Another chapter up and running! Hope you all think it was worth the wait. I sometimes have a little trouble ending these things in a way I like, but at least there's only one more chapter left until the canon stuff begins. I feel almost giddy about it, even if it's going to be difficult to balance episodes/arcs out.

On an unrelated note; if any of you ever think about or have actually written something based on this fanfiction, I would like to see it! I don't think it's reached that type of status at all, but I do wonder if anyone has had the thought before. If you wonder about writing something about or close to this fic, you have my permission as long as you credit me. I feel egotistical saying that, but the offer stands.

Also, I might be putting up a poll soon involving any other crossovers I might attempt after I get one of the fanfictions I'm working on done and I'll announce when it's up.

Now, let's get on with the show!

Eddy had years of experience juggling responsibilities, so he could honestly say that he was doing a good job at this point. Looking through forms and audition tapes was not something he would consider fun, but it wasn't too difficult since some of them were pretty standard stuff. Also, having a MirrorPad was a godsend if anything, since he was being updated on current plans for the stage in real time.

Of course, just because it wasn't hard doesn't mean it wasn't boring.

"Okay, how many forms do I have to sign to get a stinking concert permit?!" Eddy swore that if he figured out time travel, he'd punch the guy who invented bureaucracy as a concept. This was the fifteenth thing he had to sign off on today and his hands were begging to wear out from all the repeated strain. The bright colors of the classroom they were given to do their business in was also hurting his eyes. "Seriously, who even thought of this system? There's a simpler way to do this and it probably kills fewer trees."

"It's the orderly way to do it." Apple didn't seem bothered by Eddy's complaining, filing away the forms into an orderly fashion. "It's not necessarily quick, but it does make sure we have our bases covered. Legal stuff, mostly."

"They could at least put all this stuff into one form or something." The boy added his signature to another page, shuffling it off into his own disorganized pile. "It'd save on printer ink or something."

"That it would." The princess nodded sagely, grabbing both of their piles and putting them away for later. "I think it's about time to take a break from this and go through some auditions. I personally liked the Hex Girls, but there's a lack of bands to choose from in the Legends department that we need to sort out."

"That's because nobody at this school knows how to party." Eddy grumbled to himself, getting up to grab a portable television to put in front of their desks.

Apple was connecting her MirrorPad to it, taking a brief look at Eddy's. "How are the plans coming along? It looks like you and your friends have made some decent progress despite only having a day so far."

"Both of the schools have portable stages, so that saves a lot of time." The human moved into his seat, leaning it back and putting his feet onto the table. "They're not the same size, per se, but that isn't a problem when it comes to making some adjustments. Pyrotechnics is going to have to wait until the budget is finalized and we figure out what decorations Clawdeen wants to put up."

He grabbed the MirrorPad, looking it over before sending a few notes back to his friends. "Other than that, things are going smoothly. It's been one day so far, but I don't see us slowing down at all until maybe the final couple of days."

Apple did seem to be satisfied by this, smiling as she summoned up the next few videos. "I'll admit, I expected a few setbacks from this. I've handled events like this before, but this is a different game all together." Before pressing play, she gave him a questioning look. "Though, while I'm grateful for your help, I'm surprised that you haven't considered leaving the project. I don't really see you as an activist for a cause."

The boy frowned, looking to the side. "First of all, I wouldn't jinx us just yet. Trust me, I know how easy it is." He stalled before coming up with another answer. "Besides, doesn't the whole Monsters and Legends uniting thing make sense? I've been friends with a Monster for years and I don't really get what's difficult about it."

"It's," Apple frowned before looking over the video files again. "It's a messy story. Not a lot of people like talking about it."

"Lay it on me then, Princess." The boy figured that if would save him a few minutes from doing some work, along with reconnaissance. Besides, if she was offering information, he wasn't going to turn it down.

Apple paused at that, thinking for several seconds before letting out a sigh and putting the MirrorPad down. "I'll tell you what I know, but I'd suggest getting a second opinion." She said warily.

"I'll have Ghoulia summarize it later." He waved it off, moving out of his position and leaning forward intently. He pressed a recording app on his phone to make sure he got everything.

She stared intently into his eyes before nodding and moving into a seat across from him. The princess crossed her legs and gathered her thoughts until she concocted a cohesive narrative.

