"What Is It?"
By Azure Turtle

Disclaimer: All TMNT characters belong to Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird, and Mirage Publishing. I'm just a fan who wants to express my enthusiasm for the TMNT through fanfics. Please don't hurt me.

Author's Note: I never thought I'd write a story featuring the TMNT as young kids, but there seems to be a recent trend of fanfics and fanart portraying the guys in green as little hatchlings. So I guess I've decided to jump on the bandwagon. I hope you like it =)

It was late in the afternoon, and four little turtles trudged into their home after a long day of playing in the sewers. Master Splinter sat at the kitchen table, reading a book of poems by Robert Frost. He glanced up at his sons and met their gaze with a smile. "Hello, my sons. Did you all have fun today?"

One of the tiny turtles stepped forward. "Yes, Sensei. Thank you for letting us play instead of practicing today."

Splinter nodded, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "And did any of you go past the boundaries I set for you?"

"No, Sensei," the same tiny turtle responded.

"Good. Thank you for your honesty, Leonardo." Splinter smiled with pride. "Now, I thought you would all be hungry after playing so much," he motioned at a plate of sandwiches that sat before him, "so I have prepared a small meal for you."

"Oh wow! Peanut butter and jelly! My favorite!" One of the little turtles began bouncing up and down with excitement.

Splinter chuckled at his youngest son's enthusiasm. "Yes, Michelangelo. They are peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Now remember, there are four sandwiches here, one for each of you. I do not want you eating one of your brothers' sandwiches."

A tiny turtle wearing a red mask frowned. "Ya, Mikey. You ate mine last time."

"Sorry Raph," Mikey responded with a sheepish smile. He turned to Master Splinter. "I promise I will only eat my own sandwich, Sensei."

"Good," Splinter nodded. "Now, I am going to my room to meditate. I expect you all to behave. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Sensei!" the four turtles voiced loudly. Splinter lovingly looked at each of his sons before retiring to his room. After their Sensei had left, the four turtles quickly huddled.

"So Donny, d'ya still have it?" Raph eagerly asked his brother.

"Yup, it's right here." Little Donny opened up his hands to reveal a strange object. It was silver, and it was covered with intricate gold patterns. The item was in the shape of a cube, with five strange knobs sticking out of one side. The tiny turtles stared at the thing in awe.

"Wow…" Mikey's eyes widened in wonder at the sparkling object.

"What do you think it is, Donny?" Leo shifted his gaze from the item in question to his brother.

"I really don't know," Donny responded. "I just found it lying around while we were playing hide 'n seek."

"Well…it's gotta be something important. I mean, look at it. It's shiny," Raph said, gently poking the mysterious object.

"Hmph…I really don't care what it is. I'm too hungry to care!" Mikey exclaimed. He left the huddle and hopped into one of the chairs at the kitchen table. Humming a cheery tune, Mikey grabbed one of the sandwiches and began eating it. He gave his brothers a large grin, with bits of peanut butter and jelly stuck to the corners of his mouth. "If you guys aren't hungry…can I have your sandwiches?"

"NO!" The other three yelled at him.

Leo groaned. "Didn't you just promise Sensei that you'd only eat your own sandwich?"

"Well, ya…but if you gave me permission to eat your sandwiches, then I shouldn't be getting into trouble like last time." Mikey giggled.

"C'mon guys, we better eat our food before Mikey does!" Raph glared at his brother, who continued to happily chomp down on his sandwich.

The other three turtles joined Mikey at the table. Donny placed the strange object in front of them, and they all stared at it as they ate.

Once the little turtles had finished eating their snacks, they all sat silent in thought, staring at the unknown item before them.

Mikey looked at each of his brothers. "So, what do you guys think it is?"

"I know!" Raph sat up, excitement in his eyes. "Maybe it's a treasure chest!"

"But aren't treasure chests supposed to be a lot bigger?" Donny picked up the object and looked it over. "This thing fits in both of my hands. It's too small to be a treasure chest."

"Ha ha! Raph's wrong!" Mikey pointed at his brother and laughed.

Raph folded his arms and frowned at Mikey. "Ya? Do you have any better ideas?"

"Hmm…" Mikey took the object from Donny and turned it around a few times. "Hey, what if it's some sort of alien weapon? Wouldn't that be cool?" Mikey grinned. "Where's the button on this thing? Maybe it'll zap Raph!" He began to push and pull at the five knobs, but nothing happened.

"Nice try, stupid." Raph stuck his tongue out at Mikey. "That's one of the lamest ideas I've ever heard."

"Okay, quit it, you two," Leo scolded his brothers. "If you guys keep arguing, Sensei's gonna come in here and you'll both be in trouble."

"Fine, whatever."

"Sorry."

Donny took the object back and gave it a closer look. "Hey, maybe it isn't a treasure chest, but what if Raph's on to something? What if it's a box with some sort of secret inside?"

