Time To Say Goodbye

Disclaimer: I deny any ownership of any adult or transformed shadow warrior chelonians.

Author's Note: We got our new computer people and the important stuff is hooked up. In other words I have internet and can recieve e-mails. I can also write stories. Due to a rumor aboutcommenting on reviews I will send my comments to you individually through e-mail. That plus being on a new computer I wasn't quite sure what I was using would work as we don't have mircosoft wordinstalled on this one.Ramica.

Chapter Five: Saying Goodbye

While Don was known for his technical genius and ability to fix or invent just about anything electronic, he didn't often go into working with things that didn't involve some sort of wires, or plug in. It wasn't that Don wasn't good with his hands, he could probably use his know how in many areas but he prefered the aspects that involved technology.

Raph on the other hand preferred getting his hands dirty, he enjoyed repairing cars, or working with his hands, in fact in his youth, long before Raph had gotten so mixed up in thumping on hoods, or bemoaning his outcast state, he would often find peace in making stuff out of wood, it wasn't all that fancy but considering their lifesstyle anything was better then nothing, and on top of that was the fact the stuff he made from scraps of wood or what have you did serve a purpose and was useful. It was only as Raph got older that he drifted away from it.

Mike kept his creativity to other things such as writing and cooking. He also loved to paint, Mike was the artistic one of the group. He could decorate a cake or cook up meals that would be the envy, and demand, of any gourmand in the world.

So Raph had no qualms what so ever about them being able to fix up a serivceable coffin for their father's funeral come the morning, though he knew it might take them a good part of the night to build, it would be more then worth it, and it wouldn't be the first, nor the last time, either he or one of his brothers pulled an all nighter.

The problem was trying to do it and keep it a secret from the rest of the family.

Karena scowled as she watched Cathy trying to ease Tessica down for a nap, the infant was fighting it, determined to stay awake, if only to see everything that was going on around her.

Karena bowed her head recalling her own children and how similar they had been, she gave a wistful sigh and felt a bit of an ache that she had decided not to have any more children, perhaps she might change her mind, her and Leo could possibly have another, then she chuckled inwardly at that thought, ' No,' she mused, ' Now is truly not the time for even contemplating such things, we have enough children.'

Cathy looked up " She is a fussy one, I'm starting to wonder if it is just all the tension in the air or if she is possibly cutting her molars." she announced as she carried Tessica over to a rocking chair.

Karena paused watching the tableau before her reflectivley as she silently debated about telling Cathy what Leo planned regarding Rama's long term relationship. Karena had been in the family long enough that she knew not to meddle with the clan rulings, she was aware that Leo decision was final and she understood the reasonings, it was far too dangerous for Rama to try to return to that alternate universe, besides that the young chunin was desperatley needed here.

Still, there was the other side of the issue, and that was that Karena was very attached to the kunoichi, and she knew that a girl's first love was not to be crushed and trampled on so easily. Rama was deeply in love with Devon, it showed when she talked about the boy, and to suddenly be told that she could not be with him, especially at this time, though no time would be perfect, would be hard for the girl to take.

Typically Rama might be just as likley to take it out on the family, in which case Mike and Cathy really deserved to be warned, as they were likley to get the worst of it when Rama did blow at the harsh verdict.

Cathy looked up " Karena are you okay?" she asked soflty over Tessica's little fussing whimpers.

Karena walked in to the room " Cathy maybe I shouldn't be telling you this, it is more clan buisness then anything, but I feel that you have the right to know."

" Know what?" Cathy asked a little confused her face scrunched up a little in uncertainty.

Karena paused coughing a little and looked over her shoulder, as if she was looking for someone to show up suddenly and reprimand her for what she was about to say. She hesitated and wiped at a sweaty brow while biting her bottom lip before taking a deep breath, Karena realized she had started and she might as well finish it.

" Cathy, Leo plans on telling Rama that she can't use her teleporting skill to go see Devon." Karena blurted out, " He figures it is far too dangerous, and he is right the family could lose her if she tries to return to that alternate world, but Rama might not want to see it that way." Karena explained, " Not when she has been waiting so long to see him again, and now she actually seems closer to achieving it with gaining control of that ability it is going be a harsh verdict for her to come to grips with."

Cathy's scowl deepened " He couldn't wait to put this on her?"

