[FanFic] TMNT: New Beginnings

As he turns into the door frame, he catches Nicolosa wiping away the tears that she had previously not been able to hold back completely. He hesitates, but then knocks lightly on her already open door.

"Since when have you been so formal?" She laughs as she looks up at him, giving a sniffle afterwards.

"Since you became so..." He trails off, not knowing which word to use; serious, upset, lost... they all seemed to fit.

"I'll be alright." She says, trying not to worry him anymore than she already has.

"Hm. Deja vu." He says in reply as he comes to sit with her on the bed.

"Mm?" She gives him a confused look.

"You always say stuff like that when you're not alright." He reminds her.

"And how do you know I'm not alright?"

He raises a brow and gives her a look that says "come on now, it's not exactly hard to tell".

"Okay, okay." She says. "But I'll be alright. Okay?"

"No." He answers, and Nicolosa just stares back at him. "I..." He was about to say that he doesn't like seeing her like this, but he skipped that part and went straight into something else he wanted to say. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry? What for?"

"I should've followed you up here before."

"Maybe I needed to be alone..." She says, again, trying to stop him from worrying.

"You needed someone... to talk to... cry to... maybe even scream to?" He says, making her giggle a little, before getting serious again. "You needed someone to be there for you... and support you..."

"Mike--" She goes to speak, but he stops her.

"Nik... please... lemme finish this." He says. "If I don't say this now then I may never say it. And then I'll regret it." He takes a breath before continuing. "I could've been that someone you needed... I was worried about you, but I was too wrapped-up in what was going around in my own head... you've spent all this time worrying about everyone but yourself, and I was--"

"I'm not as selfless as you make me out to be, you know..." She confesses. "I have something I want too... and that's played a major part in messing with my head..."

"I know..." He says, assuming it's about wanting to find her family.

"No..." She replies, looking back at him with sad eyes. "You don't..."

A silence falls between them as they're caught in eachother's gaze. A silence which is short lived as Raphael comes around the corner.

"So, have you made contact yet?" He asks bluntly, giving them both a start.

"No." She answers after a moment, then shifting her eyes back onto Michelangelo. "And I'm not going to."

"Wha'? But--" Michelangelo is shocked at her decision.

Nicolosa stands-up and takes the piece of paper with the email address and password on it from her desk, scrunches it up into a ball, and tosses it into her recycle bin. Michelangelo just sits in a stunned silence.

"Guitar battle?" She offers, smiling.

"Yeah, but I'm using the Rock Band guitar!" He replies playfully after shaking-off his shock.

"Not if I get there first!" She plays, running out of the room.

"You okay?" Raphael asks Michelangelo as he gets up from the bed.

"Yeah. You know me. Nothing keeps me down for long!" He says, wearing his stupid grin.

Raphael isn't really convinced, but he lets it go for now, leaving.

Michelangelo hesitates in following as he takes a look over at the recycle bin and the scrunched-up note that sits at the top of the pile. He tries again to just walk away, but he can't. He may have got the answer the selfish side of him had hoped for, but Michelangelo is anything but selfish, and he can't let things stay as they are. And most of all, he can't bare the thought of Nicolosa regretting her decision and becoming unhappy...

He double checks that no one is watching him, and then he takes the piece of paper out of the bin....

Title: New Beginnings
Fandom: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2007)

Chapter: Twentysix
Subtitle: Chances


It's very early morning in the lair, and for some reason, Raphael just can't stay asleep. He's been tossing and turning all night, and has grown aggravated. Giving-up on sleep all-together, he sits-up in his bed and swings his legs over the side, now sitting on the edge. He stretches and rolls his shoulder joints before leaning forward and reaching for some of the fitness magazines on his desk. He picks a particular one, second from the bottom of the pile and gives it a shake above his lap, holding out his other hand, waiting for something to drop. And it does. A single sheet of paper falls from the pages.

He disregards the magazine to one side on his bed, and looks at over the piece of paper. It's the note they had gotten from Casey that night he was attacked. Raphael had kept it just incase his original suspicions were true. But over the past few weeks, he'd forgotten he still had it. Until now. Some sort of feeling had come over him and he had an urge to read it over again. He isn't entirely sure why. He already knows what it says word-for-word, but still...

Still glancing over it, he gets-up and leaves his bedroom. He notices light coming from Leonardo's room. It was normal for Leonardo to be awake before everyone else, but not usually this early. Raphael shrugs it off. It wasn't unheard-of, afterall. Just... unusual.

As he walks down the stairs and into the kitchen, he looks over to see Donatello asleep in one of the chairs, whilst Michelangelo and Nicolosa asleep on the sofa. From the two guitar controllers still plugged into the Xbox 360, and the DVDs that were scattered across the coffee table; it's obvious they spent all night playing Rock Band and watching movies, and probably feel asleep sometime during one of those movies.

After grabbing a glass of water, Raphael walks over to take a closer look. Michelangelo is half-laying across the sofa. Using the arm of the chair and some cushions to keep him partly propped-up. His right leg from his knee downwards, hangs off the sofa, whilst his left leg isn't even on it. Nicolosa lays on the sofa too, closer to the back, and, being shorter than he is, only her feet from about her ankles downwards, hang off of it. Michelangelo's right arm rests on Nicolosa's right shoulder as she rests her head on his plastron, her right hand resting there too.

At first, Raphael shakes his head, with a look on his face that says "I knew it". Then he wonders what Nicolosa can possibly find comfortable about Michelangelo's plastron. That's just weird. He then softens at the scene, before then becoming tempted to yell something really loud and sudden to scare the crap out of them. A nice bit of revenge for all the times Michelangelo had done it to him, or chucked water over him, or thrown something at him, or... well, the list goes on. And on. And on.

"Raph!" Comes a whisper - it's Leonardo, leaning over the side upstairs.

Raphael looks up at him, and quickly hides the piece of paper from Leonardo's view.

"What are you doing?" Leonardo asks quietly as he makes his own way down the stairs, a hint of suspicion in his voice.

"Nothing!" Raphael replies sharply, but quietly. "Why have you always gotta accuse me of crap!?"

Leonardo eyed the glass of water Raphael still had with him, and he could understand how things looked now, and well, the thought had crossed his mind.

"Anyway. You're up early." He states.

"Yeah. I had trouble sleeping too." Leonardo answers as they make their way to the kitchen. "Maybe I'm just not settling after all that stuff yesterday."

Whilst Leonardo's back is turned, Raphael gives the piece of paper a quick crunch before dropping it in waste basket by the television. He's done with it, and he doesn't want anyone to know he'd kept it for so long as it would only cause un-necessary arguments. But the basket is overflowing as it is, and the paper just rolls onto the floor without Raphael noticing.

"Hmm, things were a bit full-on yesterday." He says as he joins Leonardo at the kitchen table. "You know she threw that information away?"

"I had a suspicion, given Mike's mood seemed to perk-up. Although..." Leonardo thinks for a moment. "He still didn't seem 100% himself. I don't know what it was, but there was just something odd about him."

Raphael points over to Michelangelo and Nicolosa sleeping together on the sofa, suggesting their little brother was obviously hiding that from them.

"Possibly." Leonardo shrugs.

"It's not what you think." Donatello says with a yawn and a stretch as he joins his two brothers. "Nothing's changed."

Raphael raises a brow.

"I've been with them all night. When we were watching movies they sat at opposite ends of the sofa. Heh, she was probably closer to me than Mikey." Donatello explains. "But I do agree that something's a little "off"."

Some time passes, and whilst the others have all since returned to their rooms in hopes of getting a little more sleep, Michelangelo wakes slowly from his slumber. At first, he doesn't find anything to be out-of-the-ordinary as his eyes slowly open and he lets-out a quiet yawn, then looking down at Nicolosa who still rests on his plastron. A smile creeps across his face and he starts to let himself drift back off to sleep again... until his senses finally catch-up with him and his eyes shoot open as he double-takes the sight and readies an apology as he takes his hand off her shoulder in a panic. But, though she stirs a little at his shuffling, she doesn't wake-up.

Michelangelo takes a sigh of relief, before trying to figure-out how he's going to get out from under her without waking her, and thus avoiding any awkwardness. Carefully, he slides himself as upright as he can and pulls the cushions from behind him, bringing them forward and trying to slip them under Nicolosa's head so he can move away completely. As he holds her head-up, on the cushions, he quietly gets off of the sofa and lowers her head down gently.

As he stands back, he doesn't take his eyes off of her. A warm smile grows on his face again, but it soon disappears when he remembers what he plans to do... what he feels he must do. The sad look on Michelangelo's face also disappears now, becoming one of determination, and he leaves the living room, heading for the stairs.

Nicolosa stirs again, flinging the cushions out from under her head, trying to get back the feeling she had against her cheek a few moments ago, but waking soon after she feels the fabric of the sofa instead. She takes a yawn before realising she's on the living room sofa... alone. She pushes herself up with her arms and looks around. No one.

In his room, Michelangelo pushes through piles of paper to find his laptop. He switches it on and grabs the piece of paper that he'd previously hidden. Sitting down at his desk infront of his computer, he takes another look at the details on the paper before attempting to hack into the account and access any emails Nicolosa may have waiting for her... and to reply.

