Chapter 1: Mysterious arrival
So basically this takes place after the second season, before the third. Just a little idea I had watching the season 2 ending. Hope you enjoy!
Ragged breathing sounded in the empty catacombs as paws raced through dry, crinkled wrappers and other assorted trash. Like a shadow, the creature moved through the black tunnels, pausing to catch its breath. Its nose worked, smelling the air, then it raced down a tunnel. Finally, it arrived at a large man that wasn't a man. He may have worn a rat's skin, but his soul was that of a man. The large beast paced alongside him for a moment before nudging his side. The scent of snake blossomed out of his soaking wet clothes at the gesture. With a growl, the beast backed up.
"Uhhh..." Splinter stirred and grasped his head. "Where...?" His eyes caught the creature beside him. It appeared to be a large dog, but as his eyes adjusted he realized the bulging muscles and size didn't belong to a dog. "A...wolf?" At his voice, the wolf lowered its head, whining as if in agreement. Splinter sat up and gazed steadily at the creature. It appeared to be a typical wolf, though larger than he'd expect because the beast before him seemed easily strong and large enough to carry a small person, though still small enough to pass as a large dog. He held out a paw and the wolf sniffed. After a moment it licked his paw, then it startled him by nearly pouncing on him and licking at his fur where his injuries were. He pushed against it, trying to get the creature off him, but as he did, he noticed his injuries seemed to hurt less. Splinter drew his paws away from the wolf's scruff and they came away damp. It's coat, wet with the sewer mist and sweat, was pure black except a slightly lighter shade around its jaw and belly, but he could tell that wouldn't matter if this wolf wished to hide in the shadows. "Why are you here?" Its eyes flicked up to his, gold intelligent eyes that surprised him. It made a soft huffing noise, but he had no idea what that meant. "I must find my sons." The wolf watched him with a steady gaze, its ears twitching as if listening for enemies. Splinter stood, but groaned and the wolf moved to help him stand. "Thank you..." He noticed its tail wag slightly at the comment, but its eyes were still filled with worry.
"It's not safe here, you know. It should go against all of your animal instincts to be in a city, especially a city invested with Kraang." His brow furrowed as he reconsidered. "On top of that...why would you be in the sewers?" All the wolf offered was a tilt of its head, as if it was curious. "Perhaps...do you know the way out?" The wolf spun and padded off silently. Hamato Yoshi hurried after the furry shadow. They walked silent and slow, constantly pausing due to Splinter's injuries. He noticed that the wolf paused whenever he needed it to and that while he caught his breath it would sniff the air and its ears would twitch as it searched for enemies. Finally, Splinter saw a dim light ahead. He stepped out and stepped down a small ledge as water poured from the sewer into a small stream. The man walked to the bank and laid in the grass, his chest heaving as he stared up at a sliver of moon in the sky. It was hardly a strand of its full crescent. "It is a beautiful night. Thank you..." He looked around, but the wolf, his guide, was no where to be seen.
Donnie sighed as he went outside. It was a crisp, cool night, but he liked it. Besides, it was nearly over, day was approaching. Even though the sun was minutes away, there was still a coolness in the air that only the night could summon. It sharpened his brain and senses, though he wouldn't mind them dulled a bit right now. Now that Leo was doing a lot better, still not back to his old self because some of the damage, like his throat, which was beyond his current skills, but better nonetheless, his mind had time to wonder. Naturally, it kept wandering back to April and one of their last encounters in New York. He kept thinking back to when he had finally got up the courage to tell April his feelings, but before he could, a look of apprehension had crossed her face and she had quickly changed the subject. If that didn't scream one-sided crush, he didn't know what did.
Donatello sighed again and stared out at the clouds. It was hard not to keep thinking about April when she was one of the five other people here, excluding ice cream kitty. She also seemed to be hanging around Casey more and more ever since his near confession. He looked out at the slowly appearing sun as a breeze came and blew from behind him, making the ends of his mask tickle his cheek.
If it weren't for that breeze, he may not have heard the voice. He had started to turn when the breeze caught his mask and he had paused to tuck it back behind his head before turning back to the house.
"...help..."
Donnie froze and listened. "...is...meone...ere...?" The voice seemed so weak. He had heard it coming from the forest so he took off in that direction. As the turtle approached the sound, the sun seemed to lazily crawl up the sky, as if too sleepy to start the day yet, and it seemed to darken the forest beneath it. He glanced among the darkened trees and saw the silhouette of a figure staggering out of the trees. Donnie's eyes widened in surprise and he made it in time to catch the figure as he saw the small form fluttering to the ground.
