Disclaimer: Hey!(shakes fist)Haradris is MY turf and you can't try to get me for that! Plus, I only own the concept of that world, the teelas, rukits, Dakari, Kyrunir, Xetyphaes, Ukeera, Maha…The list goes on. So don't mess with me!

3.

The sound of clashing metal aroused me from a dream…or was it? From what I could see, this was still a dream. I wonder if Donnie could call it a Nexus of dreams. Yeah, I'm that dorky. Well, he did call it a Nexus. I guess it's only logical that my dream have a point of overlapping subspace commonality. Whoa. I'm good. But anyway.

All I could smell was smoke. Smoke and blood. Come to think of it, what else comes to mind when you think of smoke and blood? Yeah, a battle. I could tell the SOMETHING was going on. So, I opened the good ol' peepers and saw a battlefield around me. Don't get me wrong, I've seen my share of dead..er, Foot soldiers with slashed up bodies and such. But man, nothing compares to this! It was like one of those, um, whattchamacallits. A butcher yard or something. Alright, so here I am, standing in the middle of a battlefield. All of a sudden, this arrow comes out of nowhere – coming straight at me!

Yikes! I had no time to move, but it passed right through me! Talk about luck! Oh, wait. Hold up. I tried to snatch up a sword on the ground. Same results. Yay. More Utrom-like weirdo tech. Except this time I sure hope Baxter isn't here to pull that plug. Man, this is weird. It's like I'm in some kind of history book…the cool Utrom kind where you get to walk around. I bounced up to a pretty mean-looking dude. You know, the ones with the incredibly scarred faces and the bad orthodontia. I stuck my tongue out at him and punched the dude right in the face. Rats. No reaction. I guess that's better than being punched in the gut by a Feudal Japan Shredder and hitting your head on a rock at like, the speed of me fleeing Master Splinter's stick of wrath.

This isn't much fun, dude, I muttered into the guy's dirty ear. You'd think the ugly orc thing would've heard of those wonderful things called Q-tips. The thing was literally filled to the brim with yellow ear cheese. Yuck. Betcha you get slashed in the back in three, two one…I looked behind me and, what luck, saw a screaming dog thing running up behind him, big meat cleaver drawn. The thing could've chopped a horse in half, no joke. Mr. Ear wax whirled around and stabbed the dog with a dagger, much to my displeasure. Hey! I didn't actually mean it! Gosh, touchy!

Alright, I'm finished with grouchy people and their personal space issues. I stuck my tongue out at him before tromping away over mutilated bodies and the like. I could swear I stabbed a foot on some spear or javelin sticking out, but, since I was invisible and pretty much non-existent, I could've tried to drown myself at that time. Leo would never approve. In the distance I saw a large castle. Wow, cliché. Battles around castles with ugly trolls and screaming dogs. Once or twice I just hopped right through some bellowing thing. Ever tried it? I don't recommend it. You see, after you come crashing through the ugly one, you fall flat on your face and usually get impaled with one of them sharp spears. And I'm not talking blunt, oh no. These things are sharp enough to slice a hair upon impact.

Long story short, I finally managed to get to the huge double doors of the castle, where in the courtyard beasts a plenty were slashing and hacking at each other. I sneaked up behind a guy and yelled boo but he just slashed at an enemy apparently right behind me, his sword passing through my stomach. I grinned. Forget a dream, this was fun! Then I saw this big rainbow thing come crashing down on a tower. Call me melodramatic but I swear it could've been an angel. What the shell is that thing anyhoo?

I bounded through some bushes and entered this really long hallway filled with broken paintings and bloody bodies. I nearly hurled when I saw a doggie dude get maimed by a black griffin. His head came right through me and I went and barfed into a vase. I've played my share of gory video games, but this was beyond sick. I darted through a doorway and found somebody I recognized: Aireilei! Hey, girl, what're you doing here? I asked pointlessly. For one, her attention was on a midget standing by her head and two, she couldn't hear me even if I took a bullhorn and bellowed into her ear. Great. Made a fool of myself again.

