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CHAPTER EIGHT
F U L L  C I R C L E
THE REUNION
 

 

SEPTEMBER 3RD, 2045  MANHATTAN, NEW YORK

Michaelangelo took in a deep breath, allowing the cold, smoggy New York air to fill his lungs with a familiar security. "Ahhh!" he sighed, as he pushed it out from his chest again. "New York." It had been a long time since he had last stepped foot in this city or had walked these busy streets under the protection of the shadows. As he gazed around at the busy shops and crowded neighborhoods, he realized how much he missed his home. This city held a lot of memories for him. He thought back to a time long ago when he and his brothers had first ventured above. His brothers. How he’d missed them all these years. Master Splinter. A tear came to his eye as he stood in silent mourning for his sensei.

Why did he have to die? And why like that? Why did things have to fall apart?

An aircar whizzed past, rustling the trash that lay in the street and waking Mike from his thoughts. A light breeze began to blow. He pulled the coat up a little snugger around his neck, moving carefully forward, sticking to the shadows. Even after all this time, with all the modern technological advances, he still couldn’t expose himself to the world. He figured there were some things that people would just never understand.

He was surprised at how much he remembered about this place, even though it had changed so drastically. Many of the old brick buildings had been replaced with new cyber cafes and virtual reality museums made out of space aged plastics. His memory served him well, however, and at last he came to the spot where his nightmares had begun over fifty years ago. He gazed at the empty concrete lot where the "Second Time Around Shop" used to stand. He knew this was the place. He could almost feel the heat of the fire and see the evil face of the Shredder, grimacing under the metal mask. He closed his eyes for a moment as a wave of memories flooded his mind. April. He hadn’t seen her in years.

He rushed down the alleyway and slid the manhole cover back, taking a moment to glance behind him, making sure he was not seen before quickly and easily lowering himself inside. He hadn’t been in a sewer in a few years, but the smell and darkness were still familiar to him. These sewers were as he remembered them; even the pipes and soft trickles of water were in their place. As he hurried through the tunnels, a wave of memories washed over him, almost knocking him off his feet. So many happy times with his family; his brothers, Splinter, and Casey and April. And Shadow.

A great sorrow spread over him, then slowly faded into a smile. He was here again, back home where he belonged. He didn’t know if he would be able to find his brothers, but he knew that something had drawn him here, and he needed this now more than ever.

"Mew!" a small sound escaped from behind Mike’s jacket, muffled by the thick material.

"Klunk," he said quietly, opening the coat to set the cat free. He had almost forgotten about him. "Sorry about that, buddy."

The cat stood silently for a moment, his ears perked, his tail upright, wiggling back and forth slightly as he concentrated on a sound in the distance. A moment later he took off running down the tunnels at high speed.

"Hey, wait!" Mike ran after him, the water splashing up around his ankles. Where did he go? What is he chasing after? Suddenly he stopped dead in his tracks, a nervous tingle running up his spine as he watched a shadowy figure stoop down to pick up Klunk.

"Well, what do we have here?" he heard the voice ask quietly. He gazed hard at the figure for a moment, a trickle of light from the grating above providing his only source of visibility. The figure turned suddenly to face him. Michaelangelo thought about ducking from sight, but it was too late. He stood silently for a moment assessing the shadow’s intentions. The figure was unmoving in the darkness. Finally it took a step toward him, the light gleaming on metal. Mike’s eyes widened as he gaped into the darkness.

"Leo?" he whispered.

The sun slowly sunk behind the towering buildings of New York City. A few of the streetlights flickered on as the shadows of dusk ripened. The elderly couple climbed out of the floating taxi. They returned from seeing their son’s family off at the airport. Casey took April by the arm and began their climb up stairs to the entrance of their apartment building.

A deep voice behind them beckoned, "Excuse me… excuse—"

Casey stopped on the stairs to look back. There stood a short character, in a long cape-like coat with a hood. He grew wary, giving April a worried look. It could be a mugger, with an outfit like that.

"Would you be Casey and April Jones?" the cloaked figure queried. He came no further once he had the couple’s attention.

The two remained silent. Only April nodded slightly. There was something about his voice that sounded so familiar. Someone from the past… could it be?

The figure spoke again. "I don’t know if you remember—" His voice drifted off when April rose her hand to her mouth in awe. She must have caught sight of his reptilian face.

April looked back to Casey, a reassuring look in her eyes. "It’s okay… an old friend."

Casey furrowed his brow, creating more wrinkles to form on his forehead. He shook his head in silence.

"Donatello?" April whispered, slowly stepping down a stair-step. She recalled the E-mail she had gotten from Don Tello a few weeks ago. It was a very pleasant surprise indeed to see. But, not sure to believe it fully, April didn’t tell Casey about him. She felt a little guilty now that she had not.

