DISCLAIMER: Sorry for the long delay between updates. It's been a struggle, let me say that much. I hope to get this finished, but no timeline promised. Inspiration has been drained with all the other stories I stupidly started. Well, anyway, on to the disclaimer – I only own Kira/Alicia.

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CHAPTER 24 - Challenges

I struggled as the water carried us down the culvert. Mike held onto me, though, determined to keep me from drowning. I was surprised with how heavy I felt in the water, my weight pulling at me. I thought turtles were supposed to float. Then again, maybe not, possibly due to the shell and the way we were made. Either way, I was impressed with how effortlessly Mike kept both of us from going under despite our obvious combined weight.

"What's going on?" I asked him. The sound of rushing water pretty much drowned out any chance of someone hearing me.

"Foot!" he whispered, but I could tell he was seething, "And I thought I gave you explicit orders to stay where you were."

"You winked…" I said defensively and as quietly as I could in order for him to hear me above the rushing torrent.

As the culvert made a mad turn to the left and in the direction of what I had perceived to be the ocean, Mike hesitated answering me for the moment. Once he had successfully handled the turn, he nearly roared out, "What in hell is that suppose to mean?" He roughly turned me around in the water to face him, the current still carrying us along at a good clip. I now had my back to the direction we were heading, which didn't make me feel very comfortable.

Swallowing – and not liking the taste that was currently in my mouth – I sheepishly replied, "Well, you didn't seem as serious about it. Besides…" I added as I gathered my courage, "Father did the same thing with me."

"And…that's supposed to mean what?" Mike demanded as he glared at me. He braced a bit as the culvert dropped a little, forcing us to do a short waterfall plunge. It caught me by complete surprise, though, since my back was to it. However, before I could even scream, Mike's hand was over my mouth, pulling me against him to quell the outburst. It was only a drop of about a foot, but it was enough to interrupt the inquisition. Once we were steadily flowing along again, he repeated his question, "What is that suppose to mean, Kira?"

"Can we discuss this later? I'm freezing!" I complained. "Is there any way out of this?" I asked, turning my head around to see where the water was taking us.

Sighing angrily, Mike replied, "Just a little ways further. It dumps out into an opened catch basin…but we're going to have to react quickly. The water goes almost immediately into a processing plant and I DON'T want to get caught in it."

He then turned me around, my back to his plastron, as we rode the swift current toboggan style. Mike had his arms wrapped around me protectively, pulling me up against him. His legs were on each side of mine as the water pulled us along and it made me slightly uneasy. Quite honestly, it was too close for comfort and I really didn't like it. "Can I ride along side, please?" I asked him.

"Just a little ways further, Kira…it won't be long." He said evenly. "As soon as the culvert dumps out into the basin, we'll have to jump to the side and grab the railings there."

"Wouldn't it be easier if you were on one side of me, though? That way, you wouldn't get tangled up in my legs." I offered quickly.

"I will, but right now I want to minimize any resistance in the water." He explained softly.

After short while, I heard the distant sound of a waterfall, or at the very least, water falling. I couldn't see a thing due to the intermittent lighting in the sewers. Where the sound was coming from up ahead, that part of the tunnel was pitch black. "Ah, is there something I should know about this? Maybe if I had some idea…" I began, but then realized, as the culvert plunged into that inky blackness, it took another bend to the right. Any reply from Mike would have been too late.

Faster than I had anticipated, we soon shot out of the sewers along with the water. Just as quickly, though and before we exited, Mike – with my arms still in his grasp - had swung his legs from around me. Faster than lightening, he pushed off from the shallow end of the concrete opening, bringing me with him. I soon found that we were now flying through the air. His push, however, forced the two of us to the side where I immediately saw the railings that Mike had mentioned earlier. As soon as I was able to and before gravity took over, I grabbed desperately at one for one of the rungs. Mike grabbed the one just above mine and, at the same time, managed to avoid slamming into me.

I wish I could say that I executed my part in the exercise as well as he did.

As it was, I didn't.

The problem was my trajectory wasn't as high up because Mike was the one who initiated the leap and he knew what to expect. Consequently, he was better prepared, while I was flying blind – not to mention the fact that I hadn't any idea what I was doing.

As I felt my fingers slip off the wet metal hand-grab, I let out a short scream. Realizing that I was now falling towards the spillway, I glanced down quickly only to see a whirlpool in the water where the processing vents were. Desperately I reached up to grab anything to keep me from that fate below and thankfully found purchase. I looked up and saw my hands clasped around Mike's left ankle in a death grip. I felt him give just a little as our combined weight caused him to lose his hold on the rung. Yet, before we both fell, he grabbed the one just below that, the rung that should have been mine had I not lost my grip.

"Kira, grab the one right in front of you." Mike hastily said.

