Mostly following the 2003 series. I'll try to throw in a little of the 2012 series and 2014 movie. I'll for sure throw in the 2007 movie in the future though.

I had this story up before but pulled it down due to lack of time but I'm trying again, so to my loyal followers and to the new ones I might receive, please enjoy.

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The sewer conflicted me. It was kind of stinky but it was peaceful. The only noise I could hear was the small stream of water rushing in the middle of the tunnel, and the occasional drip of water falling from the dark ceiling. It was all so calming. I felt as though I didn't have to keep turning over my shoulder for one of the bad guys to snatch me again. I walked for what seemed like hours until a heavy wave of exhaustion swept over me, finally forcing me to sink against the damp brick wall. I sat there for hours. Actually, I really didn't know. It felt like hours.

Then I heard someone clear their throat.

My head snapped around.

That sound came from… A rat?

It stood a few feet away from me wearing red robes. It held a walking stick and had a very curious look in it's large, glassy brown eyes. It was a rat, right? I saw plenty at that place those bad guys kept me at but they were all so small. Rats weren't big? This one was even bigger than me!

"Who are you?" It asked, completely catching me off guard. It could talk? That bothered me a little. Animals couldn't talk? This was like some kind of fairy tale.

I shrugged at his question and told him I didn't know. I had always just been called 'The Girl'.

The rat scrunched his brows together, indifferently tilting his head to the side slightly, "Then if you do not know who are, how did you come to be here?"

In a way, his voice relaxed me. Even through the roughness, it was kind. A voice that sounded trustworthy. As I studied him more, his appearance began less odd and less alarming. It was the fact that he wasn't human that kept me from running in fear. His entire presence seemed to soothe me in a way I really didn't understand. My muscles were allowed to relax and the tension I had been feeling had nearly disappeared.

"Bad guys," I croaked, my voice suddenly cracking. Really? Tears? I didn't want to sound so helpless. Crying in front of the bad guys was never a good idea. That resulted in punishments.

His brown eyes scanned the exposed skin my shorts and shirt didn't cover. He didn't say anything but the worry that flashed in his eyes told me that he noted the scars that covered my flesh. The results of the punishments. I could tell he didn't like them any more than I did. My scars made me self-conscious the way it was. I avoided his eyes during the long moment of silence and tucked my arms under my armpits, feeling uncomfortable underneath such a lengthy stare.

"And you are... alone?"

Alone. It didn't really strike me until he said it. I didn't remember who my family was. Did I even have a family? Who did I have? No one? I nodded slowly, unsure of where that question was headed.

The rat's ears twitched thoughtfully and his long jaw clenched in a very concerned manner. I definitely wasn't prepared for his question that followed the long silence, "My name is Hamato Splinter. If you would like, you may come to my home and stay with my sons and I."

I stared at him in shock. I wasn't expecting an invitation to start a new life, especially not by a five foot tall rat. Despite my surprise, not only being asked to live with him, but the fact that I was talking to a giant rat wearing clothes in the sewers, I made my decision quickly. I had nowhere else to go. My heart even swelled up a tiny bit as I broke into a small, timid smile and gave a slight nod.

Hamato Splinter returned a warm smile and gestured for me to follow him down the tunnel. I stuck close. I already knew from hours earlier how easily it was to get lost in these tunnels. As we traveled, it got more dark. The walls lost their brownish appearance and began looking more as though they were made of black ice from the moisture. The tunnels themselves became more intoxicating and it felt as though the walls were closing in and creating a smaller space. I didn't like small spaces. The bad guys always had held me in a small spaces. Hamato Splinter seemed to notice this. He glanced over his shoulder from time to time, casting a semi-concerned look.

"How old are you?" He asked. He seemed to be getting my mind off the claustrophobia I was feeling. It worked.

I held up my fingers, holding them high enough for him to see, "I'm five."

The rat gave me an approving nod. He looked impressed, "You are a year younger than my sons."

"How many sons do you have?"

"Four. They are a very..." He paused as though searching for the right word, "Colorful bunch, but I think you will come to enjoy their company as time passes."

My curiosity started getting the better of me but I had to bite my tongue from bursting out into about a billion trillion questions. Many moments passed by before Hamato Splinter stopped suddenly, almost causing me to collide with his backside. I had noticed that he had been giving me very confused, skeptical glances while we had been walking through the tunnel but I was now receiving a full on odd expression from him.

"How are you not afraid of me if you mind me asking?"

Confused, I tilted my head, "Why would I be?"

