Ahhhh finally, after a busy hiatus, we're back!
As always, huge thanks to our beta readers Queequegg and Theherocomplex. You do such an amazing job, love you!
This chapter is more the first part of a very long chapter. There will be drama... Oh yes. And Apritello. Oh yes yes. And some Mikey shenanigans to top it all off.
Knowing there was a whole other ninja clan living in the lair, April had expected a full house. What she hadn't expected was a ninja pajama party. She could hear all the signs of a video game tournament all the way from the tunnel as she arrived from school that afternoon.
When she made it around the corner, she stopped in her tracks at the sight of the pit, which was boiling with boisterous teenagers, human and otherwise, sitting around the TV set and excitedly cheering their champions on. There was an uproar of clamours and guffaws, fists shooting upwards at the ceiling, and she saw a couple of controllers being passed over to the next couple of players. Two bowls of assorted snacks went around as the teenagers stuffed themselves with doritos, popcorn and chocolate bars. The lair had never been so lively. In contrast, most of the older ninjas sat at the far corner of the common room in almost monastic silence. April saw a couple of them throw a glare of disapproval at the pit.
Stepping through the turnstiles with a backpack full of homework and a plastic bag with a little treat for her turtle brothers, she almost tripped on the small garden of boots at the entrance. Fifteen pairs, to be exact.
Donnie was the first to notice her. "Oh, April, hi!" he said as she approached the group, practically jumping off the backrest where he had been sitting, like he'd been waiting for her.
So, pretty much like always, she thought warmly.
"Hi, D! Hi, guys!"
"Hi, April!" the others hollered back, Leo looking away from the TV briefly, as it was currently his turn against one of the Lotus kids. April didn't need to look at the screen to know from the sounds that they were playing Mario Kart—the old, old version, the one with the cartridge.
Mikey sat on the floor next to Leo, and he beckoned her closer.
"Yo, April! This is Takeshi, and Atsuko," he said, motioning at the two Lotus ninjas sitting to their left. The kids smiled and waved cheerfully. Mikey then jabbed his thumbs backwards at the bench. "And these are Mieko, and Hayao, and Wakai."
The boy named Wakai was too busy smashing buttons on one of Donnie's custom-made, universal controllers to acknowledge her, but the rest waved as well. She returned the gesture with a timid smile, feeling like the new kid at a foreign school.
"I will never remember any of their names," she whispered at Donnie a little worriedly once they'd all turned back to the game. Donnie chuckled through his nose before waving a dismissive hand.
The ages of the ninjas in the pit ranged from around fourteen to late-twenties. There were a couple of middle aged ninjas sitting a bit to the side, watching from a cautious distance, as if they didn't want to seem too interested.
There was a very obvious age gap among the members of the Lotus, April noticed. There were a lot of very young ninjas, and there were a lot of old ninjas, but the people in between were suspiciously absent, when ideally it should be the other way around. Then she had a grim realization: going by Hachisu's story, they were probably dead, killed in combat.
Inadvertently, a strange sense of loss and hatred seeped its way into her mind, and she knew it had to come from a Lotus, though she couldn't tell who. She tried to block it. It wasn't her business.
"And you've met Beatrice," Mikey said, pulling her from her thoughts. She looked down to see him pat the bug-shaped plushie sitting beside him, and the mere sight of the adorably hideous thing thankfully brought her back to their more cheerful present.
"I sure have," she said, now biting back laughter.
Mikey had officially 'introduced' Beatrice to April the other day, after which she'd broken into a fit of giggles. Everybody seemed very confused that she would find it that funny. Of course, off the record, April already knew Beatrice, since she had actually been the one to win her as a prize during her date with Casey. She should've known the plush would end up under Mikey's care. And for some reason the name Beatrice made it so much funnier.
A new wave of screams and laughter exploded when Leo's kart bumped Wakai's off the road.
"Wooo! Go, Leo!" Mikey cheered, and went to give his brother's shoulders an encouraging squeeze.
"Shh, don't distract me!" Leo squeaked urgently, eyes trained on the screen. Mikey retrieved his hands in a jolt.
The ninjas yelled at their champion in Japanese, one of them smacking the back of his head. Wakai gave a brief complaint, but a stern voice as though right out of a classical samurai movie bellowed above them, making them all start.
"Be more quiet, kids!"
The screen froze, displaying the word "PAUSE". Everybody twisted their necks to look at the owner of the voice, and they too froze. April recognized the old man that had accompanied Hachisu-no-Hana on her first trip to the lair. Jiro was his name, if she remembered correctly.
His imposing glare loomed above the heads of those sitting on the benches.
"Video games, and shouting, and junkfood! It is a shameful display!" Jiro scolded angrily, and April cringed thinking that if the Lotus elders were anything like Splinter, then these kids would have a bump on the top of their heads by the end of this.
But the old man took a finger to his lips, and gestured at the bowl of candy. April looked on in confusion as two young lotuses offered it with a tiny sideways smirk. Jiro grabbed a handful of chocolates, quickly stuffing them in his sash, all without losing his authoritative expression. April exchanged an amused look with the turtles.
"Don't make so much noise! We are guests here, remember that!" the old man yelled into the pit, Lotus teenagers putting on expressions of repentance. Then he exclaimed at the ceiling as he turned around to go back to the adult side of the camp, "What happened to the old ninja values?"
