It's peanut butter jelly time! Peanut butter jelly time! Peanut butter jelly time! Where he at? Where he at? Where he at? Now there he go! There he go! There he go! There he go!
Moving the butter knife in my hands to the song I was humming in my head, I reached for the jelly to complete Michelangelo's sandwich.
"Peanut butter jelly, peanut butter jelly, peanut butter jelly," I sang to myself softly, shacking my hips to the song. Jumping up, I stomped my feet a bit. "It's the peanut butter jelly. Peanut butter jelly. Peanut butter jelly with a baseball bat." With those lines I lifted my butter knife up, pretending it was a bat and swinging.
Peanut butter jelly! Peanut butter jelly! Peanut butter jelly with a baseball ba-AHHHH!
You're all still here?! How long have you been standing there? It's like you're glued to the roof! Geez, I thought I was going to have a heart attack there.
Y'know, if I hadn't looked first, I would have thrown this knife at you. I don't care if it is a butter knife, I still would have thrown it!
So now you know, don't sneak up on me. It is beneficial for both of us in the end, trust me.
Oh but hey, you wanna see something?
Bending down, I opened up the cabinet below to grin at the contents that were hidden within. A two-layered white cake sat within, waiting patiently for some one to eat it.
Today was a very special day, and I had been planning for it for weeks. Now, since I live in the sewers and don't actually have a job or y'know… any money, I have to make due with what I can find.
I've really tried to minimize my stealing, but sometimes I have to. And even then, I only steal what I know grocers will never use or sell.
The secret birthday cake in front of me had taken weeks to cook. I had to find the frosting and caking batter for the boys, but I finally managed it!
Not to mention, since they were always in the house, I had to be super sneaky in making it last night when they went to bed.
Pulling the cake out, I peeked out of my room.
I swear, the James Bond theme began to play in my head as I sneaked the cake from the cabinet below to the one by the table so I could easily pull it out for the boys.
When no one was looking I quickly moved the cake before turning back to the peanut butter sandwich just as the boys walked in, as if I had never left it.
They didn't say anything and kept yelling at Raph how it didn't matter that he beat them in training. As master Splinter said, it was about improvement.
"You're just jealous that I'm stronger than all of you." Raphael smirked.
"Are not." They argued.
Chuckling a bit, I grabbed Michelangelo's sandwich and brought it to him. "Here you go honey." I smiled, placing it in front of him. Smiling joyfully, he gave me a loud 'Thanks Mom!' before munching down on his sandwich. "I also made some soup for dinner if you boys want some." I announced.
"Oh, yes please." Leo lifted his hand.
"Us too." Raph and Donnie agreed. Smiling, I pulled out five bowls for the boys, Splinter, since I knew he would be joining us shortly, and me. After pouring the soup into the bowls, I carried them all back to the table, having to balance one of the bowls on my head since I didn't have enough arm space.
Placing them on the table, I was glad to see Splinter when he entered. "Ah, I thought I smelled your special Soup." Splinter smiled, moving gracefully to his seat.
"Well of course, today is a special day after all." I grinned. "Speaking of 'Special days' I made you boys a little somethin'."
Catching their attention in mid eating, they stared at me with wide eyes.
"You got us something!" Mikey cheered.
"Well, it's more like I 'made' you something." I mused, reaching down to pull out the cake I had hidden down there. Holding it up, I smirked at Splinter, who nodded. "Tada!" I cheered, placing the cake in front of them. "I'm sure you'll all want some cake!"
"It is a cake!" Donnie gasped.
Reaching out, Raph used his finger to taste test a bit of the frosting. "Made of actually frosting!" he gawked at me in surprise.
"Is it real cake batter too?" Leo looked to me. I nodded, making his eyes sparkle.
Grinning from ear to ear till it hurt, I lifted my arms up to cheer, "Happy Mutation day!"
"Happy Mutation day!" the boys echoed, pumping their fists in the air.
