Chapter Eleven
E.T.V
(Extra-Terrestrial-Vision)
A faint tutting whisped through Donatello's teeth as he felt the need to twist his screwdriver even harder into the crevice holding his palm-top together. With everything that had happened over the past month, he hadn't even noticed that his convenient hand-held device had stopped working, which certainly explained the lack of recent communication from Professor Honeycutt. He had some questions for the Professor regarding their recently acquainted shapeshifting friend, and typically now that he had the pressing desire to actually put the palm-top to use, he was having to fix it. Of course this was far from a difficult task for him - it was probably just a plain old short circuit - but the sudden hindrance was a bit of an irritant. It was entirely possible that this was aggravated by the faint bickering coming from the television area behind him, that up until that point he had managed to tune out with relative ease.
"No way! We've gotta watch Mysterious Space Monsters, it's a classic!" Michelangelo's voice exclaimed.
The recipient's tone was much less exaggerated, but still had an element of stubbornness behind the softness of their words.
"You got to pick the last two movies, why can't we watch this one tonight?" Asked Vye, attempting to stand her ground as she held out the video tape clutched in her hands.
Mikey's response was preceded by an irked protruding of his tongue from his mouth as the video was thrust in his direction. "Ugh, but it's so sappy and boring."
"Well- Well I haven't seen it yet!"
It was unusual for Vye to raise her voice, the act causing Donatello to turn around in his chair with a disappointed sigh. While she didn't seem to be the argumentative type, there had definitely been occasional, albeit small, flare-ups between her and Michelangelo as she'd begun adjusting to her new lifestyle. Though this probably had very little to do with the small alien's temperament, and everything to do with his brother. After all, if there was one thing Mikey was good at it was getting on people's nerves, and Vye was beyond being exempt from his talents.
"Come on, Vye! It's an old movie, you like old movies!"
"Yeah, so? This is old too, why can't we watch this one-"
In an attempt to simmer the already luke warm argument, Don put forward a suggestion as he rested his chin on his palm.
"Why don't you just flip a coin?"
The pair, momentarily distracted by his contribution, looked over at him and mulled for only a second before Mikey pointed his finger dramatically at Vye as an idea came to him.
"Better yet, a duel!"
"D-Duel?" Vye had heard the phrase before, but only in another one of the old movies they had watched recently; it involved a lot of humans dressed in frilly garb and waving around toothpick-thin swords. Surely he didn't intend for her to physically fight him?
Knowing where the conversation was heading, Don shook his head in disappointment as he muttered. "Oh boy, here we go."
"Yeah," Mikey exclaimed, balling his hand into a fist. "Rock, paper scissors!"
The girl in front of him blinked slowly before responding.
"...Oh."
Of course that's what he meant. Though, it wouldn't be entirely surprising if he in fact had challenged her to a match of fisticuffs or something equally ridiculous. Thankfully Vye was familiar with this game, she had seen it done many times on TV. Feeling relatively confident that her chances of winning were on an even field with his, she nodded her head and clutched the video to her chest as she reached out the fist of her other hand in front of her. Donatello, who ordinarily might have monitored the scenario, had already turned around to continue tinkering with his palm-top as Mikey began to holler the countdown.
"3...2...1...Go!"
The pair took a moment to observe the positioning of each other's hands. Mikey's two fingers were extended, while Vye's fist remained balled. Her eyes brightened instantly at the revelation. Rock beats scissors. She found herself about to celebrate while the seemingly defeated turtle scrunched up his nose, but was interrupted by him waving his 'weapon' up and down.
"Sorry, dude. I win."
"Huh?"
"Paper beats rock!" Mikey chuckled mischievously as he cupped his hand over her fist in demonstration.
The previously victorious expression on the girl's face quickly swept into one of utter confusion and dismay. She wanted to argue but all she could muster was a string of stuttering as Mikey removed his hand to hold his DVD above his head triumphantly, hopping his way over to the television sets in preparation. Vye looked frantically back and forth between the turtle and her now open palm, the loss still trying to process in her brain. Hadn't he used scissors? She was so sure that's what he picked. Did she misinterpret the gesture?
Her eyes then widened in a realization. Unlike her, the turtles only had two fingers on each hand - it was entirely possible he could subtly switch between both symbols.
He cheated.
Embarrassed for having been so easily duped, Vye puffed out her cheeks as they turned a light shade of pink. It was too late for her to refute now, the disc was already in the machine and the deviant that put it there had already run off into the kitchen to grab the usual mass of movie snacks. A sudden pat on her head retracted her attention, and she craned her neck slightly as Donatello - fully equipped with a sympathetic look - stopped to stand level with her for a moment.
"Maybe next time." He reassured, having a pretty good idea of what his brother had done.
Disappointed, she looked down at the video tape still in her clutches as Don continued towards the entertainment area to take a seat. The rest of the turtles joined shortly after, and after submitting to her defeat, Vye carefully set the video aside and awkwardly shuffled herself into the centre of the couch. She continued to slump in a pout up until Klunk leapt onto her lap, the gentle padding motion of his small paws against her jeans soothing her into a more accepting state. With a little smile, she petted the cat settling onto her while the dramatic musical interlude blared from the television set - and the movie began.