April liked him already. Hachisu, who was peacefully sitting on her sleeping bag, reading a book, shook her head with a tiny smile. Obviously Jiro wasn't fooling his kashira.
"The elders don't seem very happy about this," she sniggered, as the game was resumed and the volume lowered a measly two notches.
"Don't mind them," Mikey said. "They don't get that ninjas have always been at the vanguard of technology." He elbowed Raph in the ribs, before stuffing another handful of popcorn in his mouth. Raph sneered.
"Yeah, but I'm gonna go out on a limb and say Mario Kart doesn't count," Leo stated, which still didn't stop him from keeping his eyes glued to the screen, upper body tilting left and right.
April paused, as she noticed for the first time Leo's eyeliner still slightly visible beneath blue fabric.
That morning, she had woken up to a couple of hilarious pictures, one of which showed Raph and Casey sleeping with their hands on each other's groins. The other one showed Leo wearing black eyeliner and laying in a less than honorable position, looking more or less like the bass player of a Goth band posing for a pin-up. April couldn't decide which picture was best. But she knew better than to comment on it, and it would've been funny if not for Donnie's text at lunch time. He told her about Leo's fight with Karai, and warned her not to bring it up in front of either of them. April realized, with some concern, that Karai wasn't in the pit with them, which made her think things were still a little tense.
Through the corner of her eye, she saw Donnie fidgeting, the tiny flicker of his hand, mouth slightly open as if he wanted to say something. But Mikey leaned in at that moment, eyes locked on to the bag hanging from April's hand.
"Say, whatcha got there? Ice cream? Is that an ice cream bucket?" Mikey asked with a greedy smile, eyes threatening to pop out of their sockets.
She smirked. "Yep!"
"Oh, man, April, I'm so glad we rescued you from the Kraang!" He got up to throw himself at April like a spring, squeezing the air out of her with a hug, before taking a peek inside the bag. "TRIPLE FLAVOR FUDGE!"
A few of the kids jumped at the sudden scream.
April wheezed a laugh and rolled her shoulders to put all her bones back into place. "Yeah, but it's a little melted," she said once she'd regained sensitivity on her arms, and squished the soft sides of the bucket as demonstration. It was a warm day outside. If only she could take the guys to the park to share the ice cream with them, sitting on the grass and celebrating the good weather. "We should put it in the freezer for a while before eating it."
"Right! We could have it for dinner!" Mikey said.
Not dessert; dinner. April feared there would be some experimental cuisine that night at Chez Hamato, and she exchanged a look of dread with Donnie and Raph. Even Leo took his eyes off the game for a second to issue an anxious glance at the ice cream, consequently causing his little kart to go careening out of control. He reacted too late, and cried out in frustration as it flew off the edge and into an endless void. Three seconds later, the japanese kid holding the rival controller celebrated with his teammates that his own kart had just gone past the finish line first.
Leo handed Raph the controller, with a low growl at his brother's derisive "Ha!"
Remembering Donnie was standing behind her, obviously waiting, April turned and asked knowingly, "So any news on the future turtles?"
Donnie seemed relieved as his mouth spread into a big earnest grin, eyes sparkling.
"Not yet, but I made good progress on the portal today. Wanna see?" he said, his voice tittering. April just knew he must have been waiting to show her all day.
"Duh!" she said just as eagerly. She'd barely been able to get her mind off the matter all day herself, and got a wiggly feeling in her stomach every time she thought about what was coming, which had made it difficult to focus in class. She was hard put to care much about any of Henry VIII's unfortunate wives when she knew just a few days from now they'd be visited by their future selves. At the end of class she'd come back to reality to realize she'd hardly taken anything in, her notebook alarmingly blank.
But the idea of a multiverse was as terrifying as it was fascinating, and April had hurried straight to the lair after class, anxious for any new information. Maybe she'd be lucky enough to be present for the next contact.
"You sure you don't wanna play?" Raph asked her, mercilessly squeezing the buttons on his controller. Donnie paused beside her at the offer, and she could feel his expectancy as he waited for her answer with a badly concealed glare towards his brother.
"Maybe later," she replied, and turned to the aforementioned turtle, who was now failing to contain his ever-growing smile. She held up the bag. "Lemme just put this away and we can grab a couple of those honey plum pop-tarts."
"Good idea, my trusty lackey."
Raph retched, and April feigned a glare in his direction before taking off towards the kitchen with Donnie. Mikey hopped along, gaze locked on her bag, like a donkey chasing a carrot on a stick.
"Here," he said, taking the bag from her hand without waiting for confirmation. He ran ahead, peering greedily at the contents. "Did ya see the pics I sent?" he called over his shoulder.
April smiled, knowing exactly what he meant. Sometimes she missed the old days when they all lived together and she was a direct witness to all their crazy brotherly shenanigans. It had been tough at times. And crowded. And loud. And oftentimes smelly. But she realized she hated missing out on that stuff as well. It had been forever since she slept over; probably not since they took back the city from the Kraang.
"You're on a roll, Mikey." She laughed, and then started slightly when she noticed someone behind her wanting to get in. She stepped aside and a lanky, twenty-something ninja, with a bag of chips dangling from his lips, came in the kitchen, barefoot, and went straight for the fridge. He almost acted like he hadn't seen them but for the muffled "Ohayō," which he sang casually before taking a drink from the fridge and walking out. They almost didn't have time to say ohayō back.
