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

"Madame Fluuuuriiiiiie, we're baaaaack!" Punio said as they walked in with Vivian being the last one in.

"Oh my… nice place." Vivian said as they walked through the room until they got to Flurrie's door.

"Put the necklace in front of the door, please!" Flurrie requested as they did so, then Flurrie opened the door slightly and pulled the necklace in. "Oh, now I look better! I look like a fresh new woman!" She exclaimed… and then suddenly, a disco ball lowered from the ceiling in the other room.

"What in the…?" Sora wondered.

BGM: Madame Flurrie's Theme (Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door)

"Oh boy…" Punio sweatdropped as Flurrie floated on in.

Mama mia! The Bros thought when they saw that Flurrie was completely… shall we say, gifted.

"Whoa…" Koops and Sora could only say.

"Now, who shall I thank for bringing my necklace back to me~?" Flurrie asked.

"Um… hi." Vivian shyly waved. "I… uh… found your necklace on the ground. I didn't realize it was yours, I thought it was a cute little necklace on the ground." She said, blushing a little.

"Oh goodness me, you look rather adorable!" Flurrie smiled and then before Vivian knew it, Flurrie gave her a big ol' ghostly bear hug. "Thank you!"

"Ooooh! Mmmph! Y-you're… welcome…!" She said as Flurrie pulled away from the hug and turned to the Bros and Sora.

"Thank you all for bringing the necklace to me… I'll have to give you boys a little reward~"

"Wait, what do you mean by-" Luigi paled as Flurrie got closer. "WAIT! WAIT WAIT WAIT! NOOOO!"

At the X-Naut Fortress…

"Mmmph!" Peach shivered. "I feel the urge to slap someone…"

"Gah! Why do I feel like I want to shove this Keyblade up someone's butt!" Kairi yelled while she was in the shower.

Peach shuddered. "That's an image I didn't need in my head…"

At Sarasaland…

"Gah!" Daisy yelped as she was working out. "…Why do I feel like someone is kissing my man? I'm gonna throw this barbell at the skank responsible for that!"

Back at Flurrie's…

Mario and Luigi blushed, having lipstick on their noses while Sora had lipstick on his right cheek. "Was that even legal?" Koops asked.

"I feel like that could've been so much worse." Vivian said. "Thankfully that never happened."

"Ah, so… you folks want to go to the Boggly Tree and get rid of those scoundrels?" Flurrie asked.

"Yes." Punio nodded. "Great to have you on board!"

"Excellent! Let us be off!" Flurrie said as she floated away, and while her back was turned, the bros and Sora would wipe the lipstick off of their faces.

End BGM

I'd rather have Peach kiss me on the nose. Mario thought.

I know she's a ghost, but I'd rather have Flurrie live than have her possibly die a second time if Daisy found out. Luigi thought.

I'd rather have my first kiss be with Kairi, I'm glad she didn't go any further. Sora thought.

…Man, I'm glad I dodged a bullet. Koops thought.

I'm glad I just got hugged… Vivian shuddered as they made their way to the Boggly Tree, and once they got to the stump, Flurrie would blow the vines away… which in turn, revealed the Secret Entrance with a neon sign.

"Why not advertise it a little louder?" Koops snarked. "Play some music, have someone go "Hey everyone, the secret entrance is right here!"

"Aheheheh… whoops…" Punio sweatdropped as he scurried inside.

"Hmm, alternatively, I could have just snuck you guys in without having to worry about the secret entrance… my bad." Vivian let out a sheepish giggle.

"That's alright." Luigi said with a chuckle.

"Hmm, have I ever told you I am one for the theatrics? I used to be a star on the stage, but me being a celebrity was tiring, not to mention the paparazzi would not leave me alone. So I left the stage… but now I yearn for it again. Perhaps I ought to go back and relive the glory days."

"And endure the paparazzi again?" Mario sweatdropped.

"This time, I'll just either blow them away or crush them. Hmhmhmhm, perhaps that's what all celebrities should do. After all, anything bad they do… they just get a slap on the wrist and call it a day." Flurrie chuckled. "Perhaps a slap on the wrist wouldn't be all that bad…"

Luigi sweatdropped. "Ooookaaaaaay…"

"Riiiight… that's uh… good for you, I guess?" Sora rubbed his head.

"Personally, I would just hide in the shadows." Vivian said.

