I don't own TMNT or UY.

Xxxxx

He weighed so little.

I was use to my brothers who, thanks to the extra bone on our backs, weighed almost double than what a normal person their height would. Master Splinter didn't weigh much at all, but he was much older than we were, so it didn't seem so strange to me. Usagi weighed practically nothing.

Ok, that's not completely true. But when I wrapped my arms around him and lifted him off the floor, I was shocked to find how easy he was to pick up. A strong, fast warrior like him, yet he was so light. In a way it was almost terrifying.

I'd found his swords and slipped them into my belt before I wrapped an arm around his back, slipping the other under his knees and picked him up as quickly as I could. At first I planned to sling him onto my shell but when I realised how easy he was to carry I decided against it, cradling him close to my plastron instead so I could shield him from anything that might fall or hit us. I made sure I had a good hold on him, resting his head in the crook of my neck and folding his arms against his chest so they wouldn't be exposed to any danger before I turned and, as fast as I could manage, made a run for it. I headed for the nearest door leading away from the destruction of the room, the fire, and the swirling portal.

I was panting hard, mostly in panic, as I ran. The passage outside the large room had also been affected by the blast. The circular lights in the ceiling seemed to have all burst their light-bulbs so that the only light was the slow flashing alarm, making the area switch back and forth between complete darkness and deep red. A robot voice was giving calm instructions on how the residence in the base needed to evacuate but it meant little to me. I could still hear the howling from the terrible machine as well as feel the rumble of energy in the floor.

Once I was a safe distance away I looked around frantically, trying to figure what to do and where to go.

Donny. I needed to get to Donny. I had to make sure he was ok. I spun around and started heading back to the elevator we'd used to get down here. I knew using the thing in a situation like this was the single most stupidest thing I could do, but I had to get to Donatello.

I coughed. The smoke was getting thick in the air. I needed to get away from here. I needed to get Usagi away and to a safe place. He hadn't so much as twitched in all this time, remaining limp and still in my arms. I was scared.

I turned a corner and was just about to run down the passage when I saw a figure running the opposite direction towards me. In a split second I froze in my tracks and raised my shoulders aggressively.

"Back off!!" I barked at the approaching figure, hugging Usagi a little tighter against me.

The figure faltered slightly, slowing its run. "Leo... Leo it's me! It's Don!"

I blinked a few times. "Donny?"

I straightened again and ran towards him. "Don are you ok?!"

I could barely make out him nodding. "I'm fine! When I saw that thing was gonna blow I took cover behind the control panel! But what about you?! You were right there, are you-?!"

He swallowed his sentence when I came closer, and remained silent.

I stopped in front of him, taking a few long, hard breaths.

"L... Leo." He stammered. "Oh... oh no.. ...He's... Is he...?"

"I don't know!" I snapped. "I Don't... I haven't had a chance to check!"

"O.. Ok..." Donny took a quivering breath. I saw him twist his head and look around quickly. "Ok. We need to get away from here."

I nodded, turning and heading back the other way. "Come on!"

We ran the entire way. Through the dark red passages, not paying any attention to where we were heading exactly as long as it was far away from that portal and the fire and the smoke. After a while, the passage started to light up again, the lights in the ceiling not having been damaged by the blast. The red light was still flashing, even here, but we could see better. I was getting tired. I needed to stop and catch my breath, but there was no way I could. I couldn't stop. Not now.

"Here!" Donny suddenly said, turning and running towards one of the doors.

I don't know why he decided it would make a good place to take cover, whether he actually had a way of discerning it was safe or if he'd merely noticed I was running out of fuel. But whatever his reason, I trusted him and followed.

He wrenched open the door, beckoning me inside quickly before he shut it behind me. The room inside was deserted. I guess the people who worked in the base had all made a run for it and left. At least that meant we didn't have to deal with guns any more. Thank heaven for small mercies.

The room was clean and white, it was another work station almost identical to the one we'd used when we first broke into this place. I felt so disorientated that for a moment I wondered if it was the exact same room, but there were small, personal differences that told me it wasn't. No post-it notes on the wall, and there was no coffee machine. Whoever had been using the room had obviously left in a hurry, there were papers scattered everywhere.

