Oh my, this chapter is longer than I usually make them! I'm so SORRY dear Readers! I just KNOW you all like shorter chapters, but I really couldn't help it! I could have split this into two chapters, but I wanted to get this story going. Well. You're just going to have to stop reading halfway through if it bothers you.

:D

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

"You know, I'm really glad I had that nap back in prison. Otherwise, I think I'd be very tired right about now. You know, since it's so late and-"

"Mikey, quiet down." Leo interrupted, stopping in the forest and signaling Mikey to do the same, "We're not home yet, and we might need to get past some of the Purple Dragons to get there."

"Why?" Mikey asked, "They're not going to be out here at this time of night, right?"

"Mikey," Leo groaned, "Did you forget that we literally just escaped from them? They're going to be out searching for us, if they haven't started already."

"Oh, right." Mikey said, falling into step behind Leo as the two started moving again, "I kinda thought they'd be after Master Splinter and Leatherhead and the other guys instead of us."

"Maybe," Leo said, "But they don't know which way anyone was heading. And besides that, they're going to attack the Palace if they haven't already, so there's probably going to be more Purple Dragons the closer we get to the Palace."

"Oh man, I didn't think of that." Mikey said, "That means they probably won't let us in the main gate, since the enemy can just follow us in. So how are we going to get back inside?"

"That's what we're going to find out," Leo said, "But we have to be very quiet."

"Okay," Mikey whispered.

They walked a little more in silence, keeping the road in sight to their left, and Leo stopped them every once in a while to listen to the sounds of the forest.

"So, where are we going?" Mikey whispered.

"We're going to check out the Palace defenses," Leo whispered back, "To see if we can sneak in over the wall or something."

"Yeah, but won't the Purple Dragons be able to sneak in that way too?" Mikey asked.

"Yes," Leo sighed, "But it can't hurt to try. Maybe there's a way in that they haven't found yet."

Suddenly, he stopped. Turning around, he grabbed on to Mikey and yanked the both of them to the forest floor, covering Mikey's mouth with his hand as he did so.

Maybe Mikey would have asked Leo why, but at that moment they both heard crunching sounds that definitely didn't belong to a forest animal.

"You think they came this way?" Someone asked.

"That's what the boss thinks," another someone answered, "Keep your eyes open. They can't hide in these woods forever."

The crunching sound of the Purple Dragons stomping in the woods came closer and closer, and one boot stepped so close to Leo that he could have reached out to touch it.

The boot stopped.

"Drat this job," the Dragon who owned the boot said, "It's too dark to see anything here. Why couldn't we have a lantern or something?"

"'Cause that'd tell them we're coming." The other dragon said, "Now come on! We've got to bring back at least one prisoner or Hun will have our heads."

"Yeah yeah," the Dragon said, and the boot finally moved away from Leo, "You said that last time about the pudding."

Leo and Mikey stayed on the ground, listening to the two Dragons move through the woods. When they couldn't hear them any longer, Leo stood up and helped Mikey up with him.

"That was a close one," he said, shaking just a little.

"You know," Mikey said, "I've been thinking. The Dragons don't know about the secret passageways, right? So all we need to do is sneak into the old guardhouse, open the secret door and BAM! We're back in the Palace."

"Mikey, that's brilliant!" Leo said, "Come on. Let's hurry."

The two of them raced through the forest as fast as they dared, occasionally stopping to listen for the sound of anyone else who shouldn't be with them. Finally, they made it to the edge of the forest. But before Mikey could even think about stepping into the clearing between the woods and the Palace, Leo yanked him to the ground.

"This is bad," Leo said, lying down next to his brother, "This is very, very bad!"

"Oh man," Mikey whispered, trying to get himself as low as possible to blend in with the forest more, "They've camped out in front of the gates!"

It was true. In front of them, where there should just be empty space, was an entire army. There were no campfires, which is probably why they didn't notice the camp earlier, but there were plenty of tents and dozens of tough-looking men and women. The Palace gates were closed, something that neither Mikey nor Leo had ever seen before, but the Dragons didn't seem bothered by it. The old guardhouse in front of the gates looked intact, but Leo's heart sank when he saw it.

"So, how are we going to get to the guardhouse without anyone noticing?" Mikey asked.

