"Guys! I have pizza!" April called as she entered the lair. It was almost five, and April was bringing in pizza for an early dinner.
Silence.
"Guys? Did you hear me? I have pizza! Guys? Anyone home? Master Splinter?" April called out confused. "Hello?" April looked around in shock. It was kinda weird that no one was answering her, very weird. Shrugging it off, April walked in and placed the pizza boxes down on the kitchen table and as she turned around she took a step back startled.
"Who are you?" The teen in front of her demanded, her green eyes flashing in suspicion.
"Um, who are you?" April asked back awkwardly. The teen's eyes narrowed into a glare, and April actually was afraid for her life.
"Valentine!" A new voice called out with a snap. "We do not attack guests." The voice was saying sternly, and almost as if the off switch had been pressed the teen in front of her took a step back and crossed her arms. "I'm so sorry about my sister, she can be quite aggressive sometimes." The voice continued, and April looked to find another teen descending the stairs, her fingers brushing down the rail as she went. The red head in front of her automatically walked toward the brunette by the stairs, taking her arm and guiding her toward April. "I'm Clarissa Aldrin, and my rude sister here is Valentine. Melody! Come on out!" Clarissa called, and a blond girl peeked her head out from behind a door to come running over with a timid expression on her face.
"Who are- How are- What are you three doing down here?" April finally asked, looking at the three teens in front of her in amazement.
"What are you doing down here?" Valentine demanded gruffly.
"Valentine!" Clarissa sighed. "We're staying with the turtles as guests." She explained to April, her pale blue eyes never leaving their spot on the wall behind April's shoulder.
"Um, what are you looking-"
"She's blind." Valentine snapped.
"Oh! I didn't mean to stare, I just-"
"It's fine." Clarissa replied softly, a serene smile on her face as she stopped the rush of the April's words. "I am blind, it's fine, you can say it. My sweet sister Valentine's deaf, and our other sister Melody's mute." Clarissa explained, gazing blankly ahead.
"And, you're down here why?" April asked confused.
"That's the complicated part." Clarissa chuckled weakly.
"Some purple dragons burned down our house and kidnapped our mom and our other sister Zee." Valentine said abruptly.
"Oh my gosh that is so horrible!" April exclaimed, and Melody nodded sadly.
"The turtles are letting us stay here until they find our family." Clarissa explained.
"Yeah, and where are the turtles?" April asked, and then watched as Melody started signing something. "Um, what did she say?"
"Yes, what did Melody say?" Clarissa asked curiously.
"She says they're following doctor's orders and sleeping off some really bad injuries. They tried to get our mom and sister back yesterday, but the purple dragons actually learned a trick and the guys got hurt." Valentine explained, sighing and crossing her arms again.
"Oh my gosh! Are they alright? Do they need anything?" April asked quickly, shocked at the revelation.
"They're in their rooms right now, sleeping off everything." Valentine said shortly.
"And Master Splinter has gone off to get some medicinal herbs and roots for the guys." Clarissa added, letting Valentine lead her to a chair to sit down. Melody signed again, and April waited for Valentine to translate.
"Mel says they should be fine, they just need some rest."
"You know, that's the best thing I have ever heard concerning those boys." April mused, looking thoughtful.
"I don't think I understand." Clarissa admitted.
"Those guys run on 110%, they never slow down, and half the time I doubt they ever go to bed! They work so hard, but it's always hard to watch them winding down and they won't even get some rest!" April exclaimed. "I think you're a blessing for those boys. You'll have an impact, I'm sure of it."
"Oh, we're not that special." Clarissa laughed nervously, her gaze on the floor. "Besides, Valentine attacked Raph at their first meeting." She chuckled, throwing her sister under the bus.
"Hey!"
"I bet that was fun." April laughed, pushing a lock of red hair out of her face. "Did he cream you?" Valentine let out an indignant snort.
"I have never heard such blasphemous words! I can hold my own, thank you very much, and I was beating him." Valentine retorted, slightly arrogant.
"I heard he beat you." Clarissa smiled.
"Oh shut up." Valentine growled. April just laughed, and Clarissa grinned with easy going laughter.
"I'm being rude, would you like anything Ms...?" Clarissa trailed off awkwardly.
"O'Neil, just call me April though, everybody does."
"Nice to meet you, April, is there anything we can get you?"
"I'm fine, I just came to drop off these pizzas. Trust me, those guys won't be sleeping for long." April chuckled. "They couldn't sleep while a perfectly good pizza is sitting right outside their doors." Melody started signing again, and April waited.
"She says they better stay in bed, or...I'm going to have to keep them there the hard way? Oh no, you are not pulling me into this. You decided to play doctor, that doesn't make this my problem." Valentine said quickly, trying to ward off her sister's pleas.