Midget Man had the White Destroyer on the floor and currently, WD was struggling with all her might to bite off MM's hand. "I've had just about enough of you and your unwillingness," MM snarled, smacking WD in the snout with his tiny hand. I bristled at this treatment and planted a kick squarely in his chest. Well, more like sprawled right through his little form and crashed to the floor. "Even if you won't cooperate, I'll get my army." MM grinned maliciously and rubbed his pathetic nose as I struggled to stand. "A dragon is what I've been searching for and you, my little friend, fit the bill quite nicely. This world will be my breeding grounds and guess who's the brood mare?" He poked WD in the chest. "Yes, you. And I…!"

Just as I got up, ready to tear MM's fool head off, a shingle passed through my head and slammed into the stone floor with an echoing smack. MM looked up and scowled. What? Bad hair day, Midget Man? I followed his gaze and whistled in awe. Sticking its humongous head through the hole it'd just made was the rainbow dragon, sparkling in the red sun. Now that, my friends, was poetic to a T. The dragon roared deafeningly and I yelled for earplugs. Dude! Where's a pillow when you need one? RD's massive paw came slamming down and missed MM by inches when he jumped aside and splatted on the ground, spread-eagled in all his glory.

Apparently WD had been under some sort of paralyzing spell, because she got up and looked like she was out for blood. MM scrambled to his feet and narrowed his eyes. Yeah, you put on the tough guy attitude, I sneered, stepping up beside Aireilei, but inside, you're shaking in your bite sized boots. Oh, man that felt good to say! Whoa, I did an action line! Yess! I pumped my fist and Aireilei went down with a thud. Hey, was it the action line? Because I know I can be a bit on the cheesy side, I began apologizing. RD reached down and grabbed Aireilei. Hey! Where do you think you're taking her, missy!

We must depart! RD cried and spread her massive wings. MM growled and shook his fist. I walked up behind him and flicked his head.

Too bad for you, Midget Man. You're…Hey, what's happening! I felt myself disappearing from this world. Aw shell…not again.

Mikey lunged forward with a loud, possessive yell. "AUGH, not the M&M's!" He was stopped short by strong, thin ropes around his wrists and smacked hard back into a thick wooden pole behind him with his shell, dazing him for a short moment. "Whoo, okay, that last step into La La Land was a doozy!" he muttered softly, yellow eyes rolling dizzily. He shook his head to clear the twittering birds from his flashing vision and rubbed his eyes with his somewhat short tail. "I feel like a hog tied pig."

The turtle looked around his surroundings skeptically. "Can't say I like the décor. What is this, Cub Scouts?" He was in the middle of a large teepee-like tent, his three-fingered hands held above his head by ropes attached to the pole behind his back. Mike frowned in confusion and maneuvered his tail skillfully around his side to grab a 'chuk from his leather belt. He easily grasped it by the steel chain and, sticking his slightly round tongue out in intense concentration, he raised the swinging weapon and smacked it against the ropes holding his limbs up. They snapped in half, releasing his sleeping appendages. His right arm slapped to the ground with a soft thud, numb from lack of circulation.

Having another head rush, Mikey swooned and fell over into the dark dirt. His vision went black for a split second before he saw more dancing stars. "Note to self: pay more attention to Donnie when he's talking about the circulatory functions of the body," he groaned from the floor, spread-eagled and limp. His long ears perked forward, catching the sound of hushed voices.

Two fingers pulled back the door flap. "Obviously it's feeling rather drunken," the owner grunted critically, shuffling inside. "Look at that position! I could swear it drank three bottles of wine before we found them!" Mikey's eyes rolled dizzily again as a pair (or was it three pairs?) of oddly clad feet appeared in his blurred vision. A fellow two-toed! the turtle thought with a slaphappy grin. "Yup, I bet he got a kick in the face from that possessed teela that booted me in the leg."

"All this guy needs is a good old bucket of ice water on his head. Be right back!" his unseen female companion called from outside, tramping away softly.

The person in front of him knelt down and grabbed his head firmly, propping it up on his closed fist. "You feeling okay, bub?" he asked gruffly. Mikey's eyes bugged out slightly in surprise. It was a pointy-eared person! Okay, not really. His face was pretty much human save for the long pointed elf-like ears at the sides of his head. Hanging in front of his brown skinned face were two, thick, dark red bangs and a rebel strand of hair that stuck up out of the part. His eyes were a deep maroon color with flecks of gray scattered around the iris. Mikey couldn't see the rest of his body but if he was thinking straight, the person was only holding him up with two fingers, a thumb and index finger. "Hey, quit staring!" he growled, trying hard to act masculine.

