Chapter 78: Memories Never Forgotten

The day they had all expected had come at last. The sun was barely visible over the oceanic horizon, giving the sky a pinkish tint. Double D and Vivian had never left the docks that night because he had been there building that machine of his. The others all arrived with bags and suitcases filled with items.

"Is this going to work?" Kevin asked.

"Positive." Double D said.

He walked over to his machine. It looked like any other regular machine he would build for one of Eddy's insane scams, only this one was powered by a crystal star. He walked over to it, looking back at the others.

"You should stand back."

The other members of the group all stood backwards.

He slowly flipped a switch on its side. There was a bit of shaking from the machine. The star within it began to glow a bright white color.

Suddenly, in an instant, there was a flash, causing everyone to shield their eyes.

At least, until they were able to adjust. About ten feet away from the docks floating in the air was a shining vortex swirling as fast as a hurricane. Through its reflection, a small roadway could be seen, one that came to a large circular end with suburban houses surrounding it.

"Peach Creek." Double D said. "We're going home."

"…are you sure that's the cul-de-sac?" Eddy asked.

"Yes. The co-ordinates are set to end us right to the center of the cul-de-sac." Double D said. He turned back to the inhabitants of this world. "After we all go back, you must destroy this machine and separate the Crystal Stars to prevent from happening this again."

"…so… is this really it? I can't believe it's time." Flurrie asked.

"Um… how are we supposed to reach the portal, it's ten teen feet in the air over the water!" Eddy shouted.

Double D sighed. He pointed at the space between the portal and the dock and muttered an incoherent spell. A glowing red bridge suddenly appeared, filling the gap.

Double D let out another sigh. "…if anyone has anything to say, say it now. This is the last chance."

"Very well." Mario said. "I'm-a going to miss you. You really saved me when I was going to find the princess. I thought I would have to search for her alone, but then you-a came… so all I have to say is thank you."

"Truly." Peach added. "It was with all of your great courage and strength that you managed to save us. All of you did such great work."

"Hey Peach!" Lee shouted. "I've got to say, you were pretty cool. Never thought I'd make friends with a princess, let alone from some random bizarre dimension."

"…yeah. It was fun, in a way." Marie said.

"…listen guys." May said. They all looked at her. "I'm truly sorry for what I did while I was with Beldam. I really mean it."

"It's in the past." Ms. Mowz said. "Do not let it bother you."

The three Kankers smiled, then looked at the Eds.

"Ed, Edd'n Eddy." They all said.

The three Eds looked up at them.

"Today is a special day, 'cause we aint going to do anything to you today." Lee said.

"Great…" Eddy said with his annoyed face.

"But when we get back t our world, it will be like old times." Marie said.

"So, you guys can expect to see us again real soon." May said.

All three of the Ed's gulped.

"That's it then, I guess." Lee said.

The three sisters walked toward the portal.

The group shouted their quick goodbyes.

May went through first, the portal reacted by shaking a bit. Then she was gone.

Marie looked back and noticed Double D and Vivian standing beside each other. She gave a scowl, but to her dismay, Lee grabbed her and pulled her through the portal.

"Now it's my turn." Koops stepped towards the group. "I… want to say to you guys… that… you really helped me get back on track."

"Glad to hear it." Nazz said.

"I am going to miss you." He turned to look at them sideways with a shy expression. "…I am going to be able to return home, not as the same person I was before, but a man."

"That's good. You have matured greatly during you time with us." Jimmy said.

"I have a quick announcement." Flurrie said. They all looked at her. "I will miss you. You helped me through a lot, and I must say I have a new idea. I think I will come out of retirement and resume my role as an actress on stage. This has given me quite a lot of inspiration."

"Sounds wonderful." Jimmy stated. "I wish I could stay to see it. I was always interested in the dramatic arts."

"That's to say the least." Sarah said, with a small smile.

"Oh…" Eduardo said. "…Dad, are you sure I can't come? Please, I don't want to loose me dad!"

