Chapter 7: Escape Plan
A/N: Hey, I know it's been a long time since I updated this, but I've been very busy. First there was college, then graduating from college, then job hunting, and a long space of writer's block that prevented me from updating this story. But finally, the writer's block has ceased, and I have been able to finish this story. So, updates will be a lot faster if possible. Thanks to those who have read and reviewed thus far. It's because of you that I'm continuing to write this. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own the TMNT. I do own The Hamato Sisters and the plot of this story.
That night, the inhabitants of the Lair were subdued. Wrestling was on, but it appeared to Splinter as though no one was watching it. Destiny, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Lisa were sitting on the floor, while Mariel sat in the other armchair reading a book. Donatello was in his lab working on the computer. Splinter was sitting in his chair with a sleeping Kaylee on his lap. Leo was on the couch still nursing his hurt ankle.
When a commercial came on, Splinter saw Raphael and Destiny get up with sighs of frustration. The old rat thought this behavior was a little odd because Raphael always watched the whole show no matter what. Then he remembered that Kaia was missing and that everyone was worried for her.
"Hey, Raph, where are you going?" Michelangelo asked.
"I'm going to bed," Raph replied.
"Aren't you two going to watch the rest of the show?" Lisa asked them.
"Nope," Destiny answered. "We're both too tired. Besides, we know what will happen at the end anyway." And with that, she and Raph made their way upstairs.
"I believe I will take Kaylee upstairs now," said Splinter. "She is fast asleep."
"I'll take her up, Sensei," volunteered Mikey. Splinter rarely went upstairs, and when he did, he always had to hold onto the railing for support. The orange-clad Turtle knew that it would be hard for his father to negotiate the stairs with Kaylee in his arms.
"Why, thank you for offering, Michelangelo," said Splinter graciously. He handed the girl over to his youngest son after kissing her on the forehead. He only hoped that she wouldn't carry the burden of what happened to Kaia. The rat decided he would talk to Kaylee and Lisa tomorrow about the events and counsel them.
Mikey took his sister upstairs and laid her on the bunk below his. As he looked at her sleeping form, he couldn't help but feel pity for what she had gone through. Mikey had often had guilty feelings, mostly when one of his brothers got hurt. He always felt that if he had been able to do something, his brothers would be okay. This had happened at least two times so far. The first time was when Leo got ambushed by the Foot, and the second time was when Splinter was really sick. Both times he had felt so helpless just as Kaylee was feeling now.
"Don't worry, Kay," he whispered. "We'll get Kaia back one way or another. I promise." He bent down and kissed her on the cheek then headed back downstairs to watch wrestling.
Leonardo looked up as his little brother came downstairs. "Is Kaylee in bed?" he asked.
"Yep," answered Mikey. He resumed his place on the floor and offered Leo a bag of chips. "Want one?"
"Sure," said Leo as he took a chip from the bag.
Mikey offered the bag to Lisa, but she shook her head. The orange-clad ninja waved the bag in front of her, trying to get her to give in. "C'mon, Lisa," he begged. "You know you want one."
Lisa responded by lifting her hand and knocking the bag out of Mikey's hand. Then she stormed to her room.
Mikey was surprised. "I was just kidding," he said. "Why did she get so mad?"
"She's obviously still upset, Mikey," Leo told him. "Maybe I should go and talk to her."
"No, I'll do it," Mariel offered. "I'm pretty sure I can get through to her. Besides, Don says you still need to rest that ankle. Just let me handle Lisa."
Leo nodded and gave her a warm smile. "Good luck," he told her.
"Thanks," Mariel said, returning the smile. Then she went to her older sister's room. She found Lisa sitting on her bed, staring at the floor. The brown-haired girl felt so sorry for her older sister.
Lisa turned and glared at her younger sister, her green eyes flashing with anger. "What do you want?" she demanded.
"I want to talk to you, replied Mariel. "You're obviously upset, and I was just wondering if you wanted to talk about it."
"Not really," said Lisa. "We both know I suck as a sister."
Mariel was taken aback. "What are you talking about?" she asked. "You're a great sister."
"No, I'm not," contradicted Lisa. "I wasn't watching Kaylee and Kaia like I should have. If I hadn't been talking to Nikki, Kaia would be here."
"Not necessarily," said Mariel. "It could have happened even if you had watching them. The cat could've still come along, and Kaia still would've chased after it. You probably wouldn't have been able to catch her because of how fast she is."
Lisa wanted to roll her eyes. Trust Mariel to come up with some logical comeback. "What's your point?" she inquired.
