Song: I'm Just A Kid - Simple Plan

I watch each turtle take a corner of the room. Their gazes shoot from one of their brothers to the next. Leonardo grips his twin katanas in his hands. Michelangelo has his nunchucks spinning and Raphael, his sais. Donatello holds his bo-staff out defensively, his brown eyes obviously calculating what movements his opponents might make.

I'm witnessing an actual ninja turtle training session. It's all I can do to hold in a bounce of excitement. This is going to be so cool!

Master Splinter barks a sharp order from beside me. "Hajime!"

The turtles run at each other. Raphael lunges at Donatello, his sais extended and his eyes narrowed. He spins at the last minute and lifts Donatello's feet out from under him, but Donatello is quick. He regains his footing without a flaw and faces his attacker confidently. His grip tightens around his weapon and he thrusts it into Raphael's stomach. He forces the red-clad turtle back several steps.

Leonardo notices this and inserts himself between the two. He uses his katanas to force Donatello's bo-staff against him. Donatello returns the pressure on Leonardo's weapons, so they are mere centimeters away from each other's face, glaring, their weapons evenly matched.

Michelangelo slinks around Raphael's back and yells, "Boo!" Then he jumps onto the red-clad turtle's back and they start to wrestle.

Though Michelangelo isn't taking it seriously, the others are, and I can't help but marvel at them. Their moves are so sly and their attacks so swift. It's almost like watching professionals, even though they're only teenagers.

"How long have they been doing this?" I ask Master Splinter.

He doesn't take his gaze off of the turtles for an instant; either because he is too interested, or because he just doesn't like me. "Since they were very young. Even before they were old enough to learn it for themselves, they would watch me practice Ninjutsu. Whenever it came time to start their training, they excelled to where they are now." His voice is commanding of respect, though he isn't pushy about it.

"You know these skills, too?" I can't hide the shock in my voice, however much I try.

To my surprise, Master Splinter smiles. "Yes, I do. I've taught them everything they know," he responds.

I nod. I fall silent for a few moments, but another question pops into my head. "So, how did you meet them? I mean, you're both different species, but you seem to have known them for a long time." I pause and try to re-ask my question. "I mean... They told me they were just normal turtles, and you might have been too. Uh, I mean..." There is no good way to word that.

Master Splinter chuckles. "Ah, that is a long story," he begins in his deep voice. "My former state was as a man. My sons, who you see before you, were my pet turtles. As for the rest of the tale, let us just assume that bad things are not always so bad."

I give him a small smile and focus my attention back on the ninja turtles. All of them are now struggling to get Michelangelo to behave in most ninja-like manner possible.

I find myself inspired by their talents. It isn't every day that I meet teenagers who save lives and excel in this sport. I actually yearn to learn a few moves, even if it isn't that much.

"Ninjutsu is really interesting," I comment, more to myself.

"What makes you say something like that?" Master Splinter asks in a mildly-curious tone. Though I know he doesn't trust me, I can sense his barriers slowly lowering.

"Well, I'm a ballet dancer. I have been since I was six years old," I explains, then I retrace my words. "Well, I was until I dropped out a few months ago. Still, it's interesting to see how much you have to focus on footwork and your partner- Er, opponent- just like in ballet."

It's been a while since I've mentioned ballet to anyone. Honestly, it makes me too sad to think about. Having a single mother who worked as a waitress did not provide enough money for enjoyment. So, I had to drop dancing and my brother had to quit his soccer team. I remember promising each other that we would treat the situation like it wasn't a big deal, for our mom's sake.

Just picturing them both makes me want to choke on my own emotions. I take a deep breath to soothe myself so I can focus on the turtles again. Maybe if I keep ignoring thoughts of my family, I will eventually get over what happened.

Master Splinter looks at me for the first time. He gives me a subtle smile. "I will leave you alone to watch them. You will learn much."

I return the smile and nod respectfully to him as he walks out of the dojo. Then I return to watching the turtles.

Somehow, Michelangelo escaped from his brothers and is now sneaking up on them. "BOOYAKASHA!" he shouts as he charges at them with his twirling nun chucks. He knocks them down like bowling pins and grins at his own success.

"Ha! You guys are no match for my nunchuckin' skills!" Michelangelo announces with a proud grin on his face.

"Wanna say that again?" Raphael growls as he gets up off the floor. Leonardo and Donatello rise to their feet on either side of the red-clad turtle. All three of them give Michelangelo death glares.

"You guys are worse than the Purple Dragons!" Michelangelo exclaims, obviously still basking in his glory.

"Aaaargh!" Raphael yells angrily as he runs at the younger turtle. His companions follow suit, and they all end up on Michelangelo in a dog pile. Or a turtle pile, if you will.

Michelangelo shoots out of the chaos and rams against a wall. He sinks down onto the floor, groaning and rubbing his head. "Totally ow, man," he grumbles.

Leonardo walks over and bends down beside his brother. "Are you ok, Mikey?" he asks with concern.

"Psych!" Michelangelo grabs Leonardo's arm and flips him onto his back. He laughs and leans over the top of the beaten turtle. "I win!" He turns around and starts to shake his butt in Leonardo's face.

I can't help it. I do the one thing I shouldn't: I giggle.

Raphael's bright green eyes fix on me. "What are you laughing at?" he asks accusingly.

"Nothing," I say in the most innocent way I can. But I can't disguise my amused smile.

"You think you can do better?" Raphael asks me, tightening his grip around his sais.

I shrug. "How hard can it be, really? You just have to know when to dodge and when to attack."

