Second Intermission

Part 2: Millennium Door (Third Visit)

"I hereby bestow upon you the title of knight, in honor of your bravery and heroism in leading the way to victory and helping us to reclaim our home," proclaimed the Puni elder. "Arise, Sir Rolf, brave Hero of the Punies!"

With Punio and Petuni on his shoulders, Rolf had knelt down before the Puni elder in respect. Punio tapped the bulb of his antenna on Rolf's left shoulder, while Petuni tapped her antenna bulb on Rolf's right shoulder, mimicking the knighting ceremonies performed by the Queen of England at Buckingham Palace. The other Punies clapped their antenna bulbs with each other, simulating applause as Rolf rose to his feet, though not without letting the Puni siblings back down onto the floor.

"For your courage, Sir Rolf, we present to you, a brand new whacking bag, much more durable than your old one," said the elder. Puniper and the others teamed up to lift a new heavy bag, this one black and engraved with Puni tribal signs, to present to Rolf.

"And also, as a sign of gratitude, please accept this as well," the elder continued. "This is the emblem of the Puni tribe." The elder presented Rolf with the Puni Emblem, a silver necklace whose large coin was marked with tribal symbols, depicting Rolf and his friends as they had journeyed through the Great Tree.

"Thank you, thank you, yes, thank you, yes, yes, thank you," said Rolf as Edd and Nazz took the emblem and placed it around Rolf's neck. "Rolf accepts, as he is honored to meet the Punies in person and assist them in any way that the son of a shepherd can do!" Rolf then struck a pose consisting of the Urban Ranger salute; as a fellow Urban Ranger, Jimmy followed suit.

"One last thing!" called Petuni, as she and Punio then approached Jimmy. "There's something we need to say to Jimmy!"

Jimmy gazed down at Punio and Petuni, smiling. "What is it?"

"We want to thank you for defending us, as well," said Punio. "You really came through for us."

"Punio's right. You were really brave, taking down that X-Naut all by yourself," added Petuni. "AND! Those were some slick moves, too!"

"Thank you, guys!" said Jimmy. He knelt down and placed his hands on the floor, and the two Puni siblings hopped up on him and climbed to his shoulders, giving him a "hug" with their antenna bulbs. Jimmy giggled, as this felt ticklish to him.

"Hee hee! I guess I don't have any reason to be scared of you guys anymore," he said, allowing them back onto the floor of the tree.

"Shall we go, then?" inquired Rolf. "As head-and-sock Ed-boy says, we must take this Emerald Star to the Thousand-Year Door, yes?"

"That's correct, Rolf," replied Edd. "Farewell, sacred Punies of the Boggly Tree!"

The heroes and the Punies exchanged their farewells as the heroes departed the tree en route to Rogueport Sewers and the Thousand-Year Door.

"What exactly is this Thousand-Year Door?" asked Jimmy as the group walked past the clearing that contained the path to Madame Flurrie's mansion.

"You'll-a find out soon enough," said Mario.

All of a sudden, as they passed Flurrie's mansion, the chiptune Super Mario World music emanated from Mario's Mailbox SP, indicating a new email. Mario removed the pocket-size system (much to the surprise of both Jimmy and Flurrie) and opened it to find a new email from Princess Peach. The email read as follows:

"Dear Mario, I'm certain you're very concerned about my well-being. But please, you should know I'm fine. If anything, it's you that I'm more worried about. The fiends who kidnapped me are desperately searching for the Crystal Stars. I overheard that you drove a squadron of them out of a large tree in a monochrome forest. That's amazing, Mario! Although, I also overheard that a boy with blue hair did most of the fighting… Maybe he's this 'legendary hero' they keep talking about. Or maybe not. I'll try to learn what I can about these fiends and the Crystal Stars. I'll email again if I learn anything, okay? You should know how much I miss you. I often think about the days we've spent back at my castle… I hope we can once again spend more carefree days there. Be safe and well and strong! – Princess Peach."

"Golly-gosh, Mr. Mario!" said Jimmy, horrified. "Your Princess Peach was kidnapped? Think of what they'll do to her… It'll be worse than soap in your eye! Worser than polyester chafing!"

"It's-a nothing-a new, Jimmy," Mario responded. "It-a happens all-a the time, since-a 1985. But I would-a lay down-a my life for-a Princess-a Peach!"

"Wowie, you really are her hero, aren't you?" replied Jimmy, marveled.

At this point, the Ed, Edd n Eddy theme began to emanate from Edd's laptop, signaling that he, too, had received an email. Edd pulled out his laptop and opened it.

"Great, another email from Marie," he groaned. "Well, I'd hate to be rude. Let's see, it says…"

"Hey, wassup, love-muffin."

