Prologue: Part 5
New Beginnings

(1 month after battle)

"What does he need us there for anyway?"

"No idea. He just says that we need to meet up now. Not even Martin knows."

"This better be good, I almost had to skip my afternoon training for this."

"Don't worry, I'm sure it'll be fine. See yah there."

"Bye."

I sighed as I hung up the phone. Joseph had spontaneously just sent a group text to me, Angus, Ace and Martin telling us to meet him at the Java Café, and that he would explain when we got there. Seriously, he's lucky I just got done with training before he texted me.

I rolled down the sidewalk on my skateboard, the breeze blowing by me. It was reaching towards October, and the weather was getting colder. I was going to need my other jacket soon. I soon reached the café, and saw that it was only mildly busy. I walked inside and saw it was only half full, filled mostly with adults and performers. There was a boy on stage who was reading what sounded like poetry from a thick, black notebook.

I looked around and saw the others all sitting at a booth in the far corner. I quickly maneuvered around the other tables as I walked over to them. Ace saw me first and waved me over, and I ran towards them quickly.

"Hey, you guys."

"Sup, gorgeous," said Joseph, sliding over in his seat. "C'mon, sit down. We ordered you some hot chocolate."

There was indeed a cup of steaming cocoa sitting there waiting for me. I sat down next to Joseph before grabbing the cup and taking a big gulp. It tasted amazing.

"Thanks."

"Alright, you," Martin gave Joseph a stern look. "This better be good. Why are we here?"

"Yeah, you're lucky I wasn't busy," said Angus.

"Guys, guys, calm down," Joseph said, still grinning. "All will be explained…"

He picked up his own cup of hot chocolate and started to sip it. We all waited for a few moments as he sat there, slowly drinking from his cup. He raised his finger up, signaling us to wait another moment. Ace grunted.

"C'mon already, man."

After a few more seconds, Joseph finally lowered his cup. He whipped his lips, and without losing his grin, spoke loudly and proudly.

"I've found us an opportunity."

We all stared at him, confused.

"What are you on about?" Martin asked.

"I mean what I said," Joseph leaned back in his seat. "I found us an opportunity to perform."

"Joseph, what-"

"I got us booked for a show right after the Halloween Parade."

There was a silence for a moment. We all stared at Joseph, who looked like a man who had not a care in the world.

"You did what?" Martin breathed.

"I said, I got us booked for-"

"I heard what you said!"

"When did you do this?" Angus asked.

"Just last night, in fact. I saw the flyer at the doughnut shop, so I figured-"

"You figured?" Martin said, now even more stern. "Joseph, why would you just go ahead and do that without talking to me- to us?"

"Because, I knew you would take too long," Joseph explained. "And there was only one spot left. Halloween is coming up soon, and I knew that by the time we all discussed it, it would already be taken away."

Martin pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head.

"Hey man, Joe's got a point," said Ace. "It probably would've been gone by the time we all agreed to it."

"I know that, I'm not stupid. But, he does this all the time."

"And yet, you still stick with me." Joseph smirked as he sipped more of his cocoa.

Martin glared at him slightly. "Touché," he sighed. "Alright, so we have a performance. Details?"

"Okay!" Joseph clapped his hands together. "So, there's a big after party happening at Central Park, right after the parade. There's supposed to be a pretty big crowd there, mostly teens and young adults, I think. Anyway, there's gonna be a huge stage with lights and everything. The only requirement is that all performers must be dressed up. Sounds pretty swell, if you ask me. Plus, if we dress up, we'll be able to actually walk in the parade."

Joseph continued to give everyone details on the big party, all of them listening intently. Meanwhile, I was simply sitting in my seat, staring blankly at my half-finished cocoa. This was it. It was really happening. Why did I suddenly feel so nervous? Could I actually do this? Part of me was bursting with excitement, while the other part- the part closest to my nervous heartbeat- began to question whether or not joining this group was a good idea.

"Nia, are you still with us?"

I looked up at Martin's voice, and saw everyone staring at me.

"Yeah," I said quickly. "I'm good."

