DELTATOAD [Chapter 1]

9) ❤️ Duel of Dummies

Although the situation wasn't "ideal", you had to admit that things seemed off to a good start. You were still alive, which was most DEFINITELY a plus. Second of all, you were able to quickly find and befriend your newest ally, Tippi! She seemed nice, and who knows what else she could have up her sleeve? Tippi might be very good at this new kind of fighting you just went through against Olivia.

You continue to recount the events that just occurred as you pass through this "Toad Town".

Seems like a better kind of filler to pass the time.

Yes, there have been some bumps in the road so far. Not only did you get attacked by an unprovoked enemy, but Mr.L also took off solo, and you had no clue how to get home besides the unintentional hint from Olivia saying to go "East". Tippi said that East was the way to go, but you still didn't want to leave this strange place without Mr.L.

"Oh, Mario! Look!" Tippi exclaimed while gently grabbing you by the shoulder.

You quickly snapped out of your daze and got into a fighting stance, ready to take on whatever enemy decided to try and ambush you. However, taking another glance around, you didn't see anything remotely dangerous to you or Tippi...

Tippi chuckled and pointed ahead of you, directing your vision toward what she meant to show you. Squinting, you had to do a double-take after you thought you saw double. There was a large courtyard of some kind next to the path you were taking, which made the thing Tippi was pointing out slightly easy to overlook at a passing glance.

Sitting in the middle of the courtyard is a mannequin-like doll that looked almost exactly like Tippi.

"Do you think it's nice? It's a training dummy I made for occasions just like this one!" Tippi told you. "Now we can try it out to prepare ourselves for any enemies that we may come across."

She laughed a little as she walked towards the dummy, sheepishly rubbing her hands together as she did.

"Assuming you'd want to give it a try, of course," Tippi stated as she readjusted the glasses on the dummy. "I'm sure the Hero of Legend doesn't need much training."

Tippi punctuated this with a smile, turning towards you for your answer.

* Yes / * No

Seeing that enemies were most likely going to become a frequent thing after what that Olivia girl told you, it might be the best course of action to get some practice in. Also, you would most likely need to repeat this later to Mr.L, assuming you ever catch up to him. So, you decided * Yes.

"Okay!" Tippi replied. "Prepare yourself, Mario!"

Just like what happened before with Olivia, you were tossed into battle. 

MARIO ᴴᵖ 90/90 [🔪FIGHT] [🎉ACT] [💰ITEM] [❌SPARE] [🛡DEFEND]

TIPPI ᴴᵖ 70/70  [🔪FIGHT] [🎉ACT] [💰ITEM] [❌SPARE] [🛡DEFEND]

In front of you appeared the same basic options, and the little Heart was there too. Before you were prompted to choose anything, the Heart had been taken into that same area where you were prone to attacks before...

"Do you see that small HEART, Mario?" Tippi asked you. "That's your SOUL! The culmination of your very being into one teeny tiny object!"

She giggled a little before continuing.

"That SOUL is your everything. Your WILL... Your COMPASSION..." Tippi trailed off as she averted her gaze to the floor. "...and also, the FATE of these worlds."