A/N.
Hi everyone!
Well… this is probably the last type of story you expected from me. But have I secretly always wanted to write a story like this? Yes, oh yes I have.
This story was actually very heavily inspired by a book I read, so I can't claim to own the idea. The idea came from a young adult book I read a few years back and love to this day called Undertow, by Michael Buckley. The book is definitely for older readers, because there is vulgar language and adult situations and violence and gore across most of its pages. Younger readers, I'd stay away from Undertow until about the age of fourteen.
I also put a bit more mature language in here than normal, but I'm playing it safe and bleeping it out. It will look like this: ***.
While I have not borrowed the actual plot of Undertow (yet, that story is coming sooner or later, working on it), I have borrowed a very important plot point. They have not appeared yet, but they are certainly not mine. I did change some things about them, and I guess I can take credit for the new ideas, but the idea of them the way they were originally presented in Undertow belongs to Michael Buckley, as far as I'm aware. If this isn't true, then I don't know, but I will reiterate, they certainly aren't mine. Only certain changes I made make them different, but they are largely the same.
On that note, I also don't own TMNT, no matter how much I wish I did. I believe that honor belongs to Viacom, but feel free to correct me if I am wrong. I only co-own OCs with my sister, TheRealDreadPirateRoberts. Go check out her stories when you have finished the prologue and the first chapter!
Now, onto the actual prologue…
I am so excited to share this story! I have been hard at work on it, perfecting the little details, and now it's ready! And once you're done, leave a review, favorite, follow, and as always…
Enjoy!
Prologue.
Status Report.
August 23rd, 2013.
EXTRA! EXTRA! SIYUNIAN ARMY TO MOBILIZE IMMEDIATELY WITH OTHER KINGDOMS!
Today is a frightening day in our history. For the first time in just over thirty years, Siyunia will be going to war; but not with another kingdom. Instead, as Queen Lilah had put it in her speech this morning, "We will be uniting with the fellow kingdoms against a common enemy. One we have fought to keep in the dark about our existence since the dawn of our people. The human world has caught up with us. We must answer back fighting, or else we will be swept away when they fight back. And they will fight back."
No doubt this is in light of the tragedy that struck yesterday, where two of the three princes of Siyunia were captured by a human organization known as the Earth Protection Force. The army will mobilize right away, as will the armies of kingdoms across the world, and set up camp at the war base of the shore of the island that humans call Manhattan, one that hasn't seen use since 1971.
Queen Lilah will be at the base herself, alongside her sisters, parents (the former King Hamilton and Queen Alexandria), remaining brother in law, and her young nieces and nephews, who will accompany their parents and grandparents for their safety, but are all too young to be present in the fighting. Their kingdom wishes them luck in their efforts.
...
September 14th, 2013.
NO PROGRESS MADE IN SEARCH FOR MISSING PRINCES, BUT PREPARATION FOR BATTLE IS STILL ONGOING.
It has been nearly a month since the mobilization of the army, along with the remaining members of the Siyunian royal family, but nothing has come of the search for the missing princes. However, the family has not given up hope. Queen Lilah has headed multiple search and rescue efforts herself, alongside her sisters, and is certain that with enough time, her brothers-in-law will be safely back with the family.
Prince Kevin, aged 45, and Prince Peter, aged 43, were abducted at twilight on the evening of August the 22nd, reportedly in a surprise attack by humans. Their brother-in-law Prince George, aged 48, was back at the palace with the rest of the family at the time of the attack. The two Princes were traveling in complete silence and darkness, and no one has any idea how they were discovered, as they had done nothing to indicate their presence.
This was not the end to the frightening kidnappings that started in June. By now, every kingdom has reported at least fifty individuals missing each, and the heads of the territories have been endlessly frustrated by their quickening pace, and their repetitive successes. Barely anyone has escaped near-capture so narrowly as Prince George so far, and no one has escaped outright capture so far. The Earth Protection Force is based on the island of Manhattan, New York City, and the kingdoms have reason to believe that one of their bases within the city is where the captives are located.
Security has been tight around the royal family since the kidnapping, as well as the heads of the other territories and their families. Queen Lilah and the Siyunian royal family hope they will retrieve their missing members, as well as the rest of the captives from their kingdom and others, before anyone else is taken.
Meanwhile, preparations for war have begun since the army's arrival at HQ, but there is still no word on an actual attack. "It may be weeks, even months before we see anything indicating an actual attack, but if we do, we will fight back right away. It's only a matter of time, but it's a battle that we are confident we can win." Says Princess Alyssa, head of the Royal Guard, and wife to the missing Prince Peter.
