I do not own TMNT. I do Own Anastasia.
Blast From the Past
By: Arista Niara
Gunmen came running into the room. I was scared. My friends an I were huddled into a corner. Four female turtles tried to fight the gunmen. Two stopped fighting and ran to us.
"Hurry kids," one of them yelled.
We followed the female turtles. One of us didn't. I looked back to see a small female turtle unable to move because of fright. I ran back to her.
"Majestia, grab my hand," I found myself saying.
She grabbed my hand and we ran. I could sense that there were gunmen behind us. We tried to run faster.
"Aleena, the kids," screamed one of the female turtles.
The female turtle pushed us out the door. We looked back. Five gunshots were fired. I watched the female turtle that helped us fall to the ground, dead. The other that was still fighting rushed towards her fallen friend. Five more shots were fired. She, too, fell to the floor, dead.
"Noooo!" I screamed.
I shot straight up in bed, covered in a cold sweat. It was all a dream, a nightmare. This was the fifth time this week that I had this dream. What did it mean? Why was I having this reoccurring dream?
I got out of bed. I walked into the meditation room in the sewer layer. I sat down on the bamboo mat and started meditating. I tried to reach my friend in the Realm of Dreams, a place where advanced masters, advanced students, and deep thinkers could go to meditate, talk, or just hang out. I, normally, went there to talk to a female turtle who I had met the first time I was there, that was two years ago (I was sixteen then).
I arrived there. I meditated there, trying to call my friend to meditate. I finally succeed.
"What's up, my friend?" She asked
She didn't know what my name was and I didn't know her's. We were not allowed to give our names out in the Realm of Dreams. I never understood why, but I followed the rule anyway. We also had no idea what the other one looked like. All you could see was a colored ball that represented someone's spirit.
"My friend, I need advice," I said.
"What do you need advice about? Having girl trouble?" She teased.
"Very funny. You're the only girl in my life. At least for now. It's that reoccurring dream I've been having. I had it again," I answered with a sigh.
I've had a relationship with this girl for two years. If Raphael or Michelangelo found out about her, they would call me a fool for falling for a girl who I don't know the name of. Donatello would call this an online relationship with out the use of computers or technology.
"I don't know what to tell you. You may want to consult your mentor if this affects your skill. Maybe he can put you under a hypnosis and that could unlock what's up with these dreams," She suggested.
"Hypnosis? That stuff gives me the creeps. I hate the way you don't realize what you're saying or doing. For all I know, I could accidentally start talking about you instead of the dream," I said nervously.
"Come on. You've never been scared. You've always been so brave," she said softly.
I soon heard my name being called. I recognized the voice. It was Master Splinter's voice.
"I've gotta go. My mentor is calling me," I said softly.
"That's alright. I should go anyway. My meditation time is just about over anyway. So, I'll talk to you later," She said.
"Yea, I'll talk to you later. Love you," I said.
"Love you," She said.
I quickly floated back to reality. I saw that Master Splinter was standing in front of me.
"Leonardo, why are you up so early?" asked Master Splinter.
I glanced over at the clock. 2AM! I must have been in the Realm of Dreams for half an hour.
"I couldn't sleep, Sensei," I answered.
"Try to go back to bed, Leonardo. After all, you and your brothers have sparring practice tomorrow," said Master Splinter.
"I know," I lied, "Good night."
I had forgotten all about the sparring match. I had no intentions of going back to sleep. Having a dream was too much to handle. It seemed too real. Seeing myself as a three-year-old child and witnessing two murders upset me.
I walked back to the sleeping areas. I went to my area. There I sat on the bed. What was the use? I could never sleep. This was the second time in a row I was caught. Master Splinter probably knew that something was up.
I took out a picture from my wallet and stared at it. It was of Anastasia. I missed her. She was the child I found in the sewers and raised.
Anastasia, I miss you, you would be fifteen by now. If you were here, you would probably listen to me, I thought.
I looked up and glanced around. I saw Mikey asleep in his Superman bed sheets, holding his teddy bear and his finger in his mouth, no doubt sucking on it. He always had that habit. I envied him for his carefree nature. If he had a dream like mine, he would wake me up and talk about it, just because I'm the oldest.
Donny, the quiet one, slept soundly on his purple bed sheets. He felt he was too old for the "childish" sheets that Mikey had on his bed.
Raph slept noisily. We all hated his habit of snoring. He normally wasn't home. He usually slept at Casey's when we fought or he felt he had to go looking for trouble.
I didn't sleep the whole night. I had no one to turn to. I was the strongest one and I wanted to remain the strongest. I felt dead tired that morning.
We had to spar that morning. I knew I was going to blow it. I could barely keep my eyes open. I was up first, against Mikey. Normally, I could beat him but today I could hardly punch or kick straight. Dodging was also a great challenge since I was seeing double. Mikey didn't realize that he was getting direct hits. I was in a lot of pain. Mikey finished me off with a roundhouse kick. Then everything went back.