Title: New Beginnings
Fandom: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2007)

Chapter: Twentyseven
Subtitle: Party


"I've got just the thing for an after-training party!" Nicolosa smiles as she looks round at Michelangelo from her laptop.

The pair are in her room, having been banned from playing the Rock Band drums downstairs whilst the others were concentrating on other things. And whilst Michelangelo has been taking his turn, Nicolosa has been scouting the internet for something fun for them to do outside of the lair.

"Whattcha found?" Michelangelo asks, without taking his eyes off of the screen.

"A costume party!" She announces, holding-up a couple of "free entry" leaflets she'd just printer-off, tossing one away when she realises they only need one to get in with. "It's perfect! It's local, annnd, we won't be seen! Well... we'll be seen, but no one'll think we're anything out-of-the-ordinary."

"Awesome idea!" He replies, finishing his song. "When is it?"

"Tonight!"

"It already is tonight."

"It's in an hour. So we better get ready."

"Right!" Michelangelo turns off the television and the Xbox 360. "Wait... we don't have to get ready if we're going as we are." He notices.

"We've gotta make some changes." She says, thinking as she looks him up and down. "First, we gotta do away with the bandanas, and belts, 'n' stuff. We're going as reptiles, and reptiles don't wear clothes. Not even minimal."

The pair remove all items of clothing and Nicolosa starts shuffling around a box in the corner. She pulls out a couple of her old wigs.

"I thought you got ridda those?" Michelangelo asks, a little confused.

"Nah. You can never tell when they'll come in handy." She says handing him one.

"Um, why exactly?"

"Humans have hair. Well, most humans."

With the pair now kitted-out in wigs, both a very light brown colour, similar to the colour of straw, with Michelangelo's being a little shorter, and slightly darker; they're ready to roll. Just one problem...

"How're we gonna get out?" Nicolosa whispers as they look out of her bedroom door.

Whilst Splinter and Leonardo are already asleep, Raphael and Donatello are still awake. Raphael half-watches the junk on television, whilst Donatello gets on with the hack he'd promised to do for Nicolosa. But with all the training and gaming over the week past, Donatello hadn't had very much time to concentrate on it until now.

"Dude, we're ninja." Michelangelo grins. "Follow me."

The two walk low and quietly as they exit her room and make their way towards the staircase. They creep down it as quiet as they can, before making a faster pace towards the door, and sneaking out of it successfully, closing the door slowly and almost silently behind them.

Raphael grins. He knew they were there all along. They may have been quiet, but their reflections had shown-up on the television.

Out in the sewers, the two escapees make their way quickly along until they find a good spot, a manhole in an alleyway, to climb-up. Michelangelo gives Nicolosa a little help getting out, and then they run across the road and look for the right building. It isn't hard to find. There's a queue at the bottom of the stairs that lead up to a nightclub. The queue is made-up of various different types of animals, fruits, and fairy tale characters. All costumes, of course.

Michelangelo and Nicolosa join the queue, and it isn't too long before they get to the front. After handing their leaflets over and receiving a re-entry stamp on the back of their left hands, they head up the stairs and into the club. It's already busy with people. The music's playing and the light displays are in full-swing. The song in mid-play as they walk is Break The Ice by Britney Spears.

The pair take a good look around, soaking-up their surroundings. It feels great to be out and about, not to mention not to have the worry that someone might freak-out at the sight of them. Nicolosa feels more and more at home in this place and everything excites her as she starts feeling more and more bouncy. The smile on her face express pure wonder, excitement, and happiness. And Michelangelo doesn't feel all that different from her either.

As the song changes to As Long As You Love Me by Backstreet Boys, Nicolosa pulls Michelangelo over to the dance floor, insisting on a dance as she yells out how much she loves this song and starts singing along and she dances. Michelangelo tries to join in, but he can't help but laugh.

"You're into this?" He asks with a chuckle, receiving a poked tongue in reply.

"I like abit of everything." She says afterwards, resting her arms across his shoulders and moving a little closer so she doesn't have to yell over the music so much. "What about you?"

"Mm, the same, I guess. If it sounds good; I like it." He answers.

As the song continues, Nicolosa sings along, almost without realising it, as she gazes around at the lights on the ceiling all around the room. Some of them made circles, some of them made zig-zags, some of them made swirls, some of them made stars, and some of them changed randomly.

Michelangelo, on the other hand, is having a hard time keeping his eyes off of Nicolosa. There's just something about her bright eyes, so full of life, her cheeky little smile she pulled whenever she stuck her tongue out at him, even the confused look she's giving him right now... wait...

"Crap." He thinks to himself when he notices she looking right back at him and turns his attention elsewhere before giving her the chance to think he's some kind of weirdo.

He completely misses the blush and nervous smile that came after the originally look of confusion, and Nicolosa starts to feel a little embarrassed. But as the song changes to The Middle by Jimmy Eat World, they both smile at eachother as they both love this song. Michelangelo takes her by the hands and they start dancing around together, just going with whatever comes naturally. The song is bouncy, and they're bouncy to match. With a little bit of air-guitaring during the guitar solo. Followed by more bouncing and singing along.

When the next song, Let Me Think About It by Ida Corr Vs Fedde Le Grand, mixes in, a girl dressed as peacock approaches them and waves at Nicolosa.

"You're back!" She says with a smile.

"I am?" Nicolosa is totally confused, but smiles back anyway.

"I haven't seen you here for a long time. Where ya been? And who's your friend?" She asks with a suggestive wink in Nicolosa's direction.

Nicolosa immediately avoids any eye contact with Michelangelo and blushes as bright a red as her green skin can actually manage.

"Oohh, I get it." The girl nods. "Come over to the dance floor when our songs on and tell me more."

And with that, the girl dances her way further into the dance floor, leaving Nicolosa both embarrassed and confused.

"Our song...?" She wonders as she watches the girl almost disappear from sight in the sea of dancing bodies.

And as one song ends, another comes in. Slam by Pendulum this time.

Michelangelo clears his throat before speaking, also feeling a little awkward a moment ago.

"You know her?" He asks.

"Apparently..." Nicolosa answers, still watching the girl, trying hard to recognise her face.

When Nicolosa turns around to face Michelangelo again, she just shrugs and shakes her head, not having a clue who the girl was. As they stood beside eachother, another person, this time dressed as a panda, gave a wave to Nicolosa.

"You must've been here before..." Michelangelo comments, amazed at how many people are now waving in her direction as they pass or notice her from across the room.

"Yeah... must've." Nicolosa replies, waving back with a nervous look on her face as she doesn't really understand what's going on.

"Nessiiieee!" A masculine voice calls as a guy dressed a crocodile gives Nicolosa an almost bone-breaking hug.

"H-have we met?" Nicolosa asks as he quickly puts her down again and she catches her breath.

"Such a joker!" He laughs. "I've missed you. Where have you been?"

"I, er..." Nicolosa tries to think of something, but nothing comes to mind.

The song switches again to I Love NYC by Andrew W.K., and the peacock girl from earlier rushes over and pulls Nicolosa by the hand towards the center of the dance floor.

"Come on!" She says with a smile, and signal Michelangelo. "You too!"

The whole crowd on the dance floor just po-going as the song really kicks-in. Everyone sings and shouts the words at the top of their lungs, including Michelangelo and Nicolosa as they just decide to get back to having fun and ignore previous complications. The bass pumps through the floor and the dance floor becomes more and more filled as people join for this song.

Downstairs in the queue, Raphael waits impatiently to get in, and he's suddenly approached by a girl looking like a reptile with a long tail and black hair. She links arms with him and leans in to talk to him.

"You got a flyer, right?" She asks.

Raphael isn't impressed.

"C'mon, my printer's broken and you can get two in with that flyer." She points-out, taking the flyer from him quickly.

"Or you could find some other mug." He replies, but it's too late as they're now at the front of the queue.

After handing over the flyer, the girl runs up the stairs, with Raphael following to give her a piece of his mind. But as he wanders in to the club, he loses sight of her in the crowds. Giving-up for no, he goes back to what he'd planned to do in the first place; keep an eye on the two goofballs. He scans the room of jumping and dancing party-goers. He walks around the dance floor crowd and leans-up against a wall, and that's when he sees them. Through a small gaps in the crowd, he watches them as they just let go and enjoy the moment.

Everyone's dancing, air-punching, jumping, head-banging, air-guitaring, everything.

As the song ends and Mysterious Girl by Peter Andre comes in, Michelangelo spots Raphael. He points him out to Nicolosa, who waves at him, and then he goes over to talk to him.

"What, ah, um--" He goes to ask what he's doing here, but at the same time can't think of a good excuse as to why he's here himself.

"Having fun?" Raphael asks, his arms folded, but a warm expression on his face that made Michelangelo feel semi-confident that he wasn't actually in trouble... not right now anyways.

"Yeah, it's awesome!" He replies before looking back over at Nicolosa, who dancing at the same time as talking to the peacock girl. "Does Leo know?" He calls back.

