The Final RIOT! (A TMNT RPG)

"I'm telling you Don, she was here. She looked just like this, like she had before she died, only her hair was white." I said, and Donatello shrugged. "I give up." I said, sitting down next to Raph. I remembered my mother's face, and how no one else had seen her. I put my head down in my hands, and started crying. "Am I crazy? What's wrong with me? My own dad didn't even want me, my mom died in a car crash looking for me after he'd kicked me out. What did I do to get this?" I said in between sobs.

"You're not crazy," I said. I put my hand on Paul's shoulder. I was glaring daggers at Donni, completely ticked off. I was not one to anger easy, but once someone ticked me off, I'm not the one to mess with. I turned back to Paul. "You're perfectly fine and don't let anyone tell you different." I was repeating everything I was constatly telling myself while living with my uncle. Most of what everyone has seen up to today with my self-esteam was me putting up fronts. Just fronts of how confident I was, nothing more.

I looked up and was going to thank Crystal, but I saw her again. My mom, standing in front of me, only a few feet away. She walked over to me, a frown on her face. "What is it, baby?" she said, her beautiful features setting in concern. "I don't what to do anymore. Why can't I just go with you, mom?" I said, and she just touched my cheek and looked at me with pity. "You would do that? You'd leave him?" she said, looking at Raphael, who was standing behind me. I didn't answer her, only asked her another question. "Can't you stay here with me? Please?" I said, and she got up, her white hair flowing down her back. "You know I'm always here, honey." she said, and then, for the fourth time in one day, she was gone. I looked around at everyone, who was just looking at me. Then I felt a presence by me, warm and watchful. Then I saw her again, standing next to Raph, and she whispered in his ear "You better take good care of my baby." I saw him straighten, and he looked in her direction, but didn't see her.

I turned back to my food and started to eat again. I knew that Paul had seen his mother again. I decided to not talk, since it might wind its way around to Paul's behavior. I decided maybe some music would help him, since he loved music, so I turned on the radio. It was on comertails and I tuned them out until one caught my attention. "Think you've got what it take's to be New Yorks finest teen boarder?" the announcer asked. That caught my attention in no time. "Then sign up for the Teen's Skateborading compitition Agust 4 in Central Park. All levels of boarders are welcome and no sponsors are nessicary for this competition. All you need is a board and some skill. Log on to (insert random website here) and sign up." My eyes lite up and a small smile crossed my face. I knew what I was doing Agust 4, which was in three days.

I snapped out of whatever trance it was that happened whenever I saw my mother. It was like the world fell away, and it was just me and her. Kinda like being with Raph, but not in the same way. I looked around, and everyone was eating, except Donnie, who was just shaking his head. Leo came out of his room, Lindsay with him. Leo shot daggers at Raph. "oh crap." i thought. "You two wanna keep it down next time?" he said, and Lindsay hit him in the back of the head "Leo! Like you've got room to talk!" She stomped away after that "I had to get the screamer." she said, heading towards the bathroom.

I tried not to laugh at what Lindsay had said before heading off towards the bathroom. It was probably information I could live without, but it was funny that Lindsay pretty much announced to everyone that she and Leo fooled around and that he was a screamer. "So, you gonna sign up?" Mikey asked, yanking me back into the real world. I just gave him an, "are you serious?" look. "Dumb question," he said, smiling. I gave him a kiss on the cheek. "It's okay," I said. "You're coming to the compotition, right?" I asked. Mikey smiled. "It seems like I'm not the only one with dumb questions. Of course," he said. "Ha, ha, very funny." I took my plate and set it in the sink.

I heard Crystal ask Mikey if he was going. When she was putting her plate in the sink, I said "I can go to Angel's later and get Mikey some clothes." "I don't think so." Raph said, moving closer to me. I looked around at everyone else. "I believe it would be best if Crystal went and got the clothes herself." Splinter said, not looking up from his book and tea. Leo was now sitting next to Crystal, across from me, his face sour and he was sulking. I decided not to push it. "So, uh, how long's Lindsay gonna be?" I asked him, and he looked at me. "Another week. Shooting got held up cause of weather." he said. That night, I was sitting on the couch with Raph while Splinter and Leo meditated, and Crystal and Mikey were at Angel's, Lindsay was in her and Leo's room getting her face on for a party, and Don and Maria in the lab. I was sitting between Raph's legs, my back on his carpace, and we were watching "American Idol Rewind", and they showed Allison Iraheta's rendition of Heart's "Alone". While we watched, Raph was running his fingers through my hair, and I fell asleep with him holding me in his arms.

