Toadette's Story: Book 2

Chapter 116 - Collision Course

The scream that ripped from Penelope’s throat was anything but human. It was like a robot trying to imitate pain. The planks beneath her cracked under the weight of her aura, and a gust of wind blew outwards, knocking over loose crates and tearing the sails.

Before anybody could react, she shot forward in a black blur.

9-Volt barely registered her movement before she brushed past him, her momentum whipping his hair back. 18-Volt’s shoulder slammed into a mast, then 13-Amp took the full brunt of it—a backhand across the face so fierce that her remaining sandal broke off her foot. She skidded several metres across the deck, feeling the heat curling off the soles of her feet.

“The hell was that?” she spat, clutching her cheek. She straightened up just in time to see a bare foot flying towards her head. She ducked, and the kick swung through the air.

For a second, she saw Penelope clearly. The black mist swirling around her had thinned enough to expose her pale skin and fiery red eyes.

“Don’t you start getting cocky.” 13-Amp took a deep breath. When she started to sing, her voice came out low. The deck tilted as invisible waves rippled outwards from her lungs.

Unmoving, Penelope smirked. “Cute trick.”

13-Amp lunged, but her fist tore through empty smoke. Penelope dashed up and slammed her knee into her gut. Blood left 13-Amp’s mouth as she struggled to regain her composure. The more Penelope smiled, the harder she growled.

“Ain’t no lil’ ten-year-old brat gonna do me like that!”

Their fight became a whirlwind. The two girls flew across the deck, smashing through crates and scattering shrieking monsters. Each time 13-Amp’s fists struck, the impact sent tremors through the wood.

9-Volt shielded his face from the flying debris. “This is wild.”

“She always been magic now?” 18-Volt shouted, ducking a stray blast of debris.

“Magic? They didn’t even have powers! Just gadgets and weapons, just us two.”

“Then I guess we improvise.” 18-Volt cracked his knuckles and dove in.

He intercepted one of Penelope’s attacks, delivering a chop to her neck that sent her slamming into the deck hard enough to splinter the boards. Wood shards whistled past 9-Volt’s head as he used his yo-yo to deliver a definitive blow to Penelope.

13-Amp didn’t waste a second. She gathered breath and let out a single, crystal-shattering note. A burst of violet sound engulfed Penelope. When the haze cleared, Penelope lay amongst the fractured boards, smoking rising from her skin.

“There.” 13-Amp turned towards her friends. “Under control.”

“Uh… You sure you wanna turn your back?” 9-Volt pointed.

“What—?”

Penelope shot upright. 13-Amp twisted away just in time.

Chuckling, Penelope opened her palms and unleashed a storm of black lightning. 13-Amp braced herself behind a wall of sound, her voice deepening until it became a roar. Sparks bit her arms and face. She stepped through the pain, inching towards Penelope.

Then Penelope clapped. The black turned to red, and 13-Amp’s barrier shattered.

“Shit!” She stumbled, clutching her burnt chest.

Penelope shrieked again and sprinted towards the ship’s wheel. The monsters manning the helm could barely yelp before she sent them overboard. Her gaze locked on the control panel, just as complex as Syrup’s lifeboats. Only this time, one device caught her eye.

One screen read: RADAR REFLECTION.

“So they did make another radar.” This meant that Syrup’s ship wasn’t too far. It moved slowly, from what Penelope observed. “Just perfect!”

She jammed the throttle forward until the lever snapped off. The engines picked up steam. The entire ship lurched as its speed spiked. Penelope spun the wheel hard, ensuring Syrup’s ship would head into theirs.

By the time 13-Amp reached the wheel, the collision course was already set. “You stupid bitch!”

“You’re welcome.” Penelope drove her darkened fist through the steering wheel.

***

The waters trembled long before the others noticed.

Minh blinked against the morning glare, her tail limp and her eyes heavy after another sleepless night. She'd lost count of her yawns. The raft creaked beneath her, bobbing in the now-trembling water.

