Raphael's content snoring was cut off as he rolled onto his side and almost slipped out of his hammock. Having woken up from his reflexes being put into action, he sat up and yawned, stretching out one arm as he did so. The night before almost seemed like a dream now, or maybe it had been. The turtle pondered this as he carefully climbed down from his perch and began to make his way towards the main hall, scratching the top of his head. An all too familiar cry of distress from the kitchen caught his attention, and he soon found himself grumbling a lot earlier than he intended that morning. As expected, Michelangelo ran out of the nearby room, hands clamped to his head, and destroying Raph's hopes of the previous day being an illusion.
"Geez, Mikey, do you have t'be so loud? What's wrong now?" the red masked turtle barked.
"He's gone! Dash is gone!"
"Who the shell is Dash?"
"It's what he's called our new 'pet' ." Donatello explained from across the kitchen entrance, picking up what appeared to be dropped snacks and cooking utensils from the floor.
Raphael turned to Mikey, fuming.
"You named it?!" He marched up to his panicked brother, prodding a finger into his chest. "We're not keeping that thing, Mikey!"
"But why?! What else are we supposed to do?"
"Y'don't just snatch some random creature from another planet, take it home, and make it your pet!"
Donatello pulled his seething brother back slightly with his free hand.
"Calm down, Raph. He has a point."
Raphael looked at his other brother, gritting his teeth.
"It's an alien, remember?" Don continued. "We can't just dump it on the streets where people can see it. It doesn't exactly fit in with the local wildlife."
"So we'll just take it back to that galactic federation place! They'll take care of it! Let it be their problem."
"Do you really think it's a good idea to take it back to the same place where we just essentially broke out from?" Donatello frowned.
"Uh, hello, 'it' has a NAME!" Mikey blurted.
Before Raph could put in another word, Leonardo joined the group by dropping down from the higher levels.
"What are you guys arguing about?" He blinked as he noticed Donatello's armful of snacks, and various items in the hall having been knocked over. "What happened?"
The youngest of the turtles pushed through the group in a burst of excitement, running towards the lair entrance.
"Dash! There you are!"
The small yellow creature had plodded back into the room, its fur slightly ragged and eyes darting around frantically on high alert. Mikey crouched down by the newly dubbed 'Dash' and lifted him up, giving him a brief nuzzle before returning to his brothers with the small alien in his grasp.
"We don't even know where this thing came from! What if it really is dangerous?" Raphael pointed at Dash. "It was in that place for a reason!"
"Yeah, for them to prod at him with creepy alien dissecting tools no doubt!"
Leo stepped in between Raph and Mikey, holding his hands out to beckon silence from the pair.
"Look, why don't we just wait for Master Splinter to get up, and he'll tell us what we should do with it. It isn't hurting anyone right now, so until then can you both just keep your cool?"
The two turtles grumbled before turning their heads away, Michelangelo soon returning his attention to Dash.
"Where'd you go to, little guy, huh?"
Donatello stepped forward to peer at the alien's face.
"My guess is that it panicked." He looked around the room with a sigh. "Well, it would explain why half of my tools are all over the floor at least."
"Maybe he's hungry!"
"He could be. Now that you mention it, I wonder what kind of diet his species has…"
Mikey held Dash against his chest with one arm, the other moving to swipe a packet of potato chips from Don's current stash.
"Let's try these! Everyone loves potato chips! And these are chicken flavoured."
"Be careful, Mikey. If he's sick, you're cleaning it up." Donatello warned his brother as he began to make his way back to the kitchen to put away the remaining snacks in his arms.
"Yeah, yeah."
It wasn't long before the pair had become perched on the sofa in front of the television sets, the young enthusiastic ninja carefully poking chips at the reluctant creature's mouth until it caved and began to nibble cautiously at the mysterious snack. Seeming satisfied with the food, Dash shoved his snout into the packet held in Mikey's hand, and feasted on the crunchy meal. Mikey let out a chuckle as he watched Dash eat, blinking as he noticed Klunk trot over to join them. The feline jumped onto the sofa to sniff at its fuzzy comrade, taking in the unfamiliar scent. Feeling the cat's nose briefly press into his fur, Dash flinched and shuffled towards the other side of the sofa, ears perked and eyes wide in panic.
"Woah, buddy." Mikey reached over to lift Dash up and place him in his lap. "Chill! That's just Klunk! He's your friend too. See?"