"No." Raphael answers, taking in the fact that Michelangelo didn't even look at him when he asked that; he just watched Nicolosa. "And what the hell are you wearing on your head!?"

"It was Nik's idea to blend-in more."

"Get it off."

"No, dude. It'll look suspicious."

"How can you look suspicious in this room!?"

Michelangelo just laughs, assuring him that he'll take it off when he gets home.

Hardly another word is said between the brother as the song continues, and then changes to I Like The Way by BodyRockers, and eventually into She's So Lovely by Scouting For Girls.

"Don't her batteries ever run-out?" Raphael laughs.

Michelangelo takes a moment to think about something he's had on his mind for a while now, then turning to Raphael with a serious look in his eyes.

"Raph--"

"You can't stand here all night!" Nicolosa suddenly pops infront of them both. "Come on!"

"Na, we better be heading back." Raphael says. "I'm still getting-over the last headache he gave me. I don't need another one."

"Nes!!" A female voice calls-out loudly.

"You again!?" Raphael frowns as he sees the black haired girl running towards them, looking straight at Nicolosa with a relieved expression

As Raphael steps forward to engage in an argument, Nicolosa eyes the girl, slightly recognising her.

"Wait!" She calls to Raphael before stepping forward herself and making eye contact with the girl. "I know you..."

"Of course you do! It's me; Mona!" She says, but Nicolosa just looks at her with confused eyes as she tries to figure out how she knows this person.

"Nessie?" Mona's expression becomes one of worry as she fears the worst. "You... do remember me, right?"

"Nessie?" Raphael asks, confused for a moment, but then realises that there's always been a strong possibility that Nicolosa may have had a different name at some point.

As Mona becomes more and more worried at the obvious truth, Raphael asks an important question...

"How exactly do you know her?"

"... I'm... her sister."

Title: New Beginnings
Fandom: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2007)

Chapter: Twentyeight
Subtitle: Sisters


After confirming that Mona too is a mutant, Raphael agrees to let her follow them back to the lair so they can discuss her claims. He walks up-front, leading the way through the sewers, with Mona not too far behind, followed then by Michelangelo. But Nicolosa trails behind a little, her head overflowing with thoughts and questions.

Michelangelo slows-down so he can walk with Nicolosa and attempt to find out what's wrong. He thought she'd be happy to finally meet a member of her family. But instead she's been unusually quiet ever since leaving the club. She'd been particularly clingy towards him until they started walking through the sewers, and she started slowing-down.

"You alright?" He asks her.

After a short pause, she gently shakes her head.

"Why not?"

"I don't know... I--"

"Hurry-up you two!" Raphael's voice calls from up ahead.

"Is this a bad time?" Mona asks Raphael.

"It's complicated." Raphael answers.

Mona takes a glance back at Michelangelo and Nicolosa, before facing forward at Raphael again. There's a silence again before Mona makes another attempt at conversation.

"How come he has hair and you don't?"

"He doesn't."

"Are we there yet!?" Michelangelo calls from behind.

Raphael shoots him a glare for a few moments, causing Nicolosa to giggle. Michelangelo smiles; mission accomplished.

After a short while, they're home. Everyone else is still asleep.

"Amazing..." Mona takes-in her surroundings.

"Take that thing off ya head." Raphael groans as he turns around and notices Michelangelo still has the wig on.

Michelangelo had forgotten about it himself, but Nicolosa stops him from pulling it off.

"You'll need to wash the glue off or you'll end-up with a ring around your head." She laughs, leading him to the wash room.

Raphael shakes his head and goes to sit at the kitchen table, followed by Mona.

"So... you guys live here?" She asks, trying yet again to make conversation.

"Yep."

"You been here a while?"

"Yep."

"Is it just you and, um..."

"Mike."

"Yeah, Mike. Is it just you guys?"

"Nope."

"Oh. So, who else...?"

"Two other brothers, and our father. And then there's Nik."

"Nik... hmm... who named her that anyway?"

Raphael just groans at the thought that every answer he gives her only leads to yet more questions.

Outside the wash room, now minus their fake hair, the other two are rubbing their heads dry with towels. Michelangelo catches Nicolosa glancing over to the hallway which leads back to the main area.

"Nik..." He says after a small sigh. "There's s-something I gotta tell you..."

Nicolosa faces him again and waits for him to speak.

"You know that piece of paper Don gave you?"

Nicolosa gives a nod.

"Well... you know how you kinda threw it away..." He continues, rubbing the back of his head as a worried look appears on his face. "Well, I, er... picked it up."

"What? Why?" Nicolosa asks as her eyes widen as she's shocked to hear this.

"I, um, the truth is, well,--"

"I thought..." Nicolosa becomes sad as she gets the wrong idea.

"What...?"

"I thought we... were friends..." She says, wishing she could've used a different word.

"We are...." He confirms, then kicking himself mentally for not saying something else, something more.

"But... you wanna get rid of me..."

"What!? No!! Why would I wanna do that!?" Michelangelo shakes his head with a smile and opens his arms, giving her a tight hug as she steps into them. "Baka. Sometimes I wonder what planet you're on."

Back in the kitchen...

"Hmm. You're not big on conversation, are you?" She says, raising a brow.

"You're not big on first impressions."

"Hm? Wait, you're not still mad about that flyer thing?"

Raphael doesn't answer.

"I had to get in there!" She explains. "I've been going there every week hoping to find Nes in there! We used to go every week for their costume party." Mona pauses when she sees the other two return. "Why have you taken your hair off?" She asks Nicolosa.

"Why not?" Nicolosa answers, feeling a little embarrassed at the question.

"And where's your scarf?" Mona asks.

Nicolosa pauses for a moment.

"I... I don't wear it anymore." She answers, she then realises something. "Wait, did you say you'd been going to that club every week to look for me?"

"That's right." Mona confirms with a nod.

"So... you didn't...?" Nicolosa looks at Michelangelo.

"No, the password didn't work." Michelangelo shakes his head.

Mona becomes utterly confused with the current conversation, whilst Raphael suddenly realises what's happened.

"I knew it!" He says, standing from his chair and pointing at Michelangelo. "I knew you were hiding something!" His focus then turns to Nicolosa. "You knew about this?"

"Not until a few seconds ago." She answers.

"Time out!" Mona calls. "What the hell's going on?"

Raphael pauses before attempting to put it all into words, working out the exact sequence of events.

"Okay. Don--"

"Don?" Mona interrupts.

"Our brother. Save your questions 'til the end, please." He says with a slightly aggressive tone. "Don hacked her eBay account to find some address of some place and--"

"The house you used to have all your stuff delivered to?" Mona interrupts again.

Raphael growls.

"Mike, go get my duct tape." He says as he shoots Mona a glare.

"I'm not getting involved, dude." Michelangelo laughs, with Nicolosa giggling beside him.

Mona holds her hands up in signal for him to continue with no further interruptions.

"He gave her the email address and password registered with the eBay account and suggested she try the two together to see if she could get into her old email account and check if she had any mail from anyone who might be looking for her." He continues. "But she threw the information away."

Mona suddenly looks over to Nicolosa with a horrified and hurt expression. She can't understand why Nicolosa would do something like that.

"But it seems Mike here retrieved it without Nik knowing and used it himself, am I right?" Raphael asks Michelangelo, who gives a nod. "And he obviously got in contact with you and told you they'd be at that club."

Michelangelo and Mona both shake their heads.

"Like I said; the password didn't work." Michelangelo confirms his earlier statement.

"Hold on. If it didn't work, then you couldn't have done anything. Which means you were in no danger of being found-out. So why confess?" Raphael asks.

"Raph!" Nicolosa protests, annoyed that he'd condone lying.

"I--" Michelangelo goes to answer, but Mona cuts-in.

"Why would you do something behind her back in the first place!?" She demands.

"He was obviously trying to help her!" Raphael argues. "It was for her own good!"

"And you guys know what's best for her now, do you!?" Mona argues back, also standing-up now.

Nicolosa grips Michelangelo's arm, becoming nervous as she dislikes arguments even more than Michelangelo does.

"Yeah, maybe we do!" Raphael continues yelling.

"You think lying to her is what she needed!?"

"I think a push in the right direction is what she needed!"

"What is that supposed to mean!?"

"She'd been thinking about her family for ages. Wondering if she was part of any family at all. Wondering if you might be looking for her--"

"If that's true then why did she throw the chance away!?" Mona yells, feeling hurt.

"What going on down here!?" Donatello's voice calls as he approaches everyone, becoming instantly confused when he spots Mona.

"What's all the yelling about!?" Leonardo soon follows. "You'll wake Master Splin--." He stops short of finishing his sentence as he notices the unfamiliar face scowling at Raphael, who's replying with a growl through gritted teeth.

Splinter soon joined them, also being woken from all the shouting. And after some lengthy calming down, and some explaining of how Mona came to be in the lair, the next question finally comes...

"So, how did you guys get separated?" Leonardo asks.

"The Foot took her." Mona answers with a defeated look on her face.

"But what would they want with a mutant?" Donatello wonders.

"It wasn't just her." Mona sighs.

"Why don't you start from the beginning?" Splinter suggests.