“If this raft rocks one more time,” she muttered, barely holding on. “Are we there yet?”

“Closer. But not close enough.” Toad raised a brow. “Odd. Her speed’s been slower ever since last night. Still, no sense complaining when the wind’s at our back.”

“Hold on! Is that Wario’s ship?” Toadette yelled.

The black-and-golden ship caught the sunlight as it zoomed into the horizon.

Toad smiled. “Sharp eyes for someone who looks like she’s about to snore her way into he ocean, Toadette!”

“That thing blew past us a whole day ago,” Toadette said. “How is it this close again?”

“More like…” Minh yawned. “How are we this close to them?”

“Falty shortcut, bad currents—it doesn’t matter.” Toad tore open Stuffwell and pulled out a Super Leaf. “We need speed, and that’s our ticket.”

“Toad, but if Wario’s guys fight us…” Minh groaned as she pulled herself up.

“Then I’ll break them just like they broke Toady!” Toadette snapped, ready to spring.

They moved as one. The closer they got, the stranger it seemed. Wario’s ship wasn’t dodging the jagged rocks ahead. It scraped along them deliberately.

“They’re losing speed!” Toad shouted. “This is it! Go!”

Toadette launched first, sprinting barefoot over the barnacled edges of the rocks. Her tail whipped before she kicked off into the air. A generous wind caught her, allowing her to land hard on the ship’s outer deck. Her heart raced as she knelt.

Toad landed beside her seconds later. Before he could check on Minh, two heavy, water-soaked cheeks plopped onto his face. A small moan was heard above the waves, and Minh rolled over.

“Never…doing…that…again,” she wheezed.

“What’s going on now? Who else is hurt?” a voice cried out.

They turned. A girl stood near one of the masts, her forehead dripping with sweat. Her pupils shrank.

“You!” Toadette spat.

“No, no, no… Please don’t…” Penny backed up, trembling.

“Don’t complain this time, Toadette,” Toad muttered. Immediately he got behind Penny and placed a hand over her mouth. The chill of the flare gun was against her temple. “Scream, and you’ll be floating in the ocean. You understand?”

Penny nodded rapidly.

“Now I’m gonna put my hand down slowly. When I do, you’re going to—”

“13! 13-Amp! Toadette’s here!”

Toad’s finger slipped from the trigger. He growled and slammed Penny to the ground before taking aim at her.

“Stupid move!” He glared at Toadette. “Don’t tell me you saw that coming either.”

Penny clung to the floorboards, hyperventilating. “You wouldn’t kill me… She had the chance to easily kill us in Decalburg when she blinded us, and she didn’t. You guys let Kat and Ana go. So what are the odds that you’d have actually pulled that trigger, sir?”

“I never wanna kill anyone again,” Toadette grumbled. She took a step closer to Penny. “But don’t think I won’t do what’s necessary.”

Penny let out an even shriller scream. “Help me!”

But chaos erupted from the forward decks. 13-Amp remained locked in combat with Penelope. Every time Penelope was thrown against the mast, she rose again, snarling. 9-Volt and 18-Volt struggled to restrain her, finally getting layer after layer of rope around her.

“Stay down, you freak!” 13-Amp barked. “Just remixed our whole mission for the worse!”

She rose into the air, levitating towards Penny’s shout. When she spotted the three new arrivals, she folded her arms and smirked.

“Well, well, if it ain’t the Mushroom Trio, straight outta the compost heap.”

“Huh.” Toadette smirked. “Didn’t think they let fish-faced high-school bitches command pirate ships.”

13-Amp’s smirk twitched. Toad slid his hand towards his flare gun. Minh just looked nervously between them, her tail hiding between her legs.

“I’m disappointed the broken foot didn’t last longer,” 13-Amp said, receiving a frown from Toad.

“Get anywhere near Syrup’s ship and see how dangerous I can get,” Minh snapped, her voice cracking.

“Too late. We’re going there, whether we want to or not. Y’all wanna see why?”

