A/N: Thanks to all who reviewed so far! This is an interesting chappie, to make up for the appalling one last time. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything TMNT. Akasha and her family is mine, however.
Hidden Truth
Chapter 4: Just Peachy!
Akasha woke with a start. It was dark, much darker than it had been before.
"I must've dozed off," she murmured. She shivered; it was chilly. The mosquito's had gone, she noted. All was still.
Crack.
A stick snapped somewhere in the forest. Akasha's head jerked up; a dark shape was making its way silently through the woods towards the canoe. It heaved the canoe into the water, got in, and began to paddle swiftly away. It soon vanished from sight. Akasha shook her head and snuck over to where the canoe had been beached.
A scream shattered the night. Akasha slipped in the mud and fell flat on her rear end. She struggled to her feet, searching the lake desperately. There was no sign of the canoe. But she saw something in the reeds at her feet: Naomi's flip-flops.
"Naomi!" she screamed. No answer. "Naomi!" her voice echoed, as if a hoard of ghosts were calling "Naomi! Naomi! Naomi!" around her.
Suddenly she saw something; a dark shape, bobbing above the water. Then numerous other something's appeared, and yanked the first back below the water. Akasha's vision blurred with tears. She ran the length of the dock, and dived into the lake.
The water was icy. Akasha did her best to ignore it and swam as fast as she could. Dark shapes up ahead were moving, but the closer she got, the quicker they disappeared. She dove down further, in an attempt to cut them off, but they had vanished. She burst out of the water, gasping. The dock, to her dismay, was only about three yards away. Her quarry had disappeared. She trod water for a second, then turned around and swam slowly back.
Akasha heaved herself up onto the dock, water streaming onto the wooden slats. She paused for a moment to catch her breath before sprinting off to the cottage.
"Akasha!" someone called. Akasha rounded a clump of trees to find Mark and Jordan on the front step, calling her name.
"Naomi!" she gasped. "Naomi's gone!" A look of horror crossed Mark's face, but Akasha did not have time to wonder why. She tore past her uncle and cousin. She pounded on the spare room's door.
"Guys! Open up!" she cried. Don opened the door, a worried expression on his face. The others were not there, probably out scouring the woods again.
"Akasha, what's up?" he asked. "And why are you so wet?" Akasha waved a hand in dismissal to his question.
"Naomi," she managed to wheeze. "She was taken b-by something." Akasha was trying to sort out all the confusion in her mind. "I-I fell asleep outside, and when I woke up, I saw Naomi in the canoe. Then I heard this scream, and saw her being pulled under! I went after her, but –" she gave a choking sob. "– She's gone!" Don wordlessly put his arms around her, letting her cry on his shoulder.
She gulped and drew back, wiping her eyes angrily.
"Sorry," she mumbled. He smiled.
"That's okay. You're upset. Don't worry, the others should be back any minute." He paused for a moment, then produced a blanket from his backpack and draped it around her shoulders. They sat together, their backs against the wall, waiting…
Soon the others arrived. Raph became worried when he saw Akasha's tear-stained face.
"What happened?" he demanded, glaring at Don as if it was his brother's fault.
"Naomi got taken," Akasha answered. "Something pulled her underwater."
"Underwater?" Mikey asked. "That reminds me –" But Leo put a finger to his lips, indicating that he should be quiet.
"We have to find her!" Akasha said, gathering herself together. But Mark called,
"Akasha! Come here, please!" Akasha got slowly to her feet.
"We'll go and see if we can see anything down by the lake," Leo said. He and his brothers hopped out of the window, mixing easily with the shadows. Even in her distressed state, Akasha still sighed in envy; it would be years before she was that good.
She opened the door and shuffled into the living room. To her surprise, Sarah, Nicolas and Emily were there. Jordan was hugging the young child, her lips pressed tightly together, watching the adults warily. Emily had her thumb in her mouth, her brown eyes wide.
Sarah drew Akasha aside, while Mark and Nicolas went into the kitchen to make tea. Jordan and Emily went off to one of the bedrooms, sensing that they were not supposed to overhear.
"Listen, Akasha," Sarah began. She hesitated, as if unsure of what to say. "There's something that I have to tell you, about this family. Your fathers side of the family." She paused again.