The sliver of firelight coming from under the door widened as his compatriot returned, the sound of sloshing water accompanying her. "Out of the way, Sor, unless you'd like another icy shower," she warned. Sor put Mikey down quickly and backed away. Suddenly, a gallon or so of freezing water was poured onto the paralyzed turtle's neck and he sprang up with a shocked yell.

"AH! Don't you guys know you can give somebody a heart attack if you do that?" he panted, shaking himself vigorously. White edged his vision and he swooned again. "Oh, man, wicked head rush…" Mike staggered a bit and regained his balance in time to rescue himself from a nosedive.

Furry hands steadied him. "Watch out, you'll topple over," the female grunted, supporting him by slinging his arm over her slim shoulder. Mike shook his head to clear the blinking dots and opened his mouth to ask a question but the person under him slapped a hand over it.

Sor glanced at Mike's helper. "We aren't supposed to be talking to you." He raised a winged arm and pretended to slit his throat with a clawed index finger. "Huena will wring our necks if he finds us over here. He's sorely festered already with us for bringing you and questionable dragons over here. He's planned a deciding match between you and Kiara to give you the right to speak."

"Kiara and Sor, get your butts out of there or I'll have you put up for insubordination!" somebody barked, literally. "Kiara, your match starts in two minutes! Hasten to the location, NOW!" He marched off in a melodious din of metal striking metal.

Sor snorted in contempt. "And to think, he used to be your student too!"

Kiara let go of Mikey and stalked out of the tent. "Shut up, Sor, or I'll run you through." Mike gave him a questioning look and he shrugged noncommittally.

"C'mon, little guy, out you go," he growled, nudging the turtle in his shell. "By the way, what's your name exactly? Greeny?"

Mike grinned warmly. "Michelangelo the teenage mutant ninja turtle."

Sor raised his eyebrows and grabbed his hand, leading him outside. "Uh, right." He poked Mike in the plastron. "You sound a lot like Dakari when you say ninja. That samurai's too friendly with the bloody elves. I never did like them." About twenty feet away was an corral surrounded by silent warriors of nearly every imaginable race. Some were elves, others were gunghir like Sor, and a couple rukits scratched themselves here and there. "Now, you win, you'll be able to explain yourself to Huena and the general of the rebel forces. You lose, and you'll be executed as a spy," he whispered as they approached. Mike gulped as he was shoved inside by the gunghir, none too gently.

Kiara stood on the far side in a relaxed stance, holding two slim battle rapiers, each one glinting in the dusk light. The midnight black rukit analyzed him with emerald green eyes, shifting slightly. "By hesitating, I assume you mean to wait. Permit me to strike the first blow," she said quietly, getting ready for a charge. Mikey pulled out his 'chuks, nervously surveying the spectators. Somebody outside the ring nocked an arrow on his bow and fired at a target on the opposite side of the arena. Kiara immediately darted toward the startled turtle, swords flashing.

Mikey gulped audibly again when she was on top of him. "Eeep!"

He woke to incessant bouncing that bumped his beak against something hard each time he came down. He groaned audibly and heard some one berate another for being so troublesome to her passenger. The reply was a low moo and the bouncing slowed down. Leo rubbed his stinging eyes and blinked. He was lying on some beast of burden, his tail wrapped manually by someone around the creature's barrel-like ribs and out the other side to meet his hand, which was currently clutching the bone-ribbed fan on the end.

"Ah, so you are awake!" The accented voice that had previously scolded the beast came out of a stunted, dark gray rabbit that carried two sheathed katanas by his side. "How do you feel?"

"Like I got run over by a train," Leo replied with a hiss of pain as one of the bounces jolted his apparently cracked ribs. The rabbit berated once again and another moo came out.

"I'm sorry, I had no time to wrap your sides. The Empire's scouts had caught up with me and I needed to move quickly. If Watishi would stop jolting you so," he said with a glare of mock glowering at the beast Leo was riding, "I should expect your pain to lessen."

"Mawawoo…"

The rabbit samurai slapped Watishi's muscled neck. "Oh, you hush, you sadistic teela." She mooed again as Leo watched the apparently schizophrenic conversation continue with great interest. "I'll have no more of that. You may insult the elves' cattle stock with your sharp tongue, but not I!" As they continued to bicker in their strange way, Leo took the time to survey his surroundings. They were currently traversing across what looked like hilly grassland. In the distance were mammoth trees that grew larger by the second. The grass swayed in a soft breeze, making that peaceful whispering noise that one hears in a typically serene setting. To the west was the distant shoreline of a sparkling lake.

