Hey guys! Long time no see. Back at it again with a new chapter!
Guys, PLEASE keep in mind that THIS is not my main priority. Yes, I enjoy telling this story and seeing y'all react to it, but I have other things within my life (job, family, personal care, etc.) that take priority over OUADN. I will post when I can. I have a new found determination and motivation to keep going. I have set aside certain times to work on this, but it's all a process.
That being said - I am now DETERMINED to have this thing finished by the end of Summer (not a guarantee, but certainly a goal).
AND DON'T FORGET: You guys WANTED me to post a new chapter. Keep that in mind as you read :)
ENJOY!
May 6, 2013
Pain.
Pain and tunnels.
April.
Deeper into the tunnels. More pain. Closer to April…
Donnie mumbled to himself as he directed to his brothers which way to go. He had never been in this much pain before. But the boy would endure this pain ten times over… because April was worth it.
"Hang in there, Donnie." Raph squeezed the younger turtle's shoulder as they drifted further down the tunnels of the Technodrome. "I'm sure we're almost there."
"Uh, dudes? Is it just me, or are we drooping?" Mikey pondered.
It was true; the four turtles were no longer floating about due to the anti-gravity. They had steadily drifted closer to the floor over the past several corridors. Their feet finally touched down just outside of what appeared to be a laboratory door.
Once more Donnie gripped his head as April's scream rang through the halls… or more importantly…
"It came from behind this door!" Leo withdrew his katana. "Donnie, can you get the door open?" The boy winced as his brother's scream now matched April's. "Alright Raph-"
"Way ahead of ya, Fearless!" Raph punched his sai through the keypad next to the door. It sparked and sputtered as it whooshed open. What lay before the turtles would forever be seared in their memory.
April was strapped onto an elevated examining table, her head encased within a helmet covered with tubes. Many of the tubes were depositing their secretions into massive containers, but one main tube led into where Kraang Prime was situated into the wall.
Kraang Prime twitched within their casing, noticing the intruders. "GET THOSE BLASTED TURTLES OUT OF HERE!" It screeched. "Kraang must drain ALL of the life force and psychic energy from April O'Neil! Kraang will NOT let the girl escape again. Do not let them interfere!"
Leo, Raph, and Mikey leapt into action, taking out the Kraang bots that moved to dispatch them. Donnie was frozen by the door.
April… She was right there. He could faintly feel her through all of the pain he was feeling; that she was feeling. She was so pale… Donnie could also sense that April didn't have much longer if she remained plugged into that machine.
The boy then felt something shift within him. April was lending him her power! Donnie staggered to his feet, his russet eyes now glowing a bright red. He lifted his hand and whispered.
"No."
The whole Technodrome trembled. Every Kraang in the room was sent flying. Even the systems keeping Kraang Prime in place began to short circuit.
Leo used the chaos to his advantage to find the 'all stop' button. The machine shut down, all of the tubes and monitors going dark.
Raph leapt up to the table, carefully removing the helmet from his sister's head. The boy hoped that his brothers couldn't see his shaking fingers. As soon as the helmet was off, the restraints holding April in place retracted. Her eyes briefly fluttered before closing.
Mikey caught Donnie as he collapsed as well. "Raph! Is she-"
"S-she's okay, Mikey!" Raph breathed a sigh of relief as he felt a faint pulse. "We need to get her outta here."
"N-not with.. without her c-crystal…" Donnie ground out, dragging Mikey and himself to the table closest to the door. Donnie suddenly felt a sense of peace from April once the crystal was secure around his neck.
"Great! Let's haul some shell, guys!" Leo all but pushed his family out of the room as Kraang Prime screeched and threw themselves around their casing. Leo briefly saw the form of a massive mech suit with a placement for a very large Kraang. "This thing's gonna be after us pretty soon!"
The anti-gravity resumed almost as soon as the group was out of the room. Raph secured April on Donnie's back once he was assured that his brother could handle it. They were half-way back to where they came in when the entire tunnel began to quake. Kraang Prime's mech suit had been activated.
"How do we get outta this mad house?" Raph grunted, shoving April back up Donnie's shell as her grip weakened.
Leo looked around at the people trapped within the pods as they entered the port they had entered through. "We can't just leave these people here!"
"Or the animals!" Mikey pressed his hand against a pod containing a red panda snatched from the Central Park Zoo. "Imagine if it were Spike, or Ice Cream Kitty!"
