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Chapter 3: Far Away

"Where did she go? Donnie, where did she go?" Mikey asked frantically, tugging on Donnie's arm.

Donatello sat typing on his computer, the Kraang time travel device now hooked up to his computer. The purple crystal in the box that once glowed with energy was now dull and lifeless. Before now, Donnie had only run scans on the device. He knew that without knowing more about the device and how to use it, attaching it straight to his computer had a ninety-eight percent chance of overloading his system. Now that the power the box was producing was almost non-existent, there was less danger in accessing it directly.

"I don't know, Mikey! Would you just shut up so I can figure it out?" Donatello snapped, jerking his arm away from his brother.

"Well, figure it out faster!" Raph retorted. "It was your idea to bring that thing back to the lair."

"Enough guys," Leonardo cut in. "Let Donnie work. He's the only one that knows what he's doing."

Leonardo physically had to drag Mikey away from April's hair, but when the turtles retreated they didn't go far.

They sat together in front of her, all except for Raphael who stood a few feet away from his brothers watching the proceedings with a hawk-like glare and angry crossed arms. Leonardo had Mikey by the shell and the youngest turtle was practically sitting on his brother. Donatello was fidgeting next to Leo. He had suddenly gone very quiet and wouldn't meet her gaze.

As they sat, they told her who they were, how they mutated, and about their life in the sewers with Master Splinter.

April listened politely, but her mind was elsewhere. She already knew this story by heart. She knew she was in a different dimension, so nothing she did here would affect her world. However, could her being here have a negative effect on this world? What if she told them something they weren't supposed to know? Could she inadvertently cause them harm?

Would it be okay if she told them she was from the future?

April bit her lip. She had been debating about that. She had already lied to the turtles, but could she really lie to Master Splinter? Could she really bring herself to beg Master Splinter to let her stay down here with them and then lie to him about her origins?

Would he believe her if she told the truth? She had the tessen he gave her, but would that be enough? A close call with a friend who picked up her T-phone a few days ago had lead April to become paranoid and transfer all her pictures of the turtles to Donatello's computer, so now she had no photographic evidence to show. Even without photos, she might be able to convince Splinter of who she was with just her sheer knowledge of Splinter's background and the tessen, but was that a good thing?

What if she told him too much? What if she told him the wrong thing? If she mentioned the Kraang or the Shredder, how easily could she screw up this world? If Splinter knew that his sons would one day have to face the Shredder, April didn't think Splinter would let them go topside on their fifteenth birthday, or ever, if he could help it. If they didn't go topside on that day at the exact right time, then they would never save the April of this world and that April would be captured by the Kraang. April knew that none of her actions here would affect her or her world, but they could still affect the turtles and the April O'Neil living in this one.

Obviously, April would never mention the Shredder or big future events on purpose, but who knows what small things she could do or say what would change this world for the worse. She read enough science fiction books and saw enough terrible sci-fi B movies with Mikey to know about the butterfly effect.

Changing one small event in the past could have colossal effects on the future. Just because it wasn't her future didn't mean it still wasn't her responsibility.

If she told Splinter she was from the future, she ran the risk of saying something that he shouldn't know about.

But if she told him she was just a lost girl seeking shelter, then even if she said something wrong, her words would have less of an impact. Splinter would just see her as a stranger passing by, not as someone knowledgeable of future events.

The question was: could she lie to Splinter?

"And we're still working on our training with Master Splinter to be ninjas. One day we will go up to the surface so we need to be prepared," Leonardo finished. April noticed with a secret smile that Leonardo's explanation of their past was very similar to how Master Splinter often told it. In fact, it was almost word-for-word.

"What do you think?" Mikey asked rocking back on his shell.

"That's certainly an unbelievable story," April said carefully. "You four are very special."

One of the turtles scoffed and April's eyes immediately moved to Raphael. She expected him to have a sarcastic comment to throw at her, but to her surprise, Raph's eyes were on Donatello.

April stared at the little genius in surprise as he glared at the ground. Had he been the one to scoff?

