Toadette's Story: Book 1

Chapter 45 - Tangled Tickle Torture

So, which one of us was going to rip the light off this green tube? I was barely taller than Minh T. by an inch, possessed better body strength, had stronger endurance…

Okay, as long as she promised that she wouldn’t let me fall into the water, it’d only be a matter of time before our dire situation ended. I balanced on the end of the block, reaching for that wide light. All the while, I took note of how high this water had risen. If we were on the floor, it’d now have reached our hips.

“Don’t even think of letting go,” I screamed above the rushing water.

“I won’t.” Her grip around my hips tightened. “Trust me, I’m too busy studying your soles to let you fall.”

“Well, thank you for the flattering affection.”

No surprise that she was staring at them again. After all, I was leaning on one foot to secure this giant lamp, causing my other foot to hover backwards in the air. So, right near her side, five soaked toes were there to tease her. Yuck, they were all wrinkly and crinkly, too. But if I knew anything about Minh T., she could see my feet cut off and still find them attractive.

I simply laughed at her gushy comments. “You still think they’re cute even when they look old and wrinkly?”

“Everyone’s got wrinkles, Toadette. Even a baby if they scrunch hard enough.” She traced her finger from my heel to my toes as if she was connecting the dots on my foot. Then, out of nowhere, I felt a section on my heel. Once that familiar, slimy movement manifested, my legs started to shiver.

“AHAHAHAHA!” Not only were my legs in a wobbly state but so were my arms. They vibrated until the light slid from my grasp. “Minh T.!”

SPLASH!

Cold. Cold! COLD! The pressure of the incoming water kept me submerged for what felt like forever. As soon as I reached the surface, my teeth chattered without stopping. So, was this what it was like to be Daisy in Toad Town Tunnels? If my feet were only mildly chilly before, they were now frozen pops.

“My bad!” Minh T. stretched her hand out. “I’m sorry!”

Coughing out bitterly salty water, I pulled myself onto the blocks with her assistance. Minh T.’s apologies came out as quickly as the water rose. But even in a freezing state, I resumed my previous position. My hands clung to the light like a parasite, and I diligently tugged on it.

“Your little kiss was cute,” I said with a groan, “but the fact I was fully underwater means we’ve got to speed this up.”

“Right!”

Let’s go, you stupid lamp. Tear off… I’d tighten my muscles as much as needed to get this thing to detach from this cursed pipe! Heck, it gave my toes a nice workout since they curled each and every time my arms tensed. Maybe I’d level my toe power up with enough pressure.

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip… SNAP!

Minh T. caught me in my staggering state. Wow, impressive that she didn’t send us both falling off these blocks. That the light remained activated was even more proof that this contraption was powered by batteries. This whole city was run by cheapskates. At least their petty spending laid out a path to our survival.

Using all my might, I swung at the lime-green pipe. It dented, putting a grin on my face. With another hit, I saw the water begin to spill out. And then again, and again, and again! It was like being a fighter in that Glitz Pit and using a chair to knock out the opponent. Though it always feels like cheating, you know it’s so satisfying.

As soon as the icy liquid bit at my soles, my speed doubled. Behind me, Minh T. squealed like a dog, dancing up and down to rid herself of the low temperature.

“And some ask why I hate cold showers!”

Now that the water was at our ankles, we probably had a minute, maybe two, to get out of here. With a final swing of the light to the pipe, I split off a large chunk.

And… Oh my gosh, even more water spilt out. Good job, Toadette. Now our situation had us in a corner! Our only chance was going through the busted section that no longer received water.

“This’ll have to do!” I hopped into the broken tube, awkwardly contorting my body just to not bounce off the wall. My shoulders barely squeezed in this one; the space was so small that my gut couldn’t expand enough to breathe. But one should never underestimate the suction power of a warp pipe. “See you on the other side!”

WHOOSH!

There I went! The frosty pipe carried me forward. I turned two sharp corners, and yes, it hurt like hell. But all pipes ended somewhere. Where would this take—

THUD!

***

Worst. Pipe. Experience. EVER! I’d never had one knock me out before. And this one had to nerve to drop me about 50 metres. Ouch. Well, let’s see… How much time had passed? The area was so dark that it felt like we were at the bottom of the ocean. The icy atmosphere made me more suspicious.

