Dark Entrapment

Nodus Quix

He had been running through the park for a while now and was beginning to tire. He took a quick glance behind him to see if his chaser was still on his tail. He slowed down a bit as he realized he wasn't being followed anymore. He lowered the rim on his fedora and turned back around.

A scream would have escaped his mouth, save for a large and clawed hand had covered it rather quickly. The boy, not wanting to go down without a fight, clamped his teeth down on the enemy's hand and delivered a quick kick to its groin.

As the beast roared in pain, the boy took off in the other direction. The beast immediately recovered and sprinted towards its prey. Being larger and quicker then the boy, the beast caught up to him in no time and tackled him to the ground. The boy struggled to be free from the predator, but was rendered unconscious by a swift blow to his head.

The beast grinned at its victory. It scooped the passed out boy up in its brawny arms and hurriedly carried it off into the darkness...

- ¤ - ¤­ -

"Hey, I think she's finally waking up!" An excited voice exclaimed.

It was the morning after Kurai and Leo had visited Splinter in the middle night. Kurai awakened from her unconscious state and sat up slowly, gently rubbing her head. She was back in her room, Raph sitting at the foot of the bed and the rest of the turtles and Splinter surrounding her.

They all looked like they had a million questions to ask, but Splinter was the first to step forward. A concerned look was apparent in his eyes as he asked, "What happened?"

Kurai took a moment to reflect on the events following her visit to the wise, old rat before answering the question. "After I left your room," she said nodding to Splinter. "I saw a bright light coming from my room. I went to investigate and saw that it was my crystal. I don't really recall what happened after that however..."

"Are you sure you don't remember anything before you became unconscious?"

Kurai shook her head. "No, sorry," she replied.

Raph scooted next to her and slid an arm around her shoulder. He smiled warmly at her and planted a quick kiss on her cheek. "Hey, why don't we just brush things over with some breakfast?" He turned his attention away from her momentarily and over to the rest of the group. "Pizza, anyone?"

The others, except Splinter, cheered and left the room almost immediately to prepare for breakfast. Splinter nodded towards the cat and the turtle before leaving the room as well. Raph arose from his place on the bed and offered Kurai a hand. She waved it away and told him, "I'll join you guys in a moment, I just need to take of something."

Raph nodded his head and left the room. As he did, Kurai got up and closed the door behind him. She walked back over to her small bedside table and open its drawer. She reached inside and pulled out her spherical Yana Crystal. She placed it into a black pouch that was tied loosely around her waist and headed out of her room to join the turtles for breakfast.

- ¤ - ¤­ -

It was well past midnight and everyone was sound asleep. Everyone, that is, except Kurai. The mutant cat could be found in room, getting ready to leave the sewer den. She placed her two guns into their proper holsters and tightened the rope that held the black pouch. She then draped in a black, velvet robe and covered her head with a hood. She exited her room as quietly as she could and made her way to the world above.

Once there, she wasted no time and made her way to Brooklyn. As she was traveling along, her movements ceased as she heard the soft sound of footsteps behind. She spun around and sighed lightly with relief.

"Well if it isn't my favorite human vigilante," Kurai said with a playful tone.

"I thought it was you, Kurai," Casey replied. "What brings you way out here so late? And alone?"

"This." Without hesitation, she reached under her robe and pulled the crystal from its pouch and showed it to Casey.

Casey tilted his head slightly and put his hands onto his hips. "Isn't that the crystal that I got back from the Foot for you?"

Kurai nodded and placed the crystal back into the black pouch. She looked back over to Casey and smiled sweetly. "Casey, you wouldn't mind coming with me to get rid of this thing, would you?"

He shrugged. "Eh. It's not like I have anything better to do in the wee hours of the morning."

"Let's go then." With that, the two of them continued onward.

For the most part, they walked in silence, not wanting to bring any attention to them. However, every now and then, Casey would speak up and ask questions about the crystal.

"So, er, what kind of crystal is that?" He asked, finally breaking the silence they had become accustomed to.

"It's a Yana Crystal from Dimension X," Kurai answered matter-of-factly.

"Are there anymore of these crystals or...?"

