Echo and Narcissus

Part 3

Raph slowly came to his senses, though his eyes were still shut. He moved every part of his body to make sure he was not hurt, and then he slowly struggled to open his eyes. At first he could no determine if he had done so, all he could see was black. Quickly he put his hands down to take out his sais, but they were not there,

'Where the shell am I?' he asked to no one in particular,

'Obviously, you're in a pitch black cave,' Raph heard a familiar voice call from nearby. Blindly, Raph felt around him and his hand came in contact with a shell,

'Mikey? Is that you?'

'Who were you expecting,' Mikey joshed with his brother. Raph decided that the question had been rhetorical and didn't answer.

'Where are Leo and Donny?'

'I don't know, when I woke up, I couldn't find them.' Mikey responded

'Great, of all the turtles to get stuck with, it had to be you,' Raph angrily cried out, thrusting a fist into open air, 'We need to find a way to get out of here.'

'Once again, thank you Mr. Obvious,' Mikey joked again, nearly immediately Mikey stopped laughing, he could tell that Raph was clearly not in the mood. Slowly, Mikey placed his hand on his brother's shell and the two of them tried to make their way out of the dark cave. The cool rock under Raph's hand was getting colder and icier as he walked. The upside, Raph's eyes were becoming accustomed to the dark and he could see where he was going. The grey rock slowly turned an onyx black as every step was taken. The rock under their feet was turning to warm sand, shifting under heavy footfalls.

'Do you know where you're going?' Mikey asked his big brother behind him

'Mikey, if you say another word, I'll shut yer trap permanent like.'

'Alright, I get the picture, I mean all you had to do was tell me to stop,'

'Mikey,'

'Really, I would have stopped right away; I get it now, no more talking,

'MIKEY,'

'Really though, all you had to do was ask, I would have stopped because you're my big brother and I care 'bout you,' Raph sighed, 'this is going to be a long walk,'

The sun was beating down on the little lake in the forest. The clouds lumbered by, the bug hummed lazily as they glided through the air. The trees cast a long shadows and the wind was gently swaying them. Leo opened his eyes; the birds were looking down on him from the large willow tree he was lying under. As he woke, they took flight, twittering madly as the gambolled around with one another.

'What is going on?' He asked himself; slowly he registered what was around him. In front of him was the lake, to the left were more trees and to the right was a cave. 'Where are my brothers?' He asked himself again, realizing that Donny, Raph, and Mikey were not with him.

'Don't worry your head off,' A strange voice came from the other side of the tree, 'Your brothers are perfectly fine,' The voice was light and care-free, it was clear and sounded like silver bells on pure glass.

'Who are you?' Leo called out, reaching for his katana's, He grabbed empty air, and then he noticed that his weapons were not there.

'My name is Gabrielle, and you?' The voice was innocent enough to abate Leo's anger, but he did not let his guard down, he still didn't know what this Gabrielle person had done with his brothers.

'Leonardo, where are my brothers?' He called to the voice

'Hey, Leo, there you are!' Raph called to him, as he and Mikey emerged from the cave,

'Raph! Are you guys alright?'

'Yeah bro, wait, where's Donny?' Mikey asked stepping out from behind Raph

'He wasn't with you?'

'We thought he was with you.' Raph was starting to get angry again, the tension in his voice was clear.

'Gabrielle, there is one more of my brothers. Where is he?' Leo started

'The other turtle? There was another?' Gabrielle stated in a spiralling small voice, 'The purple, wearing, bandanna, turtle?'

'Yes, where is he?' Leo was starting to get panicky

'OOoohhhhhh, that turtle!' The girl began to laugh a little. Like her voice, her laugh seemed more and more like a cascade of shooting stars, 'He was sleep-walking, I had to move him with the red and orange turtles, but maybe he got up again!'

'Don? Sleep-walking?' Mikey whispered under his breath. Leo sighed and turned to his brothers.

'When was the last time Don was sleep-walkin?' Raph asked

'Yesterday night, I was meditating and I saw him walk around the lair, Leo's mood then changed again, 'Wait! We still don't know where his is! Gabrielle, show yourself right now!'

'Leonardo, I can't help you with your brother. But I can tell you this and maybe it will help. "Your brother seeks your happiness; he does only what he can to help you."' A sudden gust of wind shook the lake, the trees and the grass. Then there was silence.

A.N: I am sooooooo sorry for the long wait, I just got back from a two week cruise to the Bahamas. I'll try not to leave you guys hanging for that long again.