Um . . . Hey, there. *ducking various books, knives, throwing stars, and UFO's* okay, okay! I'm really, really sorry it took so long for me to write a second chapter. According to Shiane Ventures, it's been three months. Whoops. Anyway, I'm really sorry. I hope this will sooth some tempers. Enjoy.
I probably would have screamed forever, but for two reasons. One, I was starting to lose my voice and the scream started cracking and fading. Two, I was running out of air. Still, I screamed for a good five minutes before I finally stopped, settling for sitting up and hyperventilating.
As I breathe quickly and deeply, I vaguely register Leo, Raph, and Mikey coming in the room and Donnie trying to calm me down, spewing worthless words of comfort. I don't listen to the hum of words, and instead stare horrified at my hands, my feet, my stomach and chest. I'm trembling, and some little part of my brain is telling me to calm down before I faint or go into shock. Too late, I think. I'm already there. I can't stop shaking or staring or hyperventilating.
The other three turtles surround me now, each saying something, their words overlapping each other's, making it impossible to make any of them out. I look at them all in turn, feeling like a cornered and frightened animal, unsure of what to do.
Finally, Leo pushes them all aside, telling them to give me space. For once, they listen, albeit hesitantly. Leo gently rests his hands on my shoulders.
"April? I want you to close your eyes, okay? Please?" He asks, eyes full of concern. I stare, then nod and close my eyes. Now I see nothing but darkness, and feel nothing but my racing heartbeat, and it's oddly comforting.
"Now, take a deep, slow breathe. Take your time, and just breath deeply. Please? Just a slow deep breath." Leo's voice says. I do my best to follow his instructions, and after a few tries, I'm able to slow my ragged breathing and calmly and slowly breath in and out.
"Good, good. That's great, April. Now just breath slowly for a few minutes, until you feel calm." I do that, and breath in and out. Amazingly, it seems to work, and I can feel my heartbeat slow. I don't feel calm, exactly, but I no longer feel blinding, overwhelming panic.
"Alright. Now open your eyes." I open my eyes, and meet Leo's concerned sapphire blue. He smiles kindly at me. "Better?" He asks. I nod. "Good." He lifts his hands away, and leans away from me, giving me the space he asked his brothers to give me.
"How'd you know that'd work, bro?" Mikey asks.
"It's the first few steps for meditation. It calms me down, so I thought it'd calm April." Leo explains.
"Are you alright?" Donnie asks carefully.
"Do I look alright?!" I snap, and he flinchs. I feel guilty, but dismiss it. "I mutated. Mutated, Donnie! I am not alright!"
"Sorry, sorry, I - I didn't mean -" He stammers, fiddling with his hands, not looking me in the eyes. My heart drops, and my anger leaks away.
"I know. Sorry." I look down at my hands, and jump. They're green, and I only have three fingers. Like the guys. I hold them in front of my face, and wiggle my fingers. They feel sort of like my old ones, but thicker, heavier, and clumsier.
"It's okay. I meant - how do you feel? Does anything feel hurt, or, or do you feel sick, or - ?" Donnie asks, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck.
"I feel weird, " I cut him off, "but not hurt."
"Okay, that - that means the painkillers I gave you worked. You - you seem uninjured. I mean, I didn't see anything concerning."
"How about the fact I'm a giant turtle?" I say dully, my head hung low.
"Besides that." He chuckles without humor.
A sticky sort of silence falls around us as I stare at my body. I want to see it fully. I need a mirror to do that, and the only full-length one in the Lair is in the bathroom. I swing my legs - my green, chunky, huge legs - off the raised cot and attempt to stand up. Two words: Epic. Fail.
The nanosecond I put a smidge of my weight on my new legs, my knees buckle and I go crashing down. I would have crumbled into a heap on the floor if Donnie hadn't caught me.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what're ya doing?" He asks, sitting me back up onto the cot.
"Trying to get to the mirror so I can get a look at myself." I say as I squirm in Donnie's hands. His grip loosens from my, well, waist I guess, and moves to my shoulders.
"You're not strong enough." He says firmly.
"I'm not weak, Donnie!" I snap back. Mikey and Raph "oooooo" and Donnie looks uncertain for a second before his resolve returns.
"I'm not saying you are. I'm saying your body isn't prepared to bear your weight just yet. It's been through a lot and needs rest to regain energy and time to adapt. You need bed rest, April." He says in a softer tone.
"Donnie . . . " I whine. I don't want bed rest. I want to see myself. I don't look like April O'Neil anymore. I don't look like me anymore. I don't know what I look like, something everyone should know. I need to see myself.
"April, I'm serious." He chides.
"You should probably listen to him, Ape." Raph puts in. "The brainiac is usually right about this kind of stuff."
"Donnie, please. Your appearance is a basic thing. I need to see." I plead, doing my best to make puppy eyes. He grits his teeth and looks to the doorway.
"Donnie, what if we brought the mirror in here? We could prop it up and help April." Leo suggests quietly.
Donnie considers it, then sighs and nods. "All right. That should be okay."
I shoot a grin at the purple masked turtle, though it probably comes across feebly. "Thank you, Donnie!"
He gives a small smile as Mikey and Raph disappear to grab the mirror.
30 seconds later, Mikey and Raph return with the cookie-cutter typical mirror that was previously hung in the bathroom. Why the heck the guys have it is a complete mystery to me, but now I'm grateful for that elusive reason. The two prop it up and hold it straight for my viewing pleasure.
