Fifth Intermission
Part 5: Decisions, Decisions
The alarm clock rang at Professor Frankly's residence, awakening those who lodged there for the night. Edd yawned, sat up in his sleeping bag, and stretched his arms wide; the others followed suit, although it took Eddy a bit longer to do so. For Edd, it was a pleasant feeling to awaken in a nice, warm house, as opposed to a muggy old hut. After enjoying breakfast and saying thanks to Frankly for inviting them to lodge at his place, Edd and the others rejoined their friends at Podley's, with Rolf keeping a sharp eye on Edd and Vivian all the way and Frankly joining them about three minutes later. Upon arrival, they found their remaining friends had pushed the tables together, as if to set up a game; it seems they had devised a way to decide who would board the Excess Express, which would come after breakfast.
"Good morning, all," said Edd in greeting.
"Morning, Double-D," said Nazz.
"Glad to see everybody up and about," said Goombella.
"Why are all the tables pushed together?" asked Vivian.
"Well, we've still got about three hours before the train leaves, and I think we've figured out a way to decide who gets to use the tickets and board the train," replied Nazz.
"How so?" asked Junior.
"We're gonna play a card game," replied Nazz.
"A card game? I must admit, games of chance are rather risky in any form," said Edd. "Which game of cards shall we play, then?"
"Good old-fashioned five-card stud, Double-Dork," said Kevin mischievously, holding a deck of playing cards; this was enough to set off Eddy's competitive drive. With every turn we deal out the cards, the player with the worst hand is eliminated, and the last seven standing get to hop on the train."
"I must say, that does sound rather unfair, and risky, to say the least," mused Edd. "Does everyone here actually know how to play five-card stud?"
"Yeah, like, we taught everybody before you guys got here," said Nazz.
"Are you certain that this is the best method to make the decision?" asked Edd.
"Aw, c'mon, Sockhead, what, scared you'll lose?" laughed Eddy.
"Yeah, and I bet you are too, Dorky," laughed Kevin.
"Hey, no, we ain't, Shovelchin!" snapped Eddy. "And we'll prove it to ya! Now gimme the cards, I'll deal us in."
With that, Eddy snatched the cards from Kevin and dealt each of the fourteen participants into the game as Professor Frankly observed from the counter. When Eddy finished, each player had five cards dealt to them, face-down; at this point, it was time for each player to reveal their hands.
"Okay, and… show!" called Eddy.
Edd examined his five-card hand, and smiled immediately. "What good fortune! Four aces in my hand!"
Several of the other participants drew cards from their hands and placed them in the center.
"Hit me," said Kevin. The others followed suit and discarded their hands, allowing Eddy to reshuffle the deck and replace each player's discarded hands. Once each player had a new hand of five cards each, Eddy made the order for everyone to show their hands.
"All right! Four aces!" exclaimed Koops, directing the group's astonished gaze over to him.
"Lucky break, shell-dork," groaned Kevin.
"Ooh, nice try, Flurrie, but you're out," said Eddy in response to Flurrie's junk hand.
"Honh, such is life, n'est-ce pas?" mused Flurrie, getting up from her seat and joining Frankly at the counter.
"All right, cards up," said Eddy.
The remaining players each placed their hands near Eddy so he could take them and reshuffle the deck. Kevin shot a nasty glare at Edd as Eddy continued to shuffle the deck. Eddy was just about to deal the next set of hands when there was a knock on the door.
"Ding dong!" shouted Ed absentmindedly.
"Madame shall answer ze door," said Flurrie. She and Frankly got up from their seats and crossed to the door, which was opened by the voluptuous wind spirit. The rest of the group watched as Flurrie picked up something off the ground.
"Sacre bleu! Vat do we have here?" asked Flurrie.
Flurrie and Frankly turned to face the others, where it was revealed that Flurrie had picked up off the ground a 2x4 wooden board with a face drawn on it in crayon… an item that was very familiar to the Peach Creek kids!
