Hello hello hello! I AM SOOOO SORRY FOR BEING LATE! I had a major case of writer's block during this time and it was hard to come up with ideas for the characters to do. Not to mention college is taking a big chunk of my time. However, I think I finally got it down. So, with that said I present to you all another chapter. I do not own TMNT, only my OCs. Here we go:)

Chapter 4: Friends Like Us

Sasha's P.O.V.:

I rub my eyes with my palms and yawn as I sit up in bed, looking around to see my friends and I are still in the Hamatos Lair. In all honesty I thought last night was some horrible nightmare, but seeing my friends and this place proves me wrong. The Dark Benders are hunting us for our powers, but for what reason I still do not know. All we heard from Verena is they want our powers to awaken some ancient beast from the Underworld, and to take over Earth until it is plunged into darkness and chaos. What bothers me is how are we going to handle this situation? Do we have to go into hiding or keep going on with our lives like nothing is happening? I rub my head in frustration and I am lost in my thoughts, not finding a simple solution to everything so far as I sigh deeply to myself. What are we going to do?

To my left I see both Cheryl and Layla begin to wake up as they yawn and stretch out their bodies under the blankets, almost hitting each other with their arms. They finally sit up and look around the room like I did earlier until they turn to face me, showing me their beautiful smiles.

"Good morning, Palms." Layla says and hugs me around my neck tightly.

I cannot help but laugh a little, "Good morning to you too, Kea. Did you sleep well?"

"For the most part. How about you Sovi?" Layla asks Cheryl.

Cheryl gets out of bed and stretches out, "Not too bad. I would have slept better if my body wasn't so damn sore."

"Oh, I'm sorry Sovi. I tell you what, maybe later on today I'll give you one of my famous massages you like so much." Layla tells her.

Cheryl smiles at her, "That actually sounds good." She looks at me next, "How about you Palms? Did you sleep okay?"

I nod and give a small smile, "I guess so." I look at my feet and sigh.

Layla hugs me tight and rocks me, "What's the matter Sasha?"

"Nothing darling, I am just thinking too much. That is all." I tell her and Cheryl.

"Sasha, I know you're worried and I am too, but we can't let it get to us. You know Verena will help us along with her friends, and we have each other to keep us up. There is nothing in this world that's going to scare us, as long as we stay together those Dark Benders won't break us."

"Cheryl's right Sasha. So please, let's get through this one day at a time together." Layla says getting off the bed.

I nod in agreement, "Right, together. Just like we always do."

"Now there's our fierce brainy Sasha we know and love." Layla hugs me again and kisses my cheek, "Come on girls, I think we should make our friends breakfast for letting us spend the night. What do you say?"

"I think that sounds like a great idea." Cheryl said as she and I make the bed.

Once we are done we leave the room and walk through the Lair, it is so quiet and dark as we keep going trying to be discrete as much as possible. The girls make their way to the kitchen as I fall behind and look at the lab door, wondering what else is inside that I did not get to see after patching up Cheryl last night. I walk over, open the door, and go inside switching the light on and I cannot help but let my jaw drop slightly as I stare at all of the equipment in awe. Some of the pieces of technology look very familiar to me as I recognize the Krytanium either on weapons or a communicator on the desk, and I can tell that the turtles have really done their research. It is most impressive. What really catches my eye is this tiny camera that looks like a turtle, and I can see the lens where the head is when I pick it up and hold it in my palm. I think it is adorable.

"Hello?" I hear a voice behind me say.

I jump and gasp loud as I turn around and see Donatello standing there looking confused, "Donatello! I am so sorry! I-I-I-"

"Whoa, take it easy. I'm not mad at you." He said gently as he walks over to me and smiles. "I see you found my Turtle Cam, pretty neat huh?"

I look at him in shock, "You built this?"

He nods and rubs the back of his head.

"My Gods, Donatello, this is amazing. Let me guess, you also made everything else in here, right?"

