Toadette's Story

Chapter 51 - Scapelli Showdown

I yanked the papers out my bra, slamming them in Captain Toad’s hand. “I can’t read blueprint language!”

“Well—”

Suddenly, the stairwell’s lights began to flicker. Not only that, but the building sounded like something had been shut off. However, before either of us could react, orange lights began to light up the area.

“Did something go out?” I asked.

“Don’t question it, it’s a good thing!” Captain Toad tugged me down the stairs, not giving a damn how the tips of my feet were scraping against the floor. In two minutes, we’d dropped from 27 to 16. All the while, his eyes scanned the blue papers. “Floor 7. Says they’re storing recent deliveries there first. And if their power just blew out, that means they’re on a backup system. A system probably focused on the elevators and lights, not the cameras.”

But the white paper said Floor 7 was for those NHS products, whatever they were.

“What about Minh T.? If she already found it?”

He groaned. “We can’t worry about her right now.”

On the 10th floor, our heels pushed against the concrete as we found ourselves before another huge door. Looked like this was another one of those “transitional floors” where we had to cross a long hall before continuing down. No problemo, except…

Rustle, rustle…

Captain Toad spun around. “Trapped.”

“How?” I twisted the knob myself, reaching the same horrific conclusion. “If it’s some computer lock, doesn’t that go off if power’s gone?”

“They spent so much on fancy looks that they didn’t have anything left to better escape routes.”

Really bad. Now what? While Captain Toad rammed the door, turning so desperate as to try breaking the knob off with his flats, I entered a panic. If we lingered here long enough, someone would catch us. But how could we get out? Ventilation? After the nonsense at Boo’s Mansion, I wasn’t in the mood to get stuck again. Considering this building’s safety standards were wacky, if we put half our bodies in an air duct, we’d probably fall through the ceiling immediately. All that money and these idiots just hoard or spend it on the most idiotic—

“Bingo!”

I pumped myself up, drawing back a punch. The look on Captain Toad’s face was nothing short of disappointment. And then…

POP!

A thin, white powder scattered across my arm. With just one strike, I’d made a hole in the wall the size of my fist. Hehehe. Now his previously disappointed look was one of shock.

“I totally thought of that.”

“Sure you did.” Together, we tore a hole large enough to break through. The dustier it got, the more we coughed, but I took my asthma-like sickness in stride now that I’d outsmarted those morons. Once we were in the 10th floor’s main room—looked more like an abandoned bar—we marched over to the elevator corridor. An elevator would be our only chance to get to the seventh floor in one go.

I pounded on the button repeatedly, my strength weakening with every push. In front of me, Captain Toad stood guard, slowly breathing as if he was ready to take anyone on.

“Cute,” I remarked, giving his delicate outfit a tug.

“You’re cute. I’m cool.”

Ding!

Phew, the elevator was empty. While descending to the seventh floor, I prepared myself as best I could for a struggle. Fighting under these conditions was gonna be brutal, but we were two Toads going up against humans. Humans with guns, nonetheless. If only our traditional items could’ve fit into our clothing somehow, we’d have an edge. But maybe the element of surprise could be on our side. With my speed and Captain Toad’s professional experience, we could handle these Scapellis.

Ding!

Here we were. Seventh floor. The doors opened.

“I failed.”

Right in front of us, Minh T. was hyperventilating. Her shocking sounds were joined with tons of injuries on her face. Bruises mainly on her forehead and around her right eye. While that made us pause, it wasn’t until we saw who the hand belonged to that Captain Toad and I did a double take. I gasped, he growled.

“We meet again, Toads.” The man had a pistol pressed to the side of Minh T.’s head. Its tip must’ve felt as cold as ice. “I knew your brains were nothing but mush, but I thought you had a little more sense than to pull another robbery on us.”

Illepacs, the man who cheated us in his arcade.

“Hands up and walk out the elevator slowly. If you make any bold moves…” With a grunt, he moved the gun closer to Minh T.’s head.

