Chapter Eight
The Ship is Real
April's van rattled as its wheels rumbled over the long dirt road beneath it. It had been a while since they'd last traversed up to Massachusetts, but Casey knew the roads like the back of his hand. He and April shared a look as they turned off towards the road leading up to Jones' farm. They had been planning the weekend for a couple of weeks now and had been looking forward to having some well needed alone time together.
"Are we there yet?!"
It was a shame that the whole trip had been hijacked by four ninja turtles and their smaller alien companion. The day before they had only mentioned their trip to the family as a courtesy and somehow ended up on a group get-away, much to the couple's disappointment. April turned her head to look at the turtle behind her seat, a smile formed on her lips, but her eyes showed clear annoyance which was also hinted in her tone.
"We'll be there soon, Mikey."
A small sigh left her as she faced back towards the front, the turtle slumping back in his seat from boredom. Just beside him, Vye was cautiously peering out of the window, keeping her head mostly lowered but occasionally leaning in for a closer look to the outside world that was a fast-moving blur and shying away whenever something particularly large went by. Leonardo, sensing the small amount of tension in the front of the vehicle, leaned forward in his seat slightly.
"Thanks for the ride, you guys." He began. "We really appreciate it."
"Sure thing." Casey replied, not even trying to hide his irritation. "Not like we had plans or nothin'."
This caused him to receive a gentle nudge from April. Although she shared his feelings, she felt he could at least try to appear a little more civil about it.
"It's just," Leo continued, trying to ease their concerns. "Ever since that robbery, Vye's been really hesitant to go back outside."
Donatello then chimed in.
"We figured it would be better if we took her somewhere more...peaceful, you know? Somewhere quiet, with more nature and less...crime."
April looked back towards the group again, focusing her attention on the small redhead. It was true she still seemed a little skittish, and having that experience would have marred her feelings on the outside world, the timing was just unfortunate. She turned back towards the front again, beginning to concede.
"We get it, guys, really."
Less than 15 minutes later - which felt like an hour after Michelangelo insisting on asking 'how much longer' again and again - the van pulled in just metres away from the quaint farmhouse. Raphael was the first to step out of the side-door, stretching out his arms and back until an audible crack was heard, followed by a short groan.
"Finally. I was startin' to feel like a freakin' tuna in there."
His brothers began to follow him out of the vehicle.
"I think you mean a sardine. Tuna are much bigger fish." Donatello corrected as he stepped foot onto the dusty path below.
Raph waved the correction off with a flick of his hand, letting out an unamused grunt. Inside the van, Vye remained seated despite having taken off her seatbelt. She leaned forward slightly to look through the doorway, but barely allowed her rear to leave the cushion. Suddenly she felt a light shove from behind, followed by Mikey's voice ringing loud in her ear.
"Come on!"
The girl let out a small yelp as she stumbled out of the vehicle, Donatello - who had gotten out just before her - lightly catching her by the elbows before she could commit to a full fall and allowing her to stabilize herself before letting go again. Mikey followed after her, hopping out of the van energetically as he was as equally glad to be out of the confined space as his more grouchy brother. About to turn around and meekly complain at the orange-masked turtle, Vye came to a halt as a gentle breeze caressed her cheek and she finally registered the sight beyond her. Her gaze was immediately drawn to the vast open space, the sky and grass met only by clusters of trees in the middle.
"Welcome to Jones Farm, kid." Casey announced, spreading his arms out proudly, only to be brought down by another, more playful nudge from a smirking April.
The words barely registered with the girl as she continued to stare at the view, wide eyed. She had seen very little of the Earth with her own eyes, particularly in the daylight, and though she had been on many planets like it, there was something new about the sight that she couldn't quite place. Her daze barely got distracted even by Michelangelo, who moved in front of her line of sight and waved his hands around in an attempt to snap her back to reality.
"Uh, I think she's broken, guys!"
Shaking her head gently to bring herself back, Vye responded.
"S-Sorry, I just…" She paused, unable to find the right words. "It's...It's nice…"
"Well you'll have plenty of time to take it in over the weekend." Leonardo said, placing his hands on his hips. "You can stay out here for a bit if you want. We'll just be in that house right there."
Although she nodded in reply, the girl remained fixated on the scene in front of her, unable to see the building the turtle was pointing to as the rest of the group had started to go inside. She began to slowly walk along the grass and Leo turned to his brother.
"Mikey, you keep an eye on her for a bit."
"Awh, why do I have to be the babysitter?"
"Because until she gets used to things it's probably better she's not left on her own, we don't want a repeat of last time."
