Chapter 6: Nighty-Nightmare
The night before those events was not a comfortable one for Karma. When she finally fell asleep, the Game Over offer was still buzzing through her head. And as you know, the subconscious does some of the weirdest things known to any species.
Her dream was a nightmare… in it, she accepted the offer from Yosie and became a G. O. Commando… and with her knowledge of Dark Land, Yosie easily vanquished the Koopa Klan and forced the heads of the Koopa order into Sarasaland. Why Sarasaland? It was nearby.
She was standing inside the castle throne room. At the throne, a number of Game Over foot soldiers were giving the chair a through makeover, directed by the Fire Bro, 666. They were cutting, melding, and carving it from Koopa-style to Game-Over-style, and it was coming along great.
She heard the door open behind her. Turning, she saw Lord Crump and Doopliss enter and close the door behind them, engaged in conversation.
“…so I landed on the planet Vermes, which is 18,427 miles away from Pilt, inside Mangus von Grapple 2.0,” Crump said. “It was terrible. The entire area was desolate, there was hardly any food, and it was inhabited by these huge, greenish-brown, muscle-like creatures that normally looked like upside-down eggs balancing on their points. I say normally because they could easily change into the shape of something else. Two legs like us, four legs like a Spiny, anything. They kept moving on and off the planet, traveling pretty darn fast over to the other stars in the sky. And yet, I couldn’t believe it. One traveled to a star over five hundred lightyears away one morning, and the round trip only took an hour and a half!”
“You’re pulling my feet, Slick, aren’t ya?” Doopliss replied.
“It’s ‘pulling your leg’, Doopliss.”
“I don’t have legs. Just feet.” He held one up to show.
“Anyway, my comrade, after I got back and joined the Game Over for a long while, I found Yosie’s private library and began going through the books, and as a result, I found a most interesting tome. It was a children’s novel, but it described those creatures on Vermes pretty well. It called them ‘Vermicious Knids’, with the-” he made a hard K sound “-sound.”
“How did you get off Vermes in the first place?” Doopliss asked.
“Well, it was most awkward,” Crump replied. “They gave me a few smells, decided I was high in cholesterol or something, stuffed me inside Mangus 2.0, turned into a catapult, and shot me back to Plit.”
Suddenly, Yosie burst in the door, followed by Susan and Bombette. Yosie wasn’t looking happy.
“All right, who’s been in my personal library again? Crump!”
“Yes, sir?”
“I have reason to believe that you’ve been invading by personal library without permission.”
“But I didn’t, sir! Honest!”
Yosie pulled out the G. O. Wand and aimed it at Crump. “Don’t lie to me! This crime has your fingerprints all over it! Darkfire Shadow!”
A beam of fiery darkness shot at Crump and began to deep fry him. Yosie eased up after five seconds and left, satisfied.
“I told you not to have those Cheetos before your next trip,” Susan said to the charbroiled Crump.
“Oh, just be quiet.”
Karma, however, wasn’t listening. She was more focused on where Yosie was heading. Once she made sure everyone in the room was paying attention to something else, she left and proceeded to follow the Lakitu.
Yosie didn’t look too different here then from when they had met when she'd arrived in Dinosaur Land. However, Karma noticed that the Yosie in her dream was wearing his black Poison Mushroom shirt, shrunk down so it fit him to a T… shirt. Sorry, I couldn’t resist.
Along the way, Yosie was talking to himself.
“Hee hee,” he said. “Yosie, you are a true genius. Adding Karma to my ranks was the smartest move in the history of the multiverse. It won’t be too long before the Mushroom Kingdom finally submits. Eight Commandos, increased forces, and a ton of supplies. I’m invincible.” He reached into his cloud and pulled out what looked like the Star Rod, but it was topped with a black Crystal Star. “And this Crystal Rod will make sure it remains that way.”
Crystal Rod? What Crystal Rod? Karma had never heard of it before. And what did Yosie mean by eight Commandos. Let’s see… There were four the last time she visited Mt. Majesty… Spike… and her. Who were the other two?
Up ahead, she saw General Guy coming in the opposite direction of her and Yosie.
“Evening, Admiral,” General Guy said to Yosie.
Yosie stopped. “For the final time, General Guy, stop calling me admiral’. You’re driving me nuts.”
