Chapter six: Searching for safety.
They make it out of the sewers and step into the changed world. They keep a low profile as they look to those now under the twos control move about like soldiers. They can also see that the gazes of those soldiers seem vacant or even just blank. They look to Splinter as he takes in what has happened to the world.
Any not affected seem too scared to try to defy anything that is happening.
Splinter stares out being able to look at both sides to see what has become of the city. He lets out a heavy breath closing his eyes for a few moments. "This isn't Leonardo and Raphael." He mentions as the others wait for him like how they used to turn to Leo for leadership. "I don't know if there is any part of them left to salvage or save. However it is worth a try. Either way they need to be stopped." He opens his eyes and looks to his adopted children including the two humans. "Let us get April and Casey's stuff before we start the search for a base of operations."
They walk together careful to stick to the shadows. They don't want any attention brought to them.
"Dear God, will the city be able to recover from all of this?" Casey questions glancing around as they go.
"Have faith in the citizens. People recovered from many hardships." Splinter assures Casey who turns to look to him. "It will be tough times for a while. However if we win it won't be forever."
"Right." Casey keeps quiet after that.
They almost make it to Aprils place when they turn hearing screams. They hurry over in their instincts to help others. They stop as they spot Chompy races after some people with an angry snarl.
Chompy slashes at one man knocking him to the floor bleeding very heavily. He then breathes fire at those still running.
"Oh my god." April breathes out in horror as they all watch with wide eyes at what has become of Chompy.
"Poor Chompy. He would never do such a thing." Mikey mentions sadly.
Donnie and Casey think about going to help any targets of Chompy's wrath, well technically Raphs wrath since Compy is doing this through his magic and command, though they don't know how to approach an enemy being Chompy a fire turtle.
Splinter puts his arms out stepping backwards. "We cannot face this threat right now." He whispers to them as they start backing up as well. "It is better for us to back off and come at this when we are better equipped."
Donnie glances away as his stomach rolls from the guilt about trusting the humans. He should have known better and got the two out of there while he had the chance. He should have been able to save them. His thoughts are interrupted when an arm comes around his shoulders. He turns to see Casey who looks worried about him. He offers the smallest of smiles as it's all he can do. He is held close by the other which feels warm and comforting.
They all head off to gather stuff from the two humans homes. They all just hope that this will all be able to be over before they know it.
...
Donnie, Mikey, April, Casey and Splinter make their way through the city trying to remain unnoticed.
Donnie pauses to look around at what has happened to the city.
All food farmers are under Raphs rule since his side has the sunshine.
Leo on the other hand gets rule over the medical professionals in the city.
The two take care of the general laws together, however do allow each other space to rule their sides of the world.
It's been only a week since Leo and Raph had risen to power and the city doesn't feel like home anymore.
"Guys!" April suddenly gasps causing the others to hurry to her. She points to frozen footsteps that haven't vanished yet.
Leo's frozen footprints melt away eventually.
Raphs burnt footprints get grown over or fade eventually.
These footprints tell them that Leo was here recently.
The group have been trying to stay by the border today, hoping that they can find a spot to hide somewhere in the middle. They don't really want to lean one way or another unless they have to. They kind of silently agreed upon this without any sort of question being posed.
"We need to keep moving." Splinter suggests and looks around. "Oh boys..." He sighs softly to himself before turning away. He leads the way away from where those footprints were headed.
Even though that means they have to go more towards the day side.
Mikey places a hand on Splinters arm in the hopes of giving him comfort. He is worried as well however.
They keep going still staying alert for any signs of the two. They also try to keep out of the sight of those under either of the twos control. They could have trouble on them in moments if they end up getting spotted. They could even end up with Chompy charging for them if they're not careful.
Donnie takes notice of Splinters ears flickering as if he hears something. He keeps an eye on the other waiting to see what it might be.
"Get down." Splinter suddenly hisses so they all quickly drop down behind nearby cover like rocks and bushes.
The group watches as Chompy stomps a bit ahead with Raph riding him hands on the fire turtles neck.
Raph glances around though luckily he doesn't spot the group in their hiding spots. He nudges Chompy to continue and they head off in the direction the group was going in.
The ground shaking a little as Chompy runs off in that direction.
The group wait a few moments before letting out a breath of relief. They get up and regroup together.
"Now what? Surely we don't go the same way as him." Mikey mentions glancing around in confusion.
Donnie glances around too wondering if they should just make a temporary home somewhere.
