It felt like the longest drive they ever took. Piled up in the Battleshell, the six teenage mutants were seated in close quarters as Donatello drove them all to the airport. In the middle of the car lay the two enlarged backpacks made for the traveling terrapins. They were filled with snacks, extra clothing if needed, and other necessities any mutant turtle needed if they were away from home. Sharing a seat, the two turtles of blue were wrapped in clothing to cover themselves if they were to be seen by human eyes. It had been a long time since they have seen Venus wear her light blue Yin Yang robe with her straw hat over her head. Last time they saw her with it on, the blood rushed to their heads after she hung them upside down. Leonardo had taken a different brown overcoat that they possessed, yet he took the matching brimmed hat. Both, with little space to stay seated and hands in their lap, listened to the quieted Erykah Badu radio playing from the aux cord from Raphael's phone.

The van took a wide turn, awakening the passengers who were in their own world as they thought about the upcoming departure. They weren't the only ones there, but for precautions, Donnie drove out to the farthest and emptiest spots available in the airport parking lot. No one was parked in the darkness as Donatello brought the vehicle to a stop and turned off the headlights.

"Here's your stop." He turned his body around to see them. His right arm helped to force him to the side as it pushed against the seat Raphael was in. "The manhole's right by the door." Venus and Leonardo looked up from their laps. Although the dim, green-tinted light made it hard to see it, they could make out the bright yellow lights and flashing red ones that assured them that they were at the airport. Leonardo crossed a hand over to unbuckle them from their seat and grabbed both of their bags from their feet. Venus, hunched over, opened the van door. Surely, the manhole was right in front of it as Donatello predicted. Before she could reach down and lift the cover, she got the urge to come back into the van. Once she stepped in, she was met by Michelangelo's loving arms. He had unbuckled himself out of his seat to send a farewell worth giving as he held her tight and rocked her back and forth lovingly, mumbling into her shoulder.

"I'mma miss you." He spoke almost choked up. Venus felt a little guilty for not being as emotional as he was, but she felt a discrepancy in that assumption. "When you're gone, when you're goooone, I'm gonna miss you when you're go-Oooooone!" There it was. The turtle girl trusted her emotion sense when it caught onto Michelangelo's over-the-top drama performance. Despite the utter sadness behind his little number, the cerulean clad turtle giggled and squeezed her brother harder.

"Watch my baby sister, okay?" Leonardo's neck was met by Mona Lisa's arms as she asked.

"Don't want to come home and die three minutes later." The leader smirked. Although he was joking, he knew the in evident would happen if he didn't. Seeing the understanding in his eyes, the lizard lady smiled. Her finger tapped the terrapin in blue lightly on the nose in a cutesy fashion.

"Good boy." She praised him. Leonardo chuckled and turned to his brothers, which shook the car slightly.

"Catch ya later bro." Raphael extended a hand out to him as he too turned around from the front seat. Leonardo took it as he let his big hand slide against his brother's until their fingertips met. They finished their little handshake with a firm hold. Donnie, too, extended a hand but in the form of a fist. Leonardo recognized and bumped hands with him.

"See ya guys." Leo nodded, wielding the two giant bags over his shoulder. In two steps, he was able to squeeze past Mona and Venus, who were saying their own goodbyes.

"Stay fresh, ya know." Mikey shouted out to him, following with a sly wink. The leader looked to see if anyone else noticed, but they were too enthralled with Venus who was still inside. Leo gave him a thumbs up.

"Got it." He replied with a wink. Mikey jerked his head and smiled until Leo took his gaze off of him. The bags slipped off his shoulder some as the large turtle bent over and inserted his fingers into the holes of the manhole cover. He was careful not to let his fingers slip too much because they could get stuck just like a few times before.

"Remember, we got phones. Hit us up." His youngest brother added. Leo let out a small huff as he picked up the cover and set it off to the side.

"Will do."

