A/N: Whee, I'm posting something fairly on time! Good for me.

Lunar-Ninja: I went out with a junior when I was a freshman…it wasn't too bad. Life without pizza…I wouldn't be too happy. Then what
would I put my weird toppings on? Peanut butter pizza, dude. The best
kind ever!

Pacphys: I've heard such things about the third movie, plus seen some
pictures. Magic of the Internet. I'm actually not too interested in
seeing it, I'm perfectly happy with the first two. Nothing can top Jim
Henson. Plus the guy at Blockbuster already thinks I'm weird. ;) And
Mikey speechless….nothing short of a miracle, eh?

The REAL Cheese Monkey: Mangling history can be quite enjoyable. I
once drew Martin Luther King, Jr. on my finger to make history more
interesting for my friend. He spent most of my little history lesson
laughing. And haste does kinda sound like food, doesn't it?

Dory's Human Replica: Well that's how the times were. You hit puberty,
you get married and have babies. And on Mikey's words confusing Henry,
I don't know if Splinter gave them history lessons, but if he did, I
wouldn't pin Mikey as the type to pay attention. I know I don't!

Chibi Rose Angel: Yes, you were right. Give yourself a pat on the
back! And you are also correct in assuming this story is about to get
a lot more interesting…trust me, there's quite a lot more to come.

Somellamafreak: Yay! Another Mikey fan! We gotta stick together,
right? Thanks for reviewing, and welcome to my bandwagon!

Gretchen: Oh man! Don't cry! I don't wanna make you cry! Look, I'm updating, see?

Forgot to do this before: I deny all ownership of the TMNT! You can't pin anything on me!

Wow, that took up a whole page….huh. Okay, well onto the REAL story!

As soon as the men had disappeared around the corner, I took off the other way, my bare feet slapping the dark stone lining the corridor. I looked around frantically, trying to pinpoint anything familiar. Everything looked the same, and I cursed the idiot that had been hired to build this palace. Or the decorator. You never can tell.

Literally skidding to a stop on the smooth stone floor, I caught sight of a large door. I pulled it open, not knowing where it led, but figuring it couldn't hurt. Famous last words I suppose. The door led to an even darker tunnel that looked as if it had been carved out of the ground. Sighing, I started to make my way down it. I was a ninja, trained to work in the dark. I found myself wishing for a nightlight.

The earthen ceiling of the passageway was low, causing me to walk hunched over. It began to be extremely uncomfortable after twenty minutes of walking in that position. The tunnel had been slanting down at first, but now it began to slope gently back up again. I sat down on the ground of a tunnel for a break.

I doubted anyone had come down the passage for a coffee break anytime recently, so I wasn't too worried about being seen. Which reminded me of something else. Those people in the dining hall should have been terrified of me, right? I mean, the people in New York are, and that's New York! Something just didn't feel right. I decided to put it out of my mind for the current moment.

Stretching my cramped shoulders, I leaned against the roughly dug wall of the tunnel. Suddenly the dirt began to give way. Losing my balance, I fell backwards, crashing through a layer of dirt, and rolling onto dry grass.

I stood up and brushed myself off, squinting in the bright sunlight. It was a lot brighter out here than in that dark palace. I looked around. I was standing in the middle of a huge field, right below the palace. A couple hundred feet away there was another large field, although this one had obstacles abstractly placed in it. I scratched my head. Weird. To the right of me was a smallish wooden building. I went towards it, hoping there would be someone to tell me how to get back to the big room where the king said he'd be.

Cautiously I pushed open the wooden door, wincing as it squeaked horribly. "Hello?" I called out. No one answered. I stepped in a little more, curious now, and easily distracted.

A large snort made me jump five feet in the air and immediately take a defensive position. I whipped around, coming face to face with a horse. In fact, it was the horse I had 'ridden' here.

"Oh." I said, laughing at myself. "It's you." Looking around some more, I found a brass plate hanging on the wall. "Hello, handsome." I said, admiring my reflection in the polished metal.

"Who are ye?" The voice that came from behind me was not scared or threatening- just curious.

I turned, and found myself facing a short, skinny man with straw-like hair. "Hi." I said. "I'm Mike." He looked at me for a long time, and I began to be very self conscious about the fact I was completely covered in dirt.

"Collen." He said finally, extending his hand. I took it, wondering why on earth he hadn't run away or screamed at the sight of me, just like the people in the palace hadn't. I decided not to address it now though. It was kind of nice not to have people screaming and running around like ants the minute you showed yourself.

"What business have ye got in the stables, then?" Collen asked. So I was in the stables. That explained the horses.

"To be honest, I'm lost." I said, embarrassed.

"Ah." Collen said, a look of understanding coming over him. "New to the palace, are ye?" I nodded. "Eh, it's nothin' to worry about," he assured me, "everyone gets lost the first time. Congratulations, by the way. I never seen any one o' ye be as smart as ye are. None o' 'em are the least bit intelligent, not one."

I was totally lost. Other ones? What other ones? There were others like me running around here? "What?" I asked, realizing he had asked me a question.

"I said, were you born in the moor as well?"

