I'm glad to get this chapter out, despite the fact that it kicked my but for the entire time I was writing it. I was excited about getting to it, but it also stumped me as to how to deal with certain things. However, I think I pulled through.

Hopefully, you all like it and stick with the story as it develops.

Despite the fact that Eddy knew it was just a stupid ceremony, he couldn't help but fear Legacy Day immensely. Technically, he didn't have to sign it now since they didn't know what story he was meant to fill, but there was a certain amount of anxiety to it. A paramount moment in this culture, something that meant everything to most of the people here.

Not to mention he was going to have to dress up for it.

"This friggin' blows." He complained loudly, following Double D to Clawdeens workshop. "Didn't we just get new clothes? Friggin' rich people making us have costume changes."

"While I agree, Eddy, it's not like we already have formal wear." Double D strode confidently, ignoring the complaints as best he could. "Considering how we left Peach Creek in a hurry, we didn't exactly have time to pack everything."

"Yeah, I had to leave all my favorite comic books behind too!" Ed moved in real close to Eddy's face. "Every. Single. One."

Eddy blinked and pushed Ed away from his face. "And why exactly are you here, Monobrow?"

"He needs formal wear as much as the rest of us. Monster High has its own celebrations, Eddy." The smart Ed boy frowned heavily. "And from the sounds of it, we might have to get more in the future. Supposedly, it's tradition to have a different outfit for each celebration in Ever After and Monster High."

"Friggin' rich people." The short Ed boy raised his arms over his head and shook them rapidly. "Who the heck thought that was a good idea?!"

"The doll companies that made their shows." Ed added helpfully, receiving a few affirmative grunts in response. "Besides, isn't it nice to dress up? I like feeling pretty."

"Considering the work I'll have to do to make sure we can afford this, you'll have to feel pretty." Double D grumbled. He only half meant that, however.

Though he wasn't looking forward to the amount of work, he did enjoy hanging out with Clawdeen when he could, which made things infinitely easier. It became even more fun with the occasional visit from Cerise or Maddie, who had apparently enjoyed their company. He figured that he was becoming friends with the three of them the most.

Ed was having a similar time making friends at Monster High. He got to know Ghoulia the most while he was there along with making the random friend or two when he had free time. Double D had initially been concerned when he heard an incident happened between him and someone named "Manny," but he was assured that it wasn't particularly bad.

Eddy was having trouble at all fronts.

Eddy didn't get along with Cleo at all, which showed no signs of changing for now. He did keep Apple at arm's length, mostly due to some strange sense of mistrust. Raven appeared to be the only one he was actually getting close to, through some strange kinship that formed between them and Ed. He hadn't talked to anyone in his villain classes at length just yet.

They all attempted to share lunch with each other at random intervals, which differed on who exactly participated. It had been a mess so far, but it made things pretty interesting depending on the combinations. However, it never resulted in the full group.

Walking through the doors of the workshop, something told them that it would change.

"Clawdeen," Double D looked around the room, noting that things were seemingly under control. "I see the work has gotten under control. I hope that means good things."

"If you count almost losing customers because my sister won't keep messing with the clothing, then yeah, it's gotten pretty good around here." The werewolf actually looked like she was taking a break for once. She had a steaming cup of whatever batch of tea Maddie had left for her that day. Said girl was lounging in a corner, sleeping under a pile of discarded clothing scraps.

"What happened to Pinks?" Eddy walked over, debating whether or not to poke her out of fear she'd rise and attack him. "I thought she was so energetic, she was incapable of sleep."

"Her dad's tea shoppe had to go through a small sale or something to make up for closing for renovations. Must've been a heck of a sale." Clawdeen sipped on her tea, watching as the cloth scraps slowly rose and fall with quiet snores. "Just brought me some caffeine, crawled in there like a little goblin, and it was lights out."

"I've slept in stranger places, I suppose." Double D decided it would be best to let her be. "Though, I hope you have at least something for us to do, because we may have another commission to make."

"Preparing for Legacy Day?" Clawdeen said, not even missing a beat as she grabbed out some drawing from her sketchbook and passed them off to him. "Cerise has been complaining about it for a while now, so I figured you three would come in pretty soon. Got something for Ed too."

"Thank goodness." He flipped through them carefully, catching his eye at one of them. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised at this. We should be able to actually pay you since we are getting the occasional job now and again."

