The Enemy

Disclaimer: I deny any ownership of any adult or adolescent transformed shadow warrior chelonians.

Chapter Seventeen – Seeking information.

Michaelangelo:

I was trying to not think about the fact that none of us were doing all that well. I mean we would never have won a beauty contest before hand but with our recent haggard, bruised and battered looks we were a very pathetic sight. I could see how Raph looked and I knew I felt as bad if not worse then he looked.

We had been given small bits of food rather sporadically over our capture time, enough to keep us alive but not enough to give much energy or fill the hollow gap. It was just enough food to allow them to torture us longer and to tease us with.

Still we took what little was offered and didn't worry about there being poison in it, for the simple fact we knew Yukio would want us to suffer a long time, and any poison that took that long of a time for us to die from, would also warn us it was in our system and we could counter act it easily using ninja skills.

Water was often obtained from the hose when the guards sprayed out our cell of the little refuse or what have you. But the guards often loved to hit us with a hard spray so that snatching water was difficult at best.

Even though I had decided to side with my daughter and help her where I could, I still felt loyalty to my own family and to the hierarchy of our clan. I really had no interest in endangering them while I tried to get through to my daughter.

I knew Yukio's threat of killing Karena or one of the twins when or if we tried to turn his daughter. Yet the fact of the matter was Yukio wasn't going to let them live either.

Even Leo had to know that was true.

Yes Yukio would probably kill one of them if he got wind of anything, but even if he didn't, what was to stop him from coming down and killing them for the sake of doing so just to shake us up?

No, in the end Karena and the twins would be killed, they would suffer the same fate we would. It was only a matter of time.

Suddenly Rama came in and I knew instantly she was here for me, that she had a bad day, or maybe a good day, and nothing could finish it better then torturing me.

" Leave Mike alone" Raph snarled at her, " If you can't play nice with your toys you won't be allowed to play with them at all."

I almost laughed, as I suddenly realized that had been one of Rama's rules as a child, she was not to deliberately destroy or wreck any of her toys.

" I don't have to listen to you" she hissed, " He is mine to do with as I please." Was her quick retort.

" Haven't you done enough to Mike?" Leo demanded.

" When he is dead I will have done enough" She replied grimly.

I gazed up at her from my sitting position on the floor, she looked tired, as if she hadn't been sleeping well, she had a bit of a haunted look in her eyes and I could feel that her mind was in turmoil confused, scattered.

My heart ached seeing her like this, only a few days before she had seemed so confident but that was slipping out from under her, evaporating, eroding, causing a deterioration that was inescapable as the shackles that bound us.

Still she seemed able to perform her natural moves and was still cautious enough to make sure there was no way I could gain the upper hand while she unshackled the cell chains and forced me to my feet binding me up again for our trip to one of the practice rooms, or torture chambers with in the Foot headquarters.

Once in one of the practice rooms she knocked me to the floor and secured my feet tying rope from one hand to bits of rope around my ankle but for some reason she left one hand free.

I noticed, from where I was lying on the mats, a cupboard of sorts in one corner of the room and once Rama was assured that I was secured and not about to go anywhere she walked over to it and took an item from within, she turned to face me then an evil smile on her face as she displayed the weapon she just picked.

It was a relative of my own nunchuks only it had a second chain and a third handle, it was called the sa tjat koen. It was an effective tool for entangling feet or arms, due to the extra length it was useful for choking victims with. However for quick sudden strikes in battle the chuks had the sa tjat koen beat, also chuks were far better as a paired weapon then this weapon happened to be.

This girl had a great deal of irony in her. She seemed to have a thing for besting us by using our preferred weapons against us, I recalled how she had helped beat both Raph and Leo when she had infiltrated our home.

Alright I had an idea what she now planned to do with me, she would use the sa tjat koen on my free wrist, and I knew it was going be mighty painful, hell she could break my wrist in a few places with ease with that weapon to apply the pressure.

I took a deep breath preparing myself mentally for what I knew just had to come, and meanwhile my mind tried to come up with some possibility of how, I could, maybe get through to her.

Rama walked behind me dropping to one knee the other leg propped up so she could push off on her foot that was flat on the floor if necessary, as she wrapped the sa tjat koen around my wrist.

" So you want to tell me things like before perhaps? Do you have more stories to tell me, like the ones of Baka and Splinter?" she inquired her voice thick with scorn.

" Ain't you a little old for bedtime stories Rama?" I demanded.

She twisted the handles of the weapon applying direct pressure to my wrist. I gritted my teeth sucking in air as I did so. I was sure she was going to break my wrist but the pressure eased ever so slightly.

" Rama what kind of foolish name is that supposed to be?" She shot out.

Since she had asked I decided to tell her " Your name is Ramiela. I used parts of Raph's name and mine to come up with your name," I explained, yet I fully expected some sort of quick reprimand from her.

The pressure on my wrist eased again. I was somewhat puzzled by that because it didn't make sense but I opted to keep talking just to see what would happen " You were born April fifteenth. Raph was your favourite Uncle and Leo was your Sensei."

