A/N: Another chapter up! And more good news, if you don't follow me on Facebook, the rest is also typed up! I'll be going over the other two chapters and posting one a day. Or quicker. I depends on how many reviews I get XD
Theodore
The lights fizzled off in a spray of sparks, spooking the current occupant to her feet. Doctor Elvira Cartwright's gaze darted about the sudden darkness of her personal office, her finger hovering over the emergency button under the lip of her desk. When a minute or so went by with nothing, her body relaxed, suggesting her dismissal of a possible threat. Her naivete didn't last long.
"I wouldn't touch that if I were you."
The intruder's voice spoke low; almost whispery soft, but deadly none the less. Still, she appeared unfazed. With a huff, she pressed the button anyway. "This is my office. You have no right to be in here."
"Well, I warned you." His voice drew closer without the slightest hesitation. "I estimate it takes eleven minutes and thirty-two seconds before security shows up after they're called. Typically, anyway. However, tonight is different. I have all the time I need."
"Who are you?"
"I'm asking the questions here." He moved about the room like he owned the place, a fact he knew irked her. "You have a friend of mine locked up here: a mutant rat. You will tell me where he is. I could locate him on my own, but I'd prefer expediency."
"You have no right breaking in here and demanding anything!"
"On the contrary, I have more of a right then you do." He hissed.
"You can't take him!" She tore off the bandages wrapped around her head, revealing the three gouge marks marring her face, leaving her half-blind. "He's dangerous! He did this to my face and I was only helping him!"
Without warning, his bo staff collided with her back, slamming her forward into her own desk before she slid to the ground. "He did that because you imprisoned him! Right now, I'm the dangerous one. So you better give me a straight answer this time. Where is he?!"
"I can't believe…" Cartwright shifted with a grunt. "…you would hit a defenseless woman, you uncivilized brute!"
"Anyone who works for Bishop deserves no mercy."
"Is that what that pompous, self-righteous worm told you? I quit for a reason! I'd never work for someone like him!" She scoffed as she used her desk to pull herself up. "Now out! I refuse to be insulted any longer!"
Donatello was prepared when she came at him, brandishing a pronged staff. His bo arced to deflect her uncoordinated attack, only to watch her green-tinted face contort in a silent scream. He looked on in confusion as she hit the ground once again. The sight of a little girl holding her palm forward only enhanced the bizarre experience.
"Are you one of Kimi's friends?" The kid asked, letting her hand fall back to her side.
"What did you do?"
"The bad lady needed to sleep. She wanted to hurt you." She grinned. "I'm Cleo! Are you looking for Splinter? I know where he is! I can show you! Kimi's with him. You have to see!" With that, she darted off, forcing Donatello to chase her.
"Wait up!" He called, sheathing his bo and pulling down his night vision googles as he entered the lit hall beyond. She led him through twisting halls he vaguely recalled from the blueprints as a maze of alternate paths and dead ends. It was all too easy to get lost in them, a fact that encouraged him to pull out his tablet. He kept at least one eye on the pink dress of the girl as she turned corners too far ahead of him. A quick glance at his tablet caused him to almost lose his footing. The screen greeted him with a techie's worst nightmare.
"Wha-?" He fiddled with the power button, hoping the restart would fix the blue crash report dominating the screen, only to get nothing in response. He cursed, flipping his headset off mute. "April? Casey? Do you read me?"
Static. Everything was gone. Even Cleopatra. He skidded to a stop at a dead end, cursing his luck. Must be some kinda disrupter somewhere. "Well, shell." He backed up, hoping to catch sight of her down another pathway, hoping she noticed his absence and would find him again. His instincts screamed at him. Something wasn't right.
A beastly cry echoed down the hall, startling him with its ferocity. He must have found himself on the level where various species dwelled inside their own individual rooms. But the hacked files revealed them to be sound-proofed. He shouldn't hear anything. His breath caught in his chest as he pulled out his bo staff once again. This wasn't good…
Slowly, he turned towards the hissing and scratching as it neared his location. He raised his staff as it burst into view, slamming into the opposite wall from its wild energy. It resembled a great black panther, but most of its fur was marred by various scars. It turned its foaming muzzle on him and its clawed paws struggled to find purchase on the laminate floor. Its roar echoed down the hall as its eyes never left its prey.
