The shadow leader emerged in his dark chamber with a satisfactory grin spread across his face. With the girl and the kame in his hands, those ninja would have to fight at their fullest. All the attention would be on them, leaving him and his clan to proceed to their true goal. But to do so, he must revise his plan one more time with his brethren. This must be a foolproof plan. Opened the door leading out from his resting place, the shadow assassin was struck by the sight in front of him: their residence look nothing more than ruin, with assassins rushing back and forth to tend to the wounded. He roared:
- What have you done? What happened here?
- My deepest apologize, my lord – One of his minions stopped in his track to answer him – The human girl and the kame have escaped.
- WHAT? You imbecile! How could they escape when they have those cursed cuffs on them? – He grabbed the poor creature by the neck, squeezing it.
- Ack… They fooled us… We underestimated them… - The small assassin choked on his words.
The shadow leader threw his minion away in fury. It was careless of him to leave them unattended properly. He did expect them to do as much, but not to the extent that his lair was destroyed. The leader shouted to those around him:
- All of you incompetent! Spread out! Find them, no matter what it takes! Otherwise, we have to put our plan into motion early. Get rid of those incapacitated! I have no use of them anymore.
All the wounded soldiers around quickly rose to their feet. They didn't want to be eliminated just yet. They rather faced the ninja than the wrath of their master…
:::
Tenten snapped from her quick slumber only to hear the sound of Raphael sleeping next to her. She checked her fingers, breathed out in relief to see all the wires were still attached to them. Looking over the sleeping turtle, she couldn't resist a shiver, knowing just a moment ago, he made a huge contribution in their escape…
… For a short moment Tenten lost sight of the turtle in front of her thanks to all the debris he created around them. She was told to keep running, but her legs had started to throb. Furthermore, Raphael couldn't go any faster, busying knocking down walls and all, while the assassins just conveniently chased after them with their path cleared. Just as when the kunoichi decided to give up running and turned around facing them, a deafening roar erupted behind her, making the ground shake. The assassins skidded to a stop. None dared to move an inch. All of them were exposed under the moonlight, telling Tenten that they were underground not too deep from the surface. But what still disturbing her was that they're still under a giant shadow. Turning around, the girl's face was immediately drained from blood. Looming over them was a dragon. The hard edge of its wings scrapped the hole it just made, making more rubble fall. The long neck coiled its head down, breathing smoke out of its nostrils. One of its claws gripped tight on the hole, the other slammed the debris under it for support. Its two tails whipping around, sizzling the air as they passed by. For a moment Tenten thought she was seeing one of the legendary tailed beasts in her home world, but then, the red color on the dragon's wings and body quickly reminded her of… - Raphael-san? – She breathed out, goose bumps crawled all over her skin. The dragon replied by letting flame burst out from its mouth. Left with no cover, all the girl could think about was to duck low, hands covering her head. The fire however, was not directed at her. Before she knew it, Tenten already heard agonizing scream erupted all around her. Looking around, she saw assassins running for their lives, fire engulfed them as if it was a living being. The dragon swept the beam of flame one more time around her, pushing their pursuers far away back. One of its tails whipped forward and wrapped around her waist. Before Tenten could let the scream out from her throat, they were already soaring through the sky. - AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! – She dug her nails to the scaly skin of the dragon's tail, holding on for dear life while it flung her around. Raphael, or the dragon that Tenten assumed he summoned, just kept flying without specific direction, making her nauseating. The bile already rose up to her chest. It she didn't do anything soon, she might hurl. Suddenly, without any warning, the giant reptile disappeared, leaving her flailing in the air, plummeting to the ground along with an unconscious turtle. - RAPHAEL-SAN! – She yelled out to him, but receiving no answer. No choice, the girl grabbed for her scroll, unleashing everything she had in there, hoping to find something that could break their fall… …
- Ugh…
Tenten turned to the sound, seeing the red clad turtle had come back to consciousness. He ran a hand over his throbbing head:
- Ow… feel like an elephant just ran over me…
- That would be an understatement considering the dragon, Raphael-san – Tenten helped him to some water – You nearly made me faint.
