"Leave us. You are of no further use to our mission."

The purple walrus, Nipal, blinks back his gushy tears and transforms into his rabbit persona. I need to clarify that he resembles a very dopey rabbit. Nothing majestic or strong like my friend, Usagi-san. His clothes swallow him whole, even tripping over his pants between tantrums.

Zera is giving him one hell of a domineering glare.

This world is giving me the case of the giggles. I can't keep a straight face but it is difficult when someone is crying and grovelling at one's feet, wailing and grabbing a frilly piece of a skimpy tuxedo.

"Zera! The queen of my heart! I will behave!" bawls Nipal and he slobbers on her furry leg. "My heart is broken over RomRom, and the Bababusters make me lose all bodily functions."

Zera's whiskers twitches and her ears bend behind her head. "You cared nothing for RomRom! I can't even count the many times you talked trash about him! Don't use that excuse! You are just a big, toxic ball!"

Nipal's lip quivers and his green eyes dilates, swallowing his own misery.

"It is best if we part now, Nipal."

"Lady Zera!" Nipal is a pitiful sight, pounding his fist on the ground and chewing on his scraggly, floppy ears and wiping his nose with them. "Remember the good times! We had so many! I have always been there for you!"

She whaps him with her green hat, and he whimpers from the white grass, rolling and sobbing. "You pathetic lagomorph! Gather yourself and be gone!"

"I need my Zera! I need my Zera!" He keeps repeating the same words and rolls in the grass. Zera finally just stomps away, contorting her face in fury. I follow her and keep looking back at Nipal in the field. He hiccups and switches back to the walrus form.

A crying walrus spinning with the daises beats any deplorable thing I've ever seen. A part of my heart wants to reach out and give the lump a rub on the back or apologize for my harsh thoughts, but he really has been nothing but trouble. From Zera's expression and snap decision, Nipal had this coming for a long time.

We stop under a sickly-looking tree, and the tiny amount of leaves are humming. I can't place the tune and it's quite nice.

"I apologize for my outburst and his breakdown. We go through this ordeal every week." Zera can't even look me in the eyes. I follow her gaze and smile when she finally peers back at me. She seems puzzled by my feeble attempt at humor. "What are you doing, Ymoh?"

"My brother Mikey always does that to me when I'm upset. I didn't mean to confuse you."

She picks a leaf off a branch and eats it.

The silence is unnerving. So is her eating a leaf. "What does that taste like?"

"Gummy and fruity. I shouldn't be eating it. These are rare trees."

I take a stab in the dark. "Is it the Gummy Tree?"

"Twinkie Tree."

Of course. Nothing makes sense around here. "Twinkie Tree. Where I come from, twinkies are sponge cakes. This would be called a Gummy Tree, or maybe the Humming Tree."

"Humming?" Her beady eyes dazzle. "You can hear it?"

I might as well have stepped on her foot. "Am I not supposed to hear them?"

"Only a selected few do. You are special, Ymoh." A little tease to her voice.

"And you don't hear it?"

"No," she scoffs and removes her hat. She has a fluff of bouncy white bangs under that hat. It almost feels out of place for her or is a part of her personality that she doesn't wish to explore. I get the feeling she hides a lot of herself.

I must have been awkwardly staring at her because she plops the hat back on her head. I want to apologize for my behavior, but she continues walking and has that 'don't press the issue' look. I've seen it a few times on April's face. As Donatello says, 'the buck stops here'.

"I will get you somewhere safe, a place that I trust," she quickly informs and a small smile spreads across her muzzle. "No Nipals, I promise."

I chuckle and walk beside her. "Good. And will you stay there, too?"

"For a moment. Then, I must move on. You will be in good hands."

I catch my tongue before I speak and instead confirm, "I trust you. Thank you." I feel that what I want to say is inappropriate; I hardly know this lady, but she is the only familiar person to me.

A stiff breeze gently caresses the large ivory grass needles; behind us, the Twinkie tree is still humming. The further I walk away from it, the more the tune increases in my ears. The wind has a cool splash sensation on my skin. Evidently, we must be in a hybrid-aquatic environment since the sky does have a ripple on its surface. The sensation is getting colder and the twinkie tree's song blares in my head. Thoughts are becoming more scattered. Am I really here? Where is Raphael? He was standing beside me earlier. Is he here? Can I breathe? I feel like I'm underwater again. Confused. The loud song is making my stomach uneasy. The white is turning yellow and flashing dots form in front of my vision. My mouth won't move. Tongue is cemented. My brothers, where are they? Master? April? The wind's touch is freezing but my legs are on fire. Did I eat one of those bababuster cakes again? Zera didn't tell me to do that. She was in front of me. I can't see her now. I only see a yellow and black filter.

Even through the warped noise, I realize that the Twinkie Tree is a siren, and it's dragging me back to it. If Zera is calling for me, I can't hear her. All of my senses have been captured... by a mere tree. A magical twinkie tree. I am partially ashamed.

