Chapter Forty-One: Plans and Ideas
Jior Midmorning
Raph had resorted to doing katas to keep alert by the time Casey came crashing back through the branchy border with a bag full of berries. After a snack of berries, he lay down for a powernap with strict instructions to Casey to wake him if Saja started to stir or anything else happened. Not long after, however, Leo returned alone with a grim look in his eyes.
"There are Jior men and an elder all around the Old Anchor," he'd said, "and I obviously can't understand them, but I heard Taevon's name several times."
"Well, that's gone from bad ta worse," Raph said.
"So I'm going to borrow the forgnathu translator from Saja—she probably won't wake up before I get back, and she's got Don's translator for backup anyway. I'll go listen for awhile and see if I can figure out what's going on."
Raph hadn't liked this plan, but hadn't had a solid argument against it, so Leo had left with the translator and its earbud.
Saja continued sleeping like the dead, with just an occasional moan or whimper. Raph catnapped. Casey munched on berries, mumbled to himself, and twirled a hockey stick in his hands.
Now, perhaps an hour later, Raph sat up as Leo returned.
"They've set up a guard around this Anchor, and the other one," he said, hands on his hips. Raph and Casey stood and approached. "They're going to rotate men every few hours until Taevon returns. When he does, they're going to punish him at their Moon Gathering, which is apparently soon, like Saja guessed. It sounds like he did time travel, but they somehow know he brought someone in, and they connected the dots between that and the 'intruders' in town."
Raph nodded, absorbing all this. "So," he growled, "have they said if Taevon's time travel was…?"
Leo shook his head. "They're talking about Don and Mikey more than Taevon, so I haven't heard if they know if his time travel was accidental or intended."
"I'm sure it was on accident," Casey said. "He just got nervous, that's all."
"Right," said Raph noncommittally. "What are they sayin' about Don an' Mikey? Have they said where they're bein' held?"
"In the Council Building, it sounds like. They're very curious about them. They're calling them 'the orange turtle' and 'the purple turtle,' which is… accurate, I guess. It sounds like they kept saying one sentence over and over while the elder was questioning them."
"Prolly 'Let us go.'" Casey guffawed. "Or 'Untie us or else!'"
"Prob'ly 'We don't understand you,' you knucklehead." Raph whacked Casey's head lightly. "Uh, they didn't say anythin' about a red turtle or a blue one, did they, Leo?"
Leo was already shaking his head. "No, thankfully. In fact, they seemed quite proud of themselves for catching 'both' of the intruders. Nothing was said about searching, defenses, or anything like that. They don't know we're here."
"Well, that's a little bit of luck, anyway." Raph twirled his sais between his fingers. "So, what's next, Fearless?"
"We wait," Leo said. He stood as still as a tree, but his eyes betrayed the same impatience Raph felt. "Tonight, we'll scope it out and rescue Don and Mikey, if they haven't rescued themselves yet. Then we'll see if Don's ready to use The Technology on Saja, so we can head home and face the Gamer. If Taevon hasn't shown up by then, I'm sure he'll meet us back at the Lair."
He'd better. Raph jammed his sais back in his belt. "Sounds like a plan."
Day Eleven
Thursday, just after midnight
Jior Noon
Sharp rapping on the door snapped Don out of his reverie; he shoved the manual behind the crate that had been serving as his table and scrambled toward the wall where he and Mikey were supposed to be tied up. They must be coming in to either check on us or take us away somewhere! Why already? I thought we had more time!
Getting his bearings as he moved, Don realized that several hours had passed; it must be around noon. Ugh, I'm getting pretty hungry and thirsty, too. It'll be harder to work or escape dehydrated and without fuel.
Mikey had been doodling on paper he'd begged off Don, but now he was already by the metal ring in the wall. I don't see the paper—he must've already hidden it. Good job, Mikey.
"Marzitev gobol tunilun eemta," a gruff voiced announced, muffled by the door.
Mikey was looking up. Don followed his gaze to see a navy sack sticking through the high window to the left of the door. As they watched, the sack wiggled impatiently. "Marzitev."
What's that? What are they handing through? Are they not coming in?
After a slight hesitation, Mikey hurried over, jumped atop the stepstool crate, and accepted the sack. The barely visible hand withdrew.
"Thank you!" Mikey said, cheerily and automatically.
"Ololni," the voice replied, after a moment, a touch of surprise lightening its gruffness. I bet that's 'you're welcome.'
"What is it?" Don approached. I guess they're not coming in after all. Phew.
Mikey peered inside, hopped down, and gently poured out the sack's contents on a barrel. "Food, I think." What seemed to be two large blueish-purplish oblong fruits appeared, followed by dried meat wrapped in coarse gray cloth, a hand-sized wheel of cheese in wax, and two flat leather pouches.
"What are these, bro?" Mikey picked up one of the leather pouches and laughed incredulously when it sloshed. "Is this an alien cow kidney or something?"
Don took it and looked at the cap; it had something like a cork for a seal. "No, Mikey, this is a waterskin. It's an ancient way of storing liquids, especially for travel. It's kind of like an ancient water bottle."
