A Turtle's Tail Tale

by Kellie Fay

In the middle of a fight, Raphael is saved by a mysterious woman. Who is she? Why does she have such profound affect on our boys in green, and what does Mikey know that he’s not telling?

7. A Learning Curve

Chapter 7 A Learning Curve

When they got back to the lair they found Splinter on the couch with Michelangelo. They were both deep conversation, but the atmosphere in the room told all three of them that Michelangelo had been tactfully forgiven.

"You would love Benten sense, she's like you in a lot of ways. She totally digs the way you do things. She still thinks of me as a kid, but Tara thinks I'm funny. "

"So there are far more mermaids than just your friend Lillian?" Splinter asked. He sounded as if he were enjoying the conversation.

"For sure, sensei. Protecting the ocean is a big job. They just take care of the Northeast seashore, and they've got another temple even farther north. I think that's where Lillian is from. They asked me to go once, but I told them the cold wasn't my scene."

"But you have been to the temple they guard here." Splinter said.

Michelangelo nodded, but his smile dropped. "Those were most of my all day trips, but please master, don't ask me where it is. I swore to them I'd never tell anyone. "

"Then I shall not ask." Splinter assured him. "Surely it cannot be far away, if you and your friend can swim there and back within a day. I will not ask you to break your word to them."

Michelangelo sighed relieved. "Thanks, sensei. That makes me feel tons better." Suddenly a quizzical expression crossed his face. "Am I still like grounded?"

Splinter sighed. "I would prefer you stay where I can see you for a few days, Michelangelo." Splinter said. "It would make me feel better anyway."

"Okay, sensei," Michelangelo said, his good mood returned quickly. "Just remember what I said about Lil. If she yodels for me, or if I get a call signal, they're depending on me. I've got to go."

Splinter nodded. "That I can understand. You must keep the vows you made to your mermaid friends."

Michelangelo smiled, and relaxed. "Thanks sensei. That means a lot to me." Just then he looked up at the three coming in. "Well look who's back."

Leonardo winced. He knew that tone from Michelangelo. He was annoyed they had chosen to leave him behind. Leonardo knew that Michelangelo wanted to talk to him, and try to make them understand, but that little twinge of fear wouldn't let the three of them cross the line that the mermaid had drawn between them and their brother.

"Um we were..."Donatello began, but Michelangelo interrupted him.
"I know exactly where you were," Michelangelo said with a sly grin. "You were installing some kind of surveillance gizmo by the river. You even put one by the waterfall."

All three of them blinked and stared at him. "How..."Donatello began."

"Michelangelo just grinned at them, and flipped off the couch and headed for his room. "Wouldn't you like to know," he answered. Before any of them could say anything else he closed the curtain to his room.

Now that wasn't like Michelangelo at all. He never ever closed off his room to them. Then again they wouldn't dare try wading their way through his room. Raphael thought it was worse than Splinter's obstacle course. Still the message was obvious.

"Guys, I think we blew that one." Raphael said.

"I don't get it," Donatello said looking up at the room confused. "How did he know were we went? We didn't tell him."

"Why don't you ask him," Splinter said. They all knew that look. Splinter wasn't exactly happy with them.

"You were talking to him about the mermaid, weren't you sense," Leonardo said.

"You left without a word to him," Splinter said. He didn't say anything else, he didn't have too.

Always the intermediary for his brothers Leonardo sighed and stepped forward. "All we were doing was setting up some microphones there. Donatello wanted to learn more about the mermaids, and why we're hypnotized by them."

Splinter eyed the three with an amused curiosity. "And you did not think your brother would tell you what he knows about the mermaids?"

Leonardo knew that Splinter was trying to teach them something, and they were being thick about it. What could he say now that would not earn him a rebuke?

Donatello came to his rescue. "Frankly sensei I don't think Mikey can tell me much about the oscillation and frequency of a mermaids singing voice. Once I get a good recording I can study the wave patterns without actually listening to them."