The two creatures stared at each other curiously, eventually leaning forward and exchanging inhalations of the others' aroma. After deducting that Klunk wasn't a threat, Dash eventually sat back and pressed his muzzle back into the packet of chicken flavoured potato chips. Klunk let out a mew, poking at the bag to try and get a view inside it along with his new friend.
"Michelangelo."
The turtle looked away from the animal duo and over his shoulder to see Master Splinter stood by the sofa, both hands resting carefully on top of his walking stick.
"Oh- Hey Master Splinter."
"You must be wary of what you do with this creature. It is not of this world."
Raphael appeared along with Leonardo and Donatello, resting his hands on the back of the sofa to hold his weight as he leaned over it slightly.
"See! I told you guys we should get rid of it!"
"That is not what I was saying, Raphael."
The rat set his gaze back on the creature, watching as it lifted its snout out of the bag to look at the surrounding group, crumbs masking its twitching nose.
"It is true that we know nothing of this creature's origin, or what it may be capable of…But this is a risk we face with all our encounters. This is where it is important that we trust."
Leo took a moment to take in their father's words, holding his chin in his hand.
"He does have a point, I mean, if we didn't trust Casey or April…or any of the friends we've made, we probably wouldn't have even become their friends at all. Why should this be any different?"
Mikey grinned and held Dash up in pride.
"Yeah! And how can something this small and cute be bad anyway? He's like a….a puppy!"
"Actually I'd say it displays more resemblances to a reptile." Donatello added.
"But he's fluffy- Reptiles don't have hair!"
"No, but look at its body shape."
Raphael clenched his fists, snarling before throwing his hands up in the air in protest.
"Agh, forget you guys!" He turned from the group, beginning to walk away. "Don't you all come cryin' to me at midnight when y'over feed that thing and it grows twice its size and starts chewing your shells off!"
"Oh come on, Raph." Leo called out to his agitated brother as he marched away. "Raph!"
Master Splinter rested a hand on Leo's arm, shaking his hand.
"Let him go. Perhaps some fresh air will clear his mind."
"But it's the middle of the day, should we really let him go topside?"
Mikey leaned over the back of the sofa, continuing to hold Dash out in front of him.
"Yeah, Raph isn't exactly known for his 'stealth'."
"Neither are you, Mikey." Donatello contributed, putting his hands on his hips.
"Hey!"
Before the family could continue their discussion, the sound of the lair's elevator system caught their attention. Raph had barely made it to the door when it opened before him, unveiling two familiar figures.
"Raph!" Casey boomed as he stepped into the room, spreading his arms in greeting. "Guys! When'd you get back, we-"
His sentence was cut short as Raph sneered at his friends and continued to walk past and into the elevator. The vigilante blinked as the doors closed again, looking over at the rest of the group and gesturing with his thumb.
"What's eatin' him?"
April approached the young mutants, placing a hand on Leonardo's shoulder.
"We were starting to get worried! When Casey came down the other day to find you, you weren't around so we thought you were just on another night run… but we checked again yesterday and- "
"Wait- yesterday?"
"Yeah, we even tried your shell cells, but-"
"But we were only gone for a day."
Donatello put his hand under his chin.
"Hmm…Well it is possible the passage of time between the two places in space would have been different. We must've been away for two or three earth days by the sounds of things."
April raised an eyebrow at her equally educated friend.
"Space? What are you guys talking about?"
The young woman let out a brief, yet minute, yelp as her gaze suddenly fell upon the small yellow alien in Michelangelo's grasp.
"And what is that ?" She pointed at Dash cautiously.
Leonardo scratched the back of his head as he followed her line of sight, watching his bemused brother hold up the creature's paws.
"It's…kind of a long story."
An hour or so had passed, the group having settled around the television area, April now resting her fingers around a small cup of tea, and Casey sat beside her with his arms casually thrown across the back of the sofa. The explanation itself had taken longer than intended due to Mikey's insisting that he mimed extensive re-enactments of the battle scenes and his heroic gesture of rescuing both Klunk and Dash from the clutches of their pursuers. It wasn't the most surprising story they'd ever heard, in fact, these sorts of things were starting to become the norm for their little family, but April still couldn't get her head around the fact that all this had happened without either of them noticing. She took another sip from her tea, resting her lips on the rim of the cup for a moment before looking over at Mikey, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor with Dash resting on his lap once again.
"So you don't know what this thing is?"
Donatello shook his head.
"We don't know what it is, where it came from, or why it was captured in the first place. Not that it was the only one in there…"
"And Raph just stormed out because of it?"
