz protested "This is beyond uncool, dude!"

Rolf shook his head in disapproval. "You call this slipshod of a ruckus a bout? Feh! Rolf is sickened by the ganging up on the colored buffoons! Where is the honor?"

The Eds were in a tight spot indeed. Aside for being outnumbered, their opponents were superior in agility. Even Ed's brute strength was made moot as the dancers bobbed away from every strike he tried to land.

"Nothin' like a good ol' fashion party brawl, eh girls?" Lee stated with a viscious grin. "Now this is what I call a bash!"

"Ten bucks say the doofus in blue goes down first," Marie snickered.

"You're on! I say da red shrimp get's squashed like a pancake!"

May bit the tip of her tongue in eagerness as it obtruded past her buck teeth. "This is too good! I shoulda brought a camera for this show!"

Eddy kicked out as a dancer skipped by, glancing the blow off them ineffectively. "Dang it! These guys won't stand still! I can't do any damage!"

"We're outmatched, Eddy! They're plasticity is almost too overwhelming!" Double D forlornly cried. He barely stumbled away from an incoming jab. "Ooh, I deplore physical activity so much!"

Ed swung out aimlessly to keep a buffer zone between him and dancers that dared to chance an up-close encounter. "I can't touch them, guys! They are like the shadowy vapor demons of the planet Pavia!"

"Come on, Technicolor Crew! You can beat those guys!" Jimmy shouted excitedly while mock boxing on his toes. "Give em the old one-two! Muss their hairdo!"

"Save your breath, Jimmy. These guys stink," dismissively derided Sarah. "I bet they couldn't fight their way out of a paper bag."

"But everyone likes the underdog, Sarah! It's so dramatic!"

Eddy blocked a wide-swung kick. It was enough to painfully thump him onto one knee. "We're gettin' our butts kicked here, fall back!"

Ed, Edd, and Eddy broke away from the dancers to stand alongside each other, panting. None of three had ever experienced an honest-to-goodness, serious fight before, and they were exhausted from the effort of trying to keep up.

Eddy gingerly rubbed away at his tender arms. "Great, now what do we do?" He irritably demanded. "We're getting our butts handed to us here!"

"And in front of the entire school even," Double D said miserably. "Thank fortune for these convenient guises."

"Now is the time for a henshin roll call!" Ed broke out into a pose that could only have come from one of his TV shows. "Break the limit: Den-O Gold!"

"We've been over this before; we can't change in the middle of the gym!" Double D remarked tautly to Ed's actions. "Our peers will witness and retain full recollection of it!"

"You guys ready to finish this?" The possessing imagin directed his dancers forward. "Too late, won't wait for an answer!"

The dancers started to move back in.

"Well we better do something fast, "Eddy stated nervously, "'cause I think we just ran out of time!"

Hana pushed her way to the front of the crowd and yelled out to the boys. "You guys need to stay together! It'll be harder for the dancers to fight you!"

Three of the dancers impatiently stormed off from their group.

"Ed, quick! The Bola Manuever!"Eddy ordered.

Ed picked Double D and Eddy up by the back of their shirts. "Get ready, you guys!"

"Eddy, wait! We've hardly had time to work out all the flaws with this maneuver!" Double D implored. "It's too dangerous!"

"No time, just hang on!"

Ed hurled his two friends at the rapidly approaching dancers with all his might.

As Eddy and Double D sailed through the air, they linked up arms and spread out as much as they could. They collided with the three dancers in a combined clothesline, knocking them off their feet.

That left three other dancers for Ed to take care of, an even match.

Ed shuffled on the balls of his feet as his opponents closed the distance. With every step they took forward, Ed moved further back towards the snack table. His gaze shifted between them and a cluster of low hanging streamers that caught the corner of his eye. A half-baked plan was already churning in his head.

"You're time has come, back-up dancers from the beyond!" Ed jumped up and tore down the entire length of streamers with a tug and wildly twirled them above his head. With one, great bound forward, he lashed them out and somehow ensnared the closest dancer to him.

