TMNT Labyrinth Crossover
Note: The dragon's mine!
While Koppel stood and wailed as the Cleaner drew nearer, Leo and Donnie had already scanned the wall and found what looked like a weak spot. They both began ramming it with their shoulders, and Koppel joined, pushing it as hard as his small body could. The machine was nearly on them now, and with one last blow from Leo and Donnie's muscular arms, the wall collapsed and they fell into a small, bare room, with nothing but a ladder in it.
"Oh, thank God," Koppel panted as the Cleaner went past, powered by small little creatures a bit like Koppel, steering it and peddling it as though it were a bike with a spike on the front. "Ah, lookie, a ladder, just what we need." He began to climb it. "Come on."
Leo stood and looked at him. "How can we trust you after you said that? You said you'd take us as far as you could, and told Navaura you were taking us to the beginning."
"Well of course I did. I wun't exactly gonna tell her I'm taking you as far as I can; she'd throw me in the pit, and then where would you be?"
"How can we believe that?" Leo crossed his arms over his plastron.
"Well," Koppel stopped and hung on one rung. "Let's face it, what choice do you have?"
Leo unfolded his arms and looked at Donnie, who shrugged and motioned for Leo to climb. Leo sighed and followed Koppel up the ladder.
"Are Raph and Mikey really this much trouble?" Leo moaned.
Donnie, who was right behind Leo, smiled. "You know they are, Leo."
Koppel looked down at them both. "So why ARE you here? I don't think I got the story properly." He asked, slightly breathless from the effort of climbing.
"Well, your Demoness Queen, Navaura, kidnapped, or should I say Turtlenapped, our two brothers," Donnie said. "We're here to get them back. Of course, with a little tricks from her, and set by a timer, it should prove interesting."
"Ah," said Koppel. "Well, let me tell you about my position: I'm a coward, and Navaura scares me. She's Queen of everything you see and touch, and only a fool would not fear her. She's powerful, so I'm fearful."
"Ah," Donnie said, understandingly.
They reached a narrow opening at the top of the ladder, and Koppel pushed up a lid and scrambled out. Leo followed, then Donnie, reminding them both of the manhole they used to climb out of back home in New York.
They had come out into a proper maze, where the walls were tall, thick hedges, complete with stone steps, stone benches and a good view of every nearby corner. It would have been a great, beautiful place to take a day out in.
"Well, here we are," Koppel announced, jumping down from the top of the ladder to the thin layer of sandy stone floor. "This is as far as I'm going! Now I'm going to ip-scray outta here!"
"Wait! You haven't taken us hardly anywhere!" Leo said angrily. "There're still a few miles to go!"
"I'm a coward. I can't go no further, and if I do, what's the point? You'll probably fail, most likely."
Donnie climbed out, and looked at what he had just come from. It was a pot, and it was on a small stone table. How had they got through there? He turned to his arguing brother and the little bat creature.
"Well, if you take us just a bit further, you could have the title 'Half-Coward', or 'Half-Brave' which isn't as bad as 'Coward'." Donnie said. "And if we do win over this Labyrinth, wouldn't you be a hero for the one who helped us through?"
Koppel thought about it. These people - turtles - had been nicer to him than anyone ever had. He never had anyone to talk to, and his conscience was nagging at him; telling him to go all the way with them, and help people who seek it from him, which was not normal as he had never been a help to anyone.
Finally he gave up. "Okay! But don't expect no heroic action from me," he looked at their muscles and their weapons, "though you might not need it . . ."
The sound of marching feet made them turn around to see a dinky man, well, half-man, half something else, trot round a maze wall on a funny looking creature, no bigger than a Doberman dog, but no way near as doggish. It had a pug face, with small, watery eyes. It looked like a type of funny dinosaur, as it had scales and the underside of one. No big teeth though. The man was sat upon it like it was a horse, and had reins and a saddle. It trotted up to them.
"What be you doing here?!" The man said. "Who is this?" He pointed to Koppel.
Leo stepped in front of him. "A friend. Who are you?"
"I am a guard, and there should be no . . . Er, um, Turtles in this area!"
Leo sighed and turned to Donnie, who knew what his brother was about to do. With out even looking at the guard, Leo brought his fist up in the mans face and knocked him out cold; the creature wailed and galloped off with the man dragging behind, held in with only his feet in the stirrups.
Leo turned around. "Let's move," he ordered.
