*Slowly rises from the ashes, Mushu-style* I liiiiive! It's been three years and one profile name change since I've last updated, but I'm back and ready to finish this project once and for all. We left off with the turtles in the woods of NY (I wrote this before the turtles ~actually~ went into the woods, so this isn't the canon version where Leo was injured, etc. It's all during the season 1 timeline.) Leo and Ara were captured by mutants living in the forest, and here we are. This is a short chapter, but the next one is super long, so it kinda evens out. :P To those original readers still interested in reading the rest of this fic: sorry about the huge wait, I'm honored you're still around, and yeah! Let's get to the story!

Searing Hurt Pt. 7

Ara

Ara glared at Fern's back as the fox turned to tend the fire. "What are you going to do, torture us?"

"What?" Fern's bushy tail twitched in irritation, but she didn't turn from her task as she retorted, "no, of course not. We only tied you up because you can obviously fight, and we can't trust anyone nowadays because of—"

"Fern! Don't tell her anything!" Tad exclaimed indignantly.

Fern turned and fixed the frog with a glare. "You know what father has planned for these two. They deserve to know."

"Then you won't mind if I go tell him what you're doing."

"You're right, I won't."

"Okay, then!" Tad stuck his long tongue out at Fern, then stomped out of the house, his webbed feet making little slap-slap-slaps on the floor as he did so.

Fern sighed and turned to Ara with something almost like amity. "Sorry about him; brothers are exasperating sometimes."

Ara opened her mouth to agree, then snapped it shut as she remembered where she was: in chains, tied to an unconscious Leo. They had been attacked, knocked out, and taken captive. This was no time to make friends.

Fern cleared her throat awkwardly, then plowed on with her interrupted explaination. "I guess I should start at the beginning. The three of us were mutated in a hidden experimentation lab these aliens called the Kraang had in the woods. Tad and I started out as forest animals, but our father was a hunter that they managed to capture and experiment on. He goes by Fang now, and he won't tell us about his previous name or life. Believe me, we've tried to find out. Anyway, there were maybe twenty different mutants in all in that lab, and the Kraang treated us horribly. Tad and I were the only mutants with real intellectual ability, so they gave us to Fang to live with and learn from. This went on for years, but after meticulous planning, we managed to escape. We opened the other mutants' cages to let them go, then burned the place to the ground. That was a couple months ago, and ever since, we've lived in our father's old hunting cabin." Fern swept out an arm to gesture at the house around them.

"How does any of that justify you attacking us?" Ara spat, frustrated that she was beginning to feel pity for her captors.

Fern nodded to acknowledge Ara's frustration. "I'm getting to that. One of the mutants in the lab was a huge snake. The creature was so dangerous that the Kraang kept him in a huge room all by himself. We call him Sear because he spits acidic venom from his fangs that can burn into your flesh. He also has some kind of phycological power. He can make unintelligent mutants and animals around him turn ruthless, so vicious that they will attack you for no reason. We weren't sure if you guys were like that at first, and when it became obvious that you were intelligent enough that the snake's mind control wouldn't work on you, my father decided that you could be useful for—"

BANG! The door to the cabin flew open. The wolf stormed into the room, Tad slinking behind somewhat guiltily. He turned to Fern, the hair on his back bristling. "You told them about Sear?"

"She did." All eyes turned to Leo as he spoke for the first time.

Ara felt her tense, anxious form ease somewhat in relief. "Leo! How long have you been awake?"

"Long enough." Leo turned to the wolf, cool and confident despite his bonds. "We'll help you take down Sear if that's what you want from us. If you let us go and get our friends, we should be able to defeat him easily."

"A likely excuse, I'm sure," Fang growled. "I doubt yer as willing ta battle a dangerous serpent as ya let on. If we let you go, you ain't comin' back. I'll tell ya how this is going ta work."

Fang pointed at the turtles. "You two are gonna go inta Sear's lair an' use yer fancy ninja skills to take 'im out. Us three will take care a' the crazy mutants and animals under 'is influence while ya do that. You ain't leaving, and you sure as hell ain't getting yer friends so that you can get your revenge on us for capturing you. You two are gonna kill the snake on yer own, and then we'll let ya go. Any protestin' or any funny business, an' I'll go to that fancy farmhouse I scouted for turtles while you were knocked out an' hurt every last one of yer friends."

Fang leaned in close so that Ara and Leo had to crane back their heads. "Am. I. Clear?"

Ara saw Leo scowl out of the corner of her eye. "As crystal," he growled back.

"Good. Fern, untie 'em." Fang crossed the room and plucked a rifle off of the wall. He pointed the gun at them as Fern went to work on their bonds. Once they were free, Fang jerked his head towards the door. "Let's go. You two have a snake ta kill."