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He took in the sight of his family. His wife, who had miraculously survived the attack that had changed their lives, and still held the beauty and strength that was so alluring to him even after their mutation. Wearing her teal yukata (one of the few articles of clothing they could still wear with their new forms) she watched as their daughter's played a game of Uno, with a cup of tea in hand and a gentle smile upon her face. The one holding the most cards with a disgruntled expression and was the second oldest was the red banded Lavinia, who was his strongest daughter out of the four, always seeking to get stronger. The purple banded turtle with an average amount of cards and had a calculated look was his most intelligent daughter Sofonisba. The youngest turtle of the group with an orange bandana and a cheerful expression and the least amount of cards was Elisabetta, his most unpredictable daughter. Only just realizing that there were only three turtles in the lounge pit, not four. The fourth being his most skilled daughter with a blue bandana, Artemisia."Strange," Splinter thought. "Where is Artemisia?"With that thought in mind, he made his way over to the corridor that held each of his daughters quarters. Each was still slightly barren of personal findings but were slowly becoming reflections of each of their developing personalities, along with unique embroidered curtains in their favorite colors courtesy of Sliver. Once outside Artemisia's quarters he gently knocked on the archway of the entryway to her room. "Artemisia?" He called but got no answer. Pushing the curtain aside, he peeked inside to see it was completely dark, lacking the low light nightlight that was in the corner but his night vision made up for it, his ear twitched as he heard the slight rustling of blankets. "Artemisia?" He tried again, receiving a quiet moan of discomfort in reply. His worry increasing, he walked over to the haphazardly rumpled bed, something that made his worry increase more, and sat on the edge, placing a gentle hand on the young turtle's shell, gaining a groan in response."Papa?" Misa moaned out, her voice raspy and throat sounding dry, spurring on a coughing fit. Splinter's brows furrowed in worry, placing the back of his hand on Misa's forehead once the coughing subsided, feeling the abnormally hot clammy skin tremble beneath his touch."How are you feeling?""Hot… tired… icky," she replied, weakly pushing herself to roll onto her shell, her eyes struggling to stay open.Splinter readjusted the blankets back to coving the sick turtle much to her displeasure. "Keep the blankets on, my daughter." He gently chided as he stood back up. "I'll be back shortly." Leaving the room with a quickened pace, he made his way to the kitchen."Yoshi?" Sliver called, gaining his attention. "Is something wrong with Artemisia?"He nodded as he entered the kitchen, Sliver following shortly after. "Artemisia has a fever. I'm making her some tea to help her throat. Could you check our medical kit?"Sliver nodded and quickly made her way to the storage room which would soon become Sofie's lab (which was steadily growing a pile of tech she had found for later use) where the closest med kit was, upon entering had soon opened the cabinet drawer that held it and took it out. Opening it, she immediately noticed the near empty bottle of flu medicine only having a few gel capsules left. Her brow furrowed slightly in worry, this meant they'd need to head to the surface and raid the pharmacy for more meds, or maybe see if their house-less friends had anything. Sliver grabbed the bottle, thermometer, and ice bag, placing the kit back in the drawer and quickly made her way to the kitchen to fill the ice bag."Mother?" Before her other three daughter's got her attention. "What's going on?"Sliver gave a gentle smile as the three approached. "Artemisia has the flu."The three had varying degrees of emotions across their faces; Vini had frustration, Sofie had curiosity, and Ellie had sadness but the common one was worry. "Is she gonna be okay?" Ellie asked."This is the hundredth time she's gotten sick!" Vini exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air in frustration."Thirtieth actually," Sofie subconsciously corrected before looking back to her mother. "But she'll be okay, right?" Reiterating her younger sister's question, holding said sisters hand to comfort her."Just like before, I believe so," Sliver answered with a small smile, but her brows were still furrowed. "Yet you know by now how… fickle, her flues can be.""Can we help?" Ellie asked fervently, determined to be of some use.Sliver's eyes softened. "You know the rules if you want to help." She said simply as she continued her venture to the kitchen, filling the ice pack, then making her way back to Artemisia's room, just in time to see Splinter helping their daughter sit up to drink some tea. "Yoshi." Getting his attention as she approached, she handed him the ice pack and placed the medicine bottle on Misa's nightstand. Misa finished drinking the rest of her tea and handed the cup to her father who placed it on the nightstand next to the pill bottle and tucked her back in, allowing Sliver to use the infrared thermometer properly and allowing him to place the ice pack on her head afterward. Sliver's eyes widened in concern. "Oh dear."Splinter leaned over to see the measured temperature: 39.2°C. His eyes narrowed before glancing back to his daughter, her breathing raspy and occasionally coming out uneven, a layer of sweat already forming once again despite him drying her when he brought in the tea earlier. He reached for the pill bottle but was surprised that there were only a few left, upon realizing this he knew what they needed to do. "Shen.""Yoshi?""We will need to go to the surface to gather supplies." Reiterating Shen's earlier suspicions."... And Artemisia?""Despite their age, I believe she and her sisters are ready to be on their own for the time being," he noticed the look of concern upon her face and brought her into an embrace. "We won't be gone long. If it makes you feel better, you can return immediately after retrieving the medication."Sliver let out a sigh with a small smile and nodded, parting the embrace and leaned over to her daughter, gently dabbed the gathered sweat away on her neck before adjusting the covers. Misa's eyes opened slightly at the movement."Mama?" She moaned out, her eyes struggling to stay open."Go back to sleep, baby," Sliver soothed. "Your father and I are going to the surface but will be back shortly. If you need anything, just ask your sisters."Misa's eyes blinked tiredly before closing them again. "Mm'kay."The two rodent mutants quietly left the room and made their way to the kitchen area just in time to see the three remaining young turtles trying to get into the higher cabinet drawer."Girls?" Sliver voiced, her tone obviously questioning what they were doing or trying to do.Ellie squeaked in surprise which didn't help her balance as she began to wobble and in turn disrupted her sisters balance who were holding her up in a tower formation. Just as she was about to fall, a pair of familiar five fingered hands caught her and Sofie while Vini was picked up by another. "Uh, hi papa.""What were you three trying to do?" Sliver asked, Vini still in her arms."We were trying to get some stuff to make for Misa," Ellie said, her legs swinging slightly in her father's hold.The adults smiled at their determination to help their ill sister, and yet. "While I commend you for your willingness to help your sister, your mother and I would prefer if you stay out of the kitchen until we return.""Return? Are you going to the surface? Both of you?" Sofie asked as she and her sisters were put down allowing their parents to grab some bags to use for their venture from the storage cabinet."Yes," Sliver replied as she pulled a small travel pack over her shoulder. "We are low on medication and a few other necessities. And since we're already up there, we'll get anything else we'll need for a while.""I will stay on the surface longer to get anything else we need," Splinter said as he pulled a duffel bag over his shoulder then pulled up his hood. "Your mother will return shortly after procuring the medicine. So while we are gone, you three will need to look after Artemisia until we return.""You can count on us!" Ellie said cheerfully as she and her sisters followed their parents to the turnstiles."Alright, we'll be back soon," Sliver bid them goodbye as she pulled up her hood and mask before she quickly followed after her husband."So, what do we do now?" Vini asked as she followed Sofie to Misa's room, Ellie going off somewhere else."We first should check on Misa to see what she needs," Sofie informed just as they reached the entryway of Misa's quarters. "After that, it depends on what she may