"Alright, here you go," Angel said, handing Mikey a pile of clothes. "So, you two are dating?" I nodded and Mikey proudly wraped his arm around my waist. "Yep," he said. "Cool," Angel said. Mikey and I went back down to the sewers and walked. Just as he had done on the way to Angel's, Mikey spliped his hand into mine. I didn't know how such a small act could make me smile and even blush a bit, but it did. We walked into the lair, hand in hand, my face a slight shade of pink.

I woke up in my room, in the same posistion I had been in with Raph on the couch. I heard him singing softly to me, and I felt his hands stroking my hair as he did. "but you know, honey, i'll always be around, oh, and if you ever want me, and cry, cry, baby, cry, baby, yeah...who'll take all your-" he stopped when he saw I was up. I finished the line for him, "pain, and your heartache too..." I leaned my head on his chest, lying sideways. His arms were almost crossed around me, and he was looking at me, his golden eyes piercing into mine, but not in a threatening way, and his hand reached up and his finger traced the bruise on my jaw,and the one on my right eye from when I'd hit the ground. "I love you, Raph." I said, starting to fall asleep on him again. "i love you too." was the last thing I heard that night.

I'm not really sure how Mikey and I ended up lying in my bed snuggled up together. We were just enjoying eachother's company, no words were being spoken. Mikey's hand was rubbing up and down my back in a soothing manner. My head was right over his heart and I could hear it. It was only adding to the soothing vibes I was feeling, which was already pulling me towards sleep. Wrapped in his secure embrace, I let myself fall into the peacefullness of sleep.

The next morning...

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEO!" we all yelled to him, while he was entering in the living room. "Congratulations bro!" screamed Mikey. "I can not believe that you are already 16" said Master Splinter with a tear in the corner of his eye. "I don´t know what to say. I completely forgot about my birthday" said Leo. "Then don´t say anythin´, just open your presents" replied Raph. "Don and I want to give you our present first" I said to Leo and Donnie gave him a long blue box. When Leo saw what was inside it, he couldn´t believe what he was seeing. "A new pair of Katanas!" Leo yelled. "Yes but those are really special. They´re made of an undestructible material called Crystalamantium that the Utroms gave me" Don explained. "So, do you like them?" I asked Leo. "Like them? I love them!" he responded. I smiled.

After we all sang Happy Birthday to Leo and had cake it was time to finish giving presents. I went next. I handed a rectangular present wrapped in green paper. Leo opened it and reveiled a wooden frame that encased one of my drawings. It was of him and Lindsay. Leo had his arms wrapped around Lindsay's waist from behind, his chin resting on her shoulder. His eyes were closed. Lindsay had one arm reaching behind her, touching his cheek with her finger tips. Her other hand rested gently over Leo's hands. Her head was turned away from Leo's and her eyes were also closed. It colored lightly with colored pencils. At the bottom in black sharpie was the line, "Love always finds a way," done in caligraphy. "I helped pay for the frame," Mikey said, proudly. I rolled my eyes at him.

I looked at the picture of Lindsay and Leo. "Isn't it great?" Lindsay said, and I nodded. I walked over to Crystal and asked her "Do you think you could do one of me and Raph?" Then I felt someone's hand on my shoulder, and saw my mother, only now she wore a long black dress with black flowers in her pure white hair. When I looked back, it was Raphael standing there.

"Sure," I said, a picture already forming in my head of what I wanted the picture to look like. "I'll have it done before my bording comptition this Saturday." Leo looked to me. "Thank-you, for the picture. It's beautiful," he said. I smiled back. "It was my pleasure," I said. "It's alway's fun to draw for other people."