"Alright..." She nods. "At first, none of us knew where we were or how we got there. We could remember pretty much everything else except those details. Except for Ness. She could hardly remember a thing from before she woke-up in that place. I guess she's just more sensitive to the drugs they were using. At first, we were all kept as what I guess you could call "free range". We each had our own little bedroom, and we were allowed to wonder pretty much anywhere we liked. Anywhere but one particular room. No one was allowed in there. Anyway, they explained to all of us that the outside world was dangerous and the humans feared us and would kill us on sight. They claimed to save as many of us as they could, and they began training us to fight. Ditzy here took it a chance to play "hero", and didn't really think of the complications. But some of us started to wonder just what was going on. We believed them for the most part, but I suppose it was only natural to be suspicious." Mona pauses for a moment. "Shortly after that, Ness did what she does best; goof off. She decided to go on her own "secret mission" into the room none of us were supposed to go in. I admit I'd had thoughts about getting in there, and it was the source of most of my suspicions, so I followed her and went along with her game. We climbed through air-vents and eventually got into the room. We found a whole stack of paper work, folders filled with information on us and the others. Anyway... it wasn't long before we were caught being in there; by humans. We were lead to believe that only mutants were at this underground facility, but it turned-out that it was The Foot running things all along. We were lucky enough to get out of there alive that time. But The Foot must have followed us at one point or another, because they eventually took Ness again..." She pauses, becoming sad again. "I should've been there... but I wasn't... they took her from the house... and I never saw her again..."

A silence falls as everyone takes in this new information.

"So, lemme get this straight; you're saying there's a big bunch of mutants hidden under New York?" Raphael asks Mona. "And you expect us to believe that!?"

"I don't care what you believe." Mona answers. "I was there."

"What about those others?" Michelangelo asks. "What happened to them?"

"We couldn't get word to them. We had to escape using a different route." Mona answers, trying to avoid eye contact with Nicolosa.

"We have to go back." Nicolosa says. "We have to help them."

"No, Ness, you know you can't." Mona tells her.

"We can't just leave 'em there!" Nicolosa demands.

"I knew this would happen..." Mona groans, before standing-up and facing Nicolosa. "We've had this conversation before! It's a suicide mission! You'll never make it in there, let alone out again!"

"I managed it before."

"Look, let's just think this through." Leonardo suggests. "We'll need a plan. But I'm not prepared to discuss this with tension as high as it is and we're defiantly not doing anything until you four have had some sleep." He says, referring to Raphael, Mona, Michelangelo, and Nicolosa. "This is gonna be big, so let's all just calm down, rest-up, and then we'll go through this thing."

And with that, Donatello, Michelangelo, Mona, and Nicolosa leave the kitchen.

"A wise decision, my son." Splinter tells Leonardo.

"Thank you, father." Leonardo replies, before Splinter heads off back to bed to catch-up on his missed sleep.

"Teacher's pet." Raphael comments, arms folded.

"Go to bed." Leonardo sighs as he can't be bothered to get into a name-calling match with his brother.

"Nessie, listen--" Mona calls as she follows Nicolosa to the living room area.

"Why do you keep calling me that?" She asks as she turns to face her.

"It's... your name..." Mona answers.

"Is it short for something?" Michelangelo asks.

"Venus." Mona nods before turning back to Nicolosa. "You've been off with me since I found you..."

"Come. You can use my bed." Nicolosa signals for Mona to follow her, and they walk up the stairs together.

"I'm... I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you when... when they found you..." Mona says with a sad tone.

"I don't even remember that..." Nicolosa admits as they enter her bedroom.

"What...?"

"I don't remember any of it... I don't remember anything from my past..." She explains, sitting on her sofabed. "I don't... I don't remember you..."

An expression of deep hurt forms on Mona's face as she joins her on the sofa.

"I... kind of recognise your face... but I don't... I don't know you..." Tears form in Nicolosa's eyes as she continues. "I'm sorry... I just... can't remember... and I've been dreading having to say that to someone I used to be close to... I've been dreading seeing that look that's in your eyes right now... I didn't wanna hurt anyone... I threw that chance of contact away because I didn't want anyone to hurt because of me..."

Mona leans forward quickly and hugs Nicolosa.

"I... might not even be the me you used to know..." Nicolosa says.

"You'll always be my baby sister." Mona confirms before releasing her. "No matter what."

Nicolosa finds herself smiling a little, and then a random question comes to mind as she notices Mona's long tail.

"Hey, what happened to my tail?" She asks with a curious tone.

"Your tail?"

"Mm."

"I don't know. It's been that way ever since I met you."

"Hmm?"

"You really don't remember a thing, do you...? That place we were taken to, with the other mutants, that's were we first met."

"But... you said we're sisters...?"

"As good as. We've always been together since that day, even when you were annoying the hell outta me." Mona laughs.

"I'm annoying?" She asks, pointing to herself.

"You're... I guess a better word to use would be..." Mona thinks for a moment. "Playful. And you are a bit of an idiot sometimes."

Nicolosa smiles.

Title: New Beginnings
Fandom: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2007)

Chapter: Twentynine
Subtitle: New Memories


Noon approaches, and Mona is only just waking-up after getting hardly any sleep at all the previous night. For a moment, she almost forgets where she is; in Nicolosa's room, in the Turtle's home and lair. She stretches, and as she comes out of it, she notices something. Or rather, somethings. She looks at the posters on the walls, the toys in the room, and the papers and objects gathered on the desk. Everything that surrounds her at this present moment, is an indication as to who Nicolosa is now.

Mona sits on the stall by the desk, and looks over the loose papers. Skimming over each one as she lifts it up, she finds mainly drawings, before finding a couple of note books hidden underneath. She picks them up, revealing Nicolosa's laptop. She then looks at each of the note books in her hands, and decides which one to check-out first. She places one back down on the desk, and opens the other at the first page. It's blank. But as she turns to the next page, she finds a colourful title page. It's Nicolosa's diary.

Whilst Mona would like to read it all, she's worried about getting caught with it. So she only skim-reads some of the pages. She notices a note about a digital camera Donatello had given her some time ago, and about all the pictures she's been taking and printing. According to the note in the diary; they're in a box on the floor, beside her sofabed. Mona looks behind, and down at the floor at each end of the sofabed. Sure enough, there's a box. She gets off the chair and kneels infront of the box, opening it up. It really is full of photos. She picks-up a hand-full and starts flicking through them. But it isn't long before she's caught as Donatello spots her through the partly open door.

"Awake, I see." He says as he enters the room, startling Mona. "Don't worry. Those are no secret. I'm sure she won't mind you seeing them too."

"I just wondered..." Mona trails-off as she picks the box up and sits on the sofabed.

"Yeah, I get it." Donatello takes a seat on the stall. "You wanted some insight into the kind of person she is now, right?"

Mona nods, before flicking through some more of the photos.

"She looks happy." She comments. "Really happy."

"Well, for the most part; she is." Donatello confirms.

"For the most part?"

"Yeah. She seems to over-analyse things sometimes." He explains. "But she's never down for too long."

"Hmph. Same as ever then." Mona smiles.

"Well, I wouldn't know about that. But I'd imagine that would be a real plus for you guys if she still has the same personality traits that she used to have."

"Yeah. It's good to know she's still herself." She says. "Where is she anyway?"

"They feel asleep a few hours ago."

"They?"

"Mm." Donatello nods. "She spent most of the night watching movies with Mike. I've been checking on them every-so-often as they have a habit of staying-up all night. But I guess this time they had a reason."

"What do you mean?"

"Nik, well actually, both of them have a few things on their minds, I guess. I did over-hear them talking a little about what you two had discussed before she left so you could sleep."

"You mean you eves-dropped."

"I try not to eves-drop. It usually leads to misunderstands." Donatello explains. "I just wanted to see if they were alright, and as I approached the door, I heard her mention the two of you aren't blood related. Which is no real surprise, to be honest."

"How do you mean?"

"Well, I had my suspicions from the start. But it was hard to back them up with any evidence without taking blood samples. Afterall, mutation can effect us all differently. It's not like there are any real rules or set guidelines."

"Mm. I see what you mean. Well, you're welcome to do your tests. But I can already tell you I'm a newt."

"Interesting. So, where were you when you came into contact with the mutagen?"

"Wow, that was quite a long time ago. I was in a lake." Mona then thinks for a moment. "So... how did she sound? Was she... troubled that I'd found her...?"

"Not exactly. I did go in and we all talked for a while. She's a little confused right now, but that's to be expected. And... she's a little afraid you might wanna take her away from here. From us."

Mona pauses for a moment.

"She can't stay here forever." She sighs.

"Actually... she can." Donatello smiles. "She's become a real addition to our family."

"What, you guys are like her brothers now?"

This should be an easy question to answer. But Donatello finds himself pausing before answering.

"I'd say so. Most of us anyway." He says, finally.

"Most of you?" She asks with a suspicious tone.

"Well, I certainly see her a little sister."

"Yeah, but this was never about how you saw her. Somewhere there's a complication. But if it had been with you then you would have said "most of them". But you didn't. You said "most of us", which means the problem is with one of the others. And you just tried to side-step the issue, which leads me to believe the problem is a rather serious one."

