AN: Unless I suddenly come up with an unexpected plot twist that lengthens this story, there should only be a few chapters left, four tops, I'd say. This story has been a pleasure to write, particularly because I love writing in first person. The secrets of Oz will finally be revealed and I hope all questions answered! I can't remember if anybody reviewed last chapter, so, if somebody did, thanks! Before I forget, I do not own the characters of the show TMNT or The Wizard of Oz. However, I do own this very complicated and intricate plot! Anyway, enjoy this chapter!
The Secrets of Oz
Let me tell you something. I've had some pretty bad concussions before. I've been so battered and bruised that breathing hurt. I've been unconscious for days on end in a coma. (Apparently, running into a brick wall is not the equivalent of running into Raph. Learned that the hard way.) In other words, I've been in some serious pain before, but . . .
At that moment, I was sincerely wishing that I were dead! That's how painful it was. My head felt like it had been chopped off and screwed back on cock-eyed, weighing more than a pound of lead. My hands and feet were numb and I probably would have upchucked if I'd had anything in my stomach.
"I see that you are awake." My blood froze at that voice. What was she doing in our lair . . . ?
Oh, right. I wasn't at the lair. I was trapped in Oz with—
Donnie! Holy crap, he must be worried sick! Where the heck was I?! What happened?! And why the *&%* was Karai here?
Opening my eyelids was the equivalent of running a marathon, but I managed it. I was the Battle Nexus Champion after all.
My favorite psychopath in the whole dang world was standing in front of me, dressed in this weird robe that looked like it had been purposely torn and washed in mud. She had this wild look in her eyes as she stared at me, gripping the neck of a long vase-like thing with one hand. "Goody!"
You've probably realized that this world was just downright wrong. But, this was too much. Karai never had and never will say 'Goody' and jump up and down, clapping her hands like a maniac.
Then again, I had always thought she was a bit off her rocker. "Ka—rah?" I mumbled, unable to pronounce the bitch's name properly due to my drunken state of mind.
Karai blinked at me before giggling, placing the vase-like thing on a round table behind her. And I'd thought it was wrong when Angel had giggled. There's not even a word in my vocabulary I could use to describe my horror when Karai performed that highly girly vocalization. "My name's not Karah, silly!" This way too perky version of Karai announced, dancing over and bopping me on the head. "It's the Wicked Witch of the West!"
Why hadn't I seen that one coming? "Uhhh!" Was all I could manage before I slumped over.
"Oh, sorry!" Karai giggled again. "Let me help you!" I managed to pry my eyelids open enough where I saw her roll a fireball in her bare hands, splitting it into two before hurling them at the wall where my wrists were bound, suspending me in the air.
I hit the floor with a thud, and I groaned louder. My body suddenly began floating in the air as Karai levitated me over to a feather bed against the opposite wall of what I assumed must be her lair. "I do apologize for the whole kidnapping you thing!" Karai giggled. "Because, you know, my 'role'," she did air quotes at that, "is supposed to be the bad girl and I'm suppose' ta like, kidnap you and all. You feelin' me, man?" I would have run right then if my limbs had been functioning properly. "Anyway, I mean, I'm always the bad girl. And, let me tell you, getting melted gets really old! I mean, I'm a nice person! I totally don't deserve to be melted! Don'cha think?"
"Head hurts," I managed to grunt, clamping my eyes shut and hoping that this was just a really weird, life-scarring dream.
"Oh, sorry!" Geez, didn't she have an off switch?! Huh. I can just imagine what Raph would say if he were to hear me say that.
The pain in my head and the heaviness in my limbs suddenly faded and I sat up with a start. Karai was leafing through a fat book, grinning at me over the top. "All better?"
"Uh, yeah," this was going to take some serious getting used to. "Thank you. Uh, Wicked Witch of the West."
"Oh, just call me W.W.W!" Karai giggled, clapping the book shut and coughing when a cloud of dust billowed up from the pages.
"Uh," I stared at her as she dropped the book on the same table as the vase-like thing and struggled to clear her lungs. "Can I just call you 'Karai'?"
