TMNT: The Unexpected Friendship
Chapter 9: Eenie, Menie, Minie…MO!
"Try to kick a little bit higher, and extend your back leg so it can better support your body to improve your balance." Master Splinter said as he observed Bianca's form as she practiced under his instruction in the dojo.
"Like this?" Bianca asked as she then demonstrated of what she thought was a better version of the new kick Master Splinter was teaching her.
"You're back leg is better, but the power that you delivered to your kick was weaker, in fighting, it's important to give equal thought and precision to each aspect of your body, each movement must be committed to 100%." He explained.
"Hai, sensei." Bianca nodded as she relaxed her form from her position, took a breath and did it a couple more times.
"I want you to practice that in your own time, we've done enough of physical training, now it's time to train your mind." Master Splinter explained as he neared Bianca and placed a gentle paw on her shoulder and indicated for her to follow his retreating form.
"My mind? How?" Bianca asked as she quickened her pace to catch up with the elder.
"Through meditation." Master Splinter said.
"Ah…" Bianca sighed, she was hoping to avoid meditation, and it never seemed to interest her. She just saw it as turning out the lights in your head. And she was never very good at that. They went to Master Splinter's room where there were two mats set up across from one another, just like she remembered when she was in his room, when she first asked to be trained. She took her spot on the matt, sitting on her feet while Master Splinter went to light some incents and a few candles, better suited for a meditation environment.
"Now, meditation is all about concentration and focusing your mind on pushing away all distractions, any thoughts that crowd your mind must be vanquished for the meditation to fully take its effect."
"That's not exactly easy, Master Splinter." Bianca sighed. "My mind's a very crowded place, filled with memories, homework assignments, things I need to remember for tests and my schedule-"
"But those things are insignificant when it comes to what really matters, and that is you my child," He sighed as he placed his paws on her shoulders. he proceeded to take the spot on the matt across from her and got into a comfortable position. "It would be easier, since it is your first time to fold your legs on top of each other."
"Like in stereotypical meditation scenes in movies?"
"Yes, like that." He answered with an amused smile due to her analogy.
"Okay…" Bianca sighed as she tried to ready her legs and pull one and then weeved the other through the open gap by her inner knee. Once she got it, she tried sitting back on her bottom properly but ended up rolling onto her back.
"Uh, I don't think this pose is meant for me…" Bianca grunted as she tried to roll over to use the momentum to get her back up, but it failed. Her legs snapped from each other and recoiled onto the ground limply. Master Splinter sighed.
"How about just sitting cross-legged, so there is less strain."
"I think I like that idea better." She laughed as she sat up again and got comfortable.
"Now, focus on releasing the tension from your body, if that means rolling your neck or shoulders to prepare then that's fine, once you've done that you may close your eyes in preparation." Bianca complied and did as she was instructed. Once she felt like she was ready, she breathed in deeply and closed her eyes. She awaited for more commands but none came, she wondered if he wasn't paying attention, though that seemed very unlike him. One eye peeked open very slowly to see what he was doing but then he snapped,
"Don't open your eyes." And though she didn't know how he saw her doing that without opening his eyes, she immediately closed them, better to follow along to make this task easier on her. "Now try to picture a place where you find yourself most relaxed, somewhere far off from your troubles, maybe it's a hidden forest with a pond with koi fish, or maybe it's the beach, or a distant high rock in the mountains." He mused as Bianca began to picture herself and tried to physically release herself from her physical state and relieve herself of her worries. She ended up finding herself strangely on a cloud floating above a body of ocean, completely tranquil. Nothing to disturb it for miles as she saw several more clouds crowding around her, floating calmly around, though there was no breeze.
She listened for more from her wise teacher but nothing came. She continued to sit cross-legged on the cloud until she felt the cloud rise above the water. She took a look around and saw the small fluffy clouds along with the body of water disappear as she was taken higher into the sky and above more layers of clouds. The sun the shining not far from where she was and she was blinded by its luminous glow over the clouds, changing the colors into wild shades of purple, deep oranges, and pinks. She marveled at it's beauty but suddenly was pulled out of her trance and she felt herself fall, though when she opened her eyes, she was sitting right back with Splinter in his room, only the flames flickering somewhat.
"It seems your mind took you somewhere far away."
"Yes, it was…wait, I can't remember now." Bianca sighed as she tried to recall where she just was.
"You can't? Not anything?"
"Nothing, though I know I wasn't just sitting here with my eyes closed, I remember physically feeling like I left and ventured somewhere far away from the world."
"Hm, interesting…very well, it has been a long hour and I must now go train my sons, they have a new lesson today."
"It's been an hour?" Bianca gasped as she looked down at her watch in shock. It felt only like a few minutes.
"Yes, it seems whenever you venture into your mind or someone else does, time there seems to flow differently there, we will discover more about that next time."
"Alright. May I watch your lesson?"
