A/N: Here we go; the end of Halloween for this fic. (Finally, eh?) And it just wouldn't be right if I didn't end this one with something a little scary. So be warned, there's some swearing, a little gore, a mound of horse manure and a blowie in this one. Just in case you're wondering; 'blowie' is Aussie slang for a 'blowfly' or 'housefly'. Nyeh heh heh!
Many thanks to CPQ for beta-reading, you do a wonderful job chica. Many thanks too for the reviews from artykidd and greshunkai. I do love getting 'em; any which way I can, LOL! And these got me motivated enough to get half the next chapter written already, which is why I'm posting this one so soon. I'm trying to avoid huge gaps between posting chapters now that things have settled down a bit; for both my series believe it or not, lol! But I've almost finished the next chapter of 'Beauty' too (been on a roll o.O!), the main thing really holding that one up now is my darned infernal need to double-check the Japanese cultural references; my kimono reference book has gone missing in action! (sigh) I'm sure it'll turn up in a hidden niche somewhere around the house… along with half a dozen pens, Tobys' pacifier and a half-eaten apple. I swear Coen is part squirrel, lol!
DISCLAIMER: I don't own the TMNT, or any related characters (much to their relief, I'm sure!) If there is anything else in this story you recognise from somewhere else, then I don't own that either.
------- -------
In Raphs' opinion this night had turned out alright. Admittedly it could have done without Case getting hurt, and that bone-head and Ape
almost being captured, and maybe even without the brawls with the street gangs. But here he was, getting some rare time alone with Tau, especially after making peace with her earlier. He grinned smugly, nestling his chin on her shoulder as he pulled her close; surprised when she stiffened, pulling one of his hands off her midriff to rest back on her hip instead.
"Huh?"
"You're being a bit forward, don'tcha think?" she asked lightly.
"What d'ya mean?" he countered, attempting to sound innocent.
"You've hardly said 'boo' to me all week!"
"So? You're not pissed at me, are ya?"
"No." her voice tainted a little with indignation.
"What's the problem then?"
"Well, it would be nice if we could talk first…"
"We're talkin' now, aren't we?"
"Yeah." Tau sighed "But… oh, I dunno. Just forget about it." she grumped.
Unsure what else to say they rode on in awkward silence. Raph had always gotten a good laugh out of Casey whenever he'd hidden out at the lair claiming April was speaking in tongues and being difficult just for the hell of it. He'd always assumed it was just Casey being thick. But right now he wasn't sure what worried him more, Tau acting weird or the chance that Casey might be right about… anything that wasn't sport related!
"Hey Raph?" Tau interrupted his thoughts quietly, sounding a bit preoccupied herself "Did you see Dragon-faces' eye?" Raph quirked an eye ridge, wondering where this was coming from.
"Yeah." he testily admitted.
"Do you think… it was 'cos of me? That he lost it after I left Dad, I mean?"
"Probably."
"Oh." Why the hell did she sound down about it?
"You don't care what happens to that scum bag, do ya?" he asked irately.
"No, not really. But I do feel a bit rotten about it… I'm guessing he didn't see my face at least. I know I'd want some pay-back if someone cost me an eye, so I doubt he would have run so quickly if he'd recognised me."
"I dunno; he's got all the back bone of a worm, from what I've seen of 'im. 'sides, you know you don't have to worry about him comin' after ya, not while you're with me at any rate."
"Hmm." he heard the smile in her voice, though she didn't look back "Thanks."
Raph was still at a loss, trying to figure out where Taus' head was at. She did seem happier now for the conversation, such as it was. But
not wanting to risk annoying her by hugging her close again, and feeling a growing need to break the quiet, Raph looked about desperately for something interesting to talk about. Finally he hit upon an idea so obvious he berated himself with a mental 'Doh!'
"So, is this horse anything like Beau?" he asked tentatively.
"Huh? Oh yeah, a bit. Beau's a couple of hands shorter, and his mane is black, not chestnut…" she rambled on happily with her comparison to her own horse back in Melbourne; Raph succumbing to a smile too, as he felt her start to relax against him.
Don had managed to park the Battle-shell where it was well camouflaged by bushes, the railings of a circular exercise yard on the outskirts of
the NYPD stables only twenty meters away from their hiding place. Leo and Mike were stood among the trees, keeping watch for the horse and its riders, though they heard them a few moments before they came into view.
