AN: So I have an announcement; I am only going to continue stories that I think are very important, such as this, ETUD and even Resident Ed! However, I am giving all of my attention to this story.

Chapter Eleven: Temple of Nature Part One

"Wow!" cried Ed, as the group walked into the Temple of Nature. He was the only one to speak out his thoughts of the sacred building; only the others made gasps, or oohs and ahhs. The inside of the building was basically a large hall, with rows of wooden seats which were the kind you would find in a place or worship. At the place where an altar would be was instead a person standing there.

She had long, earth-brown hair, which fell freely to her hips. Her eyes were as green as a glass sea, and she had a kind, warm expression on her face. Her skin was ivory white, for some odd reason, and she wore a long, hand-woven dress, with short, shoulder-length sleeves and a skirt reaching her ankles. The dress was as green as summer leaves, and she wore brown leather sandals upon her dainty feet. On her dress were three brown rings, stitched into the fabric, around her waist; and she just seemed so natural in her appearance, as if nothing about her was fake at all.

"Hey!" called Kevin, beginning to walk towards her. "Who's that?"

"Kevin-" began Rosaline, but she went unheard as Kevin reached for the woman, who hadn't said anything the whole while, merely smiling at the group.

"Excuse me, but what's your-whoa!" Kevin snapped his hand back as he touched her skin; she was as cold as ice!

"Is she frozen?" asked Jonny.

"No," explained Rosaline, "she's not a real person; she's a statue of Natura, Goddess of Nature. The dress is made of emerald, the eyes jade, and the skin marble, with other precious jewels in the mix."

"Wow," commented Nazz.

"So anyway, where's the Crystal?" asked Eddy.

"I don't know," admitted Rosaline, "because the only time I ever come here is once a year on the Festival of Natura to worship with my family. I haven't seen the Crystal before."

"Aw, great…" sighed Sarah. "So what do we do?"

"Split up and look for clues," giggled Rebecca, and a few of the others (except a confused Rosaline) laughed as well. The group then dispersed, and began looking for hints as to the location of the Crystal. Zoe and Edd, the twins on their own, were looking at a wall for any hidden switches etc.

"Hey guys," called Rosaline, walking over to them; followed by Nazz, Eddy and Ed. "Found anything yet?"

"Not really," sighed Zoe, placing her hand upon the wall. Somethin clicked, and the group of six began screaming as they hurtled down a slide-like passage that had opened in the floor. The others looked at the spot where their friends had just hurtled into unknown territory…

ooo

"AAAAAAHHHH!"

The six of them were all screaming their heads off, as they banged off the slide walls and into each other. Edd seemed the most frantic, warning people to stay away from his hat.

"Rosaline!" cried Eddy. "What's freakin' happenin'?"

"I don't know!" screamed the Floranuss, as they went in an upside-down loop. Ed, who seemed to be the only one remotely enjoying himself, began to look a little green, his hand held over his mouth.

"Guys…" he moaned softly. "I don't feel well…"

"Good Lord!" screamed Zoe in exasperation. "That's all we need!"

"Hey look!" cried Nazz. "There's a light ahead!"

"So there is, N-" began Edd, before the group hurtled out of the hole and into a bed of multi-coloured flowers. With groans of pain, the group managed to get up and examine their surroundings.

They were in a sort of entrance hall, very similar to the one above ground; except for the fact that the walls were made of wood, as though they were inside a tree. The floor was grass, and nothing but grass, with a layer of thick, moist soil underneath. The bed of flowers was next to the slide, which protruded from the ceiling. A passage was at the other end of the room, leading to who knows where.

"What is this place?" asked Edd incredulously.

"I think I know," said Rosaline. "This must be the fabled original Temple of Nature!"

"What?" asked Ed.

"According to historical documents in the castle library, the Temple of Nature was built to house the Crystal of Nature, and because of that monsters were placed throughout the Temple as the Crystal's guardian. So another Temple was built upon the original one, and this new one was used as a place to worship Natura."

"My word, that's quite a feat," remarked Edd.

"Indeed," continued Zoe, "but how do we find the Crystal?"

"We just travel through the Temple until we get to the Crystal. Simple!"

"What are we waiting for then?" asked Nazz.

"Yeah, we need to hurry," added Eddy.

