This is where I've decided I'm posting one chapter at a time. But there's a small surprise in this chapter, to ease your excitement.
*****
Mizuki scanned through the screen on her phone for any sign of her parents.
The people she had been looking for since the fight back in Big Mama's hotel.
She had looked up their names, their dates of birth, their fingerprints. She looked up anything she could find to search for them. Even with the help of the brothers, she tried everything she can to find them and bring them back safely. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't find a single trace of them whatsoever.
"Any luck, babe?" Donnie looked over her shoulder to see the screen.
Mizuki sighed defeated and put away her phone. "No. It's been nearly three months, and still no sign of them. But I don't wanna give up now. I have to find them."
"We'll find them somehow, Mizzy," Donnie placed his palm on her shoulder and grasped her hand in his. "Even if it will take a few more months."
Mizuki smiled up at her boyfriend gratefully.
Meanwhile, Raph and Mikey are already talking about their plan on getting to Run of the Mill Pizza in time.
"Oh, yeah," Mikey said.
"Gotta make it to Run of the Mill Pizza before they close," Raph smirked.
"Oh, I can't wait to try their new meatless option: Vegetable," Donnie added, still holding Mizuki's hand, and turned to her. "Whaddya think, babe? Wanna take a break and eat pizza with us?"
"Well, I don't suppose a little break wouldn't hurt," Mizuki replied, smiling a bit.
"Say no more, mis hermanos and amiga," Leo said behind them.
"Huh?" The turtles and Mizuki turned around to him the red-eared slider turtle holding his sword up in the air.
"I'll use my ultrareliable portaling sword to get us there," Leo continued.
He swirled his sword around while raising an eyebrow cockily. "Hachi machi!"
"No, no, no, no, no, no," the other turtles shook their heads and backed away terrified.
"Leo, don't do it!" Mizuki shouted.
Leo ignored their warnings and opened up a portal with his sword. The gateway suddenly sucked them in as they screamed.
The blue-haired girl tried to reach for Donnie, but all she can see was one turtle being separated while three others went off in another path.
"DONNIE!" She shouted before the bright lights clouded her vision.
*****
Mizuki fell through the portal and screamed as she plummeted towards the ground below her.
She bounced off a roof canopy and landed on a food cart. A few citizens gasped when she crashed hard on the cart.
Mizuki groaned and pushed herself off the food cart.
"Dammit, Leo," she mumbled. "You really gotta work on those portals of yours."
However, when she recognized the place she was in, her eyes widened in terror. "Oh, crap."
"Hey!" The food cart vendor exclaimed. "You destroyed my beloved cart!"
"Sorry, terribly sorry about that," she quickly apologized.
"Alright, what's going here?" A small group of guards approached the vendor and Mizuki.
"Uh, well..." she started, but the vendor cut her off.
"This human destroyed my food cart!" He pointed at her angrily. "I demand you arrest her immediately!"
"Come here, kid," one of the guards, a lion yokai, slowly stepped towards her with his partners.
"We're not gonna hurt you, little brat," an eagle yokai added while beating his baton against his palm.
Mizuki backed away a bit before she bolted down the streets of the Hidden City.
The yokai guards chased after her, carefully pushing aside a few mutant citizens and struggling to catch up with her. By the time they got to a clearing of the streets, she was already nowhere to be seen.
"Search the town! Find her!" The captain of the guards commanded.
They all nodded and went off in different directions to find her.
Mizuki hid up on the roof of a building and peeked over the ledge to find the guards gone.
She sighed in relief. "Alright, now to find Leo."
*****
Hours had passed since Mizuki unintentionally arrived in the Hidden City, and still no sign of Leo anywhere.
But she wasn't going to give up. She was going to find him so they can find the other brothers.
Checking to see if the authorities are out there, she found none and stepped out of the alleyway. She had a cloak over her head to prevent them from recognizing her. It's not much, but at least it'll keep her hidden.
