Nalong - Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Ok, We've had 9 disclaimers already. If you still think I own the turtles or make any money from this will you raise your hand? No one? Not a single person?
Good. 'cuz I don't. Please don't sue. I do however lay claim to the roomies and Nalong.

A/N: I finally got my alerts to start coming again! Anyone out there who has had the same problem if you log in and go to Email Alerts you might find that they have been disabled. I don't remember ever doing that, but they were! Oh WOW there are so MANY of you out there reading and reviewing! Thank you, thank you, thank you for taking the time to do so! You guys are just AMAZING! And there are several new faces out there too! Welcome!

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"So uh, where are these buyers supposed to be?" Casey questioned

"What?" April started having been momentarily lost in thought.

"The people who bought the darts, who are they, where do we look? They gotta pay!" Casey was getting angrier with each sentence.

"Calm yourself." Splinter admonished carefully. He was used to dealing with Casey by now, but that didn't mean that it was always easy.

"There is one buyer up in Vermont and another out in Montana. From what the guy on the phone said the Montana people are rather strange."

Splinter nodded. "Montana it is then."

"Dude, you sure about this?" Casey asked. Montana was awfully far away and he was pretty sure the rat hadn't left New York for a trip this long in quite some time, at least not in any conventional method like a car or plane. Try as he might he just didn't see the old rat flying, at least not as a passenger. And imagine if he got patted down at the airport! No, they would not be flying.

"How are we going to get there?" April asked coming to the same conclusion as Casey. Splinter would be unable to fly and even if it was possible there was no way that any of them could afford three last minute tickets to Montana.

Splinter looked around the lair. His eyes fell on the elevator to the surface, the 'weird glowing chamber' that took them to street level. April caught on quickly.

"The battle-shell?"

"We may have need of it when we get there." Splinter replied wisely, "Though I will not even pretend to know how to operate it.

"We'll drive Splinter, it's not a problem." April reassured him.

"We should pack; I want to get on the road as soon as possible."

April and Casey went home to get a few things and when they returned a short while later Splinter had already loaded the truck with everything he could think of that they might need, including spare weapons for his sons, just in case. Before leaving April went down and dug through Donatello's lab for anything that she could recognize as possibly being useful. She packed the items in a red gym bag she had found at home and hurried back to the warehouse where Splinter and Casey were waiting. Digging through the bag she pulled out the keys to the rig and took the wheel.

"Shotgun!" Casey called as he jumped in the passenger seat leaving Splinter in the back. A quick stop at a convenience store supplied them with an atlas and they were on their way.

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Leonardo and Michelangelo slept fitfully. They had no idea what had happened to their brothers and they were worried. Michelangelo's sniffling pulled Leo from his almost-sleep at some point during the night. He had no idea what time it was, but it wasn't yet time to get up, of that he was sure. He looked over at his brother and Mikey, hearing his movement acknowledged his wakefulness.

"Do you think they're ok?" The orange-banded turtle asked quietly.

"I don't know. I haven't…" Leo stopped there. He didn't know what he thought. Part of him insisted that he would know if Don or Raph had been hurt or worse, killed. But he didn't know for sure. He wished he could reassure Mikey. Tell him that everything was fine, that no harm had come to their brothers and that all they had to do was wait for them to be returned. But he couldn't. Leo sighed and forced back tears before he made the small jump to Mikey's bed and pulled the one unanimously thought of as the youngest brother toward him. Mikey didn't object and he reached around Leo. Each clung to the other's presence as though it were a lifeline that could pull him from this living nightmare.

The worst thing was the helplessness they felt. In the past at least they could go look for anyone who had gone missing or who might be in trouble. Here they couldn't even do that. More than ever in his life Leo wanted to be at home with his family, and hidden away from this crazy world.

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Steve had woken when he heard a thump from above. Quietly glancing around the room he noticed that Leonardo had moved over to join Mikey on his bed. Steve silently watched the interaction as it played out above him and truly felt sorry for these strange creatures that had been thrown in their barracks. If there was one thing Steve was sure of it was that he knew a good kid when he met one. And all four of these turtles were good kids, even Raphael. Sure the guy had a temper, but his heart was in the right place. He couldn't help but reflect on how much he had changed.