Once she had recovered her voice, she glanced up at me and shrugged. "Sure, Green Dude, whatever gets your goat. Hey, are you hungry?!" She giggled and hurried over to another table, this one a long rectangle, beside the round table where she had set the vase-like thing. "I made cookies!"
Okay, I am officially scarred for life. "'M good," I muttered back, watching her out of the corner of my eye as I studied the room I was in for the first time. "Is this your bedroom?" The room was entirely made out of stone, suggesting I was probably inside of a castle, with bright red, purple, and green tapestries decorating the wall. The large feather bed I was sitting on rested against the middle of one wall with a large armoire and the round table being across from them. I'd always imagined that Karai's room would be bare and dark and, well, creepy! Not this. This was just—
"Ya like it?" Karai interrupted my quickly escalating thoughts, leaning forward and severely invading my personal space. "I decorated it myself! Castles can be so drafty!" She dipped her hands at me before sighing and reaching up to mess with her braid, which was just as messy as her witch's robe. "You have no idea how dang lonely it gets around here!" She whined, shaking her braid up and down quite erratically. "I mean, flying ninja monkeys aren't exactly the best company, ya know what I mean?"
"Uh," I seriously didn't care about her psychological issues. I just wanted to get the heck out of here and find my brother before he had an aneurysm looking for me! "I wanna leave!"
Karai stared at me for a moment, her face so serious that I thought for sure I had just crossed a line. Then, she burst into raucous peals of uncontrollable laughter. I could only stare at her wide-eyed for several minutes that began to stretch into hours in my mind before she finally stopped and straightened, staring seriously at me. "Yeah, I would let you. Really, I would." She started messing with her braid again, and I found my eyes drawn to it as she continued. "But, ya see, we have these rules here in Oz. And, well, I have a role to play, ya know? You see, I'm supposed to be seeking revenge and out for your blood and all for killing my father. But, seriously, the dude was so uptight! I'm kinda glad you dropped your softy squishy thing on him! I mean, it's not like he's really dead, right? I swear that guy's unkillable. I mean, seriously, I tried poisoning him once, but, he, like, didn't even get nauseous! He has guts of steel! But I never thought of dropping something on his head!"
I was beginning to get a headache from her high-pitched, whiny school girl voice. "Anyway," now she was chewing on her braid, her words blurring together as she continued, "I'mma get 'n real touble if'n I eden thin' a doin' tha'! An' ya wouldn' wanna tha,' woul' ya?"
It's a good thing I was used to deciphering Brooklyn accents from Raph and Casey, or else I doubted I would have been able to translate. "So, what're you sayin'?"
She dropped the braid from her mouth and sighed exasperatingly. "I'm saying that I hav'ta kill you! Is that such a difficult concept to grasp?!"
Now that was more the Karai I knew.
Now if only I could think of how to get out of here before she had a chance to fulfill her "role" or whatever.
Man, I hope Donnie's better off than I am.
TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT
Donnie's POV
Fate is a funny thing. I had always heard Master Splinter, and even Leo, go on and on about Fate and our Destinies and how our "paths had been chosen beforehand" and how "everything happened for a reason." It wasn't that I'd completely ruled out Fate, but I was a scientist. We scientists enjoy concrete facts, tangible evidence. The whole concept of Fate was a foreign concept in my mind. The astral plane was a fairytale that I only "believed in" because my sensei had encouraged me to "allow it to free my body and soul."
The scientist in me was currently drowning in all of the improbabilities and just flat-out weirdness that was this world of Oz as I stared at the Other Me. He was of average height and was dressed in a long, flowing purple wizard's robe that was decorated with questions marks and numbers. Atop his head was a pointed wizard's hat that probably looked similar to the hat I was wearing atop my own head.
If it weren't for the height and attire differences, we would have been the same person. It was both fascinating and unnerving at the same time. He was me and yet he wasn't me. Although the scientist in me was currently having a nervous breakdown, the ninja in me, the part of me that had learned to cope with all the supernatural influences in my brothers' and my world, was drinking it all in and treating this as a simple learning exercise.
