DISCLAIMER – You're all going to be in for quite a shock. Believe it or not, I don't own the TMNT's, Seth, Gaele, Devon, Thomas, Rahab, any and all towns, roads, byways, bridges, and cactus that gets mentioned in my stories.
I only own Gabby, Min, and her sibling. Oh, and the storyline.
Well, this chapter sums up the chase and in more ways than one. However, it's not the end of the story, yet. I'll have a total of 10 chapters, which may or may not include the epilogue. I was thinking about angsting this baby to death, but now I'm not sure. I'm a sucker for happy endings, or as close as I can get to them. So, either way, we're all going to be surprised by the ending.
Chapter Six – It's Her!
Raph did not like sitting, at least, not for this long. Already, his tail had been in one spot for an entire hour. The only way he would ever subject himself to such abuse was for a movie – and it had to be more than just a good movie for him to sit that long. Lord of the Rings had been one, but even then, he grouched to himself afterwards that it would have been just as good if he had waited for the trilogy to come out on DVD.
Three hours without a pot to pee in was more than his fifty plus years could handle back then.
Raph looked down at his nearly empty glass and wondered if maybe he would have another go-round when the server returned with Mike's refill. Then again, he could not afford to get drunk and hinder the retrieval of his daughter – and grandkids.
Moreover, if things did not start happening soon, he would definitely have to take a restroom break.
Gabby. She just didn't make any sense to him. It wasn't because she was singing in a bar, because he himself had played in a band for a while, that is until arthritis kicked in. It was taking off the way she did, taking Mindy, putting her unborn child in danger, and then having the baby by herself.
So much 'bad' could have happened because of it.
"It was just damn lucky she survived," he grumbled silently, "Gives me a chance to wring that brat's neck!" he complained to himself.
He looked around the large expansive room and wondered when the waitress was coming back again. Just thinking about what his daughter did made him want to reconsider that drink.
Raph looked over at Don and Cassie. He smiled. He was genuinely happy for his brother. For once, his brother had a relationship that did not try to kill him or end up dying from some horrible disease. It just seemed so incredibly ironic that the woman to steal and win Don's heart had tried to kill the entire family almost fifty years earlier. Yet, Raph knew that Cassie was not the same person as she had been back then.
He still thought it hilariously ironic, though.
Of course, because of her and all that Cassie had to go through, she had given Raph a daughter.
"Where's that waitress, Mike? How long ago did you ask for that refill?" Raph grumped quietly.
"Sheesh, Raph, she just left a second ago. You wanting to get drunk or something?" Mike chided good-naturedly, sucking on what remained of the ice from his glass.
"Would be a good idea, with the way I'm feeling." Raph mumbled.
"Not a good idea if we have to book out of here." Don murmured quietly. "Maybe you need to just sit back and try counting the dots in the ceiling tiles; get your mind off of her."
Chuckling, Raph mused, "'S like asking a bird not to fly, Don. Can't help it; she's all I've thought about for half a decade."
"As all of us have, Raph." Leo countered softly.
Raph tilted his head back and worked it around, trying to release some of the muscles in his neck. Mike nudged him.
"What?" Raph whispered irritably as he shot his youngest brother a look.
"Don't do that." Mike admonished, "It's what you do and Gabby will spot it if she's looking."
"She's not looking, trust me," his brother huffed, ceasing his movements, "She doesn't have a clue we're here, okay? How can she? She's been up here for – what – six months, now - maybe?" Raph shook his head, "And before that, she was in Montana for two years, maybe three."
Raph thought about the reclusive cabin the tracker had found at the end of a box canyon just west of Butte. The location offered the perfect hideaway for Gabby, with only one way in and a rather concealed route at that. She had long vacated it before Don's men had any idea she was there, and, as far as anyone knew, she was clueless that the family was now aware of it.
