A word from the author: I originally wrote this story under the title of "Eds Elemental" back in 2005. It was planned to have 200 chapters. However, after roughly 75 chapters, I took a very long break. Coming back to the story two years later, in 2009, I had improved greatly as a writer, I decided to rewrite it, but the process was a slow start. About 20 chapters were written, though they were once again less-than-satisfactory. Further revisions began in 2013, and it was then I renamed the story to "Guardians of Ed." Revisions were finally completed in 2015.

The Horseless Horseman's
"GUARDIANS OF ED"

Five thousand years ago, the Guardians of Light were forced to give their lives so that eighteen present-day youths could obtain their elemental powers and defeat the evil they failed to detain. Three nobodies from a tiny suburb suddenly become the most important humans in the whole world when they are tasked with saving it.

Rated T for violence, swearing, alcohol, tobacco, and minor sexual innuendo.

Eighteen golden beings unlike any of the others of this world looked on in horror as an equal number of lights moved towards them. With them were two men of bronze.

"It appears that our time has come," said Electric. He looked over to the tallest of the figures. "O Superior, what do you propose?"

"Electric," the Superior started, "as my most loyal friend, you shall lead the Guardians of Light into the Rest. I am afraid we can do no more. You have all been wonderful Guardians. One day, we shall again awaken. Ali-Dragon, Ali-Electric, you shall join us." Electric looked to the other sixteen.

"Guardians? Are you ready?" he asked.

"We're ready, friend," said Ice, one of Electric's truest friends. Electric's eyes shut, as his transformation started. He exploded into a pillar of light and then vanished into nothingness.

"I shall be next," said Water, the wisest of the Guardians. He shut his eyes and left the world in the same fashion as Electric.

"Quickly now," the Superior urged. "The Evil draws closer." Stone was next. He closed his eyes and began his sleep. The rest followed. Dragon, Earth, Fire, Darkness, Poison, Insect, Air, Energy, Light, Mind, Metal, Ice, Spirit, and War all began their Rest. Vanishing into nothing, they were to remain hidden for years to come. Ali-Dragon and Ali-Electric, the two bronze men, hung their heads and Rested.

"One day," the Superior repeated. With that, she Rested.

#1: GUARDIANS OF LIGHT

If there was one man who understood the definition of "unconventional labor," it was Professor Stanley Hanton. He was a scientist that knew next to nothing about science, as far as most people could tell. His area of study was essentially magic, but as far as Stanley was concerned, magic is just science people have yet to fully understand. Few people even believed this magic existed, since modern science essentially contradicted it. Those who knew about his research either supported him fully or were thoroughly opposed.

The Guardians of Light and the Guardians of Evil were two warring factions that had opposing goals: The Guardians of Light wished to save the world from the Guardians of Evil, who wanted to take control of it. As cliché of an idea it may seem, the Guardians of Evil will take credit for being one of the first to legitimately attempt world domination. Though some of the Guardians of Evil were not much interested in the conquest of the earth, others desired to put those beneath them in their place, while some merely followed along with the mission out of fear of their leader, the Superior. Five thousand years ago, the Guardians of Evil nearly succeeded in wiping out the Guardians of Light, but the Guardians of Light began a "sleep," locking away themselves and the collective power of the Guardians.

Professor Stanley suspected the Guardians would be ending their rest soon, after countless research of patterns in Guardian history and earth geology. With these studies combined, he determined the most focused area of the world in which the Guardians were likely to awaken. In a small suburb of Peach Creek, there were small fluctuations in Guardian energy, the fuel for Guardian powers. This presumably meant that the new hosts for the Guardians' abilities had been determined, and so Stanley packed up his things and moved into a small house with a basement and lived a modest life meeting the locals. There were a few advantages to life in Peach Creek. For instance, it was mostly quiet. Finding a side job to support his lifestyle of research was easy enough, and highly necessary, as the state was growing a bit suspicious of his research, suspecting it may have been little more than an act.

One thing Stanley noticed was that the people of Peach Creek were nice, though rarely present, leaving their children to run about during the summer and after school during the school year. Over the course of a few years, Stanley came to take an interest in a few of them.

