Rating: Overall story rated T
Disclaimer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon.
Warnings: Overall story contains disturbing imagery such as blood, gore and the like, and highly disturbing situations.
Summary: The world as they knew it has gone to ruins. The shadows, once their greatest allies, now harbour threats so great it's safer to risk walking in open daylight and Mikey and April will do anything to keep what remains of their family safe; even if it means abandoning home and everything they knew. This story is AU and is a collaboration between sampsonknight and Zelgadis55.
Comments, thoughts and concrit are always welcome.
A/N: I'm very sorry for the delay in updating anything over the last 2 weeks. While I did kinda lose track of time during the weekend 2 weeks back and only remembered late on Sunday night, I decided I would do it on Monday during the day but... shortly after I woke up, my internet went down and stayed down... I only just got it fixed yesterday. While I could *technically* have updated via my laptop and my mobile hotspot (my desktop comp requires the cable connecting to the modem for net as I can't seem to get the wireless working on it – Send Donnie, stat!) the keyboard on the laptop is total trash and getting worse than ever with certain letters either not working at all and requiring a second, even third time pressing them or it prints them out 2 or 3 times instead of once. Basically, I refuse to type up or even edit fic on that thing anymore...
Anyway, result is, mid-week Australia Day update for the few that read this story and it's a long one! (over 8k words!)
Drumboy100: That they do... They'll get them back eventually. A day at a time XD
T420000: Yessssss a literal cliffhanger, hehe. That was so much fun writing that!
Minnie1015: *snickers muchly* Oh but we can and we obviously did, hehe.
Sekai no Owari
Ch 28
A blood-curdling scream echoed, polluting the air as her heart jumped into her throat. Her terror overwhelmed her and sweat formed as she realised the scream was Leonardo's! Frantically, she faced forward only to see him no longer in sight.
A dash of sea-green and orange darted past her peripheral vision and she was helpless to watch as Michelangelo threw his top half over what she now saw was a sudden drop in the path ahead and she was horrified to realise that was where Leonardo disappeared to.
Suddenly, Mikey slid further and over the edge with nary a sound, also disappearing from view.
"Mikey!" April screamed in horror.
Standing there impotently, April couldn't believe this was happening. Was Leonardo okay? How could she be so careless as to not keep an eye on him! Anything and everything was a danger to them and she had to lose herself too deeply in her conversation with Mikey... No wonder she wouldn't be a good mother, she couldn't even keep an eye on one six-year-old!
And what about Mikey? He was a capable ninja but still... the way he'd gone over the edge...
A sudden ca-chink and rattle snatched her attention and she looked to the sound, seeing the sickle point of Mikey's kusarigama buried in the dirt not even a foot from the precipice, the chain taut over the edge. To her horror, she realised it was inching its way out of the ground and when it did...
Donnie, also seeing the same thing, shook himself out of his shocked state and dashed forward to grab the chain, giving it more to anchor to. "Mikey?" he called, fear evident in his voice. "Are you and Leo..."
"We're fine, bro!" Mikey's seemingly ragged disembodied voice called from over the cliff. "I caught him!"
"Oh, thank god! A-are you alright to climb up?" Donnie called again, too terrified at losing his hold on the chain to look over the edge. "Because I can't pull you up, you're too heavy for me."
"Are you calling me fat?" Mikey cheekily called.
"No, Mikey, your shell just holds too much weight. You can take that any way you want," April couldn't help retorting in relief that they were both still alive and presumably unhurt. Rushing towards Donnie to help him, she shrugged off her bag. She contemplated putting Raph down but he was awake and liable to crawl away and she decided it was just too risky. Besides, Mikey and Leo probably didn't have the time to wait for her to do that.
"So rude!" Mikey called cheerfully.
From up on the edge, April and Donnie heard Mikey saying something softly to Leonardo but couldn't make it or the whimpering reply out. Then they heard him clearly once more as his voice rose.
"This is going to take me a while to climb back up, I can only use one hand and that's the hand holding the chain."
"Wrap it around yourself," Donnie called back worriedly. His head turned and his eyes flickered to April, telegraphing his near panic. She admired how controlled he was, even at twelve. "Just in case something goes wrong and you slip again.
A terrified whimper floated up along with the soothing sounds of a reply. Then Mikey called up again. "Already done, bro!"
"Donnie, do you think if we both pull we can shorten his climb?" April asked anxiously as she stepped in front of Donatello and adjusted her grip on the chain, making sure Raph, who was happily occupied stuffing her hair in his mouth, was well clear.
Donnie nodded doubtfully, glancing at his baby brother strapped securely to April's front. "We can only try."
"Raphie, you be a good boy and keep chewing my hair while we rescue your silly older brothers, okay?" April gently instructed. Occupied by the bright red strands, Raph cooed, otherwise paying her no attention.
"Mikey, Donnie and I are going to pull as much we can to make the climb less, okay?" April called, nodding to Donnie to get ready.
"Okay!" Mikey called brightly. April and Donnie heard the edge of trepidation in his answer though and glancing at each other, realised Mikey was trying not to let their younger brother know that he too was afraid.
"Okay, Donnie on the count of three. One... Two... Three! Pull!" April put all her strength into the task, pulling back as much she could.
Donnie strained, digging his heels into the ground as he pulled.
