This story idea has been rolling around in the back of my mind for a while. It takes place just after "Mousers attack!" (As a side note, Ara "dropped in" on the turtles the day after "The Gauntlet" took place.) OK, enough of my talking, here we go!

Abducted Pt. 1

Ara

"Hold still, Mikey! Can't you sit in one position for ten minutes?"

"It hasn't been ten minutes, it's been two hours! How long does it take to paint a stupid picture?" Ara was in the kitchen, her brow furrowed with concentration and annoyance. She had always enjoyed painting, and when she'd found some old brushes and paints in the back of a closet, she'd immediately wanted to try them out. Mikey had volunteered to have his picture painted, but ten minutes later, (or two hours in Mikey time) he was squirming impatiently in his seat.

Leo, Donnie, and Raph were standing behind Ara, carefully watching her progress. "Wow, Ara, that's really good!" Leo exclaimed.

"Yeah, I had no idea you could paint like that!" Donnie agreed.

She even got an, "eh, I've seen worse," out of Raph.

"Hold it…hold it… there!" Ara exclaimed, stepping back to look at her work.

Mikey shot from his seat. "Finally!" Pepper yipped and leaped up towards Mikey, wagging his tail in excitement at seeing his master so happy. Ara moved the painting to a hopefully safe corner to dry out, eyeing Mikey and Pepper from where they were play-wrestling. That painting wasn't going to last five minutes.

"Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Ara." Ara turned her head to see Splinter standing in the doorway. "Come with me." Ara shot a questioning glance at Leo, who shrugged to show that he was as clueless as she was. Ara decided that it was most likely just another one of Splinter's training whims.

As Ara followed Splinter into the training dojo, she saw that she was right. There were five poles set up in the middle of the room. Each pole had a handkerchief tied to the top. Four of the poles were reasonably short, but one of them was nearly twice as tall as the rest.

"As you can see, the poles each have a uniquely colored handkerchief on them. Go to the one the same color as your mask." Ara looked up at the tallest pole. It had a green handkerchief at the top. Great. Just great. "The rules are simple," Splinter continued. "You must retrieve the handkerchief without climbing up the poles. You may not use objects or each other to prop yourselves up, either. Simply jump up and retrieve the handkerchief. Once you bring it to me, your training is done for the rest of the day."

"But..." Ara gestured helplessly up at the handkerchief. "How is that even fair?!"

"It's not," Splinter replied.

"But... that's impossible to reach!"

Splinter was already leaving the room, calling over his shoulder, "No, it's not. I could do it."

"Yes, but you're…" Ara saw that it was pointless to argue. She turned and glumly watched Raph leap for his, missing it by an inch. He tried again, this time grasping the loosely-tied handkerchief and tearing it from the pole.

Raph grinned and twirled the handkerchief between his fingers. "Last one to Splinter is turtle soup!"

"Hey, no fair!" Mikey shouted, leaping for his and catching it on the first try. Leo and Donnie weren't far behind him. In seconds, the four brothers were on the ground, handkerchiefs in hand and gazing expectantly at Ara.

She waved them off. "Last one to Splinter is turtle soup, remember? You guys better get going."

"No, I think we can wait. I don't wanna miss this," Raph grinned.

Ara sighed. This was going to be embarrassing. Crouching low to the ground, Ara called upon every ounce of strength she had in her. She took a deep breath, then launched herself into the air. Ara soared higher than she'd ever gone in her life as her stronger, mutated body boosted her towards the ceiling. She could feel the air washing over and around her, but Ara knew that it wasn't enough. The next thing she knew, the ground was coming up to meet her at an alarming rate. She went into a roll and then leapt to her feet.

Raph exploded with laughter. "That was pitiful! You were nowhere near the rung."

Ara's face reddened. "It was a lot higher than you jumped."

"Maybe so, but luckily for me, my pole wasn't a hundred feet high! There's no way you're ever going to make that jump."

Ara nodded. "Don't I know it." She tried again, once more getting nowhere close. Ara set her jaw. She could do this! Ara leaped up again and again, refusing to give up. The brother's heads bobbed up and down like yoyos as they watched her fail over and over.

"I'm giving this to Splinter," Donnie called, finally heading out the door. The other three were at his heels.

