OCWaGH: Chapter 15

"T-This CAN'T be real!"

Everyone turned to Eddy. They could all see him backing away from both groups, "This is some dumb dream! O-Or just a sick joke, right?!" Eddy asked in desperation.

Double D looked at his friend with concern, "Eddy, please, you need to calm down…!"

"I CAN'T DEAL WITH THIS RIGHT NOW!" Eddy finally screamed in frustration before turning around and running toward the lake located deeper in the woods.

Double D gasped when Eddy dashed away, "Eddy, stop!" he shouted to him as he began to run after him.

Everyone watched what happened with a lot of mixed emotions, not exactly sure what to do or how to approach them. Rei felt the most conflicted but decided to brush that feeling aside as she turned to Joshua and Vivian, "Maybe we should go talk to him."

The twins nodded their heads as they ran with Rei to go after Eddy.

Ami felt Brooke poke at her shoulder to get her attention, "U-Umm… I'm sorry for lying to the two of you earlier," Brooke began to say before making a worried face, "We should go find them too, I'm really worried."

Ami stared at Brooke for a moment before nodding her head. Ami and Brooke jogged off to where the others went to.

Setsuna made a sigh as she turned to the others, "I think you should all introduce yourselves. You are here to train and help stop this new threat."

"Yes, Ms. Meioh."

The group of younger teens still seemed nervous to the other group before one of them decided to step up finally; the oldest girl in the group with the long black hair, "My name's Samantha Everhart, and, umm…" she began to say before trailing off, looking down to the ground with embarrassment, "I-I was the one who convinced the others to try and keep our jobs a secret, but I guess it didn't work out that way. I'm sorry…"

Robin stared at Samantha before widening his eyes in stunned shock; she had most of Hotaru's facial features but had his last name. He turned to Hotaru, seeing that she also had the same expression as him.

"It's okay, Sam!" stated the teen with the dark red hair as he walked over to Samantha, "We get why you wanted it to be that way, there's no need to be sorry!" he then turned to the group with a big smile, "The name's Ken Norris, by the way. Nice to see you again, even if it feels weird to you!"

Makoto made an audible gasp while Erik could only stare in shocked silence. He had Erik's hair and eye color but looked more like Makoto in the face.

The boy with the dark blond hair finally swallowed off his nerves as he stood next to his friends, "Geez, this is awkward as heck, but, uh… I'm Arthur Labelle, but a lot of my friends call me Art or Artie for short."

Scott felt like he was going to faint while Minako grew pale in the face. Arthur had Scott's facial features and eye color while having Minako's hair color, but a shade darker.

Setsuna walked over to Haruka and Michiru, "There's also something else that needs to be done; it involved the three of us," Setsuna stated, "I can explain on the way."

Both Haruka and Michiru sighed in defeat to their friend, "Always the secretive one, aren't you?" Haruka grumbled.

"As if we have any room to scold her," Michiru chuckled before the three women began to walk off, but not without telling the others they were leaving first, of course.

Back with Eddy, we could still see him running in the woods until he came to the clearing where the lake was. He ran over to the edge of the lake before collapsing to his knees so he could reach for the water. He began to splash his face with the lake water to try and wake himself up from this awful dream until he realized he was awake; his shirt was now soaking wet. Eddy could only sit at the edge of the lake, staring back at his reflection; he could see an old fear he had hidden for years was beginning to surface.

Eddy could hear a few footsteps approaching him from behind; he could tell it was Double D, "Go away, Sockhead," he grumbled to his friend.

Double D made a sigh as he sat down next to him, "Eddy, I-I know that was… Umm, some very sudden news they told us about. I was shocked too, but—"

"But what? We don't need this right now!" Eddy said to Double D with anger, not even turning to look at him, "None of us ASKED for this! How can you even accept what's going on and be fine with it?!"

"It's pretty easy to accept, honestly."

Both Double D and Eddy jumped a little before they turned around to see Ami and Rei behind them. They could also see Brooke, Joshua, and Vivian standing a little further behind the girls. It seemed like they were uncertain about being there with them, despite being related.

