Chapter 2: The Great Boggly Tree

Part 3: Revolution

The Puni elder led the heroes back to the foyer of the tree, where Puniper and the other nine Punies awaited. Puniper, seeing as only the elder was among the heroes, was not impressed.

"Oh, great, Punio's back," he griped. "Hmph! Yeah, I meant that! I can't say I expected you to manage to rescue the elder..."

"See? I told you!" replied Punio.

"BUT don't let your head swell up!" Puniper spat back. "This doesn't change the fact that I will NEVER accept you as our next leader! And I can't say I trust these people behind you, either. I mean, for starters, you failed to rescue the other Punies! So you know what? The deal's OFF! You got that? I'm not helping you one bit, and that's THAT!"

"YOU INSOLENT MULE!" shouted the elder, doubling in size once again, scaring everyone in the room except for Rolf. "Deplorable! How dare you speak like this, knowing what we're up against! Now is the time for us to stand together and take back our tree! Do you not see this?"

"But… Elder…" began Puniper.

"SHUT YOUR TRAP, PUNIPER!" demanded the elder furiously. "You pretend to act tough and care for your fellow Punies, but this behavior you've exhibited only proves the opposite – that you are a worthless, heartless good-for-nothing!"

"What- How- I can't believe you just said that to me!" protested Puniper. "I'm not heartless, and I do have worth! To be perfectly honest, I'm worried about Petuni, as well, and Punica and the others. But am I the only one being realistic here? Those X-Nauts aren't working by themselves – they've formed an alliance with the Jabbies!"

"Jabbies?" inquired Edd. "Pray tell, what are 'Jabbies?'"

"A winged species not that much bigger than the Punies," explained Rolf, seething. "The Jabbies are the sworn enemies of the Punies! They try to take everything for themselves, including this tree! This situation is as wild as Nana's back hair!"

"How- Elder? How does this blue-haired giant know all that?" asked Puniper, rather unnerved by Rolf's knowledge of their existence and lifestyle.

"I am not entirely sure, Puniper," replied the elder more calmly, as she approached Rolf with an air of curious fervor. "Somehow, someway, this child seems to know everything about us, despite having never met us before now. He also seems to want to defend us staunchly."

"Yeah, Rolf, what is going on with you?" inquired Nazz.

"Rolf has explained this many times now, inquisitive Nazz-girl," replied Rolf. "Rolf knows the Punies to be sacred creatures in his Old Country."

"Interesting… I wonder…" said the elder once again.

The occupants of the room went quiet, rapt with attention at what the elder had to say next.

"A thousand years ago, around the time of the fall of the ancient city," said the elder, "it was prophesized by the oracle that a hero from another world would rise up to save us all in the future. The more I think about it, the more I believe that this child, the one called 'Rolf,' is the hero that the oracle spoke of."

"Rolf?" asked Nazz. "Did you know this?"

"Not completely, curious-cat Nazz-girl," replied Rolf. "But somehow, before Rolf relocated to our humble little cul-de-sac, he knew he had a future with the Punies. Though never did the son of a shepherd know that his future would be to save them."

"As you are now aware, Rolf, we need you now more than ever," said the elder. "Join us in our fight for our home."

"Rolf accepts!" proclaimed Rolf. "Now let us begin the Puni revolution! Hyah!"

The other Punies in the room, Punio and Puniper included, repeated Rolf's "Hyah!" battle cry.

"There you go, my Punies! That's the fighting spirit!" proclaimed the elder.

Rolf took lead position as the rest of the group, now with the Punies in the room, prepared to leave the room and begin their revolution.

"There is one last thing!" called the elder, stopping them in their tracks.

The elder sidled behind one of the Puni statues in the foyer and returned with a peculiar-looking rock. This rock appeared to be in the shape of the sun, perhaps in a more accurate portrayal than the Sun Stone previously found in Petal Meadows, with a bright orange hue. However, it also bore an image of a Puni on it.

"This is the orb of the Punies," she said. "It is a sign of a good and heroic leader of the Punies. You'll find stone statues with empty slots in this tree. Place this emblem in such a statue, and it will gather the Punies to stand still at this rock. They are trained to do this." She carried the stone to Rolf, who took the stone in his hand.

"Thank you, yes, thank you, wise elder," said Rolf.

"Be careful, all of you," said the elder, seeing off the heroes and the fellow Punies.

"Yes, wise elder," said Rolf. "Punies! Heroes! Follow Rolf!"

XXX000XXX000XXX

Rolf led the heroes and the Punies through several large passageways through the tree. Soon, they arrived in a large room with a small river flowing across the floor halfway in. What made this room notable was the strange nest in the back of the room. It was gray in appearance, with a mechanical door at its entrance and a round red light above it; the light was off.

