Hey everybody! I wanted to apologize for how long it's taken to upload this chapter. I don't know why, but this has been one of the harder ones to get out of my head. Moving forward, this will probably be a sporadic uploading schedule. I appreciate your patience and the kind words y'all have posted. They really do give me encouragement to keep writing. I hope that y'all enjoy this chapter (and forgive any goofs that may pop up)!

December 15, 2010

Nine years had passed since April had come to live with Splinter and the turtles. They fought and bickered and loved, like a family should; and even though the five teens had grown up, they still enjoyed sleeping in a pile together when the weather turned cold. It was one element from their childhood the group clung to. April wouldn't trade those moments "huddling" with her brothers or the times meditating with Splinter for the world. But while she never forgot that she had a life before the Hamatos, April's memories of her mother and father had gradually slipped away. Instead, she began to experience disturbing trances and nightmares.

It started small. Donnie first noticed something was off when he and April had seen The Little Mermaid on Broadway. Towards the end of the show when King Triton traded himself to save his daughter from the Sea Witch, the boy noticed April's eyes glazing over and the tendrils of her hair slightly lifting off her face. The phenomenon passed as Donnie placed a hand on her arm, asking if she was alright. She shrugged, saying that the scene felt familiar.

The strangeness escalated from there. If April dove deep enough into her mediations, fragments of her memories would surface. Stuff would levitate during these episodes as she grew older. Things were worse when she slept. April's memories would evolve into nightmares, items would levitate and zoom about uncontrollably, and April would scream until she was awakened. It hadn't taken long to figure out that Donnie was the only one who could wake and soothe the girl when she was in this state.

One night close to Christmas when the teens were in their pile, the turtles were all awakened by April's screams. Ralph grunted from the bottom of the pile as his pillow jerked out from under him to zoom around the room.

"Donnie…" The red-clad turtle groaned. Mikey held his pillow over his head as he rubbed the redhead's arm in an attempt to calm her down.

"I'm on it," the purple turtle muttered. He unfurled himself from where he lay to go grab something out of April's room.

Leo sat up and moved to lean his shell against the bottom of the couch. He ducked to avoid several flying VHS tapes. "Looks like whatever's going on with April is getting stronger. This is the third episode in two weeks." Mikey nodded, continuing to rub the girl's arm.

"Should someone go tell Dad about April's episode?"

Raph dug the heals of his palms into his eyes. "I think-" he was interrupted by another scream from April. "-I think he already knows, Mike. Donnie'll be back soon to calm her down, they'll do their meditation thing, and we can get back to sleep."

"I've got him." Donnie came jogging back from April's room holding a small blue bundle. "I can't believe she forgot to bring Boba out here with her tonight." The boy pried open his friend's hand to help her grasp the childhood toy. Donnie stroked her hair as he began to softly sing.

"Dancing is a language that is felt instead of heard,

You can whisper, sing, or shout without so much as a word.

Try it, go on. Like so…"

April's screams subsided and the levitating objects fell. Mikey grunted as one of the VHS tapes landed on his head.

"Just let your emotions tell your body what to do,

See how much a single gesture can reveal…"

The red-head grimaced in her sleep, leaning into Donnie's touch.

"And ev'ry little step

Ev'ry single step,

Is one step closer…

To saying what you feel…" Donnie whispered. Relief flooded him as April slowly blinked.

"D-donnie?" She groaned as she sat up, massaging her forehead. "Oh no… it happened again, didn't it?" April could feel Donnie's relief, but it mixed with the concern and frustration radiating off her other brothers. She curled into ball as Donnie rubbed circles on her back. "I'm sorry guys. I thought I was getting better at controlling this…"

"They know, April." Her growing powers allowed April to sense the emotions and sometimes even the thoughts of those around her, but Donnie was the only one she could communicate with telepathically. "Everyone's just tired."

"It's okay, Red." Raph yawned, repositioning his reclaimed pillow under his head. "It's hard to control something ya don't really understand."

Donnie offered her his hand. "Come on. Let's go meditate."

xXx

"I am so sorry I woke you guys up, Dee." April grimaced, falling into her meditative pose in front of several lit candles within the dojo. Donnie shrugged as he mimicked her position across from her.

