Chapter 2
The great Boggly tree
Soon, Punio along with Mario and his friends came out of the other side of the pipe and saw a beautiful forest filled with trees and plants.
"It's beautiful." said Koops
"Yeah. All these trees and plants along with the dim light create a nice atmosphere." said Goombela
"Come on. Said Punio. "The great tree is this way."
Our heroes followed Punio. Soon they arrived in a glade. There they saw the shadow sirens. The ones Grodus had sent to stop Mario. However, the shadow sirens didn't notice Mario and his friends because they were busy.
"Well. Time to get to work." Said Beldam. She then turned to Vivian and said: "So you know what we have to do right?"
"Of course. Find that Mario and take the map to the crystal stars. But we can't just do away with that guy. It would be bad."
"Bad things happen all the time my dear. All we can do is make sure they are on our favour, but you are right about our goals." said Beldam
"Guhhh." said Marilyn how didn't know how to speak.
"According to my information Mario should be coming down this road soon. We'll ambush him and take his map." said Beldam
"What do you think Mario?" asked Goombela
"Let's get ready guys. We might need to fight." said Mario
"What's this?" said suddenly Beldam. "What do you have there Vivian?"
Vivian took out a necklace.
"That's a nice necklace." Said Goombela
"Yeah. You don't see such shiny jewelry every day." Said Koops
"Dο you like it?" said Vivian. "I found it on the ground. It was so beautiful, I just had to pick it up."
"That's disgusting. "said Beldam. "Picking up someone else's trash? How greedy. Anyway, give me the sketch of Mario that Grodus gave us."
"What?" said Vivian. "I don't have it. You said it was too important to trust me with it, so you took it. You must have it."
"Don't be ridiculous. I don't have it. You were definitely in charge of it. And if you don't have it… Don't tell me you lost our precious sketch."
"But..." tried to say Vivian.
"How dare you blame me for something you did, you imbecile." said Beldam
Suddenly Marilyn noticed Mario and his friends and said:
"Guhh. Guuhh."
"What did you say?" said Beldam. "A mustachioed guy."
"We've been spotted." Said Mario
"Oh no. What will we do now?" said Punio
"Leave it to us." Said Goombela
However, beldam said:
"Now it not the time for nonsense. We have work to do." She then turned to Vivian and said:
"Now, where were we? Oh yeah. You totally screwed our plan.
"But… Listen. It's not my fault." said Vivian
"Silence you rebellious brat." Shouted Beldam. "How dare you talk back to me. It seems you have to learn the hard way."
With these words, Beldam took the necklace from Vivian.
"Ass your punishment, I'll take the necklace you found, So sorry." She said."
"No. You're awful beldam." Said Vivian
"Let's go." said Mario. "I've grown bored of watching these girls quarrel. Besides I don't think they'll notice us anytime soon."
"I agree." Said Koops
And so, Mario and the others left.
"Who were those guys?" asked Vivian
"I don't care about Mr. Mustache and his party." Said Beldam. "Figure out a way to get us out of this mess."
Later, Mario and his friends arrived in front of a giant tree.
"This is it." Said Punio "The great tree."
"So, you Punies live here?" asked Goombela
"Not only us." Said Punio. "Some creatures known us the jabbies live too, but we don't get along with them at all."
"Why?" asked Mario
"I don't know. Our species have been deadly enemies for longer than we can remember." said Punio. "And since the x-nauts invaded our tree, the jabbies have allied with them. They hope to get rid of us and take the tree only for themselves. Come on."
However, as they approached the tree, they saw a red metal door with a red light above it.
"Wait a minute. This is not right." Said Punio." This door was not here when I left."
"The x-nauts must have installed it to keep everyone out." Said koops
"So, now how will we get in?" asked Goombela
"There is a way. "said Punio. "I remember the puni elder telling me that there is a secret entrance."
"Where?" asked everyone at the same time.
"I don't know."
"Great. So how can we find it?" asked Goombela
"It's not easy. I mean it's a secret entrance. It wouldn't have a giant "secret entrance" Sign above it." said Punio. "However, I remember that the secret entrance is covered with an invisible thing. We just have to remove it."
"How?" asked Koops
"I don't know. removing a thing is difficult by itself. Let alone and invisible one." Punio thought for a minute and then said: "I got it. We have to go to madame Flurrie. "
"Who?" asked Mario
"Madame Flurrie is a wind spirit that lives in a house in the woods. She was once an actress, but got tired of the spotlight and came here for some peace and quiet. She can use her wind powers to remove the invisible thing. We have to find her. Follow me. I know the way."
