Chapter 13

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I didn't sleep most of that night, in spite of my protective turtle sleeping peacefully beside me. Of all my assurances to Donnie that I'd be fine, and I'd make Jake scared of me, I really wasn't feeling okay.

I knew there were more than enough of us to handle him, and take him down. I was honestly more worried about the more vulnerable members of our family.

Splinter, Serah... Kristiana...

As helpful as she had been with the Yeerks, she really had no way to defend herself against someone like Jake. The only thing I could think of was a gun, and the only gun I could think of was one that Robert had tossed to the ground.

Serah was another worry on my mind. She had been shot, and it had completely paralyzed her. I wasn't sure if she was still training with Mihra or not, but I didn't see her around as much as I used to. When she was around, she seemed like herself. But... you just never knew, with all that was going on.

Splinter was a master, yes, but he was also probably the oldest of all of us. And as amazing as he was, I was sure there was only so much he could do against the teeth and claws of the tiger Jake could become.

I heard the girls the next morning in the kitchen with Amanda, the three of them making some kind of breakfast as I sat on the couch near Ithiell and Donnie. They were discussing a cage of some sort, one which Jake couldn't escape. Both were tapping furiously away at their computers, pointing randomly at one anothers screens, humming and talking about what was wrong with the ideas they came up with.

"Entertained?" Came Robert's voice, and I jerked a little without realising it, watching as he plopped himself down beside me on the couch.

"If you call this entertainment" I rolled my eyes a little, jumping a little as another figure sat on the arm on the couch on my other side. I looked up to find Raphael half smiling down at me.

"Brainiacs are at it again, hey?" He asked, and I just shrugged, indicating to where the two now seemed to be having a heated argument about materials they could use for this 'cage' of sorts.

"I think that's kinda obvious"

"Do those two ever agree on anything?" Rachel was suddenly on the other side of Raph, half leaning against him and watching the two as well.

"We can hear you guys, you know" Donnie said as they both turned to look at us.

"Good. Then maybe you'll realise how silly you're being"

"We are not being silly" Ithiell protested "We are brainstorming. This just happens to be the best way for us to brainstorm"

"Just... try not to kill each other" Robert leaned his elbow on the arm of the couch, resting his chin on his palm and looking almost bored.

I saw Ithiell and Donnie both roll their eyes at the same time, then turn back to one another.

"Now, the force field-"

"I told you, that's not going to be enough! He'll-"

"Aaaand here we go again" Rachel moved over, then moved to stand in front of me, a smirk on her face.

"Uh..."

"Want to go let off some steam in the dojo with us? Splinter gave us the go ahead, and we kind of need one more person"

I looked back at the two masterminds, then around at the three hotheads around me.

"Uh... sure" I shrugged, letting Rachel pull me up, then half dragging me towards the dojo with the two boys following behind.

"First we'll go one on one, then we'll team up for doubles. No weapons, and no shifting or morphing. Just good old fists and feet" Robert explained, smiling a little. I shrugged, nodding a little in agreement.

"Okey doke, sounds fair"

We pulled straws for our first opponents, finding I was against Raph of all people. We paired up, then moved off to opposite ends of the dojo, so we didn't get in one anothers way.

I heard Raph crack his neck a little, smiling down at me "You ready?"

I returned the smile, backing up a little and getting into a starting position "I'm always ready, big guy"

"I aint gonna go easy on ya" He cracked his knuckles a little, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"I've been training with Splinter remember? So... I'll try not to kick your ass too much"

"GO!"

Instantly Raph was barreling towards me, and I managed to backflip to get out of the way, getting upright and finding a fist coming at my face.

I dodged, throwing my own fist forward and hitting his chest, finding he barely moved.

He smiled at me, trying to throw a kick, but I backflipped again, this time out of the way as he threw another punch.

"This...aint a fair fight!"

Punches...kicks... leg sweeps... all were coming at me, but I managed to just barely dodge all of them.

"You only think it isn't fair cause I'm gonna- oomph!" To his surprise, and in fact I think to mine as well, I managed to land a hard kick to his side, where his shell wasn't protecting him and making him stumble a little.

"It's not fair cause you're pretty much wearing armor" I explained, diving sideways and going into a roll as he came at me again.

I was honestly surprised I was dodging so many of his attacks, half wondering if maybe Splinters training had paid off to some extent.

"Agh!" I yelped, my back slamming onto the mat as a punch got me square in the diaphragm, knocking me down and knocking the wind out of me.

I fought to breathe as Raph knelt beside me, looking almost apologetic.

"You okay?" He asked, rubbing my back a little as I gave him a thumbs up, nodding a little. I still couldn't quite speak.

He waited patiently until I got to my feet, both of us looking over as Rachel let out a yelp, both of us looking over as Robert threw her over his shoulder, her back hitting the mat with a loud thud.

I saw Raph make a move to go over, but she was instantly back up, and we both watched now as Robert slid backwards a little, with Rachel following him. She faked a punch, instead dropping down and doing a leg sweep. He cried out as he hit the mat this time, grunting something under his breath.

