The shriek of screeching tires, tinkering of shattered glass, a woman's pained scream, and then all was darkness and silence. The last color I remember seeing was red, but I don't recall if that was paint or blood. Likely it was both.

When I regained consciousness I felt strange. Light, ethereal in a way, and immaterial. I tried to look around but all was nothing and emptiness. I called out into the void as best as I could but in the vastness I truly felt as though the sound had not even tried to carry itself from wherever I was. Of course, sound needs something in order for it to travel and since I was pretty sure I had found my way to the very emptiest part of space and time it made sense that there was nothing to carry my voice for me.

Mostly I was confused, though. It seemed fairly evident that I was made of nothing, but then why was I here? If I was dead, and some kind of spirit, why wasn't I doing something like haunting a cemetery or hanging out in a library? I pondered these questions for a while until I got bored with them and started to think about my life. All the things I'd seen and done and lessons that I'd learned. Things that had seemed important at the time were silly looking now, considering the good they did me now that I'd moved on from that life. It felt like years had passed before I finally started to grow desperate that I was going to be stuck here alone for the rest of eternity and I started calling out to anyone and anything that might possibly (however small the chance might have been) hear me and respond.

And yet something heard me. Something immense and deep and powerful, like the ocean, and wiser than I could even comprehend bloomed into my view and encircled me completely. It was warm and gentle and careful with something so small as myself.

"W- Where am I? Who are you?"

IT was patiently amused by my question, though how I knew I wasn't completely sure, and without uttering a sound asked if I remembered how I had arrived in this place. Thinking back to my most recent memory, which was far clearer than I cared for, I winced at the ghostly pain and the cacophony of sounds and sensations that were my final farewell.

"I died." I answered quietly, aching in my heart at the loss of the life I no longer had. I looked around and felt a bit of confusion. "So... This is the Afterlife? ... It's a lot emptier than I pictured it."

Even further amused, the IT's texture and color shifted to something soft, pink and feathery. It was a common sentiment, the IT mused, but only from those who did not understand the aether. Feeling a little taken aback, I looked around again to see what I had missed.

"Hang on, Hang on. I've only been here for a few minutes. I wasn't aware there was anything to understand but if you give me a little time I'm sure I can get it figured out. It's not like I have anything better to do, with how long I've been here."

Turning a deeper pink and swirling with laughter, IT chuckled at my confidence.

I have been here 10,000 eons and seen millions of worlds come and go. It took me ages to even sense the aether and ages more to understand its mysteries. A little time would not suffice, but your sentiment has brought me humor and for that I am grateful.

IT swirled around and through me, taking in my life experiences and studying them carefully. IT enveloped me fully and so comforting was the sensation that I would have wept had I the body to do so. My emotions turned the immaterial matter around me a deep and stormy color, condensing it into something rough and ragged. Then with an emotion and sensation that was almost akin to concern and affection and willpower all rolled into one IT swept that pain away and washed me in peace and calm.

You have much to give and much to learn. And so I am sending you to a place where you can continue to further your growth and gain valuable experiences. But it will come at a heavy price and you must know that you will have to sacrifice and work every day or else you will be alone and miserable, your end there much more biting than the one you just experienced. Do you accept this placement?

I started, surprised. "Placement? You mean… like… another life?"

A continuation of your existence in a new physical frame.

"H-have I had other lives? Other… frames? Before?"

Of course. But with each new birth those memories are veiled. If you were to stay here long enough the memories would begin to return, but it is not practical for you to simply wait that long between learning experiences.

I thought for a while about that and then addressed the IT again. "I accept, but please allow me to retain my memories from my last life. If I am to further my growth then I can't forget the lessons I have learned. Please. Let me, uh, be placed… I guess would be the way to say it… in this place you chose with all of my memories and let me start there as an adult. Not a baby. I want to hit the ground running, so to speak. Please don't make me suffer through childhood again."

