A/N: Looking over my story, I noticed that I'm going at a pretty fast pace timeline-wise. I'd like to apologize if this bothers anyone, but I don't plan on slowing any. :P

Phoenix Call

Chapter 10: Scattered Ashes

"RAPH! Can you hear me?" Raph snapped his eyes open and flipped backwards, drawing his weapons and coming down in a low defensive pose as he assessed what had disturbed his meditation. It was Donnie. Raph put his sai away and stood normally. Donnie kept an eye on his older brother as he pressed a button on his phone. Leo picked up.

"Donnie, did you find him?"

"Yeah, but something weird happened."

"Donnie, tell him to meet us back at the lair. I got information on Mom."

OoO

"Leave my brother alone, you sick bitch!"

Amber had caught a second wind some time ago, and even though her face hurt fiercely, she knew it would heal soon. Karai paused, turning toward the yelling woman thoughtfully.

"You could save your brother if you'd only give me the information we seek."

"No Sis, don't!" Karai tased Eric again, making his words of strength to his sister turn into screams of anguish. Amber gave Karai a heated murderous glare.

"Forget it," Amber spat venomously, "I'm not giving up my sons' safety."

Karai hummed thoughtfully before turning to her subordinates. "Cage them separately. They seem to draw too much strength from each other. Has our recon squad delivered the message to the turtles that we have their mother yet?"

Amber's eyes went wide as she processed what Karai had asked. NO! If they know, they'll come and fight and possibly get hurt or captured. Guys, don't!

OoO

"Raphie? I believe you."

Raphael swung his gaze to meet Mikey's. He had just gotten through telling his brothers what he had seen as he meditated. It had started an argument between Leo and Donnie, Leo just blowing it off by saying it was a dream Raph had while he was dozing and Donnie saying more testing was necessary before counting the possibility out.

"Leo, she isn't completely human, at least not any more. Remember when I took a sample of her blood to compare to ours? I ran other tests against April's. The genetic allele she carries - one we ALL carry, I might add - comes from the Kraang. I'm not sure what they were trying to accomplish, but there are bound to be side effects from the genetic splicing!"

Raph shoved Donnie against the wall. "How long have you known all this and not thought to tell us?!"

OoO

It had been weeks. Karai had noticed, of course, how fast Amber healed from her injuries and gained Shredder's permission to move her into a lab for further testing. To Amber, it was like being 17 all over again. She faded in and out of conciousness, and while she was awake her thoughts always seemed to turn to her sons. Were they safe? She hoped so, and that hope was the only thing keeping her beaten spirit from breaking right now. Every now and again, she imagined she could just barely sense her son's energy, poking and searching. She never answered it, not wanting them to know where she was in an effort to keep them safe. It was times like that, when Amber had the most fight, that Karai had her fun, telling her how she might kill each of her children in front of her in gory detail. Then, Amber would retreat into her mind again, blocking out everything around her until another brush of spirit against her own would wake her up.

"I have news for you, Amber." Dull hazel eyes met Karai's with resignation. "We've managed to destroy your sons."

"Bullshit." Amber's voice was raspy and raw still from her last screaming fit. Karai smiled, holding up a battered red bandana with the kanji for family marked on it.

"We took this off one of the turtles. Does it look familiar to you?"

OoO

The atmosphere in the turtles lair was dull. Training had been half-hearted, and even their normal pastimes held no enjoyment. Raphael locked himself away in his room more and more, to carve and meditate. When Leo had tried to see his newest carving, Raph had reacted violently, shoving his older brother against the concrete and nearly cracking his shell. They all left Raph alone after that, only bothering him when necessary.

Raph growled at the beads in his hands. Why wasn't it working? He had been trying to meditate like he had been on the roof the night his conciousness had been pulled to Amber's side, but it was like something was blocking his attempts. He had even tried going back to the same roof, but all he managed to do was lose his bandana in a strong gust of wind. He hadn't bothered to replace it yet. Not like anyone in the lair didn't recognize him without it.

Sighing, he decided to try again. Dutifully, he relaxed and let his energy flow into the beads and mix with what little was left of Amber's. A frantic pulling sensation made him furrow his brows. Mom's energy is NEVER panicked like this. Suddenly, like before, the world around him disappeared and he saw his mom all of a sudden. Hazel eyes swept over the scene in growing rage. Amber had been strapped to a lab table, dozens of tubes feeding in and out of her, and Karai hovered over her. In her hands, she held something familiar. My bandana!

Amber was screeching, her rage blind and mixed with sorrow and defeat. Raphael was going to enjoy bashing the heads of every Foot ninja in his way to get to his mother's side. A door opened, and Raph smiled. He could see the skyline of New York peeking through a window as Karai conversed with her subordinate. He had found where their mom was.

A rough shaking brought him crashing back into his room to find baby blues staring at him, searching his eyes hopefully.

"You found her, didn't you bro?" Mikey sat carefully beside his tempermental brother. Raph looked down.

"Yeah, but she's in a bad way Mikey. Are Leo and Donnie still fighting about what to do?"

"Yeah, bro. It's like that longest fight any of us have ever had, dude! But really, I think Leo's just jealous that you're better at this 'spiritwalking' Jedi stuff than he is."

Raph's eyes hardened. "He'll just have to get over it, won't he? I'm going, tonight."

Mikey nodded. "I'm with you, bro."