Toadette's Story: Book 2

Chapter 81 - The Rawest Forest

Rose Town found itself under siege by the blizzard of snow and shuriken. Its pink flowers, a symbol of the town’s beauty, were the only things left unharmed. The area was like a ghost town, with the usually bustling plaza now completely silent, save for the whistle of a ninja star whizzing by.

When Captain Toad screeched the pickup truck to a halt, another sharp star sliced through the back window. Minh panicked, her eyes wide as she ducked.

“Don’t lose your cool,” Toad commanded. “Think sharply.”

“Easy for you to say when you’re used to having weapons chucked at you,” she sighed, wiping sweat from her brow.

Just then, Toadette emerged from the vehicle. She knew they couldn’t stay outside, especially after everybody around them had decided to hide indoors.

“Our best bet is heading to the inn. It’s right across from us.”

Getting there would be easier said than done. Despite the town’s inn only being approximately half a soccer field away from the three, the number of ninja stars raining down on them was intensifying. It was as if they would poof away once they hit the ground, only to once again drop from the heavens.

“You ready?” Toadette asked.

“Follow my lead,” Toad answered, timing his sprints between the deadly blades. He carefully rolled and dove to avoid them, as if he’d been through this crazy weather before. When he reached the wall of the inn and turned around, he raised a brow.

Minh hadn’t tried to gracefully avoid these ninja stars at all, instead running towards the inn while screeching at the top of her lungs. A wave of second-hand embarrassment washed over Toad, for the girl looked as competent as a Chain Chomp trying to walk on legs.

“Made it,” she said, her voice choking as she quivered like jelly. “Alright, Toadette, you’re up!”

“And try not to walk like a crippled baboon,” Toad joked, only to receive a blow from Minh.

Toadette had little time to warm up. She jumped once, then did something that surprised both Toad and Minh.

“Is she doing cartwheels?” Minh asked.

“What special ed class were you two in?”

In spite of how impractical it appeared, Toadette’s cartwheeling turned out to be safer than if she had just run. Toad noticed that ninja stars were zooming dangerously close to her, more than they had for him or Minh, but they somehow all missed Toadette. As she closed the distance between herself and the inn, she exited her cartwheel with a somersault, landing perfectly as if she were in a gymnastics competition.

“And I live.” She flashed a smirk at Toad, slapping his cheek playfully. “I haven’t been sitting on my butt these past few months, now.”

Yeah, but let’s hope it’s enough training for you to be up to my level, rookie.

Inside the brick-and-wood inn was a moment of respite for the travellers. However, it appeared that many of the civilians had gathered here to hide from the lethal torrent, for many were bunched against the walls. Some were even sleeping on the ground floor, not bothering to rent out a room or attempt to head home.

The girls’ blood chilled when they saw just how many Toads had ninja stars in the centre of their caps. Most Toads born in Rose Town would have their caps modified to have a giant, coloured stripe along the outer portion, and a big dot on the top. If their caps were target boards, then the throwers of these stars would be getting maximum points every time.

“How can I help you?” The innkeeper—an older female Toad with a yellow-striped cap—called to the new visitors.

Toad pushed past Toadette before she could attempt to explain things. “What’s with this ninja storm you’ve got going on outside?”

“Some girls,” an elderly man coughed out. “They came here earlier asking if we had any details about some wheat cars.”

“They actually said Ethereal Stars,” the innkeeper corrected. “After being here, they said they’d be throwing those health hazards our way until we cough up whatever info we got. Well, hours later…”

“Anything specific about how they look, ma’am?” Toadette asked, shifting her weight onto the counter.

“You mean you’re gonna try and rough ‘em up? Biting off a little more than you can chew, aren’t you?” She looked between all three of them, going from the curious Toadette to the trembling Minh to the headstrong Captain Toad. “They were two little human girls, about your size. One had pink hair, and the other was orange.”

