Flights Of Fancy

Disclaimer: I deny any ownership of any adult or adolescent transformed shadow warrior chelonians. I do own just about every thing else in the story from here on in.

Chapter Two: Here there be dragons.

Don's head ached as he slowly tried to pry open his eyes, the ground underneath him felt very cold, hard and unforgiving.

' I think it is waking up.'

The voice rang inside his mind, making his all ready pounding head ache all the more. He reached up one hand and gently massaged his temples and forehead groaning wearily. He felt a sudden warm wind blowing across him but the wind carried the scent of sulpher and carrion, a combination that caused Don's stomach to lurch violently as he eased into a sitting position. He finally managed to open his eyes, which immediately grew large and round before he shut them again in frantic desperation before he reopened them again to see if the view had changed any.

" I'm hallucinating, this is not real. It cannot be real because it defies all logic" Don intoned.

' Is this some sort of spell?' came the voice again pounding into his mind.

' I doubt it. A pretty inept wizard if it is' came a deeper tone in the same fashion as the first.

Don gazed in bafflement staring unabashedly at the hallucination before his eyes, he knew for a fact that it had to be an illusion, or some other similar trick of the mind because dragons just didn't exist.

Dragons were fantasy creatures found only in storybooks or movies or in some fantasy type drawings but they were not real creatures that lived, breathed, bled or died. Yet in spite of what Don logically knew his eyes were telling him that he was seeing two such creatures now.

The larger of the two looked at least twelve feet in length though if it stretched its neck and tail fully out it might be closer to fourteen feet. It scales were mostly reddish orange, with a yellow underbelly and dark green spikes that ran from the top of the head to the tip of the tail growing larger as it traveled down the creatures back before growing smaller as it neared the tail. Its eyes were yellow with reptilian black bands, the head was large and triangular shape, large reddish bat style looking wings were folded up over the dragons back, it was thick body and stood around the size of an elephant in height, it had powerful shoulders and sturdy legs that tapered down into large feet with five digits on each foot, each toe ended in a long sharp black talon.

The second dragon was a bit smaller possibly around ten feet in length and the size of a large work horse with varying shades of green scales around it's body.

Don noticed the first dragon glance at the first and he swore that they communicated, with one another before the smaller of the two bobbed its head and headed out of the cave dropping off the edge and disappearing from sight.

The larger dragon then turned his attention on Don who was sitting up watching all of this in shock, while his logical mind insisted it just couldn't be and he wasn't really seeing what he thought he was.

' Well you are awake and what manner of beast might you be?' the dragon wondered as it turned to face Don.

Don gulped uneasily as he realized the dragon's head alone was bigger then his whole body, nervously he reached for his staff, and then realized rather belatedly that it wouldn't do him much good against a beast of this size.

This creature, Don refused to call it dragon he wasn't going accept what his eyes were telling him. He knew for a fact that dragons didn't really exist, looked like it could easily turn his trusty weapon into kindling if it wanted to.

" I'm a ninja turtle" Don stammered.

' A What?' came the response pounding into his head.

Don reached up and placed his hands on either side of his head feeling that his brain just might explode from the force of those words breaking in his mind. He thought he saw a thin wisp of smoke curling up from a nostril and dismissed it as yet another trick of his mind.

" Could you tone that down a bit?" Don pleaded, " I said I'm a ninja turtle Donatello by name though my brothers call me Don."

' There are more of you?' the voice came again, thankfully much softer and easier to take.

" Yeah, weren't they with me?" Don asked suddenly worried, as he glanced around the cave he was in.

' Goshen only found you this afternoon on the outer hills of our valley.'

Don scowled wondering if Goshen had been the smaller of the two beasts " Um, ah no offense but what are you?"

' I am one of the great worms. I am of the scaly race as are you; you must be a distant relative of some kind. I am a dragon.' Came the rumbling reply.

" Okay I have got to be dreaming this" Don muttered.

' I assure you that you are quite awake. How many brothers are there?'

" Three" Don replied absently " Look dragons don't exist," he finally snapped voicing the matter that continued to irritate him to no end.

The dragon laid down on the cave floor facing Don it's long serpentine neck tucked close to his chest and it stared at Don out of one yellow eye.

' Then how do you explain me or Aly?' it wondered its tone sounding slightly curious and amused at the same time.

" I can't explain you other then you are a hallucination" Don replied firmly.

' Perhaps I'm not acting ferocious enough for you to believe that I'm a dragon.' The creature yawned a bit releasing a stench that assaulted Don's nostrils. Don looked into the cavernous jaws armed with sharp teeth that hooked backwards and a yellow forked tongue that lay beyond the lethal teeth.

' What exactly is a ninja turtle?'

" A fighter who uses shadows to his advantage skilled in combat, trained originally to spy and kill" Don answered keeping the definition some what simplified.

The dragon, if that was indeed what it was, narrowed its eyes and let out a loud angry hiss its forked tongue flickered out of its jaws and small tendrils of smoke rose from both nostrils.

