Who are you

Draxum's secret Daughter

The moment everyone got to the lair, Splinter checked over all of them with worry. He even checked the girls. You could tell Shadow was slightly shocked by Splinter's worry but only reassured him she was fine. Leo kept watching Shadow but tried to make it obvious he wasn't watching too much. Splinter eventually demanded each of them to head into a room and go to sleep. Shadow yawned as she stretched and headed to Donnie's lab but stopped when she felt something grab her wrist. Shadow was already tired from using an excessive amount of energy at those moment and didn't fight back as he led Shadow to another room, it was across from Donnie's lab. Splinter opened the door to reveal a room full of band posters, the music and its player that had been taken from Aprils room placed in a corner with a beanbag. There were more details, but the bed had a black comforter and a few random pillows.

Something Shadow had landed in first before grabbing a pillow and shoving her head into it, sighing in content as she allowed her body to relax. Splinter chuckled and grabbed a blanket, draping it over Shadow's body. He turned off a few lights and was about to leave the room, but looked over and saw Shadow shuffling around, her face no longer relaxed but in discomfort. Splinter looked around the room in slight confusion before realizing the room would be pitch black the moment, he closed the door. He looked to the side where a chair remained and saw a lava lamp. It was dark cyan but remained off, it was something Mikey got for Shadow. Splinter then flicked it on and turned back to Shadow, seeing her relax once again as the room was dimly lit. This action caused Splinter to frown as he closed the door, wondering what Shadow went through.

It didn't take a genius to know all those claw marks and splotches were scars, most looked older than some but none seem recent. Splinter remembered when he got some from fighting in the Battle Nexus but was glad his fur covered most of them. Splinter sighed as he walked off, checking each room to make sure the brothers had gone to bed. He made sure he got the right essential oil for Leo's insomnia and told his son "Goodnight" before heading to the kitchen. Once he did reach the kitchen, he turned to see Draxum sitting at the table, a pencil in his mouth as he looked at a notebook in his hands. Splinter walked over and sat onto a chair, looking over Draxum's shoulder to see what Draxum was doing. "'Lair Game Ideas?' But the boys and girls already have ideas." Splinter pointed out as Draxum sighed. "I know, but I just heard you have a guest who wants to join in, a guest with an injured ankle." Draxum pointed out as he pulled the pencil out of his mouth and marked off an idea he had.

Splinter seemed to notice the reason behind these ideas and smirked. "Donnie has said she only has a sprained ankle. Not to mention, she's been placing less weight on it so she should be just fine within a few days." Splinter reassured as Draxum looked at the rat. "I suppose Donnie and you know how to keep an idea to details when it comes to medical attention." Draxum admitted as he set the notebook down. The two began to talk, mainly about Shadow, as Splinter made some tea. "She's a turtle mutant that use to work for Big Mama?" Draxum asked as Splinter handed him a cup. "From what Mikey has told me, I believe so." Splinter said, this caused Draxum to furrow his brows and look down at his cup, something Splinter caught on to. "Is something wrong?" Splinter asked, Draxum gripped the cup and sighed quietly. "Yes, but I'm worried about the end result if I tell you what it is." Draxum said, moving the cup around a bit as Splinter's ears pressed against his head.

"I've been told many things, I'm sure whatever the small problem is, it won't end badly." Splinter attempted to reassure Draxum. But he knew better, he knew when Draxum was feeling bad about something, it was something big. "But that's the thing, it is big. It has to do with your family." Draxum said, now Splinter was serious. "Tell me now." Splinter demanded, but Draxum only tensed a bit. "You... you had a daughter." Draxum said, keeping his gaze on the cup. But Splinter remained more confused with shock. "Back when the boys were mutated, there had actually been five. I didn't realize the last one was female until I had found her in the rubble of my old lab." Draxum explained, thinking back to when Huggin and Muggin had pointed out the wails of a child. It didn't take long for Draxum to find the child. "After finding her, I came to realize she was an Eastern River Cooter turtle and decided to keep her." Draxum said, a sad frown reaching his features as he began to think about the child he raised.

Splinter didn't know wither to be shocked, angry, or happy towards Draxum. If Splinter did have a daughter, why did Draxum wait until Shadow was brought up to say something? Not to mention that if Draxum was really as ruthless as Splinter remembered back then, why did he willingly take the child in? But the more Splinter began to question himself, he noticed the sadness on Draxum's face and how tightly he gripped the cup. Splinter sat in silence before speaking. "Well, where is she?" Splinter asked, Draxum's only answer was putting his other hand towards his eyes, rubbing them as they remained shut. Splinter remained silent as the worst thoughts began to bubble in his mind as Draxum took a shaky breath and looked ahead. "I uh, started to get close to her. I saw that as a weakness so I... I tried finding another place to train her." Draxum said and attempted to drink his tea. But with his shaking hands, Splinter sighed and helped Draxum put the cup down, worried the yokai would spill it all over himself.

"I went e-everywhere and eventually decided upon Big Mama, she came to me first and even o-offered t-to pay me." Draxum explained, Splinter frowned as he began to think this through. Big mama only offered to do something if she knew she'd benefit from it. And in most cases, she did. "Let me guess, Big Mama placed our daughter into the Battle Nexus...." Splinter asked with furrowed brows, Draxum nodded quietly. "I never told Big Mama that De Milo was your biological child, but I have a feeling I didn't have to say it for Big Mama to know." Draxum said, the name confused Splinter. "You gave the child a name?" Splinter asked with a smirk. "Uh... yeah, Venus De Milo." Draxum said, Splinter snickered. "How ironic, I name the boys after famous artists, and you named her after a prized artwork." Splinter pointed out, something Draxum smiled at this but then frowned yet again. "Venus stayed in the Battle Nexus for a few years but was brutally injured during one of the fights. I then demanded for them to show where she was but one of the doctors had claimed that she...." Draxum stopped for a moment and sighed, rubbing his brow at the memory.

A/n: Not me listening to "It's Alright" by Mother Mother while writing this

Splinter frowned as he began to piece the puzzles together and placed a hand on Draxum's shoulder. Draxum took a deep breath and sighed as he leaned against the counter. "I thought they were lying and waited a few weeks before going to the Battle Nexus again. Big mama has her champions wait a few weeks to heal before putting them back in. But when I didn't see Venus, I demanded an answer from Big Mama. She then took me to this wall of "Legends" where fallen champions photo's are put onto the wall." Draxum said and didn't feel like finishing his sentence, something Splinter understood. Splinter looked back at the notebook and grabbed it, looking at some of the challenges with a smile. "We can't go and change the past." Splinter said with a smile as he knew all too well you can't, Draxum turned to Splinter with a frown.

"But we can make sure the boys, April, Cassandra, even Sunita, are perfectly safe within our supervision." Splinter said and handed the notebook to Draxum, who took it slowly and looked at the pages. "So, why don't you tell me more about these extra games." Splinter said with a smirk, hopping he had made his friend feel a little better. Draxum smiled and laughed a little, deciding to go over a few things with Splinter before both headed off to their homes/rooms for sleep.