"You won't lose me." Double D said, stroking his head gently. "I promise I will return someday."

"…you mean it?" Eduardo Jr. asked.

"Yes." he said simply.

"…okay. Then I guess I will go home too." Eduardo Jr. said. "The Glitz pit, my real home. We may have won this last battle, but I will not stop fighting. It's just who I am."

"Then do it." Double D said. "I bet when I come back, you will be the next champ."

"Okay, dad." Eduardo Jr. said with a smile.

"…I know you will make it… son." Double D said a smile.

"Old bean, I must say something too." Bobbery said. "I feel that I am prepared to do what I was born to do once more. I shall take off, for the seas. I always wanted to live a life free of the navy and other commitments. I do believe I will gather a few of my chums at Keelhaul and for a crew. Then we shall explore the seas forevermore."

"I hope your dream succeeds." Double D said.

"So, what are ya gonna be?" Eddy asked. "An adventurer, an explorer, a PIRATE?"

Bobbery gave a chuckle. "Maybe. …and I know I am still making my wife happy, even if she is not here."

"I wish you the best of luck with that." Double D stated.

"Yeah, us too." Nazz said.

"…okay." Ms. Mowz said and veryone looked towards her. "It has been a good time. I enjoyed our time together, though I must now say I best be on my way."

"So soon?" Mario asked.

"Yes, my little cheese-hunk. I am, after all, a badge thief. There are many more badges in this world calling me name, and I am on a never-ending mission to collect them all. Adieu to you all." With that, the mouse fixed her mask, then suddenly jumped high in the air, landing on a rooftop.

She then jumped again on another, and farther away until she was gone.

"… then if I can say something?" Jonny asked.

Everyone's attention focused on the bald kid holding the piece of wood.

"I got to say, I had a blast. Plank says he did too. We had a few close calls, but things all worked out." Jonny said happily. "I was with this group for the least amount of time, but I got to say it's been fun while it lasted."

"Agreed." Mario said. "I don't think I've-a ever met someone like-a yourself before."

"Catch you guys on the rebound!" Jonny said.

With that, he turned to face the portal.

"Ready, buddy?" Jonny asked. "C'mon!"

With that, he took off running and jumped through the portal.

"Well, this has been a big blast!" Ed said, goofily. "I did things I never thought Ed would do! It was so super!"

"…nicely put, Ed." Double D said with a blush.

"We'll miss the lug, that's for sure." Eduardo Jr. added.

"I got to go tell my pigeons! Surely, they will want to hear about this!" Ed said.

"Your pigeons?" Koops asked.

"It's a long story…" Eddy said.

"See ya!" Ed shouted, before running through.

"…alright, I better follow my bro." Sarah said. "Knowing him, he'll probably crash into something when he gets back."

"I'll be going with Sarah." Jimmy said. "After this, I learned never to let go of what you love."

"Jimmy!" Sarah shouted with a blush.

"Oh, right." Jimmy said. "Uh, sorry."

"We will miss you both too." Flurrie said.

The group nodded.

"Alright, c'mon. If I'm lucky, I can get to mom before Ed does." Sarah said.

She grabbed Jimmy's arm and they both began to run through. Jimmy shouted one last goodbye before they both vanished through the portal.

"Okay…" Kevin said. "Look, I know we had our troubles in the past, but they don't matter now."

"Agreed. You are a hero in our world." Bobbery said. "Recall how you helped Ralph T get his brother back?"

"Yeah… I'm glad." Kevin said. He suddenly shifted towards Eddy.

"Yeah, what is it?" Eddy asked.

"We may have patched things up for the sake of saving the world, but don't forget. We are rivals, and always will be. Don't expect me to cut you any slack when we get back."

"Good ol' Kev." Eddy said. "Yeah, well me neither! I'll keep up our fights!"

Kevin gave a mischievous laugh, then walked through the portal.

"…Goombella." Eddy said, turning toward her. "You've been quiet."

"I just can't believe it's over." She said.

