When we were back in front of the Great Boggly Tree, I was quick to hop up the root that led to the thicket of branches that hid the secret entrance. I motioned for Flurrie to join me, at which point she showed her wind powers off by floating up to where I had climbed as though it was nothing. As she did, I noticed a small gust of wind under her feet.
"…So what exactly are you again?"
"A star!" Flurrie replied dramatically.
"And beyond that?"
"A wind spirit if you must be a newshound about it." I always figured that a wind spirit would be lither…and green…might not want to say that to her face though, "Oh my, these branches are ever so sturdy."
"That's why we need a concentrated gust."
"Sweetie, I may look powerful but even my wind can't take care of these thick branches." I pulled out my wooden sword.
"That's why I'm going to help. All I need to do is smack them with enough force to snap them." She looked at my blade before turning to look at the branch, and then back at me.
"Dear, that will break your weapon. My wind could snap your sword in half."
"No, that's why you're adding your wind force."
"Yes, it will make your swing stronger and faster, but your sword will never hold up to the force. Wood like that is a bit too flimsy I'm afraid; and I should know, my samurai movies always went through so many prop weapons like yours." Well…that hurts more than I expected. Sheathing my weapon, I gave a heavy sigh.
"Well, there goes my plan." Flurrie looked over the branches for a moment before floating back down to the ground and pulling out her fan. She gave a swing up towards the blocked path and it rocked slightly.
"How about we try pushing the branches out of the way? My wind should make them a bit more agreeable, all you have to do while I'm blowing is pull."
"Then I can get into the tree!" Punio yelled in sudden realization at Flurries' idea. It wasn't a bad plan. I wasn't sure how much I could actually pull them out of the way but Punio is small enough that if I get even a few inches of an opening, he should be able to squeeze in.
"On three darling." Flurrie called up and I nodded, grabbing the thickest branch. "Une, deux, trois!" Holy- if these things were thick, then they definitely matched in weight. Even with the added push of Flurries' concentrated gust, it was like trying to pick up an I beam by myself.
"Really…wish…Gareth was here." I chocked out as I pulled with everything I had. As soon as I felt myself actually shift slightly, I almost gasped in surprise, "Punio, get moving!" Punio was quick to jump off Peach's shoulder and shimmy up the root. He zoomed past me and I watched as he squirmed under the branch I had pulled before disappearing.
"I'm in!" As soon as he said that, Flurrie stopped her gust and I let go of the branch, almost stumbling backwards off the root in the process. The others clapped and cheered as I made my way down.
"Ugh, that thing was not easy to move."
"But you did anyway. Incredible work." Flurrie praised making my cheeks heat up slightly.
"You really can control the wind!" Goombella said in amazement. "A genuine wind spirit! This is so cool!"
"But why is a wind spirit hanging out in this spooky forest?" Koops asked.
"Spooky might be overselling it." I commented. Flurrie gave a heavy sigh, obviously about to go into a story.
"It happened a few months ago. Back when I was a 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. 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!"
"I can understand that." Peach interjected. "Honestly, being a royal is quite limiting. Sometimes you just have to let your hair down and see something else. Something amazing that you could never experience before!"
"Like a treasure hunt?" I asked. Peach vigorously nodded.
"In any other circumstance, I'd be trapped in some awful stuffy room and have no clue what's happening. It's what happened last time, but it didn't happen this time!" She turned to me with a smile. "After all, you were there to help me. Now I can actually go on an adventure I dream of!" Wow, her pep is almost infectious…this is really cathartic for her huh?
"Well, let's make the most of it then!" She gave me a wide smile and I felt my heart skip a beat. It was almost like looking at the innocent smile of an excited child.
"Yes! This is what I want!" We were suddenly both pulled into a hug by Flurrie, "This riptide of emotions and adventure that swirl with life and love! An adventure across the land filled with danger and adulation from the masses! I daresay it almost has me a titter with what could happen to us." She let go and I staggered back slightly as Peach only looked more excited at Flurries' enthusiasm, "But first, we must assist the dear Punies. They helped me discover my true self, and it's only right I return the favor." A small beep sound has us all turn to the metallic door on the tree. It slid open to reveal Punio on the other side.