The two turtles and Koppel started in the opposite direction the dragon thing had gone, but the same direction it had come from.
"Why this way?" Koppel asked. "There might be more guards!"
"Where there's guards, there's something TO guard," Leo answered.
"Oh . . . Er, why did you say I was your friend?"
"Because you are, sort of."
"Oh . . . I ain't never bin no ones friend before . . ."
They turned corner after corner in the green and stony white maze. Even though it was all the same colour, Leo and Donnie felt they were getting somewhere, unlike the first maze they had tried to tackle and ended up going round in circles.
Donnie had just finished telling Koppel about their story of origin when they turned a corner and were met by a loud fierce roar. They all jumped, but Koppel nearly flew!
"Arh!" Koppel yelled, and stumbled back into Leo's legs. "Good bye!" Then he tried to dash around Leo, but the turtle grabbed him by his arm.
"Hey, where you going?!" Leo said. "I thought you were our friend!"
Koppel thrashed. "Koppel ain't no one's friend! Koppel is Koppel's friend!" With that he broke Leo's grasp and disappeared around the corner. The roars continued.
"Koppel, you coward!" Leo shouted angrily. He turned to Donnie, who shrugged, and they both made their way round the corner to the source of the noise. They rounded another wall and saw before them a clearing. In the clearing were four little men, in armour and helmets, each holding a long stick with a funny little bald creature at the end, clinging on. The little pink creatures had large, sharp teeth. In the middle of them, strung up by its four feet, was a dragon! It was hanging from a strong length of rope, which was tied to the ground, but hung from a pole from the maze bushes. It was small for a dragon, but it was one nonetheless. Its wings were limp from its body and dragged on the floor. The little pink creatures on sticks were biting it. The men seemed to be torturing it.
"Haha, take that you Scaleball!" The little men laughed wickedly. Though, the dragon had no scales, but smooth skin.
"Hehe, bite him!"
Leo and Donnie looked at each other, then made their way up to the little men, who didn't see them. Leo grabbed the helmet of one and turned it around, so the visor was at the back of its head and it couldn't see.
"Who turned out the lights?!" It yelled.
Donnie took care of two, while Leo finished the last one. The little men, who couldn't see as their helmets were turned around, ran around, not knowing where their sticks were going, and biting each other. They ran out of the clearing, still making a noise. In a few seconds they had silenced and gone.
Leo and Donnie walked cautiously up to the dragon, which roared softly.
"Whoa . . ." Donnie said. "Don't see a dragon every day . . ."
"Drelic down . . ." The dragon growled softly.
"You can talk?" Donnie said, amazed, forgetting the shocked feeling of seeing a dragon, which must have been equally surprised to see a talking turtle.
Leo walked over to the rope and chopped it with his swords. Drelic crashed to the floor heavily.
"Oops, sorry about that," Leo said with a grimace, and put his Katana away.
Donnie untied the poor beast and stepped back. Drelic stood up, and at his height on all fours he was only as big as a horse (slightly smaller than and Irish Draught). He had, if it's allowed to say, a cute, smooth face, hooded eyes, and a fringe a soft spikes between strong looking horns. He had these soft spikes running down his neck, sort of like a main, and flopped about much like hair does. He was a dark bluish colour, but if looked at from another point, looked slightly slivery green. The inner side of his wings were the colour of gold, along with his under side. His feet were more like paws, and ended in purple claws. He growled softly at them.
"Friend . . . or foe?" He growled. His words were not completely distinguishable from his growls.
"Friend," Leo said carefully.
"Friend . . ." Drelic seemed to test this word, as though it had meant something to him before.
"Drelic . . . is that your name?" Leo asked.
The dragon tilted its head animal-like, and gave a bowed its head and neck, before straightening back up. It was, unmistakeably, a nod.
"Do you know the way to the Castle through the maze?"
Drelic turned his head slightly and slowly, and turned it back. Its slow movements may be exaggerated for a nod and a shake, but it was an animal, so therefore it was not likely to shakes its head dizzy, or nod its brains lose.
"Can you . . . Fly us there?" Leo pressed, in the same careful tone.
Again the dragon shook his head in its way. ". . . hurt . . ."
Leo chewed his lip. Then noticed two doors behind Drelic. He walked up to them and looked at them. Drelic followed his gaze
Donnie had seen them too. On each door was an ugly doorknocker face, gargoyle-like: One had a ring through its nose, the other a ring in its mouth. Donnie was just looking more closely at the one with the ring through its nose when it suddenly snapped:
"It's rude to stare!"
