Disclaimer: I don't own any characters except for Jelly. Thanks for the unusual name DW!
Chapter 6: Fight Club.
"Veeenus! Oh Veeenus!" Raphael called out in the dark, allowing his voice to eerily echo against the graffiti covered concrete walls of the laser game building. Venus gripped the handle of her playful weapon tighter. She closed her eyes in hopes of hearing Raphael's whereabouts, but she sensed nothing. Keeping her breathing low, she slowly moved towards another concrete pylon for shelter. Venus kept her gun raised high, waiting for anything.
Venus' laser sensory front pad bleeped and warbled. She'd been hit. Two more strikes and the game would be over. But lucky for her, she only needed to hit Raphael one more time to win. A bulky shadow shifted in the distance. As quick as lightning, Venus repeatedly pressed her trigger. Raphael's front pad flashed with red lights, yet the turtle ignored them and fired at Venus. Raph continued to shoot, causing Venus' electronic vest to flash as well.
"Not fair! I shot you!" Venus cried out. Even though it was nearly pitch black, she could still see Raph's sneaky smile.
"Did not!" he argued, casually walking up to her. She watched as his gently illuminated muscles moved; every crevice and scar showing a calm and intriguing side to the male turtle. Her heart thudded with every step he took towards her. He stood in front of her and gazed daringly into her eyes.
"Your vest is flashing. I hit you," Venus said quietly, not letting her eyes break the gaze. She observed as Raphael lowered his attention to his own plastron.
"I guess you did," Raphael said softly, finalising the argument, letting Venus win. The female turtle admired his charismatic smirk, his wildly torn bandanna… and those muscles! 'Okay. Calm down Venus. He's not the best conversationalist unlike Leo,' Venus thought to herself, though her body wasn't prepared to listen. Her eyes continued to gape at Raph's mouth, wondering what it'd be like. 'Why does he have to be so hot!?' Venus' mind pondered as her heart thumped even faster. Her eyes furrowed, trying to ignore her instincts and to concentrate more on a social level.
"Wanna play another game?" Raphael enticed as Venus was still wrapped up in his mysterious and undiscovered charm. Venus responded with a playful smirk.
"That's alright with me," she replied slyly. Without warning she fired a laser shot into Raphael's electronic vest.
"Hey!" was all that Raphael could manage to say. Venus gave him a sassy smile; the one Raph loved. The male turtle pulled her towards him and pressed the tip of the gun's barrel to her chest, firing it repeatedly. Venus tried to run away but Raphael's hold remained firm. When Venus tried to playfully escape again, Raph lost his balance and fell to the floor, taking the female turtle down with him. Both turtles rolled over each other as they clumsily wrestled on the floor. With a glint of accomplishment in his eye, Raphael pinned Venus to the ground and aimed the plastic weapon to her temple. There was silence between the two as they glared into each other's eyes; Venus daring him to pull the trigger.
A smile swept across her face. "What are you doing?" Venus giggled. "There's not a sensory pad on my head you know!" she laughed, causing Raphael to blush. The male turtle snarled at his stupidity, but soon found the humorous side to his antics.
"I guess I just got carried away," he mused with a subtle smile. Raph felt Venus' body giggle beneath him. There was silence once again when she finally calmed down. Venus' heart thudded more rapidly, yet this time Raphael could feel it. His lips were so close to hers. 'Okay, okay. He's hot. Get over it. Calm down Venus. Don't rush into things!' her mind pleaded and argued to herself. Raphael continued to stare into her eyes. 'Things are getting awkward! Get out now!' her mind said. 'But how do I?' Venus thought as Raphael leaned in even closer. 'Okay. Venus, we need to work together,' her mind thought, as though her brain was having it's own conversation. 'Just think of something really unsexy, then make up some excuse. Just leave before you get in too deep! Don't forget about Leo!' her mind lectured.
Agreeing with herself, Venus relaxed and thought about Splinter in a swimsuit. "We should go," Venus said suddenly. She recognised disappointment on Raphael's face.
"We don't have to leave," Raph coaxed.
