The Thing

~

   Raph stirred and moaned. He felt like his body was on fire. At the same time he felt as though he could not even open his eyes. His only strength was focused on breathing. In . . . out . . . in . . . out . . . He could hear his own breaths. They sounded . . . noisy. Raph never knew his breathing to be like that; not even when he was dieing.

   He then realized that the breathing he was hearing was in a different rhythm to his own. No, that was something or someone else breathing. His mind raced. What happened? Where am I? Man, I don't feel right . . . Am I dieing? He shook himself mentally. He knew he had to get away from whatever was making that noise.

   With as much strength as he could summon to his eyes, he opened them slowly. His first thought was that he was blind; but blurred shapes started to appear and he realized he must have been knocked out pretty bad if he was like this. But then he remembered he hadn't been knocked out. He had gone to sleep in Donnie's lab . . . Is he still in there?

   The thing that was breathing noisily snorted, and Raph's insides suddenly froze. The creature! It was the creature that was making the loud breathing.

   Raph's eyesight was returning quickly now, though his eyes were only half-open, as he couldn't seem to open them any wider. He felt drained. Directing his eyeballs around the small room he was in was as painful as opening them, but he managed it and at first didn't believe where he was and what he was looking at. He was in a dimly lit room, laying on something soft he later recognized as a mattress covered with sheets to make a reasonably comfortable bed. Faint candles did little for his stinging eyes but they did thrown their soft light over a still form that was watching him.

   "Ugh . . ." Raph's throat was dry, and he was confused. He could see the human man watching him but he didn't know if it was an fake image because his eyesight was still showing blurry lines around the man's form. The candle light only lit up the man's blurred outline and the closest side of his face, throwing him half into shadows, but most of the candles were sat around Raph, throwing him into as much light as they could give. Raph didn't like this. It was too spooky.

   The room around the man was small and also shadowed, though enough of the dim light showed that he was still in the sewer as the hanging drainpipes and damp walls gave it away. Raph moaned and closed his eyes. The stinging was too much and he felt like hell.

   It was then when he was aware of the rest of his body and what position he was in: He was laying on the mattress on his stomach, hands out in front of him. They were bound together with rope; strangely he was hooked up to an I.V, which was attached with tape in his arm, delivering him fluids. He groaned again, not sure what situation he was in. He knew it had to be bad for him, hint the bonds around his sore wrists.

   Knowing he had to but not wanting to, Raph opened his eyes again and tried his best to focus on this man. He couldn't: The man was too deep in shadow and the light was too much for him to strain his eyes. Where the hell am I . . .? His strength had returned only a little more, which was enough for Raph to dare to lift his head from the indentation of the pillow underneath it. Doing so only made him dizzy, and he moaned again. Sudden movement at this caught him by surprise and his insides jumped. His moan seemed to have stirred this Human man to life.

   Raph, unable to do anything, not even move, watched as this man slowly rose from his chair and walked with stiffness to Raph, where he sat down on the mattress just in front of the turtle. Confused and aching, Raph closed his eyes and gathered his strength.

   "Wh . . . Who . . . You . . .?" Raph croaked out, breathless from the effort. His throat was as sore as sandpaper.

   He swallowed and waited. No answer. Raph opened his eyes again, slowly and painfully. The man was now sat cross-legged on the floor just next to the mattress, close enough to Raph for him to be able to see him properly. Raph's eyes looked up at him. The man was an aging human but Raph could not determine his age. He was dressed in a light colored lab coat, unbuttoned, showing loose clothing underneath. His face had a worn, whether-beaten look, and his hair was fair and tousled. His eyes were dark shadows but Raph could tell they were looking at him.

   "I was wondering when you'd be waking, Raphael." The man spoke for the first time Raph had been conscious. His voice was clear and soft, yet it had a deep tone.

   Raph took in his voice, the sound had been a little fuzzy at first, but he replayed it. He opened his mouth to ask, or croak, something at the man but a cool substance was pushed into his mouth. A cup was being held to his beak and the water sloshed down his throat, refreshing it. Raph longed for more of the water but at the second attempt to force it down, Raph spat the water out and refused to drink anymore.

   "N'... Not... Drinkin'. Could be... Drugged." Raph moaned. His throat was pleading for him to accept more water but his brain told him otherwise. He didn't even know what he was saying. But he had been taught enough sense to know when to be careful.

   "Um. I suppose I should expect caution from you, from what I've been told. But you don't have to worry; it's not drugged. Drink up, you need it."