"Please," the Other Me began, his voice soft, uncertain. He looked like a deer caught in headlights. Curious but terrified. He was regarding me with almost as much suspicion as I was regarding him. It made me feel both intrigued and disturbed that he was thinking the same as I was. "Allow me to introduce myself."
I might have interrupted, but I was still in too much shock. The ninja in me was fighting to regain control over the scientist in me so that I could come up with a decent reply. "My name is Araskius." Wait, what? The Other Me, I mean Araskius, sucked in a breath before releasing it and continuing, his eyes locking on me. "And I am an Ozzian."
Was that supposed to help me? He regarded me with some interest before continuing. "I see that this information does not help you, correct?" I nodded numbly. "Let me further explain." He took a deep breath once more before continuing in a slightly shaky voice. "Oz is a world between worlds, as your sensei suspected. It is neither real nor unreal. It is neither fact nor fiction. We are here yet we are not. It is a plane of existence."
"What do you mean?" I had finally found my voice, the ninja in me having won the battle.
Araskius smiled in relief. "It is a little hard to explain to one who lives in the physical world. Reality has many different layers, and only one is physical." I opened my mouth, but he interrupted. "No, I am not referring to other dimensions. By layers, I am referring to different planes of existence. Different ways of experiencing and seeing the physical world. To me, Oz is home. But, to you, Oz is simply a state of mind. You are here only in mind and soul whilst your body is back in the physical world."
"Are you—real then?" I asked in awe.
He smiled somewhat sadly. "I am not a copy of you, if that is what you mean. I tried to explain it to your brother, but I do not believe he quite grasped my meaning," he sighed, his eyes traveling to the heavens before they returned to rest on me. "I am real, but I have no physical form. I could not exist in your world. I only exist here. However, mine are a people who are real but lack," he paused at this, "a sense of self, so to speak. We have distinct personalities, emotions, intellects. But, yet, we do not feel whole, complete. We lack the last part of the trinity that is required for humanity."
"What is that?" I breathed.
He smiled at me. "We possess a soul and spirit, but we lack a body. We are incomplete. In order to gain humanity and a sense of self, our world must be connected to the physical world."
As those words sank in, I realized what he was saying. "Mikey was not pulled in by accident."
Araskius nodded sadly. "It is an extremely rare occurrence, but a physical being from your world can reach a crossroads that connects our two worlds. When that occurs, we draw and their soul and spirit are drawn into our world whilst their body, the only part that cannot exist in this world, remains."
I blinked. "Is that why I could manipulate your world from ours?"
Araskius nodded. "Our world is simply a different plane of existence of your world. In theory, as you have discovered, one could use digital technology in able to 'hack' into our world and control it via that portal. However, you did require a link to our world," he frowned. "How did you manage that?"
I chuckled nervously as I rubbed the back of my neck. "My brother's cat was acting as a bridge between our two worlds."
He nodded. "Of course, the same thing occurred with Dorothy." I blinked at that. Wait, a girl named Dorothy really had come to Oz? "It seems that since animals lack a spirit, a part of the trinity required to give one his humanity, they can pass between our worlds."
I nodded seriously. "It wasn't the ruby red slippers that brought her home, was it?"
Araskius shook his head. "No, it was indeed Toto. The details of the story were somewhat skewed to make for a better movie, I would presume. Regardless, my people do not view your brother as a guest."
I frowned. "They see him as a prisoner."
Araskius nodded. "As long as your brother remains in this world, we have a sense of self. You see, Oz can sense your thoughts, memories, and emotions. We took the people in his life, both friend and foe, and imprinted ourselves with a negative of their personalities, giving us their appearances and some of their personality traits while we gain a sense of self but keep our original personalities."
I frowned. "So, you look like me, but that's only because you were imprinted with a negative of my personality?"
Araskius shook his head once more. "No. I was imprinted with a negative of how your brother viewed you."
