Lord Warumagi's School For Human Hybrids

The alarm clock lay ticking in a lifeless room. It would go off in a few hours, but there would be no one there to hear it. It would ring for a minute before becoming silent once more.

If there was nobody there to hear it, would it make any noise?

Raphael did not think about this as he went towards the dojo. His mind was on other things.

He had only been able to sleep for an hour or so, after he had endured a long period of time that consisted of moving restlessly. He didn't know what time it was; he hadn't thought to check before leaving his room. He had the feeling that it was far too early for him to be up, but he didn't want to stay in bed. He wanted to take his mind off what was keeping him up.

He would have gone to see whether Charles was still at the school, but he didn't know where his room was. He knew where the lunch hall, the dojo, his own room, the library, the lecturing hall and Lady Warumagi's room were, as well as a few others, but he didn't know where everyone else slept. It had never crossed his mind to ask or find out, because he had never had a reason to go visit them. After the 'walking into the girl's bathroom' incident, he was more than reluctant to take any more guesses.

He was halfway there when he heard two people talking quietly. Raph walked backwards so he was safely out of sight, around the corner. He recognized the voices as Warumagi's and Katrina's.

"My Lord, why must you expel Charles? He didn't do anything wrong."

"He went through my papers. He broke into my office and read them. He said so himself. I simply cannot let him stay here when he potentially knows all of my plans."

"What about Foxglove? She certainly knows about your plan involving Raphael's brother. You told her that she could stay if she remained quiet. Why didn't you expel her?"

"She will not mention it to anyone. She promised. She knows that if she does, I will be the first one to know. Then, I would have to expel her and the person she told- or worse. Doing that would be very suspicious. It's easier if I let her stay. Besides, I doubt she knows all of my plan. If she did, she wouldn't have brought Raphael here."

"What about Charles?"

"Charles' case is different. I have very important papers in my office. Who knows how much he had truly read? He even had the nerve to suggest that he would tell everyone what he had found out. That is why I have to lock my office and severely punish all those who enter. It's so information cannot spread. There are things in there that not even you know about."

A pause. They stopped walking.

"Don't you trust me, sir?"

"No. I only tell you things you need to know. Things that you don't need to know, you will not."

"Is that why you chose not to tell me about your family?"

Raph heard something that sounded like a slap. Even though it was Katrina who been on the receiving end, it felt as though he was the one who had been struck. His body shook slightly, and he only just stopped himself from running out and strangling Warumagi. He had beaten up a lot of people, but he had never hit a girl smaller than him.

Yet... He didn't want to blow his cover. He couldn't. Katrina was his friend, even if she had been giving him the cold shoulder recently. If he was to reveal himself, he wouldn't be able to overhear any more of their conversation. Who knew if a similar opportunity would present itself to him?

"She certainly knows about your plan involving Raphael's brother."

"There are things in there that not even you know about."

After a minute or so, he heard their footsteps continue once more. Katrina restarted the conversation in an apologetic and mournful tone of voice.

"I'm sorry, my Lord. I forgot that it is disrespectful to talk about their deaths to you. You loved them very much. It must be painful, thinking about them like that. I'm very sorry."

"You should be," he replied coldly.

Katrina changed the topic slightly.

"They are beautiful, my Lord. Your family, I mean. They are by far the most stunning looking individuals I have ever seen. These paintings display this extremely well."

"I'm the only human you have 'ever seen.'"

"Yes, but I can still tell that they are very pretty. Your wife…"

"Melissa."

"Melissa… Her appearance is so flawless and graceful. I wish I could look as amazing as her."

"You won't. No one could be as beautiful as her."

"And your daughter…"

Silence. Then…

"What about her?"

"Oh." Katrina had been expecting him to say her name, but she thought that it would be rude to ask for it now. "She is… cute. How old is she?"

"Is? What do you mean, is?"

Raph edged sideways so he could see the pair, while still remaining out of sight. Warumagi had his back to him and was standing over a cowering Katrina. She looked younger than the girl she was asking about.

"I… I mean was… I f-forgot. I meant how old was she before she died? I mean…"

Warumagi raised his hand but didn't hit her this time. Raph was glad because it meant she didn't get hurt again, and because he knew that if he had seen her get smacked, he would have definitely ran out and tried to 'help' her. And by help, he meant start a physical fight with the headmaster. He saw Warumagi relax and start to turn around. Raph quickly hid back around the corner.

