A/N: Is my turn again. Jeez, I look at all these other stories and gasp in horror. 19 CHAPTERS?!?!?! How do you DO it?!?!?!?
Lynx: You can tell she's out of ideas to discuss.
Mikey: How about the nun thing?
Lynx: -sigh- This whole story is cliché. I thought the bus full of nuns was a good touch.
ET: -grins- You keep telling yourself that.
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Chapter 6: A Tale of Two Losses
Mikey woke up with a start, his Justice Force Alarm clock ringing in his ear. Grudgingly, the tired turtle looked over at the calendar by his bed... today was...
Holy cow it was WEDNESDAY!
He stood up swiftly, grabbing his orange mask and tying it around his head in one fluid motion: the quickness due to his ninja training. With the same speed, he turned to the bunk bed above him, ready to awaken its occupant if need be.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaangy, oh Angy! It's Wednesday; you're not escapi-" His voice trailed off, as he silently gazed at the hammock in front of him. Empty, except for a pair of silk black gloves folded neatly, as if awaiting its owner's return. Mikey choked back tears, remembering what he temporarily forgot in his automatic morning routine; Angy was not there anymore. She hadn't been for the past week.
Angy was dead, or his brothers thought her to be. Both she and Raphael.
Mikey sank back into his bed, slightly stunned as he had to acknowledge this idea once again. Trying to place reason and understanding, the turtle rubbed the openings in his face mask.
Upon following Raph in the search to find Angy, they saw Raphael fall from a tall building, right into a busy intersection, fall to his death. Don tried to get around all the cars in order to reach him as he fell, but they were several blocks away from him, and for all his smarts, Donatello couldn't stop time.
They were still three blocks away when they felt the explosion and saw the column of smoke.
Feeling numb and slow, they continued their drive, to the pit of fire. Only his pair of tsais were to be found. After the blaring sirens, Don, with a heavy heart, grudgingly passed the cars, hoping to at least save Angy from the Foot Ninja's claws. But seconds later they saw her whiz by in the other direction, out of control, on Raph's shell-cycle. She was barely hanging on and didn't look she could stay upright for much longer. Don sped after her as if the Shredder himself was at his heels, unintentionally throwing his brothers and his sensei off balance, thus careening them into the back of the truck. They soon pulled up to the remains of the motorcycle lying on the road, inflamed, completely demolished, rider-less, and surrounded by splashes of blood. They searched around frantically, hoping for a sign of the direction she had gone in, but soon heard the sounds of sirens in the distance approaching fast, and had hesitantly left. After searching the surrounding area for the next few days and finding nothing, they gave up, resigning themselves to what they all felt deep down at the pit of their stomachs.
Raphael and Anguissolah would never be seen by any of the brothers again.
Mikey stood and exited his room in a slow lope that mirrored his mood. His two brothers moved at the same pace, if moving at all, not really doing much of anything. Master Splinter hadn't emerged from his room for the past 48 hours, attempting to soothe the pain of losing his son and soon-to-be family member in one fatal night. The turtles all felt a responsibility to comfort him. Tell him this was all a horrible nightmare, but none of the turtles knew what to say to someone who was always their comfort and support. None of them could lessen their refusal of the truth, which was building up around denial for the past five days.
The orange sash turtle merely shuffled through his comic books with an empty gaze, taking in deep breaths, until coming across a tsai. Raphael's tsai. Or at least one of them. Mikey clutched it dearly, dragging it across the table and making a small screech. The noise would usually give the turtle a pleasure knowing that one of his brothers, probably Raph, was annoyed. Mikey merely sighed and plopped himself on the chair next to the couch and TV's.
In previous annoyances (usually caused by a certain orange turtle), Donatello made himself busy, often by fixing machines. But not this time. He was far too depressed to even act like he was fixing something. His mind jumped around too rapidly to possibly focus on anything. All the genius managed to do was stare at the screen of his computer.
Raph... Don couldn't believe he was actually gone. Probably dead. Gone forever. None of them could fully grasp such an alien thought. Don kept expecting his brother to come in from one of his long motorcycle rides or the late night movies, or perhaps one of his punk bashing rounds with Casey. Then the bad boy turtle would quirk an eyebrow and ask what the shell was wrong with them all, moping around doing nothing. Mikey would make some comment and Raph would proceed in chasing him around the Lair, trying to punch his lights out. Then they'd all laugh as Angy came in behind him with her black gloves on, only to clobber Mikey from behind-
And Angy. Don hardly knew the girl and only began to warm up to her before she ran off. Angy was a human girl nonetheless, and the only other person he knew that fit that category was April. It was safe to say that the turtle was not the most comfortable out of his brothers when it came to women. Especially human women (not that there were any girl turtles out there anyway). Donatello sighed as he massaged his temples. He remembered how Angy smiled when he showed her the glowing crystals from the underground city. She seemed like so much fun... someone to talk to, someone who really understood his work, who really cared.
