Chapter Twenty-Seven: Return & Recon

It's really weird holding hands, especially hands that don't have three fingers or belong to Casey or April.

"Close your eyes, and focus your whole mind on your home. Think about what it looks like—every detail. Think about where it is in the city, but especially focus on imagining what it looks like when you're standing right in the middle of it. That will help guide me to your home, and not somewhere else in your city, or even the wrong city."

Raph looked at Bren, who had moved to stand in front of them. "See ya, bro." Then he closed his eyes and imagined the Lair: the brickwork, the couch, the tv, the whole layout. He pictured himself standing where he'd stood many times. "Okay," he grunted once this mental picture was as clear as possible. "What ne-"

The world shifted. Only the clammy presence of Saja's hands remained constant. He felt like he was growing. All the background clamor and machinery ceased as abruptly as a muted tv. The ground rocked under his feet, and Raph's dizziness returned.

"Whoa." He opened his eyes instinctively to steady himself, and found that only dim lights cast shadows on Saja's pale face, and beyond her—Raph almost laughed aloud.

The Lair! I'm home! I'm finally home!

Dropping the girl's hands, he spun, taking it all in. The main lights were off; no one was around, but it was home. Now he did grin like a dork.

"Thank you!" He whispered to Saja, who had taken a step back. I almost want to hug her—that's really weird. Nope, never admitting that to anybody.

"Go find your brother," Saja whispered. Even in the dim light, Raph realized she was trembling.

"Whoa. You okay?" He grabbed her arm and steadied her; it felt like she was about to collapse. "Yer gonna fall over if ya don't sit down."

He led her around to the couch. His body reminded him pointedly that it lacked energy for walking, much less helping anyone else, but he ignored it. If her knees did give out, he lacked the strength to carry her, but at least he could catch her so her head didn't hit the floor.

"It's normal," she whispered. "Teleporting drains me in this state. Especially taking a passenger. I'll be fine. I just need sleep."

You sound like you should sleep for a week. "Sleep, then." Raph let go, and she tumbled onto the couch. His arms shivered with effort as he pulled the blanket from the back of the couch over her. "Thanks for findin' me and bringin' me outta that crazy place."

"You're… welcome…" Saja's eyes closed.

Raph turned. Don said he already rescued Master Splinter. He walked over to the screen door, listened intently, and heard the faintest of sounds to indicate his sensei was indeed home. He moved at an invalid's pace to the foot of the stairs, sighed, then slowly mounted the steps. I hope this doesn't count as 'major physical activity,' Bren, 'cause it sure feels like it.

At the top, he found Leo's door open and Leo asleep within. Leo's back too. A bit of the tension that had been building in Raph's chest released. Man, he must be really tired if he didn't wake up to our talking. What did the Gamer do to him?

Next came Mikey's room; Raph eased open the door to find his youngest brother nuzzled deep into his nest of blankets. Mikey too. More tension released. Peering closely, Raph frowned. Is his foot propped up? It looks like it. I hope it's not broken.

Skipping his own room, Raph forced his now-exhausted body to Don's door. Inside slept the rescuer, lying in an awkward position.

Raph sighed in deep, profound relief. My family is all here. That just leaves Casey. Saja said he should figure it out on his own, and if he didn't, she'd try to find him once she recovers, he thought as he shambled, barely upright now, back to his own hammock. Heh, at least it's night here too, and we can just go to bed.

He fell limply into his hammock; it almost dumped him back out again. Oh, I didn't close the door. Oh, well, they'll be able to see in in the morning and see that I'm back and not freak out any more.

Something—probably one of the translators—poked him, but he lacked the energy to take it off, so he just shifted a bit. I'm sure Don's been freaking out. And Leo's been worried. And Mikey hasn't even been joking as much, without my buttons to push.

Raph's body immediately started slipping off to sleep. That Gamer's gonna get a beating, for messing with our family…

Several hours later

Day Seven

Sunday, very early morning

The world solidified, and Casey opened his eyes to find himself in the dimly lit Lair. He grinned. "I'm back."

"Is this it?" Taevon brought a hand up to his forehead. "Whew, I forgot how tiring it is bringing a passenger. Especially to such a specific time." He eyed their surroundings as Casey stepped away. "That was the bravest thing I've ever done, Great Parvoss," he added under his breath, just barely loud enough for Casey to hear.

Casey wasn't paying attention. He had found that trying to be quiet on concrete with his fancy shoes—Taevon hadn't had spare shoes, and Casey's original sneakers had long since gotten ruined—proved challenging. At least he didn't make me give the dark blue clothes back; just the jacket. But these shoes—wait. I'm in the Lair. Why I am I still wearing them?

He stopped to pry them off. He shed the offending shoes behind the couch, then froze when he saw a person sleeping on it: a girl, no less.

"What is it?"

"I have no idea who that is," Casey whispered loudly.

Taevon shrugged. "It sounds like your friends can handle themselves, and would be aware of an intruder on their couch," he whispered back. "Find a calendar, Casey—make sure we're in the right year and month."

"Oh, right."

After casting around, Casey finally found a calendar by Don's computer. Taevon trailed behind as Casey stared at it. "It's been… six days?"

"Are you sure? And it's the right year and month?"

Casey checked again. "Yeah. But that still means I missed helpin' Raph on th' roof. What if he got hit by a dart too? Can't we try again to get to the right time?"

Taevon shrugged tiredly. "We're as close as we could get. I could try a dozen times and not land you so close. Besides, if your friend got hit by the same dart, I would've run into him." He yawned. "Is it quite alright if I rest here for the rest of the night? I need to sleep before I can teleport again."

Casey pondered this a moment. I guess this is as close as I'm getting. I hope Don got there and helped Raph beat those guys.

