Chapter 5

"a human!" Raph gasped.

"Yeah, I know." Cassi was indeed a human, and she now had pale white skin with dark features. Her bandanna had turned into her hair. It was long, dark brown and pulled back into a ponytail hanging the same way her bandanna did. Her boots and gloves had changed into an outfit, a magenta skirt and top. The weirdest of all were her eyes. They were no longer brown; they were blue.

"I've got the strangest feeling of Déjà vu, but I don't know why." Mike pondered aloud.

"I couldn't tell you, Mike." Cassi said, secretly crossing her fingers behind her back.

"You don't have to stay like this. One needle and you'd be back to normal." Don stated. Cassi nodded.

"I know Donny, and I've thought about that. The thing is, being a human could have its advantages." Cassi was right once again. She could go above ground in broad daylight and get the things they needed. "If we could just figure out a way for me to control it, so I could be a human when I need to and a turtle when I want to."

Don thought a moment. Cassi and the others looked at him hopefully. At last he spoke.

"I suppose it is possible, but you'll have to stay a human in the mean time."

"I figured as much. Well, come on then, let's go home." Cassi gripped the strap that held her sword to her back and began to walk back to the vehicle. The others followed them. Cassi's mood was very depressing and it affected the others. No one spoke the whole way home.

---

When they arrived home, Splinter was waiting for them, and judging by the scowl on his face, he wasn't happy with the five.

"Where have you been? And where is Cassiopeia?"

"I'm right here, Sensei." Cassi said stepping out from behind the boys. She pushed her bangs out of her eyes as she waited for Splinter to speak. Although seeing Cassi as a human should have surprised him, it didn't look like it did.

"What have you gotten into this time?" Splinter asked her.

"I'd really prefer not to talk about, Master Splinter. Right now, I just want to find a way to turn me back to normal." Cassi said. She turned to Don. "Come on, we've go a lot of work to do." She told him, pulling him over to the worktable. As Cassi was pulling him, Don noticed that Splinter looked shocked now. He shook it off and started focusing on helping Cassi.

---

Cassi looked up from her microscope and tried to stop herself from yawning. It was no use. She was dizzy and having a hard time concentrating. She could barely keep her eyes open when she looked up at the clock.

"The others have all gone to bed. We should probably turn in too, Donny." Cassi murmured reluctantly, rubbing her eye. The purple masked turtle looked up at her. Cassi could tell he was as tired as she was.

"Are you sure? Because you know, we can continue if you want." Don looked like he was being honest.

"Yeah, I'm sure. See you tomorrow." She said heading to her room. When she got there, there was a note on her dresser.

Cassi,

Same place as always.

Leo

Cassi smiled and was about to head out of her room when her refection caught her eye. Staring back at her was a tired, pale, pony tailed human girl. Cassi smoothed out a wrinkle on her shirt and sighed. Somehow, the reflection she saw made her feel like she belonged this way, yet she desperately wanted to be 'normal' again. After taking another object off her desk, Cassi ran out.

---

Leo sat impatiently on the platform and stared into the misty tunnel. Cassi should have been here by now. He left for here at the same time Cassi and Donny were packing up. Maybe she didn't see the note.

Just then, he heard footsteps walking towards him. When he looked up, he could partially see the figure coming near to him. Bright brown eyes framed by a magenta bandanna. Magenta gloves and boots was what she was wearing and her skin was a bright green.

"Hi." Cassi said smiling at Leo.

"How'd you manage to turn yourself back?" Leo asked her. Cassi tapped the necklace hanging around her neck. It was just a chain, with an active crystal attached.

"When I take it off, I'll turn back to a human." She explained. "You don't really think that I'd have left the city without already having way to change, do you?" She said, sitting down on the platform.

"I thought you agreed a little too easy." Then it hit him. "You mean, you and Don did all that work for nothing?" Cassi nodded. "Why?"

She shrugged. "I don't know, I guess I just wanted him to take the credit for this. I may not show it, but I am a lot smarter than he is. I think he's figured that out. I don't want to hurt his pride." Cassi sighed and looked at her necklace. "That's one down." Before Leo could ask what she meant, Cassi continued. "It wasn't accurate, but it came true.

"Don't start that again, Cassi." Leo told her.

"I know, I know, but it still came true." She leaned her head on Leo's shoulder and closed her eyes. "I wonder what's next." She said. Leo just looked at her, not knowing what to say, so he changed the subject.

