Okay, so I'm writing this fanfiction and I was wondering if any of you would mind reading the first chapter (I haven't written anything more D:). I know there are probably typos and errors because I haven't checked through it, but I just want to know what you think of it. ^__^

Here's the blurb thing whatever. v v

Leonardo goes to get some milk when he finds himself at a carnival.
He meets a young girl, but before the two know what's happening they
find themselves on board a spaceship. They're sold to a mad alien
collector, who lets the pair become the playmates of his daughter.
Then, Leo and the girls discover a mad plot that means the end of Earth
and all life on it. Can Leo save the world, or is ten years old too
small to make a difference? And will Leo remember to pick up some milk
on the way?

Most of the chapters are little stories about their travels and the adventures they have on various planets. Unfortunately this is very Leo-centric, and his family only appear right at the beginning and at the end. Now, read read read please. n_n

EDIT: The formatting has gone all screwy, so please ignore that. @_@ Concentrate on the content. :]

~Prologue~ (I haven't got a name for the chapter ;___;)


Picture this. You just meet someone before the pair of you are thrown into a mess that’s far beyond your understanding. You and your new comrade have to learn to trust one another, and you have to walk your friendship to the end of the universe. If you fail to do this, your life will cease to exist. Their life will cease to exist. Billions of lives will cease to exist. You either win or lose. There are no second chances. And the thing is… you’re only ten years old.


***

My name is Leonardo Hamato and I am ten and a half years old. I live under New York City, which is in America. We live under it because we are not like the people that live there. My brothers and I are mutant turtles, while my sensei is a mutant rat.

I am the oldest son in my family, which means that I have to set a good example for my brothers. This involves being serious, not breaking any rules and doing what my sensei tells me to do. It makes me look like a suck up I know, but someone has to take responsibility. I mean, if I didn’t then there would be no order or anything. Sensei gave me a blue mask because he said that it symbolized loyalty and leadership. The others said it symbolizes bossiness, only because I have to tell them what to do occasionally.


The morning was just like any other. I sat in my room, meditating as usual. I always meditate before breakfast because my sensei says that it is good for the mind and the body. Also, early in the morning is one of the only times when our home is quiet. As soon as my brothers wake up it gets very noisy and it’s too hard to relax and empty my mind.


I heard some shouting and opened my eyes. Then, I stood up and left my bedroom, heading towards the kitchen. Just as I had expected, my brothers were awake and were in the kitchen. Two of them were sitting at the table, while one of them had the top half of their body in the fridge, and they were throwing out its contents.


The brother in the fridge was my brother, Raphael…


"Where’s the milk?" he demanded, pausing for a moment and glaring at us accusingly. "We had some milk yesterday ‘cos we had some before bed."


"Raph, you’re making a mess," I said, standing over him. "Master Splinter won’t be very happy when he sees all the food on the floor."


"Shut up Leo," he snapped, before sticking his head back into the fridge and continuing his search once more.


Raphael is the second oldest brother in our family. He can get very angry and we both argue a lot. Usually it’s over silly
things, like who can climb the highest and who should choose what game we play next. Sometimes it’s about more serious things like whether we should go exploring without telling Sensei or whether Raph should say sorry to Mikey when he hits him. However, he can also be very understanding and he is the first person I go to when I have a problem. He acts tough, but beneath his angry appearance is a very good heart. Sensei gave him a red mask because he said that it signified passion and strength. We thought it signified anger and blood.


There is also Michelangelo…


"Hey Raph, are you decorating the walls? ‘Cos paint would be better, you know…" piped up Mikey, stuffing his mouth with a spoonful of coco pops with a large grin on his face.


"Shut up," snarled Raph.


"Shut up…" mimicked Mikey, kicking his legs playfully.


"Mikey, just eat your food," I said, trying to glare at him. He laughed in response, spraying some brown slop down his front, which made him laugh even more.


Michelangelo rarely takes anything seriously. In training he always messes around, and it annoys Sensei greatly. He
annoys us as well, particularly Raph. He borrows our things without asking, and when we catch him he acts all innocent. Most of the time it works, because even though we are all about the same age he is like the baby of the family. It’s
also hard to stay cross at him because he is so upbeat and happy, and within a few seconds he has you laughing along with him. He was given an orange mask, because it shows happiness and joy. Raph told him that it was a nice way of
saying that he was stupid.


