The forest was dark and quiet as a herd of deer grazed under the light of a full moon. The peace of the night was cut short when a shadow shot out of the trees and struck down one of the deer. The rest of the herd became startled before they took off in a stampede until the night once again became silent.
The dark figure watched as the rest of the deer disappeared before sicking its teeth into its prize. As it ate, the shadow didn't hear someone approaching until the silence was disturbed by the sound hands clapping together.
Out from the shadows appeared Vixen smiling with pride before she said, "Well done my little huntress."
The shadow appeared in the light of the moon revealing a smaller white kitsune with beautiful hazel eyes. Even with the fur on her face covered in deer blood, she was most beautiful soul alive in the older fox's eyes.
"Hi Mama. You're late for dinner…again," the kit scolded returning her mother's smile.
Vixen crossed her arms before she replied, "And you Alopex, are wearing more of your meal then is actually being consumed…again."
"Why does it matter how I eat? It's not like anybody can see me," Alopex chuckled as Vixen rolled her eyes at her feral daughter.
"Being alone here is no excuse for bad table manners," the fox argued as she walked over to her child and kneeled in front of her.
Vixen grabbed her daughter's face with one paw before licking her other paw and began cleaning the blood off Alopex's face.
"Are you seriously doing this right now?" Alopex growled.
The older fox only chuckled as she continued to clean her kit. Alopex huffed but knew that once her mom had a grip on her there was no escape.
"So…any info on our new friends at the farmhouse?" the younger fox asked.
"Only that the girl is definitely April. I don't think she could look more like her mother if she tried," Vixen replied with a soft smile.
"Will we ever be able to meet her?" Alopex asked curiously.
Vixen looked at her daughter sadly before she said, "Considering her present company I don't think the whole fox thing would bother her much but…it's just been such a long time and she was only a baby. It would be impossible for her to remember me."
"I don't understand why we can't just tell her who we are," Alopex sighed.
"It is for her safety. If the foot clan ever discovered who I was or the krang for that matter, both you and April would not be safe. April was raised as an ordinary girl, she was not raised a ninja as you were," Vixen explained.
"I could protect her," Alopex said firmly.
"You are one against thousands, even the strongest of ninja could not do such a thing. All we can do is guard her and her friends the best we can from the shadows," Vixen explained.
Alopex's ears suddenly perked up as a foxy smile crossed her lips before she said, "We? Does that mean that you think I'm ready enough to come with you?"
Vixen returned the smile before she replied, "Your skills have exceeded my expectations my little huntress. We will need those skills very soon child…that thing is growing stronger by the minute."
…
Everything was beginning to settle after Casey's nightmares finally stopped. It had taken a few weeks of daily meditation with Leo, and countless hours of sparing with Raph. At last the Hamato clan was sleeping peacefully at night...everyone but April that is.
The red head had been feeling the constant presence of two other people watching them and now there was a third. April couldn't make heads or tails of the third identity she was sensing but so far it felt safe. Still, knowing her and the others were being watched constantly made her feel more than a little uncomfortable.
"Where the hell are you guys coming from?" April asked thinking out loud as she sat on the porch swing.
"April?"
The red head looked up when she heard her name to see Miwa looking at her curiously. The raven-haired girl walked over and sat down beside April. Ever since Karai had decided to change her back to her birth name, she and April had slowly become closer as friends. April tried to include Miwa to hang out with her, Maya, and Irma. In return Miwa genuinely tried to open up to them and bit by bit her mental wall was slowly crumbling down.
It had been a bittersweet moment for the turtles the day they saw their sister actually smiling and having fun like a normal teenage girl. They were happy that Miwa was finally free to be herself but they wished Master Splinter could be there with them to see it.
"Our stalkers bugging you again?" Miwa teased.
April, Isla, and Maya had decided to tell the others about their secret admirers after Casey told them about his encounter with Vixen.
"Ya…except now there's three of them," April sighed as she rubbed her eyes.
Miwa gave April a sympathetic look. The psychic life struggle was real and was currently keeping the red head from getting a good night's sleep.
"They can watch all they like as long as they don't try anything," Miwa commented as she wrapped an arm around April pulling the tired girl into a side hug.