As she came across the edge of the city, she stared out into the horizon of the land. It spanned out like a vast desert, the ground colored neon green and the air thin with light yellow fog.
'Please, for the love of God, don't let them all be out there,' she thought.
"There she is!" The yokai captain shouted from the crowd. "Get her!"
Mizuki gasped and jumped the ledge of the cliff, sliding down the hill with ease.
"Stop her! Don't let her get away!" The captain yelled as he and his men chased after her.
Landing at the bottom of the hill safely, Mizuki dashed through the desert as fast as her legs can carry her. The guards didn't fail to catch up with her and surround her in a circle.
She gasped and searched for a way out. Unfortunately, with the guards blocking her, she's trapped.
"Human, you are under arrest for destruction of property and finding our home in the Hidden City," the captain said to her strictly. "You will be erased as punishment and to protect our existence."
A gun was pulled out from the side pocket and aimed at her.
Mizuki gasped and closed her eyes tightly.
A grenade was thrown from out of nowhere and landed in front of the guards. It then exploded to a cloud of smoke, engulfing Mizuki and the guards. The yokai authorities coughed from inhaling the smoky cloud, while Mizuki covered her mouth with the cloak.
Two figures ran right through the smoke, wearing gas masks, and one of them quickly grabbed Mizuki by the hand and pulled her away from the guards.
Just as they were able to see through the fading smoke, the two figures and Mizuki are gone again.
"Oh, come on!" The captain yelled in frustration.
The figures, one of them still holding Mizuki by the hand, ran across the vast desert until they came across an abandoned building a few moments from the city.
Mizuki rested her hands against her knees as she caught her breath.
The two figures studied her with cautiousness when she finally got a good look at them. They seemed to be dressed up in clothes that are lightly covered in dirt, with goggles covering their eyes and fabrics shielding their faces.
The two figures stopped suddenly when they got a better look at the young girl. Their eyes underneath their respective goggles widened.
Mizuki tilted her head, raising an eyebrow at the persons.
One of the figures removed the goggles and mask, revealing a pair of full lips and dark violet eyes. They then pulled off their headgear to let their light-dark blue hair flow down.
Mizuki gasped. Her eyes focused on the woman's features as her hand gently grasped at the golden locket.
The woman's face had a few wrinkles on her cheeks and underneath her eyes. A few grey streaks streamed down her semi-short azure hair, the same style as Mizuki's.
The other person, a buff figure, removed his headgear and goggles as well, his almond-shaped eyes staring at the younger girl.
His face also had some wrinkles, except his hair was dark brown with a couple of grey streaks.
The woman stepped towards Mizuki first and studied her features.
She laughed silently, a few tears leaving from her eyelids. "Mizuki."
Mizuki's eyes began to fill with tears when she recognized the stranger. "Mama?"
The woman, her mother, cupped her face with her two hands, her own cheeks now stained with tears. She pulled Mizuki in and embraced her tightly and stroked her hair.
The younger girl buried her face on her shoulder as she hugged her back.
She then saw the man standing behind them and stared back at him.
Her father chuckled in relief and happiness, tears staining his cheeks. He then wrapped his arms around Mizuki and the woman and hugged them.
Their hug did not break apart for at least a moment. They wanted to hold on to each other for a while longer.
After all these years of not knowing her parents, after trying to search the truth about them, she has finally found them.
*****
Later, the reunited family walked back to Momoka and Garrett's hideout, a small cave with a blanket over the entrance, a fire glowing to keep out the darkness, and various baskets to hold their belongings.
Mizuki sat next to Momoka, while Garrett sat the opposite direction of them, poking the fire to keep it burning.
"But...I don't understand," Mizuki wondered aloud to them. "I thought you were dead a long time ago."
"No. Draxum wanted you to think that," Momoka answered. "We've battled him after we had left you with Jupiter. But he was too powerful. He sent us here, in this place, so we wouldn't be able to try and stop him again."
