WARNING: Contains Spoilers for the Lost Season's Ninja Tribunal episodes! You have been warned!
Oh, and I don't own the turtles, if I did the Tribunal would have been aired and the FF arc would have been much, much better.
CREDITS: Inspired after reading Splinter and Cynlee's "A Family Reunion" but influenced after watching the Tribunal episodes. Also, I tried to avoid a little scene, but found it too tempting to pass off, so for those who read Mickis's 'Deputy Wildlifers, you might find a scene familiar, so giving credit, I hope no one minds.
X o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o
It was late at night and we gathered around the fire.
Master Splinter and the Ancient one had left a while ago, wanting to meditate outside.
It was s fairly cool and breezy night outside, a nice weather to be outside on a stroll or to just stare at the stars and meditate, even a barbeque sounded nice right about now, too; I was getting hungry.
But none of us wanted to be outside, not at the moment, because we all had things plaguing our minds.
We've been told so many things the past hour or two, it showed us that everything we thought we knew about this reality, about this world, even about life and our existence as it were, as mistress Chikara had said, we discovered that we knew nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
"So the real Shredder was a Tengu that rose from some hell-born pit, back at the year three hundred AD. He brought chaos and misery to all." I began, wanting to surmise what we've known so far. To myself, I was retelling what master Splinter had told us, just an hour prior his stroll out with the Ancient one, because I wanted to make sure I got it all right and did not miss out on something.
Staring at the bright yellow, orange and red tongued flames dancing un-rhythmically before our eyes, I continued, my elbows on my thighs and near my knees, shoulder squared and my head bowed low, sunken between them, "There were these five dragons summoned by the emperor, the Tribunal, and Oroku Saki was one of them." I quizzically glanced at my brothers before I trailed on.
"They fought the real Tengu Shredder, but then human Shredder willfully lost his soul and got possessed by the real evil Tengu-Shredder." I said a little louder, brows sinking deep, I was desperately trying not to confuse myself, "Then the Tribunal was gifted by the symbol of the Dragon Foot, for the defeat of the evil Tengu Shredder." I looked at my brothers and they nodded, assuring me that I got it right. "But then Saki betrayed them and started killing everyone and almost took over their world, till the Tribunal trained hard and defeated him?" I glanced at my brothers.
"That about sums it up," one brother replied, "With the Shredder's Helmet, Gauntlet and body separated, the Mystics won't be able to resurrect him." He added, glancing at us with a worried frown.
"But I don't get it, wont re-collecting the three artifacts put them together automatically and resurrect him, anyway?" one brother grouched, frowning, "Why collect the three pieces, if having them in the same place would start the thing the Tribunal are trying to avoid? It just doesn't add up!" he glowed in frustration, "And why the shell didn't they say anything?"
"I know how you feel, Raph." Calmly, our leader puts a hand on his shoulder, "What matters now is that we train harder and try to manifest our powers, only then will we be strong enough to fight- whatever it is that's about to come." He sighed, looking disturbed, his eyes fixed to the dancing fire, "You remember that vision they showed us. That big fire demon dragon, Hiyashi-aki practically killed us! We weren't ready."
"Yeah I know, Leo." The grouchiest of them all muttered, sarcastic, "We weren't ready and had our shells handed to us, because they never bothered telling us why the shell we were even here, or what the shell we're supposed to fight, for that matter." He muttered angrily, "But even with this new coming darkness, I feel clueless." Raph growled once more, his fist hit the tatami-matted floor. "It stinks."
"Tell me about it." I scoffed in annoyance, I rest my chin on my open hand, elbow propped on my thigh, "But in order, it was Tengu Shredder, a demon who possessed Oroku Saki, the human Shredder, who is now sealed in a casket and hidden somewhere in this ministry, right?" I looked at them and they nodded, "So the Shredder we fought all these times, Utrom Shredder, was just a big faker, right?"
"A die-hard faker," Raph muttered darkly.
"And the Mystics obey their master, the real Shredder, right?" I trailed on.
That caught Leo's attention, he frowned, "Yes?"
"Then, if the Utrom Shredder wasn't the real Shredder, why did the Mystics obey him?" I asked, utterly confused, "They must've known he wasn't the real shredder, so why did they do his bidding?"
"Mikey's got a point." Don crossed his arms, a thoughtful look surfaced on his face, "Perhaps they were just putting the Utrom Shredder into play? Bidding their time? Maybe they knew the real Shredder was here somewhere, and they needed Utrom Shredder for something?" he continued, deep in thought.