Meanwhile, Mona had her little sister straddled around her as she held her tight and spoke softly to her. She may be letting Venus do something on her own for the first time, but it wasn't as hard as it seemed days ago. Mona could have sworn that Venus' shell gave into her embrace, never wanting to let her go.

"See ya sis. Watch yourself and Leo, okay?"

"Got it, mom." Mona pulled her sister away to see her face. The young turtle giggled behind her mask. Mona Lisa smiled then rolled her eyes.

"Get out of the car." She pushed her giggling sister playfully out of the van, but not before the kunoichi could plant a quick goodbye kiss on her sister's cheek. Her dull-clawed fingers graced over where her lips had touched as if it would remain there if she did. Before going down the hole, Venus had to say her goodbyes to the rest of her family. Raphael had rolled down the window to let her arms reach out to him. Her top half was limited due to the rim of her shell pushing against the frame of the small window. Raphael did his best to meet her part of the way.

"Later, Venus." She gave a grunt coming out from the window due to the pressure caused by the door. Then, she did a quick prance in front of the car to get to Donatello. The tall turtle rolled his window down hurriedly to allow the eager female turtle squeeze his as hard as she could in the hunched over position she was in. To be funny, he overcame her strength in the hug, causing her release almost immediately to stop the impending pressure. Donnie laughed a little with her as she tried to catch the breath that escaped from her lungs.

"Promise you'll pick up your phone?" She asked asthmatically, allowing enough of her strength to withdraw a pinkie from her hand and offer it to him. Donnie couldn't help but chuckle at her light wheezing that he caused. He shook his head side to side, trying to stifle his laughter enough to latch his smallest finger to hers.

"Promise."

"I'm going to miss you guys and I need just one of you to pick up the phone at any time."

"Guarantee 24/7." With one hand on the wheel and his shell pressed as far back in the seat as possible, he saluted her. Venus smiled skeptically.

"But, what if you're sleeping?"

"When am I ever asleep anyways?" He tried to pass it off as a joke, but both he and Venus knew that it was an absolutely true statement. When Donatello had made a breakthrough or is on a roll with a project, there was no stopping him.

"True." The light blue clad turtle's mile turned from skeptical to genuine. Her steps took her to the front of the hood of the car. As she headed to the manhole where Leonardo was waiting for her with her bags, she added. "I'mma miss you bestie." Donatello nodded and pointed back at her, even though she could barely see him in the dim lighting.

"Right back at ya, bestie."

When she got to the manhole, Venus hunkered down and grabbed her bag after Leonardo set it on the ground earlier. The young gentleman made sure she had good footing as he allowed her to go first. Even though he couldn't possibly see him, Leonardo had a feeling that if he did, Mikey would be giving him suggestive looks and appreciative hand gestures regarding his treatment towards his travel buddy. His younger brother was really getting him on the brains. With the thought, he felt warm within himself regarding that he was truly going to miss his brethren. The warm thought settled within himself as the large turtle signed off to those still in the Battleshell and escaped down the manhole.

The sewer was far much darker than it was outside when the manhole cover was returned back into its place. Attached to the side of her hip, Venus felt around for her shell cell. In her grasp, she felt around for the light button on the side of it. It took her a couple tries until she managed to light up the space around her. The sudden white light burned her eyes, causing her to squint and shield it away with her arm. The bright light attracted Leonardo to look down below. From his angle, the light wasn't too far down and the edge of the ceiling of the tunnel meant that Venus was off to the side. Knowing this, he lightly wrapping his hands around the round sides of the metal ladder and slid down it in a timely fashion. A light splash of water dotted his legs when his feet made contact with the ground. He looked up at the light. Venus was removing her arm as her eyes began to make adjustments for its brightness.

"Come on," she turned towards the never-ending tunnel. "The outlet is out there." She pointed down into the darkness before them. Leonardo looked down the long hallway. With each step, the sounds of the airplanes and people scurrying around excited his stomach. Venus did not seem the least bit excitable as he was. Now that he thought about it, she's been acting like a strong authority figure since she had gone down the manhole that brought them here.

