Chapter 4

The following Monday, the four brothers walked into their math class and took their seats. They quietly waited until the bell rang. The girls didn't show up and fifteen minutes into class, they still didn't show. Leo glanced at his brothers; they all made eye contact, gathered their things, stood up, and left without a word. Once they were out in the hallway, they ran to Don's car, got in, and drove off in silence. They parked in front of the girls' apartment and ran to the door. Don punched in Cerina's code and they ran to the elevator.

When they entered the girls' apartment they saw Cerina sitting in a chair in the kitchen, she was hunched over and holding her side in pain. Pearl was sitting next to her with her forehead in her hand. Across the table from them was a grumpy, stern looking old man; the room was silent. Mikey came bouncing up behind Pearl and wrapped his arms around her.

"Helllooo beautiful!" he said with a smile on his face.

"Oh, hi Mikey. This is Mr. Braxton. He's our lawyer. Mr. Braxton, these are our best friends." Pearl introduced everyone; Cerina didn't look like she was in the best mood.

"Ahem, I take it that this young man is more then a best friend." Mr. Braxton said as he looked from Pearl to Mikey.

"He just likes to tease me. There's nothing going on here." Pearl said with a blush.

"Although you wish there was…" Cerina whispered through her teeth.

"Ahem, let's get back to business shall we?" Mr. Braxton folded his hands on the table.

"Sure." Cerina winced as she tried to sit up straight.

"Now, in your adoptive father's will, it says that he wants everything but a few items sold or given to charity." Mr. Braxton began as he shuffled through his briefcase. "Those few items are yours. To Pearl he's left a beach house and all its contents, $5,000 and his collection of projectiles."

"Whoa! A beach house?" Mikey exclaimed as he leaned forward "Where is it?"

"Florida." Mr. Braxton replied as he pulled out a picture.

"Wait, he's left that to me?" Pearl asked.

"Apparently so. It was supposed to be a present for your eighteenth birthday. It's already paid off." Mr. Braxton slid the picture over. It was a large, beautiful white house set above a private cove. It was complete with a swimming pool, hot tub, outside game court, balcony, and stairs down to the beach. Pearl couldn't believe it. Artanis had actually built her a beach house. When he had asked her what she wanted, she only said it as a joke. Cerina grabbed the picture away from Pearl and Mikey.

"He built this for her eighteenth birthday? What did he do for mine…forget again?" Cerina put the picture back down on the table.

"Actually, he's left you his own katanas." Mr. Braxton reached down by his feet, picked them up, and set them on the table. Leo gasped as he stepped forward.

"Holy shell…" He walked around the table to stand by Cerina, he just looked at her, and she could read the look on his face. She nodded and Leo picked one up. He ran his hands down the blood-red scabbard. "How old are these? They look like they are from the Feudal Era."

"It says here that they were crafted by his great-great grandfather who lived in Japan during the Feudal Age." Mr. Braxton slid the paper across the table but Leo didn't pick it up; he drew out the blade a few inches to see his deep green eyes reflected off of the steel. He sheathed it and set it back on the table.

"What else did he leave for Cerina?" Leo asked as he sat next to Cerina.

"Let me see…" Mr. Braxton shuffled through his papers for a moment, "I don't see anything. I guess that the katanas are the only thing that he left her." He folded his hands on the table again.

"I have a rather important question to ask." Cerina spoke up before Leo and Don could argue with the lawyer, "Will Pearl and I be able to stay here?"

"That depends on how well you can make the payments."

"How much money is it?" Pearl asked, ready to use her $5,000.

"About eight hundred dollars a month, and that's just the rent. That's not the utilities."

"What!?" Pearl almost stood up, "That's insane!"

"I'm sorry Miss. Orphen, but that's what it costs. Now if you have no more questions, I have another meeting to go to." Mr. Braxton didn't wait for the girls' reply; he gathered his briefcase, walked across the house, and just as he was about to go into the elevator, he stopped. "If you're not going to stay here, you need to be out by tomorrow night." With that, he turned and left.

"Great, Cerina, what'll we do?" Pearl slouched down in her chair.

"Leave by tomorrow night. What other choice do we have?" Cerina stood up and faced her sister and friends.

"Wait, what about the beach house? Didn't he say that it was already paid for? It's prefect! You can get a job to pay for the utilities and I can party!" Pearl was overly excited about this idea.

"Pearl….no…" Cerina smacked her younger sister upside the head.

"Why not?" Pearl rubbed the back of her head.

"I'm not going to work all day to pay bills for YOUR house while you play. Besides, the only time I want to go down to Florida is in the fall, while it's cold up here."

