Note: This is a story based of my character Arinna and her involvement in the 2014 TMNT movie. So, warning, OC fanfic. Here we go!
Life takes more than it gives.
That is just how life is. You always loose things, that never stops. And sometimes, it takes a long time for you to gain anything back from what has been taken from you.
That is the sad truth of life.
However, when you do gain something back, you have to hold onto you. You have to hold it close to your heart and hold onto it as tight as you can, because if you don't, life just might snatch it back up again.
That is what my Brother taught me.
He's gone now. He was another thing life took from me. It also took my Mother and Father. My home. My friends.
Everything.
The only thing it didn't take was me.
Why me?
Maybe this is a punishment? Was I bad? I'm not sure. Maybe I did something along the way that shows that I deserve all of this, but I can't recall what that something would be. So I just do the best that I can and push through with the little things I have left.
They aren't much to begin with. A coat, an old bear my Mother gave me, and a pair of glasses. I don't need the glasses, because I have 20/20 vision. They use to be my brother's though, so I can't seem to just throw them away.
Having them is kind of useless though.
I guess it is kind of stupid to keep something that I can't use just because I miss my brother… but I just can't help it.
"Hey! You listening?! You little brat!" Pain suddenly erupted from my stomach as the man in front of me kneed me in the gut. Falling to my knees, feeling myself gag, I hunched over.
"W…What?" I grumbled.
"You deaf? I said we've got business with you." The man loomed over me, spitting down towards my knees.
Oh right, I forgot I was currently occupied. Since I had no home and was broke, I've been living on the street since my Brother died. I'm only a few months from turning 18, so its not like I'm some child the government or city has to worry about. Being an adult basically means I'm all on my own, so good luck to me!
Yeah, I haven't been having much luck lately.
Like right now for instance. I'm kind of cornered by some jerks that want me for… whatever reason. I'm not really paying attention and I'm zoning out. Maybe I should pay attention?
Oh jeez, what if they are perverts?!
Gross! Gross! Get away! I'll bite your fingers off!
"You're Vincent's little sister." At my brother's name, I lifted my head, my interest officially peaked.
Wait, hold the motor on the whole pervert thing. These guys know my brother?
These don't seem like the kind of people he would normally hang out with.
"I… I am." I nodded slowly. "What is it to you?"
"That guy owes us money he stole from us 4 years ago!" the second guy of three yelled into my face.
Struggling to comprehend what any of them were saying, especially with the rain above us ringing in my ears, I frowned. "Money?"
"That's right. He stole our money 4 years ago, the thief. We want it back."
"But we heard the idiot went and got himself killed in a fire." One snorted. "So the only way to get our money back is through you."
"I don't have any money." I muttered. "And I don't know about any money my brother supposedly stole from you guys." I could feel my teeth beginning to grind. These creeps didn't know one thing about my brother, how dare they talk about him like that. He was a hero the day he died.
You see, he had this job as an assistant to the scientist Eric Sacks and Mr. O'Neil. My brother has always loved things that had to do with genetics and mutation, and both of these things had to do with the research Sacks and O'Neil were doing. So of course my brother instantly jumped in to help.
But he wasn't exactly a top notch scientist yet, so they gave him only an assistant job. That didn't mean he wasn't apart of anything though. My Brother was a genius, and Mr. O'Neil instantly saw this and put my bro straight into the heart of the research.
Because of the Media though they kept him at a "Assistant" title.
Yeah, he really loved that job. It was paying well too. I honestly though me and him would make it in this crazy world.
But one night, a fire started at the lab. From what the news said, the group called the Foot Clan started it. They stole valuable equipment, and a lot of people died inside. My brother was one of them.
The sad thing was, he wasn't actually suppose to be working that night. He told me he got a bad feeling, and was just going to go to the lab to check on the Turtles and the rat they were experimenting on.
He would take me in there sometimes to check everything out. I would often hang out with Mr. O'Neil's little girl, April. She was a nice kid, and she always had this camera with her. I remember taking a lot of goofy videos with her and the turtles.
Joyful memories aside though, the night the fire started, a lot of people were trapped inside.
Vincent, my brother, went in to help. None of the fire department had arrived yet, and knowing him he probably didn't want to just sit there and watch.