She stood over him, breathing heavily, looking like she was going to do another attack, but instead offered her hand for him to take. He was sucking in deep breaths as well as she pulled him to his feet, both of them turning to us.

"Done?"

Raph looked down at me, still looking worried, but I punched his shoulder a little.

"Yeah, but rematch later Raph, you held back then"

"Nah I didn't!" He protested, but I bumped his shoulder with mine, smiling a little.

"If you had used your full force then, I'd have some broken ribs at least"

He grumbled something under his breath then, turning to look at the two in front of us.

"So, doubles now hey?"

Rachel nodded "How do you guys want to do this?"

"Well, I personally think its more fair for you two to be separated" Robert folded his arms, indicating from Rachel to Raph.

"Why don't I just team up with Raph, and we fight you guys" I suggested.

"Good idea" Robert winked at me a little, and I noticed the two lovebirds look a little torn.

"All right, let's do this!" Rachel grinned, turning to me. I nodded.

"Heeeyya!" Robert let out a battle cry, throwing the first punch towards me.

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I rested my back against Rachel's, sighing a little. Both of us were sweating heavily, but neither of us cared. Leaning back to back was kind of keeping us upright. At least for now.

"Good match" I saw Robert go to fist pump Raph, both of them leaning back on Splinters podium.

"I think we missed breakfast" I muttered, my head back against Rachel's, closing my eyes a little.

"I'm sure they left us something" She replied, and I couldn't help but smile a little.

"Yeah, you're probably right"

Surprisingly enough, the sparring session had put me in a happy and relaxed mood. We had all gone full tilt at one another, until Robert and I started to spar against one another, leaving Raph and Rachel to kick each others butts.

It ended with Rachel putting Raph in a partial headlock, and Raph giving in because he didn't want to hurt her.

Such a big softie...

"Speakin of food" Raph started, half looking at us girls, then back to Robert "Leo was talkin about doin another food raid soon"

"Are we running low again?"

"Well... yeah. I mean... with so many people here, we go through the supplies fast"

"Oh" Robert looked surprised, but shrugged anyway.

"Jade?"

I hummed, looking tiredly over at Raph.

"You wanna come with this time? I know you had to go do those computer raid things with Donnie when Ithiell asked, but... now that ship is done..."

I smiled, nodding a little.

"Sure, count me in"

"Me too" Robert added "I need to get back out and fighting real enemies... at least in some sense"

"It's not really fighting, but I reckon Leo won't say no to any extra help" Raph shrugged a little.

"How about you ask before you invite everyone along" Came the voice, and we all turned towards the door to see none other than Leo himself there. He was smirking a little as he looked at each of us, probably taking in our dishevelled states.

"Heya Leo" Rachel moved behind me, and I half saw her wave a little at him "Watcha doin?"

"Well, I was coming in to tell you to come get some breakfast before Mikey eats it all, but I think you all need a shower first"

"Heeeey, I'm insulted! We don't stink that-okay we stink" I finally admitted, grinning like an idiot at him. He laughed a little, shaking his head.

"I'll try and distract Mikey for a while, you guys go get cleaned up. The girls made pancakes, some eggs... bacon..."

"I'm hungry already" I saw Robert get up, realising he had really gained the weight back he'd lost, and in such a short time. Which, to me, was good to see.

"I think we know who's in the shower first though"

"Just leave us some brother" Raph slapped his back gently, and he seemed to think about it.

"Hmm...maybe"

"That's it, I'm showering first so I can eat before him" Rachel got up, making me move and get up as well.

"Nuh uh, me first!" I protested.

"First in best dressed"

So, a race it was then!

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I knew the time would come. I just... didn't expect it to come the next night.

Donnie insisted on staying by my side as they brought him in, and I half hid behind him without meaning to, watching as they all came in. Jake was between a morphed Marco and Ax, looking like they'd chained him up as tightly as they could. Behind him was Ithiell, and I saw Raph and Leo not far behind him as well.

They really weren't taking any chances.

I saw him look around, and I ducked behind Donnie, feeling like an idiot as soon as I did.

He knows you're here, dumbass!

"You okay?" Donnie whispered to me, and I heard Rtaia saying something about giving him an injection.

"Uh... yeah. No sweat" I blushed a little, moving myself out beside him, seeing Jake lock his eyes onto me.

I felt a cold chill as he smiled at me, those dark eyes trained on mine. Thankfully, his attention was averted from me as Rtaia jabbed something into his neck, and he grunted, turning to look at her with the same death stare he had used on me.

"This should keep him in a sedative state for several hours" She said, not seeming to react to his glare, moving away to put the needle into a box with what looked like a few vials of a strange grey-green liquid and closing it.

"Will it transfer into his-"

"Yes, I designed it so he cannot escape the affects"

Jake suddenly collapsed under his own weight, Marco barely catching him in time.

(It works fast) He grunted as he slung Jake onto his shoulder, looking down at Ithiell.

