Mwhaha…another chapter completed! Thanks to all of you who reviewed, and I am happy to continue the story. Don't forget to tell me what you think at this next installment! And the story continues…

Leo sighed at the sight of a feverish Mikey. "Well," he mumbled to himself, "can't just sit around all day." He turned to Raph. "Wanna practice some katas?" he asked.

Raph looked up from his sleeping brother and shrugged. "Ah, why not. Shell Leo, I thought we're s'possed ta be relaxin'."

"But katas are relaxing," Leo playfully argued. Raph gave Leo a doubtful smile. "Somewhat relaxing?" Leo tried. Raph shook his head and got into position with his older brother. Together, they performed the katas with ease. Don went back to writing some notes in his journal as his brothers busied themselves.

By dinnertime, darkness had already begun to set in. After Raph and Leo went to fetch wood for the campfire, Don started it with Raph's matches. Don decided to wake Mikey to eat with the others. "Mikey, it's time to eat dinner," he said as soon as his younger brother was awake. "You hungry?" he asked. Mikey gave an excited smile and nodded. "Really?" Don said, relieved. "That's great. Maybe all that resting helped." Don gave a pleased smile to Raph and Leo, who smiled back. The four brothers gathered around the campfire for the second time in their trip and ate dinner together. Don, Leo, and Raph watched happily as Mikey was able to eat his whole sandwich and some crackers.

"Ya know, I thought this trip would be lame, but it might be one a' the best so far," said Raph as he added another wood branch to the fire. "I mean it's so peaceful without Mikey complaining and—"

"—Raph, you don't mean that, do you?" Don interrupted with a thoughtful smirk. "Poor Mikey…" At the sympathetic comment, Mikey swatted his hand in the air as if to say it was no big deal. He wore a mischievous grin that expressed he could get Raph back any time.

"So—" Mikey started but clapped a hand over his mouth, remembering not to speak. He began acting out what he wanted to say. Unfortunately for him, his brothers could not understand even one motion of their younger brother. His failed attempts had his brothers cracking up, and eventually the scene turned into a highly competitive game of charades between the four brothers. And by the end of the game, the tallying of points was forgotten as all four turtles enjoyed their own company and humor.

The fire was finally put out when it was time for bed. But after the turtles just got in their sleeping bags, Mikey complained that he was cold. Don decided that they should all set up their sleeping bags next to each other to keep the youngest warm during the night. After persuading a resistant Raph, all four turtles pulled together their sleeping bags and slept in a tight row. The eventful day had ended on a happy note, and for that the four brothers were grateful.

But the tranquil night was broken by the sound of a sickly turtle. Leo, the ever-light sleeper of the group, was awakened in the middle of the night by a faint rattling noise. Fully awake, he sat straight up and discovered the noise was coughing by none other than Mikey.

"Mikey?" he whispered, squinting his eyes to see through the darkness of the night. When the coughing continued, he got up from his position to crouch next to Mikey. As his eyes adjusted to the dark, Leo could see Mikey, struggling to get into a sitting position with one arm and using the other arm for cupping a hand over his mouth. Leo immediately tried to help his brother and held up his shell. To the side of him, he roughly shook Raph on the shoulder.

"W-Wah?" Raph mumbled as he sat up to face his older brother. "Mm…Leo? What the shell're you—"

"—It's Mikey," Leo hastily cut Raph off. "Wake up Don," he said as he turned back to coughing brother. He started to pat Mikey on the shell soothingly and to his relief, Mikey started to calm down, the coughs becoming further and further apart. But it wasn't until his moonlit shadow moved off Mikey did he notice the tears in the youngests' eyes.

At the sight, the now awake Don yelled from behind Leo, "Mikey! What's wrong?"

"He was coughing just up until a second ago," Leo explained.

"That's not good," Don said as he and Raph dropped down next to Mikey. They exchanged worried faces as Mikey started to whimper.

"Donnie," Mikey whispered pitifully, clutching his throat, "i-it hurts so bad." He looked up at his brothers with teary, blue eyes.

"Yeah, I know," Don said sympathetically, rubbing the back of Mikey's shell. "Coughing will definitely irritate your throat more." Don got up and rummaged through his bag. He pulled out a water bottle and came back to Mikey, holding it out. "If you drink some water you'll feel better."

"No," Mikey whispered, weakly pushing the bottle away.

"Ya lame-brain, if Donnie says it'll make ya feel betta', do it!" Raph said heatedly, hoping to persuade Mikey. Hesitantly, Mikey grabbed the bottle and took a small sip. As soon as he swallowed he cringed, hot tears spilling on his face.