Man, it was weird in the lair today. And that was saying something.
"I'm thinking about starting an album, make this a series," Mikey said then, as if there hadn't been an interruption, before opening the freezer. Ice Cream Kitty greeted them with a happy mew. "Don't worry, Kitty. You're still my favorite flavor," he promised.
While he was distracted, April leaned in and asked Donnie covertly, "So... counting the sticky notes, that makes four of you. When is Mikey's prank-karma due?"
Donnie looked thoughtful for a moment, before a mischievous grin spread his features. "I think it's about time." He gave her ribs a gentle elbow nudge before crying out at his brother. "Mikey, what are you doing?"
Mikey jumped, ice cream bucket already half inside the freezer. "What?" he replied, eyes wide.
"You can't just put male ice cream in the same shelf as Ice Cream Kitty!" Donnie said urgently, and April had to summon all her willpower not to burst into cackles as Mikey stared in deep confusion.
"What? Male ice cream? W-why not?"
It amused her that Mikey didn't even question the concept of ice cream with a gender.
"Ice Cream Kitty's a female, Mikey! This bucket's male!" Donnie replied matter-of-factly, like it should be common knowledge. "You don't want this ice cream to get Kitty pregnant, do you?"
Mikey ogled at his brother for a few seconds, face stuck in a contorted grimace of disbelief, and April could tell he was trying to figure out how that would work. But obviously Donnie was the scientist...
"Don't I?" he squeaked.
"No! Mutant ice cream kittens could be incredibly unstable!" Donnie insisted with growing haste. "Who knows what the result could be! I can't say for sure, but by my calculations, with the molecular synthesis of amino acids, hydrocarbons and the hipovitaminosis of molecular emulsifiers, there's a big chance they could turn out evil! Like Gremlins!" he stressed. April bit the inside of her cheeks at the fake science babble, eyes watery from contained laughter.
"Gahh! Okay, okay!" Mikey exclaimed. He still eyed the bucket questioningly, but Donnie's straight face was totally selling it.
April tensed her face muscles into the most troubled expression she could muster and took a deep soothing breath before clicking her tongue. "Aw, I'm so sorry, guys. I didn't realize this ice cream was male."
With one last confused glance at Ice Cream Kitty, who emitted an interrogative meow, Mikey started making room in the shelf below for the "male" ice cream. Kitty tilted her head, watching curiously. April saw Donnie wink an eye and Kitty seemed to catch on as she steepled her little ice cream paws.
"There. And Kitty's going to behave too, right?" Mikey said, to which Kitty confidently nodded. Then he stepped aside waiting for Donnie's confirmation that it was safe before closing the freezer door.
"Good. We should probably keep an eye out just in case, though," Donnie said finally. April had to admire the control he had over his face. Ironic that he was so good at this, but had been so prone to break into a blabbering mess around her before. It hadn't happened in a while, actually...
He must have learned over time, she thought, and for some reason that caused a bout of nostalgia, unearthing confused feelings of yearning and regret.
A year or two ago, she often wished Donnie wouldn't stammer around her so much, that he wouldn't hesitate to touch her in a casual way, because she actually enjoyed his company. A lot! That is, when he wasn't trying too hard to impress her or, alternatively, being extremely cautious. The way he purposefully did not look at her, did not touch her, like he feared she would snap, or run away… It was unnerving. She found herself wishing he could be a bit more like Casey, more confident, more forward. Even Casey's often pushy advances were slightly better than watching Donnie struggle to talk normally.
That was before, though. Donnie seemed to have finally learned to be himself, and man did that change things. She liked him like this. She really liked him, she realized, not without a pinch of panic. The tables had turned. Now she was the one being an idiot around him. Now she understood. And she couldn't help worrying that he might have noticed something different.
Especially because there was nothing she could do.
"I got you those flux pens you wanted," she said, eager to move things along and back into easy territory.
She took out the package from her duffel bag, and Donnie emitted a little gasp of joy. "Ah! Just in time! Thank you!" he said to her, and the warmth in his eyes made her feel the need to look away and appear busy, fast, before he saw anything telling in her expression.
She quickly went for the cabinet and picked up a couple of pop-tarts, then followed Donnie towards the lab, leaving Mikey to go back to the pit and rejoin the party, still looking deeply troubled.
Bunkered away in the peace and quiet of Donnie's lab, they texted everyone to put them up to speed on their little evil scheme while munching on their "thinking" pop-tarts.
Leo, Raph and Casey all seemed pretty enthusiastic about their plans for retaliation and offered a couple of pretty good ideas that had them both tittering in anticipation.
Once the plan was set, Donnie showed her to his work bench, tossing the empty wrapper at the bin and scoring three points. The portal device lay surrounded by a garden of tiny, oddly shaped pieces and wires. On the outside, it looked pretty much like any other portable portal they had encountered, but its insides were a mismatched combination of Kraang and repurposed human technology, all plastered together like a little Frankenstein monster.
"Actually, it really doesn't seem like much now, since it's powered by the wormhole's energy," Donnie said a little apologetically, turning the device in his hands, as though looking for something more interesting to show her. Like a time portal wasn't interesting enough, she thought with an inner smirk. "But I predict it's gonna be a light show when the time comes," he added.
"So how exactly does it work with the wormhole?" she asked, and relished in the glimmer that formed in Donnie's eyes at her question.
