DISCLAIMER: It took a while to get chapter 6 written. I hope that it will segue quickly into chapter 7, 8, 9, and however many more chapters this story has in it. However - WOOT! Butterfly won for Best Drama for the 2004 Fan Fiction Competition! Well, gee, I'm greatly overwhelmed; I really am, despite my enthusiasm. Thankies to those who nominated it and to all who voted. I think the selection of stories that competed against each other were awesome and I wish we had all tied, I really do:0) Either way and regardless of awards, I still don't own the TMNT's, other than this story, and can only claim the inspiration that wrote it.
As of March 8, 2005, this chapter has been revised
Chapter 6 – Boo!
Three dark figures gracefully leaped high across the alley. Landing silently on the other side, they raced across the roof of the brownstone with the precision of an assault team. Finding the access door still unlocked, the trio of shadows quickly stole themselves inside and down into the apartment building.
No one saw them enter.
No one heard them when they compromised apartment Five-o-Two.
They knew from their first visit that the hallway for the fifth level was identical to the fourth floor. Consequently, the turtles determined that the room arrangement for the apartments would be the same for each floor as well.
At least, that's what they had hoped.
Once they made entry into the empty rental unit, they quickly determined the proximity of all the rooms.
Upon inspection, they had happily discovered that the bathroom lay between the bedroom and the kitchen. It allowed a decent five feet of walled space between their target room and the one they believed the girl to be sleeping in.
"Well, if we enter through her kitchen, the bathroom should do well as a buffer." Don said, with his voice a bare whisper.
Nodding his head, Raph said with equal volume, "That is, if she's in bed." He looked around the empty living room, taking in every detail and ascertaining what escape routes would be to their advantage. "Othah than her front door and the rear windahs, if she does discover us, we're gonna have ta move fast!"
Mike shrugged, "Well, all's not lost, bros," and pulled out an item from his small equipment bag. Grinning, he remarked as he held the item up for them to see, "In case she wakes or is already awake."
"Good think'n, Mikey!" Raph smirked and then looked at the floor, as if trying to see through the wood to the apartment below them. "I can feel that she's asleep." He looked at his brothers to see if they sensed the same thing. Don nodded and Mike shrugged a bit before giving the same gesture.
"Then, let's do it!" Raph hissed.
With that, the three brothers made haste out the front door of Five-o-Two, taking care to lock it, and then swiftly climbed back up the stairs to the roof again.
Theirs was a simple plan. Where the woman had their brother's katana, they would compromise the kitchen window of the apartment below and then slip inside. If Leo was there, they would take him, too. Raph was quite confident of success. After all, it was a basic, almost elementary plan of infiltration and retrieval.
Even so, there was always that margin of error they occasionally ran into.
At least they had Mikey's tranquilizer darts, just in case things went awry.
It took twenty minutes before Raphael finally succeeded in opening the window, though. It had taken less than thirty seconds for him to work his way down the back of the brownstone to get into position, only to discover that the window was stuck tight. Using his sai, he had to work for almost twenty minutes before the swollen wood eased away from the casing. During that time, not a sound did he or the window make.
He'd had enough of creaky floors and stairs. No way in shell was he going to let something like a window un-do him.
Just the same, the job was taking longer than expected. Despite the chill in the air, beads of sweat already lined the top of his brow, his mask sopping up the moisture as he toiled. He was currently grumbling to himself about arrogant brothers and worrisome fathers, hoping, with all his might, that their retrieval of Leo's sword would yield his sibling, as well.
His remaining two brothers waited along the top of the roof, watching him as he worked.
"Have to admire him, bro!" Mike whispered to Donnie, "hanging onto the sill for that long!" He watched as Raphael gripped the window edging with his climbing claws, "Thought for sure he'd call for back-up by now."
Donnie smiled and said, "Not Raph. You know he'd never quit, not when he has an audience. The amazing part, though, is that the window is still intact! I half expected him to just bust through it when it refused to open the first time!"
Mike nodded in agreement and then the two continued watching their brother, who toiled two windows below them.
With his feet braced against the brick wall, Raphael silently pushed up the lower section of the double-hung window. He was still impatient and would be quick to defend that part of who he was. However, he was also keenly aware of his clan's precarious existence. The last thing he would want was for the woman to scream out, thereby creating a building-wide panic about 'green monsters'. He knew that some brownstone communities incorporated the Neighborhood Watch program, all manifested by the rise in crime of recent years. Since he didn't know how quick her fellow tenants would react if she did yell out for help, Raph was taking extra precautions to work as silently as possible.
Quickly hooking an arm to the inside of the window, Raph looked back up, jerking his head towards the opening and showing his brothers that the way was now clear.
"Too bad this unit didn't come with fire escapes." Don remarked, "If we have to leave in a hurry, it's going to be tough."