He was too cocky for his own good. He hadn’t beaten us yet. But I did as he said, and Captain Toad was wise to follow me. Soon we were against the end of the elevator hall. Damn it, why didn’t the captain just aim for his heart on that day!? The human was walking fine and everything, so that bullet meant nothing. And right now, we were all ready to collapse from exhaustion, stress, and for one of us, a head full of snot.

Illepacs ramped up the pressure on Minh T. “Always the slut of the streets anyways. Must be destiny that you end up being another girl for us, right?”

Her pupils gradually shrunk. I heard her sniffling, I did. Yet what the hell did she expect me to do? My feet weren’t fast enough to outrun a bullet, probably weren’t stinky enough to make anyone pass out, and Illepacs’ focus was impeccable. Every half-second, he’d jump between Minh T. and the two of us who could fight.

“It’s now or never,” Toad whispered.

“He’s got us cornered.”

“It’s that or become their property for life. I’ve got a bad feeling that if we get entangled, not even Her Highness will ensure our safety.”

“Hohohohohohoho. You actually think you’re a match for me!” Illepacs began laughing louder, provoking Minh T. to cry harder as he grazed the gun against her neck. “I could take you all out with nothing but my bare hands. If it weren’t for this sugar-guzzling fatass, I’d try it.”

“But like a coward, you’re holding hostage because you’re too scared to fight us,” I snarled.

His face twitched.

“I dunno, guys, if the Scapellis are meant to be this big and bad family, he’s not living up to the hype at all.”

Now his hand was shaking.

“You’re nothing but the family bitch.”

The man was seething, the pressure in Minh T.’s neck growing tighter as his anger built. However, what little fear I had vanished when I knew he didn’t have the balls to shoot her. After all, the Scapellis wanted us as special sex slaves, and a punk like him wouldn’t betray the order. If he could, he would’ve shot her the moment he’d caught her. Only Captain Toad’s life was at risk, as the Scapellis likely didn’t swing that way.

A minute passed, with Toad and I watching his trigger finger closely.

“I’m not soft enough to fall for your trick! Provoke me into letting her go, all so you can run off and make me look like a clown!? Is that the plan!?” He looked at the elevator, yanking out strands of Minh T.’s curly hair. “Maledizione! Where are they!?”

After a bright, white spark, we heard sizzling all around us. The hall had gone nightmarishly dark, except for some green streaks of light along the floor. And this time, no orange emergency light came to our assistance.

“W-Why!?” Illepacs spun around. “We paid the bill, the power shouldn’t be going out!”

“HI-YAAAAAA!” Minh T. took advantage of the confusion and elbowed Illepacs in the stomach. Not once, not twice, but three times. And from the impact’s angle, ouch! Her elbow absolutely splattered his dick, flattening the softer tip like a pancake. As he stumbled backwards, squealing like a little girl, she ran in our direction.

“Coins. Now. I know where they are.”

“Then after you,” Toad said, rushing her. It was only a matter of time before Illepacs would start moving again.

With the hall curved and the floor tiled, we bumped into the darkened walls a number of times. One move left a burn on my left arm from sliding so far, but my heart still beat fast. So long as we didn’t give up, we could get out of here one way or another.

Minh T. led us through another hole in the wall.

I chuckled. “I see you figured out this place’s cheap secret too.”

“From trying to escape from that psycho. Who would’ve guessed? Painted like concrete, weak like drywall,” she panted, wiping her forehead. “They’re here! I read the papers.”

And there it was! On the mechanical floor, there were a bunch of lockers lined up in a row, all with digital keypads. Though we couldn’t unlock them, this didn’t stop Toad from whipping out the remote. Even without seeing the specific cream-coloured case, there was a wide grin on my face, knowing that our mission was so close to being accomplished.

“Come on, baby…” He mashed the button twice for each locker, then ran past them again to mash the button a third time.

“Did it work?” Minh T. asked.

“I can’t call them without my gear, but if not, I’ll take the full blame for you guys.”

Aw, taking responsibility. Now he was working his way up to a night with me. We took a second to celebrate, then Minh T. grabbed our hands.

“My feet are starting to give out. Let’s run to the elevators, get to the car park, and we’ll steal a van.” She flicked Toad’s nose. “These are the moments where stealing is allowed, mister.”