"I'll find something for you to do too, don't worry. Some of the sewing machines here need to fixed anyway." The werewolf didn't even look at Eddy before she spouted a command at him. "Put that needle down or else you're going to lose that hand, shortstack."

"How did you even know I had it?" Eddy asked indignantly.

"I have so many siblings, man. I know when they're up to something and you remind me of half of them." One of her ears flicked to the side before letting out a sigh, putting down her cup. "Speaking of which, I can hear my dear sister Howleen coming down the hall."

As if on cue, a door was opened up with a sudden jolt, a short and angry werewolf being followed by Ghoulia and an exasperated vampire.

"Clawdeen, stop getting your friends to spy on me! They're really annoying." The tiny werewolf stomped and pouted up her sister. "I was about to talk to Romulus before they came along."

"Considering what they've been telling me, it sounds like they're doing their job." She patted the little werewolf on the head before pulling out her sketchbook again. "I keep tellin' you, Howleen, he's old for you. And he's got a ghoulfriend, so he's off the market too. You should wait a couple years before you start dating."

"Why is everyone saying that?" Howleen stomped out of the room, grumbling to herself. She slammed the door behind her, causing everyone to jump once again.

"Little sister?" Ed asked. When he received a nod, he gave a sympathetic. "I got one too. Yells a lot louder and whines a lot more about being more mature than people think she is."

"And she's not the only one I got." Clawdeen rolled her eyes, sipping her tea again. She looked over Ghoulia and the vampire. "Thanks for the help there, ghouls. She's been a bit on edge lately."

"It's not an issue. I had a feeling she was planning something and figured I should stop it in its tracks." Ghoulia pushed her glassed up on her nose, nodding to the Eds in greeting. "She'll be thanking us for saving her from embarrassment later."

"I do think maybe she could learn from all of this, if I didn't think it was mortifying either." The vampire's accent was heavy, adjusting her pigtails. "She really gave us a struggle, though. For someone so tiny, she can really put up a fight."

"Shorter people are closer to hell." The werewolf put down her drink and pointed at the three boys. "I'm assuming you've heard of these three clowns already?"

"Ah, right." The vampire curtsied at the boys, giving them a smile. While not all of her teeth were sharp, the two fangs stood out the most due to their unique shape. "I'm Draculaura. I've heard a lot about you three from my friend here. I'm assuming the tall one is Ed?"

"Yep!" Ed grabbed her hand and shook it hard, almost sending her keeling over. "These two are my friends, Double D and Eddy! Don't worry, Eddy just acts mean because he's a total sweetheart."

"Don't speak for me, Monobrow, I'm a disaster on feet." Eddy held up a needle, pointing it threateningly at the pile where Maddie resided. "I will wake Pinks up with this just to prove a point if I have to."

"It seems like she'll beat you to the punch first." Double D pointed out, raising an eyebrow."

"What are you- OW!" Eddy jumped, grabbing at his backside before turning to find the offender. Maddie giggled tiredly, still rubbing her eyes as she twirled the needle in her other hand.

"Nice try, Eddy. The Cheshire Cat can play better pranks than that in her sleep." Maddie stretched as she moved out of the pile. "Quite literally. A cat nap is considered a very dangerous thing in Wonderland."

"Nice to know you can keep up." Double D laughed, earning a glare from Eddy. He only gave him a cheeky smile before turning back to the hatter. "Hopefully you got plenty of rest. You've had a pretty busy day, or so I've heard."

"Yep! With the festivities coming up, it's only expected to get busier." Maddie didn't seem perturbed by that prospect. "If mom was around, it'd probably be much easier. Though, I guess I can make do."

"Yeah, yeah, we've all been pretty busy." Eddy looked over Clawdeen. "You'll have that ready soon, right? Kind of got this in late."

"Already well into the works." She waved him off, getting back into her own stuff. "Like I said, I was already expecting you guys."

"Then me and Sockhead should go. You comin' Ed?"

"Nah, I got some stuff to do here." Ed waved as Double D and Eddy moved on out with Maddie. "I'll see you guys later!"

"Have a good day!" They heard the vampire shout behind them as they walked away. When they were a good enough distance from the place, Eddy leaned over to Double D.

"So, how much you wanna' bet that she's related to Dracula."

"Quiet, Eddy."

