A/N: Um… Okay, as it works out, this isn't the second to last chapter. So we've got just a few more to come.
Mily – That's because I am Australian! I know a lot about England because a lot of our culture is similar, and I know a lot about the United States because we get a lot of the US programs, music and businesses over here. I also went on a student exchange program to Seattle a bit over a year ago now, so I learnt a lot from that experience.
Chapter 29: The Deal.
Donatello stayed where he stood and started to laugh. "Guys! It's okay!" Donatello tried to call Venus and Michelangelo back, partly surprised at how edgy they were. The two turtles timidly returned, feeling quite stupid for suddenly running away from the unknown noise. The sound of rustling leaves occurred again.
"What is that?" Venus tried to distinguish the figure that was located further down the tunnel.
"Um… Just one of my pet American alligator snapping turtles," Donatello replied matter-of-factly. Venus and Mike gave each other a weird and confused look. The three mutants approached the lumbering and noisy reptile. The snapping turtle opened its mouth as a warning, but Donatello took no notice and stroked its shell.
"Cool! Can I have a pat?" Mike asked. Donatello nodded.
"Just watch out for the mouth. It can snap your fingers in half," Don said casually. With that said, Mike freaked out and jumped back, giving the turtle a one-meter radius before he finally found the guts to approach the creature from behind. A small smile spread across his lips when he started to stroke the endangered animal's carapace.
"Wow… It feels just like me," Mike said with a grin.
"We should get Raphael and Diana to see this," Venus said thoughtfully.
"I'll send for them. I need to go back to the lair anyway so I can start dinner," Donatello reasoned. With a nod from Venus, Don left the two with the wild turtle and headed back towards his home. When he got there, Donatello was surprised to see Leonardo looking through the atlas he had hoarded over the past couple of years.
"Don… We need to discuss a few things," Leonardo said when he noticed his brother's entrance. Donatello looked at Raphael and Diana who were curiously looking through the many objects he had stored in his lair.
"Hey Raphael, I've got a special someone who'd like to meet you," Don enticed, realising that Leo probably wanted to talk to him privately.
"Who?" Raph asked out of curiosity.
"Walk up the tunnel where Mike and Venus are, and you'll see. Take your sister with you," Don encouraged. Raphael nodded, knowing that Don and Leo didn't want distractions originating from them. The boy did what he was told and led Diana out of the lair. Donatello looked towards Silver who was currently flicking through the television channels mindlessly. "Would you like to go with them?" Donatello invited, wanting to get rid of the ape. Silver shook his head while still having his eyes glued onto the illuminated screen. Donatello groaned and decided that for the time being he'd just have to ignore his old enemy.
"What is it Leo?" Donatello finally asked the blue-wearing turtle with both a curious and worried tone.
"We're going to have to move soon," Leonardo muttered while still observing the atlas he had laid out on the table. Those words ripped through Donatello's heart. He didn't want to leave; he was scared of the consequences of losing both his highly equipped lair and his family once again.
"Why!?" Donatello blurted out in shock and anger.
"Bonesteel's after us again. Knowing him, he'll probably arrive in Australia a few hours from now, and then he'll start to hunt around these sewers for us. We have to come up with a plan and leave as soon as possible," Leonardo advised.
"But… Is that really necessary? Moving seems a little… drastic to me, especially when we have a lair as well equipped as mine," Donatello protested.
"But we need to do it Donny. It doesn't matter how secure your home is. The point is that Bonetseel won't stop searching until he's found and captured us again," Leonardo said firmly. Donatello shuddered at the thought. That was the last thing he wanted to happen. Not only would the breeding experiments be continued on his family back at the zoo, but he would be returned to the Pentagon, not being allowed to see his loved ones ever again. Donatello sighed in confusion about his personal opinions. He didn't want to put his family in danger, yet at the same time he didn't want to lose the home he had been working and living in for the past eight years.
