Ancient Legacy

Chapter 36

Mona looked herself in the mirror and ran her fingers through her hair for the umpteenth time, amazed with how smooth and silky it was. Her hair hadn't felt this good in a very long time. Heather hadn't been kidding when she said that you wouldn't be disappointed with Tania's work, Mona sure wasn't.

"If your done admiring yourself in the mirror, I'm almost done with Sephie." said Tania, snapping Mona back to reality.

"Sorry." Mona said, tying up her hair with her pink ninja headband like she usually does. "It's just, I haven't been at a salon for almost five years. The first two years I was lucky if I even could wash myself at all. I had almost forgotten how it feels, it's almost magical."

"Oh, I've heard that many times before. Back when I started this place, most that lived here had had the same problem. Guess who got real popular in a matter of weeks."

"I can't imagine why." Sephie giggled, casing the other girls to do the same.

A few minutes later, Tania finished working on Sephie's hair. Sephie got up, looked herself in the mirrors while running her fingers through the hair, she then tied it up in her signature ponytail.

"Great as always Tania. Thanks."

"My pleasure. And Mona, stop by in a few days and we'll make some beautiful clothes together."

"Looking forward to it, Tania."

Walking out of the salon, the girls saw that the turtles was hanging with the Knights not far from the entrance. They decided that they could hang with the others as well, there weren't much going on and it never hurt to get to know new people a little better.

As they stood there, talking idly, Tyroth and Raithior returned. Raithior's armor was battered and had both burn-marks and cuts, the latter of which had dark bloodstains. Tyroth had three long cuts over his chest that had almost healed completely but were still visible. He had his right arm over Raithior's shoulders for support, while he held his left hand on his right side.

Needless to say, the group was very worried.

"What happened?" Sephie asked.

"We had a minor disagreement with one of Raithior's old coworkers." Tyroth answered.

"A disagreement? About what?" Jack asked.

"Our continued existence." said Raithior.

"He had some heavy arguments but we won, barely." said Tyroth.

"Are you badly hurt? Let me check." said Donnie as he walked up to Tyroth, removing Tyroth's hand from his side, revealing the gaping hole causing the turtle to flinch slightly. The others also managed to see the wound, though they wished that they hadn't, as they could see his still healing intestines inside it.

"It looks worse than it is, but it feels as bad as it looks." said Tyroth.

"Please put your hand back over it or I'm gonna lose my lunch." said Mikey. Tyroth did as asked and Donnie didn't try to stop him, the wound was to large to sew together.

"Maybe you should head over to the well and have a drink so you heal up." Sarah suggested.

"Not a bad idea. I rarely need that so I had almost forgotten about it."

Tyroth walked away, towards the temple, with Raithior still supporting him.

"You guys haven't seen the well work its magic before, right?" Percy asked the ninja, who shook their heads. "Then let's go and you can see, just don't blink or you'll miss it."

Some ten minutes later, the mutants were all assembled in the temple. Sephie had taken over from Raithior in supporting Tyroth, as no one knew how the water might affect a demon. With Sephie's help, Tyroth knelt down to the water, showing the still gaping hole in his side to the others. Taking a mouthful of the clear water, the hole closed itself at a blink of an eye and Tyroth got back on his feet, looking completely unharmed.

The ninja watched in disbelief as their dragon friend stretched a bit.

"Ah, good as new. I needed that." he said. "Still dead-tired though."

"Incredible!" said Donnie.

"I know." said Sharky "And it does the same for any injury just as fast, even a lost arm." he said, rubbing his left arm.

"Our mutations also happened as quick." said Kate.

"Your source of power is truly a wonder." said Raithior.

"True, but let's move on, you're injured too, you know." said Tyroth.

"Would you please remove your armor so I can examine you properly." said James. The mutants had moved to the med-room, waiting outside while their resident doctor helped Raithior. His wounds hadn't looked that bad, but without the enhanced healing factor that the Mutopians had, and the fact that his demon physiology was potentially completely different from humans and mutants, made them worry for their new friend.