"Friend, are you feeling alright?" the rabbit called out suddenly. Leo nodded, snapped out of his trance.

"Where exactly…are we?" he asked, clearly disoriented.

He smiled and inhaled a large amount of sweet air. "One of the few untainted places of this chaotic world. Alorien plains, the outskirts of the elves' deeply hidden forest home," he said with a pleased sigh. "Normally on a day like this I would be riding all around, whooping like a banshee that I am, but," he paused, connecting deep aquamarine eyes with Leo's green ones, "you are injured and that calls for me to be sober, although my cousin wishes I would act like an adult all the time." His face split into a cryptic smile as Leo disentangled his tail, letting it wave slowly in the breeze like a banner.

"I'm a bit confused," the turtle explained quietly, catching sight of a small woodland creature chewing on a nut in the grasses. "You look like Usagi. Are you…related?"

His pink nose twitched and he looked away, resting his small hand on Watishi's rippling shoulder. "In a way. He is my elder cousin; I am the only child of his mother's sister. I did live on the same planet as he once upon a time. Back when we were children, we were quite close."

Leo sighed inwardly. Poor guy sounds so dismal…

"We played every day with bokken (A/N: Thanks, Boo, for telling me what a wooden sword is called!) behind the house and never wanted to be parted from each other. However, as time progressed, our different interests pushed us apart. Usagi went away to train under a ronin samurai far away. I never saw him for six years." The rabbit clutched his sword hilt until his knuckles began turning white. "During that time, I had discovered a love for mammals such as horses, mice, and deer. When he finally came back, he hardly talked to me. He always told me he had other things to do. So, once, I asked him to take me to the Battle Nexus tournament. He told me that I hadn't skills enough to participate. Hurt and stung, I ran away from everything I'd ever known and met a traveling Samurai by chance. He saw some potential in me and decided to train me for seven years."

"Mawoowa…"

He scratched Watishi's ear affectionately before continuing. "By the time I had finished and become a ronin, Usagi had already been a participator in the Nexus for three tournaments. I asked him yet again and he agreed to let me go there. I didn't do very well in the Nexus, getting beaten in the quarterfinals. The Daimyo, partly because he hates to see such fiery warriors lose, approached me and asked me if I would like to help a planet in need. I said yes without hesitation and he opened a portal for me, sending me here. I've now been here for three years and have made it my goal to eradicate Xetyphaes."

Leo was silent for a long time. Why hadn't Usagi told him about a younger cousin? True, he did seem secretive about his past, but why hide a family member? "What's your name, samurai?" he asked, ignoring the ache that was building in his ribs.

The rabbit stopped, his face brightening considerably. "I am Dakari. And whom might you be?" Watishi halted and champed at her bit impatiently, nudging Dakari in the rear.

Leo didn't attempt a bow, as it would bring lancing stings up his sides. "Leonardo."

Dakari bowed deeply. "It is an honor to meet you, Leonardo-san." He looked back the way they'd come. "We must make haste. I fear the enemy regiment will catch up with us soon." Then he walked up to Watishi's side, grinning up at Leo. "And you are too injured to ride faster. Fortunately, I do know a bit of the healing magic. Here, give me your hand, Leonardo-san." Tentatively, the turtle offered his hand and Dakari took hold of his wrist. His blue eyes shut and a soft white aura began flowing off him. The rabbit let go of Leo once he was finished. "That should dull the pain for a while. Now, Watishi, you may trot! I will follow."

Watishi's ear pricked forward eagerly as she grunted and sprang up in a hopping gallop. Dakari ran beside the bounding teela with ease, grinning as the wind whipped his freely waving ears around. Leo yelped once because he nearly fell off and grabbed at the saddle, clamping his hands on the rim as Watishi leapt a wide, mud-filled ditch and landed heavily on the other side. Dakari laughed as they approached an outcropping of rock.

"To the left, Watishi!" he cried, bounding up the plant-strewn slope as the teela veered to miss the incline. The rabbit samurai vaulted off the rock with a loud whoop, pulled out a sword and sliced a fruit from a branch of a scrawny tree, catching it in mid air. He ran to Watishi's side as she was still galloping and stuffed the fruit into a large pouch, winking at the dumbstruck Leo. This was his behavior? He didn't seem at all related to Usagi now. That wild yell reminded him of Mikey. "We're coming up on Alorien woods! Slow up, Watishi, or you'll fling your passenger into a tree!"

