A.N.: Hey y'all! *Waves* Sorry it's been so damn long. Kinda been busy & stuff. That & I couldn't figure out how to write down what I had all cooked up in my head. Lol. Sorry I made y'all wait so damn long. I feel bad 'bout that. Promise I'll try to update my other stories soon as well. Oh, & if this set of chapters seems kinda on the short side, well, sorry, but I had to fill in the spaces that would work up to the climax thingy in this bit of the story. Well, enough of my ramblings - for now - 'cause I bet y'all are quite anxious to read 'bout what happens next. Hehe. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: don't own TMNT or anyone affiliated with them. I only own Lana, Jeff, Drew, Tesia, Day, Felicia, Toby, Allison, Morris, Skylar, Ryanne, Kelsey, James, and Shlump. I also own the story idea!

Chapter 70:

6 months later.

It'd been six months now that Lana had been stuck in her little hell hole. And, like everyone else trapped in Leatherhead's Swamp Lands, hated every single second of it. Though she had made friends with some of the others there, Tesia would always remain as her favourite friend out of them all.

"Psst!" Tesia hissed, once she found Lana. "Lana!"

Lana turned to look at her friend, hoping as not to be spotted by Shlump.

"What?" She hissed back.

"Secret meeting tonight!" Tesia whispered. "Old willow tree!"

Lana nodded to show that she had understood the message. There was no need for Tesia to tell her what time to be there, as everyone there already knew what time they always met.

Tesia ran off then to go and finish her morning's work. It was only six a.m., but boy was it ever hot out. She was sure it was the hottest day thus far.

"I hope Lana's figured out her meditation stuff," Tesia thought. "I know we've both been working on it. Her more so than me."

Lana went about her work, managing to stay out of trouble, all that morning. She was actually kind of surprised, as usually she was getting yelled at for some stupid little thing. She was the one who always seemed to make 'Master Leatherhead' the angriest.

"Wish I wasn't so much like Raph," she sighed. She paused then, to squish her eyes shut, to try and keep her tears from coming and falling. "Damn. Why'd I hafta think 'bout him now?"

She heard someone coming then, and hurriedly got back to work. Just in time too. For just as she picked up her shovel and began her duty, Shlump emerged from a nearby bush.

"Keep the work going L.!" He snapped. "No more pausing for nothing! Not even if yah gotta go to the bathroom! If I catch you slacking off again, I'll be sure to inform Master Leatherhead."

"Yes Shlump," Lana answered quickly. "Sorry."

She continued to shovel in silence. "Dammit! So much for staying outta trouble!" She thought frustrated. "Argh!"

Eventually noon hour rolled around and all the slaves were able to have a half hour break. During any break they were given, they were allowed to do as they please, as long as they didn't get in Leatherhead's way or try to escape. On breaks the 'slaves' would usually discuss whatever came to mind. They didn't dare discuss their plans for a secret meeting for fear that Shlump would overhear them and tell Leatherhead.

"So." Lana trailed off, looking at Tesia and their two friends. "What we gonna talk about today?"

"I dunno," Tesia shrugged. "I think we've just 'bout run outta topics."

"Yeah," the other two agreed.

"And please, no more talk about Backstreet Boys," Day pleaded.

"Why not?" Felicia piped up. "Lana and I are still fans. No matter how long it's been since we've heard one of their CD's."

"Actually," Lana began grinning slightly. "I heard 'em the other day."

"And you didn't tell me!" Felicia exclaimed, as Lana shook her head. "Why not?"

"Because I wasn't s'pose to have heard 'em," Lana grinned. She leaned in to whisper the next bit. "I snuck in to where Shlump put all my stuff the day I came here. I've my Backstreet Boys CD's in my pack, along with my discman."

"And you didn't get caught?" Day said amazed.

"Nope," Lana answered. "I'm a ninja. Ninja's never get caught." She paused. "Well, not always." She looked at her friends sheepishly. "Guess my training never paid off, eh?"

Tesia patted her back. "Don't worry Lana," she told her. "If you're able to reach your family through meditation, then all will be forgiven and forgotten."

Lana gave a weak smile. "Thanks Tesia. I need all the support and confidence I can get."

Tesia smiled back. "No problem gal."

"How is that coming along though?" Felicia asked.

"Okay, I guess," Lana shrugged.

"Have you reached anyone yet?" Day queried.

"I-" Lana started, but was cut off by the bell that signaled for them to get back to work. "Argh. Wish I'd get a day off just once."

The other three nodded their agreement, said good-bye to one another, then headed back to do their work.

Chapter 71:

"Michaelangelo, where are you going my son?" Master Splinter asked his youngest child.

"Out Sensei," Michaelangelo answered.

"And where is it that you go every day Michaelangelo?"

Michaelangelo looked a tad sheepish then. "Just - out."

Master Splinter gave him a quizzical look, but nodded nonetheless. "Alright. I trust you are not causing any problems. I will leave it alone - for now."

Michaelangelo bowed and left then, heading straight for Lana's secret spot. He'd gone there every single day since she'd taken off on them. He felt that by going there, it would somehow bring her back. Of course, for all he knew, it could've very easily been false hope.

He reached her hideout then and quickly entered after making sure that he hadn't been followed. Once inside he paced for a bit.

"Where are you Lana?" He wondered aloud. "Where? And why haven't you sent me that postcard yet, like you promised?"

He groaned inwardly and sat down, picking up the pen and paper he'd left there. Every time he came to her hideout he would work on whatever it was that he'd been writing. Sometimes though, he'd draw instead, but lately he'd been writing more than anything.

He stared at his scribbling on the paper before him, trying to figure out what to write next. (A.N.: Michaelangelo's song is actually to the tune of "My Heart Stays With You" {a BSB song [Howie sings it]}. Some of the words are from the actual song, while others are just ones I put in to suit the story. Okie. Back to the story now.*jeopardy music*.lol.)

Wherever you go - Whatever you do
Girl my heart stays with you
At the end of every day - I wanna rush o-ver to you
And hold you in my arms - Feel your sweet embrace
I'll never let you go - My heart stays with you - ooooo

Baby, yeah
When you're leaving to-own
Girl it hurts me too, but you do what you gotta do-ooooo
Whenever I see you - I wanna rush o-ver to you
And hold you in my arms - Feel your sweet embrace
I'll never let you go - You make my heart race
I love you-ooooo

Wherever you go - Whatever you do
Girl my heart stays with you

He paused after writing the last line, now unsure as to what exactly to put after it.

"Damn," he muttered. "I'm stuck again."

He stared at his work once more, then wrote:

At the end of every day - I wanna rush o-ver to you
And hold you in my arms - And never let you go
Don't wanna lose you no more-ore
I need you more than you know
Your smile - Makes living worth it
When you laugh I know - That everything will be alright

He smiled to himself then. "Least what I write is true," he thought. "She does make everything seem worthwhile."

After awhile he grew bored with what he was doing, and decided to order a deluxe pizza. (*snickers* what else? lol.) Once his pizza arrived he munched on it lost in thought.

Flashback:

"Mikey! Mikey!" Four-year-old Lana shrieked running into his room where he was drawing.

Michaelangelo looked up. "What is it Munchkin?"

"Look Mikey!" She exclaimed, thrusting a video at him. "Look!"

He looked at the video and saw that it was an Alvin and the Chipmunks one. He looked back up at her then.

"Where'd you get that Kiddo?" He asked.

"Raph gave to me," she beamed proudly. "It mine."

He couldn't help but chuckle at her then. "He did, did he?"

"Yep," she grinned. "Wanna watch with me?"

