Raph grunted and repeatedly step on the squares while perfectly hitting the arrows on the game screen. The other three and Mizuki watched him with anticipation. The numbers kept on going higher with every perfect hit Raph made.
"I don't think he got this," Leo smirked.
"Hey! Leave him alone," Mikey said.
"What? I'm just saying he doesn't have this."
"You're just trying to get in my head," Raph answered, sweat pouring down.
"Oh, my peaches and cream, he just doubled," Donnie remarked.
"Rag! Now!" Raph yelled.
Mikey dabbed a rag on his forehead. "Have I ever told you how big and beautiful you are?"
"No, but thank you," the larger turtle grinned.
"Uh, he is about to set a new high score," Donnie's eyes went big. "I can't watch, but I can't not watch!"
"You know what they say about big-time moments?" Leo pushed Donnie down to get closer to the game screen.
"Yes, I do," Raph replied. "They say in big-time moments, leaders make—"
"Brain!" Splinter yelled from behind them.
The screen suddenly changed to the words 'Game Over', while a voice said it. The turtles and Mizuki didn't pay mind to it when they saw Splinter clutching his head.
"Ow, my brain!" He cried in agony.
The turtles yelled horrified. Mizuki gasped, covering her mouth. "No! Why?!" Donnie shouted.
Splinter gave out a weak sneeze and wiped his nose.
"Gesundheit," Leo said.
"Ohmigosh, ohmigosh, ohmigosh!" Mikey panicked. "Splinter's a zombie!"
"Mikey, zombies are interested in other people's brains," Donnie told him.
"Rat Flu. This is not a drill," Raph said in seriousness. "I repeat, this is not a drill, people."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The boys and Mizuki circled around him in worry. Donnie used his goggles to check over him, while Leo fanned a rag over Splinter's head.
"I feel terrible. Do I feel terrible? Be honest," Splinter asked them weakly.
Mizuki took one look at the rat mutant's face. Snot dripped from his nose, sweat pouring down from his face.
The teens all groaned in disgust but tried to keep calm smiles. "You look great, not horribly sick at all," Raph answered and close the curtains to his room.
"He's horribly sick," he honestly revealed to his brothers and Mizuki.
"I'm afraid I do not understand," Mizuki said politely. "What is the rat flu?"
"A flu this intense is going to affect all areas of his brain—I'm talking seven full stages—before Dad's body naturally heals itself," Donnie explained to her.
"Alright, so what are the seven stages?"
"First stage is "Fever", second is "Wild Rat Man", third "Captain Cuddle Cakes"..." He stopped to glare at Mizuki, who giggled at the name, then went on.
"The fourth is "Ninja Supreme", the hardest stage, fifth is "Karaoke Love Songs", sixth is "Fan-fiction" and the last stage..." Donnie paused and looked down to the floor. "It's impossible to pass."
"You guys know what the full seven stages mean?" Raph asked, putting his arms around Leo and Mikey. They all nodded in agreement. "Another chance to get whatever we want!" Raph finished, smiling.
"Yeah!" The turtles yelled. Mizuki raised an eyebrow at them.
"But poor Dad," Mikey moped. "He must feel terrible. But lucky us, he'll say yes to whatever we ask for!"
"Only if we make it all the way to the end of the flu," Donnie piped up. "The elusive stage seven. And we never get there."
"This year's going to be different," Raph added. "Nobody's getting bit. Nobody's getting infected."
"When we do make it to the end, which I'm now calling the Must Say Yes stage," Leo said. "What are we gonna ask for?"
The three turtles pondered for a second before they turned to look at Raph. "Well, this year, I was thinking we could ask for, uh, um, er—uh..."
"He's got nothing! We're dead!" Leo yelled.
"Hey, I got something, all right? Like a, um..."
"Just try and think real hard," Mizuki encouraged Raph. "If you want something in the world so badly, what would you ask for?"
"Uranium!" Donnie interjected before Raph could answer. "Oh, we should absolutely ask for uranium. I mean, if I could finally get my hands on a little of that, we would be virtually unstoppa—"
"What about a brick oven for pizza?" Mikey popped up in front of Donnie.
Leo stepped in between the two. "Who's gonna clean that? What we should ask for is matching unicorn onesies! Those are sick! Pun intended. And I nailed it."