Then there is my other brother, Donatello…


He had managed to go unnoticed until he got up from the table, his food barely touched. He mumbled, "I’m going to go to my lab… got some things that need doing…"


He got up from the table and went to leave the room. I shook my head, smiling, picking up the plate of toast he had left behind and going after him. I tapped him on the back of his arm and pushed the toast into his hands. Not forcibly, but quite firmly.


"Take some food with you."


Don nodded and took it, before leaving the room.


I find Donatello the hardest to understand. He is very different to my brothers and I. When we spar he prefers to sit next to Sensei and watch, and when he is told to fight one of us he tries his very best not to hurt us. Sensei says that he is a ‘pacifist’, which means that he doesn’t like fighting. That’s fiar enough, but Sensei is training us to be ninjas and ninjas have to fight. He prefers to keep to himself in his lab, fiddling around with electrical things. Sometimes Raph teases Mikey and says that he likes being around toasters more than him, but I know that Don likes us really. Especially Mikey. Everyone gets on with Mikey. Sensei gave Don a purple mask because purple is the colour of wisdom and sincerity. We commented that it was a girl’s colour.


Sensei had gotten quite annoyed with us, saying that those weren’t the reasons he had in mind when we got our masks. We had been made to do ten laps of the dojo. It doesn’t seem like many now, but to a five year old it is a lot.


I went to the cupboard and stretched upwards, reaching into it and getting out a bowl. I grabbed a spoon from the side and sat down at the table next to Mikey. I took the box of cereal from the middle of the table and poured it into the bowl. Seeing as we didn’t have any milk, I was going to have to eat it dry. I plunged my spoon into the food and was about to take a mouthful when I heard some coughing.


Sensei was standing at the door, raising his eyebrows at Raph. I smiled at Sensei, putting down my spoon. It looked like he was going to tell Raph off… again.


Sensei went and knelt down next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Raphael, why are you throwing food like
that?"


"I’m lookin’ for some milk," explained Raph, stopping. He is disobedient, sure, but we all do what Sensei tells us to do, or else there will be big trouble.


"And can you see any?"


"No Master Splinter." Master Splinter is one of Sensei’s other names.


"Hm…" he furrowed his brow, turning his head to Mikey. "Ah, Michelangelo, your cereal has some milk in
it. Did you finish the milk off?"


"Yep," Mikey stuck out his chin, as though it was something to be proud of. "Donnie wanted an empty bottle for something so I had three bowls of coco pops and a large glass of milk."


"WHAT?" shouted Raph, spinning around and jumping to his feet at the same time. "Ya greedy pig! That’d have been enough for me AND Leo to have some as well! I’m gonna-"


Mikey squealed as Raph shot forwards, his arms stretched out in front of him with his hands making pinching movements. Sensei caught him by the end of his mask, causing Raph to stop abruptly and fall down on his bottom. Seeing that he was safe, Mikey pointed at him and cackled.


"Raphael, you must control your temper," Sensei told him, letting go of his mask. Raph crossed his arms, glaring at our youngest brother, who was sticking out his tongue. "And Michelangelo, you must learn to watch your manners. You can think about what I have said while you run twenty laps of the dojo."


The smile on his face vanished instantly, "Aw… I was only joking! You know I was joking, don’t you Raph?"


Raph said nothing.


Mikey sighed, but he knew that when you are punished by Sensei you have to do as he said. He left the room, skipping as he did so. Seriously, nothing can keep him down.


Sensei is our father, and we could not ask for better. He is kind, strong and wise. He raised us from the moment he found
us and taught us many things. He taught us right from wrong, and he taught us to fight and he taught us to think. He is very strict and sometimes his rules seem stupid, but deep down I know that they are very fair and exist to keep us safe. He loves us all equally, no matter what, even when we shout at him and call him horrid names. Not that I have
done that before, but a certain brother does that quite often. Whenever we have a problem that none of us can sort out, we go to him because we know that he has an answer to everything.


"I will have to go get some milk later," sighed Sensei, "After Raphael and I clean up this mess."


"I could go get some," I told him, wanting to be helpful.


Sensei shook his head, "Don’t worry, I will get some later. Thank you for offering."


"I want some NOW," growled Raph,stamping his foot. "I’ll go get some."


Sensei’s eyes darted between Raph and me, trying to decide what to do. He closed his eyes in defeat, "Very well… Come, Leonardo, I will get you ready. Raphael, you begin cleaning and I will return in a minute."