“Minh T.?” All around me, I felt little ropes wrapped around my limbs.

“My butt itches…”

“Did NOT need to know that.” At least I knew we hadn’t been separated. “I take it you can’t move either?”

She sighed. “These vines are choking my body.”

Vines? Of course, we were in Piranha Plant Slide. Dang. Never did it occur to me that we might’ve entered a pipe directly leading us to a party of these vicious plants. Just how many surrounded us right now? Around us, I heard what sounded like slithering. It was slow but not alone. So, safe to assume that there were multiple enemies in our vicinity. And aside from that, the sounds of sloshing water came through in a very muffled fashion. My guess about us being at the bottom of the ocean may have been a stretch, but we had to be at the bottom of this water system.

Minh T. and I weren’t too far from one another. Our feet were intertwined. I could feel one of her wider feet sandwiched between my two longer feet. As neat as it was to feel my best friend like this, these were more than unideal circumstances. But at least we could communicate.

“Is biting the vines useful?” I tried to pull my wrist out of this trap.

“Poison! I can’t see, so they could be a type with more venom than we Toads can handle. Don’t risk it.”

“Why not? Then you can suck all the poison out my feet like your buddy did to you.”

She giggled, albeit uncomfortably. “Oh. So, you know all ‘bout that, huh?”

As I went to answer, I felt something across my right sole. Something far too warm in this cold environment. Could it be?

…Yep. There it was! That was unquestionably a tongue. And considering that it covered the entire bottom of my foot—from my heel to my toes, not missing a beat—it came from a Piranha Plant. These bastards didn’t need light to see like we Toads. No, they were like Swoopers, able to navigate even the blackest rooms with a sense of smell or touch. And wouldn’t you know it, today was a day where my feet smelt non-clean.

Even with flip-flops, the ocean water didn’t exactly smell like roses. It smelt like stinky fish. When mixed with my natural foot smell, something that shouldn’t grab one’s attention, anyone with a high sense of smell could pinpoint me in an instant. And that was what this Piranha Plant did as it slurped away at my feet.

There was severe confusion in Minh T.’s voice. “Why are you laughing?”

“T-T-T-T-Tick… HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! TICK! AHAHAHA! TICKLES!”

Having my feet soaked in all this cold water should’ve numbed their sensitivity. But perhaps the constant exiting and re-entering of the water caused them to retain ticklishness. No, this was amplified as a trail of sizzling saliva started to coat them boat.

“Toadette! Answer my ques— AAAH! HAHAHAHA!” And like that, Minh T. joined in being a victim of tickling torture. Welcome to the eleventh circle of Hell. Our feet squirmed against each other as more than one tongue began to skate across them. While mucous-like saliva spread across my wrinkled soles, a long tongue stretched across the tops of both our feet. And when wrapping around to the side of my right foot, I screamed like someone had jammed a knife into me. No, imagine someone tickling you with a pen, and they poke it into the most sensitive, delicate spot on your sole.

“NO! NOOO!” Tears rained as the tongues forced themselves between my toes. Because they were so massive, they spread my digits wider than I’d ever felt before. But unfortunately, the slight pain didn’t put an end to the tickling. It was a million times more effective when something slimy hit that soft spot normally protected by my toes. These ten babies wanted to jump off my feet so badly.

For minutes, we received the most ticklish pedicure in the world. Minh T. would constantly scream my name, shrieking if the area under her toes was ever touched.

“QUIT TICKLIN’ MY TOESIES!”

Suddenly, both my hands got wetter than usual. The pressure once more pointed to the source: two Piranha Plants, each tackling one of my five-fingered parts. It wasn’t as ticklish, but I nevertheless jolted as they swirled between my fingers.

“Not my armpits! NOOOO!” Poor Minh T. didn’t receive even a second of relief. In addition to the assault on her toes, the Piranha Plants directed their tongues to her sweaty armpits. Wearing that crop top didn’t pan out so well for the girl.

Wait. That was it! They must’ve been attracted to our sweat! It’d explain why they targeted our feet first, then my hands and her armpits.