"Quick, over here!" Donny said, motioning to the couch.

I nodded and hurried towards it. I crouched down and, as gently as I could, lay the samurai down on it, making sure to be careful with him as I didn't know how badly he was hurt. I was afraid I might've done more damage in picking him up, but I'd had no choice. My guts felt like they were tearing each other apart.

Please don't be dead. I don't know what I'd do if you were dead.

Donny crouched to his knees quickly, putting his duffle-bag down before leaning forward and checking him over, his face furrowed in concentration. First thing he did was grip Usagi's wrist tightly in one of his hands, putting the other to his chest. He shut his eyes and stayed still, feeling for a pulse. I didn't dare breathe, waiting.

Don's shoulders dropped a little. "He's alive."

I gave a long sigh, sinking in place. "Oh thank God."

I was so relieved for a brief second I felt almost light-headed. Thank God.

Donny let go of his wrist and started looking for any serious injuries he might have. Usagi wasn't responding to the physical contact. His normally white fur had been darkened in patches by smoke and dust. Small tufts of it stood at odd angles. One of his kimono sleeves had come undone and had been badly torn, but I saw no blood. Donny was busy pulling the garment open at the chest, making sure there were no wounds hidden by the material. I didn't like seeing my friend in this condition. It chilled me.

"How's he look?" I asked after a while. My voice sounded hoarse and shaky to me.

"No broken bones." Donny said. "I don't see any open wounds or burns, but by the looks of it he took a hard blow to the head."

"Is he gonna be ok?" I couldn't stop myself from asking.

Donny thought for few moments before he gave a nod. "Yeah."

I frowned. "You hesitated."

Don turned and gave me a very hard stare. "He's going to be ok Leo. He's just knocked out. I swear."

I glared at him, a deep frown on my face. He stared right back at me, not breaking eye contact, his expression not even flickering.

I sighed and backed off. "Alright. I believe you."

He gave a nod, relaxing and turning to face me properly. "Now you."

I blinked. "Now me what?"

He unzipped his bag and started digging around inside. He motioned towards my head, looking at me with soft concern in his eyes. "You're bleeding."

I frowned lightly, reaching up to the side of my head and feeling around. It had been pounding ever since I regained my senses, but I'd been unaware of actually being hurt. I'd been too focused on getting Usagi to safety and getting away from the danger. My fingers detected liquid a little further back ad I stopped, flinching at a sudden dull ache.

"Don't touch it!" Donny snapped commandingly.

I quickly pulled my hand away, curling it into a fist and placing it on my knee.

He pulled out his first aid kit, opened it up and went about getting something ready to clean the wound with. While he did so I took the opportunity to look him over. I was still worried he might have been hurt himself and was merely hiding it. He looked a lot better than me and Usagi did though. I noticed some small shards of Plexiglas had gotten stuck between the ridges of his carapace but they weren't imbedded in or anything like that. Other than that he seemed perfectly fine. I was relieved.

He turned and leaned towards me. "Turn your head please."

I did as I was told. I felt a sharp stab of pain as something artificially cold was pressed to my skin and I winced, taking a suck of air through my teeth.

"Hold still." Donny said.

"Sorry." I replied.

For a few moments we sat in silence, sharp spasms of pain running through me as Don cleaned the cut before turning and pulling out something to patch it up with and stop the bleeding.

"So, will I live?" I said, turning my eyes to look at him while trying to keep my head still.

He merely nodded. He looked deeply troubled and for a moment I felt worried for myself. I quickly realised his expression had nothing to do with me though. I swallowed, turning my eyes to look back to where Usagi was lying on the couch. In the stillness of the room I could just make out his chest rise and fall as he breathed. I turned my eyes back to Donny.

"Don... is something wrong?" I asked carefully.

"Of course something's wrong!" Donny said, rather aggressively. He was keeping his eyes focused on the side of my head as he tended to the gash. "Leo what the heck are we gonna do now?!"

I flinched, quickly turning my eyes away from him and to the floor.

