Interwoven

VI.

At first, when she awoke, she wasn't entirely sure where she was. Then, as the previous day's memories came flooding back to her, she quickly remembered Raphael had brought her back to the Soul Nexus. Rolling to her side on the massive king-sized mattress in which she lay, she admired the view of the infinite twinkling of the starry sky through the huge window. Sighing into the soft covers, it all seemed rather unreal, but when had her life with the turtles ever been normal?

Stretching out she worked out all the stiffness from her slumber before pulling herself from the bed. She had been too exhausted the night previous to shower, but now she was all too willing to take advantage of the impressive bathroom her quarters boasted. To say she had been awed at her accommodations had been an understatement. Raphael's familiars had essentially set her up in a luxurious penthouse suite. Between the fully stocked kitchenette, the jacuzzi, and the grand piano it was the type of accommodation she had only ever seen advertised in magazines aimed at the upscale New York elite. Definitely not something the very broke college student April O'Neil would ever hope to have access to.

As wonderfully hot water rained over her skin, April found herself ruminating about last night's events. Ironically, despite the undoubtedly remarkable nature of the Soul Nexus, her recollection of Raphael dropping her exhausted self off at her quarters was not what stood out in her memory. No, what stood out was of her and him on that frozen beach on the Atlantic, under the stars, and the image of his stunning true form was the centerpiece.

She smiled to herself as she massaged shampoo into her long red locks. He had been so shy and so anxious to show her his true self and yet to April, she had never seen anything more beautiful. It was amazing that despite all the years of being The Soul Collector he still held the insecurities that had been cultivated long before April had ever met him. He had worried he had changed too much for her and yet even with the drastic physical changes he had undergone, to her he was still very much Raphael at his core.

Turning off the water, April emerged from the shower to finish her morning routine. With teeth brushed and hair dried, she emerged from the bathroom feeling like a new woman. After spending the last few days holed up in her dorm room or the library trying to force her brain to retain something useful for her finals, it was energizing to have a change of pace. Plus, knowing that Raphael had recruited a tutor just for her along with his gift of time left her revitalized and ready to try and tackle her physics nightmare anew.

Entering the living area of her quarters, April noticed a small table near the doorway to the corridor that she had failed to notice the night previously. Sitting on it, was a small silver bell and a piece of white card stock with the words, "Ring when ready" written in cursive. Tilting her head curiously at it, April decided to do as the card instructed and picked up the small hand bell. Its soft jingle was almost immediately followed by the materialization of Castorea, "Good morning, Mistress April."

April had briefly met the soul familiar that resembled a beaver the night before, "Oh, Castorea! Did you set this up?"

"Yes, Mistress April," The beaver nodded respectfully at her, "My Lord Soul Collector wanted to ensure all your needs were taken care of while he was away."

"Please just call me 'April.'" The redhead was surprised by this news, "And Raph's away? Where did he go?"

"Lord Raphael had business on earth regarding his brothers." The ethereal beaver continued, "He apologizes that he likely would miss you when you awoke but wanted me to assure you that he will return as soon as possible. He also has arranged a tutor for you as well."

Unsure of how she felt being left alone in the Soul Nexus, April rubbed her arm self-consciously, "It's ok for me to be here without him? Last time I know it was kind of a big deal when we showed up unannounced."

"Ah yes, those were much different times." Castorea's tone was kind, "Do not worry, Lord Raphael's Soul Nexus is the safest part of his realm. This place is very much a part of him. Even if he is physically not here, he would know instantly if something were amiss and if we needed, any one of us soul familiars could easily summon him. Additionally, now that My Lord Soul Collector has returned to his full power, he is unrivaled in strength. No one could assault this place even if they were insane enough to try."

Although relieved that she wasn't about to offend some random god and have them try to off her, hearing how revered Raphael was still made April feel a little uneasy, "He's really that powerful now?"

"Oh yes," the beaver nodded, "Lord Raphael is very humble and does not readily advertise his abilities, but he has control over ever living thing in the universe, be they god or mortal."

"Wow…" April didn't know what to say about that. She knew as The Soul Collector that Raphael was strong, but she hadn't really begun to grasp the extent of his influence until now. It was a lot to process and although she knew he probably wouldn't want to talk about it, April made a mental note to discuss it with him more later. For now, though, she wanted to focus on other things, "Anyway, you said he got me a tutor?"

"Yes, he did." Castorea confirmed, "Anima Scolopendro, Scolo for short, will be assisting you with your studies. Did you want breakfast first or shall I summon him now?"