And so, the others followed to Punio to madame Flurrie's house.
Meanwhile, in a house in the woods, a blue lady with a cloud-shaped body a was putting make-up in front of the mirror. She was madame Flurrie Mario and his friends were looking for.
"It's so peaceful here." She said. "These woods are wonderful. Building a house here is the best idea I've ever had. Everything here is so different from the hustle and bustle of city life. And these adorable, little Punies are so nice to me. However, I've already started to miss the spotlight. I feel the need for drama. The life here has breathed new life into me. I've grown more lovely and now I'm ready to make my comeback. But first I must get myself ready."
Suddenly, Madame Flurrie looked at the table in front of her and suddenly she shouted:
"Nooooooo. It's gone. My... my…"
Soon, there was knock on her door.
"Come in." she said
The door opened and two x-nauts entered the house
"Are you sure we should be here? Lord Crump said that we must all stay to guard the tree and search for the crystal star." said the one
"You heard Mario and his friends." said the other. "Madame Flurrie is the only one who can find the secret entrance that will allow them to get in the tree. We were lucky that we were behind some bushes nearby to pee. Now we must get rid of her."
"Yeah. Let's get her and then go to lord Crump and tell him about our idea. We might finally get a raise."
However, Mario and his friends entered the house and saw the x-nauts.
"What are you doing here?" asked Mario
"We'll get rid of madame Flurrie and then you won't be able το get into the great tree.
"Never!" said Goombela
"We won't allow that." said Koops
"Let's get them." said Mario
Mario took out his hammer and hit the first x-naut in the face, Goombela knocked out the second and Koops fished both of them. Then Mario kicked them out of the house.
"That was amazing." said Punio.
"It was nothing." said Mario. "If we kick the others out of the tree that easily, we'll get the crystal star in no time."
"Now let's talk to madame Flurrie and ask her to help us." Said Punio
"Where is she?" asked Goombela
"I guess she is in her bedroom." said Punio
As he was about to open the door, a voice shouted:
"NO!"
Punio immediately stopped. "What is it?" he asked
"Oh. It's you Punio?" asked madame Flurrie from her bedroom.
"Yes. And we need your help to find the secret passage, get into the great tree and kick the x-nauts out. And just know that two of these guys wanted to kill you so that you couldn't help us.
"Really? That's awful. I'd live to help you teach those freaks a lesson, but right now I can't. My precious necklace is gone and I cannot get out without it."
"Necklace?' said Koops. "One of those shadowy guys we saw before said she had found a necklace on the ground."
"What?" said Flurrie. "This must be my necklace. I definitely lost it on the woods. If you can take it back for me then I'll help you."
"Alright." Said Mario. "We'll get your necklace. Come on guys."
Mario and his friends left Flurrie's house and went to get the necklace. Meanwhile, the shadow sirens were still arguing.
"I told you Beldam. You were blaming me for losing the sketch and you had it the whole time." said Vivian
"Shut up." said Beldam. "Now is not the time to pay attention to such trivial details. Let's take a look at this sketch."
"Guuuh. Guuuh." Said Marilyn
Beldam took out the sketch of Mario and immediately all three sisters jumped in surprise.
"Wow. This Mario is so handsome." Said Beldam. "Look at this magnificent mustache. So gorgeous. You know my lovelies? I could swear we've seen this guy before." Suddenly she shouted: "Ahhhh. He's Mr. mustache from before."
"Guuhh. GUH." Said Marilyn
"I can't believe this. We had him in our hand and we let him slip right through our fingers." She then turned to Vivian and said: "Vivian. This is without a doubt all your fault. You'll get some strict punishment later. Yes, I promise you that."
"This is not fair." Said Vivian. 'You were the one who had the…"
"Shut up." Shouted Beldam. "Don't talk back to me, you blockhead."
"This is unfair." Said Vivian.
"And about the necklace," added Beldam. "I was thinking of returning it to you, but now forget it. And since you caused all this, you have to figure out a way to find this Mario. "
"Aww." said Vivian.
Guh. Uhhh." Said Marilyn
Meanwhile, Mario and friends were looking for the shadow sirens to get the necklace and soon they found them. When Beldam saw Mario, she was surprised.
"Mhhhh heeee. Welcome Mario." she said." You may have a magnificent mustache, but you must not be very wise to come here. We were waiting for you and now you can't escape."
"Well, I heard you planning to ambush me, but you didn't pay any attention to me before. Anyway, how do you know about me and why do you want to ambush me?" said Mario
"I don't anything personal with you, but I simply cannot allow you to find the crystal stars so we'll just take your map."
