A/N: OMG, I've really left it ages this time haven't I? Bad authoress, bad authoress! But not to worry! This is the last chapter, other than the epilogue, which is in the works! And it's long! The chapter title makes sense at the end. Again, a warning; minor swearing is used in this chapter. No offense, just to give you the heads up in case. It is rated 'T'.

PLOTHOLE: Me and CPQ realized that this story has a plothole! (gasps) Not a colossal one, but it's annoying. Akasha had her bathing suit on when she went in the lake after Naomi, and then, at the end of the last chapter when Raph hugs her, she miraculously has a sweatshirt on, and in areas of the last few chapters,implied full clothing. I do intend to go back and fix that, but I thought I would just point that out and post the next chapter ASAP. In this chapter Akasha is wearing her bathing suit.

Hidden Truth

Chapter 8

Deadweight


They continued down the tunnel. Raph noticed Akasha was wearing a backpack she had not had before. He tapped her shoulder.

"Where'd ya get the backpack?" he asked.

"Oh… There was a bunch of stuff in the cave I was held prisoner in. I think it belonged to my relatives that got… ya know…" she gritted her teeth. Raph put an arm around her shoulders. She leaned gratefully against him.

"It… I don't know. 'It called to me' would sound stupid…" she laughed despite her watering eyes. "I just kinda… felt like it was important. I dunno."

"Nothing stupid about that," Raph said softly.

Suddenly the tunnel widened out into a large cavern. The tunnel continued at the other end of the cave.

"I don't like this," Leo murmured, unsheathing his katanas. "It's too quiet."

"Naw, ya don't say?" Raph returned sarcastically. Leo's authoritive figure was getting on his nerves. Akasha squeezed his hand. He felt the anger simmer down a little at her touch.

The group skirted around the edges of the cave, eyes peeled for the slightest sign of movement. Nothing happened. They reached the tunnel entrance.

"Let's go!" Raph hissed. "Before Shrak gets back!" He stepped toward the tunnel, but Yola held him back.

"Wait," she murmured. "Something is not right…"

Suddenly Guppy, unable to stand the tension, bolted forward. The moment he reached the tunnel entrance he froze. A bluish wall of light appeared covering the way. Guppy's head made it through, but the rest of him was stuck. He wriggled and twisted but could not get free.

"It's a trap!" Yola walked forward, examining the struggling Guppy. "A crystal-powered force-field if you will." She pointed to a small crystal embedded in the top of the tunnel, directly above the light-wall. "I'll need time to disable it."

"Guys, I don't think we have any time," Leo said, whipping his twin katana swords from their sheaths in one fluid movement. He was facing the cave, his shell to the squirming Guppy. Slowly, Akasha turned around; the bottom dropped out of her stomach.

At least fifty fishmen, armed with clubs and crude spears, were silently filtering into the cavern. They were huge and well muscled, with more brawn than brains, she supposed. Shrak stood calmly behind his small army, his crystal-capped staff raised. The clamshells that adorned his headdress clinked as he assumed a fighting stance.

Guards! He screeched mentally. The force of the cry sent Akasha reeling. Naomi was also clutching her head. The turtles seemed indifferent, but Prikë, Yola, Kleye and Guppy could hear it too. Attack! No survivors! Kill the traitors and their filthy friends!

The fishmen began to advance, weapons raised.

"We're not losing again! Either we get out of here, or we go down fighting!" Leonardo cried. He slashed at an oncoming fishman, knocking him unconcious with the handle of his katana. He whirled on one foot and lashed out at another foe, knee catching him in the gut. The guard went down, clutching at his lower belly.

Akasha did not need to be told twice. She reached down and scooped up a falled spear, preparing to charge. But a firm green hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"No," Raphael stated. "I'm not losing you again. You stay put."

"Forget it! I can fight!" Akasha glared at the turtle, eyes on fire. The red-banded ninja sighed.

"Look…" he began, but Akasha cut him off.

