Ulrich yawned and stretched out across the hard stone ground, feeling his long black claws scrape against the aged, broken, and cracked rock face. "Tired over there, Ulrich?" a humanoid turtle wearing a blue headband and carrying two katanas strapped to the back of its shell asked from where it was sitting a few feet away in front of an old couch with a book lying in its lap.
"Vielleicht ," the young hybrid growled.
"But why? You haven't done anything but lie around all day," another turtle, wearing a purple headband with a Bo staff strapped to its shell pointed out in a matter-of-factly tone.
"Yeah. What's the matter, Ul-rich?" a third turtle, wearing an orange headband with nunchucks and a kusarigama strapped to its sides asked. "Is the little house dog feeling a bit bored? Does the little house dog wanna – Aaah!" The young turtle screamed as a sharpened fang-like blade the length of a wooden drumstick came sailing towards him, forcing him to duck and take cover behind a second couch. The fang whizzed over the couch and embedded itself into the wall near the turtle with the purple band's head.
"Aah!" he cried, falling out of the stool he had been sitting in next to a long table that stood next to him. "Ow! Watch where you're throwin' that thing will ya?!" Ulrich glared and snorted at him as he sat up, his hind-claws clicking loudly against the stone ground.
"Yeah, what Donnie said! You could have takin' my head off du –!" The orange headband-wearing turtle felt his eyes widen as Ulrich turned his head to stare at him. The glare the young wolf was giving him sent chills down the young turtle's back and he snapped his jaw shut, shutting up instantly. A laugh nearby made Ulrich turn his head to where the blue headband-wearing turtle was still sitting on the ground near the first couch.
"Wow, Mikey! I've never seen you shut up so fast before!"
"Well, what do you expect to me to do?!" cried the younger turtle. "Unlike you guys, I can't argue with him for as long as I want or else he'll hack my head off my shoulders!"
"Very descriptive," Donnie said, walking over and leaning against the back of the couch where Mikey stood. He unsheathed Ulrich's fangblade from a strap on his right hip and tossed it back to him. The young wolf caught it with ease and slid it back into the sheathe on his left hip.
"Hey, you guys, we're back!" sang a voice. The four young mutants turned their heads to the far side of the room where a young girl with blue eyes and long orange hair tied back in a low ponytail walked in carrying two large brown paper bags. She wore a yellow and white short-sleeved t-shirt on top of a longer-sleeved black shirt, short denim jean shorts on top of black tights, and brown boots that came up to the middle of her shins. She also wore a brown wristband on each wrist. Donnie's face lit up and he ran over to her so that he could help her with her bags.
"April, thank goodness you're okay!" The young teenage girl shot him a playful yet doubtful glance.
"What? Didn't think I'd come back alive?" she asked.
"Well, uh, no. But I did think you wouldn't come back in one piece to be honest,"
"Aw, what's the matter, Donnie? Don't you trust me to take care of your girlfriend?" April and Donnie both turned around as a turtle wearing a red headband and carrying twin sai strapped to his sides stepped into the room with four more brown bags in his arms. He grinned teasingly at his brother and April began to snicker at Donnie's surprised face.
"S-Sh— She's not my girlfriend!" he finally managed to splutter, his cheeks turning a bright pink.
"Yet," Mikey teasingly added from where he now sat next to the blue headband-wearing turtle on the floor. They both busted out laughing and high-fived each other.
"Nice one, Mikey!"
"Thank you, Leo!" The red headband-wearing turtle and April laughed along with them as they set their bags down on the table where Donnie had been sitting earlier… before he had fallen out of his chair. The young purple headband-wearing turtle swiveled his head around to glare at his three brothers.
"S-Sh-Shut up all of you! It's not funny!" he cried, his face now glowing a bright cherry red.
"Wrong! It is so funny!" cried Leo.
"Very funny!" added Mikey.
"Absolutely funny!" finished the red-banded turtle, who had fallen onto the couch and was laughing up a storm. April rolled her eyes at the quarreling brothers before she turned her head to stare at Ulrich, who had walked away from the others and was now sitting perched on a large flat and aged stone pillar that stretched a little over five feet into the air. The young girl turned and walked over to him, where she sat next to him.
"You okay, Ulrich?" The young wolf shrugged his furry shoulders.
"Gut, ich denke," he mumbled.
"What's the matter?" asked April (she's learned to translate German to English with the help of Master Splinter, who is the main Translator to the young wolf whenever they are talking to the Turtle Brothers; Donnie also knows how to translate from German to English, courtesy of Master Splinter) . He shrugged and scratched at the cracked and broken stone with his claws.
