A/N: Hey guys, I'm actually updating on the right day for once! Woo! Oh, and for anyone who was reading my other story, I'm really sorry about not updating in so long, but I genuinely thought I had, so yeah. My bad J
Disclaimer: Still don't own TMNT...
"Yo, Raph!" a boy with black, longish hair waved at Raph as the brunette entered the common room. It was the place students usually went to hang out and relax, and was one of the few rooms without a portrait. Raph walked over to Casey, who was sitting on a green bean bag with an open laptop resting on his legs, and sat in the red bean bag next to him. Raph picked up one of the three books scattered around his friend, and frowned at the cover.
"'Kingsland High 1700-1800'?" Raph read. "What're you doing?"
"Searching the school's history." replied Casey. "Raph, look around. See how many of us there are compared to when we arrived?" Casey and Raph had many lessons together, and were nearly always talking about the weird experiences they'd been having at the school since getting there.
Raph looked around, and sure enough, realised that at least a quarter of the regulars in the common room weren't present. "What if they're, you know...somewhere else, like the library?"
"During lessons too?" countered Casey. "I've found a lot of stuff, Raph, and it's not good." Raph leaned over and read through what Casey had found with knotted eyebrows.
"I'd better show my brothers, they'd want to know." He said, his eyes wide.
"But I've never met them!" protested Casey.
"No time like the present!" said Raph, standing from the bean bag. He collected the three books up from the floor as Casey got to his feet, tucking the closed laptop under his arm. "Leo and Mikey were studying in the computer room, but I'm not sure if they're still there." He said as he led the way to his room.
"Hey, have you seen Mr. Hemsworth around anywhere?" suddenly asked Casey. "I haven't seen him since April and I arrived."
"He was there when we came too." replied Raph. "Come to think about it, I haven't seen him since we got here either. And the only time I see the other teachers is during class. It's like they just disappear!"
"Yeah, creepy."
"Like most things here." muttered Raph. They made the rest of the journey in silence, only crossing paths with the occasional student, but not nearly as many as one would expect walking through the corridors of a school with supposedly enough students and teachers to fill a football pitch.
Raph opened the door to his room and walked in, surprised when he saw his three brothers sitting on the floor in the middle of the room. "What're you all doing here?"
"Nothing, really." replied Donnie. "I'm doing homework with Leo."
"I'm just watching." said Mikey, his body language and facial expression clearly showing how bored he was.
"Right, well we've got something to show you guys." said Raph, dropping the books down next to Donnie, making the younger boy jump.
"Wait, who's this?" asked Leo, nodding to Casey.
"A friend. He's been helping me find out what's going on with this place." replied Raph. "Someone else is coming, Casey texted her. She should be here soon."
"Wait, she?" said Donnie suddenly. "A girl's coming?"
"Yeah, but don't worry – she's totally cool!" reassured Casey, but it didn't do much to settle the butterflies in Donnie's stomach. He'd never been good with girls.
As soon as Raph and Casey had finished booting up the laptop, there was a knock at the door, and a girl's voice could be heard from the other side. "Casey?"
"In here April!" Casey called, and the door opened to reveal a pretty ginger girl.
"Hey, I know you!" suddenly exclaimed Mikey, jumping up and pointing at April. "You're that O'Neil girl I met in the library!"
"Oh, hey Michelangelo." She grinned.
Mikey crossed his arms and sat back down. "It's Mikey." He grumbled.
"I got these books from the library where I met Mikey." She said gesturing to the books next to Donnie.
"I knew it wasn't for homework!" said Mikey, appearing to have completely forgotten to be annoyed at April's use of his full name.
"So what have you guys found?" asked Leo, not wanting to stall any longer.
"Well," began Casey. "I looked at whatever I could find online, and apparently there was a huge fire in the school in 1749."
"So?" asked Donnie.
"So, everyone died in that fire. Apparently the head master set it."
"Why would he do that?" asked April.
"I looked at this book, and apparently he was going crazy. His family had recently died in a fire and he just couldn't take all of the stress anymore, so he set the fire to let those in the school know how his family felt." said Casey, holding a brown book with an old looking picture of the school on the cover.
"Why are you telling us this?" asked Leo.
"He thinks the school is haunted by the ghosts of the children and teachers who died that day." said Raph.
"That's stupid – there's no such thing as ghosts!" said Donnie.
"Well, that's the head master. Here and here." Raph pointed to a page in another book, this time a green one, and a website on the laptop screen. There was a picture of a smartly dressed, sour looking man in a top hat.
"Wait..." said Mikey. "I know him!"
"Of course you do Mikey. Clearly you were around in 1749." said Raph sarcastically, and Mikey pouted.
"No, I think I know what he's talking about," said April thoughtfully.
"The library, there's a picture of him in the library!" said Mikey, not wanting April to be the one to tell the other's what he'd remembered.
