Hello everyone! I hope you're all having a good week! I've been insanely busy with work and haven't had many days off as my coworker is going on maternity leave with her baby and I'm covering her shifts.
As always, I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review if you enjoyed this chapter.
Leonardo shuddered, the chill of the cellar sinking into his very bones. His teeth were audibly chattering, and the terrapin cursed his cold blooded nature. Out of everyone in his family, Leo seemed to be effected by the cold the most. It was a problem he and his brothers often had to face, especially in winter. They even had backup plans for if any of them were getting too cold, none of which could help him now. At this moment, Leo would have given even his precious katana in exchange for a blanket. The turtle was shaking hard enough to rattle the chair. Even the hair holding him hostage wasn't offering any reprieve from the icy chill in the air.
The ninja shifted, trying to fidget some feeling back into numb and throbbing muscles. Immediately the hair slithered even tighter around his body, pulling him against the chair with enough force that a moan heavy with misery slipped out from between clenched teeth.
He was still on the floor. Next to the rotting remains of a corpse. Leo was keeping his eyes clenched shut for that very reason. He wasn't a coward, he was a warrior that had seen terrifying things before; but he knew that the last thing he wanted burned into his subconscious, was the image of those dead eyes staring into his very soul. The young leader bit his lips, squelching the whimper that bubbled up in his throat.
He was so cold, and he hurt. Being tied to a chair normally wasn't a pleasant experience, at least compared to the times he's been restrained by their enemies in the past. However, being tied to a chair, and lying on an extremely cold floor nose to nose with a dead body? That was much worse. On a scale of uncomfortable to ghastly, Leo was firmly set way above at mind numbing horror. Add in the fact that the IV in his arm was pulling uncomfortably, Leo could admit silently that his plan certainly didn't work out as well as he'd hoped it would. His restraints, or the hair wrapping around him, must have enough purchase around the chair that it protected the wood from breaking. That was unfortunate.
Leonardo yearned for his brothers. Thankfully, they weren't down there with him. At least, not that he was aware of. There was only one door based on what he could see before he hit the floor. The door itself was more of a flat latch, like something you'd see on a storm shed or cellar leading underground. However, Leo couldn't see any hint of the outside around the edges or it's hinges. Maybe even the entrance was underground? Eyes still clenched shut against the sight of his deathly roommates, Leonardo sighed. He really had bad luck with underground places trying to kill him.
That thought sparked what almost could have been described as a dry chuckle, but it came out more as a cough. The dirt floor was not doing his lungs any favors. Another shiver slunk down the turtles spine, and the blue ninja once again felt an intense longing for his family. Would his brothers find him? Surely they already knew he was missing, right? Granted, he had told Master Splinter that he was going for a walk in the gardens, which turned into a game of hide-and-seek. So, for all his brothers knew, he was still hiding. How much time had passed?
Leo considered opening his eyes. If he looked around, he might find something that could clue him in to how long he'd been held captive. Licking dry lips, what he wouldn't give for some water, the turtle tentatively cracked open one eye.
The dead face stared right back, making Leo clench his eyes shut once again, shoulders heaving as he fought back against the panic clawing up his throat. A whispered whimper left the turtle. Shame scorched his gut. He was a warrior, he had killed enemies before. Ninja are intimate with death's cold embrace. Yeah, right. Sure, he'd cut down his fair share of foes, but he never looked in their eyes, never laid nose to nose with them. Leo wasn't even sure he had ever been near a dead body, at least, not for this extended period of time and in such close proximity. It wasn't an experience he wanted to replicate any time soon, that is, if he ever got out of this situation.
Leo tried twisting his hands, hoping that just maybe this would be the magic moment he could free himself.
Nope. He was held fast by the sentient hair holding him captive. Leo groaned. It probably wouldn't have helped him anyway, his belt was gone, which meant that his shell cell was gone too. The young strategist pulled in a measured breath, trying desperately not to think about the corpses surrounding him. He just needed to keep his head on straight. Eventually, the person holding him would make a mistake enabling him to make an escape. He just needed to stay alert.