IT turned a pleasant, bright green and glowed with happiness, though there was something mischievous about the color that I couldn't put my finger on. Is that the end of your request?

Sensing the IT's less than protective intentions, I thought quickly about what else I wanted to request to keep myself from being too terribly taken advantage of. "I want to be placed near someone who will find me and want me. Appreciate me. Protect me. I want to be with someone who will help me to grow and learn and won't put me down or keep me from becoming better." At least if I had someone to watch my back, I couldn't get into TOO much trouble… right?

Agreeing to my request with a pulse of even brighter green, I felt IT carry me through an enormous expanse of space and time. I watched galaxies fly by in every size and shape for what felt like ages and yet almost no time at all. I was amazed at every one of them, millions of lightyears across, filled with every color and variety of star and planet, and each one different from the last. We zipped along smoothly, passing them all by until I was brought to a swirling spiral galaxy with widely spaced arms made of the mostly light grey material and we dove into it. Dust and stars flew by as we approached our destination and at the frightening speeds we were moving at I wished dearly for eyelids that I could have closed. Without them, however, I watched in nervous anticipation as the planet flew closer and closer until…

Pain.

The sensation of being compressed was almost overwhelming and I was sure I was going to be crushed and destroyed. But then it subsided and instead I was left with only the feeling of incredible heaviness. Why was it dark? Why was I cold? …Cold? Wait…. I had a body again! I twitched my fingers and was so relieved to find that there was sensation in and beneath them. My eyelids flicked open and I grinned. Eyes. I had eyes. I sat up and looked at my hands, so grateful to have flesh and bone again. Flexing them a few times I sat up and looked myself over. It took a few minutes of tapping knees and wiggling my feet excitedly before I reached up and felt my hair. It was wet and long like it had been when I had first entered college. Wait… Wet?

It was then that I realized it was raining. I lifted my face and let the water pour over me, breathing in the humidity and happily basking in the pitter patter of the drops on my skin. I shook my head and giggled, then laughed loudly. I splashed in a nearby puddle with my hand, only to be immediately made aware that it was filthy. My clarity of mind starting to return, I looked at myself anew.

I was dressed fully with shoes on my feet, but that was all. No purse, no identification, and nothing in my pockets. I stood up and looked around, finding myself in a dark alley that I had never seen before. Come to think of it, I was in a completely new world. I hadn't ever seen any of this before. But it looked… human. Earthy. There were dumpsters and buildings and as a car drove by on the street I wondered if maybe I'd just been given a new life on my same planet. It certainly had looked a lot like earth from outer space… though the galaxy had looked a little different from the pictures I'd remembered seeing…

Shaking my head again I stepped out onto the sidewalk and looked around. It was a neighborhood. Though, from the looks of it, there were some business buildings nearby. Just down a few alleys that went through to the streets on the other side. No problem. And so, with no real idea of what I needed to do or where I needed to go, but knowing that I had Somewhere I desperately needed to be, I started walking.

The first alley was no problem, but the second alley did not prove to be so kind. I got halfway down the stretch when three large men, tattooed and carrying crude weapons, appeared at the end of the alley. Feeling more annoyed than anything, since I had only just been put here and I clearly had things that I needed to do, I kept walking. They looked at each other with a slight amount of confusion and moved together to block my way. I rolled my eyes and sighed audibly, stopping in front of them and folding my arms.

"Look, I don't have anything you can steal. I don't have a purse, I have nothing in my pockets, so would you please be so kind as to move so that I can be on my way?"

The smallest of the three shifted a little and moved to get out of the way but the man next to him snarled and elbowed him. "The hell are you doing?"

"The hell are you doing? She jus' said she ain't got no money. And we's late ta meet da boss-man."

"Shut ya mouth, rookie. We got time, and this pretty little thing's got plenty ta go around." The largest man advanced forward, making me instinctively backpedal. Suddenly remembering IT mentioning a great cost that my placement here would require, I started to panic.