I awoke hours later, not remembering a thing. I was lying on the ground, on my back. I tried to figure out where I was. Then I realized that I was in the practice room.
I'm in trouble now, I thought.
The others walked in. Master Splinter had a worried look on his face. I knew that look. He was expecting answers. I wasn't sure if I was ready to give them.
"Hey Leo, are you okay?" asked Raph, for once actually caring about me.
"Yea, I think so," I said as I rubbed my head.
"We were worried about you, dude. I'm sorry for hurtin' ya," said Mikey.
"It's okay Mikey, I don't know why I passed out like that," I said knowing what was next.
""Leonardo, could this have something to do with you not sleeping for five nights in a row this week?" asked Master Splinter.
When he said that, I knew I was in for it. Donny looked at me in shock.
"Leo, is this true?" asked Donny.
"Yes," I answered truthfully.
"No wonder you lost that fight and then passed out, you're sleep deprived," said Donny.
"My son, would you mind explaining to us why you are not sleeping?" asked Master Splinter.
Normally, I would explain the dream but it was too frightening to talk about. I didn't really want to talk about it. Not to my brothers.
"I really don't want to talk about it," I said.
"Leonardo, I am not giving you an option, I would like to know why you're in the Realm of Dreams every night and not sleeping when I tell you to go back to bed," said Master Splinter.
"I do have options," I snapped, "I choose not to talk about it."
I turned away from all the shocked looks. I never had an emotional outburst before. I walked towards the sleeping quarters.
"Leonardo, if you do not come back here and tell us what is going on, I will not allow you to go to the Realm of Dreams," called Master Splinter.
I turned. I couldn't believe that I was being punished. I started to walk towards him.
"You can't do that," I said.
"Yes I can. Your punishment will continue until you tell us what is going on," said Master Splinter.
"But Master . . ." I started to say.
"It starts now," said Master Splinter.
I stormed towards my room. I was so tired but I couldn't sleep in fear of the dream returning. I laid on the bed of old times sake. I was so out of it that I didn't hear Donny come into the room.
"Hey Leo, are you okay?" asked Donny.
"Huh . . . Oh yea, I'm okay," I answered.
"Leo, Master Splinter sent me in here to talk to you. You've never had an emotional outburst before. If you did you've never showed it. Leo, why are you sleep deprived?" he asked.
"I don't want to talk about it," I said.
"Leo this is important! You're our leader, you're there for each of us. Depriving yourself of sleep isn't good for you," he said.
"It's too hard to talk about. After all, you've never witnessed a murder before," argued.
Donny had a shocked look on his face. I realized what I had said. I knew he would tell Master Splinter for sure.
"Leo, who's murder did you witness?" asked Donny.
"I don't know. That's the weird thing. All I know was there were gunmen involved. Also, I didn't witness just one murder, I witnessed two murders," I answered.
"That's why you didn't want to talk about it," said Donny.
"I'm afraid so," I said.
"You really should tell Master Splinter about this," said Donny.
"The whole thing is just a dream. At first I thought this was nothing but then it repeated every time I slept for about a month," I said.
"Master Splinter could help solve this," said Donny as he got to his feet.
"Donny, No!" I called.
"Why?" he asked.
"I don't like the thought of going under hypnosis," I said.
"This is why you didn't want to tell Master Splinter . . . Leo, you have to. If you don't, who knows what could happen to you. Would you rather not sleep and nearly be killed by the Shredder or would you rather go under hypnosis?" asked Donny.
"I'm okay with never sleeping and dying," I said trying to be tough.
Don gave me a surprised look. He then left the room. I knew he had gone to tell Master Splinter. With that, I followed him to where the others gathered. I had hidden so the others did not see me. Don was already telling the others about the murders and rather not sleeping and dying when I had gotten there.
"This is serious, dudes," said Mikey.
"How could he have witnessed two murders?" asked Raph.
"I don't know," said Don.
"In order to find out more about these murders, he would need to go under hypnosis," said Master Splinter.
"That's what he's afraid of," said Don.
"Ha! Leo's scared of a little hypnosis. What a wimp," said Raph.
"I wouldn't be talking Raph, you're also afraid of hypnosis," said Mikey.
"Any ideas?" asked Don.
No one had any ideas on how to help me. I looked up at the clock. It was almost two o'clock. I only had about an hour before my friend would call me into meditation. I had to do something.
Come on. You've never been scared. You've always been so brave, I remembered hearing. I remembered that my friend said that. It almost seemed like she was urging me on.
Well, here goes nothing, I thought.
I got up and walked over to them, unnoticed. I wanted to leave but I knew it was for the best.
"Leo," everyone shouted.
"Master Splinter, I know that Donatello told you what was going on. It's just so hard for me to talk about. I'm not mad at Donatello, I'm actually relieved," I forced myself to say.
"Leonardo, you do realize that hypnosis is your only option, correct?" asked Master Splinter
"Yes, I do," I said.
