Adventurous Stories In Babysitting
By: Virtualboy2558
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Disclaimer: Super Mario RPG is Copyrights of Nintendo, Square, and Shigeru Miyamoto. I do not own, nor profit, from any or all of the characters mentioned.
/
There were many reasons to be afraid, even if all are a little irrational. Whether it be a fear of heights, snakes, mice, enclosed spaces, open spaces, or even dust for that matter… they can all be easily overcame by just saying, over and over, it will not hurt them.
But for Tutti, even her broad knowledge of psychology wasn't enough to keep her brave from all the scary, gruesome elements within the real world.
Darkness was one of her fears when she was a normal 6 year old. Which is why she demanded to have her nightlight on before going to sleep every night. Another was being absolutely terrified of unfriendly-looking strangers. Valley was fine to her, since she was nice to her… but anyone that has a scruffy beard, pale skin, sunken eyes, and a gruff voice would send the Toad girl running to her mom in tears.
Combine both those fears… and you have her worst nightmare come to life.
"Hey baby! Wanna have shome real fun with me?" a tipsy red-shelled Koopa slurred, while walking out of a nearby tavern. He gripped the front of her pants when he lost his balance. "I promish to be a good turtle! Hahahaha!"
In her fright, Tutti yanked herself away from the intoxicated creature and sprinted as far as she could from him. But not before bumping into a Wiggler that appeared right out of the blue. The large caterpillar-like being literally turned red with anger and faced her with a fuming glare while she was dazed on the ground.
"Hey! What's the big idea?! You think just because I'm a simple Wiggler, you can tread on me like I'm yesterday's garbage?! I'll set you straight, you little fungus!"
She whimpered while crawling away from the hostile worm, who marched closer and closer to her. The adolescent Toad girl yipped when her back knocked down somebody. She turned her head and cringed when she recognized who it was.
"Ah ha! There you are!" the wooden-legged Goomba snarled when he laid eyes on her. "You still causing trouble for all of us, huh?! We're going to make sure you never give us grief again!"
"P-Please… leave me alone…," she quavered. She was backed up to a wall as the disgruntled, grimly faces surrounded her on all sides.
"Leave you alone?! How about you leave us alone for a change!" a hefty Sledge Bro growled. "What did we ever do to you?! You've been nothing but misery since you got here! And if I were you, I'd run back to your mother before we'd ruff you up!"
"D-Do you know where my m-mom is?" the Toad girl shakily asked.
"How should we know?!" the Wiggler yelled. "We aren't here to baby-sit you, hooligan! Now scram before we turn you to hamburger!"
"B-But… I don't know w-where I am!"
"Alright then! We'll do this the hard way!" the Goomba grunted.
They inched nearer to her with threatening poses. From her perspective, she could see the Goomba opening its fangs wide to bite her. The Sledge Bro pulled out a big hammer from its belt, ready to club anyone in his way. The Wiggler was grinding his teeth while stomping his feet hard into the ground in a intimidating way. And the red-shelled Koopa… well… he wasn't doing much except stumbling and clinging into anything to keep him from falling, but still scared the living daylights out of her.
All of this tension being directed at her was proving to be too much for her mind to handle. She clenched herself into a fetal position as a bright light once again enveloped her body. In a powerful release, Tutti screamed when a blast of energy shot out from her, and it knocked down the advancing strangers off their feet. They were unconscious upon hitting the ground.
The Toad girl sat on the ground panting. Cold sweat dripped down her skin from the strong output she exerted. It was like she ran 3 miles non-stop up Booster Hill.
"Ohhh… what's… what's happening to me?" she worried. "How did I acquire these powers? And more so… why can't I control them?" She clasped a hand to her head when a massive headache pounded her cranium. "Ugh… I need to find Valley and my brother. I miss them so much… I just want to be in their arms again."
A tear leaked out of her eye and she wiped it. She stood back up on her feet, a little dazed at first before she collected her thoughts and strength, and began walking down the street in the search for the two individuals she seek the most.
/
Meanwhile, Valentina and Timmy were out on foot in another part of the Mushroom Kingdom. The duo were making small talk while trying to find Tutti down the alleyways and in various stores. Many of the businesses were closing up for the night, so there wasn't much area to cover.
"I still don't know why my mom would hate you, though," the Toad boy wondered. "You're nice and very caring for us, you never neglect us whenever we want to do something…" He took a deep breath and exhaled with sorrow. "Is it something you're afraid she might fault you for? Or is it because she would have much feeling for you as for my dad when he was kicked out?"
"I think she would hate me more than she would hate your dad," the bubbly girl said somberly. It didn't make her feel good talking about how she'll need to tell the truth to everyone, but it was something that has to be done.