Centimetre by centimetre, inch by inch, the two pulled on the chain, watching as it dug a groove into the soft edge of the drop. As they pulled, Michelangelo's voice became clearer as he cheerfully continued speaking soothing nonsense to the clearly terrified Leonardo.
"How much further, Mikey?" Donnie huffed. If only he'd he'd known how far down they were at the start, he probably could have easily calculated how much further for himself.
"Um, I dunno, maybe another two yards or so?" Mikey's strained voice floated up. "You know I'm bad with distance!"
"How many yous to the top Mikey if that helps," April grit her teeth, hoping he was closer than that.
"It's kinda hard to tell at this angle," Mikey replied, his irritability clear.
"It was worth the try," April muttered, pulling harder. "Mikey, after this," she puffed, "you're on a diet."
"As long as it's a see-food diet, I'm all in," Mikey huffed back.
Just then, the dirt and rock beneath the chain crumbled and gave way and Leonardo's terrified cry of alarm could be heard as the rubble hit them. Thanks to the sudden shifting, the chain slid unheeded through April and Donnie's grips and the pair at the end of the chain dropped again.
"Shell!" Donnie snapped, trying to halt the chain and dig in his feet once more.
"Hold on!" April yelled. She snatched at the slipping chain, regaining her grip and pulling back.
"We're holding" Mikey's voice all but squeaked back, sounding pained.
"Donnie, we need to get leverage on this quickly, who knows how much more of the cliff edge will crumble," April said, doing her best to ignore the sweat dripping down her face.
"What we need," Donnie returned almost breathlessly, "is to be able to anchor the blade into or against something stronger. Perhaps around the trunk of a tree but neither of us can do that. If even one of us let go, the other won't be able to hold Mikey and Leo up."
"We don't have a choice... we have to try." April took a deep, steadying breath, "I might be able to hold it for a short run but you'll have to hurry to do what you need to do, Donnie."
"We'll need to pull to get enough slack in the chain again first, though," Donnie pointed out. Then he raised his voice as he called, "How far are you now, Mikey?"
"Uh, maybe double the distance," came the worrying reply.
"Shell..." Donnie muttered. "Alright, alright... Mikey! How far to the ground below you?" he called, raising his voice once more.
"Sec!" Mikey's voice floated up. What felt like minutes later, the reply followed. "A couple of yards or so? You know what? It might be easier if I just jump the rest of the way down!"
Worry filled Donnie at that thought. They were ninja but he had no idea how far Mikey was capable of jumping and landing safely under normal circumstances and there were so many other problems inherent with the idea too. Problems like the fact he was likely in a bad position to jump from and he was carrying Leonardo to boot. Then there was the possibility of the condition of the ground he'd be jumping to.
"Either way, we need to figure this out and fast," April called back. "If we decide you jump Mikey, we're better off giving you less distance to go with. If we're going to pull you up, we need to give the chain more slack. Decide now, we can't hold this position for long!"
"Okay!"
"But before you do," Donnie called, his eyes fixed on that cliff edge, "Check the ground carefully first. Is it safe for you to jump while carrying Leo?"
Donnie glanced up at April in worry as they waited, straining to hold the chain. He was surprised she'd basically encouraged Mikey so easily but thinking about it, it made sense and... she at least knew Mikey's abilities better than he currently did.
"Don't worry," April told Donnie in a low voice not to hint to Mikey of Donnie's worry, "I've seen him jump from far higher and in worse situations, only once he sprained his ankle but that time he was playing around and wasn't paying attention because he was showing off."
"But what about while carrying someone who's terrified of heights?" Donnie couldn't help but ask back.
"Don't worry," April replied confidently. "Mikey won't let anything happen to Leo."
Donnie nodded, before remembering that she couldn't see, being in front of him thus. He opened his mouth to answer when Mikey finally called up again.
"Okay! The ground looks pretty solid, few loose rocks and pebbles, lots of bushes etc." The chain slipped again. "There's no choice, you guys can't keep holding on and you can't pull us up. I'm jumping."
"Be careful," April warned.
"Always!" Mikey's voice floated up.
There was movement in the chain as Michelangelo obviously untangled it from around himself and shifted to a better position from which to jump. As Mikey did that, April and Donnie slowly played out the small remaining slack in the chain they had; a little more than a foot's worth by that time. They didn't, however, release the chain, knowing the sudden jarring could finish the job of pulling the anchoring blade from the ground.
"We've given you all we can!" Donnie called.
"Thanks, bro!"
The chain swung and then was suddenly loose, causing Donnie and April to stumble and fall back, April landing on top of Donnie.
"Ouch..." April hissed, wondering what was under her. She quickly checked on Raph to make sure he was fine and he was, giggling and gurgling as is if it had all been some game or ride.
"Please get off me," Donnie strained out breathlessly.
Realising it was Donnie she was on, April clambered off him quickly, "Sorry about that." April turned her head towards the cliff wondering if it was wise to get any closer to it. Licking her lips, she waited for some response from Mikey to say they were okay.
"It's okay," Donnie grunted painfully as he sat up. He stared morosely to the cliff edge before finally beginning to crawl towards it.
"Please be careful, Donnie" April begged. Watching him do this made her so nervous and she feared the ground becoming looser, making him fall as well.
"We're okay!" Mikey's voice floated up faintly before Donnie could get close. "Got some scratches and stuff but nothing serious!"