"After what Casey told us I know for sure that the two in the forest are watching our backs, but that one…its dangerous and making me nervous," April explained.
"Still can't locate it?" Miwa asked.
April looked down at the ground almost ashamed before she replied, "No. I can't narrow it down, I'm not strong enough…it just feels like it's really close, like in the house close."
Miwa gave the girl's arm a squeeze before she said, "Give it time. You're a stubborn ass, you'll figure it out."
The red head couldn't help a snort of laughter before she rubbed her eyes exhausted.
"Come on, bed time. We've got a house full of humans, mutants, and mermaids to get up in the morning to clean this house," Miwa said as she stood up and helped April to her feet.
"Do you remember a time when saying that wasn't normal?" April asked as they walked back into the house.
"Ya…it was awful," Miwa mumbled in reply.
…
Mikey smiled as one of his sleepy eyes peeked open when he heard light footsteps enter his room and the door shut quietly. Soon the light footsteps made their way over to him before a slight weight made the bed dip. A tiny body snuggled into his before he felt a soft kiss on his lips.
It had become a morning ritual since they had arrived on the farm that Maya and Mikey would sneak into each other's beds for even just a few moments of alone time together. Lately their link was becoming stronger and stronger. Any time the pair could slip away between training and helping to take care of the team they would. They especially enjoyed sneaking into each other's beds to have a quick make out session. The lovers tried desperately not to let the others know what they were up to for fear that the protective Hamato brothers.
"Best wakeup call ever," Mikey mumbled as he wrapped his arms around the tiny form.
"Agreed beloved," Maya whispered in his ear before kissing her mate again on his cheek.
Mikey looked over and smiled at his mate before he rolled over and started kissing her gently. Maya gently placed her hands on the side of Mikey's face as she kissed him back. As they deepened their kiss the turtle traced his hand along the mermaid's body. Just as Mikey was about to slide his hand up his mate's shirt the sound of someone pounding on the door made the pair instantly stop with eyes wide as saucers.
"Mikey! Wake the hell up, it's cleaning day!" Raph yelled from the other side of the door.
The younger turtle pretended to groan like he had just been woken up by the knocking before he replied, "Alright I'm up! Give me five minutes!"
"Fine…you seen Maya?" Raph asked.
Team M&M looked at each other awkwardly before Mikey replied, "Uh…no. Maybe she went out for a swim."
"Well link her and tell her that breakfast is almost ready and hurry up," the red masked turtle said before walking off.
Neither Mikey or Maya dared to breath let alone move until the sound of Raph's footsteps disappeared.
'That was way to close' Maya said through their link.
'I am so gonna prank him later for this' Mikey replied bitterly.
'This one is actually a little glad he did' the mermaid admitted as she giggled at her mate's disgruntled expression.
Mikey glared at his mate before she explained 'Beloved…our link is becoming stronger it is sending us into early maturity. At this rate, we could be in heat in just a few months. We must slow down.'
The turtle looked at his mate with uncharacteristically serious eyes before he nodded and said 'You're right…I want to have kids someday but I don't want them to be born into a war.'
Maya couldn't help the warm feeling that filled her chest. It was the first time that either one of them had talked about starting a family.
The mermaid kissed her mate lovingly before she said 'Agreed beloved…now this one must go sneak out the window and jump in the lake.'
'I'll create a diversion.' Mikey replied as he gave her a cheeky smile.
Maya nodded before making her way outside through the window. Once his mate was out of site, the orange masked turtle took a deep breath before letting out a blood curdling scream.
"MIKEY!" Leo screamed from down stairs before several pairs of feet could be heard running towards his room.
The blue masked turtle was the first to make it to Mikey's room before ripping the bedroom door open. Karai, Leo, Raph and Donny were the first ones piling in the room with weapons in hand ready to destroy whatever caused their baby brother to scream like that. They looked around the room before laying their eyes on the completely unharmed turtle.
Mikey stared at his siblings casually before he said, "I saw a spider."
…
After promptly whooping their baby brother, the Hamato clan made their way downstairs for breakfast. By the time, they made it down the stairs Maya was already sitting at the table with her damp hair pulled back into a side braid.
