Author's notes: Sorry for such a long wait. Two new chapters are finished now. It was originally just one chapter, but when checking the length of the pages, it was literally as long as 31 pages, so I split the chapter into two parts. Please enjoy.

Chapter 5:
A Dire Search

Akuco looks at the settling dust in worry, unsure if The Brotherhood and Kaietha managed to get clear. All he sees are the silhouettes of the rubble and debris, wondering if at all, his friends are those shadows. He calls for them, hoping he gets a reply. "Guys! Kaietha! Are you there?!" He pauses. "Can you hear me?! Are you safe?!" Another pause. "Guys!" There is a faint noise of rubble getting thrown aside behind the new wall. Knowing this, he worries that Aridgelow might simply blow his way through with another of his arrows, but that is soon not the case considering his allies might be trapped underneath. He would obviously know causing an explosion could kill them along with it. Akuco gets the feeling his friends do not kill, considering every battle they have fought, not a single enemy was defeated like that. He looks back to Aerne after she moves in his arms, saddened by her feeble position, and then a hand is simply lowered down before him. Glancing up and taking it, he is surprised Raphael is the one offering.

"Akuco. You okay?"

"Yes. Thank you, Raph." He is helped up as Don and Mikey take over for Aerne, carrying her to Leo who is already chanting those familiar, yet unknown words.

"Don't think you've gotten out of being my punching bag, though." He punches his fist into his other hand. "Heh heh. You won't be enjoying it as much as I will."

"Just as long as you don't go all out on him, Raph. Considering his level, that is. I'll have to stop you if you do." Kaietha informs, giving Akuco reason to worry no longer. All of his friends are fine and safe. Kaietha casually glances his way. "No offence, Akuco. But for you, fighting Raph is like fighting a dylaroc."

"Oh I assure you. I'm far worse than those weaklings."

"None taken. I know my limits." He glances at Raphael. "But I'm looking forward to it, Raph." He grins after his sardonic reply, but soon watches Leo healing Aerne, kicking himself for what happened to her. She has been a great partner so far, with skills unmatched, even when she fought two enemies possibly much stronger than her. All he knows is judo when it is necessary to free himself from danger. He has no idea how to free someone else from that sort of danger. Achakzoa has only been teaching self defence. Sometimes Akuco thinks that maybe that is all Achakzoa knows. Judo. But that does not matter, for he is the best judo tutor there. Perhaps there may be masters that taught him, but Akuco never left his clan and the Dylaroc Marshes until today, so everything he already knows is all he knows.

"She'll be alright, Akuco. Leo will heal her wounds. He's good at that now."

"And yet. I can't help but blame myself for what happened to her."

"Akuco. Listen. She's a warrior. She'll pull through this no problem. Without her keeping Khuzo and Pyren at bay while you helped us out, you'd have no doubt been beaten to a pulp. And yes. I can see that she took a lot of hits, but she gave you the time you needed to free us."

"Not really. I was just a burden, scaring you all and myself because I was a stupid idiot leaning in as far as I did. Just when I was being effective, I caused a piece of the rubble to fall. What if that piece caused everything to fall? I could've killed you all!"

"But nothing like that happened. You don't need to blame yourself for mere accidents, Akuco."

"And yet it could have also been avoided just as easily."

"But if it didn't happen, we'd have never gotten Mikey and ourselves free. None of us would have ever left our family behind. It's just who we are. We work better as a team."

"There may come a time where you won't have much of a choice though, Raph. If it means you manage to free whoever you left behind later, it's honestly a much better option than staying there to be captured with them. The more team members you have free from those particular clutches, the more chances you have in saving the one you left behind."

"I understand. If it has to be done, then it has to be done. But we will always make sure that never happens, for as long as we can."

"It is the part and parcel of life too, Raph," Leo states, clearly finished with his healing. "We cannot change the time someone or something has left to pass on, for example. If they accept that, we must let it come to pass. It is the same for one of us being captured, if that indeed happens. We cannot change it if we have no way of stopping it. Or at the very least, no unthwarted plans left."

"I know. But we've finally got Khuzo and his lackeys out of the way."

"Don't be so sure about that, Raph. Kaietha may have blocked off this way to us. But there will always be other ways. She has only managed to buy us more time to find what we came here for."

"That weird thingy-ma-jiggy, right?" Mikey tries to recall.

"Mikey. It's not a 'weird thingy-ma-jiggy'. It's a rare runic amulet known by many as the Serpent's Necklace."

"Yes," Aerne states walking up to them, her wounds all healed. "Jyesjia's necklace. It's gonna have many traps protecting it. So how do you intend to take it, without setting them all off?" She questions the group. "I mean. The Serpent's Necklace is known to coax many a greedy soul to take it without consequence or control, only to find themselves caught by the traps, motionless and silent. Even stranger is the necklace, always being returned to its pedestal as though something had taken it back there."

