Hi there! I decided to update earlier than ten days, considering my horrid delay last time, which I greatly apologize for. Originally, the author's note at the beginning of last chapter stated this, but this site was having some difficulties at the time, so it didn't get fixed.

Anyways, I'm back early. Hope you're all happy! I'm trying to get back on track, but life without Internet is making my brilliant plan rather difficult.

But I shall do my best! Please tolerate my slowness- I'm only human! And geez, was this one hard to write! Probably cause I didn't really have it in mind when I started.

Oh yeah. The Ardor Raph and Mike ran into happens to be the same from Chapter 8.

Beta read by Janajyo.

Disclaimer: Guess what? Since we last met, I still don't own the TMNT! Surprising, ain't it?

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New York City November 27, 2306 AD 5:12 AM

In his entire lifespan, which was about three times longer than any other humans'; that had been the very first time that Callis had felt the effects of a Tric. And, unsurprisingly, he had to admit that the sensation wasn't by any means pleasant.

After all, they'd specifically been designed that way.

He was thankful that their skin was thicker. A great deal of the electricity hadn't affected them as much as it would've with any other person.

Human arthritic bones popping painfully as he gripped one of the tables, Callis got to his feet, turning his head to see two of the only three remaining kin he had left. "Get up!" He yelled at them. "We can't let 'em get 'way! Who knows what they'll do."

Shaking off their agony, Ella and Ethan rose up, looking at their leader, awaiting their orders. Shouts created no sore feelings with them; they were connected on a deep level, one of intense devotion and understanding.

They were kin.

"Look for 'em." Callis commanded, voice somewhat softer than before. "They're woun'ed and no doubt in pain. They can't haf gone far."

The two Ardors nodded, then turned to leave. "Wait," he told them, remembering something all of a sudden. "Take these." He said, with a wide grin. Shaking, he handed each a small item.

Without telepathy, they understood. In a mood to kill, they departed, leaving Callis to handle his own part of the scheme.

Deep down inside, the alien hoped- felt, that Ethan would be the one to find them. It would certainly strike a chord if he did.

&&&&&

The second Mikey had seen that Ardor behind the glass wall, he'd gotten the horrible feeling that it was the very one he and Raph had run into earlier, even though it looked a hundred percent better than when they'd left it. This was the one they'd spared.

He gulped as the creature turned its focus on himself and his red-clad brother, confirming his suspicions. Clearly, it didn't remember that last part, though Mike was getting the impression that it recalled its defeat at their hands before that pretty damn well.

Well, that was unfortunate.

Even worse was when Leo decided to use an impromptu diversion. Using the Tric, he'd shot at the glass, shattering it even as they began to run. This obviously gave that Ardor a means to get after them quicker, but the glass would leave it immobilized for a bit, at least.

They stopped in a hallway, similar to all the others, silently listening for the alien, which was sure to be after them. Minimizing their appearance as best as they could, the four pressed their shells to the walls.

It wasn't a genius plan Batman would come up with, but it was good enough, not to mention the first thing that came to mind.

Minutes passed; no sound. He was getting worried, as the rest of his brothers were, obviously. That was when something dropped to the ground from above, directly in front of them.

It was a little bear. A little bear with yellow and red finger-paint, though the latter color wasn't at all what it seemed.

Eyes widening, they stared at it, though none could possibly have been more terrified, more angered, more heartbroken; than Michelangelo.

The bear. Tory's bear. The one she'd held as she'd died, as she'd been eaten.

Simultaneously, they looked up, Leo wincing slightly as they did so. Though it was a shoulder wound, it had certainly done some nerve damage as well.

Hanging to the ceiling, a human figure flipped down. Mikey instantly recognized him as Ethan, one of Callis' 'servants'. Grinning, he dropped to the floor, paying no mind to the toy. He knew they'd seen it, and that was clearly all that mattered.

Before them, grin widening, he raised his eyebrows before morphing into that disgusting creature. And, naturally, it attacked.

&&&&&

Starting to wish that he hadn't listened to his little brother and just have killed the freaking alien, Raph had the Tric, and himself, ready to finish the job.

He'd found another setting, a high one, and was curious to see how it worked.

He was surprised when the Ardor didn't come. Instead, Ethan did, with a little friend.