At least for now.
"We won't." Splinter decides staring at where Raph went. He almost seems to be losing his hope of saving the two from whatever has taken them. He keeps it to himself though. "Well find another spot. Let's head to the night side for now. Find a spot to rest. Maybe get some sleep."
They mummer in agreement and head more towards the night side with Splinter.
Donnie spots something after passing by a building. "Guys." He gets their attention and points to what looks like an abandoned train stop with a building there for that stop. "It's house like kind of. Definitely had some sort of cafeteria inside or something. Could be useful." He doesn't add how it's not too far from what is considered the border between night and day.
"It's worth a look." Splinter agrees and leads the group towards it.
They step inside finding that despite being abandoned it's not in too bad of shape.
It's mostly dusty and has cobwebs though the building doesn't seem to be falling apart. It looks like an older train station with an upper level and a main level. It has a path past some ticket booths that is straight ahead which seem to lead to the train platform. The rest of its stuff like tables and the cafeteria are on either side of the straight path.
"This will work." Splinter nods his head. "As long as we aren't found out here then I think it'll be okay."
The group sets the bags they were carrying down for now. They split up to look around to see what could be around here.
Donnie heads for the cafeteria with Casey following after him. He checks on the cooking equipment and actually thinks that they will indeed work still. He could be wrong though he should be able to fix them if that's the case. "Looks good to me." He mentions turning to Casey. He lets out a soft breath seeing Casey checking the food only to turn away disgusted. "Yeah. I doubt any sort of food is salvageable from here." He shakes his head in good humor.
"We'll have to clean that up and get rid of the smell." Casey gags a little so the two leave the kitchen for now. He takes a few breaths managing to calm himself soon after leaving.
Heading back to wheee they all put their stuff down they find that everyone else is not back yet.
"Hey. Donnie?" Casey sounds a little uncertain causing the genius turtle to turn to him. He is playing with his hands nervously which makes Donnie more curious about this.
"Yes Casey?" Donnie inquires watching the others face wondering what he would like. He doesn't miss how Casey looks to him only to blush and turn away. His interest in what he might want to say goes up.
"Oh. I was thinking about where we should sleep. Do you think right here is good?" Casey tells Donnie not really looking at him.
Donnie can easily tell that it isn't what Casey actually wants to say to him. "There is probably a safer and more comfortable area away from here. Where we could be seen if someone comes in." He tells the other only to place a hand on Casey's shoulder causing the blushing boy to turn to him. "Is that really what you wanted to say?" He pushes a little watching as the blush in Casey darkens a little.
Casey looks away again this time rubbing the back of his head. "No. I forgot what I was going to say. So I thought of our sleeping arrangements." He lowers his hand trying to seem chill. "How about we find a spot for us to sleep." He heads off before the purple banded turtle can respond.
Donnie follows after Casey hating how the other is lying to him. He leaves it alone as maybe Casey is too embarrassed to tell him. He kind of wishes that the human could tell him what is going on in his mind.
The two try the upstairs area, since the main floor seems to be more set up for guests waiting for a tram. They end up spotting Splinter on a balcony where he can see part of the city. They leave him alone and continue to look for spots to make as the new bedrooms.
Donnie keeps glancing to Casey as he rolls around in his head what it could be that Casey meant to say. He wonders if the other wanted to admit how weak he felt about the whole thing only to be embarrassed, he also thinks that maybe it could be that Casey had an idea before no longer liking it feeling embarrassed about calling for his attention, or maybe there is something else going on with Casey. He has a feeling that this is going to keep him up for a bit before he'll be able to sleep.
"What about here?" Casey suggests nodding to some staff break rooms.
The rooms are a little smaller than their old bedrooms though it should work.
"I think it will work. We'll have to share rooms with at least one other though." Donnie walks in that area counting how many rooms there is. "There is only four rooms that could work if we count these two storage rooms that are a little smaller. Yet these storage rooms could also work."
"We could share a room!" Casey mentions very quickly and he is face turns red when Donnie turns to him. He looks away rubbing the back of his head. "I mean if you don't want to share a room with Mikey. Plus I'm sure Splinter and April will want their own rooms. Considering that Splinter is well Splinter. And April is a girl. I could share a room with Mikey if you want your own space."
Donnie feels like there really is something going on with the human male. "Casey." He approaches placing a hand on the other's shoulder. "Is there something going on?"