"May you need to teach your boyfriend how to kill spiders," Raph grumbled as he sat down at the table.
"No need. This one is happy to kill the spiders for her beloved, the cockroaches for you, and any other insects that dare plague this one's pod," Maya replied with one of her signature smiles.
"We know and appreciate it Maya," Leo said as he squeezed his red masked turtle's shoulder who was currently blushing in embarrassment.
The sound of footsteps could be heard before Mikey made his grand entrance into the kitchen rubbing the back of his head with a disgruntled expression. The fun-loving turtle quickly made his way over to his mate and sat beside her at the table before he rested his head on her shoulder.
"Maya…I got a boo boo…I need kisses," Mikey whined pathetically.
The mermaid chuckled as she wrapped her arms around her mate and kissed his bruised head before she said 'Thank you for the distraction beloved.'
'Anytime sweet scales' Mikey replied as he nuzzled his mate's neck.
The sound of someone clearing their throat caught team M&M's attention and the pair turned to see that they had an audience watching them.
"Think you love birds could keep your hands off each other long enough to listen to the game plan," Donny said looking annoyed.
The pair nodded before Leo stood up and said, "Now that I have everyone's attention we can get started. Everyone is responsible for their own rooms. Team M&M is on dust duty. April and Irma are cleaning the kitchen. Isla is doing laundry, Karai is cleaning the windows, Donny and I got vacuuming and mopping…so that leaves Casey and Raph on bathroom duty," Leo announced as he looked down at their chore list.
Everybody groaned as they were assigned their cleaning jobs for the day before Caspian looked up at Leo expectantly. When he couldn't get Leo's attention the baby looked over at his future sensei looking confused.
'Job?' Cass asked Raph through their mental link.
The red masked turtle smiled at the merbaby beside him proudly for wanting to pull his weight before he reached over to rub the baby's head affectionately.
'Your only focus should be learning how to walk and finding your voice little ninja. I promise to give you all the chores you want once you've mastered that'' Raph replied with a wink.
After breakfast, everyone reluctantly got to work with their assigned chores. Once everyone was out of the room, April and Irma decided on a game plan. The pair quickly cleaned up the morning dishes before getting into the more tedious chores of cleaning the fridge and oven. Both girls had a pretty good rhythm going as they worked, which left a lot of time for gossiping.
"You made out with Gus...science club president Gus Warner. That guy is so serious, I just can't picture him making out in public." April gasped.
Irma glanced over at her friend with a smirk before she replied, "It was in the science lab after school so nobody was there and for your information, Mr. Serious has got the science down pat on kissing."
"Lesson learned. Don't underestimate the sex appeal of nerds," April said with a chuckle.
"Speaking of nerds…have you talked to our resident reptilian geekazoid about his little confession back in New York," Irma said as she pulled shelves out of the fridge to wipe them down.
April instantly stopped scrubbing the stove and looked over at her friend looking ashamed. The red head knew she had fucked up with Donny. She never wanted to hurt him but at the same time she knew she could never love Donny as anything more than one of her beloved friends that were as dear to her as brothers. Irma noticed her friend was suddenly being quiet and looked over to see the red head looking visibly upset.
"Shit, April I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hit a nerve," Irma said.
"No, it's okay. I'm just…I'm scared to talk to him…I love him but I don't love him like that and I'm so scared that he won't want to be my friend after this," April ranted.
Irma looked at her friend sympathetically before she said, "You know what's funny? I haven't known Donny that long but even I know that there is nothing you could possibly do that would make him hate you," Irma reassured her friend.
"I know you're right but that doesn't make me any less scared," April admitted.
"No shame in being scared, as long as you never let it hold you back…worst case scenario is that even if Donny decides he doesn't want to be friends, at least you can say you were honest," Irma said encouragingly.
The red head thought back to when Mikey had admitted to her that he and the turtles had accidently turned her dad into a mutant bat. As much as she was angry at the four brothers for the part they played in her losing her dad, she had been grateful that they didn't lie about it.
April looked up and gave her friend a smile before mumbling, "Thanks."
Irma gave her a smile and a wink before returning to her task. April was about to back to cleaning the stove top when she was hit with a sudden pain. The red screamed in pain as she fell against the stove whimpering in pain.