“Sorry, Ad- er, sir.”
“Better. How’s the Shy Guy division?”
“No problems so far. All of the Shy Guys surrendered when you caught Bowser, so now our forces for that species have tripled. We also got an assortment of Snifits.”
Yosie rubbed his hands together. “Excellent,” he said. “Be sure to tell the Snifits they can pick their coat colors. That’ll make them loyal faster then anything.”
“Yes, Admiral.”
“General Guy…”
“Yes, sir.”
Both parted ways by going in their original directions, and General Guy shortly afterwards passed Karma.
“Evening, Miss Karma,” General Guy said as he passed.
Well, Karma said, that proves I’m not an omniscient viewer.
Yosie, apparently, had heard General Guy as well and turned around.
“Karma!” he said, floating over to her a bit closer then she felt comfortable. “I’ve just gone looking for you, and you’re right behind me the whole time.”
Karma didn’t know how to reply. It wasn’t necessary, as a Boomerang Bro. was approaching them in the corridor.
“Evening, miss,” the gray-shelled Koopa said in a British accent. “Boss, we need to have a talk.”
“Oh, what is it now, Dicer?” Yosie asked as he floated over toward the Boomerang Brother.
“See, boss,” Dicer explained, “the new Bros. sets we captured when we took Dark Land aren’t exactly, to say the least, friendly.”
“I think I’m getting the picture,” Yosie said. “Throw them in the dungeon with the rest of the prisoners until they learn to behave.” Dicer nodded and left. Yosie turned back to Karma. “Where were we?”
“You wanted to see me about something?” Karma replied. It was the first time she'd talked in this entire dream.
“Oh yeah. See, as of this point, while you may be a Commando, we still haven’t created any Yoshis yet. Computer doesn’t have the DNA for Yoshis yet. However, I figured, being half-Yoshi, you could provide the DNA the computer needs to create your division of the army. Of course, I’d feel comfortable about it only by asking your permission first.”
Karma’s brain said, No! He’s already too strong! Doing that will make matters worse!
Her mouth said, “Yeah, I’m ok with that.”
“Excellent,” Yosie replied. “Follow me.”
Yosie flew down the corridors, while Karma had to jog to keep up. After a few minutes, they arrived at what Karma knew as Ludwig’s lab.
Yosie opened the door and Karma saw, among the half-dozen X-Naut PhDs and beakers and lab tables, a huge computer that had something that resembled a teleporter at the end. The area was a cylindrical chamber big enough to hold Karma by herself and still leave some elbow room.
A PhD approached Karma with those little devices doctors in the Real World use for taking blood samples. “This will only hurt a little,” he said, and he took a small blood sample, put a bandage on the small wound, and gave the sample to Yosie, who slid it into a small slot on the computer.
Immediately, the computer began to analyze the DNA in the blood and plot the course of development. When it was done, a model of Karma appeared on the screen.
“Well, we’ve got a working sample here,” Yosie said as he began pressing buttons, turning knobs, and flipping switches. “Now to weed out some of the Koopa parts…”
The picture of Karma began to change until it resembled what appeared to be a near ordinary Yoshi, only with extra hair and a few other extra parts. Yosie pressed a few more buttons and it turned into the perfectly standard Yoshi.
“Perfection,” Yosie said. “Not to worry, my dear, you’ll have your command soon enough.” He pressed a big red button on the dashboard. It was the only one labeled on the entire computer, and the label read, “Create”.
A warning siren sounded through the room (it sounded similar to the emergency broadcast tests that TV stations have once a week), and all the PhDs stopped what they were doing and watched. The computer began to show several things that only Ludwig or Yosie could possibly understand, but Karma figured that Yosie knew what he was doing with her DNA; chances were this was how Yosie had created his whole army.
Suddenly, a small glow the size of a handball appeared in the middle of the teleporter-like chamber.
“Yoshi numero uno for the Game Over appearing now,” Yosie said. “Put on your shades, everyone!”
Unfortunately, Karma didn’t have a pair on her, and it was too late to grab a pair from somewhere else.
She gasped as the glow gave off a huge white flash.
She also gasped as she sat up, wider awake then anyone else in the universe.
She looked around. She was still in her room in her parent’s hut. On the other side of one of the walls, if she listened carefully, she could hear Atara breathing.
