Angel: Another reason why I hate these episodes being out of order...is because there's spoilers here even though people weren't technically supposed to know right now XD Since this is episode 32 overall, I will delete this (and Portal Jacked) and put it back when I post Shadow of Evil, which is episode 28. And then I have to delete and put this episode back again so that episode 30 goes underneath Portal Jacked. Also, in future episodes, events may be out of order because of the episodes that air are out of order.
For example, if something is mentioned that didn't happen yet, don't take it as canon until the previous episode is out. God, I'm getting an headache just trying to explain this XD You'll see what I mean...
Man, I wanted people to know about the events at the end later on, but I have no choice...and if you really don't want to see the spoiler, then stop reading when you see the warning. Then you can come back when all the episodes before this one (besides Portal Jacked) are here to read the end. Also, in this episode, Amy knows who planted the bomb at Smith's Sweets, but her finding out didn't happen yet, so please don't ask how she knows.
AND I just realized I have to delete this episode again in the future so that episode 31 can go above it whenever it's released! Ahh, this is why I hate episodes being aired out of order! This is like the third time I've had to arrange episodes for the sake of continuity! And I'm sure it'll happen again as we go on...
Thank you, snake screamer, for giving me the link to the episode.
Leo skateboards on the ramp, Donnie and Mikey watching him. He's about to land when he sees Amy coming in, falling onto the ground. She chuckles at him, closing her cupcake magazine.
"Had a nice fall there, Leo?" She asks in a teasing voice. He rubs his neck sheepishly. Leo couldn't help but act like an idiot whenever she was around...he couldn't help it, she just...did that to him all of a sudden.
"I thought you were at work..." He chuckles nervously. He had to do something about his feelings...he felt like he was ready to. But would it be worth it?
"I finished early," She smiles a bit.
Something suddenly shakes from the garage, knocking all of them down. "Wha?" Donnie lifts his head up.
"Boom shackalaka!" Mikey exclaims in surprise. "Did that come from the Tank garage?"
"No, no, no, no, there is definitely nothing wrong with my Tank because it for sure doesn't backfire for no reason sometimes," Donnie looks around nervously. Amy rolls her eyes at his aloofness, Leo standing up. There's another crash and Leo knocks on the garage door, which is closed.
"Woo hoo!" Raph exclaims from inside. "That's the stuff!"
"Raph, is that you?" Mikey asks curiously.
"What's he doing?" Amy raises a brow suspiciously. She already had a bad feeling on what he was up to...
"NO! I mean, yes!" Raph says quickly. "Why would I speak and then it not be me?" He laughs sheepishly, Leo and Mikey glancing to each other.
"Raph, it's me, open the door," Amy calls out.
"MELLIE!" He sounds panicked when he hears her voice. "Uh, one sec!"
Mikey shrugs to Leo and Amy, the door eventually being opened after a few seconds. Raph lays down on the floor, smiling so big, she felt like his face would break.
"Hey! It's my brothers, and my friend, who I respect and stick by. What brings you all to the lair?"
They open the door as Amy crosses her arms. "I used to live here. And you never say that about me."
"What was all that noise...?" Leo asks slowly as Amy has a point. Raph seemed especially nervous when he heard Amy outside...
"What noise?" Raph puts on a stoic face.
"Was that just you setting up our sparring session?" Leo looks around the room. There's a blue mat underneath the Turtle Tank, weapons and a few practice dummies around the room. Four of them are in their likeness, except for Raph's.
"Ssssure," Raph quickly fibs as he stands up. "Yeah! It was that, and nothing else."
"Sweet!" Mikey pumps his fists as Leo glances at Raph weirdly. He puts his arm around Leo, suspecting nothing. "I could go for a game of Catching the Bandana."
"Usual rules. First to grab a bandana other than his or her own color is the winner," Donnie grins at them and they spring into action, facing each other as they guard their posts. Raph chuckles nervously as if anything went out of hand...
"Uh, I'm not really in the mood to play a game," He rubs the back of his neck.
"Then why'd you set it up?" Leo asks him and his eyes widen.