Casey goes quiet for a few moments. His eyes flickering to Donnie then away only to go back to him. "I want to share a room with you." He slightly mummers clearly embarrassed about admitting it. "I just don't want to force you. You can feel free to say no."
"Is that really all that is going on?" Donnie inquires to which Casey nods. Though the turtle isn't fully sure that he believes the other. He decides that this needs more investigating. He decides that there is only one way to truly figure this out. "Sure. Let us share a room. It'll be nice to have someone with me during these trying times. I don't see why it can't be you." He offers a smile to Casey when the other turns to him with wide eyes.
Casey's expression quickly turns to pure happiness. "I'll be the best roommate you could ask for!" He can't fully stand still in his happiness over this.
"I'll trust you on that." Donnie agrees secretly wanting to question Casey later. He doubts that the other will admit things to him now. Plus he'd rather have the assurance that the sleeping arrangements are finalized before confronting Casey.
Casey could try to room with Mikey instead if Donnie doesn't do this right. "Let's go tell the others we found places for our new rooms!" He hurries off with that with a happy skip in his step.
Donnie follows after him.
They come to Splinter first as the other comes in from staring off the balcony.
"We found a place to make new rooms. Me and Donnie will have to share a room. Though we talked it over and we can make it work." Casey speaks before Donnie can.
"That is wonderful news." Splinter nods and looks proud at Donnie for agreeing to share a room. "Let us go tell the others." He leads them to go find them which luckily Mikey and April are back at where the bags were dropped off. "These two found a place for rooms." He nods to the two who nod that they did.
"I wanna see!" Mikey mentions excitedly.
They all follow the two who take them to where they found those rooms.
There is some clearing out to do though the rooms should work; At least until the lair is safe to return to once more.
"It's perfect!" Mikey gasps as if he can't believe they are really able to make this a temporary home. He is about to go claim a room when Splinter clears his throat stopping him.
"I believe Casey and Donatello should decide first." Splinter mentions to Mikey and all eyes turn to the two. "They did find these rooms for us."
The other two mummer in agreement so Donnie and Casey take a look at the options.
Donnie thinks that if they are going to be sharing the room then the biggest one should be theirs. "Since the two of us are sharing, we agreed after talking it over, we'll take the biggest one. It'll be easier to make our own spaces in there." He glances to Casey who nods in agreement.
"Sounds good." Mikey hurries to one of the storage rooms. "I call this one."
"Would you like one of the bigger ones or a smaller one?" April looks to Splinter as she lets him decide before her. "I am fine with either of them."
"If it is alright I would like one of the bigger ones." Splinter admits to her. "I would like some space to set up stuff to try to help me figure out things to help us in this."
"Sounds good to me." April agrees and heads for the other storage room which is now her room.
They all head into their new rooms in order to figure them out for now. They'll have to move stuff out and reorganize though they should plan what they want to keep.
Donnie sees a couch in there that has two cushions. "I want to keep this." He points to the couch which Casey turns. "Maybe that table too." He nods to the coffee table by the couch. "It'll take some cleaning though we could probably use them."
"I like that idea." Casey nods his head. "Should we keep them in the middle. As like a middle area between our sides?"
"Why not? Then we can have equal claim to it." Donnie agrees and Casey goes over to the couch.
Casey thinks about sitting on it only to pay it and lean back at the cloud of dust. "Definitely a cleaning first." He mentions to which Donnie lightly shakes his head.
They all gather their stuff from the main lobby and they set up their temporary beds. They mainly have to use just blankets on the floor until they can get more proper beds.
Donnie is just glad that he's gotten used to sleeping on the floor by now. He hopes that when he has a proper bed it won't be a hard transition. He glances to his new roommate as he so badly wants to question Casey about earlier. He turns away deciding that he should wait for the others to have gone to sleep. He doesn't want them overhearing just in case. He has a feeling that he will have a hard enough time to get Casey to admit to anything. He doesn't need the extra challenge of the others getting involved.
That night...
Donnie is sure that it's all quiet. He turns to look at Casey who isn't far across the room. "Casey?" He tries just to see if the other is awake. He frowns when he doesn't get any sort of response. "Hey. If you're awake could we please talk about something? I want to talk to you." He waits though again not even a sign that he was heard. He rolls over trying to get some sleep figuring that Casey must be asleep. He won't force him to be awake. He closes his eyes trying to not think about anything.
Casey opens one eye peeking at Donnie with a slight blush. He quickly turns away and tries to get some sleep like Donnie is trying to do.