"Alright everyone, the decorations should be set up within the hour!" Apple directed several students to move pieces of furniture throughout the room, checking things off her list. "Legacy Day is only a couple days away!"

"And we're halfway done, yet she's still going nuts over this." Cerise grumbled. She wasn't looking forward for the upcoming event, though she gladly did the work if only for the food. She could understand being excited for it, but that didn't Apple had to go on a frenzy about it.

"Hey Red." Cerise looked over to find Eddy and Double D walking over, deftly avoiding the chaos that was occurring around them. "Princess working you to the bone or something? Seems like she's hyped for this Legacy Day stuff."

"Pretty much." She dumped a box into it's proper place, sighing. "I get it and all, but I think she's overdoing it a little. I'm pretty sure it's not in her story to worry about everything being 'just right'."

"Right, that would be Blondie Lockes." Double D moved over to help Cerise carry over another box, mumbling to himself. "I suppose that its her fault that everyone here has been looking at me strangely since I arrived?"

Cerise winced as she took a cursory look around the room to find that some people were staring at him like he was an anomaly. "Yeah, sorry about her. She's okay in small doses, but she really doesn't know the meaning of privacy. She means well enough."

"Still, it does make my job quite a bit harder." Double D grunted as they shifted the box over onto a table, letting someone else handle unpacking it. "The point of all this was for me to blend into both schools and have as little conflict as possible occur. It wasn't exactly a cover, but it was most certainly blown."

"It's not like someone wasn't going to blab about it anyway." Eddy watched the people pass by, having not helped anyone out so far. "People love to gossip, and we happen to have plenty to add to the rumor mill. At least we have their attention."

"Trust me, that might not be for too long."

Eddy's eye twitched. "And of course, he's here too." He turned around, putting a big fake smile on his face that he hoped was annoying. "Charmless! Should've figured that you were here too. Can't wait to sign a magic contract saying you're going to kiss a sleeping girl in a coffin?"

"Why yes, actually." Daring responded, no self-awareness in reflected in his voice. He was flanked by two people, a girl and a boy, who rolled their eyes at his display. "I was surprised to hear that you were around. I didn't even know you had your story figured out just yet."

"I don't, thanks for reminding me." The short Ed boy did his best not to roll his eyes and failed miserably. This guy was absolutely no fun to tease. "You got some friends of your own too? I'm honestly surprised you look away from a mirror long enough to make some."

"Oh, this is just my brother and sister." He pointed to the boy, who honestly didn't look like he wanted to be here. "This is my baby brother, Dexterous." He pointed to the girl, who honestly seemed surprised that someone was actively being sarcastic to her brother. "This is my baby sister, Darling."

"Very alliterative." Double D couldn't help but observe. He was starting to understand why Eddy was beginning to hate puns right now. "I suppose that's to be expected when it comes to naming systems around here."

"I, uh, prefer Dexter to be honest." Said boy rubbed the back of his neck nervously, tapping his foot on the floor. "I don't really get the names either. I'm not exactly 'dexterous,' if I'm being honest."

"We talked about this, Dex, you're not supposed to sell yourself short." Darling elbowed him, sending him a small glare. She looked to Eddy. "And I'm assuming you're the new villain?"

"I'm in the villain classes, if that's what you're asking." Eddy shrugged. "Don't really get what the big deal is. Besides, the only person I've been annoying so far is your brother, and he's immune to insults, apparently."

Darling looked over to find said brother checking himself out in the mirror for the umpteenth time today. "I won't say you're wrong." She crossed her arms and looked down at him. "I do ask that you don't do anything to him that will scar him for life."

"Hey, I'm a nuisance, not a psychopath." Eddy rolled his eyes, though her gave her a lazy salute. "I won't do anything too bad. Scouts honor."

"That's all I ask." She seemed satisfied by this, shoving Daring's shoulder. "Come on, Dare, Apple asked to help with preparations. It wouldn't do good for your image if you were just standing around."

"But isn't my presence enough?" Daring asked, genuinely curious. He only received a push from his sister to move in the direction she wanted. Dexter followed behind reluctantly, giving them a little wave.

"I'm really going to make that guys life hell." Eddy said simply, earning two weirded out looks from the other two.

"Why? I mean, he is annoying, but why?" Cerise looked to Double D for answers, but he only shrugged back.