"None of us asked for this either, you know," Rei continued to say as she sat next to Eddy to look at her reflection in the water, "Usagi was the most reluctant one back then, even when she was appointed to be the leader of the Guardians."

Ami began to sit down next to Double D, "There's been so many days where I wish things would stay peaceful, without the need to fight these enemies and other atrocities," she stated with sadness, "We've sacrificed a lot to get to where we are today, with Usagi losing the most out of us all."

Both Double D and Eddy were silent to them before Eddy made a reluctant groan, "Listen, I get what you're saying, and I'm sorry I ran off like that. I-I…" he looked back at his reflection below him in the water, "I was kind of scared."

"Scared?"

"Y-Yeah…" Eddy replied to Rei, "You already saw my older brother, right? He seems fine now, but… he and my dad are not exactly stable."

"… Wait. Y-Your father…?!" Double D gasped in disbelief, "Don't tell me he also—"

"No, my dad never did drugs; but he might have well been," Eddy interrupted Double D, "He used to be an alcoholic back when my brother was still living here. I don't even know what made him start drinking back then, but I think he took his anger out of my brother a few times before stopping himself and sobering up."

"My goodness…" Ami muttered to herself in shock.

"I guess Evan started following Dad's example, taking his anger out on me before he was kicked out. That just made him worse than before until he finally booked himself into rehab," Eddy continued to say before glancing behind him to the twins, who were still standing further away, "… When I walked over to those twins, I realized the voice I used to talk to them was the one Evan always used with me back then. That's why I got scared and ran here when she called me her dad…"

Eddy felt Rei place her hand on his shoulder, much to his surprise, "I see now. You were scared that you were going to end up like your brother and dad," she stated before gesturing the three younger teens to come over to them, "Well, you can always ask them directly and know for sure."

Eddy stared at Rei before blushing slightly, "I-I guess I could…"

The three younger teens walked over to them as the older teens stood back on their feet to greet them, "Umm… Is everything okay now?" Vivian asked in a slightly scared tone.

"Yeah, sorry about earlier," Eddy replied as he rubbed the back of his neck, "So, uh, you… Y-You're both my kids, huh?"

"Yes," Joshua nodded his head as he took his red medal out of his pocket, "You both gave us these once we were finally old enough to start our training."

Vivian took out her henshin stick when Joshua showed his medal; both items had the symbol of Mars on them. Brooke also took out her henshin stick to show Ami and Double D; the symbol of Mercury could be seen on it.

Ami could feel herself begin to blush, quickly realizing who Brooke really was, "Oh… Brooke, y-you're my daughter?"

Double D widened his eyes at what Ami said. Despite what they were told a moment ago, the news finally began to sink in when he looked at both Ami and Brooke, realizing why he thought they were related at first; they were mother and daughter.

Brooke nodded her head, "Y-Yes, that's right," she glanced away for a moment, "When I was at the library, I didn't know you two were there until Father approached me. I… I couldn't say anything about who I was, but it made me happy that I could hang out with you."

"… Y-You said 'Father' just now," Double D started to say as he began to blush, becoming more and more nervous at Brooke's statement before asking, "That… T-That would be me… correct…?"

Brooke looked at Double D, noticing how nervous he was, "Yes sir," she replied.

Ami glanced over at Double D, who looked like he was about to faint. She gasped as she and Brooke rushed over to him before he could fall into the lake behind him, "Eddward!"

Eddy and Rei turned to see what happened next to them, "Oh geez!" Eddy yelped. The two of them and the twins went over to Double D's side, who was now lying on his back.

Ami looked at him from where she laid him down, "It looks like he fainted from shock…" She was about to put her hand on his forehead to check his temperature before she was suddenly stopped by Eddy, much to everyone's surprise.

"Sorry, but don't even think about it," Eddy stated, "Double D doesn't like anyone to see what's there. Trust me, only me and Ed know what's there, and I know he would get upset if anyone besides us ever sees it."

Ami made a concerned face at what Eddy said, "Oh, my apologies. I was only trying to help…"

The group could hear Double D coming too, opening his eyes to see that everyone was above him. He widened his eyes as he sat back up, remembering what happened earlier.

