Hey everyone, I got the new chapter up an raring to go! It was slow going, but hey, the holidays were a busy time. Consider this, and some of the stuff I'll link at the bottom, a late holiday present.

Alright, I hope you enjoy and I'll see you at the end of the chapter!

Frankie wasn't an expert in social situations, seeing as she wasn't even year old yet. But she had made plenty of friends since she started Monster High, so it wasn't like she was unequipped.

There was also the fact it was obvious Ed and Ghoulia were having some form of fight and she didn't know how to resolve it.

"When do you think this started?" Frankie whispered conspiratorially to Rosabella. They were working on other parts of the dragon hatchery right now, Frankie mostly helping with the wiring of the place. "This feels very recent to me. Like, only a few days ago recent."

"When do you think this started?" Frankie whispered conspiratorially to Rosabella. They were working on other parts of the dragon hatchery right now, Frankie mostly helping with the wiring of the place. "This feels very recent to me. Like, only a few days ago recent."

"It does seem like it happened all at once. Maybe the Book of Legends thing is stressing all of them out?" Rosabella didn't know much about the other members of their group, but they all seemed to be having issues. "Or Grimm's arrest is bothering them. I don't they liked him, but that is kind of a shock to learn about the headmaster of our school."

"Nah, that doesn't seem right. It seems a lot more personal when it's just them." Frankie put her chin into her hands, blowing away a piece of stray hair. "I don't remember Draculaura saying they were dating, despite her working towards it."

"I can hear both of you, you know." Ghoulia flicked one of her wrists and the two girls saw one of her floating eyes move past them. They felt a little embarrassed at being caught so easily. "And it isn't something I'm willing to talk about just yet, so I would suggest dropping this subject for now."

"Oh, right, you don't want to talk about it." Ed mumbled, moving around some shelves in search of spare parts. He grumbled as he just found more junk. "I've been trying to apologize for a whole day now and you never wanted to talk about it."

"We're busy and I'd rather work through my own emotions first, thank you." Ghoulia pointedly closed the toolbox she'd been looking through. She was doing her best to keep herself busy, but that wasn't working. "Just... Let me think about it first and we can get moving forward after."

"Okay, maybe we shouldn't argue right now!" Rosabella waved one of her arms to get their attention. "Ed, do you mind getting some stuff from the nursing room? I don't know how much farther in their development they are due to the excess of fire."

"On it." Ed moved to follow behind her, the task at hand being the only thing he wanted to focus on. "Where exactly are they?"

"At the top shelf. Figured you would be good to get it down." Rosabella checked to see they were far away enough so the other two couldn't hear them. When they were a comfortable distance, she started to figure out what to ask him. "Can I ask what exactly is happening out there? Are you willing to talk about it without her around?"

"…Kinda. Have you ever wanted to tell someone something that you felt was important, but couldn't do it in time?" Ed knew that the question was out of left field, but he didn't want her to think about it too much. Can't have more investigations. "Things could've been a lot simpler if I'd said something earlier, but… well, it doesn't matter now."

"I-I think it matters a lot more now, actually. Good intentions or not, you did keep something from her- I mean, someone." Rosabella knew animals better than people sometimes, but she wasn't socially hurt because of it. "You have a chance to be completely honest now too. At least, that sounds freeing to me."

"It isn't exactly simple. People are mad at you; some don't want to listen to what you want to say compared to what they want to hear." Ed didn't know what he was saying. He wanted to leave these complicated emotions behind, in a locked place where they belonged. "I never wanted to talk about it because I was alright with leaving it behind, yet that's all she wants to talk about."

"Well, I just think she's concerned then. She'd want to talk about if she thought it was important." Yeah, Rosabella didn't know what happened, but it must've been really bad to elicit this reaction. "If anything, maybe she's right? That could be the thing that helps you both out."

"But that's- it's all personal, though, and she's already learned enough without me telling her anything." Ed growled. It was an alien thing on his face and Rosabella felt like maybe she should pump the brakes before it happened again. "It wasn't her fault, but she shouldn't know anything other than the secret. I want- I needed to keep it to myself and forget about it."