Hamato Splinter almost looked taken back from my comment. He raised a furry brow, "Because I am different from you. I am not normal like you."

I blinked. What was even normal anymore? Sure, he looked different but what difference did that make? Humans weren't trustworthy, at least in my opinion they weren't. I was willing to give a rat a shot. He seemed nice enough. I tried to choose my next words carefully, "Well... you just look different. That doesn't mean that you are different. I don't think that's not a very good reason to be afraid... right?"

Hamato Splinter seemed to consider that thoughtfully before breaking out a small smile, "No, I guess it's not," He agreed.

Then we continued on in silence. It felt like we were taking forever, taking what seemed like the most random turns down long stretches of tunnel that were almost identical to the last. Bags of trash and random junk contaminated the sewer waters and it took some effort to walk around it all. Soon, I felt like we were just starting to walk in circles. My legs started getting wobbly. I felt my eyes starting to droop.

"We are here." Hamato Splinter said warmly, noticing the heavy exhaustion.

We turned into a dead end. I gave him a confused sideways glance as if to say "What the heck?" but as we approached the back wall, I noticed a hole that had been broken into the the corner. Unless you walked all the way to the back wall of the dead end, you would have never even seen the hole. Clever. I wondered how Splinter found it in the first place. Or perhaps he made it himself?

Hamato Splinter led me through the hole and we entered into a rather large area. Yellow lights dimmed, giving it a settling glow. Despite being in the sewer, it was actually pretty cozy looking. There was a couch with the sound of a TV coming from the other side. I could hear laughter following the dialogue of some cartoon that I didn't recognize.

Hamato Splinter stopped and tapped his walking stick on the ground. Four green creatures immediately jumped over the backside of the couch, "Father!" They all cheered happily.

Their loud shouts and sudden movement frightened me. I hid behind Hamato Splinter at the commotion, peeking out from behind him. His sons looked like... were they turtles? Not rats like himself. They all stopped short almost simultaneously when they spotted me. Four pairs of curious eyes sidestepped to see who was hiding behind their father's robes.

"Father… wh-who is that?" One of them asked.

Hamato Splinter looked down at me and put his paw on my head, stroking my hair lightly, "This is... Jade. She will be staying with us from now on."

Jade. I liked it. Looking back at the four small, green turtles, I nodded with a small, timid smile.

The four turtles took a moment to comprehend their father's words. All but one decided that since Hamato Splinter was okay with it, so were they.

One of the turtles put his hand on his plastron, "I'm Leonardo but you can call me Leo."

"Donatello... Or Donnie... Or Don. Doesn't matter."

The turtle who was the lightest shade of green waved and broke into a huge grin. He seemed to be the most excited of all four, "I'm Michelangelo! You can call me Mikey!"

The last turtle crossed his arms and glared at me. He didn't tell me his name himself, Michelangelo did it for him, "That's Raphael. Or Raph. He's kind of grumpy... But like, all the time."

Raphael scowled at Michaelangelo before glaring back at me, "She shouldn't be here Sensei. This is our home. Not a orphanage for lost puppies."

I bit my lip at the hostility in Raphael's eyes.

"An orphanage is for human children, Raph. Not puppies," Donatello pointed out, crossing his arms and throwing a very disappointed look at his brother.

"Does it look like I care?" Raphael growled.

"She is going to stay here for she has nowhere else to go Raphael," Hamato Splinter said sternly, "We, of all should know how that feels."

"I'm sorry…" I muttered, avoiding his eyes and backing myself behind Hamato Splinter's robes.

There was a long moment of silence before I heard Raphael breath out a small defeated huff, "Whateva, but she ain't sleepin' on my bed."

There was a small hint of understanding that flashed in his hard eyes but he blinked it away, not wanting me to see the emotion. I could tell that Raphael was the tough macho guy of the family.

Hamato Splinter gently placed his paw on my back and nudged me from out behind him, "Show her the extra bedroom where we keep the spare blankets. She can sleep in there," He began to walk over toward a doorless room, filled with dozens of flickering candles, "I would like to speak to you in the morning Jade, if that would be alright?" He looked back questioningly.

I nodded, "Sure. And... Thank you Hamato Splinter."

Hamato Splinter gave me a smile, "Please, call me Splinter." He said before entering the candle lit room.

I turned back to the turtles. All of them were giving me curious stares including Raphael. Donatello took a gulp as he took a couple small steps forward with his fingers fiddling together nervously.