My eyes widened. "LEO!" Araskius stared at me for so long, that I felt the need to explain my outburst. "My brother. He is nothing like the Leo in this world," he nodded, encouraging me to go on. "You see, a few years ago, he went through a state of depression where he was really dark, moody, and angry all the time. That must be the view of Leo that your Leo was imprinted with."
"His name is Elana," Araskius smiled. "And he is a she."
I blinked before chuckling subconsciously. He was a male, right? "You mix genders?"
Araskius shrugged. "Sexual orientation means nothing to our people. We do have sexes, but we see no reason not to meld our minds with that of the opposite sex. It is merely a mind meld, after all, and not a body mold. Now, that, would be wrong."
My smile melted into a frown as I recalled what Araskius had said to me before. "What did you mean when you said you could help me with getting my brothers here?"
Araskius's face was split into a wide grin as he motioned me over. "You see, I am the Time Master of this world. I can control when it 'pauses' as you say and when it starts again. As long as it is paused, I can pull your brothers' subconsciouses through into our world using them," he jerked his thumb at where the Leo and Raph of this world stood frozen. "As I am, they will still be around. They will just no longer be filling these particular avatars."
"Tell me," I said, staring up at him in confusion. "Why are you a scarecrow one minute and then a sorcerer the next?"
Araskius threw back his head and laughed. "My dear Donatello!" His chuckles dwindled as he smiled kindly down at me. "This is my true form," he indicated himself. "I did not intend to 'pause' our world back when I first did, and Elana, Coranthi, and I had to come up with a reason for my sudden transformation. You see, I manifest in my true form whenever I exert my power as Time Master. The entire bit about your character being a sorcerer turned scarecrow was a lie. Your character is a traitor to the Shinobi of Oz whom he cast into the body of a scarecrow as punishment." I stared at him. "Let me just say, the Shinobi of Oz, 'played' by our actual leader, King Ikara, has more to him than there appears to be at first. He is the one who instigated the practice of pulling any physical being from your world into ours if he were unfortunate enough to reach a crossroads."
"The Shinobi of Oz is evil?"
Araskius thought for a minute. "I am unsure. As far as I know, the avatar is not meant to be evil, but King Ikara is not known for his benevolent nature. He feels not for your kind and will keep you prisoner here as well if your presence here becomes known."
I nodded. "Right. Stay low-key." I smiled. "I can do that." Araskius raised his brow ridges at me. "I'm a ninja, remember?" I suddenly thought of something. "Wait, if you manifest in your true form when you play Time Master, why do you still look like me?"
Araskius stared at me before glancing down at himself. Then he smiled. "Only in your mind's eye do I resemble you. You must remember that I have no real physical form. I kept your basic form for you could not perceive my true form. Our true forms are not physical. They are too much for a physical being such as yourself to behold."
"Right," I muttered. "Just checking."
Araskius watched me for a moment, something almost akin to concern in his eyes, before he quietly said. "I may need your assistance."
I can't really tell you how I looked at him, but I guess he felt the need to elaborate on his point. I interrupted him before he could further his explanation. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but, in case you hadn't noticed, I am no Ozzian, let alone the frickin' Time Master. How exactly am I going to 'assist' you?" I know my reply was vehement and extremely uncalled for, but I was a little beyond caring at that point. Knowing that my brother had been taken away whilst I was incapable of assisting him, I found his request almost insulting.
Araskius must have been very perceptive, for he apparently caught on to the motive behind my crude remark. "I beg your pardon, Donatello. Please allow me to explain." He waited for my approval, and, after a long moment where I deliberated with myself, I finally nodded. He smiled wearily before furthering his explanation. "You see, because I was imprinted with a negative of your brother's view of your personality, I had no trouble connecting with you and drawing you into this world. Your brothers on the other side, however, are an entirely different story."
I couldn't help being curious. As odd and downright unscientific as Oz was, I found myself fascinated with the concept of this "world between worlds" and its intriguing inhabitants. "Do you mean you will be unable to connect with them?"
