Song: Good To Be Alive - Skillet

The prospect of my mom and brother both being alive lifts a heavy burden off my shoulders. I didn't lose my family after all; and the best part is that I have another family of four turtles to add them to. The crazy part is, though, that I wouldn't have met the green ninjas if I hadn't lost the real members in the first place.

Maybe storms have a rainbow at the end, after all.

Though Edmund and I want to find my mom, we aren't sure how. Donatello says to wait until we find out more information. I have agreed, since we aren't quite sure where she is. She's a mutant anyway; she'll most likely just attack me again. And that would hurt me more than I am prepared for at the moment. Overall, we decide to be patient.

The next afternoon comes around quickly, since all of us sleep through the day. We scarf down lunch like a pack of starving wolves. Master Splinter even makes a short appearance to eat, before fading to his bedroom again. Then Raphael, Edmund, and Donatello start lounging around, bonding over the pain of stomachaches.

Leonardo stays in the kitchen to clean up. I hand back, helping him by washing the plates in the sink.

I wanted to talk to him about the Footbots. For some reason, I feel like he needs to know what happened. Even if it does sound a bit strange.

Still, I end up stalling. I hesitate until the kitchen is sparkling, then I decide I'd better tell him before he gets around the others.

"Leo," I begin, taking a seat at the table. "Something happened in the battle with the Footbots that I think you should know."

Leonardo pulls himself onto the counter across from me. He looks at me curiously. "Go on," he replies.

"That wasn't an ordinary fight," I say slowly.

"You're telling me!" Leonardo sighs, running a hand over his head. "The Foot was ten times tougher to defeat than usual!"

My eyes widen. "What? You thought that was hard?" Surely he's joking.

Leonardo gives me another puzzled look. "Didn't you?"

I blink. "Um... No. I actually thought that was easy," I admit. "They didn't even seem to be trying."

"Are you kidding?" He tilts his head. "They nearly had our shells!"

I just stare at Leonardo. I know what I saw, and there's no way I'm better at Ninjutsu than him. The expression on his face tells me that he is being serious, so there is only one explanation.

"The Foot were only going easy on me," I mumble.

"But why?" Leonardo leans closer to me. He looks like a starstruck puppy, or a deer caught in headlights. Utterly, utterly lost.

And to be truthful, that's how I feel. "I don't know," I sigh. Suddenly, nothing makes sense. My brother told us that the Kraang randomly released him, saying they didn't have further use for him. Sending him out is the perfect plan to make me reveal myself. The Foot seemed to have used him to set an ambush up for us, and they apparently didn't want to harm me. Which makes no sense again, because my father has so much as sworn revenge on me as and the turtles.

"How did the Foot know about my brother?" I wonder aloud. "It wasn't a coincidence that they attacked us in the same alley he was hiding in."

"Unless your father has teamed up with the Foot as well as the Kraang," Leonardo points out. "Edmund might have been bait. Maybe it was your father's plan to take both of you back with minimal injuries, considering the Foot didn't attack Edmund, either."

"So he could finish us off himself?" I suggest bitterly.

"Possibly." Leonardo frowns as if his response makes him feel guilty.

"Then why spare me?" I ask. I know he doesn't have an answer, so it's more of a rhetorical question.

Leonardo shrugs, giving me a sympathetic look. He slides off the counter and offers me his hand. "But hey, we've got your back. Don't worry."

I take it and stand up, smiling weakly. "Thank you," I respond, looking into his eyes. He returns the smile gently, his deep blue gaze burrowing into mine.

"Hey, Leo! Lizzy!" Donatello appears around the corner.

Leonardo and I quickly separate. My cheeks are hot with embarrassment, but the techy-turtle doesn't seem to notice.

"What, Donnie?" Leonardo sounds faintly irritated.

"Guess who's awake!" Donatello wears a grin so wide that it reveals his tooth gap.

"Mikey!" Leonardo and I exclaim at the same time. We both whiz by Donatello and head straight for his lab.

There's Michelangelo, sitting up on the metal table and leaning back into Raphael. His eyes are half-open, but they sparkle.

"Hey, dude and dudette!" he croaks.

"Mikey!" I gasp again. I hug him from the side, relieved to hear his voice again. "You're alright!"

"'Course I am!" Michelangelo squeaks happily as if I shouldn't have thought otherwise. "No one can take down the nunchuckin' master!" He moves his injured arm and lets out a grunt of pain.

I giggle and lower his arm gently, the bandages a foreign feeling to my fingertips. "Well, let's not put him back in business just yet."

Leonardo fist-bumps his younger brother, grinning. "It's good to have you back, Mikey."

Michelangelo makes a whooshing sound as he brings his hand away from Leonardo's, imitating an explosion. "I'm never leaving you guys!" he bubbles. Suddenly, his blue eyes fill with curiosity, staring at something over my shoulder. "Who's that?"

I glance back to see Edmund walking into the room. He limps a little when he walks, but that's only because his leg wrapped up so tightly. His eyes are bright and his hair is as decent as it can get. He looks a lot better in comparison to when I found him in the alley.

"I'm Edmund, Elizabetta's brother," he greets Michelangelo with a smile.

"I'm Michelangelo!" The orange-clad turtle responds cheerfully. Then his eyes widen, and he looks as if he is talking to a ghost. "Aren't you supposed to be, you know, dead?"

Edmund chuckles. "I suppose."

"Oh, snap!" Michelangelo exclaims. He looks over at Donatello. "Dude, did you invent some machine that can bring people back to life?!"