Three boys were known as the Eds, since they all had variants of the name Ed. They were the most active out of all of them, often attempting to make some quick cash or get some attention.

Eddy was the self-determined ringleader of the trio, and he had mellowed out from an obnoxious bratty con artist into a sarcastic, laid back, occasional con artist with an electrifying personality. He had an explosive temper, but would often try to avoid stressful situations, leading to a fairly easy lifestyle.

Edd, or Double D, or Double Dee depending on the day, was simply brilliant. No doubt a genius, Double D was extremely useful to anyone who needed help with homework or efficiency of chores. His friend Eddy, of course, liked to take advantage of this, and their ninth grade year began a highly profitable tutoring service that allowed them to put together a home theater at Eddy's where they would often gather to watch remakes of old monster movies their third friend liked to bring DVDs of. Double D was very friendly, though pressing his buttons would unleash a dark side that hid beneath the surface. He had to become very good at controlling himself, as Eddy would often pick on him.

Ed was not very bright, barely scraping by in his remedial classes at school. Physically, Ed was unusually powerful, suggesting the boy participated in an extreme workout regimen behind the scenes, or just simply had genetic strength. He was very happy all the time, and did not let things get to him, mostly because he did not understand most insults that came his way. When his friends needed him, he was always happy to help.

Kevin was somewhat of a bully, almost an equal to Eddy, only with more aggression and less scheming. His need to impress everyone often lead to him bumping heads with the others.

Nazz was often the object of the boys' affection, though she was noticeably dim. Sometimes boyish, and other times girly, she most often spent her time around Kevin, though their relationship almost never seemed to go anywhere.

Rolf was a tall foreign boy who did not really ever seem to adjust to life in America. He would frequently take part in the customs of his old country, and he lived on a farm where he raised a small army of animals. Stanley suspected Rolf would be self-sufficient later in life, growing his own meals and selling his own creations, crops, and animals for profit.

Jonny 2x4 was potentially the strangest of the bunch, for the longer part of his life carrying around a piece of wood appropriately named Plank. His actions suggested he genuinely believed his companion to be sentient, though nobody else ever really bought it. He was mostly friendly, though he was also a ruthless bringer of justice when the moment called for it.

Sarah was Ed's violent little sister, who would spend all of her time with her friend Jimmy. She tended to do what she liked, and never could be bothered to help out others. Sometimes Kevin or Eddy would anger her unintentionally, and they would always regret it later.

Jimmy was Sarah's friend, and very feminine. He required a massive retainer after a childhood accident, and was extremely shy. It had been suggested that Jimmy was secretly plotting the downfall of those who had hurt him in the past, though it never seemed to happen as far as Professor Stanley knew.

The elusive Kankers were practically an old wives' tale, living in the trailer park only to occasionally come out and cause trouble everywhere they went. Whenever they came out, others were prone to calling in sick and skipping school or locking themselves in their rooms.

Of all the kids, the Eds stood out most to Stanley. He watched them the most, finding them to be most like what he had heard about some of the Guardians. He suspected that one day their paths would cross with his, and he could reveal the nature of their power in a less than off-putting way.

That day finally came when the professor heard a knock at the door. Running to answer it, Professor Stanley was greeted with a man in a long black coat, with his hood up over his head and a knife clutched in his hand. Quickly, the man entered the house and shut the door behind himself.

"Professor Stanley," he said harshly. "I hear you've done a little research that may interest me."

"Who are you?" Stanley asked, backing away as the man advanced towards him.

"I'll ask the questions here," said the hooded man coldly. "Do you, or do you not, have research of interest to the Guardians of Evil?"

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," stammered the professor. The hooded man grabbed him by his collar.

"Why the hell are you lying to me?" asked the hooded man. "I obviously know. Don't keep secrets from me."

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" shouted Stanley, pushing the man away and turning on his heel to run away. He stumbled through his living room, tipping over a table as he passed, and made his way around the corner towards his office. Standing in the doorway was the hooded man.

"Oh look, I'm standing over here, too," the man jested. "Oh, and now I'm behind you." The man disappeared, and then Stanley saw the knife being held out around his neck.

"Listen to me, Professor," he started. A few seconds passed. "Do I have your attention?"