"My point is that you shouldn't blame yourself for what happened," answered Mariel. "There's nothing more we can do. All we can do is just wait for the police to come up with a lead." She could tell that Lisa wasn't going to stop blaming herself. "If you need to talk, I'm here," she said as she opened the door and left.
Leonardo looked up as Mariel came back into the living room. "So, how did it go?" he asked her.
"Not good," replied Mariel. "I don't think I got through to her."
"Do not be discouraged, my daughter," reassured Splinter. "You tried to talk to her, which is a good thing. I will talk to both Lisa and Kaylee tomorrow. Maybe I can get through to them."
"I hope so, Sensei," said Mariel. "I just don't want Lisa to blame herself anymore. Well, I guess I'll go to bed now. Goodnight, everyone."
"Goodnight, Mariel," her brothers and father said. Mikey followed her upstairs, but Splinter and Leo stayed downstairs to watch the news as they did every night.
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Up in his room, Raphael listened to the voices downstairs. He couldn't wait for everyone to go to bed so he could sneak out and go topside. He knew that if he tried it now, the others would see that his bed was empty, which would result in a search for him. Normally, they just let him go out, but Master Splinter had forbidden anyone from leaving the Lair. But what was the sense in lying low? Shouldn't they be searching for Kaia right now? She was probably very frightened and lonely. Raph decided he would go out and see if he could get any information about Kaia's disappearance. You couldn't rely on the cops all the time. Most of the time they would only work on a case for a day or two and then move on to something else.
At long last, Raph heard Splinter turn the television off and head upstairs to check on everyone. Normally, Leo would do this, but since he was injured, Splinter had decided to fill that role. The Turtle in red quickly buried his face in his pillow so Splinter would think he was asleep. He heard his sensei go to Donnie's room to check on him and Mariel then he came to Raph's room. He felt his father's eyes on him, but Splinter didn't say a word. He finally moved on to check on his younger brother and Kaylee. After that, he heard Splinter pass his room again to go downstairs and heard his sensei's bedroom door sliding shut, which meant he had gone to bed for the night.
Now was his chance! He got out of his hammock and landed light on the floor. He checked to see if Destiny had heard him, but she was still asleep. So far, so good. Raph tiptoed to a section of his wall nearest the door. Once there, he took down a poster of one of his favorite rock bands and slid back the secret panel that was cleverly hidden there. He took out a flashlight and headed into the tunnel, closing the panel behind him.
The tunnel was dark, but that's where the flashlight came in handy. He knew that if his brothers found the tunnel, they would think he made it himself. In reality, the tunnel had always been there when Raph had first found out he had a secret passage. It had come in handy many times, and Raph was glad he had it now.
At the end of the tunnel was a vent. Raph knocked it out and made his way into the warehouse, making sure to replace the vent. He exited the warehouse via the boarded up place the girls had gone through, though he had to make the space bigger to accommodate him.
Once outside, Raph looked up at the sky. It was so good to be outside instead of cooped up in the Lair waiting to see what the next day would bring.
Raph leapt from rooftop to rooftop, enjoying the way the wind blew his mask tails. He did flips and cartwheels while still listening for any activity. As he navigated one rooftop for another, he discovered he wasn't the only one who had come to get some fresh air.
"Hey, Angel, what are you doing here?" he asked.
The purple-haired girl turned around with a look of disgust on her face, but it changed to a smile when she saw who was there. "I could ask you the same thing," she replied. "You get in a fight with Leo?"
Raphael laughed. "No, not this time," he said. "I'm just upset 'cause my little sister's missing. She was kidnapped today."
"Sister?" repeated Angel. "I didn't know you had a sister. Did Splinter find her in the sewers, too?"
"Not exactly," Raph replied. "We met them after they were cornered by Purple Dragons. They originally came from Rosewood Orphanage." Then he proceeded to tell Angel the girls' story just as the girls had related it to the Turtles and Splinter.
"Karai wanted to adopt one of them?" gasped Angel. "I'd have run away, too. Mind you, I sort of did when I was gonna be a Purple Dragon. I hated the idea of living with Grandma, and I wanted my parents back. I felt life wasn't fair until I met you guys. I know how those girls feel. Why aren't the other guys with you?"
"Master Splinter wants us to wait for a few days and let the cops handle it. He thinks if we bust her out now, the cops will get suspicious."
"And you're out here to bust her out yourself," guessed Angel.
"Wrong," said Raph. "I'm just out looking for any information about where she may be at Foot Headquarters. I was just going over there when I saw you up here. So, what's the deal?"
