Family is Forever

Todd Scouts: Part 2

Aria's POV:

Splinter and I take a deep inhale of the fresh forest air.

Splinter: *sighs* "You hear that? That is the sound of no phones."

Contrary to this, Splinter and I turn to see the brothers on their phones. So, Splinter loads all our electronic devices into the tank.

Splinter: "You will come back better ninjas or not at all!"

With that, Splinter drives back off toward the city.

Raph: "He'll be back. Right?"

Leo: "Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's gonna turn around right...He's gone."

Donnie: "I need my phone and my phone needs me. We can't survive in the woods!"

Todd: "That's why I'm here."

Turtles: "Todd?"

Raph: "How'd you get here?"

Me: "Seriously? He drove up here with us in the tank, like, 10 minutes ago."

Todd: "Welcome to Todd Scouts, where fun meets wilderness survival skills."

Donnie: "I don't think I'm gonna make it."

Leo: "Guys, if we run, we can still catch Splinter."

The turtles take one step forward, only to be hung from the ropes in a tree via the trap Todd set up.

Todd: "That is a triple leg square knot, a Todd Trap. Knots are how you make two ropes into friends."

Todd cuts the rope with his teeth as the guys crash.

Todd: "Now, let's get learning. Survival lesson one: Food. We have none. So, what would you eat?"

Raph holds up a large rock.

Me: "Nope."

Donnie holds up a twig.

Todd: "Wrong."

Leo grabs Donnie from behind.

Me: "Leo, knock it off."

Mikey reaches for s berry bush until Todd stands in his way.

Todd: "Stop! Never eat those. You hear me? Those are no-no berries! Don't forget. Lesson two: Shelter. When looking for the perfect shelter, make sure it has protection from the elements and a water source for drinking."

Todd removes his hat as he catches a fish from the nearby river in his teeth.

Todd: *muffled* "Who's hungry? Lesson 3: Fire. Nature's stove."

Once it gets dark, I make a fire so we can stay warm and roast the fish to eat for dinner.

Todd: "Lesson 4: Where am I?! Is what you might say if you're lost. A Todd Scout navigates by the sun."

Leo: "When is he gonna teach us to survive boredom?"

Me: "Fine. But the next time you're in a 'Hansel & Gretel' situation, and you've forgotten all this crucial information, don't come crying to me."

Donnie: "Psst, guys!"

We see Donnie sitting in a tree branch with fake tech made from tree bark and pinecones.

Donnie: "I got something to show you, but you gotta ditch Todd."

Raph: "We can't. Once he gets through all this boring stuff, he's bound to get to the good stuff."

Todd: "Ok, now you guys are in for a treat."

Raph: "See?"

Todd: "Wild animal calls."

Todd begins imitating various animals, much to Raph's annoyance.

Raph: "We're in. Leo?"

Leo: "On it. Todd, buddy. Wow, you've been working out. Listen, I think we're ready to take this up a notch. How about we show you what we can do alone?"

Todd: "Fantastic. Go be a Todd."

Leo gives us a thumbs up, but I still feel guilty for tricking Todd like this. I'm not technically part of that plan, so I'm likely worrying over nothing.

Donnie: "I couldn't take it anymore, being away from the world, technology, my sweet, sweet phone. So I built-Behold, Donnie-Town! Also known as Donnie-opolis, Donnie Estates, Park le Donnie, Donistan, Notre-Don, or Donstantinople. I still haven't landed on one."

Donnie leads us through the forest to a treehouse that somehow runs on enough energy to power a hot tub, a ceiling fan, and lighting. He's also hired beavers to create wooden statues of himself and his battle shell.

Me: "Not that I'm pro-ditching Todd, but this is awesome, Don!"

Todd: "You-you ditched me?"

We all turn around to see Todd standing behind us with a tray of his famous lemonade and five bottles of sunscreen.

Todd: "What is this place?"

Mikey: "It's not what it looks like."

Todd: "Well, I guess you guys have advanced past survival to betrayal. Now you're probably too cool for my Todd Scouts Lemonade Especial, and it's made with extra love."

Todd runs away, crying.

Raph: "Well, we really beefed this good. We should probably go apologize."

Leo: "All we need to do is explain it's not Todd we don't like, it's just everything he stands for."

I turn to the guys with a warning look and growl.

Leo: *chuckles nervously* "Or something much nicer and heartfelt."

Todd: "Help!"

We turn to look across from us down on the ground as a group of men in dentist suits kidnaps Todd.

Mikey: "He's been Todd-napped!"

Donnie: "How are we supposed to find him if we don't even know where we are? Where's my phone?"

Raph: "They probably took him back to their campsite, wherever that is."

Leo: "I mean, it's gotta be near water, because lesson 2: Shelter should be near water. That's it. They're at the river. What is happening? Did you hear that? I actually learned something."

Donnie: "Hey, look at us. We don't even need our phones for this one super specific mission. But in general, and I can't make this clear enough, I need my phone."

Raph: "Let's use everything Todd taught us and go save him!"

We all don scout uniforms as Donnie looks up towards the beavers and squirrels in the treehouse.

Donnie: "Shut it down, boys!"

With that, the woodland creatures eat the tree down to its stump, and we rush to find the kidnappers' campsite.

TO BE CONTINUED