Splinter sighed. Donatello's scientific curiosity had bested Splinter's lesson on trust. . "I just want you to be careful," their sensei amended. "I nearly lost you to that river once Donatello, I do not wish to risk losing you again."

Donatello shook his head a firm no. No argument there sense. I..." His voice took on an odd dreamy quality. "I remember the accident at the falls."

"We've all started remembering, sense," Leonardo said uneasily. "Raph and I had dreams about the mermaid coming to heal us when we're seven."

Splinter nodded. "You have seen her again after many years. The memories you had as children are being reawaken. Your minds are seeking what you already know."

"I don't think we know all that much." Donatello said . "I mean we only saw her once and she didn't stick around."

"And yet you still seek answers," Splinter said to them. "Perhaps you should ask someone with answers." He didn't even have to look up to the second level for all of them to know he meant Michelangelo.

Even so the three still didn't feel comfortable approaching Michelangelo with any questions. Leonardo was still unsettled by all the feelings he was having. Raphael had never asked Michelangelo for anything, so it was hard for him to think about it. Donatello figured he had too many questions he was sure that Michelangelo either would not or could not answer.

Later that night Donatello found one of the microphones by the river was not functioning. He decided to go alone and just repair it. He went back to the entrance of the tunnel. Even there before entering he could hear the water below. For a second he paused the memory of being immersed in water and pulled along flew into his mind.

Get a grip on yourself Don, he told himself. He swallowed once, and then went in. The repair was pretty routine. It was when he left the tunnel that things got odd. He was climbing out of the hole they had made in the previously sealed tunnel when a voice came out of the darkness.

"Do me a favor Don," Michelangelo said suddenly from behind him. "Next time you go down there take Leo or Raph with you. Call me paranoid but I don't like the idea of you going down there alone, when the last time you nearly drowned."

Donatello took a minute to start breathing again. "Mikey! You nearly scared me half to death! How did you know I was down here anyway? I didn't tell anyone where I was going."

"I know," Michelangelo said. "They told me," he pointed with his thumb to a pair of rats who chittered then scampered away.

"You're talking to rats? Okay that does it I'm telling Leo we'd better start paying you some attention. You're losing it." Donatello said with a grin.

"See, that's why I never told you guys stuff. I knew you'd never believe me." Michelangelo said with a sigh. Donatello knew the tone. Michelangelo's feelings had been hurt, not just now but by their neglect.
"Look I'm sorry, but you've gotta admit it's a little far fetched." Donatello said trying to make up.

Michelangelo eyed Donatello speculatively . "Lillian taught me. She uses them for watchers. They've been spying for her down here since we were little kids."

Donatello couldn't help but smile. "Sorry Mikey but they don't look aquatic to me."

"Humph," Michelangelo snorted. "Shows what you know, Einstein. Lillian said that rats have been sailing on ships as long as humans. They know the language of the ocean as well as any shorebird. Though it's kinda like a guy who knows Spanish and a guy who knows Russian trying to talk to each other in English."

Donatello wasn't sure what to make out of that. "You're totally serious about this. You can actually talk to animals."

Michelangelo smiled now that he had Donatello's interest "Just the ones that talk to mermaids, but yeah. I can show you."

Donatello suddenly understood Michelangelo's reasons for bringing it up. Raphael and Leonardo would have been totally creeped out by the idea that Michelangelo had learned some mystic abilities from the mermaid, but he was always more interested in how something worked and never worried about their implication. "You're on, Mikey, this I have to see."

Michelangelo led Donatello to the roof where he took in a deep breath. "Okay," he said as he faced south. "I'm not as good as it as Lil, so it's gonna take me a minute."

Donatello sat on the heating vent of the roof as he watched Michelangelo. He wasn't sure what was supposed to happen. Michelangelo almost looked like he had zoned out. He was staring to the south with an intense concentration.

Suddenly Donatello heard a cawing above. Three seagulls flew down to their roof. Michelangelo followed their movements. Two of the gulls landed on the edge of the roof. The third came in for a landing right on Michelangelo's outstretched arm.