"Come on bro, drink some more," Leo urged. Mikey just sat there miserably. Desperate, Leo seized the water bottle and tipped it into Mikey's mouth.

As Leo did this, Raph moved to support Mikey's head. "Whoa! Shell Donnie, he's burnin' up again!" he said at touch Mikey's neck.

Don clenched his teeth. "Damn."

"He was doin' fine at dinner," Raph muttered.

"Yeah, but that was only from the Advil," Don replied. "After it wore off, his fever must have shot up again." He frowned and rubbed the back of his head. "I hoped he'd be fine after a little rest, but this isn't just your regular cold. I should've known."

"Do you have any more Advil, Don?" Leo asked, turning away from Mikey.

"No, all I had was the two pills. I didn't know we'd be battling an illness out here," Don answered solemnly.

"Neither did we," Leo said.

Suddenly, Mikey started to cough again, and his three brothers went back to soothing him. "I'm tired…" Mikey mumbled after the pain subsided. And then, a minute later, he fell asleep.

Leo, Don, and Raph looked at each other and then at the sleeping brother in their arms. Though Mikey was asleep, they were still at a loss; Mikey could easily wake up again, and they needed to keep a close eye on his rising fever. They decided to take turns keeping watch the rest of the night. Leo had the first shift, Raph took the second, and Don had the third. Luckily, Mikey had a mostly peaceful sleep for the rest of the night. However from Don's morning diagnosis, his fever hadn't gone down, which was bad sign. The three older brothers hoped that Mikey's health wouldn't deteriorate any further on the long trek home.

"I've contacted April," Don told his brothers. "Casey went out to get some medicine for Mikey. They'll be expecting us at the farmhouse."

"Did you talk with Master Splinter?" Leo asked.

"Very briefly. I told him about Mikey's situation," Don responded.

"He must be worried," Leo said, more to himself than to Don.

"Still with us, Mike?" Raph asked Mikey as he hoisted his brother up on his shell.

"Mhmm…" came the faint reply.

"Good, 'cause when we get home, I'm gonna have Don put ya on a diet. Ya weigh like you've eaten a ton 'o bricks," Raph teased.

"Oh *cough* yeah, well…you feel li'e a ton 'a bricks," Mikey slurred back. Raph chuckled at the comment but fell silent as Mikey had another round of coughs. He shifted Mikey to a more comfortable position on his shell and started to walk along the river with Leo and Don. It wasn't long before Mikey couldn't hold his head up any longer and so he rested it against Raph's shoulder. Raph cursed under his breath at the touch of Mikey's cheek. His little brother was burning hot, and he could feel the blazing skin radiating heat on his exposed shoulder. Mikey's hot breath was coming out in pants and it took Raph every ounce of patience to keep himself from panicking at his brother's situation. He glanced at Leo and Don, who lead the way up the river. They seemed to be chatting about something, though Raph couldn't care less about what it was; he was just glad that they didn't have to deal with seeing Mikey suffer.

After about an hour into the journey, Leo decided it was time to take a break. He and Don watched as Raph gently lowered Mikey down. To the turtles' dismay, Mikey had trouble holding a sitting position, so Leo let Mikey's head rest in his lap. Don had Mikey drink more water and this time Mikey didn't have enough energy to resist.

"I hate being sick…" Mikey croaked in a horse whisper. He tilted his head up slowly to see Leo's face.

"Don't worry," Leo comforted. He placed his hand on Mikey's head and softly brushed his thumb against his hot skin affectionately. "Everything's gonna be okay. You'll get better, I promise."

"Mmm," Mikey responded half-heartedly. After a few moments of silence, his face suddenly pulled into a grimace and Mikey uncomfortably tried to shift his position. Still unsatisfied, he let out a whimper.

Leo noticed this and concernedly asked, "What's wrong?"

"Feel…weird…" Mikey whispered.

Leo motioned for Don to come over. "Could you be more specific?" Leo asked.

"Feel…like everything's spinning," Mikey replied weakly.

"Do you feel light-headed?" Don asked nervously. Mikey nodded. "Nauseous?" Mikey shook his head no.

"I-I wanna get up," Mikey mumbled, starting to struggle out of Leo's hold.

"Whoa, wait Mikey!" Don put a steadying hand on his younger brother's shell. "I got you bro, so don't strain yourself too much." Don and Leo carefully assisted their brother, each of them grabbing under Mikey's arms.