"Check it out! I was able to open it from the inside! C'mon! Over here!" I gave a nod to Flurrie before all of us rushed into the tree. Time to save the Punies and find that crystal star!
I was amazed by what I saw inside the tree. Although it was hollow enough for all of us to fit inside and then some, the tree was bursting with foliage and life I couldn't believe. On nearby walls I could see the root system that moved water throughout the system and even some small waterfalls that seemed to carry water through the floor to, I could only guess, other areas that needed it. The ground we walked on was covered in healthy green vines that were almost neatly arranged as not to trip anyone up.
"Punio?" I said, catching his attention. "Was this like this or did you and your kind do some interior decorating?" I couldn't believe this was all natural.
"A little bit of both." He answered. That was still amazing to think about in its own way. Punio looked around for a moment, "Weird…normally, everyone's right here…hello? Elder! Everybody! HELLLLLOOOOO?" A beep caught our attention. At the end of the hall was another metallic door, which opened up and let two guys in full suits through. They wore white masks with ears and goggle over their eyes, their midsection was red with a black X across the chest, on their hand and arms were white latex gloves and on their feet were white boots. They rushed towards us and stopped, adopting some kind of crude combat stance.
"Who are YOU guys?! How did you get in here?!" The one next to him gasped.
"Woah! Dude! IS that…isn't that the princess and that Soren guy?" The other grunt returned his gasp.
"We better get him then! Lord Crump is sure to promote us if we capture the princess and get the map from that guy!"
"I don't know…maybe we should tell Lord Crump…after all, these guys took down that dragon."
"Look at them, they can't be that tough! We can handle them."
"Yeah…you've got a point. Let's rock these chumps!"
They rushed forward and threw a punch at me, which I easily dodged before delivering a quick kick to knock him back. I looked over to see Peach dodge the other one trying to grab her, before using her parasol to smack him across the face, making him fall back and scramble. Flurrie moved up and swung her fan, creating a small set of wind that blew around the two off balance grunts. They spun in place for a moment, getting dizzy and giving me and Peach the chance to move up and smack them down, knocking them out.
"Amatures." I commented. Koops and I quickly tied them up and tossed them out of the tree door before locking it shut. "Is it just something I put off?" I asked looking myself over. "Do I just look like someone you can take advantage of?"
"Don't let it get to you Soren." Koops said. "People think I'm a wimp. You get used to it." I appreciate the sentiment but it would help if that wasn't coming from Koops.
"Where is everyone?" Punio asked still wandering around the room. "Huh?" He moved over to a nearby…statue-thing…and looked around it. Suddenly, another puni popped out, "Finally, SOMEBODY show up! What are you doing hiding back there? Come on out, I found some powerful allies!" Punio pushed the puni at my feet and it shivered for a moment as it looked up at me.
"He…He's huge! Uh…are you sure he won't try to eat us?"
"Better?" Goombella asked mockingly.
"Not the same and you know it." I shot back. Suddenly, a bunch of other Punies started appearing from everywhere. Popping up to reveal themselves and muttering to themselves as they looked at us.
"Don't worry everyone! This is Soren, and he's our friend. He's here to help!" Punio vouched. "All those bad guys? Mario'll stomp every one of them, just like those last goons." After saying that, the other punies filed out and surrounded our little group, just staring up at us.
"They're adorable." Peach said in a whisper as she quivered slightly.
"Keep it contained princess." I said patting her shoulder. Now that I got a good look at them though, there were only about nine of them not counting Punio who now stood out with his green ball and stripes, compared to the other punies yellow ball and plain body.
"Is this it?" Punio asked. "There are so few…well, we have to make do! Let me formally introduce my friends-"
"Wait!" Another voice cut through. From behind one of the statues, a…rotund punie emerged, looking miffed, "How do we really know these intruders are our allies? They might be with them!"
"Puniper! What're you saying? They're not with them! Listen, we can all fight alongside Soren and chase those goons out of here! We can take back our tree. We can take back our homes!"