Now that he had ammunition, Ed gave his last-minute lasso a hard heave, pulling the dancer off the ground before flinging them back at the others like a rock in a sling. He single-handedly crashed all three to the floor in a tangled pile.

"Home run!"

"Way to go, Golden Rod, that's showing 'em!" Eddy managed to call out while tousling to keep a dancer in a chokehold. "These b-boy wannabes'got nothin' on us!"

Somehow, even Double D was holding his own in an arm-to-arm grapple.

This time around, the dancers were the ones forced to cut from the fight and regroup. However beaten the Eds felt, their adversaries truly reflected.

"Look at that, three against six and we still held out!" Eddy gloated. "We must be getting good at this, huh guys?"

Double D's knees were knocking, but out of an adrenaline rush rather than nerves. "We're far more formidable than you previously envisioned! Relinquish this extracurricular activity and leave peacefully now, or prepare to face further, more unpleasant physical consequences!"

"We are heroes of justice!" Ed jumped onto one leg, tuck in his knee, and threw both his arms straight to the right. "On behalf of the moon, we will right wrongs and triumph over evil, and that means you!"

"Incorrect series, Ed… not to mention the wrong genre."

The crowd broke out in an enthusiastic round of applause for what they now thought was a well-choreographed stage fight.

"Man, how much of the school budget went into this?" Kevin speculated.

"No fair, when did the VAPA Department hold auditions?" Nazz pouted. "I would've totally tried out!"

Johnny hung over the turntables with his eyes glued on the gym floor. "A live-action show at school! Can ya believe it, Plank?"

The possessed Edwin threw a furious tantrum, stomping about like a spoiled child who didn't get what they wanted on their birthday. "No fair, no fair!" He whined and whined. "You guys cheated! I'm supposed to win! Me! Me! Me!"

"You have the gall to accuse us of immoral conduct?" Double D stated in aggravated offense. "It was you who dispatched all six of your associates on the mere three of us! The true charlatan here, sir, is without an absolute doubt, you!

Reason didn't stop the embodied imagin from his ongoing juvenile rave. He pointed at the three accusingly and cried, "Liars! You're jealous 'cause I can dance better, so you cheated! Bunch of cheaters! Cheaters, cheaters, cheaters!"

"Oh my gosh, get over yourself, kid!" Eddy couldn't help but goad him on. He pulled the bottom of his eyelid down and stuck out his tongue. "Ha! What a loser! It's not our fault you suck so much, ya overgrown rugrat! So bleh! Choke on it and weep for all we care!"

That was the final straw. His tantrum came to a halt.

All pretenses of a childish temperament vanished at the drop of a pin to be replaced by something more… disquieting.

Unsmiling, the possessed Edwin tilted the brim of his cap away from his eyes to look the three boys over with a wintry expression. "I decided I don't like you guys," he stated conclusively, "so I'm going to carve you up… okay?"

The dancers took the statement as a command to reach past their garments. Each one retrieved an identical object from off their person.

Six abnormally long, broad-edged, cruelly fashioned cleavers emerged to gleam wickedly in the dance lights. They summoned a petrified air to descend upon the crowd.

"Kowtaewa kitte nai."

Meandering forward, the dancers swished their new toys frivolously around in the air. They vocalized for the first time with inhumanely dry crowing, sending chills up the spines of everyone.

One of the dancers allowed a sinuously elongated tongue to slither from underneath their mask and glide across the flat of their blade, savoring the tanged taste of metal.

The Eds huddled back-to-back as the dancers closed them in a shrinking circle.

"Oh, we just can't catch a break today!" Eddy bemoaned.

Double D shook like a leaf. "Why did you have to provoke him, Eddy?!"

"Don't even try to pin this one on me, sock-head! The guy's a total brat! Sarah's more stable in the head than this freak!"

"Uh, can we henshin now?" Ed asked.

Double D and Eddy both answered him.

"NO!"

One of the dancers took a swipe, forcing the boys to huddle closer together.

"YES!"

For the second time that night, Ed pulled out his Rider Pass.

"The time has finally come for evil to meet its bunion!" He summoned the Terminal Belt and snapped it in place around his waist.