"Well, see, the wormhole through which Future Donatello contacted me is actually tiny. Minuscule," he said, pinching the air. "It's virtually undetectable with the naked eye, except for the effects it might have on surrounding elements, like some electronic devices. In space it's even harder to detect, with nothing around it to interact with. Damn near impossible, I'd say, which is what amazes me about what Future Donatello did."
He looked like he had a lot more, but stopped as though someone had hit him in the stomach, looked at April and cleared his throat. April just knew he had cut himself short of going on another fanboy ramble about his future self.
But before she could contribute, he went on. "Anyway, the point is, it's kinda small to really fit anything through it. And that's where this little guy comes in." He held up the portable portal device. "When in contact with the wormhole, it will activate, and the three pieces will open like a regular Kraang portable portal. It's not working now, but when it does, the prisms inside will pull on the fabric of space-time, to temporarily pry it open, stretching it into a bigger hole through which the future turtles can pass."
"Like a speculum," April contributed, smirking at the very graphic gesticulations.
"Exactly!" For a second, Donnie only beamed, pointing at her with an enthusiastic fore-finger. "And because the wormhole is in constant movement, it needs something to fix the device to it. So we can't just use a tripod." He adorned his bad joke with a sheepish giggle, then opened the portal's casing to point at the little metallic disc, which she hadn't seen the previous day. "See, this little doodad here's the magnetic stabilizer. With it, the portal device will adhere to the moving wormhole like a magnet to a fridge—if the fridge was invisible, and on wheels." He held the device aloft and moved it horizontally like it was on hover rails. "It's gonna be moving pretty quickly though, so we gotta be careful and deactivate it once the future turtles are through, or it will float away."
Donnie's discourses could get pretty wordy, but that wasn't the reason April was distracted. No, it had been the sudden feel of pin-pricks on her temples. She shook her head in puzzlement.
"What?" Donnie asked with a slight frown, his presentation interrupted.
"Hm," she said, giving her forehead a soft rub to fend off the leftover discomfort. Luckily there seemed to be nothing else to it, and she shrugged it away. "So why can't Future Donatello open the portal from his side? Why did he ask you to do it?" she asked, nudging him on, making sure he knew she had payed attention despite the interruption.
"Well, he didn't say," Donnie continued reflectively. It was clearly something he'd asked himself already. "But I'm guessing he probably lost the portal—this portal—at some point through the years, or maybe it was destroyed, and if the Kraang are still gone he had no other way of procuring a new one. Either that or it was damaged during the reverse-engineering process. It's on the list of things I want to ask him," he concluded around a big smile that brimmed with exhilaration. It was infectious, and she hopped on her heels, very much looking forward to more.
"Man, I can't wait! Anything I can do to help finish the portal?" she said eagerly, and Donnie responded in kind.
"Well, there's not much else. Future Donatello's instructions were so concise that I managed to do most of it today. But I could use a set of human-sized fingers on these circuits." He turned to sort through his notes and all the little pieces of discarded hardware. "It's always hard soldering the tiny bits with these sausages."
At the word, April shot him a half-smile that was between amused and scolding, and Donnie looked at her naughtily like he knew full well that would bother her. She cocked her head to the side with a nose-chuckle before opening the drawer and retrieving the soldering iron.
"My hands are your hands," she said, and waited for instructions.
Donnie leaned over the desk. "Let's see. We need to connect these chips to the energy input, and weld the stabilizer to the core..."
But once again, as he spoke, April stopped hearing him. The sensation was back, except this time the pin-pricks were more like a stab to the forehead. A persistent buzzing in her ears had somehow creeped up on her, and now demanded her attention. As Donnie went on, soon it became a nasty headache, and she couldn't even pretend to be listening anymore.
Not again, she inwardly complained. Something similar had happened the previous evening while she waited for both the Hamato and the Lotus clan to come out of the dojo. It hadn't been this bad, though, but it had remained a mild nuisance during the course of the entire movie, right up until she got home. She must have caught some kind of bug, and she remembered Casey's comment about their colleagues Janice and Billy not coming to school, and how maybe it was flu season. Her project pal Janice had still not made it back, and April prayed she hadn't become infected with the same thing. She could not deal with this right now, and just when they were about to meet their future selves.
April rubbed at her temples, shutting her eyes tight, but the headache only seemed to go in crescendo. She felt the sudden urge to go stuff her head in the fridge next to Ice Cream Kitty and her ice cream bucket boyfriend.
"You up for it?"
April lifted her eyes to meet Donnie's questioning gaze, and her mouth dropped open stupidly, realizing she had missed a few of his sentences.
"Sorry, Donnie, uh… what did you say?"
"I said, are you up for some microscopic soldering?" He pointed with the soldering iron at the mess, and the microscope that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.
"Oh! Sure," she said, blinking at the uncomfortable prickling at the back of her eyes.
"You okay?" he asked her, eyeing her warily.
"Yeah, I just… I think I might be coming down with something," she said, giving up all pretense.
Donnie dropped the iron and was on her in an instant with his doctor face. She tilted her head back to allow him to gingerly press his calloused palm to her forehead. The cool touch felt immensely comforting, and she almost leaned into it. She had to bite back a sound of disappointment when he took it away.
"Hmm, you're not warm. Is there a bug going around your school? What are your symptoms?" he asked, a little crease between his brows.