"Pardon, but would this item be familiar to either of you?" asked Professor Frankly as Flurrie held up the wooden board.
"No… way," said Eddy.
"Oh, my! Is that… Plank?" asked Edd. "Pardon me for a moment, please."
Edd got up from the table and approached the door. "If Plank is here, then that must mean that…" Peering out the door, Edd called out: "Jonny! Jonny? Are you here?"
But there was no response, so Edd surmised that Jonny was not currently in Rogueport. With this, Edd walked back into the tavern and closed the door as Flurrie handed Plank off to him. "This is odd indeed," he mused. "I've always known Jonny to almost never be without Plank. How is it possible that a 2x4 wooden board would knock on the door by itself?"
"Man, this world just gets weirder and weirder every day," grumbled Kevin.
"This is most peculiar, indeed," mused Edd to himself as he examined Plank's crayon-drawn face.
"So Plank's here without Melonhead, now can we get back to our game now?" called Eddy impatiently.
"But Eddy-" Edd began.
"Unless you wanna forfeit like a chicken, Sockhead," taunted Eddy.
"Certainly not, Eddy," said Edd. "I intend to see this through to the end."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Hey, Dorky, you gonna deal or what?" groaned Kevin impatiently.
"Yeah, sure, quit yer complainin', Shovelchin," grumbled Eddy.
Eddy reshuffled the deck of cards and dealt each remaining player five cards each. As Edd examined his cards, he grew concerned. Oh, dear, he thought to himself. Currently I hold and ace of diamonds, but I currently lack any pairs so far… I realize the risk involved, but it seems I've no other alternative…
"Well, in the parlance of casino card games, hit me, Eddy," said Edd, turning his ace card face-up and handing his four remaining cards to the short Ed boy. Eddy, in turn, responded by handing Edd four new cards. In examining them, Edd saw that he currently held a pair of jacks. Excellent! he thought to himself. I now possess a pair of jacks to complement my ace of diamonds.
"Show your hands!" said Eddy.
Everyone placed their cards on the table to show Eddy, while Ed the lovable oaf instead showed his own hands to Eddy.
"Not your actual hands, Burr-head, your hand of cards!" Eddy grumbled.
"Do cards have hands, Eddy?" replied Ed.
"Ed, he's referring to the five cards you had been dealt," said Edd. "And from the looks of it, it seems you have a decent hand of cards, which constitutes a victory for you in this particular round."
"Too bad Dorky ain't in the same boat," laughed Kevin, seeing Eddy's junk hand. "Hey, Eddy! You got a losin' hand! Ha ha, loser!"
This behavior earned Kevin another slap upside his head from Nazz.
"Ow. Sorry, Nazz," groaned the jock.
"Yeah, well, I don't wanna be on a train with you anyway, Kevin," snapped Eddy.
"Oh, looks like that does us all a favor, then," Kevin retorted.
Despite losing the round, Eddy remained as the dealer for the game, and the other players returned their cards to him so he could reshuffle the deck. Once he had done so, Eddy dealt the cards to each player once more. Edd examined his hand and grew very nervous, to the point of developing sweat on his brow. Oh, dear! he feared to himself as he examined his hand, which was full of junk cards. I'm simply doomed to lose with this hand!
Edd's worry did not go unnoticed by Admiral Bobbery, who had formulated an idea to help the intelligent Ed-boy. Smiling, the seafaring Bob-omb placed his hand on the table and proclaimed, "I fold."
"Pardon, Admiral Bobbery? You fold?" inquired Edd incredulously.
"Aye, lad. Fer this ol' sea dog calls the mighty ocean waters home," said Bobbery. "An' besides, after that last journey, I've no interest in another journey right off the bat."
Edd began to suspect that Bobbery intentionally threw the round so that Edd wouldn't have to sacrifice his chance at boarding the train, but was no less thankful for the Bob-omb's assistance. The smart Ed-boy smiled at Bobbery, as if to say "Thank you, Admiral."
