Chapter 6 – Tested

(Antonio's POV)

I stared at the man on the roof, ninjas lined up beside him. He was covered in sharp, glinting armor. Blades were all over him and the only skin that showed was a tiny portion of his face. He stared at us; eyes narrowed which sent shivers to my spine. So this was Shredder. Now I wished I had stayed at the lair.

"Yes turtle; it is I, the Shredder. Hand over the children." He spoke in such a low and steady voice that I wondered briefly how vicious this guy really was. I had heard from Master Splinter how far he will go to get what he wants and I didn't really want to see him go that far.

"Never." Leo stated and I held myself from letting out a sigh of relief. I was still mad at him, but I was afraid Leo would let Shredder have me and Katrina. Katrina… she was laying helpless on the floor, so was Mikey. She didn't look good and her skin kept getting paler.

"Very well. Footbots!" the ninjas known as Footbots raised their bows and aimed at Leo. Leo's eyes narrowed and they fired.

My eyes widened as Leo dodged and slashed all the arrows, protecting himself. Fishface ran at him while his back was turned and he knocked him down.

Leo hit the ground hard and Fishface went to step on the leader. He rolled away just in time and stood once more, eyes now completely white. Fishface screeched and attacked.

The fight went on, one hit after another and I could see that Leo was clearly getting tired. Rahzar suddenly gagged me and I tried to yell for help but nothing worked. I saw a Footbot jump down and pick up Katrina's limp body. By now the Purple Dragons had left and all that was left was the Foot and Leo. Mikey showed no sound of waking, mumbling nonsense in his sleep.

Rahzar jumped up and grabbed the fire escape, I held in one bony arm while I struggled. Then it hit me. I was being kidnapped by the dangerous Foot Clan.

I saw Fishface kick Leo away and jumped after Rahzar and the Footbot.

"No!" Leo yelled as he stood again. Then Rahzar and the Foot were running away, with me and Katrina in tow.

(Raph's POV)

"Ya!" I threw a punch at the practice dummy in the main room. I smirked as it flew off the hook to the floor.

As I set it back up and started punching it again, my mind wandered to the two humans that had been living with us. Katrina and Antonio. They were cool. They were nice enough and I didn't exactly have a problem with them. Katrina sometimes watched me train and as I glanced at her, her eyes were always sparkling with awe and amazement. It made me feel good. Someone actually appreciated me. We talked and hung out; she was like another Casey, but girl version. Ant was a bit nerdy though he cracked a few jokes and had many sarcastic remarks like Kat. He mostly spoke to Donnie about science and other nerdy stuff, though sometimes he watched us train. Donnie had told us earlier that Antonio was almost healed and that they could go home soon. I didn't mind. It meant we had the lair back to ourselves. Whether they came to visit us or not was their decision, but I found myself hoping they did.

I aimed to punch the dummy again but was interrupted by a loud yell, "Donnie!" I looked up and held the dummy until it stopped swinging.

"Leo?"

I saw Leo come running in with Mikey in his arms and my eyes widened. I suddenly remembered. Mikey on the floor unconscious before me. Donnie fighting Snakeweed in the background.

I shook my head. Now was not the time for old memories and fears, "What happened?" I demanded.

I didn't get an answer and Leo ran into Don's lab. I quickly followed.

As I poked my head in I saw Mikey on the lab table while Donnie was running this way and that, getting stuff he'd need. From where I stood, I could tell Mikey had a few scratches and Donnie quickly disinfected them and places bandages on them.

It was then I noticed. All my brothers were here. And Master Splinter was in the dojo meditating. So…

"Where's Ant and Kat?" I asked.

Leo looked up at me and his mouthed formed words I didn't expect to hear, "Shredder has them."

(Katrina's POV)

Silence filled my senses. I was cold, underneath me felt so cold, almost damp. It was rock. My head was pounding and my arm was screaming in pain, yet I did not make a sound. I tried to make my mouth move, form words, but it was in vain. My lips would simply not cooperate with me.

I lay there feeling helpless. Anything could just pluck me from the ground like a flower and do whatever they pleased with me. Helplessness. It was one of the things I feared the most. Not being able to do anything, to save me or my friends. I couldn't even pry my eyes open to check my surroundings. I had no memory of any recent events and the thought that I was hurt and all alone scared me.

