Attention: I don't own TMNT; but you already knew that.
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AN: If you are reading this, make sure you read Bonds first! If you don't none of this will make sense and you will be going WTF is this about? So do us both a favor and read my other story first!
"Come back for Christmas" He said, giving her a smile filled with love
"I promise" She replied, knowing that she would keep the promise, even if it killed her
Our female turtle opened her eyes to see the sun rise, on another day.
Japan is so beautiful, she thought as the wind rustled through her hair. She stood up, from her lotus position to look at the four stones sticking up from the ground in front of her. It had been three months since that night, and her promise still stood.
"Mother, I have found four turtles and they are as spirited as we once were" She said to one of the stones. There was no name, only a pair of tessens with a ying yang sign engraved on the handles, carved into the stone. [AN: Tessens are iron fans]
Moving to one of the other stones, she said "Tori, one of them has a worst temper than you. His name is Raphael and I am very close to him, as I was to you". Again there was no name, only double Sais engraved.
Again the wind blew through her hair, and she knew it was time to leave. Running her hand over the graves, a tear slipped down her cheek. She felt a person approach her from behind, his aura filled with fear and murderous intent.
She turned to see the Elite member, his axe glinting in the rising light.
"What do you want?" She asked, her voice calm
"You dead" He spat out
"Why? I have done nothing to you" She replied, her voice calm as the wind flowing around them
"My master is angry with me and you are the only way for me to earn his respect back!" The ninja yelled
"Is his respect worth it?" She said
He looked to her in anger before attacking. Her katanas were out to blocking the first strike, before he attacked. She knocked him back, before re sheathing her swords.
"What are you doing!?!" He asked, astonished that she had made herself defenseless
"Answer my question" She said, looking to him
"What?" He stuttered, what was she talking about?
She didn't respond and walked to walk towards him.
"Stay back" He said, but she kept coming forward. Her eyes icy, looking at him. He raised his axe and held it, ready to strike her down.
"Do it, kill me" She paused before continuing "But is it worth throwing your honor away, for him?"
No, he thought lowering his weapon, he;s not worth it. I have followed him my entire life. I have attack innocent people, stolen, and killed for him. I thought that was the right thing to do, my destiny but it's not. To kill her would strip him of any honor he had left and his master wouldn't care. The Shredder didn't care if he was hurt, all he cared about was if he failed. He had been beaten for not completing a mission. For god sake, he was in Japan! He had tracked her for two months, just because his master ordered him to. He didn't even have a name, he was just an Elite member. A soulless killer with no emotions, who preyed on the weak.
"I can't..." He said, throwing down his axe
She stood there, her calm eyes looking at him with wisdom in her eyes.
"You can't what?" She asked
"I can't...My mind is at war. What I know as the truth and what I have been taught my entire life are fighting for control. I am at a loss of what do to and mean while my mind is in ruins as they fight to prove they are right. What will my Master think if I return without you?" He said, sinking to his knees.
"It doesn't matter what he thinks, it's you thoughts that matter" She said, sitting beside him.
"Please do me a favor..." He asked, his mind clear with a decision
"What would that be?" She asked, looking to the sun
"Kill me" He said, looking to her
"Why do you wish to join the dead?" She replied, pointing to the graves near them
"I don't wish to kill you and if I go back I will be forced to serve him, which I also don't wish to do" The Elite member answered, looking to the ground
"No" She said, standing up
"What?" He said, confused
"I will not kill you, you still have much to do" She said, walking away
No I can't, he thought, I can't go back. I can't go back to not caring about the people I hurt, just being a soulless person.
"If you will not, then I will make you" He said grabbing his axe before rushing at her back.
His blade glinted in the rising sun, as it came down.
On the other side of the world, instead of rising the sun was setting.
He was sitting on the rooftop, looking to the appearing stars.
It was cold, the city covered in a blanket of snow.
It's Christmas eve, he thought, she should be here soon.
It had been three months, since he had let her go. Since he had found out that the Shredder had killed one of their own, her sister. Since he had let her walk out of the lair. His brothers had woken up to her room being empty, only he knew where she had gone. She had left, because she wanted to protect them.
He was torn from his thoughts by a ring.
"Yeah?" He said, into his shell cell
"Nice greeting" He heard Leo say, with a smirk
"Well its better than yours, "This is Leonardo, what is the nature of your emergency?" He replied with a laugh
"Whatever Raph, come back to the lair" His brother said, and he could just imagine Leo's eyes rolling
"Why?" He said, grinning from the mental image
"Mikey wants you here for milk and cookies" Leo replied
"Okay be there soon, just keep him away from....you know" He said, stopping himself at the end
"Just be back soon" He heard his elder say, his voice hollow
The line went dead, and Raphael looked to the stars once more.