Donnie, Mikey, and Leo both started fighting until Raph instantly shut them up.
"Enough!" He yelled. "I got this, all right? I'm gonna ask Splinter for something that benefits all of us."
"This is so exciting!" Mikey smiled. "But terrible for Dad."
His breath turned foggy. He gasped and let out an exhale. A larger foggy breath escaped from his mouth. The turtles and Mizuki glanced at Raph, who breathed on his palm to find the same cold air leaving his mouth.
"Buckle up, people," he said. "It's about to get weird."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Stage One: Fever"
The AC in the lair was now turned to cold to help with Splinter's fever, leaving every other room without any heat. A heating light was centered over the turtles and Mizuki. Raph, Donnie, Mikey, and Mizuki shivered as Leo sat a few inches from them in a blue winter coat, pants, and boots and holding a hot beverage. Mizuki snuggled herself closer to Donnie, who wrapped an arm around her to keep her warm.
"I hate Stage One," Mikey told himself. "Think warm thoughts. Pizza ovens. Bricks from Italy. Wood chips roasting."
"We're only four hours in," Raph said, shivering. "His fever's gotta break soon."
"I didn't think you were telling the truth about this stage," Mizuki told him, shaking underneath Donnie's arm. "I wish I had brought my coat here when I knew it was going to happen."
"I told you guys to plan ahead. Now I'm sitting here all toasty," Leo smiled at his brothers and Mizuki and sipped his drink. When Splinter stepped out in his bare self, Leo spat out his drink in shock. The other boys and Mizuki gasped in fright.
"What? Wha—Why?" He yelled.
"Had to air myself out," Splinter replied tiredly. He then fell face-first on the floor, air hissing and steam rising from his body.
"Um, is he okay?" Mizuki asked fearfully.
Splinter growled unexpectedly and stood up on both fours. He started running around the lair, leading the turtles and Mizuki running for their lives.
"Stage Two: Wild Rat Man"
With the three brothers running around the lair in their protective suits and Splinter chasing them, Donnie and Mizuki were putting on their suits quickly. Leo was struggling to put on his own suit while avoiding Splinter's attacks. "Don't eat me! Raph's tastier!" Mikey cried.
"Suits on! Suits on!" Raph ordered. "Donnie, get the device ready!"
"Uh, it's ready," Donnie placed his helmet on after helping Mizuki with her own suit. "You know, my inspiration for this device was simplicity. Why dress something up with lots of bells and whistles when you could just let it speak for its—"
"I don't think anyone has time for this, Donnie," Mizuki interrupted him.
He understood and pressed a button on his arm device. The water from one of the pipes stopped flowing. A large ball rolled out of the pipe, hitting Leo and landing near where Donnie and Mizuki are.
"Nice!" Raph cheered. "All right, let's get him inside."
Leo pulled out a box of pizza and led Splinter to the ball. The blue bandana turtle threw the box in the ball, with Splinter diving after it and snarling.
Donnie closed the ball tightly. "Okay, this should hold him for a while," he sighed in relief.
"And are you sure it's not cruel?" Mizuki asked him.
"He loves pizza and confined spaces you can barely breathe in," Raph reasoned.
Splinter started thrashing around in the ball. Donnie tried to keep it closed while being on top of the sphere.
"Donnie, is it gonna hold up?" Mikey questioned.
"Most definitely!" Donnie yelled and was suddenly thrown around with Splinter running in the ball like a hamster wheel. The ball instantly sprung up the walls of the lair until it broke apart on the third hit. Splinter crawled up a pipe and disappeared. Donnie hit the ground with a grunt on his back.
"Donnie!" Mizuki rushed over to him. "Are you okay?"
"Never been better," Donnie slurred dizzyingly as his eyes rolled around. "All I'm seeing in front of me is, uh...three to four Mizukis standing over me."
"Maybe you should lie down for a moment," she chuckled.
"Mikey, follow me and be careful," Raph ordered. "We can't afford to lose anyone before stage seven."
"I thought we all agreed it was now called the Must Say Yes stage," Leo argued.
"It would be easier for me to be careful if I knew you were gonna ask for a pizza oven," Mikey smiled.
