Hello my lovelies! I am SO SORRY for my absence but I was really busy with school, I'll hopefully be updating more the next couple of days but I'm not sure. This chapter doesn't do my time out justice but it's better than nothing I guess... I don't own The Monster (song) or TMNT.
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"Get along with the voices inside of my head..."
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The Monster
Chapter 7: Of Psychics and Psychos
April stared down at the ring in utter disbelief.
She had a chance to be free, away from this monster, and go resume her life. She could check on Abigail, reunite with Casey, participate in city clean up efforts, hunt down her father, and get the remaining three turtles to help with Donnie. This seemed like the perfect plan where everyone would win but deep down inside she knew that it wouldn't work. This pitiful looking creature in front of her would surely go insane and possibly do more damage than he'd done before in the city, if that was possible. Another terrifying possibility was that he would then keep her here against her will and do horrible things to her. With a risky final decision April looked up into Monstertello's glassy, yet intimidating, eyes.
Without a single word, the auburn haired girl bent down to where she was equal height as him, he was sitting, and gave him a small kiss on the nose. His blood red eyes lit up and he opened his mouth to speak but April bowed her head and quickly turned on her heel. She started to walk towards the exit that led to the labyrinth of various sewer tunnels, not looking back at the confused creature behind her.
Once she was completely engulfed by shadows, April gauged Donnie's reactions to her leaving. She was very surprised upon seeing this beast that had been so incredibly violent some time ago, crumple to the ground and slam his large fists on the ground. The sewers shook with every pound and loose pipes and chunks of vent looked like they were going to fall.
"Donnie! I was joking, I'm staying with you!" April ran back in laughing nervously.
"What?!" He exclaimed as his head darted up, his eyes held something that resembled fury.
The auburn haired girl grabbed the ring and slipped it on her finger. She admired the way it had always fit perfectly and how it always seemed to bring her the best of luck in any situation. Even the darker ones.
"In staying..." April sighed lovingly as she flashed the jewelry near her keeper's face.
Monstertello looked immensely confused. Was that love he heard in her voice? It certainly sounded like it but, did the mutant really know what that particular emotion actually sounded like? He remembered how his Sensei used to talk in that same tone about his deceased wife. Like an overgrown puppy, Donnie tackled April but went into a somersault.
"She accepted!" He joyously cried as he stood tall and lifted his crush up so high her head could touch the ceiling.
"Donnie, can you put me down? Your claws are kind of menacing..."
"Oh, oops!" Don laughed.
It made April feel extremely good to see someone in his condition this happy. Donatello was jumping back and forth on all fours with his tail wagging vigorously, and wet tongue drooping halfway out of his mouth.
"Are we gonna play fetch now, Fido?" April quipped.
Donnie curled back and sat down in embarrassment, a cutesy grin on his fanged face as if he was attempting to apologize. His eyes were large and the human girl would've sworn that she saw a tinge of chocolatey brown returning, but just as quickly as it came, it had vanished.
"Well if your staying here, your gonna need some food..." Donnie mused.
"Where are we going to get food in the middle of a sewer? It's not like we'd be able to go topside where your wanted for defacing half of the city and murdering a good portion of it too." April put her hands on her hips.
"You have to remember, I need food just as much as you. Also, if your not careful, I may just gobble you up, my sweet..." The monster maniacally licked his chops, his eyes narrowed in deep pleasure.
April stood her ground and rolled her eyes. She knew that Donnie would never dare eat her and that he was just joking around which was kind of hard to believe when you looked at his pleased face. A small blossom of fear bloomed in the back of April's mind but she quickly dismissed it, even as a beast, Donatello wouldn't dare do anything that drastic let alone utterly disgusting. It was amazing how quickly his mood could change, even more so than Leatherhead, the giant gator that Michelangelo had told her about some time ago.
"We can go patrolling the sewers for food, like squirrels and stuff. I can carry you around on my back so you don't have to work those pretty little legs of yours." Monstertello joked slyly, a lazy droop in his eyelids made April feel uncomfortable.
This was another personality difference, he seemed to be able to crack jokes about her beauty and his apparent love for her as easy as Raph punches his dummy.
"I don't know about the squirrels yet but I guess it would be good to "get out" April sighed. She missed the surface world already but knew that she was doing the right thing.
"Okay then, hop up on my back and you'll be set." Don smiled.
