Chapter 3

It's Not Just Us Anymore

Disclaimer: I keep forgetting to do this…

I don't own anything you recognize. I do own Mione, Finn, Mai, the…dammit…without giving anything away, lets just say I own what you don't recognize, ok?

It had been two anxious days for the three turtles, their rat master and human friend. Master Splinter regressed April through hypnotism and didn't like what he saw.

He helped April reach a deep state of meditation- almost a trance state and then followed her to the same level of consciousness. He let her get used to the presence of his mind on the same plane before trying to communicate with her. The first time he tried, the surprise knocked her out of the trance, despite knowing it would happen and the whole process had to be started again. On the third try she found the right balance to be able to communicate with Splinter.

;Good, my child; he said with a certain amount of relief when he felt the faltering presence of her mind. Emotions were a lot more difficult to hide here. ;Now, remember that night, two nights ago. You were covering the opening of a pizza parlour. What happened then?;

;It's getting dark." she replied. ;the place is open, we're finished there. Myself and a trainee cameraman, Mai Zhen are packing up. Mai is Chinese- here she goes by the name Finn.

Everything is in the van, Finn goes to the back to check it and I here…noises. But not noises like people moving, even people trying to be quiet. Ninja moving- I know the sounds from you guys.; Splinters ears went back in surprise that April had learned to identify the sound that even the best ninja had to make to move. ;I think it might be the Turtles but when I lean out, it's men- Foot, maybe, out there. One of then grabs Finn and I leap out. I jump on him and he has to let go of her. But others block the door of the van. I tell her to run, we do!;

Here she seemed to pull out of the memories and added in a more detached, analytical tone. ;It was the same both times. If all of them had jumped on us, we'd have been captured easily, but both times he only sent in a few- like a test for them. Anyway, we split up- I thought they were after me as usual- to get to you guys- isn't that the usual plan? So I told Finn that we'd split up. But most of them went after her! And then I couldn't help her because the rest were chasing me! So I called the Turtles and…you know the rest.." she finished. Splinter 'nodded'.

;Very good, Ms. O'Neill. So what happened when yourself and Michelangelo were in that alleyway outside the docks?; April told him more-or-less what she'd told them before, when not under the influence of the trance. When she reached the conversation in the Lair when Nightmare had taken over, she shuddered and her voice faltered.

;It is okay, Ms O'Niell.; he told her gently. ;Try to remember what you saw.; Her voice grew steadily further away as she drew out those memories.

;Dark! It's dark…no, I can see a light. A woman…she's old. Dirty and injured. Dressed in brown…sacking? She's carrying a candle. I see her eyes…nothing there. Despair. Her face- it's me! I…I don't understand. She sees me but doesn't look surprised. She smiles, beckons me. I follow. She points around us. Wait- changes! Everything is chrome and aluminium and glass now. It's…sterile. The people are well-fed and well-dressed but…their faces are the same as those of the woman. Despair. Wait! Now I'm in the village again. Dirty, smelly. It's so real! I hear coughing. A man- he looks sixty or more but I know he's only thirty. No one looks up, everyone stares at the ground. Her again. She's different. She points again. Wait- this is different…a building…one of the condemned blocks out near the projects, I think. Could it…could it be his base? But…gone again. A sickroom, coughing, plague! A war, battlefield. Tax time in a village, bailiffs. Sickness again. Despair! I can smell the battle- the blood in the air and I see the fat lords in their castles as their peasant soldiers die! A child, wasted with fever, black boils… Oh…Oh God…make this STOP!;

Image after image of suffering and death flashed through Splinter's mind and he fought to keep himself apart from it. To stay calm and centred. But he was pulled in by the sheer force of the memories and for a moment was trapped in April's hysterical mind. He fought for focus but had nothing to 'hold' on to- nothing solid to grasp to pull himself out…but..there! A rock in the whirlpool! A glowing bluey-green rock. He grasped the calm spot gratefully and came out of his trance. His eldest son was beside him, looking down worriedly. He nodded his thanks and turned to April, talking to her calmly and steadily until the wild look had left her eyes and she drew in a deep shuddering breath.

"I…I'm sorry." she whispered when she'd recovered. Splinter put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Do not worry April." he said kindly, using her first name for once. "Rest for a while. What you have shown me was of the utmost importance. April was almost falling asleep as he spoke and she needed no further urging. Exhausted by first the fight, then the mental…kidnap, the possession and finally having to relive it all for Splinter, she sank back into deep slumber almost immediately. Splinter waved his son outside to join the rest. His face was grave.

"What's goin' on?" demanded Raph almost straight away. He bowed his head in shame at having spoken so rudely to his Sensei but didn't take back the words.

