Note: Credit to Bloodrayne666 for her idea. Thanks a lot. :)

Mutants Misplaced

Chapter 12

Lost in the Deep

Leonardo awoke in a cold and dark cave that was partially lit up by the ice blue glow from large mushrooms growing here and there on the walls. Placing a hand on his aching head, he tried to remember where he was and how he got there. His mind was hazy but started to clear after a short while. He and the others had been swept away in an underground river.

Panic griped the turtle as he thought about his family and friends. What if they had been carried somewhere else by the current? What if they never resurfaced? Standing up on wobbly legs, Leo looked around and to his relief, he saw all of his comrades laying on the cave floor by the water's edge. They must all have been washed up in the large pool and floated on to the more shallow areas. Leo figured that the water level must have been higher due to the collapse of the mine, and that it withdrew shortly after they washed up.

Walking over to the other to check on them, Leo saw that some already started to regain consciousness. Tyroth was the first to get up, not surprising considering his resilience, and soon the both of them were helping the others and checking that they were okay. Mikey they had to shake awake.

While the others took care of Mikey, the newly awoken Raph hurried over to the still unconscious Mona. He gently shook his mate, but she didn't respond.

"Mona? Babe, are you alright?" Raph asked, but there was still no response. She just lay there, not moving, not... breathing.

"Mona?! She's... she's not breathing! Shit! Someone help!"

Still a bit groggy, Donnie hurried over to the lizard lady, with the others close behind. While Donnie knelt beside Mona, Leo pulled Raph away so that Donnie would have room to help her. She wasn't drawing breath, but Donnie found her pulse, weak but still there.

Raph struggled in Leo's grip, wanting to be at his mate's side and worried that he might lose her.

With Sephie's help, Donnie positioned Mona so that she lay flat on her back, he then tilted her head backwards and opened her mouth so that her airways would be clear. He began pressing her chest in a rapid rhythm and then breathed down her throat, repeating the process after a few breaths.

"Come on Mona, hang in there... Don't leave us..." he muttered under his breath, sweat forming on his forehead from the hard work and fear of loosing their sister.

The others stood by, watching in silence and praying that she would pull through. Raphael still tried to break free from his older brother, but Leo held a firm grip on the tormented turtle. Tears formed in Raph's eyes as Mona remained unresponsive to Donnie's attempts to get her breathing again. Raph's gaze moved from his beloved mate to his youngest brother Mikey, and rage boiled within him. It was all his fault, if he hadn't touched that necklace they wouldn't be here in this crazy world, if he hadn't walked deeper into the tunnel they wouldn't have fallen into the water and Mona wouldn't have been on the brink of death.

Donnie breathed down Mona's throat again, trying desperately to save her. As he moved to pressing on her chest, he couldn't help but to think that they were too late, that they had lost her.

"Please Mona, don't leave us... we need you here with us..."

Just as he thought that it might be too late, Mona began coughing violently, forcing out the water in her lungs. Shocked and relieved, Donnie helped her into a better position so she could get rid of the water more easily. Once she stopped coughing, she panted heavily.

"Are you alright?" Donnie asked.

"I... I think so... What... happened?"

"We fell into a river and got swept away. You almost drowned." said Sephie. "Donnie was able to revive you, but it was a close call."

Mona looked at Donnie and smiled.

"Thank you." she said.

"You don't need to thank me, I'm just glad that you're alive." he replied.

Seeing that Mona was going to be alright, Leo didn't feel the need to hold back Raph anymore and let his brother go to his mate. Kneeling beside her, Raph pulled Mona into a warm embrace and held her tight while stains of tears formed on his mask.

"I thought I had lost you..." he whispered.

"I was really worried there for a while, but I'm glad that my big sis is alright." Mikey said to the others. His voice made Raph tense up and he looked at his little brother with anger in his eyes.

"No thanks to you." Raph half snarled, letting go of Mona and walked over to Mikey. "You almost got her killed! Not to mention us as well!"

"I didn't mean to. It was an accident."

"That's always how it is with you, an accident! You're an accident! I've had it with you and your carelessness! It's a fucking miracle that someone hasn't died yet!"

"Calm down, Raph." Leo said, trying to intervene, but Raph ignored him.

"I'm sorry, bro." Mikey said.

"Sorry doesn't cut it! You got us into this mess from the start, sending us to this arctic world! I'm not having any more of this from you!"

Raph lunged at Mikey, tackling him to the ground and tried to beat him up. Mikey was shocked and could only try to block Raph's attacks by covering his face with his arms. Mona looked on in horror as her mate seemed willing to kill his little brother.

"Raph! Stop!" Leo called as he tried to pull away the hot headed turtle. "That's enough!