Leo startled at the sound of screeching hinges. It was the door to the cellar creaking open, the turtle tensed, clenching his hands into fist as he heard footsteps approaching.
"Oh, naughty, naughty,"
The blue ninja stifled a gasp as the chair was heaved upright, settling back on its legs. The hair around his face dropped away, leaving Leo to sputter and spit, before taking several deep breaths of fresh air. It was in this moment that Leonardo reattempted opening his eyes, but grit from the floor clung to his face, stinging in his eyes. Using what limited mobility he had at his disposal, Leonardo shook his head to dislodge the dirt. Once again, the turtle blinked his eyes open wincing at the debris still stuck in them, casting a wary gaze on his captor.
"Who are you?" He snarled.
Acting tough, sneering in the face of death when he was terrified out of his mind, Leo was well practiced at this. However, he wasn't ready for the sight that met his sapphire gaze, making the young warrior suck in a breath and fight the urge to scream.
It wasn't human, at least not in the traditional sense. It was something vaguely human shaped, with lanky arms and legs, and spindly, spidery fingers that fluttered over the instruments at its table. Wild hair flowed down from its head, encapsulating its face, the only thing visible being one wild, bloodshot eye that bounced back and forth, missing nothing that moved in the small space. It's clothes seemed to be a shapeless sack of some kind, covering its form that was equally mystifying. Pale skin that had never seen the light of day completed the look, almost translucent, fragile and cold.
The calculating part of Leo's brain filed that away for later.
Breathing deeply once again, the warrior cast as brave a face as he could muster. The creature snickered at his bravado. "It has no name," the thing whispered in a hiss, "because it has gone by many names."
Leo raised an eyebrow, "How can something have no name and many names at the same time? It's technically impossible."
Gosh, that sounded like Donnie, what he wouldn't give for his brainy brother right now. Actually, strike that. Because that would mean his brother would be held captive too, and Leo would never want any of his brothers in this predicament. He did dearly want their help though.
"It can do both, because it changes shape to suit it's purpose."
The creature's voice broke Leonardo out of his reverie, and he once again cast his eyes on the thing. "And what is it's purpose?" Leo played along with the word game, hoping to suss out the reasoning for his abduction.
"For one thing, it sees much use in you, young one," the monster cackled, a horrid rasping sound that hid untold secrets within its timbre, each one more ghastly than the last.
The ninja barely suppressed his shudder at the sound, "What use?"
The creature approached Leo, taking one of its spindly fingers and caressing his cheek. The turtle blanched, yanking his face away and out of reach of the finger. The thing gave another hideous cackle at the fruitless attempt, "You shall see," it rasped, "you shall see very soon. It must process other suits, gain new names, and then it shall take care of you."
Process new suits? What did the monster mean by processing new suits, especially if it was a shapeshifter?
The answer was given in horrific detail. As carelessly as if it were merely a sack of potatoes, the monster grabbed the corpse in the chair next to him and threw it on a work table. "It needs suits," the thing rasped, "new suits give it new names. Names hold great power, it seeks new names to regain power lost. Already it is more powerful than it was mere months ago, soon it will have the mightiest name in the nexus. It just needs the right suit to acquire it."
Leonardo watched with wide eyes as the poor victim was drained of blood. As it waited, the creature began to sharpen various knives, skillfully checking each one to ensure maximum sharpness. That's when Leo finally understood what it meant by new suits. This creature was going to skin the corpses and somehow use them like a disguise for its own heinous ends. Bile rose in the back of his throat, and the teen looked away, limbs shaking in horror. His vision spun as another revelation caused a wave of cold terror to stutter his heart. If this monster said it had a purpose for him, then that meant this was going to be his fate if his brothers did not intervene, and soon.
No…NO! He would not go out this way! He was a warrior, he was trained by not only Master Splinter, a battle nexus champion, but he'd been trained by the greatest ninjutsu masters on earth!