"I'm still thinking!" Raph yelled.
"Quick question: is uranium still on the table?" Donnie added. Mizuki shook her head while giggling.
Raph and Mikey headed to where Splinter had gone off to so they could get him. Mizuki and Leo stayed behind with Donnie, who regained his consciousness a moment later. The trio began to take off the suits and breathing clearly again.
"Ugh, these things do not breathe," Leo remarked.
"I know," Mizuki agreed.
"Uh, now, are we sure we're safe?" Donnie asked them, holding his helmet.
"Calm down. We're fine," Leo reassured them. "Raph and Mikey have it under control—"
"Run!" Raph and Mikey yelled, running past them. "Stage three! Stage three!"
Splinter rushed towards them, his arms wide open and a big dopey grin growing. "Oh, little baby blue! Come to papa!" He said.
"Time for running again!" Donnie yelled and took Mizuki by the hand.
"Suits on! Suits on!" Raph demanded desperately. Donnie and Mizuki both put their suits back on, while Leo struggled again to fully put on his protective uniform.
"Why weren't you in your suits?!" Raph asked the three.
"It was Leo!" Donnie answered.
"No one forced you to, Donnie!" Leo slipped but got back up and placed his headwear on. "Ugh! What's that smell?"
"I love you this much!" Splinter appeared beside Leo and hugged and kissed him. Mizuki yelped when he appeared out of nowhere.
"No, no, you don't! I'm your least favorite!" Leo denied and fell to the ground behind the others.
"Uh, Leo's infected," Donnie nervously stated. "Quarantine him!"
The three brothers and Mizuki trapped Leo in his room by zipping up a protective barrier over the hole.
"Hey, you need me to get to the Must Say Yes stage," Leo tried to plead. "We need to ask for the onesies—" He wobbled side to side as the effects of the flu overtook him. "Whoa, it is really hot. Is there a fire? There's a fire here, right? The floor is made of lava?"
Raph pressed a button, releasing a cool foam-like liquid on Leo, who screamed. "Down to four," Raph said.
"Hey, by the way, why'd you take his swords?" Mikey asked Mizuki.
"That is just in case he thinks about escaping with them," she replied, placing them near the hole of Leo's room.
"All right, guys, let's be careful so the rest of us can make sure we what we want," Raph said. "Who's got eyes on the package?"
Mikey gasped when he noticed Splinter gone, apart from Leo's shredded suit and a dummy with kiss marks. "I lost him," Mikey said.
A puff of smoke clouded the lair. Splinter appeared clad in a ninja outfit.
"Stage 4: Ninja Supreme"
He threw knife stars at Mizuki, who yelped and went to cover herself. Raph protected her by using his fonta to prevent the stars from hitting her.
"Hot soup!" Splinter cried and slashed the four's uniforms with a katana sword. Their uniforms instantly fell apart from being cut by Splinter's katana. Raph, Mikey, and Donnie covered themselves embarrassed.
"Where'd Splinter go?!" Raph searched for any sign of him.
The lights shut down on their own. The turtles and Mizuki gasped, unable to find their way through the dark. Mizuki felt hands on her butt and yelped.
"Guys! I think I felt him!" Mikey yelled.
"That's my butt!" She slapped him in the face, her face red. She heard grunts and loud thuds from the side of her and quickly turned around. She eventually felt an arm and helped him up.
"Would everyone please stop hitting me?" Donnie said and turned on his goggles.
"Now I've really got him," Mikey grunted as he had Raph in a neck-hold. "Take that, itchy fuzzball."
"Donnie, do you see him?" Mizuki asked him.
Donnie groaned and took off his goggles. "No! Not my lab!"
"I'm going with you!" Mizuki pulled out her fans.
Donnie stopped her before she got them out fully. "No! You have to stay here. I can't risk you getting infected. Just try and keep Mikey and Raph from killing each other, I'll be right back."
Mizuki watched him climb up to his lab and disappear around the corner. She then separated Mikey and Raph from one another and held them back. "Will you guys knock it off?!" She sternly told them.
She aimed one of her fans up to the sunroof and threw it up to open it. Light shone from above, the darkness fading away. From the lab, she heard a loud crash and gasped. Raph and Mikey, who also heard the noise, looked up in her direction.
