Chapter 9
Leo and Anila were the ones on duty to guard Beloose. Anila was posted right outside of the open door to Beloose's room. Leo was inside with him. Beloose was sitting at his table writing out two notes. One for Donatello to get an update on how he was doing. And one for the King and Queen of the Azbani Territory. He figured that if Kai's men were using poison from their territory then that could mean that they were or are dealing with the same problem. If they were then they may have some of their own vao investigating. Leo stood over him, looking over his shoulder as he wrote. "You think they're doing the same thing to the villagers there?"
"It is possible. This is something that Kai and his men would do and if that is the case then maybe, if we are lucky, they will have some information for us."
Leo shrugged. "Guess it's worth a shot."
Beloose finished writing both of the notes and stood up. "Let us hope this helps." he headed out toward his balcony. Leo stood right beside him making sure he stayed safe. Two of his monapi landed on the balcony rails, eager to fly. "Fuina, I need you to take this to Donatello." Beloose said as he tied one of the notes to the monapi with an assortment of red, orange and yellow feathers. That one flew off to find Donatello. "Rekai, take this to the Katu and Masuna of the Azbani Territory." with a screeching call, the second monapi with blue and purple feathers flew off toward its destination.
Beloose leaned against the railing and sighed. Looking out at the land in front of him, all he could feel was a sense of dread and a bit of helplessness. He wanted to be able to do more to protect his people, but in order to do that, he needed to know what the actual plan was. Raphael did mention that they were planning a prison break and that seemed like the only justifiable answer. If that was the case then Kai must know what's being done. "What are you thinking?" Leo asked his friend.
"I am thinking that perhaps... I should pay a visit to my brother."
Leo stiffened at that. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, I am sure."
Leo could see how nervous he was about this. He honestly hasn't spoken to him since he was imprisoned. After everything his brother did, he just couldn't face him and who could blame him. As his friend and guardian, he would take care of him. "...Then, I'm going with you."
Beloose grinned. "I would very much appreciate that. Dax would never let me hear the end of it if I went down there alone."
Don and Luna had caught up with a rather upset April. She wasn't moving very fast, so it was pretty easy. "You know, you really shouldn't wander off like that. This forest is dangerous."
"I can take care of myself." April said, still aggravated. "It's not like I haven't walked through the woods before."
Don rolled his eyes. "The woods and forests here are way different than the those by the farmhouse back on Earth."
"Whatever." she just kept walking. "I'm not worried about it."
Don gritted his teeth and he grabbed her arm, stopping her. "You should be worried about it. Just look around you. This isn't earth. You're screwed without a guide. So, I need you to start listening so I can get us through this in one piece. Now, let's get out of this area."
"Oh, you want me to listen to you? You mean, like you've been listening to me?" April scoffed, sarcastically.
Don noticed that and decided not to even answer those questions. "Stay close, April. We need to move away from here. You wandered into a dangerous area."
"You know what, no. We're talking about this right now." April said. She was adamant about this. She was going to say what she wanted and he was going to like it.
"It can wait. We really need to get out of here."
"No, I don't think it can. You know, this place has changed you and I can't say that I like it."
That made Don stop in his tracks, completely forgetting about their current situation. "I've changed? You're joking right? So you're just going to pretend like you haven't been acting out of character since you got here?"
"How have I been acting out?"
"Oh, well, let's see." he said before listing off everything she has said and done since she came through that portal with Casey. "How about walking out in a huff when all four of us told you that we were better off living here? Or when you told Nati about how you were taking us back to earth?"
"I was just telling her why we were here." April crossed her arms over her chest.
"Nobody told you to do that and it upset her. Also, again, I'm not going back. How many times do I have to say it? How about when you decided that you would disrespect Beloose, or when you disrespected me by thinking you needed to tag along for this trip even though I didn't need you?! And now, I'm trying to protect you from harm and you would rather act like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum! So I don't know what's going on with you, but I'm not the one who has changed! This needs to stop now!" he exclaimed.
This was the first time that Don had ever raised his voice and argued with April or with anyone for that matter and it didn't feel good for either one of them. Another awkward silence fell between them. Don took a moment to wipe the sweat from his forehead. It was already hot and the arguing definitely didn't make things better.
Things only went from bad to worse as strange animal sounds echoed around them. Hissing, clicking and barking could be heard as creatures came out of hiding. Don's stomach sank as he knew what they were and April clung to Don as they emerged from hiding.
They weren't exactly large, but what they lacked in size they made up for in sheer numbers. They were hairless, four-legged creatures with no eyes, two little slits for the nose and a mouth with razor sharp teeth. Their bodies had poisonous quills along their spines, leading to a long tail.
They were everywhere, at their feet and in the trees above them. Don pulled out his bo staff and got prepared to fight. Luna tried to scare them off, but even a lakra wouldn't intimidate them. Seeing an opening where the numbers were thinner, Don prepared himself. "When I give the signal, you run for it."
"What about you?" she asked nervously.
"I'm going to cover you." he suddenly swiped his bo staff, taking out the three on his left. "Go!" he shouted.
April ran through the opening. Don and Luna followed behind and the creatures gave chase, hissing and barking as they ran. April looked back just in time to see him knock back two of the creatures that pounced from the trees, before catching up with her. "What are those things?" she asked as she ran.
"Cromols." he answered simply. "Keep running and watch for their quills." he said.
"Their quills?"
"They're poisonous. Now move!"
Right on cue, some of the cromols shot at them with their quills. Narrowly missing them and hitting a tree instead. "What do we do?"
"For now..." he turned and roundhouse kicked one that got too close and caught up again. "Keep running until I think of something."
Sweating and legs burning, it was already difficult to think, but he had to for all their sakes. He suddenly remembered something. A little while ago, when he and his brothers had made the decision to stay here, they were tasked with exploring the other territories of the world with Dax. He remembered that in the direction that they were currently heading there was a chasm with a river of lava at the bottom from the underground volcano. Too big for April and Don to jump over which means these cromols wouldn't be able to reach either. The strong legs of a lakra, however, could easily make it over that. The cromols would have to go all the way around it to get to the other side, which would give them enough time to get away. He climbed onto Luna's back and quickly pulled April up behind him. "Go, Luna!"
Luna sped up, making the gap between them and the cromols wider. Don could see the chasm up ahead. "Hold on, April!" Luna picked up speed a bit more and right at the edge, she took that leap of faith. For a moment, it felt like they were flying until they landed safely on the other side. April looked back just as a few of the cromols attempted to make the jump to get to them. They didn't even make it halfway across before plummeting to the molten lava below. The rest stopped at the edge, firing off more of their deadly quills at them.
Luna kept running until she knew she was far enough away before slowing to a stop to catch her breath. "You two okay?" Don asked, breathing short and haggard.
"Yeah, I'm fine." April responded as she climbed off of Luna's back. Luna responded with a chuff. "Can we get out of here, like now?"
"Y-yeah." Don said. He sounded off. They were far enough away from the cromols, so he shouldn't be so out of breath. His words were slurred and his breathing sounded labored and raspy.
"Don, are you okay?"
He never got to respond as he suddenly fell off of Luna's back, unconscious. "Don? Donnie?!" April knelt down next to her fallen friend, now panicked. As she panicked, she noticed something sticking out of his thigh. Two quills, the quills that he told her to avoid. He must have gotten hit when he was fending them off. "No, Donnie! Donnie!" she continued to call out, only for her calls to go unanswered.
Fun fact: The cromols were briefly mentioned in the first story.