I followed Sensei out of the room, trailing along behind him. Raph glowered at me. I grinned, sticking out my tongue. It made me feel good that Sensei had chosen me over him. Raph stuck out his tongue as well, and we both smiled at each other, friends again.


We went into Sensei’s room. I like going in there, though I don’t usually go in there because you only really go in there
if you’re Sensei, in trouble or if you just had a bad nightmare in the middle of the night. His room smelt of lotus blossoms, which is a bit like roses. He went to his chest of drawers while I went to sit on the edge of his bed, waiting
for him to find whatever he was looking for.


He fished out an overcoat and a hat and gave them to me. He crouched down slightly so that our eyes were level, "Now,
Leonardo, you are my oldest son, and I trust you to be very careful."


"Why must I be careful?" I asked innocently.


"Where you are going is not the safest place in the world. You are going out of the sewers and topside."


I furrowed my brow. Topside was what we called the world that lived above the sewers. The only times my brothers and I were allowed to go topside was when we went trick or treating with Sensei. Of course, that didn’t mean we didn’t sneak topside, but that was only so we could look at it and see whether it actually existed. Now I was going to go by myself when it wasn’t Halloween, and all by myself.


"Remember what I have taught you. Do not talk to the humans. Go to the store and take two bottles of milk from the
freezer area. Then, give them to the person behind the counter and they will tell you how much it costs. Give them these coins-" He reached out pressed a few coins into my hands, "And they will give some back. Take the money and the milk and return straight home. Do you understand?"


I nodded. Sensei had told us many times about talking to strangers, even though we didn’t get the chance to because we
didn’t really meet anyone else. I clenched my fist as I put on the overcoat and hat, not wanting to lose the coins. As soon as I put them on, I popped the coins into the coat’s pocket. Sensei smiled at me, and I beamed back.


I scratched my arms, "Do I have to wear these, Sensei? It’s really itchy…"


"I’m afraid so, my son. The humans… they do not like us."


"But… but they haven’t met us before," I told him, confused, "How can they not like us if they haven’t even met us before?"


I saw something twinkle in Sensei’s eyes, but I thought that it would be rude to tell him. He looked at me sadly, "It is very difficult to explain, but I think that you are mature enough to understand. The humans… they do not like difference."


"Difference?" I repeated, not understanding how this had to do with not liking us. When we didn’t want to eat a certain meal Sensei always told us that we couldn’t hate it until we had tried it. Didn’t that mean that the humans couldn’t know they hated us until they had met us?


Sensei mistook my exclamation, thinking that I didn’t understand the word, "What I mean is they do not like things that are not the same as what they are used to. They are scared of it, because they do not know what it can do to them, and they fear that it will hurt them. They will try and make the difference go away, and that involves hurting it."


"Is that why we don’t need costumes for Halloween? Because we scare them?"


"Yes," Sensei nodded, "That is why."


"But… why do they think we will hurt them? You said we should always give everything and everyone a chance, no
matter what. Why don’t they give us a chance?"


"Humans do not think like us," explained Sensei. "Leonardo, if everyone was as pure hearted as you then difference wouldn’t matter. Remember when I first started training you, and you wanted to use the katana?"


"Yeah," I grinned, "You wouldn’t let me. I had to use the wooden practice ones for ages before you let me use the metal ones."


"My point is, sometimes you have to wait until the time is right," Sensei stood up. "And they are not ready to see us. So, until then, we should help them by not scaring them with our appearance until they are ready to accept us. Now be quick and get us some milk. I am not sure how long Raphael can wait for."

"Yes Sensei," I got to my feet and bowed, before running out of the room and towards the exit. Mikey was watching television, but he turned around and waved frantically. Don was in the corner of the room in his ‘lab’, holding what seemed to be a small dome. He nodded at me, grinning. I couldn’t see Raph, but I knew that he would have given me a small sign of recognition, knowing that I would know what he was thinking.


I went through the door and stepped into the sewers. It has a… strange smell, but you get used to it when you live in it. I began to look for a manhole, because they are the only way you can leave the sewers. I came across one quite quickly and gulped. In order to reach it I had to climb a high ladder. I wasn’t scared, but… it was very high.


I climbed up quickly, wanting to get up and out as soon as possible. I began pushing the manhole cover up, my bare feet gripping on tightly to the metal steps. I hadn’t expected it to be so heavy. Usually Sensei opened it, or my brothers and I opened it together. I bit my tongue, concentrating, willing it to move. I felt it lift upwards, and soon it was out of my way and high above me…


Wait what?