Donatello was shocked. "Hey dudes," Michelangelo said softly. For a long moment he locked eyes with the bird on his arm. Then with a glance behind him he said, "You didn't tell me that Lil went to visit April."

"They told you that?" Donatello said amazed.

Michelangelo nodded once, then turned his attention back to the gull. Donatello wondered exactly what was going on, when suddenly he felt it. A small charge of energy moving between Michelangelo and the bird on his arm.

It's like a telepathy, Donatello thought to himself. He closed his eyes and could almost sense the images and information passing between the two of them.

"Yeah, I know that dude," Michelangelo suddenly said to the gull. "Watch out for him though, he'd pull your wings off just to get his jollies, and he's strong enough too." There was another pause, then Michelangelo said, "You do that dude, and keep an eye for those humans in black. I wanna know if they're by the water at all."

The gull squawked twice, and looked for all the world as if it were nodding. Then with a flick of his arm Michelangelo launched the bird into the air. The two other sea gulls joined it crying out as they flew away.

Donatello was still watching speechless as Michelangelo turned around and bowed. "And that is the Michelangelo bird show!"

"Wow," Donatello said slowly. He was really impressed. As they went back downstairs Donatello couldn't help but ask. "So how did you learn to do that?"

"Lillian taught me," Michelangelo said simply. "It's kinda hard to explain how I do it. I have to get my head into some place she found in me."

Donatello thought he understood. "That same place in our heads she woke up when we saw her?" He asked.

"I guess," Michelangelo said as he entered the elevator. "I'm so used to Lil now I don't even notice that buzz, but it's the same place yeah. You have to feel it inside of you to make a connection." When Michelangelo saw Donatello looking at him confused he said. "Well it make sense when she says it."

"I'm sure it does." Donatello said with a smile.

After that Donatello decided that the mermaid couldn't be all that bad. Michelangelo couldn't stop telling him how much fun he always had with her. He also paid more attention to the rats around the lair. Donatello wasn't sure if the rats behavior was random, or were they actually watching the four of them for the mermaid..

It was two days later that he realized how useful Michelangelo's talent was. Raphael was helping him with the battle shell when suddenly a crowd of seagulls began to caw loudly right outside the warehouse. It was annoying Raphael.

"I swear, Don, the moment I can put this thing down. I'm gonna go up there and pluck those garbage eating turkeys."

Donatello tried to keep from smiling. "Mikey might take exception to that Raph. They are sea birds. He told me they act as messengers and spies for his friend Lillian." He finished his last adjustment. "Okay, put the engine down, gently."

With much grunting Raphael used the crane to settled the engine into place. "There. Now I"m gonna shut down those flying garbage cans." He was about to move away, but Donatello held him back.

"Hang on Raph," Donatello said. He pulled out his shell cell and hit the speed dial. "I've got a suspicion." The pone rang twice then he heard Michelangelo's voice say, "Talk to me,"

"Mikey?" Donatello said. "We've got about a dozen seagulls on the roof of the warehouse making enough noise to wake the dead. I'm beginning to think you're being paged."

"Hmmmm, "Michelangelo said over the phone. "Maybe, I'll go check it out. Thanks Don."

"No problem." He hung up the shell cell and tucked it back into his belt. Then he noticed that Raphael had drawn closer.

"What was that all about?" Raphael asked. "What do you mean he's being paged."

Donatello grinned as he picked up his screwdriver. "I told you, the sea gulls are spies for Mikey's mermaid. If you don't believe me go up to the roof, you'll see something you'd never believe in a million years."

Raphael was curious despite his annoyance. Since Donatello didn't need him anymore he decided to find out what Michelangelo was doing on the roof. He was halfway up the stairs when he noticed that the racket from the seagulls had just stopped. It was almost too quiet now. When Raphael reached the roof he couldn't believe his eyes.

Michelangelo was seated in the center of a circle of sea gulls every one of them were staring right at Michelangelo. Michelangelo had an odd look of concentration on his face starting at one particular gull.

