Note: Some elements in this chapter come from 'Fury Within Her' 'A Warrior's Journey' and Tyroth's fic 'Mutant Vigilantes' if you haven't read them, please do as you may not understand certain things brought up in this chapter.
Chapter Three
Memories
After fleeing the scene, the gang soon came to a rest on a rooftop to get their breath back.
"Whoo!" said Raphael "What a rush! I sure enjoy seeing some justice brought to lowlifes!"
"You said it bro!" said Michaelangelo "We sure stopped someone's Christmas being ruined."
"It was a close call though..." said Donatello "For both Sephie and Tyroth..."
"Are you guys alright?" asked Leonardo concerned.
"We're fine..." said Tyroth rubbing his neck "I've had worse scrapes than this..."
"But you've never been shot by your own girlfriend though..." said Sephie with a sad tone.
Mona wrapped an arm around Sephie to comfort her.
"It was an accident Sephie!" said Mona "You were trying to avoid that thug shooting at you! You couldn't control that arrow!
"I know..." said Sephie "but still..."
"But still...nothing." said Tyroth "It was an accident! You didn't mean to do it! And as far as I'm concerned, as long as you're okay that's all that matters!"
"Yeah!" said Michaelangelo "At least you didn't get shot!"
Sephie sighed softly.
"I guess..." she said "But I should have seen that coming."
"Listen Sephie!" said Mona "You got nothing to be ashamed of, you're not hurt, and Tyroth's okay, we're all in one piece and we saved someone's Christmas!"
"That is correct!" said Leonardo.
Sephie sighed and leaned into Tyroth stroking the part on his neck where the arrow hit him, but Tyroth placed his hand over hers in a bid to comfort her.
"It's ok baby..." he said "You didn't mean to..."
"Let's rest a moment guys..." said Leonardo "Gather our thoughts then head back to the lair, it's pretty cold and I think it'll start snowing again before too long."
The others agreed and rested on the roof, Tyroth still hugged Sephie giving her much needed comfort.
Mona meanwhile stood nearby and looked around the rooftop, she hadn't noticed before, but something about where they were standing was starting to trigger something in her memory. She walked over to the side of the roof and looked over.
As she did, she saw the rows of houses ahead, most were run down and it was very quiet and dark.
"You okay Mona?" asked Michaelangelo.
But Mona said nothing as she looked over the side of the building.
"Everything okay?" Leonardo called over.
But Mona still said nothing.
"Babe?" Raphael called over, getting up so he could see why his mate was so quiet.
Donatello also looked over.
"What's gotten into big sis?" asked Michaelangelo with a puzzled look on his face.
Tyroth and Sephie also looked up and saw Mona staring over the side of the building.
"Is Mona okay?" asked Tyroth.
Donatello looked at Mona then looked around the area then bit his lip as he realised.
Sephie noticed Donatello's look and gave him a questioning look.
"We're in some familiar ground known to Mona..." said Donatello.
"You mean?" asked Sephie, her face going pale as she wondered if this was the place where Mona was raped.
Tyroth also looked sick, but their fears disappeared as Donatello shook his head.
"It's where she lived...after the whole..." he wasn't able to finish the sentence as it too made him angry and sick.
He looked over to Mona who stood at the side of the building and continued to look over the town, Raphael was next to her placing his hand on hers in an act to comfort her.
Sephie, wanting to help, stood up and walked over to Mona, Tyroth too walked over.
"Mona?" asked Sephie walking to Mona's right and looking at her face.
Mona was staring ahead, her blue eyes unblinking and a little tearful.
"Mona?" Sephie asked again "Are you alright?"
Mona looked towards Sephie slightly and pointed to a dark and run down building in front of the them.
Raphael stepped back slightly so that Mona and Sephie could talk, he licked his lips sadly as he looked at the building, and Tyroth too looked and saw how dark and uninviting it looked.
"Was...was that?" asked Sephie.
Mona nodded.
"That was the house where I hid in, two years after I was mutated...I spent two Christmases there alone and cold..."
Sephie felt tears come to her eyes, and Tyroth lowered his head in sadness as Raphael nodded to back Mona's claim.
"You mean..." said Sephie "You slept in that cold run down house?"
Mona nodded.