"Sure." It was now his turn to grin. "I'd love to watch it with you."

In truth, he was actually quite surprised that Raphael, of all people, had given her the video. He knew just how much his brother in red hated The Chipmunks, but at the same time, knew just how much he loved Lana, though he'd never admit it.

Lana began to tug on his arm then. "C'mon Mikey! C'mon!" She whined. "Wanna watch Simon!"

"And Alvin," a voice said from the doorway.

They both looked over only to find Raphael, standing there, watching them.

"Yes Mikey, I gave her the video, and no, I ain't sick," Raphael stated. "I saw it and thought she might like it. It'll keep her occupied and outta my hair."

Michaelangelo shook his head at his brother, and then stood up, picking Lana up at the same time.

"What hair Raph?" He joked.

"Just go watch the movie with her, Knucklehead," Raphael told him. "Or I'll be forced to hurt yah."

"No hurt Mikey!" Lana cried, wrapping her small arms around Michaelangelo's neck. "Be nice to Mikey! Love Mikey!"

"Thank-you Munchkin," Michaelangelo smiled as she kissed his cheek. "I love you too."

Raphael made a face, then left the two of them, as they made their way out to the den to watch her Chipmunk video.

End of Flashback.

Michaelangelo brushed away his lone tears that had started to fall when that memory came to mind.

"Lana, wherever you are, I hope you're okay."

Chapter 72:

Everyone who'd been caught by Leatherhead over the years quietly snuck through the swamplands to their secret meeting spot that night. Once they were sure that everyone had made it there safely, they began.

"Okay, first things first," Toby said. "Has anyone been able to stay out of trouble these past couple weeks, for at least a day?"

Six hands were raised. They were all surprised that six of them had managed it, normally they considered one person raising their hand lucky.

"Very good," Toby acknowledged. "Now, who hasn't been able to stay out of trouble at all?"

"What is this?" Day grumbled. "A 'Let's See Who Never Listens To Leatherhead' meeting?"

"Day, don't grumble," Tesia told her. "Just raise your hand along with the rest of us and admit defeat."

Still grumbling, Day raised her hand, along with Tesia, Lana, and Felicia.

Toby chuckled. "You four have a knack for getting into trouble, don't you?"

"Maybe we do, and maybe we don't," Felicia replied. "That's for us to know, and you to try and figure out."

"We're the Four Musketeers, thanks," Lana piped up. "We do everything together. Even if it means getting into trouble as well."

The four girls then stuck their hands together. "All for one, and one for all!"

Everybody there laughed at them, as the girls were not only the youngest, but also the craziest, out of all the captives Leatherhead had.

They were all fourteen, and three of them had birthdays in the same month. Tesia April 10th, Lana April 17th, and Felicia April 30th. No one was sure when Day's birthday was, not even Day herself; the only thing she knew was what year she was born in.

"Anyway, Lana, how's your meditation been coming along?" Allison asked.

Lana looked away sheepishly. "It hasn't," she whispered softly.

"What do you mean?" Morris interrogated. "Last time you said it was coming along nicely."

"Well, it is, and it isn't," Lana shrugged. "I dunno. Leo never had the chance to teach me all the basics of contacting one another through our minds. I took off before he could." She looked down then. "I wish I had've waited a bit longer."

"Hey, don't go making us feel sorry for you!" Kelsey snapped. "You're not the only one who's miserable and wants to go home!"

"Can it, Kels," Toby ordered. "You know these four have it the hardest 'cause they're the youngest."

"Oh, boo hoo," Kelsey said sarcastically. "Excuse me while I cry them a damn river."

"Shut-up Kelsey," Tesia stated. "We don't hafta put up with your crap. You're just mad 'cause you can't meditate your own way outta here."

Kelsey stuck her tongue out at Tesia, who did the same in return.

"That's enough ladies," Toby told them warily. "I won't tell you again. If y'all can't get along, then you can leave this meeting and be the only ones who don't have a clue as to what's going on."

The two girls went quiet then, but still kept shooting each other evil glares.

"Cry me a river. Oh, cry me a river," Lana sang softly. "Oh, cry me, cry me.cry me a river."

"Ack!" Day yelped quietly. "She's singing Justin Timberlake!"

Everybody except Lana and Felicia then began to make faces and gagging noises. The two girls who weren't gagging, giggled instead.

"Hey, least she knows how to make people laugh," Felicia pointed out.

Their friends all nodded their agreement. It went silent shortly afterwards, all of them just sitting there staring at one another.

There was eleven of them altogether. Toby was the eldest at nineteen, then came Allison who was eighteen. Then Morris and Kelsey; Morris was seventeen, Kelsey sixteen. Skylar was seventeen as well, and Ryanne fifteen. James was fifteen too. After all of them, that left Tesia, Lana, Felicia, and Day to bring up the tail end.

"I'll keep trying to reach them though," Lana said suddenly. "But I can only do so much before it starts to hurt."

Toby patted her back. "It's alright Kiddo. We know you're doing the best you can."

Skylar checked her watch then, one thing Shlump hadn't taken away from her. "Um.guys? It's getting late. We'd best head back if we don't wanna get caught."

"Alright," Allison agreed. "The usual order gang."

Oldest to youngest they always crept back. Minus Toby. He stayed at the end to make sure everyone got back safely and should they get caught, be right there at their aid.

Luckily for them, for the first time ever, they all made it back to their bunks unseen by anyone. Needless to say, they were all quite relieved by this fact.

Chapter 73:

Donatello was in his lab working away on a broken toaster, when he stopped suddenly as his thoughts once more drifted to Lana. He could feel his eyes tearing up at just the thought of her name, and felt them fall when a flashback began.

Flashback.

Donatello was puttering about the lair, in search of anything, anything at all, that needed fixing of any sort. He'd grown restless about twenty minutes earlier and had thus decided on searching the lair for a new project to occupy himself with. He was still looking when he suddenly heard a small voice behind him.

"Donnie?" The voice said softly. "Donnie?"

He turned around and looked down only to find an adorable three-year- old staring up at him. He smiled at her and crouched down to her height.

"Hey Lana. Whatcha want Honey?"

"Donnie pway?" She asked. "Pwease?"

He sighed then. "Sweetie, I'm kinda busy looking for something to fix."

"Lana help Donnie?" She queried, staring up at him with puppy-dog eyes. "Can she?"

He chuckled slightly. "If you'd like," he told her. He thought a moment. "Hey, I've an idea. Why don't we make it a game? Let's see how many broken things we can find in the lair that desperately needs to be fixed."

She nodded her head eagerly, then grabbed his hand and dragged him over to the Nintendo.

"Fix!" She cried. "Bwoken!"

"Is it now?" He questioned. "How is it broken?"

The thought of the Nintendo now being broken confused him, as he'd seen Michaelangelo and Raphael playing with it earlier. Wait. Maybe, that explained itself right there. Raphael had played. But, if he remembered correctly, Michaelangelo had not been complaining of a busted N-64, so there was no way the Nintendo was broken.

"No cars," she stated simply. "Look!"

He watched as she turned the T.V. on, then fiddled with the N-64. When the Nintendo didn't come on, she repeated herself.

"Look! No car Donnie! No!"

He couldn't help but laugh at her. "Honey, there's no cars because you didn't turn the Nintendo on."

"Yesth did!" She insisted, quickly fiddling with the wrong button again. "See? No on!"

He shook his head, then crouched down and moved the power button. Suddenly, there on the television screen, were the cars she so loved to watch.

"Huh," she gasped surprised, then squealed with pure delight, "Cars! Donnie! Cars!"