Donnie jumped back, surprised. "Sorry . . . Didn't know you were - um - we were wondering which door to take."
The other doorknocker was muttering something, but they couldn't understand what because of the ring in its mouth.
Leo walked up to it and pulled it out.
"Ah, that's good to get that thing out of my mouth. As I was saying, it's no good trying to talk to him, he's as deaf as a post."
"Blah blah blah, you're a wonderful conversational companion." The first doorknocker said.
"You can talk all you do is moan!" The second argued.
"No good, still can't hear you."
"Where do these doors lead?" Leo asked.
"How should we know? We're just the knockers!"
"How d'we get through?" Donnie said, looking for a door handle that wasn't there.
"Knock, and the door will open," said the second knocker.
Leo and Donnie looked at both doors, met each others eyes and decided on the door with the second knocker. Leo looked for the ring he had taken out of its mouth, and saw Drelic had it in his. He took it.
"Thanks, Drelic." He held it up to the knocker's mouth, but the knocker refused to open.
"I don't want that thing back in my mouth!"
"Come on, I wanna knock."
"Nugh urgh!"
Leo sighed and grabbed the doorknocker's nose cutting off its air, while holding up the ring to its mouth. After about a few seconds the knocker ran out of breath and Leo forced the ring into its mouth as it opened for air. The turtle in blue smiled and knocked, the door creaked open.
"Sorry," Leo said with his smile as he passed.
"Thas alrigh' I'm use' 'oo it," it grumbled as Donnie walked through second.
"Come one Drelic." Donnie looked over his shoulder.
Even though Drelic wasn't that big, he still had to swoop to avoid hitting his head on the top of the door. After he had his long tail in, the door closed.
They all stared at where they were now. It seemed to be an inside forest. Old, knurled trees and moss and weeds hung over or carpeted the floor. The stone and dirt underneath could hardly be seen.
Drelic growled uncertainly. He sniffed the air, but followed close behind Donnie as they walked forwards into the jungle.
//\\
Navaura leaned on the blue shield, examining her blue nails in mild interest. She could tell what was happening in her world of mazes. The two brothers, Leonardo and Donatello had gotten too far. They were too close for her comfort, but she didn't show any sign of it. She turned to the two turtles trapped within the blue shield. They were laying on the floor, trying their hardest to keep awake. Poor things, she thought. They had been banging so much they had worn themselves out.
The Demoness Queen stood up straight and clapped her hands. The blue shield vanished and Raph and Mikey found they could breath a lot better, and weren't as tired as they were before. Navaura raised her hand, and the two turtles were pulled up by an invisible force, so that they were in a standing position, hovering half a foot from the floor. They looked at her, tiredly.
"I can make you a deal," she said, smiling. She clicked her fingers and they found themselves in total blueness. They couldn't really call it a room, because it had no walls, no ceiling, and nothing but the three of them inside; just blue all around.
Taking advantage of their surprise, she clicked her fingers again and they dropped out the air and landed softly on their feet. Then she stood in front of them.
"I know how it must feel, to be different from humans," she said, catching their attention at once. "So I can make you a deal." She snapped her fingers once again.
Raph and Mikey waited for something to happen once the click had sounded. But they saw nothing . . . But did feel something. Mikey risked a glance at Raph - and his jaw dropped as he looked at his brother . . . Who was now a . . . a human . . . Mikey couldn't believe it. Did this mean that, that tingly feeling changed him too? Before he wanted to look at himself, he studied Raph.
His brother still had the red bandanna; but it wasn't around his eyes, it was around his head, and strands of short, dark sandy coloured hair hung over it. Mikey looked at his face. He had a human nose! One that curved perfectly, instead of just two invisible nostrils. Raph's eyes were brown, and was the only thing that was the same. He had two visible ears, and a lot. He wore the usual teenage getup; a pair of loose jeans, and a baggy T-shirt.
Raph, noticing his brother staring at him, and noticing his BROTHER, stared at Mikey. Mikey's orange bandanna was around his sandy colour hair, and his eyes were still the same. But he had a boyish shaped face, boyish cheeks, and ears and lips the same as humans. Mikey was also wearing jeans, and a slightly different top. But it felt, to them, so weird to have clothes that fit. It was so . . . Comfortable. Raph noticed Mikey still had his weapons strapped to the belt around his wait, and he himself felt mentally for his own.
