Christmas Past
Raphael didn't know what time he went to sleep, so he didn't know how long he spent trying to go to sleep. All he knew was that a loud bong sound woke him up when he finally did fall asleep.
Angry at the noise, Raphael stormed out of his room to seek that which woke him. But the problem was he didn't know of anything in the lair that made a loud bonging sound. Still, he looked around the place anyway and came across a tall grandfather clock down on the first floor.
"Don't remember dat bein' der before." Raphael said to himself with a confuse look on his face.
"Do you always make it a habit of talking to yourself?" A voice from behind him asked.
Raphael did a startled jump-spin. "What da shell!" When he landed, a bright light pierced his eyes. "Who are you?" He asked while shielding his eyes. "Are ya da spirit who's comin' was fertold?"
"I am the spirit of Christmas Past." The voice said wisely.
"Long past?"
"Your past."
"Mine?" After asking the question, Raphael let out a grunt of frustration. "Spirit, put yer cap on." He ordered. "Be covered."
"What? Do you so soon put out the light that I give?" The spirit questioned with mild surprise. "Isn't bad enough that you are one of those people who fashioned it and forced me to wear it upon my brow?"
"Well excuse me fer offendin' ya man." Raphael retorted. "But I can't see ya with yer light on so bright."
"Alright, if it will make you happy." Christmas Past let out a sigh, causing the light to dim.
Now that the light wasn't so blinding, the young turtle was able to put his hand down and now saw that the spirit talking to him was one of his brothers. "Donnie?"
"Not quite." Actually, the sprite looked like Donatello wearing a white choir robe and had a candlesnuffer hanging from his side. "Like I said before, I'm the spirit of Christmas Past. I just take the form, shape, or size of what is most comforting to you."
"Ok…sure." Raphael gave a deep sigh. "So tell me what yer business with me is?"
"Your welfare." Christmas Past replied.
"Ya know what is good fer my welfare?" Raphael asked rhetorically. "A peaceful night of unbroken sleep." He pushed past the Donatello looking spirit, heading for his room.
"Now wait just a minute there bro." Christmas Past grabbed the young turtle by the edge of the shell and held on tight. "I've got a lot to show you and we don't have much time."
With practically no effort at all, the spirit steered his charge towards the alien elevator.
"Where are we going?" Raphael asked. Surprising to himself, he found that he had no urge to put up much resistance with the Don looking spirit.
"We're going into your past." Christmas Past told the young turtle while they rode the elevator up.
The doors of the elevator open up to reveal a grade school yard covered in newly fallen snow. "Whoa." Raphael gasped. "Yer good."
"Thank, I try." Christmas Past replied in a flattered tone.
"So what are we doin' here?" Raphael asked.
"Dunno, it's your past." Christmas Spirit answered while taking a step out. "Look around and see if you can remember anything."
"But won't I…we catch cold?" Raphael questioned. "I mean, all yer wearin' is dat thin robe and I've got nothin'."
"Relax." Christmas Past said confidently while walking out onto the glittery white snow. "I'm a spirit, so I don't get cold. And if you touch my robe, you will not feel cold either."
Skeptically Raphael griped a handful of the white robe the Don-like spirit wore. The cloth felt soft and a warm feeling pulsed throughout his whole body. No longer worried about the cold, the young turtle stepped out of the elevator to look about the yard.
At first nothing seemed familiar, except for a childlike mutant turtle dress in street clothes standing at the chain link fence.
"That's you, right?" Christmas Past questioned.
"Yeah." Raphael replied.
"What are you doing over there?"
"Waitin' fer a friend."
"But school seems to be out. Wouldn't they be gone by now?"
"Nah, dis guy always got inta trouble and would get detention all da time."
The main big doors to the school opened up to reveal a young boy with bowl cut black hair and dress in gothic clothes.
"Isn't he a little young to be gothic?" Christmas Past asked.
"His parents are people who worry about crampin' der kid's expressiveness." Raphael explained.
"I see." Christmas Past said with a slight nod of his head.
"Hey Raphie!" The young boy said as he jogged over to the young turtle in street clothes.
"Hey Johnny!" The young turtle greeted back.
"Snuck away from your old man again, huh." Johnny gave his turtle friend a sly look and a nudge in the arm with his elbow.