"Nichts, nur gelangweilt,"
"Feeling the cabin fever again?" He nodded at April's words and huffed. "Well, don't worry, maybe Splinter will let you go up to the surface today,"
"Bezweifle es," Ulrich snorted. "Er hat mich niemals gehen lassen dort oben. Er hat mich nicht lassen nichts zu tun, da Aelita und ihr Vater links, um auf dieser Reise nach Frankreich gehen,"
"Well, he just wants to keep you safe. After all, he did promise Franz that he'd watch after you until he returned –"
"Und das war, wie lange das her?" Ulrich interrupted, turning his head to stare at her, his amber-flecked eyes gleaming.
"Um… a little over a year ago?" the young girl guessed, feeling a tad clueless. The young wolf shook his head and went back to scratching at the stone below him.
"Nein, es war vor zehn Jahren. Ich war fünf - fast sechs - wenn Franz und Aelita links. Ich bin jetzt fünfzehn.," April's eyes widened and her mouth fell open in shock.
"It's been that long since they left?" Ulrich nodded, holding back the tears that threatened to fall from his eyes. "Oh, Ulrich, I'm so sorry," April whispered. She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him gently in a hug. He whimpered and rested his chin on her shoulder, his eyes burning. She pulled away and gently ruffled his ears. "Don't worry, they'll come back. I'm sure of it," The young wolf sadly gazed down at her.
"Denken Sie?"
"Of course," she confidently replied. "My dad and Splinter told me that when they found you, Franz, and Aelita that you guys were practically family, even though you were a failed experiment in a top secret governmental lab," She playfully ruffled his ears again and his tongue lolled out his mouth in a happy pant. "They'll come back for you, I just know it. They wouldn't leave you behind for no reason,"
"Wirklich? " Ulrich asked.
"Guarantee it," April nodded. She held her hand up and he smiled, pressing his own furry-clawed hand to hers. She smiled and ruffled his ears once more before she turned and jumped off from her spot near the young wolf. "Now c'mere, I wanna show you what I got for you," She walked back over to the table and grabbed one of the bags, she searched through its contents before she pulled out a small cardboard box. She turned back around only to bump into Ulrich's chest.
"Entschuldigung," he apologized, taking a step back. The young girl smiled.
"It's okay," She looked up at him with slightly widened eyes. "Wow, how tall are you?" asked. The young wolf's snout crinkled and his bright eyes took on a thoughtful look.
"Ich weiß nicht ... aber das letzte Mal überprüft ich etwa sieben war - fast acht - Fuß genau," April's eyes widened.
"And that was how long ago?"
"Zurück etwa einen Monat, vielleicht zwei oder so. Geben oder nehmen ein paar Tage,"
"And you're how old again? Now?" she added.
"Fünfzehn ,"
"Wow, you must've at least grown another foot or so since then,"
"Wirklich? Haben Sie nicht bemerken. Was ist in der Box?" Ulrich asked, pointing to the small cube in her arms.
"Oh, right," April giggled. She held up to him. "It's for you. I found it in my mailbox on the way back," The young wolf's eyes brightened and gently took the box from her. Ripping the tape off with a claw, he opened up the box and ruffled through the sea of foam peanuts before he felt something brush against the tips of his claws. Gripping the object in his hand he pulled it out. His eyes widened and his jaw fell open in shock. In his left hand he clutched a black string with a gray wolf – carved out of pure onyx – and a brown wolf – carved out of pure brown Topaz. Both wolves were fashioned to look like the traditional Yin-Yang symbol with tiny white pearl beads threaded throughout the length of the black string. He smiled.
"Wow!" he whispered. "Wo hast du das gefunden?"
"I didn't," He turned his head to stare at April in surprise.
"Dann wo hast du es bekommen?" She smiled and pointed to the box that lay on the table.
"Read that note on the side of the box," The wolf stared at her doubtfully before he turned and gently placed the bandana on the table. He then grabbed the box and lifted it up, turning it around in a full circle before he found the note that lay taped to the cardboard's right side.