"Uh…no." I said, shaking my head. "I was born…somewhere else." I didn't feel like explaining New York and pet stores to this guy, though he was nice enough. I was about to ask him what he meant by 'others', but he beat me to the punch.

"So, where d'ye need to go? I can give directions."

Suddenly everything came flooding back to me. Coen, the two men, and the plot to kill the king. Everything I had wanted to ask Collen disappeared. "Oh! Um…what'd he call them? Chambers? Could you show me the way to King Henry's chambers, please!"

Collen looked a bit surprised. "I didna know the king new about you lot yet…but alright, follow me."

We raced through the hallways, and I breathed a sigh of relief when I began recognizing familiar things. We stopped at the foot of the curvy stairs. "Thank you," I told Collen breathlessly.

He shrugged. "T'was no problem. I gotta get back to work. You keep outta trouble, right?"

I grinned at him. He had obviously never met a ninja turtle. "Right." I said. "Thanks again." He gave a little wave, and started back down the hall.

I walked up the stairs, thinking hard. Yes, I do think, so you can wipe that stupid grin off your face whoever's reading this.

What had Collen meant about 'others'? There were no others, especially not here! There couldn't be. Could there? He had also said they weren't intelligent. Very odd. I made a mental note to find him again and ask him.

Coming to the door I pushed it open without even knocking. The ladies in the window were still there. They looked a little surprised, but then went back to sewing or whatever it was they were doing.

"Is Henry here?" I asked them hurriedly. They just stared blankly at me. I was about to repeat the question, when one of them stood up. She was tall, with dark hair. "No." she said. "He's not. May I ask what business you have with him?"

"I need to tell him something. It's important." I told her.

She looked a bit suspicious for a minute, then nodded. "I will call him."

I cocked my head. Who did this lady think she was, anyway? Whatever, it didn't matter. She was going to get Henry for me. She whispered something to one of the ladies, a blonde one this time and with a nod, Blondie was out the door at full speed.

"He will be here shortly." The woman told me. She gestured for me to sit. I sat. "May I ask what it is you wish to tell him?" she queried.

"It's kinda…private." It was, too. I didn't want anyone to know about Coen just yet. Maybe it was just a misunderstanding. And I needed him to get home.

The woman smiled gently. "I do not believe we have met…?"

"Michelangelo." I told her, "But you can call me Mike."

"I am Catherine, Michelangelo." So much for calling me Mike.

I looked her over. "Catherine? The one Henry-"

"Is to marry, yes." She finished for me. "Although it will still be a year before we are married."

"Congratulations…" I didn't know what else to say. Thankfully, Blondie came back just then, Henry in her wake.

"Ah, Michelangelo." He said, seeing me. "I see you have met Catherine. There was something you wanted to tell me?"

"Yes," I said. I looked around at all the ladies staring at me. "But uh…if you don't mind, not here."

"Of course…" Henry said, somewhat distractedly. "Catherine, I trust you'll be fine here?" She gave a little curtsy. "Good." Satisfied, Henry took me by the shoulder and led me up yet another staircase, this time into a private bedroom.

"So." He said, once we had both sat down. "What is it you wish to tell me?"

Now that I had Henry's undivided attention, I wasn't sure how to go about explaining this to him. 'Hey, some guys wanna kill you. Isn't that great?' I didn't think so.

"Well, I heard-" Before I even had a chance to start, Henry's bedroom door banged open, interrupting me. I couldn't see who it was, due to the fact I was sitting with my back to the door. I shut my mouth, a little frustrated.

Henry looked over my shoulder to see who was there, then back at me. "One moment, Michelangelo." Henry motioned to whoever stood there to come in.

As soon as he stepped into my line of vision, it was all I could do not to jump up and down and go, 'That's him! That's him! I caught you in your plan, neener neener neener.'

Coen stood in front of the king. He gave a short bow, then began talking. "Your Majesty, your enemies have been planning a rebellion-" Ha! He was one to talk. Suddenly he stopped talking and looked straight at me. "I don't believe I've seen you here before?"

I rolled my eyes. I was probably going to get this treatment forever. There were just so many people who lived here! "No, you haven't." I said shortly.

"This is Michelangelo," Henry introduced me, saving me the trouble. "Michelangelo, this is Coen, the mage I told you about?"

Coen gave me the same sort of bow he had given the king, smiling. Even if I hadn't heard him plotting to overthrow Henry, I wouldn't have liked him. His smile didn't reach his eyes, which remained icy.

I was just as confused as before. Coen was meeting me for the first time, yet, like all the others, he wasn't in the least bit surprised or scared.

Henry turned back to him. "Actually Coen, we needed you for something. Michelangelo is not from here. He was sent here by accident. We were wondering if you could send him home?" Henry looked at me to confirm his words. I nodded.

Coen's lifeless cold smile remained on his face. "I will see what I can do." He turned to Henry. "I'm sorry I interrupted, I was not aware you had a guest. My business can wait." He gave me another cold smile, then turned on his heel and left.

As I watched him go, I decided I didn't just not like Coen. I hated him.