An hour of snack munching, snarky commentary, and over dramatic acting having passed by, the movie was reaching its climax, and Vye had begun to notice something. She had picked up on this from all the other alien-themed movies they had watched, but only now was it beginning to stir up a genuine question inside her. Suddenly, the military man on screen spoke loudly, announcing the victorious defeat of the enemy they had fought so hard against through the whole story.
"...Do...Do humans really feel like this?" Her gaze didn't move from the screen as the turtles looked her way. "About aliens, I mean."
"What are you talkin' about?" Raph asked bluntly, obviously not understanding what she was alluding to.
Vye's gaze then finally met with her still cat-occupied lap, gently petting Klunk's fur as she made an attempt to clarify.
"Well," She began. "In a lot of movies, anything that comes from another planet always seems to be...the bad guy…"
The boys all exchanged looks, only able to muster a harmony of awkward "uhh"s while the sound of explosion effects and yelling continued to boom from the television speakers in the background. It wasn't an entirely wrong observation, a lot of fiction based on the meeting of humanity with extra terrestrial life often did result in negative conflicts to some degree - usually with the latter being some form of predator or judgemental being of high intelligence.
"They're just movies, Vye." Said Leonardo, trying his best to hold a comforting tone.
"Yeah," Raphael chimed in. "They may look cool and flashy, but it's not realistic or anythin'. For starters, those puny tanks ain't gonna do anything to a real spaceship."
Vye tilted her head at the comment, becoming increasingly more perplexed. Did they all have more experience with spacecraft than she knew about? How could they possibly know if an Earth tank would work against an alien ship?
"How...How many times have you guys been into space-?"
A brief shot of combined glances from his brothers signalled to Raph that he had slipped up. They hadn't intentionally kept information from her, but now they were probably going to have to open up about some unfortunate truths that weren't going to be particularly comforting to hear. Regardless, Raphael kept his composure by responding with his usual abrasive sarcasm.
"Too many."
"There...May have also been a teeny tiny invasion on Earth a couple of months back." Donatello added sheepishly. After all, the city was still recovering from the aftermath of the conflict between The Federation and the Triceraton Republic; the girl was going to find out sooner or later.
Vye leaned back into the sofa slightly with her eyes a bit wider than before as the invasion was summarized for her. She was surprised to hear about this. A couple of months? That couldn't have been much earlier before they rescued her from the Galactic Federation - and in fact, even the Collection Divisions arriving on Earth multiple times probably contributed to this invasion counter in some way, even with the memory erasing. Her gaze sunk to her lap again, barely taking in Klunk rising to his feet in a long exaggerated stretch.
If humans didn't already have preconceived notions about aliens before, they certainly weren't going to have good ones now. Was she really okay to stay here? Of course there should be no problem if she blended in well enough, but what if she was caught out? What then? At least she was fortunate enough to have made some allies who seemed to accept her for who - and what - she was. Remembering that point caused her to crack a smile, though only for a moment.
"Honestly…" Leo started, unsure on whether to continue. "Bishop's probably the only thing you'd need to be concerned about."
The smile having left her lips, Vye lifted her head again to look over at Leonardo, who was sitting next to her. She shuffled her legs awkwardly as Klunk finally hopped off her lap, leaving behind a warm empty patch on her legs now massed in shedded fur.
"Bishop…?"
"He handed the Fugitoid over to the Federation," Donatello explained. "And, well… captured us too, I guess."
Michelangelo shuddered at the memory. "Don't remind me! He's like the Men in Black's crazy uncle."
"Man," Raphael's tone got increasingly more aggressive, his hand grinding his knuckles. "What I'd give to whack that creepy piece of suit."
Vye's head tilted towards her other shoulder. Whoever this 'Bishop' person was, the turtles didn't appear to have a very good history with him. Raphael wanting to punch someone wasn't exactly new, so it was mainly the fact he used them as some sort of bargaining chip that clued her in. After Leonardo divulged a bit more, it was clear that Agent Bishop, as he was known, really really didn't like aliens. He didn't sound like a man to be reckoned with. A bubbling began to rouse deep in the pit of her stomach. This made her nervous.
Apparently this feeling showed clearly on her face, as no sooner had the nerves stirred, her head was forcibly pushed around by Raphael's palm, disheveling her hair in a vigorous tousle.
"Sheesh, don't worry so much." He insisted.
"Raph's right," Agreed Leonardo. "You've been doing fine, and as long as you're with us for the time being, Bishop won't even have to know you exist."
Her hair now resembling a nest that she was having to awkwardly pat down, Vye looked amongst the boys as they all nodded in agreement. The sentiment was nice, and caused a warm rush to her cheeks. Of course, the feeling came hand in hand with the tiniest hint of guilt. She couldn't let them protect her forever, even if she was the slightest bit terrified of a human in a black suit that excelled in combat as well as having access to lots of military weapons.
Though she smiled again, her brow quirked an element of concern. Leo and Raph exchanged a look from each end of the couch, the latter merely shrugging as he was plain out of ideas. He got to his feet to go remove the now finished DVD, while Leo followed his lead shortly after, but not before giving Vye a gentle pat on the shoulder.