"I kinda don't blame him!" Casey leaned forward, shaking a finger in Mikey's direction. "I mean- what if it's like a-…a gremlin! One minute it's cute and cuddly, then the next thing you know- BAM!"
The gesture of Casey slamming his clenched fist into his palm caused Dash to flinch slightly, the creature still bewildered by the new, strange life forms that had entered the room. April set her cup down on the coffee table and got to her feet, cautiously making her way over to Dash and Mikey, crouching by them so she was at a less intimidating level. Dash snuffled back into the turtle's stomach slightly, staring up at the young red haired woman with wide, anxious eyes.
"I've never seen anything like it…" She extended a hand forward to try and pet the small creature, her fingertips only briefly touching the fuzzy coat before Dash retracted his head back further. "It looks almost like it's from…reptilian descent. But with fur."
Don walked over to join her, staring at the alien intently. Mikey puffed his cheeks out and caressed Dash's head.
"Can you guys stop calling him 'it'? His name is Dash!"
April tilted her head slightly.
"How do you know it's a boy?"
"Well-…Because he looks like one!"
The purple masked turtle blinked, taken aback at the sudden turn in discussion.
"Mikey, you can't just say it's a boy by looking at it, what if it's a girl?" He leaned forward to get a closer look at Dash. "It might not even have a gender. We don't know anything about…Uh…'Dash', or his species to be able to differentiate stuff like that. "
Don beckoned for his brother to pass him the creature, and after a brief moment of stubborn hesitation, Mikey carefully passed Dash over. Even in his gentle grasp Donatello could feel Dash's chest expand and contract rapidly, his head constantly turning to keep a view on all of his unfamiliar surroundings. It wasn't surprising he was on high alert, being on a different planet would be stressful enough without a group of overshadowing people staring at him all the time, but Donatello just had to quench a bit of his curiosity's thirst. He turned Dash to face him, getting a clear look at the reptile-like alien's face.
"Hm…I was going to try and work on repairs for the spacecraft today, but since you guys are here…" He lowered Dash and held him close to his chest, turning his head to April. "April, would you mind examining him with me? He's a little skittish so it's a bit of a two-person job."
"Sure."
There was a brief pause.
"…It doesn't bite, does it?"
"Unless your hand is made out of potato chips, no."
Over by the sofa, Casey got to his feet, once again punching his fist into his palm.
"Well if you guys are gonna get all science-y, I guess I'll do what I do best!"
"Breaking and entering?" Mikey joked half-heartedly, causing him to receive a small glare from the tall vigilante.
"Ha ha, very funny, green boy." He took his mask out of his backpack and placed it atop of his head. "I'll go find Raph and pull his moody turtle butt back down here."
Leo took a step forward, holding his hands up slightly in an attempt to grab the group's attention.
"Hold on a minute, what about our training?"
Before he could put in another word, Master Splinter stepped into position beside his son, nodding slowly.
"We shall postpone today's session. " He took a small bow. "Mister Jones, and Miss O'Neil...once again I apologize for the burdens we must bring upon you."
The two people smiled, each making their own gesture of brushing off the given apology. April placed her hand on the old rat's shoulder briefly.
"It's fine- we are family after all! We're just glad to see you back safe and sound."
With the exchange of nods, the various individuals separated, moving on to their respective duties that they had set for themselves. Master Splinter took this period of free time to place himself in front of the television to catch up on his regular soap operas, a simple pleasure he had missed during their exhausting escapade. Leonardo wasn't too keen on the idea of skipping out on a training session, but given the choice, he decided it might be more beneficial if he accompanied Casey on his mission to bring Raphael back home. As his family members began to scatter, Mikey stood for a moment to deliberate on what to do with himself. His sensei has already taken the television spot, and two people were more than enough to go and find Raph. He glanced over to a small collection of comic books he had left on the floor and bent over to pick up an issue of The Justice Force, beginning to skim through the pages. However, the thrill of rereading his beloved comic was short lived as the sensation of paranoia began to nag at the back of his mind, and he put the issue back in its place, soon shifting off to where Donatello and April had assembled.
Having been previously working on some enhancement plans for the Battle Shell, Don had to move a lot of paperwork and stationary off his work tops to allow for more space. April cautiously held Dash in place on one of the desks as he did this, keeping her body a reasonable arms length away until she was sure the small creature wasn't going to turn around and viciously chew her hands off. Her comrade reappeared at her side, sliding one of his lamps closer so the light shone directly onto Dash, his soft coat faintly glistening under the intense glow. The creature scrunched his eyes up as he was moved into the spotlight, Donatello lightly petting his head before taking a hold of his cheeks, April still providing support for the rest of the body. As the curious young turtle began to examine the reptilian-like alien, his brother peered over April's shoulder, tapping his fingers together nervously.