"She was twelve."

Katrina said something else, but the Lord's voice rose so Raph couldn't hear her.

"What is this, twenty questions? Haven't you got cleaning to do? The students made a big mess of the lunch hall last night, and you have to clean it before they wake up."

"Please… I wish to ask you something, my Lord. It has nothing to do with your family. It is just one more thing."

"I choose what I answer, not you. I told you to clean the lunch hall now. Go on, get lost!"

Raph could hear someone heading in his direction, but he couldn't see who it was. If it was Katrina, he was sure that she would be a loyal friend and not acknowledge his presence to Warumagi. If it was him, however…

The footsteps were quite light and fast, giving Raph the impression that it was Katrina who was heading towards him. He silently sprinted down the corridor and into the room at the end of it. He moved away from the door so he wasn't standing in front of it. He sighed, smiling at where he was. She was sure to come here and not be suspicious about why he was there. He could just tell her that he couldn't sleep or he was meeting up with Blossom. Then, he planned on trying to find out what was happening. He had a few questions that he wanted to ask her.

Next to him, the doors of the lunch hall opened and Katrina walked in. They closed behind her. She turned around to watch them do so and saw Raph in the process.

They stood, gazing at each other wordlessly. She smiled faintly at him- before running away and going through the doors on the other side of the room.

"Hey!" Raph recovered from his surprise and ran after her. "Kitty! Where are ya goin'?"

She didn't look back. Raph clenched his fists and continued chasing her. He reached the door before it closed and saw her round the corner. She was pretty fast, but now wasn't the time to admire her speed. He was determined to find out why she never wanted to hang out with him anymore. He had thought that they were friends, but now she appeared even colder than she had been the first time they had met.

He followed her down a few more corridors before rounding a corner, finding himself in a hallway that was littered with several doors on either side. He paused and looked at each one. He didn't know which one she had gone through. He searched desperately for any sort of hint that would reveal her location but had no success.

Deciding to risk it, he ignored all of the doors and went down the corridor, heading into the next one. He could hear the not so distant pattering of her feet, which alerted him that he had made the right choice. He continued, determined to talk to her. One sentence stuck out in his mind, replaying over and over again.

"She certainly knows about your plan involving Raphael's brother."

He had tried to get the information out of Foxglove before, but she had only told him a limited number of facts. She had told him that she didn't know any more than what he had just been told. Even if she did know more than what she was letting on, he knew he wouldn't be able to get the information out of her easily.

He had lived with three of the most stubborn creatures in the world, so he knew what stubbornness was. It was near impossible to deter Leonardo when he had his mind set on something, it was hard to get Donatello off his computer without breaking it, and Michelangelo could spend hours upon hours playing a video game if he had a high score to beat. Even he, Raphael, could be stubborn, especially where his older brother was concerned. He knew when someone wouldn't give in.

If Katrina knew Warumagi's secret, she couldn't be expelled or sentenced to isolation if she told him it. She would know much more about it than Foxglove did. If Katrina wouldn't tell him it, at least he could get her to explain why she was avoiding him so much. He didn't remembering offending her, so he didn't see why she wouldn't want to be near him.

He was about to increase his speed when a voice from behind him said his name. He hesitated and lost his chance.

Katrina was well and truly gone.

He gritted his teeth and turned around. Blossom was standing by a door, blinking sleepily. It wasn't her fault. She hadn't known he was chasing Katrina. However, he still felt irritated with her.

She walked forwards, staggering a bit. "Raph? Why are you up so early? I heard a noise outside my room, and my alarm clock said it was only quarter past five. I went to see what it was and… it was you! Why did you have to scare me like that? I thought you were something else and I… What are you doing here? I didn't know you knew where the girl's dormitories were."

Raph put on a fake smile so she wouldn't see his disappointment in losing sight of Katrina. "I couldn't sleep. I was too busy thinkin' about Charles. It kept me up most of the night, so I decided to go see you instead."

He didn't think she would like it if he told her that he had been chasing the servant girl around the school. Something about that sounded wrong. Very wrong.

Blossom beamed at him, touched. "Oh, how nice of you! I didn't get much sleep either. I had the dream again, but I was able to force myself to wake up before much happened."

"Cool," he said.

"What do you want to do now? I mean, the library won't be open for ages and the dojo will be locked…" Blossom's eyes shined. "Oh! You can come into my room and we can hang out."

