Lily tilted her head, watching curiously as Izzy and her boyfriend Jake sat on the couch…
Normally, they had very heated make-out sessions, or watched action and horror movies together.
Of course, the former was only done when the crimson-masked turtle's father wasn't home…
Even Angie, a near master of Ninjitsu stealth and silence, didn't dare do such a thing with her own father home…
At the moment, Izzy and Jake were snuggled on the couch, kissing and laughing at a rather-good romantic comedy.
Lily was watching through her open bedroom door, writing slowly in her journal from her bed.
She'd started keeping one since the…incident…to help her vent her feelings.
No one knew she had it, except for Gabriel, since she'd never told her family about what had exactly happened.
They said she'd only been missing for nine hours, maybe ten, but it had felt like weeks to her…
Burning pain, stinging cuts, echoing screams of agony…
She was often plagued by nightmares, dark and horrible and soul-shattering, and worried her family to no end.
They'd become less frequent, a bit less terrifying, but still haunted her pillow like a curse.
Even sleeping pills didn't help, nor meditation or reading, so she was sure she'd be stuck with them until they decided to leave her bed.
In the meantime, she'd gotten used to little rest.
They were coming back full-force now, even if Shadow helped, thanks to the one-year anniversary of...
Angie and Keishi were in the dojo, 'sparring', as Elie, Rose, and Ari hung around in the orange-masked little turtle's room to draw and color.
Z was in Izzy's room, listening to her boom box while her room was overrun and this one was vacant.
Gabriel had gone off to the junkyard, accompanied by no one, to get some spare parts for the heater.
With December and winter rolling around, the snow build-up would cause problems for the cold-blooded family down here in the sewers.
Lily was actually signing her name at the bottom of the page when her Shell Cell rang…
Flipping it open, she saw the caller's name.
"Gabe? Did you need some help over at the junkyard?"
Silence for a moment, and worry gripped at her…
"Gabriel?"
"Hello, Lily…"
'Oh God…'
That voice…
NO…
"B-Bishop…"
"Very good…It seems you haven't forgotten me…"
Panic sparked her brain into high-gear…
"Wh-Where's Gabriel?!"
"Oh, don't worry about your little brother…He's unharmed…For now…"
Her throat felt choked, and she was finding it hard to get her voice out…
"Wh-What do you want?"
"Why, you of course. You're my special little experiment. You shouldn't have left like that…"
Fear, paralyzing and restricting, and the violet-masked turtle could barely draw breath…
"But you can redeem yourself, of course. If you come to the rooftop near Central Park, you can…trade for your brother."
"…H-How can I trust th-that he's really okay?"
Silence, then the sound of the phone moving…
"L-Lil?"
"Gabe!"
Worry and sibling love burst up in her.
"Are you okay? What happened?!"
"Lil, don't do it!" He begged, voice cracking over the line…
"I promised I wouldn't let you go back!"
What sounded like a strike, the butt of a rifle hitting someone in the stomach...
"GABE!!!"
Another shifting.
"You have two hours, my little turtle. Or your brother won't be as…whole as when I found him…"
"Don't hurt him!"
But the line was dead…
Tears bubbled up from her chest, and she'd apparently cried too loudly…
"Sweetheart?"
Her father.
The safety, the security she needed right then…
Latching onto him, she cried into his plastron as he tried to soothe her.
Asking what had happened, he managed to piece it together from her muffled, choked sentences…
"You can't go…"
"But-."
"It won't fix anything. Someone will still be in danger."
Don called in his wife, briefly explaining what had happened and sending her off to tell the other adults.
Inevitably, the children found out as well, and the rest were bustling around preparing for a fight.
Lily opened her Shell Cell again, staring at it sadly…
Like she was deciding if she should…
Opening it, she hit a number, placing the phone to her ear…
"Hey, Shadow…I need to ask you something…"