"Do you know about Atlantis?" Akasha blinked.
"Well, yes, I've heard the story." She did not say that the turtles had told her of the real Atlantis, and the Y'Lyntians that had dwelt there.
"Yes, it is supposedly a myth." Sarah shrugged. "Well, it's not. It's real. And a long time ago – centuries ago in fact – A horrible thing happened: The Y'Lyntians – the people from Atlantis – their servents rebelled, and most escaped, but not before they had killed a lot of Y'Lyntians. The Y'Lyntians went into hiding deep inside the earth, but the servents hid in the forests and uninhabited areas on the surface."
"What do the servents look like?" Akasha asked. She had all but forgotten that this was her aunt telling her all this. The information seemed to have come straight out of a fairy tale.
"I'm not exactly sure. But the two kinds I do know are more animal than human. Some are fishlike, and the others are more like bears, but they have green fur."
"Where's all of this going?"
"Well, an Y'Lyntian was spotted by a woman one day, on a trip to the surface. They fell in love and had a child. The child looked more like his mother than his Y'Lyntian father, so nobody suspected anything. The child had Y'Lyntian powers, however. He grew up and married a human. They had a child."
"Um, if you don't mind," Akasha interrupted. "Where is this going exactly? Does it matter?"
"I'm getting to that. Anyway, the bloodline continued to spread. But their Y'Lyntian powers did not die out, and they remainded quite strong. And the servents could sense those powers. Presuming that they were stray Y'Lyntians, they hunted down most of the family and killed them. But one survivor started another colony that moved overseas. The creatures were unable to follow, and soon forgot the people. But eventually they themselves migrated, and redescovered the bloodline. By this time the family had spread over a vast area. There were many people with faint strains of Y'Lyntian powers now, and the creatures became confused. They retreated further into the wilderness, away from heavily populated places."
Akasha was feeling sick. She had an unpleasant idea where this was going.
"Slowly, the bloodline began to die," Sarah continued. "The Y'Lyntian powers envoked a strange reaction from humans. The family became isolated, and slowly diminished." Her aunt's eyes were misty, staring unseeingly at a spot on the wall. She shook her head to clear it and plowed on. "The creatures began to pick them off. They would corner a person and kill it, hiding the body away from prying eyes. Finally there was only a tiny group of them left. Their powers were so weakened now, that they hardly had any effect on humans, and the creatures found it difficult to track them. But they stayed hidden, anti-social people." She offered Akasha a half-smile. "Guess who are the only survivors?"
Akasha swallowed to moisten her bone-dry throat.
"Us," she whispered. Sarah nodded.
"Bull's eye. We are, your father's family. Ever wondered how he died? He got ambushed on a hike. Got pretty much decapitated. We found is backpack by the lake, covered in blood. Well, I'm getting ahead of myself. It started when your father was seven. His father – my father, your grandfather – was out hunting one day. I hadn't been born yet. But he said it was horrible. He heard a scream, and saw dad being dragged into the trees by these great, green bears. He says he was paralyzed with shock, and didn't even try to help. He never forgave himself for that. Authorities never recovered the body. It… vanished." Sarah's eyes were clouded with pain. "I never even got to meet my father, all because of those… things. Anyway, Peter – your dad – vowed to find out why those creatures were killing us off. He found out a great deal. He told us all he had found, but we didn't believe him. His story was to far-fetched.
"He moved to New York, to seek more work. He was a scientist, and made a lot of money there. He met your mother at a conference. They got married, and he told her all about his theories with the creatures. Unlike us, she believed him. She actually helped him do research. Well, they had you around then. Your dad was so happy. But he was worried the creatures would hurt you if they knew you were linked to him. He believed that your powers would be so diluted that they could not sense them among the hubbub of the city. He did not stick around for very long, and was constantly on the move, for about four years. Your mother was very patient. But then… your dad got fired. A mishap at work, they said, I'm not sure exactly what. Your dad needed a place to stay, away from you. He came here. He went on a hike, and…" she trailed off.
"How does this fit in with Naomi going missing?" Akasha already knew the answer.
"For some reason," Sarah said slowly. "Naomi's powers are more pronounced than normal. The creatures find it easy to find her, because her powers are so strong. We've been trying to figure that one out, but… since your dad died, we really have no idea."
