CVGWJames

Thank you!

LiamTheYoshi

I'm angry too, but rest assured that Beldam will get her comeuppance soon.

mariobroultimate

Mario can't rest just yet. There's some business to take care of in the Great Tree first.

Nataly Guardado

I would hug Mario too. Don't worry; I'm sure Mario won't be scared of a blind person like you.

…

Chapter 16: The Great Boggly Tree

It's now 1:46 PM. The Mario Bros, Flurrie, and Punio neared the Warp Pipe that led to the Great Tree.

"Now here's the plan, guys," Punio stated. "We're going to go to where the invisible thingy is and Flurrie will blow it away. Hopefully, the secret entrance will be revealed."

Punio went into the Warp Pipe first followed by Flurrie, Luigi, and Mario. Next, he went straight up the root to the left of where he believed the secret entrance was.

"Over here, Flurrie!" Punio called out, prompting Flurrie to join him. Flurrie looked closely and saw a small gap between a giant piece of loose bark and the trunk.

"Easy for me," Flurrie said. She blew a giant gust of wind that ripped the bark away from the trunk; this revealed a small hole with a sign reading "SECRET ENTRANCE" above it.

"Yes! That's the secret entrance!" Punio exclaimed with glee. "We can finally get inside! One second, please."

Punio hurried into the small hole, after which Flurrie rejoined Mario and Luigi.

"Aren't Punies just the most precious little things?" Flurrie asked.

"You know what? Now that I think about it, yes," Luigi answered. But Mario didn't say anything; he just nodded his head.

"I feel I must ask this… Did you know that I used to be a rather famous actress? I was a diva of the stage! I was known as Madame Flurrie the world over... But...the filthy air outside the spotlight repelled me. So I came to the woods," Flurrie explained. "And soon enough, I glimpsed the beauty of these Punies and their pure little hearts... It reminded me of my own innocence as an actress. And that made me realize...I shall ever love the stage! I must feel the spotlight shine on me again! I must! As you can see, these dear little Punies helped me find my true self... That's why I must help them; however, I can before I go on my own adventures."

"Okay. I kinda understand now," Mario finally spoke up.

"I'm glad you do, Mario."

"Guys! Can you hear me?" Punio's voice called out.

"Yeah!" Mario and Luigi responded in unison.

A moment later, the red door at the base opened and Punio ran outside.

"I was able to open it from the inside!" Punio said. "There was a green button not too far from the hole I went through."

"Good for you, Punio! The time has come for me to repay my debt to the Punies," Flurrie stated. "Come along, please!"

Punio and Flurrie led the Mario Bros into the Great Tree, beginning the next part of the trek to the second Crystal Star. The first area they entered was a wide hallway with a small waterfall in the middle and three black vases on the left side.

Punio looked all around only to find no one else. "Hmm… Weird… Normally, everyone's right here…"

"Then where are the rest of the Punies?" Luigi asked.

"I'll go check." Punio stepped a few steps forward and shouted, "Elder! Everybody! Come on out! Hello?"

Suddenly, the red door on the other end opened and two X-Nauts ran up to the group.

"Wah! Who are you guys?! How'd you get in here?" the first X-Naut asked.

"Secret green button," Mario answered.

"Whoa! Hold on!" the second X-Naut turned to the first X-Naut. "Isn't he that Mario guy with that Luigi guy?"

"WHAAAAT?! They are?! We'd better get them, then!"

But the second X-Naut held his arm in front of the first X-Naut. "But, dude, Lord Crump told us to tell him immediatelyif we found Mario and Luigi, right?"

"Urgh! You idiot! If we capture them, we'll get all the credit! How hard is that to remember?"

"Oh yeah… Right on." Both X-Nauts took a battle pose, prompting Mario, Luigi, and Flurrie to pose too.

"On my go, let's rock those chumps!" the first X-Naut announced. "Ready...GO!"

Right as the X-Nauts ran forward, Mario lunged for the first one and spun him around twice; he threw the X-Naut toward Flurrie, who crushed him with her body.

Next, Luigi grabbed the second X-Naut and threw him upward. Mario jumped toward the X-Naut and did a downwards drill kick, officially defeating the X-Naut.

"Who are the chumps now, huh?" Luigi remarked.

"Wow! Pretty slick work handling those X-Nauts, guys!" Punio praised the Mario Bros and Flurrie. "But the question remains… Where did everyone go? I mean, what could possibly make everyone leave?"

