Chapter 13: Lost Memories
Hey everyone I'm back with a new chapter. Now this one I've been trying to think over for a while and let me tell you, this one was hard to write. I would like to thank masters123lfm for giving me the opening scene idea. I think you'll be surprised by what I have in store. Please Review and Enjoy.
It was the day after the Team had returned from Bialya and while the mission was a success Splinter had noticed the teens had left out a few details and he was eager to get on that.
In the Hashi, the sounds of groaning echoed through the room.
Covering her mouth, April looked in horror at what they had to do.
Superboy was balancing 5 steel girders on his back while stuck in the invisible chair pose.
Atop those girders we see Leo and Kid Flash were forced to do splits while standing on their hands. Along their legs, we see they had to balance glasses of water on them. And Raph had to do a side crow pose while solving a Rubix cube.
Nearby we see Miss Martian forced to float upside down while she had to do crunches while trimming a bonsai tree with Aqualad having to balance on a wooden board over a spike while a giant heat lamp was beaming down on them both.
Next to them, Donnie and Robin were forced to balance on wooden boards while each one held a stack of bricks in each hand.
Nearby, Robin had to do a one-arm handstand with both his legs tied together and balancing on a giant ball while his free hand was forced to work a typewriter.
Gio and Artemis were forced to balance on opposite ends of a seesaw while jumping rope.
And finally, Mikey stood atop an end table and balance a ball atop his head and arms.
"Dear god…am I gonna have to do these exercises?" April asks.
"Not as long as you listen to Master Splinter." Leo cringed.
"So do any of you feel like talking?" Splinter asks walking to the center.
"How are you holding up guys?" Donnie cringed.
"I'm not even breaking a sweat." Superboy cringed.
"You should see the stuff Batman makes me do. This is nothing." Robin said.
"What's the matter Turtle Boy? If you don't keep up I'm gonna leave you in the dust." Artemis pants expecting a comeback.
But to her confusion Gio said nothing. He just did the exercise with a look on his face that showed he was deep in his thoughts.
"Hey guys I'm in the zone. There's literally nothing that can break me." Mikey declares when a pizza box was dropped nearby. "Starting to break."
"Oh man low blow Splinter." Kid Flash cringed.
"Of course, you've all tasted the 5 Cheese Pizza, but this one cheese mongers have speculated over its existence for centuries. Da Vinci's original masterpiece. I submit to you…the 99 Cheese Pizza!" Splinter declares flipping it open.
"It's not possible." Mikey gasps.
"Mikey don't you even think about it!" Robin said.
"It's a trap! A pizza with that kind of variety of cheese is a culinary impossibility!" Donnie said.
"Believe me if such a pizza existed, I would know about it!" Kid Flash said.
"Shall I list the ingredients?" Splinter asks taking a big slice out and walking towards Mikey.
"No." Mikey whimpers.
"Keep it together man! Superboy calls out.
"Cheddar." Splinter starts.
"Leo help," Mikey said.
"Mikey don't you do it!" Raph yells.
"Provolone." Splinter continues.
"I swear to god Mikey keep your mouth shut!" Artemis yells.
"Asiago," Splinter said getting closer.
"Gio help snap him out of it!" Artemis yells.
"Huh?" Gio said looking around confused.
"Taleggio." Spinter lists.
"I don't even know what that is." Mikey whimpers.
"Please Mikey don't," M'Gann begs.
"Mozzarella of course." Splinter smirks.
"Alright! Alright! When we were in Bialya and we ended up getting our memories wiped by this dude named Psimon. Well everyone but me actually and Superboy and I ended up getting captured and examined by these crazy science dudes but Miss Martian blew up their base and we stole their sphere thing so it's all good!" Mikey confesses.
Groaning all of them stopped their exercises and got out of their poses.
"This is not good." Splinter shook his head.
"What's the problem? We got out before they realized what Mikey was." Leo asks.
"The problem is now there are more enemies out there. This Psimon could be harmless but he could work for others, dangerous ones that now know of our existence." Splinter warns.
"We understand Master Splinter. But you have my word that no one will learn of your whereabouts." Aqualad said.
"Yeah, Mikey was so stupid the guy couldn't even see what was inside his mind." Raph insults.
"Hey!" Mikey snaps.
As they tried to explain the situation to Splinter, April saw Gio walking towards the exit.