"Yeah, I did. I kind of like to build things, you know be creative." Donatello said and looks at the ground, "I know it sounds odd Ms. Palmer-"

"Oh no! Not at all. I think it is wonderful how you love all of this so much, and you should not have to feel so bashful about it. Embrace it just like how you make all of these wonderful devices." I smile at him and giggle as he stares at me, "And what is it with you all of a sudden calling me Ms. Palmer? You do not have to be so proper with me, Donatello, just call me Sasha."

Donnie's P.O.V.:

"Right, sorry Sasha." I tell her and smile more.

There is something about Sasha that makes me feel so calm, I don't know what it is but I kind of like it. I've only known her for less than twenty-four hours and I already like this woman, and the only women I have been comfortable around are April and Verena. Both of them are my close friends, my family, but Sasha is so… different. She gives off this very warm energy that I have never felt before, my heart is about to burst out of my chest and my palms feel sweaty. I can't believe I am getting nervous in front of her. But why?

I see Sasha's smile get smaller until it disappears and looks sad worrying me, "Are you alright, Sasha?"

She nods, but doesn't look at me, "Yes."

"Sasha…" I come up and place my hand on her shoulder getting her to make eye-contact with me, "if you ever need someone to talk to for anything, feel free to call me sometime. Even if it's just to say hi, we'll always be here for you girls."

She wraps her arms around my neck and hugs me, "And you and your family are always welcomed into our lives. That I can guarantee you, Donatello, and… thank you."

"You're welcome." It's all I can say as I hug her gently.

I meant every single word I told her. No matter how bad the situation with the Dark Benders gets we'll be there to help them in a heartbeat. These girls mean so much to Verena and if she loves them then my brothers and I will too. And who knows, maybe all of us will be like a big family. We pull away from each other and smile, and I think she feels a little bit better.

Sasha looks at a blueprint for my latest project that I've been working on for a week, "This looks very interesting, Donatello, but what does it do?"

I get excited to tell her what I am working on. As I explain everything about it, Sasha instantly gets it and is very happy for me and offers me help on the project anytime. I think this is the start of a great friendship.

Cheryl's P.O.V.:

I decide to take a look around the Lair since Layla kicked me out of the kitchen, wanting to do all of the cooking without any distractions. Control freak, she's just like me. Is that a bad thing? Anyway, this place is actually pretty neat and it gives off a very homey feel to it. No wonder Verena likes it here so much, I would too if I can live down here. The dojo is so big and all of the workout equipment is on one side of the room, weapons hanging on the walls, and meditation mats right in the center. As I walk further in admiring the weapons something catches my eyes, a large Krytanium dumbbell hanging over a bench. I go up to it and touch it, feeling the soft metal on my fingertips as I familiarize myself to it. I look at the sides of each weight and see writing on it, knowing where this dumbbell came from.

I gasp quietly, "Questo è stato forgiato dalla mia parente. (This was forged by my kin.)"

"Hey." I hear a voice from behind me and I turn my head to see Raph leaning against the door with his arms crossed over his chest, "What are ya doin'?"

"Just admiring your equipment here, Red. It's impressive." I say to him as I stand up and face him, "The dumbbell, where did you get it?"

"It was a gift from Verena a while back, and I've been usin' it ever since." He says as he walks to me. "Why do ya ask?"

"Because that dumbbell came from my kin... my tribe." I say as I start to think about the home that I've not seen since I was taken away from there.

"Oh." It's all he can say at the moment as he thinks for the right words to say, "Ya must really miss your home, huh?" He asks.

I chuckle a little from his question, "Honestly, I really haven't thought about it, but I know that someday I want to see where I came from. I do feel that New York is my home, it always has been and always will be. Nothing will change that."

Raph's P.O.V.:

I go up to her a few more steps and she immediately takes a small step back, turning ta her side as she hides her face with her hair. Man, Cheryl must be upset over last night. Who could blame her? She has spent so much of her life tryin' to protect her friends from these goons, and I can instantly tell that she doesn't like ta feel helpless. I know how she feels because I'm the same way. It's weird... it's almost like we were meant ta find each other as if fate decided ta pin us together. Well whatever it is I need ta keep an eye on her.