"Hah! Big, bad Punio…listen to yourself! Trying to sound all important-like! You have no idea what kind of troubles we've been through while you were gone!"
"How does a Puni get fat?" I asked out loud. Probably should have been an internal question but it was all I could think about as I stared at the doubles sized puni that was Puniper.
"I have the same question." Goombella added. Puniper huffed and looked ready to charge at us before Punio moved to block him and continue the previous conversation they were having.
"Where is everyone else Puniper? What happened?"
"Isn't it obvious? They've been captured by those goons! The elder…everybody…even YOUR SISTER!"
"WHAT!? PETUNI!? Tell me it isn't so!"
"Oh, it's so all right! She was taken off somewhere with the rest of them! 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." So the Punies don't know anything about the crystal star…that makes things a bit more difficult.
"Well, that absolutely tears it! We've all got to go look for them right away!" Puniper laughed at this statement.
"We can't do anything to those goons! Besides, they aren't alone. The cursed Jabbi tribe is in league with them. They're hoping to make this tree their own once we've all been driven from it."
"So it's a coup." Peach said, suddenly more serious.
"I don't think it's that serious." I said slowly pushing down her raised parasol.
"Adding some wimp and girl to our ranks won't help a bit." Okay, this puni is double the size because that's how full of himself he is.
"How can you say that!? You can't know that! We HAVE to try, don't you see? Think about it! If we all get together we can take care of any stupid Jabbies! So who's with me huh? Come on, everyone! Let's pool our strength!" The other punies muttered slightly.
"Hah! Punio, Punio, Punio…you'll have to convince me, because I think you're nuts." He looked over at us and, I swear despite his limited facial movement, sneered, "Tell you what: you and your jester group here 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. Hah! Like that'll ever happen! Please!"
"Fine." I replied confidently.
"Yeah! We'll show you!" Punio added crawling up to my shoulder.
"Hmph. Your funeral." Puniper said dismissingly.
"At least he's trying to do something instead of hiding." I said as we all walked past him, and deeper into the tree.
Navigating our way through this tree probably would have been a nightmare if the goons weren't littering every path in this place. Knocking them down and heading past them was the best plan we could come up with at the moment. In theory, eventually we would be led to the cells.
"It's all about your confidence as a leader." Peach said, trying to give Punio some pointers on leading. "If you say it with confidence, they'll follow you into the gates of the Underwhere!"
"Underwhat?" I asked.
"You know, where you go when you die." Feels like a bad joke…specifically one I got tricked into saying at some point in middle school, "Anyway, you've got the conviction. Now it's all about putting it into the right words."
"The right words…maybe the elder knows the right words." As we came into the next room, we were face to face with two jail cells, one with a large precession of punies, and the other with a single, wrinkled looking puni.
"I think you'll get your chance to find out." At my comment, Punio looked over and gasped, rushing over to the cell with the old puni in it.
"Elder!"
"Punio! Is that you? You're looking well."
"W-Why are you so calm Elder? You're trapped! And this is our daring rescue of you!"
"Oh, a rescuing is it? Well, thanks, I suppose. Those are quite exciting."
"They don't seem very impressed." Koops commented.
"I think they're at the 'too old to care very much' level of age." Goombella whispered back.
"But…I think you ought to help the other punies before you rescue me."
"Big brother?" A small demure voice caught Punio's ear, making him rush to the other cell stuffed with punies. As he did, the elder sat there in a daze, rambling to themselves as we all slowly moved to the other cell.
"Petuni!" On the other side of the bar was a puni slightly smaller than punio with a pink orb and a single stripe, on her…cheek(?) was a dot of grey, "Thank heavens! You're here, you're safe!"
"I knew you'd come for me Punio! I just KNEW it!"
"Of course I did, dear sister! And I've brought us a mighty ally! Loot at him!" I crouched down and waved to the small puni, "We're going to get you out of there right away, I swear. You just hold tight a second!" The cells were held shut with a lock. If we were going to get anywhere, we were going to need a key. Nearby, I noticed another opening.
"That must be their storage room." I commented.
"Next to the cells?" Peach asked and I shrugged.
