Chapter Eleven
We need to talk.
Leonardo crossed his swords and glared at the Ninja before him.
"Retreat!" he ordered.
"What!?" Pandora cried is disbelief as she slashed a ninja close to her with her metal claws.
"You heard your Uncle Leo, Tigeress!" Raphael barked "Retreat!"
Michelangelo and Donatello were rather amazed hearing those words from their hot headed and fighting hungry brother since he never liked to run from a fight, in fact he always challenged Leonardo, but since becoming a dad as well as an uncle to Kemeko, Sonia and the Geckolings, he had developed a sense of responsibility and if Leonardo or Tyroth or any leader said they had to retreat then he was more than happy to follow their orders.
Monalisa has sheathed her fans and kept her bow and arrow poised at the clones ready to fire at them should they try anything.
The clones glowered and they all leapt for the mutants, but Monalisa fired her arrows and Pandora swung Mr Swinger at them all the while the turtles shielded Kemeko.
One ninja clone was struck in the chest with Monalisa's arrow whilst the others fell like dominos as Pandora's spiked metal ball hit them.
"Let's get out of here!" Monalisa called over her shoulder and both the lizards turned to the turtles and Kemeko and they all ran around the corner to get to the nearest manhole.
Instantly Leonardo lifted the lid and one by one they all jumped in before he followed them.
Back on the rooftops, looking through her binoculars, Black Mamba hissed as she lowered them.
"Wasted Cannon Fodder!" she snarled then hit her earpiece.
"Komodo, the turtles and the lizard sluts took down the new clones before retreating!"
"Damn!" Komodo Dragon cursed on the other end "The bosses are gonna flip!"
"No shit!" Black Mamba replied, "I should have gone in there, I would have had them all under my thumb!"
"Shut up!" Komodo Dragon snarled "We had orders to follow! Now we must clean up the Mess! Wait there! Nile, Gila, Cobra, and I will be along to your location shortly!"
"Affirmative!" Black mamba replied and hung up, yet she grumbled and stood up before leaping to the next building to get to the bodies of the fallen ninja as well as confront those who survived.
"I swear, I feel more like a cleaner than an assassin!" Black Mamba hissed "Well, I'm no maid! I'm no cleaner! I'm the deadly Black Mamba and I'm licenced to kill! Not clean!"
Meanwhile, the Hamato Clan as soon as they were clear of the manhole and had gotten lower into the sewers, they stopped for a rest before heading back to the lair.
"Everyone okay?" Leonardo asked to which everyone replied they were fine.
"Got a couple of nicks me." Raphael said showing a couple of cuts.
"Got a couple of bruises too!" Pandora piped up then smirked "Another badge of honour!"
"Atta girl Geisha!" Michelangelo grinned fist bumping his niece "You are titanium!"
"They shoot me down, but I do not fall!" Pandora replied, quoting the famous song.
Leonardo then looked at Kemeko who was looking pale and hadn't said a word but rather staring at the ground.
"Lotus?" he asked but Kemeko didn't answer him.
The other mutants noticed and turned to Kemeko.
"Hey Kem." Pandora asked, "You alright?"
But Kemeko didn't answer her cousin either but took a deep breath.
"Lotus." Leonardo said, "I'm sorry your first field trip topside didn't go as planned, but it hasn't put you off, has it?"
Kemeko again didn't speak.
Donatello cocked his head on one side, and he pondered as he studied Kemeko's features, he was sure that Kemeko wasn't upset about the topside trip being more dangerous than planned, it was something else.
Monalisa had the same idea as she looked at her human niece.
"Kemeko?" Leonardo asked then reached for his daughter, but Kemeko snapped her head up and looked at him and Leonardo almost flinched at the look in her eyes.
"Those Clones." She said "They mentioned my mother…"
No sooner did those words leave the girl's mouth than the turtles, and Monalisa went pale.
Leonardo's jaw dropped.
"Lotus…" he began.
"What do they know about my mother?" Kemeko asked staring at her father "How do they know her? Dad?"
Raphael bit his lip, Donatello gulped, Monalisa winced whilst Pandora raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Awkward…" Michelangelo commented quietly until Raphael elbowed him in the chest prompting him to be quiet.
Leonardo as he shook off the shocking revelation that somehow the clones had spilt the beans about Karai, he took a deep breath.
"Kemeko…" he said softly, yet his voice was shaking a little "I'm sorry, but what you heard from those clones' topside…" he paused "It wasn't supposed to be this way."
He was upset as well as furious that the clones had spoken about Karai before he was able to break it to Kemeko gently and it killed him seeing his daughter's shocked look and he couldn't imagine what she was thinking.
"What's the story dad?" Kemeko demanded "All my life you've told me that my parents died when I was a baby, but you never told me how or why!" her eyes filled with tears and her chin wobbled with emotion.
Pandora blinked as she listened and she looked at her parents who gave her the look as if to say, 'We'll tell you later, not now!'
Leonardo swallowed hard.
"Lotus." He said, "You were too young to understand and I didn't want to upset you when you were supposed to be enjoying your life as a child, in fact, I've been trying to decide when would be the right time to tell you, and I felt it best to wait until you were old enough to understand."
Kemeko blinked and a couple of tears fell.
"How…How did my mother die?" she asked, "How did my real father die?"
Leonardo lowered his head as tear stains appeared on his blue mask.
"Not here Kemeko." He said, "Let us return home and we will talk privately."
Kemeko opened her mouth but closed it again like a fish and she silently nodded agreeing and started to follow Leonardo back to the lair, the others not far behind.
The trek back to the lair was a quiet and tense one and Leonardo felt weak in the knees and his mouth was dry as he tried to think of how to explain the truth to his daughter when they got back home.