She checked her arm where the PhD had drawn her blood. There was no bandage or wound.
She breathed a sign of relief. It was just a dream, she thought, albeit a really strange dream.
Now she was exhausted. She fell backwards onto her bed.
But perhaps… she thought as she
began to doze off again, it’s more than a dream…
CHAPTER 7: Boggly Woodn’t It Be Nice
Dicer entered the captain’s cabin.
“Boss!” he said, “that job back there was brilliant!”
Yosie was practicing with a guitar, trying to get in tune with it (no pun intended).
“Thanks, Dicer,” Yosie replied, “but I’m rather busy at the moment.”
“What’s with the guitar, boss?”
“Well, my plan to get the Gold Star after our stop at the Great Tree requires a bit of rhythm and mood.”
“What?”
“I’m gonna have to join a band.”
“Sorry, boss, I’m not quite following you.”
“I’ll explain after we get the Emerald Star. Right now, the land below is looking monotone, so we’re approaching Boggly Woods. Prepare to attack.”
“Yes, boss.” Dicer left the cabin.
Once he was gone, Yosie looked as his guitar, shook his head, and muttered, “I still prefer the bongos.”
***
Ludwig was starting to breathe heavily.
“Lemmy, may I take momentary possession of your inflated sphere?” he panted.
“Sure, Ludwig, you can borrow my ball.” Lemmy pushed it over and continued to doggy paddle along as Ludwig followed slowly behind.
“This journey is much more draining then I originally envisioned it to be.”
“Don’t worry, Ludwig, no one’s perfect.”
“But I’m close.”
“I’ll just leave it at that.”
And they continued their swim.
***
Ludwig and Lemmy weren’t the only ones that were tired. Two Koopalings stood on the dock in Rougeport.
“That was the worst night of my life,” Iggy said, still weaving slightly from the trip.
“No, the worst night of your life was when you dreamt I was beating you up while you were asleep and it turned out I was,” Roy replied.
“HOLD IT!” someone shouted.
Iggy and Roy turned to see a withered, white-haired Goomba with huge glasses and a scientist’s outfit.
Iggy spoke, “What’s with the Halloween costume in the middle of… middle of… Roy, what month is it?”
“A month not close to Halloween?”
“Yeah, that’s it! A month not close to Halloween!”
“This isn’t a Halloween costume!” the Goomba said. “I’m Professor Frankly, and you’re Iggy and Roy Koopa.”
“No need to be jealous,” Roy teased.
“Jealous is what I most definitely am not! Considering that the Crystal Stars are disappearing and the Game Over has taken my best student, I am not jealous! I am panicked!”
The two Koopalings perked up when Frankly said “Game Over”.
“Wait. Rewind a second, old man,” Roy said. “You said the Game Over was here?”
“You need to start paying more attention,” Frankly said. “Of COURSE I said the Game Over was here, and they took one of my best pupils!”
“That explains the glasses!” Iggy said as he and Roy rushed past Frankly, knocking him to the ground.
When the old Goomba had recovered, Iggy and Roy had already entered the central plaza. He could hear the ensuing chaos from the dock.
“Youngsters these days,” Frankly said. “At least Goombella was courteous. And judging from that Email I got from Koops, Koopie Koo is also in danger from that Yosie creature. I don’t know what he’s up to, or those Koopalings for that matter, but I am going to try to find out!”
With that, he left the dock.
It was slightly afterwards, when he got back to his place, that he realized his Mailbox SP was missing.
***
This Email has been sent to you by RNN, the Rogueport News Network, your center for news in the northern islands.
NEWS FLASH: GAME OVER FOR THE CRYSTAL STARS?
Today, a most disturbing event took place. In the northeast region of the island, Pedal Meadows, the mystical Diamond Star, one of the seven Crystal Stars, was being guarded in Hooktail Castle by the kind residents of Petalburg.
“Was” is the definitive term. Early this morning, shortly after the kidnapping of a young Goomba girl was reported by one calling himself Professor Frankly in Rogueport, the same ship believed to be the vessel of those that had kidnapped the Goomba invaded the topmost tower of Hooktail Castle, kidnapped one of the guards by the name of Koopie Koo, and stole the Diamond Star.