"Yep, there's the cars," he nodded. "See? I said it wasn't broken."

"Pway?" She interrogated, holding a controller out towards him. "Pwease?"

He paused for a second to think. "I'm not exactly doing anything else at the moment," he thought. "And she does want me to play."

"Sure," he grinned at her, taking the controller from her chubby little hand. "I'll play Kiddo."

She beamed at him and did her happy dance before grabbing the other controller and plopping down in his lap.

The two of them sat there playing N-64 right up until her nap time. Though, once nap time had come around, needless to say, she didn't want to go. Not one bit.

End of flashback.

Donatello shook his head once his flashback had finished. Only she would say the Nintendo was broken, when it really wasn't. Of course, she had only been three and not known how to turn it on properly.

He sighed heavily as yet another flashback hit him, like they'd been doing non-stop. They always seemed to come one right after the other.

Flashback.

Donatello was just about to enter his lab, when Lana came up to him in tears.

"Hey, hey. What's wrong Sweetie?" He asked, obviously concerned.

"Teddy hurt," she blubbered, showing him her teddy bear.

He looked at the bear and noticed it had stuffing coming out of it's back.

He bent down and pulled her into a hug. "Shh. It's okay. Teddy will be alright."

"He will?" She looked up at him tearfully. "Really?"

"Really Honey," he said softly, wiping her tears away with his thumbs. He picked her up. "C'mon. I'll fix him up for you, okay?"

"Kay," she whispered, burying her head in his shoulder, while still clutching her teddy bear tightly. "Fix Teddy."

He carried her into his lab and set her down on the table. Once he was sure she wasn't going to move around or touch anything, he retrieved his sewing kit from its destination.

"Pumpkin, I need Teddy now," he told her. "He needs to have a small operation. I'm going to stitch him back up for you, alright?"

"Alwight," she sniffled passing him her teddy. "Be nice."

"I promise I'll be nice to him," he assured her.

He got the needle and thread ready, and began to stitch up the bear, after poking his stuffing back in him.

"No hurt Teddy?" She asked quietly, worried that the stitches were hurting her beloved friend.

"No. They don't hurt Teddy," he replied. "They'll make Teddy better."

"Kay." She watched him, highly interested in what he was doing to her bear.

Once he had finished he handed Teddy back to her. "There you go Lana. Teddy's as good as new."

"Tank-you!" She exclaimed, grinning an ear-to-ear grin. "Tank-you Donnie!"

"You're very welcome Honey," he smiled kissing her head. "Now, such Teddy was such a good patient, do you think he'd like a lollipop?"

"Yesth!" She cried, as she loved lollipops. "Teddy want sucker!"

"Would you like one too?"

"Yesth! Pwease!"

Still smiling, he handed her two suckers, one orange and purple, the other red, white, and blue.

"There you go, my little patients."

"Tank-you!" She cried, as she stuck the orange and purple lollipop in her mouth. Mind you, she did this after he'd opened it for her.

"You're welcome." He lifted her down off the table then. "Go play Kiddo."

She began to run out of his lab, when he called her back.

"FREEZE!"

He watched as she froze on the spot, with her teddy under one arm with his sucker, and her lollipop in the other.

"About face."

She slowly turned around to face him, and gave him an innocent grin.

"What do we do when eating lollipops?" He asked.

"Walk," she answered.

"And what were you doing?"

"Run."

"And what are you going to do now?"

"Walk," she responded.

"There's a girl," he smiled, going over and ruffling her hair. "Remember, you walk when you're eating lollipops Lana. You only run if you want them to be taken away from you. And you don't want that, now do you?"

She shook her head furiously. "Nuh-uh."

"Okay then," he said. "Now, scat."

He watched as she turned and walked out of his lab this time. He shook his head at her, then went back to what he was originally going to do.

End of flashback.

Donatello brushed his tears away. "Whatever happened to my little girl?" He wondered. "Where'd she go? And why'd she go so fast?"

Once he was sure she wasn't going to pop into his head again for at least a little while, he set back to work fixing the busted up toaster.

Chapter 74:

Lana was doing her daily chores with Tesia, Felicia, and day by her side. But, even though the four of them were working together, none of them were talking, for fear of getting into even more trouble. They'd already been yelled at twice that morning, and had been informed if they were yelled at again serious consequences would be given out. While they worked, Lana couldn't help but think of home and the turtles, two of the things she missed the most. The other two things she missed were Jeff and Drew. Other than her family and friends nothing else really mattered. Well, except, of course, the Backstreet Boys. But then again, in her case, they always mattered, not matter what the circumstances may be.

Without knowing it, she stopped working, as memories flooded through her head.

Flashback.

Lana woke up, only to remember that it was her sixth birthday. She remembered her birthday party even faster. She jumped out of bed and bounced around her room.

"Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday, happy birthday! Happy birthday to me!"

Michaelangelo poked his head into her room then. "Ah, I see the birthday girl is already up."

"Yep! Yep! Yep!" She exclaimed excitedly.

"And how would the birthday girl like to help me make her birthday cake?"

"Yeeeaaah!" She yelled, as she ran into his open arms, only to be picked up immediately and swung over his shoulder. "Whooo!"

She giggled the whole way to the kitchen. Once they'd reached the kitchen, Michaelangelo swung her back down and set her on a stool.

"What kinda cake do you want Munchkin?" He asked while he got the other ingredients ready.

"CHOCOLATE!" She shrieked, bouncing on her stool in her excitement.

Michaelangelo laughed. "Okay. Chocolate it is then."

She watched eagerly as he began to make her chocolate marble cake. Every so often he'd pass her a spoon and she'd lick it clean before tossing it into the sink. She loved when he baked, as she got to help by licking the stuff clean and throwing them into the sink afterwards.

Soon it was time for the icing. While Michaelangelo mixed up the icing he hummed. It was one of his favourite things to do while baking/cooking. Whenever he was in the kitchen, he'd either hum or sing.

"How's this taste?" He asked, passing her the spoon.

She licked it. "Mm.Yummy!"

He chuckled. "Well, that's good to know."

She giggled as he placed more icing on the spoon for her. There was much more on it this time than there was last time. She quickly lapped it up off the spoon, then waited to see if she'd get any more.

"Nope. That's all you're getting Munchkin," he stated. "Don't want to go rotting your teeth just on icing."

She pouted then, but threw her spoon in the sink anyway.

Michaelangelo lifted her down off her stool then. "Okay, you can't see the cake now 'till the party."

"Aww. Mikey!" She whined playfully.

"Nuh-uh," he said shaking his head. "Why don't you go see how the decorations are coming along?"

"Okay!" She chirped. She hugged him quickly, then darted out of the kitchen and into the den.

In the den she found Leonardo and Raphael putting up party decorations, while Master Splinter sat in his chair drinking a cup of tea.

"Morning!" She cried.

They all jumped slightly. "Morning," they replied.

She ran over to Master Splinter. "Morning Splinter!"

Master Splinter smiled softly at her. "Good morning, my child. How does it feel to be six?"

"GRE-AT!" She shouted, doing her impression of Tony the Tiger.

She beamed at him, then hurried over to bug Leonardo and Raphael.

"You putting more balloons up?" She asked. "Huh? Huh? Are you?"

Leonardo laughed at her. "Yes, Lana-belle. We'll be putting more balloons up."

"YES!" She exclaimed, before tackling Raphael.

Raphael caught her and swung her around, before stopping and just holding her in his arms. He didn't care if his family saw him acting nice today. Like, c'mon. It was the kid's birthday; how could he not be nice to her.