"But who could even do that, if all the traps had been activated?" Mikey asks, slowly getting worried.

"It's not the 'who' you need to worry about, Mikey. It's the 'what'." Aerne teases. It is clear she has been acquainted with the Brotherhood in the past before Akuco even met her. The way she taunts Mikey makes this pretty obvious.

"Eep!" Mikey cries. "All the more reason to leave this place far behind us and never return! What if it's, watching us?" Mikey checks over his shoulders all of a sudden, as though he is paranoid.

"Mikey. You know we can't do that. Our mission is to find and bring it to the scholars of Deviend."

"If something is watching us, I'll find and defeat it!"

"Even if they are only doing it to protect their charge? Raph. That would be reckless."

"So what I'm getting from this is this?" Akuco begins. "You haven't even had a chance to get to the article yet."

"That is correct. The moment we got here, Aridgelow blew the ceiling down from above us. I'm surprised the whole building hasn't collapsed already." Don wonders, as he rests a hand on the wall. "It must be built so well. It's so ancient."

It is then that Akuco hears the same voices he heard earlier, coaxing him to look that way in awe. He does not notice the turtles and Kaietha looking his way until he looks back towards them confused.

"Akuco?" Leo asks. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah. I just heard voices. Like before."

"Hmm."

"He kinda started hearing voices, after he looked into Jyesjia's eyes. I had to break him from his trance." Aerne recalls, causing Don to question.

"The deity?"

"Yes. The statue that depicts her here."

"Oh. I studied this before we left, after we knew of our mission." Don directs his gaze to Akuco. "Looking into the eyes of the statue puts a curse on you. This curse makes you hear the voices of past souls that tried and failed to take the Serpent's Necklace, and in the process died from their foolishness. I believe it's kinda a way for Jyesjia to test her next victim."

"Oh great. So now I'm hearing the voices of the foolish dead?" Akuco complains. "All because of a pointless test."

"Well then. We can use this to our advantage," Leo states. "Akuco. Lead the way to the Serpent's Necklace please."

"Are you sure the voices I'm hearing are in fact going to lead us to the necklace?"

"Positive. It's the only logical conclusion," Don says. "You're the only one who can take us there. It'd be easier than me figuring out the article's location, and wasting the only time we have away from Khuzo and his lackeys."

"Okay," Akuco agrees, handing back the weapons he does not own. "The voices were this way." He walks ahead, knowing the others will follow. And I also wonder. Why would Jyesjia test me out of anyone? The voice he hears soon clarifies for him, like it just read his mind.

"Because she saw your soul. Pure and untainted. A feast for the ages."

Well she won't be feasting on mine. I won't let her.

"You can't control your fate. Find it and you'll see just how hard she is to control."

Akuco continues walking on ahead towards the many whispers of the shadows, checking back every so often to make sure the Brotherhood, Kaietha and Aerne are close by. He also did this to be sure their enemies were still behind the new wall, and not following them or about to attack.

Reaching the back of the central chamber, Akuco directs his gaze to the same dark room he looked to after entering from the other side before he even got to his friends. The place where he first heard the voices coming from.

"I believe we go this way now," he says before turning to his right and entering into the foreboding shadows.

Akuco cannot see anything ahead from an outstretched hand, and if it was not for Leo's stave lighting up the room, not even his night vision would be of much use here. Perhaps in the past, the only light used had been oil lamps. Maybe it was on purpose to hide particular traps from unsuspecting robbers, yet no such trap has even been activated.

The voices direct Akuco to the left, down an old sandstone staircase into a large chamber that lights up via firelight as they enter. Every second statue has a brazier between them on the wall exactly like on the above floor. It feels like the entire ruins moved down a level, even though he knows they took the stairs to get here, and Akuco does not like it one bit. Especially because the only difference he can tell apart from the stone creatures on the walls in the room above, are the menacing, soul-piercing eyes.

"Em. Is this deja-vu, or is this room literally the same as the one above?" Raph questions.

"Raph. We took the stairs. It can't possibly be the same room," Don states logically.

"Just keep following Akuco. He knows where to go," Leo orders gently.

"I'm getting a bad feeling, the longer we stay down here," Mikey says, clearly looking around. "You know. Like a moving statue or poison dart kind of feeling. And I didn't get this feeling upstairs."

"I'm sure it's nothing, Mikey. Stop thinking about your comics," Kaietha enlightens. "Focus on the task at hand."

"I would. But their eyes."

"Aha! That's why this room is different! The upstairs statues don't have eyes that make Mikey 'anxious'."