"April?" Irma said as she quickly made her way over to her friend.
"Talk to me. What the hell is going on?" Irma demanded.
April groaned before she said, "The basement…we need to go to the basement."
Irma stared at her friend confused. Before she could ask her friend what the hell she was talking about, she heard everyone running into the kitchen.
Donny ran up to the two girls before he demanded, "What happened?"
"She was fine one minute and the next she was like this…she keeps saying we need to go into the basement," Irma explained looking worried.
"Dude, we have a basement!" Mikey said excitedly.
The orange masked then looked over to Leo and innocently asked, "What's a basement?"
Donny ignored Mikey to focus on the dire situation in front of him. He gave Irma an odd look before turning to April and asked gently, "April, what's in the basement?"
The red head appeared to be in a trance as she spared the purple masked turtle a glance before sprinting towards the living room. Everyone watched as she ripped the area rug off the floor to reveal a cellar door.
"I never even knew this was here," April mumbled to herself before she cautiously opened the door to the basement.
It was dark and damp as she peered down into the basement. The idea of going down didn't appeal to her at all but April could feel something pulling her towards it. Just as she was about to start walking down the stairs, a hand on her shoulder stopped her. She turned to see Leo looking at her sternly.
"Let us go first to be safe," Leo said in a tone of voice that sounded gentle but was full of authority.
April only nodded as she stepped aside to let the turtles, Casey and Karai walk ahead of her before following them down. She stopped when she noticed Isla, Maya and Caspian wanted nothing to do with the dark basement.
"Are you guys coming?" April asked.
The two mermaids looked at each other before looking at April and shaking their heads. Maya then explained, "Forgive us April. Whatever is down there is making it very clear that we are not welcome in its domain."
"Do you know what it is?" April asked.
"It hides from us but wants to be found by you…be careful," Isla answered
The red head nodded before she followed the others into the basement. When she got downstairs she gasped at what she was seeing.
"Is that what I think it is?" April asked as she cautiously approached the turtles.
"If you think it's a Krang ship…then ya it is," Mikey said to her casually.
"From the looks of it, this thing has been here for years," Donny said wiping the dust off the control panel of the ship.
"What the hell is this doing under my house?" April demanded.
Donny pushed a button on the ship that opened the door to the ship before he looked over at April and said, "There's only one way to find out."
Cautiously everyone went inside the ship and began exploring. Raph stopped when he noticed something and shone his flashlight on it. His eyes bulged the revealed a person frozen inside a stasis pod.
"Guys…get over here," Raph called.
Everyone came over and stared before Karai asked, "Is that a person?"
Donny was instantly in doctor Don mode and starting assessing the pod as she said, "Nobody touch anything."
Mikey stepped back to get out of Don's way only to back up into a control panel and accidently hit one. After that things happened in a series of quick motions. The ship came to life lighting up everything including the stasis pod. The pod began to open and reveal the appearance of the person inside of the pod. As the frost cleared, everyone watched in amazement while April stared at the person like she was seeing a ghost.
"Oh, my God," she said.
"April…what's wrong?" Casey asked concerned.
"It's my mom," the red head explained with her eyes glued to the still form.
The blond-haired woman in the pod groaned as she slowly opened her green eyes and awoke from her deep sleep. She stared at the people in the room in fear.
"Who are you people? What's going on?" she demanded.
She then turned her terrified eyes to the red headed teenager and whispered, "April."
…
Irma and Karai helped settle the woman in the living room while Casey helped April make some tea in the kitchen to settle everyone's nerves. While everyone was, worried and amazed by the woman in front of them, Mikey and the mermaids had their doubts. This listened carefully as April's mother revealed her tale about the night of her disappearance.
Her family had been at the mercy of krang experimentation for generations before her great grandfather had somehow escaped them. After his freedom, the story of the Krang became a family myth until April was born. Once the aliens had caught wind of the infant that was both human and Krang, they were once again attacked. April's mother had been captured trying to protect her baby and been in stasis ever since.
'This one doesn't trust this woman. Her mind is tightly closed but even still this one can tell her words are dripping with lies' Maya said to her mate as she stared at the woman.
'Dido. She seems…weird' Mikey replied as he glared at the woman.