The pair both looked over towards the girl to watch as she mindlessly waltzed around the grass, staring at her feet in wonder. They observed silently for a few seconds before looking back at each other, Leo continuing.
"You can bring her inside in a few minutes."
"Okay, Okay."
Leonardo then made his way into the house with the rest of the group, leaving Michelangelo standing outside on his own, folding his arms and tilting his head as he watched the small alien girl a few metres away look absently up at the sky.
It wasn't like Vye had never seen a sky before, she'd definitely seen many skies on other distant planets. It had been a long time since she'd seen one this colour though, and had a chance to just simply look at it. The longer she stared, the more she noticed the clouds above slowly ease into her field of view, another indicator of the breeze she began to feel flutter around her hair and face again. Her gaze continued to move further and further upwards until she stumbled, unable to crane her neck back any further.
Regaining her composure, she looked back to the ground below. She'd seen grass before too, it was so familiar and yet foreign at the same time. Crouching down, she ran her fingers through the blades, smiling a bit at the sensation. It was hard to know when she had last been able to do something like this, but it certainly felt like a very long time. Looking back up at the sky again, she allowed herself to tumble backwards until her back hit the grass, her gaze remaining fixated as her ears began to hone in on the sound of the birds and rustling of grass and trees around the area. This planet really did have some redeeming qualities.
Inside the main house, the rest of the group had already thrown their various luggage into the appropriate rooms, April situating herself in the living room as she set out some glasses of water. As Casey walked in, she handed one of the glasses towards him.
"Sorry about this, babe." He scratched the back of his head with his free hand.
April shook her head, taking her own glass from the table.
"Don't be. The guys were right, Vye needs to see more of the outside world, this makes sense." She smiled a bit. "Though maybe next time we should just keep the trip to ourselves, huh?"
The man in front of her chugged the water before putting his glass down, holding his other arm out.
"I don't see what the big deal is, she's an alien, right? Why does she gotta go outside so badly?"
"Because if she ever wants to blend in, she needs to see life on the surface, or she's never going to learn." Donatello's voice suddenly contributed from the stairway as he made his way downstairs. "Everything she knows about Earth right now is purely from books and tv, she needs to see some of the real stuff. Not to mention she'll need the serotonin, which is important for humans."
"Uh...The what?"
"Serotonin. The 'happy chemical'?"
Casey stared at him blankly, April watching the pair and holding her glass up to her lips in an attempt to hide her amusement.
"You get it from the sun ?"
Still getting no visible response of understanding, the turtle sighed and rubbed the side of his head, giving up.
"Nevermind."
A chuckle was heard behind them as Raphael and Leonardo joined the gathering, the hot-headed of the pair grinning and giving his larger human friend a playful nudge.
"Don't overload his brain, Don. There's barely enough happenin' in there as it is."
"Ha ha, very funny, green boy!" Casey nudged him back.
Raph brought his fists up as if to start something, but had his enthusiasm disrupted by April clearing her throat and beginning to speak.
"So, what are you guys going to do anyway?"
The three turtles exchanged looks, scratching the back of their heads. They hadn't really thought that far.
"Well…" Leonardo started. "I suppose we'll show Vye around a bit."
Raphael moved his hands to his hips, walking over towards the window.
"Does she really need all of us for that though? I mean what exactly is gonna happen to her out here, she gonna get lost chasin' a butterfly or something?"
As he finished his sentence he looked out the window to catch the sight of Vye curiously following one of the aforementioned insects across the field of grass until she was cautiously pulled back by Michelangelo as she got further away.
"...Okay, that was a bad example."
He turned back towards the group as Don began to speak, agreeing with him.
"Raph's right though, as long as one of us stays with her she should be fine."
Getting the point his brothers were making, Leo pondered for a moment before looking over at April and Casey.
"In that case, I guess we'll do some training."
A creak was heard just behind the group. Michelangelo, partway up the entry steps had halted on hearing the word 'training' and slowly began to reverse back down the stairs.
"Michelangelo."
Leo's sudden stern tone caused the turtle to flinch, gulping to himself before hopping through the door, his brothers turning to look at him.
"Uh, I totally would, Leo! But- uh-" Mikey scratched his cheek, searching his brain for excuses. "I- uh- Promised Vye I'd show her the forest out back! Yeah!"
His brothers all crossed their arms as he continued to reel off, each having their own look of disapproval.
"What happened to 'Why am I the babysitter'?" Leo inquired with skepticism.