"Why of course." Master Splinter said as he held a hand out to her. She gladly accepted it and nodded her thanks as they walked out together, the small breeze from outside the room from the sewers blowing out the candles as they left. They ventured into the main area of the lair and Bianca witnessed as the boys were setting up weird looking poles that seemed to be made of bamboo. She tilted her head in curiosity.
"What are you doing?"
"We're setting up for today's lesson." Leo mused as he put up another beam.
"Uh, but what are you using the poles for, are you supposed to weave in between them to practice your agility by weaving in between the poles?" She asked as she examined the poles.
"Nah, we did that when we were younger, now we're doing something a little more advanced." Raph said as he easily jumped into the air and managed to balance on the one pole he was next to with ease.
"W-What!" Bianca sputtered. She stood right underneath Raph. "How on Earth are you doing that?" She asked amazed, but then her brows furrowed together. "What's the catch? Is it nailed to the ground?" She asked as she examined the beam. Nope. "Magnetic?" She asked as she lifted up another pole, nope, it was easily removed off the ground and she sighed as she carefully put it back up. "Sticky tape?" She checked under another, nope. "Gum?" She growled annoyed at how nothing was making sense.
"No, that would be cheating." Donny said amused by how astonished Bianca was as he soon joined Raphael on the poles, Leo following suit.
"But-" Bianca was about to counter argue but then Mikey interrupted,
"What? You've never tried before?"
"Course not! I'd break my neck." Bianca said as if the idea were ridiculous.
"I bet you can do it!" Mikey said trying to encourage her to do so.
"Nah-uh, no way am I getting up there, and besides, I can't jump as high as you, I'd simply knock down the pole attempting to do so." She said crossing her arms.
"How about I give you a boost, just for the heck of it?" Mikey suggested.
"I don't know…" She scanned Mikey and then the poles everyone else was on.
"Aw c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'-" Mikey was pleading but Bianca cut him off saying,
"Alright, alright already!" She huffed as she quickly uncrossed her arms.
"Saddle up!" Mikey said turning around so she could climb onto his back for a piggy-back ride up.
"I'm really going to regret this." She sighed as she jumped and wrapped her arms around his neck and he caught her legs. He adjusted her so he could hold onto her properly and she tightened her grip slightly.
"C'mon, it'll be fun." Mikey laughed.
"Yeah, that's what you think." And he jumped and landed swiftly on the pole. Bianca began to freak out by how high she was and how unstable the beams were. She started squirming around, making matters worse.
"Bi, Bi, Bi, calm down, I got you, but if you keep moving I'll most likely fall." That got her to stop shivering and hold her breath in to keep still. "Good, now how about trying to get onto a pole."
"Nah-uh, I'm not letting go of you!" Bianca sputtered as she panicked.
"You don't have to, just take a step on the pole and you can hold onto me and Donny." Mikey said as he looked over at Donny and he nodded his head saying he would go along and help her.
"But-"
"You know you're gonna have to do it, unless you want him to beg again." Donny mused, trying to save Mikey from pleading again and saving everyone from having to hear it.
"Ugh, okay fine!" Bianca groaned as she accepted the terms.
"Don't be nervous, just place your foot there calmly…" Mikey said calmly as Bianca began to let her legs drop from Mikey's waist. She slid over so he was holding her waist and she stretched out her foot to the pole so it was just on top of it. "That's it…now reach out your hand for Donny…" He said as he then switched to grabbing her arm so she could get more leverage on the pole. She adjusted herself and timidly looked from her feet to Donny then back to her feet. "C'mon…"
"Just a little bit more, you're doing fine…" Donny chided to calm her down a bit more. She looked up at him nervously as little drops of sweat were forming on her forehead from the strain and the intense concentration.
"I don't feel fine…" She squeaked as she finally grabbed a hold of Donny as she continued to wiggle around like crazy. Once she was there for a while she got the hang of it.
"Hey, okay. This isn't that bad." She said starting to form a small satisfied smile.
"Atta girl." Raph cheered.
"See, I told you it wasn't that bad. Now I'm gonna let go-" Mikey started but was immediately cut off by the frantic Bianca.
"Don't!" She freaked and began to wobble again, accidentally letting go of Donny and she began to wobble again, and she was so wild Mikey couldn't hold on anymore and before long her pole fell and she fell to the ground on her back.
"Owie." She groaned as she also rubbed her butt. "I'm not doing that again…"
"Right you are, you aren't ready for today's lesson." Master Splinter agreed as he put a calming hand on her back and rubbed it gingerly. She sighed and carefully went over to the staircase and sat near the top so she could get a better view of what they were doing from the same level they were on.
"Now, my sons," Master Splinter spoke once he finally light the last candle in the room. "Tonight's training shall focus on combining two essential disciplines: the way of balance," He paused as he clapped his hands and the lights went out, the candles in the room barely lighting up the area that surrounded them. "And the way of invisibility."
"Dude, you put in the clapper?" Mikey asked amazed by his brother's genius. Master Splinter swiftly jumped onto a pole near Mikey and Don and swatted his son's hand with his walking stick. "Ow!"