"Your right…." Pearl sighed.

"Well, seems as none of us are in school today…why don't we go out?" Don suggested.

"That's a great idea!!" Mikey jumped to his feet, "Where should we go?"

"I say we go to a movie." Raph came over to help Pearl stand up. Mikey growled under his breath at this and made fists. Pearl blushed as she took Raph's hand.

"What movie are we gonna go see?" Cerina asked as she held her breath during a sudden wave of pain in her gut.

"I say we go see a scary movie." Raph smiled as he kept one of Pearl's hands. Mikey, not able to stand it, smacked Raph on the back of the head and wrapped his arms around Pearl's waist.

"Yeah!" Mikey and Pearl said together.

"I'll go for that." Don pushed away from the counter he was leaning against.

"Sweet! I wanna drive!" Mikey yelled as he grabbed Pearl's hand and ran to the elevator.

"No you won't!" Raph ran after them.

"Cerina, are you sure you want to go?" Leo asked, holding up half her weight. "You seem very weak."

"I'm fine, plus if I don't go...Pearl will have all four of you to herself! I can't let that happen."

"Alright." Leo and Cerina began to walk to the elevator.

"If you need any pain med…I've got the first aid kit in the trunk." Don said as he moved to the other side of Cerina.

"Donatello…"

"Just call me Don."

"Right. Don, why do you always have a first aid kit with you? And why are you so good at giving stitches?" Cerina asked

"My brothers are….somewhat reckless and are always getting hurt. I figure, since I'm the smart one, I would have to take care of them."

"Why? Can't you just take them to the doctor?" Cerina asked as the elevator began moving down.

"We….don't have a lot of money." Don moved to stand between Leo and Cerina. His hand ended up 'accidentally' holding hers.

"That makes sense." The elevator stopped and they walked outside the building with Don still holding Cerina's hand. "Great…" Cerina sighed as they got outside. Raph was sitting on top of Mikey, pinning him to the ground. Pearl was laughing uncontrollably as Mikey was repeating 'mercy' as fast as he could.

"Raph, get off your brother. You're attracting attention." Leo walked over and grabbed Raph's shoulder and pulled him up; Don came over and pulled Mikey up.

"Before you ask…you can't drive." Don said as he got in the driver's seat.

"Donny…you're no fun." Mikey wined as he got into the middle of the back of the car.

"Um…there isn't enough room for all of us to fit." Pearl said as she watched Raph and Cerina fill the seats on either side of Mikey. Leo sat in the front passenger.

"I gotta solution." Raph reached out of the car, grabbed Pearl's hand, and pulled her into the car—sitting on his lap.

"Hey!" Mikey put his hand on Pearl's thigh and scooted her over so she was sitting half on Mikey and half on Raph.

"Well, are we ready to go?" Don asked as he started the car.

"Of course." Cerina answered as she glanced at the three next to her. She was feeling very squished as Don merged into traffic. They made their way to the nearest movie theater and bought their tickets. The seating went like this: Don, Cerina, Leo, Mikey, Pearl, and Raph. When the lights went down Don put his arm around Cerina's shoulders and Leo held her hand. Pearl took one of Mikey's hands in both of hers—scooting away from Raph who had his hand on her knee.

When the movie was over, they went to Panda Express for lunch then spent the rest of the day playing in Central Park. And—for dinner—Leo shocked the girls by cooking an amazing meal in the girls' apartment. They played more games and talked until three in the morning.

The next day, the six of them walked into ceramics. They had graduated from hand modeling to working with a spinner's wheel. Cerina and Leo sighed as they spotted the watery, muddy clay they were to use and Don suddenly wished he didn't have to sit by Mikey and Pearl.

"Leonardo, how mad was your uncle last night?" Cerina asked as they tied on their aprons.

"Not really. He's actually used to us staying out all night." Leo said as he boldly took the seat next to Mikey so he could spare Don.

"Why's that?" Cerina sat by him with Don on her other side.

"Um…our job…we have to stay out pretty late on some nights." Don quickly put in as he eyed his brothers.

"Oh, where do you work?" Pearl asked not knowing why she became nervous as Raph sat down next to her.

"Just an old club. It's gonna be shut down soon." Raph said as he slapped some clay onto his wheel.

"Really, which one?" Cerina asked suspiciously.

"English Bodi…" Don was already finished with the base of his pot.

"Is that so?" Cerina glanced and Pearl who smiled mischievously. "How come I've never seen you there before?"

"What?" Leo didn't look up to see the smirk on Cerina's face.

"How come Pearl and I've never seen you at English Bodi before? You could say that we're regulars."