He thought back to when he first met Eric and Annie. Arriving around the same time the two had latched onto each other quickly. They were good kids who had changed his life and to this day he was thankful for that. His gaze swept to the beds that Eric and Annie had claimed as their own. They deserved so much better than this, and he hoped that one day he could repay the favor that they had done him. This was a wrong that he had helped cause and vowed to, one day, put it right. A small thought crossed his mind; maybe, just maybe, there was a greater purpose for the presence of these four turtles, these four amazing brothers. The last time youths came into his life they had saved him, maybe this time he could save them. Steve was well aware of what Don and Raph had to face before they could return to their family. With all the trouble today the worst was probably behind them, but Steve had no way of knowing for sure anymore. As far as he knew no one had ever completed the course unscathed, but he felt that if there was even a remote possibility that someone could pull it off, that someone might just be these turtles.

Watching the two turtles who were still in the barracks he realized just how close these boys were to each other. Leo had of course told him stories about that closeness for the better part of the day but they were just that, stories. This Steve saw with his own two eyes. It was easy to forget that these turtles were so young for they showed a level of maturity far beyond their years. He reminded himself of the fact that they were little more than children; children who had lost their best friends and brothers and didn't know if they would ever return. Steve's heart broke for them. He wished there was something he could do to help. Not knowing what else he could do, he prayed. He made the prayer as general as it could possibly be silently asking, no, begging whatever higher being might be out there that he or she might protect the two turtles who were still missing this night and watch over the two who remained.

Steve caught Eric's eye when the young man woke up hearing the sniffles from above. Steve had noticed a pronounced change in Eric since the turtles had come into their already crazy lives barely more that 24 hours ago. Eric had smiled last night for the first time in far too long. The young man was very sensitive to the underlying mind sets of others and in here that often worked against him. He was constantly fighting against the current of despair that threatened to drag him under in this place. In just one day these turtles had worked magic on him. Steve had been surprised to receive a reassuring smile from Eric.

"They are releasing the despair they feel. Almost all they have left is hope." Eric explained.

Steve nodded and once again marveled at these amazing creatures… no, he corrected himself, people; the amazing people who had been swept into his life. Everyone in this room was a person and even though that thinking still seemed foreign to him every now and then he wasn't about to stop trying to change that.

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The small group of Course survivors was led to a barrack away from the others. The thing looked like it was about to fall apart. It was in much worse shape than the one Raph and Don had been in last night. Inside there were 6 bunks. As soon as the guards had locked the door and left the group alone Donatello immediately went to one of the nearest beds and plunked himself down on the mattress. He sighed and dropped his head into his hands, one of which was pinching the space between his eyes.

Raphael took the bed next to his brother, and concern was written on his face as he started to pay a little more attention to him. Don was doing that eye pinching thing he did when something was wrong. Also he looked a little pale, even for Donnie who was always pale compared to his brothers. Raphael mentally ticked off the things he knew weren't wrong. Sure the Course had been tough, and it had been on top of what Don had done earlier in the day, but there was no way that it had been any harder than other things they had done. So that wasn't the reason. Too bad that was the only thing he could think of that wasn't wrong, and he now had a whole list of things that could be wrong.

Raph hoped it was just that Don was worried about Leo and Mikey, or about what was going to happen now. Heck, maybe the guy was just thinking, he liked to do that. But the pinching thing told Raph otherwise. Something else was bothering Donnie. Maybe it was leftovers from the darts yesterday. Also Raph seemed to think that the vent in the gas chamber had been directly over the terminal that Donnie had cracked to get the door open, so there was a possibility that he was ill due to the gas.

The other incident that leapt to mind was Don shoving the levitation girl away from the electrified door handle. Raph and Don had both taken it upon themselves to make sure that as many of those people made it through the Course as possible, but Raphael had been careful not to think that everyone in their little group would make it. Don tended to be more optimistic, and sometimes the result was that he was disappointed. There were some other major differences in their Course experiences. Raph had not been looking when the first guy fell into the pool, Don had. Also Raph had not been the one to physically force the girl's smoking body away from the door, Don had. It was one thing to take another's life when that person was attacking you, it was quite another when someone you were trying to protect died for nothing like that.

Looking up Raph realized that he wasn't the only one looking at Don, though he was the only one who wasn't staring.

"Hey, is there are reason you're all staring? 'cuz it's not helping things." Raph snipped in harsh tones.

The other three in the room all hurriedly found a bed and sat down looking anywhere but at the two turtles.