Donatello, who despite turning his attention back to his palm-top, had picked up on the change in Vye's expression and stalled for a moment, rubbing his chin in thought. While he was keen to fix the device, the troubled look on their friend's face felt a bit more pressing. As an idea came to him, he leaned forward in his seat, hoping the gesture would catch her attention.
"Hey," His voice made her jump slightly. She'd been lost in thought, as expected. "My palm-top may need some bits from the workshop, and I could use an extra pair of hands."
Vye looked perplexed. She hadn't been in the workshop much at all, but everything in there looked rather complicated. Though she didn't want to pass up the opportunity to help out, could she really be of any use?
"Really…?"
"Aw," Mikey moaned. "Come on, Vye, I was gonna put on Space Wars III. It's the extended cut!"
He held up the film in question, the cover art showing off UFOs and more explosions. Another Extra-Terrestrial thriller. Vye looked back and forth between the two options presented to her, soon stopping back on Mikey with an anxious look.
"Um...Actually…I'm not really in the mood for another...alien movie."
"...Oh. Right." Mikey laughed nervously as he tossed the DVD to the side, scratching his head for a moment while he searched the floor to grab the video tape that had been abandoned earlier. "Well, uh...We can watch one of your movies! The... mushier the better…?"
The last part of his sentence, along with his expression, massively lacked enthusiasm, prompting Donatello - who had already gotten to his feet - to put his hands on his hips as if he was about to scold him. He remained quiet, however, as Vye didn't appear to pick up on the tone and still shook her head at the offer.
"No, I'm okay." She looked up at Don. "I'm not sure what I can do, but...I'd like to help."
As expected, getting her focus to switch on assisting in some way seemed to perk her up a bit. With a faint smile, he then gestured for her to follow him.
"Alright then." As he turned around to lead the way, he raised his hand to his brother. "You can clean up, right, Mikey?"
While Vye - oblivious to the provocation in place - simply followed Donatello at the heel, Michelangelo jumped to his feet with his mouth agape.
"Woah, hey- Wait a minute-!" He exclaimed, attempting to regain the pair's attention to no avail.
With a frustrated groan Mikey looked around in dismay at the mostly self-inflicted mess surrounding him in the television area. There was no way he was going to clean all this up. Suddenly he caught a glance of Raphael in the corner of his eye, who had only just tossed the previous DVD onto the sofa as he began to make his way elsewhere. A sly look crept onto Mikey's face and he soon followed, raising his voice in an overtly devious tone.
"Oh Raappphhh! Wanna play a game?"
Watching his two brothers from a distance banter on their way towards the kitchen, Leonardo took a moment to sigh before scanning the room, unsure of what to do next. Master Splinter was still holed up in his room, and it was still too early for any meals. He admittedly wasn't particularly keen on tidying up the television area either, and besides, it was totally Mikey's turn to do it.
With little else to do, he made his way towards their training space. Perhaps it would be a good time to practice the art of meditation. Almost as quickly as he had made the decision, a jarring flash bouncing off the objects around him brought his pace to a halt. He squinted his eyes as he turned around and looked towards the origin of the sudden light; A portal was forming. A figure stepped out of the glowing door, and as the light behind them faded, Leo was able to relax his eyes again upon spotting a familiar set of ears.
"...Usagi-?"
"Leonardo-san, it is good to see you." Usagi greeted him with a bow.
"Uh, it's good to see you too." Leonardo reciprocated the bow with his own, caught a little off guard. "But...What are you doing here?"
Though he looked much more composed than the last time they'd met, Usagi had a concerned frown on his face. He briefly flashed a comforting smile as he placed his hand on Leo's shoulder.
"There is something I need to discuss with you."
Vye had forgotten how big the workshop actually was, given that she often avoided looking inside it. There were multiple contraptions scattered around the room that appeared to be for transport, including the collection cruiser from the Galactic Federation that was suspended on the in-ground auto lift. Some panels on the side had been left open, but it didn't appear to have been looked at in a while.
Donatello had already walked over towards the shelving unit near the back wall and was about to search one of the boxes stashed on it when he noticed a lack of footsteps behind him, causing him to look over towards the doorway where Vye remained standing awkwardly.
"Vye? What are you doing?"
She flinched at being addressed before shuffling a little further into the room, cupping her hands to her chest in fear of coming into contact with something.
"You said not to touch anything in here…"
It wasn't unusual for Vye to take such a warning so literally. Of course he had said this pretty early on in her stay in worry that something might accidentally get toppled or dismantled. She was a lot more steady in her humanoid body than she used to be though, and this lead Donatello to let out a small sigh before beckoning her closer.
"You can still come in though, just be careful."
Though unsure for a moment, Vye nodded and joined him by the shelving unit, taking the utmost care not to trip or knock anything over. When she approached the wall something red and shiny caught her eye, her gaze quickly locked on some sort of bi-wheeled vehicle that piqued her curiosity. Her attention was snapped away when Donatello spoke to her again, holding out a small device in his hand that she'd seen in passing a couple of times before.
"See this? It's called a 'palm-top'," He explained. "I use it to talk to our friend Professor Honeycutt-"
He cut off his sentence as he saw Vye's puzzled expression.
"Oh- that's the Fugitoid we talked about."
