Author's note: Hey, sorry about the long wait. I've been in an area with limited internet access for a while. Anyway, not much action in this chapter at all. Though a little bit of what's going on will be explained. Next chapter though there will be some action. Hope you all enjoy :)
Angel studied the necklace carefully. Sunnie usually wore it under her shirt, so this was really the first time she had ever had a good look at it. Funny considering she'd had it for as long as Angel had known her. It was a relatively simple design: just a ring of metal inscribed with some funny runes and threaded on a single chain. In the centre of the ring sat a smooth, white crystal, which was currently glowing a pearly yellow-white colour.
"Fascinating," Donatello commented. "May I have a look at it?"
Angel nodded before handing it over to Donatello's curious fingers. He took it eagerly, examining every inch of it.
"Amazing," he muttered. "Where'd you get this?"
Angel scuffed her foot, "Well actually, it's not mine. It's Sunita's."
"So who is this Sunita?" Raph asked, his golden eyes narrowing in suspicion.
"Sunnie's my friend. I've known her since I was little," Angel explained. "She's also the reason I was at the Neotech building. You see, my grandma and brother are out of town this weekend so I was going to stay at Sunnie's place. On the way home though, we had to stop at Neotech because her dad needed to meet someone quick. He's the newly appointed director there so he's been working late quite a bit."
Donatello's eyes widened, "You don't mean to say that her father is the Dr John Evans, do you?"
Angel nodded.
"Ah, doctor who?" Michelangelo stared at him blankly.
"Dr Evans," Donnie explained excitedly. "He's revolutionised Neotech with some of the world's leading gadgets. And his ideas for upcoming inventions are inspiring."
"Fascinatin" Raph drawled.
"Guys, could we get back on track?" Leonardo asked. "What happened next Angel?"
Angel sighed, "The Purple Dragons started the fire. I don't know what happened to her dad but Sunnie and I were stuck in the building with them. She used herself as bait to distract them so I could get out and I think she ended up captured. But before she left she gave me her necklace for safe keeping. Said that if the dragons were after her that's what they'd be after. You guys know the rest."
"Whoa, hectic night," Mikey commented.
Leo paced nearby, his hands behind his shell as he thought. Finally, he turned to Donatello, "Hey Donnie, can you work out what's so special about that necklace that Hun would want it?"
"Maybe," Don replied, "but it'll take a while. I've never seen anything like this before."
Master Splinter finally spoke up, "I will help you my son. There is a strange energy about this object, unlike anything I'm familiar with. I wish to pursue it further.
Donatello bent his head, "Thank you Master Splinter." He then turned to the rest of them. "I'll let you know when we find something."
"So what did you find?" Leo asked when Master Splinter and Don re-joined them.
"Quite a bit actually," Donatello replied. He rubbed his eyes, tired from the hours of research he'd just completed. "Let's just say there's a lot more to this necklace than meets the eye."
Master Splinter stood stoically, one hand stroking his chin thoughtfully, "Indeed. It is a conduit of both magic and science."
"Oh cause we've never encountered anything like that before," Raph muttered under his breath.
The others just ignored him.
"I did some research," Donnie continued. "The pendant is actually something known as a Nuikarta, so named by the old tribes of this land. Legend says that a Nuikarta holds a piece of great power, small enough not to affect the power it came from itself, but large enough that should anyone try to take that power for themselves, they cannot. The old tribes used it as a way of protecting their sacred power sources."
"So the necklace is like a key or something to some mysterious power? Mikey asked.
"Exactly."
Leo's grey eyes narrowed, "Well, that would explain why Hun's after it: he wants the power, especially after the Cyber Shredder took out him and his whole gang out. He knows he's no match for the Shredder should he return again and we all know how much that's happened before."
"Not me," Mikey groaned. "I lost count somewhere after 20."
Raphael smacked him upside the head, "That's because you can't count any higher."
Angel looked around at them confused, "That's great, but what has that to do with Sunnie?"
Don answered her, "Well when I examined the pendant, I found a unique link between it and your friend which makes me think that she's this Nuikarta's guardian. I'm not quite sure though. The details on them were scarce and I could only find a couple of mentions about a link and the Nuikarta's having a guardian. So it was just an assumption."
"Well that would make sense," Angel nodded, "seeming as Hun said something about a connection too."
"What?" Don asked confused.
"Hun," Angel explained. "He said in my dream that there…" she trailed off, her mouth going slack. Suddenly the blood ran from her face and she stood up abruptly. "We have to go get Sunnie now!"
Leonardo grabbed her arm, "Wait Angel, slow down. What's going on?"
She looked at him desperately, "You remember how the pendant was glowing? Well, if there's a link between it and Sunnie then what I saw in my dream was real. Which means that she's hurt and in danger."
Leo looked into Angel's panicked eyes, remembering her pained scream before she'd woken up. Turning to Don he asked, "Any way we can find where she is?"
Donatello put an olive hand on his chin, thinking, "Maybe. The link between them seems to give off an electromagnetic pulse. If I hook up the pendant to the photometer in the Battleshell I should be able to calibrate it to pick up the unique photo radiation reading, which we can use to trace Angel's friend."
Leonardo nodded, his blue mask making his determined face almost eerie, "Do it." He turned to Angel, "Don't worry, we'll get your friend out."