"Yeah." Young Raph gave a chuckle while putting a hand behind his head. "My brothers are helpin' me out on dis one." The child turtle reached into his jacket pocket. "I had ta come meet ya, cause I got ya sumpthin'." He brought out a small box wrapped in brown packaging paper. "Merry Christmas."
"Ya mean, 'Happy Holidays'." Johnny corrected, before rolling his eyes. "Can you believe I got detention for not being politically correct?"
"I could, but I also know ya." Young Raph answered. "What else did ya do?"
"This kid kept sing 'All I Want For Christmas is My Two Front Teeth' and he was really getting on my nerves." Johnny answered. "So I helped him mean it when his sings it now."
"Harsh." Young Raph laughed. "Maybe ya don't deserve getting' anythin'." The young turtle held the gift away from his young human friend. "But seein' as I ain't Santa, I guess I can give ya dis." He brought the present back and held it out for the boy to take.
With a big smile on his face, Johnny took the present. He unwrapped it with care and his eyes looked like they lit up when he saw what was it was. "No way Raphie. This is, like, so cool. How did you know?" The young boy held up a baseball card in a plastic. "Forget knowing, how did you come across a Ken Griffy Jr. rookie card and in mint condition?"
A large smile grew onto young Raph's face. "Ya wouldn't believe me if I told ya." He told his human friend.
"Man…" Johnny cooed as he stared at the card. "I heard that people kill just to have one of these, mint condition or not."
"Darn." Young Raph snapped his fingers. "Ya found me out." His human friend looked at him with surprise. "I confess, I killed a guy just ta watch him die."
Johnny shook his head. "I can't believe a person like you watches 'Boy Meets World'." He groaned.
"Yeah, well, what can I say?" Young Raph replied. "When ya don't got the remote, ya don't get ta choose what ta watch."
Johnny started to laugh, but then a frown came onto his face. "Aw, now I feel bad." He said sadly. "I don't have anything to give you in return for this."
"Yer friendship is enough of gift for me." Young Raph replied.
"That is so sappy." Johnny commented. "But don't you worry, I'll get ya something that I know you'll like on Christmas Eve. I promise."
The smile on young Raph's face grew even bigger. "Thanks dude."
"But you never got that present." Christmas Past stated matter-of-factly. "Johnny went to visit his grandparents on the Eve and never came back."
"Yeah, I know." Raphael sighed. "His grandparents felt dat his parents weren't doin' a good job raisin'. At least, dat's what Johnny's other friends told me."
"Must have been hard." Christmas Past commented.
"Life was hard." Raphael retorted. "Ya just got ta know how ta roll with da punches."
"You blame your youngest brother?" Christmas Past asked.
"Of course I do." Raphael snapped. "I would have had a chance ta say goodbye ta Johnny before he left, it weren't fer da fact dat I was grounded. I was grounded, causes Mikey decided ta pick a fight with me and den went tattlin' ta Master Splinter when I started kickin' tail. Within da tattlin', da little squealer let slip dat I've been sneakin' up top ta see a human."
"Come on." Christmas Past said as he guided his ward back into the elevator. "I have more to show you."
"I just wished I had a chance ta say goodbye." Raphael sighed while he watched the door close. "He was my best friend, da only one I had."
"You still have your brothers." Christmas Past told the young turtle, while the elevator moved.
"No offenses ta them, but der are times when I wanna hang with people outside my family." Raphael replied.
"Understandable." Christmas Past said with a nod. "But if my memory serves correctly, Johnny wasn't your only friend. There was another."
Raphael swallowed hard as the elevator came to a stop and the doors open. He was relieved to see that it they were just back in the sewers. But they weren't in the lair. "No way." The young turtle breathed. "We're back in our old home." He hopped out of the elevator with the Don-like spirit following behind him and they have a look around the old lair.
Splinter sat in an armchair with a novel in his hand. Behind him, at a table in the kitchen, were four adolescent mutant turtles. Each one wore a different color bandanna, each one reading a book of their own and writing notes down on pads of paper in front of them. All was suppose to be quiet, except for the dripping of water from a pipe, but the young turtles couldn't help talking among themselves.
"It's five after four." A young Michelangelo whined quietly. "Master Splinter promised that today would be the day we'd go tree hunting. And then after that we're suppose to decorate the lair."
"Keep yer shell on Mikey." Young Raphael whispered harshly. "Christmas ain't goin' nowhere."