I was in shock, completely freaked out of my mind with what could have been my drowning death. I was in a state of limbo as far as my brain working properly so I didn't hear him at first.

He raised his voice to get my attention, "KIRA!"

I looked up in a daze, "Wh-what?"

"GRAB the rung!" He demanded.

I could hear a bit of desperation in his voice and it was then that I realized that both his hands were slowly slipping on the drenched steel handholds. Quickly regaining my senses, I reached out and claimed the rung in question. Once my weight was off of his, Mike was able to bring his feet up to support himself on the rung just above mine. "Now, we have to climb out. Keep your pace steady and don't make any noise. And …" he added quickly, "be careful, it's slippery!"

No duh.

After a few moments of trudging upwards, I could see Mike climb carefully up over the top of the culvert. He hesitated as he looked around. Once he felt we were safe from unsuspecting witnesses, he looked down and motioned with his hands for me to continue up. I saw him disappear over the edge, which gave me a sense of panic. Now, I felt all alone. Desperate to join him, I quickly but carefully hiked up the rungs, mindful of slipping and knowing that if I did, I'd be out of luck for a rescue.

Clambering over the top, I snaked my way along the ground on my plastron, inching as fast as I could and away from the precipice. I felt such relief to be out of that situation. Sticking as close as I could to the pavement, I raised my head up and then looked around for Mike, but I couldn't see him – at first. During that interim, I actually thought he had abandoned me to teach me a lesson about not following orders. However, as I adjusted my vision a little, I noticed he was already in among the shadows. With the cloud cover, there were quite a few, the deepest located at the concrete wall that formed the upper region of the spillway. Just above that, about eight feet, I could see trees and the barest hint of grass that poked haphazardly over the manmade structure. I was finally outside!

I smiled.

Quickly, I managed to get my feet under me and then skittered as fast as I could to meet up with him. "So, now what?" I asked excitedly. Once the adrenaline rush had begun to calm down, I was starting to get into the adventure. More to the point, I was looking forward to feeling grass under my feet once again.

"You seem chipper!" Mike commented, looking at me, "for one who almost drowned."

"It's so – wonderful out here!" I cheered quietly. "The rain's stopped, the air is so FRESH! I feel alive again." I was grinning from ear to ear.

"Ah, well, sorry to burst yer bubble, Kira, but we need to get out of here and find a manhole cover. Have to get back down, know what I mean?" He gazed at me sadly and then looked above at the top of the concrete wall and cocked his head. "If you stand on my shoulders, do ya think you could snag the top and pull yourself up the rest of the way?"

I looked overhead at where he was indicating and swooned just a bit. "Ah, I guess so, but what if there are people up there?" I asked nervously. Regardless of my memories, or lack thereof, I knew that given how I looked mingling with the human population of New York City would not be a smart thing to do.

"Well, look around a bit, first, silly. If you see people, just duck yer head back down." Mike said. He shook his head and smiled at me, almost mocking my ignorance.

It didn't take him long to hoist me onto his shoulders. Actually, climbing his carapace was quite easy, the rough texture of his shell providing plenty of traction. As Mike faced the concrete wall and supported himself with his hands, I stood precariously on his shoulders. Balancing myself against the hard surface, I reached up. "Not sure if I can do this, Mike." I gritted out nervously. I hated heights.

"Well, just keep yer voice down, 'kay? Try, though, maybe if you stand on my head?" He suggested.

I looked down at him and could see he was doing well with me on his shoulders, so I gave standing on his head a try. He wobbled a bit at first, which only increased my concerns. Then, he stiffened his neck and I was steady once more. Still, no matter if I stretched with all of my might, I just couldn't reach the top edge of the culvert. If I were an inch or two taller, it would have been a done deal. If Raph were here, it wouldn't have made any difference of course, because I think he would have thrown me up like a catapult. "It's not working…maybe we need to try something else." I suggested.

After clambering back down his shell, I looked around. There wasn't a ladder or a set of stairs anywhere. "You'd think that someone would have thought of putting in some sort of access stairs." I complained.

"Yeah, you'd think…" he agreed. Mike looked around quickly, taking in the expanse of the spillway and the reclamation building not to far from where we stood. He then looked to his left, back in the direction of where we had shot out of the sewers. I saw him grin and then he slapped me on my back. "Found or way out – or, more to the point, IN!" he chirped and then carefully looked around.

All I could see when I took in the direction he had indicated was the same sewer opening. Since the rain had stopped, the water was not as gushing as it had been earlier. The torrent was now a manageable flow as it bled down the face of the spillway, creating a gentle waterfall. "Okay, so – where is this way out?" I asked, completely confused.

"There," Mike pointed and as I followed his arm, my heart sank.

"You – have to be kidding me?" I asked and not the least bit happily, either.

"Yep, back the way we came!" Mike then looked around carefully and immediately thereafter skipped back over to the precipice once again.

