Good afternoon, readers! I hope you had a fantastic weekend! If you've got the Monday blues, here is a bit of a longer update today to turn your frown upside down! Get ready for some intense action and story unraveling, because this chapter is chock full of it! I won't ramble on much longer, so please sit back, grab something delicious to munch on, and enjoy this update!
Once they were all gathered, Raph hissed as he leaned back, his shoulder bandaged. Donnie pulled out a chair for April, smiling momentarily while Leo updated her on what they discovered at Casey's family home, as well as their encounter in Central Park.
"Are you okay, Mikey?" April asked, frowning lightly.
"I'm doing much better now that you're here." He smiled. Donnie exhaled with a hint of annoyance.
"Yeah, worry about him. I'm just chopped liver." Raph rolled his eyes as Leo shot him a look.
"I can go to the pharmacy and run some things back here that will help." April offered.
"See Raph, she does care." Mikey smiled.
"You better care that I don't smash your face in." Raph snapped at him. "You're the one who sent me on a wild turtle chase in the first place-"
"Enough, Raph." Leo said firmly before returning his attention to April. "Where is Casey?"
"Got caught up at the pizzeria. I'm going to stop by there on the way home so I can keep him on the same page." April said.
"You shouldn't be roaming around at night by yourself. That thing- Pennywise... is still out there. He catches you alone and none of us are nearby to help you, you're toast." Donnie said.
"She looks like she'd be more like red velvet cake, actually." Mikey nodded to himself, smiling a bit as he did a double take. "What?" He asked when Donnie stared at him flatly. "Plain toast is boring. April is NOT boring, bro. I love Red Velvet cake." Donnie only rolled his eyes, shaking his head.
"Anyway... Donnie, I'm giving you this." April gave him a flash drive, to which he rose an inquisitive brow. "Those are all the files that William Denbrough sent to me when I spoke to him today. It was an... interesting conversation, to say the least. Any information he had to offer on this Pennywise- clown thing, is there. But I found something more disturbing..." April closed her eyes for a moment. "Later on, I went to see if I could speak to the Smiths again."
"And?" Leo asked.
"... They're dead, Leo." She said, the other turtles displaying shock in their expressions. "Police were all over... so far it's being deemed a 'murder-suicide.'" She scoffed. "I know for a fact that isn't the truth and I don't need a major in forensic science to know that."
"Well, I've always known you were pretty smart, April." Donnie said, biting his lip when Leo stared at him flatly for a moment.
"Anyway... so I was reeling over that to begin with, and then I found this." She dug into her pocket, taking out a small plastic bag with an object inside. Donnie held up the bag, raising a brow.
"Is that... a rose petal?" He asked.
"That came from inside the Smith's house. Look, it seems weird... but when I had been speaking to Grayson, he had a bouquet of red roses like this in his office. He said he had gotten them as a gift just this morning." April said.
"You talked to that guy?" Raph asked.
"I did say I was going to..." April replied, Raph curling his lip.
"Did he say from who he got them from?" Raph asked. "Or where?"
"April... I know we're not crazy about him, but... this seems a bit far fetched." Leo interjected.
"Why? He can try to make us a local pariah, slander our name, why wouldn't he murder someone so he can try to point the finger at us?" Raph snapped.
"Well... maybe he just really likes flowers." Mikey said, lightly drumming his fingers on the table. Donnie rolled his eyes, shaking his head.
"Because we can't just make a crazy accusation like that without looking into the facts first... which is exactly what we and April are going to do." Leo replied.
"Fuck facts!" Raph shouted then, slamming his good fist on the table. "While you're trying to be a diplomat over here, we've got a damn alien clown at our necks and this wannabe hero of the state breathing down our backs! I'm sick of staying trapped in this box, Leo! When the hell are we going to actually take some action?!"
"When I figure out how the hell I'm going to keep everyone alive!" Leo exclaimed, Raph tightening his lips as he leaned back in his seat tensely. After taking a few moments to calm himself, Leo looked up. "Donnie."
"Y- Yes?" Donnie replied, adjusting his glasses.
"Run a scan on any surveillance devices near the Smith's residence. If you can find anything, stream footage from last night into the morning." He bowed his head, rubbing his temples. Donnie noticed this, going over to put a hand on his shoulder.
"Leo... look. You can't blame yourself for everything. I mean... I've been keeping some tabs on the news... I can see you've been up to your eyeballs in busywork, so I've been catching a thing or two. Some of those kids you have posters for have been found." He said, Leo lifting his head. "It may be giving us a hard time, but we're rattling his cage, too."
