The whole time Renet and Lord Simultaneous were talking with the others, Raph worried about two things. His first worry was that he was about to lose Donna, just when they finally started to connect. The way Lord Simultaneous was talking, it sounded like a real possibility.
Donna had wrapped herself around his arm, burying her face against his bicep with her fingers intertwined with his. He could sense that she was equally afraid. Of course, she was afraid. While he was worried that he would have to live without her, she feared losing her life.
When they were reassured that the girls were going to be allowed to stay, Raph’s other concern became the focus of this thoughts. It was safe to assume Renet and Lord Simultaneous knew of Raph’s problem. The way Renet kept looking over at him told him that she was worried about him. Would she say anything to his brothers in an attempt to help? Or, knowing Renet, simply blurt it out without thinking?
That fear dissipated a little as the two time lords exited through the portal. But, the concern was still there. They were going to return after the tournament. Something could be said then.
Concern over Tello, had Raph pushing his own issues aside to check up on him. There was something about Donatello, no matter which incarnation of him it was, that drew Raph in. He wasn’t sure what it was about them, but he would do anything to keep them safe.
Once he was sure that Tello was okay, Raph went over to retrieve Snow from Leatherhead. Holding his daughter helped to ease his anxieties. Renet and Lord Simultaneous said she needed love to keep her on the right path. That was an easy enough requirement to fill. Raphael adored his daughter.
They still had some time to kill before the tournament would continue, so the Turtles had decided to start the tour down in the Hall of Champions. Actually, it was Mikey who had insisted on showing off his statue to the others. For him, it was on the top of the priority list and since they were leaving right after the tournament it had to be done now.
As they made their way down, they were met by Usagi and Traximus. Brief introductions were made and Leonardo gave them an abridged account of the events that led to Tello and the girls ending up in their dimension.
“I wonder if there are parallel versions of my world,” Usagi said, almost to himself. “Certain aspects of my life would not have worked out the same if I had been a female. I definitely would have known sooner that I had a child.”
“If there were several versions of my existence, I think I would prefer never to come in contact with any of them,” Traximus stated. “With my people struggling to rebuild our government, my life is complicated enough as it is. So much so that I was almost unable to attend the tournament.” He then smiled and added. “But it is good that you were able to find mates out of the experience.”
“You have no idea,” Mikey said, grabbing hold of Michelle’s hand. “This is like a dream come true.”
“I agree with Traximus,” Usagi said. “Though it appears that there is an uneven number of males to females. I can only imagine the troubles it has caused.”
“It’s actually not an issue,” Donatello said with a nervous chuckle as his cheeks darkened. “I’m in a relationship with Leather head.”
“Then it all seems to have worked out.” Usagi smiled and then turned his attention to Snow. “What about the child? Where did she come from? She looks as if she could be from the same world as Drako.”
“That one is complicated,” Donny answered, looking over at Raph as if to ask permission to tell the story. When Raph nodded, Donny continued. “To summarize, a man named Bishop abducted me. His intentions were to make it so I could have children, breed me with my brothers and raise our children as his own little soldiers. My brothers and Leatherhead managed to rescue me, but the alterations had already been done. In fact, the reason I’m not fighting in the tournament this years is because I am currently pregnant.”
“So, then the child is yours,” Trax stated as he moved in close to look Snow over, “and Leatherhead’s. But, if that is the case, why is Raphael the one holding her?”
With a squeal of delight, Snow grabbed hold of Trax’s horn. “Diyasour.”
Traximus chuckled, not bothered in the slightest and the large warrior softened as he gently pulled himself from her grasp. “On my world, children are kept in a nursery. I have not seen one since I had entered into adulthood. I had no idea how delightful they could be. She is adorable.”
“She is,” Donny said with a smile. “The uterus Bishop implanted in me combines my DNA with the DNA of whoever I mate with. To ensure that I mated, Bishop dosed us with something that… gave us an overwhelming and uncontrollable desire to mate. I was alone with Raphael and Leatherhead when the drugs took effect. So, Snow is also Raphael’s.”
“Interesting. That must have taken some dark wizardry,” Usagi said awe.
“Science,” Traximus corrected. “This Bishop must have access to various alien DNA. I have met a species whose wombs work in such a way. They take the strongest genetic material to form the child. Leatherhead’s DNA must have been more dominate.”
“That is what we believe as well,” Donny said.
They entered the Hall of Champions and followed the path through the statues. Leonardo pointed out the ones that they knew as they made their way past. Which happened to be quite a few.