Araskius paused before replying. Perhaps he had sensed that I was a scientist at heart and was formulating a worthy reply. "It is not the connecting that will hold the difficulty." He cast his gaze toward the Leo and Raph—excuse me, I mean Elana and Coranthi in the guise of my older brothers—and I immediately understood. Well, partly, anyway. This whole thing was a little beyond my area of expertise, but I was taking it in stride. For Mikey's sake.
"Because of your imprinted version of my personality, you were able to draw me here with no difficulty," I supplied. "But, you do not have that advantage with Leo and Raph."
Araskius nodded and sighed heavily. "Even from here, when I move to touch the minds of your brothers, I can feel their worry and anguish. They are worried for Michelangelo, but they are also worried for you. They both are warriors and have wills of steel. It may be nearly impossible to bring them here, since they will no doubt resist."
I had to ponder this for a moment. I had no clue how Araskius was able to connect with my brothers from this odd world, but I had to remind myself that Oz was just a different plane of existence of my reality. So, in theory, that was entirely probable. He had said that Mikey had been at the crossroads of our planes when he had been pulled in. Perhaps my other brothers were near enough to this crossroad so that Araskius could sense them? "Araskius?" I began to ask hesitantly, but trailed off. I was so afraid that my suggestion would be impossible, but I had to try. "Would there be any way for me to communicate with them?"
Araskius was quiet for so long, that I was certain he found the question downright foolish. Then he did an odd thing. "Come with me," he spoke quietly, holding out his hand. I took it without hesitation and allowed him to lead me to where Elana in the guise of Leo as the Tin Man still lay on her side and Coranthi in the guise of Raph as Lion's Mane, an outlaw, kneeling beside her.
And to think I just thought that without even being weirded out. This place would be the death of my sanity; I could already feel it slipping, ebbing away as the oddity that was Oz chipped away at everything I had thought I had known.
My depressing thoughts were cut off when Araskius gently pushed me down to my knees beside my "brothers." I stared at him in confusion, asking a silent question to which I wasn't even entirely sure I wanted the answer. He grasped my wrist and slowly lowered my hand until it was resting on Elana's head. "She has a connection to your brother, Leonardo," Araskius murmured to me as I quivered with expectation. "Use her as a gateway to your brother's mind. Focus on him and tell him not to fight as I use her to draw him here."
I could only nod, still trembling, as Araskius closed his eyes and began to concentrate. I could feel that he was slipping into a deep state of something resembling meditation, and I forced myself to do the same. My eyes closed of their own accord and I focused all of my attention on the hand that still rested on Elana's head. Then I imagined that there was an actual bridge, or cord, more likely, that connected her to my brother.
A picture began to materialize in my mind, and the image before me was confusing. I was looking down at myself, still lying on the metal table. By the looks of things, not much time had passed since I had passed into this world. I would have realized what a tremendous relief that was if I hadn't realized with a start that I was seeing my home through Leo's eyes.
To say the least, it was somewhat unnerving at discovering I was literally inside my oldest brother's head. However, I had to quickly push aside that feeling and focus on communicating the need not to fight to Leo.
That's when I felt Araskius's presence descend on my brother, willing him into Oz. Immediately, Leo's knees buckled and he hissed. The lab blurred and spun before his eyes and I had to gasp and remind myself I wasn't actually experiencing this. I could feel the mental barriers that my brother was putting up, resisting, quite effectively, my friend's attempt at drawing him to us.
I knew then that I had to do something. I was in my brother's head, but I still was completely clueless as to how I should go about communicating with him. Should I just think my words, send them to him telepathically, or speak verbally?
I decided to simply press, trying to make my presence known. I think it must have worked for Leo paused in his fierce resistance. That's when I thanked Fate for Leo's perception for all things spiritual. Donnie? The thought came through clearly to my own mind, and I knew Leo had sensed me.
Don't fight it, Leo, I called back. Trust me. Don't fight.
There was a pause. Are you all right?
Figured. Even in light of the sheer magnitude of what was happening, my brother was concerned for me. I was slightly annoyed, but also relieved. It felt good to have my eldest brother being all "motherly" to me again.
Motherly?
Whoops! Forgot for a moment there that our minds were temporarily linked together. Uh, can we just pretend I didn't think that and move on? Then I decided to play the card that always worked where Leo was concerned. I need you, bro.