Raph coughed, blushing slightly at the thought of going into a teenage girl's bedroom. "Uh… I'm fine."

"What's the matter with your face? Have you got a rash…?" she realized and giggled. "Aw… you're blushing. Don't worry; I haven't got any underwear lying around or anything. Pinkie swear!"

Raph's cheeks darkened even more. He took one look down the corridor before following her into her room.

It was a lot smaller than his room, and the bed was nowhere near as big or inviting to sleep in as his. The carpet was a dull brown colour and the walls were a faded orange. She had a small chipped wardrobe in which she kept her few clothes and belongings, as well as a stool that stood next to her bed, an alarm clock sitting on top of it. He could see a tiny desk in the corner of the room that was the home of a pile of papers, but other than that the room contained nothing else. She either had a cramped room or he just had a big one.

Blossom sat down on the edge of her bed, kicking off her slippers and wiggling her toes. She had five on each foot, which was completely different to his two toed feet. Her nightdress was pale pink and rather baggy. It did nothing to show off her figure, but it didn't seem to bother her. She patted the bit of bed next to her, and he sat down.

Blossom hummed quietly, either not noticing the awkward silence or not finding it uncomfortable. Raph personally thought that it was.

"Raph…" she said slowly.

"Yeah?"

"I was wondering… do you think I'm very good at dancing?"

"I don't really know much about dancin', but…"

"But? Oh! You can't judge me until I dance properly! Would you like to watch me now?"

Raph realized why she had asked him to come into her room. She didn't want anyone else to see her dance. It made him feel pleased that she wanted him to watch her dance and no one else.

"Sure."

She smiled and got to her feet. She didn't have much room to dance in, but he could tell that she had spent a long time practicing from how fluently she moved. Dancing, he thought, was a bit like the katas Master Splinter taught him and his brothers, only what she was doing had nothing to do with the martial arts.

She didn't wobble when she span on her toes and bent her arms just the right amount, so they weren't exactly straight but they were definitely not crooked. The expression on her face was so intent and serious that Raph couldn't help but stare at it for a few seconds. When she jumped, she landed with a muffled thud and didn't lose her balance. Her back remained straight though he had the feeling that if her shell wasn't in the way, she would have arched her back.

After two minutes or so she stopped and turned to him. She held out her hands and hunched up her shoulders, trying to remain as modest as possible. "Did you like it?"

Raph nodded. "It was great."

"For real?"

He chuckled. "For real."

"Because, you know, I was thinking…" She began rocking back and forth on her heels. "Maybe… I could enter the talent show on Saturday. I didn't think I was very good at dancing but if you think I am…"

"I ain't the sorta guy who knows a lot about dancin'," he said quickly.

"I don't care," she said, "about what other people think of my dancing. I could make them feel nauseous with my choreography and I wouldn't care. As long as you like my dancing, I will dance and dance and dance. I'll dance until the cows come home, Raph. Just for you."

He was touched. She held out her hand and Raph took it in his. He got to his feet and grinned at Blossom. She smiled, leaning towards him. He stiffened. His heart thumped, but it turned out that the tails of his mask had gotten tangled and she was only smoothing them out. She moved back and began spinning him around the room.

"We ain't doin' the waltz again, are we?" he asked.

"No! This is the warts," she giggled. "Oh, I'm so happy Raphael! I'll dance for you at the talent show. It doesn't matter if I don't get a trophy or a certificate. No matter what place I come, I will always win, just as long as you're happy."

They stopped dancing after Blossom got a stitch in her side. Panting, she checked the time. It was nearly six o'clock.

"Why don't we go to the dojo?" she suggested.

"Sure, ya can show me yer dance again," he answered. "It'll be easier 'cos ya will have more room to dance in."

"I'm too tired to dance," she said. "How about we go to the dojo and you can show me some fighting stances? You need to make sure you don't forget how to do them."

"I can't forget how to fight," he chuckled. "It's been part of my life for so long, it comes naturally to me. Anyways, I thought ya said ya didn't like fightin'?"

She nodded. "I don't like it, but you do. I like dancing and you like fighting. Come on. It's only fair you show me some katas. I showed you my dance."

"Sure," he shrugged, leaving the room. "I bet ya will be good at them."

"I'll be a moment!" Blossom told him. "I just need to do something. Wait outside for me. I'll be out in a sec."