"I promise"
Can't wait to see you, he thought, before taking off across the city towards his home and hopefully his sister.
Leonardo put down the phone, his brother's words ringing through his head.
"Just keep away from...you know"
I know, he thought, her room.
He looked to the words around his neck.
All great leaders make mistakes
She believed in him, she had said so by giving him the bronze circle.
What he wanted to know was, did he make a mistake? Why did she leave and in the night, sneaking away?
Was it his fault, she had left?
He thoughts were interrupted by Mikey's voice coming from the main room.
"IT'S CHRISTMAS EVE!!!" The voice sang
A smile came to his face, even if he was feeling bad that's no reason to bring down his brothers. Mikey had finally got back some of his happiness after what happened at Halloween. The three older brother's had made a silent agreement to distract him, whatever ways they could, so that his thoughts didn't wander back to her.
The truth was that they all were suffering, though the youngest turtle didn't see any of that.
Raph was out longer, just looking to the stars. He hadn't snapped at Mikey in weeks, which worried the family. It was if he was on a do not hit or yell at Mikey binge.
Don was in his lab more than ever before. No one really knew what he was doing and whenever anyone asked, they were shooed away. No one was able to get close enough to see what he was doing before being discovered. He distanced himself from the others, even missing practice for no reason. Master Splinter had forgiven him, the first few times due to the emotional thing that had happened. After a few weeks of it though, he had to be escorted to practice so that he would attend.
And he....
He really didn't know what he had been doing differently, if anything.
He knew that his brothers had noticed a change in his behavior, but nothing big like them. He meditated, practiced, and drank tea like normal. Had any thing really changed when she left? He missed her presence being there, reassuring him. He didn't know what changes had happened to him.
Again his thoughts were interrupted by Mikey, this time in person.
His brother's face popped though the door way, a smile on his face.
"Help me drag Donnie out his lab?" He asked, grinning
"Sure" He said, following his brother out of the dojo.
His thoughts were filled with her face once more,as he walked, before she was gone.
Hmmm, Donatello thought.
He was on the computer, the same place he had been for the last few months.
Was there another turtle in the jar, beside him and his brothers?
Did dragons really exist, or was she just bragging when she said they did?
Why did the Shredder want her?, because obviously she didn't tell them all she knew
All these questions had become busy work for him, since she had left.
It was his coping mechanism, to ask questions. Instead of dealing with his sadness, he instead buried himself in work. His main concern was answering the questions he asked and distracting Mikey.
"Why don't we try that house?" He said, to Mikey who was beside him
It was Halloween, and they were trick or treating. It was for Mikey, who was still sulking that she was gone. He hadn't wanted to go, but the combined effort of the himself and his elder brothers had finally convinced him. They didn't have costumes, so they were themselves. Already they had been complimented on their life like costumes.
"Okay" Mikey replied, bouncing to the door
"Good idea" Leo said to him, looking at Mikey's smile
"Thanks, I thought he would like all the sugar" He said back
Mikey returned, dropping his prizes into the bag Raph was carrying.
"What did ya get?" The red banded turtle asked
"Two Kit-Kats and sweet tarts" Mikey replied, as they started walking towards the next house
"I get the chocolate" Raph said, glad to see him happy
"No way!" The younger turtle said, shock in his voice
"Yes, I do" Raph replied, a grin on his face
"Why would you?" Mikey asked, his arms crossed against his chest
"My fee for carrying your stash, duh" Raph said
He and Leo shook their heads at the two, though they were having a good time watching the two argue over candy.
"You volunteered to do that!" Mikey retorted
"Whateva, I still get part of your stash!" Raph countered
The orange turtle was about to argue, when he felt a light tap on his shell. He turned to see two children, both about ten years of age, smiling at him.
"Cool costume" One of the the two said, who was dressed as Harry Potter. His robe was to big for him and there were plastic glasses perched on his nose.
Mikey grinned at the little boy and said "Thanks, you look pretty cool dude"
"I like the other one better" The other child said, she was dressed as a classic princess. Dressed in white, she fit the part of princess except for the lollipop stick coming out of her mouth.
"Another brat" Raph muttered under his breath so the children couldn't hear
"What other one?" The boy asked, turning to his candy hunting partner
"You know the one that we saw three houses ago" She replied, rolling her eyes
"Well you know, we are the originals....OW!" Mikey said, before getting a smack from Raph along with glares from both of the other brothers.
"The turtle costumes were our idea, the others are copying us" He said quickly, drowing any suspicion that they weren't dressed up
"Yeah, well the one we saw was more original than you" The female child said, putting her hands on her hips
"How?" Raph said back with the same amount of attitude
"Are you talking about the female turtle?" The boy asked
They all froze, as the children's mouths kept running.