or may not need.""But we can't help if we're sick," Ellie chimed in as she ran up to her sisters, carrying surgical face masks and custom rubber gloves (that their parents received from some friends). Both sisters take one mask and a pair of gloves with a smile."Thanks Ellie, I was wondering where they were," Sofie thanked as she tied the mask over her mouth."They were in the medi kit in the Dojo," Ellie informed as she slipped on her gloves."Really? Huh, I'll have to talk to mother about the kits later," Sofie muttered as she entered Misa's room, Vini already there having slipped in when Sofie and Ellie were talking. "So?""Just checked the last temperature taken," Vini informed with a worried glint in her eyes. "It's not good." She turned the thermometer's internal light on to show the temperature."No wonder they left in a hurry," Sofie murmured, her brows furrowed as she glanced over to her older sister, taking note of the no doubt uncomfortable breathing. "We need to help her to breathe somehow.""And how do we do that?" Ellie asked as she periodically bounced her shell against the beds' edge near Misa who still remained asleep despite the bouncing and what little noise they were making."When someone has a flu, drinking fluids will help them not only keep them hydrated but also prevent any more bad bacteria or viruses from spreading," Sofie explained. "So drinking tea or having a humidifier would help her immensely.""I think I saw Dad bring tea in for Misa earlier," Vini supplied, glancing over to her bedridden sister. "So there's that, but I don't know if the humid thing we have still works. Didn't it break the last time she got sick?""Hmm, I'll see what I can do," Sofie glanced over to Misa before looking back at Ellie. "Let's go see if we can find it and get it working.""'Kay!" She chirped as she skipped after the genius.Sofie looked back to Vini before leaving the room. "Keep an eye on Misa and make sure she keeps breathing." Not waiting for a response she left the room to catch up with Ellie.Vini pushed herself up onto the edge of the bed with one leg bent on the mattress and the other hanging off the edge, facing her sister. Gazing at her immediate older sister, she took note of the amount of sweat that had accumulated and grabbed a nearby towel, dabbing it away. Despite seeing her like this many times before, it always unnerved her seeing her older sister like this. So weak and vulnerable. The young warrior adjusted the blankets again as well as the ice pack, which felt like some of the ice was nearly melted, she'd have to get more later."Vi?" A quiet voice croaked, sounding dry despite having the tea earlier."Hey sis, how're ya feeling?" Vini asked, already taking note of Misa seeming more aware at the moment."Hot and icky," her reply sounded more nasally and stuffy than before. "Where are mama and papa?""Guess you weren't awake enough for that, huh?" Vini chuckled as she picked up the nearby towel. "They went topside for some stuff.""Both of them?""Yeah, I'm kinda surprised too," Vini smiled as she dabbed away more sweat from her sister's arms. "Guess that means we're old enough to be on our own, huh?""Maybe," Misa let out a stuffy laugh before it became a full blown coughing fit. She had grabbed another nearby cloth and covered her mouth in an attempt to prevent germs spreading."Armie!" Vini exclaimed worriedly as she quickly shuffled closer to gently pat her sister's shell. Misa's coughing continued from another full minute before it calmed down, her breathing even more raspy than before."Y-you haven't called m-me that in a while," Misa rasped as she tried to control her breathing, leaning her head against Vini's shoulder.Vini's face heated up in embarrassment. It was true, oftentimes a few years ago when they were still learning to speak, they had some difficulty with certain words which was normal for babies and toddlers. So according to their parents, when Vini was trying to say Misa's name it came out as "Armie" instead of her full name, and for a long while afterward Vini would continue to call her by said name until she started calling her "Misa" instead."Y-yeah well don't get used to it," Vini stuttered, her eyes looking off to the side. "Just a slip-up.""Sure, whatever you say," Misa smiled. "Where are Sofie and Ellie?""They went to see if that humid thing still works and if not, see if Sofie can fix it," Vini informed, adjusting her position to be more comfortable with her shell leaning against Misa's pillow while still allowing her to lean on Vini's shoulder, the red banded turtle immediately taking note of the heat of her sister. She adjusted the ice pack and grabbed Misa's water bottle. "Here."Misa grasped the bottle as firmly as she could and took a few sips before lowering it, Vini taking it back and placing it on the nightstand. "Thanks Vini," her eyes once again tired which Vini took notice of."Why don't you go to the bathroom real fast before you go back to sleep? I can help you." Vini suggested, gaining a grateful nod from her sick sister. Helping her out of bed, putting the ice pack aside, and steadied the flu ridden turtle, she helped her to the bathroom. "Think you'll be okay?""I can go to the bathroom by myself just fine, Vini," Misa assured but wobbled as she braced herself against the wall. "But I guess it wouldn't hurt if you waited outside the door?" She asked, a bit embarrassed."Sure," Vini nodded with a smile. "Just let me know if you need anything."Once the door closed, Vini preoccupied herself by messing with the tails of her bandana and once she heard the toilet flush she thought she was in the clear but her worry spiked when she heard Misa coughing once again, this time a lot more louder and more raspy than before. She quickly opened the door to see Misa against the wall adjacent from the sink, sounding like she was trying to either breathe or cough something up, but as she rushed to her sister's side, it was clear that the normally blue banded turtle was indeed struggling to breathe as her face was looking more flushed by the second. Vini panicked not knowing what to do. Does she pat her on the back like before or will that make it worse? Does she call out for help? Her parents were out though! Just before her spiral got any worse a voice brought her back to reality."Vini! Misa!"The panicking sister felt the small arms of her youngest sister wrapped around her as she was finally able to process what was happening. Sofie had turned on the water for the tub, steamy water quickly coming out of the nozzle and filling it up. Moving quickly, she lifted her sick sister and attempted to help her into the tub but was having difficulty, making the two remaining sisters act quickly, helping her stabilize Misa and place her into the warm steamy water. Misa's coughing slowly eased and her complexion began to look better than it did before, her breathing soon evened out and even sounded much more clearer than before."Misa?" Vini hesitantly spoke, her eyes locked onto the closed eyes of her sick sister. Misa's eyelids moved before they peeled open, her gray-blue eyes landing on each of her sisters before a small tired smile appeared. "Oh thank kami," Vini muttered, her sisters having similar thoughts."Misa! Are you okay now?" Ellie quickly asked, trying to hug her but was held back by Sofie."Easy Ellie, let her breathe a bit," she chastised gently before glancing at her older sister. "But really, are you? You nearly suffocated."Misa coughed a bit before she answered. "Kinda, yeah."Sofie nodded before addressing her other two sisters. "Alright, the steam from the water should help keep her breathing correctly but just be safe," she began before glancing at Ellie. "I want you to set up the humidifier near Misa's bed." Ellie nodded and quickly made her way out of the bathroom, picking up the humidifier that Sofie had set down earlier as she left. Sofie then turned to Vini. "I know father said to stay out of the kitchen until they got back but I'm going to try and make some tea for Misa, I want you to make sure she stays put and then to help her out once Ellie has the humidifier ready."Vini took a deep calming breath then slowly released it, her acid green eyes meeting the maroon-amber eyes of her immediate younger sister and nodded. "Got it." She wouldn't panic this time. Sofie gave a nod in return and left them once again, the time with renewed confidence. Vini pushed the bathroom chair closer to the tub and got comfortable as she kept her eyes on her sister who simply watched her in return before closing her eyes once again. The few minutes of silence was kinda tense before Misa spoke."