A/N: Quick translation of the title - I was going for "If the Fates Allow"; candelight was helpful to suggest this title, as it has a similiar meaning. It directly translates to "If Destiny Allots". All translations will occur at the end of the chapter.


運命が割り当てれば

Yuku Sue Unmei

CHAPTER ONE


Damn her! Damn her to the pits of hell!

Why does she persist? Why can't she understand?

She isn't family, not really. She doesn't feel the bonds that we do. She can't understand! I'm doing this for everyone, for all of them!

But damn it if she doesn't distract me. I have no idea where I am or when I am, I just pressed the button and hoped to hell that I was as far away from her as possible. I managed to find shelter in some abandoned warehouse of some sort, right off the docks. I think I may still be in the same time period, but again I have no clue. I'll have to adjust the transporter once I'm back home.

If I decide to go back.

They'll kill me, I know it. But they don't understand. They can't!

It feels cold, so perhaps it's the same time of year. My uncles always said it got colder around October and November. I'll have to wait until it's much later before I go exploring. Wouldn't do well to have someone spot me. I'll need to know when and where I am. Ugh! She's always making me lose time!

The figure placed his notebook back in his pocket before giving a slight shudder. It would be his luck to land right in the middle of winter, despite the alterations of his clothing. This building wasn't nearly as warm as the apartment from before and he knew if he didn't get warm soon, he'd be in a lot of trouble. The problem was he didn't know where he was. Shaking his head, he reached into another pocket on the side of his shorts and pulled out a strange flat panel that had four buttons aligned on the bottom. Hitting one, he was met with a three dimensional map of New York, however the date on it was 2025. The figure let out a small growl; he needed a past map. Touching a finger to where the date resided at the top of the map, he made a quick scroll to the right until the date began to go backwards.

It finally landed on 2009.

As the date changed, so did the state and the cities. Finally happy with what he was seeing, the figure brought the panel closer, eyes looking around, until he found what he was looking for. Putting a hand to a point on the map, the 3-D image changed from the state of New York to the city of Manhattan. The figure tried to determine which side of the city he was on, but with only a precursory glance before he found shelter, he wasn't sure. He made a grimace as a sharp pain hit his side.

He would now need to find the date, the year, and some food.

Damn his adolescent stomach!

Turning off his mapping device and stashing it from where he got it, the figure made his way to the door of the warehouse. There were only shattered windows here that gave the place an eerie undertone, which probably kept most people away. The figure was hoping it would do the same for him. Opening the door a portion, he looked out, seeing the view of the harbor, but very few people. He could hear the displeasure from his family about not bringing a disguise with him, knowing the history as he did, but as usual, he had been thinking too much about this aspect of his mission and he couldn't stop to think about unnecessary things.

Well, it wasn't like he didn't have the training to go without.

Closing the door and stepping back, the figure looked around his area. His eyes came to rest on a plank of wood that was propped up against the wall, an obvious way to get to the window. Crude, but he'd take it and with that, he went running up and out through the window and up on to the roof. From here, he could see a bit more of the city. He still didn't know where he was exactly, but a story his uncle told him once came to him. There were shops and restaurants as one came into the city from the harbor and Central Park was a destination tourists liked to hit. Now that he was able to see the city, the figure once again brought out his mapping device and hit two more keys after turning it on.

A small icon of him stood in the area of Stuyvesant Town and it had small arrows pointing in different directions to places of interests, like Times Square and the Brooklyn Bridge. Pressing a button, the figure nearly laughed as a virtual who's who of restaurants popped up on screen, including street vendors and little out of the way places only a native would know about. Shaking his head in mirth, the figure stared at the map for a time before deciding his best bet was to head towards Central Park.

Jumping slightly, he did a few stretches before taking off along the rooftops. He hadn't been doing this for long; it was only recent his family let him go off by himself, always afraid of the mood his alone time would cause. At first, they just attributed to him being a teenager, but then as time grew on and the anniversaries continued, they realized there was more than just normal teenaged angst. But he couldn't help it. It seemed as days went on, he just couldn't control his desires and this was the final step in a plan that had been in place since the day he learned about the event.

It was never spoken of again, at least not in his presence. But he could tell how hard it had hit them, but they couldn't understand. They had known him! While he had only heard stories, had only seen a few pictures…he wasn't going to let what happened happen.

Not again.

