Calli's Pov...
Its times like these I always cherish and enjoy whenever Leo and I ever get the chance. We both enjoy snuggling with each other, and I mean we really do. It's just we both loved the feeling of being close to each other. I love Leo's arms around me, our bodies touching, and the warmth I get from being next to him. I feel safe, comfortable and most of all loved.
Leo and I were just tangled in the sheets with Leo spooning me from behind as his fingers traced around my shoulder and giving gentle kisses on the back of my neck. I moaned softly as I grabbed his thigh and putting it over my hip as I massaged it deeply and my hand entangled with Leo's fingers behind my head. "Mmmm", I said, softly
Leo moaned softly against me as I could tell he was enjoying this as much as me, enjoying the quiet and peaceful time together. I looked over at the clock on my night stand seeing it just turned 8:15 in the morning. I grabbed an apple that was on my nightstand and I took a bite out of it and reached behind me as Leo took a bite out of the side. He set it on his nightstand as I stroked the side of his head as he then pulled me closer to him and kissed my cheek. "This is good", Leo said, softly
"Mmm it is", I said "If only it was like this every morning"
"You and me both", Leo said, as snuggled closer towards me
"I'm going to have to get up soon, I am going to make breakfast this morning for everyone before training", I said
"Stick around", Leo said, softly climbing over me "Ellie...Ellie isn't even up yet. She would of came in here by now"
I giggled as Leo started kissing my cheek, then down my neck and across my chest. I then rubbed the back of his head and gripped his shoulder as he kissed along my covered plastron numerous times. "Wait, no", I said, giggling "No, no, no, no"
"Why not?", he asked, looking up at me
"Splinter has a special reward for Ellie today and I don't want us spending four hours in the Hashi for being late", I said
"Yeah, don't want to upset sensei", Leo said
I smiled and I kissed his forehead. I giggled as I shoved him off of me as I rolled out of bed stretching. He chuckled as he grabbed his bandanna and tied it around his head. "I'll go prepare breakfast, you go on and wake up our little princess", I said, tying my braid
"That is if I can get her up, she is about as stubborn as the both of us", Leo said, stretching while sitting up in bed
I giggled. "I'm sure you can do it sugar", I said, walking out of the bedroom "I'll be in the kitchen if you need me"
Leo's Pov...
I yawned stretching my arms out, getting ready for the day ahead. I slid out of bed as I walked out of the bedroom. I walked next door towards Ellie's room. On her door was a wooden E painted dark blue with green diamonds on it held up by a dark green silk ribbon, letting it hang.
I opened the door handle slowly pushing the door open as quietly as I could, trying not to make it creak so loudly. I opened it just enough to where I could slip inside and I stepped into Ellie's room over her dark blue fuzzy rug. I turned on her soft Japanese colored lanterns that were hanging above on the ceiling that lit up different colors. Ellie's room was always neat, she hardly ever left it a mess, kind of the way I do myself.
Her room was about the size of Calli's and my bedroom, but she had it all to herself. On her walls was a huge cherry blossom tree that Calli painted with a few petals floating down from the branches. And in black paint was a quote that she painted in Japanese, saying "Musume wa shibarakunoaida, watashitachi no the o haji shimasuga, eien ni watashitachi no kokoro o hoji shimasu"
Which means, "Daughters hold our hands for a little while, but hold our hearts forever"
On another wall was Japanese art pieces of butterflies, flowers, and Ellie's name written in cursive in the center. In Ellie's room she had her favorite books on a small white book case right next to her little arts and craft table with colored paper, markers and crayons scattered on top of it. I walked over towards it and I picked up a piece of paper, moving a pair of scissors and pieces of torn off paper. I looked to see Ellie had made art of torn pieces of paper and it was her with all of us in the family around smiling in marker.
I chuckled at Raph's funny smile she drew. "You got his charming smile down right Ellie", I said
I placed it back down and I looked towards Ellie as she laid in her small twin bed. I made it past her shelves of her favorite figurines of Japanese dolls and in one corner of her room was her toy box full of stuffed animals and rack of dress up costumes and mirror against the wall. I quietly made my way over and knelt down in front of Ellie's bed. I gently pulled back the dark pink bed canopy around her bed and hooked it behind the white metal bed frame. There sleeping ever so soundly like an angel was my now five year old daughter Ellie. It seemed like it was just yesterday she was just a baby in my arms, and now she has gone from a cute baby to an adorable five year old. She had already began her training to become a kunoichi just like her mother and was doing fantastic. She can easily learn and do tasks perfectly on the first try and today was going to be a special day for her from all her training she has done.
Covering her was a dark purple bed spread with big colorful flowers all over it and white fluffy pillows supported her head. Ellie was hugging her stuffed turtle in her arms tightly as she smiled slightly in her sleep. I could hear her soft breathing and slight snoring as she curled up in a ball. I reached over and rubbed her shoulder softly while kissing her temple gently numerous times.
"Ellie...Ellie", I said, rubbing her shell gently
She moaned softly shifting on her side against my touches. "Its time to wake up", I said, softly
She settled back down still fast asleep. "Ellie, come on Green Bean", I said, tickling her side gently
She giggled and she curled up tighter. I chuckled and smiled and rubbed the back of her head. "It's morning, its time for training", I said "Today is going to be a special one"
Ellie stretched out as she reached out and pulled her pillow more under her head. "I want to stay in bed too, but we got to go", I said "Are you gonna wake up?"
Ellie got up on her hands and knees mumbling rubbing her face in her bed. I gently pulled the covers off as she moaned softly. She rolled over on her shell as she rubbed her eyes open, till her big dark blue eyes fluttered open. "Hey good morning", I said, with a warm smile
"Good morning Daddy", she said, yawning
"Sleep good?", I asked
She nodded stretching out her arm. I then snickered as I started tickling her on her plastron as she giggled as I climbed over on her bed a bit. "No Daddy! Stop that tickles!", Ellie said, laughing
"Here comes the tickle monster!", I said, in a playful monstrous voice
"Sneaky monster!", Ellie said, laughing
I then started tickling Ellie all over as she kicked her little legs laughing uncontrollably. Ellie was able to crawl underneath her pillow as I grabbed her little foot and tickled it with my finger. She squirmed like a worm and without warning she hit me with her pillow, smacking my hand away as she giggled crawling away. "Hey!", I said
"The tickle monster can be stopped by the pillow fight monster!", she said, holding one of her pillows with a smirk
I gave her a smirk in return as I grabbed one of her's on her bed as I held it up. "That's true", I said
Ellie then ran over and smacked me back till I lost balance on my bent legs. "Tickle monster is going over! Woah!", I said, falling back off her bed
Ellie laughed as she came crawling over towards me. "Pillow fight monster attack!", she said, as she jumped in the air and landed hard on my chest
I playfully grunted as she giggled, even though she literally knocked the wind out of me, but it was worth it since we were having so much fun. "Hey my two silly beans", a familiar voice said
I looked back seeing Calli upside down as she smiled. "Good morning Mama", Ellie said, sitting on my chest
"Hi", I said, smiling
"I thought you were just trying to going to get Ellie up", she said, in a teasing manner
"Daddy became tickle monster", Ellie said, giggling
"And Ellie became pillow fight monster", I said, chuckling rubbing her head
"We had a lot of fun", Ellie said, smiling
Calli giggled. "Well come on my little monsters breakfast is ready", she said
Ellie bounced off of me as she ran out of her room and I rolled up to my feet. Everyone was sitting at the table already eating as Ellie joined in sitting in between her mother and her Uncle Donnie.
Calli's Pov...
As Leo joined in beside me as we ate breakfast in peace, I heard a small tap on the floor. I looked up from my plate having pancake in my mouth as I saw Splinter looking at me with a nod as he had a wooden box and folded up sheet on top of the box. I nodded in return as he went back inside of the dojo, closing the door.