Reluctantly I followed him, looking around myself just incase he was too eager to inspect his decision. As I caught up with him, I noticed that there were handholds right outside of the mouth of the sewer. Yet, they were a good twenty feet down and probably that much from where we stood. "How can we possibly even make it, Mike?" I stammered. I looked further down and noticed that the water had diminished just a little, but that dreaded whirlpool was still there. I shivered and it wasn't because I was cold.

"Well, we'll jump; get a good running start and then just grab on." He smiled back at me.

"Yeah, just grab on as if it were gymnastic rings at the park." I said derisively.

"Exactly! Now yer catching on, Kira!" he cheered. I could only shake my head with the futility of the whole situation. Then, he backed up a ways, actually, quite a ways and winked at me. "Watch how it's down, sweets!" he smirked.

In that instant, he exploded into an all out run. I don't know how he did it because within four steps he was at full speed. Not hesitating one bit, Mike leaped right off the side edge of the spillway, his hands and feet preceding him, and sailed through the air. In a fraction of a second, he was hanging off the rungs and then making his way down the side quick as a spider. As soon as he could, he swung himself to the right and back through the sewer opening. Only this time, he landed on the walkway that boarded the weeping culvert. He whipped around triumphantly, grinning like the Cheshire cat and motioning with his right arm for me to follow suit.

I shook my head, no. "I'll find another way!" I insisted.

Mike did likewise but said in a hushed shout, "Nope, you're gonna jump…just do as I did."

"I can't do that! Are you nuts?" I complained.

"Sure you can! Just run and jump and keep your eyes on the prize, my dear." He seemed so sure of me. What a fool.

I honestly did not want to do that. No way. I looked around furtively, hoping against hope to see a better alternative. I couldn't. Mike's way was the only way. I looked down once again into the 'abyss' of water and then back to my target. "Well," I thought to myself, "I do seem to have more agility than I would normally – if I were human." I sighed deeply, "Maybe I can do this after all."

I backed up as far as Mike did, but then I backed up even more…until I was certain I could gain the same momentum he had. I heard him whisper-yell for me to hurry it up – and he seemed rather desperate sounding, too. Maybe he had heard something – or someone. That had me concerned. If he wanted me to hurry, there was probably a good reason for me to do so.

Gathering my resolve, I took off, picturing the rungs, where they were, and hoping my current running position would put me in alignment to them. As I rushed up to the edge of the spillway and leaped, I realized too late the reason why Mike wanted me to hurry.

There in the opening were four Foot soldiers. They had evidently surprised Mike and almost caught him unprepared. Obviously, they had followed him from earlier. I could only assume his focus on me had kept his mind off of their close proximity. Still, he had enough skill to make up for his surprise as he was now working his nunchuks like a gyroscope going full tilt. I saw one soldier fall out of the sewer opening as Mike's chuks knocked him silly. The warrior then fell helplessly into the churning waters below. He disappeared in short order as the whirlpool caught him up. I cringed, "What a way to go." I thought ruefully.

For myself, I realized my reaction and witness of the event had tweaked my trajectory just a bit. Not only that, but the extra distance I allowed for running had given me more take-off power than I realized. Instead of heading straight for the rungs, I was now heading straight for the fight in progress.

I could only close my eyes against what would surely happen next.

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VESTQUEX: Hey, don't fret it. I'm rather overwhelmed with writing these stories, so….be thankful that all you have to do is read! Yeah, Mike –as with all of them – is multi-layered, not just a funny guy. :0) Loved the long story review on RR you gave us, as you well know. And I really like your story reviews in general, although I'm sure that with college grabbing for your attention these days, you' won't have much time even for that. Thanks for reading and reviewing. Be blessed.

MYSTIC MEWTWO: Glad you're enjoying the story. Someone as old as me? Hey, my body might remind me from time to time – and more often than I care for it to do – that I'm as old as me, LOL, but my mind and soul – well, my soul anyway since my mind wanders now and then – will be forever 21! :0) I find writing TMNT stories to be like visiting Disneyland. My escape from reality for a little while! Thanks for the compliments and the encouragements. I need them all where WB is still dragging me down that whirlpool of frustration. Thanks for reading and reviewing. Be blessed.

RAMICA: Yeah, tension should be the title of this latest chapter – 24, there's so much of it. Mike is more than a lot of wind – talking – he's also very adept at what he does, more so than the cartoons and movies make him out to be. Thanks for reading and reviewing. Be blessed.

PRETENDER FANATIC: Funny? Okaaaayyy…but I'm glad, either way. Yeah, I could see Kira doing that, actually, but I didn't until you mentioned it. LOL Glad you liked the chapter. More visualizing with chapter 24, I 'm sure. Hope you like it as well. Thanks for reading and reviewing. Be blessed.