Chapter 3: Agreements Made

"Master Splinter was what..?"

Raphael and Casey have excused themselves minutes ago to collect firewood to cook breakfast, leaving Mikey, April, and Donnie to explain everything that happened. So far, Leo was far from being pleased of what he was hearing. He was sitting on the longer couch, both Mikey and April sitting at his side. Opposite them, on one of the cushion sit, was Donnie.

"We last saw Master Splinter in the sewer," April continued. "He was in a fight with Shredder. He put up a fight, really, but…" She hesitated, looking at Donnie to continue her sentence. Donnie, in return, sighed and knew that he has to say what's need to be said. Somehow, neither of them could make up the proper words to tell Leo what really happened.

"Master Splinter," Donnie as well hesitated, seeing how tears were already forming inside his friends' eyes, which he can even feel some welling up inside him as well. "Sensei… was defeated by Shredder. The Shredder strike him at the back of his head while we all watched. And… And… he threw Sensei into the sewer water." The words were like poison being forcefully vomited out of his lips. Donnie paused and looked at Leo, tears flowing down his face. "I'm sorry Leo. We can't tell if Sensei's gone... But we can't either tell if he is okay as well."

There was silence among them. Everyone bowed their head except for their own leader. Leo was simply stun that he doesn't know what to do. He couldn't move, he couldn't speak. He only sat there like a puppet without strings tied to him. Tears streamed down his face without him knowing.

Mikey and Donnie looked at each other. They have to stop their storytelling there. They'd might as well tell Leo what happened afterwards some other time.

"No, Sensei, he can't be dead," anxiety started going through Leo. He started feeling weaker all of the sudden again. He can feel his chest tightening and he can't seem to catch any air. Even any second, he might vomit his heart out if he's not careful enough. Then he heard it again. He can hear buzzing in his ear. "No, he can't be…" The buzzing grew louder. The loud and irritating sound grew only louder when he tried covering both his ear slits. April and Mikey shifted their gazed at Leo, noticing the wound near his left ear slit started bleeding again.

"Whoa, Leo," April quickly unwrapped the bandage (since she is sitting next to Leo on his left side) around the side of his head. The wound was indeed bleeding once more. She pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket and pressed the clean cloth whie right were the wound is. Leo took the handkerchief into his hand and pressed it himself on the giant cut. The once fluffy white handkerchief is now a dark shade of crimson.

"Take it easy, Leo," Mikey placed a hand on Leo's shoulder. "Relax, it's just a wound." Leo looked at his younger brother. Seeing his younger brother suddenly made him calm once more.

"You're right, you're right," Leo sighed. "Where's Raph?"

"He's out with Casey," April said. "They are out getting some firewood to cook breakfast."

Leo leaned back on the sofa, muscles slowly releasing tension. He can feel himself going back to reality again. "We need to save Master Splinter, and our home. But we first need a plan."

Donnie smiled when a new (and what most people cans say, crazy) idea. "I still have the power cell with me." April, Leo and Mikey looked at him. Donnie continued rather prideful of his idea. "I can engineer the Power Wagon and use the cell to make it more functional and powerful. It'll be like the Shellraiser, and we can add some new weapons to it. Yes! Oh, and maybe a computer that could track Kraang Prime down wherever he is in New York, even without the use of any electricity. Nice, huh?"

"Yeah, uh Donnie," Leo said. "Nice idea, really. But… where are we going to get enough tools and supply for that?"

Donnie looked at April, who seems to agree with his gaze. "We found a few scrap metals and tools underneath the basement," April continued. "There were some sketches and blueprints left by my dad and my great uncle that might actually help us make the upgraded Party Wagon. My dad won't seem to mind if we pitch in a change or two on his ride. We can also use those as well as some scrap from the chicken coop."

Leonardo, though agrees that it was a good idea, still looked skeptic. "Okay, but how long can you engineer such vehicle."

Donnie frowned. "It might take me about a week or two…"

"But the Kraang might return any moment!"

"You think it's easy to make something like that in just mere hours? You know it would take me about a good month to finish the Shellraiser or the Turtle Mech, don't you Leo?"

"But Splinter could be in trouble any moment. He's still in New York, Donnie, and we're here, miles away from him."

"What do you propose? A different plan?"

"Yes, I do."

"How about half of us go to New York while the other half stay here to help make the Party Wagon?" Mikey interrupted.