So he did what he does best. He was a Hero.
He found April O'Neil in there. She was in there looking for her Dad, but it was already too late. My Brother grabbed her and got her out, luckily unscathed.
However, the second time he went in to make sure no one else was inside, he didn't come back out. He had died in that fire, along with that little girl's Father.
It is hard to think all of this happened only a few months ago.
I went to Mr. O'Neil's funeral. I saw April there, and even Mr. Sacks. I wasn't able to talk to them though. I just… couldn't bring myself to approach them.
I dunno why.
April looked so heart broken. I understood her feelings. Mr. O'Neil was a good man.
"You sure are drying our patience girl." The guy slapped my face a bit to get me back on track. Realizing I was till cornered in this lousy alleyway, I glared up at the man in front of me.
"…I told you…" I huffed. "I don't know."
"She's a liar." A skinnier male across the alley barked. "She's a little liar just like her brother."
"Leave Vincent out of this." I snapped at him, "Vincent didn't steal anything from you, and if he did, he definitely wouldn't give it to me."
"Don't you push us." The man was sneering at me. "Just be a good little girl, and hand over the money. We don't want this to get… messy, do we?" his voice smooth and to the point, he lifted a blade from his pocket, holding it dangerously close to my throat.
Feeling my blood run cold, I stared down at the blade. Okay, no more messing around Arinna.
Time to get out of here.
"…Listen." I said cautiously. "I honestly don't know about any money. If I did, I wouldn't be living out here in the streets." I looked up at the man with a sweet smile. "Perhaps we could work out a trade?"
I think I caught his interest, because he started to look back at his buddy. "I'm always a man for a trade." He smirked. "What are you offering?"
"Oh, I'm sure we could work it out." I put on my best teasing voice. The guy began to chuckle, once again looking back at his buddy, who was chuckling too. Ugh, the sickos.
But the guy with the blade was currently distracted with his laughing so…
CHANCE!
With one quick kick, I slammed my foot against the man, kicking him straight between the legs. With a shriek of pain, the man was on the ground in seconds, giving me a chance to throw a glass bottle at the other guy.
Hitting him in the chest, the guy stumbled back, slipped and fell back against some trash cans.
"See ya fellas!" I called over my shoulder before booking it down the alley way and towards the main streets.
It only took seconds before I heard angry screams behind me.
Great. Being chased in the rain. How fun is that?
Sprinting as fast as I could down the road, I took as many turns as possible, hoping I could lose those creeps. I had to give it to them, they were committed.
Though they weren't right on my tail, they at least kept me in sight. Which was rather annoying.
At some point though, I managed to lead them off my trail for a few minutes to give me a chance to hide. Where in the world could I do that though?!
There wasn't any trash cans that were big enough for me to hide in, and it was late, meaning not many stores would be open right now.
Feeling my legs shacking, I slowed my pace till I came to a stop right in the middle of the road. Feeling exhausted and stressed beyond belief, I scanned the area.
"Come on Arinna." I mumbled. "Think…" I huffed a few times, placing my hands on my knees and hunching forward. "Think… think… thin-" My eyes met with a manhole.
A beautiful Manhole that might just be my salvation. I'm sure those guys would never think a lady like me would go down to the sewers, so this was my escape!
Knowing I didn't have much time, I quickly opened the Man hole and moved down the ladder. Closing it above me, I quickly scaled down the ladder and to the bottom.
"Alrigh- Ugh! Ew!" I covered my nose at the horrid smell that met my nose. Oh right, this is the sewers. Known for awful smells. Yuck.
Lifting my scarf up to cover my nose, I shuffled through the tunnel. Below me, a few rats scuffled away, squeaking like crazy.
"Sorry to intrude." I said down to them as I turned the corner. It was a little dark down here, but I'm sure I would be fine once my eyes adjusted a bit. Plus, I had something that might just help.
Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out a stick. "Oh mighty Glow stick. Bless me with your power." I chanted, cracking the stick and shacking it. Seconds later, a calming purple light filled the tunnel. "Ah, much better." I nodded, before moving back down the way I was going.
It was probably better to keep moving, and to stay down here for a little while. Maybe till the sun rose and there were more people around.
