Potoperson: Happy sweet sixteen Dumb Love on Sunshine Island!!!

Cella: I bought you a car and a cell phone!

Potoperson: wait…if you can afford that then why can't you buy your own darn porcelain unicorns!?

Cella: um…. Here take the keys to a new car! (Throws Potoperson a set of keys and runs)

Potoperson: Wow! Thanks! Gee I can't believe she gave me a… hey wait! I DON'T EVEN HAVE A LEARNER'S PERMIT YET!!! Now what am I suppose to do with this...? Oh well, until I figure out what the heck to do with this THANK YOU SWEET REVIEWERS!!!

Jhon what's his face

Squeaken1

I do not own Ed, Edd, and Eddy…though apparently now I own a cyber car… On with the story! (Warning: randomness ahead)

Chapter 16- Become One with the Girl Scout

They hacked and hacked, they tripped over roots, they climbed trees. They were sure they must've gone at least a mile through the tangled jungle until they broke from the trees and ended up exactly where they'd entered.

This was going to be a very, very long night.

The boys began to discuss where they should go from there when a faint melody flitted past. It was the most interesting melody. It conjured up the image of a bird singing…right as it was getting eaten by a cat. Feeling sorry for whatever poor creature was dying, they followed the noise (Not easy, they kept getting turned around eventually they couldn't even hear it anymore) till they came to a stream that snaked to where they stood from some unseen place. Across from it a figure sat hunched over with its head bowed over the stream as if he was meditating. He was clothed in purple robes, he was the same old man who had warned them about the island in chapter…what five was it?

They waited for him to speak, but the only sound coming from him was the sound of his breathing. "Um…excuse me?" Double D called. No response. "Excuse me!" he called a little louder. Still no response. Suddenly Ed shouted, "Hi Mr. Scooby Doo man!!!" (I do not own Scooby Doo) The man's head suddenly snapped up and he babbled, "Whaa!? I'm not cleaning up that snot nosed brat's vomit! SO YOU CAN JUST- oh, it's you children. It's about time you got here, do you know how long I've been waiting?" he snapped. They all thought in disdain, "He was sleeping?" as he stood and dusted the grass from his robes.

"Now that you're all here I suppose you're looking for some guidance, am I right?" he inquired. They exchanged glances. "Yes…" Double D said slowly "We were wondering if you'd seen a truck…"

"A truck with your friends in it?"

"Yes. Have you seen it?"

"Yes."

"…."

"…"

"Aren't you going to tell us which way they went?"

"hmm…I don't think so."

"What?"

The man stood and hobbled gracefully (Is that possible?) across stones that crossed the river like a bridge. (No wait it was chapter six, sorry) "The way will be shown to you all once you are ready." He said, peering at them all through wise old eyes, "If you want to find your friends then you will do what I say, and you do want to find your friends don't you?" They all exchanged skeptical glances. Who the heck was this guy? And why should they listen to a stranger in the first place? He could be in cahoots with the kidnappers for all they knew.

"You do want to find your friends, don't you?" he repeated.

But darn it if he didn't make a point…

The man gave a smug, crinkled smile. "That's what I thought." He said. He sank into a cross-legged seated position in front of them, his eyes closed. "Sit in a circle and hum with me." He said. They got warily to the ground. He began humming and they slowly hummed along. After humming for about a minuet Kevin suddenly stopped and opened his eyes. "Wait, isn't this that girl-scouts song about making new friends?" The man's eye brows furrowed. "Um….well…wouldn't you know something like that."

"Say what?"

"Never mind, just trust me please."

They hummed a little longer until the man sang in his raspy baritone voice, "The circle's round…it has no ends… that's how long I want to be your friend…."

"I knew it! This is that stupid girl scout song!"