"Okay, the old captain's out, now fork 'em over," said Eddy sourly, still sore about having lost the hand prior.
Now that Flurrie, Eddy, and Bobbery were eliminated, the remaining participants included Ed, Edd, Nazz, Kevin, Jimmy, Rolf, Mario, Goombella, Koops, Eduardo Junior, and Vivian. Eddy reshuffled the cards once more and dealt each remaining player their hands. As the players examined their hands, Goombella sighed to herself. This trip won't be much fun without Eddy… I mean, sure, he's kind of a loudmouth, and okay, maybe a hothead, too, but after what he did for me back at Cortez's ship… Wait, why am I having these thoughts? Could it be that I actually like Eddy? …Oh my goom, I DO like him! …I might hate myself later for doing this, but if Eddy's out, then…
"Yup, I'm out too," she said. She put her cards down and left the table, joining Frankly and Flurrie at the counter.
"Man, this game's gettin' lamer by the minute," groaned Kevin. "Where's the fun in it if everyone backs out?"
Eddy decided not to respond verbally; instead, as the remaining players handed their cards back to him, he reshuffled the deck and dealt the players their hands. Edd examined his hand and was quite pleased with what he had. Amazing! he thought to himself. I've received a full house! This is a safe hand with which to work!
"Anyone need a hit?" Eddy asked, referring to the cards. "Sockhead?"
"No, thank you, Eddy," replied Edd.
Eddy waited for a few seconds as the players examined their individual hands to make sure they were satisfied with what they had been dealt. Examining their faces, he gave the order: "Show your hands."
Everyone placed their cards face-up on the table… except for Ed, who was quietly chuckling mischievously.
"Ed?" asked Edd.
"Go fish!" said Ed.
"Ed?" said Edd and Eddy impatiently.
"King me!"
"ED!" shouted everyone at the table exasperatedly.
"Jalapeno pepper poppers!"
"ED, JUST PUT YOUR CARDS ON THE TABLE ALREADY!" Eddy screamed.
Ed finally did as told and placed his cards on the table. Everyone gasped in shock at Ed's five-card hand.
"What the heck, man? He got a royal flush?" exclaimed Kevin. "How in the heck did that happen?!"
"So… who's the loser this time?" said Eddy.
The response came in the form of Mario slamming his cards on the table in defeat, with an exasperated "Mamma-mia."
"Hey, like, sorry, dude," said Nazz to the portly plumber.
The game continued, as the remaining players returned their cards to Eddy so he could reshuffle the deck once again. Once the players had examined the cards they had been dealt, Kevin seemed to be pretty pleased with his hand, while Edd and Eduardo Junior each decided to discard two of their cards in favor of different cards. Eddy had barely handed Junior his two new cards when Ed suddenly proclaimed "Go fish!" again.
"Ed, please, we are not playing Go Fish," Edd reminded him.
Ed didn't seem to care, though, because he responded, "Checkmate, and king me!"
"Ed! You're referring to chess and checkers, respectively!" groaned Edd exasperatedly.
"Roll the dice!" Ed proclaimed, laughing and tossing his cards into the air absentmindedly.
"What a numbskull," Eddy groaned. "I'm gonna count that as a forfeit. Ed, you're out."
"Out of what, Eddy?" Ed laughed stupidly.
"Just shut up 'n gimme back your cards so I can deal!" yelled Eddy.
Edd sighed as he and the remaining players returned their cards to Eddy for reshuffling.
"All right, this is the final round! Seven tickets to the Excess Express up for grabs!" Eddy proclaimed. "I'm gonna laugh at whoever loses this round!"
"Whatever, Dorkus-Hold-em, now deal, already, or I'll pound ya," groaned Kevin.
