So I’mmina start this off by saying literally all your aus/drawing make me smile. They’re all so fascinating and sweet and so,SO well thought out! That being said, not to be that person that brings angst into a fluff buffet but... in your Movie Star Dad AU, do the boys every have mixed feelings about their father suddenly appearing in their lives after a prolonged absence? Also would Christof Von Bradford be an issue for the fam, considering his active competitive jerk energy he has with Lou?

Hi, thank you for your sweet words!!! I literally think about my rottmnt aus every waking moment, no joke, so I’m glad that you think they’re well thought out! I do my best! (also always bring angst. I always have a lot of angst in these au’s, I just also try to even it out with just as much fluff) The boys were YOUNG when Yoshi came into their lives, and each of them have their own perspectives on it, so at the time, they didn’t really have any huge negative feelings towards their situation before Yoshi found them because his absence wasn’t really,,, prolonged.

Mikey was literally a baby, barely a year old, so he doesn’t ever remember a time when Yoshi wasn’t in his life. Yoshi is the only parent Mikey really knows, and he’s completely fine with that. If Mikey has any mixed feelings, it’s towards his late mother, who he has absolutely no memories about, and only really knows her through the pictures Raph kept and the stories Raph and Yoshi would tell about her. He sometimes feels bad that he doesn’t feel as sad about her passing as Raph or Yoshi does, and he sometimes feels bad about not remembering her at all, but it’s also weird cause he knows he shouldn’t feel bad about it, cause he was too little to remember anything anyway and that’s not his fault, but the weird gross feelings in his stomach are there all the same when he thinks too hard about it. So he tries not to think about it. And just blissfully goes about his days with his doting dad and his overindulgent big brothers. 