So I walked around the sewers for a few hours. It was smelly, dark, and gross.
Not a great combination. Plus, I was tired. Actually, I was exhausted. Too many things are happening lately, and I don't think I can take much more of all of this.
I just… to some degree, I wonder if I should just end it all now and get it over with. But I know better than that. My Brother would tell me to keep pushing forward, and that things will get better.
Life does this to people a lot. It is just what happens in life, so I can't complain. Everyone goes through this eventually.
…But I can't help but keep the whole 'I'm tired' thing, on my mind. I was really starting to feel like an old person right now.
Slowly leaning back against the sewer wall closest to me, I let myself slide down to the floor, uncaring if it was surrounded by garbage or rats, which luckily, my spot wasn't.
Tilting my head back to rest on the wall, I sighed.
I'm just gonna rest here for a while. Just a little while.
And I did. I sat for who knows how long, just thinking through the days past events. How my life seems to constantly take a turn for the worse.
At the same time though, my mind wondered to a time where my brother was alive, and things were bearable. Yeah, things were always bearable, as long as he was with me.
But he's gone now, and he is never coming back.
No matter how much I wish for it to not be true.
I sniffled a few times, feelings tear prick my eyes. "No Arinna…" I muttered. "You're not doing this. You're not crying. Not here." Lifting my sleeves, I rubbed away any tears around my eyes before they could roll down my cheek.
Swish
At the sound of a shuffling my eyes flew open.
What was that?
Peeking up from my knees, I trailed my eyes around the walls. The shuffling was getting closer.
Had those two creeps found me?!
Feeling panic well up in my chest, I pressed closer to the wall, looking around wildly for the source of the sound.
Maybe it was just a rat?! It sounded bigger than a rat though, but it didn't sound like human shoes/feet either.
What was it?
Scrambling to my feet, I grabbed my glow stick and held it up high. "W…Who is there?!" I called shakily into the darkness. There was no answer, but the shuffling seemed to stop.
The silence was short lived before it started up again, closer this time.
Gulping down any fear I had, I straightened my back and moved forward towards the next turn of tunnels. Whatever that noise was, it was coming from around this corner.
I was starting to feel nervous. Should I just make a run for it? What if it was really just a rat?
It would be pointless to waste all that energy on running away from something that I could easily just kick away.
"Alright. If there is someone over there you uh… better prepare yourself!" Waiting a few seconds for any reply, I realized I had no other choice. Bracing my self, I tightened my hand around my glow stick and leapt around the corner. "BLAH!" I screamed, hoping to scare off any creature that might be around the corner.
…
There was nothing? I know my glow stick isn't exactly the best light source, and it was a little dim in here, but there didn't seem to be anything within the area. Not a person, rat, or even a bug.
What in the world was that noise then?
Assuming I was going crazy from all these nasty fumes, I lowered my arms and shrugged my shoulders a bit. "Great." I reached my to pinch the bridge of my nose. "Not your day Arinna. Not your day-" Something pulled on my pant leg.
Freezing in place, I felt the tug again.
"…" ever so slowly, I lifted up my hand from over my eyes to look down at my ankles. Something… tiny, was pulling at my pant leg. Something that wasn't human, or a rat or… or… or anything I've ever seen.
"Ah… ahh… AHHHHH!" I shrieked, jumping back. The little creature that was tugging on my pant leg shrieked out in shock as well, stumbling back. I guess I scared the living daylights out of it with my scream because it jumped a bit in the air before falling and landing on its back.
Not that I was paying attention t0o much anyway, since I was freaking out and crawling back against the wall. Yeah, it was a weird day.
"The heck!" I yelped, tossing the glow stick at whatever the thing was. I had terrible aim though, and missed, leaving the glow stick to roll next to the little… creature instead.
Calm down Arinna! Calm down!
Breathing heavily, my heart beat going faster than I ever wanted it to, I squished up against the wall. The little creature in front of me didn't move for a little while.
It was probably just as freaked out as me.
After a while though it began to kick its arms and legs, whining. Through the dim light of the glow stick, I could tell that it seemed to have normally legs like a human. Or, a very tiny human. But it only had two toes and three fingers.
What in the world was it?
