Chapter 11: Across the Border

Drip, drip, drip...

Gah the water pipe in my room is leaking again...Leonardo thought half awake.

Drip, drip, drip...

I really should get Donnie to fix it...

Drip, drip, drip...

I don't want to bother him though. He is always busy fixing things...especially things Raph and Mikey break...

Drip, drip, drip...

I swear though if this is going to keep waking me up I might as well bug Donnie...actually come to think of it, it shouldn't be this quiet...oh god what did Raph and Mikey do this time?

Slowly, he tried to open his eyes but they felt heavy. Actually his entire body was heavy and weak. His mind was screaming at him to go back to sleep. But Leo forced his eye-lids to open...Darkness? Suddenly everything came flooding back. Leo tried to tug at the chains that bind him but no luck.

He strained his ears but all he could hear was the dripping of the water...wait – water?

Water-dancer? That is what Derius called me?

Leonardo closed his eyes, concentrating on the room. He could feel the moisture on the stone walls, as each drop slowly fell towards the ground. He could feel their movement even predict it. He could feel water underneath the stones. Leo could even feel the moisture in the air around him. Perfect...he thought to himself as he concentrated even more.

Pretty soon Raph, I'll be joining you.

You should have never returned. A voice whispered in their minds.

Mikey and Don both opened their eyes and glance around. The area was dark covered in nothing but sand and a mist covering everything. There were noises and if they concentrated enough they could see faded beings floating around. "Spirits?" Don whispered. It quickly dawned on the two lovers that the noises were cries and moans of pain.

"Those are the cries of the lost," Raphael whispered, "people who accidently adventured into this realm and died within its walls."

"So if we die?" Mikey asked getting up and offering a hand to help Donnie up.

Raphael nodded; his mouth was set in a tight frown, golden orbs dancing around observing even the slightest noise. Even his hand was hovering over his sai as if expecting to fight at any moment.

Mikey swallowed and glance back to where they came from, "it is not too late to go back is it?"

"Where here for Leo and Master Splinter," Don reminded the youngest, "whatever here is..."

"It is a pathway, a bridge connecting the two separate realms, an in-between." Raphael explained as he moved ahead. Donnie and Mikey followed making sure to stick close to the only one who seemed to know what he was doing.

Leave now one of fire. Leave!

"Okay I was definitely not imagining that..." Mikey yelled, "Who the hell is that?"

"Just keep going Mikey..." Raph grumbled, seeming unfazed by the voice.

Don watched his younger brother closely paying attention to the way Raphael moved. It reminded him of how soldiers would act after returning from a war. But in this case Raphael was returning to his battlefield. "Are they here?"

"Yeah Derius is a wanted man within his own realm..."

"Okay now I am even more confused," Mikey whined. "I thought the realm was where..."

"Mikey, who cares where we are?" Raph snapped, "Just stick close and pay attention. We are getting Leo and Master Splinter and getting the hell away from this place!"

Michelangelo seemed to draw away from the angry Raph, his eyes shimmering with a bit of hurt. "I'm just trying to understand everything..."

"Leave him alone Raphael!" Donnie snapped eyes narrowing, "that is no way to treat your brother and I believe we have every right to know what is going on! You say you told us everything but it is obvious that you haven't."

"Who cares what I told you Donnie? I just want to get Leo and Master Splinter back and pretend none of this happened. I am not part of this realm, I don't belong to it, and I don't even want to think about it!"

"Hunger. We hunger. Tasty. Smell so good."

A different voice actually it sounded like several voices at once. Raph froze, "shit!" Just as he said that the fog begun to thickened, making it impossible for them to even see their own hands.

"So Tasty. So Pure. So much power. We eat. We feed."

Raphael drew his weapons, muttering something that caused them to glow brightly the fog around them seeming to retreat. Donnie turned to look at Raphael and glanced around him as they noticed Mikey was not near them, "where is he Donnie!"

