Chapter Text
It was raining. That’s not great when you’re carrying an extremely important device and running from gunfire. Edd desperately tried to hide the thing from the downpour, running as fast as he could while hunching to protect it. He kept the hand gripping it glued to his opposite side while his other hand held his coat like a shield. If Edd could just have a single free second to put the stupid machine on his wrist... Gunshots and complementary flashing lights followed him as he continued turning in the maze of alleyways and streets.
Spotlights began to circle around from above, searching for the planes’ prey. Another nuisance to dodge. If Edd could just get an inch he’d have a mile, a single second and he’d have all the time in the world. One of the lights suddenly jolted upward, it might’ve caught him as he fell backwards behind a trashcan. Edd held his breath, the circle of light inches from his feet. It stopped searching, scrutinizing that same spot for what felt like ages.
Then it left.
And Edd had a time travel device.
Finally, finally he had that second to spend. And it would buy him all of the time he needed, he would be positively rich with minutes.
…Now how did this thing work exactly? There were red dials on each side; He hesitantly tested the one on the right. A line began drawing itself, calibrating the timeline? Edd turned the left knob next and the line went up. This space-time continuum stuff was really confusing… He kept turning the knobs to no avail. They just kept continuing the line, etching a nonsensical scribble onto the screen. Frustrated, Edd took the device off and shook it around. Suddenly the lines were almost entirely faded, the screen as empty as it started. He was starting to think he made a mistake, the interface made no sense at all. Desperate, he tried pushing the knobs down, then tapping the screen, then pushing the screen down. Miraculously, it time travelled him.
Everything was white for a moment, then Edd opened his eyes to find he seemingly hadn’t moved at all. Before he could wonder if the machine worked, though, Edd noticed the lack of aircrafts and robot soldiers hunting him. He hesitantly stood to survey his surroundings. Whatever time Edd landed in, it was far from the dystopian future he hailed from. The abandoned buildings turned into shops he remembered. The oppressively clean streets were covered in beautiful trash.
Not exactly pressed for time, Edd let himself walk on autopilot. He recognized a diner as the one he and his friends went to when they were trying to get away from… What were they running from again? Before the whole Red Leader Communist Dictatorship mega situation there were so many little situations he and his friends got into. So many they must’ve been blending together in Edd’s memory. Trying to recall that specific one rewarded him with a headache for some reason, but he had plenty of other things to reminisce about. Edd figuratively wandered down memory lane and literally down Durdum lane.
Wait.