"We don't," Leo whispered back, "Don't you see that light on inside? They're probably using it as their headquarters."

"Really? Not cool." Mikey asked, "So, how are we gonna get inside?"

"Good question," Leo said, "But first things first. We're too close to the enemy right now; we need to get out of here."

"Where can we go?" Mikey asked.

"Let's check around the castle," Leo said, "But we've got to be very careful not to run into any Purple Dragons who might be guarding the perimeter."

"Think they're also in the village, or can we go there?" Mikey asked.

"Let's try to get inside the castle first." Leo said.

"Right, good plan." Mikey responded.

The two of them carefully stood up and once again made their way through the woods, keeping the castle in sight on their left.

"Dude, if we keep going this way we're going to have to turn around soon or cut across the Palace lawn." Mikey said, "The river can't be too far off."

"The river?" Leo asked, "I didn't realize it was this close."

"Well, yeah." Mikey said, "Good thing Raph and Don know about the well in the basement, huh? I mean, that way no one has to come out past these Dragons for water."

"Mikey," Leo said, "You're a genius!"

"I am?"

"Yeah!" Leo said, "Think about it. All that water underground has to come from somewhere, right?"

"But it can't come from this river." Mikey said, "The river is above-ground and the basement river is below ground, remember?"

"You don't understand," Leo shook his head, "Remember how there was a guard room by the well? They expected that people could come through there from the river."

"Well, yeah," Mikey said.

"So that means," Leo continued, "That there must be a way to get there from outside. And since the only other river we know of is this one outside the castle, it's got to be the way in!"

"How?" Mikey asked, "This river goes away from the castle, not towards it."

"Well, the way in must be hidden somehow," Leo said, "Let's get to the river and find our way in!"

Leo took a step forward, and then to his surprise Mikey tackled him to the ground, bringing them both behind a tree.

"Quiet," Mikey whispered, covering Leo's mouth.

Leo became as still as possible, but his eyes searched what he could see of the forest. Mikey didn't let go, and the both of them stayed there on the ground.

"Did you hear something?" A strange voice asked.

"No. Did you?"

Leo could feel Mikey jump. That second voice was all too familiar.

Saki.

"I thought I did."

"Is everything clear?"

"Let me check..."

Leo closed his eyes, and he felt Mikey's hand tighten over his mouth.

"...All clear, Master Shredder. There's no one here."

"Good. How is my army?"

"In good condition, Master. We are ready whenever you give the command."

"And the Purple Dragons?"

"Foolish and ignorant," the second voice said, "But they pledge their allegiance to you. I do not trust them to keep it."

"Neither do I." Said Saki-or was it now Shredder? "Nonetheless, they will serve their purpose. Tell my Foot ninjas to stay alert. We will wait until after Purple Dragons have done their work."

"Yes, Master."

"And I don't want any conflicts with these Purple Dragons," Shredder added, "So keep the Foot out of the woods until I give the signal."

"Yes, Master."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Get going!" Shredder shouted. Leo and Mikey heard a cry of pain, and there was a small shift in the wind as the ninja lackey sped through the forest.

"Idiot." The Shredder remarked, and the tree they were hiding behind shook violently. The Shredder then stomped off through the woods. He certainly wasn't very careful to keep quiet; he made so many rustling noises on his way out that it seemed he was hitting the tree branches on purpose.

At last Leo shifted, and Mikey took the hint to mean they could stand up again.

"Whoa," Mikey whispered, "Do you think he's gone?"

Leo carefully walked around the tree they had been hiding behind, and saw three very long scratch on the other side.

Shredder's gauntlet.

"The river is in that direction, right?" Leo asked, pointing ahead of them.

Mikey nodded.

"Then I think he's gone back to the Palace." Leo said, "See all these marks over here, and those fallen branches? He must have been using his gauntlet as he left."

"So how'd he get out of the Palace?" Mikey asked, "Maybe we can follow him back, and-"

"I think we'd both prefer to stay away from him right now, Mikey." Leo interrupted, "Let's keep going to the river."

So they started walking again. There was no denying that the two of them were moving faster now. Still using the Palace on their left as a reference point, even though it was hidden by the woods half of the time, they only stopped when they finally got to the bank of the river.

"See?" Mikey said, "I told you the river goes in the wrong direction."