"Hmph. Clever. But I wouldn't call the "issue" a problem, let alone a serious one. It's just a little... complicated."

"How so?"

"I can't say."

"Can't or won't?"

"Err, a little of both." He answers, receiving an glare from Mona. "It's not my place to say. Besides, in truth, it's actually just an assumption, so we could be wrong."

"Whenever you're wrong; something explodes." Raphael comments as he appears in the doorway.

"Gee, thanks Raph."

"Anytime." Raphael gives a thumbs-up. "So, are we ready?"

"For what?" Mona asks.

"For finally getting back to business." Raphael says.

"Not exactly." Donatello answers as he stands, then turning to face Mona again. "If you've got any questions or anything, I'll be downstairs."

"Thanks." She smiles, glancing at the photographs. "But I think I'll stay up here a little longer."

Donatello nods, before following Raphael away from the room, explaining to him that Michelangelo and Nicolosa had only fallen to sleep a few hours ago, and it was best to let them catch-up on as much sleep as possible… given the circumstances. He also suggests that Raphael be a bit more understanding of the current situation regarding Mona and Nicolosa.

Title: New Beginnings
Fandom: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2007)

Chapter: Thirty
Subtitle: Calm Before The Storm


After sitting alone in Nicolosa's room, looking at all of her photos, and reading much of her diary, Mona begins to understand Nicolosa and her feelings alot more. She gets up from the bed and heads towards the bedroom door, slowly pushing it open and taking a look at what's happening on the main floor below. The first thing she notices is Nicolosa's voice...

"Please, please, pleeease?" She asks Donatello as she bounces around him.

"Just buy a Furby or something." Leonardo suggests from his seat on the sofa.

"I've got three of 'em." She replies before turning back to Donatello. "C'mon, Donnie... just a little one? A kitty, or a puppy! Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease--"

"Shuddup!" Raphael yells as he grabs hold of her from behind and covers her mouth.

"I'll think about it." Donatello laughs.

"No. You won't." Raphael demands. "The answer is no. No pets. Not even robot ones."

"Dude…" Michelangelo noticed Raphael keeping ahold on Nicolosa as he returns to the main room after a talk with Splinter. "What'd I miss?"

Raphael rolls his eyes as Michelangelo bounds over.

"Have no fear, Mike is here!" He says, then taking a fighting stance.

"Moron." Raphael sighs, shaking his head.

"Hero." He corrects with a toothy grin.

As Mona makes her way down the stairs, she wears a smile on her face. She hears Nicolosa's muffled giggling, and she can see the happiness in her eyes. It's good to see.

"Afternoon." Leonardo greets her as he passes her on his way to kitchen.

"Er, hi." She says.

"I take it you didn't sleep too well either?" He asks, taking a seat at the table.

"You could say that." She replies, then taking a step towards Nicolosa.

"I wouldn't if I were you." Leonardo lightly cautions.

"Why not?" Mona asks.

And, right on cue, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Nicolosa start play-fighting in the sitting room area.

"That's why." He answers.

Mona watches are the bundle of bodies rolls across the floor. Raphael gives a forceful push, sending Michelangelo flying in one direction, before throwing Nicolosa onto the sofa and taking-up his defensive stance as he wait for them to attempt another attack on him.

Michelangelo gets back up and makes a run at him, whilst Nicolosa tosses a cushion at him, before climbing back over the sofa and running at him as well. Raphael just shakes his head as he waits until the last minute to back-flip pit of the way, causing the attacking pair to bump right into eachother.

"Idiots." He laughs as they lay in a heap on the floor.

It isn't long before they both get-up again, lunge for him, knock him to the floor, and continue their little game.

"She hasn't changed a bit." Mona laughs.

"Hmph." Leonardo smiles. "It must be nice to know she's still the same person deep down."

"Donatello said something similar." She says, sitting beside him at the kitchen table. "It is. But it's still… sad. It's sad knowing that she knows nothing of our relationship."

"Mm. I understand. But I'm sure you can rebuild that relationship." He says. "Just be patient. Although, saying that, she took to us pretty quickly, so I wouldn't be surprised if she's the same with you."

"Yeah. She's always been that." Mona smiles. "It does worry me sometimes though…"

"What do you mean?"

"She trusts too easily. I mean, she can just meet a stranger, and before she even realises it herself; she's formed a bond and given her trust. Sometimes I worry if she's on the same page as the rest of us, you know?" Mona chuckles. "I guess she just sees the best in everyone…"

"You're pretty protective of her, aren't you?"

"I guess so… which is why I need to talk to you about something." She says, leaning in a little closer.

"Go on."

"We can't go back to that place."

Leonardo awaits an explanation.

"I know she wants to help the others… I do too. But it's not that simple. There's too many of them."

"I understand you concerns. And I, for one, am not taking this mission lightly. But we've been out-numbered by The Foot many times, and we're still here."

"It's not just The Foot. It's the mutants too. There's nothing to guarantee that they'll believe what I have to say. And, besides that... there's already a team of Foot Ninja and mutants looking for us. I've seen 'em and, believe me, they are out to kill. They don't wanna bring us back or wipe our memories… they will kill us if they get the chance. Probably you too if they find you with us. I don't wanna give them that chance." She says, looking over at Nicolosa, who's currently sitting on Michelangelo's shell as if he's a horse, charging towards Raphael.

"Everytime we fight, I fear for the safety of my brothers. So I do understand." Leonardo replies. "But we can't just ignore this. We have to help those that we can. Besides, whatever's going on with The Foot, you can bet we'll be their target sooner or later."

Title: New Beginnings
Fandom: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2007)

Chapter: Thirtyone
Subtitle: Maps


Everyone is gathered around the large table infront of the monitor, which currently displays a schematic map of the sewer. The table itself is littered with general maps of the sewer system, and the streets above, most of them unrolled. Mona and Nicolosa study one together, trying to find the location of the underground laboratory they were once kept in.

Nicolosa finds herself having trouble trying to remember now. She'd always been sure she could get back there… but not anymore. She tries to imagine the path she took in her head, but she just can't see it. She rubs her eyes and shakes her head a little, before trying again, determined to remember.

After a short while, the determined expression on her face transforms into one of worry and disbelief.

"Nik?" Michelangelo asks as he notices.

She looks at him with her sad eyes, worried that she's losing even more of her memories.

"I… I can't remember…" She finally says. "What's happening…?"

"Nothing." Donatello says quickly before she has a chance to panic. "When was the last time you had to think about this?"

"Er, um... the last time I went there." She answers.

"Exactly. Which was before they shot you full of drugs." He explains, looking her in the eyes. "You lost this memory at the same time as you lost the others ones. So it's nothing to start getting worried about."

"Are you sure?" Michelangelo asks, worried himself.

"As sure as I can be. But I will keep an eye on it." Donatello says, looking back at Nicolosa again. "So if you find yourself forgetting anything else; let me know. But I think you'll be fine."

"Thanks, Donnie." Nicolosa smiles a little.

"So, now that little panic is over, we get on with this, right?" Raphael suggests.

"You are so insensitive." Mona frowns.

"No, I'm impatient." He replies. "Can you just find this place so we can get on with things?"

"I'm looking!" Mona snaps.

"Look harder!" Raphael snaps back.

"I'm looking hard!" Mona yells.

"Look faster then!" Raphael yells back.

"I'm looking as fast as I can!" Mona yells again.

Raphael prepares to respond, but Leonardo steps inbetween them.

"Will you two just stop it already!?" He frowns. "We've got more important things to worry about."

After giving eachother one last glare, Mona gets back to studying the map.

"It's no good." She says, shaking her head. "I've not come at it from the sewer before."

"Try this one." Leonardo suggests, passing her a street map. "If you can find it from above, then we can work out where it is below."

"Hey, maybe I can find it." Nicolosa suggests suddenly.

"But you just said--" Michelangelo scratches his head.

"I know, I know. But... I remembered the way back to my old place, right?" She explains. "I knew it once I got going. Maybe I could do the same with this place?"

"Well, it doesn't matter anyway. You're not coming." Mona states, without taking her eyes off the map.

"Wha'?" Nicolosa looks over to Mona.

"You heard me." Mona replies.

"Yeah, but--"

"This is a suicide mission and you ain't invited."

"I don't think things are quite that bad." Leonard says.

"You've never been there." Mona replies.

"I have!!" Nicolosa says, waving her arm around to get noticed.

"You got lucky." Mona glares. "You could've been killed! Infact, from what I understand, had it not been for these guys, you would have been!"

"Oh, c'mon." Nicolosa groans.

"Actually, she's got a point." Leonardo says, looking at Nicolosa. "It's obvious from the amount they shot you with that they were out to put you to sleep permanently."

Nicolosa pauses for a moment, reflecting on the fact that she'd probably be dead by now if it wasn't for the guys.

"I still wanna help." She says, a determined look in her eyes.

"I dunno..." Michelangelo says with a worried tone, having also reflected on what Leonardo just said.

"Mike!" Nicolosa squeaks. "Don't you go all doubtful on me too!"

