Chapter 2: The Great Boggly Tree
Part 2: Infiltration of the Tree
"It 'as been un long time since Madame was last 'ere," remarked Madame Flurrie.
The group of seven had returned to the site of the Great Boggly Tree, observing it from a distance. Everything seemed quiet.
"So now," continued Flurrie. "What is zis I 'ear? Zere is un-"
Flurrie was suddenly interrupted by the distant sound of marching footsteps.
"Oh, dear…" whispered Edd nervously.
"That-a could-a be the X-Nauts," Mario pointed out.
"Everyone, hide!" whispered Nazz. The group hid behind a succession of smaller trees to avoid being detected. Edd, Nazz, Mario, and Rolf craned their necks just barely enough to get a good view of who was marching toward the tree. From their vantage point, they were able to spot a battalion of soldiers wearing large X's on their uniforms, an appearance that was familiar to Edd, Nazz, Mario, and Goombella.
"That's them!" whispered Punio on Rolf's shoulder. "Those are the X-Nauts!"
"Oh, my stars… Those are the soldiers who went after Goombella at Rogueport's docks!" noted Edd quietly and in shock.
"Oh my gosh, you're right!" whispered Nazz.
They watched as the troops advanced toward the Great Boggly Tree. Edd discovered that they were being led by Lord Crump, the tallest soldier who wore a purple bandana on his head. Also among the ranks were the Shadow Sirens: Beldam, Marilyn, and Vivian. Beldam whirled around to face the troops behind her and barked some orders at them alongside Crump, whilst Marilyn still bore that same goofy absentminded face and Vivian still appeared to be very sad. The X-Naut grunts behind the leaders were marching in rows and columns, in perfect succession, like any of Earth's military forces.
"Troops, HALT!" shouted Crump, in a booming voice.
Immediately, all of the troops stopped marching, and faced their commanding officer.
"Listen up, maggots! Our orders are to complete our mission an' take over dis tree!" barked Crump. "Leave no stragglers! We march in da second our reinforcements get here. Ah, and here dey are now!"
A huge ship soon arrived overhead, marked with a large X on the side of the hull. The heroes watched as the large airship touched down just a few feet away from the Great Tree, and a large walkway emerged from an opening in the hull. Out from the ship came another battalion of X-Naut soldiers.
"Man, Double-D, this feels like a Star Wars movie," whispered Nazz to Edd. "I'm thinking along the lines of maybe The Empire Strikes Back or something… Hey, what's that they're carrying?"
Nazz had noticed, right around then, that the soldiers were carrying a large pole, with something – or someone – tied to it.
"Wait, hang on, let me get a better look," said Edd. He whipped out a pair of binoculars that he had stored away, and peered through them.
"Oh my lord!" he shouted unintentionally. "They have someone tied to that thing!"
"What?! Let me see!" said Nazz. Edd handed her the binoculars, and she peered through them to see what Edd saw. "Man, you're right, Double-D! They have a hostage! I can't tell who it is, though – there's a bag over his or her head or something."
"This is horrible! Unconscionable! Reprehensible!" groaned Edd. "Just how many more people DO they plan to capture?"
"Guys, quiet down!" Goombella admonished, half-whispering. "You want them to hear us?"
"Forward, troops! We march to our destiny!" shouted Crump. "Dat Crystal Star'll be ours in no time!"
Crump and the soldiers marched forward to the tree. The double doors opened, and the X-Nauts marched inside in lines, until the last of the soldiers was in the tree, and the doors slammed shut. The Shadow Sirens, meanwhile, had all disappeared into the shadows.
"No…" cried Punio.
"Come! We 'ave non temps to lose!" proclaimed Flurrie.
The group emerged from behind their hiding spots and ran up the side of the Great Boggly Tree, to the spot where Punio had detected a secret entrance that had been sealed.
"So yeah, there's supposed to be a secret entrance nearby, Madame Flurrie," said Punio. "It's just blocked by some… invisible thingy that needs to be removed."
"Oui, Punio," said Flurrie. "Everyone 'old on to your 'ats!"
Flurrie took a very deep breath, and exhaled a great gale-force wind. The wind was so strong that everyone wearing some form of headgear – Edd, Nazz, Mario, and Goombella – struggled to keep their respective headgear from blowing off of their heads. In seconds, some bark began to peel off of the tree. When it was all over, there was a small Puni-sized hole with a sign nearby that read "Secret Entrance" with neon lights.