He ran through the chilly night air, amazed at how free he felt. He couldn't remember ever coming here, though he was told he had been when he was smaller. It was so different from his world. In his world, there was grass, tall and flowing; huts and people of a variety of colors and skins. As he ran, all he could see was darkness. There seemed to be buildings everywhere, from the small to the very tall – skyscrapers, he remembered. And the people! Though it was late at night, there still seemed to be people milling about on the streets, either walking home or talking to others.

And there were so many!

Taking a moment to catch his breath, the figure was happy to see that he was getting closer to his objective. He looked to his map and found he was now in Midtown East, which was nearly upon Central Park itself. Rubbing his stomach absentmindedly, the figure replaced his map and continued on. He hoped the stories he heard were still true, that there were still vendors out trying to sell food and whatever else and he hoped he would find one around the park.

Sure enough, as he scaled down the wall of one building, he could see a food set up near a small pond. The figure felt himself tense slightly; while there were buildings around, he didn't feel nearly as comfortable about running out and being seen. He would need to cross the street and then somehow manage to grab some food. And worse yet, as the man closed his eyes and sighed, he didn't have any money to pay for it.

Great. Just great.

He thought perhaps the park could give him the cover he was hoping for, but for that, he would need to venture out. His family only said the shadows would be his ally; well, time to find out if that was true or not. Seeing an opening, the figure ran across the street to the safety of a building. So far, so good. Looking out in the distance, the figure needed to discover a way he could get across the street to the actual park. He was fairly sure someone would probably notice him.

Taking a chance, he saw a nearby tree that he could probably get to; all he just needed to do was get over there without being seen.

Easier said than done.

Luckily, there didn't seem to be that much traffic on the street outside, but one could never be too careful. Quickly, he hurried across the street and hit the tree, running behind it and out of sight. There were only a few trees around him, but he could see in the distance that there was more coverage. He inwardly sighed in relief. While he had hoped this meeting would come quickly and without too much sentimental waverings, the figure couldn't help but wonder at the circumstances of it all. How strange he should find himself home away from home. Suppressing another sigh, the figure began to make his way through Central Park.


It was supposed to be a normal pizza run.

Get out of the lair, fool around a bit, get a pizza, fool around some more, and then head back home.

It was so simple and so precise, even Leo couldn't get on his high horse about it.

But of course, the old 'turtle luck', as Raph had put it, was running true to form. So now, instead of fooling around some more, they were busy dealing with Purple Dragon lackeys who had been trying to purse snatch or whatever else to some college kid who made the mistake of walking home, by herself, in the middle of deserted Central Park.

Donatello, being the pacifist turtle that he was, really didn't enjoy violence. Oh, he took his training seriously – it had saved his shell and that of his brothers on many an occasion – and certainly, he was no slouch when it came to fighting. He just had other interests. On this night, Donnie's other interests included trying to ignore his brothers, as well as sadly ignoring his adoptive sister as well.

He was fine, really! Donnie knew they meant well and they were only smothering him because they cared, but really, enough was enough already! He had been seriously thinking of heading over to Leatherhead's place, if just to get away from the looks he kept getting. But of course, Michelangelo had somehow tagged him with a tracking device, so whenever Donnie so much as breathed, his little brother was right there next to him.

Tonight, Mikey's request was pizza and everyone who was anyone knew the best pizzas in the city came from Luigi's, which was located right outside of Central Park. And, to no one's surprise, of course his older brothers would agree it was a brilliant idea and suggestion and Donnie had to keep from rolling his eyes and gagging.

So, fast forward about forty odd minutes and Donnie now found himself fighting off a small gang of hoodlums. While anything less than a bank robbery or minor roughhousing wouldn't have gotten him or his brothers quite so mad, there was one thing they did not tolerate – and that was a group of guys harassing a woman.

Their sensei and father had always taught them to respect women, no matter their context. That teaching especially strengthen once they had met April O'Neil and again, when she gave birth to her daughter Michele Rene Jones. Donnie knew he and brothers would never and could never walk away from a situation where a woman needed their help.

Who would be there to save April? Or Michele? Or Angel?

For Donnie, especially now, the thought of not fighting these guys was unmentionable. "Heads up, Don Don!" came a reply, causing Donnie to leg sweep one punk with his bo, while ducking as another went over his head and crashed into the guy that had been coming behind him.

"Thanks, Mikey."

"No prob," replied the younger turtle, as he surveyed their surroundings. There seemed to still be at least two guys left and those were be handled quite nicely by their older brothers. Michelangelo of course spotted what was left of their freshly made pizza that lay on the grass and sighed. "I can't say the same for our dinner though. Major bumage, cause I'm still hungry."