"I'm not! I just don't want you to get hurt." He confesses, suddenly feeling embarrassed after having blurted that out infront of everyone.

Nicolosa smiles for a moment, touched by Michelangelo's concern.

"Hmm..." Mona takes in the scene, making silent assumptions.

"Can we just get on with this!? There's no point arguing over this anyway. If she wants to come then nothing anyone says is gonna stop her. Am I right?" Raphael says, looking over to Nicolosa.

"Mm." Nicolosa gives a single nod, full of determination.

But she almost melts when she feels Michelangelo's hand upon her shoulder as he stands behind her. It's only natural for them to be worried about eachother. The Turtles always had a sense of worry for eachother whenever they went into battle, but they'd learnt to hide it as best they could over the years. Afterall, they're all in this together, and if they stayed home everytime someone worried about them, then they'd never fight at all, and they wouldn't be the team they are today.

"Here." Mona says, pointing to a certain place on the map, not too far at all from the river, having finally found the location.

Donatello compares the location on the street map, with that of the sewer map of the same area. He then takes the map over to the display screen and marks on the location on the screen.

"It's alot closer than I'd hoped." Leonardo says. "This can't be good."

"Yeah, the last thing we need is The Foot for neighbours." Raphael adds.

"It's not quite that bad." Donatello insists. "But you're right... it is closer than I'd imagined."

"Well, the next question is; how do we get in?" Leonardo thinks.

"I think we should concentrate more on how to get back out." Mona worries.

There's a few moments of silence as everyone ponders over Mona's words. Getting back out again could prove difficult if they aren't prepared, and none of them, not even Mona, know their way around the building properly.

Raphael's thoughts, however, differ from everybody else's. Though he's managed to keep it relatively quiet, he can't help but feel that this whole mission may be a trap. In true Raphael style, he doesn't trust Mona right now anymore than he did Nicolosa when she first arrived. And with Nicolosa's loss of memory, Mona was free to make-up any story she liked to make herself sound like an old friend.

"Right." Leonardo begins, catching everyone's attention. "I have a plan..."

Title: New Beginnings
Fandom: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2007)

Chapter: Thirtytwo
Subtitle: Mission Impossible


Having taken the van incase of the need for a quick escape, and because it was a faster way to get there, the new mission has begun. Keeping in contact via headsets, and aided by a motion tracker per team, as well as small tracking devices worn by each of them, the team has split in order to cover different levels at the same time, both in order to find different ways in and out of the building, but also to have eyes at as many different angels as possible, in order to help eachother. Leonardo and Donatello are making their way across the roof tops, Raphael and Mona are ahead of them in the shadows of the streets, and Michelangelo and Nicolosa are searching the sewer below.

And down in those sewers...

"Can you see me?" Nicolosa asks playfully as she runs out infront of Michelangelo.

"Yeah!" Michelangelo laughs as he looks at the motion tracker he holds in his hand, showing her as a yellow dot. "This is awesome!"

Nicolosa runs back to Michelangelo and takes the tracker from him, allowing Michelangelo to run off infront this time.

"Aw, cool!" Nicolosa giggles as she sees him as an orange dot on the tracker. "It's just like the in Aliens!"

"Will you two stop messin' around!?" Leonardo scolds them over the headset. "Mona, is this it?" He asks as they approach a tall building which appears to have no lights on at all inside.

"That's it." She confirms as herself and Raphael are crouched behind a dumpster, not too far away from the building themselves.

"Alright. But remember, our only task right now is to locate and mark as many access points as possible. No one goes in until we've re-grouped and chosen our entrance together." Leonardo orders. "You got that!?"

Everyone acknowledges.

"Okay. Let's go." Leonardo nods.

Himself and Donatello, who holds their motion tracker, begin to make their way a little closer to the building in order to circle it from the surrounding roof tops.

Raphael and Mona, who currently holds their motion tracker, spot an obvious "front door" way of access straight away, and leave a marker on the wall of a building as close to it as possible, before making their own way around the building on street level, but without getting too close to be seen by anyone. The marker, another of Donatello's workings, sends a signal to all the motion trackers, allowing everyone to find this point.

Michelangelo, who is back in possession of their motion tracker, and Nicolosa, make their way down the sewer. There are currently no changes in direction, so they only way they can go; is forwards. Boring.

"This sucks." Nicolosa pouts.

"You can say that again." Michelangelo agrees.

"This sucks!" Nicolosa repeats.

"For crap sake." Raphael groans down the headset. "Just get on with it."

"How are we supposed to find anything down here?" Michelangelo asks. "This tunnel is just getting darker and darker."

"Use the flashlight, shell for brains." Raphael replies.

"That's not the point." Michelangelo clips the motion tracker to his belt inplace of the flashlight, and Nicolosa also uses her flashlight too. "How are we gonna find a way into that building from here? We're not close enough."

"That's the point." Mona comments.

"Come again?" Michelangelo and Nicolosa ask in unison.

"You're safer this way." Mona replies.

"What are you saying?" Leonardo asks.

"There isn't a way in from the sewer." Mona admits.

"You sent them on a wild goose chase!?" Raphael growls.

"I didn't want her to get hurt!" Mona argues. "That's why I suggested she go down there!"

"They could be helping us!" Leonardo points out.

"Wait a second." Raphael says, almost ready to explode. "You were making this mission sound like a big deal."

"It is." Mona nods.

"Like we could be ambushed at any time." He continues.

"We could." She nods.

"Like we'd need all the help we could get." He continues again.

"We do." She nods.

Raphael glares at Mona, waiting for her to say something. Anything. Something that could convince him that sending two of their team members on an impossible mission was, infact, a good idea. But Mona says nothing, she just looks right back at him as if to say "what?", in a clueless kind of way.

"Do you not get what I'm saying to you!?" He says through gritted teeth.

"I do." She replies, and there's a pause. "But that's not the point--"

"Arrrr! Arrrr-rrr-rrrrr!!" Raphael growls, trying not to yell obsanities at Mona. "WOMEN!"

"Heeey!" Nicolosa pouts.

"You don't count." Raphael replies, meaning it in a complimentative way.

"Alright. Enough." Leonardo finally speaks-up again. "Mike, Nik, I've got a new mission for you. Find and mark all the manhole covers around the building. We may need them depending on which exit we end-up using."

"So, this is important, right?" Michelangelo asks.

"Very." Leonardo answers.

Michelangelo and Nicolosa give eachother a high-five.

"Listen, it's no good if they're too far away from the building for us to use in a hurry. You'll have to lift the covers to check if they're close enough." Leonardo cautions.

"Hey, don't worry." Michelangelo smiles.

"Yeah!" Nicolosa smiles too. "We're ninja!"

"Well, you're only a little ninja." Michelangelo jokes, comparing their heights.

"Just becareful, you two." Leonardo laughs a little. "Alright, let's get on with this."

"Michelangelo." Mona's voice comes across the headsets as everyone starts to move on again.

"Yeah?" Michelangelo pauses.

"Look after her... okay?" She asks.

"I intend to." He answers, looking over at Nicolosa a little ways ahead of him now, looking right back at him.

"I can take care of myself, you know." Nicolosa smiles as Michelangelo catches-up with her again.

"I know." He replies. "But now you have me as your ace bodyguard! I'll protect you from those deadly ninja Foot dudes!"

"Ooh, my hero." Nicolosa jokes as they continue on their way.

"You won't be saying it like that when I rescue you." He says.

"Rescue me?"

"Yep."

"Pfft. Like I'm gonna get caught."

"Oh, you will. You're not as ninja as me." Michelangelo teases.

Listening to Michelangelo and Nicolosa over the headset, Mona gets more of an idea towards what Donatello had mentioned to her before about the little complication.

"Guys, there's not much up here at all in the way of access into the building." Donatello's voice comes through the headsets. "We've been marking the fire escapes incase we need them."

After a while, the teams finally seem to be finishing their rounds...

"Raph, how are you getting on?" Leonardo asks.

"It looks like we're almost done here." Raphael answers.

"Mike, how about you?" Leonardo checks.

"I think these might be the last two." Michelangelo answers as he attaches the tracker to the manhole cover. "You still with me, Nik?" He asks, double-checking he can see her on the motion tracker.

"Yep, yep." Nicolosa replies as she does the same to one a little further down the tunnel. "I'll be with you in a second."

"Okay. Everyone meet back at the van." Leonardo tells them.

Nicolosa, flashlight still in hand, climbs down from the ladder that lead upto the manhole cover she just marked. As she takes a few steps in Michelangelo's direction, she hears something and pauses. She shines her flashlight behind and infront of her, but doesn't see anything. She waits a moment, but doesn't hear anything else, so she continues on her way.

But she hears it again. Clearer this time as it echoes a little louder, but then stops. Someone coming towards her maybe, but it sounded like it came from the ceiling, rather than the floor. And it seemed to come from behind. But the echoes could've just made it sound that way. It must just be Michelangelo heading towards her... right?

"Mike?" She calls, shining the flashlight out infront of her as she looks for him.

"Yeah?" He answers over the headset.

"Where are you?"

"Waiting for you."

