Oh, I am so sorry for the terribly and inexcusably horrendous delay in posting this chapter. I hadn't written it yet and then life happens and then I kinda fell out of the fandom for a while, and just recently got back in with the advent of the new post FF series, Back to the Sewer. And I must tell you, I about fell out of my chair and yelled at the top of my lungs: "AHHHH! They have EYEBALLS!"
Ahem. Hopefully, I'm not the only one who had that reaction :D
At any rate, please enjoy and please review! I always love to hear from you and I'll bet there are lots of errors in this thing today because I didn't beta and I didn't even spell check, all due to the fact that I started writing at one in the morning. One thing about me-inspiration comes when I should be sleeping!
Disclaimer: Don't own, keep wishing.
Chapter 7
"Dammit," Leo muttered with feeling. Laser blasts hurtled past, inches from Don's shell as he and Leo crouched against one side of the hallway in front of the doors. Mike and Raph had dived the other way, and were in similar positions on the other side of the hall. The laser blasts continued unabated, and it was all the four turtles could do to keep still enough not to be hit.
"What do we do now?" Don asked, trying to make himself smaller as a blast came dangerously close to him.
"Well, I guess talk is out," Leo replied dryly. "Apparently, they haven't realized that Darius's little plot has gone awry." He glanced around the hall, frowning. "Well, there isn't much to this hallway—ah!" He pointed toward the ceiling. There, another grate gaped invitingly behind steel bars on the ceiling.
"How do we get to it?" Don glanced at the danger filled hallway and back up at the grate again.
Leo rose to his feet, careful to keep his shell pressed against the wall and considered the grate for another minute. Then he looked across the hall. "Raph! Throw a grenade at the doors! Bring them down! Hurry!"
"Are ya nuts?" Raph protested. "It'll bring the ceiling down and we'll never get in there!"
Leo made a vexed noise in the back of his throat. "Don't argue. Just do it!" He didn't wait for his brother to respond, drawing both swords and darting out into the hallway. Don gasped and Mike eeped from across the hallway, but Leo, as usual, knew what he was doing. The instant he stepped out from cover, Raph swore and tossed the grenade at the doors, and it exploded instantly, crashing both doors and a good chunk of the ceiling, blocking both their entry and the fire of the Triceratons. Leo didn't wait for the explosion to finish, but instead leaped into the air, bringing a katana across the metal bars over the grate and slicing them neatly in half. The second sword he drove into the slice, using his falling weight to wrench the two halves apart. He landed lightly on his feet, and his brother in red growled at him.
"Mind sharing these plans of yours before ya do them?" The red-masked turtle demanded angrily. "If I hadn'ta seen you move and thrown that grenade, you'd be full'a holes right now, Fearless."
"And if I hadn't moved, you wouldn't have thrown it," Leo returned. "We didn't have time for you to second guess me, Raphael."
Raph growled, and took an angry step forward. "Sometimes, you need ta be second guessed, Fearless Leader. That blast coulda brought down the whole ceiling in the hall right on top of us. Ya ever think of that?"
Leo opened his mouth to retort, and Don hurried forward, intending to stop the argument. "It's okay, Raph," he interjected hurriedly. "It was risky, I'll admit, but these walls are made of steel for the most part so it is highly unlikely that the whole ceiling would have caved…" He faltered as Raph's irritated gaze turned to him, wishing he'd kept his mouth shut. Think I'd learn my lesson by, now, to stay out of his and Leo's arguments, he thought.
"The science don't change the fact that he could have gotten us killed, Donny," Raph retorted. "Wouldn't kill him once in a while to let some of us do the thinking—"
"Enough." Raph snapped his beak shut at Leo's tone and glowered at him. Their older brother ignored him. "We don't have time for this," he muttered. He reached for his gauntlet and jerked it off in one move. "Don, take this and go first, up into the grate. Get to the ship and shut down that damn machine. The rest of us will follow."