"It's how so many prison break-out movies start." Flurrie said with a sad sigh. "So predictable."
"Predictable because it's likely." I said walking toward the door.
Thankfully, I was on the money. The inside was definitely a storage room. Boxes were stacked near walls and a few small weapons and provisions were scattered on top. On the back wall was even a ring of keys hanging on a nail. The only surprising part was the unconscious grunt in the middle of the room, and the red spandex mouse woman shuffling through a nearby storage chest. As though sensing up, she took her head out of the box and turned to us in surprise, before giving a bewitching smile.
"Oh, well, isn't this a treat! We must stop meeting like this, don't you think?" Before I could even reply, I could FEEL the hostile aura coming off of both Peach and Flurrie, who both shot her venomous glares. Goombella was more openly hostile, almost snarling at her…and once again Koops had opted to not even look at the woman.
"A friend of yours Soren?" Flurrie asked and I shrugged.
"Kind of?" Ms. Mowz gave a faux gasp and dramatically put her hand to her chest.
"I'm hurt Soren. After our tender kiss in the castle, you don't even consider me a friend? What cruel games of love you play." Goombella gave a low growl before responding.
"Need I remind you it was ONLY a peck on the cheek." Ms. Mowz just smirked at this response.
"Well, anyway, I heard there were nice badges to be found here, so I came looking. Only problem is, I've been running into more trouble than I expected. She suddenly cartwheeled forward and grabbed me by my collar before pecking me on the cheek; almost in the same spot as last time. She quickly stepped back as Flurrie and Peach stepped in front of me, "Mmmhmmhmmhmm! But who cares about that? LOVELY to see you again!" She hopped up and out towards a nearby window of light that must have led outside the tree…why didn't we use that to get in?
"Oh, mercy me! Soren! You're popular with all of the ladies, aren't you?"
"Believe it or not no." I replied as Peach scrubbed my cheek with a handkerchief. Ms. Mowz cleared her throat, catching our attention.
"The precious crystal star you're looking for is near the bottom of this tree. Good luck finding it before the others! Mmmhmmhmm! Take care cutie! Let's get together again soon!" With that, she jumped out the window, and out of our sights. As soon as she was gone, the knocked-out goon began to stir.
"Ugh…my aching…hey you-" Before he could even begin to attack us; Peach rushed forward and clammed her parasol against his head knocking him against the nearby wall and solidly putting him out for the next few hours…if not the next few days.
"Shameless…ugh!" Peach huffed.
"Don't worry Soren." Flurrie interjected as I looked at Peach with a bit more fear than I expected to feel today. "I'm not TOO jealous…still, what a shameless flirt though!"
"I don't think you can beat Peach on that front." I commented. "Women really hate flirts don't they."
"Oh, only in certain circumstances."
"What circumstances."
"It's not my place to speak for others…it also makes for excellent drama" Damnit, another woman who won't tell me what's going on with women.
After shuffling through key after key I eventually came to one of the cell keys. Unfortunately, it was for the solo cell where the Elder was.
"What are the rest of these for then?" I asked looking at the thirteen other keys on the ring.
"Not the other cell." Goombella said.
"Well, they're worthless then." Punio moved into the cell.
"Elder! We're back to rescue you!"
"FOOLISH CHILD!" Good god! "Punio, sit down and shut your mouth this instant!"
"Huh!? What did I do elder? Listen, I don't know why you're mad, but we came here to help you-"
"Stop your mumbling, you! And mind your elders you whelp!" Oh no. I've seen this wined-up before, "How could you abandon your poor sister and run off like that…absolutely shameful!"
"B-But elder…I went to find hel-"
"Oh, stop your whining! You never interrupt an elder mid-lecture! NEVER!" I crouched down to whisper to the poor puni.
"This might take a while so you might want to just stay quiet."
"NO INTERRUPTIONS!"
"Yes elder!" I quickly replied.