"They'll be fine, Melody, they've had worse." April told the mute girl gently, who looked at her in horror. "While they're out, you wanna come up top with me? You can't wear those same clothes for a whole week can you?" She asked briskly, weighing each girl carefully. It wasn't pity that made April want to take care of these girls, it was an inborn instinct to protect them, to keep them safe. April was surprised to realize she was actually entering a 'mother mode'.
"We don't take charity." Valentine said gruffly.
"It's not charity, Valentine." April said honestly. "I like the guys, and if they like you, then I do too. I just want to help you out like I do for the guys."
"That's so nice, thank you April." Clarissa said softly. "That would be a wonderful thing if you could help us, we drenched our clothes with sewer water and they're beginning to stink a little, and all our other clothes kinda went up in flames..."
"Let's go shopping." April said firmly, writing a note to the boys and leaving it on top of the pizza box. That didn't mean they were gonna get, they'd probably throw it off the box to get to the food, but it was worth a shot. "Let's get going, I want to hear about everything you three have been up to." April said, leading the group into the sewers.
"Clarissa's our spokesperson." Valentine said shortly.
"Okay then, Valentine." April nodded, then frowned. "Do you go by Valentine? Or do you go by something else? Something shorter maybe?"
"Val or Valentine depending on who's calling." Valentine replied guardedly.
"I like Val, it's short and got a sort of spunk." April smiled, looking back at her as she stopped at a sewer ladder.
"Thanks." The deaf sister replied with a small smile of her own.
"Well, if I am the spokesperson I guess I should tell you a bit about us, or do you want to go first? Whatever's easiest." Clarissa said quickly, unsure as she held onto Val's arm.
"Chill Clarissa, whatever you want alright? You're my guest for the day." April told the blind girl with a laugh. "I want you to be comfortable, tell me about yourself."
"Well, hm. I guess I'll just start at the beginning. Melody and I are fraternal twins, and we were born a day apart."
"How's that possible? I thought it was one, then the other."
"It is, but I was born on December 31st, and Mel here was born on New Years. We were born two minutes apart, but that two minutes let me be older than her. I'm fifteen, and Mel here's fifteen too. I still like to think I'm a year older though. We grew up in a big family, besides Valentine and Zee we have four brothers: Patrick, Andrew, Xander, and Pearce. Patrick's a lawyer these days, and Andrew and Xander are in their specialized years of college. We've all gone to school since forever, the public school system sadly, but the rest of us are all in A.P. classes, and we're all the brightest kids in class. Even if I'm blind." Clarissa said smugly. "Valentine's a fighter, she always has been and she's even gone to some tournaments."
"Up the ladder, Clare." Valentine murmured, helping her up and into the sunshine above.
"Thanks, Valentine. You know the funny thing about Valentine? Her absolute favorite color is red! Just like her holiday! All the hearts, it just tickles me. Anyway, Mel's a dancer. She's amazing! Or, so everyone says..." She trailed off quietly. "I've never seen...but you just have to see her dance! Mellie's favorite color is purple, the bright ones and the dark ones, every purple imaginable!Me, I like to sing, and how am I supposed to have a favorite color?"
"Trash can to your left." Val instructed.
"Pesky trash cans, they always get in my way!" Clarissa grumbled.
"I can imagine." April smiled, heading towards the local Walmart.
"You have no idea how annoying they can be! Oh, where are we? The air's different, cooler." Clarissa asked surprised, swiveling her head as the A/C blew down on her.
"We're in Walmart." Val told her quietly, guiding the blind girl towards the junior's department. "I see a pink dress that I bet you would like." She told her encouragingly.
"Oh, how long is it? If we're staying in the sewers I think it would be best if it was short." Clarissa sighed, ever the adult of the group.
"Stops just above the knees, you would love it." Val replied truthfully, looking at the bright pink dress with spaghetti straps and a woven brown belt around the waist. It had a little flower pattern dotting the fabric, giving it a charming look. Val turned her head to see Melody looking among the racks, pulling out a skirt here, a plaid shirt there, tank tops and jeans.
"I'm going to try this stuff on." Melody signed, smiling as she walked away.
"Mel's going to try some stuff on, you want to try the dress on?" Val asked patiently, browsing the racks for something she might like.
"Oh, I want to look a bit more, you can look around, I'm sure April could help me, right Ms. O'Neil?" Clarissa asked, her hand on top of one of the racks.
