A false memory would be everything. A denial my eliminent
Chapter 20
Take me somewhere nice #2
Eddy had been the first to notice that both Marie and Double-D were missing. At first he had been confused and then he had been filled with rage and worry for his friend. The remaining Kankers had been smiling, snickering at him as he made his demands heard, loud and clear, to bring their friend back. They had answered him with some words that only made him worry more: "Sorry, but Marie needs to have a little one on one with her man." "Yeah, they're getting some quality time." Then they had proceeded to do the things that only Kankers would think of to do to people.
But just as Ed had started to cry in fear, just as Lee had taken the final step to get close and personal with Eddy, the door had slowly begun to creak open. It wasn't loud enough for anyone to hear over their screams, but soon both Ed and Eddy begun to notice the movement of the door and their focus were fixated. Their sudden silence hadn't driven the Kankers to suspect anything were amiss, they merely begun to laugh at their expressions, not knowing they were no longer the reason behind their fear. With their gazes glued onto the door it was but impossible for them to miss the shape move into the light, out of the shadows on the other side of the door. Eyes growing wide in amazement, Eddy can't help but wonder if this is what Double-D had felt like when Mel stepped into the situation with the jocks. Her motions are slow but not frozen in time, smooth but not soft like a feather. Now standing right behind the two girls, her gaze have turned dark as she listens in to what they're saying.
"What's the matter, Eddy?" Lee snickers as she leans closer to his face. "Worried about your little friend? Don't worry – Marie's just gonna teach him a little lesson, that's all." Her hair covers Mel's face just enough for him not to see her expression, but he's got a feeling she's not happy about what she just heard.
"Yeah – She's just gonna show what happens when you cheat on a Kanker." May adds, clinging onto Ed's terrified form in an amorous embrace. "So you best behave, big Ed, and stay lovey dovey just with me."
"Lovey dovey is bad for Ed!" Ed cries out.
"And the same goes for you, Eddy." Lee says whilst standing back with her arms crossed, allowing Eddy to see Mel clearly again. She's scowling. "Don't think we're going to go easy on you just because you're our boyfriends; if you mess with us we will come for you." Scowl still remaining, her eyebrows rise in surprise at Lee's words.
Feeling brave from having Mel right there, Eddy decides to snap back. "Oh yeah? And what're you gonna do then, huh?!" Lee immediately growls at him, though her toughness is short lived.
"That's a good question." Mel speaks out, hands on her hips as the girls turn around in surprise. "Just what would you do to them?" A sneer begins to form on her lips as she sees the surprise in the girls eyes – well, the blonde one's at least.
Trying to jump her is a big mistake to make, but she's not going to tell them that. Not that she can; they already have after all.
Feeling the two Ed's eyes on her she tries her best to not throw any punch she doesn't need to, only push away and dodge. Well, she does also "accidentally" trip them with her feet every now and again, sending them falling to the floor and whatnot. None of the boys seem to be bothered by it. Or maybe it's because they're being too busy with being bothered by the fact that Kevin is there to help set them free. Honestly, who knows? She sure doesn't. However, one thing she does know, after having looked around the room whilst dodging and sending the two girls here and there, is something that she is not a big fan of knowing; Edd is not in this room. The knowledge dilutes her mind, making it hard – if not impossible – for her to focus. Driven back to old habits, she grabs the girls in their hair, holds them up against a wall and stares them straight in the eyes only to remember her promise and thus decides against breaking their jaws.
"Well then, ladies. Should we try and be civil or do I need to be more convincing?" She asks them, doing everything she can to keep the burning fire in her blood under control. Scowling and teeth bared, Lee attempts to kick her after hearing her words, causing Mel's veins to overheat. With a hard and sudden shove back into the wall she effectively knocks the air out of the two girls – not too much though, gotta be careful when you're handling little kids – as well as gathering their undivided attention to her and the fact that she is not playing around like them. Bearing her own teeth, she smiles at them as she keeps her voice under tight restrains when she speaks. "Okay, look. We've all done and said things that you two are going to regret, so why don't you do yourself a service and tell me where my brother is, and I will allow you to live past today?"
"Wh-what?" Terrified beyond belief, May forces herself to speak her confusion. "Wh-who's your brother?"
"She's talking about Double-D." Eddy pipes up in the background.
"That's right." Mel confirms, her smile growing wider as she sees the realization dawn on their little faces. "Double-D. My brother. Where is he?"