"I know. I just don't want to miss the chocolate pudding Mike has planned for dessert," she reasoned. A small smile washed across Raph's face, before he rose to a stand and helped Venus up off the floor. Without saying much else, the two turtles returned their borrowed electronic gear and headed towards the lair on Raph's Hog.
*****
"What are you doing!? You're getting clobbered by archers!… Can't you even use a grappling hook properly?!"
"Leo! I'm trying to concentrate!" A voice sounding like Mike's argued. Raphael and Venus entered the lair, expecting to see a training session, but instead they found Leo, Mike and the baby turtle in front of the Playstation and television. Raphael approached them.
"Whatcha playin'?" Raphael asked. Venus joined him and stared at the screen. A black clothed ninja armed with a long single sword jumped from rooftop to rooftop. Numerous arrows were being fired towards the computorised figure and shouts and voices were heard in conjunction with the repetitive game music.
"Tenchu: Stealth Assassins," Leo informed him, eyes still glued to the screen, ready to scrutinise Mike's playing. The male fictional character, Rikimaru, waltzed into a courtyard filled with archers and bow wielders. Naturally, all of the enemies noticed him.
"Oh crap!" Mike exclaimed.
"See! I told you that you had to stick to the shadows! But you never listen to me! You just think that this is one big game!" Leo lectured.
"It is a game!" Mike called in frustration while at the same time pressing the attack key like a frenzied lunatic. Blood spurted out of Rikimaru when the final and fatal arrow was fired into his body. "No!" Mike yelled at the screen in denial. Venus sighed and sat down on the couch; partly finding this competitive streak found in males quite silly, but also discovering the whole thing amusing. The turtle stared at the screen as a 'mission failed' message and a verse appeared.
"The ninja Rikimaru lies broken, a shadow in life, in death a failure," Leonardo read out, emphasising the important parts for Mike. Michelangelo simply pouted and banged the controller into the floor.
"I wanna see if you can do any better Leo!" Mike said, throwing the controller towards him.
Leonardo started level one again. He used the grappling hook in his inventory and scoured the darkened rooftops. Rikimaru looked to the alleys below and found a swordsman patrolling the grounds. The heroic figure crouched to lessen the chance of being seen. There he waited for the opportune moment. He stood as still as a statue as he observed the enemy below. He waited… waited… waited… … … waited. "Will you just go already?!" Raphael blurted out impatiently.
"You can't rush ninjitsu Raph. That's something you have to learn," Leonardo replied smartly.
"Leo, the dude's on a five step path! Look, three, four, five. Now he'll turn around… See!" Raphael said, predicting the enemy's movements.
"But he might do something unexpected. We have to prepare for that," Leonardo informed him. Raphael gave him a blank look.
"…Leo… It's a Playstation game. He ain't going anywhere," Raphael said bluntly. Leo groaned and waited for a few more seconds. Rikimaru jumped down and stealthily attacked the guard in one hit.
"And that's how you're supposed to do it," Leo said with pride. A growling canine appeared behind him.
"Yeah… You're getting your ass whooped by a dog," Raph said, watching as Leo furiously tried to avoid and kill the leaping and biting animal.
Fifty-five minutes later, Leonardo completed what should have been a fifteen to twenty minute level. "Finally!!" Raph cried in rejoice as the first mission ended. A scoring screen appeared detailing Leo's accomplishments and faults. The rank 'ninja' was given.
"See that guys. I'm a ninja!" Leo said happily. "What's the highest rank, Mike?" the blue wearing turtle asked.
"Grand Master. It goes Thug, Novice, Ninja, Ninja Master, then Grand Master," Mike said, reading from the instruction booklet.
"I want to get Grand Master on a level," Leo announced.
"Oh no your not slowpoke!" Raph said, snatching the controller away from him and starting level two. Leo tried to grab it back, but Raph held it out of his reach. Writing in another language appeared on the screen, causing Raph to impatiently press a button.
"You skipped the briefing! You won't know what your mission is now!" Leonardo explained with a rising volume.
Raphael simply shrugged in response. "I'll figure it out when I'm in there," he said ignorantly and stubbornly. A street setting appeared with many places available to use the grappling hook in order to travel safely. He set the game on pause. "Hey Don!?"