"So what are we training in today?", Ellie asked, a mouthful
"Ellie you know no talking with food in your mouth", Leo said, looking at her
"Sorry", she said, mumbling
She then swallowed. "What are we training in today?", she asked
"Actually honey, there is something special going on today", I said, with a smile
"What?", she asked, curiously
"You will have to wait and see", I said, with a smile "Grandpa has somethings for you"
"Oh boy! I can't wait!", she said, finishing up her breakfast quickly "I'm going to go get ready!"
She then jumped down from her chair and ran back to her room. I giggled with a smile. "Well she gets her enthusiasm from you", I said, cocking an eyebrow towards Mikey
"Hey better than a stick in the mud, as we all know who that is", Mikey said, snickering, looking at Raph
He then took his glass of orange juice as he splashed it in Mikey's face. Mikey shook his head dry like a dog as he whined annoyed. "Okay you two knock it off, we need to meet Splinter in the dojo", I said, getting up from my chair
After we finished eating up breakfast we walked into the dojo and we knelt on the sidelines of the training arena, waiting for the event to start. Ellie came into the dojo wearing her green knee pads and bandage wrappings around her arms and legs that Leo and I gave to her when she first started her training to protect her.
"What's going on guys?", she asked, coming inside
"Just kneel there honey, Splinter will tell you what's happening", I said, pointing towards the spot in the center of the dojo
Ellie then got down on her knees and sat down. We sat there for what felt like hours before Splinter finally emerged from his room. We straightened up as he approached us, but we stayed still like statues. "Grandpa, what's going on?", Ellie asked
Splinter walked in front of her as she looked up to him and he looked down at her with a gentle look.
"You are here because you have advance to the next level of your training. You have become one step closer to becoming true warrior. Today you have progressed, today you become a kunoichi", Splinter said
Ellie's dark blue eyes sparkled like sapphires in the light as she looked up at her grandfather with wonder. He bent down so that he was now kneeling in front of her. He reached over to the box and opened it and from where I was standing there was a beautifully colored mask inside. "Eleanora", he said
Ellie got to her feet and walked over towards her grandfather, who held the mask out to her.
"The green mask, the color of peace, life, growth and harmony. It symbolizes strong emotional safety, because I see for your future you will be a true protector of your family and those whom you are destined to protect", he said
Splinter handed the mask to Ellie, who took it with gentle hands. She slowly lifted the mask to her face and tied it around her head. Her mask tails were over her shoulder as Splinter made them into a braid, similar to my own. She then looked back up.
Either it was just the mask or something, but the look on her face seemed different. She looked more grown up. Splinter then reached under the sheet with both of his hands and pulled out two tessens, that were green with pink cherry blossoms painted with white and green leaves, and two dark green silk ribbons hung from each fan.
"The tessen, the weapon of a peacekeeper, but one that is willing to fight only for what she believes in. This is the weapon that has chosen you...my granddaughter", he said
Ellie looked at them with amazement that he had presented her with such weapons. To earn two weapons was very honorary in Ninjistu, it proved you were capable of much. Ellie took the two tessens from Splinter, as she crossed her arms holding them while looking at them both. She then looked up at Splinter and bowed to him respectfully.
"They are beautiful sensei", she said
Splinter smiled at her proudly as she looked back at the rest of us with a smile. Leo and I smiled at her very proud of how far our little girl has come from her first day in training to already earning true weapon and her symbol of a mask.
"These tessens and your mask I have had for a long time", Splinter said "And I thought I would not find anyone else worthy enough to have them, until now"
"What do you mean Grandpa?", Ellie asked, curiously
"My children, I must speak with Eleanora alone, please", he said
"Mama?", Ellie said
"Don't worry honey, we will be right outside", I said, with a smile "Come on you guys"
I turned to leave to head to the exit and slowly one by one the others started to follow me out, closing the doors behind me.
Ellie's Pov...
"Is something wrong Grandpa?", I asked
"Not at all, my lotus blossom", he said "I just want you to know why I saved these just for you"
"Why did you?", I asked
Splinter smiled down at me. "Eleanora, it seems you have an amazing gift. Not only do your skills improve rather quickly from when I first observed you for your first day of training, but you have the potential to earn your mask and weapons I had given", he said
"I thought ninjas could earn any mask and use any weapon sensei", I said
"Any ninja can learn to use any weapon and earn any mask, but few can learn to fully master two weapons my dear and earn a certain mask", he said "It was a gift I saw in you"
"You said that no one else could of earned these", I said, pointing to my tessens then my mask "Why?"
"Come with me", he said
He turned around and headed towards the wall in front of us. I placed my tessens on the floor as I looked around the quiet dojo walking slowly behind him. It was different without hearing the battle cries my family made when doing katas or sparring matches. My eyes continued to look around until I saw a small shelf and on top of it was a picture frame. I have seen it a few times, but I never asked what it was.
I slowly got up and I walked towards the shelf until I stood directly in front of the picture. It was black and white, not colored like many Mama and Daddy have shown me. There was a tall man, a woman next to him holding a small baby in her arms. The baby was smiling in the photo. I don't know why Splinter had this photo and I didn't know who the people were in the photo. I was too nervous to ask him. "Lovely photo, isn't it?", Splinter asked
Splinter looked down at me, with a calm look on his face. "Yes Grandpa", I said "Grandpa?"
"Yes?", he asked
"Who is in this photo?", I asked
"Do you want to know?", he asked
I nodded. He then walked around me and reached up grabbing the photo in his paws. He knelt down to me on his knees looking at me, as he held it. "Eleanora, I have been waiting to tell you this when the time was right for you to understand", he said
"Who are they Grandpa?", I asked
"It is is my family", Splinter said, as he lowered the picture for me to see
"Your family?", I asked "I thought we were your family"
He chuckled slightly. "My family before you became my new family my dear", he said "That is my wife Tang Shen and my daughter Miwa"
"You were married?", I asked "Like Mama and Daddy?"
"Yes, I was a long time ago. A good friend of mine had introduced me to her years ago. Miwa was born just a year later after we were married", he said
"Why aren't they here with us?", I asked
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He looked up at me with a sad look on his face. "They...were taken from me", he said "Taken by a man who I thought was my brother"
"Why?", I asked, confused
"He wanted...he wanted them", he said
I looked away, feeling ashamed to have asked him. "I'm really sorry", I said
"It's alright, I have made peace with it now", he said
I looked back at the picture as I looked at his wife and his daughter. "They were beautiful", I said
"Indeed", Splinter said, as he looked at me "Your grandmother would of adored you as I do now and your Aunt Miwa, would be very proud of you"
"So they would be my grandma and my aunt?", I asked
"Yes, they are", he said "You know you reminded me of Miwa when she was just a baby"
"Really?", I asked
"Yes, the way you smiled, your laughter and your beautiful heart that you had for everyone, it was like she had been here with me", he said "I would like to think that she would of grown up to be what you have become, my granddaughter"
I smiled up to him as he placed the photo back on the shelf. "So why did you keep this mask and those tessens for so long?", I asked
"I had them made so that I could pass it on to my daughter Miwa", he said "When I lost her, I kept them with me, thinking that I never would give them to anyone else. That no one would be honorable enough to have them. But when you came along, I knew that they had a new purpose now and it was to be given to you"
"Really? But what about Miwa?", I asked
"Eleanora, the loss of a loved one is a pain like no other. Someone cannot simply let it go, not even me. I did learn to live with it, and each that passes is a day that I grow stronger. I've come to my term with the fact that they have passed on, they are at peace and I should be as well. I have no shame giving this to you. I like to think this as a way of me officially letting go of Miwa", he said, as he gently pinned a little lotus flower he gave me as a baby in my mask
He then placed his paw on my shoulder. "And I feel so blessed to have you as my granddaughter now, and I would not have it any other way", he said
I smiled up to him as his gentle paw went across my cheek as I felt happy inside and I hugged him around his neck. "Thank you, sensei", he said
"Of course my dear", he said, hugging back gently
We hugged for a little while until he gently put me down beside him. "Come let us be with the others", he said
"Okay", I said
He walked with me following beside him as I picked up my tessens putting them into my belt, folding them up. Splinter gave me a gentle pat on the head as I smiled up to him taking his paw in my hand. We then walked towards the dojo doors out to my family.