"Yes," answered the professor firmly.

"You're going to walk into the kitchen and make me some lemonade," the man told him. "I have a craving for it, see. I checked the kitchen earlier, and you've got all the ingredients, so don't try that excuse. So, after that, we're going to walk into that office and gather up every piece of research you have, then copy every individual page on that copier of yours. You will, of course, give me the extra copies. And don't think about trying to escape, because I am not above murdering you in broad daylight if I must. Now, get to it, my friend. I'll be waiting." He released the shaking professor, who awkwardly strolled into the kitchen and began to gather the lemons and sugar and other ingredients he needed. The hooded man strolled around in the living room, looking at the pictures on top of the mantle.

"Do you have a wife, Professor?" asked the hooded man.

"No, no wife," the professor responded. He was in the process of juicing the lemons.

"Delgado University, I see," noted the intruder, looking over a graduation photo. "Big party school. Almost went there back in my day. Didn't care for the school colors though. Blue and gold, so boring."

"Why are you being so sociable?" asked the professor, stopping what he was doing and looking over at the man.

"I have no reason to be rude, especially when I'm here asking a favor of you," the hooded man answered, before twirling around and collapsing into a blue chair and propping his feet up on the matching ottoman. "That whole killing-you thing only happens if you don't do what I ask. It's mostly a motivator, see. Because if you die, you don't get your Guardians of Light back. Not like it matters, because statistically, the odds of them discovering their powers on their own increases the more they start doing that weird glowing skin thing in public. You know the thing? With like, the colors of the elements and all that?"

"I don't know what you mean," said Professor Stanley.

"They have this pretty glow around them when their powers are attempting to draw themselves out," the polite home invader said. "That's when they usually activate their powers. You know, how they do the whole 'Black Power' thing or whatever?"

"You mean Darkness Power?" asked the professor.

"Right, right, sorry. That's civil rights, Black Power," the home invader said. "I always liked that Martin Luther King fellow. What a way with words that one had. Didn't know a man who could speak like that since Roosevelt. But Adolf Hitler was definitely up there. His world views were a little more my speed. Not the Jew thing, the world conquering thing. Nothing wrong with penny-pinching traditional people. Is that racist? That sounded racist. My apologies. I'm rambling again." At this point, Stanley was bringing out a glass of lemonade, which the stranger promptly took.

"Thank you so much," said the hooded man. He took a sip and stood up slowly. "Shall we?" Stanley gave no answer, but instead walked into the office.

"Oh right, there was another thing I was going to do while I was here," the intruder revealed as he took a seat across the room from the copier. "I'm going to wipe your memory of this meeting. I've got some friends coming. Sorry for inviting them without asking. They're gonna hide you in the basement and hold you hostage for a bit."

"What? Why?" asked Stanley.

"Well, as you may or may not know, which you do, since you do research and all, the Guardians collectively become more powerful every time a new Guardian awakens, regardless of their allegiance," the stranger said. "And, well, I kind of want to get that ball rolling as soon as possible, so we're gonna make sure some potential Guardians know what's going on. Since you will not remember this conversation, you will, of course, tell them everything they need to know. I doubt they'll be competent enough to defeat us anytime soon, being rookies and all, so we're just going to wipe them out quickly." Stanley's copier was running at this point, and he seemed to ball up his fists, keeping himself there knowing he could not do much else other than let it happen. His hand gravitated towards a cup when he thought the stranger wasn't looking.

"Hey now, is that a pencil in your hand?" asked the hooded man.

"No," answered the professor, returning his pencil to the cup and switching out the page on the copier with a new one.

"Look, I know you want to write down this conversation so you can remember it after your memory wipe, but it isn't gonna work," the stranger said. "In fact, I would probably just make up a completely ridiculous script for you about how you were probed by aliens or something. That'll get you on one of those late night conspiracy theory shows. Might be fun. Would be good for your lousy income, though." Professor Stanley proceeded with his copying.

"This is the last page," said Stanley.

"Well, you ready?" asked the man, standing up.

"As I'll ever be," said the professor. There were three knocks on the door.