"Come on," Leo said, leading the way along the riverbank, "The river begins with the waterfall. Maybe there's a secret tunnel there or something."

"You think so?" Mikey asked.

"It's worth a shot." Leo responded.

Mikey started to lag behind Leo as they made their way alongside the river. Occasionally the two of them had to duck behind a tree or fall to the ground to avoid being spotted by a Purple Dragon, but finally they made it to the waterfall.

"Are you sure this is the place?" Mikey said, looking at the falls, "The river still goes the wrong way, so how could this be the same one that's under the Palace?"

"Let's get a closer look at the cliff," Leo said, carefully making his way around wet rocks to look more closely around the waterfall.

"Careful," Mikey cautioned, walking so close to the waterfall that he could feel its spray, "Don't fall off!"

But even as he said that, Mikey slipped on a rock.

And promptly fell into the path of the waterfall.

"Mikey!" Leo shouted as loud as he dared, but his brother was nowhere to be seen.

"Mikey! Where are you?" Leo asked, climbing down as quickly as he could.

"Mikey!" He shouted again, and he scanned the river for the missing boy.

"Here, dude!" Mikey coughed, his voice muffled, "I'm over here!"

"Where are you?" Leo asked.

"I found your cave," Mikey said, and to Leo's surprise he poked his wet head out from behind the waterfall, "Dude, you have to come see this! Just don't go through the waterfall the way I did, that's a lot of water falling and it kinda hurt a little."

"There's a cave behind the waterfall?" Leo asked, carefully maneuvering himself behind the falls. He couldn't help getting wet, but he did manage to miss most of the water that came down from above.

His legs weren't so lucky, though. Apparently, water from the river managed to flow behind the falls, and Leo found himself standing knee-deep in water. It was flowing water, but it wasn't flowing fast enough to knock them both off their feet.

"Yeah," Mikey said, "At least, I think it's a cave. Kinda hard to tell without a candle or anything."

"Hm," Leo said, feeling around, "There's definitely a slope here. That must be why the water is coming this way, it's flowing downhill."

"Do you think this is the same river underneath the castle?" Mikey asked.

"Probably," Leo said, "I'll bet it turns a corner or something up ahead, so that it goes under the Palace."

"So let's get a candle and start exploring!" Mikey said.

"We can probably make a torch from tree branches, as long as we're careful not to get it wet." Leo said, moving towards the waterfall entrance, "Come on, the sooner we start the sooner-"

He stopped in mid-sentence.

"What?" Mikey asked, "What is it?"

"Lights," Leo whispered, "I thought I saw a fire on the other side of the waterfall."

"Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?"

"It's a bad thing," Leo said, carefully poking his head out of the back of the waterfall, "Yup, clearly a bad thing." He said as he pulled his head back in, "There's a lot of Purple Dragons out there right now. And it looks like they're setting up camp. If we go out there now, we'll definitely be spotted."

Mikey gulped. "So, lucky that we're hidden, right?"

"Right," Leo said, "But this leaves us with a big problem. We're going to have to go exploring in the dark."

"What?!" Mikey asked.

"Quiet! They're outside the waterfall, remember?" Leo said.

"In the dark?" Mikey asked, "How are we going to find our way home in the dark?"

"Don't worry," Leo said, taking his hand like they did when they were kids, "We'll stick together. And since there's a guardroom above the well, it can't be that hard to get there, right?"

"Right," Mikey mumbled.

"So let's get going," Leo said, "The sooner we get there, the better."

Without letting go of Mikey's hand, Leo carefully led him into the darkness, until they couldn't see where the waterfall was anymore.

"Alright," Leo said, talking outloud for Mikey's sake, and maybe his own, "All we need to do is follow the direction of the water."

"Um, it's kinda getting deeper over here," Mikey said.

"Really?" Leo said, stopping, "It's getting shallower for me. Here, come right behind me and try to walk where I walk."

"Whoa, that's a lot better," Mikey said after scrambling up behind Leo, "What's up with this weird place, anyway?"

"It's a natural cave, Mikey." Leo said, "It's going to be a little weird. Just be careful to stick close and don't let go. We're going to have to pick out way carefully, since we can't see-"

"Whoa, check it out!" Mikey said, pulling Leo's hand in a direction opposite of where they were going, "I think I found some hidden stairs!"