They were now in a spot where the manhole covers were exposed because of the lights that shone through their circles. Leo and Venus looked up every chance there was an outside source of light. Venus was careful to remove her finger off of the button so its own light wouldn't escape to the surface. She enjoyed these few breaks as the button created an imprinted circle on her thumb. The footsteps and conversations began to saunter away as the revving of motors clouded them. The hall continued on, that is until the female leading the way turned slightly to a metal ladder on the side on the wall. Her male follower's step stuttered in response to her abrupt turn. Before she turned off the light, Venus looked down to face him. She was already a couple steps up the ladder before placing a finger to her lips. Leonardo nodded, acknowledging that now they had to be extra quiet and stealthy. Venus nodded back and turned the light off of her phone, recreating the utter darkness. They stayed so good at keeping silent that they could hear only the air whistling around and water dropping from the rusty pipes. Suddenly, the top of Venus' hat tapped onto the surface. She took a couple steps down from the ladder to keep her hat from falling off when she looked up to push the cover off. Her foot pushed back on Leonardo's face, who responded in taking a couple steps down himself. Knowing that she had done it as an accident, he did not need to acknowledge an apology due to their silent situation. Steadily, she pushed the heavy piece up. With two hands, she let it glide against the blacktop, pushing it away from the hole. Venus let her hat as a cover over the surface as her eyes looked out onto the terrain. The red lights of the plane flashed from a good thirty feet away. The back of the plane was being loaded with large shipments and luggage that couldn't fit as a carry-on. The female terrapin estimated how many people would stop by the back at a time. There were not that many people loading up and it appeared that they were getting the last of it on board.

Then, the people began to clear from the back of it. She saw one man give a thumbs up to someone operating a forklift until he jogged away. Venus lightly tapped Leonardo's hang with her foot. With that, she jumped up out of the hole like a rabbit. Leonardo wasn't too far behind her as he jumped out and hit the blacktop. His shoe pushed the cover back into place. No one could even suspect that anyone had been there. Not even two giant turtles that made a break for the back of the plane.

Inside, the cargo hold was crammed with numerous items. Colorful or not luggage bags piled onto one another on one side with giant, boxed up items on the other. The two stowaways climbed to the middle of the hold, taking refuge in the mess of the shipping boxes. In no time, they could see the door to the hold begin to close with them inside. Venus sighed when she heard the door click and the hydraulics silence themselves. They had made it onto the plane. Leonardo continued to feel a little nauseous. The suspense of the plane taking off made him feel a little queasy. The blue clad turtle put a hand to his forehead as his breaths became less and less productive. He didn't know what he was sweating so much about as he began to grow mysteriously lightheaded. Venus removed her hat and put it between her fingers. With her other hand, she pushed him against a sturdy box and helped him slide down to where he could sit on the ground. With her by his side, he began to feel relieved as he felt the light tufts of air against his face as she fanned him with her hat. Wanting to feel more of the breeze and less trapped; he hastily removed his hat and unwrapped his coat. The exposure to his upper legs and chest felt much better as he could feel the movement underneath him. Venus could feel it too as the plane began its journey.

Pressure from the atmosphere began to push the two down into the floor of the plane. The aircraft was removing its wheels from the ground and were tucking them in its own compartment. For Venus, the moment worried her. Beside her, her brother was ill-feeling and light headed. The addition of taking off was going to probably do him worse than good. Fearing that his fear of leaving home and leaving behind everything he knew, his female guide could only feel sorry for him. Careful not to slip, Venus crouched down beside him. Her arm reached behind his head and guided it down to her shoulder. In short, smooth strokes, she tried to soothe him and regulate his breathing. Knowing him, she might make him feel less in control if she tried to confront him about his fears and condition. Instead, she acted as if nothing was really wrong. Leonardo, still short in breath was amazed by her silent acts of kindness. His blue eyes, without moving his head, looked up to see her face. She looked tired and worried, yet content with herself as she stared at the chrome wall. He gently closed his eyelids and began the process of calming down and finding his happy place. Aside from his little attack on his lungs, he was able to recall one of Mikey's lessons.

