) A.N.: Hey again y'all! *Waves* Sorry it's been so damn long. I'd a MAJOR
case of writer's block for EVERYTHING. Lol. Well, obviously, I've gotten
past that block - for this story anyway. Well, here's the next chapter. And
warning yah now, it's pretty long. Hehe. Enjoy@
The next day.
Lenore awoke only to find that Donatello had already gotten up and left her side. She groaned and rolled over to go back to sleep. She'd just started to doze back into dream land, when she felt someone shake her.
"Time to get up Lenni," Mily informed her.
Lenore groaned again, and stuffed her head under her pillow.
Mily yanked the pillow off her sister's head. "Master Splinter says you gotta get up now. He wants to talk to us 'bout something."
"I'm NOT getting up," Lenore answered. "I didn't sleep good."
"Regardless of whether you slept good or not, I'd advise you to listen for once," Leonardo, who'd suddenly appeared in the doorway, snapped. "Now get up and get dressed."
"Who died and made him boss?" Lenore muttered as he stalked off.
"Lenni, Leo's always bossy when it comes to obeying Sensei," Mily reminded her. "You know that as well as anybody."
Mily left the room then so that she wouldn't get in trouble for being late. She knew her youngest sister, Lenore, would take her sweet old time getting ready. They all knew she tended to act like Raphael when Leonardo got too bossy.
Lenore rolled over and fell out of bed - literally - and looked about the room for her favourite outfit. She finally found her Backstreet Boys shirt and her baggy blue jean overalls. Both of which Michaelangelo had gotten her for her birthday a couple months earlier. She slowly put them on, then took her sweet old time going out into the den.
"Finally!" Raphael grumbled once he'd spotted her. "Her Highness has decided to grace us with her presence."
"Stuff it Raph," Lenore snapped.
Master Splinter merely rolled his eyes and told his youngest to take a seat. He watched as she contemplated on where to sit and was highly surprised when she didn't sit next to Michaelangelo.
Lenore plopped down next to Ziptango and nudged her. "What I miss?"
"Nothing yet," Ziptango whispered. "Sensei hasn't started yet."
"Oh," Lenore nodded. "Did he say why we're having a meeting?"
"No. But he probably will if you two would shut your pie holes," Raphael cut in.
"Raphael, there is no need to be rude," Master Splinter admonished him. "And girls, please do be quiet."
Everyone settled then and awaited Master Splinter's words of wisdom, as they knew it had to be of great importance if they were having a family meeting.
"It has come to my attention," Master Splinter began, then paused momentarily. "That some of you are not doing as told. I've been informed by reliable sources that certain individuals of our clan have been misbehaving and have been disrespectful towards their elders. You all know what I think of disrespect and misbehaviour, so I shall not go into that very long speech. Instead, I shall inform ALL of you, that I will not tolerate these shenanigans any longer. Anyone caught being disrespectful or misbehaving in any way shall be punished accordingly. And, as always, the other rules of this household apply and shall be enforced even more so than before. I've noticed that all of you have been slacking off, not only in your chores, but your ninjitsu as well. You must not slack off, as then you are not only wasting my time, but yours as well. We must stick together and obey the rules if we want for things to run smoothly. Also, I've a new rule for you girls. NONE of you are allowed up top for ANYTHING."
"But what if we go with Donnie?" Lenore piped up, interrupting their sensei.
Master Splinter gave her a stern look. "NOT even then are you allowed to go. I was informed earlier this morning, as to just what went on last night while most of you slept. Needless to say, I am NOT pleased. Those who were involved know better and should not have done what they did. I am disappointed in those individuals, you know who you are."
He paused again, and watched as some of the girls became restless.
"But, seeing as not all of you were involved, I shall do as I planned last night before the incident."
Everyone waited in anticipation, as he stopped again, leaving them hanging.
"There shall be no practice this morning, or this afternoon."
"YES! YAY! WHOOO! YIPPEE!"
He waited for them to calm down and stop cheering before continuing.
"You are all free to do as you please, as long as your chores are done promptly and correctly. You are dismissed."
Half of the turtle family headed for the kitchen to have breakfast, while the other half dove for the television. Once breakfast and their two early morning cartoons were over with, all set about their chores, minus one.
Daydream sat glued to the television, despite the fact they were only allowed to watch two shows before getting their chores done. She was watching Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers and wasn't anywhere near to budging off the couch. She was so engrossed in her cartoon that she didn't even know the others had left until she felt someone tap her shoulder.
Master Splinter had checked on everyone else, and had made sure that their chores were being done properly. He'd re-entered the den, only to find Daydream still rooted to her spot on the couch totally absorbed in Chip 'n' Dale. He went over to where she sat and tapped her on the shoulder lightly. He watched as she jumped slightly, then looked to see who had tapped her.
"My child, I do believe that you are to be doing your chores now, not watching television," he told her softly as she looked at him sheepishly.
Daydream blushed slightly. "Sorry Master Splinter," she apologized. "Guess I got hooked again."
"Run along and do your chores, little one."
"Sensei," she began quietly. "May I watch the end of it first? Please?"
"Is it almost done?"
"Hai."
Master Splinter thought a moment. "Then you may watch it."
"Thank-you!" Daydream exclaimed smiling up at him.
He patted her head. "You're welcome, my child."
While Daydream went back to her cartoon, Master Splinter took a seat in his favourite chair. He knew it wouldn't be long before someone else noticed Daydream watching television and complained.
Danceingfae had been doing her chores, when she spotted Daydream watching T.V. She went over and sat next to her little sister.
"How come you're watching T.V.?" Danceingfae asked. "You couldn't have finished your chores THAT fast."
Daydream kept her eyes glued to the television set. "Sensei said I could watch the end."
"What!?!?!" Danceingfae exclaimed, then turned to look at Master Splinter. "Sensei! That's not fair!"
"Do not get excited Danceingfae," Master Splinter said calmly. "She shall do her chores promptly once it is done."
"That's still NOT fair," Danceingfae argued. "Why should she get away with it when no one else can? If she can watch cartoons, we should be able to too!"
"I believe everyone has their days of forgetfulness," Master Splinter started. "There will be days when you too forget to do your chores first. When that happens I shall be as lenient with you as I am with Daydream."
"No you won't!" Danceingfae stated somewhat rude. "You'll get all mad at me 'cause I'm the oldest and know better and all that stupid stuff!"
"My child, I shan't be mad then, but am starting to lose patience with you now," he warned. "I do not like the tone you are using when speaking to me."
"You NEVER like ANY tone other than Leo's! And you only like his 'cause he's the perfect one outta all of us! You're a prejudice old fool!"
Young turtles, who heard the commotion, had stopped to watch, and felt their jaws hit the floor when Danceingfae had called their beloved sensei a prejudice old fool.
Master Splinter eyed the young turtle before him warily. He took note of her angry scowl on her face and thought carefully before speaking.
"Since I am a prejudice old fool, I believe you shall now do Daydream's chores as well as your own," he informed her. "Then you shall go to the dojo and sit there on a mat quietly and aren't to move an inch until I have told you otherwise. Understood?"
Danceingfae glared at him and spat her answer out. "Hai."
They all watched as she stormed back into the kitchen to finish up her own duties there, before starting in on Daydream's. then the turtles who'd stopped to watch, quickly went about their business before they got reprimanded for watching the commotion.
"Daydream."
"Yes Sensei?"
"You may do as you please for the rest of the day, starting now, seeing as you have no chores to do today."
She grinned at him happily. "Thanks Master Splinter!"