"Hey Gio, what's up? The mission couldn't have been that bad right?" April asks but he didn't answer. "Hello? Earth to Giovanni?"
"Oh hey April," Gio said acknowledging her.
"What's up? You tired or something? It's not like you to zone out." April asks.
"Sorry just uh got a lot on my mind. I'll see you later." Gio said walking out.
"Man with a punishment like that, you would think you guys would try and steer as far away from trouble as possible." Kid Flash said grabbing a slice of pizza and taking a bite.
"We should but somehow we always end up in here," Donnie said.
"At least it's over," Mikey said grabbing a slice and taking a bite. "Aw, man this is just a normal Cheese Pizza."
"Told you," Robin said.
"He knew Michelangelo's weakness and used it against us," Aqualad said.
"Well lucky for you most of the bad guys we've fought don't use pizza for interrogation," Robin said.
"But seriously Artemis, you were not on your game. You were calling Gio out the whole time but he never in acknowledged you. Bet that pissed you off." Raph smirks.
"Whatever. If he thinks playing the silent treatment is gonna work it's not." Artemis said.
"Uh I don't think it's that," April said getting their attention. "I tried talking to him and he barely realized I was here. Something's up with him."
"What could possibly trip Gio up? He's the most grounded of all of us." Donnie said.
"Uh I might know," Leo said as everyone looked at him. "When M'Gann unlocked our memories from the past six months something happened."
"Oh no. Did I mess up some of his memories?" M'Gann asks.
"No nothing like that. Actually, you kinda unlocked one. One Gio never knew he had." Leo said.
"What are you talking about Leo?" Mikey asks.
"Ones before I found him." Splinter realized.
"Found him?" Superboy asks curious.
"What do you mean?" Kid Flash asks.
"I found Giovanni in an alley when he was just a boy. He had no memories, no home, not even a name. Just a wound on the side of his head indicating some injury of some kind. We never learned who his birth parents were. I had wondered if anyone would come looking for him, but one ever did." Splinter said.
"Oh no," April said hurt.
"Poor guy," M'Gann said.
"And you guys just accepted him like that?" Artemis asks.
"Well, we're not really in a judging position. I mean hey, we're talking turtles." Mikey said.
"Sure it was weird at first but we warmed up to Gio," Donnie said.
"Plus since he was human he could go to the surface and get us things. So he's useful to have around." Raph shrugs.
"You don't think…his family were the ones who gave him that injury?" Superboy asks.
"There are some bad families out there," Artemis said.
"There are so many possibilities I have considered but I never knew which one was the right one." Splinter said.
"Yeah well after the mission, Gio finally saw a glimpse of them. He saw his parents." Leo declares making everyone in his family freeze up.
"Wait. M'Gann, you unlocked our memories back when we lost them. Do you think you can do it again but for Gio?" Robin asks.
"I mean I guess. Granted I just looked back a few months. This goes back all the way to when he was born." M'Gann said.
"You think you can try? I mean you weren't trying and you did it the first time." Superboy asks.
"Yeah come on gorgeous, I bet you could do it if you set your mind to it." Kid Flash flirts.
"Oh man. We're gonna meet our family-in-law." Mikey said excited until Raph bonked him in the head. "Ow!"
"Mikey it's been over 10 years. For all we know these people could be dead." Raph said.
"How could they die?" Donnie asks.
"I don't know accident, choked on pizza, people do a lot of stuff that causes them to die young," Raph said.
"He's not wrong." Robin cringed.
As Artemis glanced around she noticed a small hint of green leaving the lair.
Narrowing her eyes, she followed after him.
That night, sitting on the rooftops, Gio looked down at the alley where Splinter found him all those years ago.
Looking at a stack of cardboard boxes in the corner, Gio sighs remembering that was all he had for a home.
Reaching into his vest, he pulled out a pencil revealing an old sketchpad in his hand.
Tracing to the best of his abilities, he managed to make an exact drawing of the parents he saw in that memory.
"What happened to us?" Gio asks unaware of a figure approaching him.
"Wow, so you can draw too?" A voice said startling him.
Turning around he saw Artemis standing behind him.
"What did you forget something you wanted to say back in the Hashi?" Gio asks.
"Nah, you're no fun right now," Artemis said sitting down next to him. "Listen Leo and Splinter told us what happened. Is this the place?"
