Journal entry N°2:

Teamwork

"Teamwork is known as the process of working collaboratively with a group of people; each person contributes with different skills and expresses his/her individual interests and opinions to the unity and efficiency of the group in order to achieve common goals.

During my time living with the Hamato brothers, I've noticed that the reason why most of their missions are successful is their efficient teamwork; at moments, it would appear that they synchronize their moves to attack as one.

However, there are times when the missions fail because someone decides to go solo instead of sticking to the team. But that's very much expected, you know?

After all, no team is perfect…"

…

The leader of the clan had woken up early as usual; he stretched his arms lazily when suddenly a scream followed by the hissing and loud meowing of the family's cat startled him.

Jumping off the bed, he made his way to find the source of the loud noises.

Lucky for him, he didn't have to look around much.

With the orange tabby still clawing at his head and face, Raph came out of his room cursing and trying to pry the sharp claws free from his flesh.

"GET HIM OFF ME! GET THIS FLEA BAG OFF ME!"

Leo approached his brother trying to avoid his flailing arms. "Stay still! You're gonna hurt him!"

Very carefully, he grabbed Klunk by the scrub of his neck and the cat instantly froze consequently stopping his wild attack and unhooking his claws from the red-clad turtle's head.

"There. Feeling better?"

"I think my eyes are bleeding" Raph groaned while rubbing his orbs furiously.

Leo rolled his eyes. "Stop being such a baby. He barely scratched you"

"Well, I'd like to see you-" Raph's reply died off the moment he turned to see his brother's face.

Leo blinked at Raph's sudden calmness. "What"

The sai wielder chortled and then roared in laughter. Leo looked at him feeling more confused by the second… and also a bit scared of his brother's bipolar behavior.

"Uh… are you alright?" He asked putting the feline down.

"I didn't know you and Who did makeovers to each other now" Raph managed to say between laughs.

"What are you-"

"Morning gu- HOLY CRAP! Leo, what happened to your face?!" Don asked in shock, almost dropping his mug full of steaming hot coffee.

"You know, you actually look kinda pretty with fake eyelashes" Raph continued.

Leo frowned. "Fake eyelashes?"

The blue-clad turtle ran to his room followed by a curious Don and a very amused Raph. He turned on the lights and looked at himself in the mirror, then narrowed his eyes and sighed heavily; Mikey had made a fine job putting lipstick, eye shadow, rouge and the fake eyelashes on his eldest brother. If he wasn't so angry at him, Leo would have praised his youngest brother for having used all his stealth to get inside his room and not wake him up while messing up with his face.

"This… this has Mikey's name all over it" He said, then turned to his brothers. "Where is he?"

"Don't you remember?" It was Don who talked now. "He stayed at LH's last night because he wanted his hover skateboard repaired immediately but I couldn't do it because I was busy and-"

"Yeah, whatever Don! Just call him and tell him to get his butt back home now!" Leo replied angrily.

"Aww, what's the matter? He forgot to do your nails and now you're mad at him, Fearless?" Raph teased.

"Very funny, Raph. And just for the record, your whole room smells like tuna and sardines which explains why Klunk was attacking you"

The red-clad ninja's smile dropped and he ran to his room hoping Leo was just teasing him back.

Ends up Leonardo wasn't teasing at all; the whole place had been smeared with tuna and fresh sardine. There were even some opened cans all over the floor.

"That little turd is so gonna get it when I see him!" Raph growled, punching the wall in anger.

Both pranked turtles were so focused in their own ways to get back at Michelangelo that the scream coming from the room at the end of the hallway took them by surprise.

"That doesn't sound good" Don mumbled.

His suspects were confirmed when a feminine figure came out of the room soaked from head to toe in pink paint.

"Michelangelo. Must. Pay!" Who said through gritted teeth.

"That settles it! We gotta find Mikey and make him pay for what he did to us!" Raph said.

"Uhmm, us? I beg to differ but the only one who hasn't been pranked here is Master Splinter me… for obvious reasons… and me" Don replied with a smug smile and gave his coffee a long slurp.

The horrid taste of his beloved beverage made the resident genius spit it out in disgust and gag a couple of times.

"Let me guess… you just got pranked" Who remarked the obvious.

