His crystal began to throb beneath his shirt. He took the chain and pulled it out. This crystal was actually four different quarters coined together. It had taken an eternity in itself to collect all the pieces. The red crystal quarter streamed itself with light. Nikira knelt down and picked up the book. He flipped open the front cover and thumbed through some of the pages, letting the crystal fall back on his chest. He lifted another few pages then stopped.
There was a hiding notch in the book where hundreds of pages had been gouged out. Inside sat a gold ball peppered with tiny red crystals. There was ancient scripture written around the break line, a site that soothed his eyes. He took the ball out and let the book drop to the ground. The quartered crystal glowed. Nikira brought the ball up to eye level.
"Buka daya berua api-burung. " He read the inscription. The golden ball began to glow, the inscription turning red. Nikira pressed his thumb against a certain plating on the shell. The casing split open with a quick flare, and fell in two pieces in the palm of his hand.
Inside the golden ball was a red half crystal. It glowed like the red quarter of his crystal did. He smiled to himself pocketed the gem.
Splinter caned his way into the den, retying his day robe around his failing hips. His students were still asleep. He was almost always the first one up, only occasionally beaten by Michelangelo and his hungering stomach. Splinter stopped outside the door to the kitchen and looked back. His oldest son was sprawled out in the easy chair with a blanket draped over his legs. Lita lie on the couch beneath an aphgan, Peaches curled up in the hollow of her knees. He smiled to himself and went back on his way.
Michelangelo was the next to emmerege, taking a moment to poke fun at Leonardo before running off to start breakfast. Leonardo stretched his arms out and pushed the blanket back. Peaches woke up too and arched his back. He walked around in a circle contemplatively as Leonardo got up and stretched, then laid right back down again. Leonardo smirked and folded the blanket before wandering to the kitchen. Mike peeked out of the kitchen.
"Hey Leo, watcha want for breakfast." He grinned. Leonardo raised an eyebrow.
"You're cooking?"
"Yup."
"First time for everything." Mike laughed.
"Hey Lita! What'ya want for breakfast?" Leonardo put his hand out to stop him from it. Mike raised a frying pan above his head and banged it with a wooden spoon. Lita shrieked and jumped up. Peaches jumped as well, draped in the aphgan. Mike raised an eyebrow. "Hey Lita, bunkin' it with Leo for the night." Mike nodded. Both turned beet red and glared at him.
"I didn't want to sleep down here! Why would I want to spend an unnessacary minute with Leonardo."
"Oh yeah, you're just a peach." Leonardo crossed his arms. She made a face at him and hurried around to the stairs. "You snore too." He called after her.
"Do not!" Leonardo rolled his eyes and lifted the blanket off Peaches. Mike laughed. Peaches lept off the couch and trotted into the kitchen to be fed. Leonardo shook his head with a look to the ladder and followed him.
In the kitchen Mike had returned to the stove, eggs, leftovers, pots and pans laid over the counter. He took a coffee mug out and started heating the stove. Master Splinter sat at the kitchen table watching him bemusedly as Mike tried to scramble eggs. Yellow slop sloshed over the floor, Peaches jumped onto the counter and began licking the milk that had spilled over the counter …the stove flared up, the greased pan catching fire.
Maddie wandered in just in time for Mikes frantic swearing and smearing of the pot holders into the pan. They promptly caught fire and he turned back to her. His face turned from dispair to desperation as he begged her to fix things. She took the apron and her place at the stove as Mike stood in the corner, hanging his head. "Sorry Maddie." Leonardo took the kitten away. "He was trying to cook." She waved her hand over the pan and nodded. The fire retreated back to the flame in the stove. "You sure can make mess." She sighed.
Transformations
"Alright, what can you do already?" Donatello leaned back against one of the trees in the japaneese quarter of the arboretum. Noriko sat in the flowers running her fingers over the petals. She said she felt more at home there than anywhere. "Have you been able to transform yet?"
"No."
"Hmm." Donatello pushed himself away from the tree. "Let's see… Maddie transformed when she was in the fire." He scratched his chin. "She could already control fire …you can already control plants." He turned to her. "… So mabye you just need to be in the garden to transform."