- Not like I had any choice – Raph grunted, trying to sit up – If it wasn't for the dragon, those bozos could have caught us.
- You sound really like some guys I know – Tenten mused, remembering Lee and Naruto, her friends in green and orange – They always overdo stuff, but not to the point you did. Where did you summon that dragon anyway?
- Summon? No, I was the dragon!
Seeing the shock in her eyes, Raph quickly explained about his mystic power and his avatar. Tenten was amazed of the turtle's power and origin, and now it was her turn to feel relieved that she didn't make an enemy out of him. Even without his 'amplification amulet', his dragon avatar could make short work of her. Raph glanced around:
- Where are we?
- In the middle of nowhere, I guess. I don't know where we are so I didn't want to move us around. It's best we wait until morning, have you rested up, and if you can turn into a dragon again, we can fly high to see over the forest.
- Ya picked a really nice place – Raph commented on the exposed ground where they were – If those goons find us, it's over.
- Not to worry. See here? – She showed him her fingers full of wires tied to them – I set traps all around us. I'll know right away if they come. You can get some sleep.
- Ya can't expect me ta let a girl watching for me, do ya?
- If you're tired and can't turn to your 'avatar' – Tenten quoted with her fingers – it'll take us more time to get out of here. Just go to sleep. I'll catch some shut eye on your back when you carry me out of here, dragon-turtle-boy.
Convinced, the emerald turtle lied back down and closed his eyes. Raph didn't know if sleep would come to him, but at least he could let his body rested up and restored enough juice for him to take them both back to safety…
:::
Leonardo rested his shell against the balcony, focusing on his mystic power. He let himself be drifted to the astral plane, hoping to find his red clad brother in spirit. Don had tried the shell cell, but it was out of range. And with all the magic barriers surrounding the Battle Nexus, the signal was heavily disturbed. It showed how highly skill the shadow leader was when he's able to slip past all the defenses of the Daimyo.
Speaking of the ruler of this dimension, Leo couldn't help but feel disappointed. He and master Splinter both set them all up, risking their safety, and now two of his brothers had to pay for it. Leo understood about how danger these assassins could be, but risking their lives? He wondered if it's worth it…
A slight tap on the balcony behind him pulled the turtle back to reality. Looking out, he saw Neji sat comfortably on the edge.
- Can't sleep? – The boy in white asked.
- I guess none of us could. – Leo rose to his feet and stretched – Not when your comrade and my brother were abducted.
- Yes. I'm afraid we have no choice but to do as that creature said.
- I don't think he'll let them go even if we do end up killing each other though – Leo frowned – But without knowing where they are, we can't do anything.
Leo curled his hands into fists. The disappointment of his sensei had turned into anger about himself. If only he didn't leave Raph and Don's side, Raph wouldn't be held hostage, and they still had a chance to turn the table on the assassins. He had no one to blame but himself…
- Don't blame yourself over what happened! – Neji said.
- What? I… I don't…
- My eyes can see many things, Leonardo-san, and I can see clearly that you're worried about your brother. But blaming yourself won't solve anything. Instead, why don't you show a little trust in Raphael-kun?
- What do you mean? Don't you worry about your friend Tenten? – Leo asked incredulously.
- I do, but I also believe in her. She's the best weapon specialist Konoha ever have, and she has many tricks up her sleeves, literally – Neji smiled – I don't think those assassins who can vanish to the dark would be a problem for her.
- You're that confident about your teammate? What if she can't make it?
- We're all ninja, we're prepared for loss – Neji stared into Leo's eyes. Seeing the shocked in them, the Hyuuga boy added – But it doesn't mean I won't mourn for my comrade it they die. Until that time, I just keep believing in them.
- How can you be so optimistic? – The gaze in Leo's eyes had softened, but worries still showed.
- A very good friend of mine taught me to believe in myself, in my friends, and to never give up – Neji recalled Naruto, a certain friend in orange of his – It was difficult at first, but I came to. Don't you trust your brother, Leonardo-san?
