THE LION, THE CAT AND THE TURTLES

Based on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird

and

The Chronicles of Narnia
by C. S. Lewis

CHAPTER ONE:
In the Forest

Leonardo blinked and squinted against the sudden bright sunlight that filled his eyes, drawing his swords as he carefully raised himself.

Okay, he thought. I definitely didn't see this coming.

He'd just been on a standard sewer patrol to check up on Donatello's security system. Pure routine, really, but this time it had taken an unexpected turn: Just as he had entered a particularly dark part of the sewers, he had felt something pull on him. He'd tried to turn around to see who had managed to sneak up on him, but he hadn't been able to see anyone, and the pulling had grown stronger, more insistant, more intolerable, until he'd finally succumbed to it and fallen...

......but instead of landing in the raw sewage that he'd expected, he had landed on hard and firm ground, parts of which was covered in grass.

It was then he realized that he was no longer in the sewers of New York, but found himself in the middle of a lush, green forest. The sun was shining down on him between the trees, and all around him, birds were singing just as if nothing weird had happened.

Either this was a very strange dream, or something had happened that had teleported him to someplace else.

This last thought was rather disconcerting: he had experienced such things before -- being around dimension-travelling beings like the ones he and his brothers had encountered over the years tended to land you in quite a few strange situations -- and he had seldom, or never, ended up anyplace he'd really wanted to go.

Now, where was this place, he wondered, and was there anyone around who would immediately attack him for trespassing, or looking like a demon, or any of the other things that usually happened in these situations?

"Hello, neighbor," came a jovial voice from behind him, before he could continue his line of thought. "I say, is there a battle around that I haven't been told of?"

Leo spun around, looking for the speaker. His eyes widened behind his mask as they fell upon the form of a badger. But it wasn't a normal badger -- it was abnormally large and was standing upright on its hind legs, and was looking at him with eyes that were much too intelligent for a normal animal.

"Did you just... say something?" said Leo, a little uncertainly.

"Why, of course I did," said the badger. "I was asking if there was a battle somewhere near here, what with you going around with swords drawn and all. And two of them as well." It gazed at him with near-sighted eyes. "I say, you are a funny looking one, aren't you? No offense, no offense," it added hurriedly, as if it suddenly realized that insulting the looks of someone carrying around two very sharp swords wasn't exactly the smartest thing to do. "I've just never seen anything quite like you, that's all. You look a bit like a turtle, but you're built more like a man than any turtle I've ever seen. Come from the North, I expect? Related to the Marsh-wiggles of Ettinsmoor, perhaps?"

Slowly, Leo sheathed his swords. The creature was obviously no threat, whatever it was. "I'm afraid I don't quite know what you mean," he said politely. "I don't know anything about these things you mention... I just suddenly found myself here without knowing how, or even where 'here' is."

"Well, you're in the forest, of course," said the badger. "That's obvious, innit?"

"Yes," said Leo, "but where is the forest? What's this..." (he was about to say 'world,' but changed his mind about it at the last moment) "...country?"

To his surprise, the badger chuckled. "Oh, dear me, that's a good 'un," it said. "Look at me! I'm a talking badger, ain't I? Of course you're in Narnia! Where else would you find talking beasts such as me?"

"Narnia?" said Leo, trying and failing to think of anytime he might have heard that name before. "Excuse me, but I'm not from around here. Narnia, that's the name of this country?"

The badger stopped laughing and instead stared at him. "Well, I daresay you're from a far way off if you ain't never heard of Narnia! I thought there weren't a soul in the world who didn't know about this land! Where are you from?"

"Leo shook his head. He wasn't quite sure how much he ought to tell this badger about himself -- even if it seemed friendly enough, he had learned never to take things at face value -- but he supposed that some basic information wouldn't hurt. "I'm from a place called New York," he said. "Don't know if you've ever heard of it."

"Can't say I ever have," the badger replied after having thought for a bit. "Newyork? Is it over the sea? Does everyone there look like you, begging your pardon?"

