THE FEARED AGAINST THE RESPECTED

After that talk about Rerun, for his last bit of training, Linus for once kept hold of his blanket. He was practicing his whipping motion with it, aiming at a bullseye set up in the room.

"Impressive" Edward commented, as Linus again hit the target with a resounding crack, "Very powerful".

Stepping up, he held out his hand, "May I".

Linus handed him the blanket. Edward readied himself, and thrust the blanket forward. It missed the target.

He tried again with the same result, and began to get annoyed, "Come on!, you were a good weapon for him".

"Well" Linus began as Edward began swinging the blanket "it isn't meant to be…"

BANG!. The bullseye was smashed to the ground, as Edward flung the blanket, slamming it into it.

"…a weapon!".

Linus stepped back, he looked shocked at that display of power. But Edward, on the other hand, felt overjoyed at its perceived usefulness.

The eldest Black sibling looked over to Linus, "if it's a good weapon, then why not use it?". He handed it back. "And, you certainly use it well. My training has not been wasted on you".

Edward gestured to Maddison, who was sitting in the corner with Janice, "Though her suspicions about your allegiances were false, she did have one good point".

Linus looked confused, "What was that?".

"In another world" Edward stated "had you allied, yourself and Lucy would have been a deadly duo of formidable bullies."

"What, I'm nothing like my sist…", Linus stopped speaking.

He did, in fact, share some qualities with Lucy. They both had determination, strong-willingness and even ambition.
He felt frustrated, guess those were more reasons he was someone to be ashamed of.

"Linus" Edward said "don't reject these qualities. They are powerful for you. Use them for victory".

"But, wouldn't that make me…If I rely on my anger to beat them…", the brown haired boy looked worried.

Edward sat down. Clearly, Linus didn't just share Lucy's qualities. He shared Charlie Brown's moral ethics.

"My friend" he proposed "In this world, it takes one day of anger, to make a hundred days of happiness".

Linus looked at his knees. He didn't like to act out of anger. But he couldn't turn down his built up resentment towards his sister.

BAM, BAM, BAM.

"Again. Seriously" Edward groaned, as the doorbell rang for the second time that night. Mumbling that it'd better be important, he went towards the door.

Linus followed him, walking through the hallway, but Edward then slowed down. Voices were heard outside.

…

"So who's talking"

"Why doesn't Franklin do it"

"I personally think Charles should"

"Yeah Chuck, he's your best friend"

"And aren't you gonna clobber him for stealing Linus, big brother"

"SALLY!. If he heard that"

Edward opened the door, to find Schroeder, Marcie, Frieda, Franklin, Peppermint Patty and the Browns in front of him. Quickly, they ceased their conversation.

"Good evening" he said, placing his hand on the doorway. "To what do we owe the pleasure?".

Charlie Brown stepped forward, nearly tripping over his baseball bat.

"I am surprised to see you here" Edward told him. "You should be resting for the game tomorrow".

"I haven't come…this isn't about the g-game" Charlie Brown responded "it's about how you treat people".

Edward had a defence ready. "Rest assured, however hardly I treat you, is for the team's greater good…"

But Charlie Brown interrupted by shaking his head. This wasn't about him.

"What are you doing with Linus?".

Edward raised his eyebrows.

"Or to be more specific" Marcie said "what are you doing to Linus?".

Edward looked at them. And now he somewhat understood. This was an intervention.

"You're concerned that I'm changing him?".

Linus looked from behind Edward to his friends. They'd all showed up, apparently out of concern for what he'd been doing the past week.

"Yes" Franklin said "we know some change is inevitable…".

The rest nodded in agreement.

"…but, are you making our friend someone he's not?".

Now, Linus looked surprised. If he should be ashamed of himself, why'd that matter?.

"What if I am?" Edward crossed his arms and frowned. "What if" he looked at Linus "I think that being someone like Linus, is an identity he should be ashamed of".

He looked back at the 7 kids, to find them looking appalled.

…

They all immediately opened their mouths.

"Then" Frieda spoke up "we have a problem. Linus's flaws are tolerable".

"Yeah, we don't care if Linus is weird" Marcie said, "There's nothing wrong with that".

"The kid's great to talk to about philosophy" Franklin added.

"Since when was being considerate and thoughtful wrong?" Patty questioned, "Oh that's right, Never".

"I don't want him to be anything but sweet and wholesome" Sally exclaimed.

From beside the stairs, Linus's face began to redden with delight at these comments. His blanket slipped from his hand.

"I tried to tell them you're fine" Schroeder confessed to Edward. "With that said though, Linus is the only person in his family that isn't slugging people into line. Ask your brother".

But instead, Edward looked at the one person who hadn't spoken. He locked eyes with Charlie Brown.