There's a tiny voice in the storm of music, or noise rather. Music is soothing, and this cacophony is certainly not pleasant. Reaching the voice in the back of my mind is laborious, and it takes a good dose of my will to grab it. I struggle through overlaps of cries and whistles, similar to a repeated chorus of Raph and Mike's drunk karaokes. Disastrous!

A throaty hiss tickles my ears. "The Lergnok is using you."

That's all it keeps saying to me. Starting to get really annoyed and go back to the thunderous bellow now.

"It would help if I knew what a lergnok is. And do not go any further up my thighs, thank you." My groin area is feeling a bit chilled. The enemy really doesn't want to go there.

"That pathetic friend of yours."

I fume under hot breath and close my eyes. I wonder where this cretin has stored my body.

It continues, obviously badgered. "It's a shame that you do not cry for your friend. I would ask the others to stop beating her."

The enemy devours emotional responses. Zera is capable, from what I've seen. I want to help her; I want to call for her, but my tongue is still useless. This enemy does not know us; it does not know me.

"Four against one." It echoes in my head.

Zera has Sinai, her weapon. Two against four. It can be won.

A drop of fake concern in its voice. "She is skilled. Oh! Her weapon broke."

Liar.

"Red on white. Do you like crimson showers?"

She might bleed. Of course she will bleed, but the blood pumping in her body will help her think straight and valiantly fight.

"We have no use for lergnoks. Her blood taints our pure lineage."

Zera is a mutt to them. A throw-away, a shameful creature. A turmoil that makes my stomach writhe more than listening to the horrible sirens. The vocal presence is spreading across my skull, almost like it's shrouding me. I can't let this creep absorb me. I have a family back home. I have a friend who needs me now.

"She isn't moving." It acts like it's talking to someone else momentarily and then returns to me, "She's calling for you."

Pop quiz time; my tongue moves again, clunky and my words slur but it's moving. "What is she saying, Observant One?"

Hesitation, then back to me again. "We can't hear her through the gargling."

I grin, or I think I am. It's almost second nature dealing with so many cocky enemies. Whatever you do, Zera, don't call me by your special name. It's just between us.

"She's trying to stand up. What a good sport."

The noise is dying away finally. I don't think this bastard realizes its power over me is dwindling because it's too busy trying to trick me.

It viciously laughs. "Those ears are good for something! Holding her head up while kicking her."

My legs are no longer on fire, just tepid, and I open my eyes slightly. No filter. Perfect. The spell is almost gone.

"She's flopping like a fish on the ground!" It cackles, "We'll throw her to the Lucaracs. They might not eat her because her meat is tough! Pitiful creature she is!"

The massive grip around my arms is a little harder to unbind, but the frosty tingle dissipates, too. With no filter and flashing spots, my vision is back to normal and I'm able to walk away from the enemy. I stand there and look up at the healthy tree. Leaves flourishing and sprouting from every branch.

And it's still senselessly nattering. "She's useless! Should have never been created! Of all the beings in this land, and - hey! Hey! Stop eating that!"

I'm chomping on one of its bigger leaves. "It is gummy."

"You cannibal!" One of its branches swing for me but I easily duck. The tree tries to seduce me with a goofy erotic voice. "Get back in here and let me rub your sore thighs! Males love me. You will never have to worry about being alone."

The gummy leaf hangs out of my mouth. "I don't share, you should know this. No other mate but me. How many men are you hiding in there?"

Silent tree is very silent, as Mikey would say. I think that shut it up.

As I turn, there is Zera. Not bloody but is bruised up and her tuxedo is almost all torn. "Hello." All I can manage while eating a leaf.

"Amazing. You outwitted the Twinkie Tree." I take that back. Her teeth are a little bloody, and those long ears are standing straight on her head. No hat in sight. She must have lost it during the fight.

"Who did you battle?"

She points towards the field. "An inferior gang called the Kiwi Bats."

I peer into the landscape and see some bodies in the grass. "Are they bats?"

"No," she informs and her ears droop, "they are my kind. Foxes."

A moment of silence for the Kiwi Bats. I'm glad the red on the white grass wasn't hers. Should I tell her that? No, I'll tell her something else. "I'm very proud-"

"Did this tree insult me?" Her ears were slanted back. Scary but still cute.

I didn't know how to answer, really. "Some."

She steps over to the tree, kicks it, and savagely plucks the leaves off the branches. She emits these high pitched shrills and her tail puffs. The tree didn't make a sound or try to attack her.

"Come." She stomps into the field after her tirade, heading towards the bodies. I will not disobey those ears.

The four Kiwi Bats look exactly like Zera, except for oozing fluids and a darker shade of fur. She's actually tiny compared to the brutes. I knew she could kick their asses.

"Great job, Zera. I'm proud of you."

I think I scared her with the compliment. She mumbles and then loots goods off the gang members. I see a dagger and grab it, just in case.

"We must get to the recovery house before UnderLight."

She trips over a body, loses her shoe, shrugs, and quickens her pace, dropping some of her items. I pick them up and trail after her.

I've never seen anybody move that fast in my life! It's like she's always skating on ice.