"Wait, how do you know about the crystal stars and the map?" said Koops
'And who are you anyway?" asked Goombela
"People who are curious and ask names, usually don't end well, but if you insist, we'll tell you." Said Beldam. "we are..."
"…the three..." said Marilyn for the first time
"…shadow beauties." Concluded Vivian.
"The three shadow beauties?" asked Mario
"Vivian, you nincompoop!" shouted Beldam. "What are you saying? It's shadow sirens."
"I'm sorry sis." Said Vivian. "It's just that you always call us lovelies and…"
"Shut up. It's just a stupid mistake of a stupid person like you." said Beldam. "I don't see three beauties. I see two, but then there is you and you're fugly. You've got some fierce punishment coming your way.
"Ugh. I hate being punished." Said Vivian
"But that's for later." added Beldam. "For now, we have to defeat Mario and his friends. So, let's go my beautiful and my ugly. Marilyn, Vivian.
"Guuh." Said Marilyn
"O... okay." Said Vivian.
The three shadow sirens attacked Mario and his friends. Goombela attacked Beldam, but Beldam started shooting ice at her.
"Koops, I take the fat one, you take the other one." said Mario
"Alright." said Koops and attacked Vivian who tried to hit him with fire.
Mario attacked Marilyn who used lightning for her attacks. She turned out to be a tough opponent and Mario had trouble. Meanwhile, Beldam was fighting Goombela and had the upper hand, when Koops hit Vivian causing her to land on Beldam knocking both of them out. After finishing hem off, Goombela and Koops went to help Mario. Marilyn was mute, but she was also the strongest of the three sisters. With the help of his friends, Mario defeated her and threw her on her sisters.
"Grrr." Said Beldam when she got up. "Perhaps we underestimated you just a bit" she then turned to her sisters and said: "You idiots. We would have won if you had lasted longer. I thought you were stronger Marilyn. And Vivian, you rat. If you hadn't landed on me, I would have destroyed this goomba. Both of you prepare for the greatest punishment of your life when we get home." With these words, she run away.
"Guuh." Said Marilyn and followed.
"Okay sis." Said Vivian and also run away.
"We did it." Said Koops. He then noticed something on the ground. 'What's this?"
"I recognize it." Said Punio. "It's Flurrie's necklace. By the way, you did great work at beating up those freaks. The x-nauts don't stand a chance."
"I know." said Mario "Now let's take the necklace to madame Flurrie."
Son, Mario and the others arrived a Flurrie's house. There, Mario knocked the bedroom's door and said:
"Madame Flurrie. We have your necklace."
"Really? This is marvelous." said Flurrie. "However, you still must not see me. Leave the necklace in front of the door and turn around."
Mario and his friends did so and soon Flurrie's voice was heard.
"Oh my. My glorious necklace. I missed you so much."
Soon, the door opened and Flurrie came out of the room. She looked a Mario and said:
"You must be the hero who took my necklace back."
"Actually, we all helped." said koops but madam Flurrie didn't hear him.
"I must thank you. And I know exactly how. I'll give you a little reward. Here I come." she said and she starting moving towards Mario.
"No, no, no, no." shouted Mario
Immediately, Flurrie grabbed him and kissed him fiercely causing him to faint.
"You, Mario are definitely the cutest thing I've ever seen." said Flurrie after she had finished kissing Mario. "Anyway, you said you needed my help."
"Yes." said Mario and got up. "We need your help to remove the invisible thing that is covering the secret passage of the great tree to kick the x-nauts out and find the crystal star."
"Really? "said Flurrie. "You're looking for the crystal stars the legends in Rogueport speak of?"
"Exactly." said koops
"And we really need your help." said goombela who for some reason seemed very angry.
"Great." Said Flurrie. "I was starting to get bored. A dangerous quest for mysterious and valuable objects is just what I need. I'll join your team till the very end."
"Alright." said Mario. "Come on. We don't have any time to lose."
And so, Mario Goombela, koops and their new friend Flurrie left the house and headed for the great tree. Soon, they arrived.
"I'll take it from here." Said Flurrie an she started blowing the tree with her wind powers. Suddenly, a part of the tree started moving. Soon, it was detached and a hole with a giant "Secret entrance" appeared to have been under it.
"There we go." Said Punio. "Now we can get in. Wait here."
With these words, Punio jumped into the hole and entered the tree. Flurrie turned to the others and said:
"Guys, did you know I used to be a famous actress?"
"Yes. Punio told us." Said Mario
"I was known all over the world. Everyone knew my name and hundreds of people came to see my performances."