He shook his head, lifting back the hood a bit. "Leonardo."

April gasped slightly. Her eyes quickly studied his face. Age had also taken its toll on Leo, too. More wrinkles around his eyes and his face over all made him look like an old wise Turtle. His hands looked more leathery and wrinkled as well.

Leo dropped his hood back over his brow with a sigh. "It is I, alive and well." Another, dressed in a long coat and ball cap, silently joined him. "And so is Mike."

April rubbed her forehead in thought. This is amazing! Casey went down the stairs to be on the same ground with the two Turtles. He was tongue tied for a moment, trying to think of something to say. "Welcome back." His voice sounded gruff, but the feeling of acceptance was there. So those rumors of a turtle with swords in Chinatown were true.

Many sorts of questions started to fill April’s head for the two, but the best one she could ask was "How are you?" So much time had passed since they were apart. It felt like they were meeting each other for the first time again.

Michaelangelo shrugged, his tired voice telling her he was fine. April continued to study his face a moment longer. His features appeared far more somber from what she remembered. Like his spirit was broken… April turned her eyes to her ground, then brought them up to meet Leo’s eyes. He looked like there was something he had to tell them now.

Mike slung his backpack around to set on the ground in front of him. "All right… all right, you can meet April, too," he spoke to the pack, before lifting his cat from it.

The Turtle looked up, a smile now coming across his face. Then April saw some of the mischievous spunk return to Mike’s eyes. "Meet Klunk, a second generation clone of Klunk."

April couldn’t resist the temptation to return his smile. Casey groaned in response to Klunk’s introduction. April reached out to scratch the gray tomcat behind his ears.

Leonardo rubbed his hands, and politely cleared his throat to get their attention again. "Did you speak with Don, then?"

April nodded. "I did, but…" she looked over to Casey with some shame. "I didn’t mention it to you, dear. I’m sorry."

"How long ago?" Casey asked her.

"I received an E-mail in the middle of August. It seemed too good to be true."

Leo held his hand out to Casey, silently offering a quick explanation. "We… Don, Mike and I, decided to recollect and repair a few things. This emptiness we split up over has gone on too long. So, Don and I planned on having a much needed family reunion… before it’s too late." Leo fell silent.

Casey made eye contact with Leo, as he pieced together the information. He turned back to April, holding her hand as a couple questions played at the tip of his tongue.

"Can you be a part?" Mike asked the couple. "You were and still are like family to us."

"Don made contact with Maria, too," Leo finally decided to tell Casey.

Casey stared out into the street, the name not registering right away.

"Shadow…" Leo helped him. "She’s going to come as well."

Casey turned his head to Leo with mixed feelings. He had trouble finding the right words again.

"That sounds wonderful," April spoke for him. But an awkward tension still remained. They all knew what it was, and left it unspoken. It didn’t sound as if they knew about Raphael and his whereabouts yet.

"When will this be?" Casey asked the two Turtles.

"When all of us come back to New York City. That time will come soon." Leo nodded.

April looked to Casey, her expression asking him if it was possible. Casey nodded to the others. "Yes… yes, we will come to the reunion."

As Maria reached the corner of 57th and Pike, the very un-summer-like downpour of rain dwindled and stopped, as if the weather itself knew of the event to come.

There, before the local Post Office, was the manhole. It was open a crack, as she had been told it would, and plumes of steam were seeping out into the chilly air.

Just like Don said.

The E-mail had awakened a part of her she had lost touch with ages ago. As Donatello sent his greetings and news of the reunion, she had felt the child within her reawaken.

A child born in innocence in a city of deceit. A child that had once considered four mutant ninja turtles family. A child named Shadow.

Maria shook off some of the rain and pulled her trenchcoat closer together, trying to hide her face behind her collar. She considered herself shameless, and it was New York, but she couldn’t help but be afraid of what passer-bys might say or think of a woman climbing down into a sewer.

She walked up to the rim of the manhole, gazing down into the crack but seeing only blackness. Biting her lip, she glanced around, nervously running her eyes over the steady flow of pedestrians.

To hell with it, she told herself. I have to do this.

Kneeling down and pushing the cover aside the rest of the way, Maria began her descent into the sewer.

The darkness wasn’t so bad once she started climbing. When she reached the bottom, one of the dim sewer maintenance lights provided her with enough illumination to get her bearings.

"You came."

Maria whirled around to see Leonardo. Michaelangelo was right beside him, a cat rubbing against his leg. The two of them were dressed differently, but neither looked like they had aged more than a decade since she had seen them last.

