I'm pleased to let you all know that I've now finished this chapter and am looking forward to creating more. As I post this I have already begun writing the following chapter and finished laying the outline of the rest of the story, in addition to the one that will follow. I will shortly be announcing to you all the title of the following story, as I intend to write at least another five of them to follow this one, so I hope that I have the interest of some of you to keep reading my work. If you have the time, please leave me a review and tell me what you think.


Chapter Nine

They took turns watching over her as the night slowly gave way to the early morning hours. Without knowing the extent of her head injury they dared not move her from the couch, but instead focused on attempting to keep her warm enough that her body would begin to heal itself without the worry of trying to keep her alive as well. Within the first two hours of his watch Leo had abandoned the cloth across her forehead and instead piled two more blankets atop her body. By the time Mikey came and took up Leo's position beside her at five o'clock they knew that something had taken control of the lair and shifted everything away from their normal patterns.

There was precious little that could get Mikey out of bed at such an hour.

It was oddly quiet around the lair, with everyone moving about as if they were already preparing for a funeral of some kind and thus remained silent out of respect for the dead. It was only when six o'clock appeared that the sounds of Raphael in the dojo could be heard as he continued to beat up on the punching bag that Donatello had replaced only two days before. The sound resonated through the lair for almost three hours before he finally called it quits.

Shortly before noon Don moved into the living room and put his hand on Mikey's shoulder, a silent signal that he would take up watching over her fragile form so that he could rest or do whatever else it was that his body required of him after sitting so such a long period of time. And so proceeded the day beneath the sewers of New York City as four giant turtles and a rat cared for the injured human who had been brought into their midst. She was left for only short periods of time so that someone could wander into the kitchen and replenish their body with food and water before they returned to her side, eyes carefully trained to the gentle rise and fall of her chest to ensure that she was still alive. Otherwise there was someone there almost constantly, each lost in their own thoughts of how she had come to be a part of his individual life. It was a strange phenomenon, knowing that her presence was sure to change absolutely everything they had known before. After all, how often did someone get to say that they had an unconscious vigilante in their living room?

Come five o'clock in the evening, Raphael had arrived to take his turn beside her. He spoke not a word to Donatello as he came to hover around the couch with his arms crossed firmly over his chest, but the message rang loud and clear. The time had come for him to take his watch over her unconscious body and he didn't want anyone to make a fuss or ask him questions that he had no intention of answering. And though he had several questions that he wished to ask, Don knew that he was further ahead to just bow out gracefully and let the matter lie for the time being.

There would come a time for answers later.

But as he wandered around the lair for the next several hours, Don took careful note of what he saw in his brother as he continued to stand his guard. She was safe within the walls of their home, there was no doubt of that. And yet Raph continued to keep himself close, eyes darting around at the slightest sign of movement as if he were expecting some other kind of attack that he would need to defend her from. To see him so protective around someone aside from his brothers made Don pause for a moment, wondering what it was about this girl that sparked such an instinct in the brother who was better known for his stubborn streak and rebellious nature than the stoic stance that he had adopted as of late. Perhaps it was guilt, Don thought to himself. However it was that Raph had come to follow her over the last few nights…well, he hadn't been in the park during the beginning of the attack. Maybe that was what was bothering him now.

Knowing better than to broach the subject with his brother, Donatello continued on his way and retreated back to his own little world so that Raph could continue to look over the girl in peace. There was little else they could do for her until she woke, or things became so dangerous that they were forced to take her to a hospital on the surface, which was something they didn't want to consider if they could avoid it. Attempting to take her to other humans in order to see her trusted into their care was a precarious thing for giant turtles.

Throughout the hours that followed there were several offers of relief, but Raphael shook his head at them all and spoke not a word. None of the others understood the determined look on his face, nor did they question it. Leo thought to ask once, but thought better of it as soon as he caught sight of the heavy frown that had placed itself on his brother's brow. An argument between them was not appropriate right now. Master Splinter would surely admonish them soundly for causing such unrest while their patient was present.

