Mowhaha-Hi there!

So here we go again it seems.Good, it makes me very happy ^^ So there was some bad news in the latest chapter and well, it didn't end well...Poor guysT.T So how will they coop? Will this death be the end of our remaining favorit turtles? O.O Or will they bounce back somehow? O.o What do you think? Are they strong enough to keep on living? Keep on fighting? Do Tell!

Previous Readers, Well... As the latest chapter was all new, than I guess I should tell you that it didn't end there. This tent chapter will also contain all new stuff. And there was some that commented that i wanted more of the Elite's background and well, in some ways this chapter contains it. I hope it is good cause there will be more to come!

You don't have time to read about my jiberish... Go on, get back to the story ^^

Thanks for reading!

A Great Lost

Chapter 10: Inside the Enemies Lair

Without the sword, something inside me was not as it should. There was an emptiness, which I did not know how to describe. The word feeling crossed my mind and I wanted to dismiss it as soon as it had entered. It was something I was not permitted to do. And something I had never done. The only thing I knew of was the orders my Master gave me. I was a tool, a weapon, a thing. And things did not feel. It stood in the way of completing the assignments. It was a sign of weakness. Yet, still I felt something. Feeling anything for something so meaningless as a simple katana was foolish. A weapon had no meaning other that keeping the one wielding it alive.

Not being taught how to feel and more not to feel, I had no idea what the feeling inside me meant. The order had been clear; test the creature's abilities and then throw 'im the sword. I had done exactly that. The creature's abilities had been exaggerated from what I had been told. It had been slow in its movements, sloppy even. It was like its head was blocking the body's movements, making it unfocused and easily distracted. It fueled itself with anger and rage, fooling itself it got more control by doing so. No doubt it was effective against random thugs and the average street gangs, but against a true ninja it was a great disadvantage and could easily be used against to kill.

The storage feeling inside drew me to return to the building where I had fought the creature a week ago, knowing perfectly well that the Master's wielder will punish me if I got caught defying the orders. Yet I had to defy my Master's orders if I wanted to see it again. Strangely enough it was a risk I was willing to take to drown the feeling inside. To make it go back to how it was before I felt anything.

The wounds along the creature's arms had been bleeding pretty well even if it had not been a life threatening wound. It had made an evident trail on the roof, even a week after it had remained. Fortunately there had been no rain since the encounter which made it able to follow the creature's retreat for safety.

The dried blood lead to the fire escape, which made it more evident that the creature was sloppy and careless. With such an evident trail to its whereabouts it's a wonder how its master had not yet punished it by death. A true ninja would never leave such an obvious lead to its hideout no matter how gravely the wounds was.

Once on street level, the swaying trail of blood led to a manhole a few feet further into the alley. As the creature was not human, it could not seek help on the street. Though it had been smart enough to keep to the shadows. Although the risk of infection was certain, it was still understandable it had gone down under.

I followed the trail through the tunnels for maybe half an hour or so, until it came to a crossing. The creature could have taken any tunnel in front of me. All three of them filled with dark and smelly sewer water with no walkway. Though the water was only knee deep and the blood had been washed away immediately, leaving no trace of it.

I examined the walls to each tunnel in hope of finding any trace of blood which could lead me to the right direction but there was none. The creature had not supported itself against them.

As I stood in the middle of the crossing, I turned to look at all three of the possible tunnels the creature could have taken. All of them went straight on, further into the darkness. All I had to do was to choose one and hope it would lead me back to the blood trail, but if I chose the wrong one I would waste the much needed time I did not have. Turning to the tunnel to my left, a flickering in the back of my mind told me I should chose that one. I did not question why I should, I just followed the order my mind had given me and walked further into the darkness.

As the unknown minutes past and I came across a walkway which lead me through a tunnel and a bridge. Finally I found some blood on the railing which was still wet by the moisture in the air and was easily spotted by my eyes which was well adjusted to the dark. I crossed the bridge and came upon yet another crossing. At the edge to the right tunnel, I found blood on the wall. By the large amount of blood, the creature had used it for support for a few minutes before it had turned the corner and continued.