"Not exactly," said Leo, and left it at that. "And I'm not exactly sure where it is, from here. Like I said, I just kinda suddenly found myself here, with no idea as to how... That's why I had my swords drawn," he added as means of an explanation. "I didn't mean to appear hostile. I'd just suddenly appeared in a place I didn't know, and wasn't sure if there was someone waiting to attack me or not."

"Oh, well, that explains it." The badger, strangely, didn't seem to doubt this story (which even to Leo sounded rather unlikely). It just rubbed its chin and said thoughtfully: "Just suddenly appeared, eh? Sounds like magic to me."

"Magic?" said Leo, feeling his heart sink. The few experiences he'd had with magic had not been pleasant ones -- even less so than the ones he'd had with other types of dimension travelling.

"Yeah, sounds like it. Not that I should call myself an authority on the subject, of course, being just a humble Talking Beast... If it's them who knows magic you're seeking out, you'd be better off talking with the Dwarfs. Or possibly the Centaurs. They don't practice it much, of course, but I daresay they know about it."

"Excuse me... I'd be better off talking to the what?!"

"Dwarfs! You don't have them in this Newyork of yours? Decent chaps on the whole, although occasionally you run into some of them who... well." The badger shrugged. "The less said of that, the better, in my opinion. But I could take you to meet the Dwarfs who live 'round here, if you want. Maybe they could tell you more. Or maybe the Centaurs have seen something in the stars. It's been known to happen."

"...It has?"

"Of course it has! You don't get anyone better to interpret the dance of the stars than a Centaur. From another world, are you?"

"I -- probably," said Leo, trying not to sound as confused as he felt. This was just a little too much for him all at once -- talking animals, dwarfs and centaurs, and talking about different worlds as if dimension-hopping was something common. It was enough to make him feel like he'd somehow inadvertedly stepped into some kind of lowbrow fantasy story for children, and he wasn't at all sure he liked the implications of that. "It would be good to talk to someone who might be able to explain things... I really don't know what I'm doing here... or how to get home, for that matter."

"We'll find a way, of course we will, never you worry," said the badger cheerfully. "By the way, my name's Portly. You got a name?"

"Leonardo," said Leonardo. "Most people call me 'Leo,' though."

"Leo?" Portly seemed pleased by this. "That's a lion's name, that is! Well, even if it weren't for nothing else, that makes you all right in my book! C'mon, then! I'll take you to see old Glenstorm the Centaur, he lives nearby!"

"Uh... lead the way," said Leo, wondering just what it was about lions that appealed to Portly. Wouldn't it have made more sense for the badger to be afraid of a predator like a lion? But, he reminded himself, he was definitely not in his own world anymore -- things might very well be different here in Narnia. Maybe lions and badgers were natural allies or something.

"So," said Portly as they set down the path, "You're a warrior of some kind in this Newyork of yours, that right?"

"You could say that," said Leo. "It was the swords that tipped you off, wasn't it?"

"Well, partly that, but something about the way you carry yourself as well," said Portly. "I've seen warriors carry themselves like that. Something about the way they always seem ready for trouble, even if they're not necessarily looking for trouble. There's something else about you, though, something that's different from the warriors I've seen. You seem like you'd be more at home lurking in the shadows than walking out in the open... now, normally I'd say that was a sign that a person was no good, but your face is much too honest for it, even with that strange mask you're wearing."

Leo nodded, slightly impressed at this level of deduction. It seemed like this badger was more perceptive than he appeared at first glance.

"We've had people from other worlds here in Narnia before," said Portly, "and they always came here for a reason, and it always -- almost always -- turned out a great benefit for us. You don't know why you came? Did you see or hear anything out of the ordinary?"

Leo shook his head. "I just felt as if someone had grabbed me and was dragging me off somewhere."

"That definitely happened for a reason," Portly mused. "I daresay we'll find out what it was soon enough, Aslan be willing. Now, if you really never heard of Narnia before, I expect you must be mighty curious about what sort of country we are," he continued. "Let me fill you in on it as we walk along..."