A dirty human man peered down at me, holding the manhole cover in his hands. I gulped, my legs shaking. He looked startled. Did he know that I was not one of them, and that I was a mutant turtle? He reached towards me and I closed my eyes.


I had failed.


I felt him pick me up under the arms, and I couldn’t feel the ground beneath my feet. Then, as fast as I had been picked up, I was back on the ground on my own two feet. I blinked, staring up at him. He wasn’t touching me anymore. I didn’t understand.


"Did a nasty kid put ya down there?" he asked me sympathetically. I know that lying is wrong but I nodded my head. It looked like he had fallen for the disguise, and he didn’t know that I was different. "Kids these days… Well, go on and enjoy the carnival."


I didn’t know what he was talking about, but I decided to leave the passage I was in. I went towards the light; feeling in my pocket to make sure the money hadn’t disappeared. It hadn’t and I looked up and felt my breath escape from my mouth.


I knew what rain was. It was when little droplets of water fell from the sky. This, however, was a strange type of rain. Instead of water falling from the sky, there were little pieces of paper, pink and white and red. The air smelt like candy and I couldn’t help but smile stupidly at the scent. I walked forwards in awe, taking in everything. There were lots of people skipping around, painted thickly with luminous colours and wearing feathers in their hair. A woman wearing a furry thing around her chest and her torso walked past me. I stared at her with an open mouth. She looked like one of women that had been in a magazine Mikey had found once. She saw me looking and smiled, winking. I blushed and scurried away.


I saw a store and made towards it. I couldn’t be distracted by this… whatever it was. It looked like a weird gathering of some sort. I could see a woman leaving the store with a bag of milk. I grinned, quickening my pace. I was nearly there. I-


A human girl popped out of nowhere. I stopped, nearly falling over backwards. I had almost run her over. She tilted her head to one side curiously, her shiny black hair swishing smoothly. She blinked her grass green eyes at me, as if she was trying to make sense of me. "Hello?"


"Hi," I said, before remembering what Sensei had taught me. I wasn’t to talk to strangers.


I tried to go past her but she blocked my path. "Why are you hiding your costume?"


I furrowed my brow, "Costume?"


"Your hat and coat. It is hiding your costume," she pointed at them.


"Oh…" I sighed in relief. She thought I was a human pretending to be a turtle. "Well, it’s because…"


"Everyone is wearing their costume," she interrupted, gesturing towards the other humans. She saw me looking at her, "I am not wearing a costume because I will be changing into it later, when I am performing my dance. Right now, I am wearing my formal wear."


Her formal wear was a chalk white dress with pink lace, as well as matching socks and shoes with shiny buckles on them. Her hair was loose, which I found nice because I don’t understand why humans would want to put things in their hair. It just doesn’t make sense. And no, I’m not saying that because I have no hair of my own to decorate.


"Take off those ugly clothes and I will let you be with me."


I stayed still. I didn’t really want to be with her, to be honest. I wanted to buy some milk. That’s why I had gone there. To buy some milk.


"We can go around the stalls together," she told me, "I am willing to pay. We can win toys and candy and… and…"


"I don’t know…" Though I was hungry, seeing as I had missed out on breakfast.


"Please…" she said, blinking at rapidly.


"Have you got something in your eye?" I asked, concerned.


"Oh never mind, come on," she took the hat off of me and threw it in the road. "There, now I can see your face. What are you supposed to be?"


"A turtle," I told her, taking off my coat. I felt a lot cooler now, and my arms weren’t as itchy. I took the coins out of the coat pocket. I decided that I would go around with the Girl for a little bit, just to satisfy her, and then I would go and buy some milk. Besides, she had offered, and it would have been rude to say no.


We went around these stalls that either sold sugary food or had games where you could win prizes. One of them involved knocking some coconuts off of these posts. I got to stand quite close to them and I knocked all of them off easily. The human lady gave me a small teddy, which I thought was a bit too girly for a person like me, so I gave it to the Girl.


"For me?" she widened her eyes, "No one has ever given me a gift like this."


"Really?" I said. "Why not?"


The Girl shrugged her shoulders, "My father gets me different sorts of presents. He does not get me toys."


"Oh…" I frowned.


