Dream Walker

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

Our truest life is when we are in our dreams awake.Henry David Thoreau.

Chapter Four – Akuma.

Leonardo:

I kept my silent vigil at Don's bedside, my mind focusing slightly on Don, alert to any signs that he may show that he was waking up, or ones that weren't as promising. While the rest of my mind focused on the beast, itself and what we could do to stop it.

I replayed certain events of our recent battle with it I couldn't understand what had suddenly called it away from us, it could have killed us right where we were. The beast should have taken at least one life, if not more. Yet something had called it away, distracted us, it seemed suddenly intent on getting into an empty pipe. If Baxter was controlling it why didn't it go back the way we had come?

Part of winning any given match, was the knowledge you might have of your opponent. Did he favour certain moves, or a weapon? Was he calm and calculating, or stupid and reckless? With knowledge came power and often the ability to triumph over the odds and obtain a victory.

The creature though, was outside of any element I, or any of us for that matter, had ever had to face before. It was an animal to some extent and ruled by basic animal instinct but the problem was, it wasn't an average animal. I knew it wasn't like any other animal that had ever walked on the Earth at any given time, to think of it like it was just another animal could mean our downfall. This animal was a genetic nightmare.

Mike peered around the door " Leo I brought you some tea" he offered as he walked in, " How's Don?"
" About the same." I replied as I took the mug, though I wasn't really thirsty, I knew I could use a hot drink. " Thanks Mike" I murmured as I inhaled the aroma of mint, and chamomile.

" You going be joining us for breakfast Leo?" he asked almost hopefully.

I shook my head, " I'll be staying with Don" I replied.

Mike nodded as if he had expected as much " Then I'll bring you something and you better eat it" he warned me before he slipped out of the infirmary.

That was typical of Mike, he had a sensitive enough nature that he cared about all of us, any of us that was hurt he wanted to do what he could, fix us our favourite meals or drinks, or keep us company. He was the same way with a lot of the street people and stray animals. Mike had a big heart.

I glanced at the clock a scowl on my face, it had all ready been some hours since we returned home. I shifted in my chair and returned to my earlier musings.

A few minutes after I finished my tea, I noticed the slight fluttering motion of Don's eyelid a sure sign that he was starting to come around. He mumbled something incoherently as he thrashed a bit on the bed. Then his eyes snapped open and he glanced around the infirmary gaining his bearings.

" Easy Don" I whispered keeping my voice calm.

Don's eyes met mine and he gave a weak trembling smile of relief " Leo."

" How are you feeling Don?" I asked with concern.

" I feel like I have been hit by a train" he croaked, " That thing came upon me in the dump." He shook ever so slightly, " I'm glad to be home." He groaned as he tried to sit up.

" Don not so fast. You need to rest yet" I insisted trying to restrain him from any further exertions on his part.

" Leo that thing we don't have much time to stop it" Don stated firmly as he relaxed a bit nestling back down on the bed and sighing a bit with exhaustion, as if he had all ready worn himself out.

" We know it has to be stopped and the sooner the better…" I agreed.

" No our time is shorter then that." Don gave a negative shake of his head " We have to destroy it while Baxter still maintains some sort of control over the creature" he refuted. " Right now Baxter does have slight control, he is able to get the thing to respond to certain commands but that isn't going last long" Don rushed all his words together trying to get his point across now before I over threw him.

" Wait Don first thing is you have to recover" I demanded putting a little more strength in my tone.

My first priority was to ensure that Don was all right, at the moment he needed his rest far more then he needed to be discussing strategy over the monster. Much as I wanted to learn about the beast, I didn't think Don ought to be conversing about it just yet, all my senses assured me he was still fairly weak, and this would take more out of him.

Don was not a very good patient, he was very good at doctoring but he would never follow his own rules, he was not the sort to lay around and do nothing and where certain matters of importance were concerned, he could become quite stubborn in his own way.

" Leo" Don reached out with one hand grabbing my arm, I could feel by the strength in the simple grip that it was taking a great deal out of him. " Nothing is more important then trying to stop that thing," he implored.