"Here I go! Heeenshi—!"

"KIEEEEAAAA!"

One of the gymnasium windows exploded in to a shower of jagged shards with the violent entrance of the Owl Imagin through its frame. The creature swooped in low above the gymnasium floor without reducing in speed and rammed right through the group of dancers.

The dancers were literally ripped through and sent soaring in all directions, their clothes gashed to tatters by the near sonic tackle. Their cleavers escaped their grasps and twirled haphazardly through the air before embedding all over the floor and walls.

Since the dancers had previously been surrounding Ed, Double D, and Eddy, they somewhat served to cushion the blow for the three. Instead of being shredded, the boys were knocked clear across the gymnasium before slamming into a wall with a loud thud.

It was an instant knock out for all of them.

By now, the crowd had turned into a frenzied, screaming mob. Kids crawled all over each other in a rush for the exits. The decorations that had so elaborately been set for the dance were trampled underfoot after foot.

Kevin, Nazz, and Sarah stuck close behind Rolf as the foreign boy bulldozed a trail out of the gym.

"Take to your heels, you fools!" Rolf cried. "The cursed bird of Baba Yaga has come to reap our immortal souls! Run!!"

Sarah turned back to call out to Jimmy, who for some wild reason was trying to move against the flow of the crowd. "Jimmy, what in the worldare you doing?! Come on!"

Jimmy tried to point to the unconscious Technicolor Crew, but couldn't free up an arm. "But Sarah, look! Those guys need our help, we can't just leave them!"

"There's no time!" Sarah reached out and snatched Jimmy's hand. "We need to go, now!"

Jimmy struggled to break from his friend's hold as he was dragged along. "You don't understand! Look, their masks are gone! The Technicolor Crew is really…"

The rest of his words were drowned out by the commotion of the panicking masses

Hana was facing the same problems as Jimmy had. She desperately elbowed and thrashed against the rapid current of human bodies, but was ultimately swept away towards the gym's main exit. The Eds were on their own.

"Ed! Double D! Eddy!" She yelled out! "You guys have to wake up! Wake up!"

Johnny was distraught. The stage had become an island surrounded by a violently coursing river of people. He scampered to and fro, looking for a chance to get down, but there was none. He and Plank were trapped.

The Owl Imagin urged on the chaos, flapping up a powerful gust and screeching like a deranged escapee from an insane asylum. When contented with the level of horror that now filled everyone's hearts to the brim, he switched his focus.

"Salutations, my contract holder," the Owl Imagin kindly greeted with a bow as he floated towards the stage. "I pray this ever auspicious of nights finds thee well and in good humour and health alike."

Johnny fell backwards and scuttled away from the approaching fiend. "Y-you! You're that bird monster from before, the one that keeps attacking people who go into the woods!"

"The very same," said the Owl Imagin, gently landed on the stage. "It is all for thine benefit. You did beseech mine person for a sanctuary, after all

"Wha… w-what are talking about?" Johnny asked fearfully.

The Owl Imagin scowled impatiently. "Thy wish, child. 'Tis the wish thou made ere I speak of. If thou want it absolute, then accompany me."

Johnny waved his arms in protest. "But I didn't want people to get hurt! Me and Plank just asked for a tree house!"

"And I'm promising thou an entire forest as thy domain, ye dull and ungrateful rascal!"

The Owl Imagin violently seized Johnny by his shirt collar and raised him to level with his sunken, glowering eyes.

"Listen hither, child. Thou hast crafted a contract with me whether ye favour it or not!" He odiously spat. "Thy wish shalt be granted, and so help me, if thou should cast aside my good will, I shall engorge myself upon thine bowls whilst they are still tucked cozily within thine pitiful, fleshly bounds!"

Trembling, Johnny nodded fiercely with a terrified whimper.

"Then let us depart from—."

"Not so fast, ya stinkin' owl bastard!"

Momotaros now in control of Eddy's body, flew in out of nowhere with a dropkick that connected with the side of the Owl Imagin's head, forcing the release of Johnny from the creature's clutches.

"It wasn't too bright for you to come straight to us."