"All right," said Leo, and internally he hoped that the fill-in wouldn't take as long as he suspected it would. Interesting as the country's history no doubt was, and insightful though this badger may be, Portly did seem to love the sound of his own voice just a little too much for Leo's tastes.

Portly's story did nothing to ease Leo's feelings that he's somehow ended up in a fantasy story for children.

Apparently, Narnia was a country that contained many creatures he had only thought belonged in fairytales -- Dwarfs, Fauns, Giants, Centaurs, Dryads and of course a multitude of talking animals -- but it was nevertheless ruled by a human (or a "Son of Adam," as Portly for some reason insisted on calling it), who apparently was descended from some humans that had come into Narnia from another world long ago.

This thing about humans coming from other worlds, through some kind of magic, seemed to be an event that had repeated itself several times throughout Narnian history, and Leo thought that this at least explained Portly's immediate acceptance of Leo's own story; the Badger had probably heard about visitors from other worlds for his entire life.

While humans were now numerous in Narnia, they hadn't always been; in fact, the stories told that once, the humans had been banished from Narnia by a witch or something, and had been gone so long that many of Narnia's creatures had forgotten that there ever was such thing as humans -- though the Talking Beasts had never forgotten, Portly hastened to add: "We Beasts, we don't forget, we don't change, and we know that Narnia weren't never quite right unless a Son of Adam was on its throne."

And while the humans were gone, Narnia definitely hadn't been "quite right," because a cruel witch had seized power, enslaved the Narnians and caused a winter that lasted for a hundred years, with no summer in sight. At the end of the winter, however, four humans had come to Narnia, defeated the witch and made everything "right" again by taking up the rule of Narnia with the help and blessing of someone named "Aslan" -- who, as far as Leo could make out, was the highest authority in this place; the one even the mightiest kings bowed to.

"King Peter, the High King, it was," said Portly. "And his brother, King Edmund, and his sisters, Queen Susan and Queen Lucy. They ruled Narnia for many a year before they simply vanished, all four of them. Turned out later they'd gone back to their own world, but nobody knew, of course, until they returned a thousand years later and could tell us what had happened."

"They sound like very long-lived humans," said Leo.

"No, it was a whatchamacallit," said Portly, waving his paw around as he tried thinking of the word. "Blast, I know there's a name for it. Something about time running differently in the two worlds. A human could stay here for ages and still return to his own world after a few seconds -- and then, if he returned here after a week in his own world, he might find that a year had passed in Narnia, or a thousand years, or just a few minutes. You can never know for sure what it's going to be. 'Least, that's how I've always had it told to me."

Leo frowned. "Does this mean that no matter how long I stay here, no time at all is going to pass in New York?"

"Could be. Or could be that years will pass. Like I said, you can never know for sure."

Leo definitely didn't like the implications of this, but he didn't say anything, deciding to push away the sense of worry for now. After all, the flow of time wasn't something he could control, so it would be useless to panic about it... though it was with a slightly uneasy heart he listened to the rest of the story, which took a drastic turn after the disappearance of the Four Great Kings and Queens, as the badger referred to them as.

Some decades after they had vanished, humans had once again entered Narnia, but this time they had come from another country in this world, a place called Telmar. They had conquered Narnia through war, and done it so completely, it seemed, that all the non-humans were forced to go underground and live in hiding. And in an ironic turnaround, after some time many of the humans forgot that there had ever been such things as Dwarfs and Fauns and Talking Beasts and thought of them only as legends.

However, some humans remembered and honored the stories, and one such human was Prince Caspian, direct descendant of Caspian the Conqueror (the man who had crowned himself king of Narnia after the Telmarin humans had conquered Narnia). The prince had chanced to come upon the remains of the old Narnian civilization while on the run from his uncle, Miraz the Usurper, and had eventually managed to befriend Dwarfs and Giants and Fauns and Centaurs and Talking Beasts alike.