" Cathy Leo is afraid that Rama will try to go see Devon before if he doesn't let her know ahead of time." Karena defended her mate's choice, " Besides as chunin of the clan Rama is needed here, she can't be away for extended periods of time."

" Fine but he best be delicate, I wonder Karena if it might be better for one of us to tell her over Leo. Yes I know he is the clan leader, but Rama isn't going take the news kindly and a woman's touch in breaking the news might be better accepted." Cathy summarised.

" I shouldn't have told you this" Karena pointed out, " So it isn't our place to tell her."

" Yes, but Leo has never been a young girl in love now has he? So how could he possibly relate to Ramiela and her feelings for Devon?" Cathy asked, " I know how miserable she was when she first came home. I know how she resisted and fought over the restrictions, it was her last great rebellion of her teen years." Cathy remarked, she grimaced as she recalled Rama's behaviour up until the point she had learned that Rama was not only trying to adjust, again to her life in the sewers but also missing her first love, "Personally Karena I am glad that Rama was able to move on, I think working on the teleporting helped her cling to the dream of being with him." Cathy gave a heavy sigh, " Suddenly I wish that this skill wasn't a part of ninja ability, that it could be written off as some tear in time and space or something that happens only under rare circumstances, for then Rama would have to accept that she could not return to him and move on."

Karena nodded as she reached out to caress Tessica's cheek, " I know but think of it this way, if any of the family get into serious trouble they can just wink out to the lair. It is so much safer for all of them."

Cathy pursed her lips, " True but it still isn't much of a life."

The boys and Rama returned in time for dinner, they were all dirty,sweaty and exhausted looking as if the day's digging had taken a toll on them mentally as well as physically, of course it most likley had taken a larger expense mentally then any other way for all of them were used to working out and hard physical activity. They trudged silently one behind the other.

The boys greeted their wives before heading towards the bathrooms, in the house and RVs for a quick shower before all of them gathered outside for supper.

By then the children, especially some of theyouger ones were practically falling asleep, they picked at their meals without a great deal of ethusiasm as their eyelids dropped and they gave massive yawns. The blow of Splinter's death, followed by the late night before, and the excitement of being out on the farm, plus the fresh air had caused all the children to practically collapse at the table, more then ready for a good night's sleep.

There wasn't much conversation even among the adults beyond the usual pleasantries of please pass the salad, or juice or whatever was desired. Or a bit of " That was delicious thank you."

It was decided that everyone would go to bed early for Splinter's funeral was to be at sunrise in the morning before breakfast though of course the little children under the age of ten were entitled to have something to eat to save off starvation as it were.

The next morning the family gathered outside the farm house to proceed to the burial site, they lined up according to rank, which meant that Leo lead the way, carrying Splinter's body wrapped up in a blanket, followed by Rama, Don, followed by Raph, and Mike who were carrying the tree, Kaliann and Aiden, and the rest of the family came after, clustered in a large group. It was totally silent even Tessica was still as could be cuddled up in Cathy's arms.

As they neared the grave, Leo suddenly seemed taken by surprise as he saw the coffin sitting by the hole, but he gave a faint smile and looked over his shoulder towards Don. Don gave a subtle shrug and a slow shake of his head in denial and turned to look at his other two brothers who only smiled.

" Raph and I did it last night Leo" Mike admitted in a low whisper.

Don grinned, " It was just what we needed. I don't know why we didn't think of it" he murmured.

The coffin was made out of odd scraps of wood, and so there was many types of wood in the simple structure, yet each piece of wood was made to fit nicely to the other, a coat of varnish had completed the box.There were hinges on the lid, and four hand holds two one either side, and Raph had done an engraved carving on the lid, with a rather hurried yin yang symbol.

Leo sighed reflectivley as he rested the still form within the coffin, he glanced at Raph and Mike allow them the honour of closing the lid on the body within.

With silence the four boys each took a hand hold to lower the coffin into the grave, theyn they bowed their heads, as one they removed their eye masks and laid them on the coffin lid.

" He was our father and our mentor, without him we would not be here today." Leo spoke up.

" He was our advisor, but was wise enough to know when to step in and when to let us go our own way, seeking our own paths." Don stated.

" He was our protecter from beginning to end. He sought to make us strong in heart, body and soul" Raph declared.

" He was our friend, ready with a gentle ear, encouraging our own unique abilities and accepting us for who we were" Mike sniffed a bit.

" He was our Sensei and Master and we shall ever honour his teachings seeing to it that his legacy will live on." All four intoned formally.