"Whoa, that thing's huge," Goombella observed, noting the size of the nest. "What is that?"

"That's a Jabbi hive," replied Punio, somewhat nervously.

"Better watch out. That hive might not be empty," warned Puniper.

"Ho ho! Zat is nothing zat mon petit Mario cannot 'andle!" proclaimed Flurrie, smiling at Mario somewhat amorously.

"Get a room, you two," mumbled Goombella under her breath.

"No, Madame Wind Spirit," said Rolf. "This is a matter of the Punies, the Jabbies, and the son of a shepherd."

All of a sudden, an alarm began to sound from the hive, the red light over the door signifying this. The mechanical door opened.

"What's going on?!" asked Koops.

"Looks like the X-Nauts decided to help them out," said Nazz.

From the open door, a troop of Jabbies began pouring out from the hive, no more than ten.

"It's a ten-Jabbi squadron!" proclaimed Mario.

"Stay back, heroes! Rolf and the Punies shall lead this fight!" shouted Rolf, raising a hand to keep back the others.

The Jabbies had aligned themselves in a Y-formation, steeling themselves to defend their technologically-enhanced hive.

"Punies! Now is the time! Prepare to defeat them!" shouted Rolf. "CHARGE!"

Rolf led the Punies into battle with the squadron of Jabbies. What followed immediately was the clash of antennae, wings, and (in Rolf's case) fists. As it got messy, the others could only watch from the corner of the room.

"Just when I thought things couldn't be any more peculiar," said Edd.

After about a minute and a half, the brawl finally came to an end, with the Jabbies on the ground, beaten and defeated.

"Come, heroes!" proclaimed Rolf to the rest of the group. He led them out of the chamber, deeper into the tree.

XXX000XXX000XXX

Jimmy continued to squirm where he was. Despite his efforts, his bindings refused to give way, rendering him unable to free himself.

"What's with you, kid?" Punica asked Jimmy, somewhat rudely.

"Hey, cool it, Punica," Petuni fired back. "This poor child has obviously suffered a traumatic experience."

Petuni hobbled closer to Jimmy, who tried to recoil in fright.

"What are you doing?" he shouted.

"Please, just trust me for a second," Petuni replied. She then began to nibble on the rope that bound Jimmy to the pole, and it partially snapped. Seeing this progress, Petuni continued the effort.

"What are you doing?" Jimmy shouted again.

"Chewing through these bindings to loosen them up," replied Petuni. "It might make it easier to wriggle free."

"Um… th-thanks, I-I guess," stuttered Jimmy nervously.

"By the way, my name's Petuni," replied Petuni. "And this is my friend, Punibeth."

As Petuni said this, Punibeth approached them, inciting a frightened cry of "Eep!" from Jimmy.

"Jimmy, was it? Is something the matter?" asked Punibeth, noting that Jimmy still had fear in his eyes.

"Those s-scary X-meanies kidnapped me a-and chucked me into a c-c-cage inside a-a huge tree," he lamented.

"You've no need to be afraid of us, Jimmy," replied Petuni calmly, trying to placate Jimmy.

"Petuni's right," added Punibeth. "We're not like those X-Nauts. We won't harm you."

"Why should I believe you?" Jimmy fired back, about to cry again. "Those X-meanies said the same thing to me when I asked them to help me… then when I got close, they jumped me and tied me up and chucked me in here! So why should I believe you?"

Petuni looked away, downcast, as Punibeth attempted to comfort her and tears formed again in Jimmy's eyes. A soft rumbling sound brought them back to attention.

"Mmmf… I got a rumbly in my tummy," moaned Jimmy.

"You must be hungry," observed Petuni.

"Oh, what does it matter?" lamented Jimmy tearfully. "I've already learned my lesson in this place – don't trust anyone."

"But if you don't eat, you'll starve to death," noted Punibeth.

"Tell you what," offered Petuni. "We've got a few mush- er, dried mushrooms to eat. They're small, so a few of us can lift them, but they should be enough to keep your hunger at bay."

"No… For all I know, you guys'll just poison me or something…" Jimmy quavered.

"You don't know us at all, do you?" inquired Petuni.

"Please… just leave me be," moaned Jimmy. He closed his eyes in depression. How much longer am I going to last in here? he thought to himself. Oh, the agony...

Though she was saddened by this, Petuni remained determined to earn Jimmy's trust, one way or another. Jimmy closed his eyes and wept quietly, tears streaming from his eyes like rivers, not noticing that Petuni and Punibeth had resumed chewing through the frail boy's bindings.

XXX000XXX000XXX

"What's the status of this chamber?" inquired Edd.

