Toadette's Story: Book 2

Chapter 77 - Hotfooting it Across the Island

The warm rays of Lavalava Island brought relief to Minh’s toes.

A solid sixteen degrees to me. Not a whole lot of wind, either.

It was almost too easy to forget about their mission to rescue Captain Toad as she wandered along the shore. The little grains of sand trapped themselves between her flip-flops and feet, some even finding their way between her toes. Giggling, she picked up her pace, leaving Toadette to stare at the trail of footprints.

Has she ever tripped because of flip-flops?

The beach stretched endlessly, and after ten minutes of walking, Minh plopped onto a rock. She slipped off one of her flip-flops and used it to fan herself.

Meanwhile, Toadette did the best to hide the lower half of her face, particularly the twitching of her nose. The moment she saw the mark left on Minh’s flip-flop, her expression betrayed her. She quickly looked to the sky.

“You want a sniff?” Minh loudly inhaled her own odour. “I don’t mind, Toadette.”

“I’m trying not to get distracted, and you’re out here trying to distract me.”

“Well you’ve resisted, so that’s good. Heh, these are some of my older flip-flops, so they pack more of a kick than those pink ones you’re used to seeing on my feet.”

Toadette gulped, unable to believe the cursed reality that she was openly talking to Minh about liking any element of her feet.

“Let’s go,” she sighed. “We just started and you’re already sitting.”

“Toad’s a big boy,” she giggled, hopping to her feet. “He’ll be alright.”

Lavalava Island was primarily inhabited by Yoshis, though it wasn’t to be confused with Yoshi’s Island. The latter was far grander, whereas Lavalava Island was smaller. Its main set piece loomed over the girls in the background as they walked into Yoshi’s Village. Though Minh felt a sense of comfort at the crowd density, Toadette’s legs trembled.

“You fine?” Minh asked.

“My first time here.” She set a hand in her pocket, feeling the various Yoshi eyes on her. “We’re welcome, right?”

“Of course.”

Toadette shrieked as she wrapped herself around Minh’s waist. The hot breath that hit the side of her head had been joined by a deep voice. Minh smiled, letting Toadette squeeze her as hard as she wished.

“Hiya, Mister Chief.” She rubbed Toadette’s arms. “Look out, Toadette. He might gobble you up.”

“Ugh, not funny!” Toadette straightened herself. “I’m used to Yoshis doing the whole gobble-gobble turkey sound thing, not speaking clean English.”

“Child, many of us understand the common tongue to interact with visitors.” The big Yoshi chief extended his short arm to Minh. “Another flower study trip?”

“A Toad came to this island days ago. Would you have any idea where he is?”

“Ah. Yes, an energetic boy he was.” He walked the girls to his own mini platform. “I can’t say I’ve seen him since he first passed through our village. You would do well to seek the assistance of Raphael the Raven. If anybody would know where to search for this Toad, it is him.”

Toadette groaned.

“Ain’t that hard to get to this bird,” Minh said, elbowing her. “Thank you very much, sir.”

“Hold on,” he bellowed, his booming voice drawing the girls back. “On the day he arrived, another person came to the island.”

“Another person?” Toadette raised a brow. “I thought this was a solo thing for him.”

“I believed they were companions, given how they were suited up from top to bottom. However, if this boy was meant to contact you by now…” He rubbed his chin. “Consult Raphael.”

The girls nodded, and Toadette tugged Minh deeper into the village so that she could let out an attention-grabbing scream. Before Minh could say anything, Toadette marched past a path of bushes and into a wider space, where water separated a bunch of miniature islands. The pink-capped Toad took the moment to catch her breath.

“So we’ve got company.”

“I wouldn’t be scared,” Minh said in a blunt manner.

“Maybe he’s been in situations like this before,” Toadette groaned, “but I’ve never been the one in charge of bringing him back. Damn it! Why did I even think to volunteer?”

Toadette’s tantrum was interrupted once she saw Minh hovering her flip-flops before her face.

Seeing Minh’s vibrant footwear had her tingling. The footprints that were as black as tar told stories of their own. The younger Toad found herself studying how Minh’s feet had deformed her shoes. Each toeprint was like a tiny bowl, each filled with a drop of sweat. In addition to the sand from the recent beach run, there was the occasional grass blade or wrapper stuck to the insole. They appeared to be cooked in there with how dark and dusty they were.

Minh’s eyes widened. She slowly pushed one of the flip-flops against Toadette’s nose, letting the stress evaporate from her body. As she inhaled, Toadette’s posture went from rigid to soft, yet her brain continued to work at a million miles per hour.

“Thanks,” she sheepishly said.

“If the chief didn’t see this other person leave, chances are good that they’re stuck too.” She rubbed her shoe against Toadette’s nose one extra time. “And if we get into trouble, here are my weapons.”