Don considered protesting—he was tired of this business of leaving people behind, even if it was for a second. It seemed that every corner they had turned in this insane place had led to near disaster. But Leonardo's gaze brooked no argument, and Donatello was no Raphael. With a sigh, he pulled off his own ruined computer and replaced it with Leo's, bringing the schematic up on the screen. Then he grabbed his Bo staff and wedged it under one side of the grate cover, and levered the severed half off. It fell to the ground with a loud clang that made him wince. Then he stowed the staff and leapt upward, pulling himself into the grate and moving forward. Sounds behind him reassured him his brothers were following.
This close to the hangar, it only took Don a couple of minutes to find his way to an opening that would allow them to drop down inside. He stopped at the edge of his chosen grate and took a look around. The Triceratons that had been firing at them in the hallway had left their posts around the ship and were clustered around the damaged doors, talking in low mutters. Others were lifting man-sized boulders and shifting them out of the way, looking for a way through the debris back into the hallway. The ship sat untouched in the center of the room. He eyed it critically. Save for a healthy smattering of orange dust, the Hovershell looked just fine. Best of all, however, was that it was, at that moment, unguarded. He looked up as his siblings joined him.
"Don?" Leo asked in a near silent whisper.
Donatello didn't bother answering, just hooked a tri-fingered hand under the lip of the grate and lifted it silently off, setting it up against the side of the shaft next to him. Then he dropped ninja-silent into the large room. No sound followed him, but he knew his brothers were right behind him. Their silence was probably unnecessary—the shifting of boulders would have masked any sound they might have made, but one never knew. Splinter had taught them that not all situations were what they seemed upon first glance, and he, for one, didn't want to take any chances. He crept forward, silent as the shadows that hid the corners of the hanger, and looked up at the ship from this new angle.
It was still unguarded, but the minute he opened the hatch, the Triceratons would be all over them. He considered just jumping in quickly anyway—he might be able to get the weapons up and online to fire back before the monsters could do much damage—but it seemed entirely too risky. There was no telling what shape this ship would be in after such a tactic, and no telling how long it might take to get the computer online, assuming, of course, it hadn't been infected. The Hovershell was their one ticket off the planet and Don had no desire to even risk being stranded on a base full of both Triceratons and the slimy whatever-they-were back the way they had come.
He glanced back at Leo. His oldest sibling was assessing the situation, much as he was, with both Raph and Mike behind them. Mike was watching the Triceratons, while Raph was glaring at the back of Leo's head, his scowl more ferocious than ever. Don sighed again. They did not need this right now.
"Raph." Leonardo said suddenly, startling him. Raph growled a wordless response. Leo ignored his growl and continued. "You and I will distract our orange friends over there. Don and Mike, get the ship ready and shut down the machine. Let's go." He rose to his feet and started forward, but a sound behind them made him stop short and whirl around, a blade already in his hand.
It was lucky he had it out, for it was the only thing that saved him from a messy encounter as a tentacle, dripping foul black slime, shot through the wall behind them and glanced of the shimmering blade, narrowly missing Leonardo's right eye. Don threw himself to the side as another appendage splattered the tile where he'd just been crouching. They four terrapins scrambled backward as the wall crumbled and the monster began tearing it down piece by piece.
Raph swore again, drew both sai and began to rise, but he was forced to duck hastily back down as laser fire again erupted from the Triceratons. Don glanced back. The dinosaur-men were looking beyond them, firing and staring with wide, disbelieving eyes at the ugly creature clawing its way into the room. Beyond them, the shining glass of the Hovershell's hatch glittered invitingly. He just had to get to it—while dodging both tentacles and the continuous laser fire of their horned foes. It was almost enough to make him laugh again.
He eyed the ship once more. There really was no choice. The monster got closer with every minute and as much as he was loathe to jump up in the middle of a war zone, he wasn't going to sit and watch as he and his brothers became some stupid monster's lunch, either. He rolled to his feet, ripping the Bo staff off of his back and spinning it defensively in front of him, before taking off full tilt for the green hull of their ship. Laser blasts bounced off of his spinning weapon, showering him with superheated sparks. A lucky blast penetrated his imperfect shield and he was forced to twist to the side to avoid being hit. Unfortunately, this also caused him to lose momentum and he skidded to a halt, still several feet from the ship.
