Chapter Eight
In six years memories can be difficult recall. Faces fade until they're nothing more than blurred images and names slip away to where the mind can't no longer grasp them. When so much happens over the years, it is not uncommon to think of a past kindness as ancient history. Losing a home only to find a better one. Learning of a great evil called the Shredder who must be defeated time and time again. Making new human friends who, after time, join the family. Being sent to another world, learning origins, and stopping a war that would take the city to shell in a hand basket.
The past year alone had made it hard to remember what it was like to have a peaceful life. So to keep from totally going insane from all the non-stop action, the turtle family (humans included) have learn to snatch up peaceful moments whenever they could. These moments were called 'Movie Nights' and in order for the night to be enjoyable, essentials had to be gotten. This time it was Leonardo and Michelangelo's turn to go out. Dressed in their usual human clothes, the two turtles went up top.
Now Leonardo wasn't too happy being stuck with his youngest brother. Since the season was winter it was natural that it would have snowed nonstop all day. Problem with snow and Michelangelo was that they went together quite well. Seeing all the icy white fluff put him in the mood to play, whereas Leonardo wanted to get their errands done so he could be back inside where it was warm.
Thus the trip went a little something like this. From home to the video store the orange clad turtle threw potshot of snow at his brother. The snowballs grew a bit in size as they went from the video store to the grocery store. Going from the grocery store to the park, where they would take a path home, Michelangelo became bold enough to shove a rather large handful of snow down his elder brother's back.
"That's it!" Leonardo bellowed as he threw downfour plastic bags of groceriesnear apark bench. "You make me carry all the bags and now you're shoving snow done my back?" He gathered up a large pile of snow into his hands. "Since you want a snowball fight so bad, I'll give you one!"
Michelangelo droppeda small little bag that contained the movie. "Uh-oh." He ran to take refuge behind a tree. "Come on Leo, I just wanted to have fun."
"You brought this on yourself Mikey." Leonardo snarled as he raised his pile of snow up, ready to throw it.
Michelangelo took out a nunchuk and hit the branches of the tree he was at. "Nah, ya brought it on yourself." He laughed as snow fell from the branches onto his elder brother, burying him.
Leonardo couldn't believe that he left himself so open. "Mikey…" He seethed whilethrashing his way out of the snow. "You are so dead." Then blue clad turtle charged for his brother, who ran way laughing.
While the two turtles were having their squabble in the snow their grocery bags were left unattended. A crouched person hiding behind a bush peeredthrough it with cinnamon brown eyes, staring at those bags. Seeing them just sit there, abandoned, made the owner of those eyes venture out.
Carefully the person, wearing a threadbare cloak that was a foot longer than they were tall, emerged from the bushes. The form hovered over the bags like they were trying to decide which one to take. When the figure finally made a choice, slim arms came out from under the cloak to grasp the chosen bag. But when the form tried to lift it they found it too heavy. So with thin fingers the figure rummaged through the bag.
Meanwhile Leonardo had finally managed to shove his little brother's upper half into a large pile of snow. As he sat the lower half, waiting for the cry of defeat and the endless rambling of apologies, he spotted the figure trying to steal their movie night dinner and snackage. Forgetting about Michelangelo, the blue clad turtle jumped to his feet while scooping up a handful of snow. He packed the white flakes as tight as he could into a ball before lobbing it at the figure perched over the grocery bags.
"Get away from those!" Leonardo yelled while the snowball flew at the thief.
The packed snow hit the figure in the back of the head, causing the person to turn around. Seeing someone yelling at them made the form realized that the owner of the bags had caught them in the act. At first the thief was going to drop what they took and run away. But seeing as these two had so much food, more than they really needed, figured what hurt could it do to take what was already liberated.
The figure looked down at the ground, like it was ashamed for performing this act. "I know it's wrong." The thief whispered. It was so low that the turtle couldn't hear it, somaybe the person was saying to itself or to someone nobody could see. "Forgive me." Quickly the cloaked figure turned to run.
"The shell!" Leonardo cried. "Where do you think you're going with that?" He took up another snowball and launched at the fleeing figure, trying to get the form to drop what it stole.
The snowball hit the run away figure pretty hard in the leg, making them almost take a tumble. But though thief fell to one knee it held tight onto their bounty like it was some kind of precious treasure. For moment the form struggled to get back onto its feetso it couldcontinue to run again, but with a bit of a limp now.
Now that he wasn't being sat on, Michelangelo pulled his head free from snow bank that it was shoved into. "What's going on?" The orange clad turtle inquired. However he got no answer since his elder brother had gone running after some cloaked form.
As he went after the fleeing figure, Leonardo noticed that it wasn't going very fast. He could walk and still catch up with the thief. In fact, the figure didn't even really look like it was running.It looked like the thiefwas trying to keep from falling forwardas theydragging their feet in the snow; like the person was struggling to just move. With each step the figure forced itself to take larges puffs of steam came from its mouth. Then, when Leonardo caught up with the cloaked form,the figure just dropped face first into the snow and on top of what it was trying to steal.
