Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story.

BGM: Petalburg (Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door)

"Oh, I'm so glad you slayed that dreadful beast!" Koopie Koo smiled, hugging Koops tightly.

"It… it wasn't me who slayed him, it was Luigi who did it." Koops told her.

"I know, but you were there, so it counts!" Koopie Koo giggled.

"Can't argue with that." Koops chuckled, then their door opened as Luigi came walking out with a towel over his neck.

"Whew, that felt great." Luigi smiled.

"Glad you feel a lot better!" Sora said with a thumbs up.

"And you smell better too." Mario added, causing Sora to snicker a bit.

"Well, I don't see you get eaten by a dragon, thank you very much." Luigi said.

"Hey Koops… before I hop in the shower, I have a suggestion for ya." Koopley said.

"Yeah?"

"You've proven yourself against Hooktail, so why not go out and have yourself an adventure with these boys?"

"Are you sure?"

"Positive, my boy! I imagine you'll discover things about yourself that you didn't know! Plus it'll be good for you!"

"Well, can't argue with that, I suppose…" Koops said and then turned to Koopie Koo. "Are you gonna be okay?"

"Of course! Besides, someone's gotta keep an eye on your dad lest he gets eaten again by something else."

"Ahahaha! Oh, your girlfriend's got a sense of humor. Alright… into the shower I go!" Koopley said, running into the door.

"Well… mind if I stick around for a while?" Koops asked.

"Of course!" Mario nodded.

"Yeah, the more the merrier!" Sora said as Koops smiled.

"Alright, so let's go!" Koops said as the trio nodded and took off.

End BGM

As soon as they got out of Petalburg, Sora's Gummi Phone started ringing. "Where's that sound coming from?" Mario wondered.

"Oh, sorry, it's me." Sora said, pulling out his phone. "It's probably Riku and Namine wondering where I am." He said, sheepishly blushing and answering it. "Hello?"

"Hey, it worked! Sora!"

"Huh? Kairi!" Sora exclaimed, catching the attention of the Bros. "Where are you at?"

"Well… the only info I can give you is that we're in an X-Naut base." Kairi said. "…Oh, I'm sorry, who are they?"

"Oh! Sorry, this is Mario and Luigi… and Koops."

"Hello!" Mario waved.

"Heya!" Luigi greeted.

"Nice to meet ya." Koops smiled.

On the other side of the phone…

"Oh, nice to meet you too!" Kairi smiled.

"Wait a minute! Did I just hear the Mario Bros?" Peach approached Kairi and looked into it. "Oh hey you two!"

"Peach!" The Mario Bros smiled.

That's Peach? Dang, she's prettier than I thought. Sora thought.

"Just to let you know, we're fine." Peach said. "And before you boys ask, no, Bowser didn't kidnap me and took Kairi along just for the fun of it… but it's someone named Grodus. They're more interested in this map that leads to these Crystal Stars. We're not sure what… but they seem to be pretty powerful."

"Well, we happen to have one of them with us!" Luigi said, pulling it out.

"Not to mention the map you sent us tells us where the locations of the Crystal Stars are." Mario added.

"Oh my…" Peach whispered. "Whatever you do, keep that map with you at all times. Who knows what'll happen if the X-Nauts grab a hold of it."

"Right. Will do!" Sora nodded.

"We'll keep you posted if anything happens." Kairi said and with a nod, Sora hung up. Kairi let out a sigh right after. "Well… now we know we can call the boys at any time."

"Indeed." Peach nodded.

"If I may make a suggestion?" TEC spoke up. "Perhaps the next time you communicate with your friends, you hook up your phone to me and I will transfer the picture to my screen so you won't have to hold it and squish yourselves together."

"Hmm… not a bad thought. We'll think about it!" Kairi said.

"I think it'd be best if we laid low for a while, just in case." Peach suggested and with a nod from Kairi, the two of them walked off to their room.

Back with the boys…

"Wow… so that's what Peach looked like? She's prettier than I thought." Sora said.

"I was thinking the same thing!" Koops agreed.

Mario chuckled. "Yeah, she's very pretty." He said with a happy sigh, unaware that he was blushing which caused Luigi to playfully elbow him. "Huh? Oh…"

"Daydreaming again, are we?" He teased.

"LIke you don't do the same with Daisy at times?" Mario shot back.

"Heheheh, well… ya know!" Luigi chuckled.

"Come on, let's go back to the Thousand Year Door. We oughta see where we have to go to next." Sora said with the three of them nodding.

At the Thousand Year Door…

BGM: Hall of the Thousand Year Door (Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door)

"Whooooa…" Koops said in awe as he stared at the door.