"You know, for the oldest, you're not that coordinated in the mind," Amy rolls her eyes.
"Oh, that's right!" He sweats nervously. Stupid! "I am in the mood!"
"Raph, what is with you?" Donnie asks, raising a brow.
"You didn't go playing around with my baking equipment, did you?" Amy gives an annoyed look. The last time he did so, she had to replace 300 dollars of her things, and she did not feel like going through that again.
"Donnie versus Raph!" Mikey blows an airhorn. "Go!"
Donnie smirks and pulls out his staff, rushing towards Raph. "Taste my bandana fury!" He declares, poking Raph in the plastron. Honestly, it was like Raph wasn't even trying. Which is, in their opinion, unusual of him. He's always up to take them down in training.
"Whoa!" He falls onto the ground dramatically, hand on his forehead. "Donnie, you are so strong."
"A quadruple threat, my friend," Donnie takes Raph's bandana from his post. "Strong, funny, amusing, and hilarious."
"Those last three all mean the same thing," Amy rolls her eyes. She's holding two eclairs, Leo has a cup of tea, and Mikey has popcorn.
"Kinda looked like Raph took a dive," Leo glances at his younger brother and Amy.
"Please, Leo, you forget Einstein's Law of Brains...over Brawn," Donnie brags, Amy shaking her head. Now he was just making stuff up.
"Right, that," Raph pushes them out the door as quick as he can. "Uh, okay, good game then." He closes the door, leaving them confused. He was acting weird...weirder than usual. The whole thing seemed like a wash...
"Einstein's Law of Brains over Brawn," Raph rolls his eyes at Donnie's phrase. As long as no one found out, he was okay with letting Donnie believe that he actually beat him. It was better than them discovering his secret, especially Amy. Who knows what she might do if she found out?
"Of course I took a dive," He pushes away a table. "So I could get back to my real bandana game with my favorite sparring partner!"
A large Origami Ninja steps out of the secret hidden compartment. He has the Foot symbol over his whole face, and his outfit has red and black. He growls at Raph, giggling. "Piecing a paper ninja back together was genius!" He tries to punch, but the paper ninja blocks him. His brothers weren't much of a challenge lately. Amy was another story...she usually beat him. He just wanted someone else who could best him, and could be easy. But if his friend knew that he did this, her reaction would not be fun to experience. She still held a grudge from when the Foot planted that bomb, which was dumb in his opinion. His friend didn't do that to her, only the Foot.
He dodges a punch. "I'm not letting you grab a bandana," He blocks incoming punches using his tonfa. "Nope, I'm not. He's as good as new!" He punches his friend in the face, causing his eyes to look derpy.
"Oh, Buddy, your eye. Well, almost new," He looks away nervously. "Uh, I'll fix that later, Buddy."
Buddy pushes his eye back to normal. "Buddy!" The paper ninja smiles fondly at the name. He then dodges a punch from Raph. He tries to attack, but Raph chuckles, moving past him and running towards Leo's bandana.
"Raph's gonna beat ya!"
Buddy stands in front of the post. "No blue!" He punches Raph and the turtle rolls onto the floor, crashing into the garage door. He smiles, glancing at how Buddy has progressed. This is exactly what he needed from sparring...
Even if Amy and his friends were oblivious about him.
Buddy rushes towards Raph's post, but Raph himself tackles him to the wall. "You're not winning that easy!"
Buddy glances up at a button above him. His eyes shine at it. "Now what is the rule?" Raph notices the button. "We only touch red, orange, blue, pink, or purple bandanas! Nothing else!"
Nevertheless, the ninja presses the button, causing something from the Turtle Tank to shoot out from the front. It whisks around the room like a pinball, decapitating the ninja's leg and knocking Raph to the ground. Buddy hops over to him.
"Buddy!"
"Accidents happen," Raph sits up, showing his sparring partner that he's fine. "It's all good."
Buddy giggles, glad that his friend is okay.