Then they all took a turn at shovelling a bit of dirt onto the grave.

Leo looked at his family and at their friends April and Casey, he took a breath " He wanted us to honour him, and remember him as he was, and so while we place the Earth on top of him, the same Earth that gave birth to us I think we ought to honour his wishes and say a few words of what we remember about him." Leo's voice grew slightly rough and husky, " I will recall forever the day Splinter gave me these katanas, they were once used by his master Yoshi and so there is great history in them."

Don smiled " He was often uneasy about my inventions and some of my experiments and yet he never denied it."

Raph sighed shrugging uneasily, " What can I say I'm the black sheep of the family, the failure as it were. I often felt I was never good enough..." Raph kicked out at a rock, " But I couldn't picture my life without him either."

Mike licked his lips " No matter how much I fooled around he often seemed to be one step ahead of me, often with that walking stick of his at the ready."

Rama gave a small weak grin, " I can't forget the sai katas he performed when I was only four, to prove to me that I could possibly manage the sai even with my many fingers."

A small chuckle from many members of the family followed Rama's confession. The girl gave an embarassed shrug.

" How was I supposed to know that the numbers of my fingers didn't matter?" she muttered.

So it went until all who had wanted to had contributed a short bit of their memories of the one they were laying to rest.

" Death is never the end it is only the beggining. It is the end of one thing and the start of something else, while he has passed on, we can take heart in knowing that he lived a very full and long life." Leo said, " I don't think he had much to regret. He seemed to know that all things happen as they should, and that there was certain inevitable things in life that had to be accepted, death being just one of these things." Leo paused, " For every thing there is a season a time to be born and a time to die, life is about change and he truly did change." Leo took a deep breath, " He taught us about in and yo all positives and negatives in one aspect. He taught us the rules of balance and how to get the best from all of us. His achievements were many and he lived well beyond his years. His legacy is truly now ours."

April bowed her head stepping closer to Casey. Karena was dabbing at here eyes with a tissue trying not to cry but a few tears were trickling down her face, in spite of her efforts.

Leo swallowed hard, he glanced towards Ramiela and gave a barely perceptible nod in her direction. Rama came forward.

" The Master always had a way of reminding me of a geode, an ordinary drab looking rock, not,much to speak of on the outside but if you break it open the true beauty shines through. Splinter had a way of seeing past the rough exteriors that people have and seeing what lay deep inside. He wanted people to shine as brightly on the outside as they did on the inside" Rama spoke softly but her voice carried well to all those assembled, " He didn't want people being less then what they were so he pushed for the very best and he never gave up because what he knew lay within would one day break free. He knew how to open you up to show what others would easily pass up or by. It was part of his wisdom" She paused and took a deep calming breath, " But it was more then that it was part of who he was. It was his skill, his talent and he wasn't afraid or ashamed to use it." She glanced towards her uncle Raphael, " Sometimes when it seemed we had failed him, or perhaps felt we failed ourself he wouldn't hold it against us, for the rock must be hard and sharp. The rock must protect what lies within, because to show it off to the world might be dangerous. He knew that was the way of things. He accepted it but it didn't mean that he was going to continue on trying to get those he cared about to be everything he knew that they could be." Rama bowed her head and sighed, " I never fully understood why he chose me to be jonin. I didn't want it, that was for sure. I had no idea what he saw to make him even think, even for one moment that I was worthy of such a rank or title. I came to understand though, that I didn't have to know everything, that somethings one must simply accept on faith." She sniffed and took a deep breath. " Faith of the old who have lived a life time, faith of one who has proven time and again his right to lead; to decide. I had faith in him, and I know that I am the chunin that I am because of him. I know the Master helped to make the gems inside me shine through for all to see, as he has with all of us. In the end all I can say to honour him, to show my respect for that training is that I will work hard to prove his faith in me." She quickly ducked her head to dab at her eyes as she stepped back fighting to gain control, this was harder then she expected.

By now the grave had been filled in, and a hole for the tree stood waiting.