"He is way to full of himself." Eddy ignored the sighs as he decided to walk off into some random direction. "I'm going to cause some mayhem. Feel free to help with this circus if you want to."

"I'll be sure to." Double D went off with Cerise, looking around for the next task to commit to. "So," He started, unsure of where he wanted to take this. "Do you believe anything exciting will happen at this years Legacy Day?"

"I doubt it." Cerise scoffed, looking up at Apple, who was directing some dwarves into moving some sound equipment onto the stage. "It's probably going to be as uneventful as ever."

Ed was enjoying today. He really was. He met up with some friends, Eddy and Double D were getting into the school's full swing, and he seemed to be making good progress in his schoolwork for once! It honestly felt like a dream come true with how everything was going smoothly.

Of course, unlike Double D and Eddy, he didn't have the foresight to realize that maybe this was not going to last if the world was going to have its way.

Ed was just simply moving on to his next class and having a good time with it. Some people seemed to move out of his way for whatever reason, but he didn't really mind because it just meant he'd get to class faster that way. Though, things got a little strange when he started to notice a crowd of students were meeting at the end of the hallway. He didn't exactly know what was going on, but he could hear what sounded like someone arguing with someone else in the middle of it.

Ed subtly tried moving into the crowd, stumbling through them with some trouble, but eventually reached a place where he could see it. He was right next to some guy with snakes for hair who looked really nervous, though he didn't really get what for.

He tapped the guy on the shoulder, noting the fact that he jumped when he did. "Is something going on? Whoever's yelling is pretty loud." Ed watched the boy frown nervously, eyes behind his sunglasses darting to the side.

"Just a misunderstanding, dude." The snake haired guy adjusted his sunglasses almost absentmindedly. "I was trying to help that new girl out with finding her classes, but I think my girlfriend took it the wrong way."

Ed realized he must be talking about Frankie but wasn't entirely sure how she would get herself into that situation. He attempted to look around the rare taller members of the crowd before he remembered something important.

Cleo existed and she was very clearly an insecure girlfriend.

It didn't look like she was attacking Frankie, to be completely honest. If anything, it looked like she was just trying to intimidate her to get her away from her boyfriend, who he distantly remembered was named Deuce. All of it was clearly for show and for the crowd, something her recognized from many of Eddy's own performances while committing a scam.

Frankie, to her credit, didn't appear to be taking any of it. While she wasn't exactly standing tall and defiant, it appeared she was pleading her case at as much as she could. She still seemed somewhat afraid of what was happening, but she very clearly wasn't doing too bad.

Didn't mean he wasn't going to go in and help.

"How likely do you think it is that Cleo will slap me?" Ed asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Pretty high." Deuce said, looking over the guy carefully. "Please tell me you aren't planning anything dude."

"Don't worry about it." Ed was already moving forward, despite some whispers and warning coming his way. Moving either bravely or stupidly into the makeshift arena, he smiled and waved at the two. "Frankie, Cleo, good to see you two! I didn't know you knew each other."

"Hello Ed," Cleo started instinctively before shaking her head and sending him a glare. "What in the world are you doing here?"

"Going to class." Ed shrugged, moving beside Frankie discreetly before smiling. "I was just wondering what you were doing. I mean, it's pretty cool that you're helping out the new student and all."

"I'm not," She looked confused now, unsure of what exactly he was doing. "What are you talking about? It's quite obvious that I'm chewing her out."

"Why?" Ed decidedly ignored any of the attempts from Frankie to catch his attention and stepped in front of her carefully.

Cleo narrowed her eyes at the boy in front of her. "She was flirting with my boyfriend." She tapped her foot on the floor impatiently, raising an eyebrow at him. "I was simply telling her to back off or face the consequences."

"That doesn't really sound like Frankie." The teen scratched his chin while discreetly putting his other hand behind his back. He motioned for Frankie to back away, though wasn't sure if she complied. "I mean, even if she was flirting, I'm pretty sure she'd back off. She's not a homewrecker or anything, so you don't need to yell at her."

Cleo bristled, even if the logic was sound. "Well, then shouldn't this be a lesson then? Besides, you aren't even involved in any of this. You should just learn to back off."

Ed shrugged, kicking at the floor. "I know, I know, mind my own business and stuff. But Frankie's a nice person and she's only 16 days old or something. She doesn't deserve to be yelled at. I also don't like seeing my friends argue with each other."