I quickly grabbed my mug and started gulping down my cocoa, glancing away from them.

"How did you manage to even get us a spot?" asked Angus. "I mean, you'd think they'd have an audition for a show like this."

"They do," said Joseph. "They were actually holding auditions for the party performances, but since there was only one spot left and no one else to take it, they just let us have it."

"Well, aren't we lucky?" said Ace. "Now we won't know if people think we suck or not. We get to find out after we perform."

"With an attitude like that, we definitely will," Joseph said sternly, pointing a playful finger at Ace.

"Well, if we're doing this, we better come up with some songs to play," Martin picked up his mug. "And some costume ideas."

I bit my lip, trying to think of a costume idea, mostly because it would distract me from my nerves. The guys and I never celebrated Halloween much growing up, so I didn't really have experience with costumes.

"Something scary?"

"Something bloody!"

"Something crazy…"

At once, we all turned towards Angus, who hadn't said anything yet. He remained silent, twiddling his thumbs.

"Well… I had an idea," he said. "I was kinda think of dressing up as a Day of the Dead skeleton this year anyway, maybe we could do something like that?"

"That sounds cool!" I said enthusiastically. "We could look like sweet, fancy skeletons."

"Fancy…" Joseph muttered. "Hey… that's a good idea, too! We could all dress up in formal stuff. Like, black slacks, coats and ties-"

"Gloves?" Ace added.

"And gloves!" Joseph agreed. "You look at us, and we're all fancy and formal, and then… BAMB! Sexy skeleton!"

"Yeah… yeah, I like that," said Martin. "It sounds awesome; we should do that."

Angus looked up at me. "Vanessa is great at makeup. She could paint our faces."

"I'll ask her tonight!"

"Sweet!"

"See? You guys should have more faith in me." Joseph said, leaning back and folding his arms behind his head. "I always know what I'm doing."

"Isn't that what you said last year when we tried to audition to perform at the Senior Prom?"

"Shut up."

I giggled. I was starting to like these guys more and more. At that moment, there was a loud ringing. Angus fidgeted with his flannel for a moment before taking out his phone.

"Sorry, give me a second," He muttered, answering his phone. "Hey, dad."

"Okay, we only have a month until Halloween," said Martin. "We need to try to practice as much as possible. I'm thinking at least 3 or 4 times a week, definitely on the weekends."

"What songs?"

"We'll figure that out next session, but I'm thinking-"

"WHAT?!"

We all jumped, Ace spilling some cocoa down his front. We all froze in our seats and turned to look at Angus. He had yelled so loud that even some other occupants around us had turned to stare at our table.

"Angus, what's wrong?" I asked.

Angus didn't answer. A look of shock was plastered on his face, a look that soon turned into horror. He gulped.

"Is she okay?"

"Dude, what's up?" asked Ace.

Again, Angus said nothing for a moment.

"Alright, I'll get there as soon as I can. Okay, bye!"

He hung up, and looked up at me.

"My mom just went into labor."

I gasped. "What?"

"Wait, what's wrong?" asked Martin.

"She's only eight months," said Angus. "And… the doctors are saying that… something might be wrong with the baby…"

I stared at Angus, horrified. He looked like he was going to cry.

"I need to leave," Angus said. "Damn it, my truck's at home!"

"I'll drive you," Martin said quickly. "I've got my car."

Instantly, Angus, Martin and I all got up and left Joseph and Ace, running through the café of confused customers.


Martin drove us to the hospital as fast as he legally could. He dropped us off and we both immediately ran through the front doors. It was a good thing the place wasn't too busy, because we probably would have run into people while running up to the front desk.

"Excuse me, I'm lookin' for my mother," Angus spoke quickly to the nurse at the desk. "Kathrine Carnell? She's supposed to be havin' a baby right now."

"One moment, sir," the nurse looked on her computer for a moment. "Yes… Okay, she's in room 209C on the 3rd floor. If you get lost, just ask a nurse or someone, they'll be able to help you."

"Thank you."

Angus grabbed my wrist and pulled me quickly down the hall towards the elevators. He practically punched the up button several times, trying to get it to open.