At some points, there was actual prints of its three finger hand. It led me to new tunnel with a few set of pipes crossing the wall along the tunnel and a walkway. Some if not most, was too hot to touch and on the opposite wall, blood was smeared along it as the creature had not trusted its legs to keep it from swaying close to the hot burning pipes.

Suddenly, the blood against the wall came to a stop. Looking down on the floor, there was small dripping across the tunnel to the wall and then disappeared. Turning to the wall, I realized there must be a hidden door there. It was well hidden and unseen by the naked eye. The creature had really hidden it well, no wonders that the wielder of the Master had not found it yet.

If the blood had not been leading me to the wall, I had never known it was there. To my surprise, I praised the creature for at least some cleverness. But by knowing it was supposed to be there, all I had to do was to figure out how to open it. Putting my attention to the bricks on the wall behind the pipes, I examined them all, in hope that one of them was the one which opened the wall, while also being careful not to touch the hot pipes.

As the time went by and none of the bricks was the right one. I found myself beginning to lose my patience. A new feeling clouded over the feeling of the need to see the sword. The feeling wanted me to hit something, to scream and demand the door to open. Which would be pointless to do and I didn't understand why I felt like doing something so insignificant. Time was running out and the feeling grew more intense. When I was about to let my body do what it so desperately wanted to do, my hand automatically grabbed a hold of a pipe valve. Feeling it shift rather easily, I pulled it and heard the water in the pipes close off before the pipes loosened from each other and the hidden door pulled open.

Knowing the risk the creature could very well stand on the other side, hearing the door open, it was something I was prepared for. A soft dim light came from the opening and I hid in the darkness until the door was open completely. There was no alarming sound coming from the door or the inside, neither was there a creature there waiting. It was dark enough to believe the creature was asleep. Sticking to the darkest shadows just in case, I entered the lair of my enemies.

The lair was bigger than I had first expected it to be. With two levels and a big common area as a base. The common area was filled with all kind of different electronic devices, most of them for other uses than the practical which I found was required by ninjas. I had seen some of those devices around a few soldiers when they thought their superiors wasn't around. Though when being caught they had been punished for their unfocused.

The electronic devices was in the middle of the large room and most of the dim light came from them. To the left was the kitchen and further throughout the wall was more doors, leading somewhere unknown. To the right was the staircase to the second level, leading to a few more rooms, where two of them was where the snoring came from. Knowing there was more than one creature, I had to be on the alert for any kind of sound or shifting in the atmosphere. The door to the lair closed shut and if I was spotted then the creatures would have the upper hand. I could not afford to be caught.

The katana could be hidden anywhere and there was without a doubt the creature had taken it back with it. The sword had been a message which I did not know the origin about, only that it was meaningful to the creatures. Naturally it would have been brought to the head of the small clan and my guess was if I found the master's domain, then it would be there I would find the sword.

Scanning the lair once again, my eyes came to a stop on the sight of the Japanese screen door. Yes, I was certain the weapon was somewhere behind it. It felt right. I was about to make my way over to it when my mind shot me a warning to be careful. As quietly as I possibly could, I made my way over to it. I listened for any kind of sounds or movements coming from behind it. With my trained hearing I could hear an extremely soft breathing from within. Carefully and quietly I slide the door open just enough for me to easily slip inside.

The room was darker than the common area but my eyes adjusted quickly. There was not much furniture in the room, just a few small tables and bookshelves up against the walls and there was a lot of candles scattered through the room. On the left wall was an alcove where a futon was placed and a figure laid sleeping. Strangely enough I found myself thinking why the figure had not woken up yet.

Pushing the though aside, I closed the slide door just as carefully as I had opened it and sneaked further in, carefully placing my feet down on the matt. Gazing through the room, my eyes finally fell on the thing I had been searching for. On the right wall, the katana was displayed on it along with a twin. I walked over to the wall, gazing mesmerized at the two marvelous creations. The emptiness I had felt disappeared and was filled with something else, something new as I shifted my sight between the two swords. It was kind of similar to when I had completed a task, only this was more intense, more right. I took down one of the swords and just let it lay in my hands as I gazed it over. This katana was more than a message, it was important and meaningful in a way I had no idea how to describe. It was calling to me. Both of them were.