"You're not gonna hurt him are you?"
The young woman flinched in surprise, her focus on holding Dash having caused her to not notice Michelangelo approach them. Donatello, on the other hand, didn't even shift his gaze from Dash's head.
"Of course not. I'm just giving him a check over to see if I can figure out anything essential about his…well, whatever he is." He carefully tried to pry the alien's mouth open. "If he bears any resemblance to a species here on earth, then it might help us figure out how to take care of him properly."
The small being's mouth contained a set of small, blunt teeth. Don carefully poked at the teeth as best as he could; only resulting in Dash attempting to chew on his finger. There was very little pain in the action, it was almost like the teeth were made out of rubber, that or they were simply too small to cause any real damage.
"Huh. I guess he is a bit like a puppy."
"Its teeth are underdeveloped, huh?" April contributed.
"I wouldn't say that, they're just…minute. Obviously not designed for excessive chewing… So I think we can safely assume he won't bite your arms off, April."
April rolled her eyes and moved in closer to the creature, allowing herself to relax as she continued to hold it in place. Don removed his finger from Dash's mouth, giving him a brief comforting pat on the head before beginning to feel around his neck.
"What I'm more interested in though is how he's able to breathe. That is, if he does breathe."
Mikey leaned forward curiously.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well, remember how we had to get atmosphere converters when we were taken to that federation prison? Dash didn't have one there, so you could assume he takes in whatever elements are in their atmosphere."
"Uhuh."
"But since we came home to earth, he hasn't shown any signs of distress or being affected at all by the new atmosphere. If he had lungs that worked the same way ours do, he'd probably be suffocating right now."
The orange masked turtle leant back again, scratching his head. He hadn't even considered something like that, and was a little ashamed that he could have potentially put Dash in more danger than what he was already in before, but how was he supposed to know?
After at least fifteen minutes of various prodding and poking, Donatello stepped back and sighed, a hint of disappointment in his voice.
"Well, all I can figure out is that he most likely eats food of a soft consistency, and somehow he is able to survive within multiple extraterrestrial atmospheres. The only other way I could find out about his internal structure would be…uh…dissection."
Mikey let out a brief yelp as he reached across the desk to grab onto Dash, trying to pull him out of April's grip.
"You can't do that!"
"Woah, hold on, that's not what I meant!" Don waved his hands in front of himself defensively. "I was just saying that's the only way we could find out properly. That or an extremely accurate X-Ray. Sheesh, Mikey, what kind of turtle do you take me for?"
He took another moment to gently stroke Dash's head, comforting the creature who was now being held in place by an extra pair of hands. Mikey hesitantly let go, folding his arms in a pout. Beside him, April lifted the creature to get a better look herself, soon placing Dash back down and coming to the same conclusion as Donatello.
"You're right, we can't figure out much just by looking at it like this." She removed her grasp from Dash, allowing him to move freely on the table. "But y'know…It isn't doing too badly as it is. Maybe we should just keep an eye on it from time to time and record anything new that crops up in its behaviour."
"…That's actually not a bad idea, April!"
April smirked.
"I try."
As Don began to rummage through his drawers for a spare notebook, Mikey shuffled over to the front of the desk and carefully picked Dash up, stroking him as he lay in his arms.
"Do you guys have to treat him like some sort of experiment? He probably got enough of that back in that organic…lab...prison thing! " The young turtle turned his head to April. "And stop calling him 'it'!"
His brother looked over at him as he lifted a small book and pen from one of his desk drawers.
"Relax, Mikey, it isn't like that."
Michelangelo frowned and took a step back, protectively pulling Dash closer to his chest as Donatello approached them with his writing utensils. He opened the book to a fresh page and began to take brief notes on their recent findings, before passing the book to April for a check over.
"Think about it." He continued. "If you hadn't taken care of a dog or a cat before and you wanted to buy one, what is the first thing you'd do?"
Mikey remained silent as he searched his brain for an answer, only to be interrupted by Don's impatient sigh.