"What about the others, though?" asked Zoe worriedly. "Will they be ok?"

"They'll be fine," reassured Rosaline. "As long as they're in the Temple of Nature-above ground-they'll be fine."

ooo

"I wonder how the others are getting on," said Kevin to Michael. When the six members of the group had vanished, the others had decided to sit outside the Temple, basking in the sunlight.

"They'll be fine," replied the blonde jock. "They probably found a hidden passage or something, and are searching for the Crystal of Nature thing as we speak."

"I hope you're right," said Rebecca, popping up between the two. "I'd hate it if anything happened to Edd and Zoe and we weren't there to help."

"Let's just enjoy the day," pressed Michael firmly, ending the conversation. "It's a nice day, like summer back home, so why waste it worrying?" He took off his helmet, and placed it on the grass next to him, lying back as he did so.

"I agree," said Kevin, lying on his back with his hat tipped over his eyes.

"Suit yourselves," said Rebecca sarcastically, walking back inside to look more at the inside of the Temple.

ooo

Meanwhile, beneath the earth, Ed, Edd, Eddy, Zoe, Nazz and Rosaline were busy walking along the passageway towards destination unknown. Torches were placed along the walls to provide light, but instead of flames at the tips were glowing green spheres, which Rosaline called "Glow Spores".

"When will we get there?" whined Eddy tiredly.

"Get where?" asked Zoe. "We don't even know where we have to properly go!"

"Hey, don't blame me for being tired!"

The group continued along, until they reached another room. A spiral staircase at the very centre, crawling up like a vine around a solid oak trunk, lead upwards; and to the Crystal. The group began to walk upwards, in a line one after the other, until they reached the very top. They emerged into another room, but this one was much more different than before.

It was like they were inside the massive tree they had seen earlier. The trunk of the oak (like a tree inside of another) continue up into the heights of the plant, with another staircase still going around it. However, part of the bottom was missing, which in turn meant the Chosen Ones weren't able to climb up the stairs.

"What do we do now?" asked Nazz simply.

"Well, there's three passages over there," stated Edd, pointing to three openings branching off in different direction in the tree. "I saw we spilt up into pairs, and each pair takes a different route."

"Well then," said Zoe, "I'd like to go with Ed." She grabbed the big lummox's jacket, and smile at him.

"Thanks, Zoe!"

"I want to go with Double D," said Nazz sweetly, "because I know he'll protect me."

"Why, t-thank you, N-Nazz," stammered Edd, blushing slightly as he did so. Nazz giggled even more, her voice sounding like peeling bells in the hollow, immense chamber.

"Guess that means it's me and Rosie here together then," nodded Eddy.

"Since when have I been Rosie?" asked Rosaline, sounding somewhat offended.

"Since now. It's a little nickname for you. Like it?"

"Not particularly, no."

"Too bad," replied the short Thief nonchalantly. He grabbed Rosaline's frail arm, and sped off with her down the chamber.

"See you all later!" called Rosaline, her voice echoing off the chamber walls. "Eddy, let go!"

"We're off as well then," said Zoe. "Shall we, Ed?"

"Yippee-kayay, bucko!" replied the goofball with a silly grin. He sped off down one of the other passages, leaving behind a tail of dust in his wake.

"Oh, Ed," sighed Zoe, beginning to run after him. "Lovable oaf…" She then disappeared into another room.

"Guess that leaved us then, dude," said Nazz.

"Very well then," nodded Edd. "Let's go and find that Crystal!"

ooo

"What's this room?"

Eddy's voice sounded even louder than was naturally possible in the large room, which was shaped like a dome. On a high-up ledge was a chest of sorts, which looked very special, even if it was just plain wood. The area of floor beneath it was covered in different coloured tiles, with four green blocks on the sidelines, each one with a unique symbol; a leaf, a blade of grass, a flower and a tree.

"I don't know!" sounded Rosaline, already sounded exhausted at spending a mere five minutes in the loudmouth Ed's company.

"Look at those blocks," pointed Eddy. "They look like they're worth some moolah."

"Moolah?" asked Rosaline. "What's that?"

"It's a nickname for a currency on my world," explained Eddy. "I know that the correct term is a dollar, but moolah sounds way better!"

