Hanami – Chapter 18

            "I suppose the next step is to explain where we fit in all this."  Frogger watched TwoSee get up and sit back down next to Shima.  She took her sleeping sister's hand, and tried very hard to ignore Frogger's words.   "Our names OneSee, TwoSee, ThreeSee, and FourSee were derived from our TGRI designations.  We were units C 1 through 4 of Section 29 Project 56X.  The "C" indicated that we were in a 'control' group.  For the sake of comparison, all experiments have one.  The data points generated by it are considered to be the average, or natural median of all other data points collected from all other groups.  That meant that we were allowed to grow up without the horrors that the humans inflicted on the other groups of turtles.  We grew up "naturally" or "normally."   While all around us, our sisters were addicted to various substances, sleep deprived, starved, dehydrated, subjected to brain lesions, harvested for dissection at certain ages—"

            A small voice interrupted.  +"We've gotta find help! TwoDee's bleeding. TwoDee's bleeding…"+  TwoSee still held Shima's hand, but her eyes were glassy.  She was rocking back and forth gently and petting Shima's hand to the same rhythm.  +"TwoDee's bleeding."+  Her voice sounded very young and very frightened.

            Cabbage was immediately at her side.  She held her sister and made hushing sounds, "Now Two, come on.  She'll be ok.  Why don't we go outside, huh?"

            +"NO!  I'M NOT GONNA LEAVE HER!  I promised.  I promised."+  TwoSee broke down into tears, still rocking and patting Shima's hand. +"…bleeding…"+

            "Ok, it's ok.  No one will make you leave her.  She's happy you're staying. Hush now.  It's alright."  Cabbage rocked with her sister until TwoSee slowly stopped.  TwoSee, still hand in hand with Shima, laid her head in Cabbage's lap and silently dropped tears on her leg.

            "I believe it would be best if we left off story telling for a while."  Splinter looked to Frogger, who had not moved since TwoSee's first outburst.  "Do you not agree, child?"

            Frogger watched with no trace of expression on her face.  She took a gulp of water, and continued.  "You see, at that point we were all in cages: one group of four turtles in each.  TwoSee's friend TwoDee used to play through the bars with us.  That was until—"

            "THREESEE STOP! Please!?"  Cabbage pleaded.  "TwoSee's had as much as she can stand.  I'm trying not to loose it.  And to top it off, you're retreating from us again.  Master Splinter, ThreeSee's gone inside if that makes any sense and so has TwoSee."  Tears threatened to overflow, "I can't help them both by myself."

            "No my child, nor would we let you."  Splinter approached Frogger; she flinched when he touched her forehead.  He turned to Cabbage, "Are there any games she likes to play?  Any hobbies she enjoys?  Any thing that makes her especially happy?"

            "Games?"  Cabbage looked blank for a moment.  "Um, Yes!  She used to love playing chess.  They made her stop because they wanted her working on other things."

            Splinter turned to Donatello, "Have you a chess set here?"

            "Hai, sensei."

            "Good, bring it and a warm blanket.  You two can play on the kitchen table."

            "Yeah, sure." 

            "Don?"  Cabbage touched his arm.  "Don't call her 'Frogger.'  She hates frogs.  Go ahead and give her a different nickname.  I think the sooner we're free of our designations the happier we'll be, but 'Frogger' will only make her mad."

            Donatello smiled, "Sure thing."