"What Miss O'Niell showed me was of great importance Raphael. All of you, you must here this. Leo, when I caught your mind, did you see any of what was passing through Miss O Neill's?" Leo nodded. "Flashes, glimpses. But not enough to make much sense." Splinter nodded. "What I believe she saw through Nightmare's mind was the future in absolutes. What will happen should either win permanently. What will happen if we don't rescue both Michelangelo and Finn, Nightmare's newest vessel. Whether Nightmare or Science win, the future for humanity is bleak." He sighed. "I'm sorry, my sons, but this battle is no longer just about ourselves, but, quite possibly, for the whole world as well."

There was a pause. The story sounded fantastical. But this was Splinter. Don was still sceptical, though he tried not to let it show. "I don't understand, Sensei. How is it suddenly so important now?"

"Because now Nightmare has got it's hands on one of Science's greatest triumphs. A sentient mutant. And what happened seventeen years ago to us all was a great scientific achievement. With Finn's latent power- like that of Mione- but also with new understanding and control of a subject of science, Nightmare could potentially see off Science forever, plunging this Earth back into a permanent Dark Age."

"And…how will it do that?" asked Leo quietly, already foreseeing-and dreading- the answer. Splinter looked at him sadly. "Complete possession. Currently Nightmare has no corporeal form. If it takes a body…Michelangelo simply won't exist anymore. His body will be controlled absolutely by Nightmare. His soul will be destroyed."

Mikey woke with a scream and sat up, eyes wide, trying to get his breath to return to normal and his heart to stop racing. Waking up suddenly was not uncommon for a ninja. Screaming was rather more so. He pushed the thoughts to one side for a few minutes as he considered his surroundings and the memories of last night flooded back to him. April! What had happened to her? Was she here? Was she even…No, he was not going to think like that. It would do no good.

It was dark. Very dark. His eyes had had time to adjust to it but it didn't help. Okay, so he was blind, for the moment anyway. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. Fine, time to use other senses. No sound, either. His own heartbeat was the only noise and he welcomed the regular beat. Ni what? Smell was out too- wait! Slightly…musty? Rottenness, perhaps. Wood? And cement dust…Which suggested…a building site? Wait, rotten wood. Okay, somewhere old then. Decayed. Hmm. Narrowed it down to…oh, quite a lot of places above-ground. Fine, touch. He put out his hands to either side tentatively. Nope, nothing there and down…no. Wait! What was he sitting on then! Er…nothing. It gave him quite a shock to realise that he was floating in what was the closest to total sensory-deprivation he had ever encountered.

You are awake then. The voice echoed in his head and he clutched it with a cry. Man, that hurt!

"Who…who are you? What do you want?" he managed.

You know who I am. You are here because I wish it.

"Aggh! Stop it! Stop talking! Please!" he cried, as every inch of his body screamed at him. How? How was his voice doing this? But it ignored his plea and kept talking mercilessly.

My time has come. And with you as my vessel and the child as my physical magic in this world, my time will last forever. Welcome sensation while you can. You will not exist soon enough, when I claim your physical form.

But it may as well have spoken to a wall for all the response it would get from the unconscious curled-up form with hands pressed uselessly to bleeding ears.

This time Mikey woke up faster, again shaking and sweating from the horrific visions that had plagued him all the time he'd been out of consciousness. He hurt. He felt like he's gone twenty-three rounds with a blender. And lost. He put a hand up to his ear and winced as he felt the dry blood coating the sides of his head and neck. His eyes too…what sort of thing could do this, make him weep tears of blood with its voice alone?

It was still dark, still felt like he was drifting in a tank of water, but this time he decided to go inwards rather then outwards. He concentrated on his breathing and tried to meditate.

It was surprisingly easy here. No outward stimuli, no Raph to either distract or be distracted by. Nothing. He could feel himself sinking into a trance deeper then he'd ever reached before-until…he was stopped! A barrier, no, rather a cage, between himself and the outside- where he might go if he were to try spirit-walking, an art that only Master Splinter and occasionally Leo, could do. Was that why he could neither see nor hear but could smell? Maybe taste was the only sense that could not be fooled. And, after all, he had a very highly developed sense of taste. Especially when it came to pizza! He pulled his thoughts back and concentrated on the barrier. He moved around it, not touching it but trying to find a way around it. No…it was sealed tight…but wait! What was this? A…not a crack, maybe not even a hairline one…but a weak spot even so. This was where the voice had come in in, from outside! He probed the weak spot carefully with his mind. He didn't want to be too obvious about it- he didn't want to alert whatever it was that had trapped him here. Okay… He sat back and considered his options so far. Just maybe he wasn't as trapped as he looked. Maybe he was only trapped in hi own mind. If so then if he could get through this…net, then he might be 'back' in the real world. Okay…He was careful not to think these thought to clearly in his own mind, trying to keep images of the Lair and his family at the top of his thoughts. If this thing was keeping him locked in his own mind and was able to communicate without speaking then it wasn't such a far fetched idea that maybe it could read his thoughts.