"Angus, slow down a bit," I said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Look, I'm sure your mom is fine."

"The doctors said something was wrong," he stammered, still hammering the button. "They wouldn't tell my dad that if there wasn't!"

The elevator binged, and the door opened. We both walked in and I pressed the button for Floor 3. The doors closed, and the elevator started to rise. I glanced over at Angus, and saw that he had a firm, but worried expression on his face.

"Do you know what's wrong exactly?" I asked him.

He didn't answer for a moment, he just stared at the doors. He lowered his head.

"They think the baby is coming out feet first," he said. "And… that's not good. Her limbs are probably positioned bad, and she could have the umbilical corn wrapped around her neck. Plus… it's been barley eight months. What if she's too small? What if she's sick? What if-?"

I reached forward and pressed a large silver button and the elevator stopped moving, and the lights dimmed. Angus looked around, looking angry.

"Nia, what're you-?"

I stopped him as I lunged forward and wrapped my arms around him, hugging him tightly. He stood still, then hugged me back. A few seconds later, his grip on me tightened and he buried his head into my shoulder. I could feel his shoulders shaking slightly.

"Hey, it's okay," I said soothingly. "Alright? Look, I'm not sure how bad it is or what's gonna happen, but… no matter what happens, it'll be okay. You'll be okay, alright?"

"Uh huh…"

I patted his back as I stepped back, looking up at him. His eyes were gleaming, but he looked less worried than before. I walked forward and pressed the Floor 3 button again, and we continued moving.

It took us some time to find the room Angus' mom was in. We had to ask a doctor to tell us where her room was.

"Ah, Mrs. Carnell. Yes, I'm supposed to be heading over there to give her some morphine. You can follow me."

We followed closely behind the doctor as he lead us down the bright, light hallway.

"Do you know if she's okay?" asked Angus. "Like, is she doin' alright?"

"Well, she is a month early, but that's normal," said the doctor. "But, it seems the infant is coming out feet first. Now, while that does happen, it could cause some complications, and Ms. Carnell may need to have a C-section. Hopefully, there won't be many problems beyond that."

Angus still looked as worried as before, but he nodded in understanding. We soon reached room 209C, the doctor opening the door and walking in. I caught a glimpse of the inside of the room. Ms. Kathrine was sitting up in her bed in a nightgown, her husband sitting beside her, holding her hand.

"Mama!" Angus ran past the doctor, skidding to a halt and hugging his mother gently.

"Hey, honey," she said, patting his head. "Thank goodness yah came."

"We got here as soon as we could."

Ms. Kathrine looked past him and smiled at me. "So good to see you too, Nia."

"Hi, Ms. Kathrine. How're you feeling?"

"Oh, I'm feelin' fine, darlin'. Just tired."

"Alright, Mrs. Carnell," the doctor said loudly. "I'm here to give you your morphine now."

I felt that it would be best to leave Angus with his family, so I stepped back and took a seat in one of the chairs outside the room.

"Nia!"

I whipped my head around, and I saw Vanessa running down the hall towards me, her curly hair bouncing all over her face.

"Vanessa?"

"I got here as soon as I could!" she skidded to a halt in front of me, gasping for air. "I had to pull myself away from lunch with my folks. Angus texted me while you guys rode up here. Is everything okay? How's his mom?"

I nodded towards the room door. "She's in there; she seems fine."

"And the baby?"

I then quickly explained about the baby being feet first, and the complications that could follow.

"Oh gosh…" Vanessa sat down in a chair next to me. "Do you think they'll be alright?"

I shrugged. "Hopefully."

It was all I could say. I wasn't a doctor; I didn't know anything about babies or what to do or what all could happen in this situation. Vanessa nodded, putting a hand on my knee in comfort.

A few moments later, a few nurses started walking in our direction and headed into the room Ms. Kathrine was in. There was a mixture of voices for a second before Angus walked out, looking shaken.

"Hey."

"Nessy…"

Vanessa stood up and quickly embraces Angus, who didn't hesitate to hug her.