But now, that chance was gone.
Donny shook himself. No, he couldn't think about that. They were gone, and they weren't coming back... and that wasn't helping. Nothing he thought to console himself was remotely comforting.
Leo was lying on the couch (across from the now moping Michelangelo), staring at the ceiling. A brooding look was set upon his countenance. The turtle was clutching Raphael's other tsai, holding it close. He was the one most stricken by Raphael's death, being very close with the hot head. All those times. All those arguments: meaningless in the long run and now his brother was gone. A smoldering heat was at the pit of his stomach, as he rethought previous conversations. The majority of them were filled with quite a deal of hateful messages. If only the turtle could turn back time. Stop the fighting, or better yet stop whoever threw his precious sibling.
He could just hear Raph berating him moping about, not looking for him or the girl. Leo was unable to escape the guilt now in his head. Something wasn't right here. They hadn't found a body for either of them, and yet both had disappeared without a trace. But… Leo saw him fall, saw the crash, saw it all, and thus there was no other way to go about the search. Leo just had to expect the worst and let it be. He failed to save his brother and false hope would not help anyone. But he wasn't used to failure. He never had been.
Upon resting the silver red tsai onto the table, Leo stood and quietly strode into his training corner, his brothers only watching him as he disturbed the stillness of the room. He took out both katanas and began to slash, making his thoughts flow into his blades, his feelings carved into the air. But the feelings of loneliness and sadness flowed with them and made his movements slow and clumsy, then wild and out of control, disturbing the flow, making it jerky and erratic. With a grunt of frustration, he angrily threw his blades at the wall, embedding them half way.
Leo laid his forehead against the cool brick of the Lair. His emotions were affecting him too much. That's what had caused all of this; Angy let her emotions lead her actions. Raphael wouldn't approve that his older brother was now also making that same mistake. He had to control them somehow, some way... What would Master Splinter do?
Meditate.
Leonardo sat down facing away from the wall, straightening his back as taught. He closed his eyes and began the required breathing, counting to five in between inhaling and exhaling. He only had to clear away his thoughts, clear them away, sort them out, then the truth would be easier to accept. He began to roam the halls of his mind, sorting things out, reviewing recent events, memories, everything that came in his way. In this way he felt himself relax, the pain of loss becoming a dull ache and sadness lessening so that it did not control his life. But then he felt something alien brush his mind, something that was no part of him, and he instinctively reached out and latched on to it, ready to dissect it if it caused him problems.
Bad idea.
A sudden rush of images flooded his mind: test tubes, machines, Baxter Stockman, Hun, several scientists, the Shredder, blood, and at the center of it all was a huge wave of pain, fear, and guilt. He looked down at his hands to see them five fingered and pale, slender, like a female's. They were bare except for a metal cuff on his left wrist, and the thought terrified him. He had to cover them up somehow, before something terrible happened. The Foot Ninja were coming back, then would come more pain, more re-living things to come, more tests. He had to get away. But no, he deserved it. This was his punishment, his punishment for not helping Raph when he had the chance. His friends must hate him for being their brother's murderer. Not even Casey would take him in, not after doing something like that. They were coming closer, closer...he heard the heavy footsteps of Hun... the sweat began to pour from his scalp and his hands began to shake. The fear overwhelmed him as he shrank away from the giant shadow that appeared at the front of his cell. If only he could get away-
"LEONARDO, MY SON!"
Leo's eyes flew open, and he was back in the Lair, sitting on the floor with his butt going numb. His sensei's eyes replaced the images of the shadows and the bare hands. He stared at his six green fingers and felt the fear leave him, but it left a simmering anger. He willed his breathing to a regular pace in order to slow his heart down. Master Splinter was kneeling next to him, his eyes filled with concern and relief that his son had returned to his own mind. "Leonardo, what is it? What has disturbed your meditation?"
"Yea, bro, you were shaking all over and shouting something about the Foot." Mikey was looking at him from behind Master Splinter, trying to decipher what Leo's movements implied. His brother was never taken off guard. What could have caused him to actually cry out and shrink away from Master Splinter when their sensei was trying to help?