   The man pushed the beaker back up to Raph's mouth but the turtle again refused. Unfortunately the man obviously didn't like his services being thrown back at him and Raph found himself nearly choking on water as the liquid was forced into his mouth and down his throat. The man put the cup down and watched as the turtle coughed and gasped for air. Raph's head slumped back down onto the pillow again, too weak to hold it up. He was tired, aching, weak and frustrated. Who did this man think he was? Kidnapping him, tying him up and nearly drowning him? Raph didn't know what his situation was, but he sure intended to get out of it as soon as he could. After half a minute of these thoughts running through his head, Raph brought out the strength, again, to open his mouth and ask-

   "Who . . .are you . . .?" His cheek was pressed against the pillow as his face was leaning mostly on one side, and that gave his voice a slight difference to it. Nevertheless it was hearable.

   "Hm. I guess you deserve to know." The man was still now; as still as he had been when Raph had first spotted him. The Human took a breath and was just about to begin his introduction to himself when a noise from Raph's other side made them both freeze, and the man look past Raph.

   Raph, unable to turn his head, relied on his hearing. The sound that reached his still buzzing ears was not a welcome one.

   A rough scraping, as something heavy and big, made its way past the humming, and Raph immediately knew what it was. The creature. The breathing he had heard when he was only half-awake became louder and the low grunts started. Raph's heart pounded. Unable to move or defend himself he felt terribly vulnerable.

    The man only stared as the beast walked over to him, and came within vision of Raph. The turtle's eyes widened as far as they could in his drowsy state as it eyed him and coiled itself around the man, who looked back at Raph, expressionless. Raph's fear must have shown on his face well, as the man held up a reassuring hand.

   "Do not fear him, turtle. He will do no harm unless given order to." The man put his arm down and began to stroke the end of the thing's tail, which was curled around and in front of him.

   Raph attempted to get up, feeling a little stronger since that thing walked in. But all he was able to manage was to support his body up a few millimeters from the mattress by his knees and arms and fall back down again, dizzy and totally out of breath.

   "I said do not fear him. He will not do anything unless I tell him to." The man said again in a firmer tone.

   Raph just lowed his eyelids until they were almost shut. He didn't know what to do since he was almost paralyzed.

   The man sat back slightly, leaning on the creature while watching Raph. "As I was saying before, my name is Frakly: Professor Frakly. And I guess you're wondering why you're down here." He paused, waiting for any reaction from Raph, who said nor did nothing but breathed heavily. Frakly continued. "I should say first of all that I'm not going to kill you and that you being this weak was part accident and, I should say, part purposely. You see, M'reagro here," he indicated the beast, "was created by me a few years ago. Of course, I knew what I was creating but was unaware of the demands it would need. I created it from the legend your brother, as M'reagro here has told me, discovered. Very intelligent brother you have. Anyway, he began to need more and more strength from food. Rats, birds and any other little animals we could find were worthless to him, so he began to ask for more. I realized later that the power he needed would have to come from humans. I only let him take so much and then move on to the next, spacing them out so no one could become to suspicious, not that they would anyway. But human strength was still too little for what he needed, and I couldn't destroy him – he was my creation, my pet. I realized humans would be of no use to him anymore and he was being noticed and causing panic to the city. We retreated down here and when he went exploring only a few days ago, he came back and told me excitedly that there were new creatures with exactly - and more - power for what he needed. He had sensed you all and became over excited when he had lent over the last one, erm, your leader, the leader of your group I think. It was lucky your friendly rat caused that distraction because even I would have been shocked to learn M'reagro had killed. I had warned him after that. It's very dangerous as I know, but I still have to feed him and . . . I allowed him to feed from you. He told me you had angered him when he was exploring, and had unintentionally slashed out at you. Since he had already poisoned your body, I allowed him to feed only from you and he has become graceful and all the more powerful. He had begged me to let him feed. You seemed to be just right for him. But I ordered him to never touch your leader, as I fear the power might drive him to kill, and I do not want that to happen. You must understand it is pure animal instinct. I realize M'reagro is classed as pure evil, but I have somehow managed to level his greed and evil instincts down to a controlled level. I am his master now, and he is a pet to me. I could never watch him grow weak and die because I can refuse him the will to feed. Humans can regain their strengths again, so it didn't matter. But when I realized how weak you had grown, I ordered him to bring you here so I could treat you back to health. I am no killer, and human emotions caused me to treat you. The bonds around your wrists were for my safely as well as yours.  M'reagro has told me the way you all fight and how dangerous you are. I knew that if you heard this or saw him first without seeing me you would panic and defend yourself. I do not want any harm to come to my pet. You understand now?" He paused as his eyes roamed the detailed patterns of Raph's shell. "I am really quite amazed at finding something like you down here, but do not fear, I do not slice and dice for my own ignorant interest." The man moved into silence and Raph ran all this information through his head, past his headache and into his mind. Was all this true? But why? His silence must have worried Frakly as the man shifted in M'reagro coils, as thought trying to recapture Raph's attention. This dude may have said he wasn't going to cut him up, but the way his eyes were pouring over his body were uncomfortable. Raph only knew one male human and that was Casey. Others are always considered dangerous.