Aside from Splinter and Yoshi, there were statues of Drako, the Ninja Tribunal, and the Shredder. Leo made sure to give them a brief explanation on how they knew each of them. Given the chance, he would go on for hours when it came to history.
Mikey, however, did not think that the explanations were brief enough. “This leads us to the reason why we’re here,” he interrupted as he trotted ahead. “My statue.” Once he was in front of the statue Mikey did his usual, turning to strike the same pose. “I’ve hardly aged a day! I still have the same baby face and chiseled physique. Hard to believe this was six years ago.”
“That is one big statue,” Rachael said as she came upon it.
“It’s almost as big as his ego,” Raph quipped, standing beside her. “He likes to brag about winning every chance he gets. He won’t shut up about it. But what do you expect, it’s his only worthwhile accomplishment.”
“You’re just jealous ‘cause you don’t have one,” Mikey said with a wide grin.
Smirking at Raph, Rachael shrugged. “He has a point. You don’t have one.”
“Don’t encourage him,” Raph grumbled and moved on to stand in front of Splinter’s statue. “At least I have a chance this year. Thanks to Usagi, Mikey doesn’t.”
“Don’t bring me into this,” Usagi stated, lifting a brow.
“As if,” Mikey said to Raph with a snort, ignoring Usagi. “They only reason you’re moving on is because Tello forfeited. From the looks of you, you were more than ready to throw in the towel. He could have beat you with a feather. There is no way you are going to win the tournament.”
“You’re one to talk. The only reason you even have that statue is because Splinter forfeited and Leo had been poisoned,” Raph growled back. “You wouldn’t have stood a chance against them.”
“I won the final battle all on my own,” Mikey argued. “Twice.”
“Enough,” Splinter said, striking his cane on the ground. “I’ve grown weary of this argument. It is time the two of you put it to rest.”
“I believe you promised me a drink,” Trax said in an attempt to draw Raph’s attention away from his brother. “We still have time before the next tier begins. You can tell me how you received your scars and I can get to know your lovely mate.”
Donna blushed as she shyly wrapped her arms around herself. “Lovely?” she whispered so softly that Raph barely heard her.
“Do you want me to take Snow?” Donny offered.
Raph looked down at his daughter and noticed that, despite his yelling, she had fallen asleep with her head resting on his shoulder. He shook his head. “No. I wanna hold her a little longer. I’ll give her back to you before the next round.”
He wasn’t going to say it out loud but he wanted as much time with her as he could manage. As soon as they returned home from the tournament and saw Casey and April’s twins, Raph and Donna were going to leave. There was no way to know how long it was going to take for the drugs to leave his system. It could be several weeks before he got to hold her again.
“There is a lovely little tea shop that is not too far from here,” Splinter said to Sliver, offering her his arm. “They have a tea that is unlike anything you have ever tasted.”
With a small smile, Sliver wrapped her arm around his. “That sounds delightful. Heaven knows that I could use a good cup of tea right now.”
“Let’s go get some sweets,” Mikey exclaimed as he pulled Michelle away. “You won’t believe some of the things they have here.”
“Okay.” With a giggle, Michelle allowed herself to be pulled away.
“We’ll join you,” Donny said, trotting after them. “I have a massive craving for something sweet right now.” Leatherhead followed after his mate. Raph could see the desire in Leatherhead’s eyes to lecture Donny about eating a proper diet while pregnant. But the smile that said he was willing to indulge his mate overruled it.
“Looks like we are all parting ways,” Leo said, taking Rachael’s hand.
“Looks like it,” Raph agreed as he took Donna by the hand. He could tell that she was a little nervous about the idea of being out among others. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before once again addressing Leo. “We’ll meet you back at the arena in time for round three.”
“Usagi, would you like to join us?” Leo said to his friend.
“I would love to,” Usagi replied with a smile.
“I’m afraid we’ll get lost if we go off by ourselves,” Tello pointed out. “Leah and I haven’t been here before.”
“It would be much appreciated if one of you allowed us to join you,” Leah added.
“You can come with us,” Leo chuckled. “Usagi and I will show you around.”
“Is there anything cool you can show us,” Rachael asked as they walked away. “Like, weapons?”
“I think there is something nearby,” Usagi replied.
At the moment, everyone seemed happy and carefree. But, guilt weighed heavily on Raph as he watched his family disperse, knowing what he was about to put them through. If all ended up going as planned, they would simply be mad at him for running off with Donna. But, then again, when has anything ever gone as planned?