"Good to hear! We'll find a way down towards you Mikey, rather than you coming back up here. The cliff's obviously too precarious to climb!" April called back. Lowering her voice, she turned to Donnie. "Are you alright?"
"Y-yeah, I'm fine," Donnie eventually replied, staring down at his red, chafed hands. He swallowed; it had all been far too close.
"Okay," April said gently. "We should leave, we need to find somewhere to shelter for tonight."
Worried, Donnie glanced up at April before looking back at the edge of the ravine. He nodded and having regained control of the trembling in his voice, if not his hands, called down, "We'll keep pace with each other until we either find a spot we can come down to meet you or find a way across to the other side." He went and yanked the kusarigama from the ground. It pulled free far too easily for Donnie's tastes and he swallowed and shook slightly again at the implications. He bit his lip as he tried to work out how to convert the weapon back to the far more easily carried nunchaku and didn't resist as April gently took it from him and demonstrated with the hidden button.
Mikey finally called up in agreement and the small family, torn apart, turned and began walking in search of a way to be reunited.
-:-
Mikey felt sick as he remembered the fear as the chain slipped and they fell again, Leo's fingers digging unmercifully into his skin, his arms and neck, in blind panic. He hiked Leo up on his side once more and continued walking, continually murmuring soothing words to his traumatised sibling. As they continued, he kept a close watch. If anything came at them down here, they'd be boxed in. He needed to make sure he saw any dangers fast.
Their scratches were numerous, with small amounts of blood seeping to the surface from many, but it was also true that neither had any major injuries. Unfortunately, though, he had twisted his ankle slightly when he landed, what with overbalancing with Leo attached to him like a limpet. It wasn't anything that he couldn't handle though.
Mikey's mind drifted back to when they were dangling from the cliff, Leonardo's terrified whimpering in his ear. He'd tried to convince Leonardo to crawl around onto his shell and hold on while he climbed up but Leo had been unable to do so and Mikey had been forced to keep a grip on his little brother the entire time.
Even once safely on the ground itself, Leo refused to loosen his death grip on Mikey's right and Mikey had been forced to carry him ever since. Mikey bit his lip, wishing he had someone to talk to who would answer back. They were going to have to find a way to help Leo past this fear but he had no ideas how. He knew how Splinter had managed years ago but now his brother had experienced something so traumatising that Mikey wasn't sure such trickery would work anymore. Besides, their surroundings weren't exactly conducive to such attempts, unlike the sewers.
He winced and sucked in breath as the ache drove through his ankle once more; he needed to stop a minute before it became worse. Mikey's gaze drifted to land on the brackish water moving sluggishly along the middle of the chasm.
Mikey pulled out his Shell-cell and rang April, noting with another wince that its battery was getting low. It was meant to be his turn this afternoon to use the solar charger Donnie brought but now, who knew when he'd be able.
"Mikey?" April answered.
"Yeah," he replied, slightly tiredly. "Just letting you guys know we have to stop for a few minutes. Have something to drink and eat. Donnie's got some of the packets of nuts inside his bag, you guys should share one of those and maybe some of his," here, he choked slightly at the suggestion, "pigweed that he found earlier. I'm going to try to split a cookie with Leo."
"Are you sure you're okay? We shouldn't stop unless we need to," April wanted to reunite with them now, not later.
Mikey shook his head, "Sorry, but I need to stop for a couple of minutes, Ape," he repeated. "I need a drink and can't get hold of the water bottle with Leo hanging onto me like this. Also, I want to try to get Leo to eat or drink something. He hasn't spoken a word since we hit the ground." He also needed to soak his ankle in the cold water a couple of minutes but didn't want to voice that and worry April and Donnie all the more.
"Okay, only ten minutes Mikey, that should be enough time. It's going to get dark in roughly three hours and you know that even dusk is too risky to travel. We need to find shelter of some form." April sighed, then pointed to a nice shady tree for her and Donnie to sit under.
"Okay," Mikey agreed in relief. That was longer than he'd wanted but that would be for the best. "I'm gonna hang up now, my Shell-cell battery is getting really low. Call when we're ready to go again."
"Or if anything comes up," April insisted. "Will talk soon."
Once he hung up, Mikey moved closer to the water and a large, flat rock he saw. He tried to sit Leo atop it but Leo clenched his eyes tighter, whimpered and refused to let go.
"Come on, Leo," he pleaded, "We're on the ground and safe. You can't fall any further. I'll be sitting right beside you."
"No..." he choked out, wanting this nightmare to end.
Mikey sighed. He needed to sit for a few minutes and soak his ankle. He tried to hike Leo up higher so he could sit without accidentally sitting on Leo's left leg but Leo held tight, making even this difficult. Finally, Mikey managed and rested his foot in the cold water. Then he turned back to Leo and rested his forehead on Leo's.
"It's okay, now, little bro. Feel the rock beneath you, you're on solid ground," he coaxed soothingly.
Leo unfortunately didn't let go, only letting out a string of whimpers. He shook his head, his eyes closed tightly as he refused to look, refused to do anything.
Mikey closed his own eyes, struggling to try to come up with a way to get his brother's attention. Leonardo was afraid, he knew that. What happened had been pretty damned terrifying for both of them but he didn't know how to make things better.
"You hungry, Leo?" he finally asked, struggling to get his backpack off with Leo clutching limpet-like against him.