"So, why did you give up?" asked Koops
"I just got tired of the stage and the filthy air of the city made me sick so I came here to the woods. Here I found my inner self and these adorable little punies helped me appreciate the beauty of their forest and the purity of their hearts. They reminded me of my experiences as an actress. This made me realize… that I was born to be on stage. I must feel the spotlight on me again. But before I go on my own adventures, I must thank the punies for their help, so I'll help any way I can. I'll also need to repay my debt to you so, I'll travel with you and I'm not turning back."
"Okay." said Mario. "As long as we stay together, we can handle anything."
"Exactly." replied goombela
"That's deep." added koops
Soon, Punio's voice was heard.
"Guys, do you hear me?"
Suddenly, the light above the door turned green, the door opened and Punio came out.
"I was able to unlock the door from the inside. Come on." he said.
"Come on." Said Flurrie. "Time to help out the punies."
Mario and his friends followed Punio and entered the great tree only to find that the room they entered was completely empty.
"Strange." Said Punio. "Usually everyone is gathered here. Hellooo? Anybody here?"
Suddenly, another door opened and two x-nauts entered.
"How are you?" asked thew one as they approached Mario and his friends.
"Wait." said the other. "That's Mario. Let's get him."
"But lord Crump told us to inform him immediately if we saw Mario, remember?" said
"Idiot. Think. If we catch him, we'll get all the credit.'
"Oh right. Let's get him."
The two x-nauts attacked Mario and his friends. Mario hit the one with his hammer. Goombela jumped on the other and koops finished him off. Then Flurrie blew them away and they landed abruptly on the ground.
"They are too strong." Said the first x-naut
'Yeah. Maybe reporting back to Lord isn't such a bad idea." replied the other and both of them left the room from the same door they had entered.
"This was amazing." Said Punio. "You guys did great work dealing with those goons. However, I still don't understand why no one is here. Where could everyone has gone too?" Suddenly, Punio noticed another puni hiding behind a rock. He approached and said:
"Finally. It's good to know that someone is here. Come out. I found us a powerful ally."
The other puni came out and looked at Mario
"He... he's huge." He said
"Yes. And he's strong too. He'll stomp every last of the goons who invaded our tree." Said Punio. He then noticed another puni behind the rock. "Wait." he said. "How many of you are hiding behind there?"
Soon, eight punies appeared from behind the rock.
"Come out everyone. Mario is our friend. With his help we'll take back our tree."
All the punies came out and stood in front of Mario.
"Now," said Punio. "let me introduce you."
However, before Punio could make introduction a voice was heard.
"Wait."
Immediately, another puni came out from behind the rock and said:
"How do we know this mustachioed guy is our ally? He may be one of them."
"What are you saying Puniper? He's not on them." Said Punio
"No, I'm not." said Mario
"We are here to help. "added Koops
"Yes." Said Punio. "With their help we can prevail and take back our home."
"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. Punio, Punio, Punio. You're trying to act like a wise adult." Said Puniper. "You have no idea what kind of trouble we've been through while you were gone. How much we have suffered."
"What do you mean?" asked Punio. He then looked around as if he just realized how few punies were there.
"And where is everybody anyway? What happened to everyone?"
"They've been captured by those goons. The elder and everyone else. Including… your sister.
"What? Petuni?" asked Punio in shock. "Tell me it isn't so."
"But it is. They took her somewhere in the tree with the rest because we wouldn't tell them where to find some crystal star thing. We told them we've never heard of it but they didn't believe us." said Puniper
"Then what are we waiting for?" said Punio. "let's go an rescue them."
"Are you nuts? We can't fight these goons." said Puniper. "besides as you know they are not alone. The awful Jabbies are working with them."
"I know. "said Punio. "They want to take the tree for themselves."
"They've already done it." Said Puniper." The x-nauts agreed to give them the tree when they find the crystal star they want. Now, the jabbies are patrolling everywhere looking for the remaining punies, meaning us. Like it or not, the jabbies are in charge here now. It's the end. And working with this hairy guy and his friends will not help a bit."
"How can you say that?" said Punio. "We must never give up. With Mario and his friends by our side we can crush the goons and these jabbies and rescue our friends and family. Who's with me?"
"He's right. "said Mario
"I agree." added Goombela
'We can do it." said Koops
None of the punies replied.
"Punio. You have to convince me because I think you're nuts. Since you insist so much, you can start the revolution." said Puniper
"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Punio
"It means that if you're able to rescue our friends, I'll join your stupid crusade. Of course, you'll fail."
"We'll show you." Said Punio "Right guys?"
