Chapter 2 - Turbo Meets Pam

The next morning, Tito and Turbo broke the news to their friends and brothers that they were going to Rome Italy…but Turbo had a harder time explaining the real reason to his friends.

"You're going to WHAT?!" Chet exclaimed with shock.

"Yup, you guys heard me right. I'm, um…ahem…going to meet a girl," Turbo replied while clearing his throat and blushing madly.

"Oh, a girl, huh? Well, listen ta Ol' Smoove and his love lessons," Smoove Moove added with a grin and startled slithering around Turbo, "now, ta impress the ladies, ya gotta have confidence; never be afraid ta puff out'cher chest. Ya know, like a love bug."

"Yeah, right!" Burn snapped, "get advice about ladies FROM a lady, Turbo. All you have to do is be yourself, but Smoove was right about somethin'; don't get scared. Women HATE scaredy-cats…even though it is pretty cute."

The boys all just stared at their female friend in silence when she clearly started rambling, but she soon growled and shook her head.

"Just don't act stupid, got it?!" the fiery snail snapped.

"Are you SURE you have to do this, Little Brother? I mean, this is a big step, and you don't even know this girl," Chet added with worry.

"Yeah! What if she's a part of the secret reptilian forces in the government, and she's seeking Intel from you to take over the world?!" Skidmark suddenly started rambling, and the team just stared at him blankly.

"Um, no…listen, Garden Snail, I need ta apologize," Whiplash added calmly.

"Apologize? For what?" Turbo questioned, only for his mentor to answer by smacking him across the face.

"For that! I don't like this either, and I'm not even your paranoid brother…no offense."

"None taken," Chet sighed.

"And what? You think I'm actually comfortable with this? Of course I'm not; I'm about to travel halfway across the world to meet this modified girl snail, so that we can…ahem…of course I'm against this idea, but do you think I have choice? It's for science, and they need their research…and…well, I don't want to be the only freak of nature anymore. So, I'm gonna put a stamp on this age, and continue my legacy, whether you guys are with me or not," Turbo started to explain with anger, but his tone soon softened, and he then sped off without another word.

But after Turbo left, the team shared worried glances, and soon nodded and smiled before activating their shells to catch up with their fast friend.

"Hold up, Garden Snail!"

Turbo couldn't help but screech to a halt and turn when he heard Whiplash's voice, and he was curious to stick around when his said mentor and the rest of his friends caught up with him.

"Of all the times you make a stupid decision…" Whiplash began with a sigh and rolled his eyes, but then he started laughing, "I'm not gonna stop you."

"You're not?" Turbo asked with surprise.

"Why would we? This is a real chance for you ta find true love; we ain't gonna ruin that for ya," Burn replied.

"Especially considering your horrible history with women," Skidmark added in a chuckle, only to earn a slap on the face from Burn.

"I can't believe I'm saying this…but I'm gonna put aside my paranoia for your happiness, Little Brother," Chet sighed happily.

"Thanks, guys," Turbo says while smiling at each of his friends.

"Let's go, Turbo! Our plane'll be leaving soon!" Tito soon called.

"I'll be back soon!" Turbo shouted when he suddenly sped off after Tito.

…

"We're gonna follow him, right?" White Shadow soon asked.

"Dang right, we are!" Whiplash replied with a grin.

When Tito, Beth and Turbo's plane landed in the Ciampino Airport, it was already nighttime in Rome, so Beth had to hail a cab to take them straight to the lab…and it was awkwardly silent the cab.

But as Turbo waited in the back to watch from the back window of the city go by, a city he has never seen before, but while his back was turned, he didn't notice two dark rat figures sneaking up behind him. And it wasn't until both the rats were both towering over him that Turbo finally noticed them a turned with a gasp…only to find that they weren't that scary.

One rat was pitch black with amber eye, while the other was pure white with red eyes, and they were both smiling down at Turbo.

"Ciao, lumaca!" the black rat greeted in a masculine voice with a heavy Italian accent.

"Come va?" the white rat asked in a feminine voice, also with a heavy Italian accent.

"Oh, I-I-I, u-um…I don't, um…" Turbo started stammering when he didn't understand the rats.

"I told you he was tourist, Nero," the white rat sneered at the black rat, but soon smiled back at Turbo, "I'm Bianca and this is my brother Nero."

"'Sup?" Nero asked with a shrug.

"Oh, you two are brother and sister? I couldn't tell," Turbo said sheepishly.

"Eh, no one can," Nero pointed out.

"But since we've introduced ourselves, we'd like it if you'd tell us who you are," Bianca added.

"Yeah, and what's with the shiny get-up?" Nero questioned while referring to Turbo's shiny racing shell over his real one.

"Nero!" Bianca hissed at her bother's nosiness.

