Okay I know I know, where is the chick? Well here she is! Enjoy!

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Chapter 3

Three days had passed and Raphael still lay unconscious in his bed. Donatello paced in agitation. His voice was raw from constantly talking to Raphael, trying to bring him back to consciousness. He had managed to run scans on Raphael's body, but all results had indicated that he was fine and should be awake.

He was tired of the inactivity. What he really wanted to do was go back to the chamber and take samples of the monster. Try to figure out what it was that had made it invisible to the camera, but not to the naked eye. He had been trying to find some sort of container that would be able to hold a sample of the monster's caustic blood. He had also wanted a sample of its flesh.

"Mikey if you don't stop singing I'm going to shove that mp3 player some place the sun don't shine." A gravelly voice said in irritation.

Donatello sprinted for Raphael's room. "Leo!" He yelled as he passed his sleeping brother's door. "He's awake!"

Donatello rushed into the room. "Donny help get this idiot off me!" Raphael pleaded. Michelangelo was hugging him. "Ow, ow, ow, Mikey you're hurting me." Michelangelo stopped mauling Raph and backed away a concerned look on his face.

"I thought you said he was healed." Michelangelo asked him accusingly.

"He is Mikey, but the damage was extensive. The bandages aren't just for show, they are in case his wounds open again, also to make sure he doesn't try to overdo it. " Donatello said as he walked over to the bed and caught his brother in a hug. "You had us worried bro. How do you feel?" he asked seriously.

He moved his shoulder around and winced. "A little sore. I feel like I was hit by a small car, but I'll live." He smirked and turned his attention to the person standing behind Donatello. "Leo why are you looking at me like that?"

Donatello looked over his shoulder at Leonardo who was standing in the doorway. He turned his head away closing his eyes a tear trailed down his cheek. "I don't know whether to hit you or hug you." Angry, Leonardo punched the door jam. "Raph you irresponsible, hot-headed...!" Leo walked into the room and knelt by the bed. "We thought we lost you. Don't joke, don't you ever joke about this! We watched as that monster cut you down. I can't even describe the horror we all felt. That image will be ingrained in my memory until the day I die. Do you understand me.!" Raphael looked at the faces of his brothers and looked down at himself. He pulled off the bandages and traced the scars that now marred he body. He nodded sharply once.

Donatello wasn't surprised by Leonardo's anger, but it seemed to have taken a lot out of him for he spoke gently next. "Do you remember what happened?" Leo asked softly. Raphael looked at Leonardo.

Raphael looked away. "I lost." He said hollowly. "I didn't even see it coming." His head snapped around. "The woman where is she, is she okay, how long have I been here?" He asked in a near panic.

Leonardo turned and looked at Donatello. "Calm down Raph, what woman?" Donatello asked in confusion.

"She was..., I was holding onto her. She was right there." Raphael threw back the covers and tried to stand. He sagged slightly leaning on Leonardo. "I have to find her. Damn it Leo let me go! How long have I been here!"

"Three days." Donatello told him as he and Leonardo tried to get Raphael to lay back down.

"At least sit down Raphael." Leonardo begged him. "Tell us everything."

Raphael stopped struggling and sank back onto his bed. "The woman, she was..., she told me that the monster was dead, that I was safe." He said this bitterly. "Here I should have been able to protect her, but instead she...she was injured badly. I couldn't see her wounds but the blood, there was so much of it." He looked back down at his scars. "She said she was sorry for the scars, that she didn't have the time to heal me properly." Then he stopped as if remembering something. "She said she brought me back." He looked up at his brother's grim faces. "That monster it..." He seemed to have trouble for a moment as if he was again seeing what had happened to him.

"It's okay Raphael you don't have to..." Leonardo began.

"Yes I do, Leo, she took my wounds, I watched it happen! I watched as wounds exactly like mine ripped through her body. If they killed me..." He let the sentence finish itself. "The last thing she told me before she collapsed was that I was safe, and that it was... time for me... to... rest. " Raphael's words had slowed by this time, as if he was fighting sleep.

"Raphael, we didn't find anyone else. There was just you and the monster." Donatello told him in a soothing voice.

