Note: Some elements in this chapter come from Tyroth Darkstorm's fic 'A Sister's Plight'
Chapter Three
Facing What Has Become
Meanwhile, as Splinter had predicted, Mona and Raphael had gone to James's medical room to see how Callum was doing.
The Chimpanzee was checking the Raven over to make sure he was stable as well as restrained properly in case he awoke.
"How is he James?" Mona asked in a worried voice, her eyes were bloodshot and dark rings adorned them as she looked at her brother.
She had barely slept at all last night as she had been tossing and turning having terrible nightmares. Everytime she closed her eyes she saw Shredder impaling her baby brother on his bladed hand, then his mangled body on the pier outside the boathouse, then the look in his eyes when Callum realised he was now a mutant followed by his furious outburst.
Raphael looked just as rough, having tried to coax Mona back to sleep at many intervals.
"He's healthy." James reported "Still resting, though I'm hesitant to leave him right now just in case, so I'll stay here a while longer."
"You sure Jimmy?" asked Raphael.
"I am." James said "And don't worry, I have a private food cupboard here just in case, Louie often keeps me topped up for situations like this!"
"That's good to know." Raphael said "Donnie does the same when he decides he doesn't want to leave his lab for hours."
As the turtle stepped back, his shell hit a table of medical tools and some of them clattered to the floor.
"Hey! I need those!" James said walking over and picking up the tools.
"Oopps, sorry!" Raphael gulped bending down to help the Chimpanzee.
"Go and get some breakfast you two." James said, placing the last tool on the table "And I promise you..." he paused as he turned to Mona who was still looking worried and fragile and he took her hands in a comforting way.
"I promise you Mona, I'll let you know as soon as your brother is awake."
Mona nodded slowly.
"Okay, thank you James." she said and she felt Raphael's arm slide around her shoulders.
"Come on babe." Raphael said "Let's leave James to do his work and look for the others."
Mona reluctantly agreed then walked with Raphael out of the medical room to head to the Mess Hall.
At the same time, they saw Sephie and Tyroth walking over with Loki and Freya who were strolling, or rather hopping every few seconds and flapping their wings trying to fly for a bit whilst holding their parents hands.
"Good morning." Sephie said brightly, yet Freya and Loki let go of their parents hands and flew over to Mona and Raphael.
"Uncle Raph! Aunt Mona!" they cheered as Freya jumped onto Raphael and Loki hugged Mona's leg.
"Hey kids!" Raphael said catching Freya as she flew into his arms "You little squirts are getting bigger!"
"And you're doing well with your flying!" Mona smiled as she patted Loki's head, seeing the Geckolings did cheer her up a little, if not much as she was still upset about Callum.
"Gently kids!" Tyroth said "I know you're excited, but calm down a little okay?"
"Okay daddy!" the Geckolings chorused as Loki let go of Mona and Raphael gently let Freya down to the ground.
"Hows Callum doing, little sis?" asked Sephie, making Mona smile a little at the nickname, yet the smile faded as soon as it came.
"He's not awake yet." she said "But James is going to keep an eye on him, and I think he said George was going to see him later, to talk to Callum when he wakes up."
"Don't worry Mona." Sephie comforted "I'm sure everything will be alright!"
"Will it?" asked Mona, her eyes filling with tears again "Did you see the way he looked at me? He hates me."
"He can't hate you!" Sephie said "You saved his life! Anyone else would have done the same!"
The Geckolings looked at their mother and aunt wondering what they were talking about but Tyroth told them both to go to the mess hall and look for their Aunt Amber to which they did.
Mona felt relieved she didn't have to keep her guard up now the children had left and the tears fell again to which Raphael held her close.
"I'm sorry." she said trying to stop herself getting emotional "But the way he looked at me...he's like a stranger, I saw it back in New York, but I put it down to the drugs in his system, that all the years of damage he had done to himself made him like this, but looking at him now, he still is someone else, and I don't mean a mutant!"
Tyroth looked down sadly.
He only knew too well how he had to give the water of the well to his sister Jennifer before she became Amber the Marine Iguana, at least she had consented to the change, even though there was no choice in the matter, it was either transformation or death.
She had been okay with the whole situation and was now with the Chicago Knights helping them fight crime and make Chicago a safer place.
He felt lucky that day having his sister back, and he had prayed one day Mona would share the same luck, but with Callum it had been a total opposite affect.
"Listen Monalisa." Tyroth said comfortingly "Try not to worry okay? He may not take it too well right now, he might be angry for a while too, but he will have to accept his new form sooner or later and realise that you saved his life."
"Yeah." Sephie said "I didn't take well to my mutation if you remember, I hid in a dark room and cried my eyes out, and it took me months to get used to it."
Mona looked down as she remembered Sephie telling her when they first met, and she looked back at the medical room.
"Come on." Tyroth said "Let's get some breakfast and see everyone, maybe some food will make us feel better."
"Sounds like a plan." Raphael said stroking Mona's hair comfortingly "I think I can smell the sausages from here!"
Arriving at the mess hall, Tyroth, Sephie, Mona and Raphael saw all the other mutants, both Mutopian and New Yorker alike were enjoying some breakfast and the delicious smell of food wafted from Louie's kitchen.
Mona didn't feel hungry due to her stress, but she knew she had to eat something.