Out of all the turtles, Donnie's mood had varied the most. He had gone from terrified, to wary, to curious, to reserved, to suddenly irritable in only the past twenty minutes.

He muttered something in Japanese and April noticed Leonardo wince at whatever Donnie had said and Mikey's eyes go wide. The young turtle suddenly looked hurt.

"Donnie!" Leonardo chastised harshly.

Donatello opened his mouth angrily, ready to argue, but then he seemed to catch the expression on Michelangelo's face, and his anger vanished. His shoulders drooped and he studied the ground in defeat.

"Sorry Mikey," Donnie muttered.

"What did he say?" April asked.

"None of your business!" Raph snapped. "Actually, none of this is her business!" He took a few brave steps towards her. "Why are we telling her anything?" he asked Leo.

"Because Raph," Leo said calmly, "she needs to know who we are and why it's important that no one knows about us. If she decides to tell other humans about us then we would be in a lot of danger."

Raph growled and glared at her, his hands balling into fists.

"Whoa, hold up," April said lifting her hands into the air defensively. "I'm not going to tell anyone about you, I promise."

"Why not?" Donatello asked in a small voice, his head cocked to the side and his eyes guarded. "The world hasn't seen anything like us before. You would be famous if you told anyone about us. You have no reason to keep us a secret."

April's mouth fell open and she crossed her hands over her chest, affronted. "How about because you're kids for one? And for two, I don't care about being famous, especially if that means hurting others. I'm not a monster. I don't want some scientist to get their hands on you and decide to study and diss-" A quick glance at Mikey and she immediately changed her course of words. "Uh, hurt you."

Under Donatello's intelligent scrutiny, April knew he understood what she meant to say. However, April's answer didn't seem to appease the smartest mutant and his eyes only grew darker as he looked away.

"We don't have much of a choice," Leo said. "We have to trust her."

Michelangelo raised his hand happily. "I trust her! I like her a lot!"

"You would," Raphael grumbled.

"You have much to learn about trust, Michelangelo," came a voice from behind April. She spun around, her heart fluttering nervously in her chest as she saw Master Slinter standing in the door way. He was staring down at her with hard, dark eyes.

April clambered to her feet in an instant, the turtles shrinking away from her slightly at her quick movements.

"Sensei! You're home!" Leo announced, his voice caring a hint of guilt as if it was his fault there was currently a stranger in their house.

The turtles ran up to their father and stopped just before him. All four of them spoke at the same time, speaking urgently and entirely in Japanese.

Splinter regarded his sons quietly as they, April assumed, tried to explain what was going on.

With April's limited Japanese vocabulary, which she had been working on extending since meeting the turtles, she tried decipher what the turtles were saying. However, the only word she managed to catch was her name.

Suddenly, Splinter held up his hand and his sons obediently fell silent.

Splinter looked at April now, considering her carefully. April gave him a timid smile, her heart racing in her chest. It wasn't that she was afraid of Splinter; she knew him too well for that. However, if she couldn't explain herself correctly or if she gave him cause to think she might hurt his sons, there would be no way Splinter would allow her stay with them.

Plus, April had seen Splinter when he was actively protecting his sons and she definitely did not want him to see her as a threat.

"Hi," April greeted carefully, trying to keep the hesitation out of her voice. "I'm April O'Neil."

His stare was cold. She felt like not just an intruder, but an enemy. It was the first time she was made to feel unwelcome in the lair.

I don't belong here.

The sudden realization was heavy and for a moment she couldn't breathe.

She had only known the turtles for a year, but in that short time they had taken her in and made her feel like part of the family. The lair had felt like more of a home then her aunt's place on the surface where she slept.

Splinter's hostile glare dispelled all illusions and her feeling of comfort at her familiar surroundings turned to dread. It may look familiar, but she was very far away from home.

Splinter took a step towards her, but April barely noticed. It was only too late she realized her mistake.

"You are… not afraid," Splinter stated cautiously, his eyes narrowing.