Growling low in his throat, Don sent deadly glares to an absent Michelangelo. "Nobody messes with my coffee. NOBODY!"

…

"…Little sucker had done it. Big time.

How did he do it?

We had no idea and we couldn't have cared less at the moment, we just wanted to get him back. So we kinda came up with something good.

Or so we thought…"

…

The Hamato brothers and Who had all agreed to get the little prankster back so for the following hours while they cleaned themselves and the mess the little prankster had done, their brains were working nonstop.

Once the place was clean enough, they all met back in the living room where they found Donatello hanging up the phone after talking to someone.

"Ok, I called LH and he says Mikey will be staying in his place till late this afternoon and Splinter won't come back from April's till late at night so I think we're good to go" Don informed.

"Why so eager, Brainiac? Can't handle a bit of mouthwash in your coffee?" Raph grinned.

"You know, I don't get why you bully us when you got pranked in the grossest way" Don argued.

"Dulls the pain, I guess" Raph shrugged. "Also, I like bullying you. Problem?"

"Knock it off, ladies! You should be thinking on a good prank not exchanging boys' numbers or arguing who's the prettiest" Who replied in annoyance.

"Oh, we know who's the prettiest. Right, Leo?" Raphael teased showing his blue-clad brother the fake eyelashes.

"Sure, want a pic so you can kiss and cuddle it?" Leo counterattacked.

"Why don't you just come over and do it personally since you're offering, sweetheart?"

Who chortled. "That was a good one… and I didn't get it on camera… Damn! Where's the camera when I need it?"

"Save it, Who. Or else Mr. Beauty Queen here will start a photo session for CoverGirl's new line for turtles"

"At least I don't smell like Whiskas and my own cat doesn't want to eat my face off!" Leo replied angrily.

"ENOUGH!" Don yelled silencing everyone in the room.

"Guys, we're getting off subject here! Leave your stupid insults for later, after we make Mikey regret having pranked us!"

"Whoa, easy there tiger! We're all pissed off but you sound like you want Mikey's head on a plate or something" Who said.

"Besides, we have to admit Mikey's pranks are hilarious sometimes and… well, he hasn't really hurt any of us" Leo commented.

"But one day he will, Leo. Unwillingly, yes… but he will" Don replied.

"You know, I'm with Brainiac here. The little twerp has to learn he can't go pranking us and expect us to deal with it like nothing happened" Raph added.

"Raph, you do pummel him after he pranks you" Who pointed out.

"Well, apparently that ain't enough!" The sai wielder replied slamming a fist on the table.

"You know what? I think I have the perfect way to make Mikey regret his prank spree" Don said.

"Uhhh, I know that face" Who smirked. "It's something juicy, isn't it?"

"Better. I'll change the password so when Mikey tries to open the door he won't be able to get in, that will make him use the elevator. Raph, you're good with trip wires; make sure you place one at the entrance of the warehouse where you and Who will previously have some goo bombs prepared to attack once the trip wire is activated"

"Can I add some paint too?" Who asked. "I so want to see how Mikey likes a bath with cold pink paint"

"Sure. Leo, you and I will work here in the lair. We'll need another trip wire here at the elevator's door entrance for the goose feather pillows and the flour; I'll shut down the light system so when he tries to turn on the lights, he'll get zapped by a tiny electrical shock button and last but not least…"

Donatello surprised everyone when he picked up the tabby feline and put it on his lap, stroking his fur and smiling like a true movie villain.

"Uh… why will we need Klunk for?" Leo asked.

"Let's say one of the flour bombs won't have flour" Don answered calmly, a smile on his face. "Oh and Whoey, I need you to get me some extra coffee and a big pot of water"

"This will be so awesome I can hardly wait!" Who giggled.

"You and me both" Raph said. "You think we'll need a camera?"

Don glanced at his red-clad brother. "Was that even a question? Of course we'll need a camera!"

"Then it's settled!" Who stated. "We better start moving if we want this done on time"

"Guys, don't you think we should reconsider the attack?"

The girl and the purple and red-clad ninjas looked back at Leo in disbelief.

"It's just… I'm having a bad feeling about this"

Who, Don and Raph stared at each other before looking back at the leader of the clan.