After awhile everyone else had finished their daily chores as were free to do as they liked, as long as it was within reason. They all knew what they could do, and what they weren't allowed to do. They all headed off in separation directions, or in most cases, the same direction.
Leonardo, of course, headed straight for the dojo, much to the annoyment of Danceingfae. Michaelangelo obviously headed for the kitchen to bake; Donatello retreated to his lab. Raphael went to go work on his motorcycle; Daydream stayed rooted where she was watching cartoons and was soon joined by Ziptango, Mily, and Lenore. Arista and TMNTPunker snuck into the dojo to watch Leonardo practice; Machias and Splinter followed Donatello into his lab. Raphiella went to her and HexAdecimal's room to read, while HexAdecimal went to hunt down her discman in Arista and TMNTPunker's room. TygeroftheWynd sat on the floor behind the couch to play Solitaire with her Looney Tunes playing cards. Master Splinter remained seated in his chair drinking his cup of tea.
All was fine until TygeroftheWynd decided to inform her sisters on the couch as to just what incident Master Splinter had been referring to earlier that morning. She'd made sure to wait until Master Splinter had left the room.
"Psst! Zip!" TygeroftheWynd hissed. "Zip!"
Ziptango turned around and peered over the back of the couch. "What?"
"Come here! I've something I wanna tell you!"
Ziptango shrugged, got up, and went to sit behind the couch with her sister.
"What?" She asked again.
"Wait. I gotta get Day and Mil first."
"Psst! Day! Mil!"
The two who'd been called turned to look over the couch. "What?"
"I gotta secret!"
The two quickly scampered off the couch upon hearing those words. They joined their sisters on the floor.
"What's so important that we're missing the end of Duck Tales?" Mily wanted to know.
"I know what happened last night," TygeroftheWynd smirked.
"What? Seriously?" Mily exclaimed softly.
"No way! How do you know?" Daydream said.
"I know 'cause I was there," TygeroftheWynd answered. "Mikey and them came looking for me last night."
"Why? Where were you?" Ziptango queried.
"I was left at the circus," she stated. "You guys forgot me and they came back to get me. Lenni was looking for me too. Only thing was, she wasn't s'pose to be outta the lair."
"Lenni was looking for you?" Mily checked. "But she HATES the dark. That's why we've a nightlight in our room."
"Me too," Daydream piped up. "I got one too."
"Well, she was," she told them, then went on. "I got spotted and called a Freak. It's not fun being chased by men with pitchforks and shovels and stuff. I hid finally and stayed in my hiding spot 'till I heard Mikey calling me. Everything got kinda confusing after that."
"How'd it get confusing?" Ziptango questioned.
"Lenni got mad."
"So? She was mad at the circus too," Mily pointed out.
"She attacked me 'cause Mikey called me over and not her. She got mad at Mikey."
The other three girls gasped, as Lenore NEVER got mad at Michaelangelo.
"Seriously?"
TygeroftheWynd nodded. "Yep. She threw a fit and screamed and stuff. Raph covered her mouth to make her stop and she bit him."
Again the three girls listening gasped. "Is she nuts?"
"Guess so," TygeroftheWynd shrugged. "But that's not the confusing, freaky stuff. The freaky stuff is while she was throwing her tantrum Leo sat on her. Okay, he's sat on us before when one of us threw a fit, but this time was different."
"How was it different?" Daydream asked.
"Day, quit interrupting and I'll tell you."
"Sorry," Daydream apologized.
"Anyway, he told her to stop and stuff and she SPIT at him."
Gasping was heard once more.
"And then Leo flipped her over and SPANKED her!" TygeroftheWynd finished.
Jaws hit the floor at TygeroftheWynd's last statement. The three girls couldn't believe that Leonardo had spanked their littlest sister. The boys NEVER spanked them, as they'd get in trouble for it themselves, as they weren't to harm the girls. Ever.
"No way! You're joking, right?" Ziptango managed finally.
TygeroftheWynd shook her head. "Nope. I'm serious guys. He spanked her."
"And Mikey didn't do anything?" Mily interrogated.
"No. He was mad at her too and had shook her long before she bit Raph."
"Mikey mad at Lenni? Lenni mad at Mikey? Okay, this is just - weird," Daydream commented. "They're NEVER mad at each other."
Lenore, who was still sitting on the couch watching cartoons, turned and peered over at her sisters once she'd heard Daydream say her name.
"Whatcha guys talking 'bout?" She asked. "I thought we were watching cartoons."
"Tyger was telling us what ha - "Daydream began, only to have Mily clamp her hand over her mouth.
Lenore looked at them confused. "Telling them what Tyger?"
"Telling us about what she dreamt last night," Ziptango covered for her sister.
"Then why didn't you call me and tell me too?" Lenore wanted to know. "I was here watching T.V. with 'em."
TygeroftheWynd gave a sheepish grin. "I didn't think of it. Sorry Lenni."
Mily removed her hand from Daydream's mouth, only to have Daydream blow their cover right then and there.
"How come you're mad at Mikey?"
"Who said I was mad at Mikey?" Lenore asked, eyeing TygeroftheWynd.
"Tyger did. She said you guys got mad at each other last night."
"You told 'em?" Lenore exclaimed slightly. "Tyger! They said not to tell anybody!"
"Well, obviously, someone told Master Splinter," TygeroftheWynd retorted.
"But Master Splinter's different! He's a right to know what happened!"
"What? And we don't?" Mily challenged.
"No!" Lenore cried. "You don't! It was between us! And I didn't want anybody knowing!"
"So what? Leo spanked you. Big deal," TygeroftheWynd said giving a small shrug.
"Leo spanked Lenni?" Machias asked, as her and Splinter came out of Donatello's lab. "Seriously?"
The girls, minus Lenore, nodded.
"Hey! Splinter! Leo spanked Lenni!" Machias called out.
"When?" Splinter asked joining them.
"Last night," TygeroftheWynd told them. "Mikey shook her again too."
"Whoa. Dude," Splinter replicated.
"Tyger! Quit it!" Lenore begged with a slight whine. "I don't want everybody knowing I got spanked."
"Spanked? When? By who?" HexAdecimal queried coming out with her discman. She was now on a search for batteries. "What are you guys talking about?"
"Leo spanked Lenni last night," TygeroftheWynd explained. "She doesn't want everybody knowing. But it ain't a big deal really."
"It IS a big deal!" Lenore said, obviously starting to get upset. "I don't like it when everybody's mad at me."
"Then you shouldn't act up all the time," Machias retorted. "They only get mad at you 'cause you're always bad."
"I'm NOT always bad Machias! And you guys get in trouble too!"
"Whatever you say Lenni," Splinter shrugged.
Lenore hopped down off the couch then and darted out of the lair.
"See?" Machias said. "She just left knowing she'll get in trouble for it later."
Daydream, Mily, and Ziptango all gave one another worried looks. They knew they'd helped to upset their sister and felt bad for it, as they were usually the "Four Musketeers".
While her older sisters went back to what they'd originally been doing, Lenore was high-tailing it down the sewer tunnel. Without realizing it, she'd run past Raphael, who was still working on his motorbike.
"What the - ?" Raphael trailed off as he saw her run by. "Now where the hell is she going?"
He left his bike then and went after her, knowing that she could easily get spotted by the Foot again, as she was too reckless sometimes.
"Lenni!" He called. "Lenni! Quit running! Lenni!"
Lenore heard Raphael calling her and ran faster, as she hated for people to see her cry. She was also afraid that he was mad and going to yell at her again. She yelped slightly as she felt someone grab her and yank her into the shadows. Lucky for her, it was only Raphael, who had finally caught up to her.
