Tall Tails

2016

Disclaimer: I have no claims on anything TMNT, created by Eastman and Laird and currently owned by Viacom (to the best of my knowledge). This is just for fun and I have no intention to profit from this. Which is why I am happily turning it loose onto the internet. If anyone wants to use this story or my take on any of these proprietary characters for their own original work, alternate version of events, prequel, sequel, one shots or art, have at it and have fun. I really would like to see what comes of it.

Note: I wrote this story for the ABC Turtle Tots Contest 2. My letter was T and accompanying theme was Tails. This story was a lot of fun to write, although I really struggle with writing young children in an authentic way. I hope it is an improvement relative to my other Turtle Tot stories. In my head, it's part of the Ties that Bind chronology, set between The Spirit of the Season and What He Does, but honestly, it's general enough that it technically doesn't have to have anything to do with Ties that Bind if you don't want it to. That's just my head canon.

Splinter squinted down at the water-stained scrap of paper. He had to admit Donatello's technical sketches were very detailed for a six-year-old. With any luck, he'd know the parts he needed when he saw them. Looking up from the page, he nodded at his son who gave him an adorable gap toothed grin in return.

Then the moment was broken by Michelangelo's voice. "Donnie hurry up! You're missing the campfire."

Fire? With lightning speed, he burst out of the dojo and into the living area where his other three sons were huddled around the space heater, wrapped up in their favorite blankets. He let out a sigh of relief. They were pretending. As if he needed to another thing to worry about while he was gone. Though he had no choice. He had to go out. But…

"Leonardo make sure no one's blankets are too close to the heater…" Michelangelo pouted up at his words. "…er campfire." And the goofy grin was back.

Leonardo's bright, blue eye shined as he proudly stood and spoke. "Hai Sensei."

His eldest could usually be counted on to follow his instructions while he was away, offering him some small relief from his worry. Raphael rolled his eyes and muttered 'hai sensei' in a mock-Leonardo voice.

Splinter considered reprimanding him, but ended up merely shaking his head. He'd long ago learned that choosing your battles in parenting was even more important than choosing your battles in combat. The worst that could happen in a fight was merely death and dishonor which paled against the full force of four simultaneous toddler tantrums. Never again.

Donatello trotted over to his spot by the space heater and resumed repairs of the television. Splinter suspected that one or two of the parts in his clever young son's sketches might be for that obnoxious device. Years ago, he would never have believed such cunning from so young a child. But years ago, he had no experience with children. Now he knew better. Oh how he knew.

Still, he couldn't afford to miss one single part on the list, in case it was necessary for restoring the HVAC system that Donatello had somehow managed to rig up when he was four. The boy was a wonder. But now that the system was in place, Splinter was determined never to go without it again if at all possible.

Those early few years were terrible. He'd been in a panic the first winter when all four of them had fallen into a wakeless slumber, barely eating or drinking himself as he'd spent most of the time holding them in a depression-filled fog. They'd sluggishly come around in the spring, ravenous and ill-tempered, but after it had taken Michelangelo a full week longer than his brothers to awaken the second year, he'd decided that he was done with the terror of losing them to the winter cold.

He'd scoured the city for fuel-driven heaters that year, finding a handful of functional ones, which kept his boys awake through the frigid cold, though badly taxing their resources and keeping him out gathering far more than he would have liked. Afterwards Donatello had taken an interest in the heating/cooling system which had originally been built into the old subway station. The day he'd gotten it up and running had been one of immense relief to Splinter and he always had small panic attacks whenever it failed them in the winter months.

Of course this break down had to occur in February, when the harsh brutality of the season induced the topside citizens to delude themselves into thinking they might soon feel spring's embrace. He would put no such faith in their prophetic gopher or whatever it was. No, the heating system must be fixed and loathe as he was to leave four six-year-olds to their own devices, he must get those parts. They'd be fine. Leonardo would see to it. He hoped.

"…and then the magical rainbow fish pulled their cloud boat to safety."