The only ones that was inside, aside from James and Raithior, were Donnie, who was there because he was skilled at the medical arts and was helping James, Mona who wanted to have the injury on her arm checked later and helped the doctors while waiting, and Tyroth who, having fought side by side with Raithior, was concerned about his comrade in arms and decided to stay.

With some help from Donnie, Raithior managed to remove all armor on his upper body, revealing a rather well-trained torso. Apparently he didn't have much, if any, clothing underneath the armor, which explained why he never removed it.

Once the armor was removed, James started examining the cuts on Raithior's arm and chest. They had stopped bleeding but hadn't healed enough to leave open.

"You're lucky that these were cut with a very sharp weapon, that will allow them to heal faster, just need to sew them together first. I would also like to clean the wounds first, to reduce the risk of an infection. I hope that you're not allergic or anything to alcohol." said James.

"There is no need for concern. I am practically invulnerable, your chemicals will not harm me."

Not quit sure about the answer, James none the less grabbed some cotton-balls and wet them with alcohol. As he started to clean the wounds, Raithior felt the stinging pain of the alcohol.

"I stand corrected." Raithior said, clenching his teeth once again when James started sewing.

James finished up the treatment by bandaging the wounds.

"There, that should do it." he said "Now, if the stitches break, you come and see me at once, the same applies if you start bleeding. Other than that, avoid physical activities that would put a strain on your wounds and come back within a few day so I can change your dressings. Also, take some time to rest up a bit."

"If you think that is for the best. Thank you." Raithior collected his armor pieces, but didn't put them on in case that would reopen his wounds. Once he had all the pieces, he left for his room.

"As soon as I've cleaned up here," said James "I'll have a look at your arm, Mona."

"You can do that now, I'll handle the cleaning." said Donnie.

"Truly? Well, then I'll just be a few minutes. Thank you, Donatello."

After washing up properly, James removed the bandages on Mona's arm and examined the wounds.

"You're healing very well, another day or two and you should have made a full recovery."

"Dose that mean that I can start training with the others again? And go on patrol?" said Mona with a hint of enthusiasm.

"Yes, but take it easy at first, so you can feel if your arm protests. I'll put some new bandages around the wounds, just to be on the safe side."

Placing his armor on the desk in his room, Raithior sat down in the bed and looked at it, all the burn marks, dents and cuts from the fight earlier. He had hoped that his desertion would have caused his kin to rethink their actions, but instead Xazahl had sent Toriax, a demon that not even Xazahl himself could control. But whether Toriax had been sent after Raithior or his mortal friends could be discussed.

The door slowly slid open, just a little, catching Raithior's attention. Looking at the door, he saw a small child with yellow skin and long amber colored hair peeking at him from behind the door. Raithior recognized the girl, he had seen her a few times as he wandered around in Mutopia, but neither had ever talked to the other one.

"Hello there." he said, causing the girl hide a bit more. "Is there something I can help you with?"

Shyly, the girl looked out from behind the door again.

"What is your name?" Raithior asked.

"Uhm... Sonia." the girl almost whispered.

"Nice to meet you Sonia. My name is Raithior."

"That's a funny name." said Sonia, as she slowly stepped away from the door, into the room.

"I suppose it does sound... funny to you." Raithior chuckled.

Sonia walked a little closer and looked at Raithior, her color shifting to a slightly more green color.

"What animal are you?" she asked.

"Animal? No, I am not like you or the others here. I am a demon." he said.

"Demon? The grownups talk about them, they're bad guys." she said, now almost next to Raithior. "But you're no demon, cause you're here and bad guys never come here, so you must be good guy. And your eyes are too kind to be a bad guy's."

Raithior could nothing but smile at the young child and her innocence. Her eyes were filled with hope, curiosity and admiration. And, while she seemed to be quite shy, she wasn't afraid of him.