Raphael had heard voices coming from up ahead, and stepped on it to reach his baby sister. Once he'd caught her he'd yanked her into the shadows and placed his hand over her mouth. He signaled for her to keep quiet, and kept his hand firmly where it was. He knew if he didn't she'd be apt to scream if she saw the Foot.
The two of them remained hidden in the shadows, and both tensed, as the voices got closer. One tensed in fear, the other in apprehension. At last they saw seven Foot members go by. Apparently they were new members of the clan, as they weren't being as quiet as they should've been.
"Master Shredder said those turtles freaks should be down here somewhere," one Foot member said. "We must find them immediately and give the co-ordinants of their whereabouts to him a.s.a.p. We need to rid ourselves of these pesky freaks, if we're to take over New York City, and the rest of the state."
"You really think they're down here?" Another member questioned. "I mean we could be on a fruitless search for all we know."
"Would you rather disobey Master Shredder and suffer the consequences?" A third one piped up. "Besides, it's not so bad down here. Despite the sewer rats and snakes we've seen."
"And the smell," the fourth one added. "The smell is definitely the worst part."
The other three nodded and remained silent, as they knew they should be quiet if they wanted to locate the turtles.
Raphael waited until he was one hundred and ten percent sure that the Foot members were gone, before picking Lenore up and cautiously heading back home to the lair. Once there, he went back to his motorbike, and didn't set her down until he'd reached it. He wanted some answers before he let her go back inside.
"Just what the hell do you think you're doing running around outside the lair?" He demanded. "You, of all people, know just how STUPID and DANGEROUS that is. Yeesh! If I hadn't have spotted you, you could've VERY easily been snatched by those Foot members we saw!"
Lenore sniffled and rubbed her eyes as more tears began to fall. She hadn't meant to run so far. She'd just wanted to get away from everyone and hide somewhere so she could cry freely for once.
"Well? I'm waiting."
"Sorry," she mumbled softly. "I-I didn't mean to run so far."
"Why were you even outside of the lair in the first place?"
"T-Tyger told everyone 'bout last night," she whimpered. "I-I didn't want nobody to know. Now everybody does - well, six of 'em do anyway."
"Is that why you were out here? 'Cause Tyger was telling, though she's not supposed to?"
Lenore nodded. "Yes."
"So what? It's not like you haven't been spanked or shook before."
She looked at him, hurt evident in her eyes. "Am I always bad, Raph?"
He looked at her strangely. "No. Why?"
"I'm not?"
"No," he repeated, then went on. "Okay, sure sometimes you get in more trouble than everyone else, but that's 'cause you're so damn carefree and fun-loving. You just wanna have fun, but usually wind up in trouble while doing so. It's not always your fault. As your brothers, we're supposed to keep a better eye on you. Though, we are NOT your keepers."
Lenore impulsively hugged him, as lone tears still fell. "Thanks."
"For what?" He asked, as he silently debated whether or not to hug her back. "I didn't do nothing but nab yah before the Foot could."
She looked up at him. "You said I ain't always bad. Everybody else thinks so."
"Who is everybody?"
"Machias, Splinter, and Tyger," she answered. "And I'm starting to think Ziptango, Mily, and Daydream too 'cause they didn't do nothing to defend me."
"Maybe they didn't defend you 'cause it wasn't their fight."
"It still would've been nice."
He sighed and finally decided to hug her back. "Kid, don't listen to what Machias, Splinter, and Tyger say. They're as much of trouble-makers as you are and shouldn't be making you feel bad." He tilted her head up by sticking his forefinger under her chin. "Lenni, you just go on being you and having fun. Don't change for nobody, alright?"
"Alright," she responded giving him a small smile.
He wiped her tears away with her thumbs, and ruffled her hair. "Now, I'd advise you to get back in the lair before Sensei finds out you left again."
She nodded and started to run back, but stopped halfway and turned to look back at him.
"Raph?"
"Yeah, Kid?"
"I'm sorry 'bout last night."
"Just forget 'bout it, okay?"
"Okay." She paused. "And Raph."
"Yeah?"
"I love you."
He couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, I love you too. Now scat, Rug-rat."
She grinned cheesily at him, then hurried back into the lair. No sooner had she entered than did Arista and TMNTPunker corner her.
"So, what's it liked to be spanked by Leo?" They asked.
Lenore sighed dejectedly and felt her shoulders sag. "It's no fun, alright? Now, do me a favour and pass that message along, will yah?"
"Where were you just now?" Arista queried, changing the subject. "Sensei said we ain't allowed outta the lair for nothing."
"Yeah," TMNTPunker agreed. "You heard him as well as anybody."
"None of you bees wax," Lenore snapped. "That's for me to know, and you to imagine."
"We'll tell Master Splinter," TMNTPunker threatened.
"Yeah, we will," Arista nodded.
"Go right ahead. I DON'T care." She looked at her other sisters, who were all watching, and shouted the next bit. "YOU'RE ALL JUST A BUNCH OF POOPY- HEADS!"
Ziptango, Daydream, and Mily all slouched down on the couch, hoping she hadn't mean them too. They hadn't meant to just sit there and let the others upset her. They just didn't know what to say. They'd only wanted to be let in on the secret TygeroftheWynd had said she had.
Raphiella came out of her and HexAdecimal's room then with her book. "I'm not a Poopy-Head, am I?"
"No," Lenore retorted. "Neither's Hex - yet."
"Why are they Poopy-Heads?" Raphiella wanted to know.
"They're being mean and won't leave me alone."
"Oh," Raphiella acknowledged. She then headed off in search of HexAdecimal, who was still listening to her discman.
Lenore angrily made her way over to the couch and plopped down next to Daydream, who was next to Ziptango, who was next to Mily. She looked at her three sisters on the couch.
"What I miss?" She asked, indicating their cartoons.
Daydream looked at her surprised, as did the other two. "You're talking to us?"
"Yeah. Why wouldn't I?"
They shrugged, and looked away casually.
"It wasn't your fight. Don't worry 'bout it. I'm not mad at you. You didn't hurt me."
Daydream hugged Lenore, and Lenore readily returned the embrace. Soon Ziptango and Mily joined the hug as well, making it a group hug.
"Oh, puh-lease!" Machias exclaimed. "I feel like I'm watching The Brady's or Full House!"
The four female turtles on the couch stuck their tongues out at her. "Nuh!"
Everyone went back to what they'd originally been doing, thus finally leaving Lenore alone. After awhile Lenore got up and headed into the kitchen. She figured if she could make things all right with Raphael, then she should be able to do the same with Michaelangelo. She didn't really want to talk to Leonardo just yet.
"Mikey," she said softly after entering the kitchen.
Michaelangelo didn't even turn to acknowledge her. Instead, he answered harshly. "What do you want NOW Lenore?"
Lenore looked at him wide-eyed, knowing he NEVER called her by her full name. EVER.
"Um. I-I wanted to-to apologize," she began.
He cut her off. "Save it 'cause I DON'T wanna hear it."
"I didn't mean to Mikey," she told him quietly. "I was just mad and - and jealous."
Michaelangelo turned to look at her then, giving her an icy look. "That's NO excuse. Also, you've NO reason to be jealous. You KNOW how I feel about jealousy. There's NO need for it, NOW or EVER."
"But I - "
"I said, DON'T." He took a very much controlled breath. "Now, I'd advise you to get outta here and bug someone else, before I get any angrier."