Since meeting up with each other again, he, Don, and Leo now knew about the significance of this teddy bear. The thought of a defenseless little girl getting… it made Raph's blood boil.

If only it would mend his shattered leg.

Firing the Tric, he was granted with a lucky hit; thus, a quick battle. The electric bolt hit and went through the Ardor's front leg, side, and went all the way through the wall.

Besides the red-clad turtle himself, the other three terrapins had already moved, Mikey just barely being able to avoid landing on his broken arm. Don got to his feet, though a bit groggily, and helped him up.

Carefully, slowly, Leo rose as well. His face was twisted in pain, but relaxed almost immediately once he was up.

The Ardor, bleeding but not unconscious, glared at them before barking loudly.

Raph gritted his teeth. "Please let me kill him." He said, already making his way toward the alien.

"Not now." Leo shook his head. "We have to move."

His answer had been expected. Raph even knew the reasons behind it. Wounded, they were slow; they needed every spare second to move and get out of this place. Back-up could already be on its way.

But that didn't mean he had to like it.

Once far away enough, they began checking rooms again. The pulsing glow was getting brighter the farther into the mansion they went.

And then they came to, what Raph was sure to be, the center of the building, and their destination.

Hanging over their heads, shining like blue gold laced throughout the rocks in a mine, was the mineral Callis had spoken of. Every ten seconds, it emitted a glow, one that not only colored everything around it, but nearly took out visibility all together.

Watching it, Raph followed its trail in the ceiling. The mineral spread out like the roots of a tree, going in all directions, becoming thinner and thinner as it moved along until it simply disappeared into the walls surrounding them. Even in there, it pulsed.

Mike tapped him. "What?" Raph asked, before following his brother's chain of sight.

There, on the floor just under the stone, was their weapons. Grinning, Raph made his way over to his sais, reluctantly accepting the help of his orange-clad brother. This action, which required him to bend down a bit, was difficult with a broken leg, but the temperamental turtle didn't care.

Picking them up, he grinned evilly. Now, he was ready to party.

"So," Raph said, leaning on Mike's good shoulder and looking back up at the glowing object; "how do we stop this sucker from doin' it's job?"

&&&&&

For the life of him, all Don wanted to do was lay down and rest; sleep sounded so good.

Occasionally, he wondered why he couldn't do that. He felt that it was a bad idea, he just didn't comprehend the reasoning behind it. For the moment, only three rules existed in his head, amongst scattered bits of what he'd learned about Ardor history and technology.

The first was to stick with his brothers. The second was to figure out how to get out of here. And the third was to do everything in his power to stay alive.

Following his siblings, Don felt the urge to throw up, but suppressed it. Something told him that now wasn't a very good time.

When they all stopped and turned their heads up to the ceiling, he was a little slow at recognizing the importance of the tiny object attached to it. But suddenly, he recalled the mineral Callis had spoken of; the plan they'd had to remove it and thus leave the Ardors unable to camouflage themselves.

Raph asked how they were supposed to take it out. That was a very good question. Looking up at the ceiling, Don followed the blue veins back to the source- a seemingly small rock, directly in the center.

Not noticing everyone was staring at him, Don took a wild guess. "Maybe if we take that out, it'll stop working."

A bit of his fatigue wore off. Oh, like that took a genius to figure out.

Shaking his head, the purple-clad ninja turned back to their problem. The roof was adequately high; they'd need to stack two of the four on top of one another.

That counted Leo out. With his serious shoulder wound, he definitely wouldn't be able to do that. Despite whatever crazy drug they'd all been given to stop the bleeding, he'd lost enough beforehand; the eldest was already rather pale.

Thinking, Don figured Raph wouldn't be able to do this, either. Two well-functioning legs were probably a requirement in this job.

So that left it up to himself and Mikey. This still made it difficult, considering the latter of the two had a broken arm. He probably wouldn't be able to climb up to Don's shoulders, but would he be able to support his brother?

This whole time, since they'd escaped, he hadn't really noticed how bad off they were, situation-wise, as well as physically; even when they ran into that Ardor only a few minutes ago. He'd just been drifting along…

There was a rumble beneath them. Curious, his question was solved when Leo looked off into the distance. "Elevator." He muttered.

