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Indiana Rose, you got it wrong! I didn't change the Horror. I changed the Angst. Now the story is Horror & Suspense instead of Horror & Angst. You think way too nicely of me! I'm a bigger meanie than you probably think! 3:D

xXVXx

Chapter Ten

The Useful

Raphael slumped down on the ground behind a row of large stacked containers. His heart still hammered under his plastron from the quick escape he had to make to avoid getting spotted by Bulldog and his posse immediately after his not-so-graceful fall from the station's takeoff platform.

He looked down at his throbbing right arm. Blood oozed from the painful, wide gash on his triceps but it seemed to be stopping slowly. His arms were still tightly bound behind his shell and the rim of his carapace uncomfortably chafed the fresh cut. He couldn't thoroughly examine the injury and so had to judge it by how much it hurt.

It usually isn't as bad as it feels – hopefully…

He twisted his wrists behind him trying to loosen the chafing rope. When that didn't do anything, he tried finding a slightly more comfortable position for his injured arm.

"Air restriction is necessary to prevent the alien from harming himself…" he grumbled Bulldog's earlier lying excuse, hollowly chuckling at the cruel irony.

Sitting in the cool shadow with his legs sprawled, he uncomfortably leaned against the metal container behind him. Collared, with one arm wounded and the other one branded like a store product, he let out a shuddering breath, feeling like runaway cattle.

Vehicles flew over his head, leaving and arriving at the terminal a few hundred feet away. Raph was hidden well in the narrow passage between two high rows of shipping containers, and for the moment didn't worry about getting spotted from above. His tired mind wandered off to a different problem. How was he going to contact the team? He had no idea where he was and every person he encountered so far only cared about recapturing him. He couldn't rely on anyone at all. What in the world could he do?

Maybe the guys were tracking him down step by step and it would have been wiser to stay with Bulldog's ugly mug until they found him… And what about Mikey and Casey!? If they had been captured, too, maybe Bulldog would have taken him to wherever they were, too…

Raph let out a frustrated growl, but in the end still came to the conclusion that finding a way back on his own was better than waiting for help that might not even come. He really wished he could just wait for his brothers to rescue him but he understood he couldn't depend on them when he didn't even know where they were.

He pulled his knees closer and straightened his back while trying to think of what to do next. He was feeling very exhausted and sleepy all of a sudden. He hadn't even slept – unless he counted passing out as sleeping – since hours before they had gone on their last mission to steal a part of the black-hole generator from the Triceratons. His head felt groggy and his chest hurt. – Half from being forced to slowly suffocate, and half from the panic that was building up and never decreasing.

He rubbed his itching snout and tired eyes on his kneepads. – First of all, he'd definitely have to find a way to get his hands free.

Good plan, let's go! He was already restless and impatient despite how tired and stressed out he felt. He didn't like sitting around and thinking too much. It frustrated him. Just find something sharp, cut the rope, get free. Simple, effective, doable.

He pulled himself to his feet and shook his head to clear his brain a bit. Alright! Where to? It wasn't like he had much of a choice. He simply started to proceed down the opposite way he had come from, away from the station's noise, and as far away from Bulldog as possible.

Minutes went by, but the maze of stacked shipping crates and containers stretched endlessly and Raph's every new step seemed to drag more. The cold and dry earth beneath his feet was making his toes go numb. But the air was warm and humid and his open wound only started to throb more over time, making his whole upper arm feel hot.

Every turn he made brought him to a passage completely identical to the previous ones. He knew he wasn't walking in circles, but he really wondered if he was making progress toward anywhere at all. Everything was the same and nothing led anywhere. And there was nothing that could help him unbind his hands.

In anger and frustration he kicked the metal crate beside him and was completely startled by another startled sound that came from the inside. Someone was inside.

"Hello?" came the same muffled voice after a moment of shuffling. "Who's there?"

Raph stood soundlessly, riveted to the spot. His voice left him as he stared at the metal crate in front him with shocked, wide eyes. But then his eyes swept over the whole stack of identical crates on top of it, and the stacks next to it, and the stacks next to those – and Raph started to feel very sick very fast.

"Is someone there?" he heard someone else's muffled voice behind him, and he couldn't bear to even look.

"Did someone bring new food?" another voice came next to it.

"Food?"

"Hello?"

Raphael's breathing started to quicken. His panic was flaring up again. In the next moment his body betrayed him and he did the most cowardly thing he could. – He ran. Without a word, he broke from the spot he was frozen to, and escaped down the passage. He didn't want to stay there. There was a strong pang of guilt and embarrassment in his chest as he ran, but he knew he couldn't help those aliens no matter how much he wanted to. He couldn't even help himself at the moment. And he didn't feel like listening to other captured people call out to him while he could only stand around uselessly.

The air around him felt suffocating and the tall walls of stacked containers started making him feel claustrophobic. Even though he didn't want to know the answer, he wondered just how many of the crates and containers he had already passed were filled with people.

His run came to a halt as he turned another corner and the containers around him disappeared, revealing cages in their place. Raph's shoulders tensed up as all the unsuspecting eyes inside them turned to him.