"Now it is time for my gift" said Master Splinter. He gave Leo a beautiful bonsai tree. "It symbolyzes the fact that you´re still growing but with time and patience you´ll become stronger and wiser" Splinter explained to Leo. "Thank you Sensei" Leo responded. "Who wants to see a movie?" I asked.

"Can we watch a horror movie?" Don said, and Mikey went into his room "No, Don, we watched a horror movie last movie night. Why don't we watch X-Men?" he said, holding up his copy. "Yeah, then I can explain to Raph why Rogue is better than Wolverine." I said, and Raph responded "Yeh, well, if she was so good, why'd Wolverine have to save her in the end?" I was going to say something, but Splinter said "I believe we should watch Mean Girls." I looked at Lindsay. "Yeah, then we could see Lindsay in action!" Mikey said, setting X-Men on the table.

"But we watched that movie last week" I said. "What about that movie about the race car. Lindsay was also in that one" Mikey sugested. "You mean Herbie? That´s a kids movie" Raph replied. "Well, can you think about another movie?" Donnie asked. "What about The Curious Case of Benjamin Button? It´s not with Lindsay but it´s a good movie" I said.

(tell me if I'm dragging the dead mom thing on too long)
"We could watch that one." I said, and everyone sat down, Donatello putting the movie in. I woke up when the movie was over. "Crap. I missed the whole thing." I said, and I looked around, and saw that there was no one else in the lair. And that it was snowing. "Oh. Guess not." I said, realizing it was a dream. I stood up from where I'd been sitting on the floor, and walked towards the dojo. It looked the same, only it was still snowing, and there were giant flashes of light, and in between them I saw my mom standing in the middle of the dojo, her arms lifted up as if she was summoning something. She looked staright at me, the snow falling into her hair and her dress, which was white again. I stood there, watching her as the white light flashed, and I went forward, my mom not saying anything, and I hit my foot on something when I was a few feet away from her. I looked down and saw a glass coffin, and the person inside. Me. Then I looked back up at my mom, and she said "It's almost time, baby." Then I woke up.

(The dream isn't symbolizing my death, just something else. I just don't know what yet.)

(sorry to say, but you are)

"Are you alright Paul?" Raphael asked to him. The movie was over and we were all looking at Paul because he was talking while he was sleeping. "Did you have another dream or allucination?" Don asked. "Calm down guys! The boy can only answer to one question at the same time!" I said to them.

"Don, how do you hallucinate during a dream?" I asked, sitting up from the floor. "I had this dream, and in the dream, I was here, in the lair, and it was snowing. And no one else was here, and I went to the dojo. And my mom was in the dojo, and she had the white hair and white dress, but she looked the same." I noticed Raph was staring at me, and Donnie looked sligtly intrigued. I continued "And her hands were risen up, like she was summoning something, and there these flashes of white light, and I walked towards, her but I hit something. And I looked down and saw this glass coffin, and inside the coffin was...me." I said, and I swear I saw Raph cringe. "And then she said 'It's almost time, baby.' Then I woke up." I finished.

"What does that dream means Sensei?" I asked Master Splinter. "I believe that it means something really important. I need to think about this" he responded and went to his room. "It´s dinner time dudes! And since it´s Leo´s birthday, I ordered sushi and pizza!" yelled Michelangelo from the kitchen. "Just a moment Mikey" I said to him and looked at Paul. "Are you sure that you´re alright?" I asked him.

"Yes, I'm fine." I said, and then Leo came up to me. "What did you say your mother looked like? Can you draw her for us?" he said, handing me Crystal's sketch pad. Then, after a few minutes, I brushed off the dust of the eraser, and held it up.

"She looks sad or curious about something. Do you know why?" I asked Paul.

"No. But, when Leo asked me to draw her for you guys, this is what came to me. Her, looking like this. It looks like she's looking at someone. Doesn't it?" I said, and Maria, Leo, and Raph all leaned in and looked at the picture. "Ta me it looks like she's thinkin bout something." Raph said, and I looked at the picture, then him. "Maybe. We should ask Splinter." I said, and I got up and walked towards the dojo, the sketch in my hand. We found him, deep in meditation, in the middle of the floor. "Master Splinter?" I said, walking in with Leo, Maria, and Raph at my heels.