The transport of weapons and supplies had been going slow, but recently picked up with the extra recruitment. If you are fourteen and older and are interested, please contact us at the front immediately. Your kingdom would appreciate the extra help. Besides that, stay safe, and if you see a ship belonging to the EPF, contact nearby guard members.
...
September 30th, 2013.
ROYAL FAMILIES DISCOVER USE OF DANGEROUS DEVICES IN KIDNAPPINGS! FULL STORY BELOW!
"This is without a doubt the most chilling discovery we've made in our investigation of the disappearances." Says Siyunian Queen Lilah this morning. "It seems that the Earth Protection Force has, until now, been one step ahead of us in these abductions. I've had my suspicions that these were not normal methods being employed, but even I had never thought they would go to these lengths."
She is without a doubt correct. This morning, Princess Alyssa recovered a hand-held device the EPF has enforced to seek out the DNA of our people. This seems to be the reason they have been able to find and take so many, camouflaged or not. The Princess and Queen are both certain that this is probably one of many devices, and it only makes the EPF more and more deadly.
"I assure my people that it will not go unanswered," says the Queen. "I will take all three of my sisters to the Manhattan docks tomorrow, and try to catch an EPF squadron in action. My younger sister, Princess Tina, has done a fantastic infiltration mission recently, and her data says that they will be in the area tomorrow night. Princess Tina spent a few months disguised as a human just over sixteen years ago, studying land animals. Naturally she was the best for the job, and she performed admirably for her kingdom and her Queen. We have the information we need, and we will have more after this mission is over."
We wish Queen Lilah and the Princesses luck with their mission, and a safe journey to the docks and back. In the meantime, the Earth Protection Force is more dangerous than ever. Stay in large groups, and despite the fact that it may not work against these machines, use camouflage as much as possible. Try to stay home as often as you can, and keep yourselves armed and ready to fight if need be. The Kingdom of Siyunia is hoping that the abducted will be located and retrieved, and the crisis will be over as soon as possible.
October 1st, 2013.
(Donnie's POV).
'Dizzy…head feels awful... why is the earth shifting so much?'
I tried blinking away the confusion right on time, because another soldier was swinging a baton at me. The survival instinct in me was what had me throw myself to the side, out of harm's way. Sloppy and ungraceful? Sure. Not my best by a long shot? Heck yes. But it kept me breathing. Trying to ignore the pounding growing inside my head, I shakily got to my feet and tried to remember how I got into this mess.
How on earth did I get myself caught?! Splinter was going to murder me. I had one job; patrol the docks quietly, then get out. You are a ninja, I told myself. Don't make a sound. Yet, against all odds, they still found me, even at my quietest. This should not have been that easy to mess up, but I blew it. I blew it, and now, I was paying the price. Even if I did escape, Splinter was gonna freak.
Right now however, I had to focus on my exit and my survival. Unfortunately, these goons were making that a little difficult. They were armed from head to toe, and made it (unnecessarily) known that they were dangerous by waving their batons and shooting lasers at me. How rude. Especially after they already clocked me on the back of the head. I hoped I didn't have a concussion. I've already had a few under my belt, and trust me, they make life hard, especially as a scientist. You can't do too much thinking when the entire world looks like you're riding a Tilt-A-Whirl.
Where was my staff? I have no idea where I dropped it, and I was still out of it from being clobbered. Frantically, I reached inside my belt for some shuriken, smoke-bombs, maybe some kunai, anything to get me away. My brain should not have been short-circuiting. I was better than this. Inside, I was mentally kicking myself. 'Come on, Donnie. You need a weapon on you now! You've only got seconds, so get your act together!'
Finally, my fumbling fingers got a grip on a handful of shuriken and I flung them in the direction of the EPF. Several did find the intended targets (the blasters) and caused chaos and panic in the formation of soldiers. But there were some nasty looking ones that were undeterred by my attack. Seeing no other option, they tried to back me into a corner.
I dodged several blows, and managed to get in a few good, solid kicks. They flew back several feet, landing hard on the docks, bouncing up slightly after the impact before fully collapsing. With less numbers, I was starting to feel more confident about my chances, but I was worried that with my head injury, I just wasn't up to it. With each maneuver I made, the steady ache grew stronger and more overwhelming. My body was quickly running out of the energy it took to fight thanks to the pain, and if they got another hit in, it was game over.
They weren't going to back down, that was clear. There was no way, not with such a target before them. I stood my ground, bared my teeth, standing as straight as possible. I didn't want to give them any notion to make them think they were winning. That would only make them bolder. And that was something I couldn't afford, seeing as I was nearly running on empty. If this wasn't timed right, I was in serious danger of losing. I had to make a hasty escape.