They were warming us up for their dinner.

More accurately, this was the standard procedure for a Piranha Plant before consuming its meal. If someone set a delicious stuffed-crust cheese pizza before you, would you immediately gobble it up? Maybe, but some would rather let the pizza marinate in their mouth for minutes before finally swallowing. And the way the Piranha Plants licked us was reminiscent of this process.

But how could we deal with this? Could we even?

“Try to kick at them!” I yelled between laughs. Despite my attempts to deal any damage, my feet were too rigidly locked to move more than a couple of centimetres. And vines kept my legs from fidgeting a whole lot.

“HELP!” Minh T.’s strategy took a different turn. “Someone help us! Hahahaha! We’re trapped!”

But it was just like I told her when the plant grabbed her earlier. As long as a noise was made, there was a chance someone down here could track us. And so, I followed her example.

“PLEASE! Our feet are getting way too numb with Piranha Plant juice! Save us!”

All we heard in return were the mischievous snickers of the red and white monsters. No! It couldn’t end this way! Minh T. and I continued to scream, and fortunately, the idiots’ brains weren’t quite up to snuff. If there was water flowing through those roots, they’d have known that tickling us only increased our ability to yell tenfold, as we didn’t give a damn how strained our throats became. Whether laughing or crying, we had the volume of shrieking girls in a boy band concert.

But the longer this gel rested on me, the more rapidly my eyes blinked. And my long cry for help switched into a loud yawn.

“I’m so tired.”

“No! You will not go to sleep on me, Toadette! I can’t promise to wake you up if you do!”

“I’ll try.”

Just like how that M. Bush had gotten the best of Minh T., these Piranhas’ saliva was getting the best of me. If only Toads had the ability to be immune to any poisonous substance in the world. The race would be invincible. Well, being resistant to 90% of toxins that would send a human or Goomba in depressing agony was better than nothing.

This licking on my hands and feet was so relaxing… No longer did it tickle, as my body had already become numb. Peaceful didn’t begin to describe the feeling.

“Minh T., I love your feet,” I sighed, touching her soft soles with my stiff toes before my brain began to tingle out of consciousness. “They’re so pretty.”

“Thanks, but— Wait, you’re not supposed to say that! Don’t give up on me!”

Heh… I wasn’t supposed to say that, huh? Well, the truth slips when you won’t be around to face the consequences.

SLASH!

…Was I falling?

OW! FUCK! That was way worse than the pipe drop since I could feel the impact vibrate my body! Whatever I landed on was all slimy and rubber-feeling, so at least I didn’t crack open like an egg. And I clearly wasn’t alone in this descent, as Minh T. yelled right alongside me. Her wide foot landed right on my face. Her saliva-covered, very slimy, very toxic… KYAA!

Wait, what was that? Light? I could finally see the horror in her face.

“Did they give up?” I asked, wincing at the radiating pain in my shoulder.

“That’s what you both get for following me in the first place.”

That voice… Above us, a red-spotted Toad dangled from more sliced vines. He had that same black bandana across his cap from yesterday, and the fear and regret poured into me like a storm. Making matters worse, his bright light was directly on my face.

Minh T. pushed me out the way before I made any move, then pointed to the teen. “You’re in big trouble when we get outta here! All the jobs you could’ve found, and you wanna work for Wario!?”

“I just do the delivery work.”

Dane T. landed between us but immediately whipped his flashlight in my direction again. When looking at my face, I could practically hear the “Data Analysis” voice. My body may have aged a lot in these years, but my face was almost no different than when I’d left this city. If only I’d worn makeup!

He turned to Minh T. “And by the way, not the thanks I expected for saving you and you friend.”

Whoa. Did he really forget what I looked like? His flashlight was bright enough to blind a girl, yet he couldn’t solve this rudimentary puzzle?

“Speaking of, who is she?”

Minh T. grabbed his shoulder. “Not important. We need to get out of— WAAAAA!”

And there she went, back into the air.

“This just keeps getting better and better.” I stood in disbelief at the sight above us. Thanks to the boy’s flashlight, counting the number of Piranha Plants in this small room was child’s play.

So, how does 44 sound? And unlike normal Piranha Plants, these were orange with red spots and green mouths. Ew, and gnarly violet teeth.