"Uhhh- Well- I mean she seems real excited about it, it'd be a shame to just cancel like that-"
Using the extension of his excuse, he began to slowly step back out of the doorway, waving.
"So, y'know- I'll catch you guys later!"
Before any of them could say anything, he had already turned tail and ran out into the grassy field towards the girl who was now back to lying aimlessly on the ground. The remaining turtles shook their heads, looking back to amongst themselves.
"Well, at least it keeps them both busy." Don said, trying to put a positive spin on the situation as he picked up a glass of water.
Raphael gestured towards the open doorway with his thumb. "Yeah, but do we really wanna be leaving her off with Mikey ?"
"They'll be fine." Leo replied. "...Probably."
Michelangelo let out a sigh of relief as he looked over his shoulder to find no one giving chase or calling out after him. Feeling safe, he slowed his pace and continued over to Vye, who was still sprawled on the grass with her arms spread wide, eyes closed and listening once again to the sound of the birds, all while enjoying the breeze on her face. Her peace was mildly disturbed by the sound of footsteps approaching. Noticing a sudden change in the lighting beyond her eyelids, she opened them as the turtle leaned over enough to cast a shadow and block her view of the sky.
"Hey, Vye!" He beamed as he looked down at her. "Wanna see something cool?"
"Cool?"
She wasn't sure what to think. Mikey's idea of 'cool' seemed to have a wide variety of definitions most of the time, meaning she rarely knew what to expect. As she sat up, loose blades of grass sticking in her hair, the turtle pointed over towards a particular cluster of trees.
"Yeah, there's a really neat forest over there. Wanna check it out?"
Staring at the trees, the girl's eyes widened slightly as she became filled with curiosity. She'd read plenty of books about Earth trees, and seen a lot of media set in such types of forests, getting to explore one up close would surely be interesting.
"...Can we?"
"Duh! That's why I asked!" Mikey blurted.
"Okay...I wouldn't mind checking it out."
"Alright, let's go!"
The eager turtle grinned as he began to jog towards the forest.
"Race 'ya!"
Panicked by the sudden challenge, Vye scrambled to her feet and called out after him as she trotted onward in pursuit, making a poor attempt at quickening her pace.
The forest wasn't as far away as it looked, meaning it took very little time to reach it. Though that could have been due to the speed at which the orange masked turtle had decided to approach it, being tailed by the less agile alien girl huffing and panting behind him. Finally reaching the trees, she placed her hands against one for support as she attempted to catch her breath, unable to enjoy the feel of the bark beneath her fingers due to the sudden exertion.
"Michelangelo-! Y-You're going too fast-"
The turtle, who by this point had hopped up onto a branch in one of the other surrounding trees, turned to face her.
"Oh, uh, sorry." He scratched the back of his head. " And I told you, you can just call me 'Mikey'."
Vye swallowed, finally starting to catch her breath again, and looked up at him, confused.
"But...Your name is Michelangelo."
"Well yeah, but you can use a nickname like the others do."
"'Nickname'?"
Vye thought to herself for a moment. She had noticed that the other turtles as well as Casey and April referred to him, and each other, by various other names, but just assumed it was something exclusive to the group and didn't fully grasp the concept of multiple names for one person. If he wanted her to call him that though, maybe it wouldn't hurt to start doing it. After all, as it had been explained to her, it's still his name, just shorter. He would probably also keep pestering her about it if she didn't.
"Okay, fine."
"Alright!"
The enthusiastic turtle grinned and put his hands on his hips for a moment before turning around and dramatically pointing in a seemingly random direction.
"Now, time to explore!"
Barely giving the girl a chance to respond he began making his way through the trees to move deeper into the small forest, Vye following on the ground shortly behind and looking at all the trees surrounding them as she did so.
Leonardo continued to look out of the window, having watched his over-eager brother and smaller companion scramble off into the woods in the distance. Raphael approached him from the side, hoping to veer his attention away.
"Geez Leo, come on. You're the one who said they'd be fine."
"I know…" He turned to look at Raph. "But remember that time Mikey got caught by that monster hunter-?"
"That was forever ago." Donatello added. "Besides, it turned out alright in the end."
April, who began to collect up the used glasses from the table on her route to the kitchen, looked at Don with mild concern as Leo turned back to the window momentarily.
"What's up with him-?" She asked, lowering her voice a little.
"Well…" Don looked at her, contemplating for a second on whether to divulge. "Master Splinter went into us pretty hard for the robbery thing, with Vye getting kidnapped and all."
"Ah…I see..."
Casey, who had been lounging on the sofa across the room, spread his arms across the back of his seat and crossed his leg over his knee.