"...You have a robot professor in a small computer…?"
"Uh…"
She wasn't exactly wrong. Professor Honeycutt was a section of code programmed inside the palm-top after all. Still, he hadn't expected the response and though Vye had started getting pretty adept at behaving like a human, it was moments like these - and the movie incident earlier - that really accentuated that she was still an alien from another planet.
"...Well, yeah. Sort of." He surmised.
Vye looked down at the device in his palm with wide eyes. Something about the concept fascinated her and before she could lean her face any closer to it, Donatello cleared his throat to continue his statement.
"Anyway," He carried on. "There's some spare parts that I'm probably going to need somewhere on these shelves, so would you mind helping me look?"
"Okay." Vye smiled and nodded, looking eager to get started.
With an appreciative smile, Don went back to the box he previously focused on but barely got a chance to start searching it as once again he was distracted by something. When he looked to his side, a pair of arms reached out towards the very top shelf, the top of an amber head of hair only just visible in his peripheral vision. Looking down to catch the sight of Vye's struggle he scratched his cheek, with his other hand placing the box back.
"Maybe you should get the lower shelves."
"Hm?"
Lowering herself from being on her tip-toes, Vye looked at him for a moment before looking up at the shelving unit. Thwarted by her small stature, she puffed out one of her cheeks as she surrendered to the prominent height of the metallic structure. There were plenty of other shelves within reach, however, and agreeing that it was probably more effective to let Donatello take care of the higher ones she crouched down to make a start at the very bottom. The pair began their search, the shorter of the two being perhaps a bit too keen despite not knowing exactly what she was meant to be looking for in the first place.
Back in the main hall, Leonardo had prepared some tea upon Usagi's insistence that the matters he needed to discuss were rather important. It was also just good hospitality, as Master Splinter had taught him. The two swordsmen sat on the padded floor of the training area, Leonardo bringing his friend up to speed on what had been going on since their last encounter. Usagi listened patiently, intrigued by the news. Eventually he brought his cup of tea to his lips in a long sip, as it was finally cool enough to drink.
"So that's pretty much it," Leo concluded, picking up his own tea. "How are things back in your world, Usagi?"
Usagi chuckled lightly as he lowered his cup.
"It seems you have had quite an eventful time since we last met...But thank you, things are well. Most of the damage left from the Galactic Federation has been fixed, and everything is as it once was."
A smile formed on Leonardo's lips; this was good news. However, his smile faded as Usagi's expression suddenly became more stern.
"Well," Usagi continued. "Almost everything. That is why I am here."
Leo merely listened, patiently waiting as the rabbit took another sip of his tea before he continued.
"It seems in my world there has been a sudden uprise in bounties."
"Bounties…? Bounties for what-?"
"For the same thing that the Galactic Federation came to both our worlds in the first place. That new friend of yours you mentioned?" Usagi continued, despite the sudden worry showing on Leo's face. "It seems many rulers across our lands have also garnered an interest in their kind - whether it's for their own personal agenda or...selling to the highest bidder."
He gently placed his cup back down onto the floor.
"I have travelled far and it appears to have become rather commonplace. Even Lord Hebi is interested. I would not be surprised if this has happened in other worlds besides our own."
Leonardo looked down at his cup of tea, staring at his reflection bouncing across the surface of the water. This was...less good news. But what were they supposed to do? What could he do? Bounties crossing dimensions for the Cytols wasn't a particularly good sign, and he started to wonder if they had gotten too complacent in Vye's situation.
"Do you think this means they might come...here?" Leo asked.
"Hm," Usagi mused for a moment. "From what you have told me, it is extremely unlikely that anyone would think to come to your Earth. Especially if the Galactic Federation themselves have pardoned you."
Usagi then smiled a little, in hopes of comforting his friend when he finally looked up from his beverage. It would be just like Leonardo to worry about these sorts of things.
"You probably have nothing to worry about, I just felt I should let you know." He chuckled a bit, picking up his cup of tea once again. "Of course, you could expect a visit from Gennosuke, the ever-eager bounty hunter that he is. There is an awfully large price on those being's heads after all."
"Uh-"
"I jest, Leonardo." Usagi gave him an amused look. "I will not tell him of your friend. Your family's secret is safe with me."
As Usagi took another gentle sip of the drink cradled in his hands, Leo let out a sigh of relief - having not even noticed he had held his breath upon the mention of Gennosuke potentially arriving unannounced. The swarm of nerves in his stomach left as quickly as they came, escaping him in the form of a nervous laugh.
"I appreciate that," He said gratefully. "Thank you, Usagi."
With a reciprocal bow of the head, Usagi smiled, the tension in his demeanour finally lifted. He had passed on his message and had done all he could for the meantime. All that was left now was the remains of his tea and the company of his friend in arms. Suddenly, his ears twitched slightly as he caught the sound of a familiar voice not too far away and it appeared to be getting closer. The feminine tone that accompanied it was less familiar, however, and caused him to turn his head in the direction of the noise. Donatello was just leaving the workshop, accompanied by a short amber-haired humanoid that he didn't recognise.
"...So replacing the old battery...with this other old battery will...fix your friend?" Vye queried.
