I stared in amazement at the four baby turtles that I had scooped into the coffee can just last night. The previous evening they had all fitted safely in, with ample room to crawl about, yet now they were filling practically all the space and forced to crawl over each other.
I wondered what had caused their sudden growth spurt and it dawned on me that the ooze I had found them playing in must have had something to do with it. It was about this time that I realized that I too was increasing in size and strength. So, returning to where the ooze had been, I looked around for a few more clues as to why myself and my pets were increasing in size so rapidly.
I found a canister. A broken canister with the letters �TGRI� on it. This had no meaning to me, but somehow it looked important. I decided to keep it somewhere safe, as something within me thought it would be needed in the future.
I carefully placed my paws around the canister and amazingly found that I could push it forwards whilst walking on my hind legs. Using this method, I placed the canister in a hole within one of the crumbling sewer walls and covered it with a piece of old, muddied, human clothing.
I returned back to my pets, but low and behold, they were even bigger than before! I quickly allowed them to crawl from their uncomfortable confinement in the coffee can and nudged them towards the area floor near one of the sewer walls, where I pushed some rubble, stones and rocks over to form a barrier to prevent them from escaping.
As I sat and watched them I was sure that I could see them growing. I went and dragged over some of the scraps of food I had found previously and placed them into the midst of the turtles. They all started to eat ravenously whilst I nibbled on a few scraps which I had saved for myself.
As I ate, I wondered what I should call each of my pets and watched them in the hope of inspiration. The largest, having finished it�s meal, was walking around the confines of the barrier and appeared to be checking out the area. I watched as one of the other turtles get in the way of the first and there was a mini confrontation.
The other two turtles were slightly smaller, and while the smallest was still eating, the other was quietly sitting, staring at me.
I was slightly disturbed at the turtle watching me. It reminded me of when my deceased master had watched me in my cage. I felt as small twinge of remorse and self-pity as these thoughts passed through my brain and, sighing, I decided to go scavenge for some more food.
However, it wasn�t food I found that interested me. Laying in a gutter was a book which I dragged back to where my turtles were, with the intention of using it to stand on in order to see over the wall I built to keep my pets safe.
Having placed the book where I wanted, I then checked that the not-so-tiny turtles were all accounted for. They were all fast asleep in a little huddle. A smile split across my furry face as I gazed upon them. Then my interests returned to the book.
I had learnt to read from the newspaper cuttings my cage had been lined with. As these cuttings had been in both Japanese and American, I had learnt to read both. Master Yoshi had also spoken fluently in both languages.
As I attempted to read the book, there were lots of words I didn�t understand. Yet I was able to understand that it was about some European artists of the past. Some of their works had been displayed and I found myself in great admiration of their artistic skills.
I decided to name my pets after the artists who�s work I admired the most. I leant over the barrier to watch the turtles antics, in order to help me with the naming.
�So who shall be who?� I said, talking inwardly to myself. It came as a great shock when I realized I had spoken aloud. My turtles cocked their heads to look at me.
The ooze which had been making me grow, appeared to also be increasing my intellect and was also changing my body to allow more human-like behaviour such as walking on my two hind legs which I had thoroughly mastered. And now, I was also able to talk.
�Who shall be who.� I said again, looking at my turtles, who had returned to their normal behaviour.
Eventually I decided to name the largest turtle �Leonardo�. After saying the name aloud several times, I decided it fitted that turtle best. The other of the large turtles was to be called Raphael.
Out of the two smaller turtles, the one with the large appetite I called Michaelangelo, and the other was Donatello.
I said all the names aloud again and smiled as the turtles almost appeared to react.
�I will go get you food.� I explained to them, and was amused to see Michaelangelo raise his head sharply, and I imagined I saw him grin.
After putting another few bricks on the wall I was creating around them, I headed of to the above world of humans where I knew I would be able to find scraps of food discarded by them.
Over the next few days, my height and size reached that of a small human and the turtles grew and appeared like infants. Their legs and arms increased in length and transformed in shape to that of human arms and legs. Movement for them, although shaky, was much quicker than previously and I watched them happily crawl round and round their prison on hands and knees.
My own growth appeared to stop, and the growth of the baby turtles slowed to that of the growth of children, like the ones I saw from within my cage back in Japan. The turtles started to make gurgling noises and appeared to be trying to communicate with each other and me. That was, except for Donatello.