“Hopefully I won’t need to take off my flats. Okay, where is Raphael the Raccoon?”

A slight breeze grazed their faces.

“I ain’t trying to freeze my toes in the water, so get ready for the long way.”

The girls had to carefully balance on logs across the island platforms. Toadette’s slippery flats caused her to have a close call with the water, yet Minh managed to grip the wood easily with her bare feet.

When they weren’t balancing on the logs, they were marching through grass that reached up to their knees. And once they’d gone deep enough that the grass changed from a bluish hue to a deep green, Minh suddenly raised her flip-flops.

“M. Bushes are easy to avoid,” Toadette chuckled.

“Ain’t them I’m worried about.” She pushed Toadette, slapping a screeching creature into the cold sea. Toadette just barely saw the golden blur streak. “Jungle Fuzzies.”

“Oh, come on! We gotta deal with more of these fake vampires again?”

“They suck blood faster and in larger amounts than regular Fuzzies,” the florist explained, waving her imaginary teacher’s stick. “Let’s not have a repeat of the Forever Forest situation, okay?”

That the tall grass obscured the Fuzzies heightened the difficulty of traversing the island. Toadette could stomp all day, but Minh’s legs lacked the strength and will to work so hard.

As they entered the denser Jade Jungle, the grass shortened, but the vines grew. There were so many green vines hanging down that it looked like a ceiling had fallen apart with wires everywhere. Toadette ran into one after the other, complaining every time they tangled around her, and Minh needed to cut them off with a pocketknife.

“A machete would’ve been better,” Toadette said, pouting as a vine sat around her neck like a floral noose.

“Would’ve packed smarter tools if I didn’t have to rush.” Minh wiped her forehead. “Where are your tools? You’ve got a bag.”

“Didn’t think I’d need a cutting tool.”

“It’s a godsend that I came.”

She freed Toadette and quickly spun around. But the tree’s roots had other plans for the Toad. They sent her landing face-first into the grass, coughing out stale rainwater and dirt.

“Gross! It’s always so humid in Jade Jungle…”

Continuing to deal with Jungle Fuzzies irritated them enough, but around one of the bends, the girls found a spear landing between their feet. Minh gasped, shoving Toadette into some bushes while rushing to the opposite set.

Spear Guys? God, just freaking leave us alone! We’re not disturbing your sacred land!

Minh peeked from the bushes, her breath shallow as she watched the tribal Shy Guys advance, their spears shining in the scattered sunlight. Three of them had taken the stage: one was heading towards Toadette, another towards Minh, and the last one held his position. The brown-haired Toad gritted her teeth as she imagined the countless stab wounds she’d have to heal. That was if she even made it out of this dangerous jungle.

She silently crawled backwards, pushing herself against a tree. Even from this distance, it would be simple for the spear to penetrate her. With her heart pounding against her chest, she used her sandals as makeshift shields.

Get it over with, dang it!

But instead, she heard the Spear Guys chattering rapidly in their native tongue before unleashing a series of screams. Suddenly a crackling roar ripped through the jungle, causing the leaves around her to stand. A shrill scream escaped her body as her hair rose; it stood up with such power that it loosened her cap, revealing the mess of curly hair that normally hid under it. The intense shock ran from her head to her feet, forcing her to sprint out the bushes.

She saw Toadette panting, her arm extended as yellow electricity crackled around her. The Spear Guys darted back into the deeper jungle, and Minh was left with her mouth agape.

“What did you just do?”

“I said I didn’t bring cutting tools.” Toadette grabbed the left-behind spear. She then lifted the half-bitten Volt Shroom before chucking it into her bag.

“Toadette!” Minh let out a tirade as her hair remained frizzled. The discomfort of having to squeeze her cap back onto her head in this state wasn’t lost on her friend, however.

“If I ate the whole thing, you’d have been completely paralysed, aka useless.”

A big tree awaited them. Minh, desperate to escape the shocks, rushed inside and began to climb the wooden staircase. Toadette, still in her flats, found herself struggling to keep up. By the time she’d crossed the first two steps, her Volt Shroom powers had dissipated.

"Slow down,” she yelled. “The electricity’s not even here anymore!”

Her voice echoed through the tree as Minh continued to outpace her. The florist felt her hair begin to return to normal, and she softly smiled.

Guess it’s good for my sake I didn’t come here by myself.

Eventually she reached the top of the tree, dropping to her knees.

“Oh, Great Raphael the Raven,” she panted, “we seek your help.”

“Caw.”

“The hell did he say?” Toadette grunted, finally arriving.

“Get on your knees,” Minh hissed.

“I’ve got way too much energy in me to stop— Ow!”