Calli's Pov...
After a very successful day of Ellie earning her true position on the ninja team, I knew now that Ellie wouldn't take long to earn her position into going on missions and patrol with us if she keeps up her progress. I was beyond proud of my baby girl.
We were now enjoying the rest of our day off, a pretty much casual day. Donnie was on the couch messing with his laptop, Raph was playing the arcade game that we had found, and Leo was flipping through the channels on the TV with me and Ellie sitting beside him on the couch.
"Who wants to try my latest creation?", Mikey asked, coming out of the kitchen "We all love pizza, we all love milkshakes, so I combined them!"
I cringed as I crinkled my nose. "Not again", I said, groaning
I saw Donnie look up form his laptop to stare at his brother. "Okay, that could not be less appetizing," he said
Mikey grinned as he pulled his hand out from behind him. He was grasping a large glass filled with a mixture of blended red and orange thick liquid. "I call it a P-shake!", he said
I groaned in disgust as I turned my head away. Donnie looked like he was about to straight up vomit because he turned his head away as he covered his mouth with both hands, his face looking a little greener than usual
"I stand corrected", he said
"I think you went too far this time Mikey", I said, seriously. "I mean, I love pizza, but not that much"
"Looks gross Uncle Mikey", Ellie said, agreeing
Mikey shook his head. "You guys just have no sense of adventure", he said
With that he tipped the glass into his mouth and drank some. A second later his eyes widened and he spat it back into the glass. We shuddered in disgust as I felt my goosebumps run up my arms."Where did I go wrong?", Mikey asked, sadly
He paused for a moment looking at the glass. "Mikey, don't-", I said
But he ignored me and started chugging the drink, we all groaned in annoyance. "Mikey, that's disgusting!", I said
He continued chugging, and I swear I threw up in my mouth a little. "How did you even put with that for so long?", I asked, nudging Leo
"When you lived together for 24 years, it kind of grows on you", Leo said, with a smirk
"Point taken", I said, rolling my eyes
Leo then flipped towards a news channel. "I'm Joan Grody", a news woman said "With a Sewer Shocker! City workers attacked… by mutants?"
"What?", I said, shocked with my eyes widening
An image of a frightened sewer worker with overalls appeared. "It was like part man, part reptile, a-and all monster! It came outta nowhere and attacked me!", the man said
Almost simultaneously Leo, Donnie and I all turned our heads to stare at Raph with glares. "Raphael", I said, as I folded my arms "Is there something you wanna share with us?"
"Wasn't me!", he said, with annoyed look "Why you assuming I always do it?"
"Take a look at this terrifying footage!", she said
The image switches to a video of the same sewer worker. He's pointing a night-vision camera at himself. "So, some people think the sewers are dark and scary. But actually, it's a lot…", he said
But then his face fell and he turned around. There was a large, towering creature standing right behind him. It growled and lunged at the man, who screamed. "Ahh! Somebody help me!", he yelled
The video ended, then the news woman came back up. "Are malicious mutants menacing Manhattan? Find out next on 'Goady to the Max'!", she said
"I got a bad feeling about this," Donnie said
I nodded with agreement. "You and me both", I said
"The last thing we want is some mutant causing trouble in the sewers," Leo said
"Or some news crew down here looking for him", Raph said
Leo then stood up. "We've gotta track this guy down and stop him ourselves", he said, putting Ellie beside him
"Wait", Donnie said, as he grabbed the remote. "Let's rewind this. I think I saw a tunnel number"
He pressed the button and started to rewind it back to the footage, he then paused the TV. "There! Tunnel 281!", Donnie said
Leo nodded. "Let's go", he said
The boys and I knew the sewers like the back of our hands, so it was easy for us to find the right tunnel. The entrance itself was blocked with yellow police tap. "Anyone else feeling a bit creeped out because of this?", I asked
"Me!", Mikey said, raising his hand
For a few minutes we continued on in silence, but Leo then suddenly stopped in front of us.
"Whoa, check this out!", he said
He kneeled down to the ground. I leaned over to look over his shoulder and saw a giant footprint embedded in the ground. "What the heck made these footprints?" Leo asked, looking at one
"Something huge that's all I can say", I said
"Look", Donnie said, as he pointed down the tunnel, where the footprints continued on
Leo stood up and stared down the tunnel. "Come on", he said
For the next few minutes we continued down the path of footprints, again in silence. But it wasn't long before I heard something, what sounded like growling. It was soft, but still there. "Leo", I whispered "I think I hear something."
Leo didn't respond immediately, but he looked around, obviously searching for the noise I was hearing."I don't hear anything", he whispered
We continued walking as the noise got louder and louder until it sounded like it was just around the corner. I was about to ask Leo if he could hear it this time when he stopped walking and held his arms out. We stopped walking and I didn't need to ask why. Pink lights started flashing down the tunnel, and several shadows appeared. Not only could I hear growling, but I could also hear the familiar sound of lasers being fired. We ran forward and peeked around the corner. A second later Raph ducked his head to avoid the flying a robot head. "Woah!", I said, surprised
I looked forward and stared. Right there was a tall, raging mutant alligator. He was dark forest green scales with thicker black scales on top along his spine and tail with a white underbelly with a deep scar across his chest. He was growling and roaring with rage as he tore up every droid within range. The droids tried firing their guns, but he lasers just bounced off of him. One droid jumped onto the creature's back, but the mutant just grabbed it and threw it off. He then grabbed a droid with his jaws, thrashed him around, and threw him away. The decapitated droid flew our way, and we moved as it slammed into the wall.
"What the heck are those things?", Leo asked
"Future New York City sewer workers?", Mikey asked
"Not even remotely close Mikey", I said
We looked back at the giant mutant to see a droid jab him with what looked like a taser. The alligator growled and fell to the ground. "Tell Kraang in what place can be found the power cell that Kraang wishes to find the place of," a droid said
The alligator lifted his head and roared in the droid's face. "Never!", he yelled
"Kraang? What the heck kind of name is that?", I asked
"Probably from another dimension", Donnie said
"Or someone's lack of creativity for a name", Raph said
At once several more droids hit the poor creatures with more tasers. The alligator roared in pain, thrashing his head before falling down, unconscious. Now I was starting to feel bad for the mutant. Mikey suddenly grabbed Raph's arm and tried to pull him forward. "Come on, we got to help him!", he said
Raph pulled his arm back. "I think 'got to' is a strong word", he said
"Well, I'm with Mikey," I said, standing next to him "I mean, look at him! He needs help!"
"Calli, we don't know anything about that guy", Leo said, seriously "He could be way more dangerous than the robots"
But I can tell Mikey wasn't having it. "That gator dude needs our help. I can't wait around for you cowards!", he said
"Do you know what you're getting into?", Donnie asked
Mikey didn't respond, instead he turned and ran forward, whipping out his kusarigama chain. "Cowabunga!", he cheered
The chain wrapped around one of the tasers a droid was holding. Mikey yanked it back and the taser went through the droid's skull. "I guess that settles it", Raph said, as he pulled out his sai's "Let's go whack some piñatas!"
We all ran forward, withdrawing our weapons. I gripped my katana tightly as a droid aimed its taser at me. I ducked left and swung my katana so that it knocked the taser out of the droid's hands. I then used my sword to stab the droid's head. It went down as two more came running at me. I spun around as I swung my katana out. Both of them hit the droids in their chests. I yanked the blade out and kicked them both down. The aliens inside popped out and scrambled away.
I turned my head to see that the others had taken care of the rest. I saw one last alien run away from a fallen droid that Mikey was standing over. "That's disgusting", I said
"So what do we do now?", Donnie asked
"We get out of here before more Kraang droids whatever they are show up", Leo said
I saw Mikey stiffen up, he ran past us and kneeled beside the mutant, putting a hand on his huge head. "We can't just leave him here!", he said, seriously "What if the robots find him?"
