'These enemies that we've faced have shown no mercy. But then again, I had to give some thought. The ninjas don't seem like they work on their own accord. The Purple Dragon gangsters are a little too dimwitted to work things out by themselves. They might be just like the robot and that mutant. How? They were probably doing what they were told to do. Why do I get the feeling like some of them didn't want to do what they had to?'
It had been a while since I came back to the board. The pins were holding up pictures and notes went with them. I basically have been going back to the laboratory to collect the abandoned notes. My family didn't like how I went there so willingly, but I just have to know if it could give me clues to my history. I really wanted to know. They already know of their history so what do they know about how I feel. 'It's just so frustrating.' I thought to myself. I could feel a dull, nagging yet persistent pain in my head and winced at it.
I've been getting these headaches ever since I had that vision. 'They did this to us.' I could still hear their voices. They never left my mind. I could still see the injured mutant, but he was holding the spot where I had sent my kusarigama in him and he bled out. Then there was the rodent woman. She looked so weak, so frail, and in need of help. I really do want to help, but what can I do? 'Find us.' Their voices echoed. I shook my head and looked back to the notes I collected. There were bits and pieces of information from some big project. I couldn't get myself to understand it. Every time I tried to understand it, my head began hurting.
I sighed and got up for a single moment, beginning to move ahead. I was only greeted with the temporary blindness. Dots and blackness filled my vision. My hand was out in front of me but I ended up hitting a wall. "Ow.." The small headache I had earlier ended up turning into a throbbing one on. I could only hold my head in my hands, falling back into my seat and curling up with my head between my legs. It hurt so much.. so much.. I just want to... to. "Bella?" I hear a voice say and looked up. "Are you alright?" Donnie asked in a tone of worry. "Yeah, I'm fine." I would nod along with my answer but my head was hurting at the moment.
He just sighed and shook his head. My brothers hated it when I lied and Donnie was no exception. "You should come down sometime soon. Master Splinter is having us train in a few minutes." He spoke. I nodded at that and sighed. "Alright." He nodded back and left. I looked around my room, pushing the cork board back from any further viewing. I know Don probably caught a glance at it but.. I just want to make sure of some things before I say anything about what I found, you know? I sighed and set my eyes on my weapon. The kusarigama was treated well as far as keeping it... clean goes. In all honesty, I-...
I gave up my trail of thoughts and just grabbed the handle, trying to ignore the memories of what happened merely weeks ago. I needed to get to Master Splinter and train like always. It'll be normal. 'I mean it's as normal as it can get with my family, right?' I thought and made a small smile, leaving the room and closing the curtains behind me. The others were getting themselves ready and Leo was already with Master Splinter on the training pads. 'Always the first to Splinter.' I thought and rolled my eyes.
Raph was next and he looked like he was ready to pull his sai out of its holder to start. 'Of course he's ready to fight.' I sigh, walking a little slower. Apparently I must be walking too slow because Mikey climbed up to see me. "Whoa. Kinda slow today, aren't you Bella? You doing alright?" He asked. I didn't bother answering. I mean, why should I? I've probably spewed enough lies for the past few weeks. At least, I tried telling them half-truths. Mikey pouted at my silence but followed after me down the stairs and to the training space anyways. 'I'm getting the feeling that something's gonna happen.' I think to myself.
"Attack me, my students." I barely heard what Master Splinter says, but it is only a few moments before we all get into position. Raphael went ahead first, looking rather impatient. He swung his sais at Splinter, who was quick to react by dodging before using his tail to slip him up. He scolded him right as Mikey tried to tackle him. Splinter jumped up in time, letting Mike take Raph down instead. "Ow!" The hotheaded turtle yelled, "Mikey!" Don went in with his staff at the ready. He tried to land a hit on Splinter but he blocked with his walking stick. Leonardo came in and attacked as well but it didn't take long for the master to take down his student.