"I mean I... I knew I could've stopped that thing! I just needed some more time! If that stupid Tibalt guy hadn't shown up I would've been able to shut the whole thing down and we could've been on our way home already! Instead, here we are and everything's blown up in our faces, quite literally I might add, and we have nowhere we can go from here! Most of the controls for that thing were destroyed when it blew up! There's no way for me to do anything now! I mean what are we gonna do?!"

"Hey hey." I turned my head to face him properly, "Calm down."

He shook his head, biting his lip and sinking. "Leo.. the two of you almost got killed! I.. I mean I was standing there and I was trying to work as fast as I could but... but I saw Tibalt activate the machine! I tried to override his command but nothing I did seemed to have any affect on it! I.. I heard it overload and I.. I knew it was gonna blow but I had no way to warn you! I threw myself behind the control panel and.. and the whole window just imploded over me!" He looked up at me again. "And when I stood up you... You were... You weren't moving!! I.. I panicked!! You..."

I blinked wide-eyed at him before I snapped out of it. I put a hand on his shoulder comfortingly. "It's ok Don. We're ok."

He nodded, shutting his eyes tightly. "I.. I know but... Leo what on earth are we going to do? We... we need to stop that thing. We need to stop that thing but I.. I have no idea how. I can't think of anything that won't involve us getting killed! I just..." He gave an aggravated sigh, putting his hands to his head. "I just don't know what to do..."

I pulled a grim face, lowering my gaze as I thought this over. Donny was right. We needed to do something. We needed to stop that portal from working. Suddenly, this had all spun completely out of control. So much so that I wasn't even entirely sure where we stood any more. Bishop was no longer the threat. This Tibalt, or more specifically whoever Tibalt was working for had now become the front most centre focus of my attention. When I first heard there was some-one else involved in all of this I'd been worried that it would mean trouble for us, but never would I have imagined anything like this. Some-one.. or some thing from another dimension, trying to get here. It wasn't some-one who wanted to use the machine as a weapon against far off planets or other dimensions, this was some-one who was trying to get here to our world. And whoever, or whatever it was, it seemed to need a vast amount of energy to make the crossing.

When I'd woken up there'd been no sign of either Bishop or Tibalt anywhere. I didn't know if they'd made a run for it while I was unconscious or if they'd perhaps been swallowed by the portal when it burst open or if they'd merely been killed in the explosion. There'd also been no sign of anything else in the room either. No other person or creature or being that might have used the portal to enter our world. The portal had still been open and unleashing blasts of energy when I woke up. I had a feeling whatever was trying to get through hadn't done so yet. Although this could be seen as a good thing, it scared me. What kind of being exactly, needed that much energy and that much time to travel between dimensions? I didn't know. All I knew was we had to stop it. Somehow.

I sighed and rested my head on one of my hands. How? How do we stop this thing? Perhaps if we demolished the base itself somehow we could destroy the portal as well before anything has the chance to cross over. How would we do that though? Explosives? Where would we get them? Could we flood the place? Would that even work? I put my other hand to my head as well. I didn't know. I just didn't know. But we had to do something. And... and there was still Jotaro. We still needed to rescue him too. And we needed to regroup with Raph and Mikey. How on Earth were we gonna do all this?

"Leo?" Donny's voice sounded almost like it was coming from far away.

I lifted my head out of my hands, turning to look at him again.

He was staring at me, concern heavy on his face. I sighed, straightening up a little.

"I don't know Donny... We're in way over our heads here." I gave a tight exhale. "I have no idea what to do either."

Donny took a deep breath, turning away from me and looking at Usagi instead. There was a pause during which we said nothing, each trying to sort out our thoughts, trying to come up with some kind of plan.

"....Firstly..." Donny said eventually, turning back to me. "We need to get Usagi somewhere safe. We're still too close to the portal here."

I pulled a face and nodded. "Yeah." I sighed and turned to face Don. "Yeah, that's first priority." I pulled my legs out from under me and moved to get up. "Next, we need to find Raph and Mikey."

Donny nodded. "If we're exceptionally lucky and they have Jotaro with them, then one of us can get him and Usagi to the shell-sub and wait."