"That's why we brought the darts, oh brother of mine!" Mike smiled as he patted his side pouch.
"Well, we better get scaling. Raph won't be happy if we take too long." Don cautioned as he swung a leg over the side of the building.
Quickly, he and Mike eased over the ledge of the apartment roof. Using their climbing claws, they efficiently worked themselves down the roughened brick wall. A cool breeze caressed them as they made their way, the chill of winter-past still evident on its breath.
Mike shivered a bit, remarking, "Hope this doesn't get complicated."
Don glanced up at the darkened sky, noting the heavy cloud-cover that now obscured the stars and quarter moon, "Yeah, I think we might be in for some rain tonight. But it wouldn't be good to be out in it, that's for sure."
Soon, they reached the newly opened window, with Don leading the way inside. Mike hung back as lookout. Once his brother had slipped into the apartment successfully, Mike did likewise, leaving the window open.
When his two brothers had joined him in the darkened kitchen, Raphael quickly, yet quietly, eased over to the breakfast bar. He was careful, though, remembering hours earlier how warped the floor was in the hallway. Considering its age, it was a given that there might be more of them in the apartment. As he felt a sudden rise in the wood under his right foot, he hesitated with his step. Toeing it and testing its integrity, he narrowed his expression. Cautiously and slowly, he stepped over that point in the floor and then tested the area just beyond it. As Raph gently applied his weight, he did so with trepidation. When the wood did not sound out a complaint, he breathed a sigh of relief. He then looked back at his siblings and pointed downwards, indicating to them that they should avoid that particular spot in the floor.
Without a word, Don and Mike joined up with their older sibling, avoiding the squeaky floorboard. Now, all three crouched in a squat as they hid behind the breakfast bar. Raph slowly raised his head above the counter to check out the softly lit room beyond. However, just as quickly, he ducked back into the shadow-rich kitchen and down behind the barrier.
"Leo's in there," he mouthed, his eyes wide with surprise, "With her – asleep!"
Wiggling his eye ridges, Mike quirked a grin as he quietly asked, "Together?"
"No, dimwit," Raph grouched softly, glaring at his brother, "She's on the floor, he's on the couch."
"Now what?" Don asked in a bare whisper.
Raph shook his head as if this sudden turn of events was outside his plan of attack. Considering the hour, he had expected the woman to be in her bedroom. As he thought, he worked the inside of his cheek a little. Finally, he whispered low, "We dart her. Then, we take Leo and the sword, and then we get out - no trace!" He turned to Mike, "You have the darts ready?" In answer, his brother procured one from his side pouch. "Good. Make sure you get her before she wakes!"
Mike nodded and, while still in a squat position, eased over in front of Raph. Then, as he stood to walk nimbly around the end of the breakfast bar, readying the dart as he did, Mike made himself completely visible to anyone in the living room.
Fortunately, the girl, along with his brother, was still asleep.
However, just as unfortunately and as Mike stepped into full view, the floor beneath his left foot resounded with a loud and nerve-wracking creak.
Mike's eyes went wide. He snapped his head around, for the moment looking away from the girl on the couch and over to where his brothers were hiding. He heard Raph exclaim a muffled "Damn".
However, the next event nearly stopped Mike's heart. As the orange-masked turtle whipped his head back towards the living room, he quickly saw that the woman was already awake. She was staring at him now, her own eyes just as wide and alarmed as his. Now, it seemed as if everything was moving in slow motion, but in reality, things were developing all too fast for the poor turtle.
The moment the girl realized what he was, she quickly stood up.
Then, startling him even more, she reached down and picked up Leo's katana. As she attempted to lift the weapon, she tried to scream – only, nothing would come out. She just stood there, with a partially raised sword and her mouth working around words that Mike could not hear or discern.
The turtle quickly tried to hide his dart, pulling his arm around behind him. He grinned at her a bit, but then he saw her look towards the kitchen.
In that moment, he knew that Raph had decided on a more direct approach to their problem.
He, along with Don, stood up and now they were as visible as Mike was.
However, in the next moment, the girl's face suddenly paled. She seemed to wobble just a bit. Then, her eyes rolled up and back into her head as her balance became more unsteady.
Mike knew right then, that the girl was going to pass out.
Moments before, Beth had felt the temperature change in the room. It invaded her dream like a breath of cool mountain air. She could not remember exactly what it was that she was dreaming about at the time. Yet, she seemed to enjoy the change, allowing it, unconcerned, into her subconscious state.
However, the next sensory-trigger alerted her to danger. Maybe she was dreaming about what happened earlier at her front door. Maybe she had been dreaming about him. She really could not tell, because, whatever it was, didn't really matter anymore.
Because, the moment she heard a creak, the moment she recognized, in her sleeping state, where it had come from, she became fully awake.
