Tears fell down my face as I slowly cupped Raph's face in my hands. "You promised not to leave me... Why now?" I asked. I placed a kiss on his forehead. "Please come back," I whispered, "Please. I can't live without you." My head hurt and I was shaking uncontrollably. I wanted to scream. I wanted to scream and cry and yell until I wake up from this nightmare. I just want Raph to be there to hug me, tell me everything is okay. I just want to wake up. Take me away from this horrible dream, I thought.
I looked down at him. How long had I left him there? How long had he been bleeding? The thoughts swirled around in my head, making me sick. I almost fell on the ground from the hurt, my guilt. It's all my fault. He died because of me. If I hadn't asked him to come out. If we hadn't gone to the park with Hanna. It's all my fault. All my fault. "Someone help me. Please help me save him. Save me. Please! Please. Save him please..." I cried out. I shook on the floor, staring at Raph's unmoving body. It was all my fault. The words kept echoing in my head, making me worse.
Someone save him. Someone. Anyone. Please, help me save him, I thought. My necklace started glowing. My hand shook as I reached out to touch it. As soon as I did, I was flying through empty space. All I saw when I looked around was stars. Above me. Below me. Everywhere I looked, I saw stars. Billions. Trillions maybe. But where was I? I looked at where I was heading. It seemed like nothing at first, but then I stopped.
I had just stopped. I looked below me and saw what appeared to be a pond. The whole place looked like a pond reflecting the stars above. "Where am I?" I asked curiously. "Hello Kayla," a voice called from somewhere, "I've been waiting for you." I whirled around, looking for the owner to the voice. "Who are you? Where are you?" I asked, looking over my shoulder.
A figure that looked like it was made out of whisps of glowing light rose from the pond. "I am the keeper," she said, "I've been expecting you, Kayla." My eyes widened. Me? She's been waiting for me? "The keeper?" I asked. "I am one of the first of the beings you and your sisters are. You cannot see my sisters, but you can see me because I'm linked to you," she explained. "Linked? What do ya mean linked?" I asked. The keeper moved a little closer. "Your necklace. I was once a girl like you, and that was once my necklace. In a way, I'm YOUR keeper. Your sisters also have their own keepers," she answered.
I was listening, but I was having a hard time processing everything she just said. She just said we have keepers. She's MY keeper. Does this mean she can help me? I thought. "Okay, so you're my keeper... What does that make me exactly?" I asked. The keeper gently grabbed my necklace, making it glow. "You're Kayla, nothing more. You and I are linked because I was technically another you. Our personalities were some what the same, though I must admit you're a little different from me due to the changes in time. My sisters and I have been here for thousands, maybe millions of years. Oh sometimes I lose track. But you and your sisters have a very special gift," she said.
I nodded. "A gift. What kind of gift?" I asked. "Your powers. What you know is just barely scratching the surface of the powers you hold within. These powers can work miracles, but others can inject fear into the hearts of others. You and your sisters must learn to control your dark powers, so that they may be used alongside the much stronger light. Your necklace is also a part of these. With it you can see different periods of time. The past, present and future. Your mind was connected to it the minute you put it on. Now about the reason you summoned me," she said.
"Me? I summoned you?" I asked. "Yes you summoned me. That's why you're here. You must've had such a strong emotional pull you summoned me to you. It seemed a lot like a distress call. 'Help me save him' I believe. You want to save someone you care about," she explained. "Yes. Raph's dying... Well he's... He's already gone," I said sadly. I tear rolled down my cheek.
The keeper smiled sadly. "I know you love him. I can feel it. So, you'll be happy to know that he is not dead. Not yet anyways. There is still time," she said, "I will show you how to save him." My eyes widened. "You mean... I can bring him back? How?" I asked, "Please keeper, tell me." She nodded. "Very well. I will show you how to revive him, but allow me to show you something first," she said.
The keeper reached her hand out, and slowly reached through my necklace and into my chest. I tried to remain calm as she pulled it back out. When she did, there was a small purple flame in her palm that some what resembled her body. "What is that?" I asked. "Your core," she replied, "It is basically your soul. What, and who you are is all within this small flame. Your powers and your love are in here as well. You can use your love to save Raphael. This is what can save him."
The keeper shoved the core back into my chest and for a moment my whole body lit up and faded back to normal. I looked down at my necklace, which was still glowing. "My love can save Raph. But how can I use it? I... I don't know how," I said. The hope I just had was slowly vanishing. "When I send you back you'll know how. It'll come to you, trust me," she said, "I'll send you back now, but if you ever need me, you know how to call."