The collective group had arrived in a new chamber hidden behind the Jabbi hive, with a single wooden box and four large statues, each depicting different symbols.

"Well, let's see… There's a single treasure chest," observed Nazz. "Other than that, nothing of real relevance in here."

"Not true, inquisitive Nazz-girl," Rolf rebutted, pointing toward four statues. "Observe these four monuments. Gaze upon the symbols on the monuments. Rolf has seen this before, in the home of the Professor Frankly."

"Have you now?" asked Mario.

FLASHBACK

The group said their goodbyes to Frankly and proceeded to leave. Rolf, however, appeared to be fixated on something high upon Frankly's bookshelf – four plates, each depicting a different symbol. From left to right, they depicted the Sun, the crescent Moon, one of the creatures that Frankly had described (now revealed to be a Puni), and a star.

"Coming, Rolf?" asked Edd.

"Oh! Apologies, Ed-boy!" said Rolf, startled. "Rolf is coming!"

END FLASHBACK

"Professor Frankly has four plates in his residence that depict these same exact symbols?" inquired Edd as he absorbed this new oversight. "Gracious, I hadn't even noticed that!"

"Hey, guys!" called Goombella. "Jackpot!"

Goombella, having opened the treasure box, approached the group with a blue-colored key in her teeth.

"All right! A key!" exclaimed Koops.

"This is just what we need to rescue not only your sister and the other Punies, but Jimmy as well!" noted Edd.

"Awesome!" exclaimed Punio. "We're coming, Petuni! Now to head back to the prison chamber…"

"THERE THEY ARE!" bellowed a voice.

Nazz suddenly felt something grab her in a headlock. It was an X-Naut referred to as Jaxon, according to the name-plate on his uniform.

"Nobody move, or the girl dies!" Jaxon demanded. The room fell silent, as tension mounted. "Now… give us the Punies, your Crystal Star, and the Map, and maybe I'll spare this girl her life."

"…Don't…do it,… guys… Run…" was all that Nazz managed to get out.

"You fiend!" snapped Edd. "You kidnap over one hundred innocent souls and threaten lives if you do not get your way! You truly are rotten to the core, you abhorrent, heartless-"

Edd was cut off from whatever swearword he was thinking of when he saw Nazz kick Jaxon in the thigh. Jaxon yelped in pain, allowing enough time for her to break free of the soldier's grasp.

"NOW!" shouted Edd, readying his rod.

Nazz continued to wail on X-Naut Jaxon before grabbing him in a headlock.

"Yeah? How's it feel, chump?" she spat at him. Jaxon broke free from her grasp, but she decked him again, sending him stumbling to the floor.

It was about then that X-Naut reinforcements began flooding into the room. Each soldier brandished a glowing staff – akin to the lightsabers of the Star Wars franchise – and advanced on Nazz. Among these soldiers were Johnson and Rawlings, the two X-Nauts encountered in the foyer. Edd belted out a battle cry and slammed his rod on Rawlings's head. Having anticipated that the others would attack as well, he thrust his rod into the ground and sprung into the air as an X-Naut named Drucker swung at him, missing entirely.

Now! thought Edd. Hanging onto the rod like a pole, Edd reached out with his leg and kicked Drucker, then – using Drucker's head as a spring pad – the sock-headed boy swung around his rod with his foot outstretched and performed a roundabout kick, knocking Drucker and all of the nearby X-Nauts, including Johnson, to the floor.

"Dang, Double-D! I had no idea you were so athletic!" Nazz marveled as she continued to beat up Jaxon.

"Yes, well, with determination, if you put your mind to it-" began Edd, who was quickly cut off.

"ED-BOY! DUCK!" shouted Rolf.

Edd dropped to the floor on Rolf's command as the son of a shepherd soared overhead with his bag of rocks and struck another X-Naut named Traynor.

By now, the X-Nauts were growing furious! Drucker regained his composure and swung his glowing staff, knocking Edd's rod right out of his hands. The rod flew and stuck into a wall on the other side of the room. Edd gasped in shock, which provided enough time for Drucker to deliver a blow to Edd's chest, knocking him to the floor.

This was enough for Mario and his faction to join the fight as well. Koops ducked inside his shell and launched himself at a team of X-Nauts, striking Traynor. Amid the recoil, Traynor lost his balance, and he fell backward onto his faction of X-Nauts, knocking them over like dominoes, with the rearmost soldier falling off of a ledge. Goombella jumped on an X-Naut named Farron, causing him to fall down. In response, Farron's teammate, Jeffries, moved in for an attack, but the quick-witted Goomba evaded the move with a well-executed jump. Looking at Jeffries's face, Goombella called to her team, "Hey guys! I found a weak spot!"

Goombella kicked some dirt toward Jeffries's eyes, covering his goggles and blinding him.