"So.Lana.you been gift hunting yet?"

She gave him a sly, yet shy smile. "No."

"Liar," he chuckled, flipping her upside down. "I'd say someone deserves some paddy whacks for that."

"Ahh!" She shrieked, giggling and wriggling all at the same time.

He held onto both her ankles with one hand, and playfully spanked her bottom with his free hand. He was usually always the one who gave her, her paddy whacks. But he never hit her hard; he, whether you believe it or not, didn't have the heart to hit her hard. He just liked making her squeal with laughter, and hanging her upside down.

"And a one, and a two, and a three," he counted, as he gently hit her bottom. "And a four, and a five, and a great big six."

She squirmed, knowing what the next part was.

"And a pinch to grow an inch!" He stated, pinching her buttocks lightly.

"Eep!" She yelped, still giggling like crazy.

He smiled as he set her back down on the ground. "You'd best start running Small Fry. 'Cause if I catch yah, you're getting more paddy whacks."

She screamed playfully, and ran off. She laughed the whole time he chased her. She was chased right up until she crashed into Donatello- literally.

"Hey Lana," Donatello smiled, then leaned down to kiss her head. "Happy birthday Sweetie."

"Thanks," she grinned, then let out a surprised yelp as Raphael flipped her upside down and started giving her paddy whacks again.

Donatello shook his head at the two. On her birthday, Raphael could be as crazy as Michaelangelo was twenty-four/seven. He waited until they were done before speaking again.

"It's time," he told them.

"YES!" Lana cried, knowing exactly what he meant. She hurried off to get dressed and to grab her jacket once Raphael had set her down.

Once they all had their jackets and hats on, the five of them set off to go pick up her party guests. They surfaced to the streets, and once topside, quickly made their way to an empty house they'd told the parents to drop their kids off at. After the parents had left, they blindfolded all the kids, Lana included, and carried them two at a time down to the lair. When everyone was safely in the lair and the door had been closed, they removed the blindfolds to reveal the over-decorated den.

"Wow," the children, even Lana, gasped in amazement.

While her friends were getting settled to play a game Michaelangelo was organizing, Lana quickly and quietly snuck her way over to Master Splinter's study, and snuck in. Once inside she quickly hugged him.

"Thanks Master Splinter," she whispered, as not to be heard by anyone, should they be lurking nearby.

Master Splinter smiled. "It was no problem, my child. I even had a bit of fun setting up the last bit of the party. I believe the games you have to play shall be quite enjoyable."

She grinned at him. "Yep. Mikey and I picked out the good ones. He said we could only have the best, and the best is what we got."

"You had best hurry along before your guests wonder where you are, little one."

She nodded, hugged him once more, then snuck back out to her party. She'd felt bad when Donatello had told her that Master Splinter wouldn't be present at her party. But she understood when he said it'd be easier for her friends to accept turtles, than it would be for them to accept a rat. Also, if they told their parents that turtles had been there, they'd think the guys had dressed up as turtles. Turtles were easy to understand and accept, a rat wasn't. She was highly relieved when Master Splinter had assured her that he didn't mind, and that he would indeed be present when she opened her gifts from the family.

"Where'd you go?" Jeff asked as she plopped down next to him on the floor.

"Bathroom," she answered simply. "I had to pee."

They both giggled at that, as they were six. And six-year-olds giggled at the mention of pee or poop.

She smiled at Drew, her other best friend, who was sitting across from them next to Jacqueline. She was glad that all her friends had been able to make it, and knew that this party would be the best one she ever had. She knew her thoughts had been right when Michaelangelo brought out her birthday cake later on. He'd shooed her out of the kitchen so he could put Alvin and the Chipmunks on the cake for her. Everyone knew just how much she loved the Chipmunks.

End of flashback.

"Psst! Lana!" Felicia hissed. "What's wrong?"

Lana looked up at her friends through teary eyes, and shook her head.

"Get to work!" Day snapped quietly. "You're gonna get us in trouble!"

"Sorry," Lana mouthed, as she began to shovel once more.

Tesia just shook her head, as she'd an idea as to what was wrong. She'd noticed how often Lana would zone out on them lately, and was becoming a tad worried. She decided to confront Lana about it later and see just what was going on.

Felicia and Day caught Tesia's look, and knew that they'd know soon enough just why Lana kept zoning out on them lately. They knew she wasn't doing it on purpose, as she always got them in trouble when she did, and they could tell she hated being the reason they were all punished.

Lana quietly shoveled and hoped that her memories would stay out of her head for the time being.

Chapter 75:

Raphael was on one of his walks, when he was hit with a flashback of his own.

Flashback.

Raphael was lazing in front of the television watching an afternoon movie, when he was interrupted.

"Raph!" Lana called softly, not sure what kind of mood he was in.

He glanced over at her and had to suppress a laugh. She was dressed up in high-heeled cowboy boots, and had a pink furry scarf around her neck. She also had on a short jean skirt and a bright pink tank top, and long white-laced gloves on her hands.

"Whatcha want Runt?" He asked.

"I pwetty Raph?" She wanted to know. She stared up at him, batting her big green eyes. "Lana pwetty?"

He smiled slightly. "Yeah, you're pretty, Kid."

She grinned and ran over to stand between his legs. "How pwetty?"

"Real pretty," he told her, as he ruffled her hair. "But I think you're missing something."

"What I miss?"

"Stay here. I'll be right back," he stated as he stood up.

He went to retrieve something then, and returned a few minutes after he'd gotten up. He knew his brothers would question him about what he was giving her right now. This was why he was determined to make her promise not to tell anybody.

"This," he started, placing a big floppy beige hat, with a huge blue bow, on her head, "is what you're missing."

He laughed as she peeked out at him from under the humongous hat.

"I more pwetty?"

He smiled at her. "Lana, in my books, you'll always be the prettiest girl around. But don't tell nobody, kay?"

She nodded vigorously, which caused her hat to fall down over her face again.

He chuckled and fixed her hat so that she could see. "Better?"

"Yesth." She gave him an innocent look then. "Wanna pway?"

"Play what?"

"Dwess-up," she replied.

"Dress-up?" he choked out slightly. He knew if he did his brothers would never let him live it down. "Couldn't we play something else Lana?"

She held onto her hat as she shook her head. "No. Dwess-up. Wanna pway."

He groaned inwardly. "Small Fry, Raph doesn't play dress-up."

"Why not?" She questioned, her lower lip starting to tremble.

"Because he just doesn't."

"Oh," she acknowledged, her tears starting to fall.

He realized she was crying and felt horrible. "Damn four-year-olds," he thought. "Always wanna play silly, girly games."

"Don't cry Lana," he told her, a little harsher than he'd intended. "You can't always get your way."

She glanced at him through her tears, then darted off for her room. She did what any child who'd just turned four recently would do, she crawled under her bed to hide.

"Dammit!" He muttered. "Donnie finds out I made her cry and I'm as good as dead!"

Still grumbling to himself, he went off in search of what he'd been hiding and keeping for an occasion like this. Once he was ready he headed for her room and once there entered, immediately knowing where she was hiding.

"Lana, I ain't mad at yah," he stated softly. "Now, c'mon. Get out from under your bed."

"No," she replied stubbornly.

"You're ruining your pretty dress-up clothes," he reminded her.

He heard her sigh then, and shortly afterwards she slid out from under her bed. He took a somewhat deep breathe before speaking.

"Lana."

She turned to look at him, and once she'd laid eyes on him, began to giggle hysterically.

"You clown!" She exclaimed. "Clown!"