"They sure are punctual," said the hooded man. "Well, it's been a pleasure, Professor. Until we meet again." The man took the pages of research from Stanley and touched his hands to the professor's forehead. Professor Stanley fell over, putting his head down on his desk and passing out. His psychological assailant strolled out of the room and headed for the front door.

"He's all yours."

"Eddy!" came the shout at the door, accompanied by pounding fists. The boy did not leave his bed, and merely rolled over onto his side.

"Eddy!" This was obviously a matter of the utmost importance, but Eddy had no need for an adventure in Peach Creek's bullshit today. Dream Land was in need of a new hero.

"Get up, Eddy! It's urgent!" Eddy groaned, knowing his friend Edd was at the door.

"Ughh," Eddy mumbled. Slowly, he rolled into the floor to force himself to wake up. Climbing to his feet, he heard more pounding on the door.

"Geez, give me a minute, Sockhead!" Eddy stretched his arms and slowly strolled to the bathroom. He pulled his four hairs back and rolled his neck all around. The youth donned his trademark yellow shirt and baggy pants that had been sitting atop the laundry hamper. The knocking again.

"Give it a rest! I'm coming!" Eddy shouted. Quickly, he brushed his teeth and made his way towards his room, ankles lightly popping as he moved. Quickly stepping into his slip-on Vans, he opened the door. There was Edd, his brainiac friend, with Ed, his not-at-all-a-brainiac-friend-but-rather-a-complete-dumbass.

"Eddy, I'm afraid our neighbor, Professor Stanley, is being held hostage in his own basement!" shouted Double D. Eddy looked unamused.

"You woke me up to tell me some old guy is being kidnapped?" he asked with obvious irritation in his voice, beginning to close the door. Double D stuck his foot in the way before the door could shut.

"I'm serious," cried Double D. "We have to help him!"

"Okay," Eddy said. "I'll humor you. Assume Professor Stanley is really being tied up and dry humped by cowboys or whatever. How do you even know that?"

"Well, while I was in his yard collecting dirt samples for an experiment, I heard voices through a pipe that leads into the basement," Double D began to explain, frantically but knowledgeably.

"Who has a pipe leading into their basement?" Eddy asked.

"I do, for one! It's for experiments, to release gases to the outside so they don't become trapped in the room," tutored Double D. "Now if you will please... We need to get help!"

"I still don't believe you," Eddy admitted.

"Fine! I will show you!"

"If you're lying to me, I will kill you," said Eddy, his face curled into a bored frown. He stepped outside and shut the door behind himself. Eddy noted Ed's face; it was actually kind of serious right now, as opposed to the usual "I-just-peed" stare into the void.

"Follow us Eddy!" said Double D, turning and awkwardly waddled towards the house.

After a quick jog across the street and a bit to the left, they came to the brick house down the road. Double D led his friends around to the back yard. He pointed to a pipe resembling a submarine scope and whispered to Eddy.

"Listen for yourself," he said. Eddy rolled his eyes and walked up to it, bending down and putting his ear up to the pipe.

"I'm telling you to give us the orbs," said a dark voice. Orbs? Who was this guy? Eddy realized that one of two things was happening: One, extremely weird roleplay. Two, an actual kidnapping in which they wanted some kind of new drug he had been cooking.

"We should call the police," said Double D.

"We should get aliens to come break into the house, abduct the people, and drop them on planet Krubutor!" suggested Ed. Eddy looked at him.

"Great plan!" said Eddy. "You go get the aliens while Double D gets a magnifying glass and looks for Krubutor in his backyard!"

"Roger that, Sir Eddy!" replied Ed. He took off running to his house.

"What's the real plan?" said Eddy.

"We get the police!" said Double D. Eddy shook his head furiously.

"No no no! If we get the police, they bust in there, do their thing, and then leave," Eddy reported. "But if we do it, this guy will owe us big time. Think of the money, the fame. Nah, let's kick some ass!"

"I got the UFO!" said a voice. Ed... Ed rushed up to the two holding a baseball bat, a frying pan, and a sponge.

"Good going Ed!" said Eddy, taking the bat. Double D, the least violent of the three, took the sponge, presumably to clean up Eddy's blood after the kidnappers murdered him and dragged his body into the closet.