There was no more time to think. With a nod to Mike, Don stood under the stone and waited for the orange-banded ninja to come on over. Once in position, his brother climbed up onto his shoulders, being careful of Mikey's injury. Nevertheless, he could hear him whimper.

Now what? A voice in his head sounded. Only mere inches away from the ceiling, he lifted his arm and ran his fingers over the small rock. "Leo, could I use a katana, please?" He asked.

Turning his attention away from the hallway they'd just come out from, Leo started to reach for one of his swords with the wrong hand. He'd barely even moved before he burst into pain; a minor etching in his facial features masking his true suffering.

Closing his eyes, he used his other hand to grab a katana before moving over to his brother and handing it to him.

"Thanks…" Don told him, forcing himself to turn back to the stone… and pausing for a second when the world around him began to spin. He wondered if Callis, whilst creating his X-rated Barbie Dream House, had remembered to add a garbage can.

It seemed that he wasn't doing so well himself.

Once all was still, Don raised his brother's katana. "Hope this works…" He mumbled before placing the tip of the blade on the stone and digging it in.

The mineral, once broken through an outer layer, was surprisingly soft, going in without complaint as soon as it reached the center. However, Don began to worry when the mansion still remained lit, pulsing still.

That's when he recalled the 'pulse' of a heart. As a person died, the heart beat on for a few seconds more, slowing down, slowing-

The light wasn't flashing regularly anymore. It was dimming. Just like the beating of a heart, it began to slow down.

Taking the last few seconds they had of light, Don climbed off his brother, checked to see if he was okay, before standing back. There, the four of them watched as the light reached an end.

The heart of hell beat no more.

&&&&&

Still endowed with telepathic ability, Ella had gotten Ethan's message while Callis had not. But that mattered little. As loyal as Ella was, Callis had received not long after her, once she spoke to him on her way up to defeat the turtles.

He planned on joining them, once he secured the room, the one they'd battled in just yesterday. The technology it guarded with its walls was of the utmost importance to contacting the home world of the Ardors- and escaping this miserable planet.

Thus, saving his life.

Apparently, somewhere down the line, the four had made it upstairs to the healing chamber and had run into the last living member of Callis' kin. Before a fight could break out with him, Ethan had arrived and made him leave, considering that he wasn't fully recovered.

In Ethan's attempt to destroy the ninjas, he'd been injured, and had lost them. While that made Callis growl in fury, he was happy about one thing.

The bear had been delivered. He was sure they knew who it had belonged to last, as well as how that previous owner had perished.

The bear was a symbol, one of ultimate pain, suffering, and death.

Callis grinned. As quickly as the smirk had come, it went quickly as the Ardor noticed what was happening around him. He stopped in his tracks. The light, his blessed light, was fading away!

Bu how? That wasn't possible! Unless… Unless the terrapins had gotten to it.

Gritting his teeth, Callis slammed his fist into the wall. I should've done away with them when I had the chance!

Still angered, Callis forced himself to move. He knew this mansion like the back of his hand. It was a trait acquired when you owned the place for over a hundred years.

Despite his growing fear, he had a job he had to do- one that had to be done as quickly as possible.

First, he had to kill the turtles, before they could do more damage- quickly, but with as much pain as possible.

Secondly, he had to get the mineral working once more.

For not only did it help them camouflage, a useful trick during the hunt. Also, it was that very mineral which had kept him alive in this body for so long.

&&&&&

Pitch black. Darkness surrounded them in every direction. Leo was relieved that they had one less thing to worry about, were they to confront the Ardors again. However, it put a little dampener in the rest of the plan, whatever it might come to be.

Mike, ever so obvious, voiced the problem; pain lacing his voice, slightly. "So… how do we get to wherever the hell we're going?"

"Hmm…" Don said, "We could just follow the walls back to the elevator." He suggested.

Not too far a way from him, Raph shifted, being cautious of his leg. "Oh yeah, Don. There's some genius workin' for ya." He said, a bit sarcastically.

"What other choice do we have?" Leo asked. Honestly, it was the only thing he could think up as well. Wordlessly, Don gave him back his sword. Excepting it, Leo placed it back in its sheaf.