The teela nickered and dug her small claws into the soft soil, effectively lowering her velocity. "Very good, friend! I'm glad you didn't fall off!" Dakari commended Leo, who was still in a state of shock. "What, you noticed my odd behavior? Yes, I do have spurts of that every now and then."

How on Earth did I get into the company of such a guy? Leo ducked an overhanging branch lush with moss and hanging vines. "Where are we?"

Dakari frowned and slashed an offending plant frond out of his face with his shorter katana. "Haven't I told you?"

"Well, yes, but I meant what world are we on."

"Ah! A simple matter. Leonardo-san, you are in Haradris, land of honorable warriors and not so beautiful enemies of the rebellion." Leo's stomach did flip-flops. Aireilei's home world? Then where were his brothers? Where was Kiyo for that matter? Had they been sent to a different place? "Does that disturb you somewhat? You look rather pale."

"Dakari-san, would you believe me if I told you I was transported here by accident?"

"But of course. I assumed that it was by accident. Controlled portals don't flash in the abrupt way yours did."

The turtle's gut wrenched as he remembered falling into that hideous monster's grasp. "Did you rescue me from that tentacled thing, Dakari-san?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yes. I saw you fall into a pond and found myself wondering what exactly happened. When I arrived at the shoreline it was already preparing to consume you into its foul mouth. So I did the only thing I could: I dove in and slashed it to death. A mighty bloody affair, but it had to be done." They entered a small glade, grassy and unnaturally quiet. The trees' leaves themselves seemed to rustle uneasily as Watishi stopped, allowing Leo to slide off her back and land in the knee-deep grass. "I don't like this," Dakari muttered suspiciously, putting a hand on his longer sword's hilt. The turtle unsheathed his katanas, feeling a distant twinge in his ribs. Dakari's healing spell had not lasted long.

Leo's long green ears caught the hiss of an arrow being fired and he dove aside to miss being impaled by the long barbed shaft. "It's an ambush! Take cover, Dakari-san!" The rabbit samurai paid no heed to the turtle's warning, instead charging headlong into the surrounding thicket. Leo got up and pushed Watishi into cover of vegetation. He dashed up a tree trunk and happening upon the ugliest character he ever did see, armed with a wicked sword and a dagger. Before it had a chance to stab him with the dagger, he punched it off the branch it was positioned on, shuddering at the sound of breaking bone as the thing hit the ground, gravity ending its pitiful life. He crouched on the branch, looking for Dakari. The rabbit was nowhere in sight.

Then, out of the blue, Watishi bellowed in rage and sprinted out of the vegetation, slamming hard into a monolith pillar positioned near the entrance of the glade. There was a grating scream of terror as the large pillar cracked and began plummeting. The impact broke the little monster's back and neck, killing it instantly. The teela snorted and backed away as the monolith crashed into the undergrowth, the whites of her eyes showing in fear. The ache in Leo's cracked ribs was beginning to throb and he could hardly breathe without hissing in pain. It wouldn't be long before he could barely stand. Grimly, he sheathed a sword and, using a sturdy branch, swung to the next tree, landing in a large notch in the trunk. He sat down in it to rest. He felt unnaturally tired, perhaps from pain and inter-dimensional travel.

A surprised scream split the air, following by a sickening thud of sword meeting flesh, and then the forest glade was once again quiet, save for the wind in the branches. Watishi pawed the ground nervously and raised her large head to gaze on Leo with concerned brown eyes. She mooed as he slid down the wide trunk and reeled to her heaving side. He grunted and sheathed his katana, leaning heavily against Watishi for support. Dakari darted out of the woods after five minutes of stifling silence.

He wiped his longer katana on the grass and sheathed it, wrinkling his twitching pink nose in disgust. "They were lying in wait for us and I fear there is a larger party coming our way." The rabbit samurai looked warily around, eyes distrusting every sound that was made. "We must leave this wretched place and find the elves quickly. Mount Watishi quickly, Leonardo-san, and bear the pain. I haven't the strength for another healing spell." Leo gritted his teeth and nodded as Watishi bowed her front end so he could get up without too much difficulty. "Quickly, follow me!" Dakari sped away through the northern trees, leaping a moss-ridden log and passing out of sight. Leo gently kicked Watishi's sides and gasped as she galloped forward.