With my sight lowered, I caught something behind the sword. On the floor beneath it was something of a small altar with a few unlit candles and a small frame with a picture. It was too dark to see the picture, but there was something in my mind which-

"Raphael?" A rusty, sleepy voice asked from behind. I had let my awareness of my surroundings slip and I had lingered all too long. I could head the creature sit up. "Donatello?" Its voice got more clear when it didn't get an answer. "Michelangelo?" It asked more alarmed.

I grabbed a steady hold of the handle on the katana, carefully hiding my movements from the creature so it would not be more alarmed and go on the defensive. I had been told that the head of the enemy clan was a great fighter even though it was old. It would be wise to be cautious around it.

"My son?" It asked astonished and closer.

Alarms screamed in my head and my hand placed the katana on the small alter before I turned around extremely quick. The creature froze in its place when it saw me and I didn't give it any time to react or open its mouth to call for help. As quickly as I had turned, I had closed in on the distance between us and grabbed a hold of his head, to snap the neck. But my eyes locked with the creature's and what I saw in those dark eyes was something I had seen before.

The creature did not resist as I easily let my hands snap its' neck before I could figure out what I had seen. As the creature's body slumped to the floor, I stood still with its eyes clear in my mind as I watched it. The creature had known what was about to happen and still it didn't stop me from killing it. More like it was embracing it with open arms. Accepting it. At the very end it had died with a smile.

Looking down on the lifeless body, something in me shifted. Dismissing whatever it was, I lifted the body and placed it back on the futon like it had laid when I had come in. Laying your eyes upon it, you would think it had died in its sleep, it certainly looked like it had died in peace. The shifting inside became more intense and my stomach began to hurt a little. All these feelings was starting to become awfully bothersome and I just wanted to get rid of them. I had no idea what they wanted to tell me or wanted me to do. All I knew was that they were worthless and in the way.

I had wasted enough time here. It was time to leave.

Walking to the slide door, I opened it just as carefully as before. None of the creature seemed to have awaken during the time I had been in their master's room, though they could wake up at any given moment. I quietly made my way over to the main door and opening it from the inside was much easier than from the outside. It pushed open and I was out of there before it had opened up completely. From there I ran to the nearest ladder to the surface only to realize it was close to dawn. There was no way I would get back before the light was up and I knew I would have to face punishment when I got back.

Tears made their way down Mikey's cheeks. He had been crying none stop ever since he had found his father's lifeless body just twelve hour ago, though it seemed like just a few minutes had past. His chest hurt so much from the crying and heavy breathing that it felt like it was going to split open. But that was a welcome relief compare to what he felt inside. Everything was in turmoil and he felt everything inside 'im dying. Everything he had built up in three years time, had been demolished in a split of a second. He was crying, calling and screaming at everything and nothing. Why was life so cruel? Why was it so painful? What was the point of living if it hurt so much?

He sat crawled up against a corner in his room, holding his hands to his head as he banged the back of it against the brick wall. It felt like he was going to go insane. To lose it all completely. Should he laugh just because of the irony of it all or cry for the big joke? He had no idea. And all the time, when he just let it go for just a second, he so desperately called for Leo and expected 'im to turn the corner and comfort 'im like he had always done and what he should have done when their father died. It was an unspoken promise that the two of them had made each other at a very young age. But the only two people that he felt completely and entirely safe with, was gone. Never had Mikey felt more alone.

Hours and hours of crying, suddenly it all had stopped. He had no more tears which could fall down his cheeks and it left him feel numb. Another welcoming feeling. Starring up at the ceiling, he let his mind drift away to wherever it wanted. Nightmares was going to haunt him once again. Though his greatest fear had already come true. The only thing he had left to lose, was his two remaining brothers which he loved so dearly. Already thoughts of losing them too entered his mind and ventured in all different directions and scenarios. Each one even more painful and horrified then the last.