"Really?" Mikey asked as he looked up and caught Cerina's face.

"Yeah." Cerina started her own pot.

"When are you there?" Mikey asked, not understanding the look that passed between Pearl and Cerina.

"We are there Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; sometimes Saturday and Sunday nights as well."

"Why so often?" Don didn't look up either.

"We work there also." Pearl said as she tried to hold back her laughter.

"Okay, so we don't work at that club, but we want to." Raph said, covering for all of them. "Plus that's our cover for Uncle Casey."

"Right." Cerina and Pearl burst out laughing and didn't stop until the teacher made them go out into the hallway.

In gym, it was free day because the coach decided that he wanted to watch a movie instead of going to class. The six friends played Egyptian Rat Screw with Raph's cards. When they went to the courtyard for lunch, the four brothers were looking very tired.

"Hey…are you guys alright?" Pearl asked, putting a finger on Mikey's cheek "you all look very pale."

"We're fine." Don said as he put his pack down by a cracked marble statue of an angle.

"Brothers, may I speak with you for a moment?" Leo took a step towards the ivy covered pathway; he brothers stood and followed.

"We won't be long." Mikey stood and ran after his brothers. Once they had disappeared behind the ivy, Cerina turned to Pearl.

"I have a suspicion. Remember that night when…we were saved by four huge turtles?" Cerina whispered.

"Yes, I couldn't forget."

"I've been thinking that maybe, just maybe, those turtles could become human."

"And…?" Pearl looked confused.

"And would go to school like any other teen."

"Your point?"

"Think, I know it's difficult to remember that night, the turtle that said your name…does he seem familiar?"

"Yes."

"Who does he remind you of?"

"Um….Mikey I guess…."

"Exactly. I think the four turtles and our four friends are the same!" It was getting hard to continue to whisper.

"How would you prove this?" Pearl looked doubtfully at her sister.

"Remember when Artanis came home early? One minute all four of them were standing next to me, and the next they were gone. I didn't even hear them leave and you've told me that I have the best hearing of anyone you know."

"I remember that."

"The first time Leonardo and Mikey took us home from school, Leonardo put our packs in the trunk. When he got them out, I saw ninja weapons and masks in the back."

"I remember seeing them also."

"Let's spy on them."

"I don't think we should Cerina."

"Just call it a recon mission if it makes you feel better."

"…Do you think it'll be okay?"

"They're not gonna find out!" Cerina got up and quietly walked over to the ivy with Pearl right behind her. Cerina cautiously pulled back some of the ivy leaves and, as she did, they saw a very faint green glow and when it faded, the four boys were standing there.

"That was too close Leo." Don whispered.

"I know, we weren't thinking last night. Staying out for so long as humans." Leo put his hand on his forehead.

"But man was it worth it!!!" Mikey raised both of his fists into the air.

"Mikey, would you shut up?" Raph punched Mikey's shoulder.

"Oh, you're just jealous because Pearl likes me and not you!" Mikey teased.

"Mikey…" Raph warned as he cracked his knuckles.

"Both of you be quiet! We can't let them know we're turtles yet." Don adjusted the collar of his shirt. When he said this Cerina glanced at Pearl. Just then Pearl poked her eye with a stick.

"OWW!!" Pearl covered her eye.

"Pearl…you idiot…" Cerina sighed as she shook her head. The brothers came around the corner, shock on their faces.

"Did you guys see—or hear—anything?" Don asked.

"Yes, we heard and saw everything." Pearl said, she was still covering her eye.

"Are you sure about that Pearl?" Raph asked.

"Can we see you change again?" Cerina stifled a giggle.

Leo looked at his brothers, "Why not? We could use another break." Leo took Cerina's hand and pulled her back into the ivy-covered walkway.

"C'mon. We shouldn't let those two be alone in the dark." Raph said as he followed Leo.

"Raph, that wasn't funny!" Don ran after them followed by Mikey and Pearl.

Once they were in the shadows and ivy, the four brothers glowed the faint green and—starting with their heads—changed into four tall, walking, talking turtles. The only real way to tell them apart was by the masks they were wearing; Don's was purple, Raph's was red, Leo's was blue (Cerina's favorite color), and Mikey's was orange (Pearl's favorite color). The girls stared at the four turtles in shock. Pearl cautiously walked up to Mikey, bent down, and looked at his butt.

"Where's your tail?" she innocently asked, "Is that it?"

"GAH! No, that's something else. I…uh…don't have a tail." Mikey waved his hand in front of Pearl's face. "Pearl, please stop staring at my butt." Mikey turned his back against the wall as Pearl stood up and smiled at Mikey.