Ahead of him, the Triceratons were still firing and behind him, he heard Mike yell.
"Don, watch out!"
He dropped flat as a tentacle shot through the space where his head had been and hit the ground hard on his plastron, knocking the breath from his lungs. Pain splintered up his side and he grimaced, certain that if he hadn't broken a rib, he probably cracked one. Laboriously, he pushed on one arm and rolled onto his back, shaking his head to try to clear the cobwebs, instinctively pulling his staff defensively across his body. Above him, the dripping, slimy black arm hovered menacingly, and a second was rising up with it, then a third, preparing to smash him flat. Don tightened his grip on his staff, still gasping, trying to replenish the depleted air in his lungs. Though now, he was beginning to wonder if he should bother. As advanced as his Bo was, he had a feeling that even it would not be able to stop the monster from grinding him into the floor tiles.
He stared upward, aware he should move, should do something, but his body wouldn't respond. Around him, the sounds of his brothers and the Triceratons faded into dull murmurs and his vision was engulfed by the sight of the waving tentacles, waiting to end his life. Was this how it was supposed to be? He wondered vaguely. Splattered into the tiles of an alien base, light years—and normal years, all things considered—away from Earth? And who would stop the machine? Who would cut off the approach of these strange creatures, and keep the space time continuum intact?
I'm sorry, he thought. I couldn't do it, I wasn't fast enough, wasn't strong enough, I wasn't—abruptly he became aware that the tentacles were still hovering above his head. It occurred to him then that they probably should have fallen by now. He found he was slightly irritated. If he had to die, why couldn't it be fast? Then a familiar voice broke into his thoughts and suddenly all the sounds in the room roared back into their proper volume.
Don gaped as the tentacles above him vanished and Raph was suddenly next to him, gripping his gauntleted wrist and pulling him to his feet.
"Geez, Brainiac," his red-clad brother commented. "I thought Leo was crazy. Looks like you're just as nuts as he is!"
"I…he…what?" Don muttered. The room suddenly was much too bright, much too loud. "What just happened?"
Mike landed next to them, grinning at him. "You just about got yourself splattered, oh brainy brother of mine. You're supposed to be the smart one!"
Don glared at him. "I know that! I meant, how come I'm not splattered? I couldn't move, I should have been done for."
Raph clapped him on the shoulder. "Ya fell for it's mind masher, Don. Looks like the big mama critter isn't the only one who can mess with people's thoughts. If ya hadn't been so distracted not gettin' blasted by Triceratons, ya might have noticed."
Donatello blinked. The room had seemed a little strange, but still, with cracked ribs he wouldn't have been able to move all that much…suddenly he realized he was breathing normally. He felt at his plastron, but no pain spiked up his side, his ribs felt completely fine. The only pain he felt was from the shallow wounds on his shoulder from his initial encounter with the bulbous spider-monsters. He looked at Raph. "Was it all an illusion then? Just some kind of mind trick?"
Mikey laughed. "Oh no, Don, you were almost splattered, that's for sure. It's just lucky that the Great Leonardo is full of tricks today."
"And Raph is full of grenades," Leo added, walking up to them, a Triceraton on his heels. "Remind me never to complain about how much crap you carry around with you, Raph. Alright, Don?" His voice was friendly, concerned, but there was an edge to it Donatello knew all too well.
"Yes, I'm fine," Don said, and hastily added as Leo opened his mouth to speak again, "What happened? It was a war zone in here a minute ago." He looked around the room. Triceratons were scattered all over, some on their knees, breathing hard, others checking weapons, still others staring around themselves in disbelief. More victims of the 'mind masher', as Raphael had so eloquently put it. Don grimaced, somewhat chagrined that he was one of them, but he couldn't worry about it now. He let his eyes continue their circuit, avoiding Leo's gaze. The doors they had smashed were still impassible and where the creature had been tearing through the wall large chunks of steel and concrete blocked that side of the hangar. Finally, he returned his gaze to his oldest brother.
Leonardo's eye-ridge was raised and Don knew he was going to hear about what had happened later, but Leo was a pragmatist and he dealt instead with the matter and hand. "The Triceratons finally decided that the monster was a bigger threat than we are and with their fire and a few of Raph's grenades, we were able to bring it down. We squashed one bug, but I'm certain there are more and that they are coming this way."