It only came to a stop when he heard his name being called. "Mikey?" The weak, broken voice of Donatello came from the doorway.

Slowly turning his head down from the ceiling, he looked over at his brother, who looked just as bad as he himself felt. "Yeah?" He barely managed to answer as his voice broke off.

Don entered his room and walked over to his brother. He sat down against the wall to Mikey's right, not leaving much room between them. Donny never answered him, they just sat there in silence.

Mikey had no idea what went on in his brother's mind, but in his own he had gone back to his fears. A small part of him was hoping this was just another nightmare. That in the morning, he was going to wake up and find everything as it should. That he was going to be woken up by Leo yelling at him that he was late for practice again and that Master Splinter would scold him for not being more responsible. Never again would he be able to complain about not being able to watch Arrow because Master Splinter insisted he was going to watch some lame girly show that aired at the same time. Too fast Mikey was losing everything he cared about.

"Guys? Ya're in here?" A voice that sounded very similar to Raph's asked, but was way to gentle and in pieces for him not to be sure.

Sure enough, Raph appeared in the doorway. He stopped as soon as he laid his eyes upon the two of them. At first it seemed he was hesitating, like he wasn't sure he should enter or not. If Mikey could read his older brother's eyes correctly, he was fighting his natural instinct of running away. Hoping that he would win against what was natural to him, Mikey wanted Raph to realize that he was needed there.

Though Raph remained standing where he stood, unknown to Mikey if he was still fighting the battle or not or of he had drifted off to other thoughts. He turned to look at Don, who didn't seem to have noticed their older brother's presence all.

He and Don sat there in silence, with Raph just as quiet just a few feet away. All of them was wrapped up deep in their own thoughts, the only sound which could be heard was their shallow and breaking breaths, the ticking clock from down in the kitchen and a dripping from some of the many pipes somewhere in the lair. Otherwise, it was complete silent.

Mikey hadn't figured out of it was comforting or not. Was anything going to be comforting at all and make it better? Yes, if there was something out there to bring their father back to life then that would be it. Still there was no such thing. If nothing could bring their brother back then what in the world could possible bring their father back?

The minutes past, or it could have been hours and none of them would even noticed it at all. Had anyone told April and Casey yet about Master Splinter's passing? Mikey wasn't sure.

The silence was broken when they heard a crack. Alarmed, Mikey looked up and in the corner of his eye, he saw that Donny had done the same. There, in front of them, Raph had punched his fist into the brick wall. Anger was shinning in his face with tears streamed down his cheeks. Confused, Don and Mikey exchanged a sad look before they turned to their brother once again.

"When's it ever gonna stop?" He asked between clenched teeth. "If he knew he was dyin', why didn't he tell us sooner?" He never took his eyes off of the wall.

Mikey didn't know what to say to that. It was a question he so desperately wanted to know the answer for as well. Hadn't their small family suffered enough?

"I don't know," Donny answered softly.

"I hate 'im," Raph whispered forcefully. "I hate them both for dyin' on us."

"Hating them won't change a thing," Mikey said, angry at his brother's word. It wasn't a choice they had made, and sure Mikey was furious at them for dying as well, but he would never ever say he hated them for it. Resented, yes, but not hate.

"No?" Raph finally turned to look at them. "I still hate 'em. To leave us here all alone... with a new threat on our hands? How do they expect us ta win this one?"

"Because we have to," Don said, strong in his words. "Or we fail them."

Oh no, Oh No, OH NO! The enemy has found the lair! Not a good sign! Not. Good. At. All! What will happen to them? Will the whole Foot Clan come and break the whole lair apart? Who is going to tell them they're in danger?! WHO?! Tell me! O.O

Ahum... Well... TELL ME! In the mean time, please tell me what you think of this unexpected turn out. Really like to know what you all think and well...TELL ME!

Why? Why?! They are so young! Poor Raph, Mikey and Donnie! All this heartache... When will it end? It makes me feel sorry for them... T.T

Sad... T.T ...so sad... Next chapter... T.T - The "Next" button, very soon.

TBC...