Disclaimer: I do not own the TMNT, already!!!! Jeez, don't you guys get it?! I would LOVE to, but I don't, so stop asking me!!!

(sniffle)It's a very sensitive subject.

However, I do own Sam, Lily, Rachel and Vanessa. :D

I'll be really quick because I know you'd prefer to read the chapter than have me tell you about it, so here we go! It's fall, but it's still warm enough to go where they're going. Where are they going, you ask? I guess you'll have to read it to find out. So, enjoy this chapter, it's a fun chapter!

PS-Last edited March 15th, 2010

"Are we there yet?" Mikey whines for the thirty-seventh time from the back seat, a tortured expression on his face.

"No!" his brothers, Sam, Vanessa, Lily and Rachel shout in unison, throwing angry glares at him. Sour because he was yelled at, Mikey grumbles something about if he were driving, the ride wouldn't take so long. At the very end of her rope, Rachel rounds on him and admonishes viciously, "Overnight trips are stressful enough without you complaining, now I don't want to hear another word!"

"But—"

"Not…another…word," she repeats slowly, her voice threatening. Master Splinter sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. The rodent resents sitting in the back seat with the "kids" and attempts to block them out. This is a difficult task to undertake, but becomes impossible because of the molecular changer on his boney wrist. He envies Casey and April tailing them in the peace and quiet of their own car, the calm atmosphere much more appealing than that of the cramped, young adult infested Battle Shell. Nevertheless, he does not regret proposing an overnight camping trip on some of Casey's property, as he said to the girls to 'take a break from the business of New York.' In all honesty, he is actually suspicious that the Foot may know where their lair is, so for safety, they decided to go on a short road trip. They invited the girls along in case any of them are in danger by association, so now the whole gang is driving down the highway, trying not to kill anyone, namely Mikey.

For Donatello, it has been the longest car ride he has ever had to endure, squashed in the back between Rachel and Lily with Master Splinter, Mikey and the other two girls across from him, Raph and Leo in the front seat. He now fully appreciates the silence that seeped throughout the vehicle when they had first hopped in the Battle Shell. That dream was shattered when Mikey began singing, "I Know a Song That Gets on Everybody's Nerves" not fifteen minutes into the trip. Needless to say, Raph stopped that abruptly. Gazing blankly out the window, he brightens suddenly and exclaims with relief, "We're here!"

Everyone sits bolt upright, craning their necks to see out the windows. To their amazement, there is a sparkling blue lake and a thick, lush wood to the right of the Battle Shell. A sanctuary! Leo hastily parks the van on a dirt road leading to the site, and all nine passengers eagerly tumble out of the Battle Shell into the fresh air.

"Freedom!" Mikey shouts excitedly, kissing the ground beneath his feet. Nose crinkling in slight disgust, Sam mutters, "Remind me not to kiss him anymore," to Lily. She is relieved to be out of the van and inhales the delicious air deeply, closing her eyes happily. Unfortunately, she is rudely awakened by a sleeping bag colliding with the side of her head. Unfortunately, that is, for whoever threw the projectile. Lily starts and searches for her attacker, eyes narrowing on Mikey, Raph, and Leo who are laughing. The only one looking directly at her is Don, who smiles a little and raises an eyebrow. A quiet growl escapes her throat, but she resolves to wait for the moment her quarry will least expect an attack. Standing up, she dusts the grass off the back of her white and blue striped Bermuda shorts and slings her backpack over her shoulder, the shoestring around her sleeping bag held fast in the opposite fist. Making an example of Lily, everyone else heaves cargo onto their backs, Mikey groaning more loudly than necessary, and they set off to find a camp site.

The walk is a quiet one with only the crunching of sneakers and murmured conversation able to be heard. An idea pops into Rachel's head and she announces, "I have a game. Who wants to play?"

"ME!" Sam cries, waving her hand wildly in the air. The others simply say, "Sure," or nod. Smiling, Rachel begins by saying, "I'm going on a picnic—"

"Yes!" Vanessa cheers, and grins at being the only other person who knows how to play the game. Rachel continues as if no one interrupted her, "and I'm going to bring lemons. What are you going to bring, Vanessa?"

She seems to consider this for a while, and then says, "I'm going to bring an apple pie." Rachel nods in approval and says, "You can come."