"Hopefully. I mean, this battery isn't old- Well- It is, but it's unused. Plus, it's technically- Oh." Donatello stopped in place as he met Usagi's gaze from where he stood. "Usagi?"
Vye followed his line of sight to see the bipedal rabbit sitting across from Leonardo. Without realizing, she had already shuffled slightly to hide herself behind the turtle beside her, all while trying to get a better look at the unfamiliar guest. Usagi greeted Donatello with a smile, bowing his head.
"Hello, Donatello-san." His gaze shifted to the small girl peering back at him. "I have yet to meet your new friend."
At the comment, Don looked beside him to find the previously occupied space now empty, and upon twisting himself a bit further with a lift of his arm spotted the "friend" cautiously veiling themselves in his shadow. This was probably a natural response when he thought about it, up until now Vye hadn't exactly met many people and the ones she did have contact with in the lair tended to be frequent and recurring. He took a step back to reveal her, which caused her to flinch and give him an anxious look.
"Go on, it's okay." He assured, gently pressing his hand into her back to give her a push forward.
With hesitance, she led the way over. Her pace was slow, almost as if to drag out how long it would take to reach the stranger just ahead. As the pair approached them, Leonardo and Usagi stood up, careful not to nudge the floor bound beverages with their feet. After Donatello and Usagi exchanged nods, Leo began with the introductions.
"Usagi, this is Vye." He gestured. "Vye, this is Usagi Miyamoto. He's a good friend of ours."
Usagi smiled a bit and bowed to the girl in his usual manner, and though she had seen the gesture a lot from Splinter and the turtles, all she could do in response was fumble with her hands.
"It is good to meet you, Vye-san. Leonardo has told me much about you." Usagi stood straight. "You certainly look different from the last time we met. Though I suppose we weren't formally introduced."
Vye's head lulled to the side slightly. What did he mean by that? Suddenly, it hit her. She couldn't tell from a distance but now that she saw him up close, and actually looked him in the eye, she recognised him.
"Oh, I remember," She blurted. "You were on the ship…"
"Yes, indeed I was."
"Usagi was actually the one that warned us about the Galactic Federation before they showed up on Earth." Don added. "Speaking of which...Uh, what brings you here?"
"Well-"
Usagi's sentence was cut off by a sudden intrusion of bickering echoing from the other side of the lair. As they all turned to follow the source they saw Raphael and Michelangelo walking across the hall, Raph looking noticeably irritated while Mikey continued to pester him like a puppy snapping at the heel.
"Come on, Raph," He whined, proceeding to hold his balled fist down into his palm. "Just one more! Best 18 out of 35! I promise I won't cheat this time."
"Forget it, Mikey." Raph gave him a slightly more forceful shove than the last ten he'd given, pushing his brother in the direction of the entertainment area. "Clean up your own mess."
"But it's your mess too!" Mikey paused before playfully leaning back in, rubbing his hands together. "I'll make it worth your while-"
With a growl that was a lot more exasperated than his usual aggressive response, Raph prodded Mikey's chest, putting more strength each consecutive tap as he spoke. "Y'know, if you weren't such a lazy bum-"
Suddenly, Master Splinter's scolding voice sliced into their argument. "Raphael! Michelangelo!"
As the pair halted, they looked over to watch as Splinter walked into the hallway with a rhythmic tapping of his cane against the hard floor, having finally left the confines of his room. It was mostly likely that he was roused by the sudden ruckus caused by his two sons, which explained the mildly irritated tone in his voice.
"Please, behave yourselves." He stopped in place, holding his hands on the top of his cane before looking across to the other group in the training area. "After all, we have a guest."
After giving each other and their sensei a puzzled look, Raph and Mikey finally noticed Usagi among the usual suspects across the room, and immediately made their way to go and greet him. Mikey was especially excited for his arrival, though that was mostly due to him dodging getting into a tumble with Raph as well as his pure avoidance of the mess still strewn across the livingroom floor.
"Hey, Usagi! What brings you to our neck of the woods?" Mikey beamed.
"Better not be runnin' from any more of the space fuzz." Raph quipped with a grin while folding his arms.
Leonardo briefly gave him a harsh look, primarily feeling uneasy that his brother might provoke their friend to unearth the details of his previous conversation in front of Vye. Thankfully, Usagi was pretty adept at keeping his cool and merely let out a small chuckle in response.
"No, no. This is merely a personal visit." He explained.
Suddenly Mikey's voice cut in again, having shifted himself behind Vye and holding her arms up in the air by her wrists, catching her by surprise.
"I guess that means you've met our resident mascot, the Vyester!"
"Ah! Mikey-" Before Vye could object to the action further, she instead found herself mumbling in confusion over what a mascot was, her arms still suspended in midair by the turtle.
"Of course," Usagi smiled. "Any friend of your family is a friend of mine, Michelangelo."
Vye seemed to look a little puzzled by this comment. Did she just make a friend? She didn't think about it much but she had watched and read a lot of things about friendship during her stay - is this how it worked? And if that was the case...Did that mean the turtles and Master Splinter were her friends too?
Her head once again tilted in thought as her gaze wandered towards the ceiling, her arms now limp but still remaining stubbornly held in Michelangelo's grip until a light slap on the arm from Raphael forced him to let go. Before the two turtles could get into another potential bickering-war, Master Splinter stepped in, resting one hand behind his back.