“Humans, huh?” Toadette looked at Toad. “Looking more and more like Wario’s work.”

“Lest we forget your non-human brother worked for him. These chicks sound like some little girls in ninja cosplay.”

“Cosplay?” Minh gawked at him. “Have you already forgotten the storm of metal outside?”

“Relax.” He tugged on her brown braids. “If they were skilled, they’d be aiming their weapons straight for us. They’d have snuck up on us by now and used some kung fu magic or something out of a TV show.”

“Where exactly are they?” Toadette asked the innkeeper.

“I reckon they’re in the forest, ‘cause there’s nothing that special to find within the town itself. They just vanished into thin air.”

The forest maze, Toadette thought to herself, shivering. Even when you think you know the layout inside and out, you still end up lost for hours.

“Thank you very much,” she and Minh said simultaneously. The flower girl then turned to the rest of the Rose Town inhabitants. “Folks, we promise we’re not leaving until you can go safely outside! You ain’t got nothing to fear!”

The fellow Toads began to clap, but Captain Toad kept a finger on his chin.

If they have this much of a head start and still can’t locate the Ethereal Star, then how hard are we going to struggle?

“And before you go,” the innkeeper added, “I’d recommend visiting the toy shop around the block. If anyone has something useful for you folks, it’d be my son.”

***

Toadette couldn’t help but sigh. Being in a toy store did bring her back to her youth, but what were action figures and games going to do against ninja stars? In contrast to her want to hurry to the forest, Minh was nose-deep in a bin of controllers, and Toad smirked while observing a bunch of toys.

“Remember your old friend, Toadette?” Minh chuckled, brandishing a Nintendo 64 controller.

“Yeah, fuck you,” Toadette snorted.

“Hey, you’re the one who thought grinding your palm on the stick was a winning technique. Must’ve been like five blisters you gave yourself.”

Toad whistled. “Man, I used to have a whole collection of these. Good times.” He pointed to several toy cars.

“Now that’s what I like to hear!” A voice boomed from behind the counter. “Ain’t nothing that puts a bigger smile on my face than seeing folks get all nostalgic. Then they get all depressed ‘cause they realise their childhood’s not coming back, but then they also kinda accept it.”

The man tapped his fingers on the counter as he drew his customers closer.

“My mom already filled me in. Y’all wanna take care of them dang ol’ ninjas in the forest, huh?”

“You betcha,” said Toadette, shoving Toad before he could stop her.

“Gaz is the name.” He hopped over the counter, lightly squeezing Toadette’s arms. “Mmm-hmm…” He then felt up Minh. “Doughy!” Finally he gave Toad a firm squeeze, purring. “Oh yeah, that’s nice…”

Toad shuddered. Why’s he sounding all sensual?

Gaz rubbed his hands. “A’ight, Miss Librarian here needs some defence. Prince Handsome’s gonna want some fire power. And Miss Muffin Top is the healer. I got all of you figured out.”

“Librarian?” “The fuck did you just say?” “Muffin top?”

Their confusion barely registered with Gaz, for he’d already disappeared into the back room, singing. The second he was out of sight, Toad glared at Toadette. It was as if he was trying to silently tell her that they needed to run. But Toadette held her ground, waiting for whatever tool Gaz was to bestow upon them.

In seconds she felt something heavy slam against her chest. She almost toppled over.

“That there’s a Super Suit,” Gaz explained. “Wear it like a bulletproof vest. Now, it ain’t gonna save you from everything, but you should feel like a real mech for a good twenty hits. Maybe more if you’re lucky.”

He shoved a strange flask into Minh’s hands. “This here’s just some elixir, nothing fancy. But it dispenses real cool-like. Should get y’all recovered if you’re in a pickle.”

And at last he turned to Toad, his grin widening. He held out a wooden doll with a blue tunic. Gaz pushed it into Toad’s hands.

Toad instinctively handed it back.