"We've tried, attempted numerous times, to get back to the real world and warn everyone about the danger that would soon befall us all," Garrett explained next. "But they all end the same way as the last time."
"But no matter how much we wanted to give up," Momoka cupped her daughter's cheek and smiled at her. "We always thought about you. Out of everything else in the world, you're the only thing that stayed in our mind for years, the only thing that kept us going through the hardest of times."
Mizuki smiled at her newfound mother.
"But your father and I must know," Momoka questioned her. "How did you get here when there were guards near the entrance?"
Mizuki thought about what she needed to say.
"Mama, Papa, I don't want you to freak out, but..." she inhaled deeply nervously. "I've been with mutants. Four teenage mutant ninja turtles."
Momoka and Garrett eyed their daughter with surprise and interest.
"Turtle brothers?" Garrett said.
"Yes," Mizuki nodded. "They help defend the city of New York from Draxum and his mutated creations. As of now, I'm helping them train themselves to fight Draxum and defeat him and his mutations."
"Is it true?" Momoka studied her amazed. "But...it's impossible. No one is ever able to defeat that monster."
"I've seen them fight the first moment I've met them. I have my faith and hope in them."
"We know, sweetheart," Garrett chuckled at her enthusiasm. "We've heard stories about them from a few people who were trapped here as well from their friends."
"And when they mentioned something about you," Momoka added. "We thought, 'It's impossible. She can't be alive, can she?'"
She then chuckled and hugged her daughter. "Well, I guess our doubts were wrong."
"And I must ask you something else," Momoka added. "How did you come across the mutant brothers?"
Mizuki took a deep breath and began.
She started with how she met the brothers and April when she was after Mayhem to protect the vial from Draxum's men and continued with how she had been helping Splinter train them to fight off Draxum later on.
She then went on to tell them about Donnie and everything he is and did. She told them about how he and his brothers saved her from Draxum, about how he had helped her capture the oozesquitoes before they lost them again, everything else they did together to protect New York.
"Donnie's your boyfriend, huh?" Momoka raised a mischievous eyebrow at her. "And when can we expect a wedding date?"
"Mama!" Mizuki blushed. "We're only fifteen!"
"Though he does sound like a worthy man," Garrett added. "I've decided to give him my blessing for your hand in marriage in later years."
Mizuki blushed harder from her parents' teasing and covered her face to prevent them from seeing her red cheeks.
"But how are we going to get you all out of here?" She asked them, changing the subject. "The yokai police are looking for me right now."
"I suppose that's a fair point," Momoka said. "We've bumped into them before numerous times. We could easily lose them and find a way out of here."
"Well, Leo had accidentally made a portal for us to get to the Run of the Mill pizza place," Mizuki explained. "There's no way he would be able to make a new one without complications."
"True," Garrett said before his eyes lit up. "But we can fight our way out of here. Using our traps."
Mizuki and Momoka looked at one another before glancing at the man with smirks.
*****
The yokai police searched the vast land for any signs of the human intruders, without any success whatsoever.
"Keep your eyes peeled, boys," the captain ordered. "She could be anywhere."
One of the authorities stepped on something that crunched underneath his footing. He looked down, moving his foot gradually, and saw a button beeping rapidly.
"What the—" He gasped.
The device exploded from the ground, engulfing the yokai police in sandy smoke. They coughed and tried to find their way through the sands.
"Not again!" The captain groaned while hacking.
Two slim figures zoomed around them, silver wiring shining from the light. They ran around the yokai officers until the wiring seemed to be close to their ankles. They then pulled them close, causing them to fall to the ground.
"Got them!" Mizuki whispered.
Garrett then threw some ball towards the unsuspecting yokai police. The spheres exploded and formed to gunk that trapped them.
"Nice shot, Papa!" Mizuki cheered.
"What can I say? Even in my forties, I still got some skills," Garrett chuckled.
"You little troublemakers!" The captain snarled. "I'm gonna get you, you hear me?!"
