First off, I want to apologize for by absence and I hope I'm slowly returning to the site. Second off, I have some BIG news so please bare with me. Two of my stories, Forever Loved and Combined Terror, I have sadly lost interest in. Please believe me when I say I have tried to write them again, but have failed… so for the time being, those two stories will be taken down. No Matter What will become a stand alone fic for the time being, unless I can find it within myself again to write Forever Loved, the sequel again.
Through A Dog's Eyes and Believe, however, will be finished as Through A Dog's Eyes is my most favorite story, and most popular right now, and Believe only has one chapter left to it.
The better news is I have started more TMNT fics that I have been writing off and on for a few months so please keep a look out for the following: Leather - Dark Cities, Dark Hearts - Abandoned Treasure - and Deadly Numbers (a repost).
~raphfreak
"Haha you can't catch me now Leo!"
"Wanna bet Raphie?" The young turtle in blue laughed as he ducked his brother in red's flying punch, his brown eyes dancing in excitement. His quick reflex was quickly followed by the sweep of his left foot, hoping it was fast enough to catch the younger turtle off guard.
Raphie just laughed as he quickly jumped over the foot, landing lighting on his own two. His amber eyes flicked in the dim light of the sewers as he stuck his tongue out at Leo.
"Too slow Leo!"
Determination shot through the young leader as he let loose a small growl and pounced like a tiger on a deer, sending both of them tumbling to the concrete floor of the sewer, a struggling mass of green, brown, red, and blue. There was the sound of light grunting, pants, and small growls as they fought before it was quickly replaced by laughter.
Leo rolled over on his plastron, giving his brother a relaxed smile, that Raphie easily returned.
"Hey… why didn't you guys wait for us?"
Leo and Raphie rolled over to find two pairs of eyes staring down at them in contempt, one a light sky blue and the other a light chocolate brown.
"Sorry Mikey, sorry Donny." Leo apologized, giving them a lopsided smile. "A certain brother of ours couldn't wait."
"Hey!" Raphie gave Leo a light shove, chuckling. "Whateve' you say Leo."
Mikey giggled as he looked over at Donny and winked. "Ready Donny?"
Donny returned the wink with a small giggle. "Ready Mikey."
"Whoa wait… ready fer what?"
Leo and Raphie barely had a second to exchanged panicked glanced before they were quickly tacked back down to the ground by two laughing olive and light green siblings.
"Nooo! Get offa me Donny!" Leo shrieked, his laugh echoing down the tunnels as he squirmed, struggling to remove his olive colored brother. Donny just shook his head as his fingers continued their merciless onslaught on Leo's sides.
"Here come's the green eye'd boogy monster!" Mikey, as best he could manage, tried his "evil laugh" while trying to tickle Raphie, who was bucking and kicking underneath him, trying, yet failing, to hold in his laughter.
"No! Mikey…Mikey! Mikey… I…of f… Mikey get off!..."
"Never!"
And with another "evil" laugh, Mikey went on tickling his red banded brother.
All of them were so busy laughing and having fun, that none of them heard the soft sounds of shoes scuffling the ground as it approached quietly, or the sound of bags rustling or the soft breathing of the workers until the heavy beam of a flashlight landed around them.
All four froze, before four pairs of terrified eyes snapped up to see the hands of a human worker coming at them, a heavy chuckle not far behind.
Leo's brain scrambled to unfreeze long enough to utter a single, loud shriek. "RUN!"
"Get back here ya stupid freaks!" A voice spat out as all four young brothers jumped up and started running. All need for silence was shoved aside as they ran as fast as they could, their small legs screaming as Leo took the lead, followed by Mikey, Raphie, and Donny.
"Run guys!" Leo panted, not daring to look back. There was no need – the heavy cursing of words and the clumps of footsteps steadily approaching told him everything he needed to know. They were being perused and their attacker was fast!
"Leo!" Mikey cried out as he stumbled, letting out a small cry as he tripped over a empty can that had no doubt floated up from the trash that was dumped down there on a regular basis.
Leo was just about to stop, his head snapping around to help the youngest turtle when he saw a flash of red and there was Raphie, his arms under Mikey's as he helped shove/lift the crying turtle to his feet.
"Move Mikey move!" Raph gasped, sending a small shove on Mikey's shell.
And like that, they were off again, Leo in the front still, leading them.
Which way… which way…?
Leo usually could easily find his way around the maze of the sewers, but when he was being chased by men… the very people Father had told them to stay away from… he realized his mistake only a few seconds too late as they ran the corner, having to slide to an abrupt halt as not to hit the concrete wall that faced them.
A dead end.
Mikey tripping slowed us down… they're gonna catch up… Those were Leo's exact thoughts as he heard those dreaded, familiar cries behind him… the same cries he had been praying he wouldn't hear.
