Happy New Year! I greet you with somehow LESS context than before! Also welcome to the stage some important OCs and the first cameo universe! Enjoy!
"…So, what do we do now?"
Eddy's friends looked over with raised brows.
Or… well, the side of a raised brow in Ed's case.
Eddy had been laying on his bed, silently staring at the ceiling for who knows how long, while Double D went over the details for tomorrow's scam.
It's supposed to be big, bad, and good for getting them some long-deserved cash.
Now they just gotta make sure it doesn't blow up on them.
People could actually get hurt if this one blows up.
"We're not the newest group anymore." Eddy started, still staring at the ceiling as he spoke, "But Mandy's still gonna push like we are. Her thing is keeping up appearances and after all. Not to mention her… 'advice' to Kevin the other meeting. About 'taking control' of Peach Creek."
Double D's face twisted in annoyance, before shaking his head and returning to the papers.
"Eddy, you're talking about this like we have any sort of… oh, I don't know, any sort of alternative in this matter?" He shot at the short leader of their trio, who was glaring at the ceiling now, "Our position leads us with not only the disadvantage of never being trusted by the heroes, but with the hatred and ridicule by the villains! We can't win, and we can't just run-!"
"That's it!" Eddy suddenly sat up in bed, slamming a hand into his fist, "We'll run away!"
Double D looked stunned for a minute, before letting out a long sigh.
Ed, on the other hand, looked a bit confused for a moment.
And then he perked up, having realized what Eddy meant.
"Like in Rambling Ed?" He asked Eddy, who grinned.
Double D groaned, pulling a hand across his face.
"I'm talking bigger, Ed!" Eddy exclaimed, holding his arms out for emphasis, "Bigger and badder than any other scam we've ever made! And this'll cause so much damage to the Belt's reputation that Mandy'll be begging for us to come back!"
"Eddy, you know Mandy would never degrade herself by begging." Double D pointed out, Eddy rolling his eyes with a snort.
"I know that, Sockhead. I meant she'll be begging in the most 'dignified' way possible, being she'll send Irwin and Billy to find us and bribe us." Eddy reiterated, making Double D sigh again.
"And how exactly do you plan on successfully running away?" Double D questioned, making Eddy open his mouth to retort…
And then blinked.
He tapped a hand on his chin, trying to think of… something that would work.
Something… or maybe someone!
"My mom!" Eddy snapped his fingers, the outburst making Double D blink.
And then he groaned again, pulling a hand over his face a second time.
"But Eddy, I thought we were running away?" Ed asked, looking utterly confused.
"I'd love to know the correlation here myself, Eddy." Double D sent his friend a look, which was completely ignored, "How exactly is your mother going to allow us to run away?"
Eddy stood on his bed, grinning in seeming victory as he spoke.
"My mom works at a travel agency! All she's gotta do is convince her boss to send her out to some world to look at the hotels, we follow her in secret, and then book it into the next universe over!" Eddy told, his grin widening by the word "It's foolproof! It's perfect! It's something nobody would think of! It's-"
"Not going to work, sweetheart!"
Eddy yelped, hearing his mom's voice just outside his door.
He lost his balance on his bed, tumbling to the ground and letting out a groan.
"There's checks at the doors." Eddy's mother told, "It doesn't matter how you hide, you'll always be found."
"Wh- When'd you get home, mom!?" Eddy exclaimed in mild horror, jumping off the carpet and rushing towards the door.
"Oh, around ten minutes ago. I was just about to pop in and ask if your friends would like to stay for dinner!" Eddy's mother chuckled to herself, "And before you ask, Ed left a shoe in the kitchen."
Eddy and Double D both blinked at Ed, who was now staring at his shoe-less foot.
When did that happen?
"We… er… would love to stay for dinner, Ms. McGee!" Double D called, before raising a brow, "Why… why aren't you upset?"
"Hm? Why would I be- Oh. Oh!"
Eddy's mother let out a loud laugh, making Double D glance at Eddy with a wary expression.
Eddy waved his friend's worry off, turning back to the door and huffing.
"Yeah, I guess Sockhead didn't realize you'd be all in for something like that…"
"It's not that I'd be 'all in', it's…" The woman behind the door trailed off for a minute, before cracking the door open and stepping in, "That I know something will change if someone disappears."
