By the time the group of three made their way past the plains, all were seriously starting to feel the effects of walking so far in their condition. Raph had put Donnie back down soon after they'd started out to instead have him lean on his good shoulder as they walked, and by the time they entered the dark canyon-like area, everybody had to stop for another break, sweating and hurting.
Raph looked up into the smog-covered sky of this dark, spooky planet with a scowl, sitting against a bowed and shriveled tree. If there was no life here, he wouldn't be surprised – most of the foliage was either dead or looked like it wanted to be, after all. The thing Mikey saw in the woods, though, had him on this constant edge that was making him jerk at any new noise and think he was seeing things at the edges of his vision. With his little brothers around, he was increasingly paranoid of the potential dangers about and became antsier the farther they wandered from him. This didn't happen often though, as both little brothers were also clearly spooked and as curious as they were about the place, never went far. Raph and Mikey had been holding hands for a large part of the walk over to this location just so Raph could be sure he was with him, and with the horrifying nature of this planet and the sense of danger all three were picking up, the youngest didn't mind too much, and neither even took the time to joke about it. Mikey seemed to feel better for it anyway, comically looking forward again and coming closer to walk properly by his side every time he heard a weird noise. Raph sent a silent prayer up into the sky, willing it to break through the smoky darkness moving like clouds, to his family still in space – I hope you guys are ok. We're down here. Please, find us soon. Leo...
"Hey." Donnie walked up beside him, casually interrupting his train of thought with a wondering look on his face, noticing the sentimental one on Raph's. He dropped down beside him and leaned back, his bad leg stretched out. "What are you thinking?"
They were stopped somewhere near the base of the canyon, by some rotted trees. Mikey had walked around a little after resting with the other two, curiosity even winning over the bad vibes of his surroundings and his sore side. Raph and Donnie had jointly decided earlier that they should look for any creeks or rivers in the canyon, and after they rested a bit the three were off to start that search. Raph looked at Donnie peering at him, Mikey standing on his tiptoes to try to see into the distance for water in the background ahead of them.
Raph let out a casual huff. "I'm thinkin' I wish I knew what Mikey saw in the woods." He said, Donnie's face grimacing slightly in unnerved agreement. "You haven't seen anything out-a'-the-ordinary, or you know, person-like, have'ya?"
Donnie just shook his head, turning his head forward again and looking down at his feet. "I've been on the lookout ever since that sighting, but it doesn't seem like there's anything around. I haven't even sensed anything."
"Me 'neither." Raph agreed, and both fell quiet for a minute, lost in thought.
Donnie glanced over at Raph, looking over his profiled expression. He had a casual half-scowl that was part frustration, part worry, staring down at his hands and his mind a hundred miles away. Donnie grinned – that expression looked similar, somehow. Older brothers could be so danged serious with themselves.
"So," Donnie started, looking away again as Raph looked at him, "Say we don't find any civilization, which it doesn't feel like we will. Or if we do, they have no technology that I can try to contact the Ulixes with."
Raph looked at Donnie expectantly, guessing the topic this was about.
"We should also be on the lookout for any material we can collect to make a flare." Donnie suggested, looking at Raph for his opinion. "I'm not sure if Professor Honeycutt knew the location where they lost us at, but if they come close, it would help. And even better, say we do happen to find any lifeforms here, or a living area of any kind. If they've collected some of the right materials, I could try to construct a basic homing beacon, and invert it so it'll send a message to any spacecraft that can pick it up. It would be short-range, but even that would be better than a flare."
"I think you've got the right idea," Raph agreed, grinning at his little brother. "Gettin' lost ain't even possible with you around, Donnie." Raph gave his shoulder a light push, both sharing a laugh.
"Ah–!"
Both brothers were suddenly and immediately on high-alert from the startled surprise of their baby brother several feet away – too far away. He was galloping over the terrain back to the couple before Raph had the chance to call him, however, and came in close to their protective arms where they grabbed and checked him over for any new injuries before he could babble out what had surprised him, hands around his shell to keep him close.
"What happened?" Raph looked at Mikey squarely, eyes full of seriousness and intensity on his little brother as the smaller looked back in alarm.
"Th-there's something coming," He said, already trying to push the two towards a large rock formation to hide. "I can't tell what it is."