Mikey gestures to the mirror with a theatrical wave. "Come see your future, young one." He says in a deep mock-mystical voice.
"Mikey!" Donnie snaps, but I giggle. I know Mikey's just trying to ease the tension and cheer me up in his own way, and I appreciate the effort.
Leo and Donnie move to opposite sides of me and each tenderly grab an arm. They hoist me to my feet, taking all my weight, and practically carry me to the mirror. There's a bit of a shuffling and shifting, and then there she is in the looking glass. The new me.
Sandwiched between Leo and Donnie is a petite turtle. Me. I'm about an inch or two shorter than Leo, with light green skin, about a shade darker than Donnie's. My plastron is a dirty yellow color, divided into six sections, like the guys. I can see the ridge of a shell over my shoulder. The shell is basically like the guys, except mine flares out a smidge around the bottom, giving a perception of hips, and I'm not flat-chested like the boys. You can clearly tell I'm female, thank God. My shoulders are a bit broader now, but I'm rather skinny compared to the boys. I still have my hair, to my surprise. My red hair hangs loose (pony tail and headband long gone), nearly brushing my shoulders, bangs an inch shy of being in my eyes. My turtle features are striking similar to my human features. If I squint, I can see my old face in this new one. My eyes are still bright blue, and I can make out freckles on my cheeks and bridging where my nose should be. Speaking of which, I can still breathe like I have a nose, but I have none. I'm guessing I have nostrils instead, small enough to not be seen at anything farther than point blank. My arms and legs are, once again, skinnier than the guys, but far bulkier than my old ones. My feet are larger, looking more like boots than feet, and I have, of course, only three toes. I give my body another sweep, top to bottom, and notice something that just about gives me a heart attack.
"Donnie?" I ask lowly.
"Yeah, April?"
"Why. The heck. Do I have. A TAIL." I hiss. Sure enough, I act instinctively, and watch a little green tail wiggle in between my legs.
To my slight surprise, Donnie immediately blushes. I look at the others and notice red filling theirs cheeks as well, even Raph and Mikey's.
"Well?" I snap.
"W-well, a-all tur-turtles have ta-tails, April." Donnie stutters, his face bright red.
"You guys don't!" I glance quickly, confirming it. No tails to be seen.
If possible, every face in the room gets redder.
"You explain, brainiac." Raph grumbles.
"Explain what?" I ask.
"Well, uh, ya-you see April, uh, um, turtles, they, uh, -" Donnie sputters, unable to get his words out.
"We keep our tails in our shells, April. For two very good reasons." Leo says, eyes darting around the floor.
"See, um, turtles, their, uh, well, their, re-re-reproductive system, it's, uh, in the tail." Donnie spits out. My eyes widen, and I finally get why the guys are so embarrassed. My own cheeks heat up as I realize what that means.
"Also, when we were little, we'd get them pulled and stepped on all the time. It was easier to just keep 'em in our shells." Mikey says with a strained smile.
"What?! What - what do I do?" I blush furiously.
"Just pull it in, genius. You're a turtle." Raph snaps uncomfortably.
"How?!" I retort back.
"It's instinctive. Just do it." Donnie coaxes. I roll my eyes. Not helpful. But I take a deep breath and try. To my surprise, my tail disappears, and I can feel it inside my shell.
"Oh." I have no clue what to say, my face feeling like a frying pan. "So . . . Does this mean I can pull my head and limbs in too?"
The guys breathe a sigh of relief, thankful for the change in subject.
"Most likely." Donnie says. "We can, but we mainly do it when we feel threatened and instinct overrides thought."
"Or when something's chucked or shot at our heads." Raph murmurs.
I smile. "Maybe I'll try later." Suddenly, I feel drained. I didn't have much energy when I woke up, but even that tiny supply is gone now.
Leo looks at me and smiles. "Want us to take you back to the cot?"
I nod at him and he and Donnie walk me back to the makeshift hospital bed. I lay down gratefully and yawn.
"Get some sleep, April." Donnie says. "We can talk in the morning." He says in an almost hopeful manner.
I smile and nod. "Of course Donnie."
Don shoo's his brothers out of his lab, then grabs the blanket off the floor and hands it to me.
"Need anything?" He asks, bouncing on the balls of his feet.
I shake my head, but as he moves to the light switch, I call out to him. "Wait."
He turns and smiles. "Yeah, April?"
"Where's Casey?"
His smile turns into a frown. "At home. We told him we'd call when you were awake and up to visitors."
"Can you tell him I'm okay?"
Donnie bites his lip, but nods. "Okay, but he's going to have to wait until you're feeling better to see you. Doctor's orders." He adds, pointing at me.
I roll my eyes, but smile at his little joke. "Okay. Night Donnie."
"Goodnight April." He turns the lights off, and gently shuts the door.
You'd think, with something so earth-shattering happening to me, I would lie awake for hours. But to be completely honest, I was insanely tired. The minute my eyelids meet, I fall asleep.
I couldn't resist adding the tail thing. I've always wondered about that. Turtles have tails, but we never see the guys with tails except in fanart. I'd assumed the guys just kept them tucked to keep them out of the way and warm. When I learned that bit of turtle anatomy, well, it made a bit more sense. So I did both.
Anyways, please review. I'd really appreciate it.
Happy new school year (I'm personally still out, but I know most people are in)!
Katana