Suddenly, two Punies peeked out from the left vase, catching everyone's attention.

"There's two," Mario pointed out.

"Finally, somebody shows up! What are you doing hiding back there? Come on out!" The Punies scurried toward Punio. "I found some powerful allies."

Both Punies stood with shock, having looked at how tall Mario and Luigi were.

"They… They're huge…" the first Puni murmured.

"Uh… Are you sure those mustachioed men won't try to eat us?" the second Puni asked Punio.

"Look! Another one!" Luigi said, having noticed another Puni emerge from behind the right vase.

"Hey! Who's that? Who else is back there?" Punio asked.

Seconds later, a small number of Punies came out from behind all three vases and joined Punio too. Nobody except Punio could make out what the Punies were talking about.

"Now, don't worry, everyone," Punio told the Punies. "This is Mario and his brother Luigi. There are our friends, and they're just here to help. All those bad guys? Mario and Luigi'll stomp every one of them, just like those last goons."

Finally, about a couple more Punies emerged from behind the left vase and joined the rest of the Punies.

"Is this it? There are so few... Well, we have to make do!" Punio said. "Let me formally introduce…Mario and-"

"HOLD UP!" a slightly deep voice called out.

A moment later, a fat Puni with an orange orb came out from behind the right vase. "How do we really know these burly fellows are our allies? They might be part of them!"

Mario was about to blurt out that he and Luigi weren't part of the X-Nauts, but Luigi laid his hand on his shoulder.

"He's not talking to you, bro," Luigi whispered.

"But… I…" Mario silently hesitated. "Ugh…"

"Puniper! What're you saying? They're not part of them!" Punio said. "Listen, we can all fight alongside Mario and Luigi and chase those goons out of here! We can take back our tree. We can take back our homes!"

"Heh! Big, bad Punio! Listen to yourself! Trying to sound all important-like!" Puniper commented. "You have no idea the kind of troubles we've been through while you were gone!"

Puniper approached the Mario Bros, prompting Punio to walk up to him.

"What are you even talking about, Puniper? And why are there so few of you here, anyway? What happened to everyone?"

"Well, they've been captured...by those goons! The elder...everybody...including...your sister!"

Everyone gasped with shock.

"WHAT?! PETUNI?! Tell me it isn't so!" Punio demanded.

"Oh, it is, all right! She was taken off somewhere with the rest of them!" Puniper said. "They said it was because we wouldn't tell them where to find some crystal thing. We told them we'd never heard of it."

"It's the Crystal-"

Again, Luigi interrupted Mario, "No. Not yet."

"Oh, poor Petuni…" Punio said with sympathy. "Well, that absolutely tears it! We've all got to go look for them right away!"

"What are you saying, Punio? We can't do anything to those giant goons! Besides, they aren't alone. The cursed Jabbi tribe is in league with them," Puniper stated. "They're hoping to make this tree their own once we've all been driven from it. This is it for us. The end! And adding these hairy old men to our ranks won't help a bit!"

"Save it, Puniper! Please! You're only making the situation worse! We have to try, don't you see? Think about it! If we all get together, we can take care of any stupid Jabbies!" Punio turned to the Puni posse. "So, who's with me, huh? Come on, everyone! Let's pool our strength!"

"I'm in," Luigi said, raising his hand. Mario reluctantly raised his hand too.

"Punio, Punio, Punio... You'll have to convince me because I think you're crazy," Puniper boasted.

"No, I'm not!" Punio retorted. "You know it's not true!"

"All right. Tell you what: you and those Mr. Mustaches can get the revolution started! If you can free our friends who got locked up somewhere in the tree, then I'll join your little crusade. But like hell it'll never happen anyway!"

"Fine! We'll show you!" Punio turned to Mario and Luigi. "Right, Mario and Luigi? Come on and follow us to glory! Let's go help them!"

And so; the Mario Bros, Flurrie, and Punio set off to navigate the Great Tree. Puniper and the Puni posse stayed behind for now.

The Great Tree was infested with Piders and X-Nauts; some of the X-Nauts used Yuxes as security. Despite the Yuxes being invincible, they dissipated after each of their X-Nauts was defeated.

Using some gray wooden Warp Pipes, the group made it to the fifth level of the tree and found a red cage. An elderly Puni with a light purple orb stood inside the small and cramped space of the cage.

Punio immediately recognized the Puni in the red cage. "Elder!"