"Hey! You know I can't help it, Don. They're piercing right into my soul."

"Then don't look at them, Mikey," Akuco informs. "Anyway. It's this way." Akuco takes a step to the right, watching for any traps considering the air is definitely different here, as he continues leading the group to the article's location. How does he have the sensitivity to tell when the air around him is different?

After what seems like a lengthy passageway, the voices direct Akuco to the right once more, into a room lit only by torch light on the walls. In the centre is a strange purple light, coming from a pedestal. And right there waiting for them, is the article The Brotherhood came here for.

"Okay. That was easier than expected," Leo complies, before heading towards it ready to collect it.

"I don't think you should just go waltzing on forward like that, Leo," Raph states with concern. "Something doesn't smell right, and it ain't Mikey."

"Hey! Just so you know, I had a shower this morning."

"Under what? Fish water? Because right now this all seems fishy to me."

"Wait, Leo," Don begins, coaxing Leo to stop in his tracks. "It was far too easy to get here. We have to think about this. What if that pedestal is actually the trigger here? We can't just take it. There's gotta be a puzzle here, somewhere."

Akuco looks around suddenly, noticing that something is missing. Where is Aerne? She was beside him only a moment ago. If the light here was more than just a sliver lighting up the huge room, he would have noticed her disappear sooner. He might also have noticed any possible traps in the immediate vicinity, all those possible indentations on the walls, floor and ceiling that would have told him there and then, that something somewhere is rigged. Not even Leo's stave has enough light to give him this option. However, it is not until he hears the clicking and turning of gears in a mechanism otherwise hidden, that the truth then comes to light. Not only did he notice it, but so did the turtles and Kaietha. And yet, there Aerne stands back beside him, acting like nothing even happened. Aerne. Please don't tell me you've just done something you'll regret. And then he sees it, the centre of the room, missing something important. The pedestal. It is not there. What?!

Don is quick to react, finding something with some weight to it from his bag, yet as he goes to place it on the pedestal, he is shocked to find it is no longer there. "Uh, oh. This is not good."

"Huh?" Leo questions, looking towards where the pedestal was. "Wait a second. Wasn't that pedestal there a moment ago?"

"It was, yes, but now it isn't. And all those mechanical sounds. Someone took the necklace right out from under our noses. How did they even manage it without us noticing?"

"Mikey!" Raph complains, raising a fist Michelangelo's way.

"Wait a minute! It wasn't me! I never moved a toe!"

"Akuco!" The cry was sudden and full of worry. Before Akuco could even realise, he is rapidly pulled back by Aerne and watches as a giant axe slices the air cleanly in front of him. Mikey screams, coaxing Akuco to look towards him now frozen in place with his arms up in fright. Kaietha, Leo, Raph and Don are also standing like statues as though they just dodged something.

"Oh that's just great!" Raph shouts. "No one told us we were dodging giant freaking axes!"

"Why don't you quit complaining, Raph, and focus on getting out of this?!" Leo continues.

"Then why don't you ask Mikey to put back what he took?"

"Because I didn't take anything! Honest!"

"Stop blaming him!"

"Oh yeah! Well it's not like he hasn't lied to us before, Leo!"

"Well maybe you're just trying to hide the fact that you stole it instead!"

"How dare you assume that I stole it, Mikey?! Hrr! When we get out of this, I'm beating you to a pulp!"

"You assumed first, Raph! And don't even try to deny it!" Mikey argues back.

"Guys! Stop arguing!" Don states. "Listen to me for a moment!"

"Don't get involved, Don! This is between me, our fearless leader and our reverend smartass!"

"Grow the shell up, Raph! We have more pressing matters right now!"

"Oh that's just real cute, Leo!"

"Raph! That's enough!" Kaietha suddenly bellows, silencing all four of them yet Akuco is surprised. Why are they all suddenly arguing like this, when it is clear they need to leave this room. In moments he is pushed forwards, feeling the wind of another axe brush past his tail. At the same time, the sudden cries of everyone else in the room happen, now in another position from the last.

"Holy…! We have to get out of this room! Now! Before we end up on the blades of these axes!"

"Now that we are done arguing, I can finally explain. Even if we find out who took the necklace, we won't be able to return it because the pedestal is gone."

"Oh perfect! Any other good news, Don?!"

"Yes, actually. The way we came in will now be blocked off, if I am correct in my assumptions. Those mechanical grinds and clicks were all part of a larger mechanism, made to trap us in here. So we will have to find another way out."

"While dodging giant freaking ass axes! That's crazy! I don't believe you for a second, that our way in is now blocked off! So I'm going back to where we came in!"

