Author's Note: Finally, I'm back with another drabble! Now, you could probably count this as a 'part 2' with the previous drabble, since it happens right after Donnie's talk with Splinter. Here we'll see some Splinter and Chey bonding, and Raph and April's relationship beginning to blossom. Meanwhile, a silent observer is questioning what the love shared among the Hamato Clan means as an invasion of reptilian aliens draws near. Read and review!

Drabble 10: The Ways We Bond

"Cheyloe, I can tell you are a little embarrassed. I assure you, there is nothing to be ashamed of in my presence."

Cheyloe didn't say anything at first, resigning herself to watching Splinter pour hot tea into two waiting cups on the small table. "I-I just…sorry. I've never spoken to anyone about this except for Anna and Kaitlyn…and Donnie."

Splinter sat the tea kettle down on a tray and knelt on the other side of the table with a simple nod. When he opened his eyes to the young woman, his brown eyes radiated sympathy; she had more in-common with Donatello than she would admit. "Rest assure, I will not judge you. I simply wish for you to keep open ears and an open mind. Take it from someone who can empathize with your history."

The way the brunette tensed as she quietly took a hot cup told the rat he was on-target already. Her apprehensiveness was to be expected, however; she hardly talked to anyone about this matter except her friends and Donatello. The rat kept an observation of Cheyloe to himself as well: he knew the cheerful front she displayed during her visits was nothing more than a mask to hide this hurt. Though the idea never came to him until Donatello brought it up, he knew now it was best to talk to her about this for two reasons. One, he could empathize with her, and two…someone had to help her let go of this guilt before irreversible damage was done.

"First off…why don't you tell me about Embry?" Splinter requested calmly, giving her a small, reassuring smile, "What was he like?"

"W-Well…"

Chey's voice started shaking. As much as she didn't want to do this with someone other than Donnie, this would help her whether she wanted it to or not. The first step in letting go of the guilt and grief would be getting out of her comfort zone…and boy, Splinter was good at that. "Embry was a great kid. Polite, energetic, and cared about people to a fault. He was easily scared sometimes…he couldn't even sleep unless I was right there next to him. He also understood things a lot more compared to other kids his age, maybe because he knew people wanted to hurt him. No one should…"

The young woman couldn't finish her sentence, but Splinter took that liberty and concluded, "I know…no one should want to hurt a child."

The brunette fiddled with her tea cup and simply stared at her reflection in the green liquid, "I know I've been told so many times it wasn't my fault, but I still think about what I could've done differently. What if we never went camping? What if I was able to move in time to stop it?" A small sigh, and then the million-dollar question, "Master Splinter…do you often think of that with your wife?"

Splinter gave a forlorn glance to the old photograph on the shelf. "…I often ask myself what would occur had I not feuded with Saki. If I had paid more attention to Shen and Miwa…if I had not given into my former brother's taunts. At times, I even wondered what would've happened had my father not adopted Saki. One thing I know I could not change, however…was Shen putting herself up as a shield. All to save the life of a foolish man who happened to be her husband."

"…Embry didn't even hesitate to put himself between me and Syzygy." Chey added in, biting her lip and holding back painful tears, "Sometimes…sometimes I wish it was me instead of him."

"I too often wished that I had perished instead of Shen. If she lived, then perhaps she could have taken Miwa and fled far from Saki." Splinter admitted, "But had I not lived, I would not have been blessed with my sons, even when it cost me my human form. If you had not lived, you would not have been blessed with meeting and befriending Donatello."

Chey looked up at the rat and pondered out-loud, "W-Well, that's true…if I had died, no one would've saved Donnie from Slash at the right time."

Splinter nodded, internally praising himself for successfully having her open up about this. "There is one more thing I've had to learn from the past: Tang Shen would not want me to live with the wish that I died instead of her or alongside her. I truly believe that Embry would not want you to throw your life away because of something beyond your control."

Some things are just beyond our control.

