Hello everyone. A bit of a summary about the story you are about to read:
This takes place after the turtles talk with Shen about "choosing the better man" in season there's episode Tale of Yokai. This is an alternate universe where Shen makes a different decision and this results in ways it hadn't originally.
Rated T for swearing, alcohol use, and abusive natures. Please enjoy and please review!
Prologue
The turtles ran through the thick woodlands of Japan, following Shen as she carried baby Miwa down a thin, gravel path.
"Where is she going?" Raphael inquires in a hushed voice. "The dojo is on the other end of the forest, she's going the wrong way!"
The brothers came to a halt as Shen dispersed from the jumble of leaves and trunks and approached a small, wooden house. "Unless, she isn't going to Splinter," Leonardo suggested in a grim tone.
Up ahead, and just barely out of earshot, Shen knocked on the door to the home, baby Miwa sleeping soundly in her mother's arms. Within minutes, the door is answered, and the dweller steps outside, joining his visitors on the porch.
"Saki," Donatello announces in a hiss.
"Well no duh! But why is Shen coming to see him?" Raphael asks yet another question with yet another scowl on his scrunched face.
Leonardo bites his lower lip, an unsettling gleam in his sapphire eyes as he proposes a horrifying thought, "Guys, what if she chose Saki?"
Color drained from four sets of eyes as the possibility sets in. Having just gotten done telling their father's wife to chose "the man she trusted," it wasn't such a great surprise that she came to Saki. Just hours ago, the turtles had listened in as Saki promised Shen a provision better life for both herself and her daughter. A new start, for instance. One that took place in a big city in America, New York.
"Yeah, but," Mikey started, a glint of hopefulness enlightening his soft voice, "maybe Shen's just here to tell Shredhead that she chooses Splinter? I mean, she's married to him, we've gotta have a little faith in her to make the right choice here."
Doubtful, Raphael shakes his head, emerald eyes narrowing deeply. "Marriage plays no difference in scenes like this. If Tang Shen trusts Shredder more than Splinter, then she's going to America with him. And then she'll never die, Saki won't ever take Miwa, and our father will never go to Manhattan and purchase four baby turtles from a local pet store."
"April will be never be saved," Donatello adds, "and the Kraang will take annihilate the entire world."
All heads bow in grief of what may soon be. Sadly, there is nothing any of the four Hamato brothers can do to change Shen's mind. If she really is here to take in Saki, then there's no chance of changing her intuition.
With clenched teeth, Leonardo stands up taller. "Guys, we still don't know why Shen is here. Mikey may be right, or perhaps Raph is, but either way, we need to know in order to make sure things go as planned."
The younger three nod in agreement with the eldest.
"Mikey," Leonardo says in his infamous leader tone, "go in and listen, when you think you've heard enough, come back and give us a thorough report. While you're on spy duty, and me, Raph, and Donnie will come up with a plan in case Shen does in fact plan on going to New York with Saki. Let's go!"
The boys split up in two different directions. Mikey circled back around the house, coming at it from behind. He hid atop the roof, listening intently to the conversation taking place below him.
"Shen, what brings you here?" Saki asks with a devious voice.
"I wanted to speak to you about your previous offer."
The faintest of smirks lifted on the soon-to-be-Shredder's lips, making him look mischievous as he replied. "I take it you've considered it?"
Shen nods, her dark eyes bright with passion. "Mildly. I just want what's best for my daughter, therefore, I will accompany you to a new life in America."
"Aw, Sewer Bunnies," Michelangelo mutters under the soft cloak of his breath.
Back in the safety of the brush, a trio of mutants sits together in the trees, discussing plans.
"We could kill Shen," Donatello suggests, "and make sure that both the Shredder and Splinter are in the same place to see it happen?"
Leonardo shakes his head, "No, no, because then they would see us and that would definitely throw off history. Though, I do like where you were going with this."
Donatello and Leonardo began to discuss this forming plan, coming up with various ways to murder Shen and place the blame on Saki. Raphael sat, a low growl in his throat, looking more like a third wheel and than a fellow teammate. He didn't want to take part in this plan, he didn't want to assassinate Shen, his father's wife. Secretly, Raphael has always considered Shen his mother, therefore, he wouldn't allow this plan to be followed through with. Just the very thought of Shen being slaughtered was enough to knock the red-cladded turtle off his axis.
Eventually, though, enough was enough. He was completely done with his conversation. Standing up on his tree branch, Raphael put his hands on his hips, glaring down at his two brothers in an intimidating way. "This is a horrendous method to go about things. I mean, just think about it! Tang Shen is the love of our father's life, we can't just go out and kill her for our sake!"