"Like Raph said, April - we don't really understand this power you seem to have. It's not your fault you can't control it." He placed his large hand over her smaller one. "But we're all here to help you cope and manage them. You ready to meditate?"

Both teens lifted their hands above their heads, breathing deeply as they began their meditation routine. Donnie projected a thought through their mental connection as he exhaled.

"Remind me - you haven't always had these powers, right? I only remember seeing something start a few years ago."

"Kind of?" She replied mentally. April found it strange that Donnie was the only one of her family she could communicate with in this way; but that didn't mean she didn't enjoy it… "I think I remember some smaller occurrences when I was a kid. I could feel my parents' emotions, mostly their fear and anxiety, even if they tried to hide them from me." The teens inhaled and exhaled once more.

"Do you remember what you saw in your dream tonight?"

"Fragments. It's mostly the same things that always show up…" April opened her mind further to share her memories with the boy. Donnie couldn't see anything from the memory fragments, but he could hear what April had remembered.

"OW! Daddy, the needles hurt. Why do the bad men need so much of my blood?"

"Mama? Why are the bubble gum hamsters always hurting us? Did we do something wrong?"

Amongst the swirling sounds of the memories, Donnie smelled the distinct combination of bananas, acetone, and smokey cinnamon.

"Daddy always smelled like cinnamon…" April muttered, her eyes still closed.

"April? Those scents… it smells like they belong in a laboratory… Was your dad a scientist? April?" Donnie barely opened his eyes to check on April when she didn't respond before a foggy new memory blasted down their bond.

"She's not feeling well from YESTERDAY'S bloodwork, you monsters! She's just a CHILD!" A man shouted. Through Donnie's connection with April, he recognized the voice as her father's. The memory cleared as a group of metal men entered young April's vision.

"Very well," One of the metal men droned. "Kraang shall postpone Experiment 274's bloodwork for the Test until tonight. Experiment 274 WILL be prepared."

Donnie could feel young April trembling in her father's arms as the - did they call themselves the Kraang? - as the Kraang left the room. As soon as the door shut, April's father and a woman, she had to be April's mother since they looked exactly alike, flew into action throwing things into backpacks.

"That bought us sometime, Kirby."

Kirby pulled his wife away from her frantic task, placing his hands on her shoulders. "No, sweetheart. I bought you two time - you and April." The woman violently shook her head, placing her hands on her husband's face.

"No… no! We promised each other… we would leave this awful place with our daughter… TOGETHER!"

The man kissed her forehead. "Darling, someone has to stall them in case they come early. You need to make sure April makes it out of here. April needs her mother."

Young April stepped forward to tug the hem of her father's sweatshirt. "But… I need you too, Daddy."

Kirby knelt before his daughter, his eyes welling with tears. "It's okay, kiddo. You and your mama are going to play hide and seek with the bad men. And you NEED to win, alright?" The angle of the memory tilted as young April cocked her head.

"Aren't you playing with us?"

"Not this time, kid." Kirby choked. "Someone's got to make sure those bubble gum hamsters don't cheat and come after you too early." Young April giggled as her father gently tickled her sides. "Remember what King Triton did to protect Ariel? It's what daddies do: they protect their kids."

"DADDY NO!"

Donnie fell to the floor shivering and gasping for breath as April released them from the memory. April lay next to him sobbing uncontrollably. "April… w-was that…" The boy wheezed.

April struggled to a seated position. "T-that must have been the n-night Mama and I escaped the…" She trailed off. "We escaped from the farmhouse…" She whispered. Donnie had managed to normalize his breathing, scooting over to sit next to April. He put his arm around her to pull her close. "There's something different about me, isn't there?" She whimpered. The turtle sighed.

"I don't know what the 'bubble gum hamsters' or those weird metal guys wanted with you and your family, but I do know this: different or not, you're part of our family. Heck, we're ALL different! But as long as you're part of this family," He squeezed her shoulder. "We'll love you and keep you safe, like your parents wanted." He only held her tighter as April broke out into fresh sobs, curling herself into his plastron. "I've got you, April. I've always got you."