"Well don't come crying to me, when you find out that the entrance is blocked off, Raph. I know my mechanical expertise. Trust me on this. The easy way out is out of commission. That's the thing about traps. They trap."

Akuco glances at the way they all came in, learning that it is indeed blocked off, now that his eyes have adjusted to the little light of their surroundings. As he can see more clearly, he is quick to dodge another giant axe along with the rest of the group. "How will we get out?"

"By learning where these axes go, and getting past them."

"That's easy for you to say, Leo!" Raph shouts. "We can't damn well see a damn thing!"

"Just shut up Raph and focus!"

"I'd like to focus my fist into your face!"

"Raph! Enough! What is wrong with you!?" Kaietha pauses. "What is wrong with all of us? We're all just shouting and arguing at each other."

"I'm not," Don states. "Everyone else is."

"Raph started it!" Mikey complains.

"And I'm finishing it!" Kaietha assures.

"Everyone just be quiet and focus!"

Akuco has heard enough, and his attention goes right back to Aerne who now seems to look guilty. "Aerne?" He dodges another axe, and realises that all he is doing is moving forward and back. This tells him the axes have a big enough gap between them to evade in, and also the understanding of their timings. He looks around to everyone else, and they all have moved as well. Well. At least I don't have to worry about them all getting caught by an axe. They all seem to dodge them with ease. But I'm not sure I can keep this up. I'm not skilled like them, so how am I dodging? "Aerne!"

"Yes, Akuco."

"Please. Give me the necklace."

"What? How did you…?"

"Grr! Damn it, Aerne! What were you thinking, taking it from under our noses?!" Raph shouts at her.

"I couldn't help it! It called to me!"

"That's the greed talking, Aerne," Akuco states. "Please. Give it to me."

"No! I took it! It's mine!"

"Aerne, please!" Akuco tries to sound sincere. "We'll never get out of this room otherwise. No one can think straight right now. The necklace is influencing them too much."

"And what if you keep it for yourself?"

"I'll only be keeping it from you all, because I can't trust any of you right now. Not exactly. You're all getting angry and aggressive with each other." Well. Not like Raphael was anything but aggressive. Maybe. I don't know him as well as I think I should. He was the first one to turn on his brothers. Then Mikey got influenced before Leo and Kaietha. But Don. I don't think he has turned. Is his soul purer than his entire team? And what about me? Apparently my soul is pure and untainted. Does that mean what I think it does? Will all the arguments stop if I hold onto the necklace? Or will I become a target of everyone else's greed? "Trust me, Aerne. It's better if I hold onto it. Maybe everything will return to normal then. I won't keep it for myself. Once we get to Deviend, I'll give it to the scholars like this mission asks for. Besides, you saved me twice even while under its influence." He holds out his hand bravely. "Please, Aerne. I know you have goodness in you." In moments he has to dodge another axe at the same time as everyone else. "And if you don't. We'll all eventually end up hanging with these axes in our bodies."

"I…" She reaches into her pouch and takes out the Serpent's Necklace, clearly in thought and indecisive about handing it over to Akuco. After a moment, Akuco is given the article. "I'm sorry. It coaxed me to take it. This is all my fault."

"You did the right thing, Aerne. I'll keep it safe." He places the necklace into his pouch, and secures it tightly before glancing at everyone else. "Now then! If we're all back to ourselves, then we should be focusing on our escape! Do any of you recall the last axes you dodged?!"

"Em. Is this a trick question?"

"No, you idiot," Raph states to Mikey.

"I see you haven't changed much."

"Well I never lost my mind to begin with," Don assures. "We've been dodging them from behind and in front of us."

"I get it," Leo claims. "We all need to move forward after each axe that slices by."

"That's the idea!" Akuco continues. "And now that you're not at each other's throats, you can all get out of this alive!"

"Then let's go already! I want to get out of here."

"We all do, Raphy," Kaietha concludes.

"Have you all figured out the timing?!" Dodging again, Akuco moves forwards along with the entire group, hoping a way out can be found at the other end. "There is enough of a gap between these blades, for us to wait out each one after the last!"

"He's getting good, Leo," Don compliments. "He's figured it out just like me."

"So we have a second Donny on our team," Raph says. "I can dig that."

"No fair. A second me would be much better," Mikey complains.

"Feeling left out are we, Mikey? I'll fix that later today," Raph assures.

"Wonderful. A practice session. Too bad you'll lose again, Raphy boy."

"Oh I've got tricks you've never seen."

Another evasion on Akuco's part is successful, and he feels as though he has passed half way. In no time at all despite the lengthy waits between axes, the entire group makes it to the other side of the chamber unscathed.