"Put him in the cell" Ithiell pointed to a large metallic box the boys had constructed in record time, which sat in a sort of corner of the room. They had made it like a large metal box, with a force field and metal bars for the face of it, to ensure that we could see him at all times. They had made sure there were no tiny cracks or crevices he could use to escape out in a tiny morph. They had also designed it so the force field went around the entire thing, to make sure that even if he did find a place to escape, that the force field would stop him from going any further.

(How long until it wears off?) Ax asked as I watched them open the cage of sorts, Marco placing him in and stepping back as Ithiell brought the bars down again, seeing the flicker as the force field was turned on.

"We will need to re-inject him every eight to twelve hours" Mihra said, frowning a little "We have not had a chance to properly test its properties, so we cannot be sure"

"Are you sure this isn't too cruel?" Cassie spoke up, looking at each one of us "I mean, it doesn't seem very humane to stick him in a small cage and then jab him every few hours with needles"

"Cass, did you forget the fact that Jake tore through half the village? Or that he tried to strangle Jade?"

"Well, no, but-"

"How about the fact he went nuts in the first place" Marco spoke up, now back to himself as he looked down at his best friend.

"I don't think you guys are really hearing what I'm saying" Cassie protested, surprised when I saw Amanda round on her. There was a fire in her eyes like the other day... when she'd snapped at me.

"No, we get what you're saying. You got a stupid flipping crush on your fearless leader! And because of that, you don't want him hurt"

Cassie looked like she'd just been slapped across the face.

In fact, I was pretty shocked myself. It wasn't like Amanda to be so blunt and brutal. She then sighed, turning and walking off. I saw Robert share a look with Ithiell, then start follow her out towards the hanger.

Finally, Cassie seemed to be able to compose herself "I'm just saying that it seems a bit extreme to lock him up like this, and sedate him"

(I have to agree with the others on this Cassie) Tobias shifted on his perch a little (Jake's a morpher like us, and I personally... think he's worse right now than David ever was)

"But he-"

"Cassie, David wanted to kill us all, or did you forget that?" Rachel spoke up now, looking annoyed.

"David didn't deserve to be turned into a rat!" Cassie spat back, spinning on her heel and walking off as well.

"Wait, Cass!" Rachel followed, the tension in the air following them out the door.

"I just hope we don't have to do to Jake what we had to with David" Marco rubbed his eyes a little, looking tired. I saw Ithiell put a claw on his shoulder, smiling sadly when Marco looked up at him.

"Being a leader isn't all it's cracked up to be, is it?"

Marco shook his head, looking from him to Leo "I don't know how you guys do it. I don't know how... he did it"

Marco indicated to the now unconscious Jake, looking like he was about to cry.

"With alot of difficulty" Was Leo's response, sharing a look with Ithiell, who nodded.

We all fell into silence, and at that point I couldn't stop myself.

I moved away from Donnie, heading over and throwing my arms around Marco's neck in a hug. He jerked a bit, surprised, but then returned it.

"Thank you" Was all I could think to say.

"Uh... no prob?" He seemed confused, and I moved back and just rested my arms on his shoulders, an arms length away now.

"No matter what, I got your back"

"Um..."

"No, we all do" Leo was there beside him, Ithiell patting his back from the other side of him. He smiled a little.

"Thanks guys, I just hope... well" He indicated to where Cassie had gone, not saying any more.

"She'll come around, don't worry about it. Ser and I will go have a chat with her" Kristiana winked at him, and I could have sworn I saw him blush a little.

"All right, lets work out first shifts" Leo finally said, and we all kind of converged in a semi circle.

"I'll go first. If he needs any more sedating before then I'll call one of you" Ithiell smiled, then turned to me.

"Jade, will you be all right taking a shift alone with him?"

I suddenly felt annoyed "Yes, I'll be fine"

"All right, settle" Ithiell patted my shoulder a little "So, three hour shifts do?"

We all agreed, and Ithiell and Leo set out who took what shift when, deciding we would all do a shift, Kristiana and Serah included. I had the fourth shift, just after Leo.

"Well, now that's sorted... I'm gonna have a nap" Marco moved to head into the room he usually used while he was here.

The others all went off to do their own things, and I turned back to the cage. Jake was against the wall, his eyes closed and almost looking peaceful. It sent a shudder through me.

"Jade" An arm wrapped itself around me, and I was pulled close to a warm body, but my eyes were stuck on Jake.

"Donnie" I finally was able to tear my eyes away, looking up at my Ninja Nerd "I got a bad feeling about this. Like... really bad"

He frowned, nodding in agreement "Me too"

"Maybe it's just me...or... us?" I tried to sound hopeful, but the look in his eyes told me he didn't believe me.

"We'll just have to be more... aware... with him here"

"Yeah, agreed"

"Come on, I could use your help with a couple of things " Slowly, Donnie was able to move me away from the cage, and towards his lab.

I just hoped we didn't regret bringing him here.

Sadly, something was telling me we just might.

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Constructive Criticism appreciated!