"Of course, anything you need." April nodded, and Valentine finally nodded before she walked towards a rack of shirts. A pink cheetah styled shirt caught her attention, and she held it up in front of a mirror. It's okay, doesn't really work with my hair... She thought, shaking her head at the clash of red hair and pink shirt. There was a blue cheetah styled shirt behind the pink, and she held it up. Perfect. She smiled, and grabbed a pair of black jeans to match it. She turned back to Clarissa and April, who were laughing and talking and April was holding up clothes to the blind girl and giving her approval or not. Melody was walking toward her, already having found her choices. A purple tank top with a black skirt, a tea length yellow dress with a black belt, a sheer green shirt festooned with pearls, glitter, and sequins with another pair of black pants, and a peacock styled shirt with a blue skirt.
"What do you think?" She signed. "Are they alright?" She asked timidly.
"They look you." Val signed briskly. "Go show April, I bet she'd like them."
"Sure." Mel signed back smiling as she headed to the other red head. Val watched her sister show April what she found, happy at her sister's excitement.
"Oh! I love this shirt, it's a adorable!" April exclaimed. "Everything matches, that's a good quality in any shopper." April said approving, what do you think about this for Clarissa?" Melody signed something, and April just looked lost for a moment. "I'm gonna take that as a yes then."
"She said they didn't match Clare's skin tone!" Val called out with a sigh.
"Oh, thanks. I knew that!" April replied brightly, a slight laugh in her voice. Sure ya did. Val rolled her eyes. "Have you found anything, Val? Ooh, I like that top, it's cute."
"Come on over, V, it's not the same without you." Melody signed sadly, and Val hesitantly headed over. She had never been good with new people. Apparently, she wasn't good at 'adjusting to new environments and people', or said her therapist.
"Val, that is such a boring shirt. Try something fun." April suggested.
"Valentine always gets mundane, casual clothes, since she tends to ruin them fairly quickly." Clarissa told their new friend.
"That's the truth." Melody signed with a snort.
"Melody!" Val signed indignant. Her mute sister just shrugged with a well-it's-true look.
"Oh, I bet that's not true." April scoffed with a smile.
"Oh it's true, all right." Clarissa laughed. "Mama is always having to stitch up her shirts and shorts, and every now and then a skirt or two of hers." Clarissa added quietly, and the sisters fell into melancholy.
"Don't worry, we'll get them back. The guys will find them." April promised solemnly. "And at the worst, we'll go get them. I don't think those purple dragons have had to deal with people like you before." April joked.
"True, my front kick is of legend." Clarissa mused.
"Yeah right." Valentine scoffed. "I'm the one with kicks of legends, you can barely hit a target."
"Well excuse me." Clarissa bristled.
"Valentine." Melody signed with a sigh.
"So, has everyone found something? I need to head over to appliances." April asked finally, looking at the sisters.
"I think we have enough." Clarissa smiled.
"Great, I need to go buy a new lamp. The last time I let the guys into my apartment, they wrecked the old one, and I've been meaning to get one for weeks." April told them, leading the group out of the clothes. "I don't know why I ever let those boys into my house, they only ever cause trouble."
"I doubt that, they seem nice." Melody signed, and Val translated.
"Oh, you haven't known them long enough." April replied knowingly. "Mikey's basically a hurricane hiding under a shell, Donny will pick apart any piece of tech lying around, and no, he doesn't put it back together again, Leo thinks the epitome of life is meditation and practice, and if his sword cuts through my wall, then why was it there in the first place? Now Raph, he's easy to know. Remember this, girl, that guy's only happy when he's destroying stuff. I can promise you that much. I like this lamp, what do you think? The red one or the blue? Or does that seem like I'm choosing one turtle over the other? Ugh, there's so many little things you have to remember with those boys. Like they're vain. If I get the blue, Raph will think I like Leo better, and if I get the red it's vice versa!" She groaned.
"Then get pink." Melody smiled eagerly. "Pink is a perfect color!"
"Um..."
"She says go with pink." Val replied, repressing a smile. April O'Neil didn't look like a pink person, not at all.
"Or yellow." Melody amended quickly. "Or just go with green, it matches all the turtles."
"Mel says if you go green no one will complain." Val snorted, knowing their was no such thing as an easy answer.
"Huh, that's smart." April nodded, picking up a green lamp. "Not to ugly, but not the prettiest in the world. It has a life time warranty! That will definitely come in handy. I wonder if they insure under 'destroyed by a giant turtle'." April mused aloud.
"Who doesn't these days?" Val joked.
"You're right, I think I will go green, at least this time. Thanks Melody, it's perfect!" April decided, taking the lamp and heading towards checkout. The girls got their new clothes, April got her lamp, and all were happy. "My apartment's just around the corner, do you mind if I drop this off?" April asked as they left the store.
"It's fine." Clarissa smiled, letting Valentine guide her along the sidewalk. "Today seems like a nice day, I can feel the sun." Clarissa said happily, lifting her face to the warmth.