Everything froze for me at the moment of realization. It was my turn. I swallowed a little nervously and held my kusarigama in my hand. 'It.. It's just training. No one is going to get hurt. Even if someone did, it would just be bruises.' I tell myself before charging forward. Splinter took stance, holding his walking stick in his hand. Like before in my previous battles, I kept the blade away from Splinter, using the chain end to swing at him instead. He purposely let his staff get wrapped up, pulling me in. I raised my kusarigama up high, ready to send a strike, but instead I stopped right where I was. 'No...' Seeing in my distracted state, he kicked me in my side and I stumbled.
"Isabella, you are hesitating on your attacks. Is there something troubling you?" I hear him ask in a stern but concerned tone. I couldn't help but think about what happened to that Mutant with the pain he had in his eyes, the innocent AI child with that echoing scream and that expression of terror as he fell into the incinerator, that Foot Ninja I- I had... and the fact that I nearly drowned twice. I.. I felt my grip loosen up and I began shaking at those memories. My vision grew blurry and before I could react, I felt tears run down my face. 'Not Splinter... Not my Sensei.. Not my father too... He doesn't deserve it.' I thought, dropping my weapon and hugging him tightly. "Hey... Lil' sis.. what's da matta?" I hear Raph asked in concern. His hand placed itself on my back. Right, I forgot that big bro gets concerned about his family, if not the most concerned out of all of us. "My daughter... kneel." Splinter commanded softly. I obeyed, kneeling down while still holding onto him.
"Now.. Will you tell us what's wrong?" I didn't want to say anything, fearing that it would only come out as a squeak. Instead, I looked to my weapon, looking away from it. The old rat lifted my head and I couldn't control any emotions I held in. "I see.. There is a guilt in your eyes that I have only seen on one other person.. I didn't expect to see this expression on you at all," He began and sighed softly.. "You... have done something awful, haven't you?" He asked. That's when I broke. Or at least that's when I think so.
You know that feeling you get when everything comes crashing down and it feels like you can't hold yourself up anymore? Where deep down it felt like you were suffocating and you were just keeping yourself busy to ignore those feelings? Yeah.. That's how I feel right now. I whimpered and felt the tears roll down my face uncontrollably, sobs escaping me. Splinter was quick to hold me close and I gripped hard on his yukata. I could feel the others eyes on me. 'They're pitying me.' I thought. 'I just know they are.'
"There, There.. Isabella.." The old grey rat spoke softly. I desperately wanted to bury my face into his neck fur but decided to go against that, feeling myself shake. "My child, please... calm down... breathe slowly.." I shook in his arms, trying to calm my thoughts down while fighting to breathe slower. "Shhh..." He hushed. I can see Mikey reaching out, trying to comfort me as well but Master Splinter looked sternly at him. "Michelangelo, I know you wish to help, but it is best if we do not push her." Mikey pulled away. "Oh.. Okay then."
"Leonardo, perhaps it is best if you prepare some tea. I wish to speak to Isabella alone in my quarters." Splinter told Leonardo. Leo did as he was instructed while Master Splinter and I went into his room, his tail sliding the door close. He and I sat down in our spots and it was at this point that I had to take off my mask at this point since it was getting soaked under my eyes. "Isabella, you may try to pull the wool over your brother's eyes, but you cannot fool this old rat. I've seen enough to know if one of my children is being troubled." Splinter began before asking, "Please.. Tell me what's the matter."
"I.. I don't know where to begin," I answered honestly, even if I did stutter. He sighed softly and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Start at the beginning." Right.. The beginning. 'I think...' "It started with the vision I had.. after we had settled in." I began. It was about time to tell him what I saw from that vision. I figured that if I had to deal with this, I was going to need help and I know Splinter was never the one to turn any of us down when we needed help. I learnt that a long, long time ago, but as Splinter would say, that's a story for another day.