"That doesn't…" Rosabella wanted to protest, but Ed instantly passed her, heading to their destination faster. He looked frustrated. "…Maybe try and think about letting it out? It can't make things worse."

"It can." Ed opened the door, looking inside before grabbing at something. "Is this what we were looking for?"

Rosabella looked over the device in his hands, sighing. Looks like she'd hit a roadblock right here. "That's about right. We need a couple more too."

While Rosabella directed Ed around, Frankie was trying to figure out how to prod Ghoulia's brain. Not literally, of course. Her dad did that for the most part. And sometimes her mom, too…

"You're mumbling, Frankie."

The mismatched girl let out a squeak at the zombie's observation. Ghoulia didn't seem to mind, but she did raise an eyebrow at her for a brief moment. She kept working as she talked, carefully enunciating her words.

"I appreciate the concern, but this is outside of your range, Frankie. We're working through it. Or not. I can't say I truly know." Ghoulia twisted a wrench hard enough to cause the metal to squeal, forcing her to stop. She moved on to the next piece of delicate machinery. "I know you're trying to be a good friend, but this is within our group alone."

"Yeah, way to make me feel included too." Frankie knew what she meant by "group," though, so she wasn't really offended. "I know I stick with Draculaura, Lagoona, and other ghouls more than you, but I do think you're my friend though. I just want to make sure everything's okay."

"It isn't. And meddling with it won't make things any better. When Ed wants to talk, maybe things will get better." Ghoulia wasn't so sure about that. It actually did worry her as much as it frustrated her how he kept it all bottled up. "It's a very delicate situation and outside intervention will only make it worse."

"I'm not trying to meddle; I'm trying to get you two to talk to each other. It's a little awkward dealing with a couple in the middle of a big fight." Frankie paused, shaking her hands in front of her after realizing what she said. "Assuming you two are a couple, I mean. I'm sorry if you aren't. I'm only assuming because of all those tv shows I watch matching up to this and…"

"Frankie."

Frankie shrunk as Ghoulia pointed a wrench at her with narrowed eyes. She realized she may have overstepped.

"I know you get most of your information from television and magazines, so let me tell you this for your own good; none of that works in real life." Ghoulia waved the wrench around as she talked, getting increasingly agitated. "Life is a great deal messier, with a lot of complexities behind it. Sometimes, what you think you say to someone can mean something much worse than you thought before when you finally learn the context."

"Okay, but-"

"And when you finally realize everything, you can't even be fully angry at the truth considering the circumstances." Ghoulia snorted. "Of course it had to be worse than what you thought. It really shouldn't be, and now you can't do anything but let it pass."

Ghoulia sighed. She rubbed at one of her eyes, sniffing a little.

"Just leave it, Frankie. We'll handle it sooner or later."

Frankie figured she'd back off, though with some serious reservations. It hurt to hear, but she was right about none of her magazines dealing with it.

She was right. She really didn't know how to deal with this.

Double D wasn't sure how Maddie had got him into this room, but it was usually best not to question much when it came to how she did most things. Ending up in the same room as her, Clawdeen, Cerise, and Red Riding Hood was still something he had been confused about.

"We found you in one of the school labs passed out after working too hard and dragged you here before you could wake up." Maddie sipped her tea, not giving his freaked outlook as much as a glance. "You looked confused, and I figured that was your first question. Even Wonderlandian's know how to use logic."

"I should've been a lot more surprised by all of this, but something tells me it isn't the first time they've found you like that." Red- No, she was going by Carmine now. She hadn't talked about it yet with everyone, but she wanted to at least start calling herself that. "You're friends actually wanted me to talk with you. I'm actually a counselor part time and they seem convinced I might be able to help."

"A counselor? Right, I suppose you would have a profession outside of your fairytale." Double D tapped his fingers in the chair he'd been put in. It would be easy to get out since they hadn't tied him down, but he couldn't just jump out the window just yet. "I would've thought courier due to knowing the forest better than most. Guess even you can't be chased by Badwolf every day."