There was a long pause before I felt, rather than heard, my brother's affirmation. Suddenly, the infirmary blurred and I felt as if I were being yanked backwards at an incredible speed. I gasped and my eyes snapped open. I had to blink several times before I could comprehend where I was.
Back in Oz. My hand was still resting on Elana's head where I was still kneeling beside Araskius, whose eyes were still tightly shut. I watched as a tremor went through Leo-Elana's body and its eyes blinked open.
Those eyes stared up at me, the oh so familiar eyes of my oldest brother, before an even more familiar voice asked. "Donnie?"
I couldn't hide my grin as I threw myself on my brother. He grunted as my impromptu hug flattened him on his shell, but I noticed he, even begrudgingly, returned the embrace. I was almost on the verge of tears and hurried to press my face into Leo's shoulder in order to hide it. Thankfully, he was wearing a shoulder plate and could not feel the tears. Regardless, being Leo, he just knew that I was crying.
I honestly have no idea how long we sat there. I had been so terrified and the fact that the real Leo was here with me had made me far more emotional than anticipated. At some point, Leo lifted my nearly weightless body (I was a scarecrow, after all) onto his lap and cradled me in his arms. "Shhh, Donnie." He murmured. "It's all right. I have no clue what's going on and even less clue where I am, but I'm here." He paused and looked around him for a moment. "Wherever here is."
That was what finally brought me out of my crying fit. I sat up on my brother's lap and wiped at my eyes before taking three deep breaths. Once I felt I was composed enough, I stated simply. "Leo, welcome to Oz."
Leo stared at me for a long moment, seeming to be actually seeing me for the first time. "Donnie, why are you a scarecrow?" Then he glanced down at himself and frowned. "And why am I wearing armor? I look ridiculous!"
I couldn't help but giggle at that as I scrambled to my feet. "Before I go any further into details, I need to help Araskius pull Raph here."
Leo seemed to notice the clearly uncomfortable Araskius for the first time. "He brought me here?"
Araskius cleared his throat. "More or less."
Leo watched him for another moment with that Look that made my other two brothers and I cringe for our enemies. That penetrating stare made you feel as if Leo could see into your very soul, which, I recalled, Araskius did indeed have. It was a body that he was missing. Then he glanced down at the frozen "Raphael" at his feet for another long moment. "And you want to pull Raphael into this Oz place as well?" Araskius nodded wordlessly. For a terrible moment, I was afraid Leo was going to forbid it, when he suddenly nodded and stepped away. "Just remember this, Araskius," the clearly nervous man glanced at my brother with uncertainty. "If any harm comes to my brother while you are 'drawing' him here, as you say, I will take it upon myself to rectify the situation."
I'm not entirely sure Araskius understood his exact meaning, but the threat was evident. Araskius visibly gulped before gesturing at me to place my hand on Coranthi's head.
Melding with Raph's mind was a little more, er, eventful, than merging with Leo's. For one thing, whereas Leo's mind had been relatively clear and focused on one thing, Raphael's was full of emotion: namely, rage. It took me a moment, but I realized that he was bending over the limp body of my oldest brother. That's when it struck me. Perhaps we should have brought Raph through first. No telling how angry my second oldest brother could get at having all three of his brothers so rudely taken from him.
There was no time to lose. RAPH! I was elated when Raph immediately jerked up, clearly looking for the source of the voice. He cast his gaze to where my body still lay prone on the table before shaking his head in disbelief and returning his attention to Leo. That's when I realized he was performing CPR.
I hadn't even known Raph knew CPR. RAPH, LISTEN TO ME! I wasn't exactly sure why I was shouting, but I was desperate to get his attention. Once again, Raph's head jerked up, but he must have realized just whom the voice belonged to.
"Donnie?" It was odd hearing the voice coming from the mouth of the body I was occupying. It was the same as when I spoke. Yet, this wasn't my body, and now I was seriously weirded out. "That you?"