"10 Years ago, Master Splinter found me in this alley. Those cardboard boxes were my home." Gio said.
"You know if M'Gann can unlock our memories in Bialya, she could probably unlock the rest of your memories too. Haven't you considered asking her?" Artemis asks.
"I thought about but, I don't know." Gio sighs.
Looking at him in disbelief, Artemis had never seen this side of him before.
"Artemis, you have a family too, right?" Gio asks.
"Yeah I'm Green Arrow's niece," Artemis said quickly.
"Okay, what about your parents? What are they like?" Gio asks.
"Um…" Pausing Artemis wasn't really sure how to answer that without giving too much away. "They were…complex. I mean we weren't perfect but I like to think we had a few good moments."
"Aside from that one memory, I don't know anything about my real parents. I've always wondered about them. Please don't laugh at me, but I've always wondered can you miss people you never actually knew?" Gio asks surprising her. "Yeah, I know. Stupid question there's no way you can."
Looking at him, Artemis did the one thing Gio never expected from her in a thousand years. Wrapping her arms around him, she pulls him into a hug.
"Of course you can, that's why you're here because there's a part of you that does miss them," Artemis said.
Tearing up Gio hugs back. "Thank you."
"Gio don't you want to know what happened to them?" Artemis asks.
"More than anything, but what if when I find out they didn't want me, or something a million times worse? What if it's the worst thing I've ever imagined?" Gio asks.
"Maybe, but if you don't look do it you'll always spend the rest of your life wondering. I don't think you should deny yourself something this important. Do you?" Artemis asks.
"I just…I don't know what to do. I can't do this on my own." Gio admits.
"Who says you have to?" Turning around Gio saw Leo, Raph, Donnie, Mikey, and even Splinter standing behind him.
"I knew we'd find you here," Splinter said.
"Master Splinter? You came to the surface?" Gio said in disbelief.
"For you, always." Splinter said walking over.
"Gio, you may think this was one of the worst days ever, but for me it was one of the best. Because if it wasn't for your parents, we wouldn't have found you." Mikey said.
"Yeah you're a part of our family," Donnie said.
"You're our brother," Leo said.
"And you don't even annoy me as much as the others." Raph smiles.
"Guys," Gio said standing up. "Be honest…should I do this?"
Approaching him, Splinter puts his hand on his shoulder.
"No matter what you learn or what you see you will always be a part of our family," Splinter said before pulling Gio into a hug.
Smiling the 4 turtles joined in the group hug. Seeing this Artemis couldn't help but smile.
As they separate Gio walks over to her.
"Uh listen Artemis this is a little embarrassing—" Gio starts.
"Let me guess you want me to keep this a secret from the team?" Artemis assumes.
"No that's not it. Will uh…will you stay with me for this? I'm scared." Gio admits surprising her.
"Uh yeah, I guess," Artemis said not expecting this.
Whenever she had been with Gio before he was always so focused, so determined, and more than anything annoying. But this was the first time she had ever seen him like this. This was something that was really hard for him. A struggle that he had kept hidden for so long. For the first time since they had met, she didn't want to insult or even make fun of him. As she looked at his face all she wanted to do was help him through it.
Going back to the lair, Gio sat in front of M'Gann with Artemis, his brothers, Splinter, the team, and April sat nearby to be supportive.
"You ready Gio?" M'Gann asks.
"No. But I'm doing this anyway." Gio declares.
Reaching out, M'Gann put her hand on the area where Gio's scar was. Using her powers, she dives into Gio's mind and began slowly unlocking the memories causing Gio's eyes to glow.
In his memories, we see a beautiful temple hidden in a secret valley where a dozen warriors training in Mystic Ninjutsu.
Atop a hill, we see a baby Gio being held in the ninja woman's arms as she and her husband looked out at the temple. These were Kaguya and Virgil. Gio's parents.
"What do you think, Sasuke? This is your heritage. One that was created from two different worlds. One of Ninjutsu." Kaguya starts.
"And one of magic." Virgil smiles rubbing his son's head. "And someday you will learn them both."
As we bounce ahead one year, we see the baby Gio slowly learning to walk but was struggling.
"Come on Sasuke you got this," Virgil said as the baby fell over and cried. "Hey, it's okay. You can do this. Come on."