"But - But - "
"NOW!"
Lenore quickly ran out of the kitchen and flew past her sisters who were mostly in the den. She would've ran out of the lair again, but ended up crashing into Leonardo before she could make it out the door.
"Where do you think you're going?" He demanded. "You heard Sensei this morning."
She looked up at him with tears streaming down her face.
Leonardo looked at her in concern. "What's wrong?"
He was shocked when she flung herself at him, as she normally only did that with Michaelangelo, and on occasion, Donatello.
"Kiddo, what happened?"
"I-I'm sorry," she choked out.
He looked at her confused. "Sorry for what?" It dawned on him then. "Oh. That. - I'm sorry too. Just don't worry about it. It's done and over with." He hugged her back and rubbed her shell. "Shh." he soothed.
"M-Mikey h-hates m-me," she managed to stutter, just as Raphael came in. "H-He's m-mad t-too."
Leonardo looked at his brother in red and shared the same look. Both knew that Michaelangelo NEVER got mad at their baby sister. He often felt sorry for her, sure, but he was NEVER mad at her. Once in awhile he'd scold her or shake her, but that was always when she wouldn't behave and needed a slight reminder of the rules. And even though he did that, once in a blue moon, he was NEVER mad at her, just slightly upset. And even if upset, he still made sure she knew that he cared, and would give her a small smile at least.
"Whatcha mean Mikey hates you?" Raphael interrogated. "Mikey doesn't hate anybody."
Lenore looked up at Raphael, her tears still streaming down her face. "H- He's mad 'bout last night. I tried to say I'm sorry, but he yelled at me instead. Said he didn't wanna hear it. Told me to go bug somebody else."
Raphael sighed and picked her up. "C'mon Kid. Let's go watch The Chipmunks, alright?"
Lenore nodded and buried her head into her brother's shoulder. She wasn't used to him showing his soft side in front of their brothers, especially Leonardo, but right then was happy he was doing so.
Leonardo patted Raphael's shell slightly. "I'll go talk to him."
Raphael gave a slight nod, and headed over to the couch. "Move over," he told the three there.
Daydream, Ziptango, and Mily quickly obeyed. They were confused as to why Lenore was softly crying into his shoulder, but knew enough not to question it. They also knew she'd probably explain it all later anyway.
Raphael shifted Lenore to his left knee, then scooped Daydream up and placed her on his right one. He then scooted over to where Daydream had been sitting. He watched as Ziptango and Mily decided to press their luck and move closer. He signaled for Ziptango to sit on his left, and reached over and pulled Mily closer to him on his right. Once they were all settled, he had Lenore and Daydream in his lap, and Ziptango and Mily on either side of him, leaning against him.
"What channel are The Chipmunks on?" He asked. "I told Lenni we'd watch 'em."
"I know!" Daydream exclaimed, and grabbed the remote to change the channel. "See?"
Just then the theme song blared from the television speakers. |Watch out, 'cause her we come | |It's been a while but we're | |back with style so | |Get set to have some fun | |We'll bring you action and | |satisfaction | | | |We're the Chipmunks | |C-H-I-P-M-U-N-K | |We're the Chipmunks | |Guaranteed to brighten your day| | | | | |When you feel like a laugh | |Give us a call we'll give you a| |ball and | |If you feel like a song | |Tune into us and sing right | |along | | | |We're the Chipmunks | |Coming on stronger than ever | |before | |We're the Chipmunks | |Alvin, Simon, Theodore | | | |Do do, do do do do | |Do do, do do do do |
The girls giggled as they sang along, and laughed even harder when Raphael began to sing a couple of lines. They were kind of surprised he knew the song, but then realized he always seemed to walk in whenever Lenore had them on.
While the five of them watched Alvin and the Chipmunks, Leonardo was in the kitchen arguing with Michaelangelo about how he'd treated Lenore.
"Leo, why can't you ever just butt out and mind your own business?" Michaelangelo snapped. "If I wanna be mad, for once, let me be mad. I CAN'T always be the happy-go-lucky, carefree guy everyone perceives me to be."
"That's still NO excuse for you to go and make our baby sister cry," Leonardo retorted. "Thanks to you snapping at her, she now thinks her all time favourite brother, YOU, her hero, hates her."
"Why am I always everyone's flippin' hero?" Michaelangelo asked. "Why can't you ever be their hero, huh Leo?"
"Apparently, I'm too bossy," Leonardo answered with a shrug. "But that's besides the point. The point is, you made someone, who thinks the world you, think that you now hate them over something they didn't mean to do."
"Oh, so I see you bought that crap too, huh?"
"What are you talking about Mikey?"
"You honestly think she didn't mean to do what she did last night? Boy, are you even dumber than I thought. Leo, she KNOWS what she's doing and does it 'cause she's jealous. She thinks jealousy is something she can always use an excuse. I'm sick of her telling me she did things 'cause she was jealous. It's not right."
"It's not right for you to upset her like you have either, Michaelangelo. I suggest you apologize to her before things get even more out of control than they already are."
"Whatever Leo," Michaelangelo replied, going back to his baking. "Think whatever you want."
"You know, at times like now, I swear you hang around with Raph too much."
"He's my best friend, what do you want from me?"
"Other than for you to set things right with Lenni, right now, nothing."
Leonardo then stalked out of the kitchen and into the den where the majority of his siblings were. He headed over to the five on the couch.
"Squash over," he said. "I need a break."
As soon as they heard he was taking a break, Arista and TMNTPunker scurried over to the couch, and crawled into his lap once he'd taken his seat. Now, because they'd joined the cartoon watching crew, there were eight of them sitting on the couch.
Donatello soon came out of his lab and plopped down on the floor, only to have Machias and Splinter pretty much tackle him. He smiled and pulled them both into his lap.
Raphiella and HexAdecimal were in their room listening to HexAdecimal's discman and reading Raphiella's book.
Danceingfae on the other hand, was still in her room, seeing as Master Splinter hadn't told her she could come out yet.
Master Splinter finally remembered Danceingfae and told her she was free to leave her room, as long as she didn't cause anymore trouble. Danceingfae agreed and hurried into the kitchen to help Michaelangelo bake.
Master Splinter made his way into the den to sit in his favourite chair, and was surprised to find Leonardo and Raphael watching cartoons with their sisters. Donatello didn't surprise him too much, as he was usually the one the girls dragged over to watch cartoons with. Michaelangelo was usually dragged in too, more so than Donatello. He was surprised to see Leonardo, as he was usually always practicing; he was glad his eldest child had finally decided to take a break from his training and role as leader. Raphael surprised him, because not only was he watching cartoons, he had four of his sisters either piled up on him. He normally wasn't one to show his soft side, unless one of the little ones, were extremely upset.
Master Splinter took a seat in his chair, and gave his sons a warm smile to show he was pleased. He assumed something had either upset Daydream or Lenore, seeing as they were the ones in Raphael's lap. He glanced at the television, and decided to just sit back and enjoy the cartoon that his pupils were watching. As he watched he realized just why Lenore loved Alvin and the Chipmunks so much.
A.N. FINALLY! Lol. I thought this chapter would NEVER end! Yeesh! *huge hug* Hope y'all liked this chapter as much as I do! Plz R & R! & those who haven't R & R "The Child" yet - PLZ do so! I miss your reviews SO much! *another hug* Also, even though HexAdecimal found out what had happened, she isn't a "Poopy-Head" 'cause she didn't bug "Lenore" (me- lol) about it. Well, g2g so I can post this! KTBSPA & KTNTPA & KTRSPA & KTCAPA & KTACPA & KTJTPA & KTKCPA & KTCPA & KTLCPA & KTBKPA!!!!!