The Toad boy could see her sadness as they travelled on the brick road. "Uh, Valley… no wait, your real name was Valentina, wasn't it? Um… could I ask you something?"
"Yes, you may."
He fidgeted for a moment before responding. "When this is all over… and that on certain days when my mom isn't the wiser… uh… perhaps I could try visiting you?" There was a red tingle of embarrassment on his face. "Even though you won't be able to visit us… I'd still like it if I could get to know you… the real you…"
Valentina's expression went from sullen to concerned after he finished. "I'm not sure if that's a good idea, Timmy. My lifestyle, for everyone that really knows me, is a bit… how should I put it? A little 'promiscuous'. And also… wouldn't you get into trouble with your mother?"
"I don't really care," he replied, shrugging his shoulders. "What really hurts me is the fact that you mentioned Mom wouldn't allow you to see me or Tutti afterwards. I really think it seems unfair to me. And it doesn't matter what your lifestyle is… I still want to be your friend."
That bit of news really surprised her. "Really? You still want to be my friend?" she asked with awe.
He nodded. "Yep. After all… you said that that's what friends do. They care for people they like… and not because they think they're cool or have some fun toys to play with..." He looked up and smiled at her earnestly, which in turn made her smile back. She bent down and gave him a tight loving hug.
She was unable to keep the tears leaking from her eyes. "Thank you, Timmy… You're truly the most wonderful boy I've ever met…" A giggle escaped her lips. "Well… after my boyfriend, of course…"
They held each other in their embrace for a few more seconds, until the screech of tires alerted both of them. A heavy glare of light then shone on her and the Toad boy. The bouncing beauty held up a hand to shield her vision.
"What the…?" she muttered in confusion. There was the slam of a car door and she saw an old man hop out of a strangle-looking vehicle.
"Confound it, young lady!" E. Gadd bleated, as he waddled to the pair. "You sure know how to take off in a hurry! I had to take the old Spectre Vehicle out for a spin to find you two!"
Valentina was in a state of befuddlement. "Professor? W-What…? H-How did you find us here?"
"Same way as you were trying to track down that Toad girl… although in my old age, I needed some assistance with travelling." He dug into his pocket to pull out a weird-shaped gun. "Anyway, that doesn't matter now… I finally build something that can help set things straight again. Behold! My Age-o-tron Projector Ray!"
The sleek gizmo looked like something out of a popular science-fiction comic book. It had a bright red metal finish, with yellow rings surrounding the end of the muzzle. The funnel of the gun was in the shape of a water drop, while a sturdy handle with rubber straps allowed for an easy grip. At the back, there were a few knobs and a roulette counter that indicated a set of numbers. It was currently at 16 right now.
"Now then… the Age-o-tron can be able to accelerate or reverse the natural period of a person's age, simply by clicking onto the current setting and firing at the target. Observe here…"
E. Gadd turned a crank and the roulette cranked down until it reached 3. He then readied the device and pointed it towards Timmy, who became frightened and tried to run away… but was too slow. ZAP! A bolt of electrical energy issued from the gun and collided with the Toad, freezing upon contact. He was unable to move and became terrified as he started to shrink, his body becoming less and less complex. When the beam dissipated, there was an infant Toad boy sitting next to Valentina. Large clothes draped over him to cover his lower-half, he gurgled with blissful joy while looking up to her, whose face was full of shock.
"Oh my goodness! What have you done to him?!" she shrieked.
But the Professor waved a hand nonchalantly. "Not to worry, my dear! I can change him back just as easily!" He adjusted the knob and once again shot the Age-o-tron at the tiny toddler, who was sucking his thumb before he reverted back to his 8 year old self.
"Huh? Wha… Eww! Why is there slobber all over my hand?!" he uttered with repulsion. He wiped his thumb with his shirt sleeve, of which his clothes had been refitted back on his body again. "Did that old quack just turn me into a baby?"
While Timmy was complaining, the bubbly girl stood next to E. Gadd to chat with him in private. She carefully examined the device in detail.
"So this thing can do all the stuff your FAMU machine can do?"
"Not exactly," he explained, while pointing to the features with his index finger. "I have mixed a neutral recipe of the youth formula into here and bottled it up, so I can set it to any age when applicable. Then… when I pull the trigger, the formula gets transferred into a special feed to be blended in with the light and I can perform the act of making a person older or younger."
"And will it turn Tutti back to the way she was?" she questioned curiously.
"Certainly! All you need to do is aim and shoot… and she'll be the adorable little child she once was," the Professor concluded with a smile. "And don't worry… this doesn't hurt in the slightest bit, so you can change yourself back as well."