There's a pause, and Michelangelo starts to worry. He asks, looks down the tunnel in the direction she's meant to be coming from, and checks the motion tracker for her. He doesn't see her coming towards him. Infact, he doesn't see her moving at all. She's just stood there.

"What's wrong?" He asks, starting to walk in her direction.

"N-nothing." Nicolosa answers, convinced it's her over-active imagination playing tricks on her.

"What's going on down there?" Mona asks via the headset.

"Nothing. I'm fine." Nicolosa replies, continuing on her way towards Michelangelo again.

"I'm coming to get you." Michelangelo says as he isn't convinced, he continues on his way towards her too.

Suddenly, he hears a scuffle, and Nicolosa's muffles, before hearing a hard tap through his headset.

"Nik!?" He calls.

No answer.

"Nikki!?" He calls louder, as he increases his pace, now running as fast as he can down the tunnel.

"What's going on?" Mona's voice comes through the headset, sounding worried as she, and everyone else, heard the noises from Nicolosa's headset also.

The others begin to make their way towards Michelangelo, following his signal on their motion trackers.

"Mike, what's happening?" Leonardo asks through the headset too.

"I don't know! I don't know!" Michelangelo replies in a panic.

Michelangelo slows his pace as he see Nicolosa's headset laying on the ground. He comes to a stop, and kneels down to pick it up, his facial expression becoming one of distraught as he comes to realise what he had been fearing since he'd heard her muffles...

"She's gone..."

Title: New Beginnings
Fandom: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2007)

Chapter: Thirtythree
Subtitle: The Unknown


It doesn't take the others long to reach Michelangelo, as they were close by in the first place, and they spot him just a little further down the sewer tunnel. But Michelangelo isn't going to hang around. He grows a look of anger and determination on his face, before running off in the only direction Nicolosa could have been taken in.

"Mike!!!" Raphael calls as he sees his brother head off away from them.

"We gotta stop him!" Leonardo calls to the others.

"Mikey, wait!" Donatello calls as they all rush to catch him.

Unfortunately for Michelangelo, it isn't long before he's faced with a junction and he comes to a skidding halt as he tries to gamble which direction to take. As a result, he's quickly jumped by Raphael, who grabs his arms to keep him still for a moment.

"Raph!" He protests, struggling to get away. "Get off me!"

Michelangelo thrashes about until he gets free, but by this time, the others are standing around him, keeping him from dashing off anywhere.

"What are you doing!? We gotta get after her!" Michelangelo insists.

"Just calm down." Leonardo tells his little brother. "We need a plan."

"We don't have time for this!" Raphael says.

"He's right." Mona agrees. "We have to hurry!"

"So let's plan on-the-go." Donatello suggests as he leads the way, showing everyone Nicolosa's marking on his motion tracker. "We can follow her with this."

"Alright. Let's go." Leonardo nods.

Up on street level, Nicolosa is being taken towards the building. A large lizard-like creature has hold of her. One arm wrapped around her middle, holding her up so her feet can't touch the ground, whilst he holds his other hand over her mouth, preventing her from calling-out to anyone. Nicolosa kicks her feet out and tries to shuffle herself loose, making the leftover markers in her pouch rattle.

"Hey, what's this?" The beast asks as he lets go of her middle to grab the pouch from her belt. "Breadcrumbs, huh? How stupid do you think I am!?" He growls as he throws the pouch to floor and proceeds to stamp on it, trying to break the devices inside.

Nicolosa manages to break free as the beast's concentration shifts from holding her tightly, to grinding his foot down on the pouch. But she doesn't get very far as he lunges forward almost immediately and grabs one of her wrists. He pulls her closer to him again, and she takes a swing for him with her free fist. But he stops her, grabbing her fist before it can connect with his face. As he grins a cocky grin, she swings her legs up and plants her feet on his front, pushing against him, trying to free herself from his grip.

"Let me go!" She says, before biting one of his hands as hard as she can, causing him to flinch and let go.

But he only lets go of the one hand. He still holds her wrist in his other.

"That was a mistake." He growls through gritted teeth, before using his free fist to strike her torso, winding her, and then proceeding to land a blow to her head, knocking her out.

Meanwhile, down in the sewer, Donatello pauses as he notices Nicolosa's signal moving away from a newly activated marker signal.

"What is it, Don?" Leonardo asks.

"I think she's leaving us a trail to follow." Donatello answers, but then has doubts when he doesn't see anymore markers being left. "We should keep going."

As they continue along their way, Raphael feels the need to point out something he'd noticed...

"Does this feel too easy to anyone else?" He asks.

"Hm, I know what you mean." Leonardo agrees.

"We've been all around that building and didn't see a single guard." Raphael notes.

"Well, that building does look like any other building, so having a bunch of Foot Ninja at the doors just might draw some unwanted attention, don't you think!?" Donatello points out.

"Agreed." Leonardo nods.

"Well, if you ask me--" Raphael begins.

"Wait." Donatello says, coming to a halt. "Her signal's gone."

"What?" Mona asks, taking a look. "Is she out of range?"

"No, I don't think it's that." Donatello thinks for a moment.

"Wha... what's happened to her?" Michelangelo asks, almost going out of his mind with worry now.

"Don't worry, Mike. I'm sure it's just some kind of interference from inside the building... or possibly the structure itself." Donatello wonders.

"This whole thing stinks!" Raphael groans.

"Don't start, Raph." Leonardo warns.

"C'mon, Leo. Don't tell me the idea hasn't crossed your mind!" Raphael continues.

"What idea?" Mona asks.

"Raph!" Leonardo warns again.

"This all seems highly suspect. There wasn't a single guard around, but Nik was snatched from the one place she wasn't even meant to be! The place you sent her!" He says, glaring at Mona.

"What? What are you saying!?" Mona frowns.

"I'm saying that it was a pretty lucky coincidence for them that Nik just happened to be down in the sewer at a time when their only guard, or whatever, just happened to be there too. And you were the one who made sure she was down here, even when there was no need for it. And you very cleverly failed to discuss it with any of us. You sent her into a trap! And now she's the bait for our own trap!" Raphael growls.

"You think I'm working for them!? You think I'd put her in danger on purpose!?" Mona replies, shocked and angry. "Fine! Forget this! Forget you! If you think I'm leading you into some sort of trap then why don't you just leave!?" She says, squaring-up to Raphael. "I'm going in there to get my sister back. You guys can do whatever you want. I don't give a damn!"

"Oh, nice try." Raphael replies. "But you know we can't just leave, because Mike--"

"Hey... where is Mike?" Donatello asks, looking around and noticing that Michelangelo is actually missing now.

Inside the building itself, Nicolosa has been thrown in a cell. The cell has a glass door, and is pull of padding, and has a small bed connected to it's back wall. Nicolosa lays unconscious on her front, on the floor of the cell. The whole room is full of these cells. Each cell, and the room itself is extremely clean. All the other cells are empty. Apart from Nicolosa, the entire room is empty.

In another room, an equally clean room, like a science lab, with many such tools laying around the table tops. The lizard beast waits stands beside a human figure. The human studies a monitor. A monitor displaying a live feed from inside the other room. And guarding the now closed door which leads to the other room, is a heavily armed rhino-like creature.

"Are they here?" The human asks, not taking his eyes off the screen.

"She was calling to someone before I grabbed her, but I didn't actually see them." The lizard answers.

"This could be problematic." The human sighs.

From a door located on the opposite side of the room, a tall crocodile-like creature enters.

"Dead, is she?" The human frowns at the crocodile beast as he points to the monitor.

"She should be." The creature responds, displeased himself.

"How is this even possible? She's the most sensitive subject to the drug mix I gave you." The human continues. "Hence why I allowed it to be used as a weapon against her last time."

"Then it's your own fault." The creature lazily argues. "You didn't make it strong enough."

"What!?" The human yells. "My fault!?"

As the human continues to yell at the mutant crocodile, another mutant, another lizard-like creature enters the room, seemingly un-noticed. He's smaller and sleeker than the bigger lizard beast, and he wears a backwards black baseball cap, and purple knee-length shorts. As he walks towards the others, he catches a glance of the monitor, and the cell being occupied, and takes a closer look.

"Nessie!?" He gasps in as his eyes grow wide.

"What do you want, Mondo?" The larger reptile demands, stepping infront of him.

"I want you to get outta my face." The smaller reptile answers back, then turning to the human. "You wanted me, doc?"

"Yes." The human says as he approaches Mondo, drawing his attentions to the monitor once again. "You've obviously noticed your friend--"

"Why is she just laying there...?" Mondo asks, cutting the human short of finishing his sentence. "Why is she even in that room? What happened to her? You said--"

"Just hold your questions for a moment and I'll try to explain." The human begins. "As you know, she was taken from us and brainwashed by the Turtle Gang. However, it seems they have no further use for her and she was found by the river. We don't know yet how long she's been out there or exactly what has happened to her. That's where you come in." He turns to a concerned looking Mondo.

"What can I do?" He asks.

"We're keeping her in there as we don't know how she'll react when she wakes up. It's also a quite place where she can get her bearings and feel safe. But it would be good for to see a friendly face when she comes to. And, even if she's not sure who she can trust anymore, I’m sure she will feel that she can trust. You were one of her best friends before she was taken from us, afterall." He explains. "We need to know where the Turtles are, and what they're planning. We need to know what she knows."