Feeling the familiar bubble of anxiety creeping back into her stomach as she thought more about all the physics she needed to try and learn, April didn't feel particularly hungry, "Honestly, as long as I have a cup of coffee, I should be good for a little while. Besides, I have so much ground to cover; the sooner I start, the better."

"Very well, I shall summon Scolo, immediately."

Instantly, the floor in the center of the room became ethereal. Within the stones, now shifting as though made of water, a long form began to emerge from the ground. Long orange antenna followed by large clicking mandibles and jet-black eyes were the first to emerge before an incredibly long body began to slither up from the ground. His head segment was orange but thereafter his segments alternated between black and orange, similar to the Indian tiger centipedes of earth. Hundreds of strong orange legs supported the body and April found herself flattening herself against the wall as her eyes widened in terror at the creature that was at least as long as bus and as wide as one of the turtles. She had no idea the Soul Nexus harboured such beings and was more than a little intimidated by the entity before her. Finally, now that Anima Scolopendro's body had finished crawling into the room, the floor solidified.

"Hey Castorea, how you doing?" The centipede's mandibles clicked as he spoke.

"I am well, Scolo." She gestured a webbed hand in the human's direction, "This is April O'Neil. She is the one Lord Raphael requested you assist."

"Gotcha." The centipede moved forward to offer one of his many appendages to the redhead, "It is an honour to meet you Miss April. My name is Anima Scolopendro, but everyone calls me Scolo."

Torn between trying very hard not to faint while also not wanting to offend, April squeaked out as she very tentatively took the proffered appendage, "Just April is fine."

Antenna buzzed in what April hoped was a positive sign before Scolopendro withdrew his body back into a slightly more compact position, "I might be a little rusty, but I will definitely do my best to help you with your studies."

"You are good at physics then?" April was having a hard time believing that this creature was tutor material.

"Don't worry," Scolopendro chuckled, "I know I may not look it, but I have a natural knack for it. When I was younger – and a lot smaller – before I became a guard, I used to work in the library and used to spend a lot of my time learning about a variety of things. Physics was one of my favourites and I don't mean to brag, but I became a bit of a wiz at it."

"Unlike Lord Raphael," Castorea interrupted, "Scolo, is a lot less humble."

"Hey, I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true." The centipede chittered indignantly.

"Which is the only reason why Nocte Lector referred you to our Lord Soul Collector when he inquired as to who a suitable tutor would be for April." The beaver retorted back before sighing, "But I digress, why don't you two head to the library and I will arrange for the kitchens to send along something for you to eat as well as your coffee?"

Still more than a little wary of the huge centipede filling the majority of the room, April steeled herself. If Raphael thought Scolopendro was the best man – or centipede – for the job then she would have to trust him, "Yeah sure, that sounds good."

"Good, I will see you shortly," and with that the beaver vanished as she walked through a wall.

Then she was alone with a giant centipede. Swallowing another wave of nerves, April gestured to the bedroom, "Just let me grab my books and we can go."

Not even a minute later, April returned with book bag in tow.

"That was quick." Scolopendro commented.

"I never unpacked anything when I got here last night so it was easy to grab it and go."

"Cool. Cool. Here," He then offered one of his more cranial appendages forward, "Let me carry that for you."

Blushing at the gesture, April hugged the bag to her chest, "It's not that heavy, I can carry it."

"You are Lord Raphael's guest, April." Scolopendro's expression was hard to read but his voice held a seriousness to it, "It's my job to make your time here as enjoyable as possible. That means us pampering you wherever possible. So please, let me carry your bag."

Not wanting to make the centipede's life any harder, April allowed him to take her bag, but she still huffed, "I don't need 'pampering.' I can take care of myself."

"I am sure you can." Scolopendro led her out of her quarters and into the corridor, "But Lord Raphael made it very clear that you, and all of his guests that he is bringing to the Nexus in the immediate future, are to be treated with the utmost respect. He even went as far as to tell us that we were to treat you better than we treat him, if necessary."

April felt heat rising into her cheeks again, "He didn't have to do that."

"Maybe not." Scolopendro's voice had a pensive quality to it as though deciding what to say next, "But he did."

Not sure what to say to that, April simply followed beside him silently for a few minutes. Between her feelings for Raphael and her remaining unease at being guided through the castle with a giant centipede, April no idea what to say. Instead of conversation, she focused on trying her best not to stare and keep her eyes trained straight ahead. As they continued, they passed several of the palace's denizens. These other familiars would nod in greeting at the centipede while giving a short and respectful bow to April.