"Yeah, it is nice." April agreed. "I'm so glad I had today off."
"Well, we have everyday off." Val snorted. "Until school starts up again." School. Val thought nervously. It was her senior year, when it was over...she was college bound.
"Summer, the best time of the year." Melody agreed.
"I'm gonna bet Melody likes summer too." April surmised, grinning at the sun. "Here's my place, come on in and then we'll head back down to the sewers." She said, turning the key in the lock and motioning them in. It wasn't that big, but it wasn't tiny either, and it seemed to fit April's personality exactly. "See, that's the lamp Leo broke." April said dryly, gesturing to a smashed lamp still on the counter. "Can you throw it out Val? I want to plug this in." Val nodded, and dropped the old yellow lamp into the trash. "There we go, it's like the old one was never here." April cheered happily, standing up and looking pleased with herself. "We can head out now, thanks for the detour." April smiled, and herded the girls out of her house and down into the sewers.
"Thanks for going shopping with us, it was...fun." Melody signed, and waited for Val to translate.
"I was happy to go." April replied.
"We should do it again sometime." Val murmured. "When Mama and Zee get back." She hurried to add.
"Whenever you'd like." April said, and walked into the lair. There, limping back to his room, was Mikey, a pizza box in one hand and two others in the other.
"Mikey!" Melody groaned, her signing relaying her concern.
"Mikey, you better get back in bed before Melody gets you. She told you not to get up, and she doesn't mind drugging patients who don't listen. Take my advice now, dude, you don't want Melody drugging you." Valentine warned, remembering her own experience with Melody and some powerful knock-out drugs. Mikey scuttled into his room and shut the door as fast as he could.
"Why doesn't anyone ever listen to me?" Melody sighed, putting her new clothes on the sofa.
"Because doctors like you are never taken seriously." Val signed back smiling.
"I know." Melody sighed.
"I need to head back up top, so I'll check in on you three later, okay?" April told them, grabbing a slice of pizza.
"Of course, thanks for the trip." Clarissa replied. "I had fun."
"Yeah, you're not to bad." Val said gruffly.
"She says you might be friends soon." Clarissa translated with a small laugh.
"That's so nice of you to say." April replied, smiling. "See ya later." And with that she walked out the door and into the sewers.
"Well, she's a nice lady." Melody signed, sitting down on the sofa. "Oh, I need to check on the guys. I need to redo their bandages, and re-tape...ugh." She sighed, getting back up. "Can you find out of Master Splinter's here? That could help me out some."
"Yo, rat dude, you here?" Val called out.
"VALENTINE!" Clarissa cried. "We do not insult our hosts!"
"I am here." The rat replied, exiting Leo's room with a bunch of bloody bandages. "How can I be of assistance?"
"Mel wanted help fixing up patients, but I see you've already done that." Val nodded. "Hey, I got a question. Remember when you called me 'Rosie'? Where did you learn that-"
"Master Splinter, have you learned anything about our family?" Clarissa interrupted urgently. "Anything?"
"I'm sorry, Clarissa, it's like they've disappeared. The purple dragons are keeping them under wrap, and I have heard nothing from the underground." Master Splinter replied apologetically. "I'm afraid we have to wait until the boys are better to go investigate."
"That'll be tonight." Leo said firmly, standing outside his room. Melody gaped at him in shock and agitation.
"Tell him to go back to bed!" Melody demanded, signing quickly and sharply.
"Get back in bed, Leonardo, you are still wounded." Master Splinter said sharply.
"Nah, we're fine. We wasted a whole day listening to our 'doctor'." Raph snorted, and Val narrowed her eyes in anger.
"We have to find your sister, and your mom, we promised." Don said grimly, and Mikey peeked his head out of his room sheepishly.
"Besides, you get better by doing." He quipped.
"That's when you're learning something! Not when you got blown up and need critical medical attention!" Melody signed, distraught.
"We won't stay out to long, the sun's setting now." Leo told his father. "And so are we."
"I can't stop you, but be careful." Master Splinter finally sighed.
"You're going to let them go? When they seriously need to stay in bed?" Val asked, looking at the rat dad like he was crazy.
"They do their own thing, Valentine. I cannot make the choices for them." Splinter replied quietly, and allowed his sons to pass him by as Clarissa prayed for the turtles safety. Once they disappeared, Melody looked sharply at Val, shaking her head at what she knew was coming.
"You're going after them, right?" Mel asked with a smile.
"You know me." Val shrugged.
"Be careful, don't do something stupid." Mel warned, her signing slow and calm.
"You know me." Val repeated, and walked out the door. "I'm gonna follow them, I'll be back when they are!" She called out, and Val disappeared into the sewers.