An hour went by. Ara finally sat down next to the pole, gazing up at the green piece of cloth miserably. It waved gently in the air, mocking her. Ha! See me up here? You can't get me! Never in a million years! Ara realized that she was probably crazy. The cloth didn't have a mind, but she didn't care. "Stupid handkerchief,"' she mumbled under her breath.

"Who are you talking to?" Ara jumped and turned to see Splinter standing in the doorway. It's called knocking, she thought to herself, but all she said was, "nobody."

"I see." Splinter crossed the room and sat himself down next to her. Ara looked away, angry with him for unfairly giving her such an impossible task. "Many years ago, when I was still human, I…"

Ara's head snapped up, and she stared at her teacher in disbelief. "Wait... did you just say when you were still human?!"

"I was a human at one time, yes."

"Woah." Ara leaned back on the pole, digesting the information. Questions began to buzz around in her head, but she decided to save those for another time. Splinter obliviously had a story to tell.

"Anyway, back when I was about your age, I was on a walk when I saw smoke pluming out of one of the town's houses. I went to investigate, and when I got there, I learned from one of the townspeople that there was a five-year-old girl trapped inside. The girl's mother and father had made it out, and they were sobbing and trying to push their way back inside the burning building, but the villagers held them back. So I went to the rear of the building when no one was looking and slipped through the back door. I pushed through the gaps in the flames until I saw the girl cowering in one of the rooms. Before I could enter, the doorway collapsed. There was a great pile of stone between me and the girl, and the fire was growing at every second."

"What did you do?" Ara breathed, captivated by the story.

"I began digging through the stone. But the pile was gigantic, and I could barely breathe through the thick smoke. To make matters worse, the house began to creak. I knew I didn't have long before it collapsed altogether. I nearly turned and left, but I remembered what my sensei had said about life being a fleeting blossom best used to help the innocent. I stayed, digging and clawing through the stones. They were hot from the fire, and I burned my hands. Finally, though, I made a hole just large enough for me to squeeze through. I entered the room and found the girl huddled in a corner, tears streaming down her cheeks. I took her hand and guided her through the opening. Once we were through, I picked her up and looked around for an exit. But the smoke was so thick, I couldn't see a thing. The flames crawled towards me, trapping me in a circle of fire."

Ara looked up into Splinter's eyes. They were unseeing, wrapped up in the memory. She could almost see the reflections of the flames flickering in his eyes. "The house groaned and creaked. I backed up and leapt blindly over the wall of fire. Once I was over it, I saw the door and sprinted out of it. The second I shot out into the cool air, the house collapsed behind me with one last groan."

Ara let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding. "And the girl?"

"The girl was fine. Her parents were overjoyed. The incident left me with a few burn scars on my body that never completely faded, but I also had the joy of watching that girl grow up, knowing that I'd saved her life. That is why I am having you do this." Splinter gestured up at the handkerchief. "I want to teach you the lesson I learned that day: no matter how impossible a task seems, if you push through it, you can make it. Great things can happen. Perseverance is everything. All you need to make that jump is right here." Splinter tapped her plastron with the end of his staff.

He rose. "But you may stop whenever you wish. This is not something I can make you do. You must make the decision on your own." With that, he left.

Ara sat silently, letting his words sink in. She looked up at the cloth. Now it seemed to be encouraging her. You can do it! Come on, I know you can! With that, Ara got up and began to jump.

Ara woke up shivering. The lair wasn't the warmest place at night. Of course, it didn't help that she was lying on the ground with neither blanket nor bed. No one would hold it against her if she left to sleep in her bed, but Ara knew that if she left the base of the pole, she wouldn't have the will to come back and keep trying. She upturned her gaze and barely managed to make out the green of the cloth high above her. She was going to do this no matter what it took. She tensed when she heard soft footsteps approaching, then relaxed when she recognized them as Leo's. There was no mistaking the even, confident footfalls.

More footsteps, these louder. Hmm... must be Raph. "What are you doing?!" came a sleepy hiss from Raph.

"What does it look like I'm doing, genius?"

"It looks like you're…"

"Shhhh! She might wake up!" The footsteps neared, and Ara evened out her breathing, pretending to be asleep. There was a loud crash as someone knocked over some weapons. "Raph!"

"Sorry! Who put those there?" A series of quiet clanks followed as they put them back. There was a snort. "It's not like she woke up. Some ninja."

