HELLO! I have updated! FEAR ME! lol, not really, I'm a bit high on caffiene, please excuse me.

I'm sorry this has taken so long, I had a bit of an issue with the plot, it didn't want to co-operate with me.

Chapter 15

Doorway To Dreams

As the group of warriors moved on, they were surprised when a mist rolled in all around them.

Leonardo felt a chill go down his shell as the fog thickened.

"Raph? You there?" he whispered.

There was no answer. Leo felt worried as the chilly droplets built up, adding to the sweat that dampened his nervous brow.

"MIKEY? RAPH!" Leo bellowed," UE-SAMA? USAGI!"

No response. Calming himself, leonardo reached within himself, taking a breath… and to his surprise, he smelled that scent. Pure oxygen… clean air… Rain-drenched lilies…

With his eyes snapping open to the surreal reality, Leo ventured forward, his jaw firmly set as a single thought ran through his mind," I am not afraid."

8~8~8~8~8

Raphael growled with intense confusion as his senses were assailed on all sides. The mist was just as confusing as amnesia… not that he'd ever HAD amnesia… he had been blind before…

"GET A GRIP ON YERSELF, RAPHAEL!" He grumbled mentally.

At this moment though, a familiar scent washed over him. The scent of rich, dark, bittersweet chocolate.

His hands slid down to his belt, gripping the handles of his sai, he pulled them out, his dark, red-brown eyes glittering as he began to follow the scent.

8~8~8~8~8

Mikey was a pretty sure it hadn't been this dark a few minutes ago. In fact, he was pretty sure that he had just barely time to blink and the sun had been gone. Well, pretty much, all he could really see was mist.

And… he couldn't hear anything. Well, not much… except the wind.

"HELLOOO-OHHHH! ANYBODY?" Mikey yelled as loud as he could. He gulped as his own voice echoed back in answer.

"Ok, this just crossed the line from weird and creepy to downright spooky!" he gulped, looking around with complete nervousness… until a not so subtle scent crossed his nose. The smell of bananas, oranges, coconuts and pineapples… Mikey immediately called out," Hello! Where are you?"

He listened, remaining absolutely still for once. There was no reply to his query but the scent remained as strong as ever. Taking out his nunchaku, he held them at the ready as he followed his nose.

8~8~8~8~8

Donatello hobbled down the dark tunnel, remaining very quiet. He spoke no words, though the silence was unnerving. Only his nose lead him forward. That same scent of sweet, sweet rose incense swirled through the air.

As he walked, careful with his ankle, it grew darker. He had snagged a torch from the wall, and it was proving it use now as the tunnel grew darker.

Finally, the tunnel gave way to a chamber. He looked around the darkened room and tentatively called," Hello? Is someone there?"

There was no response… until he heard a low, sultry laugh.

With a gulp, Donatello demanded," Show yourself!"

And then… he woke up.

Or so he thought.

Where am I?

He was surrounded by gold. The smell of sweet, delicious grain, slowly baking in the heat of the sun.

A faint breeze bathed his forehead, bringing that same startling, alluring scent…

desert roses...

Donatello stood to his feet, his jaw set firmly as he realized his ankle was healed. About time…

He looked around, seeing a single Windmill in the distance. The rose-scent called to him.

Is this a dream?

But then, he heard the voice. The soft, sweet, husky voice, singing.

"Will you stay with me?
Will you be my love?"

He set off as fast as he could. He had to know who she was.

8~8~8~8~8

The scent lead him to the building. The building he had seen in his dream. His dream.

Leo fell. He did not know how, or even when the ground became unstable, but he fell into a gaping chasm, unable to stop his fall, he prepared to land it.

Somehow, he landed in a pool of water. the splash shocked and chilled his bones. With a gasp, as he stopped sinking. Bobbing slightly, he dove, to see if he could see the bottom. Surprisingly, his vision was far clearer beneath the liquid and he made out that the water seemed to be a moat of sorts, surrounding a tower.