"Yes, the one with the yellow bandanna" The princess said, pulling the sucker out of her mouth
"Your right she was...AGH!" The boy started to say, before being shaken by Mikey
"WHERE?" The orange bandanna asked, his eyes wide
"Ummm....." The kid said, getting freaked out by the giant "costume wearing" turtle
"Mikey" Leo said, although his heart was racing at possible news
Mikey backed off, looking to his brothers with a hopeful look in his baby blue eyes.
"Excuse my brother, he had too much sugar" He said in a calm voice
"It's okay" The little boy replied, obliviously shaken though
"Can you tell us where you saw this other turtle?" He asked
"Sure, but it will cost ya" The punk princess said, twirling the stick in her mouth
"I got something" Mikey said, excitement in his voice as he dug into his bag of candy
The girl's eyes went wide, the sucker falling from her mouth
A goofy grin came to the boy's face, all the nervousness dispersing.
"Happy Halloween" Mikey said, handing each of the children a lollipop as big as their head.
"Where did you even get those?" Raph said, staring at the giant candy
"April" The youngest brother replied, a grin on his face
"All that sugar" He said
"I feel bad for their parents" Leo said, shaking his head
"HEY!" The little girl said, all eyes turning to her
"Do you want to know or what?" She asked, unwrapping the giant sucker
"Please" Mikey said
"Around that corner, about five house back or so" She said, pointing down the street
Mikey took off running, oblivious to the voices around him.
"MIKEY!" Raph called, before taking off after him
Leo followed suit, sprinting after the two.
"Thank you" He said, turning to the two children
"No problem, hope you find her" She replied, before the two went to another house
Then he had also started running, trying to catch up with his brothers.
I hope we find her too, he thought as he ran through the streets.
"Don, wakey wakey!" He heard Mikey say
He raised his head up to see Mikey grinning, with Leo leaning in the door way.
"I fell asleep didn't I?" Don asked, rubbing his face
A nod from Leo confirmed that he had.
"Come on, we are going to put out cookies for Santa!" His little brother said, pure joy in his voice
"I am working on something" Don argued, though he knew it was no use
"Come on geniuse" A gruff voice said
They all looked to Raphael, who had appeared at the door.
"It's Christmas, you can take a break" Leo said, smiling at him
"Please Donnie" Mikey said, flashing him a pathetic look
The purple turtle sighed, and said "Damn puppy dog eyes"
His brothers laughed as they all walked to the living room, to their tree.
Don's thoughts went back to her for a final moment, before he pushed her from his mind to make this Christmas great.
Laying in bed, Michelangelo thought of holidays.
This Christmas had been great They had fighting over what kind of cookies Santa liked. He had said chocolate chip, while Raph had argued that "Santa" liked sugar cookies. He had eventually won, after Don had taken his side with data tat Santa really did like chocolate chip. It had all been pointless, but it was fun.
His mind wandered to the tree. He had decorated it with lights April had given them, and candy canes that he had saved over from Halloween.
Halloween, he thought, what a time that was.
They had searched and searched and there was no sign of her. He hadn't wanted to do anything, though his brothers suggested to go back to trick or treating. He had ran off, his brothers voices falling deaf on his ears.
The laughter of children reached his ears, as they walked the streets below
Tears hit the roof beneath him as a pair of kids entered his sight, brother and sister
The elder sister held the boy's hand as they went to each house, asking for candy
They turned the corner, vanishing from sight and is eyes moved to others
A scream broke the silence, and he ran towards it
The girl screamed, as her brother was dragged away
A punch was delivered to her jaw, sending her to the ground
The little boy broke away, rushing to her side
A dark hand reached for him, only to be blocked by her
A kick hit her stomach but she didn't move, stood her ground
Dark figures surrounded them, a glint of weapons shinning in the moon light
"Stay behind me" The girl said, her eyes filled with fear
They moved to strike, only to be stopped by a flash of green
The girl clutched her brother, looking up to their rescuer
His light blue eyes, looked at her before vanishing into the night
Up on the roof, they were waiting
"Mikey" They said, looking at his tears
He didn't answer, just ran
Locked in his room, he ignored their pleas
His pillow was cold, his tears soaking it through
He walked out of the darkness of his room
Arms wrapped around him, his brothers
His sister was there, Mikey thought, where is mine?
She appeared in his mind, wraping her arms around him.
For a moment, she was there giving him a hug.
Then he awoke the reality that she wasn't
I miss you, he thought, as his eyes closed
Dreams of her and what awaited him in the morning filled his mind as he drifted off
Above ground, snow started to fall promising a white Christmas
And maybe even a gift they would all enjoy.
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