"Agreed." Koops nodded, and then the door opened up nearby.

"Heeeey! It's open!" Punio called out as everyone walked over and wandered inside.

"Whoa! So this is what the inside of a tree looks like." Sora said.

"Not bad, not bad indeed." Mario said.

"Hello? Anyone? Hellooooooo! Where could everyone be at? HELLOOOOOO!" Punio called out. "Geez, where could they be?" He wondered… and right on cue, two X-Nauts came walking in from the other side.

"Whoa! Are those the boneheads?"

"They are!"

"Oh boy…" Vivian whispered as the X-Nauts got closer… and then Vivian got between the heroes and the X-Nauts. "Hi boys!"

"Oh, Vivian! So good to see you! Are these your prisoners? You can throw them into the cells with all the other little brats."

"And where will I find these cells?"

"Go into that warp pipe and just follow the trail. You can't miss it!" The X-Naut said.

"Thank you. And now for your reward for telling us where we need to go." Vivian would snap her fingers … and then the X-Nauts would catch on fire.

"YAAAAAAAAGH!"

"OW OW OW OW OW! WHYYYYYY!"

"What, you boys thought I was still with you? How adorable." Vivian smirked and then grabbed one by the collar. "Tell me… what exactly are you going to do with these Punies?"

"Let 'em starve or something… we dunno! Crump ordered us to put 'em in cages!"

"That's good information. I'm going to go do some digging around this tree. Have fun burning~!" Vivian said, disappearing into the shadows while the X-Nauts dropped and rolled to extinguish the flames.

"She kinda scares me a little." Koops sweatdropped.

"Goodness me, she's quite valuable!" Flurrie said.

"And awesome." Luigi added with Mario and Sora agreeing.

"They said down that warp pipe? I'M COMING PETUNI!" Punio yelled and scurried off as the others followed him in.

"What just happened?" An X-Naut asked.

"I dunno… all I feel are burn wounds…" The other groaned.

The heroes ran through the area, taking down any X-Naut, Pale Piranha or Yuxes around the area and then they went up another Warp Pipe, where they would find two colored cages. One was red and the other was blue.

"Elder!" Punio came running over to her. "Elder, over here!"

"Hmm? Oh, young Punio. It's good to see you." The Elder said nonchalantly.

"You seem to be doing well in that moldy cage… besides, you're trapped!"

"I am? Oh, it appears that I am indeed in this cage."

"Where are the others?"

"Ah, the other Punies… well, I'm pretty sure the others-"

"Is that you, brother?" A voice asked as Punio turned around and scurried over to see all the other Punies.

"Petuni! You're alright!"

"Well well well, if it isn't Punio!" A voice said as a larger Puni scurried over. "Hmph! Lot good you did around here! You scurried off like a coward while everyone else got locked themselves up! At least someone like me put up a fight!"

"Why are you always so prideful? I'm surprised you have any pride left after getting locked up." Punio said.

"I do have pride!"

"Yeah, he's been crying like a baby since he was captured. He's honestly relieved that you're here… in his own Puniper-like way." A Puni said.

"SHUT UP!"

"Aww, just a big ol' softie." Punio chuckled. "Glad to see all of you are okay."

"Let's see… how are we going to get you out of here…" Flurrie wondered.

"Simple, we can just unlock the cage aaaand… there's no lock in front of the door." Sora sweatdropped. "Okay, that's out of the question."

"Wait a moment!" Luigi said as he picked Punio up and pushed him through the bars.

"Wait, what are you-… wait, I can fit through?" Punio wondered as Luigi pulled him out.

"WAIT WHAT?!" All the Punies yelled.

"INSOLENT FOOLS!" A voice yelled as they turned to see the Elder who was out of her cage.

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

"How could you be so daft! The holes are big enough for you to go through! You call yourselves Punies, that is the most disgraceful thing I've ever heard! When I was your age, I could fit through anything!"

"How did she get out? She's senile!" Punio said to himself.

"Hmhmhm~" Vivian popped up from the ground. "You can thank me for that!"

"Wah!" Punio yelped.

"Hello! I've done some digging around this place."

"That was fast!" Flurrie said.

"Indeed, it doesn't take long when you can move about in the shadows." Vivian giggled. "I also moved her into the shadows, give her a little push." She said, referring to the Elder.