"You have no idea what you're talking about."

"I am an expert at ballet," I say. I am getting a bit annoyed. "I do know what I'm talking about."

Raphael throws his hands up in mock-fear. "Ooooh, you know ballet. I'm so scared!"

A fire of fury takes me over. I'm suddenly angry. Very angry. "You think you're so cool? Come at me, you oversized reptile!" I dare, unsheathing my dagger from where it is on my belt. I'm not even sure how to hold the weapon properly, since I'm not an expert. But I refuse to back down.

"Uh," Leonardo breaks into our heated argument. He eyes me with an anxious expression. "I don't think this is a good idea. Raphael is a trained ninja, and you're-"

"Shut up, Leo," Raphael snaps without taking his gaze from mine. "I'll gladly give her what she wants." His smirk is so devilish that I get shaken slightly. But the moment passes and I'm just plain furious again.

"Then do it." I narrow my eyes to show him I mean what I say.

Raphael charges at me. His teeth are barred in a growl and his sais are offensively at his sides. He swings one of his weapons toward me, just like a real ninja would.

But I'm not going to let my inexperience in the sport discourage me. Instead, I leap backwards and land gracefully on my toes. I dodge another blow just in time as I spin behind him. I grab onto his shell and pin him against a wall, holding my dagger a centimeter from his neck.

"This is easy," I laugh at him.

Raphael glares at me. Suddenly, he shoves back at me with all of his might. I gasp and struggle to regain my footing as I stagger across the floor, unbalanced and confused.

I never find my balance again, because my opponent is back at me with his sais extended. He advances at me until I trip and fall flat on the ground. He didn't even touch me, and yet I still went down. How humiliating.

As he looks down at me, he gives me a jeopardizing smile. "You're right. That was easy."

I think about attacking him again, but I know there's no hope in winning. He won't dare underestimate me again. Plus, Leonardo starts to speak, distracting us both.

"That's enough for today." His dark blue eyes silently scold Raphael. He looks really irritated.

As Raphael walks out of the dojo, I make sure to give him an ugly look. He thoughtfully returns it.

Leonardo looks over at Donatello and Michelangelo. "Don't you two have something you need to do?"

"No!" Michelangelo says, quite happily. "I have absolutely no-"

"Come with me to my lab. I need to fix your T-Phone," Donatello interrupts loudly. He says it in a strange manner, with his brown eyes focused on his leader rather than the turtle he's talking to.

"Why do I have to go with-" Michelangelo begins to whine, but he doesn't get to finish again.

"Come on." Donatello grabs the orange-clad turtle's arm and drags him out of the room.

I lay there and close my eyes, practicing one of my usual cool-down techniques. I inhale and exhale slowly to steady my breathing. My heart is startled back into racing; however, when a voice speaks.

"You did pretty well."

I open my eyes to see Leonardo sitting cross-legged beside me.

"I thought you left," I gasp as I recover from my near-heart attack.

Leonardo goes on. "Raphael is a good fighter. Probably the best on the team. You may not have beat him, but you've definitely impressed him."

"I don't think 'impressed' is quite the word," I reply stiffly. I pull myself up to a sitting position and face him.

"How'd you do it?" he asks. His eyes are full of curiosity, much like a little kid.

"How did I do what?"

"How did you already know that much about Ninjutsu? Any other human would have been caught off-guard by his positions and attacks," he says.

I shrug. "I've been taking ballet for years now."

"What does that have to do with it?" Leonardo presses on.

I'm pleased to share my knowledge, however simple it is. "See, in ballet, you have to understand your partner. You have to predict what moves he is going to make. You have to be in sync with him, or the whole show is ruined. I guess I just thought the same thing applied that to opponents. And as you saw, it worked. Mostly."

I'm not sure about Raphael being impressed, but Leonardo certainly looks it. "Wow," he comments. "I always thought dancing was a waste of time. I know Mikey can dance, and that it really helps him in fights. But I thought he was lucky it worked. I didn't know it actually taught you something."

I smile a bit.

The dojo falls silent. I run my fingers over my blade distractedly. I can't help thinking about my family and how proud they would have been to see that. I can picture my mother offering words of encouragement. I also see my brother gently teasing me, knowing his jokes make me want to improve. He and I had a good relationship. We were best friends. It's hard to believe that all that is gone.

Tears wet my eyes. I can't cry. Not in front of Leonardo. I force the tears away, but he already notices.

"What's wrong?" Leonardo asks softly.

Before I can say anything, Donatello appears back in the doorway. "Am I interrupting something?" he questions hesitantly.

"Yes," Leonardo replies with a sharp glance at the purple-clad turtle.

"No," I state after Leonardo. I ignore the surprised look the blue-clad turtle gave me. I shake my head to clear it and look up at Donatello. "What do you need?"

"Well, I was hoping you would come try out this gadget I've been working on," Donatello explains as he walks over to us. "It will trigger the limbic system in your hippocampus to work more, which will encourage your disorientated memories to come to surface. Hopefully," he adds less confidently.

It's a slow process, but my brain finally understands what he is saying. His gadget might possibly help me remember what happened in that laboratory. Then he can find out what the Foot Clan are planning, I can get revenge, and I can go home.

"Donnie, don't your gadgets like that always have a thing for shocking people?" Leonardo asks. He bites his lip.

"Not this time! I managed to fix that before we got to it." Donatello doesn't sound as certain as he normally does. But what choice do I have?

"Let's go," I decide.

As I follow Donatello to his lab, all I wish for is that his gadget won't electrocute me to death.