"Silence!" Kevin shut his mouth and the man reached into the sleeves of his robe and pulled out a little white candle set on a paper boat. (Seriously, ever notice people always pull miscellaneous objects out of robes or dresses or whatever in movies? I mean am I the only one who finds that odd? Honestly!) He set the boat in the water and lit the flame. As the smoke curled into the sky and the boat began to drift away he began chanting. "Become one with the stream. Feel yourself flowing through the woods, barely hindered by the stones. This is you, become one. Become one with the boat you carry your weight without complaint even though the burden is large and you aren't suited to the environment. This is you, become one. Become one with the candle. You light the way though you are beset on all sides by your greatest weakness. You may be out of place but you light the way for all. This is you become one…"

Johnny raised his hand.

"Um…yes child?" the man asked.

"If we're on with the stream, and the boat and the candle how can you say become 'one'. Aren't we becoming three?"

"Johnny's right." Double D observed, "We would be three different objects, virtually impossible I might add."

"Three….is a magic number…." Ed sand, "Yep it is….it's a magic number…"

"Couldn't you become one with the water, then one with the boat then one with the candle?" Jimmy asked.

"No way girly boy." Kevin said, "Then you'd just be a candle."

"It isn't safe to leave a lit candle in the woods Jimmy. You may start a forest fire."

Johnny thrust his hands over plank's ears(?). "Don't talk that way around Plank!" he cried in horror.

"This is so stupid, it doesn't even make sense!" Eddy muttered. Ed, who had forgotton he was singing three is a magic number over the course of the conversation and began singing Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody (I do not own both of those songs), gave Eddy a reassuring pat on the head with a horrible amount of force. "It's ok Eddy, want some blueberry cheesecake?" he asked handing him a random plate with said dessert. Eddy slapped the plate out of his hand screaming, "That doesn't make sense either! And you know I'm lactose intolerant!"

He turned and threw an accusing finger in the man's direction. "What's the point of this stupid exercise anyway?!" he demanded. He shrugged, "None really, I just thought that you all needed to give your brains a breather. You all really over think what you do, it's unnecessary." He stood and reached his hands out to him like he was conducting an orchestra. "Sometimes thinking too much can be as bad as not thinking at all. You second guess, you loose hope. Relax why don't you!?" He whipped out a cane they hadn't noticed he had and smacked them all over the head. "Remember this, your strength might fail you, you may fall flat on your face and throw out your back, but that's when friends are there. They'll scrape you off the ground, and cart you off to the hospital to nurse you back to help when all the world spits on you in passing. They'll change your sheets, and give you a sponge bath, and change your bed pans…"

"All right already!" They all moaned.

He set down his cane again. "Or sometimes they won't do that at all. Sometimes they'll handle the problem in their own way, a way you won't expect or even recognize as helping at first. But you'll be grateful for it, oh yes you'll be grateful. It may be sending a message, a pat on the back, or maybe even a clue…" He motioned with his head upstream. They all looked in that direction and saw a curious sight, a bottle with a crumpled paper in it.

They all stood and rushed for it. They unraveled the paper and Ed marveled at seeing it, "It's from May! It's from my fuzzy bunny guys!" They turned to thank the man but he was gone, maybe spirited away to whatever far off land he came from…or maybe he just walked away when they weren't looking. Who knows? But they could've sworn they head a melody riding on the wind and the words "Make new friends…but keep the old…one is silver and the other's gold." (I don't own the song)

Eddy, who was holding the paper, flipped it upside down then sideways then squinted at it closely. "What's wrong Eddy? Can't you read it?" Double D. asked. Eddy shook his head furiously. "No, it's just a bunch of scribbles and doodles of trees, ninjas, and a picture of Abraham Lincoln singing opera or something…" he said, "Ed! We can't read your stinking girlfriend's hand writing! Translate!" He shoved the paper into Ed's hands and he squinted at the page. "Well lumpy? What does it say?" Eddy inquired. Ed cleared his throat and read the message perfectly in May's voice.

"Dear Gravy Guy, or random hiker, or fishy. Me and my friends are trapped in a cave in the mountains and we need help. There are guards dressed up like people everywhere and we're trapped in a cage and I'm really, really hungry! [Insert doodle of a frowning hungry May here] Please oh please help us! And when you come, bring a taco! I drew a map because I'm really good at drawing maps! Go me! Love May. P.S- I love you Gravy Guy!"