"Aus Frankreich geliefert. Zu: Ulrich. Von: Franz und Aelita!" He turned his head to stare at April in shock before he turned back to the paper. "Hoffnung genießen Sie den Geschenk, das wir für Sie gefunden. Denke nicht, dass wir hätten dich vergessen. Seien Sie gut für Splinter und Herr O'Neil. Wir hoffen, Sie bald zu besuchen. Liebe Franz und Aelita. PS: Hoffe, dass Sie die zusätzliche Gabe, die wir gerne für Sie hinterlassen ," He stared at the little note a minute longer before he put the box back on the table and began digging through the rest of the foam peanuts. He had thrown out a little more than half the airy pellets before he caught sight of a small square piece of paper on the bottom of the box. Reaching for it, Ulrich soon realized that it wasn't a piece of paper but a photo. Flipping it over, his mouth fell open in shock and his eyes widened. In the photo it showed Franz and Aelita in a large park with short-cropped lush green grass and tall, bulky-looking oak trees. The pair sat in front of a large tree with Franz sitting in a cross-legged position with Aelita sitting behind him on her knees with her arms around his neck. Both had big smiles etched across their faces as if they had been joking or laughing about something before the photo had been taken. Ulrich smiled as he continued to look down at the photo, his eyes swelling with tears of happiness. Franz looked exactly the same except his beard and mustache were a bit longer and bushier. He wore the same red sweater with the white lab coat opened on top, brown pants, and black dress shoes that he had been wearing on the day he left. Behind him, Aelita wore a pink t-shirt underneath a denim jacket, purple capris, and pink converse. She also wore a red wristband on her right wrist. Ulrich gently rubbed a claw over the photo before he placed it on the table in front of him. He then turned and grabbed the necklace off the wooden surface and slipped it over his head, pausing only when the string caught in the fur off his ruff. While he was busy trying to untangle that, April leaned towards the table and looked down at the photo and she too began to smile. Ulrich turned back to her and smiled, his brand new necklace hanging down from his neck, the finely crafted jewels gleaming gleaming brightly in the brightly lit room. The gray wolf's eyes were made out of sapphire and the brown's were out of emerald; both pairs were shining brilliantly. Ulrich then leaned forward and gently wrapped April in a brotherly hug. "Danke, A ," he whispered. She smiled and ruffled his ears.
"You're welcome, Ul," she replied smiling back up at him. A sudden shout made both teens turn to the center of the room. Donnie and Mikey were on the floor scuffling in a play fight while Leo and the red-banded turtle sat nearby on the couch laughing up a storm.
"Get 'em, Mikey!"
"C'mon, Donnie, pin 'em!" Ulrich turned to look at April with a look of disbelief, which she returned.
"Will they ever stop fighting?" she asked. The young wolf shook his head and ran his claws through the thick fur on his head.
"Ehrlich? Ich bezweifle es ernst,"
German to English
1. Vielleicht - (maybe)
2. Gut, ich denke ( fine, I guess)
3. Nichts, nur gelangweilt (nothing just bored)
4. Bezweifle es (doubt it) ... Er hat mich niemals gehen lassen dort oben. Er hat mich nicht lassen nichts zu tun, da Aelita und ihr Vater links, um auf dieser Reise nach Frankreich gehen (He's never let me go up there. He hasn't let me do anything since Aelita and her father left to go on that trip to France)
5. Und das war, wie lange das her? (And that was how long ago)
6. Nein, es war vor zehn Jahren. Ich war fünf - fast sechs - wenn Franz und Aelita links. Ich bin jetzt fünfzehn. (No, it was ten years ago. I was five – almost six – when Franz and Aelita left. I'm fifteen now)
7. Denken Sie? (You think?)
8. Wirklich? (really?)
9. Entschuldigung (sorry)
10. Ich weiß nicht ... aber das letzte Mal überprüft ich etwa sieben war - fast acht - Fuß genau (I dunno... but the last time I checked I was about seven – almost eight – foot exactly)
11. Zurück etwa einen Monat, vielleicht zwei oder so. Geben oder nehmen ein paar Tage (Back about a month, maybe two or so. Give or take a few days)
12. Fünfzehn (fifteen)
13. Wirklich? Haben Sie nicht bemerken. Was ist in der Box? (Really? Didn't notice. What's in the box?)
14. Wow! ... Wo hast du das gefunden? (Where'd you find this?)
15. Dann wo hast du es bekommen? (Then where'd you get it?)
16. Aus Frankreich geliefert. Zu: Ulrich. Von: Franz und Aelita! (Delivered from France. To: Ulrich. From: Franz and Aelita!) ... Hoffnung genießen Sie den Geschenk, das wir für Sie gefunden. Denke nicht, dass wir hätten dich vergessen. Seien Sie gut für Splinter und Herr O'Neil. Wir hoffen, Sie bald zu besuchen. Liebe Franz und Aelita. PS: Hoffe, dass Sie die zusätzliche Gabe, die wir gerne für Sie hinterlassen (Hope you enjoy the gift we found for you. Don't think that we'd forget about you. Be good for Splinter and Mr. O'Neil. Hope to visit you soon. Love Franz and Aelita. PS: Hope you like the extra gift we left for you)
17. Danke, A (Thanks, A)
18. Ehrlich? Ich bezweifle es ernst (Truthfully? I seriously doubt it)