..." she muttered something Vini didn't make out."Hmm?""It was scary," Misa repeated this time more clearly, obviously a bit uncomfortable admitting that she was scared.Vini stared at her sister almost incredulously. Artemisia, her older sister, just admitted that she was scared. She hardly, if ever, admitted that she was scared of anything. It's how she coined the nickname "Fearless" for her. Yet her green eyes softened as she leaned down as much as she could and reached out to touch her sister's shoulder in silent support before speaking a moment later. "I bet it was. But that's why we're here, to help you when you are." Misa smiled as she closed her eyes again to get a few more moments of rest. Vini didn't know how long it had been so when Ellie came in telling her that the humid thing was ready, she nodded and with Ellie's help, she moved her sleeping sister back to her room and tucked her back in after drying her off, the humid thing making the quiet white noise of making steam. Sofie came in not long after with a cup of tea, waking Misa up enough to drink it and take some medicine, then tucking her back in."Guess all we can do now is wait for Mom and Dad to come back," Sofie stated as she sat down on the floor, Ellie soon joining her as they leaned against the bed. Vini however stayed next to Misa, her eyes trained on her."Guess so," Vini muttered. Though she did hear Ellie yawn as she then leaned against Sofie. "You two can take a nap, I'll keep an eye on Misa." She received a hum in reply from Sofie as she nodded off as well, her head leaning against Ellie's. However it wouldn't be long before Vini herself struggled to keep herself awake, her eyelids started getting heavy as she tried to keep her eyes open, having to struggle to keep her head up as well.She wasn't aware she had nodded off when her head snapped up when she heard the rustling of items being placed down followed by footsteps, and soon the curtain to Misa's room was pushed aside, revealing Sliver. The mouse mutant smiled as she quietly made her way over and picked up the two sleeping turtles as well as the ice pack, a gentle smile silently saying that she'd be back in a moment before leaving once again, no doubt to tuck the two in. Vini looked back to her sleeping sister, her breathing sounding much more peaceful, no doubt thanks to the medicine and humid thingy. She was brought out of her thoughts once again when Sliver came back, holding a medicine bottle and a refilled ice pack, placing them on the nightstand and Misa's head respectively. Turning to Vini, she picked up the tired turtle and left the room once again, only speaking once they left."Seems like you three did a wonderful job caring for your sister," she said, her voice soothing Vini, yet despite that…"She nearly stopped breathing though," she muttered. The turtle felt Sliver tighten her hold to comfort her. "I panicked.""Lavinia, you are but a child," Sliver comforted, rubbing soothing circles on her shell. "It is only natural that you'd panic. Yet you three came together and saved your sister, right?"Vini nodded against her mother's chest. It was true, they saved Misa. And next time, she won't panic, that's a promise. With that in mind she allowed sleep to take her, knowing her sister would be alright.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
"We're lost, aren't we?" Misa asked as she and her youngest sister walked through the tunnels of the Sewers.
"No! We're just taking our time exploring!" Ellie chirped as she skipped along, making sure to stay close to the walls.
Misa sighed as she adjusted her grip on the two packs she carried, one being hers and the other obviously being Ellie's. At least it gave the chance to filter out any actual garbage that Ellie had believed to be useful, such as a soda can, which wasn't useful to them as of this moment, it couldn't be used to make throwing stars as aluminum is too light and fragile of a metal. But Ellie did have a good eye though since she found a few dollars and a couple of discarded tools, money is definitely useful and the tools will make Sofie happy. Misa's thoughts wandered to earlier that morning, just before they were allowed to leave the Lair.
"While we usually go to the surface for supplies, there are many times where we have found useful items near drainage grates and overflows." Splinter explained as he stood in front of his daughters. "I'm giving you the task of finding these items and returning back home safely."
"We're going alone?" Sofie asked as she tightened her bag across her shell.
"Not necessarily," Sliver piped in. "The buddy system will be used. Sofonisba, you will go with Lavinia." She then glanced over at the other two. "Artemisia, you will accompany Elisabetta."
"Is that understood?" Splinter questioned, his shoulders set.
"Hai Sensei!" They chorused, straightening themselves out as well, standing at attention similarly to when they were in the Dojo.
"Good, you may go," Splinter dismissed.
"And don't forget the rules when it comes to humans!" Sliver called as the young turtles pushed past the turnstiles.
"Hai Sensei!" They chorused once more as they continued down the tunnel.
"Whoa! Hey Misa! Check this out," Ellie called, bringing Misa out of her thoughts to see Ellie holding up a cute gator plush. "Isn't he cute?"
Misa smiled as she got closer, loosening Ellie's bag to open it, allowing her to put it in. "He is. But it seems like he may need some surgery." She lightly teased, noticing the tears in the plush and its loose eye.
Ellie immediately smiled and played along. "Of course! But we know the best Doctor around, Dr. Sliver!"
Misa giggled as she tightened the bag again, readjusting it to have a better grip. "Alight, five more minutes of scavenging and then we'll head back. I think our thirty minutes are almost up anyway."
"Aw man," Ellie whined, gaining a good natured eye roll from her older sister. The five minutes passed quickly but they didn't come up empty handed. They had found a few more dollars, a couple toy cars, a near full box of crayons, a few pieces of jewelry one piece looking very similar to a certain Hex Girls necklace, a pair of cracked but fixable headphones, and an intricately designed lighter, the last item Misa chose to hold in her belt pouch just in case. Just as they were making their way back however, Misa paused for a second, gaining Ellie's attention. "Misa?" She voiced curiously, tilting her head slightly.
Misa put a finger to her lips in a shushing manner. "Shh…" Straining her hearing to its limits, Ellie thought she heard something weird but didn't think of it at first until she heard the clanging of metal grates followed by voices and footsteps getting closer. She froze, her feet rooted in place even as Misa desperately tried to get her to move, her body began to shake but was brought back when her body was lifted. She blinked as she looked up to see Misa carrying her in her arms, their bags still strapped to the back of her shell, before she felt Misa turn abruptly and stopped, setting Ellie and their bags down in one of the alcoves. It didn't seem like it had been used in a while. "Stay here until I get back or until I give you a signal." She didn't wait for Ellie's response as she pulled out her tessen and swiftly left the pipe without a sound. Ellie couldn't stop a small whine that escaped her. Humans. And by the sounds of their echoing voices, they sounded like teenagers. Which makes them even less predictable if what their parents had told them turned out to be true. She and her sisters may be wearing clothes to help hide their appearance, but it'll only do so much, and with how many teenagers can act, it wouldn't be far-fetched if they tried to sneak a peek. She tightened her hold on the hoodie she was wearing. That's if they could get their hands on them. Ellie flinched when she heard one of the teens' screams echo, no doubt Misa's work.
"What was that?" One of the girl's whispered as the other two teens who had been knocked down tried to regain their barings. "What just happened?" The one holding their only flashlight was knocked over by a force they didn't see, the flashlight rolled across the ground, nearly falling into the gutter water before it stopped.
"This was a bad idea, Kory," one of the boys said as he got back up. "It's just a stupid dare."
"And what? Go back with our tail between our legs?" The girl, Kory, asked. "No way Henry, those jerks placed those flags down here somewhere and we're not leaving until we find them."
"Flags?"
Ellie thought before remembering a surprisingly clean flag she found earlier that had some sort of logo on it. She went through the items she found before finding said flag and waited for Misa to come back.
"When did this school rivalry get so heated," the first girl asked rhetorically, her voice having a certain accent, as she went to pick up the flashlight only for it to move unexpectedly out of reach and into the gutter water before disappearing into the shadows, and there was no way she was sticking her hand in that murky water. "Uh oh."
"Uh oh?" Henry questioned.
"What do you mean, uh oh, Rosa?" Kory asked, her tone obviously sounding irritated.