Cerina was staring at Leo with a look that could be described as amusement, shock, or wonder. She squealed and threw her arms around Leo. "YOU ARE SO CUTE!!!" she nuzzled her face against his plastron. Before anyone could react beyond a weird look, the bell rang for seventh period to start.

"I really don't feel like going to study hall." Leo said as he turned his face to hid a blush from his brothers and put his arms around Cerina.

"Leo…not wanting to go to class? This has got to be a first." Don glared at his older brother but his face softened as he saw Cerina's happy face.

"Pearl!" Mikey put his hand on Pearl's shoulder and pushed her way from his shell; she had been poking it. "Do you have any idea how bad that tickles?" He nudged her towards Raph, "Go poke his shell."

"Who's there?" Came a call from the center of the courtyard. This happened to be one of the rare instances that a janitor actually came in the courtyard.

"Hide." Don whispered and the four brothers were gone before he'd even finished the word.

"Cerina, help me." Pearl whispered, now scared. Her Ninjutsu skills weren't the best. Cerina grabbed Pearl's hand and they ran to the back of the walkway. Cerina quietly pushed Pearl into some thick ivy and pulled some vines over her. She had no idea where the turtles were and hoped that one of them wasn't in there. The janitor's footsteps were getting louder as Cerina spotted a small opening in the ivy. She jumped through and flipped up onto the terrace only to find that Don was already up there as a human. He pressed a finger to his lips and he nestled down into the ivy. Cerina did the same as the old janitor looked into the walkway and searched the rest of the courtyard. When he didn't find anything he left muttering.

Raph jumped down from a tree, Leo came out of the ivy and Mikey sat up out of the almost empty pond; they were still turtles. Leo came over to help Cerina get down from the terrace; she just smiled and jumped down—landing with ease, one leg bent under her and the other straight out. Don flipped down, landing silently as he changed back into a turtle. Leo was about to say something when Pearl's voice came to them.

"CERINA!!! I'm stuck, I can't get out!!!"

"Pearl…I'll be back. She's hopeless." Cerina sighed, jumped on top of the ivy, and slid down through the hole.

"Leo…can we go scare them?" Mikey whispered, grabbing Leo's shoulder. "We can call it stealth training."

"Alright; Raph, you'll climb on top of the ivy and, on my signal, you'll come down through the hole. Mikey, you'll climb along the ivy—on the top of the inside—and flip down on my signal. Don, you'll push through the ivy with me. Ready?" Leo spoke quickly as his brothers nodded. They disappeared, got in position, and jumped in on Leo's signal. Pearl, who had just gotten herself unstuck from the ivy, screamed and fell on her butt. Cerina; however, flipped over the top of Mikey. She grabbed his arm, twisted it, and flung him to the ground; she was still twisting his arm around behind him, and she was sitting on his carpace. Everyone except Pearl was shocked.

"OW! Mercy, mercy, mercy! Please, mercy! I like my arm. I want to keep my arm!" Mikey begged, pounding on the ground with his other hand. Cerina leaned down and whispered in Mikey's ear.

"I heard you coming Michelangelo." She stood up and helped Mikey stand up.

"How did you know we were coming?" Raph asked looking at Cerina in shock. He figured she was good…but she was better then he thought.

"I heard Mikey climbing in the ivy and I figured the rest of you wouldn't be far behind."

"Where did you learn to do that?" Don acted like he didn't know that move.

"Don't even give me that Donatello." Cerina put her finger on Don's nose, "I know you are all ninja."

"Really, is it that obvious?" Leo asked in shock.

"It wasn't that hard to figure out. I saw your weapons and you can become invisible almost instantly. Seeing you now, like this…where you're practically naked…your muscle development and tone gives it away."

"You could tell all that?" Now Pearl was confused, "How…huh?"

Cerina laughed. "Sis, if you would get your head out of the clouds and back down to Earth for a minute, you would have seen it too."

"Okay, now that that is out of the way I'm changing the subject. Cerina, have you found a place to stay yet?" Leo took a few steps closer to Cerina.

"Pearl did you know that the new Assassin's game comes out soon." Cerina said as she turned to face Pearl.

"Really?" she asked "When was it—"

"Cerina, don't change the subject." Leo cut Pearl off. "Where are you going to stay?"

"Er…we don't…we don't know…" Cerina couldn't hold Leo's gaze, she looked down. Leo looked around at his brothers. They nodded and Leo sighed. He closed his eyes for a minute and hoped that Master Splinter wouldn't have his head for what he was about to offer.

