Chapter 13-Gather More Information
The male group had been running after Aleera for over 5 minutes before they stopped when they noticed that she and Anna were nowhere to be seen.
"Shell! We've lost 'em!" Raph shouted in frustration.
"Where did they go!?" Leo questioned anxiously.
"They'll definitely be heading over to Dracula, wherever he is…" Van Helsing answered.
"True, and we won't be able to get her back so easily…" Carl said in agreement.
"Aleera said something about a trade, which involves handing Frankenstein over to Dracula in order to save Anna…" Donnie reminded the others.
"That's not going to happen, not after everything we've been through to get him away from that monster!" Van Helsing denied firmly.
"Y-Yeah! We all know that Dracula will use Frankenstein for evil! There has to be some other way to save her…!" Mikey said pleadingly, not wanting to go ahead with the idea of handing Frankenstein over to Dracula.
Everyone knew that Van Helsing and Mikey were right; they had been through a lot to keep Frankenstein safe from Dracula and his monstrous minions, so they couldn't let all of their hard work be for nothing. However, they were completely stumped; what else could they do to save Anna without trading Frankenstein over to Dracula?
After another minute of thinking, Leo broke the silence with an idea.
"I think the first thing we should do is to find out where Dracula's castle is located and go from there…"
"And how exactly are we gonna do dat, Leo? Dracula's castle is hidden by some kinda black magic or somethin', so it's gonna be near impossible ta find it…!" Raph reminded in annoyance.
Again, the group became thoughtful. Raph was right; Dracula's castle was hidden by a mysterious force and, so far, no-one knew how to reverse it.
"Umm…maybe someone back in the village can help us…?" Mikey suddenly suggested.
"Good thinking, Mikey! Come on, everyone, let's head to the village and ask around…" Leo replied, now feeling a bit hopeful.
"Hold on, what about Frankenstein? We can't take him to the village; he'll get attacked by the villagers like they did a year ago…" Carl reminded anxiously.
"Oh yeah, you're right! We'll have to hide him somewhere safe for now…" Donnie said in realisation.
"I know a place…Come…" Van Helsing immediately told the others before he started walking away. Everyone else looked at each other before they followed him to wherever he was going.
/
Sometime later…
"The catacombs? Why here?" Leo asked as soon as he and the others looked around the underground tombs a bit more.
"This is the final resting place for the deceased. No-one ever comes in here due to not wanting to disturb it…" Van Helsing explained.
"Well, it's better than nothin', I guess…" Raph sighed.
"Hmm…I do not like this, not one bit…" Frankenstein told the others in a nervous and dissatisfied tone.
"Don't worry, Frankenstein; it's only temporary, and no-one will know that you're here…" Donnie reassured the man-made creature.
"Right! We won't be too long, we promise…" Carl told him softly.
"Alright, everyone, let's get a move on back to the village…Time is of the essence…" Van Helsing told the others before he started making his way back up to the surface.
"We'll be back, Frankie…! Just stay put, ok?" Mikey said reassuringly before he and his brothers followed Van Helsing and Carl out of the catacombs.
"…Alright…Good luck, my friends…" Frankenstein replied as he reluctantly took a seat on one of the stones in the catacombs and watched the others go.
Unbeknownst to Frankenstein, however, something was watching him from the shadows and waiting to pounce on him once the time was right.
/
The village…
The group was able to return to the village after travelling the remaining way on foot when they used their last horse and carriage to get through the first half of their journey before returning it back to its original workplace. They all stood in the village square for a moment to catch their breaths.
"Ok, we're back at da village…What now?" Raph questioned.
"We should probably split up into pairs again and ask the villagers for any information on Dracula's whereabouts…" Van Helsing suggested.
"Pant…pant…" Mikey started panting as he suddenly felt very exhausted and light-headed.
"Mikey, are you ok?" Donnie asked in concern.
"Y-Yeah…I-I'm just…tired…" Mikey managed to say before he groaned and his legs gave way.
"Whoa! Easy, bro…" Raph cried out as he caught Mikey before he could land face first on the ground.
"Mikey!?" Leo said worriedly.
"Be at ease, Leonardo; your brother is just very exhausted…He has done a lot of travelling and fighting without a moment's rest after all…" Van Helsing reassured Leo as he assessed the youngest turtle.
"He's right, bro, and he feels a little warm too…Hopefully, it won't turn into a fever, but we should keep an eye on him just in case…" Donnie added after placing a hand on Mikey's forehead.
"What do we do now? We can't gather information with one of our team members down…!" Carl questioned in concern.