"Yeah…" a voice replied from the purple turtle's train carriage.
"You know what to do," Raphael called out. A couple of printing noises were heard in Don's room. A few moments later, Donatello entered with a sheet of paper. Looking at the newly printed information, Raphael pressed a series of buttons. A cheat screen appeared along with a list of Japanese weaponry names.
"You're cheating!" Leo accused, partly surprised, although he should have known better.
"Hey Leo? What's a hensin?" Raphael asked, scrolling down the cheat list.
"That's a chamelion spell. You should know that," Leo replied.
"Cool. I'll order ten of those," Raph said, clicking on the selected item. The icon appeared in his inventory with the number ten beside it.
"You're cheating!" Leonardo repeated.
"Hey, what's a makibisi?"
"That's caltrops."
"In English Leo…"
"Metal spikes you leave behind so you injure pursuers."
"Hmm… I'll get ten of those as well." The item icon appeared in the inventory list.
"You're cheating!" Leonardo repeated yet again. Raphael returned to playing the game. Rikimaru peered down the street. "Remember to stick to the shadows," Leo advised him. Raph simply rolled his eyes and ran in clear sight down the street. "What are you doing!?"
"Quit nagging me Leo!" Raph barked. Rikimaru continued to run down the street, being chased by about every enemy in the level. A particular enemy caught his eye. "Hey, she's got sais!" Raph exclaimed before heading Rikimaru towards her direction.
"You know, the concept of this game is to stealthily attack your enemies if there is no other way, not to search them out and pick which ones you want to personally fight!" Leo lectured. Venus sighed and removed her gaze from the ludicrous scene in front of her. Her eyes came to rest on the baby turtle lying next to Mike.
"How's Ally doing?" Venus asked out of boredom.
"Ally? Oh, you must mean Jelly! She's fine. I was just teaching her how to play the Playstation… that was before Leo decided to rule the roost," Mike said cheerfully.
"He's naming her after food groups now," Raph murmured, as his eyes remained glued to the television screen.
Venus sighed and moved herself so that she could sit beside Michelangelo. "Mikey, we went through this earlier today at lunch. You and I… you don't have to keep a baby turtle anymore," Venus said to him softly, though she doubted the other two would be listening in, gathered by how enwrapped they were with the ninja game.
"I know… But I thought it could be like divorced parenting, where we could develop a schedule for visiting rights. It'll be fun," Mike said with his eerie happiness. Venus rolled her eyes before observing Jelly. The little turtle was a pale green as though she was dehydrated. She looked weak and her rough skin was peeling. Jelly wobbled on her feet, as though she was lost and starving.
"Mike… Can I borrow Jelly?" Venus asked.
"Yeah sure. But you only have two hours!" Mike replied. Venus picked the turtle up and carried the reptile straight over to Don's room. Donatello looked at Venus from his computer desk. Taking that as a sign to enter, Venus stepped into the generally forbidden territory and walked over to Don.
"Don. Jelly doesn't look too healthy. Can you do me a favour and take care of her. I don't exactly trust anyone else with keeping Jelly," Venus explained to him. He responded with a nod, though the choice of name made him confused for a few seconds. Donatello took Jelly out of her hands and placed the baby turtle in his spare fish tank. The two watched as Jelly basked near the heat lamp.
"Are they still playing Tenchu out there?" Don asked, making small talk.
"Yeah. Doesn't look like they are going to stop any time soon," Venus informed him. She smiled when Don rolled his eyes.
"Just be happy that they don't own Tenchu 2," he said.
"Why?"
"Because on Tenchu 2 you can design your own levels," Don explained. This time Venus was the one to roll her eyes.
"Thanks for taking care of Jelly for me."
"Any time," Don replied before returning to his computer chair. Venus sighed and walked back over to the couch. Raphael had just finished the level by basically just running down the street. His total score and rank appeared on the screen: thug.
"See that! You got the lowest rank possible!" Leonardo screeched while pointing to the screen.
"At least I did it in under three minutes! I just went in, got out, completed my mission," Raph said with a smirk.
"Boys," Venus murmured under her breath whilst shaking her head.
To be continued…