"We have to find her!" Akasha said, running a hand through her unruly hair distractedly. "We'll have to take the backup canoe out, but –"
"No." Sarah was looking seriously alarmed now. "I didn't tell you this so that you could go after her! The whole point is that you can't just run off after Naomi! The creatures will most certainly sense you here, without the fumes of the city to disguise you. It would be suicidal!"
"I don't care." Akasha was already concocting a plan that involved sneaking away with the turtles. But Sarah wouldn't hear of it.
"I'm not having my neice go running off in the dead of night. Besides, it's almost certain that the creatures will not have killed Naomi yet. They'll want to use her as bait for us."
"Then what can we do?" Akasha cried.
"Wait," Sarah said. She sighed heavily. "It's all we can do."
Mark and Nicolas appeared from the kitchen, with a tray bearing mugs of tea.
"How are you?" Nicolas asked Akasha, eyeing her carefully.
"I've just found out that my family is being hunted down by evil, centuries old creatures that originated from Atlantis! My cousin is missing, I'm tired, and my neck is killing me! I'm just peachy!" Akasha cried, taking a deep breath. Nicolas smiled lop-sidedly.
"That was my take on it, too."
Akasha absently added honey to her tea, eyes on the window. Jordan tiptoed out of the bedroom, Emily holding her hand. They sipped hot chocolate while the grown-ups talked in low voices. Akasha did not try to listen in. Her mind was far away, with Naomi. She must be terrified, wherever she was… if she was alive, that is…
Akasha firmly pushed those thoughts away. It would not help to dwell on unpleasent things. She must direct all of her energies to getting Naomi back. The turtles would help, she knew. The adults had fallen silent now.
"How did Bailey get his name?" Jordan asked softly. She was curled up on the sofa, nursing her hot chocolate. Akasha sensed she was simply asking the question to calm her nerves, more than for the knowledge. The story had been told over and over. Bailey's ear flicked forward at the sound of his name, but he did not budge from his spot on the floor.
Mark told the story of how Bailey, as a puppy, had loved to lap up a bit of Bailey's every time Mark or Laura had added it to their coffee. Jordan curled up next to her father, comforted by the familiar words, but Akasha continued to stare out of the window. It was Emily who brought up the subject of Naomi's disappearence again.
"Why did Na'mi go away, Daddy?" she asked Nicolas, her tongue stumbling awkwardly over her cousin's name. "Was she mad?"
"I-I don't know, Em," Nicolas replied. He looked helplessly at Mark.
"She was mad at me," Mark remarked quietly. "She must have snuck out her window and taken the canoe out. She does that whenever she's angry or upset."
"Oh." Emily stroked Bailey's velvety ears with a gentle finger. "When will she be back?"
"I don't know," Mark answered. His eyes were clouded with grief, and he stared blankly at the floor. An uncomfortable silence followed.
"I'm going to bed," Akasha said suddenly, getting up. She strode to the bedroom and closed and locked the door. Turning, she saw with a pang Naomi's stack of books lying on the dresser. Her lip quivered, and she looked away quickly. To give herself something to do, Akasha went over to the small window, and pushed aside the still-damp towels from that afternoon, unlatching the window and sliding it up. Maybe the fresh air would do her good…
"AAARGH!"
"Quiet! Shhhh, it's just me!" Leo was standing there. Akasha tried to regain her composure and her heartrate at once, glaring at the blue-banded turtle.
"Oh, just give me a heartattack why don't you?" she snapped, angry with herself for getting so easily scared. Leo looked apologetic.
"Sorry. We were worried you'd never show up."
Quickly she told him the whole thing that Sarah had related to her. Leo looked shocked but said nothing.
"But why haven't you been… hunted down or something?" he asked after she had finished. "If the creatures can sense you…"
"I don't know." Akasha had been pondering the very same question herself. "Sarah says that the fumes of the city hid me, but… I don't know. My dad seemed to think that he was a danger to my mom and me, so why couldn't I be too? Now I'll never know." She swiped her eyes angrily. "Where are the others?"