Valentina looked away from him and watched the Toad boy near them with worry. "I don't want to do it just yet… there'll be plenty of time for that after we find our missing 'teenager'."
A distant sound chimed, and all eyes turned towards a clock tower, which was just a few blocks away from their location. Its hands were positioned to show it was 6:00pm. The bouncing beauty's stomach dropped and felt ice-cold. There was only an hour left before Femi would be back at the house.
Timmy was starting to panic after seeing the predicament they were in. "This is bad! Very bad! At this rate, we'll never find my sister in time!" he quavered, while clutching the top of his hat with his hands.
But for some reason, none of this tension seemed to affect E. Gadd, whose smile broadened.
"No need to fret, my lad!" he chirped. "You'll be happy to hear the news I have to tell you! Because a matter of fact… I have managed to track down your sibling!"
The Toad boy's head perked up suddenly and he stared at him. "You found Tutti? Where is she?!"
The Professor simply directed his hand to the E. Gadd 1 Spectre Vehicle. "Well… if you'd hop in, we can get to her as soon as possible! Come on now!"
The three people got into the car with quick demeanour, with Valentina behind the steering wheel, and they were off. With E. Gadd's navigation, she drove them through town until they were within the residential area of Downtown Mushroom Kingdom. Just down the road was a crowd of citizens surrounding a certain metal structure that jutted out 50 feet into the air. And as she came to a rolling stop, the bubbly girl's jaw dropped by what she was seeing.
They were at the location where an old billboard towered above the buildings. The steel bars that held it up were bent and rusted from years of neglect. The advertisement, which was a promotion for Kerokero Cola ("Best Drink For The Hippest Tadpoles Around!"), was peeling and faded. And on the top of the rafters… was Tutti clinging for dear life.
"Oh my stars…," Valentina gasped. "Tutti! We're coming for you! Just hang on!"
She got out of the car in a dash, followed closely by Timmy and E. Gadd, and watched in horror as the Toad girl held onto a broken metal pipe. It creaked dangerously from having to put up with her weight. And it looked as though it won't be for much longer before it snaps and she plummets to her death.
"AAAGH! TUTTI!" shouted her distressed brother, calling out with both hands cupped like a megaphone. "TUTTI! IT'S ME, TIMMY! DON'T LET GO OF THE BILLBOARD!" He quickly went through the dense mass of the crowd, ducking and weaving past police-Toads in his way. When he got to the base, he awkwardly began climbing the ring ladder to the top of the structure.
The bouncing beauty gasped again. "Timmy! What are you doing?! Get down from there! You're going to fall too!" But the Toad boy stubbornly ignored her pleas, and he continued his ascent. She gazed to the Professor in worry. "I'm going after him. He shouldn't be doing this without parent supervision." And so she too went into the throng of people, avoiding security with ease as well, and grabbed onto the ladder to chase after her responsibility.
By now, Timmy was more than halfway up the beam of the billboard when he heard his sister cry out above him. The metal pipe groaned loudly and sagged a few inches down, nearly making Tutti lose her grip. There were tears streaking down her face as she whimpered.
"I'm coming, Tutti! Just hold on for a little longer!" The Toad boy was exhausted from his climb, but didn't let it stop him from reaching the rafters at a quicker pace. At last, his feet touched the walkway of the large advertisement and he inched his way to help the adolescent female.
"I'm here now! Just give me your hand and I'll pull you up!" he stammered. He held out his short arm to her.
But the Toad girl shook her head, and didn't release her grasp on her only means of support. "I can't, Timmy! It goes against the laws of physics! My body mass is more than twice yours, and you only have less than half my strength! You'll be dragged down with me!"
"Forget science right now, Tutti! This is your life at stake! Give me your hand so I can reach you!"
"Please, brother… I don't want you to die too!" she wept. The bar shuttered again and slid another few inches.
"Listen, I know you're afraid! But you got to trust me!" Timmy hollered, while still sticking out his small hand. "I won't let go of you, okay? I love you!"
Tutti looked at him with fearful eyes. Her brain kept telling her it was impossible, and she will risk them both if she did it… but her heart couldn't keep itself from accepting his deep adoration. And so… ever so slowly, her long arm reached up to grab her brother's outstretched palm.
CRACK! The pipe finally snapped from the exertion of the heavy Toad girl and it fell to the long stretch of ground below. She quickly latched onto Timmy, who managed to catch her with both hands and he heaved her up. But just as she predicted, her weight proved to be too much for him. His feet began to slide to the edge as he desperately tried to combat the physical forces at work. Timmy was about to slip off the front of the billboard… had it not been for a single hand that pulled him backwards.