They both stared at each other, then tested their new bodies. Five fingers! Mikey wiggled them all. He couldn't believe it . . . And the feel of hair on his head was warm and somehow it felt good. Raph ran a hand through his hair, put pulled it back quickly. Nothing too good ever came true; this had to be a trick. A flutter of sadness rose in the pit of his stomach . . . 'Nothing grand ever came true; Good things never come cheap' . It was a phrase he had told himself when he was little. It was that phrase which made him realise he could never be normal. But . . . Why were they like this? Both turtles continued to study and test themselves, totally amazed and shocked.
Navaura smiled. She had them now. She knew it. She had them all. Finally, after a few minutes of total silence in which the two human boys stared at each other, Navaura spoke.
"You would like to stay like this, wouldn't you?"
They looked up at her.
"You can, you know. It is possible. I can make all your troubles vanish. You could live a normal life. Be with normal kids your own age for a change. Get out and about. Wouldn't that be great? All I want, is your other brothers . . . Just those two. You know how much closer you two are together. And you don't need those two pulling you back. Leonardo always nagging and lecturing. Donatello, always so right, making you the fool for being wrong. And wouldn't you give anything to get away from that sewer? All I want . . . Is for you to say the magic words, and I will take your two wretched brothers away from your lives . . . And you can be free . . ."
They stared at her, eyes clouded over in thought. They were too overcome with shock and joy to think about what she was asking.
"All this . . . Just for our brothers . . ." Mikey whispered.
Navaura smiled. "You get to be human, and at the same time, are free of two very annoying brothers . . ."
Raph thought. Past the happiness and amazement he felt about this, there was pain and sadness. Pain because of something he wanted so badly, but at a terrible price. Sadness because he knew he could never have this 'Grand things never come true; Good things never come cheap'. He knew he wouldn't take it. It was a dream, ripped away from him.
Mikey thought. All this, for his brothers. He decided at once that his brothers meant so much more to him than this. They were important to him . . . They were important full stop; otherwise Navaura wouldn't want them. She was playing with their minds. She was inside them, that was why Mikey actually considered the deal. He would never have given it a second thought. Mikey made up his mind.
The two turtles - human teens - looked up at her. Together they both spoke in a voice that carried so much pain and sadness, that far away, in the Labyrinth, Leo and Donnie felt it:
"No . . ."
Navaura's smiled stayed, but only for a few seconds. Then she frowned angrily.
"No? NO?! This is all you've ever wanted and you turn it down?! For two lousy brothers?!"
"Two loved brothers . . ." Mikey whispered softly.
Navaura growled angrily, snapped her fingers so hard it sounded as if she broke them, and they found themselves back in the shield, limited amount of oxygen again. The Demoness stared at them from outside it. "
"You have only four hours. Four hours for your brothers to find you; four hours till the oxygen in there runs out, you die, and become mine!" With that she stormed out, cloak billowing behind her.
The two back-to-normal turtles flopped down on the floor, tired out completely from the lack of oxygen.
//\\
Leo and Donnie listened to the soft purring growls from Drelic. They hadn't come across any other beings; only dead plants, some lucky live ones and a load of big rocks about the place. Something strange HAD happened while they were in here though. Some extraordinary pain and sadness had come over them, and they had crumpled to the ground, unable to stand it all. Drelic had panicked a little, but had helped them up as soon as it passed. They both knew what it was; they could almost see it. It was their brothers; and something told them to hurry.
"Place spooky . . ." Drelic growled quietly. He walked close behind Donnie, his wings folded tightly together, and trod lightly.
"Um . . . " Donnie said. "The place doesn't seem right . . . I mean, the atmosphere in here seems completely wrong, and the temperature is so different to what it should be in a place like this . . . And these types of plants shouldn't be able to withstand this climate . . . but they do look slight different to any plant I've seen . . ."
"Thanks for the documentary, Donnie," Leo groaned. "It might be spooky, Drelic, but really there's nothing in here that's going to do anything to us . . ."
Drelic the dragon snorted warm air through his nostrils, and then suddenly the floor beneath him gave way and he fell quickly and soundlessly through a trapdoor, big enough for him. It replaced itself a second later.
Leo and Donnie continued on for a few seconds before they noticed the lack of growling. They both turned around to see no Drelic.
