The Eds were nervously strolling down the rough sediment cliff. The first thing that caught their eye was a rusted wooden sign with a message of a very queer nature.
"Welcome to the Cul-De-Sac of Peach Creek, population, nineteen," read Double D aloud. He continued with, "I don't understand! That's where we live, but… this looks nothing like the Cul-De-Sac we're familiar with!"
"Must have some relation with our dimension if it has the same name as our location," Eddy noted.
The group had finally set foot in the village. Said village was eerily tranquil and silent. In fact, it was so quiet that the sound of the tumbleweeds could be very clearly heard. The small buildings were all cheaply constructed with very poorly debarked wood as the material being held together by rusted metal nails.
"I-Is it safe to be here?" Eddy said, quivering.
Then suddenly, the clique heard a cackle. The cackling voice was a familiar sound, it took quite a while for them to decipher it, but soon the voice was found to be from Jonathan Peter Williams.
"It's Jonny!" Double D boomed thunderously. His prediction turned out to be true when the Eds turned around to see Jonny, staring at the sky, grinning, and caressing his timber wood plank.
"Ah, Jonny. Such a blessing to see a close acquaintance!" Ed uttered.
"We suppose you've been hauled off by the wormhole too?" inquired Eddy.
Jonny's eyes widened in puzzlement.
"What wormhole? Who are you people?" the tan child stammered.
"WHAT?" crowed Eddy. "Jonny, it's me, Eddy! These people next to me are Ed and Double D!" He pointed to his two equally confused friends.
"Well, Eddy, you must be completely nuts, because I've just been minding my own business, watching the birds with Plank," the child interjected.
"I hate birds…" grumbled Eddy begrudgingly. Then a pigeon swooped from the sky and started pecking on Eddy's foot. Eddy let out a loud groan.
"Hey, dorks," snickered a voice. The Eds turned around to discover who it was. The words had come from Kevin Meen Burns, who was chuckling to himself like an immature teenager.
"Kevin, don't be like that! It's not funny!" snapped another voice. Walking closer to Kevin was Nastya Aileen Chill, commonly called Nazz as a nickname.
"Didn't your parents ever teach you compassion and respect?" exclaimed Nazz with absolute contempt.
"My parents are dead," Kevin snorted. "I don't need to follow their orders anymore.
The Eds gasped in astonishment.
"That doesn't make it okay!" Nazz sputtered.
"Yeah, will you just shut up?" jeered Kevin.
"Whatever," scoffed Nazz. She looked at the bewildered Eds sympathetically. "Are you guys okay?"
"Nazz?" Eddy choked, cupping his hands.
The blonde girl firmly placed her hand on her cheek.
"How do you know my name?" Nazz bubbled bashfully.
"Please don't ask," replied Double D. "Do you know anyone particularly knowledgeable in the field of portals and dimensions?" he retorted.
"Any and all knowledge in Peach Creek is held in the best ways by our ruler, down in the huge royal castle," Nazz replied slowly and slightly monotonically.
"Ah! Thank you!" squeaked Double D enthusiastically.
The coterie swiftly scattered their way to a dark, desaturated violet-blue palace made from firm brick. A pair of bright azure painted quartz vases took up the front corners, a sea of flames bursting out of the vases' openings. Two swallowtail and tongue types of flag with black, white, and blue diamond checkers as patterns elegantly hung from the gatehouse. A moat of clear river water surrounded the castle, as well as gravelly redstone, letting the moat stand out more. Two goats, who looked undoubtedly akin to that of Rolf's goats, stood voluntarily and blockaded the dark oak wooden door.
Eddy approached the door sluggishly. "Hey, move it or lose it, or I'll…" He paused when the goats neared him in a speed contrasting deeply with his sedate tread to the door and began to snarl.
"Oh, um… sorry, stay if you want, whatever floats your boat," quivered Eddy, backing away from the horned creatures timorously.
"We merely came here as foreigners looking to see your ruler to ask questions," claimed Double D.
The goats left the presence of the door, allowing the gates to part widely as an entrance.
Ed, Double D, and Eddy went inside the palace, to find tons upon tons of flights of jet black stairs right in front of them.
