The Crystal Messiah
Chapter 2: Blood Messages

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hey Leo, about time, we almost started the party without you." Rapheal said. "And to think you would have missed all the cake and ice cream." Leo looked at all of his friends and family gathered there. There was Rapheal, who was standing beside his girlfriend Ninjara, who seemed to be preoccupied with finishing the icing on the cake. Helping her with that was April O' Neil, the newsreporter and long-time friend to the reptilian teenagers. Michaealangelo sat on the couch with Oyuki Mamisha, who they had meet a year ago in Japan, along with Ninjara, when their friends Chu Hsi and Fu Sheng had been kidnapped by a mutant dog named Chein Khan. Donnie sat in the living room playing Scrabble with Master Splinter, who seemed to be missing the point of the game. Leo chuckled inwardly and thought 'He's as wise as anyone i've ever met, but when it comes to board games i think he's lacking a bit in the brain cells.'

Splinter turned toward Leo and spoke softly. "Are you allright my son?" to which Leo replied. "Yes, Master. I just feel a bit worn out is all." Mikey grinned and said "Worn out? Whatever wears you out bro? You're constantly on the move. It's like dealing with a hyperactive six year old." Leo shot Mikey a look that could kill if looks were lethal enough to do so. Sometimes Mikey can be the greatest person in the world to have around, but at this moment he was more of an annoyance to Leonardo than a blessing. Oyuki pushed Mike lightly and said "Mikey sometimes your mouth can get you into alot of trouble you know that?" Mike smiled. "Yep, good thing i know how to get out of trouble pretty easily." With that he chuckled and Leo went to sit by Donatello and Splinter.

Splinter still looked to his son out of the corner of his eye. He could tell his son was hiding something, but he was not sure just what. Leo's countenance had gone from one of what seemed to be an always proud and energetic leader to an over-abundance of exhuastion, almost as if Leo was on the verge of collapse. "Leonardo, are you sure everything is allright my son?"

Leo tried his best to fake a smile and said "Of course master, why wouldn't it be? Just fine as wine." Donatello shot his brother a puzzled look as he spoke. "You do look like you need some down time though bro, you sure your not catching something?" Leo quickly looked to Donny and replied. "Yeah that's probably it, just coming down with a bug or something." Donny nodded his head in understanding and said "Well we got some cold pills in the bathroom if you want me to go get you some." "Sure, Donny, thanks." Leo said.

As Donatello went into the bathroom to get the medicine Splinter leaned into his sons ear and said "I think you should come with me my son." Leonardo wanted to protest, but could only nod and slowly stand up to follow his master and the man he called his father. They walked past the group and into Splinters study, when they had both walked through the door Splinter turned and shut it softly. "Tell me, my son, what troubles you? You look as if you have not slept in days, your last state of meditation must have took some kind of toll on you, perhaps I can be of some assistance."

Leo sighed as he hung his head low. Splinter gently put a furry hand under it and raised his pupil and sons head so that they made eye contact. Leo could no longer supress the secret and he told Splinter everything, from the cave to the person in the wall as well as the message that creature commanded. Splinter sighed softly, seeming deep in thought. "So you say this creature in your vision wants you to bring someone to this wall?"

"That's just it master, i'm not sure where the wall is or who he wants brought there. And i'm not even sure that it's all real. It could be my mind playing tricks on me, i just...dont know sensei. I want to believe that its fake and that its a one time bad dream but...i just cant believe it."

Splinter sat down crossed legged and bade his son to do the same, which he did. Splinter sighed again and spoke. "Then we shall concentrate and see if we cannot have this vision together." Leonardo nodded and closed his eyes, attempting to go back into the deep meditative state that took him to this vision. As he closed his eyes and relaxed his breathing he sensed his masters breathing and his aura getting stronger. Suddenly Leo felt as if the whole room was melting. 'Please let this be it, let this be it' He thought, as he let whatever it was overtake them both. Finally when he felt the waviness dissipate he opened his eyes and saw his master sitting in front of him, but splinter was no longer meditating, he was looking around with wonder...

It seemed they had succeeded in going back to the cave...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What the hell are they doing?" Raphael grumbled, "Taking a nap?" He was never one for being patient. In fact he was the quickest to action, unlike his other three brothers. Whenever any danger or need for violence presented itself, Raphael was always the first to jump in. He didn't like thinking about his actions too much, he learned that in a battlefield thinking too much can get you killed, and get you killed quick. So he relied on his natural instincts to win battles and save the day. But sometimes it was his quick temper and hot headedness that got him into trouble. Too many times would he fight with leo about orders from either his brother or his master, with Raph wanting to do his own thing and Leo acting how splinter taught him to a T. It could be annoying sometimes.