Sonia, now even more green, saw the bandages around Raithior's arm and chest.

"You're hurt. Did the bad guys hurt you?" she asked. Raithior nodded.

"They always hurt others, that's why they're bad guys. But uncle Tyroth fight them, he helps us."

"So, Tyroth is your uncle?"

"Yeah, and he's really nice. Do you have a family?"

"Yes... a brother, but... he is one of the bad guys." said Raithior with a sad tone.

Sonia sat down on the bed next to Raithior.

"Don't be sad, he can't be all bad. If he's your brother, then he must be at least a little good, cause you're a good guy."

"Thank you for those kind words. I hope that you are right."

"Well, would you look at that." said a voice from the door. Looking at the door, Raithior saw George standing in the doorway, smiling.

"Sonia rarely approaches someone new on her own. She must sense something special about you." the old turtle said.

"Hi Grampa."

"Hello George. Is there something I can help you with?"

"Oh I am just checking up on you, making sure that you are alright. Then I saw that your door was open."

"Your doctor assured me that I will be fine. Thank you for your concern."

George walked over to Raithior and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You have not been here very long, Raithior, but you have still made several friends, despite of your origin. And I want to tell you this, no matter how things turn out regarding your people, you will always have a place here with us."

"That means a lot to me. Thank you."

"It is the least we can do. You have proven that you are indeed a reliable person. And little Sonia here have taken quite the liking to you, apparently she looks up to you."

"I have noticed. A long time ago, I had a younger brother who also looked up to me. I was quite young back then, but having Sonia here makes me remember that feeling. It is like having a family again, a real family."

"Here we are all one big family, and now that includes you as well."

Celorach walked through the catacomb-like world of the demons, having been summoned to Xazahl. As he walked, he heard various demons talk, and what they said was disturbing.

"Yet another one of us falls at the hands of the mortals." said one.

"How could this be happening?" said another.

"Have you not heard? One of them is partially dragon, and apparently very powerful." said a third.

"If this continues, we may all be destroyed." said yet another one.

"Maybe Raithior did the right thing deserting. He was not given his rank for being dumb." said a fifth.

"Be quiet, you fool, lest you bring death to us all."

Celorach didn't stop as he walked past the group, he had already heard numerous others say roughly the same things. He didn't have the time to do anything about it at the moment. After a short while, he entered Xazahl's chamber.

"You summoned me, lord Xazahl?" he said with a bow.

"I did, general." Xazahl said with his back against Celorach. "The mortals continues to claim victories against our warriors."

"I know, my lord."

"Do you then know that I unleashed Toriax upon them?"

"I did not, my lord. But, while Toriax is a hazard to all of us, I am confident that he will succeed."

Xazahl turned around and looked Celorach in the eyes.

"He is dead." he said.

"What? How is that possible? He is invincible, nothing can cause harm to him, not even your great powers."

"One of my scouts told me about his battle against the dragon, and your brother. Somehow they managed to undo the augmentations we made and slew him. That is most unsettling. Not to mention that your brother betrayed us and joined forces with the mortals."

"I shall personally deal with him when I get the chance."

"See that you do. His actions have spread doubt amongst our warriors, if this continues more may defect."

"Shall I have some executed to set an example, my lord"

"That would only give the remaining more wind in their sails. Leave them be for now."

"As you wish, my lord, but how shall we proceed? Shall we wait until the field weakens enough for us to send a large force?"

"No, while that would give us time to prepare, it would also grant the mortals the same. During that time, there is a risk that more like the dragon could arise. And our Master has waited far too long. No, we shall not wait, at least, not for long."

"What do you mean, my lord?"

"We shall devise a plan and set a trap for the mortals. Once they spring that trap, they will be at our mercy."

Mona and Sephie have gotten their hair fixed, the team have seen the healing power of the well, Raithior is recovering from his wounds and bonding with Sonia and the demons are planing something.

All in all, a good deal of content. Stop by for more content in the next chapter. :)