"She couldn't have gone anywhere. Believe me she was in no condition to move by herself, even if the wounds she suffered didn't kill her." He struggled to stand again. "I have to...have to..even if only to...bury her." Raphael collapsed back onto the bed.

The brothers looked at each other. "We didn't check the whole place Leo. We just found Raph and got out. Do you really think that this woman could still be lying in there?" Michelangelo asked?

They all looked at each other. "I hate to say this, but even if she was alive, it's been three days. And if Raph said that there was no way she was moving under her own power, then someone else that maybe Raph didn't see moved her." Donatello observed. He looked over to where Raphael lay. "Maybe we should have a look in the chamber tomorrow. If she is in there we'll find her, if she isn't then someone got to her before we did." Donatello looked back to Leonardo. "Rest easy Leo, he woke up, he'll be fine. Get some rest, we'll need you sharp tomorrow."

Leonardo looked at him. "Isn't that my line?" He asked a faint smile on his lips.

"Leo, we could go around in circles all day over who is to blame, but it won't help Raph recover. The important part is that he is here and he is recovering." Leonardo nodded once and Donatello walked to his room, exhausted beyond all measure. He fell into bed and into a dreamless sleep.

"Someone had better let me out of this room before I bust something!" Raphael screamed beating his fists against the door that his brothers had locked for his own "safety".

"Oh look who's all loud and cranky this morning, you must be feeling better Raph." Michelangelo said outside the door.

"Mikey if you don't open this door right now I'm going to find another one of those monsters and feed you to it!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. He could hear Mikey walking away laughing. He kicked the door angrily then flopped back down on his bed.

"Stupid over-protective..." He mumbled to himself then looked at the scars. He now had deep grooves carved into his shell reaching the skin beneath.

Pain greater than anything he had ever felt flashed through him. He lost his breath as it continued to intensify. He grasped his chest as he tried to breathe and couldn't. Hunger like nothing he had ever felt rolled through him.

Raphael

His name ripped through his head as if someone was calling him.

Then as quickly as it had happened the pain stopped. He took a deep breath as the air poured into his lungs. "I know that voice." He jumped up off the bed, ran to the door and kicked it down.

Michelangelo stood just outside the door as it crashed open the chair that stood in front of it went crashing into the far wall.

Michelangelo looked at him in shock. "I was only kidding bro, I was just going to let you out."

Donatello and Leonardo emerged from their respective rooms and looked at the damage.

Raphael paused. What was he going to tell his brothers, that she was alive, that he knew it because she spoke to him? "We have to go, now! Before we are too late!"

Donatello and Leonardo shared a look. "Too late for what?" Leonardo asked slowly approaching him.

Raphael grabbed his forehead in frustration. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you. We just have to go, now" He wouldn't tell them about the pain, or the voice, it would just worry them more. Besides it was possible that he was going crazy.

His brothers grabbed their weapons and Donatello brought his bag which he had packed with all of his sampling equipment.

They walked quietly down the tunnel that led to the structure. Each step closer they got to the chamber the more Raphael felt like he couldn't breathe. He had started to sweat and shake. His brothers looked at him with concern. He stopped at the entrance of the chamber and leaned against the wall. He bent over and began breathing in and out slowly.

"Raphael you don't have to do this. We can have a look for you and you can stay here. Mikey can keep you company." Leonardo said as he put his hand on Raphael's shoulder.

Raphael shrugged the hand off and stood. He could beat this, he had to go in there. He refused to be scared of a room. He screamed at his legs to move, to not shake, to carry him over the threshold. Come on Raphael she risked everything for you and you are letting a room scare you while she could be dying! He screamed at himself.

"I have to do this Leo. I refuse to be scared of a room." He took a step over the threshold.

"I can stay here if you guys want, you know guard the entrance, make sure everything is good back here." Michelangelo said looking around the chamber.

"Come on shell for brains, if I'm goin' in so are you." Raphael said as he grabbed Michelangelo by the arm and yanked. Oddly enough Michelangelo's reluctance to enter the room made Raphael feel better.

"I'm going to try to take a sample of the...monster." Donatello said in shock. The carcass of the monster was gone. Donatello leaned down and rubbed his hands over a scorch mark on the ground. "There isn't even any ash left. It's like it just burnt up. "

"Or someone burnt it." Leonardo said as he warily looked around. "Mikey you come with me, we'll check out the far side of the chamber, where the entrance to the outside is. Donny and Raph you guys search around where the monster was killed and where..." He stopped. The words where we found Raph, hung in the air. "Raph maybe you should go with Mikey..." He began.