"H-he's fine. And to answer your questions, my name is Turbo, I'm a snail who won the Indy Five Hundred, and-," Turbo began to explain with a smile, until the rats suddenly burst out laughing.

"You…you…YOU?! A snail?! Win a race?! That's a good one!" Nero said between laughs.

"I have to agree! And whatever this 'Indy Five Hundred' is, I'm pretty sure no escargot could EVER win it!" Bianca gasped while wiping tears away, making the winner of the Indy Five Hundred glare at them in annoyance.

After a few more moments of laughter, is soon died down into awkwardness, and the rats couldn't believe the serious look the snail was giving them.

"Wait…you're actually serious?" Nero questioned.

"YOU won a race?" Bianca asked with shock, and then she and her brother shared a look of terror.

"HOW?!"

"Well, let's just call it a 'freak accident'…and A LOT of luck," Turbo replied with a grin while turning to the side, and he revved up his shell, making the blue light it always gives off rise up into the swirl of his shell.

"Whooooooaaaaa…" Nero and Bianca both sighed in amazement at the blue light emitting from Turbo's shell.

"You know what? You're ok…for a lumaca," Nero chuckled.

"Yes, well, I'm afraid we have to go…'Turbo' was it? Our stop is coming up soon, but we hope to see you again soon," Bianca sadly pointed out, and they used their stealth to go unnoticed while pushing the window down to lower it halfway, and they soon jumped out.

"Huh…what an odd pair," Turbo hummed.

"Please Tito, roll your window up; it's too cold to have it down," Beth soon demanded, and a confused Tito soon pushed the button to roll the window back up.

But not a half hour later, their cab soon arrived at the entomology lab where Beth worked, and she showed them into a large room full many more busy scientists who were working with injured incest and snails of all sorts; there were even numerous terrariums that held recovering snails and insects.

"Whoa! Is this like your treatment room?" Tito asked with amazement, as Turbo rode on his left shoulder, and the snail was also pretty enticed by the room.

"Yes, it is! We sometimes even like to refer to it as the heart and soul of our research. Now, are you ready to meat Pam, little guy?" Beth asked with a smile while leaning towards Turbo, only making him and Tito nervous about the confined space between them.

"So, uh, anyway…where IS Pam?" Tito questioned while awkwardly taking a step back from Beth.

"Oh, we keep her in a more 'welcoming' environment; she's a real free spirit," Beth chuckled nervously.

"No kidding!" called a nearby man in a lab coat, as he turned while they approached, revealing a rather unpleasant sight; his left eye was black and puffy, as was his lower lip, and he even had a few bite marks on his face. And to Turbo, this could only indicate the worse.

"She did THAT?!" Turbo asked with shock, and started to shrink into his shell, "isn't that just charming? Ok, yeah, no, I've changed my mind about this!"

"Oh, no, no, no, no, don't worry! There's absolutely NOTHING to be afraid of!" Beth quickly pointed out and suddenly took Turbo off Tito's shoulder.

And before Turbo or Tito knew it, the said snail was pushed through a small opening, and a solid metal door with no vents to escape through was shut, and right as he tried to turn and exit, only to smash his face against the door in failure.

"Oh no…" Turbo whimpered while slowly and reluctantly turning around to see what kind of cage they put him in. the cage was rather large, especially for a snail, and it could probably fit ten adults inside; the cage was also dimly lit, but it was also covered in real soil, it was full of real forest trees and other vegetation, along with real tomato vines, plump with ripe tomatoes, that were growing up the sides of most trees.

But as Turbo just stood there, looking around with wide eyes and almost hyperventilating, he was unaware that he was being watched by one of the many hidden cameras in the cage, and the ones watching him were Beth and Tito, who were sitting up in a small private room with windows that over looked the cage, and they were sitting in front of a desk with a tablet of many buttons and multiple computer screens projecting different parts of the cage at a time.

"Are you sure he'll be ok?" Tito soon asked out of concern when his little snail buddy wouldn't move.

"Of course, of course! He just needs a little push," Beth replied while pressing a button on the panel, and that caused a few more lights in the cage to light up, bringing more light to it.

The increase in light soon decreased Turbo's apprehension, and he gulped down some fear while moving forward slowly, towards a thick tree root that grew over a small and calm water stream.

"H-hello?" Turbo called meekly while slithering over the root bridge.

"Hello?" he called once more when he got to the other side of the stream, but he gasped when he heard what sounded like a pebble fall…from the treetops? An that same pebble somehow rolled in front of him…as if to get his attention. Was this a trick?

But before Turbo could answer that question, something else suddenly dropped from above…and it wasn't a pebble. Turbo gasped once more, but it was with amazement; what was now in front of him was a female snail with dark red skin, like that of a red rose, she had bright red eyes, her shell was shiny like amber, and her body was short and fit.