Lasers flew in every direction as I shot between the gap of somebody's legs, open wide enough for me to get through. Those idiots didn't even think about that, but my move only seemed to irritate them. They were going too fast. I couldn't reach my phone for backup, which was bad, because I knew Leo was close by and could come to my aid, but he was too far away to hear the fight, and if I couldn't reach my phone, he wouldn't be much help. As for the others, they would never make it in time.
At this point, I was out of breath, and struggling to catch it again. My only hope of survival was to hide and wait it out. Getting behind one of the shipping crates that always sit in this location, I opened the door and quietly slipped inside. They hopefully wouldn't think to look for me here, and these things always provide cover.
I didn't allow myself to sit and rest however. There was no time, and I had to be alert and ready in case I was discovered again. I had no bo staff, my phone would make too much noise, and I didn't have any other weapons. After a quick analysis, I found that I only had one smoke-bomb left, which certainly didn't help matters. If it was needed, I had to make it count. So there I sat, waiting, keeping a sharp ear to pick up on any sounds outside.
As a matter of fact, I was so focused on listening outside, that I didn't even focus on the sounds coming from inside with me until a few seconds later.
My heartbeat screeched to a halt. I went stone still, aware that I was not alone inside my hiding place. A normal person's ear would have never picked up on such a tiny shift in sound, but I had been trained to do so since I could toddle. Had the EPF actually thought ahead of me? Were there more soldiers inside my temporary sanctum?
Whoever was lurking in the shadows also went deathly silent, knowing I had located them. I was starting to think they might not have been EPF. If they had been, they would have opened fire. Outside, the pursuing squad were passing by with heavy footsteps and clanking body armor, not caring about anything else but finding me. They stopped, breathing deeply in the cold October air, then, an unfamiliar noise was picked up. I heard a quiet beep of something mechanical, then another, then another. They became more frantic and loud, and they were getting closer. I could actually hear this.
I didn't dare breathe. The beeping stopped, five seconds passed, and then a shrill alarm blared.
Within three seconds, I heard the blasters firing up, but what came from behind me drew my focus away. A light had suddenly shone, illuminating the gray metal wall in front of me. It was joined by two or three more sources. Then, the sound of something metal being drawn from a sheath, screeching as it emerged. Confused, I whipped around to see what was going on, and had to force myself from gasping.
My eyes couldn't quite comprehend what I was seeing.
Cloaked in shadow, I could make out the silhouettes of four figures. They were all shorter than me, and from their stance, I could tell they were armed. With the darkness surrounding us on all sides, there weren't many other features I could make out, except one.
The patches on their skin… which were glowing.
Yes. Each of the individuals standing in front of me had strange markings running all the way down each limb, sweeping up their necks and shoulders, and ending at their throats. And every one of them had illuminated these patterns without any effort, giving off a ghostly gray light.
Were they painted on?! Or were they part of their bodies?! I couldn't be sure. Perhaps the most frightening part was that these marks were the only things I could make out on them. The rest was blocked out by blackness, especially their faces. I couldn't even see their eyes.
We stared at each other, suspended in time for a few moments. They gazed seriously at me, while I gaped at them in shock, pondering whether I should brave the EPF and make a run for it. Who were they?! Scratch that, what were they?!
"Move to the back." One spoke in an urgent tone. It was a woman. "We'll handle them."
The lasers were firing now, and the walls of the crate didn't stop them. I ducked as the red flashes flew right over my head. One look at the direction the speaker's face should be told me this was not something I should argue.
Without another word I took their place next to the back wall, and they rushed forward, even with all the firing around them. The smallest of the bunch kicked the door open with incredible strength, and all four leapt out as one, weapons blazing, bizarrely reminding me of my own brothers, and myself. As one quickly turned to close me back in, I caught a glimpse of red locks flowing down her back.
Now in a safer spot, covered in complete darkness, I sank to the floor and tried to get myself collected. What exactly had just happened? Not only had these four unknown individuals just shown me to safety, I was sure they had seen me, seen what I was. Was it possible that they just didn't care, or were they also some sort of mutants?
The glowing led me to believe it was the latter, but I still wasn't sure. That could just be some kind of light they were wearing on their persons, or some sort of extra armor… really, it could be anything. The possibilities were endless, and it was too soon to tell exactly what I was dealing with.
Heck, they might not have seen me at all. Maybe they were just being honorable and didn't notice me. What was I supposed to say when they came back in? How would I escape without them seeing me?