He sank back into the trance-like state again and 'found' the weak point again, scraping away at it gradually and carefully. He was relieved that he didn't seem to be attracting Nightmare's attention again! He didn't know how long he kept it up but he was eventually rewarded when a 'hole' appeared and light filtered through. He widened it until he could slide his mind through. He was free!

Well, free was perhaps not the word. He opened his eyes properly and this time he saw light. He was lying in a small room, maybe six foot by six foot and his eyes hurt. Actually, everything hurt. He sat up with a noise that could only be described as a whimper and stretched. Owowow! Okay. Now what? He was surprised to note that he wasn't bound. Obviously Nightmare had figured he was captured within his own mind and needed no outward help. He stood up and immediately fell over again. Ow again. Fine. This time he maneuvered himself over to a wall and pulled himself up that way. Okay, so far, so good. Right. Small window, over there. He moved over to the boarded up window and carefully started levering out the planks of wood, clumsily nailed on. Aggh! Severe amount of sunlight out there! Once his eyes had adjusted he peered out again, rather more cautiously. He recognised the area- one of the derelict buildings on the outskirts of the city. Good, he wasn't too far away from home then. Now for the bad news- he was twelve stories up.

Well, it was high, but hardly impossible. But before he did any escaping, he needed to find out if April was here. Or the other one- Finn. He looked around and frowned. There was no door.

There had been shocked silence after Splinter's words. Raph broke it, standing up and slapping a sai off his palm.

"Well, what are we waitin' for then?" he growled. "Do we have any idea where this Nightmare guy took them?" Splinter nodded.

"It seems to be one of the condemned apartment blocks on the outskirts." He described the area that he'd seen and Raph nodded. "Yeah, I know that area. We can find them!" he said impatiently.

"Go then, my sons. But do not be in that area after nightfall. The darkness is Nightmare's strength." His sons bowed quickly and left at a run, Raph in the lead.

"I just hope there is something to bring back…" whispered the elderly rat.

Now what the Shell was the point of a room with no door? Mikey asked himself crossly. Not that it mattered, the room was so unsteady that the wall was as good as any door to go through. He moved back to the corner where he'd woken up- as good a place as any to start.

It didn't take long to create a big enough hole to wriggle through- and this new room had a door! The door opened out onto a corridor. Empty, thank goodness. He crept along it anyway, listening at doors for sounds of life. He frowned as he paused outside the oh…four millionth and ninth door and heard something. Someone…crying? Sounded young. Certainly not April anyway, but perhaps another captive. He bit his lip as he considered. It could be a trap after all. A muffled sob decided him. Shell with it, even if it was a trap. He wasn't gonna leave a kid here.

"Hey! Can you hear me?" he whispered as loudly as he dared. The muffled crying broke off, replaced by a breathless silence.

"I'm a friend. Are you a prisoner?" he asked, feeling rather stupid at the question, but it'd be just his luck if the kid was …Nightmare's daughter or something and lived here. A scrambling sound.

"Who…who are you?" a high voice asked. "I'm trapped in here. I don't know why. Please…please get me out, Mister. I'm afraid he'll come back!"

Leaving a child in a place like this! Ignoring his misgivings, Mikey whispered back reassuringly. "It's okay, sweetie, I'm a friend. I'll get ya out of here. Move away from the door, would you?" Another scrambling noise, away, this time. Mikey looked up and down the corridor again. He looked appraisingly at the door. At the hinges in particular. He didn't dare just kick in the door, which, while effective, would be heard from here to Toronto. He hinges were old. In fact…he spoke to the girl again.

"Okay, I'll be back in a second, kid. And then I'll get you out."

"Please don't leave me here again!" she cried, sounding on the verge of tears again and Mikey winced. Oops.

"It'll just be for a few seconds. I need to get something to open this door with." There was a pause and the girl reluctantly whispered 'okay…'

Mikey moved as quickly as he could back to a bathroom he'd passed about ten doors ago and entered. There! A tap was lying in the corner, where he'd noticed it the first time. Relic of one of the smashed basins. He ran back and spent a few tense minutes levering the bottom hinge off the door, half expecting Mr. CreepyVoiceDude or one of his minions to appear behind him at any second. Luckily, none did and Mikey was able to breathe again as the rusted metal snapped suddenly, scraping his hand but not doing any more damage. He paused again, hoping the noise wouldn't attract anyone before looking up at the other hinge. No, it wasn't loose, but…he got a grip on the bottom of the door and pushed. The hinge didn't break, but it twisted slightly. Hah! The door was at a slight angle now. He kept pushing until the was a space of maybe a half a foot under the door. He glanced at the hinge again. He was afraid that if he pushed much further, the aging wood would snap and bring someone to investigate.

