Chapter 43; Elizabetta

                                    

                                          
Song: Good To Be Alive - Skillet
                          
The prospect of my mom and brother both being alive lifts a heavy burden off my shoulders. I didn't lose my family after all; and the best part is that I have another family of four turtles to add them to. The crazy part is, though, that I wouldn't have met the green ninjas if I hadn't lost the real members in the first place.
                          
   Maybe storms have a rainbow at the end, after all.
                          
   Though Edmund and I want to find my mom, we aren't sure how. Donatello says to wait until we find out more information. I have agreed, since we aren't quite sure where she is. She's a mutant anyway; she'll most likely just attack me again.  And that would hurt me more than I am prepared for at the moment. Overall, we decide to be patient.
                          
   The next afternoon comes around quickly, since all of us sleep through the day. We scarf down lunch like a pack of starving wolves. Master Splinter even makes a short appearance to eat, before fading to his bedroom again.  Then Raphael, Edmund, and Donatello start lounging around, bonding over the pain of stomachaches.
                          
   Leonardo stays in the kitchen to clean up. I hand back, helping him by washing the plates in the sink.
                          
   I wanted to talk to him about the Footbots. For some reason, I feel like he needs to know what happened. Even if it does sound a bit strange.
                          
   Still, I end up stalling. I hesitate until the kitchen is sparkling, then I decide I'd better tell him before he gets around the others.
                          
   "Leo," I begin, taking a seat at the table. "Something happened in the battle with the Footbots that I think you should know."
                          
   Leonardo pulls himself onto the counter across from me. He looks at me curiously. "Go on," he replies.
                          
   "That wasn't an ordinary fight," I say slowly.
                          
   "You're telling me!" Leonardo sighs, running a hand over his head. "The Foot was ten times tougher to defeat than usual!"
                          
   My eyes widen. "What? You thought that was hard?" Surely he's joking.
                          
   Leonardo gives me another puzzled look. "Didn't you?"
                          
   I blink. "Um... No. I actually thought that was easy," I admit. "They didn't even seem to be trying."
                          
   "Are you kidding?" He tilts his head. "They nearly had our shells!"
                          
   I just stare at Leonardo. I know what I saw, and there's no way I'm better at Ninjutsu than him. The expression on his face tells me that he is being serious, so there is only one explanation.
                          
   "The Foot were only going easy on me," I mumble.
                          
   "But why?" Leonardo leans closer to me. He looks like a starstruck puppy, or a deer caught in headlights. Utterly, utterly lost.
                          
   And to be truthful, that's how I feel. "I don't know," I sigh. Suddenly, nothing makes sense. My brother told us that the Kraang randomly released him, saying they didn't have further use for him. Sending him out is the perfect plan to make me reveal myself. The Foot seemed to have used him to set an ambush up for us, and they apparently didn't want to harm me. Which makes no sense again, because my father has so much as sworn revenge on me as and the turtles.
                          
   "How did the Foot know about my brother?" I wonder aloud. "It wasn't a coincidence that they attacked us in the same alley he was hiding in."
                          
   "Unless your father has teamed up with the Foot as well as the Kraang," Leonardo points out.  "Edmund might have been bait.  Maybe it was your father's plan to take both of you back with minimal injuries, considering the Foot didn't attack Edmund, either."