A/N: I have learned many things this week. Many things. When records are being scrubbed, it stinks to be training petty officer. When your infant daughter is teething, overnight duty at the hospital can be a very good thing. Doing PT in 98 degree weather with 80 percent humidity can make things spin. Ants live in the duty room, ant bites hurt! And, of course, I learned exactly how to write this last chapter! Enjoy!
Chapter 12
The End?
Hamato Michelangelo.
The scrawled signiture looked ominous, foreboding. My heartbeat quickened as I thought about what I had just committed to. I had just sold my soul. I had only fifteen minutes to make sure that I could keep it. Only fifteen minutes. That sort of time passes by so quick. Only fifteen minutes to go through with my plan. And if I failed...
I swallowed hard and tried not to think about it. At least if it happened, my family would be safe.
Suddenly the contract snapped shut as the mouth in the chest of the monster grinned maniacally. The fat, slimy tongue slid over the fanged teeth in a morbid sort of caress. The contract clutched tightly in it's spindley fingered grasp, it chuckled menacingly as the room was once again enveloped in darkness. I blinked, trying to adjust my eyes to the sudden lack of light. The laughter still floated unfiltered through the air. I swallowed, hoping that this thing wasn't allowed to break bargains.
My question was answered when a short distance away small pools of light illuminated my family. They were standing, all paralysis gone but the wounds still fresh. Don rubbed his skin tentatively and winced at the jagged wounds on his feet. Raph, bleeding from countless wounds paced back and fourth like a caged animal. Splinter trembled from near exhaustion with a bruised Leo helping him to a sitting position. They couldn't see me yet and was looking around in abject confusion. I smiled slightly and started forward.
Fifteen minutes was all that I had. The monster thought it was for last farewells to my family and with luck he would continue to think that. Not that I wouldn't say anything to them, but I had different plans for this time allowed to me.
They spotted me when I was halfway from crossing the distance. They pressed thier fingers against an invisible barrier, exclaiming things in loud voices that I could not hear. I smiled and waved at them. They looked at me oddly. My smile broadened. I could see why, I can imagine that I've changed quite a bit with this experience, I felt...older somehow.
I just hoped and prayed that I had paid enough attention in the past, it was that past training that would save the lives of me and millions of others from who knows what. What I was about to attempt had never been my stron suite, after all. That much had been clearly stated to me before. It was then, thinking of exactly how I was going to do this, going toe to toe with a demon, and a feeling of dread swamped in my belly.
What the shell was I thinking!
I shook my head. No, Mikey. You're resigned. You can do this. Sure, your the goof-off slacker who was never paired with anything intellectual and the only books you ever read are covered with bright pictures of awesome superheroes, but maybe tonight you can become a superhero. I'm the Turtle Titan, here I come!
I smiled nervously as I reached where my family was being kept. "Hey guys." They milled about, pressing against the invisible barrier, all talking at once. I sure wish that I could read lips! I shook my head at them. "No, sorry. Part of the agreement. You can hear me but I can't hear you." They stopped talking at that, looking at me with a mixture of fear and expectation; all except for Raph, who continued to punch the invisible barrier, his face surprisingly blank.
Licking my lips, I sat down cross-legged. My shaky smile broadened slightly. "I'll bet that you're wondering what's going on here, huh?" They stilled, even Raph, and looked at me with worried expectancy. "I don't have a lot of time, so I'll be quick. All this was done to get my soul. I don't know why mine, but somehow it will allow the monster to do horrible things to mankind. But if I didn't give it to him, then it would kill you guys. I couldn't let it do that, so I signed my soul away by contract." They looked at me aghast, exclaiming loudly despite the fact that I couldn't hear them. Sensei looked at me sadly. I shook my head. "No, listen. I have a plan. Part of my contract was to get fifteen minutes where he couldn't physically harm me, but I have to stay here too. I'm going to try to tackle this thing on a different plane. I don't want to tell you out loud, 'cause I don't really want to tip the thing off, but once I start you'll know what I'm doing."