"Not really…" muttered Rosaline, under her breath so that Eddy wouldn't hear her. "Now, let's see what we have to do here." She gazed at the patterned tiles on the floor, each one either red, yellow, green or blue, while Eddy looked over the building block-like squares."

"Hey Rosie!" called Eddy.

"What!" cried Rosaline back, sounding aggravated.

"Look at these tiles," remarked the short boy, pointing to four green ones all in the centre. "They all have the same markings as those four block thingies."

"You're right!" replied the Floranuss, sounding mildly surprised. "Perhaps what we need to do is match each block to the tile with the matching symbol on it. If the block is green, then I think we can only go on the green tiles."

"What happens if we go on different coloured tiles?" asked Eddy curiously.

"Something bad, probably," shrugged Rosaline. "Now, do you want to push it or should I?"

"You can push it," yawned Eddy boringly.

"You do treat a lady well, don't you?" remarked Rosaline sarcastically. Nevertheless, she walked up to the block with the leaf symbol on it. She pushed it onto a green tile, when a sudden bang ringed in her ears.

"What the-" gasped Eddy, before a black, portal-like hole opened up in the centre of the floor, and a large, misshapen creature emerged. Tow pairs of red legs, with broad circular feet were at the base of the creature. At its waist, instead of its upper body, was a large hand, read as well but with a gaping, slathering mouth in he palm. At the end of each beefy finger was a circular eye, with the pupil a dark green and the iris gray.

"Oh no!" cried Rosaline, but before she or Eddy could act, the creature bounded over to the block and knocked it back to its starting position. It cackled gleefully before disappearing in another black portal.

"What was that freak?" asked a dumbfounded Eddy.

"A Creep Hand," explained Rosaline. "They're these freaky monster things that try to stop you solving puzzles, apparently. It must be that whenever we move a block, we release a Creep Hand."

"Great..." sighed Eddy bitterly. "So, what do we do now?""Isn't it obvious?" replied the Floranuss female a little snootily. "We move the blocks anyway!""How do we do that if those Creep Hand things are gonna try and stop us?""I'll move the blocks and you fight them off," replied Rosaline. "After all, as a Thief, you should be able to move quickly in order to stop them obtaining the blocks.""Sure," mumbled Eddy, "leave it all to me...""I'm glad you agree!" replied Rosaline, in a manner that seemed to ooze a sense of justice; and revenge. She walked over to the first block again, and stood behind it again. "Ready?"Eddy brandished his knife, and gave Rosaline a thumbs up. "Let's do this!" Rosaline pushed the block, and began to heave it over the green tiles. Almost instantly, a Creep Hand popped up again from the wooden ground, and ran over to Rosaline and its target, the green block. This time, however, Eddy was ready and intercepted the attack, slicing at the creature and sending it back a few feet. The monster snarled at this unexpected attack, when it noticed that Rosaline had gotten the block nearer the centre than in her first attempt. The five eyes in the fingers began to narrow, and the creature leapt up and ran to Eddy, who jabbed his knife at the mouth in the palm of the hand. A red tongue shot out and grabbed the knife, flinging it and Eddy off into a corner of the room."Oh no!" cried Rosaline, sounding genuinely worried. "Eddy!""Reap-reap!" chortled the hand, and began to menacingly advance towards the block and Rosaline. The princess panicked for a second, before noticing a crucial fact; the green tile with the same symbol that the block had engraved on it was right before her. She looked at the Creep Hand, who was still a few metres away."Panitta!" smirked Rosaline, before giving the block one last push. As the leaf symbols on the tile and block met, they began to glow, and locked into place. The Creep Hand shrieked and vanished. By now, Eddy had recovered and was walking over to Rosaline."Good work, Rosie!" congratulated Eddy. "What was that word you said to it, though?""It's Floranian for "Goodbye"," replied Rosaline. "Now, are we going to get the next blocks done?"Eddy and Rosaline managed to get the leaf, flower and grass tiles and blocks together, despite the fact that for every time they done a block, the number of Creep Hands that appeared increased. As soon as Rosaline pushed the fourth block, with the tree symbol engraved upon it, four Creep Hands appeared from the floor, all determined to stop Rosaline from getting the block into the centre."Take this, boys!" cried Eddy, before rapidly slashing his knife across the centre of two Creep Hands."Reeaaaapppppp!" cried one, while the other buckled down on its red knees. One of the other two Creep Hands tried to jump Eddy, while the other tried to knock him off his feet. Eddy impaled his faithful knife in one of the eyes of the Creep Hand who had grabbed it; it cried out, and Eddy wriggled free from its grasp.