"Ah yes, 15 years ago to this day our lives changed forever and we became the unlikeliest of families." Splinter smiled.
"No joke." I chuckled.
Leaning forward, Mikey leaned against his head with a happy smile. "Tell us the story Master Splinter." He urged.
"Michelangelo I have already told it many times." Splinter shook his head at his youngest, making him pout.
"Please?" Mikey brought his hands together. "PLEASE?!"
Diving forward, Raphael clamped his hands down over Mikey's mouth to silence him. "Please, it is the only way to shut Mikey up." He sighed.
Shacking my head playfully at him, I looked to Splinter, who nodded.
"Very well."
Oh, here we go. I love this story!
"Many years ago, when I was still human, I was leaving the pet store with four baby turtles." Splinter explained, his eyes looking towards the distance, as if he was flashing back to the day.
Looking towards my plate, I smiled to myself. I remembered that day well.
I could practically see Splinter's flash back for myself. I pictured a Japanese man with dark eyes and hair exiting a pet store, holding four baby turtles in a small glass bowl.
"That was us!" Mikey smiled, popping up into Splinter's flash back to point at the bowl.
"Yes." Splinter said softly. "Now don't interrupt!"
Mikey whimpered slightly before ducking back down for Splinter to continue.
"I passed a strange man on the street. Something felt 'off' about him." Splinter frowned.
"Or you just couldn't let it go." I shrugged.
Now, Splinter and me have had this on going fight for a couple years. Splinter insisted that he followed the man simply because his gut told him this man was up to no good, and that it was his duty as a ninja to investigate.
Me on the other hand, had seen what Splinter did that day. Splinter would never have followed him if he hadn't bumped into him.
"I followed him because he seemed like a dark character." Splinter said calmly. I could practically see flashback Splinter staring at the man suspiciously.
"You followed him because he shoved you and you, not being able to let it go and just go on with your life, followed after him wishing for an apology." I corrected. Suddenly, flash back Splinter's image change, and he was staring at the weird man that bumped into him angrily.
"That is not the case at all Arinna. I followed-"
"Because he bumped into you. From where I was standing, it looked like you just couldn't let the little shove go." Flash back Splinter looked up in surprise as the suited man ran into him, enraging his anger!
"Um-" Leo tried to intervene but we kept talking.
"I disagree completely, for you were not aware of what was going on in my mind at the time." Splinter coughed to collect his thoughts and stay calm.
"That doesn't change that you decided to follow the strange man." I pointed out.
"That is true, but that also doesn't change the fact that you, also followed after me." Suddenly a flash back of me 15 years ago, when I was 18, just a few months from being 19, popped into the picture. As Flash back Splinter tried to peek over the corner to see what the two suited men were doing, flash back me was hiding behind a dumpster, watching.
"I thought you would get hurt at the time for following a man simply because he bumped into you, so I followed as well. " I said quickly.
"Oh yes, that is the reason." Splinter didn't sound convinced, but continued his story. He explained of how the suited men had seen him after his accidentally stepped on a rat's tail. They then attacked him, and me, being who I was, couldn't just stand there and watched. I had joined the fight too, but was shocked almost to death when flash back Splinter had hit an odd container out of one of the attacker's hands.
A strange Ooze came from it, changing both him and the boys into what they were now.
"When the battle was over, I was forced to flee due to my new form." I remembered how flash back Splinter panicked at the sound of sirens and barely managed to remember the turtles. "Remembering that the turtles had been changed with me, I took them with me, into the sewers. I never looked back as I ran, not even to look at the girl who had helped me and seen me mutated."
"That was you!" Mikey grinned, pointing to me.
"Yes Michelangelo." I nodded.
"What happened next? What happened next?" Mikey bounced excitedly.