I nodded again. "Sounds good. The rest of us can head back to the portal and see if there isn't some way we can destroy it." I gave Don a weak shrug. "Not a very good plan."

"It's the best one we got though." He said, giving me a shaking smile.

I made a noise to myself, turning to look at where my friend still lay unconscious on the couch. I took a deep breath. "Ok."

I walked closer, moving to pick him up again. "Let's move."

"Do.. Do you want me to carry him?" Donny said, looking back and forth between me and Usagi. "I mean you had a pretty bad knock yourself and I'm..."

I shook my head as I lifted him. "I got him Don."

Donny gave me an unhappy look but nodded, closing his bag before putting it around his shoulders and getting up again himself. I waited as he walked to the door, opening it and making sure the coast was clear before he motioned for me to follow. I nodded, exiting after him, making sure I had a firm hold on Usagi. He felt warm against me. I took it as a good sign, but I still felt my nerves in tatters as to whether he really was alright or not.

"You sure he's ok?" I asked Don as he lead the way.

Donny nodded, turning to look me in the eye. "Positive."

I nodded, satisfied. "Ok then. Just checking."

----

We moved at a brisk walk down the passage, Don leading the way. I wasn't entirely sure where he was taking us, whether he actually knew or if he was merely guessing based on what he could remember, but either way I knew he wouldn't let us down. We didn't even bother practising our stealth. The only time we came across any people was when a small group of guards ran past one of the arches where the passages connected together. We'd flattened ourselves against a wall, waiting until the last if them had disappeared around a corner before he started to move again, Donny led us in the opposite direction. I wasn't sure if the guards had seen us or not, it wasn't like we'd been properly hidden or anything, but they seemed completely unconcerned with us. It was a giant relief to know that, for the most part, no-one seemed to care about us running around the base any more as long as we stayed out of the way and didn't pose a threat.

We'd been walking for quite a while before we turned a corner, and came face to face with a large metallic door blocking our way.

"Oh no." Don said, hurrying forward and putting his hands against it, looking it over.

I frowned deeply at it, coming to a stop. "What is it?"

Donny made an irritable noise. "It's a fire-door." He rapped his knuckles against it before backing off a little. "They must have this whole sector locked off to control the area."

"But there are still people running around here!" I said, not liking this development at all. "How are they getting out?!"

"They must have separate passages or something." Donny turned back to me. The fact that he didn't seem anxious, merely slightly annoyed, made me feel better.

I grumbled softly. "So how do we get out?"

Donny sighed, turning and walking back the way we'd come. "Lemme find a computer. It shouldn't be too hard to override the security system."

I nodded, turning to follow after him.

He turned to look back at me. "We're in the chronologist sector. This whole area is devoted to recording data regarding the portal and its progress, there should be a computer station around every corner."

He turned to the nearest door and pushed it open cautiously, looking inside with a frown. He closed it again and crossed the hallway to the one on the opposite side, doing the same thing. He pushed the second door open and slipped inside, turning to look back at me. I nodded and followed after him, entering the room and looking around.

This one was in the same genre as the last room, but it was much smaller and less important looking. There was only one desk for one thing, and no couch. Just the computer station and a small armchair. Whoever had been using this office was clearly not getting paid as much as the office of the last person.

Donny quickly sat himself at the computer as I sat down against a wall, taking the time to make sure Usagi was still alright.

He seemed ok. There was a soft frown on his face and I could see him twitch his whiskers faintly. I hoped it meant he was coming 'round. It unnerved me to see him like this. That and I was still worried sick about him. I needed to see with my own eyes that he was alright before I'd feel better about it.

I sat in silence, waiting for a few minutes as Donny moved his fingers over the keyboard hurriedly, staring hard at the screen as he worked. After a short period of time I heard a dull thud from outside and the sudden, rather jarring silence as the constant alarm stopped. Donny rotated in his chair before getting up, giving me a small, proud smile.

"Nothing to it." He said, leaning forward and helping me get to my feet carefully.

"Good job Don." I praised him. "Now let's get outta here."