"Aw, c'mon baby!" Eddy said. "It ain't over! I'll come back sometime!"

"Mean it?" she asked.

"Cross my heart." He replied.

"I'll… wait for you then." She said.

"I'll wait too." He said. "Alright, I don't want to leave you hanging." he reached into his pocket, pulling out a small strip of paper.

Goombella eyed the paper. "What is it?"

"I know it isn't much, but… I have been saving this. It's the deed for Eddy's Souvenir stand at Glitzville, don't you remember?"

She gasped. "You mean…"

"Yep." He said. "Your business is mine. You own it now."

"Cool!" She exclaimed, grabbing the ticket with her mouth. "I will make it the best store! Here, I have something for you too!"

She suddenly ran over to Eddy and dropped the ticket. She suddenly gave him a kiss, which caused him to blush and freeze. Double D laughed as he waved his arm in front of Eddy's face to try and wake him. The little Ed began to stumble around, in a dazed expression.

Double D turned Eddy around, causing him to stumble through the portal.

"…if you don't mind… Rolf has but one thing to say." Rolf said.

The attention was re-focused on Rolf.

"Rolf has gone through quite a lot since he arrived. Dealing with imprisonment of a dragon to discovering he is the hero of the Punies, to facing his dreaded past."

It was true. Besides Double D, it seemed as if Rolf had gone through the most pain out of them all.

"Though now Rolf can leave in peace, knowing the rightful order has been restored. Rolf hopes that all of you have the best of luck until the end." Rolf said.

"Wait!" Two small voices suddenly shouted.

The group looked up and saw two small creatures running towards the group.

"Punio?" Double D asked. "And Petuni?"

"I'm glad we aren't too late!" Punio said breathlessly. "Though we couldn't let the hero of the punnies leave without seeing him off."

"Rolf is very grateful. It was a great turn of luck to meet you both." Rolf said.

"Here." They both said, revealing a mushroom. "We haven't much to offer…"

"You two have given Rolf everything he ever wanted. He shall never forget you." He rubbed their small heads. "…I will…"

Tears started to drop. "I will miss you. You aren't just sacred. You are my friends."

He gave the Punnies one last hug, then walked away. Without anything left for him to say, he walked through the portal and vanished.

"…I guess that leaves us." Double D said, realizing that it was only him and Nazz left.

"…I got to say… I will miss you guys." Nazz said. "I remember day one, when it was just to two of us."

Double D frowned. "…yes… it used to be just us in this new world."

"Look how that turned out." Nazz said. "I guess… it just goes to show you that you never can predict the future."

Nazz began to walk toward the portal. She gave a wave and was greeted to the sound of her new friends saying goodbye. She slowly came to a stop right in front of the portal. She raised an arm and tried to reach for the portal.

"…then I suppose it's just me." Double D said.

Nazz stopped and lowered her hand. She looked back to face Double D while standing a mere inch from the portal.

"This is goodbye." Vivian's hand slowly reached for Double D.

He did the same. "Just for now…we promised we would see one another again."

"…I know." She said. "I will keep it. I will never forget it."

Vivian and Double D hugged each other, to comfort one another.

Nazz sighed and looked down sadly. "Double D…" no one noticed it but she whipped a tear from her eye. "Why did I have to wait so long… if I had only not been so shy… I could have told you… and that could have been us…"

With her head still hung low, she glumly walked through the portal and vanished.

They both sighed and released each other slowly. The group said their quick goodbyes. Double D's hand glowed and the bridge suddenly vanished. He sighed and jumped aboard his boat. He quickly tossed the line off the dock and pushed himself away from the city.

The group sadly watched as the boat got farther and farther away, until the boat met the portal. Slowly, it began to travel through, vanishing as it did. He gave one last look at the group. With his eyes filled with tears of sadness and joy, he gave one last wave. "Good luck to you all."

"You too!" Vivian and Eduardo Jr. shouted.