"The flashlight's gone."
"Oh come on!" The second boy finally spoke. "That was my only spare! My Dad's gonna kill me!"
"¡Lo siento Steven!" Rosa said, seemingly getting irritated as well. "But I ain't sticking my hand in sewer water!"
Ellie covered her mouth to prevent any noise from escaping when she felt a hand on her shoulder but relaxed when she saw that it was Misa, who gave her a reassuring nod, signaling that they should leave. They grabbed their bags and quietly made a break for it but just as they were about to turn the corner, one of the teens must've realized they could use their phone as a light, and one of them saw the tail end of Ellie turning the corner.
"Over there! I saw something!"
The two young turtles increased their speed but their findings were making it difficult. Ellie had the unfortunate luck of tripping over her own feet, Misa quickly moved to catch her and picked her up, adrenaline no doubt giving her the extra strength, but as she ran, she stumbled and nearly fell but was able to catch herself. The rapid footfalls behind them didn't stop as they kept turning corners before coming to a split junction.
"Which way?" Ellie squeaked out as she and Misa looked back and forth at the two tunnels. The tunnel to their right was wide and looked relatively frequented if the semi clear walkways were any indication, while the left tunnel was blocked off but dark. Misa didn't answer Ellie as she went to the left tunnel but not before Ellie dropped the flag she found earlier onto the walkway as Misa squeezed the two of them through the opening between the boards. As they got some distance into the tunnel, the footsteps of the teens having stopped, Misa slowed down and leaned against the wall, Ellie gently wiggling out of her sister's hold. "Misa? Are you okay?"
Through Misa's panting, she cracked her eyes open to give her a reassuring nod, taking in deep controlled breaths. "Y-yeah, just… just give me a second."
Ellie nodded with a shaky smile. That was the first time they saw humans in the flesh and it was scary, nothing like the movies or shows they watched. She thought that their first meeting with a human would've been better, but it wasn't. Taking a calming breath, Ellie took in the sights around her,
"assess the situation"
as her father would say. It was dark but not enough where they couldn't see, the tunnel itself despite being closed off was relatively clear save for some debris here and there. Ellie then looked at her sister, her eyes widening as they landed on her sister's right foot and ankle. The ankle was swollen and her foot was bleeding, more specifically the area near her heel and toes, like she had stepped on something sharp.
"Misa, your hurt," Ellie murmured, her hands gripping her bag strap.
Said turtle's eyes opened, her breathing now more controlled, as she went to move her foot she winced. "Guess the adrenaline masked the pain." She looked back up to Ellie, an apologetic look in her eyes. "Head back home, I'll catch up."
"What?" Ellie exclaimed. "No way! Those humans might try to find us again. I'm not leaving you behind!"
"Ellie-" Misa tried to say something but Ellie wasn't having it.
"Nope! Na-ah! Not happening! No mutant left behind!"
Misa sighed, knowing full well that when Ellie was like this, she was or can be as stubborn as herself or Vini and that was saying something. "Ellie, listen." She eased. "We're gonna make everyone worry if at least one of us isn't back home soon." She tried to reason.
"And I said, no way!" Ellie exclaimed, her arms crossing in defiance.
The blue banded turtle leaned back, her eyes rolling in exasperation.
"Dang it Ellie."
She thought before speaking again. "Fine, could you wrap my foot then?"
Ellie brightened. "Sure!" She chirped as Misa handed her some spare wrapping from her belt. Misa instructed her how to wrap it properly after having it secured and while it may not have been as good as either Sliver, Sofie, or Misa's, it was a good first try.
"Good job Ellie," Misa praised as she gently patted her sister's head, who clearly blossomed at the praise. "Alright, think you can help me walk?"
"Sis, you know I got your back like a turtle shell!" Ellie assured as she placed Misa's left arm over her shoulders, minding their bag placements. "But uh, do you know where we are?"
The older of the two looked around the dark tunnel, looking for anything, ANYTHING, familiar or that stands out, but couldn't find a single thing that could help. She sighed. "Unfortunately, no. We'll have to move forward and hope we come across a familiar path."
Ellie's unsure smile fell but nodded resolutely as she adjusted her hold and began to walk, their trek was definitely gonna take a while.
15 min. Later…
"Aw man, I still don't recognize anything!" Ellie cried out as she leaned against the wall to rest, Misa right beside her.
"We just need to keep moving," Misa sighed. "We either get home eventually or mother and father come looking for us."
Ellie slumped down, curling in on herself as she groaned out in frustration. "What if we can't get back? Or if they can't find us?"
"They'll find us," Misa assured as she brought her right arm around her sister's shoulders. "Have faith." Ellie gave a small nod as she leaned into her sister for comfort, and Misa rested her cheek on her sister's head in response. They weren't sure how long they were like that, but Misa sensed something off before hearing the faint echo of footsteps. She gently nudged her sister awake, giving a silent signal to be cautious as they both got up, the footsteps soon accompanied familiar voices.
"Like I said before, we got lucky with the last flag. Do we even know where the second one is?"
"From what I remember hearing, Steven, the second flag was supposed to be in an overflow junction."
"Well excuse me Kory, for wanting to get out of here and back home before my parents freak out."
"Enough of that, both of you. You two are just as bad as my cousins."
"I agree with Rosa."
Misa glanced at her sister and nodded to which Ellie understood. The two moved down the tunnel as quietly as they could but karma was not on their side when Misa had accidentally stepped on a crushed can, alerting the humans.
"What was that?"
"Maybe it was what I saw before."
"Only one way to find out."
"Then let's go!"
The two mutants picked up the pace, running down the different tunnels once again but the teens had longer strides and easily caught up just as they entered an overflow junction.
"What the- it's just a couple kids," Steven said as he caught up with the two, who were unfortunately cornered.
"Nu-uh, I swear I saw green skin." Henry proclaimed.
"Are you absolutely sure?" Rosa asked, a bit apprehensive and still not believing him.
"Then why not check?" Kory asked rhetorically as she approached the two mutants. Ellie had been shaking the whole time while Misa had her tessen hidden in her sleeve as she used her body to try and block Ellie from view. Just as Kory had gotten close, Misa slashed at her hand with her tessen, leaving a deep enough cut to be a warning. "Ow! Fucking hell!" She quickly took a step back before growling and made for another grab, this time prepared for another attack as she took out a knife, using the blunt of her switchblade to block it and attacked right back, landing a hit.
"Kory! Just stop!" Rosa exclaimed, grabbing hold of the girl's arm to prevent any more attacks.
Ellie couldn't stop a concerned scream as Misa fell back against the grated walkway. "Misa!" She was by her fallen sister's side in an instant, lifting her sister to lean against her, only then taking notice of the newly inflicted injury. The cut ran vertically across her sister's right eye, blood began seeping out and staining the sliced bandana making it stick to her face.
"That thing's not even human! Why are you defending it?" Kory exclaimed, Ellie's eyes snapping up to the scene in front of her.
"Human or not, you just lashed out at them!" Rosa yelled right back, having placed herself between Kory and the mutants.
"That thing attacked me first!" Kory lashed out, her eyes burning with anger and frustration.
"Dios mío, did you not see the way they were acting?" Rosa fired back, her left hand on her hip and the other light bopping the side of her head, as if to indicate the answer being obvious. "Which clearly said; stay back."
"Whatever!" Kory stormed back past the boys nursing her hand as she did. "C'mon guys, let's go find the flag." The boys quickly followed her.