Eddy grew aggravated at Kevin's own exasperation as he dealt the final round of cards to each remaining player. Jimmy was the first to receive his five cards, and he grew fearful as he examined them. Jeepers! he thought. A two, a four, a seven, and an ace of spades! This hand's no good! What do I do? The nervous boy gulped and re-examined his hand. I hope I'm making the right choice here… I hope Sarah will be proud of me…
Jimmy flipped his ace of spades face-down and handed off his remaining four cards back to Eddy.
"Remember," the stout Ed-boy taunted, "loser doesn't get to go."
"Eddy, please, the tension at this table is already at an all-time high," cautioned Edd as he and the other players handed two cards back to Eddy apiece.
One by one, Eddy dealt new cards to the other players for their hands, starting with Edd, then Vivian, then Nazz, then Rolf, then Eduardo Junior, then Koops. Upon arriving at Jimmy, the young artist held out his right hand, as his left hand was covering the face-down ace of spades.
"May I please draw my new cards myself, Eddy?" he asked.
"Uh… sure, squirt, I guess so," said Eddy, confused, as Jimmy drew his new cards from the deck, keeping them face-down so no one else would see them.
"Ooh-hoo, it's down to the wire now," said Frankly as he observed the game.
"The trip of a lifetime is riding on this," noted Goombella.
Indeed, the tension was running very high at the table, with the remaining participants – especially Jimmy – too nervous to look at their hands.
"Now, show your hands!" Eddy proclaimed.
Everyone did as told and revealed their final hands. As it was the final round, they also decided to reveal their hands verbally.
"I possess two pairs each. That is, two kings and two queens," noted Edd.
"I got two aces. One of diamonds, and, like, one of clubs," said Nazz.
"I got three jacks," said Kevin.
"Uh… I got three deuces and two threes," said Junior.
"Two fives and two sixes," said Koops.
"Rolf possesses two kings!" proclaimed the son of a shepherd.
"Two fours, and two sevens," said Vivian.
All eyes were on Jimmy now as the frail boy had yet to reveal his hand.
"Well, jeepers, I'm sorry, guys," said Jimmy sadly, "All I have is… well…"
Jimmy's mood suddenly changed as he revealed his hand, which contained…
"TWO ACES!"
Everyone sat aghast as Jimmy revealed that both the ace of spades and the ace of hearts were in his five-card hand. As Jimmy chuckled mischievously, Rolf cursed in his native Old Country language and slammed his cards on the table in frustration, while Eddy growled "two-faced little runt" under his breath as he realized that Jimmy had tricked him yet again.
"Well, I guess that settles it," said Goombella. "We have our winners!"
"Yes, indeed, we do," said Frankly. "The tickets shall go to Double-D, Nazz, Jimmy, Kevin, Koops, Eduardo Junior, and Vivian."
The losers sighed in disappointment as Edd proclaimed, "Well, then, it's time for those select few of us to begin packing for our lengthy locomotive excursion."
XXX000XXX000XXX
In contrast to the events unfolding in Podley's establishment, a lone Toad was walking the bustling streets of western Rogueport, humming a jovial song to himself as he passed Bootoria's item shop. He turned to face the arcade nearby and contemplated whether or not to play some games to pass some time. He had barely taken two steps toward the arcade when a hand suddenly rose from the ground and grabbed his left foot, sending him falling to the ground with a startled yelp.
"Move out of my way, you impudent fool," growled a dark female voice.
As there appeared to be no source for this voice, the Toad yelped as he saw the seemingly-disembodied gloved hand clasped around his foot. The Toad yelled in terror as he tried to shake off the hand. After a few seconds, he succeeded in freeing himself from the hand's grasp and made a run for it. The hand's owner rose to ground level, revealing herself to be none other than Beldam, the nefarious leader of the Shadow Sirens. After a few seconds of silence, she let out a frustrated growl before reaching back into the shadows and extracting Doopliss, the Duplighost who joined the Shadow Sirens as Vivian's replacement after the events at Twilight Town.
