Officer Taylor had talked to Janet in person and arrangements were made for Alana to be under the custody of Janet until she was old enough to be on her own. They were supposedly being kept at April's apartment, but Janet had given her the number for the turtles phone, but with April's address. Alana had told Janet that she wanted most of her things put in storage and it was done and couldn't be touched by anyone except Alana. They were driving down the street in their mothers van with the few things they would be taking with them to April's apartment. When they pulled up, Alana rolled her eyes when she saw Leonardo waiting for them outside. Him and Janet seemed to never be apart now and it was beginning to agitate her. Alana watched Janet walk over to the clothed figure and talk to him for a minute before opening Alana's door and telling her to come outside.
" Hey Alana." Leo said softly, but she didn't seem to hear him. She wouldn't even look at him. He looked at Janet who just shook her head and walked with him into the apartment. Alana followed quietly behind them and then stopped when they got to April's door. When the door opened, Alana glanced at the young woman who was heavily pregnant, then she looked back down at the floor. April gave her a sympathetic look and let them inside. April led Alana to the couch where she remained quiet and starred at the ground. Leonardo took off his clothes and noticed that Alana didn't even bother to look. She heard the voices of the others and the hairs on the back of her neck were beginning to stand and she knew that they were starring at her, but she didn't even take a glance at them. She was too consumed with the face that she had lost everything she loved and it was killing her inside. Alana glanced around the neat living room and noticed some shredded strands of white and grey hair on the floor. The turtles watched as Casey walked over to his bedroom and opened the door, only to have a very anxious blue merle dog come running out and wag her stub of a tail, obviously glad to see Alana and to be out of the room. She sat herself down and put her head on Alana thigh and waited with anticipation for attention. Alana starred down at the dog and looked into her blue eyes and could almost swear there was a look of sadness and that Azul knew that things were never going to be the same. Alana rubbed behind the dogs ears and continued to stare at her, feeling some sort of comfort that she had longed for while her sister was not there.
Everyone watched her to see if she would even give a slight smile, but her facial expression stayed the same. She had told the police everything they wanted to know, but since the incident she hadn't spoken.
" I feel sorry for her. I mean she had to see that." April said and looked at Janet who nodded solemnly.
" How are you holding up?" April asked her.
" Ok I guess. It's hard and I try not to think about it, but I think that Alana has it worse. She saw everything that night, but she wouldn't tell me though. What I do know of it, I had to get out of the police reports. She hasn't spoken, she hasn't eaten, and she has hardly got any sleep. She's going to make herself sick." Janet said and looked at her sister. Leonardo gently moved his hand over and held hers and Janet was thankful for the embrace of kindness. April smiled at the two and was glad to see them look so happy with each other, even under the circumstances. Raphael just turned up his lip and grunted softly to himself, but loud enough to be heard.
" Don't start!" Leo growled. Raphael looked at the two to see both of them glaring at him.
" What? I just think this romantic mushy shit is nasty." He stated flatly, raising an eyebrow. Leo huffed and shook his head.
" I could get started on what I think is nasty about you, but I am not going to start a fight in April's apartment, nor when Janet and Alana are around."
" Awe how sweet......" Raph said sweetly, but everyone knew he didn't mean it.
Alana was looking at them now since they weren't paying attention to her since they were too busy arguing with each other. She couldn't believe what she was looking at and that her sister had been telling the truth. They were giant turtles and a giant rat was sitting there with them. Alana knew then that she had seen enough in one life time. She looked at the one sitting next to Janet and grimaced. She also felt anger toward the two of them. If Janet had been at home she couldn't have been there for Alana or even have called for help. Instead, she had been out with him and it hurt Alana to think that there might have been a chance for her mother to have at least made it or at least the police could have gotten there before the killers had the chance to take the bodies, then they could have at least had a funeral. Not having the funeral to lay them down in peace was one of the things that was bothering her the most. She knew they were dead and that there was nothing that could be done about it, but she didn't have the bodies to put them to rest. Alana snapped back into reality and looked at the turtle with the red bandanna who was starring right at her. She looked at him and then her look turned to one of anger and she rolled her eyes and turned away from him.