"Eh! Eeh!" it continued to whine and whimper, until at last it began to shriek like an upset baby.
A baby?
Oh my gosh, was this thing… a baby or something?
Pushing off the wall, hesitant at first, I moved towards the little guy. When I was close enough, I could faintly see what looked like a shell.
"What in the world?" I mumbled. Suddenly, the tiny little fella lifted up his head, his crying halting.
We stared at each other, frozen in place.
"I um… hello. I'm Arinna." I waved a bit. Curious, the little one tilted his head, blinking.
I might sound crazy here, and maybe I was, but this guy kind of looked like a turtle. He had a shell, turtle like features… and he was stuck on his back meaning it wasn't flat so he couldn't easily roll over. I heard turtles often got stuck on their backs and sometimes had trouble rolling over.
Reaching over the supposed turtle, I grabbed the glow stick and held it over him.
It was a turtle!
Well, okay, that isn't true. He isn't exactly a normal turtle. He had normal eyes like a human, and his facial structures weren't exactly like a turtles. They were definitely more human.
"Oh my gosh." I whispered in shock. I moved the glow stick up and down to get a better look at him. The little guy followed the glow stick with his eyes, unsure of what it was.
He seemed so curious and innocent, like a baby.
Oh my gosh, was this a baby turtle? He was so big! Baby turtles are usually really really small, so this guy couldn't be a baby. I mean, he was a little smaller than normal human babies, but still. I wanna say he is around the size of a puppy.
…Like a German Shepard puppy that was 5 weeks old or something. Lets just say he was tiny, but much larger than normal baby turtles.
It was rather strange, but I didn't feel afraid anymore. If this was a baby, there wasn't any way it was going to hurt me.
I mean, it was stuck on its back for petes sake. Speaking of which, maybe I should help him back to his feet?
Unsure of what to do, I slowly reached out, grabbing the edge of the baby's Shell. He stared at me, allowing me to move him back to his feet.
Standing on all fours, the baby turned around to look up at me.
Slowly putting a hand on my knee, the baby, feeling no fear in my presence anymore, lifted himself up to get a better look at me. Sitting on my knees, he stared me up and down as if he was looking at some sort of alien.
"Uh…" I cleared my throat. "Are you lost little guy? What in the world are you doing down here."
Not understanding what I was saying to him, the baby tilted his head. Blinking a few times, he giggled and lifted his hand up towards me. Closing and opening his hands, his smiled expectantly.
Did he want me to pick him up? Seriously?
"Oh uh… no. No." I shook my head at him. The baby frowned and sniffled a bit. "Oh nonononono don't cry." I panicked. "Please don't cry." I literally 2 seconds from picking up the little guy when something down the other end of the tunnel growled.
Seriously, it was a full on growl. Like a lion or something.
Tensing up, I snapped my head in the direction of the growl. "…You don't possibly have friends, do you?" I asked nervously to the baby turtle who was already crawling off my knee and towards the sound of the growl.
Okay, so the baby is leaving. I should probably leave to- WHAT IS THAT?!
Out of the shadows, something large and terrifying came barreling at me. It was moving so fast I barely had time to get to my feet.
"AHHHH!" I shrieked as the thing lunged at me.
Tackling me to the ground, we rolled around for a few seconds.
All my senses went into overdrive as I kicked and screamed at whatever was attempting to hurt me.
It was like nature was randomly trying to kill me or put me in a hospital, I swear.
"Get off!" I screamed, kneeing my attacker in the face. That seemed to be enough to stagger whatever it was, and gave me a chance to crawl away. Quickly scrambling for my only source of light, a glow stick, I held it up.
The dark shadow straightened and moved towards me. Behind it was the baby, who was looking confused and oblivious to the whole situation. Was this thing the baby's parent or something? Is that why it is so mad?
Well I guess that makes sense- Suddenly it came into the light, and I got a full view of exactly what I was fighting.
"…YOU'RE A GIANT RAT!" I screamed. Very well played Arinna.
Though I didn't have much time to change my wording before the giant rat tackled me again. The jerk! Can't it see I'm having a giant breakdown right now?
Deciding I had no other choice, I quickly bent my knees and locked my elbows. When I lived with my brother, I had to deal with a lot of over protectiveness from him. Meaning, he taught me how to defend myself with self defense courses for when he wasn't there with me.