Outside, I could hear the EPF engaging with these four mysterious individuals, and both sides meant business by the sound of it. Battle cries and loud thuds of punches meeting their targets were thrown through the air. It was impossible to tell who was winning. Stray lasers were still finding their way inside, cutting through the metal as if it were butter, so I stayed close to the ground, and hoped no one would get a lucky shot.
Suddenly, I realized that my would-be-assailants were distracted thanks to the newcomers. Now was my chance to send a message to my family. Quickly, I found and pulled out my T-Phone and opened the group text my siblings and I used to communicate.
D: I was ambushed at the docks, it might take a while to get back. I'm hiding in a shipping crate right now. Can anyone provide some backup?
I hit 'Send', knowing I would have more details when they answered. In the back of my head, I vaguely wondered if I should tell them I was being helped. I mean, having a family member or close ally with me would be most beneficial, but how would they react when they saw-
BANG!
HISS!
My phone clattered to the floor as I let out a sudden shriek. White hot pain tore across my stomach. They had found their target. I hadn't been hit directly by a laser, but it had nastily grazed me. Already as my hands went to the wound for assessment, I felt the slow trickle of something hot and wet making its way down my plastron. S**t. It must have been deeper than I thought.
"Did you hear that?"
"He got hit! He's bleeding!"
I didn't even wonder how they could tell. I was preoccupied with moaning uncontrollably, undoing my belt to get it away from the wound, trying to do everything I could not to vomit or pass out. Why did it have to be blood?! I couldn't see it, but I was spiraling into a massive panic. I've had a phobia of blood for the last decade, and it certainly wasn't doing me any favors.
The door of the crate opened up, then shut, and two figures ran inside. Before I could move away they were both by my side, invisible thanks to the darkness. "Stay down. Let me see." A different voice spoke in a soft, quiet tone, belonging to another adult woman, from the sound of it. But I shook my head, unwilling to let these strangers help.
"It's okay, we won't hurt you," the third figure said. "My sister knows what she's doing. Just hold still so she can assess." That was when I noticed the thick accent she spoke in. I would say it was primarily Irish, but there were hints of others as well. British? Russian? I couldn't identify any of them well, especially with my head out of whack. Clearly, what I knew was that they were not from around here, but they seemed to know the area well. Why? I was so confused.
I squinted into the shadows shrouding them both, trying to make them out, but despite my advanced night vision, all I could see was their outlines, which wasn't a lot to go on. "Who are you?" I asked faintly, my vision going blurry again.
"Not now," the quieter of the two answered. "Just lie back and let me see the injury. I'll do what I can to fix it."
Hesitantly, I mulled it over for a few seconds. I was being offered help, which was a pro, and a good idea, especially with an open, oozing wound that needed attention and aid… but I had no idea who they were, which was a major con. I had no idea whether I could trust whoever these people were, or if they were lying to me to gain my trust, only to end up causing me more harm. However… I had a sneaking suspicion that despite the darkness, they knew what I was. They had either seen earlier, or could see now, through the shadowy black, that I was different.
And the glow that came off of them…
I had no other choice but to accept that they were different too. That glow came right off of their bodies. Where else could it have come from?
Seeing no other option, I laid back onto my shell and listened to the battle raging outside against the EPF, and the two remaining figures. I could hear one shouting angrily, picking up on an identically thick accent as her companions. Yes, even the quietest spoke with it, I had realized, and as I thought back to the first one who spoke, she had it too. Where had they come from?
Above me, as the world spun, I picked up on a sudden light. The woman had illuminated part of her skin again to see better. It was a bright, fluorescent white, with a yellowish tint around the edges, but I still couldn't make out her face because my vision wasn't great, even with all that brightness. "How does it feel?" she asked, in the same tone that was just barely above a whisper.
"Hurts." I muttered. The slash had begun to throb, and I could tell it was still bleeding. As the woman knelt over me, observing the damage, long golden waves of hair flowed over her shoulders, tangled and flyaway from the recent fight, so long they nearly reached me on the ground. But I still couldn't see her face, or that of her… sister, did the other one say?
The crate seemed to be turning in circles, so I screwed my eyes shut. "Do you think you have any other injuries?" the woman asked.
"Head." I answered in a whisper. It would be a good idea to check that out.
"Hailey, can you lift his head? I want to see the back." Hailey. This must have been the name of the other one. The other lady, Hailey, as I now knew her, put her hands on either side of my head, and it was slowly elevated. I kept my eyes closed, grateful for the assistance. Both gasped when they saw what must have been a spectacular collage of black, purple and blue bruising.
"That's not good." Hailey said nervously.
