Disclaimer:…OK, now I don't own anything!

Chapter Thirteen

Owen puffed on his cigarette, watching vaguely as the smoke rose into the frigid air. He shivered despite himself.

Autumn winds proved harsh as the days between that and of the winter grew less in number.

His coat billowed against his body, it being his only method of warmth through the cold nights and the even colder days. With no home, it made surviving just that much harder.

But he would suffice.

Besides, he was a vampire, and vampires knew how to survive the coldest winter, or the most scorching of summers.

After all, it was in their blood.

He sighed, his mind finally wandering back to the task at hand. Donatello was moving along nicely in his lessons, showing great effort and determination.

However, despite his efforts, he still seemed to be missing the point. There was more to vampirism than just sucking blood, as he had tried to explain earlier. Much more. It was a mind set, a way of seeing the world in its true form. However, not all vampires ever found this mind set, this sense of surroundings, but if Donny found it, it would be the edge that he needed to survive. At times like these and now with Trevor's knowledge of the turtles, he knew that this very skill would save all of their lives sooner or later.

It was just a matter of when.

And how? How would he get Donny to see, to understand, what it was he was trying to do? There was no way to explain it; no easy way out. The only way, was within oneself. He had to find it, and now. There were no answers on how, or on such matters.

Just that Donny would have to find it for himself, no other way around it.

Next, there was the issue of time.

And there wasn't much.

Something was going down, something big. Owen could feel it. Although he didn't know what it would be, he just knew.

It was a feeling that never steered him wrong, but could he trust it now?

Owen sighed. He hoped that his senses were wrong, but he knew that they weren't. For the past millennia they haven't been, so why would they start now.

The shit was about to hit the fan; there was no other phrase that could describe it any better. He just had to make sure that Donny was ready when it did.

However, that was easier said than done. Would Donny be ready for whatever the world was prepared to throw at him? There was no real way to know, but Owen had his suspicions. At the pace he was moving, Owen only could hope that Donny would find it before the moment he would have to call on that sense, that way of psyche to save his own life, or that of his family's.

That was why Owen knew that he had to provide a catalyst of some sort. Donny needed this, even though he didn't know it yet. Owen knew from experience that the sense would almost be as essential as blood if used properly, making one nearly invincible.

And that, he knew, was in Donny's best interest, even if he didn't know.

Owen looked into the moonlit night, realizing how clear a night it was despite the turmoil he knew was brewing on this earth. The stars shimmered brilliantly, blinking down from the heavens in their innocence. Owen watched their steady dance in silent appreciation.

A beautiful night for such a damned world.

However, a rustle from the near by bushes interrupted his star gaze, bringing him back to earth with the sound. He followed the sound with his eyes, immediately going alert only to relax as he caught sight of a shell.

They were here.

As if on cue, the focus of his thoughts finally stepped out of the bushes. However, Donatello did not face him right away. He seemed occupied, whispering to someone else, as if comforting them. Owen watched on curiously, expecting another turtle to step out of the bushes. However, he grew mildly suspired when he noticed the hand that Donny held was not green.

It was pale.

"Come on, he's here." Don whispered, helping the mystery guest through the tough thistle of bushes.

It was not until the figure fully emerged did Owen get a good glimpse of it.

Or should he say, her.

Neck length jet-black hair lined her pretty pale face. She seemed short, but probably considered average by normal people, standing just below the giant turtle in height. Her curvy figure and sensuous bust did not go unnoticed by his wandering eyes as he smiled in response.

However, it was not until she turned, facing him, did he see the best part.

Her eyes, being the green that they were, contrasted sharply to her pale face and dark hair. By far, setting her apart from any other woman he had seen in a while. As those eyes pierced his soul, he was hit by a pang of distant familiarity, but it passed just as quickly as he scanned over her body.

A beauty if he had ever seen one.

"And who do we have here?" He approached the beauty as if she was the only one there. However, she seemed to grow uncomfortable under his gaze. Hesitantly, she turned to the turtle beside her as Donny stiffened.

"This is Centrice," He motioned towards the girl while frowning at Owen's flirtatious reaction. He was just about to finish his statement, but was cut of by the smooth silk of Owen's voice.

"Centrice, what a pretty na-"

"My girlfriend." Don finished, interruption Owen just as Owen had interrupted him. Owen stopped himself mid-sentence.

'Girlfriend?! This turtle has a girlfriend?!' On the outside, though, he only hit Donny with a questioning stare before turning away from the entire ordeal. Although he made sure not to forget his manners, he complete ceased his flirting.

She was taken.

Meaning: she was off limits.

"It is nice to meet you, Centrice." He nodded before taking her hand in his and giving it a solid shake. That was all he allowed before turning away completely, noticing for the first time (well not really) the other turtle that had also stepped from the bushes.

"Raphael, if I'm not mistaken?" Owen offered his hand to this turtle, noticing the turtle's hesitance in accepting it. Owen also noticed that "Bandages's" well, bandages were now off, leaving his dark green skin uninterrupted except for the pads and bandana they all wore. He took note of it, silently calculating the healing time of these creatures. It was more out of habit than anything as he stored the data away as soon as he found it.