"Oh, cool!" Mikey uncapped it and took a chug before Don could inspect it. "Great! I've been getting thirsty."
"Mikey-" Don tested the other skin and found it was just water and not something stronger. Still, there's no telling what interesting alien bacteria live in their well water. We had plenty of the berries without getting sick, though… I guess we don't have much choice.
Mikey was already inspecting the other items. "These look like pears, just kinda blumpy ones. Oh, wow, they're heavy, Donnie. And then there's half a thing of cheese for me, an' half for you. Oh, and this stuff looks like weird jerky. Haha, it's space jerky! I bet it tastes like chicken!" He laughed at the idea.
There's no way of knowing if all this food is safe for our Earth systems, and if it is, that it's not poisoned. Don's stomach took this momentous occasion to gurgle. The 'space jerky' smelled delicious.
"Bro." Mikey put a fist on one hip and smiled at him. "C'mon, Donnie, stop thinking so hard an' have some lunch. It'll be okay, bro, I promise."
You can't know that, Don thought, but he picked up the dried meat anyway and took a bite. Savory, salted flavors exploded on his tongue. "I guess I could do with a bite," he mumbled around the food.
"Woohoo! Let's eat!"
Jior Midnight:
Day Three in the Jior World
"Michelangelo."
The whisper had been barely audible, but Mikey snapped awake from a doze. On his way toward the far outside window, where the voice had come from, he shook Don's shoulder; his brother had slumped over the alien how-to book. Knock, knock, guess who.
Mikey jumped atop a barrel and then an oversized crate. He couldn't see anything in the darkness out the window, but he knew his oldest brother was there. "Hi, Leo!" He whispered back. "We're in here!" I wonder what time it is. Maybe midnight?
He heard Don climbing up behind him and shuffled to make room.
"Are you both okay?" Leo's voice came from below, on the street. I bet Raph is at the corner, keeping watch.
"Yes, we're fine," Don said, his whisper still a little sleepy. "They even fed us."
Besides lunch, their Jior captors had passed a second sack through around sunset. It had held about the same kinds of food, and had been equally delicious. "It was yummy, too," Mikey put in.
"Good," Leo said, but his voice was all business. I'll have to tell him about the cool alien fruit and the space chicken later. "Listen. There are more guards than I expected. There are two out front, and three here by the windows. Two left, and the other fell asleep, but they'll be back any minute."
"I guess they really don't want us to get out—as if we could squeeze out these skinny windows like grape jelly," Mikey said.
"How's security on your side?"
"The door's locked and bolted, and there are several guards in the hall," Don said. "Have they been keeping alert, Mikey?"
"Yeah." Mikey nodded. "Every time I check, they're talking. I think they were playing some sort of game earlier, though."
"We'll need some sort of distraction, then," Leo said, "which is trickier since we can't leave yet. Don, how's progress on The Technology?"
"I'm a lot closer," Don said, "and-"
"And you'll never guess what I found, Leo!" Mikey cut in, excitement making staying quiet difficult. "It's-"
"They're coming back—gotta go!" Leo blurted, and Mikey sensed rather than heard him ghost away.
He drooped. "Aw, man, he didn't get to hear the good news." He descended to the floor, followed by Don.
"That's all right," Don said, covering a yawn with a fist. "He'll be back later if he can, if there's another gap in the guards."
"Yeah." I don't think he'll be able to. These guys don't have guns or any cameras or anything, but there's a lot of them.
Faint sounds of feet and voices filtered through the outside windows. Sounds like that one guy's nap is over. Poor him.
Mikey stood still, listening, as Don stumbled back over to his work. His brother sat heavily, rubbed at his eyes, and stared blankly at the manual. Man, Donnie is tired. Leo's not here, still, or Raph, so I guess I can be Mama Mikey some more.
He followed Don over and closed the book. "Time to go beddy-bye, Donnie! Let's get you tucked in."
Don mumbled some unintelligible protests, but didn't manage to give Mikey any real trouble as Mikey pulled him over to their sad, pathetic excuse for a bed. "Shh, Donnie. Just a little nap, and you'll feel a lot better. I'll keep an ear out for Leo. You just close your eyes for a minute."
Don grumbled as he tried to get comfortable on the rough surface, but his eyes were already drifting closed. Mikey watched until he stopped moving, then returned to the oversized crate by the outside window.
Sitting, he leaned his shell against the stone wall and crossed his arms. I really don't think Leo's gonna be coming back tonight. How are we gonna get outta here and help Saja? Mikey sighed and tried to put these thoughts aside for now.
Mikey slept fitfully and rose a few hours later with the sun. He did some push-ups, wandered around the room yet again, and looked out the window into the hall. Fresh guards arrived and chatted with the sleepy ones below Mikey's line of sight in front of the doors. When he saw a woman arrive with a now-familiar sack, Mikey woke Don.