"Now then. To find the trigger out of here." Don feels around the wall for the trigger he believes is there. Akuco tries to find it too, but he is not exactly all that skilled in puzzle solving concepts. "Aha! Got it!" In seconds, a doorway opens nearby out of the wall itself after the click of a button. "See. What did I tell you?" Don walks out into the new room. "There's always another way."

"Careful, Don. There may be traps in there," Leo cautions.

"Everything is fine, Leo." Don pauses. "No traps at all."

"I don't know. It just can't be this easy."

"If there are no traps, then there are no traps, Leo," Raph complies as he steps out into the new room, too. "Stop worrying so much."

"I'm just concerned, that's all. What if you both trigger something?"

"I'm with my brothers on this one, Leo," Mikey concurs. "Anything is better than those axes behind us." He steps out into the chamber, cautiously yet with reason.

Akuco then interjects, trying to convince Leo. "Maybe they're right, Leo. I mean. We can't exactly get back out that way." He points towards the entrance to the chamber that had closed after Aerne's unprecedented stealing of the article. The reason why all the axes started slicing through the air as a means of impaling or slicing them right through. "And as it is currently free from traps, wouldn't that mean it is safe?"

"Exactly. 'Currently' free from traps. What if something happens that causes another trap? We might not get out of it a second time."

Akuco kicks himself after saying what he did. Damn it Akuco. Think about what you say before you say it. Now he's not convinced at all. "I meant free from traps. Not currently free from traps."

"That isn't very sincere, Akuco. I'm not convinced, I'm afraid."

Well. At least I tried to change his mind. Shame it didn't get anywhere. Maybe I need to give more of a foreboding touch on things. "Well. What will happen if you remain here, instead of out there?"

"What are you saying, Akuco? Nothing will happen if I remain here, away from those axes."

"On the contrary, Leo. Khuzo and his lackeys would find you here, because you refused to follow your brothers in the direction out of this place. You'd have no one there to protect you."

"I'd protect Leo, Akuco," Kaietha swears. "And knowing his brothers, they won't travel far. They'd actually wait for him, meaning they'd wait until Khuzo's team arrives. But I understand what you're trying to do. Don't force Leo to choose something he may later regret, Akuco. You won't be a lucky crocodile." Kaietha states, before looking at Leo. "But he's kinda right, Leo. You can't just stay here, waiting for trouble to find you. Besides, our mission is to hand over the Serpent's Necklace to the Deviend scholars. Not going back will jeopardise this mission in the long run. The article will be easy pickings for Khuzo's team too. We have to keep moving. I feel that is why Khuzo's team came here to begin with. They knew we'd be here. Perhaps they knew why too."

"I see. Then I guess there is no choice. Traps or no traps. We have to keep moving. I'm sorry for the delay everyone."

Akuco watches as Leo walks into the chamber where his brothers are waiting for him. Kaietha follows close behind, and then Aerne follows suit. Finally, Akuco walks forward and joins them, shocked to find that nothing even happens. It is not until they all reach what seems to be the middle of the room, before Akuco notices something sinister. It is faint at first, but then the voices of the dead overwhelm him as one of the many speaks.

"Let's play a little game, shall we? Where survivors of the swinging blades became a bloody mess. Their cries and screams still echoing all around. Enclosing walls too high to climb, formed like a grating from above. Where can you go when you're trapped in between? Be careful where you step, or you'll feel a crushing force. Try as you might to escape overhead, only to be surprised still."

"What?" Akuco wonders. In seconds the room lights up and two walls enclose either side of him with a strong enough force to crush the life out of any who happen to be in between them, including his tail if he did not move sideways in the second he had. Everyone had disappeared after cries of surprise. Then a thought screams in his mind as he stares in shock at his tail before grabbing it just to double check it is not crushed.

Oh great. What a perfect time to be the only one with the LARGEST DAMN TAIL!

"Akuco! Guys! Is everyone alright!" Leo shouts from the other side of the new wall. It sounded like he was a short distance from him. Akuco takes his tone as a means of hope that everyone else replies to him.

"I'm alright!" Akuco replies. "Kinda gave myself a shock though! My tail was nearly crushed!"

"Well I'm just peachy!" Raph states rather livid for some reason. "Donny! What the hell did you step on?!"

"I didn't step on anything! Honest! These traps weren't supposed to be here! I checked!"

"Well go back, and check again!"

"Easy for you to say! These walls are way too high!"

"Yeouch!" Mikey suddenly yelps. "Man! That hurt!"

"Mikey!? What happened?" Leo calls out to him.

"I fell back down on my butt!"

"Doing what?!"

"Trying to climb out of here!"

"Us girls can't reach either, and I'm physically flinging Aerne as high as I possibly can!" Kaietha hollers.