Don is the next to speak and he asks, "Can I bring the ozone layer?"

Laughing, Rachel replies, "Yes. Now who wants to go next?" Brow furrowed in concentration, Sam asks, "Can I bring an aardvark?"

"No," Rachel answers lightly. Racking her brain, Lily asks, "Can I bring a Yeti?"

"Yes," Rachel answers, and Leo ventures, asking, "Can I bring, uh…wood?"

"No," Don, Lily, Vanessa and Rachel answer, Leo's shoulders slouching in disappointment. Raph wonders, "Can I bring a lollipop?"

Blinking in surprise that Raph got the pattern, Rachel stammers, "Y-yes" Mikey releases an exasperated sigh and exclaims, "This game makes no sense at all!"

"To the contrary, my son; it makes perfect sense," his Sensei replies, and states, "I am going to bring a road map."

"You can come," Vanessa says lightly, smiling when Sam's eyebrows shoot up in realization and she smacks herself lightly in the forehead. Noticing how hard Sam's trying to contain herself, Rachel suggests, "Anyone who hasn't guessed yet should guess before Sam explodes."

Casey asks, "Can I bring soup?"

"Nope," Lily replies, and April informs, "I'm going to bring a lilac."

"You can come," Rachel answers, and Mikey asks, "Can I bring a yo-yo?"

"Um…I guess so," Don allows, even more surprised by Mikey figuring out the game than Raph. He grins in triumph and says, "Sweet!"

"So, you have no idea why you were right?" Rachel wonders. Smiling triumphantly, Mikey replies, "Not the faintest clue."

Shaking his head, Leo mutters, "This game is so inconsistent! I mean, what good are lilacs, yo-yos and the ozone layer?"

"Oh, oh! Can I go next? Please?" Sam begs, jumping up and down in impatience. Rachel nod and Sam says, "I'm going to bring the alphabet!"

"You can come," Vanessa replies, and Sam has a bit more bounce in her step as she walks across a fallen tree. Leo finally gets it and asks, "Can I bring an orangutan?"

"Absolutely!" Sam replies, then adds, "This is going to be an awesome picnic!"

"What will you bring, Casey?" April demands, a hint of mocking in her tone. He shrugs and says, "A tent?"

"Sorry Case, you can't come," Raph teases, and Rachel offers to tell him why not.

"It's because whatever item you brought had to begin with the last letter of your first name, and had to have the same amount of syllables as your name."

"But how'd Mikey slide by? His name has like…one two three…five syllables! And his name ends in 'O'!" Raph wonders, and Vanessa replies, "Because his nickname ends with 'Y', and it has two syllables-the same as yo-yo."

"Cheap," Raph mutters, and he grumbles beneath his breath until the loud sound of backpacks hitting the grassy ground startles him, everyone stretching and cracking joints after their long walk through the woods. The youngest eight tug two large blue and yellow tents from the drawstring bags. With much difficulty, they hoist the tents up, the girls taking a little longer to finish their tent than the boys because of some unruly tent pegs. Mikey and Raph decide that making a few jokes at the girls' expense is incredibly funny. Sadly for the pair, one remark too many results in being pelted by chestnuts.

"Think about that next time, guys!" Vanessa hints as they groan, Mikey rubbing his head and Raph his arm. After they put up the clothesline, all of them flop down on the ground for a rest. Valued silence settles over the camp…for about twenty seconds. Once again, Mikey becomes bored, and begins to fiddle with a wire rack, worrying Leo. He suggests they go to the lake for some contests and swimming despite his fatigue, and everyone agrees hastily when they hear the clattering of metal coming from Mikey's direction. Mikey smiles apologetically by the pile of dishes now on the grass and says, "My bad!" They know anything is better than Mikey being bored.

As soon as they arrive at the banks of the vast blue lake, the first argument is about teams.

"We should have mixed teams," Rachel suggests, pushing her long bangs from her face and looking for support on the thought. Crossing his arms over his chest firmly to show he can make decisions as well, Raph disagrees loudly, "No way! We're keepin' the same groups as the tent arrangements," simply for the sake of arguing.

Trying to be chivalrous to the ladies, Leo protests, "That wouldn't be fair."

"Yeah," Sam agrees with a nod, saying generously, "we don't want our team to win because we have better players." The four boys narrow their eyes on the smirks and sympathetic looks they receive from the girls, Don assuring haughtily, "You won't be saying that when our team wins."