Leo and the others thought for a moment. Then…
"Mikey!?"
A little girl's voice was heard not far from where the group was standing. When they turned their heads to the left, they saw Mila and her mother Sophia, both of whom were now hurrying towards them with a scared look on their faces.
"Mila! Sophia!" Leo called out in surprise.
"What happened to him!?" "Is he hurt!?" The two females questioned anxiously.
"It's ok, you two; Mikey just passed out from exhaustion…He'll be alright after a good rest…" Donnie explained calmly.
"You're welcome to have him rest in our home; I have a spare bedroom that he could use…" Sophia offered kindly.
"Thank you, Sophia, we really appreciate it…Come on, guys…" Leo replied gratefully before he and the others followed the female duo towards their house with Raph carrying a sleeping Mikey in his arms.
/
Sophia's and Mila's house…
As soon as they had entered the house, Sophia guided the turtle brothers into the spare bedroom. Raph carefully laid Mikey down on the bed before he moved out of the way to allow Donnie to check him over.
"Sophia, do you have any medical supplies I can use?"
"Of course, I keep them in a box in my kitchen. I will go and get it for you…" Sophia answered before she quickly walked out of the room to and get the medical box.
Whilst this was going on, Mila was sitting on a chair close to Mikey's bed and watching him with a scared expression on her face due to worrying about her friend's health.
Donnie immediately saw this and decided to help her put her mind at ease.
"Hey, Mila, can you please go and fetch us some water for Mikey? It will greatly help him get better faster…" He asked softly.
The little girl nodded without a word before she hurried out of the house to gather some water from the well. Sophia watched her daughter go as soon as she returned with the medical box before she turned to Donnie and spoke with a sad but grateful smile.
"Thank you, Donatello…Mila always worries whenever someone is seriously ill or hurt. She has been like this ever since her father passed away through a terrible sickness 2 years ago…"
"Oh…I'm so sorry…It must have been very hard for her to cope with that and having to stay safe from Dracula as well…" Donnie said sympathetically.
"Yes, it has been difficult…but Mila has always done her very best to remain strong for me, even when she didn't have to be…" Sophia replied sadly but proudly as he passed Donnie the medical box.
The turtle brothers, Van Helsing, and Carl smiled at those words. Despite being so young, Mila grew stronger through her loss in order to carry a lot of weight on her shoulders and help her mother during their hardships.
After opening the medical box, Donnie took out a bandage and a small piece of cloth to clean the bite mark on Mikey's shoulder and the small scratches on his body. As he moved the blanket down slightly to reveal Mikey's shoulder, Sophia immediately saw the wound and spoke with a gasp.
"Wait…why does that wound on his shoulder look like a bite mark…?"
"Bite? Did a werewolf bite him!?" Mila cried out as soon as she came back into the room with a full bucket of water, meaning that she had heard her mother say 'bite mark'.
The turtle brothers and human duo looked at each other fearfully since they didn't want to reveal Mikey's secret to the female duo and cause a major panic. However, they knew that this would happen at some point during their time here and they had to be strong and brave for Mikey at this stage, so each member of the group took turns to tell Sophia and Mila their story of what happened back at the Valerious Castle days ago.
By the time they had finished their story, Sophia and Mila were looking at the group in shock and disbelief.
"S-So, the wound on his shoulder…is really a…" Sophia stuttered.
"Yes…a werewolf bite…" Donnie confirmed without giving Sophia any eye contact since he was still busy with wrapping Mikey's shoulder.
"My God…" Sophia breathed out in shock with a hand covering her mouth.
"We're so sorry for keeping this from you both; we just couldn't risk our little brother's safety and wellbeing by telling you straight away in case you and the villagers would kick us out or attack us…" Leo explained apologetically.
"It is alright, Leonardo; your brothers and friends saved my daughter from Dracula's monsters. That has proven to us that you are unique beings that we can trust, no matter what circumstances you're in…" Sophia reassured him in understanding.
"Thank you, Sophia…" Leo replied gratefully with a small sigh of relief before he frowned with worry when he looked at Mila, who was looking down and shaking like a leaf in her chair.
"Are you ok, Mila?" Leo asked the little girl gently.
"M-Mm-hm…" Mila answered shakily, but she didn't look at him.
"Now that you know about Mikey's secret behind his shoulder wound, how do you feel?" Leo then asked her as he knelt down in front of her to meet her eye level.
Mila wanted to say something, but she couldn't straight away because she was trying her best not to cry. Once she had managed to keep her emotions at bay, she spoke.