Rosa shook her head before looking behind her at the two mutants, Ellie flinched but held her ground this time as she tightened the hold on her injured sister. Rosa took a cautious step forward. "Easy, I'm not gonna hurt you. I just want to see how bad it is." Ellie stared at the teen for a few more moments before easing her hold, allowing Rosa to see the extent of the injury as she knelt down, the blood now dripping down Misa's face. "Crud," she muttered as she turned slightly and unzipped the fanny pack on her hip, taking out some gauze and a cotton pad. "Will you let me dress the injury?" Rosa asked, her eyes locking with Ellie's and despite Misa's hissing in warning, Ellie tightened her hand on Misa's right shoulder. The injured turtle glanced at the teen with her left eye for a moment before relaxing and nodded, Rosa scooted closer and gently pulled the torn mask down away from cut as Ellie had gotten out a cloth to wipe away as much blood as she could, allowing Rosa to put the cotton pad in place and began to wrap in around Misa's head.
"Misa?" Ellie murmured almost silently.
Misa gave her a reassuring smile before looking back to Rosa and bowed her head. "Thank you."
While a bit surprised, Rosa smiled in response. "No problem. Is there anything else I can help you with?"
Ellie responded this time. "Nope. But I heard something earlier about flags?"
Rosa shook her head. "Don't worry about it."
"But isn't that the other one you need?" Ellie pointed up above the entryway, making Rosa look back.
"I wouldn't have even seen that if you hadn't pointed it out," Rosa muttered as she got up. "Thanks kid. Will you two be okay on your own?"
"Yep! Don't worry." Ellie reassured with a smile. Rosa nodded as she quickly retrieved the flag and left the junction. "She was nice."
"We got lucky," Misa stated as she pushed herself up into a standing position, still minding her injured foot. "Let's just hurry and get back home, I recognize this junction so we're not far from home."
"Okay." Ellie quickly got Misa's arm around her shoulders once again but Misa began to lean a bit heavily on her. "Misa?"
"J-just a bit lightheaded," she replied but Ellie could see the haziness in her eyes.
Ellie nodded as she began to walk back out of the junction. "Just tell me where to go, sis." Misa told her where to go from there for the next 15 minutes, but her speech was getting more quiet and slower as they kept turning down the different tunnels before Ellie was able to finally recognize where they were. Ellie stopped for a moment, taking her and Misa's bag and slipping it onto Misa's shell before picking up Misa and began to carry her piggyback, picking up her pace. Just as they entered a familiar tunnel she could heard the voices of her concerned family.
"They were supposed to be back by now!" Vini exclaimed in an irritated tone, but Ellie could easily hear the anxiety in her voice.
"Do you think something happened, mother?" Sofie asked. "And what about father?"
"Your father left not long after you two returned as he was worried about your sisters. I can only hope-"
"Mama!" Ellie exclaimed, finally finding the strength to call out for her.
"Elisabetta?" "Ellie?"
The sound of footsteps were quickly made apparent before seconds later Ellie caught sight of them. "Mama!"
"Elisabetta!" Sliver smiled in relief upon seeing her daughter's as she quickly approached them but paused for only a second as her eyes took in the state of her oldest daughter. "Oh Artemisia." Vini and Sofie had quickly taken the bags off of Misa, allowing Sliver to pick the two tired turtles up. "Lavinia, put those bags with the others. Sofonisba, go grab the med kit." The two sisters immediately took action, running off. Sliver quickly made her way back, pushing past the turnstiles and sitting on the couch, Ellie wriggling as she was set down on one side of her mother while a semiconscious Misa was on the other. "Elisabetta, can you tell me what happened?" Sliver asked gently as she inspected Misa's eye, or at least the bandages.
Ellie didn't say anything for a few moments but hesitantly she spoke. "Humans."
Sliver paused in her inspection to look over her youngest with a more careful eye but didn't find any injuries or markings upon her save for faint tear tracks. She wrapped her right arm around Ellie hugging her close while her left hand gently rubbed Misa's cheek with her thumb. Sofie made her presence known as she came out of her developing lab with a med kit, opening it to grab some antibiotics and began to treat her sister's foot while Sliver skillfully maneuvered Ellie into her lap all the while undoing the bandages on Misa's head. Vini came out from the kitchen, quickly making her way to Ellie's side who immediately accepted the hug from her and sat against her instead, all the while allowing Sliver to take care of Misa's injury. It wasn't long later that Sofie had finished wrapping up Misa's foot that Splinter returned home, pushing past the turnstiles and quickly made his way over.
Sliver looked up as her husband knelt down by Misa's side, meeting his questioning eyes. "Humans." She said simply as she looked back to the cut she was cleaning. "This will most likely scar, but her eyesight won't be hindered."
Splinter let out a sigh of relief as he gently caressed Misa's cheek, her eyes flitting under her eyelids before they opened but hissed in pain as she went to cover her injured eye but Splinter caught her arm. "Don't touch," he gently scolded as he held her hand. "Your mother is almost done."
Misa gave a sluggish nod as she lowered her hand, now holding her father's own, she closed her eyes again, allowing Sliver to put on a clean patch on the injury. Splinter lifted the turtle's head a bit as Sliver began to wrap it around to secure the bandage. The other sisters watched anxiously but patiently; Vini never took her eyes off her sister's face, Sofie watched how her mother dressed the injury, and Ellie leaned against her older sister, just thankful that they made it home.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Ever since Misa and Ellie had returned from their scavenging trip, their parents had gotten all the more protective, not allowing them to leave unless necessary. But there were exceptions. "Hey Misa?" Sofie voiced she walked up to her sister, who at the moment, was reading a comic book. "Hmm?" She hummed in acknowledgement, turning a page. "Can you come with me to test something?" She asked. Misa looked up from her comic giving Sofie a questioning look, an obvious silent question of what she meant. "I modified an RC car with a camera to use when we need to leave. Like a scout." "Have you asked mother or father?" "Mother said we could go and father said so as long as we don't go too far." Misa nodded, placing her comic aside and grabbed her tessen. "So, any idea where you want to test it?" Sofie smiled and nodded."There's a tunnel nearby that's perfect. It has a wider walkway." "Lead the way then." After leaving the Lair, they made their way down the tunnel and into the maze of the sewers. Misa noticed the waterways were filled with runoff and rain water from the recent storms, making a mental note to be extra careful. Sofie soon came to a stop to set the car down and took a step back, the remote control at the ready, doing a preliminary check. "So, you think we'll use this for when we can leave and explore the surface?" "I don't think, Misa, I know," Sofie said confidently but she wilted slightly. "Or at least something similar." She muttered but Misa still caught it, unsure if she was supposed to hear that part or not. Sofie flicked the joystick on the controller, spurring the car into action. "Look at it go!" "I was able to rewire it so that it could go faster and has a great turn radius, but the downside is that it'll lose power at an accelerated rate," Sofie confidently explained. "So I still need to figure that issue out." "It's still amazing sis!" Misa praised, a proud smile upon her lips. Sofie's cheeks flushed at the praise, internally giddy, but it unfortunately served as a distraction as the car swerved a bit too late and fell into the rushing rain water. "Aw man." "Remind me to never let you drive a real car." Misa quipped. Sofie whined before shoving the controller into Misa's hands. "I'll get it." "Sofie, be careful!" Sofie was quick to grab a sturdy branch that stuck up from the water, trying to use it to reach and retrieve the car, despite the dangers of the rushing water, she didn't pay enough attention to the debris in said water or the slippery edges as large piece of trash pushed and dragged her stick with the quick current with herself along with it. "Ah!" Sofie yelled as she got pulled into the