"What makes you so certain of that?" Don jumped at the unfamiliar gutteral tone, and realized the Triceraton had spoken. "These creatures are base life forms. They do not possess such intelligence." Don resisted the urge to snort. Triceratons believed that all life forms were base, with the obvious exception of their own.
Leo glanced up at him. "Base life forms that know how to travel through time," he said wryly. "And even if they just happened to be near where the time window opened, it doesn't explain the behavior of the latest one. Didn't you find it strange that we were all over the creature with our weapons but when Don went for the ship, it turned all its attention on him? No, I think they are on to our plan, and they know we can shut them down."
"And they have some kind of code that his keeping the window open," Don added. "That's why I couldn't shut it down before." He broke off as the room shuddered around them.
"Here they come," Raph grumbled.
Leo turned once again to the big dinosaur-man. "If you can give us a few minutes, we'll do what we can to save this base of yours. But you are going to need Alliance's help if you expect to get rid of these things. And that means you are going to have to answer for what has happened here."
The Triceraton regarded him silently for a moment, then drew himself up to his full, impressive height. When he spoke, his voice was hard, but surprisingly respectful. "I will not apologize for our actions this day. Nor will I bow to the laws of your so called Alliance. But I will not let an unworthy creature destroy the planet I call home or stand in the way of Triceraton dominion. We will buy you your time."
Leonardo nodded once and turned for the ship. Don was right on his heels, pulling ahead as they reached it and pushing the button to open the hatch before jumping nimbly inside. He immediately activated the computer monitor in the navigator's seat and felt his stomach plummet to his toes. All across the screen, the alien code glared mockingly out at him. They were too late. The code had spread far faster and far easier than he had thought. It must affect all machinery it comes in contact with, he thought numbly. His own gauntlet, as he was interfaced with both the Hovershell and the time window at the same time, must have spread the infection.
"I take it that's a bad thing?" Mikey asked timidly, as they all stared at it. Outside the ship, the Triceratons were forming ranks, half facing the collapsed doors, the other the shattered wall as shudders continued to rock the hangar from both directions.
"What now, Don?" Leonardo asked softly. "Are we trapped here?"
Donatello shook himself. "Not if I can help it." He ignored the code, activating all of the Hovershell's other systems, and was relieved to hear the engines roar to life. The lights also came on, as well as the ship's onboard flight controls. He checked weapons—they were online too. "Looks like we're in business, guys. I was only interfaced with a small portion of the Hovershell's systems when the alien code infected my gauntlet. It seems to spread as it comes in contact with a new device—" He cut off as the lights flickered and went out. "See? But it must take a while for it to infect different devices. We can fly out of here if we hurry…" He paused, looking at Leonardo. "But I can't shut down the time window. Not from here. Maybe if I got back to the PGA base…"
"We might not be able to do that," Leo said grimly. "Look."
Out the ship's windows, they all watched as slimy appendages broke through the debris on both sides and the Triceratons started firing. As more of the blockage crumbled, Don could see a seething black mass of slimy bodies, stretching as far as he could see.
"All those Triceratons," Mikey whispered in a small voice. "They're all going to die…aren't they." It was not a question.
Raph put a hand on his youngest brother's shoulder and gave it a squeeze as he guided him to a seat. "It'll be okay, Mike." Michelangelo did not answer.
Leo dropped heavily in front of the steering controls. "I'm getting us into the air. Maybe I can give them an out, too, while I'm at it." He flipped a switch and the Hovershell lifted into the air, then another, and they could all hear a hum as the front cannons came to life. Leo then swung them to face the back wall. "Here we go." The cannons blazed to life and the wall exploded outward in a shower of orange dust and chunks of masonry. Don saw the eerie red night sky of Ceratopa only for a moment before looking down, intending to monitor the ships flight controls for any sign of the alien virus. He did not get the chance however and nearly lost his seat as Leo suddenly wrenched at the controls and the ship shot towards the ceiling, a black slimy tentacle missing it by inches.