"Red?" I look at Cheryl and she gives me a confused look, "Are you okay?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine. Just thinkin' about what's goin' on." I tell her.

"Same here. I got one friend that seems so calm about it which is odd, and the other one worrying so much that it's- ah!" She lets out a frustrated yell and goes over to the weight bench and sits down, lookin' down at the floor, "Our lives were good, and now... I don't know what to do."

I feel bad for her. Of the three of them, Cheryl has taken the responsibility ta look after them like their big sister, protectin' them from anythin' thrown their way. She puts their needs before hers, and it hits me that she's sort of like Leo how he is with us. Hopefully she isn't as annoyin' as him on some days.

I walk up ta her and put my hand on her shoulder, having her look at me, "Listen Cheryl, I know ya have all this ta deal with, but you're not alone. None of you are, okay? All of you have us ta help you just like we did with Verena not that long ago. We'll get through this together."

She stares at me for a moment and nods, standin' up and smiling, "Alright, I get your point. And it's comforting to know we have new friends like you guys to count on. Thanks Red."

"Again with the frickin' nickname." I shake my head hearin' that.

All Cheryl can do is laugh at my reaction, gettin' a kick outta it. This is going ta be one interestin' girl ta get to know.

Layla's P.O.V.:

As soon as I kicked Cheryl out of the kitchen I start to get all of the ingredients I needed to make breakfast out of the fridge and pantry. Maybe the girls are right, I am a control freak. I can't help it though becuase I like to cook without any interruptions unless it's with my family, but that's it. Finally getting everything together I decided to make eggs, bacon, and my famous banana-nut pancakes I love to cook for my parents every Sunday when I go over for breakfast. The best part about it that it's so easy to prepare, but the only difference to the pancake recipe is adding the sliced bananas and chopped nuts to the mix. Thinking about the batter I went ahead and begin making it, enjoying the silence in the kitchen. I don't know what it is about cooking, but I think it's so much fun to be creative with food like an artist painting a picture and it is a great way to try out new combinations together. I can honestly say that I love to cook. Just as I finish the pancake batter and start slicing bananas I hear someone coming into the kitchen, and that someone so happens to be Michelangelo himself.

"Good morning Mikey." I greet him with a big smile on my face.

"Hey Layla. What are you doing?" He asks as he walks over to me looking at the food.

"Oh nothing, just making breakfast." I said as the slice the last banana and put it into the batter.

"You didn't have to do that, Layla." Mikey said smiling at me.

I giggle from his sweet smile and put down the laddle, "I don't mind cooking for you all, and besides think of it as my way of saying thank you for helping us last night."

"Okay. At least let me help you out with the eggs and bacon while you do the pancakes." He says and starts cracking the eggs.

"So much for doing it by myself." I thought, but I can't blame him and nod.

Mikey's P.O.V.:

The whole time we're cooking I could not help myself and stare at Layla for a few seconds before she noticed I was looking at her. She seems to have this very bright personality that I like to see, kind of how I am. Always trying to make people laugh and smile when they don't want to or if they feel sad. Not to mention that Layla is so nice, funny, and cute too. This girl really knows how to make anyone smile with her jokes and kind personality. As we finish the breakfast and served everyone's plates we look at each other and smile.

"It's nice to see you so calm after what happened to you guys last night." I tell her and instantly feel like a idiot for bringing it up. "Sorry I didn't mean to-"

She giggles at me, "It's okay Mikey, really. Sometimes the best you can do is try and stay calm, at least that's what I think. Worrying about it doesn't do any good, and on top of that you always feel on edge. I always try to remember to stay positive in any situation."

"That's good. More people should learn a thing or two from you, Layla."

"Well I am pretty smart." She says and flutters her eyelashes at me and I laugh. "Now I don't know about you but I'm getting hungry just looking at the food."

"Me too. I call the others." I said and go to the kitchen enterance, "Guys! Breakfast is ready!"

"My Gods, any louder Mikey?" Layla says and shakes her head.