"Take this!" cried Eddy, a new power surging through him, unlike any feeling he had ever physically experienced before.

"Beam Bomb!"

An explosion of light rocked the chamber, and enveloped the panicking Creep Hands as they tried in vain to flee. Rosaline was violently thrown back several feet, while the block, in a lucky fluke, was instead rocked forward, connecting with the matching tile. The now-four glowing blocks began to descend into the earth, while a set of stairs began to ascend, making the chest on the ledge accessible.

"Uggh…" coughed Rosaline, dispelling dust from her lungs. The smoke from the blast cleared, and Rosaline got up to see Eddy grinning broadly at her. "That was you, I take it?" she asked dryly.

"You bet!" replied the short Ed happily. He bounded up the stairs to the chest, and hovered over it with a greedy look in his eyes. "Now, let's see what we've got here…" He opened the chest, and reached inside, withdrawing a simple metal key as the contents.

"Hmm…" said Rosaline. "This key could be valuable; let's keep it, and meet up with the others."

ooo

"So," began Nazz, "where do you think this takes us?"

Both Nazz and Edd were walking down a narrow, twisty passage; much like the first one they had walked down. They had to take a turning every few feet, and the shadows cast by the glowing lights on the walls made the dark atmosphere quite creepy.

"I'm not positive," replied the hat-wearer. "Hopefully, we'll find the Crystal itself; or at least a clue to its whereabouts." The duo reached a door, as the passage broadened out slightly, and pushed it open. They emerged into a dome shaped room, which had windows on the side. Nazz looked out, and saw a view of Areth Forest, and parts of the giant tree, all around.

"Awesome!" she giggled gleefully, when she noticed a totem pole in the centre of the room. It was about four metres tall, and had a barely viewable wooden chest at the top. Many intricate passages of space lined the surface of the pole, and there were two vials of liquid hanging off a rope on a wooden peg.

"Should we drink them?" asked Edd.

"Let's try and see," replied Nazz, and they both downed the drinks. Almost at once, Nazz collapsed, while Edd stumbled a bit before falling blindly downwards like his companion.

ooo

"Where are we, Double D?" asked Nazz. They had both awoken to find themselves in a strange, narrow passage, with a precipice to their left.

"I know this may sound impossible, but it appears as though the drink reduces our size!"

"You mean…?"

"We're in the totem pole! I think we have to climb to the top and get the treasure."

Nazz and Edd began to walk, when a sudden rumbling noise shook the pole. To their horror, the pole was now sinking into the earth; them along with it!

"Oh dear!" cried Edd. "Nazz, we must hurry!" He grabbed her hand, and began to run, her being pulled along with him while keeping the pace. They arrived at a fleet of stairs, and began to run up, the gurgling soil behind them a constant reminder of the danger they were in. The stairs wound up around the pole, and they had ascended two feet's worth of staircase when Edd stopped, gasping for breath.

"I can't go on…" he wheezed tiredly.

"You have to!" urged Nazz, as the rising soil grew closer. She began to pull him, and he somehow managed to stay on his feet. They soon reached the top of the totem pole, thought they were both exhausted by this point. Nazz walked out into the top of the pole, and saw a huge chest before her. She turned around, but to her horror couldn't see Edd! "Double D! Where are you?"

"Nazz, help me!"

She could hear the desperation in a frantic Edd's voice, and raced over to the opening she had just emerged from. She looked down, and saw that Edd's foot had caught on a gnarled old root.

"Double D!" she gasped. "Are you ok?"

"No!" he replied back. "My foot is caught, and the rising soil levels will soon be upon me! Can you help me?"

"Of course!" she replied. She knelt down, and examined the root. "Hmmm…It's all twisted and stuff, and it looks like your foot's been lodged in it."

"Oh no!" he replied. He grabbed his sword from his scabbard, and handed it to her. "Here, try to use this to cut it free!" Nazz nodded, and swung at the root with the sword. Instead of slicing straight through it, the sword actually became stuck.

