(AN: Sorry for not getting this done sooner. I was busy with maintenance as well as other stuff.)
The Eds were all joylessly walking around their cell room, observing the contents in it. The overall design gave off a very gloomy vibe. The wall and floor were both made of dark grey, hard, cold concrete. There were two beds, and each were made of oak wood, coming with plain white colored mattresses, two pillows, and shabby, tattered red blankets. On both beds were syringes filled with a violet substance labeled, FOR INSOMNIA MAINTENANCE. In the corner of the cell lay a cardboard box, with a huge stack of hay and six bottles of water inside of it. The box was labeled, FOR HUNGER AND THIRST MAINTENANCE. A quaint-looking wooden door labeled LAVATORY was next to the bed on the right.
On one of the stone walls was taped a lengthy piece of paper, a list. This list caught Eddy's eye, and he walked up to the paper to read it.
"Let's see, what do we have here?" Eddy said to himself.
"Cul-De-Sac Code of Law," he read. "Peasants are required to attend Peach Creek Civic Academic Center every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Peasants may not leave their cells for more than two hours a day. The time a peasant spends at Peach Creek Civic Academic Center does not factor into their two hours of time outside the cell. If any of these rules are broken, there will be severe consequences."
"Well, that's just great! We barely have enough time in the day to find ourselves a way to escape from here! We're never gonna get out of this place!" wailed the pink-skinned child.
Double D swiftly gave Eddy a contemptible scowl. "Oh no," he began. "I am NOT staying here for the rest of my life! Eddy, you brought us here, and you are going to get us out! Go to the library, and find a book that'll help us with stealing the portal book!" Double D snapped.
"Alright," Eddy answered with a slightly fearful voice.
"JIMMY!" called Eddy, and the mentioned boy came racing to his cell.
"What is it you need?" Jimmy asked, faking a concerned tone.
"I would like to use some of my two hours of freedom to visit the library," replied Eddy. Jimmy placed the keys in the lock of the cell door, allowing it to open. Eddy sprinted outside of his quarantine room, and through the corridor, into a room labeled, LIBRARY.
There Eddy found himself in a spacious place, with a light teal painted wall, and a oak hardwood floor. Lengthy, towering wooden bookcases with many books on each shelf took up most of the room. Eddy chose to navigate a bookcase tagged, HOW-TO AND STYLE.
"Let's see, The Basics of Calculus, no, Subconscious Biases and What Not To Do About Them, not what I'm looking for, How To Be A Great Typist, definitely not… Oh! Here we go! The Art of Thievery!" Eddy picked up the book from the shelf, and walked up to Jimmy, who was sitting at a desk near the door.
"Can I help you?" Jimmy questioned politely.
"Uh, yes… I'd like to check out this book," Eddy said, placing the book on the counter.
Jimmy scanned the book, and pushed it back in Eddy's direction. "You have three weeks to use this book. When three weeks is up, this book must be brought back," Jimmy warned.
"Will do," responded Eddy, and Jimmy escorted the kid back into his cell room, where Ed and Double D were waiting for him. Double D still carried a dirty look on his face.
"Back so soon? Well, good for you. Now siddown and read!" dictated Double D in a thunderous voice.
"Alright, Double D, I will! Jeez, you don't need to be so harsh!" Eddy immediately opened the book and began reading it.
"Actually, I do," the hatted boy remarked. He turned over to Ed. "While Eddy is busy finding us a way out of here, you and I are going to help us earn a living whilst in the horrid conditions of this world!"
"And how do you plan on doing that?" Ed queried doubtfully.
"Easy. I'll just do what Eddy does all the time. I'll repeatedly scam the kids." Double D gave Ed a smug smirk.
"JIMMY!" Double D yelled. Jimmy sighed, and treaded to the Eds' cell, slow as pond water, to attend to Double D's needs.
"What do you want now?" complained Jimmy bitterly.
"Are there any kids outside of their cells at the moment?" Double D said.
"Only Jonny," Jimmy informed.
"That's nice to know. May me and Ed go outside the cell for a while?" pondered Double D.
"Sure," said Jimmy, shrugging his shoulders. He opened the door for Ed and Double D to make their way out. They exited the castle, and seeked out Jonny, still gazing at the sky.
"What's the scam?" asked Ed.
"Heck if I know!" laughed Double D. "Remember what I said about doing what Eddy does? Well, we're doing just that! We'll quickly make or find some piece of junk, and sell it to Jonny!" Double D walked around the plains, and found a lone bird's egg on the ground. He picked it up, and prepared to make a statement.