April shook her head. "No." She knew she should probably act afraid. After all, if she had really stumbled upon a rat-mutant and his talking turtle sons living in the sewers the first thing she would do is scream. After all, that's what happened the first time she met them.

However, she couldn't bring herself to pretend to be afraid. She couldn't do that to them, especially not to the turtles. Not only because she would feel guilty for being deceitful, but also because she knew how timid they already were about revealing themselves to the outside world. She was the first human to see them after the mutation and she knew that whatever her reaction was it would stay with them for the rest of their lives. If she screamed, or pretended to be fearful, they would always remember that, and deep down, believe that there was something wrong with them. She wanted to show the turtles that what they were, what they had become, wasn't a bad thing.

"She said she's not scared because..." Mikey hesitated and pouted in confusion. "Because… what did she say, Leo?" he asked, turning to his eldest brother.

Leo glanced up as Splinter hesitantly before answering his brother's question. "She said that being different from someone isn't a good reason to be afraid."

Splinter's eyes were still on her; he seemed to be taking in everything about her. April felt like he learned more in one look than she knew about herself.

"I see…" Splinter said slowly. "Why have you come here?"

Words flew from her mouth before she could stop them, a gut-wrenching feeling of guilt accompanying every word. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to break into your home. I just… ended up here. And then your sons…" She glanced at the turtle children who were staring up at her uncertainty. "They found me."

Splinter didn't so much as twitch a whisker at her explanation.

"You have come a long way below the surface. Why?" he asked.

April glanced away. "I was… escaping," she lied. "These men were after me and I was running away from them." Suddenly, April looked up at Splinter earnestly. "Please, let me stay here! Just for a bit!"

April could feel Splinter's distrust, and the way he was looking at her. April swallowed guiltily and had to force herself not to look away in shame. She could see in his eyes. He knew she was lying.

"Do you not have family?" he asked, but this time, April could detect a slight softening of his voice.

April shook her head. "Not in the area and my dad is…" she hesitated, her heart lurching. "He's missing."

April saw something flicker behind Splinter's eyes and for a quick moment she saw the Splinter she had grown to know. His guarded expression had slipped only for a brief second, and April realized that he believed her about her father.

Perhaps it was his skills as a ninjutsu master, perhaps it came with raising four young boys, but Master Splinter could tell when she was lying and when she wasn't.

Although April's dad in this dimension might still be fine, her dad, the one she had left back in her home dimension, was still mutated, scared, and trying to survive on the streets of New York on his own. To her, he was still missing and Splinter had somehow recognized that wasn't a lie.

"Please, I have nowhere else to go," her voice shook slightly as the gravity of her situation weighed down on her, but her voice still rang with truth. "I won't be here for long," April heard herself promise. "My brothers are… far away right now, but I know they're going to come and find me when they can. I just need somewhere safe to live until then."

"Can we keep her, Master Splinter?" Mikey asked, tugging slightly on his father's robes. Splinter's reached down and absentmindedly placed a caring hand on his son's head.

Splinter sighed. "I would be best if you contacted the authorities, Miss O'Neil. This is not a place for a young girl."

A young human girl is what he meant.

April balled her hands into loose fists as her throat began to close up.

"I can't go to the authorities! They wouldn't know what to do with me." She was trying to keep her words truthful, hoping Splinter would at least recognize that. "And it would make it harder for my brothers to find me."

Master Splinter laid his ears flat against his head.

"So instead you wish to stay here with strangers you do not know?" Splinter asked.

"I know it doesn't make a lot of sense, but-"

"I'm not done," he interrupted, his voice tight and angry. "You ask to stay here where you could endanger my sons and yet you only explain yourself using half-truths and lies."

April couldn't even look up at him; the back of her eyes prickling, but she swallowed and forced the sensation back.

"I would never put them in danger," April denied earnestly. "I'm not going to tell anyone about them or you." She forced herself to look him straight in the eye. "I promise."