“Take the doll,” Toadette sighed, putting on the Super Suit.

“I don’t trust this.”

“Boy, get it over with,” Minh urged.

“Next thing you know, he’s gonna have me wearing dresses and calling him ‘daddy’.”

Before anyone could react, a flash erupted from the doll.

Toad was launched across the shop. He slammed into the wall, rattling the shelves and causing other toys to drop onto his head. Toadette’s and Minh’s eyes bulged out their heads, and they followed the trail of smoke.

Gaz just stood there, cheerful. “Geno here packs a punch. Got instructions on how to handle him and whatnot. Now, he’s my own personal doll, so y’all be sure he comes back in one piece, please.”

“We’ll take excellent care of him,” Minh giggled nervously.

“Hey, and rough them ninjas up for me. They done sent too many stars into our people.”

Toadette shook his hand, taking the doll.

***

Toadette zipped ahead of her friends, making them sprint to keep up with her. They headed in the direction of the infamous Rose Forest, and as the giant brown trees swallowed them, Toadette knew that escaping would be a headache. Unlike Forever Forest, where a single wrong turn could magically lead you back to Toad Town, one had to remember the right path to find their way out.

Just as she was about to pop a question, Toad put a finger to her lips. He then stuck a blue flag in the ground.

“I hate time in winter. It’s turning nighttime fast,” Toadette said, tilting her head. “Are those really gonna help us much?”

Toad activated the bright lamp on his head and nodded. “I’ve been doing this longer than you.”

“Oh, reminds me.”

Toad then looked to see Toadette adjusting something onto her cap. An eyebrow rose when she tightened the object. It was a headlamp, one mirroring Toad’s own. It was far too similar for him to stay silent.

“Did you take that from my room?”

“Penelope gave me the location while you were busy stuck in a volcano,” she said with pride in her voice. “For a captain, gosh, you’re slipping since you didn’t bother to lock your door.”

Rather than bothering to counter her, he simply stuck up his middle finger.

With both young adults illuminating the way, the forests’ dark visuals bloomed into something more comforting. Snow barely made its way past the tall treetops. Compared to Toadette and Minh’s previous adventure through Forever Forest, the temperature here was toasty. So comfortable was the warmth that Minh dared to strip out of her boots.

Toad let out a groan upon seeing her grubby toes, especially the unpleasant sound that accompanied when she wormed them into the thick soil.

A wide smile overtook the florist’s face. A real worm could have been caught wriggling between her toes, and that dopey expression would have persisted.

“You guys should ditch your shoes, too,” she suggested. “This specific dirt always feels so marvellous.”

“Yeah, totally.” Toad rolled his eyes. “Don’t disappoint me, Toadette.”

“Excuse me?”

“I haven’t gone that deep into this forest,” he admitted. “We’d better be prepared for anything that jumps at us.”

“Didn’t I ask you to stop treating me like a kid?” She pulled his hand off her, strutting forward as she glared at him. “I couldn’t be any more prepared— AAH!”

Toad and Minh rushed to the spot where Toadette disappeared. They found not a single sign of her but rather a hole that swirled before settling.

“And the genius got swallowed by a sinkhole,” Toad spat, his fists clenched. “Okay, bye-bye, Toadette. Nice knowing you.”

“That’s not a sinkhole,” Minh noted, leaning closer. “Not one of the deadly ones that lead to nowhere. It’s…”

“I think I know a thing or two about dirt, lady.”

“I’ve worked with dirt for most my life!” She pushed him into the hole, stomping on his cap for extra measure. “And unlike you, I’ve been here more than once.”

Once he disappeared, Minh let the dirt carry her to the sublevel of the forest. She sunk at an incredible rate, landing on her butt once hitting the darker ground.

This underground area was shrouded in the purest darkness. The only source of light came from behind her. As it flickered, Minh heard a high-pitched yell, followed by a squishy noise.

