October 13, 2012

"Where's the pizza place, Raph?" Mikey plastered his face against the large map of the Hidden City that was near the front of Takeshi and Karai's neighborhood.

"If you move your face, we can find out!" Raph snapped. He was still salty about the whole situation with Karai. He wasn't sure whether or not they could fully trust her. Things had been changing too much lately for his comfort.

"Here's the markets, Donnie." April pointed to a location on the map. She turned to her red-clad brother. "Will you and Mikey be okay navigating the city on your own?"

"Eager to get rid of us too?" Raph grumbled. He winced under April's pitying gaze. "Sorry, Red. I've just got a crimp in my tail. We'll be fine."

April let go of her boyfriend's hand to grasp Raph's. "Are you sure? I've sensed you feeling… a bit left out lately…"

He pulled away, not meeting her eyes. "We'll be fine, April. You and the nerd go off on your date, okay?" Raph couldn't see her face, but he could tell his sister was hurt by his coldness.

"Alright… We'll meet back here in three hours. I guess… we'll see you guys later."

"Have fun at the markets, guys!" Mikey waved. He pulled Raph in the opposite direction. "Com'on, Raph! Run of the Mill Pizza is this way. We can still have fun, just the two of us."

How could Raph not grin at the bright smile Mikey shot him? "Yeah. We'll make an adventure of it. Lead on, little brother!"

The turtles made their way across the city. Mikey practically vibrated with excitement over all of the new and exciting things they encountered on their journey. It wasn't long before the boys arrived at Run of the Mill Pizza.

The sight was enough to silence Mikey and shake Raph out of his funk. The entire restaurant was full of different yokai. There were slimy yokai, furry yokai, yokai that were so tall their faces almost reached the ceiling. The boys looked around, unsure of what to do next.

Mikey leaned closer to Raph. "Alright. Be cool, Raph." He whispered behind his raised hand. "This is our first time in a classy restaurant. So…" He tapped his fingers together. "Whado we do?"

"I don't know…" The older turtle shuffled his feet, glancing at the yokai sitting and chatting. "Pick a table, I guess?"

"There!" Mikey pointed to a booth table that had just been vacated. The boys dashed over before it could be claimed by someone else.

Raph brushed away several crumbs the previous inhabitants had left. "Cool. Now that we've got a table, do we order stuff like… regular people?"

"Here, you are regular people, my friends." Mikey and Raph looked up to find a skeletal yokai wearing a suit holding out a set of menus for them. "Is this your first time in the Hidden CIty, amigos?"

Raph scoffed as he accepted the menu from the yokai. "That obvious, huh?"

The yokai shrugged, sliding into the booth next to Mikey. "We've had a multitude of mutants seeking refuge within the Hidden City over the past several months. Are you boys in need of shelter?"

Mikey shook his head. "Nah, bone man. We're here with our family visiting our long lost sister.

"You may call me Hueso, my orange friend." Hueso tipped his fedora.

"Whadda mean 'multitudes'? And howdo ya know they're mutants and not yokai like you?" Raph glared suspiciously at this interloper over the top of his menu.

Hueso fiddled with the lapel of his jacket. "Every mutant that has turned up in the Hidden City claims to have escaped from a place full of metal men after being transformed with a strange ooze." Mikey and Raph exchanged a side glance. "You know something about these poor creatures, don't you, tortugas?"

Raph shifted in his seat, making a spur of the moment decision to trust this skeletal yokai. He leaned forward. "Those 'metal men' are aliens." The red-clad turtle explained. "Call themselves the Kraang. Last we heard, they've teamed up with an evil ninjutsu master called the Shredder. They've promised him a mutant army.

"Hm, extraterrestres…" Hueso muttered, stroking his chin. He turned to face Mikey. "Did you and your family escape from this Shredder?"

The boy shook his head. "We've been mutated for a long while, but Shred-head and the Kraang have been chasing our family for years."

"These guys NEED to be stopped!" Raph jabbed his finger into the table. "We just can't get a handle on their operations."

"Wait, your family has been handling these tipo on your own? How many are you?"

"For now, none of your business." Raph growled.

Hueso raised his hands, dropping the subject. "Very well, tortugas amigos. But you are correct about these villanos - they need to be stopped. It's clear that these mutantes are being changed against their will…" He slipped out of the boys' booth. "There is someone who might be able to help; I will speak with her about this matter. Please - order whatever you desire mis tortugas amigos! It's on the house!" Hueso bowed, swiveled, and strolled through the restaurant to greet his other guests.

Mikey's eyes bulged out of his head as he took in the menu. "This place is AMAZING! I think I'm gonna like it here!"

Raph leaned back in his seat, observing the many different creatures milling about. He felt a swirling feeling in his gut that something was coming. "We'll see, little brother. We'll see."

So... fun fact: The next arc that's starting in Ch 39 I'm calling Out of the Shadows. In my original outline, it was set to be 4-5 chapters. Nah, bruh. MORE LIKE 10-15! This arc is going to be MASSIVE!

I also FINALLY have the rest of the story outlined! Baring if a chapter gets away from me and I need to split it, looks like OUADN will be 58-60 chapters in total.

Prepare yourselves. Nothing will be the same...