"Ed, we worked on that one project together and I've only known you for a few weeks. You're an acquaintance at most." The mummy pinched the bridge of her nose, eyes closed. "So, I'd prefer if you stepped aside right now, otherwise you'll learn what it's like to have locusts preying upon your house."

Ed gasped, eyes widening and getting wet with small tears. "We aren't friends?" He said it in a pitiful voice that caught everyone off guard. His face scrunched up and he huffed, turning to away. "Fine. Maybe I'll make Deuce my friend then. Hey Deuce!" Ed waved at the gorgon in the audience, who jumped. "You want to hang out later?"

"Uh," Deuce looked over at Cleo, who was giving him a fierce glare. "I'm not so sure I can today, dude. Maybe later though." He looked back in Ed's direction, only to blink with surprise clear on his face.

Cleo noticed his reaction and turned to look back at Ed, finding him missing. Apparently, with Frankie in tow.

The mummy stood there for about five seconds before letting out an angry scream that could be heard all across the school.

"Hey, Sockhead!" Eddy fiddled with the tie with limited success, trying to get it into that knot he was shown on that CrownTube video. Which he decided he hated simply because it was a pun. "I'm going to need some help here. My tie is apparently deciding not to work."

"It's impossible for a tie not to work, Eddy." Double D sighed, moving out from behind the curtain separating the room. Moving over, he grabbed Eddy's tie with a flourish and put it in a Windsor knot within a couple of seconds. "See, that wasn't so hard."

"To you maybe." Eddy subconsciously tugged at it, but his hands were swatted away by Double D. He groaned but didn't do it again. "Still can't believe they're making us dress up for this. Clawdeen did a good job and all, but that doesn't mean I want to wear a monkey suit around a bunch of sweaty teenagers."

"Yes, but you did say that we have to be stylish for this." Double D adjusted his own bow tie, straightening it out while smoothing down his hair. He turned to Eddy, watching as he grabbed one final accessory from an end table. "How do I look?"

Clawdeen had decidedly went for something simple with their suits designs, but ultimately still elegant looking. Eddy figured that if they kept this charade up for long enough, they'd probably just keep her on call whenever they needed something new, because he honestly never thought he would have liked how they looked in suits before.

Double D himself was wearing a white suit with red accents to it, the color scheme carrying a similar color scheme to his normal outfit. However, this outfit included white slacks and a white suit jacket instead of a labcoat. His vest was black this time with a white undershirt, though the accents and bowtie on his person were all colored red. The only thing that honestly clashed against the outfit was the fact that Double D was still wearing his hat, though that should've been obvious.

Eddy had an opposite color scheme for the most part. His colors were more traditional, having a black suit jacket and black pants in comparison to Double D's. His was buttoned up, with a white undershirt that was offset by the purple tie that his friend was gracious enough to help him with. His outfit had more yellow/gold accents to it, fitting more into his own traditional color scheme.

There was one difference though in that Eddy decided to add a little flair to the outfit himself by adding a pure black crown with sharp edges to it. In some lights, it looked like there were small purple flames at the edges, giving him a mysterious look.

"You look like a nerd pretending to be Hugh Hefner." Eddy snorted, dodging a punch sent from Double D's direction. He gave him a thumbs up, though, smirking. "It doesn't look half bad, though. Still not looking forward to this, but at least we good enough to go there."

"Thank you, Eddy. I have to admit, you do look good as well." Double D allowed himself a pause as he adjusted his bowtie once more. "Of course, that doesn't change that you look like, as the internet calls it, an 'edge lord'."

Double D avoided a punch from Eddy as well, laughing himself. Eddy grumbled, though he didn't have any way to argue against that. "Whatever. I still wish Ed could come along with us, though. That way the whole ceremony could actually be fun."

"He's dealing with some of the things going on at Monster High, Eddy. Cleo has to be held back from hurting that new girl and Ed unfortunately made that his responsibility." Double D wasn't sure how to feel about Ed's reputation at Monster High, but it at least appeared to be a good one. He himself had made sure to lay low so far, but he'd learned enough about the school's hierarchy to realize Ed was shaking things up a bit with his tricks. "At least it appears he learned something from us over the years, good and bad."

"Ha, yeah. Still can't believe he pulled that on Queenie." Eddy wiped a fake tear off his face, sniffing. "I'm so proud of him."