The instant her eyes opened, she saw him. It wasn't the creature from her sofa, because she could tell he was still there on the couch. However, with exception to the mask – which was orange - this one standing across the way looked just like the one asleep next to her. What was worse, he was just inside the living room and by the breakfast bar.
Initially, the turtle had looked away from her, seeming to making eye contact with something else, something that was currently in her kitchen.
"Are there more like him in there?" Beth asked herself as she began to feel a rising panic in her chest.
Then, the creature turned back around, somewhat surprised to see that she was staring at him.
Before she knew what she was doing, however, Beth scrambled to a stand. She was unsure exactly what this new creature was going to do, but she knew that she might be in trouble. Quickly reaching down and picking the sword up from the floor, she tried to hold it outwards in defense. Considering she probably had a member of his family in her possession, it was clear that this new turtle had somehow broken into her apartment in order to retrieve the one on the sofa.
What he was planning on doing after that, she didn't know, and she didn't want to find out either.
Just the same, she tried to scream, simply out of reflex, but she found her voice strangled back by her panic. Her fear was now working its way around her throat, like a vice, and had efficiently made her mute. She felt that if her throat constricted any tighter, it would cut off her oxygen supply, as well.
As Beth looked at the creature, she noticed what he held in his hand - and her heart nearly stopped. She suddenly realized that he had been preparing to inject her with something. However, he quickly pulled his hand behind him to hide the needle-like object, almost grinning at her, as if he was caught doing something wrong.
For just a moment, Beth thought his behavior quite odd, if not amusing.
Out of desperation, she begged with silent pleas, her lips moving but not a sound coming forth, "D-don't hurt me, I t-tried to help - him, honest I did."
Beth was hoping that the one in orange had a similar amount of intelligence as the one in blue, who lay unconscious on her couch. She hoped he would figure out what she was trying to say. Unfortunately, it seemed as if he was just as confused as she was frightened.
Illuminated by the small lamp on the table across from her, she could easily see what he looked like. He appeared very much like the one on her couch, only a bit shorter and wearing a different colored mask. In fact, the orange mask only confirmed one thing for her.
"Definitely determines who they are!" she thought frantically.
Then, she wondered how he had managed to get into her apartment in the first place, when she had three deadbolts in her door to prevent such uninvited entries.
That was when she felt a cooling breeze caress her face.
Looking towards the kitchen again, she saw her window – and it was wide open. How he was able to get to her window, much less open it amazed her.
It also terrified her.
Suddenly, as if having two reptilian creatures in her apartment was not enough, two more stood up from behind the breakfast bar. Both were taller than Mr. Orange was, and they – too – wore different colored masks, purple and red in fact.
That was when Beth decided she had had enough. All blood drained from her face as she felt that familiar buzzing sound in her head, before finally passing out in a heap.
Unfortunately, for her, when she fell, she fell against the hilt of the sword. As the tip of the blade caught into groove in the floor, it forced the sharper edge of the hilt into her side, piercing her skin.
In that moment, the resulting flow of blood changed all of Raphael's plans.
Seeing her fall and, now, injured, Mikey rushed to Beth's aid. As he did, Donatello quickly went around the breakfast bar and over to Leo, to assess his injuries as well.
While they tended to their brother and the girl, Raph could only grump to himself. He, then, muttered between clenched teeth and for the second time that evening, "Damn!"
COMMENTS: Well, there were so many that wrote in and left their two-cents worth, that I am forced to list only their names. So, before I do, I want to thank those who were kind enough to point out aspects of certain character traits that they felt I overlooked. Yet, I want to say, since it hasn't been stated yet, that in this particular story, the TMNT's are older. They're not the impetuous teens the cartoons depict them as. Therefore, they've grown up a bit. I've always enjoyed wondering what they'd be like in that way.
So, I kindly ask for patience and to allow them some room to mature and to be better than they were. Isn't that what we all hope for ourselves?
With that said and in no particular order, I want to thank all those who left reviews – READERRR GRRRL; PACPHYS; RAMICA; KATANA-BABE; GEAKR; CHIBII C.A.S.; MIDNIGHT HEIR; FAERIE-KITTIE306 ANIMELOVER; CHIBIROSEANGEL; DRAGON SHADOWS; BETH HART; NEMESISMUSE; HAZLOV2004; PRETENDER FANATIC; MICKIS; KUROI NEKO-KUN; MYSTIC MEWTWO; CURIOUS FAN; LUNAR-NINJA!
Wow, that's 19 reviews. Picks self off of floor after falling out of chair I'm blown away. The upside about that is, I'm encouraged to continue this story. The downside is, it might be trash from here on out – or not. Yet, that's always my greatest concern, writing well enough to please the masses. So, I hope this chapter does the job. If not, there's always chapter 7 which can make up for it:0) Oh, and I'm not fishing for compliments, either. I want honest appraisals, I really do.
Anyway, thanks for reading and reviewing. May y'all be blessed.