"…So… how do I."
"Hmm?" He woke out of his trance.
"Transform."
"Oh, yes." He thought for a moment. "Well… Let me think… there's probably some key that activates it." He pulled himself onto a boulder. "Hmm… surrounded by fire…"
"…Surrounded by nature." Noriko finished, lying back in the flowers contemplatively. Donatello took his bo out and tapped it against the boulder. "Shizen torimaku*." The plants began bolting off long flowering vines and shot towards Noriko. She spread her arms as the vines wrapped around her nimblely and lifted her into the air. Donatello looked around as the flowers and the trees began to grow more blossoms. Noriko was completely wound in vines to the point of unrecognizibility. Still the vines continued to wrap around her body like a hatch of boa contrictors. Donatello brought his knee up and gripped his bo defensively. Noriko was set upright and he stood, parrying his bo. The vines began unwinding, and grew back into the shrubs, and tree. Donatello brought his bo down to see.
Completely green. The elemental wore slick green pants that came a little below her knees with a slit up each side, embroidered with an intricate maze of vines and flowers. A matching top was worn around her chest, and it's green hair had been pulled back into a messy roll, held in place by two chop sticks. Her eyes shimmered green, and a japaneese character printed on it's forehead in black. Her fingers became long and spindly, and her arms longer. It's finger nails were a venomous red, it's feet covered by protective leave. She had visibly shortened, by at least a foot or so, and had become smaller as well. A few shards of hair fell over her eyes. The elf shook it's head and sent them scattering back into place.
"Well… that's a start."
"See, I thought that kid was you." Mike pointed out Flash to Erika, standing back in the shadows of the skate park. "Well, not you you. But… you know." Erika smiled.
"Yes."
"Hey Erika! What're you doing back there?" Flash called. Mike turned to her.
"You know him?"
"He's my little brother." She whispered. Little brother? Erika stood up. "Hi Jimmy!" Flash skated forward. Erika went out of the shadows so he wouldn't notice Mike. They hugged, Erika straightened his shirt.
"I went by your place the other day and it was totally bare? Where'd you go?"
"I, uh, moved."
"Why the hell didn'tcha tell me?"
"Don't swear." She said flatly.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I dunno… kinda busy." She ground her toe into the ground. Flash smirked.
"Busy…? Whad'oo get a boyfriend."
"No."
"…get a girlfriend?" She laughed.
"No."
"Then why didncha say anything?"
"Well I am now."
"Oh now, after I drag you out of the bushes." He looked over her shoulder at the dark entry to the bike trail and caught site of Mike. "…Who's he?" Erika turned back. Mike scratched his leg with the side of his foot.
"Um… that's a friend of mine."
"Hey Flash, we're gunna go catch some lunch, you comin?" Flash turned back.
"I'll catch up with ya!"
"Whatever." After the others left Flash turned to Erika.
"So who's he?"
"ummm…" Flash turned to Mike.
"You're not some sorta stalker are ya?"
"No!" Mike defended.
"Then why ya hidin' back there?" He stood on his tip toes trying to see over Erikas shoulder. Mike scratched his head again. Erika nodded and he emmerged out of the shadows. "WOOOAAAH." Flash exclaimed. "You're totally a turtle!"
"Totally."
"Dude, that is totally awesome!" Flash skated around him. "You gotta shell too?"
"Yup …Name's Mike"
"Flash." He looked at him curiously. "Duuuude. Man Erika. You actually have a cool friend." He turned to Erika.
"Hey." She put her hands on her hips. Flash laughed.
"Just kiddin'. So… what's doin' with Erika, Mike?" Flash looked up at Mike. He laughed sheepishly and scratched his head.
"She kinda took care of me after I bombed on that jump." He nodded to the large ramp in the skate park.
"Dude, we saw some major skid marks around nobody claimed. Must have been a major bang."
"Dude, majorly."
"Dude."
"Dude."
"Dude."
"Dude."
"Dude." Mike nodded.
"Oh dear." Erika sighed.
"Yeah, so you tried the jump."
"Yeah. Major air. Major bomb."