“With what key?” I asked, following Minh T. as she led us.

She tapped her pockets. “We never established I’m a pro at giving guys pleasure?”

Toad sighed. “We might’ve gotten our own if your BFF didn’t bite his dick off.”

“She gave a blowy? Wow, my little Toadette’s becoming an ad… You what!?”

“Well…”

Back in the elevator corridor, we were confronted with a new sight. Four more men, the ones who’d driven us into the building in the first place. And this time, there was someone small they were holding by the neck. And he wasn’t smaller than me by much. The moment I saw his face, I clenched my fists and stepped ahead of my allies.

“Never guessed our delivery boy would betray us,” said the tallest, squeezing DT’s neck. “You Toads truly are hopeless.”

“I swear if you hurt him,” I panted heavily, “I will end you.”

“No worries. The Big Man decides fates, we don’t. If you have complaints, you’re very much welcome to take them up with him. He’s live now, on the top floor.”

Behind us, Illepacs announced his presence with a cackle. Great. Now we had my brother held hostage in front, and a maniac held us from behind. Think, Toadette, think. Our options for escape were very limited. The first thing I had to do was free DT from his grasp. Then we had to get to a vehicle, and even after that, getting away from the bastards would be insane. How to do it all in one fell swoop? This was a nightmare—a nightmare I couldn’t wait to wake from.

“Call the elevator, man,” Illepacs shouted across the room. “The hell are you waiting on? Let’s go!”

“Excuse me?”

“Oooh. Um, is there any way we can speed up the transfer, sir? I’m just saying, they’re clearly ready to attack.”

The tallest guy nodded. “Get the elevators, men.”

Minh T. stomped her bare foot on the tile, with enough power to where my legs trembled.

“¡Muerde a ellos! ¡No importa a quién!”

Whatever Minh T. screamed, it led to a chain reaction. Instantly, DT took a big bite out of one of the men’s hands, making him howl in pain. As the boy dropped, he spread his arms out to take another member down with him. And that was my chance! While he was on the ground, I punched one of the goons. I then slapped another so hard that we heard a tooth dance across the floor. Just as a third one went to kick me, I pulled a reversal.

BAM!

A kick so heavy that his balls ended up in his mouth. Maybe. After whimpering and falling to his knees, the elevator doors finally opened.

“Come on!” I picked DT up, holding him like a big sister should. Tightly, refusing to let him go for a second. “Let’s go, guys!”

Captain Toad nodded, pushing Minh T. into the elevator, backhanding Illepacs as he tried to grab him. Before stepping inside, he gave a flirtatious wave to the Scapellis, lifting up his dress. “Kiss my marshmallow ass, boys.”

“NO! NO!”

Illepacs banged against the door, and the other guys made a commotion, but we were now heading underground. Although, the elevator’s speed was way slower than before. While we had our moment of peace, I wrapped DT even closer to me.

“You’re choking me…”

“Aw, I’m always choking you,” I giggled. “Why are you here?”

He coughed. “Well, I had a feeling something bad would happen if I didn’t do anything. So, I thought cutting the main power would help you guys escape.”

“Main power?” Minh T. rubbed his cap.

“You know what main power is. Then first backup runs everything, second backup only runs the elevators. I ripped those wires up best I could, then set them on fire with a match someone left down there. They got me just when I broke the second backup.”

“In non-techno terms?” I asked.

“I gave you guys the best chance of escape, but they still knew how to beat us.”

“You helped us with that move, kid.” Captain Toad took him from my grasp. “Being crazy must run in the family. All you fools taking these risks.”

DT had no reaction to that statement. Finally, as the elevator slowed, I knew we were in the parking lot. The doors squeaked open, and the boy was the first to run to them.

“Hello, again.” Illepacs’ fingers were shakier than ever.

“DT, move!”

BANG!

All I could hear was a slow “Toadette” before I hit the floor. The next thing I knew, my stomach had absorbed tremendous pressure. And in seconds, that numb, jelly-like feeling turned into an infernal burning. I let out a scream the likes of which I’d never heard before. It felt like someone was ripping the skin off my belly. As I twitched in place, I felt Minh T. put a hand on my heart.