Raph saw the barmaid and raised his glass at her. As she acknowledged him and began making her way to where he sat, Raph exclaimed determinedly "This time, we'll get her. And, if we don't," he looked at all three of his brothers, "then she's going to get a taste of her own medicine."
Once he had his order made, Raph relaxed once more. He thought back to the early stages of what had become termed as 'The Great Chase'. He chuckled a little, remembering Gaele's indignation with getting sewer goop all over her rump, ruining her jeans in the process, and the good-natured ribbing he gave her along the way to the lair.
The lair, though, nearly sucked the breath right out of him. Nothing had changed, other than a collection of dust and spider webs. It brought back memories of old, both good and bad, but – amazingly – the good ones outweighed the not so good ones. Splinter was alive, then, and they didn't have the complicated lives they now had. Oh, it wasn't all 'peaches and cream', that was certain, but the demands were simpler. Fight the Foot, eek out a living, and once a year go out and visit April's farm.
Simple, unlike now, unlike it was almost five years ago.
As Raph recalled, after they had returned to topside from checking out the lair, it took another week before the next rumor had Gabby and her children residing in Spain. During that time, where they waited for the next bit of news, they had checked into Don's penthouse to recuperate. Although they would have preferred to keep chasing Gabby, they didn't have a clue in which direction to go. It was imperative, Leo decided, that they rest up until they had one.
While they were resting, eating, and thinking about where Gabby could have gone, Mike and Devon returned to California and back to work at the music studio. Gaele's job called her back to Connecticut, as well, leaving just Leo, Raph, and Seth to pick up the slack in their hunt.
By this time, Gabby had been on the run for nearly two weeks, without any sign of slowing down.
It was all very frustrating for Seth, not to mention for everyone else, too.
Taking one of Don's 747 jets, they crossed over the Atlantic and into Spain. Supposedly, their contact had seen her in Zaragoza. However, the man opted to wait for Leo and the team to arrive before making contact with the target location. When they gained entry into the suspected house, it was empty and it looked as if it had been for some time.
With that dead end, they decided to check out Don's residences in other parts of Europe. This took them to England and France, with word coming in during that time that someone fitting Gabby's cloaked description was in Greece. They followed that lead, only to come up just as empty as before. As much as they would have preferred going home, though, they followed all clues provided them by Don's men and there appeared to be more than enough to consider.
It seemed that 'sightings of Gabby' had snowballed into a frenzy, which fed upon itself and gave Raph pause, wondering if Don's men really knew who they were looking for.
"Makes me question who he has employed for this operation. Are they getting paid by the hour or by the clue?" he had grouched irritably one evening as the jet coursed its way across the Mediterranean Sea.
International customs for each country were unprepared with what to do with the three, yet with valid passports, their appearance wasn't enough of an excuse to detain them. Just the same, all three ninja were getting a bit tired with having to explain themselves to the local authorities.
"As 'international' as Don is, you'd think someone would have seen the resemblance!" Seth grumbled as they flew off from Morocco.
From there, the trail led them to South Africa, only to turn up 'zilch' on what had been affectionately termed by Devon, when they were still in the states, as the 'Gabriella radar'. Australia was next on the list and then India, with a stop in Cambodia. Japan was their last target point and which ended their quest. They had all hoped that Gabby would have lost her nerve and stop in to rest, maybe even give up.
Yet, when they confirmed that she wasn't in any part of Japan, it felt as if Gabby had fallen off the face of the earth. Their trek had taken six months, ten days, and fifteen hours from the initial discovery of her disappearance, only to end up with nothing more for their efforts than a few dozen custom stamps inside their passports.
Nevertheless, by that time, Don had recovered from his ordeal and was chaffing to get into the mix of things. As they headed back to the states, he joined them as they flew off for home.
