Toadette's Story: Book 1

Chapter 28 - Vs. General Guy

General Guy leapt out his chair, letting his long coat soar through the air. And to my shock, he set his platinum rifle on the floor. However, his slow, intense breathing told me to not let my guard down. Once he curled a fist, I stepped forward.

“A fistfight?” I scoffed. “That’s lame, you’re gonna challenge us to that?”

“Nope. He’s challenging ME.”

Princess Daisy brushed her shoulders while she marched ahead of us. Before I could pull her back, Penelope tugged on my leg.

“Interrupting Miss Daisy when she’s angry is a really bad idea.”

I shook my head. “Handling this monster by herself is a really bad idea.”

Sighing, Minh T. got on one knee. “Don’t worry too much, Toadette. I mean, she looks pretty powerful.”

Fine. I’d sit and watch this upcoming clash. With all these wounded Shy Guys on the floor, the space was ten times smaller. So as a precaution, I pushed the girls a few steps back.

The chuckling General Guy folded his arms. “Stubborn to the very end. Your desperate need for power has damaged your brain.”

“We wiped out your little army with some sweaty feet, loser. So even if you’ve got some trick up your sleeve, Daisy’s not one to be underestimated.”

“Based on your foolish adventure, you should listen to your own advice.”

Daisy threw her leg in the air, revealing the dirty bottom of her foot to the Shy Guy leader. “Please, you know I’ll win. Unlike these red-garbed morons, I’ve been able to lift hundreds of pounds since I was a kid.”

“Ah…” The man cracked his knuckles. “Creating fictional accounts of events that never transpired is a genius way of boosting self-confidence. Tell me, is that what helps you sleep at night? Instead of Shy Guys being battered in Sarasaland’s rich streets, you tell yourself they’re dancing peacefully?”

SMACK!

Daisy brought the conversation to a close, slugging General Guy in the chest. And so, the battle began.

General Guy first guarded Daisy’s punch, then shoved her a short distance away. But she returned with a diving kick, missing the barely moving man. For each attack she threw, he only twitched to avoid it.

“It’s like an insect buzzing ’round a statue,” Minh T. remarked.

“Part of why her strength didn’t matter to me.”

So many somersault flips came into play with the princess’s strategy, yet General Guy took advantage of every opening. There was a punch here, a strong kick there, and a backhand that sent her tumbling.

“Come now,” the man taunted. “You can lift hundreds of pounds but can’t catch a stationary general?”

“Don’t mock me!”

With an explosion of vigour, Daisy leapt into the air again. And this time, she dove her leg right into General Guy’s hood. At least he’d have her foot odour to deal with now.

“You got him, Miss Daisy!” Penelope hopped up and down.

But something in the pit of my stomach told me that this was far from over.

In just two seconds, General Guy rose from his collapsed state and snatched Daisy by the ankle. No big boasts came out her mouth now.

The mood completely shifted when the Shy Guy used his other hand to tickle her sole.

“HAHAHAHAHA! GET OUT OF THERE, YA JERK!” Daisy screamed, her laughter starting to sound like crying. “LET ME DOWN!”

SLAM!

The crack was so bad, I instinctively shielded Penelope’s eyes. All hope for Daisy winning faded as she struck the ground head-first.

“Wish granted.”

As if he inherited the speed of a Bullet Bill, General Guy drove his foot into Daisy’s chest. “Such a lacking opponent,” he said, punting the princess twice until she skidded before us. The lady coughed up a storm, moaning and groaning.

Even though my heart sunk, the thought of the princess’s alleged treatment of Shy Guys in her own country sickened me more. I’d denied it, but of course, Minh T. was correct. Not EVERY Shy Guy was a horrible person. So, this brutal beating could be considered Daisy’s consequences.

Nevertheless, I spoke loud and clear. “You wanna tag out? Lady, you look like someone pulled you out of a demolition derby.”

Her arms wobbled until she was on her feet again, but even her legs shook like jelly. “I’m defending my home. That’s MY job.”

“Won’t be anymore if you keep fighting like this.” My volume increased. “Use your head—”

“SHUT UP!”

It took a lot of restraint for me not to slug the princess at that moment. She huffed at me, eventually turning around to confront the man ready to kill her. Penelope whispered the princess’s name in a feeble attempt to persuade her, but alas, she was already gone. The royal drove her foot into General Guy’s midsection. Then the coated figure flew back, shockingly unable to maintain balance.

BAM!

I spoke too soon. The princess lay face-first on the ground with General Guy looming over her. Seeing as he didn’t pass out from her earlier attempt to suffocate him, he must’ve been resistant to her feet. Great, so even if she got another chance, it’d be in vain.