-
(Third Person P.O.V)
"You know, Isabella's been a little worrisome lately." Donnie stated with an unusual tone in his voice, breaking the silence. Mikey listed a few things, "Yeah. I mean, first her nightmare, then that thing, and the fact that she keeps going back to that place where it took her." Leonardo nodded, "I followed her a few times there and all she grabs is notes. It's like she's looking for something. For what? I don't know." He had his arms crossed over his chest. He didn't know why his little sister kept going back there even when he felt that terrible atmosphere of the place. Even Mikey said he had a bad feeling about that place and he didn't like it one bit. That's coming from the monster movie fanatic.
"You know something... That monster took her to that lab. What if she and it came from it?" Mikey asked. "Mikey," Raph injected. "No really. A monster has to come from somewhere. I mean it could've been made there. And if Isabella was there, then that means there were others there." Others? They would have noticed if there were others, especially with how they explored enough sewers to know where they were going and how to get home. Aside from seeing that rodent lady dropping Isabella off years ago and that mutant hybrid of sorts, there was no concrete evidence of any more mutants like them.
"This talk about the lab and those damned notes she keeps grabbin' makes me think she's part of a science project." Raph spat. "And I don' like the sound of that." His hand gripped on his sai as if ready to draw it out of his belt and throw it at a target. The others saw this and kept themselves on alert. "We don't either, Raph, but.." Don hesitated for a second before continuing, "put ourselves in Isabella's position. We're lucky to know what happened to us but then imagine not knowing one bit of our past and we find clues of it before piecing it together to make a clear picture. Would you really turn down the opportunity to find out where you came from?" Donnie sounded more wise than he did smart. "Whoa... I guess you're right..." Mikey replied, sitting up in realization but didn't say anything else or add anything in. "When ya put it like that, it makes me feel bad for her." Raph sympathized, looking down but not letting go of his sai. In fact, he quickly drew it and threw it, straight into the wooden dummy nearby. Thankfully, the sai didn't hit anyone. "But that still doesn' make it right on whoever put her through all that."
The four heard the door open and looked to see Isabella, holding her arms around herself as if she was halfway into curling up into a tight ball. Splinter followed out after her, having a troubled look. Never had they seen him look like that. Then again, never had they thought of Isabella hurting someone before. Enemies? Sure. But someone who just wanted help and didn't know how to ask? Not even she was thinking at that moment in time. Isabella went pass them, leaving her weapon in the training area. Mikey went to reach for her, but Donnie stopped him. Splinter went to their sides, watching his daughter carry herself up the stairs. He never expected the most merciful of souls to physically hurt someone, but she had and she carried guilt around with her. He never wanted to see his children have to carry that burden for he knew his Master Yoshi carried it around for years. Even if he physically didn't show it, Splinter could sense it.
"My sons," he caught their attention immediately and they turned to face him. "I ask for all of you to look after her. You can already see that she is troubled. I do not wish for her to do anything else she would come to regret." He instructed carefully. The four turtles nodded at his words. Splinter sighed at them, looking at their glances up to Isabella, who was heading into her room. They cared for her very much and he had noticed it very clearly. He had seen that kind of care before many years ago, when he was normal, but deep inside he hoped that his sons do not befall the same fate. His sons may know better but he wouldn't be able to stand watching his family get torn apart again...
'Not again.'
-
(Isabella's POV)
I still couldn't get over the feeling. I may have told Splinter everything that's happened up til now and while it feels like a little bit of weight had lifted off of me, it still doesn't feel like anything was going to be better any time soon. My eyes dart to those notes I've been collecting for the past few weeks. I keep looking for answers there but there's only more questions and it was honestly ticking me off. I got up abruptly and tore at the notes, taking them off of the cork board forcibly and crumbling it up between my fingers and dropping the paper balls. I kept on pulling them off the board, tearing them and crumpling them up before stopping when a few notes caught my eye.