"There it is!" exclaimed Punio.
"Hey, wait… Punio, you said that the secret entrance wouldn't be marked with a neon sign," scolded Nazz.
"Oops… I stand corrected, then," said Punio, trying to save face.
"I concur with Nazz," said Edd. "Marking a secret entrance with a large sign that reads 'Secret Entrance' all but defeats the purpose of even having a secret entrance." He then whispered to Nazz, "Even Eddy's brother does a better job of hiding his bedroom."
"All criticism aside, the point is, now we can finally get in!" said Punio. "Rolf, set me down."
Rolf set Punio back down onto the bark, and the small green-bulbed Puni sidled into the tiny hole.
"Ooh, aren't ze Punies just ze most precieux petit creatures?" said Flurrie, smiling. "Madame was a diva of ze Shroomway stage, vous see. But ze filthy air outside ze spotlight repelled moi, so I sought seclusion in zese woods. It was 'ere zat, soon enough, I first met ze Punies and glimpsed zair pure petit hearts. Immediately I was reminded of mon innocence as a rookie actress… and it made moi realize zat I shall ever love ze stage, and zat I must feel ze glow and ze warmth of ze spotlight once more. It was mon interaction with ze Punies zat 'elped moi to find mon true self… Zis is why Madame must 'elp zem in any way I can before I return to mon Shroomway stage comeback."
Before anyone could reply, a clicking noise could be heard from inside the tree. Seconds later, the automated doorway opened, the red light above turning green to signify this, and Punio slithered out of the tree.
"Okay, everyone, can you hear me?" called Punio. "I managed to open the door from the inside! C'mon, everyone!"
Rolf ran through the doorway first, allowing Punio back onto his shoulder on the way; the others followed shortly thereafter. They found themselves inside a large chamber, where the walls of the tree were lined not only with thick bark, but what appeared to be clear networks of pipes delivering water to each and every area of the Great Tree to nourish it. The floor inside the Tree was different, too – it was black with endless golden vine patterns. At least three large Puni statues were in this chamber as well. Aside from the statues and the small tufts of grass, however, the room was empty. The only sound they heard was the flowing of water from the walls.
"Hmm… This is weird," mused Punio. "Rolf, set me down for a bit."
Rolf set Punio back down onto the floor of the tree, and the small Puni sidled to the center of the foyer, looking around.
"This isn't right," he quipped. "Normally everyone would be right here. But they're not… hmm, where could they be?" He then called, in a slightly louder voice: "Elder! Everyone! Come on out! HELLOOOOOOOO?"
A clicking noise could be heard from across the room, startling everyone. It was right then that they noticed a second automated doorway, identical to the one the group had just entered through. These doors opened up, the red light turning green to signify this, and two X-Naut soldiers emerged.
"Look, Rawlings!" said the X-Naut to the left to his teammate before facing the group again. "Hey! How'd you all get in here?"
"Hey! Johnson! Look again, dude!" said his teammate, Rawlings. "It's that Mario guy and his dumb friends!"
"Really?!" shouted Johnson. "Let's get 'em!"
"Wait! We need to tell Lord Crump!" replied Rawlings. "He said to report to him IMMEDIATELY if we ever encountered Mario!"
"Come off it, Rawlings! Use your head for once!" Johnson fired back. "We should capture 'em all here and now so we get our due credit! Just think about it – there's just gotta be a huge reward in it for us! DUH!"
"Oh, yeah," recalled Rawlings. "Let's do it, then! Let's rock these chumps!"
"One, two, three, BREAK!" the two X-Nauts shouted together before charging the heroes.
"Let's take these losers DOWN!" shouted Nazz. She darted up to Rawlings and connected with a blow to his goggles, sending him to the ground.
"YEOWW! Dang!" yelled Rawlings. "These chumps are ANNOYING!"
"You idiot! Just because we're foot soldiers doesn't mean we have to ACT like it!" scolded Johnson loudly.
Rolf shouted a swear in his native Old Country tongue and charged forward, armed with his bag of rocks. He lifted his bag high and connected with a blow to Johnson's face, knocking him to the floor near one of the Puni statues. As Punio darted out of the way and hid near Edd's right foot, Rolf then whirled around and struck Rawlings in the head.