“Putrid Piranhas!” Minh T. screamed. “They’re Putrid Piranhas!”

“Meaning!?”

“They’re way more dangerous! Get me down! NOW!”

And I thought beehives were impressive with the number of fuzzy insects they stored. Several of these Putrid Piranhas, including a couple of buds, had whisked Minh T. to the highest level of the shaft. And as she ascended, a line of red tongues awaited her feet, cap and sides. Her laughter in the face of utter doom was a surreal site, for sure.

“This is new.” My brother grinned before tapping my shoulder. “Hey, can you do this?”

For a few seconds, he ran in place. But immediately afterwards, he crushed the vines beneath us to run up part of the wall. Hopping from face to face, the boy was making it to Minh T. at a speed that left me baffled. On his first try… How could anyone in this family of either obesity or frailness be as quick as I was!?

The acrobatics he put on display made me look like… No. I wasn’t second-rate to a boy that was only 13. The poison in me probably made me perceive his motions as quicker.

Once the Toad was in the Putrid Piranhas’ vicinity, the slashing commenced. Like some sort of knight, he cut through the stems like butter. The screeching may have shaken the shaft, but not nearly as much as the collapsing plant parts that hit the floor.

“HEY!” One smacked me right in my sore shoulder.

“Stop cutting them!” Minh T. shrieked between giggles. “Stop it! You’re gonna trap us all!”

Dane T., now on Minh T.’s level, jumped from wall to wall like a spiralling drill. Upon the final vine snapping, he grabbed Minh T. and used his knife to scrape his way down this brick wall.

With a chuckle, he tossed the knife into his pocket. “Last time I checked, I’m the one saving you, so I know what I’m doing.”

“Well…” First words I’d say to him in six years. “How’d you even get in here, if I may ask?”

“Downtown’s harder to navigate than this place. And that pipe you broke leads to here, Mineral Water Chamber 6. You’re both pretty lucky I was walking back here when you started all that hollering.”

Minh T. pulled down on her face. “Mineral water. That’s exactly what I was afraid of.”

“Why?” He pointed to the empty top of the room, showing us something we’d not seen before. A little open crawlspace, perhaps where some maintenance guys would enter. “Now, ladies, our exit awaits.”

“So, you gonna tell us the big deal about mineral water?” I asked Minh T, licking my lips. “Totally tastes better than ocean water.”

As I stepped forward, I heard what sounded like a little faucet leaking.

BOOM!

My panties had never been so soaked, and my vagina never hit with such pressure. A spout of frosty water sent the three of us airborne. And we still failed to hit the top of the shaft, screaming as we dove into the newly formed pool. That would’ve been a bad enough experience on its own, but something curious happened with the water. It bubbled more than it should’ve, as if someone was increasing the temperature.

As Minh T. surfaced, she spat like a fountain. Next to her, Dane T. held on. What? He wasn’t gonna make any attempt to stay afloat on his own? After that impressive slicing display?”

“You shouldn’t be delivering in a place full of water when you can’t swim, you doofus! That’s problem number one,” she coughed.

I was in disbelief. “Back up! You never once taught him how to swim all this time!?”

“Don’t come at me for not doing what YOU should’ve been doing!”

And our situation worsened with the greater rumbling of this shaft. Because in seconds, moving vines could be heard again. Dane T.’s flashlight shone above, revealing what looked like hundreds of Piranha Plants filling up the topmost section of this tiny room. HUNDREDS! Buds, fully-developed heads, all of them! And right in the middle, bearing down on us with the sharpest, gnarliest teeth was the queen bitch of the group.

Minh T. carried the boy in my direction, eyes firmly locked onto the mass of plants. “Miracle water can make regular Piranha Plants grow faster than normal. Now, have a whole chamber drenched with this stuff, throw in some sliced Putrid Piranhas—meaning their vines will all grow parts like starfish—and we’re playing a whole new game.”

“Oops…”

“You get a lesson later. Right now, please, for all our sakes, I hope you have another escape route.”

Now that they’d sapped all the flavour from my and Minh T.’s bodies, these beasts’ attention was going to be on our internal juiciness…