Yes and no, Raph. Now, how to explain this completely unbelievable occurrence to my hotheaded brother without setting him off and making him act true to his nickname? It's me, but I'm not actually there. I paused. Should I tell him the next part? I'm in your head.
That made Raph pause. "Great," I heard him mutter. "Now I'mma goin' crazy. Stupid auditory hallucinations," I might have been shocked that Raph knew that term if he hadn't wheezed in pain and collapsed to the floor in a heap at that moment.
Don't fight it! I cried mentally, willing that Raph, for once, would listen to reason. Just give in! When you wake up, Leo and I will be right here!
I could feel my brother's resolve failing. All three of his brothers were comatose and his master was deep in meditation in an attempt to contact Donatello's spirit. He felt as if he had nothing to lose.
This time, I was prepared for the abrupt feeling of returning to my scarecrow body as I scrambled to my feet and took a step back. Not a second later, Raph's eyes blinked open and he stared up at us. His gaze was unfocused for a moment before he seemed to comprehend who was standing before him. "Donnie?" He turned his head. "Leo?" He turned his head once more and started, although it was a slow jerk since he was still groggy. "Who the *&^% are you?"
"Language, Raphael," Leo quipped. And, just like that, Raph's grogginess was gone and he was on his feet, staring at us. Before he could do or say anything stupid, I threw myself at him much as I had Leo.
Raph caught me up in surprise and I found that my straw-filled feet actually came a good foot or so off the ground. I wrapped my arms around and buried my face in Raph's neck before sobbing out the whole story. I'm sure neither of my brothers had a clue what I was saying, but it made me feel better.
After I had finished bawling my eyes out once more and Raph had replaced my feet on the ground, both of my brothers stood before me, watching Araskius warily out of the corners of their eyes. "Donnie?" Leo was the first to speak. "I couldn't understand much, but I distinctly heard 'Mikey'." His face hardened and he partially knelt down so he was more at my level. "Did something happen?"
I could only smile, my imaginary tear ducts apparently having run dry for now. "Bros, have I got a story for you." I laughed bitterly.
Leo and Raph shared a concerned look before Leo tentatively reached out and took me by the arms. His grip was strong and, being a scarecrow, I was incredibly fragile, and he must have realized that because he immediately loosened his grip. "Where is Mikey?"
My face immediately fell, and I discovered that my imaginary tear ducts were nowhere near dried up. "I don't know." I breathed out, clenching my eyes shut to try to stem the tears before they could pour down my cheeks.
I felt myself being drawn into an embrace and lifted clear off the ground. I barely acknowledged who had picked me up before pressing my face to a metal-plated shoulder and dry sobbing. I felt a rough hand on my shell, and knew that my other brother was there as well. For once, I was actually glad to be a scarecrow. My small, weightless body made it easy for my brothers to hold me. As childish as it was, I wanted nothing more than to be cradled at the moment.
"He's gone," I finally managed to choke out, wrapping my arms around Leo's neck and pressing my face so tightly to his metal-plated shoulder that it hurt. "They took him."
Even though my words were muffled at best and unintelligible at worst, they must have understood, for I could sense my brothers turning as one to face Araskius. "Explain." I heard Leo order harshly.
I heard Araskius draw in a shaky breath before he said. "I am afraid that your brother has been taken to the Witch." My brothers must have looked blank, for he continued. "As in, the Wicked Witch of the West."
"Yer kiddin', right?" Raph demanded.
"Welcome to Oz," I muttered. "Join the party."
AN: And, no, that last part was not an "unexpected plot twist"! That was completely preplanned! Hm, not much of a party though. Unless you consider Mikey getting kidnapped by flying ninja monkeys a fun time. Not sure he would agree, but that's completely okay if you do! I can't say when my next update will be. These chapters are long and I have to work on wrapping up this story. It should be within the next week or so, depending on when I get the inspiration for the next chapter. Anyway, you all know how encouraging and "inspiring" reviews can be! Constructive criticism is always welcome. I just want to know what you think of this so far! Anyway, Zairihannah out! Hehe, I always wanted to say that. Thanks for reading!
