AN: I don't own TMNT or any of their characters such as Michaelangelo, Donatello, Raphael, Leonardo, Splinter, Shredder or the Foot Clan. I do however, own Aislinn, Kimberly, Jessica, Ana, Kojr, Sharon, Yasahiro, and the storyline. Merode belongs to Melody S., an ex-friend of mine.
I've learned a few Japanese phrases through reading and such, and you'll find them scattered throughout the story, mostly insults.
PLEASE R&R!! I like to know what people think and, while this story is complete, I need motivation to drag my ass into to post since I'm going to school full-time and working part-time. I'm hoping things will pick up on my postings, however, as soon as I can get my Internet re-connected. Until then, however, my postings are most likely going to have to wait until the weekends while I'm at work.
Chapter 2
"You're kidding," Jessica said, horrified. It surprised Aislinn, considering Jessica hated Ana.
She shook her head. Then, without warning—surprising everyone, including herself—she turned and punched the wall. That was something only Merode did. Crying out, in anger more than pain, she felt the knuckle break.
Merode rushed over and pulled her away from the wall to sit her down on the bench. Then she crouched down next to Aislinn and looked into her eyes.
"Now why'd you go and do that, huh? You're already hurt enough from your own clumsiness and now you're going around hurting yourself on purpose. You're going to kill yourself one of these days."
Aislinn didn't answer. She just sat there, staring at an invisible spot on the floor. What was she supposed to tell Ana?
Mikey sat down next to Aislinn on the bench. "Hey, being a mutant isn't that bad." His hand rubbed her back as if to comfort her.
"Isn't that bad!" Aislinn shot to her feet, not only in rage, but to get away from his touch. He didn't repulse her; it was just that his touch seemed to brand her skin, even through her sweatshirt. She didn't understand that. "Don't you remember the pain you went through?"
"He wouldn't remember," said Merode. "First of all, he's hit his head too much with those nun-chucks of his to remember anything. Second, he was never human. He was changed into a mutant when he was a baby turtle."
"And I was a cute baby turtle, too!" Mikey said, grinning.
Merode chuckled.
Strangely, Aislinn was still serious. "Well, its painful. Especially if Shredder is testing to find out how much of the stuff it takes to change us. Its possible that me and Ana will be deformed like this for the rest of our lives."
"Actually, I don't think so," said Kimi through Jessica.
Aislinn looked at her, surprised. "What d'ya mean?"
"Well, give me your arm and I'll show you."
Aislinn removed her glove and pulled up the sleeve to reveal her arm.
"Take a look." Kimi pointed to just above the wrist. "See how you've got a lot of coarse hair going up your arm?"
"Yeah, so?"
"It wasn't like that before. I remember when you first showed us your hand. All you had were fingernails as hard as horse hooves. And haven't you been complaining of pains in your arm?"
Aislinn nodded. That was true.
Kimi nodded in turn. "See? Your insides are trying to adjust. You're turning more into a Kelpie everyday."
Aislinn frowned and snapped, "And that's something to be happy about?"
Kimi frowned and her fingers flew angrily. "I didn't mean it that way, Aislinn. I was just stating a fact."
"All right, everyone, calm down," said Jessica as everyone started fighting. They quieted at their leader's voice. "Let's figure out how we're going to tell Ana what's happening to her."
"Aye," said Aislinn. "We can't just go up to her and say, 'Ana, you're turning into a mutant bear, there's nothing we can do about it, and you're going to be like this for the rest of your life.'"
Mikey laughed, thinking it funny the way she said it.
"Don't mind him," said Merode when Aislinn shot her a look. "He's got the IQ of a rock."
"Hey!" Mikey protested. "I do not!"
"Prove it."
Mikey hesitated, his finger pointing up in the air. Then, deflated and slouching, he said, "Point taken."
They all laughed and even Aislinn grinned. Then she turned serious again. This was very unusual, considering she was the goofball of the group—thus her nickname, Kelpie. She was always the one to cheer them up. But right now wasn't a time to be fooling around. Her friend was in trouble.
"So how are we going to tell Ana?" she asked the group.
"Sorry to say this, Aislinn," said Kimi. "But its probably best if you told her, rather than us. She'd listen to you better if she went into a fit."