"Hey, not so hard! Watch the threads, huh?" groaned Doopliss.
"You'd better watch your tone with me," warned Beldam menacingly, pointing her finger in Doopliss's face, "Unless you want me to punish you like I did with that homely traitor, Vivian."
"Right, sorry, mistress," said Doopliss.
"Are you ready for this?" asked Beldam.
"Yeah," said Doopliss. "I disguise myself and follow those so-called 'heroes.' But what about our new apprentice? Shouldn't she be joining us, too?"
"Our new apprentice is with Marilyn for training, you freak-in-a-sheet," snarked Beldam. "They won't be ready in time to join you, so you'll be flying solo. Consider this to be your… shall we say, entrance exam. If you fail, you get a non-redeemable front-row ticket to the end of the world. But if you succeed, you'll be exempt from the end, just like me. You got that?"
"Understood, my mistress," said Doopliss.
"Yeah, you better have understood it," growled Beldam. "Now get to work."
"Yes, mistress."
Quickly enveloping himself in the same sorcery that he had utilized in Twilight Town to transform its citizenry into lowly swine (and himself into Edd once), he transformed into an otherwise-common but famous-looking Toad. With one final bow to Beldam, the disguised Doopliss walked into the crowds, blending in seamlessly.
Beldam smirked and said quietly to herself: "That freak-in-a-sheet is raw. He really thinks he's going in solo? Mwee-hee-hee. There's no way I can risk sending a rookie in alone to do the work of a master."
She reached into her hat and extracted an ornate amulet made of golden beads, with a circular blood-red medallion hanging from it.
"The power of the Charm of Life has served me rather well," she mused, sneering. "Now is the time for me to use its power once again."
XXX000XXX000XXX
Edd, Vivian, and Eduardo Junior returned to Professor Frankly's house to pack for their journey, while Nazz, Jimmy, Koops, and Kevin returned to Podley's for the same reason. The entire group convened outside Frankly's residence as those who were boarding the train were preparing to leave.
"Well, it seems those of us who are boarding the train are packed and prepared," said Edd, turning to the remaining seven. "My apologies, but we did play a fair game."
"'Twill be fine, lad," said Bobbery. "This ol' dog'll be fine, as long as the seas are nearby."
"Oui, we shall miss vous," said Flurrie. "Ze six days, zey shall fly on by, non?"
"Meh, I ain't too upset about it. I mean, if I did win, I'd end up having to room with Shovelchin, and who wants that?" said Eddy. "Besides, gives me a chance to catch up on my scams."
Goombella, who was standing next to Eddy, added, "Really, I'll be fine, guys. I'm kinda glad to be staying behind, to say the least." (No one picked up on this, but Goombella had hinted that she would prefer enjoying Eddy's company.)
"Buttered toast and gravy for everyone!" shouted Ed.
Rolf shot a nasty glare at Vivian. Travesty, he thought. Since Rolf is not joining head-and-sock Ed-boy on fancy-pants yak with wheels, there is nothing to stand between the evil witch and the others. Distrustful as ever of the timid and kind Shadow Siren, Rolf said nothing.
"Please-a do be careful," cautioned Mario to Edd.
"Well, our separation won't be one hundred percent," said Edd. "Professor Frankly has a computer at his residence, and I'm sure he'll allow the use of it so that we can maintain virtual contact through electronic communication."
"Sounds good to me," said Eddy.
"Pardon me, sirs and madams?" came a new, mystic-sounding voice.
The group turned and found themselves face-to-face with a strange individual wearing a blue hooded cloak with a green circular clasp with a star emblem on it (a Star Point). The hood of his cloak obscured much of his face, save for his long, white mustache, which drooped down to his knees.
Merlon is an eccentric, wise wizard who lives in Rogueport, next door to Professor Frankly. For a payment of Shine Sprites, he has been known to upgrade Mario's partners in the original game. His name is similar to that of Merlin, the wizard from the legend of King Arthur.