" A tree is a symbol of life, it passes through the seasons in spring it awakes a new and fresh, in summer it is in its full beauty, but by fall it is fading the leaves change colour droop and are scattered until the branches are laid bare. Winter's cold harsh touch is almost a form of death in itself" Don insisted, " We all go through periods of change small, decisions that can become major events. Sometimes it seems as if we both live and die many times in our life." Don coughed a bit to clear his throat, " Our Master could have died when his own mentor Hamato Yoshi died, and perhaps a part of him did fade or cease to exist. Perhaps he went about his life with no true meaning or intention, of continuing to live, sometimes that is all it takes." Don shook his head, " Our Master found us in the ooze, he didn't know what the consequences would be for taking us in, I wonder if he had known if it would have changed his mind?" Don gave a shrug, " Needless to say we gave him a meaning to live, to continue. This tree, the Japanese cherry tree, is and will always be a symbol of the world our Master came from but also one of his life and the changes he went through and endured so that we could be here now." He looked out at the family gathered solemly some standing trying to be brave by not giving in to their emotions others by releasing the tears and grief they still held. " If everyone would like to come forward and place some dirt around the tree's roots."

The children giggled happily grabbing fistfuls of the dirt to pat around the tree and its roots often turning to run back to the end of the line so they could do it again, this small break had been planned to get everyone involved with the ceremony and to let the children have a rest from standing still and the long boring talk, besides the tree needed to be planted one way or another and this, while probably not the quickest and most effective way of going about it allowed a bit of respite before they concluded.

Finally with the tree well planted and hands of many shapes and sizes pounding the dirt down the task was done, Raph's oldest Ashlynn was sent to bring back a large bucket of water from the stream to give the tree it's first drink after being planted.

Raphael watched and when the bucket was empty and placed down, he spoke calmly " We now ask that the entire family observe three minutes of silence in memory of Splinter."

There had been some debate on how long they ought to be silent for, finally they decided on three minutes knowing that most of the children could handle that and only Tessica might disturb the silence. The few minutes of silence was for each person to reflect on Splinter, and say goodby to him.

Finally the three minutes were over and Mike glanced Leo's way waiting for his signal.

" Dear Honoured Master

may your spirit rest in peace

life and death is one." Mike spoke with great respect as he bowed to the grave then he turned and winked towards Rama.

Rama stepped forward again this time to preform three Japanese songs that Splinter had been rather fond of. She tried not to think of that as she sang though for she knew the tears would choke her voice and she wanted the music to be right. Yet it seemed her throat was still sore and dry by the time she was finished and she found her shoulders slumping a bit as she went to stand near her father, Mike pulled her into a hug whispering something to her.

" If Splinter taught us anything, and I must confess he taught us many things, but the most important thing of all, the one that could very well save our life is he taught us ninjitsu." Leo declared, " So it seems only fitting that we end this ceremony with a sparring session. Aiden and Kaliann you will join us."

Aiden grimaced a bit but Kali quickly nudged him as she bowed to her father " We are honoured Master." she replied for the two of them.

Those who were not to be part of the sparring session stood back to watch, giving the seven ninja room to move as they began to show the skill and ability that had been taught to them from the time they were only toddlers. Each of them but a great deal of strength and energy in to the session, moving at speeds so fast, striking so suddenly that one hardly knew where an attack was coming. They were no more then green blurs, using the nearby grass and trees, to their advantage.

This was how sparring was supposed to be and there was a certain thrill that came with it, a small adrenaline rush as each one worked to strike and remove themselves from harm in less then a heartbeat.

When the session was called to a halt by Leo, all of them were sweated and their breath was coming a bit quicker though not quite that hard or fast.

" May Master Splinter rest in peace, may we always hold to the lessons that he gave us." Leo declared.

As one all the ninja bowed low before the grave and with that the long ceremony was ended and the family returned to the house.

Rama sighed as she glanced back over her shoulder at the tree, saying goodbye wasn't easy, but now perhaps the worst was over and soon the family could move on.

She didn't notice Leo carefully scrutinizing her, didn't know that her Master, her Sensei had a bombshell that he planned on dropping on her, he was doing his best to read her mood to get an idea of when the best time would be to approach her, Leo knew he would have to give her some time, and yet he was not one to procrastinate. Ramiela though seemed unaware of any of that, but then recent events had caused her to feel numb and hollow so that she wasn't as likley to notice Leo's probing.

Leo turned back to pull Karena closer to him, he would give Ramiela a bit more time, for he was not one to put off what was distasteful for too long and he knew it wouldn't get any easier either but a part of Leo mused, ' I wonder how she will take it. I know she vowed to try to live up to what Splinter saw in her, but I've known her long enough to realize I could very well, be playing with fire.'

TBC