"Why didn't she just run away though? She was always skittish as Dash, I'm surprised she never booked it outta there before those goons got her."
Having made his way to the table to assist April with the collection of glassware, Leonardo stopped in his tracks, lowering his gaze to the table as he hesitantly began to speak.
"I think...I think it's because I told her to stay there." He frowned slightly, gripping the cups in his hands. "I told her not to move from that spot."
Donatello shared his expression, exchanging a look with April before looking back to his brother to reassure him.
"It wasn't your fault, Leo. She was terrified, even if you hadn't told her to stay there, she was probably far too scared to move anyway." He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "Besides, I'm the one who left the Battle Shell wide open for theft…"
Leaning against the wall by the kitchen doorway, Raphael gestured towards the occupied sofa with his thumb.
"I still blame Casey."
"Hey!"
April looked down at the fearless leader with sympathy, cradling the glasses she'd gathered in one arm to allow herself to gently place a free hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. Being the responsible one, it wasn't too surprising that he'd decided to shoulder the brunt of the burden the way he had.
"Hey, what's important is that she wasn't hurt, and you all got her back." She smiled reassuringly as he looked up at her. "And she'll remember that. Master Splinter will too."
Leoardo took a moment to absorb the words of those around him and smiled a bit, the concern he'd been harbouring finally starting to lift.
"Yeah, you're right. Thanks, guys."
After helping April take the remaining glasses into the kitchen, Leonardo turned to his brothers and placed his hands on his hips, seeming more relaxed than before.
"Alright, let's get to training then."
"Come on, bro, take a day off!" Raph moaned. "Besides, it ain't fair if Mikey doesn't haft'a do it too."
Leo's shoulders drooped slightly at the dismissal.
"But Master Splinter said we should-"
"Yeah, well Master Splinter ain't here."
"There are other things we could do, Leo." Donatello added. "We can always train later when Mikey gets back."
The leader of the group folded his arms, slightly disappointed in being outnumbered as well as the lack of enthusiasm from his brothers. Normally he would be more firm with them in regards to training, but they had a point that it would be better to do it when all four of them were there.
"Fine…What do you guys want to do?"
Suddenly April and Casey appeared behind the turtle trio, a slightly intimidating aura emanating from them.
"Yes, what do you guys want to do?" April asked, her eyebrow twitching as she smiled.
The three turtles winced at the tone, further recoiling when Casey stepped forward.
"Don's right you guys, there are other things you could do. Outside things. Away from here things."
Raphael held both his hands out in submission, looking mildly irritated.
"Okay, okay, we can take a hint! Geez."
His blue-masked brother gestured towards the door with his thumb as he smiled somewhat nervously.
"Training?"
Raph and Don sighed in defeat as they made their way out of the building, getting ushered through the door by Leo, whose enthusiasm had begun to perk up once again, and leaving the relieved couple to stay behind inside the cosy house.
The pair in the woods had wandered around for at least half an hour, though the concept of time was often lost on the small alien girl as she continued to stare and inspect her surroundings in curiosity, listening to Michelangelo whenever he began rambling from the branches above her. One story he was telling particularly caught her interest; of the time he, Casey and Donatello had helped save a mysterious green creature from a hunter of monsters.
"Was there really a monster-?" Vye asked while watching a small bug crawl up the tree trunk she stood beside.
"It wasn't a monster!"
The girl tilted her head as she looked up at him.
"Then...What was it?"
Mikey scratched his head in thought.
"Uh...Well, I dunno exactly...But it was pretty tame, and it had babies too."
"Was it a bear?"
"It wasn't a bear! It was green, like this!" He shook one of the branches above him, pointing at the mass of mossy green leaves.
Vye brought her finger to her lips as she pondered, her curiosity peaking.
"Maybe it was a...Yogi...No...A Yeti? I saw a tv show about those…They've been seen in forests, and they're big and furry too, right?"
Not having considered it, Mikey brought his own hand up to his mouth as his mind got caught up in the same question.
"Huh…"
Continuing to look up at the turtle as he thought to himself, Vye began to feel a strain in her neck that she nursed with her hand. It was starting to get awkward having to look up so much, she didn't realise simply looking around could get rather painful. Human bodies could be so sensitive at times. Her attention to the pain was distracted briefly by Mikey beginning to speak again.
"Well, whatever it was, it was pretty neat. Who knows, maybe you'll get to see it too, or even something cooler." He wiggled his fingers and added a wavering tone to his voice. "There's aallll kiiiinds of things in this forest!"