"He's right," I said, standing beside him, showing them I'm on his side "If more show up, god knows what they'll do to him."
"Well, what do you two wanna do?", Leo asked "Take him back to the lair?"
"We should Leo, he does need help", I said, nodding my head "That's the code of the ninja, we help those who can't help themselves"
Mikey then gave him the puppy dog eyes. "Oh, no", Leo said, as shook his head "Oh, no! Did you guys see what he did to those Kraang metal things?! We are not bringing that monster home with us!"
"He's not a monster!", Mikey said "He's a… giant, robot crushing, mutant alligator monster!"
I face palmed my face, looking down at him with a cocked eyebrow. "Mikey", I said
Mikey blinked, understanding what he had just said. "I said monster, didn't I?", he asked, sheepishly
"Yep", Leo said
"Uh-huh", Donnie said
"Sure did", Raph said
"Sì", I said, nodding my head
"Well you know what I meant!", he said
"I thought you meant monster", Raph said
"Me too", I said
"Yep", Leo said
"Fine! I'll bring him back myself!", he said
"Uh Mikey I don't think you can possibly move a two ton alligator by yourself", I said, crossing my arms
Mikey ignored me and he tried to drag the gator by his huge arm. And when I say 'tried', which meant not much progress. He didn't manage to move him at all. He walked behind him and tried pushing on his back, but nothing happened. He then tried grabbing the gator's snout and tried pulling. "Oh boy", I said, shaking my head
Mikey finally hunched over looking winded from all the effort. "Okay I need a new plan", he said
I sighed and I rubbed my face. "Alright", I said, to myself walking over "Here Mikey, let me help"
I grabbed the same arm he was holding and I started pulling with him. The gator shifted somewhat, but not much progress was made. I then looked towards the others giving a look. "Come on you all, we might as well", I said
Leo gave me the same annoyed look and he and the others came forward. They each grabbed a limb and finally started to drag the giant gator away from where he laid.
"I can't believe we are actually doing this", Raph said, grunting
"Look guys I know we might dragging trouble over to our home, but you never know what could happen", I said "Maybe this guy might actually be different than our thoughts"
"Okay but if he wrecks the lair, I'm beating Mikey up for this", Raph said
"No one is beating up anyone", Leo said, giving Raph a look "Let's just get him to the lair"
"We are getting close, just a little further", I said, grunting
We all had managed to get the mutant all the way to the lair. Now I was starting to catch on to Mikey's view of the mutant as he did look rather hurt from the fight. Leo and I climbed in the lair to help the gator down into the lair, but his enormous body got stuck right half way in between. "Jeez this guy is huge!", I said, trying to tug on a leg
"And heavy too!", Leo said, grunting trying to pull down on his arm
"He is stuck tight Calls!", Mikey called out
"We just have to use all our turtle power we got!", I called out "You guys push down while we pull!"
"Do you even know if this plan will work Calli?", Raph called out
"Not a clue, but worth a shot!, I said "On three, one, two, three!"
Leo and I took a hold of the gator's tail as we started tugging him inside the lair while the boys pushed down from above in the sewers. We were both grunting as we tried to slid the gator down inside, with the plan slowly working. "We are getting close you guys!", I called out
"I hope this works!", Raph called out
With one more tug the gator came flying inside as his weight pushed Leo and I underneath him as the others came crashing down the manhole. "Ouch! Calli!", Donnie said, moaning in pain
"Hey it worked", I said, shrugging with a coy smile
"Um hello?! I can't breathe under here", Leo said, struggling like a bug on its back
"Yeah guys a little help please", I said
The boys came over and they lifted up his arms up as Leo and I scrambled up to our feet. "Well now what?", I asked
At that moment Donnie came up, holding several long lengths of chains in his hands. He held the chains up as he cautiously walked towards the gator. Mikey noticed him and glared. "Whoa, what're those for?", he asked, angrily
I sighed, shaking my head. "Here we go again", I said, rolling my eyes
"We can't keep him here unless he's chained to something really big", Donnie said
"That's so wrong!", Mikey said, incredulously as he hugged the mutants head "He's not gonna hurt us, we're the ones who saved him!"
The mutant then started to shift around. I looked down to see his large eyes open up, but they were clouded up making them look white. "See?", Mikey said "He's perfectly calm. I bet the first thing he's gonna do is thank-"
Suddenly, the mutant shot up, causing Mikey to fall back. The creature roared loudly, making us all jump. He then reached behind him and without even gripping it, he threw a vase and it came flying towards me. I tucked my head into my shell before it could of crashed into the wall as I heard it. I then popped my head out. "God I love being a turtle", I said
"Or maybe the second thing", Mikey said
The mutant roared and lunged forward smashing his fists knocking both Leo and Donnie back. "Guys!", Mikey yelled "Hold on!"
He picked up one of the chains and whirled it above his head. He flung it forward and it wrapped around the gator's left arm. The boys started to pulling on the chains trying to get the gator down to the ground. The gator roared and lifted all the boys and started flinging them around like crazy. I then remembered a trick my sensei had taught me when it came to disabling an enemy as I ran and jumped on the gator's back as he shook me around trying to get me off. I then pressed my finger on the side of its neck firmly. "Shhhhhhhh", I said, softly
The gator then suddenly stopped and froze up like a statue as it shook and then fell to the ground, collapsing hard. I panted hard as I regained my breath as the boys sat up from the floor. "You guys okay?", I asked
"Yeah peachy sis", Raph said, sitting up
"Nice move Calla", Leo said, rubbing his head
"Pressure points haven't failed me yet", I said, with a small smile
"What is all this commotion?", an old voice said
I froze and turned, seeing Splinter was standing before us, looking stern. "Sensei, Mikey and Calli made us bring a mutant back to the lair, and it attacked us!", Raph said
I whipped my head around to glare at him. "Obviously, he was freaked out, Raph!", I said "Last time he was awake he was fighting the Kraang! How else would he react?"
"She's right!", Mikey said, standing up "It needs our help!"
"It's a dangerous monster!", Raph yelled
"Raphael," Splinter said, firmly "There is no monster more dangerous than a lack of compassion."
At that moment the mutant stirred and growled lowly as Splinter stared at him. "My mistake", he said
"We're doing to him what everyone else does to us", Mikey said "Judging him by his looks!"
"And the fact that he nearly killed us!", Donnie said, annoyed
"But he was fighting the Kraang, Master Splinter!", Mikey said "It's like you always say; the enemy of my enemy is my bro!"
Splinter stared at him with an eyebrow raised. "That is not exactly what I said", he said "But what's this about Kraang?"
"There are these robots and they were trying to force him to tell them where they could find some power cell", Leo said
"And he refused to tell?", Splinter asked
"Yeah!", Mikey said "They were all like, 'zap zap zap!' And he was all like, 'Roar! Never!'"
Splinter turned to face me. "And you, Callista? You supported Michelangelo?", he asked
I nodded. "Hai, sensei. I did", I said
"Hm I see, you both made a wise decision", Splinter said
"Well I am not surprised by Calli since she does most of the time, but Mikey?", Leo said, confused
"Yes I never thought I would hear myself say that either", Splinter said, nodding
Splinter then kneeled down in front of the gator and examined him closely. He particularly touched the scar on his chest with a gentle paw. "His scars run deep, but they protect a genuine heart", he said "When he awakens Michelangelo you must find a way to befriend him"
"No problem", Mikey said
"Callista", Splinter said "You will stay here with your brother and assist in befriending our guest, understand?"