rushing water, coughing as she tried calling out. "M-misa!" "Sofie!" Misa quickly took action trying to to catch up all the while keeping her eyes on her sister. Her eyes widened as she saw a tunnel drop off, one her sister was about to fall from. "Sofie! Get ready to hold your breath!" However, Sofie barely heard the advice as she fell over the edge, falling for a couple seconds before landing harshly in the murky water. Her third eyelid had slid into place, allowing her to see the junk that littered the ground of the overflow junction and despite her panic, her eyes caught sight of her car. Regaining some semblance of control, she swam over to pick it up but just as she was about to push herself to the surface she felt her foot get lodged between debris. Panic began to set in once again as she tried to get loose but her foot was completely stuck! Her lungs begged for air as darkness began to edge its way into her mind as what little oxygen she had was released. But just before she lost consciousness she heard the distinct sound of something landing in the water she felt arms wrap around her. Misa pulled but it didn't work before she spotted the issue. Lowering herself down, she maneuvered her arms around the trash trying to get it loose, which worked only slightly so she went to the other side of the pipe and pushed it away. Once again wrapping her arms around the debris, despite feeling something puncture her right forearm, she pulled, finally freeing her sister. Swiftly grabbing hold of her sister, she pushed off the littered ground back toward the surface, both she and Sofie gasping as she breached it. Despite a stinging and injured arm, she wadded toward the nearest pipe that was also easy to reach and pushed her waterlogged sister up first then pulled herself up. She laid there gasping as she listened to Sofie's coughs, a sign to her that she'd be okay, that she was alive. "Sofie?" She gasped out. "Y-yeah?" She stuttered as she was able to get control of her breathing, all the while expecting a scolding. "Are you okay?" Sofie paused, not expecting that question so soon. "Yeah, I'm fine. Relatively speaking. I just nearly drowned." Misa took a deep breath then exhaled, allowing herself to relax as she glanced over to her sister. "Just try to be more careful next time." "How do you know there's gonna be a next time?" "With our family, it's fate at this point." She quipped as she looked back to the ceiling. That got a chuckle out of Sofie despite what just happened. As she pushed herself up, placing her car aside, glancing over to her sister about to speak but stopped as her eyes saw Misa's forearm. It was wrapped in barbed wire, said barbs digging into her skin allowing velvet red blood to spill out. "Misa, you're hurt!" The blue banded turtle looked back to her sister before lifting her right arm to see that damage. "I thought I felt something." She muttered as she pushed herself up with her other arm. Sofie was quick to act as she began to inspect the injury, the wire was wrapped around pretty tightly starting from her wrist and nearly going to her elbow, and they were just in contaminated water. "C'mon, let's get back home so we can treat this." Misa gave no objections as she stood up, allowing Sofie to grab the car, and they made their way down the tunnel. After ten minutes of walking however, they caught sight of an open overflow port, leading to the outside. Despite herself, Misa walked down and stood on the edge, looking out at the bay in front of her. Boats were out and about doing their business, creating wakes as they moved, disrupting the reflection of the dark sky and despite the light pollution, Misa could still make out some stars. Sofie noticed the distinct sparkle in her sister's eyes as she stood beside her, often seeing a similar sparkle when Ellie was in the kitchen with mother or when Vini was painting. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't seen that sparkle in Misa's eyes in a long while, it was very different from the look she had when she watched Space Heroes. "So this is the surface," Misa finally spoke, her eyes looking out at the landscape. "Yeah, now that I think about it, we're seeing the surface before Vini and Ellie," Sofie pointed out with a slightly smug smirk, gaining a snort out of her sister. "But if we tell them, Ellie will blab about it to mother or father," Misa playfully pointed out. Sofie sighed in mock disappointment. "Very true my dear sister." She and Misa giggled as they watched the passing boats. "So what caught your eye besides seeing the surface?" Misa was quiet for a moment with a gentle smile before turning to face her sister. "The stars." Sofie smiled, feeling as though Misa had shared a part of herself with her that she hadn't noticed before. "You like stars? Space?" Misa nodded. "It's just full of mysteries. And the stars are just so beautiful." Sofie smiled. "Tell you what, once we get your arm taken care of I'll give you any books I have related to space." Misa's eyes sparkled more than before, an eager smile on her face. "Really?" "Sure," Sofie confirmed. "I've already read them anyway." "I'd love that," Misa smiled. "Thank you." "C'mon then," Sofie urged as she gently took hold of Misa's uninjured arm. "Sooner we get back and your arm taken care of, the quicker you can start reading." Misa eagerly nodded as she and Sofie started to make their way back to the Lair. Sofie feeling enlightened about learning something about her dedicated sister, and hoping to come up with a better "scout" idea than the car.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
"Vini, are you sure this is a good idea?" Sofie asked with an unsure tone, as she and her three sisters walked down the hallway.
"Of course it is Sofie! Father and mother are out right now and won't be back for a long time," Vini reassured. "Now's a good time to watch these."
"Still, mother said not to watch these movies until they get back," Misa chimed in. "She said they're rated
"PG"
or
"PG-13"
for a reason. And we're only 8."
"Come'on Misa, it's the spooky season!" Ellie practically bounced into the conversation, holding up a video tape. "It's gonna be fun watching these. Besides, this one isn't even rated. How bad can they be?"
"So you're saying the zombies on the front cover don't creep you out, Ellie?" Misa asked with a slightly raised brow as she and her sisters arrived at the lounge pit where the TV was.
"Oh they're creepy alright, but that just makes it more awesome!" Ellie cheered, but Misa easily noticed the unsure glint in her sky blue eyes.
"Enough talking, let's watch the movie already!" Vini declared, as she and Sofie had finished getting snacks and set up the pillows and blankets.
"Scoot over a bit Vini," Sofie asked as she sat down between her and Misa.
As Ellie pushed the tape into the slot and the blue screen went black before the previews began. It started out well enough, the investigation team got back together after being away from each other so long then a montage of mystery solving, showing different impostors or fakes in the realm of the supernatural, soon the team finally got a lead and that's when the tension started to manifest, particularly when the pirate ghost showed up in the camera footage. Both Sofie and Ellie began to subtlety and instinctively move closer to Misa as she had sat between them with Vini on the other side of Sofie who also leaned toward her older sisters direction, both of whom squeaked in alarm when the guy and his dog heard something outside the van, and yelped when the crawdad shells fell out the back of the team's van. But it's when the zombies showed up the made Ellie screech, of which made Vini and Misa jump while Sofie seemed more unnerved if anything. The song distracted Misa enough to not only enjoy the movie even more but the song was so cool, she just had to see if she could learn it. The wax voodoo dolls nearly got Sofie going off on a tangent but was silenced by a jab to the bridge by Vini. When the true antagonists were revealed, it was certainly a surprise, especially when it insinuated the zombies were the good guys. Once the confrontation came and went, the four were pretty satisfied with the movie, well, mostly anyway.
"Who's up for another one?" Vini asked though there was hesitation in her eyes.
"I guess I am," Misa replied. "But I get to choose the next one."
"Fine by me," Sofie accepted, completely unbothered before sitting up to stretch then laying back down.
"Please no zombies," Ellie begged out quietly.
"Don't worry, it looks like this one has a ghost but it's not as scary as the last one," Misa assured as she rewound the previous tape and removed it before placing the new one in next.