"… I'd love to show it all to you one day. I think you'd really like it." Taus' wistful voice carried on the night air.
"Yeah, I reckon I would."
"We can always hope, I guess… Oh! Hi guys, what's up?" she smiled as she spotted Mike and Leo, curious why they were sharing an astonished look before they turned to greet her, Mike with a grin and Leo with a disapproving scowl. Raph guessed their expressions were due to him having his arms wrapped tight about her again, and he couldn't help giving Leo a brief, cheeky grin as they rode past.
Deciding that now was not the time, nor the place for the argument that would inevitably ensue if he followed his exasperating brother out to the paddock, Leo gave in to Mikes' pleas to go, opting to stay by the rear of the van as a lookout instead. To his relief Tau made quick work of getting the horse into the paddock, stripped of its saddle and tack and given a bucket of water to drink. She and his brothers gave the horse a brief final pat, before heading back towards the Battle-shell. Leo lost sight of them as they passed behind a tall, three sided wooden stall filled with manure.
"So…, what'cha hoping ta reveal to ol' Raphie-boy, Tau?" Mike teased quietly as they started the walk back to the van.
"What on Earth are you talking about Mike?" she asked, keeping her own voice low as well.
"We heard ya saying you wanted to show Raph all of something. Is it your… tat? That's my bet!" he grinned. Raph and Tau shared a quick look in surprise before Raph grabbed his brother in a head lock.
"You idiot, she was talkin' about her home!" he chastised as he administered a noogie.
"Ow, ow, ow!" 'THUNK!' Mikes' whispered protests were cut short as he backed into the wooden wall beside them in an attempt to break free. They all froze, waiting to see if the loud noise had attracted any attention. As nothing stirred they all relaxed, only to jump again as Raph let out a small cry.
"Arrgh, get away, get away, get away!" he danced about trying to shoo a lazy fly that had flown over the wall to circle about his head. Tau eyed him dubiously as he jerked backwards, the stubborn fly attempting a landing on his nose. He gasped again as she clapped, a hairs' breadth away from trapping his beak. Opening her hands the fly fell lifeless to the ground.
"Urgh! How could you touch that disgusting little bug?" he demanded.
"It was a fly." she stated, matter-of-factly.
"Yeah." breathed Raph regaining some of his composure "Dirty little maggot infested…"
"It was a fly." Tau said again, her tone a little darker. Raph nodded.
"So long as it's dead, let's get out of here." he side-stepped the tiny corpse, Taus' hand on his arm stopping him from going any further. Looking back to see what her problem was the expression on her face made him take a step backwards.
"You are afraid of a fly?" she questioned in disbelief.
"I'm not afraid of 'em, I just hate 'em!" Raph growled in his defence, his scowl vanishing as she stepped up, trapping him against the wood, her nose almost touching his beak, with an evil glare.
"After all the times you've made fun of me for being scared of bugs…" she snarled.
"Hey! So we have somethin' in common..." he shrugged, trying to placate her with a lop-sided grin, but her eyes just narrowed further.
"I only hate bugs that can hurt you…, but a blowie?" she ground out, shaking her head in frustration "You would die in Oz."
Raph grimaced, trying to make sense of her comment, as she briskly stepped away. She halted next to Mike who was trying desperately to stop
himself from laughing.
"And you!" she sharply accused him. Mike managed to pull his hand away from his mouth to ask,
"Hey! What'd I do?"
"You could have bloody well told me about him, instead of taking advantage of me for some cheap laughs; some 'friend' you are!" Mikes' laughter died as she glared savagely at them both.
"You're both as bad as each other! You ever tease me about bugs again…" she shook a fist at them "Jerks!" she muttered, turning on her heel to stalk back towards the Battle-shell. Mike and Raph shared a guilty look.
"Oops?" queried Mike.
"Shit." confirmed Raph.
Leo watched as Tau appeared from behind the wooden structure to approach the Battle-shell. Despite his curiosity regarding why his brothers were trailing a distance behind her, he didn't stop her as she passed him; her filthy look made him think he'd be better off questioning his brothers instead. However, he almost stepped after her as she didn't even slow down by the van, but kept going to stop a few meters past it. Once he was sure she wasn't going to go any further, and assuming from the way she stood - stiff-legged, head down with her arms crossed - she didn't want to be disturbed just yet, Leo turned back to face his brothers.