Raph was nervous and distrustful of Yoshi at first, because of course he was. He was 4 years old, sitting in a hospital bed alone with just his tiny baby brother in his arms, nursing a concussion and ugly road rash on his arms and legs while also nursing a broken heart after just losing mama. And then suddenly this man appears, the man in the movies that mama always loved to watch, except he’s not wearing the flamboyant jumpsuit he’s always wearing, but a maroon sweatshirt and old jeans. His signature styled pompadour and orange shades replaced with a disheveled ponytail and bags like bruises under his eyes. And a lot of people come and go throughout the next couple of weeks. Doctors and therapists and child services and lawyers and all of their faces begin to blend together in a dizzying swirl and Raph has a hard time focusing on anyone who isn’t Mikey. But the man stays the same. His face stays intact, and he follows them wherever they go. And then suddenly Raph and Mikey are allowed to go home with the man, and he tells them how he’s their dad. And how he didn’t know they existed, but he’s going to make up for all the lost time tenfold. And he promises he’s gonna love them enough for both him and their mama. Which Raph doesn’t think is possible, and so he’s suspicious and untrusting at first, cause no one can love them more than their mama did. But the man tries. Boy, does he try hard anyway. Tries to win every smiling giggle Mikey shoots at him and earn Raph’s faith that he’ll be there for them. That he’ll protect them. That he’s going to love them forever. And over the weeks and months, through every tantrum and screaming fit and long sleepless nights, he proves it, little by little. He stays. And he loves them. And Raph’s faith in the man grows with every bedtime story and piggyback ride and half-cooked pancake with too much syrup, and Raph’s guard slowly goes down until it’s fully surrendered over to this man who is their dad, and it’s never raised again.  Donnie knows the routine. He’s been through it approximately 27 and a half times before, through all the foster care homes. A new family takes him in. He messes up something. The new family gives him back. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. He’s been here before. He knows this isn’t going to last long, despite all the promises the man with the thick accent says. And Donnie doesn’t really register that this man was his biological father. He doesn’t really care to, to be honest. What was the point? His own biological mother had willingly gotten rid of him, Donnie’s snuck a peek at his record, he knew it all. So what if this man was his dad. That didn’t mean anything. He was gonna get tired of Donnie the same way all the other parents did. Tired of the constant questions. Tired of the broken appliances and half baked reasons why he took them apart in the first place, because apparently “I wanted to see how they worked” wasn’t a good enough answer. And Donnie was three years old and smarter than anyone ever gave him credit for and you know what? He was tired of it too. Tired of getting his hopes of a family finally understanding and accepting him. Tired of wanting a family who would love him back. Tired of getting his heart broken time and time again. So he wasn’t going to get his heart broken this time. He wasn’t going to accept anything of this man, with two boys already that shared Donnie’s eyes, and he wasn’t going to let himself be the fool again. And as the weeks went by, this cold shoulder game he was playing was getting harder and harder to keep, because dangit, this man really did try everything to prove that he was the real deal. The forever family. And Donnie’s new ‘brothers’ were always bright-eyed and curious about everything Donnie did and said, and actually wanted to play his weird word games and puzzles and wanted to spend time with him, and Donnie felt something short circuit in his brain because he wasn’t used to this feeling in his chest. This warm and light feeling. Something must be overheating in whatever engine was running inside of Donnie’s chest, and Donnie didn’t have a clue how to fix it. He also didn’t know if he wanted to fix it. But of course, it didn’t matter anyway. Because Donnie messed up. It was bound to happen eventually, Donnie got to brazen with how comfortable he was getting in the large house, and when he was running in the hallways, chasing after Raph in an impromptu game of tag, he accidentally slipped and knocked into the t.v stand, sending it straight to the floor where it broke into a hundred different pieces of glass and tiny wired parts. Donnie was mortified, knowing this would definitely send him back, and he got on his hands and knees and tried to collect the parts and put it back together but there was no time. The man that Donnie was half tempted to call dad half the time was already in the room, searching for the source of the loud crash and when his eyes finally landed on Donnie and the broken t.v behind him, Donnie couldn’t help but burst into tears. And he tried to explain, tried to apologize and he promised he’d fix it, he promised, he’d fix it up brand new and then the man wouldn’t have to send Donnie back. He’d be good. He’d fix this. He promised. Just please don’t send him back. And Donnie didn’t see the way the man’s body flinched at Donnie’s sobbed confession, and didn’t see the man lurch from where he was standing to pick Donnie up and hold him in a tight embrace saying all kinds of things that didn’t make sense to Donnie. Because the man was supposed to be angry. Angry like all the other parents eventually were. Angry and disappointed and tired, not... well... whatever this was. Which was holding him close, and running shaking hands through his hair and rubbing circles into his back and saying “Are you ok? Did you get hurt anywhere? Did you touch the glass? Shhh, shhhh, it’s ok buddy, breathe, you’re ok. You’re not in trouble. You don’t have to fix anything. It’s just a t.v. As long as you’re unhurt, then it’s ok. You’re ok, sweetheart. I got you.” And Donnie could feel the man press kisses into Donnie’s hairline that made the 3-year-old cry even harder, and press his face farther into his dad’s shirt as he clung to him for dear life. Because it’s never been just ‘ok’ before. Never. And for the first time, Donnie was starting to learn that with this family, with this man, being ‘ok’ might just work out after all.

When Leo meets Yoshi for the first time, it’s with a heart already filled to the brim with excitement and acceptance as he fully lets him into his life. Because Leo’s 3, and doesn’t know where he came from like most of the other kids in the halfway home. All he knows is that he’s always lived in this cramped house, sharing a room with a broken AC unit with 4 other boys around his age that just loved picking on Leo because of how small he was and how his skin was two different colors. He’s used to the house, and strict rules about eating and playtime, and the mean older kids that come and go while Leo always stays. He doesn’t want to be used to it, but he is, and his lonely daydreams and nights wishing upon all the stars in the sky are filled with thoughts about a life where he gets to leave this place. Dreams about a mom and dad or even a cool uncle or caring grandparents or literally anyone, coming and rescuing him and taking him far away from this place. Dreams about finding a home, with someone there calling him theirs. Belonging to someone, and having someone belong to him too. And then on a dusty and warm afternoon, that very person showed up, and Leo smiles at him hard enough to hurt his face. And he was looking for Leo, Leo specifically, not someone around Leo’s age or who looked like Leo, but actually Leo. And the man wanted Leo. Wanted him like no one had ever wanted him before. And wanted to take him home and call Leo his forever and Leo would have thought he was still dreaming if he hadn’t kept pinching himself the entire 6-hour flight to New York. And not only did Leo get a dad, but he got 3 brothers as well! 3 brothers, who all looked different than Leo but shared his brown eyes all the same, and didn’t mind that Leo talked a lot or made a lot of jokes and didn’t bully him for being or looking ‘weird’ like the other boys he grew up with did. And even though dad says that Leo’s his, and Raph and Donnie and Mikey want to hang around and play with him, Leo still finds himself pinching himself every night just in case. Because this is almost too good to be a dream. It couldn’t be real, right? Did Leo deserve this? Was it really his to have? To call his own? Was a kid like him, who grew up with nothing, who grew up as a nothing, allowed to have everything, and be somebody worth keeping around? Leo wasn’t sure, but if this was a dream, it was the best one he’d ever had, and he hopes he doesn’t wake up from it anytime soon.