Urataros, who was now in possession of Double D's body, jumped in from behind with a flying back kick. Already staggering from Momotaros's strike, the second hit lifted the Owl Imagin right off the stage.

"We will send you flying!"

Kintaros arrived last in Ed's body. He caught the Owl Imagin by the legs in mid-fall and pivoted him around in a giant swing. After three flurried spins, he released the owl to fly off in a random trajectory.

Just when the Owl Imagin thought the worst was over, he found himself headed right towards a fuming possessed Edwin. The boy had wrenched a discarded cleaver from the ground and now held it like a baseball player up to bat.

"You big onara atama, you hurt my dance crew! Now who am I gonna play with?!"

He swung upward as the Owl Imagin passed overhead and was rewarded with an agonized scream.

Bruised and cut, the Owl Imagin was finally allowed to come to a skidding crash in peace.

The clamor and cries of a terrified throng had ceased. Johnny had taken his window of opportunity and fled. The only occupants of the gymnasium were now the Owl Imagin and four teenagers with four very angry imagin possessing them.

Riled and infuriated to the point of frothing, the Owl Imagin shot back into the air with a mighty flap. At the peak of his ascension, he released from his body a torrent of feathery needles that hailed down in all directions.

"You scullions! You rampillians! You fulistrians!" The Owl Imagin screeched in a berserk rage. "I'll tickle your catastrophes! Death most ghastly claim you all!"

Momotaros and Urataros dove underneath the same ruined snack table for cover. Kintaros slipped in behind the stereo system, and the imagin in Edwin's body keenly danced and dodged his way about the floor, making a stop at the crumpled body of each dancer to retrieve something unknown.

Kintaros, in possession of the Terminal Belt since Ed last called it, decided that now was the time to use it. He dug around in his host's costume until he located the Rider Pass.

My strength will make you cry!" He declared before strongly swiping the pass across the scanner.

"Axe Form."

--..--

"Ugh… anybody get the license plate of that bird?"

Eddy's mind drifted away from a vacuum of senseless black until breaking the choppy surface of a jumbled world. His sluggish eyes opened ajar, absorbing an indistinct canvas of monochrome. A sticky sort of clamminess had pervaded his clothing to pepper his backside, his underarms, and his legs.

He barely registered a cold ebb slosh its way around him. It took in his feet before lethargically working its way up the rest of body, rocking him from side to side as it slowly rolled him away. The further he was rolled, the lighter he became.

It was relaxing. He was tempted to go back to sleep…

"He's over here, Double D!

"Heaven have mercy! Hurry, Ed! Help me bring him back to land!"

The voices of his two best friends were just the shock Eddy needed to jumpstart his wits. His eyes fully opened to stare up into a sky dinged lifeless by a rolling mass of gray clouds. His immediate reaction was to try and stand up.

To his dreaded surprise, there was no solid ground to stand on.

Eddy thrashed about only to find himself sinking into his bitter surroundings. Bobbing weightlessly submerged, he opened his mouth on instinct to scream. A foul-tasting liquid rushed down his throat in place of oxygen. He gagged helplessly.

The nightmare ended when his two best friends pulled him back up by his arms.

Ed and Double D wadded back towards shore with Eddy supported between them. Their shorter compatriot hacked out the muddy water from his system and gulped down the blessed air along the way.

As soon as the trio hit land, Eddy unhitched himself from his fellow Eds and fell to his hands and knees, sputtering out the last of the liquid.

"Breath, bucko! Take in the stench of life!" Ed shouted. He gave Eddy three helpful slaps across the back before the shorter boy had to push him off.

"Ed, cool it, I can breathe again! You don't have to knock my lungs out!"

Double D leaned to side and wrung the tip of his hat out. "Thank goodness we got to you in time. How on Earth did you drift so far out?"

"Don't ask me, I was out like a light." Eddy pushed himself back to his feet and fanned out the bottom of his soaked shirt. "Where the heck are we? How'd I almost end up drowning?"

Double D rubbed his chin as he assessed the situation. "We're clearly not anywhere near our school, that's for certain. The last I recall, we were ambushed by the Owl Imagin. After that, nothing seemed quite lurid."

