"I can't believe we're actually here!" April exclaimed. After many hours of begging her parents, stressfully finding a sitter for Mayhem (thankfully Sunita had kindly obliged), she was finally on the cruise with her family.
She and Mikey were now clad in swimsuits. Mikey was in an orange and white striped wetsuit and a sun hat to conceal his true identity, while April wore a sunshine yellow bikini with a floral pattern. "It feels like a dream! Somebody please pinch me." She felt a sharp pinch on her elbow. "Ow! Mikey, I didn't mean literally!"
"Oops, sorry." Mikey grinned sheepishly. "But you're right. This is even cooler than Snow Days! Well, almost as cool. This cruise is full of possibilities," He exhaled, enjoying the salty sea air wafting through his nostrils. "It's so beautiful."
"It is pretty nice," April agreed while admiring a crystallized fountain by the deck. "Talk about luxury. Mike, we're surrounded by rich snobs." She passed a tuxedo wearing waiter holding a plate of hors d'oeuvres. "Ooh fancy."
"And cosplayers." He added with a nervous chuckle. He moved out of the way of a girl in a lizard costume who seemed to be in a rush. "Come on, let's find those water slides!"
"Now you're speaking my language!"
"Don't let anything, and I repeat ANYTHING distract you from our goal." They started to walk in the direction of the pool area, when Michelangelo stopped in his tracks. "Oh. Me. Gosh." He let out a high pitched squeal.
"What?" She spun around, startled. "What's wrong?"
"It's Midnight Twinkle!" He pointed desperately at what appeared to be a pastel purple unicorn chatting with some cosplayers. She had a flowing rainbow mane, a sparkling sequined dress and unblinking magenta eyes staring into their souls. It was clear she was just in costume, since the horse was standing on her hind legs and there was a zipper down her back, but nethertheless Mikey looked positively ecstatic to see her.
"Who and what now?"
"Midnight Twinkle! From My Mini Fillies! One of the best cartoons ever made. I've been a fan since I was a little kid." He elaborated, still bouncing up and down. "Gosh April, don't you know anything about pop culture?"
"I've heard of it, but isn't that show just for little...little kids?" April raised an eyebrow. She wasn't one to judge, but she didn't think Mikey was into this sort of entertainment.
He snorted in mock offense. "No way. There are tons of Fillyfansies out there. I've been a member of the fan club since 2015." Mikey looked at April, then back at the cosplayer. "I've gotta take a selfie with her!" He desperately reached for his phone, removed one of his sandals, and sprinted at full speed towards her like a maniac.
"Mikey, wait! What about the water slides?" But she followed her little brother anyway. She didn't want him to get lost.
Mikey nervously inched towards the pony. "H- Hey Ms. Twinkle! I'm your biggest fan. I was wondering if we could take a picture together? Pretty please?" Midnight Twinkle happily obliged, taking a series of goofy photos with the box turtle. "Oh! And can you sign my shoe?" He held up his sandal eagerly. The unicorn looked reluctant, but signed it anyway.
"So cool." As he returned to April, he shoved his signed flip flop in her face. "Isn't it awesome, April?"
"It's great Mikey." She beamed, giving him a playful noogie.
"Okay, now let's go find those water slides! No more distractions."
Thankfully finding a giant pool with slides was not a difficult endeavor. They merely turned the next corner, and there it was.
The swimming pool was a rectangular shape. It was quite big and sparkled from the sun's rays reflecting off the turquoise water. There were kiddie slides around it, floatation devices, and all sorts of swimming related toys. But the best part of it was the gigantic red tube slide that actually floated above the ship. It twisted and turned in a swirling pattern, until it landed perfectly in the pool.
"Woah!" Mikey chirped, eyes drawn to the largest slide. "That must be the Tidal Wave!"
April glanced at the lounge chairs suspiciously. Something wasn't right here. "Donnie said they were gonna be around here. We can meet them later." Although she didn't see her best friend on any of the chairs, she didn't think much of it. There was probably an explanation as to why they weren't there.
"Aw, they're just gonna be napping and sunbathing. Boring!" Mikey rolled his eyes, took April's hand and clambered up the steps towards the water slide. It was a long climb, and when they made it to the top, they were both panting and out of breath.
"This is it! The Tidal Wave, not trademarked."
"Next!" The bored operator barked.
"Let's go!" Mikey pulled April towards the slide, vibrating with excitement.