i’m having more of my tmnt au/2012 rewrite-ish thing so i’m gonna post this doodle of Karai and Leonardo bc it also summarizes one problem i have with 2012 and then the rest of my thoughts will be under keep reading

if you can’t read my handwriting/the quality of the phone picture is too bad: Karai: You ever think about how we’re in this mess just because our dads were fighting over a girl? Leonardo: ...... Y. Yeah. All the time.

yeah so obviously i don’t really like the reason for The central conflict of the series and shredder’s motivation to begin with, especially when they put in a much better reason in his backstory but still focused on “gorl didn’t like me back :(”

like really this guy devotes his life to revenge, kidnaps his niece, tries to murder several children, allies himself with colonizing aliens, and literally dooms the earth to destruction all because... he’s an incel. like i do like how crazy devoted he is to his revenge bc i love that stuff but with this it’s just kind of funny when it’s not supposed to be. so! i would change his motivation to what it should have been and is actually in the show, namely: the whole thing about the Hamato Clan taking him in as a baby after they launched a devastating assault on a Foot Clan village, where they found him.

they do add in a little bit of it but. it should’ve been his main motivation, not just an extra thing! it could’ve even made him something of a sympathetic villain! like how i would’ve done it, he finds out about his origins as being part of the Foot Clan and the fate of his home village, and is enraged that he’s been lied to his whole life. he questions the honor of the Hamato Clan since they clearly attacked civilians - this was a village, and there were clearly kids there, he wonders if he really was the only child there and how many were not given the same mercy he did - and his family were apparently killed in the attack. so he confronts his brother yoshi about it (not sure if i’d have yoshi know about it or not but his reaction remains the same). saki expresses his desire to have revenge, tear the Hamato Clan down since he doesn’t believe that it deserves to continue to exist, but that doesn’t mean yoshi has to die too, and asks yoshi to join him. of course, since saki wants to kill yoshi’s dad as revenge, yoshi refuses, the two fight, tang shen jumps between, house burns down, big ol’ domino brick effect.

i think he still has feelings for tang shen and while he’s jealous he leaves it be and remains best friends with tang shen, and her death at his hand drives him further off the edge. he takes in miwa/karai partially as a way to make it up to tang shen, though he knows it’s not enough. oh and also as a dramatic irony/more revenge against the Hamato Clan since that’s exactly what they did to him.

while he is entirely dedicated to eradicating the Hamato Clan he gets more and more obsessed with revenge as the story goes on. like i’m thinking of having leo and karai suggest a truce between the Foot and the turtles with the Kraang threat afoot and shredder actually ends up accepting bc he agrees they can’t let the Kraang win. maybe more bc he genuinely cares abt karai in his own way and wants there to be a world for her to grow up in (even though at this point she’s been trained as an assassin for her entire childhood but. well. he’s still a villain yanno. “this is how my adoptive parents treated me when i was growing up, i don’t see what the problem is.” “your parents who you hate?” “yeah. what of it.”). but then, later on, he would become entirely obsessed with revenge and not care about anything else that happens, probably after killing splinter and finding it brought him no peace or satisfaction

seriously what’s up with 2012 allying with the Kraang. how do you see that working out for you sir. sure he was expecting a betrayal but. still.

of course he takes opportunity of the truce to steal mutagen and Kraang tech while they can and makes sure to make use of the fact that the turtles can’t interfere in his business to make more weapon deals and gain more territory.