Curious at the scene, Raph came over and asked, "What's happening here?"

"Mikey was feeling dizzy and wanted to get up," Don explained tentatively. "Though I don't know why."

Still slumped against his two brothers, Mikey raised his head in Raph's direction.

"Mikey?" said Raph. But he realized that his younger brother was not looking at him; it was like Mikey was looking through him. Suddenly, Mikey's eyes widened and he backed out of Leo's and Don's grasp. Without his brothers' support, he instantly fell backwards onto the hard ground with a cry.

"Mikey! What were ya thinkin'?" Raph said worriedly as Leo and Don hurried to sit Mikey up. Mikey muttered something softly, his eyes now drawn together in a frightened expression.

"What? What is it?" Don asked, leaning closer to Mikey's face. He could feel his brother's hot breath on his cheek.

"I see it…a wolf…" Mikey whispers.

"You-you see a wolf?" Don asked doubtfully as Mikey nodded. The three brothers followed Mikey's line of sight.

"Uh, hit yer head there pretty hard, didn't ya, Mikey?" Raph said. "There's nothin' there."

"No," said Leo, his voice cold and calculating. "There is. I can feel a presence in the air. Something's—"

"Leo, don't tell me ya think it's that mystical plane stuff," Raph frowned. "I don't believe in any 'a that."

"But Raph, what about the time Shredder's 'mystics' pulled us into that illusion? You had to believe in it then because we had to defeat them," Don encouraged. "Besides...I sense something too."

"Guys, quiet," Leo hushed. "Where is it, Mikey?"

The youngest brother said nothing but pointed straight ahead. "You can't see it?" Mikey rasped.

"Not yet," answered Leo. "But if we focus—" he closed his eyes, "—maybe we can." Don and Raph sat next to Leo closed their eyes as well. A full minute passed before the brothers opened their eyes again, and about fifty feet in front of them stood a wolf with its back to the turtles.

"Mikey was right!" Don cried.

"Yeah," said a dumbfounded Raph, "but how did ya see it in the first place?" He looked down at Mikey with a questioning stare, but the youngest shrugged weakly.

"It probably has to do with his fever," Leo explained. "Since he's physically weak, his mental powers are stronger." Raph raised an eye ridge at Leo's comment. "Don't ask how I know." Leo smiled sheepishly at Raph's expression.

"Well, we all see it now," said Don. "What are we going to do? It's not an ordinary wolf because it exists spiritually."

"Let's talk to it and see what happens," Leo suggested. He got up and walked cautiously to the wolf, noticing that the dark gray wolf's back was littered with scars. "Um, hello?" Leo voiced when he was about ten feet away. "Are you a spirit?" Instantly the wolf spun into a defensive stance, as if it had not sensed Leo before he had spoken, and gave a low growl. "Whoa, there. I don't want to hurt you, just want to talk," Leo backed away holding up his hands innocently. He cast a fleeting glance to Raph and Don in the distance, and saw them tense up, ready for anything. Leo spoke again. "Can you understand—"

"—What are you ugly beings doing in our sacred forest?" the wolf suddenly asked. Leo was taken aback by the wolf's low, cruel voice. "Trespassers are to be slain," snapped the wolf, edging closer to Leo.

"We mean you no harm." Leo mimicked the harsh voice of the wolf. "We plan to leave the forest, nothing more," he argued.

The wolf bared a wicked smile, showing his sharp teeth and cackled. "It seems you filth do not know the order of this forest." At the spiteful comment, Leo slowly pulled his swords out with a fierce glare. He backed up as Raph came forward while Don put himself defensively in front of Mikey.

The evil cackling of the wolf turned into a vicious howl. The grating noise stopped as soon as it came, and the four turtles were drowned in a fearful silence.

It seemed as if even time stood still.

Leo and Raph narrowed their eyes as Don gripped his Bo staff tighter, waiting, watching. The wolf in front of them showed no sign of movement.

Suddenly, a faint, hoarse voice was heard in the stillness. "They're coming…"

Leo, Raph and Don whipped their heads to the youngest brother. And not a second later, a large pack of wolves darted out from the darkness of the surrounding forest and encircled the turtles. A rumble of deep growls could be heard from the wolves' throats, a few snaps heard from their jaws, a sinister shine showed from their eyes, and the spit dripping from their mouths showed a ruthless hunger…

And at this terrifying threat, only one word could be verbalized from the turtle's fear-muddled minds: "Shell."