Once back in Big Sur, however, Seth literally collapsed in despair and grief, if not exhaustion. No one could console him, except Devon, where he personally understood such a loss with what his brother was going through. He would force his brother out of the smaller house and into the forest behind the estate, spending hours in there just walking the reserve. Often, no words were necessary, their ninja skills helping to maintain a line of thought or two. In the end, it was quite therapeutic for both brothers, as they seemed to help the other cope with their combined loss.
Just the same, not one member of the clan gave up, not one clue ignored, or one rumor dismissed. With every member of the family on the lookout for anything or anyone unusual making the news, they all kept an on-going vigilance trying to find Gabriella. They subscribed to every major paper throughout the country and from various cities abroad, having all papers delivered to Mike's estate.
After a while, the entire family, including Cassie, set aside one day a week to research the hundreds of newspapers and reading any article that sounded suspicious. Mike had the wall under the stairs dedicated to anything related to Gabby. Music, language, anything on children, whatever article piqued the family's interest and promised the smallest of clues they had taped to the wall.
At one point, Rahab had grouched about how they were beginning to look more like a newsroom than a home. Nevertheless, she truly couldn't blame anyone for their dedication.
She missed Gabriella, too, as did Riahna.
In his earnest to find his wayward niece, though, Don had dedicated all of his available resources. He expended whatever funds necessary to gathering information that would lead them to Gabriella's whereabouts. Although she had sorely vexed him initially when he first brought her out to California, Gabby's caring ways and her gentleness had won him over.
Yes, she definitely had her father's temper and his stubborn ways, but also, like her father, she cared deeply for others.
Of course, Gabriella's quick mind and eagerness to learn endeared herself to Don even more.
At any rate and despite the deep sadness that hung over the family, in time Don managed to charm Cassandra into his life. Once the 'world tour' of trying to find Gabby had ended, Don had asked Cassie to marry him.
She quickly accepted his offer, her own sadness needing companionship. They had a private ceremony in the garden area of Don's new mansion, just up the way from Mike's place, with Thomas giving Cassie away. It was rather fitting, considering how close Thomas was to the family.
Overall, it was a brief happiness, which helped to cast a short-lived and welcoming fragrance over the clan. Then, new rumors filtered in through new informants. With leads coming from the various news articles, eventually they were on the hunt once again. To give everyone a break and a bit of normalcy from time to time, they ended up splitting into teams. Yet, no matter where they looked or whom they told, no one had seen Gabby or the children.
In the end, the strain of looking and seeking, yet finding nothing was beginning to take its toll.
As a result, Mike and Rahab fought more frequently, forcing Mike to take to the den downstairs come bedtime. Riahna reverted more often to her early days of autism, an obvious sign of stress. She even stopped her gardening, opting to sit for hours at a stretch, staring at one of Rahab's throw rugs, or walking around their edges. Even her favorite uncle had little effect on the girl.
It was all very frustrating.
As for Devon, whenever he was in town, he never stayed at home for very long, but was off doing whatever it was he did whenever life treated him unfairly. Yet, everyone knew where his heart was, where his focus seemed to be. The one time he came home drunk, he sported a new tattoo. He already had ravens etched onto his shoulder blades from when he was a teen and had Ramiela written in-between them. Now, however, Gabriella graced his right arm, with Mindy's name decorating the other.
"Ash shoon ash we find her and know the name of the new one, their'sh ish goin' jush below Mindy'sh!" he crowed drunkenly
Raph chuckled a bit at his son's inebriated state, asking, "So, what happens if she and Seth end up having twelve more kids?"
That gave Devon a reason to pause, yet quickly he countered as he laughed, "Well, I shtill have my other arm, my two legsh, and a reeaally long tail!" which caused the rest of the family to snigger right along with him.
It was a light-hearted moment and yet the seriousness was all too real. If they failed to find Gabby and her children, then the family would never fully recover. Cassandra was incapable of conceiving, her maternal clock well past the midnight hour for such things. Therefore, only Gabby and her children had the potential to add to the small clan of mutant reptiles.