" What a bitch!" Raph stated and smirked when he saw Janet's reaction. She looked at him and then back at Alana to see that she didn't look very happy and then looked back at Raph with a glare of her own.
" Raph!" April hissed. Raphael looked at April, but didn't say anything, because he hated to fight with her.
" Raphael, you really need to watch yourself. You are mean and you say rude things that can really hurt people. And I don't appreciate you calling Alana a bitch, especially in my house." April said somewhat angrily. Raphael looked almost surprised at her and then got up.
" You are not leaving." Splinter growled. Raphael wanted to say something, but instead kept quiet. Splinter motioned for him to sit on the chair across from the couch and he did so after huffing and clenching his fists in anger. Alana was a little surprised at the rat's reaction to the turtles behavior, but she pretended that she hadn't noticed and didn't care. Alana glanced at Raphael who was sitting slouched on the chair and starring angrily at the wall. She looked him over and then her eyes traveled down to the belt he wore and saw two weapons, one on each side. It was the ones she had called "forks" at first until Mike had corrected her and told her they were samurai sais. He was the one that had helped her from the start. Alana lowered her eyes again and all sorts of confusing thoughts ran through her head. After what had happened, she had thought it was Cory that had killed her parents, but the police looked into it and found that he was still in the clinic the night that it happened and that had smashed Alana to pieces. To her, Cory would have been the only one that could have wanted revenge, but he was locked up. She couldn't bear to think that her parents had done something terribly wrong to someone and they had decided to take revenge. But she didn't know what to think.
Alana turned when she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder and looked up to see April standing over her. She leaned over as much as she could and spoke softly to Alana.
" I think that you need to eat something." She said. Alana merely shook her head.
" Well, do you need to use the rest room?" She asked. Alana seemed to pause for a second and then gave a little nod. She got up and followed April into her bedroom and to the bathroom.
" I wonder if she is ever going to come around to talking to us." Mike said.
" My sons, it may be quite a while before she trusts us. I sense a great deal of discomfort and anger and I think it is best that we leave her be. She must deal with this ordeal on her own even with our support. Also, because of the arrangements of them staying with us, please try not to fight with Raphael in front of her. She is depressed enough." Splinter stated looking at his angry son who just glared and then turned back to whatever it was that he was looking at.
When Alana finished and came out of the restroom, she looked at April and waited to see if she had anything to say.
" Alana, I know that you have been through a lot in the past week and I can't even imagine what you must be going through, but I hope that you do come around to talking to us and getting to know us." She said and Alana nodded solemnly, but still said nothing.
" It's alright, Alana. When ever your ready." April said gently and even though Alana didn't know her, she was glad that she was there to give her some kind of comfort. They walked out of the room and then looked at Raphael who was eyeing the blue merle dog that had come over to sniff him. Raphael moved his arm away, but Azul came closer and then Raphael raised a hand to her, about to hit her, but suddenly found himself looking into the bright green eyes of a very angry Alana. He lowered his hand and stared at her a little surprised, but turned up his lip.
" Keep your nasty dog away from me." He growled and was going to turn around and sit back down when he heard Alana's bitter voice.
" The only thing nasty here is what's in front of me." She growled angrily. Raphael whirled around, startled by her words and starred at her angrily. Everyone was surprised that she had not only spoken, but said something that cold to Raphael of all of them.
" You better watch yourself, bitch!" He nearly yelled, not caring that he was told not to or that he was in April's house anymore. He was clearly angry and somewhat embarrassed that she had said something like that in front of everyone. Leonardo and Donatello got up and walked over to get in between the two, but Alana stepped past them and got right into Raphael's face.
" Then you make damn sure that you stay the fuck away from my dog!" She sneered into his face and he clenched his fists, almost raising them, until Azul creeped over next to them and lifted her lip in a warning growl. Raphael backed up and looked at the dog, snarling angrily at him and then looked back at Alana levelly. Janet walked over and looked at Alana, but didn't get too close because of Azul.