“Respect.” As Minh yanked Toadette by the braid, she maintained her smile towards Raphael. The large, black bird patiently waited until something else changed with the two girls. Minh glanced at Toadette, scrunching her face as a hint.

Toadette rolled her eyes, adopting a friendly smile to this flightless bird.

“About time,” the deep-voiced Raven said. “You’re slower than a newborn worm. Now, I assume you’ve come to me because of the recent visitors.”

“Yes, sir,” Minh answered. “Can you take us to them?”

“They entered Mt Lavalava.” He gestured in the direction of the volcano, which could still be seen from the treeline. “Considering the elapsed time, they don’t have long without oxygen.”

“Then how the hell do we—” Toadette caught herself. “How would we get in there, sir?”

“Caw, caw, caw!”

Suddenly, the Ravens grabbed Minh and floated her off the tree. Toadette waited for something to occur. Anything. She rose and tapped her foot, glaring at the bird before her.

“If you’re not gonna help me, then I believe our meeting is— Aaaah!” The Toad crashed into the rocky entrance of Mt Lavalava. At the same time, Minh comfortably rode a zipline, only to hear her friend shouting every curse word in the dictionary.

“A little respect goes a long way,” she mumbled, patting Toadette’s back.

“The jerk is right,” Toadette coughed. “Even if Toady has an air pack, he’s not gonna last long in a volcano.”

“Y’know…” Minh played with her fingers. “I’ve never been inside this place before.”

“We’ll go in together. We’ll come out together.” Toadette smirked, grabbing Minh’s sweaty hand. “Just gotta avoid melting our feet in the lava.”

Upon entering the volcano, the girls sensed a change in the atmosphere. They’d gone from a humid jungle to a full-on inferno, with orange fumes rising above their heads. Toadette gasped as she saw a burst of lava erupt a short distance in front of her.

We’re not at the Star Festival. Calm down.

When Minh went to grab her, Toadette swatted her hand away.

“We’re inside. But where could he be?” Toadette scanned the hellish room.

Minh scratched her head. She simply thought of the shape of a volcano, imagining where hidden treasure would be if she were a professional treasure hunter.

“The lower we have to go, the worse my faith gets,” she sighed, pointing down.

Toadette nodded. She thought back to the trouble she and Daisy were in when they chased after the Shy Guys in the Dry Dry Ruins; their foes stole the Pulse Stone, sunk the historic structure into the sand and nearly buried the princess and mushroom girl alive. The only relief for Toadette was that she was ninety-nine percent certain that it was impossible to collapse a volcano.

But just in case of that one percent chance, she made a point to repeat the turns she made within the volcano. Anything that could aid her in a hasty escape.

With how naturally dark the rooms would’ve been, the girls were blessed to have some natural light. The bright magma made it easy to distinguish between the platforms and the sea of molten rock. Minh’s flip-flops refused to leave her feet, and her toes twitched with every millimetre of contact with the ground.

“We’re walking on a barbecue grill, Toadette.”

“Somebody’s gonna loathe the smell of my feet this afternoon.”

“Meanwhile, I know what shoes I want next to my face while I’m asleep.” Minh gazed at Toadette’s flats, licking her lips. She envisioned herself licking the putrid insoles, eating up all their gooey gunk until her face was red.

“Minh!” Toadette’s voice was shrill, but the reason stood right in front of her best friend.

Minh had come dangerously close to walking into a floating Lava Bubble. The warm-coloured flame enemy instinctively blew a stream of fire in Minh’s direction. If Toadette hadn’t pulled her out the way, she would’ve been fried. Suddenly Minh’s demeanour turned more serious, for she blocked all thoughts of feet and sex out of her mind.

“Can’t let the heat get to us.” She sipped some water. “Stay hydrated.”

“Sure.”

It’s not like it’s any easier for me to not think about your feet, you know.

The constant reminder of potential death around her was what helped Toadette’s mind stay on track. Who had time to think about cute feet when they could accidentally dip their toes into some magma?

Over an hour of stopping and going led the girls so deep in the volcano that their coughing ramped up.

Minh knew the air would be bad, but this was worse than any desert she had been lost in. She had to work twice as hard just to inhale, and even when she managed to, it was filled with all kinds of toxic particles. It was like breathing in smoke. She soaked a small towel and pressed it to her nose, offering it to Toadette as well.

“What if we’re going the wrong way?” Toadette asked.

“Then we’ll go back to the surface,” Minh coughed. “Jeez, can it get any hotter?”

Please, Toady, don’t make me go to the surface and have to return later. Better yet, be alive when we find you.

“Even with all this lava light, finding him is a headache and a half.” Toadette adjusted her glasses. “I’d say we should’ve brought thermal goggles, but…”

“Toad, we’re here to rescue you!” It was Minh’s hundredth time yelling that, and her voice was increasingly hoarse upon each shout. “Make a noise if you hear me!”

