Authors Note:

Hey all, just a short note to tell you that I am dropping Monster World from my list of semi active fics. Real life sunk its claws into me a while back and I haven't had a chance to do much of anything lately. Plus a few other fic bunnies have sprung up and destroyed my plot lines.

Thanks for your support and your reviews, but I'm not leaving you empty handed. Below is a snippet of what would have been the next chapter. If anyone wants to continue this, PM me first and I'll give you what plot details I had finalized (Leo is dead. He's not coming back in any form.)

Thanks again!

_MM

Chapter 15: The Winter of Discontent

Part 3: Chasm

He couldn't speak. The sight was too brilliant to sully with mortal words. He had no idea what that meant, but his brain wasn't really processing much. The craft in the picture spoke only of total defence. Thick slabs of armour gave the impression that it would sink like a stone, yet powerful directional jets allowed VTOL and spoke of moving at great speeds. The pictures of the interior were incredible as well. There were spaces for food, weapons and rest. Detailed layouts showed the locations of the weapons, plus charging stations. It was – in short – a work of art. Raph stepped back and looked at his brother with shock and disbelief. To think that his bro had been working on this vehicle was amazing. The cargo bay was even large enough to hold his cycle with room to spare.

Stepping back, he struggled with the words to say; finally managing a choked sentence to come out.

"How…how did you know I would be needing this?"

His brother didn't say anything, merely staring off into space with a wistful look in his eyes. Raph feared that he might have dredged up bad memories and stayed silent. Finally, Don sighed softly and spoke, his voice laced with pain and sadness.

"I didn't know. Leo did. He told me to build this…just in case"

Flashback

"Leo…I don't understand. This thing is like a battle tank! The firepower alone…why would we need something like this?"

Leonardo stared at his brother and shook his head. With the Foot lying low, they had to be prepared for anything. Don would have a lot of time to build and perfect it as well. Master Splinter had told him that he needed to leave the family to become a better leader. He had absolutely no idea what that meant; but he supposed it was something for the future. His meditations had shown him nothing, except a chilling image of the world in ruins as creatures rampaged through it. His brothers had been seen by him as well; fighting to survive and torn apart by an unspeakable tragedy. The only thing that kept gnawing at him was why he didn't see himself in the vision. Usually, he would see flashes in a mirror or even in a puddle. The fact that he didn't concerned him, but he knew that no matter what, his brothers would always look out for each other.

"Don, we need to be prepared for anything. Can you build this?"

Slightly scratching his head, Donatello looked over the schematics once more. The design looked simple enough, but Leo – not normally the most technical turtle – had written notes on what weaponry and abilities he wanted. Surface to air missiles, self-loading machineguns, drill-tipped rockets and even the odd flamethrower. It was a survivalist's wet dream. Don couldn't think of any way they could use this without attracting unwanted attention; it was hard enough using the van…and it was April's. But if that was what Leo wanted then he would do everything in his power to make sure it came to life. Sighing, he looked up at his brother and nodded.

"I'll do it."

End Flashback

"There is one thing you should know. While the Last Hope is completed; it is in an area that has been claimed by Wraiths…"

Don let the end of his sentence trail off uncertainly. He could taste both the fear and worry of his brothers, his father and their friends. Wraiths – mysterious creatures that had one day popped up literally out of nowhere. For those people who were in the area whenever a Wraith appeared; death was the only thing coming to them. Bodies had been found ripped apart, mangled, throats ripped out…basically everything under the sun plus a few deaths that weren't. It seemed the only way to combat them was to shoot at them with tank shells, RPGs or any other high-impact/velocity slugs. Everything else either bounced off their prismatic hides or didn't connect. The other monsters all but feared them and kept away from their slowly expanding territory as much as they could; except the Dragons, Cerebri and Chimeras – which went toe-to-toe with the Wraiths on a seemingly daily basis.

He also found it strange that the name Leo had chosen for it was "Last Hope". In one way, it seemed like a morbid prediction of what was to come…but in another it seemed like it was the best chance of survival any of them had. If they were to stay in the Lair, the monsters would eventually break through the outer defenses. That also meant that New York would be defenseless apart from the remaining members of The Foot. Don didn't want to think about it, but in order to help those overseas and those close to home…they would have to separate from each other. It wouldn't be a permanent split – just long enough for Raph to help who he needed to help and come back. However long that took was another story. With the "Last Hope", theoretically they could reunite in a few hours.

He closed off that trail of thought and looked around to his remaining family. Splinter seemed to be in deep discussion with Mikey and April; while Casey was looking at Raph with a mixture of sadness and loss on his face. He could hardly imagine what it must have felt like to him. On the other hand, Raph had a determined look on his face and a thread of steel in his voice.

"I say we go for it. Either we get on board and save who we can or we die in a blaze of glory."

End…?