"Punio, as the next puni tribe leader, you need to quite being a doofus! Now, for starters…"
To call the next few hours agonizing would be too nice a way of putting it. The Elder droned on about responsibility, leadership, proper hygiene, and the understanding of the tree for longer than most of us could stay awake for. Goombella had opted for pulling out some of her research material, Koops had receded into his shell, Flurrie was rehearsing her lines for a play in her head, and I had taken seat behind Punio as Peach napped, slumped over on my shoulder. It wasn't until the Elders' ending line that shot everyone's attention to them.
"-OR ELSE! You got that? From now on, you've got to get your act together, Punio!"
"What happened?" Peach asked groggily.
"I think the Elder finally finished." I answered, wiping some of the drool off my shoulder.
"Yes, Elder. Yes, I understand."
"BAH! Only answer ONCE. By the way, why are you here, anyway?"
"To SAVE you." I answered, feeling my tether on this situation come close to snapping.
"Oh! Is that so? Well, good! In that case, get me out of here already! Criminy! This cell is cold, which isn't good for the old back, and there's this damp stench-" Please god, not again. The elder mumbled to herself as she left the cell, heading for the way we came from.
"I guess we should follow her?" I asked.
"Probably." Punio said before leaving the cell and heading back to the other one. "Just you wait, Petuni! I'll be right back for you!"
"Okay big brother! I'll be waiting." With that, we followed the Elder wherever she was going.
As we came back to the entrance, the first person to approach us was Puniper.
"Well, if it isn't Punio. Hmph! You heard me! Hmph! I can't say I expected you to manage to rescue the elder…"
"I told you I could do it!" Punio shot back.
"Don't get a swelled head! This doesn't mean I'll accept you as our leader…and it definitely doesn't mean I completely trust that mustache guy, either. For starters, you still haven't rescued the other Punies yet. I'm not lifting an antenna to help you until you do."
"You stubborn MULE!" The elder really has a set of lecturing pipes on her, "Deplorable! How dare you talk like that, knowing what we're up against?! We must stand together now! We must take back our tree! Don't you understand that?"
"But…but Elder-"
"Shut your trap, Puniper! And mind me, you hear? You'll help skinny britches here-" Skinny britches?
"Um…it's Soren." I corrected.
"Yes yes. Quiet you. And everyone else, help Sorbet clear out our tree!"
"Alright Elder…whatever you say." Puniper said with a heavy sigh. "I'm not heartless or anything. To tell you the truth, I'm worried about Petuni, too. And you're right, we have no choice, we must fight! Right everybody?" A collective cheer came over the punies who quickly crowded around my feet.
"Alright, everyone step back a foot, I don't want to step on anybody." I quickly said.
"Excuse me Elder." Peach said stepping up to her. "We're looking for a crystal star…do you know of it?"
"Hrrrrrmmmmmmm…yes, perhaps. Hidden down, down, down at the bottom of this tree is a funny-colored stone. But what do we do with it? Oh, right: 'Guard it from evil and give it to a pure heart…' That's what generations of elders have been taught. Might be the crystal star…Sortie! Or…Sorbet! I'm thinking you better get it before those goons do!"
"That's not my name, but okay! You can count on me." I don't want to leave the Elder here alone though. We may have locked the entrance but that won't stop those grunts from coming to this spot from other areas of the tree. "Koops, Goombella, mind keeping an eye on the Elder? I don't want to see her get locked up again."
"Elder watching?" Goombella asked sounding disappointed. "Alright…maybe she can give me more information on the Crystal Star."
"I'm fine with that." Koops said. "I've had to keep an eye on Mayor Kroops a few times before. This can't be that different."
"Thanks. We'll be back as soon as we can." With that sorted out; Peach, Flurrie, and I, along with the Punies, made our way into the tree. Ready to put a stop to whatever these guys were planning and grab the Crystal Star.
"One more thing!" At the Elders' voice I actually stumbled forward onto my face. "Sorry, I forgot to mention; if you want to get the Crystal Star, you're going to need all of the Punies. They're integral to get deeper in the tree."
"Thanks." I said dusting myself off as I got back up.
"Now, go save the tree!" Okay…with that out of the way, NOW we made our way deeper into the tree. Ready to put a stop to whatever these guys were planning and grab the Crystal Star!