Splinter nibbled on the bread uninterestingly. He really wasn't in the mood to eat, but he figured his body would need the nourishment for the journey. He glanced at Michaelangelo who was keeping himself busy attending to Leonardo. He grabbed the blanket and laid it gently over his exhausted brother.
"Rest well, bro."
Michaelangelo stared at the sleeping turtle for a moment before deciding to search the bags for something to eat. He grabbed a can of beans from one of the packs, frowning as he looked for a way to open it.
"Uh, Master? Did ya happen to pack the can opener?"
Splinter stared absently at Mike for a moment. "Can opener? Damn."
Mike was slightly startled at his sensei's reaction. "That's okay.", he smiled. "I'll just use Leo's katana." He picked up the sword and carefully stabbed into the metal, humming all the while.
Splinter sighed as he watched the carefree turtle. Ah, to be like you Michaelangelo. To see the world through your eyes.
As Mike sat down with his dinner, Splinter ran the ideas over in his mind again. It upset him that his original plan had been overturned, but he figured it was the least he could expect from Raphael. No wonder my fur is turning grey!
They would sleep here for a couple of hours so Leo could regain some of his strength. Then, in the early morning, while it was still dark, they would set off again and travel as far as they could before their next rest. An urgency nagged at the back of Splinter's mind. Something was wrong. The danger hung in the air so thick he could taste it.
He closed his eyes, concentrating on each breath as he inhaled. He allowed the air to slowly fill his lungs before exhaling the tension from his weary body. He focused on Raphael. Where are you, my son?
He could feel the slight presence of Raphael and Casey, but could not tell where they were. He only knew that they were moving very fast, and were now very close to Shadow's location.
He could feel the little girl's fear emanating through him...
He found himself in a dark room, a cool breeze floating in from some unseen source. The terror gripped him as he felt the cold hardness of steel. Shackles hugged his neck, wrists and ankles, and he realized that he was experiencing what she was feeling. They had her chained up, but atleast she was alive. As the sensation faded, he slowly opened his eyes to find a concerned Michaelangelo crouched before him.
"Master? What is it? What did you see? Where's Raph?"
The rat sighed, "They are safe for now, but we must hurry."
______________________________________________________________________________________
April crouched close. "Donatello? Don, can you hear me?"
Megan held on to his good hand, squeezing it gently in an attempt to lure him out of his sleep. "C'mon, Donnie. Please wake up!"
Robyn watched in nervous wonder as Donatello's eyelids slowly flickered open. It's awake!
Tears of joy flooded April's eyes as he came to. "Oh, Don, you're gonna be okay!", she choked.
Don blinked hard as the two faces came into view. "April!" He struggled to sit up, but the dull pain that traveled through his body forced him to stay in place.
"April! He didn't get you!"
She was confused. "Didn't get me?", she frowned. "Who didn't get me?"
"April, listen, I was dead. I died!"
April was concerned. "Don, no, you didn't. We've been here watching over you the whole time. You're fine. You never stopped breathing, not even for a second."
"But I did, April." He thought back to the light, to the strange voice, to the amnesia that had overtaken him. "I almost crossed over. I was going toward the light..."
"The light?", Megan broke in as she thought about her mother's final words. It's beautiful, Megan! The light...! Sorrow washed over her as she thought about her struggle to keep her mother alive. But she didn't want to live. I couldn't make her.
Donatello finally recognized who she was. "Megan?"
His recollection startled her. "Yeah, Don, I'm Megan. Nice to meet you." Remembering the wounded hand, she decided not to offer hers for a shake, and laid it on his shoulder instead.
"Yeah." Don returned to his tale. "There was this really bright light, and this voice, and angels or something..."
"My mother saw the same thing right before she died." Megan gulped, trying to swallow back the tears.
"I almost went through. I wanted to. It was so peaceful there. My wounds were healed." He glanced down at his body for the first time. "God, my hand!" He remembered the sharp steel slicing into his flesh, the utter pain, the shock of the bloodloss, and his worst fears rushed through him. What if I can never use it again?
"Don, you'll be okay.", April reassured him. "Mike and Megan patched it up. They did a good job."
Don stared down at his hand for a moment, then looked up at Megan. "You did this?", he asked amazed.
"Yeah." She forced a smile. "But Mike did most of the work."
The sudden thought of his brother, surrounded by the Foot, sent a wave of panic through him. "Leo...is he okay?"
"Yes." April laid a hand on his plastron, attempting to comfort him. "He had some injuries, but he'll be alright. He dragged you all the way to the lair."
It amazed Don that his brother had had the strength after such a rough battle.