The woman before them was pink-skinned with a similar upper lip extension to her son, wearing a deep blue dress suit and black flats. Her black hair was pulled up into a tight upper bun, with three strands of hair sticking out oddly in a futile attempt to escape.
"But your plan still won't work, Eddy." The woman sighed, kneeling down to her son and cupping his cheek, "Any world I could go to has checks at the doors. My co-workers have certainly complained about it enough times. There's no way to get around those checks without bribery or stealth that is so far beyond us, it isn't even funny."
Double D's eyes widened, thinking of a world that might not have a check.
"…What about the newbie?" Eddy slowly questioned, making his mom blink and Double D slowly nod in agreement.
"They did mention wanting to implement multiverse relations and trades within the next month or so." Double D mused, before shaking his head, "But do you really think your mother's boss would send her to an unknown, brand-new-"
"Eddward, you don't know my boss." Eddy's mother sighed, slowly standing and taking out a folder from her hammerspace, "Because I was just assigned that this morning."
"…Wait, seriously?!" Eddy exclaimed, glancing at his equally shocked friend.
Ed had disappeared, but had vanished into the bathroom by the sound of it.
Eddy really hoped Ed didn't destroy his bathroom like last time…
Focus Eddy, focus!
Eddy's mother quietly laughed to herself, opening the folder and taking out a paper.
"Technically, showing you boys this isn't legal, but my boss has probably broken so many labor laws that I might as well call him a politician." She told, holding out the paper to Double D.
Eddy snatched it instead, sending his mom a look before opening the file up.
"Is talking about politics really necessary?" Double D sighed, Eddy snorting from the side.
"What else is the writer gonna compare mom's boss to? She ain't lookin' up people who broke the Geno Convention, let alone people who were arrested for it over 20 years ago." Eddy told, before his eyes widened at a paragraph, "Wow, your boss really jumped onto the new-universe train, huh?"
Eddy's mother sighed with a nod, while Double D bristled at the wrong terminology in Eddy's comment.
"The Genova Convention, Eddy?" He corrected, pinching the bridge of his nose, "And that's not even the right- You're aware that breaking the Genova Convention isn't about breaking labor laws, right?! It's about-"
"Shut it and look at this." Eddy cut Double D off, shoving the paper into his friend's face.
Double D sent Eddy a glare, before silently going over the paper…
And then his eyes widened, going over the paper a second time.
Then a third.
"This would allow us to execute your plan with… w-with an almost absolute success rate!" Double D exclaimed to Eddy, who nodded, "A-And Mandy would never suspect it! I-It's almost foolproof!"
"Make that absolutely foolproof, Eddward." Eddy's mother chuckled yet again, tired eyes twinkling as she spoke, "Because I'm running away with you."
Eddy and Double D's eyes widened further, staring at the woman with absolute shock.
…And then they could hear the sound of porcelain breaking, alongside a quiet 'whoops'.
Three heads whipped over to the bathroom door, Eddy's eye twitching.
"I swear, if he just broke something…" Eddy muttered under his breath.
"I hope Ed didn't break the actual toilet this time." Double D sighed, sharing an annoyed look with Eddy, "It wasn't fun trying to find a functioning toilet in the junkyard."
"Oh, is that why the upstairs toilet was so dirty a few months back?" Eddy's mom asked, making the two boys jolt, "I was wondering what had happened."
Eddy looked nervous, angry, and still mildly shocked all at the same time, eyes flickering around the room…
Before he groaned, a hand slapping his face.
Eddy's mom chuckled to herself, amused at the two boys' reaction.
Ed stepped out of the bathroom, holding the broken lid of the toilet tank in his hands and looking extremely confused.
"…I think we have an extra one in the garage." Eddy's mother mumbled, Double D letting out a sigh.
"…Well, personally, I think it's about time those doors opened up! It's been almost 20 years since anyone here has been able to get into the multiverse!" An older bat-woman laughed, pouring the contents of a bowl into a cake pan, "Cacao Chips please."
A younger bat exchanged looks with a hedgehog, the former handing her mother the bag with a huff.
"Mom, that's not the point!" The younger bat exclaimed, the hedgehog nodding beside her.