"Knock knock." Her voice is shrilling in the dark of the room, her silhouette only enhancing the feeling of dread as it glows in the light spewing in from the other room. There's an expression on her face, one he cannot read, as she looks at them on the floor; him pinned and tied to the floor and Marie sitting on top of him, her fists raw from the continuous beating that just ceased. It's a horrifying expression.
"What are you doing here?!" Marie suddenly screams at her, standing up from the boy on the floor, tightening her fists once again; ready for a fight. "How did you find us?!"
"I could ask you the same thing." Mel answers, unbothered, unfazed by Marie's anger. She glances down at Edd, noting his fearful expression no doubt. He knows she's angry, he can see the familiar flame burning in her eyes, and yet she hasn't lashed out… could it be…? "As for how I found you, I merely heard the cries of innocent people being tortured and followed it."
Marie is silent for but a few seconds after hearing her words. "What did you say?" She asks before looking down at him again. He can see the cogwheels turn in her mind as she thinks and soon the anger returns. "You told her?!" She yells loudly as she starts throwing punches at him again. "How could you?! I hate you! I hate you!"
Her punches hurt more than they did before, possibly because they're fueled with an even greater rage this time. He tries his best to evade the punches but with his restrains he fails miserably. However, as sudden as the punches began to fly, they suddenly cease once more. It takes a small moment for him to dare and open his eyes to see what's caused her to stop. His eyes open wide in surprise as he sees Marie's hands in the air, being held together by a singular hand in a strong, tight grip. Mel. Shifting his head to look at his side he can see her knelt form standing still, her right hand keeping Marie's two smaller hands in a tight grip that refuses to let go no matter how hard she tries to escape. He knows what that feels like.
"Let go of me! You stupid boyfriend stealing-" Before Marie is able to finish her sentence, Mel stands up straight, hoisting the little girl up to hang in the air as she keeps the grip around her hands tight. "Put me down!" Marie growls. Mel smirks.
"As you wish." Turning around in a smooth movement, Mel tosses Marie back towards where she came from, away from them. She lands rather softly, considering the strength Mel possesses. She really is trying her best to not hurt anyone this time. The same cannot be said about Marie.
Getting back on her feet, Marie rushes back against her enemy in the attempt to beat her down. The only thing that ends up happening is her being tripped as Mel moves out of the way just in time whilst leaving her foot behind to send the blue haired girl flying. She falls just besides to Edd, who is forced to simply lay there and watch as Marie tries her hardest to fight his sister. He tries to tell her to stop, that it's useless fighting Mel, but she can't hear him over the sound of her own rage. Watching her rise up from the floor only to be sent down by Mel time and time again, it's getting harder for him to feel sorry for her. As he's watching it's becoming more and more clear that Mel isn't doing anything to keep the fight going. All she is doing is dodging and push away, whilst making sure that her opponent isn't being hurt. The only damage that is done to Marie happens because of Marie.
Reaching out her hand as Marie rushes her once more, Edd watches as Mel plants her hand on Marie's head and adjusts her direction to run past her, to run into and land on the couch behind her. He blinks a couple of times. The more he's watching the more he begins to feel strange. The tightness he's felt in his stomach ever since the incident with the jocks suddenly begins to melt away, being replaced with a warm and fuzzy feeling. What does it mean?
"Wait a minute, I just realized something." Mel abruptly speaks right after she sends Marie back to the floor once more. "What did you call me?"
"What?" Marie snaps at her from the floor, exhausted from all of the rushing and falling.
"You said something about me being a 'stupid boyfriend stealing'… something." She says. "What did you mean by that?"
"What do you think I meant?! You stole my boyfriend!" Marie shouts at her as she gets back up from the floor. "Do you really think I'm going to let you get away with that?!" Putting all of her strength into her war cry, she lifts her fist up and throws it in the hopes of finally landing one. Given the way this fight has been playing out, she almost can't believe it when she finds herself actually landing it.
Edd gasps loudly as he sees Marie charge at Mel and how Mel refuses to move out of the way, seeming to be far too deep in thought to notice her opponent attacking. Closing his eyes, he could still hear the impact of Marie's attack as she perfectly landed a punch to Mel's abdomen. He almost can't believe what he sees when he opens them again, curious as to why the fight suddenly went quiet. Mel is standing still just as she did before the attack, as if nothing happened. Marie stands right in front of her, seeming to be just as surprised as him from the lack of reaction. Is she really that strong that Marie's punches do nothing to hurt her, or is she just… chocked?