He grinned down at her. "Yep. I'm a clown."

He hoped to God that his brothers didn't catch him in this get up. He'd found the clown wig and make-up and had bought it weeks ago. He knew she liked the funny, silly, happy clowns, and hated the sad, mad, scary ones. He'd also managed to find a silly looking shirt that actually fit over his shell.

"Raph pway now?" She asked hopefully.

He sighed. "Yeah, Raph will play now."

"Yay!" She cheered, as she eagerly grabbed his hand and dragged him off. She led him to where she'd set up her tea set. "Tea party. Raph pway tea party."

"Fine. Fine," he said as he sat down. He eyed her 'tea' and cookies. "Did Mikey give you the cookies?"

She shook her head. "No. Lana give cookies."

He looked at her amazed. "You got the cookies yourself?"

"Yesth," she lisped, beaming proudly. "Lana get."

"I think it's time we moved the cookie jar," he mumbled. "If not the Runt will be spoiling her dinner every night."

The two of them sat there all afternoon playing tea party. They both had a blast, but made sure to clean everything up before the others got home. He'd also made her promise not to tell anyone that he'd dressed up as a clown for her; that it'd be their little secret.

End of Flashback.

Raphael shook his head. "Damn Kid. Casey was right. She did get to me. Damn."

He continued on with his walk, taking longer than usual to return home, as he, of all people, was actually crying some. This he did not want to admit to anyone, so he wandered the streets some more, until he was sure they had stopped and were gone for good.

Chapter 76:

Lana was sitting on the ground of the hut her, Tesia, Felicia, and Day shared meditating. Well, trying to anyway. She wasn't having a whole lot of luck. Anyway, she was trying to meditate, when he friends gathered around her, knowing this may be the only chance they got to ask her what was wrong.

"Lana," Tesia began softly. "Lana."

Lana slowly came out of her trance, shook her head twice, and then looked at her friends. She noticed all of them looked extremely exhausted, yet determined.

"What?"

"Are you okay?" Tesia asked.

"Yeah. You aren't sick or anything, are you?" Day queried.

"No. I'm fine. Why?"

"Then why do you keep spacing out on us?" Felicia questioned. "Huh?"

"Oh. That," Lana said quietly. "I'm sorry 'bout that. I don't mean to keep getting y'all in trouble."

"We know that," Tesia smiled. "What we wanna know is why."

Lana sighed. "The more I try my meditating, the more home sick I get."

"What's being home sick have to do with you daydreaming?" Day interrogated.

"Yeah," Felicia agreed.

"Usually when I stare off into space, I'm either having a flashback, or I'm thinking really hard," Lana informed her friends. "When I floated off to space this afternoon, I was having a flashback of my sixth birthday."

"What about it?" Tesia wanted to know. "All we know is that it made you cry."

"Was it good or bad?" Day asked.

"It was the best birthday I've ever had in my life," Lana replied. "When I snapped outta my daze, I was crying 'cause it'd made me think of how much I miss everyone back home."

"Oh," Felicia acknowledged. "We can all relate there. Right guys?"

"Right," Tesia and Day nodded.

"What was the best birthday you guys ever had?" Lana queried.

"Hmm.best birthday ever?" Tesia repeated. "Let me think about that."

While she thought, Day managed to figure out which was her best birthday, and told them about it.

"It was my eighth birthday," she started. "Everyone had gone around acting like they'd forgotten all about it, but in reality, they hadn't. I was all upset 'cause I thought no one cared or anything, and then was surprised with a day pass to the marshmallow factory. My family took me to see how marshmallows were made, and 'cause it was my birthday I got three big, free bags of marshmallows to take home with me."

The other three gave their glowing friend weird looks.

"Yep. That was by far the best birthday I ever had," Day smiled dreamily. "I'll never forget that day. Ever."

Felicia smiled as she remembered hers. She fiddled with her nightshirt while she told her story.

"Mine was my ninth birthday," she stated. "I was surprised with front row tickets and backstage passes to a Backstreet Boys concert. I couldn't believe it. So, my family and best friend went. I didn't know it when we got there, but my Dad had told their manager it was my birthday. When they stopped to talk to the audience, Nick said there was a birthday girl in the audience. You can imagine my surprise when he said my name. They brought me up on stage, 'cause my Dad had made arrangements with security, and sang Happy Birthday to me. After the show was over, we'd made our way backstage, only to be recognized by them immediately. It was awesome. I got to hug them and talk to them right up until it was time for them to leave. And it was funny, 'cause when the time came for them to go, they were the ones whining 'cause they had to go. They also all signed my CDs, and they gave me a BSB hat and shirt for my birthday. Naturally, they autographed those too."

"Naturally," Lana piped up, making all four girls giggle.

"Yeah, well, not every fan can say they had the Boys sing to them," Felicia said defensively.

"I can," Lana smirked. "I was nine at the time too. Snuck out to one of their shows with my best friend Jeff. You wouldn't believe how much trouble we got in when we got home."

"We can believe it," Day laughed. "I mean, after all, it is you we're talking about here Lana."

Lana blushed slightly. "Not funny Day."

They all laughed, but stopped when Tesia stated she'd finally decided on which birthday had been her best ever.

"Fourth birthday," Tesia grinned. "And yes, I can remember that far back."

She paused while her friends snickered.

"Anyway, we went to Disney World in Florida. I met all my favourite Disney characters, and was scared by Jafar and Captain Hook, only to be saved by Aladdin and Peter Pan. My Mom took pictures. Then, later on, I got to ride in the parade with Mickey and Minnie Mouse. I remember thinking that I was sooo cool 'cause I got to wear a Cinderella costume and stand next to THE mouse. Man. That birthday totally rocked."

"Did you meet Donald Duck?" Lana interrogated. "He's my all time favourite. Then Louie, Hewey, and Dewey, Chip 'n' Dale, Dopey, and Aladdin."

"Wait a minute," Felicia said suddenly. "You said Aladdin saved you from Jafar, right?"

"Ri-ight," Tesia answered. "So? What's the big deal? Well, other than the fact that he was hot."

Felicia giggled. "It could've been Kevin!"

"What do you mean 'it could have been Kevin'? You don't mean the eldest Backstreet Boy, do you?"

"Hey! Yeah, you're right," Lana piped up as it dawned on her. "Kevin worked there as Aladdin and a Ninja Turtle." She snickered and thought to herself, "Little does anybody know, but I live with the real Ninja Turtles. Hehehe."

"Well, whatever," Tesia shrugged. "But whether it was him or not, it was still the best birthday I ever had."

Day yawned then. "Ahh. Think it's time we got some shut-eye, don't you?"

The others nodded their agreement, as they all took their turn at yawning.

"Damn. Why must yawns be contagious?" Lana joked. "They're sooo annoying."

The girls all chuckled softly, then each one of them snuggled back into their make-shift beds. They all slept soundly right up until the work bell was sounded the next morning.

Chapter 77:

Master Splinter was sitting in his rocking chair sipping a nice hot cup of tea while the news channel blared from the television screen. Though he had the T.V. on, he wasn't paying the least bit of attention to it. As, you see, his mind too was also on Lana.

Flashback.

Master Splinter entered the den, only to have a toddler run up and cling to his furry, bony, rat legs. He looked down only to find Lana gazing back up at him with an innocent, yet ever so sweet, smile upon her face.

"Good morning, my child," he said softly.

"Morning," she chirped.

"How are you this morning?"

"Kay," she answered.

"Have you eaten breakfast yet?"

"Yesth. Mikey give cereal."

"Ah. I see. Very well then."

