The sun was still high in the sky as a pair of Koopas lounged by the lakeside, the noon sun casting a beautiful glow across the water. The two were hand in hand with one wearing a brilliant green shell leaning his head against the others shoulder complimenting his bright red shell, letting out a content sigh enjoying the peaceful serenity of the shared moment.

"Just think this time tomorrow, we're not going to have a single moment to ourselves. Between having a bunch of rug rats skating around and managing those layabouts." The red shelled turtle chuckled, squeezing his partners hand while he laughed along.

"Hey one of those layabouts is my cousin, and he's doing us a favor by convincing a bunch of his friends to spend their summer as cheap labor for us." The green koopa replied, smiling as he nuzzled into his lover. "So at least try not to call them that to their face once they're here."

The two koopas laughed together before the green shelled one stood up and stretched before turning to waddle away from the lake. "I'm going to put the keys out and leave some instructions for when they get here. Don't go anywhere, now!" He said with a wink as he looked over his shoulder, the other boy wiggling his eyebrows in response and inspiring another amused chuckle out of the both of them.

He his way to the main camp grounds off from the lake, a main cabin lodge with plenty of smaller sites peppered around in clockwise locations strewn with tents and sleeping bags. There was still some tidying up to do before the next day, which the koopa wrote down and magneted to the cabins fridge along with putting the staff key-ring on a hook by the front door. As he went back outside he left the cabins front door unlocked, but after a few steps a rumble of thunder rang out bringing him to pause. Looking up to confirm it was broad daylight without a cloud in the sky, the confused Koopa waddled his way back to the lakeside while looking about quizzically.

"Hey hun, did you hear that? You think someone set off a firework in the middle of the day or somet-" he began to ask aloud, before looking to where they had been sitting together mere minutes ago, only to find an empty red shell sitting on the sand. He appraised it in deepening confusion and looked around. "Are you... skinning dipping?" He asked aloud, reaching down to pick up the shell only to gasp and drop it at the feel of sticky wetness along the smooth surface.

With a slight panic in his breathing the green shelled turtle turned around, only to bump into a solid surface and fall back. After shaking his head he looked up, and his eyes widened in disbelief. The figure of his shell-less partner was curled up seemingly suspended in mid air, pressing out against a solid invisible surface and opening his mouth to let out a silent scream. The sight was so shocking it took him a moment to notice everything else around the confined Koopa; a smooth and soft looking black frame looming above him. He had only enough time to meet a pair of deep red eyes peering down at him and an open drooling maw before he was yanked off the ground, and clucked out in helpless fright before being engulfed in darkness. Never to be seen again.