It was around this time when the High King Peter and his royal siblings had returned to Narnia after their thousand-year-long absence, and again with the aid of this "Aslan," they helped Caspian defeat Miraz and regain his throne before once again returning to their own world.

Caspian proved to be a good King for all of Narnia's creatures, all of whom could now live out in the open again -- and even though the humans were now slightly more numerous than the other creatures save the Beasts, everyone were more or less getting along and had done so for several decades.

"The good King Caspian died about ten years ago," Portly finished, "and the throne has gone to his son, King Rilian -- long may he reign -- who's generally agreed upon to have shaped up to be a fine king and --"

"Wait," Leo suddenly interrupted him, stopping dead in his tracks. "Did you hear that?" he said in a whisper.

"Hear what?" said Portly, stopping as well.

Leo motioned for him to be silent and concentrated. As a ninja, and more importantly as a mutant Turtle, you were trained to always be aware of your surroundings, to pick up and recognize potential danger at a moment's notice. Of course, it worked better when you were on familiar ground, and Leo was more a Turtle of the city than of the forest, but prolonged stays up at Casey's farmhouse and many nature walks had nevertheless given him a general feel of what a forest should feel like.

And there was something about it right now that felt... off, like a sour note in an otherwise pleasant-sounding song. He wasn't sure if he had heard it, or felt it, or just imagined it, or if whatever he'd heard or felt (or imagined) was something that was perfectly normal for Narnia but just felt off-putting to him because it wasn't what he was used to.

Focus, Splinter's voice sounded in his ears, recounting the old lesson. Do not look for what you think is going to be there, look for what is really there. Do not listen only with your ears, because those very ears might be deceiving you. Listen with your heart, your soul, your mind.

And even though he didn't see or hear anything, he was now aware of someone, or something -- in fact, several someones or somethings -- that were moving past him in rapid succession. Just a slight wavering in the air next to him, and then it was gone again, leaving only the sensation that it was moving down the path, away from him.

He had a distinct feeling that there had been a party of unseen, unheard creatures hurrying past him and Portly. It was hard to say just how many there had been (but more than a few, he was certain of that) or just what sort of creatures they had been, but that they had been there was certain.

"Maybe a Badger can be so bold as to ask what you're doing?" said Portly after a while, looking up at him with an expression that was made up, in roughly equal parts, by curiosity, confusion and mild annoyance.

"Portly," said Leo. "You've told me about Centaurs and Dwarfs and Fauns and Satyrs and Dryads and a whole lot of other creatures, so I'm willing to accept that this might be a perfectly normal occurrence... but there were just a group of invisible creatures walking right past us."

"Invisible?"

"Yeah. Is that something that happens a lot around here?"

"Well, I ain't never seen anyone invisible around here, if that's what you mean," said Portly. "Are you certain?"

"As certain as I am of anything right now," said Leo. "They walked right past us, pretty fast too, in that direction." As he pointed, he realized just how stupid it must sound to the Badger -- a group of invisible creatures?

But once again, Portly surprised him. "That's Eastward, that is," he said thoughtfully. "In that direction lies Cair Paravel, the Royal Castle. Why would a group of invisible beings be heading in that direction? Sounds like something that ain't right that's going on. Maybe this is why you came here, to warn us of that!"

Leo took a deep breath. "You mean to say you believe it? Just like that?"

"Of course," said Portly, looking surprised that Leo would have thought otherwise. "I told you before, you have an honest face. I'm a Talking Beast, I am, and a Badger besides -- we can recognize liars and cheaters and traitors better than most, not that I'm one to brag, mind you. I don't believe you would lie about something like this, though I must admit I'm baffled as to what it all might mean, what with invisible creatures heading for Cair Paravel and all. We'd better hurry up and get to Glenstorm's place. He'll know what to do, mark my words!" He started walking again, going down on all fours this time and picking up pace.

Through short breaths, he explained that Glenstorm had been the general of Caspian's army, but that he was long retired from military service and had spent the last decade or so dedicating himself to his true calling as a star-gazer and prophet, as well as looking after his numerous grandchildren. He was better than most at seeing the hidden, and knew much about warfare.