Minutes ticked by as Leonardo twisted and tugged, desperately trying to ignore the gruesome noise of the monster's handiwork at the table. The sounds of the liquid draining from the corpse was starting to slow, trickling replacing the steady stream. Wiggling his shoulders, the ninja pulled at his restraints with calculated precision, hoping that a combination of specific movements might cause enough slack to free himself. He needed to escape this nightmare and get back to his family. Whether that was even possible hadn't yet occurred to the teen, but he needed to focus on the first step, that being of immediate escape.
Almost, almost got it. Leonardo felt the hair around his shoulders slacken, almost as if the hair were too distracted to hold him still like it had before. Actually, the creature was lifting the corpse, turning it over, ensuring it was completely drained. Did that mean the monster was controlling the hair? If so, if it's working on its new….suit, then it wasn't able to concentrate on too many things at once. It was a good theory, but the ninja didn't take even a millisecond to consider it in more detail, his whole being channeling desperation in his escape. He almost had his right hand free.
Sweat dripped down the green skin of his temple, sapphire eyes focused on the hand he was just about to wiggle out from the bonds holding it.
Suddenly, the creature became agitated, "It is trying..to WORK!" It screeched, throwing the scalpel down onto the metal work table.
The hair covering his chest and shoulders constricted, the force of it slamming Leo against the back of the chair, rocking his head back hard enough to crack his neck. The ceiling spun, and the turtle vaguely tasted copper in his mouth. His hands were firmly fastened back to the arms of the chair, and any headway he had made evaporated. The wood of the chair creaked as the hair continued to tighten, Leo groaned, his ribs protesting the rough treatment. The monster turned from its project, the one visible eye raw with fury.
"It needs to focus on creating its new suit, you will not try that again, unless you want it to punish you."
The strands of hair keeping Leo silent previously, looped around his neck, tightening until the turtle began to wheeze in hitched gasps of air. The monster watched, it's eye drinking in the sight of its captive choking before loosening the strands. Leonardo's head fell back, his shoulders heaving as he pulled in large gulps of air. The young ninja trembled, his sapphire gaze locked with the one eye of the monster. He was scared, but he wasn't down for the count. Not yet. Summoning up all his courage, the turtle hardened his features into an impassive mask, refusing to give the creature the satisfaction of his terror.
"It does not scare me," Leonardo stated with a snarl that would have made Raphael proud.
The thing snickered, "So, you say," it rasped, leaning in close to the turtle's face, "but it thinks differently."
Swaths of hair roiled around Leo's form and crawled up his limbs and around the chair, encapsulating his head. The young leader clenched his eyes shut, trying desperately to control his panicked breathing, even as the hair covered his face. Within seconds he lost two of his senses, his hearing and his sight, as both were rendered moot by the hair wrapping him in a tight cocoon. A burst of anxiety kicked his heart into high gear. Without his sight, he couldn't think of a mode of escape, without his hearing he couldn't hear when the monster inevitably came for him. He was defenseless. He had no weapons, no shell cell, and no way to escape the ropes of living hair holding him in this cursed chair. Leonardo was completely at this monster's mercy.
What was he going to do?
Meditation was out of the question. Every time Leo tried, the images of the dead stares of the corpses watched him from the blackness. Sharp scalpels dripping with liquid rubies whispered his death. And a wild, bloodshot eye peering out from a mane of tangled black hair laughed at him. A shiver rocked the captive ninja. "Father," he called silently in his mind, hoping that somehow his parent would hear him, "please, find me!"
….
Donnie watched as Raphael came dragging into their shared quarters, and heaved a sigh.
It had been over two days since Leo disappeared, with this being the afternoon of the third. To say that their small family was concerned would be a massive understatement. Raphael was inconsolable, using every waking moment hunting the grounds in and around the palace. Mikey switched between going along with the search parties and meditating with their sensei. Since the caves, Mikey had discovered the use in meditation, particularly in contacting his brothers. The youngest had been honing his skills, and hoped his newfound prowess in meditation would assist Master Splinter in finding their leader. But to no avail.