"I don't know! Mikey!" Don called his voice now on the edge of panic as he gripped the bow staff in his hands.

In the distance they heard the shrill screams of their younger brother. "Shit!" Raph yelled with panic in his voice as he grabbed Don's hand leading them straight into the fog towards the voice of their younger brother.

"Raph what is this?" Don whispered as hands seemed to grab onto him but the hands retreated with screams of agony as the light around Raph glowed brighter.

"These spirits they hunger, desire, feed on the souls of the living. They are known as wraiths. We do not have much time; we have to find Mikey before it's too late..."

Damn Leo I messed up big time.

The water collected around the chains, increasing its pressure he heard the metal snap easily. He collapsed to the ground, taking deep breaths. The feel of the cold stone against his heated flesh felt nice. He glanced at the dagger in his thigh. Derius did not even bother to remove it, its poison working its deadly magic within his own blood. Leo had to remove it.

Taking a deep breath he sat down on the stone floor and placed both hands on the dagger. This had to be done right; he could not afford to lose anymore blood. The water droplets collected around the outside of the dagger. Taking a deep breath Leo pulled at the dagger. He bit his beak to stop himself from crying out as the water quickly worked at knitting his flesh.

He lay on the stone floor panting, taking a moment to collect his breath and sanity. The cold floor worked its magic at easing his burning flesh. After a few minutes which felt like only seconds Leo forced himself to his feet.

The poison still linger inside him and the burning sensation was becoming more of an irritation then a hindrance. Adaptation was something Leo had learned quickly when you are a ninja turtle living in the sewers of New York City.

Something didn't feel right...danger and fear lingering in the back of his mind so very faint. Then he felt Raphael again, like a shimmering light standing beside him. It felt as if he could reach out and touch his brother. Then he knew...just like that he could feel Raphael's thoughts as if it were his own.

Michelangelo was in danger.

Picking up his gear that Derius had carelessly left in the same room, Leo made his way out the door and towards where his father was being held captive. If Derius thought that Raphael on his own was an annoyance he is going to regret even forcing the anger of the Hamato family.

Don't worry Mikey. I know Raphael will save you.

He was aware. He could feel his own life energy draining from him. And yet...he felt as if he deserved it. Deserved to let these spirits feed on him, eat away at what it was that made him living. It just felt so right in his mind. So easy to just give in and sleep forever.

After all what had all this fighting have led his family to? More fighting, more pain, and more anger. He was tired of fighting, tired of struggling because he was different. It felt strangely nice just to give up.

It was finally all going to end.

"Wake up!" A voice called out to him. It was a warm voice, a gentle voice, sounded that of a boy. He was a boy before right? A young child with no care in the world...he missed that sweet innocence. Not knowing what the harshness of the world held for him.

He had no desire to wake up, to face that of what he once was.

Sleep just seemed so perfect.

"Your brothers need you." The voice spoke again this time with more urgency.

His brothers? He had brothers...suddenly images of his past begun to flow back into his mind his life energy returning to him. As Mikey opened his eyes he blinked, a light surrounded him, the fog seeming to draw away. Hisses of anger and rage seemed to come from the spirits as they withdrew from the light.

Mikey looked around trying to find the voice that called to him, but all he saw was a flash of dark violet disappearing into the thickest of the fog.

"Mikey!" Don screamed.

Mikey stood just as Raph and Don appeared into the area, the strange light surrounding him faded. Don eyes widen and he dived on his younger brother, holding him tightly against his body. Fear that if he let go of Mikey he would disappear again.

"You okay?' Raphael asked lightly, looking around. Raphael's face appeared to be twisted in pain, but Mikey did not see a single wound on his brother.

"Yeah, it was weird. I felt like sleeping...I mean I no longer cared about anything but giving up..." Mikey muttered, hugging Don tightly against his body.

"There is a reason why mortals normally don't survive here; Wraiths have the ability to mess with your head. It is very unsettling..." Raph grumbled, his voice sounded strained.