"As you already know, Legends are raised to one day become the roles their ancestors played before them. Am I correct in that assumption?" Apple didn't have to take more than a second to see Eddy's 'well, duh' expression to continue. "Well, a very long time ago, after the war with humans, Monsters were an active part of that tradition.

"Admittedly, very few Monsters had their own stories of their own, mostly relegated to bit parts. Henchmen if you want to be specific. It wasn't glamorous, but still one part of a grand scheme that needed to work cohesively." The princess paused, looking down at her hands. "Well, to say the least, not every one of them were thrilled to be only known as the bad guys. Some Monsters even rebelled against the idea.

"Predictably, none of the Legends liked the idea that Monsters wanted to separate themselves from the tradition as old as time. No one knows what happens when a role isn't played in a story, or what happens if it's never told at all, so it made plenty of people nervous too. Tensions rose as governments made laws and representatives argued amongst themselves."

"I'm guessing war was a popular topic." Eddy interrupted. It was easy to follow the line of logic going on, but he hadn't read about any second big war. Though it seemed like they would've come close.

"Plenty of it." Apple frowned, shaking her head. "However, no one actually wanted to go to war over it since the last one ended with complete devastation; many monster species were allowed to go. Since most didn't really play a part, it was considered the only option that wouldn't end in another conflict. Most left, but some species such as ogres and goblins stayed behind. Neither side has been the same since."

Eddy gave his own frown. "Didn't that happen a long time ago? Seems kinda' stupid to keep on hating each other."

Apple shrugged. She didn't necessarily care for the conflict either. However… "It was a large fundamental change to our society, and it happened right after another one that drove all of us into hiding. It was adding salt to a nasty wound." She pressed play on the audition tapes and the television.

Eddy attempted to hide his disappointment and turned off the recorder. Moving back into his previous seating position, his mind went over the facts. He was supposed to help with this mess? A concert would be a good start, but it wasn't going to fix hundreds of years of infighting overnight. Maybe he'd help over the year, but it wasn't going to be magically helped by him and his friends alone.

That wasn't getting into the possible motives of the others.

"Hey, Princess?" Eddy started, grabbing the girl's attention. "Why exactly did you agree to this then?"

Apple smiled innocently, though he didn't trust it for a second. "I want to bring both sides back together when I become queen."

What that entailed, he wasn't entirely sure.

Unfortunately, to the great annoyance of the occupants, the classroom door was thrown open as a dirty and very annoyed Cleo De Nile walked in with a great huff, followed by a significantly less bothered Raven.

"Next time I'm asked to organize an event, I'm going to be in charge of things. The dirty work can be done by the servants for all I care." She muttered, grabbing a water bottle off the table and drinking half of it in a few long gulps. Slamming it down onto the table, she pointed at Eddy with her arm trembling in anger. "You definitely will be doing the heavy lifting."

"Something wrong, Queenie?" He said cheekily, smirk playing onto his lips. "Cause I'm pretty sure if you're supposed to clean off after taking a mud bath."

"She set off one of the traps while she was messing with her magic!" The mummy pointed at Raven, who raised her hands in front of herself defensively.

"Hey, sometimes my spells can backfire. I've been on a roll with my magic lately, so it was bound to bounce back on us." The sorceress huffed and leaned back onto the door. "Besides, I've apologized so many times already. Most people would've let it go by now."

"Most people don't wear expensive dresses worth more than an average person's mortgage." Cleo drank the rest of the water, before throwing it into the trash can. "At least that's one tunnel down. The other four can wait until later."

"Good to know. If you want, you can use some of the showers in the girl's locker room, the gym is only a few doors down. Maybe you can help us narrow down on some candidates afterward." Apple offered, only receiving a nod from the mummy before she shuffled out of the room.

"I really don't envy anyone that has to go to school with her." Raven muttered, shaking her head before taking a seat next to the other two. "She may be good at finding traps, but I don't think I've ever heard someone complain as much as she does."

Eddy winced sympathetically. "Sorry about that. Figured you two would be best for the job and all but I forget to mention she could be really insufferable when she's cranky. Which is all the time."

"I'm sure she's a lot nicer than we think." Apple mediated but did have one thing to say about this. "She does have a tendency to take charge from what I can tell, though. Which isn't that bad of a trait." She shrunk slightly at their deadpan stares. "Sometimes."