He nodded, leading the way out of the room as we started moving again.

Outside, the large fire-door had opened, allowing us to keep going down the passage and in whatever direction Don thought was best. The deep silence of the hallways was unsettling to me. With the alarm and the electronic voice turned off I became aware of just how deserted this entire place had become. I knew this was a good thing, but at the same time it really drove the point home that things have really, really gone wrong.

We walked in silence, looking around every corner and archway. I was trying to form some kind of mental map of the area, although I was having a very hard time doing so. Everything looked the same to me.

And there was still no sign of Raph or Mikey.

I felt movement against me and I came to a halt, my gaze snapping downwards.

"Itai...."

I blinked and felt a smile break out on my face, relief washing over me.

"Don! Don wait up a moment!" I called, crouching to my knees.

Donny turned back to me with a puzzled expression. When he saw what I was doing he turned and quickly walked closer.

Usagi raised a hand to his head and gave a long groan, pulling an almost annoyed looking face. He gave his head a soft shake before he opened his eyes, blinking a few times in the light.

I watched him closely, taking note of every movement to make sure there were no signs of trouble.

"Hey." I greeted him gently.

He blinked at me with a confused expression before he turned to look around, trying to see where he was.

"Welcome back to the land of the living." I said, letting him go as he pushed himself to a sitting position, rubbing at his eyes. I kept one of my hands on his back, keeping my gaze locked on him.

"We are not dead then." He said bluntly. His voice sounded scratchy.

I nodded. "No. Not yet anyway."

"How d'you feel?" Donny asked with concern, sitting down on his knees and reaching out, taking Usagi by the chin before squinting at his face, checking his eyes.

Usagi blinked at him, a little confused but he didn't move. "In all honesty not so well, but I believe I am alright. My head hurts a great deal but I do not think I am badly injured."

"Mmm." Donny nodded, letting him go. "I'll be the judge of that. But I agree, you're ok for the moment." He relaxed and gave Usagi a smile. "Don't start running around too soon though ok? You're probably gonna feel a little loopy for a while."

Usagi nodded for a second but stopped, flinching and putting a hand to his head again.

"I was knocked out in the eruption I believe." He turned to blink at me, frowning slightly as he tried to focus. "How long have I been passed out?"

I shook my head, keeping my eyes fixed on him. I was trying to hide the extent of my relief that he was awake and talking. I didn't want him thinking he was badly hurt, or that I had over-reacted to his injury. "Not that long." I answered his question. "You haven't missed much. We've just been trying to get you to safety before we decided what to do next."

Usagi nodded, turning to stare at the ground thoughtfully. A deep frown formed on his face and I saw him tense up, taking a sharp breath as he looked up again, his eyes widening.

"The Machine! What has happened to it?!" He asked urgently.

I pulled a face at this, a lighter frown settling on my own face.

"It opened the portal." Donny said. "It's currently still going, but it's out of control. It just about destroyed the whole room and most of the passages nearest to it. People are evacuating the whole area."

"But then it is still open to wherever this demon's superior is?!" He asked, turning to Donny instead.

Don sighed and nodded. "Yeah..." He gave Usagi an apologetic expression. "We had to get away and decide what to do next. There's nothing we could've done to shut it down at that moment."

Usagi made an irritable noise to himself, frowning hard to the floor before he shifted, moving to get up. "We must go back."

I blinked at him, quickly getting to my feet as well, Donny following suit. "We need to get you somewhere safe first. You hit your head pretty hard."

He swayed slightly when he was upright and I found myself instinctively putting my hands on his shoulders to steady him. He ran a hand over his face, breathing out.

"No. No it will only waste time. Besides I do not feel too badly hurt. I will be able to regain my senses if I walk a little."

I frowned and made a noise at him. "You'll get yourself killed Usagi."

He shook his head, turning to look at me again, his eyes becoming more focused. "I will be fine. I have had to function with injuries much more grievous than this." He smiled at me. "Trust in me Leonardo, I would not needlessly put myself in danger. Especially not if it meant I would be a hindrance to you."

I bit my lip, my frown breaking as I stared at him with concern.