"But he is a great father," she added quickly, pointing to a human in a suit who was talking to other humans in suits. "That is him. He is very important, and very rich. He is going to make a very important speech and I get to stand next to him."


"My father isn’t rich but he is still very great," I told her, "He gets us toys whenever he can and he plays with us and stuff."


"My father does not play with me…" she murmured, her eyes misting over. I thought that she had gone into a trance when she added, "Only because he is too busy. If he had the time, I am sure he would play with me. He gets me other children to play with, but it is not as fun."


Her father looked over at us and narrowed his eyes. The Girl nodded at him, before tapping me on the shoulder. He looked away and continued talking to the other humans.


"I bet he would play with you," I said. I held up my candyfloss, "Want some?"


"No thank you, I would like to keep my teeth," she said as I felt my teeth worriedly. "But thank you for-"


There was a loud bang, and the air filled with smoke. I coughed, covering my mouth. I could hear the Girl near me, struggling to breathe too. People were shouting and running around. I felt the Girl stand next to me and hold my hand. I squeezed it, glad that she was there because it made me feel safer.


"Hilaro kala dila des?" a voice said nearby.


"Yaughto tenera malo des," another said in reply.


I felt myself get lifted off the ground. My hand was still holding the Girl’s, and it looked like she had been picked up too. Whoever was holding us was carrying us under their arms, because our tummies were facing down towards the ground, and I could feel myself under their arm and against their hard body.


"Illo mak-mak car des," a voice said, and the two voices laughed.


Then, the people holding us went inside a large room, the door closing behind us.





I know usually the Girl should be written as the girl, but throughout the story she is referred to that because Leo doesn't find out her name, so the Girl is like her name. x'D I have a random chapter and the epilogue written out, but it won't make sense until I write out the bits before it. :]

I will read through this at a later date and correct it. xD I spotted a few already but I'm too lazy to edit it.

EDIT: I changed it so Leo mentions he's a mutant turtle. : )

That´s a great start for a fan fiction! (And could possibly the Girl be young Karai?)

Hehe, the young girl is. :] But Leo doesn't know that.

And thank you. <3

Thats awesome! one question tho is leonardo really Leonardo Hamato? or is that made up.

Thank you. <3

I've heard that he is Leonardo Hamato, because of Hamato Yoshi. In Japan they have their surname first, so Hamato is technically Yoshi's last name, and Yoshi being Splinter's teacher meant that Splinter had the same last name as him. ^__^

I am halfway through the next chapter so I'll be able to post it soon. : D

awesome cant wait to read more.

Thanks. ^__^

Here is Chapter 1. I still don't have a name for the Prologue, or this chapter. D: Yet again there will be typos, because I am too lazy to read through it carefully. XD I'll do it... eventually.

~Chapter 1~

I looked around. We were in a grey corridor. The walls were grey, the ceiling was grey and the floor was grey. The doors to the left were grey and the doors to the right were grey. If there had been any windows, I’m sure they would have been grey too. The only things that weren’t grey were me and the Girl, but we weren’t part of the room, and the people carrying us. I twisted my head as far as I could to see what the people carrying us looked like.

Only to see that they weren’t really people.

There were two of them, but they definitely weren’t human. Firstly, they had blue skin, skin as blue as the mask I was wearing around my eyes. They also didn’t have a nose. They space between their eyes and above their mouth was flat. Their ears were very odd as well. They were about a foot long, and they were all twisted and lumpy. I think the most peculiar thing was their eyes. People usually had white in their eyes, however these creatures had yellow instead and their pupils were red. I looked at them for a moment before facing forwards, feeling as cold as the metal clothing they were wearing.

We stopped moving. The creature holding the Girl got a key out of their ear and put it in a hole in the door. They flicked their wrist and the door swung open, revealing a small dark room. It was a bit bigger than the closet back home, but not by much. I didn’t get to look at it properly because as soon as the door was fully open I was thrown into the room, along with the Girl. The two creatures stared down at us, saying something that I couldn’t understand.

"What are they saying?" I murmured to the Girl, staring at them worriedly.

"I do not know," she replied, staring up at them angrily. "And frankly, I do not care. I suspect this is part of the carnival, and let me say this now. I did not give you permission to make me part of this silly show, and I will tell my father about this."