Leaves, trunks, and branches all became a blur of motion as Leo's eyelids drooped like leaden weights. He was exhausted and searing pain wracked his sides every time Watishi took a long step. It seemed like an absolute age before they finally slowed down in the entryway of a small lake surrounded by roaring, sparkling waterfalls of all sizes. The turtle's breaths were shallow now, as every deep sigh brought more agony to his nerves. So he sat there in the saddle as one dead, not moving. The only thing that suggested he was living was his moving ears and eyes. The last thing he remembered before merciful darkness took him into its welcoming arms was Dakari, who was talking furiously and pulling him down.

Don's beak connected with rippling stone floor and he sat up, rubbing his sore snout. "Ow, that hurts!" He looked up and found himself sitting in some kind of cave sick room with white-clad beds. The one problem was that he had fallen out of one of them and, embarrassingly enough, injured himself in doing so. He twitched his long purple tail nervously as soft, padding footsteps approached the room.

"Oh my, whatever are you doing on the floor, dearie?" someone exclaimed from the doorway. Don turned around and found himself staring at some kind of chestnut-colored wolf-like creature. She wagged her incredibly bushy tail once, clucking in a motherly manner and putting her hands on her hips. "You'll hurt yourself some more, child; get back in bed!" Meekly he got up and sat on the edge of a warm mattress, one he assumed was the one he'd previously fallen out of. "Under the covers with you, scoundrel." She shuffled to his bedside and lifted his legs up with strong arms and shoved them underneath the white sheets. "Now then," she scolded, pulling them up to his chin, "You stay here until Master Maha has a word with you."

Don lay stock-still until the fussy female had left, then sat up indignantly. "What the shell was that all about?" he muttered, getting back out of bed. He was sure that if the wolf nanny caught him again, he'd get an earful. "And who's Maha?" The turtle stood and walked slowly out of the room into a lamp-lit rock tunnel. The walls were wide and hastily carved, as though the inhabitants had been forced in here on a rather sudden notice. There was a friendly glow at the right end of the tunnel. To the left was the smell of sterile air, a place Don decided he'd rather not go just now. "Interesting," he mumbled, ears flicking back and forth to catch the sound of inhabitants moving around.

Then he heard soft clicking noises, the sound of claws on stone. "Don? Is that you?" Saesha called softly from down on the ground. The turtle knelt and allowed the small dragon to climb up on his shoulder.

"Where are we, Saesha? Who are these people?" he asked excitedly. "I've never seen or heard of them—"

She settled down and put her tail over his babbling mouth. "One moment please." She belched a glowing cloud of ash and fire. "Ah, that's better. The peppers I sampled certainly pack a punch. Now then, I believe we are in the company of a colony of woodland rukit. Nice folks, but some of them are rather abrasive." The dragon removed her tail from the turtle's mouth, glancing in disgust at it and checking for slobber.

"Tell me about it," Don grumbled, recalling his encounter with the nanny.

Saesha yawned massively before continuing in her serene voice, "Apparently some of the elder pups were out playing hide and seek when the girl chanced upon finding us in a patch of unfriendly oljis bushes. Nasty thorns, I wish never to feel one of them again." Don shuddered, recalling the foot-long thorns' painful bite. "Anyway, the boy ran back here with Rijinn in his arms in order to alert the Elder of our arrival. The caves have been in a perpetual uproar because of it."

Don scratched his head and leaned against the opposite wall. "So where's Raph?"

"'Contained' in one of the bedrooms. I'm afraid he may tear the entire thing to shreds."

His eyes widened in alarm. "Contained? Why?"

"He woke up, freaked out, and started going ballistic," she told him bluntly.

"Oh shell…he just had to go an ruin it for us." Don slapped himself in the forehead and groaned.

Saesha extended her claws. "I don't blame him. He's in a strange world in which he has no understanding of who's the enemy and who isn't."

"Once again, wisdom flows from your mouth," he commented dryly as she rustled her wings.

Saesha perked her ears forward and listened attentively. "Somebody is bickering around the corner. I suggest we see who it is."