"Just a headache. And…" Her forehead gave a throb and she groaned. "I don't know, I have this pressure on my—"
She stopped. How didn't she figure it out before? She looked at Donnie, and Donnie looked at her, realization dawning on his features as well.
"Ohhh, is your April-sense tingling?" he practically whispered.
"I guess," she replied, unsure, but already paranoid, expecting some kind of disaster to burst its way through the door any second. Donnie appeared nervous as well. "I felt it last night too, but it's not what it usually feels like, which is why I didn't think of it that way. I kind of chalked it out to school stress. But now it's back, and it's been getting gradually worse since I got here." By this reasoning, she came to another conclusion. "It's gotta be something in the lair."
Donnie looked away thoughtfully for a moment, and from the expression on his face he must have been considering something important. "Come with me," he told her after a few seconds of intrigue.
He picked up their mugs—"Resident Genius" and "World's Best Lab Assistant", custom made—and beckoned her to the entrance of the lab where they could see the ninja pajama party still in full blow. Mikey had the controller this time, and was playing against Atsuko. His orange mask was a little askew, and the intensity on his face meant his character must be in trouble. Nobody seemed to have noticed Donnie and her.
Donnie handed her mug to her and leaned against the door with his own. "Act natural. Can you locate the source?"
Catching on, she leaned casually as well while taking a sip, pretending to watch the race. In reality, she was scanning the room—listening for the silence, like Master Splinter had taught her. It was like trying to echo-locate a mouse inside a stone wall, even more with all the noise.
"It's very faint. I'm having trouble getting a lock on it," she said. She could see Donnie watching her, waiting patiently and occasionally looking at the group of people, feigning laid-back interest.
"Take your time," he said softly.
She turned her head like a sonar disc, squinting in concentration. The feeling was stronger when she looked towards the far corner of the lair, near where Hachisu was sitting, still deeply concentrated on her book. "It's coming from the Lotus camp. I think it's in the pile of luggage."
"Are you sure?" Donnie looked down at his mug as he spoke in the most casual voice, wearing an almost bored expression.
"Yeah. Pretty sure," she confirmed, playing along.
Donnie turned, stepping through the door back inside the lab, and motioned for her to follow. As soon as the door was closed behind her, all composure was tossed in the bin next to the wrapper, and he cried, "I knew it! It's that ghost!"
"A ghost?" April repeated in surprise, wincing a little from the loudness in her sensitive ears.
"I'd been meaning to talk to you about it, actually," Donnie continued, leaning down close to her. "Last night, Mikey and I encountered what might have been an onryō."
April let out a gasp. "Like… 'The Grudge'?"
Donnie nodded fervently. "It was a full apparition. Completely solid-looking. Mikey thought it was a zombie," he added with an amused scoff.
The rest of the story almost had her forget all about her headache. She couldn't figure out why she hadn't felt anything before. You'd think she would have noticed a supernatural entity roaming around the lair.
"Leo said to let it go, especially since it involved the leader of the Lotus. But I wanted to know what this was all about," Donnie carried on after his narration. Knowing him, he had to be more than a little frustrated, being forbidden to investigate. Like an itch he couldn't scratch. As a genius, he did have a bit of an obsessive tendency, but this time April had to admit he had a good reason to be restless.
"Let it go? Let an onryō go?" she repeated in disbelief, wanting to know why Leo would just disregard something like this.
Donnie made a non-committing sound, scrunching one side of his face.
"To be fair, I have no way of telling whether this ghost is an actual onryō, or if it is dangerous at all. And nothing else has happened since last night," he said, drawing up his shoulders.
"We gotta tell Leo. We have to talk to Hachisu about this," April insisted. Her pounding headache was something she couldn't just put aside. The sheer determination she injected in her voice seemed to give Donnie the incentive he needed, and he nodded, picking up his T-phone to send Leo a private text.
Donnie waited while Leo looked blankly at them. They'd met in the lab where they wouldn't be overheard, and he and April proceeded to tell him why they thought they should go ask Hachisu-no-Hana about this ghost right away.
"So you're saying she really is carrying a ghost around in her backpack," Leo said slowly after the few seconds he seemed to need following Donnie's explanation, his lip quirking in a doubtful expression. He sighed. "I thought we were done with this."
"You said if there was something else, we would at least go ask her."
"I said I would think about it," Leo corrected primly, and Donnie groaned.
"Okay, well, this further proves Hachisu and the ghost are connected." He motioned at April, who stood by him as his most compelling piece of evidence.
"Are you really sure about this?" Leo said, cringing and slumping a little bit, like asking Hachisu was the last thing he would rather do right now. The eyeliner under the blue fabric of his mask probably had something to do with his reluctance, Donnie thought.
April exhaled loudly. "At this point in the game you're asking me if I'm sure about what I feel?" she demanded, her voice tense. Donnie gauged her carefully.
Leo eyed her too. "Well, your powers aren't always precise. You have to admit, you don't have a great grip on them."
A dangerous look was April's reply and Leo gave a slight frown. Donnie looked between them, not sure how to intervene. April's eyes were squinted, her jaw set in an irritated grimace.
Luckily Donnie didn't have to do anything, as Leo sighed and said, "Okay, we'll go ask her. But be polite."
Donnie didn't even have time to react to the suggestion that they'd be anything but polite, because April had pretty much shot off in the direction of the Lotus camp. Leo started after her, walking quickly to catch up, and Donnie followed.