I took a deep, shuddering breath and smiled at my family once more. My vision was beginning to get blurry as I looked into those faces, the same ones that I've looked at my entire life. "Sorry I had to cut this so short, guys, but meditating as you know has never been my strong point. No matter what happens, I'll always love you. Never forget that, never." I blinked the tears out of my eyes and tried to swallow the lump out of my throat.
With that I closed my eyes and took a steadying breath, blowing it out slowly. My thoughts were jumbled due to what I was trying to do. I separated them. My heart still ached at the thought of my family. Breathe in, breathe out...I put these thoughts in the back of my mind, out of the way. Don't think about them right now. Breathe in...Breathe out...Breathe in...Breathe out...Clear your mind...Breathe in...Breathe out... As I repeated this, I placed my hands on my knees, touching my fingertips together. With another slow inhale and exhale, I willed my muscles to relax. I was surprised about how easy it was this time, normally I have a difficult time with it. Slowly, I began counting backwards in my brain.
Ten...The number floated distinctly in my mind, I could make out subtle details. Nine...My background was getting hazy, like an out of focus camera. Eight...By now everything around me seemed to cease to exist, I was alone. Seven...I began to feel light, airy almost. I was floating. Six...I was lightheaded, high. Five...Everything else in my mind seemed unreachable, unobtainable. I was isolated. Four...I no longer had any other desire than to reach the nothingness that I sought. Three...I could feel it brush against my fingertips, yet I could not. All senses were dead to me. Two...The dead calm surrounding me was welcoming, I opened my arms to it. One...
I opened my eyes to the swirling, effervescent place that was the spirit world. Nothing seemed substantial, always changing, always moving. I felt as though I would fall through the wispy floor at any moment. The sky hardly seemed like a sky at all, but simply an extension of what was around me. It was like a dream. I had been here before when I fought the elementals with my family, it enthralled me then and it did now.
I looked around. Surely the demon, with the power that it wields, would have some sort of prescence on this plane. I looked around, wind whipping around me. Finally I stepped forward "HELLO!!! MONSTER! I'M MICHELANGELO, THE ONE WHO'S SOUL YOU WANT! COME AND GET ME!'' I slapped my butt for emphasis with a flat palm, the sound echoing. "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR! RIPE FOR THE TAKING!" My voice cracked at the last word. I couldn't believe that I was doing this. If my family knew, they would have fits for this un-Mikey-like behavior. But I guess that a turtle's gotta do what a turtle's gotta do.
My thoughts raced. What if the thing doesn't show? What if it realizes that by meeting me here, it'll risk the soul it wants so bad? For some reason, I didn't think so. I thought of the monster's personality as one similar to Raph's. No matter how good a mood he was in, Raph was never one to pass up a direct challenge, especially one put the way that I had put that one.
A piercing roar filled the air. The very ground seemed to tremble with the sound. An unseen wind kicked up, blowing my bandana tails wildly about. I looked around, fear etched on my face.
A dark shape was coming towards me, looming ever higher. It was that shadow. It was coming at me fast...and looked angry...oh shell.
It shot straight towards me, then sent a buffet of some sort of cosmic energy. The wave hit me flat in the chest and sent me flying farther than ever before. If it was in the real world, I probably would'nt of been able to get up. But rules are different here. Things are fought with spiritual energy. And a lot of mine was already spent.
I staggered to my feet, thoroughly winded and on shaking legs. I had to get a hold of myself, fight like we did when we fought the elementals on this plane. But before I could even fully regain my footing it struck again with a wicked upward blow. My head snapped back and pain laced down my spine like an arrow of fire. I gave out a strangled gasp before another blow landed on my upper chest, causing my legs to buckle and me to fall flat on my shell with a whiplash motion. My voice was frozen in my throat.
With all that I could muster I tried again to stagger to my feet, concentrate on something...anything...so that I could somehow strike back, but my head was reeling. I couldn't think of a thing.
