Her eyes gracefully opened. No sunlight shocked her pupils back into her long hibernation. Straightaway, she took in her surroundings. She was in the lair, normally full of life now dark and barren. Even the neon lights that would flash relentlessly dared not to show off their florescent lighting to her. She noticed that the ceiling above her was duct taped and cracked; she was in the living room, lying on the cardboard couch. Surrounding her body was a count of three velvet-y blankets. They began to fall off her body easily as she fidgeted her legs to free herself from the wrapping. Mona looked down at herself. Her body was bare of everything but a large, faded Spongebob t-shirt that stopped just above her knees. Free from her ribbon, her dark locks flowed down from her head. It has been a long time since Mona ever wore her hair down. She took account of it because she wasn't used to the ends tickling her legs as she walked. At first, her legs refused to move. She felt like a newborn horse learning to walk again as she clutched onto the arm couch for support. The feeling in her legs began to pump blood and allowed her to gain enough control for her to walk. Arms crossed up to her obviously braless chest, she inspected the lair. Broken items were missing and it didn't look like there was as much damage as she thought there was.
Could this be another mind trick, one that the Shredder had to hypnotize her to see? The Shredder. Kidnapping her, practically locked herself in her own head, letting her evil alter ego flaunt around in her provocative clothing while carrying out every single command he gave her. The horrific memories began to flow as her thought process flourished. Such scenes like Jazz putting his grotesque pig hands on her and she couldn't do a thing about it. Then she remembered her family, sensei, the turtles, her sister. Although she felt no direct pains of being controlled towards the turtles and Master Splinter, she had a hard heart after remembering Venus. All the lies she told. Numerous times she wanted to tell herself to shut up and stop screaming at her sweet sister. Oh, how much pain she inflicted upon her. Even the smallest sight of seeing the small streak of blood trickle on the side of her face and escaping the depths of her mouth. She knew for sure she could have killed Venus for being so brutal. Thankfully, Venus overpowered her, cleansed her of the worm. She finally beat her older sis at a sparring match and Mona couldn't be any happier.
"You're awake?" Mona jumped and turned sharply. Before her stood the female turtle, whispering to her softly. No clear joy, no smile. Only subtle surprise.
"I'm alive." Mona really wanted it to be her sister, not a trick by the Shredder, but she looked so different that she couldn't be sure. "I never thought I would see you again. Me seeing you." She tried so hard not to tear up in joy in fear that it will all go away from her. Mona tried to talk to her as if it were indeed real, but didn't get her hopes up too much. Hopefully as she talks to her, she could determine if this Venus was indeed her. "How long has it been? Since I left?"
"Two months, including your two days of unconsciousness." Venus kept her distance as she talked to Mona. She seemed insecure and detached. The female terrapin prayed that the worm did not mess up her mind, or worse. Underneath a broad strip of Mona's hair, she could see her eyes widen in amazement.
"Whoa. That gave you enough time to beef up." Mona had seen Venus that night, but she was too focused on her face to recognize the changes on her body. Venus looked down at herself. Indeed, the turtle did gain better definition in her triceps and legs over the course of Mona's absence.
"I grew up." The lizard lady saw the maturity in her voice and eyes, but they did not lack in any way the brightness they had when she left. She wanted to hug her so much for her growth without her, but refrained. "When you left, I struggled to gain some independence." Venus admitted.
"I just didn't want to get you hurt," She looked up to the sides of Venus' face. A bruise formed on the side from where she had hit her. It was obviously faded some, which meant it was much worse a week ago. The blood was washed from her mask, but Mona could still play the memory of it beading down the side of her head as she pushed her face into the floor. The sheer thought of it gripped onto her stomach, doubling her over and shying away from her. "But now I see I can hurt you too." Venus' hand slowly lifted itself involuntarily to the side of her hurt face.
"It wasn't your fault. Shredder controlled you." Venus assured her. She wanted to reach out to her sister, but Mona refused to look at her. Instead, her eyes looked down at herself, all the way down to her bare, webbed toes.
"Did he? Or did he bring a darkness out of me that was already there?"