Donatello smiles a bit. "I wish. Raph and Lizzy found him in an alley last night," he explains.

"Why were you hiding there?" Michelangelo questions my brother, tilting his head. In a quieter voice he adds, "Don't you know rats live around there? And I don't mean the cute kind."

Edmund's grin grows wider. "Hey, no one told me that you're the comedian of the group," he laughs.

"I'm also the best at video games!" Michelangelo jumps off the table and strikes a pose. "Set every new high score five times in a row, dawg!"

I roll my eyes as Edmund perks up. He's a sucker for video games. Of course he would want to play against them; he already knows all my moves, so he'd enjoy new opponents.

"Video games, huh?" Edmund smirks mischievously. "Mind if I have a go?"

"Seriously?" I can't help but laugh. "You just met, and you already want to play video games together?"

"Did you want us to swap hair tips instead?" Edmund replies cheekily.

"In case you haven't noticed, we turtles don't have any hair," Leonardo adds to the joke.

I stick my tongue out at all the boys as they laugh. "Ha, ha. Very funny." I'm angry, though. Frankly, I am glad the turtles are taking a liking to my brother. Even Raphael isn't being as skeptical about Edmund anymore.

"Let's go!" Michelangelo shouts. He races out of the room, taking care of his injured arm.

"I want the blue controller!" Leonardo calls after him. Donatello, Raphael, and Edmund scramble after him.

Shaking my head in amusement, I follow as well.

As I walk out into the main room, I am surprised to see everyone already piled onto the couch. Leonardo and Michelangelo are battling each other for the blue controller while Raphael, Donatello and Edmund playfully trash-talk each other. Casey and April are also there, just walking into the room.

"Hey, guys!" April greets us with a grin. She looks relieved; probably because she isn't alone with Casey anymore.

"April!" Donatello drops his game controller out of distraction and hastily scrambles to pick it back up.

But Casey retrieves it first. "I got it," he says as he shoves Donatello aside and starts poking buttons on the controller. Donatello glares at him, but he doesn't try and take it back.

April is the only one of two that notices, or cares, about Edmund's presence. "Hi," she greets him with a small tilt of her head. "Who are you?"

"Edmund," my brother replies with a smile. He actually takes his eyes off of the television to nod to her. "And you are?"

"April. Nice to meet you." The red-head sounds happy. "And my ignorant companion over there is Casey."

"Yeah, we've met." Edmund's words come as a surprise. His green eyes glance at Casey as he speaks.

Casey, who was lost in the game, instantly snaps out of it. "No, you haven't." He looks bewildered. "I don't even know who the heck you are."

"Edmund," the teenager repeats his name. "Doesn't ring a bell?"

"Um, no," Casey replies nonchalantly, though he looks slightly alarmed.

"Yes, you do," Edmund insists, raising an eyebrow. He lowers his game controller. "You're lying."

"I don't know what you're talking about, dude!" Casey spits defensively.

Edmund narrows his eyes suspiciously. "I know what I saw."

"You're crazy."

The two teenage boys glare daggers at each other. Tension destroys the dam and floods the room, making their audience shift uncomfortably.

"Um, can someone explain what's happening here?" Leonardo questions after an awkward pause.

"I've seen him before," Edmund states simply.

"Where?" I ask curiously. The more they argue, the more confused I get. They aren't making any sense. Since when do Casey and Edmund know each other?

Edmund puts a finger to his temple thoughtfully. "I... I don't remember," he confesses. "But he was there, I'm sure of it." He seems so confident that I know he believes what he is saying.

"And I'm saying that you've lost your brain," Casey argues. "I've never seen this guy in my life," he adds, looking at the rest of us.

I bite my lip. Casey is acting strangely, but so is my brother. I'm not sure who to believe.

"Well, it doesn't matter anyway," Leonardo decides, ending the disagreement. "You know each other now. That's what matters."

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Casey shoot my brother a sharp glare. My brother just shrugs it off and looks back at the television.

I put the strange issue aside; it doesn't make a difference if they met beforehand anyway. I'm not even sure why the idea of them already knowing each other made me uncomfortable in the first place.

They finish their round of the game, sounds of victory and mocking floating to the ceiling. I decide that is the best time to pull Leonardo away before someone declares a rematch.

I tapped his green shoulder. "Can I talk to you?" I ask.

Leonardo perks up. "Yeah, of course." He gets up and I lead him into the kitchen, where we can have a bit more privacy.

The blue-clad turtle is instantly concerned. "Is something wrong?" He questions me before I can say a word.

"No, not at all," I say quickly. "It's just in that fight last night, I wasn't exactly a well-oiled machine. And if my father is hunting for me, I'm going to need all the skills I can get. Would you consider training me again? I mean, if Master Splinter is alright with it." I gaze up at him hopefully.

Leonardo hesitates, though I'm not sure why. Then he gives me a smile of agreement. "Of course I will. And Master Splinter... Well, I doubt he would notice anyway," he agrees a bit less enthusiastically than I expected.

I feel a bit bad for Master Splinter, but I don't linger on the feeling too long. I eagerly bounce on my heels. "Thank you! When can we start?"

"Not tonight, but soon," Leonardo answers. "My brothers and I need to go on patrol before the night ends."

Trying to stay calm, I dip my head respectfully. "Yes, Sensei," I respond seriously. Then I give him a playful smile.

Leonardo looks surprised, then he laughs. "Just call me Leo," he backtracks, his cheeks slightly pink with embarrassment. He heads back into the main room. I follow him, smiling to myself.

Training is going to be fun.