The next day.
Lenore awoke only to find that Donatello had already gotten up and left her side. She groaned and rolled over to go back to sleep. She'd just started to doze back into dream land, when she felt someone shake her.
"Time to get up Lenni," Mily informed her.
Lenore groaned again, and stuffed her head under her pillow.
Mily yanked the pillow off her sister's head. "Master Splinter says you gotta get up now. He wants to talk to us 'bout something."
"I'm NOT getting up," Lenore answered. "I didn't sleep good."
"Regardless of whether you slept good or not, I'd advise you to listen for once," Leonardo, who'd suddenly appeared in the doorway, snapped. "Now get up and get dressed."
"Who died and made him boss?" Lenore muttered as he stalked off.
"Lenni, Leo's always bossy when it comes to obeying Sensei," Mily reminded her. "You know that as well as anybody."
Mily left the room then so that she wouldn't get in trouble for being late. She knew her youngest sister, Lenore, would take her sweet old time getting ready. They all knew she tended to act like Raphael when Leonardo got too bossy.
Lenore rolled over and fell out of bed - literally - and looked about the room for her favourite outfit. She finally found her Backstreet Boys shirt and her baggy blue jean overalls. Both of which Michaelangelo had gotten her for her birthday a couple months earlier. She slowly put them on, then took her sweet old time going out into the den.
"Finally!" Raphael grumbled once he'd spotted her. "Her Highness has decided to grace us with her presence."
"Stuff it Raph," Lenore snapped.
Master Splinter merely rolled his eyes and told his youngest to take a seat. He watched as she contemplated on where to sit and was highly surprised when she didn't sit next to Michaelangelo.
Lenore plopped down next to Ziptango and nudged her. "What I miss?"
"Nothing yet," Ziptango whispered. "Sensei hasn't started yet."
"Oh," Lenore nodded. "Did he say why we're having a meeting?"
"No. But he probably will if you two would shut your pie holes," Raphael cut in.
"Raphael, there is no need to be rude," Master Splinter admonished him. "And girls, please do be quiet."
Everyone settled then and awaited Master Splinter's words of wisdom, as they knew it had to be of great importance if they were having a family meeting.
"It has come to my attention," Master Splinter began, then paused momentarily. "That some of you are not doing as told. I've been informed by reliable sources that certain individuals of our clan have been misbehaving and have been disrespectful towards their elders. You all know what I think of disrespect and misbehaviour, so I shall not go into that very long speech. Instead, I shall inform ALL of you, that I will not tolerate these shenanigans any longer. Anyone caught being disrespectful or misbehaving in any way shall be punished accordingly. And, as always, the other rules of this household apply and shall be enforced even more so than before. I've noticed that all of you have been slacking off, not only in your chores, but your ninjitsu as well. You must not slack off, as then you are not only wasting my time, but yours as well. We must stick together and obey the rules if we want for things to run smoothly. Also, I've a new rule for you girls. NONE of you are allowed up top for ANYTHING."
"But what if we go with Donnie?" Lenore piped up, interrupting their sensei.
Master Splinter gave her a stern look. "NOT even then are you allowed to go. I was informed earlier this morning, as to just what went on last night while most of you slept. Needless to say, I am NOT pleased. Those who were involved know better and should not have done what they did. I am disappointed in those individuals, you know who you are."
He paused again, and watched as some of the girls became restless.
"But, seeing as not all of you were involved, I shall do as I planned last night before the incident."
Everyone waited in anticipation, as he stopped again, leaving them hanging.
"There shall be no practice this morning, or this afternoon."
"YES! YAY! WHOOO! YIPPEE!"
He waited for them to calm down and stop cheering before continuing.
"You are all free to do as you please, as long as your chores are done promptly and correctly. You are dismissed."
Half of the turtle family headed for the kitchen to have breakfast, while the other half dove for the television. Once breakfast and their two early morning cartoons were over with, all set about their chores, minus one.
Daydream sat glued to the television, despite the fact they were only allowed to watch two shows before getting their chores done. She was watching Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers and wasn't anywhere near to budging off the couch. She was so engrossed in her cartoon that she didn't even know the others had left until she felt someone tap her shoulder.
Master Splinter had checked on everyone else, and had made sure that their chores were being done properly. He'd re-entered the den, only to find Daydream still rooted to her spot on the couch totally absorbed in Chip 'n' Dale. He went over to where she sat and tapped her on the shoulder lightly. He watched as she jumped slightly, then looked to see who had tapped her.
"My child, I do believe that you are to be doing your chores now, not watching television," he told her softly as she looked at him sheepishly.
Daydream blushed slightly. "Sorry Master Splinter," she apologized. "Guess I got hooked again."
"Run along and do your chores, little one."
"Sensei," she began quietly. "May I watch the end of it first? Please?"
"Is it almost done?"
"Hai."
Master Splinter thought a moment. "Then you may watch it."
"Thank-you!" Daydream exclaimed smiling up at him.
He patted her head. "You're welcome, my child."
While Daydream went back to her cartoon, Master Splinter took a seat in his favourite chair. He knew it wouldn't be long before someone else noticed Daydream watching television and complained.
Danceingfae had been doing her chores, when she spotted Daydream watching T.V. She went over and sat next to her little sister.
"How come you're watching T.V.?" Danceingfae asked. "You couldn't have finished your chores THAT fast."
Daydream kept her eyes glued to the television set. "Sensei said I could watch the end."
"What!?!?!" Danceingfae exclaimed, then turned to look at Master Splinter. "Sensei! That's not fair!"
"Do not get excited Danceingfae," Master Splinter said calmly. "She shall do her chores promptly once it is done."
"That's still NOT fair," Danceingfae argued. "Why should she get away with it when no one else can? If she can watch cartoons, we should be able to too!"
"I believe everyone has their days of forgetfulness," Master Splinter started. "There will be days when you too forget to do your chores first. When that happens I shall be as lenient with you as I am with Daydream."
"No you won't!" Danceingfae stated somewhat rude. "You'll get all mad at me 'cause I'm the oldest and know better and all that stupid stuff!"
"My child, I shan't be mad then, but am starting to lose patience with you now," he warned. "I do not like the tone you are using when speaking to me."
"You NEVER like ANY tone other than Leo's! And you only like his 'cause he's the perfect one outta all of us! You're a prejudice old fool!"
Young turtles, who heard the commotion, had stopped to watch, and felt their jaws hit the floor when Danceingfae had called their beloved sensei a prejudice old fool.
Master Splinter eyed the young turtle before him warily. He took note of her angry scowl on her face and thought carefully before speaking.
"Since I am a prejudice old fool, I believe you shall now do Daydream's chores as well as your own," he informed her. "Then you shall go to the dojo and sit there on a mat quietly and aren't to move an inch until I have told you otherwise. Understood?"
Danceingfae glared at him and spat her answer out. "Hai."
They all watched as she stormed back into the kitchen to finish up her own duties there, before starting in on Daydream's. then the turtles who'd stopped to watch, quickly went about their business before they got reprimanded for watching the commotion.
"Daydream."
"Yes Sensei?"
"You may do as you please for the rest of the day, starting now, seeing as you have no chores to do today."
She grinned at him happily. "Thanks Master Splinter!"
After awhile everyone else had finished their daily chores as were free to do as they liked, as long as it was within reason. They all knew what they could do, and what they weren't allowed to do. They all headed off in separation directions, or in most cases, the same direction.
