Prologue
Ba Sing Se holds many shadows during the late hours. The bender-made walls that towered over the area of the Lower Ring were the cause of most of these deep, inky patches that were void of light. The slums there were cast into a constant gloom caused by the upper class territory as it looked down on the city's poorest population. The small, stacked and crowded houses there were tucked into one another and enfolded in this darkness, trying to give off what little light they could by means of oil burning lamps in their windows. The effect only proved to cast an eerie glow with flickering and shifting shadows into the already depressing scenery. These constantly moving and ever present shadows went unnoticed by the inhabitants of the Lower Ring. Or they would go unnoticed if one dared venture out into the crime riddled territory that the night had to offer.
That was why the two figures cloaked in black were able to flit through the slums undetected that night. One was tall and built, the cloak hiding a very obviously powerful person underneath, whether it be a bender or not. For such a large person, it moved silently. Not even the sound of what should have been heavy footsteps came from the being. The other was just as silent but significantly shorter as well as thinner. This form moved more precisely than its bulkier companion and its movements were more swift. If anyone were to even catch a glimpse of the two beings, they may merely think of the forms as a trick of the eye caused by the wavering flames of the lamp lights. But no one would detect them, for they were far too stealthy to be noticed so easily.
The two leaped over the small spaces between the rooftops of the small stone and clay houses, ducked between the narrow alleyways the area provided, and stayed out of the light of any of the windows that were not yet boarded up for the night. It was as the two began to duck under one of these windows that the smaller figure stopped abruptly.
"Here." A feminine whisper was let out, causing the larger figure to halt and turn towards the smaller one expectantly. After pressing itself against the wall, the person who had spoken lifted two pale, dainty hands from under the dark cloak to pull back the over sized hood surrounding its face. Skin as smooth and white as porcelain was revealed, as was the dark, long hair that framed the face it held. Stunning violet eyes flicked nervously between the window the beautiful young woman stood by and the tall figure that was still shrouded. A shuddering breath passed between her thin, pink lips as she slowly maneuvered herself so that she could peek inside the window. What she saw stole her breath.
It was a single room house. The stucco walls surrounded the dimly lit room that held a small kitchen tucked neatly into one corner that had a small stone table with one chair pushed underneath it. The other chair was beside a two person bed, and was currently occupied by the slumped and snoozing form of a green and yellow turtle man. His clothes were ragged, brown, and torn in several places. Dirt was obvious on his face and hid many of the bright yellow markings there. His reptilian skin looked worn and callused with age, though there were no wrinkles, as turtle men were often known for their long life spans and keeping their youthful looks. Despite the obvious stress and poverty the terrapin faced, there was a smile resting on his lips as he slept. The reason for his contentment laid with the turtle woman he had his three finger hands interlocked with as they both slept, and the nest of blankets surrounded by oil lamps by the opposite wall.
The woman was a rusty orange color, some of her scales much darker than the rest of her body, giving her a haphazard checkered look. Her body was covered with a thick blanket that had been carefully tucked around her, and her face also looked at peace as she held the hand of her lover in her slumber. She was certainly a specimen that would be considered beautiful by her species, the Kame. They looked so peaceful. The pair had obviously just been through something big. And as the woman peeking through the window looked to the pile of blankets, she knew just what that event had been. Her breath nearly left her as she took into consideration what she was about to do. She was going to destroy these two innocent's peace. Before the guilt of what was to come could seep into her bones, the woman forced herself to refocus on her mission.
"Over there." She whispered as her companion came to look into the window at her side. A grunt that sounded more like a growl came from the tall, dark form that made the woman look warily over to the other.
"We shouldn't be here." Came the deep, masculine voice that reverberated in the air even though the figure was whispering. The woman gulped and nodded solemnly. The taller man looked out at her from behind his hood, and she caught sight of his cold blue eyes glinting doubtfully in the orange light from inside the house. "I still don't understand just how you can be so sure."
"My friend, tomorrow we will surely hear word of his death." Her voice was laced with a deep undertone of sorrow and grief, and the blue eyes gazing at her suddenly flashed with anger and sadness. "He is already gone. I can feel it."
"You can't be certain!" The tall man suddenly shouted, and both ducked down immediately to avoid being detected from the now stirring form inside the house. Neither of them breathed for a few painstaking heartbeats, but no noises came from inside. The woman sighed dejectedly as she found the courage to breath again.