"How about never?" Mizuki yelled back as she ran with her parents towards the mystic city.
They were almost close to the hill that is close to the town when several more yokai officers blocked their path. The three humans yelped and skidded to a stop.
The entire yokai police force soon had the humans surrounded, blocking their way out entirely.
"You three humies have nowhere else to go now," the captain laughed darkly. "Prepare to have your memories erased."
Momoka held Mizuki close to her, while Garrett stepped in front of the females.
The younger girl closed her eyes tightly, waiting to meet her fate.
A blue portal suddenly opened up between the yokai police and three humans.
"What in the world?" Momoka gasped, astonished.
"Get ready to jump!" Mizuki grabbed her parents' hands.
"But we don't know what's on the other side!" Garrett protested.
"Willing to take that risk!" Mizuki replied as she ran with her parents. "Jump!"
The three humans jumped through the portal, which closed just before the yokai police could catch them.
The captain yelled in utter anger and raised his fists in the air, falling to his knees. "Why does this keep happening?!"
The threesome fell through the portal and landed safely on the ground.
Mizuki stopped.
The concrete floor isn't supposed to be wooden. Unless...
"Whoa, where'd you guys come from?" Leo?
She looked up and saw Leo in a white shirt and vest...and an eyepatch on his eye?
He was standing on a plank and surrounded by mutant pirates, who are staring at them perplexed, as he glanced at between her and the other turtles, who were all piled up on one another...wearing Hawaiian shirts and lei necklaces?
Mizuki then saw Bone-Man, who is fighting off the mutant pirates' captain, dressed in a pirate outfit like Leo.
"I mean, hey, check it out!" Leo laughed and raised his arms in the air. "I freed you all from your pirate prison! You're welcome!"
"Pirate prison?" Raph rubbed the back of his head in confusion.
"You portaled us to Tahiti!" Mikey clenched his fists, glaring at Leo.
"The sewers there are fabulous!" Donnie said, holding a flag.
Leo flipped up in the air over the pirate mutants and pulled out his sword. He stood in front of his glowering brothers and perplexed humans.
"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon. Help us fight these guys!"
"No! I want a refill on my coconut!" Mikey held up an empty coconut bowl.
"Take us back to Tahiti!" Raph demanded.
"More Tahiti!" Donnie shook Leo by the shoulders.
"It would get us out of this," Leo pondered, then his eyes lit up with stars. "Okay. Tahiti, here we come!"
He swung his sword around, a bright, blue light appearing in front of the turtles, the three humans, and mutant pirates.
The brothers and mutant pirates stared at the increasingly glowing light as the portal began to form.
The three humans instantly hugged one another while the light of the portal engulfed the entire ship. Mizuki thought she heard the captain yell just as the portal grew to its glowing limit.
The bright light soon disappeared.
The turtles and humans opened their eyes to find the ship completely empty, apart from Bone-Man.
"Oh, is this Tahiti?" Donnie sarcastically said and laid down on the deck floor. "Well, then allow me to make a sand angel in this lovely soft, wooden sand. Ouch."
"Okay, not what I meant to do, but I got rid of the pirates," Leo shrugged.
A horn blared from above, followed by another voice. "You sure did!"
The turtles, humans, and Bone-Man looked up and noticed another ship sailing towards them in the air.
Two figures in blue uniforms steered the air-carrier towards the pirate ship.
"Uh, we were, uh, bravely surveilling the situation and we saw what happened," one of the guards said. "You're a hero, Hueso."
"Then I am off the most wanted list?" The skeleton mutant asked nervously.
"Well, you are now," the guard replied.
"Ah, gracias, pepino," Hueso turned to Leo and smiled at him gratefully, fist-bumping him.
"No problem, bone man," Leo smirked.
"What do you suppose has become of my brother?" Hueso then asked, shrugging his shoulders.
"Oh, I guarantee I sent him to the worst place possible," Leo placed his sword over his shoulder.