"It might be a coincidence, though," Leo pointed out as Portly had to stop talking for a bit, trying to keep at least some level of sensibility to this conversation. (The way Portly kept completely accepting his every word was a little unnerving -- not that he particularly wanted him to start laughing at him or refuse to believe him or tell him he was crazy, but he couldn't quite shake the feeling that the badger was either very clever or extremely gullible.) "I mean, unless this Cair Paravel lies just behind those trees, it's not certain that that was where they were headed. They could be going another place that just happened to lie in that direction."

"That could be, of course," said Portly, having regained enough breath to talk. "But it would be a mighty strange coincidence at that. Them what sneaks around invisibly seldom have honest motivations, as my old father would say."

They didn't speak any more for the rest of the walk; Portly seeming suddenly -- and as far as Leo could see, rather uncharacteristically -- to think that they should focus more on hurrying than talking. And it didn't take long before the trees parted, and they found themselves in a clearing in the forest. At the other end of the clearing, where the trees came together again, stood what appeared to be a low, wide hut, made so it almost blended perfectly in with the trees... and in the front of it lay a creature that would have made Leo stare and gawk if he hadn't been prepared for it:

The upper body was that of a young woman, reasonably attractive as far as Leo could judge (though he could hardly call himself an expert on human feminine beauty), with straight blonde hair and tan skin -- but the lower body, slumped in the grass in a most undignified manner, was that of a sandy-yellow-coated horse. What was even more eye-catching was that she had just lowered her human torso and taken a big mouthful of grass.

It was, of course, a Centaur, and she looked up as Leo and Portly got closer, hastily swallowed the mouthful of grass and got to her feet.

"Well met, Portly," she said, her words a little indistinct because of the grass she hadn't managed to swallow, and tried to stand tall and straight as she turned what was probably meant to be a solemn, piercing gaze at Leo. "Who is your friend? I don't believe I've seen any creature such as this before."

"Hullo, Moorwin, didn't realize you were here," Portly panted. "This here's Leo, he's a Newyorker."

Leonardo, who unlike Portly wasn't even slightly out of breath, bowed politely to the Centaur. It wasn't often he met people who didn't at first back away from him, or attack him on sight, and he was determined to make as good a first impression as he could, time permitting. "A Ninja Turtle, actually. My full name is Leonardo, but as I already told Portly, most people just call me Leo. It's an honor to meet you."

The Centaur seemed to measure him before returning the bow (which did look slightly odd on a centaur). "Well, you're polite, whatever else you are. My name is Moorwin, and the honor is all mine, I'm sure. What can I do for you?"

"Was hoping to see your Grandfather," said Portly. "Leo here, he says he saw some invisible creatures heading for Cair Paravel, and I said to myself, I said, old Glenstorm would find this very interesting, and he'd know what to --"

Moorwin held up a hand. "Portly, please slow down. You're chattering like a squirrel. What are you talking about? Invisible creatures?"

"He is talking about a great threat to the King, dear Granddaughter," came a voice from within the hut, an old yet strong and powerful voice. Leo turned his head to see another Centaur come walking out of the open door. Unlike Moorwin, this Centaur looked old -- old and stern and very regal, his eyes filled with a quiet, solemn dignity and wisdom.

Leo only needed to take one look at this Centaur to understand that this was a person to be treated with respect. He bowed low, and the Centaur gave him a very solemn nod in return.

"Hullo, Glenstorm," said Portly. "Leo here, he says he --"

"I heard." Glenstorm looked at Leo, then up at the sunny sky. "And it comes as no surprise. The stars tell of a threat to the King and to Narnia. Much that has been long hidden is about to reveal itself, to the misfortune of us all."

"So you know about the invisible creatures?" said Portly eagerly. "You wouldn't happen to know what they were, would you?"

But Glenstorm shook his head. "The stars seldom give such detailed informations, Portly. But they do tell of unexpected aid from other worlds, of great battles and great trials to be overcome. They tell that once again, the hour draws near, and we had better prepare for it." He turned to Leo and nodded again. "Welcome to Narnia, traveller of worlds. I am sorry that our meeting could not be under more fortunate stars."