"Tch–!" Looking out into the distance with a scowl, Raph quickly corralled both little brothers behind the rocks, peering around it in search of unwelcome company. Sure enough, a small group of black-looking humanoid creatures were approaching their area. What were they? As Raph watched them come closer, he became more and more horrified.
There were four of them. The creatures were totally coated in some kind of black substance that dripped from their bodies, and they were enormous, maybe triple the height of Donatello. They were almost human-like in shape, but skinny and mangled and misshapen and animal-like in the way they traveled on all-fours with their long arms, and their joints – oh, he was gonna have nightmares. Raph felt the blood drain from his face as he shrank back further behind the protective barrier hiding them, hoping his little brothers couldn't see the terror on his face. Their joints did all sorts of things Raph didn't think they were supposed to, snapping this way and that as they ran, heads twitching about, the creatures howling horribly through the canyon in pain or crazed delusion like animals possessed. Their heads were long and feature-less, covered in the same inky substance, and their mouths opened impossibly long like fanged demons when they whaled.
Hearing quiet gasps of terror underneath him, he realized with horror that his two little brothers were peeking around the rock formation as well, watching the monsters. Raph grabbed both of them in his arms in one swoop and quickly backed further behind their hiding place, almost stumbling. Panting, he forced his back against the rock in a panic, drawing both sais. Protectively crushing his little brothers against him with the terrified strength of steel, weapons at the ready, he prayed for the second time that day. Both little brothers only looked up at Raph with wide, fearful eyes and Raph mouthed the words, "Don't, make, a sound".
The group remained stone-still and silent as they listened to the monsters come right up into the area where they had just been, galloping and twisting their heads and howling, when suddenly they paused. The three behind the rock tensed further, both little brothers pressing even further into the older as he squeezed them and raised his shoulders, looking tensely to the side and none daring to breathe.
The hunched monsters moved slowly about the area, behaving different from before. Still twitching and growling and spastically howling in what could've been frustration, they now sniffed the ground on all-fours, when Donnie suddenly realized they had caught a whiff of the group's scent. They were hunting.
Donnie poked Raph to get his attention, and with eyes even wider and more fearful than before, he pointed at his own mouth, getting a similar response from the other two.
They're looking for food.
The monsters walked far enough into the area that the group could see them from around the rock, and they pressed as hard into it as they could, peeking to the side to watch the things.
Finally, one gave a loud roar, making the three twitch violently and dig in as close to each other as possible, cowering away from the things. Its voice was so awful, as if it were filled with all the whaling of a hundred screeching humans and a thousand demons who'd lost their minds. And then – an animal streaked across the clearing where the monster stood!
The three hiding behind the rock made the smallest of gasps. They hadn't seen a single animal since they'd been here; it was just a simple thing that could've been some version of a rabbit, but it was killed just as quickly as they saw it. The whole situation escalated so quickly there was barely time for them to register it.
The monster that had roared killed the animal, instantly and hungrily ripping into it to devour. The three other monsters present jumped in to take a bite but the first one jerked it away for itself – its little body was in hundreds of pieces in an instant. The three of them almost yelped when a loud crash soon followed, and they soon realized one of the creatures had taken a large boulder in its mouth and thrown it at one of the others in the fight, but the other simply smashed through it with its forehead, seemingly unfazed and snapping at the attacker.
The fight over the meat escalated until it wasn't clear if it had been eaten already or simply destroyed, because the three monsters that had missed out on the meal were now savagely attacking the fourth. Violent became deadly very quickly as the three overpowered the one, and it was at this point Raph looked away, holding his brothers so close and covering their eyes with his hands. The shadows Raph bitterly watched against the canyon wall across from them, the noise and the gore that splashed around were the only indications they had of what happened to the fourth creature, and the sounds of more devouring quickly followed. Mikey lurched a little and covered his mouth, and both brothers comfortingly held him tight and rubbed his back as he became still and silent again. There was no way any of the three would allow their location to be made known now.
Thankfully, it wasn't too long after this that the three creatures left seemed to be satisfied, and giving one whale of victory or territorial domination, they left the scene just as they came.