"I want to get out of here, okay? I'm not getting caught again." She grinned. "Hey, I'm not going anywhere. I want to kick Shrak's scaly ass outta here just as much as you!"

Raph smiled, but the expression never fully registered. A war hammer, crudely built but quite heavy, came crashing down, aiming for the turtle's head. Raph's ninja instincts alerted him, and he dove to the left, but the blow caught him on the knee. With a howl the red-banded terrapin fell down.

"Raph!" Akasha placed a roundhouse kick at his assailant's – a giant fishman – midsection. The brute fell down, unconsious. Akasha crouched down by Raphael, who was panting in obvious pain.

"Damn! Oh, hell! This hurts… I can't fight now!" Raph panicked. "God! What am I gonna do now?"

"You stay put," Akasha instructed. "I've gotta splint it." The girl whirled around briskly snatching a poorly made staff from a nearby bear-creature. She broke the staff over her knee, 'accidentally' whacking the creature with one end of it. The creature fell down. Akasha knelt once more by Raph and placed her hands on his leg, which was bent at an odd angle.

"This is gonna hurt," she warned. Raph gritted his teeth. She turned his leg to the right position, hissing as if she felt the pain herself. She then tore one of the backpack's straps off. It came away easily, the rotten fabric not putting up a fight. She laid the half of the staff by Raph's leg and tied it in place with the strap.

Suddenly a fishman with wiry muscles brought a spear down aimed for her collarbone. She whirled, deflecting the blow with her forearm, driving her other fist at his diaphragm. He tumbled limply to the floor.

"We need to get our backs to a wall!" she cried above the clash of weapons, calmly ignoring the unconsious fishman at her feet. "C'mon!" She heaved Raph toward one of the walls of the cave. He gave a cry of warning, but before Akasha could turn to defend herself from an oncoming bear-creature, Leonardo kicked it away. He turned to Akasha, looking concerned.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "Did you get hurt?" his gaze fell on Raph, and a look of pure shock crossed his face. "Raph! Are you okay?"

"Do I look okay?" Raph demanded. "This damn hurts, Leo!"

Leonardo gritted his teeth, but did not reply. He turned and began attacking nearby enemies, driving them back.

"Yola is working on the crystal!" he called over his shoulder to Akasha. "Get Raph up and ready to run! Mikey and I will hold them off!"

Akasha nodded briskly, and heaved Raph up. Finally the terrapin was upright, if a little wobbly. Akasha grabbed his arm and helped him painfully forward, to where Yola was struggling to free Guppy.

"Okay, the forcefield will reset about ten seconds after I hit this," Yola told Akasha, flippered finger hovering over a stone tablet on the wall nearby. "Get your friends ready to go."

"LEO!" Akasha yelled. "Get over here! Mikey! You too! Naomi, c'mere!" Leo immediantly abandonned his fight and raced over to her. Mikey followed soon after, Naomi right behind. Prikë and Kleye were already nearby, and the group crowded around Yola, Leo and Mikey fighting off the surrounding enemies.

Yola hit the stone tablet.

The forcefield dropped, letting Guppy fall with a yelp to the floor. He scrambled up and loped haphazardly a little way off. The rest of the group – Yola, Prikë, Akasha, Raph, Naomi, Kleye, Leo and Mikey – tumbled through the tunnel entrance, eager to put some distance between them and the furious mob of fishmen and bear creatures.

"We have to stop them from getting through!" Akasha called. "The forcefield will restart in ten!"

Leo launched himself forward, engaging a bear creature. He easily flipped the beast toward his oncoming companions, bringing down the front row. Shrak was mentally shrieking orders, directing the army to prevent the forcefield from reactivating.

"Agh! Make it stop!" moaned Naomi, clutching her head. Shrak's cries echoed inside her head, making it throb. Mikey dropped down beside her one one knee, looking concerned.

"Nami? You okay, babe?"

Akasha gritted her teeth; she heard it too, but shoved it away, concentrating on keeping the fishman from her mind. She knelt next to her cousin.

"He's in my head! Ah, make the yelling stop…" Naomi whined, tears coursing down her cheeks. Mikey was looking highly concerned now.

