Twist of Fate
Chapter 1: Small Miracles
A/N: This little plot bunny came into my head last night. Seriously, I wish these bunnies would leave me alone as I have so many other stories to work on already. So, we all know about the fifth turtle and how that story was handled on the show. Well, I've decided to put my own spin on the story of how the Turtles would be different if they had a little sister. I know many other authors have attempted this themselves, and I wanted to do so myself and put my own spin on it. I hope that you enjoy this story and that you at least give it a chance.
Disclaimer: I don't own the TMNT or anyone associated with them. I do own the OC in this story.
Summary: As I gazed at the little ones surrounding me, I realized that although I had lost my beloved Master, I had gained five lives to care for and nurture. This was an unusual twist of fate but one that I decided to accept.
I was lost. That was the only feeling to describe how I felt at that moment. My beloved Master Yoshi had been cruelly taken away from me, and I did not know how I would go on. I did not want to live anymore without him. I almost wished a cat would come and eat me. At least it would be a quick death and painless for me. I was wandering the streets, unsure of what I was supposed to do. Where could I go? What could I do?
But then a disturbance reached me, causing my fur to raise in alarm. A truck was careening out of control, and a blind man was walking along the street, oblivious to the danger. The tires' screeching assaulted my ears, and I longed to save the man who was most likely about to be killed just as my Master had been killed, without warning and with no way to fight back. It was then that a young boy darted out in the street and pushed the man out of the way of the truck. The bowl he had been handling fell out of his hands and crashed to the pavement, and the objects inside were swept away toward the sewers.
I do not know what caused me to do it, but instinct told me to save these young lives. I followed them into the sewer and nearly got hit by a passing canister that fell from the truck. I dodged it skillfully, but the objects in the bowl were not so lucky. The canister smashed over them, and I was afraid that they had been hurt. Upon closer inspection, I saw that they were five young turtles, though I hardly recognized them because of the substance that covered them.
I picked each one up, wiping the substance off of them. Of course, it stuck to my own fur, and I had such a time trying to get it off. Once I succeeded at that task, I gathered the little ones up in an old coffee can and proceeded to roll it further along. I found a safe place where I knew we would be protected and pushed the coffee can into that spot. The little ones were crying, and I knew they wanted me to get them out of their prison of sorts, so I picked each one up and set it on the ground.
As I gazed at the little ones surrounding me, I knew that even though I had lost my beloved Master Yoshi, I had gained five young lives to care for and nurture. I did not know how I would do it, but I would do my best. This was an unusual twist of fate but one that I decided to accept.
22222
As the weeks passed, something extraordinary was happening to all of us. By the time I woke up the next day, I found that the turtles had doubled in size and that I, too, was growing as well. I was amazed by this and could not understand how it had happened. I knew that I would have to scavenge for food for the little ones, but I did not know what they ate. I decided the best way to find out was to try and find as much food as I can. I ushered the little ones to a safe alcove just in case the sewer workers came upon them and signaled that they were to stay there. They looked puzzled, so I decided to try and form words. I was not sure if I could speak, but I knew that I had to do something to make them understand.
"St-ay," I sounded out. I remembered many words my Master Yoshi had spoken to me, and recalled what he often said when he had to leave on a mission. "I wi-ll re-turn." Then I hurried away to find food for my little ones.
As I navigated my way through the sewers, I realized that I was a lot bigger than I had been before, and it would be difficult for me to conceal myself as easily as it had been in my true rat form. Nevertheless, I remembered the lessons my Master Yoshi had taught me about the art of ninjitsu and felt that perhaps I could use these lessons to aid me in my search for food.
Luckily, it was dark when I ventured to the surface, and I was able to stay in the alleys. There were a few homeless people here and there, but they paid me no mind. I scavenged trash receptacles outside of restaurants, hoping that I could find something suitable for my little ones. I knew that most of the food would hardly be edible, but there were no options for me at the time. It was while searching through one of the trash receptacles that I came upon an abandoned trench coat and hat. I smiled as I knew that this would help me to conceal my appearance better. I put on the coat and saw that it hid my body well and that I was able to wrap my tail inside one of the inner pockets. It was a bit uncomfortable for me, but it would have to do. The hat was a little large, and I knew that it would be hard for me to hide my ears, but I managed to do so after a few attempts.
