Toadette's Story: Book 2

Chapter 89 - We Must Defeat the Virtual Boy

Jazz doesn’t understand that Sofi is trying her hardest to take care of her. It’s not a piece of cake when you’re a single “parent”.

While soaping herself, Minh lamented the situation they found themselves in.

Sofia, bless her heart, clearly continued to struggle with raising her little sister alone. If things were peaches and roses in that home, Jasmin wouldn’t have run away. She would’ve simply accepted that her sister couldn’t bring her to the Great Geek Convention. Right?

Or was Jasmin one of those kids? The type of kid who was disobedient despite her excellent upbringing. Whatever the case, Minh planned to uncover the truth.

Stepping out of the shower, she dried off and got into her pyjamas. Then she went to open the door.

“Huh?” Minh opened the door with ease, as it swung inside the bathroom rather than into the main room. But the fact that a bed was propped against it told her something was wrong.

She went blue in the face upon looking at a note on the mattress.

“Are you kidding me?” She sprinted to her phone, nearly breaking her thumbs in dialling Toadette’s number. “Major problem!”

***

“How did they escape?” Toadette shouted, dodging red lasers that whizzed past her.

“I had to shower, and… It was Jazz’s idea.”

“I hate your fucking cousins! You should’ve locked them in that bathroom with you!”

“I thought I could trust them.”

“Someone’s gonna notice two little girls roaming about,” Toadette warned, jumping over a wireframe rocket. “You have to find them!”

“I… Toadette…” Minh gulped, beginning to put on her shoes. “I’ll be back at the motel by eleven, no matter what.”

“Just stay smarter than Toady.” Toadette glanced at her stumbling partner. “Good luck.”

With that, she ended the call, groaning as a laser struck her in the right breast.

It was as if 9-Volt’s Virtual Boy had unlimited resources. As the boy mashed buttons, he spawned weapon after weapon into thin air. Toadette looked towards the lights illuminating the junkyard. Even if she could extinguish them, 9-Volt’s makeshift thermal vision would still make her visible.

How could she attack someone who could strike her from any position?

She slipped off her flats, causing 9-Volt to stop mid-mash.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he asked.

“Such a great gamer can’t have fun if he’s not challenged, right?” She dusted off her nyloned feet. “Let’s see how you deal with me when I’m at my fastest.”

“Ooh… You mean you weren’t trying before?”

Toadette propelled herself past 9-Volt. His eyes widened as he felt himself flying forward in a flash. Before he could react, she conjured a flurry of punches until delivering a final roundhouse kick that sent him into a pile of trash.

Everything was moving in slow motion for Toad. He could barely keep track of the action, even struggling to keep his balance.

“If it weren’t for your show-off attitude, you’d be able to use that new ethereal strength,” Toadette said, swaying her hips as she walked past him.

“Don’t get cocky… You haven’t beaten him yet.”

“Watch me.” Toadette began a second sprint towards 9-Volt.

This time 9-Volt was ready. He blocked her punch, although the force still tossed him backwards. In desperation he mashed several buttons on his controller, summoning another missile.

Toadette, with a shout, deflected the wireframe weapon, feeling the shockwave reverberate through her arm. But she forced herself forward, surprising 9-Volt with another mighty kick.

He gasped, tasting a bit of blood in his mouth.

Toadette folded her arms. “Why don’t you give up that star before you seriously get hurt?”

9-Volt grunted, reaching for his controller once more. Toadette rolled her eyes, waiting for another rocket to deflect. If she could deflect rockets, surely she could stand whatever else the boy had up his sleeve.

A large weapon landed in 9-Volt’s right hand. A mallet. He pocketed the controller and charged towards Toadette, growling.

“I’ve had it with you!” With greater energy, he swung it at the mushroom woman. Toadette still used her hands to block the hits, but they certainly did more damage than the long-ranged weapons. Even with 9-Volt’s rapid assault, he was no match for her speed. As he wore himself out, his yells became more panicked.

Sighing, Toadette grabbed him by the neck.

“You’re worse than the ninjas.” She tossed him aside. “Why would Wario even hire a pipsqueak like you to do his dirty work?”

“I won’t tolerate this trash talk,” he panted, shivering. “You’ve forced me to clock this baby into overdrive.”

“Have I?”

Suddenly a red aura enveloped 9-Volt’s body. A smile spread across his face as he teleported right in front of her, shoving a fist into her gut. Before she could recover, he summoned another virtual hammer and struck her hard in her side. Toadette gritted her teeth, grabbing her healing wound just as 9-Volt launched a crimson energy ball at her.