"And now that I think back about it, when we first fought Saki, there was the Sword of Tengu." He snapped his fingers, remembering something, "We even saw how it was created by Utrom Shredder back at the TCRI building, before it self destructed." He reminded us with a grin, but it soon fell, "but the sword was later destroyed." He then muttered, trying to make a connection.
I sighed softly and shook my head with a small mirthful grin. Donny was having a one sided discussion again, which means he may not make a full connection to us when he tries to explain something.
With Don distracted, muttering to himself under his breath, I glanced at Leo, "You guys did notice that the Tribunal symbol and the Foot symbol are the same, but upside down, right?" I asked, wondering if they noticed it.
"Kinda hard to miss, Sherlock." Raph murmured, unimpressed.
"I know, but I always wondered why they called it the 'Foot' clan," I shrugged with a weak grin, "I mean, who in his right mind would call his clan the Foot? I know a foot can be pretty handy," I joked with a chuckle, but their indifferent expressions killed my smile, so I shrugged it off with a sigh, "but I couldn't see why anyone would call a clan after such a thing." I explained.
I glanced at Leo, "And when Sensei said it was the 'Dragon Foot' clan, as dubbed by the emperor after the defeat of Tengu Shredder, it all sort of made sense!" I confused quietly, more to myself than to them, "But what I don't get is why Shredder's symbol is upside down." I argued, wondering if it was upside down just for the heck of being opposite of the Tribunal.
That's when Don came back to us, voice audible and clear, "- then there was the Heart of Tengu Bishop made you steal from Karai, as in payment to turn me back to normal." he murmured, missing Leo's inward cringe, probably at both the mention of Karai and how much we risked to get Donny back to normal, "At first I thought those were the artifacts the Mystics were looking for, but I guess I was wrong." he trailed on, oblivious to Leo's discomfort, "Having the Mystics use the Foot symbol as well to represent their elements might mean something, too."
"Ya know, I still wonder what Bishop wanted with that thing." Raph grouched.
"As do I. But let us leave that to later, okay?" Leo steered the conversation back to topic, knowing fully Raph wouldn't pass a chance to razz him about Karai, when given the chance and oddly Raph let it slide, he didn't insist and let Leo get back to topic, "What matters now is that the Tribunal need our help to keep the Mystics from reviving the real, Tengu-possessed Shredder."
"Yeah well if they think they're so powerful, and they did defeat the real Saki, then why escort and train more acolytes? Why don't they just do that patty-cake things and solve it themselves already." Raph growled, now turning to lie on his side, a hand cupping the side of his head as it propped on his elbow.
"They're called hand seals, Raph." Leo muttered, smothering an annoyed smile, "They're originally oriented from the Chinese Zodiac system, twelve animals and each with its distinguished signal, they're been around for a very long time." He corrected, explaining those hand movements the Tribunal kept using when summoning their powers, "There are incarnations of that system in one of those cartoons Mike watches." He then glanced at me with an inquiring look, "What was it again? It had something to do with ramen, right?"
I laughed softly, moving my chin off my hand and letting my hands touch my ankles where I sat in front of the fire, Indian style, "The show is called Naruto, dude." I told him with a grin, "He's a ninja and uses those hand seals to summon special abilities or supporting characters, to assist him in his battles." I explained briefly, "And yes, Naruto actually means the swirly sea-food decoration they put in ramen." I grinned, pleased that my brother paid attention to one of my favorite shows, "And it's an anime, not a cartoon, there is a difference!" I then pointed out.
"Uh huh…" Raph muttered in boredom, and then turned to Don, "So now what? Do we just let them whack us around like newbies in a dodge ball playfield? When do we get to kick some Mystic butt?" he gave a sinister grin.
Leo shook his head, "First of all, we all need to tap into our inner spirits and connect with our avatars." He reminded us, "Only when we've mastered that skill, will we be allowed to move on to the next stage of our training."
"And speaking of avatars, your dragon was spiffy, Leo!" I praised, giving his shoulder a playful punch, "Beats anything I could think of!"
He rubbed his shoulder and gave a slightly timid grin, "Ah, thanks."
"Knowing you, Mikey, your avatar might be a snail." Raph snickered, "No, maybe a vegetable; that would suit you."