Wait… a tower?

He swam closer, inspecting the foundations. He was shocked to find a small, slotted door, almost hidden by pond weed. He quickly grabbed the doorknob and pulled. It came open. He swam in side, finding himself on a winding stairway of sorts. eventually, the water level stopped and he was able to stand. He gasped for breath, grateful, once again, for being a turtle.

the breath he took was full of rain-watered lilies. It went straight to his head, making him feel at peace, and yet, full of anguish.

Was she here?

He was going to find out.

8~8~8~8~8~8

Raphael walked through the mist. His eyes darted back and forth, as he tried to calm his breathing.

I must be crazy. Absolutely crazy.

His suspicions were confirmed when the scent grew stronger. The scent of hot, bitter-sweet chocolate. It burned within his nostrils, igniting a desperate hunger within him.

He growled, almost inaudibly, as he walked on. Then, a slow, haunting voice floated into his ears,"

Oh-oh-oh-ohhhh
Oh-oh-oh-ohhhh

He gulped. The voice was haunting. It chilled his heart. He kept walking, almost unaware of the darkness that began to roll in all around him. The grass became lush beneath his feet, like carpeting.

"WHERE ARE YOU?" he screamed, his nerve breaking as the voice wailed again,"

Oh-oh-oh-ohhhh
Oh-oh-oh-ohhhh

The mist began to roll away slightly. Raphael swallowed hard. What the shell is going?

He was no longer in the Battle Nexus. Or so it seemed.

What was this? The forest was the one from his dream. But he was no longer dreaming… was he?

Raphael growled. If that was the case, then he had to be quick. He began to run, following the scent. Her scent…

8~8~8~8~8

Mikey was sure that there was no sand in the Battle Nexus. So… since when did they have a beach? And how the shell had he found it while stumbling around in the mist?

Ya know, not a lot is making sense…. He thought glumly to himself as he called out," Hello? Where are you?"

The soft, sweet and tangy scent he had been following was growing stronger, but so far, he had not found the girl from his dreams, or even heard her haunting voice.

What was going on?

He nearly jumped from his skin when his foot almost stepped into a hole.

He gulped.

A weeping now rose, loud and wailing.

he called out, bending down to try to see into the hole," Hello? who's there?"

Her voice called out," You found me!"

"Yeah! I'm here to help you!"

"Oh, thank you! Thank you!"

He gulped now, as he realized," I have no way of getting her out…"

8~8~8~8~8~8

Splinter demanded hotly," How could this happen?"

Ue-Sama shook his head, sweat beading his brow," I do not know. I want to know… why were they targeted?"

Usagi frowned as he asked," Is it possible that the Hybrid witches work some new devilry? They hope to gain a footing through the minds of these warriors?"

The Ultimate Daimyo looked grave as he replied," It is very possible."

Splinter was fuming, his eyes blazing as he snapped," These are my sons! How can this have happened?"

On the floor, lying as though asleep, were Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael. They were breathing, alive and well… but they would not wake up. All of them had been found, asleep. And dreaming.

Splinter's tail lashed. he had tried to reach out to them through meditation. But the way had been blocked. There was a barrier, preventing him from talking or communicating with his sons.

His teeth gnashed as he thought to himself," If something happens to them… if those witches harm my sons, I will never rest until they are dead and buried."

At this moment, there was a loud clap of thunder. A portal opened, breaking through time, space and matter, in that room. It was a swirling, thick horizontal cyclone, and from the center, a creature was spewed forth.

As the creature crash-landed, hurled to the ground, the portal closed. The air became still and peaceful.

The creature was the strangest, by far, that Splinter had ever seen, but not unfamiliar.

She was human in appearance from the wait up, except for frilled fins that adorned her wrists, elbows, and the curves of her waist. Her skin was pale, her hair was bright blue. From the waist down, she was reptilian. Like a giant snake. she righted herself, trembling slightly, she turned and saw the warriors, who had circled her. Her face was young and beautiful. Her eyes, slotted like a reptile's, were cornflower blue.