Thankfully, their parents had yet to return from topside by the time the movie ended, so they decided to watch one more movie from the same franchise, this one involving wickens and ghosts. The movie didn't scare them as much as the previous one, Misa especially had taken a liking to the music and the band in the movie. By the time it was over, Misa decided to call it a night much to her sisters' chagrin but did so anyway, placing everything where it should be, picking up their trash, and rewinding the movie for the next time. It was late when they headed to bed, Misa having to guide Ellie to her room due to the orange banded turtle being practically asleep while Vini did the same with Sofie whose eyes were fighting to stay open. Once those two were tucked into bed, the two eldest bid each other good night and headed to bed themselves.
Later into the night, Ellie woke up from a nightmare, her eyes wide open and darting around her room, the shadows morphing into the zombies or ghosts from the movie she had watched earlier but to a more disturbing degree. She wanted to call out for either of her parents, preferably her father but she hesitated, believing the monsters would attack if she spoke out so instead, she hesitantly got out of bed moving shakily quickly but quietly with her favorite orange blanket in hand and left her room. At first making her way to her parents room but stopped before even exiting the hallway and instead found herself outside her big sisters room. She pushed the blue Sakura and Lotus patterned curtains out of the way ever so slightly, careful of the chime hanging from the middle of the arch way to see Misa sleep, Ellie began to second guess herself.
"Ellie?"
A tired voice snapped the young turtle out of her thoughts as she looked up to see Misa blinking tiredly at her, her sleepy eyes expressing a silent question of what Ellie was doing so early in the morning.
Ellie's lip trembled as her eyes began to shine with unshed tears. "Onee-chan…"
Misa's questioning eyes softened to that of understanding as she adjusted herself and lifted her covers a bit, signaling to Ellie for her to join her, to which the younger sister quickly bounded over and joined her older sister under the covers.
Misa adjusted herself so that they were both comfortable, placing Ellie's orange blanket atop and slightly around her frightened sister's form before bringing her closer. "Nightmare?" She murmured quietly, receiving a nod against her plastron. "Do you want me to sing you something?" She asked, receiving another nod.
Despite her early hesitation to watch the movies, she was a bit of a hypocrite because one of the shows she loved to watch when she was alone was an anime series that had demons, a mystic jewel that could grant power or wishes, and a group of misfit friends that acted as a family. One of her favorite songs is from said series and was the lullaby to one of the main characters, which was what she began to hum. After a good amount of time Misa slowly stopped humming, noticing that her little sister was finally in deep sleep. She carefully readjusted their position once again to get comfortable and closed her eyes, allowing sleep to take her once more.
The next morning…
"This is strange."
Was the main thought going through Splinter's mind as he left the Dojo and made his way to the kitchen where he heard the distinct sound of Sliver setting up breakfast. "Shen?"
"Yes Yoshi?" Sliver answered, her eyes glancing up from the bowls she had set up.
"Have you seen Artemisia or Elisabetta? Artemisia is usually in the Dojo to join me for our morning meditation by this time."
"Now that you mention it, Elisabetta is usually in the kitchen before me," Sliver replied, her brow furrowed slightly in thought before she left the kitchen with Splinter in tow and headed toward their daughter's rooms, passing the lounge area where Vini and Sofie were playing Gomoku. Checking Ellie's room first only to find the bed empty as well as cold as Sliver placed her hand on it.
"Shen," Splinter quietly called.
Sliver left the room and joined her husband at the entryway to Artemisia's room and peeked through the curtains, the sight before her brought a smile to her face. Upon the bed were the children in question, Misa was laying in a comfortable position on her carapace while Ellie was laying diagonal on her carapace with her head in the crook of Misa's arm and shoulder, her orange blanket rumpled up over her.
As Sliver took in the sight, Splinter had fetched the camera, handing it to his wife as she quietly approached and took a photo, saving the memory for the future. Seemingly sensing the presence, Misa stirred, forcing her tired eyes open and was about to lift herself up before realizing there was a weight on her side to which she remembered what happened last night.
"Good morning Artemisia," Sliver smiled as she sat on the edge of the bed.
"M'ning Mama," Misa murmured as she yawned and tried rubbing the tiredness from her eyes before widened in realization, her cheeks flushing as she looked over to her father. "Did I miss morning meditation?"
Splinter chuckled. "No, we just came in to get the two of you."
Misa nodded as she gently prodded Ellie. "Imouto, time to get up."
"Five more minutes," Ellie murmured as she curled up to Misa's side, causing Misa to sigh and gave her mother a pleading look which caused her to chuckle. Sliver gently picked up her youngest and adjusted her to a comfortable position allowing Misa to get up and stretch, grabbing her bandana as she walked over to her father.
"Why was she in your room, my little lotus?" Splinter asked as they left the young turtles room.
"Ellie had a nightmare last night," Misa answered as she walked beside him to go to the Dojo. "I guess she didn't want to wake you and mother up."
"Hmm, she doesn't have nightmares often." Splinter hummed in thought.
"Y-yeah, maybe the shadows in her room made her scared," Misa replied, glancing over to her two sisters in the lounge pit who gave her a warning look, moreso from Vini.
"Perhaps," Splinter agreed, causing Misa to sigh mentally in relief. She didn't want to be in trouble this early in the morning. Here's hoping they can keep it a secret a while longer.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The Dojo was active as it usually was in the morning, as it's due to practicing turtles on the sparring mat. The two sparring at the moment were Ellie and Vini, where Ellie was using her acrobatic skills to wear down her more combat oriented hot head of a sister.
"Would. You. Take. This. SERIOUSLY!" Vini exclaimed, trying to land a hit with each word but was evaded each time before getting slapped in the back of the head by the younger fighter from behind and once again evaded another attack.
"I am," Ellie replied cheekily as she leaped onto her sister then pushed off her shell to gain some distance. "This is just how I roll!"
Watching her sisters spar always gave Misa an odd sense of pride. Not like
"I trained them"
kind of proud that their Sensei's no doubt felt, but more like
"these are my sisters"
kind of proud, however with the thought of her sisters on her mind, she realized Sofie had yet to join them.
"Sensei, Sofie isn't here yet," she began as she turned to look up to her father. "Can I go get her?"
"You may," Splinter acquiesced with a slight furrow of his brow, no doubt worried as well.
With a nod, Misa got up and went around the energetic spar, leaving the Dojo. As she passed the kitchen, she saw her mother taking inventory, writing down what they would need in the future. "Mother?"
"Hmm?" Sliver hummed as she continued taking notes, her ear swiveled to her daughter's direction indicating that she was listening.
"Have you seen Sofie?" Misa asked. "She hasn't shown up for training yet."
Sliver looked up from her notes to her daughter. "No dear. Which is strange."
Misa thought for a moment before looking back at her mom. "I'll check her room if you check her lab?" Gaining a nod from the mouse mutant, they went to check their designated locations. The young turtle made her way to the hallway that had the entrances to her and her sister's rooms and knocking on the archway to Sofie's quarters, Misa waited a moment or two and after not receiving an answer, she spoke. "Sofie? Are you there?" She asked. Despite not hearing an answer, she distinctly heard the sounds of movement from within. "Sofie?" Still no reply. "I'm coming in." Pushing the Ajisai and Momo decorated purple curtains aside, she noticed the room was darker than usual, not even the small, blinking lights from some of Sofie's smaller projects were alight. "Sofie?" Taking a step into the room she heard a slight shuffle to her right, urging her to make her way over in that direction before she stepped on something that cracked beneath her foot. Misa paused as she looked down at what she stepped on before picking up a piece, the texture was oddly familiar as well as what little color she could see in the dark. "Sofie? Are you-"
"I'm fine!" The voice of her sister exclaimed from under her blankets.