"Cerina…I'm sure it would be alright with our father if you stayed with us." Leo closed his eyes, waiting for Cerina to reject his offer. What she said completely threw Leo off his guard.

"I'd really appreciate that Leonardo." Cerina took his hand and Leo couldn't measure the gratitude in her eyes.

"You'd really let us?" Pearl looked from Leo to Mikey then back to Leo.

"I'm sure that Splinter wouldn't mind." Raph moved forward and placed his hand on Pearl's waist. She jumped and slid in closer to Mikey; who glared at Raph as he placed his own arm around Pearl's shoulder.

"Wait, Splinter? I thought that Casey was…" Cerina looked confused.

"That's just a cover for school. Casey's just a really good friend of ours. We really live down in the sewers. A little bit past the old junction." Don explained.

"So…is this Splinter…a turtle too?" Pearl asked Mikey.

"No, he's actually……a giant rat." Mikey replied.

"Okay, so how has all this happened?" Cerina was still holding Leo's hand.

"Our mutation?" Don asked and Cerina nodded. "I can explain that. About seventeen years ago—give or take a few months—we were exposed to radioactive ooze. Master Splinter found us and took us in; he was just a normal sewer rat and we were just baby turtles. We grew very large and intelligent very fast. Master Splinter taught us in the art of Ninjutsu, which he learned from his human Master, Himato Yoshi." Don finished.

"A human taught a rat Ninjutsu?" Pearl innocently asked.

"Not really. Splinter was Master Yoshi's pet; Splinter copied Yoshi's movements from his cage." Leo explained.

"That makes sense." Cerina looked at Don and took a stealthy step closer to Leo.

"No it doesn't…" Pearl whispered and Mikey laughed.

"So, are we just gonna stand here all day or go see Master Splinter?" Raph said as he turned back into a human. Cerina looked up for a moment.

"I really want to meet Master Splinter. Would he mind if we just showed up during school?" Cerina asked.

"I don't think he would mind if he knew the situation." Don looked at his brothers. Mikey was smiling, Raph shrugged his shoulders, and Leo just stood there. "Well, let's go then."

As they walked out of the ivy, the other three boys turned into humans. Leo kept Cerina's hand while Mikey kept his arm around Pearl's shoulders. They snuck back into the school, ran through the hall and out to Don's car. They got in the car in almost the same positions as before except Raph was driving, Mikey was in the front passenger's seat, and Cerina was sitting on Don and Leo next to Pearl. As Raph pulled out of the parking lot, Don turned to Leo.

"If this is going to keep happening I'm gonna need to build a bigger car." They rode in silence for a while when Pearl leaned forward.

"So…um…if you live in the sewers, but you have a car…where do you keep the car?" she asked.

"There is an opening from our…home into an old warehouse. There is sorta an elevator between street level and our home." Raph explained as he pulled into an alley and pushed a button on the dashboard. In front of them, a door into a warehouse opened and Raph pulled in. Once the car stopped, they all got out and Don went over to a central panel. He pressed a few buttons and an egg-shaped thing came up out of the floor. It was made of light brown stone and had light blue designs on it. Pearl screamed and hid behind Mikey who was a turtle again.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Our way home." Mikey said as he laughed and took her arm. The rest of the boys were turtles again as they climbed into the egg-elevator. As it began to move, Cerina moved a little closer to Leo, she was nervous to meet Splinter. He was a Master of Ninjutsu and the last Master she had was…a little harsh. Leo could sense that she was scared and he put his arm around her waist as the doors opened.

Pearl gasped at the sight of the many TVs that were stacked against one wall. Oh the video games she could play on those TVs. Cerina stared at all the training equipment and the huge dojo in the other room. After giving the girls a moment to take it all in, they moved out of the elevator and down into the lair. Master Splinter came out of his room holding a tray containing the remains of tea. When he saw the girls clinging onto his sons, he dropped the tray and stood frozen. Mikey walked forward a few steps, pulling Pearl along with him.

"Hi Master Splinter!" he said cheerfully as he bowed.

"My…sons…why are you home so early?" Splinter asked looking from Mikey to Pearl then to Mikey.

"We need to talk to you Master." Leo took a step forward and bowed as well.

"You are not…they are not pregnant are they?" Splinter gave Leo a stern look. Raph and Don bit their fingers to keep from laughing. Mikey looked back to Leo, expecting him to explain things.

"No Master. These are the girls we told you about. This is Serenity and Pearl Orphen." Leo pointed to each in turn. Cerina walked forward and bowed in front of Master Splinter.

"Master Splinter, it is an honor to meet you. Please forgive us if we are intruding, but Leonardo has told us that we could stay here seems as we have lost our home."