"Dollon... You know as well as I do that he is gone. Your connection with him ran too deep for you not to feel it. A light that burned as brightly as he would not go unnoticed when so suddenly extinguished." Her words were met with silence as Dollon took them in. He went rigid and she swore she could hear a hitch in his breath. The woman's hand reached out to tenderly hold his shoulder. "There is nothing you or I could have done. He went to that place knowing what would happen. But we can still protect him by doing this now."
There was a long moment of silence that followed her words. After a sharp shudder and nod of determination from the man, the young woman let go of Dollon's shoulder and they both looked back through the window, this time slowly creeping further up to creep inside. They didn't want to risk waking the two sleeping forms as they tiptoes past, so they gave the bed as wide a berth as they could in the small room and made their way to the shrine of blankets. The woman knelt down beside it and moved a shaking hand over the top cover. She pulled it away gently to reveal the treasure underneath that made her gasp in horror. Four large eggs, smooth and undefiled, lay among the blankets. Their white shells rivaled the color of her skin and stood out in contrast to the dingy yet warm covers they rest in.
"No..." She whispered hoarsely at the four oblong eggs, her expression of horror dissipating into one of utter confusion and concern. Dollon gasped quietly behind her.
"What... What does this mean?" His voice sounded as uncertain as she felt, and she found herself shaking her head as she lifted a trembling hand to hover above the warm shells that held life underneath them. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on the chi emanating strongly form the new life forces inside of the eggs. What she discovered made her gasp and nearly fall over. "Kievara!"
"This... This can't be!" She felt stunned, baffled, and horrified at what she had discovered. She quickly recovered from her shock, though, as she swooped down to cup one of the eggs in her hand and turn quickly to Dollon. "We can't let this be known! We must hide them, quickly!" She shouted, ignoring the rushed shushing she was getting from Dollon.
"Kievara be quiet and calm down! Tell me what's going on!" Dollon whispered to the frantic woman who was now shoving towards him the egg in her hands. He reached out reluctantly to take the unborn being from her, revealing his thick, fur covered arms that were white with black stripes. His large hand that resembled paws tenderly took the egg as Kievara turned back to the remaining eggs and gathered them up, looking as if she was barely able to hold them all safely in her small arms.
"There is no time to explain! Saki's men will be here any moment, I know it! Take that one to the Yamamoto's in the Upper Ring, quickly!" She ordered with an urgency that only proved to further alarm Dollon. Before he could open his mouth to reply or protest, though, a startled shout came from behind him. The large man whipped around so fast that his hood fell from his face and revealed the cat like features of a white tiger whose face held numerous scars. His blue eyes met with the angry dark brown ones of the Kame man who had been sleeping until this point.
"Wh-what are you doing! Let go of my children!" He demanded as he rushed to a stand, the chair clattering behind him as he did so. Dollon winced and was filled with pity for the man, but knew what had to be done as he reached for a pouch hidden on his waist by his long cloak. Before the turtle man could react, the tiger had thrown a fistful of green powder into his face and the reptile instantly hit the floor.
"I am sorry, friend. I know the loss of a cub well." He whispered as he stooped down to pick the unconsious terrapin up with one powerful hand and lay him across the foot of the bed. That was when he noticed the wide eyed and sad gray stare of the woman lying in the bed. He instantly reached for the powder again, but hesitated when he made full eye contact with the weepy gaze. He found himself at a loss for words as her lips quivered and parted.
"I knew you would come." She groaned as she tried in vain to sit up, the pain of having only giving birth a few hours ago keeping her from doing so. Dollon felt a dreadful lump in his chest as he pulled out a handful of the powder and held it tightly in a clenched fist. "I had a vision during my labor. They're... special, aren't they?"
The tiger felt one of his rare moments of weakness hit him. It was all too much. First the passing of his friend, and now this! Taking away the children of such a happy couple reminded him so much of his past mistakes that it threatened to consume him entirely. Luckily Kievara was there to help him, looking much more composed than she had been only a few moments ago.
"More so than you will ever know." His human friend gently responded as she neared the bedside with the three eggs now securely fastened to her side by the cloak that had been taken off and retied to make a sort of makeshift sling. The mother did not reach out to them, but looked longingly in their direction, a lost look in her eyes.