" Call her off." She said looking right at Alana. Alana's green eyes looked over at the angry red masked turtle and then down at Azul.
" Azul." She whispered and the dog sat herself down and relaxed.
" Alright, Raphael you need to sit down and stop being such an asshole. I don't know what the hell has set you off for the past few months but it's starting to really piss me off. Another thing, don't you dare raise your hand to a woman." April nearly yelled. Raphael seemed confused, but sat back down without saying a word. He was being yelled at left and right and embarrassed in front of everyone, but the thing that bothered him the most was the fact that Splinter wouldn't let him leave the house. Alana sat down and looked at Raphael, who wouldn't even look at her. He was just looking at the wall with an angry look on his face. Azul rested her head on Alana's thigh again and Alana ran her hands over the silky coat while listening to their discussion.
" We've already discussed the situation and we've decided that we are going to stay with Splinter and the turtles. They have already prepared a few things for us. With you being pregnant and the apartment being somewhat small, I don't want to put anymore of a burden on you than you already have. And in Alana's state, I don't think it's going to be very pleasant." Janet said. Alana glared at her sister and then turned away when they looked in her direction. Raphael had been watching her without expression and saw her mouth the word "bitch" which would clearly speak for what he thought about her sister. Then Azul jumped off the couch and walked over to the door.
" What is wrong with the dog?" Janet asked. Alana rolled her eyes and couldn't believe how ignorant people could be. It was obvious the poor thing had to relieve herself. Alana got up and opened the door and walked out with Azul and closed the door behind her. She walked down the stairs and when they were outside, she led the dog to a small patch of grass and waited as Azul relieved herself. She looked around at all the people walking by, but even with so many people around, she felt like she was totally alone. Janet had made some kind of attempt to talk to her, but when Janet had cried for her parents, she hadn't sought comfort with her sister, but with Leonardo instead. Alana was left alone to deal with the situation and it hurt her to think that her parents were gone and even though Janet was alive and well, it felt like she wasn't even there either.
" Come on girl." Alana whispered when Azul finished and they walked back up to the apartment. Alana stopped when she heard them through the door.
" I don't know what I am going to do with Alana. She's a spoiled girl with a hard head. I can't spoil like my mom and dad did, so I don't know how she is going to react. Alana's mouth dropped open in surprise and she couldn't believe that her sister had just said that. Janet was making a bad impression for her and she couldn't believe that she had just made it sound like Alana cared more about material things than the fact that her family had been destroyed.
" Well she ain't gettin nuthin from me so she better stay the fuck away." She heard Raph growl.
" Raph just calm down. We all just need to leave her be to deal with this." Alana narrowed her eyes as she recognized Leonardo's voice. Alana didn't want to hear anymore, so she turned and headed for the stairs with Azul close on her heals.
" I couldn't believe they said about me! How can they be such assholes after what happened to me?! That's alright, I'll treat them the same way and see how they like it." She growled bitterly and stalked out of the building.
" My sister should be with me, trying to deal with the situation together, but instead they all want to avoid me." Alana said more to herself than to Azul. Tears filled her eyes and she wanted to get away from them as fast as she could. She ran down the side walk with Azul by her side and turned down the road that would lead her to the only place she could think of........home.
April went to her kitchen and looked at the time as she sipped her glass of orange juice, then set the cup down and looked around. Everyone was at the table and Raphael was in another one of his moods, while still sitting on the chair. She glanced at the time again and gave Janet a worried look.
" Where is Alana and her dog? It doesn't take her thirty minutes to walk a dog, does it?" April asked. Janet shrugged and looked out the window, but there was no sign of Alana or Azul anywhere.
" Oh great....." Janet breathed and wondered if something had happened to her while she was out there, or if Alana had done something stupid to get attention. Janet got up and walked out the door with Leo close on her heels. Raphael could be heard chuckling under his breath, and his other two brothers gave him a dirty look.
" Raphael!" Splinter scolded and he stopped, but there was still that gleam of amusement in his eyes.
Janet looked around the building, but there was no sign of them. Leo, making sure to keep himself in the shadows looked at Janet and waited. She came over to him and looked almost angry.