"Michelangelo," Master Splinter stated in his scorning tone. "The way of invisibility also includes the way of silence." He emphasized. Bianca had to suppress her laughter to not disturb the lesson and everyone's deep concentration. "I suggest you to employ both if you wish to avoid my walking stick." Suddenly Master Splinter masterfully jumped from one pole to the next, trying to charge towards each of his son's in attempt to throw them off. Each one was able to maneuver their self so they weren't hit with his wooden walking stick and made sure to stay swift and silent. Suddenly Mikey clapped his hands and the lights turned on again, Bianca blinking rapidly to adjust to the sudden brightness.
"Peek-a-boo, I see you." Mikey taunted. Master Splinter didn't hesitate to then unbalance Mikey, and did a very good job as he began to tumble off hollering, "Wh-Whoa!" He quickly grabbed the pole and hung onto it like a monkey onto a branch. Bianca was amazed it hadn't fallen over from the shift. "Hey, don't I at least get points for creativity?" Mikey complained.
"A creative mind must be balanced by a disciplined body." Master Splinter scorned. "We must learn stillness and alertness, for they are the only defense against the unexpected."
"Hey, guys…" Came a new voice as it came closer and closer to where the guys were training, suddenly the clattering of poles to the ground disturbed the silence of the room and everyone yelled out in shock as they began to fall to the ground roughly. "Uh-oh…" Said the voice again, this time Bianca was able to see the shadowy outline of a muscular man with a bag over his shoulder with a lot of different formed sticks in it…she groaned when she realized it was Casey Jones and face palmed at his clumsiness. She saw a figure get up and suddenly it tackled poor Casey to the ground.
"Master Splinter no!" Leo's voice rang through the lair as someone clapped their hands to turn the lights back on. Everyone began to run over to where Casey and Master Splinter were, Bianca quickly making her way down the stairs. "He's okay."
"Sensei, this is Casey, the nut-uh- the guy we told you about." Donny stumbled over the word nutcase and Bianca continued to hold back her laughter.
"You remember, the igilante-vay." Mikey cooed.
"We'd figure it'd be okay to give him access to the lair, ya know, for emergencies and stuff." Raph explained. Master Splinter quickly got up off of Casey, allowing him to also get up and readjust himself.
"Please forgive my rash action." Master Splinter bowed as he sincerely apologized and stepped back from the man, widening the circle they had formed.
"Ugh, no problemo." Casey sighed as he grunted to take his mask off.
"Though next time it would be wise to heed the ancient Japanese proverb: phone first." He growled as he put down his walking stick and continued to walk away towards the fallen poles to collect them.
"Whoa, Raph. Your cribs even more awesome than you said." Casey awed as he wandered around the room, knocking over some more poles and Master Splinter giving him a dirty look.
"You didn't come all the way down here for the initial tour." Raph said running over to his wandering friend along with everyone else. "What's da 411 street side?"
"Graffiti, it's everywhere. All over town." Casey said dramatically.
"Really…?" Bianca asked with fake amazement.
"Uh, I think I speak for everyone in the room when I say: duh."
"We're New Yorkers Casey, we've seen graffiti before."
"Nah-uh, not this kind." Casey corrected as he pulled out a picture of a vandalized wall. There were four turtles lined up vertically with a sword going through their stomachs. "I think someone's trying to send you guys a message."
"Blech, talking about getting the point." Mikey said as she squirmed in place.
"Do all the tags look like this?" Leo asked suspiciously.
"Some are a little more graphic." Casey sighed as he took more photos out. Bianca took a few in her hands, she couldn't believe how many there were scattered around the city. She could recognize a lot of the areas where the pictures were taken. Casey suddenly looked up, "Hey, cool sword. Looks just like the one in the graffiti." He pushed the guys out of the way and leaned over to pick it up.
"Casey no!" Donny warned but it was too late, Casey was shocked like he was struck by a lightning bolt and was forcibly slammed into a nearby bookcase, making a huge mess.
"Remind me again whose idea it was to invite him down here?" He asked sarcastically looking at Raph. He rolled his eyes and Leo pushed them apart to head over to Casey and help him up.
"Wait, what the heck was that?" Bianca asked petrified. "Why'd that sword electrocute Casey?"
"The Shredder called it the sword of Ten-gu. He was using the power it contains to part the water to bring something out of the east river." Leo said casually like it was no big deal. Bianca's eyes widened.
"What? Where was I when this happened?" Bianca asked, completely baffled she hadn't heard about such an incident before now.
"This was during your finals week." Donny mused.
"Oh…" Bianca took a big sigh as her shoulders slumped over, just thinking of her exams reminded her of the amount of hours she spend bent over he desk studying for the damn things.
"I thank you for this information, Mr. Jones." Master Splinter said as he helped Casey move away from the bookshelf and over towards the door. "But now, we must return to our training."