"I'm fine Leo. I have to go back, to see where...I want to look and see where I ..." He couldn't say the word. What if it wasn't true. Did he really die there? Or was everything some strange dream. He was healed so something had happened, but did he dream up the woman? Staring at a piece of ground probably wasn't going to give him answers, but he had to look.

Raphael walked with determination towards where he had been cut down. Donatello followed him. He knelt down beside where he had fallen. The blood had dried a dark brown. There was so much of it that it looked as if there had been a slaughter.

Donatello reached down and looked at all the blood. "This is where you were. This pattern of blood is consistent with the injuries you suffered." Raphael could tell that this was hard for Donatello, but Donatello was trying to act is if he wasn't bothered by the blood. "But if you look over here there is more blood, and a lot of it. It also seems to be a little darker than yours."

Donatello stood and looked around. He walked a few steps away and noticed a trail of blood. It was just single drops leading away from where Raphael's body had lain.

Raphael and Donatello followed the trail in silence. It led to behind a crumbled wall. They both stopped as they gazed upon the woman who lay there. She wasn't well hidden, but hidden enough that if you weren't looking for her you couldn't find her. Donatello was the first to recover from the shock of finding her body and moved to see if she was alive. Her cloak was open and you could see the extensive wounds. Wounds mirroring Raphael's were cut into her. He could see where they cut through flesh and bone, exposing the organs beneath. She had other injuries as well, what looked like two puncture wounds had ripped through her, and also deep lacerations on her shoulder.

Raphael tried not to puke. He had held out a small hope that she was still alive. All of this was because of him. He said so to Donatello. Donatello reached down to check her pulse. They both knew what the outcome was going to be, but he tried anyway. Donatello fell back in shock. He looked at Raphael in shock then checked again.

"She has a pulse!" He said in shock. "But she's not breathing." Donatello moved her and began performing CPR on her. He blew air into her mouth and pulled back. "I can hear the air coming out of her lungs. Her lungs are shredded" He looked at her chest. "I've never seen this kind of damage. I'm not a doctor Raph. I don't even know how her heart is still beating." He looked back at her. Her chest rose then fell. Donatello and Raphael looked at each other in shock. "She's breathing." Donatello checked her pulse again. "Her pulse is slowing." Donatello looked at Raphael. "I don't think she has much time left Raphael. Her wounds are too grievous to recover from, even with proper medical treatment. I just can't believe that she's managed to survive this long." Donatello looked at Raphael. "It's not your fault Raph."Donatello said comfortingly.

"Don't...just. Don't Donny. All of this is my fault." Her face was still mostly covered by her hood. He wanted to see her face. To have it ingrained in his memory the woman he had failed to protect, that had protected him instead, given her life for his. He pulled her hood back a little and looked into the face of the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. "Jeez, she can't even be old enough to drink. She's just a teenager." He choked out.

Donatello also seemed struck by her. "She's about our age Raph, probably 20ish would be my guess."

"That's what I mean. What is a girl this age going around fighting monsters for?" He looked again at her face. Her hair and skin was the colour of white marble. Dark brows arched over dark lashed eyes. Dark pink lips formed a perfect cupids bow. Slightly defined cheekbones flowed into a square jaw line that had three black markings on each side, like the stripes of a tiger. But she had scars as well. A vertical scar ran through her left eye while 4 slash marks ran from just below her right eye to just above her lips and jaw. The scars were not ruinous, more like fine silver marks that seemed to add to her beauty rather than detract. "And she's so small." He reached out and touched her face. She was cold to the touch. "She looks like she's just sleeping."

"Yes she does." Donatello said standing.

"Do you think you could give me a minute Donny?" Raphael asked in a whisper. Donatello nodded and walked around the wall.

Donatello walked around the wall to give him some privacy. "Hey Leo, Mikey, we found her!" Donatello yelled across the chamber at his brothers. Leonardo waved letting him know that he had heard. Leonardo and Michelangelo began making their way towards him.