"I've got a security alarm system set up though. We don't have to leave when we can protect ourselves. We're perfectly safe here," Donatello pleaded, though he knew what he had just said was a lie. Silver scoffed in response, though his eyes remained glued to the ever-changing television screen. Security or not, nothing would make them safe from the curiosity and greed of the human species.
"Don… We have to leave this place, and you know that already. You have to understand that if we don't leave early, then later on we won't be able to leave at all. Trust me on this. It's happened before," Leonardo continued to advise and lecture him. Donatello sighed with mixed feelings once again.
"Hey guys!" Mike greeted as he, Venus and the two children reentered the lair.
"Back so soon?" Don wondered.
"Yeah, well you're little friend up there was starting to get grumpy, so we decided to give him some space and leave him alone for a while," Mike informed him with a smile. Venus observed the opened atlas in front of Leonardo.
"Planning on where to go next?" she wondered. Leo nodded slowly.
"I was just discussing it with Donatello," Leo said. The room fell silent as all eyes watched Don's indecision on the matter. He timidly cleared his throat after gaining some thought.
"Although… it would be really hard to leave this place since I've put so much work into it… if you think it's necessary to leave… then I'll trust your judgment," Donatello concluded. He hated being placed in the position of choosing between the location he knew so well and the safety of his family, but in the end he realised that Leonardo and the others knew a whole lot more of being chased and pursued than he did. Leo agreed and smiled at his final decision, glad that he could get the planning under way.
"So where are we heading to next?" Mike asked, though his tone of voice sounded as though he was sick of the topic. All of the turtles and Silver gathered around the open atlas.
"Well… maybe we don't have to leave the country. I don't particularly want to travel by plane again, so we could just go to Brisbane, Melbourne or Canberra," Leonardo suggested.
"And… how would we get there?" Don couldn't help but ask.
"Well… we could get to Melbourne or Brisbane by boat. Or we could just drive; steal a car or something," Leo thought. Donatello raised an eye ridge at his answer.
"Leo… Australia's a big place. It'll take us two days to drive to Brisbane, one long drive to Melbourne, and Australia's capital, Canberra, although reasonably close, is in the middle of nowhere surrounded by nothing but sheep farms. As for going by boat, it'll take some time and there aren't many trips available as everyone usually just travels by plane," Donatello analysed.
"Just how big is Australia anyway?" Mike wondered, thinking it was like Europe where you could just simply drive everywhere.
"It's only slightly smaller than the United States," Don said, giving them a size comparison in their heads. "What's wrong with traveling by plane anyway?" Don wondered.
"We find it's dangerous as Bonesteel can usually predict where we are going, and then it becomes really hard to get out of high security International Airports," Leo summarised gloomily.
"Then we'll use the Domestic Airports then. The only problem is, is where Bonesteel will think we're going to next," Don said. Everyone fell silent for a while, trying to get into the hunter's psyche.
"He'll know that we won't go back to the United States, or back to England," Venus was the first to speak up.
"And he's right on that account. I'm not going back there," Mike shuddered.
"He'll predict that we'll leave Sydney, and we have to, because he'll thoroughly search this city just for the sake of it," Leonardo said with a hint of anger.
"He'll do it with every other major city in this country as well," Silver spoke up with a dark tone in his voice.
"How about Japan? That's reasonably close by isn't it?" Mike suggested.
"I don't know whether Bonesteel will think of Japan as well, Mike," Venus said sadly.
"Why can't we just return to New York and hunt Bonesteel, instead of him hunting us all the time," Raphael suggested.
"Don't be silly Raph," was all Leo said. Although everyone disapproved, Raphael thought he recognised a glint of intrigue in Silver's eyes. Leonardo suddenly came up with an idea. "How about China then? You used to live there. We could stay where Chung I used to live," Leo suggested to Venus. The female turtle thought about the possibilities.
"It's been over tens years since I've been there though. I suppose it's worth a shot," Venus agreed. "Now the only question is how we are going to get there," Venus thought with a small frown on her face. Donatello looked more closely at the atlas.