... hmm... i could... have tang shen live... potentially surviving the wound... and she and yoshi both believe that miwa perished in the fire, and they either get divorced or they both move to usa together and then yoshi gets mutated and tang shen is left alone, not knowing that her husband turned into a giant rat... i mean that’s just a potential thing. it sounds a little bit melodramatic and contrived but i think tang shen should get to survive sometimes and making splinter Epic Divorce Man would be funny. i dunno just a thought!

while we’re on the topic of Foot Clan stuff i might as well talk a little about other Foot Clan goons

bebop and rocksteady join way earlier. i care them ok. not sure if they’d still be anton zeck and steranko... idw and bay movies are peak bopsteady ok, and i like them being friends from the start! also for design changes i just don’t agree with bebop being skinny. he’s fat :)

Xever doesn’t get mutated, i like his human design more and there are, what, three major black characters in 2012 and they’re all villains and all get mutated? let xever be human!! he’d also be a bit more of a major and respected villain, a very Neutral Evil type, and makes a point to show he’s out for himself and for his own survival. if possible he’ll try to talk his way out of situations when he can and speaks in support of the truce i mentioned earlier because he’d prefer it if the earth was still inhabitable. karai proclaims that he is her favorite among her dad’s cringe henchmen but the only thing they bond over is their mutual disdain of bradford. he just thinks karai is kind of a brat, if a very skilled and dangerous brat.

while bradford/rahzar is a fairly formidable threat, there would be more emphasis on how pathetic he is. he’s chuck norris so he deserves it. also he’s like a 50 year old guy who acts so entirely devoted to shredder who’s. what. 39 years old? 40? he deserves to be dragged more

i’m thinking mr baxter stockman wouldn’t be mutated either, i like his human design a lot too. he would also be much less of a loser in this rewrite since bradford would take that role. instead, he’s just... an absurdly normal genius scientist/engineering guy who happens to be part of a really evil crime organization full of evil ninjas. he’s polite and eccentric, happy to have someone who finally funds his many inventions and experiments, even if that someone happens to be someone literally called The Shredder. however, while he is a nice man, he is rather impatient when people rush him with inventions. whenever shredder tries his usual “if you fail there will be consequences” it just doesn’t work bc baxter points out that failure is part of the process and that shredder absolutely needs him to make the inventions shredder wants.

karai is weirded out by baxter the most bc he just seems so normal

later on when karai goes double-agent to try and take the Foot Clan down from the inside: i trust baxter the least leo: it’s the sweater isn’t it karai: it’s just so pink, i can’t stop looking at it whenever we’re having an Evil Ninja Crime Organization meeting! do you know the tonal dissonance of seeing him next to The Shredder? and listening to shredder speak in grunts and growls while baxter just keeps a chipper tone?? i don’t think i’ve ever used the word chipper to describe someone before but with him, it’s the only word i can think of!!! leo: he is disarmingly pleasant. karai: right!!! he looks more like someone’s wacky dad!! the other day he literally told me a dad joke. i felt like i was light-headed

i don’t think i’d change tiger claw very much, if at all. maybe make him a little less invincible at times, and a little more regretful of the outcome with alopex.

i have more thoughts but this is. already several walls of text so i’ll end this nonsense post here

TMNT: Bad Blood Ch 4

Venus

           Casey, April, and I were trotting through the forest path towards the direction of my castle. My thoughts kept drifting towards Leo as urged my horse forward down the path.

           “What was that back there?” Casey asked me.

           “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I said as I urged my horse to go slightly faster.  

           “Don’t give me that. You’ve been dreading the selection for weeks and then suddenly because you see a handsome prince, that you know nothing about by the way, you’re singing a different tune.”

           “I am not!” I argued back at him.

           Casey raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything. “Oh really? You’re not thinking about a certain blue-eyed prince. Ever since we met them you haven’t stopped smiling or blushing.” April put in looking smug.

           “Is me smiling really that big of a deal?” I defended knowing that a blush was rising to my face because of their teasing.

           “It’s not. It’s just that…Vee, Casey’s right.” She said as if it pained her to admit that Casey had was right about something.

           “Casey Jones is always right.” Casey remarked. April and I both ignored him.

           “You don’t know anything about Leo. This is the first time you’ve met a handsome prince before. You shouldn’t get too attached.” April said riding next to me so that she could give me a quick one arm hug.

“We don’t want you to get hurt. You heard how he felt about the princess, you.” He said pointing at my chest. “He was insulting you before he even met you.”

“Maybe if he got a chance to met me-the real me- then he’ll look past all the rumors and like me for me.” I said hopefully. Casey and April didn’t share my hopeful expression. “I only get one chance at this. I want to marry for love not power. I don’t want to be trapped in a marriage with someone who only sees me as a pretty face or a crown.” I said looking away mournfully.