I didn't want to leave though. "Wait, keeper. I still don't know how," I said, "Just tell me." "It's alright, you don't have to worry. Just think of how you've always shown your affection for him. You can save him. You WILL save him. I know you can. Now go, save him," she said. I could feel myself begin to fly back into my own body. I waved as I flew off, soaring through the empty space again.
I flew through space, gaining speed as I was going into my body. Then I was thrown in and sat up, breathing heavily. I was still in the cell, and Raph was still lying there. The keeper said there was still time, I could still save him. I sat next to him and began to think as hard as I could. What have I always done as a show of affection? What have WE done as a show of affection? I thought.
The answer literally fell on top of me. That's it! That's how! I thought happily. I gently laid down in the same position I usually found myself in when Raph and I hung out together, my chin resting on his plastron. I gently began to trace little circles on his plastron, and my necklace started glowing a little. I went up and nuzzled him, making it glow brighter. I traced more circles. My necklace glowed brighter. I gently took my finger and traced along the little crack in his shell.
My necklace was glowing brighter by the minute, brighter and brighter with every nuzzle and trace of my finger. Suddenly a small flame emerged from the center of my necklace and seeped inside of Raph. I sat back and watched as he lit up and lifted into the air. Then he came back down, every cut and bruise gone. Please let him be back, I thought.
I gently reached a hand out to him. "Raph? You okay? You can wake up now," I said. He started to groaned faintly. "Raph," I said. He slowly sat up and opened his eyes, those incredible green eyes that I would never get tired of. "Ugh my head," he said, "Kayla is that you?" I jumped on him. "Raphie! It worked! It really worked! Thank you keeper!" I cried as I hugged him. "Hey, I see you're happy to see me," he said. I smiled like an idiot. "I'm happier to see you alive. You nearly died," I said. He smiled back. "Yeah, but you saved me. I was right when I said you're an angel," he said. I could feel myself blush a little. "I'm not an angel Raph." "You saved my life! You have to be an angel," he retorted. "No, I saved you with my powers. I'm seriously not an angel," I said.
He reached up to kiss my cheek. "Well, you're MY angel, and I'd like to keep it that way," he said. I blushed a shade deeper. "Okay, I'll be YOUR angel, but that's it. I just wanna go home and forget this night ever happened," I replied. Raph seemed to be thinking about something for a minute. "Didn't you tell me something about teleportation?" he asked. I nodded. "Yeah Asami told me. We learned how to do a little of it, but nothing really fancy," I said.
"Well, how about you do that to get us out of here?" he asked. I shrugged. "I dunno. I don't think I can do it very well right now. I need to practice more," I said. Raph grabbed my hands. "Well Kayla, think of this as your first practice session," he replied, "If you wanna go home, ya gotta try." I sighed. He was right, if I wanna go home, I gotta try.
"Okay I'll try, but if ya wanna come with me, you'll have to hang on tight," I said, "You won't teleport if you're not touching me." Raph gripped my hands tightly. "How's that?" "Perfect, now be quiet so I can focus," I said. I remembered what Asami said that can trigger the teleportation. She said my emotions could trigger it, along with at least three words that remind you of where you want to go. Now all I had to figure out was which three words.
Come on Kayla, just three words. Try to think of the first one, I thought. The first thing that came to mind was Hanna. She's at home, waiting for us. Another word... Warm. I like to think of the lair as warm. Just one more. You got Hanna and warm, what's another one? I asked myself. My sisters are also at home. So... I'm thinking sisters. You have three now, so put emotion into it, and you'll be home, I thought. I started letting the words run through my head. Hanna, warm, sisters. Hanna, warm, sisters... MY necklace started glowing, and let the words run through again. Hanna, warm, sisters. Hanna, warm, sisters.
Suddenly Raph and I started glowing, starting from the ground up. When the light reached my necklace, it looked like it was on fire, and when it reached my eyes, they went ablaze. It didn't have much effect on Raph, he just glowed. Then my necklace shot out a band of light that started surrounding us. I had to remain perfectly calm in order for it to work. The words ran through my head again. Hanna, warm, sisters. The band started winding it's way around me, then wound it's way around Raph once it reached my hands.
Once we were both consumed, I knew what I had to do. "On three, blink," my voice echoed into Raph's mind. "What?" he asked. "Shhh. On three, blink," I sent to his mind. He stayed quiet as I started. "One... Two," I started, "Three." We both blinked, and suddenly we went flying through more empty space. "Open your eyes, you can talk now," I said.
Raph slowly opened his eyes, then practically stuck to me. "Where the shell are we?!" he yelled. I pushed him down. "Calm down, we're just going home. Nothin bad is gonna happen to ya. Just watch," I said. I pushed off of him, and started circling around him. "Kayla you're nuts!" he screeched. I laughed. "Okay okay, I'll stick close to you. Just stop screaming okay," I said. I floated back towards him and grabbed his hand. "Better?" I asked. "Yeah I guess," he said, trying to be tough. "Big baby," I muttered under my breath.
