They got to a lookout spot and looked at the view. It was beautiful.

The origami girl commented, "Wowie! I could soak this view up all day long! I mean, just look at the top of the mountain…"

That's when she saw something. They saw where the castle used to be.

The man in green stammered, "W - what the…?"

The violet ice wielder breathed, "That's the outer crust of Peach's castle!"

The red clad hero stated, "I can't believe how much damage he did."

Olivia told them, "I saw my brother's streamers wrapping around it, lifting it into the air… And then it was gone!"

Luigi stated, "It's just awful…"

Mario placed his hand on Luigi's shoulder, "Hey, at least we didn't get separated."

To that, Luigi was glad.

Violet looked around and said, "Guys, I see the castle!"

They looked and saw the castle on top of the mountain. They knew where they had to go. But they had no idea on how to get the streamers off of it. They decided to at least look for Bowser. So they went back towards the castle.

As they were walking, they heard voices talking in the bushes. The group couldn't help but wonder if they were being watched. Mario was pulling on vines, finding a folded up flower on a log that was tied up to some vines but it ended up in the water in the back.

Mario asked, "What was that…?"

Luigi shrugged, "Not sure…"

The log got loose but it did create a way to get to a higher ledge.

Violet commented, "That'll work."

Olivia stated, "Maybe we can find whoever is watching us."

They went up the log to get up the ledge. They had gotten to a tree stump in the middle of the path but they kept going back to it

Mario asked, "Are we lost…?"

Luigi wrinkled his nose, "Doesn't seem like we are."

Olivia commented, "Sometimes when the folding gets tough, I like to take a break and clear my head. You know, just sit down somewhere nice and flat, with perfect lightning… Like that tree stump!"

Violet started to protest, "That doesn't sound like a good idea…"

Too late, Olivia had sat down on the tree stump.

"HEY! Who's there?"

Violet quickly got in front of Olivia, activating her Aurora Nine. Mario activated his Firebrand. Luigi activated his Thunderhand, shaking with fear. To their surprise, the trees came alive.

One of the trees said, "You can't sit on ol' Grandsappy's head, Missy!"

The second tree added, "That's right! He's the elder of the forest. Show some respect! He's got twigs older than you!"

Mario protested, "We're sorry, she didn't know!"

Luigi stammered, "Y - yeah we were just trying to move away from here!"

The third tree ignored them, "So what if he's a little logged by those nasty Toads? He's still the man, honey."

Olivia apologized, "I'm sorry!"

Violet told them, "There, she said she's sorry. Now back down!"

Grandsappy came to life and said, "Yes, yes…" He coughed, "Thank you, darlings. Bless your bark."

Luigi stammered, "Y - you're alive…?"

Grandsappy stated, "You bet your bark."

Olivia turned to him, "I'm r - really sorry."

Grandsappy told her, "I appreciate that, sweetie. I do. I just don't have the hardwoods to speak…"

Violet breathed, "Oh how awful."

Grandsappy told them, "Indeed. But you need my permission to leave."

Mario repeated, "Your permission?"

He coughed, "Yes, perhaps you can be of some assistance to me. If you can help me get my energy back, all of you may leave."

Luigi asked, "How do we do that?"

The trees explained, "We need something called the Soul Seed. It's the only thing that will get Grandsappy's energy back."

Violet told them, "Better let us wander so that we may look for it."

The trees agreed, letting them wander.

Mario stated, "Thank you."

Olivia commented, "Let's go find it!"

With that, they started to look around.

The group had found the spring. Mario threw in a shriveled up seed that he had found earlier. It had turned into a Soul Seed, the kind that Grandsappy needed.

Mario commented, "Found it!"

Luigi stated, "Let's get it back to Grandsappy."

Violet replied, "Good idea."

Olivia responded, "We'll follow you two."

Mario took the lead, with Luigi right behind him. Violet was right behind him, holding his hand. Olivia had hitched another ride with Violet. When they got there, Grandsappy had turned into mostly wire. Everyone gasped as Violet retreated into Luigi's shoulder. Luigi held her close, terrified himself. Olivia was scared so she cowarded herself into Violet's shirt. Mario stayed neutral, though he would admit, this did worry him. The way Grandsappy looked… Wait.

Mario told his friends, "Maybe if we use the confetti, we can restore him to normal."

Luigi stammered, "I - it's an idea."

Violet sniffled, "Y - yeah, good thinking Mario."

Olivia replied, "Yeah, t - thanks."

Mario took out the confetti bag and put as much as he could on Grandsappy. He kept going until there was enough to cover the wire. Within a few seconds, Grandsappy was restored.

He asked, "...huh? What happened? Felt like some rapscallion was whittlin' me down again. Did I just dream it?"

Mario answered, "Yeah, you were but we managed to save you with the confetti."

Grandsappy said, "Ah, thank you. Did you get the Soul Seed?"

Luigi stated, "We sure did."

The man in green brought out the Soul Seed, showing it to Grandsappy.

Grandsappy commented, "Good work, youngsters."

Violet asked, "Do we give it to you?"

Grandsappy explained, "Yes, deary."

Olivia took the Soul Seed and said, "Here you go."

The origami girl put the Soul Seed into Grandsappy's mouth. He started to glow a blue light. Everyone celebrated as flowers appeared. They even started to dance to a song that Grandsappy sang. That's when Grandsappy turned into a mighty tree.

Mario admitted, "That's so cool!"

Luigi told Grandsappy, "I bet you feel a lot better now."

Grandsappy replied, "I do, thank you. I will let you guys through."

That's when the pathway opened up for them.

Violet stated, "Thank you, Grandsappy."

Olivia added, "Glad we could help."

With that, the gang left the Whispering Woods. On their way out, they had found a Toad in a bush. They got him out. His name was Benjy. He had wounded all bent up because of some of the Folded Soldiers. He headed back to the kingdom. As they helped some Toads, they kept walking towards where the castle used to be.

Wishmaker1028: I'm doing a double update today! Hooray! Please read and review! And always think outside of the box!