Ahead, Raph moved, probably trying to make out any figures in the darkness, as Leo, and, doubtlessly, Mike and Donny were.

Because of the silence, the words that then followed seemed to echo around them. "Ring 'round the rosies… A pock't full of posies… Ashes, ashes…" A thump sounded directly in front of them, and two, green eyes glowed in the darkness; "We all fall down."

Behind him, he felt Mikey's hand suddenly grip his own.

Among the shadows, a different shade of black took a new form, becoming distinctly human. Ella; Leo was sure. The shape looked female.

He could hear the clicks of her shoes coming closer; Raph hobbled backwards, already getting to his sais.

Ella chuckled. "I mus' tell ya, I'm not as 'nexper'enced' as Eth'n- my kin. I know how to handle myself. 'Sides Callis, I'm the best this mansion has seen."

Don snorted lightly. "That must be pretty good. Considering there was originally twenty-eight of you."

Eyes narrowing, Ella moved quickly to his brother in purple. Leo could hear her breath quickening. "And where did you learn that?" She screeched.

"Same place I learned everything else."

She must've known where that place was, for she wasted no time in attacking.

Don's injuries, mainly the concussion, made him slow. As Ella changed back into an Ardor, she charged at his plastron. Wall behind him, the breath was knocked out of Donatello. However, it seemed that his adversary had forgotten about the barrier and had been expecting to take him down to the ground.

Caught off guard, she clearly hadn't been expecting Don to hit her, again, with the Tric. Twitching, she went down.

For a few seconds, they stood over her unconscious body as Raph helped Don back into an upright position. "Good, my ass." The red-clad ninja scoffed.

"C'mon, guys. Let's go." Leo reminded them.

Carefully, the four began to follow the walls once more, heading back for the elevator. It took awhile, considering their previous running had made the place a maze, but they knew they were on track once Mikey stepped on a piece of glass.

"Jeez!" The youngest cried. "Man, this place is even more confusing in the dark!" After a few seconds, in a softer tone, he added, "Not to mention creepier."

In minutes, they found it. Inside the elevator, once the doors closed, to Leo's relief, the numbers for each floor weren't as difficult to find as he'd thought. Apparently, there was a still-functioning back-up system that lit up each button.

Pushing the first, Leo sent them to the lower floor.

He hoped that he wasn't sending them to their deaths.

&&&&&

Breathing heavily, blinking through darkness, Ella couldn't believe she'd been so, for lack of a better word, stupid. Too rash; she hadn't thought of all the details, what could happen.

Desperately, she wished the healing chamber was fixed. She would be too slow now. But the Ardor had to warn Callis; he'd been right. Surely, the four terrapins were on their way to the room, and there weren't many of her kin left to stop them.

Feasting mattered little now. Though she wished to feed on their meat, a prize well worth fighting for, it was more important to stop them from ending their entire existence.

As she got on all fours, Ella opened up a channel with the only two remaining Ardors, not including Callis. I couldn' stop 'em. They're comin'. Warn Callis.

After pausing to move, she sent an even more urgent plea. We can't fail! Stop 'em- kill 'em! We can't let 'em get to the room!

&&&&&

The doors slid open. With a frown, Raph tried to remember where they were. All he could recall was that the front of the elevator had been a façade, appearing as if part of the wall.

They all moved out, himself coming last. Having to move thanks to the support of the wall meant slow travel. Even still, his leg felt like it was being attacked by a thousand hybrid ticks armed with bee stingers, burrowing their way inside his limb before letting loose with their attack.

Raph shook his head, this simile not making his love of bugs grow any better.

Before a word could be said, Donny stepped forward. Eyes growing accustomed to the darkness, Raph could tell it was him. Growing up with him for sixteen years helped… and the bo staff really clued him in.

Cocking his head, Don spoke. "I'll take us there. Yeah… I think I can find it."

"Think?" Mikey asked, fear in his voice.

"I saw the blueprints for this place." Don explained. "At least the lower level, anyways. It wasn't really described in pictures as it was words, but it's the same basic principle."

Raph turned to Leo, who shrugged, breathing in as he did so. All three of them trusted Donny, no matter what the circumstances.