Leo's P.O.V.:

I wake up before Verena and have been meditating on the mat waiting for her to get up. Yesterday was insane with her bad visions coming back to haunt her, and these new friends of hers that the Dark Benders want for their powers for whatever kind of evil this time. At least we know what to expect from those goons since the last time we tangled with their plans to destroy the world. Looks like our work is never done, which is fine with us because this time we'll be ready.

I open my eyes and stare at my bed to see Verena isn't awake yet and it is almost 5:30 in the morning. Standing up and stretching out my legs, I sit on the bed where she is and plant kisses on her cheek and forehead so she can wake up. I hear her moan lightly and turn onto her back, fluttering her eyes open and looking at me.

"Good morning, Beautiful." I whisper to her smiling.

"Good morning, my handsome turtle." She smiles at me and sits up on the bed, "How long have you been awake?"

"For half an hour, so I meditated for a while. How do you feel?" I ask her.

"Alright. I mean I'm still worried, but-"

"Verena, you have nothing to worry about. We'll figure this out together just like we always do. Okay?" I tell her and hug her close to me for reassurance.

Verena sighs and hugs me back, "Alright."

"Good." I kiss the top of her head and keep holding her in my arms as she relaxes.

We look into each others eyes and lean our heads close, ready to kiss until..., "Guys! Breakfast is ready!"

"Thanks alot Mikey." I think in my head and stare at Verena.

"Come on, we better go before he sends a search party for us." Verena says and gets up fixing her swaetpants and tank top, heading for the door.

I get up and pull her arm back to me and press my lips on her for a kiss. She giggles as I suck on her bottom lip and wrap my arms tightly around her waist until her body touches mine, making her wrap her arms around my neck. Unfortunately we had to pull away after a minute and walk out of my room to go into the kitchen.

Verena's P.O.V.:

Leo and I walk into the kitchen and see the plates full of food waiting for us on the table as everyone else walks in looking just as shocked as we are. I look to Layla and Mikey as they smile at us and grab their plates and sit at the table and the rest of us take our seats with Master Splinter at the head of the table as usual. The breakfast made my mouth water the entire time eating it, all of the food was so delicious. Of course we thanked Layla and Mikey for the breakfast and they just smiled. I swear I thought I saw a sparkle in their eyes, but maybe that's just me. When we finished our meal and the dishes all of us sit at the table and relax for a few minutes before I take the girls back up to the surface. It was silent for a while until finally someone broke the dreaded silence game.

"So what is it you girls do during the day?" Donnie asks starting the conversation.

"Well I run my own music store and dance studio." Cheryl says and takes a sip of her water.

"Music store?" Mikey said in surprise.

"And a dance studio?" Raph also said in surprise like Mikey.

"Yeah. One of the best in Manhattan thank you very much." She says and crosses her arms smirking.

"No offense Cheryl, but ya don't seem like the dancin' type." Raph returns a smirk back at her.

"You would be surprised at how well she can dance, Raphael. Cheryl here is a national champion." Sasha tells them and the brothers just stare at Cheryl.

"Oh stop..." Cheryl shakes her head from Sasha's bragging.

"In fact Cheryl even has her own dance team." Layla adds on.

"Will you both knock it off." Cheryl laughs and turns red. "At least my family doesn't own the most popular resteraunt in New York City, Layla."

Layla instantly stops and becomes silent.

"What resteraunt?" Leo asks curious about the statement.

"A very good place called The Aussie." Cheryl says and nudges Layla on her arm.

"Your parents own The Aussie?" Mikey asks Layla and she nods. "That's so cool. I hear that place has great food."

"Yeah, and we live up to our reputation pretty well to alot of people." Layla says and calms down.

"Is that what you go to NYU for? To be a chef?" Leo asks her.

She shakes her head, "Oh no! I already have a degree from culinary school, but I'm at NYU for my business degree so I can open my own catering comapny someday."

"That's so cool!" Mikey yells out and smiles at her.

"And what about you, Miss Palmer, what is it you do?" Master Splinter asks Sasha.

"Well I am a medical student at NYU." She says and smiles.