Dodging its initial attack was easy, but it wasn't over by far. It turned, coming at him again with terrifying speed. Its wild movements made it difficult to predict its path and the tightly spaced hallway gave it all the momentum it needed to turn on a dime. It collided with him, its heated breath inches from his face with only his bo staff keeping it at bay. The weight of the beast knocked him off his feet, its claws digging into his flesh. With a heart stopping snap, its teeth split his staff in two before he could kick it away.
The beast hit the opposite wall, allowing Donatello to flip back to his feet, but with his bo broken, he didn't know how much longer he could last. He back-pedaled from the panther as it started for him again. He quickly held up the two halves of his bo, determined to put up a fight no matter what. He only hoped he could last long enough bring the rapid beast down before it got to him first.
"If you end up blowing this whole operation because you decided to leave your post, I will never forgive you."
Casey Jones grimaced at his old girlfriend's repeated threat. It wore on his patience, which he already didn't have much of. He still remembered the good old days. What went wrong? Was it something he did?
"Are you even listening to me?" She huffed over the phone. "You're supposed to wait for Donny's signal. Why don't you ever follow the plan?"
"Yeah, yeah, I got it." He muttered in a low voice that still boomed in comparison to a ninja's whisper. He peeked around the corner of the burnt orange walled hall, his repurposed sports equipment clunking around in his bag. "I thought I heard something."
"It was probably nothing as usual."
Casey ignored her and tried his best to silence his heavy footfalls as he turned the corner. The burgundy plush carpeting barely stifled his approach, but he felt it was better than usual. At least no one had noticed him yet. Not even the small sniffling voice showed signs of hearing him. Settling on one of the many oak doors, he tried the handle, surprised by the ease it moved in his grip. Without another thought, he threw it open, his hand on the handle of his favorite hockey stick.
He expected a little girl, but that wasn't what he saw. A boy no more than twelve stared up at him from beneath untamed blonde hair. He was only wearing shorts, his bare chest riddled with scars and fresh wounds. His small wrists were chained to the floor, but that wasn't what bothered him most. It was the boy's eyes, so empty and distant, that mirrored his own when he was that young. It was for that reason that Casey couldn't walk away just yet.
"You alright? …Kid?"
The boy was silent except for his eyes, which grew into bewilderment. He stood, clumsily, without taking his eyes off Casey. His scrawny form shivered, but it didn't seem to bother him more than that.
Casey stepped forward. "Lemme get those." He reached for the chains only for the boy to retreat, shaking his head, vigorously. "I ain't gonna hurtcha." After the second failed attempt, he huffed. "Come on, kid. I ain't got time fer this."
"Wait." April spoke up; reminding him she was still listening. "What's the kid's name?"
Casey asked April's question, couching down to the boy's level.
"Theo…" The boy stared at him.
"I'm Casey. Ya ain't gotta be scared a' me."
He shook his head again. "Cleo will be mad at me."
"Cleo?"
"She's that girl helping Kimberly that Don told me about." April enlightened him.
"She doesn't like it when I don't play her games." Theodore shrugged.
"This is a game?"
He nodded before slipping a hand out of his restraints. "See?"
"Fine. If you ain't a prisoner, ya think you can help me find a friend a' mine?" Casey stood as he spoke. "Name's Splinter. Big old rat. Sound familiar?"
"Oh. Cleo's new pet." Theodore grimaced.
"What?" His eyes widened at the news.
"Father lets her have any pet she wants. I don't like it." He frowned, rubbing at an old scar on his arm.
"Where is he?"
"The bad place." He turned sad eyes up to Casey. "It scares me."
"Can ya take me there?"
Theodore bit his bottom lip. "Are you going to save him?"
"That's tha plan."
He looked down at his feet before squeezing out of his other restraints. With a final firm nod, he darted to the door. "It's this way."
"Alright, hold on a sec'." Casey shrugged off his bag before pulling his sweater over his head. "Take this. Yer gonna freeze."
The boy caught the hoodie and gave him a hesitant look.
"Now lead tha way."
Donatello caught the panther across the muzzle with the half of his staff he still held; the other half long since lost to him. His breath came in quick gasps and his own blood slickened his skin – but he was still standing. He refused to let this beast take him down. He watched it slid across the floor away from him and prepared for its return.
What he didn't expect was the wall behind him to suddenly lose substance. He tumbled backwards into the area beyond and watched the wall reseal in front of him. "What jus-?" He took in his new surroundings, slowly sitting up as his eyes adjusted to the dim blue glow. A small boy about Cleopatra's age caught his attention immediately. He huddled against the false wall, staring at him. He looked so small in the overlarge hoodie he vaguely recognized as Casey's. "Where did you come from?"