I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, yours would probably be a cockroach." I grinned at his glare.
Don sighed, busy fingering his amulet, "Well, focusing our energy does give us unique abilities, not to mention odd looking glowing face paint, but I don't know if any of you guys noticed it," he paused, reluctant to continue, gaining our attention, "once we stop tapping into our inner chi, I feel a little fatigued." He held his amulet and then glanced at us, "Do any of you get that feeling, or is it just me?" he asked, looking a little nervous.
"Well I did feel a little breathless when we were in that cave," Leo admitted, touching his own amulet, "but I thought it was just the adrenaline rush wearing off, not fatigue." He glanced at me and Raph, "What about you two?"
"Well I ran with Hisome all day and I feel just fine," I shrugged, and then groused, "and I still can't sleep!"
Raph shrugged a none-too caring shoulder, "I feel just fine, not tired or nothing." He held his amulet and gave a scowl, "I still don't like these dog tags, but I guess they're not just for looks, huh?"
"They're amplifying amulets, Raph. Not dog tags." Don commented with a slight scowl.
"They feel like dog tags to me." Raph muttered, annoyed. "What are they made of, anyway?" he fingered his golden amulet, staring at the shiny, bright yellow surface, as if looking for something.
"No idea." was Don's simple reply.
"How about we just sleep it over? It's been a long day and we're all tired." Leo instructed.
I groaned, "But I can't sleep! For the past few nights I just keep twisting and turning, but I just can't sleep!" I argued.
"Then meditate," he answered wisely, "Maybe you have too much energy bottled up, you need to let it flow out."
"How?" I argued, confused.
Raph groaned and palmed his face, glaring at me from between his fingers, "Has none of the 'focus your energy' lessons registered in yer head, Mikey?" he pushed off the floor and headed towards the far wall, where our futons were set.
"Of course it did, I'm just not into focusing right now." I whined, wishing if the Tribunal had at least given us pillows or blankets.
But then I blinked, Raph had settled on Leo's futon, the one in the middle, and then without permission, stretched out his arms and grabbed Don's bedding, dragging it closer to his own until their edges touched, being fit side to side and forming a doubled bed, before doing the same to his own bedding that was at the opposite side or Leo's.
He settled on the middle mattress Indian style and stretched his arms, popping a few kinks before glancing at us, an indifferent and bored look in his eyes. When all we did was stare blankly at him, he scowled, looking annoyed.
"What?" he half whined, half growled.
"Why?" was Don's only question regarding the now combined bedding.
Raph shrugged, "Just because." He then gazed past us.
Following his gaze, to where my bed was at the opposite side of the room, a short distance away from Sensei's bed, I felt my brow twitch. I remember them teasing me about it, seeing my bed was on the opposite side of the room and placed closer to sensei's bed. They teased me by saying it was because I was the baby and I had to stay close to my daddy, and I did not find that one bit funny!
"You gonna bring that over here, Mikey?" he questioned, an invitation was silently offered in his voice.
I eagerly grinned and whipped around to roll my futon, carried it towards the combined bedding and then unrolled it, setting it and smoothing it down next to Don's. Leo and Don just watched us with wry smiles, but I caught a tiny twitch of a grin on Leo's lips. He un-strapped his swords and set them aside, and then settled on the bedding next to Raph, seeing Raph was now sitting on his bed. Don gave a slight negative shake and then smiled, he settled on the bedding I just placed, pushing me to the middle, next to Raph.
It was Leo and Don on the sides with Raph and me in the middle.
We quietly settled in various laying positions and then murmured goodnights, soon they were sleep.
For a long while I just laid awake, staring blankly at the ceiling over our heads.
I couldn't sleep, so I shifted about and tried to get more comfortable. Raph next to me, laid to his side with his hefty arm pillowed under his head, his shell pressed against Leo's shell. Though the combined beds were roomy, I found it strange that we all huddled up closer to each other, especially the fact that Leo and Raph were back to back, or shell to shell, even in their sleep, it made me grin.
Shifting again, I glanced at Don, but he was giving me his shell. I sighed, rolling my head a bit and trying to get a kink to pop, it was really bothering me. That's when Raph gave a noise, a grunt that sounded annoyed, before his pillowed arm stretched freely, his arm laid over my head with his palm gently cupping my head, before his other arm stretched over my chest.
Taken back, I glanced at him.
"Cant sleep?" he murmured quietly, sleep clearly tickling his senses.
