(thoughtful look on face) Hmm… I'm curious- What really is over the rainbow? Anyone know? Maybe it's a diner- or perhaps a McDonalds; they are every where.
(being extremely lazy) Do I have to update? C'mon, it's only been what, four weeks? You guys can wait another two, right? (receives thousands of glares) I take that as a no.
Well, I truly am sorry it took this long to get this chapter up. I was just having so much fun writing the chapter of Suicide that revealed it all; I couldn't force myself to write this! Seriously, every time I tried to force myself to write this, I kept on thinking of my other story. (sighs) Writing is so much easier when you've had a certain chapter planned since you began the story.
(hopefully) Can I just skip over to the last few chapters and let you fill in the blanks?
(ducking the life-threatening blows aimed for me) I was kidding! I was kidding! Shish! Can't you guys take a joke?
Apparently not.
Actually, this would've been up sooner, but, despite the warnings of Darktiger2 and a girl I met on my three-hour delayed flight from Vegas to Phoenix, I went to Arizona anyways. On one day, it got as high as 119 degrees! I melted into a pile of goop and had to wait to solidify before I could type. And then, on our way back, I sprained my ankle! I couldn't come up the stairs to get to the computer! But I'm good now.
Well, in case you haven't noticed, I'm trying to prolong the inevitable here. But I suppose I should just get down to writing, huh? I finally got over my writer's block and was able to come up with some other stuff, but, man, do I need to get myself excited about this story again! All twenty-six of my other stories can wait!
Oh, guys? If you don't like the first little part of this chapter with Raph and Casey, I'm real sorry. I found it funny, but I'm aware that not everyone shares my sense of humor. But I think it's hilarious!
(smacks self) Stop avoiding the story! You know you like it!
Disclaimer: I don't own the TMNT… or a DVD player, or a cell phone, or a closet, or a fairy godmother, or Internet access, or cable/satellite, or a unicorn…
&&&&&
"What're ya doin'?" Casey asked suspiciously. He may have been dumb, but not that dumb. He'd caught on to the ninja tricks the four turtles performed so well… eventually.
Raph was still doing his best to hide his little secret. "Nothing."
"Let me see what ya got."
"Why?"
"'Cause I said so!"
While Raph showed him an empty cup, Casey snuck around to his other side just in time to get a glimpse of a can of beer. "Oh, no ya don't." He grabbed the can out of his hand. "No under-age drinking… not for a couple more years, anyways."
Raph shook his head, a small hint of annoyance, amusement, and frustration on his face. As much fun as it would've been to get into a fight right about then, they both knew they had more important things to do right now.
After making a difficult choice between taking the beer Raph had gotten just to tick him off or a regular can of soda, Casey finally chose the pop, deciding to be nice this time.
While the red-clad turtle continued to look for his own drink, Casey made his way to the living room. But before he even got there, he heard the sound of something heavy sliding against a wall, before it stopped and was replaced by a quick thud against the ground.
Somehow knowing that that couldn't have been good, Casey quickened his pace into the living room, where he immediately noticed Leo's still form lying on the floor.
"Raph!" he shouted back to the kitchen while he made his way to the collapsed turtle.
"What?" his answer came back to him in the same tone.
"You need to get in here, now!"
"Just give me a sec-"
"No, Raph," Casey began, stopping when he looked at Leo's body again; "you need to get in here right now!"
This time, Casey noticed a small trace of worry in his friend's voice. All four of them had always had a small way of sensing when one of their brothers was in trouble. "Why?"
"'Cause some really weird things are happenin' in here." He watched as a strange liquid suddenly appeared around Leo, only seconds after he went transparent before returning to his normal state of matter. "Really weird things."
&&&&&
As much as his leg stung; as much as he wanted to sleep, Donny couldn't fight off the feeling of alacrity that was pulling at his senses, telling him that something was wrong.
Groggily, the purple-clad turtle opened his eyes, trying to focus. His ears quickly picked up on Casey's voice, yelling to Raph. He saw him kneeling next to Leo on the floor. They were both wet, like they'd been out in the rain for a while. Seeing how much time had passed, Donny began to wonder how much he'd missed while he was asleep.
Wait a minute. Replaying the scene he'd just witnessed in his mind, Don realized what had made him wake up. Why was Leo on the floor? From the looks of it, he'd just passed out.
What was going on?
As he became more aware of what was going on, he saw April and Mikey awakening just as Raph entered the room. "What the shell happened to him?" he shouted at Casey.
"I don't know! I just came in here and he was like this."
April walked over to him and kneeled on the floor. "Omigod, he's so cold."
Don caught Mikey's glance. That wasn't good.
Knowing full well that he was still a better medic then any of his brothers, Don chose to forget about the pain in his leg. Painfully, he made himself get up, limping to his brother.
Mikey came quickly. "No, bro. Sit down, you're hurt."
Donny shook his head. Although he didn't want it, he saw that Mikey knew he wasn't going to give up. He helped him over there.