"So i take it you want to be doctor." Donnie already knows what she wants to be.

"Exactly. Just like my parents."

"And one of your parents happens to be a famous doctor." Cheryl says getting evryones attention, especially Donnies.

""Really? Who?" He asks both of them.

"Everyone knows him as Dr. S. Palmer." Cheryl says his name.

Donnie's eyes widen at the name, "Your father is the Dr. Samuel Palmer?"

Sasha nods, "Guilty as charged."

"Guilty? Sasha, your father is the best doctor in the world." Donnie continues to praise her father with so much respect, "His work is just amazing."

"Oh... thank you. That is very kind of you to say about him." She smiles at him feeling proud of her father, "And my mother is a doctor for the children's hospital as well."

"Wow. That must be interesting to have both your parents working in the same field." Leo said.

"It is indeed. Which is why I want to be a doctor like them." Sasha says still having her smile.

Master Splinter excuses himself from the table to do his morning meditation and says bye to the girls and hopes to see them soon, leaving the eight of us together. Another ten minutes later all of us go into my room and I contact my family through the communicator, appearing to us with my father and grandfather together.

"Hello Father, Grandfather." I smile at them.

"Hello Pup. It is good to see you, but I wish it was under better circumstances." Father says and frowns slightly.

"So do I." I tell him and clear my throat, "May I present the three Guardians: Cheryl Soviano, Sasha Palmer, and Layla Kealoha." I adress each one of the girls to them.

"Your Majesty." They said in unison and bow.

"It is a pleasure to meet you young ladies. I have been given the information from Verena and my father, and I have come to a decision on the situation." Father clears his throat, "You three are to be under the watch of Verena and the Hamato clan for your protection until we know more about what the Dark Benders want."

"Your Majesty," Cheryl steps forward staring at him, "does this mean we have to go into hiding?"

My grandfather shakes his head, "No, you do not. However, we advise all three of you to take the necesarry percautions at all times. If the threat continues to grow into something worse then yes, but for right now you may stick with your normal routine."

"Yes Sire." Cheryl bows.

"Very good. Verena, keep reporting to us if these visions continue or not. They will be crucial to what is going on." Grandfather says.

"Of course." I agreed.

"I am sorry to cut this short, but we have a meeting to attend to soon. Remember, keep each other safe and be careful. For now farewell." Father says and the transmission ends.

I guess there's not much we can do but to just sit and wait for something to come up. Not exactly the solution I was hoping for, but it is still a solution none the less. Our main goal now is to protect the girls at all costs. I look at the girls and they seem to nod in agreement with what they heard and will follow my family's orders. The guys and I will stop at nothing until the threat is gone, that is clear to us. Let's just pray it will be soon.

I look at the time and see that the sun is about to rise, "Alright girls, I need to take you back."

They nod and grab their weapons ready to go. We walk to the enterance and all of us stop looking at each other.

"Here. I made you three a Shell Cell so that way you can call us." Donnie says and hands them the phones.

"Thank you, Donatello." Sasha says and gently smiles at him.

"And thank you all for helping us. We are grateful for friends like you." Cheryl said.

"You don't have to thank us, it's what we do." Leo says proudly and smiles.

She nods, "Let's go girls."

"We'll see you guys soon." Layla says cheerfully and waves, "Bye."

"Bye." The four brothers said and wave as I take the girls home.

We are all very blessed to have such great friends like each other to lean on when life throws us into a deep pit. It is our friendship that will get these girls through it all, and that is something to be happy for.

Ta da! So... what do you think? I really want to know so as always you are my judges. I am sooo sorry again for being late:(. However, I am happy to say that I will be starting a new story soon with one of my favorite movies, which so happens to be Rio. If you're wandering what it is then it's another love story with my OC falling in love with the Samba loving bird and my favorite character, Nico:):):). That one maybe up during Spring Break, I don't know yet, but it is coming people so when it's here be sure to check it out.

Thank you everyone that has favored, followed, and waited so patiently for this story. You're all amazing! Please R&R, PM me, and all that great stuff I love. Until next time:)