However, Rolf didn't stop there. Consumed by rage, the son of a shepherd continued his relentless assault on the two X-Naut grunts, shouting in his native tongue all the way. The others could only watch in shock and with a tinge of fear. Finally, Rolf ceased his onslaught, panting heavily, and the two X-Naut soldiers got up and ran away to the door.
"Crud, man!" groaned Johnson as they ran. "That stung! Whoever this kid is, he's mental!"
"Told you we should have just reported back to Lord Crump!" griped Rawlings.
"Dang, Rolf, what's WITH you all of a sudden?" Goombella demanded nervously.
"In Rolf's old country, the Punies are considered sacred!" shouted Rolf. "Rolf shall not allow them to be mistreated like this!"
"Sacred? Us?" asked Punio, nervously approaching Rolf.
"Indeed!" replied Rolf.
"Well… pretty slick work handling those guys, Rolf," remarked Punio.
"I still don't get it," said Nazz. "How could Rolf possibly even know that these guys exist?"
"Hm?" said Punio, gazing at the foot of one of the statues. "Hey!"
A small Puni had poked its head from behind the statue.
"Hey!" shouted Punio again. "Relax, guys, you can come out now! These guys are all here to help us!"
Immediately, several small voices began emanating from behind the statues:
"Wow, they're tall!"
"I'm scared. I don't wanna get eaten!"
"Right in the nick of time."
"That giant with the bag is something else!"
"Why does that one giant have a sock on his head?"
"Nice mustache."
"Punio, you're such a dork!"
The heroes were greeted with the sight of ten Punies emerging from behind the statues. Unlike Punio, however, their antenna bulbs were yellow, not unlike those of fireflies. They also did not share the darker-gray stripes that Punio bore.
"Only ten?" puzzled Punio. "That's not right. There should be more than this… Meh, I guess we'll have to make do! I would like to formally introduce: Rolf, Eddward, Nazz, Mario-"
"Wait a minute!" came the voice of a larger Puni. "Punio, you dork!"
The larger Puni approached Punio, as if menacingly.
"Oh… Puniper," griped Punio.
"We were in danger, you dolt!" snapped Puniper. "And now look! We've been overtaken! How DARE you just up and ditch us like that?!"
"I just went to get some help!" Punio protested. "And besides, how did you escape?"
"Well, there were eleven of us at first," replied Puniper, a hint of pride mischief in his voice reminiscent of Eddy. "But as we were being herded like sheep into a cage, I pushed Punilly in front of one of those soldiers to trip him so we could get away!"
"You did WHAT?!" Punio demanded. "You sacrificed Punilly just so you could get away? Wow, Puniper. Even for you, that's a new low."
"What choice did we have? It was either that or no one escape," Puniper fired back. "And on another note, how do we really know that these large people can help us?" demanded Puniper. "For all we know, they might be more of those… soldier things!"
"Oh, Puniper, Madame sees zat vous 'ave not changed un bit," remarked Flurrie with a tinge of disappointment.
"Oh!" said Puniper, startled. "Madame Flurrie! My apologies. I almost didn't see you there."
"What are vous saying, Puniper?" asked Flurrie. "We are not with zese foul X-Naut creatures!"
"Madame's right!" said Punio. "If we all band together with these, our new allies, then we'll have a real shot at chasing these X-Naut goons out of here!"
"No way, Punio!" Puniper spat. "You have no idea what we've been through since you left! Everyone else was captured! Even Punilly, AND the elder! And even YOUR SISTER!"
"PETUNI? Say it ain't so!" shouted Punio.
"Oh, it's so!" snapped Puniper. "Those soldiers said it was because we wouldn't tell them where to find some… crystal thing."
The heroes all jumped in shock.
"Oh, my!" said Edd.
"Can this be true?" said Rolf.
"I KNEW IT! This is where the Magical Map marked the next Crystal Star!" exclaimed Goombella.
"Yeah, that thing. We just told 'em we never heard of it," said Puniper nonchalantly.
"Oh, Petuni…" moaned Punio. "Well, we shouldn't just stand around! C'mon, we have to save the others!"
"Again, no dice, Punio!" snapped Puniper. "Do the math. It'd be eleven Punies and these seven giants against an also giant, great, and very powerful army! Maybe if you free everyone else, THEN MAYBE we'll join your little uprising."
"Fine! Deal!" said Punio, desperate. "So where are they being held?"
