A/N: My extreme apologies for this terribly late update. I was stuck on this fight scene and it still didn't come out like I wanted. *sigh*
Karai tapped a finger against her chin. "Well?"
The Foot soldier knelt before her. "The blackout seems to cover the entire block, Mistress."
"Turn on the generators."
"Yes, Mistress." The soldier bowed again and left the large thrown room.
Karai frowned. Standing, she began to pace back and forth. Something feels off. This is no mere blackout. Focusing inwardly, she stretched out her senses. There! That aura! Her eyes snapped open. "Leonardo is here. But why?" Anger boiled inside her. How dare he intrude here after sending her father into exile!
The lights blazed to life and she hit a button on the throne that brought up the security monitors. She frowned as she flipped through the screens. Nothing seemed to be out of order, but that didn't mean they didn't have intruders. As she flipped back through the multiple screens, one suddenly blacked out. She half growled as she slammed her fist into the alarm. "Leonardo!" Standing, she grabbed her katana from beside her seat. The Elite Foot suddenly appeared and she waved a hand at them. "Go find them!"
They disappeared as she made for the large doors. The guards outside saluted her and one spoke. "Mistress? What would you have us do?"
"Follow me." She started up the hall, her eyes cold. "We will rid ourselves of these turtles once and for all."
Leo gasped when the alarm sounded. He knew they hadn't tripped one so far, but maybe shorting out the camera was a bad idea. Throwing caution to the wind, he spun on his heels. "Donnie! Did you find it!"
Don clutched the transporter device in his hand. "Yes!"
"Then let's get out of here!" Leo started for the vent they'd came out, only to find Casey half way out of it. He paused to glance over his shoulder at his youngest brother. "Come on, Mikey!"
The orange banded turtle darted across the room as one of the scientist pulled some sort of laser rifle on them. Mikey jumped and flipped, dodging the shots. "Be there in a sec, bro!"
"Hey!" Casey complained as Leo tried to shove him back into the vent.
"We have to go, Casey!" Leo shoved at him again.
"Move it, bonehead!" Raph's voice crackled over the box on Don's waist.
Casey grunted as he was shoved back into the duct. "Whoa!" He shouted as he caught himself from falling straight down the air shaft. Above him, Don scrambled into the shaft followed by Mikey then Leo.
"Let's go!" Leo ordered.
Their decent was more a controlled fall. But it came to an abrupt halt when laser fire came from below them. Their entrance point had been discovered.
"Ah, shell!" Donnie dove into the closest side duct and reached down to yank Casey inside just a blast scorched the wall of the shaft where he'd been dangling. A split-second later Mikey and Leo joined them. "This way guys!" Don started off down the vent.
"Where are we going, Donnie?" Mikey asked from behind Casey.
"If I remember correctly," he turned at a bend in the duct and kicked open a vent, "We should be near the elevator shaft." The vent cover made a small rattle is it tumbled into the shaft. He gave a quick glance out to make sure the car wasn't moving before leaping out and catching one of the elevator cables. The others followed suit and soon all four were hanging from the cables.
"Good job, Don!" Leo praised as they ambled down the ropes to land on top of the elevator car.
"What floor are we on?" Casey looked up the shaft above them.
"This is still the third floor." Don pointed at the number beside the closed doors above them which stated the floor above was four.
"Which means we still have at least three to go before we can get out." Leo frowned at the trap door on the car. "Raph?"
"I'm here, Leo." Came his brother's disembodied voice.
"See if the car is clear."
A moment later, Raph responded. "It's empty."
Leo reached for the hatch, but Don stopped him. "Wait." He grabbed a set of wires on the roof and pulled them loose. "There, now there's no camera."
Leo frowned. They'd already tried that, but somehow they'd been found out anyways. He refrained from pointing this out though and jumped down into the "empty" car where Raph waited unseen. Mikey started to reach for the buttons. "Hold on." Leo turned to Donnie. "What's the closest exit from here."
Don frowned. "The front door."
"Then that's where we are headed."
"But Leo, now that they know we are here, there are sure to be soldiers waiting for us."
"It doesn't matter. We need to get out of here quick. Our exit is cut off. This is the best option. The streets around here are going to still be dark, we can make a run for it. First floor, Mikey."
"You're the boss." Mikey pressed the button and the car moved down. It was eerily quiet as it settled on the main floor. Everyone moved out of sight as the doors slid open.