Leo straightened after thinking for awhile, his face calm, but his eyes burning with the light of enmity. The foot, gloves, Raph's death...it could only mean one thing. He looked at his two brothers and his father as he beat down the rage and fierce determination that were threatening to undo the control he had just built up.
"Angy…she's alive."
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Angy shivered as the cool determination left her. Whatever caused it left as quickly as it came, abandoning her to her own devices in Hun's shadow. She looked around her cell again as she heard him fumbling with the key pad on the door. The room was small and made of cement, with only a bed, a sink, and a toilet to keep her company. She looked at her uneaten breakfast of oatmeal and bread sitting on the floor. She still wasn't eating very much, and taking food before Hun's daily visits had caused her to lose good food once.
All the girl did with her spare time was lie in bed and mope. She felt the bandages encasing her chest and solemnly grimaced at the pain. Remembering the speed of her recovery filled the girl with nausea. The first memory of her incarceration in fact. No normal person could heal this quickly in a week after such a motorcycle accident. Of course she wasn't normal and neither was the man who caused her recovery. Stockman, she remembered, and the cold table. He was talking to someone, but Angy was in too much of a daze to understand its contents. She remembered the syringe with the blue liquid and the searing pain which ensued in her arm.
Angy took several deep breaths. Shattered bones in the legs, arm, ribs, and now all that remained after 168 hours was a dissipating pain in the chest. Of course, whatever was in the fluid was only temporary. Every day contained a new injection tests, and…
Speak of the devil. Hun approached the bars.
Hun sidled in, followed by five ninjas who quickly surrounded her. She stood up, resigning herself to her fear and loneliness as she stared at the metal band encircling her wrist. Blasted device. Because of it, she couldn't access any of her mysterious qualities. Something Stockman had cooked up, she supposed. She looked at Hun and took an involuntary step backwards. She was probably going to see the scientist now.
For the past week, her visits to the "good doctor" had been frequent and numerous. During the first two days it had been nothing but checkups and recovering. She thought that now they would explain some things, like why she could run so fast, why her hands did what they did.
But then they started the tests.
She wasn't sure what they did to her, other then hook her up to machines or put her in test tubes, electrifying her so that she cried out, made her solve 3D mazes. Once they even put her in a room with a smoke bomb and told her to disarm it. Once she saw a sheet lying next to her tube. Upon closer inspection, it read. "Experiment #996 passed with exceptional results." They had forced her to touch people with her bare hands for that one, and then when she came to, questioned her about what she saw, shocking her through the metal band if she didn't answer right away.
The thing she hated most was her incapability to fight them. She had to just take it without a complaint, for when she fought them, she was beaten into submission. She would stay up at night crying for hours on end, wishing that she could somehow get away from this place, but every morning she woke to find the same shadow in her doorway, the same tests ahead of her, and the same endless torment.
But this morning something was different. There was an extra sickening aspect to Hun's pleasure this morning. She stared at him and took another step backwards.
"Ok Hun, I'll bite. What's going on?"
Hun laughed at the treble in her voice. She wasn't as scared as she was going to be.
"The Master has asked to see you. He wants to know how your progress is going, and just maybe, he'll be willing to tell you what you were made for," He turned and the ninjas began to jostle her out. "What you were really made for."
"…Made for?" Angy didn't like the sound of that. Before she had time to protest, Hun pushed her into an elevator. He pressed a few buttons, and the elevator began to rise. Silence filled the small cramped space until they reached their destination, where Angy was pushed out into a hall resembling that of a Japanese Shogun. Before she had time to admire her surroundings, the ninjas once again dragged her across the hallway. Two solid black oak doors stood before her, and she only managed to catch a glimpse of the strange Foot symbol before the doors were opened and she was thrown onto the floor. Used to this kind of behavior, she merely stood back up-
…and froze.
There, standing in front of her, was a huge cheese grater.
This had to be the Shredder. She heard numerous descriptions from the turtles while in the Lair. Mikey was right, all that hardware could make some serious coleslaw. On a second glance, she saw eyes, spiky shoulder pads, and a deadly claw on the left hand. The being stared at her from underneath it's strangely shaped head with eyes as red as blood, something she had seen all too often in these last few days. She took a small step back and let out a small gasp as he slowly advanced toward her, his feet not making a sound as he seemed to glide across the carpet. He stopped two feet in front of her, his eyes looking her up and down before speaking in a low, grinding vice to his subordinate.
"This is the product of the experiment? The one who eluded you for so long?" As he spoke, the ominous figure slowly made his way in a circle around her. The thought that she was this close to such a terrible person made her shake inside. She felt dirty just being in his presence.