"I think I can get out through there." came the voice again and Mikey paused before she did.

"Okay, but I'm a friend okay? But I'm not human. Please don't scream- we don't want… him coming back again."

"I wont…but what are you?" she sounded curious, rather then scared.

"I'm a turtle." he replied. She laughed, a nervous sound.

"I…I think I used to have a turtle as a pet once. She never bit or anything. Turtles are okay." He grinned at this.

"Yeah, turtles are okay. Now come on out, kid. We're getting out of this crazy place before yer man makes a comeback." There was pause then someone was wriggling through the gap under the door. Mikey helped her to her feet. It was a little Chinese girl with a tearstained face and clothes about four times too big for her. She paused and looked up at Mikey.

"You don't look mean." she said uncertainly.

"I'm only mean to bad men who lock kids up in small rooms" he agreed and she smiled. She took his hand trustingly and he smiled back at her.

"Now where do you come from?" he asked her, wondering what Nightmare wanted with this little girl anyway. She frowned.

"I…I live outside Shanghai with my family…but I don't know how I got…here, Mister. I woke up in there…and that's all I remember about it."

"Mikey, not Mister, okay kid?" he told her absently, wondering where she came from and why she'd been taken.

"My name's Mai then, not kid." she replied defiantly and he laughed quietly.

"Okay, touché, Mai." he replied and then hushed her for a second.

"Shh…Stay here, okay Mai?" She nodded, letting go of his hand reluctantly. He moved silently to the next bend and frowned. Two people were standing there, guarding the stairs. Ninja, dressed the same way as those who'd attacked April and himself. Someone else was coming up the stairs.

"Report." he snapped and the other two bowed.

"No noises from the two prisoners." he replied crisply and Mikey smiled, half- relieved and half-mocking. No, no noise, beyond him pulling boards off a window, breaking a wall, levering metal off metal and twisting the hinges. And these guys called themselves ninja? But on the plus side, they'd specified two. So April had escaped. That was the only explanation he was going to accept. He frowned again. Either way, slow as these guys were, they'd probably notice if he and Mai just walked out passed them. The new guy marched off back down the steps and Bebop and Rocksteady, as he christened them, turned back to guarding.

He walked back to where he'd let Mai, who had slipped back into the room, just in case. Sensible kid.

"Okay, come on- I'm afraid there's no route out that way so we're gonna have to escape some other way."

"Dya have a plan?" she asked him, taking his hand again and he frowned as he thought.

"One. Listen to me, Mai. I can get us out of here, but you're gonna hafta trust me. It's gonna be a bit scary, but I think you can do it. You're a brave kid." She nodded solemnly. "I will." she told him confidently.

They reached the room where Mikey had been imprisoned. More specifically, the window. Mai clutched his hand a bit harder and Mikey glanced at her reassuringly.

"You can do this, Mai. I'll be with you the whole way."

"Just…just don't let me fall." she whispered.

"I won't. You ready?" She nodded, eyes tightly shut and he picked her up. He used one arm to steady her, as she gripped on to his shell like a limpet and he climbed out. Luckily, they were on the top floor and the guttering was strong. He tested it to make sure it would bear their combined weight and jumped. Mai's grip intensified if that was possible, but she didn't scream at least. He was up on the roof now.

"It's okay, Mai, that was the hardest bit. You did very well." Her eyes opened, although the grip didn't lessen."

"Now we're going to have to stay up here for a while. Just until dusk- I think we might be a bit noticeable bouncing around the rooftops in daylight."She smiled and he set her down. The rooftop was flat but there was no wall on the edges so he kept hold of her hand. She was sensible, but anyone could make a mistake. They sat down on the roof and Mai regained some of her composure. Her face was still tearstained but she was smiling now.

"So do you remember anything, Mai?" he asked her.

"I was at home, playing with my dog and my sister, Li and…and then I was in that room. And a man spoke to me." She shuddered. "He…he frightened me. He said I was powerful and I would use my power for him. I was frightened and then he left. I think I was there most of the day- maybe I slept, I don't know. And then you came." She looked at him shyly. "Thank-you."

"No problem, kid. Anyway, you helped get yourself out. You were very brave and sensible." he praised her and she brightened up. "I…miss Li and home though. You…you're American aren't you?" she asked.

He nodded. "You're in New York." Her face trembled and tears appeared at the corner of her eyes again. Poor kid. She couldn't be much more then about six and alone in a strange country. What did Nightmare want with her and how on earth were they going to get her home?

Sorry this is taking so long -with all my fics! I just started uni and I seem to have a LOT less free time then I used to! But I'll keep trying to get chapters up!

It's a bit confusing at the moment- but things will clear up soon! Please keep reading- and reviewing!

AZ