This incited a few giggles from the rest of the group, save for Mario, Nazz, and Rolf. Edd continued reading:

"Not too much happenin' here, as far as I can tell. Y'know, Lee and May are really upset that Eddy and Ed are still AWOL in this strange dimension, 'cuz they can't talk to 'em. Maybe you are, too, who knows? Anyways, do I have a story for you, cupcake! We had a dance party, and Lee and I totally got in a dance-off, and I totally crushed her with my sweet moves! Even Princess Peach got in on the action and busted out a few slick moves herself! So anyways, all that aside, I hear you guys beat the snot out of some Crump guy and a group of shadows. Sweetness! Well, anyway, keep up the good work, and if we ever find out who this 'legendary hero' is that these X-feebs keep going on about, I'll keep ya updated. I'll be waiting for ya, my sock-headed knight! See ya! You're my muffin! – Marie Kanker."

Jimmy couldn't help but giggle. "Muffin?"

"We can discuss baked goods another time, Jimmy," Edd fired back, clearly embarrassed. "For now, we must bring this Emerald Star to the Thousand-Year Door!"

XXX000XXX000XXX

The heroes returned to the airplane panel in the room prior to the hall of the Thousand-Year Door.

"What's this?" inquired Jimmy about the panel.

"Well, you recall how we were able to make ourselves as thin as paper to slide between the bars of the cage?" replied Edd. "As it is, that's not the only paper-themed ability with which we've been bestowed during the course of this quest. Behold! We set foot on this panel, like thus, and then…"

Immediately, Edd, Rolf, Goombella, and Koops stepped on the panel all at once, which sprung them into the air and folded them into paper airplanes. As Jimmy and Flurrie watched, their mouths agape and their eyes as wide as saucers, their comrades had folded into paper airplanes and glided to the opposite entryway before unfolding back to their regular forms. Mario took Flurrie to the panel, with the wind spirit blushing, and they too folded into paper airplanes to join Edd and the others who had already flown across, while Nazz did the same with Jimmy.

"Whoo, Madame feels un bit creased, but otherwise, she is beaucoup well," said Flurrie after unfolding back to her regular form.

Jimmy, however, was frantically checking himself nonstop after unfolding, making sure all of his body parts were in the right spot.

"It doesn't even hurt, Jimmy," Nazz reassured him. "You're perfectly fine, dude."

"Golly-gee-willikers," said Jimmy. "This feels like the time Eddy ripped away my outline and I melted into a gutter, and Sarah poured me into a pitcher like fresh lemonade."

"What?" inquired Goombella.

"It's… complicated," replied Edd. "Let us continue, shall we?"

XXX000XXX000XXX

The heroes entered the hall of the Thousand-Year Door. Even with the musty smell of ancient history in the air, the chamber itself remained as elegant as ever, in spite of the ruins.

"Ooh la la, c'est magnifique," said Flurrie and Jimmy together in awe, both mesmerized at the sight of the door, and the entire hall before them. The design of the door, however, had Jimmy completely enthralled, and while Flurrie had snapped out of her trance, Jimmy just stood there, face to face with the intricate designs of the ancient door, looking it over and nearly drooling. In his mind, it served as a source of artistic genius, as well as inspiration.

"Jimmy?" called Nazz. "Dude, snap out of it." She snapped her fingers in front of Jimmy's face, bringing the pale boy out of his trance.

"Oh… sorry, Nazz," said Jimmy sheepishly.

"Right, then, ahem… Rolf, you stand in the center of the podium and lift up the Emerald Star," said Edd. "Mario, as Rolf lifts the star, you lift up the map. The light show that follows shall reveal the location of the next Crystal Star on the map."

"Okey-dokey!" replied Mario.

Rolf and Mario stood atop the podium at the center of the dais. As Edd instructed, Rolf held up the Emerald Star, while Mario held up the Magical Map. A flash of light blinded the room for a split second, and the cyan light patterns began once more, with the Emerald Star coming to rest at the 1:30 position on the dais.

"Jeepers!" yelped Jimmy as the lights shone. "What's happening!"

"Zis reminds Madame of ze lights on ze stage!" Flurrie recalled.

As he observed the light show, Jimmy stood in awe, and remarked, "It's beautiful!"

A ray of cyan light shone on Rolf and Mario atop the podium. As Mario held up the map, he allowed the light to pierce right through it. The light then shone a bright golden color as it revealed what appeared to be a city of sorts, floating in the sky. An astral projection of a golden Crystal Star shone on the map as well, directly in front of the image of the floating city. Soon, the light show faded, as did the astral projection, and the Emerald Star returned to Rolf's possession. Mario stood with the map, observing the new location that had appeared. Now even Edd was observing it with his magnifying glass.

"Hmm… I cannot seem to make heads or tails of this," said Edd. "It looks to be a city of sorts, but… it's floating in the sky, powered by rocket engines? What could this possibly mean?"

"Why don't we ask Professor Frankly?" suggested Goombella. "Just like before, I think he might have a clue."

"Who's Professor Frankly?" asked Jimmy.

"He was my professor last year when I was a sophomore at University of Goom," replied Goombella. "He specializes in archaeology and ancient history. He's well versed in the lore of the ancient city of old and the legend of the Thousand-Year Door."

"Let's-a go!" proclaimed Mario.