"You what?" Leo asked, "Mikey, you haven't let go of me at all! How could you find any stairs?"

"I've been feeling the wall this whole time," Mikey said, "You know, so we don't run into it."

"There's a wall?" Leo asked, "What am I saying? Of course there's a wall. We must be up on the bank of the river, that's how we're mostly out of the water!"

"Come on, come on! Feel!" Mikey said, "Don't these feel like stairs?"

Leo obediently felt the side of the cave.

"They are stairs," he said, "Stone steps...Come on, Mikey! Let's see where they go!"

Scrambling around in the dark but not letting go of one another, the two of them found where the steps began and slowly climbed up them.

"We'd better be careful not to fall or anything," Leo said, "Whoa-looks like that was the last step, Mikey."

"Now what?"

"Let's find out," Leo said, reaching with his free hand to feel alongside the wall, "I think that we're entering into a doorway. Maybe there's a-wait. There's something here."

"What? What is it?" Mikey asked.

"Hang on, let me see." Leo said, feeling the thing he had banged up against, "It's some kind of box...Wood. There's a nice big pile of wood here!"

"That makes no sense," Mikey said, "Why would you keep wood in a cave?"

"To keep it dry?" Leo asked rhetorically, "Let me have both hands for a few minutes. I think I could get a fire going."

"With just sticks?" Mikey asked, letting go of Leo's hand.

"Sure, if you know how." Leo said, working with two pieces of wood that were about the right size, "Don't step away from where you are, Mikey. We have no idea if there's a hole in the middle of the floor or anything."

There were a few moments of silence, until finally Leo created a spark. He carefully fanned the spark into a flame, and after tearing some cloth from his sleeve for fuel, he held the flame on the end of one long piece of wood like a torch.

"Cool, dude!" Mikey said, "Look where we are!"

Leo held the torch high. They were in a room built right out of the cave, but it was a room nonetheless. The only entrance was the doorway they had walked into, but along the side of the room was a low fall, reaching about to the waist. Above that wall was nothing but darkness.

Mikey raced to the low wall, and beckoned Leo to come closer.

"This must be like an old secret hideout or something," Mikey said, "You can see the whole cave river from here!"

"It's an old guard post," Leo said, "Like the room in the cellars. If an enemy comes down the river, and especially if they are using lights to see, they'll be spotted by the guards here before they know what hit them."

Mikey was still entranced by what little the view showed, but Leo turned around.

"Hey!" Mikey shouted, "You're taking away the light! I can't see the river anymore."

"Sorry," Leo said, "But we've got to find a way out of here. Are you coming?"

"Fine," Mikey said.

The two of them carefully went down the steps, which was a lot easier now that they could see, and they walked alongside the river again.

"It's cool that we can see now," Mikey said, "'Cause now this looks like a path."

"It is a path," Leo said, "The guards must have come from somewhere, and I doubt they came from the waterfall. I think our best bet to find the way out is by following their trail."

"Whoa, look!" Mikey pointed, "It's a secret door!"

Leo stopped, and looked at the crevice.

"Not so secret," Leo said, "But we wouldn't have seen it if we weren't following the path."

The two of them walked through the hole, and kept going. The sound of the cave river started getting louder.

"I think the river runs into a few other underground rivers," Leo reasoned.

"Hey, we're back to the river again!" Mikey said, pulling Leo forward out of the natural passageway, "Look! It's faster now."

"Mikey, slow down! We need to follow the path," Leo said, slowing to a stop, "Huh. The ground here isn't as traveled. Where did they go from here?"

"Maybe up those stairs to that trapdoor?" Mikey asked.

Leo looked up, and held the torch higher. Sure enough, right on his left there was another set of stairs, and there was a trapdoor hanging above the river.

"But how did the soldier guys get from the stairs to that trapdoor?" Mikey asked.

"Let's find out!" Leo said, hurrying up the steps.

"Whoa, slow down dude!" Mikey said, hurrying after him, "Why are you so excited now?"

"Mikey, don't you see?" Leo asked, "That's probably the trapdoor in the cellars. We're almost home!"

"Really? Cool!" Mikey said, "Wait, wait wait! Don't go up yet!"

"Why not?" Leo asked.

