Chapter Text
The portal closed behind me. But I didn't notice until I called for my brothers to get them to look.
How I wish I hadn't jumped into that portal.
Seven hundred and eighty two days. It has been seven hundred and eighty two days since I jumped through the portal. And there wasn't a single one of those days that I don't regret my choice. I sometimes cry myself to sleep, remembering the soft comfort of..
Well.
I don't remember much. I only know who I am because of some information from a Kraang base I raided a couple weeks ago. The Kraang call me One. One as in the first of my kind that they've experimented on. Anyway, The base had pictures, and paragraphs and even my very own file! Kinda creepy, but that's a given when you're stranded, mostly alone, in an alien dimension for two years.
There is a small silver lining though. Being alone with my thoughts has given me time to reflect on the little bit of my life as a turtle dude that I remember, and realise that I'm actually better off, and much happier as, a turtle dudette. I chose a name a couple days ago. Marceline. It's pretty, I think. I call myself Marcy in my head.
I remember a box. The box brought me comfort, when I was a little tot that could fit into it. I know, with absolute certainty, that I had company. I'm not sure about a lot of things anymore, but this, I know. There was comforting warmth around me in that box. Three small bodies, the same as me. Small chirps and trills of family, safe, home.
I wonder if I'll ever hear that again.
There was also something round and flat from later on in life that I think I was around 15 when I found it, and I think it tasted really good. it makes my stomach clench around the emptiness that occupies it. God, I'm hungry.
Anyway! Enough reminiscing. I have to find sufficient nutrition. And I know just where to-
"There's no sun, there's no anything, how can it-" "Look out!" "This is ridiculous, gravity can not work like this!"
I freeze in place when I hear it. 'Those voices.... They're so familiar... I need to find out who they belong to.' I nod to myself and stand from the patch of warmth I was lying in. I make sure my cloak is secure around me before I dash off towards the voices, making sure to keep a safe distance, just in case they're the bad kind of familiar.
But they're not the bad kind of familiar.
I know these people.
My brothers! Donnie and Raph and Leo! They've come to bring me home! But before I can run to them, they've already gone in the opposite direction. I chirp in annoyance, before remembering that I heard them talking about finding me. I'm in no rush. But when I look over, they're on one of the extremely explosive crystal trees. Cooing at the seriously volatile levespheres. I'm truly shocked. 'Heh, pun intended'. I simply squat behind a boulder as they get chased around by the Levespheres.
I continue following them around for a while. Every time I try to get close, they run off in a different direction. It's starting to seriously piss me off. My plastron and carapace start to ache from the exertion. The pain had been numbed by the adrenaline of today's events, and now that it's finally starting to wear off, my injuries have decided to once again make themselves known. 'Stupid Kraang and their experiments.' I ignore it.
I've become good at ignoring it.
I look back at my brothers and my eyes widen. Leonardo, our fearless, supposedly mature leader, is petting the Rocktopus' nose. AKA, The Mop. I stand frozen as the Rocktopus emerges from beneath the island, and begins attacking my brothers. My bale. My family. I refuse to let this happen. I can't lose them, not when I've only just got them back.
I rush towards the Rocktopus, my hands, wielding my nunchaku, breach my cloak as it blows outwards. I use one of my grapplepillars to pull Donnie out of the way, and I grab Raph myself. I turn and run as fast as I could towards Leo and tackle him out of the way just in time for him not to get pancaked by the Rocktopus.
"Mikey..?" I hear who I think is Raph say my 'name'. I internally wince. I can't get mad at him, he doesn't know! Trying to ignore that, I screech at the Rocktopus, making it lose it's balance, before I do some rad parkour moves to get to its face and kick the Mop. It falls off the island, into the Abyss. I land safely on my feet and rush over to my brothers.
"You're okay!" Donnie exclaims. "We were worried about you, Mikey," Leo says, coming closer and rubbing my head. The affectionate gesture brings a trill from my throat, and my tail wags as I chirp happily, before launching myself at Leo, tackling him back into his shell in a hug. Brothers, safe, miss you, is what my chirps convey. I nuzzle my beak against his plastron and he laughs, playfully pushing me back.
"We missed you too, Mikey," Donnie says, and I immediately turn my attention to him, giving him the same treatment as Leo, but I don't knock him over. I can't even begin to care about them calling me that, all I can think about is that I finally have my brothers back, and tears spill from my eyes as happy chirps and trills burst from my throat. I feel Donnie rub my shell, thankfully not over the half healed cracks.