"Yes, Master. This is the girl. All her tests show that she is complete, and Stockman is readying the mind regulator so that she'll be constantly in her original state. He says it will take some time but he will have it ready in a week or so."
"What's going on?" Angy wished she could sound more confident, but all she could muster was a squeak.
The Shredder looked sharply at her, his eyes blazing. "You dare to speak to me when I have not first spoken to you?" He held his claw right under her chin. She could feel a small trickle of blood run down her neck.
"I...I just want to know what I'm doing here. Where do I come from, those types of things. I… just want to know." Her voice trailed off as the Shredder removed the claw from under her chin. She let out a shuddering breath, not knowing that she had been holding it. The thought that he touched her made her skin crawl. She gently touched the small cut on her neck as she watched him walk back to his desk.
"You were made genetically by mixing the DNA of a panther, of a fish, and of a human. The desired traits were programmed into your body, producing a highly sophisticated organism that would be the most deadly spy known to this planet or any other." The Shredder turned to her again, his eyes glinting with the cruel malevolence that he was famous for. "But before you become my elite spy, relating information to me of my enemies and assassinating those who I desire gone, the first and foremost mission awaiting accomplishment by your skills is to exterminate those infernal turtles and the rat."
Angy's eyes bulged as she merely stared at the Shredder. The turtles. She was a weapon created to kill the turtles. The family of the sewers had taken in and cared for something that was supposed to destroy them. Angy put her head in her hands, not sure what to make of this. She had done what she was programmed to do. She had led Raphael to his fiery death, and so completed one fifth of her first task. She didn't even notice when Shredder demanded to see Stockman, and how she was roughly forced to sit into a wooden chair and quickly strapped down. The only thing she could think of was the agony that she had gone through with the loss of Raphael and how she'd have to go through that same agony four more times.
She finally came back to herself when she felt a large...something being strapped to her head. It covered her eyes, blocking out her view of the room. She felt cool metal against her forehead. She thought back on all the previous tests. None of those had her do anything with her eyes closed...
"What's going on?" Angy reached to remove the headpiece, only to find that her hands had been tied down. The tide of fear began to rise in her chest. "What're you doing?"
It was Baxter Stockmen who answered. "Have no fear, #996-"
"I've told you before, my name is Anguissolah."
"You have no name. You are merely an experiment that has worked, and you shall be referred to as your serial number." His voice was matter of fact, as it always was when he was speaking about business. "Still, do not worry. This will only search your memories for the location of the turtles' headquarters so that Master Shredder may supply you with backup when you go to exterminate them."
"What?!" Angy frantically fought against her bonds. Betray them yet again? Kill the rest of the turtles after they'd been so kind to her? No, she wouldn't, Raph would never forgive her if she did that and didn't even put up a fight. She wrenched at the leather straps keeping her strapped to the chair. After several moments of futile struggle, she ceased her attempts. She couldn't do it. She failed-
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Leo scratched his head, staring at the floor in front of his crossed legs. "You sure this is gonna work, Master Splinter? I mean... I've never traveled out of my body before, at least not on purpose. How can I lead all of you in something I'm not used to?"
Splinter gave his son a smile. "I have faith in you, my son, and once you have found something, you will always find it again." He sat down with his legs folded beneath him, and his sons followed suit, sitting with their legs crossed.
Master Splinter listened to the gentle breathing of his sons as they all sank into meditation. This would be a big step for them indeed. Mastering the mind as well as the body was essential to their training. That was something that had always been a problem for Raphael. If only he could have been here-
NO! He must not think on such things. He must help Anguissolah escape from her plight. She was still alive. He had to focus on one thing at a time.
Splinter opened his eyes to check on his sons' progress. He was slightly annoyed (but not surprised) to find Michelangelo not clearing his mind, but instead totally enthralled in the task of catching a fly zooming around his head. With an inward sigh at his son's antics, he closed his eyes and went through the necessary breathing and mind clearing exercises, then slowly stepped into the familiar halls of his subconscious.
Leonardo slowly searched around, searching for the connection he found leading to Angy. He still felt it, but it was growing fainter by the second. This was why Master Splinter had insisted they attend to this now, otherwise the connections would be lost and she would be lost to them until her emotions were strong enough to reach them again, and who knew how long that would be? He felt Don and Master Splinter behind him. Mikey was probably fooling around. No use waiting for him. He reached out and grabbed the connection, then felt the sudden rush and the strange feeling of being somewhere else, but everything stayed black. He didn't know if it had worked. He'd just have to take a chance.