Her pale torso was covered with a sleeveless shirt made from the sapphire scales of some ancient dragon.

Her canine teeth were sharp, but only revealed when she opened her lips. Her ears were sharply pointed and cone-shaped, sticking out of her mane of blue hair. At the end of her long tail, was a sharp barbed end, very much like the armored tail of a dragon.

She raised her delicate hands, which were clawed, and spoke in a soft, pleading voice," I am not your enemy. My name is Alala. I am the friend of the Storm Maids."

Splinter's ears pricked. The storm maids? That sounded familiar…

His eyes widened as he remembered from his dream.

Elements of the Storm

United, unbound.

She was waiting.

The ultimate Daimyo questioned harshly," How is it you have entered this domain?"

"A sorcerer, from my world, discovered this portal. He sent me through it at my request. My friends… have you met them? Four there are, by name of Taima, Rabi, Elysia and Nariko. Elysia… she is my soul-sister. My childhood friend. She and the others were banished here for a curse. And I had to follow them. My world means bothing if I am severed from my friend and sister. Are they here? Have you seen them?" The creature was timid, though her form was strong and fearless.

She glanced at the four prone figures that lay on the floor, her eyes now becoming less afraid, she realized," The doom that befell my friends has followed them here."

Splinter responded," Tell us all you know, Alala."

Alala took a breath," The ones who haunt you, they are the Cursed Ones. The Fallen Daughters of Lilith. And they have taken a vow, to kill my four friends. The Storm Maidens, their honored mother slew the father of the Cursed Ones. Therefore, Lilith raised them to seek revenge, in any and all forms. Trained in the dark arts of magic, they have taken an intense interest in defeating the Storm Maids through the psyche, for they cannot kill my friends. The Storm Maids are powerful warriors, and each one possesses a piece of the power of the Storm."

Alala continued in a soft, pleading tone," They were banished, because the Cursed Ones turned their wrath onto the innocent people of my world, including the honorable parents of the Storm Maids. They began to reek destruction and mindless evil on the peaceful inhabitants. The King of my world decreed then, that the Storm Maids had to leave. They had to be banished from our world. And indeed, since they left, there has been no action taken against the inhabitants. They had followed my friends here."

"How do we defeat them?" Splinter demanded.

"The only way to kill them is to stab them through the heart. Once their evil hearts are pieced, they will be banished to the Underworld, where they belong," Alala responded sadly," I know this, because my friends sought the instruction of an old Fallen One who had sought redemption and found it. She told them how to defeat the Fallen Ones."

Splinter turned, his mind working," We do not know where they are."

"I know where they might be found," Alala replied," Someplace you would not expect. They hide in plain sight."

The Daimyo now spoke," These Fallen Ones, I have dealt with them before. They are known as the Hybrid Witches."

"A descriptive name, milord," Alala declared.

The Daimyo nodded, adding quietly," They have tried to take over the Battle Nexus."

Alala looked at Splinter and questioned," Who are these that sleep so endlessly?"

She gestured to the Ninja Turtles.

Splinter replied with heaviness of heart," They are my sons."

Her eyes widened with horror.

"They are the bait. While these sleep, your domain is being defeated."

Splinter replied harshly," You speak in riddles."

Alala replied," Forgive me. The Fallen Ones are using your sons as the instruments of destruction. They will kill your sons if you do not give in to them."

Usagi stood, having heard enough. He growled," Let us find these fallen ones and be rid of them. We must defeat them by the sword."

OK! So, some of the mystery is gone... some of it. Raphael's second POV, listen to the first few seconds of the song Cloud Nine by evanscence. That's the voice he's hearing. it's spooky, is it not?

Alala is part human, part sea-dragon, just to clear that up.

Please review and... well, to those that have reviewed, THANK YOU!