"You'd buy a book, right? On how to take care of it." He looked at the creature held tightly in his younger brothers' grasp. "Obviously someone at some point in time had to observe those animals to be able to give information on how to take care of them, or else no one would know how to do it. That's all we're doing - Observing so we can look after Dash properly. "
After taking a moment to consider Donatello's explanation, Mikey eventually nodded and reversed his stance back to the way it was before, removing his guard. Feeling a bit more relieved that his new fuzzy companion was in assured safety, he began to tickle the top of Dash's head, leading his stubby finger down his nose until the alien set his teeth upon his skin. The soft prodding from Dash's tiny teeth caused the turtle to grin and let out an amused chuckle, once again becoming immersed in playing with their new found friend as his brother and red-haired friend merely watched contently.
Meanwhile, on the surface, Leonardo and Casey scoured the streets for their irritable red-masked comrade, Casey stumbling behind the leader turtle as he swept across the rooftops of the inhabited buildings. The city was soaked in the midday sunlight, making the figures all the more visible and meaning a lot more stealth was required for them to remain unseen from the mass of bystanders on the streets below. The light did prove to be an advantage, however, as it took very little time of searching before Leo spotted a bulky green figure crouching behind a small wall on top of a nearby apartment complex, his bright red bandana highlighted by the sun's powerful rays. The duo stopped not far behind him, Leo folding his arms.
"That doesn't look particularly relaxing. Wouldn't it be better to do your brooding when it's dark out like you usually do?"
Raphael grumbled and got to his feet, turning on his heels to face his brother, but not saying a word.
"Raph, just come home, it's too risky to stay up here when it's this bright."
"No way!" The irritated turtle clenched his fists. "I'm not coming back down there until you guys come to your senses! That alien thing is gonna be trouble, I'm tellin' you!"
Casey took a step forward.
"Yo, take it easy, Raph! C'mon-"
"I ain't talkin' to you, bonehead."
"Raph." Leo sighed. "Look, I understand why you're concerned, but we can't just abandon this thing. It wouldn't be right. Besides, aren't we honour-bound to help those who aid us?"
"You and your stinkin' honour! It's always you and your 'right thinking' that gets us into these giant messes when they have nothin' to do with us."
Leonardo glared mildly at his approaching brother, pointing a finger at him.
"Do I need to remind you of who it was that got us arrested for this particular recent 'mess'? If you hadn't attacked that officer, we could have talked our way out of it and none of this would have happened."
Raph stopped in his tracks, gritting his teeth and reaching for his Sai as Leo continued to talk.
"Your rash acting doesn't make matters any better so don't just put me at fault!"
Their human friend looked back and forth amongst them as they spoke, eventually having to push himself into the gap between them as Raph began to march towards Leo.
"Woah, guys, cool it! Geez." He gently nudged the pair further apart, holding his hands out to prevent them getting any closer. "Don and April are checkin' out this thing, right? If anyone can figure out if it's dangerous, it's them!"
Leo folded his arms again.
"He has a point. Come on, Raph, do you really think Don – and Master Splinter for that matter- would let us keep a potentially lethal alien in the lair?"
Silence fell upon the group as Raphael clenched his teeth together, his rage slowly beginning to subside. He removed his hands from the Sai held around his waist and scratched his head, turning away slightly.
"I-…I guess."
"See?" Leonardo grinned as he shifted his hands to rest on his hips. "Now come on, let's go home."
"Nuh-uh! We ain't goin' nowhere yet!"
The two turtles blinked as a battered hockey stick sliced across their vision, soon turning their heads to look at Casey. The blue eyed renegade grinned as he pulled the stick back to hold above his head.
"It's been days since I've been able to spar with 'ya!" He moved his stick down again to point it at Raphael. "And I reckon you could use some stress release, dude."
Leo stepped forward.
"Casey, we can't, it's broad daylight. We might get seen."
Casey let out a laugh as he pulled his mask down to cover his face, then shifted his legs to bring him into a fighting stance.
"Then we'll just have to make it a quick one! Unless you guys are too chicken! Think you can't beat me that fast? Afraid you'll get a poundin'? Tell you what, I'll go easy on ya. You two against me, if you think you can handle it!"
Raph drew his Sai and spun them around his fingers before copying his friend's stance.
"Oh you're just askin' for it now, knucklehead."
"Guys-"
"What's wrong, Mister Leader?" Casey barked. "Afraid I'll wax that shell of yours?"
The blue-masked turtle sighed as he pulled his katana from their sheaths.
"This is a bad idea."
His comment was lost in the rising tension building between Raphael and Casey, the two characters ready to pounce for each other at any moment. Unexpectedly, Leo made the first move, bringing a single blade down towards Casey, who blocked by pulling out a baseball bat with his free hand. With the battle now initiated, the three individuals began to spar, their weapons clashing and bashing against each other, and their bodies tossing around across the roof of the tall building, soon becoming shrouded in a mild darkness as the sun began to hide behind the curtain of grey clouds filling the sky.