"Two years..." she said softly "Alone...cold and scared...and each Christmas, I'd think of my family and think of how they were coping...my first Christmas there was the saddest...all I could think was how I wished I was home, helping my two younger brothers put up the tree, help mother prepare the food for Christmas Dinner, bake cookies...and build a snowman...and have a snowball fight...and how they were doing it all without me...if they were able to...I wished they would still have a Merry Christmas, but I knew that was impossible...they must have been devastated...not knowing what happened to me..."
Sephie felt her emotions strangling her at the throat, almost the same feeling she felt when she had listened to Mona's story when they first met.
She had been aware of how Mona had spent two years alone in New York and homeless but she never imagined how Mona spent Christmas alone, with no family, no tree, no Christmas dinner, no presents.
She had seen the many commercials of people who were alone at Christmas, not just for the other 364 days of the year, and she couldn't even begin to imagine it.
Tyroth sighed again and walked over to the side of the building on Mona's other side.
He began to remember his and Sephie's first Christmas in Mutopia, they were lucky enough to have each other on Christmas Day together, even though they were still trying to get to know everyone in Mutopia, they still missed their families and their traditions.
Sephie looked at Tyroth as they both remembered.
As much as it was painful that they couldn't go home because of their mutations, it didn't stop them thinking of how devastated their families were at Christmas when they weren't there to join them.
Seeing Mona's sad face they couldn't imagine what Mona had gone through each Christmas Day she spent in that abandoned building freezing cold and alone, Sephie remembered how lucky she had been to still have Tyroth after she was mutated, she had someone to hold her when she cried, someone to keep her safe and warm.
But Mona had had no-one to hold her, no-one to love her, no-one to care for her, even though things were okay now for Mona, Sephie knew the lizard lady would never forget those lonely two years.
Meanwhile the turtles stood silently together behind them, they could feel the sadness and remembrance coming from the three mutants.
Raphael sighed as he remembered how upset Mona was when they celebrated their first Christmas when Mona had joined them, even though it was Mona's first Christmas with them and not lonely like it had been those two years ago, Raphael knew she still missed her family and like the others couldn't imagine Christmas alone or without a loved one.
"Mona..." Sephie finally spoke, placing her hand on Mona's "I understand all you're thinking..."
Mona nodded.
"I still admire the fact you were strong those two years..." Sephie said "Despite being homeless after such a traumatising experience, I could never had survived what you went through."
"I wasn't always strong..." said Mona "There were times I wanted to drop from the building...drown myself in the sea...let the Purple Dragons kill me...no matter how painful a death it would be...just so I could be free from my suffering...but I didn't...I don't know what kept me going...I guess my drive to keep killing Purple Dragons and get justice for what happened to me keep me alive inside..."
Tyroth swallowed hard and the turtles flinched as they heard Mona's words.
"Don't talk like that Mona..." Tyroth said seriously "Think about it...if you had killed yourself or let yourself die by the hands of the Purple Dragons...you might never have been lucky enough to meet the turtles!"
"That's right..." said Sephie "You're lucky the turtles found you when they did..."
Mona looked at her mate and adopted brothers and nodded slowly.
"And I thank God everyday they found me..." she said "I was lucky that day..."
"And we got lucky too." said Donatello "Because not only did we gain another team-mate, but we also gained a sister..."
Mona smiled.
"And I'm really thankful to get the big sister I always wanted!" Michaelangelo said hugging Mona tightly.
Tyroth laughed and patted Michaelangelo's shell.
"And I got lucky too..." said Raphael "Finding you Mona...and when you choose me as your mate..." he hugged Mona and kissed her forehead.
Leonardo also walked over and hugged Mona.
"And I'm always grateful that you saved my life Mona..." he said softly placing on hand on his stomach where he had been stabbed.
"Awww!" said Michaelangelo "Group hug everyone! That'll make Mona feel better!"
Everyone joined in and hugged each other tightly making Mona smile.
After a while of hugging and family love, Leonardo looked up at the sky as snow started to fall.
"Come on guys..." he said "We better get home, it's getting colder and it's starting to snow..."
"Sounds like a good idea..." said Sephie shivering slightly from the cold.
Mona nodded and began to follow Leonardo as he lead the way from the roof.
"You gonna be alright Mona?" asked Sephie as they walked.
Mona nodded with a smile.
"I will be Sephie." she said "I will be...come on...let's get home where it's nice and warm."
"Don't have to tell me twice..." said Michaelangelo as he wrapped his scarf tighter around himself.
"Come on then." said Tyroth opening his wings and taking to the sky "Let's get back."
Awww, such a heart-warming chapter! Hope you enjoyed it!