"You shouldn't, considering Cleo is now trying to figure out how to get back at him. Turns out, she's very vindictive." Double D checked over the iCoffin in his possession, going through the apps. "It appears he's thwarted her for now, but that doesn't mean she isn't going to make things difficult for him in the future."

"Small potatoes, Sockhead. Monobrow is an idiot, but he knows what he's doing. Plus, if Queenie becomes a problem, we'll become an even bigger one for her." Eddy made sure to clear out any messages on his MirrorPhone as well, muting it for the time being. "It's what we're best at, to be honest."

"That's true." The smart Ed boy looked around the room figuring that nothing else could be done. "I believe it's time for us to go. I think we've put off doing this for long enough."

"Yeah, yeah." Eddy put his hands into his pocket, moving to the doorway with slow steps. "Let's get this over with. I'm just glad we don't have to sign anything tonight."

"Same here. Beneficial or not, signing a mystical contract doesn't sit that well with me." Double D opened up the door leading out of their shared room, slipping out with Eddy.

They weren't expecting anything to happen that night.

The Legacy Day celebration was exactly what they expected it to be, if they were completely honest. It was kind of fun in the fact that everyone around was mingling together and having a good time, but it was dampened by the fact that everyone was practically dressed to the nines for this. Eddy and Double D looked fairly plain in comparison, even though Eddy felt he looked the best in his own outfit.

Eddy wasn't really focusing on the speeches too closely, and he doubted that Double D and any other people were doing so either. He was catching a lot of conversations in the background that were not about any of the things going on right then. It was nice to know that everyone here, magical or not, were still dumb teenagers who get bored really easily. It did bother that he couldn't find one particular person, though, until he noticed a certain black-haired girl sitting in a corner.

"Hey Rae!" Eddy smoothly walked over to the sorceress, smiling. "Glad to finally see someone fun at this party. Why are ya' hiding in a corner?"

"Not really my scene." Raven was startled to actually find someone willing to talk with her right now but figured that maybe she shouldn't be so surprised that it was Eddy. "It's not really my favorite time of year, to be honest."

"Yeah, it's just a bunch of rich people showing off their fancy clothes. Real annoying since I'm obviously the best dressed here." He smiled at the snort he got from Raven in response to his joke. "Good to know I'm not the only one that agrees."

"I can't say that people aren't intimidated by you. Though, I think I got you beat." She looked around at the empty space she was given morosely. "Maddie and Cerise are hanging out with other people right now, so it hasn't exactly been fun."

"Then let me lighten things up then." The short Ed boy grabbed a couple of drinks from a passing waiter, handing one off Raven. "What's got you down, anyway? I'm not happy to be here either, but I've been having fun by messing with some party goers."

"Is that why I've heard about someone feeling spiders crawl up their pants earlier?" The sorceress rolled her eyes as Eddy shrugged, not giving an answer. "It's hard to say. I don't think you want to hear it."

"Try me. I've got nothing better to do anyway." Eddy sipped whatever it was in the glass, finding that it tasted like one of his favorite sodas. It must've been enchanted, he realized, because he doubted anyone in this room drank anything that people in Peach Creek would've drank.

"It's," Raven started for a second, before sighing and rubbing at her eyes. She looked back up and didn't meet his own as she took a sip from her glass. "It's the whole signing thing. Everyone here expects me to sign the book and claim my birthright, but everyone is also afraid that I'll be exactly like my mom. It sends a lot of mixed messages."

"Yeah, a lot of people here don't seem to know what they want." Eddy leaned against the wall, looking at the party guests with disdain. "Everyone here is just posturing for the camera's and pretending that this is what they want. I'm not convinced of that."

"Is that so?" Raven chuckled some more, taking another sip from her glass. "Seems like everything Apple ever wanted it to be. She's been talking about this for days now."

"Princess is a hard book to read. I don't know if this is what she really wants either, so I wouldn't trust anything she says." Another sip was taken from Eddy as his eyes slowly went over to Raven. "What exactly do you want, Raven?"

"Can't really say. I've been told what I want by my mother since I was four." Raven contemplated the question, watching as Apple herself went on stage. "I suppose I just want to do whatever I want to do. I'd rather not be defined by my story or anything, especially if everything I do has everyone wanting to criminalize me for it."