"I-I'm scared, but…M-Mikey's not a monster, because he saved me; he's my friend…"
The little girl then paused to wipe the tears that were falling down her face, even though more tears developed and fell shortly after.
"I-I don't know what to do to help him…!" Mila then cried out before she covered her face and started sobbing.
"Hey, hey, hey…You're already helping him by being here and supporting him…" Donnie reassured the young girl whilst giving her a hug.
"Yeah, and that milk bread that you and your mother made for us was really delicious, Mila! Mikey even gave it a 5-star rating because he loved it that much…!" Leo told her.
"R-Really!?" Mila stuttered in surprise.
"Really! In fact, he was close to wanting seconds if we hadn't have equally portioned it between us all…!" Donnie added as he gently released Mila from the hug and wiped the tears off her face.
That made Mila giggle and smile at those words, and her sadness and anxiety were immediately reduced.
"Anyway, my friends, we must resume back to the main subject at hand…" Van Helsing told his companions, making them refocus of the main subject at hand.
"What do you mean?" Sophia questioned in confusion.
"Well, Anna has been kidnapped and taken to Dracula's castle by Dracula's remaining bride, Aleera!" Carl announced as calmly as he could, despite panicking on the inside.
"Oh, no!" Sophia gasped in horror.
"Yes, and we've returned back to the village because we need to gather more information about Dracula's castle and how to find it…" Leo explained.
Sophia and Mila looked at each other before they saddened and looked back at the group.
"I'm so sorry…I wish I knew where Dracula's Castle is, but I have no clue over where it could be…" Sophia said guiltily.
"Oh…" Leo sighed as he and the others looked down in disappointment.
"Wait, Momma…didn't you tell me that someone in the village said something about a special ball happening tonight?" Mila questioned to her mother when she suddenly had a brainwave.
"Ball…?" Donnie questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh, that's right! I have heard from a group of villagers saying that tonight is Dracula's Masquerade Ball, and it's being held at his castle!" Sophia told the group after remembering her recent memory.
"Hmm…Somehow, I don't think that's just a coincidence…" Van Helsing said suspiciously.
"Yes…it is believed that Dracula would only arrange events like this when something special has happened…" Sophia explained.
"And I'll bet kidnappin' Anna is dat special somethin' fer da ball…" Raph speculated with a growl.
"Mm…wha' are you guys talkin' about…?"
Everyone jumped and stopped talking when they heard a quiet but familiar voice coming from the bed. They looked over at the bed and they were immediately met with Mikey now awake with half-opened eyes.
"Mikey!" "Michelangelo!" Everyone cried out as they gathered around him. Mila gave him a big hug, which Mikey greatly accepted.
"Oh, you're finally awake, bro! Are you alright?" Donnie said as he checked his temperature, which was almost back to normal.
"Yeah, m'fine…Wha's been going on?" Mikey responded tiredly.
"We just found out that Dracula is holding a Masquerade Ball at his castle tonight…" Leo told him whilst helping him sit up.
"A what ball…?" Mikey said in confusion, now more awake.
"A masquerade ball, Mikey; it's an event where people get together and wear masks to hide their identities, and they take them off after a special dance to reveal who their dance partners are…" Donnie explained.
"Heh, we'll fit in just fine since we're already wearin' masks…" Raph teased.
"Our masks are different, Raph; they don't cover much of our faces and Dracula already knows who we are with them on…!" Donnie countered firmly.
"Donnie's right; if we're gonna go in and crash the party, then we're going to need new masks and outfits…" Leo said seriously in agreement.
"Yeah, but how and where are we gonna find such fancy gear?" Raph questioned.
"You should go and talk to my friend and neighbour, Serena; she is very well-known for her amazing skills in costume-making, as well as making our normal clothing…" Sophia suggested.
"Great! Thank you again, Sophia…!" Donnie replied gratefully.
"Alright, everyone, here's what we're gonna do; Van Helsing, Carl, and I will go and visit Serena at her house to have a talk about the Masquerade outfits, while Raph and Donnie will stay here and watch over Mikey until he gets his strength back…" Leo laid out his plan briefly to everyone.
The others agreed before they all split up into their groups and started putting their plan into action.
/
Author's Notes:
Hi, everyone! Sorry for the long delay on writing this chapter; I've had a lot going on lately, including preparations for moving house.
I am still in the process of writing chapters for my other fanfic stories, but it will take a bit more time before they are completely finished.
I hope you enjoy this new chapter, and I will start the process of writing the next chapter for this story soon!