"Hey! We've done enough right now! Find 'em yourself!" spat Puniper.
"Come, everyone!" said Rolf. "Let us save the hallowed Punies!"
"…Puniper, you jerk," muttered Punio under his breath as he climbed back onto Rolf's shoulder. Rolf and Punio led the group down the pathway into a nearby pipe that led higher up the tree.
XXX000XXX000XXX
"Hey! Shut up and keep quiet in there!" demanded the X-Naut named Erixon as he kicked the exterior of the Punies' blue-colored prison. The Punies gasped and gathered to the rear of the cage as Erixon walked away.
"Punibeth… I'm so scared…" quavered a small female Puni, who resembled Punio but with a pink antenna bulb.
"It'll be okay, Petuni," replied her friend, Punibeth. "If your brother is even half as great as you say, he'll be back."
"No, he won't! He ran like a coward!" snapped another Puni.
"Oh, shut up, Punica! You sound like Puniper, and no one likes a negative Nancy," Punibeth fired back.
"I said shut up!" shouted Erixon, kicking the cage again.
"Erixon!" bellowed a new voice. As Erixon looked, two more X-Nauts entered the room, carrying a pole with someone tied to it and wearing a bag over his or her head.
"A new prisoner. Excellent job, Rodolfo, Xavier," said Erixon.
As Petuni and the other Punies watched, Rodolfo removed the bag from this new prisoner's head, revealing him to be a human boy with pale white skin and matching platinum-blonde hair with a notable cowlick. He also wore a sort of brace around his head that seemed to connect to his upper teeth. Right now, though, this human boy appeared to be unconscious, as his eyes were closed and he wasn't squirming.
"I had to knock him out to keep him from crying and squirming," said Xavier.
"Well, yes, we certainly cannot have that," replied Erixon.
"So Erixon, what should we do with this one?" asked Rodolfo.
"We chuck him into the cage with the rest of them!" demanded Erixon. As he unlocked and opened the cage, Rodolfo and Xavier took the boy, still tied to the pole, and thrusted him inside, before slamming the gate shut and locking it back up.
"And when that freak Mario and his friends come to save them, we will ambush them and finally take him down!" laughed Rodolfo.
"X-Nauts!" rang the voice of yet another X-Naut, who entered the room carrying a single Puni struggling in his hand.
"Ah, X-Naut Fox, you've brought the elder of the Punies," noted Erixon.
"Elder!" shouted Petuni.
"SILENCE! I won't tell you again!" spat Erixon as he kicked the Punies' cage yet again. The X-Naut named Fox chucked the Puni elder into a red cage and locked the gate. Chuckling, Fox then placed a red key in his pocket before leaving the room through the opposite entryway.
"Now we wait," said Rodolfo, as he, Xavier, and Erixon went into hiding. "They should arrive at any moment now."
As if on cue, Rolf emerged from a nearby pipe, with Punio on his shoulder. He was followed by Mario, then Edd, then Madame Flurrie, then Koops, then Goombella, and finally Nazz bringing up the rear.
"Elder!" called Punio. The green-bulbed Puni guided his new friends to the red cage where the Puni elder was being held.
"Punio?" said the elder. "Is that you? You're looking well."
"You seem really calm, Elder. Why? You're trapped, and this is our daring rescue of you!" said Punio.
"A rescue… Yes, those are fun… But perhaps you should rescue the other Punies before you rescue me," said the elder.
During this conversation, Rolf started sniffing around, as if detecting an unseen presence.
"Big brother!" came Petuni's voice from the other cage.
"Petuni!" called Punio almost immediately.
"Quick! Get out of here! It's an ambush!" she warned them.
"Rolf knows this," said Rolf. "Ed-boy! Take Punio!" Rolf immediately picked up Punio and placed the green-bulbed Puni on Edd's shoulder. Just then, Rodolfo, Erixon, and Xavier emerged from their hiding spot. Punio became confused and scared before he spotted Rolf charging the three X-Nauts head on.
With a shout in his native tongue, Rolf slammed his bag into Rodolfo with all his might, sending the soldier flying into Erixon, knocking them dizzy. Xavier managed to leap onto Rolf's head, but in a heartbeat, the tall blue-haired youth tossed him right off, near the other two soldiers. Edd readied his rod and began charging into the fight.