"Gee, doc... I do wanna talk to her, but I don't wanna interrogate her." Mondo hesitates.

"Who said anything about interrogation?" The human says, slyly. "I'm sure you want to know where the villains are that did this to her. Who knows what horrors she's been through. What torture they bestowed upon her if she wasn't co-operating. What countless, unimaginable things they could have done to her before leaving her for dead at the riv--"

"Enough!" Mondo demands. "Let me in."

"Of course." The human smiles. "You should be aware that she may not recognise you at first. She may be confused about alot of things, so you'll have to be patient with her and talk her round. Who knows what nonsense they've filled her head with."

"Alright." He nods.

"The rest of you; we have work to do." He says as he urges the other mutants to leave with him and they exit the room.

"Do you really think that's a good idea?" The large lizard asks.

"It's perfect." The human answers as they walk down a corridor. "Mondo should be able to gain her trust and bring her back to our side. And in so doing, he'll be able to get information on the Turtles' whereabouts so we can prepare an ambush. And then it's just a case of turning them to our side, or disposing of them."

"You're forgetting that she'll tell him the truth about how she really got here." The lizard points out.

"No, no. I convinced Mondo a long time ago that she was brainwashed by our enemy. Mondo's never felt like he's fit-in here, and she was a friend to him from the beginning. So you can imagine his determination to help 'save' her from the Turtles. And now, he'll want revenge for what 'they've' done to her. He won't want to believe the Turtles are anything but evil." The human grins. "However, I am prepared for the worst case scenario, and they can both be dealt with if need be."

Title: New Beginnings
Fandom: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2007)

Chapter: Thirtyfour
Subtitle: Truths And Lies


"I'm tellin' you; this is a trap." Raphael comments as he looks out from under the half-open manhole cover, over at the building. "It's clear. There's no one around. It's a straight and easy run from here to the door, or here to the fire escape. This is a complete joke!"

"You're over-looking the possibility of hidden defences." Donatello replies.

"In any case, this isn't good." Leonardo worries. "We shouldn't be split-up like this. Not when we can't communicate with eachother."

"I'm sorry." Mona says quietly. "Raphael's right. This whole thing is my fault. They wouldn't have been down here if it wasn't for me... I just wanted her to be safe... she's always been into this 'hero' stuff... living too carefree... too dangerous for my liking... I always try to protect her, but somehow, she always finds a way around me... like when she first started sneaking out to that club--"

"That's it!" Raphael interrupts, having an idea. "Mona, this place is full of mutants, right?"

"Y-yes, but--"

"Any turtles?" He asks.

"Of course. But I don't se--"

"Take off your bandanas." He tells his brothers, and then looks at Mona again. "And take off your scarf. And that wig."

"What!? No way!" She refuses.

"Just do it! This is the only way we're gonna be able to walk around in there." Raphael explains. "In passing we'll look just like any other mutant turtle..." He pauses. "Now there's a sentence I never thought I'd say..."

"What if we get caught in a crowd?" Leonardo asks. "We can recognise eachother by face alone, but Mona probably won't be able to tell the difference between us and the others."

"Hmm, that isn't too hard. You could just tie your bandanas to your belts. They wouldn’t be too noticeable to others, but as long as I know where to look, then I should be okay." Mona says. "And I'll probably be able to see your weapons anyway."

"And what about our weapons?" Donatello asks as he removes his bandana. "You might be able to hide your's, but our's are too big and we can't chance going in without them."

"I wouldn't worry too much about that. Alot of the others carry weapons around with them anyway." Mona says, then looking at Raphael, wondering what gave him the idea in the first place. "How?"

"Easy. Mike and Nik did the same thing when they snuck off to that club." He answers.

Mona realizes that it must've been her that reminded him, and she smiles, happy that she managed to help at last.

Already inside, Michelangelo is trying to find his way through the air ducts. But it isn't easy when some places are just too small for him to fit through, and so he has very little choice in which directions he can go in.

Remembering he's still in possession of one of the motion trackers, he takes another look at it, hoping it'll work again now he's inside the building. But he gets nothing, no reading at all. He switches it off and on again, and gives it a shake just to be sure. But still nothing...

In the lower part of the building, Nicolosa still lays unconscious, with Mondo sitting, waiting, outside her cell. Mondo's mind wanders, back to less complicated and easier times. When he and his mutant friends, Nicolosa and Mona included, had little more to worry about than their training. But he's soon brought back from his memories as Nicolosa begins to come-to.

Her eyes open slowly, and she groans as she pushes herself up into a sitting position with one arm, and holds her head with the other. Her groan ends in coughing, and she holds her ribs suddenly as the pain begins to remind her of what recently happened.

"Are you alright?" Mondo asks, catching her attention.

She looks at him with confused eyes. She knows his face from somewhere. Obviously someone from her forgotten past. It's only then that she realises where she actually is, and she jumps up quickly, placing her hands against the clear wall that separates her from Mondo in a panic. This is defiantly somewhere she's been before, and she doesn't like it.

"Hey, hey, calm down." Mondo gets up and stands infront of her. "You're safe now."

"Safe?" She asks.

"That's right." He nods. "You're home."

"This isn't my home..." She replies with a sad tone, worried she'll never see her home or her friends again.

"What are you talking about?" Mondo asks. "This has always been your home. Don't you remember?" Mondo asks remembering what the human had mentioned about her possible memory loss. "Do you remember anything?"

"It's true I don't remember alot from my past... but I know enough to know I've gotta get outta here." Nicolosa replies, looking at around for a way out of the cell.

Meanwhile, wandering through the corridors, Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Mona are trying to look as casual as possible. But, knowing that Michelangelo is missing, Nicolosa is being held captive, and they themselves are probably being scouted for... looking calm isn't particularly easy.

"The motion tracker still isn't working." Donatello says quietly as he takes a quick glance at it, still attached to his belt.

"So how are we supposed to find them?" Raphael groans.

"The lower levels." Mona says. "That's where Nik will have been taken, and that's where you'll find all the information you'll need about what they're planning."

"Good. I'll check their computers and download as much information as I can." Donatello explains. "But the problem then will be finding Michelangelo."

"That idiot'll probably just end-up getting himself caught." Raphael suggests.

"Raph!" Leonardo scolds.

"What? With any luck they'll take him to the same place Nik is - which'll save us the trouble of looking for him." Raphael points out. "Hell, he's probably been caught already."

Though Raphael is wrong, and Michelangelo hasn't been captured, not yet anyway... he is lost, and getting frustrated with crawling around tunnels that seem to lead nowhere - especially when he's in a situation where every second counts considering that last time these guys had gotten near Nicolosa, she was very almost killed!

"This is stupid." He groans to himself, and sets-off to find the next grid so he can bust out of the tunnel.

Back in her cell, Nicolosa has been explaining things to Mondo, who can't believe what he's hearing, and it's not easy when everything you've ever known turns-out to be a lie...

"Are you sure about all this?" Mondo asks, not knowing what to believe anymore.

"Mondo..." Nicolosa sighs sympathetically. "It doesn't matter how many times you ask me that... the answer'll never change."

"But... then what have I been doing all this time? What side have I been on all these years..." He questions, then becoming angry as he thinks about it more. "Bastards!" He growls, punching the wall before heading towards the door that leads back into the lab.

"Mondo, wait!" Nicolosa calls, worried he'll get himself killed if he goes up against them on his own.

But it's no use. Mondo leaves the room, slamming the door behind him, and leaving Nicolosa behind, still trapped in the cell.

However, all is not as simple as it seems. Mondo plans to help Nicolosa escape, but that won't be easy as he doesn't know the code to open the cell door. As he re-enters the lab, he glances over to the monitor which feeds from the camera in the other room. Without a word, he switches off the monitor, unintentionally grabbing the attention of the rhino-like creature, the only mutant not to have left with the others earlier as his job was always to guard the lab.

"Hey, what d'ya think you're doin'!?" He growls, approaching Mondo.

"Making sure those Turtles don't find her." He answers. "They're in the building looking for her, and we need to get going and look for them too!"

Though Nicolosa hadn't actually told Mondo that the others would be looking for her, it was the only thing he could think of that would get the rhino out of the room so that he could try and think of some way of getting her out of the cell without being noticed.

"I got orders to stay here." The rhino replies.

"We're under attack, you idiot!" Mondo yells in an attempt to make the situation sound more serious. "Priority goes to protecting the building and those inside! We need to go! NOW!"

"Alright!" The rhino grunts, following Mondo out of the lab.

"Head to street level. I'll join you shortly. I have to alert the others first." Mondo says.

The rhino leaves, making Mondo's plan, to get him away from the lab, a success. But he could be rumbled at any moment - time to get back to work and break Nicolosa out of the cell. But just as Mondo turns around to head back to the lab, he gets a sudden heavy bash to the top of his head, knocking him out. Almost instantly, there's the sound of metal clanking on the ground. And, looking out of the gap where the grid had been in the air duct above... is Michelangelo.

"Oops."