The only witness to the crime was the other guard at the time. He goes by the name of Koops, and he recalled for us the horrible attack.
“It was very quiet for a long time at the top of the castle,” Koops reported. “Suddenly, Bombshell Bills began to eat away at the wall, creating a huge cloud of dust. I heard Koopie Koo scream and I called for her. When the dust cleared, there was a Lakitu with shades and brown hair, and riding on the cloud with him was Lord Crump. The Lakitu fired a blast of magic and threw me on my back. By the time I got up… sob… KOOPIE KOO WAS GONE!” The witness then broke into tears at this time.
At the time of this article, it is believed that the thief was one supercomputer276, more commonly known as Yosie, and his band known as the Game Over. How did we come to this conclusion?
After Koops had recovered from his crying, he continued. “I felt it was the Game Over because of several things. The first was that a Red Glove Grabber, one of the inventions mentioned in that article a few months back, was the thing the Lakitu and Crump used to capture Koopie Koo.”
The article mentioned by Koops is one from several months ago. Submitted by a writer known only as K. A. K., the article was titled “The Game is Almost Over” and told of the experience of being kidnapped by the Game Over. Among the body of the article are lists of inventions and doomships the writer claims the Game Over uses.
“Also,” Koops continued, “I thought I saw a red doomship outside the huge hole the kidnappers had put in the wall. Once again using the article, I think that was the G. O. S. Volcano out there.”
This might seem like very vague data to accuse anybody over. However, the most incriminating piece of evidence was that, according to Koops, “the Lakitu wore a shrunken black shirt that had a Poison Mushroom and the words ‘Game Over’ on the front. This is the shirt, I’m sure, that same article claimed was worn by the leader of the Game Over.”
There seems, however, to be one huge hole in this accusation: as of the current records, Yosie is a human and not a Lakitu. Investigators are still trying to unravel the deeper details of the crime and trying to predict where the ship’s crew will strike next. A Koopa wishing to remain anonymous reported spotting a red doomship moving west from the castle tower while he was heading to the castle for what he claimed to be the next shift.
All citizens have been informed to locate this strange Lakitu and his criminal accomplices and to report any relevant information that would help the search for said persons.
This message has been brought to you by RNN, the Rogueport News Network.
***
Yosie shut off the monitor of his computer in his cabin, laughing so hard he almost fell out of the air.
“They really think that they can track me down?” he said between laughs. “Those fools have another thing coming!” Then he laughed even harder, pounding on the computer console.
Out on the deck, Bombette and Susan heard the mad laughter.
“You suppose he’s ok?” Susan asked.
“Probably,” Bombette said. “Most likely, he found something really amusing online.”
***
Another organization wasn’t nearly as thrilled with the news.
Grodus, head of the X-Nauts, shut off the holographic screen he used when using the computer. He had just read the Email article, but the focus of his fury was not the loss of a Crystal Star.
“Crump has returned to Rogueport?!” he said to himself, half questioning the fact and half in outrage that it was most likely true. “That traitor… he receives a message from this supercomputer276 person and runs off on me… I swore his head would roll if he appeared in my territory again… but if I only knew where he was…” Out loud, he barked, “X-Naut! I summon you!”
An X-Naut entered the room and saluted.
“You called for me, dude? Sir? Sir dude? Sir Grodus, sir?”
“Shut up. I have a special job for you.”
Not wanting to break orders, the X-Naut just nodded.
“Crump has returned to Rogueport. As you know, I swore that I’d kill him if he showed his face again.”
“Do you want me to capture him so you may execute him, dude? Er…”
Grodus raised a hand for silence. “Well, yes, in fact. See to it immediately. Track him down and cuff him if you need to. Use any means possible. Short of destroying the base, of course.”
“Yes, sir!” The X-Naut saluted and left.
Grodus watched. “I have a feeling this boredom streak is going to be over very soon…”
***
In the empty Rogueport Plaza (like Toad Town, the sight of the Koopalings made everyone run for cover), Iggy shut the Mailbox SP he had stolen from the old Goomba that had mentioned the Game Over.
“Yosie IS in the area! We know he’s a Lakitu, even though the rest of the world doesn’t.”
“But why would he want the Crystal Stars?” Roy asked.