"Mikey," Donnie chuckled. "You're always hungry."

"Yeah," Mikey agreed. "But right now, I'm mondo hungry! Like eat a horse kinda hungry."

"Want me to flag down a carriage?"

"Oh," Mikey retorted. "Quite funny you are. I think you should stick to the beakers, Science Guy, and leave the comedy to the professionals."

"I don't think Leo and Raph are up for an appearance on the Tonight Show just yet."

"Again with the not funny," Mikey laughed. "You know, bro, if I had a dime for every time you try and be funny…whoa Donnie, watch out!"

If there was one thing that both younger turtles suffered from it was lack of observance. So wrapped up with their conversation and the loss of their dinner, neither had checked on the one Purple Dragon who was regaining consciousness. And this PD was quite annoyed and angered at being bested by the 'freaks'. He was still armed – he never went anywhere in this city with just one weapon – and the weapon he had hidden within his boot now made its appearance.

He was up in an instant, his arm swinging down between Mike and Donnie, with only Mike's warning and push saving Donnie's shoulder. The punk would not be persuaded however, catching Mikey off guard with an elbow to his beak, then turning and slashing at Donnie. The brainy turtle jumped back as the blade hit air where his plastron had just been. Reaching for his bo, Donnie went on defense, blocking the attacker. The punk went for Donnie's face with his left hand and the ninja blocked him effectively with his weapon, causing the knife to drop.

However, this punk was crafty and resourceful. During the block, Donnie never saw the small dagger that the guy always held in his right sleeve – the others always thought he was crazy for wearing long sleeves all the time. If they only knew – and it was with this dagger that he slashed Donnie's left shoulder. Crying out in pain, Don stumbled back and inadvertently tripped over the fallen form of an unconscious Purple Dragon.

"NOOO!"

Donnie assumed on his trip to the ground that the call was from one of his brothers, though with the pain, he wasn't sure which one. All he knew and saw was a green and black blur go past and then Mikey was kneeling next to him. The doctor in Don quickly calmed himself and examined his wound. While it stung, it didn't look to be bad, nothing an ordinary bandage wouldn't fix. Sure that he was fine and assuring both Mikey and Raph he was alright, he looked over his two brothers. There would be bruises, of course – that would definitely be true for Mikey – they didn't look as though they would need serious attention.

Turning his head, the brainy turtle was about to thank his eldest brother for the save, but his eyes grew wide at the sight before him. Leonardo stood, one katana in hand and pointed at another person. This other individual had planted himself on the form of the Purple Dragon who had attacked Don; the PD lay on the ground, face completely bloodied. "He alright?" called the stranger, eyes never leaving Leo's, but his head turned a fraction to the others behind him.

"Yeah," Donnie replied, shakily. "Just…just a scratch. I…take it I owe you a bit of thanks."

"Don't mention it."

"Mind telling us what you're doing in Central Park at this late hour?" Leo asked, lowering his katana and allowing the stranger to stand.

"Simple," the stranger said. "Looking for you." With that, the figure managed to flip over Leo and take off into the trees of the park.

"Well?" Raphael asked, coming to stop next to his older brother. "We just gonna let him go?"

"For now at least," Leo responded. "He did save Donnie and for that, I'll let him skip out. Besides, we gotta get back anyways." Turning, Leo saw Donnie holding his left shoulder. "You okay, Donnie?"

"Yeah," the turtle nodded. "Really, Leo. Just a scratch. Nothing a bandage can't take care of."

"Forget Donnie," Mikey whined. "What about me? What about my beautiful face?"

"Well," Raph intoned. "He didn't make you any uglier."

Mikey frowned at him. "Spoken like the true wicked step-brother you are."

"Watch it, or I'm sending you back to the wolves and making them keep you this time."

"C'mon," Leo sighed, shaking his head.

The group easily made their way back towards the manhole in which they had climbed out of, Mikey all the while complaining and Raph threatening him bodily harm if he didn't stop. Even Donnie was rolling his eyes and commenting to Leo that "it's like Moonlighting, except with brothers." The walk to the lair would only take fifteen minutes, which is what they planned when going out that night. They hadn't even left the safety of the ladder before a voice stopped them.

"Bout time you got here," it said. "What? Did you get slower in your old age?"

The four were faced with the stranger from earlier, but only Leo didn't react as the others did, clearly seeing the stranger for the first time.

"You're a turtle!"