Raph's voice came over the communicator. "You got about a dozen foot plus little miss Karai in your way, Fearless."
"Karai…" Leo groaned inwardly. So that was how they'd been discovered. He clutched his katana as a familiar voice came through the open doors.
"Leonardo, I know you are there. Show yourselves! Do not behave like cowards!"
"Donnie, you got anything in your bag of tricks to get us out of this one?" Mikey peeked around the edge of the door to see into the foyer beyond.
The genius did a quick mental assessment of his satchel's contents. He frowned. "Actually, no. I had to take out a few things to make room for the EMP."
Mikey groaned. "Oh, great."
Leo glanced into the foyer. "It's fine. Mikey, take out the lights. Everyone else make for the door and don't slow down. Move on my signal." His three companions gave affirming nods.
Karai was growing impatient. "Leonardo!"
Taking a deep breath, Leo exited the car first. "Now!" Mikey was barely a step behind, throwing several shurikens that sent the foyer into darkness.
The Foot converged on them all at once, trying to block their escape. Leo tore a path through them, leading the way towards the exit. But the path was blocked by an angry Karai. Their katanas rang as the met. "What are you doing here, Leonardo! How dare you come here after what you did to my father!"
"I'm not here to fight you, Karai!" Leo shoved her blade away.
Her sword crashed down on him again, forcing him a step back. "Then why? Have you come to steal from me again!" Leo said nothing, only growled. His silence seemed to confirm her suspicion. Her eyes narrowed. "You have stolen from me! Tell me, what did you take this time!"
Leo ducked low, sweeping her leg and sending her to the floor. "Nothing you need to be concerned about. Guys, move it!"
Casey and Don rushed past Leo, leaving a plethora of bodies in their wake. Mikey was not far behind so, Leo darted after Donatello. "Coward!" Karai cried. "Come back and face me!"
Mikey started to rush past her as well, but a soldier came out of nowhere swinging an axe. "Whoa!" He ducked and countered. But the defensive measure had taken a beat too long, as Karai was able to regain her feet. Mikey gasped as he looked up to find her katana swinging in his direction.
She growled as she swung. "At least I will take out one of you!"
Unbeknownst to the Foot Mistress, Michelangelo was not as alone as he appeared. Raph had hung back, making sure his brothers got out safely. And he'd seen Karai get to her feet long before his little brother had. Anger and fear surged through him. For a moment he completely forgot, he couldn't affect the world around him. All he knew was that his brother was in danger. Raph rushed her with every intention of body slamming her to the ground. The effect was not so grand, but it was effective. Karai gasped as if the wind had been knocked out of her and she stumbled back feeling like she'd been punched in the gut.
Mikey's eyes widened and his mouth hung open for a moment. Raph panted from his place on the floor. That had taken a lot out of him. He shot his brother an annoyed look. "Move it, Mikey! I don't think I can do that again!"
As if he'd heard Raph, Mikey suddenly snapped out of his stupor and raced out the front of the building. "After them!" Karai's orders were followed immediately as the few soldiers that remained rushed into the street. When they were gone, she looked around the room. "What was that?"
Raph smirked. "Wouldn't you like to know." Then he was gone, charging off into the night to regroup with his brothers and Casey.
Several blocks away, Leo landed beside Don and Casey. He frowned. "Where's Mikey?"
"Right here, bro!" Mikey landed silently behind him.
Leo let out a breath and then glanced around once more. "Raph, you with us?" The four could have heard a pin drop in the silence that followed. Leo's expression turned to one of concern. "Raphael?"
"He was just with me a few minutes ago." Mikey frowned. "At least I think he was."
Leo started to turn back the way they had come, but Don caught his arm. "What are you going to do, Leo? It's not like you can see Raph or hear him without the communicator."
Casey scowled. "But Raph could be in trouble!"
Leo put up a hand. "No, Don's right. It's not like he can be hurt or spotted. We'll wait here. Raph knows this is where we were to regroup."
"Don't worry, Fearless. I'm right here."
A collective sigh of relief went through the group at Raph's voice. Mikey grinned. "That was pretty awesome what you did to Karai, bro."
"Yeah, well, next time watch your shell, Mike. She coulda took your head off!"
Leo frowned. He could hear the tiredness in his brother's voice. "You okay, Raph?"
"Fine, just glad I didn't have to do that a second time."
Leo gave a small nod. "Let's head home before the Foot catch up with us."
"So, what do you think, Donnie?" Leo watched his brother turn the transporter device over in his hand.