Vye looked skeptical.
"Really? Because so far all we've seen are trees." Her attention drifted as a butterfly fluttered past. "...Not that I mind that…"
Michelangelo turned around and made a leap to continue on to the next tree, which happened to be significantly taller than the previous one, perching on one of the higher branches. Hearing the movement, Vye moved to follow after, looking mildly agitated as she tried to keep her gaze on him at his new height despite the niggling in her neck.
"Do you have to go so high up? I can't keep up with-"
"What? I can't hear you!"
Vye raised her voice slightly as she repeated herself.
" I said, do you have to go so high- "
"WHAT?"
The redhead puffed out her cheek as she realised what he was doing. He was clearly messing with her. This became more evident as she noticed the grin forming on his face when he called down again.
"You'll just have to come up here!"
"I can't climb up there!"
"Sure you can, it's easy!"
The ninja swiftly hopped back down onto a lower branch, walking along it casually as it crept towards one of the neighbouring trees. Once he reached the end he gestured towards the tree, which appeared to be a much more reasonable height.
"Come on, this one's not too high."
Vye looked up the trunk anxiously. It was certainly a more appropriate level, but how was she meant to get up there with these arms and legs? Michelangelo seemingly leapt and swung everywhere he went with ease, but she definitely didn't have that type of strength or coordination in her limbs. It was tough to find a branch low enough to reach, considering she was at least a few inches shorter than her companion, but somehow she came across one that she could just barely grab by lifting herself with her toes. She puffed out her reddening cheeks as she tried to pull her weight up the branch, eventually using her legs against the tree as support. It took a while, but she managed to scramble her way up onto the branch, shuffling to cling tightly to the trunk of the tree and looking down at where she just came from.
"See! That wasn't so hard." Mikey said cheerily.
"That's easy for you to say!" The nerves in Vye's stomach came out in her voice as she yelled across to the turtle, only to be met with a laugh as he hopped further up into his own tree.
"Okay, try the next one."
A look of sheer dismay swept across the girl's face. Was he insane? She couldn't possibly go any higher. Her head shook vigorously in rejection of the idea, arms clinging even tighter around the sturdy base of the tree. Seeming adamant in her refusal to move any further, Mikey shrugged and continued his way up the taller tree, until he got to one of the highest branches within his reach. With her eyes shut tightly, Vye heard his voice call down to her again, though it sounded even further away than before.
"Hey Vye, check it out!"
Though hesitant, she opened her eyes and turned only her head to look up at the tree he called from, her mouth opening slightly in shock at just how high up he'd gotten. The boy was clearly getting cocky, balancing his way along the branch. The tree just opposite him was roughly the same height, and there was another branch not too far away that he was obviously aiming for. He crouched as he let the power build up in his calves, but as he shifted his weight to make the leap, a cracking sound burst from underneath him as the branch snapped at the joint, causing him to fall with a high pitched yell.
"Mikey-!"
Vye called out in panic as she watched the turtle tumble down through the branches and closer to the ground, quickly closing her eyes while bracing for the impact as he hit down hard with a clang.
...A clang ? On the grass?
Michelangelo groaned as he lifted himself onto all fours, rubbing his now aching head. It took a moment for his eyes to focus, and when they did he let out another shriek, causing Vye to finally open her eyes and peer over from the tree she continued to grasp on to, soon overcome with shock.
"Um…Vye?" Mikey said nervously. "I don't wanna alarm you, but I may have just developed superpowers."
He was seemingly suspended in mid air. No, that wasn't right...he was definitely on top of something, yet all he could see was the grass mere metres below him.
"M-Mikey- Are you o-...I mean, how are you- What-" Vye stuttered, trying to make sense of what she was looking at while the turtle cautiously got to his feet, scratching his head.
As Mikey felt around his personal radius with his foot, Vye began attempting to shuffle down the tree, losing her grip and flumping onto the grass with a small yelp. Not having had a long fall, she recovered rather quickly and dusted the grass and bark off her sleeves as she made her way over to where the turtle stood just a short distance above her head. She too carefully began to feel around the area with her arms, stopping once her palms appeared to touch something solid.
"What...is this…?" She muttered.
Michelangelo, having finally judged where was clear to land, hopped down to her level and proceeded to knock on the mysterious invisible wall with the back of his fist. The metallic clatter echoed through the hollow space between the trees.
"Well whatever is, it's hard as shell!" He complained as he pointed to his thigh with his other hand. "Look at that and tell me it isn't gonna bruise!"