" She's not here." She growled, but Leo could hear the worry in her voice. Leonardo ran back into the apartment and up the stairs and told his brothers that they were going to need his help. Raphael on the other hand had to be forced by Splinter to join his brothers in the search. He grumbled and walked out the door with a frown on his face. As soon as it was clear of people, the turtles ran and jumped into the van. They had never been in the van before and Michealangelo started to pick out all the interesting things it had, especially the television on the ceiling.
" Nice van." He said finally. Donatello nodded in agreement, but it was hardly the time to be admiring the van when Alana couldn't be found.
" Ok, lets think for a second. Is there any place for Alana to go? Friends or other family?" Donatello asked.
" I don't know......all we ever had really.....was home....." Janet then felt a tinge of discomfort and glanced at Leonardo.
" That's the only place she'd really think to go to...." She whispered uncomfortably.
" Then I think that's the first place we need to check." He said and knew that it would be hard on Janet. Janet hadn't gone back to the house after the incident. Everything was packed by some of the officers for her, because she wouldn't set foot near the house. Janet turned the van on and made her way through the streets that would head her home.
" Where the fuck are we goin?" Raphael asked, looking around the unfamiliar territory.
" To their house." Leo said flatly, only to get a surprised look from his brothers.
" She couldn't have gotten their that fast, could she?" Mike asked skeptically.
" It only takes ten minutes or so when your driving and she's had thirty, not to mention that girl is very athletic anyway." Janet said softly and slowed down when they came to the street called
Oakland Avenue. She turned the wheel and made her way down the street, until they came to a large black gate and saw that the yellow police tape was torn.
" I guess she is here...." Donatello mumbled.
" That's a big ass house." Mike stated, looking over the Victorian beauty. Janet pulled out what looked like some kind of remote and pushed the button. Automatically, the gates began to slide open and Janet pulled in slowly, fearing what she was going to find. As they came down the rode, Janet narrowed her eyes.
" She's here alright. The garage is open." Janet said as they pulled up and looked into the garage. The turtles jumped out and looked at the small motorcycle that was missing a tire and being held up with a jack underneath it. They heard a noise and looked into the back of the garage to Alana pulling a small tire of the wall.
" Alana?" Janet nearly whispered, but her sister didn't even turn around to look at her, but continued to work with the tires she was pulling down.
" Alana!" Janet was becoming angry now.
" What are you doing?!" She hissed.
" What the hell does it look like I am doing?" Alana finally answered back with an agitated tone in her voice. She rolled the tire over to the motorcycle and began to put it in it's place.
" I don't really want to be here." Janet said.
" Well then leave. No one said you had to stay." Alana stated with an un-caring tone in her voice.
" We were concerned about you, Alana!" Leo growled. Raphael looked at his brother and then mumbled something out loud.
" And he tells me to stay out of everyone's business." He got a dirty look from Leo and his other two brothers, but he didn't seem to care all that much.
" Yeah right! Like I am supposed to care if you were concerned or not. If you're so concerned about me, then why do you people have to say such cruel things when I'm not there?" She looked up at Janet and Leo.
" Do you really think I didn't hear what you said in April's apartment while I was out. I stood right outside the door listening." She said and gave her sister a dirty look, but Janet knew that she had hurt her sister and there was nothing she could say to make it any better.
" Lets go." Janet said sternly.
" I still need some things from here." Alana said and went back to tightening the bolts on the tire.
" Alana do you even care about how I feel about this place now?!" Janet yelled. Alana threw down the wrench and got up.
" I'm supposed to care about how you feel?! You weren't fucking there to see what happened and I am supposed to be worried about you're taking all of this?!" Alana was furious and stomped over to the door and walking inside the house.
" Alana!" Janet screamed and hesitated to go inside, but finally stepped in with the turtles close behind.
" Oh shit....." Raph whispered. The sight surprised even him, but he couldn't understand why Alana would want to see it again. Janet covered her mouth to stifle a cry and felt Leonardo's embrace as they made their way to the living room. Janet couldn't control the tears that spilled over her cheeks as she looked at the blood covered room. Alana was leaning against the wall next to a large stain of blood on the carpet.