Leonardo, of course, headed straight for the dojo, much to the annoyment of Danceingfae. Michaelangelo obviously headed for the kitchen to bake; Donatello retreated to his lab. Raphael went to go work on his motorcycle; Daydream stayed rooted where she was watching cartoons and was soon joined by Ziptango, Mily, and Lenore. Arista and TMNTPunker snuck into the dojo to watch Leonardo practice; Machias and Splinter followed Donatello into his lab. Raphiella went to her and HexAdecimal's room to read, while HexAdecimal went to hunt down her discman in Arista and TMNTPunker's room. TygeroftheWynd sat on the floor behind the couch to play Solitaire with her Looney Tunes playing cards. Master Splinter remained seated in his chair drinking his cup of tea.
All was fine until TygeroftheWynd decided to inform her sisters on the couch as to just what incident Master Splinter had been referring to earlier that morning. She'd made sure to wait until Master Splinter had left the room.
"Psst! Zip!" TygeroftheWynd hissed. "Zip!"
Ziptango turned around and peered over the back of the couch. "What?"
"Come here! I've something I wanna tell you!"
Ziptango shrugged, got up, and went to sit behind the couch with her sister.
"What?" She asked again.
"Wait. I gotta get Day and Mil first."
"Psst! Day! Mil!"
The two who'd been called turned to look over the couch. "What?"
"I gotta secret!"
The two quickly scampered off the couch upon hearing those words. They joined their sisters on the floor.
"What's so important that we're missing the end of Duck Tales?" Mily wanted to know.
"I know what happened last night," TygeroftheWynd smirked.
"What? Seriously?" Mily exclaimed softly.
"No way! How do you know?" Daydream said.
"I know 'cause I was there," TygeroftheWynd answered. "Mikey and them came looking for me last night."
"Why? Where were you?" Ziptango queried.
"I was left at the circus," she stated. "You guys forgot me and they came back to get me. Lenni was looking for me too. Only thing was, she wasn't s'pose to be outta the lair."
"Lenni was looking for you?" Mily checked. "But she HATES the dark. That's why we've a nightlight in our room."
"Me too," Daydream piped up. "I got one too."
"Well, she was," she told them, then went on. "I got spotted and called a Freak. It's not fun being chased by men with pitchforks and shovels and stuff. I hid finally and stayed in my hiding spot 'till I heard Mikey calling me. Everything got kinda confusing after that."
"How'd it get confusing?" Ziptango questioned.
"Lenni got mad."
"So? She was mad at the circus too," Mily pointed out.
"She attacked me 'cause Mikey called me over and not her. She got mad at Mikey."
The other three girls gasped, as Lenore NEVER got mad at Michaelangelo.
"Seriously?"
TygeroftheWynd nodded. "Yep. She threw a fit and screamed and stuff. Raph covered her mouth to make her stop and she bit him."
Again the three girls listening gasped. "Is she nuts?"
"Guess so," TygeroftheWynd shrugged. "But that's not the confusing, freaky stuff. The freaky stuff is while she was throwing her tantrum Leo sat on her. Okay, he's sat on us before when one of us threw a fit, but this time was different."
"How was it different?" Daydream asked.
"Day, quit interrupting and I'll tell you."
"Sorry," Daydream apologized.
"Anyway, he told her to stop and stuff and she SPIT at him."
Gasping was heard once more.
"And then Leo flipped her over and SPANKED her!" TygeroftheWynd finished.
Jaws hit the floor at TygeroftheWynd's last statement. The three girls couldn't believe that Leonardo had spanked their littlest sister. The boys NEVER spanked them, as they'd get in trouble for it themselves, as they weren't to harm the girls. Ever.
"No way! You're joking, right?" Ziptango managed finally.
TygeroftheWynd shook her head. "Nope. I'm serious guys. He spanked her."
"And Mikey didn't do anything?" Mily interrogated.
"No. He was mad at her too and had shook her long before she bit Raph."
"Mikey mad at Lenni? Lenni mad at Mikey? Okay, this is just - weird," Daydream commented. "They're NEVER mad at each other."
Lenore, who was still sitting on the couch watching cartoons, turned and peered over at her sisters once she'd heard Daydream say her name.
"Whatcha guys talking 'bout?" She asked. "I thought we were watching cartoons."
"Tyger was telling us what ha - "Daydream began, only to have Mily clamp her hand over her mouth.
Lenore looked at them confused. "Telling them what Tyger?"
"Telling us about what she dreamt last night," Ziptango covered for her sister.
"Then why didn't you call me and tell me too?" Lenore wanted to know. "I was here watching T.V. with 'em."
TygeroftheWynd gave a sheepish grin. "I didn't think of it. Sorry Lenni."
Mily removed her hand from Daydream's mouth, only to have Daydream blow their cover right then and there.
"How come you're mad at Mikey?"
"Who said I was mad at Mikey?" Lenore asked, eyeing TygeroftheWynd.
"Tyger did. She said you guys got mad at each other last night."
"You told 'em?" Lenore exclaimed slightly. "Tyger! They said not to tell anybody!"
"Well, obviously, someone told Master Splinter," TygeroftheWynd retorted.
"But Master Splinter's different! He's a right to know what happened!"
"What? And we don't?" Mily challenged.
"No!" Lenore cried. "You don't! It was between us! And I didn't want anybody knowing!"
"So what? Leo spanked you. Big deal," TygeroftheWynd said giving a small shrug.
"Leo spanked Lenni?" Machias asked, as her and Splinter came out of Donatello's lab. "Seriously?"
The girls, minus Lenore, nodded.
"Hey! Splinter! Leo spanked Lenni!" Machias called out.
"When?" Splinter asked joining them.
"Last night," TygeroftheWynd told them. "Mikey shook her again too."
"Whoa. Dude," Splinter replicated.
"Tyger! Quit it!" Lenore begged with a slight whine. "I don't want everybody knowing I got spanked."
"Spanked? When? By who?" HexAdecimal queried coming out with her discman. She was now on a search for batteries. "What are you guys talking about?"
"Leo spanked Lenni last night," TygeroftheWynd explained. "She doesn't want everybody knowing. But it ain't a big deal really."
"It IS a big deal!" Lenore said, obviously starting to get upset. "I don't like it when everybody's mad at me."
"Then you shouldn't act up all the time," Machias retorted. "They only get mad at you 'cause you're always bad."
"I'm NOT always bad Machias! And you guys get in trouble too!"
"Whatever you say Lenni," Splinter shrugged.
Lenore hopped down off the couch then and darted out of the lair.
"See?" Machias said. "She just left knowing she'll get in trouble for it later."
Daydream, Mily, and Ziptango all gave one another worried looks. They knew they'd helped to upset their sister and felt bad for it, as they were usually the "Four Musketeers".
While her older sisters went back to what they'd originally been doing, Lenore was high-tailing it down the sewer tunnel. Without realizing it, she'd run past Raphael, who was still working on his motorbike.
"What the - ?" Raphael trailed off as he saw her run by. "Now where the hell is she going?"
He left his bike then and went after her, knowing that she could easily get spotted by the Foot again, as she was too reckless sometimes.
"Lenni!" He called. "Lenni! Quit running! Lenni!"
Lenore heard Raphael calling her and ran faster, as she hated for people to see her cry. She was also afraid that he was mad and going to yell at her again. She yelped slightly as she felt someone grab her and yank her into the shadows. Lucky for her, it was only Raphael, who had finally caught up to her.