"Use the classic Rollercoaster move." played in his mind as well as the image of Raphael refusing to be the girl. Mikey had told him to wrap his arm around her if she was scared of the plane taking off. Bonus points if she hides in his chest. Then, he processed the situation at hand. He was the one freaking out, or in. It was her arm around him. She was acting as his protector and comforter, and honestly, he didn't care. Maybe the gender roles could be switched around from Michelangelo's advice. It might just as well if Venus was the comforter. She was doing just a dandy job and it didn't hurt his masculinity at all to be fearful in her arms. Just the thought of it made him smile like an idiot. Caught up in the moment, he lightly nuzzled his face in her shoulder and let out a deep breath to tell her that he was starting to feel better. He could feel her looking down at him with his eyes shut. She answered back to him appreciatively with a light push to draw him closer to her and a rub with her thumb in-between his head and his mask as the plane began to level itself out and make a straight line drive to China.

"Alright, listen up. It takes about 13 hours to fly to China from here. Mona stood up all night the last time we flew, but I think we should put a timer on our phones set to two hours before our mark."

"I'll set mine up."

"I'll set mine too, just in case we miss yours. I should set it to an hour before?"

"Good thinking." "Man, hear that engine roar. How could you sleep like this?"

"Here, lean up beside me. When you lean on the wall, you get the most vibrations. If you lean on me, our bodies absorb the shock better."

"What a difference." "Doesn't get rid of the sound though."

"Let me tell you a story. Guaranteed the sound of my voice will drown out the plane."

"Pretty sure Donnie's techno-babble puts me to sleep every time. Can you mimic him?"

"You should try to learn from him. He is one of the most intelligent beings I have met, and I've been surrounded by wise Chinese men all my life."

"Is that why you're always in the lab with him?"

"Not always. I enjoy your brother's company. Besides, I think I've been saving you all from the bulk of his 'techno-babble'."

"All is fair. What's in store for story time?"

"I remember this one spring. It was the spring Mona began puberty."

"Should I be hearing this?"

"Trust me, you're gonna laugh. So, when she was going through changes and whatever, Chung I didn't realize that her body would begin sending pheromones. Now, as a human being, neither he nor anyone else could smell it. I was 11 at the time and I smelled it, but I thought nothing of it. I thought Mona just needed a bath or something, because it was almost foul to me, but now I've gotten used to it. So, this first spring when she was beginning to smell like that for part of the season, I kid you not, there were Giant Chinese Salamanders emerging from the water and pursuing her nonstop."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Due to the misconception that the Giant Chinese Salamander is nearly extinct due to poaching, a majority of their population lives in the untouched waters of our own and other surrounding villages. So, just about every Giant Salamander in China was following Mona around. One even got into the house when she woke up and found it cuddling next to her. They were so slow, it was hilarious!"

"I could only imagine. Did that ever happen to you?"

"Most definitely, but Mona had it easy. When those turtles get frisky there's no stopping them. I am living proof that our small scaled cousins are not as slow as they appear."

"You could say that again."

"How about you? Got any wacky stories to tell?"

"Gee, where do I start?"

"The beginning is a good start."

"When we were about…" "7, I think, Mikey discovered the worst thing he could have ever learned."

"What was it? Was it dangerous?"

"Not at all, or, at least not in the right hands."

"Well, what is it?"

"He learned about…" "The water balloon."

"Oh, please Leo."
"You were getting chased by turtles. That's way lamer than water balloons."

"Ok. So, what was so bad?"

"He took every chance he got to hit us with those suckers for an entire summer. Let me tell you, that boy's got an arm."

"A water balloon throwing arm?"

"Oh yeah. That's how Mike's got shirukin game."

"Wow."

"Yeah."