"She's not going to go into a fit," Aislinn defended.
"Aislinn, think for a moment about her."
Aislinn smiled. "I guess you're right. She will. She never could handle bad news." She chuckled. "Except when I told her that I killed her boyfriend."
Jessica smiled, realizing Aislinn's need for a change of subject. "Yes, she was pretty happy."
"Happy?" Kimi said snorting. She looked at Merode and Mikey. "Ana flew into Aislinn's arms, crying, when she found out he was dead. And she wasn't crying out of sorrow."
"Yeah, well I'd be happy, too, if my boyfriend was as brutal as he was," Aislinn said.
Jessica nodded. "I would've killed him myself long before, 'cept that she begged us not to."
"What did he do to her?" asked Merode.
"Beat her constantly. There was never a day when she didn't have a new bruise from him. Once he even broke her nose after hitting her so hard," said Kimi.
"And you guys did nothing?" Merode asked, disbelieving. Yeah, she didn't like the Purple Dragons, but a woman being beaten was uncalled for. Especially for a girl that small.
"After he did that, of course I did something," said Aislinn. "He met up with a stranger in an ally that night." Aislinn smiled wickedly. "Let's just say he didn't force Ana—or any other girl, for that matter—into bed after that night."
The girls laughed as Mikey winced as if feeling the pain himself.
"You made him an Eunuch, then?" Merode asked, her eyes glittering with glee. She loved to hear of other's pain. Unless they were friends, thought Aislinn. Scratch that thought! She loved to hear of Aislinn's pain. But only if the pain was dealt out by Merode herself.
Aislinn laughed. "You bet I did." She popped the ring dagger up, jerked it in the air as if reliving that night. Twisting it once, she then popped it back in. "That's exactly what I did. And I was very precise, if I do say so myself. It would've killed him, but someone in a car going by stopped when he rushed out of the alley and took him to the hospital."
"Jeez," Mikey said. "You have no mercy for men, do you?"
Aislinn giggled. "Not for men like him."
After the laughter died down, Aislinn stood slowly and groaned as if the weight of what she was about to do rested on her shoulders. "I guess I should get this over with."
"Do you want me to go with?" Merode asked, placing a hand on Aislinn's shoulder.
Aislinn nodded. "But you'll have to stay in the shadows until I tell you. Otherwise you might scare her and I'll never be able to explain."
Merode smiled mischievously. "That's what I do best."
Whether she meant hiding in the shadows or scaring people, Aislinn didn't know. She did know, however, that Merode did both very well. If Merode wished it, you'd never know she was there until she jumped at you. Aislinn should know. She was Merode's favorite target.
Out in the living room, Ana was still fast asleep. Aislinn sat next to the couch and looked for Merode. She was standing in a corner where the light from the lamp didn't reach. You had too look real hard to see her. Even then, all you saw was subtle outline of a body and the feint gleaming of yellow eyes.
Aislinn reached out and touched Ana's shoulder. "Ana, dear. Its time to wake up."
Ana's eyes fluttered open and she smiled sleepily at Aislinn. Rubbing her eyes and yawning, she sat up. "Did Kimi find out what it is?"
Aislinn nodded. "But first, I want to tell you something. And you can't freak out on me, alright?"
Ana nodded, somewhat confused.
"No one in this house will ever hurt you, understand?"
Her brows furrowing in utter confusion, she nodded.
Aislinn took a deep breath then began. "Do you remember a few days after I killed Han and you asked me why I always wore a glove?"
Ana nodded. "You told me you had an accident."
Aislinn nodded in turn. "I want to show you why I hid it. But first, I'm going to tell you how it happened. The day I killed Han, members of the ninja clan called The Foot captured me. They're the men you saw dressed in ninja costumes. They brought me back to their headquarters after knocking me unconscious with gas bombs. I was unconscious for three days until I woke tied to an operating table. When I was fully awake, they forced me to drink a green concoction that had a strange taste to it. A few days later, I escaped before they could force more into me."
Aislinn paused and pulled the glove off and shoved the sweatshirt sleeve up to her wrist. Ana gasped in horror.
"This is what they did to me. And its getting worse." She pulled the shirt up her arm all the way to her shoulder to reveal the white horsehide that turned brown near her elbow.