The three huddled behind the rocks waited for quite a while still before they dared to come back out. The already-dark world was darkened a bit further in what was probably dusk by now, and as soon as everyone was absolutely sure beyond the shadow of a doubt that nothing else was going to come, Mikey started crying.
Everyone was still shaking by this point. Mikey dropped his head against Raph's good shoulder and put his hands to his face, making small whimpers, and Donnie hid his face under his own hand, his own racing emotions threatening to get the better of him at any second, too. Raph squeezed them both tight and dug his muzzle down between their faces, squeezing his eyes shut as tight as he could to hold back his own tears.
Eventually, they found enough control of themselves again to move out from behind the rocks, Raph putting away his weapons, and the sight of the carnage there made them even more upset. Mikey whaled and hid in Raph's chest, Raph and Donnie looking on in horror. The creature's body was absolutely demolished. Stuff – stuff was everywhere. Raph similarly pulled Donnie in to break his gaze away from the sight, and the younger brother shuddered, wrapping his arms around the others in search of support. Raph held them closer than anything in the whole world and looked on at the scene, worried – for one of the few, genuinely helpless moments in his life – about how they were gonna get through this one.
After what just happened, the demanding need to find a safe place for the night was the only thing that convinced Raph that despite the overwhelming urge to just dig a hole and wait until the others were able to find them and come to their rescue, they had to keep moving forward.
He took a deep breath and sighed, part to try and calm himself, and part to hopefully soothe the other two. He looked down at his younger siblings cooped up in his arms, and rubbed the backs of their shells.
"...We've gotta find shelter for the night." He said simply, voice low and as calming as he could possibly make it. All at once, he wished Leo were here just to say what he was trying to. Their oldest brother had always somehow had these magical soothing powers, always able to dash his little brothers' worst fears with his warm, soothing voice to oblivion. "I know it's scary, but the way things are, sleepin' in the open at night ain't an option. We'll be safer once we find a place for tonight."
Donnie sighed, and looked over at Mikey, whose crying had de-escalated back to whimpers and was rubbing his tightly-clenched eyes, horribly afraid of opening them and seeing the dripping slaughter behind him – a phobia the three all admittedly shared. With one last deep breath to encourage himself, Raph anchored Donnie's arms around his good shoulder and drew Mikey into his side, who kept his head low and wrapped his arms tight around the older's middle, and together they went in search of a safer place.
Despite the land growing ever-darker as night approached, the three managed to find a small, very shallow creek just an hour away from where they were, and oh, what a blessed thing it was. They all laid flat on the ground to submerge themselves in it before quickly finding a rock bowl-shaped enough to collect some in and boil it once Donnie was able to start a fire, and while they boiled the water Mikey found the smallest of groves in the ground under the rock face of a canyon wall just feet away, apparently the previous home of some animal and just big enough for the three to squeeze into – which none had complaints about, as chilly as it was getting. While they were already used to the cool New York City air, the natural temperature of this planet was on the chillier side and the constant exposure was starting to get to them. And of course, the darker it got, the further the thermometer dropped.
As soon as they'd all gotten enough to drink, the three of them crawled into the little space in the ground dug into the canyon wall, Donnie taking the concave rock with him to keep until he could find a way to carry it more conveniently. Hidden nicely by a bit of foliage and snuggled up to each other, they laid still for a little while as they tried to settle their nerves and chase away the cold.
Night quickly fell as they rested, quite awake, but a little calmer now that they felt a bit safer from this terrible world they'd found themselves in. All their wounds were aching badly after so much strain and jostling today, and the most each could manage was to find some position that they could bear as they rested against each other, so Raph had to lay his weight on his good shoulder with the other two snuggled in close. All were hungry and sore for the ones they missed in space, but alive; and as long as they could keep that last one the same, each had hope it was going to be alright.
Mikey and Donnie seemed to be preoccupied listening to all the new night sounds around them which, all things considered, were a bit more comforting than their other experiences of this planet so far, and assured they were lulling off, heads tucked snuggly and resting underneath his, Raph watched the smoggy sky through the opening of their little space, where he could actually see occasional stars peek through the black sheet above.
"I wonder if the others are ok." Raph thought, and gave a small sigh. "I wish we could'a had our cell phones with us, or that they even worked in space. It would make everything so much easier..."