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-escape. She'd let them down again. She couldn't even protect the whereabouts of the others.
"Angy?" She turned toward where her name had come from. She knew who that voice belonged to..."Angy. Are you there? It's Leo." It wasn't coming from anywhere in the room...it was coming from inside her head.
"....L-Leo?" She whimpered in thought. She could hear her own thoughts in her mind, rippling through with uncertainty. "Is that you?"
"No, it's his evil twin brother pretending to be Leo. Of course it's Leo!"
"Mikey…we all are twin brothers."
"OW! Whaaaaaaaaaaaat?"
"Be serious, Michelangelo. This is no time for jesting. If you can not act properly, then return to the Lair."
Leonardo let out a sigh before he spoke. "Yes. It's me. We've reached you through meditation and are currently residing in your mind. Are you alright?"
She was suddenly overwhelmed with emotions; fear, relief, hope. "Oh thank goodness! Leo, they're going to look for you! They're going to...I'm not sure, look through my memories or something… They're looking for your home! I don't know what to do! I'm tied down and I can't stop-"
"Anguissolah!" Master Splinter's voice rang from within her, silencing Angy's pleas. "Gain control of yourself. We are inside your mind and cannot fight all the emotions you have set upon us!"
"Oh...sorry Master Splinter." She took a deep breath and willed herself to calmness. "Better?"
"Much. Angy, what are they doing? What do you mean they're trying to look through your memories?" That was Donatello. His voice sounded worried.
"I… Oh I'm so glad you're here… I'm not sure. Stockman put this metal thing on my head and it's covering my eyes. I can't see, but my hands are bound and my legs are too. I can't get out..."
"Do not worry, Anguissolah. We shall assist you."
"Don't."
"Don't what?"
"I'm not Anguissolah. It's not my name." She sighed with despair.
Outside her body, she heard footsteps, murmuring, and then silence. Suddenly, she felt something digging into her head. Something was searching, probing, not allowing her to focus on what her friends were saying or doing. All she could see were the buildings of New York, Casey, her gloves, Central Park, the Battle Shell, lots of Foot ninjas. They really were probing her memories. There she was in the Lair... no! She had to fight. She had to give them more time. They couldn't find out where it was. She strained her brain against it. She felt the tears pouring down her cheeks as she let out a cry of pain and frustration. not....let...them...succeed.
Then the pain stopped.
She heard curses coming from somewhere to her left, then Baxter Stockman yelling, calling someone an "idiot" and a "foolish illiterate" etc. etc. In a daze, Angy wondered what happened, nearly fainting from the sudden release from the pressure.
"Well, that's done. They won't have that up and running for awhile." Don sounded matter of fact, the way he always sounded when he was proud of himself or satisfied with his work.
"Great job, Donny. Now you wanna go get a lock on her location while we're still connected?
"Sure. Don't worry Angy." Don's voice was sympathetic, an attempt to be soothing and hopefully calm her down. She felt that sympathy leave, and she knew he was gone. A burning question suddenly surfaced in her mind and she hesitantly asked it, fearing the answer.
"Is....Raph with you guys?"
Silence followed her inquiry. She felt Master Splinter hesitate, and knew the answer before he spoke it.
"No, we have not seen him."
"Oh..." So he really was gone, then. Angy's mind with numb with the sudden loss of hope and the return to her misery. She felt a sudden pang of sadness within her. Leo... he must be taking this really hard...her guilt began to build up again. How could she do something like this to them? Of course, Angy was oblivious to the realization that the turtles were in her head. They could read her thoughts as clearly as day. Leo was slightly embarrassed and tried not to reveal to Angy that her thoughts were penetrated.
"Don's got your location. We'll be there soon." Leo's voice betrayed none of the emotion she knew was there. "Just hang in there, Angy."
And they were gone.
Back at the Lair, Leo stood up and looked at the rest of his family.
"We go. Tonight."
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A/N: Well everyone, I hope you enjoyed this one. Sorry it took so long to update, but I've been away and my parents said I had to participate in "family time". Forgive me! Apologies for lack of update, so it's extra long. You bet yo' mama.
(A bus full of NUNS!?!?!?)
Mikey: Why do I always get hit on the head?
Raph: -hits him on the head-
Mikey: OW! Hey! You're supposed to be dead!
Alix: We couldn't actually kill him off. –swoons- He's too awesome.
E.T.: If you don't review we'll wait until there are at least three! Muhahahahhahahaha!