Shaking his head in a no, he still wouldn't say a word.
Finally managing with his bag, Mikey unzipped it and draw out one of the last few cookies found in the vending machine days ago. He opened the packet and broke off a piece of the biscuit, waving it slowly under Leonardo's nostrils.
"Smell that chocolatey goodness, Leo," he teased playfully. "Doesn't it smell heavenly?" He heard a faint rumble of displeasure from his brother's stomach and shifted the treat closer, touching it against his soft, yet slightly scaly skin.
"No..." Leo wouldn't give up his fearful state.
Mikey smiled mischievously, "In that case, it would be a shame to waste such rare food. Who knows when we'll ever get cookies again. I guess I'll just have to eat it all by myself."
With that, he tossed the small piece into his mouth and chewed loudly, making delighted sounds as he ate. "Soooo good!" he moaned. "Mmm!"
Cringing, Leonardo held on tighter, feeling his mouth water. As he was just about to open his eyes he felt it again, his body falling and falling, the fear the helplessness...
Mikey picked up the packet again and broke off another piece of the biscuit when he felt Leo sway slightly against him. His eyes narrowed in thought and he placed the portion back and then laid back, taking care not to crush Leo's arm as he did. He stared up and wrapped his other arm around Leo, holding him close. "Feel the solid ground beneath you, doesn't it feel good? Nice and safe and warm?" It had been some hours since the sun shone this far down into the ravine, but the rock still exuded a delicious warmth beneath them. If circumstances were better, this would be a perfect spot to bask in the middle of the day.
"I'm too weak..." Leo whimpered so softly that Mikey would have missed it if not paying any attention.
"No, you're not," Mikey murmured back softly, hugging him closer. "You're young. That doesn't mean weak and besides, you've been handling this whole situation better than any of the rest of us."
"I can't move... I..." Leo shivered yet again as the moment played in his mind on repeat.
"Yes you can," Mikey insisted softly. "I've felt you move a few times as you've been holding onto me."
"But I... I... can't move from here... I'm scared."
"I know, Leo and it's okay. I'm not asking you to move from here or from me. I'm only asking you to eat and you can keep ahold of me while you do that," Mikey soothed. "You're seeing the fall over and over, aren't you?"
"Maybe..." Leo pressed his head into Mikey's arm.
Mikey smiled. "You know," he offered, "I know it's scary but if you open your eyes, you'll be able to see for yourself that you aren't. You'll stop feeling the falling motion if you open them and look at something solid."
"What if I don't?" Leo asked, another shudder of fear wracking his tiny body.
"You will and you know why?" Mikey watched as Leo silently shook his head against his arm. "Because you've always been the strongest and bravest of us all and because we need you just as much as you need us, if not more." Mikey squeezed his brother momentarily tighter once more before continuing. "Everyone gets scared from time to time, Leo, but it's by facing those fears that we get stronger. Master Splinter taught us early on that bravery isn't the absence of fear, but rather the ability to stand up to it and do what you need to do to protect yourself and those you love, even when you're really, really scared. Especially when you're really scared."
"I don't know if I can do it, Mikey. I want to but I can't even let go of your arm..." Leo cringed again as he started to cry, "I want to but..."
"Then don't let go of my arm," Mikey softly replied. "Just open your eyes and look at me."
Struggling to force himself to open his eyes, Leonardo could see bright orange through the crack of his eyelids, "Mikey, your mask is really orange."
Mikey chuckled and shifted his hand up Leo's body to rub fondly on his head. "You're finally learning your colours? I'm so proud of you, little bro!"
"Mikey, I'm not three, I know my colours..." Leo's cheeks puffed out in frustration.
"Really?" Mikey grinned teasingly. "Then prove it."
He sat them up and pointed at a tree. "What colour are the leaves?"
"Green," Leo rolled his eyes but didn't look, staring only at Mikey's mask.
"Very good!" Mikey patted Leo's head. "And the colour of the flower in front of that bush?" he asked, pointing again.
"Yellow?" Leo just threw whatever colour he could think of knowing he saw yellow flowers before...
It was red but Mikey grinned and praised Leo regardless. He reached behind him to the packet with the remains of the biscuit inside and draw it up, waving it in front of Leo's eyes, "And the colour of this cookie?" he asked, hearing his brother's stomach rumble again.
"Brown, with chocolate." Leo bit his lip, taking a breath to turn his head towards the flowers Mikey had pointed to, feeling a bit nauseous moving his head as he did. Frowning, he blinked at the red flowers, "Mikey why did you lie to me... I was wrong."
"Because you didn't look until now and I remembered we saw yellow flowers this morning so I figured you were just thinking of those. Here," Mikey handed the treat to his brother. "You can keep holding onto me if you want to but I need to wrap my ankle, okay?"
"What is wrong with your ankle?" Leo asked in a small voice.
"I hurt it earlier but it's not bad. It's just aching a little and since we've still got a long way to walk, I need to wrap it," Mikey explained, remembering how after he caught Leo, he'd wrapped the chain around arm, waist and ankle for safety. When the chain had suddenly dropped not long later, he'd released the links around his arm to get a better hold of Leo and the chain had slipped free of his torso. It was only his grip with both feet and the chain wrapped around that one ankle that saved them from falling all the way. He was glad that Donnie and April hadn't seen what happened. Though he expected to be grilled about it once they were reunited. Better to tell them then than now when they couldn't see for certain he was truly fine.