"But it's Christmas Eve." Young Michelangelo cried. "And besides, you know I get this way at this time every year." The young orange clad turtle began to bounce one of his legs anxiously. "It's so hard for me to focus."
"You're never focus Mikey." Young Donatello joshed. "How would now be any different from any other time?"
"Oh." Young Michelangelo groaned. "Now it's fifteen after four."
"Master Splinter isn't deaf." Young Leonardo stated. "He can hear you complaining and not working. So of course he's going to keep you waiting until you get back to work."
"Aw, Splinter can't expect anyone to be able to work under these conditions." Young Michelangelo moaned.
"Just go back ta work." Young Raphael ordered.
"Alright." Young Michelangelo replied with his lower lip stuck out as far as it could go.
Not two seconds after everything went quiet and the sound of pen scratching paper started up again, did the sound of a book slamming shut rang throughout the lair. At first Leo, Don, and Raph thought it was Mike finally being fed up with waiting. They looked at their youngest brother with a glare, only to find out that he was still reading his book.
"The time for studying is done my sons." Master Splinter stated from out in the living room. "Pack up your learning supplies, put away your books, and get your snow clothes on. Wouldn't want anyone to have a cold this Eve."
"Woo-hoo!" Young Michelangelo cried as he let his book fly up into the air. "Alright, it's about time."
Young Donatello and Leonardo exchanged looks. They knew all along that Master Splinter was just messing with their youngest brother. Young Raphael had other things on his mind at the moment.
"You guys go on ahead without me." The youthful turtle told his family. "I don't feel like goin' out tanight. Maybe I'll start the decoratin' around here while yer all out."
"Are you sure, my son?" Master Splinter inquired.
"Yeah, I'm sure sensei." Raphael replied.
"You're not still moping about missing Johnny, are you?" Young Leonardo asked quietly; when Splinter was off supervise Don and Mike getting dressed.
"That was three years ago Leo." Young Raphael answered. "I've been over that. I just wanna hang around here for awhile."
"Whatever you say." Young Leonardo said while raising his hands above his head. "Just try not to break all the ornaments at once." He added jokingly.
"Har-de, har, har." Young Raphael replied. "Try not ta get a sliver up yer…"
"Don't even think about finishing that sentence Raphael." Master Splinter warned. "Not unless you wish to have a lump of coal in your stocking."
"Consider da thought go from my head." Young Raphael answered.
"Not a word from you Michelangelo." Master Splinter said, when he saw the youngest turtle open his mouth. "Not less you want your brother on your case." Quickly Mike closed his mouth and zipped it shut.
Once Splinter and the three young turtles were dressed, they left the lair. Not more than five minutes after his family left, young Raphael pulled on some snow clothes and left the lair.
"Thought you didn't feel like going out." Christmas Past said while looking at Raph out of the corner of his eyes. Raph looked away from the Don-like spirit, so he couldn't meet eyes with him. "I wonder where he's going."
"I have a feelin' dat we're about ta find out." Raphael said as he walked back into the elevator.
"Oh, we won't be taking that." Christmas Past said.
"Den how will we get der?" Raphael questioned.
"Grab my robe and find out." Christmas Past told him.
Raphael raised an eyebrow while doing as he told. With a handful of robe, the young turtle felt himself go transparent and a sense of being lighter than air. Then the Don-like spirit whisked them both away before Raph could even blink an eye.
First the two turtles flew through a couple of brick walls before flying up through a cement sidewalk and land in front of a junior high schoolyard.
"Alright. I admit dat da whole elevator thing was cool and all, but now yer just showin' off." Raphael said to the Don-like spirit with a smirk.
"What's the use of having the powers if you not going to use them?" Christmas Past asked rhetorically.
Deciding that it was not worth making any kind of joke or comment, Raphael looked around the schoolyard. It was dark, except for the multicolor lights coming out of the window of a gymnasium that was in the back; just pass the classroom buildings. Like a moth is drawn to an electric bug zapper, the lights drew Raph. He reached the large building at the same time his younger self did and both crept up to a window to look inside.
The multicolor lights that consisted of red, white, gold, green, and blue hung from the tall ceiling. A long string of braided light green pine lined the walls. There were four pairs of double doors. Between those double doors hung a mistletoe and on every door was a reef of dark green holly leaves.