As for him, Donatello was frantically writing and rewriting programming for their shell cells. An unfortunate side effect of the nexus was that some forms of modern technology was sometimes rendered useless. They discovered this upon their arrival when Leo tried to call Raphael to invite him along on a trip to town. At first, they saw it as a temporary inconvenience. Now, it was a very real obstacle that could stop them from finding Leo. Don let out a rare curse, promising himself that when they got home safe, all of them, he was going to give their shell cells a massive overhaul that would make them more travel capable. Even between dimensions.
"How's it goin' Donnie?"
The scientist looked up to meet the equally exhausted amber gaze of his older brother. "I'm still trying to find a way to track Leo's cell," Donnie replied, voice quiet with grief, "but the interference from all the surrounding dimensions connected to the nexus is making it almost impossible."
Raph groaned as he sat down next to his brainiac brother, "If anyone can do it, it's you, Donnie."
Donatello shook his head softly, "I don't think so, not with the time we have."
The hothead's eyes narrowed, "What are ya talkin' about?"
"It's been almost three days," Don replied, "I don't know if Leo's shell cell even has enough juice for me to track. It could be powered down already and I'm doing all this for nothing!"
Silence fell between the two brothers, and despair yawned between them in hopeless waves. Raphael lowered his head into his hands, fingers shaking with both exhaustion and repressed emotion, "Where is he, Donnie? Leo never disappears fer days on end, that's my schtick. The only way I can figure, is if someone managed ta kidnap him or somethin', which we both know is nearly impossible."
"Not so impossible," Donatello grumbled bitterly, "I know that we're guests of the Daimyo, but I knew something bad was going to happen when it was requested we leave our weapons in our room. I can respect the reason why, it's rude to our host to be armed during our stay, but still, something always happens when someone takes our weapons."
Raph growled in agreement, but stubbornly clung to his statement, "Well, yeah, but even without his weapons, Leo ain't exactly a lightweight. It took the entire foot army, the elite and the Shred head himself ta take him down that night in New York. And that was before all the trainin' he's had since! I'm just sayin', if someone managed ta take him, that means they're pretty strong, so we'd better be careful."
Donnie nodded, wistfully wishing for the days earlier that week when they had just arrived.
….
6 Days Ago
"Donnie, I'm coming to get you," Michelangelo called, his tone light as he crept through the gardens.
The purple banded turtle gave a low snigger. One hand clutched the tree branch he was perched on, while the other was armed with a water balloon. It was Mikey's idea to bring them, and Donnie heartily approved. However, the orange ninja didn't expect his stash to be stolen by his brothers, much less used against him. They were playing ninja hide-and-seek, and Mikey was it. With winks, and a few giggles, the three older brothers split up, each armed with several water balloons that they planned on ambushing their baby brother with. It was going to be glorious.
"Jeez, Don, you really need to work on your stealth," the youngest said with a tolerant sigh and shake of his head, "I'm honestly disappointed."
Mikey was falling for his bait. Don had set up a dummy inside a bush, and put a purple mask around it. Just the barest hint of purple poked out from behind the green leaves, enough to hide it from anyone normal, but it might as well have been holding a flashing neon sign to a ninja. Donatello was almost offended that Mikey actually thought he couldn't vanish better than that, but he shrugged it off. Their loud mouthed brother falling for such an obvious trap, this would just make the water balloon ambush that much sweeter.
"You'd think a turtle of your intellect could manage a better…hiding…place?"
Michelangelo's voice trailed off as he got close enough to notice that the purple bandana he saw wasn't connected to a green head. In fact, the face looked wooden. "…Meep?…"
"Get him!"