Toadette had a smaller mushroom in her hands. This wasn’t to be confused with the Toad species or the various edible mushrooms in the kingdom. This was a living mushroom of a completely different species, with no face and squirming in Toadette’s hands like crazy.

“What the hell is this?” she screamed, cringing from its moistness.

“It’s an Amanita,” Minh explained, educating Toadette as her friend wrestled with the killer mushroom. “Once of those unfortunate wild ones, so per usual, it’s our enemy. Don’t let it poison you.”

“Oh, I won’t.” Toadette twisted its body and flung it elsewhere in the dark void.

“Always makes me feel bad when we gotta hurt ‘em,” Minh lamented.

“I get you. Now where’s Toady?”

Minh smirked. She slowly wriggled her butt cheeks from left to right before rising, revealing a flattened Captain Toad. Both girls snickered at the sight, giggling harder once he failed to punch Minh. All he achieved was losing his balance and falling further into the dirt.

Toadette waited for him to do something brash, but he appeared to just stand still. After ten seconds, he opened his eyes and let out a breath.

“I should’ve asked this earlier, but where the hell did Toady come from?”

“Toadette decided that Toad was too silly of a name,” Minh said, knocking him with her hips as she led the way with her own flashlight.

Toadette nodded quickly before rushing past him.

Wait a minute, Toadette. Own it! Don’t look like you’re soft in front of him!

“Yeah,” she said, spinning on her heel to poke him in his chest. “You’re Toady as far as I’m concerned. Whether you like it or not.”

Mmm-hmm, that’s the way, Toadette! Good job.

Toad groaned. “You love annoying me.”

“Kinda.”

The three proceeded deeper into the forest. It truly was a maze, even with Toad leaving behind those blue flag markers.

***

After an hour of trudging through the dense forest, with Toad and Toadette dealing with tons of stinky mushrooms and savage rats, they shimmied up a tree stump to the surface once more. Minh set her foot past the corner, only to be pulled back by an ever-alert Toad. Just for good measure, Toadette rested her head atop of his, so all three were peeking at the sight.

Several ninja stars were stuck in the ground, and a girl dressed in blue was digging into the dirt with her bare hands. Another girl did the same, her orange hair shining from the reddish light of the sunset creeping through.

“If only clumsy Mona didn’t go and lose the radar, we could’ve taken our sweet time searching for it!” She fell on her back. “We can’t take a little break?”

“Stopping means that those Toads are gonna find it before we can!” The second girl’s pink hair was frazzled.

“Really? Because if that radar were precise, she wouldn’t have gone and spent days searching for the star on that island. My body…”

“Just quit the ninjutsu. We’ll rest for ten minutes, okay? Then it’s back to keeping people locked in Rose Town.”

The Toads’ voices dropped to a whisper.

“So the radar’s useless?” Toadette asked.

“No, having some direction is better than none at all,” Toad said. “Now, this might get a little messy, so if you wanna stand back, I understand.”

“Messy how?” Toadette scratched her head.

Toad made a swift reach for his flare gun. Minh immediately grabbed his arm.

“Don’t you dare kill them,” she growled.

“They know who they’re working for. They chose the risk when they signed up.” As he continued to try and draw his gun, another pressure kept him from doing so. “Toadette, it’s in your best interest to let me go.”

“We still don’t have total confirmation they work for Wario. How’s it gonna look if you just kill two innocent girls?”

“Innocent? They’re causing hell in Rose Town. Let’s get this over with already.”

Toadette shook her head, her grip tightening on the gun.

Toad scowled at her. “What is your problem? You took people out in Mushroom City, so what’s different now?”

“I do not want to think about that night, understood? Do you fucking understand me?” She slowly calmed her nerves. “You kill as a last resort. Period.”

Hmm… That Star Festival messed her up more than I thought. But still, I’d rather not risk a battle with these ninja girls. Even if they look so young, anyone can be dangerous in our world.