"Oh, God, Linn," Ana said with pity. "Does it hurt?"
Aislinn shrugged. "A bit."
A snort came from the corner where Merode stood. Ana didn't hear.
"Is this going to happen to me?" she asked, fearfully.
Aislinn nodded sadly. "But I'm turning into a horse. A Kelpie, actually, thus the reason why I'm thirsty all the time. Kelpies live in water. Anyway, you're turning into your animal."
"I'm turning into a bear?" whined Ana.
Aislinn nodded and noticed the rest had moved into the room, all except Mikey. He was nowhere in sight. She looked back to Ana, saying, "Do you remember how I told you about my friend, Merode?"
Ana nodded, still distracted by the previous facts. "Yeah, you said that she disappeared four years ago."
"Aye, well, she's come back to us. And I'd like you to meet her. She was also a victim of the green drink."
On cue, Merode stepped from the shadows and walked up to them. Ana scurried away in horror and put the couch between her and the fox-mutant.
"Ana, it's okay—"
"Its...its a...a..."
"A fox, yes. It's okay. This is Merode. She won't hurt you. I promise. Just sit back and relax."
Seizing her chance, Merode grinned, showing her sharp teeth. "Don't be too sure, Kelpie, dear."
"Merode," Aislinn warned. "Don't, please..."
Ana shook her head as if to clear it, still staring at Merode with eyes as wide as silver dollars. "No. I ah...I...got things to do...I'm...I'm gonna go."
"Ana, wait!"
But Ana had already turned and ran out the door.
Aislinn started after her, but Merode stopped her. "Raph's got her."
"Who's Raph?"
"Hey," came a male voice. "This thing yours?" Four turtle, including Mikey—stood in the doorway. The one in the red headband with sais in his belt was the one that had spoken. He stepped back to reveal a turtle in a blue headband with swords strapped to his shell. In his arms was a very unconscious Ana.
Aislinn rushed over. "What happened? What'd you do?"
"Hey, ho, slow it down," said the Redband. "We didn't do nuthin' but try to stop her from running. We saw her leaving the house in hurry and the purple dragon on her arm." He pointed to Ana's tattoo. "And figured somethin' was up. We tried to stop her, but she feinted."
"We think Mikey scared her," said a turtle in a purple headband. Mikey punched him in the arm and Purpleband punched back harder.
Redband took their heads in his hands and thumped them together getting protests from both. "Knock it off, you two."
When Redband's back was turned, Mikey stuck out his tongue. Next thing Mikey knew, Redband had slammed him up against the wall, pulling on the still protruding tongue. "You gonna stop now?"
When Mikey hesitated, Redband pulled harder. Mikey nodded quickly and Redband let the tongue snap back into Mikey's mouth. Jessica and Kimi were cracking up, tears rolling down their cheeks.
While this was happening, Blueband walked over to the couch and laid Ana down. "I'm going to need a warm compress to wake her."
Aislinn quickly went to the kitchen and ran a washcloth under warm water. Coming back, she brushed Blueband aside and kneeled next to Ana. Then she placed the wet cloth on her forehead.
"Ana. Ana, dear. Wake up."
It took several minutes, but finally the girl's eyes opened slowly. She sat up, confused. "Linn? What happened?"
"You feinted. You feeling okay?"
Ana put a hand to her forehead and pulled the cloth off. "I dreamt that you were turning into a horse. And you're friend, Merode, came back and she was half human, half fox. Then I ran out and these four half human, half turtles tried to stop me."
Merode laughed from behind Ana. "I don't think you were dreaming, kid."
Ana jumped and twisted to see the fox/woman standing next to one of the turtle/men from her dream.
She groaned and lay back down. "This ain't happenin'."
Aislinn smiled kindly. "I'm sorry, Ana but is," she said as she held up her deformed hand.
Ana started to cry. "Why does this happen to me? Why can't it happen to Kojr?"
Aislinn tried to hug the girl, but Ana pulled away and wiped her tears. "I think I should go," she said, sniffing.
"Ana, don't go. You need to know what's happening—"
"I know what's happening, Linn. Kojr betrayed me and now I'm turning into an animal. Like you and Merode and them four guys. But right now, I need to be by myself and think this out."