I also realized by Don's tone and the look in his eye that this was important to him, and perhaps he needed to talk about the beast before he could be free to fully rest and relax, he was very dedicated to us all. Don might be a pacifist but I knew many of his projects and ideas were done to make things easier on us. He loved us all and wanted to help us and he did, by doing what Don did best.

I took his hand in mine and met his gaze " I know Don we are fully aware that it can break free at any given time. We know that creature could become a threat to the citizen's of New York."

" It isn't just that Leo, we have to go back there in the next few days and see if I can maybe access Stockman's files through the computer he has to have, in the office of the warehouse." Don insisted now that he knew I was listening.

I sat back in my chair and gave him a baffled expression " Don you don't even have the strength or the resources at the moment to go topside never mind facing that monster again. You are staying here!" I ordered.

Don squeezed his eyes shut " Leo this isn't just a matter of…" Don paused for a moment, " Leo it is imperative to stop that thing very soon. I can't hack into Baxter's computer he is too smart to allow hackers in, the only way I can do it is from the source." Don declared, " Look from what Baxter said this thing could be extremely dangerous. From what I heard it may have the ability to learn from its mistakes. That is why we have to stop it sooner, rather then later."

I groaned I didn't really like the sounds of this " What did you learn Don?" I asked wincing inwardly, knowing even without any ninja alarms going off with my own senses, that this wasn't going to be good news.

Don gave a weak grin " You know Baxter how egotistical he gets when he is so sure he has the right tool to defeat us, that his brains are more then up to the task of ridding New York of the Turtle Menace." He pointed out.

I nodded Baxter of course had been known to get very full of himself, most people figured he was insane, but not badly enough to be locked up as he wasn't a real threat to people.

Most people didn't believe in monsters and most didn't believe in us either, however some time ago there were two people who rather coincidentally came up with a story very similar to ours. They wrote comics up about it, and it was considered to be a bit of a joke between the two creators. Only the joke grew well out of proportion, and while they never knew, that the truth was just as strange, if not stranger, then their fiction, the fact of the matter was that we actually existed or tried to.

Unfortunately for us though, we often had to deal with the occasional human finding their way down into the sewers to find the ' ninja turtles.' Most people figured we were make believe, that is, at least for those who followed the ninja turtles stories, while the rest of the human race ignored it.

We used both to our advantage where we could, while still remaining ninja and well hidden. While we might have a few fans ready to protect us if they ever learned the truth, there were still too many humans who would exploit us for their own gain. We all preferred our privacy.

" Yes" I confessed " So Baxter I take it boasted to you?"

" Strutting in front of the cage after he locked me up hand feeding his pet" Don scoffed, " Baxter found a Government funded genetic research lab that was working with dogs and apes in hopes of increasing their intelligence and ability to reason."

" Reason, As in cause and effect?" I asked doubtfully.

Don nodded, " Success might have lead to using these animals for possible infiltration missions, at least that is my guess. Baxter got Shredder's Foot to go in and liberate a few of the animals to make it seem like animal rights activist did it" Don explained, " But the soldiers were also supposed to take digital pictures, or copy all of the research they could find. Baxter was then able to duplicate the process with less trial and error."

" Genetics isn't exactly Baxter's specialty" I remarked.

" No of course it isn't. I have a feeling that he had a partner who was knowledgeable in the area, perhaps the person who gave Baxter the info about the place to begin with" Don agreed, " Either way the genetic code had all ready been tampered with to increase the intelligence, then Baxter fiddled with it some more using bear, human and crocodilian DNA."

" That explains the hard hide then" I muttered.

Don nodded " The end result is the beast. Baxter controls it through a series of microchips planted under the skin that gives off electrical pulses to the nerve endings."

I furrowed my brow " Would those electrical pulses be strong enough to kill the beast?"