The boy shrunk back at his voice, his eyes full of wide-eyed fear.
"You helped me get away from that panther."
He nodded, slowly.
Donatello stood and frowned at the child. "What are you doing here anyway?"
"He told me to get you."
"Who?"
"Mister Casey." The boy stood. "We have to go. Cleo will want to make sure you're dead."
"What?" Donatello blinked at the emotionless way the kid spoke.
"It's what she does. She likes her games." He shrugged. "Come on! Mister Casey said he'll be waiting outside!" With that, he darted off.
"But what about-?"
"Don't worry about that! Just hurry!"
Once again alone, Casey slowly made his way through the darkened hall Theodore had led him to. April was quiet in his ear, which would be a relief if the atmosphere of this level didn't give him all the worst kind of feelings. Each door he passed, he tested, finding them all locked until he finally hit jackpot. The door slid open easily into a brightly lit room. He took in the sight of both occupants – one huddled in the far corner and the other, Splinter himself, apparently preoccupied with meditation; explaining why he didn't acknowledge the open door. The blood smeared and splattered over the room and the girl's near shredded clothes completed the picture.
"Splinter?" Casey stepped over the threshold. "Hey, I'm-"
"Don't let the door close!" The redhead near squeaked.
Casey froze, hand hovering on the handle. "What?"
"Just…just don't let it close."
"It will lock behind you." Splinter blinked his eyes open and glanced over at him. "It is good to see you, Casey-san. Are my sons here as well?"
"Don's around here somewhere. He'll meet us outside." He backed up, holding the door open.
"Kimberly-san, can you walk?" Splinter stood without looking at her.
The young redhead pushed against the wall in her attempt to stand only to sway on unsteady feet.
"What happened ta her?" Casey asked only to get Kimberly's darted look at Splinter in response.
"I'm fine." She quickly said. "This is nothing. I'm just tired." She stumbled forward, each shaky step bringing her closer to the door. It wasn't until she neared Casey that her legs gave out under her.
On instinct alone, Casey caught her. "It'll be faster if I jus' carry ya."
"No, no, I'm alright! I am!"
Even though her face was turned away from him, he knew it held a false bravado. He could feel it in her stiffened form. Ignoring her protests, he flipped her into his arms, catching her flushed, freckled face before she buried it in his chest. "Ya comin'?"
"Lead the way." Splinter gave a quick nod.
The path between the walls was even more confusing than outside of them. Worse still, his carapace kept getting caught in tight places, forcing him to find another way around. Theodore was patient. Every once in a while, he would stop to make sure he was followed. Then he stopped for good.
"Are we there?" Donatello asked, climbing closer to him.
Theodore shook his head and touched the wall beside him, causing it to become transparent. "It's my sister…"
Donatello looked through the wall only to spot something worse. It wasn't just Cleopatra on the other side. Further ahead, Casey turned a corner, heading away from the little girl with Kimberly in his arms. Behind him, Splinter came into view, but unlike Casey, he stopped, his gaze turning towards Cleopatra. At the moment their eyes met, Splinter's face darkened in a rage so rarely seen on his face. Casey turned just in time to see Splinter charge the young blonde.
"Splinter, wait! We have to get moving!" Casey yelled after him, but the rat ignored him.
Cleopatra laughed, oddly amused as Splinter closed the distance between them. As they collided, she said something Donatello didn't catch; only enraging Splinter more. Theodore disappeared from his side, dashing over to the fight and leaving Donatello alone.
"No, no, no!" He yelled. "Stop hurting my sister!"
Donatello followed after him as the little boy grabbed Splinter's arm. His efforts were useless.
"Bad pet!" Cleopatra screeched; touching her palm to Splinter's fur. The result was instantaneous. The rat jerked away as if stung; only now noticing the boy yanking on his shoulder.
"Master Splinter!" Donatello called out, rushing to his father's aid.
"If you were not just a child, I would kill you right now." Splinter hissed.
Cleopatra pouted, staring down at her bleeding arm. "You're no fun." She looked up as Donatello neared her. "Did you and Ebony have fun together?" She giggled. "It looks like she liked you."
Donatello glared at her for that before helping Splinter up.
"What is she talking about, my son?"
"Nothing." He said, firmly. "Come on, Sensei. Let's just get out of here."
"Hai."
A/N: So that went back and forth a lot, but whatever. Now feed the review box! Tell me how much you want the next chapter!
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