Aislinn sighed, but nodded. Ana got up, said her good-byes, and hurried out the door. The room was quiet. Then Jessica said to Aislinn, "I think you should follow her."
Aislinn shook her head. "She needs to be alone."
"Aislinn, she can't handle bad news on her own. You said that earlier. I think just to be safe, you should follow her."
"Why? Do you think she'll try something?"
Jessica nodded. "She's done it before, she'll do it again."
Aislinn nodded. That was true. That was how Ana and Aislinn had first met. Aislinn had talked Ana out of committing suicide after she found out she was pregnant with Han's baby. The baby had died long before it was born—why, no one knew—and Aislinn and Ana had become fast friends.
"I guess you're right," Aislinn said. She got up and went out the door, jogging down the steps and looking for Ana. She was just turning a corner up the block. She was headed home.
"Hey," said a voice from behind her. She jumped and spun then relaxed when she realized it was just Mikey. "Mind if I come with you?" he asked.
Aislinn started walking in Ana's direction. "As long as you stay quiet," she said.
He fell in beside her. "So why does Merode call you Kelpie?"
"Because I act like one."
Mikey stopped in his tracks. "You eat humans and leave their insides to float down your river?" he asked, horrified.
"No," Aislinn said, giving a snort of laughter. "You're talking of an evil-spirited Kelpie. I act like a good-spirited Kelpie. I romp around and make my friends laugh when they need comfort."
"Oh." He was silent for a moment. Then, "So who comforts you?"
"Didn't I ask you to stay quiet?"
"Yeah, but—"
"Then shut it."
"You're avoiding the question."
"We're here," she said as she stopped in front of a rundown apartment so much like Aislinn's own home.
"Dude, does everyone 'round here live like this?" Mikey asked.
"Yes, now be quiet."
Aislinn climbed up on a closed dumpster and peered in Ana's kitchen window. Ana was writing a note on the table—probably for her mother. Ana's mother worked all night and slept all day, so they barely saw one another. Ana's father had left when Ana had been conceived.
Aislinn watched as Ana moved to a kitchen cabinet, her back to Aislinn. She pulled something out and stuck it in the hem of her khakis. Then she headed for the front door.
"She's coming," said Aislinn as she jumped off the dumpster. Mikey was already moving into an alley. Aislinn followed and peeked out around the corner.
Ana came out, looked both ways and crossed the street then headed into an alley.
"Where's she goin'?" Mikey asked.
Aislinn frowned. "I dunno." She stepped out of the alley and hurried across the street, Mikey behind her.
After several minutes of following her, Ana finally stopped under a bridge that had a lit burning barrel underneath it. A single figure stood near the barrel.
"Ana? What are you doing here?" asked the figure. It was Kojr.
Ana pulled the object from the hem of her pants and held it up, pointing it at him. Aislinn's eyes widened when she realized it was a gun.
"You ruined my life!" screeched Ana.
Kojr's hands went up and his eyes went wide. "Hey, Ana, I dunno what yer talkin' 'bout. Just...put the gun down, ya know?"
"I'm talkin' 'bout the drug ya put in my alcohol, Kojr! It's deforming me!"
"Hey, Ana, I don't pick yer drink—"
"You put it there, Kojr!"
"They paid me to—"
Aislinn jumped as the gun went off and Kojr fell back. He hit the ground and didn't move again.
"Ana, no!" Aislinn shouted as Ana put the gun to her head. But it was too late.
Ana pulled the trigger and was dead before she hit the ground.
"No!" Aislinn screamed. She ran toward the limp body and fell to her knees next to her friend, pulling the girl into her arms. Tears were streaming down her face and into Ana' bloody hair. "Ana, no," Aislinn sobbed. "Come back, Ana."
Blood covered her arms and flowed over onto her lap, but Aislinn didn't care. Her best friend was dead.
A hand rested on her shoulder and she shoved it off. "Go away," she sobbed as she bent over her friend's limp corpse.
"Aislinn, we gotta get outta here before people come—" Mikey started.
"I don't care. Let them come."
"Aislinn—"
"Leave me be!" she cried then dissolved in sobs.
Mikey sighed and backed away, letting her cry.