Donatello surged forward at Leo's roared command, and the ambush commenced. Water balloons flew from all directions, purple, red and blue splattering against Michelangelo with stunning precision. Mikey flailed helplessly, trying, and failing, in a desperate bid to block all incoming projectiles. Raphael sped through the tree branches, his muscular bulk not hindering him as he made impressive time to circle around and catch the youngest in his blind spot. The red balloon exploded in a halo of water on the back of Mikey's head. Leo didn't miss the opportunity when the orange ninja stumbled, catching him with a blue balloon right on his beak.
Donatello leapt high in the air, eyes narrow and features shadowed, crossing his hands in front of him, armed with two water balloons each. Four purple balloons splatted Mikey with pin point accuracy, two on his plastron and two to the face. Mikey gave up any pretense of defense, and chose to bend over, presenting his shell to his brothers and their bombardment of water filled projectiles.
"Ok, ok!" He shrieked, "I give!"
The three older brother landed light as shadows on the grass, but that was the only silent part about them. Raphael and Donnie were giving hearty guffaws, and Leo was melting in a round of helpless giggles. The young leader bent over, placing his hands on his knees as the laughter stole his strength.
Mikey tried to stay offended at their little prank, he really did. However, the contagious nature of Leo's mirth was too much to resist. Soon all four brothers were cackling, grins wide as the sky wreathing their faces. "You guys are jerks!" Mikey chortled, "I think I got water up my nose!"
"Aw, poor Mikey," Donnie cooed between chuckles.
"Hey, no one likes water up their nose, not even this mutated turtle," Michelangelo shot back.
"Careful Mikey," Raphael grinned, "too much water up yer nose might throw off the air pressure in yer head."
Another round of giggles hit the terrapins, before the orange ninja gave a sly grin. Reaching to his sides, where he had secured his own water balloons, Michelangelo sniggered, "Don't think I wasn't counting, guys," he said, eyes glinting with mischief, "I know the exact number of each color of balloons that we brought with us. Which means, I also know that you are out of ammo, while I on the other hand, am still fully loaded!"
"Uh-oh," Don had murmured, he and his two older brothers exchanging playfully panicked looks.
With a building cry, Leo had turned tail and shouted, "Run!"
Raphael and Donatello followed, whooping and yelling as they were chased by Michelangelo. All four wearing wide grins overflowing with the joy of innocent play. Their day had continued in much the same fashion. Chasing each other across the gardens, and through the forest.
….
Present
Donnie shook his head free of the memory. While certainly a precious one, he couldn't allow himself to get distracted. They needed to find Leo.
Raphael watched his brother with concerned amber eyes. Out of everyone, Donnie was running himself ragged the most. Sure, he had been going on every search party outing for the past three days, but Don hadn't put down his computer since they discovered Leo was missing. He had convinced himself he could get their shell cells working enough to track Leo's, but it wasn't working and Raph couldn't even get mad at his brother for it. They all felt powerless. The bombastic turtle released a groan, he hated feeling powerless.
Two green heads popped up when the door to their quarters squeaked open, a maid shuffled inside, her expression distraught, "I apologize for disturbing you, especially as you are going through such a troubling time, but I was hoping one of you might assist me?"
The brothers exchanged looks of confusion before nodding their agreement, "Sure," Donnie shrugged, "what do you need?"
The maid shuffled her feet, her light frame radiating discomfort, "The young girl, Okiku," she sighed, "she has not come out of her room since Leonardo went missing. She locked the door, and has not eaten the meals left for her. I'm worried, such a small child should not go so long with eating."
Raphael glanced down at the floor, his emotions torn. He was worried about the kid, he really was, but there was this nagging feeling in the back of his head that the red ninja found difficult to ignore. Over the past week before Leo disappeared, the kid barely let his leader out of her sight. Not to mention some crazy event he himself had seen that made him wary of the girl. He had even told Leo about his suspicions, that day in the hot springs…
…
3 Days Ago
"I'm tellin' ya, bro, it ain't normal,"
Leo smiled as Raphael ranted, sinking up to his chin in steaming water, "Raph, she's a child who lost her family. We can't expect her to behave like other kids."