"Hai sensei", I said, nodding my head
"We need to learn what he knows about these robots", Splinter said, as he stood up "In the meantime, you three try to find this power cell before the robots can"
"But we are still chaining him up, right?", Donnie asked
"Of course", Splinter said, with a smirk "I am compassionate not insane"
"Amen to that", I said, softly
After the boys left to find this so called power cell, Mikey and I were in the kitchen preparing some lunch before Ellie wakes up from her nap as I was making some fruit salad and her small peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with animal crackers. Mikey was beside me as he was making soup on top of the stove. "What you making little bro?", I asked
"Soup, it's for the gator when he wakes up", he said
"I don't think gators like soup Mikey", I said, with a cocked eyebrow
"Maybe a mutant one will, this will calm his nerves from earlier", he said
"You are sure this will soften him up?", I asked
"Trust me Calls", Mikey said "It will work!"
I raised an eyebrow and I learned over to look inside the pot, staring at the content that he was mixing up. "You are sure that's a good combination of food?", I asked, a bit uncertain
"Of course!", he said
Mikey suddenly whipped out the spoon full of soup and held it up to my face. I backed up slightly. "Come on, just try it sissy!", he said
I looked up at him wincing a bit "Mikey, I don't know", I said
"Please!", he said, begging
I looked up to see he was giving me puppy dog eyes. I stared into those brown eyes for a few moments before sighing in defeat."Alright, hit me", I said
He held up the spoon as I leaned in and ate the soup and swallowed it whole. When I felt like I was going to throw up from the awful taste, it actually was...delicious.
I then looked at him surprised. "Wow that is actually really good", I said "It's like eating an actual pizza"
"Told you!", he said
"Whatever", I said, rolling my eyes playfully
I turned and walked away as Mikey continued staring his soup, humming a little tune. I walked into the living room and looked at the mutant alligator. Both of his wrists were tightly and heavily chained up, and the ends of the chains were attached to the opposite wall behind him. I looked at his unconscious figure for a moment before slowly walking over to him. I sat down a few feet away from him and brought my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them. "Mama?", a little voice said
I turned and I saw my daughter Ellie come out from her room, looking frightened at the huge gator in front of me. "It's okay sweetie, he is sleeping right now", I said
"Why is he here Mama?", she asked, walking up towards me
"Oh he needed some help and we brought him back to here to keep him safe", I said, as I hugged her with my arm
"What happened?", Ellie asked, looking at the gator
"Oh he got hurt baby, he was attacked", I said
Ellie then got closer towards him, but I instinctively pulled her back by her arms. "Woah careful honey, not too close", I said
"Why he was attacked Mama?", she asked, looking up at me
"We are not so sure baby, Daddy and the others are out trying to find out why", I said
"He looks hurt", she said, sitting down in front of me
"Yes, yes he does, but we are going to make him feel better and befriend him", I said
"I hope he wakes up soon", she said, looking at him
"So do I Green Bean, so do I", I said, kissing her head
It was probably a few moments later that the gator began to stir. The gator then opened his eyes and moved his huge head around, growling lowly. "Where am I?", he said
He lifted his head, growling more angrily, and he suddenly sprained to his feet as I gasped. Ellie clung to me in fear as I hugged her close. "Mikey! He is awake!", I yelled
The gator's eyes snapped down at me and Ellie. "You!", he yelled "Let me out! Now!"
I just held my daughter close to me as the gator roared more pulling on the chains with all his might as his huge jaws came snapping towards us. I pushed Ellie out of my arms moving her out of the way as she landed on a bean bag and I grabbed the gator's jaws slamming them shut. But apparently strength wasn't on my side as the gator shook his head violently and I lost my grip on him when he threw me away and I crashed towards the ground.
He then growled lowly at me then his attention turned towards Ellie as she climbed off her beanbag and she gasped as he growled at her.
"Ellie get away from him!", I said
Ellie quickly backed up, but her foot then stepped on a few crayons that were on the floor as she tripped back on her shell over them. The gator then began to make his way over closer towards her as I looked at them with horror in my eyes. "No!", I yelled
Ellie looked up with wide eyes towards the gator as he growled low as Ellie whimpered. But something then changed. As Ellie looked up at him, the gator looked like he was calming down his temper seeing Ellie looking frightened. The slits covering his eyes then slowly moved away over his eyes, revealing light pea green eyes. "Are you alright?", he asked
Ellie's whimpering stopped as she calmed down, she then got up on her knees as she stood up. "I am fine", she said "I am okay"
She then ran towards me as I took her quickly in my arms, hugging her tightly. "Ellie honey are you alright?", I asked, worriedly
"Yes Mama", she said, nodding
I smiled down at her but I then gave the gator a glare. "Hey be thankful, we saved you from death!", I said "We could of left you out there!"
"Calls what's going on?", Mikey said, as he came out of the kitchen holding the large pot of soup
"This gator of yours nearly snapped at my daughter!", I said
"Please, I didn't mean to hurt your little one, I was only frightened that I was taken back", the gator said, finally speaking
"See chill Calls, he said he didn't mean to", Mikey said, with a smile
"Fine", I said, with a low tone, setting my daughter down "If he does it again, he will pay the price"
"It won't sissy, relax", Mikey said
"Who are you?", he asked "What am I doing here?"
"I'm Michelangelo", Mikey said, with a smile
I took a long breath, releasing the tension from before as I stepped forward. "And I'm Callista, I'm his sister", I said "And this is Eleanora, my daughter"
"Hi", Ellie said, with a small wave
"Us and our brothers saved you from the robots", Mikey said
The mutant then growled before he suddenly curved his head back and roared loudly. The mutant yanked hard on the chains trying to break free, but the chains wouldn't budge. I was starting to think of a hypothesis, but I couldn't know what that triggered his aggression, then my natural instincts took in. "Whoa it's okay", I said, calmly "It's okay, we are not going to hurt you"
"She's right dude", Mikey said "You are safe. We brought you here so you could get better and nothing will heal you faster than my world famous pizza noodle soup"
"I think world famous might be a stretching it a bit", I said, giggling
He then took out the spoon full of soup and held it out to the gator. He looked at it for a moment as thought he were hesitating to try it. A second later he leaned forward and he ate it, swallowing it whole. I saw Mikey turned his head away, looking like he was dreading the mutant's reaction. But to my surprise, the gator licked his sharp teeth, looking satisfied. "This is the best thing I've ever tasted", he said, in a calm voice
Mikey opened his eyes and looked around, looking stunned. "Really? Alright!", he said, with a smile "Someone else finally likes my cooking!"
With that he sat down with the pot in front of him. The gator straightened up and sat down, too. Mikey started feeding the soup to the gator, who ate it happily. I smiled as I sat down next to Mikey as Ellie sat in my lap.
I was surprised and relieved at how nice the gator was actually was. Once he was able we had a chance to talk to him, he was actually really nice. Very pleasant. Even with a deep growling voice that was a gentle as a feather. "So what's your name anyways?", Mikey asked
At this the gator huge his head, looking saddened. "I don't have one", he said
"What?", I said, surprised
"But everyone has a name", Ellie said
"You don't have a name? Ha! Well, today's your lucky day! 'Cause I'm a genius at naming stuff!", Mikey said, as he stood up
I rolled my eyes. Typical Mikey. Mikey started to scratch his chin, looking the mutant up and down. "Hm, let's see…", he said
He started walking around the gator, poking and prodding at him. He even opened the big guy's jaws and looked inside. The gator kind of looked at me a bit nervous. "He's always like this", I said, with a reassuring smile "Don't worry"
Mikey stood on his tiptoes as he rubbed the top of the gators head.
"You're head is kinda leathery… How about Headleather? Heather?", he said
I giggled covering my mouth. "That's a girl's name, Uncle Mikey", Ellie said, giggling along with me
"Oh yeah, right", he said, blushing embarrassed
Mikey stood there thinking for a few more moments before his eyes widened."No, wait! Leatherhead!", he said, and he stood in front of the gator. "Even better! Leatherhead!"
The gator sat up, smiling. "Leatherhead it is. Thank you", he said
"No problem", Mikey said, as he grinned as he folded his arms "It's what I do"
"Very often, I might add", I said "But I wanted to ask you Leatherhead, why did you go violent on our family?"