"....You really scared me for a while back there." I said, my voice a little smaller than before.

His smile dropped and he blinked at me for a moment. I felt his shoulder sink as he gave me a guilt-ridden look. "I am sorry my friend. I did not mean to worry you."

I sighed, shaking my head and letting go of him. "It's not your fault. I just... I was really scared for a while."

He smiled again, more affectionately this time. "I am all right Leonardo. I have suffered and survived much worse."

I nodded, smiling back slightly. "Yeah. Likewise I guess."

"Are you sure you'll be ok?" Donny interrupted, staring at Usagi with a hard frown.

He nodded again, straightening his posture a little. "I am sure."

Donny nodded, turning to me. "Ok then. But... what do we do now?"

I pulled a face, I really wasn't sure to be honest.

"We must head back and face whatever will be coming through that portal." Usagi said when he saw I wasn't answering.

I turned to him, giving a nod. "Yeah but... how do we destroy the portal?"

"Without getting killed." Donny added.

Usagi thought for a moment. "I do not know." He shook his head. "But even if we are unable to, we must still prevent what ever is trying to invade your world from leaving this fortress. If we can devise a way to destroy the machine then all the better, but our concern should be with the being using it, not the device itself."

I blinked before giving a nod. "Good advice." I smiled again. "That I can cope with."

Don nodded in agreement. "Here's hoping whatever's coming through that thing is something we can handle."

I nodded again, turning to head back, making sure they were following. "We won't know until we get there."

Donny sighed and nodded in return, moving to follow after me.

"Wait wait!" Usagi said, sounding alarmed.

I froze and turned to him. "What's wrong?"

He was scanning the floor with an almost panicked expression. "My Daisho! They are not on my person!"

I breathed out, pulling his swords free from my belt and handing them over. "Relax. I held onto them for safe keeping."

He gave a sigh of relief, taking them and tucking them in his obi before shooting me a slight glare. "Do not frighten me like that!"

I pulled a face at him. "That's my line."

----

We were heading back the way we'd come. Donny leading the way as I kept pace with Usagi, not bothering to be surreptitious about keeping an eye on him, making sure he really was as alright as he said he was.

He was walking fine though, his stride the same as always and his eyes focused and clear. I was finally accepting that he was indeed ok and turned to focus on where we were going instead.

We needed to face whatever was coming through that portal before it had a chance to slip by us and out of the base. Who knows what sort of creature it was or what kind of damage it could do if it got out into the city. If Mikey were here he'd be saying 'It's gonna go Godzilla on our shells!'.

The thought came first as a comfort, but the reality of the situation we were in made me feel slightly crushed. Where were Mikey and Raph? I prayed they were still alright, wherever they were. I saw no reason for them to not be as the last I heard, the alarm for intruders had still been going before the portal blew, and I knew for a fact they were nowhere near the area to be in danger, and with the base being evacuated no guards were gonna bother with them now. But I so badly wanted to find them and have our little group as one unit again. Of course it would make facing whatever was coming through the portal easier to handle between the 5 of us, but there was more to it than that.

Despite the fact that he seemed to be doing ok, the incident with Usagi had rocked me to my core. I won't lie, I'd been terrified. I'd been absolutely, heart-stoppingly terrified. The very idea of one of my friends or family being hurt was unbearable to me, but having to have faced it head on like that had given me a bad scare and I was still reeling from it a little. It hadn't been the first time I'd had to face the possibility that some-one I cared about had been killed, but if you're thinking that had made it easier this time then you couldn't be more wrong. You don't get use to a scare like that. You just don't. It reminded me of when I'd come back from Japan, only to find my home in ruins and my family missing. The memory of finding out that they'd supposedly been murdered by Karai stung just as strongly now as it did that night on April's roof. You don't get use to a scare like that.

I needed to know Raph and Mikey were ok. So yes, my reasons for wanting to regroup were completely selfish but I didn't care. I needed us all together again. My only comfort, the one single comfort I could give myself, was that they may be freeing Jotaro at this moment.