“Beats me. You don’t suppose he’s trying to revive the Shadow Queen like that X-Naut guy did last time?”
“He already did that, remember?”
“Oh yeah, I forgot.”
“If he’s after the Crystal Stars, then we should head somewhere where we know there’s a Crystal Star he hasn’t stolen.”
“And that would be?”
They thought about it for a long while.
Suddenly, Iggy slapped his knee.
“I’ve got it! Poshley Sanctum! There’s a Crystal Star on display there!”
“Well, what do ya know, Iggy? You actually have a point.”
“Hey!”
“Come on; let’s head to the Excess Express.”
“But we don’t have tickets.”
“We don’t need them. We’ve got me. C’mon.”
So they headed for the Rogueport Station.
***
Larry, Morton, Wendy, Mario, and Luigi looked over how much they had left to go. The purple mountain range was a tiny dot on the horizon, and a huge, fruited plain spread before them.
“We still have-a that far to go?” Luigi said.
“Apparently so,” Wendy replied. “No wonder the trip took so long last time.”
Suddenly, there was a ringing sound and Mario’s pocket began to vibrate.
“My Mailbox SP,” Mario said as he pulled it out. “Probably some newsletter I’ve-a signed up for.”
Mario flipped the SP open and read the title of the new mail, “News Flash from the RNN.”
“RNN?” Larry asked.
“Rogueport News Network. Something major must-a have happened in the northern islands.”
He opened the Email and read it out loud to everyone.
“Ludwig was right!” Wendy said. “Yosie was heading to Rogueport!”
Morton pulled the compact out of his mouth. “Well if Yosie is heading to Rogueport and he is collecting the Crystal Stars he is most likely trying to conquer the planet again using the energy of said Stars and for some reason it reminds me of-“
Wendy grabbed the compact and stuffed it back in Morton’s mouth.
Mario typed a message into the Mailbox SP and sent it. “Just forwarding the mail to-a Peach. This is-a very serious.”
“Quite,” Luigi agreed.
“Anyway,” Larry said, “it’s our job to check up on Mt. Majesty and answer our questions, as well as everyone else’s.”
All rested up and ready to go, they continued onward through the fruited plain.
***
“Admiral! Admiral! The Great Tree! Dead ahead!”
“General Guy, I will not warn you again. STOP CALLING ME ‘ADMIRAL!’”
“Sorry, sir.”
“Let’s see… for this one, I’ll need Crump, you, and bring along Bombette. It’s time to see her in the field.”
“Yes, Ad-“
“General Guy…”
“Yes, sir.”
***
Like most everywhere else in this story before the unexpected happens, things were going slowly inside the Great Tree. The elder was still alive, miraculously, thanks to the Life Shroom that Mario hd brought her once. However, it was beginning to get really small, and Punio doubted whether she would last must longer. As such, he kept by her side in case any assistance was needed. Petuni, Punio’s little sister, was also worried about how long Punio was going to last constantly exposed to the elder’s wisdom… on a nonstop basis.
Of course, routine was to be broken today. It all started when, as the three already mentioned Punies, along with several others, were inside the entrance chamber to the Great Tree (for Paper Mario 2 players out there, where Mario fought Mangus von Grapple), the tree began to rumble slightly for a few seconds. Hardly anyone noticed it.
Suddenly…
BLAM!
Three fist-shaped Red Glove Grabbers burst through the wall where the X-Nauts had built the front door, shot through the room, punched through the opposite wall into the next room (the room with the bubbles), and landed against the wall.
“Whoa nelly!” Punio cried.
Just as suddenly as they appeared, the fists retracted. Once the dust settled, the Punies could look through the holes and see a Lakitu holding a remote control outside. Riding on the cloud and holding remote controls as well were a pink Bob-omb and…
“IT’S THAT GIANT X-NAUT AGAIN!” Petuni cried. “HE’S BACK!”
“All right, Commandos!” Yosie commanded. “Let’s finish off what’s left of their first defense.” All three antagonists worked their remotes (how Bombette could do so remains a mystery) and the Red Glove Grabbers slammed and tore at the front wall.
Once it was all clear, Yosie shouted behind him, “They’re all yours, General Guy!”
General Guy and his division of the Game Over were right behind Yosie, Bombette, and Crump.
“Shy Guys!” he cried, “CHARGE!”