At first Raph had felt awful, his gut felt like cold mush trapped in a vice, his throat suddenly ached terribly, and his brain had put Taus' last accusation on an endless repeating loop between his ears. He hated it. Mulling over the situation on his way back to the Battle-shell, Raph tried to figure out why she'd been so upset. It wasn't like it was his fault she was scared of bugs, and they'd teased each other about all sorts of stuff before without her going ballistic. Plus, things had started going so well between them tonight, why'd she have to go and ruin it, again?
The small spark of annoyance he felt helped to warm his innards, wanting to rid himself of the cloying feeling he kept on brooding, his bitterness mounting with each step. How dare she accuse him of being afraid? Fear had nothing to do with it. Bugs were just dirty, disgusting creatures that he hated. And of course a fly could hurt! Didn't she know that's where maggots and disease came from? What he'd give to drag her to that damn alternate dimension where he could show her what a really dangerous bug looked like. Maybe then she'd have a bit more friggin' respect for his point of view. How could she call them both jerks? After he'd spent the last week agonising over hurting her feelings! And there was no way he'd let anybody call Mikey something like that and get away with it… well, other than he and his bros, of course.
By the time he reached the van, Raph was in a white hot temper.
"What's happened?" asked Leo in concern. Raph immediately shouldered past him, with a dirty look that beat Taus' previous effort.
"It was her damn fault!" he growled before jumping into the truck, slamming the door behind him so hard it failed to latch and slowly swung open again. Recovering from their winces at the noise Leo looked to Mike for an explanation. Mike gave a dejected shrug,
"Guess what they say about 'opposites attract' is true. Soon as they found they hated the same thing…" he indicated to each of the warring parties with a hand, emphasising how far apart they were at present. With a sad shake of his head he wandered over to stand just behind the girl, Leo following.
"I'm really sorry Tau. I promise I'll never tease you about bugs an' stuff again." he pledged solemnly. Getting no response he gave a single grim nod before he made his way back to the van, head hung low.
Leo waited until his brother disappeared inside the vehicle. Moving to stand beside Tau, he couldn't read her face in the darkness of her own shadow.
"Are you alright?" he probed gently. She didn't respond for a moment, but when she finally looked up Leo wondered if Raph had ever managed to anger her this much before she'd come to stay with them. Usually it was hard for Leo to see any of her Father in her, but right now he'd swear it would be impossible for any of his family not to recognise Huns' eyes.
"How would you feel if you'd just found out your best friend was a two-faced… wimp!"
"Whoa! Hang on, now. Raph may be a lot of things, and not all of them good. But he is not a 'wimp'." Leo rebuked sternly.
"It was a damn fly, Leo." Tau ground out sardonically.
"Oh." Leo desperately tried to think of a way to deny her accusation. Failing, he decided on a different tack. "If it was only a silly insect, it's not worth getting this upset about; is it?"
"It's more than just the damn bug." she advised in a dark monotone.
"I know that, but standing out here isn't going to resolve anything. Come, get in the Battle-shell, and we can sort this out when we get home." he petitioned.
"I'm not sure I can Leo, I'm so pissed at him right now." Leo didn't doubt it, the way she tensed even further at her admission.
Leo allowed her a moment of quiet, hoping she'd relax again. When she didn't, he decided to resort to the one thing he hoped would change her mind quick-smart about getting in the van.
"Are you ready to go back to your Father then?" he asked quietly. Contrary to his expectations she didn't move a muscle, but actually seemed to be considering his question. To his surprise he was relieved when she finally murmured,
"No. But for the first time since I moved in with you guys I feel… like I need a bit of space to myself."
"If you do want to stay with us, I need you to get in the Battle-shell, now Tausha. I don't want to risk staying here any longer than we have to." he explained levelly. With a sigh her shoulders drooped. Looking suddenly defeated, with tears threatening, she slowly turned to start trudging towards the truck.
"Ok Leo." she whispered despondently.
Taking pity, he reached out to stop her.
"Hey." he soothed "You can take a minute to pull yourself together, okay?" With a nod she turned her face away, knuckling her eyes roughly.
"Thanks." she murmured once she was finished.
"If you do need some space, we can ask April if you can stay with her for a while." suggested Leo. Again Tau considered for a moment, before
shaking her head.