"Step back, Ed-boy!" yelled Rolf, raising his hand. "This is Rolf's fight! Rolf shall overcome them himself!"
Edd nodded and stepped back toward the others as Rolf slammed his bag right into Xavier's face, breaking his goggles. Rodolfo attempted to jump-attack Rolf in a last-ditch attempt to avenge his partner, but the tall son of a shepherd quickly tossed the X-Naut off of him, sending him flying back into Xavier. Once again consumed by rage, Rolf began mercilessly beating the fallen X-Nauts rapidly, forcing Edd to intervene.
"ROLF! That is enough!" shouted Edd. "They're down! There's no need to continue beating them at this time!"
Rolf growled and begrudgingly put away his bag, while Punio quickly darted to the side of the cage where the other Punies were being held.
"Sister! Petuni!" exclaimed Punio.
"Brother! Punio! I knew you'd be back!" replied Petuni, sharing her brother's sentiment. "I never lost any hope, unlike some people," she fired back at the cynical Punica.
It was then that Nazz peered into the cage and saw the human child tied to the pole, the one thing that stood out from the Punies in the cage. She gasped as she almost immediately recognized him, and as she watched with surprised eyes, the boy was starting to regain consciousness.
"Double-D! Rolf!" exclaimed Nazz. "Look, guys! In the cage, tied to the pole! It's Jimmy!"
As Edd and Rolf joined Nazz outside the cage, the boy inside the cage woke with a start upon hearing this familiar voice calling his name, and began squirming in his bindings.
"Nazz! Rolf! Double-D!" called Jimmy, excitedly squirming; having anticipated that he would eventually be rescued. "I'm so glad you guys are alive!"
"Rolf is pleased to see that Boy Jimmy has survived the wrath of the seas!" said Rolf.
"We've all longed to see a friendly face around here, Jimmy!" said Edd, sharing Jimmy's sentiment.
"As have I, Double-D!" exclaimed Jimmy. As he continued to squirm in his bindings, he still sounded the same with his usual high and timid tone of voice. "Please, guys! Get me out of here!"
"Yeah, get us out of here too!" called Punibeth.
"Madame promises zat we will do what we can to save vous tous," said Flurrie to Jimmy and the imprisoned Punies. "We just need to find ze key."
"AAH!" screamed Jimmy at the sight of Madame Flurrie. "WHAT IS THAT?!"
"It's okay, Jimmy! She's with us! She's one of the good guys!" said Edd, attempting to placate Jimmy.
"Just sit tight, Jimmy, we'll get you all out of there! We promise!" said Nazz.
"O-okay," replied Jimmy timidly. "But please hurry! This whole thing – being locked in a cage with these squiggly-wigglies – is frightening!"
"Did he just call us 'squiggly-wigglies'?" whispered Punica.
"We shall return shortly, Jimmy!" reassured Edd as he and Rolf led their band of heroes into a nearby chamber.
XXX000XXX000XXX
"Since those Punies won't give up the location of the Crystal Star, this is perfect payback!" laughed Fox. "But man, this is brutal. How much longer till we find that stinkin' thing?"
He was in a room that appeared to be a storage unit. There were treasure boxes near the far wall, a small stack of wooden crates near the back wall, and two iron artifacts that resembled pencils. Aside from the gentle sound of flowing water coming from the irrigation networks in the walls, it was quiet.
"Either those Punies are playing dumb about it, or it's not an act and they really don't know a thing about it," mused Fox to himself. "Which makes no sense, considering they live here! Hmm… maybe we're lookin' in the wrong place or something…"
Just then, Fox was startled by a noise coming from the direction of the nearby knothole. He whirled around and saw something emerge from the open hole. Before he could react, however, he was struck with a blow to the head, and everything went dark.
"That was too easy," chuckled the intruder. "Security stinks around here… now, let's see…"
Just then, the nearby door opened, startling the intruder, who believed it to be backup for the X-Naut that she had just knocked out. She was instead greeted with some familiar faces: Edd, Nazz, Mario, Goombella, and Koops had walked through the door, flanked by Rolf, Punio, and Madame Flurrie.
"Look, guys!" said Nazz. "This guy's been knocked out."
"Hmm… It would seem we're not the only ones to infiltrate this tree," said Edd.
"Hello?" called Mario. "Is-a someone there?"