"On the roof," Leo answered, slightly embarrassed. He looked away. "Listen Akasha, I know this might not be the best time, but I have to tell you something; Raph's acting really weird after that Josh… incident. I know he's very fond of you –"
Akasha snorted loudly. Leo raised a questioning eyeridge.
"Well… fond isn't really the right word…" she replied, grinning in spite of herself. Leo looked perplexed.
"Well, you're not together, right? I know Mikey's always going on about it, but –"
"Psst, Leo!" Don was crouched on the roof of the cabin. He saw Akasha. "So, what happened?" he asked her, momentarily forgetting Leo.
With a sigh, Akasha slid the window up further and stuck her head out.
"Get the others and come in here; I'll explain everything." Don's head withdrew and his soft footsteps receaded. Leo slid into the room. He looked upset about something.
"What's wrong?" Akasha asked, cocking her head. Leo swallowed, looked away.
"Nothing."
Akasha sat on the bed and motioned for him to do the same. She put a hand on his shoulder. "So what is it?" To her surprise she felt gooseflesh ripple under her palm, and saw a slight blush mantling his cheeks. She took her hand away.
Mikey scrambled throught the window. He landed with a surprised 'oof!' on the floor, got up, and tripped over a stack of books. He fell for the second time with a thump. After finally managing to get to his feet, he collapsed on the bed next to Akasha. Akasha was giggling uncontrollably at his antics now, and had forgotten Leo's strange behavior. Raph clambered through the window, followed by Don. They sat on the bed, watching Akasha uneasily. Mikey was rubbing his sore foot, pouting sulkily.
"So what's up, Asha?" Raph asked. Akasha sobered, and took a deep breath before explaining the whole thing to them.
"Whoa," Mikey said when she was finished. "That's deep."
"I'll say." Akasha rubbed her temples wearily.
"We need to go after Naomi!" Leo stated. But he was looking at Akasha as he said it, a strange expression on his face. The girl was much too preoccupied to notice, but Raphael did. He glared suspiciously at his older brother, wandering for the first time just how he viewed Akasha. Leo noticed, and returned the glare challengingly, as if daring Raphael to defy him. Raph held his gaze until Leo broke and stared at the ground. Raph had won – for now.
"Sooooo…" Mikey said, breaking the tension that had filled the room. "When are we going after Naomi?" he said it with such certainty that Akasha almost giggled, but held it in. She had sensed the growing intensity between Leo and Raph. She edged closer to Raph almost subconsiously, away from the burning anger that radiated from Leo.
"I was thinking of leaving in the morning," Akasha answered uneasily. "How about you guys?"
"Sure," Raph said firmly. "Tomorrow morning." He turned to Leo, eyes narrowed. "Is that alright with the Fearless Leader?"
"Fine," Leo snapped, getting up. "Just fine. I'm going to bed, I'm tired." He snuck out of the door and into the spare room, making sure that Akasha's family could not hear him.
"I think I'll hit the sack too," Mikey yawned. "How 'bout you, Donnie boy?" Don shrugged in asset and followed his brother out of the door. Raph watched them for a moment, and then turned to Akasha.
"I suppose I'd better go too," he said. He leaned toward her, but she pulled back sharply.
"Not now," she said. "Not tonight. Just… not tonight." He looked a little surprised but accepted her wish.
"Okay." He grinned lopsidedly at her. "Getting a bit too much of a habit, huh?" Akasha grinned back, a little timidly.
"It's not that, it's just… not after the whole Naomi thing." She felt her eyes prickle, and she looked down. Raph put an arm around her comfortingly, and she leaned against him as the tears began to flow.
"It's okay," Raph said, rubbing her arm. "We'll find Naomi tomorrow, I promise." Akasha sniffled and nodded. She got up and hugged him.
"Thanks," she mumbled, wiping her eyes. He got up too, and moved toward the door.
"Don't mention it," he replied. He eased the door open and peered out. "The coast's clear. I'd better go while I can." He half-turned, then seemed to change his mind and slipped out into the hallway, closing the door softly behind him. Akasha sank onto the bed, suddenly exhausted. She curled up in a ball on the mattress. She would find Naomi if it was the last thing she ever did…
A/N: Sooo... the plot is revealed! Kind of. And Naomi is gone! But where? So many questions... evil laughter I will try to update soon!