"What!" cried Nazz in astonishment, when she noticed that the soil was rising up the stairs. "Double D, try to move your foot out!"

"It's no use," he replied solemnly, his head bowed. "Please, take my sword and go."

"No!" cried Nazz. She held onto Edd, and pointed her left hand out of the opening at the top of the stairs.

"Vine Rope!"

A vine shot from her hand, and lodged onto the chest. With great effort, Nazz and Edd were pulled free just before the soil consumed them. They were pulled out onto the top, and Nazz grabbed Edd's hand, and they both touched the chest. At once, they both returned to normal size, and a small medallion, engraved with a leaf symbol, appeared in Nazz's hand.

"That looks valuable," commented Edd, before the pair resumed their searching.

ooo

"So Zoe, are we there yet?"

"No, Ed…"

"How about now?"

"No, Ed."

"Now?"

"No, Ed!"

Zoe and Ed were busy walking down a narrow passageway, similar to the one Edd and Nazz had been journeying down. However, no torches lined this one, which seemed to descend into the tree, and so Zoe was holding a glowing green light that they had salvaged.

"This place is spooky!" cried Ed goofily.

"I know, Ed," replied Zoe calmly, "so that's why you mustn't run off."

"Okey-dokey!"

The pair continued descending deeper down the tree, and perhaps into the bowels of the earth itself. Zoe finally stopped walking when the air was stale and stagnant, and her breath came out in icy clouds of fog.

"Ed, we should turn back. There's obviously nothing here." The big oaf, however, continued to walk forwards, away from Zoe and her light. "Ed! Please come back here; you mustn't wander off!" Ed suddenly stopped walking, and slowly began to turn, casting sinister shadows as he did so. His face came into view, and Zoe gasped at the sinister, yet still goofy, expression on it.

"Ed! Stop joking around!" She reached into her dress pocket to retrieve a whistle, but when she looked up Ed was gone. "Ed! Where are you?" She spun around the passageway, looking for Ed, but couldn't catch any sight of him. "Oh great," whispered Zoe, all alone in the gloomy darkness, with only the green light casting ominous shadows all around here. She took a shaky breath, shivering, and began to reassure herself.

"Now Zoe, remain calm…Ed's just playing a silly trick; don't go anywhere, or-"

"BOO!"

Zoe screamed in terror as Ed jumped out in front of her, a scary expression plastered over his face in an attempt to frighten Zoe. She fell backwards due to shock, and landed on the floor, bashing her head as she did so. She fell on the green light, and smashed it, the glass embedding in her left elbow. She collapsed now, out cold.

"Zoe?" asked Ed nervously, afraid his little prank had gone too far. He knelt down next to her, and gently poked her neck. She didn't move, and Eddy worriedly put his ear next to her chest, and listened for her heart-beat. It was there, though her breathing itself was shallow and almost beyond hearing. Ed panicked now, and began to frantically look around the chamber, which now was in a state of total ominous darkness. "Uh oh! Zoe, wake up!" He shook her, and all she did was mumble a bit. He grabbed her arm, and Zoe visibly winced in pain. Ed looked at her elbow, and saw blood streaming down her lower arm, several sharpened shards of broken green glass cut deep into the flesh.

"Karap! Karap!"

Ed spun around upon hearing the strange screech. It seemed to be coming from the other direction, and there was a sound of several wings beating in the air. Ed slowly backed away, and pulled Zoe up (gently this time) onto his back, so it was like he was giving her a piggyback ride. Something began to emerge out of the blackness, and its glowing green eyes gave it away.

"Run!" cried Ed suddenly, as he sped off blindly back the way he and Zoe had came. The creature with the glowing eyes cawed like a bird, and moved through the darkness after him.

Ed was lucky for the fact that he didn't fall; he had to check back at the beast behind him several times in order to see how far away it was. Zoe was heavy on his back, and each time he checked, the creature was nearer to the pair. After several minutes on endless, sightless running, Ed was forced to stop due to the constricting muscles in his chest, screaming out for proper oxygen intake. Ed stopped running, and laid Zoe on the ground as gently as he could without dropping her. They were now higher up in the tree, and from above, through tiny holes in the bark, sunlight streamed through, enough to light up some of the chamber.