Splinter stared at her for a moment before returning her bow. "Please stay as long as you need to. If Leonardo trusts you, then you have my trust as well." He bent down, gathered his tray, and left into the kitchen. Once he had gone, Mikey grabbed onto Pearl again and drug her over to the couch. Naturally, they started to play video games. Don sighed and left to his computer terminals. Raph went over to the couch, jumped over the back of it, and landed between Pearl and Mikey, his feet on the coffee table. Leo led Cerina up some stairs and into a room. It was empty except for a hammock on one side.

"You can stay here. This is our only spare room so I'm afraid you'll have to share with Pearl. We can put up another hammock if you want it." Leo said all of this as he turned on the light and moved into the middle of the room. "We can also put up curtains or Donny could rig up a door so you can have some privacy."

"Thank you so much, Leonardo. We really appreciate you kindness."

"Hey, it's not a problem. Oh, do you need help moving your things here?" Leo sat on the hammock.

"Sure, having another pair of hands will save me some time."

"Wasn't Pearl going to help you?"

"Yeah…but she wouldn't get that much done. She's easily distracted." Cerina shrugged her shoulders.

"Good point." Leo stood up and held out his arm for Cerina. "Shall we?"

"Yep!" Cerina smiled as she took his arm. They left the lair through the elevator, Leo picking up Don's keys on the way out.

They got back about an hour later. When they walked into the lair carrying two boxes each, no one even noticed them come in. They walked up the stairs and into the girls' room. Leo set down his boxes then helped Cerina set down hers.

"Do you want help unpacking?" Leo asked.

"No, I'm fine. Plus there isn't all that much here. Why don't you go play that game with Mikey, Raph, and Pearl? It looks like they could use one more person." Cerina bent down by one of the boxes.

"Alright, but if you need any help, just yell okay?" Leo walked to the door.

"'K." Cerina said over her shoulder as she opened one of the boxes. It was full of Pearl's things and she slid it over to the hammock. She also did this with the next two boxes. The fourth and last box was Cerina's; inside were Artanis's katanas, the photo album their mother left them, a few clothes and her beloved laptop. She picked up one of the katanas and drew it. As she did, a letter fell out of the scabbard. It was folded really small so it could fit. She bent down, picked it up, and unfolded it. On the front of the hand-made paper was her full name written in crimson ink with Artanis's eloquent hand. She held her breath as she opened the envelop and began to read:

Serenity,

My dear girl, I hope you are having a wonderful 18th birthday. I hope you'll understand why it is so hard for me to write this letter to you. I have a confession to make. I am not sure if you have figured it out or not, but your father, Haru, did not commit suicide. He was murdered…by me and I regret that action every time I look at you. You, my dearest Serenity, look just like him. You have his eyes, hair, face and his attitude. You talk like him, fight like him, argue like him, and you are a fierce—but compassionate—friend, just as he was. I am so sorry about what I have done to you. Everyday I wish I could reverse my actions and give you back your father. But, I also wish that, in time, you can forgive me and—maybe—think of me as a father. I know it will be difficult, but please try.

Another thing, before I end this letter Serenity…I love you. I am truly sorry that I have been so hard on you. It is just that I knew your father so well; I was his best friend and, as I have already said, you have his attitude. There were so many times when we got into trouble because of his attitude, but he was always able to get us out of trouble again, and I wish to teach you how to control your emotions so that you may become as level-headed and intelligent as Haru. I was only trying to protect you and give you a channel for the anger that I have seen in your heart. I know it came off that I only loved Pearl, but Serenity, I have always thought of you as my own daughter. I am so proud of you, and I would trust you with my life. Please accept these katanas as a token of my love and my admiration of you.

Always your loving father,

Artanis

p.s. You are honorable, loyal, compassionate, and humble. You will make an exceptional leader someday. And—when you do—remember what I have taught you about the connection between the mind, body, and spirit. Serenity, please forgive me for all that I have done. I shall miss you my dear, sweet Serenity.

Cerina fell to her knees and stared at the letter. Artanis was…proud of her? She thought she must be hallucinating so she read the letter again. This time, she noticed that the postscript was written in black ink and looked to be added some time after the letter was originally written. Artanis had been planning on giving her his katanas for almost a year now. She read the letter a third and fourth time. She began to regret the rude things she had said to him. Now that she thought about it, she did think of Artanis as a father. She didn't hate him for what he had done to her real father. She was upset and wished that he hadn't done that, but now she knew that he had loved her, even if he didn't show it very often. She stood up, knowing what she must do; Cerina wiped away her tears and she went into Don's 'workshop'.