As the clocks chimed ten, however, Raphael could feel the weariness begin to overtake him. Five solid hours he had been by her side, and yet there seemed to be no change in her at all. There were still the gentle movements of her chest to tell him that air was still being brought into her lungs but that was it. There was no movement, no improvement in colour…nothing that might tell him that there was a reason for him to be hopeful about her recovery. Damn it, he thought to himself as he grit his teeth together. If only he hadn't been so stupid. He should have gone back to the apartment and followed her to her destination, not just assumed that she would again go down to the docks to look around for whatever it was that had caught her attention. That was the reason she was laying before him all beaten up for a second time.

His eyes closed tightly against the haunting images of the memory he did his best to erase, his thumb and forefinger reaching up to rub at the corners of his eyes as if that too might help to keep the guilt he felt at bay. It was years ago, he reminded himself, a day that neither of them were likely keen to remember. So why was he torturing himself with the past?

It was only by hearing a gentle moan that the dark skinned turtle allowed himself to be pulled from his thoughts, hand falling away from his face and body leaning forward as he stared down at the girl he had dared to bring down into his world. No, he hadn't been hearing things. Her brow twitched slightly as she fought to open her eyes and her head turned slightly in his direction as another moan escaped her lips, confirmation that she was indeed finally waking up after nearly twenty-four hours of unconsciousness. For a moment he considered calling out to the others to alert them to the change, but he instantly thought better of it. He'd scare her if he did that, and that was the last thing that he wanted to do.

And when at last she did open her eyes he could feel his heart stop for just an instant. That was when he realized that her gaze rested solely on him.

"Hey," he murmured gently in a tone that was almost alien to him. "How you feelin', kid?"

He disregarded the fact that he was clearly not the human being she would have expected to see upon waking from a coma, momentarily forgetting that his form was not customary to the world in which she lived. But if there was any sort of fear or uncertainty in her head that might have caused her to panic at the sight of him, he didn't see a trace of it in her eyes. Instead she blinked up at him as her eyes readjusted themselves to the light in the room and stared for a moment. No fear, no doubt…just a deep consideration of what she was looking at.

"You…"

Not understanding, Raph tilted his head a little to look at her through the red fabric of the mask that was pulled tightly across his face. Maybe she had been hit in the head harder than he thought.

"You're gonna be okay," he told her, reaching out with one hand until he caught himself and thought better of it. No point in scaring her, he thought to himself. "You just got a little roughed up, that's all."

Destiny blinked quickly again and turned her head a little to take in her surroundings, fingers twitching against the material of the couch that she found herself to be laying on while the exposed skin of her arms registered the fabric of a blanket. Or several, as it seemed, since the weight was significantly more than it would have been for just one blanket. But the space above her head didn't resemble the interior of her apartment at all, and she knew that the turtle sitting by her side wasn't Leo either. Not only was the mask the wrong colour and his weaponry different, but his tone of voice and phrasing were completely off as well.

That made three.

She shifted her hands and attempted to push herself upward, but was quickly hit with a sharp pain in her side that forced her back down onto the couch with a hiss. Her guardian was rather quick to react as well, slipping an arm under her back as a means of support regardless of which way she ended up going. A few short breaths assured her that the pain would subside after a moment and her eyes flickered to the side where she saw him smirk down at her from where he knelt at her side.

"Yeah, shoulda warned you about that," muttered the turtle in a slightly apologetic tone. "You've been out for about a day and you took a bit of a beating in the park. Donnie thinks you've bruised your ribs."

A day? She had been unconscious for a whole day?! That meant that Friday night was finally upon them and her prey would shortly be down at the docks to obtain their shipment. So what the hell was she doing? She needed to get the hell out of there and across town before they got away. She couldn't allow those chemicals to be taken, but she sure as hell wanted to know what they were being used for by the company who had purchased them.

The brunette quickly shook her head, gritting her teeth in preparation for the discomfort she would shortly feel as she tried a second time to sit upright. "I'm fine."

A bit of a lie, considering the amount of energy it took for her to lift her body from the couch. Even with the help that her guardian provided she was almost breathless by the time she made it, hunched over and breathing as heavily as one who had just finished a marathon. The movement was enough to make the blanket slide from her torso, revealing many of the bruises that had been earned the night of the attack in the park. Well, looking like a human canvas wasn't exactly what she had intended to come out of that looking like, but better that than another pretty corpse in a body bag.