Take this situation, for example. Not only was Leo missing from the party now, it seemed he took Splinter along with him...and Raphael's natural instincts were telling him something was wrong and to bust down that door. He wasn't sure what exactly was wrong but it just didn't feel right to him...he felt as if something bad was about to take place, and he didn't want to be there when it happened.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So, my son. It seems as if you were correct and this vision was real. It must have some validity to it if we seem to be able to share the vision together." Splinter looked around into the semi-darkness of the cave, now lit slightly by a few torches on the wall. He looked to Leo and spoke. "My son, it seems as if we must take the oath of this cave towards the end, I must admit i am a bit anxious to see this figure if that is what we will see at the end. My curiousity to behold this creature is peaked."

"Well that's fine with me Master, but if it was up to me I'd rather not see it ever again." They began walking into the cave. "Let's hope we don't run into that steep downslope again, I think I could handle it but i dunno about you Master." With that Splinter chuckled and spoke. "Just because I am old in my ways, my son does not mean i can't handle a small incline." Leo smiled a bit and answered. "No, Master this is no incline, it's a mountain slope the way it goes..." Leo stopped speaking and stood staring straight ahead as he said "Wait a minute...this wasn't here before."

They both looked ahead to a staircase that lead up almost 200 yards ahead. "That's really creepy." Leo said. "Indeed, my son." Splinter replied. "But it seems we must take the pathway up to its destination." With that they began climbing the steps upwards, not knowing what lay ahead...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ok, that's it, i'm going in there and yanking them both out." Raph stood up and started to walk to the room where Splinter and Leonardo were experiencing their vision. "I'm sick of all this waiting shit and I'm not doing it no more, were gonna get this party started." Ninjara grabbed her boyfriends arm as he tried to storm to the room and said "Raph wait, give them a few more minutes, I dont think its anything serious, or else they would have yelled for us, don't you think?"

Raph looked at his girlfriend with a look that seem to burn through solid ice. "Yeah but what if they can't yell? What if their in trouble?" Even before the words came out of his mouth he knew that was a stupid question. Donny beat him to the explanation, though. "Right Raph, someone snuck in through the front door, got past all of us, and opened the door without us seeing and walked in and attacked them both without making a sound, were good Raph, but no one's THAT good."

Ninjara wrapped her arms around Raph's neck and kissed his nose, that always calmed him down during his hot- headed moments. "Listen love, give them a couple more minutes or at least send someone else to check before you go booting down doors, ok?"

Oyuki stood up, stretched and said. "I'll go see what they're up to Raph, and if anything wrong, then I'LL yell for you ok? Then you can kick down as many doors as you like ok? Hell kick in the wall even if it makes you happy." With that Oyuki smiled and walked towards Splinter's study...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Breathing heavy, Leonardo said "If I ever climb another step again in my life I'll scream." "Indeed" Splinter replied. They had made it to the top of the stairs and stood there both panting, waiting for their lungs to finally stop burning. After a few moments the dull pain subsided and they were able to breathe normally once again. Leo looked ahead and said "yeah, we're definitely not in the same vision here."

Ahead of them was level ground of tile formed into a wide circle. In the middle of this circle stood a fountain, almost like a enormous birdbath. Leo walked to it slowly, hesitant of what it meant for this new item to appear so suddenly in this vision. As he drew closer he felt his master at his back. "Careful, leonardo. We do not yet know this entity's intentions. It may wish us more harm than we know. We are not yet sure so use caution."

"Yes, master." Leo replied, but his interest was more on the fountain than anything else at the moment. It was made of pure gold, something Leo had never seen before in his life. Sure he had seen plenty of props like this on TV, but never something this real this close to him. He reached out to touch it and gently laid a hand on the fountain, afraid that he would somehow sully it just by making contact. As he laid his hand on it his mind opened up and he saw many different visions of many different things, but few he understood. What he did understand terrifyed him, he saw blood, war, chaos, men rushing down battlefields screaming, army's slamming together in battle, men gutting each other like cattle, all for their beliefs or who ruled them...

He saw giant battleships in the sky, shooting lasers at each other in what seemed like something out of a science fiction movie. Millions of fighters jets dogfighting and igniting in flames as they shot each other out of the air. He saw massives ships traveling through space, orbiting around planets, he saw people burning alive, mothers, children, fathers, sons. All slaughtered, their killers standing over them singing songs and praising their victories. It horrifyed him to no ends, he wished he could rip his eyes out of his head and scream until the darkness swallowed him whole, but he had no strength. His final vision took him into the middle of a battlefield on the land in front of what seemed to be a Black Tower, millions of men adorned in armor and suits battled in a momumental struggle, but his vision took him to only two. As the giant ships raged on, burning each other out of space, and the soldiers on the ground fought for dominance, he watched these two men fight to the death.