"Oh, trust me, I wish-"

"Mom do not finish that sentence. Please, for my sake?" Cerise wasn't letting themselves fall for the deflection. They needed to keep focus here. "Don't change the subject. You've always said therapy is a good thing, and my mom is technically your only option here."

"Yeah. Oh, and uh, Carmine? Sorry for kinda butting in on the whole thing. You know what I'm talking about." Clawdeen realized she was probably going to have to talk to Ramona and Badwolf about this too. Great. "Just sort of ended up hearing too much, y'know?"

"Considering who I married and raised, I'm more than aware how well you're hearing is." Carmine would deal with that mess later. She was (technically) on the clock right now and wanted to get to the root of the issue. "I do want to help you, Eddward. Yes, my daughter did ask me to come, but I could've easily said no considering I know you more than other patients."

"I understand what you're trying to convey, but all I'm hearing is that you're trying to nip a possible issue of me going postal in the bud because I know too much about you." Double D remarked. His tone did make him wince, but he couldn't let it stop now. "I keep on telling you all that we need to fix the issue with the book first."

"And we'll do it when you have a better idea on your mental health. Madness is fun, but only in certain doses." Maddie finished off her cup, putting it down. "I have no idea how Cerise's mom knows anything about this, but she's the only one able to at least break the walls here."

"And don't talk down to my mom like that. She's good at her job and I will kick you in the shins if you keep talking bad about her." Cerise rubbed at one of her eyes. "Do you have to be this stubborn? I can't believe this is the hill you'll die on."

"…Alright, fine. I'll admit that I do have a few emotional issues that I want to get through. It isn't like I can fool you into thinking otherwise." Double D squinted at them, steepling his fingers. "But what use is talking about it now? I already know what's wrong and why things went wrong. I'm well past it, considering I decided to leave it behind."

"Nothing ever gets left behind, Eddward. In fact, most of the things you do try to abandon always end up coming back to haunt you." Carmine thought over her own experiences, twirling a pen over her notebook. "Those problems will haunt you for the rest of your life if you don't stop and go over them. I'm sure you're smart enough to realize this."

"Unfortunately, I don't have the time to do that. Have you been paying attention to what's going on outside? It's a madhouse!" Double D got up, stomping over to a window. He looked over the landscape of Ever After High, frowning. "People getting arrested, artifacts disappearing, not to mention the people getting anxious. It needs to get done."

"Yeah, why not try and solve world peace while we're at it? I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to deal with it after." Clawdeen rolled her eyes. "We're not going to ignore any of that, but it isn't going to be solved in a week or anything."

"Maybe not, but when we're just sitting around and talking around our feelings, the more likely it'll be those problems will find us." Double D moved away from the window, sighing. "I don't understand why you want to even expand on it. You should feel more betrayed more than anything."

"You're our friend, Double D. Isn't that enough of a reason to want to help you?" Maddie stated softly. She pulled at her hair, twisting it as she looked away from his harsh look. "The same goes for Ed and Eddy too. We saw some bad things back there."

"None of which I wanted to share in the first place. It may not have been your fault, but that doesn't mean you're allowed to pry if I don't want to talk about it." Double D sat back in his chair. He raised an eyebrow at Cerise, who was just staring at him thoughtfully. "Something you want to share, Cerise?"

"…actually? Yeah, I do." Cerise moved in her seat to face Maddie, grabbing at the Wonderlandian's hand. She looked nervous for a second before she noted the fond look in her friends' face. "Maddie, do you want to know a secret of mine?"

"Preferably, yes. You don't have to if you don't want to." Maddie didn't let go of her hand, stroking it softly. It was a nice feeling. "I am very curious, so I would suggest coughing it up."

"Well, it's not as shocking as some other people's secrets, but it is different." Cerise paused before she raised a hand to her hood, slowly pulling it down. She pointed at one of her ears, said appendage twitching a little. "You recognize these ears from anywhere?"