Letting Mikey go, Leo closed his eyes again as the world spun. Despite the nausea, his hunger drove him to take a small bite of his cookie. "Then I won't make it worse," he mumbled through a mouthful of crumbs.
Mikey smiled warmly at him despite knowing Leo couldn't see it and pulled a bandage from his bag. Then he leaned forward and began wrapping. "Not possible, little bro."
Suddenly, his Shell-cell rang and Mikey sat up to answer it, wincing as it beeped, warning about the low battery. "What's up?"
"Are you ready to start moving again?" April asked. A yawn echoed in the background.
"I think so," Mikey replied, glancing to Leo who nibbled reluctantly on his cookie as though it made him ill. "Give me like two more minutes. I'll yell up when we're ready."
"Is everything okay? It's been thirty so far," April asked worried, thinking that was enough time by now.
"That long?" Mikey asked, sitting up straighter in surprise. "How come you didn't call sooner?"
"Well... Someone here fell asleep and the other is a bit fussy and wants to move around so I let both have a moment they needed," April explained.
"Heh!" The phone beeped again. "I gotta go, battery's about to kark it. I'll yell." Mikey hung up and turned to Leo as he zipped up his backpack again and slung it over his shoulders.
"You ready to move again?"
"I... think so," Leo said nervously.
Mikey stood, bouncing lightly to his feet and testing his ankle. Satisfied, he extended his hand, smiling down at his little brother. "Come on, the others are waiting and we really can't stay here. Want me to carry you again? I don't mind."
"No, I'm fine." Leo took a breath as his legs shook but he forced them to take a step forward and then another.
"You gotta open your eyes to see where we're going," Mikey reminded gently, squeezing Leo's hand to remind him he was never alone.
"I can see blurriness... I don't really have to open them do I?" Leo gulped.
"'fraid so, Chibi-chan."
Leo started to open them then felt sick again as his legs started to shake uncontrollably under him. Taking another step, everything abruptly thing spun and he could feel his lungs burning as if he couldn't breathe.
Mikey watched for a moment and then reached down and scooped up his brother, settling him into his side once more. "It's okay, bro, I'll carry you for now. You just work on relaxing and opening your eyes slowly, okay? Just watch me, not anything else. When you're ready, you can try walking again," he said softly.
With a little nod, Leo muttered under his wheezing, "Sorry."
"Don't be sorry, it's okay," Mikey soothed. "Take deep, even breaths. Breathe slowly." He wished they really could just stop for a few hours but this was too dangerous a place to be stuck in and sundown was on its way. He began walking, aware that Donnie was watching carefully from the top of the ravine. He gave a nod of acknowledgement to his brother, forgoing the yell that he'd promised April.
-:-
Donnie turned and stepped carefully away from the edge. "They're on the move."
April sat there trying to distract Raph as he tried to crawl everywhere, wanting to explore. She acknowledged Donnie as she patted Raphael on the head, "Raphie we need to start going, I know you want to move around more and that you've been prevented all day so far, but..." April attempted to pick up Raph who pushed her away wanting to chase the grasshopper that was hopping away. Seeing how fussy he was, she sighed, picking him up as he started to kick and whimper. "Raphie, please not right now..."
Donnie watched, bemused and then walked over to a plant with small white flowers he noticed growing nearby. He quickly picked a couple of bunches and then came quickly over to where April was struggling to get Raph securely in place. He dangled one of the clippings in front of Raph's face teasingly to get his brother's attention.
Hypnotised by the new thing, Raph's eyes widened in glee as he snatched at it, swinging his arms around with a burst of giggles as April took a relieved breath, placing the now happy turtle in his blanket tied to her body once again. "Thanks, Donnie... wait Raph! Don't put it in your mouth..." April tried in vain to stop Raph from shoving the handful of flowers into his mouth.
Donnie chuckled lightly, "It's okay, April, all parts of Alliaria petiolate are edible."
"Oh, well I guess you can eat that but not this one," April held a hand out towards Donnie to indicate to give her one to use to play with Raph to keep him happy as they walked.
Amused, Donnie handed April one then put the rest in the pouch of his duffle. He was definitely going to need to find a container to use to protect his pickings at some point. He wandered near the edge to glance down towards his brothers. They were now getting some distance ahead. "We should get a move on, April. Preferably before we're left behind."
"Agreed," April made sure she had everything and nothing was left behind, allowing Donnie to lead the way.
-:-
A slight breeze rose as the sun started to set. Unsettled, April's eyes drifted around, wary of what could be lurking. They, the undead, were more active at night as experience had taught her and now they, her and Donnie with baby Raph were walking alone in the darkness. Meanwhile, Mikey was on his own with Leo down in the ravine below. As the little remaining sunlight started to wane, her fear rose and she wondered how they were going to survive the night separated with no shelter. Would they find any or even a way back to each other?
Eventually, she leaned closer to Donnie so as not to raise her voice and reluctantly whispered, "Do you see anything that could be a suitable shelter? All I can see are shadows and I can't tell one tree from another."
Donnie shook his head, even as he kept his eyes peeled on both their surroundings and the ravine in which two of his brothers were currently trapped. Since they still had one of Mikey's convertible nunchaku, he'd offered to tie it off around a sturdy tree for them to use to climb back up but unable to convince Leo to climb up, or hang onto his shell, Mikey had declined the offer for now. Then Mikey's Shell-cell had beeped and the battery died completely. "No, I can't."