His arms caught a rather small teenage girl, she'd maybe come to his shoulder if she were standing and was rather skinny. Though the turtle's face warmed as he realized when he had caught her one hand had landed on her butt and the other had brushed her chest. She had passed out so ironically it was bad she had passed out, yet he was grateful she hadn't been awake for it because it had been purely accidental. Because of this, noticed she was fairly curvy, though not overly so. He quickly fixed his hands and lifted her up, carrying her back to the house. As he walked, he took in the girl's appearance. Her clothes were fairly wet, from what he assumed to be her sweat based on the fact that she seemed perfectly healthy except for her ragged breathing from what he guessed was over exertion, or so it appeared. She had on a black fitted sweatshirt with quite a few pockets, the hood of it brushed his arm as he walked, and loose black pants that ended with small sneakered feet. Her skin was fairly pale, nearly a ghostly white, and her hair was a wild, thick mess of black atop her head.
Donnie worked open the door to the barn, careful to support her limp body the whole time. He had picked the barn because it was closer and it doubled as his workshop and laboratory. He laid the girl on a makeshift cot, being as gentle as possible. She stirred slightly, almost snuggling against him and he froze, but then she lay limp again and he quickly freed his arms and scurried to his desk's chair. "Who are you...?" He was answered with silence other than her slightly calmer breathing.
It slowly dawned on the ninja that he ought to check her over and make sure she wasn't injured. Donnie swallowed nervously. Slowly, he slid her pants up her legs far enough to check for bruises or cuts. He was surprised to see they were fairly muscular, as far as a female's leg was concerned, but they seemed alright. Donatello slid her pants' legs back down and moved up to her sweatshirt. With another swallow, he unzipped it and carefully slid it off her. This time she didn't stir at all at the movement, which concerned him a bit, but her breathing and pulse were normal. Under her sweatshirt was a very tight, and rather low cut, black tank top. He noticed she had some strange circles up her arms too. Gingerly, Donnie lifted her arm and inspected a circle near her wrist. There seemed to be nothing unusually about them, they looked like a tattoo or something, so he put her arm back down. Maybe she'd tell him about them when she woke up. If she woke up...
Donnie laid a thin blanket over her and turned back to his desk to clean some of his clutter. He lost track of time when he was cleaning and lost himself in the task so when a soft voice spoke, it nearly made him jump out of his shell. "Who are you...?" He spun around expecting an amused expression at his surprise, but she was just watching him with shy curiosity. What surprised him more than that was her eyes. They were a strange color. If he had to pick a color he'd say they were golden, but he didn't think humans could have golden eyes. Oh well. Food for thought for later.
"My name is Donatello, but my friends call me Donnie." The teen moved his chair closer and she didn't object so he slid it until he was sitting right beside her. "What's your name?" His question made her brow furrow.
It was as if someone was telling her to think of something she hadn't needed to know in ages, like an old song name. "My...name..." It wasn't a question. She was searching her memory, but it still worried Donnie, until her eyes flashed with recognition. "My name...it's Erin." She smiled at him and it was such an innocent warm smile he had to smile in return.
Erin moved to climb off the cot, but instantly staggered. Quick as the ninja he was, Donnie caught her shoulders. "Easy... I'm not exactly sure what happened, but it's obvious you over exerted yourself. Rest here for a little bit and we'll figure things out when you wake up."
He honestly expected her to argue, the refusal was right there in her eyes, but then he felt her shoulders sag under his hands and she nodded gratefully. "Thank you..."
Erin climbed back under the blanket and laid on her side facing him, watching him closely. "Are you staying here because of me...? Please don't. I'd feel bad..."
He laughed softly. "Don't worry. I've pulled quite a few hours in my lab. You're not forcing me to be here. Besides, it's early enough for me to be awake, but everyone else is late sleepers."
"So why are you up so early then...?"
"Because I like to see the sunrise."
It was an innocent answer, but something flashed across her eyes before she nodded. "Yeah...me too." Then the girl pulled the blanket up to her chin and nodded off almost immediately. He watched her peaceful sleep for a few moments before he went back to his tinkering, quiet as a mouse.
So there is chapter 1! Rather short I know, but I like the first chapter to be short to see what people think. Hopefully you liked it! So please review and tell me what ya thought(good or bad)! Thank you! See ya soon!