"Are you ready for it now?" asked Master Splinter.
"Yes I am," I said.
I laid down on the floor. A soft pillow was put under my head. I was told to relax. I did everything that Master Splinter told me to do. I soon found myself in the scene of my dream, a large nursery, in my astral body (in other words, the body I can walk into dreams or the past in).
"What do you see, Leonardo?" I heard a voice say.
"I'm in a large nursery. I see . . . me! Myself! I'm three years old. I'm in the room with three three-year-old female turtles and two other male turtles. The two boys look a lot like me. I'm assuming they're related to me in some way. Two girls look a lot alike, I'm assuming they're sisters. The other girl, I guess she's just a friend. We're playing tag. I just caught one of the boys.
I say, 'you're it brother.'
He turns to me and says, 'You may be my twin but I'm still able to get you!'
He starts running after me. The talking that we're doing is in some other language that I know but I'm not sure what language it is. Something comes through the window. It's a grappling hook! We all get scared and run towards the corner of the room. Four female turtles run into the room. They try to fight the gunmen. Two stop fighting and runs over to us.
"Hurry kids," one of them yelled.
We followed the female turtles. One of us doesn't. I looked back to see a small female turtle unable to move because of fright. I ran back to her.
"Majestia, grab my hand," I found myself saying.
She grabbed my hand and we ran. I could sense that there were gunmen behind us. We tried to run faster.
"Aleena, the kids," screamed one of the female turtles.
The female turtle pushed us out the door. We looked back. Five gunshots were fired. I watched the female turtle that helped us fall to the ground, dead. The other that was still fighting rushed towards her fallen friend. Five more shots were fired. She, too, fell to the floor, dead.
"Noooo!" I screamed.
The two females slam the door and lock it," I said as I could sense the tears that rolled down my face.
"Go on, Leonardo," said the voice again.
"My mother and the other turtle who happens to be the girl's (the one I saved) mother take us to a room. The girl who is friends with us is crying. The other male turtle, my cousin, is also crying. Our fathers are sitting at a table. My mother and Majestia's mother sit down at the table also. Majestia and I try to comfort our friends. The adults are talking in plain English. I don't understand it.
Finally, I'm brought to the room that I share with my brother. I'm awakening by Majestia's scream in the guestroom. I can't back to sleep. I'm afraid that someone is trying to hurt her. My parents come in moments later. I pretend to be sleep. My parents pick me up. They don't pick up my brother. I'm brought to a science lab. I hear Majestia scream again. I start to struggle away from my parents. One of the doctors comes over to me and my parents. He has a needle! I try to struggle even more. I can't get away. I get the needle in my arm to relax me. My whole body relaxes. I watch as Majestia is turned a regular turtle. I'm next. I'm put onto a table, unable to move. I soon fall asleep as I'm also turned into a turtle. Majestia and I are put into something that resembles turtles' eggs.
What feels like weeks later, I manage to break out of the object. I look at Majestia. I find her scared. We can communicate with each other but not with the others. We're put with the rest of the turtle. I decide to try communicating with the rest of the turtles. I find five little turtles close by, three males, two females. I'm about to try to communicate with the other turtles when the seven of us, including me and Majestia, are put into a fish bowl and transported to a pet store.
It doesn't take long before some kid buys the seven of us. We're dropped, landing on a man named Homato Yoshi. We live there happily but Majestia and I want to go home.
One day Mutigen falls onto us. Magestia and I are not exposed to it. At first but as more mutagen comes in, we're exposed to it. Homato Yoshi comes back to see all of us in the mutagen. He exposes himself to get us out. Soon we all start to mutate. Slowly the girls that were with us disappear. Majestia even disappears. Look all over but I can't find her. Homato Yoshi tries to tell me she's gone but I don't understand his English or Japanese. I eventually forget about my family, my friends, and, worst of all, Majestia. I was told to take care of her but I never remembered the message or who Majestia was," I said as I started to remember my family and past.
"Leonardo, come back," said Master Splinter softly.
I opened my eyes. I looked around. The others sat there in shock. Master Splinter stood there with tears in his eyes.
"Leonardo, you are the one who knows the truth. Yes, there were seven turtles in the jar. I sent the girls away to my friend. I didn't want you four to grow up fighting over them. I thought none of you would remember them but Leonardo remembers them through his painful memories," said Master Splinter.
"You mean these were just painful memories?" I asked.
"Yes. I do not know who your parents are but there is a race of mutant turtles on a hidden island. Perhaps one of then would know who they are," said Master Splinter.
"Would we ever be able to go there?" I asked.
"Yes, you will. In the future. There is an academy for ninjas that a friend of mine runs. I have wanted to enroll all of you for some advanced training," said Master Splinter
Later that day, none of us talked about the painful memories that were in my past. I was able to go to the Realm of Dreams to see my friend. That night, I was able to fall asleep with no problems. I found a journal that I used to keep. I wrote down every vow to find Majestia and my family. These vows, I vowed with all of my honor.