"Which means he's going to turn up the heat." Raph said before Donnie went over to his computer.
"Speaking of turning up the heat... after I spoke to Mr. Denbrough, I was expecting Grayson to do just that, but... oddly enough, he didn't." April added.
"I still can't believe you spoke to that jerk on your own." Raph commented.
"Well, he clearly doesn't take Casey seriously, and it's not like I could just waltz into a major business facility with one of you guys... no offense." April added. "Anyway, after I told him about everything, he just seemed so... supportive."
"Seriously?" Donnie asked from his computer chair. "Are you sure he wasn't lying to your face?"
"He seemed genuinely concerned to me... he may be a jerk, but he is running for office. He needs people alive to vote for him, and if he helps stop this thing, he probably sees that as a way to improve his numbers." She shrugged. "Also, he said that he would get off your backs about this, being you're not the ones committing the crimes."
"Great. I feel so much better now." Raph said sarcastically.
"Look... I've realized that April has a point. The last thing we need is someone getting in our way while we're trying to accomplish something here. He wants to be Governor? Then he should do his job by letting us do ours." Leo said.
"Uh, guys?" Donnie said then, his eyes glued to his computer screens. "I've got something!"
"What did you find?" Leo asked as he strode over, Mikey and Raph following behind.
"I was able to pull up footage from an older model surveillance device... so the resolution isn't fantastic. Also, the Smith's house is a bit out of center shot, so the view isn't the most ideal." Donnie replied.
"Let's take a look. Play it." Leo said, Donnie pressing a couple keys before the footage ran. April approached as it began to play, remaining silent. At first, nothing out of the ordinary was seen until someone came into view. "Can you zoom in?" Leo asked.
"Yeah, but it's going to be a bit pixelated." Donnie said, tweaking the lighting as he zoomed in. When he did, Leo widened his eyes, shaking his head.
"Impossible." He said, Raph looking over.
"What is it?" He asked.
"... Donnie, you do have the correct date, right?" Leo asked.
"Yes, Leo, the time stamp is right there." He replied flatly.
"What's wrong?" April asked.
"... That's Amelia Smith." Leo said, the others shocked when they realized that he was right.
"That's not her, Leo." Raph curled his lip. "It's that thing."
"Keep playing the footage." Leo said, Donnie pressing a few more keys. As they watched the little girl wander, they saw her suddenly stop, turning around. A second individual emerged then, a little boy who seemed to be levitating in the air.
"Uh, you guys? Since when can people hover in the air?" Mikey asked. "And how can I learn to do that?"
"I don't think you want to know in this circumstance, Mikey." Donnie asked. "Whoever that is, she has him under some kind of trance."
"Wait a second." April spoke up, pointing at the screen. "Donnie, stop the video for a second." He did, zooming in a bit. "That's Caleb Walters." She said, Leo looking back at her as she took out her phone, pulling up a picture to hold up. "That's definitely him."
"That thing has him then." Leo hissed. "Play more, Donnie." As the footage went on, they watched as "Amelia" walked up to the Smith's house, eventually finding a way inside. The boy hovered on the small porch, Donnie fast forwarding several minutes before the door opened, a hand reaching out to pull the boy inside. Another several minutes passed before the door opened once again, Amelia emerging covered head to toe in blood. April widened her eyes when she saw she was holding a bouquet of roses, slowly making her way down the street with them. Leo tightened his lips, shaking his head as he took a step back. He slammed his fist down, bowing his head. "That's it. He's dead. I let it happen again."
"Leo, wait a second. I overheard the police speaking to one another at the crime scene. They never mentioned finding the boy's body." April said.
"Because it eats people, April! He's gone!" Leo exclaimed.
"Then why didn't it eat the Smiths? Why leave them behind and not Caleb?" April asked.
"Ahh!" Mikey exclaimed then, taking a step back. "That kid is creepy!"
Donnie cleared his throat, glancing over his shoulder as Leo and April looked back up at the screen. The footage was now showing Amelia having stared right into the camera, smiling sinisterly. "Leo... this may be a good time to see where exactly she went with those roses. It can help us figure out if they are the same ones from Grayson's office."
"You're right. Donnie, can you track her movements through the night?" Leo asked.
"It will take me a bit, but yeah, I can manage-" Donnie blinked, pressing one of his keys a few times.
"Come on, Donnie, I don't want to look at this anymore, change it to something else." Mikey said.