"They are my firstborn... I will lay many more clutches in the years to come, but they are special to me. My boys." Kievara swallowed her guilt that came up when the thought of how difficult it was for the Kame species to reproduce. Once mating was successfully, though, a female Kame was known to lay fertile eggs once a year for many years, even if her mate died or left her. The mothers were known also for their deep bond with their young, able to sense their gender and grow to know their children before the ever hatched. To have such an important part of her being ripped away from her must be like torture. The thought was confirmed when tears spilled out of the turtle woman's eyes and she sobbed once. "I won't remember them, will I?" Kievara was stunned. This woman's intuition was so sharp that she had to wonder if there was another force at work here.
"No." She answered simply. Dollon looked away as a wail ripped from the woman. Knowing her feline companion would most likely not be able to handle the guilt of taking the necessary steps, Kievara went for her own pouch of powder that was specifically made to wipe the memory of those who breathed it in. As she retrieved her hand from the pouch, the turtle woman looked at her seriously with eyes filled to the brim with both grief and pleading. The human was sure the turtle was going to beg for er eggs back, so when the Kame asked for something totally different, she found herself shocked once again.
"Please, remember their names!" She said desperately, and Kievara cocked her head to the side. "Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, Michelangelo. Please, if I can do nothing else for them, let them have the names I gave them."
"I... Understand." Kievara stammered, lifting her hand full of green powder and looking deep into the eyes of the woman she was about to rip away the love from. Those gray eyes softened the moment she spoke, and a smile of relief filled her face. Not wanting to bear the weight of any more emotions, the human desperately flung her powder in the Kame's face, who fell back limply against her pillows. The dark haired girl turned swiftly and frantically to the window and clambered out as fast as she could, Dollon at her heels as they ran away from the scene in a guilt ridden, panicked mess. No longer were they one with the shadows, but fighting desperately against them, trying to get as far away from the darkness of their burning emotions as they went. Neither said a word until they came to a stop at last on a rooftop several miles away. Panting and overexerted, Kievara finally let herself break down and feel the full effect of the day's events. She wanted to scream and cry, curse the Spirits and her hated enemy for putting her and her friends, and so, so, so many innocent lives through such devastation. But she couldn't, not yet. They weren't out of the woods just yet.
"Kieva." Dollon's voice was thick with emotion and the woman turned to her friend sadly when he called her nickname. He glanced down at the egg cradled in his hand sadly.
"Take him to the Yamamoto's and meet me in Republic City in one week." She quickly held up a hand when he tried to either question her or protest. "I will place these three in good care. There is much that needs to be explained, but... I'm not sure I have all the answers. Please, Dollon, trust me. No one can know that four were born."
"Kieva, this is impossible, though! How will we know which one is the Avatar? You're supposed to know these things!" Dollon just couldn't help himself from blurting out his desperation. They had come to protect the Avatar, and yet even though they have been through so much, they were no closer to doing so than they had been their entire lives. Kievara instantly looked furious at his outburst.
"I just said that I don't! What can I do, Dollon? I'm just as lost here as you!" She cried in rage, hot tears finally streaking down her cheeks as she gripped tightly to her load, knuckles turning a paler shade of white that she already was. The tiger's whiskers twitched furiously as his face fought to soften from its scowling expression. She scoffed and used a hand to rub at her wet cheeks, "Please, Just listen to me for once." Dollon's blue eyes seemed to search her face a moment longer before he sighed and looked away from her, turning towards the direction of the inner workings of Ba Sing Se.
"Fine. But you owe me an explanation for all of this when all is done." He huffed as he turned on his heel and tried not to notice the relived details his friend's feature's now held. He went to the edge of the roof and paused, flicking his round, nicked ears back suddenly in Kievara's direction. Without looking back he threw a question at her. "What will this one's name be?"
"Leonardo." The reply was instant, as if she had been expecting the question. "The first to be named by his mother, the first to be taken away from her." Her cringed inwardly at the statement and nodded sharply, jumping down into the alley below him and disappearing from her sight.
Now left alone on the rooftop, Kievara took a moment to look into the night sky in an attempt to compose her thoughts and plan her next move. She was captivated, though, by the large pale circle in the sky that signified a full moon. The moon that her late friend always loved. She sucked in a sharp breath as she suddenly felt a wave of pain go through her heart.
"Not yet, not yet." She whispered to herself as she laid a hand on the sling resting against her hip. She was startled to feel the chi emanating from one of the eggs become unnervingly strong. It pulsated with such a familiar aura that another tear made it's way from her eye. She sighed and closed her eyes before beginning to move slowly towards her new destination, a heavy sadness in her heart.
"Oh, Yoshi," She breathed, "Please protect these children. I don't think we can do it without you."