"Hamato Yoshi," I began to continue the flash back this time, "After escaping the suited men and the police finally found a spot he could rest for a short time. It was then that he realized… he had forgotten one of the turtles." Even though I wasn't there, I could see Splinter, leaning against the wall after just being transformed into a rat. His breathing was rigid, his hands were shaky, and he was confused and lost. He was looking at the turtles, slowly letting his mind calm, until he began to look over them all. He counted them all. Then counted again, before, if it was possible for a rat to do, he became pale, realizing his terrible mistake.
Mikey, though he had heard this story many times before, still gasped, as he did every time. "Which one did Master Splinter forget?' he asked softly.
"You already know the answer, stupid." Raph growled.
"After watching the man get changed into a rat." I chuckled at the two, deciding to continue anyway, "I had thought it was some odd dream. That I had just imagined the whole thing. However, when I turned to leave, something caught my attention." My mind flashed back to that alley, and the small sound of a whimper from some of the trash cans. "One of the turtles had been left behind cried out, and I took him home with me. After that, I decided I needed to find the Hamato Yoshi, or Splinter, to set things right and to return the turtle to his family." I remembered that great scavenger hunt through the sewers. Not fun, not fun at all. "When we found him, we became good friends, and we even named the turtles. The oldest, Leonardo."
Leo perked up a bit, smiling.
"Raphael, the second oldest." Raphael snorted a bit, smirking.
"Though Raphael at the time kept teasing poor Michelangelo, the youngest." I chuckled.
"Jerk." Mikey stuck his tongue at his older brother.
"And then the turtle who had brought me to you all, Donatello. Had he not been left behind today, where by fate or not, I would not be standing here today."
Donnie smiled at me sheepishly. "I never thought I would be happy to be left behind, Mom."
I smiled lovingly at him, reaching out to pat his head. He grinned at the gesture.
"Yes." Splinter nodded. "That was the beginning of our life together." He held up the same canister from 15 years ago, holding it high for us all to see.
Hey wait, when did he get that? He doesn't carry that thing around with him, does he? Where does he keep it?!
"It was the mysterious substance in this canister that, in a way, gave first to us all."
Mikey smiled at the canister, grabbing it and hugging it tightly. "Grandma!" he cooed.
We all stared at him, not sure how to react. Slowly, Leo pulled his confused gaze from his younger brother to his Father. "So Sensei," he spoke up.
Uh-oh. I know that look.
"Now that we're 15," Leo said the age very clearly to get his point across, "I think we're finally ready to go up to the surface, don't you?" He smiled hopefully, Raphael and Donatello mimicking his look.
I knew this question was coming. That boys had been wanting to go to the surface ever since they were 5, so it didn't surprise me that they wanted to go now, more than ever. They had been training for 15 years go this moment.
Looking to Splinter, I waited patiently for his answer.
"Yes." He nodded. The boys lifted their hands up to cheer.
Whoa, really? Yes? I-I mean, sure I guess they are ready, but… I mean, what if they get lost of something? And you are always usually very strict about this whole thing. This time it is just a 'yes' just like that? Really?
"And no."
Oop never mind, there it is.
"Aww what?" the boys slouched forward in disappointment.
"I hate when he does this." Raphael sighed.
"You have grown powerful, but you are still young." Splinter explained, rising from her chair. "You lack the maturity to use your skill wisely."
Yes, you lack the maturity to go up to the surface. Only mature people can go up there.
Wait… no, there a lot of immature people up there.
…Immature. Mature. MATUREEEEEE. MAtureee. Mater. Materter. Haha. Silly brain.
….Hey, don't look at me like that little audience in my head. I am very mature!
"So Sensei, isn't that just, no?" Donnie asked, confused.
"Yes." Splinter nodded again. "…And no." he smirked over his shoulder.
Oh, he was just playing with them now. Haha, sneaky guy.
"Wisdom comes from experience." Folding his arms behind his back, Splinter continued, "And experience comes from making mistakes."
Looking down thoughtfully, Donnie considered Splinter's words. "Ah-ha. So in order for us to gain the wisdom-" he rubbed his chin, "We have to make the mistakes, so we can go."
"No."