These notes were decently legible. After looking at it for a bit, they seemed to look like journal entries.. Why haven't I seen these entries before? I wondered, pulling the pin off these ones and setting them down on my desk. The letters looked smudged like someone tried to erase them, but it still looked legible none-the-less. They looked out of order too like there were missing pages, but... hopefully not too much is cut off. I picked the first page up, beginning to read word for word.
'Entry number one-eighty four:
The experimentations had to decelerate it's normal pace due to a power outage. Just a minor malfunction, but an easy fix. The tests should be back up again in little to no time at all.'
'Nothing useful,' I thought, but the tests intrigued me. 'What were those tests though?' Curiosity drew me further into the reading.
'Entry number one-eighty six:
Something slipped into our water supply. It appeared to be a glowing substance unlike anything I've ever seen and the test subjects given the liquid had changed dramatically. This is unexpected but perhaps something useful would come out of this.'
'Is this person talking about the ooze?' I asked in my thoughts before reading further.
'Entry number one-eighty seven:
There was one subject in particular. She was refused to work with us or to move from her living quarters. She looked fearful but she reacted aggressively. Her hissing grew louder when we got closer. She held her tail high and even got on her back legs, trying to look bigger.. unfortunately she fell down, not having a sense of balance. We found that amusing but had to continue with our work.
Entry number one-eighty eight:
The subjects were going along well. The female rat already knew how things worked so she cooperated with us easily. A little too easy but there was no sense of defiance none the less. When we came to the now enlarged female gecko though, she was a fight. She hissed, slapped, scratched just about anyone. She went too far by hurting the boss man. The second in command, my comrade, was supposed to take the shot but he froze. I could see the hesitation in his eyes. It's like the last time he held a firearm it didn't end so well. The boss took it out of his hands and took the shot instead. It stunned her but at least we'll be able to put her down more easily.
Entry number one-eighty nine:
We removed her body at this time and began to clean out the containment unit she was placed in. That was when we found it. There was a nest full of eggs. Her eggs. Now her behavior made sense. To think that we had only assumed that she grew sick of us and wanted to harm us. No, she was being protective over her unhatched eggs. We should have known better, but what's done is done. Now is not the time to dwell over what happened, only to what is to come.
Entry number one-ninety:
The second in command had changed the mind of our boss to keep the eggs. To see if the hatchlings could be any use of our project. He said that it would be a waste to eradicate any opportunities that could be missed. Our boss considered his words and agreed to keep them only for his project. And so we proceed as planned.'
There were pages missing. Must've been from that incident that happened in the lab. There were still a few other notes.
'Entry number two-thirty six:
It has been about a month since she hatched. The process of her growth was steady while she was in the containment. Her heart rate remained normal, despite the mutation she was born with. Nonetheless, we will still continue with our work.'
These entries.. they're about me now. I mean, I distinctly remember being in some some strange tube and it began filling up with liquid. 'I was put into suspension?' I asked.
'Entry number two thirty seven-
Hmm.. it seems that she began to learn of her new dexterity. Small tests were being made to see how far we could go with her. So far, we learned that she does have a limit.'
I remember being lead into some testing areas by a strange man in a lab coat. He wasn't like Stockman or anyone I've seen in Mikey's monster flicks.
'Entry number two thirty eight-
She did something that surprised all of us. She spoke for the first time. We honestly should have seen it coming, considering that the mutation affected growth it also affected everything else. What we didn't expect was the smile she gave. It actually broke my usual bravado and made me feel rather guilty of everything we're putting her through. I shouldn't be growing soft for a subject, but she has an effect on me like no one else before her.
Entry number two forty-seven
I was left alone with her this time. The scientists were busy with the other subjects. The gecko mutant child looked up at me with her eyes.. They were so beautifully filled with curiosity and I decided to satiate her for now. I began to teach her. She still didn't like the tests on her, but now she had something to look forward to.. More knowledge. We relied on her for results and she relied on me for the intellect.. but she learns things faster than I expect. By the time I realized it, she had already found out what our true intentions were.