"Uh, they kind of look like an animal's ears." Maddie, lacking any impulse control, reached out to it, and scratched behind it. Cerise ducked away, pink dusting her cheeks. "They look like wolf ears, now that you mention it."

"I got them from my dad. Mom over there apparently liked them big and bad and decided that she wanted to marry her storybook villain." Cerise gave a look to Carmine, who just gave her a nod. She felt a little freer then, letting out a shaky breath. "You were kinda right about my parents having a lot of chemistry."

"…oh my god, I knew it!" Maddie grabbed at Cerise, giggling a little as the hooded girl struggled. "That explains why you eat meat so much! And sometimes growl at people that try to get too close to all of us!"

"I'm surprised that you father hasn't mentioned anything to you about me and Bigby," Carmine chuckled, watching as her daughter tried to escape her friends grasp. "He did officiate our wedding."

Clawdeen blinked at that piece of information. "That sounds about right for him."

Cerise rolled her eyes, giving Maddie a pat on the back before pushing her away so she wouldn't play with her ears. She gave Double D, who had watched everything silently, a look.

"You said that when we made our deal that it would be a case of mutually assured destruction, right?" Cerise moved an arm to wave behind her. "Well, I'd say I made everything even on this front. Maybe it's time to be a little more honest here."

Double D scowled. Feeling a mix of anger, with a small bit of pride, he couldn't help but feel like she'd cheated. In reality, all she'd done was use a very smart move and he knew there wasn't any way to counter it.

He almost didn't want to say anything out of spite, clam up so she couldn't get anything out of him. But then again…

"Mutually assured destruction, huh?' Double D slumped. He couldn't argue with that. It wasn't like he could back out of the deal now. "Alright then…"

And with that, Double D began to speak.

"So," Eddy started carefully, hands twitching with nerves and the urge to use his magic. Being trapped in a place didn't exactly sit well with him. "Are we finally holding that intervention for Cleo on her addiction to make-up? If we are, I would've had my speech prepared hours ago."

"Not even ten seconds in, and he's throwing out jokes." Cleo pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling a headache coming on. "No, this is not an intervention for me. If anything, it's an intervention for you."

"For what? I haven't done anything today. Or yesterday, actually." Eddy tapped his fingers on his chin, thinking something over. "I should really start up a new plan now that I think about it. People might assume that it's okay to get back on stupidity."

"Eddy!" Raven snapped her fingers, bringing back his attention to her. "We need to talk to you and we're not going to repeat any of this twice. Apple might have a panic attack if we do."

"I'm not! It's just that the subject matter is really gruesome to me, alright?" Apple snapped back before forcing herself to calm down. It wouldn't do to get angry about this. "Okay, let's just start from the beginning. Eddy, you said you wanted to sign the Book of Legends for Raven, correct?"

"Yeah, the one thing that's going to solve literally all of our problems. You can thank me later when I actually do sign the thing." Eddy checked his fingernails for dirt, but when he didn't get any response, he looked up to see their pensive glances. "Is there some issue with that? Ray, you better not be welching on our deal."

"I might have to, even if I don't technically want to." Raven said the last part softly. Despite what they had to do and what they had to show him, it wasn't like she had been against the original plan in the first place. "But with the fact that you're human, there might be a few problems with the actual, y'know, signing."

"Before you blow up on us, we did bring evidence here instead of just telling you this." Cleo held her staff out threateningly before pointing at Apple. "Turn on the projector. We have a few things to show you."

Apple turned down the lights, turning on the projector. The first image to occupy the screen was a picture of the Book of Legends- the real or fake one, nobody would be able to tell- and a quill beside it.

"The idea isn't a bad one, per se, but signing the Book of Legends as a human would do you more harm than good," Apple started, changing to a slide showing a laundry list of symptoms. "Not only are you put into a destiny you aren't supposed to be in-"

"Oh, here we go." Eddy got out of his seat, moving towards Apple with a deep frown. "Look, I understand I'm not the actor you wanted for your little happy ending, but you should just deal. Besides, I fit into the part anyway."