"And yes?" Donnie titled his head, grinning sheepishly.
"No." Splinter said sternly.
"Aww." The third oldest groaned.
"Sensei." Leo raised his voice. "We know you're trying to protect us, but we can't spend our whole lives hiding down here." His voice was soft. Splinter considered his oldest son's words carefully, turning away to rub his chin.
Glancing back for a split second he paused to find his sons kneeling in front of him. Surprised, he stared at their large begging puppy dogs looks as they pleaded to him silently.
Frowning, he looked past them to me.
Oh great, he wants my opinion on this. I don't want them to go! They could get hurt. But… I understood what they were feeling. I could go up to the surface whenever I pleased, but it was different for them. I couldn't even imagine what it must be like to be trapped in the sewers without ever seeing the sun for 15 years straights.
So, I made my decision.
With an encouraging smile, I nodded to him. With a sigh of defeat, he nodded down to the boys.
"You may go, tonight." He concluded. The boys erupted into cheer, jumping to their feet.
"High three!" Mikey called out, holding his hand up. His brothers ran forward, connecting their hands together. I smiled at the sight.
"However," Splinter added, "You must take Arinna with you though." The four, including me, looked at him in shock.
"What?" they asked.
"Yeah, what?" I stepped forward.
Wow, what you saying Splinter? I mean, not that I'm complaining too much here, I think it would actually be fun, but give a girl a warning!
"It is dangerous alone, and Arinna knows the surface world better than all four of you combined. She will keep and eye on you and make sure you do not get lost." Splinter explained, smirking innocently at me before he left the room.
Shocked, the boys looked over their shoulder at me and blinked. Blinking back, I slowly lifted my hand, which held a plate with a piece of cake on it.
"…Cake?"
Something about how I had cake, or just how I acted with the situation, made them grin at each other and run to me.
"Cake!" they cheered, Mikey running up with Donatello to hug me while Raphael and Leonardo stayed behind, grinning widely.
I was honestly very confused. Were they happy that I was coming? I guess so. They never really seem to mind when I tag along on their little adventures, they actually seem very pleased. The sweet hearts.
"So, mom, mom, mom, when will we leave? Huh? Huh?" Mikey began to bounce in my arms excitedly.
With a laugh, I patted his head. "Well, lets wait till the sun sets first Michelangelo." I chuckled.
Knowing them, they would probably continue to ask me when we would leave and mop around the lai when I said it wasn't time yet. Hopefully once they were done with their cake, which they really enjoyed-
"I love cake!" the boys cheered, their muffled voices interrupting my thoughts.
As I was saying, they loved the cake. But hopefully once they were done they would find something to occupy their time till we were ready to leave.
Like Leonardo for instance, he would often occupy his time with either training, or his favorite TV show, Space Heroes!
Which is what he was watching now.
He was just so cute when he watched this show! It was obvious he had sort of a man crush on Captain Ryan, his favorite Super Hero ever. When ever Captain Ryan came on the screen Leo would smile, pull his knees up to his chest, hug them, and lean a little closer to the TV.
It is the cutest thing you will ever see. I'm not joking here, watch!
Moving quietly into the living room, I smiled to find Leonardo sitting in front of the couch, huddled closely to the TV. At the moment, the space ship Captain Ryan always flew in was being attacked, making Leo inwardly gasp.
"Mr. Crankshole, status report!" Captain Ryan glanced at his second in command. At the sight of Captain Ryan's cool composure, Leo pulled his knees up to his chest and smile dreamily at him.
…Yeah see what I mean? Man crush! Totally a man crush! It was so cute!
"Status report? We're going to blow up in two seconds!" the panicked man, probably Mr. Crankshole or whatever they called him, screamed, shacking his arms around.
Captain Ryan whirled around, slapping the man on the face, as he did every show to calm him down.
"Thank you captain." The man nodded.
"Gentlemen." Captain Ryan lifted up his finger in an, 'I'm a hero' pose and began to speak.