"Dude that is not good news," he told the gull with a sigh. "That is way to close to the water for comfort. Lil and the others they're still out at the temple, right?"

The seagull chittered., and Michelangelo sighed. He pulled out his shell cell, and called Donatello. "Don? There's something majorly uncool going on down by East River Park. I'm gonna check it solo, but if you don't hear from me in two hours come looking for me.....Yeah I'm sure. I'm not gonna do anything but look. Thanks dude, laters."

Hmmmm, okay Donny is letting him go solo, not like him, unless he knows why Mikey doesn't want company. Well that wasn't going to stop him. The seagulls began to take off, and Michelangelo rose to his feet. He pulled a bagel out of his belt and tossed it to one of the gulls. "Thanks for the info dudes. Try to get the message to Lil and Benten, okay?"
The gull caught the bagel and chittered again. As the last gull flew off Michelangelo looked over towards Brooklyn and took a running leap to the next roof.

Raphael sighed. "Well if I'm gonna keep up with Mikey I'd better get going." Though Michelangelo had the reputation of being the laziest of the four of them, when he had his mind set on something he could be hard to keep up with." He ran after Michelangelo, making a special effort to be quiet so as not to be caught.

Michelangelo didn't stop until he reached the East River park. Raphael gave him points for stealth. Michelangelo had taken up a position under the FDR Drive, so he could move easily up and down the whole edge of the East River, but it was the gathering in the park that had his full attention.

The Foot were down there, in force, and not just any Foot either. Raphael began mentally counting the number of Foot Tech Ninja he saw. Man, there's over fifty of them. What are they doing here?

It didn't look too illegal for a change. It looked more like a training session, as if they were preparing to do something big later. Raphael took a glance over where he saw Michelangelo. A pair of seagulls had taken up roost with him. Michelangelo had turned his attention away from the scene below, and was staring at the birds again. He pointed, and the two gulls flew off to take positions closer to The Foot below.

I'm seeing it but I ain't believing it! The gulls are doing what he says! The two birds were now quiet close. Closer than even Leonardo could have gotten. Curious he started to pay attention to the training below. Suddenly someone grabbed him from behind. Before he could react Michelangelo had him pinned him to a support beam.

"Raph?" Michelangelo said, surprised. Then he sighed, and let Raphael go. "Geeze what part of I wanna go alone, doesn't Don understand?"

"He didn't exactly send me after you," Raphael said. "He said I'd see something interesting if I went to the roof. I don't know what you were thinking coming out here on your own."

Michelangelo sighed. "I was thinking that if one of Lil's posse was topside it wouldn't be good for you to see her."

Okay so he's kinda thinking. Raphael admitted. Still he was slightly annoyed that Michelangelo didn't quite trust him. "Look I'm not Leo. Your girlfriend doesn't scare me, okay?"

Michelangelo shrugged. "Doesn't matter anyway. There's no sign of Lillian, or any of the others." His attention turned back to the training Foot.

"You mean there are more than just her?" Raphael asked.
"Well sure, there about a dozen of them that live around here. They're supposed to protect the seas around here." Michelangelo explained. "But they're not equipped to handle Foot Tech Ninjas."

"Oh really?" Raphael said skeptically. "Won't their hocus pocus work on these guys? It worked before."

Michelangelo sighed slightly pensive. Not a normal mood for Michelangelo. "Dude you'd better get some glasses. Look at them. Their girls! Every one of them is a girl! A mermaid's powers don't work on females. Lillian's tried to explain it to me, but it just goes over my head."

"Hmmmmmm," Raphael looked down where Hun was exercising the warriors. Sure enough every ninja down there was female. Why all girls? Then something occurred to him. "When I ran into Lillian uptown, Hun was shaking down this old guy about temple. You think the Foot are gonna try to find where your friends are living?"

"It would be a good trick," Michelangelo said. "You have to be able to breath underwater to reach their pad, but still, what if the Shredder is planning to raid their temple? They have some major heavy duty weapons down there that they're guarding."