Toad’s grip on the gun loosened, enough so that Toadette felt it safe to release his hand.

“What’s your plan then?” he asked, trying to remove all anger from his voice.

“I’ll handle them by myself.”

“Are you crazy?” Minh hissed.

“When have I ever been sane?” With a friendly smile, she waved and leapt out of cover. “Hey!”

Her yell immediately pierced the silence, catching the attention of the ninjas. They sprang to their feet, with nothing but dirt-covered fingers to defend themselves.

“How did you find us?” they shouted in unison. They exchanged angered glances. “You’re an idiot!”

“We shouldn’t have wasted all that ninjutsu,” the orange-haired girl lamented, panting. “We’re running on empty.”

“But we’re not giving up now.” The pink-haired girl brandished a lengthy katana that towered over her. “Now, Miss Mushroom, you can either play nice and hand us that radar you’ve stolen, or we can do this the hard way.”

“Is that supposed to frighten me?” Toadette scoffed. “Wario should be ashamed that he’s sending toddlers to do his bidding.”

“Hey! We’re in fourth grade! If you don’t believe us, then get ready to feel the terrifying wrath of Kat…”

“And Ana!”

The twins leapt high into the air. Just before Toadette could follow them, they disappeared amongst the dark treetops. The mushroom girl quickly looked around, finding nothing but the obscured Minh and Captain Toad.

Where did they go?

Toadette groaned, feeling the blunt end of a weapon jab into her back. Another girl followed up by kicking her in the stomach, crushing her midsection from both sides.

Oh my… They’re just kids! They shouldn’t have this type of strength!

Another kick to the face sent her into the air, then two strong feet pushed into her chest. As Toadette rocketed back to Earth, she felt like her body was being torn apart. The sheer speed at which she was flung was dizzying, like she was shot out of a cannon.

Once in the dirt, she heard another kung-fu-esque cry coming from her right.

She immediately grabbed the pink-haired girl’s leg and flung her in the opposite direction. The impact when the twins’ heads collided was wince-inducing.

“Grew up telling myself I’d never hurt a kid when I was older,” Toadette sighed, dusting herself off. “Hate to admit that my mom was right: some kids really do need their asses whooped.”

This time, both Kat and Ana grabbed their katanas.

“That hurt!” Kat screamed, rubbing the back of her head.

“A lot,” Ana added.

Toadette smirked. “It’s time for bed, girls.”

From the bushes, Captain Toad and Minh watched in anticipation. Minh felt her nerves shake every time an impact was made, whereas Toad sat still. He was merely analysing every move they made, as if he were a robot.

“You know she’s not gonna last, right?”

“She’s clearly confident in herself,” Minh shot back. “I think she’s got a chance.”

“Overestimating herself—that’s what she’s doing. These two aren’t your average humans; either they’ve got some special blood like Mario or Peach, or whatever ninja school they go to has brought out the best of them.” He held a hand over his pocket again, before glancing at the worried Minh.

“Do not kill them.” Minh’s words were stern and slow.

Toad glared at the unfolding fight.

Toadette grunted as she weaved between the swords. The earlier skirmish with the motorcycle girl felt like a simple rehearsal for this game of survival. One blade whizzed past her face, barely missing, whilst another came a hair’s length from slicing her torso. Her braids started to become a liability, nearly getting caught in the swords’ arcs.

Kat’s attacks were more frequent than Ana’s, but they were also less powerful.

Noting Ana’s slower speed, Toadette slid in her direction right after she swung her katana. Once past her, Toadette punched the girl in her back and jumped further backwards.

And just then, Kat appeared out of thin air to smack Toadette straight into Ana’s reach. Ana sliced at Toadette’s body, provoking a scream from Toadette.

“Toadette!” Minh’s yell alerted both the twins.

“I don’t have time for these games!” Toad shouted, holding out his gun. Before Minh could stop him, a loud bang echoed through the forest.