Eddy rolled his eyes and decided to change the conversation. "So, Ray, what's the progress report looking like? Queenie did say you got one hallway cleared and it sounds like it might be knocked out within the week if everything keeps going."

"Pretty much." Raven grabbed her own water out of her bag and took a big gulp. "Two of them are actually pretty short, so we can probably get this done in three days. We'll probably check it over a couple more times, just in case. Grimm hasn't caught on yet, so we might get away with it unless he decides to move up the inspection."

"Doubtful." Apple watched a juggler on the television screen, already planning to send a letter of rejection that would sound the most encouraging. "He's busy preparing for the school year, so he isn't paying too close attention."

"I didn't say he wasn't already becoming a pain in our sides." Raven sighed. She pulled out an envelope and pushed it over to Eddy, who grabbed it. While he was opening it, she continued to talk. "He wasn't exactly fond of the fact that we seemingly started this so fast and I think it got him a little rattled. Especially when it came to us using an outside venue for the concert."

"What did he do?" Apple paused the video and gave her a questioning look.

Raven gave a nervous smile at this. "He made things difficult for us."

"Are you kidding me?!" Eddy slammed the paper onto the table, causing them both to jump at the sudden bout of anger. "I knew bureaucracy was evil!"

Back in Monster High, the others were more or less having their own difficulties as they coordinated their efforts.

Double D and Clawdeen were expertly sewing up some of the werewolf's commissions, making them to completion. They coordinated their efforts as they moved about, checking their own designs for the stage and adjusting whenever it was needed.

Meanwhile, Ed, Ghoulia, and Maddie were making sure to check over the technical aspects of the changes, along with determining what ideas could get passed. Ed and Maddie were talking a mile a minute while spouting ideas, while Ghoulia was determining their viability and how well it would go over with the staff.

As for Cerise…

She was feeling left out.

"I'm not sure why you guys brought me here." Cerise was watching all of the chaos happen around her and feeling a little useless right now. "I found the place, but it doesn't seem like you actually need me for anything."

"Au contraire, Cerise." Double D put down the latest creation in the ongoing pile that practically grew every minute or so. "It's still important that you be here so that anything we do at the concert doesn't permanently effect the environment. Since you know the area better, it would be a good idea to have your input."

"I get that, but the last time those three asked for input was thirty minutes ago." She pointed at the three rapidly talking teens with a raised eyebrow. "I'd help with the sewing if I actually knew anything about it and I have no idea how to mess with mechanics."

"You could model for me." Clawdeen raised an incomplete dress, moving it in front of her. "It'd help make sure the measurements are right for some of them."

Cerise frowned, shrinking away. "Sorry, I'm a little attached to my own aesthetic, thank you."

"It's true." Maddie's voice rang out, leaning back into her seat. "No one has seen Cerise without her hood before and you'd sooner divert a river from its course than take it off."

"That would be so much more profound if it wasn't talking about clothing." Ghoulia mumbled to herself, counting up the scale and numbers involved with the planning. She switched over to her phone seconds later. "It can't be healthy to have that hood on you for too long. It's hard to quantify exactly how well that would affect Vitamin D production if sunlight doesn't reach your hair."

"I let it out of the hood occasionally." Cerise squirmed at the needling from the zombie, not looking anybody in the yes. "I just don't take it off in front of people. It isn't that weird."

"She's got a point." Ed was just moving stuff around on his EyePad while he talked, not looking up from it. "Double D never takes his hat off and he seems fine."

Everyone gave a look to the hatted Ed boy, who only nervously smiled. "It's not that big of a deal." He said placatingly, avoiding the questioning looks he received. "It's not liking I'm hiding anything."

"Saying that doesn't help your case, buddy." Clawdeen made a silent vow to get that hat off of him if it was the last thing she would do but decided to wait it out for now. "Weird fashion choices aside, maybe you could start trying to figure out what could be out there that could interrupt the show. I know the place is kinda an animal repellent, but who knows if anyone decides to wander off."

Cerise raised an eyebrow but let it down as she started to think it through. "You got a point there. I have a good idea what's out there already, so that shouldn't be difficult." She pulled out her MirrorPhone and started to type away. "Bear mace would be good investment for the guard. I hope they don't have to use it, but it's better than going at them with swords."