April let out a sigh, "I'm not sure how long we can go on..." April sounded doubtful. "We should have planned this better, or... I should have kept a better eye on Leo..."
"Things happen, April. You can't blame yourself. If anything, it's my fault for mistrusting you and running away with Leo and Raph when I thought Mikey died. We wouldn't be out here unprepared otherwise," Donnie admitted shamefully, straining and failing to see his brothers down in the darkness and thinking they needed to stop before someone got hurt more. He hadn't told April for fear of worrying her unnecessarily, but he'd noticed Mikey had at some point wrapped a bandage around his ankle. "It's hard to plan for things like this when we don't know the terrain. You know we had no choice but to leave the river. What we need is a way to cross the ravine and to get Mikey and Leo back to the top."
Nodding slowly, April looked towards the area, "That wasn't your fault either, you did what you thought was right for the sake of our brothers. As you said, I was a stranger and I don't think I handled that whole situation the way I should have. By keeping secrets and not telling you what was going on, I gave you no reason to trust me. Although you don't remember, that's something we've all been doing to some extent or another for some time now and it became second nature..." April bit her lip then continued, "Donnie, the issue with Leo and his fear, how bad was it back then? Was it like this? He never talked about it and I only ever heard about it because you guys talked about it at a time when Leo's life was hanging by a thread."
"Hmm," Donnie mused thoughtfully, trying to focus on the question instead of being hung up as to how and why Leo's life had been in danger; it would be something he'd have to ask about later for sure. "I'd have to say it was bad enough but early on it wasn't so much of an issue. Master Splinter would train us on small heights to build our balance and to get us used to running along small, thin beams, preparing us for later in life and Leo, he'd try but would freeze up as soon as he noticed he was more than a couple of feet above the ground. Master Splinter found a way to trick Leo into getting past his problem, though it was always still there in a small way after. Right now though, Leo's younger than he was at that time and that fall, both of those falls, would have been pretty scary even to someone who wasn't afraid of heights to begin with."
"I see... so it will be some time until his memories of that lesson that Master Splinter taught him to overcome his fear come back. This isn't good, that fall is one of many. This even rules out sleeping in a tree if it comes to it. Though I'm not comfortable with the idea, there is no way he would even agree right now which makes this more difficult," April pondered. "Even getting them out seems to be an obstacle right now. How are we going to get Leo to understand he can overcome it if he tries?"
"I don't know," Donnie shrugged. "All I know is that when he overcame it before, he thought he was saving Master Splinter when he 'had an accident'."
"Setting something like that up again or similar isn't going to be possible without someone really being in danger... And it's not going to help us at this moment."
"Exact..." Donnie suddenly froze and stared intently across the ravine.
Witnessing the sudden shift in Donatello, April gulped, "Donnie, what's wrong?"
"Looks like there's a structure over there," he pointed.
April followed his arm towards the other side. There, at a higher point, she could make out what appeared to be a stone chimney.
"If that is shelter, it's on the other side and Mikey and Leo are still trapped below."
"Wasn't this area a tourist area? Camping grounds, hiking trails etcetera?"
"Yes, why?"
"Then there's probably a way across somewhere near, probably a bridge. Although that doesn't help with Mikey and Leo as such, there'd be a good chance of being some emergency equipment in the place. As long as it hasn't been stolen, that is"
"It's worth a try," April agreed. "Now how do we tell Mikey without waking up the dead?"
"Do you know if he ever managed to learn Morse code?"
"Unless your ordering pizza, no..."
"Pizza?" Donnie asked wide-eyed.
"Yeah, he learned to spell out 'Please order pizza' to give you instructions when he was unable to otherwise. Why?" April shrugged, "I have no clue nor did I dare ask."
Donnie stared perplexed and then shook his head, not wanting to know. "Just keep an eye out for a bridge or something."
"Like that one, maybe?" April pointed forward doubtfully, unsure if she was actually seeing a bridge in the distance or a shadow.
Donnie peered ahead into the darkness and then nodded, excitedly. "Yes, like that one." He surged forward towards it, only slowing down when April reminded him she couldn't keep up while carrying Raph as she couldn't see well enough in the dark. After about ten minutes, they reached it and Donnie pulled out his torch to check it over and make sure it was safe to cross.
"Is it safe?" April asked eagerly, looking over and wondering if communicating while on the bridge would be easier than throwing her voice when she has to.
"Seems to be," Donnie replied distantly. He flickered the light down below, catching Mikey in it and moved the beam around, searching. Finally, aware that he'd already ruined their night vision, he lit the way for Mikey, leading him and Leo to a fairly flat area and trying to motion for them to wait there. Donnie knew his voice could carry well enough for Mikey to hear, they weren't that far down after all, but he didn't want to risk attracting anyone or anything else their way in the dark.
Once Mikey had removed the limpet masquerading as Leo and settled down to sit for a while, Donnie cupped his hand over the beam, only allowing just enough light for April to see her way safely across. Once on firm ground once more, he shut the light off.
"We need to hurry but be careful," April instructed taking the bo staff in hand, she would use the sai if it wasn't for Raph with her.