Donatello turned as he heard a scuffling sound from behind the wall. Donatello darted back around the wall. "Raph don't even think of trying to move her. You're still injured..." The words died on his lips as the woman stood in front of Raphael. It looked as if they were embracing. Raphael's eyes were closed while her face was nuzzled into his neck. He stood there in shock not quite knowing what to do. The woman knelt down and laid Raphael on the ground. She looked over her shoulder at him. Her lips were stained red with Raphael's blood. Her tongue darted out and licked the excess from her lips. The movement was entrancing, he was unable to look away. He looked into her eyes and knew he was lost. Her eyes were bright moss green with flecks of golden brown in the center. Her eyes and skin seemed to be lit from within. She had been beautiful before, now she was devastating.

She walked over to him and while his brain was fighting, willing his legs to move he was unable to. She looked up into his eyes pulled him in close. He went willingly. He felt the scrape of sharp canines on his neck, and the warmth of her breath. The scent of something filled the air, a flower of some sort but not any he recognized, then her canines pierced his tender flesh. Pain washed through him and he tried to struggle, but arms like steel bands were locked around him. The moment he tried to struggle the pain evaporated and pleasure like he had never felt washed through him. He couldn't stand, his legs gave out as she held him and drank his lifeblood away. He knew he should be screaming for her to stop, but he couldn't, he wanted it to last forever. She finally broke away and he groaned in frustration. He wanted her to continue. He vaguely felt her lift him and carry him to his brother. He looked over to Raphael who looked to be unconscious. He looked up at her and watched in amazement as the wounds on her body began to heal. She pulled back the hood of her cloak and revealed lynx -like ears on the top of her head, as well as black hair that cascaded in waves down her back. It was just the hair in front of her ears that was white. Her ears flickered as she listened. She sniffed the air and let out a growl.

She had placed them against the wall that had hidden her. Leonardo and Michelangelo came around the other way so they were under the overhang of part of the second floor. She turned her back to both of them and let out another growl aimed at Leonardo and Michelangelo.

"Donny, Raph, are you alright!" Leonardo asked as he faced the woman with his Katana drawn. She drew her own swords from the scabbards on her back. One's blade was black with a red glow that surrounded it, the other blade was blue with a faint aura of black surrounding it. A third scabbard that was partially hidden by her cloak appeared to be empty.

She spread her legs in a battle stance and the leather cloak that was beneath the cloth one rose revealing that the leather cloak was in actuality a pair of large black leather wings that were nearly as tall as she was. A reptilian tail flicked in irritation from side to side. She took a step backwards. She had crossed her swords in a defensive stance.

Donatello looked over at Raphael who had regained consciousness and was looking at the woman in shock. "Donny, what happened?" He asked.

"I don't know, we were bitten and she has appeared to have recovered from being...almost dead."

Raphael touched his neck which came away bloody. He groaned. "She's going to get Leo." He tried to move but fell back weakened by blood loss. Donatello noticed he was a little better off than Raphael, but not by much. It took all of his determination to manage to get to his knees. "Donny, I can't move, I'm too weak." Raphael growled in frustration.

Michelangelo was standing to Leonardo's left, but she didn't seem to be paying attention to him. "Leo, what are we doing?" Michelangelo asked, his nun chucks unmoving in his hands.

"She attacked Donny and Raph." Ever the negotiator Leonardo lowered his swords slightly. "Why have you attacked my brothers?" He asked angrily.

Her only response was to growl louder, then she moved. She moved faster than any of them could track, one moment she was in front of them the next she had driven Leonardo into the wall. Blood spurted on each side of him as the swords struck and embedded into stone. A piercing scream rent the air.

"Leo!" They all screamed. Leonardo looked at her, shock written all over his face. She then grabbed Leonardo around the waist and pulled him from the wall. A giant creature screamed at them. It emerged from the shadows, its body like that of a giant centipede. It thrashed and struggled as it tried to get away from the two swords that pinned it to the wall.

Leather wings wrapped around Leonardo as she turned her back to the wall. Blood rained down upon them. She let go of Leonardo and he slumped to the ground apparently unharmed. She turned, jumped, hit the wall grabbing the red sword as she went and cut the head from a creature that screamed at her. Its blood arced hitting the brickwork behind it and above it. It shuddered in pain as its head landed at her feet. It's body looked to be made up of the surrounding shadow and it began to disintegrate almost instantly.