"It was dark… and then it was light again. I thought Death had come for me but I proved him wrong! He probably realized he grabbed the wrong soul."

"Huh, I didn't realize Death could be feminine… or so adorable." Vivian giggled.

"Alright, let's go! All of you come out!" Punio said as the Punies did so… but there was one small problem. They all went through the bars all at once. "NO! Not at all once, ya dopes! Single file, go on!" Punio said as they managed to get themselves unstuck as one by one, they all went through the bars… although Puniper found himself stuck.

"Mmph! Uh… guys? A little help here!"

"Alright on three…" A Puni said as he got into position with some other Punies. "One. Two. THREE!" They all charged at Puniper, but they bounced off of him.

"Ooof!"

"I'm okay!"

"What did that guy eat, a Rubber Mushroom?"

"No, he ate a tiny trampoline!"

"I'm still stuck, you guys!"

"Well, the best we can do is wait it out until you lose some weight… not sure how well that'd go though…"

"I got it." Vivian said, grabbing the bars and using her pyrokinesis to bend the bars with her fire, then Puniper walked out.

"Freedom!" Puniper exclaimed.

"Alriiiiight! Let's go kick some X-Naut butt!" A Puni exclaimed while Punio and Petuni hugged.

"Hey, what's all that racket!" A voice said as an X-Naut came walking out. "Can't you keep… qui… et… uh oh."

"CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGE!" Punio yelled as they all charged at the X-Naut.

"Wah! Hey! Hey hey hey! Get off of me! OW OW OW OW OW! GAAAH! UNCLE! UNCLEEEEEE!" He yelled, as Ms. Mowz peeked out from the doorway.

"…I'll just leave him be." She said and then disappeared.

"Sooo, you kiddos want to lead an army of Punies against these X-Nauts?" The Elder asked.

"Yeah!" They nodded.

"Then you ought to use this." The Elder gave them a Puni Orb. "Any Puni will go wild and lose all train of thought when they look into this orb. Use it wisely, uh…"

"Mario."

"Luigi!"

"Sora!"

"Koops!"

"Vivian!"

"You know me well~" Flurrie smiled.

"Ah, such nice names… Marty-o, Louise, Sophie, Kylie, Voovoo and Flurrie."

"Marty-o?" Mario raised an eyebrow.

"LOUISE/SOPHIE/KYLIE?!" The other boys said in disgust. "WE'RE NOT WOMEN!"

"…How did you get Voovoo?" Vivian wondered.

"Alright, we got our revenge against one such X-Naut! Now for the rest!" Punio said.

"I know a shortcut." Vivian smiled. "This way!"

Meanwhile, at the bottom of the tree…

End BGM

"I know the Crystal Star should be here somewhere…" Crump mused, and then he got a call. "Yeah, what is it? Uh-huh… what? WHAT? Vivian has left the coop and has joined those heroes?! Well, that can't be right!" He said as he pulled out a small book and flipped through the pages. "Vivian shouldn't even have defected until later! Agh, this script is completely outdated now." He said, tossing it behind him.

"What script?"

"Don't worry about it! So where are they now?"

"Taking a shortcut, they're coming toward you!"

"Uh oh… uh… Thunderbolt, get over here! We're gonna have to ambush 'em a bit earlier than expected!"

"Fine by me."

The two of them hid in the shadows right as Vivian popped up with everyone. "Whooooa… that was a trip." Sora said.

"You get used to it." Vivian said.

"Mama mia… that was eventful." Luigi rubbed the back of his head as Mario looked at the pedestal and put the Puni Orb inside of it.

"SHIIINNNNYYYY!" The Punies yelled as they all crowded on it, and then the whole place rumbled as the Emerald Star came out of the statue.

"That was easy!" Sora said.

"A little too easy." Luigi said as they walked toward it… and then before they could grab it, Crump came rushing out with Thunderbolt and grabbed the Emerald Star. "Wah! Called it!" Luigi exclaimed.

"Buh huh huh huh! I'm not sure how you guys got down here so quickly, but I imagine it has something to do with that traitor right there!"

"Nyeeeeh!" Vivian stuck her tongue out.

"No matter, I've got the Crystal Star and Thunderbolt over here will slow you down while I make my getaway!" Crump said as he walked off as everyone tried to go after him, but Thunderbolt aimed the sword at them and cast a Stop spell on them.