"He said that's enough!" Tyroth yelled as he took a strong grip and pulled away Raph, slamming him against a nearby cave wall and pressing him against it. "Listen to me!"

"Let me go! I'm gonna kill him!" Raph roared.

"Raphael, listen to me!" Tyroth roared back. "That tunnel was supposed to handle people and ore in large amounts, no one had any way of knowing that it had been that badly damaged when the rest of the mine collapsed. Anyone of us could have taken that fateful step, you, me or even Mona. Sure, Mikey has made a few mistakes, but who hasn't. We're all in this together and turning on each other isn't gonna solve anything. Now, I'm not releasing you until you've calmed down, so do yourself a favor and think about all this. Is it really Mikey's fault? Do you honestly think that he would want us to get sent here or get hurt?"

With no way to break free, Raph had no choice but to listen to Tyroth, and as he did, Raph did begin to calm down. Eventually he could think clearly again and the dragons words began to sink in. Tyroth was right, Mikey would never want any of this to happen. A stupid prankster he may be, but he never bears any ill will towards anyone. He couldn't have known what the necklace would do or that the floor in the tunnel was that weak. And he would definitively not want to hurt Mona, he loved his adoptive sister far to much.

The more Raph thought about it, the clearer it became, the only one at fault was himself. He had tried to kill Mikey for a simple accident, for something that no one could have foreseen. Realizing just what he had done, tears fell from Raph's eyes, the stress was too much for him.

"I'm... sorry..." he said, sobbing slightly. "I... I didn't mean to hurt anyone... I was just so afraid that I'd loose Mona... and being stuck in this world... it's... I just can't take much more..."

"We understand Raph." said Leo. "This isn't easy for any of us, but we'll get through it together. And we're all here for you."

"I know... thanks, Fearless..." Raph then looked at Mikey with sad eyes. "I'm sorry Mikey..."

"It's okay, bro. You know that I don't hold grudges. And I promise that I'll be more careful."

"I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"A few bruises on my arms, but nothing else, the fur armlets took the worst of it. And you said that they were useless."

"Heh... guess I was wrong then." Raph said with a weak smile.

Releasing his grip on Raph, Tyroth made sure that he hadn't hurt the hot headed turtle. Raph then made his way over to Mona, who gave him some much needed comfort and support while Donnie still maintained a watchful eye on the lizard lady, just in case. Mikey decided to keep them company, while Tyroth, Sephie and Leo checked their equipment.

"How does it look?" Leo asked while he rummaged through one of the backpacks.

"Most of our stuff is still here, but we're missing both the map and the medicines we bought from Arcadia, as well as some of the vegetables I think." said Sephie, looking through the other backpack.

"That's not good." said Tyroth. "How's it on your end, Leo?"

"Well, everything's is here, even if it's soaked. The bread looks more like porridge, need to clean that out, can't eat it like that either way, the dried meat looks okay though, even if it ain't exactly dried anymore. Not sure how long it's gonna last though."

"I can try and dry it together with the other stuff, can't have it molding for us." said Tyroth. Taking the blankets and clothes from the backpacks, washing everything in the water to get rid of the remains of the bread, he then breathed the weakest flames he could at them, acting like a blow dryer.

"I wonder where we are, and how we get out." said Mona.

"Who knows. I'm concerned that we may not have enough food to last us until we find a way out." said Donnie.

"Wonder if those mushrooms are edible. They look sorta.. minty." said Mikey.

"I hate to say it, but maybe we have to find out." said Raph. "So... who's gonna be the taster?"

"No need to draw straws, I'll do it." Tyroth said as he handed the final blanket to Leo. Walking over to a small cluster of the glowing mushrooms, he broke off a piece and eyed it with suspicion.

"Never really liked mushrooms that much." He said under his breath, and took a bit of the fungus.

"Well?" Mikey asked.

"No poison, but not much taste either, might do well in a stew or soup."

"That's good to know, though I'm still a bit concerned that the substances that generates that bioluminescence might be harmful in the long run." said Donnie.

"At least it's something to add to our meals for the time being. Now, if everyone is ready, let's see if we can't find a way out of here." said Leo.

With only one tunnel at the far end of the room, they didn't have much to choose from and started walking down the path, also illuminated by more glowing mushrooms. The tunnel bent and turned and twisted so much that the mutants hadn't got a clue in what direction they were heading any longer. Passing around a corner for the umpteenth time, they were finally met by something that they didn't expect.

Mikey was the first to speak.

"Uhm.. what's that?"

So Mona nearly drowned and Raph snapped and tried to kill Mikey, and now they have found something strange that you aren't gonna find out what it is until next time. Good progress if you ask me.

Also, thanks again for the idea Bloodrayne666. Without it this chapter would have been short and uneventful, or maybe we would have seen more. Who knows...