Despite the fact that she was telling the truth, Splinter didn't seem to believe her.

Splinter looked down at the turtles. They had moved closer to their father and were regarding her warily; even Mikey eyed her with uncertainty, glancing at his father in confusion.

"My sons have never seen anyone from the surface," Splinter continued. "Humans would not understand them." He placed a soft hand on Leonardo's head. The eldest turtles face was very grave. "But you have brought your world down with you. Just by being here you have already placed them in danger," the biting tone in Splinter's voice made her shiver.

He took a small step towards her. "On the other hand," his voice was suddenly not as sharp. "You are alone. I believe you about that. I…" he hesitated, "I find it hard to deny a child who is asking for help, even if they are not my own."

April blinked in surprise. For one horrifying moment, she was sure Master Splinter wasn't going to let her stay and she was going to have to fend for herself on the surface.

"If I allow this, you must know one thing, Miss O'Neil."

"What?" she asked, her breath barely a whisper.

His eyes bore into her own with fierce intensity. "If you harm my sons… if you put them in any danger… you will regret coming here."

April nodded solemnly. She knew Splinter didn't want her here. April knew if there was some way Splinter could erase her memory of his sons he would do it in a heartbeat. However, it was too late, and now Splinter was trying to salvage their lives, which were completely dependent on April's mercy.

A horrid thought suddenly occurred to April.

"You're not letting me stay here because you feel like you have to, are you?" April asked Splinter, causing him to raise a curious eyebrow at her. April shook her head. "Even if you turned me away, I still wouldn't tell anyone about you. I'm not trying to blackmail you so that you will let me say. I would never do that."

To April's astonishment, Splinter gave her the tiniest of smiles. "I see…" he said slowly. "Well, that is… good to know."

"She's really staying with us?" Michelangelo asked; his wariness banished now that his father had come to a decision.

"For now," Splinter agreed.

"Yay!" Michelangelo dove for April's legs and tackled both of them at the same time.

"Mikey, no!" Leonardo shouted, but the warning came too late.

April felt her legs buckle beneath her and the world blurred around her as she fell, landing hard on her back.

April sat up in a daze to see a wide-eyed and clearly petrified Mikey staring at her, still sitting slightly on top of her legs.

"I-I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean to!" Mikey stumbled. "It was… was just an accident!"

April's back ached, but she was mostly unharmed. What disturbed her, however, was the fearful expression on Mikey's face. Without thinking, April reached out and placed a hand on the top of his head to calm him.

She immediately regretted her action because from the moment she reached out several things happened at once. Leo and Raph took an impulsive step forward and Mikey flinched, closing his eyes just before she placed a soft hand on his head.

"It's okay," she said gently, guilt stabbing at her chest as her hand rested on top of his leathery head. "You didn't mean to and I'm not hurt."

Slowly, Michelangelo opened his eyes and April could see him relax. He returned her smile eagerly.

"I thought you weren't scared of me?" April whispered mostly to herself, and even though she tried to hide it, she could hear the disappointment in her voice.

"It will take time, Miss O'Neil," Splinter interrupted, easily lifting his son off her legs and placing him back on his feet. "Trust is something earned, not given." He seemed to waver for only a moment before he held out his paw to help her up.

April took it without thinking and was lifted to her feet.

"Please, just call me April."

The rest of the lair was relatively the same as her world, minus the not-yet-a-lab. They still had the sunken pit with the TV, a kitchen, and the dojo. The biggest difference was the four turtles shared one large room as their bedroom instead of each getting their own. April recognized the room that the eight-year-olds shared as a storage room in her time where they kept the excess weapons and Donnie's old inventions. However, in this dimension it held four beds and an incredibly cluttered floor.

The kitchen had many of the same appliances it had in her time, but unlike in her time, there wasn't a single pizza box. April didn't examine the contents of the kitchen too closely, knowing the turtles mostly ate worms and algae before venturing to the surface and she had no interest in finding their leftovers.

To April's surprise, Splinter showed her where he stored some cans of normal, human food.