Vye gave him a bemused look as she continued her way around the barrier with her hands, trying to follow the line of where the wall went.
"You would've bruised even worse if you hadn't landed on it-"
A beep interrupted her sentence, causing her to retract her hands in surprise. Immediately after a hissing sound was heard and what appeared to be a door opened up from the ground shifting twigs and leaves as it moved. As the opening revealed itself, the pair promptly stepped back to keep their distance, Michelangelo placing himself in front of Vye and keeping his hands poised over his nunchaku anxiously. Once the door appeared to have stopped moving with no further action, his posture relaxed slightly.
"Uh...Helloooo? We come in...Peace?" He hesitantly called out towards the opening.
With no visible or audible response, the ninja turtle decided to walk forward and through the door, Vye remaining where she stood and whispering loudly after him as he left her side.
"W-Wait-! Mikey-!"
She nervously checked her surroundings before slowly following after him, folding her arms around her waist. Once inside, she went to stand closer to Michelangelo, who was looking around curiously. There were two seats set in front of a large window and dashboard, along with a couple of extra seats arranged near the back of the room, various buttons and markings spread across the metallic walls.
"Woah, it's a spaceship!" He announced. "Though it doesn't look like a Triceraton ship…"
He turned to look at Vye as she approached and joined him in the examination of the small compartment.
"You've been around space, right? Do you know what it is?" He asked.
Vye looked at him for a moment before looking around again. He was asking a lot of her memory, but still she tried to recall as much as she could as she walked over to the dashboard at the front of the ship, browsing for any extra clues. It was filled with an overwhelming amount of buttons and screens, none of which appeared to be active.
"No...I don't recognise any of the symbols in here."
She lifted her head to look at Mikey again as he continued to enthusiastically browse the contents of the ship.
"U-Um...Don't you think it's weird that it's...empty?" Her glance nervously darted around the isolated room. "I mean...Where did the pilot go…?"
Michelangelo stopped in his tracks, turning to look at the girl as he saw her expression become more worried. She had a point, how long had this ship been here? It definitely wasn't around the last time they came to the farm, so it had to be fairly recent. The thoughts caused him to share her expression, clutching his head.
"Oohhhh man, you're right! I've seen a million monster movies to know!" He began to panic loudly. "Nothing good ever comes from a creepy abandoned alien ship!"
The sudden loss in confidence from her companion caused Vye to squeeze her grip around her waist anxiously, her feet edging closer to the exit.
"T-Then what do we do-?!"
"We get the shell out of here, that's what!"
With no desire to argue, the girl allowed herself to get forcibly pushed out of the ship at a speed she had only witnessed when Michelangelo was making a dive for the last slice of pizza. The pair made one last nervous glance towards the still dormant ship before turning on their heels and making their way out of the forest, Vye still struggling to match pace with the turtle that practically sprinted ahead of her.
The clashes of metal and wood colliding were the only sounds that could be heard in the open space of the field just outside the farm house. Having just narrowly dodged a strike from Raphael, Leonardo lowered his body carefully while simultaneously sweeping the grass with his left leg, coming into contact with Donatello's oncoming bo staff and causing the ninja to lose his footing with a short plunge onto his back. The leader spoke in a slightly disappointed tone as he straightened up again, looking down at his brother.
"You're getting sloppy, Don."
"Because we've been at this for almost an hour!" Donatello responded with a groan, using his bo staff to pull himself to his feet. "Can't we just take a small break?"
"You don't hear Raph complaining about breaks-" Leo retorted while casually holding his katana upright to halt the pair of Sai targeting him from behind.
"I've been complainin' for at least ten heckin' minutes!"
The irritated turtle growled as he continued to push his weapons stubbornly against the swords, until a slick motion of Leo's arms forced the Sai out of his hands and into the air, landing point-first in the ground a few feet away. Unphased, the blue-masked turtle sheathed his katana into the scabbards on his back.
"Fine, we'll take a break. You're both becoming lousy sparring partners anyway."
Unhappy with the comment, regardless of the tame tone that came with it, Raphael marched up close to Leonardo's face, lifting his finger ready to dig it into his chest.
"Now listen, pal-"
"Guys! Guys!"
The familiar annoying yell of their youngest sibling caught all of their attention, disrupting the brewing conflict when they all found themselves looking over to the turtle running towards them - with their amber-haired friend still a short distance behind him. Relieved that the impending argument had been diffused, Donatello put his hand on his hip as he turned to address the pair, keeping his other hand steady on the bo planted on the ground.
"Mikey, do you have any idea how long you guys were goofing around in there?"