Note: The dragon's mine!
While Koppel stood and wailed as the Cleaner drew nearer, Leo and Donnie had already scanned the wall and found what looked like a weak spot. They both began ramming it with their shoulders, and Koppel joined, pushing it as hard as his small body could. The machine was nearly on them now, and with one last blow from Leo and Donnie's muscular arms, the wall collapsed and they fell into a small, bare room, with nothing but a ladder in it.
"Oh, thank God," Koppel panted as the Cleaner went past, powered by small little creatures a bit like Koppel, steering it and peddling it as though it were a bike with a spike on the front. "Ah, lookie, a ladder, just what we need." He began to climb it. "Come on."
Leo stood and looked at him. "How can we trust you after you said that? You said you'd take us as far as you could, and told Navaura you were taking us to the beginning."
"Well of course I did. I wun't exactly gonna tell her I'm taking you as far as I can; she'd throw me in the pit, and then where would you be?"
"How can we believe that?" Leo crossed his arms over his plastron.
"Well," Koppel stopped and hung on one rung. "Let's face it, what choice do you have?"
Leo unfolded his arms and looked at Donnie, who shrugged and motioned for Leo to climb. Leo sighed and followed Koppel up the ladder.
"Are Raph and Mikey really this much trouble?" Leo moaned.
Donnie, who was right behind Leo, smiled. "You know they are, Leo."
Koppel looked down at them both. "So why ARE you here? I don't think I got the story properly." He asked, slightly breathless from the effort of climbing.
"Well, your Demoness Queen, Navaura, kidnapped, or should I say Turtlenapped, our two brothers," Donnie said. "We're here to get them back. Of course, with a little tricks from her, and set by a timer, it should prove interesting."
"Ah," said Koppel. "Well, let me tell you about my position: I'm a coward, and Navaura scares me. She's Queen of everything you see and touch, and only a fool would not fear her. She's powerful, so I'm fearful."
"Ah," Donnie said, understandingly.
They reached a narrow opening at the top of the ladder, and Koppel pushed up a lid and scrambled out. Leo followed, then Donnie, reminding them both of the manhole they used to climb out of back home in New York.
They had come out into a proper maze, where the walls were tall, thick hedges, complete with stone steps, stone benches and a good view of every nearby corner. It would have been a great, beautiful place to take a day out in.
"Well, here we are," Koppel announced, jumping down from the top of the ladder to the thin layer of sandy stone floor. "This is as far as I'm going! Now I'm going to ip-scray outta here!"
"Wait! You haven't taken us hardly anywhere!" Leo said angrily. "There're still a few miles to go!"
"I'm a coward. I can't go no further, and if I do, what's the point? You'll probably fail, most likely."
Donnie climbed out, and looked at what he had just come from. It was a pot, and it was on a small stone table. How had they got through there? He turned to his arguing brother and the little bat creature.
"Well, if you take us just a bit further, you could have the title 'Half-Coward', or 'Half-Brave' which isn't as bad as 'Coward'." Donnie said. "And if we do win over this Labyrinth, wouldn't you be a hero for the one who helped us through?"
Koppel thought about it. These people - turtles - had been nicer to him than anyone ever had. He never had anyone to talk to, and his conscience was nagging at him; telling him to go all the way with them, and help people who seek it from him, which was not normal as he had never been a help to anyone.
Finally he gave up. "Okay! But don't expect no heroic action from me," he looked at their muscles and their weapons, "though you might not need it . . ."
The sound of marching feet made them turn around to see a dinky man, well, half-man, half something else, trot round a maze wall on a funny looking creature, no bigger than a Doberman dog, but no way near as doggish. It had a pug face, with small, watery eyes. It looked like a type of funny dinosaur, as it had scales and the underside of one. No big teeth though. The man was sat upon it like it was a horse, and had reins and a saddle. It trotted up to them.
"What be you doing here?!" The man said. "Who is this?" He pointed to Koppel.
Leo stepped in front of him. "A friend. Who are you?"
"I am a guard, and there should be no . . . Er, um, Turtles in this area!"
Leo sighed and turned to Donnie, who knew what his brother was about to do. With out even looking at the guard, Leo brought his fist up in the mans face and knocked him out cold; the creature wailed and galloped off with the man dragging behind, held in with only his feet in the stirrups.
Leo turned around. "Let's move," he ordered.