"Thaeif, Prime might try and convince the multiverse that we're dangerous!" The hedgehog told, tossing the fruit salad with some spoons, "He's gonna try and use that 'multiverse council' to get rid of us!"
"Ugh, for the last time, Sonic!" The younger bat scowled, shooting Sonic a glare, "Prime won't use the council to destroy us! He'll use it to make sure that nobody can stop Nega if he tries to attack other universes! That jackass is way too insistent on outside intervention not to! Mom, tell Sonic he's-"
"In your nightmares, Rouge!" Sonic scoffed, rolling his eyes as he dodged a swipe, "Nega's only focused on taking down the lower zones right now! Unless he gets help, he'll never get to attack the rest of the universes in our lifetime! Prime's gonna use the Council to get rid of us, and then Nega'll come in and take the other universes down! Auntie, tell Rouge she's-"
Thaeif let out a sigh, silencing the two almost immediately.
"Sonic, is the fruit salad done?" She asked the hedgehog, who blinked before nodding, "Mind putting it into the fridge for me and checking on the cheesecake?"
"Already done, mom. The cheesecake's still got an hour or two before it's set." Rouge piped up, silently trying to take a bag of chips from one of the cupboards.
"Put them back, Rouge. It's too close to dinner."
"Fuck."
The older bat shook her head, glancing at her daughter and nephew as the former reluctantly placed the chips back.
Rouge was wearing a red t-shirt with galaxy-themed pants and clashing snowflake white and blue socks, while Sonic only had a matching set snowflake socks on.
The third set of snowflake socks were miles away, in Acorn Castle, and she missed seeing the three sets together dearly.
After a moment, Thaeif turned back around to the cake pan, placing it into the oven and setting up a timer, "Just let things play out for now."
The two younger mobians jolted, immediately speaking up with protests.
"What?!" "But Thaeif-!"
"No buts." She told, her voice stern, "Wait until after the new year before you dedicate yourselves to a project, alright? Otherwise you'll end up like Knuckles."
"Stuck somewhere with no way of getting home on time." Rouge let out a long sigh, "Yeah, yeah. We get it, mom."
"It's just… Super's been getting these premonitions lately, and Dusk says that Red's having the same issue-!" Sonic started to excuse, cutting himself off as his aunt whipped her head over to him.
"Wh- The fuck!?" Rouge exclaimed, looking to her cousin with a horrified expression, "Sonic, you didn't mention premonitions! What the hell?! You're supposed to tell someone when that happens!"
"I've been busy!" Sonic weakly justified, much to the distress of the two bats, "And besides, I didn't know about Red until this morning! That dumb club Dusk joined has been keeping him too busy to talk!"
"Oh, I was meaning to mention that 'club' to you, Sonic." The older bat hummed, sending her nephew a stern look, "Stop trying to convince Dusk to leave the Creepypasta Manor Dwellers and let him live his damn life. If he plays his cards right, we might have some powerful friends too. Just leave Dusk be, alright?"
"But-!"
"Don't bother, Sonic. Let's just go watch TV." Rouge sighed, making Sonic stammer for a moment, "First one to the remote chooses the show!~"
With that challenge, the fight in Sonic's eyes was replaced with a smug smirk.
"Oh? And what makes you think you'll be fast enough to beat me?" He taunted, making Rouge snort.
"Easy. I'll cheat." Rouge stated, before shooting out of the kitchen.
"Wh- Hey! No fair!" Sonic exclaimed, before shooting after his cousin, "Get back here, Rouge! I'm not watching some cheesy holiday special again!"
Thaeif shook her head fondly, seeing the two so lively.
It was always nice, seeing them in high spirits in the weeks before the Winter Festival.
Although it was a shame that almost no one can come.
Every year, the celebration just keeps getting smaller and smaller.
And this year, it seemed like it would only be her, Vanilla, and Chuck's families.
Sally and her partners were too busy in the kingdom or the Federation, Rotor is spending the holidays with his mom and brother, Bunnie and Antione are still out on their mission and not likely to be back before the new year, most of her other children were visiting family or friends, she'd have to blackmail Ivo, and Knuckles…
Ooh, she ought to smack that boy!
Taking such a project before the holidays!
She warned him not to take it yet, just let somebody else deal with it until after the new year.
But no! He just had to-
Ugh, don't get yourself all wound up, Thaeif…
Thaeif huffed, taking out a communicator from her hammerspace and calling the echidna.