"Let's bust them up!" suggested Eddy, running around to the side of the house and throwing open a side door. Ed came running up behind him with Double D in a crouched position.

"Gorndt, I heard a door slam! I think someone's coming in!" said a voice.

"I'll scope it out," came a reply. Eddy readied his bat and ran forward, looking around. He saw a door with a shadow coming closer. He readied his bat. The door opened, and as soon as someone emerged, the bat cracked. He fell to the ground. The figure was wearing a hiking outfit, had a nearly bald head with a patch of black hair, and was gripping his face in pain.

"Attack!" shouted Eddy, rushing down the stairs. Several bat cracks were heard. Ed charged down the stairs, pulling Double D along with him. As soon as they appeared at the bottom, things seemed thoroughly grim. Eddy was pinned against the wall by two others. One was slightly taller than Eddy with blonde hair and brown eyes, while the other was cloaked in a black robe with the hood up. Eddy's face was thoroughly red, and his eyes were bulging out of his head slightly. Said eyes looked over to Double D, and it was apparent he was being choked. Without a second though, Ed charged at the one with blonde hair and hit him square in the jaw with the frying pan. Double D said a quick prayer and rushed towards the hooded one, punching the face inside the hood with all of his might. It was hardly effective, but it was enough to free Eddy. Ed twisted around and grabbed the man before jumping up and smashing him into the floor face first. There was an obviously cracking sound, and then blood.

"Damn it!" the blonde shouted. "Let's go!" He quickly grabbed his friend and began to rush up the stairs, bloody nose making its mark. The sponge would be of some use after all.

It was then the trio heard a muffled voice emanating from behind the closet door. Double D ran to the door.

"Hello?!" he asked. Professor Stanley's voice was obvious, though indistinguishable. Double D turned the doorknob before realizing it was locked.

"Incoming!" shouted Ed before charging into the door and shattering it to pieces. Double D looked through and saw Professor Stanley, on his knees, bound and gagged. He reached through the hole and unlocked the door, opening the doorknob and rushing to him. He untied the professor right away.

"Thank you!" said Prof. Stanley, standing to his feet. "Are the three of you okay?"

"Oh yeah," Eddy answered, breathing heavily. "Fantastic, I'd say."

"I suppose there is some explaining to be done. Come upstairs and I'll get you an ice pack and some lemonade," suggested Prof. Stanley. Eddy nodded, and with Ed's support followed the others upstairs.

"Should we call the police?" Double D asked on the way up.

"No, no..." replied the professor. "Believe me, it's better to not mention this."

"So what are these orbs they were asking for?" asked Double D. Professor Stanley's face lit up. He grinned before standing and walking over to the fireplace, knowing he had found the opener of his big reveal. He flipped a panel below the mantle, revealing a button, which he pushed. This revealed a secret compartment with two round slots, one empty. The one that remained housed a light blue ball, no more than an inch in diameter. He pulled it out and showed it to Double D.

"I don't have the other orb anymore, but these two orbs are for bringing the Defenders to light," he said. "The Defenders help the Guardians of Light to defeat the Guardians of Evil, whom wish to claim the seventeen Elemental Stones of each element. There are seventeen Guardians of each side, plus one Superior, and each has one of seventeen elements and a counterpart of the same element."

"Whoa whoa whoa," interrupted Eddy. "What's all this about Guardians?"

"Believe it or not, there are supernatural forces in this world," the professor explained. "It is my field of study."

"Some study," remarked Eddy sarcastically.

"What significance did these orbs have to them?" asked Double D. Stanley threw the orb to him. Double D failed to catch it, and awkwardly retrieved it from the floor.

"The reason I came here is actually because I believe you three may be some of the Guardians of Light," said Prof. Stanley. "Double D, your wisdom may lead to the traits of Psychic. Eddy, you show the traits of the Fire Guardian, maybe Electric. Ed, you show the abilities of Stone or War."

"Explain these elements," said Double D. Eddy was flabbergasted that the usually logical Sockhead was buying into this Guardian crap.