It exploded in various zeros and ones, and Toadette’s eyes burnt from the blast.

She barely managed to dodge the second one. Then she looked up to see many missiles locked onto her.

“Nobody else was interested in exploring this thing’s potential, but that’s sure not gonna stop me,” 9-Volt laughed, treating her like a living target. “Game over!”

***

Every step Penelope took was laced with embarrassment. She’d already gotten chastised once this night, and now she was on the path to receiving a second and worse scolding.

“Get over it,” Jasmin said, squinting as she tried to read the map. “You’re making me feel guilty.”

“So this is your second time running away?”

“You can’t even understand us, so how’d you get that?”

“Miss Toadette. ‘All you ever do is run away.’ What’s that about?”

Jasmin scoffed. “That is none of your business.”

“And I thought I was weird.”

“Don’t give me any of that, you got it? ‘Cause you don’t know the first thing about me.”

Penelope shrugged. “I know you’re leaving Miss Minh T. terrified. And don’t feel bad.”

“Ugh, I can’t dictate every one of my decisions around how she feels. Besides, we’re gonna be doing something good for her, so is it even gonna matter in the end if she’s scared for an hour?”

It was fruitless for Penelope to stop her, and so she gave up all efforts.

Navigating the shadows proved challenging. Each streetlight was to be avoided, with their main light stemming from Jasmin’s cell phone. It held enough charge to last them several kilometres until they could board another monorail.

When on the vehicle, they stayed afar; Penelope rode closer to the front and Jasmin to the back. Some passengers gave them suspicious glances, wondering what two little girls were doing by themselves at this hour, but it wasn’t as if it was any of their business. The girls’ faces stayed glued to the windows, so people couldn’t connect the dots that they were the two who had caused hell in the city.

Fifteen minutes later, they were close to the airport.

“Minh-Minh’s phone said they were near a field around the airport.” Jasmin observed the largely empty space. “Could’ve been a little more specific.”

“What about there?” Penelope pointed to a fenced junkyard where various red lights were flashing.

“Looks like a scene straight out a movie,” Jasmin chuckled. “Alright, let’s think of how we’re gonna attack him.”

“Think of? You mean you didn’t even have a plan?”

“I had a lot on my mind.”

“Clearly not,” Penelope mumbled.

Even if they had brought items, using them was out of the question. Penelope lacked the skill, and Jasmin lacked any good experience.

The younger girl took a deep breath. She could do this. Toadette knew how to improvise. It was she who tricked that group of Shy Guys into passing out in the desert by making them smell her noxious feet. And she was the one who came to Penelope’s rescue during the kart race in Mushroom City. Penelope had seen Toadette in so much action that she knew she could act the same. She had to.

“I don’t need a plan,” she said, sliding down the sandy rock. “I am the plan!”

***

Hide-and-seek had never been so serious. Running through this cold air was killing Toadette’s lungs. She darted behind every object she could find, trying to formulate some way to get a good hit in on 9-Volt.

But every time she thought his thermal vision would fail him, he gave her a heart attack. The boy would send a hailstorm of weapons to rain on the entire junkyard. It was simple: if he couldn’t find her, he’d flush her out. Toadette had no time to react to the burst of energy grazing her right arm. She rolled out of cover, only to be hit by a laser.

“What do you say, miss? Are you ready to end this game?” 9-Volt teleported in front of her, smacking her in the face with his controller.

“Little boy… You’re trying my patience!”

“Shucks, and here I thought I was making you happy with my spammable weapons,” he taunted, grabbing her by the collar. “While we’re at it, you can tell me where your Ethereal Star is, or you can tell Wario.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Suit yourself.” With a smirk, he pumped electricity through her body. Her hair began to rise, and her blood pressure skyrocketed.

“Let me go,” she grunted, too stiff to harm him.

“Hold on, Toadette!” Captain Toad stumbled to his feet, preparing to jump in to save her. But his world was so dizzy that he could barely search his pockets.

9-Volt giggled at Toadette’s slowly warping speech. Suddenly he felt a tap on his back. When he turned around, a heavy punch to the jaw sent him stumbling.

Toadette fell forward, a mix of relief and anger swelling inside of her.

“What are you doing here, Penelope?”

“I had to make sure Jazz wasn’t coming by herself.” She glanced at Jasmin, who stood at a distance, more focused on 9-Volt than on anyone else.

Toadette groaned. “You ungrateful brat!”