Splinter and the turtles had disappeared after they gave her the tour and she hadn't heard from them since. April heated up some canned ravioli in their microwave for dinner, but she wasn't very hungry.

Sitting at the kitchen table with her diner, April's thoughts turned to the guys in her own dimension. She knew they were probably looking for a way to bring her back, but she hoped they weren't too frantic. She was fine. She could survive here for a little while even though the little turtles were afraid of her and Master Splinter saw her as nothing more than a threat to his sons…

April sighed. It was lonely here. These were her boys, but at the same time, they weren't. She missed home. She missed the guys. She missed being trusted and cared for and feeling like she was a part of their family.

After she finished eating, April headed to the room Splinter had designated as hers. It was actually Leonardo's room in her time, but in this time, it was a mostly empty storage room. There was no real bed, but Splinter moved a mattress and blankets into the room for her and that was just as good.

Splinter had even made up the bed for her, which kind of surprised her, even though she knew it shouldn't. Splinter was a very organized and meticulous person; it would make sense that he would make her bed. On the other hand, Splinter hadn't been very welcoming of her so this gesture was… nice.

April sat cross-legged on the mattress and opened up the messenger bag she hadn't let out of her sight since she arrived in this dimension. She checked her T-phone. No service like she expected. The personal phone network Donnie created hadn't been invented yet.

April sensed someone coming and immediately placed her phone back in her bag. Two blue eyes peered through the crack in door she left partially open. She smiled at the young turtle in what she hoped was a welcoming gesture.

"You can come in, you know," she encouraged.

Michelangelo pushed open her door and walked into her room. Sitting on her mattress, she was a little shorter than his full height, but he still seemed so small to her. Mikey had always been small compared to his brothers, but this Michelangelo was even more of a child, and even more vulnerable looking.

April knew first hand, however, that Michelangelo was not weak. Despite his size and child-like persona, Mikey could take a hit and then dole them out five times harder. He was a warrior as much as he was a teenager.

The eight-year-old Mikey in front of her had the same potential. He was probably already in the midst of his ninja training and after how hard he had knocked her over earlier that day, April knew he was already a lot stronger than her.

"Hi April," he greeted. "I'm glad you're staying here with us."

"Me too," she agreed earnestly, and then hesitated. "You sure you're okay with it?"

Mikey's expression turned thoughtful. "Sensei and aniki are worried."

"Are you worried?"

Mikey fidgeted slightly. "I don't know. Raphie says I should be, but…" he drifted off, his face twisting in confusion.

April had to bite her lip from laughing at the nickname Mikey had given Raphael.

"What do you think?" she asked.

Mikey shrugged. "I haven't met anyone new before, but I think I like it. I thought humans were going to be mean but you're really nice."

April noticed how the little turtle was inching closer to her throughout the whole conversation.

April tilted her head with a smile.

"Do you want to come sit with me?" she invited, patting the mattress beside her.

His face lit up and he nodded. April scooted over and they sat facing each other.

April glanced towards the door, and yep, there he was. Raphael was standing just outside the door with his arms crossed watching every move she made. April knew at least one of Mikey's brothers had to be outside the door. There was no way they would allow their younger brother to talk to the strange, potentially dangerous, human alone.

April's thoughts turned to the other turtles and how they had all reacted so differently to her arrival.

She had understood Raph, Leo and Mikey's reaction. Raph immediately disliked her because of the threat she posed to his brothers, Leo seemed to recognize she didn't want to hurt them, but he was still cautious and hesitant to let his guard down. Mikey immediately saw the opportunity to make a new friend for the first time in his life and saw her as something new and fun, but he looked to his older brothers for guidance so often that their fear and hesitation around her confused Mikey, making him uncharacteristically wary of her.

Donatello, however, confused her. He had been the first to approach her, and yet, almost as guarded as Raphael. There was bitterness in the way he observed her and April couldn't understand what was going on in her future best friend's head. Donatello wasn't the easiest guy to figure out, but this child seemed so different from the Donnie she knew.

