Author's note: Yeah, yeah, I know; this is taking forever. But this is my first attempt at a drama so hold onto your horses and various other farm animals. : - ) I'm working on this as quickly as I can. I actually decided to split this chapter in half so I could have something to post. I figured this was long enough and I found, what I hope to be, a good cut-off place.

Thanks to Dragonfly Rider, SaphireCatElf, sugar-high pixie, Jessiy Landroz, Liz-Sakura, and Katana-Babe for remembering to review. Yes, I know, Aaron's a little looney right now; but hopefully I've been able to explain it in this chapter so that it now makes sense and she no longer seems quite so chemically imbalanced.

Warning: This is not a happy, feel good chapter. After you read please go to your designated happy place to return to your normal happy status.

Disclaimer: Mine: Aaron. Not mine: TMNT, Reliant K, and "Mood Rings"

New Author's Note: I decided to take the lyrics off cuz guess what? Song lyrics are a no-no. (Shrugs innocently) Who knew? (A mryiad of other author's raise their hands and wave them in the air) (Aaron shrugs again) Ok then! ...

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"Hey Leo," Mike shouted as he rushed into the monitor room. Leo sat on the couch, TVs off, book in his lap. He wasn't reading though, or he would have turned the page during the last twenty minutes.

Mike shouted again, this time in his brother's ear, to get his attention.

Leo jerked back into reality, "Huh? What?"

"I was sitting in my room thinking about how weird Aaron was acting earlier when I remembered this old CD she lent me a while back, and I think you should give it a listen." Mike pulled produced his old battered boom box and before Leo had a chance to object Mike hit the play button. The old appliance began screeching in protest of being forced to play after too many years of use. The song was barely audible above the noise.

"It's Reliant K's "Mood Rings"," Mike shouted over the screeching during the intro.

The Wailing of the electronic device drowned out the lyrics of the song.

"Sounds just like Aaron, right?" Mike asked half-way through, oblivious to the din.

Leo nodded painfully covering his ear holes, hoping the torture would be over soon.

Eventually the pain came to an end, but not nearly soon enough.

"Well?" Mike stopped the CD and looked up hopefully.

Leo sighed and cautiously lowered his hands from the sides of his head. Not entirely sure what to tell his brother as he hadn't heard the idea at all, "Mike, I'm not sure that's quite the answer to the problem."

"Awww!" Mike sighed disappointedly.

"But it was a nice try..." Leo tried to console his brother.

Mike shrugged his shoulders and scampered off to show Don his new theory.

Leo put a hand over his eyes and rubbed them, he felt someone sit down on the other end of the couch.

"You thinking about Aaron's blowout today?" Raph's voice asked.

Leo didn't remove his hand, "You can tell?"

"Well, you're kinda moping around all thoughtful and junk and that's the only confusing recent event that comes to mind." Raph sat back against the couch and said in a more brotherly tone, "You're blowing all this out of proportion, Leo. Don't worry about it; everyone gets mad sometimes; take it from someone who knows."

Leo was silent for a time, mulling thoughts over in his mind, "It's just that she's never really acted like this before. I mean, we all know Mike's annoying sometimes, and yesterday, too, we know she's a total girl power junkie, but still, she never just blows up like that..."

Leo continued thinking, his brow furrowed in confusion. He turned to Raph and asked point-blank, "Why'd do you care if I'm over-processing this anyway? Normally you'd just let me sit here as long as I'm off your back. What's up?"

Raph glanced back over the couch, "I'm keeping clear of Mikey. I can't stand listening to that old CD player screech. That boom box of his was in the dump for a reason. And I figure if he's already shown you over here, he won't be back for a while."

Leo grinned, that was just like Raph.

"Besides," Raph grinned back, "It's time to head off to April's."

Raph grinned even bigger as he leapt up from the couch and said, "You go get Don and Mikey, I'll go get the Battleshell."

Just then a faint sound of high pitched, electronic cries and wails came from Don's makeshift lab.

Raph smirked and scrambled off while Leo looked back towards the audio torture chamber and grimaced as he slowly made his way towards it.

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Aaron crept silently and swiftly into the entrance of the lair. She glanced sneakily around for any sign of activity. She strained her ears for any noise no matter how small. She heard nothing, and no movements stirred the silence. Satisfied that the turtles had really gone off to April's, she strode over to the punching bag that had assaulted her earlier that day.

