Silent Night
Chapter 1: Winter Wonderland
A/N: Hello, my dear readers. I have decided to give you a holiday story set in my Truth and Lies universe. This chapter story will take place before the events of Truth and Lies shortly after April has disappeared. The idea just came to me, and I thought it would be cool to do it since I haven't done many holiday stories. I hope you enjoy the ride.
Disclaimer: TMNT and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon. I only own the plot.
Summary: The Turtles spend their first Christmas without April. A Truth and Lies holiday story.
Leonardo ran across the rooftops, the snow falling on his shell. Winter was a magical time in New York where the buildings were coated in snow, and everyone seemed happy. Stores were decorated for the Christmas season ready to welcome shoppers to the best deals. People were in the streets shopping at stores and chattering about holiday plans. Normally, Leo was just as happy as they were, but this time he was anything but joyful.
This would be their first Christmas without their best friend, April O'Neil. She had disappeared seven months ago, and there were still no leads as to where she was. Leo and his brothers had tried everything they could think of to find her, but nothing came up. And as more time passed with no word from her, they were beginning to fear that she was never coming back to them.
Leo spied a little girl with her father at one of the stores. She was looking in the window at a beautiful doll displayed in the window.
"Daddy, look at the pretty doll!" she exclaimed. "Do you think Santa will give that to me for Christmas?"
"I think he will, Shelly," her father replied. "You've been a very good girl this year."
Leo couldn't help but smile. It made him feel good to know that Shelly didn't have any worries and still lived in a world where nothing bad could happen. He felt sorry for the day she became older and learned the cold hard truth of reality. Santa wasn't real, and bad things always happened no matter what anyone did. He was still upset at the fact that he'd caused his friend's disappearance by not going with her. He sighed as he watched the snow swirling down and looked back on a time when things were so much better than they were now.
22222
"Are you sure this is safe, guys?" April O'Neil asked her mutant friends as she navigated her way across the rooftops.
"If it wasn't, we wouldn't have let you out here," Raph replied. "It's just a little snow. What harm could it do?"
"Well, there could be ice, so it's best to always be careful," Don cautioned.
"Way to spoil the fun, Brainiac," Raph grumbled.
"It'll be fine, April," Leo reassured her. "If you slip, I'm sure Donnie will catch you."
That led to the other Turtles laughing while Don glared at them. April let the comment slip past and smiled at Donnie.
"Okay, let's get going," Leo ordered. He was just about to leap to another rooftop when a glob of snow caught him on the shell. He turned to see the other Turtles looking innocent. "Okay, who threw that?"
"Raph did it," Mikey said, pointing to their red-banded brother.
"I did not!" Raph protested. "You're the one who threw it, shell brain!"
"Mikey, this is no time for goofing around," Leo lectured. "We're here to patrol the city, so let's go." He was about to say more when a snowball hit him full in the face.
"Nice one, Raph," Mikey laughed.
"Hey, I had to do it," Raph replied.
"You guys are just so immature," April complained. "I thought you were going to teach me about patrolling the city."
"We are, but who says we can't have some fun along the way?" Mikey replied.
Leo wiped the snow off of his face as a wicked gleam came into his eyes. "You are SO going down for that one, Raph," he said as he picked up a pile of snow and lobbed it at his brother. Raph dodged it, causing Donnie to get hit instead.
"Hey, that's not fair!" the purple banded Turtle yelled. He picked up his own snowball and lobbed it at Leo, who dodged, causing the snow to hit Raph. Raph in turn picked up a snowball and lobbed it at Don, who also dodged. The snowball hit April instead.
April yelped as the snow hit her face. "Oh, that is it!" she snapped. "You're going down, Raph!"
"Ha, you won't even be able to throw it, April," taunted Raph.
April lobbed her snowball and missed Raph but hit Mikey instead. She let out a cheer, happy that she'd been able to hit someone. The rest of the time that was meant for patrolling was spent having a huge snowball fight. By the time patrol was supposed to end, they were all covered in snow and laughing.
"Well, I guess we'll have to make up for this tomorrow," Leo said. He really hoped Splinter wouldn't be mad at them. They took April home and promised to see her the next day before heading home themselves.
Splinter was waiting up and smiled as they came into the Lair. "How was your patrol, my sons?" he asked.
Leo thought about lying, but he knew Splinter would see through the lie at once. "Well, we didn't really do much patrolling," he answered. "We started to, but then Mikey started a snowball fight, and we all just joined in." He braced himself, waiting for the tirade his father was sure to throw at them about slacking off and how they were supposed to be ninjas who operated from the shadows and shouldn't be playing around. However, Splinter didn't do that and merely smiled.
"I see," he said. "Well at least you had fun today. Tomorrow is another day where you can make up for it. I only wish I had been along to see the fun."
"Did you ever play in the snow, Sensei?" Mikey asked him.