"Is everything okay?" I asked.

Angus nodded. "I think so. Doctor says as long as they're carful and keep an eye on her and the baby, they should be fine when it's time to deliver. She's probably gonna have to have a C-section, but she'll be okay."

I nodded.

"Let's go to the waiting room," suggested Vanessa. "We're no good sitting out here, we'll only get in everyone else's way."

Angus and I agreed with her, and we started walking off towards the waiting room. At that moment I felt my T-phone start to ring. Curious, I took it out and saw it was Mikey. I suddenly realized that I had been gone from home for almost two hours, much longer than I was supposed to be. Woops…

"Hey dude, what's up?" I said brightly.

"Yo, sis, where are you? You've been gone for hours!"

"Ah… about that…"

"Wait wait, let me guess! Um… you're being attacked by radioactive ketchup monsters!"

I rolled my eyes. "No, I'm not under attack, I'm fine."

"Then why aren't you home, dudette? I need somebody to play Space Adventures with me. I can't kill the aliens on my own!"

I shook my head. Way to keep your priorities in check, Mikey.

"I'm at the hospital, Mikey."

"Dude, what?! Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine! I'm here with Angus, we came to see his mom," I grinned. "Mikey, his mom is in labor right now."

There was a few seconds silence. For a moment, I thought maybe he hung up on me.

"Nia?"

"Yeah?"

"What does 'labor' mean?"

I snorted into a fit of laughter. "Mikey, it means her water broke."

"And that means…?"

"Oh geez… She's having the baby, Mikey!"

Mikey gasped before letting out one of the loudest squeals I've ever heard from him.

"Oh my god, really?!"

"Yeah, really."

"DUDES!"

I heard what sounded like loud, fast footsteps from the other line as Mikey started yelling at the top of his lungs that the baby was finally coming. I could almost hear the others voices on the other end, though I couldn't hear what they were saying. I couldn't help but laugh, making several nearby nurses look at me curiously.

"Mikey, calm down, don't freak out."

"I can't help it!" he said excitedly. "It's awesome! They're having a little, tiny baby, dudette!"

"I know, I know, but please, don't pass out or anything."

"I won't!"

I laughed. "Okay, look, I'm gonna stay here with Angus and Vanessa for as long as I can. Can you tell Sensei where I am? Tell him I'll try to be home by 6."

"No problemo, sis."

"Thanks. I'll see yah later."

"Tell Ness I said 'hey'!"

I smiled as I hung up.

"Nia, c'mon," said Vanessa. "We're gonna go get some coffee."

I nodded, running up to catch up to them.


Raph's P.O.V.

Just a few hours ago, Mikey finally called Nia to find out where the heck she had run off to. She went to go to a band meeting with her new friends and never came back. Not long after, the doofus squealed like a little girl before running all over the entire lair, yelling about how Angus' mom was having the baby right now. Obviously, we were exciting and happy for him, but he could've been a little less crazy about it. He talked to her for a little bit before hanging up. He says that she was going to stay at the hospital with Vanessa and Angus until the baby arrived, or at least as long as she could. It's now 5pm. Nia's been gone since noon, and it's been oddly quiet without her. I mean, as quiet as it can be with Mikey still here. Okay, so… maybe not quiet, but different.

"I wonder what's going on at the hospital?" said Leo as he sat in the beanbag, watching Donnie and Mikey play Space Adventures. "I wonder if it's as crazy as people say it is."

"The birth of new life is a truly exciting time, my son," said Master Splinter, who was sitting on the couch next to me. "And, excitement can lead people to act very rashly. But, I'm sure all is well."

Mikey and Donnie appeared to not be listening that well. They were much to focused on their game. Donnie practically had steam shooting out of his ears and looked like he was on the verge of exploding, while Mikey was as cool as a cucumber, a confident smirk on his face. They were both pressing and smashing their controllers, until finally, the level finally ended with a loud "ding, ding ding!" The large bold words "YOU WIN!" came up on the screen, along with the scores. Mikey's character got the highest points by a long shot. Mikey laughed before turning and blowing a raspberry at Donnie, who was glaring slits at his little brother.