A reddish light drifted up from the creature's head, she grabbed at it and held it in her gauntlet encased hand. The claws of her gauntlet enclosed the light in a cage. She looked over her shoulder at them, as if weighing her options. She lifted the black sword and touched it to the light. The sword flashed bright as it consumed the light. In that moment Donatello could feel the pure evil that rolled off the sword. The darkness that the sword possessed was even worse than the darkness that they encountered when battling Tengu Shredder. She sheathed the sword eliminating the dark energy that it created. She grabbed her other sword and wrenched it from the wall. She turned and looked at them. She scanned the area, ears twitching, nose smelling. "Dunta!" She growled then leapt upon Leonardo. He tried to scramble out of the way but she covered him the instant the second floor and the supporting wall collapsed on top of them.

"Leo, Mikey!" Donatello and Raphael screamed

Michelangelo stood up coughing. Donatello managed to stand and stumble over to Michelangelo's side. "Are you okay Mikey?" He asked. Michelangelo nodded and he pulled himself from the rubble. Michelangelo was far enough away that he wasn't under the main section of the wall and floor collapse.

Raphael had managed to pull himself up and stumbled to where Leonardo and the woman were buried.

Raphael struggled to move the bricks, trying to dig his brother out. They began to dig, calling out Leonardo's name.

They managed to clear away enough of the rubble and found the woman. They heaved her out from beneath the brick. Leonardo was under the woman's body. He looked at his brothers as they helped him out. "I'm fine. "He said brushing off the dust and debris that covered him.

He knelt down beside the woman. "Donny how is she?"

"Well she's breathing and has a pulse, so she must just be unconscious. "

"Or that is what she wants us to think." Michelangelo said looking at them.

"It's probably to lull us into a false sense of security, then she pounces and drinks all our blood. AAHHH you two were bit!" Michelangelo backed up a few steps. "In all the monster movies if you are bit by a vampire you turn into one!" Donatello and Raphael looked at each other.

"Mikey, vampires don't exist." Donatello said in exasperation.

"But she exhibits the classic vampire everything! Pale skin, glowing eyes, desire to drink blood, superfast healing, super strong, super fast. She just walked away from injuries that should have killed her!" Michelangelo paused in thought. "Any cravings for blood, feel an aversion to garlic, don't like sunlight?" Michelangelo asked looking back and forth between Donatello and Raphael.

Raphael punched him in the shoulder. "Enough Mikey. Let's get going." Raphael stood shakily to his feet while Donatello helped him. They were both weak but they might manage between them.

"Mikey help Raph and Donny back to the lair." Leonardo ordered.

"But I don't want to be stuck between the two soon to be vampire turtles." Michelangelo complained.

Leonardo smiled, "Then I will help Raph and Don back while you carry the 'vampire' back to the lair."

Donatello looked at his brother. He had mixed feelings about bringing her into their home. She had helped them, but she had also attacked them. But it wasn't like they could leave her here. It was almost better that they take her to the lair so they could watch her. Leonardo was looking at him. "I know Donny, I want to be able to keep an eye on her, find out if she is friend or foe. Do you think you would be able to whip up some sort of containment for her? Do you feel well enough for doing something like that?"

Donatello nodded. He was still weak, but the thought of leaving her free left him feeling uneasy. But what could he use to contain her?

Leonardo leaned over and picked her up. He looked at her, seemed to change his mind and threw her over his shoulder. "Well no sense taking any chances. If she wakes up at least I can just drop her on her head if she makes any move to bite me."

Donatello grabbed Michelangelo around the waist while Raphael threw an arm around Michelangelo's shoulder.

They began walking back down the tunnel to the lair. "Or maybe you won't be vampires, maybe she will turn you into her willing blood slaves, or just a regular slave like Renfield." Michelangelo said while they walked.

"Shut-up Mikey." Raphael growled.

"Now that she's bit you she has a way into your mind."

"Shut up Mikey." Donny said angrily.

Raphael knew Mikey was only joking but all the same he couldn't stop the little sliver of doubt that Mikey could be right. Raphael looked at Donatello worry written all over his face.