"I sure hope so," Momoka mumbled.
Mikey then saw her and Garrett standing with Mizuki and gasped in excitement. "Mizzy, are those your parents?"
"I will explain after we get back to the real world," Mizuki smiled.
*****
Later on, the turtles and humans made their way back to the city and, after saying their farewells to Señor Hueso, headed back to Mizuki's hideout.
They didn't forget to invite April, Mayhem, Splinter, and Yami so they could meet her parents as well.
"Mama, Papa," Mizuki gestured to the turtles, April and Splinter. "These are all my friends. Everyone, these are my parents, Momoka and Garrett."
Mayhem disappeared from April's arms and teleported from a bright light of blue, landing in Momoka's arms.
"And this is Mayhem," Mizuki giggled.
Mayhem licked Momoka in the cheek and purred, cuddling in her arms.
"What a cute, little fella your friend has," she chuckled.
"Or girl, I think?" April added. "But we think Mayhem may be a guy."
"I've seen one of these little guys before," Garrett said, stroking Mayhem's fur softly. "But we still don't know what species he is as well."
"Ohmigosh! Ohmigosh!" Mikey ran up to the two adults and hastily shook both their hands. "Mizzy's told us a lot about you! I'm so happy to see you guys!"
"Mikey," Mizuki giggled at his giddiness and rested her hand on his shoulder to calm him down. "I know it's exciting, but please contain yourself."
"And these are Leo and Raph," she then gestured to the other two brothers. "Of course, Raph's the oldest of the three."
"An honor to meet you, " Garrett bowed respectfully at the three along with his wife.
"Same here," Leo replied, while Ralph gave a toothy grin at them.
Mayhem teleported back to April's arms and squeaked delightfully.
"April O'Neil," Mizuki then gestured to April. "She's friends with the turtles and Splinter."
"To be honest, I have no idea that you guys were part of the Mystic Protectors," the brown-haired girl remarked as she shook their hands.
Momoka beamed warmly at April. "Well, it runs in the family."
"Hey, I'm Yami," Yami stepped up next and shook their hands as well.
"And Splinter, the turtles' adoptive father," Mizuki gestured to the rat mutant.
"Mizuki has been waiting to find you after some years now," Splinter grinned up at Momoka and Garrett. "You must have been very happy to see her again."
"She was happier than us," Garrett added. "And I'm glad she finally found us."
His daughter stared up at him with a small grin.
Mizuki and her parents finally turned to Donnie, who seemed to be sweating nervously underneath Garrett's stares. The softshell turtle couldn't tell if they are stern or dark, but he was really anxious about this.
"Mama, Papa...this is Donnie, my boyfriend," she finally said.
Momoka and Garrett studied him for a moment as Donnie beamed nervously at them. This is his first meeting with her parents, and he really wanted to make a good impression.
The blue-haired girl took his hand in her own and beamed up at her reassuringly. Out of the corner of his eye, he smiled back.
"Um, hello, sir and ma'am," Donnie held out his hand and chuckled anxiously.
Garrett glanced down at his hand, then back up at him, before he instantly pulled him in and embraced him. Donnie gasped surprised at the sudden action.
"Glad to see my daughter has found someone who loves her for herself," Garrett chuckled heartedly.
Mizuki smiled at her father and boyfriend bonding. Momoka giggled at her husband's acceptance of Donnie.
"She has told us a lot about you when we found her," Garrett patted the soft-shell turtle on the shoulder. "You seem like an honorable man for her."
Donnie beamed sheepishly. "R-really? You mean that?"
"Of course," Momoka piped in. "Any friend of our daughter is a friend of our own."
Raph, Leo, and Mikey snickered at Donnie's beaming face, while April and Yami nodded in approval.
"So, who are we dealing with here?" Garrett asked.
The teens, Yami, and Splinter glanced at one another before turning back to the two adults.
"We need to prepare ourselves," Mizuki said. "We've got a city to save."