"Now I don't want to sound like the Professor, but you sure know how to take off in a hurry!" Valentina grunted, as she yanked both Toads back on the rafters. All three panted in fatigue of their struggle, with everyone hugging one another tenderly.
/
"I still don't get why you were up there in the first place."
"I was trying to get a better advantage point so I could find you guys," said a meek Tutti, who was holding herself in her arms. "Apparently, I wasn't thinking incoherently when I conceived that idea. My phobias were spiking at their emotional peak, and I didn't know what else to attempt."
The trio were now back on the front yard of Timmy's home (after E. Gadd was polite enough to drop them off at the establishment). In Valentina's right hand was the Age-o-tron, with its settings at 6 years of age. She was getting ready to fire it upon the Toad girl, while her sibling was nervously checking both ends of the street to see if their mother was coming back, which would be at any minute now.
"We better wrap things up guys," the Toad boy worried. "If Mom catches us out here… we're dead meat."
"Don't worry, Timmy," the bubbly girl replied. "I just got to warm this thing up and we'd be good to go. There's no use to getting your underwear in a knot."
Sighing, he walked back to meet up with his sister, who acknowledges him with a comforting embrace.
"You're sure about going through this?" he wondered. In his grip was a tiny syringe.
"Yes… I'm very sure, my big brother," she muttered calmly. She was a bit unnerved by the long point of the medical instrument, but so long as she held onto him… she felt brave. "I may miss being such a highly intellectual, sophisticated young woman… but none of that is comparable to our wonderful times together as children hand in hand." She smiled while nuzzling him. "And besides… I'll be joyous of coming back to this stage of my lifespan in the natural course of time. But for now, I want to hold dear to our platonic, yet mighty bond and friendship."
"Alright then," Timmy responded, also smiling. "Keep still now. And hold my hand if necessary."
Tutti make a tiny squeal of pain when he poked the needle into her skin. She clasped onto his palm and firmly, but carefully, squeezed it to alleviate her discomfort. All the while, the Toad boy was drawing a small amount of blood from her. And as soon as it started, it was over.
"There you go… here's your lollipop, and here's your prescribed medicine. Take two during mealtimes and call me in the morning," he joked, while patting her arm and kissed the spot where he made the extraction.
The Toad girl giggled at his sense of humour. "I loved it when we played doctor… I think that may be my choice in career when I'm truly older. That or become a scientist… just like that kind man, E. Gadd."
He then went up to his babysitter so that she could inject the DNA sample into her device. The bouncing beauty inserted the blood through a slot in the gun, there was a tiny whir… and a random light turned green.
"Okay! I got it ready, Timmy! Stand back now!" Valentina called out. The Toad boy moved as he was instructed, as he watched his sister about to get hit by the beam that'll turn her back to normal.
"See you in about 10 years, brother…," Tutti remarked, waving out to him.
"Yeah… me too…," Timmy spoke, waving back just before the Age-o-tron zapped her.
She stood there in a transfixed state, her beautiful face was unmoving as it slowly regressed to its younger self. Her body, arms and legs all visibly shortened within a matter of seconds, along with all the traits that indicated her maturity. When the beam stopped firing, there was a pile of clothes of where she was. The pile was squirming around for a moment… before the head of 6 year old Tutti popped out from the attire.
"Tutti!" her brother shouted, and surrounded his arms in a big hug.
"Timmy!" she cheered, her voice much higher in pitch than it was a minute ago.
"I'm so glad you're finally back to your old self again! Err…well, your young self, I mean… hehehe…" He turned to look straight at his sister's eyes. "Please don't grow up too fast on me… okay?"
She giggled cutely. "Whatever you say, big brother! I only know that I'm going to beat you in Scrabble the next time we play again! You know I have an extensive vocabulary!" She covered her mouth with both hands, looking very wide-eyed.
Timmy's heart skipped a beat upon hearing his sister. A look of horror was on his face.
"Oh my stars… You're… you're still insanely smart, Tutti!" he stammered, backing away from her. "B-But I thought you'd no longer… you're not suppose to… Oh man, this is bad… this is bad… this is bad! Now Mom's definitely going to kill me!"
She cocked her head to one side with concern. "It's okay, Timmy. What bad will come out with me being smart?"
"A lot of things! How will I explain this to Mom when she gets back?! And then she'll find that you were a 16 year old teenager, and then she'll blame me for not being more responsible for watching you! And then I'll be grounded until who knows how long…"
"Shhh… relax," she soothed him, placing a small finger to his lips. "You don't have to hyperventilate in front of me." She gently wrapped her hands on his shoulders. "I know this will be difficult to getting used to over time… but it would help matters if you take a deep breath and let go of your anxiety. I won't let Mom know of my true intelligence, and I certainly won't allow you to get blamed for it." She winked at him slyly. "This will be our little secret, alright?"