"Of course." said Mario
"we'll rescue your friends." Said Goombela
"And kick the x-nauts out." Added Koops
"And put these Jabbies in their place." Added Flurrie
"What are we waiting for? Let's go." Said Punio and with his friends embarked on his dangerous quest to get back his friends, sister and home. After wandering for a while, they suddenly saw a red cage that had an old female puni in it. When Punio saw it, he said:
"Elder. You're here. We finally found you."
"Oh, it's you Punio. What are you doing here?" said the elder.
"I'm here with Mario and his friends to recue everyone and take back our home." said Punio
"A rescue eh? Good. These are quite interesting. However, you should go and help the others before you rescue me." said the elder
"And where are the others?" asked Mario
"Well, let me think." replied the elder Ummmm… they are… no, not there. Hmmm…"
"This will take a while." said Koops
Suddenly, a voice was heard.
"Punio."
Punio looked around and spotted a blue cage right next to the elder's cage. Inside it where all the captured punies including Punio sister.
"Petuni. Thank heavens you're safe." said Punio. "What happened?"
"These bad guys captured us and locked us here. We've made many attempts to escape but they were all in vain." said Petuni
"Don't worry. now I'm here and I've found us allies. Look at them."
Petuni looked at Mario and his friends and she was astonished.
"Wait here." Said Punio. "We just have to find the keys and we'll get you out of there in a jiffy. Right guys?"
"Sure." Said Mario
"Yes." Said Goombela
"Come on. Time to help the little punies" said Flurrie.
Mario and his friends left the room and went to find the keys.
Meanwhile, in another room, an x-naut is guarding the supplies.
"This is stupid." he said. "We cannot find the crystal star and these punies don't know anything about it. And they live here. After all this pointless searching I'm starting to think we're looking in the wrong place."
Suddenly, a figure appeared behind the x-naut and knocked him unconscious.
Soon Mario and the others entered the room. There they saw Ms. Mowz, the badge ninja and burglar they'd met in Hooktail castle.
"Well, well, well." She said. "it isn't my glorious cheese hunk."
"You." said Goombela." You're that mischievous thief we met before. Why are you here?"
"I heard there were some really rare badges here so I came looking." said Ms. Mowz. "However, I've been running into more trouble than I expected, but how cares about all that. It's great to see you again."
With these words, she approached Mario and kissed him on the cheek.
"Not again." Said Goombela." Who do you think you are?"
"That's right. You can't go around and kiss people." Said Flurrie
Ms. Mowz didn't pay any attention to what the girls said and went on:
"The crystal star you're looking for is somewhere near the bottom of this tree." She then took out a red key, gave it to Mario and said:
"This key unlocks the red cage of the punies. The key for the blue cage is in the north patrol station the jabbies have built.
"Um. Thanks, I guess." Said Koops.
"Wait. how did you know we're here for the crystal star?" asked Mario. "And how did you know where the keys for the cages are?"
"There are still a lot you don't know about me my mustachioed superstar. Farewell. Till we meet again."
With these words she jumped out of a hole and disappeared.
"I don't like this girl at all." said Goombela
"What's your problem?" asked Mario
" Nothing. I just don't trust her." Said Goombela
"She gave us what we needed, so let's go." Said Koops
"Yeah." Said Punio. "Time to save my friends.
Suddenly, the x-naut Ms. Mowz had knocked unconscious woke up and saw Mario and his friends.
"Hey, you. You're the cowards who hit me from behind, aren't you? When you play dirty, you get dirty." he said and attacked Mario and his friends. Mario hit him with his hammer and knocked him out again.
"There we go. Now let's go." said Mario
Soon they arrived at the area with the cages and unlocked the red cage.
"Come on elder." Said Punio. "You're free."
Suddenly, the elder shouted:
"FOOLISH CHILD! Shut your mouth and listen."
"What? What did I do?" said Punio who was really confused. "Listen elder. I don't know why you're mad, but we are here to rescue you."
"Silence. "said the elder. "How could you abandon your sister and your tribe at such hard times. Shameful."
"I didn't abandon you. I went to bring help. To help rescue everyone." Said Punio
"Stop your blabbering." Said the elder. "You never interrupt an elder mid-lecture. You're so immature and childish. That's why everyone calls you doofus.
" But…" tried to say Punio
"However, your time as a doofus must end. You'll have to lead our tribe one day and that day isn't that far. That's why you must grow up and forget your childishness. You must become like all the elders that have passed through our tribe."
To cut a long story short, the elder kept delivering a long, long speech. After she was finally done, he said:
"Did you understand?"