"An escapee?" – "Here?" – "It's hurt!" – "Look!" – "Who's that?" – "It's so small." – "Did it escape?" – "Where's its owner?" – "It's just a child!" – "Poor thing." – "Is that blood?" – "Where's its owner?" – "It looks scared." – "Did it manage to escape?" – "It's in shock." – "It's wounded!"

Whispered words flooded Raphael from both sides and he again found himself unable to move, his breath painfully stuck in the back of his throat.

All the large cages on both sides of him held giant, furry, dusty purple creatures inside them. In their massive size they looked dangerous and scary at first glance, but the way they all bundled together and stared at Raph in concern told him he shouldn't be afraid of them at the moment. They were all locked up and unable to harm him anyways.

As most of them continued to whisper remarks in worry to each other, one extended its arm through the thick but widespread bars. "Are you hurt? – Let us help you get that rope off."

Raphael, completely lost in the frenzy of his own mind, didn't hear it, or notice the enormous hand until it grabbed his shoulder. He instantly pulled away from the touch, a pang of terror rushing down his spine. "AAAH!"

It wasn't until he actually got a better look at what touched him that he let himself calm down a bit. His cheeks flushed from the cowardly response as the faces directed at him only grew more worried.

"Impressive vocals. Now let us help you with that," the alien gestured at Raphael's bound arms.

xXx

"Let me help you with that, Mikey." Donatello took the helmet from Michelangelo's hands and placed it on the high shelf his younger brother couldn't reach. "What are you doing in here anyway?"

"Just trying to keep myself busy, I guess," Mikey shrugged with his gaze downcast.

They stood in Fugitoid's equipment room. Donatello had passed the door on his way to meet the professor in the control room but had noticed his little brother inside alone, putting away all of their gear.

"You know we'll need the gear again in a few minutes?"

"Well at least future me's gonna be busy, too," Mikey said, hardly any emotion present in his voice, and plopped down on a bench.

"Hey now, Mikey, chin up." Donnie sat down beside him and draped an arm over his shoulders, squeezing it slightly. He didn't like seeing his brother so sad.

Now that they had all settled a bit after almost half an hour of driving towards the moon, everyone had only started to worry about Raphael more, with new awful ideas and images taking root. Still Donatello didn't feel like seeing his little brother so down when they should all be trying to keep their hopes and thoughts positive, as he liked to say.

"Everything's going to turn out okay. It's like you told Leo: When one of us is captured, we always get each other back safely. Raph's going to be alright."

"You think so?" Mikey finally looked at his youngest older brother. He smiled at him, more from the effort than believing the words. "But it still sucks! Raph has to be super panicky and scared by now. – I mean, he'll never admit it, but still, I doubt he knows what's going on around him. Aliens are all kinds of weird and freaky."

"We'd all be scared, Mikey. It is scary. But Raph's a tough and stubborn guy. For his own sake, I'm mostly worried about him getting on someone's nerves."

"He sure has a talent for that!" Mikey smirked despite how worried he felt. He could no longer ignore the twinge of guilt he felt for Raph's abduction. And the closer they got to finding him, the more complicated and hopeless everything seemed.

xXx

Within a minute Raphael's arms were free. He immediately pulled them forward, rubbed his sore wrists, and rolled his stiff shoulders. Much better! So much better!

"Thanks!" He almost grinned at the alien that had untied the tight rope which now lay forgotten on the floor. He was relieved to at least feel a bit more confident and free. He was finally capable of doing a little more than just helplessly running around.

He moved to do a few arm circles, too, but it resulted in a stabbing pain entering his right arm. "Aghh…" he hissed. "Bad choice…"

Slowly lifting his arm, he was finally able to inspect the bloody gash. The blood had stopped oozing some time ago, but it left a wide, dried, crimson streak down his whole arm. The cut was quite wide and stung immensely, but it wasn't deep or critical. What concerned Raph was the amount of pus forming on it and the reddened skin around it. He couldn't afford an infection!

"Let us see…" the alien who untied him spoke and grabbed Raphael's wrist. It pulled and extended his arm closer to the metal bars.

Raph complied, not wishing to test the strength of the giant being with his injured arm. He stood intently watching the alien look over the wound.

After a minute, the large creature shifted slightly. "Hold still." Still holding Raph's wrist, it used its other hand to pluck some of the puffy fur from its shoulder and press the purple tuft against the wound.

Raph winced a little but didn't pull away, feeling a sort of reassurance radiating from under the alien's hand that was suppressing his instincts. Looking at the process in confusion, Raph watched the alien lick one of its fingers, coating it in saliva, and apply that over the wound and hair.

By then Raph was seriously puzzled. His groggy brain was unfocused enough to not even warn him that he shouldn't let a strange alien smear anything over his infected wound, especially not its spit. But when his mind finally processed the information, his eyes noticed the purple hair melting under the spit and the weird new paste dissolving into his gash and skin.

Before panic could bubble up, a cool feeling spread through his previously hot and throbbing limb and decreased the sting in the open gash.

"It should heal by the end of the day. Just try to leave it alone as much as possible," the alien said and let go of his wrist.