Leo bowed again. "I'm afraid I know little about Narnia, or about what the stars might say," he said diplomatically. "But I know what I saw. Or rather, what I felt. If Portly is right, and these invisible creatures are heading for the Royal Castle with ill intent --"

"-- Then it's only the duty of any free Narnian to travel to Cair Paravel and make sure that the creatures do not harm good King Rilian, or sullen the ancient home of the High King," said Moorwin hurriedly. "Especially if Grandfather says they are a sign of a great threat. And since I am the fastest of us..." She trotted up to Leo. "Do you know how to ride?"

"What?" said Leo, a little surprised.

"Well, you'll be going down to Cair Paravel, won't you? If I understood you correctly, you're in a hurry. Normally I wouldn't allow just anyone to ride me, but if it's a matter of investigating a possible threat to Cair Paravel, and to the king, I'm willing to make an exception. Do you know how to ride?"

"A little," said Leo, thinking about the few times he'd been on horseback in his life. Riding had come more easily to him than to his brothers, but he wouldn't actually call himself experienced. "But not that much. And never on a centaur."

"That goes without saying," said Moorwin. "But you'll do all right."

Glenstorm, who had watched this exchange, nodded. "My Granddaughter may be a little rash, but she is correct. Time is of the essence, and I have been a friend to the good King Rilian since his birth. I cannot refuse my own kin to go out in aid of him, especially in times like these."

"Then I'll stay here, if you don't mind," said Portly. "I'd just slow you down, and of course it ain't natural for a Badger to travel in any fashion but on his own two, or four, feet."

"That's okay, Portly," Leo assured him. "Thanks for your help."

"Aw, I didn't really do nothing," the Badger muttered, scraping his foot. "Let me know how things turn out for you, all right? I hope you get to the King in time."

"I am the fastest runner in the forest," Moorwin bragged. "I can't run at top speed with a passenger, but I daresay we can make good time anyway! Now... Leonardo, was it? I'm going to run very fast here, so I suggest you hold onto me so you don't fall off." She paused at Leo, somewhat uncertaintly mounted her and wrapped his hands around her. "But not just there. A little lower, please."

"Sorry." Embarrassed, Leo moved his hands.

"That's quite all right. Now you've got it." Without further ado, the centaur turned again and galloped out of the clearing, heading to the East, with Leonardo hanging on for dear life, discovering very quickly that riding a centaur was anything but comfortable.

Next time, Leo thought between the hoofbeats, desperately clinging to Moorwin and trying not to fall off, I'm going to stay home and send Mike out on patrol instead.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Author's notes: Narnian fans should recognize the epoch in Narnian time Leo has been sent to; namely the period taking place between The Silver Chair and The Last Battle (but much closer to the former than the latter). Of course (as Portly might say), this timeline isn't a hundred percent dependable, because if Susan is an old lady in our world, the fic must logically take place after The Last Battle, right? So it appears that Leo has not only been sent to another world, but back in time as well! There is a reason for this, but it won't be revealed for some time yet.

Quick note about the OCs in this chapter: I quickly realized that I couldn't write a Narnia story without heavy use of OCs, but I've done my best to make them true to the spirit of Narnia. Glenstorm, of course, is very much a canon character (and as Narnian Centaurs live for a very long time, I didn't think it unreasonable to have him still alive and well during the reign of King Rilian), and we know he had three sons, so giving him a granddaughter didn't seem too big of a stretch. Most centaurs we meet in Narnian canon are old, stern and wise, so I thought it would be fun to introduce a young, impulsive centaur who thinks she is stern and wise, but hasn't quite gotten the hang of it yet.

As for Portly... no, he's not related to Trufflehunter.

In the next chapter, we'll be returning to New York to see the other Turtles and Splinter, and their reaction to a talking Klunk, and we'll also find out what Susan Pevensie is up to these days.