When 9-Volt regained his balance, he chuckled. “Yo! You here to set the whole junkyard on fire too?”

“What?” Toadette did a double take. It was Penelope who started that fire in the building?

“I said I was gonna take that star from you, and that’s exactly what I’m gonna do,” Penelope snapped, revving up for another strike. “And… Is that a Virtual Boy?”

“Whoo-hoo, at least someone here knows their classics,” he cheered.

“That thing’s not just for style,” Toadette said, managing to stand. “He’s got it tricked out to launch all kinds of attacks.”

“Oh? Didn’t know that crappy system could do anything more than give people headaches.”

9-Volt’s smile faltered. “Watch it.”

“Watch what? The thing lasted for one year. My life alone has had a greater impact than that junk.”

“It’s not junk!”

“It has less than twenty games!”

“And here I was gonna play nice with you!” With a yell, 9-Volt sent a rocket Penelope’s way.

Toadette directly punched it, her fist trembling. “Now you see what I was trying to say?”

“Okay, that’s not normal,” Penelope admitted. “But I can still help.”

“How?”

“I know that thing’s weakness: batteries. You thought the Game Gear had a low charge? The Virtual Boy takes six beefy batteries, and it still only lasts for four hours.”

“You mean a Game Boy?” Toadette asked.

“You and Jazz are determined to kill me.” Penelope dusted herself off. “If we drain the batteries or remove them, it’ll be useless.”

“Four hours isn’t fast enough. So where can I rip them out?”

“Back of the controller. It’s that pack that you have to slide off.”

“Gotta be kidding me. His grip on that controller is so tight.”

Penelope entered a fighting stance. “You’re the speedy one, Miss Toadette. I’ll distract him while you get him from behind.”

“You’re still in trouble after this is all over.”

Perhaps nothing was going to change her punishment, but at least Penelope could end the night doing some good for her protector.

She sprinted to 9-Volt. The boy immediately launched rockets her way. But Penelope, following Toadette’s example, swatted them away like flies. Each impact stung, but she gritted her teeth and bore the pain.

Her knuckles struck his Virtual Boy.

Grunting, 9-Volt blasted her away, then proceeded to send a storm of virtual swords in her direction. She felt a piece of her shirt rip away, revealing a cut in her right shoulder.

“How does that feel?” 9-Volt punched her in the face, yanked her hair and slammed her into the ground. His foot slammed down on her chest. “That all you got?”

“Why is Captain Toad not helping?” Penelope screamed.

“He’s not even worth thinking about right now,” Toadette sighed. She had tried to gauge what would be her best opening. But it was almost impossible, for 9-Volt seemed conscious of their plan. He kept an eye on her the whole time he crushed Penelope’s chest.

“I’m leaving with this star, end of story.” 9-Volt began to send electricity through Penelope’s body. That was until something lit up in her pocket. “Oh! Is that what I think it is?”

He pulled out a small device.

“The radar!” Toadette’s eyes widened. “Why the hell did you bring it here?”

“In case we had to pinpoint his location,” Penelope explained, her voice strained.

Toadette wanted to pull her own hair out. Now not only was Wario going to get away with the star, but they’d also lose the radar, their only guide.

“Thanks so much,” 9-Volt laughed. “Where was I? Oh yeah.”

Before he could continue, a tyre struck him in the back of his head with a loud thud. He fell, only to be met with a stomp to the back. When he spun around, spit dribbled onto his face. Standing above him was Jasmin, and her breathing was intense.

Delivering punch after punch, she gave 9-Volt a sloppy beatdown that had him turning red.

Toadette stood in shock. Jasmin had been a little scaredy-cat for much of her life. Where was this sudden violence coming from?

Eventually 9-Volt scratched her cheek with his free arm, hopping backwards whilst trying to summon another weapon.

“You think I’m gonna let you get away with humiliating me, you prick?” Jasmin shouted. “I will kill you! Try me!”

“Kill me? Heh, you think you can?” 9-Volt launched a larger rocket at her.

Ducking under the wireframe weapon, Jasmin removed her left sandal. She then closed the distance and smacked 9-Volt in the nose. Not only did the leather sting like hell, but Jasmin grabbed the boy and pulled him into a headlock.

“Why don’t you pass out?” she growled. She pressed the sandal against his face. The grime on it was so fresh that it immediately made 9-Volt’s eyes water. Seeing the tears leak through the Virtual Boy was immensely satisfying for her. For a moment, it seemed like he would actually pass out.

Now was Toadette’s chance. She sprinted, ready to snatch the controller from the boy.