Donnie nodded and pulled out his kali stick. He held it out at the ready as they moved towards the building they could see a few hundred yards away, wincing as he heard April disturb some loose rock as she moved; some training she may have had but ninja, she was not.
With every sound she made as they drew closer to the small building, Donnie kept imaging more and more faceless humans or, ridiculous as it was, zombies lying in wait, ready to pounce as they came close.
"Maybe you should wait here while I go look?" he murmured when they were almost there.
"I'm making too much noise, aren't I?" April asked apologetically, looking around to make sure nothing was sneaking up on them, then back to Donnie.
"Enough to wake the dead," Donnie admitted softly.
April sighed, then nodded slowly casting her gaze around once again, "I don't like the thought of you going on your own but at the same time if there is anything in there I'd only disturb it and put Raph in danger..." Going up to him she put her hand on his shoulder, "Please be careful, I don't want you to get hurt..."
Donnie stared up, feeling nothing but concern from her and truly wondered for the first time how he could have ever mistrusted her. He gently pried her hand away and nodded silently, before turning away and sneaking forward.
A short time later, he came up at the side of the building and edged forward, listening intently as he went. He came to the corner without finding any doors or windows and took a deep but quiet breath, feeling as though something was just around the corner. Finally, gathering his courage, Donnie burst around the corner and saw...
Nothing.
Nothing but another rocky, windowless wall.
For a moment, he marvelled at the structure, made up of hundreds of small rocks, ranging from the size of an adult foot to five times that, and yet, in the darkness, he could see no sign of mortar to hold it all together. Donnie glanced up at the overhanging roof, seeing what appeared to be wooden logs holding it up. For a moment, he was tempted to reach up but then he shook his head, remembering that April was waiting.
Once more, he crept slowly along the wall, soon coming to another corner. Once around that, he discovered a distinct lack of wall and his eyes widened as he took in the sight. It was dark inside, not really a surprise considering it was long after the sun had gone down and that a cloud cover was slowly thickening above.
Suddenly, Donnie realised that if anyone was inside, they'd have the advantage and he'd be a sitting target. It was all he could do not to immediately throw himself back behind the wall and possibly give away his presence. As his eyes adjusted to the darker space, he listened intently. Soon, satisfied there was no one within, Donnie stepped inside and looked around more carefully.
Immediately within was a dirt floor, but a little way in, sat a raised, wooden floor. He explored fully, happy to discover there was nothing inside and went back for April.
April squinted into the darkness wrapping around her, watching both behind her and in front of her. It felt like an eternity waiting for Donnie and she started to regret letting him go alone. Suddenly, she let out a squeak of surprise and excitement when she saw him sneaking out of the shadows unharmed.
"Did you find anything useful? Is it occupied?" April questioned him quickly, looking back towards the bridge, knowing they shouldn't make Mikey wait longer than necessary.
"Nothing useful inside, other than a small fireplace on each of the side walls but it's empty and at least will shelter us if it rains," Donnie offered, glancing up at the ever-thickening clouds above. "One of the outer walls seems to have a small protrusion from it with a lid. I didn't take the time to check it out more closely though. It seemed more important to let you know it was safe."
"Thank you," April told him. "Okay, so we have shelter, that is one thing off our list, now let's see if we can figure out how to get the other two up here as well. Do you have any ideas?"
Donnie shook his head. "I'd like to take a closer look at the compartment on the outer wall first. This IS close to a ravine, so maybe..."
"Maybe?" April raised an eyebrow in wonder what he was thinking.
"It would make sense for some emergency equipment to be kept nearby in case of accidents. Maybe there's something in that compartment. Although, for all I know, it could be used as firewood storage since there are fireplaces in there," Donnie admitted.
"Then let's find out. Lead the way." April waited for Donnie to help her to get there without hurting herself.
Minutes later, Donnie had managed to pry open the lid and the two peered within. Unable to make much of anything out, Donnie pulled out his torch again and pointed it inside, mostly covering the light to prevent it being a beacon to them. To their immense disappointment, they discovered it to be full of firewood only.
"Well, at least we can light a fire in one of the fireplaces," Donnie said reluctantly. "They are contained and shouldn't give off too much light, although, if need be, we can probably gather some branches to make a small screen."
"So nothing to help with Mikey's situation," April said, glad they could have a fire but disappointed at not finding something useful to help them with their problem. Stepping out, she looked around seeing the darkness and the cold that came with it. "We should go tell Mikey, he's probably worried about us."
"I'll go," Donnie volunteered. "You look like you could do with getting some weight off your shoulders," he said, nodding towards little Raph.
"Are you sure?" April asked gingerly. "I can..."
"I'll be fine," Donnie assured her with a small smile. "Do you want the torch?" he asked, holding it out towards her to take.
"Thanks but I'll just use my shell cell. You'll need that more than me," April refused it with a smile in return. "I know I've said this too many times tonight but please, be careful. I know you'll figure out a way to get them out."
Donnie nodded gratefully. "You too." Then he turned and headed back to the suspension bridge over the ravine.
-:-
It was chilly down in the bottom of the ravine, thanks to the small, sluggish stream and damp mud left by a receding waterline as it dried up. Mikey had drawn the shivering Leonardo close to him, rubbing his arms vigorously for warmth as they waited.