The floating devices were circular like donuts. They had four little 'seats', April and Mikey taking a seat on opposite sides. Two other teenagers plopped on the remaining seats, and right as they were about to take the first plunge of doom, April spoke up, squeezing her eyes shut.
"By the way Mikey, this might be a bad time to mention this but I'm not the biggest fan of heights..."
"Wow, that is a really bad time to mention that. I mean, look how high we are!" Mikey squinted through the clear glass barriers. "Hey, I think I see Leo! Aww, he looks so tiny from up here. Like a little ant! Hiiiiii Leon!"
"Not helping!"
"Oops, sorry. Here we go! Hang on." He held out his hand for her with a reassuring smile. She gratefully accepted it, the wave of anxiety fading and instead replaced it with confidence. She could do this.
Though April had her eyes closed, she felt an instant rush of adrenaline once the floatie slipped down the slide at full speed. Her stomach churned at every sharp turn or drop, and occasionally she and Mikey both screamed together. It was both terrifying and thrilling at the same time.
With one final splash, they landed in the pool, their floaties disbanding from each other. The two other teens drifted away from the pair towards the lazy River, but Mikey used all his strength to paddle over to April, blabbering on about the slide.
"Whew, what a rush!" He said, grinning ear to ear. "That was way faster than I expected! It was like a roller coaster!"
"It was so fun though!" April giggled. "That one sharp turn, I felt like my heart was gonna jump outta me! It was so intense. I loved it."
"Me too! I can't believe it's over." He jumped off the floatie with a splash. "Wanna go again?"
"Heck yeah!"
After a long day of fun in the sun, Mikey and April were completely beat, and soaked head to toe.
"Boy, who knew swimming and sliding could be so exhausting?" Mikey said, collapsing on a lounge chair. "N' my stomach's rumbling."
"Come on, let's find some food." April said encouragingly. She helped the little turtle to his feet, leading him towards the snack bar. It was cute and cozy, with bar stools and a tiki head resting on top of the table. A college aged mixologist with a pixie cut looked annoyed at them once they took a seat, still hooting and hollering.
Since it was an all expense paid trip, they inhaled pizza, cupcakes, chocolate dipped strawberries, mini sandwiches, waffle fries, chips, candy sushi, regular sushi and best of all: fish tacos.
While Mikey was currently dealing with a sugar rush as he spun on the bar chair, April decided to order one last item. "One piña colada please, and a Shirley Temple for him."
"I.D?" The bartender raised an eyebrow at the teenager.
April grinned sheepishly. She was far from turning 21, and she looked it too. "Oops, make that a virgin piña colada then. On the rocks." She corrected herself smartly.
"Can you put the mini umbrellas on top?" Mikey added with a giggle. The bartender rolled her eyes, but scribbled down the order.
They happily sipped their drinks, Mikey overjoyed that he not only had a tiny umbrella, but a maraschino cherry as a garnish.
"It's so fun spending one on one time with you, April." Mikey said genuinely. "I know we hang around a lot with the guys, but we rarely hang out together. Just the two of us!"
"Ditto!" April glanced back at the lounge chairs, frowning. She placed her drink down. "Donnie said they would be there all day. I wonder where they went off to."
"Relax April, Dee probably went to get a milkshake or something. Ooh, or maybe went to the little turtle's room. They can take care of themselves." Mikey patted her shoulder. "Besides, they told us not to bother them while they're resting." He shuddered, taking another sip. "It's not worth worrying about it. When they're tired...they get all cranky. Like, more than usual."
April shuddered. "You're so right." Her eyes wandered a bit, distracted. But as she looked to her side, she caught a glimpse at a strange man wandering about.
He was dressed in a black trenchcoat and a matching hood covering his head, and appeared to be sneaking near the hull of the ship, occasionally looking behind him. While he wasn't doing anything downright suspicious or illegal, she had a funny feeling in her gut that warned her to stay away from him. "Mike, do you see that guy?"
Mikey's eyes followed the direction to where she was looking at. "Seems a bit warm to be wearing a trenchcoat," He noted, narrowing his eyes. "An all black one too. Weird."
"Something's off about him, I swear."
"Aw come on, don't assume that. He could just be super goth. You know Dr. Delicate Touch never judges one's interests."
"Why is he being all weird and sneaking around though?" She crossed her arms.
"Maybe he works here? There could be a reasonable explanation."
"He's covering his face! Isn't that a tad suspicious?"
"He could be really shy."
"He just turned that corner, let's follow him."