Satisfied with my disguise, I decided to venture to one of the soup kitchens. Here, I was given a good quantity of food to last me for a few days. I was a bit apprehensive when I entered, afraid that someone would discover what I was, but no one said anything about my appearance. Taking that as a good sign, I thanked everyone in Japanese for their generosity and left with my packages. I hurried back to the alleyway I had come out of and wondered how I would be able to carry my packages with me. I decided that I would have to make a few trips up and down to carry everything down to the sewer and did so. It was a bit difficult, but I managed, though I almost dropped one of the packages.
When I arrived home, I was afraid my little ones had left me, but then I heard a small cry and saw one of them coming toward me. I put my packages down and embraced the small turtle, rubbing its shell in a comforting way. The baby quieted and then looked at the packages I had brought down. Though it could not speak yet, it sniffed the air and smelled the food that was tucked inside.
I put the turtle down and rummaged in one of the packages until I came up with a loaf of bread. The young turtles were small, but I did not know what they would eat at the age that they were. The other turtles also smelled the food and came hurrying over to see what I had. I broke the bread in small pieces and first fed it to the olive green turtle I held in my arms. The turtle nibbled at the bread then spat it out. I was confused as I did not know what to feed them. I tried to feed bread to the others, but they also spat it out. Apparently, they were not ready for such food. I looked for something else and settled on a can of baby food, applesauce to be precise. I had no spoon, so I dipped my finger into the jar and gave it to the baby turtle. The young one licked the applesauce off my finger, and I braced myself to see if he or she (I did not know their gender at this point) would spit it out. Luckily, the young turtle swallowed it and then asked for more with a little cry. I gave the turtle more until he or she could eat no more. Then I gave the others some applesauce and saw that they liked it as well. I gave them milk to drink, once again using my finger as I had no glasses or a bottle for them to suck on. They all drank the milk greedily, happy to have something to drink.
I soon learned what food my children preferred and which ones they did not like at all. I remembered each time and reminded myself which foods they liked the most, though sometimes I would forget and be reminded when one of them spit out some food. In time, they grew used to foods such as bread and meat, though we did not have meat that often because I sometimes could not get fresh meat for them. Of course, they grew even more than they had at first, and I was amazed at how fast it happened. They even began to make more sounds, and I could tell that they were trying to speak. I, too, had learned to speak properly while listening to the humans on the surface and could soon speak English fairly well, though I did stumble once in a while.
Because the turtles were growing, I had to move my burrow a few times because it became too small to accommodate all of us. I began taking the turtles on walks and pointing out certain things, trying to get them to speak. I could tell that they were trying, but they were having a hard time doing so. Then, one day, the olive green turtle spoke my name. I was amazed and urged him (I could tell he was a male by the voice) to speak again. He did so, pointing to me and looking at the others. I was astounded by this small step, even more astounded than when the turtles had begun walking on two legs instead of four.
After that, all of the turtles began talking, though not all at once. The last turtle had a bit of a hard time speaking, but she soon learned. I knew that I would have to give them names so that I could tell them apart more easily. On one of my scavenging missions, I discovered an old book on Renaissance artists that had been discarded. I picked it up and took it with me. The turtles crowded around me, wondering what I had. I explained that it was a book and that we could look at it together. It was in this book that I found the names for my children.
It was while I was reading the book that my children grew tired. I marked my place and began getting them ready for bed. I picked up the basic green turtle and kissed him on the forehead.
"I love you, Leonardo," I said to him. "May you have sweet dreams." Then I tucked him into the small nest I had made for them and made sure he was warm.
I then repeated the ritual for Raphael (the dark green turtle), Donatello (the olive green turtle), Michelangelo (the blue green turtle), and Lucia (the spring green turtle). I gazed upon my little ones and prayed to Master Yoshi that I would be able to care for them for many years. After reading a bit more in the book I had found, I settled down beside my children and hoped that their dreams would carry over into mine.
A/N: Well, that's the first chapter. I wasn't sure what to name the fifth turtle, so I decided to do some research on female Renaissance artists and decided to call her Lucia. What do you think? Feel free to leave a review, and have a shelltastic day.