He then sat up. "Your family?", he asked
"Yeah", Mikey said "Instead of greeting them, you snapped and things got out of control"
Leatherhead glanced at the ground, looking sad and horrified. "Are you okay?", I asked
He didn't respond immediately, but closed his eyes. He breathed deeply before opening them. "There are times when I lose control", he said, sadly "When I awaken I am horrified by what I have done, a monster like me deserves to be chained"
"No", Ellie said, as she walked forward hugging his arm "Don't call yourself that, you are not a monster"
Leatherhead hung his head low. "You are very kind little one", he said "But a monster is all I have ever been"
"Or maybe you think you are a monster because everyone treats you that way", Mikey said
"Physical appearances don't always show the whole picture about someone, unless they dig deeper to find the true roots", I said
He then looked up at the both of us. "You both are wise beyond your years", he said
"Yeah, I get that a lot", Mikey said
"Since when?", I said, to myself
Ellie climbed over his leg as she hugged him around his chest, clinging on to him giggling. He then looked down at her with a gentle smile. "And your daughter here is probably the nicest person I have ever known", he said
"She is, she gets that from her mom", Mikey said
I blushed slightly in my cheeks giggling. "Well thank you, that's real sweet of you to say about her", I said
"Hey Calls?", Mikey said "Can I talk to you for a second?"
"Sure thing", I said "Ellie will you keep Leatherhead company while I talk with Uncle Mikey?"
"Sure Mama", she said, smiling
I got up and I followed Mikey into the kitchen while Ellie stayed with Leatherhead.
"Okay I know you are going to think I am crazy to say this", he said
"Most likely yes", I said, nodding in agreement
"But I think we should take off the chains", he said
"Mmmmmm I don't know Mikey, what if he snaps again?", I asked, shaking my head unsure
"But we trust him now sissy, he is not the monster the others thought he was", he said "He is like a gentle giant"
I looked at him for a moment, then I looked over at Leatherhead and he had Ellie on his jaws and he threw gently up in the air as he caught her with them as Ellie laughed. "Well...okay", I said "Let's set him free"
"Awesome!", he said, hugging me tightly
I giggled and I patted his shoulder and he let me go and we both walked over to Leatherhead and Ellie. "Alright Leatherhead", I said "Me and Mikey thought about it and we have decided to take off the chains"
"But why?", he asked, as he took Ellie off his shoulder with his tail
"We trust you", Mikey said
"You trust me?", he asked
I walked up to him so that I was standing in front of him. I held both of my hands out to him and after a moment he held his large hand out to me. I then grabbed the chains and started to undo them. "We do", I said, softly
Leatherhead was happier once I got the last chain free from around his hand. He was pleased to be able to stretch his legs. Not surprisingly he wanted some more of Mikey's pizza soup. So he had followed Mikey to the kitchen so he could watch Mikey make the soup. Ellie was coloring at the coffee table in front of me as I was currently sitting on the couch, listening to music on my phone. I was listening to "Waiting for Superman by Daughtry" when suddenly the song stopped and my phone started ringing my set ringtone of a Japanese song. I looked at the picture that popped up showing the contact. I thought it would be a cute idea of setting pictures of something that reminded me of everyone in their contacts instead of their actual selves.
I saw the picture of a samurai holding a katana, in front of a sunrise on a cloudy day. That was my picture that I had set for Leonardo, reminding me of the strong brave samurai I thought he was. I slid the accept button and I lifted it up to my ear, taking out my headphones. "Hey sweetheart", I said
"Hey good news, we found the power cell", he said
"Really?", I asked "Awesome, so what is it exactly?"
"Kind of like a glowing crystal, Donnie says it's got enough power to light up the whole city", he said
"Wow, was it easy to get to?", I asked
"Yeah no, the big guy had the whole place set with traps", he said
"Anyone hurt?", I asked
"Does Donnie getting electrocuted by the power cell count?", Raph said, from outside of the phone
"Raph!", Donnie said, annoyed
"Raphael", I said, with an annoyed tone
"I'm kidding!", he said
"Anyways", Leo said "We are on our way back and we are almost there, just wanted to let you know"
"Awww aren't you sweet?", I said, giggling
I heard Raph snort from the background. "Oh yes, sweet as pie", Leo said, sarcastically
I giggled. "Okay sweetie, I'll see you in a few", I said
"Bye", he said
I hung up the phone as I placed it down beside me. "Mikey, guys are on their way back!", I called out
"Got it sis!", he called out
For the next ten minutes I continued to sit on the couch and listened to my music as we waited for everyone to come back home. After a while Mikey came out of the kitchen looking happy. "Leatherhead alright?", I asked
"Totally", he said "He really loves my soup, guys show up yet?"
"Not yet, they should be here any second now", I said
Not sooner had I spoken then the manhole cover opened up. I set my phone down as Leatherhead came out and Ellie went running up to him as she giggled. He chuckled picking her up by his tail and placing her on his shoulder. "Hey guys!", Mikey said "Leatherhead is totally off the chain!"
"You mean you set him free?!", Leo asked, horrified as he and the others jumped down in the lair
"That not what he meant you guys", I said
"Yeah", Mikey said "Off the chain means he is cool"
The boys all sighed deeply with relief. "And that's why we set him free", Mikey said
The boys gasped and turned their heads in the direction where Mikey was facing. "Calli! I never thought you could be more insane to do that!", Leo said
"What are you so upset about? He is one of us, he is on our side", I said "He is different than we thought at first, he is a good one, and he makes a good jungle gym for Ellie"
Ellie was on top of Leatherhead's head as she slide down his back like a slide down off his tail into the air. She laughed as he caught her with his tail catching her as she began swinging back and forth of it, giggling. "See? He is fine", I said, with a smile
"You guys let that maniac loose?!", Donnie asked "And you are letting your own daughter play on him?"
"Don't call him that", I said, with a glare
"Oh I'm sorry, but maybe you forgot that he nearly ripped us to shreds!", he said
"Relax, we have been through way worse than that", Mikey said
"Guys you shouldn't have unchained him", Leo said "What if he goes berserk?"
"For goodness sakes you guys, he is not a monster here", I said "He is really something much different"
"That's stupid Calli", Raph said
"I'll prove it then!", I said, with an annoyed look walking off
"Oh you don't need to prove it, I already know you are insane", Raph said
I walked over to Leatherhead as he let Ellie down by his tail beside me. "Leatherhead, these our brothers and my husband", I said, gesturing to them "They might want to talk to you for a little while, is that okay?"
He nodded. "Of course", he said
I smirked at my brother crossing my arms. "Told you", I said
He scoffed off annoyed. "He's fine", I said
"Yeah dudes, he's not going to go berserk", Mikey said, walking up beside him "He's totally mellow"
Raph folded his arms, not looking very convinced, with Donnie stood away keeping his distance. But Leo stood forward looking determined. "Okay", Leo said "So Leatherhead...about the Kraang"
Leatherhead then suddenly growled and I gasped backing away pulling my daughter behind me. Leatherhead reared his back and roared. He then lashed out swinging his arms out at us. "Leatherhead no!", I said
"Dude, chill! Chill!", Mikey said, as he grabbed his arm
Leatherhead went back down, falling to his knees. He breathed heavily as he calmed down. "Shh, it's okay, it's okay", I said as I soothed him, rubbing his arm
"What were you thinking?", Mikey said
"You said he was mellow you two!", Leo said
"His aggression is triggered by that word", I said
"It's awful", Leatherhead said
"Yeah probably no one wants to be attacked by the Kraang", Mikey said
I gasped as, once again, Leatherhead roared. "Mikey!", I said, annoyed
"My bad!", he said, sheepishly
At once Mikey ran up and jumped onto Leatherhead's head, trying to calm him down. "Whoa, buddy!", he yelled "Cleansing breaths, cleansing breaths! Cleansing breaths"
Leatherhead fell down onto his stomach, panting from the exhaustion of his outburst. I ran up and kneeled down beside his head. "Take a deep breath dear," I said, softly rubbing his head "Stay calm, just breathe"
Leatherhead nodded slightly. Mikey slid down to kneel on the other side."You know you're in a safe place now, right?", he asked
"Yes", Leatherhead said
"Our brothers just wanna ask you a few questions", Mikey said, as he patted the gator's head. "Do you think you can handle that?"