Vye soon caught up to the group, panting heavily and stopping to hunch over as she rested her hands on her knees in an attempt to start catching her breath. Mikey raised his voice in response to his brother.
"We weren't goofing around! Listen-!"
Just as Michelangelo started talking, Vye joined in, their excessive panicked babbling becoming a mishmash of random words to the group's ears making it impossible to decipher what either of them were trying to say.
"Woah, woah, you two," Leonardo said calmly, holding his hands up in a halting gesture. "Slow down, one at a time."
As she was still trying to catch her breath from the previous marathon, Vye briefly remained silent so as to allow Mikey her to blurt out his message again.
"Ship! Spaceship! In the woods!"
The trio in front of them exchanged quizzical looks with each other before looking back at him.
"Uh, what?" Raph asked.
"Come on, Mikey, we're not falling for that one again." Added Don, clearly having heard something similar before. After all, it wouldn't be unlike their jokester of a brother to lure them into a prank of some kind.
"No, I mean it! There's really a spaceship!"
Leo's moment to respond was taken up by Vye's wispy, still partially breathless, voice speaking up suddenly.
"T-There is! There really is one." She straightened her posture, holding her arms out in a gesture of size, which was then copied by a frantically nodding Mikey. "It was- It was sort of small but it was invisible and it-"
"Invisible?" Donatello queried, suddenly curious.
"Yeah."
Donatello looked to Leonardo for approval, who followed with a brief glance to a displeased Raphael before looking back and folding his arms.
"Well...You guys wanted something to do. It wouldn't hurt to take a look." He then gave a stern look to Michelangelo. "But no funny business, Mikey."
Offended by the accusatory tone, Mikey grabbed Vye by the shoulders and lightly shook her from side to side.
"Hey, Vye saw it too! Doesn't that count for anything?!"
Donatello secured his bo staff back in between his shell and sash before stepping forward to remove his brother's hands off the girl's shoulders as her head practically began to rattle from the wobbling motion.
"Let's just go already."
Returning to the forest, with minor protest from Raphael thinking it was a dumb idea until he realized it got him out of training, the four turtles and their short alien companion came to a stop in a minor clearing amongst the trees. The frantic duo looked around, mildly perplexed. There was no sign of the doorway that they had come out from before. It was entirely possible that there was a mechanism in the door that caused it to automatically close after a certain amount of time, so they began patting around at the air to try and feel for the metallic surface of the ship again. The remaining three brothers all shared a similar look of bemusement before looking back to watch the fumbling pair make fools of themselves, creating an air of doubt.
"So...Where is it?" Leo asked.
"It should be right here!"
Michelangelo gestured to an open empty space, though clearly seemed to not be coming into contact with anything. Still holding a mild element of curiosity on the situation, Donatello stepped forward towards his brother, pulling his bo staff out from the grip around his shell and carefully began prodding at the air with it. He did this for about 30 seconds before setting the end of his bo on the ground and looking at Mikey.
"Are you sure it was here?"
"Yeah!" Mikey replied. He then looked over at Vye. "Right-?"
His brothers all turned their heads to look at the girl who nodded in affirmation. Looking around for some kind of marker, her gaze stopped at a particular tree which she pointed high up towards.
"It was definitely here. That's the branch Mikey fell down from."
The group followed the line of her finger, seeing the broken branch hanging just barely by thin strands of wood a few metres above them. Leonardo folded his arms as he contemplated for a moment. While he could certainly believe the possibility of Michelangelo falling out of a tree, the rest of the story was still struggling to hold up, with very little evidence being provided.
"Well, it doesn't seem to be here anymore." He said.
Raphael, who was beginning to lose his patience, then finally spoke.
"That's 'cos I bet there is no ship, Mikey's just playin' another stupid prank on us and wastin' our time!"
"Hey!" The accused turtle whined.
Donatello, who had since crouched down to examine a patch of grass, rubbed under his chin as his siblings began to raise their voices. He agreed the idea of such antics was still possible, but it would be unlike Vye to join in on it, especially when she wasn't particularly good at lying. There did appear to be some sort of imprint on the ground, though it was hard to make out exactly what it was. To stop the impending bickering he got to his feet again and gestured to the area in question with his bo.
"Actually, it does look like there was… something here." He explained, using the bo to outline the space. "There's a few dimples in the land, and see the upturned soil over there? It's definitely recent."
Trusting his brother's words, Leonardo walked over to get a better look.
"Do you think it moved?"