"Oh, well, ain't this a mighty-fine treat!" laughed the intruder. She hopped on top of the unconscious X-Naut Fox, revealing herself to be someone that much of the group had met before.
"Wait… Aren't you Ms. Mowz?" asked Nazz. "Didn't we see you back at Hooktail's castle?"
"Mowz?" inquired Flurrie.
"If it ain't my gorgeous cheese-hunk Mario and his worldly friends!" said Ms. Mowz. "Why, we simply gotta stop meetin' like this, don't you think?"
"Excusez-moi? Qu'est-ce que c'est?" demanded Flurrie. "Are vous un friend of zese peoples? Oh…" she added, a tinge of jealousy in her voice. "I see. And I most certainly do NOT approve of zis!"
"Still thieving around, hotshot?" Goombella fired back at Ms. Mowz. "What brings a Mouser like you to this tree?"
"'Thieving' is such a strong, crude word," chuckled Ms. Mowz. "I prefer to call it treasure-hunting, little lady! I think I'll simply help myself to some of this 'X' stuff and leave."
"You know this one?" asked Punio to Rolf.
"No, but it seems Mustache-Mario-Man and the others do," replied Rolf. They, apart from Flurrie, were the only ones who hadn't met Ms. Mowz prior to this.
"Well, if you must know, my search for badges at Hooktail's castle went kind of bust," replied Ms. Mowz to Goombella's question. "So when I heard that there might be badges here in this here tree, of course I came a-lookin'. Problem is, though, I've been runnin' into a lot more trouble than I expected."
With that, Ms. Mowz darted up to Mario and planted a kiss on him, causing Flurrie to glare in disgust and Goombella, Edd, and Nazz to look away.
"But who cares about that? It's just lovely to see you again, my handsome high-falutin' cheese-hunk!" laughed Ms. Mowz.
"Ugh, you are such a flirt!" said Goombella, disgusted.
"Sacre-bleu, Mario!" remarked Flurrie as Ms. Mowz began hopping back up to the knothole. "Vous are popular avec all of ze femmes, non?"
"By the way, y'all here looking for a Crystal Star?" called back Ms. Mowz. "I remember that's why y'all were at Hooktail's castle to begin with."
"How did you- So you know where it is, then?" inquired Edd.
"Yup!" replied Ms. Mowz as she climbed back down from the knothole and approached Edd. "Thief to thief, I can tell you that the Crystal Star y'all are looking for is near the bottom of this dang tree. Good luck in your hunt! Oh, and Mario, you handsome cheese-hunk o' man, we should definitely get together again soon! Y'all come back now, ya hear!"
With that, Ms. Mowz climbed back up the stack of crates to the knothole, and hopped out, exiting the tree.
"That Ms. Mowz or whoever must have the hots for you, Mario," said Punio.
"As off-putting as that was," piped up Edd, "thanks to her, we finally have a lead."
Just then, they had heard a groaning noise coming from X-Naut Fox, who was coming to.
"Ugh, my aching head…" he groaned.
As Fox stood up, he locked eyes with Mario and the others, who had begun to ready themselves.
"Hey! Which one of you is the dirtbag who clocked me in the head?" demanded Fox. "Actually, don't answer that. You fight dirty, you GET dirty! And I'll be doin' the dirtyin'!"
Fox charged at them, but Mario swung his hammer hard on the X-Naut's head, knocking him out again. Edd found this painful to witness, so he looked the other way.
"Double-D? Are you okay?" asked Nazz, concerned.
"Oh… yes, of course, Nazz," replied Edd.
"That wasn't very convincing. It sounds like this violence is really getting to you," said Nazz, placing a hand on Edd's shoulder.
"My apologies, Nazz. It's difficult to strike someone, or even observe someone getting struck, without feeling bad for them," he told her.
"I feel ya, dude," said Nazz.
"Ho-ho! Come, friends! This nincompoop possessed a key!" said Rolf, holding up a red key that they had extracted from Fox's pocket.
"Hopefully this key will open one of those cells in the other room," said Edd.
XXX000XXX000XXX
"Curse this hooey!" shouted Rolf. Back in the prison chamber, he had tried to insert the key into the cell containing Jimmy and the Punies, but it didn't fit the lock. Rolf shook the door violently, causing the timid Punies to sidle backward a ways, and Jimmy to stare in awe and with a bit of fear; he had never seen Rolf so enraged.