"Well… I don't think there are many flights from Sydney to Shanghai; where you used to live, but…" Donatello flicked over the next couple of pages in the atlas to confirm his train of thought. "…I know for a fact that Cairns, located in the far North of Australia, attracts a lot of Asian tourists, particularly from Japan. So… we could bunny hop from one place to the next; fly domestic from Sydney to Cairns, Internationally from Cairns to Tokyo, then from Tokyo overseas to Shanghai. Having so many small flights, although it raises our chances to be spotted, will throw Bonesteel off track, especially since the first flight is domestic when they're expecting us to fly internationally from Sydney," Donatello suggested. Everyone took some time to think over the possibilities that Donatello had shown.
"It's pretty crazy Don, doing all those flights…" Leo said. Discouraged, Don was about to think of another plan, but he stopped when he saw Leo suddenly smile. "I like it!" Leo said positively. "We should leave as soon as possible though. We'll try our luck at around three in the morning. So I'll want to see everyone in bed and packed early," Leonardo commanded, making the final decision. Silver groaned at the hours he suggested, though he stopped whining when Leo gave him a hard glare.
With their future left in the hands of a couple of plane flights, everyone started to help Donatello pack and cook dinner. With nothing left in the lair to entertain themselves, one by one they all went to sleep early, just like Leonardo had suggested them to. An alarm clock was set for two thirty in the morning.
Although he had his eyes closed, Donatello couldn't fall asleep. He was way too nervous to simply relax. A small part of himself wanted to weep about the place he was leaving, and the stress and fear of the possibility of losing everything again, though he would never actually find the tears to cry. It really was a scary world out there. He took a deep breath and tried to clear his mind in order to get a decent amount of sleep before they had to leave, but those horrible thoughts and fears that had plagued him over the years quickly returned. Although he now had his family, he also had more to lose compared to when he was alone. His decision to travel to Cairns haunted him over and over; his mind wondering whether there could have been a better way or solution.
Frustrated, Donatello opened his eyes and looked at the alarm clock, only to find it was only midnight. Worried, Don sat up and scanned his eyes across the floor of his lair; half expecting them all to be gone and that everything that had happened over the past twenty-four hours had only been a dream. Yet as he knew deep down, they were all still there, though he jumped in shock when he locked eyes with Venus from across the other side of the room. "Can't sleep?" she asked quietly. Donatello shook his head. Detaching herself from Leo's sleepy hold, she left her husband's arms and carefully made her way across the room so that she could sit next to Don.
"Are you worried about leaving?" Don whispered his question as to make sure no one else woke up. Venus nodded her head. "Me too," Don said softly.
"It's been a while since I've been back to China… I don't know what to expect or find," Venus admitted.
"It'll be interesting all the same," Don said. Venus smiled.
"I guess it will be," Venus said softly. Donatello grinned when he heard her voice again.
"You know… after all these years you spent in America and England… you can still hear your Asian accent," Don said with a wide smile.
"Really?" Venus was surprised. Don nodded with a grin.
"Yeah, I mean, all the others have a British accent now, except for Silver of course, but you…" Don started then broke into a few giggles. "It's just amusing that's all," Don said with a smile.
"I don't think anyone's ever commented on it before," Venus wondered.
"It's probably because they're used to it. Though I must say, it's definitely not as strong as what it was when you first met us," Donatello analysed.
"Well I'm not the only one with a weird accent," Venus said with a grin while looking directly at Donatello.
"Do I sound Australian?" Don wondered, not being able to hear his own accent. Venus nodded. Donatello pouted. "I can't decide whether it's a good thing or not," Don said lightheartedly.
"If you ask me, I think it's cute," Venus humoured him. Don rolled his eyes.
"Well that's not saying much. You used to think that everything's cute. I mean, you'd probably say that Silver is cute," Donatello said, remembering his past experiences with the female. Venus smiled.