I huffed, smiling sheepishly, "Sorry, did I wake you up?"
He smirked, giving a faint shake of the head, he gently tugged on my shoulders, pulling me a little closer, till my head rested on his shoulder, "You never did like the meditative pose, and ya did say you wanted to taker it laying down," he murmured drowsily, now retrieving on arm from over my chest and tucking my head under his chin, "Relax, let it flow out from inside of you. You're so focused on wanting to sleep, it's keeping you awake." He instructed.
I tensed a bit, wondering why on earth was Raph- cuddling me? Well, he must really be sleepy, because that's so not him.
With warmth touching and spreading across my cheeks, I settled my head on his shoulder more comfortably. His muscles were warm to my touch, but not enough to make me sweat, also they were tender and like a hardened, but comfortable pillow. With a tiny smile, I nuzzled his throat, because it's not often that Raph gets all buddy-buddy and loving, so I might as well enjoy it while it lasts.
And who'da thunk it? No more than five minutes, I ignored the tension in my previously tightened muscles, lulled by the feel of Raph's pulse beating gently against my snout, and soon was fast sleep, surrounded by my brothers.
I smiled, because I knew this was not a dream.
X o x o x o X
-Splinter-
When the Ancient one and I came back from our stroll, I couldn't help but stare at the sight we found.
My sons, my sweet, precious and beloved sons, huddled up together and sleeping so peacefully.
With Leonardo plastron pressed slightly against Raphael back, his snout tenderly pressed to the back of his brother's neck, I'm assuming they were back to back, but then Leonardo rolled over, now with an arm over his temperamental brother's hip.
Raphael was laid to his side and had held Michelangelo in an embrace, and my youngest was laid on his shell. He had cuddled into his brothers arms, using Raphael's outstretched arm like a pillow, cushioning his head into the welcomed warmth, his own hands folded on his abdomen, but one hand touched Raphael's protective arm faintly.
Donatello, just like Leonardo, had clearly rolled over, but also rested his head on Raphael's forearm, yet his own hand rested slightly on Michelangelo's shoulder, snuggled up but only a little.
I hid a smile, fully knowing Raphael will throw an embarrassed fit when he finds his brothers positioned like that in the morning, but I did not move to separate or readjust them, no matter how tempting the need to avoid a fight in the morning was.
I found it comforting that in spite of their fights and differences, they're still loving and caring brothers.
"They're quite close." The Ancient one said, a gentle smile curled on his lips as his hand groomed his white beard.
He was looking at Leonardo with what I recognized as a fatherly smile, it put some of my worries to ease. I knew the Ancient one had taken good care of Leonardo during his stay in Japan, but that didn't stop my own worries. Leonardo might have been brought back to what his brothers call normal, but I could sense a change inside of him, something so deep and dark, tucked where I could not find it.
"Yes, very close." I smiled lovingly, walking closer and stroking their heads one by one gently, wishing if there was at least a blanket I could tuck them under, not wanting them to catch a chill, despite they're warmed and huddled up condition. "I always tell them that they only have each other, that we are family." A pang of sadness in the memory of my beloved master resurfaced and filled my chest, but I squashed it before it thickened, bringing fresh tears to my eyes once more, "I never wanted this for them." I murmured, worry resurfacing.
"Your sons are capable of fending for themselves, Splinter," he said with a hand on my shoulder, comforting, "I think," he said in afterthought, but then shrugged it off, "I am sure Leonardo will rise to the Tribunal's challenge, as will his brothers, you need to cast your worries aside. I am sure no harm will get to them as long as they're together." he concluded.
'As long as they're together.' those words echoed solemnly, "Yes, you're right." I smiled sadly, watching my children sleep.
I would hate to see them harmed by anyone or anything.
If only I could protect them from the evils of the world, but I know it's not possible. I can only protect them while I'm here; I've come from the city of New York all the way here to Japan to ensure their safety, and though I know I cannot take them from the Tribunal, they will not allow me to, I know that my need to protect them will put many peoples lives in danger.
I do not want those innocent people to die, but I do not want my sons to suffer either!
Master Yoshi, please, if you can hear me, give me a sign; just one sign on how to protect my children from this coming darkness.
Please, that is all I ask.
Please…
Xxxxxxxxxxxxx
A/N: Just something quick after watching the first three episodes of the Lost Season, the Ninja Tribunal arc.