The Indy Five Hundred winner could only sit there and stare lustfully at who he could assume was Pam herself, and she there, just staring back in silence.

She's…she's just…wow…I mean, what were they even talking about? She's like an angel, Turbo thought to himself, but that's when he noticed Pam glaring at him.

An angel who's angry? Turbo asked himself in his head, but it all made sense when Pam suddenly whipped her whole body around to knock the pebble right into Turbo's face, knocking the wind out of him. And he was suddenly brought down when Pam pounced him and stood on her throat.

"Intruso! Tu chi sei?!" Pam growled, but Turbo only replied with a bunch of strained gurgles.

"Che cosa?" Pam asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"You're…standing…on my throat…"

"Oh, you're an American," Pam said with shock while finally releasing Turbo, and he stood back up while taking deep breaths in.

"Thanks…ahem, thank you…I need my throat for talking and breathing, so thanks," Turbo coughed sarcastically.

"Whatever. Listen, we don't have a lot of time," Pam whispered while getting uncomfortably too close for Turbo.

"W-what?" Turbo whimpered, but before he knew it, Pam suddenly wrapped an eye stock around his and started dragging him to the other side of the cage.

"Wait a minute! Wait a minute!" Turbo demanded, and out of curiosity, Pam decided to stop.

"Why? What's the hold up? Besides, I'm ready to go, NOW," Pam said with excitement, and then she slithered off behind a tree.

"Oh, um…right! like Smoove said: be a confident love bug, be a confident love bug," Turbo whispered to himself repeatedly while grinning and following Pam.

"Alright, now…" Pam began, but when she turned, she was greeted with a puckered-lips Turbo, so she knocked him back, "whoa, what are you doing?!"

"Well, I was…uh…for argument's sake, what are YOU doing?" Turbo asked frantically.

"I'M trying to escape," Pam replied while pushing back a bunch of tomatoes out of the way, revealing a vent with openings too small for a snail the fit through, but there were some noticeable dents in one corner of the bars.

"Oh, right, yes…that's…that's EXACTLY what I was going with," Turbo laughed in relief.

"No, wait a second…you ACTUALLY thought I was going to kiss you, didn't you?!" Pam asked matter-of-factly.

"Well, I was-."

"Are you crazy?! We just met!"

As their fight went on, Tito and Beth noticed the angry vibes between Turbo and Pam, and they could tell things weren't going so well, even though they couldn't understand what they were saying.

"Umm, Beth…?" Tito urged.

"I got it," Beth whispered and pressed a different button.

"Yes, I know what my shell looks like, but I swear, I'm NOT pea cocking!" Turbo protested while looking back at his decorative racing shell. But before Pam could argue against that, some music from the overhead intercom started to play…and it was Beyonce's "Crazy in Love."

Turbo could only shrink into his shell a little in shock.

"I have NOTHING to do with that…huh, but it is kinda nice," Turbo said with awkwardness at first, but then he like the song, and even started singing along.

"'Got me lookin' so crazy right now. Your love's got me lookin' so crazy in love'…yeah, sing it, Beyonce."

But as Turbo sang, Pam could only stare in disappointed wide eyes and a slack jaw, and she soon couldn't stand anymore, so she once again lunged at him. The two snails were unfortunate to be pulled down a slant by gravity, and they landed in a tall patched of flowers and grass.

"Wow…that went faster than I expected," Tito admitted with surprise while scratching the back of his head.

"Beyonce. Works EVERY time," Beth boasted, but then she stood up from her chair and lowered her voice, "we should give them some privacy."

Tito looked back at the computer screen before reluctantly leaving the room with Beth.

"I-I don't really wanna leave my little amigo here alone," Tito pointed out with worry.

"Oh, don't worry. We have guard professional guards and well trained dogs patrolling. Besides, who better to protect him than Pam?" Beth joked.

Little did Beth and Tito know that Pam and Turbo weren't 'doing the deed'…in fact, Pam was actually perched up on a branch while pelting many rocks and pebbles at Turbo with precise aim, and Turbo had to use his speed to dodge everything…even if he failed most of the time.

And while Turbo was fleeing, he soon noticed one of the hidden cameras in a tree trunk hallow, and he sped up to the lens.

"HELP ME!" Turbo pleaded into the camera, but Pam soon found him again, and she threw another rock, and she not only hit him again, but the impact of the rock to the back of Turbo's head knocked him into the lens, smearing mucus all over it before he slid off in pain.

Well, you guys really, and I mean REALLY wanted me to continue this story, so here ya go. And I'm sorry I kept you guys waiting so long. I've just been pretty busy with stuff, ya know? Everyone's busy with stuff, right? But I'll try to update again sooner.

Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!