She suddenly puts one of her hands on Marie's head once again and sends her flying back to the couch behind her, not a word being spoken as she slowly starts walking up to him. "Hey bro." She says, a puzzled expression painted on her face. "Umm… did I… did I miss a meeting or something? Like, did I… did I steal you?" They silently stare at each other for a moment, forgetting about the fact that Marie is still there in the room with them, watching them, being confused herself. "We're still brother and sister, right?"
"What?" Marie can be heard in the background, but Mel is too focused on getting an answer from Edd to really hear. He merely nods at her.
"Right… that's what I was thinking too." Mel says and turns around to face the girl on the couch.
What is happening? He's not sure what's happening in front of him right now. One second ago Marie wanted Mel dead and Mel was just playing with her… and now everyone is confused. He watches as Mel approaches Marie on the couch, seeming lost at words.
"So… he's your boyfriend…?" She asks, receiving a nod from Marie. "Right… and I am his sister. I'm not sure how it got lost in translation, but it did and I'm… sorry…?" She grows silent after saying that, pondering on it for a few seconds. "Actually no, I'm not sorry, cuz' just what were you doing beating him like that?"
"It's the Kanker way!" Marie says, standing up from the couch as if she's challenging Mel again. "If your man is ditching you for someone else you gotta make sure to teach him a lesson!"
"Is that so?" He can tell by the tone of her voice that she didn't like that answer one bit. Things could get ugly again… or rather; uglier. "Well sweetie pie, guess what? That ends now." Her voice grows dark at the last sentence and even Marie seems to have been caught off guard by it. Yet she still remains a challenger.
"Oh yeah? And what are you gonna do about it?" She sneers at Mel, receiving nothing but dead silence for a moment. It's almost more terrifying than if she had been yelling back threats.
Instead, she leans in closer to Marie's face, locking eyes with the little girl. Seeing the fear in her eyes she eventually lets her smile grow. "I will put an end to it."
The rumble of her voice is all it takes for Marie to finally realize her position and steps down from her challenge. She sits down on the couch and watches as the ginger girl moves back to Double-D, kneeling down next to him and freeing him from his imprisonment. She can see the way he's looking at her with certain 'awe' in his gaze. He looks up to her, even if he might be terrified of her, he looks up to her still. She thinks about that for a moment. He is terrified of her as well, but the difference is that he doesn't look up to her… what does he see her as?
"Well, there we go." Mel speaks once Edd is back on his feet once more. "I will say; I do appreciate the fact that you didn't chain him to the bed. If you had done that it wouldn't have mattered what I promised him; I would've killed you instantly."
"Mel!" Edd complains.
"You be quiet. Have you already forgotten what she did to you, the position I found you in?" You can hear the eye roll in her voice. "I'm sorry bro, but promise or not, if I had found that she had done something like that to you there isn't a force in the world that would've been able to stop me from committing murder."
"What do you mean?" Marie asks. "What promise?"
"This dense brainiac you like to call boyfriend made me promise that I wouldn't hurt you, despite all the things you and your sisters have done to him and his friends." She explains; an exhaustedly frustrated expression on her face as she speaks. "Anyway, we'll be on our way now, and you will not stop us." She points at Marie whilst speaking. "Don't misunderstand me; I haven't tied you up because I trust you, but rather because it would be a hassle to deal with later. Your sisters have already been dealt with and leaving you three alone here all tied up would just mean I would have to return to set you free again, and I really don't want to return to this place. I may be a crazy overprotective sister, but I'm not a child killer despite my words earlier; I really don't want three girls starving to death on my conscience. Got it?"
"Y-yeah…" Marie's voice is but a whisper at this point. "Thank you."
"Don't say that." Mel tells her. "This isn't mercy, it's just logic. Understood?"
Nodding at her words, Marie merely sits there on the couch and watches as they leave the room, Mel's hand remaining by Double-D's back and side to support him. She can hear the voices of her sisters complaining about their plan being ruined, how they're going to get them back for this. A sigh escapes her as she shakes her head at them. She's too tired to care about it.