"You don't think they'll come with those, right? It might make some of the Monsters uncomfortable if that occurs." Ghoulia asked, fidgeting with her phone. "It would be understandable if it was to keep back wildlife, but that might drive off some people from attending the concert."

"Is that really a problem?" Double D asked. "I'm assuming there's a history behind it if there is."

Clawdeen looked ready to answer, but Maddie humped in before she could. "There's been one to many incidents where the guard tend to jump the gun and bring out weapons when dealing with Monsters." She said carefully, looking at Ed and the monsters in the room. "It's usually not warranted, so it kind of sets up a very dark narrative for both sides, especially if any Monster has to conduct business on the Legend side of things."

"Surprisingly, she's got a point." Clawdeen shrugged, face twisting into a grimace. "My brother had to get some stuff done on the other side of the fence and got harassed by some of the older guard members. Said a few of the trainees stopped it, but he hasn't gone back since. I'm surprised we weren't stopped on the way to that coffee shop the other day."

"That's disturbing." Double D was already making some uncomfortable parallels in his mind that he figured wouldn't be good to say out loud. "Maybe we can get some of the trainees to work on the concert then? We could frame it as a training exercise and see where that takes us."

"That's if Headmaster Grimm allows that. Something tells me he'd make it more difficult than it should be and that we would only face several metaphorical roadblocks." Ghoulia typed, sending a sympathetic look his way. "Though, we appreciate the effort."

"It's not a proper party if everyone's unhappy about something." Maddie laid down on the couch next to Cerise, propping her feet up onto the end of one. She patted the top of Cerise's hood and smiled at the embarrassed look she gave her.

"Seems like it's only putting a Band-Aid on a stab wound though." Clawdeen shoulders slouched, ears dropping. "Honestly, the concert feels like that entirely. I get why Bloodgood wants to do this, but I really don't think it'll help that much."

"A fair assumption." Double D put down the latest dress gently, not looking anyone in the eye. He wasn't exactly sure how to deal with any of this, but he was doing his best. "However, it is one step forward, which is better than deciding not to move forward at all."

"Yeah, that's just defeatist. Imagine if they hadn't decided to build Rome in a day? Then we wouldn't have the Coliseum!" Ed said confidently, despite the strange looks he was given for it.

"That's just an expression, Ed, they didn't actually build Rome in a day." Double D tiredly replied, grabbing the materials for the next dress on the roster.

"Oh." Ed wilted for a second before shooting up and gaining a determined look on his face. "I still have a point!"

"We get it, Ed. Maybe just try a different turn of phrase next time." Ghoulia patted him on the back before looking at the rest of them. "Let's change the subject. How far are you on your commissions right now, Clawdeen?"

"Still slow going, but we're making headway. Maybe I won't have to pull a few all nighters to get ahead this year." She looked over the list she had, counting out some of the ones they finished. "Of course, I'm going with the simpler stuff first. Anything more complicated is going to be last. Hopefully those clients aren't impatient."

"Depends on how rich they are. The customers with the more expensive orders are usually the ones that will complain the loudest if something doesn't go their way." Maddie poked Cerise in the side. "Remember that one guy that tried not to pay while you were in the tea shoppe?"

"I dumped a pot of cold tea on his head." Cerise chuckled. "He was yelling about how the stains would never come out for nearly an hour before the guard dragged him out."

"It would've been hilarious if his behavior wasn't so sad." The two kept laughing and were joined by the others in the room shortly after. It was a good way to uplift them after a particularly depressing subject.

"While it's nice to hear that no one is going to take anyone's attitude," Double D shifted himself to face Clawdeen. "How's the progress with our own outfits as of now? It's alright if you need to take your time since you have a large workload."

"It's going pretty well, all considering." She moved some of the current designs they worked on online. "I'll make sure they're done before the concert, but I was glad to get the input. I hope you guys like it."

"I certainly appreciate some of the adjustments you made for mine." He flitted through them happily, appreciating the amount of work that was put into them. "I know some of them seem odd, but they're there for a reason."

"I didn't even think up of half of the things for mine until you showed me." Ed was the most excited for the wardrobe change, a sentiment extended to his friends as well. He honestly didn't really care what he wore, but it looked like the werewolf was putting her best efforts into it.

"Good to hear. Still don't know why need that illusion cloth on yours, though." She said, giving the hatted Ed boy a cursory once over. "I mean, I can take the extra workload from it and I'll add it to your 'tab,' but it seems kind of wasteful."