For them, her children were the future of their family; it was what Gaele had confirmed just before Don finally discovered Gabby in Alaska. They had hoped that a bit of genetic manipulation would result in some success with interspecies mating. However, with Gaele's tireless research on genetic mutations, the news was devastating when it proved that Devon, Riahna, and she would never be able to produce children. That is, so long as their only viable means for a mate were human.
As it was, Ramiela had been Devon's only hope for a normal marriage, but her sudden return to her own universe four years earlier during Don's rescue thwarted that chance. Despite hours of meditation with only one brief exhilarating experience of physically crossing over into her world, Devon had been unsuccessful in finding a permanent way to bridge the two worlds. As it was, he had used drugs to do it with, which earned him a stern lecture from Leo and an almost untimely appointment with death. He had been very lucky, that much was impressed upon him. Consequently, Leo banned him from trying to contact Rama any further. Where it had taken an illegal substance to do the trick anyway, it was just as well.
Now, the most Devon could hope for was companionship.
Just the same, his disappointment in losing Rama had soured his entire outlook on life, much worse than it was before. His only consolation was that, at least with his sister's children, he might have experienced the joy of raising a family, albeit in the role of a favored uncle. Now, with his niece and her sibling gone, it made life more depressing for him.
As a result, it gave him an edge to his attitude that even Leo was having problems dealing with.
Overall, Gabriella's disappearance had taken a serious toll with everyone in the clan.
Now, where they thought they had finally found her and as Raph sat in the darkened booth of the nightclub, here they were – again – hoping against hope. Although, they still had faith that this 'sighting' in Alaska was more than just a rumor, Raph knew that many of the informants ended up giving them nothing more than a false lead. They had scoured the world with the proverbial 'fine-toothed comb', but their lack of success was beginning to thin down their resistance and enthusiasm.
As a result, Raph's and the other clan members' anticipation was beginning to wear thin.
Yet, where Don mentioned only moments earlier, Raph realized that they had only looked in the warmer temperate zones. Not once did they think or believe that Gabriella would consider a less hospitable place to hide - such as in Alaska.
Still, as they waited for the show to begin, a subtle anxiety began to creep within the folds of their ninjitsu, safe from prying minds, but certainly underscoring their time in booth eight. The older members had positioned Seth between Leo and Raph to keep the young man under control. At Leonardo's left were Don and Cassandra. Opposite from them across the table and sitting to Raphael's right was Mike, with the stage area off to his right.
Devon, however, was with Thomas, waiting with the valet for Don's further orders.
Now, as the music rose and built up to a heady intensity, the lights dimmed ever so slightly as the curtains in the back parted. Don sat up just a bit straighter, having all he could do to keep from squirming. He looked over at Seth and saw the same anticipation. Catching his nephew's attention, he smiled a little, but then nodded as if to tell him to calm down.
"You, too, Uncle!" Seth mouthed with a grin.
Don had to chuckle. Just the same, he turned his attention back to the stage as the remaining patrons of the nightclub began to clap in expectation.
Suddenly, a figure of medium height and wrapped from head to toe in flowing layers of violet silk appeared in-between the curtains, almost abruptly as if materializing from thin air.
At least to the regular customers, that's how it looked.
However, not to those sitting at booth eight.
Seth smiled to himself. "That was pretty cool," he thought. "Gabby hasn't forgotten." His heart swelled a bit as the culmination of the past five years caught up with him. Yet, he shoved his emotions down again, knowing all too well that for reasons unknown to him and his family, the figure on stage seemed anxious.
Then, as the instrumental came to a climax, the singer stepped forward with graceful ease. Only the upper portion of her face was exposed, her skin a milky hue in contrast to the purple that shrouded her. Her movements were so seamless that she appeared to float across the wooden dais towards the front of the stage.
As she did, the announcer proclaimed to the audience, "And now, ladies and gents, for your evening of entertainment, The Borealis Nightclub presents to you, the mysterious, the one with the golden voice – our very own Enchantress of the Yukon!"