He gulped slightly and nodded. And like she instructed him, he inhaled and exhaled heavily. "Thing's are never going to be quite the same, are they?"
"I'm afraid not… but like I said, I'm still your loving sister." She placed his hand gently against her chest. "My heart will still beat the same as before… and I'll love you the same as before. Do you still believe me when I say that?
Timmy thought long and hard before he answered. His hopeful smile never faltered. "Of course I do…"
The two siblings once again pulled each other in for a hug. It was still strange to Timmy… knowing that his little sister now has an IQ over 200. But that didn't matter now… he was just glad to know that things will return almost to the way they were…
…well, except for one more piece of business to finish.
While they were in their tender moment, Valentina quickly went into the house to change clothes. She didn't want to burst out of her shirt and skirt if she was going to do what she meant to do a long time ago. After slipping on her baggy adult attire, she returned outside and adjusted the settings of the Age-o-tron to her correct age, while both Toad children stared at her with curiosity.
"I guess it's time to show you what I really look like to you, Timmy," she sighed. Her heart ached more than ever… but she knew it had to be done. "I never meant to hurt anyone… but I've already caused enough trouble for both you and Tutti. And…" Another heavy breath escaped her lungs. "…I'm sure you'll easily know who I am when I'm done."
Tutti exchanged a look of confusion. "What does she mean, big brother?" she asked him.
The Toad boy suddenly had an uncomfortable demeanour, and his eyes pointed to the ground in guilt. "Uh… Valentina… I have a confession to make. Um… I've… I've overheard what you and that E. Gadd guy said while we were in his lab earlier today. You've mentioned that the reason why Tutti had grown up in the first place was… because you had some sort of youth formula, right?"
The bubbly girl was mildly surprised by this piece of information, but didn't bother to accuse him for it. After all… this was all her fault for not telling him sooner.
"Go on," she gently urged.
"Well… you also said that that you also had some of that formula as well…," he mumbled shyly. "So that means… you're actually older than you are right now? Not to be rude… but how old are you really?"
She made small laugh before it died out all too quickly. "Old enough to know better that I shouldn't have tricked you into being someone I'm not… and don't worry. I'm not some old lady, if you're wondering." Sighing one more time, she pointed the Age-o-tron straight at her chest.
"Alright now… no more hiding myself any longer…" She closed her eyes as she prepared to fire. "This is the real me, Timmy…"
The blast of energy engulfed her frame, making her glimmer in the fading light of the evening sun. All around her, certain parts of her body began to develop at a slow rate. Her legs became a little more shapely and feminine. Her hips pushed out to their full extent, making her skirt fit perfectly on her waist, excluding the part where her large butt filled out. Her arms lengthened and became slightly thicker in muscle tone. Her shirt was quickly stretched out once more as her breasts ballooned to their original tremendous size. And her face went from looking like a pretty, awkward, and inexperienced teenager… to a mature, beautiful, and sophisticated adult. The process was over in a matter of seconds.
Almost immediately, Timmy's eyes grew as wide as saucers, as he recognized the individual in front of him with alarming amazement. He couldn't believe that he didn't realize it up until now…
"It's… it's… it's you!" he sputtered with awe. "You're… you're her!"
The bubbly girl's eyes reopened to reveal her shiny baby blues. "Yes… it's me, kiddo…"
"I don't believe…," came a shocked female voice.
Valentina gasped when she heard her. Her skin became ice-cold and full of goose bumps when see looked to her left… and saw Femi T., who was just getting out of her car. The motherly Toad was gaping at her with ever increasing resentment, with hands balled into tight, shivering fists of anger. If any neighbourhood bully were to look at her face, they would be running away screaming.
No… no… not her, the bouncing beauty cried in her mind. Anybody but her…
"So you were the one that was watching over my children?" Femi questioned, as she quivered in a brewing rage. "It was you all along?"
"No… oh, please no…," Valentina whimpered timidly. She was slowly backing away.
The Toad mother's face cringed in repulsion. "I have never been so disgusted or jaded in all my life…"
It was at this point that the bubbly girl turned heel and sprinted off in total fright. She kept running and running, never looking back at the haunting expression that her former employer made. She heard loud, profane cursing and obsessive shrieking directed behind her, but didn't bothered to hear them. She knew what they meant… and it ripped her heart even more.
Valentina was officially out of a job again.
/
Three days had past after those horrible events. And not once had it shone a bright day of sunlight since. As dark overcasted clouds rumbled through the sky, the inside vicinity of Mario's Pad was more eerily quiet than usual. The yellow wallpaper on the walls looked gloomy and hollow in the dim light. And once in a while, the sound of the roof creaking would come from time to time.