Knuckles answered almost immediately, worry dripping from his voice as he mumbled, "Hey Thaeif. Something wrong?"
"A lot, but nothing I can change." Thaeif huffed again, "How's Mazuri?"
There was shuffling on the other side of the call, before a sigh.
"Annoying. The Federation just won't take a freaking hint, let alone the damages here from the last Beast attack." Knuckles grumbled, "At this rate, I'll be stuck here until the freaking Blooming Festival."
"I warned you not to go until after the holidays."
"Yeah, yeah. Stop rubbing it in." Knuckles sighed, sounding exhausted.
The poor boy…
Thaeif sighed again, before taking out the fruit bowl from the fridge.
"You sound tired." Thaeif pointed out, hands beginning to glow underneath the bowl, "Have the time for a snack?"
"…Shoulda seen that coming." Knuckles chuckled, "Yeah, I got the time."
The bowl vanished from Thaeif's hands, a grunt from the other end signifying that Knuckles had received it.
"Aw nice! Grapes! Er…" Knuckles gasped happily, before clearing his throat, "Th-Thank you for the fruit, Thaeif."
"Well, I can't let my favorite echidnan nephew pass out from low blood sugar again, now can I?" Thaeif chirped, a dangerous edge in her voice.
Knuckles let out a choked sound, before nervously chuckling, "Y-Yeah, guess not. Thanks."
The two were silent for a moment, before Thaeif's smile fell and she turned serious.
"The multiverse is open." She told, making Knuckles audibly wince.
"Yeah, Red called me a few weeks back about some messed up premonition he had about it… And that he thinks he's in love?" Knuckles ended the second statement as a question, clearly unsure how to feel about the news, "He says it's some older pony girl in that 'Dwellers' group Dusk joined. Dusk's been teasing him too apparently. Something about it being a 'schoolboy crush' or something like that…"
Thaeif smiled again, a pencil and notebook appearing before her as she fluttered into the air, "Well?! Spill that tea, dear! Tell me what Red said about that girl!"
Knuckles laughed this time, ready to tell his aunt everything he knew about his counterpart's odd crush.
"From day to night… and dusk to dawn." "Hopeful stars…" "And runaway pawns…"
"Great Moirai, what… does this mean?" Arkantos questioned the three beings of fate, who only hummed in response.
They were stoic, no trace of uncertainty in their expressions.
"Ah, the prophecies of the Moirai can be… a bit incomprehensible at times." Athena sighed, shaking her head as she turned to Arkantos, "Perhaps we should question Apollo? He is the one who managed to decipher the prophecy of your fate for me. Perhaps he can help us now."
"…Later." Arkantos hummed, turning away from the Moirai, "I don't believe this prophecy is for us anyhow."
"Not for- how can you be so sure?" Athena raised a brow at the ascended mortal, who looked… a bit confused at his own statement.
"…I'm not sure." He admitted, "It is just… an odd but… but insistent feeling."
Athena watched Arkantos carefully for a minute, before dropping it as she looked towards the Moirai's threads of fate.
"Well, perhaps we should focus on one prophecy at a time." Athena sighed again, coaxing Arkantos over and holding a spear into the air, "The end of worlds ring close yet again, and we must find a way to stop it before it is too late."
The three Moirai frowned as the two gods disappeared in a flash of light, looking a bit confused.
"Where is the rest of the tale?" Clotho questioned.
Lachesis practically growled, moving thread as if it would reveal something, "It should be right here!"
"Our prophecy has lost its trail." Atropos mumbled, "This one should be crystal clear."
Clotho looked worried, "But what does this mean, sisters?"
"This cannot be good." Lachesis sighed, moving the thread back to its spot.
Atropos slowly stood, hands gripping the table, "Our words has been spread across a world of resistors, and we don't find the rest of the story…"
The spinner and measurer of fates watched as their sister frowned, looking to the ground.
To the Underworld where… he lies.
"I fear that our own fates will not spin as they should."
Age of Mythology and related content belongs to Ensemble Studios. ...Does anyone even know what that game is? Whatever, it's purely AU at this point anyway so I don't think it matters much? (Still though, if you got a half-decent computer, buy AOM it's like 7-8 bucks until the 4th)