"That's a very extensive stairway," remarked Double D. "Let's go!" Eddy shrieked.
"This place is WEIRD!" declared Ed, as they ran up the stairs. All the while they stumbled across Sarah trying to grasp Jimmy by the back and throw him out the doors.
"I'm telling you, Jimmy, he's a terrible man! You shouldn't be working for him!" scolded Sarah.
"But I am!" exclaimed Jimmy.
"No, you're NOT!" roared Sarah defiantly. She then proceeded to thrust Jimmy off of the stairs, who began to burst into tears.
"DO NOT BE SO CRUEL, MY BABY SISTER!" Ed screeched.
"Come on, Ed, we're wasting time," snapped Eddy,
After the lengthy trip, the Eds were face to face with a hallway of many metal doors. One was labeled, "KITCHEN," another was labeled, "LAVATORY", and yet another one had been labeled, "QUARANTINE CHAMBERS".
"What does quarantine mean?" pondered Ed.
"I-It means… stuttered Double D, tensing up as if he felt he was endangered.
"I found him, you guys!" Eddy exclaimed, shaking his finger to a door labeled, "THRONE ROOM AND OFFICE OF HRODULF MARCUS WAY".
"Good on you, Eddy!" shouted Ed. He and Double D followed their friend's course and Double D opened the door, getting it to creak slightly.
"Hrodulf?" Double D squeaked.
"Please, call me Rolf," a voice remarked. A light was shone to reveal someone who clearly looked to be the Rolf they knew, but the way he dressed was quite disparate from the normal Rolf. He was wearing a long-sleeved, thick silk, jet-black with a violet circle pattern jacket, very shaggy grey pants, and a luminescent golden crown encrusted with rubies on the left side of his head.
"Um… Rolf, do you have any knowledge on portals and dimensions?" questioned Double D.
"Rolf has a full library of books about many different subjects, portals and dimensions included!" answered Rolf.
"That's good to hear! Where are they?" said Eddy.
"Unfortunately, you have to sign up as a peasant for Rolf to lend you his books," he continued in a more sympathetic tone.
"Listen, Rolf, we kinda need the books because someone somewhere in another dimension is looking for us, and we don't have time to join your silly little cult or whatever," Ed tried to explain.
"This information does not matter to Rolf! If you don't sign to be a peasant, no books for you!" Rolf demanded.
"We're not going to be your stupid peasants!" growled Eddy.
"Actually, you are. Rolf forgot to tell you that anyone who steps within the Cul-De-Sac territory is required to become a peasant for him!" announced the azure haired emperor.
"Seriously?" Eddy hollered.
"Yes. You will all be Rolf's peasants, and you will stay Rolf's peasants for all of eternity. You shall never leave. In fact, Rolf forbids you from access to the books on portals and dimensions. However, you are still able to read every other book in Rolf's catalog," he chided.
"Alright, fine," piped Eddy as Rolf handed him a paper for signing. The kid transcribed, Eridan "Eddy" McGee. Ed and Double D also wrote down their names in a similar format.
"JIMMY-BOY!" cried Rolf. Jimmy came in sprinting like a cheetah.
"Escort these three to the quarantine," the son of a shepherd requested.
"Will do, sir!" Jimmy chirped in a docile manner. He led the Eds to the quarantine room, and picked out a cell for them.
"This is the cell you all will be staying in," Jimmy vocalized. The light boy opened the cell door.
"What gives?" Eddy barked.
"All peasants must stay in their quarantine cells for their time being in the Cul-De-Sac," replied Jimmy, with his index finger raised. Jimmy then forcefully shoved the Eds into their shared cell, and slammed the door, locking it.
"Fuck," yapped Double D. Ed and Eddy gazed at him in horrified surprise.
"That's a bad word, Double D!" Ed pointed out.
"Oh dear, I just said a no-no word! Ah, I'll never forgive myself after this travesty!" the kid in the hat whimpered. Double D then began to crouch on the floor and shiver timidly, breathing softly, "Naughty, naughty, naughty child!" over and over again. Ed and Eddy merely shrugged.
"Now what do we do?" Eddy croaked, staring down at the cold stone floor.
Ed did not respond, but gazed solemnly beyond the metal bars.