"I'd like to see you four try," Lily scoffs, rolling her eyes at them.

"You will when you get in here for the coin toss."

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

Identically fierce expressions contorting each face, a delicate but deadly staring contest stretches out between Lily and Don, no one daring to cut into it. Expecting to have her head torn off, Vanessa bravely ventures, "Wow. I guess competition can bring out the worst in people."

The pair snap their heads in her direction, their glares pressing her lips together. Don returns to the stare down, drawing a quarter from his pocket and flipping it. The moment the coin is in the air, Lily calls out, "Tails!"

George Washington's drawn face with its enormous nose rears its ugly head, Lily frowning with great distaste. To the contrary, a satisfied smirk takes over Don's usually humble face and he taunts, "I guess we get to pick the first challenge."

"Whatever," Lily mutters, a scowling. The four boys crowd into a huddle, Mikey's uncontrollable giggles making the girls wary. They are pleasantly surprised—not to mention relieved—when Leo states, "The first contest is a tug of war, best two out of three."

Not too intimidated, the girls exchange glances, nods and shoulder shrugs, confident they can hold out. A barely contained grin on his face, Mikey says, "You'll want these," tossing four gigantic white T-shirts at them and glancing back at his brothers. Each girl looks perplexed, unable to understand what they need the shirts for. That is, until they see the turf. It is a large patch of dry land surrounding a huge pit of mud, divided roughly in half by a thick yellow rope.

"I am not doing this!" Vanessa refuses, arms crossed over her chest to emphasize her position on the matter. Hot breath grazes her neck as Raph whispers in her ear from behind, "Afraid ta get dirty, Miss Ninja?"

Narrowing her eyes, she snatches his wrist and twists it, knocking his feet out from under him. She kicks his shin playfully and teases, "And you're in Chunin?"

Raph releases a labored sigh, trying to right himself though his dignity is long gone. To rub salt into the wound, Vanessa offers him her hands and tugs him to his feet effortlessly to his resentment.

"Whoa, she's got some guns," Mikey notes, chuckling at Raph who is almost sent forward by Vanessa's forceful pull. The girls snigger, thinking how funny Raph's face was when Vanessa helped him up, his manliness tarnished. Vanessa just smiles and tugs the enormous shirt over her head, grimacing when she notices it goes practically to her knees.

"What, did you steal this tent from the circus?" she asks, straightening out the wrinkles as best as she can. A grin on his face, Mikey replies, "Yeah, but we have to bring them back by midnight. It's only a rental."

Lily shrugs her shoulders and pulls hers on; suddenly looking very embarrassed when she notices it looks like she's not wearing any pants. As if reading her mind, Raph assures, "Don't worry, the only one who's looking is Don…and quite possibly Mikey…"

"Hey!" they two youngest boys exclaim in outrage, as Lily looks warily between the two, shuffling a little closer to Vanessa…just in case. Raph backs up as his usually good-humored brothers close in menacingly, almost stumbling over a log in his hurry. Rachel rolls her eyes and mutters, "Men," beneath her breath. Seeing Raph open his mouth to argue, Sam cuts in desperately with what she believes is an impressive voice, "That's enough talk! Let the games begin." This results in everyone on the shore laughing at her. She heaves a deep sigh, tugs the hem of her shirt and picks up a section of the rope, the other competitors doing the same. Muscles tensed and faces set, the two teams wait readily, beginning the second April says, "Go!"

The bout is over in seconds, the four girls landing in a heap, covered in dark mud.

"So not worth it," Rachel grumbles, getting up and using the back of her wrist to wipe some from her forehead. The successful team bursts out laughing and exchanges many high fives and congratulating back slaps. Scraping the mud from between her fingers, Sam reminds them, "That was only one round! How do you know we won't win?"

"'Cause we're the team with the most skill," Mikey teases with a cocky smile on his face. Lily wipes the excess mud from her hands on her T-shirt and grabs the rope, staring down Leo on the opposite end. This time, Casey asks, "Can I say it?"

"Go ahead," Raph replies, smirking at Vanessa who returns it with a glare.

"Then on go. One…two…three……………."

"Just say it!" Sam snaps, ready to hit Casey if he doesn't hurry up. Flinching, Casey shouts, "Go!"