Another wicked blow to my side sent me rolling. It was already on my other side before I stopped, sending another fierce barrage of blows. It struck my sides, my head, my chest, my limbs. I felt the stunning pain yet felt numb all at the same time. I could see my vision getting hazy as my head spun wildly. What did I get myself into?
The thing's angry roar turned into a fierce laughter as it batted me about like a cat's toy. It was substantial, yet at times I could see through it. It was a constantly moving shadow, as fluid as water and as sharp as knives. At times a face-like depression could be seen on the top of it, grinning evilly.
The blows seemed to come from further away, a greater distance. Or maybe it was me that was distant. It took a moment to realize that the blows had stopped. Slowly, aching at every point in my body, I turned to look up at it.
It was looming over me, it's featureless face somehow molded into a cruel smile.
I stared at it, my mouth gaping, and somehow managed to find my voice. "No, you didn't say anything about me leaving spiritually."
You hoped to defeat me and therefore get your soul back...
I tried again to get up, but my body seemed to be made of putty. I looked away from it. "Yeah, that was kind of the idea."
You are a novice, you have no hope of defeating me alone...
Your soul is mine...
I blinked up at the thing. I felt like the only thing alive in this place. It was right, there was no one here to help me. I was completely on my own.
'You are not alone, my son.'
A shiver went down my spine as the words echoed in my mind. I licked my lips. "Master Splinter?"
The creature through back it's featureless head and laughed wickedly.
'My son, remember your training, remember what you can do. I might not be able to help you, but we can help you help yourself.'
With that I felt four tentative prescences, though they were light, brushing on the back of my mind, they warmed me more than I ever thought possible. My muscles twitched. The pain laced through me once more and I stifled a groan.
'He cannot harm you as he could in the real world, my son. All of this is not real in the way that you think it is, you must trust in yourself.'
My muscles twitched again but there was no pain this time. I concentrated on it. Slowly I realized that he was right. Technically, I don't even have muscles in this plane, how can something that isn't here hurt? It was because the monster led me to believe that I was still in my physical body, because that's what I've been conditioned to think. I looked at my hands. Both were complete and whole. Not a single bone was broken. I could picture my mangled hand clearly in my mind. Suddenly my left hand contorted and twisted into the broken shape. It was whatever I had wanted it to be.
I looked up at the monster. It shifted to the side, as though cautious. I suddenly noticed that despite all it's ferocity, it was still a featurless shadow. In some areas I could even see though it like a piece of black film. It scooted back again, looked cowed.
I could feel the the strong, kind prescence of my family in the back of my mind. They were there, they would help the best that they could, but I still had to do this myself. Arching back, I did a powerful flip to regain my feet. The monster scooted back again. I stared at it, sitting on my haunches. How powerful was it really?
Suddenly it whipped to the side, as though a stone was thrown into it. Bright, dancing flames arched from it's base and raced towards me in a fiery conflagration. At first I startled back, but stopped myself. Those flames, they weren't really here. They couldn't burn me. The heat that I felt dissapated immediately as I calmly sat down, legs crossed. The flames hit me but went out as though blown by a gust of wind.
My family embraced my mind warmly as the demon whipped itself again, this time with hoards of gremlins spewing from it's featurless gut. Their fierce shrieks filled the air. I closed my eyes to the oncoming horde, taking in a deep breath. Slowly I let it out. When my eyes opened once more, the monster simply stood there, trembling slightly like rippling water.
How powerful was this thing really? Was all that it could use was illusions and mortal fears? I tried not to smile as I touched my fingertips together on my bended knees. I took in another deep breath.
The thing roared again, though this time with a definite flavor of fear in it's voice.
I could feel an immense power welling up inside me. My family brushed against my spirit, I felt goodness all the way to the tips of my toes. The power wafted from me in a pure gold color, slowly building.
YOU CANNOT WIN!...YOU ARE BUT A NOVICE!...YOU HAVE NO TRUE POWER!...