"It will be starting to get dark out. Perhaps you boys should take our friend Miyamoto-san on a tour of the city."
The word "tour" somehow managed to pull Vye back to attention, and she joined the turtles in looking to Usagi as they waited for an answer, Leo looking particularly excited by the concept.
"That's a great idea, Master Splinter. How about it, Usagi?"
"Hm," Usagi thought to himself for a moment. "I suppose it is not imperative I return straight away. I have also been rather curious about your world since the festivities you held at your home previously…" He paused. "Yes, I would like to see your...New York."
"Alright!" Michelangelo exclaimed, quickly prodding his thumb into his chest. "Stick with me, Usagi. I am the best tour guide!"
"Yeah, if you wanna end up lost on the Upper East Side." Raph scoffed.
"Hey, that happened once!" Mikey barked in response. "I swear you get lost turning off the wrong way from the museum one time and you're marked for life."
The boys carried on with their quips and nudges as they made their way towards the elevator to set their new plans in motion. Quickly noticing they were one body short, Leonardo stopped to turn around and look at Vye who had remained standing near Master Splinter.
"You coming, Vye?"
"Huh-? Wait...I can come?"
"Sure you can."
"Yeah, kid, there's still tons of New York you ain't seen yet." Raphael added, gesturing wide with his arms before cocking his thumb towards Usagi. "Besides, with Usagi here that's one extra body to babysit 'ya."
Though she would normally pout at the babysitting remark, Vye found herself too caught up in her sudden excitement to go back up to the surface. She knew the city was big and that she clearly hadn't explored all of it- but how much more could there possibly be to see aside from the ice cream parlour and Antonio's Pizza? She had to know. After a quick look to Master Splinter for his nod of approval, she trotted after the group to join them as they led the way onward to the tour for their long-eared friend.
With the sun having finally rested below the horizon and the moon rising with its night-sky curtain of shimmering stars, the city had entered its evening period and the weather was just right for a night heavily focused on sight-seeing. The turtles eagerly showed their friends as many note-worthy attractions as they could within a reasonable radius, all while remaining within their usual confines of the shadows. One particular place that caught Vye's eye was the New York Public Library, until they showed off the lights of Times Square and the Brooklyn Bridge, which reflected vibrantly off Usagi's newly acquired sunglasses - which he had taken a liking to despite everyone's insistence they weren't to be worn at such a time of day.
The time seemed to fly by, so much so that Michelangelo's stomach had began to stir up a chorus of growls, to which he started to insist upon tracking down some classic New York street food. It wasn't until Usagi and Vye's stomachs did the same that everyone concurred that it was best they found something to eat. The group stopped on one of the surrounding rooftops and after having gathered up some beverages, Mikey and Raph had set their focus on finding the nearest fast-food vendor on the streets below them.
A short distance from the boys, Vye had settled on a particular side of the roof and was looking out across the vast city, enamoured by the sight. She felt she'd seen more of the city within the last two hours than she had during her whole stay so far and though it was exciting, it was a lot to take in. Hearing footsteps approaching from behind her, her gaze was so fixated that she didn't even bother to look at who was now standing to her side as she asked a question.
"What's that over there?" She pointed out towards a large rectangular area seemingly devoid of roads and buildings.
"Hm? Oh, that's Central Park." Donatello answered.
"Central...Park?"
"Yeah. It's a wide open space of grass, ponds, and trees."
This caught her attention, and her eyes grew eager, continuing to be fixated on the park while she sipped through the straw protruding from the carbonated drink cupped in her hands.
"Of course it's a little hard to tell because it's dark," He continued. "But it looks a lot different in the daylight. You'd probably like it."
Vye nodded in agreement. It definitely sounded like something she wanted to see, especially if it was anything like Jones' farm. Despite not being able to see most of it due to the darkness, she was still able to appreciate the trails of small blue lights that swirled across the area. She peeled her gaze away to look up at Donatello for a moment as she took another sip of her drink, and as she looked back towards the park her mind began to drift back to her meeting with Usagi earlier. There was a short silence until she finished, and then took an extra pause before asking another, unrelated, question.
"Um…" She began to nervously pick at the plastic lid of her cup with her thumb. "This might seem like a weird question, but… are we...friends?"
Donatello took a moment to look down at her as he processed the sudden change in topic.
"Well, yeah. Of course we're friends. We're all friends. Master Splinter, April, and Casey too." He paused. "...Why, don't you think we're friends?"
Slightly surprised at having the question deflected back at her, she looked over to meet his puzzled gaze for a moment before lowering her head back down and looking more closely at her cup instead of the cityscape ahead.
"Oh- Um...Well I- I don't know. It's just...I've spent so much of my life simply hiding or blending into my surroundings...I never really talked to other living things...So I don't really get how this stuff works." She muttered. "It's...pretty new to me."
"I see…" Don then smiled a bit, hoping his words would provide some comfort. "Well, you still had family, right?"
"Family?" Vye thought to herself for a moment. "You mean, like...relations?"
"Yeah. You must have some back on your home planet, don't you? I'm sure they miss you a lot."