"I-I'm so sorry about that!" Double D started to say in embarrassment, trying to look away with a blush forming on his face again, "I wasn't prepared for, umm… s-such a direct confirmation like that."

Double D felt Ami put her hand on his shoulder, "It's okay," she said with a smile, "Let's just take things one at a time for now. I believe everyone else will do the same."

Double D could feel his face becoming redder, "Y-Yes, of course…" Ami and Brooke helped him get back on his feet, "Thank you."

The group looked back toward the lake next to them, staying quiet for a split moment before anyone spoke again.

"So, uh… What does the future even look like?" Eddy asked, "It can't be that much different than things here, right?"

The three younger teens looked at each other, wondering if it was okay to say anything, "Well, we all live in Crystal Tokyo. It's a big kingdom that's completely covered in crystal, and it's really pretty!" Vivian stated with a big smile, "We've lived there all our lives, but there was a point when we visited this town for an important trip. They're both pretty different from each other."

"… An important trip?" both Ami and Rei questioned, "Is that why we never saw you or the others there in the future when we visited?" Ami continued to ask, "We only saw Chibiusa, who had come to the past and then back to her time because of the Black Moon Clan."

Brooke nodded her head, "Y-Yes, that's right. We only heard about your visit when we came back home a few months later. All of us were relieved to know that everything turned out just fine… Even when Prince Zachary's condition was finally diagnosed."

Eddy could see Vivian visibly flinch when Brooke mentioned the boy's name before making an upset face, much to his confusion.

"Prince…?" Rei questioned before furrowing her brow, "Chibiusa never mentioned anything about having a brother…"

"… And we know why that is," Everyone turned to Joshua, "It's because Lady Serenity will forget about him for a short time before remembering again; the same thing happens with the king too. When she visited you, it must have been at the point where she forgot about him. It only seems to happen to those two and no one else," he explained, "Thankfully, it seems like they've been getting better at remembering him over time…"

"Ms. Meioh told us that it's possible they forget him a lot because his existence is unstable, which is why he has a weak immune system and becomes sick so often," Brooke continued to explain, "We tried everything we can to help them remember when they start to forget."

"A-An… unstable existence…?" Double D gasped before making a sad face, "How horrible… I-I can't imagine how that must feel."

The group stood there for a few more seconds before anyone spoke again, "I-I think we should go back to Usagi's apartment and check on how the boy is doing," Ami stated, "I'm very worried about him, now that we learned a bit about his condition."

Everyone nodded their head in agreement as they began to walk back toward the apartment complex. It was as they were walking back that Rei noticed something about Joshua; he was walking alongside Brooke, who had her arm wrapped around his for most of the walk out of the woods.

'… Oh. That's really sweet,' Rei thought to herself before making a smile, 'I should ask him about their relationship later.'

Eddy, in the meantime, glanced over to Vivian, noticing she was walking faster than everyone else in the group. She had a very distraught look in her eyes and across her face, "H-His Majesty needs to be okay. I won't let Zack disappear!" Vivian kept saying to herself in a low, panic-filled voice, "I want him to live…!"

'Whoa, that's a 180 on her attitude,' Eddy thought, 'What's up with that?'

Judging by the few interactions with them before, Vivian seemed to be a very vocal, cheerfully hyper, and outgoing kid compared to her brother Joshua; she kind of reminded Eddy of himself in a weird way. But when the prince was brought up a moment ago, he did notice that her mood completely changed from being cheery to being upset and serious.

It did not take them long to arrive back to Usagi's apartment. The group approached her place before ringing the doorbell; it only took a few seconds before Ed answered the door, "Oh! Hiya guys!" he greeted them with a big smile. He noticed the three kids he met this morning were also with them.

"We came to check up on the boy you found," Ami stated as Ed let the group inside, "How is he doing?"

Ed stared at them before making a sad face, "Umm, he's been coughing a lot…" he glanced toward the floor, "Usagi seems sad too, and I don't know what to do."

Everyone walked inside to the living room where they could see Usagi and Zack sitting on the couch. Zack was coughing up a storm while Usagi sat next to him, trying her best to help him.