"Raph, don't be so hard on them. It's been a long day for everyone." Donatello responded to Raph's comment only in voice. His head was still in his hands and he made no move to change that. . Now Raph was sure something was up.

"Don, what's wrong?"

"I'm just tired."

"Oh don't you give me that 'tired' bit. This is more than that. I'm not dense Donnie, what's wrong?"

Don glanced pointedly at their roommates and made sure that Raph caught the glance before he continued.

"Ok, fine, I don't feel great. I watched two people die in the Course today. One of whom I…" he halted abruptly letting the sentence hang there. "Never mind all the people who just killed themselves with that stupid clay fight. I am tired and I have a headache, is that alright with you?" Don snapped, which was something Raphael only knew Don to do when at least two of three things were wrong: he was tired, frustrated and/or had a headache.

At that point Alejandro stood and approached the two turtles.

"Donatello, is it?" He asked as he knelt by the turtle in purple. "I might be able to help. Do you mind if I…" Alejandro reached out slightly toward Don's head. Donnie shied away for a moment, but in the end allowed the man to do… whatever he was going to do.

Alejandro put one hand across Don's forehead, and wrapped the other, heel to fingertips, around the back of his head. The tall man then applied pressure, gently at first then slowly increasing. As Alejandro increased the pressure Donatello felt himself relax and the pain in his head started to drain away. A few moments later he felt the pressure start to decrease. The headache continued to dissipate, and the moment Alejandro released him completely it was gone. Don stared at the man in bewilderment for a moment.

"How did you do that? Is that why you're here?"

"That? I guess it kind of is, but it's just a little trick Pop, oh… my grandfather taught me when I was a kid. It always seemed to work better for me than it did for him though. These mutant hunters decided that I was too close to an empath for them to leave me alone."

"An empath? So you can take another's pain? Is that what you just did?" Don inquired.

"I guess, though it is more like dissipating it rather than taking it and it doesn't always work." Alejandro admitted with a shrug.

"Wouldn't that be a good thing? I mean couldn't it be used to help humanity, and it seems that you're a decent guy, and that you would use it in that capacity." Don decided then and there that he didn't understand humans. Not that he thought he had before, he was just sure of it now.

"I guess that these guys don't care."

Don nodded sadly and Raphael looked lost. His brother looked much better now than he had a few moments ago so Raph was cool with whatever this trick was but he didn't quite understand it, nor did he totally trust the guy. Raph would be keeping a close eye on Donnie for the next few days. Pressure points were one thing, this was something different entirely.

Alejandro headed back to his own bed and the group was just lying down to sleep, when suddenly Iris got curious.

"Ok, the two turtles I get, Alejandro with the empathy thing I can sort of understand, I have this eye thing. What about you Ben? Why are you here?"

Ben sighed and pulled one hand out from under the covers showing it to the others. There wasn't much light, but there was enough to see that Ben had a sixth finger on that hand.

"Hey, that's nothin'." Donatello insisted holding up his own hand. We've only got three!"

"What, are you channeling Mikey?" Raph inserted. Donnie just shrugged.

"That's it?" Alejandro asked loudly. "That's all they put you in here for?"

"All you've got is some weird empathy thing that doesn't always work, is that reason for you to be here?" Ben asked in chilled tones. "Iris has eyes that are different from the norm. Does that mean she should be here? And even these guys, sure they're turtles, but did they do something to deserve this? I don't think so!"

"That's not what I meant. No one deserves to be here. These people are sick."

"Guys," Donatello called out quietly. The arguing duo didn't seem to hear him so Don tried again a little louder. "Hello! Ben, Alejandro."

"Yo, fellas!" Raph called loudly. That got their attention immediately.

"WHAT?" The two men shouted whipping their heads toward the red masked turtle. They were immediately silenced by the look on Raph's face which they were just able to make out in the dark room.

"You agree. No one deserves to be here, so get some sleep and worry about it later." Raph ordered rather effectively. The two older men complied immediately, and soon the barrack was filled only with the sounds of sleep.

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A/N: Wow, that chapter came out nothing like I expected it to. Guess what I expected will have to be the next one. The trick Alejandro did to help Don's headache is what my Dad does when we complain of one, it really helps. It probably is some sort of pressure point thing. I don't know. Even if it is, what Alejandro did was more than that. Also I have absolutely nothing against Montana. Actually I think that state is beautiful. It's just somewhere that I think something like this could hide. 'Til next time!