She tossed her own small messenger bag against the small two foot high wall that made up the boundaries of the dojo and squared up against the punching bag. Thoughts whirled in her head. Recent memories of fights and arguments, constant pestering and irking, shouting, and disruption replayed themselves one after another in her mind. Reminders of events and incidents flashed before her. She saw her mother and father arguing in the kitchen while she tried to do her homework. She saw her brother swiping yet another precious item from her room without asking and returning it in a much different condition from when he took it. She heard her mother and friends criticizing the way she wanted to dress and the way she did her makeup and hair and her personal interests which included comic books instead of clothing and writing stories instead of playing with different makeup. Then she heard her mother nagging her about her chores and how everything fell below her expectations was. How nothing was the way her mother wanted it to be. Next her brother was back again doing everything physically possible to be in her way, making rude remarks, and just plain being annoying. Her father came after, always working, that couldn't be helped, but he seemed not to be apart of her life one moment and then trying to hard to be the next and then...the most recent of her parents 'discussions' came center stage in her thoughts. Her parents trying to plan a family vacation. The irony seemed cruel. They spent their time fighting to set aside a long span of time for their family to be together in close quarters.

A feeling welled up inside her. She tried to suppress it, but she'd finally had enough of it. She called it was it was; anger. And on top of it all, what made her angrier still was what was happening to her on account of the events in her life.

She felt herself becoming uglier from the inside out. She snapped and t her friends and family. She yelled alot and her temper rose at alarming speeds. Sarcasm had never been a foreign practice to her, but the new cruel and hurtful way in which she now wielded it was. She hated the way she acted but didn't ever catch herself until it was too late and the action had taken place or the statement said.

Negativity floated around her like a giant black cloud. It was magnetized to her and she couldn't seem to pull away from it. Even Raphael appeared to be nicer than she was.

The feeling swallowed her up again. This time she sent it shooting from her fist into the punching bag. It swayed from the impact. It felt good. She hit it again, and again. A kick this time.

She was no expert, no professional, she had no plans for which attack she would use next against the pathetic bag, she just kept hitting it. Whatever came naturally. Whatever sprung up from the heat of her rage in the moment. Her strikes became harder and harder. The bag didn't stand a chance. It swing farther and farther out. After awhile the edges of her vision began to blur, but she hardly noticed. All she saw was the bag. All she felt was the impact of whatever part of her was hitting it at the moment. She didn't notice a figure enter the room, she didn't hear the soft deliberate footfalls.

Her breath grew heavier and quicker, the fuel she was running on began to dry up. The feeling driving her began to slowly pass away until she felt her body beginning to tire.

Finally exhausted of all her strength she gave the bag one last final punch and sent it flying around in an arc. She sank down onto her knees and sat panting on the floor. Only then did she realize her face was tearstained and that she was still hiccupping and gasping for breath from a tremendous break down. An old raspy voice startled her.

"I presume you are finished, Miss Smiley?"

Aaron's head snapped up to focus on Master Splinter standing only a few feet behind her. She had completely forgotten about the turtles' sensei. She thought she'd be the only one in the lair. She thought she'd be alone to let go and have a rampant that would remain forever just between her and the bag. No one was supposed to be here. No one was supposed to know. No one was supposed to see her in this state. Not while she was flaunting these the embarrassing and petty feelings. The ones that she had decided didn't have enough ground to stand on to really matter. The ones she didn't want anyone to know about. The ones that no one had ever known about. Her eyes had widened in fear as if a big dirty secret about her had just been revealed to the entire world.

"I do not suppose that this is part of my son's training for you, is it?" Master Splinter solemnly raised his eyebrows. His eyes searched her for an explanation. All Aaron could do was shake her head.

"Come and have some tea. We will talk."

It wasn't a request; it was a command; but one she was glad to obey. One soft and tenderly given not harshly demanded.

Aaron nodded her head slowly stood and followed Splinter like a small child; even though she herself towered a good foot over him. He walked into the kitchen and gathered a few things. Aaron didn't take the time or concentration to see what they were and thoughtlessly followed him into his room. "For Privacy, once the boys returned home," he explained. Aaron merely nodded her head again.

There was a low wooden table off in the corner of the room. He gestured for her to sit while he prepared the tea. She gratefully flopped down onto the ground beside the table. Her mind began to race as she suddenly realized she would need an explanation for her being here tonight even when she knew the guys were away, and for why she had acted as she did.

After an eternity the old rat finished whatever preparations he had made. But when he came to sit across the table from her, he asked nothing. She watched silently and waited for the questions to come as he placed two worn tea cups onto the table and poured the steaming amber liquid. She waited for him to probe her mind. To try to pick her apart peice by peice and make her even more vulnerable than she already felt. She waited and nothing happened. He simply began to sip his tea and waited for her to do the same. She kept her eyes lowered and slowly picked up the cup and began to drink. Green tea. No honey or ginseng added. It was a it a bitter and acquired taste; thankfully, one she had come to like since meeting the turtles.