Finally. Raph had been waiting his turn to tell a campfire story for forever. Surely Mikey was done after three and he'd be able to get a word in. Raph opened his mouth, ready to announce his tale, when Mikey interrupted, yet again.

"Hey Donnie! Can we roast marshmallows over the fire like they do on TV?"

Donnie looked up from the guts of their poor, wounded television. "Technically there is enough heat, but even if we had marshmallows, I'd say no."

"Aww. Why not?"

Donnie huffed. "Because you'd probably melt yours and it would get all over the heater, gunking it up. Then I would have to fix it."

Mikey rolled his eyes. "But you like fixing stuff."

"Not when it's covered in viscous substances."

"What's vispy summances?"

"Can we get back to the stories already?" Raph's voice was louder than he intended when it broke into their argument, an indication that he was rapidly running out of patience.

Mikey's light blue eyes lit up with excitement. "Yeah! And I've got another good one."

What? Not again! It was his turn. He stewed in his shell as Mikey spouted another round of nonsense. An idea of how he might shut his little brother up began to form in his mind. When Mikey ended his tale, Raph was actually smiling in anticipation.

"The end. Ooh. Ooh. I've got another."

"No. It's my turn."

"Aww Raph…" Mikey fell into an immediate sulk.

Leo glared at him. "Just let him keep going. You know how he likes telling stories."

Raph was prepared for this. "Yeah, but mine's important to our family's safety."

Leo's eyes widened and he settled back down.

"Leo…"

"That's enough Mikey. Let Raph talk."

Excellent and now he had his brothers' attention for his story. Donnie's head might still be in the television, but he was listening. He called it multi-tasking or something like that.

"This one's a true story."

Mikey's eyes were huge and round now, all protests forgotten as he settled in to listen. Raph had to stop himself from chuckling. When he finished this, he bet Mikey wouldn't say another word for the rest of the night.

"Remember last month when Leo and I thought we heard something and went to check it out even though we weren't supposed to."

"And then you came back running and screaming for Sensei." Mikey clearly wasn't trying to rub it in, just stating the event as how he remembered it, but Leo bristled and Raph had to stomp down a rising tide of irritation before he blew his whole plan. Sensei had said that it was just the wind blowing through the tunnels, but it had sounded like a real monster at the time.

"Well, I went back again to try and find what was making the noise."

Leo frowned. "You should have taken me with you."

Raph snorted. "After our punishment for the first trip? You would have just tattled on me."

Leo opened his mouth to protest but stopped as he considered the truth of it. Leo only had so much rule breaking in him at a time.

"Anyway, I went back out again and I found it."

"You did?" Mikey was rapt. Leo was still sulking. Donnie still hadn't looked up from the television.

"Yeah. Its body stretched as far as the couch and it had a huge, long mouth full of sharp teeth."

Donnie glanced up from his project. "You saw a full grown alligator in the sewers? That's just a myth."

Stupid know-it-all. He'd show him too. "Maybe if alligators have six legs, spikes all over their backs and can move faster than Sensei."

Donnie scoffed. "There's no such creature."

Raph crossed his arms defiantly. "Yes there is. I saw it."

Donnie met his glare. "I've never heard or read of a scientist talking about anything like that."

Raph shrugged seeing a perfect opening. "Well then they haven't discovered it yet."

Donnie frowned, less confident now. "I don't think…"

"We're down here and they haven't discovered us yet either."

That was their big, number one rule. Why they could never let anyone see them. Ever. The scientists would find them and hurt them. Sometimes his brother needed to be reminded that the scientists weren't good, no matter how many wonders their discoveries filled his enormous head with.

"Anyway. It's out there and I saw it. I'm calling it the Jabbermouth."

"Why?" Mikey's voice was almost a whisper.

"When I saw the Jabbermouth, it was chasing sewer rats. It would find the loudest one that couldn't shut up and be quiet. Then it would charge in and bite off its tail. Since it attacked the Jabbermouths, that's what I called it. And it's out there, waiting, probably feeling bold now that Sensei isn't around to protect us. It will listen for the loudest one, who can't stop talking. Then SNAP! No more tail."