"Let's just enjoy the moment." Mikey said, inhaling deeply.

"What moment?"

"The moment where we're underneath everyone we've ever known," Mikey said, exhaling loudly. "Okay, that was cool. Alright, I'm ready to go now."

"Fine," Leo said, "Now come on!"

He grabbed Mikey with his free hand and practically pulled him to the top of the stairs.

"Now what?" Mikey asked once they were at the top, "The trapdoor isn't over the steps, it's over the water."

"Maybe they had a ladder or something they could let down to connect the two." Leo suggested.

"Kinda cool that these steps don't go anywhere," Mikey said, "We're like, at the top with nowhere to go! Who would build steps like that? Hmm, maybe I will, someday, just to weird people out, and then I could-"

"Focus, Mikey! We need a way over. How good are you at climbing?"

"Wait, what?" Mikey asked.

"Nevermind, I'll try." Leo said, handing Mikey the torch.

"Dude, don't leave me!" Mikey said.

"Don't worry, I just want to test something out." Leo said.

He grabbed a hole in the cave ceiling above him, and smiled.

"And I was right!" He said, "There's an iron bar in here. It's rusty, but it's here. There are handholds built right into the ceiling."

Leo then grabbed the next one, and the one after that. The light from the torch Mikey was holding was too dim for him to make out the next hole, but he grabbed at it anyway and found the handhold by feeling for it.

"Careful!" Mikey cautioned, "You're right over the river."

"Just a little more to go," Leo said, swinging himself towards the trapdoor, "All I need to do now is find a way to open this..."

He kicked at the door with one of his legs, and it swung upwards a little.

"Perfect!" Leo said outloud, "Alright, now for the hard part..."

He moved as close to the trapdoor as possible, then bunched himself up and kicked. The door swung open, and Leo could hear the dull thud of it hitting the floor as it opened all the way.

Leo grabbed the open side of the door with first one hand, then the other, and slowly pulled himself through the opening.

"You did it! You're in!" Mikey shouted as he pulled himself up.

Leo finally made it, dragging himself entirely through. The small guardroom in the cellar had never felt so welcoming, even though he couldn't see any of it without the torch.

"Just hang on, Mikey." He called through the hole, "I'm going to find some things in the cellar to make a bridge for you."

"No need, I've got this." Mikey shouted back to him, and Leo poked his head through the hole.

"Mikey, what are you doing?" He asked, "Get back to the stairs!"

Mikey was unable to respond, but it was clear he wasn't listening. He was holding the torch in his mouth, which must have been uncomfortable and was certainly killing the flame, and he was swinging across the handholds like he had been doing this his whole life.

Finally, even though Leo thought every second that his brother was going to fall, Mikey made it to the trapdoor. Without even bothering to take the torch out of his mouth, he grabbed the side of the trapdoor with both hands and pulled himself through feet first.

"Ta-da!" He said, taking the dying torch out of his mouth.

"Mikey, that was insanely stupid." Leo said.

"Not more stupid than what you did," Mikey said, "Hey! We made it, we're home!"

"Almost," Leo said, "Let's put out that torch before we leave this room."

"How are we gonna put it out?" Mikey asked.

"Just drop it through the door," Leo said, moving to the other side of the door, "Then don't move until I close it."

"Cool!" Mikey said, "Alright, here goes!"

He dropped the flame, and it fell down through the cave. At last it hit the river, and the light went out.

Leo closed the trapdoor.

"I can't see anymore, dude." Mikey whined.

"That's alright, I know my way around." Leo said, grabbing Mikey's hand, "Come on. Let's get out of here."

The two of them made their way out of the secret guardroom, closing the door carefully behind them.

"Hey, I can see the light over there!" Mikey shouted, pointing to the single light that always shines through the cellars.

Leo let go of his hand, and the both of them walked-or ran, in Mikey's case-to the light.

"We did it! We did it! HAH!" Mikey shouted, dancing at the foot of the cellar stairs, "We made it home! And we're alive!"

"Yeah," Leo smiled, "But I think your brothers are going to kill us."

"Who cares? I haven't seen them in forever!" Mikey said, "We've been gone all day, and maybe all night. Let's go, let's go let's go!"

And he practically dragged Leo up the steps that led out of the cellar.