She repeated those words to Donnie when he told her of April's dad being mutated. Donnie told her those words all those nights ago. Now Splinter repeated them. Even though she knew it was true, she couldn't shake that guilt and the what-ifs away now. Part of her WANTED to hold on to the guilt because she felt she felt she was as bad as Syzygy…she couldn't save Embry. Her fear allowed him to die, she told herself. Saving someone else wasn't enough…but maybe it was, just this once. Maybe saving Donnie and saving Karai would be just enough.

"I-I understand, Master Splinter…thank you."

If she only knew what was about to come and send her back to square one.

"Come on, raise those fists higher! Show me that you actually wanna be a kunoichi!"

April shouted and shot her fist at Raphael, growing frustrated as he blocked yet another one of her blows. "I punched you good in Northampton! Why can't I land a hit on you now!?"

A few more blows blocked and a cry of frustration from the redhead later, Raph had enough. He caught April by the fist and held tight as he raised his leg and delivered a swift kick to her side, knocking her to the rooftop. Part of him wanted to panic and immediately go to help her up, but he knew she needed to handle the pain better than she had been. Since Karai's recovery, April's fighting skills became sloppy, unfocused, fueled by internal conflict, and no one knew why. Raph had an idea, however…and he knew April let it get to her too much.

"If it isn't the wannabe kunoichi! Always trying!"

Though Karai was still under mind-control when she gave the scathing remark, it hurt April just the same. As quickly as she progressed, those words were enough to make her feel her progress was for nothing. The red-masked turtle knew it hurt her that much when he could see the redhead on her knees and elbows, choking back sobs and pounding her fist against the asphalt. The others would coddle her, tell her that it was just the brain-worm talking, that she was stronger than ever. Raph wouldn't sugarcoat it to protect her feelings.

"You're letting Karai get to ya. What she told ya last night's still messin' with your head, isn't it?"

"I'm not letting her 'get to me'!" April vehemently denied, teeth gritted and eyes narrowed into icy slits as she struggled to get back to her feet. The pain in her side made her breathless, but she wouldn't back down and be the weak girl she was before. "I'm just fine, Raph! I've just been off, that's all!"

Denial, denial, denial. And here he thought HE had a bad temper. "Bull, April! You've been doing great in your training, then Karai says one thing and your back to being a sloppy mess! I know I'm one to talk, but you're letting those words eat at ya! Ya gotta let it go, April!"

"You're right, you ARE one to talk, Mr. No One Understands Me!" The redhead spat venomously, getting to her feet and wildly swinging her fists at Raph with the intent of knocking some teeth out. "You tell me to let it go, and yet you get mad if your brothers poke fun at you!"

"You just proved my point: it IS getting to ya!"

Raph blocked each of her punches and finally caught her fists, forcing her into a locked stance and making her stare him in the eyes. Seeing her misty, rage-filled, hopeless eyes told him more than any denials or cries she could make. He understood it all, but that didn't mean it was good for her. He could handle a lot of anger, but it was something April didn't need to handle, especially if she got too worried about catching up to someone who had experience to her advantage.

"April…don't be like me. Be above it. If ya keep comparing yourself to Karai, you're never gonna improve. Don't be Karai or any of us; be April O'Neil!" Raph spoke, almost pleading.

"SHUT UP!" April fought to break her hands out of Raph's grasp, but her strength compared to his kept her there, so she resorted to simply trying to push him down on his shell. "Being April O'Neil means I'm just a weak little princess who always gets captured! It means no matter what I do, I'm never good enough! All I'll ever be is a wannabe kunoichi-"

April didn't count on the amount of force she used against the turtle to actually push him over. Satisfaction washed over her at seeing Raph falling backwards…until she realized she was still in his hold. Both screamed and expected to fall over the edge of the roof and end up a pulpy puddle of flesh and bone thanks to unneeded stubbornness. Instead of dying, however, April opened her eyes and saw herself lying on top of Raphael and staring into his emerald eyes, blushing in a mix of fury and embarrassment. Looking into his eyes, however, she found not the usual wall of anger and gruffness that often kept her from reading him and actually having a connection with him. Instead, she found empathy. Why would he empathize with her?