" I don't know Leo. I don't think so. Baxter I don't think would want to kill the thing just stun it" Don replied his eyes were starting to get that droopy look and I could tell he was fighting to stay awake, " I might be able to do it from the computer in the warehouse but if the pulse is too strong it could only fry the microchips making them useless and the beast free of any restraint."

" In which case we would still have to find a way to kill it" I groaned this task was sounding far more risky and dangerous with everything that I had learned.

We had played the odds before many times and had won, but the problem of playing against the odds was the fact, that sooner or later you would lose, and most likely when the time to lose came you would do it in a big way.

" From all of Baxter's boasting of how the creature was created, the tampering of the genetic code to such an extent, means that it might be capable of things that we are not aware of. The only way to know what we are truly up against Leo is to find a way to stop it" Don's gaze became firm and hard " We have to kill it soon."

This, I had to remind myself, was Don the pacifist of our group, recommending that we kill and do it fast, course Don was also enough of a ninja to realize sometimes killing was better. Since he had all ready faced the monster he had a better idea then the rest of us what we were up against. This wasn't just his pacifist nature talking, but his ninja and his logical mind speaking as well.

Problem was we were all to weak at this moment to go and face another round of this creature, in our present condition trying to sneak Don in to access the files or computer would be asking for trouble.

" Promise you'll consider it Leo" Don pleaded as he shut his eyes and heaved a heavy sigh. It had taken him a great deal to relay this and he had worn himself out.

I regretted letting him push so hard, yet I felt in the end it would do him better. I could only hope that I was right about that.

Don knew even without hearing me say it, that I would consider the idea.

I had the people of New York to consider, there was a dangerous animal in the city one that posed an extreme threat to the citizens who lived here. The Government probably had not wanted their experiments to go as far as what Baxter had taken his beast.

Still no one would believe that the monster existed, the Government might even try to cover such a thing up for fear they had allowed something to slip through.

Don also knew if there was a quick way to get rid of this beast; that I would prefer to do it now before things grew out of proportion.

Still I had no other option then to wait for a few days time before we were ready to go back to the warehouse to find the information Don was hoping to get. We needed a great deal more time, but we didn't have it. We could only make our move in the time given to us to do so.

At times like this I often wished that my brother's didn't look to me for guidance as it seemed I was a poor choice, as I often lead them into danger. Then again a leader often had to go where others feared to tread. The difference was having the ability to stir enough confidence and faith in the troops so they were willing to follow and fight hard, not just go blindly like cows to slaughter. I had to instill in my brothers the courage and determination to see the job through.

My brothers had followed me down dangerous paths before. I knew they would risk their very lives for me and that helped to forge a bond between us, to help face other difficult and trying times, making us able to withstand pressures that others would crumble under.

I knew all of that.

I also knew in the end it was up to me to decide if risking all of our lives was worth it.

Jennifer:

For a few nights I hadn't dreamed at all of the beast or of the turtles and I hoped that maybe, I was over whatever had bothered me to begin with. Then it came again the night before I left to visit my aunt in New York.

I dreamed of the warehouse where the beast was kept, its angry roars and howls filled the air and it kept testing the bars and being shocked, I could almost feel the electrical currents that attacked the thing and caused it to yelp in pain.

Then in almost a violent rampage the animal lunged at the bars grabbing hold of them and began to bend them, it was shocked time and again but it refused to let go.

It snarled in anger and continued to use its massive strength to bend and break the bars of the cage.

Suddenly it pushed its way out and free. The monster then dropped to all fours giving short sharp barks, before moving in a rapid pace towards a far corner of the room. There the beast rose up and banged on a door denting the door, it shook its head and roamed around a corner to a glass window, it went up on hind legs and using the upper part of the body, crashed into the glass breaking it. Instantly the animal lunged into the office area and grabbed hold of a terror stricken man.

I heard his screams the roaring of the monster itself, but every thing else faded to red then black.

The beast emerged later covered in blood it looked weak and huffed a bit, the short nose wrinkled as if catching a scent then the animal rambled, staggering almost drunkenly off, leaving the warehouse.

Then still in my dream I saw the turtles approaching the warehouse, they didn't seem to know that the animal wasn't held there any more.