He shook his head. “Are you beginning to comprehend the pain you put my comrades through in your country? I promise, this is but a taste of that.”

CRACK!

Daisy’s pained scream reverberated against the walls, and it only got shriller as General Guy drilled into her back.

“Whether we be in the Mushroom Kingdom or Sarasaland, you privileged sorts step on us like trash. And here you have the nerve to get enraged when we finally react!”

CRACK!!

Penelope tugged on my shirt. “Miss Toadette. Please.” Not once could she blink nor turn her head away from this display.

My feet, they wouldn’t move. How could they when Daisy’s true colours were once again being revealed? No matter what gripes I had with these monsters, if they had innocents being abused in Sarasaland… General Guy’s accounts sounded no different than how the princess treated me when she came to this place. If I had the power to command a bunch of Toads to kill her, would I have done that earlier?

“What’s wrong?” Minh T. snapped me back to reality.

I described to her frantically how this conflict stabbed at me like a knife. Would I go and help Princess Daisy, or what I let her face the consequences of her actions uninterrupted? Even if the latter meant losing my job, there had to come a point where I stopped being selfish.

Minh T. looked me in my eyes, drawing me closer to her calming voice. “Let’s see, Toadette. Either Princess Daisy can live to become a better person, or disappear and never correct her mistakes.”

“And you’re still making me decide,” I sighed.

“Don’t forget what he told his followers to do to us,” she said. “If Daisy’s some so-called demon, he ain’t no better.”

With a nod, I hopped into a handstand and struck General Guy’s chest. So began the new stage of this battle, with Toadette taking centre stage! My unexpected entrance got him breathing harder in that suffocating coat. All Daisy let out was a sickly moan, lying like a corpse beneath General Guy and me.

“She doesn’t like mushrooms any more than my people,” he said, lunging back. “Why ally yourself with a common threat, child?”

I furrowed my brows.

He continued. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Therefore, we settle our differences here and lay this dictator to rest for the best outcome.” Though a cold hood shrouded his face, some sincerity shone through in his voice.

Unfortunately, it didn’t through mine. “Don’t get sweet with me when I had to crawl my ass out the desert TWICE thanks to your goons.”

“It was worth a try.”

“You got this, Toadette!” Minh T. shouted, waving from a distance. Aside her was Penelope, still wide-eyed and motionless.

CLAP! CLAP! BOOM!

The two of us exchanged blows back and forth before I slammed General Guy in his skull. For the first time in two days, he groaned in genuine pain. But it only lasted for so long. Soon, the man yanked me by the collar, and I hit a pillar with a force strong enough to break it. He immediately reached me again, taking hold of my foot before driving my knee into the floor.

My right leg stung like crazy. However…

“Is that the best you got?” I growled, rubbing my side. The tried-and-true method of my powerful feet was roaring to be my next strategy. General Guy read me like an open book.

“Don’t bother,” he said. “If we trained many of our elites to withstand your toxic odour, what makes you think I’d be susceptible?”

I chuckled. “You’re not the invincible leader you think you are.” I’d need to back those words up with proof.

If my foot had been in some of these guys’ faces for longer, I could’ve subdued them more easily. And General Guy couldn’t be much different because no matter his build, he was a Shy Guy at his core. So I wasn’t going to give this bastard some quick stomps. Nope, he needed lethal suffocation.

Air poured out my lungs while I dashed along the room’s edges. Once, twice I circled past General Guy. His eyes stayed locked on me like an Albatoss.

“Tiring yourself out? Your tactics are so embarrassing I can’t even laugh.”

Perfect timing! Just as he spoke, I pushed from the wall and jammed my right foot into that hooded opening.

“I got loads more energy where that came from, bud!” My foot made sure to stink his face up. At first, his echoey laughter continued. No screams, no nothing. My face changed from cocky to worried when nothing happened. But once I spread and flexed my dirty toes, something snapped.

General Guy let out a scream so wild that his voice was breaking into chunks. Then, with his defences broken, the man fought to get this sweaty Toad off his face.

“Guys!” I stomped with all my might, trying to fit the other foot in there. “Help!”

As he screamed again, all five of my toes managed to break into his foul mouth. “Eat it! Eat it! Eat it! Eat it!” I yelled that forever, grossing both of us out in the process.

THUD!

No, just as I was winning… General Guy punted me across the floor and slid to his rifle as if he had skates. Although I proved that he floundered under smelly feet, he had me beat thanks to a stupid gun.

“You beat my infantry, but that’s all you’ll achieve.”