Raphael had heard voices coming from up ahead, and stepped on it to reach his baby sister. Once he'd caught her he'd yanked her into the shadows and placed his hand over her mouth. He signaled for her to keep quiet, and kept his hand firmly where it was. He knew if he didn't she'd be apt to scream if she saw the Foot.
The two of them remained hidden in the shadows, and both tensed, as the voices got closer. One tensed in fear, the other in apprehension. At last they saw seven Foot members go by. Apparently they were new members of the clan, as they weren't being as quiet as they should've been.
"Master Shredder said those turtles freaks should be down here somewhere," one Foot member said. "We must find them immediately and give the co-ordinants of their whereabouts to him a.s.a.p. We need to rid ourselves of these pesky freaks, if we're to take over New York City, and the rest of the state."
"You really think they're down here?" Another member questioned. "I mean we could be on a fruitless search for all we know."
"Would you rather disobey Master Shredder and suffer the consequences?" A third one piped up. "Besides, it's not so bad down here. Despite the sewer rats and snakes we've seen."
"And the smell," the fourth one added. "The smell is definitely the worst part."
The other three nodded and remained silent, as they knew they should be quiet if they wanted to locate the turtles.
Raphael waited until he was one hundred and ten percent sure that the Foot members were gone, before picking Lenore up and cautiously heading back home to the lair. Once there, he went back to his motorbike, and didn't set her down until he'd reached it. He wanted some answers before he let her go back inside.
"Just what the hell do you think you're doing running around outside the lair?" He demanded. "You, of all people, know just how STUPID and DANGEROUS that is. Yeesh! If I hadn't have spotted you, you could've VERY easily been snatched by those Foot members we saw!"
Lenore sniffled and rubbed her eyes as more tears began to fall. She hadn't meant to run so far. She'd just wanted to get away from everyone and hide somewhere so she could cry freely for once.
"Well? I'm waiting."
"Sorry," she mumbled softly. "I-I didn't mean to run so far."
"Why were you even outside of the lair in the first place?"
"T-Tyger told everyone 'bout last night," she whimpered. "I-I didn't want nobody to know. Now everybody does - well, six of 'em do anyway."
"Is that why you were out here? 'Cause Tyger was telling, though she's not supposed to?"
Lenore nodded. "Yes."
"So what? It's not like you haven't been spanked or shook before."
She looked at him, hurt evident in her eyes. "Am I always bad, Raph?"
He looked at her strangely. "No. Why?"
"I'm not?"
"No," he repeated, then went on. "Okay, sure sometimes you get in more trouble than everyone else, but that's 'cause you're so damn carefree and fun-loving. You just wanna have fun, but usually wind up in trouble while doing so. It's not always your fault. As your brothers, we're supposed to keep a better eye on you. Though, we are NOT your keepers."
Lenore impulsively hugged him, as lone tears still fell. "Thanks."
"For what?" He asked, as he silently debated whether or not to hug her back. "I didn't do nothing but nab yah before the Foot could."
She looked up at him. "You said I ain't always bad. Everybody else thinks so."
"Who is everybody?"
"Machias, Splinter, and Tyger," she answered. "And I'm starting to think Ziptango, Mily, and Daydream too 'cause they didn't do nothing to defend me."
"Maybe they didn't defend you 'cause it wasn't their fight."
"It still would've been nice."
He sighed and finally decided to hug her back. "Kid, don't listen to what Machias, Splinter, and Tyger say. They're as much of trouble-makers as you are and shouldn't be making you feel bad." He tilted her head up by sticking his forefinger under her chin. "Lenni, you just go on being you and having fun. Don't change for nobody, alright?"
"Alright," she responded giving him a small smile.
He wiped her tears away with her thumbs, and ruffled her hair. "Now, I'd advise you to get back in the lair before Sensei finds out you left again."
She nodded and started to run back, but stopped halfway and turned to look back at him.
"Raph?"
"Yeah, Kid?"
"I'm sorry 'bout last night."
"Just forget 'bout it, okay?"
"Okay." She paused. "And Raph."
"Yeah?"
"I love you."
He couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, I love you too. Now scat, Rug-rat."
She grinned cheesily at him, then hurried back into the lair. No sooner had she entered than did Arista and TMNTPunker corner her.
"So, what's it liked to be spanked by Leo?" They asked.
Lenore sighed dejectedly and felt her shoulders sag. "It's no fun, alright? Now, do me a favour and pass that message along, will yah?"
"Where were you just now?" Arista queried, changing the subject. "Sensei said we ain't allowed outta the lair for nothing."
"Yeah," TMNTPunker agreed. "You heard him as well as anybody."
"None of you bees wax," Lenore snapped. "That's for me to know, and you to imagine."
"We'll tell Master Splinter," TMNTPunker threatened.
"Yeah, we will," Arista nodded.
"Go right ahead. I DON'T care." She looked at her other sisters, who were all watching, and shouted the next bit. "YOU'RE ALL JUST A BUNCH OF POOPY- HEADS!"
Ziptango, Daydream, and Mily all slouched down on the couch, hoping she hadn't mean them too. They hadn't meant to just sit there and let the others upset her. They just didn't know what to say. They'd only wanted to be let in on the secret TygeroftheWynd had said she had.
Raphiella came out of her and HexAdecimal's room then with her book. "I'm not a Poopy-Head, am I?"
"No," Lenore retorted. "Neither's Hex - yet."
"Why are they Poopy-Heads?" Raphiella wanted to know.
"They're being mean and won't leave me alone."
"Oh," Raphiella acknowledged. She then headed off in search of HexAdecimal, who was still listening to her discman.
Lenore angrily made her way over to the couch and plopped down next to Daydream, who was next to Ziptango, who was next to Mily. She looked at her three sisters on the couch.
"What I miss?" She asked, indicating their cartoons.
Daydream looked at her surprised, as did the other two. "You're talking to us?"
"Yeah. Why wouldn't I?"
They shrugged, and looked away casually.
"It wasn't your fight. Don't worry 'bout it. I'm not mad at you. You didn't hurt me."
Daydream hugged Lenore, and Lenore readily returned the embrace. Soon Ziptango and Mily joined the hug as well, making it a group hug.
"Oh, puh-lease!" Machias exclaimed. "I feel like I'm watching The Brady's or Full House!"
The four female turtles on the couch stuck their tongues out at her. "Nuh!"
Everyone went back to what they'd originally been doing, thus finally leaving Lenore alone. After awhile Lenore got up and headed into the kitchen. She figured if she could make things all right with Raphael, then she should be able to do the same with Michaelangelo. She didn't really want to talk to Leonardo just yet.
"Mikey," she said softly after entering the kitchen.
Michaelangelo didn't even turn to acknowledge her. Instead, he answered harshly. "What do you want NOW Lenore?"
Lenore looked at him wide-eyed, knowing he NEVER called her by her full name. EVER.
"Um. I-I wanted to-to apologize," she began.
He cut her off. "Save it 'cause I DON'T wanna hear it."
"I didn't mean to Mikey," she told him quietly. "I was just mad and - and jealous."
Michaelangelo turned to look at her then, giving her an icy look. "That's NO excuse. Also, you've NO reason to be jealous. You KNOW how I feel about jealousy. There's NO need for it, NOW or EVER."
"But I - "
"I said, DON'T." He took a very much controlled breath. "Now, I'd advise you to get outta here and bug someone else, before I get any angrier."
"But - But - "
"NOW!"
Lenore quickly ran out of the kitchen and flew past her sisters who were mostly in the den. She would've ran out of the lair again, but ended up crashing into Leonardo before she could make it out the door.