   Raph had no idea what to say. He was beginning to tire too much and could hardly think straight. His vision was blurring again but he refused to lapse back into unconsciousness. He struggled to stay awake. As his vision faded, Raph could only just make out the form of Frakly moving.

   "I think you need to rest, Raphael..." The man's voice faded and Raph felt a uncomfortable, sharp prick in his shoulder. A great wave of comfort washed over him a second later and blackness engulfed the turtle as he disappeared into his own thoughts.

//\\

   Leo paced the small room he was sharing with his two other brothers. He could not sleep, and had been pacing for ten minutes while Mikey and Donnie slept on in the double bed April had given up for them. How could he sleep when he knew his brother was out there, weak and in danger? Leo couldn't take this. He needed to know more information than just what Donnie said: "He's still alive but barely".

   Leo wanted to know where he was, what that beast was doing, and if Raph was still in one piece. It was too much for Leo to take. He had always been the leader type of the four and was mostly the one telling the others to stop worrying. 'What happens will happen'. That phrase was told to them by Master Splinter, and now, as Leo thought about it, it made him all the more frustrated. He couldn't do anything about it.

   Leo sighed and sat down on the end of the bed near Mikey's feet. He put his head in his hands and listened to his two brothers sleep. They, too, had trouble getting to sleep, but they were able to after an hour. Leo had been drifting in and out from sleep and had finally gotten up. Now he sat and ran through his thoughts in his mind. He had to sleep, get strong for the morning when they would be going after Raph and this monster.

   Leo stood up from the bed and made his way out of the bedroom to the kitchen as he realized he was thirsty and it might help him get back to sleep. He made his way silently down the stairs, stepping past the second from the top, as it was creaky. Emerging down the spiral staircase, Leo found that the kitchen light was on and was already occupied.

   "April?" Leo said softly as he moved silently into the kitchen. He watched as she looked up from her beaker of water at him. She was dressed in her beige night robe and had one arm resting around her waist. She didn't jump when he said her name but merely looked at him as if she was waiting for him. Leo told himself that she probably expected one of them to be awake, and it would most likely have been Leo.

   "Hey, Leo . . ." April said just as softly. She looked back down into her drink, a pensive expression on her face.

   "Couldn't sleep, huh?" Leo moved closer and stood in front of her.

   "Yeah, guess, same as you." She sighed. Leo smiled slightly as he realized how much their human friend knew them.

   "I just came down for a, um, drink." Leo said, hoping it sounded like a polite way to ask for one without actually saying it.

   "Yeah sure, help yourself." April turned and opened the cupboard behind her, bringing out a beaker and handing it to Leo. Leo smiled thankfully as he took it and filled it at the sink. As he drank, he didn't realize just how thirsty he was and had finished the water within a few seconds. He put the cup down in the sink and turned back to April.

   "You up for the same reason?" He asked, watching her swirl the water around in the beaker.

   "Yeah . . ." April nodded and looked up at the turtle, who sighed.

   "Well, you don't have to worry, April. We'll get Raph back. You heard Donnie; he's still alive and the last time we looked his signs showed improvement, small but still..." Leo tilted his head and April looked at him, he reminded her of Mikey when he used to do that. She smiled.

   "I know . . ."

   They remained silent for a few seconds, perfectly still. Then Leo shifted.

   "I think we should sleep, I'm gonna need my strength for the morning."

   April agreed and together they walked out of the kitchen, switching off the lights. Leo walked April to the second guest room she had, which she was now sleeping in as she had given the turtles her bedroom. He said goodnight as she disappeared into the darkness and he then made his way to his sleeping room. Donnie and Mikey were still asleep when he walked in. Leo looked at them before laying himself down at the end of the bed next to Mikey where he drifted to sleep in only minutes. They bed only just held all three.

//\\

   Raph stirred and moaned. He was waking up again. How long had he been out? He was again aware of how his body was screaming pain at him and how tired he was. He slowly opened his eyes. Huh, Deja Vu, he thought to himself as he saw the same room with the same candles and the same sewer walls and pipes around him. The I.V was still taped ito his hand. One thing he did notice was different, he felt stronger and slightly more relaxed-minded. Also, he noticed the man, Frakly, wasn't sat in the chair opposite him so this couldn't be a replay of the last time he was awake.

