Chapter Fifty-One
Where are you?
Back in New York, Raphael was sleeping soundly until his alarm buzzed startling him.
Leaning over and slamming his hand on the snooze button, he rolled over sleepily, expecting to feel his mate next to him.
Yet as he did, he felt nothing except the cool sheets, and his eyes shot open, and he sat up.
"Mona?" he asked.
He looked around the room expecting her to be either getting dressed or sitting at her dressing table. There had been times she had woken before him and she often let him sleep till the alarm woke him, yet she was nowhere to be found.
The red masked turtle looked back over to Mona's side of the bed, and he soon saw the note Mona had left there the day before.
Snatching it up, Raphael scanned it, and no sooner had he done so than he paled, and his eyes widened and shook his head in disbelief.
"Oh, shell no!" he cried.
In his room, Leonardo had been sleeping peacefully but he was soon pulled from his slumber when he heard a shout coming from his bedroom door.
The blue masked turtle sat bolt upright, shaking his head to get rid of the cobwebs of sleep and he looked over to see Raphael running in looking hysterical.
"Leo!" Raphael cried "She's gone!"
"Raph?" he asked standing up and shaking his head to rid himself of the cobwebs of sleep.
"Raphael? What's going on?"
"She's gone! She's gone!" Raphael cried again.
"Gone?" Leonardo asked, "Whose gone?"
"Mona!" Raphael shouted, "Mona's left!"
Leonardo's heart leapt to his throat, and he began to expect the worst.
"Gone?" he asked.
At once, thoughts began to run through his mind, as the word 'gone' was spoken it could mean many things and he hoped against all hope it wasn't what he thought.
"Gone?" he asked grabbing his younger brother's shoulders and making him look him in the eyes, "Raph! Calm down! Explain! What do you mean, she's gone?"
Raphael took a deep breath and looked up at Leonardo.
'She's left the lair, she's taken off!" Raphael choked "She left, and I awoke to this note!" he held up the letter and Leonardo took it and began to read:
Dear Raph, Leo, Donnie, Mikey, Master Splinter
As I write this, I cannot express any more regret than I feel within me, and I cannot tell you enough how sorry I am to do this.
Since the day Diablo betrayed Mutopia, and broke my heart, I cannot push away the feelings I have, the hurt I feel, its worse than any pain I've felt before, physically, or emotionally.
Even Dr Arden's Torture Serum doesn't compare to what agony torments me.
He's a nightmare in my sleep, a blade in my soul.
I've cried so many tears, and I still do, whether they be from my eyes or within my soul.
I have watched the news, listened to Tyroth's reports, yet I feel restless, and feel like a coward, staying in New York whilst Jake, Tyroth and the Knights are working tirelessly to find Diablo.
As the older sibling, I feel I have a responsibility to my younger brother, I don't care whether he is a mutant and turned on us, he is my brother, and I feel I need to clean up the mess.
But know this, no matter what, I love you, all of you, and that will never change.
Pandora, know this, your mother loves you, so much, I give my life for you, and everything I do, is for you.
Kemeko, my little niece, you're a wise one for one so small, look after Pandora for me, as well as your father, Uncles and grandpa, your auntie has a duty and once it is fulfilled, I will return.
Again, I'm so sorry, but I cannot sit still anymore.
Monalisa
Leonardo gripped the paper in his hands, and he sighed lowering his head.
"Oh Mona…I knew this would happen."
He looked up at Raphael and stepped towards him before holding out his arms and Raphael fell into his embrace.
"Why? Why?" Raphael wailed "Why didn't she speak to me? I would have helped her!"
"She had her reasons Raph," Leonardo said, "She feels guilt and blame for what happened, and she wants to help our friends, but…but she should have spoken to us!"
He held Raphael close for a long time.
"How am I going to explain this to Pandora?" Raphael asked, "How am I going to explain to her that her mother's just left us?"
"Calm down." Leonardo ordered making Raphael look at him "We will sort this; I need you to stay calm and focused!"
Raphael looked at his wise older brother and didn't speak yet he let the words sink in.
"Let's wake the others." Leonardo suggested "We'll wake everyone and have a meeting."
Raphael swallowed and wiped his tears that soaked his mask.
"Very well." He said as he turned to walk to the door whilst Leonardo quickly put on his pads, belt and mask and get ready to join him.
"Oh Mona…" Leonardo sighed to himself "Why did you have to act so reckless?"
"The Shell!?"
"Why did she do it?!"
"My daughter…why?"
The voices that filled the kitchen were the same reactions of Raphael and Leonardo when they showed Michelangelo, Donatello and Splinter the letter Mona left.
Splinter sighed and placed his hands on his head.
Michelangelo and Donatello looked at each other in worry.
"How is she getting to Chicago anyway?" Michelangelo asked.
"She took the Shell-Cycle." Raphael answered, "I went up to the garage to find clues and the Shell-Cycles gone!"
"She's riding that all the way to Chicago?" Donatello asked.
"She is yes." Leonardo confirmed.
Splinter sighed.