One was about six feet tall, his hair long past his shoulders to the middle of his back, swung in the wind as he attacked this other figure with his sword. His weapon was about 10 feet long. Leo had figured that with a weapon of that length that the figure would have had a hard time controlling it, moving about clumsily, but this was not the case. As he watched the man moved with such grace in his attacks that leonardo stood in awe. His attacks switched speeds and strokes of power so fluently that Leo understood that this figure had seen enough bloodshed and enough wars to last a milion lifetimes. The figure wore no shirt or suit of armor unlike the others battling, so Leo could see that this person was well trained, enough that it seemed his body was all muscle. It only added to the power of his attacks as he swung his sword at uncanny speeds, switching between one hand and two, moving his body just enough to put the muscle behind the swings he used to attack his enemy. As he watched the grey haired figure seemed almost calm, serene.

The same could not be said of his enemy. This other figure terrifyed Leonardo. This man stood almost the same height as his opponent, with spikey black hair, his weapon wasnt one of those swords that his foe held but a sword that looked almost 6 feet wide, and about 7 feet long. His sword was huge, it was impossible to figure out how this man could swing this gigantic sword that was almost three times as wide as he was. It appeared to weigh at least a literal ton. But he swung it just as fast and just as limber as his opponent. But the look on this mans face was full of nothing but contempt and rage, his whole body strained with the torrent of hatred and anger, the blood vessels showing through his arms at each swing and through his neck, almost as if they were about to pop. The man snarled at each and every swing, as if exerting that much power could strike his enemies down quicker. He was a tornado of negative emotions and he was ready to kill anyone who stood before him and fought against him.

Leonardo was swept up in this battle, his emotions raging as he turned slowly in a full circle and watched all these soldiers battle each other. As he stood he watched a group of fighters run after a smaller group. Leo saw them running right towards him and he braced to roll out of the way, but they ran straight through him before he could move, as if he was invisible, leading leo to the belief that this was not happening at that moment, that it had happen or was yet to happen. Leo looked around and searched for his master but did not see him. He turned around to look at the two fighters battling with each other but when he turned he felt a hand on his shoulder pull him back, yelling his name.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oyuki knocked on the door lightly and listened for any answer. She raised one finger to the group and slowly and carefully creeped into the room, trying to not make any noise and disturbed anyone. She looked around and saw both Splinter and Leo sitting crossed-legged with their heads down and eyes closed, she leaned in and realized that their breathing was steady, but not shallow, so they didn't seem to be in any immediate danger. She sighed lightly and started to stand up, but she stopped when she heard leo say something under his breath. She leaned back down, trying to wait for him to repeat his words or say something else, when she noticed a single tear run out of his eye and down his cheek.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Leo felt himself being torn from the battlefield and as he watched the scene switched from the battle back to the cave where they both stood. He landed on his rear and scrambled to his feet, his head darting to the side. As he looked he saw his master looking to him with great concern. "My son, what happened?" Splinter spoke. "You held the fountin with such a grip that I felt as if you were in danger, so i had to pull you back."

"Master, you wouldn't believe it, I saw a great battlefield, millions of people fightign, armies clashing, but then i was taken to where two solitary men fought, they seemed to be stronger than all the soldiers on the field, and they fought with such excellence and grace that I'd never seen." Leo recounted the vision of the war to Splinter, as he patiently stood there listening. Finally Splinter spoke. "I believe that one f those two men must be the ones that sent the original vision to you. Perhaps they are trying to communicate something to us. but I still do not know exactly what."

Suddenly they felt a third presence in the room with them. Welcome back, leonardo. And I see you have brought along your master as well. I apolgize for the scene you just witnessed, but it was necessary to show you the cause of why you are here. I cannot explain just yet, I don't have much time left in this spiritual form. All i can say is that it is of vital importance that you bring the chosen here to me to set me free, or else your world, and all the worlds in the galaxy shall suffer torments and horrors the likes never seen or imagined.

"Who are you?" Leo asked. "Who do you want me to bring to you? I just dont understand, what do you want with us?" Leonardo stood speaking to the spirit they could not see, but could only feel swirling all around them. it seemed that the ghost meant them no harm, but they still could not be sure of it's intention or what it planned on doing.

You must bring the girl to me, only she can set me free and keep the events of this war from hapening again, this time i cannot defeat him, but with her help I can stop the true evil from conquer the glaxy and keep everyone from suffering at his vile hands.

"Ok, lets assume for a minute that I believe you. I don't even know who you want brought to you. And why should we set you free if it will cause something like that?" Leonardo felt his patience wearing thin. Splinter finally spoke up and said. "Whoever you are we need more information from you before we are to decide whether or not we want to put someone in harms way. We must know who you speak of."

Look into the waters of this pool and your question will be answered, old one. But be prepeared, you may not like what you find out. Like I said before, only she can free me, and only with her help can I defeat this entity that wishes to destroy all life. I will not risk the deaths of billions just because your hesitant about your knowledge of me, time is of the essence, look into the fountain.

With that, they both slowly gazed into the pool and saw a your girl with black hair. Leo looked and thought to himself how familiar this girl looked. But he could not quite place where he had seen her before. But suddenly the girl turned her head around and with horror, leo finally understood who the entity was speaking of.

Because the girl turned around, and both leonardo and Splinter were staring into the reflection of Oyuki Mamisha's face...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------