"Hey, hey, Jonny-boy! This right here, is one of the most rare and valuable types of pearl on the planet! And it can be yours for only twenty-five cents!" screamed Double D enthusiastically.
Jonny gave Double D a shameful glare. "That's literally just a bird's egg," the kid remarked.
"What? No it's not!" Double D shrieked.
"I've seen lots of bird eggs! That looks exactly like em'!" Jonny pointed out in an annoyed tone.
"Rats," Double D groaned. "Let's think of other stuff."
Ed and Double D went on to try out other scam ideas that they had come up with. One of the scams involved Double D selling a worm to him as a substitute for a frankfurter, resulting in him screaming bloody murder and running away. Another scam dealt with Double D breaking a branch off of a tree and trying to pass it off as a majestic sword, however Jonny showed no interest. For yet another scam, a naked Double D had been forced into wearing dog ears, being taped onto a tree, and sold as a pet dalmatian, as Ed put it. Jonny cringed at the sight, and as a result nothing much got accomplished, except for Ed having to deal with a shouting and aggressive Double D.
Eventually the boys had to form a last resort scam. Ed threw a rock at Double D.
"Ow!" piped Double D. He then retaliated by pelting the same rock at Ed. The two then grew at each other's throats, and began a heated battle of rocks.
"Come see the full- OW! ...edition of The War of The Stones, only twenty-five cents!"
"Sorry, but I don't find enjoyment in watching people brutally assault each other," explained Jonny, shaking his lowered head.
Double D sighed. "Oh, it's hopeless!" He started pouting, groaning, and walking around in circles. Jonny tapped Double D on the shoulder.
"You know what, I've decided to be a little generous today, because I honestly feel sorry for you. Here, have a quartz piece." Jonny handed the child in the hat a shard of white quartz.
"What on earth am I to do with this?" barked Double D in confusion.
"One hundredth away from a ruby," interjected Jonny in a playfully snide manner.
Double D gave Jonny a puzzled look. "What is all this talk about quartz and rubies supposed to mean?" he shrilled.
Jonny swung his palm to his face. "Are you that dumb? Okay, let me explain. Gemstones are the currency we use. Quartz is worth one cent, amber is five cents, moonstone is ten cents, emeralds are twenty-five cents, sapphires are fifty cents, and a ruby is worth one hundred cents. Need I say more?"
"Oh!" Double D's eyes widened. "I didn't know that."
"Ugh, you're so dense," commented Jonny, focusing his view back on the sky. Double D was still on the verge of blowing a gasket, to Ed's concern.
"Um… Double D? Are you okay?" inquired Ed, afraid to get near his raging friend. Double D reached out to Jonny's lap, and snatched Plank.
"Hey, Jonny…" he called in a soft yet stern voice. Jonny took a glance at Double D.
SMACK! Right on the head, Plank came plummeting through Jonny with the assistance of Double D's forceful bash. He continued to do the same action, over and over again. Ed tried to restrain Double D, but he bit the yellow boy in the hand before he could do so.
"This is getting uncomfortably violent, I'm going to go inside," Ed stammered.
Ed retreated back to his cell room, and notified Eddy about everything that happened. Double D could see that Jonny was barely conscious from his assailment. He shoved his hands into Jonny's pocket, and grabbed a ruby and an emerald from inside of it.
"Oh, you sneaky weasel," bubbled Double D, placing the jewels into his pocket. Then he chose to go back to the cell room, where he heard some strange words being spoken as he was entering.
"HE DID WHAT NOW?" Eddy stormed, clenching his fists.
"Yup," said Ed.
"Double D…" Eddy drawled with utmost disdain in his voice.
"What? The fair-skinned child blurted.
"C'mere." Double D obeyed Eddy's words, and finally treaded inside of the cell.
"You can't just go around beating people up for no reason!" scolded Eddy.
"Well, he wasn't giving me enough money!" croaked Double D in response.
"That doesn't justify you giving him a beating!" the pink boy screeched.
"But look at all the money I got as a result!" Double D showed Eddy the gems he pick-pocketed from Jonny.
"What are those?" questioned Eddy.
"They're the type of currency in this place. The emerald is twenty-five cents, and the ruby is a dollar!" pointed out Double D.
"Ah," said Eddy. "Anyways, I'm going to bed. It's dark out. Tomorrow is Monday, right?"
"Yes," replied Double D.
"That means we have to go to school. Better get some extra shuteye." Eddy rested his head on a pillow in his bed. Ed and Double D also chose to go to sleep, Ed entering Eddy's bed, and Double D sleeping by himself.