"GAH! I can't see!" shouted Jeffries. Blinded, he began swinging in random directions wildly, accidentally taking out Farron.

"YES! Their numbers are decreasing!" shouted Rolf. "Rolf thinks these monsters are running out of backup!"

"Good!" called Edd, as he retrieved his rod from the wall of the tree, which thankfully didn't pierce the irrigation system, otherwise the tree would have been flooded before too long.

"Oh yeah?" retorted Rawlings. "Get a load of THIS!"

Rawlings pulled out a flask containing a green-colored chemical concoction.

"What is that?" asked Nazz.

In response, Rawlings slammed the flask on the ground, enveloping the X-Nauts in a green cloud of smoke. The heroes covered their mouths and noses to prevent themselves from inhaling the rather toxic solution. When the smoke cleared, the heroes immediately saw what had happened – the remaining X-Nauts had now doubled physically in size.

"Aw man!" said Nazz.

"Excellent! All-a the easier to strike-a them!" said Mario as he brought his hammer down on Farron. In response, Farron swung his staff and struck Mario. Due to the X-Nauts' increased physical size, this strike seemed to cause immense pain, evidenced by Mario's pained yelp.

"MARIO!" shouted Flurrie.

"This soldier's overwhelming-a size is not a force-a to be underestimated-a," groaned Mario.

"Vous shall pay pour wounding mon petit Mario!" shouted Flurrie in rage. She drew a long, deep breath, and with great force, exhaled a powerful gust of wind. Edd quickly thrust his rod into the ground, attempting to maintain gravity, but Flurrie's wind powers were about as strong as the howling winds of a hurricane, enough to actually lift Edd off of the ground. I wonder, he thought to himself, at this trajectory

Edd slowly released his grip on the rod, and as the hurricane-force winds carried him, he readied his foot. In midair, he made contact with Johnson at high speed, sending him flying into Rawlings, Jaxon, Johnson, and the others behind them, sending them over the ledge onto the lower level where Traynor now was.

This left Drucker, Jeffries, and Farron.

Koops, now with Goombella riding on his shell, launched himself mach-speed at Drucker, striking him full-force in the face; as they made contact, Goombella hopped off of Koops and delivered a powerful double head-bonk attack on Drucker as well, sending him careening off of the ledge. With Drucker out of the way, Mario and Nazz tag-teamed up to deliver a combo attack of their own, with Mario's hammer and Nazz's fists striking Jeffries hard enough to send him off of the ledge as well, leaving only Farron.

"Now to end this!" shouted Edd.

The sock-headed boy readied his rod and prepared to strike Farron head-on, but Rolf got there first, jumping over Edd and whacking the X-Naut with his rock-filled bag, shattering his glasses. Rolf continued his onslaught until Farron, too, dropped from the ledge.

"Incredible! Thank you guys!" said Punio, as he and the other Punies emerged from their hiding spot behind the statues.

"We waste time dawdling! Let us save the prisoners now!" shouted Rolf.

XXX000XXX000XXX

"All right! You came back!" proclaimed Petuni as the heroes and the Punies returned to the prison chamber with the blue key.

Rolf took the key, inserted it into the lock, and turned it, unsealing the lock. But instead of turning the cage door handle, he shouted in his Old Country tongue and tore the door off of its hinges, tossing it aside.

"Brother!"

"Sister!"

Punio and Petuni ran over to each other and embraced, inciting mixed reactions of "aww" or "eww" from the other Punies.

"Jimmy!" shouted Edd to Jimmy. "See, we told you we'd be back for you!"

As Rolf ushered the Punies out of the cage and observed as they became reacquainted, Edd and Nazz entered the cage to unbind Jimmy from the pole. By now, Petuni and Punibeth had chewed through enough of the rope so that it was simpler for the two to free him.

"Oh, thank heavens!" he cried, embracing Edd and Nazz tearfully. "I was so frightened! I thought these squiggly-wigglies were gonna nibble on me! Or worse!"

"It'll be okay, Jimmy," Nazz reassured him. "You're with me and Double-D and Rolf now. And we have some new friends, too, for you to meet. They're on our side."

One by one, the others introduced themselves to Jimmy:

"It's-a me! Mario!"

"I'm Goombella!"

"Bonjour! Je m'appelle Madame Flurrie!"

"Um… my name's Koops."

Jimmy looked at his friends' new companions, one by one, and grew ever more uneasy.

"It's okay, Jimmy," reassured Edd. "They helped us find you and save you!"

"Everyone! This revolution has not yet drawn to its conclusion!" shouted Rolf. "We must obtain the Crystal Star and return this tree to the Punies!"

"Right! Let's go!" proclaimed Edd.

End of Part Three