It was ridiculous, he thought to himself, here he was, the fearless leader of the Ninja Turtles, the Hamato Clan who never flinched when confronted in battle and had taken down dangerous foes, but here he was scared to tell Kemeko the truth about her real parents.
Even though it was a short walk to the lair, it felt like forever and throughout the whole journey no-one spoke and Kemeko didn't look at her father as they walked together.
Pandora could sense her cousin's feelings and she was worried, then remembered when she had heard Leonardo talking to himself in the meditation room at Kemeko's Birthday Party and it began to click.
"Shit…" she thought to herself "He must have been trying to find the right words to tell Kemeko about her mother."
She looked at the ground as she walked trying to remember back to when Kemeko was a baby, which was difficult as there wasn't a lot she could remember when she was a toddler as she was three years old when Kemeko was born.
As she tried to remember, she looked at Kemeko then another face came to mind, one like Kemeko's looks only older and almost like she had a focused look about her, like she was constantly on her guard, but also sad.
As the hybrid kept trying to remember, she soon saw the entrance of the lair and felt relieved they were home.
As the mutants arrived, Splinter had been sitting in the TV area watching his soaps when he heard them return and he turned to them.
"My Children!" he greeted them "How did…" he paused as he saw the looks on his sons, Monalisa and his granddaughter's faces and he saw how pale and upset Kemeko looked.
"What has happened?" he asked in a worried voice.
"Sensei…" Monalisa began but Leonardo stopped her and turned to Donatello.
"Donatello, get those wounded seen to, Mona, help him."
The purple masked turtle nodded and turned to Raphael and Pandora to get them to follow him, Monalisa also agreed and walked with Donatello, her mate and daughter to the medical room.
"Mikey?" Leonardo turned to his younger brother who quickly stood to attention "Make some tea, coffee or whatever it is you do best for everyone."
"Yes Leo." Michelangelo replied, "Can I get drinks for you and Kemeko?" he asked looking at the Asian girl who had her head down.
Leonardo nodded.
"Some Jasmine Tea please." He said then looked at Kemeko.
"Did you want something to drink Lotus?" he asked but Kemeko silently shook her head.
Leonardo sighed sadly then looked at Splinter.
"Can you join us in Kemeko's bedroom Master?"
"Of course my son!" Splinter said and he followed Leonardo and Kemeko to the upper part of the lair and to Kemeko's room.
Pandora as she walked with her parents and Uncle Donatello to the Medical room, she looked back at Kemeko, Leonardo and Splinter then back at her parents.
"What's going on?" she asked as she looked at her parents "What's the story of Kemeko's real parents?"
"Not now Pandora." Her parents and Donatello said together, and they looked at each other bewildered as they spoke in stereo.
Pandora also jumped as the three adults spoke at the same time to her and she wanted to protest but as she looked at her mother's stern face, she decided to stay quiet.
Up in Kemeko's bedroom, Kemeko sat on her bed whilst Splinter sat on the dressing table chair and Leonardo next to Kemeko.
Kemeko sat with her hands clasped in her lap and tears fell from her eyes.
"Kemeko?" Splinter asked, "Can you tell us how you are feeling?"
Kemeko sucked in a breath.
"Why?" she asked in a whisper "Why…how…?"
Leonardo swallowed the lump in his throat and looked at Splinter, on the way to the bedroom he had told the old rat quickly what had happened, and Splinter was shocked, but he kept his cool and said he would help with the situation.
"I can see you feel confused and angry." Splinter said softly to his granddaughter "And very upset."
"You think?" Kemeko snapped as she looked at Splinter then turned to Leonardo who flinched her furious as well as tearful look.
"How did those clones know about my mother?" she asked "they said I had her looks, and fighting style? They know something, and they said you never told me? Why?"
"Kemeko…" Leonardo held up his hand, but Kemeko continued to talk angrily.
"Who was my mother?" she demanded "Who were my parents? And why did you never tell me the truth?"
She then stood up from the bed and glared at Leonardo and Splinter.
"All my life, I've always known I'm different to you! That I'm a human and not a mutant! And I was always told my parents died when I was a baby, but I was never told how they died!"
She looked at Splinter and at Leonardo, Splinter was looking saddened with his head bowed and Leonardo was sweating as well as trying to hold back tears.
"Tell me!" the Asian girl demanded "tell me…. please!" she added with a sob "What happened to them!"
Leonardo took a breath as he looked at his daughter, he felt like falling on his knees and breaking down, but he had to hold himself together and tell her.
He never imagined that he would have to explain everything this way, he had hoped to tell Kemeko in a quiet and gentle way, but thanks to those evil abominations of Dr Arden that jumped them topside, Kemeko had been given knowledge of her mother.
"Kemeko." He said "Please, trust me when I say, for a long time I have tried to find the right time, and the right words to tell you about your parents, and I have often said how wise you are for your age as a child as you correctly knew that I wasn't your real father as I am a mutant turtle and you are human, but how you always said because we were different in species, we were still a family."
He looked at Kemeko who still had that stricken look on her face and he blinked, a few tears falling.
"I've wanted to tell you Kemeko, but it's been so hard as I have never known how you would take the news, but as you are now thirteen years old, I felt it was the right time to tell you."
"That is correct Lotus Blossom." Splinter spoke up, rallying to Leonardo's side "He has spent years building up the courage to tell you the whole story, and we understand if you may feel angry and upset at what you hear."
"Tell me what Grandfather?" Kemeko asked then looked at Leonardo "Daddy?"
So Kemeko is about to learn the whole truth about her parents, how will she take the news?
Well, you'll have to keep on pondering until I update again!
See you then readers!