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 3

When the sun began to come up, Mikey went to Aislinn's side. "Aislinn, we gotta go now."

Aislinn didn't respond. She had stopped crying an hour before and had just stared off into space, rocking Ana's body back and forth.

"Aislinn, come on."

Still, she didn't answer.

Mikey reached down and pried Ana's body from Aislinn's grasp, but Aislinn didn't seem to notice. She just continued rocking, staring into space.

Mikey tried helping her to her feet, but she wouldn't stand up. All she would say was 'no' weakly and fall back down to her knees.

Sighing, Mikey picked her up and carried her away from the murder scene. Aislinn's face was against his chest; her arms curled together near her chin. She was cold to the touch and trembling severely. Small, dry sobs issued forth from her.

"Shh, it'll be okay," he whispered. "We'll get ya back home and stuff some pizza into ya. That always helps," he said, trying to lighten the mood. Aislinn said nothing, nor did she seem to hear.

She fell asleep before they reach the apartment and Mikey climbed the steps, kicking the door open, surprising Merode and Raph, who were sitting on the couch.

Mikey smirked. "Dudes, don't you know how to get a room by now?"

Raph glared at him. "Watch it, kid, or I'll deck ya."

Merode saw Aislinn, covered in blood and frowned, getting to her feet. "What happened?"

Mikey's smirk disappeared and he frowned as the others filed into the room, having heard him come in.

"The blood ain't hers, it's Ana's. She's dead. She went off and shot some guy then killed herself." He grunted as he shifted Aislinn. "Could ya show me where her room is? She's gettin' kinda heavy."

Merode nodded and showed him to Aislinn's room. He laid her down on the bed while saying, "She cried herself out until an hour before dawn. Then she just held Ana's body, rocking it like a doll. Once in a while she'd murmur something, but I couldn't catch it."

Kimi frowned, sadly and her hands moved with sorrow. "She went into shock," Jessica translated.

"Well, duh," said Raph. "She just watched her friend kill herself."

"Oh, shut, Raph," Merode said as she covered Aislinn with a blanket. There was a tenderness in her eyes that the others had never seen before.

Mikey smirked. "I think you've gone soft, Merode."

Merode glared at him. "You shut up too, Mikey, or I'll deck ya."

"Or not."

"Let's leave her to sleep," said Jessica.

Merode nodded and herded everyone out of the room. She took one last glance at Aislinn, then shut the door behind her. Her ears didn't miss the sound of soft crying coming from inside Aislinn's room as Merode walked down the hall.

Aislinn startled everyone when at dinner, she came cart wheeling into the kitchen.

"Good morning, everyone!" she said cheerily.

Everybody just stared at her, save for Merode who—knowing what she was up to—just shook her head and returned to her food.

Aislinn frowned slightly. "What? Y'all look like ya just seen a ghost or somethin'."

When no one answered her, she shrugged and skipped her way over to the fridge when she grabbed a pizza box and pulled it out. She frowned when she opened it.

"Hey! Who ate the last piece and put the box back empty?"

Each person in the room looked at Mikey who had a piece of pizza in his hand. He was standing next to the fridge, leaning against the counter and he looked as if he was a child who just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "What? What'd I do?" he asked innocently.

Aislinn smiled wickedly and hit him over the head with the empty pizza box. Then she grabbed his piece of pizza and bit into it. "Thank you," she said around chewing.

"Hey!" Mikey exclaimed. "That was mine!"

Aislinn giggled. "Not anymore."

"Give it back!" Mikey said, reaching for the pizza. But Aislinn danced out of his reach and ran from the kitchen, still giggling.

Mikey chased after her.

Raph looked at Merode. "She's just like—"

"Mikey? Yup," said Merode, not looking up from her food.

"You mean she's—"

"A goofball? Yup."

Raph groaned. "Oh, dear God, now there's two of them!?!"

"Yup."

He placed his elbows on the table and buried his face in his hands.

Merode patted his back. "Poor baby," she said with sarcastic sympathy as she smirked.

In the living room, Aislinn was giggling as Mikey chased her around the couch.

"Come on," Mikey whined, stopping. He stood in front of the couch while Aislinn stood behind it, still giggling. "Gimme it back!"

"Why?" Aislinn asked, taking another bite. "I paid for it."

"True, but I was eating it. Give it back." He lunged over the couch at her, one arm outstretched to grab the pizza. His hand latched onto her wrist, instead and e dragged her to the ground as he fell over the couch.

They wrestled for a while until Mikey finally pinned her, but she held the pizza just out of reach. He couldn't reach the pizza without letting up on his knees which pinned her legs to the ground.

"Give it here!" he said, reaching for it, then sitting back down on her legs and she tried to wriggle free.

She giggled and shook her head. Then she leaned upward and gave him what Merode called 'The Shocker'. She planted a kiss right on his beak.

It worked...as always.

He pulled back in surprise, the pizza suddenly forgotten.

She took her chance and gathered her knees underneath him, flipping him over her head and sending him flying onto his back. Giggling again, she got to her feet and ran down the hall.

Groaning, Mikey got to his feet and chased after her. "Come on!" he called. "Just gimme a piece of it!"