"In that case the Shredder might very well be planning to raid your friends' home." Raphael said. None of them had forgotten the sword of Tengu. Suddenly a woman dressed in purple moved forward. "Hey Mikey, check her out." Together they watched.

Hun was only partially satisfied with the progress the new female squadron of Foot Tech Amazons were showing. This was one reason there were so few females in The Foot to start with. Most females were inferior to male fighters.

"They are inferior because you expect them to be." A voice sounded behind him. Hun frowned. It was that assistant to the Master's lady friend. The young raven haired woman strode forward as if these were her warriors and not his. "If you treated them as you do your male Foot, they would have no problem. "

Hun glowered over her. "If I did as you suggested, you would find that they would become easily damaged." He said with an intimidating sly grin."

"You underestimate my gender, fool," she said casually as if it were unimportant. "I can defeat any man. So will any woman I send into battle."

"Impossible," Hun said. He would have said more, but the girl clapped her hands calling for silence among the fighters. "You must work harder," she told the girls. "The old saying is true. You must work twice as hard to be half as good. You must be better than the Shredder's Foot, if you wish to defeat those that these men cannot, and you can!" She turned to Hun, drew her manriki gusari , and bowed before him."

Hun bowed back with a snide smile of superiority on his face. Now her proud words would earn her a just punishment.

She lashed out at Hun with her weapon. It was no ordinary manriki gusari. The chain that held the ball was extraordinarily thin, but razor sharp. He caught the chain in his hand, and it cut him viciously. Suddenly he was in pain, and disoriented. It was then that the girl increased her assault, whipping him mercilessly. He didn't know quite how it happened, but all of a sudden she was on his back and her razor sharp chain, was around his neck.

"Now," she said in sweet silken tones. "Yield like a good trained beast, and I won't remove that empty head from the mass you call your body."

Hun sighed, he was pretty sure she wouldn't kill him for being defiant, after all her and her mistress were ally's not enemies, but still she had made her point. "I yield."

"Good boy," she said snidely as she released her hold on her chains. She jumped lightly from his back, and said to the women assembled. "You see, if you work hard enough you can defeat anyone. You must succeed for the glory of your master The Shredder. "

The woman Foot bowed before her.

"Man!" Raphael said from their hiding place under the FDR drive. "Who is that girl? She's beating the living tar out of Hun."

"I don't know," Michelangelo glared down at the scene below. "She's not dressed like the rest of them, so she's not just Foot. Maybe she's higher ranked than the others."

Raphael shook his head. "I don't think so, Mikey, look at her outfit. No Foot marks, not even one. There's that double loop thing on her arm. I think that's her symbol."

"So she's not Foot," Michelangelo said. "The others are, and Raph, it looks like their training them for something big." He bowed his head worried. "They're gonna attack the temple!"

Raphael saw the look on his face. Michelangelo was now as torn in two as the rest of them. He knew he promised to stay close to home, but he had this overwhelming desire to protect these mermaids that he considered friends. Okay, a talk with Leo and Splinter is in definitely in order when I get home. There's gotta be some way we can help them. He looked over at Michelangelo and tried to think of something productive he could do. "Mikey, what do you know about the weapons in that temple of theirs. What could The Shredder want?"

Michelangelo sighed. "I don't have a clue. I mean I've seen the weapons, but I never bothered asking them what they did.."

Raphael decided they weren't going to see anymore here, so he signaled to Mikey that they had better move. Once far away from the Foot he asked, "Okay is there anything you could try to tell me about these so called powerful weapons that might give you a clue to what they do?"

Michelangelo thought. "Well, there's Poseidon's Trident, that's sort of like a King Kong sized fork. And then there's the Gorgon's Head which is so dangerous that it's shut up in a box. I've never ever seen that one. There's some kind of net thing over the entrance to the main hall, and that's not counting the fountain of healing water that does all sorts of things, and then there are their regular treasures the binding chords magic pearls and rings and pendants."

"Man, sounds like your friends are loaded, Mikey," Raphael said. He thought a moment then his eyes fell on their favorite library. "Wait a sec," Raphael said. "That first one, the giant fork thing, what did you call it?"