"Dude, the trick is in the take off. You turn wrong and you'll lose it halfway off."
"Dude, you gotta show me how ta do that jump."
"Come on, man!" Flash started off to the jump. Mike beamed and jumped on his board. He stopped when he passed Erika.
"Oh, right," He smiled impishly. "…Dude!" He called after Flash. He spun back around. "Can't jump today."
"W'not?"
"Gotta train yer sister." He skated back.
"Train her to what?"
"Um…" Mike scratched his head. "Nothing." Flash crossed his arms.
"Jimmy, it's kind of a secret."
"Awww… come on Erika! You can tell me." Mike and Erika exchanged looks. "Please? Come on dude, I totally won't tell a soul!"
"…You better not." Erika grumbled.
"Alright, alright." Flash grinned. "Dish."
"Ok, see a whole while ago there was this other dimension. It was totally awesome till it was taken over by these mondo bad guys. They were majorly bad, so the king of the old kingdom sent out his friends to train these elementals that could save the kingdom. So they went out and trained the elementals and stuff, livin' underground and whatever. So after awhile the king said for them to go out and get rid of the bag guys, so they left and there was this huge war that last for a really long time. Then they sent the elementals in to beat the big bad guys, and there was another fight. For some reason they left right after bombing the place. Then they sent the king and his friends and stuff to earth with them, but they'd be new people and wouldn't remember stuff. Sonow there's this major bad guy that was from the old kingdom that's here trying to take over this planet. So we're trying to stop them, and your sister is an elemental I'm s'posed to be retraining. See?" Flash stared at him.
"…seriously." He turned to Erika.
"It's true."
"…man… that's….So Incredably Cool!!." He turned back to Mike.
"Yeah well." Mike shrugged.
"So whatcha gotta train her ta do?" Flash skated around. "Mabye I can help cha's."
"She's s'posed ta be able ta do all this air stuff." Mike motioned with his fingers.
"Hey cool." Flash beamed. "So let's see it." He skated around to Erika.
"I don't know how to do anything."
"You can say that again!" Flash laughed.
"Hey!" Flash skated off before she could swat him.
"If we could just figure out how to get you up in the air." Mike scratched his chin. Flash pivoted back.
"Hey, why doesn't she just go off the jump? She'll have mabye 10 secs of total air if she be do it right." Mike looked at him.
"She know how ta skate?"
"I've been tryin' ta get her on, but she won't do it." He shrugged.
"Excuse me, I'm not about to kill myself here, ok?"
"Come on, Erika!" Flash pleaded. "I'll be at the top to make sure you do it right… and Mike can be down there to catch you! That way you won't go splat!" He beamed. She crossed her arms.
"I don't know…"
"Oh, come on Erika. I'll catch ya! We'll just try it once." Mike grinned hopefully. Erika furrowed her brow.
"Oh man."
"Woohoo!" Flash cheered. "Come on, Erika!" He took her hand and pulled her to the ramp. "Hey, Mike, we need yer board!" Mike tossed him his skateboard. Erika shrieked and ducked before it hit her in the head. "Got it." Flash caught it deftly and continued on to the ramp. "You're too jumpy."
"I just don't want to die, that's all."
"Pffff." He pulled her to the top of the ramp. Mike ran out to the landing zone, yellow airplane landing strips painted on the ground guided him straight below the ramp. Flash set the board down. "Ready down there?!"
"Ready!"
"You ready?" He turned to Erika.
"No."
"Great. Now you stand like this… sideways. And you always keep your feet apart, like this. Bend your knees a little… lean forward… little more… little less… there…now keep your arms out… like you're surfing… ok… that's good. Now, when you get down to the ramp you want to bare down when your going up the ramp, then lift up just before you reach the end, got it?"
"Mm hmm." She moaned.
"Don't worry. Mike's gunna catch you. Right Mike!" Mike gave him a thumbs up sign, though he hardly heard what was said. "Right see?"
"Oh dear."
"You're going to be fine. Ready?" She sighed.
"I suppose."
"Alright, here we go!" He gave her a push. Mike centered himself along the ramp and rolled his sleeves up.
