Disclaimer: *music* : D When I think about you…my feelings can't explain…why every time, I look at you…my heart still feels the same....*Source: Dancing Bush, www.miniclip.com* (I SEROUSLY DO NOT KNOW....OH THE INSANITY!!!)

Chapter Sixteen

Owen hummed to himself as he walked the bright street, hands in his pockets. It was still pretty early; very few people were on the streets with him. Taking out his right hand, he watched on as the IP gleamed in the sunlight. There was nothing on it now, his accounting being previously emptied.

There was no money left. He had given it all.

It was little compared to what that woman had to face, but he hoped that it made things just a little bit easier. He couldn't help but think back to the girl.

Tracy, yeah that was her name. Brown hair, green eyes. A great smile that just invited you in. He remembered how he wouldn't accept her kisses after the blood lust surpassed. No, he couldn't. It felt too wrong.

She looked just like her. The hair, the eyes, the smile.

He couldn't accept her as a lover, because she looked too much like his own daughter.

A bittersweet laugh escaped him. Tracy looked just like what his daughter would have looked liked if she had lived to reach the age of sixteen. However, she was not able to, dying at the age of ten more than nine hundred years ago. Everything that he had ever held special, ever loved, died along with his daughter and wife, more than nine hundred years ago. He had felt heart broken when his life was taken away from him with one giant swoop. He knew that Allison would feel the same anger and utter bitterness that he had felt. He just hoped that Allison Gordon would feel the same peace of which he was only able to find later in his long life.

Sighing, he placed the IP back into his pocket, resuming his whistling once again. He would not dwell on the past, not now. It really wasn't a giant loss, seven thousand dollars wasn't that much money. Besides, it was the best that he could do.

Although, it would still put a damper on his cash, that was a given.

He fingered the few dollars in his pocket. His stomach growled.

'Just enough to get something to eat…or another pack of cigarettes.'

At the same time, his fingers just happened to brush against the empty pack of cigarettes that also held residence in the pocket.

'Well then, that settles it.'

He turned into the near by corner store.

He would have to pick up a pack of cigarettes.

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Donny leaned against the table, the warm liquid flowing down his throat, the smell of the peppermint rousing him from his depression. Mike plopped down into the seat across from his brother, watching him as he drank the peppermint tea.

"So," he sighed, "you're a vampire." It wasn't really a question, but it could be seen as such.

Donatello brought the cup from his lips, but other than that, he kept a steady gaze on the table.

"Yes." He whispered quietly.

"And this guy…Owen?"

"He wants to train me." Donatello completed Mike's thought, his voice emotionless, his eyes never leaving the table.

Mike nodded, thinking over the situation. He sighed once again.

"So…do you want to go with him?" Mike asked cautiously. Donatello looked up, looking his brother in the eye for the first time after his "breakdown." Feeling empty and confused, he responded.

"I don't know." He whispered quietly, closing his eyes. He just didn't know. Everything was happening so fast. There's been no time to think, no time to breathe. Just one thing right after the other. There was a familiar ache from behind his temple, His head was beginning to hurt once again. Moaning, he put it down in his arms. The pain just never stopped, never ceased. The voices had never stopped either. Earlier, they had lessened in intensity, but they never died down completely. There was no relief from the pain and sadness...

None.

'Will this …Owen…really help me? Can he help me? Or, is it all just lies meant to do harm to one of us, to all of us?'

Don sighed in despair, his headache coming back full force.

He just didn't know anymore. He didn't know what to believe.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He just didn't know.

'Why did I make that offer in the first place?!'

Back at his apartment, he smoked. Lightly, his stomach growled but he paid it no mind. Vampires didn't need food like they needed blood. However it did provide supplement that could not be provided by blood alone. Nevertheless, he ignored his stomach's protests. He had bigger things to worry about.

'Such as, how am I going to get out of this?!'

Angrily, the voice from before chided him for such thoughts.

'You cannot back out now. You must keep your word.' Owen sighed. Yeah, he knew that was true. One of the most important things to a vampire was his word, and he was no different in that aspect. He had said that he would help, and he would help to the extent that he could. But he still had his doubts.

'It would take a lot of time, teaching him all that he needed to know, just for survival.' However, the voice became optimistic, its tone bright.