' You were sent to spy on us!' the creatures accusatory statement was edged in anger and the long tail began to thump the rock floor in extreme agitation.

Don gulped realizing that he had angered this beast and that probably wasn't the wisest thing to do no matter what the creature was, he still wasn't going to call it a dragon, but the fact of the matter was his ninja training would be of little use to him against a beast of this size.

" I wasn't sent to spy" Don hastened to assure the creature " My brothers and I just came to be here. A friend of ours sort of gave us the means to travel here from our world," he explained.

The dragon, though Don absolutely refused to think of it as such, glared at him and Don noted that even his Master's piercing gaze was nothing compared to the hostile and sinister look this creature now had.

" Our father taught us ninjitsu to help keep us safe and he trained us under the ninja code of honour and integrity. We help those who need our help" Don declared he knew he was probably only rambling and not making much sense at this point but he was hoping something that he said would get the obviously enraged creature to calm down. 'If it stays this angry it could be worse then Raph when he gets in one of his moods.' Don mused to himself.

" Look do you have a name?" Don wondered.

' Gimodaptor though what few friends I have usually call me Gimod.' The creature replied.

At least he now had a name to go on " Gimod believe me we don't even kill unless it is absolutely necessary."

Trying his best to show what little threat he was and compared to Gimod, well that was like an elephant being scared of a fly, Don entreated the creature " Just look at my weapon it is nothing more than a stick."

'Wizards use sticks to perform magic as well' Gimod retorted not willing to be won over by such a defense.

" Magic doesn't exist though. All magic is, is simple parlour tricks and deception" Don grumbled, " it is all illusion."

' Illusion?' Gimod queried.

" That which isn't real but the mind fools you into believing is real," Don explained starting to become a little exasperated in spite of the fact of the creature before him.

'Like us dragons and unicorns I suppose.'

Don couldn't help but to sputter a bit at those words " Unicorns are fantasy creatures along with dragons and various other creatures I can mention yes, like basilisks, griffins, harpies, fairies and more." Don gave a disparaging snort " they exist only in the realm of imagination."

The dragon, though Don still wouldn't call it such, flicked its tail and a large smile grew on its face ' You must have a very good imagination then.'

" Not this good" Don corrected, "I believe in science, facts, reality so I happen to know that such creatures don't exist" Don announced hoping by doing so this figment before him would vanish once and for all.

' There are those who find their way here and cannot return from whence they came, because they refuse to accept that what is real in one place is not necessarily so in another.' Gimod winked at Don ' You might have to change your reality Don. Are you hungry? I could get you something.'

Don wondered what Gimod's idea of food was, most likely raw meat of some kind but that wasn't exactly Don's thing, though he had to admit that he was rather hungry.

" Well actually I am" Don confessed after all he was pretty sure he could find some way to cook the meat. He wasn't totally incompetent.

' Are you a herbivore or a carnivore?' Gimod asked almost pleasantly.

" I'm an omnivore actually eating both meat and fruits."

' Ah, I see that makes it much easier,' Gimod murmured as he rose and turned easily in spite of the bulk and made his way to the front of the cave and the wide opening.

" Gimod" Don called out.

The dragon, and Don still wasn't going to call it that politely turned its head on its long neck and gave Don a questioning look.

" Just what exactly are you planning to do with me?"

' Well that all depends if I decide your a friend or a foe. If your a friend you will be treated as such and no harm will come to you.' Gimod paused a bit before continuing ' If I decide you are an enemy I will have you for lunch, or maybe more of a snack as your not enough for a full meal.'

Don gulped nervously as he watched Gimod spring off the ledge and drop a bit before he came gliding up on thermals of air, wings unfolded and his body glistening a rainbow of colourful iridescent.

' That settles it I have got to get out of here!' Don told himself quickly he wasn't going wait around for Gimod to decide he was worth eating shell and all.

Don hustled over to the cave opening and looked down there was a sheer drop off down the mountainside, and it looked like a mighty steep and treacherous way down hill to the valley floor that was far below. It would be suicide to try and climb down the mountain.

Don glanced up and around at the surrounding mountain cliffs all riddled with similar caves, some with wide ledges others with hardly any ledge at all.

There were similar creatures basking in the late afternoon sun, others gliding on thin almost transparent wings around the large valley.

Don knew there was no possible way physically, at least that the wings of these creatures ought to be supporting the weight and bulk of their bodies, it simply defied all logic and reason. Yet he was seeing these beast taking off landing, and gliding all around each of them soaring with ease.

Don's mind hastened to reassure himself that this was not possible and there was a perfectly reasonable explanation for it all, yet his mind was drawing a blank on what the explanation could possible be. Don realized then two horrible facts that he was just going have to accept.

One he could only escape if he could fly out of here. And two maybe, just maybe there was such a thing, as dragons after all in spite of what he might actually believe as true.

" Here there be dragons" Don whispered as he accepted that fact to a certain extent.

He sighed " I'm in big trouble" Don stated for he knew, he now had the almost impossible task of convincing Gimod that he was a friend before he became a bite size snack for his host.

TBC