"I am afraid I have bad news." Splinter sat in the middle of the circle, studying their faces intently.
Donatello sat deep in thought, a slight frown playing at his brow. Leonardo was motionless, hanging on Splinter's every word. Michaelangelo fidgeted with the rose on his lapel, shifting his weight back and forth in eager anticipation. Casey sat bent over slightly, his elbows resting on his knees as he sat in silent wait. April, not wanting to wrinkle her dress, stood next to Casey, worry filling her eyes, clouding her thoughts.
"There has been a struggle.", he continued as he slowly surveyed the others.
"Is it Raph?", Leo was concerned. "Master, has something happened to him?"
Splinter studied the turtle carefully, his gaze holding Leo's for a moment before he spoke. "Yes." He lowered his eyes, contemplating the approach he would take as he spoke his next words.
"My god!", April let out a gasp of terror. "Shadow?"
Casey jumped up from his chair and approached Splinter. "What's happened?" He grasped the rat gently but firmly by the arms. "Where are they? Where's Shadow?"
"I...do not know."
"What!?" Casey shouted, obviously enraged at the thought of his daughter in danger. "What do you mean you don't know?"
"Master Splinter" Mike rose to stand next to Casey "Shadow will be okay, right? Raph'll take care of her."
Casey let go of Splinter's arms and began to pace around the room.
"Everyone, just calm down.", Leo instructed, rising from his chair. "Just let Master Splinter finish."
Mike sat reluctantly as terrible visions filled his head. Were they kidnapped? Or worse, were they even still alive? He shook his head, trying to release the fears that had begun to well up inside.
Casey continued to pace the room as April sank slowly into his chair, not bothering to worry about her gown for the moment.
Donatello remained quiet, a quizzical frown held on his face.
Leo studied his brother's distant expression. What's going through his mind?
"I believe that Raphael is okay." Splinter explained. "And, I sense that Shadow is in no grave danger."
April's shoulders sank as some of the tension slipped away.
"But where is she?" A frustrated Casey butted in. "Can't you use your 'meditation stuff' to find out where she is?"
Splinter sighed, "No. I can not."
"Gaarrrgh!" Casey threw his hands up in disgust and returned to his pacing.
"But I can strongly sense them both, which means they are safe, atleast for now.", the rat continued. "and I can also sense another..."
The others gawked at him in silence.
"Who is it?", Mike inquired impatiently.
Splinter studied his son intently. "A girl.", he whispered. "But her presense is faint, and I fear that she may be..." He looked up at Casey, a serious expression set on his aged face. "Dying."
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"It's okay, I gotcha." Raph slipped his arm around Megan's waist and slowly lifted her into a standing position. "Do you think you can walk?"
"I'm...not sure.", Megan wheezed. "So...weak." She tried to take a step forward, but even with Raphael's support, her legs gave way like jello, and she almost fell to the floor.
Raph grabbed on to her tightly. "Hey, don't worry." He lifted her into his arms. "I got ya. I won't let you fall."
The apartment was still dark, except for the sliver of moonlight that peaked in through the window, casting eery shadows on the wounded Foot soldiers as they lay at Raph's feet. He hurried down the hall to the back door, breathing heavily as the adrenaline rushed through his body. I gotta get her to the lair, fast!
"R...Raphael?", Megan whispered.
He had reached the door and was about to enter the hallway. "Yeah?"
"Tell Casey...I'm sorry...about his apartment." The words were painful now, and she was growing faint.
"I got a better idea." He gazed down at the bruises covering her delicate face. "Why don't you tell 'im yourself?"
"Tell him...I love him...", she moaned.
"Hey, come on, don't talk like that.", he said softly. "You're gonna be just fine."
The truth was, Raphael was scared to death that she wasn't going to make it. How could he tell Splinter and the guys that he had failed this innocent girl? And, how could he forgive himself for letting such a delicate creature die in his arms?
Raphael carried Megan into the main hall.
"Where...are we going?", she coughed.
He tried to ignore the fear that was eating at his thoughts. "To my place.", he answered. "We gotta stick to the Shadows." Oh my god! Shadow! In all of the comotion, he had totally forgotten about her. Grasping the girl tightly, he ran down the dark hall to Mike's apartment.
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"I'm sorry for the inconvenience.", April said uneasily as she slipped the twenty dollar bill into the blind man's hand. "An emergency came up, and a friend is in trouble..." She searched for an acceptable explanation, as she studied the minister's face.
"It is okay, child.", he replied, his eyes staring straight ahead, "You go do what needs to be done."
April grabbed his hand and gave it a quick squeeze. "Thanks for understanding.", she said quietly. "Things should be back to normal in a few days. We'll give you a call." She let his hand drop from hers. "I didn't buy this dress for nothing.", she added, rushing toward the foyer.
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The van sped down 115th street, running red lights and honking at whatever got in its way.
"Casey, slow down!", April gasped, gripping the door handle tighly, "Do want to get us killed before we can even find out what's going on?"
Donatello, Michaelangelo and Leonardo crouched in the back with Splinter, holding onto whatever they could find as their bodies were thrown around the vehicle.
"Ow!", Mike complained as his head hit the ceiling. "Hey, where'd he learn to drive anyways?"
"Sorry.", Casey mumbled, his foot still pressed down firmly on the accelerator. "But, my daughter's life may be at risk."
April lowered her eyes to stare at the lacey gown. "I know.", she whispered.
Casey could see the hurt in her eyes at the hint of accusation that had been in his voice. He was instantly sorry for what he had just said. "April", he glanced at her, then back at the road, "I know you love her too, and...", his sight fell on her again as he placed a hand on her cheek. "...she's your daughter as much as she is mine."