A rainbow variety of Shy Guys, Pyro Guys, Groove Guys, Medi Guys, Spy Guys, and Sky Guys charged into the giant hole in the front of the Great Tree and began to launch their attacks. Even the Anti Guy joined in, but he had a special task, and he had one of Yosie’s tools to do it.
All the Punies present excepting Petuni and the Elder tried to fight back the wave of Shy Guys. It almost seemed even until Anti Guy burst through the front line and approached the two non-fighters.
“Why, hello my little friends…” he said in a sinister-sounding voice. He had a remote control in his hand.
“What do you plan to do with that?” Petuni asked Anti Guy.
“What do I plan to do?” Anti Guy responded, “I plan to do… this!”
He hit a button on the remote, and the Red Glove Grabber shot through the hole in the door and grabbed Petuni!
“AHHH! HELP! BIG BROTHER!!!”
Punio backed out of the front line when he heard her.
“Petuni!” But he could only watch helplessly as the Red Glove Grabber pulled his sister aboard the G. O. S. Volcano.
“Soul target…” Yosie said as he pulled out his list and made a mark on it, “…check. Now for the main attraction. Crump! That’s your cue!”
“X-NAUTS!” Crump shouted. “PUNISH THEM!”
X-Nauts and Elite X-Nauts charged along with the Shy forces. While the Punies were distracted, Yosie dropped off Crump with General Guy to keep the enemy busy while he and Bombette flew over the battle into the next room through the three huge holes in the wall.
However, he was spotted by a few Punies, Punio included.
“That flying guy is probably the guy in charge! Stop him!”
A set of eleven other Punies followed Yosie and Bombette. The two were just going to take down the pipe when…
“Stop, you big meanie!” Punio made his way with utmost difficulty to the other side of the tree stump that was in the center of the room. “Give back Petuni!”
At the very least, Yosie’s attention was caught.
“Oh, it’s just one of those Punies. I thought I it was something serious.”
“I am serious! I may be small but… but…”
“But what? You need the muscle to back up the talk, kid! Allow me to demonstrate. Gailstorm Blast!”
The cloud inhaled and blew out a level 10 storm. Punio, of course, was flung over the edge and into the bubble-producing pool below.
“Aw man!” he said as he tried to get out. While he did manage to get himself over the ledge, by the time he hit the ceiling, Yosie and Bombette were already gone.
Punio hurried back to the battle.
“THOSE GUYS ARE JUST A DISTRACTION!” Punio shouted. That got everyone’s attention, even the Shy Guys and X-Nauts. “THEIR LEADER IS HEADED DEEPER INTO THE TREE!”
All of the Punies proceeded to try to follow the intruder.
General Guy reached into his pocket and pulled out a walkie talkie.
“Admiral, those Punies are headed towards you. Over.”
“General Guy, who’s 'Admiral'? Over.”
“Sorry. Let me try that again. Sir, the Punies are headed towards you. Over.”
“Better. Keep working on that. As for our monochrome friends, how many are moving? Over.”
“Everyone except the elder. Over.”
General Guy could almost feel the hands rubbing together. “Excellent,” Yosie said, “That’s what I’ll need, anyway. Get everyone back aboard the ship and have Crump reset that time bomb I’ve developed to 60 seconds. Also tell him to prepare to start the timer. Do you copy? Over.”
“60 seconds, Ad- sir? Isn’t that awfully short? Why not that 300 it was when the X-Nauts attacked? Over.”
“Because I don’t have slow-footed and slow-witted Crump with me. And I still have my G. O. Wand. I think Bombette and I could make it back in time. Just get everyone aboard the Volcano and set the bomb. I’ll call you when I want the clock to start clocking down. Over and out.”
Yosie clicked off and General Guy turned off the communicator.
***
At the very bottom of the tree, in the round room where Mario had found the Emerald Star before, Yosie set a detonator charge on the central pillar.
“Yosie,” Bombette said with a slight quiver of worry, “why can’t we just take the Star and leave?”
“Because we can’t get to the Star without the Punies. Just keep standing where I told you to and everything will be fine.”
Bombette was standing on the edge of the huge black panel in the center of the room, opposite the pipe they'd made access by. If Yosie needed them to change position, he’d tell her. After all, he'd slapped a tracking device on the Punio fellow when they'd passed over. No matter which way they would come in, the plan would work.