"Nooooo nonononono you can't be serious. No way." I tripped on an empty box and hit the asphalt hard, but ignored the sensation of bruising and gravel digging pits in the palms of my hands. Scrambling I rolled and ran. There was shouting from behind me, urging the 'rookie' to catch me. Spurred on by the realization that only one of them needed to catch me to secure my demise, I picked up speed and began knocking things over behind me to slow my pursuer down.

My efforts were not enough, however, and it wasn't 20 seconds later that I felt a hand snatch the back of my shirt and jerk me backwards, tearing the fabric. I whirled around, smacking him hard with the back of my hand and stomping his foot. He yelped and cursed, dropping me, and I turned to run again only to bump forcefully into the most muscular of the three gang members.

"You gonna pay for that, girlie!" The howling man snarled at me, pulling out a knife. "Imma gut you right here and right now so I neva hafta see your face again!"

I screwed my eyes shut and cowered, waiting for the pain to begin, when there was a thunk and a groan in front of me. The big one that was holding me shouted something obscene and tossed me to the side where I landed on the ground heavily and had the wind knocked out of me. Wheezing and coughing I tried looking around to see what had happened but everything was moving so fast it was hard to tell. The rain certainly didn't help things but eventually the motion stopped as the last thug fell to the ground and the figure who was responsible stepped smoothly over the limp form to look around for more attackers. Finding none, he sheathed his staff on his large, curved back and turned to face me.

I gasped and recoiled just slightly in surprise. I couldn't believe it. But a bolt of lightning flashing the sky overhead threw the alley into a moment of blinding light and shattered any doubts I'd had about the identity of the figure. I could recognize that silhouette anywhere, despite the shock of having him standing immediately before me. "D- Donatello?"

It was his turn to be surprised and he stepped backwards a half step before striding forward and pulling me to my feet. "What? What did you just say?"

The hardness and intensity to his gaze took me off guard, and my breath caught in my chest. He looked fierce and hard, dark and deadly, and fear stuck in my throat making me completely unable to speak. Instead I stuttered and stammered incoherently until in slight frustration he picked me up and started walking. "I don't know how you know my name but until I figure out if you are friend or foe I cannot have you roaming the streets. You're coming with me."

It was shocking, how easily he lifted me off of the ground. He carried me as though I was a child, his forearm tucked easily beneath me and my body pressed against his side with my legs in a forced straddle against his hip. His pace didn't seem to be affected by my weight either, and I was surprised at how warm his skin was. Being reptilian I would have thought he would be cold blooded, and therefore cool to the touch. But his skin burned radiantly as though he had just been sitting under the blazing sun in the summertime.

The rain was cold and the wind was fierce and biting against my skin making me chatter and press against his side despite my better judgement. There was something dark and frightening about this Donatello though I couldn't place exactly what it was, and despite the distinct feeling that I had telling me I was in far more danger now than I had been moments ago I simply could not muster the will power to even so much as struggle. He hemmed curiously at me and my snuggling against his warm skin and picked up the pace, tucking me closer so he could run through the alleys and empty lots to wherever it was that he was headed. Home, I assumed, but couldn't be sure until we got there. It wasn't long, however, before we were joined by his brothers.

"Hey Donnie…" I heard Mikey's voice call out to us, the tone slippery and predatory. "Whatcha got there Dee? A Midnight snack?"

"Back off Mike. This one's mine." Donnie snarled back, turning to put his body between his youngest brother and myself. I squealed and clutched Donnie tightly at the sudden sensation of someone's breath on my neck, a large three-fingered hand snaking around my arm.

"Aw come on Don. We can share." Leo's voice hissed in my ear and I whimpered pitifully into Donatello's shoulder.

"Yes, like you were so considerate in 'sharing' the last one."