Though entertaining enough, I couldn't get my mind off of Nia. It wasn't in the way I was usually thinking about her, either. She had left just so suddenly after afternoon training today, with barely any warning or goodbye or anything. True, her bandmates had called an emergency meeting out of nowhere, but still. It was surprising just how much she was ready to just get up and leave like that, without any thought or hesitation. She had left the lair before to go visit Angus and Vanessa, but it had always taken her at least 10 minutes to do so, and she had always given us a real goodbye and a time when she would be back.

"What I don't get is how Nia could just run off like that," I said.

"Angus' mom went into labor, Raph," Donnie said matter-of-factly. "You can't exactly control-"

"Not that, idiot," I snapped. "This afternoon, after training. Her band buddies just call her up, say to drop everything and leave, and she just does it! No question!"

"Well, she is the newbie of the group," Leo pointed out. "She needs to make a good impression on the other members if she wants to stay in the band."

"And of course she would want to go with Angus to the hospital," said Donnie. "Any of us would, it's only natural."

"But, she didn't even call us."

"She was distracted, Raph. Who could blame her?"

I rolled my eyes as I folded my arms and glared away. I wasn't really mad at Nia, really I wasn't. But, the thought of how willing she was to just leave just stuck with me.

"It's not like we would've seen her sooner anyway," I grumbled under my breath. "She didn't exactly try her best to come back."

"What do you mean, Raphael?"

I turned my head to look up at Splinter. "Sensei, she's been doing this ever since she started hanging out with Vanessa and Angus, but it's gotten worse. She's almost never in the lair anymore, she's always looking for reasons to leave, and now that she's in this band it's gonna get even worse!"

There was silence. I looked around, and all of the others were giving me confused looks. The TV continued to play the winning screen music in the background. I turned to Splinter, and saw he had a rather serious expression on his face. He closed his eyes, and slowly stood up.

"My sons, Lavinia is and will always be a part of our family; she is one of us. But, we cannot deny the fact that she is still human. Because of that, she is able to do certain things that you cannot. She can go out in the day time, go into public, and covers with other humans without worry. Now she and Angus are in a band, and that means that she may be able to leave the lair far more than before. But, I must ask you to not become envious over it," he turned to look down at me. "Especially you, Raphael. It would truly break Lavinia's heart if she knew she was causing you such distress."

I glanced down at the floor. I knew he was right. Nia would never try to hurt us on purpose. If she thought that her leaving the lair so much was hurting any of us, she would probably stop in a heartbeat for us. I couldn't ask her to do that, no matter how much I hated the fact that she left the lair much more now. She was so happy; I couldn't forgive myself if I made her give it all up just because I miss her a bit. And you know what, that's a stupid thought in the first place. Missing her, tch! It's not like she's in another country, moron! Stupid…!

At that moment, all of our T-phone's suddenly ringed. I checked and saw we had all gotten a mass text.

"It's from Nia!" Mikey said excitedly.

I opened up my text and saw that she had sent me an image. I tapped the screen and the messaged loaded. A picture popped up on my screen. It was a picture of Angus sitting in a hospital chair. In his arms was a tiny, little baby, wrapped in a baby pink blanket. Angus was looking down at her, an adoring smile on his face, his eyes shining with tears.

"Oh, wow…" Donnie sighed.

Our phones all ringing again; Nia had sent another message.

Her name is Paige.

I sudden wave of stupidity washed over me as I gazed down at the picture of Angus and his new baby sister. How could I have said those things about Nia before? God, I'm a dumbass sometimes.

"Ooh, she's so cute!" Mikey squealed, leaping up and down. "Sensei, check it out!"

He ran up and shoved his phone into Splinter's face. Sensei gazed at the picture for a moment before a very warm expression appeared on his face.

"Ah, a very pretty name for a beautiful new girl," he said, his voice soft. "I am happy for all of them."

"We are too, Sensei," said Leo.

"Yeah," I agreed, smiling down at my phone.

Thanks, Nia.