AN: I don't own TMNT or any of their characters such as Michaelangelo, Donatello, Raphael, Leonardo, Splinter, Shredder or the Foot Clan. I do however, own Aislinn, Kimberly, Jessica, Ana, Kojr, Sharon, Yasahiro, and the storyline. Merode belongs to Melody S., an ex-friend of mine.
I've learned a few Japanese phrases through reading and such, and you'll find them scattered throughout the story, mostly insults.
PLEASE R&R!! I like to know what people think and, while this story is complete, I need motivation to drag my ass into to post since I'm going to school full-time and working part-time. I'm hoping things will pick up on my postings, however, as soon as I can get my Internet re-connected. Until then, however, my postings are most likely going to have to wait until the weekends while I'm at work.
Chapter 5
Aislinn's eyes opened, but she squeezed them shut again to seal out the light. She groaned from the pain in her head.
"Well, its about time," said a familiar female voice. She felt a hand lift her head and an ice pack was placed under her head.
Aislinn winced then attempted to open her eyes "Sharon?" she asked.
"No, Santa Clause. Of course its me, girl!" the woman exclaimed. Sharon was in her early twenties and had long black hair which she kept down. She showed her nice figure off by wearing short-shorts and spaghetti-strap tank tops that revealed a belly button ring. A butterfly tattoo peeked out from the waist of her low-riding jean shorts. Another tattoo—the purple dragon—wrapped around her upper arm. "How are you feeling?"
"Like someone hit me with a sledge hammer."
"Close, but no cigar. Your skateboard. And it gave you quite a bump."
"Yeah, I can feel it touchin' the backs of me eyes."
Sharon grinned. "I suppose so. But I checked your pupils like you taught me and I don't think you've got a concussion."
Aislinn nodded and looked at her surroundings. She sighed. She should've known. She was in her old room at Shredder's hideout.
"Where's Mikey?" Aislinn asked, concerned for the turtle.
"Who?"
"Mikey. The turtle."
Sharon looked at her with a cocked eyebrow. "Maybe they hit your head harder than I thought."
"Never mind," Aislinn said. Obviously they had left him behind. The question now was if he was alive.
"Master Shredder wishes to see you as soon as you're able," Sharon said.
"I ain't able," Aislinn said, sitting up. She looked over to her window. It was barred over. Great.
They did that a few days before they brought you here."
"How long have I been out?"
"Bout two days."
Aislinn probed the back of her head, trying to get a picture on how large the bump was.
"You know, Aislinn," Sharon said. "You really shouldn't put off seeing Master Shredder. He gets irritated."
"Shredder can kiss my ass. I don't want anything to do with him."
"But he wants something you have."
"I know. But he ain't gettin' it."
"Why don't you just give it to him? Then he'd leave you alone."
"For two reasons," Aislinn said, still feeling the bump. "First of all, I promised my mom and dad before they died that I'd never give it to him, no matter what. Second, if I gave it to him, he could do anything. Nothing could stop him from taking over the world. I know that sounds a bit cliche, but it's true."
"What is it, anyway?" Sharon asked.
"An archaic pendant that's been in my mother's family for years. Used correctly, one can call the spirits of the ancient warriors. The spirits are indestructible and are at the caller's disposal. It's like having a genie that likes to kill. Only the blood of the maker or her descendent can stop the spirits."
"Who was the maker?"
"Don't know her name. Neither did my parents. Legend says she was a kitsune who left the pendant to her lover to protect him from her master, but that's all that's known. Me and my descendants are supposed to find her or her own descendant and return it to her so she can destroy it."
Sharon considered a moment, then she shook her head with a smile. "You japs and your superstition."
Aislinn smiled back, knowing Sharon wasn't insulting her. She was just ignorant.
"I don't see why you don't just give it to him anyway," Sharon said as Aislinn rose and crossed the room to the barred window. "After all, if its as old as you say it is, how are you even sure it still works?"
Aislinn grabbed the bars and tugged a few times, determining how much forced she would need to break free. Too much, she found. Force she didn't have.
"I don't know," Aislinn said. "But I'm not about to take a chance by giving it to him only to find out it does work. Besides, once he had it, he'd kill me. I'm a thorn in his side. On he'd be too happy to get rid of. And forgive me for saying it, but I'd rather not pass into the afterlife at this point in time."
Aislinn looked out the window. Even if she could get the damn bars loose, it'd be a hell of a jump. Down eighteen plus stories.
There was a sudden knock on her door that made her jump. She went to the door and looked out the small peephole. Yasahiro. With two ninjas.
She turned away from the door and went back to the window, calling over her shoulder, "I ain't awake yet, Yasahiro. Go away."
There was a thud as the bolt was thrown aside and the door opened. Yasahiro and the two ninjas stepped inside. The two wore masks, so Aislinn wasn't sure who they were.
"Do you hate me so much, Miss Aislinn?" Yasahiro asked.