"Whoa!" Raph glances down. "Your foot. Someone needs Raphie's help?" He pulls out some tape, bending down. Buddy holds out his leg and Raph fixes it for him. "I just can't imagine a better sparring partner than you. You're perfect!"
He then sees that the right leg looks all twisted. "Except for the backwards foot thing."
"Come on, Raph!" Leo calls out. "Aren't you skating?"
Raph ignores him and pushes Buddy towards the closet. "Great game. I gotta go bye bye. We'll tussle again tomorrow."
"Buddy!" The paper ninja holds out his arms for a hug.
"Sorry Buddy, you can't come. I know, I know. I'll miss you too. And remember, keep it down. If my brothers and Mellie find you, you'll be confetti before you can say uhhh," Raph sticks out his tongue. Buddy repeats the last word.
"Exactly!"
"Buddy..." He holds out a hand longingly. Raph slams the door shut, cutting off the left hand away from the body. Since he wanted his hand back, the left hand moves towards some glue on the table. "Buddy?" He peeks out the door, taking his hand.
"...Mellie..." He wanted to meet this girl since he's never seen a human. And she could be nice...
"You know what I just remembered?" Mikey questions as the others watch Leo skateboard. "How much I HATE paper ninjas! I must suddenly remember I hate those guys like 20 times a day!"
Raph gives a nervous look. They just had to mention the same type of enemy he was trying to keep a secret.
"In fact, I've been working on a shredding attachment for the next time we cross paths!" The end of his staff turns into a fan, Donnie laughing evilly. Raph shouts in horror, backing up a bit.
"I'll make sure I get revenge on all of them for planting that bomb and almost killing me!" Amy punches her fists.
"Sure glad none of our close personal friends are made out of paper," Raph smiles nervously.
"Except maybe Amy. She's so sharp she could actually be paper...she already lacks a heart," Donnie teases, which earns him a punch in the arm from the brunette. She hit so hard he falls off, landing on the ground.
"I have a heart," She huffs, crossing her arms. "I just hate the Foot."
As Leo skateboards past Raph, a drop of glue falls down from the ceiling. He glances at it rapidly as Leo skates onto the glue, causing him to trip and fall on his back. His skateboard rolls to a stop. The three turtles cringe as Amy jumps down immediately, rushing over to him.
"You okay?" She asks in concern.
"See, she does have a heart," Leo says to Donnie, patting her cheek. "You just gotta dig deep."
She swats his hand away as Raph looks up to see Buddy walking around, pouring globs of glue onto his arm.
"Huh, there appears to be gunk on the ramp," Donnie rubs his chin, the others joining him. "Perhaps we should crane our necks upwards to see from whence it came."
They slowly look up, about to see Buddy, but Raph quickly pushes their heads down. "Look, it must've come from down here. Definitely not from any place above!"
Buddy's hand falls loose and Raph looks up as it's nearing them! He jumps and catches it, laughing as he hides it behind his back.
"What is with you?" Mikey demands, annoyed. "Why are you crazy?"
"Ha ha! I'm not crazy!" Raph laughs it off. "You're crazy!" Buddy's hand grips his mask tails and he whimpers in pain from it. "Hey, how about we all hang out in our rooms alone for 3 to 5 minutes?" He tries pushing them away.
"But I don't live here anymore," Amy points out.
"Dude, come on!"
"We are skating!" Donnie reminds him. Buddy falls onto the ground behind them.
"Uh, you're right. We should hang right here and never look at what's behind us!" Raph shouts quickly.
"Should we get the pepper spray?" Amy whispers to the others, about to turn around. Raph engulfs them into a group hug, Buddy's hand patting the back of Leo's head. Luckily Leo doesn't seem to notice. He hears a giggle, looking up to see Buddy sating around and falling. He plays with a stapler and triggers Donnie's staff.
"No! Buddy! Only touch bandanas!" He whisper scolds. "I mean, nobody touch bananas! They're slimey!"
"Okay, dude, what is with you today?" Leo looks up at him.
"You know I don't do group hugs! Personal space," Amy tries to wiggle free.