"If you're trying to force Linus to change" Charlie Brown stated "then, you're just like Lucy".

Edward immediately stood back, his expression now unreadable. Inside, Janice walked up till she was next to Linus.

"Charlie Brown" the latter chuckled to his best friend "that insult could be lethal"

"Yeah, call 911" Janice added, laughing herself.

"Oh be quiet" Charlie Brown told them both.

Edward then addressed everyone. "Funny you mentioned Lucy, as I was just saying her and Linus, actually have similar qualities".

"What" the kids exclaimed.

"But" Janice continued, and addressed Linus "the difference between you is, Lucy makes people fear her. You, gain their respect".

Edward lifted his sash over his head.

"And everything your friends just admired, is why I wanted him as a member of SOJAS" he confirmed to said friends.

He gestured to the main room.

"He is ready. It is time to make it official".

The SOJAS leader walked away, to prepare the formal welcoming of their newest member.

…

Faint sniffling could be heard, as Linus brought his blanket up to wipe his eyes.

"I didn't mean to worry you all…It's…I'd thought I wasn't good enough…so…I…thanks for saying all that"

Charlie Brown walked forward, to cut off Linus's emotional rambling by embracing his best friend, and was quickly joined by everyone else.

"Perhaps it's time you considered the wild possibility, that you're more than good enough" Charlie Brown told him. "And we were only worried, that we'd all lose the real Linus".

From behind Linus, Janice winked at Charlie Brown. He'd proved her right.

On the other side of town, a different scene was taking place.

"He suggested what!"

Lucy and Violet were at Gray Manor, staying over for the night. And Lucy was explaining a suggestion Edward Black had told her. It was an idea to all wear the same purple shirts tomorrow, as a sense of unity.

"It was strange, but why not stand out more?" Lucy reasoned to Violet, "whats the big deal".

"Because I just think Black knows a little too much" Violet exclaimed at her. The two girls sat on the couch.

"I want to make one final change to our plot Lucy. And, I'd like it to remain between us"

Lucy nodded.

"Tomorrow, we'll kick 5 from refereeing the game altogether, and I'll do his job. Or, to be more accurate, I'll not do his job". Violet rubbed her hands together.

To her shock, Lucy disagreed. "Violet, the other team, Rochester, will be violent if we leave them unwatched. I-I'd like to avoid collateral damage".

Violet felt frustrated.

"Look, I have to have my limits somewhere" Lucy defended herself.

"AND THAT" Violet ranted "Is why you won't win, Lucy".

Lucy looked taken aback.

"As your best friend, and someone who has your best interests at heart, don't hold back on this. You're surely not going to risk your big achievement, risk exposure, over some "limits"".

Lucy looked away.

"Or maybe" Violet leant in "your soft little brother is rubbing off on you".

Before Lucy even looked back, Violet knew she'd convinced her.

"Of course not" Lucy growled. "You're right. Why should I limit myself. Tomorrow, I'll make sure I succeed, and…and I don't care about how".

Violet patted her once on the shoulder.

"That's my girl".

Linus stood in the middle of the room, as his friends sat in front of him, and from behind him, Edward began the membership initiation.

"Years ago, our founder, Lionheart, established our club on the principles of Justice and Security. We have, in turn, established these principles in everywhere we have traveled. Tonight, it is my pleasure to welcome another individual to our ranks".

Edward gestured "I call forward the seventh member, Janice Emmon's, to present the symbol.

Janice stepped on the stage, carrying a sash. It was light blue, the same colour as his blanket, with a gold emblem sewn in. Edward received the sash, and Linus stepped forward.

"Linus Van Pelt, you have represented strong values that align with our principles. I had thought" Edward noted "that I was training you to meet my expectations. I was wrong. You've exceeded them".

Linus looked at Edward, who grinned.

"I welcome you, as our eighth member"

He placed the sash over Linus, who beamed with pride.

The blanket carrier began to mingle and talk to his friends, taking the time to listen to what had been going on. He began to start monologuing, where Janice then offered him a dance, with everyone following suit.

Charlie Brown excused himself from them, finding himself next to Edward.

"Don't dance?"

"Not really, Charlie"

Charlie Brown looked back to Linus, and his smile briefly faded. For a moment, he pictured himself there instead, dancing with his crush.

"You had feelings for a girl once, didn't you" Edward analysed.

Charlie Brown nodded.

"What was her name?"

"Hailey maybe…..I don't know".

Of course you don't, Edward almost said.

"What happened to her?" he instead asked.

"She left town. I'll probably never see her again".

They looked at the others.

"Well" Edward replied "that make two of us".

The two boys fell quiet

"Did it hurt" Charlie Brown muttered.

Edward slowly pulled out his locket, looking at the picture of the platinum haired girl, Lionheart.

"It still does"