Once they had both drained their cups, Master Splinter refilled them and only then did he speak.

"I see much of my sons in you, Miss Smiley."

Aaron looked up at him quizzically, then dropped her gaze. What did that mean? Was it a compliment? an accusation?

"I see in you Leonardo's driven determination, Donatello's love of knowledge and the mischief and free-spirit of Michelangelo..." He trailed off, letting his words sink in. Aaron dared to look up into his eyes.

"And now I see Raphael's anger and rage."

Aaron quickly lowered her eyes again. Anger was bad. Rage was worse. It wasn't the correct way to be. One was supposed to be calm, cool, and collected. Nothing was supposed to rattle you. She was supposed to ignore the little things that bothered her. She had nothing in her life big enough to be worth flipping out over and yet here she was.

"There is something bothering you, you have tried to hide it, but it shows through your actions and words."

Aaron shifted uncomfortably on the ground.

"What is wrong?"

Aaron shrugged and tried her usual answer to everything nowadays, "Hormones, I guess."

"I do not believe that is the true answer, Miss Smiley, do you?"

Aaron shook her head slowly.

"Do you have any desire to tell me what troubles you?"

Aaron paused and stared blankly at a crack on the tabletop. Trying to find a way to explain herself. English seemed a foreign language. She could no longer group the words into phrases to explain herself or what was wrong. In fact she felt that maybe nothing was actually to blame and that maybe there was just something wrong with her mind. Finally she managed to break the long silence and mumble the words, "Idunno."

She felt Splinter's gaze upon her.

"You do not know what?"

"I-... I don't know what's wrong with me..." Aaron was silent again. Splinter waited for her to continue. "I'm- I've-...Everything upsets me, I've become super sensitive to whatever anyone says or does. Everything makes me mad and I can't seem to stop it or calm down..." She stopped again, not sure where that flood of words had come from. She continued; not thinking things over before speaking, just getting everything off her mind.

"My parents have been arguing alot lately. Nothing big or major, but they're beginning to yell at each other, and neither of 'em will get off their own inflated ego to agree with the other. They argue about hw to raise my brother and I and about money and other stuff. They swear they'd never get divorced but- I don't know... It's painful to listen to. I hear them when I go to sleep...I..."

She stopped there as her voice began to crack and her eyes watered. She closed them lightly to keep the flood of tears at bay. She took several deep breathes to calm and soothe her body as it tensed up; ready to shake with runaway emotions.

"And after that I have my little brother trying to send me over the edge." She shook her head, "He's not like Mikey, he doesn't do things out of fun, I don't know how to explain it...my brother does things just to spite me and then when I blow up I'm the one who gets into trouble for not handling it better, because I'm the oldest and should know better."

She glared down into her cup, trying to keep her face from giving into tears.

"And on top of all that," She continued, "I can't seem to please my mother with my personality. She's always upset that I'm not feminine enough cuz I don't want to wear skirts or take interest in putting on makeup or acting ladylike all the time. She doesn't understand me or why I'm the way I am, and honestly I don't know why either; I'm just not into all that girly stuff.I don't understand why I lack the interest. If I knew why I'd have given her an explanation long ago. I know she loves me, but I'm not always sure that she likes me. She's always telling me I'm the greatest thing that ever happened to her and that she can't possibly imagine life without me, but I still don't feel completely accepted, ya know? And now I find myself acting like this, like a-" She paused, thinking, "I don't know- like a big baby- I can't control my emotions anymore. It's not like I have seperated parents or live in a third world country where I get one meal a week or like I'm a victim of some disease or a natural disaster. That would be something worth getting upset over. Instead I flame up at every little thing and I'm constantly crying. I hate crying!" Tears began to spill down her cheeks. She roughly wiped them away to prove her point.

Master Splinter continued to sit silently, listening and watching as Aaron continued to fall apart. He nodded gravely to indicate that he understood and that she should continue.

"I can't stand feeling like this any longer, I didn't know what to do. So I came here. I figured killing a lifeless punching bag was worth a try; to make it all go away. I thought maybe- I don't even know what I was thinking, but I thought maybe- just maybe, it might help, but I was wrong. Everything's still exactly the way it was..." Aaron finally choked up. She couldn't say any more, There was nothing else she wanted to say, so she hid her face in her arms and sobbed.

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