"Where do you think you're going?" He demanded. "You heard Sensei this morning."
She looked up at him with tears streaming down her face.
Leonardo looked at her in concern. "What's wrong?"
He was shocked when she flung herself at him, as she normally only did that with Michaelangelo, and on occasion, Donatello.
"Kiddo, what happened?"
"I-I'm sorry," she choked out.
He looked at her confused. "Sorry for what?" It dawned on him then. "Oh. That. - I'm sorry too. Just don't worry about it. It's done and over with." He hugged her back and rubbed her shell. "Shh." he soothed.
"M-Mikey h-hates m-me," she managed to stutter, just as Raphael came in. "H-He's m-mad t-too."
Leonardo looked at his brother in red and shared the same look. Both knew that Michaelangelo NEVER got mad at their baby sister. He often felt sorry for her, sure, but he was NEVER mad at her. Once in awhile he'd scold her or shake her, but that was always when she wouldn't behave and needed a slight reminder of the rules. And even though he did that, once in a blue moon, he was NEVER mad at her, just slightly upset. And even if upset, he still made sure she knew that he cared, and would give her a small smile at least.
"Whatcha mean Mikey hates you?" Raphael interrogated. "Mikey doesn't hate anybody."
Lenore looked up at Raphael, her tears still streaming down her face. "H- He's mad 'bout last night. I tried to say I'm sorry, but he yelled at me instead. Said he didn't wanna hear it. Told me to go bug somebody else."
Raphael sighed and picked her up. "C'mon Kid. Let's go watch The Chipmunks, alright?"
Lenore nodded and buried her head into her brother's shoulder. She wasn't used to him showing his soft side in front of their brothers, especially Leonardo, but right then was happy he was doing so.
Leonardo patted Raphael's shell slightly. "I'll go talk to him."
Raphael gave a slight nod, and headed over to the couch. "Move over," he told the three there.
Daydream, Ziptango, and Mily quickly obeyed. They were confused as to why Lenore was softly crying into his shoulder, but knew enough not to question it. They also knew she'd probably explain it all later anyway.
Raphael shifted Lenore to his left knee, then scooped Daydream up and placed her on his right one. He then scooted over to where Daydream had been sitting. He watched as Ziptango and Mily decided to press their luck and move closer. He signaled for Ziptango to sit on his left, and reached over and pulled Mily closer to him on his right. Once they were all settled, he had Lenore and Daydream in his lap, and Ziptango and Mily on either side of him, leaning against him.
"What channel are The Chipmunks on?" He asked. "I told Lenni we'd watch 'em."
"I know!" Daydream exclaimed, and grabbed the remote to change the channel. "See?"
Just then the theme song blared from the television speakers. |Watch out, 'cause her we come | |It's been a while but we're | |back with style so | |Get set to have some fun | |We'll bring you action and | |satisfaction | | | |We're the Chipmunks | |C-H-I-P-M-U-N-K | |We're the Chipmunks | |Guaranteed to brighten your day| | | | | |When you feel like a laugh | |Give us a call we'll give you a| |ball and | |If you feel like a song | |Tune into us and sing right | |along | | | |We're the Chipmunks | |Coming on stronger than ever | |before | |We're the Chipmunks | |Alvin, Simon, Theodore | | | |Do do, do do do do | |Do do, do do do do |
The girls giggled as they sang along, and laughed even harder when Raphael began to sing a couple of lines. They were kind of surprised he knew the song, but then realized he always seemed to walk in whenever Lenore had them on.
While the five of them watched Alvin and the Chipmunks, Leonardo was in the kitchen arguing with Michaelangelo about how he'd treated Lenore.
"Leo, why can't you ever just butt out and mind your own business?" Michaelangelo snapped. "If I wanna be mad, for once, let me be mad. I CAN'T always be the happy-go-lucky, carefree guy everyone perceives me to be."
"That's still NO excuse for you to go and make our baby sister cry," Leonardo retorted. "Thanks to you snapping at her, she now thinks her all time favourite brother, YOU, her hero, hates her."
"Why am I always everyone's flippin' hero?" Michaelangelo asked. "Why can't you ever be their hero, huh Leo?"
"Apparently, I'm too bossy," Leonardo answered with a shrug. "But that's besides the point. The point is, you made someone, who thinks the world you, think that you now hate them over something they didn't mean to do."
"Oh, so I see you bought that crap too, huh?"
"What are you talking about Mikey?"
"You honestly think she didn't mean to do what she did last night? Boy, are you even dumber than I thought. Leo, she KNOWS what she's doing and does it 'cause she's jealous. She thinks jealousy is something she can always use an excuse. I'm sick of her telling me she did things 'cause she was jealous. It's not right."
"It's not right for you to upset her like you have either, Michaelangelo. I suggest you apologize to her before things get even more out of control than they already are."
"Whatever Leo," Michaelangelo replied, going back to his baking. "Think whatever you want."
"You know, at times like now, I swear you hang around with Raph too much."
"He's my best friend, what do you want from me?"
"Other than for you to set things right with Lenni, right now, nothing."
Leonardo then stalked out of the kitchen and into the den where the majority of his siblings were. He headed over to the five on the couch.
"Squash over," he said. "I need a break."
As soon as they heard he was taking a break, Arista and TMNTPunker scurried over to the couch, and crawled into his lap once he'd taken his seat. Now, because they'd joined the cartoon watching crew, there were eight of them sitting on the couch.
Donatello soon came out of his lab and plopped down on the floor, only to have Machias and Splinter pretty much tackle him. He smiled and pulled them both into his lap.
Raphiella and HexAdecimal were in their room listening to HexAdecimal's discman and reading Raphiella's book.
Danceingfae on the other hand, was still in her room, seeing as Master Splinter hadn't told her she could come out yet.
Master Splinter finally remembered Danceingfae and told her she was free to leave her room, as long as she didn't cause anymore trouble. Danceingfae agreed and hurried into the kitchen to help Michaelangelo bake.
Master Splinter made his way into the den to sit in his favourite chair, and was surprised to find Leonardo and Raphael watching cartoons with their sisters. Donatello didn't surprise him too much, as he was usually the one the girls dragged over to watch cartoons with. Michaelangelo was usually dragged in too, more so than Donatello. He was surprised to see Leonardo, as he was usually always practicing; he was glad his eldest child had finally decided to take a break from his training and role as leader. Raphael surprised him, because not only was he watching cartoons, he had four of his sisters either piled up on him. He normally wasn't one to show his soft side, unless one of the little ones, were extremely upset.
Master Splinter took a seat in his chair, and gave his sons a warm smile to show he was pleased. He assumed something had either upset Daydream or Lenore, seeing as they were the ones in Raphael's lap. He glanced at the television, and decided to just sit back and enjoy the cartoon that his pupils were watching. As he watched he realized just why Lenore loved Alvin and the Chipmunks so much.
A.N. FINALLY! Lol. I thought this chapter would NEVER end! Yeesh! *huge hug* Hope y'all liked this chapter as much as I do! Plz R & R! & those who haven't R & R "The Child" yet - PLZ do so! I miss your reviews SO much! *another hug* Also, even though HexAdecimal found out what had happened, she isn't a "Poopy-Head" 'cause she didn't bug "Lenore" (me- lol) about it. Well, g2g so I can post this! KTBSPA & KTNTPA & KTRSPA & KTCAPA & KTACPA & KTJTPA & KTKCPA & KTCPA & KTLCPA & KTBKPA!!!!!