'Yes, but you can also teach him other things, things that Trevor had neglected to teach you.' At the mention of Trevor's name, Owen groaned. How could he have forgotten? How would he teach a pupil and train for the upcoming battle with his own former teacher all at the same time?

'You'll find a way.'

Sighing, he striped himself of the jacket and hat. Tiredly, he yawned. It was all too much to think about right now.

He needed to sleep.

Stretching out onto the nearby couch, he reclined comfortably. He would think more about this later. Now, the only thing he could think about was getting some well needed sleep.

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Leo crossed his hands on the wooden table. Across from him sat Donatello, his eyes dreary and never leaving the table top. To his right was Michelangelo. To his left, Raphael.

A Family Discussion.

Leo uncrossed him fingers only to drum them on the table top. The room was silent. No one had said anything since he had called this meeting.

He cleared his throat.

Still, nothing. It wasn't much of a discussion, everyone keeping quiet. He looked around once more, before clearing his throat once again.

"We need to figure out what to do." He stated the obvious, hoping that it would trigger something, anything from his bothers. However, the silence stuck, filling the room.

Leo grew impatient (he had been doing that a lot lately). Fine, he would start the conversation himself, despite his brothers.

"I'm not so sure if we can carry through with his demands."

Raph looked up. Well at least he got some sort of reaction. Raph blinked, he just couldn't resist. He joined the one sided conversation, naturally challenging the turtle in blue.

"Why the hell not?! You heard him; he said that Donny might…" He trailed off. Donny blinked from his spot at the table, however, there was no other reaction from the still turtle.

Leo sighed. "I am well aware of that, Raph." 'Very aware.' "But what happens if he's lying, huh? What if he's not telling the truth?" Leo's questions did not lie on deaf hears. The turtle in red sat back, not having anything else to say. Leo narrowed his eyes, meanwhile, Raphael's gaze seemed to go from anger to…guilt?

"You…Believe him…don't you?" Raph lowered his head. Leo snarled. There was just so much on the line here, so much.

Their discovery, their lives as they knew it….

He looked over at Donatello, of who had his head down, his eyes on the table.

Donny's life….

And here his brothers were, letting this guy lead them on a wild goose chase.

"Well…I don't believe him." Leo crossed his arms, sitting back into his chair. Raph looked up, suddenly angry.

"But Leo, what if he's telling the truth?! What if he can help Donny?! So, what? Are you just going to give up?! Throw his life away?!" He threw an exasperated hand towards turtle in purple. Leo dropped his arms, bowing his head.

"I don't know." He answered truthfully. Thankfully, the answer came, not from the turtle in Red, but from the one in Orange.

"I think, I know what we should do…" Mike spoke hesitantly, choosing his words carefully as the idea formed itself in his head. Raph and Leo turned from their bickering. All eyes were on Mike. He cleared his throat, looking between his three brothers as he talked.

"There might be a way to keep us safe, but to ensure Donny's safety as well."

Leo and Raph leaned in, Donny looked up.

Carefully, cautiously, Mike explained his delicate but promising plan.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Owen awoke from his dreamless sleep, fully aware of what time of day it was. It was night; sunset would be in a few hours. Stretching, sat up. He had slept longer than he thought he would, but that didn't put a damper on his plans. Looking at the clock, he nodded. Just as he thought.

He would be meeting the turtles in two hours.

Yawning, he got up, stretching once again. First thing was first; he had to attend to his attire. The long black coat still lay stained and dirty on the ground. He picked it up, examining it. The pocket would have to be sown, but other than that, it was still in good condition. He smiled.

This jacket.

This jacket had been with him since the beginning of time. One of his only remnants from his past life. He cherished it almost more than he cherished his life.

This was his jacket.

The slashes and the rips on the end of the tall covering signified the number of close calls he had gotten through within the years, but just like him, the jacket itself still laid intact and whole. He smiled, standing with the heavy material. He made a beeline for the bathroom.

He would have to wash this thing by hand.

He did not own a washing machine, but he did own a dryer. It was all that he could find at the time he was putting this place together.

Running the water, he watched as the clear liquid went from pink to dark red, the blood on his coat making its presence known. He scrubbed lightly at the material, the water becoming more and more stained.

His mind wandered.

The turtle…, the vampire that just happened to be…a turtle, would be his new pupil.