The boys all stared at him, freaked out expressions drawn on their faces. "Ed, never ever do that voice again." Eddy said. Ed wasn't paying attention the command. He was too busy jumping up and down saying, "There's a map Eddy there's a map! Let's go! We can go now right Eddy? C'mon Eddy pleeeeeeeeeeease????" Double D. glanced over the paper and said, "Ed this paper's completely illegible, how will we ever tell where the map is leading?"

"I can read the map Double D! I can I can!" Ed insisted.

"Uh-uh, no way we're having the mono-dork leading us." Kevin said.

"And why not?" Johnny demanded stepping forward. The others cringed expecting another fierce Johnny/Kevin showdown. Instead Kevin didn't say anything. He was looking at the coconut and wooden board in Johnny's hands and he remembered how they had led them north, right to where the girls were being held. He remembered the man's words, "They'll handle the problem in their own way, a way you won't expect or even recognize as helping at first. But you'll be grateful for it, oh yes you'll be grateful." Thanks to them they had a clue as to where to go and he was grateful, and if a coconut could give a hint why couldn't an Ed lead?

"Lead away do- I mean Ed." Kevin said. Ed beamed and shouted, "This way!!!" And galloped off into the forest, the others on his tail.

As they ran they figured out that the random doodles were actually a path through the woods. (How she managed to make a map when she was allegedly shoved in a box was beyond them) The trees were the forest, the ninjas were apparently the mentioned "men in masks" and Abraham Lincoln with his mouth was wide open like he was singing opera was a tall point tower with a cave on it. This they came across at the moment.

The mouth of the cave was elevated on the mountain and there were men in masks walked back and forth, guarding the perimeter no doubt. Fortunately somebody brought a pair of night vision goggles and they were able to see a ways into the cave. It was filled with guards, and in a cage that was suspended a ways into the air on a crane were all of the girls staring down at the ground miserably.

This was going to be tricky…

"How the heck are we going to get in there?" Johnny gasped.

"I must admit, the odds are against us…" Double D muttered putting the binoculars back around his neck.

Jimmy began sniveling and blubbered dolefully, "What're we gonna do? It's hopeless… Those guys eat runts like me for a snack. Sara what do I dooooo???"

Kevin socked him on the head irritably. "Will you cut it out? Sara's not here, she always stands up for you (as much as we hate it when she does) and now you've got to stand up for her. We all do."

Eddy stepped up on a rock to give himself the advantage of the height. "Gentlemen." He said, his voice gaining an air of authority, "I do believe this isn't just going to be a rescue mission, it's gonna be an all out battle. Sure they beat us in numbers…and size…and muscle…and they have cars and probably guns…not to mention they're a whole lot cooler than us…um…hm…what was my point again?" he pondered a moment while the others stared dully at him, dread seeping through them. He suddenly snapped his fingers, "Oh yeah! Do you know what they call people like us?"

"Losers?"

"People way in over their heads"

"Stupid?"

"No! They call us the underdogs, the guys everybody roots for. The Americans were us in the revolution; the French were us in their revolution!"

Double D raised his hand. "Eddy, the French lost their revolution."

Eddy glared at him until he put his hand down then went on. "The point is the underdogs have all the odds against them…and the author of this story is a sucker for the underdogs!"

Potoperson: Guilty as charged

"All we have to do is try; now who's with me?!"

There was a roar of "Yeah!" and "Let's do it!" and "We're seriously going to get ourselves killed but let's do it anyway!!!"

"But how are we going to get past the guards?" Jimmy asked timidly.

Everyone glared at him with "oh way to be a killjoy" glares. Eddy just gave an insidious grin and pulled out a wooden tool known as the "Chaos 52 Model Slingshot" and said, "You just leave them to me."

Potoperson: We are getting down to the wire folks!

Cella: Not the wire!

Potoperson: Oh yes the wire! And if you review this story at all you will be put in the magical reviewer's hall of fame at the very end where I write down every reviewer ever of this story. But for now, the next people who review this chapter get a cyber car! (motions towards a display case with awesome car of your choice.)

Cella: You know you want it!

Potoperson: You know you do! Bye!