"Tell us more about what you saw while you were unconscious." A new voice, one that Donatello hadn't heard before made itself audible. The three heads turned to gaze at its source.
"Uh, Don, this is my sister Robyn."
Robyn inched herself to where Don could see her, the fear almost dissipated now. "Hi."
"Nice to meet ya.", Don said quietly. "April's told us so much about you."
She gave April a sideways frown. "Yeah? Well, I wish I could say the same thing about you!"
_________________________________________________________________________________
"Hey, thanks, bub." Raph tossed the driver a five dollar bill and closed the car door. In the darkness, he doubted the man would have noticed the strange coloring to his skin or the fact that he only had two fingers and a thumb.
The two watched in silence as he drove away. They had covered a lot of ground, and were now only a short distance from their final destination.
The moon still shone brightly as it reflected in the water at their feet. Casey wondered what they had gotten themselves into. He gazed at their surroundings. They were encircled by wilderness. Tall trees and shrubbery lined their path, and the wet grass sloshed beneath them with each step. He secretly thought about how beautiful everything was. April would like it here. So would Shadow... The thought of her sent a flash of rage through him.
"Why did you have him let us off here?", Casey complained.
"Because..." He pointed to the north. "The 'hideout' is s'posed to be just beyond those mountains."
Casey gazed up at the distant peaks. Why me? He lifted a hockey stick from his bag before slinging it over his shoulder, and began to hack at the branches that blocked their path.
Raphael felt oddly happy. Time to kick some butt! He whipped out his sais, grinning wickedly as he helped Casey defeat the plants.
____________________________________________________________________________________
"I saw him, April! I saw the Shredder!"
April was sure Donatello was delirious. "Calm down, Don. It's okay now. He's gone. It was just a dream."
But it felt too real to be a dream.
"No April, he's here. When I refused to cross over, the Shredder appeared. It was like I was given a choice...the peace of death, or the pain of life. I guess I chose the latter."
The three women studied him for a moment. "So you saw him after you chose to come back..." Megan thought long and hard about what Don had just said. The others stared at her in wonder until she finally spoke.
"I've read that sometimes when people almost die, they see things about their past, their present and even their future. Sometimes, they're shown what will happen if they decide to live."
All of this talk was beginning to give April the creeps. "So what are you saying? That Donatello saw the future? That the Shredder really is alive?"
"It's hard to say.", she admitted.
Robyn didn't like the sound of this one bit. If this was the same Shredder that April had told her about before they had gone to sleep tonight, she didn't want to wait around to find out if it was real.
Donatello's throat was dry, and his hand felt oddly numb. Great! Loss of feeling! God, please don't let me lose the use of my hand! "Can I have a drink of water?", he croaked.
Megan got up and fulfilled his request. He accepted the water greatfully as she and April helped him to sit up. His whole body hurt. His shoulder stung fiercely where it had been sliced by the katana, but he didn't really care about that. He knew that would heal. My hand though... He forced the fear from his mind and focused on his vision.
April sat alone with her thoughts. All of this talk about Shredder being alive made her nervous. Leo killed him. He told me so, and the others...they saw it. They saw Saki's head in his hands.
"Where are the others?", Don asked suddenly.
"Uh, they went to go find Shadow.", April answered. "The Foot left a note about their whereabouts."
Don sat in thought for a moment more. Something nagged at the back of his mind. Shadow...the Foot attacking Megan in Casey's apartment...the Foot attacking us, but strangely not killing us...the note...almost as if...they want us to go to them...
"Oh no!" The realization hit Don like a hammer.
The others stared at him, the fear surging through them as his face crinkled up in concern.
"I've got to follow them!", he cried as he tried to hoist himself off the bed, but the pain was too much.
Megan could relate. Heh, I've tried that too Donnie...doesn't work too well.
"They're in trouble!", he shouted at them.
"What kind of trouble? What's going on?", Robyn worried.
Don took a deep breath before explaining, "If my observations are correct, the Foot was purposefully instructed to severely wound us and drain us of our energy before leading us to wherever it is they're hiding so that we can be defeated. It's a trap!" He choked on his final words. "And if my 'little adventure' really was an indication of the future, the Shredder will be waiting for them!"
_________________________________________________________________________________
"Wakey wakey!", Mike whispered into Leo's ear. He was sound asleep. "Leeeooo..." He scooped some water into his hands and splashed it on his face.
"Uhhh...Hey!" Leo's eyes flashed open, his face full of surprise. "Aw, Mikey!"
"Heh, sorry, Leo", Mike shrugged. "But I had to wake ya. It's time to go."
Leo sat up slowly as a dull pain spread down his side. Mike could see the hurt in his eyes and grew concerned.