Still laughing, Aislinn ran into the practice room and slammed the door shut, pulling a bench in front of it. Then, as Mikey pounded on the door, she ran across the room and climbed up into the rafters of the room, hiding in a corner. She sat, eating the pizza as Mikey shoved his way into the room.

Mikey looked around as he came in, confused. She was nowhere in sight.

"Aislinn?" he asked, walking around the room.

Too late, he heard a snigger and looked up. Aislinn jumped down from the rafters and landed on him. They fell to the floor in a heap.

Then they wrestled again and Mikey pinned her once more. His knees pinned her legs to the ground as before and he held her wrists with both hands, trapping them against the floor.

That's when he realized she didn't have the pizza in her hands anymore. "Where'd you put the pizza?" he asked.

Giggling, Aislinn opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue, showing pieces of chewed pizza.

"Ah, dude," Mikey groaned. "Ya almost as bad as me."

She giggled, swallowing what was left of the pizza.

Then Mikey smiled mischievously. He mocked a sigh. "Guess there's only one way to get it back." He waggled his eyebrows—well, what should be eyebrows, if he had any.

Her eyes widened. "Mikey, don't you d—"

He cut her off as he kissed her.

He let go of her wrists as he deepened the kiss and she wrapped them around his neck, beginning to kiss back.

Without her noticing, he had slid his arms down her sides and before she knew it...he was tickling her!

She screeched as he pulled away and tried to push his hands away, to no avail.

"Stop it!" she squealed with laughter. "That tickles! Stop!"

"What is going on here?" asked a voice from the doorway.

They both looked up, Mikey's hands resting on Aislinn's hips. Merode and Raph stood in the doorway, both with their arms crossed over their chests.

Merode cocked an eyebrow, waiting for someone to answer her question.

"Umm..." Mikey said, looking down at Aislinn then back up at Merode. He shrugged. "I'm getting the pizza back?"

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"We should really be getting back to Master Splinter," said Leonardo the next morning.

"You guys should come with," said Mikey, his eyes on Aislinn.

"I dunno," Aislinn said doubtfully. "We can't just up and leave our home."

"Oh, come on," said Raph with disbelief as he rolled his eyes. "Not that I want you to come along, but this ain't a home if you haven't noticed. It's a dump."

Aislinn smirked then looked at Merode who was standing next to Raph. She kinda had a hunch that they were going together, though she wasn't quite sure since Merode hadn't said a word about it. "Don't blame me for that. Merode's the one who bought the place. You shoulda seen it before we moved in."

Merode gave her an evil look. "I would ask you to bite me, but I don't want hoof and mouth disease."

Aislinn gave Merode the finger.

Merode smirked. "Good luck to you, too, kid. Ya need it."

Aislinn glared at Merode then looked at the smiling Mikey who stood next to her. Without warning, she reached over and shoved him.

He stumbled back, shouting in protest. "Dude, what was that for?"

Aislinn grinned. "Well, I couldn't do that to her," she said pointing to Merode. "Cuz she'd kick my ass. And you're the only other body within reach, so why not?"

"I'll show you why not," he said, starting toward her, his hands up in tickling mode.

Screeching with laughter, Aislinn turned and ran. Mikey chased after her.

Merode rolled her eyes as the two ran in circles around the large living room.

"Gettin' old?" Raph asked her.

Merode nodded.

"It hasn't even begun," he said, smirking.

"I know," Merode groaned. "I'm beginning to regret coming back."

As Aislinn passed her, she stretched out and gave Merode a hug. "Ya know ya love us." Then, giggling as Merode swatted at her, she ran away. Mikey was still chasing her.

Merode looked up at Raph. "I'm so not havin' kids."

Aislinn passed them again and called out, still giggling, "Good! More practice in torture for me—oof!" She was cut off as Mikey crashed into her and tackled her to the ground. He then sat on top of her back, pinning her to the floor.

Merode laughed at the sight and Raph smirked. "Thank you," he said.

Mikey beamed at his brother. "No prob, dude."

Aislinn tried to get up, but he leaned over, pressing her back down. "Dude," she gasped. "This ain't cool. Lemme up! I can't breathe!"

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"Holy fuckin' shit," said Aislinn as she craned her neck back to stare at the entertainment system that belonged to the four turtles.

They were at the turtles' home in the sewer on the other side of New York. And Aislinn liked it! The entertainment center was huge! It totally made up for the smell.

"Watch your mouth, kid," Merode said.

Aislinn grinned. "I would ask you to bite me, but I'd rather not acquire rabies."

Merode smirked back. "You've been really bored lately, haven't you?"

Aislinn's smirk faded slightly, wondering where Merode was going. "What d'ya mean?"

"You just used the word 'acquired'. Since your brain's too primitive to be using such big words, I figured you've been getting really bored and reading the dictionary."

Aislinn stuck out her tongue at Merode.

Merode made a face. "No thank you. I don't swing that way."

Giving a sound of frustration, Aislinn turned at the sniggering Mikey and shoved him again.

"Dude!" Mikey shouted. "Now what I do?

Aislinn grinned again, shrugging. "Same as before."