XXX000XXX000XXX

"…That means that beneath the town, the millennium-old ruins remain intact…"

Now Professor Frankly was reading from his book on the ancient history of Rogueport as the heroes gathered back at his residence, explaining the history of the ancient city to Jimmy and Flurrie. "And it was the power of the Crystal Stars that sealed this door shut for all this time," he continued. "As such, it is only through the power of the Crystal Stars that the seal can be broken."

"There's treasure behind that door?" inquired Jimmy.

"So the legend goes, young Jimmy," replied Frankly. "But even to this day, it remains unknown just what sort of treasure may lie in wait beyond the door. Or even if there's any treasure at all."

"And that, Jimmy, is the story of the Thousand-Year Door and the ancient city beneath Rogueport," said Edd.

"Perhaps Madame is merely being daft, but if zere really is un treasure, pourqoui would zey need to be locking it away at all?" inquired Flurrie. "Did zey fear pirates and brigands? If non, zen qu'est-ce que c'est?"

"I haven't the foggiest idea," replied Frankly. "I do know that the treasure, according to legend, was sealed away around the time of the destruction and fall of the ancient city… But see, the thing is, no one knows exactly what the great cataclysm was that led to the city's demise. All that's written is this: 'Darkness stole the sky, and the cataclysm rained down.' It is something that I shall continue to research. Assuming this will just make an, uh… well, you know the saying."

"Yeah, I do," said Goombella. "Sounds rather inappropriate, Professor."

"Well, in any case, what have you to say about the location of this next Crystal Star?" inquired Edd. "The map appears to depict this location as floating in midair, powered by rocket engines."

"Well, that's very interesting indeed," remarked Frankly. "It would appear that the map is directing you to the floating city of Glitzville."

"Glitzville?" inquired Jimmy, with stars in his eyes. "As in glitz? Tinsel? TV cameras?"

"Oh, ho ho, no, not quite, young Jimmy," chuckled Frankly. "While it's true that Glitzville is a city of entertainment, the true entertainment there is found in the Glitz Pit, a stunning arena where great fighters engage in furious battles! Ostensibly, families visit Glitzville on vacation to lounge and enjoy the fights, but behind the scenes, the wealthiest people in the world place wagers on the bouts. I personally am not privy to the art of gambling."

"Gambling on fights?" inquired Nazz. "Oh, that's got Eddy written all over it."

"So wait, a floating city?" inquired Koops. "How do we get up there? It's not like we can just grow wings and fly there. I mean, it's not like I can suddenly become a Parakoopa."

"Well, perhaps there is this alternative," said Frankly in response. "There's a special blimp, the Cheeppelin, that flies there. It's docked over at Rogueport Station, over by the Excess Express train. The problem, though, lies in obtaining the necessary tickets. The only way to do so is to go through certain… 'channels.'"

"Pardon? Whatever do you mean by 'channels,' Professor?" asked Edd nervously.

"Yeah, I agree, that sounds awfully seedy," added Nazz.

"Show the way through these channels, he-with-swirly-eyes!" said Rolf.

"Hmmm… I don't know… but I suppose we don't have much choice in the matter," replied Frankly. "Word on the street is, all tickets go through Don Carlo Maurizio Pianta on the west side. He's the leader of the Pianta Syndicate, who control the western side of town."

"Syndicate?" quavered Jimmy. "As in… we have to deal with THE MAFIA?! What is this, The Godfather?"

"As suspicious as that is, there's really no other option," replied Frankly, which did nothing to quell the group's worries. "The rumor mill is that Don Pianta regularly frequents Glitzville to gamble on the fights at the Glitz Pit."

"Oooh, Madame likes ze sound of zis Don Pianta," said Flurrie. "Madame cannot wait to be meeting him."

"It's not that simple, Madame Flurrie," said Frankly. "Don Pianta is the boss of an organized crime syndicate. The rumors that surround him are quite frightening. In addition, the Don is quite the secretive recluse. Just merely getting an audience with him is no simple feat."

"This sounds like it'd be too dangerous for all of us," said Nazz.

"I concur with Nazz," added Edd. "Collaborating with Eddy in his hare-brained endeavors to obtain monetary gain is bad enough. Working with an organized crime syndicate is… unconscionable, to say the least."

"Very-a well, then. I will-a bring Goombella, Madame-a Flurrie, and-a Rolf with me to sort out our-a deal with Don Pianta," said Mario. "The rest of-a you, hang-a back and-a find-a ways to pass-a the time. Goombella! Madame-a Flurrie! Rolf! Let's-a go!"

Mario, Goombella, Flurrie, and Rolf left Frankly's abode as the others called after them to be careful. It was after they had left that a low rumbling could be heard. Jimmy placed a hand on his stomach, which served as the source of the noise.

"Mmh, I got a rumbly in my tummy," said Jimmy. "Do you guys know any place where we could grab something to eat?"

"Of course!" replied Koops. "Let's all head to Mr. Podley's place. I think we could all do with some grub."

End of Part Two