Long tables with a variety of food on them lined the walls of the large building. There were piles of mash potatoes with gravy, bowls of yams with little marshmallows, baskets overflowing with warm buttered biscuits, plates with vegetable decorations, and glass bowls full of warm fruit punch. The room was crowded with people moving from one item to the next, filling their plates high with the delicious food. Smaller tables littered the center of the gymnasium with many chairs for people to sit on
There was a school band up on a large stage in the front of the room was playing festive holiday music. But this was a strange band, because the only instruments they had were bells of every size imaginable. Bells went from being no bigger than a regular dinner bell to ones that were looked to be half the size of the person who rang them.
In fact, the person who rang the big bells was one who had grabbed both young and elder Raphael's attention. She was a slender young girl with fairly tanned skin, looked to be no older than twelve, and had lovely auburn hair that had bouncy curls. She wore a light blue dress with silver veil sleeves and had a shirt that went down to her knees. Upon her leg were white woolen stockings and feet in shiny black half-inch high dress shoes.
"For someone so slim, she has quite the upper body strength." Christmas Past commented.
"That's what was so great about her." Raphael sighed, as did his younger self. "She looked so meek, but she could hold her own quite well."
"Wipe your mouth, you're drooling." Christmas Past told the young turtle.
"Oops." With pink cheeks, Raphael did as he was told. "You know, Master Splinter told me sumpthin' once before I met dis girl."
"What was that?" Christmas Past asked.
"He said to me, 'My son…when happiness comes in, always give it a comfortable seat." Raphael answered.
"That is so true." Christmas Past agreed with a nod of his head. "Giving people a pleasure is such a small matter. He only gave a few moments of his time…a few hours at best. It is so much that he really deserves praise for it?"
"Hey now." Raphael turned to glare at the Don-like spirit. "Don't ya go talkin' about my sensei like dat. Ya don't know him. He had da power ta make us happy and unhappy. Ta make our studies heavy or light." Suddenly a small frown came onto the young turtle's face.
"What's the matter?" Christmas Past questioned.
"It's…nuthin'." Raphael replied solemnly. "I guess…thing were easier back den." He turned back to the window to watch the party going on inside the gymnasium.
"Who was the girl?" Christmas Past inquired.
"Her name was…Nisha." Raphael said the name with an awe-inspiring sigh. "She was a rebel, just like me. Guess dat how we clicked so well tagether."
"Did anyone in your family ever find out about this little crush of yours?" Christmas Past asked.
Raphael shook his head. "Ta tell ya da true, I dunno if I really had a crush on her."
Suddenly a door near them burst open. "Raphie-kun?" Nisha called out softly. "Are you here?" Her voice flowed like she was singing.
"Sure am." The young Raphael said as he back-flipped way from the window. "I won't miss yer concert fer all da money in da world."
"You say the nicest things." Nisha said with a girlish giggle.
"Got ya sumpthin." Young Raphael held up two fists in front of him. "Pick a hand."
"Um…ok." Nisha waved a finger from one fist to the other. "Uh…I pick…that one." She pointed to the young turtles right hand.
"Good guess." Young Raphael opened his hands up to show bracelet made of multicolor marble beads on an elastic string. "And for guessin' da right hand, ya get a second prize." He opened up his left hand to show a bracelet with rose-colored marble bead on an elastic string.
Nisha stared at the bracelets with wide eyes. "Oh Raphie-kun, they're beautiful."
"Nuthin' but da best fer my girl." Young Raphael replied while slipping the bracelet onto the young girl's hand.
Suddenly, as though there was some kind of cue, music drifted from gymnasium. Raphael gave the young girl a low bow and in return, Nisha curtsied. Then the two beings joined hands to dance while snow began to fall gentle down upon them. Everything around them faded into nothing and eventually so did they.
The Don-like spirit snapped his fingers to show the next scene. It was Raphael and Nisha, both two years older, walking down an icy path in Central part. The young girl was dressed in a maroon snow jumpsuit that had a hood with faux fur rim.
"Da years change people." Raphael said fearfully. "I don't wish ta look spirit." He tried to walk away.
But the Don-like spirit grabbed the back of the young turtle's shell. "You must." Christmas Past told him while turning Raph around for him to see the scene unfold.