He tried to move, but couldn't, as she refused to let go of him.

"Little One, why is it you are hugging my legs ever so tightly?" He asked her.

"Love Splinter," she replied, her smile growing bigger, only to become a huge grin. "My Splinter."

He smiled back down at her and patted her head. "I love you too, my child."

"Up Splinter?" She queried, looking up at him with bright eyes. "Pwease?"

He nodded and still smiling did as she requested. Once she was up and in his arms, she hugged him tightly and kissed his furry cheek. He kissed her head, and continued his journey, padding into the kitchen for a cup of tea and something to eat.

End of Flashback.

Master Splinter sighed heavily as his flashback ended.

"I do hope the sweet child is alright," he thought. "I would hate for anything to happen to her. She has still years of innocence left."

Meanwhile Leonardo was in the dojo practicing his ninjitsu when he too finally had his own little flashback.

Flashback.

Leonardo was baby-sitting Lana while his brothers went out to skateboard in the junkyard and his Sensei went to play chess with Andre. So far so good, as Lana was quietly sitting on the floor, playing with her toys.

"Lana-belle," he called softly, after letting her play for a bit. "Bath time."

"No!" She shrieked. "No bath!"

He felt like a fool then, as he suddenly remembered, that she hated baths with a passion, unless it was Donatello who was giving them.

"Lana, Donnie said you have to have a bath before bed."

"No bath! No bed!" She screamed, as she jumped up and ran.

He chased after her, and because he was a ninja, managed to catch her quite quickly. If he weren't a ninja it probably would've taken him much longer to catch her. He carried her into the bathroom where he held onto her and filled the tub with water and bubbles at the same time.

She kicked and squirmed and cried as he ran the bath water. She did not want to have a bath. No way dude. Baths meant she was going to bed soon and she hated going to bed when Donatello wasn't home. Hell. She even gave HIM a hard time some days.

"Lana, stand still," he told her.

"No Leo!" She argued.

He sighed, but managed to strip her, despite her struggling efforts to escape. Once she'd been stripped of her clothing and diaper, he set her in the tub, which was now halfway full.

She scowled at him, but brightened slightly when he dumped the bucket of bath toys in with her. She loved her boats, and could never figure out how they could stay afloat.

He watched her play and splash about for a bit, before cleaning her up and washing her hair. Once he'd rinsed her off, he lifted her out of the tub, much to her annoyance, and set her down on the floor. He turned to get her towel and looked back just in time to see her trying to climb back in.

She slipped and started to fall, but felt him catch her pretty fast. She started to cry, as A), it had scared her, and B), she wanted back in to play.

He wrapped her up in a towel and hugged her close while whispering soothing words in her ear. He then dried her off and put her pajamas on. After her pajamas were on and he'd drained the tub of water, bubbles, and toys, he carried her back out to the den. In the den he set her down on the couch to watch television for a little bit.

She watched her cartoons and smiled when he returned with her sippy cup. She loved her sippy cup more than anything else, even her Teddy at times.

He sat down next to her and pulled her into his lap, which is where she sat and fell asleep.

End of Flashback.

Leonardo was still smiling to himself at the memory, when he heard a voice in his head.

"Leo?" The voice said cautiously. "Leo, are you there?"

"Lana?" He answered with his mind. "Is that you?"

"Oh my God! I did it! Finally!" The voice cried. "Yes!"

"What's going on? Where are you?"

"What? Oh! Right. Sorry. Almost forgot you were there," the voice apologized.

"Well?" He pressed.

"I need help. I'm stuck as a prisoner and can't escape," the voice answered.

"What do you mean?" He asked confused.

"I'm stuck in - shit! He's back! Dammit! Why'd he hafta come when I finally got the hang of this meditation crap!" The voice complained.

"Lana? What's going on? What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Swamplands - New York - Leatherhead - Help -" The voice managed before fading away.

"Lana? Lana? Lana!" He yelled through his mind.

Once he was sure she wasn't going to talk to him through meditation anymore, he quickly headed off in search of his brothers.

"DONNIE!" He hollered. "GRAB A MAP OF NEW YORK! QUICK!"

Donatello came flying out of his lab with a map of New York. He quickly placed it on the coffee table, not sure as to why his brother in blue needed it.

"What's going on Leo?" Raphael demanded, as him and Michaelangelo entered the den. Master Splinter was following them.

"Donnie, is there Swamplands in New York?" He questioned, ignoring Raphael.

"Yeah. They're right there," Donatello replied, pointing to a spot on the map. "Why?"

"That's where Lana is."

Everyone looked at him shocked. They couldn't believe what he had just said. After all, it had been six months with no word whatsoever from her.

"What do you mean, my son?" Master Splinter queried calmly.

"I was practicing, but stopped when I had a flashback. When it ended, I heard a voice in my head. It was Lana! She stated she needed help."

"Are you sure your mind wasn't just playing tricks on you again Leo?" Raphael asked skeptically. "I'm not amused by your 'supposed' telepathic mumbo jumbo."

Leonardo scowled at his brother. "Nor am I amused by your attitude towards meditation."

"Well, if it was Lana who contacted you, what she say?" Donatello queried.

"Swamplands, New York, Leatherhead, and help," Leonardo stated. "That, and she's being held captive against her will, and forced to work like a slave."

"When we find her, I'm gonna beat the shit outta whoever the hell is making her work like a slave!" Raphael growled. "No one treats Lana like a slave and gets away with it!"

"Well, dudes, let's go get her back then!" Michaelangelo cried. "I miss her and want her back now!"

"I'm right behind you Mikey," Donatello said. "I'm right behind you."

The turtles then left the lair and headed off in search of the New York swamplands. Though they weren't quite sure exactly when they'd reach the swamplands, they all really hoped it was soon.

Chapter 78:

Meanwhile, Lana had indeed been caught while meditating. She had just reached Leonardo through her meditation and was starting to explain, when Shlump had spotted her sitting down while on the job. She prayed that Leonardo had gotten her message clearly and understood, and that if he didn't, one of the others would. If they did, she highly prayed that they would arrive soon, so her harsh punishment would be interrupted and cut short.

"Well, well, well," Leatherhead began. "Lookie who we have here, yet again. Can't seem to stay outta trouble, now can you L.?"

"I'm sorry Master Leatherhead," Lana replied softly.

Leatherhead ignored her apology and looked at Shlump. "What was she doing this time Shlump?"

"She was off in La-La Land again Sir," Shlump answered. "She seemed to be in some sort of trance."

Lana cowered as Leatherhead turned his angry gaze upon her. She knew this was the last straw, and that she'd be lucky if he didn't skin her alive-literally.

"I thought I warned you of what the consequences would be, should you gaze off into space again L.," Leatherhead snapped. "But, obviously, you don't seem to care, as you've broken that rule numerous times in the past two days."

"I-" Lana started, only to be cut off.

"SILENCE!" Leatherhead roared. "YOU WILL 'NOT' SPEAK UNLESS TOLD OTHERWISE! UNDERSTOOD?"

"Yes, Sir," Lana whispered.

"I can't hear you."

"YES, SIR!" Lana said loud enough for him to hear her clearly.

"Very well," Leatherhead nodded. "Since you insist on disobeying orders continuously, you shall receive the worst punishment there is." He paused. "Death."

Lana paled at his words and could feel her stomach starting to churn. She failed to keep her insides down, and hurled all over her own two feet.

"But first, you shall be tortured to no end," Leatherhead smirked. "I want you wishing you were dead, then maybe, just maybe, I'll take pity and put you out of your misery."