"It's not about you fitting the part better or not. Raven is supposed to be my Evil Queen." Apple shook her head, feeling she was right in all of this. "You don't even have a part to fill in the first place, so you can't just take hers like that. That's not how it's done, and most Legends would know that."

The room's temperature rose at that, and something in Eddy's hands flickered for a brief moment. Cleo's anxiety spiked as she saw everything was spiraling out of control.

"Apple, I think we need to stop now. I get that you feel strongly, but this isn't the time or the place for this." Cleo said through gritted teeth. She gave Eddy a quick, softer glare for a second. "And you don't let your temper get the best of you. We're just trying to help."

"That's not how it's feeling with Princess over here saying that I don't belong." Eddy cracked his fingers, daring the blonde to speak up again. "Is this what's its all about? You feel liked I don't belong here because I'm human? Be honest!"

"That's not what we're here for! I'm just saying, this isn't something you should be messing with." Apple poked him in the chest, scoffing lightly. "Honestly, there's a lot of things that you weren't supposed to be messing with, but here you are."

Eddy's magic flared as his eyes twitched. Apple realized she said the wrong thing, and the other girls figured that too.

"Eddy, calm down. Apple's just letting her mouth run again. You know how she is." Raven stated calmly, trying to reach out to him. She faltered when his magic flared up again and he shifted away, suddenly keeping his eyes on all of them. "We're just trying to help you, not insult you."

"You know what?" Eddy sounded calm; a disturbing juxtaposition compared to the fire in his hands. Distantly, they all remembered what had happened with Briar. "I don't think the problem was with society and that stupid book; I think it was all you, Princess."

Apple flinched as Eddy took a step forward pointing a hand at her face. The glow diminished slightly, but it forced her to back up in slight fear. "W-What?"

"It's all your fault. This whole Royal/Rebel nonsense, the whole thing with people fighting each other; all because you aren't getting what you want." Eddy squinted, growling lightly. "Just because Raven doesn't want to poison you, you get into a hissy fit and the whole school year goes sideways."

"Okay, I'll admit to not reacting well, but that doesn't mean I was causing our problems. At least not on purpose." Apple shakily responded. She gave the girls a quick look, as if asking them to step in. "You believe me, right?"

"I don't think I've ever believed a word from your mouth. A scam artist knows when someone is lying, after all." Eddy scoffed. It had been a lie, but he wasn't going to tell her that now. He gave a look towards Raven briefly, raising an eyebrow before he looked back. "If you're that eager for the story to get going, why don't you do it yourself?"

Apple looked confused. Eddy rolled his eyes, waving a hand towards Raven.

"Don't you think Raven fits more into the mold of Snow White? She's got the dark hair, the pale skin- heck, all she needs is a different shade of lipstick." Eddy felt a sick part of him feel happy at the flinch Apple had. He watched her grab at her blonde hair, knowing it would bother her. "You never really struck me as a proper Snow White. Never really fit it personality wise."

"I do so fit into the role! I've been preparing for it all my life!" Apple seemed to have jumped out of fear, her role being called into question. How dare he- he wasn't even raised on any of this! "I've worked hard to earn my destiny, with all of the straight A's, getting into clubs. I'm practically-"

"-the fairest of them all? Isn't that what you said at Heritage Hall before the Storybook pulled you in?" Eddy tilted his head, a toothy smile crossing his lips. "It's weird how that after that, you were put in the wrong place. Raven was in the dwarves' home, and you were being chased down.

"Maybe it was trying to tell you something? Seems obvious to me." Eddy leaned forward; smile forced downward. "With your personality, you're a better villain then Raven ever could be."

Slap!

Eddy's face was forced in a different direction by Apple's hand meeting his cheek. He didn't react much at that, turning a blank face towards Apple's own upset one. The blonde just turned away and stormed out of the room.

"Dammit- I'll go get her before she does anything stupid." Raven rushed after Apple, making sure her roommate was alright. "Stay here! We aren't done talking yet."

"Yeah, I don't think Princess agrees with that." Eddy sneered. He heard a sigh, looking over to see a tired Cleo. "I don't remember you participating in that, Queenie. What's got you tired?"