"I kinda got into a fight at school," confessed Angel. "This guy kept trying to ask me out, but I kept saying no. Well, he didn't like that and got ready to punch me after I refused him this time. Before he could touch me, I kicked him where he'd remember it forever. Of course, I was the one who got in trouble for that. I've been suspended for three days, and Grandma grounded me for three weeks. I just got sick of being in my room and came out here for some air."
"Well, I guess you've had your fair share of excitement," said Raph. "But, wait, school's over. What are you doing in school over the summer?"
"I failed math and have to take it over in the summer," said Angel. "This way, I won't have to do it in the fall. If I wasn't grounded, I'd ask Donnie for some help."
"You could always e-mail him," suggested Raphael. "Don's good about checking his e-mail."
"Well, I was kinda grounded from the Internet, too," laughed Angel. "Grandma did say that I could use it for research, but she forgets that I'm just taking math. She's getting kinda forgetful lately, and it scares me a little bit. If anything happens to her I guess I'll be sent to an orphanage, too."
"No, you won't," said Raph. "If anything happens you could always live with Ryan or with us. You won't be alone."
Hearing that made Angel feel good. Before she'd met the Turtles, Angel had felt she had nobody to turn to, which was why she'd wanted to join the Purple Dragons. Luckily, the Turtles and Casey had stopped her from making a huge mistake. Now she wanted to help Raph and his brothers find their sister.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" she asked.
"Keep your eyes and ears peeled," replied Raph. "If you see or hear anything suspicious, you call us and let us know."
"I will," promised Angel. "Are you gonna do any searching tonight?"
Raph shook his head. "I thought about scoping things out, but I figure if I do that, Leo will tear me a new one."
Angel laughed. "Yeah, probably," she said. "So, how about if you come to my place to hang out a bit?"
"Sounds good to me," said Raph.
The two of them headed to Angel's house and snuck in through Angel's room. Raph was afraid that Angel's grandma would hear them, but Angel assured him that her grandma was a heavy sleeper.
As they made their way to the kitchen, Raph couldn't help but be amazed at the inside of Angel's house. While it wasn't opulent, it still had the atmosphere of a family home. Up on the wall were photographs of Angel and her brother with their grandmother as well as a few with dark-haired man and woman.
"Those are my parents," Angel said when she saw what Raph was looking at.
"Yeah, I figured that," Raph responded. "Your mom's pretty. You've got her eyes."
Angel blushed at the compliment. The only one who ever said stuff like that was her grandma. She didn't think she was as pretty as her mother had been but had always felt average looking. Still, it was nice that someone else thought she was like her mom.
Raph noticed how uncomfortable she looked about his remark. "Uh, let's go get a drink," he said hoping he hadn't offended her.
"Okay," she agreed and led him to the kitchen. She went to the refrigerator and took out two cans of soda, tossing one to Raph. He caught it easily and popped the tab, taking a long gulp.
"So, after seeing how I live, what do you think?" Angel asked him.
"It's a good place to live," Raph replied. "You're lucky to have a place like this."
"Yeah, I guess," Angel told him. "But sometimes I feel like Grandma and I deserve better. I just wish I could do more for her and that we lived in a better place."
"You know, Destiny told me the same thing," Raph replied. "She said when she was in the orphanage, she often wished she had it better. I really hope that you find what you're looking for. If you keep working hard, you'll get what you want. Get those grades up so you can finish school, understand?"
"Yeah, I do," Angel answered. She was so happy to have four other big brothers who looked out for her. She knew they had her best interests at heart. How could she resent them for that?
Raph finished his pop and stood up. "Look, I gotta go," he said. "I don't want to have to hear Leo lecture me or whatever. I'll see you later, okay?"
"Okay, Raph," said Angel. "I'll let you know if I hear anything about Kaia. Good luck on finding her."
"Thanks, Angel," said Raph. "See you later."
When he arrived back at the Lair, he noticed that Destiny was still asleep. That was a good sign. At least he wouldn't have to answer questions about his whereabouts. He thought about going down to check on Leo but decided it was too late at night. Leo would just question Raph, and he wasn't in the mood for that. Instead, he decided to get as much sleep as he could before he had to wake up for morning practice.
Over the next few days, things remained the same. The police had no leads, even though April told them about Karai. They confronted April and told her that Karai was a good woman with no ties to any illegal activity.
"That's a load of shit," growled Raph. "Karai ain't a good woman at all. She only cares about herself."
"Raphael, watch your language!" Splinter chastised. "I know this is frustrating, but there is not much we can do now."
"Yes, we can," Raph retorted. "We can go in there and help our sister."
"We need a plan first, Raph," Leo pointed out. "Just barging in isn't going to help Kaia. We need to think things through."