"She's got enough to worry about with Casey being hurt. I'm sure the last thing she needs is me being under-foot. It's okay Leo, you're right. It is stupid to get so upset over a sodding bug. I'll get over it." she assured resolutely, with a weak smile.
"I know it must be hard for you to adapt to living with us. The only time you really get any time to yourself is when we head out for a run at night, and I guess I have been a little harsh in not letting you come top-side very often." he sympathised.
"I know it's for my own good, Leo." she admitted softly. Feeling she deserved a little credit for coming around so quickly, Leo struck on a thought.
"Uh…, it may not be a bad idea for you to have a bit more…'separation' from Raph. I know Don wants to visit some friends of ours in the next few days that run a waste disposal and recycling plant. It may not sound like the most pleasant place to visit, but you might find it interesting. How about you come with us? I'll make sure Raph and Mike stay home so you can at least get a break from them for a little while. How does that sound?" With a small nod, and her smile growing a little stronger, Tau replied gratefully,
"Good actually! Thank you Leo." Returning her smile he led the way back to the van.
---------- ----------
"That's it? That's your explanation for why a dozen of my Dragons needed bailing out of lock-up, and twice as many are clogging up our infirmary?" Hun demanded over his steepled fingers, his elbows resting on his imposing desk. Dragon-face shifted nervously where he stood.
"Yeah… but at least we cleared the Scorpions out of the 'Park'…"
"Hmpf." Hun dismissed his argument derisively. "I don't give a shit about them. I want the heads of those freaks on a platter, and Jones to
'chat to'." he loudly cracked his knuckles.
"We almost got Jones; and his girl too. But one of the turtles stopped the truck…"
"One?" interrupted Hun, rising from his seat. "How did one stop your crew from bringin' in that damn vigilante?" Swallowing
hard, and unconsciously rubbing at his fake eye, Dragon-face tried to explain.
"Uh, he took out the wheels of the truck with some o' those throwin' star thingies. Then he jumped off the horse and attacked us…"
"The horse? How the hell could he ride a fucking horse and throw shuriken at the same time?"
"Well, he wasn't riding it alone, there was this other… person steering it."
"Who?"
"I dunno, they were dressed all in black, even had a mask on."
Hun scowled in silent consideration for a moment.
"You didn't see any detail other than that? Was it a girl? Was she petite?"
"It is a bit tough for me to see stuff that well now." Dragon-face pointed defensively at his glass eye "But they were kinda small, I guess."
"I need more than just fucking 'guesses'! Jones might know where she would have skipped out to, or she might even have gone back to him. If he's laid one finger on my little girl…grrr! And I hate the thought of her runnin' round with those damn mutant freaks!" Dragon-face stepped back as Hun ground his fist into his other hand.
"Uh, d'ya want me ta go spread the word that we need to bring Jones in pronto?" asked Dragon-face obsequiously. Hun treated him to an evil glare.
"I thought I'd given that order months ago. Don't tell me you weren't listening?" his voice quiet but full of menace.
As his maid cleaned the floorboards after he'd finished with his lackey, Hun sat heavily in the leather chair behind his desk. He stared out of the floor to ceiling windows at his city for a long while in contemplation. After the cleaning girl had left his office he reached into the draw of his desk, pulling out a small, ornate picture frame.
"Why the hell did you have to grow up to be like your damn mother?" he asked of the image "All you had ta do was listen to me and I woulda
made sure you were happy, looked after. But your mother stopped listenin' to me too. If you'd both just done what I told you, I wouldn't have had to…" Shaking his head in incomprehension Hun went back to staring out the windows, the frame nestled in his large hand.
A few floors down Dragon-face staggered into the infirmary, blood covering one side of his face, obscuring his tattoo.
"Can ya fix this?" he asked the punkette that greeted him at the door, shoving something into her hand. Despite all her piercings, spiked
hair and the vicious looking dragon crawling up her neck she screamed as she realised it was his ear she was holding.
------- -------
A/N: I know. Tau's an idiot, what a wasted opportunity! And you're probably thinking of ways to lynch me for letting her get away with being one too! Hehehe. But in her defence I should've chucked a cameo in the background of Aretha Franklin singing "R-e-s-p-e-c-t, find out what it means to me…" Poor Raphie, has to learn it the hard way, LOL!