"But he is cute!" Venus admitted. Don's eyes widened, shocked that she actually admitted it. "But look at him!" Venus pointed out. Donatello turned his head and stared at the sleeping silvery ape. His body was curled up and his fur was ruffled and fluffy around his head, while his hands were neatly tucked under and used as a pillow in the stereotypical sleeping gesture. Donatello frowned and sighed.
"Alright, you have a point. But only when he's sleeping," Don said.
"I agree," Venus said with a grin. Tired, Donatello yawned, though he knew he couldn't go back to sleep just yet. Scanning his eyes across the lair, he found the large black bag he had taken from his old home in New York. Venus watched on with curiosity as Donatello rummaged through the bag.
"I thought this might help remind you of your home in China. I thought it would be appropriate to give these to you now since we are going to leave to go there fairly soon," Donatello said as he pulled out the various items. Venus gasped in surprise while tears of joy started to quickly stream down her face.
"I thought I'd never see these again," Venus said, still shocked as she went through the numerous Shinobi Scrolls and Chinese medicines and spells.
"I visited the old subway lair before I went to Australia. I've been keeping them in this bag ever since," Don said softly.
"But… but you hated these. You… you never agreed with my Shinobi beliefs or heritage," Venus said, still surprised. "I'd thought I'd lost them forever," Venus said more to herself than to Donatello.
"Well… I knew how much they meant to you," Donatello admitted. Venus nodded as her tears of happiness and surprise continued to flow down her cheeks. All of her scrolls and teachings had been passed down to her from her Master Chung I who had died many years ago. Having her Shinobi lessons cut short, she relied heavily on the scrolls to teach herself. With some of them dating back hundreds of years, she knew that the scrolls were irreplaceable. It saddened her when she was either captured or in another city to know that she had failed her master in keeping the sacred scrolls and in attempting to become a Shinobi herself. Her lessons had been permanently stopped; not being able to learn past what she already knew. But now with the scrolls being returned to her, she could finally start learning the Shinobi ways again; the way of life which meant so much to her.
Donatello smiled to know that he could make Venus so happy. She hugged him in thankfulness, completely surprised that him, out of all people, would allow and condone her learning and teachings. Wiping away her tears, she looked Don in the face. "Thank you," she whispered seriously. Don only smiled back.
"It was the least I could do… just don't do any weird voodoo magic tricks around me, okay," Don said with a smile. Venus giggled and nodded her head in agreement before giving him another hug of appreciation. Donatello sighed. He had missed her so much over the years. It surprised him how much he used to think of her, compared to the others. Over time, he concluded that he missed her so much because of the fact she was a female, and that he was reaching the age where he wanted to settle down, though his dreams of peace had been partially shattered when he realised that Venus was already taken. He had to admit that he was jealous of Leo. Who wouldn't be? Especially since Venus was the only female ninja turtle around his age. In an instant he realised how Mike must have felt over the years; watching Leo and Venus slowly get closer and closer together, while feeling more like an intruder at the same time. Yet there was some comfort in that last thought; at least he now had Mike to spend time with in the oncoming years of being a bachelor.
With a hint of sadness in his eyes, Don looked at the lonely egg in the incubator. Although both Mike and Don were single, Don knew that the baby would separate their likeness in personal relationships; Mike would be a single father while he would simply be a lonely man.
"Mike was getting worried that you wouldn't help him with the baby, once the egg has hatched," Don said softly while still looking at the incubator. Venus followed his gaze before her eyes fell to the floor.
"I'll help him in the first couple of months…" Venus said softly.
"What about after?" Don asked. Venus continued to look sadly at the floor.
"Don… Mike's child wasn't planned. Whenever I look at the egg I… I think of how I unwantedly fell pregnant and how Leo and I almost broke up because of it," Venus said the last part of her sentence so quietly that Donatello almost didn't hear it.
"What happened between you and Leo?" Don wondered. Venus turned her head away, not being sure on how to answer. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked… It's not my business," Don said, ashamed of himself.