Raph swore loudly. "There's more of 'em out there too!" A seething black mass appeared out of the cloud of orange dust and the ship tumbled as more tentacles reached for them. Don pulled himself back up into his seat and hastily activated the seat belt, grateful that that particular system was still intact as well. It was just in time as Leo rolled the Hovershell completely over to avoid more limbs, and then punched it, firing the cannons out into the nightmarish landscape and blowing a path out into the bloody sky. They shot upward out of range and Don took that opportunity to check the ship.
The alien code was spreading fast. They had precious little time left. Maybe not even enough to make it halfway to the PGA base. He could activate the ground vehicle, and that might get them the rest of the way, but they had no choice either way. They had to try. He turned to let his brothers know, but none were looking at him. All three of them were staring out the side windows, their faces full of horror. Swallowing hard, Don looked out.
The base was overrun. Flashes of light flared here and there—Triceraton laser fire. But they were few and even as he watched, the flashes became fewer still. The red laser wall no longer protected the grounds and he could see some orange shapes fleeing, pursued by long black shapes, leaving the base and starting out onto the planet's surface. They moved with impossible speed.
"What are they?" Don wondered aloud, his voice no more than a whisper.
"I don't know," Leo answered him in a flat voice. "But we will not make it to the Alliance base in time unless we stop them from multiplying more. Donatello, there must be a way to shut down the machine."
"Well," Don said thoughtfully. "We could blow it up…but it might deplete our resources enough that we won't make it anywhere close to the PGA. And if the ship fails while we are over…that…" He didn't finish.
Leonardo nodded once. He looked to their other brothers. "Raph? Mike?"
"I don't run from fights, Leo," Raph said. "Bring it on."
"I'm okay with it too, Leo." Michelangelo's voice shook, but only barely. "Let's go."
"Alright." Leo banked the ship and they soared out over the chaos, heading straight for where the brightest light shone. The eldest fired as they neared it, blowing huge chunks in the ceiling, and as the debris fell away, Don could see the bloated, horrible figure of the mother creature, the time window swirling darkly behind her. Her terrible jaws were gaped wide again, and more of the smaller monsters were flooding out of it. Even worse, more long tentacles were coming out of the time window, quivering, preparing to drag another grotesque, monstrous body through.
"I'll say it again," Mike quipped, though it was spoiled slightly by the catch in his voice. "Shredder's mother."
Leonardo gave him an appreciative chuckle. "Well, let's take care of her, like we did him, once upon a time." His finger moved, and again the cannons roared to life, a shaft of brilliant white arcing down towards the machine. Don leaned forward, watching their progress—and grabbed onto his seat as the ship suddenly wrenched to one side, the cannon fire missing the time window and slamming into the side wall instead.
Beside him, Leo snarled and hauled hard on the controls, righting them and shooting skyward again before they could spin into the ground.
"What the hell was that?" Raph demanded.
"Tentacle," Leo replied shortly.
"From what?"
"What do you think?"
"Well, excuse me, Fearless Leader, if I didn't think that even that thing could reach this high."
"Well, neither did I. And we just paid dearly for it." Leo's suddenly hollow voice silenced Raph's sarcasm.
"What is it?" Mike asked, looking at them in confusion.
"I know," Don said, staring at the computer screen in front of him. "That monster just infected our weapons system. Just by touching them! How is that even possible? Are they some kind of cybernetic organic blend or something? If it hits the engines, we are in trouble."
"So we have no weapons? Great." Raphael glowered down at the creature below them. "Talk about turtle luck."
"Guys," Mike interrupted. "What's it doing now?" Don followed his gaze. The monster had planted two of its tentacles back in the ground and the great maw was turned upward, towards them. The massive belly compressed and as before, smaller versions shot from its mouth—straight up into the air at them.
"Hold on!" Leo shouted and then pulled up hard on the controls. The Hovershell shot straight up so fast that Don felt light-headed as the cabin struggled to compensate for the sudden change in air pressure. Warning signals blared as they continued to rise, and Donatello was certain they would stall—but Leo suddenly evened out then banked, arcing out over the base again.