It made him nervous being down in the dark, barely able to see around them. Mikey had stubbed his toes on rocks in the unfamiliar terrain more than once, making him wish he had shoes like April and had been scratched by several vicious, thorny bushes. He hoped like shell there was nothing down here with them because if there was, then by the time he realised, it would have been far too late, especially with still having to carry his traumatised brother all this time.
Mikey turned his head to gaze up, watching impatiently as the small amount of light from the stars began to be blotted out by the encroaching cloud cover and he bit his lip as he realised it was getting even darker down here. He should have stopped looking up, he realised, especially if he wanted to keep his night vision but worry and curiosity over where Donnie, April and Raph went prevented him from doing the sensible thing.
Suddenly, a shadow appeared near the edge of the bridge and Mikey started.
"Mikey?" a low voice he recognised as the younger Donatello's called down.
"Still here, bro," he replied, just as softly.
The shadow seemed to wilt in relief and Donnie called back, "Are you two okay?"
"Depends on what you mean by okay," Mikey replied unthinkingly. "Where did you go?"
"Explain later. Are either of you hurt?" Donnie asked, worried by the noncommittal answer.
"We're fine but cold and L... He's still in shock over what happened. He freaks out every time I suggest carrying him and climbing back up."
There was silence from up above and Mikey knew that meant Donnie was trying to think about the problem at hand. For a moment, Mikey was reminded far too strongly of Donnie as he had been. He missed the comfort and camaraderie they had shared. There were still echoes of it of course, as they had always been close but now they were divided by years, experience and several metres of rocky height and it hurt all over again.
"I'll be right back."
Then Donnie turned away and Mikey heard the faint sounds of a chain. Suddenly Donnie reappeared and there was the faint rattle of metal against rock. Moments later, Donnie was rappelling down the cliff face and as he neared the bottom, a light flashed on, shining on the ground beneath. Leo turned away from it, burying his face into Mikey's plastron and Mikey stopped rubbing to give him a comforting squeeze, even as he watched above the light to where Donnie's head was.
Once on the damp ground, Donnie released his hold on the kusarigama chain and trotted over to Mikey and Leo, not bothering to turn off the light. He stopped in front, shining the torch over the pair but being careful not to point it at their faces.
"Do either of you need any first-aid?" Donnie asked, shining the light pointedly down at Mikey's ankle.
"Nuh, we're fine," Mikey replied with a shake of his head. "Well, I am anyway. I think Leo is. He was before dark but he's barely responded to me since we stopped for that rest before sundown, so if he got scratched or anything, I couldn't tell in the dark."
"You were really carrying him the entire time?" Donnie asked in amazement. "Even though you could barely see?"
Mikey smiled grimly up at Donnie, even as Leo's quivering hold on him dug in deeper. "Didn't really have much choice. I'm just glad nothing was down here with us or we might have been in trouble," he said softly.
"You're telling me," Donnie replied dryly as he studied Leo's arms and legs more thoroughly in the torchlight. "Well anyway, we came across a shelter a few hundred yards from the bridge. It has three walls and a roof, but no fourth wall. Still, it'll at least protect us if it begins to rain."
Mikey nodded. "That's good but if you can't secure one side, someone will definitely have to stay on watch through the night."
"Yeah." Donnie agreed reluctantly.
"So, now the problem, getting back up there. Will my kusarigama hold our weight?" Mikey asked worriedly. "There's no way he's climbing up on his own."
"I've secured it around the bridge pylon, it'll hold."
"No..." Leo suddenly whimpered.
"We can't stay down here all night, Leo," Mikey said gently. "It's not safe and we can't stay split up. It's too dangerous."
"No..." Leo quivered, falling back further than before, shivering and grasping onto Mikey for dear life.
Mikey sighed, looking up at Donnie and smiled grimly once more. "And this is why I didn't just climb up earlier using my shuko spikes. I don't know what to do."
"Well, I brought the rope down with me," Donnie suggested doubtfully. "We could always tie Leo to you so it would be impossible for him to fall."
"No... no... no!" Leo suddenly freaked, forcing Mikey to let go of him as he smacked into the ground. He shuffled backwards from his brothers, using his feet to propel himself.
For a moment, Mikey was tempted to snap at Leo and say, 'Fine, you can stay down here all alone and be eaten by hungry cougars or bears,' but he remembered how much he hated it when Raph tried those kinds of tactics to scare them (him) into submission and he bit his lip. "If we use your mask to blindfold you, you'd never know when we were even climbing," Mikey offered instead.
"I'm not stupid! I would know!" Leo barked at Mikey, his temper rising.
"Of course you're not stupid, no-one said you were," Mikey sighed, wanting nothing more than to bury his face into his hand but not wanting to pull a Leo. Adult Leo, that was. "But as I said, we can't stay down here, Leo. We have to get out of this death trap and rejoin the rest of our family. Or are you saying you'd rather April try to climb safely down here to join us while holding Raph, who is a helpless baby?"
Donnie backed away a step, unwilling to say anything.
Leo stood there for a moment, then narrowed his eyes at his brother, opening his mouth to continue to refuse to climb or even go near that cliff face when suddenly a blood curdling-scream echoed in the air.
"April!" Mikey gasped in horror as his and Donnie's heads whipped to look up and towards where the sound came from. Every instinct screamed at him to get to her but Leo...
Mikey turned and stared helplessly at his little brother. April needed him but he couldn't just leave Leo down here.
-:-