"Gotcha!"
"NO!"
"Donny!" Mikey cried out, tears streaming down his cheeks as he sought shelter behind Leo's shell, watching fearfully as the gentles turtle was held up by one cruel arm of a heavy, large man.
"No! Put me down!" Donny struggled in the grip, his tiny fingers prying uselessly at the large hand that held him.
"Donny!"
"No Donny!"
"Put him down ya big freak!"
"No Raphie!"
"No Raphie!"
"No Raphie…"
"Leo?"
"No… Raph…"
"Leo?"
A hand brushed lightly against Leo's shoulder, jerking the young leader from meditation as he shook his head rapidly, looking around to see who had pried him away from his dream.
Light brown eyes stared at him, a mixture of curiosity, sadness, and a touch of pity all in one small orb.
"You ok bro?" Don asked softly.
Leo sighed, just then realizing that his body was covered in a thin layer of sweat and his plastron was heaving up and down, his breathing hard and fast. "Yea… yea Don… I'm… I'm ok… I think."
Don eye's softened sadly. "You were thinking about him again weren't you?"
Not able to blink back the tears or find his voice, all Leo could do was give a small nod.
"Ahh Leo…"
"I can't help it Don…"
It broke the genius turtle's heart to hear the breaking tones in the young leader's voice as he knelt down beside Leo, returning his hand to the trembling green shoulder.
"I just… what if he's still alive? I… I can't help but wonder, ya know?"
"I know Leo," Don's voice was soft as he gathered up Leo in a comforting hug, his hands rubbing soothing circles in Leo's shell. "I know bro, I know."
"… do you think he could still be alive Donny?"
Donny hesitated before answering. He knew, that after many years of Raphael's chance of still being alive were slim to none. Master Splinter had searched for many months for the young six year old turtle after he was taken, only to return to the lair empty handed every time. As they got older, all the turtles learned of what had probably awaited their brother after his capture.
They could only hope, if that had been his fate, it had been quick.
"I… I don't know Leo… I don't know…"
The smell of fresh straw was heavy in the dimly lit barn as the creatures in it slowly began to awaken with the sun's rays that filtered through the boards of the large barn. All around were small yawns as sleep was fought off which were quickly followed by sounds off many different animals, from the neighs of horses to the barks of dogs, to the screeches of birds and the soft rumble of the bears, harmonizing into one and demanding one thing, and one thing only.
Breakfast.
"All right guys, all right! We're coming" A voice laughed as the demands only seemed to get louder at the sounds of bags tearing and metal cans shaking as morning portions were measured out.
"Morning… Good boy, eat up… there you go… don't eat like that you pig," Each animal was greeted accordingly, followed by the rattle of dishes as they were filled and the squeak of the hose as water buckets were filled to the rim with fresh clean water. They slowly made their way around the large barn, feeding, watering, cleaning bedding, and awarding affectionate pats and strokes to each animal in kind.
In the far corner of the room, a large green foot twitched as amber eyes peered out from underneath the blanket, watching the men make their way around the room. His stomach growled hungrily as he sat up slowly, still watching them cautiously. He'd learned not to trust humans they hard way, his shoulder and legs marked from chains, whips, and anything else they had found to throw and hurt him with.
The leather collar scratched irritably at his throat, the inside of it soft as not the chafe his neck. A small, single brass tag dangled from it, on one side revealing his medical file number, the other showing his name, Bruch, engraved into the steel.
He tensed as two humans approached his cage, both all smiles. One was a woman, the other an older man. One held a hose, the other a bucket filled with fruits, grains, and oats.
"Morning Bruch." The woman greeted cheerfully as she stuck the hose through the bars of the large cage, her finger flipped the small notch and turning on the hose. Immediately the cool clean water rushed forward, filling the bucket quickly. The man smiled a greeting at Bruch as he went to fill up the dog bowl. As soon as the food was poured into the bowl, he took a step back and watched, fascinated, as Bruch slowly crawled forward and began to pick through the foot, eating slowly, keeping it's eerie amber eyes on the pair the whole time.
"He certainly is a beauty." The woman said quietly, watching Bruch pick up an apple slice, sniffing it, before chewing it slowly. The collar moved up and down on his throat as he worked to swallow.
"That he is."
Bruch watched the humans study him as he ate his breakfast. His muscles were tense, prepared to dodge away. He stayed that way till the two humans slowly started to drift away. It was only then he allowed the tears to come to his amber eyes.
Please… I'm alive… please Leo…Donny… Mikey…
Save me…
Let me know if I should leave this as a one-shot, or if I should make it into an actual chapter fic :)
REVIEW PLEASE!