Nalong - Chapter 17 Let's get the shell out of here!

Disclaimer: Ok, seriously now. Who really thinks that if I owned the turtles I would be writing this little piece of fanfiction? …anyone? …no? Well good, because I don't own the turtles or Splinter or April or Casey. The story and original characters alone are mine. I make no money from this, so please don't sue me.

A/N: Wow, I can't believe this is almost over. You guys have all been absolutely awesome. Wow, there are a lot of you! But we're coming up on the end here so I'll go through this whole thing!

ANYWAY ON TO THE STORY!

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"Oh shell"

"Way to go shellforbrains." The comment was accompanied by a smack to the back of the head.

"Ow! I didn't do anything!"

"Well, I didn't do anything!"

"Doesn't matter, let's get out of here!"

Two turtles, one in orange and the other in purple, leapt for the ventilation system and watched as guards and protectors scrambled into and down the corridor below.

"Aren't they going the wrong direction?"

"Looks like."

"So, I guess we didn't mess up."

"Nope. Let's go find Raph and Leo."

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"I guess they found the little gift we left them." Raphael laughed, when the alarms went off.

"Let's hope that's all they found." Leo said. They had reached the rendezvous point and now all they had to do was kill time until Donnie and Mikey showed.

They didn't have long to wait. Soon the four turtles were reunited in the ventilation system near the main entrance. They headed for the exit, but knew that they would have to leave the safety of the vent shaft.

"We're going to have to move quickly when we leave the vents." Leo warned.

"We know, Leo." Raphael reminded him. He knew that his brother meant well, but it was really annoying.

Leo ignored him, and they waited for their opportunity. When it presented itself they jumped. Michelangelo was the last one down, and he pulled the vent cover shut behind him with a silent giggle. They were going to get away with this one.

There were several tight moments as the turtles raced back to their barracks. Leo had come around a corner too quickly and had been in plain sight of three guards before he realized his mistake and ducked back into the shadows, luckily for them no one saw, though they couldn't imagine why not.

"Real smooth, bro." Raphael snarled quietly as soon as they were clear.

"Hey, he didn't get caught did he." Mikey reminded his red-clad brother.

"Shush." Leo pulled his brothers back to the task at hand. "Let's move."

Four turtles slipped back into their barracks only minutes before the guards came around searching for any missing prisoners. Once the guards were gone it was time to get a few hours sleep before the big day they would be having tomorrow.

--------------The Next Morning------------------

-Hamilton City Limits-

The sun was just coming up. The sky was blue, the grass green, the weather was the complete antithesis of Casey's mood. It seemed that the closer they got to finding the turtles the further away they seemed.

"Why don't we try the post office? They should know where this place is." April suggested.

"That is a very good idea Miss O'Neil."

Casey pulled the Battle Shell up in front of the town post office. He couldn't help but notice how odd the thing would look parked between the beater pick-up that had obviously spent every day since its purchase on a farm and the brand new BMW that he saw parked side-by-side at the small grocery store next door. The Battle Shell was just a little to 'combat' for this small town, and he couldn't believe that the guys were anywhere around here.

"This place is dullsville, what would a crazy cult be doing here?"

"What better place to hide than where no one would look Mr. Jones?" Splinter quietly stated.

"Oh, right."

April rolled her eyes at the vigilante and got out of the rig to ask for directions. She knew the office wasn't open, but there was always someone there separating and organizing the outgoing mail who she could ask, and she was back shortly.

"This address isn't so much in Hamilton as it is within the postal code. It's about a half hour from here on a Rural Route. It's a large farm near a river, and sounds like the kind of place where that cult could be hiding if you ask me. It is definitely worth a look, if nothing else."

"Well, let's get out of here!" Casey called enthusiastically.

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Leonardo was awoken early by Donatello's restlessness below him. His brother's movement was shaking the whole bunk. He hopped down and confronted the turtle who was quite effectively disrupting his sleep.

"Hey Donnie, What's up?"

Don jumped and flipped around to face his brother. "Oh, hi Leo."

"That's it, 'Hi Leo'? Donnie, you've been tossing and turning all night long, so what's up?"

"Last night we saw something disturbing." Donatello sighed. "Actually, we heard it more than saw it. Mikey made me look away. Probably better that way. I might have done something stupid otherwise." He didn't continue, but he was hurting. The determination had drained away and once again he was left uncertain of what he was doing.

"Alright Donnie, talk to me. What was it?"

Donatello explained the occurrences from the night before and Leonardo couldn't help but curse these awful cult members again.

"I don't think I've ever been so angry in my entire life." The purple-clad turtle admitted.

"It's almost over Donnie. Everything will work out."

"I hope so, Leo, I really hope so. All I've been seeing all night is various scenarios of the hundreds of ways that this could go wrong. Leo, I don't want it to go wrong. I want all these people to get out. I want to go home, and even if we get out of here I don't know how we're going to get back to New York. Leo, we don't even know where we are, where they've taken us."

"But I'll bet Steve does, Donnie. It will all work out, bro, I promise." Leo put a hand no his brother's shoulder, and received a weak half-smile from Don.

"I don't know how you do that, Leo, stay so optimistic, but you're good at it. Thank you." Don checked the watch he had borrowed from Steve. "Well, I guess it's time to get moving." Don got up and woke Michelangelo and Annie, who after calming down and talking to Steve had forgiven the turtle for his questioning of Steve's loyalty. In moments the three had vacated the barracks once more. Wake up call was going to happen a little early this morning.

"Optimistic? If only you knew, Donnie, if only you knew." The scenarios Don had mentioned Leo had been through too. He wasn't as optimistic as he had made out to be, he just knew it had to work. Leo knew that they would all do everything in their power to get out of here.

He woke Raphael, Steve, and Eric and started to prepare for the upcoming day.

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Sorry, that one was kind of short too. The next, and last, one is long, I promise. Stay tuned for the CONCLUSION!