By the time they reached the entrance hall, several familiars had even done something they called a "Centi-five." When a familiar that Scolopendro was particularly familiar with saw him walking down the hall, they would cry something along the lines of "Yo Scolo, Centi-five!" Then said familiar would come running up the side of Scolopendro and hold up their hand so they could give a high five to every one of Scolopendro's legs on that side. As they got closer and closer to her library, April found herself becoming more and more aware that Anima Scolopendro maybe was not the terrifying monstrous centipede she had initially thought.

Finally, they reached the library doors. Opening one for her, Scolopendro gestured for her to go first while commenting, "And here we are."

Although April had caught glimpses of the Soul Nexus library the night previous, when Raphael led her to her chambers, she had never actually been in it. Now, as she walked forward and saw the floor to ceiling high shelves surrounding the room before opening up to the equally tall windows, she could only gape at its magnificence. Although it was now still, the library had a perfect view of the Soul Gate. There were two floors but the shelves on the second floor stretched up at least another floor in height. Huge ladders that were latched onto the bookcases were used to allow access to the lofty volumes at the top. Where there weren't shelves on the first floor, there were tables dedicated to group work as well as sorting both old and new volumes. The librarian familiars prided themselves with not only keeping their collection up to date, but also with ensuring all valuable tomes of the universe were kept safe within its walls. It was on the first floor where one could access the most rare and dangerous of books – if you had the right permissions. One room, in particular, was for The Soul Collector's eyes alone. The god had placed his own magic lock onto the door to ensure none but him could access it.

The second floor, like the first, was not solely taken up by books. This floor only extended about a third of the way into the space of the first allowing for the library to retain its open and airy feel. It was on this floor that there were more private reading nooks where one could read in silence. Although he had never officially claimed it, there was one area that the familiars never took since it was an unspoken rule that the fireplace spot equipped with a bean bag chair, soft circular rug, and small table was for The Soul Collector alone and no one else.

April noticed Scolopendro's eyes become a little glazed as he looked over the space. He took a deep breath before exhaling, "I missed this place."

"You mentioned that you used to work in here."

"I did indeed." He used one of his appendages near her leg to gesture, "I was no longer than your knee when I was created. There aren't a ton of centipede familiars, but long ago one of the Soul Collectors decided that all centipede familiars would start small and then gradually grow. I think the goal was for us to get well acquainted with the others, so we weren't automatically brought into the world as terrifying monsters. Getting to know us when we're tiny helped us all build a repertoire with the others. Plus, by doing jobs like working in the library I learned a ton, so I wasn't destined to just become a regular meathead guard."

Rubbing her arm self-consciously the redhead responded, "I can't deny that you were more than a little intimidating coming out of the floor earlier."

He laughed as he guided her to a quiet area near a fireplace with a good view of the windows but was still somewhat sheltered by some of the smaller bookshelves, "I could tell. My antenna can smell things like adrenalin from a mile away. I'm glad you don't carry that scent now though."

"Sorry." April looked down in guilt, "I should know by now not to judge a book by its cover."

"Don't worry about it. You're not the first and you won't be the last. Besides, it's basically my job now to look intimidating." Deciding to change the subject, Scolopendro lifted up her bookbag and placed it onto the table. "Come on now, buck up. We got work to do. Where should we start?" He had already pulled out her textbook and was flicking through it, "Kinematics, dynamics, electricity…"

Looking up she grumbled, "Probably best to start from the beginning, I've been lost since day one."

"Kinematics it is then." Scolopendro clicked as he tried to make some order of her various papers. "Here, give me a second while I go and get a few things."

As April watched him skitter off, she had to admit Scolopendro had been right. He did appear to have a sense of comradery with the others. Even in the library, every familiar he passed he greeted and more than a few did a Centi-five with him. Eventually, he disappeared from view, but within a few minutes she saw him pattering his way back. Several arms had a white board tucked under them, one had a mound of paper, one had a pack of markers, and one even had a white board eraser.

Dumping the stuff on the table he quickly began to rearrange his cargo. April had to admit his dexterity was impressive. He was able to use his own body tilted to act as the white board easel all while leaving more than enough length for him to come over to her side of the table to see what she was doing. Pulling out a marker with one of his antennae, Scolopendro began, "Okay, if you're going to understand kinematics you have to know the four equations."

He then wrote the words "the big 4" on the board before looking at her, "Do you know what they are?"

"Uhhh…" She looked down in shame, "No…"

Scolopendro didn't seem perturbed in the slightest, "That's ok. That just means we need to get you the building blocks that you will need if you want to understand the more advanced stuff."

As the centipede began writing more on the board, April sighed. She was pretty sure that somehow, she had found herself repeating Physics 1001, and she hadn't even written the final yet.

A/N: And with that we are caught up to where I left off previously. Hopefully it's not terrible and was worth the wait!