"I'm trying, Mikey, but for some reason it won't- woah." Donnie held his hands up as the lettered keys began to illuminate without being touched, a message beginning to form on the screen. "What the-..." Donnie looked between the keyboard and the computer screen, becoming increasingly uneasy.
"How are you doing that?" Raph asked.
"I'm not doing it, Raph, do you not see my hands?" Donnie replied.
"Wait, you're not being hacked, are you?" April asked worriedly.
"Impossible, I have state of the art firewall and cyber defense programs-"
"Guys." Leo said, taking a step forward as a message continued to form on the screen. Leo began to read it aloud. "'Caleb is still alive. If you want him, decide which one of you is going to be his replacement. If you don't have one in mind, I will decide for you. Come see me tomorrow for the party, you're all invited!' So that's why it's doing this. It wants to make a trade."
"This guy's really getting on my nerves." Raph growled lowly.
"Leo, if I may have an input here... I think this is a trap." Donnie said.
"I know that, Donnie, but if there's even a slight chance we can save Caleb, I can't risk it." Leo said.
"Um, you guys?" Mikey spoke, appearing uneasy.
Donnie exhaled sharply. "April, do you mind holding that flashlight for me while I try to tweak these wires?" Donnie asked.
"So what, you're going to put one of us on the line?" Raph asked. "Who are you going to offer up for trade? Me? Mikey?"
"I'm not trading any of you." Leo shot him a look. "We just have to make him think we are."
"Guys..." Mikey whimpered, taking a step back.
"Oh, so you're going to leave one of us to just fend for ourselves, then. Is that it?" Raph snapped.
"If you don't think that my idea is a good one, maybe you can offer a better suggestion." Leo snapped back.
Raph curled his lip. "Nice to know that my opinion actually counts for once in this family-"
"Do you not see that people are dying out there?!" Leo exclaimed, getting in his brother's face. "We are ninjas, we are supposed to protect people and we're failing to do that! So unless you have something to contribute other than pointless criticism, get off my shell, Raph!"
"GUYS!" Mikey shouted, backing up from the computer screen. The pair turned around, Donnie and April looking up from his control panel. They all began to back up as on the computer screen, Amelia began to grow in height, her spine elongating as her arms drew into her clothing. She then lurched, bowed forward before shaking violently. When she finally snapped her head up, it was no longer Amelia.
"What the hell is this...?" April breathed.
Just then, all of Donnie's computer screens changed to something different; some youtube videos, some of his reports, some were indistinguishable. One by one, they switched to a close up of Pennywise, and when they were all of his face, the entire power unit shut down. April gasped as they were all cloaked in pitch black darkness, feeling Donnie take her arm to pull her close. She fumbled for her phone, illuminating the flashlight app on it. As Donnie kept her close, his computer screens began to flicker at random, the room illuminating with erratic flashes of white light.
"Everyone form a circle, shell to shell, now!" Leo shouted.
"What about sensei?" Mikey asked.
"Do not fret, I am here." Splinter's voice was heard, Mikey sighing with relief. "I have taught you well. I have taught you to fight your enemies. But, there is no need for you to fight now." He spoke. "All you need to do..."
"Mikey." Donnie whispered uneasily.
"Uh, you're interrupting Sensei." Mikey gave him a look. "I don't want to end up in the hashi, do you?"
Donnie furrowed a brow. "Mikey, sensei wasn't in the-"
"... is float."
Raph widened his eyes. "Get back, get back!"
Suddenly, who they thought was Splinter dashed forward, baring razor sharp teeth as the group was pounced upon. Donnie yanked April out of harm's way, Raph taking the heat as he tried to hold off the snapping teeth just inches from him.
"Raph!" Mikey shouted, jumping onto the rat's back and using his nunchukus to yank it back by its neck. High pitched screeches echoed through the lair, Mikey crying out as he was flipped off, scrambling to get to his feet. He shielded himself as he was about to be attacked, when Leo slammed into the side of the Splinter imposter. He was about to swipe his sword when he felt something curl around his arm, unable to pull it back as he was restricted by the imposter's tail. He used his other sword to sever it, the imposter shrieking loudly. As Leo tried to untangle the tail from his arm, Donnie jumped in, striking the imposter with his bo. He was about to strike again when the imposter clamped down on the weapon, tearing it out of Donnie's hand. Claws extended from slender, gnarled fingers, about to charge when a voice stopped him.
"Pennywise!" April shrieked. Their gazes met as the lights kept flashing through the darkness from Donnie's computers.