'It doesn't sound so bad…' The voice, optimistic as usual. Owen almost snorted. That had sounded horrible, like something out of a bad….really bad horror movie. Who's ever heard of a turtle vampire?!

'Well, they aren't your run of the mill, ordinary turtles you know.' Still, a turtle…a vampire. It made no sense.

'Well, what happened, happened. Now it's up to you to just help.' Yeah, yeah, he knew what his 'job' was…

It was to clean this damn jacket! He scrubbed vigorously, more blood mingling with the water. Finally, less and less blood left the thick cloth until none stained the water anymore.

He was finished.

Satisfied, he allowed the water to drain out. One more rinse and he was finished. The jacket smelled as good as new.

Now spinning in the drier, he walked away, the fridge being his next target. He sucked lightly on the transfusion pack between his lips as he sat on the couch once again. Eyeing the clock on the wall, he drank.

He had less than an hour before his rondevu with the turtles. Somewhere far off, the drier beeped. He retrieved his jacket, putting it on. Warm and clean, it felt good against his bare arms, although the warmth did not affect his mind set. He knew that the time was upon him. Picking up his sword, he placed it on his hip. Opening the window, he dropped, two stories down.

His heart beat faster in anticipation. It was time to meet the turtles and determine his fate.

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The turtles walked the damp sewers in silence. Leo in the front, Raph right at his heals. Mike and Don took up the rear. After Mike had explained his plan, they got everything underway. Actually, the plan was pretty good, but still dangerous. If done wrong, there could be dire consequences. Leo had argued against it. Raph had argued for it. No matter what they did, they were treading on shallow waters. In the end, Leo still hesitated, that was until Donatello actually spoke up. Everyone was silent as he spoke. It was his life on the line after all. He had said that he knew where Leo was coming from and that he understood the situation.

~

"I will die if I have to, I have accepted that. I just wish for the clan to be safe. I don't want you risking exposure just on my beha-" Raph broke in, standing, suddenly angry.

"We're not "risking" anything, Donny, that we wouldn't have risked otherwise. What we are trying to do, is save your damn life. Or at least, some of us are." He threw a heated glare at Leo. Leo held his gaze.

'What if he's right?' A small voice asked. Leo had no answer.

~

They now traveled in a small pack, silence filling the air between them once again. Leo had made up his mind. He would take the chance.

Anything for Donny.

He looked up, catching sight of the manhole that lead to the outside world and to their fate. They were there.

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Owen waited patiently, eyeing the manhole cover in anticipation. Light broke over the horizon just as the manhole cover opened from underneath. Four turtles filled out of that manhole, one more than he remembered. The new one wore an orange mask. He was the one that had not been there before. He now nodded at the turtle in question. In response, it nodded back.

Silently all four turtle fanned out around him. Donatello, to his immediate front, Leo right next to him. The turtle in Red and the turtle in Orange stood on the outskirts of their fan. Owen cleared his throat. Might as well get things underway.

"So, have you come to your decision?" The wind blew momentarily wafting his hair up. A halo of white. Respectively, the tails of the turtle's bandanas fluttered in the fast gusts of air also.

Leonardo stepped forward.

"We accept your offer."

Owen released a breath that he didn't know he was holding. However, there was more. "But only under one condition."

Owen noticed that behind the turtle in blue, Red and Orange exchanged glances. Purple kept his eyes on the ground.

"Donatello will be accompanied by one of us. When you take him to train, one of us will go also. That is our only demand. Do we have a deal?"

Owen sighed. He had not planned on the turtles having any demands of their own, but it only went to prove how smart they were.

They demanded protection for one of their own.

It would hinder the training in some ways, but, it was an accommodation he could work with. Stepping forward, he extended his hand. Pasty white met dark green once again.

"Then so be it."

***

Guess what!... (Your never gonna guess, hehe!!!!)…*snicker snicker* THIS STORY IS FINSHED, HA! Well, this part anyway. Yes Ladies and Germs, this is the last installment of this part of the story. No more will be added to this particular fanfiction. However, the second part of this three part series will come as a new story, Blood Lust: Tribune and Tribulations. So, keep an eye out. It's comin' soon! R and R

~Also, I'd like to thank all those that reviewed; Rene, In the Clouds, Red Turtle just to name a few. Thank you.~