He whirled around. "What?" "Oh nothing. We're almost there so you might wanna hold on to somethin," I said. Up ahead was a huge light. We needed to go in there in order to get home. Raph clung to me again. "Ready?" I asked. "Ready," he replied. I started accelerating, and I swear I could hear Raph scream a little. I soared into the light. "Brace for impact!" I yelled.
We dropped about ten feet, then crashed down onto the couch in the lair. Raph looked up. "We're alive?" he asked. I sighed. "Yep, we're alive," I said. Raph twirled me around. "We're alive! And we're back home!" he exclaimed, "I love you so much!" I laughed as he smushed his lips against my cheek. "I think you're just glad you're alive," I said with laugh. I looked, and in front of the T.V. was a very wide eyed and confused looking Hanna, Mikey and Mari. "Uuuummm dudes? You guys just kinda fell through the ceiling," Mikey said. Mari raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. Kayla did you just use teleportation? I thought we didn't know how to do that yet," she said.
I shrugged. "Well I just learned," I replied. Mikey's eyes widened as he looked at Mari. "You guys can teleport?" he asked excitedly. Mari nodded. "Yeah, anywhere. Asami said that we could even go back in time when we really get the hang of it," she said. "Mari that's awesome! I wanna go back in time and bring a mummy back to life so we can start a hip hop group and travel around the world in a gold UFO!" he squealed. "Me too!" Mari exclaimed.
I sighed. "Okay, mummies and UFOs. Very... Interesting guys," I said. Hanna walked over. "Mommy and Daddy okay?" she asked. "Yep, we're back kid," Raph said. Hanna smiled. "That good. I was bwave just wike you Daddy. I beat Mikey," she said triumphantly. Mikey laughed nervously. "I let her win. You know, so she wouldn't get mad," he said. Mari raised an eyebrow. "But you lost. I had to sit there and fix you up while you screamed your head off. 'No! Not the needles! Not the needles Mari!' That's what I remember," she said. I snorted. "Okay... Maybe I lost a little," Mikey admitted.
Raph and I laughed a little. "Wow Hanna, you must be getting better already. Impressive," I said. "Or maybe Mikey is just that bad," Raph added. That sent Mari and me into a fit of laughter. "I am not! I told you, I let her win!" Mikey pouted. I stopped laughing enough to have some sympathy for the guy. "I'm sure you did Mikey. It's all good," I said. Mari stopped laughing too. "Yeah, you're just that sweet," she added, "I believe you."
As their conversation turned into one about pizza, I started feeling dizzy. I put a hand on my forehead. "Mommy?" Hanna asked. I tried to force a smile, but I couldn't. I stumbled back. "Kayla!" Raph cried. He jumped to catch me as my legs gave out from under me. I collapsed in his arms. "Ugh... Something feels wrong," I drawled. "Just take it easy Kayla. I'll take you to Donnie and Ally to fix you up," Raph said. I nodded. My eyesight is starting to get fuzzy.
I didn't protest much as Raph hefted me up and carried me into the lab. "Donnie, Ally! Can ya help Kayla? She collapsed," Raph said. Donnie took off his goggles and Ally looked away from her computer. "Sure, put her on the table so we can check her out," Donnie replied. Raph gently set me down and kissed my cheek lovingly. "Don't worry, you'll be fine. Donnie and Ally will fix you up, then we can go back to figtin and bustin heads," Raph said reassuringly. I smiled weakly at him. Raph stepped out of the lab as Donnie and Ally began checking over me.
"Hm, you seem to have to collapsed from exhaustion, but you aren't sweating or anything like that. Weird," Donnie said. Ally looked me over one more time. "Hey Kayla, did you try to revive something or someone? Asami told us that when we try something major like that we get a power drain. Or did you teleport?" Ally asked. "Um actually I did both tonight. I revived Raph and then teleported us back here," I said. Ally nodded, then she got really pale.
I started to get nervous, but then my vision got blurry. "Ally... What's wrong Ally?" I asked. "Kayla you did two major things like that in one night is what's wrong. If we don't get some energy in your system soon, you could go into a coma until you regain your energy," Ally said quietly. My eyes widened. "W-what do we do?" I asked. Ally tried to stay calm, but I could tell it wasn't working. "I-I don't know. We need Lenny, Mari too. I just hope we can make it time. Donnie can you get them for me? I have to watch Kayla." Donnie nodded and left.