"Hey Mikey," April began carefully. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure!"

"When you guys told me the story of your mutation, Donnie said something in Japanese. It seemed to upset you and he apologized. I was just wondering… can you tell me what he said?"

Mikey cast his eyes down to the bedspread, a frown on his face. "I don't really know why he said that, but Donnie says a lot of things I don't understand."

"What was it?" April prompted softly.

Mikey fidgeted with his hands and kept his eyes lowered. "He said: we're not special, we're freaks."

She took a sharp intake of breath and Michelangelo's eyes snapped up to meet hers.

"He said that?" April asked, a feeling of dread spreading through her chest.

"Yeah… he says stuff like that sometimes when he doesn't think I'm around."

April scooted closer to the youngest turtle. "Listen, Mikey, what Donnie said… he was wrong." April had an intense urge to reach out and place a hand on Mikey' shoulder or to pull him into a hug, but with the way he reacted last time she touched him, she held back. April was pretty sure Mikey wouldn't flinch away from her this time, but with Raphael's hawk-like eyes just outside the door, April decided that the best way to help them feel comfortable around her was to give them their space.

"You guys aren't freaks," April continued. "You're different, but that's not a bad thing.

Michelangelo shook his head. "But Donnie is never wrong."

April sighed. "I know, but in this case, he is. You're going to have to trust me on this."

Mikey nodded but his eyes were back on the bed.

Michelangelo was a trusting turtle, but trusting a new girl over the brother he constantly looked up to was not something he knew how to do.

"She's gone, sensei," Leonardo explained to his father. "She's in another dimension. One exactly like ours but in the past."

"How did this happen?" Master Splinter asked as he took in the disorganized state of the lab. Beakers were broken, chemicals were spilt on the floor and desk, and papers littered the floor.

"The Kraang device," Donatello explained his voice on the verge of panic. "I don't know what happened! She must have touched it or something! It didn't react to anyone else like that. I thought it would be okay to leave it out! I thought-"

Splinter placed a firm hand on his son's shoulder, and Donatello stopped talking immediately. Splinter took a breath. "Calm yourself, Donatello. Breathe. You are ninja. You must keep your mind calm and clear or you will be no help to April."

Obediently, Donatello took a breath and let it out slowly, his shoulders slumping in defeat.

"Now," Splinter began calmly. "Where do you believe April is? Do you think she is safe?"

"I-I-" Donnie glanced around in panic. "I don't know… I guess, if I think about it logically, April couldn't have gone too far in the past. The crystal had a lot of power, but it also takes a lot to send someone to another universe. She would end up in the same spot she left, which would be the lab, no more than ten years before this time. I will have to run some more tests to get a more accurate estimation. It's probably less than that…" A look of sudden realization crossed his face. "This means she will meet us in the past. Well, not actually us since it's another universe but… it's pretty much the exact same thing."

"Okay then," Leo broke in. "So we know April is safe. She's with us in the lair, just in another dimension in another time. She'll be safe with us, won't she sensei?"

Master Splinter frowned. "I believe it would be best to retrieve April as soon as possible."

"Why?" Raph asked, his eyes narrowing. "What's wrong, sensei?"

Splinter hesitated, carefully picking out his words before he spoke them. "I am… unsure about how I would have reacted to a stranger suddenly appearing in our home. I did my best to keep our home safe from the surface dwellers and April's appearance would be my worst nightmare. Think my sons, of what your reaction would be if April appeared in our home while you were still children."

Mikey shrugged. "I don't get it. It wouldn't be that different, would it?"

Donatello clenched his fists, his features growing dark. "Yes, it would. Especially if…" He shook his head. "Never mind."

Raph rolled his eyes. "Come on guys, this is April! She can handle us. We don't have to worry about her. What we need to focus on is getting her back." He clasped a hand on the back of Donnie's shell, bringing the genius out of his thoughts. "Right Donnie?"

Donatello nodded, his haunted expression clearing. "Right."