Then, the sai wielder pulled out his shell cell. "See this? Either you're with us or I'll make sure your makeup session goes viral and I'm pretty sure that bunny friend of yours will like to see it first"

Leo narrowed eyes. "You wouldn't dare"

"Try me" Raph said defiantly.

Reluctantly, the sword wielder admitted defeat yet he couldn't ignore the weird feeling in his gut constantly telling him something bad was about to happen.

…

"… Now, kids: How can you find ways to create a successful team?

With trust and respect.

Obviously we weren't following that concept at the moment because:

1. We didn't trust Leo and his 'bad stuff's gonna happen' feeling.

2. We let Raph threaten him. He threatened the leader of the team.

One does not threaten a leader; you are supposed to respect him or her. Especially when your leader is also your eldest sibling.

But anyway, we all learned that trust and respect are not a laughing matter.

Oh yes, we learned… the hard way…"

…

Hours passed and the waiting was unbearable. Nobody moved; they just sat behind the tattered couch that was being used as fort while Don finished filled some balloons with hot dark coffee.

"According to the heat sensor, Mikey already went into the warehouse and is currently being showered in goo and paint" Who informed. "First phase is a complete success"

"Do we have enough balloons?" Don asked.

"I think we should've filled some with poop" Raph said.

"Where the hell are you gonna get liquefied poop?" Who asked, her face scrunched up in disgust.

"That's what we have Don for. To think of solutions"

"Ok, Mikey's coming down the elevator! Everyone grab a balloon and wait for my signal!" Don ordered. "And Raph, if you want liquid poop you're going to get it yourself and leave me out of it"

Raph rolled his eyes and glanced at his blue-clad brother who hadn't uttered a single word. "Yo Leo, you're way too quiet"

"Yeah, I know we have to be stealthy but you're overdoing it" Who added.

Leo shook his head. "I don't like this one bit. That weird feeling in my gut is still there"

"Maybe you're just hungry" Raph said casually.

"There he comes!" Don alerted everyone in a hushed voice.

The turtles and the dark haired girl prepared the balloons for a perfect throw.

The elevator door opened and the trip wire activated making the buckets full of flour, canned cat food and goose feathers fall onto the unfortunate creature that had entered the lair. The guys snickered and almost exploded in laughter when they heard the buzzing sound of the electric prank button and the cry of pain coming from the victim.

In that moment, Leonardo's face paled. "Uh, guys?"

"HERE COMES THE KLUNKER-NATOR!" Don yelled and threw the tabby who immediately attacked.

"GUYS WAIT!" Leo tried to stop his brothers and friend but it was too late. The balloons were flying and hitting its target already.

"That'll teach you a thing or two, Mikey!" Who laughed while throwing the last balloons.

"Next time you'll think twice before messing up with my coffee!" Don added.

"Yeah! And next time the balloons WILL have poop!" Raph finished.

"And I firmly believe there will NOT be a next time, Raphael"

"M-MASTER SPLINTER?!"

Donatello, though still in shock, reactivated the electric system in the whole lair. To their bad luck, the ninja master was covered in goo, pink paint, flour and feathers, rubbed his paw because of the electric shock, was showered in hot coffee and had Klunk chewing on his ear.

"Guys, I'm home!" Another voice joined the scene. This time it was actually Michelangelo.

"Donnie, I think something's wrong with the password because I-wow!" The orange-clad ninja froze in his steps. "What the shell just happened here?!"

Leo just sighed heavily and turned to his brothers and friend/sister. "I guess now it's a good time to say: I told you so"

…

"…Teamwork is actually great though I think we all know we can't guarantee the final outcome but if things go as planned, you'll have yourself great results.

Too bad the only thing we got was a pissed off Splinter and three weeks of extra chores.

I'm already seeing several teamwork sessions in our future although after this epic fail, we actually might be in need of some extra teamwork training and also a book called:

'How to pull pranks for Dummies'.

Or some lessons from Mikey. Yeah"

End of Journal entry N°2

…

1p9/(%#/...((((

THAT... is what my laptop has been writing over and over and over again since last Saturday and it's still freaking out but not as badly as before. Until I decide what to do with old Vaio, updates will be slower than before.

Actually… joke's on me, updates were ALREADY slow. But yeah.

Hope you guys can understand.

Also thanks for the Stealthy Stories' nomination.

Read you later.