Chapter 20 Rise

On one of the many snowy days of December in the big city, many people were happy but the happiness was not shared by everyone. One woman, who sat in front of a classroom was worried. She wasn't worried about finances, nor was she worried about how well she was teaching her various students. Her worry was for one specific student, Autumn Fox.

Autumn was not one to miss class... and the only time the teacher could recall the teen missing a class was when she had been kidnapped the year before. Despite her attempts to suppress it the worry persisted, nagging her mind until the teacher, Ms. Thomas, finally decided to call the number Autumn gave to the school.

Unknown to her, in a rather strange looking vehicle crossing Colorado, in the pocket of an old maroon robe her call made a unique cell phone ring, it's shrill voice calling out to the occupants of the van. The old mutated rodent hearing the device pulled it out of his pocket and opened it, for seemingly the thousandth time trying and failing to understand his purple clad son's invention. Having noticed his father's trouble Don helped the elder with his cell.

Back in the classroom the teacher had somehow managed to silence the class, each pair of ears ending up listening to the conversation. When a hello met her ears she immediately smiled. From his tone she could tell that this was a man to be respected. He seemed old and wise but he was still strong, almost as though he was one of those old Japanese teachers.

"Hello. I'm calling about Autumn she's been absent from class for the past few weeks, are you her father?" The response was kind and the ancient man's voice did not falter. "No, but my sons and I have been taking care of Ms. Fox since the death of the late Mr. and Mrs. Fox. If you will recall the first kidnapping of Autumn I will tell you a similar disappearance has once again occurred and I regret to inform you that Ms. Fox has once again disappeared from society but we have since been searching for her. We are at the moment traveling towards her current location." He seemed honest enough but the teacher couldn't help but wonder... "So, might I ask for the name of Autumn's care takers and where my student is located?"

"My name is Sakuhen Hamato, but you may call me Splinter, my sons are named Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo. We are traveling to Nevada after learning of her being abducted and taken there for reasons we cannot tell you." Splinter having given a "false" name, was not hesitant in his reply having been adopted by Hamato Yoshi he adopted his master's surname and translated Splinter to Japanese resulting in the name he told the teacher.

The teacher couldn't help but ponder if the Raphael previously mentioned was the same teen that Autumn had mentioned to her friends. Recalling Autumn mention her Raphael's last name the brunette concluded that it was indeed the same guy. Only one Raphael had been mentioned by the strange looking teen and of that she was certain.

After Masta' Splinta' was done talkin' on da phone I decided it was too quiet, so with one hand on the wheel I pulled a CD out of it's case and put it in the radio's CD player thing-a-ma-gig. The CD was Autumn's favorite album Rise by Skillet. Each song seems to describe her so perfectly. The first song Rise, describes how she can seem to escape the pain the world brings, but she would always "Rise in Revolution" against The Shredder and Stockman. For her it seemed crazy to fight for what she believed in but still she fought. She never gave up no matter what the enemy would say.

The second song, Sick of It, describes how she was sick of dealing with the pain and torment she went through. Nothing she did seemed to matter during her time imprisoned by The Shredder because she couldn't escape. No one knew of her pain, no one heard her screams, no one could make it better because they didn't know what was going on, leaving her to take things into her own hands and fight no matter how many times she failed. She was tired of it, tired of the experiments and the torment, she fought while there was still a chance to escape.

The third song Good to Be Alive, describes how she felt after I found her and freed her. All she really had was broken dreams, and everything she wanted to be was taken from her hands. She was almost killed for fighting for her life. But when she was freed she was given a second chance and found life enjoyable when with me and my bros. She was a lost soul, She was almost dead inside, when she was captured but freedom was given to her she found her second chance. On the highway of life she found that fighting with us against the PDs and The Foot was fun. She found that it was good to be alive but only when she was free.

The fourth song, Not Gonna Die, describes how she fought against Shredder and Stockman. She was bent and broken her dignity was stolen by Shredder and his goons, but no matter how many times he hurt her she wouldn't give up. When everything she loved was gone she held on to what she believed in. She wouldn't let him kill her, the only thing that kept her alive was her will to fight. She broke the hold the Shredder thought he had on her every time she tried to escape refusing to be controlled. She took her life back by fighting for her freedom, and got stronger because of his torment.