Donnie had begun searching Mikey from head to toe checking for invisible wounds and making sure his lover was in one piece. After that he pulled Mikey into a deep kiss no longer caring what Raphael thought, the fear of losing Mikey was too great. And he wanted to make sure this was not some sort of dream.

Raphael only glanced away from his brothers. In his heart he had always suspected but deep down he felt a tinge of jealously. Here they were together, able to touch each other and his love was being held captive by a man. Torture by the very being that decided to have his own way with him in the past...Derius and his lover...

Donnie had pulled away, "Raph...you see..."

"How did you escape Mikey?" Raphael asked ignoring Don and his sudden need to explain why he was kissing their younger brother. There was a hint of anger in his words.

"Escape?" Mikey asked dazed from the kiss, his cheeks reddened. A glare from Raphael quickly brought him back to reality though..."oh yeah...well that was the weirdest thing. There was this voice that of a young boy telling me to wake up, but when I open my eyes there was no one around."

Leave!

"Eep!" Mikey yelled diving into the arms of Raph, "please tell me those are not the spirits again."

"No," Raphael said gently. It was a voice of a woman, one he knew all too well. "She is only warning me."

"Warning you of what?" Don asked annoyed that he was ignored earlier. "What is there to warn you of?"

Raphael looked away from his brothers eyes narrowed in rage and anger, Derius was going to pay for everything he done. Everything! The torture he put Raphael through, the torture he did on Leo, the torture he did on her! All of it! Every single blow Derius did on everyone else Raphael was going to do on Derius.

"Raph answer me!" Don demanded. "I am getting sick and tired of being one of the last to know. I mean I can handle the fact that there was an entire different realm coexisting with our own! I can even handle the idea that this realm possesses talents and abilities that we call magic. But when a spirit that obviously does not want to take our souls is demanding you – not us – to leave I would really like to know why!"

"I don't know okay Donnie! I know who she once was but how the hell am I suppose to know why she wants me to leave," Raph growled in response. He then went ahead leading his brothers with the faint glow upon his sais dissipating the fog before them. A message to Donnie that this conversation was over.

Please Raphael! Leave!

Just as the words whispered around them Raphael froze eyes dancing along the fortress before him. The ancient runes traced in the crumbling stone walls, the aura of power seeming to surround it. The fog would not go near the building seeming to retreat away from it in fear. Around the fortress shadow hounds stood on guard, their jaws drawn back in menacing snarls their crimson eyes hungering for that of flesh and blood.

But it was not the ancient magic, or the shadow hounds, or even the fog that contain the wraiths themselves that caused his heart to pound against his plastron. It was the lingering memories, lingering emotions, the lingering thoughts that caused the young turtle to freeze in the spot.

At that moment he had no desired to go forward, no desire to face the place that haunted him every night. Raphael felt as if he was living his very nightmare.

"Raph?" Donnie whispered, eyes widen in plain innocent fear. Mikey had unconsciously grabbed Donnie's hand seeking comfort from his brother. This was not what they were prepared for.

Raphael turned to look at his brothers, how would they expect to win? Michelangelo and Donatello had no abilities, no talents, and no magic to protect themselves from the creatures. He was outnumbered. Outmatched – it was suicide.

It was then that Don stepped forward withdrawing his bow staff, Mikey followed soon after pulling out his nun chucks. Raphael smiled weakly at his brothers. He turned to face the fortress once again. No words had needed to be said.

This was finally it. The time had finally come. A battle the turtles knew would leave them fighting for every second of their life, but even though the fear gripped their very hearts: They all knew they would willingly step within the gates of hell itself to bring back their brother and father.

Sorry everyone for the long update been having laptop issues . But yeah finally XD. I think there may be more chapters then I had planned for the climax of the story may end up being a bit too long ^^ Thanks so much for reading so far and please tell me what your favourite parts of the story is so far I would love to read it ^^ (Mine would have to be when Leo dreams of the past XD One of the best scenes I had so much fun writing)