The two turtles and Koppel started in the opposite direction the dragon thing had gone, but the same direction it had come from.
"Why this way?" Koppel asked. "There might be more guards!"
"Where there's guards, there's something TO guard," Leo answered.
"Oh . . . Er, why did you say I was your friend?"
"Because you are, sort of."
"Oh . . . I ain't never bin no ones friend before . . ."
They turned corner after corner in the green and stony white maze. Even though it was all the same colour, Leo and Donnie felt they were getting somewhere, unlike the first maze they had tried to tackle and ended up going round in circles.
Donnie had just finished telling Koppel about their story of origin when they turned a corner and were met by a loud fierce roar. They all jumped, but Koppel nearly flew!
"Arh!" Koppel yelled, and stumbled back into Leo's legs. "Good bye!" Then he tried to dash around Leo, but the turtle grabbed him by his arm.
"Hey, where you going?!" Leo said. "I thought you were our friend!"
Koppel thrashed. "Koppel ain't no one's friend! Koppel is Koppel's friend!" With that he broke Leo's grasp and disappeared around the corner. The roars continued.
"Koppel, you coward!" Leo shouted angrily. He turned to Donnie, who shrugged, and they both made their way round the corner to the source of the noise. They rounded another wall and saw before them a clearing. In the clearing were four little men, in armour and helmets, each holding a long stick with a funny little bald creature at the end, clinging on. The little pink creatures had large, sharp teeth. In the middle of them, strung up by its four feet, was a dragon! It was hanging from a strong length of rope, which was tied to the ground, but hung from a pole from the maze bushes. It was small for a dragon, but it was one nonetheless. Its wings were limp from its body and dragged on the floor. The little pink creatures on sticks were biting it. The men seemed to be torturing it.
"Haha, take that you Scaleball!" The little men laughed wickedly. Though, the dragon had no scales, but smooth skin.
"Hehe, bite him!"
Leo and Donnie looked at each other, then made their way up to the little men, who didn't see them. Leo grabbed the helmet of one and turned it around, so the visor was at the back of its head and it couldn't see.
"Who turned out the lights?!" It yelled.
Donnie took care of two, while Leo finished the last one. The little men, who couldn't see as their helmets were turned around, ran around, not knowing where their sticks were going, and biting each other. They ran out of the clearing, still making a noise. In a few seconds they had silenced and gone.
Leo and Donnie walked cautiously up to the dragon, which roared softly.
"Whoa . . ." Donnie said. "Don't see a dragon every day . . ."
"Drelic down . . ." The dragon growled softly.
"You can talk?" Donnie said, amazed, forgetting the shocked feeling of seeing a dragon, which must have been equally surprised to see a talking turtle.
Leo walked over to the rope and chopped it with his swords. Drelic crashed to the floor heavily.
"Oops, sorry about that," Leo said with a grimace, and put his Katana away.
Donnie untied the poor beast and stepped back. Drelic stood up, and at his height on all fours he was only as big as a horse (slightly smaller than and Irish Draught). He had, if it's allowed to say, a cute, smooth face, hooded eyes, and a fringe a soft spikes between strong looking horns. He had these soft spikes running down his neck, sort of like a main, and flopped about much like hair does. He was a dark bluish colour, but if looked at from another point, looked slightly slivery green. The inner side of his wings were the colour of gold, along with his under side. His feet were more like paws, and ended in purple claws. He growled softly at them.
"Friend . . . or foe?" He growled. His words were not completely distinguishable from his growls.
"Friend," Leo said carefully.
"Friend . . ." Drelic seemed to test this word, as though it had meant something to him before.
"Drelic . . . is that your name?" Leo asked.
The dragon tilted its head animal-like, and gave a bowed its head and neck, before straightening back up. It was, unmistakeably, a nod.
"Do you know the way to the Castle through the maze?"
Drelic turned his head slightly and slowly, and turned it back. Its slow movements may be exaggerated for a nod and a shake, but it was an animal, so therefore it was not likely to shakes its head dizzy, or nod its brains lose.
"Can you . . . Fly us there?" Leo pressed, in the same careful tone.
Again the dragon shook his head in its way. ". . . hurt . . ."
Leo chewed his lip. Then noticed two doors behind Drelic. He walked up to them and looked at them. Drelic followed his gaze
Donnie had seen them too. On each door was an ugly doorknocker face, gargoyle-like: One had a ring through its nose, the other a ring in its mouth. Donnie was just looking more closely at the one with the ring through its nose when it suddenly snapped:
"It's rude to stare!"