" What the hell are you doing?! I don't want to be here!" Janet screamed. The turtles looked at Alana, but the only one that looked angry with her was Leonardo.
" Then why don't you leave?" Alana scowled.
" Leave like you did the night they were killed." Janet's head snapped up and she looked at her sister.
" Mom knew I left!" She yelled. Alana felt so much anger that she thought she might attack her sister.
" You were told to be back by eleven! It was almost one-thirty in the morning when this happened!"
" Are you blaming this on me?!" Janet yelled, fresh tears falling down her face.
" No! And I never will! Nothing could have prevented it, but you could have been there to help me through it!" Alana was angry now and felt her own tears in the back of her eyes, but wouldn't let them fall.
" You didn't even come to the house after the police told you what happened. You wouldn't come even after you talked to me. What the hell kind of sister are you?!"
Janet was starting to feel her own anger deep inside begin to grow into the hatred she was feeling toward her sister. Alana stood up straight and glared at her sister.
" You wanted to know so badly what happened that night, why don't you take a look around now that you're finally here. This is dad!" Alana growled pointing to the blood stain that she was standing next to.
" And that behind you is mom!" They turned to see the blood splattered across the wall and on the floor.
" Instead of you being here, you were out doing your little boyfriend!" Alana screamed.
" Shut up! Can't you see that you're hurting your sister?!" Leo growled. The other turtles remained quiet. Donatello was beginning to see Alana point of view, but wasn't about to get into the fight.
" Am I supposed to care?! How the hell do you think I feel?! I had to watch that man shove a knife into my mothers chest and practically cut her head off! I had to watch and realize that there was nothing I could do about it. I watched them die and the only thing you're concerned about is MY GODDAMN SISTER!!!" Alana had screamed so loud, that the windows had shuddered in the near empty house.
" And you people have the nerve to talk about me when I'm not even there! That stupid bitch of a sister made it sound like the only thing I care about is what my parents gave to me and you all have the nerve to believe that I am actually that cold! I do not care what she feels anymore! You have no idea what I am going through and you never will! You didn't come to me when I needed you Janet, so don't expect me to feel sorry for you just because you walked in here and saw what was your parents, because you didn't have to see it and you didn't have to walk through it!" She screamed. Janet took a step forward, but Azul flattened her ears and lifted her upper lip in a defying growl.
" Do not come near me! I don't need you now! Any of you!" She hissed angrily and walked past them and into the garage.
" You have no choice, but to come with us, Alana." She heard Michealangelo say to her.
" Fine, then I'll do what I have to do, but that doesn't change the fact that I don't want anything to do with that so-called sister of mine." She snapped back. Alana could hear Janet crying and Leonardo trying to comfort her, but there was no way that Alana was going to apologize to her. Alana place the jack properly and started to lift the rear end to change the back tire. She rolled the other tire over to the bike and started to take off the flat one. Her father had sold his old Rebel for parts, but had kept the tires just in case and it came to Alana's advantage. She was beginning to put the new tire on, when everyone walked out of the house. Azul came and sat next to her and waited patiently for her to finish.
Michealangelo sat himself on an old tool chest of her fathers and watched her. Donatello came to stand next to him, but remained silent.
" We're waiting here for you." Her sister said softly, but Alana didn't seem to care what they did. She glanced at Raphael who was looking over the Javelin which was given new tires and now sitting on a hitch, ready to be transported.
" There dad has a nice car." Raph stated looking it over, now that he was able to get a closer view of it.
" I don't like that car." Janet stated.
" I'll believe that." Raphael stated, getting another dirty look from Leonardo.
" The car belongs to Alana, now." Janet said.
" My dad left it for her in the Will that was in his dresser, along with the motorcycle and half of the house. The other half, including the van and the Mustang belong to me." She added. Raphael didn't seem to care all that much, but walked over and stood on the other side of Mike.
" Speaking of which, where is dads motorcycle?" Janet said and looked around.
" It's on the hitch with the Javelin." Alana stated as she tightened the bolts.