Don put a two-toed foot forward. "What, and break it up? That's for psychologists, not a giant turtle and a midget dragon," he whispered, smiling sheepishly when she glared at him.

"Watch your tongue, Donatello, or I may just singe it off," Saesha growled threateningly, nipping his ear. Using stealth learned from his many years of ninja training, the turtle carefully made his way to the corner, emerging around the side just as one of the arguers bumped into him.

"Wah! He's right there! Hide me!" a boy shouted, jumping back with fright.

Don and Saesha exchanged looks. "I might take offense to that," the lavender dragon informed the boy, narrowing her eyes. The turtle flicked her snout to cut off her train of phrases and was rewarded with a puff of black smoke in the face. Somebody else giggled as Saesha left Don's shoulder with a flutter of her wings. "Pay no attention to him, he's a bad influence."

"Me?" Don squeaked, rubbing the soot off his beak vigorously. "I'm a bad influence? If anything, you're the bad influence, sharp tongue and all!"

"See? Temper. Children, take my advice. Never trust your tongue when angry; you might hurt another's feelings."

"Temper?"

"Oh, hush Donatello. You're doing yourself more harm with each comment." He grumbled and continued trying to rid his face of the smoky smell, along with the bits and pieces of itchy ash.

"See? They're funny, Kyrunir," the girl pointed out.

"Honestly, would a creature such as I bite?" Saesha asked innocently.

"Yes," Don grunted casually, still furiously at work rubbing his face.

"I told you to hush, Donatello!" Saesha's eyes glowed and the turtle found himself unable to operate his jaws. He was only able to make angry grumbles through his throat. "There. Now then, what were you children going to ask us?" Don glared at her. "Oh right. What were you going to ask me?" The turtle strangled the air in helpless irritability and stood there fuming.

Kyrunir, the boy, stepped out from behind Ukeera, fiddling with his thumbs. "Nothing, really. Maha just wants you guys to come and try to calm down the red one," he mumbled shyly.

"He isn't usually like this. Most of the time he never shuts up," Ukeera told the dragon on her shoulder.

"Hey!" he blurted indignantly, losing the shy guy act.

"Well then, let us go met this Maha of yours," Saesha said, throwing Don a smug glance. He pretended to slit his throat and she shrugged. Ukeera began padding down the hallway, Saesha bouncing up and down on her shoulder. Don, still fuming inside, walked behind with Kyrunir.

"Women," the rukit muttered to Don. The turtle nodded solemnly. Ukeera led them on through a bustling network of tunnels for what seemed like hours, but really was only ten minutes. She stopped in front of a silent room and exhaled slowly, as though she'd been holding it in.

The armed rukit by the door nodded and walked away when he saw Don, letting Ukeera pad up to the peep hole in the barred door. "Um, excuse me, Mr. Angry? Somebody out here would like to speak to you," she said into it.

"Does the phrase 'go suck on a lemon' mean anything to you?" Don heard Raph snarl sarcastically.

"No, considering I don't know what a lemon is." The contained turtle growled in his prison and punched the wall. Don tapped his foot and glared at Saesha.

"Raphael, you will cease this nonsense at once!" the lavender dragon barked commandingly from atop Ukeera's shoulder.

"Shaddup, Saesha," he grumbled irritably. "Where's Donnie?"

Saesha puffed some smoke and yawned once again. "Right here, although he can't speak at the moment."

"And why not?" Raph asked rudely.

"Because I have shut his jaws so he cannot make snide comments." Don let out an outraged squeal. "Ah, see? If I hadn't, he would have been railing on and on by now."

"Oh, for cryin' out loud, Saesha, will you knock it off and let the guy speak!" he bellowed.

"As you wish, but I don't see what good it will do him."

Don opened his mouth once the dragon had stopped controlling it. "Now then, where were we?" he asked dangerously.

"Watch it, sir, or I might just have to silence you for good." Kyrunir gasped. "No, not like that, my dear boy!"

Don snapped sarcastically, "Yeah right, the only thing dear to you are those preposterous Jalapeno peppers!" (A/N: I didn't know how to spell them peppers, so go ahead! Laugh!)

"JUST LET ME OUTTA HERE!" Raph finally roared.

"Ah, right. Sorry Raph." Don carefully walked to the barred door and lifted the wood holding it shut. "Come on out." There wasn't any need to goad the turtle inside; he burst out like a possessed animal.