"I had a feeling this would happen." He said, "Mona had such a darkness within her, and even when I thought it was fading, it was always there, the shadow of her younger brother's betrayal hangs over her, and it feels like it won't be lifted until she feels she can do something to stop his reckless antics."
"I felt the same feeling sensei." Leonardo agreed.
"So, what do we do now?" Michelangelo asked.
"I say we go after her!" Raphael said.
"Try and catch up with her?" Donatello asked, "She must be miles away by now!"
"Do you think she may have informed Mutopia of her returning?" Leonardo pondered.
"I got no idea!" Raphael said as he looked at the kitchen clock "More than likely they'll be stirring from sleep since it's after sundown, and if Mona had informed them, they would have let us know."
"Unless she told them not to tell us?" Donatello suggested.
"If I know Tyroth." Leonardo said, "Which I do, he wouldn't break a promise to someone, unless he felt it was vital for someone to know, depending on the situation."
"Huh?" Michelangelo raised an eyebrow.
"Tyroth would honour peoples wishes if they told him not to speak a word to anyone, but given Mona's well-being, and what she's done, he would tell us if she informed him of her coming back?" Leonardo explained.
"That's a good point!" Donatello said.
"And we've heard nothing so far?" Raphael said.
"Which means, Mona's remaining silent on her journey till she makes it to Chicago." Donatello ended.
Splinter sighed again.
"I should have spoken more with her." He said, "Maybe I would have seen the signs?"
Leonardo placed his hand on Splinter's shoulder.
"I don't think any of us saw this coming." He said, "None of us."
Raphael swallowed in worry then looked towards the doorway.
"We still got to tell the girls." He said, "I'm dreading this!"
Leonardo placed his other paw on Raphael's arm.
He was just as worried, but he knew it had to be done.
Half an hour later, the turtles and Splinter were in the playroom facing Pandora and Kemeko who were sitting on beanbags.
"Where's mum?" Pandora asked.
Raphael had gone in to wake his daughter and had ushered her into the playroom so he could talk to her, and Leonardo had done the same with Kemeko, saying they had something important to tell them.
As soon as the girls had walked into the playroom, both had noticed Mona was absent and Pandora was indeed curious to know where her mother was.
"Girls?" Leonardo spoke first, "Do you remember Uncle Callum had to mutate, because of what that evil man, the Shredder did to him?"
The girls nodded.
"He turned into a raven." Kemeko said "But then, he turned bad, and attacked Mutopia?"
"That is correct little Lotus." Leonardo said with a nod.
"We had to hide in Sonia's room." Pandora added, "Because we had to stay safe."
"That's right baby girl." Raphael said "And you know why Mummy was so upset? Was because of what Uncle Callum, or rather Diablo did?"
As he spoke, he held up his hand, still bandaged from where Diablo had shot through it.
"He hurt you daddy!" Pandora said to which the red masked turtle nodded with a frown.
"But where is mummy?" the little hybrid asked.
Raphael sighed.
"I'm sorry kiddo." He said, "But mummy decided she couldn't stay here, she didn't want Uncle Tyroth to continue to find Diablo alone."
The girls stared at Raphael with wide eyes.
"Aunt Mona is gone?" Kemeko asked "Gone back to Chicago?"
Raphael nodded.
"She has yes," he said, "She decided to leave us and return to Chicago to find Diablo."
Pandora stared at her father, both in shock and sadness.
"But daddy!" she said "Why didn't she say anything to you, or to us?"
"I don't know baby." Raphael sighed as he knelt down to his daughter's level and Pandora walked up and hugged him and he wrapped his arms around her.
"I really don't know, she was so upset and angry, and she felt she needed to go and help our friends in Chicago."
"Will she come back?" Pandora asked anxiously.
"Yeah!" Kemeko added "Will she?"
"Of course, she will!" Michelangelo piped up before Raphael could speak "Mona will come back!"
"Of course! Yes!" Raphael agreed as he hugged Pandora "She'll come back to us, she just feels she has a duty to help our friends!"
Pandora leaned on her father's chest.
She was upset Mona had just left, and a few tears fell from her eyes.
"Don't cry Little Geisha." Raphael comforted, despite feeling just as hurt "Mummy will come back, as she said in her letter, she promises she will, and she loves you so very much! It's because she loves you, she's doing this, she wants you to be safe."
"Yeah!" Donatello said, "Because Diablo's antics could put us at risk should the humans find out about us!"
The other turtles and Splinter agreed.
"Indeed yes!" Splinter said, "Diablo's reckless behaviour could very well expose the fact there are mutants in the world, and the humans will become curious about us, and want to hunt us down."
"So, what do we do now Master?" Leonardo asked as he stroked Kemeko's hair comfortingly.
"We had best inform Mutopia of Mona's return to Chicago," Splinter recommended "More than likely she will go straight to Mutopia, but they better prepare for her, if she hasn't informed them already."
"Very well." Raphael said picking up his shell-cell "I'll call them now, more than likely they'll be awake."
So the turtles have discovered Mona's gone, and read her letter.
As much as they are disappointed she has left the lair to return to Chicago, they understand her reasons.
What will happen after they inform Mutopia of Mona's disappearance?
Well, all will be revealed soon enough!