"There!" Donnie nodded to a control panel located not far from their original pod. He shifted April from his back to Raph's. He needed both hands to operate the controls. He ignored the shrieks and various animal sounds as pods were launched backwards out of the Technodrome and into the Long Island Sound. "There's one pod left. Everyone get in!"
The pod bay shook as Kraang Prime roared around the corner, the cannon on the mech suit charging up to fire.
"Raph, Donnie - get April and Mikey in the pod then get yourselves out." Leo got the pod's top opened. "I'm going to stop that thing- MIKEY! WHAT'RE YOU DOING?"
While Leo had been distracted, Mikey took advantage of the anti-grav. The orange turtle launched himself at Kraang Prime and used his kusarigama chain to wrench the cannon into the wall. Kraang Prime screeched as the cannon became useless. It continued to stomp closer to the turtles' escape pod.
Mikey saw that there wasn't enough time for his family to escape while also taking down the Technodrome. Without thinking, Mikey pin-balled around the tight quarters of the corridor and tangled the legs of Kraang Prime's mech suit within his kusarigama chain. He landed on a support beam and pulled with all of his might. The tension plus the anti-grav was enough to hold Kraang Prime… for now.
"Donnie! Use S.H.E.L.D.O.N. to find the generator for this thing and blow it up! We need to take this ship down! Just like in Return of the Jedi with the Death Star!"
"How do you know about-" Donnie sputtered. "This isn't a movie, Mikey!"
"JUST DO IT, DONATELLO!" Mikey yelled, straining to keep 2000 pounds of angry Kraang trapped.
Raph got April situated within the pod before yanking a still stunned Leonardo into the ship. He gestured for Donnie and Mikey to join them. "Come on, guys. Let's get out of here-" Raph trailed off, seeing tears hovering in the anti-gravity around Mikey.
"Y-you said I'm a key part of this team, right?" Mikey choked out. "Then let me do this." He shifted his gaze to Donnie and Leo. "You guys need to let me do this."
"No…" Raph whispered. He made to get out of the pod, but Leo held him firm. "NO!"
Donnie squeezed his eyes shut as he pressed the commands into his Tphone to send his experimental mini drone to seek and destroy the Technodrome's power generator. With tears in his eyes, Donnie cast one last look at his youngest brother before hopping in the pod.
"I love you guys." Mikey whispered.
"NO!" Raph roared, still struggling against Leo. "WE CAN'T LEAVE HIM!" The hot-head reared his head back, smacking into Leo's beak. He struggled to raise the glass as Donnie hit the button to lower the pod's dome and launch it. "MIKEYYYYY!"
Everyone was lifted off their feet as the pod shot itself into the sky, gravity once again taking hold. Donnie clung to the unconscious April while Leo struggled to still Raph's raging fists against the glass. It wasn't long before their pod bobbed to the surface of the Long Island sound.
Raph collapsed as the pod's dome opened to reveal all of the other pods floating amidst one of the most beautiful sunrises ever to be seen. At the moment, Raph hated the sun. Why should it shine when Mikey… His head shot back up to the Technodrome. It was still intact! Maybe they could get back up there and-
BOOM!
Everyone in the other pods shrieked as the Technodrome exploded. The turtles watched in silence as it fell slowly, a cloud of smoke trailing from the metal behemoth. Soon it sank below the now turbulent waves of the Sound.
"M-mikey?" Raph whimpered. He felt arms wrap around him from behind. Slowly turning his head, he saw Leo weeping, his face pressed against Raph's shell. Raph turned to embrace his brother, their tears pooling around them.
Donnie, still holding April, had taken the brunt of the impact when the pod had landed in the water. As he combed his shaking hands through April's hair, his eyes burned from both watching the sunrise and his tears. He blinked, feeling April shift within his arms. The girl smiled, bringing a hand up to his face.
"Hey…" She croaked out. "You fou- oh!" She squeaked as Donnie pulled her into a tight, wordless embrace. April felt like a lifeline, her boyfriend was clinging to her so tightly. "Hey, I'm okay, Dee. You guys got me out of there! I'm safe; we're all safe…" April trailed off as she looked around the pod. She only saw Raph and Leo. She pulled away from Donnie to see the anguish on his face.
"Donnie… where's Mikey?"