"Agreed," muttered her sister. "It will amaze me if he doesn't end up concussed. No wonder he's got his eyes shut, he must be incredibly dizzy. Now, if we can find something cold to put-"
The next words never came out; she sounded as if she had choked on them. Clearly seeing a red flag, I cautiously opened my eyes to just a sliver, and peered up at the woman, but while I couldn't make out her face, her body language told me she was shocked. Shaking, as a matter of fact.
"Hailey… Hailey!" She gasped, the loudest I had heard her so far. "Do you see this?...His aura…"
What? What did they mean aura? Both Splinter and April knew a thing or two about auras. They were more in tune with them, so it was possible that these two were like them. I would have to ask Splinter… because I certainly can't ask April.
Behind me, Hailey also gasped, clearly sharing the same realization as her sister. "Oh my goodness… how did we not notice this before?!"
"We were too busy tending to him." Was the woman's answer, sounding suddenly more serious, and a little bit louder. "When we are joined by our sisters, we will alert them immediately about what we've discovered. Lilah will know what to do."
Okay. Now I was thoroughly panicked. What was wrong?! Scared, I opened my eyes and tried to move my arms to support me, but a pair of hands rested on my shoulders and tried to push me back down. "No, no, no." The woman said calmly. "You need to stay down and rest. Everything will be okay, young one."
"Wait-" I tried to say, but soon I was back on the floor. "Can you get me the cream? He needs it." The quiet one said. Out of the corner of my eye, her sister handed her a tube. As I struggled, my vision blurred, and I was hit with yet another wave of nausea, forcing me to close my eyes.
Seconds later, there was a feeling of something topical being spread on the plastron wound, and then the sting. It felt as if it had been set on fire! I gasped in surprise as the pain hit, and tried to flail my way out of their grasp, but they held tight, both of them yelping from my sudden reaction.
"It's okay! It's okay!" Shouted Hailey, thrown off guard by my sudden panic. "We're trying to help!"
"I'm sorry child, I didn't mean for that to hurt. All I did was put some medicine on, the pain should stop soon." The other woman explained, still quiet, but I heard guilt in her voice. She really hadn't meant it. Reluctantly, I obeyed and laid still, but gritted my teeth and breathed heavily all the same, biting back some nasty curses that I really wanted to yell at the top of my lungs.
Oh, that hurt. It felt like acid. I slid my eyes closed as the ground underneath me lurched, and my surroundings spun like a top, trying as hard as I could to resist the urge to throw up.
Several feet away, I heard the crate door opening, but didn't bother opening my eyes. The sounds around me were growing fuzzy, but I could make out one thing. Footsteps. Two sets of footsteps hurried over to where we were in the corner, cloaked in blackness. "We drove the soldiers away! How is he?" asked one of the remaining women. I had completely forgotten about the soldiers outside. I was glad to know they were gone. That meant once I was in a better state, I could make my getaway.
"I tended to the abdominal wound as best I could. He's also been struck on the head, so we need to find something cold to keep on it." The quiet one explained, every other word sounding as if she were underwater. "But that's not all. Lilah, you wouldn't believe what I found. Look at him closely…"
Silence. I felt like shying away, but I didn't dare move. There was a ringing in my ears, and I could definitely tell I was slipping into unconsciousness. But I wanted to hang on to their words, hear what they had discovered before that happened.
"My goodness…"
The ringing sound in my head grew loud, like a bell. It was drowning out other sounds, but I strained to listen...
"...it's exactly what I thought when I discovered it… he has an aura like a beacon, it's so strong…"
My brain was clouding over, fog drifting…
"... can't believe it… a hybrid… a mutant-born hybrid… how rare are they again?..."
What did they say?... dizzy…
"...doesn't matter… one of us… can't leave him, especially not like this…"
Falling… falling through a cloud…
"... we take him to the base… let them tend to him there… then we explain…"
Moving… carried…
"...poor kid is in for a nasty shock…"
SPLASH!
Water…
Nothing.
…
L: Sending backup now. The Mutanimals are on their way. Tell me how many there are.
L: Donnie?
L: That's not funny, you know.
L: Donnie! Answer me! The Mutanimals said you weren't there! Are you okay?!
L: DONNIE!
A/N.
Alright… I'm quite satisfied with that prologue.
Mostly.
Maybe it was a little messy, but nothing ever starts out perfect. If anyone is confused, the explanation is in the first two chapters… which are being posted at the same time, so you can go read them now! They'll tell who (and most importantly WHAT) the mysterious saviors are, where Donnie is, and what was so important about him that they found. Let me tell you, he indeed is in for a nasty shock.
Anyways, that's it for both the prologue and this Author's Note! The first two chapters are available to read right now, so go ahead! And once you're done, leave a review, favorite, follow, and as always…
Stay Tuned!