"Okay we need to make sure you don't use up the last of your energy. If we can get Lenny and Mari in here, all you'll have to do is sleep it off. A power drain is serious. You could be asleep for weeks, months even. You just need to stay calm and relax," Ally explained. I nodded. "Alright, just don't do anything that'll freak me out," I said. I got comfortable, and I heard Donnie come back with Lenny and Mari.
Mari sprang to the side of the table. "Oh my goodness! Kayla are you okay?!" she said hysterically. I rolled my eyes. "I'm... Fine," I managed. Lenny looked me over as well. "She's just about completely drained. We need to put some of our energy into her system," she said. Ally nodded. "Yeah I remember what we have to do in order to fix her." "Alright, let's do it now," Lenny said, "First we get into a circle and join hands."
I watched tiredly as they got into a circle around the table and linked their hands together. "Okay, now we have to erect a small amount of our energy to her, that way it'll fuse and make her stronger," Ally said. They closed their eye and I watched as their necklaces started glowing. Please let this work. Please let this work, I thought.
I watched as three tiny little flames like the one keeper showed me emerged from their necklaces, merged into one, and was forced into my chest. It didn't hurt as I much as I thought. Soon my eyesight went back to normal and I felt less dizzy, but I was more than tired. I sat up. "Did it work?" I asked. "Yeah, you just need to sleep and stuff," Mari said.
I hopped up from the table and walked back into the living room. "Oh thank goodness you're okay!" Raph said as he hugged me. "I'm fine now okay. You're choking me," I said, pushing him down. Hanna hugged me too. "You okay. I happy too," she said. I smiled. "Yeah, I was just a little tired is all," I said. I sat down on the couch. "Kayla you need to sleep it off. Go to bed," Lenny said.
I waved her off. "I'm fine Lenny. I don't feel tired, so I should be okay," I said. Ally crossed her arms. "Kayla you need to go to sleep so you don't risk going into another drain, and then a coma," she said. Raph helped me up. "Come on Kayla, let's get you to bed. You too Hanna let's go," he said. It was amazing how much of a dad he can be when it comes to her.
Hanna's bottom lip stuck out in a pout. "But Uncle Mikey pwomised to show me funny twick," she said sadly. Raph raised an eye ridge. "Uncle Mikey?" Mikey laughed nervously. "Well since you two are her parents now, that makes us the aunts and uncles. So I decided to let her call me Uncle Mikey," Mikey said. Mari's buns bounced as she nodded. "Yeah, and I'm Aunt Mari. That makes Lenny Aunt Lenny, Ally Aunt Ally, Leo Uncle Leo, and Donnie Uncle Donnie," she explained.
I yawned, what else was I supposed to do? "Raph, make sure she gets plenty of rest so that her energy can come back," Ally said. "Alright, thanks Ally. Come on Hanna," Raph said as he led me to his room. Hanna waved at Mikey like it was the last time she'd ever see him, and reluctantly followed.
Raph laid me down gently on his bed. "You need sleep," he said. Hanna crossed her arms. "I wanna see Uncle Mikey's twick. Pwease Daddy?" she asked with big sad eyes. Raph crossed his arms right back. "No. You can do it tomorrow after training," he said. Hanna sighed. "Okay... Can Spike sweep in my woom today?" she asked. Spike was sleeping on a little pillow Raph keeps in his room. He never leaves Spike out of his sight.
Raph looked nervously at Spike. "Uh... I don't think that's a good idea Hanna. Besides, you already have Melody sleeping in there," he said. Hanna stuck her bottom lip out again. "Pwease? I wike Spike a lot Daddy. Just today?" she asked. Raph looked at me for assistance. "Just let him sleep in there for today. You know she won't go to sleep until he does," I said.
Raph sighed, carefully picked up Spike, and gently handed him to Hanna. "Now carry him with both hands and don't drop him," Raph said. Hanna gently held him against her chest. "Okay Daddy," she said, carefully walking into her room. Raph sat down next to me. "I swear if she glitterizes Spike, I blame you," he said. I shrugged. "She doesn't even have glitter. Spike will be fine," I said with a yawn.
Raph laid down next to me. "How're ya feelin?" "Tired, same as five minutes ago," I replied. He quickly pecked me on the lips. "Alright. Get some sleep okay. I'll check up on ya to make sure you're alright," he said. "Okay... And Raph?" I asked. "Yeah?" "You really scared me when you almost died," I said. He kissed my cheek. "Well I'm here now. I promise I won't leave you like that again," he said. I nodded. "With all these promises you're making, I'm afraid you'll never keep all of them." "Well I'll try. Now get some rest," he said.
I yawned and snuggled up to him. "Night Raph," I whispered. "Night my lovely angel," he said.