   "Oh . . . Man . . ." Raph groaned and turned his head in the pillow. His wrists were still tightly bound together and he was still on his stomach, which growled hungrily at him. He then realized he just moved his head, something that he couldn't do before, and that told him he was getting stronger. He moved again, just to be certain he could move.

   A low growl of warning made him freeze. M'reagro was just to his left, keeping a good eye on the turtle while Frakly was somewhere else.

   Raph decided he didn't want to risk moving anything again in fear of losing blood or even limbs by the monster. At that moment the hoarse voice of Frakly sounded and the professor came within Raph's limited vision.

   "Ah. I see you have awoken again, Raphael." He was carrying a tray, which he put down on the floor in front of himself, cross-legged. M'reagro whimper and joined him, curling his long body around it's Master.

   "What . . . did you . . . do t'me?" Raph managed to get out, now daring to move. He struggled to raise himself onto his elbows. He gasped for air afterwards.

   "Getting stronger, I see." Frakly began to mix the food, adding something to the small brown bowl. "You recover faster than any Human, I can tell you that."

   "What . . .did you-" Raph began again, hoping to sound demanding.

   "Nothing to worry about, but you did need it. I just knocked you out with a mild sedative." The man stopped stirring the contents of the bowl and silence lingered in the room. The sounds of Raph's growling stomach were the only sounds to break that silence. Frakly allowed a small smile and held to bowl out towards Raph. "This is yours. I trust you're hungry."

   Raph shook his head but stopped as his eyesight suddenly blurred and his head screamed at him in pain. "You just . . .added . . . something to it."

   Frakly smiled again at the turtle's observation in such a condition. "Only what you need to get well. Trust me, I wouldn't have M'reagro bring you down here to treat you if I was just going to poison your food."

   Raph gave up arguing. He didn't want Frakly to be stuffing it forcefully in his mouth like he did with the water, but he couldn't even lift his arms to take the bowl never mind feed himself. He knew Frakly would see this.

   "Ah. Of course. Too weak still." Frakly observed. He had just begun to spoon out some of the steaming soup when M'reagro suddenly bellowed out an awful cry. Frakly didn't jump but Raph did. The human listened to the frantic snarls of the beast and suddenly his face became fearful. He turned back to Raph. "Your brothers have returned to the sewers to seek you out, M'reagro senses. If they find you, you will not get the treatment I have for you  - M'reagro tells me they are in no listening mood. I have no choice but to hide you. For your safety as well as M'reagro's." The professor hurriedly said while putting the full spoon back into the bowl. He got up and took the tray out of Raph's vision.

   No way can I let him hide me from my brothers, Raph thought. I have to get moving! He gathered all his strength and pushed himself off his stomach. Yes! He made it to his hands and knees and paused for a moment's breath. He could hear the surprised and still angry growls of M'reagro, but he ignored the beast. It wouldn't do anything to him if Frakly hadn't told it to do so.

   He ignored the pain that was all he could feel and tried to bring his foot up and under himself so he could support his weight on it while he brought up his other foot. Unfortunately M'reagro got over his surprise at the sudden strength in the turtle and roared a warning so loud Raph hoped it would reach his brothers. Frakly came diving into the room, so Raph's hearing told him, and barked an order to M'reagro as soon as the aging man saw Raph on his hands and knees. Raph suddenly felt the hot, heavy breath of the monster as it drew closer, and felt pressure on his shell, forcing him back down. No! He was too weak even though M'reagro was only using one clawed hand to gently push Raph down.

   "No . . ." Raph groaned as he sank to his elbows in defeat. Frakly came rushing over holding something small and thin. The glint at the end gave it away as a syringe, and Raph half-growled, half-groaned in anger and even more defeat.

   "I'm sorry, this is for your own good." Frakly bent over Raph, but the turtle, much to the surprise of the professor and himself, lashed out his bound fists and caught Frakly round the face, he fell back, surprised. But in that moment of defending himself, Raph fell down, unsupported, back onto his stomach, as his hands were no longer there to hold him against M'reagro's pressure. The monster, also surprised as Raph's action, hollered and brought more than enough force down on the already down Raph, who winced as he was crushed between mattress and monster. But Frakly had recovered quickly from the lash out and had M'reagro pin Raph's arms down on the bed. Now the turtle was restrained, and he could not do anything. He grunted in effort to pull himself away, hopelessly, from the beast, but no luck. He watched helplessly as Frakly bent back over him and pushed the needle into his arm. Raph groaned. The liquid was injected, and Raph knew no hope to get his brothers to hear him now. Frakly sighed, and binned the empty needle. He and M'reagro both watched as Raph was overcome with the same feeling as before, only this time he was barely awake, but unable to move . . .