"Yeah, pretty big, isn't it?" Sora chuckled as they walked to the pedestal.

"I'll say!" Koops nodded and then moved his head to the Pit of 100 Trials. Hmm, wonder what's in there? He wondered as they walked toward the pedestal and Sora hopped on, where the lights shined brightly after he pulled the map out.

Once the light show was done, the quad looked into the map where they would see a large tree pop up in front of them, surrounded by other trees.

"It's in a tree?" Luigi wondered.

"Huh… anyone got a chainsaw?" Sora asked.

"Well, let's go ask the professor. He might know something." Mario said as they nodded.

End BGM

BGM: Professor Frankly (Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door)

"Interesting… very interesting…" Frankly mused, looking over the map with Goombella. "Well, I've got good news! The next Crystal Star is located in the Boggly Woods!"

"Boggly Woods, eh?" Sora mused. "How… mind boggling." He said before grimacing. "Okay, that was terrible."

"Well, at least you tried?" Goombella shrugged.

"So where is the Boggly Woods located?" Mario asked.

"No one knows for sure, but they seem to be connected to these Punies." Frankly said as Goombella pulled up a picture.

"They look like this." Goombella said.

"Hey… didn't we see one of those little guys when we were trying to find the Thousand Year Door?" Luigi wondered.

"Yeah, we did!" Mario nodded.

"So, let's go find it then!" Sora grinned.

"Oh, before we forget!" Koops spoke up. "These guys received a phone message from Peach and Kairi. They don't know where they're at, but it appears these X-Nauts are trying to find the Crystal Stars."

"Ooooh, that's not good at all." Goombella said. "Who knows what'll happen if they get into the wrong hands. Be careful!"

"We will. Let's-a go!" Mario said as they took off.

"…Video… messages?" Frankly wondered as they left. "Technology has gotten more complicated…"

End BGM

The quad made their way down to the sewers where they would see the Puni, where it would let out a yelp and go through the crack in the wall.

"So uh… anyone know how to bust down some bars?" Sora asked.

"Don't worry, I've come prepared." Mario said, pulling out four Mini Mushrooms as the Bros and Koops ate them up, shrinking down.

"Whoa!" Sora exclaimed as he looked at the Mini Mushroom and with a shrug, he took a bite… and shrunk down. "Wah! Why am I so small?!"

"You get used to it." Koops said as they ran through the bars and once they went into the next room, they saw the Puni.

BGM: Theme of the Punies (Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door)

"Huh? Wah! You guys shrunk down to my size! …Although now I can put up a good fight… but there's four of you and… gaaaah! Don't hurt me!"

"Whooooa, take it easy! We're not here to hurt you." Mario said.

"You're not? Oh, that's a relief!"

"What are you doing in a place like this?" Sora asked.

"Oh well… I came here for backup because our home was invaded by these X Freaks… said something about a Crystal Star… but I wanted to get back up just in case. I'm just a weak Puni after all…"

"Well, maybe we can help! We're looking for the Crystal Stars too, but we're the good guys!" Koops said.

"Oh, you are? Excellent! These X-Freaks won't know what'll hit 'em! The name's Punio!"

"I'm-a Mario, and this is Luigi, Sora and Koops!"

"Hello!"

"Heya!"

"Yo!"

"Nice to meet ya… now let's go!" Punio said as they went through the cracks, and once they made it to the other side, Mario pulled out four Super Mushrooms where they grew back to their normal sizes.

"…These Mushrooms are weird." Sora said as they went inside.

End BGM

Meanwhile…

BGM: Theme of the Shadow Sirens (Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door)

"Mwehehehehe! Those fools should be coming here at any moment!" Beldam said. "And together, we will ambush them and take that Crystal Star from them!"

"Indeed, and we will do horrible things to them… like pantsing them or drawing on their faces!" Vivian smiled.

"Oh Vivian, you gotta think outside the box!" Beldam said. "Pantsing or drawing on their faces will not do."

"Guh guuuuuh!"

"An atomic wedgie and a swirlie? That's definitely better, but it needs to be far worse than that!"

"Uh… let a Skuntank spray them?" Vivian guessed. "And… have a Heatran blast fire at them at the same time?"

"Ooooh, I like that! Vivian, be a dear and go get a Skuntank and Heatran… right after we look at the sketch. Vivian, if you please."

"…Uh… what? I don't have the sketch, you have it… because you said it was far important to lose because, in your words, I have butterfingers."

"Vivian, you FOOL! If I had the sketch, I would have known!"