“T-Toadette?”

“I’m okay… Help me up.”

Dazed, I saw another struggle as she tried to lift me up with DT. This time Captain Toad and Illepacs exchanged physical blows. And on the ground, smoking, was the Scapelli’s weapon. I looked down. There was red oozing from under my dark shirt. Within that area was a pain both numbing yet throbbing like crazy. I couldn’t even react properly to it, holding still as Minh T. embraced me.

Illepacs threw a heavy punch at Captain Toad, giving our hero a bloodied nose. His human strength might’ve given him an edge, but Toad had the advantage of knowing how to really fight, including dodging punches and performing some special techniques. Just now, he flipped forward, delivering an axe kick to the skull that made Illepacs’ eyes pop out.

“You…mushroom!” Stupid as he was stubborn, he wrapped his arm around the captain’s neck, growling. “Forget orders. It’s time I kill you once and for all.”

“Toadette, sit down, please,” Minh T. pleaded.

Illepacs wasn’t the only stubborn one in this room. With a slow start, I soon gathered enough speed to where I felt like I was flying.

“Oh hell—”

With my cap grinding into his stomach, we went no less than five metres. All the while, I delivered punch after punch to his chest, practically making his bones contort with the final impact. Our movement ended as Illepacs hit the back of his head against a metal pole. And as we flew together, we fell together. I gritted my teeth, my stomach wound ripping open more as I moved. Slowly, I turned to my fellow Toads and gave a weak wave.

“Are you…” DT looked like he couldn’t find the words to say what he wanted.

“Give me the keys.” Captain Toad dug his hand in Minh T.’s pocket. “You two get her in the back of this van. Right now!”

Illepacs groaned, trying to hold onto me best as he could. But it took little effort for the two to get me away from him. “It’s not over… Not by a long shot,” he warned.

While carrying me in the van, more bullets flew as the Scapellis shot at us. Some of these weren’t little pistols either. No, the sound of a rapid mini-explosion was loud and fierce. When they passed right by me, I could hear the whooshing, followed by the clinking of hitting the ground. Eventually, they started firing on all sides of the van.

VRRROOOOOM!

“About time!” Captain Toad cranked the gas, and in ten seconds, accelerated to what felt like this van’s maximum speed. Minh T.’s hands dug deeper into my stomach, I let out my first cry in genuine pain, and the rear doors swung open, inviting a hail of gunfire. With a gasp, she finally took her weight off me and slammed the doors shut.

But not without receiving some additional damage. The dark windows shattered all over my best friend.

“Starting to agree with me about Peach’s insanity now?” I asked, pulling myself up against the backseat.

“I don’t think they’re too happy we stole their van.” She pointed out the window.

I limped past her. Three cars were hot on our trail. Two of them, left and right, were two-seater karts. One had a Scapelli in the driver’s seat, and the other was holding the back with a pistol in his hand. Between these karts was a slick, black sports car with all four seats occupied. This made for eight goons to deal with. And when the main car’s driver snapped his fingers, all the men rained fire. Minh T. yanked me to the ground (crushing my wound again) and covered us as bullets danced across the floor.

“Why are you psychos shooting at us!? Don’t you wanna have your ways with us!?” Minh T. asked.

“Because you already escaped,” DT said. “Escaped, stole their car, probably stole some other things while you were in there. Why are they gonna bother with you if you can’t listen, from their point of view?”

Not good. Not only were we travelling at dangerous speeds where one crash could send us flying, but my body couldn’t take much more stress. The pain had gone from resting in my stomach to entering my chest and toes.

“Hang on to something!” Captain Toad threw the van around a tight curve.

SMACK!

A large weapon struck me in the back of the head. Hmm… Never used a shotgun before, but maybe this could help.

And as soon as it was in my grasp, it disappeared.

“You probably won’t aim it that well.” My little brother observed the weapon from all sides before scanning the back of the van. Somehow, while the rest of us were deeply panicked, he was smiling like this was a blast. “Bad news: we only got two shots.”

“Since when do you know the ins and outs of a gun?” I asked.

“Does it matter right now?” After pumping the gun, he aimed outside. “Whoo-hoo!”