"Then do that." Eddy shrugged off the questioning look he got from Raven. "You're right. The whole story thing doesn't change who you are at all, it's just one chapter of your life that's going to go by quickly. In fact," He snapped his fingers, pointing at her. "Do you even want to do your story?"

"I don't, but," Raven blinked at the question, fiddling with her glass. "If I don't actually do anything, the story might disappear forever."

"There's no proof of that." Eddy rolled his eyes, putting his drink down on the table. "I mean, debate on that all you want, but I haven't heard of any proof that says that's true. For all I know, that's propaganda spread by the headmaster to keep people in line."

"But still!" Raven looked anxious, squeezing the glass in her hands. "That doesn't mean that it won't happen either."

Eddy groaned but decided to concede. "Just take it to mind, okay? At the very least, learn not to take what anyone's saying seriously. If they decide to base you off your story and your mom for the rest of their lives, then that's their problem." He drank the rest of his drink and threw it behind him, ignoring the sounds of glass breaking behind him. "I'd suggest making your decision soon, though. Your parts coming up."

He walked away, leaving a confused Raven behind. He grumbled to himself, looking around to find some other person to bother. He eventually found Double D scrubbing at some liquid on his suit.

"Not having any fun either, Sockhead?" Eddy lit up a hand and grabbed the liquid before it could begin to stain Double D's suit. He flicked it onto some random guy passing by, who failed to notice the back of his suit was now wet.

"Not that bad. I was able to talk to a few people, but a waiter spilled something on me." Double D sighed and nodded in thanks as he put his handkerchief away. "How's your night been so far? I can't imagine you've been behaving all that well tonight."

"I have. I just had a depressing talk with Raven though." Eddy smoothed back his hair, almost knocking his crown off kilter. "I'm wondering if all this destiny stuff isn't something we should be messing with. Doesn't seem like fun to have your whole life based on some stupid story."

"Indeed. It seems to be all people talk about sometimes." Double D looked at the stage before his eyes lit up. "It looks like it's Raven's turn to speak. I wonder what she has to say."

Eddy grumbled but shifted his eyes over to the stage anyway. He was once again glad that he wasn't going to sign tonight as he noted the attention swerve to the girl in front, the floating mirrors surrounding her. He liked attention, but he couldn't help but compare everyone gaze as being similar to hawks for some reason.

"And next," Headmaster Grimm announced, mood turning dour. "Is Raven Queen."

Thunder cracked as Raven walked up to the podium, anxiety palpable. The obvious show of favoritism set her off, causing her to look around the crowd.

"I am Raven Queen, daughter of the Evil Queen. And I, uh," She hesitated as the key appeared before her, taking it out of the air. She unlocked the book, gulping on air.

The two Ed's weren't exactly at the best location to see the stage, but they couldn't help but notice the anxiety turn to shock as she looked over the pages. They didn't know much about the Book of Legends, but it apparently did show some part of a person's future.

"Somethings not right." Double D felt something in his stomach drop and his mind race. His heartbeat was starting to skip forward. These were familiar signs, though.

Something was about to go wrong.

A personal mirror appeared, showing Raven something they couldn't make out, but obviously set her off. When the mirror turned into a feather pen, they saw her reach for it and then just… stop.

Taking a deep breath, Raven started again.

"I am Raven Queen." Her eyes went over the crowd, promising something close to rebellion. "And I'm going to write my own destiny. My happily ever after starts now."

Slamming the book closed, the mirrors set up across the stage shattered one by one. The sound of it reverberated across the stadium, causing most students to wince. It was almost immediately overtaken by the sound of everyone inside starting to shout, panicked and scared.

As Double D watched the stage, watching as Raven's resolve almost crumbled into immediate guilt. "Eddy," He started, voice small compared to the increasing volume of everyone else. "What exactly did you say to Raven?"

Eddy was watching the crowd as they began to freak out, hysteria spreading simply because of a few words said by the right person, and lamenting the fact that this had to happen while they were here.

"Enough, apparently." He said.

This was going to be a long school year.

And now things are going to become even more complicated. For the Ed's I mean. But, we all expected that, right?

Either way, everyone has their motivations and stakes in this fight, and even the Monsters will soon realize that. Whether the Ed's realize that and how they think they'll help out depends on what they do next. They'll probably be dragged into it anyway, so no bother there.

I hope everyone is alright out there and I'll see you all next chapter!