Chapter 25: Duel at the Belfry

"Hey, slick! He's waking up!" A childish voice called out.

Double D opened his eyes. He instantly knew where he was. In the belfry of the steeple. He was tied up on the floor, beside him was Eduardo Jr. In the opposing corner of the room was two other tied up figured. He assumed them to be Eddy and Goombella.

"What is this?" Double D asked.

He looked at two menacing figures nearby. One was under a white sheet with red glowing eyes exposed. This one also wore a blue party hat and a bow tie. The other one was Kevin, still wearing the gray sheet only with his head exposed.

"Kevin! What are you doing?" Double D asked.

"Workin' for me." The white-sheeted monster responded. "So slick, what makes ya think you guys can just come and crash my party?"

"Party?" Double D asked. "Your idea of a party is to attack innocent travelers and turn a town into pigs?"

"What can I say. It's a boring place, so I decided to perk it up."

Double D paid notice to the other tied-up people. It looked like Goombella and Eduardo Jr. where both out cold, but Eddy seemed fine enough to speak.

"Kevin! I shoulda known ya would do something' like this!" Eddy shouted accusingly. "Why-cha do it?"

"Do you have any frick'n idea what I've been through since I arrived, EDDY?" Kevin shouted, holding a long, metallic wrench up to Eddy's head. "I was lost here in these woods. I met this guy here." Kevin pointed to the white-sheeted one. "And we struck a deal. I work for him, and he gives me a place to crash, and promises I stay human."

"You sold us all out?" Eddy asked with an outrage look on his face. "You've hit a new low! Do ya even know his name!"

"My name isn't important, slick." The white-sheeted one said.

"Whatever. Kevin, stop foolin' around with freak-in-a-sheet and get me out of here, or so help me, I'll-"

"I heard enough from you." the white-sheeted one said.

In this commotion, Double D had enough time to weaken the ropes binding him down.

"I'd have freak-in-a-sheet turn you into a pig like the others…" Kevin smirked and took the wrench back into his pocket. "…but you're already one."

"Come here and say that you-"

"FIRE!" Double D shouted.

Flames shot from his hands and broke upon impact of hitting the white-sheeted one. He managed to untie Eduardo Jr. in that chaos.

"Wake up!" Double D tried to wake him up, but the little Yoshi remained silent.

"He's going to pay for what he did!" Double D said. He waved his hand and dismissed the fire.

"Oh, you're looking for a fight?" he asked. "This ought to be fun…"

Kevin and the white-sheeting monster both prepared themselves for attack.

Double D took out his rod. "Flare!"

His rod quickly turned into a sword of fire. He charged and ran up to the white-cloaked one and continued in a series of rapid slashings. With every attack, he began ripping the white cloak.

"Move it, slick!" He demanded.

Double D looked up and saw Kevin diving right at him with his large wrench. Double D laughed and shielded himself with his flaming sword. The second the wrench made contact was the second it exploded into flames, so badly Kevin had to drop its shattered remains.

"Smooth move, slick!" The white-sheeted one scolded.

He threw Double D off and back into a wall. His sword separated from his hands. It stabbed into the ground away from him transforming back into a rod.

The white-sheeted one grabbed Double D.

"Fire!" Double D said. His whole body began to glow red until he had to let go.

"I'm done play'n games." The white-sheeted one said. "Attack him, now!"

Kevin shouted and jumped Double D. He pinned him down onto the ground.

"Kevin, stop this! This is madness!" Double D shouted.

"Yeah right!" Kevin shouted. "It's far too late to stop now!"

"You're making a mistake!" Double D shouted back. 'I have to break through his hard head. I can't do this alone!'

Double D forced himself up, throwing Kevin right off.

He pointed at both of them: "Flame-Rain!"

Fireballs shot down from the ceiling. The white-sheeted one emerged unscathed, but Kevin took a thrashing. Double D also noted one grazed path him, burning at little.

"Sock-head! Heads up!" Eddy shouted.

He felt a hard blow. Double D was knocked onto the floor. Before he could get up, Kevin pinned him down onto the floor. He was too weak to call out another spell.

"Go, now!" the white-sheeted one demanded. "Finnish him off."

"You mean kill him?" Kevin asked. "You want me to kill the dork?"

"Yes, hurry up, slick!"

"…no, that's too far." Kevin said.

"I knew it. Even he has a heart." Double D thought.

"I gave you an order, traitor!" the white-sheeted one shouted.

"I don't care!" Kevin said. "Maybe Double dork's right. This is madness!"

"That tears it!" The so-called ghost shouted.

Double D was quickly surrounded by a blue energy sphere. The white-sheeted creature suddenly was as well. Purple dust filled the room. When it cleared, there was a new figure in the place where the white-sheeted one was before. It looked exactly like Double D, only a shadow.

"Can you fight yourself?" Dark Edd asked.

"I know all of my weaknesses; I know how to defeat myself." Double D said.

"I also have your strengths. FIRE!"

Shady fire emerged from Dark Edd and collided right onto Double D. He flew back across the belfry. He struck the wall and fell down with a sickening crash.

"…. I can't win." Double D said.

He felt a hand reaching down and lift him back onto his feet. It was Kevin, who apparently had enough.

"Thanks." Double D said.

"Thanks nothing." Kevin said angrily. "I'm doing this only because this guy's done enough damage."

"You're insane. I'm more powerful than both of you!" Dark Edd said.

"He's right." Double D said. "There's no way we can do this alone."

The next thing anyone knew, a hard clang sounded. Dark Edd fell to his knees. He held a hammer in his hands, the one that just slammed into him. "Who did that?"

"Me." Mario's voice said. Everyone in his group besides Jimmy and Rolf were there, ready to fight.

"NAZZ!" Kevin ran over to Nazz who was in shock. "Thank goodness you're alive!"

"And you don't think you can take us all on, do you?" Koops asked.

Dark Edd grunted. It seemed 1 vs. 9 was way too much.

"AHHH!" Double D shouted, running at his dark copy.

He grabbed him and pinned him to the floor.

"It's over. We know you also have a Crystal Star here. Now talk, where is it?" Double D demanded.

"Yes, I've got the star. But I've also got an ace up my sleeve." The evil copy laughed.

"Oh?" Double D asked, pinning him down even harder.

"Yeah!" The copy was suddenly glowing.

Double D looked directly into his copy's eyes. The next thing he felt was a flash within his mind.

In the next moment he could recall, he was pinned on the floor, and staring directly into his own face. Unlike the shadow copy, it was a perfect reflection.

"Well, where's your plan?" he saw himself asked. Double D couldn't respond. He felt a sharp pain, one of his own rod being slammed right onto him. He fell onto the floor.

"Well, he was a nuisance." He heard his replica say and saw the replica hold up a red star. "Let's get out of here."

The others agreed and walked off with him.

"What's happening?" Double D was very confused. He wanted to follow, but he was too weak to even get up. He looked at his hands.

"Shadow? I've become… a shadow?" Double D asked.

He had to force himself up. Now, being nothing more than a shadow, he prepared to say something, but realized he was alone.

Everyone left him alone. Cold, hurt, and abandoned, he struggled to walk away from the belfry.