"Wait," Casey said, shrugging off Master Splinter's grip, "don't you guys wanna put a smack down on the scum who did this?" He asked holding up the pictures again.
"Well, yeah." Mikey said obviously. "But it smells way to much like a setup."
"Someone's just trying to get under our shells. Why should we stoop to their level?" Donny asked.
"But this is a matte' of honor!" Casey complained as he brandished a baseball bat he took out of his bag. "What about all that bushido-odoo stuff you guys always talk about?"
"That's bushido." Leo corrected. "Which has nothing to do with payback from a bunch of, nasty wall doodles."
"Sorry Case, I gotta go with my bros on dis one." Raph commented.
"Aw man." Casey whined as he sheathed his weapon and continued on the way out, until he noticed yet another thing in the lair. "Say…" He said as he hypnotically wandered off towards the many TV sets. Leo turned around and nodded his head and Donny shrugged in just as much aggravation as the blue clad turtle.
"So what's on the tube?" Casey asked as he sat in front of the TV and started mindless flipping through the many channels as he munched on some pizza left over in the container on the couch.
"But, but…that's my pizza." Mikey choked up as he stared at his lovely pizza being devoured by the enormous man.
"I know Mike, it's a hard loss, but one you must let go of." Bianca sympathized sarcastically and patted the turtle's shell.
"Oh lay off!" He said shoving her slightly as she laughed at his actions and shoved his head to the side.
"Well what are we gonna do with him?" Donny asked.
"There's no harm in keepin' 'im round, is there?" Raph aked.
"I guess not…" Leo sighed. He turned to his sensei, "Master Splinter?"
"As long as he's gone before my soaps are on." Master Splinter mumbled as he turned away and retreated back to his room.
"Right…" Leo nodded as he turned back towards the vilgilante on the couch.
"Well, I don't know about you, but at the rate he's eating those pizzas, I'm going to order my own pie. Anyone else want?" Bianca asked as she took out her phone from her jean pocket.
"Oo, Oo, Oo, me!" Mikey yelled jumping up and down.
"No weird topping though…" Bianca warned as she pressed the phone to her ear, already knowing the number by heart. "They're starting to give me really weird looks whenever I pick up the food."
"Aw…fine, I'll get a sardine pizza." Mikey sighed in defeat.
"…Blech, fine, at least that's a bit normal, though sardines are gross." Bianca scrunched up her nose but nonetheless nodded, "Anyone else?"
"Nah, I'm going to go work in my lab, I have some shell cells to upgrade." Donny said as he quickly took the other phone that Bianca kept on her person and he shuffled over to his desk and busied himself.
"I'm gonna beat up my ol' punchin bag." Raph sighed as he ventured over to the matt and started his rounds.
"And I must meditate…to take away the stress…" Leo sighed as he pinched the bridge of his beak. Bianca patted him on the shoulder and was going to comment but then the person on the other end of the line picked up and she had to place her order. Once the pizza was delivered and she managed to keep her sausage and pepperoni pizza away from Mikey, she went to go to the kitchen and situate herself at the counter with a granola bar in hand and start her large reading assignment that was due the next day for history. She contemplated over whether to make herself a cup of coffee, knowing that she was going to be bored to sleep.
Bianca woke up momentarily after a brief snooze on her textbook. She woke up and rubbed her eyes, she looked at the time, an hour had passed and her granola bar was still in her hand, a single bite taken out of it. She sighed and she decided she would get her friends to explain it to her tomorrow, giving up all hope of every doing well in that stupid class.
"Woo, sure is getting, uh, late." Leo asked as he gave a fake yawn and stretch.
"These the only DVDs you got?" Casey asked Mikey, ignoring Leo's statement.
"Yeah, in fact, why don't you borrow some and bring them back?"
"That's okay, I'll just watch them here." Casey said as he walked over to the other DVD player. "C'mon, eject, eject! You useless piece of-" Mikey gasped like a scared little girl as he watched Casey kick the poor piece of machinery, it started to give off smoke and spark but stayed relatively safe. "Uh, I think your player's broken."
"Uh, no problem. I'll fix it, in the morning." Donny sighed as he quickly hovered over his work again. Casey perked up and looked over at Donny's desk.
"Watcha workin on?" He asked curiously as he tried looking over Donny's shoulder, Donny quickly maneuvering to block him from his work.
"Boring stuff, really, really boring stuff…" He tried to sound convincing to get Casey to lay off, it seemed to work when his short attention span caught something else to look at and found Raph working out.
"Hey Raph let's wrestle!" He said running over to him and tackling him to the ground.
"Raphael." Said sternly as he stomped his cane down. He took a minute to calm down before speaking again. "Normally I discourage excursions to the surface, but I think it wise if you take our, guest, for a breath of fresh air."
"Top side? I'm all ova it." Raph grinned.
"Boo-yah!" Casey cheered.
"C'mon you maniac!" Raph teased as he ran towards the door.