"Karap!" screeched a voice from behind, and Ed turned to finally catch a glimpse of his mysterious, relentless Four Winged Vine Viper was a monster unique to the Temple of Nature; its relative, the Vine Viper, was unique to Areth Forest alone. The snake was long and thin, with four small, fluffy, downy white wings on the middle of its body, two on either side. The skin was green, with black stripes all over it's body, and the creature merely had two small fangs on either side of its jaw. The glowing eyes made it look menacing, but the creature didn't look as tough as some monsters the Chosen Ones had faced before.

"Leave us alone!" shouted Ed at the creature.

"Sssssshut up!" hissed the Viper, and Ed gaped; this monster could talk! "I'm going to kill you and all your friendssssss…You won't take the Crystal from ussssss!"

"Lothar the Barbarian will stop you!" cried back Ed, and he charged at the fiend with a mighty roar. It merely raised the lower, hardened part of its body, and blocked Ed's attack with its tail. Ed swung his axe again, but the creature this time evaded the attack, and tried to bite Ed in the lower shin. He dodged as well, and the creature slithered under his foot. While this was going on, Zoe began to slowly regain consciousness.

"Oh, my arm…" she groaned as she slowly sat up. She examined her elbow, and instantly lost all grogginess. "Oh dear, oh dear…" She slowly picked the glass shards out delicately, one by one. After she took out the final piece, the red blood began to freely flow down her arm. Zoe twirled her hand in the air, still oblivious to the fight near her, and watched as water formed around it. "Amazing; I can conjure water simply by moving my hand!" She smile, and began to wash away the blood. Her arm was now clean, and she held her right arm over her left elbow.

"Cure!"

The transparent-blue glow appeared over the open wound, and Zoe sighed contentedly as the beneficial healing magic worked its way through her body. Soon, the wound was completely healed (not even a pale scar was left) and Zoe was pleased at how she had handled the situation.

"Aggh!"

Ed hurtled into the wall behind her, and Zoe noticed the battle for the first time properly. She froze at the sight of the Viper, which was slowly slithering towards both her and Ed.

"Hah!" called Ed. "Now me and Zoe can beat the nasty snake!"

"S-snake…" stuttered Zoe, getting up and moving away from it. She stared at the fiends face, and began to scream in fear.

"It's coming for me!" she screamed, and grabbed Ed by the shoulders, shaking him madly. "Do something!"

"Okey-dokey!" smiled Ed, and he swung his axe at the snake's side. The fiend was cut in half, but in its death throes, it managed to bite Ed.

"Ouch!" cried the tall boy. "Zoe, I have a boo-boo!"

"Don't worry, Ed; it's not that bad," reassured Zoe. "Thank you for defeating that creature, by the way. I would have helped, but you know how I am about snakes."

"Oh yeah, the zoo five years ago!"

"Please, don't remind me about it!"

The continued walking back along the passage, until fluttering noises could be heard.

"Are there monsters every two feet in this world?" asked Zoe incredulously, as she readied her staff. "Let me take care of them, Ed. You done enough dealing with that horrible, grotesque, disgusting, vile, filthy-"

"Um, Zoe?"

"Oh, my apologies. I mean, you've done enough already with that…ahem…snake fiend."

"Well if you're sure!" replied Ed happily, and he grinned as he stepped back. "Go, Zoe!"

"Thank you for your kind words of encouragement, Ed," replied Zoe graciously. "Now, let's see if our opponents will shot themselves!"

After she finished speaking, the eerie silence was broken by a swarm of large bats appearing out of the dank gloom. They looked like normal bats, save for the fact that they were slightly larger than the average size.

"This should be easy!" commented Zoe, as she swiped her staff at one of the bats. It cried out, and vanished in a puff of black smoke. Zoe swiped, banged, and smacked at any Bats that came her way, but they just kept increasing in number.

"Fine!" called out Zoe, as the Bats began to swarm around her. "I'll just have to take you on the hard way!" She twirled her staff in the air like a baton, and spun around herself, knocking many Bats into the walls around her, the unfortunate monsters vanishing in puffs of black smoke. The remaining ones began to back off, but Zoe wasn't done yet.

