Dude, This is No Vacation (A Sonic-TMNT Crossover)

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Three

"Get – up – the – hill – Sonic!" Kay muttered with rising frustration, jabbing the A button with every word. She watched as the blue hedgehog tumbled back down the hill she'd been trying to have him climb and sat back on the couch, staring at the screen.

Mikey sat next to her, arms behind his head, grinning casually at the game as the music of the Mushroom Hill Zone filled the silence. Then he said, "Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Guess even you can't win them all, huh?"

Kay frowned. "This is ridiculous. It's Sonic Three! This should be easy."

"Yet you're constantly making Sonic fall to his doom."

"He hasn't died," she argued, glaring right back at the screen when the hedgehog began to tap his foot at her impatiently. "He's just giving me a look that says he's just as irritated as I am."

Mikey shrugged. "Failure by any other name is still failure."

She couldn't help but grin as she punched his shoulder playfully. "Since when do you reference Shakespeare?"

"Just now."

Kay turned her attention back to the game and started to maneuver Sonic once more, trying her hardest to get him up that hill. She could see more and more of the ledge each time she did it, but even if she was just a hair's width away from getting to the top, the Blue Blur would fall right back down again.

She sighed in aggravation. "Dang it. If I was playing as Knuckles, this wouldn't be a problem."

"Why don't we take a break and play a classic racing game?" Mikey suggested, sitting up. "Give you time to replenish your skills. I just sat here and watched you smoke Sonic Two. You're probably out of awesome juice."

"Awesome juice?" Kay smiled.

"Yeah. Like grape juice, but better."

She rolled her eyes. "Okay. You're on."

The youngest Turtle made quick work of the wonky gaming system Donnie had set up for them. There were wires and consoles and games everywhere; it was a wonder one didn't get lost just trying to find the power button on the TV. But Mikey made it seem like no big deal, and in a flash he had switched out Sonic the Hedgehog 3 for some kind of retro racing game Kay had never seen or played before. He shoved a new controller into her hand, sat on the cushion next to her, and began to set up the grand prix.

Before he hit go on the first race, he looked at her and clutched his chest dramatically, saying, "Take it easy on me, Kay. I'm fragile."

"Sure, Mikey."

As soon as they had the green light, Mikey and the computer racers were off, leaving her totally in the dust. Kay fumbled with the controls, quickly learning how to accelerate and drift before she completed half a lap. Soon she settled into a decent pace and caught up with the others, passing them one by one. She could see Mikey's character just ahead of her.

But before she could pull ahead, the orange-clad Turtle muttered, "No way I'm losing to you," and he jabbed her in the ribs, making her lose control just long enough for him to cross the finish line in front of her. Kay came in second.

She whirled on him. "Mikey!"

"Whaaaat?" He held up his hands innocently. "I had to defend my title as video game master."

"Cheater."

"Ouch." Again he clutched his chest dramatically. "Come on. Let's go again. One race does not a grand prix make."

Kay narrowed her eyes, trying to hide her mischievous smile. "Just for that, I'm going to leave you in the dust."

The second race began, and she was doing much better this time. She and Mikey fought each other for first the entire way, sending items at one another to stop their progress. As they neared the finish line on the third lap, Kay was ahead of him, but not by much. Her eyes were so focused on the screen that she didn't even notice when Mikey slowly reached his hand over to tickle her side.

She gasped and flinched, unintentionally yanking the entire console forward as her controller came unplugged. As Mikey and the other racers completed the course, Kay asked hurriedly, "Did I break it?"

He inspected the damage. "Nah. Just pulled the controller from the console. You're good."

She sighed, then punched him on the shoulder again. Harder this time.

"Ow!" he yelped. "Okay, not so good."

"Is this how you got your title? Cheating?" Kay demanded.

"Perish the thought!" Mikey glanced at her, a smirk on his face. "Two down, two to go."

She watched him for a moment, wondering what course of action she should take. Obviously he was going to pull a stunt like that again, so she scooted to the opposite end of the couch where she was out of his arm's reach, keeping her eyes on him at all times. "Fine. But I'm sitting over here so you can't cheat again."

He shrugged. "As you wish."

They turned back to the game, waiting for the green light to start the third track.

Kay hadn't even seen the light turn yellow when she was suddenly tackled off of the couch and onto the floor, with Mikey towering over her. He snatched up her arms, pinned them down, and used his free hand to start tickling her without any warning whatsoever.

Kay shrieked and laughed, struggling against his iron grip as she yelled, "Mikey, stop it!"

"Never!" he declared playfully, grinning and chuckling along with her. "I don't think I've ever actually heard you laugh. You're always so quiet and stuff."

She aimed a kick at him, which he dodged skillfully.

"Mikey!"

"What's going on in here?" a third voice joined the commotion. Mikey glanced up to see Raphael standing behind the couch, glancing down at the scene before him with a blank expression on his face. "Sorry I asked."

"Hey, bro!" the younger Turtle greeted cheerfully, oblivious to the pleading laughter he was eliciting from Kay. "Want to help?"

Raph smirked, crossing his arms as he watched them both. "Pass."

"Mikey, please stop!" Kay gasped, squirming beneath his merciless fingers.

"Oh, fine..." he said reluctantly, releasing her arms and sitting back.

Kay gasped for air as she sat up, folding her arms protectively across her torso. Raph noticed her bright smile and the faint pink blush on her cheeks and decided that was a much better look for her than the stoic expression she usually wore in their presence.

She shook her head at Mikey. "You are such a jerk."

Instead of putting on another dramatic display, Mikey beamed back at her happily. "For real, Kay, it's nice to hear you laugh. You're always so serious. I hardly even see you smile."

"I know," she replied, "but you didn't have to resort to tickling me."

"Dude, I've been making jokes all day. You missed your chance to get off easy."

Kay rolled her eyes, still grinning, and that's when she noticed Raphael standing behind the couch watching her. How long has he been here? she wondered, darting her eyes from his quickly before they had the chance to make contact. Again she spoke to the youngest Turtle. "Think we can finish this grand prix without any more shenanigans? There's no chance of me winning now."

Mikey retrieved his fallen controller and sat on his cushion again, smirking. "I make no promises, my friend."

She retrieved her controller as well, now unable to wipe the huge smile from her face and no longer wanting to. For reasons she couldn't quite explain, Kay felt happier than she had in a long, long time. And she didn't want to let the feeling slip away so quickly.

Aware that Raph was now planted firmly behind the two of them but not fazed in the slightest, Kay shot ahead of Mikey as the fourth race started, keeping a wary eye on him just in case.