Kevin and Eddy are at each others' necks the moment they step out of the room. Entering the light, it takes them a short second or two to let their eyes adjust. Edd looks around the room and finds that Mel hadn't been joking about the two other Kankers being tied up and dealt with. They're shouting at them, telling them that they will pay back Kanker style, that they should all be afraid and such. His curiosity draws him to look up at Mel, to see what her reaction, response, to their words will be. She merely looks at them, a mild annoyance in her eyes as she blinks once or twice at their threats. It would seem that she couldn't be more unbothered than this.
Kevin is standing by the door the Kankers had entered through. He's looking at him, a fact that causes Edd to shy away, move closer to Mel's side even though she's already right by him. If she noticed she didn't say anything about it. He appreciates that.
"Alright, let's get out of here." Mel eventually says, having had enough of this rotten old house. She looks at Kevin very pointedly. "Lead the way, Kevin."
"Okay." He answers and opens the door more. "Follow me."
Everyone can see and hear Eddy's complains that Kevin gets to be the one who leads the way, how it gets worse when Kevin points out that he knows the way "unlike someone else, Skipper." Ed doesn't seem to mind in the slightest, as long as he gets some gravy later on. He's out of the room and rushing up the stairs in no time. Mel gently guides Edd out of the room, being careful as she is worried about the beating Marie bestowed upon his tiny little frame. Tripping and falling is normally not something dangerous, but given the scenario, Mel is not taking any chances. Scooping him up in her arms bridal style, she carries him up the stairs without breaking a sweat. However, once they're at the top of the staircase she can't help but notice his discomfort.
"Am I hurting you?" She asks.
"N-no, it's just… embarrassing." He says. "Please, I-I can walk on my own."
"You sure? You seem rather unstable." She gently puts him down, watches him take a few steps on his own. Misplacing a step is enough to get her to rush to your side. "I won't carry you, but I don't want you to walk on your own just yet. How about a piggyback?"
Thinking for a moment, he decides that it might be for the best if he just allows her to help him. "Okay." He says and crawls up on her back, feeling his trust in her grow as she grabs his legs and carefully, slowly, stands up once she knows he's secured. Holding his arms around her neck, he allows himself to rest his head against her shoulder, feeling her hair tickle his forehead as she walks. It draws a smile from him.
They soon reach the front door to the house, finding the rest of the cul-de-sac kids out there waiting for them. Nazz has hurried up to Eddy and Kevin and given them both a big hug and a kiss each on their cheek. They're both equally as red as the other. Oh, young love. She soon spots Mel exiting through the front door and hurries up to her.
"You made it!" She smiles at them and attempts to give them each a hug. Mel smiles at her effort.
"Yeah, well, it wasn't so bad." She says, calming the blond girl down a bit. "Just three little girls having a talk with one big girl. That's all."
"And Double-D?" Nazz asks. "Is he…?"
"He's fine. Marie just decided to…" Mel starts but fails to come up with any words to describe what Marie did without upsetting any of the kids.
"Marie was Marie?" Nazz asks, trying to help find the right words.
Mel smiles. "Yeah. That." She says. "Well then, how about we all head back home? I'm starting to get hungry."
"Gravy and toast is good for Ed!" Ed calls out. She chuckles.
Leaving the abandoned house behind them, Mel remains in the back with Edd, making sure no one is sneaking up on the kids along the way. She's not sure what dangers lurk in this neighborhood, but something tells her that the Kanker sisters aren't the only ones you need to keep a lookout for. Why, who's to say they're even the worst thing this cul-de-sac has or will see? It wasn't very long ago since she entered this little world after all… and lord knows she might have contact she wish she didn't have. No matter; she will deal with it when or if it were to occur. For the moment she just wants to relax, with her bro, in their house and with a good meal.
Smiling to herself, she is completely unaware of the thoughts that run around in Edd's little head, the confusion it causes him to feel. Why is this feeling in his stomach not going away? Surely the knot he's felt before wasn't this strong as its replacement? Was it?
Looking down at the ground, he can see Mel's left foot come in and out of his line of sight as she walks with him on her back. Just another small detail that fails to aid his troubled mind; he first thought she picked him up bridal style to taunt him for being weak, but after offering to carry him on her back… the warm feeling keeps getting stronger the more he thinks about it and he's not sure what it means or if he needs to do something about it. Closing his eyes as soon as he sees the street leading up to the cul-de-sac, he makes a very important mental note that he needs to do some research and study about this sudden development of emotions within him. Who knows? What if it turns out to be a disease? Surely there must be a cure for this, right? Right?
Song: Take me somewhere nice – Mogwai
Try to be bad… try to be bad…