"Um... What does your skin feel like?" He asked nervously. His eyes kept glancing quickly at my lightly toned flesh curiously.

I shrugged, "What do your scales feel like?"

Donatello's eyes darted up thoughtfully but he didn't answer. I lifted my arm up and held it out to him, "You can touch my skin if you want."

He hesitated for a few seconds before slowly letting his three fingered hand lightly brush the back of my hand and forearm. As he grew more comfortable and trustworthy of me, he grabbed my hand and flipped it over, examining my palm and tracing the lines of it with his fingers; glowing with excitement. Michelangelo eagerly stepped forward and stuck out the pointer finger of his hand and poked my arm several times, starting slowly but eventually gaining speed with each poke.

"Your skin is squishy," He laughed as he began poking my arm faster and faster like it was some intense game. I giggled softly as Leonardo grabbed him by the shell, yanking him back with a slight roll of his bright blue eyes.

"Come on, let's show Jade where she's gonna sleep."

They brought me to a room next to a small, setup kitchen. The bedroom was kind of tiny, but it was doable. Definitely better sleeping quarters than I've had in long time. There was a mattress in the corner and stacks of thick comforters next to it. I sat down on the mattress and smiled. Its nice to have something soft to sleep on now. I looked back up at the turtles.

"Thanks," I said softly.

Leonardo and Donatello nodded their heads in sync. Raphael said nothing.

Michelangelo however, bounced. He brushed off my thanks and moved onto a new subject, "Aren't you gonna ask us who we are?"

I didn't fully understand the question but all four of them kept a lengthy stare on me, waiting for my answer, "You're Michelangelo, and you're Leonardo. Donatello, and Raphael," I pointed to each of them as I said their name.

My response wasn't what they were looking for, apparently. Raph rolled his eyes irritably, "Obviously. We mean, why ain't ya askin' why we're talkin' animals."

I had to admit I was curious. Splinter asked me the same question, worded differently, when he was walking with me in the sewer. My answer seemed to impress him and I'd do just the same here, "Well… aren't you gonna ask who I am?"

The answer obviously was still opposite of what the four green turtles were looking for, but my answer this time caught all of them by surprise.

"You're a human," Donatello stated.

I nodded, "And you're a turtle."

"Don't you care where we came from?" Leonardo tilted his head.

I shrugged, "Are you mean?"

Michelangelo slowly turned to Raphael, "Mean?"

"I ain't mean!"

I shook my head, "Not that kind of mean. Like… hurt people kind of mean."

I could tell that they were all unsure of why I was asking the question I was asking. I wasn't really in the mood to explain my backstory and I could tell that everyone with the exception of Michelangelo didn't really feel comfortable sharing theirs either.

"Master Splinter says that we're destined to protect the people of New York, not hurt them," Leonardo answered after a moment of silence. His brows were narrowed just slightly as he did, "Someday we'll go up to the streets and do incredible things."

He said it with confidence. I believed him, "Then I guess I don't really care why you're talking animals. I don't like really like humans."

"But, you're a human?" Donatello said once again.

"Ya, but all the humans I've ever known are mean. I know there are good ones too but I don't know any of them," I shuffled my feet on the concrete floor, "I'm glad you're not human."

Maybe my words weren't the smartest. They seemed to be double crossing themselves over what their Master Splinter had told them, about being "destined" to protect the people of New York. I didn't fully understand what that meant but they seemed to take it hard after me telling them that I, as a human, didn't like humans.

But for once, Raphael broke into a smirk before breaking into what really looked like a fake yawn, "I'm goin' ta bed."

The rest of the turtles seemed to follow through, all murmuring a "Good Night" to me before filing out. They all, Leonardo especially, had thoughtful creases formed from considering faces, still thinking about I've said.

Michelangelo was the only who looked back, beaming from ear to ear, "I've always wanted a sister."

I smiled, feeling my cheeks grow a little hot.

He walked out of the doorway for a moment, then poked his head in one last time, "Our room is right next to yours, just so ya know! Good night Jade!"

"Good night Michelangelo."

"Mikey."

I chuckled, "Right. Mikey."

He gave me a small wink before leaving me to haul one of the comforters onto the bed. I curled myself in it, letting the heat radiat. Only a few hours ago, I was a hostage. Now I live with a family of abnormal, talking animals. No. They weren't abnormal. They were more normal than the bad guys had been. I'd never felt more safe in my life than I did now.

I've always wanted a sister. I smiled, letting my heart jump as I fell asleep to that thought.