"Yes elder." said Punio. "I understand everything. I will be ready to become the new elder."
"Good. I'm leaving. The cold in this cage is bad for my back. Meet me at the entrance where we can reorganize." said the elder and left.
"There she goes." said Punio. "Let's go. We don't have time to sit around."
"Alright." said Mario
"The first scale of our revolution is complete." said Koops
"Yeah. The punies won't remain under the yoke of the x-nauts much longer." added Goombela.
Our heroes left the cage area after promising to return for the rest of the punies soon. When they arrived at the entrance, they met with the elder and the remaining punies.
"Congratulations Punio." Said Puniper. "To be honest, I didn't expect you'd manage to rescue the elder."
"I told you me and my friends could make it." Said Punio
"Don't get swelled up." Said Puniper. "This doesn't mean I'll accept you as our leader and it definitely doesn't mean I completely trust this mustachioed guy. You still haven't rescued all the captured punies and I'm not going to help you until you do."
Suddenly, the elder shouted: YOU STUBBORN COWARD! How can you say that when you know what we're up against? We must stay together and fight to take back our tree."
"But, elder…." Said Puniper.
"Shut your mouth. You'll help this mustachioed guy here." said the elder. She then turned to Mario and said: "What did you say your name was again? Marty?"
"He's Mario. "said Punio. "I mean, come on. He's world famous."
"Alright." Said the elder. "Everyone, help Marty-o to clean up our tree."
"Yes elder. Whatever you say." Said Puniper. "I'm not heartless. I also care about our friends and want to get back our tree. To tell you the truth I'm worried about Petuni too. So, come on everyone. We must fight together."
"Yayyy." Shouted all the punies together
"First, we need to release the other punies." Said the elder. "You Marty-o want to find the crystal star, right?"
"Yes." said Mario. "Do you know of it?"
"Maybe. There is a saying that has been passed down through generations here in the great tree. "It says: The treasure that rests inside this tree must be protected from evil sources and given to one with a pure heart. I believe that you and your friends are the ones who are bound to take this crystal star." Said the elder
"Someone told us the star is at the bottom of this tree." said Koops
"Yes, that's right." Said the elder. "However, to get the crystal star you need all the punies. According to the rest of the saying, the punies themselves are the key to the crystal star. We need to release the rest of them."
"Alright." Said Goombela. "The same person also told us that the key to the blue cage is at the north patrol station the jabbies have built."
"Yes." Said Puniper. "The jabbies have built two patrol stations on the North and South of the tree. If we destroy them. The jabbies will lose the control of the tree. So, let's destroy the North patrol, take the key, release our friends and end this."
"Yes." Shouted everyone.
"Wait." Said the elder. Then, she approached Mario and said: "There is something else you need to find the crystal star." She took out a stone shaped like the sun and said:
"This is the puni orb. It has been the symbol of the tribe's leader for many generations. If you put it inside the pedestals scattered inside our tree, its magical glow will make all the punies gather around and some secrets may be revealed. Just remember to take it when you leave, or all the punies will just stand and stare at the orb."
"Alright." Said Flurrie.
And so, Mario and the others left. At some point, Mario noticed a pedestal with a hole on it. Remembering what the elder had said, he put the orb in the hole and all the punies gathered around, enchanted by its brightness. Suddenly, the ground under them lowered and a secret passage opened on the wall.
"A secret passage?" said Goombela confused
"Yes. This is why the punies are the key." said Mario and entered the secret passage followed by the others.
Soon, Mario, Goombela, Koops, Flurrie and their army of punies arrived outside a small building. Suddenly, an alarm started blaring and an army of jabbies came out of the building.
"You made a huge mistake coming here punies." said the leader of the Jabbies. "Prepare to go to jail like your friends."
"Never." Said Punio. "Your reign over the tree is over."
Soon, the two armies started fighting. The jabbies had numerical superiority, but with the help of Mario and his friends the punies own. Soon the jabbies were all lying on the ground.
'Now, the station." Said Punio and with all the other punies entered the station and destroyed it. When the punies came out of the destroyed patrol station, they were holding a blue key.
"The north station is no more." said Punio "And now we have the key for the blue cage."
"Now let's go and free the rest of our friends." said Puniper
They returned to the cage area and unlocked the blue cage, releasing all the punies. Punio immediately embraced his sister.
"Petuni." He said. "I'm so glad to see you. Are you hurt?"
"No, big brother." She said. "Now that you are here, I'm perfect." said Petuni. "By the way I have a gift for you."
She took out a dry and ugly mushroom.