They watched the water float around Leo.
"What the hell is that?" asked Casey.
The turtles recognized it immediately. Raph looked at Mike and Don. "Isn't that the stuff that was in the sewers?"
Mikey nodded. "It was also the stuff Don was looking at back at the lair."
Looking at it closely, Donny realized he was right. It was the same as the strange water sample he studied.
April, placing her hand on Leo's knee, looked curiously at the water. "Guys, I can't feel this…" she watched the blood swirl with the liquid as it flowed around Leo's legs; "water." She felt his arm again. "He's really cold, we need to move him."
Casey and Mikey bent down to help move him, but found they couldn't lift him. They couldn't even move a limb. Leo was as immobile as a stone.
He started turning around, apparently in another nightmare that had been so common to him lately. His hands flew to his ears and he kept his eyes squeezed shut.
They tried to warm him up by giving him a blanket, but his body wouldn't respond in any way to the heat. In fact, his body was steadily growing colder.
"What do we do?" Mikey asked desperately.
Unable to do anything to help, Don took a seat on the floor, across from April. "We'll just have to wait. We can't move him, we can't keep him warm; there's nothing we can do until he wakes up."
There were no protests. Not spoken, anyways. He knew they all didn't like the idea, but there really was no other alternative.
Sighing, he put a finger over his brother's wrist and took his pulse.
&&&&&
The darkness was familiar, though he didn't know how one could tell one moment of pure blackness from another. All he knew was that although he couldn't see a thing, he knew this place; about the young, shrill screams he was hearing from every direction.
But that was all he could remember. He couldn't be sure, but he felt like they were screaming louder than ever before, like they were crying out to him at the top of their lungs only inches from his ears.
He wanted to concentrate on something else, perhaps his name and why this was happening, but he couldn't think at all. His head was throbbing and he was cold. Yet, all he cared and understood about were these children.
An exact number came to mind. Eighty-eight. That meant two new children, both girls. Why was it that he could feel them when he couldn't figure out who he was?
"Please stop…" he whispered, some how knowing that even through the screams, he'd be heard. "You're hurting me."
From deep within, he was in a string of pain. He knew these kids were in trouble, but he couldn't help them. He hadn't been able to since the first time he'd heard them.
There was something. And with that thought came the memory of a young girl who'd died because she wanted to help him.
What was some of the advice she'd given him? Look around? For the children? But he couldn't find them. He'd already tried, hadn't he?
From the sound of it, the voices were trying to stop their screams, for his sake, but were having no success.
The point was, they kept trying to help him. He was still standing around, knee deep in freezing water that occasionally would turn thick and warm, as if it couldn't decide what it wanted to be. Why was he still here? Maybe there was something he missed.
Decided, he moved forward.
&&&&&
Donny had found a way too sit on he floor without his leg bursting into sharp pain. Mikey watched him monitor Leo's heart rate as their brother turned around on the floor. His hands were still covering his ears, but now they were slowly falling to the floor. Occasionally, he'd flicker out of existence, only to be back before they could blink
They'd all been surprised a little earlier, when Leo spoke softly. Both Don and April believed he was referring to the events that were happening in his nightmare, whatever they might be.
Either way, Mikey just wished Leo would wake up soon. He and his brothers, and pretty much everyone else had been sure that something was wrong with him for a while now, but this only confirmed it.
They were all getting very worried now. The only ones who were of some sort of help were April and Donny. Everybody else were just forced to watch. They could do nothing.
Raph looked especially agitated by this fact. Mikey half-wondered if it was only because, once again, he hadn't been able to talk to Leo, but he quickly dismissed the thought.
That was when April looked up suddenly. "His temperature dropped again." She paused. "And it's still getting lower."
Don kept his eyes on his brother. "Same story for his pulse." He said quietly.
And Leo gasped, cringing in pain.
&&&&&
Louder and louder the screams grew, and it didn't matter which way he went. Once again, he'd failed them. The children continued with their cries. He wondered how they could keep it up and breathe at the same time.
He wrapped his arms around himself. It did nothing for the cold, which had grown even stronger with each step he took. And he knew that was bad.
He couldn't move his feet anymore. And he could barely stand either. The next thing he knew, he was sinking into the 'water', which had become warm for a minute again.
It went cold and he shuddered, but he didn't get up. The screams rang loudly in his ears, begging him not to stop; pleading for him to end their suffering.
"I'm sorry," he said softly, "I don't know how to help you. I can't do it. I'm so sorry."
He was tired and full of hate. He remembered Stockman and wanted to stop him, but he couldn't. He didn't know how.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"
Quietly, he slipped deeper into the water, to his chin, and closed his eyes.
&&&&&
Six beats a minute. Raph shook his head. How was that possible?
The strange water around Leo's body had moved up from his knees to his shoulders. Raph, along with Mike and Casey, had lowered himself to the floor awhile ago. He hadn't thought that it was possible, but he found that April was right. Feeling him, he realized that Leo was in fact colder. Much colder.