"Aw Don, don't be so sour about it bro. We were just playin'." Mikey prompted, trying to reach for me. "And it's been so long Donnie. I'm starving for a taste of that little bite you've got there. Just one turn."

Smacking Mikey's hands away and striding a few feet away from the two of them, Donnie started to lay into Mikey when there was a heavy whump behind us and Donatello whirled around. There stood Raphael, huge and menacing, and Don took an instinctive step back, turning me away from Raph. They stared at each other silently for a few moments before Raph turned an appraising eye over to me. His eyes on my figure burned me with deep embarrassment and I wished desperately to hide from his feral, yellow gaze but found myself completely unable to tear my eyes away.

Raphael smirked a little upon meeting my terrified gaze and then turned his attention back to Don. "Nice catch. Not my type though. Too skinny. You headin' back with 'er?"

Donatello visibly relaxed and nodded. It was amazing that the Raphael in this world seemed to carry with him so much power and authority as to make Donatello worry that he would have something taken away from him that he'd already claimed as his. Granted, that something was ME but the awe still remained. I made a mental note to keep a careful eye on Raphael and steer VERY clear of either Mikey or Leo until I got a better handle on the situation.

"Well, we'll be out a bit longer. Got some more ground to cover. Ain't that right, fearless?" Raphael called over to Leonardo, and the blue-banded terrapin nodded.

"Probably another two hours and then we'll be home. Use that time wisely." The hungry gazes that lingered on me made me bury my face into Donatello's arm, fear gripping me absolutely. Donnie hiked me up a little higher before taking off for the lair, I assumed. Running easily through the dark city, it was another five or ten minutes in the freezing rain before he found an appropriate manhole cover to lift and drop into, replacing it over his head as we descended.

It wasn't until that moment, realizing that the scent wasn't as potent as I would have expected, that it occurred to me that nothing here was quite as potent as I remembered it from before. The colors were more washed out, everything carrying with it a grey and dingy feeling as though whatever printer had created this world didn't have quite enough ink and so mixed a generous helping of black and white in with the colors to make them stretch further. The scent of filth and algae and mold was putrid, but somehow felt lackluster and stale. Even the darkness of the sewer, which felt like it should have been absolute, felt a little bit greyer than usual.

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a river roaring and Donatello crouching low. I gasped in realization of what was to come, latching onto him tightly right before he leapt across the river and landed easily on the other side despite the platform being slick with water and algae. Peeking over his shoulder my eyes widened at the size and speed of it, my stomach dropping at the realization that I'd just crossed a point of no return without even so much as a moment's notice. Whatever it was that lay ahead... I had no choice but to accept it.

Lights started to flick on as he walked forward, and I turned myself around to look at where we were going. I gasped again to see a huge expanse of space open up before me. It looked so much like the cartoon lair from the 2003 series I couldn't believe my eyes. I didn't have long to take everything in, however, as his free hand reached around to hug me tightly against him as he slipped inside and made a beeline for one of the doors. "It has been a while since we've had the company of a female here. I'll have to be sure to keep you out of the hands of my brothers this time. The last one they managed to sneak away from me ended up taking days to fully scrub out of the concrete. Not even enough left together for me to study her properly. Such a shame too. I always did like redheads, and they're so hard to come by."

I looked up at him with eyes the size of saucers and an expression of pure horror. Here in the light it was suddenly clear just how lifeless and flat his eyes were, despite the slightly wicked smile that had split his face. How was that even possible? The deadness of his expression underscored what I thought was supposed to be a reassuring smile that bared his pointed fangs. "I- But- Why? What did she do? Why would they kill her?"

He chuckled at me. "Leo and Mikey like to play with their women, fucking them until they die from one cause or another. Sometimes it's exhaustion, sometimes it's bleeding out, other times it's suicide. But together they quite literally tore her apart. I won't make that mistake again with you, however, don't you worry. You'll be safe as long as you're with me."

And strangely, despite the kindness in his smile... I wasn't sure if I could believe it.