Donatello huffed, steam blowing out of his nostrils as he attempted to keep his cool. It was helpless trying to stay calm around Raphael, he made no effort what so ever to remain sensible. "This isn't just for our sake, Raphael! Think about April and-"
Raphael cut his brother off with a mocking statement, "April, Shmapril! If you think I'm gonna go out and murder my Master's wife just so your little 'girlfriend' can be saved 16 years from now, then you've got another thing comin', buddy."
Donatello was fuming. His burgundy eyes narrowed into slits as he stared his brother down. "She isn't my girlfriend!" He bellowed wildly, roaring like a tempered lion. "And as I was saying, Raphael, there's more to this than just April. What about the Kraang, huh? What happens if we're not there to stop them? I'll tell ya what, they take over the goddamn planet and the entire human race is toast! In sixteen years it won't matter if Shen died or not, all that'll matter is whether or not humanity is still existent."
Silence fills the air as Donatello's words swim around, sinking deep into everyone's minds. Raphael never gets a chance to respond, as Michelangelo is darting up the tree, eager to tell his brothers of his findings. "Guys," he begins, panting tiredly, "Shen is leaving with Saki to America. Tonight."
The moon was full and high in the sky by the time Shen had made it back to house she shared with her husband. The four turtles chased her through the darkening forest, careful not to get too close for the sake of her seeing them. A plan was quickly formed; Shen would have to be killed. Raphael's obligations served no purpose in the argument, everyone's minds were set and there was no turning back.
As Shen entered her home, the turtles bolted towards the house. They crouched down in a clump of bushes, whispering only a few short phrases before falling silent like the night air encompassing them. The plan was set.
A window was open above where the turtles kneeled, allowing them to eavesdrop on Shen and their Master.
"Shen, why are you packing your bags? Where are you setting off to?" Yoshi's thick Japanese accent pierced the air like a dagger. Leonardo winced at his father's confusion. He hated for this to happen, and as much as he hated to admit it, the smallest part of him knew that this wasn't the most ethical way to go about things.
"I'm leaving you, Yoshi. I'm taking Miwa and we're going with Saki to America," Shen focused on the task at hand, not bothering to look up at her husband with her stone cold eyes.
"But-" Yoshi could barely speak. He was so filled with bewilderment from his wife's unexpected announcement that he couldn't even bear think properly. "Shen, you cannot leave. I am your husband, the love of you life!"
Shen paused her packing. She dropped the light pink sweater she's been holding and watched as it fell to the floor. Slowly and full of blissfulness, she spun around. Her eyes fell upon Yoshi's, and the silence that filled the air suffocated the both of them. Shen loved Yoshi, there was no denying that. She would choose him any day over Saki. But Shen knew that she had no choice but to choose Saki, as all she wanted was a fitting life for her daughter, and Yoshi was clearly unsuccessful in offering that up.
With a small smile on her lipstick covered lips, Shen stepped forward. She took Yoshi's hands in hers, and dropped something small into them. Her wedding ring. "Goodbye, Yoshi." She pressed a delicate kiss to his cheek before turning back to her bag once more.
Within three minutes, Shen and Miwa wee out of the house, and walking towards where Saki had parked his car. The three drove off into the night, five frightened men left behind in a state of dismay.
Yoshi stomped back into the house, slamming the door shut. He howled like the raging wind as he punched at everything he could. His fast caved into the walls, vases shattered, objects toppled over. Soft tears streamed down his face as he rampaged around his home. His heart had snapped into two, and he wasn't only one, either.
Outside, hidden in the well-kept garden, four teenage turtles sat huddled together. Everyone leaned into Raphael's firm embrace, their sobs mixing with their father's yells of hatred like a symphony of grief.
"I-I guess this is it, guys," Donatello said between sobs.
Raphael nodded along with his little brother's words. Up until this moment, he'd always been so hell-bent on being the rock-hard boy he'd portrayed. He'd never even considered crying. But now, the waterworks were well on their way. They finally exploded when a single thought crossed Raphael's mind; they were never going to properly meet. They would remain mindless turtles in a rundown pet store in the middle of Manhattan. They could possibly be separated, there was no way of telling.
This sudden realization struck Raphael harder than any blade ever could. Because for once, he wasn't quite sure what was going to happen to him. And even worse, his brothers.
"I love you guys so much," Raphael wailed as he broke down. Tears exploded from his emerald eyes as the grip he held on his brothers tightened. "And even though I don't know what's going to become of us, I'll be the first to say it; you guys will always be my brothers. No matter what happens to us."
Before anyone else could respond to Raphael's admittance, the turtles skin began to fade.
"Goodbye, bros," Mikey said as he watched himself disappear.
"No, we will always be brothers. Never forget that."
And then, they were gone.