"...I know what it's like, feelin' that you're never gonna be good enough." Raph confessed, letting go of her wrists and making no attempt at getting her off his plastron, much to her surprise. "I always thought I'd never be as good as Leo. He did everything perfectly, and I just fell short every time…so I got mad, taunted him, an' lashed out at Donnie and Mikey. Over time I had to realize…I can't compare myself to Leo. I can't BE Leo. He's got strengths, an' I've got strengths…just like you can do things Karai can't."

April glanced away in a huff and fought not to cry, but couldn't help when small tears streamed down her burning freckled cheeks, "But what if I'm always weak? What if I am just trying? Why don't I feel adequate?"

"If you're basin' all your self-worth on someone like Karai, then you've got no hope, April." Raph stated plainly. "You may not be th' best in a fight yet, but you've still got your wits, your Kraang powers…and you've got somethin' Karai's only grasping: compassion. You don't put others down, an' you certainly don't make fun of someone for puttin' in their best."

A green hand went to cup the redhead's cheek, and the mutant concluded, "Like I said…don't be Karai. Be the April O'Neil we know and love…and don't be a hothead like me."

April admitted to herself that she never took into account Raph's feelings of inadequacy when it came to Leo. Heck, she could feel from his emotions that he felt inadequate with all of his brothers. Not having Leo's leadership, Donnie's scientific genius, Mikey's sense of humor…no wonder he knew how she felt. Yet he hid those feelings of inadequacy while she openly lashed out in denial and hurt. She often lashed out at the others, especially Donnie, because they would coddle her and keep things too safe…not Raph. Raph understood in ways that they didn't, and ways that even Casey would never comprehend. That's what prompted her to press her forehead to his plastron and cry. Raph gave zero protest.

"I'll help ya, April…ya just gotta promise me ya won't lie to me or yourself anymore."

The redhead only replied with a feeble nod and a tired, "Thank you…"

Earthlings…they are an odd bunch.

At the request of my father and Bishop, I am observing these Turtles and their allies. What is it about them that interests the Kraang? It is obvious with the girl named April O'Neil: she is their successful experiment. The Turtles are mere accidents that continuously get in their way. The Kraang still obsess over them like fleas. Since sightings of that reptilian scout began, the Kraang have been making their return. The Kraang may have scientific prowess, technology beyond human understanding, and their sheer numbers…but there is something these Turtles and their allies have that they don't.

Love.

Compassion.

Mercy.

Kraang Prime forgot these things long ago. Though my father is housed in a robotic shell, he has never forgotten these, and neither has Bishop. I, however, have trouble remembering what these mean. I have used a small drone, untraceable to the Kraang or Triceratons…I have observed April O'Neil and the Turtle called Raphael. They each display compassion towards each other after exchanges of anger. I have witnessed the exchanges between the other Turtles and their other allies. One such example is Donatello and the brunette superhuman; Doggett is her surname. They display utmost love and compassion towards each other…what kind of love it is exactly, I have yet to determine.

Familial love. Romantic love. Almost all types of love, I have examined from these Turtles and their allies. They make their bonds even stronger. Perhaps they will be able to withstand the Triceratons and defeat the Kraang once and for all.

I envy them.

A metallic finger pressed a button to call back the drone before suspicions were raised. The observer at the keyboard went to close her log and mull over what she witnessed now and for the past month. With the Triceraton threat looming and the search for that imbecile Zog growing frustrating, she knew that she, her father, and Bishop wouldn't be enough. The Turtles and their family would be their only hope. Their bonds held strong, so that had to make them physically strong as well.

Taking a seat in a metallic chair, the observer stared at the blank screen, awaiting her father's return, and pondered one question…

Would love and bonds be their strength…or would love and bonds be their downfall?

Hope this one wasn't too choppy. Next will be some Leo and Donnie bonding, and it's going to start sweet and then get really sad. After that will be April bonding with the superhuman ladies, a drabble dedicated to Karai, and other drabbles taking place after the events of Turtle Dove. So, stay tuned!