"No, it's alright. Leo… had his suspicions about me and I got a bit angry at his accusations. But he trusted my story in the end, but then we had to deal with the problems and disagreements on how exactly we were going to raise or treat Mike's child," Venus admitted.
"What decision did you come to?" Don wondered.
"That we would raise him or her as a family," Venus said softly. "The only thing is, I know that Mike will love his child to bits and will most likely become responsible for almost every aspect of their life. He wants me to help, but I know that he's secretly capable and wanting to do it himself. It's as though… He doesn't really like to interfere with Leo and myself," Venus fell silent for a few seconds. "To be perfectly honest, as horrible as it sounds, I don't know how much I'll be able to love the child. I know it sounds cruel but… I didn't want it in the first place, and I know that in the end I'll only just be favouring Leo's oncoming child compared to Mike's," Venus admitted. A tear fell down her face, though it wasn't produced out of sheer happiness like it had been minutes before, but rather out of shame and pure sadness.
"Is there anyway that your mind will change on how you view the child?" Don asked with compassion.
"Sure, I mean maybe when the egg hatches, I'll begin to feel like more of a mother towards it. But right now…" Venus trailed off. "I guess only time will tell," she summarised softly. Donatello looked at the scroll in her hand.
"So are you planning on teaching any of your children the way of the Shinobi?" Donatello asked. He looked at Venus only to find that she was huddled in pain. "Venus? Are you alright?" Don asked, quickly sounding concerned. Venus clutched her stomach and shook her head.
"I think I'm going to having the other one," Venus said, referring to Leo's egg that was still inside her body. Donatello nodded to show that he understood, and without moving from Venus' side, Don prodded Leonardo awake with his foot.
"Leo!" Don called out loudly. Alarmed by his brother's tone of voice, Leo's eyes shot open.
"What is it!?" Leonardo asked while looking as though he was about to attack something.
"Venus is having the baby," Donatello informed him quickly. In an instant, Leo was by her side as well. It didn't take long for the rest of the clan to wake up.
"Is it time to leave yet?" Silver mumbled from his sleep, wondering what all the commotion was about.
"No, Venus is having her baby!" Mike said excitedly. Silver grumbled something incoherent, grabbed a nearby cushion, and covered his eyes and ears so that he could continue on sleeping. Donatello stepped aside so that Mike could deliver the baby like always, but Michelangelo stopped him by clasping the top rim of his carapace. "Now where do you think you're going? C'mon, if I could do the last three, then surely the 'Doctor' can at least do one," Mike stated before pushing Don between Venus' legs. Don blushed, being slightly embarrassed at where he was, but when Venus started to push, Donatello ignored his humiliated feelings and began to focus on helping her instead.
Unlike the previous night where it took hours to deliver the egg, this time it only took ten minutes. "You're getting better at this," Mike stated with disbelief when he checked the time.
"It still hurts the same," Venus groaned while she wiped some sweat off her brow.
"Maybe it's my well executed delivery skills," Don said to Mike with a smile.
"In your dreams, Don. In your dreams," Mike replied.
"Well what's your fastest time?" Don challenged. Mike smirked at his directness before looking away. "I thought so!" Don said lightheartedly.
"But it isn't fair. Last night's one carved the way for tonight's one. That's why it was faster. It has nothing to do with you," Mike debated.
"Guys…" Leo interrupted as a sign for them to stop. He tilted his head towards Venus, who was fast asleep with the newly laid egg in her hands. Not saying another word, Leo took the egg out of her arms and placed it into the incubator along with its 'twin'. Immediately Mike found a spare pencil and wrote a big 'M' on the top of one of the eggs. Leo gave him a quizzical look. "What was that for?"
"So I know what one's mine," Mike answered quickly, as though Leo should have known. Without saying another word, all the turtles went back to bed, ready to leave the country in another couple of hour's time.
Midday, the next day.