Sitting on Luigi's bed, watching the rain fall behind the foggy window, was Valentina… whose eyes were red and puffy from crying. She was unable to stop crying since she was fired, and didn't bothered to come out of her room as well, excluding for when she needed to eat or go to the bathroom. On more than one occasion, her boyfriend knocked on the door to try coax her out, so that he could make her feel better. But even Luigi wasn't enough to fill the large hole that cracked open her aching heart…
She spent pretty much the whole morning and afternoon, weeping in her domain and refusing to be comforted. It pained both Mario Brothers to see her this way, but they knew they couldn't interfere while she was in her emotional state. So they simply monitored her well-being by taking turns to listen to the sounds inside the bedroom.
Mario and Luigi left the house around 4:30pm to go get take-out at the local pizzeria. While they were gone to get supper that night, the bouncing beauty continued to leak tears while gazing at the awful weather outside. She was thinking about going into the kitchen to eat some chocolate ice cream and ease her pain… when she heard a rap clicking onto the pane of glass.
Startled, Valentina inched her way towards the opening, wondering who would be trying to break her window at this time of day. And when she opened the top to get a better view… she was surprised to see the shivering, wet form of Timmy looking up at her.
"M-M-Mind if I c-come in?" he mumbled, his teeth chattering.
"Timmy? What the heck are you doing here?" she chimed in. "It's below zero degrees! You're going to catch a cold!" Nonetheless, she stretched out her arms so that he could grab the poor freezing Toad boy, and brought him inside her cozy home. She tightly squeezed his dripping body against her breasts to help warm him up.
"You shouldn't have came here to see me…"
"But I wanted to…," he uttered. "It wasn't easy trying to find you… That E. Gadd guy told me where you lived while I was on my way here. I could have brought Tutti with me… but she's at her doctor's appointment. Mom thinks I'm at home studying… while she's with my sister at the Toad clinic." He nuzzled into her arm to hide away his sad expression. "Plus… I was feeling really lonely…"
"Well… I guess it's no use to bring you back now," she sighed in pity. "You can stay here until the rain lets up, I guess…"
Valentina rubbed his back tenderly for a few minutes. When she no longer felt him shivering, she let go of him so that he could properly sit on her lap. Upon further inspection, she could see that Timmy also had been crying his eyes out recently. His face looked tired and worn out, while his mushroom hat was somewhat askew to reveal a bit of his messy black hair.
A sullen exhale escaped his mouth. "I couldn't sleep well last night…"
"How come?"
"I've been thinking a lot… about things between you and Mom," Timmy replied dully. "It's been getting under my skin lately. And it frustrates me of the way she treated you…" He stared ahead at a blank wall. "I'm really sorry for the cruel words she said…"
"It's alright, Timmy," she muttered. "I don't hold a grudge for her."
"You know…I've always known my mom to be a little overprotective and a bit strict at times… but this…" He suddenly took a sharp intake of air and angrily pounded the mattress with a clenched fist. "…I can't believe her! This is not right! You shouldn't be accused for something so unjust and absurd! It's times like this that I wish I could just… just… ugh… I don't know…" His posture soften a bit while shaking his head. He replaced his hat so it didn't hang off so much. "…I'm so sick of innocent people being judged before they got to be known."
"I know how you feel… and believe me, I've asked that question many times before," Valentina remarked. "But that's just how life is… and we can't do a thing about it."
The Toad boy sniffled when he turned to look at her again. "Can I tell you something very personal?"
She nodded sincerely. "Of course."
He took his time to figure out what he wanted to say. And when he spoke, all of his distress and suffering seemed to melt away like ice.
"Long before you came on my doorstep… I was the most isolated person on my street. None of the neighbours liked me, or my classmates at school… and just about everyone shunned me away when I wanted to open my feelings to them. Most especially Mom… after she left Dad."
"You've already told me this, though," the bouncing beauty reminded.
"I know… I was just getting to my point," Timmy explained. He wiped a tear from his eye before continuing. "I felt like I just wanted to disappear… or run away from home. I couldn't stand to be so alone. Then…" He was silent for a minute. "…I looked out my window and saw the big starry sky. And I remembered that the great Star Spirits were listening for wishes every night, hoping to grant them to those in dire need… so… I made a wish that night."
"What did you wish for?"
"I wished… for a great friend like you…" A smile lit up his face like a beacon. "…and I knew it came true when I met you."
"Aww…" She clasped her arms around him for another of her trademark hugs. It was at this moment… that the emptiness within her heart vanished as though it wasn't there. "You'll always be my special friend too, Timmy."