"Oh yeah, almost forgot... we planted bombs in this here tree." Crump pulled out a detonator and then turned it on. "And with that, POW! I'm gone... and so will Thunderbolt after he's done with ya!" He said and went into a Warp Pipe.

Thunderbolt rushed over at Sora, slashing him... but the Stop spell deactivated and Sora swiftly blocked.

BGM: Let the Battles Begin! (Final Fantasy VII Remake)

"You guys go on ahead, I'll deal with this guy!" Sora exclaimed.

"Right!" Mario nodded as everyone ran toward the Warp Pipe, though Vivian would sink underground.

"Your Keyblade... it holds immense power." Thunderbolt said. "But are you worthy to wield it?"

"I'm not sure what you're on about, but you're going down!" Sora said, getting ready to fight.

Thunderbolt rushed over at Sora and slashed him, but he would quickly block and then counter slashed Thunderbolt, quickly parrying the attacks and used Aerial Slam.

However, Thunderbolt rolled out of the way once Sora used Thundaga, where Thunderbolt would use a Firaga attack, something that Sora would use Reflega to send it back to him.

Thunderbolt would rush at him as the sword caught ablaze and slashed him, but Sora jumped back and Airstepped toward Thunderbolt, however the latter would counter him and then struck him with a Blizzaga attack, then would follow up with a powerful slash attack that sent Sora sliding a few feet.

"Where was this the first time we fought?" Sora asked, shaking it off.

"I was analyzing you."

"That figures..." Sora shook his head as both of them would rush and clash, as Sora would state at the helmet.

"Who are you underneath that?" He asked but he wouldn't get an answer as the both of them continued to clash against one another until Thunderbolt found an opening and parried the Keyblade off of him, and Thunderbolt would immediately roundhouse kick him to knock him away.

"Mmmph!" Sora grunted. "Alright... you asked for it. Give me strength!" He called out as he went straight into Wisdom Form, summoning Metal Chocobo as he started ice skating around Thunderbolt and fired various bullets.

"Rrrgh!" Thunderbolt grunted, immediately using Stop on him and then charged at him, slashing him repeatedly and then slashed him up in the air and then jumped up and fire slashed him down right as time resumed for him.

"Gah!" Sora yelped as Thunderbolt rushed at him and slashed him, sending him to a wall as he smacked into it, but he smirked as he grabbed onto the wall and leapt toward a statue using Flowmotion, and in a split second, he would appear behind Thunderbolt and slashed from behind.

Thunderbolt grunted before turning around and swiftly slashing Sora, but he used Flowmotion to gain the upper hand as he was above her and tried to skewer her like a drill, but Thunderbolt jumped back as he was planted on the ground as Thunderbolt delivered swift blows to him before disarming him, and then punched him in the gut before throwing another punch to his diaphragm.

"Nnngh!" Sora started coughing the moment his diaphragm was disrupted as Thunderbolt would do another roundhouse, this time at his neck to knock him to the ground.

End BGM

"Stay down." Thunderbolt said, aiming the sword at him. "You are a worthy Keyblade Wielder, but you aren't skilled enough to beat me."

"I... nnngh... took down Xehanort... so what's your problem!"

"You can't win every fight." Thunderbolt said. "Next time we fight... I won't be as merciful." Thunderbolt would walk away, but not before using Curaga on him. "I'll be keeping my eye on you."

Sora got up, looking at Thunderbolt who was walking toward the Warp Pipe. "Who are you?" He asked.

"...Honestly, I'd be more concerned about the timer. Tick tock." Thunderbolt said and then disappeared into the Warp Pipe.

"Timer..."

BGM: No Time to Think! (Kingdom Hearts)

He let out a gasp. "Shoot, that's right!" He shot back up. "I need to go catch up with the others!"

End BGM

With the others...

"Well, this is a predicament now, is it?" Crump mused as Vivian was blocking his way via a fire wall, and behind him were the Bros, Koops, Flurrie and an army of Punies.

"You've got nowhere to go!" Mario said.

"Yeah, well... it was fun while it lasted, so I guess I'll just turn off this timer." Crump said, pulling out his detonator. "...Or at least, that's what I would say if I wasn't a chump!" He said, pulling the batteries out of the detonator and then crushed said batteries. "Ooops, what'ya gonna do about it!"

"You're crazy!" Luigi exclaimed.

"And now I will make a hasty retreat after I'm done with you suckers!" Crump said.