The two creatures looked at each other, confused. Then, one of them got out a pair of small stones. They went towards us and pressed one of the stones against my neck, and the other against the Girl’s neck. A band came out of the stones and wrapped around our necks, so we were both wearing some sort of collar. I picked at it gingerly, but it was firmly around my neck. It wasn’t very thick, and I couldn’t feel it, but I felt a bit strange wearing it. I couldn’t even loosen it. The Girl was picking at it with her fingers, an irritated expression on her face.

"Take it off this instant!" she demanded.

"No," said the creature in English, "They are translators. They enable us to understand you, and for you to understand
us."

"Do we look like we are four?" the Girl snarled, "We do not have the time to go on this stupid attraction. My father will be furious when I tell him what you have done."

The creature laughed, "Attraction? No no, this isn’t an attraction."

"What’d you mean, it’s not an attraction?" I blinked at them, "Isn’t this part of the carnival?"

"Carnival?" the blue creature nudged their friend, "They think this is part of an Earth game. Foolish Earthlings."

They didn’t let us say anything else, closing the door and leaving us in near pitch black. There were strips of light coming through the gaps between the bars on top of the door, so people could use it like a window and look through it. I looked at the Girl, who was staring at the barred window in shock.

"Earthlings…" she murmured, lowering her head, "They… this is either a trick… or we have been captured… by aliens…"

"Aliens?" I raised my brow at her. I had seen dozens of movies about aliens, but I hadn’t thought they were real. Donnie had told us that they weren’t real, because if they were we would have found some by now.

"Were you not listening?" she asked me, irritated, "They called us Earthlings. They have taken us onto the spaceship and they have locked us in a prison cell. They have abducted us."

"But aliens aren’t real," I told her, "They’re made up and only exist on TV."

"I did not think they were real until now," the Girl informed me, "It is illegal to keep children in such a room. I… do not think this is part of the carnival."

"Oh," I looked down at my knees, before looking at her again, "Do you… think anyone will come and rescue us?"

"My father will come and get me," she told me, "He will report me missing and hire a spaceship. He is very rich, as I told you before. He will track me down and take me home. The aliens will be arrested and put in a room like this."

Sensei wasn’t rich enough to hire a spaceship. He wasn’t rich enough to do many things. He thought that we didn’t know, but I had seen him sneak out in the night so he could find money. At breakfast the next day he would smell a bit like the sewers, but he would have presents for us. Sometimes he would take us to the junkyard and we would be allowed to choose something to take home with us. It was also when we were able to find presents for our family’s birthdays and Christmas. Then he would clean and fix the toys, staying up half the night to make sure that they were perfect. Mikey had seen him and had told us the next morning, and we had agreed to keep it a secret.

He had other ways of getting us gifts. He would hunt around the sewers and junkyards for things to sell, and he would buy us things like video games and cuddly toys. I remember my last birthday, when I had unwrapped my present and had found a pair of proper katana blades. I don’t know how he had gotten them, but it must have cost him a lot of time and money. I didn’t care that the cake was small or that I didn’t get any other presents. All I cared about were my new weapons, and they were the best thing I could ever ask for.

After a while the door opened and one of the blue aliens appeared. They put a tray on the ground and closed the door. The Girl got to her feet and stood in front of it. "Come back here! I have many things I want to say to you. You open this door right now. I want to know what makes you think you can kidnap me. My fath-"

The door swung open, hitting the Girl in the face. She fell on her bottom, clutching her nose. The alien gazed down at her in disgust, "You’re not in the position to speak to us like that, Earthling. Nor are you in the position to ask questions. Now eat; we will arrive at the Trades Centre in a twelve Biolories. Or, as you Earthlings call it, eight and a half hours."

The door closed and we were alone again. I crawled forwards and looked at the tray. On it there were two glasses of green water and two small seeds. I held one of them up, trying to figure out what they were, and what I was supposed to do with it. After some unsuccessful thought, I turned to the Girl. "Hey, do you know what these are supposed to be?"

"The nerve of that… that thing…" she mumbled, her hands still on her nose, "When my father finds out he will be so, so mad…"

"Excuse me," I poked her gently, "What are these?"

"They will be dissected… yes; I will watch them be opened up…"

"Excuse me, what are these pod things?"

"I will have someone record it and I will watch it on my television again and again. Yes, that will show them... disgusting freaks… They should be destroyed…"

I gave up, slightly offended by what she had said. It looked like she had gone into her own little world. I picked up the glass and sniffed it suspiciously. It didn’t smell like anything. The alien had told us to ‘eat’, so I assumed that I was meant to consume the things on the tray. I put the pod in the drink so it would be easier to swallow and drank the drink quickly. I nearly choked on it because of the taste; it was disgusting. However, I wanted to get it over and done with so I ignored its flavour. I wiped my mouth when I emptied the glass and lay on my back.