Then I heard it. It sounded distant and muffled, as if I was hearing it from underwater. I felt myself falling and I could not answer the calls. My breathing slowed and I sunk into the welcoming blackness once more.

When I woke up again I was more aware of everything. I could hear the skittering of tiny footprints and tiny squeaks and I could smell something, though I couldn't quite identify it. My head ached less but my arm still hurt tremendously. I could no longer stand this feeling of the unknown so I forced my eyes to open and I groaned softly from the effort.

Before me was solid rock. Dark gray bricks that shone a sparkling blue in the moonlight coming from a nearby window. I propped myself onto my knees and peered around. I could tell from my first glance around the tiny room that I was in a cell. The window, from which the moonlight was coming from, had bars in front of it. To my right was a giant cell door and as I looked out I saw many more empty cells.

It suddenly all came rushing back to me. Going out to defeat the Purple Dragons and getting beaten by Rahzar. I winced as I remembered the hit he gave me, knocking me out. What had happened after that? Did anyone know where I was? What would I do if they didn't know? There was no way I could escape!

My eyes widened as something caught my eye. A small heap in the cell across from me. The moonlight did not reach there and I couldn't make out what it was.

I opened my mouth and called, "Hello?" I cringed at the sound of my own voice as it echoed back to me. It sounded as rough as sandpaper, as if I hadn't used it in months. It was filled with pain and a hint of fear. I knew I was in the clutches of the Shredder. The only feared enemy of the turtles.

The figure's head shot up and I flinched.

It spoke, "Katrina?" I gasped. I recognized that voice.

"Antonio!" I yelped.

Ant jumped to his feet and ran to the bars of his cell, "Thank god, you're ok! I thought you might not make it!"

"H-how long was I out?" I chocked out. I was afraid to know the answer. How many days Antonio said would determine my knowledge of whether or not the turtles knew where we were.

"About two days." My eyes widened. Wouldn't the turtles have saved us by now?

"What happened? After I was out." I bit my lip.

"Well Leo came barging into my room and put a Katana to my neck thinking me and you were a threat." He rolled his eyes, "Then he went after you and I followed. Mikey was already there and down for the count. I jumped down and faced them though it didn't take 'em long to pin me. Leo jumped in and that's when things got crazy. Shredder himself appeared and started shootin' arrows at Leo and all hell broke loose. In the end they kidnapped us and we've been here ever since. This fly dude named Dexter Spackman or something patched you up by order of Shredder. I think they've been waiting for you to wake up." When Antonio finished, I struggled to get a grip on what he said. Leo thought we were a threat? Then… if he thought we were a threat, why would he come save us? Oh god, we were doomed.

I opened my mouth to say something when a door busted open and I heard the sound of robotic whirring. 'Fishface.'

"Ah, I see the girl has finally woken up. Master Shredder will be pleased." He said slyly and walked out again.

I struggled to my feet and nearly fell over from the sudden wave of dizziness, but I stood my ground.

"What do you think Shredder wants with us?" I whimpered.

Antonio didn't reply.

It wasn't long before in came Mr. Spiky Pants himself. It was my first time seeing him and I wasn't disappointed. Blades covered his entire body and the glare he sent me was enough to give me nightmares for a week.

He nodded his head once and Rahzar and Fishface went to our cages. Rahzar unlocked my cage and stepped in.

I took a step back, "Take one more step bone face and I'll give you a broken arm." I growled. He paid no attention and just grabbed my other arm and dragged me out. I struggled but soon realized it was no use and I was just causing myself pain so I stopped and let him take me. We were dragged to a giant room with a huge black thrown at the end of the stone walkway. On either side was some sort of fishtank and the shimmering glare of light on water danced across the ceiling.

We were suddenly forced to our knees and forced to bend over. I heard the clanking of metal against metal that soon came to a halt in front of us. I was terrified. We were completely vulnerable.

"Well done Bradford and Xever. You have successfully retrieved them. Though, I wanted them both unharmed." I couldn't see what was going on but I heard the clear annoyance in his voice and I heard shuffling behind me.

"If I might ask. Eh. What did you want these to humans for?" I heard Xever ask. So he didn't know either?

"I have been searching for these two for years. They are my children."