"Jeepers!" exclaimed Jimmy. "Who are you?"
"I am called Merlon, the super-magician," he said, introducing himself. "The stars foretold me – and plus, I couldn't help overhearing – that seven of you young individuals are planning a long travel. I can sense the presence of Shine Sprites in your possession."
"Shine Sprites? Oh, yes, of course, I had completely forgotten!" replied Edd.
Edd produced several Shine Sprites from his backpack; these were the shines Mario had previously found at Hooktail's castle and inside the Glitz Pit. Mario had placed them inside Edd's backpack for safekeeping, and by a stroke of good fortune, they weren't lost at sea during the attack on the S.S. Flavion.
"Please, if you would, follow me into my residence," said Merlon. "I have something of importance that I would like to show you."
As Merlon entered his residence, the seven winners reluctantly followed him inside. Merlon's residence was rather dark, with walls of indigo and curtains of violet, and two small blue containers of incense emitting a strange smoke on the floor. At the center of the residence was a hexagonal rug, with varying shades of blue and a pattern of yellow stars, with a yellow border on the full outer rim of the rug; and on top of the rug sat a wooden table, on top of which sat a crystal ball.
"Very pretty stars, Mr. Merlon," said Jimmy, referring to the rug. "Are you like Merlin from the King Arthur legend?"
"…I'm not familiar with those names, but if you say so," said Merlon. "Now then, may I see your Shine Sprites, please?"
Edd handed the Shine Sprites to Merlon, who counted each Shine Sprite individually. After counting them, he explained: "Hm, you possess fifteen Shine Sprites. For three Shine Sprites each, I can enhance the abilities and powers of five of you. This means that perhaps, some new abilities may be unlocked."
"Ooh, we could use that!" said Junior. "C'mon, Dad, let's do it!"
"So, now then, out of the eight of you, which five shall I enhance?" asked Merlon.
"Pardon? Eight of us?" inquired Edd.
"Yes," said Merlon. "That includes your little friend over by the door."
As Merlon pointed to the base of the door, Edd and the others were surprised to see that Plank had somehow followed them.
"Plank?" inquired Edd.
"How'd he get here?" inquired Nazz.
"Yeah, man, I thought that thing was still with the others," noted Kevin.
"Certainly you jest, Mr. Merlon," said Edd. "How can you enhance a 2x4 wooden board?"
"You may call me crazy if you like, but I sense an immense life force emanating from that wooden object," explained Merlon.
"Yeah, okay, sure, whatever, Crazy," grumbled Kevin.
"Well, in the interest of finding out where this leads, certainly, Mr. Merlon, you may begin by 'upgrading' Plank," said Edd.
"Very well, then, allow me to work my magic," said Merlon.
The eccentric wizard, raised his hands and chanted: "SHA-ZIBBY!"
The others raised their eyebrows quizzically, an expression that quickly changed to surprise as the crystal ball began to glow a bright blue.
"SHA-ZOOBY!" shouted Merlon.
Now Plank was glowing the same bright blue as the crystal ball, eliciting a "What the heck?" from Kevin and a "Jumpin' Jehoshophat!" from Jimmy. A series of eight bright blue flashes followed, and the enhancement magic came to an end, signifying that Plank had been "upgraded."
"It is done," said Merlon. "So, who's next?"
XXX000XXX0000XXX
Ten minutes later, five of the seven disembarking members of Edd's group had been upgraded: Plank, then Nazz, then Jimmy, then Koops, and finally, Eduardo Junior. Currently, Edd and his band of seven had entered Western Rogueport en route to the Excess Express with their train tickets; the train was set to leave in around ten or fifteen minutes.
"Man, was that guy weird or what?" inquired Kevin.
"For once, Kevin, I'm in agreement with you. He was a most peculiar individual, indeed," said Edd, currently carrying Plank in one hand and his luggage on his back. "In any event, the train shall be disembarking shortly, We must board the train before it leaves."