They strode past the Mario Kart party, to where Hachisu was sitting. For a moment Donnie half-expected April to just point and yell at the Lotus leader. But she stopped—thank heavens—so that Leo could approach the woman first.
Leo spoke in a small voice, as April stood behind him with her hands on her hips. "I'm terribly sorry, Hachisu-no-Hana-san, but may we talk to you for a moment?"
The Lotus leader obliged immediately, getting up and allowing them to lead her to a quiet corner. Donnie noticed Raph casting a mildly curious glance at them as they walked by the pit, but remained in his seat. Once they were out of sight, past the kitchen entrance, Hachisu waited politely for them to speak.
Leo fumbled. "Please forgive our indiscretion, but… Well, here's the thing: we were worried about…" he stuttered, and Donnie felt the urge to step up and contribute.
But April beat him to it, which kinda made him wish they'd agreed beforehand to let Leo do all the talking. April had reasons to be exasperated—heavens knew a migraine could make anyone cranky. Still, she wasn't being quite herself. But who would dare tell her that right now?
"Hachisu-no-Hana-san, there's some kind of entity in the lair, and we know you brought it here with you."
Donnie did his best not to cringe, and was sure Leo was screaming inside his head, because April had just managed a more polite version of calling someone on their bullshit.
She hadn't been harsh, or anything. Her voice was actually relatively cool, considering her current state. It must have taken quite a bit of willpower. But unfortunately it was far from the manners someone like Hachisu would deem acceptable.
Sweating slightly, Donnie added quickly in an attempt to fix it, "Uh, we were just concerned. We could be of some help."
There wasn't much in Hachisu's expression that said so, but she wasn't pleased. She held them in her steely gaze for a few moments, shoulders stiff. Then, ignoring April completely, she turned to Leo.
"I do not appreciate being spoken to in such a rude manner, much less being interrogated. Whatever I carry with me is none of your business," she said in a level voice that nonetheless resonated with contained anger.
Leo winced, and lowered his head. "Of course, Hachisu-no-Hana-san. Our apologies."
"What?" April said. "No, Leo, we have to—"
Donnie quickly interrupted her by softly touching her arm. "We… just want to make sure you were all right."
"I am perfectly fine," Hachisu insisted with the same controlled tone. "If you'll excuse me."
And that would be a polite way of telling someone to go suck a lemon…
Leo bowed his head low. "Of course, Hachisu-no-Hana-san. Forgive us." And he shot April a warning side-glance. Don't say another word. To which April just glared, lips pressed in a thin line.
Hachisu gave them a quick polite nod before walking away, leaving behind her a thick silence.
With one look, Leo ordered them both to meet back in the lab. Donnie followed him and April, not looking forward to when the doors were closed and they were out of earshot of the Lotus.
"Great. Wonderful," Leo grumbled between his teeth after the metallic clank of the doors, visibly and audibly furious. "You guys just couldn't let it go, could you?"
"I'm sorry, Leo, but this could-"
"I don't want to hear any more of it. You heard Hachisu; there's nothing going on. Splinter's gonna freak when he finds out we've been bothering his guests..."
"Leo, she's not telling the whole truth! I know she isn't," April motioned at her own head, which was enough to make her point.
"And what has gotten into you?" Leo exclaimed, whipping around at April.
Donnie felt the urge to stand between them, but to be fair April was very high-strung. She stood squarely, arms crossed at Leo.
"Of course Hachisu's not telling us everything," Leo kept going. "It's obviously something very personal to her! Asking her about it was extremely offensive!"
"Dude, Leo, she's carrying around a ghost, for Pete's sake!" Donnie insisted, unable to believe he could just wave this away like nobody's business.
"So what if she is?" Leo snapped. "I don't see any of the other Lotus ninjas be affected by it. Actually, I don't see her being affected by it."
Donnie let out a sarcastic chuckle. "Um, how about last night, when we found her wandering the sewers in her pajamas? And what about us? That thing looked like she was going for Raph. She looked like she was about to do something to him."
"Yeah, looked like," Leo said dismissively. "Look, I'm not saying we should forget about it completely. Those are all things to keep an eye on. But the truth is, nobody got hurt last night, and nothing else is happening so far. Just like Hachisu is perfectly fine now. Also, sensei trusts her!" he added pointedly, motioning in the direction of the dojo.
Donnie had to exchange a look with April, because that was true, and he really hadn't thought about it.
"It's not technically hurting anybody, so what's it to you, Donnie?" Leo pressed on. "Can't you just switch off your unquenchable thirst for knowledge for like five minutes?" His voice was tense now, his words cutting through the air like kunai. "Do you know this thing poses a threat to any of us?"
Donnie pursed his lips, feeling cornered. He hated to admit he really couldn't know. None of Hachisu's followers seemed ill or perturbed. He searched April's gaze, hoping she had a good counter-argument, but she was staring at the floor, a deep crease splitting her brow. He considered the way she was seemingly clenching her teeth, but it was hard to determine whether the bout of anger was related to the ghost, or more a result of her discomfort. After all, her mood had been a bit erratic lately, and he felt it would not stand as evidence…
"We keep an eye out," Leo reiterated curtly. "But until there's actual proof that this thing is a danger to us, I don't want you bothering Hachisu, or any of the Lotus, again. That's an order, guys." He held them in a level stare. April only lifted her eyes for a moment before lowering them again with an impatient sigh. "Donnie?"