Well, except for that time the gunk from Bishop's manufactured aliens had turned him into a monster. That had made trust a little more difficult, but that was a completely different story. Besides, even then, they had trusted him, though the level of which was a little lower at the time.

Once again, that was a completely different story. One that had, in a way, almost reinforced their faith in him.

When Don moved, they moved, turning right. Almost as if by a miracle, nothing attacked. And then, their brother stopped, right in front of a door. "This is it." He said. "I'm sure."

Raph felt the impact before he heard the growl.

On the ground, leg in pain, he found two Ardors before them, one bleeding in a familiar spot that identified him as Ethan. The unnamed one was taking Leo and Mike while he and Don were stuck with the one that had gotten the bonus treat of revenge.

Placing it's foot against his brother's arm, taking the Tric out of his hands, Ethan kept his front paw on Raph's chest. Seemingly, it began to take in a long sniff, as if smelling him, before opening its mouth, coming closer and closer to his throat.

His other brothers weren't doing so well, either. The remaining Ardor took turns with each, favoring further injury to their wounds. Raph could hear them crying out with each one they endured.

Discreetly, Raph placed his foot under Ethan's belly and kicked up- hard. The Ardor went flying, barely scratching Don's plastron as it did so.

Distracted, the other looked at the two in shock. A mistake. Mike and Leo tackled it immediately. While it fought, Leo managed to place his Tric next to its neck.

The sight wasn't pretty. Apparently, he'd discovered the higher setting on the weapon as well.

Unsure where Ethan was, but not wanting to wait around to find out, they rushed into the room.

Don was right. Raph remembered the place; all the strange looking consoles.

He hadn't been expecting Callis to be in there.

The alien was working on one of the devices, probably trying to erase certain information. He barely glanced at them as they entered. "Freaks…" He said in a low voice; "vile cre'tures-"

Mikey interrupted. "You talking about us or yourself?"

Callis didn't seem to hear it. "We came here to feed. To hunt. You do the same. Now," He leaned up, "you've killed us all."

Looking closely, Raph noticed that Callis seemed to be getting shorter- more bony. His hair was falling out. Stepping closer to them, if Raph could trust his eyes in this darkness, his very skin, sagging close to his skeleton, seemed to be deteriorating.

He had to trust them when the alien, sinking, reached his hand out to them, only for several fragments of skin to turn to ash right there and then.

The door burst open. Turning, Raph noticed Ethan, as well as the Ardor they'd fought upstairs. At first, they'd seemed ready to fight again, but then they'd noticed Callis, who had, by now, fallen to the floor.

Instantly turning into a human figure, Ella ran to Callis' side as Raph and his brothers began to back away.

Leaning in close to Don, Leo whispered, "Can you get us out of here?"

Don nodded. "I think so. Give me a sec." Slowly, he disappeared behind their backs and began working with some of the machinery.

Ethan, in Ardor form, behind her, Ella stroked Callis' face, holding him until he went limp, and even longer still. Raph risked a glance at Don, whose work was slow, but slower to the turtle.

Finally, Ella looked up at them, so fast, Raph thought she would've snapped her neck. "I made a m'stake the first time 'round. I won't again." Laying her kin gently to the ground, she stood. "If he couldn't destroy ya, than I will!" With a roar, she changed back into an Ardor, and she and Ethan leapt at them.

Fighting was difficult. But they defended Don while he worked, now a little quicker, though still a little confused.

Only two strikes had been dealt, but already, Raph felt that this was the end. But then, Don shouted. "Guys! It's ready!"

Breathing heavily, Mike swung a nunchuck with his good arm and hit Ethan right in the face, kicking his underside as he flew back. With shuriken, Raph warded Ella back while Leo defended him when she tried to claw him.

They backed up. Donny, an unfamiliar device in hand, hit a button. In the center of them, a little red, electric worm began to squirm. Raph recalled it. Wasting no time, Leo touched it.

And there was that sound again. First, his ears popped, and then… Swish.

&&&&&

There! Much longer, wouldn't you agree!

Can you believe we only have three chapters left? I can't. (cries) My baby grew up so fast!

So you know, the horror is mostly over now. Actually, I think, if there's any, it won't be a lot.

But you'll still read, right? Right?

Dear God, please review! And thanks to those that already have!