"No, Yasahiro. Just your boss. Whom I don't wanna see right now."
"Again, I'm sorry. But I have orders. Master Shredder wishes to see you."
"If he's so damn urgent to see me, why doesn't he come here?"
"He's the master, Aislinn. His subjects come to him."
"Well, I ain't his subject. If he wants to see me, he can come to me. So until otherwise told, I want you all to leave."
"But Master Shredder—" Sharon started.
"Now, Sharon! All of you! Out of my room!"
Yasahiro and Sharon looked at each other and Yasahiro shrugged, then turned and left. The two ninjas followed. Sharon was the last to leave. Before she closed the door, she said, "If you need anything, Aislinn, just call for us. We've been ordered to give you anything you want."
When Aislinn opened her mouth to say something, Sharon added, "Except your freedom." Then she closed the door and bolted it behind her.
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Aislinn worked at the wood with her spoon doggedly. It had been three days since she had banished the others from her room.
That first day she had slipped her spoon underneath the mattress after her mealtime. She had preferred a fork, or better, a knife, but as of yet she hadn't been served food that required those utensils.
So she had begun to dig a hole around a bar in the window. She hoped she could eventually work the bar loose, but that goal seemed for off. Already her spoon resembled a square with a handle.
She switched hands and continued toiling at the hole. Her fingers hurt as did her wrists. She had splinters under her fingernails and in her palms. She was tired, too. She had worked at her task day and night for three days, stopping only to hide the spoon when her meals came.
There was a knock on her door. Aislinn rushed over to the bed, shoving the spoon under the mattress. She grabbed a book she had been given in case whoever it was tried to come in.
"Go away," she said.
"Master Shredder—" started Yasahiro from the other side.
"Can screw himself. Go away, Yasahiro."
Aislinn pretended to be engrossed in her book as the door opened. "Yasahiro," she said impatiently. "I said..." her sentence trailed away as she looked up. Her eyes widened. "You!"
"Me, indeed," said Oroku Saki.
She glared at him. "What do you want?" she spat venomously.
"You know what I want, dear sweet niece of mine." He waved his hand and Yasahiro bowed respectively before backing out of the room and bolting the door behind him. "I see you've been busy," the Shredder said, looking to her window.
Aislinn gritted her teeth and chose not to answer him.
He looked at her, studying her. Then he said, "If you'd give me the amulet, I would let you free."
"By killing me, right?"
He shrugged. "You'd be free."
"You seem to be forgetting part of the amulet's legend, uncle," she said the title with a disgusted sneer. "My mother's ancestors and her descendents are the keepers of the amulet until—"
"Until it is returned to the kitsune," Oroku finished. "Yes, I know. And I do not care. Tell me where the amulet is!"
"Never." When he stepped forward, hate in his eyes and another shout of rage on his lips, she added, "I'm not finished! The legend states that if the keeper is killed before the amulet is returned or before her daughter can take her place, she will come back to life when the spirits are called. She will be just as indestructible, but she will not be under the power of the caller. So you see, dear sweet uncle of mine, even if by some miracle you get your hands on the amulet, you can't get rid of me."
"You lie," said Saki, outraged.
"Very rarely. The amulet has been in my family for centuries, Oroku. Would like to test my word? I can guarantee you that I'll haunt you for the rest of your days. However short they will be."
The Shredder studied her again, barely keeping rein on his anger. No, he wouldn't like to be proven wrong. "Where is the amulet?" he growled.
Aislinn smiled victoriously and made the childish movement of zipping her lips closed, locking them and throwing away the key.
Roaring in frustration, he backhanded her. She cried out, falling to the floor, as the metal claws on his gloves raked across her cheek.
She held a hand to the gashes as Oroku grabbed her by her hair and forced her to kneel. He shook her and Aislinn cried out. "Where's the amulet!?!" he shouted at her.
Gathering her courage, she spit at him. "Hidden where you'll never find it, son of a bitch!"
He slapped her again, this time with an open palm across her other cheek. He then stood over her and placed the metal claws to her throat. "You'll tell me where the amulet is, or—"
"Or what, uncle?" She sat up partly, the claws pressing dangerously close to her jugular. "Or you'll kill me? Go ahead, I dare you! Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to haunt and torture you until your dying days."
Bellowing in rage, he picked her up by the throat and slammed her against the wall.
She grunted in pain as he pressed in close. "There are other ways of making you talk, insolent brat." He smiled evilly, his claws at her chin.
She glared at him defiantly. "Do what you wish, asshole. You'll never find the amulet."
"Oh, really? Then you wouldn't mind if I stopped by the turtle's lair to re-acquaint with your friends? What was the youngest named? Ah, yes. Kimberly. Little mute Kimi. I wonder if she thinks of her parents often?"
Aislinn's eyes had long since widened at the threat of her friends. She swallowed. "You don't know where they are."
"Oh, I don't do I? Would you like to test my word, my dear sweet niece?"