The words she next spoke came almost naturally. "Uncle Leo… Uncle Mikey…"

Leo smiled, if solemnly. He almost looked like he was hiding something. "I think there are two people here who want to see you," Leo spoke. As he and Mike stepped aside to make way, another two figures became visible under the dim sewer light.

April and Casey. Her parents.

Shadow stood back in shock, her knees trembling. Nothing could have prepared her for this. When Don had said a reunion, she expected the Turtles, but…

There were tears in her elderly mother’s eyes. "Oh, Shadow…"

Even Casey’s iron composure wavered as his gaze settled on Maria. She could see tears forming in his eyes as well. "My baby girl."

Part of her wanted to run, part of her was furious, and another part of her wanted to beg forgiveness. But the sight of her parents crying was too much for her bear. "Mom, Dad…"

As Leonardo and Michaelangelo smiled and looked on, Maria embraced her parents.

"Wait, did you hear something?"

He could hear their whispering voices echoing down the corridor. Just a little further…

Mike stopped his anxious chit-chat with Maria and stared up at Leonardo. Even after all these years, he could still see that spark of energy in his brother, that special awareness and discipline that made him a true leader.

The room grew silent and everyone exchanged curious glances as Leo slowly stood and silently made his way toward the entrance. Like second nature, his hand reached back toward his shell, to grasp the hilt of his katana.

The two dark figures approached. Leo had a hard time making out their appearance in the dim light of the sewers, but as they came near, he could tell they stood a good six inches above him and his brothers. The long trenchcoats with the collars pulled up high on their necks reminded him of the old days when he and his family would travel to the world above. Back then, they had been a true team.

The figure on the left pulled off his hat and tossed it to the ground, revealing a crown of shocking red hair. His pale skin and bright green eyes held Leo’s attention, and he stood speechless for a moment.

"Who are you?" His deep voice echoed throughout the tunnels, beckoning the others to join him. They stopped in their tracks as they noticed the two strangers.

The figure’s eyes seemed to settle on the other Turtle for a moment. Michaelangelo gulped and returned the stare. Had he met this guy before? It sure was no one he recognized.

"Leo, it’s me… Don."

Leo’s eyes narrowed in disbelief as he stared at the stranger. "You’re not my brother. Donatello ne—"

The man began to laugh as he reached into his pocket to pull out a small remote control device. On instinct, Leo lifted the sword, readying himself for whatever was to come. Mike spread out his arms, as if to shelter April and Maria from injury.

The man pressed a button on the controller and something strange began to happen. The group gaped in awe as slowly, the man began to disintegrate before their eyes.

"Holy shit!" Casey gasped.

The figure became almost transparent before disappearing into nothing. Leo took a step forward, reaching out his hand to touch the empty air where the jacket continued to float, but just as his hand made contact, a sudden flicker made him withdraw it once again. Another body, transparent as well, began to appear in the first one’s place.

"Donatello?" Leonardo stared in shock as the figure of his brother slowly came into being, the oversized jacket hanging clumsily from his shoulders.

The Turtle smiled at them. "Cool, huh?"

"Donny… how’d you do that?" Mike’s eyes were as big as plates.

"Don… is… is that really you?" Leo was skeptical. He reached out a hand and laid it on Don’s shoulder, to be sure he wasn’t just an illusion.

"Of course it’s me, silly."

"But how…?"

"Hologram." Don smiled at his own ingenuity. "It’s an old concept, actually. I use these now whenever I venture out into public. Saves a lot of confusion that way. Not to mention, a lot of business!"

"And who’s that?" Mike pointed to the other figure who had remained silent the whole time.

"Ahhh, sorry. This is Melina."

The lady stepped forward and pulled down the hood to reveal her shoulder length black hair, and light blue eyes. The others stared at her for a moment before Don continued.

"Melina is my wife."

"Your… wife?" Casey could hardly believe that Donatello had found such a good looking woman to marry.

"Way to go," Maria piped.

"Melina, these are my brothers Leo and Mike, and my friends, Casey, April, and Shadow."

Melina shook each hand in turn as the group continued to stare in disbelief.

"So, is she… a hologram, too?" Leo wondered. "You told me you had a wife on the phone, but…"

"Naw." Don and Melina exchanged quick smiles.

"This is how I really look," Melina took over for him. "I used to work for Don. We met face to face at a company promotion. But when I first saw him, he looked as you saw him a few minutes ago. I didn’t know he was really a mutant until much later… after I had already fallen for the guy."

"Yeah," Don continued. "Very few people have actually seen me like this. This hologram sure does come in handy, though!" Don chuckled to himself and took Melina’s hand.

"Wow!" Mike stared at his brother for a long moment. "You really made something of yourself, bro!" He thought about all the time he had wasted. Now, he decided, it was time to get on with his life, maybe find something like Donatello had.

