Note: Some characters seen and mentioned in this chapter belong to my dear friend and co-writer Tyroth Darkstorm and there are references to his fics 'A Sister's Plight'
Chapter Twenty-Five
Confiding in a Friend
"Nice going Raphael(!) You really did it(!)"
"What!?"
"You had to blurt it out!"
"Better get it out in the open now right? Shot across the bows!"
"But not like that Raph! I wanted to break it gently!"
"Oh yeah? How?"
Mona glared at Raphael as they stood in the main lair whilst the other turtles and Splinter watched them quarrel.
"Never seen those two so serious in a lovers quarrel." Michelangelo whispered to Donatello.
"Tell me about it!" Donatello replied.
"He's sensitive enough already Raph!" Mona snarled "And you had to make it worse!"
"Excuse me!?" Raphael shot back "As if you trying to explain in any other way was going to make any difference!"
"Mona! Raph!" Leonardo stepped in "Look! This isn't helping!"
Raphael and Mona glared at Leonardo, yet the blue masked turtle wasn't intimated.
"Guys, I can see where both of you are coming from, but think of the bigger picture okay? Both Callum and Jake are taking this hard! Especially Callum! We need to be mature about this!"
"Well said my son." Splinter said nodding at Leonardo.
Mona sighed as tears threatened to spill from her eyes.
"You're right Leo." she said "I...I just need a minute." She glared at Raphael again and stormed off.
Raphael looked guilty and was ready to go after his mate but Leonardo stopped him.
"Let her have some time alone bro." he said.
Raphael sighed and walked to the kitchen whilst Mona went to her and Raphael's room.
Michelangelo and Donatello looked at each other.
"Well this is going well isn't it?" Donatello said sarcastically.
Michelangelo nodded.
"Poor choice Raphael." he said looking towards the exit where Callum had gone.
Donatello shrugged.
"Not a surprise really." he said before going into the kitchen to talk to Raphael, meanwhile Splinter and Leonardo went to the girl's playroom to check on the children.
At the same time, Jake had returned to the lair after leaving Callum to have some time alone, he was hesitant to leave him but he hoped Callum would honour his wishes to stay where he was, especially since he didn't know his way back to the surface.
As he entered, he saw his sister walking to her and Raphael's room, and Raphael had gone to the kitchen.
He wanted to follow his sister until he saw Michelangelo walking over to him.
"Hey!" he said.
"Oh hi...er..." Jake hesitated as he tried to remember which turtle he was addressing.
"Michelangelo." Michelangelo reminded him "But you can call me Mikey, or Mike."
"Oh right." Jake said "Sorry, still trying to get my head around remembering names."
"It's okay." Michelangelo said "Almost half the people I've met find it hard to remember which turtle is which."
"Okay." Jake replied, then looked to where Mona had gone.
"Is Mona okay? He asked.
"Just needs some time alone." Michelangelo said "She'll be alright, it's still all a bit...whoa for her."
Jake agreed.
"How do you think I feel?" he asked "Having learnt she's been alive all this time, and as a mutant."
Michelangelo nodded.
"Yeah surreal huh?" he said.
Jake nodded then chewed his lip wondering what to say next and Michelangelo noticing his silence decided to break the ice.
"Hey." he said "Do you like video games?"
Jake looked up.
"Um yeah." he answered.
"I got a few to choose from." Michelangelo offered, a smile gracing his face leading Jake to the TV area.
"Thanks." said Jake returning a smile of his own if not a little bit "That would be fun." he looked back at the exit hoping Callum would calm down soon.
Up in her and Raphael's bedroom, Mona opened her laptop and logged into Skype, there was someone she wanted to speak to, to hopefully help her feel a little calmer about the situation.
She searched through her contacts until she found who she was looking for.
"There you are!" then picking up her headset she hit the call button and waited.
Before long, the receiver picked up the call and answered.
"Hey Little sis!"
Mona felt her spirit rise a little as she saw Sephie the Gecko appear on the screen and heard her chirpy voice.
"Heya Gecko Gal," she said softly.
"Nice to hear from you Mona!" Sephie said happily "Well, not that it's always a pleasure! How you keeping?"
Mona chewed her lip as she wondered what to say, there was no denying that Sephie could see how Mona was feeling as she was watching her on her own screen back in Mutopia.
"You feeling okay Mona?" Sephie asked raising an eyebrow.
Mona was about to answer but she soon heard the voice of a child on the other side and Sephie looked behind her.
"Mummy! Mummy!"
"Loki?"
Mona soon saw a small half dragon half Gecko boy fly in and jump on Sephie from behind.
"Loki, mummy's busy at the moment."
"But mummy..."
"Loki, why aren't you with your sister and daddy?"
"Sorry love!" Mona soon heard a deep voice from behind and she saw a large red dragon mutant appear with a small female Gecko/Dragon on his shoulders "Come here you little imp!"
Mona laughed a little as she saw the dragon lift Loki off his mum's shoulders with a large clawed hand.
"Leave mummy alone, okay? She'll join us later! Sorry love, I was chasing him and he got away from me quicker than I thought."
"It's okay Tyroth." Sephie smiled, then the Dragon saw the computer and Mona through the camera and waved.
"Oh hey Mona!" he said.