"Who ya callin' a maniac…!" Casey yelled after him as hid voice started to trail off towards the elevator and soon their voices were gone completely. Bianca released a breath she didn't realize she was holding back.
"And that's how they defeated, the thing that wouldn't leeeeave…" Mikey mocked as he sounded like a ghost. Bianca sighed as she then got the idea to get the heck out of dodge, seeing as she needed to get home soon. She gave a fake yawn and stretched up to the sky a bit.
"Well…look at the time, I really should be heading back, can't be late again or else James will-"
"You still have plenty of time to go another round of meditation with me." Master Splinter interrupted Bianca as he tugged the back of Bianca's shirt and pulled her away from the elevator and towards his room again. She tried fighting but his grip and his strength were surprisingly strong. "I'm curious to see how you progress in such a state again." He mused as he continued on his way. Bianca tried to look at the guys and mouth 'help' to them but they did nothing, not wanting to disobey their master's wishes. So she sighed and crossed her arms and pouted until she was situated back into her crisscrossed position on the matt. The rest of the guys decided to follow in, curious t see what their master had planned for their female friend.
"Are you sure this is necessary, I zoned out a lot during that last one." She asked warily of her situation, she was also nervous since this time she had an audience.
"I'll make sure to monitor the time, I want to better understand your vast and complicated mind."
"It's, not that vast…" Bianca argued but she said it quietly it was barely heard.
"But it sure is an interesting spot…" Master Splinter said, and she was surprised he was able to hear her side comment. "I want to know what you see."
"Is, is that possible?" She asked cautiously, would he be able to mentally link with her and peer into her mind, she found the idea a bit disturbing since her mind was a very private place. "Last time, I couldn't remember where I was."
"I can place you in such a meditative trance that you may speak to me what you see without losing concentration." Master Splinter suggested.
"Like, lucid dreaming?" She asked curiously. Master Splinter nodded, and she sighed. Bianca in the past for her psych class had studied lucid dreaming and it seemed relatively safe and it usually helped bring out underlining thoughts and messages through a person's dream, and it can help control the aspects of the dream, but she was worr1ied if she would be able to handle it. "Alright, if you think it'll work." She sighed as she got into position and awaited for Master Splinter's instructions.
"Now…I want you to do as you did before, take in a deep breath and release your tension and focus on clearing your mind of anything pressing." He said as she slowly did as she was told and relaxed herself. She could feel her mind wandering and she almost felt like her mind was traveling outside of her body. She couldn't see where she was, everything around her was shrouded in clouds.
"Are you there?" Master Splinter asked quietly.
"No. It's still clearing…" She said slowly, not really thinking about talking, she was focused on floating down onto a single cloud, a few feet above the surface of a calm pool that seemed to have no limit. Other fluffy clouds like the one she was sitting on were crowding around crawling around randomly around her. "I'm on a cloud, in the middle of a pool." She stated, she continued talking as she started to see the change in her environment. "The cloud slowly starts to rise into the air and soon I can no longer see the water beneath me. I'm in the thick of the clouds in the sky, and rising quickly." She paused as she felt her head began to fee weird the higher she went. She finally broke through the surface of the clouds and was blinded by light.
"What else is there my child?"
"Hold on, my eyes are adjusting to the sun. It's really bright; but, it's, changing shape?" She mentioned as the guys stared at her as she tilted her head slightly in curiosity. "It's falling, no, the sun's gliding off, farther away…and now it looks more like, a plane? No, more like a giant bird, but the size of a plane."
"What is the bird doing?" Leo asked.
"Just, flying, but for some reason I'm drawn to follow it." She said as she started floating on her cloud closer and closer to where the bird was. It was slowly taking on more details as golden feathers started to sweep into the air like golden rays of sunlight. The bird called out suddenly and looked up at the sky, almost sounding like it was enjoying it's newly found freedom. Bianca couldn't help but smile at the pleasant sight. But as the bird continued to enjoy itself, the atmosphere around them started to feel colder, the clouds darkening gradually. The bird seemed to take notice to it too and quickly dove down into the clouds. Bianca had no choice this time as her body whisked her forward and quickly tired to keep up with the speeding bird. The outside world shocked her that she gasped.
"What? What is it?" Donny asked curiously. The guys were standing on their toes, barely standing the anticipation.
"There's, everything's ruined, the ground's dried up, the river gone and nothing but cracks in the barren rock. There's so many rivers of lava that spew out from mountains as the smog clouds the sky, highlighting the fires that are spreading…everywhere." Bianca speaks softly as a tear falls down her face. It was a horrifying sight, though in her head she didn't feel the tears, her body was reacting on its own.
"I fear this place is not safe for you Bianca, you must find a way to leave, pull away from the force and wake up."
"There's so much sadness, I can hear crying, voices, dying…" "The bird quickens its pace as it turns it head sharply to look behind him, Bianca was scared she was going to get in trouble but it merely cawed and continued on its way. She grew curious and decided to look behind her, which was a huge mistake. There were shrouds of shadowy figures rising from the dead ground and falling from the ominous gray skies. She became terrified as she continued to speed up, almost catching up with the bird immediately as it weaved between exploding mountains.