Roughly one hour later, the trio arrived back at the lair, returning to the familiar scene of serenity. Michelangelo was now sat on the sofa once again, television blaring, with Klunk lazily sprawled out across his lap and Dash curled up against his side. April and Donatello, who had just finished investigating the newly acquired spacecraft, walked out of the workshop, Don wiping the oil from his hands with a ragged cloth.
"Oh, hey guys." He greeted.
April put her hands on her hips as she saw the three characters shuffle into the room.
"Where were you? I was starting to worry!"
Leo scratched the back of his head.
"Uh, sorry, we kinda-"
"Oh relax, we were gone an hour at most! It ain't the longest we've been away." Casey interrupted as he lifted the mask from his face.
"Casey Jones!" April exclaimed with disdain. "Look at the state of you! What were you guys doing out there?"
"Not getting into more trouble I hope." Master Splinter said as he emerged from his room, tapping his cane against the ground as he made his way over to the group, making sure to stand directly in front of Donatello and April as he looked directly at his other sons and their friend.
"Nah, Sensei, we just sparred for a bit, that's all." Raph explained.
"In the light of day that is a very foolhardy thing to do. I would expect you both to know better, especially you, Leonardo."
Casey took a step forward.
"Uh, sorry Master Splinter, it was kinda my idea- but it was for Raph's own good!"
Splinter raised an eyebrow along with April, unsure of what to make of this comment. Before either of them could put in another word, Don cleared his throat to break the minor tension building in the air.
"Speaking of which, Raph, are you feeling any…uh…calmer?"
"Well- yeah. I suppose." He folded his arms. "I'm still not entirely happy about all this though."
Leo looked over at his purple-masked brother.
"What did you find out, Don?"
"Not much, really. There's not much to tell just from looking at it. Although we can assure Raph that he definitely won't be 'chewing our shells off'. His teeth are barely fit for eating through a piece of chicken, let alone a limb."
Raph pouted as he was quoted, slightly embarrassed they had remembered the dialogue of his outburst from earlier.
"Yeah, well, I'm still keepin' away from it! Who knows what else that thing could do." He growled.
Mikey scoffed from across the room, having only just begun to listen in on the conversation.
"Oh yeah, Raph, he's totally gonna get you with his gruesome power of sleeping like a little kitten!"
He feigned a shriek as he continued to mock his brother, putting on a high pitched voice and flailing his arms in the air.
"Help, help! He's going to eat me with his MASSIVE jaw!"
Dash lifted his head to look at the turtle, his eyes drooping sleepily as he tried to observe out of curiosity. Mikey chuckled as he noticed this, moving his hands down to pet the small alien's head. Raph felt his blood begin to boil again, but was stopped in his tracks by Master Splinter tapping his stick on the ground.
"I believe now would be a good time to start today's training session. Now that your brother has let out most of his excess 'energy', maybe we can all focus properly."
Leonardo bowed.
"Yes, Sensei."
April, who was still standing beside Don at this point, marched towards Casey and grabbed him by the arm.
"That sounds like a good idea. As for you , Mister Jones, you need a good cleaning up!"
"Ah geez, why do you gotta be so paranoid? It's just a few scratches!"
"A few scratches that once infected can become serious trouble! Now come on- to the kitchen!"
The bulky man grumbled as he was forcefully dragged away, the determined redhead pulling him into the kitchen to search for any form of first aid equipment. On the other side of the room, Mikey remained seated in front of the TV, fussing over his furry companions. He continued to sit contently until Raphael tugged on the back of his bandana harshly.
"Ow!"
"Come on, goofball. Training. You could use some."
"Oh yeah? Well you need some…some…anger management!"
"What d'ya think you're here for?" his brother smirked as he walked off to join the others.
Mikey puffed out his cheeks as he carefully shifted Klunk off his lap so he could get to his feet.
"Oh ha-ha!"
He ran his hand across the cat's fur, and followed by doing the same to Dash.
"Don't you guys worry! I'll be right back, okay?"
With another brief pet, he scurried over to where his family had gathered, leaving the two creatures together on the sofa. As the family began their training, Dash sniffed the air, still struggling to keep his eyes open even after being shaken by the turtle's clumsy movements of getting off the sofa. Without much more to do, he set his head down again, closing his eyes and coiling his tail around his feet, preparing to fall into a comfortable sleep as Klunk shuffled over to curl up next to him.