" Oh.....what if it bumps into the Javelin, wouldn't it scratch it?" Janet asked.
" I have no choice."
" Why is that? It's too heavy for you?" Leo asked, but for some reason, just hearing his voice agitated Alana.
" No you asshole." She growled and could hear Raphael trying to hold in his laughter.
" That motorcycle is what saved my life, but when I was trying to get away that night, I blew out the shocks and cracked the engine. I need a new one." She said and was almost finished putting the fender over the back tire. She got up and went over to a storage box her father had built and pulled out two white sheets and began to cover her fathers Javelin and motorcycle with them.
" Where are we going to keep these things?" Alana asked emotionlessly. Janet looked at Leonardo for an answer and shrugged.
" There's an old entrance through a reservoir that we can bring the vehicles down, and we can park them in the lair, but the van might take up too much space." He stated.
" Well, I was going to leave the van at April's since she only has one car that way she could use it if she had to." Janet said.
" What are you talking about? Where the hell do they live?" Alana cut in, confused about the reservoir part.
" It's an abandoned subway station not far from where April and Casey live." Janet answered. Alana's mouth dropped open and she starred at her sister in disbelief.
" A sewer? We are going to live in a sewer?" She asked.
" Hey! It's our home and you're lucky we're fucking offering it!" Raphael growled, insulted by Alana show of disgust for their home.
" Oh shut up! You weren't offering anything! I bet you didn't even have a choice in the matter!" Alana growled, looking at him. He clenched his fists and stared at her with his gleaming eyes. Alana went back to her motorcycle.
" It's not that bad, Alana." Janet cut in.
" It's not that! I just hate the dark! Sewers give me the creeps! It's nothing personal against them." She said.
" Well, we're going to haul these things over there today." Janet said.
" Where is the Mustang?" Alana asked.
" It's already there." Janet said. Alana raised both eyebrows and nodded.
" Nice of her to tell me these things." She mumbled to herself. Donatello walked over to help Leonardo connect the hitch as soon as Janet backed up enough to reach it. Alana remained quiet and didn't move from her spot, but she could feel someone's eyes on her. She looked to her left to see Raphael and Michealangelo both looking at her.
" What?" She asked annoyed. Mike shrugged, but Raph narrowed his eyes.
" You better watch yourself in our home. You already pissed me off." He growled.
" Don't worry, I'll make extra sure to stay away from you." She stated bluntly and turned her attention back to the others. Raph raised an eye ridge and looked at Mike who just grinned and continued to observe his two brothers working with the hitch. Finally, it was finished.
Janet got out and looked at Alana who didn't seem all too interested in talking to her.
" I guess I'm taking the dog." She said, looking distastefully at Azul.
" Why?" Alana asked raising a brow.
" What do you mean why? You're on a motorcycle."
" Uh yeah and.....how the hell do you think we got away that night." Alana asked her, making her feel really stupid.
" Come on sweety." Alana called to Azul and the dog anxiously jumped up onto the tank and sat herself in front of Alana's body for her support. Alana started the engine to her little motorcycle and kicked up the kick-stand. The turtles went to the van and got in. Janet was looking at Alana who was looked up at her for a brief moment.
" I'll follow." Was all she said before looking away from her sister. Janet heaved a sigh and used the remote to close the garage door, before getting into the van. Janet was buckling her seat belt when Leonardo leaned over and whispered in her ear.
" Don't listen to what she said. It's not true. You are not responsible for what happened that night." He said. All Janet could do was nod and give a small smile, but that was it. Her sister had said some pretty mean things to her and it hurt and it probably always would, but what happened was something that she couldn't do anything about.
Alana followed the van until they came to the reservoir that Leonardo was talking about and then she stopped as the van slowly made it's way down the little slope. It was a vehicle accessible sewer, probably for when construction or repairs needed to be done under ground. She looked into the dark tunnel and sighed.
" I hate the dark...." She grumbled and knew from then on that life was going to be more difficult than she had ever imagined. It was almost as if, the life she had before never existed and it frightened her beyond compare to think of what the future lay ahead.