Yosie looked at the GPS system that he stored in his cloud and programmed to track his homing device. “Just as expected, they’re taking the shortcut like we did. Hold your position, Bombette. Things just got a bit easier.”
It was about another minute before Punio led the Punies in and moved up to face the invaders.
“Hah! We caught you!” Punio said. “And you’re so outnumbered, you can’t get away! Now return Petuni this instant!”
“Not short of courage, are you, small-fry? Mind if I say something?”
“Um… Ok, go ahead.”
“Watch your step.” He pointed to the ground.
The Punies looked down to see all 101 of them were standing on the black panel.
Suddenly, there was a rumble and several white flashes.
And with that, the Emerald Star magically rose from the central pillar and landed on the ground in front of the pillar.
Punio tried to grab the Star, but Yosie was quicker on the draw. “Magical Magnet!” Before Punio could get a hold of the star-shaped gem, it flew into Yosie’s hands.
“Ha ha! That wasn’t too difficult at all. Now the fun begins.” He pulled his communicator out. “General Guy? You there? Over.”
“Sorry, Ad- sir. We have unexpected company.”
“What do you mean, 'unexpected company'? Over.”
“Some strange wind spirit flew up here and attacked us. I think our move at Pedal Meadows attracted a lot of attention. Apparently, attention from this woman. Over.”
“It’s Madame Flurrie. Keep her down until I get back, so I can shred her personally. Also, have Crump start the time bomb. Over and out.”
He closed the link as Punio said, “Madame Flurrie’s here? And something about a TIME BOMB?!”
The charge on the central pillar began to flash red.
“60 seconds to clear course. Go.” Bombette hopped on Yosie’s cloud as the genius-gone-Koopa waved the G. O. Wand and shouted “Time Halt!”
As the delinquent duo disappeared, Punio yelled, ”EVERYBODY! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!”
They dashed like mad for the pipe.
***
On the deck of the Volcano, the G. O. Commandos weren’t having the easiest time. Even though they sent in all the troops they had, Flurrie was making doubly sure that they wouldn’t get away with hurting the poor, defenseless Punies, and the fact they even took one as a hostage just make her all the tougher.
Suddenly, Yosie and Bombette materialized on deck.
“Pull the forces back and leave this to me.”
Bombette got off the cloud and Yosie made his way forward as the troops retreated.
“So, you’re the famous Madame Flurrie.”
“So, you’re that infamous Lakitu looking for the Crystal Stars,” the wind spirit replied.
“Ah, so I am even more famous then I thought,” Yosie teased as he adjusted his shades. “You ought to be honored to be defeated by me.”
“Who’s says I’m going to be defeated?”
All of the Punies now began to go into full evacuation of the Great Tree.
“RUN! RUN! IT’S THE END OF THE WORLD! GET AWAY FROM HERE! OUTTA MY WAY! MOVE ASIDE!” could be heard from the crowd.
“28 seconds to detonation,” Crump reported.
“Looks like I’ll have to hurry things,” Yosie said as he pulled his recently plundered Emerald Star from his cloud. “Clock Out!”
A giant bomb with a green star on it fell from the sky and Yosie caught it while stuffing the Star back into his cloud.
“Special delivery.” He tossed the bomb to Flurrie and followed by pointing the wand at the fuse and crying “Darkfire Shadow!”
A huge blast of fiery darkness shot from the wand and hit the fuse, which then proceeded to burn even faster.
Suddenly, it blew, and Flurrie was left frozen on the deck.
“12 seconds to detonation!” Crump cried.
“Get us out of here!” Doopliss cried.
The jets of the G. O. S. Volcano took off from the Great Tree. As they made their way out of the airspace above the Boggly Woods, Yosie threw Flurrie into some bushes.
Behind them, the Great Tree remained intact. The Punies watched in horror as the seconds counted down.
In the deepest chamber in the tree, the charge suddenly began to flash red a lot faster.
Then it detonated with the force of a toy firework. There was barely any damage done to the tree, with the exception of the now greatly enlarged entrance.
But by the time the Punies regained their senses, the Volcano was gone and off to its next destination, and Petuni had been carried along for the ride.