Disclaimer: I don't own the Ninja Turtles. Please don't sue me. I'm not making money off of this.

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The ground was rumbling again, and as Splinter floated back toward consciousness, he felt it throughout his entire body. It was not like the last time. This felt closer, beneath him.

Splinter kept his eyes closed, letting his other senses take in his surroundings. He could feel cold metal beneath his skin, metal that felt almost wet it was so chilled. He was lying on his side, his knees curled up against his chest. He could smell sweat; it was blanketed in the air like a haze, surrounding and engulfing him. The smell was of humans, frightened humans. He could hear their sounds as well; muffled sounds most of them. A whimper here and there from a child, a cough or a sneeze. Splinter could also hear metallic sounds, clangs and bangs, sounds that he had never really heard before.

He opened his eyes slowly, unsure of what to expect. He appeared to be in a huge, domed room, though the dome itself was made of metal, and it was covered with a texture of catwalks and blinking panels. Surrounding Splinter on the metallic floor were humans, thousands of them. He had not expected there to be so many. They had kept a fair distance from the old rat, and Splinter was not surprised by this.

Walking amongst the humans were creatures similar to the one Splinter had observed earlier. Many of them looked very much the same as the original, but there was some variation in color, some having bright red fur, others a dark brown, and still others looked almost black. Most were wearing battle armor, but a few were adorned with loose fitting gray trousers and buttoned up green shirts. These creatures were without helmets, and Splinter could see that they had large pointed ears and rather messy hair.

None of these observations served to quell Splinter's anxiety. He and these many humans were clearly captives, though what the creatures wanted them for was impossible to determine. Splinter would wait and see what happened; it was his only option.

----

"You mean, you're not one of those furry things?"

"No, most certainly not." Splinter offered a smile to the only human who had dared as of yet to speak to him. He had actually spoken first, startling the man. Splinter had tried meditating, but after three hours he had begun to crave some social contact.

"So...what are you?" The man looked puzzled, but not exactly frightened. Splinter's smile had reassured him slightly.

"I am a rat," Splinter said, matter of factly, "The reason I can speak is complicated, but you could say I am glad for the accident that made me the way I am."

"Weird," the man said, "You're a rat." He shook his head, "You know, I was a construction worker before today. Now I'm the captive of hairy monsters talking to a giant hairy rat."

"My name is Splinter."

"Oh...sorry man. I didn't mean any disrespect or anything...I mean, you're not a giant hairy rat, you're a normal sized...um...normal talking rat."

Splinter smiled, "I did not mean it like that. I was simply introducing myself. Perhaps I could get your name?"

"Oh uh, sure...the name's Dave." Dave looked at his hand for a moment and then thrust it toward Splinter, who shook it politely.

"It is nice to meet you, Dave." Splinter said, "I should think that getting to know people in this situation could be advantageous."

"Um...right. I agree." Dave shook his head, "You sure are full of fancy words, man."

Splinter shrugged, "I suppose you could say I am a teacher, of sorts. I find that if I describe things eloquently, it gives my students an advantage. I refuse to talk down to anyone, you see."

"Ah," Dave said, looking as though he thought very little of eloquent speech, "So, what do you teach anyway? And for that matter, WHO do you teach?"

Splinter felt a pang of worry; he had not seen any sign of his sons in this strange place. He would simply have to press on and hope they were faring well.

"I have four sons, " Splinter said, "They are...unusual...like me. However, they are not rats, but turtles."

"Turtles!" Dave exclaimed, "Man, if I wasn't looking at a giant rat right now I wouldn't believe it! Er...sorry. Go on."

Splinter nodded. "I taught them many things, but primarily I taught them ninjitsu."

"Woah...you're a ninja rat? Like, you could kick my butt up and down this place?"

"It is feasible, assuming you are not a master of some kind of fighting technique," Splinter said modestly.

"No, I sure as hell ain't," Dave said, "Well, that's pretty damn cool. I'm sticking with you, ratty."

Splinter gave the man a strange look, but then smiled, "Very well, but if you please...do not call me ratty every again."

"Heh. Sorry man. Er. Splinter."

----

Two eyes peered out from beneath a large girder that recently had been part of a skyscraper. The girder was balanced on top of several chunks of concrete, creating a useful slit from which to look through. It and several other fallen girders were also holding up a large amount of rubble, creating a small cave of sorts; a very good, albeit treacherous hiding place.

"Nothin' out there," Raphael said, turning away from the slit for a moment, "How's Don?"

"Not good," Michelangelo said, "He won't wake up."

"Dammit," Raphael said.

"That was a pretty big rock that hit him," Michelangelo said, "He's bleeding a lot."

"Great," Leonardo said, "This is the kind of thing that –Don- would be able to fix." He reached over to Don and carefully untied the injured turtle's bandanna. He then wrapped it around Don's head wound and pulled a tight knot.

"We're gonna have to do more than that," Raph said, his eyes shifting back to the viewing slit for a moment.

"None of us know more than basic first aid," Mike said, "We need to get help or something."

"From who?" Raph said, raising his voice, "Those –things- out there aren't going to help us, and god only knows if there are any people around. I saw those things zapping people and dragging them away! They could have taken everyone."

"Well, they didn't take us," Leonardo said.

"Yet," Raph responded cryptically.

"We have to do something," Mike said, "Don looks really bad."

"I wish that cell phone hadn't gotten smashed," Leo said, "The first thing we should do is go back to the lair and see if Splinter is all right. Then, once we find Splinter, he'll be able to help us." Leo said, "We shouldn't move him unless we absolutely have to."

"What if Splinter isn't alright?" Mike asked, his voice weak.

"I'm sure he's fine," Leonardo said forcefully, "Mike, you stay here and protect Don. Raph and I will go to the lair."

"I don't like that," Mike said, "How will I know if you guys are ok out there?"

"You'll know if we come back," Raphael said, frowning.

It won't take too long to get to the lair from here. We'll be back in an hour. If we're not back by then, well..." Leo cut off.

Mike sighed, "All right. God, you guys, be careful huh?"

"We will," Leo said, jabbing his fist lightly into Mike's shoulder, "You be careful too. Keep your eyes peeled for any of those hairy things."

Mike nodded, and Leonardo and Raphael began to pick their way through their little cave. Raph hefted aside a large boulder, exposing a hole to the outside. Mike followed them and shoved the boulder back once they were gone.

Please come back... Mike thought and crawled back over to Don, And please Donny...please be ok

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a/n: I would like to thank you folks who have reviewed this story. I really appreciate it. And here's a shout out for ya: Lioness-Goddess, Zelda's Fox 38, Reluctantdragon, and White Pheonix

You guys rock! 