"Bullcrap, you have it!"

"Don't you lie to me, you dolt! You're going to get punished for tha-… Vivian, WHAT are you holding?"

"Oh this? It's a necklace… I thought it'd look cute on me."

"You picked up trash on the ground?! You insolent FOOL!" Beldam grabbed the necklace and yanked it from her. "Now then, we will discuss your punishment right now! Let's see… how to punish you…"

"…Guh guh?" Marilyn wondered, seeing the heroes walking by. "Guh guuuuuuh!" She waved at them cheerily.

"Uh… hi." Sora waved as they kept walking.

End BGM

BGM: Boggly Woods (Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door)

"Okay, so the tree should be up ahead." Punio said as they kept walking, only to be greeted by some Pale Piranhas and Clefts. "Yipe!"

"We got it!" Luigi said as they charged ahead and made quick work on the Pale Piranhas while Sora had to use Aerial Slam just to get the Clefts upside down, then Mario jumped on them and Koops finished them off.

"Whoa…" Punio whispered, all of them unaware of Vivian watching them while Beldam was deep in thought.

Whoa… Vivian thought.

"Yup! I found me some good ones!" Punio said in approval as they made their way into the next area. "Ah, there it is! The Boggly Tree!"

"Looks pretty big… from a distance." Sora said.

"Oh, but wait until you get up close!" Punio said as they went into a warp pipe and got closer to the tree.

"Aaaaaand that is by far the biggest tree I've ever seen in my life." Sora said.

"Whooooooa." Koops said in awe.

"Mama mia!" Luigi said.

"Eh, I think I've seen bigger." Mario shrugged.

"WHAT THE HECK?!" Punio yelled as they turned to him as they approached him. "Who put this door here?! It wasn't here the last time I was here!"

Luigi walked over to the door and started knocking. "Hello? Helloooooo! Anyone in there? …Welp, we tried."

"Wait! I do know of a secret entrance!" Punio said as he scurried his way over, but as they made their way to the root of the tree, Punio was sweatdropping. "Shoot… uh… where was it again? I could've sworn it was right here."

"Wow, a secret entrance so secret that you can't remember where it is. Truly, it's a good secret entrance." Koops sarcastically said.

"Maybe it's sealed up." Sora guessed.

"I was just about to say that." Luigi nodded.

"Maybe it's hidden!" Mario gueseed.

"Well, it's not like there's a neon sign with "Secret entrance" written on it." Punio said. "Hmm… aha! I know! Perhaps we can get Madame Flurrie to help us out. Her winds can easily uncover stuff, so perhaps we should go visit her. She lives on the eastern side of the forest."

"Let's go get her then!" Sora said as they took off.

End BGM

Meanwhile…

"Ah, Flurrie… you look simply marvelous! Simply wonderful! You look stunning…" She giggled. "Perhaps I should go for a walk in the woods, and perhaps visit those darling little Punies. Oh yes, that is what I shall do. Now… I will just need the-… hang on… wait a moment… where's my… oh no…"

"AIYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! IT'S GONE! MY… MY…!"

A few minutes later…

"Hellooooo?" Punio called out as they walked in. "Madame Flurrie? Helloooooo! Huh… did we just miss her?"

"Well, we did go through a short timeskip." Koops said.

"Hmm… maybe she's in her room, probably taking a nap!" Punio guessed as he scurried along where the others would follow him. "Madame Flurrie? Helloooo! …Huh, maybe she's-"

"No! You mustn't!"

"Oh?" Mario wondered.

"Madame Flurrie, is that you? What's wrong?"

"Is that you, Punio? Oh thank the stars you're here!"

"Yeah, I'm here… and I have a team with me to destroy those X-Freaks at the Boggly Tree. Why don't you want to come out?"

"I must have dropped in the woods during my leisurely walk earlier… but my necklace is missing! I shan't be seen in public without my necklace, I feel naked without it!"

"Uh, don't you have another necklace you could try on?" Luigi suggested.

"I could, but this is my favorite necklace! Or was… you must find it for me!"

Women and their necklaces… The boys thought all at once.

"Wait a moment!" Sora spoke up. "Remember those three ladies we saw earlier? I remember one of them holding a necklace."

"Then we'll go get it from 'em!" Koops said as they nodded.

"I'll be here!"

"Alright, let's-a go!" Mario said.

"I know a shortcut." Sora said as they looked at him curiously. "Hang on to something, we're going to them!" He pulled out a device from his pockets and strapped it to his wrist. "Entrance to Boggly… Woods…" He typed up and then grinned. "Hang on, we're going for a ride!"