"Well... if it isn't little April O'Neil... sweet and delectable. Yes... your fear is growing... you don't want anything to happen to the only family you have now, do you?" As Pennywise spoke, he slowly transformed back into a clown, features changing with the flashing lights.
"April, don't provoke it!" Donnie shouted, hopping to his feet. He went to go to her, but Pennywise stepped between their path, smirking at Donnie over his shoulder.
"I swear, if you do anything to her-"
"You'll what, Donnie Darko? Cry your eyes out? Good... eyeballs are juicy and chock full of nutrition."
"Where is Splinter?" She demanded, Pennywise returning his focus to her
"Gee... I don't know. Maybe I turned him into 'ratatouille' already. But you, April O'Neil... you would make a fantastic hors d'ourvre!" Pennywise hissed before emitting a screech, charging at her.
"APRIL!" Donnie sprinted after the creature. It was now within several feet of where April was backed up against the wall when something curled around his waist, hurling it away. The true Splinter stood near her, taking a protective stance.
"You will not harm April, or my sons." Splinter said lowly, taking hold of his chin hair to swish it in a challenging fashion.
Pennywise cackled as Splinter's expression changed along with the clown himself as he took on another form. Now, Shredder stood before them, speaking in a deep voice. "You fell against this once, didn't you, rat? I'll make sure you don't fall again!" He shouted before unsheathing dozens of blades, hurling them through the air. "You're going to float, this time!"
Splinter stood his ground, dashing out of the way as the blades embedded in the wall behind him. As they did, the blades began to transform, ninjas in dark clothing flipping off the wall to join in the attacks.
"Dad!" Leo took the opportunity to land a hit on the Shredder impresion, embedding his sword in its back. The disguised clown shrieked as the remaining brothers pursued the ninjas. As they sliced and attacked through them, they turned to dark vapor before disappearing. One last ninja ran for April, who grabbed a tire iron and struck their head with it. The ninja reeled back, Splinter wrapping his tail around it and flinging it across the space where it dissipated into vapor upon landing.
"Come on, we've got to help Leo!" Mikey shouted as his blue-masked brother was hurled back. As Mikey went to help his brother to his feet, the Shredder impersonation began to change into something more horrific. A metal jaw unhinged, razor sharp iron teeth extending. Steel claws grew from the metallic hand gauntlets, embedding in the ground. Leo swayed a bit as Mikey held him steady, none of the turtles believing what they were seeing. It then looked at April, who stared in horror as a pair of glowing lights illuminated the pair of spaces in the helmet where one would normally peer out of. As they did, time seemed to stop. April felt as if the pair of lights pierced straight through her, latching onto her very soul. She could no longer feel the ground beneath her feet, as if she was weightless. All she could see now was blinding light, the sounds around her muffled as she felt her consciousness slipping.
"What is it doing to her?!" Donnie screamed.
"Don't you see...?" The false Shredder spoke in dual voices. "I'm taking her to all the others. To the place where everyone floats. You see... she isn't afraid. Not like all of you. You fear what you can't defeat." At this, Donnie mustered up his courage. It would be a cold day in hell before he let this thing take April from him.
"Donnie, wait-!" Leo shouted, but Donnie was done with hesitation. He charged forward, the horrific jaw beginning to open impossibly wide as many lights began to replace the pair coming from the fading eye sockets. The grinding of metal against metal sounded, meaning to clamp down its unhinging jaws upon Donnie when he came close enough. In his moment of blindness, his brothers could see the fatal mistake he was about to run straight into.
"Donnie!" Raph shouted, charging forward as he hopped up, flipping through the air and landing on the clinging, clanging horror. He grabbed the upper jaw of the monstrosity, blinding light shining from within its metallic throat as finally, he tore off the upper half of the gnashing teeth, hurling it behind him. He hopped off as the remainder of the nightmarish Shredder impersonation began to shake and tremble, its metallic body crushing inwards until once again, Pennywise stood before them.
"The manner in which it can change into such destructive forms..." Splinter breathed. "This is unlike anything I have ever seen."
"April!" Donnie shouted once he gave Raphael a nod, trying to prevent her from ascending any further into the air and bring her back to consciousness.
Leo stopped his brother as he was about to pursue the clown again. "Raph, listen to me, we have to try to tackle this threat together-"
"You think you're going to try and eat my brother?! Eat THIS, freak!" Raph shouted, shaking Leo off as he charged forward. Pennywise smirked, his jaw opening wide to scream, only for Raph to shove one of his daggers down its throat and right through the back of its head. "Who's big and tough now, huh?! We're not afraid of Shredder, and we are not afraid of you!" Unfortunately, as Raph shouted, the clown clamped its sharp teeth down on his arm, the red-masked turtle screaming in pain. At this, he began to punch the clown's face. "Get it off, GET IT OFF!"