The girls pull as hard as they can, leaning back to gain weight. But it's not working! Rachel's mind is a blur as she tries to think of a plan, the brown pit getting nearer and nearer. A strategy presents itself just in time, and turning her head, Rachel orders, "Lean forward," followed a moment later by, "Now, pull back!"

With the force caused by the girls suddenly throwing back their weight, the boys lurch forward into the wet mess. A defiant smile on her face, Vanessa taunts, "Who's up for round three?"

The boys get up slowly to the sound of someone humming, now every exposed part of their bodies smothered in a layer of filth. Once on their feet, they see Sam and Rachel doing a victory dance as Sam hums 'We are the Champions'.

As it is the finalizing battle, both sides are equally determined to win. Thoughts race through Leo's mind as he lifts the rope, words echoing over and over in his head: You have to prove yourself. Clenching his teeth, Leo braces his arms for any amount of power they have.

"Go!" April calls. The teams on either end of the rope pull back with all their might, none of them willing to lose. Sam bites her lip to hold back a yelp, her palms burning as the yellow rope slides from her grip, her fingers tightening around it to keep her hold. Trying to jerk it from their hands, Vanessa takes steps backwards slowly, not sure if she is imagining the labored look on the brothers' faces. Her eyes stay a second longer on Mikey's faces, his lips moving so little she almost missed it. She wonders what he's whispering until realization hits her across the head: He's doing a count down.

'A countdown to what?' she wonders. She doesn't get to ask, as she is suddenly sent flailing forward, landing atop Sam and Lily, Rachel falling down on her. Once Rachel gets off of Vanessa, she rolls off of Sam and Lily. Vanessa gives her head a shake and asks, "What happened?"

"They let go of the rope," Rachel replies scornfully, feeling stupid because she didn't think of it first. To be nice, Leo offers his hand to Rachel, a sincere smile on his face. Rachel smiles sweetly at the gesture, clasping his hand gently in hers, but her expression becomes wicked as she tugs him into the mud beside her. Vanessa's frown becomes a smirk, Rachel's idea sounding not so bad at the moment. She sweeps Raph's feet out from under him and grins at the sight of his body submerged in the thick fluid, his curses muffled. Sam is no sooner on her feet than she leaps onto Mikey's back and latches herself on tightly, sending him face first into the pit. Showing more restraint than the other girls, Lily stands next to Don with arms folded across her chest, amused by their tactics. She watches them for a moment, allowing Don to think he's safe, and then pushes Don into the muck. Caught completely off guard, Don brushes the mud from his eyes and demands, "What was that for?"

One hand planted on her hip, Lily replies, "That was for the sleeping bag. You didn't think I forgot, did you?"

A handful of mud hits Lily's thigh in place of a response, and she closes her eyes to calm herself, her lips pressed into a thin line. All thoughts toward the possibility of handling this calmly are thrown out the metaphorical window when another amount of mud hits her, this time on her chest. Her eyes open slowly and flash as she unexpectedly lunges, tackling Don into the mess further.

Mikey looks up at Casey and April when he hears loud laughter, the pair holding their aching sides and tears forming in April's eyes. He releases Sam from the hold he has around her waist, staggering to his feet. His arms open wide and hi face eaten by his grin, Mikey asks, "How 'bout a hug, Case?"

Hands up defensively as Mikey comes toward him, Casey threatens, "You'd better not come near me unless you want my foot up your a-"

He's too late. Mikey wraps his arms tightly around Casey's torso before he finishes his sentence, snuggling his face into his shirt. April's breath comes in gasps, unable to do anything but shake, until two pairs of very muddy arms wrap about her in a bone-crushing hug.

"Leo! R-Raph! Seriously guys, let go!" she begs, squirming to remove their filthy appendages from her. They finally release her a few seconds later, leaving almost her entire upper body covered in mud. It helps only a little that Casey is still caught in Mikey's hug.

Okey dokey, so that's part one of the adventure! It's a super long chapter, so I decided to cut it into two or three parts. I'm not quite sure how many yet.

So, there wasn't really much that happened this chapter. It was mainly an excuse to have some fun at the turtles' expense!

Hope you enjoyed it, and keep checking! The next one should be out soon! I love you all!

Review and swear your allegiance to me. Together, we will make the TMNT rule the world! Woohoo!

XD