Toadette stared into the magma, tempted to just fall in and fall asleep forever. But her ears remained active for any sign of life. If all she heard was the hissing and popping of the lava, she was going to have a breakdown in this volcano. She squeezed her eyes shut and gritted her teeth.

I’d rather be in a snow volcano compared to this!

But in a split second, her eyes opened. She stepped to her right, trying to figure out if she was imagining things. Then she heard that faint moan again.

“Minh!” She pointed to a Toad with his bag off, two clearly empty tanks of oxygen scattered across the ground.

“There you are, troublemaker,” Minh groaned, managing to smile as she tossed Toadette her water.

Toadette wasted no time pouring it all over Toad’s cracked, dry face. She kept slapping him, trying to wake him up. His eyes stayed shut. With desperation filling her, she let out a heavy sigh and removed her right flat.

“Don’t you dare.”

“Oh, you’ve still got a brain!” Toadette rushed to hug him. “Can you walk?”

“Dumbasses! What are you doing here?” Captain Toad yelled, his voice raspy.

“I… What? We’re here to save you.”

“You’re not even dressed properly to be in a volcano,” he coughed. “No long-sleeved clothes at all? Wearing shoes that leave your feet vulnerable? How stupid can you be, seriously?”

After having endured some of the most brutal heat in her life for an hour, a silent tear dripped down Toadette’s face as she stammered to get out a word.

Toad downed the rest of the water. “Peach should’ve just sent my guys, not you.”

“Hey, cut it with that attitude!” Minh exclaimed, shoving Toadette aside and jabbing her finger into Toad’s chest repeatedly. “Your own crew was ready to spend half a week preparing to save your sorry self, and here Toadette is, risking her life for you! I should whack you with my shoe just for having the nerve to insult her like that!”

“Half a week?”

“The weather on the way to the island is rough,” Toadette mumbled. “It’s just a never-ending hailstorm.”

“No consideration for the fact we could’ve been lost to sea,” Minh spat. “This guy, I swear…”

Toad raised a brow, glancing at Toadette. She put her hands up like a shield.

“Why are you even in this volcano?” she asked, regaining some courage in her voice. “Can’t find treasure on the outside world?”

“No point in looking on the outside when all the wonders are on the inside.”

Toad dragged his huge bag to his side, opening it to reveal a ruby-coloured gemstone. It was in the shape of a star. Minh’s eyes immediately grew, though it took her seconds to uncurl her fists. Meanwhile, Toadette was too busy coughing to deal with the beauty that the star exuded.

“It looks like one of those Crystal Stars,” Minh noted. “You know, those things with the demon legend.”

“I thought the same, but if they’re out there again, that’d be bizarre.”

“Maybe it’s like the stars’ cousin or something,” Toadette suggested. “Hmm… I can see through it.”

A quick flash zipped by the three of them, and like that, the star was no more. Growling, Toad immediately locked onto the target, yet Toadette and Minh were left searching through the dark red environment.

“Finally let your guard down,” a mocking voice giggled from the shadows. A figure emerged, clad from head to toe in a motorcycle attire that camouflaged her with the scarlet surroundings. Her helmet only left her mouth visible, revealing her bubbly smile. “Thanks for the help, girls.”

“W-Who are you?” Toadette yelled.

“That’s the one who…” Toad fell onto a knee, his breathing becoming more laboured. “She’s been hunting me the whole time for this star.”

The woman clapped. “True that! But now that your girlfriends have helped me so generously, there’s no need for me to resort to violence. Bye-bye.”

Left with only seconds to react, Toadette thought on her feet.

The glasses-wearing girl dug into her bag and ate the rest of her Volt Shroom. Her teeth bared and her shoulders squared. Screaming, the electricity-filled Toadette sprung towards the figure with her foot extended. All around her, she left a trail of static.

“Are you crazy?” Toad screamed, feeling the hairs on his body stand up.

“She already got me earlier,” Minh squealed.

The kick came so fast that Toadette didn’t even sense she’d returned to where she once stood. But upon looking up again, the figure was indeed knocked down. Though she rose quicker than Toadette anticipated, causing her to tremble.

“Good news: you still haven’t hurt me enough for me to want to fight you.” She cracked her neck, continuing to glare at the Toads through her damaged visor. “Bad news: you’re teetering right on the edge of pissing me off.”

“I’m sure I am,” Toadette grumbled, feeling her electricity dissipate. “Man, it’s so hot in here! I can’t focus right!”

Toadette doesn’t have a clue who she’s dealing with, thought Toad.

“You’d better give back that star or else!” Toadette readied herself to sprint.

“Stop it, Toadette!” Minh yelled.

“Ooh, a masochist.” The enemy set a hand on her chest. “Alrighty, I’ll be sure to satisfy!”