Mikey's green skin paled, making his freckles stand out in contrast even more than usual, as he slapped his hands over the bottom of his shell in terror.

Donnie thrust his lower lip out defiantly. "You're making that up."

Raph couldn't help the smug grin that spread across his face. "Am I? I bet there's plenty of other know-it-all science people who said that before they learned the hard way that they were wrong."

Donnie started to argue, but Raph almost see him mentally enumerating a list of people who had done just that. Uncertain now, his argument died in his mouth. He looked back down at the TV. "I need needle-nose pliers."

Donnie glanced over at his lab in trepidation and Raph couldn't help just one more dig. "Better go quietly Don or the Jabbermouth will get you."

"That's enough Raph. You're scaring them." Bossy Leo, as usual.

Donnie's lips compressed into a thin line and he knew that between his goading and Leo's overprotectiveness, Donnie would be braving the lab in search of pliers, if only to prove them both wrong.

Raph turned to face his eldest brother's steely gaze and knew the line had been drawn. Either Leo didn't believe him or just wasn't afraid if he did. Whatever. He was done anyway. And maybe now he could get some shut eye with the peace and quiet he'd earned. Raph stretched and curled up in his cozy blanket, almost immediately drifting off into blissful sleep.

Mikey trembled, terrified to make a sound, watching in disbelief as Raph passed out asleep. He was such a loud snorer. How could he not be worried about the Jabbermouth? Didn't he care about his tail at all?

Donnie rose to his feet so suddenly that Mikey had to clamp his hands over his mouth to keep the 'eep' inside. His brother stomped off towards the lab, seemingly unconcerned about the danger. Didn't anyone care about their tails? Mikey really, really didn't want to lose his. What if the Jabbermouth had heard him earlier and was just waiting until he fell asleep? He started to retreat into his shell.

"It's okay Mikey." At the sound of Leo's voice, he looked over at his big brother.

"How do you know?" Mikey whispered the question, just in case.

Leo sighed. "I was with Raph the first time we went out and we described the sound to Sensei. Sensei said it was the wind, so it was the wind."

Mikey wished he could have as much confidence in Sensei as Leo did. "But Raph…"

"Was just telling a story to rattle your shell. He does that sometimes."

"But what if…"

"Trust me. I know Raph and he was making it up. If there was any real danger, I'd be protecting you from it. You know that right?"

Mikey pulled out of his shell a bit. Leo would never let anything bad happen to him. As long as Leo was here, he wouldn't pay any more attention to Raph's mean story.

Donnie screamed and he ducked into his shell fast enough to make popping sound.

"Wait here. I'll be right back." No. Leo couldn't leave him. Who would protect him while Leo was gone? Raph slept like a rock and wouldn't wake up at all if the Jabbermouth attacked.

Unwilling to be left, he came out of his shell and crept after Leo, who was just entering the lab. What if the Jabbermouth had gotten Donnie? Would Donnie be okay without his tail? For a moment he stood indecisively at the threshold, but then Leo's soothing voice drew him inside. He snuck closer until he could hear Donnie's muffled sniffles.

"But Leo I heard it."

"Are you sure it was a sound you've never heard before."

"Well…no. It could have been the wind in the tunnels. But…"

"Raph was just teasing."

"I know that in my head Leo, but I…I can't…"

Mikey craned his head around the edge of the table to see where Donnie sat huddled and shivering against Leo on a pile of old tarps. Leo, suppressing shiver of his own, patted Donnie's shell reassuringly.

"Don't worry Don. There are heroes. They'll keep us safe. It's their job."

Donnie shook his head. "It's easier to believe in monsters than heroes."

Leo frowned thoughtfully. "Well, why not build some defenses to protect the lair? Would that make you feel better?"

Donnie sniffed and nodded. "Just…could you stay?"

"Well…" Leo paused and glanced back towards the door. When he caught sight of Mikey, he smiled in relief. "Yeah Don. I'm sure I can help."

"Good. Just…don't touch anything."