"I cannot believe you drank that," commented the Girl, gazing at me with disgust. "I would not."

"You’re not me though," I retorted, looking up at the ceiling. She had touched a nerve when she had called the alien a ‘disgusting freak’ and a ‘thing’. I didn’t like the alien either, but I wouldn’t call them any less of a person. I knew that she hadn’t directed those insults at me, but still… it hurt. I didn’t want to find out what would happen if I told her that I wasn’t human like her.

"Well…" the Girl sighed, "We have eight and a half hours before we arrive at our destination."

"I thought your father was going to rescue you."

She narrowed her eyes at me before saying stubbornly, "He is going to rescue us. It is just… it takes a while. He has to track me down, and then he needs to get a rocket. That takes a while, you know."

"Sure…" I said doubtfully.

"Now like I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, we have eight and a half hours to wait. I am going to have a rest. Do not disturb me."

"I won’t," I told her. My tummy rumbled. "Hey, seeing as you don’t want that drink, can I have it?"

"Yes. You can get food poisoning if you want to."

My hand, which had been moving towards the tray, dropped. The Girl lay on her side, facing the wall. She shuddered, her hands still clamped on her nose. I found this weird, so I crawled next to her and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned her head to look at me.

"What is it?"

"Why are you holding your nose?"

"The alien hit it with the door. It… it hurts a bit."

"Let me see," I said quietly, gently prising her hands away from her face.

The good news was that I managed to get her to remove her hands. The bad news was that she removed them herself so she could slap me with one hand, while clenching the other in a fist. I rubbed my cheek, which felt like it had been too close to a fire. She was on her feet, standing over me.

"How dare you touch me! I did not say you could. When my father finds out that you-"

"I was trying to help you!" I shouted back, suddenly losing my temper. I’m usually a very calm person, but she really wasn’t helping things. "I wanted to see how hurt your nose was and you hit me."

I thought that she would shout back but she didn’t. She bit her lip, like she was trying not to cry. I guess that she wasn’t used to people yelling at her. I was about to say sorry when the Girl fell to her knees next to me. "… Please look at my nose and tell me how much it is damaged… damaged… I do not know your name."

"It’s Leonardo," I answered. I wasn’t going to argue with her if she wasn’t arguing with me. I looked at it closely. It wasn’t broken, but it was bleeding slightly. I took off my mask and wrapped it around her nose, trying it into a knot at the back of her head. She didn’t complain, staring at me with large eyes.

"It’s just bleeding a bit," I told her calmly, "It should be fine."

"That is good," she replied. She looked over at her drink and pointed at it, "… Maybe I should have something to drink. Who knows how much we will have to drink before my father rescues me? We should make the most of it."

"Yeah," I passed it to her, and gave her the pod as well. "It’s easier to swallow it if you drink it down."

"I know, I have had pills before," she replied, popping it into her mouth and drinking it down. She spluttered, her face slightly green. "Yuck!"

"I thought that when I drank some," I told her, grinning. "Now, how about we get some sleep? I know it’s only morning, but…"

"I know," she said, "Sleep is a good way to escape reality."

She lay down on the floor again. I followed suit, curling up into a ball. The silence that fell upon the room reminded me how cold the floor was, and how scared I was. I closed my eyes tightly, willing myself to fall asleep. However, I was wide awake and my mind was buzzing with too many thoughts to let me settle. I sighed, turning onto my other side, hoping that by doing this I would suddenly get comfortable and fall asleep. It didn’t help at all.

" Leonardo?"

"Hm?"

"When my father comes to save me, I will ask him if he will save you too."

I smiled, "Thanks."

***

I think I had fallen asleep, because my eyes were closed when I heard the door to our cell unlock. I opened my eyes and stared up at the blue alien. The Girl sat up immediately. I don’t think that she had had any sleep.

"Come on Earthlings, we’re at the Trades Centre," the alien announced, "Follow me, now."

We walked out after them. I didn’t want to follow them, but I didn’t want to find out what happened if you didn’t. As we went down the grey corridor I noticed that there were other doors. Through the barred windows on them, I could see other aliens staring at us, looks of hunger and sadness on their faces. The Girl avoided looking at them, trying not to look like it bothered her. I gazed back at them sadly, waving at them. One of them smiled slightly, before ducking down and disappearing from view.

