Nalong - Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I still don't own them. I still don't see that changing. I still don't get paid for this. I still don't see that changing either. I still like to write these little stories. I still write these disclaimers. I still…nope I'm out.

A/N: I still think I'll need this. HA got another one! YAY people are reading my story and even seem to like it! Cool. I recognize a couple of familiar faces, Thanks for coming back. I also noticed several new ones, Welcome.

They had been walking for quite awhile, and Leonardo was beginning to worry about Raphael. He didn't want Donnie in the hands of those guards anymore than Raph did but the fact remained that Don was heavy. Just as heavy as any of them were and Raph couldn't carry him forever. When Leo offered to take Donnie from his brother Alan threatened them with the shock stick for slowing up and they had been unable to make the trade. They hadn't slowed up that much, so Leo guessed that forcing Raphael to carry Donatello the whole way was part of his punishment for threatening the guards. All Leo could do was hope that they didn't have much farther to go.

Coming over the next rise they found rows of what looked like barracks. Terrific Leo thought, being stuck in an internment camp was just what they needed. It just put a wonderful capper on the day, but they'd broken out of prisons before. This was just another one on what was too quickly becoming a rather long list.

About halfway down the third row Sandy opened the door of one of the barracks. Submissively the turtles entered the building. Eight beds lined the walls, but for now the turtles were the only ones there. As soon as they were in the door Raphael laid Donatello on the nearest bed and Leo could tell that Raph was about to collapse himself after carrying Donnie so far, though he knew that Raph would never admit it. Sandy stood nearby with the shock stick at the ready as Alan removed the handcuffs from the turtles, Donatello first, then Michelangelo, Leonardo and finally Raphael. Releasing them in reverse of what they had evidently, and incorrectly, assumed to be the pecking order of the group. It was another little surprise which may be of use to them later. Raphael sat down on the next bed over from Donatello, mostly because it was there, but it also let him watch over his brother. He repeated what Leo and Mikey had already gone over.

"He's going to be ticked off about the girl thing when he finds out." Raph said in Japanese.

"Maybe we don't have to tell him about it?" Mikey suggested hopefully.

"Yeah, then he can find out from someone else, probably that Sandy woman and not be expecting it."

"Maybe that would be the better way to find out."

"Mikey, it's not right. Donnie may not like it, but we have to tell him."

"Tell me what?" The subject of the conversation slurred. He was bleary and having trouble concentrating, but he had definitely understood Leo's last statement.

"Donnie, you're awake." Raphael declared in surprise.

Donatello just blinked at him for a moment, and tried to shake off whatever it was that had done this to him. Suddenly he remembered. There had been a fight, darts. He remembered trying to pull Leo and Mikey away from the battle, cutting his hand on some of the darts stuck in his bo, and worst of all he remembered not being able to get the weapon back up in time to stop the last two darts.

"Oh, Geez," he moaned "Guys, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"You're not going to be when we tell you what you missed out on." Mikey put in.

"No, I-- I couldn't stop it, I cut myself on some of them, I should have been more careful. I should have stopped them, it shouldn't have beenaproblembutitwas…" He had woken up to Japanese and had slipped into the old habit easily, but in the process of speaking faster and faster he had reverted back to English.

"Donnie, stop it." Leo ordered quietly in Japanese. "There was nothing you could do. Mikey and I got hit first. You did all you could, no one could ask for more."

Don lay quietly for a moment before sitting up, the effects of the drug finally wearing off enough that he felt he could do so without tipping back over. It was a moment before he remembered that there was something they thought he should know.

Uh, wasn't there something you were going to tell me?" He asked returning to the Japanese his brothers had been using. There was no need to ask why they were using the language they hadn't really used in several years, because he could guess the reason for that one.

All of a sudden all three brothers got very edgy. They would look anywhere but at Don and he wanted to know what it was all about, he was also getting pretty sure he wasn't going to like it. He recognized every telltale sign they had that said that they knew he wasn't going to like it. In fact their body language practically screamed that he wasn't going to like it. Mikey was scuffing his feet on the floor, Leo had an odd look on his face and wouldn't meet Don's eyes and Raph was looking anywhere but at his purple clad brother, finally settling on feigning intense interest with a spot of dust on the floor.

"Guys?" Don prompted.

Nothing

"Leo?" His blue clad brother met his eyes, but just gave him a strange look.

"Raph?" Raphael looked startled, almost like he had forgotten that Don was there and still looking for an answer. Only one left, and he tried for a more intimidating tone than the questioning and pleading tones he had tried on the first two brothers.

"Mikey?"

The orange clad turtle couldn't take the pressure and that had been exactly was Donatello had been counting on, part of the reason he had asked Mikey last.

"Theythinkyou'reagirl." The one unanimously thought of as the youngest brother blurted out, almost faster than Don could follow. At first he didn't think he had understood and looked at Mikey with confusion on his face. Next he looked to Leo for confirmation and he got it. It wasn't in so many words, but he could tell by Leo and Raph's body language that he had heard right.

"They think what?" Don asked disbelievingly. He didn't get a response, not that he really allowed time for one, and he hadn't really expected one either. "and just why, exactly, do they think that?"

Maybe it would have been better if Leo or even Raph had tried to explain, but it was Mikey who beat them to the punch.

"Well, they were going to move us, except we didn't want them to take you, and Raph got all up in their faces, and they figured he wasn't your mother so that meant you had to be his mate, and…

"WHAT?" The normally quiet turtle hollered at this new little tidbit of information. It didn't stop Mikey for a second though. He had a story to tell and he was going to get it all out and nothing was going to stop him.