"Oh, god," moaned Merode. "Here we go again."

Sure enough, Mikey took off after the giggling Aislinn.

Suddenly, a larger than life rat entered the room and thumbed his tail sharply on the pavement in time with his walking stick. "What is all this noise?" he asked.

Aislinn stopped in her tracks, surprised, and Mikey collided into her. They tumbled down, limbs entangled as they hit the ground.

That rat's bushy eyebrows as he stared at the two. "I wasn't aware we had guests."

Leonardo stepped forward and bowed respectfully. "Sensei, this is Jessica, Kimberly, and Aislinn." He gestured to each one in time. "They're friends of Merode's. We've brought them home to stay with us."

"Well," said Aislinn, still on the floor grinning. "I wouldn't go so far as friends. I mean, she did abandon us for four years."

Merode grinned back. "Wonderful. And here I thought I'd actually have to pretend to like you."

Aislinn's grin broadened. "You know you love us."

Merode gave a snort that said, 'Yeah, right.'

"So, Sensei," said Mikey as he helped Aislinn to her feet. "Can we keep them?"

Splinter caught sight of Aislinn's forearm before she shoved the sleeve back down. So his sons weren't the only ones that had been influenced by the Shredder. He thought for a moment as he studied Aislinn's face. She looked familiar, though he couldn't place her.

He looked to the other two girls. He couldn't see any deformities on them, but things could be hidden.

"Come on, Sensei," said Donatello. "Their place is pigsty. I'm surprised they've lived there that long."

Kimberly's hands flew and Jessica translated. "It wasn't that bad," she said, smirking. "Jessica and I were very good housekeepers."

"Hey!" Aislinn said. "What about me?"

Kimberly made a sound that could've been a laugh. "You were the reason Jessica and I had to clean house."

They laughed as Aislinn glared at Kimi. The mute girl just smiled back innocently.

Even Splinter gave a small chuckle. He didn't like the idea of three more teenagers running around, he didn't think his old nerves could take it. Especially if his Aislinn was anything like Michaelangelo. He didn't think his heart could stand any more practical jokes. It was bad enough having two students like Merode and Raphael.

Then again, he thought, Aislinn would be forced into hiding sooner or later by the looks of her arm. And they seemed to accept his sons readily, which was a big change from the humans.

"Sensei?" Leonardo asked hopefully.

Splinter sighed and gave a nod. "Very well."

"Yahoo!" Mikey exclaimed, picking Aislinn up by her hips and twirling her around.

"What the hell!?!" screamed Aislinn, smiling. "Dude, put me down!" she screeched as she hit him.

Raph gave a disgusted grunt as Mikey put her down, sputtering his apologies.

Splinter sighed knowingly as the others snickered behind their hands.

Merode only frowned.

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"That girl is even stranger than Mikey," Raph commented to Merode later that day.

Mikey and Aislinn had made a huge bowl of popcorn and now sat on the couch, watching movies.

Merode smiled. "I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed."

Raph grunted in response. "It's not right," he said after a while. "Her friend just committed suicide and she's acting as if the world's never been better."

Aislinn giggled and Mike said something. Then he laughed as Aislinn's mouth fell open in disbelief. She picked up a handful of popcorn and threw it at him.

"Don't overestimate her actions. She's hurtin' badly," Merode said as Mikey salvaged the popcorn pieces and threw them back at Aislinn.

Raph snorted as Aislinn giggled, dumping the huge bowl of popcorn over Mikey's head. "It looks like it," he said sarcastically.

Merode smiled softly, almost kindly...almost. "When she's sad, she doesn't want others to know it. So she hides it by acting—"

"Stupid?"

Merode gave a small laugh. "Yeah, that too. She hides her sorrow behind a mask of happiness. That's just the way she is."

Raph smirked. "So, she's one of those sickos that laugh at funerals?"

Merode smirked in return. "Actually, you could say that, yes. I was at her parents' funeral when she was ten. Everyone there though she would be overcome with grief, but she only cried once and that was when they lowered the caskets into the ground. She didn't sob, didn't go into hysterics, she just let a few tears fall then wiped them away. The rest of the funeral, she was telling them funny stories about her parents so the others there would smile and laugh. But if you looked close enough, you could see the pain and sadness in her eyes."

"Sounds like you knew her well," Raph said.

"I did then and I do now. She was there the day Shredder forced the mutation on me and I was there the day her parents died. We helped each other escape from Shredder. She led the way and I fought off the opposition."

"How did her parents die?" Raph asked, more out of curiosity than sympathy.

"Shredder killed them," was all Merode would say.

Raph was silent as he watched Aislinn and Mikey wrestle for the remote control. He thought about what Merode had told him. Something bothered him. "How did she know the way out? Wouldn't they have knocked her out or blind-folded her when they brought her in?"

Merode kept her eyes on Aislinn and Mikey. "I can't tell you. That's something she'll have to confess when the time is ready."

"You know, don't you?"

Merode didn't look surprised. Raph knew her better than anyone ever had or ever would. She just nodded. "Me and Shredder are the only ones that know. Its up to Aislinn whether or not its going to stay that way."