"I'm almost next to the bird. Wait…" She trailed off as her eyesight was shrouded in light quickly before it dimmed down and she was flying again.
"I don't like this…" Mikey spoke up nervously.
"Is there anyway to get her to wake up?" Leo asked.
"If we disturb her without her willing leaving the fabrics of her mind, we could destroy her psyche." Donny said.
"And, what would that mean?" Mikey asked, biting his fingernails.
"She wouldn't ever wake up, she would be induced into a coma." Master Splinter said sadly.
"What!" The guys panicked as the stood up frantically.
"We have to do something!" Leo proclaimed.
"Can one of us go after her? Like using her psychic link or something?" Mikey suggested pleadingly.
"I will try to enter the realms of her mind." Master Splinter said sternly as he prepared himself for the transfer to the focused state. He soon became still as his mind ventured further into a thick fog, no change in scenery in sight.
"There seems to be something blocking me from interfering…" Master Splinter said as he struggled to keep moving through the thick aired space.
"Keep trying, sensei." Leo pleaded.
"I will, my son." Master Splinter sighed as he continued to fight on towards where Bianca's mind was resting.
"I'm…I can't see the bird anymore." Bianca spoke up from her spot. She turned her head to see if she could see anything beyond the barren wasteland, maybe she sped up too fast and passed him. But when she looked around, she didn't see anything but the lurking shadows creeping up. "They won't leave me alone, nothing seems to stop them."
"Them? Who's them?"
"The darkness. It's chasing me…" "Wait, I'm…I'm the bird." "I'm in the mind of the bird, I see what it sees…but he's injured, something's weighting him down, he's slowing down, he won't be able to lose them!"
"Agh!" Master Splinter cried out as "There's a deep fire blocking my path, I can't see anything but destruction, nothing is clear!"
"It's getting closer! I can't get away. This can't be happening, it's too strong. I've failed!"
"Bianca, Bianca please wake up, it's just in your head, whatever it is it cannot hurt you."
"It's getting so cold, it hurts…" Bianca strained as she felt pain starting to pick at her feet. She let another tear fall as she bit her lip. Leo bent down in front of her and started to shake her. He felt so useless not being able to protect her.
"Bianca!" Everyone called out and she suddenly screamed and she jumped forward and clung onto the first thing she could get a hold of, and that was Leo. Master Splinter behind him was shocked awake as well and he was holding his heart as he tried to steady his breath.
"I-It was so cold, everything was lost…I failed…I couldn't do it. I-I don't want to do that again…" She choked as she tried to control her breathing and violent shaking, she was sweating and though she wasn't crying she felt like she was broken on the inside.
"It's okay, sh, you don't have to do it again…you're safe now." Leo cooed as he hugged her tightly trying to give her a sense of comfort and remind her she was back in the lair, where nothing was going to hurt her.
"Guys…!" Came a new voice as the doors to Master Splinter's room were shoved opened and everyone jumped that that some fell to the floor in shock. It was only Casey, who suddenly lost all his will power and fell over.
"You could almost set your watch by this guy…" Mikey groaned from his spot on the ground, trying to readjust from the strenuous moment by trying to lighten the mood a bit.
"Casey, what happened?" Leo asked as he slowly let go of Bianca who resulted in hugging herself for warmth while Leo continued towards Casey to help him off the ground, seeing that he couldn't do so himself.
"Where is Raphael?" Master Splinter asked frantically as he watched Casey take off his mask to reveal a beaten up face that Bianca got sick of getting used to.
"The, invisible ninja took 'im." He groaned as he tried to stand up. Donny and Mikey exchanged a confused look and then turned back to the questionable man.
"Invisible ninja, huh? This story wouldn't involve Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny by any chance?" Mikey joked, starting to feel like his normal self.
"I've got proof!" Casey argued as he took a orange frame out of his pocket. Everyone then moved out of the small room so Donny could move to his desk to analyze the new piece of technology. Master Splinter kept a protective arm on Bianca's back, trying to remind her she was in a safe place.
"Oo, some kind of optical device." Donny said as he examined the lens under a lamp with a magnifying glass. "Heavy duty hardware."
"Raph's not answering his shell cell." Leo said as he angrily hung up the line. that started to snap Bianca back into reality, she started to focus less on her mind as her worried went into overdrive for her red clad turtle friend.
"Argh! This is all my fault!" Casey threw a fit as he started tossing and destroying any piece of furniture that was within his reach.
"Don't worry, I've installed tracking chips in all the shell cells, just in case." Donny soothed as he picked up a scanner and examined it carefully. "Interesting, not picking up a signal." He noted.
"Argh, we'll never find him!" Casey roared.
"I may be able to calibrate the scanner to trace a comm. signal from your, invisible ninjas." Donny suggested.