Don went to his computer and brought up a schematic for Foot Headquarters he'd saved after their last invasion. "More than likely, there will be heavier security," he said. "Karai's not stupid enough to think we won't be coming for Kaia. She'll find a way to thwart us at any cost."
"So, all we have to do is one-up her, right?" Raph asked.
"Not exactly," Don replied. "We don't really know what she may have planned, so all we can do is be ready for anything. April, you and Mariel should man the computer station and alert us if there are any traps. Raph, Mikey, and I will go in the Battle Shell to rescue Kaia."
"But Karai's gonna have a whole army of Foot Ninjas," protested Mikey. "There's no way the three of us can take them."
"That's where I come in," said a voice. They turned to see Casey Jones with his golf bag and hockey mask in place. "Sorry I'm late," he apologized. "Traffic was a little congested."
"Sweet!" exclaimed Mikey. "Now we can really kick butt."
"Guys, maybe I can come along and be a lookout," suggested Leo. "Then I could warn you if anyone tries to stop you."
"And what happens if the Foot spot you?" asked Casey. "You've got a bad ankle. There's no way you can fight."
"Yes, I can," said Leo. "I can fight them off with my crutches and my good ankle."
Casey smiled. "Yeah, you could do that," he said. "But the Foot could always do this." And before Leo could react, Casey lodged his hockey stick in Leo's right crutch and pulled, causing it to fall. With only one crutch to balance with it was hard for Leo to try to reach for a katana. Raph hurried over to steady him before he fell.
"Casey's got a point, bro," he said. "You're in no condition to fight." He led Leo to the couch and retrieved his other crutch.
"Well, maybe Destiny and I can go," Lisa said.
"Yeah, we can take on the Foot," Destiny added.
"No!" Splinter said firmly. "It is too dangerous, my daughters."
"But, Sensei, we can fight!" Lisa protested. "We've worked really hard. Please let us go."
Splinter shook his head. "I am sorry, but I cannot allow you to put yourselves in danger," he said. "Yes, you have been doing well, but you are not ready to take on an opponent as skilled as the Foot. It is best if you remain here where you will be safe."
Destiny opened her mouth to protest, but Lisa elbowed her in the side and gave her a look of warning. Destiny shot her sister an angry look and stormed up to her and Raph's room. Lisa apologized to Splinter, wished the Turtles and Casey good luck, and headed upstairs to talk to Destiny.
"Okay, I think we're set," Don said. "Let's go rescue Kaia."
"Be safe," Splinter said as he embraced his sons. As he watched them leave, he couldn't help but think about what would happen if they didn't come back. Shaking the thought from his mind, the old rat went into his chambers to see if he could contact Kaia via the astral plane.
Meanwhile, Destiny was looking at the wall and searching for the secret doorway to the passage Raph had used. She was concentrating so hard , she didn't hear Lisa come in.
"What are you doing?" Lisa asked her.
Destiny glared at her. "I'm looking for the secret passage Raph used last night," she replied.
"Why?" Lisa inquired.
"Because I'm gonna go out there and rescue Kaia," Destiny answered. "There's no sense in staying here when we can be out there helping.'
"Master Splinter said we have to stay in the Lair," Lisa told her.
Destiny fixed Lisa with a hard stare. "Listen, Kaia's our sister, too," she said. "We promised each other we'd stick together no matter what. So, do you wanna sit in the Lair and do nothing, or do you wanna go rescue your sister?"
Lisa hesitated. She remembered the promise the five of them had made in the orphanage that they'd stick together no matter what and stand up for one another if any of them were in trouble. But Master Splinter had told them to stay in the Lair, and they would be in trouble if Splinter caught them. She thought about just letting Destiny go alone, but that would be a terrible thing to do.
She sighed. "Okay, I'll come with you," she replied. "But if we get in trouble, it's your fault."
Destiny accepted that, but she had a feeling they wouldn't get in trouble if they were fast enough. "Aha!" she said happily as she spotted the secret passage.
"Maybe we should go down and get some weapons just in case," Lisa suggested.
"No way," Destiny replied. "If we do that, Leo's bound to ask questions. We know enough to fight without weapons, and we can always improvise if we need to. Now, let's go."
Lisa sighed again and followed her sister into the passage, making sure to shut the door. Then they set off to rescue their sister, hoping they weren't too late.
A/N: And that's the end of another chapter. I don't know when the next one will be up. It'll depend on when I'm in the mood to type it up and post it. I hope you enjoy this chapter. I'm sorry for the long delay and hope that this chapter makes up for it. Feel free to leave a review, and, as always, have a shell-tastic day!