Leo's warning tone gave Donnie no option. He crossed his arms, but looked away in resign. "Alright," he agreed finally.
Leo waited a little to break eye contact, then turned around and left in an angry march. Defeated, Donnie closed the doors behind his brother.
"I guess that's th-" he started to say, but April cut him off.
"This is bullshit!" she spat, apparently at nobody in particular.
Donnie couldn't help the twitch in his lips at her choice of words.
"Well, we tried," he said in a small voice, happy enough that she wasn't angry at him.
Then April swivelled around, looking agitated, her face slightly scrunched up. "I can't just let this go. It's a little hard not to think about it," she protested, pointing at her head. "It was driving me mad! When she was near, I just- I couldn't concentrate."
Donnie eyed her worriedly as she paced back and forth like a caged panther. The way she had spoken to Hachisu; not exactly insulting, but... It wasn't like her.
"Are… you alright?" he said cautiously.
She stopped in her tracks and looked at him, and for a moment he actually thought she was going to lash out at him. But she only took a deep breath.
"It's okay, I'm a bit better now. Maybe a pain killer will help," she said, and Donnie was immensely relieved to hear her voice was already back to normal April levels of angry—which admittedly could still be pretty scary.
"I still have those Tylenols you got us," he offered, and went to get them when she accepted. "Before you take this, could you tell me anything else that could be helpful?" he said once he'd retrieved the small box from the first-aid cabinet and handed it to April.
"Not much," she replied, and seemed to ponder for a moment, her hands toying with the box of pills. "Just that whatever it was, it must have been on her, or around her. I immediately felt better the moment she walked away."
Donnie racked his brains. 'On her, or around her'. How did that even work? Was she actually somehow possessed like Raph had suggested, albeit jokingly? Or maybe...
"Urgh…" April emitted something between a sigh and a grunt, tearing him from his thoughts. "I didn't really handle things well out there, did I?" she said, now sounding troubled instead of angry. "Was I very offensive?"
"Uh…" Donnie stammered around a nervous chuckle. "Not too offensive, but… not smooth either."
Her head hang, and she gave a self-deprecating huff. "Sorry."
"Don't worry about it. It was the ghost." Donnie said kindly, laying a comforting hand on her back. Now that she appeared to feel better, he knew it was true. "We can just explain to Leo later, when he's a little less... frustrated."
April offered a weak smile as thanks before wincing. She rubbed her forehead and groaned.
"Do you think it's dangerous?" he asked, seeing this, and the way this thing seemed to have affected her.
"I don't know. I don't know if it's an immediate threat, or…" April tilted her head to the side, eyes squinted in concentration. "Not really? But it could be. I'm still not at ease, anyway. I sense anger." She looked at him and chuckled. "It's definitely angry."
"I'd say so," Donnie said, and not just because of what April was feeling. He was thinking back to the previous night—the cold all around him, chilling him to the bone; that suffocating sense of helplessness. He wasn't one to trust instinct, or gut feelings, but somehow he knew it had to be more serious than what Leo wanted to believe—even when his brother had brought up a couple of pretty solid points. He just had nothing to prove it.
Donnie shook his head, wondering once again why the future turtles wouldn't warn them about this ghost if they knew it would be here, unless it really was nothing to worry about. But who could say for certain that their timeline had developed the same way?
That's when he suddenly realized something, and froze.
He could see April watching him curiously before he turned to her, awestruck. "The future turtles didn't say anything about a ghost, but they did mention a Chinese red pendant," he said, brain going faster than his mouth. "What if… What if they're connected? What if they're the same thing? Remember Ho-Chan?"
April's eyes widened. "The source was definitely small, it could have been a small object," she said, obviously seeing it too. "I can't tell what it was, but if it was on her... Maybe in a pocket?"
"Last night she kept holding her side, like this." Donnie cupped one hand on his waist, remembering the state in which they'd found Hachisu in the sewers. His mouth fell open. "We should tell Leo!"
But April scoffed. "He'll never agree to bothering Hachisu-no-Hana again just for that. You saw how pissed he was. And she didn't seem about to admit anything either."
The optimistic, keen side of his mind rebelled, because surely this was an exciting enough hypothesis to get Leo on board again. But the logical side reminded him of the fact that that's just what it was: a hypothesis. And this whole ordeal had already inflicted more embarrassment on Leo than his proud brother was probably able to digest. Moreover, it still didn't prove that this thing was dangerous.
Donnie slumped. "Yeah… You're right. I guess we'll just have to keep an eye out."
"No." The decisiveness in April's voice caught Donnie off guard. "That's not good enough. What if Hachisu is under its influence? She's living in our home, Donnie. We can't just let this slide and hope it's nothing."
For a moment, nothing interested Donnie but the fact that April considered the lair her home. Something in his chest swelled and he allowed himself a little smile now that April wasn't looking, then had to conjure back the rest of her sentence in order to react accordingly.
He considered her words, partly wanting to agree with her just for the fact that it would mean looking deeper into the subject. "She did look pretty terrible when we found her, and then a minute later she was alright again," he said thoughtfully. "But like Leo said, Splinter seems to trust her. That has to count for something. And you didn't pick up on anything right up until now, right?"
"I dunno…" she said in a small voice, looking doubtful. "It's still all fishy to me. And now I can't stop thinking about that pendant. We need more data," she said just like when they worked out a scientific problem together.