"Hey, could I borrow some of your tools and materials?" she asked, standing in the doorway.

"Yeah, do you need help with anything?" Don said as he turned around to face Cerina. "You look like you've been crying. Is everything alright?"

"Yep, I just need to make something. Don't let anybody bother me 'k?"

"I'm sure they won't even notice. They're to busy playing their game." Don turned back to his computer as Cerina walked up next to him.

"Thanks Donny!" Cerina leaned in and kissed his cheek. Before he could say anything, she left the side of his terminal, and walked to the back of the room where Don kept all of his unfinished inventions. She looked around for a while until she had everything she needed. She set to work measuring things out on metal and wood, occasionally running out of the 'workshop' and into her room then back. Once she had all the numbers right, she went to work building her creation. From the shadows of a different doorway, Master Splinter watched her work.

She worked for more then two hours, accidentally cutting herself with the saw and burning herself with the welder. Despite that she kept working, ignoring the pain in her gut, and paying no heed to the blood running from her cuts. When she was done, Cerina covered her creation with an old blanket and left the room. She looked down from the second floor to see Leo and Raph arguing while playing Super Smash Brothers; Mikey and Pearl were playing cards at the table. No one noticed her as she walked through the room and out of the lair. Once she was on the surface, she ran the rooftops; this time, she knew where she was going.

About fifteen minutes after Cerina left, Pearl stood up and walked through the lair. "Cerina! Where are you?" She called out after a few minutes. Mikey helped her look for another half an hour and, when they were sure that Cerina wasn't there, they sat on the couch with Leo and Raph.

"What's up?" Raph asked when Pearl sighed.

"Cerina disappeared again." Pearl mumbled.

"Again? Does she do it often?" Leo asked pausing the game when Raph was just about to hit his guy.

"She does this ALL the time. She'll disappear for hours without any warning. I figured she wouldn't do this anymore now that Artanis is gone." Pearl curled her feet and legs under herself.

"That sounds like someone we know." Don called down from the second floor. He'd come out to get food.

"Shut up, Don!" Raph snarled as he smacked Leo's arm to get him to unpause the game.

"I'm just saying that she reminds me of you Raph." Don had jumped over the railing and landed lightly on his feet. As he walked into the kitchen Leo handed the controller to Mikey.

"Hey, Mike, take over for me. I just remembered something." Leo vaulted over the back of the couch, and Mikey stared after him as he jumped up to the second floor. Mikey saw him go to Cerina's room when Raph's voice cut across his thoughts.

"Earth to Mikey, I'm kickin' your trash." Raph smacked Mikey's knee and Mikey went back to the game.

Upstairs, Leo leaned against the doorway and silently watched Cerina set down her creation. As she took the blanket off, Leo was stunned by the intricate gold and silver designs on a low wooden table. Built into the table were three candleholders and three spots for incense.

Cerina adjusted the table, knelt by her bag and pulled out two pictures and two frames of different sizes. Into the larger of the frames she placed a picture of two young boys. They were both smiling and looking happy, one looked exactly like Cerina, and Leo guessed that the boys were her father and Artanis when they were teenagers. She set down the frame on the left of table, between two candleholders.

Cerina picked up the smaller frame and placed another picture inside. This picture was of a young Asian woman; she was standing in front of a traditional Japanese house surrounded by Sakura trees. She was wearing a traditional kimono and had striking emerald green eyes and long white hair. Leo figured that this must be the girls' mother seems as she looked a lot like Pearl.

Cerina set this frame down on the right of the table. She struck a match and lit three candles, placing one in front of each person. She then sat down as if she was going to meditate, and—almost reverently—pulled out three sticks of incense from her bag. She lit the first and placed it in front of Artanis's picture and the sent of rosemary filled the room. This was followed by vanilla (placed in front of her father) and roses (placed in front of her mother). Leo left the doorway as Cerina began to meditate, a tear on her cheek.

When Cerina opened her eyes almost an hour later, she looked around the room and saw another hammock hanging from two walls. She must have really been out of it; she hadn't heard Raph and Leo setting it up. She stood, stretched out her back, and walked out of the room and down to the couch. It was now very late and Pearl had fallen asleep on the couch, curled up in a ball. Cerina smiled and bent to pick up her sister when Mikey pushed in front of her, and picked up Pearl in cradle.

"Where do you want her?" Mikey whispered as he held Pearl close to him.

"I guess in the hammock on the right." Cerina reached forward and held onto Mikey's right elbow, "This is your right Mikey."