"She's had a hard day." This was Leo. Ara was suddenly engulfed in warmth as a blanket was carefully draped over her. There was a whispered, "good night," then the steps retreated and a door clicked shut. Soon Ara was fast asleep, a soft smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

Ara walked into the kitchen and carefully placed the green handkerchief in front of Splinter, then grinned proudly. Her legs were unbelievably sore, but they were also stronger. She'd actually done it. Splinter smiled back at his pupil. "Well done."

Ara sat down at the breakfast table. "I'm starving."

"Then it's your lucky day!" Mikey chirped, placing a plate in front of her. "I made omelets!"

Ara poked the yellowish substance on the plate with her fork. "What's in it?" Mikey eagerly opened his mouth, but Ara lifted her hand. "Scratch that. Ignorance is bliss, right?"

She took a bite and grimaced. Mikey smiled expectantly. "So…how is it? 1 out of 10!"

"Definitely a 10." Ara lied, struggling to swallow.

"I knew you'd love it!" Mikey grinned happily and raced to the stovetop. "I made lots more!" Ara squeaked in alarm as Mikey dished a heaping pile of eggs onto her plate.

The other three turtles looked at her in amusement. "Well, go on!" Raph crowed. "Those eggs aren't gonna eat themselves!"

Ara slowly took a bite, her agony obvious. Obvious to everyone but Mikey, that is. He was sitting across from Ara, happily gazing at her as she chewed. He didn't often come across a fan of his cooking. "Gee, Mikey! This is GREAT," Ara said through gritted teeth. "So good, in fact, that I can hardly hog it all. That wouldn't be right. Let them have some. HERE." Ara tossed forks to Leo, Donnie, and Raph and pointedly shoved the plate towards them.

Sighing, the three cautiously took a bite. Ara ducked just in time to avoid the shower as they coughed it up.

Mikey's face visibly fell. "I should've known you guys wouldn't like it. Ara is the only tasteful person in this room."

Leo rose and dumped the plate into the trash, patting Mikey's shoulder as he left the room. "Maybe next time."

With an insulted sniff, Mikey turned to Ara. "Want to come with me and give Pepper a walk? You guys aren't invited."

"Sure," Ara agreed.

"Pepper! Here, boy!" Pepper shot into the room at the sound of Mikey's voice. Ara noticed for what seemed to be the first time how much he had changed over the past couple months. His chocolate brown fur had grown long and silky, much like a golden retriever's. He was over twice the size he had been when they'd gotten him. Under Mikey's loving care, Pepper had gone from a jumpy and timid puppy to a loving and active one.

Mikey had taught him to sit, stay, roll over, speak, and was currently working on "soak." In this particular command, Mikey was trying to teach Pepper to pick up a water balloon in his mouth, swinging it into the air and onto the desired person's head. The whole household was praying that this trick would fail, but Mikey was determined and Pepper was smart and eager, so Ara knew it was only a matter of time.

"If you guys meet Shredder during your walk, tell him I saved him a Christmas cookie!" Raph called out as they went through the door.

"Will do! Ninja's honor!" Ara called back, suppressing laughs. Though she had never met him in person, the ninjas had gone to great lengths to describe Shredder's appearance and past history. Their descriptions always sent shivers up and down Ara's spine. The "tell Shredder we saved him a cookie" joke was constantly being exchanged, which drove Mikey crazy.

Mikey and Ara walked along for about half an hour, Mikey babbling about one thing or another the whole time. "Well, I guess we'd better head back," Ara eventually butted in.

"Yeah, you're right." Mikey tugged at his pet's leash. "C'mon, Pepper."

Pepper didn't budge. He had suddenly started growling, the fur on his back prickling up in distress. "What is it, boy?" Mikey knelt down beside him, patting his back. Pepper would not be comforted.

"I think there's something bad around here." Ara said, drawing her sword.

"Bad? I wouldn't say bad. More like…capable of crushing two pitiful turtles as they speak." Ara's head snapped to the side at the sound of the deep, snarling voice. A huge, dog-like creature with cement spikes emerged from the shadows. Dogpound. "Master Shredder will be pleased to see you."

Ara had seen Dogpound enough to know how dangerous he was. There was no way Mikey and herself could take him on their own. But maybe if she stalled him, Mikey could… Ara didn't even finish the thought. She took a step towards the mutant. "Mikey, run!"