"No, this is the only one. That's why it's so sought after by Shredder and Krang," she told him, her tone of voice saddened a bit.

"I'm guessing that this thing is more powerful than it appears," Casey assumed casually.

Kurai nodded again. "That's why I have to get rid of it. If it fell into the wrong hands, the results could be catastrophic..." Her voice drifted off as she left it up to Casey's imagination to visualize the rest.

Casey opened his mouth to say something else but was stopped as Kurai held a hand up to him. As she lowered her hand back to her side, she turned to him and simply said, "We're here."

Casey looked away from her to see where 'here' was. They were in a rundown neighborhood that no one really lived in except for a few homeless bums. In front of them was a shabby, decrepit house, not too different from the other homes in the area, save for the fact that it was simply larger than the others.

Kurai glanced at Casey momentarily before entering the house and was followed shortly by the human. After she had made her entrance, she scanned the area for any signs of life. Not seeing any, she cupped her hands over her mouth and yelled out, "Hello?"

After a moment of silence, Kurai called out again but was disappointed with the same results. Casey placed his hands on his hips as his dark eyes glanced around the room. "You sure whatever it is that you're looking for is here?" He questioned.

"Of course," she replied. "I was here only..." A sudden noise in the background quickly caught her attention. She looked up to Casey and asked, "Did you hear that?"

Casey nodded as he continued to look around. "I think that it came from over there," he said as he extended his index finger and pointed it towards a door.

Kurai agreed and the two of them started creeping silently towards it. When they reached it, Casey placed his hand on the knob and turned it, slowly pushing the door as well. He arched his brow as he looked onto the object that was in the small room. Sitting there in the corner was a small child, its legs pulled up to its chest and head buried into its knees.

As they walked farther into the room, the kid's head jerked up. It was apparent that the kid was homeless as his dark hair was long and wild and his youthful face was rather dirty. Upon seeing Kurai, his bright blue eyes brightened. He jumped up and ran over to her, instantly wrapping his arms around her waist. Casey knew almost immediately that the two knew each other somehow as she hugged the kid back and the two began conversing.

"Hey there," she said warmly. "What are you doing in here all by yourself?"

The kid looked up at her. The happiness that was once in his eyes faded away quickly.

Kurai tilted her head. Sensing that something was wrong, she took his arms off of her and kneeled down before him, placing her own hands on his shoulders. "Kidd...What's wrong? Where's Jonathan?"

The kid looked down sadly as he thought of an answer to her questions. After a minute or so, he looked back up with tears in his eyes. "Kurai...Jonathan's dead."

As the mutant cat gasped in surprise and disbelief, a hand instantaneously went to her face to cover her mouth. Her widened eyes closed slightly. "What happened?" She asked.

"They came and when Jonathan wouldn't tell them what they wanted...they killed him."

"Who is they exactly?" Casey inquired, stepping into the conversation.

Kidd looked up at his fellow human and shrugged his shoulders.

Kurai stood up slowly and turned her attention over to Casey as well. "Casey, can you take Kidd over to your place for awhile? Just until I figure out things around here?"

Casey nodded. "Sure thing, Kurai."

She thanked him before turning over to the kid again. "Now Kidd, Casey is going to look after you for a little bit, alright? He's a good guy so there's nothing to worry about."

The kid nodded and signaled to Kurai that he wanted to whisper something to her. She leaned down and placed her ear near his mouth. "I need to tell you something later, 'kay?"

As she stood back up she nodded. Kurai then explained a few minor details about Kidd to Casey before both humans left for his apartment. After they had left and Kurai had already walked outside to leave herself, she felt an almost burning sensation coming from her side. She reached inside of her robe and pulled out the Yana Crystal, which was, much to her surprise, glowing brightly once more. As quick and painful as the previous ones had come, another powerful vision popped into her head, causing her to stumble, then fall to the ground. As the pain became too great for her once again and slowly slipped into a unconscious state, she could hear the soft sound of approaching footsteps...

Okay. If you're confoozed about who this jonathan guy is or whatever (like some people said they were) go back and read the first chapter of "It's a Wonderful Raph!" and um...yeah. hope you enjoy this chapter!