The four brothers were soaking in the hot springs, devoid of their gear and masks, while their father rested on a lounge chair as he waited for his fur to dry. The rat's eyes were closed, and his breaths were deep and even, making the teens reasonably sure he had fallen asleep. Donatello had Mikey in a head lock, determined to dunk the youngest as Leonardo supervised. To be honest, Leo wasn't even watching too closely, as it was Donnie doing the dunking rather than Raph. The brainiac wouldn't be too rough on their baby brother as the hothead would. That particular brother in question though, was keeping the young leader from enjoying his soak.
"She told me she was scared that the thing that killed her parents was coming for her," Leo explained patiently, "if I were a kid that saw my parent get killed and mutilated, I'd probably be scared too."
"I get that," Raphael conceded, "but sometimes she don't act like a kid at all, traumatized or not!"
Heaving a sigh, Leonardo climbed out of the bath, and stretched out on the heated floor in a patch of sunshine, fully intending to bask for an hour or so. Or, at least until Raph finished his rant. "And how is she supposed to act?"
"I don't know, I ain't exactly experienced when it comes ta kids, but," Raph floundered, struggling to find the right words to explain the growing dread creeping in the back of his mind, "shouldn't she at least be sad? In the whole week we've been here, she hasn't talked about her mom or dad once! She hasn't cried, or even had a temper tantrum about how unfair it is that her parents are dead. She says she's scared, but she doesn't act scared. Instead, I've seen her sneakin' around, tryin' ta get into places she shouldn't be, and when I look at her…if I had hair, it would be standin' striaght up on the back of my neck. She creeps me out, and I can't explain why!"
"I wasn't exactly acting normal when Master Splinter sent me to train with the Ancient One," Leo reminded his younger brother, "trauma does weird things to your emotions. Not everyone reacts the same way."
"Look, I'm not sayin' I don't feel fer the kid," the red clad turtle stated, swimming closer to his brother, his hand perched on the rim of the massive bath, "but I…I don't know, I got this weird feelin', like somethin' is wrong."
Leo raised an eyebrow, eyes shut in contentment, from where he lay on his stomach, "I thought weird feelings are my territory?" He asked in a sleepy mumble.
"Yer right, they are, which is why I'm so confused!" Raphael blurted, throwing his hands up in a helpless gesture. "Come on, Leo, I'm serious, I really think somethin' bad is goin' on."
The blue ninja, currently devoid of his mask as they were bathing, wrinkled his beak as water splashed his face from Raphael's outburst. At first, he maintained his silence, seemingly ignoring his brother, but Raphael knew better. Leo was considering what he heard and deciding how to act on it. The red ninja could almost predict what his leader was thinking. Leo was debating whether to take it seriously, or to leave it at his brother being dramatic. However, the biggest weapon in his arsenal, was the fact that he really wasn't the type to get weird feelings or premonitions. That was usually left to their father, and occasionally Leo. For Raphael to admit to sensing something off, when he was notorious for not doing feelings, it warranted a big red flag that their leader would never intentionally ignore.
The bombastic ninja watched his brother process this information, and felt relief when Leo finally opened curious sapphire eyes.
"Ok," he said; while he didn't move from his spot, Raphael could palpably feel he had his leader's undivided attention, "I'm listening. Start from the beginning and tell me what's weirding you out."
"It goes beyond her not wantin' ta leave ya alone, like I said, she's been sneakin' around too," Raphael stated, crossing his arms on the rim of the bath so to brace his chin on his hands, "remember that day when ya were playin' with her, and she kept tryin' ta get ya ta sneak into the Daimyo's living quarters?"
Leo pursed his lips, "Yeah," the leader murmured thoughtfully, "she was really upset when I kept saying no."
"Yeah, I remember she said that ya had been in there before,"
The blue ninja nodded, "The Daimyo wanted to show me his sword collection, as well as his personal collection of Japanese art and poetry he'd acquired during the Heian Period. He'd said I was always welcome to view his collection, but it still felt like trespassing, so I told Okiku that I couldn't go in."