Bang!

“Missed!”

Bang!

“Alright, got two in one go. One of those go-kart pairs is done for.”

And the boy was also numb to violence. What the hell happened in my absence? Well, in order to help us, I’d have to endure seeing a bit of gore myself. In addition to the shotgun, there was a small bag bouncing around. When I unzipped it, my eyes sparkled. This little glow coming from the bag, it meant a lot.

“Our ticket to freedom,” I said, lifting the flashing Super Star above my head.

“Are you crazy?” Captain Toad slammed on the brakes, causing the other drivers to panic. Then he floored the pedal, causing a heavy screech on the road. “You’re sick, leaking blood faster than you can regain it, and that thing’s got enough power to take us all out.”

“Fine.” Pouting, I went back into the bag. “How about an Ice Flower?”

“How do they… It’s gonna sting like hell, but—”

“I’m taking the risk!” I took a deep breath. Now, as DT and Minh T. watched again in awe, the colour of my body began to transition rapidly. The black paint on my cap chipped away piece by piece until every inch was an icy blue. The pink travelled into my spots, and my teeth’s sensitivity increased while white air flowed out my mouth. This cool change was piling weaknesses onto me one by one. First my mouth hurt, then my muscles felt like someone replaced them with clay. Damn chilliness… After moving my fingers, tiny pieces of ice began to form. “Think I’m ready.”

I ran up to the van’s windows, my feet going numb with each step. There those bastards were, right behind us. Four in the car, two on the same kart.

With a medium-sized ice ball tickling my right hand, I hurled it at the sports car.

Ssssss…

My heart became a frozen rock.

“Why didn’t it do anything?”

Crack, crack, crack, crack, crack, crack!

“I’m hit!”

At first, the high pitch made me think they’d gotten Minh T. But she was on the floor, perfectly fine. DT? He looked fine too, though he was staring at me pretty hard. It couldn’t have been… When we looked at Captain Toad, his left shoulder was red.

“Heheh… Missed my head. Toadette, Minh T., one of you needs to do something,” he coughed, jerking the wheel harder when faced with turns. “I’m so tired.”

The enemies were right on us. The kart had gotten so close that the driver was trying to pull the doors open. Minh T. screamed, holding them with all her might. I came to her side, all the while throwing small ice balls outside like a maniac. It hit the kart’s driver but not the man in the back. He just jumped into the driver’s seat, leaving his temporarily frozen friend behind. And now the three passengers in the sports car reloaded their weapons, all while that vehicle’s driver gave me a wicked grin.

The Ice Flower couldn’t save us. Captain Toad couldn’t save us. Minh T. couldn’t save us. Slipping in and out of consciousness, I certainly couldn’t save us.

I slowly turned my head to DT, pointing twice at our yellow five-pointed rescue plan. Even he looked somewhat nervous. Hopefully, school thought him a thing or two about Super Stars. Not exactly safe in the hands of a child, or most people for that matter. But when our hands were forced, what choice did we have?

“No way.”

I shook my head, “If I do it, that energy’s gonna take me out.”

“How do you know that won’t happen to me?”

Minh T. shrieked, “You’re barely injured! We’re at more risk!”

“I am not leaving my mom with both her kids gone!”

Immediately, I shoved the Super Star in his hands. Before he could say another word, I grabbed his shoulders and looked him in his eyes. My heart was racing. The van felt like it was turning upside down with every sharp turn Captain Toad made. And next to us, Minh T. yelled about how her grip was slipping. With the little energy in me, I had to speak right now.

“DT, if you don’t use this damn Super Star, neither of us is gonna see Mommy again!”

It was as if I’d used the Ice Flower on him. His movements were minimal despite all the hectic chaos inside and outside the van. Finally, the doors flew open, with Minh T. falling halfway out. At the same time, Captain Toad tipped the van onto its side, and I braced myself for the damage to come. All we needed was the gunfire, and that was the end.

As I shut my eyes, the last thing I saw was a rainbow-tastic flash. So bright that I could see the colours swirling through my eyelids. And then a faint hissing noise as my body smacked into the van’s wall, unable to so much as twitch.