"Better make it fast, we're running out of furniture." Mikey commented as Donny looked up to see the damage Casey left in his wake.
"I'm getting a signal." Donny said after an infuriatingly long moment, he studied the blip on the screen. "It's Raph!" He cheered.
"Woo hoo!" Casey threw his fists into the air and broke a lamp accidentally.
"This guy's bad news even when there's good news." Mikey sighed.
"It's faint, but at least we got a blip that we can follow." Donny said as he continued to strengthen the signal, another thing happened though as he did so. "Make that, several blips." He said nervously.
"The, invisible ninjas' signal?" Leo questioned.
"Raphael may not even be aware that he's being followed." Master Splinter commented in a slightly panicked tone.
"Which means we've got to find him before he brings some seriously unwanted houseguests." Leo proclaimed.
"We've already got one of those." Mikey added as he looked over at
"Yeah I know, why do you let a little girl hang out with yas anyway, she shouldn't be down here."
"What!" Bianca gasped, feeling right back to normal. "Why I oughta…!" She growled.
"Cool it…" Donny said placing a hand on her forearm and giving her a simple smile that made her sigh as she crossed her arms over herself, still feeling slightly cold.
"So uh, how do we stop something we can't see?" Casey asked dumbly.
"Already got that one covered." Don said as he pulled out some funky looking goggles. "Turtle vision heat sensing goggles. After all, invisible bodies are still warm bodies." He said as he threw each person a pair.
"Let's go." Leo commanded.
"That's a good look for you." Mikey joked as he stared at Casey's goggles over his mask. Bianca laughed as she agreed it made him look stupidly funny.
"Do you want to go and help search? If you're not up for it you can stay here and just relax." Leo said as he stopped Bianca from moving by placing a hand on her shoulder.
"No." She said quickly. "I can't stay here, I don't want to be wrapped in my own mind right now. I need to distract myself, besides, Raph is hopeless without all of us there for him." She smirked trying to reassure him further, which worked a little bit.
"Alright." He smiled lightly as he patted her head soothingly. He turned back to the rest of the group. "We're gonna have to split up: Mike and Casey, you cover above ground. Me, Bianca and Don will cover below." Leo said as they each when to their respected vehicles. Don, Bianca and Leo roamed through the sewers for a while until Donny noticed the blip on the scanner beeping quicker. He pointed in an off side tunnel coming up ahead and Leo veered into it. They quietly stopped the engines before a few meters from the opening up ahead.
"This is the drainage junction." Donny stated. "Make sense for Raph to end up here."
"So let's sneak on in already and save his sorry shell." Bianca chimed in and slowly crept her way forward and continued to stay in the shadows as she peered down like Don and Leo into the opening. Raph had just stepped into view, and with the goggles they were able to see more bodies slowly creeping up on Raph without being aware to anything off.
"I spy with my turtle eye, some goons that need a good beating." Donny joked.
"Gee you're starting to sound like Raph." Bianca laughed.
"Hey…" He groaned as he stared at her, which only made her laugh more.
"Hey…!" Raph called as he saw his brothers charging forwards and then far beyond where he was standing. He also saw Bianca make her way down by using a graveling hook and swinging like Tarzan near Leo and Don. "Huh?" He asked as he stared at his comrades punching the air.
"Bon-zai!" His brothers called.
"Uh, guys, what the shell are ya-?" Raph was about to ask before Don cut him off with a joke.
"Ever hear the one about the invisible ninjas?" raph suddenly nodded in acknowledgement of the situation and tried his best to fight off the invisible ninjas, but with the difficulty of not having goggles to guide him. suddenly everyone got overwhelmed and were tossed to the side.
"Hey, did I mention that these guys were really strong too?" Casey said as he and Mikey finally arrived onto the scene.
"Ugh, might've been useful info." Leo groaned. Bianca rushed over to help him up.
"C'mon, ha!" Raph said trying to still fight. "Show yourselves, ya…" He started getting roughhoused faster than he was able to come up with a comeback. "Ugh…" He groaned as he started to sway from exhaustion.
"Uh, you think we should give him a hand?" Mikey joked as everyone nodded and smiled. His brothers charged forward and Bianca waited for the perfect moment to jump in.
"Four!" Casey called out as he used his golf club to strike some mud into the air, Bianca was confused at first but was happy when it landed on some of the invisible ninjas.
"That was actually a smart move Casey!" Bianca cheered.
"Hey than—uh, hey!" He was about to thank her but changed his mind when he realized it was more of an insult than a compliment.
"Keep at it!" She hollered over she shoulder as she decided now would be the best time to charge into battle. Though while she was in the midst of battle, she got her goggles ripped off her eyes and one of the ninjas sprayed something in her eyes that made her unable to see. She groaned as she was shoved roughly into a figure behind her. She heard the grunt and assumed it was Raph.
"You okay?" He asked, confirming Bianca's suspicions.