Although, he would be the first on to admit that it was useless data now, he knew that it might just come in handy later.

Meanwhile, Raph accepted the vampire's hand, still in awe at what stood before him. This was his first official "shadowing" of the vampire's lessons, and he couldn't describe the anticipation in his stomach, or the nervousness in his chest. Nevertheless, he made sure to do a good job of hiding it.

"Yeah, I'm Raphael. But they call me Raph." He motioned towards the others at the word 'they.' Owen nodded before continuing, understanding the turtle's silent plea for Owen to use his nickname.

"Alright then. Raph, Centrice, you two may watch from over there." He motioned towards the far end of the small clearing, making a silent plea of his own. Today, because of everything that would be happening between him and Donatello, he needed them as far out of the way as possible. Raph understood, despite his mind's small protest. However, still in awe over the entire situation, he allowed himself to listen to the order, taking Centrice's arm as he made his way over to where he had been instructed to sit.

Centrice, at first, resisted, not completely understanding what was going on. But at the reassuring look Donny gave her, and the pleading look Raph gave her, she complied, moving along with the turtle in red to their destination.

Owen watched their departure before turning.

'Here goes.'

He moved to the other side of the clearing, taking off his jacket as he went. From the jacket he took out two wooden mock swords, but only picked up one. This one, he threw to Donny, of who caught it with practiced ease.

He knew what Owen wanted him to do. Owen turned, the same smug smile on his face as last time, and with no other words, Donny charged; his sword ready and posited to do as much damage as possible.

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

Raph obeyed the vampire, sitting where he was told. He looked over at the still Centrice only to catch her gaze. From beside him, Centrice had her doubts about the entire situation. However, when she caught Raph's gaze, the reassuring look he gave her in response hushed her worry just that much. But it didn't squash it completely. Nevertheless, her common sense told her otherwise.

They wouldn't put Donny in danger…

Would they?

Her immediate mind told her no, they cared about Don just as much as she, but when she took one more look at the turtle beside her, she had her doubts.

Behind Raph's steady gaze was a cloak of uneasiness that could easily have gone unnoticed.

However, it wasn't.

Raph was just as worried about Donny as she was.

Meanwhile, Raph kept his apprehensiveness to himself as a way of being strong for the female next to him. But with this being his first "shadow," he seriously had no idea what to expect. The others, after coming home from their own shadow of the vampire practices, never talked about what happened.

Not even Mike.

He couldn't blame them, they having come in so damn late, although he did feel a little disappointment every night they would come home and leave his silent questions unanswered.

He was hoping to get a few answers tonight, and because of that, he had been secretly looking forward to his turn for ages.

And now it was here,

And he was not left disappointed.

An explosion of motion immediately grabbed his attention. Both Centrice and Raph watched in silent fascination as Don charged the unarmed Owen. Raph's first thought was to protest; A ninja never attacked the unarmed with arms.

That was just unfair.

But now he saw that in this situation, there could be an exception. Donny swung out with the mock sword, the tip of the wood intended to graze the stomach of Owen. However, Raph watched in amazement as Owen easily sidestepped the oncoming bite. Donny turned, un-phased by the miss, and continued the arch. Over and around it swung, and just as fast he turned, the sword's "blade" posited upward only to be back brought down in another deadly arch.

But once again, Owen was too quick.

Easily he sidestepped, and to Donny's surprise, counter acted. A fist slugged the unsuspecting turtle as he brought his sword downward, knocking him back a step or two.

Don blinked for a moment before realizing what had happened.

Owen had hit him.

But Owen never attacked, only dodged. However, his body told him otherwise as his cheek now pulsed with a new flash of pain. His eyes narrowing, he fought through, bringing the sword out to sweep Owen off of his feet.

'Maybe then I'll have a chance…'

But to no prevail.

The vampire all but foresaw the sweep, and jumped over head the very second it was suppose to leave him on the ground. He landed completely on the other side of the kneeling turtle. A kick to his shell brought Donatello's face to the ground.

His head hit the dirt with a thump and for a few seconds, he saw stars.

From behind him, he could clearly hear Owen's calm and collected voice as he scolded him.

"Donatello, you are neglecting to concentrate!" Owen crossed his arms at the turtle's back, eyeing him wearily. Slowly, realizing that he was not currently under attack, he detached himself from the dirt ground. He stood, spitting out the mix of dirt and his own blood as he did.

He faced Owen once again.

A cut just under his right eye leaked blood; it being where a small rock had made itself known. Owen waited patiently as the turtle stood; grimacing lightly at the nasty cut that now inhabited his face. However, he did not have to watch it for too long for the cut sealed itself up right before his eyes.

Don watched Owen obliviously.

"I am concentrating!" Don assured him. Owen smirked.

"Are you?" He asked, his characteristic smirk never leaving his lips. "Well then try harder!" He burst into motion, this time attacking at will. In less than two seconds Donatello had hit the ground for the second time that night. He felt useless, a giant lump of flesh compared to the perfection that was Owen. Owen gave him the time to pick himself back up as he chided the turtle once again.

"Your not! You're not thinking, therefore your missing the whole point!" Don watched him with a gaze in between anger and confusion.