I couldn't help but smile. Through relaxed lips I whispered "Obviously you have never felt the power of love, evil dude." The power welled bigger and more immense, it was almost ready.
YOU KNOW NOT WHAT YOU DO!...YOUR SOUL IS FORFEIT EITHER WAY, IT'S IN THE CONTRACT!...NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO YOU WILL BE MINE!...
"If it means that my family is safe, if it means that the world is safe, then so be it, you can do nothing with it if I defeat you. That is the power of love. The power of self sacrifice." With that the sheer surge of pure energy was unleashed straight upon the demon like a thousand screaming hells. The demon screamed in pain until it was cut off ubruptly.
Suddenly everything went black.
My eyes opened in dazed confusion. I wiped my face with a heavy hand. Mumbling to myself I shoved off the blankets and stretched, my arms extended in the air. I scratched my arm lazily, wondering what time it was...until it hit me.
I gasped in a gulp of air. I looked around swiftly, my eyes danced about my room, seeing my bookcase, my comics, my chucks, my back wall...all were as I'd left them. Intact. Nothing was destroyed. Nothing broken. Nothing shredded. With wide eyes I looked down at my hands. I wriggled them both. Neither had a single broken bone. All, at least in my room, was like normal. Then a cold feeling struck me deep in my gut. MY FAMILY!!!
My heart skipped a beat as I bolted from my bed and flew out of my door. I looked around frantically. The Lair was as it should be, nothing was out of place. I could hear Raph's snoring distinctly down the hall. The kitchen light was on as Leo and Sensei quietly talked amongst themselves. They were always the first up. Don was asleep on his workbench, passed out after staying up too late to finish a project. Again.
My eyeridges scrunched up in confusion as I softly closed the door. All the events played through in my head. My family dissappearing one by one, me trying to rescue them, and finally me fighting the demon and finally defeating it...was it really all a dream? I sat down on my bed heavily, my face blank of emotion. It couldn't be a dream, it just couldn't. It...
beep...beep...beep...beep...beep...beep...beep...beep...beep...
Startled, I looked up at my timer clock. Reaching over I stared at it as it bleeped at me. Funny, I don't remember setting this...I shut off the beeping. Thinking, I pushed another button to see how long it had been set for.
Fifteen minutes.
My mouth went bone dry. Fifteen minutes? No way, it couldn't be...it was all a dream right?...
Shakily I put threw the device. It smashed against the wall. I never used it anyway. Try not to think about it. I wiped my sweaty palms on my legs. Well, I'm already up and I'm sure as shell not going back to sleep...
I shook myself. Why are you worrying, Mikey? If it was all real, then that means that you did what no one else thought you could do on your own. That isn't something to be ashamed of! A sense of pride welled inside me as I stood up and walked calmly out the door. Yet it all felt so wrong, so out of place. Like it couldn't possibly be real...
Splinter and Leo looked up in surprise as I joined them at the table.
"Mikey! Wasn't expecting to see you up so early!" He looked me over, "You seem...different somehow. More confident maybe. You have a good dream?"
One side of my lip cocked upwards in a crooked grin. "Yeah, you could say that."
Sensei nodded. "Yes, it is quite a surprise. I am happy that you choose to join us at this hour. Tell me, my son, will this become a habit?" he added hopefully.
I was about to answer when my shell cell rang. Flipping it open I held it up to my ear.
"Hello?"
Michelangelo...Give me what I want...
A/N: Sooooooo...how do you like it? I know it was a bit quick in some areas but for some reason I just couldn't see where exactly to change it. I'm happy with it nonetheless. I got the meditation bit from someone I work with. Before he joined the military he studied religions, one of those was several months with buddhist monks where they tried to teach him to meditate.
I hope that I surprised everyone with how he defeated it. It took me forever to plan out.
Oh yes. Advertising to all interested parties, I'm starting a new series in a little bit concerning zombies. I'm almost done with the first chapter. It'll be called 'Death Rising Among Us.' So keep a lookout!
Toodles!