Summary: It's been five years since the fall of the Foot tower in the bay. Ryan has been living comfortably with the turtles all this time. But what happens when Ryan's nightmares return? Is it possible they mean something? Meanwhile, above ground an enemy lurks in the shadows. Can the turtles rise to this challenge?
The TV screen glowed in the dark room.
"Here we see the wreckage of the mysterious tower that fell in the bay." The reporter off screen stated as the camera panned over the tower. Ryan shuddered, remembering her time in and out of that terrible fortress. Suddenly, on the screen appeared the unmasked face of Oroku Jong.
"Ryang!" He shouted at her through the screen. She shrieked and jumped, startled. Suddenly, a hand came out of the tv, almost unreal as it came toward Ryan. She was frozen, unable to move. The hand was huge as it came down upon her. She let out a blood curdling scream.
"Ryan?" A half asleep Raph shot up as he rolled over in bed to see Ryan struggling beneath an unseen force.
"Ryan!" he found himself suddenly wide eyed awake as he shook her.
Her eyes shot open, her breath coming short and fast as she suddenly threw herself into his arms. He reacted quickly, wrapping his strong arms around her.
"Ryan? Babe? Talk to me." he said pulling her from his chest. "What's wrong?" he asked her, meeting her frightened eyes.
"It was him again." she said, a few tears running down her cheeks. He ran a thumb beneath her eyes, brushing away the tears.
"Oh babe." he said, pulling her back into him. "I swear, Ryan. He ain't never gonna get ya. Never. Not while I'm here." he found himself promising.
Eventually, Raphael was able to calm his poor frightened girlfriend and both of them retreated back to sleep.
Outside the door to their bedroom, Sensai stood rubbing his chin in thought.
"Oh dear." he finally muttered before walking away.
The next morning, Three turtles and an overgrown rat sat at the table in the kitchen.
"Where's Raph and Ryan?" Leo asked, looking at the two empty chairs.
"I fear your brother and Ryan had a tough time sleeping last night." Sensai said with seriousness.
Mikey snickered in his chair before getting slapped on the back of the head by Leo.
"What do you mean, Sensai?" Leo asked.
"Ryan had another nightmare last night." he explained, looking down.
The boys gasped, staring at sensai.
"But... She hasn't had the nightmares since..." Leo trailed off, still baffled at the newfound information.
"Yes my son, I know." Sensai said, knowing what his eldest was trying to say.
Donnie only looked down, taking it all in. Mikey looked around at everybody's face.
"Since what?" Mikey asked, dumbfounded.
"Since her father was around." Donnie explained to the youngest.
"Oh... that's deep man." Mikey commented, finally getting it.
"If she's having these nightmares again, Sensai... is it possible that..." Leo trailed off his question, hearing footsteps coming down the stairs.
Raph entered the kitchen with a yawn before going to the fridge and taking a huge gulp from the milk carton. He then proceeded to prepare himself a bowl of cereal.
"Where's Ryan?" Donnie asked.
"Sleeping. Figured it best to let her sleep." Raph commented. They remained in silence for a moment before Raph spoke again.
"She uh... She had a pretty bad nightmare last night." he explained further. "I want her to get some sleep" he added simply. He recieved a gentle hand on the shoulder from his father who smiled and nodded at him.
The room was dark with one chair sitting in the middle of it. One wall was lined completely with screens.
"Sir? What are you thinking?" asked his second in command.
The man made no movement with his head, but his eyes came to rest on one of the many screens which showed a report from five years ago, investigating the odd tower that had appeared out of nowhere.
"I'm thinking it's time."
"Time sir? Time for what?" asked the second in command in confusion.
"Revenge!" The man growled, throwing a knife at the screen, landing a perfect bullseye on the report he'd been focusing on.
Ryan shot awake in the dark. She looked next to her seeing that Raph had already gotten up. She rubbed her eyes, not wanting to remember any dreams she might of had the night before. She threw the covers off of her and pulled on her sweats and a sweatshirt. It was usually cold and where the turtles could live with it, she was a mammal and therefore, of course, preferred heat over the cold sewer walls. But wherever Raph was, she was and so the sewers were her home and she had actually grown accustomed to it.
She walked downstairs, seeing all the turtles sitting around the kitchen table.
"Hey guys." she greeted, grabbing the chair next to Raph. Before she could sit down, Splinter raised his hand, stopping her.
"Ryan, may I speak with you in the dojo. Ryan followed him, a look of confusion plastered on her face. He just smiled, guiding her that way.
"He hasn't taken her to the dojo since..." Leo trailed off, looking at everyone again.
"Since what! Why do you keep trailing off like that Leo!" Mikey said in frustration.
"Since Shredder!" Leo and Donnie shouted at the same time.
"Okay, geez! Don't gotta bite my head off guys!" Mikey defended himself. Raph just looked at his brothers.
"What are you talkin' about Leo?" Raph asked, eyeing him suspiciously.
"The last time Ryan was having nightmares, her father was after her. And now she's in the dojo with Sensai alone. The last time that happened, her father was after her. Don't you think that's a little odd?" Leo asked.
"The only thing odd here is Mikey." Raph huffed.
"Hey!" Mikey defended himself. Raph cocked his head at his younger brother, arching an eyebrow. Mikey sat back in his chair in defeat.
"Yeah, okay. I'm a little odd but that's just what makes me special!" he said with a sassy look on his face. Raph smirked, shaking his head playfully.
The shredder leaped forward at Ryan, and she gasped air before snapping her eyes open to see Splinter sitting in front of her in the dojo. He hadn't moved at all.
"Ryan, you must clear your mind." he stated, not having opened his eyes to look at her.
"But... Sensai, we tried this five years ago and it didn't work then." she argued.
"Because you were afraid to open up then. Ryan, you know us now. You must open your mind." Sensai requested.
"I... I can try." she said, aggravation still evident in her voice. She settled herself down and took a deep breath, closing her eyes.
A minute passed before Ryan opened her eyes.
"Ryan, you can't meditate with open eyes." Sensai said, his eyes remaining closed.
"I'm sorry, sensai. I just... I'm so scared to close my eyes." she insisted. "I don't want to see him again." she added. Sensai seemed in thought as he rubbed his chin. Finally, his eyes sparkled and he smiled at her.
"Ryan, I have a plan. But you're going to have to trust me."