Still no added pressure on my wrist from the weapon wrapped around it, I could almost sense her listening, almost expectantly, for more.

Did Rama really want to hear about who she was? Was she by chance willing to listen now? Was she finally coming around?

If that truly was what she wanted right now, then I was quite willing to provide the information she was seeking but I had one fear, that clouded my willingness to comply, what if Rama was to later tell Yukio of what I had told her?

" You picked up things very quickly, in fact some of the things you learned you did so through observation. Like how you managed to steal Raph's sais from him on a regular basis by using ninja stealth." I told her.

I had decided to gamble that she wouldn't tell Yukio about this. I took a deep breath before I continued hoping silently that I was doing the right thing.

" You loved words when you were little, always wanted to know what new words meant and trying to say these really big words. You had a very good memory and lots of energy."

A quick jabbing pain that travelled from my wrist up to my arm suddenly silenced me and I had to wonder if I had been mistaken about her intentions, or perhaps I had said too much. A bad habit of mine saying far more then was necessary, sometimes I just didn't know when to shut up.

" You think I am related to you?" She asked.

" I know you are Rama. I have pictures of you at home, all kinds of them from the time you were born to the time you disappeared," I admitted, " I was there when Don delivered you and he later did a blood test that confirmed you were, my daughter."

" Right" she snorted in disbelief, " Then how did I ever end up in this lab?"

I scowled, " A lab I don't know about any lab" I protested, " You went out for a walk one day shortly before your seventh birthday and you never returned. We searched every where, almost literally, left no stone unturned. We found nothing" I insisted.

" Who is Jessie?" Rama snapped.

" I don't know I never heard of any Jessie." I knew she was after something seeking information of some sort but I had a feeling she didn't care for my answers, if anything she seemed to be growing angrier.

" If I was your child what did I like or dislike?" She demanded sharply.

" Like your favourite colour was aqua or yellow, food pancakes, loved root beer to drink" I replied, " As for favourite toys and games that changed with your age but you always enjoyed going out to the farm, playing sports and you loved animals of all kinds, even imaginary ones" I smiled a bit as I recalled how interested Rama had been in horses, dragons, unicorns and that sort of thing.

I just kept hoping that it wouldn't come back and bite me later.

" You liked ninja weapons, singing and joking around." I sighed wishing for her to be more like that again. " As for dislikes you hated being punished, didn't like broccoli or brussel sprouts." I rolled my eyes, " You hated a good number of your rules and thought Don's school lessons were boring. You hated the colour grey and absolutely loathed spiders and needles." I concluded.

" I suppose you even had a special father/daughter time together?" She mocked, " Or perhaps a favourite saying."

" Matter of fact we did." I agreed, " usually when I tucked you into your bed at night time we would talk for awhile before you went to sleep." I smiled and felt a few tears at the bitter sweet memory of those times. " I used to tell you that I was going chuck you out of your shell when you got into trouble, course I was only joking about that. I also told you how much I loved you."

" Yeah, right. You forgot all about me!" She accused as she twisted the weapon

I gritted my teeth waiting for the pressure she was applying to give off the sickening sound of bones breaking.

" If father could find me in the lab. How come you didn't?" She raged at me, " You didn't want me did you? Now that your life is on the line you have changed your mind!"

"No Rama I have never forgotten you, or given up on you. I couldn't even accept in my heart that you were dead" I confessed, " I continued to look for you long after the others gave up hope and said there was just no way."

" Liar!" she roared at me.

Suddenly one end of the sa tjat koen rapped me across my mouth good and hard. I hadn't even felt it unwrap from around my wrist, but I could taste the coppery unmistakable texture of blood in my mouth.

" You are never going keep your big mouth shut are you!" She hissed in fury.

I felt the weapon wrap around my throat, too late for me to protect the area by ducking down a bit into my shell. I could only brace myself knowing in the state she was in at this moment she could possibly kill me. I felt the pressure ease up as I was close to blacking out.

I fought for air as she set about releasing me.

It seemed our session was now over.

My wrist was throbbing, my mouth hurt and I was fighting for air as she lead me back to the prison cell. I could sense my brothers concern for me, as they all looked my way.

I was ninja, I could handle a little torture, as Leo well knew, but I knew he was concerned not just for me, but also for Karena and the twins. He might be afraid at what I may have said that might endanger their lives.

I looked at the guards as Rama left and I knew for a fact that if I said Rama they would tell Yukio about it.

I didn't say anything to jeopardize them Leo, I told him, all right so I may have stretched the truth a little with that statement, by way of mental communication, though I found that short message to be exhausting.

I could only hope that something I had said may help Rama find the answers she was looking for, and I prayed that she wouldn't betray me to Yukio.

TBC

Lunar Ninja: Yes, I am afraid a little more Mikey torture. Poor Rama/Kirra just can't seem to help herself when it comes to that. A gratitude for your insight.

Reinbeauchaser: Yes her memory is getting stronger. Gaps are quickly filling in and as you can tell Mike tried to be very careful while doing what he could to protect his family and help Rama along as well. A gratitude for your insight.