"This accursed door will not open!" shouted Rolf in anger. "These foul X-Nauts have chosen the wrong species to mess with! So long as Rolf shall live, the son of a shepherd shall bring this atrocity to an end!"
"Wait just a moment!" Edd chimed in. "Rolf! Let me see that key!"
Rolf thrust the key into Edd's hand. The sock-headed youth dashed to the cage holding the Puni elder and inserted the key. It fit perfectly into the lock. Edd turned the key and opened the elder's cage.
"Elder!" exclaimed Punio, sidling into the elder's cage. "We're back! We're here to rescue you!"
"FOOLISH CHILD!" bellowed the elder, doubling herself in size, taking everyone else aback. "Punio! Sit down this instant and keep your mouth shut!"
"Dang! She reminds me of my mother," noted Nazz.
"W-w-what? Why? What did I do?" quavered Punio.
"And that sounds like something Ed would say to Sarah," noted Edd.
"Elder, I don't understand why you're so upset!" Punio protested. "We came here to help you-"
"Stop your mumbling! And mind your elders, you whelp!" the elder scolded. "How could you abandon your poor sister Petuni and run off like that? You should be absolutely ashamed of yourself.
"B-but Elder… I only went to find help…" Punio protested.
"Stop with the whining!" scolded the elder again. "You never, EVER interrupt and elder mid-lecture! You wonder why the other Punies sometimes call you a doofus? Yeah, that's why. Your time to be a doofus is over, because you will have to one day lead the Punies! That day is drawing ever closer now, and that is why you need to listen! First of all…"
XXX000XXX000XXX
Two hours later…
"…or else! You got that, Punio? From now on, you need to get your act together!" snapped the elder. By this time, everyone besides the elder had dozed off, except for Rolf and Punio.
"Yes, Elder," replied Punio. "Yes, I understand."
"Only answer once!" demanded the elder. "By the way… why are you here anyway?"
"It's like I said, Elder," replied Punio. "I can't save you guys alone, so I went to find help. I ran into this team of heroes, who I heard recently saved a town in the flowery meadows from a fearsome dragon called Hooktail, and so I thought they gotta be what we were looking for! And besides, it was your key we found first, so we had to save you first."
"…Hm, well, all right. I really should calm down," sighed the elder pensively. Perhaps you're right, Punio. For now, let's return to the foyer and-"
"-and recruit the remaining Punies to begin the evtomtali," Rolf interjected.
"Yes, that is correct," said the elder to Rolf. "How did you know this?"
"O wise elder of the Punies, I am Rolf, son of a shepherd," said Rolf, kneeling down before her. "In Rolf's Old Country on Earth, the Punies are sacred creatures."
"And I suppose you know what the evtomtali is, then?" inquired the elder.
"A plan, or meeting arrangement, among Punies to make decisions or proceed with a future event," said Rolf, as if he had read it in the dictionary.
"That's correct," mused the elder pensively. "I wonder… are you…?"
"Is Rolf what, o wise elder?"
"Hm. I shall explain in the evtomtali," said the elder.
"Petuni!" called Punio, dashing to the other cage. "I'll be back for you, I promise!"
"HEROES!" shouted Rolf, jolting everyone else awake from their nap. "Come! It is time to go!"
The elder led the way out of the room, followed closely by Rolf and Punio, with the others not too far behind.
"WAIT!" called Jimmy in a panic. "Guys! Please! Don't leave me here!"
"I promise, Jimmy, we're coming back for you!" called Edd as Koops ushered him into the pipe to follow the others.
Petuni sidled over to Jimmy, hoping to comfort him.
"Don't worry, you'll be okay, okay?" she said. "Because my brother-"
"AAH!" Jimmy screamed. "Get away from me, squiggly-wiggly!"
Petuni was confused at his shouting; as she looked, tears began to form in the frightened boy's eyes.
"Please relax! I'm only trying to-"
"GET AWAY! PLEASE! LEAVE ME ALONE! WAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Jimmy's screaming gave way to loud and fearful sobbing, as tears started to flow rapidly from his eyes like a fountain. Still tied to the pole on the floor, he cried loudly as the other Punies gathered around him. Jimmy began squirming again, this time more vigorously, desperate to escape his situation; as he did so, the Punies took a few steps back, except for Petuni, who was genuinely concerned for him.
End of Part Two