Family is Forever

War & Pizza: Part 3

Aria's POV:

Timmy reaches out to April as she & I rush to his aid. I fend off the voles while April takes Timmy in her arms and rushes off to the claw machine. However, one vole gets close to him, so he grabs the toy mallet and hits him with it.

April: "Oh, yeah. Nice shot, birthday boy."

Me: "Not bad, kid. You ever consider getting into the superhero game?"

Timmy giggles sheepishly as another animatronic hops towards us on a rocket. It drops a coin into the rocket's slot, causing it to rock back & forth. Faster and faster, until it flies into the 'Whack-A-Mole' game. An explosion ensues as April & I rush Timmy to the claw machine. Just as the kid from before makes it out of the machine, we shove him & Timmy back in to keep them safe from further danger.

April: "You'll be safer in here."

Me: "Yeah, plus now you can make friends with one another. I was in a rocky situation once, but then I made five amazing new friends, and look what it got me."

The boys looked around at the ensuing chaos before turning back to me. I chuckled nervously as I realized my mistake.

Me: "Ok, today's a bad example. But any other day, you'd see what I mean."

April stays near the boys, mallet in hand to defend them from any incoming animatronics & more. I leap to Mikey's side as President Pepperoni approaches us and we stand in separate aisles of the skee-ball machine.

President Pepperoni: "President Pepperoni wants you for my punching bag."

Mikey & I each grab a ball and throw it at him. Pepperoni then spins around and smacks both balls with a link of pepperoni, sending them whizzing back to us. We duck before they hit us and they each land in one of the numbered holes. Red lights go off and tickets come pouring out of the machines.

Mikey: "Alright, sis, we're making it rain. Ha!"

I start laughing as we start flinging handfuls of balls at Pepperoni, successfully hitting him before he can retaliate. Mikey then throws his Kusari-fundo at Pepperoni and it wraps around him. Mikey yanks him forward, causing Pepperoni to slam headfirst into a numbered hole. The lights keep flashing, a never-ending string of tickets emitting from the machine, while Mikey & I come up with a zinger suitable for the occasion.

Mikey: "Fourscore-"

He turns to me as we nod simultaneously and speak at the exact same time.

Mikey & I: "And 20 more tickets!"

I search the room for Donnie, finally spotting him trapped in a ball pit as Cheery Tomato repeatedly bounces on him over & over. Donnie then rolls onto his back, annoyed at her actions, as his battle shell shoots robotic arms out to grab Cheery in mid-air before she can land on him again. The arms carry an electrical shock from Donnie's battle shell to Cheery, causing her to melt as she slides out of their grip and into the other side of the ball pit with a frown. She sinks further & further as she speaks in a high-pitched tone.

Cheery Tomato: "This doesn't make Cheery cheery."

She then pulls out a small box with a button on it from who knows where. She presses the button as a loud beeping starts & increases its tone & speed by the second. My eyes widen in fear as I alert Donnie to get out before he gets hurt.

Me: "Donnie, get out of there!"

He then climbs out of the ball pit just in time as an explosion goes off. Red goo and balls are everywhere as Donnie groans in disgust. I run to him in worry that he might've gotten hurt, and pull him into a hug once I reach him. His arms wrap around me in response, his grip tightened around my form.

Me: "Donnie, are you ok? Are you hurt? Did..."

Donnie pulls away, his arms never leaving their place around me. He smiles softly as he looks directly into my eyes.

Donnie: "Hey, hey, hey! Deep breath, I'm ok, Beautiful. Just remind me to steer clear of ketchup, and don't even get me started on tomato juice!"

I lower my head onto his plastron as I laugh in relief. He places his forefinger and thumb beneath my chin to get me to meet his gaze before pulling me into a quick, yet passionate kiss to further assure me of his wellbeing. I melted into the moment, my arms wrapping around his neck, before we were pulled out of our blissful moment by the sound of Leo crashing into a glass window.

TO BE CONTINUED