Bonesteel wanted to yawn from jet lag, but he didn't; wanting to stay within the moment of the hunt. He could sense that he was close. He felt like he could smell them… Bonesteel knew that he was on the right track, and he wasn't going to take any chances and let them get away. Not this time. Stepping ever so slowly, he and a couple of other well renowned hunters moved closer and closer to their destination.
Coming to a tight corner, he signaled his followers to stop where they were so that he could continue on alone. This was his prize, and no one else was going to get the glory. Rounding the corner quietly, gun raised, Bonesteel jumped out… and found nothing.
In front of him definitely was a lair, yet it didn't seem to be occupied anymore. A table, a few chairs, an empty box of Krispy Kremes and a couple of odd pieces of furniture were all that remained. No turtles. No giant, talking silver ape. Bonesteel sighed in annoyance. "Where are they?" one of his men asked him.
"They're gone," Bonesteel said. "They'd be out of the country by now," Bonesteel sensed and assumed by the look of the lair. The hunter cursed under his breath in frustration. He was angry about what happened in the past twenty-four hours. When he had first boarded the plane to Australia, he was told that most of the turtles had been caught, and that he'd only have to hunt the rest, yet when he arrived in the foreign country, all of them had escaped. And now this had happened.
Bonesteel sighed in anger. He knew that he shouldn't rule out the possibility of the mutants still being within the country, but he had better things to do with his time. Although Bonesteel was now a wealthy man, he still invested in the Black Market; using his fame to deceive people into thinking he was a good and talented man by saving the cities from the 'horror' of the dangerous mutant beasts. Tonight, at his warehouse in New York, he was expecting an illegal shipment of Black Rhinoceros horns, and although the matter could be handled by his long time partner in crime, Leeroy, he still wanted to be there considering the exporter had gone so far out of his way to give him the body parts. It would be more professional on his part if he was there when the deal was done personally. After all, he had an excellent reputation in the hunting and black market world to uphold.
"So what are you going to do now?" the man asked him, wanting a command.
"Do whatever you like. I've got some business to attend to back in New York," Bonesteel said.
"But what about the turtles and the ape?" the man wondered.
"I can pick up the hunt again. Don't you worry. I know them like the back of my own hand," Bonesteel said before swiftly walking away.
China, Shanghai. 1:30 a.m.
A tear fell down Venus' cheek when she saw what had become of her Master's old home. No longer was there an ornate dock or a cozy, small building. Instead there stood an apartment block; big, ugly and obtrusive. Her old home had been demolished, along with its many fantastic memories of childhood. "It's been too long…" Venus said softly, realising all that had changed to her homeland.
"Come on. Let's get underground so we can get some sleep," Leonardo said sadly.
"Daddy I'm hungry," Diana whined.
"We're all hungry sweetie," Mike said softly to the little girl. Saddened by the fact that Venus had lost her home, the turtles went below ground in order to hopefully find both shelter and safety. They were all tired and depressed. The series of flights they had experienced were incredibly monotonous and tiring for all of them. Slightly jet lagged, they stumbled through the filthy sewers until they finally found a decent place to rest for the night.
"So what next?" Don asked, knowing that they're plan of using Venus' place had backfired. Mike shrugged in response while Diana started to fall asleep on his lap.
"It stinks down here," Silver muttered his usual criticism. For once they all agreed with him. They all watched as Venus checked her eggs in the incubator. Although it wasn't plugged in, Don had assured her they would be alright in there along with the blanket. Silver suddenly stood up and started to leave.
"Where are you going?" Venus called out after him, but the ape didn't reply. Five minutes later he returned, along with a whole arm full of food and the daily newspaper. The turtles, especially Leonardo and Donatello were shocked.
"What's all this for?" Don uttered.
"Thought you guys were hungry," Silver replied instantly. Once Mike had woken Diana up again, they all immediately tucked into the food.
"So how did you get it so quickly," Leo wondered with a mouth full of rice.