"Thank you."

He was a little caught off guard and gave his head a bit of a shake. "For what?" he asked her.

"I know you're the one who fought them off in the park," came the response, a touch of a smile at the corners of her lips as she cast a sideways glance in his direction. "And I know that you've been following me. I owe you my life."

To cover the slight confusion that he felt at her thanks, the turtle scoffed a little. "Yeah well, I hear you saved Leo. So we'll call it even, okay?"

"Leo?"

The name seemed to register with the girl almost immediately and caused her to turn her head as if she expected to see him walk over to her at any moment. Oh boy, if he saw her now that she was awake she knew she would be in a bit of trouble. Being unconscious had made it rather difficult for her to heal any part of her body that had been injured during her fight with the Purple Dragons, and now that she was awake she barely had the energy to get herself upright, never mind deal with the pretty colours that were sure to be all over her body. And based on the aches and pains she could feel just from where she sat she knew that she had taken a couple of good solid hits that night. Perfect, she thought. Just bloody perfect.

"Hey, you're awake!"

No way, she thought as the voice rang through the lair and was immediately recognized by her brain. She'd heard it a few times in the past, enough times for his tonality to register with her and become one that she could pick out in a crowd. And sure enough when the girl turned her head yet again there was another giant turtle walking up to her with a bright smile of relief plastered against his face. Only this one wore a mask of purple fabric, the back of his shell adorned by a long shaft of wood that Destiny knew to be a bo staff, a very specific choice of weaponry used by those who studied to be ninjas a long time ago.

"Don," she said quietly, blinking a few times to make sure she wasn't seeing things. "As in…Donatello?" He nodded quietly as he approached her and knelt down on her other side, giving her a moment to turn her eyes over to the first turtle she had seen after waking up. "Let me guess…that would make you Raphael, right?"

Despite himself, Raph couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah, that's me alright."

"Renaissance men," she muttered to herself. "Someone has a sense of humour."

Another bout of soft laughter moved between them until Destiny felt another sharp stab in her side and hunched forward, wrapping one of her arms tightly around her abdomen as her hand applied pressure to the offending spot. In an instant the laughter died as both brothers lurched in her direction to try and steady her, each with their own look of concern. As gently as he could Donatello reached forward and lifted up the side of her shirt as he pried her fingers away from the side of her body, examining the wound that he had had to bandage up when she had first been brought down to him. She'd torn the skin again and started to soak the bandage clean through. He'd need to swab the area again to rid it of possible infection before he changed the gauze.

"Just sit here and relax, okay?" he said, pushing himself back to his feet again. "I need to grab my kit so I can clean that up for you."

Only when she started to breathe a little easier again did Raphael release his grip on her upper body. "I'll let Master Splinter know she's okay," he said slowly, keeping his eyes on her. "Don't do anything stupid while we're gone."

"I make no promises."

The two of them seemed to accept the weak smile that touched the corners of her mouth as truth, for it took them only a second more of observing her before they each turned their backs and began to walk away in their desired directions. There was only one moment when Raph turned his head to glance back at her, but he quickly disappeared around a corner and out of sight just as Don did, which left Destiny to her own devices. The instant they were gone, she started to move, forcing her back into a painful standing position while struggling to make as little noise as possible so that they would not return before she had vanished.

Time was of the essence. The glow of a nearby clock had warned her of the late hour as soon as she had come to realize what day of the week it was, though she had struggled to ensure that her realization did not show in her face. If there was even the slightest hint that she might be planning to leave she knew they never would have left her alone as they had. But they wouldn't understand, she told herself. This was something that she needed to do regardless of what physical state she was in. She couldn't allow the Purple Dragons to get hold of that shipment, nor could she allow it to travel to Powers Incorporated without her knowledge of what the chemicals were going to be used for. Her own personal experiences of the past already knew that they were for nothing good…and she wouldn't allow it to happen again.

Now standing, it took Destiny a moment to find her balance and shake off the swimming vision that took control of her eyes for a moment before she dared to take a step forward and winced at the movement. Damn, tonight was going to be rather difficult to handle. If she managed to find her way out of this place and back into the streets without being caught by the band of brothers, that in itself would be a miracle.