"What's got you two looking sour?" Raph whispered to Mikey when he noticed him and Maya looking like they were getting ready for a fight.
"Don't trust April's mom. Don't know what it is but something about her is just…wrong," Mikey replied to his brother in a whisper.
"You can't be serious," Raph said absolutely shocked by what his brother was saying making the others turn their attention to them.
"Guys, what's going on?" Leo demanded looking unimpressed with his brothers for interrupting April and her mother's reunion.
Raph spared a glance at team M&M before he explained, "Mikey and Maya think there's something wrong with Mrs. O'Neil."
Both April and her mother looked shocked. The red head turned to Mikey and Maya with a hurt expression before she said, "How dare you? Why would you say something so cruel!"
"April, use your gift. This woman is not who she says she is. If she were your mother and knew of your gifts, then why would she close her mind so tightly?" Maya explained gently.
April's mother stood up horrified before she exclaimed, "I do not have to take this from a mutant and a freak like you."
The woman turned to April and said, "That thing tried to attack my mind. I was only protecting myself. You believe me don't you April."
The red head looked at her mother shocked before she replied, "Of course mom. Why don't we go get some air?"
April then glared in team M&M's direction before she growled, "I'm sure this is just a misunderstanding."
Once mother and daughter were out of the room, everyone but Isla turned and glared at the young couple.
"What the hell are you two thinking? This woman has been through a trauma. Her natural response is to close her mind off to you" Donny said in absolute shock.
"Wild imaginations or not, you two can't just make accusations like that," Leo scolded the pair looking very unpleased.
"Not cool guys, you've only known the lady for like an hour. At the very least you need to give her a chance for April's sake," Casey said being the most understanding of how important this moment was for April.
"You don't understand. The story that woman told is false," Maya said defending herself and her mate.
"Where's your proof then?" Raph demanded.
"There was a woman here that witnessed the death of Elizabeth O'Neill. She left a journal describing the night the krang attacked," Isla said stepping in holding a hard-covered notebook.
That made everyone in the room go silent before Isla looked at them all and added, "Her name was Emily."
…
"Mom I'm so sorry, I don't know what got into them. Are you okay?" April asked.
"I'll be fine once we're gone," the woman replied in a strange tone of voice.
April looked at her mother in confusion before she asked, "Where exactly are we all going?"
The blond woman stared at her daughter with unreadable green eyes before she replied, "You and I need to go away on a little trip, just us girls. We can get as far away from these freaks as we can and then it just be us making up for lost times."
"But…I can't just leave. These guys are my family to," April said feeling suddenly torn.
"I am your mother April. I am the only true family you have here. So, if I say we're leaving then I expect you to go back your damn bags," the woman demanded as she grabbed April's arm in a painful grip.
April was about tell her mother she was hurting her when a growl caught her attention. The red head cautiously turned her head to see two snow white mutant foxes growling at them. The larger of the two stepped forward snarling.
"You are the only freak here. Let her go," the fox growled viciously.
The woman that April thought was her mother smirked at the two mutants before she replied, "I was wondering what happened to you after all these years, experiment #8E5G4B."
April only had time to gasp before the two foxes charged at them. The larger fox tackled April's mother to the ground forcing her to let go of the red head's wrist while the smaller one stood in front of April protectively. The red head was to shocked to move as she looked on terrified between the two large white mutant foxes.
"Don't be afraid, she won't touch you again. I won't allow it," the small fox assured April with gentle hazel eyes.
April nodded in understanding before she turned her attention to the other fox growling as it held down her mother.
"That is not my name and you are not Beth," the larger fox snarled as she bared her sharp teeth only inches from the blond woman's face.
April's mother smiled before she replied, "I'm sorry. I forgot you prefer to be called Vixen."
The fox growled before opening her jaws and used her teeth to rip the skin off the blond woman's face. April screamed in absolute horror at what she was seeing in front of her. However, it was not at the site of the fox ripping the skin off her mother's face that disturbed her so much but the purple krang monstrosity that lay underneath it.
Yay for another chapter! Thank you to everyone who is enjoying this so far. Please don't forget to review and let me know what you think of the story so far. Till next time readers!