"I remember!" Ed announced. "There were feathers, and then pain, and then nothing!"

"Yes, Ed. A bit simplistic, but an accurate play-by-play none the less. Could it be that we were rendered unconscious simultaneously?"

Eddy sprang to sudden attention with a wild notion. "Wait a sec, if we're all sawing logs, than this all might just be a…"

He swiveled full circle to skim in the surroundings. The dense forest to their backs, the silt bank beneath their feet, and the murky lake to the front of them were all too familiar.

The big tipoff to their location came in the form of a rowboat shored off to the side.

"This is my dream!" Eddy exclaimed. "We ended up in my dream about Chris and the lake!"

Ed indicated his friends' attention towards the water "Look, guys! There's somebody out there!"

Defying the laws of physics, a figure blurred by distance stood motionless atop of the lake's surface.

Double D stretched off a section of his hat to have room to scratch his head. "It seems you're correct, Eddy. Except for the addition of Ed's company, this is indeed your dream like last time."

"Cool, we're in Eddy's head…" Ed marveled. "Boy, there sure is a lot of room in here."

"Shut it, mono-brow."

"Well to be more correct, we're sharing a figment originated from Eddy's mind," said Double D. "We're not actually within his subconscious, but connected to a similar imagery."

"Like three video game consoles hooked to the same TV, Double D?" Ed inquired.

"Um, close enough, Ed."

Eddy moved out towards the boat and ushered his friends to follow. "Come on, we're not gettin' any more beauty sleep standing around here. Let's move this dream along. I think we might actually be able to reach my bro in time!"

Ed, Edd, and Eddy hopped into the boat one at a time. Double D and Eddy took the two front oars while Ed pushed the boat out to water, jumping in the craft to man the back oars by himself when it was adrift.

"Let's do it, boys! Full speed ahead!"

"Aye aye, Captain Eddy!" Ed saluted.

With their combined efforts, the Eds easily and swiftly moved the vessel across the lake. Ed was a veritable motor engine with the rate he rowed. Double D and Eddy struggled to keep up.

Eddy's brother came zooming in to sight. Unlike last time, he wasn't just some man in a yellow jacket. His features were realistically detailed, right down to the scraggly goatee on his jutting chin. His hair was slicked back underneath a plaid brown newspaper boy cap, but the style didn't look out of place at all. He really pulled it off.

"This is exhilarating, Double D stated excitedly. "We're finally seeing the enigmatic Crispin Yuuto McGee in clarity! It's almost as if we're making his acquaintance in real life!"

Ed ceased rowing to stand up and waved animatedly with both arms. "Hey, Eddy's brother! Is it true you're a whiz at chewing ice cubes?"

Eddy leaned out over the edge of the boat and reached a hand out.

With a warm smile, his brother reached back.

Their hands took a hold of each other. Eddy could feel a tear escape and roll down his cheek.

And then his brother began to melt.

With a surprised yelp, Eddy reeled back into the boat, taking his brother's disembodied hand with him. He was traumatized beyond words, shocked speechless. He could do nothing but gape in horror along with his two friends as his older brother dissolved into the lake as sand.

Without warning, the boat itself collapsed to pieces. The three boys were plummeted into the lake like a dunking booth. They fought to tread above water amongst the scattered debris of their craft.

Double D suddenly sunk under.

"Double D, come back!" Ed cried. Pushing bits of boat out of the way, he paddled over urgently to where the smartest of the group had disappeared.

He too was sucked underneath the waves.

"Ed, no!" Eddy shouted.

Ed sprung back up, flailing in a panic and gasping for air. "Help, something's got Double D and me!"

Before he could say more, he vanished again. This time, he didn't come back up.

It was Eddy's turn next. He felt something grab his ankles and pulled him under. The lower he sunk, the more hands he could feel take a hold of him. He kicked and squirmed in resistance, but their grasps were too strong. He felt a collection of nails sink into his scalp.

In a spiraling tumult of bubbles, he was forcedly descended into the icy depths.

Everything went black.