"It's obvi, Leo. He's wigging cause he's dying to shred some paper dweebs!" Mikey chimes in. Buddy turns around at the mention of it.
"So you're itching to make paper scarps," Leo grins at his brother smugly. "Huh, Raph?"
"Oh, yeah," Raph lies through his teeth. If he says no, they'd be suspicious...more suspicious than they were before, that is. "I hate those paper jerks. Any moment I'm not slicing paper jerk into jerk confetti is a wasted jerk moment!"
Buddy's eyes glisten sadly. Raph...hated him? And wished for him to go away like the others? Raph was his friend...
"Bunch of jerks!" Raph smiles nervously. "I don't mean you," He whispers to Buddy, but the damage has already been done. Buddy hangs his head, hurt as he jumps away. His hand follows him and he cries as he leaves through the ceiling. Raph's eyes water at his friend leaving. He didn't mean to hurt his feelings, but it was the only way to keep the others from finding out...
"Okay, the hug is still going," Leo says awkwardly.
"I feel weird," Amy murmurs quietly.
"Good times!" He finally releases him once Buddy is gone. "Hey, you know, we should do this again."
"Maybe when you're not acting strange," Amy stands up, dusting herself off.
"Yeah, see ya," Leo stares after him.
"He's acting weird, and not just Raph weird. Mikey weird," Donnie comments, glancing at his brother. "No offense."
"I was gonna say the same thing," Mikey agrees, shrugging helplessly.
"He is hiding something," Leo says knowingly, raising a brow.
"Whatever it is, as long as he doesn't hug me that long again, I probably won't get mad at him," Amy crosses her arms.
A Lou Jitsu moving is playing at the Foot Shack. "Hot soup!" The movie star declares, kicking the air. Foot Lieutenant copies the same moves. Foot Recruit slams the door open, shocking him.
"A pressing development, sensei!"
"Let me guess, you want to smash and/or demolish something," He says knowingly. That was all she spewed. He likes doing that too, but even he's not that...dedicated as Foot Recruit.
"No! I mean, okay if you insist!" She kicks a broom next to her, spinning it. She jabs at it, stepping back as the broom falls down in pieces. Her left eye glints as she gets back to why she interrupted him. "I have spotted one of our origami soldiers loose in the city!"
"What is he doing out there alone?" Foot Lieutenant asks curiously. Most Origami Ninjas were either shredded by their enemies, the turtles and Amy, or they either did their bidding. In fact, they only listen to him, so why would one of their own be out in the city unless told to do so?
"Attacking! May I join you wiping out peasants one break at a time?!" She holds out a kunai. He sighs slowly.
"You really need a hobby," He shakes his head. "But let's get to the bottom of this." He jumps into the air and she shrugs at his suggestion, not knowing what that meant. She follows him outside.
"Buddy!" Raph himself is searching for the runaway paper ninja. "Buddy, hey! Where'd you go, buddy?!" He holds his head. Buddy has never gone out by himself. He could be hurt, kidnapped, or worse, and it was all his fault! Why did he have to open his big fat mouth?!
"There you are." His eyes widen as he turns around to Mikey, Leo, Amy, and Donnie. "What's up with the secrecy?"
"Brothers! Mellie! What are you guys doing?" He can tell by their faces that they didn't hear him shouting for Buddy. Donnie lands on his shell.
"Hold that thought. We've got a little situation going." He looks towards the street as screams from the people can be heard. Mikey, Leo, and Amy rush over to see Buddy walking around aimlessly. He steals from a man, slices a wooden statue off by the head, and snatches a bandana from a dog. All of them are red as tears flow down his face.
"A paper ninja?!" Mikey exclaims in shock.
"And he's only attacking people in red bandanas," Leo rubs his chin. "Huh, it's like someone who wears a red bandana really hurt this guy's feelings once. Strange."
Raph sniffles, trying not to cry. Now he knew why Buddy was attacking...it's because he still wanted to spar with Raph...
"Kinda weird, but still from the Foot nevertheless," Amy shrugs helplessly at Leo.
"Dibs on shredding him!" Mikey cheers, jumping over the edge.