"See! My idea was better!" Raph beamed as Mikey glared at him.

"Ooh, what kind of secret, Donny?" Leo asked, getting excited.

"Well, we won't know 'til we open it," Donny replied.

"Here, lemme see that thing." Raph grabbed the object out of Donny's hand and began fidgeting with it. He tried all kinds of silly antics to open the object. Raph squashed it with his hands. He struggled to pull it apart. He even attempted to twist the knobs, but nothing happened. Raph slammed the mysterious object onto the kitchen table in a fit of frustration.

"Shh!" Leo warned. "Sensei is going to punish us if we disturb his meditation!"

All four turtles quickly froze and stared in the direction of their Sensei's room. They waited for a few moments, but Master Splinter did not appear. They breathed a sigh of relief.

"Nice one, dummy. We could've been grounded for weeks!" Mikey said, angrily.

"I was only trying to open the damn box!" Raph protested.

"Raph! Don't use that kind of language! You know Sensei will get mad if he ever hears you saying stuff like that!" Leo shot an angry glance at his brother.

Raph looked around. "Ya, well I don't see him, so nyah."

"Guys, would you keep quiet for a sec? I'm trying to think!" Donny sighed as he picked up the object once again. He studied the delicate gold patterns that ran all over the object except for the side with the strange knobs. The other three turtles watched Donny and patiently awaited his analysis.

"Well?" Raph finally broke the silence.

"All this gold stuff looks like leaves," Donny replied.

"Leaves?" Mikey asked, confused.

"Ya…look at it up close. There are little leaves and flowers all over the box."

The other three turtles all leaned in for a better look.

"Hey, you're right, Donny. But what does that mean?" Raph looked up at his brother.

Donny shrugged. "I don't know."

"Maybe it's some sort of pot?" Leo suggested.

"A pot? For what?" Mikey looked over at Leo.

"I dunno. Plants?"

Raph sighed. "Nice try, Leo. But that idea is even lamer than Mikey's idea."

"Too bad I wasn't right. Otherwise, you'd be fried right now," Mikey mumbled under his breath.

"What was that?" Raph shot his youngest brother an angry look.

"Oh, nothing." Mikey whistled and looked up at the ceiling.

Leo shook his head and sighed. If those two kept arguing, Sensei was definitely going to punish them.

"Gee, this thing really has me confused," Donny scratched his chin in thought.

"Hey, I know!" Mikey quickly snatched everyone's attention. "What if it's a magic box that no one's supposed to open? Like Panties Box?"

"You mean Pandora's Box," Donny corrected his little brother.

"Ya, that's what I said. Anyway," Mikey continued, "what if we're not supposed to be opening that thing? What if it's bad?"

Raph got an evil glint in his eyes. "Only one way to find out!"

"Oh no you don't. You already tried, remember?" Leo quickly picked up the box before Raph could grasp it.

"Aww, you're such a party pooper."

"I don't know, Mikey. That's kinda farfetched," Donny replied. "If the box were dangerous, why would anyone leave it lying around in the sewers? It should be guarded by a bunch of powerful monsters or something."

"Maybe we should ask Sensei," Leo stared at the object in his hands.

"What, are you kidding?" Raph spoke up. "You do that, and he'll probably take it away from us and tell us that we shouldn't be playing with human things."

"But what if it wasn't made by humans? I'm telling you guys, it could still be an ultra cool alien laser beam thingamajig!" Mikey got excited again.

"Is there any way to turn his brain off?" Raph groaned as he slapped his forehead with his hand.

"Nope." Donny grinned.

"Too bad." Raph sighed.

"You all don't believe me now, but wait 'til it zaps one of you! Then you'll know that I was right!" Mikey placed his open hands next to his head and stuck out his tongue at Raph while wiggling his fingers.

"Wait, what if it's an important part?" Donny gently took the object out of Leo's hands. "These five little things might plug into something bigger. Maybe it's part of a giant machine?"

Mikey nodded vigorously in agreement. "Ya! Like an alien machine!"

"Would you cut it out?" Raph yanked the back of Mikey's orange mask.

"Ow!" Mikey gave his brother a look of annoyance before turning back to Donny.

"Or maybe it's a part of some sort of top-secret project run by the government!" Donny's eyes lit up.

"What's a 'government'?" Mikey asked.

"It's a group of people that boss other people around. Right, Donny?"

"Well…you're on the right track, Raph."

"Ha, see? I know more than you do!" Raph poked Mikey in the beak.

"No you don't!" Mikey argued.

"Oh ya? Then tell me something I don't know." Raph dared his brother.

"Hee hee…You don't know that I'm the one who stole your decoder ring!"

"What?! You little butthead! I've been looking for that thing everywhere! Give it back now, or I'm gonna make you kiss the floor!"