"Hey." Raphael said as he looked to where his brothers, Jake, and Sensei were sitting along with Pandora and Kemeko "Where's Mikey? He's never late when it's meal time."
"Kate's not here either." Sephie said.
"No prizes for guessing why!" Tyroth said rolling his eyes "Those two are worse than us when we first got together!"
Sephie chuckled as well as smiled within thinking of how close Michelangelo and Kate had gotten since realising their feelings for each other.
"I think Mikey Boy is loving something even tastier than Louie's cooking!" they heard Percy the Grasshopper pipe up.
The other Knights and the Turtles looked at Percy.
"You know." Percy said "A little..." he licked his lips emphasizing something sexual.
"Ewww! Percy!" Jack the Wolf said.
"There are kids here!" Donatello scolded gesturing to Pandora, Kemeko, Sonia and the Geckolings.
"Oh come on! I bet you guys would love it? A red carpet?"
"PERCY!" Sarah and Heather shrieked together.
"Did you ever?" asked Sharky raising an eyebrow at Percy.
"Sure I have!" Percy said making the others stare at him in amazement as well as surprise "Well that was before I became a mutant!"
"You're sick man!" Jack commented.
Just then Michelangelo and Kate arrived at the mess hall, both looking a little red faced as well as breathless.
"Oh look whose here!" Raphael commented "What's with you Mike? You're never late for Breakfast!"
"Or lunch or dinner for that matter!" Donatello commented.
"Sorry guys." Kate said "We overslept."
"More than overslept!" Percy grinned "Bet the love birds were having a little action...Owww!"
A loud whack was heard and Percy rubbed the top of his head and looked to see Kate had struck him with her whip making the whole of the Mess Hall laugh though Splinter and George the Turtle looked annoyed.
"Shut up Vermin!" Kate hissed "You're just jealous!"
"Nice aim Kate!" Heather laughed.
"Thanks!" Kate beamed as she and Michelangelo took their seats at the table and Michelangelo licked his lips at the smell of Louie's cooking.
"A bit of everything for me!" he announced "After you Kate, of course!" he said politely making Kate smile and blush.
Mona couldn't help the chuckle that came to her and she walked over to join her family and she sat next to Pandora and opposite Jake whilst Raphael went to get some food from Louie.
"Morning Jake." she said.
Jake nodded at her, he was slowly chewing on some marmalade toast as well as drinking a mug of coffee.
"How's Callum?" asked Jake.
Mona sighed and explained to Jake about how Callum hadn't woken up and that James was going to keep an eye on him until he did, to which Jake sighed.
"I've been trying to think of what to say to dad." Jake said "I want to tell the truth, but I can't! He'd think I was mad!"
"And also, we can't tell him about here." Mona said "As it's not what we're supposed to do, if anyone else found out about this place, it would be devastating, especially since they have nowhere else to go."
Jake looked at all of Mutopia, and saw all the mutants that sat at the tables, all of them had come from different backgrounds, he heard how they had lived human lives before ending up here, but what lead them here? He didn't know, but he was going to find out eventually.
He thought about how they must have hit a turning point in their lives to bring them here and mutate into what they were now, did any of them have a choice when they changed? Or was it mutation or death, like Callum?
Again, he did not know the answers, but looking at all of them alone, they had found a way to co-exist in the world, and the humans knew nothing about them, well apart from himself and April and Casey and he didn't know who else might know about them, since he hadn't been told, but he knew he would learn in due course.
But the real question was what could he tell his dad about Callum? So many thoughts were running through his head and he was running out of time.
Caledon would want to know what was going on, and he would soon realise that his sons hadn't returned to Wisconsin and also Jake knew his and Callum's employers back at the hotel in Milwaukee would raise the alarm when the Freeman Brothers didn't show up for work.
His thoughts were interrupted when Raphael appeared with some plates of food and he placed one down in front of Mona which consisted of poached eggs on toast and sprinkled with pepper whilst he had some scrambled eggs with bacon with sausages. He also had another plate of toast which he put down in the middle so people could help themselves.
Jake instantly took another couple of slices of toast for himself and started to spread more marmalade on them hoping some more food would help him think better.
Mona stared at her eggs, she knew she had to eat but her mouth felt dry and her stomach was tight with worry.
"You need to eat something babe." Raphael said as he placed some eggs into his mouth.
Jake nodded "You'll make yourself even more ill if you don't." he said.
Mona sighed and cut a piece of toast and egg.
"Finish your food mum!" Pandora piped up then held up her plate "Look! I ate all my breakfast!"
Mona chuckled as she looked at her daughter.
"That you did, princess!" she said with a smile.
"Kemeko did too!" Pandora grinned.
Mona smiled again feeling proud of her daughter as well as feeling a light emerge in the darkness she felt within.
"Looks like you're gonna have to follow our daughter's example eh babe?" Raphael whispered to Mona, smirking a little with one eyebrow raised "after all we're always telling her to finish her meals."
"True that!" Mona agreed feeling slightly aroused at Raphael's smirk then looked at her plate before taking a few bites coming back to reality.
So much had happened within twenty-four hours, and she was unsure of what else would happen in due course.
So Callum's still sedated and Jake and Mona are worried, Jake especially as he still doesn't know what to tell his father without revealing the existence of Mutopia. What can he tell his family? And will Callum wake up soon?
Well, keep checking back folks!