Entry number two forty eight-
She... looked at me with those eyes.. those innocent bi-colored eyes that taint my soul. The gecko girl was just too kind for this world.. for this place. I- I couldn't stand it anymore. I have to do something before it's too late.. Maybe.. just maybe.. I can save the life of an innocent child, but I can't let the others know what I'm plotting so.. I go to the only other person who cared about her so much.. I go to the blind rat woman for help.
Entry number two forty nine-
I told her about my plan. She seemingly agrees to this, even though I can still see the hate she had in her faded blue eyes. She had every reason to hate humankind for we had been anything but kind to her, but she needed my help to get them all out. Tomorrow will be the perfect time since everyone is scheduled to be busy.
Entry two fifty-
Something is wrong.. Something happened with her.
Entry two-fifty one-
I had set off the alarms. Hopefully they will have time to escape.. I accept my fate that comes to me. No matter what happens, it is good to know that I have saved that innocent life.. Hopefully she will find somewhere better than here. She does not deserve this pain.'
'Seems like I'm not the only guilty one here.' I thought bitterly, crumbling up the paper and tearing it apart. There were others like me and most of them are probably gone. That Mutant that I met was probably the last of them and I just slain any chance of having real answers. Granted his body is gone from the old lab but who the shell knows what happened to him? He could've been dragged off elsewhere where I can't find him. Who knows how long it'll be before I see another lab mutant again?
I was apparently so deep in my thoughts and so distracted with tearing up the paper that I failed to realize my own brother coming in and grabbing me by the shoulder, turning me around to see him. I reacted instinctively, panicking and sending my hand straight across someone's face. *SLAP* My hand hurt from hitting him and my eyes widened. I felt like hyperventilating then and there. Mikey held his cheek, pulling himself away from me. "M-Mikey... I.. I didn't mean it. I'm sorry."
(Third Person POV)
*A few minutes before that*
It had been a while since Isabella left to her room from Master Splinter's and they all grew worried for her. The four brothers went up there to see her. What do they find? Her tearing through paper and crumbling them in her fists. Raph would've liked seeing that, considering that he didn't like the idea of his little sister being a part of some science project, but now wasn't the time for that.
She was upset over something. 'Maybe she didn't find what she was looking for?' Donnie wondered. He didn't know for sure but he did know that his brothers and him would be upset if they only had pieces of their past and not the whole story. Mikey went in close. She wasn't snapping her tail like she usually did to warn them to not mess with her, but he should've known that she was too distracted to do just that.
The dark teal turtle in orange reached and placed a hand on her shoulder to make her notice them and hopefully if she noticed them maybe she could talk it out. That's what he thought. Instead, he got a completely different reaction from her. She swung around and a hand slapped across his face. "Ow!" He yelped. The gecko gasped and held her hand. "M-Mikey...?" Now they would have held her back from the hit but from the way she looked, she acted before she thought of anything. "I-.. I didn't mean it.." She stuttered. "I'm sorry."
Her eyes were glazed over with a built up guilt. She paled at what she done and looked like she was gonna stumble around had she needed to move. Mikey smiled softly at her. "It's okay. It was an accident." He rubbed his cheek, feeling a stinging sensation from the slap. "Sure will leave one shell of a bruise though." He chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. Isabella didn't laugh though. She just hung her head low, covering her face with her hands.
Isabella felt guilty and they didn't like her looking so sad. The turtles wanted to comfort her, to help her heal from the guilt, but they truly didn't know how. They never done something as bad as she did, but that wasn't going to stop from trying. Isabella, on the other hand, turned away from them, asking them to leave. They didn't want to and they could tell she didn't want them to leave either, but they chose to listen and left, leaving a heaviness in the air of their home. Hopefully, it'll clear up soon. Hopefully their little sister will be happy again one day.