Perhaps it had only gone off to die and there was nothing to fear, but a part of me told me it couldn't be that easy. I wanted to warn them of the danger but I couldn't reach them in any way, though I shouted often.

I saw that Mike had swords strapped to his back his trusty familiar nunchuks were missing. I thought it very odd to see Mike without the weapon that I had always thought of as his.

Don was also in the group though he moved a bit slower, one arm was wrapped in a sling and the other three turtles stayed close, forming a protective ring about him. Don carried a staff but on one end of the staff was a sharp spear head.

They all moved quietly and with great caution as they entered the warehouse.

" Eww, that is ripe" Mike murmured wrinkling his muzzle.

Raph stopped short in front of the others and Don bumped into him, causing the turtle in red to cast a dirty look over his shoulder at the wounded ninja.

" No damn way!" Raph muttered, his mouth curling into a sneer. Though I could see a hint of shock in his eyes.

" What Raph?" Mike asked. He was bringing up the rear and couldn't see what the others had.

" The beast it has broken loose." Leo replied sombrely.

Don leaned a bit on his staff and headed towards the office area, he shook his head as he saw what was left.

There was a large shelf full of controls and a computer, but the computer had been smashed, flattened by the sheer force of a blow, the board of controls and buttons was also smashed with blood on it, and wires dangling every direction from under and on top of the shelf.

In a pool of blood on the floor lay the body of the human, his head had been turned around as if put on backwards, the eye sockets gouged out, the body was covered in blood.

Mike looked at the mess in the office and turned gagging, a bit though nothing came out, it was merely dry heaves. He stood up straight but looked decidedly ill.

" Were too late Leo. Baxter is dead" Don shoulder's slumped, " And there is no way I can retrieve any information from what is left of that." He gestured to the control board and computer.

Leo sighed wearily a dejected expression crossed his face, then his features seemed to harden as if he realized then that he had only lost the battle and the war was yet to begin " That means it is up to us to stop that thing. Akuma must be destroyed if it isn't dead all ready." He declared.

I woke with those words echoing in my mind, Akuma must be destroyed.

I didn't know what the name Akuma meant, but I was to learn it later and when I did I thought the name very appropriate for the beast.

TBC

Lunar Ninja: Who says that my mind isn't made up? I was only trying to confuse you and see how well it worked , LN my friend? I pity the poor dragons getting all that hate. Oh well I am sure they can handle you. A gratitude for your insight.

Blue Raven: So glad I caught your interest now the important thing is can I keep it? Hopefully I can but time will tell. A gratitude for your insight.

Mikaela's Spade: I'm not much one for character death. I know everything has to die. Death stories make wonderful angst and so on, but I just don't like writing it, except for killing off bad guys. So it may not get to that point. Glad you are enjoying. A gratitude for your insight.

Pacphys: Jen might have to learn that lesson about heroes as well as a few other lessons. I grew up reading the original turtle comic series as well as the original cartoon and Archie TMNT comics so my view of the turtles has always been slightly different then one gained from just the cartoon source. In my mind, as ninja, the boys have learned and are fully capable of handling any number of weapons with efficiency. Therefore you will never see the turtles being inept, with other weapons, unless I state it wasn't a weapon they are used to handling. As you pointed out some time a favourite weapon might not be close in an emergency. A gratitude for your insight.

Chibi Rose Angel: Just because it is mentioned doesn't mean it will happen. Things may change in writing. In my M story " The Enemy" I wanted to kill off either Mike, Leo or Rama and it didn't happen. So try not to fret about it. I can't make promises one way or the other at the moment though. A gratitude for your insight.

Reinbeauchaser: Keep reading the Enemy and you will find out what happens to OC's I don't like. Course look at how I mistreat the turtles and I do like them. Actually to tell the truth I think Jen is starting to grow on me, I'm getting more comfortable with her now. It was just I had a few doubts in a few areas. Hmm I wasn't considering different plains of existence though it is an interesting thought. A gratitude for your insight.