"You promise?" he asked her. His voice began to crack again with emotion.
"Cross my heart… hope to die… stick a needle in my eye… if I lie," she whispered to his ear.
The pair remained in their embrace for a long period of time. Things were silent again, except this time it wasn't so gloomy or eerie… nor did it seem to Valentina that she wanted to cry again. After all… a big girl like her wasn't supposed to cry. When the bubbly girl looked at the window again, she could see sunlight peaking out from her window. The rain had stopped falling.
"Looks like the weather is good enough to go outside again. You should probably get back home before your mother comes back to prepare dinner."
The Toad boy made a small nod before hopping off her lap. "It's alright… I've told Mom before she left that I was going to have some leftovers for my meal, and then stay in my room for the rest of the night. But you're right… I better leave right now."
"Do you want me to fly you home?" she offered.
"Nah, I'll be fine… It's not too long of a walk," he mumbled. "Plus those neighbourhood bullies won't try to chase me down again… after you dealt with them."
She chuckled a little. "I guess I really etched terror in each of their faces permanently." She smiled as he climbed onto the ledge of the window. "Hope to see you again, Timmy. Thank you for visiting me."
The Toad boy, who was hiding a few tears from her while he was perched on the sill, managed to keep his voice calm and clear. "You're welcome, Valentina… Hope things turn out alright for you…"
He jumped off the ledge to the ground and began heading to where he wanted to go. A slightly ominous chill was lingering in the air, but the bouncing beauty hadn't felt it creep upon her. At least… not yet.
/
Morning arrived with a bit of wind, along with some overcast clouds still littering the sky, though not as bad as the last three days. Sitting at the dinning table were Valentina, Luigi, and Mario, who were eating their breakfast with a fair share of pancakes. While the two plumbers were making a bit of small talk with each other, their guest was reading the newspaper in search for another job she can do.
"Ugh… I hate it when I have to do Mr. Russ T.'s pipes," Luigi groaned, holding his head with his hand. "I swear… it's like he's trying to have them clogged, just for revenge when I accidentally flooded his basement a year ago."
His red-clad sibling simply murmured while sipping on his cup of orange juice.
"I mean… if you're going to call for help, don't try creating the problem you want solved! If it were up to me, I'd make him fix his own mess. A whole bunch of limerick poem pages don't get stuck inside a sewer line on their own, you know."
Their conversation was interrupted when the phone rang. The bubbly girl got out of her seat.
"I'll get it. You two just keep eating, okay?" Both of them nodded while she made her way across the kitchen and lifted up the receiver. She placed it between her shoulder and chin.
"Hello? Who is it?"
She could hear some shuffling within the background before she heard who was speaking.
"H-Hi, Valentina… Thought I c-could chat with you f-for a minute…"
Her expression went from curious to full of concern. "Timmy? Is that you?" she wondered. "Are you alright? You sound sad for some reason."
"Y-Yeah… I'm fine…," he trembled. His voice was almost hard to distinguish from her end, because he kept on sniffling and making sharp quick breaths. "J-Just wanted to s-say that… that I l-love you a lot as a f-friend… before I h-have to go."
"Go? Go where? Where are you? Are you at your house?"
"I'm n-not at my house… I ran off… and I'm not c-coming back…"
"What?!" Valentina exclaimed. She grabbed the handle of the phone before it slipped off her shoulder. Her sudden outcry had alerted both Mario Brothers from the table. "Timmy, where are you? And what do you mean you're not coming back?"
"I'm… I'm g-going to end it all here… just so Mom d-doesn't have to be a-angry at you a-anymore…," he wept.
"End it all here?! What does that mean? Please tell me where you are! I know you're not happy with your mom, but that doesn't mean you have to abandon her! Let me help you! We can try coming to a compromise!"
"I'm… I'm sorry, V-Valentina… G-Goodbye…"
"No, wait! Don't hang up!" she cried. But she heard a loud crackle before the line went dead. She never looked so horrified in her entire life.
"What's going on, honey?" Luigi asked with worry. He and Mario were standing next to her with complete anxiety on their faces. "What's happening? Who called?"
For a moment, she was very quiet, excluding the heavy breathing she was making through her nose. Then her eyes narrowed a bit with determination and she looked up to her boyfriend. "I got to go for now. I'll be back soon hopefully." And she headed for the front door to quickly take off with her wings.
Luigi's concern grew deeper as he chased after her. "Where are you going in such a hurry? Do you need help?"
"No, I'm fine," she replied, while stretching our her feathery appendages. "Don't follow me, please. I got to do this alone. I love you, dear."