"You. You couldn't just sit down and stay listen to us for five minutes before picking a fight with one of us." Cleo looked at Eddy, not with anger, but with just exhaustion. "Is it really hard to believe that we wanted to help you?"

"Queenie, you're just as vindictive as I am. I'd believe you're trying to help me when hell freezes over." Eddy gave a look at the projector. "Besides, aren't you little ticked that I lied to you? Doesn't it make you angry that I pulled one over on you for so long?"

"I know you're trying to make me angry. But I won't lie and say I wasn't furious figuring out what you did." Cleo laughed, a bitter sound. "But then the worst thing happened; I understood why you did it.

"You didn't want to be the old you anymore. I saw everything; a scared kid who grew up into an angry teenager who wanted to be someone who'll never be scared again." Cleo picked at one of her bandages, a distant look in her eye. "And you did that by accruing so much power and starting what might become a big business. I can honestly respect that."

"Get to the point, your highness. You're flattering me a little too late." Eddy sat back down into the chair. He stared down at his feet, glaring holes into his shoes. "How does it relate to you?"

"…I was a scared little girl who died a in coup for reasons I'll never understand. My father, my sister, my mother and I died because of a power-hungry man." Cleo felt herself slip into old memories once again, things she forced herself to forget. "We were put into a tomb for thousands of years and I came out with a bitter father, a deranged sister, no mother and a fear of the dark. And I've been trying to change that.

"I think all three of us came out wanting to go back to what was and what'll never be. I'm trying to change that by looking into the future." Cleo got up from where she was sitting, giving Eddy a determined look. "If you sign the Book of Legends, it might kill you, Eddy."

Eddy didn't look at her, but he flinched at the sentence. It was enough to show he was listening.

"I lived before the memory wipe. I've seen what happens when a human makes themselves stronger through magic." Those were dark times. She'd never forget those rituals. "Their bodies couldn't handle it. Most either died instantly, had their bodies changed for the worse, or were simply crippled for life."

"Were there any survivors?" Eddy figured there had to be some. He wasn't a master of statistics, but there wasn't ever a zero percent chance of something happening. "At least a couple had to have lived through it just fine."

"Very, very few. And even then, they weren't the same people that went into the ritual in the first place." The mummy was starting to get tired of this. She was reaching him, but she couldn't do it by herself. "That book changed everyone of one of Raven's line. It'll either kill you or turn you into something worse than your own brother ever could've been."

"…I can't go back to who I was. I've done too much to get where I am now." Eddy felt that in his bones. He wanted to be better. No more being scared and hiding in the closet, hoping his brother wouldn't find him. "I'll find a way to do it right."

"Every one of those fools said that plenty of times before. Hopefully you won't have a chance to prove yourself right." Cleo sighed. She got up, heading towards the door, feeling heavy. "For some reason, I think of you as my friend. And so do the others too. I hope you're happy knowing this."

Eddy was left alone, seething in his chair as he refused to look from the floor. The projector screen flickered as his magic woke up again.

"I am." He said to himself, lying through his teeth.

You like that ending scene? It was pretty much inspired from some talks I had with LittleLagoon from . Feel free to look his stuff on there, he's working on a Ben 10/Monster High crossover that he's done plenty of work on.

As for what I have for you, I essentially got bored and decided to mess with DnD Beyond and see what I could create on their character creator. It's rough as hell and doesn't really have too much of different material, but it's a rough idea of what the Ed's are like in Blending In, but in DnD format. If you want to work on something better, feel free to share it with me.

Ed: /v/aja6jWydM_DnD_Sheet_Ed

Double D: /v/OVO4mIKD0_DnD_Sheet_Double_D

Eddy: /v/21VvWmhtz_DnD_Sheet_Eddy

Remember, the 5 headcanons game is still going! Feel free to comment on another AU idea or even ask for a specific scenario related to the ones we already talked about. It's fun interacting and seeing your ideas, so I'll enjoy whatever you ask.

Thank you and I'll see you all next chapter!