Donatello was unnaturally silent. I feared that he was not as intelligent as the rest. Yet he watched everything that went on with quiet understanding in his eyes. At times it was very unsettling and disturbing to be watched like this by the infant.
One evening later that week, I found a pizza discarded by one of the sewer entrances and I dragged it down to feed to my small family.
�I have brought you pizza.� I explained, putting the box in the midst of the turtles. It had become a habit for me to explain everything I was doing, as I hoped that eventually the turtles would mimic me and learn to speak.
I watched as the turtles all came to examine the food. Donatello and Michaelangelo crawled as normal whilst Raphael shuffled slowly along on varying numbers of appendages, falling over on a regular basis. Leonardo walked.
I watched in silent amazement as Leonardo carefully placed one foot in front of the other and walked over to the pizza. As he reached his target he toppled to his knees and took a piece of the food with his tiny green hands, but his achievement had brought tears to my eyes.
�Well done, Leonardo.� I whispered quietly in congratulation, but the turtle was too absorbed in his food to notice.
As I silently watched the turtles eating, it was apparent that the pizza was much enjoyed and I made a mental note to see if I could try and find it more often.
I had retrieved a number of items from my master's American home, which I had been forced to break into after it had been sealed up by the police following the confusion of my master�s murder. It had taken many journeys to transport all the items I considered useful into the sewers, into a place about a mile from where my baby turtles were. I had found an area in the sewers which appeared to have been basically fitted for what was considered as a humans basic needs.
There were a couple of power sockets and also a toilet with a sink. A couple of pieces of furniture were there, but were tattered and broken. I had also found that when I flipped the switches by the entrance to each room, the bulb which dangled from the ceiling produced light to see by.
It appeared like this collection of rooms had been roughly made for someone hiding from the world above, such as a criminal. But no-one had been there for many years, as was apparent by the cobwebs and dust. From what I could see, it would be the perfect place for my turtles to grow up.
I continued to try and clear the dirt and make the place more homely, all ready to accept my four turtle sons.
I managed to get the room sorted out sufficiently to transport the turtles later that evening. I also fetched the canister, still wrapped in it�s material, and hid it in a new location which was closer to our new domain.
Placing the turtles into one of the rooms I had put aside especially for this purpose, I then blocked the doorway with a large sheet of cardboard. This meant that my turtles had much more room that previously.
As they started to explore their new surroundings, I silently disappeared to try and find something suitable for their supper. I returned to the bins outside the pizza parlour in the hope that I would find another of the cheese covered treats that my turtles enjoyed so much.
Luck was on my side as I watched an angry human emerge from the back door and dump a pizza box on top of the bins.
�Stupid pranksters.� the human moaned, �Who would want a pizza with extra anchovies and chocolate drops anyway. What a waste of food.� He went, grumbling, back through the door, slamming it behind him.
I snuck forwards and took the box. A whole pizza was inside, it was also still slightly warm. I quickly returned and offered the pizza to my young ones.
They all moved towards the box and I watched as each helped himself to a slice. Michaelangelo paused before taking a bite into his. He examined it carefully.
�Peee-saah.� he gurgled. �Peee-saah! Peee-saah! Peee-saah!�
My jaw dropped open in amazement. Michaelangelo was talking. Leonardo watched Michaelangelo�s garbled chatter and copied it.
�Peee-zah!� declared Leonardo, waving his slice and grinning his little beak off. Raphael then also took up the cry.
�Peee-zah! Peee-zah!� the three yelled. Donatello sat silently and watched, but he looked as though he totally understood what was going on.
After a minute or two, there was silence again. Michaelangelo and Raphael turned back to eating, while Leonardo gazed at me.
�Speeen-tah peee-zah.� he gurgled softly. I smiled in reply and gently stroked the top of his green head. Leonardo grinned back at me and I noticed the white edges of teeth peeking through his gums.
As days, weeks and months passed, the three talkative turtles started to learn more and more words and string them together in sentences that I could understand and respond to.
All of them had mastered the skill of walking by now and they could also just about run without falling over. I guessed that in human terms they were physically about two years old.
I began to train them in the art of ninja which I had learnt from watching my master practice when I had been his pet.