"That's quite likely, although I don't see why the school would keep it if he was responsible for all of those deaths." said April.
"That's a mystery for another time." said Leo. "It's quite late; we'd better go back to our rooms."
The others nodded begrudgingly and Leo waited until everyone had gone before smiling reassuringly at Mikey, who grinned uneasily back.
The door closed and Mikey let out a shaky breath before turning to his brother.
"What?" asked Raph, looking at Mikey suspiciously.
"N-Nothing. Let's just get this night over with." With that, Mikey climbed into the top bunk and pulled the covers up, effectively ending the conversation.
"Huh?" Raph blinked before shrugging and climbing into his own bed, turning off the light on his way.
Mikey awoke to the sound of screaming. It was deafening and impossible to sleep through. His eyes were as wide as saucers and his heart drummed loudly in his chest as he looked around the room, petrified of what he might find. What Alyssa said must have been true...she wasn't just trying to scare me!
Suddenly, his eyes caught the sight of a dark shape near the door, and he squirmed further into his duvet, terrified. The person grunted and Mikey frowned. I know that voice. "Raph!" he called, sitting up in bed.
Raph visibly jumped and held in a startled yelp as he looked at his baby brother. "Mikey?" he called over the screaming.
"Raph, don't go outside!" Mikey was already clumsily clambering out of bed, a mess of limbs as he rushed over to his brother.
"Why not, someone's clearly in trouble!" said Raph, reaching for the door handle.
"NO!" shouted Mikey, clinging to his brother's arm and pulling him away from the door. "I won't let you!"
"Mikey!" said Raph angrily. "Let me go, someone needs help!"
"But Alyssa said –"
"I don't care what your girlfriend said, I'm going out there!"
Mikey didn't even bother to correct him as he focused all his strength on keeping Raph in the room. Raph growled and grabbed both of Mikey's arms in one hand, forcefully yanking his brother off him. He shoved Mikey away and opened the door. Immediately the screaming stopped.
"Raph, don't!" Raph paid Mikey no attention as he left the room, the door slamming closed behind him. Mikey ran to the door, skilfully dodging the mess on the carpet and pulled it open, stepping into the hallway and looking both ways as his eyes filled with tears. "Raph?" he called, but there was no answer. "Raph, you'd better not be joking, it isn't funny!" Mikey waited for a reply, but he was met by silence. He allowed a tear to slide down his freckled face as he stood in the doorway, at a loss of what to do.
"Mikey?" Mikey gasped, not having even noticed the door opposite him open. Leo stood there tiredly, rubbing his eyes.
"Leo!" Mikey cried, running to his brother and wrapping his arms round him. Leo gasped in surprise; his younger brother rarely showed this kind of emotion towards him – or anyone, for that matter – always being the happy, optimistic one.
"What's up, Mikey? Is it Alyssa's story?" Leo asked as he wrapped his arms around his little brother.
"N-Not a story, it's real!"
"What?"
Mikey turned his watery gaze up so he was making eye contact with his brother, his chin resting on Leo's chest. "Raph, he-he's gone. I tr-tried to stop him, b-but he just went, and then...then" Mikey broke down in sobs for his missing brother, not being able to finish the sentence and knowing that if had just tried a little harder, Raph would still be here.
"Hey, hey." Leo consoled, rubbing Mikey's back. "Sleep in here tonight and we'll look for Raph in the morning, okay? He's probably just playing tricks on you."
Mikey nodded and let his brother lead him into the room. Leo guided Mikey to his bed and laid his brother down, tucking him in before grabbing some spare blankets which were neatly folded in the corner and laying them on the floor, making himself a makeshift bed. He wasn't sure what was going on, but they were going to get to the bottom of it.
Raph groaned and opened his eyes. He sat up and held his head, before looking around in astonishment. "What on earth..." he was in some sort of a cave, with candles attached to the walls illuminating the room with an eerie glow, making the shadows jump around as if they were alive.
"You're awake!" suddenly said a voice, and Raph turned to see the missing students, all huddled together sitting on the floor in a effort to keep warm.
"Caitlin, guys?" he asked. "Am I still asleep?"
"No, this is real," replied Caitlin, hugging her knees.
"Where are we?" he asked.
"We don't know. The last thing we remember is hearing this screaming in the corridor, and going to investigate. And then? Nothing."
"That's the same with me...Mikey!" Raph groaned again. "He was right! Why didn't I listen to him?!"
"Is that your brother?" asked a younger boy. "I think he's in my English class. The teacher didn't like him much."
"Yeah," replied Raph. "That's Mikey. Somehow he knew what was gonna happen, and tried to stop me. I just pushed him away and here I am."
Raph pulled his legs up to his chest and rested his chin on his knees. Sorry Mikey.