Reluctantly they followed her to the main deck. Penelope thrashed in her bindings, eyes glowing the same red Toadette remembered from the castle incident.

“Penelope!” Toadette screamed.

Slowly the fury drained from the girl’s face. Her eyes faded from red to violet, then softened to blue. Tears of joy replaced her rage.

“Miss Toadette!” she cried, an innocent smile returning to her face as she began to cry. “Captain Toad, Miss Minh T.! You’re all here!”

13-Amp scoffed. “Little demon broke the wheel. We ain’t steering this thing anywhere except straight into Syrup’s ship.”

“Penelope, where’s Jazz?” Minh rushed to ask.

“She’s…” Penelope’s lip trembled. “She’s still on Syrup’s ship. I tried to save her.”

“Great, so the spitty one’s here too,” 9-Volt chuckled. “Don’t cry, Miss Oink-Oink. You’ll see her again soon enough. Maybe.”

18-Volt towered over the Toads. “We could let Syrup chew you up, but we’re feeling generous. Give us the radar and the location of your star, and we might just let you walk away intact.”

“You’re talking like you have a choice.” Toadette got into a fighting position, glaring at both boys. “We’ll be done with you before you can even blink.”

“Enough with the circus!”

It was a new voice. The wind came to a still.

Deep footsteps echoed from inside the ship’s hull. A door at the stern slammed open, and every head turned. Out of the darkness emerged a broad figure with a red pirate hat. Its trim was as golden as the ship. The man’s moustache jagged from his pink nose, and his eyes were like pinpricks.

Everybody stiffened.

“You maggots have been getting in my way for too long. And now you’ve gone and destroyed my luxury vessel.” His coat flapped in the rising wind. “Time for Captain Wario to remind you worms who’s boss around here!”

***

The air below deck on the Sweet Stuff never truly went quiet. Either chains rattled or somebody moaned.

Jasmin’s blood-leaking body ran on empty, each forced bounce causing her to break. She moved because the whip said so, for stopping meant deeper pain. Tears had long since crusted on her cheeks, leaving trails behind. Her vision blurred. The penis trembling inside of her could’ve been anyone’s.

“Show some more excitement!” A whip cracked the air. “You want another strike, stubborn mushroom?”

A choked gasp was Jasmin’s only reply. She tried to move faster, but her limbs felt dead. She made up for it with moans.

“Oh yeah,” she moaned breathlessly. “Fuck my ass… Deeper! Deeper! Ooh…”

“You better be working faster too, Terro,” Syrup yelled, striking him. “Failed runaways… You think freedom’s sweeter than what I offer? Wait till it rots you slower.”

Groaning, Terro moved with a slow rhythm, his mask obscuring all his emotions. He pulled her down on Jasmin’s butt harder, his climax just another violation in a day defined by them. Jasmin’s body shuddered. She slumped forward, fading out of consciousness.

CRACK!

The whip’s lash across her back jolted her back to life. She scrambled away, the chains digging into her wrists and ankles, until her back hit the wall.

“More fight in you than I thought,” Syrup hissed. “Useless as a bride, but you’ll serve well enough as amusement.”

Jasmin growled.

“You two keep at it while I attend to business. Who knows? Give it a year, and you might make me a new deckhand. One who knows his place from birth.” She gave a wink as she shut the door, plunging them into darkness.

For a long moment, the only sounds were the creak of the hull and their own ragged breaths. Jasmin pressed her cap to the wood, trembling.

“Another one broken, huh?” Terro sighed. He crawled closer.

“I broke a long time ago,” Jasmin whispered, her voice cracking. “My cousin… She’s coming. She has to.”

“You’re broken?” He let out a dead chuckle. “As if. You at least remember what hope sounds like.”

“Sounds like you’ve already given up.”

“Why wouldn’t I have?” he sighed. “All hope gets you is wasted time, Jasmin.”

“I…” Jasmin squeezed her eyes shut, rubbing her thumbs together. She knew all too well what he felt, and yet she couldn’t allow herself to plunge into the point of no return. “Your mother’s name is Almara, right?”