Raph was wondering what Leo had meant when he said he couldn't help them. He was thinking that maybe it had something to do with the same 'them' Sil had referred to, only hours before she died.
He came back to reality. Leo was talking again. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" he said sadly. The water moved up to his chin.
Crap. Raph had a feeling that Leo was giving up. And a small drop in his temperature beneath Raph's fingertips only confirmed it.
"Don't you dare." He said firmly, surprising Mikey. "Don't you dare."
&&&&&
He opened his eyes suddenly.
Although he'd walked through it, and was even sitting upon it now, he realized that he could feel no surface below him.
Below the water.
He sat up quickly and pushed his hand down to where his leg was.
Nothing.
This meant something. He was sure of it. Letting his body go completely under the water, he turned on his side and pushed his hand down further.
What was going on?
&&&&&
Almost a minute after Raph spoke, Leo gave another sign of life. Through the nightmare, he seemed surprised by something.
April watched as the water completely engulfed his body and he turned on his side, towards her and Raph, forcing Donny to stop the monitoring of his pulse. He started pushing his hand against the floor.
And it went through.
Leo pulled it back, unaware of the five pairs of eyes that were on him. And his hand went down again.
&&&&&
It was colder under the water, but he made himself swim down further, probing for a surface with his hand.
Sometimes, he found himself completely disgusted. The water turned into what he knew to be blood more down here. It was water again now, though.
Finally, he came to a spot where it was harder to go through all around. Harder, but not impossible. It was like a floor, except he could push his hand through it if he tried hard enough.
Here, the screams were louder than they were above. For a moment, he wondered why he wasn't running out of air, but dismissed the thought. He found it odder that he could actually breathe down here, as he found out when his mouth opened once, but no water came through it. He could feel the water around him, but it didn't drown him.
Pushing hard, he sent his hand through the barrier. Immediately, it became dryer, like there was a thick, icy mist on the other side.
But it was still like he was fishing through water. He moved his hand around, searching for anything.
But he didn't like what he found.
All of a sudden, he felt something cold touch his hand. It jumped, trying to hold onto his palm.
What was it? It was moving, so what could it be?
The screams pelted him hard and he almost let go.
For a moment, he was frozen. He moved his hand down slowly, softly, and closed around something thinner beneath the moving thing.
It was a human hand. A child's hand.
And above something metallic around it, there was no pulse.
&&&&&
His arm came quickly through the floor as Leo's eyes shot open. He gasped. Immediately, the water that had been encompassed around him shattered its form and fell to the floor around them.
Don moved his burnt leg as it came suddenly to touch and it, wincing slightly as he did so. Everyone else was backing away, disgusted with its texture and smell. But Leo seemed oblivious to it. He curled up into a ball, trying to warm himself.
The purple-clad turtle knew he needed it. He was shaking uncontrollably. April immediately got up to fetch a blanket.
Donny could see Leo's face now. He looked lost, like he couldn't remember who he was. He wasn't completely out of his nightmare yet.
As he became more aware of himself, Leo rocked himself, hand closed tight into a fist in front of him, turning his knuckles white. Shivering, he opened the hand in front of him.
In it laid a tarnished gold-colored bracelet. It was small, for a child no older than five.
Leo just watched it calmly. Then he looked around, seeing his brothers, Casey, and April, who had come back with the blanket and was staring with the others at the bracelet.
Rolling onto his shell and pushing himself up a little, he looked at each one. "You saw, didn't you?"
They nodded.
Leo stared for a minute before sighing and telling his tale.
&&&&&
Ah! I didn't realize until now that it's been over a month since I updated this! I'm really sorry, guys!
Well, I got myself psyched about the story again, but next chapter may take some time. After that, things should be much easier.
And before I forget, I'd like to thank the people who reviewed Under the Bed. I was so happy to see that my first humor story got such a great response! Mega thanks to: Katana-Babe, eldarsevenstar, Chibi Rose Angel, Lunar-ninja, LenniluvsBrian, pacphys, kaya lizzie, Jade-t9, Spawnguy, Mickis, The REAL Cheese Monkey, kerrbear, Dierdre, dorcus, The Sacred Heart, and Inumaru12!
I have no idea if I'll add to my one-shot, but Spikey wants to post a sequel to it. I'm not sure if I'll let him though. I don't want to thwart creative talent, but his story is weird. It started out good enough, but then he put some really stupid things in it that totally goes against what the original was meant to be.
But he does have an interesting idea for a different story. Anybody wondering what really is in Bishop's top-secret files on our guys in green? I'm considering writing that one!
And while we're talking about one-shots, is it normal for one to get over twenty reviews? Rest in Peace had 21 now, and that just blows me away.
Anyways, I'll try to update this soon! Once again, I'm very sorry for the delay, but it's here now isn't it?
Please Review!