"He's in your head? Who?"

"Shrak!" Akasha answered for Naomi. "We can hear his voice! Maybe we can pick it up because of our Y'Lyntian blood…" she was cut off as Leo fell with a cry, victim to a brutal slash to the midsection by a fishman. Akasha stumbled to her feet and shoved Leo out of the way as the fishman brought the butt of a spear down where his head had been. Mikey had followed her, and knocked the foe unconcious.

A crackling sound was heard. A beam of blue light split the air, hitting the ground in the center of the tunnel entrance. The light beam thinned, spreading to cover the entrance once more. The Y'Lyntian servent's hesitated, unwilling to try to cross. Shrak's voice screeched,

You fools! Shut off the forcefield! Do not let them escape!

Akasha winced, and Naomi shrank against the cave wall.

We must go. Kleye's soft voice cut through the incoherent cries of Shrak. Shrak's brutes are unintelligent, but he is not. He will eventually fix the crystal himself. We must get a headstart.

The group began to hurry along the passage, Shrak's screams dying down at last. Naomi plodded along, head down, making no move to prevent the steady flow of tears that was cutting tracks through the grime on her face. For the first time Akasha realized how her feet ached, how she felt every single piece of gravel and every crack in the stone. She bit her tongue to stop herself complaining.

Suddenly the group halted; they had reached another door like the one leading to the Viewing Pod. Kleye cocked her head.

I am not familiar with this chamber, she said. Before she could say anything more, however, the doors opened silently. Inside was too dark to see, but it appeared to be another tunnel.

"Let's go," Mikey said. "That Shrak dude might be behind us!" This statement seemed to spur some life into his companians, and they immediantly hurried into the room.

The doors slid shut, cutting off the light. Utter blackness shrouded the group. Mikey screamed.

"It's a trap! It's a trap! Mayday, mayday!" he squealed, running into a wall. He lurched backward, clutching his head. "Ow…"

"Stay still," Yola ordered calmly. "It will do no good killing each other by accident. I have a light, let me activate it." A moment passed, then light flared unexpectedly. Yola held a blue crystal in her hands that shone with a steady, clear light that filled the cavern. Mikey stopped whimpering.

"Where are we?" Leo asked, looking about warily. They were in a room much like the Viewing Pod, except there was no table or screen, but the walls were the same: all smooth and seamless, with no entry to speak of.

"I don't know," Yola admitted. A blush crept along her cheekbones. "Kleye? Do you know?"

I cannot say that I do, Kleye replied solemnly. But as rebels, we were most likely kept in the dark about a lot of things here. I am not all that surprised, truth to be told.

I know not of it either, Prikë confided. But there must be a way out. The fishman ran his hands along the walls, feeling for a button or device of some kind to reopen the door. There was none.

"Hey guys!" Mikey called from the other side of the chamber. He was hunched over something on the ground. As the group gathered around him, they noted that there was a brick sticking out of the wall just a fraction. Mikey braced his hand against it and pushed it back in place.

A stone panel just at eye level above them flipped over. On it was two hexagonal stone tablets: one red, large with Y'Lyntian script scrawled across it. The other was a small, insignificant dark purple one that was entirely blank.

"Um, should we press one of 'em?" Mikey asked hesitantly. Prikë frowned.

The red one says 'Do Not Press' in Y'Lyntian, explained the fishman. That's all it tells you.

"Who votes for Button Number 2?" Mikey asked, his finger hovering over the purple tablet.

"Wait a minute," Leo instructed. "Maybe the red one is fake, and the purple one is dangerous. If we press the red one, I'll bet it'll open the door."

"Makes sense," Mikey nodded. Before anyone could say a word, his finger shifted the quarter of an inch needed and applied pressure to the red button.

Nothing happened for a moment; then there was a soft whistling sound and a pondweed smell enveloped the group.

"Ugh, who was that?" Mikey demanded, wrinkling his nose.