Leo shivered again and wrapped himself in one of the tarps as he shuffled over to the junk pile to keep watch over Donnie as he picked through it. Mikey wrapped his arms around his knees and frowned, trying to ignore the cold creeping into his limbs now that he was away from their campfire. Raph shouldn't have told that story. Donnie shouldn't be crying. It was wrong.

The more he thought about it, the tighter his arms gripped until it began to hurt. He didn't get angry very often, but when he did, he meant it. Raph shouldn't get away with scaring them.

He glanced back up at the table beside him and smiled as an idea blossomed in his head. Maybe if Raph knew what it was like to be afraid, then he wouldn't scare them anymore. And he knew just how to get Raph back. With Raph's own story.

Slowly standing, he picked the metal tool up off the table, squeezing it to see the mouth open. He thought Donnie had called it a clamp. But the smooth rubber mouth wouldn't do. He scanned the table until he found some scraps of scratchy Velcro. Perfect.

Scooping them up, he quietly opened the table drawer, careful not to draw Leo and Donnie's attention, and pulled out a small roll of dispenser-less Scotch tape. After a few tries, he'd managed to peel off enough to attach the bits of Velcro to the clamp. Now it would really have some bite to it.

Checking to make sure Leo and Donnie were still focused on the junk pile, knowing that he didn't have too much time before they gathered whatever Donnie needed and the cold drove them back to the warmth of the fire, he snuck back into the living room. He was already feeling kind of slow and sleepy, so he knew he would have to be quick.

Raph's snores echoed through the large space. He crept over, soaking in the cozy heat of the campfire as he drew near, and gently lifted his brother's blanket. There was Raph's tail, just barely poking out of his shell, having come untucked in the relaxed state of sleep. Muffling a chuckle, Mikey reached out and snapped the Velcro clamps down on his brother's exposed appendage.

"Yaaaaaa!" Raph shot upright with a booming yell. Mikey fell over laughing, slapping the ground as he watched his big brother hop around, trying to get a view of his tail. When he finally got the laughter under control and wiped the tears out of his eyes, he realized that Raph was holding the clamps and glaring it him. Uh oh.

"Leeeeeeooooooo!" Mikey screamed and ran, not caring which direction. He barely even noticed when he hopped the turnstiles and darted out along the subway tracks.

"Get back here you little brat!" Raph was close. Too close. Mikey pushed himself to his top speed, taking each fork in the tunnels at random as he transitioned to the sewers.

A howl filled the tunnel and his blood froze. It couldn't be. Could it?

"Mikey!" Raph sounded scared. Raph never sounded scared. Oh no. The Jabbermouth!

Shrieking he produced another burst of speed and the ground disappeared from beneath his feet. He toppled forward into the dark, watery abyss. Behind him Raph screamed, probably a victim of the Jabbermouth, and intense pain spiked up his tail as something clamped onto it and yanked. The Jabbermouth had him too.

"Aaaaaaaaaah!"

And then he was back on the ledge with his brother's strong arms wrapped around his shell. His tail hurt, but it was still there and he wasn't falling anymore. He was safe.

"What were you thinking Mikey?"

Oh right. The prank.

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to scare you." Mikey curled deeper against Raph's shell.

"Well you did. Big time. Don't ever going running off like that again. When you hit that ledge, I thought…I thought…just don't okay." Raph had been worried? About him?

"You're not mad?"

"No. Not as long as you're ok?"

Mikey just sat there for a moment, shaking. "I thought it got you."

Raph startled and looked down at him. "What?"

"The Jabbermouth. I thought it got you."

Raph frowned. "That's why you ran faster when I called to you?"

Mikey nodded.

"I made it up Mikey. I'm sorry. You don't need to be scared ok."

Mikey shivered again. Just cause Raph made it up didn't mean he was wrong. "What if there are other monsters?"

Raph smirked. "Then I'll fight 'em off. Ain't no monster getting my bros while I'm around."

Mikey smiled. "Thanks Raph."

"You're not scared anymore?"

Mikey shook his head.

"Good. Let's go home before Leo and Donnie get lost looking for us."

Mikey grinned and followed as Raph started back. As long as they were together, those monsters better look out. He wouldn't let them get any of his brothers either.