"I can't see…" She complained as she hastily tried rubbing the substance out of her eye to no avail. "Here," She said as she placed her goggles into Raph's rough calloused hands. "Use these, they'll help you fight, not like I have much use for them if I can't even see normally." Raph placed them on his face as thing around him started making sense.
"Ah, much better." Raph says as he happily split kicks them. "Stay right here," He said quickly placing a hand on her shoulder to show her where he was. "I'm gonna help the others."
"O-Okay…" She stuttered as she was left to her own devices.
"Now you see 'em, now you don't." Mikey said as he had a ball smacking the guys around with ease.
"Their cloaking controls, seem to be somewhere around the chest plate." Donny mentioned over the course of the battle.
"You mean…here!" Leo asked as he slashed at their chests.
"Can I call 'em or what?" Donny gloated.
"So, I guess that's that."
"Ah!" Came a cry for help. Everyone turned around and saw that Bianca was being held as a hostage with a blade to her throat when an invisible ninja appeared.
"I'd look up there too…" He mused as he signaled with his optical eyes to the pipes that were hanging above the deep drainage junction.
"Drop your weapons and surrender." A invisible ninja appeared holding Casey by the strap of his bag being his only life line to safety. "My grip is loosening, I'd suggest you drop your weapons, now."
"Don't do it guys, I'm not worth it!" Casey called out.
"You know he's got a point." Donny clued in.
"You're starting to sound like Mikey, Don." Leo said as he stared at his brother oddly. Bianca could hear the clanks of their weapons falling to the ground. She didn't want them to give up just because they were put in a hard spot.
"Hey…where is Mikey?" Raph mumbled, but Bianca caught it and thought to herself, she realized how clever Mikey was.
"Shh…he's doing this thing." Bianca shushed him quickly but didn't do more as the blade was brought closer to her neck.
"Say again?" Raph asked curiously as he stared at her. But his attention got pulled back to the dangling Casey when Mikey was seen kicking the not-so invisible ninja off the pipe to fall into the water.
"Ah!" Casey shouted as he started falling towards the whirlpool at the bottom. Don made a run for it but got blocked off by one of the ninjas, he quickly maneuvered his way around him, used him as spring board, and quickly was able to get Casey to grab a hold of his bo staff.
"Yeah!" Casey cheered once Don swung him over onto the ground again, safe and sound. He got determined and took out his bat, Donny and Mikey joining him on either of his sides. Raph, Leo, and Bianca joined their sides too and got ready to fight.
"I'd still hold out on your next move, if you want her to live…" The man holding Bianca threatened.
"Don't you dare listen to this monster!" Bianca yelled at her friends as she tried to squirm but the man's grip on her tightened significantly.
"Concentrate, become one with the surrounding around you, find the balance within yourself, a balanced body is a balanced mind." She mumbled to herself as she finally started to relax and concentrate on using her other senses to navigate her situation. She could "see" the way the man was standing that she could get out of his grasp if she chose the right way.
She slowly started to crumble to the ground, pretending to be really weak and she got to her knees as the man relaxed his hold on her and placed the sword by the side of her neck instead.
"Do as I say or…" The man threatened again but Bianca cut him off.
"Or nothing, cuz you're through." She spat as she kicked him off the side of the drain and he went plummeting along with the comrades that were now being taken down. The splash of sewer water drench Bianca and the substance that covered her eyes were slowly starting to slip down her face instead. She started rubbing her eyes again and attempted to open them, finding it a lot easier this time around.
"Bianca!" She could hear Leo's voice calling out to her. She turned around and before her eyesight fully returned to her, she found herself wrapped up in Leo's arms, as she saw the rest of the gang approaching the two slowly. He let go of her and she met his eyes happily.
"How'd you manage to do that?" He asked shocked while he checked her over for any serious injuries. She laughed and patted his plastron softly.
"I used what I learned from your guys' lesson, use my other senses to find my way to the perfect balance."
"Wow, who knew you was actually paying attention?" Raph asked in shock.
"Hey, I resent that comment." She said as she put her hands on her hips.
"Thanks guys, I owe ya." Casey finally said removing his mask.
"We take cash, personal checks, and most major credit cards." Mikey joked.
"Man I'm beat, maybe I should crash at your guys' place tonight." Casey suggested.
"NO!" Leo cried out. "I-I mean, nothing beats the comfort of sleeping in your own bed…he-he…" He said covering up his previous outburst.
"Smooth recovery." Bianca mocked as she patted his back.
"We'll give you ride, have you home in no time." Donny said standing by Leo's side, assisting in helping him move Casey out of the drainage pipe.
"Carry you up the stairs!" Mikey continued in the same pleasing tone. "Tuck you in, heck, we'll even tell you a bedtime story."
"Gosh Casey, I think you should really take up the guys on this opportunity, who knows when you'll ever get it again." Bianca said as she played along.
"Yeah, you're right, I'm so glad to have friends like you guys." Casey chimed.
"He-he, yeah." Everyone laughed awkwardly as Bianca followed a little ways behind them, laughing her ass off.