"then she said that you were a different color so probably a girl, and then she added that you were wearing purple and the whole thing just kind of went from there, and we couldn't correct her because we didn't want them to know that we spoke English and…"

"I think that's enough Mikey." Leo stated as he put a hand on Mike's shoulder putting a stop to the eruption of words.

"I'm Raph's GIRLFRIEND!" Donatello asked incredulous, and more than a little appalled at the turn of events.

"You're his mate." Mikey supplied helpfully. If looks could kill Mikey would have been dead where he stood from the one he was receiving from Don.

"That's enough Mikey." Raphael said. "I did try to correct them Donnie, but they don't seem to speak Japanese, which is actually to our benefit."

Donatello sighed. His brothers had done the right thing. He couldn't blame them for this; it was just a stupid misinterpretation of intentions. But that didn't mean he had to like it. He looked up from the floor when Leo crouched in front of him.

"So, do you think you can do this?"

"Do I get a choice?"

"Not really." Leo admitted.

"Then I guess I'll have to." He said, letting his voice creep into a falsetto range that was actually pretty convincing.

"Thanks Donnie." Leo said quietly.

"I'll do it but I don't have to like it." Donatello said in his normal voice. "And just for the record, I don't like it at all."

"I'm not too fond of it either. I mean the whole thing is just wrong." Raphael added slightly miffed, "So I guess we can suffer together." Raph smiled slightly, but his eyes were apologetic. He had tried to correct the guard, but to do more would have blown their cover.

Donatello sighed and any anger toward his brothers he allowed to roll off his shell like so much water off a duck's back. He really couldn't believe this was happening, and the remaining fuzziness in his brain wasn't helping matters. He was frustrated and exhausted and he could see that his brothers were too, especially Raph, who seemed barely able to sit up straight. In the back of his mind Donatello wondered just how he had gotten to the barracks. Mikey said they had been moved. Don was pretty sure he knew how he had gotten here, and decided then that he would rather not have known given the current situation.

"We should get some sleep." Leo told them, "Who knows when we'll get the chance again."

Donatello stayed on the bottom bunk Raphael had put him on when they arrived. Raph himself was on the next bunk on the same wall where he had all but collapsed upon entering the room, and Leo and Mikey claimed the beds above them. Tactically, the four top bunks might have been the best choice, but they wanted to be as close to each other as possible. They would take every opportunity to point out that they were a family and that was how it was going to stay. Sooner or later someone would figure out that they did speak English, and that Don was their brother, not Raph's girl, and hopefully for Don's sanity's sake that would happen pretty soon. Tomorrow they would start working on a way to get out of here.

-------------------------

It wasn't long before they were joined in their little barracks by a group of humans. At least they looked human, and acted human and for all the turtles could tell they were human. In fact there didn't seem to be one thing mutant about them, but maybe their standards were a little skewed. Or, more likely, the standards of their captors were skewed.

"Look, new ones. Check this out, they're awesome." One of them started.

"Annie, I wouldn't be so excited about it. That just means that these jerks caught a few more innocent beings and locked them up for no good reason." The man who chastised her was wearing jeans and a work shirt. He had sandy colored hair and his eyes held a deep pain. Something horrible had happened to this man, and it had probably started long before he got here, wherever here was.

The first one, Annie, looked ashamed. It was obvious from the look on her face that she knew that her companion was right in his statement. The turtles had heard the commotion and were all well awake by this time, and looking at their new roommates with a combination of curiosity and mistrust. The third and final member of the group looked at Donatello, studied him for a moment then approached. He paused at the warning glare he received from all four turtles.

"Uh… hello?" He tried. He was dressed in all black. His long-sleeved shirt, his pants, and even his shoes were black. He also had black hair, but his kind voice betrayed the dark, hard tendencies of his clothing. The turtles' expressions didn't change, and the young man slowed his approach.

"You got more of that sedative crap than you were supposed to didn't you?" He asked looking directly at Donatello. The four were shocked and had no clue as to how the man could have possibly known that. "Your signature is all screwy." The man said by way of explanation at the confusion on their faces.

The four turtles maintained their carefully schooled blank looks. Ok, not so carefully, they were confused, and confusion often led to blank looks. When he reached out Don shied away from the touch. The man in black turned back to his companions.

"I don't think they trust us."

"Oh really, ya think?" Annie stated sarcastically.

"As far as they're concerned, we're probably human." The man in jeans explained. "Humans captured them, and based on their appearance I would guess that they haven't had too much contact with people."

"You know they are right here, and can hear you…probably."

I'm not convinced that they understand us though." The man in black supplied.

Raphael and Donatello shared a glance at the statement debating with their eyes whether or not to tell these people that they could indeed speak English. After all they were fellow prisoners. Talking with these people might answer some questions. Above them Michelangelo and Leonardo did the same. Leo came to a decision.

"We speak English, quite well in fact, and we do understand you." The turtle in blue said from his bunk. We'd just rather the guards didn't know that we understand them.

The three new arrivals to the room were shocked when Leo spoke. They hadn't really believed that it was possible, but here it was. A giant turtle was talking to them. Jeans was the first to overcome his initial shock and speak coherently.

"Uh…Well I guess we should start with introductions then."

------------------------------

A/N: Nope, that's all for now folks. I hope you enjoyed this and that some of your questions were answered. Those that weren't should be by the next chapter.