"Punio! Is that you?" the elder asked as Punio approached his cage. "You're looking well."

"Why are you so calm, Elder?" Punio asked with concern. "You're trapped! And this is our daring rescue of you!"

"Oh, a rescuing, is it? Well, thanks, I suppose. Those are quite exciting. But...I think you ought to help the other Punies before you rescue me."

"Where are the others?"

"Big brother?! Is that my Punio?!" a female voice gasped from a wide blue cage connected to the red one. Inside was a larger group of Punies than the one located on the ground level. A Puni with a pink orb and eyelashes stood right at the bars.

"Petuni!" Punio exclaimed as he ran up to the blue cage. "Oh, thank God you're safe!"

"I knew you'd come for me, Punio! I just knew it!"

"Of course I would, dear sister! And I've brought us two mighty allies! Look at them!" Punio turned to the Mario Bros and beckoned them to the blue cage. "We're gonna get you out of there ASAP, okay? Just hold tight for a second."

"Where are the keys for both cages?" Mario asked, noticing the locks on the cages.

"Um…" Punio looked around for a hidden room and found an open doorway in front of the red cage and to the left of the blue cage. "This way. If we can't find the cell keys, we're going nowhere."

Punio, Flurrie, and the Mario Bros went through the doorway and entered a dark room with a single treasure chest at the top-right corner. Inside was a red key with a ruby in the middle.

Mario and Luigi sighed with relief, having anticipated a trap before opening the chest.

"How could no one have noticed this room beforehand?" Luigi remarked.

Everyone left the dark room and walked up to the red cage; Luigi was the one to unlock the cage's door.

"Elder! We're back!" Punio said. "We've set you free!"

The Puni elder walked out of the cage and stood in front of Punio. Knowing something bad was gonna happen, Mario felt the stress building in his head again.

"Elder? Is something wrong?" Punio wondered.

"FOOLISH CHILD!" the elder shouted, growing big for a brief second. His voice startled everyone but the Punies in the blue cage. The Punies were used to the elder getting angry.

"Punio! You zip your mouth this instant! You hear me?"

"Huh? What? Why? What did I do?" Punio asked.

Meanwhile, Mario laid his hand on his head, feeling it ache. All the while, he tried to ignore the argument.

"Uh… Listen, Elder, I don't know why you're mad, but we came here to help you-"

"Stop your arguing, you brat! And mind your elders!" the elder scolded Punio. "You whelp! How could you abandon your poor sister and run off like that?! Absolutely disrespectful!"

"But... But, Elder... I just went to find help... To help rescue you…" Punio started to protest.

"Stop with the whining! You never interrupt an elder mid-lecture! NEVER!" the elder chided. "You wonder why the other Punies call you a doofus sometimes? That's why. And your time to be a doofus is over because you have to lead our Puni tribe one day! That day is not far off!" the elder stated loudly. "And that is why you need to listen! Now, first of all..."

Suddenly, Mario walked away in the middle of the elder's lecture and went down the Warp Pipe. Relieved that Mario made the right decision again, Luigi decided to stay in place.

…

Back on the fourth level, Mario made it to the Warp Pipe leading to the third level and sat on the edge before taking some deep breaths.

Breathe, Mario... Just let it go…

…

"...so you need to get yourself together and not do anything stupid! Am I clear?" the elder asked.

"Yes, Elder," Punio said. "I know it may have looked like I ran away and abandoned everyone, but I was trying to find more of them at the bottom."

"Are you sure about that?" the elder asked.

"Yes, I'm sure! How else am I supposed to tell you?"

The elder thought it over for a short while and realized something. "You're right, Punio. My memory was off at that time."

"It's okay, Elder," Punio responded. "What matters now is I'm starting off with freeing you before the others."

"Oh! Is that so? Well, good! I must go downstairs immediately!"

The elder wasted no time and entered the Warp Pipe with the intention of going to the ground level.

"Uh... Well, there he goes. Enough standing around!" Punio remarked.

"Right on! Let's go and find the other key before it's too late!" Flurrie exclaimed.

"Just you wait, Petuni! I'll be right back for you!" Punio told Petuni.

"Okay, big brother! I'll be waiting!"

With that, Luigi, Punio, and Flurrie went down the Warp Pipe to the fourth level, hoping to catch up with Mario.

…

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Edited to tone down Mario's mood during the scene where the Puni elder scolds Punio.