He looked at his slouched-over companion. As weird as Taevon is, he won't hurt the guys or anybody. I could take him to my apartment, but he looks wiped out—and I'm tired too.

He nodded. "Yeah. You take this chair; I'll get that one." I hope Master Splinter doesn't beat me up for sleeping in his chair, but better me than a stranger. "Hang on a sec; I'll get us each a blanket."

Casey snuck over to the worn, water-damaged wooden box that stored spare blankets in the corner of the living room area. The leather bag at his hip swung forward as he opened it, getting in the way, reminding him of its presence. Ugh. I don't need this thing anymore. At least, not 'til April gets home—it's got my present for her in it. He took out the top two blankets and jammed the offending bag into the space they had occupied.

Returning to the chairs, he tossed a blanket to Taevon, who barely caught it, and sank onto Master Splinter's chair. This chair is not my size, but whatever.

"Thank you, mate. Don't let 'em hurt me in the morning." Taevon's tired whisper was even fainter now that they were just a few feet from the sleeping brown-skinned girl.

"Dey won't be able to see you, will dey?" Surprise pitched Casey's whisper higher.

"No, they will—I'm leaving myself visible so nobody sits on me." From across the room, Casey could just barely tell that Taevon's eyes were already closed.

"Oh, okay. G'night."

"G'night."

"Taevon?"

"Mmm?"

"Thanks for bringin' me home, even though you were scared of your people."

A long pause, and then Taevon said, "What are friends for?"

The adrenaline from finally coming home started to wear off, and Casey closed his eyes. The guys'll be surprised to see me in the morning. Although they prolly already know I'm here… ninjas.

Thirty Seconds Later

Hands on hips, Leo stared down at the now-full living room seating. They're back. I guess they heard my threat from wherever they were.

A soft smile spread across his face, and he exhaled a noiseless sigh of happy relief. Casey, your sneaking skills have improved—you only sounded like a small elephant this time, and you only woke me up, not all of us. Which is good—everyone else is exhausted. Well, not Mikey as much, but he's still recovering too.

His eyes flicked to the upper level, toward Raph's room. Raph didn't wake me, but judging by how he forgot to take his sais out of his belt, he's beyond exhausted. And whatever those two devices were. The red-masked turtle hadn't stirred even when Leo nimbly moved both red-handled sais to underneath the pillow, where Raph normally kept them at night, and the mysterious black-handled one to his bedside stand. The two devices had been challenging to remove, but once this was done, Leo had covered his brother with his favorite fuzzy blanket.

Leo's eyes went back to the two strangers. That must be Saja. She looks innocent enough. And she did bring back Raph, apparently. I'll talk with her once she wakes up. But this man who came with Casey… I don't know. But even Casey would only bring someone he trusted into the Lair, and fall asleep with him right there.

He shook his head and moved toward the little table. Staring at them isn't going to give me answers, and the sooner I leave, the sooner I'll be back… or punching the Gamer for tasing me, torturing Mikey, putting Master Splinter on a speeding train toward a dead end, sending Raph and Casey off to strange places, and making Don jump impossible hoops. He glanced over the marked buildings on the city map again, memorized them, nodded once, and slipped out the front door.

The red thumbtack turned out to be the scene of a fight. Based on what Don had said, Raph and Casey had been fighting men who turned out to be working for the Gamer when Don called to warn them, Casey had been hit with a dart and vanished, Raph's shell cell had been dropped and destroyed, and then Raph was apparently hit too. Leo looked it over, but he knew Don had already done so, and besides, it was just the site of their disappearance, not a Gamer hangout.

Leo moved on to the orange twelve-sided die, but either the die had been bumped, or the Gamer had moved out rapidly, because that ten-story building just held offices. It could be a front, of course, but from what Leo could tell without spending hours or using Don's hacking skills, a legitimate business operated there.

Next, since it was near, came the twelve-story building Leo had just escaped from just over twenty-four hours ago. It looked like the walls forming the small rooms that had made up the 'rounds' of the Gamer's fighting level were either being taken down or moved. It still looks like a place for fighting, though—maybe a Foot training camp. It held, however, no sign of the Gamer himself, and only a handful of Foot guarding the entrances.

A few minutes later, Leo arrived at the orange tack. Leo's eyes widened once he found a way in past the increased number of guards and saw the inside. For once, Mikey wasn't exaggerating. This really is the mother of all obstacle courses. And the most dangerous. Or it was. Workers with the Foot emblem on their uniforms worked to install netting under each level, while others spray-painted black and gray over the bright colors. Well, I guess the Foot are getting their money's worth out of it and turning it into a ninja training course. He shook his head one last time and moved on.

Finally came the two false leads. The first, the one marked 'trap,' was a construction site. The lack of Foot guards entirely put Leo on edge more than their presence would have, but a cautious investigation revealed nothing unusual for a construction site. The Foot must've cleaned up whatever the trap was they set for Don. He sighed. No Gamer here either. Well, one last place to check.

Technology actively guarded the roof of the final building, and getting in looked challenging. Hmm. That much security… this is promising, Leo thought as he stared the rooftop door from the safety of a shadow on a neighboring ledge. In fact, I don't think I could get in without Don's help. Well, this was just recon anyway.

He turned to ghost away, but just as he was about to leap to an adjacent roof, the back of his neck prickled.

Leo spun. He crouched frozen on the ledge for a long moment, but he sensed nothing else. No danger, at least.

After several more heartbeats, Leo resumed his journey home under a gradually lightening sky. Not sure what I sensed. Maybe a camera or sensor on a timer. Whatever it was, I know where to come back to once everyone is healed and ready to show the Gamer why he made a big mistake.