Lana watched helplessly as Leatherhead's evil smirk went even wider. "But first, you shall be thrown in the Chamber of Fears!"

Day, Tesia, and Felicia, who'd been listening from near by gasped. They'd all heard tales about the Chamber of Fears, and how slaves before them had literally been scared to death. They all silently prayed that Lana would be able to withstand the chamber, and if she didn't, when brought out, her fears would be played upon.

The three girls hurried off to gather their older friends, as Lana's screams rang out in the distance behind them. They soon found Toby, Allison, Morris, Kelsey, Skylar, Ryanne, and James working away on their chores.

"Toby!" Tesia shrieked. "Toby!"

Toby immediately stopped what he was doing when he heard the girl's frantic screams. He looked about hurriedly, and finally spotted her darting towards him as fast as she could.

"Toby!" Tesia said breathlessly once she'd finally reached him. "Lana needs help!"

"What do you mean she needs help?" Toby demanded. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"Shlump caught her daydreaming again!" Day explained through gasps of air. "She's in deep trouble!"

"Pff. When isn't she in trouble?" Kelsey scoffed.

Felicia glared at her. "Kelsey, you wouldn't be acting like a bitch if one of your best friends was about to be thrown into the Chamber of Fears."

Everyone's jaws dropped. They couldn't believe what they had just heard. Sure Lana had a knack for getting in trouble, but surely she wasn't in way over her head.

"What?" James choked out. "You're kidding, right?"

"Would we have run here like mad if she wasn't?" Tesia snapped, then looked back up at Toby. "Leatherhead said he's gonna torture her and kill her afterwards."

Felicia gave a panicked wail. "We HAVE to save her!"

"She'll die if we don't," Day added. "And she's helped us all out numerous times."

"What do you think we ought to do, Toby?" Allison asked. "We can't just barge in there. If we do that, we're all surely to be punished severely."

"I'd say we rescue her," Toby says. "How, I don't know. All I know, is that we'd best do it fast."

Ryanne, the quietest one of the bunch, spoke up then. "Guys, there's more of us than there is of them."

"What do you mean?" Morris wanted to know. "Leatherhead's got his whip and Shlump his sword."

"They may have weapons, but there's only two of them," Ryanne said softly. "There's ten of us. And we've shovels and stuff."

"She's a point," Skylar agreed. "Technically we've weapons too."

"But what if he's more men hiding around the swamplands, and we just ain't seem 'em yet?" James fretted. "I really don't wanna suffer a major beating. The last one I got was bad enough."

"James, we'll worry about that when the time comes," Toby told him gently, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Right now we have to worry about Lana and what will happen to her, should we stand around and do nothing."

While her friends were trying to figure out a plan to save her, poor Lana was thrown and locked in the Chamber of Fears. It was a magical chamber that made your biggest, darkest, deepest fears come true. Some of the fears you might not have even known about, or had just plum forgotten. It was always dark inside too, unless the chamber itself decided it needed light to add some effect to your fears.

One of Lana's biggest fears was the dark anyway, so being in there to begin with, without any lights, was scary enough as it was. But to add on top of that fear, were gremlins, spiders, snakes, bees, hornets, wasps, yellow jackets, worms, falling, drowning, thunder & lightning, losing Donatello, seeing Brian die, and watching Raphael be dissected. Those were her biggest fears in life and she avoided all of them at any cost the best she could. Sure, she had some that involved Michaelangelo and Leonardo, but those ones weren't as strong as the ones named above. To her though, her last five fears were the worst.

She'd curled up into a tight little ball as soon as Shlump had tossed her in and slammed the door shut. She knew she was about to go to hell and back again numerous times. Oh, how she wished her beloved Donatello would show up and be her knight in shining armor once more. She'd give and do almost anything just to hear his voice again, even if he were to yell at her for running away in the first place. She just wanted to be back in his arms again, and know she was safe from harm.

She could hear thunder coming from somewhere in the darkness, and saw a flash of lightning every so often. Whenever she would see a flash of lightning, she could glimpse all her other fears coming towards her. She trembled and cried despite herself, as she was too scared to do anything else but what she was already doing. She slinked further back into her little corner, hoping, though she knew it was fruitless, for her fears to not be able to get her while in the particular corner.

Obviously, in the Chamber of Fears, your hopes, dreams, and prayers are never answered - not even once or by accident. In the Chamber of Fears, never IS never. You can't live by 'never say never', or 'there is no such thing as never', because there IS such a thing as never. And in the Chamber of Fears, an eternity seems even longer than an eternity should, thus making it even worse for the occupant trapped inside.

This was definitely the case for Lana. She was so scared by the fears her mind had conjured up that she was unmistakably sick to her stomach, and sitting in her own pile of bathroom waste, created by her herself. The stench she now smelled, she knew, was her own doing. It also made the disgusting bugs/insects come towards her even faster, as the smell held their curiosity.

"Why me?" She whimpered through her tears. "Why?"

At the same time Lana was being scared to no end, her friends had finally come up with a plan to rescue her. They had decided that Ryanne was right. There were more of them, than there was of their evil captors, therefore they could easily overtake their enemies.

"So, this is it," Day muttered. "The day we find out whether or not we're going to survive and get outta this Hell hole after all."

"Day, quit your grumbling," Tesia told her. "It's not like we planned on going into battle, in order to not only free ourselves, but our fellow slaves as well."

"You think this plan will work Toby?" Felicia asked nervously. "I mean, if it backfires, we could all wind up in the Chamber of Fears."

Toby ruffled her hair and gave her a small soft smile. "Relax Kiddo. No one else is going to wind up in the Chamber of Fears. Once we get Lana out of there, we can all run like bats outta hell to get outta here for good."

"But what if-" James started, only to be silenced by Allison.

"James, Toby and I promised all of you, we won't let you guys get hurt," Allison reminded him. "Now, c'mon. We have to save Lana before she gets so scared her hair goes white or she has a heart-attack."

"But she's only fourteen," Skylar piped up. "Fourteen-year-olds don't have heart-attacks."

"You never know," Morris said. "If scared enough, it could actually be possible."

The ten of them snuck up to where Leatherhead and Shlump were standing outside of the Chamber of Fears. They could all hear Lana's petrified screams coming from inside the Chamber, letting them know they had to work fast. After the next scream, they began their attack by throwing rocks at both Leatherhead and Shlump.

"What the - " Leatherhead trailed off, turning just in time to see his slaves come charging towards them. "Quick Shlump! They've turned against us! Call in the reinforcements!"

Shlump whipped his walkie-talkie out and quickly alerted Leatherhead's back-up troops that the slaves were on a rampage. "Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!" He yelled. "Move it! Move it! Move it! This is urgent! I repeat this is urgent!"

Once Leatherhead spotted his reinforcements, he started to bark orders. Obviously he was not happy at the turn of events.

"Capture them!" He bellowed. "They must be thrown into the Chamber of Fears as well! We mustn't let them win!" He paused to think a moment. "Remember, they are weaker than us!"

"Whatever you do, DON'T GIVE UP!" Toby shouted to the youngsters following his lead. "We can't let them win! If they do, we'll have been defeated, and will be tortured for our disobedience! Now, c'mon! Give it everything you've got!"

The battle raged on and on and on, with Lana still trapped in the Chamber of Fears. Soon it looked at though the slaves were going to lose, as their enemies had captured most of them once more. Those captured being Tesia, Day, Felicia, James, Ryanne and Skylar. The other four still fought with all they had in them though.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a loud angry cry was heard.

"HIYA!"