"Uh, no!" Leo protests, Raph cringing. "We only call dibs on pizza, skate ramps, Amy's desserts, and Donnie's stuff."
"Hey!" Both aforementioned people call out. They jump after the other two, Raph following nearby.
"Maybe we shouldn't shred him at all, you know? That seems fair, right?"
"Raph's out," Mikey lands on him. "Dibs on his share on the confetti, dibs on Donnie's, and dibs on Amy's cupcakes that she's making later."
"Hey!" Donnie calls out again.
"Do you guys call dibs on my creations all the time?" Amy asks in disbelief.
"Mellie, you think it's fair to let him be, don't you?" Raph asks hopefully. She should be on his side with this, right? She does stick by her friends.
Amy closes her eyes, shaking her head. "Mm..." By her mute response, he got his answer.
"Oh come on!" He exclaims in protest.
"Raph, do you realize what you are asking of me?" She opens her eyes, arms crossed as she looks down at him. "He's associated with the same people who tried to blow up the shop!"
Raph puts on his puppy eyes to try and convince her. "I thought you would care..."
Amy grunts at his failed tactic. It went against everything she stood for to not even consider this guy a threat. "God dang it, Raph! I'm not gonna side the enemy! A bomb isn't something you get over! It stays with you forever! They attacked the only thing that I have left that could possibly remind my mother of who she is and you want me to look past that?!"
Raph looks away, muttering, "You're being unfair and judgmental over him. You don't even know him."
The other turtles' eyes widen as Amy opens her mouth in disbelief. "Dude, dude, no," Leo tries to warn him, but it was already too late.
"Are you brainwashed?! I don't wanna 'get to know him!' So I'm supposed to side with you and not care about the bomb just because you want me to?! And for what?! One guy? I'm not losing my bakery again! I can't go through that again, and if you keep this up, I might lose it for good! And if you don't get that, then you really don't know how it feels to lose everything you had!"
He blinks at her outburst, feeling bad now. He didn't know what it was like to have someone not remember you. He couldn't even imagine what it was like to go through that loneliness.
Amy takes a deep breath, letting it out. She wanted to take him down herself.
Joe's Bandanas is Buddy's next stop, giggling as he breaks in. Amy and the three turtles land on the roof, sneaking inside. They see him rummaging through the stock.
"Confetti-abunga!" Mikey cheers as they pull out their weapons. Raph tackles them to the ground before they can do anything. "What are you doing?"
"Come on, what is happening?" Donnie glares up at Raph.
"I, uh, changed my mind!" He glances at Buddy. "Uh, I'm calling dibs!" He jumps to Buddy. "Buddy, you gotta get out of here."
"No, not buddy." Buddy shakes his head and then sees Amy. "Mellie!" He whispers, hoping she'll be his friend. He's about to rush to her, but Raph stops him.
"You all really need a hobby," They look up to Foot Lieutenant, who had broken a window.
"Oh, we got one," Leo grins up at him. "Kicking butt, and taking names. And you are?"
Foot Recruit smashes through the window below her superior. "Don't make us pulverize your guts into guts bits! Give us back our origami man!"
Raph steps in between him. "Of course he was yours, but now he seems more like a free agent, so you can go home! Thanks, though."
"We will do nothing of the sort! You are so not reading our tone!" She shouts at him.
"He's ours, and he's coming with us," Foot Lieutenant speaks up.
"Certainly, how many pieces would you like him in?" Donnie tries to test out his new weapon. "Arrivederci, paper punk!" He jumps into the air, preparing to shred Buddy.
"No, no, no, no!" Raph slides in front of Buddy, his mystic knuckles appearing. "Not my buddy!" He protects buddy from Donnie.
"Okay, it's official!" Leo calls out as Donnie blinks in confusion. "Raph's gone cuckoo."
"Look," Raph looks up at Buddy. "You're not the jerk. I'm the jerk. I didn't mean that stuff. I just didn't want 'em to shred you. Our weeks of sparring and playing Catch the Bandana have been the best fights of my life! When I fight my brothers or Mellie, I just think about fighting you and getting rid of them so I can fight you again!"