"It looks intact. I'm still going to have to take it apart some in order to create an opening for Raph. I'll have to build a low frequency generator so that-"
Leo put up his hands. "So, that means you can do it, right?"
Don sighed, cutting his explanation short. "Yes, given enough time to build what I need."
"Alright, I can take a hint. I'll let you work. But, Don," Leo frowned, "try to hurry. That creature is in there with Raph. And I have a feeling it's not very friendly."
Don nodded. "I know."
Leo left his genius brother to work in his lab and went to find his youngest brother. He found him in the kitchen preparing dinner. "So, you're not hungry? At all?"
"Nope." The little communicator sat on the table near the chair Raph normally occupied.
Mikey raised an eye-ridge. "Not even for pizza?"
Raph chuckled. "Sorry, bro. I haven't even felt like sleepin' 'cept after Sab bit me."
"What do you know about this Sab, Raph?" Leo moved to his own chair at the table.
"Not a whole lot. But when I did fall asleep for a few minutes I ended up in his dimension somehow." Raph frowned down at his hands. "But I was the same way there too. I couldn't really touch nothin'."
Leo's gaze softened. "Don't worry. We're going to get you out of that void. Don says the transporter should work with a few modifications. He thinks we should be able to open a doorway for you."
It was Raph's turn to frown. "That'll sure attract ol' Sab's attention. He ain't likely to let me out of here without 'im."
Mikey glanced over his shoulder in their direction. "Maybe it wouldn't be such a big deal if he got out."
"From what that mystic guy told me in the other dimension, it sounds like a really bad idea."
Leo's brow furrowed. "What mystic?"
"Okay, so there was this guy or thing or somethin' and he says Sab used to rule his world millions of years ago or somethin'. He said they trapped him in this void because he was destroyin' their world and stuff."
"Did he tell you anything else? Anything useful?"
"He did tell me there's a way to kill 'im. There's these rocks – the guy called 'em fire stones. He said they can kill that slimy creep."
"Are these fire stones something that are in there with you?"
"Nah, I ain't seen nothin' like 'em in here or in our dimension either. But the guy did say Sab had some kinda scepter with them in it when he was banished."
"A scepter, huh?" Leo rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Well, if it isn't in there with Raph, then it has to be here somewhere, right?" Mikey closed the oven and turned around to face Leo and Raph's disembodied voice.
Leo shook his head in dismay. "I don't know, but I don't think it's going to be wise to open that doorway unless Raph or we have some way to fight that creature off."
"Leo, I think if Sab gets out, he's gonna be even stronger than he is in here."
Raph's tone held caution which his brother picked up on quickly. "Why do you say that?"
"When he bit me, even though it was on the astral-plane, I still felt it when I came out of meditation. I don't know exactly what he is, but he's strong, bro."
Leo was very concerned now. If this Sab had a way to affect both the real world and the astral-plane, then he was indeed a powerful creature. "We need to find those fire stones. Can you describe them?"
Raph thought back to mystic's necklace and sword. "The two I saw were kinda long and slender. They were both clear, 'cept for their centers - they were glowin'."
Mikey sat at the table. "Glowing?"
"Yeah, I don't know how else to explain it. It was like there was a real fire inside 'em."
Mikey turned to Leo. "What kind of stones glow?"
Leo's frown had returned. "They're not like the crystals we found here when we moved in?"
"No." Raph let out a heavy sigh. "I wish I could draw ya a picture or somethin'."
"Would you recognize it, if you saw it?"
"Sure."
Mikey snapped his fingers. "I'll be right back!" He rushed out of the room to return a few moments later with one of Don's books. "This is the book Donnie was looking at when he was trying to figure out what those crystals were."
You could hear the frown in Raph's voice. "And how's that gonna help, Mike?"
Mikey thumbed through the book. "Well, if we figure out what it is, then maybe we can figure out where it is."
Leo was skeptical, but it wasn't as if they had any other leads. "Let's not get our hopes up. Most of Donnie's books are out of date."
"I don't think it matters in this case." Raph glanced around to be certain they were alone. "Sab's been trapped in here a really long time."
Leo gave a small nod. "Alright." The three settled down to peruse the thick anthology of stones, crystals, and mineralogy.
A/N: Again I'm sorry for such a long wait. I promise the next one should be out a lot faster. I'm already working on the next chapter. If you're still reading, don't forget to let me know with a review! ^_^