"You're not gonna get away with this!" Flurrie growled.

"Oh, but I will... buh huh huh huh!" Crump then pressed a button. "Ooooh, Magnus Von Grapple!" He called as a Mecha landed near the group, then he scrambled inside and then he stomped on the ground, making a shockwave that would knock back all the Punies.

BGM: Magnus Von Grapple (Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door)

"You can't be serious! Is that a Mecha?!" Luigi exclaimed.

"Sorry, but this thing isn't armed with tissues. Now... have at thee!"

"Let's-a go!" Mario said with determination, all of them nodding as Magnus Von Grapple would punch the ground, electrical currents going through the ground, but Luigi would absorb it and shoot it back at Magnus Von Grapple.

"Ha! Like I should be impressed!" Crump said, firing arm missiles at them, but Mario jumped on these as if they were like they were Bullet Bills and he hammered Magnus on the head and then Vivian would throw fireballs at him.

Magnus would jump up into the air and landed on the ground, making a few shockwaves but the Mario Bros and Koops jumped over these waves as Koops would Shell Slam into his legs as Flurrie would body slam him.

"Mmph! Impressive!" Crump grunted, delivering several hard punches to the Bros and Flurrie, but the trio would avoid this.

"Vivian, on me!" Koops said, getting into position.

"Right!" Vivian nodded, as Koops went into his shell where she picked him up and threw him, his shell immediately catching fire and slamming into Magnus Von Grapple.

"Gah!" Crump yelped as the Mario Bros looked at each other and with a nod, Luigi pulled out the Diamond Star as it started glowing, then their hammers glowed as well, turning into Diamond Hammers.

"Let's-a go!" Luigi exclaimed as Mario ran over as Luigi hammered the ground, creating diamond platforms as Mario jumped on these, dodging the punches from Magnus as Mario jumped over Magnus.

"HEEEE-YAAAAAAAH!!!" He yelled, swinging his hammer down on Magnus, where diamonds shot out from all over Magnus Von Grapple.

"MAGNUS, NOOOOOO!!!!" Crump yelled, as the Mecha exploded and he landed on the ground as the Emerald Star landed into Mario's hands.

End BGM

"I'll-a take that!" Mario said, putting the Emerald Star away.

"Buh huh huh huh! You may have won this battle but the clock is still ticking down!"

"That is where you are wrong." A voice said as they saw Thunderbolt holding a button. "I stopped the timer right as you were in the middle of the battle."

"Buh wha...?!" Crump yelled as he turned around and saw everyone surrounding him. "Aheheh... aaaand like that, POW! I'm gone!" He said and took off running with the X-Nauts behind him with Thunderbolt casually walking near them.

"Your spiky haired friend will be with you momentarily." Thunderbolt said and disappeared through the door.

"Hmm..." Vivian eyed them suspiciously right as Sora came running in.

"Sorry about that... got my butt handed to me by that weirdo." He said sheepishly. "...So what'd I miss?"

"We got a Crystal Star!" Mario smiled.

"And the tree is saved!" The Elder said with a smile as all the Punies rejoiced happily... but Vivian felt uneasy.

"I don't think we should celebrate just yet..."

"Why is that?" Koops asked.

"If I know the X-Nauts..." She let out a gasp. "No!"

With Crump...

"Aaaand boom goes the dynamite!" Crump said, pushing a button as the Great Boggly Tree lit up and exploded in a massive fireball, the shockwave was enough to level the surrounding trees in the distance.

"Why am I not surprised you had a spare?"

"Always come prepared!"

"You do know the traitor would have-"

"I'm well aware of that, but let me have my moment. Come on, let's go!" Crump said as he walked off with a hum.

Thunderbolt stared at what remained of the Boggly Tree. "Surely, an explosion wouldn't have killed a Keyblade Wielder like him." Thunderbolt said and walked off.

Back at what remained of the tree...

Vivian popped out of the ground with everyone popping up after her. "Whoa! Nice save!" Sora said with Vivian nodding.

"Thank you."

"So... now what?" Punio asked.

"We rebuild." The Elder said.

"Might I suggest you take refuge in my home for a while? I can take care of all of you." Flurrie suggested.

"You mean it?" Petuni asked. "Thank you so much!"

Flurrie smiled. "Anytime."

Yes, you did indeed just witness the tree blowing up.