Double D and Eddy looked at Zack and then back to Ed. They could immediately see the resemblance between the two; Ed and Zack had the same shade of red hair and some of the same facial features, but not the same-colored eyes. This not only confirmed that Zack was Ed's son, but that Ed was the king the teens mentioned earlier. He took Mamoru's place in more than just his job as a guardian for Sailor Moon.

"Your Highness!" Vivian gasped as she and her brother ran over to Zack's side with Brooke walking behind them.

Zack looked up to see some of his friends at his side, "Vivi…?" he weakly questioned aloud before coughing again, "Sorry, I'm okay now…"

Vivian narrowed her eyes, "No you're not. You need a good place to rest…"

Usagi looked at the kids that came over to Zack and then back to Ami and Rei nearby along with the three Eds. She got the gist of what was going on just by noticing the kids; they all had characteristics of everyone in the room, "Where's everyone else?" Usagi asked, "I don't see them with you…"

"We decided to come back here early to check on you two," Rei stated.

Ami walked over to Zack, "Here, let me have a look at you…" she started to say. She reached out to feel his forehead; it was slightly warm, but he did not seem to have a fever. Ami then examined Zack's face a little before placing her hand on both his chest and back; she could tell he was having trouble breathing from something but could not determine why…

Ami then widened her eyes, turning to Usagi and everyone else in the room, "Usagi, does Edwin know or understand who Zack is?" she asked before making a serious face, "If what Brooke told us earlier is correct, his existence is unstable," she looked back at the red-haired boy, "This could mean his future is not set in stone like everyone else; something or someone is trying to erase him!"

Everyone in the room widened their eyes as Double D and Eddy looked at their tall friend; they saw him scratching his head in confusion, "Erase?" Ed asked before making a sad face, "Why would someone want to do that to him?"

It was clear that he did not understand there was time traveling going on in this weird situation. All that Ed could tell was the fact that someone was not only targeting Usagi/Sailor Moon, but Zack as well.

"Oh god, please don't tell me he's that clueless about this?!" Eddy sighed in an exasperated tone, facepalming as he did, "Are we gonna have to tell him about the birds and the bees too?!"

Eddy felt Rei's hand lightly slap the back of his head, "I'm pretty sure that's not necessary," she said.

"I-I know that! It was a joke!" Eddy replied with a bit of a huff in his voice.

Double D walked over to his tall friend, "Ed, there's something you need to understand," he started to say before pausing, wondering how he could explain everything, "Are you aware that there's time traveling going on as well? If you have Mamoru's memories still inside you, that means you know about Crystal Tokyo and that time travel does exist."

The girls widened their eyes; explaining the situation that way had never crossed their minds. Ed's face turned from being confused to being stunned by what Double D was saying…

"Crystal Tokyo is in the future, remember? And that's where Zack is from, along with his older sister. He's…"

Ed began to scratch his chest around his heart once again, this time his actions were noticed by everyone in the room, "… My son?" Ed finally asked, putting two and two together.

Double D slowly nodded his head before gesturing to the other kids in the room, "I-I know it's a hard pill to swallow… but it's the truth."

Ed could only stand there for a moment, still trying to process what his friend told him. He made a sad face, "But, what about Chibiusa? Why isn't she here too?" he asked.

A small cough could be heard coming from Zack again, "S-She decided to stay back home, sending me here because my coughing was getting worse. Chibiusa asked me to find Mom and Dad so I can try and stay safe…"

Zack could feel Usagi pull him into a hug, surprising him a little, "Everything's going to be alright," she said, "I remember when Chibiusa visited us before; she became very homesick for a long time…" She let the red-haired boy out of her hug to look at him with a smile, "We will all do our best to help you and everyone else! I promise!"

Usagi and Zack soon felt themselves being picked up by Ed into one of his trademarked 'Ed-Hugs', "I promise too! We're all a happy family!" he said with a big, toothy smile before making a joyful laugh, hugging them even tighter.

Usagi and Zack slowly began to smile before joining Ed in his hug, chuckling as they did. Their friends stood by as they saw the touching scene, with Eddy holding himself back his snickering and Double D smiling at how happy his tall friend was.

Author's Note (June 2nd, 2024): Wooo! I finally got this hurdle of a chapter done! Thank god.