"Wait, how'd you get illusion cloth? That's way too expensive for someone who just got here." Cerise moved up from her position, disturbing Maddie from hers. "Sorry, Mads. But the question still stands and all."

"We did a favor for a tailor downtown who had a surplus." Ed said fondly before he shrugged. "I still don't know how that snake got into that sink with his wedding ring, but it was fun."

"You say the weirdest things sometimes and I really do hope that doesn't change in the future." Ghoulia chuckled. A ding on her phone caused her to stop typing out another response, causing her forehead to crinkle a little bit. She opened up the message, eyes browsing over it suspiciously.

"Something wrong?" Clawdeen noticed the slight tensing of her friend's face, abandoning her work and moving to her friends' side.

"Cleo just texted me." The zombie solemnly typed out, a tight grimace on her face. "Eddy is apparently arguing with Headmaster Grimm."

A groan could be heard from Double D immediately.

"Edward, I do ask that you keep your volume down-"

"I'll keep it down when we figure out just what your problem is!"

Everyone that had been at Monster High hoped that Eddy wouldn't cause a scene, but that was quickly dashed after walking in and watching a shouting match unfold in the office. Eddy and Grimm were standing at opposite sides of the desk, staring each other down with fierce glares. Apple was trying to calm the two down with no success, with Raven and Cleo watching from the back. The sorceress looked like she was supportive, though worried about the outcome, while the mummy simply watched with a raised eyebrow.

"I simply can't put the resources in at this time. You can still use the stage, but the manpower cannot be assigned until then." Grimm insisted, his attempt at remaining calm somewhat ruined by the tense look on his face. "If you can't find another way, then that really isn't my problem."

"It wouldn't be a problem at all if you didn't try to stall us!" Eddy was not making any attempt to remain calm as he pointed directly into the headmaster's chest with a glare. "I know that Daring and his goon squad aren't doing anything right now, so you're just making us wait because of your own issues."

"Glad to see you guys made it." Raven said, giving them quick glance. "I'd say I regret giving Eddy the news, but Grimm kind of had it coming."

"Your friend has no fear about being expelled, does he?" Cleo found the situation extremely amusing, though she wasn't sure how it would play out with everyone here. "I'm surprised he hasn't blown a fuse at this point. Does he ever stop yelling?'

"Not until the chickens come home." Ed shook his head, even if the statement didn't necessarily make sense.

"Apple doesn't seem to have a lid on the situation just yet, a rare thing for her." Maddie moved to Raven cautiously. "What's got him all riled up?"

"We have permission to use the stage from the Ever After High set, but he isn't providing any manual support that would let us actually move it to where we want to go." The sorceress looked worriedly at her roommate, who looked extremely lost when it came to calm the situation down. "As much as I'd like to use my magic, I've never lifted or teleported anything that big before. And those stages are heavy enough that I don't think all of us will be able to lift it on our own without some mechanical help."

"My servants would do short work of it, but my artifact that allows me to summon them has been confiscated for now." Cleo flicked off some more dirt from her dress. She hadn't had the time to get into the shower before this and she was lamenting it since she could feel the stains settling in.

"Great." Double D said, a higher pitch to his voice. "Just what we needed. This was going too well; I should have just expected this." He shook his head fiercely, grabbing Ed with him as he walked to the headmaster's desk. "I'll see if I can calm him down."

As they did so, they couldn't help but overhear Apple trying to get the two to calm themselves, though it was drowned out by their argument. She didn't dare raise her voice further.

"Look, maybe we can come to a compromise about this. It's not like there's-" She noticed the approaching boys and waved at them to come over. "Thank goodness, can you please calm them down? I haven't been able to get a single word in since they started fighting and I don't know how long they're going to keep going."

Double D gave her a nod before moving beside Eddy, letting Ed moved to the other side. They bumped into him, knocking him out of his rhythm. He looked between the two and sighed deeply before glaring up at Headmaster Grimm.

"Isn't the point of your whole job to make things easier on your students?" Eddy gripped at the table with white knuckles. Just what the heck was this guy's problem? The short Ed boy knew that he wasn't the favorite of any type of teacher, but that usually didn't extend to other students unless they were seen as active cohorts.