- I do – Leo answered instantly – it's just…
- If you're still worries, that means you haven't trust him enough. From what I observed during my match with Raphael-kun, I doubt he'd give up knowing his brothers are in danger. And with his ability and Tenten's weapon, they can hold their ground against those shadow assassins.
- I… guess you're right – Leo felt the knots inside him untied themselves. If a stranger like Neji could believe Raph that much, why couldn't he?
The door to Leo's room suddenly burst open, entering a steaming Michelangelo, with Don, Usagi and the healer right behind him. All three tried their best to hold back the orange clad turtle to no avail, since he continued his advancing toward Leo, body shining with mystic mark.
- Mikey? What are you doing? You're supposed to be resting! – Leo walked up to stop him in his track.
- He rushed to you the moment I completed my healing – The healer panted, his fingers slipping from Mikey's arm – We tried to stop him…
- How did this happen? – Mikey barked – How could you let them got Raph?
- Michelangelo-san, restrain yourself! – Usagi desperately clung to the turtle's shell – I understand your frustration, but you're not helping your brother by acting like this.
- I'm sorry, Leo – Don held on Mikey's other arm – I was talking with Usagi when he heard us.
- Michelangelo! Stop this right now! – Leo ordered.
Something in the voice of the leaf-green turtle shot through the mist clouding Mikey's mind, making him stop, the orange wind mark slowly faded. The three of his restrainers slowly released him. Leo put a hand on the youngest turtle, looking into his sky-blue eyes:
- I know you're worried about Raph. We all do. But we're not alone. The ninja team we thought is enemy also lost their friend to those shadow assassins. We can work this out together, but only if you get a hold of yourself.
- I… I'm sorry – Mikey let his head sank – I just… never feel so useless…
- Keeping yourself calm is already a contribution to us – Neji stepped up to speak with the young turtle – We don't know how we will deal with these dark creatures yet, but panic can only lead us right into their hands.
The orange clad turtle took a deep breath, letting steam evaporate from his head. How stupid of him thrashing around while Raph was being held at god-knows-where, he couldn't be sure if Raph's even alive. Leo gently asked:
- Mikey, do you trust Raph?
- What? Of… of course I do.
- Then just as you trusted me when I was in the coma after the fight with Shredder, trust Raph that he'll make it back to us. In the mean time... – Turning to Neji, Leo continued - … We can stall in tomorrow's match for the search team to find Raph and Tenten.
- Search team? What team? – Don asked incredulously.
Instead of answering, Leo glanced at Mikey and beamed a half-smile. The orange clad turtle stared back in confusion, but then his eyes brightened up when he realized…
- There's no need for a team. I can do this alone. – Mikey steeled his voice.
- No! You mustn't! – The healer protested – You just recovered from fatal exhaustion.
- Leo, what were you thinking? – Don couldn't believe what he heard.
- No, Donnie. Leo's right when he's asking me – Mikey calmly stopped him – As far as I know, I'm the fastest one in this room when I have my mystic power activated. I can cover more ground than any troop. I'll find them and bring them back.
- I admire you determination, Michelangelo-san, but this is foolish even for you. I am disappointed, Leonardo-san – Usagi shook his head.
- I know this will put a lot of stress on my brother, Usagi, not to mention the danger out there waiting for him. But I trust Mikey, just as much as I trust Raph'll will come back. And if you're worried about Mikey being worn out, prepare to take care of him when he gets back. I'm counting on all of you.
While saying the last sentence, Leo was looking right at Don. The purple clad turtle had never seen such confidence in Leo's eyes, not even when he convinced them to focus to take on the Tengu Shredder. For a moment, Don believed that if Leo told him to become a miracle worker, he might be able to do it. Slowly nodded, Don said:
- Alright, I'll see what I can do, but only after all of us get some rest. You and I still have to fight Lee and Neji here tomorrow.
With that, they all retreated to their rooms, while Mikey was insisted to have another check-up by the healer. Leo turned to Neji just as he was backing out on the balcony:
- How's that for trusting? – The turtle grinned.
Neji just threw a smile at the turtle before jumping down to the void. No matter what the outcome of the battle tomorrow, he wouldn't regret meeting these fantastic turtles…