"There are seventeen elements: Electric, Psychic, Water, Fire, Stone, War, Steel, Ice, Dragon, Spirit, Darkness, Insect, Poison, Earth, Light, Energy, and Air," said Stanley. "Each has various different abilities learned over time."

"What is our significance then?" asked Double D.

"You need to venture out into the world, find the Elemental Stones with the help of the Defender, find your Superior, and stop the enemies."

"What is the Superior?" asked Double D.

"Two superiors. One for each side. They can manipulate all seventeen elemental powers, but require much training." Double D nodded at this.

"Can I go home now?" Eddy asked, standing up. "Listen, I just don't buy it. You guys coming?"

"Eddy, I am very interested in hearing what he has to say," said Double D. Eddy moaned.

"Unbelievable," he muttered, turning to walk away. Just then, his eyes twinkled, and an odd yellow glow began to emanate from his skin.

"What's going on with Eddy?" asked Ed. "He's all shiny!"

"Wh.. Hey! I'm glowing!" Eddy shouted in disbelief, holding his hand in front of his face. He turned around and looked to the others.

"Eddy, I need you to say 'Electric Power' right now," he said. Eddy looked confused.

"Electric Power," he said, puzzled. Suddenly, he felt himself become weightless, dropped his ice pack, and began to hover in the air. His skin began to shine, and every single spot of acne that had plagued him throughout early high school vanished. His clothing warped into a yellow jacket, and a white dressy shirt. His jeans became a plain black pair of pants, and his shoes were black and yellow on top, with white outsoles. He absolutely felt amazing, as his lungs filled with cold air, and his muscles seemed to grow on the spot. It was as if he was more focused than he had ever been, now noticing a fly moving around the room that he hadn't seen before. Most impressively, he managed to follow its entire path with his eyes without losing track of it once.

"I don't believe it!" Eddy said in shock. "I am a Guardian! You weren't full of shit after all!"

"Whoa," said Ed. He smiled.

"Holy shit! I feel amazing!" Eddy shouted,

"Athletic, weightless, and nimble, I presume," asked Stanley. Eddy nodded. "It's part of the package. With added physical strength, you can now carry out your Guardian duty better."

"Oh yeah, there was that," Eddy noted. "I forgot." His excitement seemed to wane a little.

"It is the entire purpose of your abilities after all," said Professor Stanley.

"Right... So I'm supposed to just leave and go find these Elemental Stones?" asked Eddy. Stanley nodded.

"It'd be dangerous to go alone, of course," said the professor.

Ed quickly said, "I'll go with him! It'll be fun!"

Double D looked at them and reminded them, "You wouldn't survive without me."

"So come with us," said Eddy.

"I can't just leave school work behind," Double D told him. "I'd fail my classes!"

"Taken care of," said the professor. "I can provide a doctor's note that diagnoses you with ebola. You'll get all the catch-up time you need."

"Well, I guess I can't say no to that," Double Dee answered. Professor Stanley pulled out three devices.

"These will be your guide," said Stanley. "I designed them myself. SEEKERs. They can act as a phone, play games, download music, show maps of Earth, tell you more about the Guardians, explore the internet, and they come with some dinosaur artwork already downloaded."

"DINOSAURRRRRS!" cheered Ed.

"Why dinosaurs?" asked Double D.

"Because dinosaurs are cool," replied Stanley. "Anyway, say goodbye to your parents, do what you need to do, and set out through the forest."

"My parents don't live with me."

"My parents wouldn't miss me."

"I have parents?"

"Right..." said Stanley, walking out of the room.

"Well guys, this is it," said Eddy, looking to his two friends. "You're sure about coming with me?"

"It's not like there's anything for us here," said Double D.

"I'm excited!" said Ed.

"You understand it'll be incredibly dangerous, right Ed?" asked Eddy.

"That's okay," Ed said. "You know we're invincible."

"I'll be damned," Eddy said. "You're right."

"I suppose we should go home, gather our things, and set out immediately?" asked Edd.

"Yeah, and then we should meet back at the woods in an hour," Eddy said. And with that, they each headed home to gather their things, ready for the long adventure ahead of them.

TO BE CONTINUED

In the next chapter: The Eds learn what it feels like to travel. Eddy learns more about his new power, and a new threat arises.