"Hey…" The blue clad turtle quickly kneeled down next to the fallen figure. "Are you alright?" He rolled the person over and light from a street lamp shown onto her face. "The shell?" Her face looked familiar, or so he thought.
The girl looked pasted Leonardo, at the sky. It was like she couldn't even see him, yet she talked. "I'm…sorry."Shepanted. "But...I..." Before she could finish her sentence, the girlbecame unconscious.
"Geez Leo, what did you do to her?" Michelangelo questioned as he came up behind his elder brother.
"N…nothing." Leonardo stammered. "I was chasing her and she fell."
Michelangelo looked down at the girl in the snow. "Is she alright?" The young turtle kneeled down to check for a pulse and noticed the girl was wearing a fading green cloak. There was something about it that was so familiar, but he couldn't quite pinpoint what it was. He grasped a hand full of fabric and rubbed it between is fingers. There were patches that felt like velvet while other parts felt like regular cloth, like the velvet part had worn off.
Leonardo noticed the concentrated look on his brother's face. "What is it?"
"I don't know." Michelangelo replied, still searching for something to recall. "Something about this cloak she wears. I remember seeing it somewhere before, feeling it before." He looked at the girl. "And there is something familiar about her too."
"I waswondering if was just me who thoughtshe looked like someone we knew." Leonardo said while looked back down at the girl, searching his mind for who she could be to them. "Say…this couldn't be…" Somehow he knew who she was and it was just on the tip of his brain, on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't seem to get it out. "I think her name started with a K…or was it a C?"
"Who are you trying to think of?" Michelangelo inquired.
"You know, that girl." Leonardo answered. "That girl…girl…. Gads I can see her,but I can't seem to recall her name."
"Maybe Donnie or Master Splinter can place her." Michelangelo suggested. "They never forget a face."
Leonardo nodded. "Alright." He dug his arms underneaththe girl'sbody and lifted her off the ground. To his surprise she was lighter than he expected someone her sizeshould be. "You gather the stuff she stole and go get the bags."
"Me?" Michelangelo asked in shock. "You can't expect me to carry all that."
"You're not that weak." Leonardo replied.
"Tell you what, I'll carry her and you can carry the bags." Michelangelo held his arms out, expecting is brother to just give in and hand the girl over to him.
"Forget it Mikey." Leonardo replied. "Look, I'll take two bags and the girl. You take the other two and the movie."
"Alright." Michelangelo frumped.
At the lair…Donatello and Splinter were in the kitchen, setting up things needed for the food that they were waiting for. April was over at tech-turtle's computer, surfing the 'for sale' ads for antiques she could put up in her new store. Casey and Raphael were trying to see who could bench press the most weight.
After awhile Donatello came out of the kitchen to see if the brothers had come back with the groceries. "They're not back yet?"
"Does it look like it?" Raphael snapped.
"What's your problem?" Donatello inquired. "Lose to Casey?"
"Yes." The vigilant answered.
"Did not." Raphael retorted. "Ya cheated by addin' more weights before I was ready."
"The point was ta see who could lift da most." Casey reminded. "Not my fault yer so weak."
"Lets we see how weak I am when I'm pinnin' ya ta da ground." Raphael jumped the dark haired man and they rolled around on the ground.
Donatello rolled his eyes at the two of them wrestling. "Enjoy pummeling yourself." He said as he went back into the kitchen.
Not too long after Leonardo and Michelangelo enter the lair. Raphael was the first to see them. "Took ya guys long enough." The red clad turtle complained. "We're starvin'."
"Nice to see you too." Leonardo replied coolly. "We're fine, nothing happening. Thanks for asking."
"Whatever." Raphael spat. "What were ya doin' all dis time?" He didn't seem to take much notice of what was in his elder brother's arms.
"Leo shoved my head into a snow bank and then sat on me." Michelangelo tattled.
"That's because you wanted a snowball fight and I didn't." Leonardo said as he shot a glare at his youngest brother. "Then you go shoving snow down my back side and burying me in the stuff. So of course I was going to retaliate."
"I think I hear Sensei calling me." Quickly Michelangelo went into the kitchen with the bags he carried.
Leonardo gave his head a shake. "Yeah, whatever." He then turned towards Casey and Raphael. "Either one of you think you could give me a hand here?"
As Casey took the bags he noticed what else the blue clad turtle was carrying. "Hey Leo, what's with da girl?" The young man passed them onto Michelangelo when he came out of the kitchen and the young turtle went back in with them.
"Someone we know." Leonardo answered while laying the girl on the couch. "Someone grab some blankets, she's ice cold."
"Geez, would ya just look at her?" Raphael commented as he looked at her from the back of the couch. "She looks awful."