I covered my mouth to hold back my giggles when Leo jumped to his feet, striking the same pose and lifting up his finger, mimicking what Captain Ryan said.
"I have a bold and daring plan, there's no time for hesitation. My orders must be carried out, without question." Without even looking towards the TV, Leo lowered his hand to his waist just as Captain Ryan did on the TV, and stared dramatically out into the distance.
To avoid being seen, I leapt behind the couch, covering my mouth and clutching my stomach as I struggled to breath from my laughs.
AHAHAHAHAHAH! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! He's so cute! He's too cute! I can't take it! My stomach is going to die! AHHAHAHAHA!
"You know that show is stupid, right?" Raphael asked from his spot on the couch, his magazine held high up to his face.
Oh hey, Raphael is here too? How had I missed him? Perhaps I was too distracted by Leo's cuteness?
Leo turned to him with a small frown. "Space heroes is a great show." He argued. "And Captain Ryan is a great hero." His eyes sparkled as he brought his hand to his chest, as if he was making a vow. "And some day, I am going to be just like him."
Peeking out from behind the couch, I almost gagged at the cute pose Leo was making. Clutching my heart, as if I was having a heart attack, I fell backward behind the couch again.
"Well, you do like to hear yourself talk." Raphael peeked out from behind his magazine. "So you're on your way."
Leo frowned at him, clearly not amused. Moving to grab the remote from the couch, he paused, seeing my show sticking out.
I was still rolling around on the floor, clutching my stomach when he looked over.
Eyes wide, Leo carefully tilted his head to stare at me. "…Mom…. What are you doing?" he asked.
Raphael looked up, unaware that I was in the room. Seeing that Leo was looking over the couch when he spoke, Raphael cranked his neck to get a good look at me.
"…N-Nothing haha, nothing at all." I wheezed from my laughter, shacking my hand at him. "Just… Just looking for dust bunnies!" I began to cackle again, this time louder. Leo blinked, looking towards Raphael in confusion.
The second oldest shrugged. I guess it didn't surprise him that I would be looking for dust bunnies.
Hey wait; does that mean Raphael expects me to be weird? I'm not weird. Am I?
Reaching his hand down, Leonardo helped me to my feet and brushed some of the dust out of my hair. "Why were you looking for dust bunnies Mom?" he asked, sounding a little amused.
"Because you boys never vacuum under the couch when I ask you to clean the lair." I answered instantly. I may not have been searching for dust bunnies while I was down there, but the vacuuming thing was true.
"Oh." Leo grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, I'll make sure to do that next time."
Patting his head, I nodded.
"MOM!" Mikey called, bursting into the room with Donatello. "It's night time! Can we go NOWWW?!" He pleaded with Donatello. Leo and Raph snapped their attention back to me, their eyes wide and begging.
With a chuckle, I nodded. "It's go time!" I pumped my fist in the air. My two oldest grinned while Mikey and Donatello pretended to play some air guitars.
The four of them rushed to collect their weapons, putting a few minutes of practice in before we would go. I watched them from the dojo.
I'll be honest; I think they knew I was watching because they positioned themselves exactly in the position so that I could see the front of them clearly.
They were swinging around their weapons skillfully. Once they were done, they would strike sort of a "I'm ready to go" pose, then slowly glance towards the Dojo, to see if I had watched their, as Mikey says, 'Mad Ninja skills'.
Chuckling, I turned to the Dojo. "Master Splinter." I called softly. He looked up from his mediation, knowing full well what I wanted to say.
"They're ready." I said softly.
This was it. The moment they have been waiting for, but we have been dreading. No parent wanted to send his or her child off alone into the world. Although I would be with them, I still couldn't help but worry.
What if someone saw them? They might call the officials and the government might get involved. Then there would experimenting, dissection and who knows what else!
Splinter and me walked towards to the boys, who stood in a straight line.
"You are going up to a strange and hostile world. You must maintain awareness at all times." Splinter began, pacing in front of them.