The four turtles I no longer referred to as pets. They were my sons and pupils. I was there father and master. I taught them to refer to me as either Splinter or Sensei and that was mastered by the majority.
Leonardo was undoubtedly the quickest to pick up the skills I taught him. He paid the greatest attention to me and was rewarded with the ninja techniques he learnt.
Raphael had great potential, but had a tendency to loose his head and concentration. If provoked by one of his siblings he would attack violently, but unfortunately would then lack in the skills. If I found a way to channel his anger then he could become a fast and furious fighter.
Donatello was hard to teach as he would not, or could not, verbally respond to me. However he tried hard and although was not as naturally skilled as Leonardo, he did fairly well and could hold his own.
Michaelangelo, however, would not take my lessons seriously and frequently mucked about. I took quite a firm hand with him but it always pained me after I told him off, as he would give me a sorrowful look with his big brown eyes that melted my anger and heart.
And so the training progressed. All I taught to my turtles at first were obedience techniques and simple moves which they attempted and somewhat clumsily performed. Before bed I would tell them of Bushido, the Moral code of honor all true ninja�s followed. Watching their little faces light up as I spoke, was a joy that never in my life I thought I would ever get to experience.
�Are there any bad ninjie pe-pel?� Leonardo asked me one night. �Pe-pel who don�t Bush-e-o?�
�Yes Leonardo.� I said sorrowfully, �One such person killed my Master Yoshi.�
�What killed?� said Michaelangelo. He had a finger in his mouth, slurring his words.
I wondered whether now was the right time to tell my sons about this, but I swiftly decided that it was something they needed to know.
�Killed means that Master Yoshi was hurt very badly by the Evil Ninja and he was hurt so bad that he died.� I explained, hoping that this wouldn�t upset any of my little ones.
�Oh.� Michaelangelo responded, still sucking his finger. �What died?�
I sighed quietly. �Died is when someone lives no longer and does not think or move ever again.�
The turtles all looked at me blankly.
�Do not worry about it.� I said soothingly, deciding that maybe 'now' was not the right time, �You will understand when you are older. Now, it is time for sleep.�
I no longer needed to block off the room the turtles slept in. Although, when I was awoken in the early hours of the morning by a turtle wanting food or attention, I sometimes thought that maybe I should block them in again.
But yet, then they would have been captives and I did not want them to think of me as their captor.
The following morning I woke to find all the turtles still fast asleep in a huge bunch, snoring gently. The content expressions on their little green faces persuaded me not to disturb them and I quietly slipped out of the lair to go and scavenge for some breakfast for us.
I had left the turtles before and I had few worries about leaving them by themselves for half an hour or however long it took me to find food.
They probably would still be fast asleep when I returned, as it was still only early in the morning. I deliberately chose this time as it was before the humans woke up.
Scouting about near the bins on the back of a large restaurant, I found a number of items which I considered fit to feed my turtles and were not too rich as to cause them nausea.
I hunted around for a while longer, enjoying the solitude and watching the sun slowly rise. However, from my hiding place among the shadows, I watched as the people started to awaken. I knew it was time to return to the dark sewers and my turtles who would be waiting for the food I had collected.
I promised myself that someday I would show my turtles a sunrise and they would be able to see its majestic beauty for themselves.
Back in the sewers I found Michaelangelo still sleeping. He was cuddled up around Donatello. Donatello was awake and grinned at me as I entered the room and placed the food on the floor.
�Where are Raphael and Leonardo?� I said aloud to myself. I moved to the other rooms where they were likely to have gone to as part of some game.
But I couldn�t find them.
I started to panic as I hunted around, calling their names loudly. Michaelangelo was woken by my calling.
�What�s wong Master Splinner?� he said, with a yawn that almost split his face in two.
�Raphael and Leonardo are missing.� I explained, my brain swiftly moving through all the possible things that could have happened to them. �Do you know where they are, Michaelangelo?�
Michaelangelo shook his head. �No seen Raph Leo since last night.�
My heart started to pound as I thought of all the terrible things that may have happened to them. They were young and alone with no protection.
As I tried to think logically, it seemed most likely the two had wandered off for some reason. The sewers were so vast and they were so little. Besides, there were about seven different routes from the lair alone that they could have taken.
How would I ever find them?
Part 2 coming soon..!