The cool night breeze came to a standstill as Vye thought to herself again. It took less time for her to mull over this question, soon going back to looking out over Central Park.
"No, I don't have anything like that." She stated before looking at him again. "For as long as I can remember, it's just been me."
Not expecting the answer, Donatello was slightly taken aback, though he remained silent as he continued to look down at the small humanoid next to him as she moved her attention back to her beverage. She seemed a little downhearted, though what was strange was that it only seemed to be the latter half of her statement that triggered the new solemness in her expression.
He and the others already knew that Vye had little recollection of her home planet, but he had sort of assumed that she would at least be aware of *someone* waiting for her back there. Then again, they hadn't really asked if she even had the desire to go back, or why she wanted to settle down on Earth. It was no wonder Vye had questioned their friendship, after all how much did they all really know about her? Certainly not much more than she did. As much as he wanted to question it further, he held his tongue. This wasn't the right kind of conversation to have on a tour, though now he had no idea what to say and the silence began to move into the realm of discomfort quicker than usual. Before he could apologise for bringing it up, a familiar hand suddenly appeared underneath Vye's cup to promptly slip it out of her grip with ease.
"Yoink!" Taunted Michelangelo.
"Ah- Hey!"
Vye turned in an attempt to grab her drink back from him, to no avail and he held it high above their heads. Though he was almost thankful for the inrustion, Donatello placed his hands on his hips as he addressed his brother with an accusatory tone.
"Mikey-"
"Hey, come on," Mikey responded as he continued to lift his height with his toes as Vye made more swipes to get at her cup. "Raph spotted a hot dog stand! How's Vye meant to grab the food if she still has a drink in one hand, huh?"
Vye stopped swiping momentarily to look at him properly.
"Hot dogs?"
"Yeah! We're giving Usagi the authentic New York experience, right? If any food's gonna do that, it's hot dogs!"
With a tilt of her head Vye's expression became more quizzical. She hadn't heard of hot dogs before, let alone eaten one. The look on her face soon became a grimace as she began to question in her mind what the food actually was. Donatello quickly waved his hand in dismissal as soon as he noticed this.
"It's not what you think."
Before she could ask anymore questions for clarification, Raphael approached the trio, gesturing over the side of the building as he began to bark impatiently.
"Alright, kid, let's get you down there already. Otherwise the turtle with the iron stomach here's gonna start gettin' even more irritating."
"It's true." Mikey grinned, seeming proud.
"Okay, okay." Vye turned to Raph as he crouched near her to then scoop her up into his arms.
Though she was used to being picked up at this point, she was less used to the drastic plummet from tall buildings. A small yelp escaped her as Raphael hopped off the ledge to make his way down to street level, her gaze just barely catching a glimpse of Michelangelo giving her a parting wave as their bodies dropped through the air.
Once they reached the ground of the darkened alley below, Raphael let Vye back onto her feet. Taking care not to be seen by any passersby he approached the corner of the nearby building to peer around with her following cautiously behind him. Just as Mikey had said, just a few metres away stood a greasy-aproned man standing next to an equally greasy-looking cart.
A strange new scent began to ascend into Vye's nostrils and she found herself lost in the intensity of it for a moment before Raph grabbed her attention by holding his hand on her head to keep her gaze fixed forward.
"Hey, focus, space cadet." He whispered aggressively. "Now just do what you did with the drinks, but ask for hot dogs. You got that?"
"Yeah, I got it." She replied, nodding her head still under his palm.
"Great." Raph grinned as he patted her with the same hand, before giving her a light shove into the illuminated walkway. "Now get goin'."
"Ah-!" Vye pouted slightly at the sudden force, puffing out her cheek at him before anxiously plodding towards the cart and muttering. "Geez, what did you guys do before I came along?"
All Raphael did in response was shoo her away with his hand, all the while remaining as hidden as he could without compromising his view of the cart she was heading towards.
Up above from the towering height of the building itself, the remaining figures peered over the edge to watch the little humanoid as she went to gather the goods. The moment was far from silent as the air filled with the obnoxious sound of Michelangelo sucking harshly through the straw of what was previously Vye's drink. As he reached the bottom of the cup and the noise began to grate, his brothers and their friend all turned their heads to look at him in disapproval until he felt prompted to stop.
"Do you have to do that?" Leonardo asked begrudgingly.
"Do what?" Mikey responded before continuing to suck on the straw at a volume that made it seem like he was doing it intentionally.
Though Leo's expression grew more disappointed, he didn't get a chance to further berate him as Donatello suddenly spoke up, having returned his attention back to the street below.
"Hey, you guys…" He started. "You know what Vye just told me? She said she doesn't have a family."
Mikey immediately stopped his attempt at vacuuming his drink.
"Really?"
Leonardo followed Donatello's gaze after he gave an affirming nod, carefully observing the small figures down below them for a moment before looking back up towards his brothers.
"Well...She doesn't have a lot of memories from her home, right? Maybe she does have someone but she just...doesn't remember them."
"I don't think so." Don shook his head before finally looking back to meet Leo's gaze. "She seemed pretty certain about it." He looked back down to watch Vye again, observing her small amber head bob around anxiously as she began to pile up with food. "It's just- I feel kind of bad for her. We may be outcast from Earth society, fighting monsters, aliens - the Shredder- and dealing with people like Bishop among other things... but at least through all that we have each other. If Vye never had anything like that...all that time hiding and running around space all by herself? It must've been lonely."