"Be nice Cerina. I'm a busy turtle; I don't have time to remember trivial things like that." Mikey teased as he headed off to the stairs. As he disappeared Don came over, pressing his fingers into his skin where his neck and shoulders meet.

"Did you get everything up there sorted out?" he asked as he sat on the floor in front of the couch, pushing the coffee table back a few inches.

"Yes…hey, does your shoulder hurt?" Cerina sat on the couch next to Don.

"Yeah, but it'll be fine. Master Splinter made us switch weapons and train as humans again. I never really knew it took so much wrist and shoulder strength to use double katanas." Don switched to rub the other shoulder.

"Do you want me to rub your shoulders?" Cerina placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Uh…I don't think that'll help…" Don was glad that Cerina couldn't see his face; he was blushing at the thought of Cerina giving him a massage.

"Come on Donny, it's the least I can do. Plus it'll be my thanks for you letting me borrow your tools and stealing some of your materials. Please?"

"Fine…go ahead." Don couldn't resist the soft, pleading tone in Cerina's voice. She swung her leg over Don's head so she could reach he shoulders better. She put her hands on Don's neck and slowly started to massage out the knots; after a few moments Don sighed and relaxed more. As Cerina moved down to Don's shoulders he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. Cerina giggled, Don really was cute—in that sweet, nerdish way.

Leo walked out of the dojo to see Cerina and Don. Leo stopped and stared. He didn't…he thought Cerina was going to choose him, but this scene looked all to intimate. He decided to pop Don's bubble but before he could reach the couch Raph sat on the couch next to Cerina.

"Do I get to be next?" he asked "My back's killing me. Don, how can you swing that bo staff around so easily?"

"It just comes naturally Raph…" Don muttered; he was almost asleep.

"Hey guys." Leo came and sat on the other side of Cerina, "Do you have any idea how late it is?"

"It's almost midnight." Raph said as he arched his back—trying to unknot it a little before changing back into a turtle, and hoping Cerina would take pity on him also.

"Very good Raph, and what are you doing in English tomorrow?" Leo stretched out his legs.

"Ah shell!!!" Raph jumped to his feet and ran off to his room, jumping and flipping up to the second floor rather then using the stairs.

"What is Raphael doing in English tomorrow that we aren't?" Cerina asked as she took one of Don's wrists and began massaging it.

"He needs to make up the test for Unit 3…he sluffed with Casey that day." After Don said this he was out, snoring a little.

"Poor Donny…he always stays up late working on projects for weeks and then he just shuts down." Leo pushed his fingers into his wrist and tried to get a knot out of his muscle.

"Do you want me to do that?" Cerina gently laid down Don's arm.

"No, it's fine. It's late and both of us could use some sleep. Will you help me lift him up onto the couch?" Leo stood up with Cerina and lifted up Don's feet while Cerina lifted his shoulders. Once Don was comfortable on the couch Cerina put a blanket over him. Leo started off to his room.

"Leonardo…" Cerina took a step towards him.

"Yeah?" He didn't turn around.

"Er…Goodnight."

"G'night." He left to his room; Cerina sighed and went up to her room. When Cerina went in, the three candles she had previously lit were the only source of light. In the low, flickering light she saw Mikey and Pearl laying together on the hammock. Cerina would have been worried except Mikey was awake and on top of the blanket, while Pearl was asleep and under the blanket. Plus…Mikey probably wouldn't have been able to get his zipper down if anything did almost happen. When he saw her, Mikey sat up a little.

"I can leave if you want me to." He whispered.

"No, you're fine. Mikey, just do me one favor."

"What?"

"Don't you dare break her heart. Mikey, recently…she's had a hard time. Just promise me you won't push her. 'K?"

"I promise, Cerina. I wouldn't do anything to scare or hurt her." Mikey noticed Cerina raise an eyebrow at their position. "When I put the blanket on her, she grabbed my hand and mumbled something like 'Don't leave me, Mikey. I don't want nightmares tonight.' So I stayed" Mikey hoped Cerina wouldn't be mad at him.

"I believe you." Cerina sat in her hammock.

"You do?" Mikey asked a litter louder then he meant to—Pearl moaned and rolled over, burying her face in his plastron; he changed into a human so she would be more comfortable.

"Yeah, she's done it to me before also. It's just a small sign that she loves you." Cerina kicked off her shoes and laid back. "Goodnight Mikey." She whispered.

"G'night Cerina; don't let the bed….hammock bugs bite." Mikey mumbled; he was almost asleep as well.

Cerina chuckled. "I won't." as she closed her eyes she breathed in deeply, hoping that she could get some sleep tonight—and that Pearl wouldn't be haunted by the forgotten memories of their father's murder.