A/N Sorry if there are too many spelling/grammar errors here. I have to leave for class, but I wanted to get the next chapter up before I went. Enjoy. Oh, and just to tell you, no actual dogs were killed in the making of this chapter. Their stunt doubles performed all the action scenes, and then they went on to have roles in well recieved family movies. ;)


As it started to become dark, Leo began looking for a place to hole up for the night. Under other circumstances he might have been tempted to keep moving, given that as a turtle his night vision was naturally better than his human pursuer, and because as a ninja Leo was quite accustomed to maneuvering through the dark. Two things prevented him from making that choice tonight, however. First was his wounded leg; it was extremely painful, and Leo welcomed the chance to get off of it, even if only for a few hours. Secondly was the time of year. With it being fall, as the sun began to sink, so did the temperature. His system already slightly compromised by the wound to his leg, added to his natural cold-blooded nature, Leo knew he would be putting himself at risk to continue on in the cold of the night. No, it would be far better if he stopped now and found a place to hide, even if only for a couple of hours.

Looking around him, Leo debated between the safety of trying to sleep up in a tree, versus the potential for greater warmth if he slept on the ground. Eventually, Leo settled on the tree. True, it wouldn't be nearly as warm or comfortable, but if Babbot continued his hunt into the night (something Leo was praying desperately that he wouldn't do), then there was less chance he would get spotted if he were up in a tree. Besides, he didn't want to get caught cornered and unaware on the ground if Babbot were to come upon him during the night. Leo was lucky in that, since this was private land, there were a number of ancient evergreen trees, with branches still covered in green foliage large enough for him to rest as least semi-securely on. Choosing a likely tree, Leo took out his katanas and began creating a nest of evergreen boughs. This was intended to serve two purposes: to hide him should Babbot pass by in the night, and to insulate the turtle at least somewhat against the cold night air.

His task completed the best of Leo's ability, the turtle returned his katanas to their sheaths; only, the left one refused to slide properly into place. Puzzled, Leo removed the sheath from his back. Setting the sword on the branch beside him, Leo turned the sheath upside down and shook it gently. Into his hand fell a small, oddly shaped package. Slowly unfolding the unexpected find, Leo couldn't help but smile at the irony. In his hand was one of the emergency foil camping blankets; the ones used to preserve body heat should one get lost in the wilderness. What Leo couldn't figure out was how it had gotten into his sheath in the first place.

No sooner had the thought passed through his mind than Leo was hit by an apparent vision. As clearly as if he was standing back in the Lair watching them in person, Leo watched as the Brats approached his equipment, the small package in Mikey's hand. Leo knew without being told that the two turtles had found all of Donny and Donatello's worries about Leo becoming too cold rather humorous, and so had planned to place the emergency blanket in Leo's pouch of first aid supplies as a joke. Before they could do so however, they heard someone coming, and rather hurriedly stuffed the package down inside Leo's sheath instead. Just then, Leo saw himself enter the room and give his two too innocent looking brothers a probing look before dressing. To all appearances, this had taken place the night of the party, which would explain why Leo hadn't found the blanket until now; he hadn't used that particular katana until tonight when he was hacking down branches for his bed.

A small grin on his face, Leo wrapped himself up in the blanket, careful to make sure the reflective foil could not be seen through the screen of his evergreen bed. As Leo drifted off to sleep, the residual feel of his brothers' love, coming from the blanket, did more to keep Leo warm that night than the blanket on its own ever could.

TMNTTMNT

When Leo next awoke, he was surprised to find the sun just barely peeking through the trees. If he had been asked the night before, he would have bet on either his inability to sleep the whole night through, or on Babbot's finding him, despite his precautions. Well, Leo decided, he was grateful that whoever or whatever was responsible for looking after the welfare of teenage mutant ninja turtles had decided to keep a close eye on him last night. Gingerly, for his leg was still exceedingly sore, Leo leapt to the ground. He was in the process of folding the emergency blanket back up to store in his first aid pouch, when the sound of dogs howling reached his ears, much closer than they had been the day before. Leo cursed silently to himself. Either Babbot had spent the night out here, or he'd gotten an early start this morning for him to be so close. With no time to waste, Leo dropped the blanket and took off further into the woods. He knew the blanket would provide a great hint that Babbot was on the right track, but as close as Babbot already was Leo doubted that the crazed tracker would really need it.

After dodging around trees on the ground for a few yards, Leo took to the trees once more. That was slower going, but at least it might confuse the dogs at least a little bit. Besides, Leo decided, he was only going to continue in this same direction for just a few hours more. Hopefully by then he would have led Babbot far enough away from the house that Leo would be able to back track some and make his run towards the house without Babbot being the wiser.

TTTT

Two hours later, James Babbot found himself somewhere between admiring his prey, and hating its guts. This was the first time since James had turned his own older brother loose in his playing field that someone had managed to avoid capture before nightfall. And although he knew he was closer than he'd been the day before, James acknowledged that he was nowhere near cornering his quarry. Still, the hunter knew it was only a matter of time. After all, he'd found his beautiful little trap back in the field, fresh blood still staining its teeth. The turtle was seriously wounded, and by the end of the day the creature would be feeling the affects of a second day without food or water. And without that hand-dandy little emergency blanket he'd found a ways back, after tonight, which was forecasted to be the coldest yet this season, the cold-blooded reptile would certainly be suffering from exposure. A cold, bloodthirsty grin on his face, James pushed onward, deeper into the woods.

TTTT

Two hours later, Leo made a turn away from his easterly course toward the north. His tentative plan was to travel this direction for a while, before heading back toward the west. He was hoping that by doing this he might be able to skirt around that blasted open field that had caused him so much trouble the day before. Unbeknownst to Leo, however, his leg wound had opened up once more, due to the exertion he was putting forth, and the bandage had soaked through with blood, which meant he was leaving a very clear trail of smudged blood behind him; a trail that Babbot's dogs had found with no difficulty, and now were tracking with expert ease.

TTTT

Leo timed his arrival back at the meadow for just before dusk. Having been unable to find a way around the blasted clear space, Leo had decided that this would be the best time of day to make his way back across. It would still be light enough for him to be able to look out for anymore nasty little surprises, but the waning light would make it difficult for the nutcase following him to see him clearly. As for the dogs, well, Leo had a permanent solution for getting them off his trail if it came to that.

He was, once again, across the accursed expanse when trouble hit. From behind him came the sounds of barking and growling; and they were coming fast. Swiftly considering his choices, Leo decided to make his stand where he was. Moving the trees would only inhibit his swords. He had barely had time to brace himself, when the three dogs came flying out of the grass. The first dog was dispatched with ease, a single slice of his katana cutting through its jugular as it jumped at him. The other two dogs, however, proved far more difficult. Attacking en masse, Leo was only able to stop one of them before the other latched onto his left forearm with his teeth. Leo could feel that the animal's bite was deep, as its teeth were grating against the bones of his arm.

With a strangled cry, Leo raised his good arm and quickly stabbed it into the creature's head, right where the spine and the skull came together, killing the animal instantly. Still, even with the unfortunate animal dead, Leo had to pry its jaw apart in order to free his arm. Leo didn't have time to stop and regain his breath, for no sooner had he freed himself, than the dirt at his fit was kicked up by a bullet. Acting on instinct, Leo turned and dove for the cover of the trees. He almost made it; a bullet caught him in the upper shell, directly in line with the old shoulder wound he'd arrived with in his new family's dimension nearly two years ago. At that point, Leo gave up on stealth. From now on, this was going to be a race to determine just who was faster, and now triply wounded, Leo was beginning to have doubts about his ability to win.