"Psychic!"

A wave of pink, moving energy shot out from Zoe's right hand, slamming into the remaining Bats. They all vanished in the black clouds, and Zoe and Ed began to walk began without any further interruption.

ooo

The three groups met up once again in the chamber with the tree and staircase, and the only things of value they had found were the medallion and key.

"What could this key be for?" asked Edd curiously. "I see no door nor keyhole anywhere in this room."

"Look again," said Eddy, gesturing to a part of the floor right before the trunk. It was a small patch of brick, surrounded by grass, with a tiny keyhole in the centre of it. He placed the key in, and motioned the others over to him. They all stepped on the panel, which began to ascend sharply into the heights of the chamber, finally stopping at the top of the huge oak pole, where a sort of pod-like chamber awaited them. It was circular in shape, and seemed to hand in the air, with the giant branches of the oak supporting it. A door in front of them was the only opening, but it wouldn't open.

"Wait, look!" said Edd, pointing to a circular hole in the door. "Nazz, may I see your medallion?" Nazz complied, and Edd placed the circle-shaped amulet into the hole. The door opened slowly, a breath of cold air brushing out, and the Chosen Ones-and Rosaline-stepped inside.

ooo

"So, what's in here?" asked Eddy. They had emerged into a normal shaped room, with a the walls curved slightly. No one bothered to look at the ceiling, so they didn't' have any idea of how tall the pod truly was. At the opposite end was a wooden door, but it was barred by iron chains.

"Fools…" whispered a voice from above. Nazz seemed to be the only one who could hear it, and she looked up, towards the top of the room. She gasped, and began to tremble slightly.

"Nazz, what is it?" asked Edd, rushing over to her side. All Nazz could do was stutter incoherently, and she slowly raised her arm to point at what she had seen. Edd and the others followed her pointed hand, and gaped or cried out at what they saw.

At the top of the room was a huge, intricate spider's web, with its creator attached to the centre. The long, spindly legs were covered in gray hair, with a sharp, pointed, large-nail like point at the tip. The huge opisthosoma had massive black, pincer like spinnerets, which were almost as dark as its skin. There was a red wavy, swirl-like pattern on the top of the silk-containing abdomen, and a perfect blue circle on the underside. A vicious pair of grey fangs, ready to inject and paralyse its victims, were at either side of the arachnid's mouth, and the cephalothorax of the beast itself was large and deformed, and eight black, beady eyes stared down hungrily at the horrified children.

"Never before has someone wandered so willingly into my midst. You will make marvellous prey…" The spider leapt down to the ground below with a crash, as the six others ran back towards the door they had come from, which was now also magically barred by iron chains. "I am Rachnos, the Spider Fiend, and my Master and I serve Lady Natura. We shall not allow you to take the Crystal of Nature!"

"Wait!" reasoned Edd. "We're the Chosen Ones! We need the Crystal!"

"Lies, all lies!" retorted Rachnos sinisterly. "Now, prepare to duel with me; for your lives!"

ooo

AN: An exciting end to this chapter indeed; prepare for more in the near future!

Lilienne: Indeed so. Now, for this chapter's "Fun Cul-de-sac Facts!" Did thou know that Nazz's, "The Unattainable Love Interest", :

1. Favourite colours are violet and magenta?

2. That Nazz makes outfits in her spare time, and sells them to charity stores if she doesn't want to wear them herself?

3. That Nazz is a baby-sitter because she looked after her younger sister Martha a lot when she was younger?

4. Nazz is scared of spiders because a pet tarantula she once had tried to bite her and her cousin?

5. Nazz hates uncoordinated outfits?

6. Nazz's favourite two school subjects are Fashion and Textile Studies, History and P.E.?

7. Nazz's favourite food is kiwi, because it helped her to stick to her diet when she tried to slim down?

8. Nazz is talented at cheerleading, being the head of the school squad, as well as ballet and ice-skating?

9. That Nazz can play the piano, bass and piccolo?

10. That Nazz hates killing or fighting things without good cause, because she is the Chosen One of Nature?

Lilienne: After Miss Nazz's profile, thy shall examine Kevin, "The Jock," along with thou in the next chapter.

Me: Please leave a review! Thank you for reading!

-LucasBravvus97