Buddy tears up at the heartfelt words.
"Whaaaaa?" Donnie and Mikey say in unison.
"You did let Donnie beat you!" Leo replies knowingly.
"Say what?! Raph!" Amy shouts at him angrily. No wonder why he was pushing her to let Buddy go free; because they're friends!
"We will never know," Donnie shakes his head with a shrug.
"Yeah, I did."
"We will never know," Donnie repeats, silently telling Raph that he was better off not knowing.
"He's my new best friend," Raph pats Buddy on the head. "And if anyone wants to take away my Buddy, they gotta come through me."
Amy says nothing about his declaration. Buddy did seem less lethal than the others...but that didn't change the fact that he came from the same clan that tried to blow up her shop! And Raph didn't seem to realize how important that place was to her.
Buddy gasps at Raph's gesture, placing his cheek against Raph's shell.
"Touching!" Foot Recruit exclaims in disgust. "And in case you couldn't tell, that was sarcasm!"
"We could never let you keep him. Shred him, Recruit!"
"My extreme pleasure," She seethes at them, speeding over to Raph and kicking him to the ground. She then throws kunai at Buddy, but Leo steps in and knocks them away.
"Back off! He's ours. A-Apparently."
"A new best friend?" Mikey smiles at him, holding a green marker. He wipes off the red paint. "Don't need this anymore. You're a Mad Dog, baby!" He draws the same emblem that they and Amy have on them. Buddy giggles at the new look.
"Buddy!"
"That's right! You're on our team! This fight's not about grabbing our bandanas, it's about kicking foot faces!" He points towards the two enemies as they surround Buddy, Amy looking reluctant. "Are you with me?"
He sees that Buddy is standing in the wrong direction. "This way, Buddy," He spins the paper ninja around and he blinks before taking on a karate pose.
"Get him!" Foot Lieutenant throws several paper origami, and they turn into paper ninjas. Leo swoops in first, swinging his sword and shredding a ninja.
Foot Recruit yells as she clashes weapons with him and a ninja runs past them.
"There's too many of them! Get to high ground, Buddy!" Raph shouts to his friend. Amy gets surrounded by ninjas as Raph jumps to a higher level. One ninja tries to kick him away, another attacking Buddy. He punches, but misses, and the enemy ninja takes off a hand. Buddy grabs it back, using it to grab the ninja in front of him and throwing him into the other ninjas surrounding Amy. She opens her mouth in shock, looking up at Buddy.
"Mellie!" He cheers at his successful save for her and she raises a brow.
"How does he know my nickname?" While she's grateful, she still didn't like Raph's attitude towards her about him. One of the ninjas hits a button on the wall.
"Go, go!" Raph urges Buddy, standing in front of him. "I'm right behind you, Buddy!" He jumps up to Buddy, sliding on the conveyor belt while fending off a paper ninja. Down below, Leo is dealing with Foot Recruit. She's fast and quick as she kicks him to bandana felt. He jumps onto it, running. He laughs as it hits her in the face, but she grabs it and ties him up in it. She laughs as she holds up the stuck Leo, throwing him towards the others. Amy yells as she rushes up to Foot Recruit, tackling her to the ground. They both attack other viciously in a cat fight.
"Time to recycle these goons!" Mikey says, but Leo crashes into them and Raph, tying all of them up with him. They all groan and Amy crashes against the wall from Foot Recruit, landing roughly next to Leo.
"Buddy!" Buddy cries out to them.
"Finish them! And shred the traitor," Foot Lieutenant orders. A paper ninja next to him rushes up to the group, but Buddy's left hand glows pink. His eyes do the same and he punches the ninja into shreds. He didn't even know he could do that, but he was helping! His other hand makes a paper tornado, the other two surprised. All the paper inside the room goes to Buddy, making his right arm larger.
"They grow up and turn against you so fast..." Foot Lieutenant says in awe. Buddy makes the hand into a fist, slamming it onto the ground. This causes a large blast that sends Foot Recruit and Foot Lieutenant flying into the sky, disappearing into a glint.