I don't attempt to speak to them, or reply to their relieved, yet concerned questions about where I had been, or why I was crying, or why I'm wearing a Kraang carcass on my head. I open my eyes long enough to see Leo forcing a (fake) reluctant Raphael into a group hug.
I don't know how long we've stood here, basking in each other's comfort, but its long enough to almost put me to sleep. That is, until Donnie breaks away from the hug to take off my Kraang hat and wipe away my tears. I beam at him, churring at the gentle touch against my face.
He pulls his hand back, which signals to me to bring them to my base. I give them each a grapplepillar, and then begin to scamper towards the edge of the island. When my brothers don't immediately start to follow, I look back and chirp for them to come with me. I show them how to use the grapplepillars, and only them do they follow.
It takes about ten minutes to get to my base. It's in a cave that no living Kraang know about. Emphasis on living, because I slaughtered any Kraang that found it in cold blood. Not a single one had ever escaped. I know this because if they did escape, the entire Kraang Armada would be knocking at my front door. Probably. The cave has a kinda low hanging entrance, which is completely hidden by protruding crystals.
I lead my brothers inside. It's pretty homely, if I do say so myself. With a nice, comfy bed made of dirt that I took from a Kraang base, and some drawings and writing on the walls. The writing is mostly just my name, to remind myself who I am, although I did change it up a bit a couple days ago. It now reads
My name is Michelangelo -> Marceline. I like to be called Mikey -> Marcy.
And that type of thing. I had myself drawn on the wall, the best that I could do with a sharpened crystal, and nearby I drew me and my brothers in the box that comforted me when I was little. I sit down on my dirt and watch as my brothers look around, taking in the drawn decorations with fascination and confusion etched on their faces.
I watch as Donnie sees the name thing, and tells the others to look too. Leo extends a hand to me after a moment of hushed whispering between the three, as a signal to come closer. I get up and go over to him, and take his hand. He squeezes mine back and points to where I wrote my name.
"You wrote this, right?" He asks. I nod, smiling and and feeling my tail wag. 'Who else would've written it?' I think to myself because 'who else really has that name?' My brothers seem to be communicating with each other with simply eye contact before Donnie puts his attention back on me.
"Do you want to be our sister, instead of our brother?" He asks, and I beam and chirp happily, nodding profusely. They seem to only now lock into the fact that I've been communicating solely using chirps and trills and the like. It's apparent that it confuses them. Raph is the one who speaks up about it.
"Who won't you talk normally," He asks, confusion and slight annoyance seeping into his tone. My other brothers nod, humming in agreement. I feel slightly hurt by that, and try to answer him, but all that comes out is a small, upset chirp. I look down, releasing Leo's hand from my grip to rub my knuckles together. I see Donnie elbow Raph out of the corner of my eye.
"Mi- Marcy, it's fine if you can't speak right now, okay?" Leo reassures me. "Raph definitely could've said that better, but it is a bit worrying in the way that you suddenly can't speak, and you've gotten all of this gear and Kraang parts in the 15 seconds you were away from us," My head snaps towards him. 'Fifteen seconds? What does he mean fifteen seconds!? It wasn't fifteen seconds, it was years! How does he think that was seconds?!'
I shake my head, chirping 'wrong, more,' hoping that they understand me. I pull away from Leo when he seems lost, picking up a Crystal that I use to write on the wall with. I face the wall that's next to us, and quickly scrawl the numbers '782' on it. My brother's seem more confused.
"Seven hundred and eighty two? Seconds, right? Or a code? " Leo tried to rationalise my actions, but I shake my head rapidly, getting more agitated the longer they don't understand. Raph looks confused, and crosses his arms at me. Only Donnie seems to realise the gravity of the situation, a look of horror and realisation on his face.
"Days?" Donnie mutters after a few moments of Leo trying to guess, only loud enough to hear if we strained our ears. I nod, feeling a bit relieved that he understands. The others look worried, but not as much as Donnie. They dont seem to quite grasp his long that actually is. They look to him.
"How many months is that, Donnie?" Raph asks. I have a feeling he won't like the answer.
I can see the shock on my two oldest brothers faces as Donnie replies.
"Twenty six."