Jotaro. The thought of the boy made something in my head click and I focused back on the here and now, turning to look at the samurai once again.

"Usagi." I said.

He rolled his eyes and turned to face me as we walked. "Leonardo, believe me I am deeply touched by your concern but I assure you, you do not need to inspect me every second moment."

I blinked at him. "What? Oh! Oh no no no, this is nothing like that. I wanted to check something with you."

His smile dropped and he gave me a more serious expression. "What is it?"

In front of us, Donny half-turned to hear what the conversation was about.

"I was thinking... Whatever is coming through that gate has no personal interest in you or our dimension now. Perhaps you should go and look for Jotaro." I gave him a concerned look. "We've been doing nothing but focusing on this damned portal... and all you've wanted to do was rescue your son. This doesn't directly involve you any more. You have no obligation to come with us."

I sighed, coming to a stop. Usagi stopped as well, Donny turning to face the both of us.

"I'm not just saying this 'cause I don't want you to face whatever this thing is or because you were hurt. It's just... this isn't fair to you." I pulled a sour expression. "It's not fair to you at all."

Usagi stared at me for a few moments before he sighed. "I thought we already had this discussion."

I pulled a face to myself, knowing the answer which was going to follow that statement.

"I will not leave." He said.

I sighed. "You really won't.. will you?"

He shook his head. "No. I will not."

I nodded miserably.

"Uh... guys?" Donny suddenly spoke up. His tone of voice didn't fit the mood at all. It sounded shaky and excitable. "Uhm... I hate to interrupt but... we got company!"

I turned to face him with a frown.

I nearly fell over when I saw the figure in the black coat walking calmly towards us from the other end of the passage. I'd been so focused on Usagi I hadn't heard him at all.

"Great." I said bitterly, reaching back and pulling my swords free. "That's exactly what we need right now!"

Bishop came to a stop when I drew my weapons, staring at us hard. I heard Usagi unsheathe his own swords as Donny took a few steps back to stand beside me, raising his staff aggressively, glaring pure poison at the man.

So Bishop was still alive. That's just fantastic. I took some satisfaction in the fact that he's looked better though. His sunglasses were gone and there was a cut on the side of his face. His coat was also torn near the base and I noticed he had something that looked like a nasty burn on one of his hands, the sleeve ripped open. Apart from that I could see several minor bruises and an over-all tattered appearance. Then again for some-one who'd been caught in an explosion he didn't look half bad.

He narrowed his eyes slightly at us as we readied ourselves for an attack. None came.

I growled lightly to myself. "We don't have time for this Bishop! Let us pass!"

He frowned at me, his hands clenching into fists. "And what exactly is it that you're preparing to do?"

His tone of voice was blunt and levelled.

"What we always do!" I yelled back. "Clean up one of your messes!"

He glared at us, not making any kind of move. "You are planning to go back to the Gateway then."

"What are we suppose to do?!" Donny called. "You obviously don't have any plans to stop it yourself! Your men are running like rabb-" He stopped himself, stuttering. "What... what I mean is your men are evacuating! No-one's staying to clean all this up! So That doesn't give us much of a choice does it?!"

I nodded. "Just step aside Bishop! We don't need you slowing us down while whatever that thing is breaks through that portal! Even you should be able to understand that!"

"And how exactly are you three planning to stop a giant inter-dimensional gateway in a destroyed control room with 4 swords and a staff between you?" He answered, gritting his teeth slightly.

"That is none of your concern." Usagi spoke up, his voice more controlled than me and Don's as he glared at the man with one of his signature soldier-glares.

"If you want we'll send you a postcard explaining it! Just let us through!" I said.

"In other words, you have no plan." Bishop said.

I growled softly at this, gritting my teeth but I had nothing I could reply with.

"We'll think of something, no need to worry about us!" Donny retorted.

"It's not You I'm worried about Donatello!" Bishop snapped angrily.

"Oh of course not!" I said bitterly. "You're worried about the city and your damned reputation!"

"You may have nothing but resentment towards me Leonardo, but you must admit that worrying about the city and what this could mean isn't exactly immoral." Bishop said, calming down again. "And if the three of you enter that room and try to face whatever is trying to worm its way here without any sort of plan or weapon other than your crude swords then I'm afraid I have a lot of reason to worry."