"Many times, Michelangelo," he answered. "It was a lot of fun playing with my friends." Then his face saddened as he was taken back to a time when Shredder had been his best friend and not his mortal enemy. "Run along to bed, my sons. We will have an early practice tomorrow."
"Hai, Sensei," the Turtles chorused as they made their way to their rooms.
22222
Leo snapped out of the memory, a pang of sadness hitting him. He longed for them to go back to that day and never change it. He wished his brothers were here with him, but things had changed when April vanished. Mikey was in his room, Don was in his lab all of the time, and Raph was usually out or in his own room brooding. Leo feared that if April didn't come back, everything would fall apart for his family.
He left the rooftop and made his way to Madison Kinney's apartment. Madison was a friend he'd made shortly after April vanished, and she had asked him to come over and spend some time with her. Splinter had allowed it as long as Leo didn't stay out too late. He saw Madison at the window waiting for him and smiled as she let him in.
"I'm so glad you could come over, Leo," she said.
"Yeah, me, too," he said.
"How are you holding up?" Madison asked him.
"I don't know," he replied. "Sometimes I try to forget that something's wrong, but I just can't let it go. I don't think I'll ever forgive myself for what happened to April that day. If I could go back in time and change it, I would."
Madison gave him a hug. "I know you would, Leo, but you can't," she said gently. "Can't you just try to forget about it for a little while? Now's not the time to be sad, you know."
"I'll try, Maddie, but it's not that easy," Leo told her.
"Then maybe this will cheer you up." She went over to the Christmas tree that was in her living room and came back with a box which she handed to him. It was wrapped in red paper with snowflakes on it and tied with a blue bow.
"You didn't have to get me anything, Maddie."
"I know, but I wanted to," she answered. "Open it."
Leo carefully undid the wrapping paper, being careful not to tear it. He opened the box and found some blue ribbons inside. "What's this for?" he asked her.
"To decorate your swords," she answered. "I thought it would be neat for you to have something that matched your mask and your weapons. That way you'll know that they belong to you."
Leo was touched by her sincerity and couldn't believe she'd done this. "Thank you, Maddie," he said. "I'll always treasure them. I got you something too." It was something he'd found in the sewers one day, but he'd had Don fix it up and found a box to put it in. He reached inside his belt and gave it to her.
Madison opened the box and found a necklace with a star at the end of it. "Oh, Leo, this is beautiful!" she gasped. "How much did it cost?"
"I found it in the sewers one day," he replied. "I had Don fix it up and figured it would be a good gift to give to you. You always told me you liked stars. Do you like it?"
"I love it, Leo. Thank you." She threw her arms around him and kissed his cheek.
"I'm glad you like it, Maddie," he said. "Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas, Leo," she said. "I'm so glad I have you as a friend."
"Me, too," he agreed.
The rest of the time was spent watching TV and eating cookies Madison had made. She even sent some home so that he could share them with his brothers. They talked about past celebrations and how happy they all had been. Leo wasn't sure they'd ever be happy again, but he was glad he at least had Madison to cheer him up and make him feel better.
As he ran home, Leo couldn't help but feel happy. He felt like a weight had been lifted off him for the time being and relished it. He knew it wouldn't last long, but it would do for now. When he came home, Splinter was waiting for him.
"Did you enjoy your time at Madison's, my son?" he asked.
"Yes, Sensei, I did," Leo answered. "Look what she got me." He pulled out his swords and showed him the blue ribbon that was wound around the handles.
"Ah, that is very nice, Leonardo," Splinter commented. "It certainly matches your mask and your eyes. What a thoughtful gift. And how did Madison enjoy the necklace?"
"She loved it, Master Splinter," Leo replied. "Her face just lit up when I gave it to her."
"I am glad to hear that," his father said. "Perhaps we could invite Madison to our celebration."
"I can ask her, but it may fall on the same day as the celebration she's having with her family," Leo reminded him.
"If that is the case, then it is no trouble," said Splinter. "We can always celebrate with her next year if need be and there is always New Year's to celebrate."
"Where are the others?"
"They went to bed, though I believe Donatello is still in his lab. I worry about him."
"I'll go check on him before I turn in. See you in the morning, Master Splinter."
"Sweet dreams, Leonardo."
Leo bowed and went to Don's lab. For once it was silent, indicating that Don had gone to bed for once. Maybe he realized he was working too hard. The blue banded Turtle went to check on each of his brothers and found they were all asleep. Then he headed to bed himself, hoping that tomorrow would be a new day and that things would turn around. After all, Christmas was supposed to be a time for miracles and wishes, and his one wish was that April would come home to them. With that last thought in his head, he closed his eyes and fell asleep dreaming of April and his brothers having a snowball fight.
A/N: So that's the end of the first chapter. What did you think? Next chapter will feature Raphael. Feel free to leave a review and have a shelltastic day.