It was several seconds before the labored, frightened breathing in the cabin slowed. Don put a hand on his chest, willing the shudders wracking his body to stop. Mike and Raph were both leaning over their knees, drawing breath in short, choppy motions, and Leo was staring at the dash, his fingers still wrapped, knuckles white, around the steering controls.
Another moment passed, then Leonardo spoke. "Still have those grenades, Raph?"
Raphael started and blinked at him. "Of course I do. An' you better not be thinkin' what I think yer thinkin', Fearless."
Leo ignored him, unbuckling his seatbelt and rising to his feet. He turned to Donatello. "Take the controls. Fly me in as close as you can and I'll do the rest. Then take the ship and get as far as you can towards the PGA base. They must be warned. If this fails, then they will need to be prepared."
"What?" Don spluttered, his brain trying to process what Leo was telling him. "Leo, that's suicide! We couldn't even get the ship in close enough, what makes you think you can take on that thing by yourself?"
"We can't leave the window open, Don, or more people than the Triceratons on this base are going to die."
Raph was on his feet as well, shouting before Donatello could respond. "You ain't going all martyr while I'm around, Fearless Leader! If anyone's gotta be a hero, it's gonna be me." He straightened to his full height and took a step forward—only to collapse to his knees with a grunt as Leonardo's elbow rammed into the soft flesh between shell and plastron. With an efficient jerk, the blue-masked ninja removed the strap containing the grenades from his brother, as Raph wrapped his arms around himself and glared up at him.
"Don't be an idiot, Raphael. I'm not doing this to be a hero, and I'm certainly not intending to get myself killed. These creatures have proved themselves vulnerable to explosives. If I can get to the time window with these, I may just be able to destroy it before more of those things can come through."
"That's a big if," Raph growled. "And it still doesn't explain how you expect to come out alive. Like Donny said, we couldn't even get the ship close enough."
Leo shrugged. "I'm a lot smaller than the ship, Raph. And I don't intend to stay longer than absolutely necessary. As for getting out alive, well, Darius came through a secret passageway. I am willing to bet that it leads either out of the base, or to one of the hangars. That snake of a man has always left himself a way out, in every encounter we've had with him. At any rate, don't you remember what Donatello said when we first arrived here? Invasion ships. The Triceraton base is full of them. And, these creatures, if they are as intelligent as I think they are, are going to need a way off Ceratopa sometime. I doubt there are enough people here to sustain them for long."
"Which means the ships are still intact," Don said, catching on. "And that strange code they use I'm pretty sure is for disabling machines, not running them, which means the onboard computers of the ships should still work."
"Exactly. Get as far toward our allies as you can and I'll catch up. One way or another, we can get back to warn them."
"But Leo, why just you? If you are just going to take a Triceraton ship, why don't we all go?" Mike said. "That way, we won't have to leave anybody behind."
Leo smiled and shook his head. "Believe me, Mikey, if there were any other way, I'd take it. But there are three reasons why I'm going alone. One, I don't want to leave the Hovershell anywhere near these creatures. It's tech is too valuable. Two, if I fail to destroy the time window, someone must warn the PGA. And three…" he hesitated.
"Three'd better be better than your first two, Fearless." Raph growled. He'd regained his feet and was watching Leonardo with a dour glare.
Leo sighed. "I…you just have to go. You can't stay here. Please, guys. I…I need to know you are all okay."
Don's thoughts immediately jumped to when they had first arrived. Leo had been on edge the entire time, he remembered. He hadn't slept, he'd seemed jumpy…
"You had a premonition, didn't you," he said. Both Master Splinter and Leonardo were prone to those kinds of experiences. As a scientist, Don didn't really put too much credence into such things, but he'd seen both of them do some really unexplainable things—at least scientifically—on a mental level to discount them completely.
Leo didn't hesitate this time. "Yes. I did. And it was horrible. Truly horrible." He looked around at all of them. "It didn't involve me, it didn't involve Master Splinter or Cody, just you three. Here, on this planet, it begins. I don't have details…but it scares the hell out of me. Please just go. I promise, if I can't finish the job I'll get out of there and meet you and we'll leave together. Whatever. But just go. It's the only way I know to protect you."