Raph nodded, that was just like his by the book bro, "And when ya said so, she practically threw a fit,"
"Yeah?"
"Well, Later that day, I caught her gettin' busted by one of the maids. She was trying ta sneak into the Daimyo's living quarters. The maid yelled at her pretty good, and neither of them saw me, but the kid said some pretty grown up swear words when the maid left."
Leonardo sat up, raising himself to rest on his elbows and forearms as his own gut twisted into something of a premonition, "I admit, that does feel wonky, but I have to ask if you have any other evidence to back up your theory?"
The red ninja was more than happy to provide an answer, "Once, when I came back inta our room, I found her goin' through yer stuff. I asked her what she was doin', but instead of actin' like a typical kid that got caught, she looked angry. Like I had interrupted somethin' important. I asked what she was doin' goin' through yer stuff, and she said ya told her to, but we had just got back in from playin' outside. I know ya hadn't had a chance ta ask her fer anythin' like that. I told her so, and she literally hissed at me, and ran out with this furious look on her face. It was creepy, bro!"
Leo's brows furrowed, "Strange," he whispered.
"Now ya see what I mean?!"
The blue ninja nodded slowly, "I'll investigate, nothing too bold or forward though, it might just be a childish prank. However, I admit that does sound weird."
Raphael had nodded happily and left it at that. He had spoken to his leader about his concerns, and Leo was taking them seriously. That's all he needed. Granted, later that day Okiku was back to her usual tricks, demanding Leo's attention and dragging him everywhere. Thankfully, Leonardo kept his word and had his guard up, not as willing to be pulled and tugged the way he had been earlier. That had not gone unnoticed by the kid.
In fact, that conversation happened not long before Leo disappeared, and Raphael hadn't seen that particular maid for a few days either…
…
Present
Raphael jolted, feeling like he just discovered a monumental piece of the puzzle to Leo's location, but with no understanding of what he found. "The kid," he mumbled, casting wide amber eyes on Donnie then back to the maid, "we'll check on her fer ya," he said in a rush, surprising his younger brother.
"We will?" Donatello asked, but his question was cut short by a yelp of surprise when Raphael began dragging him out the door, and down the hall.
"I got an idea!"
"What do you mean?" Donnie spluttered, struggling to keep up with his older sibling.
"The kid," Raphael replied, not slowing down even one iota, "she's connected ta Leo's disappearance somehow, I don't know how, but I gotta gut feelin' that she's involved."
Don's mouth snapped shut as he considered Raphael's words.
It's true, no one had questioned Okiku, even though she had apparently been present when Leo disappeared. Actually, the child had closed herself into her room as soon as the news broke, and had laid quiet inside ever since. It didn't make sense, while she had become very attached to Leo, her locking herself in her room was a little over dramatic for a child of her age. Any kid would have given up as soon as their stomach growled, and the maid said she hadn't eaten anything in days. Plus, Donnie had once seen her looking through some rather advanced science books in the Daimyo's library earlier that week, books that explained the process of taxidermy. Okiku was completely entranced, so focused on her reading material, that she didn't notice Donnie until he was standing right behind her and asked what she was reading.
Instead of being startled, or even embarrassed at being caught, the girl had simply smiled at the turtle. Her eyes were almost black, and there was something feral in their depths. The scientist couldn't deny the chill that went up his spine at the sight. Instead of waiting for an answer, Donatello had turned and walked as quickly as possible out of the library, eager to report what he had seen. The purple turtle was seeking out Leo to warn him about the kid, but the Daimyo had walked in just then. Whisked Don away to meet the Daimyo's head engineer in the remodeling of the fortress, and that experience had been forgotten.
Dread as cold as winter fog settled on Donatello's shoulders. Maybe Raph was right?
Somewhat of a short chapter, but I promise I'm working on the next one even as you read this. I don't plan on Ensnared being as long as Control, but we'll see how it goes.
I hope you enjoyed, and as always, please drop a review. I love reading your thoughts, ideas and suggestions.