Chapter 79:

The ones who had been captured again stared wide-eyed at the sight. As there, fighting along side of their companions, were four mutant turtles. They were totally shocked and utterly speechless. The four slaves still fighting paused only a short moment each to gape at their helpers quickly. Everyone, enemies included, wondered just where the hell the mutant turtles had come from.

Eventually, the other four slaves were re-captured as well, and were forced to watch the turtles fight. While they watched they noted that the turtles looked a tad familiar for some really odd reason, though they couldn't quite put their fingers on it.

Raphael, of course, had been the one to let out the loud angry battle cry. He was extremely pissed when he saw what the kids were going through. He knew none of them should have to fight against such odds as they were. So he'd gone and attacked the enemies closest to him and knocked them out.

"Raph! Look out!" He heard Michaelangelo yell, and turned just in time to duck as one of the idiots tried to kick him in the head. Needless to say, that guy was knocked out cold pretty fast for trying to pull that idiotic stunt off.

Leonardo was fighting to close to his brother in red; he was battling five of them at the moment. He was glad they were ninjas, as these punks were pretty good fighters, though their movements lacked some things.

"They need better and much more training," he thought with a smirk, as he blocked a move with his katana. "Then they might stand a better chance against us."

Michaelangelo meanwhile was showing off with his nunchucks as per usual. He was whacking people in the head and being his crazy old self to bring down his opponents. He'd already taken down quite a few on his own, plus warned Raphael about one of his attackers.

"Cowabunga dudes!" He shouted loudly. "It's time to take out the trash!"

Donatello felt like every time he knocked down one guy another would appear in his place. They kept on coming and seemed as though they never would stop coming. He had almost automatically been singled out and forced, further than he would've liked, away from his brothers. It was as if they knew that he was somehow connected to one of the kids there, and quite possibly the one they could all hear screaming from inside the nearby chamber.

The thought of Lana being the one trapped inside that chamber and screaming like that gave him the adrenaline to fight even harder and to be even quicker than he already was. He knew the faster the goons were out of the way, the faster he could rescue whoever was in the chamber screaming hysterically. And if it were indeed Lana, well, that was the whole reason for him to fight more fluently than he ever had.

"If they've harmed her in anyway, I swear I'm gonna kill them!" He thought as he sent some guy flying over his head.

Finally the battle was done and over with. Naturally all the punks had been either knocked out or killed, and were lying all around the swamplands. The turtles, as always, stood together and stalked towards Leatherhead and Shlump.

"Where's Lana?" Donatello demanded.

"I don't know of anyone by that name," Leatherhead answered. "My slaves go by a letter, not a name, as they are not worthy of one."

"Tell us where the hell Lana is," Raphael growled, and twirled his sais menacingly. "Or do I hafta get rough with yah?"

"No one is to touch Master Leatherhead," Shlump piped up. "Do and suffer severe consequences."

"Oh, and you really think that we're gonna be the ones suffering?" Raphael retorted. "Especially after you watched us knock all your butt- headed punks out while you stood there and did nothing of the sort to help them?"

"Chickens!" Michaelangelo taunted. "Chicken! Buck! Buck! Buck!"

The teenagers watching from the sidelines laughed at Michaelangelo's taunts. They were glad to see someone finally telling their captors off.

Leonardo shook his head at his youngest brother, but had to agree, the two before them did seem like chickens.

Leatherhead grew mad then, and grabbed a hold of Felicia, who let out a surprised yelp. "Leave or I shall make this girl suffer."

Felicia whimpered as he cracked his whip at his side. She was glad he wasn't hitting her with it - yet.

"Let the girl go Leatherhead," Leonardo said. "You've no right harming a child."

"Hey!" Felicia thought. "I'm not a child! I'm fourteen! A teenager, thank-you!"

A shrill scream was heard coming from inside the Chamber of Fears then, and chilled every single person standing there to the bone.

Leatherhead chuckled. "I may not be able to harm this brat, but I've one locked inside my Chamber of Fears. She shall either come out and never be the same again or die of fear."

Tesia paled. "No!" She screamed running for the chamber. "Lana! Hold on!"

Toby, Day, James, and Skylar quickly followed her, while Allison tended to Ryanne, Morris, and Kelsey who'd been hurt in the battle.

Donatello felt sick when he heard the girl scream out Lana's name. "Shit!" He thought. "Lana is in there!"

Leatherhead laughed insanely as the five slaves tried to open the door to the chamber. He knew they wouldn't ever be able to get it open. To open it, you needed the magic word, and only he and Shlump knew that.

"It's not opening!" Toby yelled. "It's stuck!"

The five of them yanked on it again and again, but still had no suck luck. The door was stuck shut, and stuck good.

Donatello and Michaelangelo hurried over to help them out, while Leonardo and Raphael rescued Felicia from Leatherhead.

While everyone was trying to open the door to let her out, Lana was being stung furiously, by upset wasps, hornets, bees, and yellow jackets. They'd grown mad for no apparent reason and had begun to attack her. She knew they were getting angrier too, as she kept trying to fight them off. With them stinging her and the spiders crawling all over her along with the warms, she failed to notice the rattlesnakes getting closer and closer. She was so busy screaming she couldn't hear the rattling of their tales.

She paused a moment when she thought she heard voices. She was even more confused when she realized they sounded like the turtles.

"Hold on Lana! We're coming!" She could hear Donatello say. "Hold on Sweetie!"

Her tears fell harder as she figured it was just a figment of her imagination. But then she heard a voice in her head, and knew for a fact that it was Leonardo talking to her.

"Lana, calm down. We've almost got you," he told her.

Leonardo had started towards the Chamber of Fears with Raphael and Felicia at his side, when he'd suddenly had to stop. He could feel Lana and sense her rising fear; her fear was so immense, he was amazed that she hadn't gone into shock because of it. He knew he had to try and get her to relax before she ended up harming herself without meaning to. That's when he decided that since she had reached him through meditation before that maybe he could reach her with it now.

"Lana, calm down," he repeated. "We've almost got you. I promise."

"Leo." she whimpered back. "I'm scared."

"I know you are Lana-belle," he answered, putting his heart and soul into his meditation. "But you have to relax. Lean back, close your eyes, and forget everything else right now. Just listen to my voice."

"I-I can't. I-I hurt too much."

"Please Lana-belle, just try," he pleaded. "If you let your fears get the best of you, you could wind up seriously hurt."

"I-I'll try L-Leo."

"There's a girl," he replied. He gave a small smile though he knew she couldn't see it. "Just hold on Kiddo."

"It's still stuck!" He heard Donatello shout. "The door won't budge! I've tried everything!"

"Damn door!" Raphael hollered kicking it. "Open up, you stupid piece of shit!"

He watched helplessly as everyone continued to try and get the door open to free Lana. He knew it would be awhile before they figured it out and just hoped that he could keep Lana calm for however long it took.

A.N.: FINALLY!!!!!!!! Lol. I thought I'd NEVER finish this set of chapters! Phew! I was starting to get so damn giddy with excitement while writing them, that I had to keep taking breaks to calm down. Lol. So, will Lana ever be able to get out of the Chamber of Fears? Or is she trapped in there for the rest of her life? Hmm..I wonder. Well, good enough cliff hanger? Hehe. Wanted to leave off with a cliff hanger, so I'll be able to pick it back up easily. I'll probably be working on this more, now that I've ideas that make me giddy. Lol. Also, I'll try and update "Understanding Brother" as soon as I can. Promise! Adios! Plz R & R! KTBSPA & KTNTPA & KTACPA & KTJTPA & KTKCPA & KTCPA & KTRSPA & KTCAPA!!!!!