April easily balanced her way up by walking on Donnie's tail and then climbing up his surprisingly smooth back until she reached his shoulders. Since the beast was going to be walking on all fours with his shoulders pointed downwards she decided she would have to hold on to his head or something. Not daring to straddle Donnie's neck while in a dress, April lounged out down his back and shell, encircled her tiny arms around the boy's neck, and used his Bō Staff to support her feet. It was a surprisingly comfortable way to travel. Popular girl Katherine McCoy may have fancy limos take her to school, but April could bet she didn't have her own monster to carry her rich little butt around.
"You comfortable up there, April?" Donatello asked.
The girl's head spun and it took her to a different time and place. Running across the rooftops, heading to their secret place where he asked if he had hurt her while pushing her on the swing.
They had talked about the stars and looked towards the nighttime sky, basking in the quiet and subtle light. The glare of the TV in the darker sewers didn't compare to the joyful atmosphere that the string of lights in their secret place gave off. Everything now was different and a drawling voice brought her back to the hard hitting reality of the damp tunnel.
"April, I asked you a question."
"I'm fine, Donnie. Just spaced out a bit...y'know, thinking."
"About what?" The monster inquired.
"The usual." April replied stiffly, a little too stiffly for Donatello's liking.
"Elaborate." It wasn't a question, it was a command.
The girl stared at the water that sloshed around her keeper's feet as he walked. Would he get enraged if she talked about Casey? Even though the purple clad turtle didn't really get along with the street smart punk, he did try to appear happy for April. She could see right through it.
"Casey and Abigail..." Adding the girl in made it a lighter subject.
"Are you afraid that they're injured?" Don pressed.
"I know Abigail is. Casey didn't seem hurt the last time I saw him though..."
"I knew I should've aimed for him instead of the girl..." Monstertello muttered so the human girl couldn't hear him.
After a long and awkward silence, April began to play with his mask which soothed him greatly. They were actually pretty relaxed for their situation. Slowly but surely, they continued down the path in search for any scraps to stomach.
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"How long have we been walking?" Michelangelo whined.
"About seven hours. We haven't even found a trace of Donnie or April..." Leonardo sighed.
"I'm worried about Sensei, he seemed pretty broken up about this whole thing." The youngest turtle said.
Raphael kicked a can continuously down the stretch of sewer trail, trying to maneuver the splotches of an unknown green substance that littered the floors. His voice was bored and flat.
"We're not having much luck. Maybe we should just go home."
"Raph, you remember Master Splinter saying we can't go home unless we bring back Donnie, right?"
"Yes Lamenardo I do but we're not having much luck!"
"Guys!" Casey cut through. "I think we're forgetting that loads of random people we're killed because of your brother and my friend. We need to get control of him before he hurts April."
The bickering bothers stopped and lowered their heads. Jones was right, unless they wanted more of the New York population to die, they needed to gain control of Monstertello. Easier said than done.
"Well we're not getting anywhere in the sewers, let's try the surface." Mikey piped up.
"The SURFACE? Are you TRYING to kill us, avocado for brains? It's daytime!"
"We went out in the daytime before!"
"That's when it was murky and rainy, plus where would we even go?" The leader asked.
"Actually I think I know someone who could help us! There's a fortune teller around my house who we could go and see." Casey suggested.
"I don't know..." Leonardo began. "I don't think I believe in that psychic mumbo-jumbo."
"C'mon Leo! It's worth a shot!" Mikey pleaded.
The older turtle looked out upon his staring search party. They were all tired and hungry but Leo didn't believe that he was desperate enough to seek out a psychic, how did he know that the things they said were 100% true? It was obvious that this situation would make things a lot easier or a lot harder. Half the thing was getting there considering the fact that the street above them was probably busy. They would totally get caught and then they'd never find Donnie or April.
"Leo, I totally got you guys covered. I can sneak you in." Casey smiled.
"I don't want to take any chances..."
"Y'know why are we even listening to him? If it wasn't for this big hold up considering the fact that fearless leader is scared, we could've already been at the fortune teller's place finding out where our loved ones are!" Raph yelled with irritation.
Tension rose like fog into the air as Leonardo and Raphael stared each other down yet again.
"Fine." The blue clad mutant quickly sighed as cheers erupted around him.
"That's the spirit bro!" The littlest turtle cried.