Leatherhead breathed deeply, closing his eyes for a moment. "Yes", he said, lowly
"Okay", Mikey said, as he turned towards the others "Now, what is it that you guys wanted to ask?"
The boys stood there, staring at us. Then both Leo and Raph turned to face Donnie. Donnie stepped forward as he rummaged through his satchel.
"Okay we just wanna know what this is", Donnie said
Donnie then pulled an object out of the bag. It was large, glass container that held something that looking a pink, glowing crystal. It was the power cell that Leo told me about over the phone. From beside me I heard angry growling. I barley had time to glance down before Leatherhead lunged forward. "Look out!", I yelled
He then grabbed Donnie as he held the crystal as he stood up and he roared louder than ever. "This is not my day!" Donnie said, through muffled shouting
"Leatherhead, stop!", I yelled
But he just roared louder. Leo and Raph then pulled out their weapons and lunged at Leatherhead. But the gator just swung his large arm and threw Donnie at the boys, who went flying across the lair crashing to the floor. This somehow caused the power cell container to be knocked down and roll on the ground. Leatherhead reached for it and Raph kicked him in his face. The power cell was knocked away and bounced against the wall.
Leatherhead turned and went after it. Then Raph jumped onto his back, jumped forward, and grabbed the power cell before the gator could. Leatherhead then rolled onto his back towards Raph. Raph was able to throw the power cell to Mikey before Leatherhead rolled on top of him. Leo, Donnie and I all ran forward and grabbed onto him.
"Leatherhead!", I yelled
Leatherhead whipped his tail out and knocked me and the other two off of him. Then he started advancing on Donnie, snapping his large jaws at him. Donnie was pushed against the wall and Leatherhead growled.
"Leatherhead, relax! It's okay!" Mikey yelled
Leatherhead turned his head to Mikey. He roared and snatched the power cell out of his hands. Mikey was quick to kick it away as it went flying in the air. Ellie then came out from behind the couch as she jumped in the air catching it in her arms. "I got it!", she called out
Leatherhead looked up as he saw Ellie with the crystal and he started to charge her. "Ellie run!", Leo yelled
Ellie gasped as she took off running as Leatherhead chased her. He then chased Ellie towards a corner of the lair as Ellie tripped on her side, huddling up against the corner, looking terrified. "Leatherhead, stop it! Please!", I yelled
Ellie screamed as she held the crystal in her arms tightly, as he bared his teeth at her, advancing closer to her. "Help!", she yelled
"Stop!", a voice yelled
Leatherhead stopped growling as he turned around. I lifted my head to see Splinter standing behind him, looking furious. "Get away from my children!", he said
Leatherhead opened his jaws and roared. Splinter stood still completely unfazed. Leatherhead then ran forward. Splinter stood his ground, eyes narrowed. When Leatherhead tried to crush Splinter with his fist, Splinter simply moved out of the way. The gator tried to whip him with his tail, but Splinter used that move against him and flipped him over. Leatherhead sprang to his feet and swung his arms back and forth, trying to his Splinter. Then when he went for another strike, Splinter dodged it and then grabbed the gator's finger and bent it back in a painful twist. Leatherhead roared and snapped his jaws several times, and Sensei dodged every time. Splinter twisted the gator's finger some more before rearing his arm back, causing the gator to flip back several feet. Leatherhead was up quickly, still growling.
Ellie ran from her spot as she ran towards us as Splinter kept Leatherhead busy. She tried to run towards us, but Leatherhead's long tail was put out in front of her as she tripped over it and went flipping up in the air, losing her grip on the crystal, screaming.
Leo then jumped up high in the air catching her in his arms. "Got you!", he said, as they both came down to the ground, with Ellie clinging on to him
"Leave this place!", Splinter yelled "Out!"
Leatherhead growled at Splinter before snatching up the power cell and turning. I sat up as Leatherhead jumped up the manhole cover and ran off. "Boys! Girls!", Splinter said, as he ran forward and kneeled in front of Raph "Are you alright?"
"Yeah we are okay", Leo said, as he hugged Ellie close to him "Just shaken"
"Could be better though," I said, as I staggered to my feet
"Where is Michelangelo?", Splinter asked
I gasped in fear. "Calla, what's wrong?", Donnie asked
I ignored Donnie and sprinted forward. I jumped up the manhole cover and bolted. I knew exactly where Mikey was. I breathed heavily as I ran through the subway tunnels. I heard Mikey before I saw him. "Leatherhead? Leatherhead!", he yelled
I ran around the corner when I saw him. He was at least twenty feet away from me and getting farther away. "Mikey!", I called out
Mikey skidded to a halt and turned around. "Calls!", he called out
Mikey stood there and waited for me until I finally reached him. I took a second to catch my breath before speaking. "Next time", I said "If you're planning on running off, take me with you"
Mikey smiled, and nodded. Mikey and I spent the next few minutes running through the tunnels, calling Leatherhead's name. Yes, I was worried about him and I wanted to find him. I know he attacked my brothers and my husband and child, but it wasn't his fault. Something inside him just snaps when certain things happen. I understand. Everyone has something that they can't handle, and it's not their fault.
After a while we skidded to a halt as we hit a dead end. It looked like a subway graveyard. Several subway carts were lined up while others where tipped over and leaning against one another. It looked like the scene of a crash sight, but without fire or smoke. Then, I heard something. Music. "Do you hear that?", I asked
Mikey nodded. We both walked up to the nearest subway cart and looked through the window in the door. Leatherhead was inside. There were several candles lining the walls and a little record player that was playing old music.
"Come on", Mikey said
Before I could say anything Mikey pulled the door open and walked in.
"Dude! Leatherhead!", he said, as he turned the record player off "What's the big idea man?"
"You two should not be here", Leatherhead said, growling lowly
"Well, we are" I said, as I folded my arms. "And we want an explanation"
"We trusted you", Mikey said, sadly "Then you freak out and attack our entire family! I thought we were your friends!"
Leatherhead turned to face us, and a sad look was etched on his face. "I warned both of you", he said "That there is a dangerous force inside me that I cannot control. And that is why I must be alone"
I shook my head. I took a few steps forward and placed a hand on his head, and he looked up at me. "No one wants to be alone", I said, gently "I certainly don't, and you certainly don't deserve to be alone"
Leatherhead sighed deeply as he lowered his eyes."Leatherhead!", someone yelled
I whipped my head around in time to see Raph, Donnie, and Leo all suddenly dive through the door, all of them with weapons out. "Get away from Calli and Mikey", Raph yelled "Or we will turn you into the world's ugliest suitcase!"
"Raphael don't!", I said
"Please I mean them no harm!", he said, trying to say what he needed to say "It was the Kraang who made me this way!"
The boys stared, lowering their weapons. I turned to look up at Leatherhead, who sighed before continuing. "I was raised by a kind, human boy", he said, lowly "But then, his parents discovered me, and dumped me in the sewer"
"Oh goodness", I said, stunned
"The Kraang found me and took me to their dimension. They mutated me, and subjected me to horrible experiments. But they could not break my spirit! Six months ago, I escaped the portal that they use to travel to earth, and I stole this", he said
Leatherhead reached behind him and pulled out the power cell. It glowed a bright pink light, lighting up the inside of the cart. "What do they use it for?", Donnie asked
"It powers the portal," Leatherhead said "Without it, no Kraang can enter or leave this dimension. I swore to keep it from them, and spare this world from their evil, even at the cost of my own life"
None of us spoke. We just stood there, staring at Leatherhead in amazement. Suddenly, I heard movement outside the cart. Before I could say anything the cart rattles and knocked us around. "Give to Kraang the power cell that Kraang has come to demand that you give to Kraang!", a voice said from outside.