Raph stared at the wound. The reddened skin around it was already turning back to its regular green. "Just like that?"

The alien recognized the astounded expression on his face. "Pretty useful, right?"

Useful… Raph looked back up and stared at the cages. He was starting to get a good idea what these aliens were captured for. An intense need to do something took over. He couldn't just leave these people in cages now that he had his hands free, especially not after they helped him.

His eyes swept the enclosure in front of him in search of a door or a lock or- His eyes caught something like a touchpad on one of the thick bars.

"I'll get you out," he declared and moved over to the device. He poked the dark screen with his finger and immediately frowned. It didn't respond and there weren't any buttons on it. "Do you know how it works? Have you seen anyone use this?" he asked the alien who helped him, who moved to stand closest to him again.

"Can you speak Universal?" the giant creature said.

Raph's brows wrinkled under his mask. He didn't understand the question.

The alien noticed the confusion and continued, pointing with two big fingers at Raph's neck. "We don't have translators. We can't understand you. – Do you know the Universal language?"

They can't understand me? But I can understand them perfectly? The boy needed a moment to remember that the collar still clasped around his neck was also a translator which allowed him to understand everyone's alien languages.

Shaking his head at the aliens staring at him, he answered, "No."

"We're assuming that's a 'no'," said the creature in slight disappointment.

Raphael was frustrated just the same. He wanted to ask the aliens how to help them escape and ask them where he even was and what was going on. He had to satisfy himself by simply pointing at the lock device, hoping to get the point across. – "How does it work?"

"You want to open the cage to get us out? – We'd rather stay in here, thank you."

Raphael was taken aback by the answer. "What?"

"It's not like we can go anywhere. We prefer to keep out of trouble. We're surprised you're hiding from your owner like this. Who knows what they'll do"-

Another slightly bigger alien behind the one Raphael talked with, knocked it on the head to shut it up. "Don't say that to the child! Look how terrified it is now."

Raph didn't like admitting it but he really was scared. Aliens freaked him out. Threatening alien surroundings even more so.

"Why the heck would you rather stay in cages like some animals when you have a chance to get out? And why are you surprised I ran off? Why the heck would I want to get sold into slavery?!" he started arguing, partly forgetting he couldn't be understood and partly because the questions wouldn't leave him alone otherwise. His voice was loud and nervous. "I don't want to be locked up like you! Are you crazy? I want to get back to my brothers. Those insane aliens don't own me. No one does!"

"Child, calm down." The bigger alien moved to the front, right behind the bars. "Don't listen to our friend. Everything will be alright. Please don't panic." It extended its arms through the cage and Raphael found himself leaning towards them despite himself.

The purple creature gently cupped his head in its large warm palms, and a wave of cool calm and comfort flooded the boy's mind. His racing heart was slowed down and his breaths were evened out instantly. Only then did Raph start to feel just how worn out and tired he was. He subconsciously leaned further into the touch wishing the consoling feeling would last forever.

"Go back to your owner and apologize for running away. They might understand and won't punish you."

"What!?" He tore himself away and fell down in the process. "I'm not going back!" His breathing hitched up again and his heart started thumping against his plastron even faster after disconnecting from the alien's healing touch.

Worried and wide eyes all stared at him on the ground.

"It's for your own good."

"You need to confess to them for misbehaving," a different alien spoke up.

"Don't worry, they'll understand. You probably aren't the first to do that to them."

"They won't hurt you, you're only a child."

Raphael stared at them in horror as his brain processed their words. Why were they on the side of the ones keeping them all captured? He pushed himself back to his feet, suddenly having a great need to get away.

"You must go back on your own or you'll be punished worse when they find you hiding."

"Return to your owner."

"I won't!" Raph screamed back, angered and terrified. They're insane! He turned on his heel and started walking away in the direction he was headed earlier. With a nervous pace he quickly made his way down the path surrounded by cages filled with the same species of big, purple aliens talking to him.

"Go back."

"Turn around, don't go that way."

He grabbed the sides of his head, trying to block out what they were saying.

"Don't go there!"

"Stop!"

"Shhh… Be quiet."

"Go back."

"No, turn around."

"Keep it down."

"Child…"

"Shhhhh…"

"Shh…"

…

"Don't go there, child."

"Shush!"

…

…

The aliens finally quieted down when Raph made it to the end of the cages and he slowly lowered his hands from his ears. Cautiously he turned his head around to see what made them all shut up. There wasn't anything there. The aliens were just all intensely gesturing for him to go back with wide eyes…

He only made it another step further when he felt an odd sensation in his left upper arm. He quickly looked at the spot where the barcode was ingrained. It felt funny, like a magnet was pulling his blood in one direction.

"Huh…?"

Raph didn't even get a second to ponder over it as a loud alarm went off on both sides of him and scared him to death. His head snapped in the direction of one of them and he found himself staring at a wide blinking board much like the anti-theft surveillance systems in stores back on Earth.

…

"Hey!"

Raphael's blood ran cold as his head turned in the direction of the voice.

xXVXx

Please feed the author. Feed me... FEED meh! Give me some boost because I'm kinda scared of posting the next chapter... O_O