"Hey bro, you okay?"
Leo was silent for a moment as he scanned his surroundings. The soft trickle of water tinkled just a few feet ahead. Their bags were packed up tightly and lined up in a row. But where's Splinter?
Before he could ask his question, Mike offered the answer. "Splinter's checking the tunnels up ahead. He's trying to find the quickest route to the guys.
Leo frowned for a moment, lost in his own thoughts. "How long have I been asleep?"
"Just a couple of hours." Mike helped him stand. "It'll be light soon."
Leonardo rubbed his eyes. He was still exhausted, and his muscles refused to relax. His whole body was stiff and it ached for the comfort of sleep, but he knew that Shadow and the others were counting on him. I can't let them down.
Splinter entered the tunnels, the weariness showing clearly in his tired face. "Ah, Leonardo.", he smiled weakly. "You are looking much better."
Leonardo didn't feel any better. In fact, in some ways he felt worse. He tried to stretch, but as soon as he brought his arm up toward his head, a sharp pain shot through him, reminding him of the fresh stitches in his side. Deciding that he didn't want to go through that ordeal again, he lowered his arm and waited for Splinter's instructions.
Splinter picked up a pack and slung it over his shoulder. Mike did the same with the remaining two, one on each shoulder.
"Mike, let me take one of those." Leo protested, but Mike ignored him and followed the rat into the tunnels.
_________________________________________________________________________________
The soft rock crumbled under their feet as they climbed. Casey had almost slipped a few times on the soft mud that slithered in between the rocks.
"Remind me again why we're doing this?"
Raphael was slightly above him, his arms tiring as he made his way toward the top of the mountain.
"You got a better way to get to the other side of this thing?"
"Yeah", Casey said sarcastically. "We could've had that guy drop us off there!"
Raphael was growing inpatient. Why does he keep whining like a baby? "Look.", he said. "Do you wanna get us killed? No one can know about this place. It's secret."
"Yeah? Well it's about to get raided!", Casey announced.
The two climbed in silence for a while, the only sound the crumbling rock and the light hoot of a distant owl. Raphael glanced up at the full white moon as thoughts of Megan flooded his mind. Why can't I shake it? He pictured the two of them sitting together up here under the stars, far away from civilization, from the pain of the city. For here, among nature, he felt he could be himself, he could tell her all of the things he so longed to tell her. And maybe she would understand.
He pulled himself up to stand at the top of the mountain, marveling at the fact that he could survey the whole valley from here. Tall pines dotted the mountain side and a calm river flooded through the marsh. It was beautiful. Like Megan.
Casey was behind him now, panting from the intense climb. He stared at Raphael, who's eyes were pinned on some distant point far away.
"Raphael?"
He turned quickly, startled by Casey's appearance. "Huh?" Casey stared at him for a moment, as if trying to read his thoughts. Raphael felt uneasy under his glare.
"Hey, look down there!", he pointed off to the east where a giant structure protruded from the side of the mountain.
"What the heck is that thing?", Casey gawked at it, bewildered. It was huge. Tall towers surrounded the main structure as they stretched skyward. He could just make out an enormous wooden door that covered almost the whole width of the building.
"It looks like a fortress!", Raphael gasped.
"That's gotta be the place."
Raphael nodded his head in agreement. "C'mon, let's do this!"
____________________________________________________________________________________
"No, Don!" April protested. "You're not strong enough! You need your rest!"
But the turtle forced himself upward, ignoring her advice as the pain seered through him. Gritting his teeth and clenching his eyes shut, he rose slowly to stand on the floor. As he opened his eyes, the room began to spin. Maybe she's right. Maybe I'm not ready for this! Deciding he must atleast try, he wobbled dizzily to the sink and turned on the water.
Megan watched him in concern, but remained silent for the moment. She knew the force that was driving him. She thought about the family she'd once had, how she had tried everything in her power to hold on to it. Donatello now shared that same fire for his brothers and his sensei.
Using only his right hand, he splashed the cold water on his face, trying to wake up and cure the nausea that had started to creep up on him. I gotta get there! Gotta help them...
"Donatello..." April laid a hand on his shell, her voice soft, pleading. "Please don't do this." She paused to stare over his shoulder at the green reflection. "We almost lost you once. I couldn't bare to go through that again."
Don could see the apprehension and fear in her eyes. He grabbed a towel and dried his face before turning around to meet her gaze.
"April..." He took her hand in his good one, "I know how you feel. I've felt that way many times myself, but you gotta understand..."