Mikey shifted his head a little. "Raphie?" He mumbled in a quiet, tired voice. The way Donnie shifted, too, it was clear he was also still awake.
"Mm." Raph quietly mumbled back.
"Is your shoulder ok after everything?"
Raph grinned, giving his baby brother's muzzle a teasing poke. "It's fine. Don't you worry."
Mikey hummed in response, Raph not knowing if he accepted that or not, but knowing he wouldn't say. "Donnie, how's your foot?"
Donnie chuckled. "I'll live. How's your side?"
Again, Mikey hummed in response, but a little more perturbed than before, and when it seemed he wouldn't give a response to his own question, he answered, "I'm ok. Just hurts I guess."
The three were silent for a little longer after this, contemplating different things, and after a little while Mikey spoke up again.
"How are we gonna make it back?"
There was a short pause after this question. Donnie shifted to more clearly see the other two, and shared a glance with Raph. Gently rubbing Mikey's shoulder, Donnie answered sleepily. "If we actually manage to find any living sites here, I wanted to see if they had the right materials to make a beacon-like device to hopefully contact the others. But," He continued on quietly, "I'm not sure that we will. I might be able to make one anyway, if we can find the materials, but...you know."
Mikey nodded silently in understanding – this place may or may not have what Donnie needed. He knew his smart brother would figure out the next best thing regardless, but he worried how many options they really had.
"Our best bet," Raph said, holding them both firmly, "Is to wait for the others to come an' find us here. And don't you guys even act like you don't know – mountains will be moved before the mountains even dream of tryin' to pose a threat."
The younger two giggled in agreement.
"So while we wait, we've gotta make sure to be careful an' stay low. This ain't the sort of place I really wanna test my steel against, and you guys know I'm serious if that's comin' from me." Another couple of grins in agreement. "We'll keep movin' and try to find some food and camps or anything like that, and if Donnie sees something he can use, we'll try to get that too." His face dropped and his voice became more serious for a moment as he talked to them, and they listened intently. "I don't want neither of you wanderin' away or leaving my sight, you hear me? Stay close to me and if I say jump, jump. We're gonna have to keep hidden as much as possible, and for now we've only got my sais."
The three fell back to silence for another few moments in resignation of this, and for a little while, the night creatures outside were all that could be heard. Donnie gave a little sigh and snuggled the two of them in closer to Raph, clearly lulling off again in the warmth and safety of his surroundings. Mikey nestled down deeper between the two of them, and in the way he wrapped a hand over Donnie's arm strewn over him and buried his clenched eyes into Raph's neck, they felt something was wrong, and so Donnie's face was nestled in closer to his in concern and Raph's chin protectively resting over his head when he quietly spoke up again.
"What if we see the monsters again?"
Raph paused at the question, and after a moment looked over at Donnie, who glanced back in worry and as much as he tried to hide it, a fear that he couldn't keep out of his face. Sighing, Raph squeezed them tight, nuzzling both their heads with his and giving each a kiss on the forehead, drawing a sleepy yawn out of both of them.
"Then stay close to me," He mumbled warmly, tiredly. "We'll be alright."
The group finally started to lose the battle to sleep once more, and were tightly nestled in with one another when Donnie's voice came up one more time, quietly asking a half-asleep question from the ever-curious parts of his mind. "Oh, Mikey, I was wondering. I noticed back there...those things didn't really have eyes."
Mikey made a small nodding movement, eyes closed and clearly preferring to go to sleep rather than talk about the monsters. "Mm-hmm." He sleepily mumbled in agreement, wrapping both arms around Donnie's and snuggling it to him.
"But when we were in the woods, didn't you say you saw something staring at us?"
Taking an extra second for his tired brain to process this connection, Mikey then hummed in realization, mumbling his reply before falling asleep. "Oh, you're right. It had beady red eyes..."
A/N: Mikey, always there to ask the important questions haha
IT'S 5:45AM AND I HAVE WORK AT 12 AND I REGRET NOTHINGGGG
Also thanks so much for all the favs and reviews! I read each one and I'm super excited to see new ones pop up. I'm glad you guys are enjoying this and I will definitely be updating again before long :)