“How are you supposed to show him the real you? He didn’t want anything to do with the princess. Besides, who knows how many men will be competing for your attention. It’s not like you’ll be able to be alone with him without someone fighting for you.” April stated sullenly afraid of my reaction.

“You’re right.” I replied dejected. “I can’t spend anytime with him without someone recognizing that I’m the princess. If only I was invisible…” I paused considering the idea.

“Uh, you okay Vee?” April asked nervously. “You only make that face when your planning something.”

“I got it!” I said excitedly startling my friends. “Come on!” I yelled as he urged Picasso to sprint as fast as he could home.

“Got what?” Casey asked confused as he surged after me.

“Guys, wait for me!” April called after us as she tried to catch up.

Finally, we reached the edge of the forest and I could see the stables in the distance. I trotted toward the stable allowing my friends to catch up to me. Once they were caught up, Picasso sprinted towards the stables. I slowed to a stop in front of Pete, the stable boy, who rushed out due to the noise.

           “Princess!” Pete exclaimed in shock and bowed deeply. “What were you doing in the forest?”

           I brushed him off and replied, “Sorry Pete, I can’t talk right now. Could you put our horses in their stalls, please.” I didn’t wait for him to answer as I headed inside the palace.

           “Vee! What’s the rush?” Casey called out while running after me with April trailing behind him.

           “Slow down.” April said panting as she raced after us.

           We made our way into the throne room and we were greeted with my father sitting on his throne. “I did not expect you to be back so soon, My Daughter.”  The King spoke surprised as he looked up from his papers.

           “I know, Father. I-” I started but was cut off when my father took in my appearance. He stood up and stalked towards me.

           “Why are you wearing a soaking wet maid outfit and a cloak?” My father questioned me. I recounted the tale of going into the forest and meeting Leo and his brothers. Dad stayed quiet until I finished my story.

           “Casey, April, I would like to have a talk alone with my daughter.” My father stated coldly to my friends. Casey and April hurried out of the room and shot me sympathetic looks as the shut the doors to the throne room leaving me alone with my father and his guards.

“You directly disobeyed and left the castle! Not only that but you weren’t even properly protected. You did not even take your katana with you. The only protection you had was a general’s son with no weapons.” He lectured enraged. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself. “What were you thinking? What would I do if something happened to you? I can’t lose you like I lost your mother.” His eyes softened, and he hugged me tightly to his chest, ignoring my wet clothing.

           “I’m sorry. I just wanted to have a few hours of peace before the selection.” I said returning the hug. “I had an idea about the selection.” I continued pulling out of the hug.”

           My father tilted his head at me and gestured for me to explain.

           “I thought that I could disguise myself as a maid, so I can tell which suitors like me for me and which ones are social climbers. It would also give me a chance to see how the princes will treat each other in the competition.” I explained to my father.

           My father placed a hand on my shoulder and spoke, “I know you are stressed about having to choose a suitor, but you can’t avoid meeting them. How am I to explain to our guests that my daughter, the sole reason they are here, is not present to any activities?” He looked at me with a raised brow.

           “I already thought of that. When I greet them at the opening dinner, I could wear a masquerade mask and a cloak to help obscure my appearance.” I explained.

           “Since this is your selection, I’ll allow it. The members of the Royal Counsel never said you were not allowed to do a masquerade theme. Besides, this helps with your punishment.” My father said mischievously.

           “Punishment? What punishment?” I questioned.

           “For sneaking out. You’re grounded for two weeks and since you’ll be playing the part of a maid, you are to polish all of the weapons and armor in the armory after you are done spying.” I bowed my head and accepted the punishment. It could be worse.

           “I suppose I’ll go change and prepare the dinner in a few hours.” I said turning to exit the throne room.

           “Yes. And I’ll tell make sure the staff is aware that you’ll be acting as a maid and that it is to remain confidential. But first, randori.” He said pulling out the dreaded wooden stick.

           “No!” I screamed in panic as I turned bolting towards the door like my life depended on it.

 Leonardo

We made it to the village without any other incidents. The townspeople didn’t pay us much attention as we made our way through the back alleys to the outskirts of the village. After we passed all signs of civilization, we headed into the woods surrounding the town. A rundown looking gray house covered in vines and other types of vegetation was hidden by the over brush. The house looked as if no one has lived in it for years.