One by one, the turtles and Casey hauled themselves upwards into an alley from an abandoned storm drain. The ninjas would follow the black haired human to the psychic's place by rooftop, watching from above, and them slip in once they arrived. From the wide view that the three brothers got from the rooftop they could see the full impact of Monstertello's dangerous actions from earlier that day. Large gaping holes and uneven beams jutting out of the sides of buildings, dark red bloodstains on the roads and sidewalks, discarded debris whipping around the street, and screaming sirens and newscasters trying to get the play-by-play of all the previous action even though it had already been broadcasted a couple hundred times.
After a ten minuet jog across the rooftops, Casey finally halted the turtles as he stopped outside a small and dark corner shop. Dark blue curtains with the occasional sparkle were draped over every part of the outside store except for the tinted windows with neon signs and the front door.
"It's the hand guys! It's the eye! It's the hand and the eye! They're back!" Michelangelo cried excitedly. He clearly remembered this shop from his first night topside when the changing neon lights met his gaze.
Casey opened the door and Raph pulled a mesmerized Mikey inside. Leo and the hockey player soon followed and disappeared behind the small doorway as the partition closed.
The inside was even darker than the outside. One room was all the building consisted of and four red and gold padded armchairs were seated in front of a table with the same fabric covering it as the curtains. The only light came from a large royal blue crystal ball and some candles that sat atop the table, the flamed flickering perfectly straight and contained. An odd aroma that smelled like a mix of spice and mint invaded the boy's noses and caused some to take deeper breaths and some to cringe.
"May I heeeelp yooou?" A loopy and foreign voice said from the opposite side of the room.
"Y...yes we were...s-seeking your assistance..." Leonardo stuttered as he played with his fingers in his lap nervously.
A bony woman swirled around in a large gold and blue armchair to face them and the boys immediately jumped back. She had loads of makeup caked on her saggy and wrinkly face to match the colors around the room. Her long eyelashes could almost touch the four as she leaned across the table and a large toothy smile, like something from a clown in a horror movie, spread across her face. She wore a red turban, large gold chains, a royal blue robe that seemed many sizes to big, and her lengthy, blood colored nails dug into the tablecloth.
"I am Madame Estelvoya..." She trailed off. "What caaan I dooo for yoooouu?"
All the boys looked at Leo.
"Well...wait a minuet? Madame, your not fazed by our appearances at all?" The leader inquired confusedly.
Estelvoya let out a alarmingly loud shriek and plummeted into a fit of cackles. She wiped away a possibly fake tear and looked a nerve-racked Leo in his blue eyes. The turtle could practically feel the sting of her black holes that she used for eyes in his clear pools.
"HOney, I've seen WAYYY ugLIER!" She howled. "Continueee..."
Despite being taken aback by her quick recovery, Leonardo continued.
"My brother was mutated into a giant turtle monster that recently destroyed half of the area. He kidnapped our friend April O'Neil during his invasion at Roosevelt High School. We were wondering if you could show us or tell us where they are."
Madame Estelvoya listened intently, kneading her fingers together and nodding regularly until the eldest turtle was done. She leaned back and took a deep breath.
"I caaan dooo thaaat."
A chorus of relief filled sighs and cheers echoed around the secluded room as the four boys fixated their eyes on the crystal ball in front of them. Estelvoya muttered a incantation in a foreign language that no one could identify as she ran her long nails and fingers across the orb's smooth, cold surface. An image slowly began to appear and the four leaned in. There, in the ball, was different images of Monstertello and April passing through at once. They saw him walk her through the sewers while she stayed balled up in his fist, they saw her lose her temper and then pay the bloody consequences with a gash across her chest, they saw him run away in fear and come back some time later, they saw them soothe each other and April in her dress, and then them trudging through sewer tunnels.
"Interestingggg..." The old psychic drawled.
"He can't be trusted around April. He nearly killed her!" Raphael exclaimed.
"There's no time for this! We don't know exactly where they are but we know he's unstable! Let's go!" Casey cried.
The four boys stood up and turned to a sly looking Estelvoya who stared at Leo, not bothering to blink.
"Thank you for your services, Madame." The leader bowed his head slightly.
"Be carefullll and comeeee agaain..."
With that, the curtains whipped closed and Estelvoya seemingly vanished, leaving the boys to stumble outside into the blinding light of New York City, a whole other world away from the state they were in little time ago.
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Okay! There we go! I like that chapter I guess... Anyway! PLEASEVOTE ON THE POLE I DID IN MY PROFILE! I cannot stress that enough...sorry. Anyway AGAIN! Please review! Love you all! ~PurpleKittyFangirl