Donnie jumped back, surprised. "Sorry . . . Didn't know you were - um - we were wondering which door to take."
The other doorknocker was muttering something, but they couldn't understand what because of the ring in its mouth.
Leo walked up to it and pulled it out.
"Ah, that's good to get that thing out of my mouth. As I was saying, it's no good trying to talk to him, he's as deaf as a post."
"Blah blah blah, you're a wonderful conversational companion." The first doorknocker said.
"You can talk all you do is moan!" The second argued.
"No good, still can't hear you."
"Where do these doors lead?" Leo asked.
"How should we know? We're just the knockers!"
"How d'we get through?" Donnie said, looking for a door handle that wasn't there.
"Knock, and the door will open," said the second knocker.
Leo and Donnie looked at both doors, met each others eyes and decided on the door with the second knocker. Leo looked for the ring he had taken out of its mouth, and saw Drelic had it in his. He took it.
"Thanks, Drelic." He held it up to the knocker's mouth, but the knocker refused to open.
"I don't want that thing back in my mouth!"
"Come on, I wanna knock."
"Nugh urgh!"
Leo sighed and grabbed the doorknocker's nose cutting off its air, while holding up the ring to its mouth. After about a few seconds the knocker ran out of breath and Leo forced the ring into its mouth as it opened for air. The turtle in blue smiled and knocked, the door creaked open.
"Sorry," Leo said with his smile as he passed.
"Thas alrigh' I'm use' 'oo it," it grumbled as Donnie walked through second.
"Come one Drelic." Donnie looked over his shoulder.
Even though Drelic wasn't that big, he still had to swoop to avoid hitting his head on the top of the door. After he had his long tail in, the door closed.
They all stared at where they were now. It seemed to be an inside forest. Old, knurled trees and moss and weeds hung over or carpeted the floor. The stone and dirt underneath could hardly be seen.
Drelic growled uncertainly. He sniffed the air, but followed close behind Donnie as they walked forwards into the jungle.
//\\
Navaura leaned on the blue shield, examining her blue nails in mild interest. She could tell what was happening in her world of mazes. The two brothers, Leonardo and Donatello had gotten too far. They were too close for her comfort, but she didn't show any sign of it. She turned to the two turtles trapped within the blue shield. They were laying on the floor, trying their hardest to keep awake. Poor things, she thought. They had been banging so much they had worn themselves out.
The Demoness Queen stood up straight and clapped her hands. The blue shield vanished and Raph and Mikey found they could breath a lot better, and weren't as tired as they were before. Navaura raised her hand, and the two turtles were pulled up by an invisible force, so that they were in a standing position, hovering half a foot from the floor. They looked at her, tiredly.
"I can make you a deal," she said, smiling. She clicked her fingers and they found themselves in total blueness. They couldn't really call it a room, because it had no walls, no ceiling, and nothing but the three of them inside; just blue all around.
Taking advantage of their surprise, she clicked her fingers again and they dropped out the air and landed softly on their feet. Then she stood in front of them.
"I know how it must feel, to be different from humans," she said, catching their attention at once. "So I can make you a deal." She snapped her fingers once again.
Raph and Mikey waited for something to happen once the click had sounded. But they saw nothing . . . But did feel something. Mikey risked a glance at Raph - and his jaw dropped as he looked at his brother . . . Who was now a . . . a human . . . Mikey couldn't believe it. Did this mean that, that tingly feeling changed him too? Before he wanted to look at himself, he studied Raph.
His brother still had the red bandanna; but it wasn't around his eyes, it was around his head, and strands of short, dark sandy coloured hair hung over it. Mikey looked at his face. He had a human nose! One that curved perfectly, instead of just two invisible nostrils. Raph's eyes were brown, and was the only thing that was the same. He had two visible ears, and a lot. He wore the usual teenage getup; a pair of loose jeans, and a baggy T-shirt.
Raph, noticing his brother staring at him, and noticing his BROTHER, stared at Mikey. Mikey's orange bandanna was around his sandy colour hair, and his eyes were still the same. But he had a boyish shaped face, boyish cheeks, and ears and lips the same as humans. Mikey was also wearing jeans, and a slightly different top. But it felt, to them, so weird to have clothes that fit. It was so . . . Comfortable. Raph noticed Mikey still had his weapons strapped to the belt around his wait, and he himself felt mentally for his own.