Tiger Claw dismounted from his horse and stalked towards the door that was hanging off its hinges. The door fell to the ground with a large crash.

“Smooth, Slick.” Raph commented dryly as he took in the sight of the fallen door and the cloud of smoke. I smirked and heard Mikey chuckle and Donnie wheeze from laughter. Tiger Claw made a move towards Raph and I was about to move to stop him, but a sharp whistle stopped our advances.

“Are you going to come in or do you two have a grudge match to settle?” Xever asked sarcastically from the doorway. Tiger Claw swiftly turned and marched rather moodily into the house. “And someone fix the door.” Xever added as a second thought.

My brothers and I shared a laugh as we unhooked our bags from our horses. Then, we made our way into the house along with Bradford while Zeck and Steranko stayed behind to try and fix the door. The inside of the house was more expensive than any nobleman’s house I have been to. There was a grand spiral staircase and a golden chandelier. There were no paintings lining the walls.

“This place is more over the top than Visiozo’s Mansion.” Raph murmured as we followed Xever into the dining room.  I had to fight the urge to smile while Mikey wasn’t bothering to hide his laughter.

“Ugh. Don’t even mention that slob, Raph.” Donnie complained.

“If you four are done giggling amongst like chittering maidens, we’d like to discuss how to kidnap the princess.” Tiger Claw said from the head of the table. He was trying to make himself look like a king on a throne. I mentally scoffed not rising to his bait. Raph looked ready to make some biting remark, but I placed my hand on his arm before he could do anything.

Once I was sure he wouldn’t do anything foolish, I released his arm and took a seat at the end of the table. Donnie and Mikey were already seated and Raph did so rather reluctantly with a death glare in Tiger Claw’s direction.

“Xever, since you have been here the longest, what have you gathered on the Hamatos so far?” I asked not missing the glare that Tiger Claw threw at me.

“Well, Hamato Yoshi keeps his daughter under lock and key in the castle. Apparently, she has never even stepped foot outside the palace walls and this selection is the only time she has ever any been introduced to any suitors.” Xever answered.

“We already know that! Do you have anything we can use to capture the princess?” I snapped at him.

“I’m sure our father would like to know that all the money he spent on you has gone to waste. I wonder how he will react when he finds out.” Donnie mused out loud.

“Please don’t tell Master Shredder, Your Highness.” Xever begged to Donnie.

“We will if you don’t have anything useful.” Raph put in enjoying the look of Xever squirming at the thought of how our father would punish him.

Mikey sat beside Raph looking uncomfortable. I hated that father ordered him to come along. I wanted him to keep his innocence and optimistic outlook on the world. Everything we’re about to do goes against what all the heroes in his story books would do.

“Apparently, the princess is hopelessly naïve. She’s just like every other princess out there, all looks no substance. From what I’ve heard, her father didn’t even teach her to fight. She’s too fragile for that, a treasure that must always be protected.” Xever said breaking through my thoughts.  

“Looks? Have you seen her?” I questioned.

“No but the villagers have heard tales of her beauty. Apparently, she looks exactly like the late Queen Shen. She has raven hair, pale skin, red lips, and startling blue eyes.” Xever concluded.

“What about her powers?” I questioned

“Oh those. I’ve heard some stories from the palace about her ability to summon flames and that she can turn anyone into gold. All of it is hear say, I have never gotten close enough to see if it is true. That’s all I know.” Xever answered.

“How’s that supposed to help us?” Bradford growled from his seat beside Tiger Claw. Xever crossed his arms and shrugged in response.

“I have a plan to kidnap the brat. You four” he said while gesturing to my brothers and I, “will compete for the princess’s hand under the guise of children from King Samson.” Tiger Claw stated.

           “I’m not competing for the princess!” I yelled in outrage at him.

           “And I’m not about to masquerade as the son of that cowardly-”

           “Raph.” I warned cutting him off and gesturing in Mikey’s direction, so he wouldn’t say anything inappropriate. Raph crossed his arms and sat moodily in his chair.

“You won’t actually compete for the princess’s hand. We are only using it to get into the castle and get the princess alone.” Tiger Claw paused and regarded me with narrowed eyes and continued, “You aren’t afraid it will upset that little maid of yours, are you?”

“A maid?” Xever asked amused.

“Perhaps we should get back to planning on how to kidnap a princess. I don’t want to stay here any longer than we have to.” I said cutting Tiger Claw or anyone else off from talking about Mei.

