Usagi stopped when he sensed a familiar presence.

Rarely led astray by his sixth sense, he looked to the closed door that seemed to pull at him. He needed to go in there. Something was waiting for him.

Readying himself for an attack, Usagi rushed at the door, his sword and sheer strength tearing it from its hinges. As powerful as Akumu may be, her workmanship was shoddy. Perhaps she would do well to spend more time in the physical realm, Usagi thought absently as he easily dispensed of a single sentry standing within the room.

As he looked down at the unconscious ninja that had hardly put up a fight, Usagi heard a sound from behind him and quickly spun around. Bloodied and battered, he was aghast to see his old friend chained to the wall. "Tomoe Ame!"

The young girl groaned and trembled as she forced herself to look upwards towards the voice. "U… Usagi?" The rabbit ran towards her, dropping his weapon as her legs seem to buckle under her. Grabbing hold of her waist and propping her up as one hand flew to the chains binding her, he asked her what had happened.

A series of sighs and coughs came as the initial answer. Looking into her face, Usagi saw that Tomoe Ame appeared exhausted and emaciated. She had clearly not had any food or sleep in quite some time. As he used his other sword to pry the chains from her too-thin wrists, Usagi knew what had happened. Akumu had gotten her out of the way in order to give Usagi the enchanted chalk, under the premise that he would be helping Leonardo. How long had it been since the two of them had switched places? Surely, this much damage could not have occurred over a mere day or two. The sadistic witch, Usagi thought, clenching his fist tightly as Tomoe shook her head in an attempt to come to her senses. How long had she been needlessly toying with Tomoe Ame just to get to me?

The chains gave way with a sudden clatter, causing Tomoe's arms to abruptly fall to her sides. Being freed from her confines seemed to help her get her bearings straight. Attempting to right herself in Usagi's arms, she told him, "I do not know what has happened. One moment, I am in my own bed, and in the next…." She closed her eyes and looked away, as though willing the images behind her eyelids to disappear. "Horrible, horrible dreams. Interspersed with what I now know to have been reality." Opening her eyes once more, she looked into the face of her trusted friend. "What has happened, Usagi? Is Lord Noriyuki all right?"

"Lord Noriyuki is fine, as far as I can tell," Usagi answered. "This is not about him. You have been subjected to one of Sorceress Akumu's dream spells, in order to help her exact revenge upon Leonardo-san and his brothers… and probably myself as well."

"Sorceress Akumu?" Tomoe's eyes widened in fright. "Usagi, tell me we are not in her domain. If that is true, then nothing we see with our eyes can be relied on." Seeing her hands clutching his sleeves, Usagi could do little more than help to steady her on her feet.

Taking a cautious step away from her, Usagi looked down to his dropped sword before stooping to retrieve it. Knowing that he now bore the burden of protecting Tomoe as he searched for Donatello before finding a way to keep the rest of the turtles from coming into this world, he solemnly said, "Then we must rely upon something other than what we see with our eyes."

"I couldn't agree with you more, Usagi."

Surprised, Usagi turned swiftly, raising his sword towards the unknown voice. His blade met with another and sang out into the dark room. He was about to strike again when he blinked in surprise at the three unannounced arrivals. "Leonardo-san?"

Leonardo looked different from what Usagi had remembered. This worried him for a moment, but the worry quickly gave way to relief. Of course Leonardo would look different. The passing of his master had aged him, making his smooth green skin seem etched with care. Lines had emerged around the turtle's eyes, and Usagi took this as a scar of Akumu's evil workings as he attempted to sleep. As much as it pained him to see his old ally in such a hardened, worn state, it also gladdened him. These details would not have come to Akumu's mind, and so Usagi could rest assured that this Leonardo was the true one, as were his two brothers standing besides him. "Leonardo-san," Usagi started. "Forgive me. I-"

"Where's Donatello?" Usagi quickly closed his mouth at the question. Not liking even the momentary reticence, Leonardo took another step towards Usagi. The samurai barely had time to notice that the ninja had not sheathed his sword before he was forced to duck out of the way of a sudden swipe. "Answer me, Usagi. Where's my brother?"

Startled by the unexpected violence, Tomoe had called Usagi's name and rushed to his side. At the same time, Raphael and Michelangelo had each grabbed hold of one of Leonardo's arms, keeping him at bay. "Easy, Leo," Raphael was saying. "Put the toys away before ya hurt somebody!"

Before Leonardo could retaliate, Usagi rushed in with the truth. "He was captured in an ambush mere seconds after our arrival. I was searching for him when I stumbled upon Tomoe Ame."

A small air of surprise dawning on him, Leonardo looked at the girl at Usagi's side. Her posture made it seem as though she was taking strength from Usagi while at the same time was determined to defend him if Leonardo should strike again. "T… Tomoe Ame? I didn't recognize you."

"It has been a long time, Leonardo-san," came her reply. Seeing that Tomoe's haggard appearance seemed to affect Leonardo's anger, Usagi took a wary step forwards. "Leonardo-san, we have all fallen victim to Akumu's sorcery. Though I had hoped to retrieve your brother and return him to your world before your arrival, I would be dishonest if I claimed to not be gladdened by your appearance. Whatever Akumu has done to you, we shall undo it, no matter what the cost."

Leonardo gazed at Usagi steadily as he spoke. His brothers' grip on him slackened, and he pulled himself away just enough to give the others his shell. "Let's just make one thing clear," he said at last. Looking at the others over his shoulder, he murmured, "Donatello won't be the cost."

"Leonardo-san," Usagi said earnestly, steadfastly meeting Leonardo's gaze, "I would rather see myself mortally wounded than risk the life of you or any of your brothers. You are all the closest to family I currently have."

"Great, so we're all buddy-buddy," Michelangelo broke in. He had been dividing his attentions between what was going on in this small room and listening for any signs of danger outside the broken-down door. "Now that we've got that all out of the way, how about we try and find Donnie and hightail it out of here."

Looking down at the neko ninja that was still out cold from Usagi's entrance, Tomoe Ame brought up, "I suggest we attempt to pinpoint Sorceress Akumu's exact location rather than running blindly through the corridors. The more time we simply walk about and try doors will only make Akumu more aware of our presence, which could lead to an onslaught of illusions. We are in her stronghold, after all."

"And since she has been working on Leonardo-san for quite some time," Usagi added, "her hold on him now will be especially strong. Now that he is in our world, she will not have to wait until he is asleep to work her magic."

"Then lemme work my magic," Raphael growled, crouching down besides the unconscious ninja. Grabbing him roughly by the shoulder, he began shaking the ninja violently. "Yo, minion, rise and shine!" Pulling the mask off of the guard's face, Raphael quickly began losing his patience. "Open your eyes, punk, while I'm still lettin' ya live!"

Much to Usagi and Tomoe's surprise, the ninja's eyes soon began fluttering as he slowly regained consciousness. Grasping that he was surrounded by the enemy, the ninja quickly informed them that their attempts would prove futile, as he would never disclose any information to them. Hunching down behind Raphael, Michelangelo grinned mischievously as he lazily began twirling a nunchuck.

"Vell, mein herr," he spoke lowly, "ve haff vays of making you talk."