"Well at least we're all safe!"

"Safe, don't even begin to describe this!" Raph complains. "How will we get out of this?!"

"We'll figure a way out! We always do!"

Akuco however, cannot stop thinking that maybe the Serpent's Necklace had something to do with this. He heard the voices of the dead, moments before all the walls closed in around him and the rest of the group. He understands that the pedestal in the other room was the trigger for all the axes, but out here nothing happened until everyone was in the middle. Damn it! If this necklace caused this, what else might we have to deal with? Perhaps those statues once and if we get out of here. Please let it not be so. I don't know if I can take it anymore right now.

"Mikey!"

"Yeah!"

"Try to wall jump!"

"Why me?!"

"You're the most nimble!"

"But…!"

"Mikey! If there's a way over these walls from up there, then we all need to know from our most nimblest member, which is you!"

"Alright! I'll do it!"

"Wait!" Akuco cries. "Don't!"

"Akuco! We don't have a choice! He'll make it! He's nimble enough!"

"But what if he doesn't?!"

"He'll make it!"

"What do you intend to gain from Mikey making those jumps?!" Raph questions.

"One! How high these walls are! Two! If anything else might happen up there! Mikey would get out of it before any of us! And three! A way out of this mess!"

But what if another trap may happen up there. I think that's what the voice meant by a surprise. How nimble is he?

"Yipes!" Mikey suddenly cries, and in moments there is a collision of two walls above Akuco's head. At the same time, the walls ahead and behind him open up to reveal the entire chamber and everyone else in the room, with Mikey crashing into Raph before they fall to the floor.

"Damn it, Mikey! Watch where you're falling!"

"Thanks for breaking my fall," Mikey compliments, and Akuco sees him grin proudly.

"Intriguing," Kaietha says. "Let's go, now!" In moments she speeds forwards with Aerne, but Akuco is still surprised.

Did I cause that? Mikey nearly got crushed! Aerne looks back at him a little concerned.

"Akuco! Didn't you hear her?! Run!"

"But…"

"There is no time! What if the walls close in again?!" With that said, Akuco notices the top opening out, but he cannot trust himself moving forward. How will he know where the walls close in from, other than what he witnessed? Perhaps there may be two of them before each gap. He is not that fast.

"I can't! I just can't! What if I get crushed?! What if my tail gets crushed?!"

And then in a second, the walls close again.

"Akuco! Your life is more important than your tail! A tail can be fixed! Your life can't if you lose it!"

He knows Aerne is right about what she said, but he is too confused with everything going on around him to even think straight. Unsure what to do or where to go next, he freezes. "No!" He pauses, closing his eyes in shock and covering his ears as he falls to his knees. "No! The voices!"

"Akuco, you idiot!" Aerne denigrates. "We won't be able to get you out this time!"

"Aerne, be careful! They close in a second!"

"I'll be there to pull her down quickly!" Kaietha states.

Again, the top walls close as the bottom ones open.

"Akuco! Are you coming?!" Aerne shouts to him, but Akuco says nothing.

"Grr! Give it here!" Raph irrevocably orders.

"Hey!" Mikey complains.

Akuco knows Raph has just charged towards him, but the walls close again with nothing happening or so he thinks.

"Raph! You're crazy!" Donatello shouts.

Unsure what Raph had even grabbed, the walls open again shortly afterwards, and Akuco feels Mikey's kusari-gama wrap coldly around his frame from above, ensnaring him in steel.

"Gah!"

"Now then! You're coming with me, even if I have to drag you back myself!" Akuco is then tugged back with an unprecedented force through the gap in the closing walls, right into the full grasp of Raphael. Akuco tries to struggle out of this powerful grab, but Raph refuses to release him. "Yeah! That's it! Just try and get out of this. Idiot! Your strength doesn't mean shell when you can't move your body!"

"Grr! Get off me! It's my fault this all happened in the first bloody place! Get off me!"

"I didn't want to do this in the first place, punk! But until you pull yourself together! I have no darn choice!"

"Let me go! Let me go, damn it!" His plea ignored, Raphael wall jumps, carrying Akuco's weight up to and over the top as the walls below open a third time. As he falls within Raph's grasp, the walls above them close again before opening while Raph slides backwards on the floor out of harm's way in an impressive feat. Akuco watches as the walls in front close yet again, still feeling trapped despite being out of danger, even after Raphael unwraps the chain from him.

"Here!" Akuco hears the kusari-gama chink and slide along the floor, but he refuses to look back. "Now I'm getting out of this joint, with or without him!"

"Raph!"

"No, Leo! I've had it with him! If you haven't already guessed, he's a danger to us! Everywhere we go, we seem to just run into trouble!"