"How come you're always able to sneak up on us and surprise us?"

"I'm just incredibly stealthy." She replied simply.

"Wait…you let me catch you that night, didn't you?" He asked as it dawned on him.

"Trust me, if I didn't want to you catch me, you wouldn't have. It was part of a plan Splinter and I had. Instead of me just appearing to you guys, he thought it would be easier for you all to handle if you 'discovered' me by yourselves. So yes, I was caught by you on purpose." Cassi explained softly. You caught me too, Cassi. You caught my heart Leo thought as he watched her. "I'm sorry to bring this up, but what do you think will happen next?" She asked.

"None." He replied, putting his arms around her. Cassi sighed and leaned up against his chest, wanting desperately to believe him.

---

A high-pitched scream once again shook the home. This time, however, it was later in the morning and the four boys were awake. Leo, Raph and Don all looked in Mikey's direction.

"It wasn't me!" He said defensively.

"No, it was me this time." Cassi's voice called. "I looked in the mirror. Now I know what bad hair looks like."

"It can't be that bad." Don called back to her.

"Trust me, Donny. It is."

"Prove it. We won't laugh." Mike called jokingly. They heard the sound of Cassi jumping down to the main floor. When she came into the room, all four stared at her.

"I told you it was bad." Cassi muttered. Her hair looked worse than a rats nest. It was tangled worse than what any of them had ever seen before. "I'm going to go try to find a brush. Right now, I am hating being a human, so do you think you could get started, Donny? Please?"

"Sure thing, Cassi." He nodded. When she was gone and out of earshot, the four busted out laughing.

---

Don held a small crystal in his hand and stared at it. He was almost hoping the answer would just come to him, or appear magically. An idea did come to him, but he needed Cassi to test it. She wasn't back yet. She had been gone almost an hour.

"Anything yet?" Cassi asked coming into the room. Don activated the crystal, and then tossed it to her. She caught it and instantly turned back to a turtle. Cassi looked at her hands and grinned. "You did it!"

"So what, you're just going to hold a crystal for the rest of your life?" Mike asked.

"No, this gives me an idea." Cassi said running back to her room. She came back a few minutes later wearing the necklace she had on the previous night. "Ta da!"

"I get it. Whenever you want to be a human…" Don started.

"I just take my necklace off. Exactly!" Cassi nodded.

---

Leo waited patiently on the platform for Cassi. He held the small parcel in his hands. He hoped that she would like it. It wasn't long before he heard her footsteps coming towards him.

"Hey. I haven't seen you all day. Where have you been?" Cassi asked sitting down beside him.

"I've been busy." He said handing the present to her. "Consider it a late birthday present, or an early Christmas present."

"Christmas is a few months away yet. I'll consider it a birthday one." Cassi said with a bit of a laugh while unwrapping the gift. As she lifted the lid, her eyes filled with surprise. In the box was a gold coloured chain, with a crystal hanging from it. The crystal was encased in a half-metal, half-glass capsule. She looked at the metal part. There was an engraving.

L.T

C.G

"L.T. stands for Leonardo Turtle. C.G. stands for--"

Cassi cut him off. "Wow Leo, thanks! This is really nice, I love it" She strung it around her neck and Leo hooked it on for her. Then she unhooked the one she was already wearing. Cassi ran her finger over the engraving. "Do you really mean it, Leo?" She asked softly.

"Yeah, Cassi, I do."

---

So, Cassi though to herself, this is one down. She looked down at the notebook in her lap. In her neat writing, she wrote:

Mike's Visions

Transformation to human

Death at 16

Child kidnapped

She crossed out 'transformation to human' with a sigh. Sadly, she set the notebook down on her desk. She sat motionless on her bed, her chin in her hands, lost deep in thought.

When will the next one happen? If only I knew more, I could try to stop it. If I died, I'd never lose a child. If I don't die, I could try to protect it. Maybe neither will happen. Like Leo said, maybe it's just a warning.

Cassi fell backwards onto her bed. Who am I kidding? One will come true. It would be impossible for both to happen, but one will happen. I know it. I have to find a way to find out more information about them! Perhaps then I could try and stop whatever's going to happen, or at least be better prepared.

---

"Master Splinter!" Mikey called out in a panicky voice early the next morning. Everyone, including Splinter, came out from their rooms to see what was the matter.

"Michelangelo! What has happened?" Splinter asked, staring at his son and an unconscious Cassi, who Mikey was carrying.