Everyone stared at Mikey as if he was back in Dimension X. Donnie and Leo stared at each other, as if it was actually a good idea. Really, they don't have any other choice, right? "Okay, if we do that," Leo said. "Who would stay here with Donnie to ACTUALLY help Donnie start making the Party Wagon?"

"Oh I will," Mikey raised his hand in the air enthusiastically. Donnie stared at him. Suddenly, I'm starting to miss the Dimension X Mikey. "I think its best that you go to New York, Mikey," Donnie explained.

"How about me?" April asked. Donnie rubbed his chin, thinking it thoroughly. And if Casey is in New York, I can have a chance with April! "Yeah, yeah! you can stay and help out." Donnie said. "You'll be a pretty companion while I work. No, wait, I mean you're, uh, you're pretty. NO! I mean, you're good. Yeah, you're good companion. Heh..." April stared at him. She already knew about Donnie's crush on her. But she's just waiting for him to actually say something and make a REAL move. So far, he's still far from getting it right.

"You know what," Leo said. "I think it's for the best that we wait for Raph and Casey to come back and to make our decision of whose going or who's staying here. Donnie, its best you start thinking of what kind of weapons and as well as upgrades such as the engine for the Party Wagon. We need to get ready, Kraang might attack any moment, whether it would be in New York or in a different state."

Just then, Mikey's stomach rumbled.

"Uh, but can we have breakfast first?" Mikey suggested.

…

Okay, so one day, while you are having a nice morning or afternoon, sitting on your living room waiting for a friend to come with his new video game consoler or a new ball for basketball. Though when you actually see him on your doorstep, you see something different in his hand. And that different thing was something so shocking or so repulsive that you ask yourself "Okay, what and why the heck did you bring to my house?"

Pretty much, that's what the turtles and April thought when they saw Raph and Casey dragging something from behind them that was obviously NOT firewood. "Hey," Casey called out. "Um, we didn't get any firewood cause we found…"

"… We found a body." Raphael continued.

They laid the unknown body on the lawn. Leo was the first among his other brothers and April them all to inspect the body. Mikey, Donnie, and April followed. Disbelief and amazement were printed on their face. Leo was the first to talk. "Is this..?"

"Slash." Raphael answered instantly.

The mutated tortoise was rugged and bruised from top to bottom. A faded maroon scarf was wrapped around his neck. They realize that a giant cut as identical as Leo's was sliced deep into the flesh of his neck. Lucky it seems that it wasn't too critical to actually kill him, since his chest was still moving. He was still breathing. Other than the new scarf and wounds, he looks like the same Slash they have left at the dock at midnight.

"We saw him in the woods while getting some firewood. We couldn't carry both wood and him, so we thought of going back to get the wood," Raphael explained.

"Let's wait for him to wake up," Leo said. "Then we'll ask what he's doing in the forest."

"Wait," Casey interrupted. "So we're going to keep him here?"

"Yeah, what's the problem Jones?" Raphael asked, slightly offended by the question.

"Ugh, are we going to have another Raph then?"

…

NnnNnnnn Hhhnnnnnennnnn

Unnnnnnnnnn Wakkkkkkknnnnnnnn Unnnnnnnp

…

The first thing you might notice when you wake up from a bed dream is that you would jerk your eyes open all of the sudden, as if you've seen a, how can I put it, monster of a sort that the only way to escape is to open your eyes. Then you'll be all breathless, either waking up speechless, slightly sweaty, eyes dilated, or you would wake up, sitting up abruptly, with a scream that could send an earthquake that can tear the house down.

Well, for Slash, he somehow did both.

Eyes slowly opening to inspect the ceiling. He was panting. It was just a nightmare, he thought, a totally realistic nightmare with Kraang taking over New York, and the fact that he saw Splinter being beaten up by what he believes to be the Shredder. And there was an alligator mutant? Or was it a crocodile? Then there was Raph, Casey? Okay, he saw the turtles and the humans? But did everything happened? He hoped it was just a dream.

He could feel the presence of someone sitting next to him, watching him. He can feel something cold underneath his shell. It was obvious that he was lying on a dusty carpet, but what's unfamiliar is a couch set around him and a bookshelf in front of his view. But things turned from the weird to comforting when he knew that hand was too familiar to be no other than his ex-owner. He felt like he was a little tortoise pampered and protected by him.