"Alright, somebody's got some explaining to do," he growled, setting glaring eyes on Kyrunir and Ukeera.

Saesha bristled. "Back with you, Raphael."

Raph, easily seen as the avenging, blood thirsty beast waiting to strike, softened considerably to lessen Saesha's boring glare's effect. "Eh, sorry kids. Got a little angry back there."

Kyrunir peeked out from behind Ukeera. "N-no, that's okay!" he whimpered, trying to appease the anger management-needing reptile's rage.

Raph muttered, "And you call yourself a man." before joining Don by the wall and crossing his arms in a relaxed gesture.

Ukeera shrugged helplessly as Kyrunir bristled, insulted, and puffed his fluffy chest out in an attempt to look masculine. "Hey, he's right. You don't act the part of a male. More like a five week-old pup on his first hunting trip," she said with a grin as the rukit, visibly deflated, hung his head in shame.

Raph grinned, trying to appear friendly. "'S okay, kid. Not everyone can be a first-class butt kicker like moi."

Don nudged him in the ribs. "And you call yourself a ninja, letting your emotions blow," he grunted, referring to Raph's 'wake-and-roar' sequence while Don was unconscious.

"Hey, I don't need 'nother Splinter Jr. getting in my face, Mute-o."

Saesha finally broke up the bickering with a large ball of crackling purple flames to attract their attention. "Stop this at once, you two! I'd have thought sixteen year-olds would have gotten past this childish stage by now!" she growled through gritted teeth, holding the flames in place with telekinesis.

Raph grinned cheekily. "Yeah, well do we strike ya as normal teenagers?" His own mouth clapped shut as Saesha glared icily at him.

"Your turn to be Mister Mute-o." Ukeera found herself giggling as Raph tried to pry his jaws apart and failed miserably. "Now then, where is Rijinn, children? Have you an idea?" she asked calmly, letting the purple fire dissipate. The turtle in red grunted angrily as Don patted his shoulder in sympathy.

"What, you mean the red dragon?" Kyrunir piped up, throwing Raph a fearful glance. He shrugged and stood fuming as the rukit stifled a chuckle. "I saw him running around here somewhere. His back was on fire."

"That must mean he was annoyed. He usually activates his ability when he's feeling angry or just plain irritated."

"There you are! I thought you guys had left without me!" Rijinn bounded down the hall and dug his claws into Kyrunir's thick gray coat, climbing up and crouching on his shoulder. "Hey there, I guess you're feeling annoyed with Don, eh Saesha?"

"Most irritated."

"Hey!" Don pouted. "That's hardly fair! You started it!"

"He isn't acting like an adult."

Raph tapped Don on the shoulder and made some frustrated motions with his hands, signifying that he was ready to punch something, and hard. "Ah, I think we'd better find something to do soon, because Raph here wants to clobber someone," Don announced nervously, inching away from his evilly smirking brother. Kyrunir laughed at the purple clad turtle's expense, obviously feeling more confident now that he had a fire-breathing reptile perched on his shoulder.

Rijinn's fiery irises sparked. "I say we go and meet Maha. He's gotta know what happened and how we got here." Raph nodded in agreement but held up his index finger to stop the train of thought. He then smacked the wall with his fist and grinned in satisfaction. "It seems he can get his point across as easily as if he could talk, sissy."

Saesha's eyes flashed. "Don't call me sissy," she said, dangerously quiet. Ukeera rolled her eyes and began walking back the way they'd came.

"And why not?" the red dragon challenged.

"Would you like to be muted too?" Rijinn shut up immediately but once she turned to look around in front, he started making rude faces at her back. Don slapped his forehead and sighed in exasperation, following the rukits close behind. Raph punched the wall with finality before twitching his tail and darting up to catch up with his brother.

(grins) Okay, not too many cliffies, but I did leave you with a whopper on Mikey's segment. So how much are you laughing NOW, Chibi? HAH! (laughs maniacally) Good news, folks! I finally got off my lazy butt and outlined a picture of a teela, a wlfena which you have yet to be introduced to, and Sor! Yahoo! I'm going to try colored pencils this time, as computer coloring takes way longer. BTW, I'm doing a project in Math where you have to make up a game for a certain age group. Mine is second grade. I'm flat out stumped, anyone got an idea? (smirks evilly) With that, I'll leave you with my dreaded cliffies! Sianora! C yah!

LN