"Hi Tyroth!" Mona waved back and the children also saw Mona and waved to their aunt.
"When you coming back Aunt Mona?" asked the female child.
"Soon Freya!" Mona said "Very soon I hope!"
"Yay!" Loki cheered.
"Alright you two, lets go!" Tyroth said as he held Loki on his shoulder "Let's leave the ladies to it! See you soon Mona!"
Tyroth then kissed Sephie's cheek then left the room.
"Those kids are growing up so fast!" Mona commented as soon as the dragon had left.
"My little treasures." Sephie smiled "They're a handful but I couldn't be more grateful for all the support me and Tyroth have had!"
"I can say the same for me!" Mona agreed.
"So anyway, what's up Mona?" asked Sephie getting back to the conversation before the kids and Tyroth had burst in.
Mona chewed her lip.
"Sephie." she said "You're...you're not going to believe this but...but..."
Sephie waited to hear the lizard lady's answer.
"What Mona?" she asked "What's happened? Is something wrong?"
"I don't know." Mona answered "I don't know if it's good or bad but..." She took and breath.
"What is it?" Sephie asked again, showing a slightly bit of impatience.
"My brothers have come to New York!" Mona almost shouted as she forced the words out.
Sephie's eyes widened.
"What!?" she said "Is this an early April Fool's joke?"
"No Sephie." Mona choked "I'm being serious! Jake and Callum are here! I...I found them!"
"Holy shit..." Sephie breathed "No fucking way!"
"Yes way!" Mona replied "I couldn't believe it myself..."
She then explained to Sephie everything that had transpired in the last couple of days including how she found Callum in the hands of the Purple Dragons then managed to bring Jake to the lair.
Sephie sat in silence listening to everything, and she glared in anger when she heard about how Callum had been drugged up with Meth.
"I wish I could send Sharky down here!" she said "He would chew those bastards to bits!"
Both lizards knew about the mutant shark's passion for getting drugs off the street having been a victim of drugs himself as a human.
"I know." Mona said then sighed as she tugged at her hair and pink headband "I just can't believe it, never in a million years would I find out that my brothers came to New York for closure, and we end up running into each other!"
"I don't know what to say Mona!" Sephie said "It's...well Whoa! It's like someone wanted you to share the same luck as Tyroth when he met his sister again and then his family!"
"They had a funny way of doing it!" Mona replied then she explained both her brother's reactions including Jake punching her.
"Oh my god!" Sephie gasped "Are you okay?"
Mona nodded.
"He didn't mean it, and he's really sorry for what he did." she said "He's going to give me a chance and get to know my new family, he's warmed to Pandora and Kemeko though!"
"That's good." Sephie replied yet she still felt angry that Mona's own brother had gotten violent even though Mona wasn't his intended target.
"Callum on the other hand, he's recovered from the Meth, but he's taking this harder than I thought."
"Awww Mona." Sephie said "I'm so sorry hun."
"It's not your fault Sephie." Mona replied "I've just got to plod on, and make sure they're both okay, and also pray to the Gods that the Foot don't find out about them!"
"Oh shit yes!" Sephie agreed as she went pale.
Mona swallowed hard.
"I'd never forgive myself if that happened, I already have a shadow of guilt over me, and I felt it's never lifted, if the Foot got their hands on them, and after what they did to Jennifer...oh God, it kills to think about it!"
"I know you Mona." Sephie said "You'll keep them safe, and if Heaven forbid anything does happen, Me and Tyroth will be right over to help! In fact I'll get Tyroth to make sure Rattletrap doesn't do anything stupid with the Ninjet."
"Thanks so much Sephie!" Mona smiled "I'm so grateful!"
"What friends and sisters are for!" Sephie grinned, she then went serious again.
"If you've found your brothers, what about the rest of the family?" she asked "Do you think they'll tell them? Or keep it a secret like Jennifer did?"
Mona swallowed hard and remembering what Jake and Callum had said about their parents, she felt tears prickling her eyes again which Sephie saw clearly even on the Skype camera.
"Mona?" Sephie asked.
Mona then felt the tears flow down her cheeks and she told Sephie of her parents getting divorced, then her father re-marrying, but Mona then found it difficult to speak.
"Mum...she died..." she choked "Succumbed to breast cancer, six years after I vanished."
Sephie felt tears in her own eyes as she listened.
"Oh my god Mona!" she cried "I...I'm so sorry."
Mona placed a hand to her mouth as she tried to hold in her sobs but she failed as she let the tears flow.
"When they told me," she sobbed "I felt my heart get ripped out! She died never knowing what happened to me!"
Sephie closed her eyes.
"Oh Mona." she said, tears filling her own eyes "I wish I was there."
"It's okay." Mona said as she wiped her eyes "I know you can't be here all the time, just hearing your voice is comforting enough."
Sephie managed a weak smile at her friend.
"I'm always here for you Mona." she said sincerely "You know that? Right?"
"I do..." Mona sobbed "Thank you Sephie...and Sephie?"
"Yes?" the Gecko asked.
"You can tell Tyroth." said Mona "But please, just keep it between you two for now, okay?"
"Sure thing Mona!" Sephie said "You have my word!"
So it seems Jake and Michelangelo are about to spend some time getting to know each other, and Mona had confided in Sephie about what's transpired.