"You dislike the world too much…Raphael." Nisha said to Raphael. "You're honorable…and noble…and…" She let out a frustrated sigh while having a seat on a nearby bench. "It just seems that there isn't any other passion that persuades you like finding fault with the world around."
"Ok, so maybe I look at the world in a different way." Raphael replied as he sat down next to her. "But my feelin's fer ya have not changed." He took her hand into both of his
"Our choice to go steady is an old one." Nisha said as she took her hand back. "You've changed. When you asked me, you were another person."
"I was a boy." Raphael retorted.
"You still are." Nisha pointed out. "How often I've thought about this, I will not say. But I thought about this and…" there was some hesitation in her voice, "…and I release you."
The present Raphael's face seemed to just screw up. "Don't say sumpthin' stupid. Don't say sumpthin' stupid." He chanted.
"Did I ask ta be release?" The young Raphael asked coldly.
Present Raphael smacked his face with hand. "D'oh!"
"In words…no, never." Nisha shook her head. "It is with your changed nature and everything in you that made me love you." She explained. "If things were different, if you met me now, would you have tried to win me?" The young Raphael gave no answer. "I thought so."
The present Raphael felt a sharp pain his heart, like a Sai was pierced into it. "Aw man."
"You think I won't?" The young Raphael questioned coolly.
"I know you won't." Nisha replied.
The young Raphael said nothing.
"Don't just sit der stupid. Don't let her do dis." Present Raphael yelled at his younger self. "Speak ta her. Say sumpthin'…not stupid." He turned to the Don-like spirit. "Why does he not speak ta her?" But the spirit gave no reply.
"If you just met me with the feelings you have about your morality, yourself, and humans, would you have ask me to go steady?" A grave look came over Nisha's face. "Or would you look upon me with the distaste you have developed for other humans."
The shock of her words and tone made the young Raphael feel like he was just slapped across the face. In fact he wished that Nish had hit him, because the smack would hurt a lot less than her words. As for the present Raphael, he felt the piercing of the Sai go even deeper into his heart.
"And if you put your angry and dislike to the side for but a moment to continue this relationship with me, I know you would live to regret it soon or later." Nisha told Raph. "And I don't want a relationship like that." The young girl got up from the bench and looked down at the young turtle. "So out of the love for the turtle you once were, I'm releasing you." She took Raph's hand, put the two marble beaded bracelets into it, and close the hand. "Goodbye, Raphie-kun." Then she turned to walk away.
"No…wait!" Present Raphael yelled at the back of the young girl. "Don't. He is still a boy, ya know he doesn't know anythin'." He turned back to yell at his younger self. "Well don't just sit there stupid! Go after her!"
The young Raphael jumped up from the bench. "Oh yeah? Well…who needs ya anyway!" He yelled after Nisha.
Suddenly, as if it were some kind of sign, the elastic string on the bracelets snapped and the colored beads fell upon snow when the young Raphael opened his hand. The young adolescent stared at the fallen beads for just a moment before kicking up a heap of snow upon them and walk away in the opposite direction from Nisha.
Present Raphael turned to the Don-like spirit. "No more! Show me no more!" He yelled. "Take me home, or do ya delight in tormentin' me like dis so much dat ya condemned yerself ta death by my hands?"
Christmas Past rolled his eyes before his head nodded, whisking them back to the present lair. Distraught, Raphael started to make his way away from the Don-like spirit. But he did not get far when he saw his shadow become long on the wall. He knew that Christmas Past was brightening up again, so that he could not be ignored.
"Haut me no more!" Raphael ordered as he turned around to face the spirit once more.
The Don-like spirit shook his head. "Do you not want to hear about how your human friend Casey died?" He asked.
"No!" Raphael cried as he ran at the spirit. "I will have nuthin' more ta do with ya." He snatched the candlesnuffer that hung by the side. "Just leave me!" With it in both hands, the young turtle pushed down upon Christmas Past till it finally touched the floor.
For a moment, the young turtle just held the snuffer to the floor. He huffed from the workout of shoving it down on the spirit. Suddenly the snuffer began to shake violently and Raphael jumped away from it with fright. The cone metal object continued to shake, causing the young turtle to become utterly petrified. Then with one last aggressive shake, the snuffer exploded and a super blinding bright light filled the lair before everything went dark for Raphael.
A/N: (Whew) One spirit down and another two to go. This is the first deadline story I've ever done and I hope that will make the deadline.