"Raphael," Slash churred, leaning his head when he felt a soft hand petting his cheeks. His nape was aching from the giant wound on his neck. "Where am I? Where are we? This isn't the lair."

"We're outside New York. We found you in the woods. What were you doing out there?"

"I, ugh, I forgot." Slash placed a hand on top of his forehead. "I was in New York, wandering around. Ugh, then I remember Kraang. I think they were invading New York. And I think I was really asleep though. It was just a dream. And now I'm here, with you."

Raphael frowned. "Slash, that wasn't a dream."

Raphael was startled when Slash suddenly sat up. "What!?" Slash felt bewailed. "It wasn't a dream? It means everything is real? Please tell me the truth, Raphael."

Slash glanced at Raphael. He knew he wouldn't lie to him. It's just a silly prank, maybe. Or a horrible 'got-you-back' trick after almost beating the living being with a shell that are Raphael's brother.

But Raph's face was indeed dead serious. "It's the truth, Slash. New York is now under attack by Kraang."

Then it all came back to him. Slash remembered trying to follow Raphael and Casey when they were on the street, being chased after thousands of Kraang Bots. He tried to help. He went from behind, attacking Kraang after Kraang, bringing ten by ten of them into an alley. But somehow, the more he attacks, the more that come outs. Then he saw the horror that is Kraang Prime on, in all his glory, on his gigantic, 25 meters tall mechanically walking freak show of a robot with the perfect mutagen behind its back. Then the Kraang Prime saw him, flicked him like a wee green pea. The impact of Kraang Prime's mechanical tentacle did the trick with his bruises and scars. But he found himself flying through the sky, landing straight into cold Ber-month water. The old rusty and algae covered remains of an anchor laid unnoticed underneath the water, and when he sank down to the bottom, the anchor's pointed tip sliced a small piece of the skin of his neck.

Then he remembered swimming for miles, only stopping to go into the surface for a quick breathe of air. The pain on his neck soon turned dull. When he reached the surface, it was already afternoon. He saw a plain summer maroon scarf lying on the bay (that explains how he got the scarf in the first place), wrapped it around the wound on his neck. He was tired, hungry, seriously have nowhere to go. Then he fainted, remembering seeing only trees, grass and boulders.

Just then, Leo, Mikey, and Donnie came into the living room. Slash and Raph turned to look at them. None of them talked, they just silently sat on the other couches. Slash looked at his owner, who was also very serious. Leo was the first to talk. He looked at Raph, knowing that as if earlier, they have agreed over something. Something that only the ninja turtles seem to know.

"Slash," he started slowly. "You owe us a favor from almost… killing my brothers."

Slash said nothing.

"This has nothing to do with those things in the past though," Raph continued. "New York is in trouble now. You once said that we can't do one thing: and that's wiping out the Kraang. And now Kraang Prime is back and is ready to wipe us all out."

"We only want your help in defeating Kraang, and rescuing our Master Splinter," Leo added.

"And what do I get?" Slash asked.

"Freedom. Whatever you wanted," Raph replied.

Slash pondered on for a moment. He stared at every single turtles in the room. Leo looked determined but doubtful. Mikey was holding two thumbs up, a smile on his face (he's really cool about what happened before, anyway). Donnie looks doubtful as well, but he hides it well behind a monotonous face. And Raph looked at him with a hope to once and for all, get him into the team.

Slash chuckled. "When do I start?"

…

Yes, I've ACTUALLY finished the third installment of this fic. And I got to say, this chapter is probably one of the HARDEST one to finish. I can't decide whether to start this in New York or at the O'Neil's resident, but I ended up starting it with Leo's reaction with Splinter gone, to fill up what's missing on the last chapter.

So, I was originally going to put a scene on how Raph and Casey found Slash. And originally, the two were supposed to argue before stumbling on an unconscious Slash. But I just can't seem to make the right words. I already have a Leo and Donnie arguing, I don't want to think up more words for another fight. Besides, this chapter is already 2000 plus words. I was also having a tiny bit of problem on how I would picture Leo and Donnie would be. I imagine him having a few anxiety breakdowns once in a while and Donnie would have some quick anger outburst. Also, I just wanted to say that the chapter's original title is "Lost and Found."

Well, that is all for now. Hope you guys would wait and read the next chapter. See ya!

Ps, the ending sort of reminds me of a movie (not a TMNT one). Think you guys can guess it?