She took a deep breath to prepare herself and wrapped her arm around her side once more before she started off, gritting her teeth against the throbbing pain that she began to feel beneath the pressure of her hand. There wasn't enough strength in her to use any of her abilities to help guide her out of the sewer system – she'd have to move as far as she could until she made it to a ladder that likely lead to the surface and hope that it didn't bring her out in the middle of a busy street. That was all she could do. But she wasn't going to miss that rendezvous.

They weren't going to get away.

He was absolutely relieved to hear that she had finally woken from her coma, knowing that the dangers were likely behind her and she would now slowly begin to heal from her injuries. Raph had popped his head into his room only a few moments before to let Leo know of the change in their patient before he carried on to tell Master Splinter, a gesture that Leo found to be oddly reassuring from his rebellious younger brother. Very seldom did Raphael ever pass news onto Leo in such a genuine manner, for his speech was normally laced with some kind of sarcasm or disgruntled tone that immediately told him that one of the others had sent him on an errand to find the rest of his brothers. Unless of course there was some serious shell to raise somewhere. Then Raph was all for getting his brothers together to go topside.

But as he walked back into the living room area, he immediately knew that something wasn't right. There were no signs of life within the room aside from himself, no gentle breathing or movement from the couch that might tell him of her conscious state. To the railing of the second floor he raced until he had a clear view of the empty couch below.

"RAPH! DONNIE!"

He leapt over the edge of the railing with ease and landed on the balls of his feet, steadied by a hand to the floor before he sprung upright again and bolted to the side of the couch to stare down at the empty space in confirmation. The blankets that had previously covered her unconscious body had been moved and pushed to the far edge of the couch, but there was no sign of Destiny at all. Had he not seen her for himself he might have thought that perhaps the entire thing had been a figment of his imagination…but the turtle knew better. Panic consumed him as he looked up to see the others approach at a run, each one wearing their own look of concern when they realized why it was that their brother had called out to them.

"She's gone?!"

"Please tell me you didn't just leave her here," Leo said, turning to look at his brothers.

Donatello groaned, planting his hand firmly against his face. "We did," he admitted sheepishly. "We should have known better."

"So why did you do it?!" Leo demanded.

"Hey, I came to let you know she was awake," Raph countered darkly, tension beginning to mount in his body. "Would you rather I left you in the dark?"

"If it meant she would still be sitting here then yes!"

"Whoa, dudes!" Mikey interjected, placing himself between his two brothers with arms outstretched in case their quarrel mounted to blows. "It's not like we expected her to get all that far, you know? She was kind beat up."

"And it's not like we don't know where she's going," Donatello agreed. "If we hurry we might be able to find her before she reaches the surface."

"Then what the shell are we waiting for?"

"You must go, now."

The turtles all turned in unison to see their sensei standing before them with his hands folded neatly behind his back, dark eyes locked upon their figures as if he were scrutinizing the squabble that had erupted between them. His stare was enough to make them all look slightly uncomfortable from where he stood motionless on the floor, the only movement coming from the shifting of his eyes as he looked between his four sons.

"This girl is the reason that Leonardo is still with us," he said briskly, tail swishing slightly around his feet. "We cannot allow her to pursue this dangerous path, or she will risk the loss of her own life in her current condition. You know where she is going?"

Donatello nodded. "Yes, sensei."

"Then you must bring her back," spoke the rat. "For you owe her a debt, my son."

Leo's brow hardened almost instantly. "I will bring her back, Master Splinter."

"Then go."

No further words were required for the four brothers to turn on their heels and race out into the maze of sewers that they had come to know so well. More time had been wasted in argument than was needed to accomplish the task they had set out to do, which was the only reason that Master Splinter had stepped in to guide them when he had. He hated to think of what untold dangers the girl was heading into, and the reasons for doing so eluded him as well. But if his sons were to work together and act quickly then there was still a chance that they could prevent further harm from coming to her and thus hopefully allow for her to be returned to their care until she was fit enough to leave once more. But they would have to hurry. There wouldn't be a much time to waste.