Splinter sighed, his wrists pained him, and his head throbbed. He kept his eyes closed as he listened to the Shadow Lord.
"Fool! You said they'd be here by now!" he growled.
The thin, scrawny man appeared back.
"Sire! My calculations must have been wrong!
The Shadow Lord growled as he turned the mass of his dark velvet cloak sweeping as he turned.
The Shadow Lord was obsessed with the girl that was once Ali Kat…
*~*
Ali paused, her whiskers quivered as she heard a soft voice whisper the name "Alicia" in her head… echoing through her memories. The voice stirred something within her, deep emotions of a vicious hatred, but also pure terror… and as she felt herself pulled in by force to her memories, she gave a strangled cry of alarm.
"Ali?" Raphael asked… and as the cat fell to the side he was the first to her side, catching her slight weight in his arms and laying her flat.
"What's wrong? What happened?!" Michaelangelo asked, grabbing his nunchaku from his belt.
"I don't know Mike… Don tell me you brought something that'll revive her!"
*~*
It was a warm evening; twilight had just fallen upon the green lands of Keltika, and Alicia Caedmon slipped away from her Fianna to bathe in the warmed pools.
The full moon shone upon the lake and the sandy beach as the slender brown-haired young woman, a teenager, took off her battle-ready leather top and slipped out of the leather skirt, shedding the undergarment edged with soft fur-like fibers.
She quickly entered the water, leaving her weapons behind as she dipped under to her neck, enjoying the cold feel of water on her skin.
The crickets chirped, the bullfrogs croaked, and in the distance she heard a ker-spash into the water, knowing one of the painted turtles that frequented the logs in the daylight hours had taken to the pool shimmering with moonlight.
From the bushes, two people watched her, the young maiden from the Fianna of Night. These two were of the Fianna of Darkness, the evil counterpart of the Fianna of Night.
Their leader was a young man of perhaps twenty-five years, dark hair and eyes lit with the fires of hatred; he had mastered their tactics in a matter of months, earning him the title of Shadow Lord.
The second was the Lord's second in command, a go-for, a general. His eyes gleamed darkly as they feasted upon the young flesh of the swimming girl.
Both wanted her badly, they could feel deep emotion of lust swell inside.
The Shadow Lord stepped forward into the moonlight as the girl stood; her back was quicksilver in the moonlight.
"You there!" The Shadow Lord called out…
Alicia turned, her bright blue eyes reflecting her bewilderment and also a deep-set fear.
The girl turned again, and ran for the shore.
The Lord smirked, and with a wave of his hand called Shadow Renders, beings of pure darkness with glowing red eyes. They were created with one purpose: seek and capture…
And Alicia was their quarry.
Grabbing her weapons belt, complete with her katar blades and quarterstaff, the girl fled into the woods…
And disappeared.
*~*
"Ali? Ali! C'mon Kat wake up!" she heard someone pleading…
But she didn't wake up… that was… that was a memory…
"Alicia…" the gray cat mummered softly… "Alicia… C… Cae…"
"What's she saying?"
"Who knows?"
"Not you?"
"Not me?"
"GAH?"
"AH!"
Ali screamed as she sat up, covering her chest with one arm while balling her fist in the other…
Donatello reached out and grabbed the fist…
"Hold on now, Ali, it's OK… friends, remember?"
"Yeah! Shelled cute and green, that's us?" Mike chirped
"What happened?" Leonardo asked. He didn't sound as happy as Don or Mike that Ali was awake.
"I… do not know, Leonardo… come. We must find your master and leave…"
Leonardo narrowed his eyes "How come you couldn't make that shadow gate directly to Splinter? And how do you know this is the place?"
"You're just going to have to trust me, Leonardo." Ali Kat answered him, looking up at him. Her voice shook with uncertainty and sorrow, and her eyes were watery. "But… Leonardo…" she whispered… "I can hear her crying in me… there's someone else inside of me and I don't know who they are… they are the ones who know this place… not me… not me…"
Leonardo glowered a minute at the cat, then took a step forward.
"Fine then… c'mon turtles, let's keep moving!"