Everyone except Donnie gasps in shock since he didn't see it. Raph breaks them free. "I'm calling it, guys. Our Buddy's the winner!" Raph and Leo smile, holding up his arms...which break. The two tape him back up. "Aw man, I owe you one, guys."
"And we owe you one, too," Leo crosses his arms with a smug grin. "For throwing your fights."
"That cannot be confirmed or denied," Donnie chimes in.
T do you say, Buddy?" Leo nudges him in the chest. "First one to grab the red bandana wins?"
"Buddy!" He cheers and the boys tackle Raph, laughing. The turtle was so glad that it was finally out, and that his brothers weren't going to do anything to him. He looks around for their friend.
"Mellie?"
"Mellie," Buddy points up and they look to see Amy jumping out the rooftop window. She helped them...but she still didn't forgive Raph.
"Bad Raph!" Mikey points to him. "You shouldn't have said that stuff to Amy!"
"I just wanted her to understand," Raph rubs his neck.
"Understand or force her? You can't just ask her to look past what the Foot did just because of one guy," Leo gestures to Buddy. "I mean, think about it. You made her feel like her hard work wasn't important, and you know that's not true."
"I don't wanna lose my pineapple muffins, mister!" Donnie gives Raph a dirty look. "You go and do whatever it takes! Even seduce her, just make her continue baking!"
"Gross," Leo sticks out his tongue at the thought. "Okay, do anything but that."
"I get it," Raph holds out his hands up in defense.
She sits on the edge of the roof a few feet away from her bakery. Everything she worked so hard for could've been gone if they hadn't stopped the Foot. She couldn't have it happen again. She practically grew up here, discovered her passions here...
If Raph wasn't such an idiot, she could've been looking at the remains.
Still...she did understand why he thought of Buddy as a friend. He wasn't hoping Buddy would change, but that his brothers and herself would. She always thought her mother would change, but it never happened. But she still had hope, like Raph did.
Even if it was misguided...
Yeah, no, he's still an idiot.
Someone lands behind her and by the sound of the thump, she knew exactly who it was. Which is why she doesn't bother turning around when Raph approaches her.
"Um..." He starts off, rubbing his neck. "I'm sorry."
She blinks slowly as he takes his seat next to her. Given her silence, that meant he could continue. He holds out a can of cherry soda and she stares at it. "I just thought that since you're a nice person that you would see that he wasn't all that bad..."
"Mm," She hums as she never heard that from Raph of all people. She decides to take the soda, resisting the urge to throw it over the roof.
"But I realize now that the bakery means a lot to you, and uh...I was wrong to try and make you go through that again."
She snorts as she laughs a bit. "Wow. It must've taken guts for you to say all of that AND admit you were wrong!"
"Do you forgive me or not? Cuz I'll make a cake right now if that's what it takes."
"God, no," She waves her hands as she stops laughing. "Don't do that. Anyway...I forgive you. But if you tell anyone I said that, I'll have to kill you."
"It's not bad to show compassion," He rolls her eyes.
"I didn't say that. I just have trust issues. You know what I went through during school," She scoffs and he stands up.
"Yeah...I acted like a jerk like them though."
"You were a jerk...but I understand why you thought he could be a friend. Do me a favor, though, next time you meet someone like that, don't be an idiot."
"Noted," He chuckles sheepishly and then he gets a punch to the arm. "OW!"
"Never make me feel like what I do isn't important," She points to him like a mother would with her child. "And never ever make it seem like I don't care, because you don't know me at all if you make that assumption."
"Agreed."
(SPOILER! THIS IS YOUR SPOILER WARNING. IF YOU DON'T WANNA SEE IT, LEAVE NOW AND COME BACK WHEN EVERYTHING IS IN ORDER AGAIN.)
Leo approaches Amy at her mother's place, taking a deep breath. This was it, he was finally going to ask Amy out. He had no idea how this would go, but he had to take a chance, right? She's had a huge impact on him, more than she could ever know. There was always something that brought him right back to her. It wasn't weird that she's only a little older than him. It's only a few months, after all. Luckily Mrs. Santiago is asleep.