Terro went stiff. His mask slightly adjusted. “Why do you ask?”

“She prayed for you.” Jasmin nodded. “And for us. We promised we’d bring you home.”

He let out a long, slow breath. The emptiness returned to his gaze as he looked away. “So she’s still waiting, that fool…”

The ship listed, and their shoulders bumped. They didn’t pull away.

“Hope might be a luxury none of us can afford,” he murmured. His calloused hand found hers in the dark. For a second, the ship stopped creaking. “But… I might borrow some of yours, only if you don’t mind.”

The faintest of smiles touched Jasmin’s lips. It was the last thing she felt before the darkness behind her eyes won.

“Of course I don’t…” She slumped against him, unconscious. Terro held her hand in the suffocating dark, staring at nothing.

“Let’s see if your prayers actually reach this far, Mama…”

***

The wood groaned beneath Wario’s bulk with every step, each vibration crawling up 13-Amp’s legs.

“And here I thought you had more brains than Mona, street rat.” He spat in her direction. “I give you a shred of authority, and you let a couple of brats punch holes in my ship? You’re pathetic.”

13-Amp’s breathing deepened, her lips curling. 9-Volt stared at his shoes while 18-Volt stood like a statue. Wario’s gaze then slid to his uninvited guests, his grin stretching wide.

“Look who the sea coughed up.” He gave them a mock applause. “Bold of you to crash my party again. A shame your efforts won’t buy you nothing but a set of broken bones.”

Toadette’s fingers tightened around the handle of her hammer.

“You took my brother’s voice. You nearly took my arm.” Her feet dug into the planks. “I’m gonna repay you, one limb at a time!”

“Ooh, gutsy! I love that.” He laughed heartily. “But it’s not enough. Nobody tangles with the great Wario and walks away smiling.”

“Bad idea to underestimate her, orc.” Toad’s calm but firm voice cut across the deck. He stared up at Wario. “Even worse to underestimate her partner.”

Wario squinted. “Hmm… I swear I’ve seen you before.”

He leaned forward, the confidence in his eyes turning to confusion. His jaw dropped. For a second, the air reeked of damp soil. There were trees everywhere. He saw another mushroom person, this one whose confidence lay behind a soft expression.

Those eyes… It’s the same eyes… He blinked, only to see Minh and Toadette replaced by two other figures. Oh my God…!

“You…” He let out a furious snarl, regaining his tough posture. “So the pipsqueak who ruined my ambitions has decided to crawl out for round two!”

Toad blinked. “Did I miss something?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, ‘shroom,” Wario barked. “You, that wand-waving fairy and that pink hairdryer of a dinosaur left me humiliated in Peaceful Woods! Defeated by a trio of weaklings!” He jabbed a finger towards Toad. “Today’s the day we settle that score!”

“Peaceful Woods? Sorry, but you’ve got the wrong guy,” Toad said, his voice taut. “Though I know exactly who you’re talking about. You’re looking at his son.”

“Wah?” For a flash, a hint of fear flickered in Wario’s eyes. The Volts stared, stunned to see their boss caught so completely off guard. The silence then shattered as Wario let out a low snicker. “Then the apple didn’t fall far from the rotten tree. Tell me, boy, does the fool still guard that precious little forest?”

Toad remained silent at first. When he spoke, his voice had the faintest tremor.

“He’s gone. Sickness got him a few years ago. Missed your chance.”

Toadette’s head snapped towards him, eyes widening. Minh’s face softened.

Then Wario threw his head back and roared with laughter. “Incredible! The mighty defender of the woods, rotted away like the mulch he loved. It’s poetry.”

Toad’s eyes went glassy. He was seven again, grass-stained and barefoot, watching his father pull a giant turnip from the earth with a triumphant grunt. The turnip flew and smacked Toad square in the face. His father’s laugh echoed across the field as he scooped him up. Work hard, Toady, his voice echoed, and you’ll surpass me yet.

The memory shattered. Toad took a heavy breath.