"I am not trying to hinder anybody's progress here, Mr. Edward." Grimm said unconvincingly, the haughty tone only adding to Eddy's irritation. "Daring's team is simply dealing with other, more important matters that need immediate attention."

"I'm sure that his company is doing exactly that, Headmaster Grimm." Double D started, stopping the immediate sarcastic comment coming from his friend. "But that does put us in a bind here. Are you sure there isn't any other way? Putting off some of their assignments is non-negotiable, I'm sure."

"Unfortunately, that is true." Grimm fixed his stare on him, though it felt more like a glare. "They do important work that cannot be put off for anything and Daring himself will lead the people, so it's a valuable exercise all around."

"Why does it say that they've been given a few days off from you so they could rest up for the bookball games coming up this year?" Ed had somehow grabbed a report off the headmaster's desk and was reading through it with a critical eye. It was quickly snatched away by Grimm before he could read it further.

"As I was saying," Grimm started, stuffing the paper away. "It isn't like I'm actually preventing any of you from doing your work. If anything, this should be taken as a test of character that you should overcome."

"Test of character?!" The two Eds decided to pull Eddy away from the desk, making sure he didn't damage anything within his reach. He struggled, of course, but it was utterly futile when he had to deal with the amount of muscle that was Ed.

The girls were a little nervous about the situation, especially since Eddy failed to make any progress smoothing things over with the headmaster first. Of course, it was probably very easy to fix as long as they kept level heads, but it was annoying to say the least.

"It seems like the plot thickens ever more." Maddie said, tapping her foot on the floor. "I'm sure there's something we could do about this, but none of my Wonderlandian friends are present to provide their help."

"You really think Cheshire would help us if it didn't involve messing with someone?" Cerise raised an eyebrow. "Plus, I don't think Lizzie actually likes us well enough to actually lend a hand either?"

"She's a softie once you get past to know her." The Wonderlandian defended. "I did also say they wouldn't be here to help us anyway. Anyone else have any ideas?"

Everyone else shook their heads no. They didn't look each other in the eyes as disappointment fell onto them, weighing them down. The Ed's couldn't help but feel that too, though Double D sent a look the stubborn headmaster's way and felt something in his gut twist.

"I might have a solution." Double D raised his hands in front of him cautiously before they could say anything, face pensive. "It might take the rest of today and tomorrow to finish, but I could get something functioning. Maybe Eddy as well, depending on what progress is made."

"What exactly are you planning on doing?" Clawdeen crossed her arms and gave him raised eyebrow. "This isn't exactly a one-man job."

"It will be when I get the project finished in time." Double D walked off, followed closely by his friends behind him. The girls gave each other confused looks before determining that it would be a good idea to just pack up for today. They had other stuff to do before the break ends.

Most likely it would be fine.

It had been several days later and while some more progress was made on the project as a whole, the problem itself hadn't been fully resolved. In many ways, this wasn't fine.

The Ed's had kept up with most of their work, sending updates out to everyone on the design of the stage and the building materials that would be needed. Ghoulia kept track of the logistical nightmare that involved their pyrotechnics, Apple received many different reports on auditions and paperwork from Eddy during the week, and Ed provided his own ideas in the interim. Traps were still getting disabled in the castle and other responsibilities were also taken care of.

However, no had actually seen the Ed's in days. Until one of the girls received a text from Double D.

"So, you just a random text from the smart one to meet us at Ever After High with absolutely no explanation and no idea as to what he wants." Cerise questioned Maddie, who was skipping ahead with a smile on her face.

"He said he needed someone to hold the door for him while he got the stage out of storage." She replied simply, moving to doors leaning against them casually. "Apparently he found a way to get it out of there without any need for help."

"Sounds surprisingly cocky. He does seem like the type of guy that has a plan, though, so it's probably going to work out just fine." Clawdeen moved to stand beside Maddie, surveying the area. "All three of them are really weird though. They've rolled with the punches pretty well so far, but they are kinda' strange when you think about it."

"You and I have very different description for what's considered strange then." Maddie replied, giving a shrug. "They seem to be doing their best, for what it's worth. This is a whole new environment for them to get used to and it's pretty sink or swim."

"You both got a point," Cerise looked relaxed, but her voice was wary. "But you'd think they had some kind of exposure to this type of stuff before coming here. Everything seems completely new to them."

Clawdeen cringed at that. "They did say that their families were trying to blend in. I'm starting to wonder how much they subscribed to that idea and it doesn't seem to have turned out well."