However, with a quick button combo, a massive burst sent both Jasmin and Toadette flying into piles of garbage. 9-Volt wiped the blood from his nose, his face filling with rage.

He glared at Jasmin. Virtual powers wouldn’t cut it for her. She needed some heavy pain.

He stuffed his controller away in his pocket. Then he grabbed a scrap of metal, his muscles tensing as he dragged it across the dirt. Jasmin watched in dread. She tried to move, but it was becoming obvious that she made a mistake even fancying the idea of taking this boy out. She was a simple Toad child, while he was a human with powers she couldn’t even comprehend. Trembling, she hid behind her arms, screaming for Minh.

“Where’d all that spunk go?” he laughed menacingly. He lifted the metal scrap slowly.

Jasmin thought on instinct. She grabbed another piece of metal junk—this one far flatter. When 9-Volt swung the object at her, she threw herself down and narrowly avoided having her face bashed in. She then used her metal weapon to slash at the back of 9-Volt’s legs.

The boy cried out in pain, his legs failing him one by one.

“You’re next to him,” Toadette yelled to Jasmin. “Get the controller! Hurry!”

“Don’t bother,” 9-Volt groaned, squeezing Jasmin’s breast as she went to steal the controller. He used his other hand to give it a firm punch, sending her into a torrent of heavy pain. Quickly he used his controller to teleport himself a short distance away.

The only good news was that Toadette realised he couldn’t teleport long distances. If he could, he would’ve done it by now, since he had the star and the radar.

“Toadette…” Two exhausted hands landed on her shoulder. “He’s weakened. Come on.”

“Be my new distraction. And please don’t screw it up.”

“Don’t… Okay.” Toad gulped. “Hey! Don’t get too cocky, little boy! It’s easy to beat down a bunch of girls your size, but come tussle with a man!”

9-Volt looked back. “You? You look more wasted than my mom. What could you possibly do?”

Toadette rushed to tackle the boy, aiming for the controller. The two of them grappled, with Toadette screaming as 9-Volt nearly broke her fingers. The device fiddled between their hands for an eternity before Toadette finally wrenched it free.

“Yes!” She pulled out the battery pack and threw it to the ground. “Take that!”

“You idiot,” 9-Volt chuckled, a mischievous smile stretching across his face. “We hit so many buttons during that fight that all kinds of blasts are headed your way now.”

Toadette’s heart sank. Even with the battery removed, there was still some juice left in the device that would take seconds to drain.

“It’s done,” 9-Volt said.

“You’re darn right, it is.”

9-Volt raised a brow. Suddenly the Virtual Boy was no longer on him, but it was behind him. Before he could look back, a massive red-and-black explosion erupted, engulfing him and a large portion of the junkyard. Static electricity rained down, freezing everyone in place for several tense seconds. When the vapour finally dissipated, 9-Volt was on his stomach, eyes bulging and body twitching.

And the radar was split in various pieces.

Flipping her brown hair back, Minh grabbed the modified Virtual Boy and walked past 9-Volt. She ignored Toad, Toadette and Penelope, her focus solely on her little cousin.

“Minh-Minh…”

“Be quiet.”

“I was just trying to—”

“I don’t wanna hear another damn word from you tonight. Let’s go.”

Toadette hadn’t seen Minh so displeased in a long time. Even when she went to talk with her “girlfriend”, she couldn’t muster a smile.

“We can’t leave the boy bleeding out here like this, Toadette.”

“We can,” Captain Toad groaned, swaying as he approached her. “He’s not dead. He’ll be back to running in the hour.”

Toadette picked 9-Volt up. “We’ll leave him near one of the roads. Someone’ll find him and bring him to the hospital.”

“There’s no point,” Toad argued.

“Forgive me for not being death-obsessed. If we’re lucky, they’ll keep him in the hospital since he’s so young, so he won’t go looking for us tomorrow.”

“Miss Toadette,” Penelope interjected. “Won’t he rat us out?”

“He’d only be making himself look more suspicious, which is something Wario wouldn’t want. He’ll tell them he just got injured at the convention, and they’d buy it, especially considering the fire you started.”

Penelope hung her head in shame.

Toadette just looked at the golden Ethereal Star. It was a rough battle, but now two lay in their possession. However, what were they to do with their broken radar?

----------

Author's Note:
You know you’ve angered Minh when she starts swearing and she’s not horny. The next chapter will be another close one, debuting tomorrow. After all, Toadette still has some business to take care of with a certain drunk.