The Enchantress measured her steps to the beat and rhythm of the music, stopping every so often for dramatics, only to continue again. She stepped gracefully towards the single microphone stand, situated at the front and center to the stage. When she reached it, with one white, gloved hand she grasped the device, removing it gently from its holder. Then, she brought it up towards her mouth. The purple lacey veil that hung just below her eyes obscured her lips as they parted for breath. With vibrant blue eyes framed by lashes heavy with mascara, she lowered them just a little as she nodded once in appreciation to the audience's wild and enthusiastic response.
Just as the lights brightened a little more, suddenly all but one winked out. With the soloist now aglow from the single illumination, she began to sing the first song of the evening, 'No One Like You'.
The moment the singer uttered the first note, the very instant the melody came into full voice, Seth whispered in exhausted relief, "It's her!"
PACPHYS – Wow, 60 degrees; that's amazing. Yeah, we're experiencing warmer weather than we've had in recent weeks – mid 80's. Believe me, I really loved it when it was in the 60's, though. A lot! Well, I wouldn't be surprised about Boring, Oregon. LOL Really, though, I love Oregon; my in-laws are from there, my husband is from there (Mt Angel), we want to retire there, so – yeah – Oregon's a great and beautiful state. So many we know are retiring and moving there. I think people just look at the general area and decide the name that fits. Gabby is smart, a redundant fact by now, if not known beforehand and at one point, I had to get Raphers and Leo-san at odds. In Rahab, Wendy didn't pit those two together as much as she pitted Mike and Raph, but then there was a bit of competition for Rahab. I thought it hilarious the way Leo swept in under their noses and got her in the family way with none the wiser, though. LOL Truly the ninja master. If you read 'Seth', then you know that Leo has 'the look'! Well, again, moving furniture out of the way came from experience, basically what happens when you don't. :0) And Mike is Mike; he can't help 'em self. Spongebob HAD to make an appearance, it's just part of the canon of this TMNT universe, now. Anyway, thanks for reading and for reviewing. I really appreciate your faithful patronage and I'm glad this chapter made you chuckle a bit. Be blessed.
RAMICA – Oops, sorry. What I do is copy/paste the reviews where I'm going to comment. That way, I don't have to go back and forth between them. I've since taken yours off. Well, as mentioned, I have this puppy almost done! Again, I'm not certain how it's going to end. Yep, traipsing all over kingdom come cannot be good for business and marriages; it's just the way it is with most things. Mike will probably reap the most for this chase to come to an end, that is if Gabby doesn't slip through their fingers again! Not gonna tell, either:0) I try to write as it would happen and, believe me, I can see Raph wanting a minute or two with Miss Snubby. I don't doubt she'd more than comply once she sees the extent to Rapher's ire. LOL Had to get Gaele into the 'thick of things'; all things considered. Again, they can only be true to themselves and the two battling brothers had to come to blows sometime. Although, in this universe, it was Mike and Raph at odds. Well, thanks for sticking with it by reading and reviewing. I am grateful for your participation. Be blessed.
LUNAR-NINJA – So, you thought Leo and Raph duking it out was funny, eh? Glad it brought a smile to your face:0) Oh, a bit of past here, a bit of past there. I mean, they're back at the lair and the last time they were all together there was just before the invasion in Just Outside My Window. It's gotta bring back some memory of sorts. I wanted Don and Cassie together in this 'What If' story, which means if I add to the normal storyline generated from YD, they may not. Bwahaha. Hmm…lessons? OH, you mean The Art of War! Hey, glad I could help. It's a fascinating account of military campaigning that was far ahead of its time, although quite brutal in its application. Won't tell you how it teaches troops to 'ten hut' and follow orders, though. The Marines and Navy Seal have it made in the shade comparatively speaking. Thanks for reading and reviewing and sticking with this story. Be blessed..