A sigh was heard, surprisingly from Maddie as she had a wistful look on her face. "I've seen that a lot since I had to come to Ever After. So many families…" The hatted girl twirled a lock of hair absentmindedly.

It was Cerise's turn to cringe, who looked away from the saddened look on her face. "Sorry, Mads. Didn't mean to remind you of that."

"It's alright." The pink haired girl straightened out immediately before looking at Clawdeen with a glimmer in her eye that seemed to show some steel. "I'd give them some time. Letting them adjust and add to their worldview is good for them but erasing their past or questioning why they don't know things will be harmful in the long run. Are we clear?"

The werewolf in front of the mad girl had to suppress a shudder at the command and gave a shaky nod.

Maddie instantly turned bright and cheery once again. "Excellent." She pulled out her MirrorPhone and started to text around and checking up on the others.

Clawdeen sent a Look over to Cerise to figure out just what the heck that was about, but only got a shrug in response. She was going to have to figure that stuff out later, she guessed.

Of course, any other musing was interrupted when Headmaster Grimm was seen running over the hill towards the building. He wasn't doing it very gracefully either, since he was clearly running out of breath and red in the face. He stopped only a couple of steps away from the building, hands on his knees has his breath came back to him slowly.

Cerise, despite enjoying the scene, was the tiniest bit concerned. "Headmaster Grimm? Is everything alright?"

"It looks like you've running across the school." Clawdeen raised an eyebrow. "Obviously within an inch of your life too."

"Don't sass me child." He said carefully between breaths, before attempting to stand up. He was still red in the face due to the physical exertion taking its toll on his body. "Look, can one of you please tell Mr. Eddward to stop right now?"

"What's Double D doing that's got you all riled up?" The werewolf asked, sending a fanged smile his way. "He doesn't seem like the trouble making type."

"It's probably due to that." Maddie said calmly, pointing off into the direction behind the man. The other two girls looked and tensed immediately at what they saw.

Double D, sporting a ridiculously large grin, was moving down the hill with confident aura around him. That wouldn't be too unusual if he had been using his feet to do so. Instead, he was using what looked like four metal, tentacle like appendages that came from his back that moved him downward. Made of a sleek, silver-like metal, he stepped down onto the ground below him and gave a smile to the freaked out faces of everyone around him.

"I hope I haven't kept anyone waiting." He said casually, moving towards them with his hands in his pockets. "I was just making some final tests before getting here."

"Don't worry about it." Clawdeen said, blinking a couple of times. "Mind explaining what the heck that stuff is?"

"Octo-arms. They're powered by cursed gems, if you're wondering." The boy turned around to show the device on his back containing the gems. About seven gems were stored within a modified metal pack. A current of blue lightning flowed between them and flowed outward into the metal arms connected to it. "I figured something had to be done make them useful."

"Oh, cool design!" Maddie hopped all around him to check the device out, messing with the arms and looking closely at the gems inside. "I really love the Doc Ock look you decided to add to it. Cosplayers would be so jealous!"

"You got that right." Double D gave her a high five before turning to the headmaster. "If my calculations are correct, this should be able to fix our problem with ease. I can easily say you can deny our request with a clear conscience."

"But your 'equipment' could be dangerous! Most people need licenses to operate forklifts!" Grimm argued, waving his hands around himself. "If anything, I should make sure you don't use this inside the building."

"I don't know of any forms of licenses that require me to operate metal, tentacle arms." Double D shrugged. "I understand where you're coming from, but what I'm doing here is completely legal, if only because there's no laws to stop me. If you'll excuse me…" The hatted Ed boy started heading for the doors, the metal arms retracting behind him as he moved.

Cerise hastily opened the doors and propped them open, mouth still attempting to create words. Eventually, she just started laughing and pulled out her MirrorPhone to take a video. "Raven's going to love this!" She continued laughing as all of them went inside.

Headmaster Grimm stood out there, sputtering before letting out a frustrated squeal.

Those boys! They were going to be the death of him, he just knew it!

If anyone's curious why Double D seems to sassy, especially to an authority figure, just remember; he follows the rules posted, not the ones implied. Also, Grimm is not someone worth his respect, but he hasn't figured that out yet.

Remember, keep spoilers in the reviews to a minimum and I'll see you all next chapter!