Misa's eyes softened as she approached her sister's bed and sat on the edge. "Sofie, is this why you've been avoiding us?"
"No!" Sofie denied immediately before speaking again but more quietly after a few moments of silence. "...Yeah."
Just as Misa was about to speak, she sensed her mother outside the entryway. "I'll be right back, okay?" Pushing herself off the bed she walked back to the entrance, she looked up to her mother. "I think I know what's going on."
"As do I, my dear," Sliver said with a gentle smile. "I'll go get the tub ready."
With that Misa went back into Sofie's room to comfort her sister, bringing her into a hug and gently rubbing soothing circles on her shell, minding the peeling scutes. "You know, now that I think about it," Misa spoke, pausing in her humming, and regaining Sofie's attention. "This means you're getting another growth spurt."
"But I already had one last year," the young genius mumbled, leaning more into Misa's gentle touch. "And two years before that."
"Well this just means that you're gonna be taller than the three of us," Misa pointed out.
Sofie was silent for a good while as Misa restarted her melodic humming, before she mumbled. "Vini's gonna be mad." Causing Misa to snort before she broke out into a fit of giggles.
"Probably! But you can't just stop growing," Misa replied, still getting a grip on her giggle fit.
"Not until you're old enough that is," a voice chimed in from the archway, gaining the two sisters attention to see Sliver. "The tub's ready." Misa nodded, adjusting herself as she climbed off the bed and covered Sofie in a blanket as she climbed down as well, leading her out of the room with a supportive hand on her sister's shedding shell. "Why don't you inform your father where you've been, I'll take care of her sister."
Misa nodded, giving one more supportive smile to Sofie before heading back to the Dojo, entering just in time to see Splinter dismiss Vini and Ellie. "I missed the rest of the training, huh?" She sheepishly asked.
Splinter merely gave a smile, Vini and Ellie however. "Yeah, what took so long? Where's the Brainiac?" The resident hot head asked.
Misa sighed at her sister's impatience. "Sofie was in her room-"
"Then why didn't she show up?" Ellie asked absentmindedly, interrupting her older sister.
Misa's eye twitched in iteration, but Splinter intervened. "Allow her sister to speak." His voice had a hidden warning to the two impatient turtles, which received a nod from Misa in appreciation.
"Sofie was in her room because she wasn't feeling well due to the fact she was shedding," Misa explained.
"Wait, shedding?" Vini questioned. "Again? She shed last year!" She exclaimed indignantly.
"If you don't believe me, she's with mother in the bathroom right now," the blue banded turtle said exasperated, pointing with her thumb behind her.
"I will!" Vini declared as she left the Dojo to make her way to the bathroom, leaving Misa, Ellie and Splinter behind who soon left the dojo as well.
"What's she so mad about?" Ellie asked curiously, her hands behind her head in a relaxed position.
"She's probably mad because the last growth spurt she had was three years ago," Misa deduced. "You had a growth spurt two years ago around the same time as Sofie, and I had one a few months ago."
Ellie stayed silent for a few moments to digest the information she just heard before a mischievous smile crossed her face. "Aw! So she's nervous about being the
"little"
sister? That's adorable!"
"Ellie, if you're going to go and try to annoy Vini, at least try to keep it minimal," Misa advised, entering the kitchen with Splinter as she watched Ellie skip away. "You know what her temper's been like lately."
"No promises!"
Misa sighed as she looked over to her father who was preparing some tea. "Can I make some for Sofie?"
"Of course."
Splinter helped his daughter prepare the tea, specifically Apple Tea, as it was one of the few types of tea that Sofie, along with Vini and Ellie, would drink. As they waited, Misa thoughts were still on her family and got curious, so she asked her father about the rest of their family line and while Splinter was hesitant, he told her as much as he could all the while sparing certain details regarding his vengeful brother and the civil war of the clan. Misa meanwhile was happy to learn about her family, even if most of them weren't around anymore.
"I wish I could've met them," she muttered as she rested her head on her arms as she stood on the stool by the counter. "They sound nice. Though oji-san sounds grumpy."
That got a chuckle out of Splinter. "My father was a stern and strict man, but he was also a gentle soul. And I believe he would've loved to meet you as well."
Misa nodded in understanding, as her oji-san sounded similar to her father but there were differences too. Before her thoughts distracted her further, the screaming of the kettle caught her attention as Splinter lifted it up by the handle and carefully poured the required amount of water into the three cups that were set out. Misa lifted up the tag to the tea bag to her sister's tea and gently moved it around, allowing the flavor to steep out into the hot water. After a few more moments, she picked up her and her sister's cups and made her way to the bathroom, but as she approached her senses kicked in just as she heard her hot-head of a sister exclaim.
"GET BACK HERE ELLIE!"
Misa quickly sidestepped to avoid the abruptly opened door as her two sisters ran out. "Hey, watch it!"
"Sorry Misa! But I did warn you that I wasn't making promises!"
Misa shook her head as she soon heard her mother call out to them. "Don't run in the Lair!" She heard a sigh as she leaned into sight to see her mother sitting by the tub with one arm out of sight in the tub, her kimono sleeves tied back by a sash. "What do you have there my dear?"
Misa held up Sofie's cup. "Apple Tea."
Sliver smiled before glancing over into the tub. "My little momo, your sister brought you some tea." Misa heard a soft moan followed by subtle sloshes of water, Sliver reached down and helped Sofie lean against the side of the tub, said sister looked tired but slightly more comfortable as she soon lifted her hand up as a signal to receive her tea, which Misa obliged as she carefully handed it over, only letting go when Sliver helped Sofie hold it. The tired turtle took a few long sips before she allowed Sliver to put it on the counter, once again starting to nod off, making Sliver and Misa smile. "Artemisia, could you help Sofonisba back to bed? I need to discuss a visit to the surface with your father."
Misa nodded with a smile. "Of course mother." Once Sliver lifted the half asleep turtle out of the tub, Misa steadied her sister before wrapping a towel around her and guided her out and back to her room, Sliver placing the cup of tea on Sofie's bedside nightstand then left the two sisters alone. Helping the tired turtle back into bed, Misa placed her own tea cup onto the nightstand, taking the towel and began to dry Sofie better before allowing her sister to lay back down on her bed. As she did so, Misa opened a drawer to Sofie's nightstand and took out some moisturizing solution and toothbrush and began to massage it onto her sister's shell, being careful of the shedding scutes, helping in easing the itchiness. The blue banded turtle was surprised when Sofie began to purr, it was a noise that the four of them hadn't made since they were tots, but Misa smiled as she continued to gently brush her sister's carapace while taking a sip of her own tea every once in a while.
"How…?"
"Hmm?"
"How do you handle growth spurts so well?" Sofie asked tiredly.
Misa thought for a moment, putting the brush aside and gently rubbing her sister's shell instead. "In all honesty, I don't." Looking down she saw Sofie's half lidded eyes on her, silently questioning her so she continued. "I really don't want to compare but my growth spurts are pretty painful. It just seems like I handle them well because I don't complain about it, I just choose to deal with it and push forward."
"M'kay." Sofie murmured. "Can you sing something? Anything is fine."
Misa smiled and nodded, taking the last sip of her tea, she began to sing. "Nighttime has come… Hmm, hmm. Gone is the sun. Hmm, hmm. Dreams sky is spun. Hmm, hmm. Stars one by one. Hmm, hmm. Oyasumi, hush, my love. Oyasumi, hush, my love…"