He gave one last visible smile. With that, his form vanished through the portal. Nothing was left but the waves that the boat left behind. Eventually, even those vanished…

Vivian sighed and buried her sad face in her hands. The others looked down sadly.

"…C'mon guys…" Eduardo Jr.. said. "Let's break the machine."

The group silently walked over to the machine. Vivian slowly reached for the lever. Koops, Mario, Peach, Flurrie, and Eduardo Jr. all did so as well.

"We'll see you guys again… someday. Farewell." They all said.

With that, they pulled the lever. With that, the portal flashed and shrunk until it was no more.

Mario sighed, trying to bring the mood up. "Let's go. We have our own missions to fulfill and it's our-a job to fulfill them."

The group each gave smiles and nodded their heads.

Double D found himself falling… and falling… the boat suddenly made contact with a pavement ground. He shook and fell off the side of the boat, crashing on the ground as well.

"…ow." He opened his eyes and gasped.

He and his boat were underneath an artificial light in the center of a circular cul-de-sac. He was surrounded by familiar houses, all surrounded by a dawn sky. The sky looked identical from the world he had come from.

He was all alone now. He assumed the time it took for him to sail through the portal was enough time for the others to go back to their houses. It was time, he decided, to go back. He slowly got up and grabbed a wire on the boat. He began to tug it with difficulty over the pavement, slowly proceeded back to his own house…

He opened up the garage door, noticing there were no cars within it. His parents were not home.

'Strange…' he thought. 'Where are they?'

He dragged the boat to a corner of the room, then unrigged it and walked out of the garage into the house.

"Mother?" he shouted. "Father? Are you home?"

He found himself in the kitchen, lit only by the sun that was slowly rising. There were sticky notes all over the walls. He sighed and looked at one that hung from the wall.

"This same note was here when I left… these are all the same notes."

As he walked, he looked at a phone that hung on the wall. A digital indicator read that there had been no messages. They never called. He looked around and saw some cobwebs had formed on the ceiling and floors.

It looked as though not a soul had been in there since the day he left.

"…what happened to my parents?" he asked himself. Suddenly, he knew. "Of course. They were off on a business trip. They had never come back… no one had…they didn't even miss me."

He turned around and proceeded upstairs.

The house looked the same as it did before. Things to do, chores to be done. He slowly walked into his bedroom.

This room was also the same as before. His chemistry set was still in the same position as it was when he left. A summer reading book lay on his bed, still turned to the page he had left it when Eddy called him to hold out with that fateful sailing scam.

He gave a sigh and sat down on the bed, dropping his bags. As he did, some items from the other world scattered on the floor. His staff fell on the floor as well. He lifted the laptop and placed it on a nightstand. Pulling a wire, he plugged in an adapter and began to re-charge it.

With that, he walked into his closet and quickly changed from his wrecked clothes into comfortable pajamas.

With that, he walked into his bed and covered himself.

One of the last things he did was remove his had. As he did, he allowed his messy hair to pop up. However, as the hat popped off, he heard a strange metallic sound. He looked on the floor and saw something he never expected to see at that angle.

The Eye of Wisdom fell on the floor. He gave a gasp and rubbed his head. It was not on him anymore. He slowly reached for it and looked at himself it it's polished reflection.

"I suppose this means the end of my powers… but I am finally rid of this." he said. He merely placed it on a table let it go slowly.

He sighed and rested his head in his own pillow. It was a sensation one would have when they are finally home again from a long trip.

He looked at his room, trying to ignore the rising sun, as the sky began to get a lighter pinkish color. Everything was untouched. It was all waiting for him. Soon, he would have to continue to read the book for school, continue his experiments, and inevitably continue to work for Eddy's scams.

He no longer cared about his 'personal resume,' at least for this night. Sleeping in would not kill him if he did it this once. As his eyes slowly closed, he saw his new friends in his mind. All smiling and waving at him as they had been when he left.

Before Double D nodded off to a deep sleep, he gave a smile. He was happy, knowing he did good and knowing he would meet them all again… one day.