"At least consider the fact that he's overwhelmed by everything right now! You can't blame him for freezing up like that!"

"Whatever. I'll be waiting for the rest of you outside this death trap." Raph walks out saying no more words, but all Akuco can do is fall to his knees in a stubborn silence, all his thoughts crashing about in his head.

You don't damn well care, Raphael! You showed no concern for my feelings! Why did I even save you? You're such a jerk.

"Raph!" Kaietha tries. "This isn't fair!" Her voice fades as she runs after him. "Don't be so hard on him…!"

"Akuco? Is everything alright?" Leo asks with concern, but Akuco gives no reply. He just remains silent. "Don't listen to that hot headed brother of ours. He has compassion, he just has trouble showing it sometimes. Why do you think he keeps saving you? We all know he likes you really."

"Because it's my fault," Akuco finally manages, grabbing his pouch and ripping it off his belt. "If I wasn't carrying this stupid damn necklace, none of this would have happened!" In anger, he grasps his pouch tightly. "And you're to blame for all of this, Jyesjia!" He then throws it towards the wall that had closed only moments ago. "So take your damn necklace back! I don't want it anymore!" To everyone's surprise however, the wall opens moments before the pouch would have otherwise hit it, where it just callously slides along the floor upon contact.

"I see," Don wonders, before he walks past Akuco to retrieve the pouch.

"Don! Be careful! What if the wall closes again?!" Mikey cries.

"Relax, Mikey." Don collects the pouch then pole vaults back as the wall closes again. "I believe I'll keep a hold of this for now. There's something about it though. I think it has been manipulating our surroundings. So none of this is your fault, Akuco."

"You mean. If any of us held it, then everything would have happened anyway?"

"That's my guess. We'll have to wait and see though. If my theory is correct, then we'll need to be extra cautious when heading back to the stairs."

"But! Those statues are in there!"

"Exactly."

"And…"

"Before you say anything, Mikey. I doubt those statues will move. I'd expect darts of some kind, but not an entire statue." He pauses. "Come on. Let's go find Raph and Kai already. You coming, Akuco?"

"I don't know. Too much has happened. I didn't expect any of this. All I wanted was to help you. I didn't want the high stakes of survival to happen as well. And now I just want to go home."

"We'll give you a moment to collect yourself, okay, Akuco," Don offers.

"Okay."

"Don't worry. Raph isn't going to leave without you. He cares too much."

So much for care. All he did was get angry with me for freezing up. Saving me meant nothing to him.

"Listen, Akuco," Aerne consoles. "However Raph acted earlier. He did it because he cares."

"No he doesn't. All he did was get angry with me. Saving me meant nothing to him!"

"That is not true. He saved you because he cares about you. I'm sure he's saved you a couple times already. Doesn't that tell you anything?"

"But if I didn't freeze up, he wouldn't have needed to save me. But that's all I ever seem to do. Freeze up." He recalls the other times. "When the fight with the dylaroc first started, I froze. If I didn't freeze, Jiszuzu wouldn't have gotten hurt."

"Jiszuzu? Who's that?"

"He's kinda like my best friend back at home. Well. Not exactly. I'm considered moreso as his idol than a friend. But I ruined that when I froze up and let him get hurt, all because he tried to save me and my brother from my brother's accident. That's when the dylaroc first attacked, because of a silly accident I should've foreseen and stopped. When I managed to get back to the outskirts of my clan, the same dylaroc got the better of me. I froze again after he pinned me to the ground. That's when Raph first saved me, because of my uselessness."

"You're not useless, Akuco. None of it was your fault."

"Yes it was. I'm capable of getting things done, but when danger is involved my body does nothing. And you clearly witnessed it when I was back there."

"But you're much more capable than you give yourself credit for, Akuco."

"How? If I can't even stop myself from freezing up, then how good am I really? I mean, I could've dodged that shield as it was thrown at me…"

"You're not making any sense now. What shield?"

"Sorry. I hadn't met you before that. This was when I was given the job of helping Leo's team through the Dylaroc Marshes, on the way to the Evari Havara clan. They didn't know the marshes you see. They didn't trust themselves to get through it on their own. And my father, knowing how capable I really am out in those swamps, mentioned the help that I could give them."

"See. That's positive already."

"Yeah. Positive until Druqaorok got involved."

"That rotten low life creep deserves to be imprisoned!"

"So you've had a history with him too?"

"Not me in particular, but my sensei and the clan she serves as their Guardian told me everything I needed to know about the bastard rogue. I'm really just here on a training mission with her as my appointed general today." She pauses. "So Druqaorok and his lackeys got in the way of your mission?"

"Only because I'm the chieftain's son. He keeps trying to kidnap me for ransom."