“Anyway, masquerading as Samson’s sons is our best bet of getting into the castle. He’s isolated and obscure enough that no one will recognize you, and Master Shredder recently occupied his territory, so we won’t have to worry about him or his children making an appearance.” Tiger Claw explained.

“The other princes shouldn’t get to the castle until nightfall. We can rest and wait for the other princes and nobility to arrive then plan how to get the princess alone from there.” Bradford said.

“Right. Well I’ll show you to your rooms.” Xever said getting and walking out of the dining room. We followed him up the stairs. “You’ll have to share your rooms, you can take your pick just not that room.” He said while gesturing to a room at the end of the hallway and continued, “That’s my room.” With that he walked inside his room and promptly slammed the door.

There were three rooms left. Tiger Claw and Bradford took the closest room and Zeck and Steranko took the one opposite to them.

“Looks like we’re sharing a room. It will be just like when we were kids!” Mikey said with a wide grin on his face.

“You’re still a kid, Mikey.” Donnie said as he ruffled Mikey’s hair.

We walked into the room and surveyed it. There was a couch and a chair surrounding a small. A desk was in the corner of the room devoid of any parchment or ink quills. The bed was smaller than mine at the palace, but it was still large enough to fit two people without being cramped.

“I call the couch.” Raph declared dropping his bag on the floor and throwing himself on the couch.

“I guess I’ll take the chair. You two can have the bed.” I said to Mikey and Donnie. I laid my bag beside the chair and slumped into it. I kicked off my shoes and tried to get comfortable on the old chair. Raph and Mikey were already snoring softly while Donnie was still twisting and turning trying to get comfortable on the bed. I shifted on the chair and tried to clear my mind for sleep to take me. The last conscious thought was the image of the raven-haired maid.

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           I woke up to the sound of knocking on the door. I jumped up from my chair and rushing to the door. Steranko greeted me as I opened the door. “It’s time.” He said in a thick, barely understandable accent. I nodded my head and then closed the door.

           My brothers were awake by now with varying degrees of alertness. “Come on guys. Time to get dressed.” I said as I dug into my bag to get a new set of clothing that didn’t smell like horses. I donned my signature royal blue tunic and black leggings. My brothers wore identical sets of clothing only in their signature colors. I adjusted my twin katanas on my back and wore a black cloak to hid them. With a nod to my brothers we grabbed our bags and went to go meet the others in the dinning room.

           “Took ya long enough.” Zeck grumbled. He was wearing his usual bright purple attire (not very stealthy for a professional thief if you ask me) with his feet propped up on the table as he ate a sandwich. Steranko was beside him sleeping with his head propped up by his hand. Tiger Claw was sitting at the head of the table (again) sharpening his sword.

           “Where’s Bradford and Xever?” I asked as I surveyed the room and didn’t see them.

           “They went into the village to scout escape routes and guard shifts.” Tiger Claw answered not looking up from his sword. After he was satisfied with his work, he said, “You four are going to go to the palace without us and figure out how to get the princess alone. In the meantime, we’ll be trying to find a way to sneak in without anyone recognizing us.”

           Internally, I cheered that they wouldn’t be stuck with us in the castle. “How will you guys know when captured her?” I questioned.

           Tiger Claw pulled an odd, glowing purple crystal from his pocket. “Stockman used some of the kraang power crystals to create a way to send messages to each other without writing a letter.” He said examining the crystal before tossing it to Donnie.

           “Incredible.” Donnie muttered in a trance as he gently examined the crystal. “How does it work?” He asked holding it up to his face.

           “Flick it to record your message and flick it again to end the recording. After you end the recording it will automatically be sent to my crystal.” He said holding up an identical crystal of his own. “The crystal will glow when you have a new message, just tap it and it will play.” He continued.  

           “Cool.” Mikey said reaching for the crystal.

           “Don’t you dare.” Donnie said pocketing the crystal, so Mikey won’t break it or do who knows what to it. Mikey pouted then smiled mischievously. No doubt he was working out a way to get the crystal.

           “Come on, bros.” I said already walking out of the room. When we exited the house, Raph stalked ahead of me and mounted his horse.

           “Let’s just get this over with, so we can head back home.” Raph said moodily already angling his horse towards the castle. I rolled my eyes and mounted my own horse. Donnie helped Mikey onto the horse and then mounted his own.