Erika shrieked to begin, then gained her balance. The sloped of the ramp seemed to become less and less, making her speed faster and faster. Oh my… She shifted her feet on the board. Mike looked up quickly, a childish terrified look in hs eyes.
"Erika jump! The wheel's not-" His words were cut out by the sound of the bare wheel axle scraping against the plaster. Erika screamed as the skateboard began turning out of control, her hair whipping around her face.
"ERIKA!" Flash screamed. The board hit the upturn of the ramp and flipped short. Erika was shot off the board and into the air. Mike ran forward to catch her. Oh no, I'm going to crack my head open and become spaghetti! Oh no, oh no, oh no! Mike! Jimmy! Somebody help me! She grimaced anticipating the fall. Flash watched in horror as his sister plummeted. She seemed to be going in slow motion, all other noise void. She was falling so she would hit the ground on her back, her hair fluttering around. She opened her eyes and took a deep breath…
Erika halted in mid air. Glassy wings flittered behind her like humming birds. She turned completely white, from it's long hair to it's bare toes. It wore a short white dress, reaching mid thigh, that feathered out in thin wafer layers. It's eyes were a crystalline blue that sparkled with diamonds.
Mike backed up a few steps. Flash's mouth hung open. It lowered itself gracefully and touched down with it's toes. She folded her wings behind and brought the balls of her feet down, a light breeze blowing it's hair over it's shoulder.
Raphael checked the cars around the parkinglot one last time. "Ok… it's clear." He rejoined Maddie in the empty row of spaces by the corner and tried to ignore the way the little skirt was clinging to her. "Just try not to start a brush fire."
"Ha ha." He smirked and took out the box of matches.
"Ok, you've done this before right?" He asked again.
"Since I was 9."
"Kay." He knelt down and lite the crumpled newspaper. "you know what yer doin' right?"
"Yes, alight?" He shrugged.
"Right, 'lright." He threw the match in and stepped back. For fun he tossed a handful of the matches in after it. "Kay. Let's see your little 'transformation'." He pocketed the box for safekeeping. Maddie waved her hand over the fire, raising the flames even more. She took a deep breath, then touched her toe to the fire. The flames quickly shot up her leg, over her body, and down her other leg. She crossed her arms over her chest and bowed her head. Raphael turned his head aside as the fire poured out. He had to step back, his eye lids were starting to burn.
When he turned back Maddie had reverted into the Pheonix. The broad wings hung not fully extended in the air at a relaxed catch. A soft scream echoed as she shook her head, ruffling the feather. Raphael stepped away from the radiating heat. "…not bad."
"You have to move it."
"I don't know how." Lita insisted.
"Lita, you're not even trying."
"I am trying." Leonardo sighed.
"Then try again." She groaned. They sat facing each other in the dojo, a pan of water placed before her. 3 hours more of this and she was planning on dumping it on his stubborn head "Just concentrate."
"How can I concentrate when I have president perfect here telling me what to do." He narrowed his eyes. Lita sighed and put her hand over the pan. She could make the water ripple, and even pull out of the pan in a bell curve... but that was it. She thought it was pretty damn impressive. He didn't.
"Just relax."
"'just relax'." She immitated him. Leonardo rolled his eyes. Lita closed her eyes and loosened her hand over the pan of water. Come on, will you just move so I can get out of here and not spend anymore time with stinky ol'Leonardo? She furrowed her brow. Hey, when I say move, you better move! The water swirled around in a whirl pool below her hand. She opened her eyes. The centriole began to grow upwards into a funnel. The water funneled up into her hand and contained itself in a sphere of around her fingers. …sweetness… She brought her other hand up and shifted the water into it. Back and forth, back and forth… she entertained herself. "…there…I wonder if I could do one of those water attacks now." She pondered.
"Doubtfully." She glared at him.
"You don't think I could do it?"
"No."
"Ah!"
"That's good. But you should put it back before it falls again."
"Hey, don't tell me what to do." She tilted her hands so the water curved back into the pan gently.
"You don't seem to understand the concept here. I am your teacher. It's my job to tell you what to do."
"You're such jerk."
"Well you're a bad student. So we're even." She glared at him.