"Darkness is only in so many beings." Mona felt a hand grip her hair. It felt firm, but did not pull on her follicles. She looked up as she watched the hair covering her face be whisked back by her sister's firm hand. Both felt tense, as they locked stares. "My cleansing brings pain to all with the darkest of hearts and intentions. Shredder is hurting. The worm is hurting. Anything in close proximity to me was hurting. Mona Lisa is not. Not like them." Signs of Venus' voice about to break were apparent in every sentence. Suddenly, her face began to drop; her eyes became half lidded as she tried to squeeze the tears back into her eyes. Her sister also began to squint as she tried to refuse slipping into sobs because of an illusion. As pained as her heart felt, Venus continued. "No darkness can come from a little girl who saved a baby turtle off the streets and adopts her as her sister." The terrapin closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip as she attempted to proceed. "Nor does it come from someone who takes her to a completely different city to be protected by a league of warriors, leaving all their loved memories behind. The village, the house, Nan and Yujin, the magicians, our mentors, and Chung I."
Those words, those memories. She knew she never told Shredder about any of that. Not the village they left behind along with the Chinese magicians along with Yujin and Nan. None of those topics came up. At that moment, Mona Lisa had lost it. Whatever held back her tears had given up to her powerful feelings. Venus' eyes began to water too, but only let a smile and a hiccup out.
"Thank you." Mona wiped away the small tears and the wet hair that stuck to her face. "Thank you for coming back for me." She signed in relief for she was truly home and her real sister was hers again. Venus' grip on her hair was released. Her hand slowly descended from the side of Mona's interesting facial features, reaching all the way down to her shoulder. Just from her eyes, she could feel the love and joy that came over them. Then, Venus' smile vanished as she looked down upon herself. Mona's smile vanished too as she became concerned.
"Mona, I'm sorry, about what I said," She looked up, revealing the tears that have somehow escaped. "You know, about not needing you."
"Venus, don't." Like magnets, the two pulled one another close, embracing each other. The hug felt so good to feel their loved one again. Both let their sobs of joy out after being reunited with their sister again.
"It's so good to have you back sister." Venus whispered in Mona's ear. The comment only made the lizard lady squeeze harder. Her sister laughed at the sudden squeeze and tried to match her just like they would when they were little. Venus could feel the side of her face being peppered in loving kisses, skin or bandana. After some time, the two let go of one another, assured that their time apart will be the last. Their hands slipped from each others bodies, but their hands kept intertwined as they held the others. "Guess who's up, guys!" Venus shouted, beaming that the rest of the family will be as joyous as her. Mona lit up instantly as the first turtle sprinted out from the dojo. He gave her one quick glance from the entry way until he showed her a series of squeals and dances that seemed very similar to the "Quan".
"Mona!" Mikey bellowed as he charged up to her. Swiftly, he gathered her upper body in his arms as he hugged her immensely.
"You hungry?" He asked with wide eyes, gripping her shoulders. Food was never a joke to Michelangelo. Mona nodded her head briefly.
"Yes, I am." A laugh escaped as she answered.
"She wants food! Bring her some food!" He shouted into the unknown. Suddenly, his hands came off her shoulders and compressed her face by squeezing her cheeks. "You're gonna be okay Mona, a'ight?" His blue eyes pierced into hers, but his concern for her was too humorous for Mona to not stifle a smile.
"Ok, yeah Mikey." The lizard lady put her hands on top of his and pried them off of her face. "Get a grip, will ya?" Mikey let his hands hang on his side, put his grin never left.
"Did I hear somebody's hungry?" The three swung their heads around from the voice emerging from the kitchen. With a hot plate of reheated Popeyes chicken and red beans and rice, Donatello's goofy smile was a treasure to her. When the smell of the Cajun style food hit her nose, the lizard lady felt her stomach growl in anticipation. Purely out of hunger, Mona took the plate before gratefully hugging the giant turtle. As she reached up over his shoulders, Mona could feel the shirt rising and hastily tried to pull it down with the opposite hand until they left one another's embrace.
"Whose shirt is this?" She asked quizzically, then remembered her chest and wrapped her arms back around her, her plate now digging at her side. Both Donatello and Michelangelo looked in opposite directions when they realized until Mona covered herself.
"Just an old nightshirt we had lying around." Michelangelo answered.