Meanwhile… with the Shadow Sirens…

"Well… I'll think of some punishment later." Beldam said. "For now, we must study this sketch." She pulled the sketch out of her non-existent pocket. "…Oh dear me, I did have it all along."

"Hmph! Told you." Vivian said, her arms folded. "I believe you owe me an apology."

"Apology, schmology!" Beldam said. "We need to keep… an… eye… on… AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK! WE LET THEM WALK PAST US!" She yelled and then grabbed Vivian by the shoulders. "VIVIAN, YOU TWAT! YOU LET THEM ESCAPE, YOU IDIOT!"

"Oh, I'm the idiot? Who's the one who stood idly thinking of some "great punishment" for me? They walked along and you didn't even do anything!"

"But you didn't even elbow me! This is entirely your fault!"

"Ooooh, I'm so sorry, I didn't know I was suppose to signal you, you big-"

"Don't you dare."

"Fat-"

"I'm warning you!"

"Ugly-"

"DON'T."

"BIT-"

ZAP!

"Huh?" All three of them wondered as they turned to see the group covered in soot.

"…Ugh, something is wrong with this device…" Sora groaned.

"If I hear "Life Fibers" one more time, I'm gonna scream." Koops grumbled.

"Tell me about it…" Luigi agreed.

"Mama mia…" Mario coughed out soot.

"You guys look worse for wear." Vivian said in concern.

"All the more reason to have an easy win!" Beldam grinned as she and Marilyn got into a fighting stance.

BGM: Boss Prelude (Kirby's Return to Dreamland)

"Well met, heroes! I am Beldam, and this is Marilyn and Vivian! Together, we are…!"

"The three!"

"Shadow Cuties!" Vivian smiled.

"Yes, the Shadow Cute-"

*Record scratch*

"SHADOW CUTIES?!" Beldam yelled in disgust. "VIVIAN, YOU DOLT!" She yelled, slapping her on the cheek. "Two of us may be cute, but you? You're downright ugly!"

"Have you looked into a mirror?" Vivian shot back. "Oh wait, your ugly appearance will shatter any mirror that you look into, shattering your illusion on who is beautiful. Marilyn's kinda cute-"

"Guh guuuuuh~" Marilyn blushed.

"I'm straight up adorable and you? Why, you make ugly hags look like natural beauties."

"Oooooooh!" Sora and the Bros winced.

"SHOTS FIRED!" Koops yelled.

"Yowch. I don't think there's enough Burn Heals for that." Punio grimaced.

"VIVIAN! You ungrateful little twat! You're gonna be punished for that insult!"

"Being with you is punishment enough!" Vivian said, snapping her fingers as Beldam caught ablaze.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAGH! HOT HOT HOT HOOOOT HOOOOOOOOOOOT!"

Vivian went underground… and about ten seconds later, Vivian came back up with a Skuntank and a Heatran. "You boys might want to back up." Vivian said, pushing them far away as a Skuntank let it rip while Heatran breathed fire at the same time.

At Flurrie's…

"I wonder how they're doing…"

KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

"Wah!" Flurrie yelped, her house shaking. "Dear me, what was that?"

At Ground Zero…

"Oooogh…" Beldam groaned while Marilyn had come up.

"Guh guh…" Marilyn said, taking Beldam and sinking back underground.

"Ooops, butterfingers~" Vivian said smugly.

"Sooooo uh… family feud?" Sora asked.

"Like you wouldn't believe. Ugh… I'm always punished, even if it's something minor." Vivian sighed.

"Well uh… how about you get out of that toxic area and hang out with us?" Koops asked.

"You… you sure about that?"

"Yeah, have you ever thought of escaping?" Mario asked.

"Hmm…" Vivian rubbed her chin in thought. "The thought never crossed my mind… oh, what the heck. You guys seem really nice. …Oooh, I'd be betraying my-… oh, screw it. You guys are cool! And uh… you might want to give this back…" She said, holding out the necklace. "Beldam might have taken it from me but I managed to sneak it away when she wasn't looking." She giggled.

"I think this is Flurrie's!" Punio said.

"Let's-a go! …Without using that device." Mario said.

"Yeeeeah… good idea." Sora sweatdropped as they took off… although Vivian hesitated to move on and turned toward what remained of that area as the Skuntank and the Heatran wandered off.

"…No, this is the right thing to do. They're far nicer." Vivian said and moved the other way with the heroes.

Microsoft and Square's E3 conference was spectacular... but there are some companies who shouldn't EVEN have an E3 conference. Looking at you, Capcom...