"Why?"

"I'm not sure. Though maybe it has something to do with his son and daughter. My father took them from him a while ago. I'm not really sure why he did that, but we have a few of his rogues in our clan. Apparently my dad intends to help them change their ways, and have them be part of the clan."

"Okay. That makes sense now. I believe knowing him, he will keep trying to recapture you, so he can trade you for his rogues back."

"It never works though. I always escape from him."

"It doesn't change the fact though, that your father is making enemies of him for no real reason. Unless there is a reason."

"If there is, he's never told me. But now that I recall, Raph kinda saved me then too. The way he threw him aside. Druqaorok never expected that at all."

"Anyway. I guess you've forgotten about earlier on. Care to join me and the others now?"

"But… What if I freeze up again?"

"It wouldn't matter. We all understand that this sort of thing is too much for you at the moment, and we'll always save you. But only you can change your course of action. It's a challenge you need to overcome yourself, you see. Once you overcome it, you'll feel much prouder and more at ease with yourself. Trust me. I've had my own challenges to overcome too. I never let them stop or dictate me. I just let them flow like a river over stone. I'm always moving forward. I'm always trying over and over again to finish the challenge I set my goal to. And once I reach that goal, I'll know I can always reach it when I need to."

"Thanks, Aerne, for this chat." He stands to his feet bravely. "I think I'm ready to move forward now."

"That's good to hear." She rests a paw on his shoulder in what can only be described as gladness, before they both head out into the chamber ready to meet the next challenge if there is to be one.

Much to Akuco's surprise, the corridor they first started from on this level had nothing happening in it despite the necklace on Donatello's person as he remains at the front of the group. It is confusing at best, and he has no clue as to why the room remains silent. The only noises are from Mikey, groaning and crying in a feinged terror as he constantly looks around. Raph glances over his shoulder towards his brother, with an annoyed glare to his eyes. Akuco gets the understanding that Raph struggles to contain his aggression, even without the necklace's influence.

"Mikey, quit it! You're getting on my last nerve!" What Akuco does not understand is why Raph then glares at him the same way. "Oh look, I see a crybaby at the back of the line! Got any more crocodile tears to shed!"

"You don't know the half of it, Raphael! What happened to all of that compassion?!"

"If you grow a backbone, then I might consider it!"

"Raph!" Kaietha glares at him, before slapping him across the face.

"Ow!" Raph holds his cheek, rubbing it in surprise.

"How about you treat him with as much respect as you want him to give you? Maybe then he'll give you the same back!"

"I will when he grows up!"

"Tch! You're acting more like a child than he is right now!"

"Grr! Whatever. The sooner we get this job done, the sooner I'll be back to my old self."

"Don't blame the necklace for your pesky attitude!"

In unison, the pair seem to cry out in pain as Don turns back around, like he had just hit them across the head. "Be quiet the pair of you!"

"Did you hear something, Don?" Leo asks with concern.

"No. I just had heard enough of the arguing couple."

"Yes. We should all focus on getting out of here. Leave the disputes until we're done with our mission."

"We just need to make it back upstairs, where we know there are no traps."

"That is, if Khuzo and his lackeys haven't already broken out of their prison," Mikey says. "We haven't exactly left this place yet. Who's to say they aren't already waiting for us up there?"

"We'll deal with them when the time comes."

"Well. Here we are. The stairs are just up ahead."

Akuco is not entirely sure why he suddenly hears what sounds like stone moving from behind him. As he listens for it, he hears another up ahead, and a third in the distance. His only intent is to warn everyone about what may be another manipulation by the necklace, as it tries to keep its captors from taking it away from its home. He gets the suspicion that these ruins in general, help to contain the necklace's power, which is why it keeps manipulating their surroundings in the form of traps, like it knows it is dangerous if it gets in the wrong hands.

"Does anyone hear that, or is it just me?"

"Huh?" Aerne wonders.

"Akuco, is something wrong?" Leo asks, then he listens as well.

"What's going on? What noises do you mean?"

"Can it, Mikey!" Raph complains.

"How about you both keep quiet? Because I hear something too," Don states.

"Same here," Kaietha says. "It sounds like stone moving."

"Stone? Moving? Please no. No, no! Not the statues!" Mikey cries. "Anything but the statues!"

In moments, Akuco hears the voices in his head again, then a single one speaks to him.

"Time to see how you fare against the three. A final test none have been able to pass, lest you all be the first. One may not be so lucky, what say you little chummy?"

"Don! Get back!" Akuco orders in distress, worried when Don suddenly disappears amidst the dust after the statue stomps where he is standing. Despite their unique reactions at that moment, all the others cry Donny's name in unison, but he is nowhere to be found.