"I...I…I don't know! She was saying my name, and I woke up just to see her collapse to the floor!" He stuttered. Carefully, he laid her down on the couch. Splinter walked over to her and gently felt her neck.

"Her pulse is still strong." He told the four turtles.

"She's breathing fine too." Don pointed out.

"What could've happened?" Leo asked, trying not to act like a worried boyfriend but rather a concerned brother. No one knew about his relationship with Cassi yet, and he wasn't going to let them know now.

"I believe she has just fainted." Splinter assured him. "There is no need to worry."

"Good, now the really important question is: why was she in my room?" Mike asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice. I bet I know, Leo thought, keeping a strait and innocent face. "Did I scream again or something? Be honest!"

"Not that I heard. You know I would've been on your case already." Raph grinned.

"I'll stay here with Cassi." Leo decided. "You guys can go and do other things. I'll let you know when she wakes up." The other three agreed and headed. Watching Leo, Splinter could tell he was still worried. After assuring the blue masked turtle that Cassi was fine, Splinter too headed off.

"Those two have gotten pretty close, eh Sensei?" Mikey said to Splinter as they left Leo alone with Cassi.

"Yes, indeed they have." Master Splinter agreed.

"It's no wonder. Both of 'em are ninja nuts." Raph pointed out. It had been evident the day they met her that Cassi trained hard and was serious about Ninjitsu, just like Leo was.

---

Cassi groaned and opened her eyes slowly. The room was spinning, so she shut her eyes a moment more. After opening her eyes once again, she saw Leo sitting beside her.

"Leo? What…what happened?" She asked, trying to remember.

"You fainted in Mikey's room early this morning." He replied.

"What time is it now?" Cassi asked while trying to sit up more.

"It's just after three. I know why you went to Mikey's room Cassi, although I'm sure you're not going to tell the others yet," At this, she nodded, "but what did you see? Something must've really scared you."

"It didn't scare me as much as shock me." Cassi paused a moment. "Yes, Leo, it did scare me as well, I wasn't being defensive. In this part of the dream, it's before I was…you know, dead. You and I are talking when suddenly the back of my head cracks and black smoke pours out from the opening. I fall backwards on the couch, but the smoke stays above us. The moment you laid the flower in my hands, it began to rain." She explained, cringing from the memory. "Oh Leo, it was horrible."

"Do you think it means you'll die from a head injury, if this happens?" He asked.

"Yeah, that's what I figure." Cassi agreed. Unexpectedly for her, Leo took her hand.

"It won't happen, Cassi." He told her firmly. She managed a weak, grateful smile. It faded quickly as she looked suddenly around the room. "What's wrong?"

"Are we alone?" She asked quietly and urgently.

"Yes, we are. Why?"

Cassi was silent for a minute. "Oh, it's nothing. I just thought I sensed another mind in here. I'm just imagining things, I suppose."

"You had us pretty worried, Cassi."

"I didn't mean to faint! I've never fainted before!" This time, she was being defensive, but in a joking way. When she saw the expression on his face, her mood changed some. "You were really worried about me? You thought…." Cassi trailed off as she read his thoughts.

"Yeah, I did think that." He admitted. "I was scared, even after Splinter said that you had only fainted. It's just, there's something I haven't told you yet."

"Hmm?"

"I…I love you, Cassi. I've never actually said that out loud, but I figured now was a good time to tell you." He told her, and Cassi felt as if she were going to faint again.

"I love you too, Leo." She whispered softly.

A short distance away, Master Splinter watched the two talking. He was too far away to hear what they were saying. The two had indeed become close. Perhaps he was just imagining things when thought they were closer than they should be. Satisfied with what he had seen, Master Splinter turned away and inconspicuously slipped out of the room, only a few moments before the two kissed.

---

Months passed. Christmas, New Year and Easter came and went. Before they knew it, their birthday was quickly approaching, only a couple months away. All five were excited about turning seventeen.

Mike looked around the room. There was Leo, Raph, Don and Splinter. Something was wrong. Everything looked normal, normal as in almost a year ago. Something was wrong, or rather, missing.

"Hey Sensei! Is Cassi still asleep?" He asked as it dawned on him. Cassi was always with them, it was strange that she wasn't now.

"No," Splinter replied, "She left early this morning. She went to see Miss O'Neil." Unknown to the boys, clutched in Splinter's hand was the necklace Leo had given Cassi nine months ago.