The seven young heroes grabbed their luggage and began walking toward the train station, with Edd and Plank in front, followed closely by Vivian and Eduardo Junior, then Koops, Kevin, and Jimmy, with Nazz taking up the rear. As Nazz looked around, an old female voice called out to her:
"Pardon me, missy?"
Nazz suddenly stopped walking and looked around for the source of the voice; this went unnoticed by the others, who continued their way to the train. Eventually, Nazz found the source of the voice; a diminutive old woman, wearing a black cloak to conceal her face.
"Um, like, sorry, ma'am, but I'm in a hurry," said Nazz. "But… like, are you one of those wizard people?"
"Oh, why, no, dearie," said the old voice. "I'm simply trying to make a sale."
"A sale? Like, what are you selling?" asked Nazz.
"Well, I'm glad you asked, dear," said the old crone. "I would like to part with this old thing, but I cannot seem to find anyone willing to take it off my hands."
She reached into her cloak and removed the item to which she was referring: a golden-beaded amulet with a blood-red emblem in its center.
"Ooh, that's pretty!" said Nazz, marveling at the sight.
"Would you care to try it on?" asked the old crone.
"Like, sure," said Nazz. She took the necklace from the old crone and placed it around her neck.
"You have excellent taste, dearie," said the old crone. "I think it looks perfect on you. Just… perfect."
"I'll take it," said Nazz. "So, like, how much is it? This thing's gotta be pretty expensive."
"Well, if you want to talk price, why don't you follow me to my office?" inquired the old crone.
"Um… okay," said Nazz nervously. "So, like, where is it?"
The old crone moved closer and placed her hands on Nazz's shoulders. "Right this way, dearie."
Nazz barely had enough time to widen her eyes before the old crone suddenly pulled her into the shadows, cackling hysterically. Ten seconds later, as suddenly as she disappeared, Nazz re-emerged from the shadows. However, her expression had changed dramatically. She now had a very dark, sinister, threatening expression on her face, and in addition, her eyes were now an icy blue. Even worse, when Nazz spoke, it wasn't with her own voice- the voice of none other than Beldam the Shadow Siren was emanating from her.
"Dear, Beldam, you're on quite the streak," said Nazz/Beldam to herself. "That's only the second ditzy blonde princess you've managed to ensnare for the cause. Mwee-hee-hee. Just like that pink princess I sold the map to, this spunky little girl fell right into my trap. Never even figured that it was I, Beldam, all along. As long as this foolish girl… Nazz, her name was? What kind of a name is that? …Anyway, as long as this foolish girl Nazz is wearing the Charm of Life, I can stow away with these fools and possess this girl on and off. I admit, it is drastic, but I don't think that freak-in-a-sheet can do it on his own. This will finally allow me to defeat those fools and punish that homely traitor, Vivian, once and for all! Mwee-hee-hee!"
Nazz/Beldam quickly tucked the Charm of Life into Nazz's shirt so that no one could see. She suddenly heard the voice of Kevin calling out to her:
"Yo, Nazz! C'mon, pedal to the metal, or the train'll leave without us!"
Nazz's eyes suddenly returned to normal, signifying that Beldam was no longer possessing her.
"Whoa, what just happened?" she asked, confused as to why she was still in town and not with the others on the train.
"NAZZ! HURRY UP!" called Kevin again.
"Oh, shoot! Coming, guys!" called Nazz as she raced to catch up with her friends.
Nazz finally reached the train just in the nick of time, and Kevin pulled her onboard as the conductor called "All aboard!"
Steam began to puff from the lead car of the train as it shook and came to life. The train started slowly at first, but gradually began to accelerate as it pulled away from Rogueport's train station. In three days' time, the heroes would arrive in Poshley Heights in search of their sixth and penultimate Crystal Star. They had no notion, however, that some shadowy foes have managed to stow away with them…
End of Intermission