"Well maybe—"
She grabbed ahold of Mikey's shirt in exasperation. "Can you just humor me for a second, please? If he's innocent, then fine whatever. But I just need to know."
"April, wait!" Mikey staggered after her, reluctantly leaving his Shirley Temple on the table. "I didn't finish my drink..." He whined.
"This way!" She hissed, dragging him along. "It could be Meat Sweats or Repo Mantis or maybe Hypno and Warren or...well maybe not those last two."
"I still think you might be jumping to conclusions."
"I'm not jumping to conclusions." April assured him. "I'm full on leaping to conclusions. And by doing so, I'm saving our lives."
"Full ninja mode then."
They followed the stranger past the next corner. April beckoned Mikey over to lean against the wall, and the box turtle tilted his head curiously as they watched him walk along the cruise deck hallway. He seemed to struggle with walking, as his movements seemed a bit stilted and awkward.
At the end of the hall, the man stopped in front of a door. It read 'DO NOT ENTER' in giant red letters. Using a lock pick, the man swung open the door and darted inside.
"He just went through that door! And it said do not enter!" Mikey exclaimed, suddenly silenced after April slapped a hand over his mouth. He made a few muffled noises of protest.
"Shhh!" She whispered, moving closer to the door. "I told you he's up to something."
"Okay, okay. You were right." Mikey said. He reached for his weapon, while April readied her baseball bat. "I'm still getting the hang of this," He admitted, referring to his nunchaku. It had been a while since he used them, and he still longed for his kusari fundo. "Hopefully we won't have to fight this dude."
April stopped at the door, silently debating on what to do next. "Do we just...open it or is that awkward?"
Mikey lowered his nunchucks, the chains dropped by his side. "Hmmmm you make a valid point. Maybe we should wait until we hear him make a villain monologue or something."
"Or we could just kick down the door."
"That's a better idea!" Mikey chirped, swinging his leg back and kicking the door as hard as he could. The door toppled over after one final kick from April. With their spontaneous fighting poses, they were ready to fight whoever was behind it.
"Alright buster, you better start talking!" April bellowed.
The man in the trenchcoat's back was towards them. He had yet to move.
"Hey, you!" Mikey repeated. "It's rude to ignore us. Enough with the silent treatment! What are you up to?"
"Well, well, well. I was wondering when you two would stop by."
April and Mikey exchanged a confused look. "You knew we were following you?" He
wondered. "But we were being so stealthy."
"Of course I knew." The man sneered condescendingly."It was quite obvious. I figured you were attempting to interfere with my plans."
"Plans? What plans?" April scowled. "You better start talking right now or else I'll whack you into next Tuesday!"
"I wouldn't make threats if I were you, little girl. Especially ones you can't keep."
"Why you-"
"Um, listen sir..." Mikey started gently. "We don't want any trouble. I'm sure this is just a simple misunderstanding, but when you creep around wearing trench coats and a dark hood, it's a teeny tiny bit suspicious from an outsider perspective. So how about you turn around, we can kindly talk this out, and you can stop whatever business you're up to. How does that sound?"
The man chuckled sinisterly. "I'd rather not, it'll ruin my perfectly crafted plans. Guards!"
"Yikes so much for being Doctor Feelings!" Mikey yelped, his eyes widening as he felt something grab him from behind. "You don't deserve my kindness!"
"Take these undersized teenagers away with our other guest." The man barked.
"Hey, who are you calling undersized?" April snarled, shouting loudly when she felt something grab onto her arms. Its sharp claws wrapped around her, holding her in place. "Mikey!" She gasped, watching everything unfold helplessly.
"Get your slimy claws off my sister!" The box turtle bellowed, leaping on top of the creature and swinging his nunchucks at its head. "Ha! Take that! And that! And...uh oh." His eyes turned as big as saucers as another guard lifted him by the scruff of his neck and pulled him away from the one he was attacking.
"Help! Let me go you big ugly-" Mikey wriggled in the creature's grasp. They appeared to be giant, mutant fish with spikes like sea urchins and glowing red eyes. They were both overpowered by whatever these guys were. Mutants? Yōkai? Rejected Albearto's animatronics?
"Who are you?" April demanded, still putting up a fight even though she was clearly losing. One of the 'guards' had smashed her baseball bat during the scuffle, but she stubbornly refused to back down. Nor did Mikey.
The stranger did not answer. Instead, he turned around, revealing his face to the horrified duo. "Be patient and you soon will find out."
The last thing April saw was a massive webbed foot stomping Mikey's sun hat.