Mikey laughed hysterically as a furious Raph chased him around the table. Leo decided to step between the two. "Stop it, now! Sensei will never give us another play day if you guys make him angry with all of this noise!"

"But Mikey stole my decoder ring! Make him give it back to me, Leo, or I'm gonna pound his face in."

Leo sighed. "Mikey, give Raph his ring back."

"No. Finders keepers, losers weepers!" Mikey began dancing around again, teasing Raph. Leo had to hold Raph back to prevent him from pummeling Mikey into the next century.

"Mikey," Leo gritted his teeth, "if you don't give Raph his decoder ring back, I'm going to tell Sensei that you stole it."

Mikey stopped dead in his tracks. He knew very well that stealing was against one of Master Splinter's rules, and he didn't want to be spanked. Mikey only received a stern lecture when he stole Raph's sandwich, but if he stole something again, he would surely get spanked. "Oh all right. I'll give it back to you when we go to our room to sleep," Mikey surrendered.

"Good. And you better not forget!" Raph threatened his youngest brother by shaking an angry fist at him.

"Ahem!" Donny glared at his brothers with impatience. "As I was saying, this thing could be part of some sort of government project. Maybe it belongs in the engine of a new weapon!"

"Then maybe we shouldn't be holding on to this thing," Leo said, eyeing the object warily. "We don't want humans to be looking for us down here. I think we should get rid of it the next time we play outside."

"No! Don't do that!" Mikey pleaded with his eldest brother. "We don't even know what it does yet! What if it's something good that we can use? Like a battery for the oven?"

"I hate to say it, but I'm with Mikey on this one," Raph nodded.

"Me too," Donny said. "I could be wrong about it being a part of a secret government weapon. Maybe it is something good."

"Ya! Who knows? If we can figure out how to open it someday, maybe it'll turn Raph into a roach!" Mikey laughed at the thought of a tiny roach wearing a red mask.

"Okay, that's it. I'm gonna beat you up!" Raph started chasing Mikey around the table once again, when a voice suddenly caught their attention.

"What are you all doing?" Master Splinter frowned at his sons. Mikey and Raph had both stopped running around the table and looked at Splinter with fear, while Don and Leo grimaced from their seats at the table.

"Um…well, you see Sensei…" Leo got up and stood before Splinter. "Donny found this weird thing, and then Raph started chasing Mikey around the room, and…" Leo stumbled on his words, trying to explain to everything to his Sensei.

Splinter sighed. "Nevermind. You should all be going to bed."

"But it's still early!" Mikey whined.

"Yes, I am aware of the time, but since you did not have practice today, you will be getting up early tomorrow morning to make up for it. Now go to bed."

"Yes, Sensei," replied the four little turtles.

They all walked towards their room.

"Remember doofus, you're supposed to give me my decoder ring back!" Raph sneered at Mikey.

"Ya ya…I will." Mikey made a face at Raph.

Donny suddenly stopped walking. "Guys, I left that thing on the table! Do you think Sensei will get mad at us when he sees it?"

Mikey and Raph started to panic. "Wait," Leo tried to calm his brothers down, "I don't think Sensei will get mad at us. He'll probably just throw the thing away."

"Aww…but I wanted to know what it does," Donny sadly hung his head.

"Well, it's better than being punished, right?" Leo smiled.

"Ya, I guess you're right…" Donny was still a little disappointed since the object had been so interesting to him, but he returned Leo's smile.

"Hey guys, c'mon! Let's get going before Sensei gets mad at us for standing around in the hallway!" Raph beckoned his brothers towards their room.

"Okay, okay, quit pushing!" Mikey complained as he and his brothers went into their room to sleep.

Meanwhile, Master Splinter had begun to warm up some water on the stove when he spotted the strange object on the table. "So, this is what my sons were so interested in." The old rat leaned closer to the object to get a better look. "Ah yes, of course. This is a-" He was interrupted as the tea kettle began to whistle. Master Splinter walked over and turned off the heat. He proceeded to make a nice, small cup of tea and he carried it to the kitchen table. Master Splinter sat down and slowly sipped his soothing drink while staring at the object. He put his teacup down and picked up the object, turning it over in his hands. He tried twisting one of the knobs. "It appears to be stuck," Splinter mumbled as he placed the object back onto the table, the knobs facing down. "I wonder why it has not started yet? The dial has been fully wound." Splinter picked up his walking stick and gave the shimmering object a nice tap. Suddenly, the object shivered. Then the sides began to slowly unfold like a box, revealing a beautiful figurine of a young girl with wings. The little gold fairy gracefully danced in a circle as a soft and gentle tune began to play from within the bottom of the object. The wise old rat watched with amusement. "Incredible. So much beauty in such a simple music box." Master Splinter sipped his tea and smiled as the little fairy continued to dance to the heavenly music.

--The End--