We reached the spaceship’s exit and stepped outside. I had thought that Earthlings couldn’t breathe in space, but I found myself able to breathe. The Girl looked as confused as me, holding a hand to her mouth and blowing on it.

"The collars not only translate dialogue, they also enable you to breathe," the blue alien told us.

I nodded and looked around. We were in another tunnel but it wasn’t inside of the spaceship. It was see through and I could see the black sky outside. It was so dark that I couldn’t see where the sky ended and the ground started. The path we were walking on was hard and grey. It reminded me of the flooring in the spaceship.

The building in front of us was very grand. It was the biggest I had ever seen and I couldn’t help but stare at it, amazed. The Girl yawned loudly, clearly not impressed with it. The blue alien glowered at her, before getting out a whip and snapping it across her back.

"Silence, Earthling," hissed the alien, looking at some other aliens who were going past. "Your planet has nothing that could ever compare to this. Now come, I don’t have all day."

"Hey," I growled, "You can’t just-"

The Girl covered my mouth with her hand and hissed through gritted teeth, "Do you want to suffer the same punishment?"

"Mph," I mumbled, grabbing her hand and pulling it off of my mouth. I chose to not say anything else because the Girl was rubbing her back and by the looks of her face she was in pain. I tried to give her hand a sympathetic squeeze but she put her hands behind her back so I couldn’t touch them. I shrugged my shoulders and followed the blue alien into the building. I wanted to escape, but there was nowhere to escape to so I didn’t.

The building was seemed even bigger on the inside. The walls and the carpet were very clean and brown. There was a fancy looking lamp on the ceiling, which had a large painting on it. I stared at it until we left the room and entered an even bigger one.

"Wow…" murmured the Girl, impressed.

The floor was blood red and the walls were a Sun yellow. I gazed around. There were a lot of aliens in the room and it made me feel uneasy. I hadn’t seen this many people at the same on Earth ever. The blue alien made us stand at the back of the room. I felt the strong urge to run into the crowd and lose myself in it, but I didn’t because I didn’t have anywhere to run away to. Even if I did escape, I didn’t have any way of getting back to Earth. It seemed that my best chance of being okay was to stay where I was.

Suddenly the room fell silent. Everyone turned to one side of the room, but I couldn’t see what they were looking at because I was too short. The Girl jumped up and down, but she didn’t have any more success as me.

"Okay fellow traders, the auctioning will start now. The first one is for a healthy kemnoy. The bidding starts at five hundred credits."

The room was filled with shouting. I covered my ears, pulling a face. They were even louder than a box full of Mikeys. The blue alien remained silent, leaning on the wall with a relaxed expression on his face.

After a few minutes the voice from before declared, "Sold for seven thousand credits! Next is for a newly bred soreh. The bidding starts at one thousand credits!"

The shouting got louder. I went over to the Girl, "What ‘s happening?"

"It looks like we’re being auctioned," she sniffed.

"Auctioned?" I repeated blankly.

"The aliens are selling other aliens, and whoever offers the most money gets them," she explained. "You are not the brightest crayon in the box, are you?"

I didn’t answer her. I couldn’t believe what was happening. We were being… sold? You couldn’t sell people. Raph had wanted to sell Mikey a few years ago but Sensei had told him that you weren’t allowed to sell people.

The process continued for an hour or so. Then, the blue alien picked us up and carried us under his arms. He walked through the crowds of aliens until he reached a stage. He went up a small staircase and walked onto the edge. He got out a card and gave it to this short fat red alien.

They nodded at him and shouted, "Sold for a thousand and fifteen credits! Next we have two young Earthlings. The bidding starts at fifty credits."

"We are only worth fifty?" exclaimed the Girl, offended. "My father says I’m priceless."

"You’re an Earthling, of course you’re worthless," the alien sneered.

I could hear aliens shouting numbers. The alien on the stage repeated them, talking so quickly that I couldn’t understand them. I stretched my legs, tired.

"One million!" a voice shouted. The room fell into a stunned silence.

"Wha…" the alien on the stage blinked, "I mean… one million credits! Can anyone beat one million credits? Going once…"

I stared into the crowd.

"Going twice…"

I trembled slightly.

"Sold!"

Livi, you´ve done it again! Nice work!

Thank you. <3