What was I supposed to do now? Hold my hands up in fear? Get on my knees? I had speed, but not even the fastest Toad could outrun a rifle’s bullet. Without even realising it, I’d already accepted my fate. On my knees and with both hands in the air, I kissed my life goodbye.

“I respect your combative skills, but so long, Toadette.”

“WYAAAA!”

BOOM!

Glass rained from the ceiling as General Guy let out a thunderous scream. To my excitement and horror, Penelope stood right next to him. As a light flickered, the girl kicked and clawed at his cloak. Knowing her soles were slobbery AND sweaty, a bit of hope returned. The Shy Guy hopped backwards as his grip on the gun began to slip.

With the opportune moment here, I slammed this asshole into a pillar. And when he sunk to the ground, Penelope and I both got heavy stomps in.

“Are we winning?” the child asked, breathless. “Are we—”

SMACK!

The butt of the rifle whacked me in the forehead, knocking all the energy out my body. Like a ragdoll, I tumbled on my knees and eventually lay flat.

“Disrespectful, uncouth human!”

BONK!

In a flash, Penelope bumped her noggin against mine. Her warm spit dribbled onto my cap, yet I knew better than to complain. If I had the strength, I’d have thanked her for being brave. Even if it was a foolish attempt, the girl was ready to risk her life for me.

With the teensy amount of power coursing through my veins, I flung one of my flats at the man.

It missed.

“None of you knows when to surrender, do you?” General Guy asked, reloading his gun. “Mario was LUCKY to defeat me once, several years ago, and even he broke the rules of war. You all lack the proper battle experience to tangle with the best of the Shy Guys.”

“Sorry, Miss Toadette,” an injured Penelope said. No doubt she heard the reloading and predicted what the next step was. Holding her as best I could, I shut my eyes.

“You’re just a stinkin’ coward,” Daisy growled, coughing.

CLINK!!

The next thing I heard was the gun dropping to the floor, a bullet leaving the chamber and a heavy metal sound bouncing against the walls. When I opened my eyes, a sphere rocketed from surface to surface like a cannonball. And indeed, General Guy’s weapon hit the floor while he danced around in panic.

“Come the heck on!”

I looked back and lost my marbles. Minh T.!? With Daisy’s soccer ball rolling back under her feet? How the hell did this gym-skipping Toad kick a golden ball without footwear? The rules of physics should’ve deemed that illegal. Either my friend was secretly the strongest person in the room, or she was the dumbest person.

Nevertheless, I cheered her on mentally. The princess encouraged her to kick the ball again. But amidst all our excitement, General Guy regained his rifle. Within no time, another bullet sat in the chamber.

“This is why I’m sorry!” Penelope sprung up, limping towards the towering Shy Guy. Her shirt was torn, her face was scuffed, and her spit-covered feet made her trip twice. Yet here she was, pushing on like a trooper.

General Guy cackled. “Stubbornness must be a virtue in royalty.”

The man aimed his gun directly at Penelope’s face. One pull of that trigger and Her Highness’s daughter would be lost for eternity.

“Move,” I croaked.

“I swear I’m gonna rip your head off if you hurt her again!” Daisy yelled, pulling herself on one elbow.

“DON’T FREAKIN’ TOUCH HER!!” We all froze as Minh T.’s vocal cords snapped.

BONK!! Clank…

Our eyes recorded every precise detail as if we’d eaten the essence of Slow Flowers. The golden soccer ball penetrated General Guy’s chest, then something flashed. Just after the impact, the cloak split into millions of fabric pieces while smoke rose. Out that smoke flew 20-ish regular Shy Guys, metal shrapnel, a fragment of a metal arm, and one unique Shy Guy. His defining features were his military cap and his silver attire.

So, the big man himself wasn’t so big, huh? Even in my half-dead state, I couldn’t help but snicker.

“I-Is she okay?” Minh T. asked, squeaking like a mouse.

“Whoo-hoo! Good work! The idiot burst like a piñata before his trigger finger worked!” Daisy’s wide grin returned for the first time since this battle started. She rose with all the energy in the world, despite looking like she had come out of the Glitz Pit.

The grown women pinned General Guy under their feet while I limped like a mummy. My arm was so red that you’d think I had lost blood by the second. This soreness could not be overstated.

Princess Daisy asked, “Any of you wanna throw me some suggestions on how we punish this guy?”

“Forget that,” I said. “Your shoes.”

“Right, right. Where do you clowns have all my shoes, shorty?”

Through his emotionless and stained masked, General Guy wheezed. “I have an offer—”

“Lemme stop you there, tonto,” Minh T. said, stomping her dusty foot on the defeated Shy Guy. “You tried to murder us, and you wanna make deals with us?”

“What offer?” Daisy folded her arms.