"It's the Kraang!", Mikey yelled
"Quick! Barricade the doors!", Leo yelled
Raph and Mikey ran forward and tried to pull the door shut, but it was jammed. Kraang-droids started piling in, trying to grab us. One grabbed my arm, and I pulled out my katana and stabbed it in the head. I turned my head to see Leo slice apart a droid that was trying to take the power cell from Leatherhead. There was a loud slam as Raph and Mikey finally managed to shut the door.
Then there was silence. Nobody spoke, nobody moved. We all stood still, waiting. Suddenly, the blade of what looked like a chainsaw was shoved through the door. Another one was shoved through the roof, and another from the wall. Suddenly, the severed hand from a droid started crawling around, crawled up Donnie's arm, and grabbed his face. Donnie yelled and tried to pry the thing off. Something then tugged hard on my braid, and I looked down to see another robotic hand grabbing it. I yelled before using my katana to stab it. I twitched for a moment before I flung it aside. "We are surrounded!", Raph said
"We will never hold them off!", Mikey yelled
"We got to get out of here!", Leo said "Donnie, can you get this subway cart running?"
"This track is dead, there's no electricity!", Donnie said
"What about the power cell?", Leo asked "Can you use that?"
"I might be able to hook it up to the motor, but I'll need time!", Donnie said
"I will buy you time", Leatherhead said, as he stood up
"What?" I said
Leatherhead looked down at Mikey and I. "My friends, you have trusted me, now I am you", he said, softly
Leatherhead lifted his hand up and dropped the power cell into my palm. "What about you?", I asked "You will get hurt"
"I will deal with the Kraang", he said
With that, Leatherhead opened the door and charged out at the crowd of Kraang-droids. I looked at him worriedly as I feared this fight would end worse than the last one. "Calli, the power cell!", Donnie said, urgently.
I handed Donnie the power cell, he then used his nagnita blade to open the box.
"Donnie, we're running out of time!", Leo yelled, as he tried to force the door to close
"I'm working as fast as I can!", he called out
I turned my head and saw a droid had opened the side doors. I ran forward and kicked the robot away and quickly shut the door. Several droids from outside banged against it, causing it to slide open. Raph ran forward and helped me keep the doors shut. "Donnie, would you hurry up!", I yelled
"I got it!", he called out
I looked down as Donnie thrust the power cell into the motor box. The pink light shone brightly as a loud wiring sound started getting louder and louder.
"Oh boy", I said, softly
Suddenly the cart shot forward, and we were all forced against the surface of the back of the cart. We all screamed as we went faster than we had ever gone in our lives. I could barley move, all I could so was scream, and the only solid things I could feel was the surface of the cart and Leo's hand, which was gripping my wrist tightly. It was like that time I was on a flying saucer ride and you were stuck to the walls like glue. After what felt like an eternity, Donnie finally managed to pull the brakes. We all lurched forward as the cart started to slow down, soon enough coming to an abrupt halt.
We all slide down the cart wall and slummed into a heap on the floor. We were all panting after what we had just experienced. I closed my eyes for a fraction of a second. When I opened them, the boys were on their feet and Leo was kneeling over me. "You okay honey?", Leo asked
"Yeah", I said, panting a little "Yeah, I'm cool"
Leo grabbed my arm and helped me to my feet. I staggered a bit, but I kept my balance. We all walked over to the cart doors and opened them up. "Where the heck are we?", I asked, looking around
"By my calculations", Donnie said, as he sniffed the air "Sewage plant"
"Wow", Mikey said "It's as beautiful as they say"
I sniffed the air and plugged my nose. "Certainly not use to whole smell yet", I said
After doing at least a good hour walk back to the lair, none of us really spoke. When we actually got home we disbursed, as usual. I didn't watch where the others were going, but I turned and headed for the living room. Ellie had fallen asleep on the couch and I smiled rubbing her shell and giving her cheek a kiss. "Sweetie, Ellie", I said
Ellie mumbled awake as she sat up. "Hi Mama", she said
"Sleepy?", I asked
"Mmmmmhmmmm", she said, rubbing her eyes
She then looked around and looked up at me. "Where's Leatherhead Mama?", she asked
"He is in the sewers Eleanora, he is going to find a new home down here with us", I said
"Is he going to be okay?", she asked
"I'm pretty sure he can handle himself honey", I said, honestly "Don't worry, we will be seeing him more"
Ellie nodded smiling. "Here let's get you to bed", I said
Ellie held out her arms as I picked her up carrying her to her little bedroom. I laid her down into her bed and covered her up as she immediately clung on to her stuffed turtle curling up in a ball falling asleep.
I giggled silently as I gave her forehead a gentle peck. "Goodnight angel", I said, softly
Ellie's reply was a little snore as she snuggled closer to her turtle. I smiled and I turned on her little butterfly nightlight beside her bed as I quietly got up and walked towards the door.
I closed the door quietly leaving my daughter to sleep. I was about to walk into the kitchen to get a drink, but Splinter appeared in the dojo doorway. "Callista", he said
I stopped immediately looking towards him. "You care to join me? I have just made some tea", he said
"Sure, of course Splinter", I said, smiling
I walked towards the doors as Splinter retreated inside as I closed the doors behind me as the dojo was lightly lit by candles. I sat down on a cushion in lotus position as Splinter sat down on his legs in front of me. He poured us some hot steaming green tea as he handed me a small cup. "I assume the problem has been taken care of?", Splinter said
I took a sip as I sighed in content. "Hm? Oh yes, everything is fine now", I said
Splinter nodded. But I had something else on my mind. Something not good. I tried to hide the best I could from sensei, but apparently that is not something I'm good at. "My daughter, you don't need to avoid the subject you are thinking", he said
"Man how do you always know?", I asked, surprised
"Master of the senses my child, you can't trick a sensei", he said, pointing to himself with a chuckle
"Figures", I said, rolling my eyes
Splinter then made a small gesture with his hand, letting me start what I want to say. "It's about Leatherhead", I said "Or really, it's what I let him do, I guess. Mikey and I did everything we could to get him to trust us. He did, and then he made us trust him. We thought everything would be fine if we let the chain off of him. Then the guys showed up, one thing lead to another, and, well, you can probably guess the rest. Sensei, if I hadn't agreed to let the chains off of him, Leatherhead might not have caused any trouble, and my brothers and my husband, nearly my daughter wouldn't have gotten hurt"
"Callista, look at me", Splinter said, softly "Look at me"
I looked up slowly to gaze into the eyes of my adoptive father. "Listen to me Callista", he said "I understand your thoughts completely. It is natural for someone to have these thoughts after something happens to oneself and their loved ones. Even myself, I have these very same thoughts when you and everyone go out on patrol each night"
"I'm really sorry Splinter", I said, quietly
"I know you believed you made a mistake but it's alright, you are still young and still learning and growing. You did what you thought was right. Your heart is purely made of gold which was in the right place the whole time", he said
I sighed softly. "I guess my heart of gold you say probably is too pure for my own good", I said
I then felt Splinter's warm paws entangled around my hands. "Don't ever say that about yourself Callista", he said
"It might as well be true", I said, shrugging
"Don't", he said, firmly but gently
I gulped a little feeling yet a little nervous. Splinter held my hands as he leaned forward and looked deep into my eyes. "My daughter, you have more love in your own finger than what most people have in their own body. That is nothing to be ashamed of, it is something to be grateful and proud of. I think anyone to be blessed to have half of the love and generosity that you show and give to all of us everyday. I don't ever want to hear you say this again. Do you understand?", he said
"I understand", I said, softly nodding "Thank you"
Splinter gave me a gentle smile and I smiled a little in return. He let go of my hands as we slowly stood up to our feet. Just when I thought I was allowed to leave, I felt him put a hand on my shoulder as he turned me around and he kissed the top of my head. I could feel myself beaming with happiness as I looked up as he walked away leaving towards his room.
I smiled as he entered inside closing the doors behind him. "Good talk, master", I said, softly as I left the dojo