Michelangelo and Leonardo's expressions laxed into looks of sympathy as they lowered their heads to join Donatello in watching their friend below. They only looked up again when suddenly another voice contributed, almost unexpectedly.
"Perhaps not, Donatello." Usagi said. "After all, if she was as solitary as you say she claimed to be...Could she have the concept of loneliness?" While Don and Leo quirked their brows, followed by Mikey scratching the top of his head, he continued. "It's possible this is common for her kind. We cannot put our own feelings onto others so easily."
There was a short pause as the turtles considered his theory. Leonardo felt particularly compelled to agree with the words, though it was a little difficult to take Usagi seriously while he continued to wear the dark shades he had donned throughout the entire tour.
"He has a point." Leo finally agreed.
Don was already contemplating to himself, rubbing his chin in thought. Usagi and Leo were probably right, there was no way to tell for sure how Vye felt. Maybe this was normal for her, it would certainly explain how she seemed mostly matter of fact about the conversation. Although...He couldn't help recall the slight sadness she displayed. It seemed like there was a bit more to it, but ultimately it wasn't any of their business. If she wanted to tell them something, she would tell them. Perhaps questioning Professor Honeycutt should wait, though of course he still needed to fix the palm-top either way.
Eventually he nodded, seeming a bit more relaxed than he was before. He'd almost forgotten how wise Usagi could be at times. On the other hand, Michelangelo had been struggling to follow and had gone back to annoyingly sucking air through his straw in thought. Don was right, it did sound lonely. Maybe he should sit through her sappy old movies with her more often? Though there was also a backlog of video games to go through...Which was definitely more appealing.
Suddenly he spat the straw out of his mouth and clutched the top of his head.
"Oh no!"
"What? What is it?" Leo enquired with urgency.
"I forgot to tell Vye to get some with extra mustard!"
Surprised at himself for having considered the answer to be anything remotely eloquent, Leonardo merely cringed at Mikey's cry of anguish while Donatello followed suit in bringing his palm to meet his face. Usagi simply tilted his head, unsure what to make of the commentary.
Having finally gathered the requested hot dogs, Vye soon returned escorted by Raphael, and the whole group began to dig into their food. Michelangelo did so in his usual manner of vulgarity and lack of table manners, making ungraceful attempts at fitting two buns in his mouth at a time - all while Leonardo stopped Raphael from making bets on his limit before he inevitably choked on said buns. Usagi and Vye appeared equally curious and fond of the new acquisition, though Donatello had to push in with more dismissal as Usagi repeated the earlier forbidden question of what hot dogs were actually made out of.
It didn't take long for the food to settle and the rest of the tour to come to a close as the clock drew closer to midnight, the time becoming more evident the more sleepy Vye appeared to look despite her continued excitement. After regrouping back at the lair, the small family gathered around the familiar portal that brightly illuminated the hall, Usagi standing in front of it as he gave one final bow to his friends - sunglasses still fixed to his face.
"It was good to see you all, your world is most fascinating." He smiled as he stood straight again. "Perhaps I shall visit again. You are all, of course, welcome in my world any time."
"Thanks, Usagi." Leonardo smiled in return.
"Yes, it is always good to see you, dear friend." Master Splinter bowed, prompting his sons to mimic the gesture.
Vye stood awkwardly, taken off guard, and in an attempt to not appear rude, made a quick anxious bow of her head. Usagi let out a light chuckle and lowered his sunglasses to allow himself a better view of the group.
"Well then, I bid you all farewell. Until next time."
With an exchange of grins and waves, Usagi walked into the portal and after a small flash the magical doorway closed, shrinking down into nothing. There was a stillness to the air as the original lighting of the room began to settle in everyone's eyes again, and the realization of the time began to dawn on them. Not even bothering to hide it, Raphael stretched out his arms with a grunt.
"Man, I'm beat." He yawned.
"Yeah, we should probably get some sleep." Leo concurred, watching Vye as her eyelids began to droop, causing him to grin. "So, enjoy the tour?"
It took a moment for Vye to register he was looking at her, let alone speaking to her.
"Huh?" She mumbled sleepily. "Oh...Yeah." A small smile formed across her lips. "It was fun. Usagi seemed nice, and...I liked seeing more of the city."
"See!" Mikey suddenly interjected, wrapping one arm around Vye's neck while he prodded his thumb proudly into his chest with the other. "Told you guys, I'm the best tour guide! Right, Vye?"
"Um-"
She didn't have the heart or the energy to point out that he had lead them in circles on multiple occasions, but thankfully a slap on the back of the head from Raphael did the talking for her. Master Splinter sighed and began to resign to his room, letting the two brothers heckle amongst themselves. Leonardo shook his head and did the same, shortly followed by Donatello who stopped to give Vye a brief pat on the head on the way.
The tiredness taking over her body caused her to linger, taking in the sights and sounds of the now relatively familiar scene that filled her with a strange sense of comfort. It caused her to smile again, and finally she walked on in turn. She just might like this whole "friend" thing.