The world was definitely strange, especially in New York.
Hai Sensei." The boys said in unison, turning to leave.
"Stay in the shadows." Splinter added, making the boys stop.
Right, shadows.
"Hai sensei." They jumped back into line. Turning to leave again, Splinter spoke.
"Don't talk to strangers."
"Hai Sensei." They paused before moving one foot into line.
"Everyone counts as a stranger!"
Uh-Oh, here comes over-protective Splinter.
"…Hai Sensei." They sighed, slouching back into line, rushing for the steps.
"Make sure you go before you leave, the restroom up there filthy!" Splinter called with a wave of his hand.
"Sensei." They whined over their shoulders at their over-protective father.
Chuckling a bit, I smiled warmly at Splinter, who looked at me, concern clearly in his eyes. "He's right, boys. Make sure you go."
"I already went." Raphael grumbled.
"Us too." Leo and Don agreed.
Looking towards Mikey, we stared at each other for a while before he sighed and trudged towards the bathroom. In the few minutes we waited, I looked to Splinter and patted his shoulder.
"Keep them safe." He said softly to me.
"I will Splinter." I promised. With a small chuckle, I looked over my shoulder at my three oldest, who were talking excitedly. Looking back at Splinter, he bowed his head slightly, staring at his feet.
I could see that look in his eyes. He was worried something bad would happen and our family would be torn apart, just as his last family had.
I wouldn't let that happen without a fight. I wouldn't let Splinter go through that pain ever again.
"They'll be fine." I reached up and cupped the older rat's fat. Looking towards me, there was a small tug at his lips and he grabbed my hand. "Thank you Arinna. I know you will keep them safe." He nodded and smiled when Mikey came back from the bathroom, drying his hands.
I was always so proud when he remembered to wash his hands.
With a small sigh, seeing that they were ready to go, Splinter looked to his four children. "Good luck, my sons."
The boys erupted into cheer.
"Surface time!" Raphael pumped his fist.
"This is going to be epic." Mikey whooped as they jumped over the subway entrance.
"Come on Mom!' Donnie called over his shoulder to me. I chuckled and looked to Splinter, who slowly let go of my hand. Running forward, I jumped over the lair entrance.
"Make sure you look both ways before crossing the street!" Splinter called out one last time before they disappeared.
Still running forward, I turned so that I was running backwards and waved to him. "I'll make sure they are back in two hours!" I called.
He nodded in approval, the worry still shinning clear in his eyes.
Though if I think about it, I'm pretty sure I had the exact same look.
After that, it didn't take us long to find the ladder leading up to the surface. I was the first to go up, checking to see if the cost was clear.
Seeing that it was dark and no one was around, I moved the man hole cover and motioned for the boys to follow.
The boys jumped after me, landing gracefully on their feet. Their eyes wide, they slowly stood straight, staring around the alleyway in awe.
Trash surrounded the alleyway, and the walls were covered in different types of spray paint. The worst of it all was that there was a hobo sleeping near the wall to our right, and had just farted.
Gross.
Oh great, the first thing they see after coming to the surface is this? I hope this didn't disappoint them.
Still baffled, the four jumped at the sound of a car horn and turned towards the streets. I stared at them from behind, worried.
"…It's so…" Mikey began.
Hideous? Gross? Awful? Ugly? Weird?
"… Beautiful!" he smiled dreamily.
Wow, what? Really? Oh! Oh that's good! They like it! That's good.
"What are we waiting for?" Raph demanded with a grin. "Lets go!"
"Yeah!" his brothers agreed, running forward.
"Ah! Wait boys!' I called, running after them. "Make sure you stay in the shadows! Ah! Mikey don't just run into the streets! Don't touch the cars either, the alarms will go off! Ah! Raph don't touch that!"
…. This was going to be a long night.
Yay! Part two of episode one! Any of you see the season finale?! Who thought it was epic!? I DID! Anyway, hope you all like this chapter. :D