"Not us, doofus!" Raph snarled, leaning heavily against the wall to avoid standing on his bad leg. "Look!" The red-banded ninja pointed at the floor; minute cracks along the bottom of the wall had appeared, and in flowed water; it seeped in until they were standing in an inch of the stuff, then two inches, as the water began creeping up to their ankles.

"Ah! It's a trap!" Mikey squealed. Seized by a fit of panic, he whacked the red button with his balled fist.

An ominous rumbling could be heard from the caves surrounding them. An explosion sounded farther away, and the room rocked.

Oh no, Kleye whispered. I believe you have set off the self-destruct mechanism, Michelangelo.

"Nice going, moron!" Raph whacked Mikey over the head. "Now we really gotta get outta here!"

Guppy whined and clawed at the walls, tongue lolling out of his mouth.

Suddenly an even bigger explosion ripped through the wall opposite them. Rock and debris crashed down around them, and Naomi screamed. The now calf-deep water slowly dispersed, spreading into the corridor beyond. As the dust cleared, growls of distant bear-creatures could be heard, and more crashes of broken stone and earth.

We must leave. Prikë was looking highly disconcerted now. The confusion triggered by the self-destruct may be the destracion we need to escape, but we must move quickly. Is everyone accounted for?

"Yes, Prikë," Yola stated softly from behind Leo. Her large eyes mirrored the heaps of rubble around them. A hint of fear lurked in her face, but it disappeared once she turned away.

"Let's go," Leo ordered. "It'll be quicker if one of us carries Naomi, no offense, you're not the fastest runner." He gave the girl an apologetic glance.

"Fine fine," Naomi muttered. Mikey grinned and scooped her up, ignoring her squeal.

"What about Raph?" Mikey asked from over Naomi's head. "He doesn't look like he's in good shape."

"I'll manage," growled Raph grimly.

"C'mon then." Leo turned and disappeared through the newly blown open exit of the room. The splish splish of his bare feet in the puddles was the only noise he made.

The others hurried after him. Naomi clung to Mikey's neck as the group made its way a quietly as possible back the way they had come, the sound of panicked fish- and bear- creatures growing louder ahead.

A sudden explosion nearby rocked the tunnel, causing Mikey to half-trip, catching himself at the last moment. Naomi gasped as she swung dangerously close to the ground.

We must hurry! Kleye barked mentally. Shrak holds a grudge. This self-destruct mechanism will not stop him from trying to kill us all!

These words seemed to jolt the group into reality. Prikë paused for a moment, then turned to Leo.

I know where the nearest exit is. Can you scout ahead and see if there are any of Shrak's warriors near? We can't afford for them to know where we are.

Leonardo seemed ready to object, but he glanced at Akasha, and then nodded in agreement. He turned and disappeared along the tunnel ahead of them. Akasha sighed in relief at his lack of retaliation. The really did not need to be fighting amongst themselves now.

Naomi was silent in Mikey's arms, now. She bit her lip to keep from making a noise, seemingly not wanting to be in the way. She shrank against Mikey's plastron as another explosion rocked the caverns around them.

A chunk of rock fell in front of them; Prikë, who had been at the front of the group, stumbled backward into Yola. Yola gave a cry as Prikë fell down, his leg hidden under the mass of rubble. His face twisted in unimaginable pain and his mental voice screamed. When the cry subsided, his voice was weak.

Yola! Get the others out! You must hurry!

"No, Prikë! No!" Yola fell to her knees beside her fallen comrade, tears streaming down her scaly cheeks. "You can get up!"

No, my leg is in too far.

"I can get rid of that!" Naomi twisted in Mikey's grip, and he set her on her feet. She walked over to Prikë. "This is gonna hurt a bit." Naomi's face scrunched in consentration as she hefted one hand, palm out, to the rock wall in their path. Slowly it began to crumble away into dust. As the dust cleared, they could see Leo standing there; he had obviously heard the cave-in and returned to find his friends gone.

