Unlikely Friends: Volume Two

Chapter Thirty Eight

At last Turtles and Potato reached the sheep farm! The small Asian boy's heart pounded in his chest as he caught sight of the herd up ahead. His fist tightened around the now bent stems of his flowers as he barreled past the farm's gate. Potato kept up with the eager boy, trailing after him as they approached their home. As he passed the old barn, the tall man's blue eyes gazed over to Grimm standing still as a rotten statue. Had the decaying shepherd regained his wits? He shuddered at the memory of the braindead freak and focused his attention on the shell backpack swinging wildly in front of him. Turtles raced through the opening of the herd, shoving past the thick sheep in front of the entrance. The small boy barely registered the rows of wool and disfigured animal hybrids that baa'd at him from both sides. Potato grimaced as he squeezed through, still not fully desensitized to the unsettling human faces that twisted to look back at him. Why was any of this necessary?

Soon enough the wooly rows ended and they could see the strange creature standing at the heart of the herd. She waited patiently for the brave heroes and Turtles took a deep breath as he marched towards her. After all these long and agonizing chapters, he was about to complete his quest. The story was finally moving along. He would find BranChan! Approaching Lamby, the small boy cleared his throat as he thrusted the half bent flowers in her wooly face.

Potato strode up beside the boy, watching the exchange. Instead of immediately taking the flowers from Turtles, the strange creature frowned deeply. "Where are the others?" the magical sheep asked, looking between the two standing before her. Lua and Pea were glaringly absent. Turtles shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably, his anger dissipating once under a god's judgment. "We left them behind," the small boy mumbled, looking away. The arm holding the flowers fell limply at his side.

Potato felt a surge of unease wash through his body as questions suddenly sprung up in his head. Had Lua and Pea gotten lost in the forest? Were they safe? The worried man's imagination ran wild as fatal scenes played in his mind. He began to picture the dainty boy getting attacked by wolves or falling into a rapid river. Something about this anxiety was off though. Would it really be that bad if Lua was written off? The former villain narrowed his eyes at the strange creature. "Are you doing that?" He questioned, staring down at Lamby. She smiled warmly at the tall man and answered, "did I do what?"

Of course this being knew Lua and Pea would be gone because she had wrote it! And somewhere she had written him to feel this worry for the spoiled brat and his annoying cat. Why did he keep forgetting these things? "You're making me feel guilty for no reason," Potato accused, "when you're the one who wrote us to leave them behind." Turtles looked from Potato to Lamby, his mind reeling from the revelation. As the realization dawned on him, his anger reignited.

"He's right," the small boy spoke up with new found confidence. This wooly witch owed him this wish after orchestrating his boyfriend's disappearance! The strange creature's face slowly broke into a grin as she watched their annoyance increase. "You two are evolving so well," she said with a giggle before nodding towards the flora in Turtles' fist. Breathing a sigh of relief, he handed the being the flowers and watched as she munched them up.

Once swallowed, the bag on the boy's back began to glow and he quickly shook it off his shoulders. Unzipping the shell with shaky fingers, Turtles looked inside at the now repaired nunchucks sitting atop the orange bandana. The weapon had become encased in gold, shining brightly up at him. However, he immediately noticed that wasn't the source of light bursting through his backpack. It was the fabric beneath that was truly vibrant, emitting an otherworldly orange glow. Turtles reached his hand inside, grabbing the bandana and pulling it out. "It's been enchanted," the strange creature happily informed him.

Potato watched as the small boy forgot the mind games this being was just putting them through. Turtles was seemingly hypnotized by the fabric. The glow sent a strange sense of deja vu through the former villain as he recalled the memory of Pea's glowing, green gaze. Both had seemed so toxic to the tall man. And the way Turtles stared at the bandana reminded him of the same look Lua would get on his face whenever staring at the cat girl. "Try it on," Lamby urged and Potato wondered if he should step in.

Would it make a difference if he spoke up? Wasn't all of this predetermined anyway? Turtles slowly brought the bandana to his face, tying it around his eyes like a mask. The former villain jumped back as the glow overtook Turtles' entire body, shining a blinding light and causing the small boy to levitate. Potato shielded his eyes from the orange rays as his friend was transformed. Just as he had once went from turtle to man, the reverse had now began to take effect. The small boy's limbs stretched, snapping and cracking as they grew. However, this time he did not become a tiny creature but rather a massive turtle with bulky biceps that rivaled Mike Tyson's.

Potato squinted at the blurry image of an obviously copyrighted character before him. Turtles' body was poorly rendered, the art style looked unrealistic and out of place compared to the landscape around them. The turtle sporting an orange bandana lifted a meaty hand in an unnatural, choppy movement. He inspected his green palm as he questioned, "Am I for real, for real Michelangelo from Ninja Turtles?"

Potato stared at him, mouth agape, taking note of the inconsistent lighting and shadows. "You're a bad CGI version of him," the former villain pointed out. Why did a written story need CGI anyway? That didn't even make any sense and this entire scene could have been scraped yet here they were. At least Turtles looked super tough.

"And I have something for you too," the strange creature turned to Potato, a knowing smile on her face. "I didn't bring you any flowers," the tall man reminded, not quite sure he trusted any more gifts from this being. Lamby simply nodded towards the cucumber sword hanging by his side. "That's okay," she reassured as the former villain reluctantly pulled out his weapon and looked it over. The sword still looked the same, no toxic glow emitting from its blade. "Now it has the power of friendship," the strange creature revealed with a mysterious tone.

Potato cringed.