"Then, where's my stuff?"
"In the wash." She felt the recognizable voice of the older rat. Beside him were Leonardo and Raphael, who had come from an unknown place in the direction of the dojo. Steadily, with his paws enclosed in the sleeves of his robe, Splinter made his way over to his daughter. Mona slowly bent over as he took her hands in his, putting them both together as he squeezed them gently. "It is good to see you again, my daughter."
"It's good to see you again, father." Splinter chuckled lightly; his beady eyes grew bright and promising at her acceptance.
"Yeah, that last outfit you had on was not representable young lady." Mona looked up at the sign of sarcasm in Leonardo's voice as he took on the persona of a concerned parent. Splinter let go of her hands, letting her stand up straight and playfully take Leo's scolding as the rebellious teenager.
"So, we burned it." Raphael added. Without looking at each other, the two shared a victorious high-three to the side. Mona giggled in appreciation and set her plate on one of the sushi stools next to them. Her arms stretched out to hug Leonardo, who left his humorous persona to enjoy the return of their lost sister. Right after their hug, Mona stretched and arm out to grip the side of Raphael and pulled herself over him. He looked surprised for he was due to the rugged past the two had. Slowly but surely, he wrapped his arms around her and hugged back. Mona looked up from her face being smashed against his collarbone.
"Don't think I didn't see what you did." She spoke low enough for their small circle to hear. All of a sudden, Raphael's entire body tensed up as he saw her give him a small peck on the cheek in appreciation. So badly, Michelangelo wanted to take a picture of that goofy face he made as he tried to conceal his embarrassment and the blush on his cheeks. The rest of the family looked in surprise as well, except for Venus, who only giggled at the spectacle.
"Wow." Donatello commented in monotone as he crossed his arms over his chest. "How do you get that reward?" Although feeling the least bit bad, both Venus and Michelangelo got the same idea as the two simultaneously hunkered him down for their lips to reach opposite sides of his cheeks. Both laughed at their own genius, as well as the rest of the family. Donatello merely shrugged his shoulders after exchanging glances with the two shorter turtles. "It's a start."
Mona released her grip on Raphael, who was still trying to stifle his embarrassment by putting on a brave face. The sight of her plate reminded her stomach that it was quite empty. Her hunger revived, Mona grabbed the plate and swung herself onto the couch and began to eat, having little in mind to use the fork that sat idly next to the fried chicken she was devouring. Her family looked on at her. At first, they watched sadly, feeling sorry about what has happened to the girl and not only the latest ordeal. Mona had been suffering for a long time, but now it was over. She was here, making the most pleasant noise as she ate. It was humorous, but the crisp sound of satisfaction lightened their mood.
Raphael's face has cleared from his red blush as he watched her quietly.
"Now we can go house huntin'." He commented. Mona looked up from her plate from a long time. The small, golden crumbs on her face made her family chuckle some.
"We're leaving?" She spoke through the food that muffled her voice. Donatello nodded slowly.
"Yeah, Sacks and the Foot got in here twice. Probably should go find a new home."
"We've lived here all our lives." Leonardo placed his hands on Splinter's shoulders lovingly. His sensei looked up at him with sympathy. "Gonna be tough leavin' this place."
"Hey, if Mona and Venus can do it then so can we." Both Mona and Venus looked to the tallest brother, who returned their glances with a sly wink behind his tortoiseshell glasses. "Besides, we need a new place to room with our new sisters!"
"Yass!" Michelangelo danced around. He swiftly wrapped a wild arm around Venus' shoulders and dragged her down as he fell to the couch. The two slammed against the back of it, pushing Mona back as well as the turtle's weight became accumulated in the cardboard exterior. "Welcome to the fam! Ya'll stuck with us now!" His opposite arm slunk around his other sister, who swallowed the food she was working on. Mona Lisa looked around herself. She was in the lair, the only safe place for her and her sister to live now. Surrounding her were smiles of those who are just like her and are as loveable as they are protective of one another. It wasn't China, but they were now in a land of opportunity together. She and her sister, her four new brothers, and their new father would stand hand in hand as they grew up to together in a real home full of love and joy, much expanded from their last. Mona merely shook her head.
"I don't think that will be a problem."