Prikë's mental gasp of pain jolted Akasha back to Earth. Quickly she knelt before the injured fishman. His right leg was bloody and mangled, and she felt her stomach roll over unpleasantly. Shaking her head to rid herself of the nausea, she tore the flap off the rotting backpack she wore and used it to mop up some of the blood. Naomi tore off her T-shirt and handed it to Akasha, teeth chattering as the freezing cave air chilled her. She stood shivering in her sports bra as her cousin applied pressure to Prikë's injured leg in a futile effort to stem to blood.

We must get him above ground. Kleye's musical voice shook as she bent down and helped Akasha tie the T-shirt to Prikë's mangled limb. Leonardo, can you carry him?

"Yes of course," Leo replied. He waited for Kleye and Akasha to finish their job before he stooped and picked up Prikë. The group started off again.

With Prikë's help, they managed to navigate their way through the catacombing tunnels, evading the groups of panicked guards. Finally they came to another chamber much like the Viewing Pod.

This is another exit pod, Prikë explained, his mental voice sounding rather winded. Push that button and the doors will open to another exit shaft.

Akasha pressed the required button and sure enough the doors to another shaft slid seamlessly open nearby.

Under Prikë's instruction they piled inside. But it was too small.

"One of us will need to stay behind." Leo pointed out grimly.

"I'll stay," Akasha decided briskly. "None of you can, you're busy with Naomi and Prikë, and Raph's hurt. And I can fight. Go." Before Raph could argue, as she knew he would, Akasha pressed the 'up' button. Raph's shocked and concerned face vanished as the shaft's elevator began to rise.

Without the others the pod was eerily quiet. The distant thunder of feet and massive explosions seemed very far away, and Akasha felt her skin crawl at the unrealness of it all. She shivered, hugging the old backpack to her chest and patting the knife still belted to her waist. It felt reassuring to have its solid presence near.

Suddenly there was a flurry of movement at the pod's entrance. The doors opened and in raced Shrak, followed by two of his warriors. Akasha whipped out her knife instinctively, keeping the blade between her and the burly fishman.

Oh, it's a human. Shrak's mental voice hissed. Akasha noted with satisfaction that a shallow cut had been scored along his bicep, and his headdress was askew and missing more than a few of its decorative shells. She did not reply.

Where are your little traitor friends? Shrak demanded, advancing. His guards followed a little forlornly behind him, their eyes wide and swivelling from side to side.

"Long gone," Akasha lied, circling the table to keep it in between her and the livid fishman. Shrak threw back his head, his chest heaving with silent laughter.

You fool! I know your kinds' sentimental tendancies! They would not leave you alone, that much I am certain! They are hiding.

"No!" Akasha felt the back of her throat constrict painfully, and swallowed. "No, they're gone! They abandonned me." She experimentally feigned looking down, keeping her eyes trained on him from beneath her lowered lashes. She let her bottom lip quiver.

To her surprise this seemed to win the fishman over. He smiled cruelly.

You see? Your friends are traitors. That they would leave you here, where you would certainly meet your doom… Shrak's voice was low and seductive now, trying to entice her into turning against her friends. Akasha was not fooled. She played the part easily.

"Yes!" She nodded eagerly. "They thought I was a deadweight, and left me here! I was forced to stay behind!"

Shrak was now convinced that she was on his side. He sidled over to her, but his bulk was not easy to manoeuvre subtly. Akasha pretended not to notice, and smiled benignly at the approaching fishman.

As he lept toward her, Akasha feinted left, lunged right; drove her knee into his gut. His fishlike appearance did not change his reaction; he dropped like a stone, gasping for breath. As she whirled, knife in her fist, the other fishmen were already running to safety. Akasha grinned.

"Akasha!" The elevator had finally arrived. Raphael limped as fast as he could over to her, looking horrified at the prone merman on the floor. "Did he hurt ya? Are ya o'kay?"

"Yeah." Akasha glanced at Shrak with contempt. Raph suddenly leant over and hugged her fiercely.

"You're not a deadweight." He whispered; he had heard. Akasha felt tears stinging her eyes at the sincere declaration. She buried her face in Raph's neck, blotting out the cave, trying to forget about what was around her.