"I-It couldn't have-!" Vye's voice wavered with anxiety. "There...There was no pilot…"
Don looked up in thought. He was becoming flummoxed. The only explanation he could muster was that the pilot momentarily left and then returned to retrieve the ship...but how could that happen without anyone noticing? Unless it was automated somehow, though even then that was a bit of a stretch. Raph still felt differently about the whole thing and leaned against one of the nearby trees as he folded his arms, fed up with all the hypothesizing.
"So, what? It just conveniently vanished the second we got here?" He then grumbled sarcastically. "Imagine that."
Vye stared intensely at the place the ship should have been. Had they imagined the whole thing? The whole situation was incredibly strange and it was beginning to make her more uneasy than she liked. Noticing the doubt on her face, Leonardo approached the girl and gently placed his hand on her shoulder in reassurance as he turned to his brothers to address them.
"We should take a look around the area."
"Ugh, really?" Raph complained.
"Look, we still don't know if whatever this thing is actually exists, but if it does...It could be dangerous," Continued Leo. "Mikey said it wasn't a Triceraton, a Federation, or even a Galactic Federation Ship. That narrows down our possibilities of the things we know we can deal with and that list isn't exactly long."
The now even more irritated turtle pulled his weight away from the tree he had previously leaned upon and opened his mouth to start yelling, but was interrupted by one of his calmer siblings stepping in between him and Leo to try and ease the rising tension.
"Come on, Raph." Don soothed. "Just think of it as recon practice."
Fighting the urge to roll his eyes, Raphael tutted through his teeth before agreeing. The group decided it would be a faster errand if they split up, save for whoever would be keeping watch of Vye. Leonardo drew the short straw this time around, but decided to use the time to also point out the landmarks he knew of the area, keeping her equally enthused as well as distracted from the distress she was beginning to feel earlier. Unfortunately for him he also found himself subject to a lot of questions that he didn't quite know the answer to, but tried his best to provide them whenever he could.
Having scoped out the wider surrounding area between all five of them, everyone regrouped just outside the woods again, with very little to report. There had been no signs of ships or anything else out of the ordinary nearby, and even overhearing the occasional passerby came up with little to no information. It really did seem like the spacecraft just simply never existed. Even with the indent left behind in the grass, Donatello additionally pointed out that it could have just as easily been another kind of vehicle. Feeling like his suspicions were justified, Raphael pointed a finger at Michelangelo as he repeated his usual bark.
"I told you guys it was nothin'!"
"But guys, we're telling the truth!" Mikey pleaded, gesturing wide with his arms. "Tell 'em, Vye!"
Caught off guard by the command, Vye stuttered. She had really started to doubt herself about the entire thing, and it was honestly beginning to creep her out a little the more she thought about it. In her mind she started to feel that it would be better to let everyone just think it was a practical joke at this rate. Unable to form any coherent words, her string of stammering was interrupted when she felt Leonardo's hands on both her shoulders again as he stood behind her, directing a stern tone at his brother.
"That's enough for today, Mikey." His gaze scanned the group, making sure he made eye contact with the rest of them. "Whether there was something there or not, there's obviously nowhere further to go with it for the moment."
The group concurred in their own individual ways, excluding Michelangelo who remained obstinate with his expression, with Raphael throwing his arms in the air exclaiming "Finally".
Having picked up on the signal from Leonardo, Donatello softly put forward a suggestion to try and sway the topic in another direction.
"Y'know," He started with a brief pause as he aimed his comment towards Vye. "April makes a pretty good apple pie. I'm sure if we ask nicely she'll whip something up."
The red headed alien looked over at the turtle when she registered the familiar words. She'd had apples before, and she'd had pie...But never a combination of the two. The intriguing suggestion having brought a gentle rumble to her stomach, the girl nodded to show her reception to the idea and the group began to make their way back towards the farm house. Being the most eager to leave the area, Raph led the way while placing his hands behind his head.
"I gotta admit, Mikey," He grinned, teasing. "Y'almost had me goin' there for a second."
"I keep tellin' you guys, it wasn't a prank!" His brother yelled insistently as he began to give chase, the pair soon sprinting towards the house.
As the two flared turtles charged ahead, Vye had begun to walk level with Donatello, inquiring the specifics of apple pies and growing curious on the notion that the apples themselves might need to be 'picked'. Leonardo lingered behind the group for a moment, stopping briefly to turn around and look over towards the small forest. He leered slightly, unable to shake the feeling they may have missed something, but was quickly brought back around by the beckoning call of his brothers as they all approached the little farm house to disrupt their coupled human friends in hopes of acquiring the newly mentioned baked goods.