"Poseidon's Trident," Michelangelo answered.

Raphael nodded to himself. "I knew I heard that name before. Back in April's old shop she had a book about myths. That guy Poseidon was in it, and he had a trident in the picture."

"So how does that help us now?" Michelangelo asked.

"I'll go get Don and Leo, maybe we can talk them into doing something to help your girlfriend out, but it ain't gonna do a bit of good unless we get more info. So it's time to catch up on your reading bro. You find those mythology books and find out what Poseidon's trident really is."

"Gocha Raph!" Michelangelo said. He found a nearby drainpipe and slid expertly down to the street below. "Cowabunga!"

Raphael didn't even bother getting annoyed. "Time to get the others," he said to himself and jumped off the roof, running in the opposite direction.

Saki sat quietly drinking his tea with Lady Badb beside him. "Hun, report," he ordered.

Hun swallowed. "The Foot Tech Amazons are improving slowly." Hun said. It will be another week before they are ready for their first test."

Lady Badb grinned as she lazed on her pillow. "Of course they are improving, my large friend. My sweet little Freyja has gotten the kinks out of your rather laborious training system."

Hun looked at the scars on his hands from his battle with the tiny female warrior. "She is unlike any female fighter I have faced before."

"She should be," Badb said with a vicious gleam in her eye. I have trained her before she began to walk. She's a living weapon capable of killing anything I want her too."
Shredder was getting board with the small talk. "Have you yet found the location of the temple of Aegir?"

Hun shook his head sadly. "I have tried, Master, but those who know, seem to prefer to die than to tell us. Except for the one agent who escaped, the others are no more."

The Shredder growled, but Badb sighed board. "I told you, Saki," she said. "I told you this mastodon you keep around would fail. If you had only let me -"

"Badb," Shredder said, "You try my patience. If you can find us the temple tell us where it is!" He turned to strike her, but in a series of lightning fast moves, she blocked his blows. Finally she struck out, and landed Saki squarely on his back.

"I like foreplay as much as the next girl, but enough is enough," she said. "I don't know where the temple is, but I know who probably does, and the answer has been staring you both in the face for so long it's a wonder it doesn't reach out and bite you."

"Explain!" Shredder demanded.

Badb got up and paced around the room again. "Well your pet over there mentioned that one of the water maidens rescued those strange freak turtles that always seem to be interfering in your plans."

Hun grimaced, but he was curious what she was thinking. "There was only one that I saw, but it was one of the turtles."

"So," she said pacing around. "Even if your turtles did not know of the sea maidens then, I guarantee they do now. I'm sure if they were managed to be bedazzled by the maidens they know where the temple is."

Shredder was only mildly interested." Intriguing deduction, but only useful if you can find them!"

"Oh but that part is easy. You know of their allies. Attack them. When the turtles come forth, you will have your ticket to the temple."

Shredder considered this. "Hun, can you find that female that used to work for Stockman? She has allied herself to those freaks."

Hun grinned. "I can find her."

"Well then," Badb said with a impulsive spin."I say we find this woman. She will lead us to the turtles, and they shall find us our temple!"

Coming soon Chapter 8 Divisions Within

Michelangelo frowned and placed his hands on his nunchucks. "Don't push me, Leo. You won't like what you find."

The truth was Leonardo never did have to push Michelangelo to the edge before. Any other disagreement always ended up with Michelangelo cheerfully giving in. Looking into Michelangelo's eyes now, Leonardo wondered if this time he wouldn't.

"Convince me!" Leonardo said. He couldn't really believe that Michelangelo would draw weapons on him.

Michelangelo then did draw the weapons. As Leonardo took a shocked step back, Michelangelo said, "Okay, Leo if you really want to talk about this now...." Michelangelo lashed out with the nunchucks not at Leonardo, but at the nearest window. Instantly the burglar alarm rang out the alert. With a knowing grin on his face Michelangelo said, "We can talk here, and get nabbed by the cops, or we could split."