"That might be difficult," Donnie said with a glance at his computer. "I doubt I'd be able to contact Future Donatello now."
"I wasn't talking about Future Donatello," she said, and the little twinkle in her eyes intrigued him. "I say we do a little ninja investigating. Would it be too horrible to take a little peek inside Hachisu's bag?"
Donnie reeled. "Uh… I'd say so, yes! She's our honored guest!"
"Just a peek," she repeated with a cheeky shrug. "We borrow whatever's holding that ghost for a few minutes, run some tests, put it back, no harm done. If it turns out to be nothing, she won't even know."
She made it sound so simple, Donnie was almost inclined to accept right away. But there were a few good reasons not to.
"Sensei would be furious. We'd be doing push ups until New Year's."
"This thing could turn out really dangerous. I think Master Splinter would understand if it meant keeping you guys safe. I could sleep over and we could sneak in when everybody's asleep."
Donnie rewinded April's words in his head, and replayed the part that had caught his attention out loud. "You'd sleep over?"
April gave a fervent nod.
He felt as though his mind was being pulled from opposite sides by two horses, and feared it would rip right down the middle. He didn't want to go against orders, or risk angering Hachisu and by extension Sensei. But April's plan sure was tempting. For several reasons.
"Leo will never approve," Donnie still said, weakly.
"Then I guess Leo's on a need-to-know basis," April retorted primly.
He stared, taken aback and conflicted, at April's cheeky grin and sparkling eyes. Who was he kidding? He was already sold.
Before he could stop it, his mouth started curling into a lopsided smirk, and he gave in. "You're a vixen, April O'Neil," he purred and she lifted her chin proudly.
"Don't tell Raph. Or Mikey. Especially Mikey."
"Agreed," Donnie said. "Too bad. Dr. Prankenstein would be a great asset."
"Speaking of which, I'm going to get a glass of water," she said, holding up the box of pills with a look of mischief. "How about we work on our retribution to Dr. Prankenstein while we're at it?"
Donnie's evil grin spread wider. That was another thing he was certainly looking forward to.
The game party was over, the Lotus ninjas had long since gone out to their patrol, and Mikey's thumbs and butt were numb. But he had a dinner to prepare.
And Mikey never backed down from dinner.
The guys were nowhere to be seen, which Mikey found weird, how quiet it was. But the thought only passed by him like a disoriented fly. The guys must be all to their own things, Mikey guessed. It was actually perfect because that meant he was free to work on his art without their nagging and complaints breaking his inspiration. "Olives don't go with whipped cream, Mikey! Flambéed lasagna milkshake is not a thing, Mikey!" Peasants.
Dancing his way past the curtains, Mikey gazed upon his very own laboratory of wonders and rubbed his hands, eager to begin.
First thing he did, as always, was an inventory check. Shimmying his way around the kitchen to the beat of the clangs and pangs of casseroles and bowls, he took out everything that was edible—or mostly edible—and set it on the table for easy viewing. Ah, an artist's palette. So much potential... What could go well with ice cream? Each combination he came up with in his head was more and more exciting. Luckily he had plenty of ice cream for some trial and error. Time to take out the main ingredient and begin!
He dipped a finger in some mayo on his way to the fridge and licked it, humming merrily and unable to stop the salivating. He yanked open the freezer door, expecting some good ol' kitty love. The cold air hit his face, and when the vapor cleared, he too froze.
The big ice cream bucket had been moved, barely, but enough that he could tell. And the lid was slightly crooked, like it hadn't been closed all the way. But what stopped his heart was the sight of Ice Cream Kitty, surrounded by…
Mikey gasped and rubbed his eyes in disbelief. They were kittens! Six ice cream kittens surrounding their momma as she tenderly licked on a droopy ice cream ear. The proud mother lifted her head and shone a bright mommy smile at Mikey.
He shrieked. "Oh my God! It actually happened! Ice Cream Kitty, no!" he cried in a panic, hands on his head.
He stared at the six little figures and they stared back with beady eyes full of malice. Ice Cream Kitty must have sneaked out like a rebellious daughter in a teenage comedy, and now there were six homicidal gremlin kittens on the loose!
"Guys! Guys, come quick! Donnie!"
As he swivelled to make a dash for the door, there was a flash of white. Mikey stopped dead in his tracks, blinded.
"Hah! One for your album, Mikey!" he heard Raph's voice hollering, followed by a chorus of laughter. Blinking his eyes open, and once the spot on his vision faded, he saw all his brothers, and April, and even Karaiwa, pointing and cackling at him. And then Mikey knew.
He looked in the freezer again and Ice Cream Kitty waved at him among all the ice cream lumps sculpted to look like kittens. Wow, he totally fell for that one.
"You too, Kitty?" He pointed an accusing forefinger, and Kitty mewled mischievously.
But his outrage, if it was ever that, lasted barely a puff of ninja smoke in the company of all his siblings and friends, and he was also surprised and relieved that Karaiwa and Leo were there as well, sharing the fun. If they could laugh together like this, then it had been totally worth it—and maybe Mikey's eyeliner prank hadn't completely ruined their relationship, which was also good.
"You're all a bunch of jerks!" he screamed at them all, but then joined in the laughter, and ran to Donnie's T-phone. He cackled with the rest at his own frenzied grimace, eyes wide and mouth agape in a scream of terror.
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