"Donnie, you hit?" Raph asked.
Donnie landed next to Mikey and Mizuki with a bandage on his arm. "No, no. I'm fine. I just cut myself on that janky old door. Everything's okay."
"Are you sure Splinter didn't get you?" Mizuki questioned him worriedly.
Donnie hesitated and turned to Raph. "Raph, did you decide what we're gonna ask for?"
"Yeah, I got it," Raph grinned. "I'm gonna ask for—"
Splinter from above cleared his throat, cutting off Raph before he could say anything more. He landed on one of the floors with a microphone in his hand.
"Um, didn't you say there was a stage where he—" Mizuki turned to Donnie, who nodded fearfully.
"Yep."
"Stage 5: Karaoke Love Songs"
Raph, Mikey, and Mizuki covered their ears as hard as they could, with Splinter singing horribly in the background. "I can't feel my ears!" Mikey wailed. "Nothing is worth this!"
"I don't think I would forget without having to listen to his voice in one of those songs!" Mizuki loudly said.
"We're so close," Raph groaned. "Only two stages left."
"And four totally healthy survivors left," Donnie said. "Man, why is it so hot in here?" Mizuki took one glance at him and gasped. Snot ran down his nose and sweat was pouring from his forehead.
Mikey, Raph, and Mizuki locked Donnie in his own room and sprayed him with the cool foam-like liquid. Mizuki put down his staff near the hole.
"Oh, you're gonna get squat from Splinter without Donnie, not without ol' Donnie!" He yelled and banged on the clear barrier. "I'm the brains behind this operation!"
"And I'm the young, tough damsel who will be worried about your safety if you keep this up," Mizuki replied to him.
"Uh, what stage are we on now?" Mikey nervously asked.
"Stage 6: Fan Fiction"
Raph and Mizuki watched Splinter plan some fan fiction about Jupiter Jim, Lou Jitsu, hot soups, assassins, a noodle shop, and anything else he could think of. Mikey wrote down on a paper for the fan fiction."This is amazing. Keep going," Mikey said.
"We're almost at stage seven," Raph realized happily. "This is the closest I've ever been to success, uh, ever."He went to give Mikey a high-three. However, Mikey sneezed and missed.
Raph and Mizuki quarantined him in his room, the young girl taking away his kusari-fundo for safety measures.
"We're done," Mikey said. "Raph is totally gonna blow this. He has no idea what to ask for, which means—"He started jumping around and fanning himself. "Getting hot. It's like I'm on the sun here."
Mizuki pressed the button to spray the cool foam-like liquid on Mikey.
Raph chuckled and turned to face Splinter. "I'm not gonna blow this."
"Raphael," Leo called from his quarantine. "I love you, my brother, but you do tend to fail in big moments. Pish-posh. But that's what makes you you. Now bring it in, buddy. I'm gonna hug you until a smile comes out."
'The third stage,' Mizuki thought.
"Enough!" Raph yelled. "Raph's got this, 'cause in big-time moments, leaders make big-time shots, and I'm big-time!"
"Raph! He must say yes! Make him say yessah!" Donnie hissed from behind the barrier.
"He's going to, Donnie! Just hang tight!" Mizuki reassured him.
"Don't mess this up, Raph," Raph told himself. "Don't mess this up."
"Don't forget we only get to ask for one thing, my little Raph-a-doodle," Leo called.
"I know exactly what I'm asking for," Raph rubbed his hands together and grinned.
"Stage Seven: Must Say Yes"
Raph and Mizuki both stared down at Splinter, who sniffled and moaned.
"Master Splinter, I know you will say yes to whatever I ask for," Raph started. "I want you to give—"
"Raph-a-doodle a hug!" Leo cried. "Everybody loves hugs!"
"What?!" Mizuki whipped and glared at him.
"What?! No! Anything but that!" Raph yelled.
"Come here!" Splinter jumped towards Raph, laughing. Mizuki stepped back in time before Raph fell down with Splinter hugging and kissing him all over his face. She laughed and held onto her sides.
Raph sneezed and moaned.
"Ooh, flu! Papa wants a new bike!" Splinter said and winked.
'Today was an eventful day,' Mizuki thought, giggling.