"For the record," Raph growled before anyone else could say anything. "I don't need protectin'." Leo sighed, and Raph suddenly grinned. "But I'll let ya do it, just this once. But you better keep your promise, Leonardo. I'm gonna hold ya to it."
Leo gave him a small smile in return. "Thank you, Raph."
"Me too, Leo," Mike interjected. "I mean, I'm gonna hold you…uh…I mean to it…umm, hehe, yeah?"
Raph gave Mikey an affectionate smack to the head and Don slid into the pilot's seat. "Oh, here," he said, pulling the gauntlet off his wrist and handing it back to his eldest brother. "You are going to need this."
"Thanks." Leo slipped it on, and placed the grenade strap solidly over his plastron. He then reached down into one of the ship's many compartments and pulled out a jet pack, sliding that too over his shoulders. "Let's go."
Don obliged, banking around and swinging wide over the Triceraton base. In the short time they had been talking, more of the creatures had swarmed forward, and he could not see any more answering fire from the Triceratons. He swallowed the lump in his throat. It could very well mean they were all dead. He circled all the way around, then turned inward, taking a back route towards the time machine's location. There were less creatures in that direction.
His bandana tails whipped up and around his face as Leo opened the hatch. "Don't stop, don't slow down." The blue-masked turtle said. "They will see you before they see me and that should be enough." He smiled at Don. "See you on the flip side." And then he was gone, leaping out of the hatch as they shot over the time window.
Don heard a shriek as they passed and he was forced to put on more speed as tentacles whipped up around them. He made a good show of it, trying to keep the monster's attention on them to buy Leo a few more precious seconds, but then they were gone, out into the open rocky ground of Ceratopa. He glanced at the screen…the alien code was still spreading, but thankfully, it didn't seem to be affecting their flight systems much still.
"Guess it's a good thing that Cody installed so much junk into the Hovershell," he said, needing to break the tense silence that engulfed them.
Raph growled noncommittally, staring out the side window to the rear. Mike looked at him. "Why's that?"
"It means that it'll take that virus longer to find our core engine system. We'll have a good amount of flight time to make it back—"
A white roaring filled his ears. He felt the ship jerk and twist as the controls wrenched from his grasp, and for a moment, it was all he could do to grab a hold of them again as the Hovershell bucked and squealed and tumbled, rattling them like rag dolls. He was vaguely aware of his brother's cries and gritted his teeth, finally managing to grab the steering and pulled hard, trying to right them. It was too late, however—he had enough time to get the ship level with the ground before they slammed into it, knocking his head back into the head rest and jarring him from head to toe.
A few minutes passed before consciousness returned to him. He blinked, trying to clear his head, the earlier ache he'd had returning with a vengeance. "Raph," he tried to call, but his voice caught and sent him into a coughing fit.
"Here, Donny," Raph's voice was shaking, but his hands were steady as he grabbed Donatello's seat belt and pulled it off. He then slammed a fist through the front window and it gave with a shattering crack.
"Raph," Don exclaimed, alarmed, as red warm blood spattered his face. There was glass in Raphael's fingers. Don clung to that thought, his brain stubbornly determined to ignore what had just happened. Bloody fingers he could do something about. What had knocked them from the sky—
A shape leapt past them, out the window and around the side of the ship. Raph made a grab for it, but missed and cursed as he grabbed Don's wrist instead and helped him to his feet. Then they both jumped out into a nightmare.
Ceratopa's desert surface had always been unforgiving and formidable, but now, it was even worse. Red sand still surrounded them, but just beyond, it had been scoured away, revealing bare and blasted rock, bleached as white as bone. Beyond them, was the Triceraton's mountain base.
Or had been.
Don shook his head in denial. Beside him, Raph trembled with emotion—or perhaps rage. And in front of them, Mikey stood rigid, his mouth open in a silent cry of horror.
Where the mountain had stood, a deep chasm gaped, an empty hole miles long and miles deep. The base was gone. And that meant…
"Leo," Raph breathed, his voice a choked whisper. "He's gone."
And here we go :D