After breakfast—mostly fruit, along with little cloth bags of some sort of baked grain—Don returned to poring over the alien manual and Mikey returned to boredom. He did quiet exercises. He looked at the manual over Don's shoulder until he was shooed away. He tried to brainstorm a new comic book idea on his single piece of paper. He tried not to worry and instead trust his big brothers would come up with a plan. They'll figure it out, right? They always do.
Mikey also peered out the inside and outside windows, watching and listening. He even learned the names of the two main elders—the mean white-haired one was Anashu Nafti, and the nice gray-haired one was Anashu Zem. When he told Don, Don decided that "Anashu" was probably a title that meant "elder." Taevon had mentioned him, Don added.
"Marzitev," announced the gruff voice finally, and Mikey practically levitated over to accept the sack and the diversion.
Yum! These Jior guys are weird and have bad, super strict rules, but they do have yummy food. Mikey smacked his lips as he finished his slightly spiky mystery fruit. He watched Don finish his lunch more slowly as he flipped pages in the manual. Man, he's must've read that whole thing a bunch of times by now. He still doesn't seem like he's ready to fix Saja once we get outta here, though. Why—
Mikey had just opened his mouth to ask Don about it when his sharp ninja ears picked up a distant commotion. He hurried up to the outside window, couldn't see anything, and ghosted over to the inside window instead.
Male Jior voices, varying between bewildered, upset, and downright furious, filtered into the hall before he saw anything except the tops of the guards' heads below him moving into view. Wait. Did I just hear—
Out of all the nonsense words, one word stood out in Mikey's ears. A name.
"Taevon!"
A dozen men spilled into the hall from outside all at once, Taevon grasped firmly in the center of the knot. Oh, no! They caught Taevon! Mikey instinctively pulled back from the window in case anyone looked up and saw him.
More Jior followed and packed the doorway, clamoring. Some pointed at Taevon. Some seemed confused. Some seemed to be accusing him, shouting. Some were just there to gawk.
Taevon himself said nothing; it was clear from his shocked eyes that he could not process what was happening, much less mount a defense. A brown stone on a string dangled around Taevon's neck. That had definitely not been there before. What's that new necklace he's got?
Mikey knew without looking that Don had joined him. What are we gonna do now, Donnie?
Elder Nafti appeared from the other end of the hall, at the top of the stairs, and began speaking; everyone stilled to listen. Mikey guessed from his tone and expression that he was accusing Taevon of some crime. Probably bringing us here. Taevon was pretty nervous about it.
Finally, Elder Nafti asked Taevon a question. Taevon shook himself, started to say something, and then stopped and just shook his head. He looked terrified.
Nafti frowned deeply, then pronounced judgement. At the last two words—and a point toward the room where the turtles were being held—every Jior in the room recoiled. Uh, oh. Sounds like they're gonna punish Taevon with The Technology, too. Wait—are they gonna put him in here with us?
But Elder Nafti pointed at the regular sized door on the opposite side of the hall, and the men holding Taevon marched him inside. A moment later they reappeared without him and locked the door. With a wave of the elder's hand, the crowd reluctantly dispersed to discuss this shocking development in little clusters. So now everybody thinks Taevon brought strangers into their secret town, and he's gonna get in big, big trouble for it. Well, I guess he did bring us in, but for a good reason.
After a moment, Don stepped back down and scratched the side of his head. "Well. I no longer think Taevon betrayed us, but… this certainly complicates matters."
"Now Leo an' Raph have to rescue Taevon and us, and then we gotta fix Saja," Mikey agreed, following Don to the floor.
"Guh." Don smacked his fist into his palm. "We did not need this to happen!"
"Stupid turtle luck." Mikey bounced on his toes. I wonder where Taevon was. Did he really chicken out? He was just telling us the night before we left about that Parvoss guy who was super brave. Sounds like he's kinda like a superhero to them. And that lady, too. "Are they really gonna zap Taevon with The Technology just like that? Doesn't he get that thing where there's the guy in the wig and the guys in suits, and they shout 'objection!' and say if he's guilty or innocent?"
"A court case?" Don smiled without any humor. "No, this culture doesn't do court cases or lawyers. It looks like the elders—the Council—especially that one white-haired one, Elder Nafti—are the judge, jury, and executioners all in one. Streamlined, isn't it?"
"But that's not fair." Mikey frowned.
"No, it's not," Don agreed. "This culture has basically zero justice system. I bet the elders are basically kings, too."
Mikey glanced at the door. "I wish we could tell 'em they hafta at least give Taevon a court case. What do they say in the cop and lawyer movies? 'Innocent until proven guilty,' right?"
Don shook his head. "That's a pretty modern concept even in our world, Mikey. The law used to assume people accused of crimes were guilty unless proven innocent. It took some brave, persistent people to start changing the system."
With a groan, Mikey threw back his head. "Stupid Jior. Maybe they need that super brave Parvoss guy to come tell them it's stupid and wrong to punish somebody for something unless they actually did it."
Don stopped dead and stared at his brother for so long Mikey started to twitch. "What did I say? Donnie?"
"Mikey…" he finally breathed, "you just gave me an incredibly risky and amazing idea."
I did?