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"Shadow!" Raphael quickly surveyed the apartment and laid Megan on the couch. "Shadow!" He rushed to the bathroom. He ran his eyes over the room, scanning everything in sight. No one was there. Squinting in apprehension, he threw back the shower curtain to gape at the bathtub beyond. Empty. Damn!
He ran to Mike's bedroom. Maybe she got tired and fell asleep. He threw back the blankets and looked under the bed. No one was there either. A wave of panic rushed over Raphael as he ran from room to room with no avail. "Damn it!", he cursed. "Shadow!" He ran to the living room to check on Megan.
"Raph..." She was hyperventilating from the lack of oxygen in her lungs.
"Shhhh." He laid a hand on her forehead. My god, she's burnin' up! He knew he had to get her out of there, and Shadow was nowhere to be found. Maybe she ran to the sewers, he hoped. Scooping Megan back into his arms, he hurried through the apartment towards his underground home.
__________________________________________________________________________________
The apartment was a disaster. Donatello shined the flashlight around the room, casting a small white spotlight on the broken bodies that laid scattered across the floor. April clutched Michaelangelo's hand, sobbing, while Leonardo, Casey and Splinter searched through the rubble.
"Hey, Don!" Leonardo looked up from where he was crouched on the floor. "Shine your flashlight over here!"
Donatello stepped carefully around the bodies and stood next to Leo. "What's that?" He frowned at the swatch of black satin peeking out from between Leo's fingers.
"It's a piece of material.", Leo commented, studying it carefully.
"I know that, Einstein.", Don snapped. "But where did it come from?"
"And this..." Splinter's voice startled the brothers. When they turned to face him, they found a sweater clutched in his frail old hands.
"Is that one of your sweaters, April?", Casey called.
April wiped at the tears and cautiously followed Mike to where Splinter was standing. She took the garment from his hands. "No.", she sniffed, "It doesn't look familiar."
"Then who...", Donatello began.
"Hey guys! Look at this!" Michaelangelo held up a small brown suitcase. The others exchanged confused glances and crowded around him. "Shine the flashlight on the tag.", he said. Squinting under its glare, he concentrated on the faded name. "Mmm...Meg...Megan...Joe...Jones." He looked up from the tag and shrugged his shoulders. "Megan Jones.", he said.
Casey felt ill. "My god!", he shouted. "Megan's here!?"
Ring! A sound startled them from their thoughts. Ring! April stared at the phone, a blank expression on her face.
"Answer it!", Mike said excitedly. "Maybe it's Raph!" April placed her hand on the receiver.
"No!", Leo stopped her. "Let the answering machine pick up. It may be someone a lot less friendly."
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Raphael panted heavily as he splashed through the rancid water. He glanced down at Megan who now lay completely limp in his arms. C'mon! Don't you leave me. The sewer was dark and damp and a foul stench rose up from the grimy walls. Atlast, he arrived at the door to their lair. Searching his surroundings to make sure he wasn't followed, he carried Megan inside.
Their den was untouched. The Foot hadn't found their secret location - yet. Raph laid the unconscious girl on his bed. His heart pounded in his chest as he ran for water and a wash cloth. The idea of playing "care giver" made him nervous. He had never been faced with such a task before. Man, I wish Mikey were here!
Raph placed the cloth gently across her forehead as the blood seeped onto the sheets, dying them a rich dark red. She had lost a lot of blood, and he knew he had to tend to her wounds right away.
"God.", he sighed. "I can't believe I'm doin' this!"
Raphael put his fingers through the bloody rip in her dress and tugged at it, tearing a gaping hole. He pulled the material from her shoulders and discarded it.
"Holy...." He stared down at the exposed flesh, his mind racing with a million different thoughts. She was so beautiful. Guess this is the only way I can get a naked woman in my bed... He tried to joke to himself to ease his nerves, but as he stared at the gaping wound, they only got worse.
Brushing his intense curiosity aside, he ran to Splinter's meditation room and began searching through the cabinets. He found the strange looking leaves that Splinter sometimes used to heal their battle wounds. This'll have to do. He grabbed a bowl and some bandages and rushed back to Megan's side.
She was running an extremely high fever, her pulse was weak, her breathing faint. God, I wish Master Splinter were here! Raphael crushed the leaves over the bowl until they were a fine powder.
"I don't know what I'm doing.", he whispered to the unconscious girl. "I don't even have a clue." He added some water to the ground leaves and began to apply the mixture carefully to her wounds. "Geeze!", he exclaimed noticing for the first time just how big the gash was that ran across her chest. The cut was deep and it bled profusely.
Raphael removed the cloth from her forehead and dipped it back into the water. After ringing it out, he carefully laid it on the wound and pressed down firmly to stop the bleeding. "It's a good thing you're not awake right now.", he forced a smile. "Cuz if you were, this would really hurt!"
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"April?", the voice echoed across the room. "It's me, Robyn."
"Oh my god, Robyn!" April shouted nervously as she reached for the receiver.
"No, don't!", Casey commanded. She froze and withdrew her hand slowly.
"I just wanted to tell you...", the voice continued. "...that I've decided to come."
April gasped at the startling news.
"Oh no! Not now!", Casey moaned.
"My plane arrives tomorrow..."
"What are we gonna do?", Mike whined.
"Shhhh!" Leo motioned for him to be quiet as Robyn rattled off her flight information.
"Well, I guess I'll see you then." The message finished. "And April, I'm...looking forward to it."
"I wish I could say the same thing!", April moaned.