"So… what have you guys been up to?" Don smiled. It was so good to be back with his family again.

Mike went into an instant chatter about the various novels he had sold, and introduced Don and Melina to his new cat. Leo watched his brothers, and he could almost see the old spark returning to Michaelangelo. Maybe all he’d needed all these years was right here before him.

Suddenly, Don’s smile faded and he grew serious. "I couldn’t find Raph," he said quietly. "I really tried, but… there was no record of him anywhere. I fear he may be… dead."

"Dead…" Leonardo said softly, the word echoing out with the air of finality. The ultimate purpose for getting together again—was impossible.

He wandered back a bit, gaining some space to think, a bit overwhelmed and even startled at the extreme changes in everyone. Not that he’d expected it to be "like the old days," that they could all just pick up and go on. There was too much distance between them, too much of life lived. But he had hoped for a new start.

That was what Lao seemed to be telling him, seek "home": his family. And maybe with the maturity gained over the years, they could let go the old bitterness holding them trapped. Forge their bonds as friends, if not a team anymore, anew. Live up to Splinter’s dying request. Maybe it was simply a matter of showing he cared about this? What Lao meant in countering Leo’s frustrations over his failure at keeping the team together. It would happen if he cared, and spread from there.

He’d taken it as a sign how they had come back together as a shared common need: coincidental meetings and others seeking the others at the same time. To him, not coincidence, but karma and potentials. He’d seen hope in how each meeting with another meshed into place. Watched with joy the reuniting of Maria, Casey and April.

But without Raphael, there was no chance at completely healing the awful rent that had scattered them. It would hang there, unfinished business over the loss of their Master.

Leo’d finally forgiven Raph. It had taken years to truly mean it, to release the deep inner voice of "if Raph had not been so damned bullheaded…"

There were way too many "what ifs." There was only one "what happened." Raphael’s motives had not been to cause hurt and destruction to their family. If that had been Raph’s desire, then his brother would have gotten what he deserved. But Leo was sure, no matter what the mistake had been, Raph’s goal had been to save Splinter.

And to have failed in the worst way…

Leo’s adopted Chinese family had taught him much, about true compassion, about true self-less love—but the hardest was accepting things as they were. He could not go back and change the course of events that led to Raph making that ill-fated move. The reasons were complicated and tangled over personal things of who they were then too, even to just "things" between him and Raph. There was no way of knowing that "Leo’s Way" would actually have succeeded in saving their Sensei either.

They had all been doing their best for each other, no more could be asked in such a desperate situation where there wasn’t time for trying out options, or for even thinking. There was only the "doing" and "being" of the moment. Pure Zen, pure Tao…

Leo sighed, it was time to "be" in the present, and if Raph was dead, that too was nothing he could change. He would say a prayer for him later, right now it was time to rebuild lost contacts. To tell Don about Lao and his family, sure that Don would be pleased to hear how his aid to a young boy had come back around for Leo. Hopefully he could get his brother to visit Lao.

As Leo faced Don, a voice, rough with an edge of gravel, cut through all the talking, "Been a long time…"

Leo turned as everyone froze, but no ghost stood in the doorway.

It was Raphael.

Following his initial remark, uncomfortable silence hung over the eight in the sewers.

"It’s me."

He was dressed in only a tattered, soiled rag of a cloak he had draped over his shoulders and neck. His scar-ridden reptilian skin was masked only by the dirt and filth that had marred it on his long journey from New Orleans. Aside from these things, there was no mistaking that the Turtle before them was Raphael, returned from self-exile after nearly five decades.

Mike was the first to say anything. "You can’t… this can’t… we thought…"

"It’s me," Raphael repeated.

"H-how did you know…?"

"Know about what?"

"The reunion… our plans… where we would meet…"

"I… I had a feeling," Raph spoke. There was no more understandable way of conveying himself in words to the others. "And a need to set the wrong things right."

"Brother…" Leo could bear it no longer. Dropping his katana and breaking free of the others, he took two slow steps before rushing to throw his arms around his brother.

"Welcome back!" Mike chimed, giving him a smack on the shoulder.

"My brother… friend… best friend…" Raph took Mike’s hand, giving it a hearty shake before clasping it with his other. He then gave everyone a broad glance. "I have missed you all dearly."

Donatello grinned, squeezing his wife a little tighter as a tear rolled down his cheek. "It’s good to see you, Raphael."

"After all these years—decades—I never thought I would see this happen," Mike spoke, trying to hide the emotion in his voice with his usual jesterly tone. "And now it has. We’re together again. A family. There is nothing left to do."

"No," Leo rasped. "There is one more thing to do. And we, my brothers, must do it alone."

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