"Leo, you can't!" Mikey shouted. Leo shook off the heavy blow from earlier, charging to pounce on Pennywise's back. He grabbed his head to pull him back, Mikey and Donnie running over to pull the two apart. They finally managed to do so, Splinter holding an unconscious April as sinister laughter filled the air.
"Who's big and strong now, huh tough guy?" He cackled. "Stop clowning around, you big oaf!"
"Raph!" Leo grabbed his shoulder, hissing a bit from the action.
"Aww... the leader's losing control over things, huh?" Pennywise smirked.
"You made us a deal, Pennywise." Leo said, mustering the strength to stand tall, taking a step forward. "Live today, fight again tomorrow. Give me your word that you'll give us Caleb back, alive and in one piece."
"Are you really willing to give up one of your other oversized brothers for some little brat?" Pennywise hissed.
"Your word." Leo said firmly.
"Don't worry. You'll see little Caleb tomorrow... I'll shine him up, make him all new again. Go to Central Park, just like before. We'll have us a grand old time." Pennywise smiled ominously before disappearing in the shadows. Moments later, the electricity flickered back on, Donnie striding over to Splinter to take gentle hold of April.
"April. April, please wake up..." He said lowly, gently patting her face.
"What in the hell is wrong with you?!" Raph suddenly shouted at Leo, who looked at him in confusion. "You think you can just give one of us up, just like that?!"
"Raph, listen to me." Leo held his hands up. "You know I would never-"
"I know?! No, I don't know, Leo! I don't know what the hell you think you're planning!" Raph growled.
"Raphael." Splinter approached him. "Leo has a right to explain his actions." At this, Raph tightened his lips, simply glaring at his brother.
"Raph... you know that I would never give any of you up. You, Donnie, Mikey... you're my brothers." Leo stopped within inches of where Raph continued to glare at him. "Beginning tomorrow, I'm leaving you in charge of the team."
Raphael scoffed. "Are you kidding?"
"No. Because tomorrow, I'm giving myself up." When he said this, Raph furrowed his brows a bit. "That's what a leader does. A leader sacrifices."
Mikey frowned deeply. "What?! Are you crazy? You can't do that!"
"Leonardo." Splinter placed a hand on his shoulder. "Think about what you are contemplating."
"I can fight. I at least have a shot at defending myself. But those little kids out there, they're no match against this monster. Better me than them." Leo said.
"You're not going anywhere." Donnie said suddenly, still holding April.
Leo sighed. "Donnie, don't tell me what to-"
"If you give yourself up, it's only going to make the rest of us weaker, decrease our chances of actually fending ourselves and this city against this thing, and you just told Raphael you would leave him in charge of this team upon doing so." Donnie replied.
"So what are you saying, Donnie?" Leo asked.
"You are a part of this team, Leo. No one is sacrificing anything or giving anyone up." Donnie said, Leo's expression softening. Just then, Donnie gasped lightly when he felt stirring. "April? O- Okay, nice and easy." He said, helping her to sit up.
"What-... oh my God. Where did it-...?" April looked around, frowning deeply.
"Shh... it's okay. It's gone now." Donnie said as he kept her steady.
"Well, Leo here wants to play martyr and give himself up to that thing." Raph said, glancing at Leo.
"What?" April widened her eyes. "No no no no no, you cannot do that."
"Look, it's all I can think of." Leo groaned as he rubbed his hand over his face. "The more time we let that thing run rampant, the less of a chance we have to save Caleb, to save anyone!"
"You listen to me, right now." Raph took a step towards him. "I know we fight a lot. We butt heads. We don't always see eye to eye." He exhaled slowly as Leo waited for him to continue. "You're our leader. Not me, not Donnie, not Mikey. You. We are not going to do this without you."
Leo smiled slowly, patting Raph's shoulder. "I couldn't have accomplished what I have without you either, Raph."
Mikey was silent for some time, looking between the two. "Okay, the world must definitely be ending, or something." He said, Donnie glancing over at him flatly.
Alright! So, now that we have all recovered from that intense ordeal, what do you think will happen next? Will the turtles be able to save Caleb? What will Pennywise have up his sleeve? Until next time, prepare for the upcoming showdown at Central Park! Thank you again for reading, and please leave your thoughts in a review!