A/N: Sorry for taking so long to get this up. I've been in and out of the hospital with health problems again and I've also been doing a lot of traveling when I'm not.
TMNT Comic book Background: For those of you who don't know, Shadow (Who is not in the TMNT cartoon) is Casey's daughter. She comes from the original Mirage comics from the 80s when Casey took in Gabrielle a girl he saved who was pregnant. They got married and Gabby had a daughter but died due to birth complications. Casey and Shadow aren't really father and daughter biologically but he raises her.
Just a quick thank you to KC Bakeneko for her excellent tutorial essay on fight scenes.
Chapter 10
"Demons & Angels"
The four brothers ran towards April and Casey's apartment. Their minds raced, knowing that Shadow was only a child but with the Foot attacking, who knew what could potentially happen? Their thoughts sharpened as they began to become more and more aware of their surroundings, not wanting the Foot to catch them.
So much could turn bad right at that moment. They just had to get there. A scream was heard echoing through the sewers from the hole in Casey and April's basement.
Their hearts stopped for a split second as they pushed themselves harder to get to the apartment building. The minute they made it there, an ambush pounced upon them like a pride of lions on an antelope.
With weapons in hand, the guys fought the Foot with their ninja finesse. Weapons clashed together in attacks and defense. With close quarters, the turtles found it hard for them to fight effectively.
"Forty-five, Forty-six…Yo, Leo, where are you?" asked Raph as he smirked, spinning his sai.
"Sixty," yelled out Leo.
"That's bull shit! How the shell did you take out fourteen more than I did?" asked Raph in a mocking frustration.
Donatello twirled his staff, effectively giving him the desired effect, clearing off some space. He stopped for a moment, almost daring anyone of the Foot to come and attack him at that very moment. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a sea of red hair pouring out from behind some boxes. He pole-vaulted over the seemingly endless number of Foot Soldiers and over to the pile of red hair. There, he saw, to his horror, April lying unconscious with a scared six-year-old Shadow shaking near by.
The raven haired six-year-old girl ran to Don and clung to him. It was so clear that she was crying over her adopted mother's attack. She felt her adopted uncle's arms wrap around her protectively. Tears fell freely from her eyes as the battle continued. She felt her uncle stroke her curly black hair in a comforting manner before taking his staff and hitting the offending Foot Soldier in the face.
"It's okay, Shadow. We'll get you and your mommy out of here and we'll find daddy too," comforted Don in the same soothing voice he had used on Elara a few weeks back.
He silently cursed himself. Even in this situation, his mind still wandered back to Elara. He tried to push her out of his mind, just to get through the fight. However, the more he pushed, the move the thoughts of Elara came back, stronger than ever. He finally gave up and picked up Shadow in one arm and the unconscious April in the other. He stealthily waited before making a break from behind the box to the entrance to the sewers.
Once in the sewers, he continued to run down them, hoping, praying that it wasn't too late to save the woman that he once loved. As he ran, he felt a little face snuggle into his neck. He had to ignore it at that very moment. Shadow was only secondary for now while she was unhurt; his main focus was on April.
It wasn't long before he made it to the lair with both mother and child. Splinter, Callista, and Elara were there to greet him with worried eyes. He handed Shadow to the nearest being, which just happened to be Elara.
"Hold her," said Don franticly before he adjusted April in his arms and ran into the lab with her, hoping that it wasn't too late.
Elara curiously looked at the little girl who only stared at her back. The girl's green eyes stood out next to the Black curls that came down. She's so cute, thought Elara.
"Hi. My name's Shadow," said the little girl to Elara even through her tears.
"And my name's Elara. Oh you look like you've been through so much. Let's go to the kitchen. I know Michelangelo says ice cream makes everything better. Would you like some ice cream?" asked Elara, allowing her maternal instincts kick in with the child in her arms.
The child nodded, her face still stained with tears. She leaned against Elara as Elara made her way to the kitchen, followed by Callista. After Shadow was seated, Elara grabbed a bowl for the ice cream while Callista wet a washcloth with warm water and knelt down next to Shadow.
"What flavor would you like Shadow?" asked Elara, looking at the obscene number of flavors of ice cream.
"Chocolate, please?" asked Shadow.
"Here, let me get your face, okay, Shadow?" said Callista, also acting motherly to Shadow.
Shadow nodded as she allowed Callista to wipe off her face from the tears that had created little rivers and streaks down her face. Before she knew it, away came the washcloth and a green bowl of chocolate ice cream with whipped cream and a cherry on top sat in front of her. Shadow looked up at the two female turtles with wide eyes.
"Are you two angels?" asked Shadow, feeling better already.
The two females exchanged glances before giggling.
"No, Shadow, although your Uncle Leo likes to think I am. And maybe your Uncle Don with Elara," giggled Callista as she sat next to Shadow, getting her mind off the unconscious April.
"Calli, Don and I aren't together," said Elara.
"Yet," teased Callista as she winked at Elara.
"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Elara, curiously.
"You'll just have to wait and see," said Callista with a smirk.
Callista may have been sitting on the side lines of daily life but she wasn't stupid. She could see what was going on between Don and Elara. Her keen eye never failed her when it came to noticing details and just the body language and the tone of voice that the two seemingly reserved for each other was more than enough proof for Callista.
Meanwhile, Donatello treated April's injuries with the same care he gave to all of his brothers when each of them. He looked over her, feeling guilty that he had to remove her shirt to treat a wound but he found himself not as tempted to look at her in the way he once was. He sat next to April and sighed. Regardless of knowing his friend was injured, his thoughts continually went to his own thankfulness on how Elara wasn't hurt.
He shook his head, trying to stop his thoughts yet they kept coming back. He knew he had feelings for Elara but he never thought they were this strong. I wonder if Leo went through this, thought Don as he tried to continue to work.