A crow sat on the cement parapet, leading into one of the drainage systems. The bird never shifted or blinked, merely sat as if it were waiting for something. When two smears of black slithered up to it, the crow finally moved. It cawed and jumped into the air, bursting apart, leaving only a black smudge hanging in the air.
The smudge drifted down and joined the other two. Together they began to rise and take shape. Blobby nothingness shaped into heads and torsos. Limbs grew. And the one who had been a crow stood tallest.
"Sister, Brother," It said in its terrible voice, "It has happened. The new one has fouled it up. Come – we shall feast tonight, and grow strong."
"But what of the advisor, Raum?" The female asked.
Raum smirked. "The deadline is up. You know she cannot do anything. Moloch?" The third black head nodded, "Go – collect the soul and bring it here. Deumos and I will leave the warning."
Moloch nodded, and three black smears leapt into the sky.
"AUUUGH!" Crash.
Raph jumped in his seat as the noise echoed around the lair. "A'ight, so tell me this," he said, catching sight of his blue-clad brother, "That's Donnie in there makin' all that noise?"
Leo nodded.
"Why?"
"I don't know," Leo said, "It's not like Donnie. It's more like…"
"Me?" Raph raised an eyeridge.
"Well…yeah," Leo admitted sheepishly, "But I don't understand. Absolutely nothing happened tonight that could've made him upset. No fights, no deaths. No women trapped in alleys. It was quiet."
"Mikey?"
"No, Mikey hasn't pulled any pranks lately, and even if he did, Don just takes it in stride most of the time."
There was another crash followed by a yell, and Leo's face darkened. "That's it. Something's happening with our brother, and I'm going to find out what it is."
Determined, Leo crossed the lair and banged on the door of Don's room, a curious Raph trailing behind.
There was no answer, and Leo banged again. "I'm busy!" Came the answer.
"Donatello, get your shell out here now!" Leo screamed.
Raph watched in awe. The only time he had heard Leo scream like that, he was usually on the receiving end.
"No!" And again, the blatant refusal usually came from him…Raph was a little frightened at the change of roles.
The door was yanked open, and Don's face appeared. He looked furious. Raph blinked. Again, he rarely saw that emotion on his normally easy going brother.
"Don, what the heck," he started, but was cut off.
"What the heck what!?" The purple clad one snapped irritably, "What the heck am I doing in here? What the heck am I doing at night? What the heck is making me so tired! I don't know! Stop asking me!"
And the door slammed again.
Don returned to his desk chair, his fingers pinching the space between his eyes as he could feel a headache coming on. This was bad. Very very bad. He had missed his deadline. Completely missed it. He hadn't gotten any chance at all to get down to Chinatown, and now there would be repercussions. Problem was, he didn't know what they were.
Morris could feel it too. The cat hadn't moved from the corner of the room, though Don could see his puffed up tail swish occasionally and hear him growl lowly to himself.
The book offered no help. Its pages remained blank, even when Don asked it specifically what to do. He was officially lost.
The turtle didn't even look up from his hands as there was a faint pop behind him an hour later. "I suppose you've come to yell at me…"
"That was the original notion, yes," Mona said, coming to stand next to him. "But you look so forlorn…I just can't do it."
"Thanks," Don mumbled.
"But," The old woman clapped a hand on his shoulder, "You still must come with me, my dear."
That got Don's attention. "What?" He had only ever seen Mona leave by disappearing.
"To see my boss." She replied impatiently, "He's not very happy, Donatello, but perhaps if you explained what happened…"
"I don't want-" Don never got to finish his sentence, because as soon as she lay her hand on his shoulder again, he suddenly got very cold, and the familiar surroundings of his bedroom melted away.
When the colors solidified again, they were not the warm yellows and browns of the lair. They were dark, blues and grays and black. Don had trouble seeing. Mona still held on to his arm.
A shadow shifted in the corner. "I do not remember sending for you, Mona…"
Mona cleared her throat. "Yes, my lord. I know. But I thought if I fetched the boy to tell you-"
"Tell me what?" The shadow demanded. "What has happened?"
"Don't tell me you haven't felt it," Mona said urgently. The shadow said nothing in answer and she continued, "There was…a failure…a soul was not collected."
Don braced himself, waiting for the explosion to come. However, it never happened. The shadow stayed silent, as though it were thinking, then said quietly, "And have They gotten there?"
"There was no time to stop them," Mona replied. "They have fed."
"This must be rectified. You have someone with you."
"Yes." Mona shoved Don forward. "This is the Death that failed to collect the soul."
Don got the strange feeling that he was being stared at, even though he couldn't see the shadow's face. "In my years of my existence – and that is quite a long time – I have never seen anything quite like you…"
"I hear that a lot," Don said.
There was another short silence, and then the shadow asked, "Why did you fail to collect the soul?"
"My…brothers. They've been watching me closer – since I became a…well, you know. I've been acting weird. I don't blame them – but I didn't get a chance to get there." He hung his head. "I'm sorry…"
"To err is human, young one, and although you are not quite…that, you are still capable of making mistakes. I will take care of the situation. Mona, take him back to his home."
Mona nodded and had placed her hand on Don's shoulder before the shadow interrupted again, "Wait." Mona took her hand off him.
"I am going to give you advice. Listen well. It is imperative you do not miss another soul, so do not. And, although I am aware the instructions say to only collect at night, it may benefit you to stay out of the shadows for a few days. Oh, and trust strangers. You will see what I mean. Now go."
Before Don had a chance to protest – stay out of the shadows? He was a ninja for God's sake! – Mona had once again grabbed his shoulder and the blues and blacks of the strange place melted away to once again be replaced by the comforting sight of his bedroom wall.
"Well," Mona looked harried – her gray hair was starting to fly out of her bun – "I suppose I'll be seeing you, Donatello, don't forget the advice now…yes…I'll be seeing you…" And with a faint pop, she was gone.
Don sank into the computer chair just as his bedroom door was kicked open. Startled, he looked up to find Leonardo, his face a mixture of anger, confusion, and worry. But it wasn't his brother he was worried about. It was who was standing next to him.
"Donnie," Leo said, "Master Splinter wants to talk to you."