Sniffling Gio slowly got up and made it all the way to his father.
"That's my boy. Everyone falls, but you just have to get back up when that happens." Virgil smiles proud of him.
Next, we see Gio when he was 4 and he was reading a scroll with his mother.
"Mommy this is boring. I don't want to read. I want to learn to fight." Gio whines.
"Alright Sasuke, if you can take this coin from my hand I'll teach you a lesson," Kaguya smirks holding out a silver dollar in her hand.
Grinning at the idea of not having to read, Gio lunged at her but at the last second Kaguya pressed her other hand against his head making him unable to get close to the coin.
Squirming Gio tried to push through but all his mother did was giggle amused.
"No fair! You're cheating!" Gio whines.
"No, it's called strategy. I said you had to take the coin, I never said I wouldn't try and stop you." Kaguya said putting the coin back in her pocket. "Now back to reading."
"But I want to learn to fight like you and Daddy can." Gio said.
"Being able to fight is more than just running around with a sword. I want you to study so that no matter the challenges you face. You will be ready." Kaguya said
Sighing, Gio turned back to the table and listened to his mother's lecture.
Seeing various memories we see Gio enjoying his birthdays, trying to do Magic, studying ninjutsu, and the biggest twist of all.
"Mystical Ninja weapons?" Gio said in awe.
"That's right, Sasuke. The most powerful, magical weapons ever created and only members of our family can find them." Virgil said.
"Will I be able to wield them someday?" Gio asks.
"Someday, when you're ready," Kaguya said.
"How long will that take?" Gio asks.
"You'll just have to wait and see," Virgil said.
While Gio had a hopeful smile, the next memory was anything but hopeful.
Eyes widening in horror, we see Gio when he was 5 years old and flames were surrounding the temple and the area around them.
While multiple ninjas ran past him, Gio saw a pillar of flames erupt out of the ground.
From the ground, Gio saw a figure emerge from the flames. It was a tall, red-scaled, dragon-like man with wings, sharp talons, and green flames emitting from him. This was Kavaxas.
As the ninja attacked him Kavaxas walked through the assault hardly feeling a thing.
"Do you think such feeble weapons can hurt Kavaxas?!" He roars releasing green flames and sending all the ninjas flying back.
Turning his attention to the temple, he was about to approach it when the ground glowed under him.
Suddenly a wall of magic appeared around him trapping him inside.
"What sorcery is this?" Kavaxas snaps when suddenly a bolt of lightning shot down and zapped him making the Demodragon scream in pain.
Before Gio could respond his mother dropped in and scooped him up.
"Come! We must hurry!" Kaguya said as they met up with Virgil.
"That trap won't hold him for long!" Virgil said as they sprinted inside.
"You can't escape me! I will find your Mystic weapons and destroy them!" Kavaxas roars as it echoes through the temple.
Running deep inside the temple, Virgil and Kaguya put their hands to a specific wall causing a seal to appear over the weapons room and sealing it away.
"Will those seals hold?" Kaguya asks.
"Yes, the only ones who can open it are the three of us. Now come on." Virgil said as they ran down the hall to another room.
"Dad, where are we going?" Gio asks.
"Somewhere safe and where he'll never find us," Virgil said as both his arms glowed.
Thrusting his hands forward, Virgil moved them in a circular motion to create a portal.
"Sasuke you go through first," Virgil said.
"What?" Gio gasps in fear and confusion.
"He's right. You have to go first." Kaguya agrees.
"Sasuke the portal won't hold for long! You need to run now!" Virgil said.
"What?! No! No! Not without you!" Gio said.
"Don't look at us! Just turn around and run as fast as you can! Don't stop no matter what! We'll try to meet you on the other side. We love you so much." Kaguya said grabbing her son by the shoulders and turning him around.
Turning him around Gio looks at the portal and was about to approach it when he heard a loud banging noise.
Startled his parents had their weapons and magic at the ready when the door broke down revealing Kavaxas.
"Found you." He grins.
"Run!" Kaguya yells.
"No you don't!" Seeing a prey escaping Kavaxas creates a giant fireball and hurls it at him.
Acting quickly Kaguya and Virgil leaped in front of their son using everything they had to protect him.
"Mommy! Daddy!" Gio gasps.