'Missing the point?'

"It's not all here." Owen approached Donny once again, but not to attack. He motioned towards the turtle eyes. "It's here, and here." He poked Donatello in the plastron and then brought the same finger up to tap his forehead.

Now Donatello was really confused.

Owen sighed, observing the turtle's blank look. He turned away heading back to his starting position. "It's the way of thinking, Don, that you're not understanding. There is more to vampires that just blood; it's a mode of consciousness, a way of seeing the world. Only after a vampire finds this place of mind can they take advantage of it all, the good and the bad." He turned then, once again facing the turtle.

"And it is up to you to find it."

Owen charged the turtle. However this time, he was ready.

'A way of mind…'

Donny went to sidestep, and achieved in getting one of his feet out of the way of the oncoming vampire, but once again he was floored by the white fist.

Meanwhile, Raph was beyond angry.

What did this "Owen" kid think he was doing? He had a good mind to step in and teach that guy a lesson, but something told him no. Owen's words replayed in his mind.

"A mode of consciousness, a way of seeing the world..."

'What did he mean?' Raph winced as Don hit the ground once again. The sight of his brother suffering made him instinctively defensive, but he knew he shouldn't step in.

It was weird, but he couldn't help but trust that the vampire knew what he was doing, mostly because of the wisdom of his words.

Or at least, he hoped the vampire knew what he was doing.

When Don hit the ground for the seventh time, it was obvious that he needed help, so Raph did the only thing he could.

"Come on, Donny! You can do this!" He yelled his encouragements as he stood.

The turtle looked up at that, a slow smile forming on his lips at his brother's words.

'He thinks that I can do this…Therefore, I know I can!'

Owen, too, smiled at Donny's thoughts. Maybe a little family encouragement would do him some good.

Donny stood, his determination growing more and more every second. 'I can do this!'

Owen blinked as he suddenly rushed him, sending him tottering for a split second. However, just as quickly, Owen regained his balance, and in one movement, sent Donatello to the dirt once more.

However, Donny never lost a beat.

Don noticed Owen's slight falter and flipped back up, attacking the vampire just as quickly as before. A rush of excitement went through the vampire as he watched Donny get faster and faster in his movements. No where near as fast as Owen, but the improvement was noticeable to more persons than one.

Centrice watched as the battle raged. Donny was definitely holding his ground now, but was still at a disadvantage. Owen still maneuvered around the on coming turtle, but found that Donny hit the ground less often, and even managed to get in a few hits of his own. A swell filled her heart as she saw hope. Maybe Donny could do it after all and all he needed was a little help?

"Donny, you can do this! I believe in you! Show 'em what you got!" She stood, yelling his encouragements across the small clearing.

Her speech was like heaven to Don's ears as his heart flitted just at the sound of her voice alone. It all felt so wonderful. They believed in him, just as he should believe in himself.

And now he did.

Owen smirked, watching as Donatello's eyes went glossy as he was pushed to the other side. That had been all he needed all along, the encouragement of his family and loved ones to push him over.

Don closed his eyes, sighing deeply, but as he opened them he froze.

'Black and white?' Don looked around, and yes, everything around him was in black and white. Well, everything except for one main thing.

Owen stood before him, fully in color, and shining brightly with a light that Donny could not explain or understand. Owen smirked at him, his eyes glowing approvingly and with pride for his student.

He did it. He finally did it.

Donny blinked in mystification.

"W-what is this? Where am I?!" Don's slight panic flowed from his voice, but the wide smile from Owen's seemed to keep the panic subdued.

"You did it Donny." Owen stated simply, grinning.

"I did…what?" Donny blinked all the more at his statement.

"You found the Plane." Owen explained simply. "You now see the world as it is, and as it can be…"

Don slowly turned his head, looking around once again. He caught sight of his brother and girlfriend at the far end of the clearing. He blinked hard, but opening his eyes proved they had not betrayed him the first time. Both of them sported lights of their own, illuminating them against the dreary black and white of the rest of the world.

"Why are th-"

"Energy." Owen interrupted him, answering the question nevertheless. Don blinked, turning back to the brightly florescent Owen.

"What?"

Owen approached him, smiling.

"What you are seeing, is energy, in its purest form." It took a while, but Don slowly nodded in understanding. He eyed Owen, him being the brightest thing in his vision. Everything on him illuminated brightly against the back drop of black and white, a brilliance that left him blinking. Owen allowed him the time to observe, watching as Donny looked him over before turning down to himself. Don lifted a large green hand to his face in wonder at the bright light that flowed from his own body.

"Yes, you hold a bundle of energy as well." Owen answered Don's silent question before turning away.

"Now…" Owen slowly walked over to the fallen weapon, retrieving it. He tossed the wooden sword to Don, of who caught it with practiced ease, before picking up the extra weapon now that it proved necessary. "Let's see you put that energy to good use…"

Owen charged.

And so it began.

***

Wow! Very Cool, if I do say so myself. Sometimes I just have to sit back and just watch the story as if it was a movie. But it's not about what I think. It's about what you guys think. So Review…I'm waiting….*is eating popcorn from the movie/fic*