"Yeah well it's the best we've got!" I called back.

He shook his head at this. "No as a matter of fact. There is a way we can put a stop to this and lessen the chances of you getting killed by a small fraction."

My frown deepened a little at this as I stared at him. "What are you saying Bishop?"

"We may not exactly be on the best of terms Leonardo," He crossed his hands behind his back. "but I think we can both agree that whatever is coming through that Gateway will threaten the city and possibly the Earth itself. That's something neither of us want. However, I need to evacuate the base and report to my superiors immediately. They need to alert the military to be at the ready should this spin out of control. However if this can all be stopped before heavy firepower is needed it will not only help me save face, but it will also mean that I can prevent the military from moving in and collecting... certain samples from my biological division as evidence."

I felt my expression harden at this but kept myself from saying what was on my mind.

"What exactly is it you are proposing?" Usagi asked, narrowing his eyes at the man as his grip on his swords tightened.

"Simply this." Bishop uncrossed his arms, pulling his coat open slightly and reaching inside an inner pocket. I tensed, raising my swords a little, Donny widening his stance beside me as Usagi made a slight noise.

Bishop didn't seem to even notice, pulling out a small electronic device and holding it up. It looked a bit like a computer circuit board, but there were enough differences so that even I could tell that wasn't exactly what it was.

I didn't relax my stance, frowning at it. "And what is that exactly?"

Bishop lowered it again. "It's a fail-safe device. I had thought it would be in my best interest to have a small division of my men develop a way to stop this project if it got out of hand. Mr. Tibalt had no knowledge of its construction or its inclusion in the Gateway's design. I'd had it stored away for safe keeping until the time should come that I may need it." His expression hardened slightly. "It seems my paranoia was well justified."

"And I suppose you expect us to risk our necks getting it to that portal while you make a clean getaway?" I spat at him.

"Let me put it this way Leonardo. What choice do you have?" He replied.

I made a low, rumbling noise in the back of my throat, focusing every inch of hate I felt for this man into my face. It made me sick to my stomach but he was right. This was the best chance we had at this moment, even if it meant letting Bishop dump on us to do his dirty work while he ran away with his tail between his legs. Besides what else could we do?

My expression must have given away my thoughts because a cold smile appeared on his face. "I'm glad we understand each other."

"Wait a minute!" Don interrupted irritably. "When that thing exploded it took most of the room with it! Where exactly are we suppose to find a working control station to plug that thing into?!"

"As astute as ever Donatello." Bishop turned to him. "But you neededn't worry. I couldn't very well have the input socket in plain sight for Mr. Tibalt to notice. It's located at the base of the portal itself, on the left side near the back."

"Oh I'm so glad I don't need to worry." Donny said sarcastically. "That just means we're gonna have to get close to the swirling vortex of death to activate it!"

"You will also need a numerical code to unlock its security program." Bishop said. "Normally the control panels themselves would be sufficient enough, but seeing as they've been destroyed, I'm afraid you'll have to be a little creative."

"Great." I growled at him. "Anything else you might have forgotten?!"

"I believe that is it." Bishop said, walking forward and holding the small device out at Arm's length. Donny reached out and snatched it away from him quickly, never taking his eyes off the man's face.

"The code to unlock it is 9942622" He said. "Try not to forget it. Now if you'll pardon me, I have a meeting to get to."

He turned his back to us and started walking away. I wanted nothing more than to throw my sword at his retreating shoulder-blades, but restrained myself.

"Oh, one last thing Leonardo." He stopped and turned back slightly. "Mr. Tibalt survived the explosion, but I haven't seen any trace of him since. I would watch my step if I were you."

He then turned back to the front and calmly marched away, not bothering to give us a second glance.

"I believe I now understand your resentment Leonardo." Usagi said with a low, furious growl. "I find him a most dislikable man."

Xxxxx

If Usagi can do full-out battle with his head split open by a sword then he sure as hell can survive a little bump on the noggin =P