Amy's scrolling through her Youtube account when she notices a red-eared slider standing in front of the window. He looks worried, causing her to put the phone away. She's never seen Leo with that expression before.
"Something wrong?" She asks when she opens the window.
Your beauty, baby. No, don't say that!
"Uh, well...my lady, I was wondering, if...um..."
"If?" Amy asks slowly, encouraging him.
"See, I like this girl..."
Her eyes widen before they turn sad. "Oh...you do?" What? Leo, met a girl, and he didn't tell me?! I thought he was only interested in me... N-Not that I care...I don't.
Oh, who am I kidding? Of course I care.
He gulps as he traces circles on his arm. "Yeah...she's fun, beautiful...absolutely wonderful."
"That would sound about right..."
"But...the thing is...she's not exactly okay with mutants."
She's the one stumbling now. "Wh-What? How can she just not like mutants? You're different!" Her face turns red at what she just said, eyes wide as saucers. Holy shell, where did that come from?!
Leo looks at her bashfully at the compliment, smiling in relief. "I am? Please, do tell me more."
"I-I don't know what you mean," She stammers, rubbing her neck.
"Sure, like you're gonna ignore the fact that you just gave me a compliment."
"I am," She closes her eyes, giving a teasing smile. "But you didn't hear this from me."
"Okay," He chuckles, allowing himself to breathe again.
"Are these feelings...just a phase? Are you...gonna stop liking her? Because I've never heard you sound so serious about a girl, Leo," She says her concerns, trying not to make it obvious that she's bothered by this.
"I-It's not a phase. This is completely the opposite, Ames. I...really like her...and not because of her looks. I love her personality, her smile, and...no matter what she thinks or what anyone tells her, she'll always matter. She...sells herself short. She has no idea how amazing he really is."
Amy flinches at his words. He...actually sounded serious about her...
"So...what is it about her?"
"She has no flaws. I can't resist her."
Her eyes are noticeably glossy and Leo stares at her, smiling. "Do you want to know who she is?"
She nods quietly, ready for the heartbreak.
"It's you."
Amy looks up at him, her mouth wide open. Leo's just smiling warmly as her heart pounded in her chest. Me...?
"And..." Leo takes her silence as a sign to go on. "We've known each other for a while now and I think there's...something between us. I can feel it. I wanted to know...if you'd like to go on a date with me..."
She takes a deep breath. This is what she wanted, right? For him to ask...
"Leo...this may be hard to hear, but...it might be wrong to go through with this."
He looks at her in confusion as she rubs her arm. This is the right thing to do...right? Despite my feelings, I can't risk both of us getting hurt.
She looks away, not wanting to see how he looks right now. "We might become selfish. Even though we want the same things right now, in the future...we might not. And it's not just that. You're...too young to know what you really want..."
"That's ridiculous."
The brunette turns to him as he has a serious look. He places his hands on her shoulders, staring her straight in the eye. "Amy, look at me. We're still young. Of course we don't know what we want. But I do know that I want a chance with you...to be with you. I meant every word I said."
"Leo, I don't know...what if it's not right?"
"Then we'll make it right. So...?"
"...I...well..." She stammers, unsure. "We both know that I don't do these sort of things, Leo..."
Leo smirks at her. If he can change, so can she. He grabs her by the waist and throws her over his shoulder. She squeals, hitting his shell with her fists.
"Put me down!"
"Say you'll go on a date with me," He smirks in amusement. "Come on, you know you want to."
Amy giggles at his antics. "Okay, okay! I'll go on a date with you."
He puts her down, raising a teased brow. "Oh, really?"
"Yeah..." She smiles at him. "Though, we won't call it a date. Call it...a test. If this works out, then...we'll let whatever happens happen."
"Fine by me."
P.S: If you did read the spoiler, just know that I might have to change some dialogue in Portal Jacked with Amy in case it's a major event what with Baron Draxum working with the Foot.