The girl's cheeks looked caved and eyes a little sunken in, it were though she was malnourished. Her long hair that could go down to her rear was dirty enough to make it black and it was thin like thread. The girl's clothes were as worn as the cloak. It looked like she used to be wearing a gray long sleeve shirt, but the lower part of the sleeves were torn off near the elbows. The legs of blue pants were ripped around the calves so bad that only a couple pieces of thread held it together behind the knees. And the shoes…there were no shoes. What were on the girl's feet were a couple pairs of sweat socks soaked from the snow. Most of her skin was covered with splotches of dirt and mud. However the parts that weren't dirty were white, almost blue, due to the cold outside. But now that she was inside, where it was warm, her skin started to turn red as it warmed back up.
While blankets were being place on her, the girl began to breathe heavily and sweat was starting to coming from her brow. April put a hand on the girl's forehead. "She's running a fever." She said anxiously. "How long has she been out in the snow?"
"Don't know." Leonardo answered. "We found her trying to steal some groceries, but collapsed when she was making her get away." He looked over at his brother wearing red. "Can you remember who she is?" Raphael shook her head.
"The food can wait to be put away later." Michelangelo said from inside the kitchen. "You guys have to come out here and identify this girl." He came out pulling Donatello and Master Splinter with him.
They all went over to the couch to look at the girl. Donatello rubbed his chin as he looked and Master Splinter gave her a sniff over. But they had the same problem as the others in trying to place the girl. They knew she did something important for them, something very important.
While studding the girl, Master Splinter did realize how sick she was. "Leonardo, I want you to put on a pot of hot water." He ordered. "When it's done, bring it and a small bowl out here."
"Yes Sensei." Leonardo replied as he bowed.
Master Splinter turned to Michelangelo. "Go into my room and get my box of herbal medicine."
When the orange clad turtle went off to do as he was told, Donatello snapped his fingers and ran over to their entertainment system. He dug through an old box containing videotapes.
"What are ya looking fer branic?" Raphael questioned.
"I'll let you know when I find it." Donatello answered. "Ah, here we go." The purple clad turtle came back to the couch holding a tape in his hands just as Michelangelo was returning with the box of herbs. "Have a look." He held it out for all to see.
The cover that sheathed the tape was tattered as well as torn from being kicked around and being used so many times. Just below the title of the video was yellowish masking tape with faded black writing on it, 'Property of Marcus and Cherise'.
"Dat's Cherise?" Raphael questioned. "Da years have really done sumpthin' ta her."
"Do you really think it her?" Leonardo questioned while coming out with a teapot of hot water and bowl. "Last time we saw her, she looked so…healthy."
"It has to be." Donatello replied. "Looks at what's around her neck." He pointed to a necklace. It was dark brown leather lace and a large light blue marble was attached to it with wire from paperclips.
"Is that not the charm you made for her?" Master Splinter inquired. "One to repay for what was done?"
"Oh yeah, I remember now." Raphael answered. "Dat was my favorite marble. Wasn't it called a 'Blue Angel'?" He gave a small snort. "Ya made me give it up cause you thought it would be perfect gift for her."
"And Donnie wrapped the wire around it to make it stay on the lace." Michelangelo piped.
"Yeah, a lace that was stole from my leather pouch." Leonardo grumbled. "The one I used to hold things those rocks I'd find with Master Splinter."
"Come on, it was the least we could have done at the time." Donatello chided. "Man, it's been so many years." He sighed.
"What did she do?" April asked.
"Actually it was both she and her father." Donatello answered. "See, there was this one time Mikey and I kind of ran away from home when we were little. Only we didn't mean to actually run away. We had just gotten into a fight with Leo and Raph, saying some pretty mean things. The result of the fight was Leo and Raph going their way while Mikey and I went out."
"But then we bumped into this human who was a real bully and he took us to his hideout as pets." Michelangelo jumped in. "They threw paint balloons at us, but Cherise got him to stop and she set her father to come get us out."
"He couldn't take us back home, because he didn't know where it was and also it was going to storm pretty bad that night." Donatello went on. "So he took us to his home where we spent the night."
"Master Splinter had ta go out lookin' for 'em." Raphael cut in. "When he found 'em dey were sleepin' with da guy and his daughter, cause dey were scared of da storm."
"If I recall, so were you and Leonardo." Master Splinter interjected. "And if I also remember, I told you two to stay at home while I went to find your brothers."
"We stayed at their place for another day, til the weather was fit enough for us to go back home." Leonardo continued.
"He and Raphie thought that Donnie and I weren't going to come home with them." Michelangelo piped. "Thought we were going to stay with the girl and her father cause they had all kinds of stuff."
Raphael gave the orange clad a smack upside the head. "Sometimes I wished ya did." Then he wrapped his arm around the turtle's neck to give him a nuggie. "Just kiddin'."
"I wonder what happen to her." Donatello pondered. "How did she end up like this? There's no way her father could have let her end up like this, so what happen to him?"
"The only way we can get answers is if we make her well first." Master Splinter stated as he mixed herbs with the hot water in the small bowl. "So let us start there."
A/N2: Made Cherise out pretty bad, didn't I? Guess we'll have to wait until next chapter to find out what happen to daddy dearest and his little girl.