Raph pulled back.

"We gotta go. Now."

With a brusque nod, Akasha followed him swiftly to the elevator. The got inside, Raph hit the button. They began to ascend speedily, the carriage making no noise. When it slid smoothly to a halt, the doors opened, and they were standing ankle-deep in the lake. A few meters away on shore, Mikey, Naomi, Kleye, Yola and Guppy were crowded around the wounded Prikë. The fishman was gasping for breath. Leo stood a little was away from them, eyes on Akasha and Raph. They stepped out of the elevator – Akasha helping to support Raph, for his leg was beginning to give him trouble – and its doors closed seamlessly, before it sank with a noise reminiscent to a toilet plunger back into the lakebed.

As Akasha and Raph approached Leo, Raph casually put his arm around Akasha's midriff. She gave him a distracted smile and nodded to Leo before hurrying to see Prikë. The blue-banded warrior's eyes hardened at his brother's strategically placed limb, and his hands balled unintentionally into fists.

"How are you feeling?" Akasha asked Prikë gently, kneeling beside him. The fishman turned his head toward her, his myopic gaze travelling from her to Raph.

I am well enough. He coughed drily to one side. Guppy whined in agitation. You must go now. No doubt your friends will be looking for you.

"What about you?" Naomi spoke up worriedly. She was crouched with Guppy beside the ailing merman, her eyes overbright with unshed tears.

I shall be fine. I believe Kleye knows of a secluded stream not far from here we can rest in. After that… we shall see.

The faraway explosions from Shrak's hideout made the ground beneath their feet shake as the tremors hit. Akasha became aware of just how cold she was, and shivered. Naomi was hunched in her sports bra, shaking like a leaf in the wind, but unwilling to leave Prikë. Guppy rubbed his head against her shoulder in a comforting gesture.

Go, Prikë told them. There isn't a moment to lose. It may be unwise to stay so close to Shrak's base if it is exploding. I'm not altogether sure if it may break the surface.

Naomi sniffled and hugged the merman, gave Kleye and Yola a watery smile, ruffled Guppy's head, then drew back, and followed Mikey into the trees. Kleye and Yola grasped Prikë's arms and helped him to a wobbly stand, Guppy bracing the merman's legs. Akasha faltered; she felt drawn to Yola in an inexplicable way, but time was against them. She nodded to the trio of fishpeople and the lone bear creature. She hoped they would make it to safety.

"Good luck," she whispered. Yola raised her head and met her eyes; for a moment, Akasha could see her reflected in the large liquid orbs, felt her breath hitch. Something was different about Yola, and she wanted to know what. She seemed… familiar.

Then the contact was broken, severed cleanly as the fishwoman dipped her head to support Prikë more effectively. Akasha shook her head to clear it and turned to Kleye.

"Thank you for looking after my cousin," she murmured. Kleye nodded briefly. With strength born of the need to move swiftly, Kleye and Yola half helped, half carried their injured friend into the trees. Guppy gave a sort of purring, rumbling sound, which Akasha guessed meant goodbye. The he too turned and loped into the forest. Akasha was left standing forlornly next to Raph, feeling a weight in her chest at the sight of her disappearing friends. Raph hugged her with one arm draped over her shoulders. It was all he could manage because of his leg. Akasha helped him as they turned to follow Mikey and Naomi. Leo stood a little way off, gazing with more than a little jealousy at the pair as they approached.

"Prikë was right," he said gruffly. "We should go. And Akasha and Naomi's family is probably worried sick. Come on."

Raphael bit back a retort at Leo's Leader role, and glared after the retreating shell of his brother.

Akasha was impassive at this exchange. She was staring at the sky, at the clouds scuttling across it like wary beetles. It was getting dark again. Suddenly feeling very tired, she put down her head and plodded as fast as Raph's injury allowed back toward the cottage.


A/N: What's there to say?The Epilogue is on the way, don't worry! Please review! (Or PM, if that is your preference, I don't really care, I just want input.)