The fifth song, Circus for a Psycho, described Stockman's Psychotic experiments on her. He pushed her, trying to brake her spirit but only got her rage instead. She only wanted him to leave her alone. She eventually did kick him off of his throne, on the same day she was turned into a half fox mutant. He seemed to be trying to kill her but she refused to bend under his orders. She was prepared to fight forever if that was what it took to get her freedom. He was a psycho to her, and his experiments were the circus he controlled. Her rage sometimes made her want to burn down the whole building. She would never let someone control her. She only wanted her freedom.

The sixth song, American Noise, described how she voiced her opinion unlike so many other people in this world, even when the situation seemed hopeless. Despite the angry words thrown at her and the lonely room in which she was held she fought. Times that were good and bad both existed in her life but she didn't care as long as she had her freedom. She cut threw the "American Noise" with truth, because she had a voice and she acted fearless despite the pain. Her screams of pain seemed silent to the oblivious people just outside the building and at times she didn't know what to believe, but she just wanted to be free. She knew that everyone, no matter who they are, has a voice, they just have to use it, because everyone has a story to tell. She had a choice and decided to fight for her freedom and voice her opinion.

The seventh song, The Madness In Me, described how now that she's a mutant she is surrounded by enemies. After she was freed she tried so hard to remain that way but when she was captured again everything she had fought for seemed to go up in flames. This isn't the way that she thought she would turn out to be. She tried to get freedom but all that she got on her own was more insanity. She couldn't seem to get away from the consuming fire that burns inside of her. She fought to stay alive even when she couldn't breathe. After she was freed when she heard voices scream she would fight along side us. The enemy, Shredder tried to take over everything, once again fueling her anger. If she had the chance to get rid of him she would but every time she gets close it all goes up in flames. She can't change the past but she can fight to change today.

The eighth song, Salvation, describes how she needed a rescuer to save her and how the only reason she survived was that she still had hope to be freed. All she loved was lost. She couldn't help but wonder where her rescuer was or if she was left to die, but she couldn't help but have hope. I was the one who found her, and rescued her, I was her salvation, and later I became her love. When she was mutated she couldn't help but wonder who she was and who she wanted to be. I helped her heal, not physically, but emotionally. Our love won't die because of how it came to be, she loves me for me, and I love her for her.

The ninth song, Fire and Fury describes how fiercely we would fight for each other. If separated either one of us would demolish a building brick by brick if we had to. When we're apart and asleep we'll call each other's names, and needing to see each other as soon as we awake, and because of that we share a room. If I were to be cold to any of my bros, Autumn is the flame that would melt my heart. We bring out the best in each other.

The tenth song, My Religion, is the only one that doesn't apply as well to her life since her capture, but even so it still describes how she won't sway her opinion and doesn't dress to impress others. It still describes how I helped her to heal, and how she loves all of me. She can't be told what to believe and will fight against any enemy.

The eleventh song, Hard to Find, describes how hard was for her to find hope after her capture. When we would turn on the news there was so much pain bleeding through she had to look away, but the same amount of pain was stored in her heart and nothing seemed to change during the first month. I gave her a shoulder to lean on... An open heart and mind and she let her feelings out and slipped off her mask of strength for the first time in front of another person since her capture. I gave her faith to believe she could be free and to put her past behind her. I, Hamato Raphael, a hot headed mutant turtle, gave her the strength she needed. For a teen put through such torment faith is hard to find, but she found it.

The twelfth song, What I Believe, describes how love brought her out of her misery, specifically my love. When the world around her seemed to be lost in misery, she was saved. When everything felt wrong, she felt right with me. When we started, whole hearted, She felt like she didn't need anything else, she was broken but talking to me made her feel whole again, She told me that I was the only one she trusted more than herself. When she was fearful I would chase away her fears. I was the one who put her back together on the inside.

When the last song ended I pressed replay, the blaring music not seeming to bother my brothers or father, simply because it's Autumn's favorite. I was told her whole story one month after her rescue, not one experiment was left out of her story, she even played her favorite album, Rise, and gave me the same description I just gave you mere weeks before her second kidnapping after I asked why it was her favorite. When I catch the damn bastard who kidnapped Autumn I'm gonna make 'em wish he hadn't messed with us.