“In exchange for not being persecuted or captured by either the Mushroom Kingdom or Sarasaland government, we will return your shoe—”

Penelope forced her toes in his mouth right then and there. Now the Shy Guy had a mouthful of sweat, filth, and the spit of at least three other people.

The girl’s heavy breathing was meant to hold back tears, but she failed. “We can search this whole place and find Miss Daisy’s stuff without you. Why WOULDN’T my mother arrest you and your friends? Huh? Huh!?” She plucked her toes out his mouth.

“We will give Princess Daisy her shoe collection and offer her our military services. In exchange, we only ask that she treats the respected Shy Guys of Sarasaland no differently than the common man.”

Military services? What a joke. Sure, these guys were strong and coordinated. But that’s all they had going. And who was to say that they wouldn’t go back to robbing within Sarasaland? Four kingdoms in one country meant a lot of places from which to steal.

“Flower Toad, force your foot down his throat.” Daisy snapped her fingers.

“At your request, Princess Daisy!” the Toad got on her knees and reserved her foot into General Guy’s mask. If he thought Penelope’s toes were disgusting, Minh T.’s were gonna drain the life from him.

And they did. His screams got louder and louder to the point that Daisy covered her ears. Though she still had a smile on her face. Don’t think Minh T. stopped at the toes. She got around the halfway point of the ball of her foot. After that, she had to dip her other foot in that mouth. More warm grime, saliva, and sweat for General Guy.

When the Toad pulled her foot back, she scoffed. “Seriously, why have only bad guys been messing with my feet of late?”

“Toadette deserves to get some anger out, right?” Daisy grabbed my shoulder.

Unfortunately, my power sat so low that wiggling my toes was an exercise. Yet I wasn’t stupid enough to waste an opportunity! I slammed my heel straight into General Guy’s body before falling. Simple, yet effective.

Daisy let out a chuckle. “Perfect. Now, bring me my shoe collection, and we have a deal.”

“HUH!?” Our mouths moved faster than our brains, babbling out undecipherable nonsense.

The princess put her hands in her pockets. “Hey, I’m pissed like the rest of you. But if I got these guys working for me, for a good cause, then why lock ’em up here. Besides…” She sighed. “Princess Daisy is clearly not the best ruler in the world. My new goal is to become the best princess the world has known and to do that, I need to help these Shy Guys. Since they’ll help me, doesn’t that sound sweet for all of us?”

“Jail!” Penelope shook her head.

Minh T. nodded. “He wanted to SHOOT a little girl.”

“She’s making the right choice, you two.”

Penelope and Minh T. gawked at me. The pink-spotted Toad stuck her hand out in confusion. Even a person like Minh T., who was deemed loveable to her core, couldn’t shake the fact that she could’ve been killed. Through all our years going through life, that was the one constant she couldn’t bring herself to forgive others for.

“Toadette,” she softly said, “we gotta at least deal with General Guy. You almost… I…”

“And Daisy abused me on my first day working with her.” I faced the princess, whose posture remained stiff. “She’s still got some prejudice in her right now, and the Shy Guys still got murderous goals. But if we’re gonna let Daisy improve, it’s only fair we let these guys improve.”

I stepped on General Guy one more time. “After all, they’re not gonna hurt us anymore. RIGHT?”

“It’d be a g-great… conflict of interest,” the Shy Guy leader groaned.

The princess pulled General Guy on his stubby feet. With a deep breath, the handshake was made.

While we watched groups of Shy Guys hastily push carts of footwear into the room, I attended to Penelope’s body. Even though she took less damage than me, she still had a nasty lump on her forehead. In addition, the girl ached from head to toe, so she needed both of us Toads to carry her throughout the Toy Box. We parked on a set of large blocks, finally able to relax.

Minh T. patted her on the head with a giggle. “Bet you’re dying to get your feet licked proper, huh?”

“Egh… I think I’ve had enough tongues on my feet for one day.”

“Tell me about it,” I said. “Your mom hired me as some footslave. I missed the memo where I’d have to get my feet messed with on a daily basis.”

“Hehe, this was the perfect week for you to learn about my secret, huh?” Minh T. poked at my stomach.

I held my head up against the bright lights above us. Despite knowing my future would require more time spent with Her Highness and that Minh T.’s foot fetish thing would haunt me forever, I just laughed.

No matter how many times I nearly died or how many times I got tickled against my will, this had been an exciting part of my life. They always say to appreciate the good things to make the most of your short existence. While these weren’t exactly good, they sure were memorable. How could I forget burning a dude’s nose with my toes in the desert or watching the princess dominate a family on a bus?

Raising my feet to the light, I sighed a breath of relief, optimistic for the following days.