They both stared at each other, then tested their new bodies. Five fingers! Mikey wiggled them all. He couldn't believe it . . . And the feel of hair on his head was warm and somehow it felt good. Raph ran a hand through his hair, put pulled it back quickly. Nothing too good ever came true; this had to be a trick. A flutter of sadness rose in the pit of his stomach . . . 'Nothing grand ever came true; Good things never come cheap' . It was a phrase he had told himself when he was little. It was that phrase which made him realise he could never be normal. But . . . Why were they like this? Both turtles continued to study and test themselves, totally amazed and shocked.
Navaura smiled. She had them now. She knew it. She had them all. Finally, after a few minutes of total silence in which the two human boys stared at each other, Navaura spoke.
"You would like to stay like this, wouldn't you?"
They looked up at her.
"You can, you know. It is possible. I can make all your troubles vanish. You could live a normal life. Be with normal kids your own age for a change. Get out and about. Wouldn't that be great? All I want, is your other brothers . . . Just those two. You know how much closer you two are together. And you don't need those two pulling you back. Leonardo always nagging and lecturing. Donatello, always so right, making you the fool for being wrong. And wouldn't you give anything to get away from that sewer? All I want . . . Is for you to say the magic words, and I will take your two wretched brothers away from your lives . . . And you can be free . . ."
They stared at her, eyes clouded over in thought. They were too overcome with shock and joy to think about what she was asking.
"All this . . . Just for our brothers . . ." Mikey whispered.
Navaura smiled. "You get to be human, and at the same time, are free of two very annoying brothers . . ."
Raph thought. Past the happiness and amazement he felt about this, there was pain and sadness. Pain because of something he wanted so badly, but at a terrible price. Sadness because he knew he could never have this 'Grand things never come true; Good things never come cheap'. He knew he wouldn't take it. It was a dream, ripped away from him.
Mikey thought. All this, for his brothers. He decided at once that his brothers meant so much more to him than this. They were important to him . . . They were important full stop; otherwise Navaura wouldn't want them. She was playing with their minds. She was inside them, that was why Mikey actually considered the deal. He would never have given it a second thought. Mikey made up his mind.
The two turtles - human teens - looked up at her. Together they both spoke in a voice that carried so much pain and sadness, that far away, in the Labyrinth, Leo and Donnie felt it:
"No . . ."
Navaura's smiled stayed, but only for a few seconds. Then she frowned angrily.
"No? NO?! This is all you've ever wanted and you turn it down?! For two lousy brothers?!"
"Two loved brothers . . ." Mikey whispered softly.
Navaura growled angrily, snapped her fingers so hard it sounded as if she broke them, and they found themselves back in the shield, limited amount of oxygen again. The Demoness stared at them from outside it. "
"You have only four hours. Four hours for your brothers to find you; four hours till the oxygen in there runs out, you die, and become mine!" With that she stormed out, cloak billowing behind her.
The two back-to-normal turtles flopped down on the floor, tired out completely from the lack of oxygen.
//\\
Leo and Donnie listened to the soft purring growls from Drelic. They hadn't come across any other beings; only dead plants, some lucky live ones and a load of big rocks about the place. Something strange HAD happened while they were in here though. Some extraordinary pain and sadness had come over them, and they had crumpled to the ground, unable to stand it all. Drelic had panicked a little, but had helped them up as soon as it passed. They both knew what it was; they could almost see it. It was their brothers; and something told them to hurry.
"Place spooky . . ." Drelic growled quietly. He walked close behind Donnie, his wings folded tightly together, and trod lightly.
"Um . . . " Donnie said. "The place doesn't seem right . . . I mean, the atmosphere in here seems completely wrong, and the temperature is so different to what it should be in a place like this . . . And these types of plants shouldn't be able to withstand this climate . . . but they do look slight different to any plant I've seen . . ."
"Thanks for the documentary, Donnie," Leo groaned. "It might be spooky, Drelic, but really there's nothing in here that's going to do anything to us . . ."
Drelic the dragon snorted warm air through his nostrils, and then suddenly the floor beneath him gave way and he fell quickly and soundlessly through a trapdoor, big enough for him. It replaced itself a second later.
Leo and Donnie continued on for a few seconds before they noticed the lack of growling. They both turned around to see no Drelic.