Well Vincent, I'm thanking you for those self Defense lessons now!
Punching the creature straight in the thorax, at least I hoped it was the thorax, swung out my foot to take out its legs.
It wasn't expecting the attack and fell onto its back with a huff.
"I don't want to fight you-" I screamed. "I just- Ahh!" Something suddenly wrapped around my leg and flipped me. Did that thing just trip me with its tail?! It totally did!
"Jerk-" I grunted. Then, it lunged for the final attack. Slamming against me, the rat held me down with one paw, and lifted the other over its head.
Through the light of my glow stick which had rolled to the side of my head, I could see its claws.
He was going to kill me.
Or… I dunno, brutally place me in a comma for the rest of my life. Either way, I was about to feel some terrible pain. Feeling unable to bear the wait, I closed my eyes.
"Sorry to intrude… in your house… Mr. Rat." I managed to say.
…
…
"…Take your time." I mumbled, keeping my eyes glued tight. If this rat wanted to kill me slowly then go ahead. "No rush."
…
…
"…Seriously, you gonna kill me or what?" I opened my eyes to find the Rat had lowered his hand, most likely a while ago, and was staring at me with wide eyes.
As if he suddenly realized something, he leapt off in shock.
What was he all jumpy about.
Taking a few steps aback, the rat frowned at me, almost looking… ashamed? It was hard to tell since he's a rat.
"…K…" the rat cleared his throat a bit. "Ke…n…tin?"
What the? Did it just semi speak words just now? No way. That can't-
"Ken…tin?" he repeated.
Holy crap! He knows my last name. The heck is with that?!
Crawling away from him, I backed up against the wall. "H-How do you know my name?" I stammered.
"I…" The rat looked ashamed in himself. "Sorry. I sorry." He struggled to come up with proper words, as if he had only recently begun talking himself. He patted his chest a bit, frowning nervously at me. "Ter. I..." he held his hand up, hoping I wouldn't run or scream; both of which I was seriously considering to do.
"I… Splinter." He placed a hand over his heart. "Splinter." He repeated.
The name seemed to echo in my mind. It sounded familiar. Very familiar.
I couldn't quite place it though.
"…Splinter?" I questioned, shaking my head. "I don't…"
"Come over here Arinna." A flash of my brother seem to shoot pass my eyes. "I want you to meet someone." He was holding out a rat to me. "This is Splinter."
"Hello Mr. Rat." I had told him that day.
"Splinter." My brother corrected.
"Mr. Rat."
"…He's one of the subjects we are using for our experiments. Along with these little guys." He motioned to a few box turtles in the other tanks. "Can I rely on you to feed Splinter everyday for me? I'll be busy looking over the Mutagen with Mr. O'Neil."
"Vincent I'm not 5. Of course I can feed him."
"Thanks Arinna."
My eyes widened. It couldn't be possible.
The fire… the… the logic. Even if Splinter had survived the fire, he was still just a normal rat! It didn't make any sense. It wasn't logical or… or rational!
I felt my head beginning to shake. "That… c-can't be. You were… only this big." I opened my hand to mimic how big Splinter use to be.
"I've… grown. Mutagen cha..nged… me." He struggled to explain.
Below me, the little turtle from before and three others, who appeared out of who knows where, looked up at me curiously.
"…Changed us." He corrected.
"… Oh…" I nodded. "So… you're?"
"Splinter."
"Their?" I pointed to the turtles.
"Baby Turtles."
"…And I'm?"
"…Kentin. Ari-nna." Splinter looked confused.
"Hah…. Hahahah. Y-You've got to be kidding. Seriously?" I began to laugh nervously. "I'm going crazy."
"Not crazy." Splinter frowned.
"Not crazy?" I sounded surprised. "Really? Okay." I nodded a few times. "…Yeah, nope." With that, the world went dark and I fainted right on the spot.
Life is messed up.
I couldn't help it. I know I already have a few other stories going along but everyone... I have a problem. I've seen this movie 5 times already. I know this Movie has a lot of problems, but it is still a movie I just can't seem to hate! I liked it! Even if the turtles did look a little weird 0.0