She was gone in a powerful thrust to the skies before he could interject another word. In no time, she was floating over the Mushroom Kingdom. She didn't bothered to waste any time getting to her destination. In her heart, she could feel something wasn't right… like something bad was about to happen…
"Just as I thought." When she found what she was looking for, the bouncing beauty swooped towards the Mushroom Suburbs with haste. She landed down in the middle of Bleeker Street, just at the same time that Sam and his friends were grabbing an innocent child. They were about to steal his favourite baseball bat… until all three thugs yelped out when she turned and stared at them coldly.
"Yikes! Uh… w-we were just handing it back to him, miss!" Sam stuttered, shivering as he returned the sport instrument to the little human boy. "We only wanted to play a round with him on the field, I swear!"
He, Pig and Mutt ran away screaming before she could do anything nasty to them. But Valentina wasn't there to wail on them or anything…
She had business with a certain female Toad.
A rap on the door was all it took for Femi to answer. When she saw who it was, her face was full of venom. She crossed her arms tightly against her chest in a sour mood.
"I ought to get a restraining order if this is going to keep up," she said coolly. "What are you doing trespassing on my property?"
The Toad mother's withering look would be enough to make the paint on a car peel and crack, as well as make its driver pee their pants… but that didn't intimidate the bubbly girl at the slightest bit. Her posture never wavered nor cowered from Femi's presence. Her body was calm, yet assertive. And her blue eyes looked steely upon the mushroom woman before her.
"Are you aware of where your son is at the moment?" Valentina firmly spoke.
Not wanting to be the one daunted, the female Toad retorted with a response. "He's sleeping in his room at the moment… and I'm sure he does not want to see or hear from the likes of you ever again. Now get out of here before I call the police to have you arrested."
The pink hair woman continued to look at her with defiance. "You don't scare me at all, Femi. And I'll tell you right off the bat… that Timmy is outside on the dangerous streets, feeling unloved and unheard, and not in his bedroom like you assume he is. And don't ever think he wants to see me… because he finds more comfort and belonging when he's with me more than he's with you."
"How… dare you say about what my child wants!" she snarled at her. And the Toad mother flung her hand across to slap the bouncing beauty in the face.
But Valentina caught and clenched her arm tightly before she could even make her target. Femi struggled to remove herself from the Mamma's grip, but she was easily overpowered. The female Toad was no longer the confident individual she once was. Rather… she was now whimpering and looking frightened under her grudge's mildly harsh glare.
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't go around assaulting people. Now listen to me…," Valentina stated. Her determined expression still did not change, but she did not loosen her grasp on her appendage either. "…I know you don't like me, and I only have less mutual feelings for you. But right now… we need to set aside our differences and help stop your son from making the biggest mistake in his life. I only bothered to come here because I know only you can get through to him. I'm a compassionate person who only wishes to do the right thing… and I want you to do the right thing by telling him that you love him."
Femi, being so terrified that she might get pulverized by her, hesitated to form her next words. "But… but… but I do love him, though…"
"Really? Are you sure about that?" the bubbly girl questioned. "Because only recently have I found out that this all started when you divorced your husband. Timmy tells me how he didn't get any comfort when you and his dad separated. And believe me… I know what true separation feels like when my own parents lost me as a child." She got closer to the Toad mother to make sure she got her point across. "To feel like no one is there to give you a hug when you feel lost and miserable is the worst kind of grief anyone can experience. I may not be a mother of my own… but I do know when someone needs to be held until the pain stops. And I've had my fair share of what real pain is." Valentina put her other hand on top of Femi's shoulder, and the Toad flinched a bit from this close, uncomfortable exposure. "I need you to help me, Femi… before it's all too late to change your mind. Right now, this isn't about me or you, or even the great Star Spirits above us… this is about your son, and only your son."
With nervous and shallow breathing, the female Toad's lips quivered and tended to her arm when the bouncing beauty released it. There was a scurry of little feet, and Tutti unexpectedly appeared beneath both of their legs.
"Timmy is gone, mommy! I can't find him anywhere! He's not in his room!" she cried. The Toad girl saw her mother's grim demeanour. "Mommy? Are you okay?"
For a minute or two, Femi was very quiet… suddenly feeling doubtful of herself. Now that she thought of it, she hadn't seen her son at all since she left with her daughter for the clinic yesterday. And she began to get a gut feeling of anxiety of something she can't quite make out… but can tell it can't be good.
With enough courage, she tried to speak again. And it wasn't either vengeful nor malicious… only full of concern.
"What do you want me to do?" she asked the bubbly girl.
Valentina only gestured to her back as she unfolded her wings again. "I want you to come with me. I'm not sure if you're comfortable of aerial travel, but you'll have to get over your fears soon if you want to save Timmy in time."
/
(End of Part 5)