The two tried to push it back but it was too much causing a chunk of Kaguya's katana to break and fly backward slashing Gio's forehead and making him scream in pain.
Gasping both parents turned around to see their injured son fall back and bang his head against the ground.
"Once I finish with you two, I'll break the child's neck like a twig. Don't worry he'll die quickly." Kavaxas smirks.
Hearing this something snapped in them.
"You won't lay a finger on him!" Virgil yells as magic engulfs him and he repels the attack. "Get Sasuke out of here!"
Using ninja art, Kaguya made half a dozen clones of herself. While she and the other 5 went on the attack one clone scooped up Gio and raced him out.
As Gio's vision began to blur he saw his parents fight valiantly. Slowly our view changes to the wall where two shadows attacked the demon shadow multiple times before the demon grew in size and flames burned around the temple.
Screaming at the top of their lungs the two parents attacked him with everything they had as the temple fell to pieces around them.
Exiting the portal, we see the clone of Gio's mother look around to see they were in an alley in New York.
"This should be far enough," Kaguya said when suddenly she cringed in pain.
Looking down she saw her arm was beginning to fade away realizing the fate of the original her.
Looking at her barely conscious son, she tears up. They wouldn't be able to keep their promise to him.
Carrying him to where some cardboard boxes were lined up, she laid Gio down and stacked the boxes up so it was like a little fort.
As she began to fade away she strokes Gio's head.
"Sasuke, I want you to grow up happy. Find people you can be close to, people who love you. Who knows maybe you'll even find a few nice girls along the way. I wish we could stay with you, but even though you can't see us we'll always be by your side watching you grow up into the strong man we always hoped you would be. You have so much potential and our only regret…is that you won't ever know how proud we are. But know this…we love you. So much." Kaguya said as tears landed on Gio's face before they faded away completely.
Slowly waking up, Gio looked around at his new surroundings.
"What happened? Where am I?" Gio asks confused before cringing in pain and holding his head. "Ugh, my head."
Slowly getting up, the young boy saw he was lost in an unfamiliar location with no idea of who he was or how he got there.
And the rest is history.
Zooming out we see everyone was waiting patiently for the two to snap out of it.
"Man, what do you think they're seeing in there?" Kid Flash asks.
"I don't know, but it's gotta be big," Superboy said when Gio's eyes died down and he and M'Gann slowly snapped out of it. "M'Gann?"
"Gio? Bro are you okay?" Mikey asks as both caught their breath.
Slowly looking up at them everyone saw tears pouring down Gio's eyes.
"They loved me…they loved me so much." Gio chokes.
"M'Gann d-does that mean?" Leo starts.
Frowning M'Gann nods her head and instantly the room was silent.
Covering her mouth, April was horrified by this.
"Oh, man." Kid Flash frowns.
Making the first move, Raph walks over to Gio and hugs him.
"It's okay bro. We're here for you." Raph said.
Joining in, the other turtle brothers hugged their human brother close.
"I think maybe we should give them some time alone," Robin suggests.
"If you require our assistance, don't hesitate to call," Aqualad said.
"Yeah, and Black Canary is a therapist so we can set up something if you need it." Kid Flash said standing up.
"You know where most of us will be," Superboy said as he and the boys left.
"I'm sorry Gio, I really am." M'Gann frowns following them.
"Uh let me know if you ever want to talk Gio. Call me when you feel better." April said leaving.
As Artemis looked at him, she frowns. He finally learned the truth and even though he knew it wouldn't end well he saw it through to the end. Even if knowing the truth would hurt like hell.
"Hey Giovanni," Artemis calls out getting his attention. "I uh…I know this probably means nothing coming from me but I think your folks would be glad to know you didn't turn out so bad. Maybe on the good side."
"Thanks, Artemis. For everything I mean it." Gio sniffles.
Slowly turning around Artemis walked out. Nobody noticed a small blush on her face.
Hours later, Gio and the turtles had eventually fallen asleep, but Splinter was still awake.
Walking over to the picture of his wife and daughter, he places the drawing Gio made of his parents and lit a candle for them.
"I don't know who you two are, but I thank you for giving birth to an amazing child. And I promise on my honor as a ninja I will raise your son to be the man you always he would be. You have my word." Splinter said bowing his head in respect.
They had finally learned the truth about Gio's past, but now they had to figure out how he could prepare for the future as well as live in the present.