When Aislinn hesitated, Shredder called over his shoulder, "Yasahiro."
The door unlocked and opened then Yasahiro stepped in. "Yes, Lord Shredder?"
"Prepare you men for a visit to the turtle's lair."
Yasahiro bowed respectively. "Yes, Master Shredder." He turned to leave.
"Wait!" cried Aislinn.
This time Saki smiled victoriously.
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They made a deal. In exchange for her friends' protection, Aislinn would give him the amulet. It was hidden across-seas—where, Aislinn hadn't told—and it would be shipped to America within the week. Now to warn her friends of its arrival.
Sharon brought a cell phone to Aislinn and she dialed the lair's number as Sharon cleaned the angry gashes on Aislinn's cheek.
Raphael answered the phone on the second ring. "Yeah, what d'ya want?"
"Raph? It's Aislinn. Is—"
"Aislinn!?! Guys, it's Aislinn!" he shouted away from the phone. "Where the hell are you?" Raph asked.
Aislinn started to answer, but a scuffling sound cut her off and Merode snatched the phone from Raph. "Aislinn!" her friend shouted into the receiver. "Where are you!?!"
"I can't tell you where or you'll come after me."
"Well, duh. Why—?"
"Because I don't want to put you all in danger. And because I need you to do two things for me."
"I ain't doin' shit until you tell me where you are."
Aislinn watched Sharon pull a needle and thread from her first aid. "Shred-head's got me and he wants the amulet." She shook her head at Sharon.
Sharon shrugged and drew two lines down her own cheek and gestured, explaining that the two gashes had to be stitched.
'Not now.' Aislinn mouthed. Sharon shrugged.
"Shit," said Merode. "D'ya know where ya are?"
"No," Aislinn lied. "I was unconscious when they brought me in." At least that part was true.
"We'll find ya, Aislinn. Don't worry—"
"No, Merode. I don't want you to find me. Its too dangerous." She stood up as Sharon sat next to her, needle ready. Sharon grabbed her by the shoulder and forced her to sit back down on the chair.
"What was that?" Merode asked when she heard Aislinn plop down into the chair.
"Nuthin'," Aislinn grumbled, giving in and sitting still. "Listen, the amulet will arrive in the mail by Friday. It's addressed to Ana's old place. Her mom moved out after she died so you should have no problem getting it. Once you do have it, I want you to bring it to our old place. I'll meet you there." She added quickly, "And only one of you come because I'll most likely be escorted by twenty or so Foot Soldiers and I don't want them getting any ideas that its an ambush."
Sharon finished stitching the smaller of the two severe gashes and cut the thread.
"You're askin' the impossible from me, kid," Merode said.
"I know, but ya gotta do what I say, Merode. I don't want anyone gettin' hurt."
"So in exchanged for the amulet, you get to come home, right?"
"Somethin' like that." Aislinn then hissed in pain as Sharon began closing the largest gash. Damn! That hurt like hell!
"What's wrong?" Merode asked.
"Nuthin'," she repeated through gritted teeth. "Stubbed my toe. How's Mikey?" she asked, changing the subject.
"What d'ya mean? We thought he was with you."
Aislinn felt her heart plummet. Oh, no. "I haven't seen him since I arrived. I figured they left him behind."
"No way. He's gotta be there. Shredder wouldn't let one of his archenemies slip through his fingers."
Aislinn looked at Sharon. Sharon shrugged and turned Aislinn's head back to its original position so she could finish stitching.
"Shit," Aislinn seethed. "Merode, I gotta go."
"But—"
"I need you to do something else for me. I need you to relocate. Don't tell me where, this phone is probably tapped. Just get far away from the lair. I've got a pretty good hunch Shred-head knows where you are."
"Aislinn—"
"Gotta go, Merode. Tell everyone I love them."
Aislinn hung up the phone.
"Yasahiro!" she shouted angrily. "Yasahiro! Get the hell in here!"
It took a few minutes, but finally the door opened and Yasahiro stepped in. He bowed respectively, but not as low as he had to Shredder. "Yes, Miss Aislinn?" he asked as Sharon clipped the thread.
Aislinn stood and walked toward him. "Don't you 'Miss Aislinn' me. Where is he?"
"Who—?"
"Mikey! Where is he?"
"I haven't the slightest—"
"Bullshit, Yasahiro! Don't lie to me. Now where the hell is the turtle?"
"Oh, the turtle. I wasn't aware he had a name. He's been locked up under the orders of Lord Shredder."
"Take me to him."
"Lord Shredder is—"
"Not him. Mikey."
"I'm sorry, Miss Aislinn, but Master Shredder has ordered no one to enter that room. You'd have to take it up with him."
Aislinn gritted her teeth. She detested having to ask the Shredder for anything. Still, she needed to know if Mikey was okay. "Fine. Take me to him."
"He's—"
"I said take me to him, Yasahiro."