“You don’t get to laugh.” His voice tightened. “He died a hero. Let me show you the man he raised!

“Show me, boy!” Wario leaned down. “Let’s see if the son hits harder than the father!”

The flare gun cracked, its recoil propelling Toad upwards. His pickaxe came down in a glittering arc. Wario met it with one hand. The impact sent a shockwave through the deck.

“Clever!” Wario’s muscles bulged as he twisted Toad’s wrist. “But I’m cleverer.”

He hurled Toad aside. Barrels burst under the force of his shoulder charge; once he reached Toad, a spinning lariat knocked the smaller fighter to the floor. The deck split open beneath Wario’s boot as it slammed centimetres from Toad’s head.

Toad rolled away instantly. Wario raised a brow, finding Toad a decent distance away.

“Speedy, aren’t you?” Wario chuckled. “Another trick from Daddy?”

“Nah, from the other awesome one,” Toad rasped, glancing at Toadette.

But Wario’s fist was faster. It drove Toad back into the ship’s hull with an explosive crack.

“Toady!” Toadette screamed. 13-Amp zipped into her path, sonic energy shimmering around her lips.

“The boss is busy. You’d better sit this one out,” she warned.

“Not my style!” Toadette’s hammer swung.

13-Amp met it with a concussive shriek that shoved Toadette back, her bare feet skidding. She roared and slammed her hammer down, disrupting the frequency with the impact.

“Fine! Wanna hear my remix?” Toadette’s next strike caught 13-Amp in the jaw.

13-Amp screeched, unleashing a wave that sent Toadette skyward. Mid-air blows flashed pink and white until both crashed to the deck, barely hitting it as the ship rocketed forward. The ship groaned as it tilted.

“They’re gonna sink this entire ship!” Minh yelled, clinging for dear life.

With a strong kick, 13-Amp sent Toadette’s hammer hurtling into the sea. She snickered. “Try me without a weapon, ho.”

“Sure!” Toadette threw a punch.

13-Amp caught it with ease. She then jabbed Toadette in the gut. Toadette flew for metres before two fists met her from behind.

“Batter up!” 18-Volt’s hit knocked the wind out of her. She landed before Penelope, coughing.

“Fight, Miss Toadette! You can do it!”

Bleeding from his mouth, Toad staggered out of the hull. He saw Toadette unarmed and on the defensive. He shouted her name. She immediately broke away from the Volts, lunging at Wario from his right. Toad vaulted into the air, aiming a kick from the left.

Wario’s grin never wavered. He snatched Toad’s leg mid-kick. Then he swung his entire body around and slammed his head into Toadette’s stomach. The heavy groan echoed across the deck as they both slammed into the main mast, collapsing completely.

Minh’s hands flew to her mouth. “They… He just…” She felt her bladder empty when the Volts all looked at her.

“It’s over, and I didn’t even need my sword,” Wario snickered, flexing his muscles. “Was that the best the great Toad Junior could offer? Your father only bested me because I wasn’t at my peak. Years of perfecting my awesome body mean you’ll have to be even better than him to dent me.”

“You’re built like a brick, Wario,” 9-Volt said with an overbearing smile. “They were all idiots for thinking they could go toe-to-toe with you.”

“Of course, of course.” Wario fanned himself with pride. “And look at that. Thanks to your utter incompetence, I’m even closer to absolute invincibility, brat.”

“How close are we?” 9-Volt looked over the railing. “Oh crap…”

Less than a kilometre away was the Sweet Stuff, racing towards them. Wario’s ship was approaching at just the right angle to intercept it.

“Gotta go with the flow.” Wario drew his massive sword. “Alright, broad. Come get me!”

Minh screamed at the top of her lungs as she saw the Sweet Stuff approaching. “Guys, brace for impact!” She clutched Penelope tightly.

The two vessels collided in a deafening burst.

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Author’s Note:
Not even a small amount of foot stuff here, huh? I can’t even say the next chapter will have much. All three sides shall clash next week, literally.