"I know you like mushrooms so I picked up this one for you. Well, then we got captured, a few days passed and it dried up."
"It was very kind of you." Said punio. "I'll eat it."
Punio ate the mushroom and started making some weird sounds
"It is awful, isn't it?" said Petuni
"No... Urk. It is perfect. Gulp. Cronch. Delicious." Said Punio. After he was done, he said: "Now, we need your help. Only all of us together can defeat the x-nauts and take back our tree."
Yes." Said all the punies.
"Now we have more punies." said Koops
"101 by my calculations." said Mario
"Let's go." Said Punio. 'We still have a patrol station to destroy."
Later, Mario, his friends and their puni army arrived at the South patrol station after unlocking another secret passage with the puni orb. Soon, the punies with the help of their allies defeated all the Jabbies and destroyed the patrol station.
"The jabbies are finished." Said Punio. "Now all that remains is to find the crystal star before the x-nauts do."
"Don't worry." Said Goombela. "The forces of good will once again vanquish the servants of darkness and light will prevail."
"That was very poetic." Said Mario
"Yes. Now let's go" said Koops
After a while, they arrived at a room without any other doors or passages. It was a dead-end. The only thing there was another pedestal.
"Do you thing it activates another secret passage?" asked Koops
"There no other explanation." said Mario and put the orb in the pedestal. Immediately, all the punies gathered around. Suddenly, a cage appeared and trapped Mario and everyone else. Then one of the bushes that were inside the room fell on the ground and appeared to have been hiding a pipe.
"What? What happened?" asked Punio
"I have no idea." Replied Goombela.
"A fake pedestal that activated a cage and a fake bush that hid the pipe inside the room. In other words: a trap." said Mario
"But who'd do such a thing?" asked Koops
Suddenly, a familiar voice was heard.
"Buh. buh. Buhuhuhuhuh."
Immediately, lord Crump and two x-nauts appeared behind another bush.
"You." said Goombela
"Yeah. Long time no see." replied lord Crump.
"You set this trap didn't you, you scoundrel?" said Mario
"Yes. What a nice and intelligent trap. And, boy did you fall for it." said lord Crump. "I saw you putting your stupid orb inside these pedestals, so I made a fake one. I mean I knew it was perfect, but seeing you fall for it really gave me a warm feeling. Now that you're out of the way I can take my sweet time looking for the crystal star. So long fools."
With these words, lord Crump and the two x-nauts left the room.
"This is bad." Said Flurrie
"We need to find a way out of here." said Punio
"Don't worry. Everything will be fine." said Mario
He started hitting the bars with his hammer, but they didn't even budge.
"It's no good." Said Goombela. "We don't have enough strength to break the cage.
"Maybe we don't need to." said Koops "Since placing the orb inside the pedestal activated the trap, if we could find a way to reverse it…"
"That's it." Said Mario. "Koops, you're a genius."
"Thanks." Said Koops. "I…"
Immediately, Mario turned the orb upside down. The cage was lifted and everyone was freed.
"It worked." Said Punio. "We are free."
"Congratulations Koops." said Mario. "We couldn't have done it without you."
"It was nothing." said koops who was trying to sound modest.
"Now let's go. We must get the crystal star before that find lord Crump."
Mario and his friends left the room with the punies and headed for the crystal star. As they were walking, they came across another pedestal. After Mario placed the puni orb in it and the punies gathered, the floor under them lowered and soon they found themselves inside a secret room.
"This was amazing:" said Punio
"I bet the crystal star is nearby." said Mario as they started looking around.
Meanwhile, in a large room with eleven statues representing all the puni elders of the tribe and another pedestal, lord crump was walking around.
"let's see." he said. "The crystal star must be somewhere around here."
Suddenly, he heard Mario and the others approaching.
"Someone's coming. I better hide." he said and hid.
Mario and his friends entered the room and saw the pedestal.
"Another pedestal. What does that mean?" asked Koops
"It means we are close." Said Mario and placed the puni orb in the pedestal. All the punies gathered around. Suddenly, all the statues started shining and shaking.
"What's happening?" asked Mario
"I have no idea." replied Punio
Soon, the central statue opened its mouth and the green crystal star came out.
"We did it." Said Punio
"it's the crystal star." said Mario
Suddenly, lord crump came out of his hiding spot and grabbed the crystal star.
"What?" said Mario
"This is not cool." Said Koops
"It's that freak again." Said Goombela
"Buh buh Buhuhuhuhuh. Am I lucky or am I just good? When I want a crystal star it'll eventually fall into my hands." said lord Crump. He then looked at Mario and his friends again and added: "Still this is annoying. You shouldn't have been able to escape that cage. As a punishment for insulting my awesome trap, I'll give you a nice present."