She looked at him questioningly, but didn't speak. He thought back to a winter long ago, when he and his brothers had been forced to look after a half-dead Leo, to the night Michaelangelo had been seriously wounded in battle, his plastron ripped open, to Baxter Stockman, in his robot form dropping Raphael from a tall building. He knew the pain of worrying all too well.
"We're getting hurt. And Leo's in no condition to fight either. Raph, Mike and Casey can take care of themselves, but Splinter is getting too old for this. Besides, if the Shredder really is alive, he'll be expecting them. There's no way they could have left here prepared to go into battle in a place they know nothing about. Our enemies have the advantage. I have to help them!"
Robyn understood his concern. "I agree.", she spoke up finally.
April gawked at her slack-jawed. "What!?"
"April, these are his brothers. He should be there, helping them. If that's what he wants to do, we can't keep him here."
"Donatello, how's your hand doing?" Megan changed the subject for a moment. The turtle was now pacing back and forth through the room in an attempt to loosen his stiff muscles for the journey.
"I'll be fine.", he gulped. "But it does feel kinda numb."
She got up from the bed and took his hand gently in hers, examining the bandages. Atleast it's stopped bleeding.
"Your thumb was almost severed." She didn't know whether she should be telling him this, but she thought it only fair to be honest. "Many of the nerve endings were cut."
He looked down at his hand, his eyes absent of emotion.
"Mike did a good job of reattatching what he could." She looked at him in concern. "It's gonna be okay."
Donatello remained silent, but an unspoken sorrow swept through him. I'm an inventor, a creator. I work with my hands. What will I do if I can't use them anymore?
She put her arm around him, giving him a quick hug. "Donnie, don't worry." She squeezed his index finger gently. "Can you feel this?"
He nodded.
"What about this one?" She sqeezed the other finger.
"Yeah."
She wasn't sure she wanted to try the thumb. She worried about injuring him, the wound was so delicate. She was also concerned about what his reaction would be if it had no feeling. She curled her fingers around his thumb and squeezed it carefully, studying his face for signs of pain, or surprise, or anything that would indicate a response. When she got none, she squeezed a little harder. Still nothing. She let his hand go slowly, the grief washing over her.
He looked up at her, the pain visible in his deep brown eyes. "Nothing. My hand's gone. There's no feeling."
____________________________________________________________________________________
They stared up at the humongous door, searching for a way to enter. There were no doorbells, handles or windows of any kind.
"Great!", Raph said frustrated. "How the hell are we s'posed to get into this creepy place?"
Casey studied the old wood, silently wishing Donnie were here to help them figure this out. Poor Don... The bitter night air whipped around them, sinking its cold jaws into Casey's flesh. He rubbed his arms as a shiver traveled down his spine, and gawked down into the cavern far below them.
The cliff on which they stood was wide but steep. They'd had to practice caution with their footing as they'd climbed. The rock continued to crumble beneath their feet. Casey watched as the small chunks broke free and tumbled down the side of the mountain until they became invisible.
Raph was growing impatient. "Maybe we just kick it in!" He charged for the door, sais in hand as he leapt into the air. He thrusted his foot out for the kick right as the doors swung inward, causing him to land in an akward position on his tail, just inside the entrance. Well...so much for havin' kids!
"Hey Raph, you alright?", Casey whispered, cautiously stepping inside to offer the turtle his hand.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Tail hurts like a mother though." He rubbed the bottom of his shell. Casey chuckled to himself and shook his head.
Raph gazed around the dimly lit room. Burning torches lined the clay walls, illuminating them just enough to highlight the strange drawings. Before them was a long dark hallway, leading into blackness, reminding him of a cave or an ancient temple. Strange writing was enscribed on the walls in what appeared to be a mixture of ancient Egyptian pictographs and Japanese, but he couldn't be sure. Where's Donnie when we really need im'? Something suddenly caught his attention on the right wall. As he turned his head to examine the picture, he gasped in awe. A large red foot was painted on the clay, the symbol of the Foot Clan.
Casey saw it too. "I guess this means we're in the right place afterall, huh?"
Before Raphael could answer, a loud crackling sound filled the room, followed by a high pitched screech, as if someone had started a P.A. system with the microphone turned up too loud.
Casey covered his ears for a moment before a loud sinister voice echoed through the halls and reverberated off the walls.
"So glad you could make it!"
Raph tried to place the voice, but it was being distorted somehow, deeming it unrecognizable.
"But where are the others? I said I want all of you!"
Casey reached behind his shoulder to pull a bat from his bag.
"Your measily weapons mean nothing here."
Raph searched the room. How are they seeing us? He didn't notice the video camera posed above their heads.
The voice sounded again. "Come forward if you dare. It is time to meet your destiny!"