"Please… I made my living by stealing," Silver said modestly. Raphael raised an eye ridge at that comment, slowly becoming more and more intrigued by Silver and his motives. "Oh yeah, I found this article about Bonesteel in this newspaper… though I can't read it," Silver said while handing the Cantonese newspaper with a picture of Bonesteel on it to Venus. The female turtle read through it once while everyone waited anxiously for her response.
"Well… What's it about?" Mike blurted out curiously.
"It talks about our escape from quarantine, and how Bonesteel found our lair in Australia…" Venus said while she scanned the small article for some other relevant information. "Hmm… Bonesteel returned to New York!" Venus said out of surprise.
"Why?" Leo questioned.
"I don't know. 'For business reasons' it says," Venus said while continuing to read it through again.
"I guess it was a good thing we left then," Donatello said quietly.
"I guess so," Mike said with a smile before giving Don a friendly slap on the shoulder.
With food in their bellies, their mood skyrocketed to satisfaction and contentment. Yet the late night snack still didn't cure their tiredness. Together as a large and happy family, they fell asleep in the sewer tunnel… all except for one.
"Hey… Silver," Raph whispered over to the large sleeping ape, not wanting to wake up anybody else. When nobody stirred, Raphael crawled over to the ape and shook him awake.
"Wha'? What is it?" Silver asked grumpily, but Raphael quickly hushed him. Being sneaky, the two mutants quietly crept down the tunnel so that they could speak to each other properly. "What's this all about?" Silver yawned tiredly.
"I want to go back to New York," Raphael said. Silver raised one of his eyebrows.
"And what's that got to do with me?" Silver wondered before he yawned again.
"Because I want you to come with me," Raphael said bluntly.
"Why?" The ape was puzzled.
"If you help me get revenge on my father's killer, Dr Welner, then I'll help you get revenge on Bonesteel. They're both currently in New York…" Raphael tried to persuade him.
"Your dad will kill me," Silver said in disagreement.
"No he won't. He'll understand," Raphael pleaded.
"If he understands, then why aren't you taking up this issue with him?" Silver rebutted. Raphael sighed knowing that the ape had a point.
"Please… They don't want me to avenge my father…" Raph said sadly.
"Well maybe there's a reason for that," Silver added. Raph sighed.
"You're the only one I can turn to for this… Please… This will be the only time both Welner and Bonesteel will be in the same city. I know that it won't be long till Bonesteel chases us again, and then we'll have to keep on moving around," Raphael continued to plead, knowing how their world worked. Silver sighed. The child had a point.
"Okay, let's say we board a plane to the United States tonight. How will your parents know where you are?" Silver wondered.
"They won't. I know them. They won't leave China without me. And I promise that when we get back, I'll make sure you won't take any of the blame," Raphael bargained. Although Silver hated the poorly developed plan, his need for revenge was stronger. The ape outstretched his arm and shook hands with the boy, finalising the deal.
"Go pack your things. It's going to be another long plane flight," Silver said. The boy was about to go and collect his belongings when a familiar voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Raph… Raphael?" Diana tiredly walked up to him.
"Diana, why are you awake?" Raphael asked, wanting to get out of the place.
"I… I heard you talking," Diana said tiredly as she rubbed her eyes.
"Diana. Go back to bed. We won't talk anymore," Raphael said urgently, scared that his little sister could ruin his plans.
"But, but I heard you talking. I don't want you to go to, to New York," Diana pouted, somehow knowing deep down that something was wrong.
"Diana, listen. You don't want to be a tattletale right?" Raphael asked her. The girl shook her head. "Well promise me that you won't tell mum or dad about me going to New York, okay?" Raphael tried, scared that his parents would stop him from the getting revenge. Though unsure, the girl eventually nodded her head. "Now remember that promises are forever. You can't break them," Raphael asked for confirmation. The girl slowly nodded her head again. "Okay then. Now go back to bed, alright," Raphael told her.
Defeated, Diana slowly slinked back to where she was sleeping before, though she didn't close her eyes. Extremely worried and confused, she watched as Raphael and Silver packed up a few items before leaving the area entirely.