"Present? What do you mean? "asked Mario
"it's just a little something I call a remote time-bomb detonator." he said as he took out a white remote with a red button. "I'll use it to burry all of you idiots under rumble. Enjoy your last minutes inside this old tree. And with that, Pow I' m gone."
With these words he pressed the button on the remote and disappeared into a pipe.
"What did he say?" said Punio
"A time-bomb." replied koops.
"Everyone out. Now!" shouted Mario
Everyone ran towards the pipe. Mario made sure everyone had passed through the pipe before he left. After a lot of running they finally arrived at the entrance. There they saw the puni elder who was blocking lord Crump's way.
"You won't leave this tree with the crystal star." she said
"What? Are you nuts? Get out of the way you old geezer." said lord Crump
"WHAT?" shouted the elder. "Did you call me old geezer? How dare you talk like that, you brat? Don't think my age has anything to do with my might. Elder power activate."
"What is she doing?" asked Goombela
"I'm not sure." said Puni
Suddenly, the elder stopped and said:
"Ouch. What the... I can't... take… another step. What a time for my stupid back to start acting up."
"I think it's time to intervene." said Mario
"I agree." said Koops
"You old coot. You dare defy me? I'll crush you." said lord Crump
"You'll do no such thing." said Mario
Lord Crump turned around and was surprised to see Mario and his friends.
"Did you really think we'd let a dirtbag like you escape." said Flurrie. "I think you'll hand over the crystal star and then leave this tree."
"You guys are insane you know that? Oh, well. I guess I better shut off this timer." said lord Crump and used the remote to deactivate the bomb. Now I'll bring your doom. Prepare for an extra pummeling."
Lord Crump used another remote and a floating capsule appeared and he entered it.
"Awake Magnus von Grapple and crush these insects."
Immediately, the capsule transformed into a giant pink robot with grey hands and a white cross on its chest
"Meet magnus von Grabble. One of the many destructive weapons we x-nauts have built and my personal favorite. Prepare to be crashed."
"We have this." said Mario. "Right guys?"
"Yes. We can do it." said Koops
"However, this robotic colossus seams unbeatable." said Flurrie
"Let's not be careless." added Goombela
Mario jumped into the air and landed on top of the robot, but he didn't do much damage. He then hit the robot with his hammer.
"Your efforts are futile. I cannot be defeated." said Lord Crump
Suddenly, Koops attacked on the x on the chest of the robot and a loud noise was heard.
"I think you found its weak spot." said Goombela
"Really?" asked Koops
"yes. You're on fire today." said Mario
They all started attacking the robot's weak spot. Eventually, the robot started emitting smokes.
"Nooooooo. My perfect robot." Shouted lord Crump. "Time for some immediate action."
He pressed a button and the robot started launching rockets.
"I got this" said Mario. He hit the rockets with is hammer and sent them back to the robot.
"This is impossible." said lord Crump. He then took out a pipe and absorbed all the punies
"Now you cannot destroy the robot. You'll destroy these creatures too. Prepare to be deleted."
He prepared to fire more missiles.
"I have a crazy idea." said Mario
"We trust you." said Goombela
"Do your thing'." said Koops
Mario waited and when a rocket launched, he caught it., flew in the air with it for a few seconds and then crashed into the x on the robot's chest. The chest cracked and Mario opened a hole big enough for all the punies to come out.
"Nooooooooooooooooooo!" shouted lord Crump
The robot exploded and lord Crump was launched out of it. He landed heavily on the ground. The crystal star fell out of his pocket and landed on the ground.
"No. Magnus von Grapple. How could we lose?" said Lord Crump. He then got up and said: "I won't forget this, losers." And then he ran away.
"Lord crump summons us." Shouted an x-naut who was standing nearby
Immediately, all the x-nauts followed him and left the tree.
"We did it." Said Koops
"Yeah. Even that robot couldn't stop us." Said Goombela
"Now our home can be peaceful once again." said Punio
"Yes. And it is all thanks to you Marty-o." said the elder. "You can have the crystal star that rested in this tree."
Mario picked up the crystal star and it immediately gave him its power making him stronger.
And so, Mario and his friends defeated lord Crump and his robot. After finding the diamond star in Hooktail castle, they acquired the emerald star in the great tree. However, this wouldn't be the last Mario would hear from the vile x-nauts. They would definitely try to get in his way and put a stop to his efforts.
This was a long chapter. Next will be interlude 2. Please write reviews to let me know what you think of my work.