She watched Raph leave her room. When he was gone, she went to her desk and began fingering the poster that was on top of the pile of papers on it. It was advertising the talent show. She knew she shouldn't have taken it out of the lunch hall, but it had required a lot of staring at it to convince her that she should ask Raph whether she should dance in it. She looked at it while she was in bed and while she did her homework. She had looked at it for hours before coming to a decision.

She desperately wanted to dance wonderfully in the talent show so Raph would be proud of her. She imagined the scene in her head. She came first place and everyone was cheering. Raph raced onto the stage and barged through the crowd so he could get to her. Then, he grabbed hold of her and twirled around, dancing. They weren't on the stage anymore. They were out on the fields and the light that was being reflected by the moon lit up everything with an unearthly glow. She could see each individual blade of grass, which were wet with dew, though she was more focused on Raph. He leaned forwards and held her tightly. She could see the battle scars on his face that hadn't quite faded, and she could feel his warm breath. Then, he closed his eyes and she closed hers and-

A cold, sharp laugh rang through her ears. She was no longer dancing. She was in a cold glass container in a dark room. She banged her fists on the glass window in front of her but couldn't break it. She tried to scream for help but something was in her mouth… She couldn't breathe… She was… drowning…

"Blossom? Blossom!"

She hadn't noticed that she had closed her eyes. She opened them and saw Raph crouching next to her. He looked worried.

"What happened?" he asked. She noticed that she was on her knees. "I heard a thump and saw ya fall to the ground. Are ya okay? Ya ain't hurt, are ya?"

"No..." she said, smiling foolishly. She had to smile or else he would get worried. She had to pretend everything was alright. If she did, then maybe things would be alright.

She pretended a lot of time. It came so easily to her. All she had to do was smile and then everyone else would smile. It made things a lot easier, if other people didn't looked troubled. It made it easier to believe that everything was alright.

"I fell," she lied, circling a spot on the carpet with her finger. "I slipped over and I think I lost consciousness for a second. I'm okay now though."

She suspected that he didn't totally believe her, but he smiled regardless. "Ya should be more careful. I don't want ya gettin' hurt."

She nodded, listening to the sound of a clock ticking.

He helped her up and escorted her out of her room.

Next time: A friendship develops into something more.

OOh, I knew it! Raphie likes Blossom! XD XD

Yep. <3 Let's hope something BAD doesn't happen. >:]

Yes! Lets hope that! . I wish I could see Blossom dancing with Raph...

Me too... D: Man, if I could draw, there are so many scenes I would love to draw. XD

I suck at drawing turtles...otherwise I'd give it a shot XD

I just suck at drawing in general. XD I bet you could draw something better than me any day.

Ha, doubt that Plus, I'd have no way of uploading it. I'd have to do it in photoshop or something T-T

Blossom was sitting on a bench that was leaning against one of the dojo's walls, watching Raphael punch a nonexistent opponent. After a few arm movements, he flipped backwards in the air and landed neatly on his feet. He began kicking his right leg out in front of him, moving in fast and rapid movements. She smiled, not taking her eyes off him. It was like he was dancing, only he wasn't.

If there was only a slight difference between what he was doing and dancing, then why did she dislike fighting so much? She knew the answer. It wasn't the actions she hated. It was the fact that katas often trained people to hurt others. There was meant to be a person's face where Raph's fist finished, and a chest where Raph's foot extended to. She hated hurting people. She wouldn't mind practicing the katas, but she didn't want to put them into context.

Raph came to a stop, panting. He hadn't done this much work for a long time. He grinned at Blossom before walking over to her. She smiled back, getting to her feet and standing in front of him.

"Why don't we go get a drink?" suggested Blossom. "You look like you could do with one."

"I'm fine." Raph poked his heaving chest. "I… I just need to get my breath back."

She pointed at the clock on the wall. "It's nearly eight. You've been at it for about two hours."

"Before I came here, I used to do a lot more," he told her. "This is nothin' compared to the trainin' I did when I was at home."

"That was then. You aren't at your home now, are you?" she reminded him gently. "Come on, let's go have some breakfast. We have double history this morning, and we need to make sure our energy levels are high."

Under his breath, Raph remarked, "I know I ain't back home." Loudly, he called, "Okay, you win. I'm right behind ya."

Blossom waited outside the room for him, and the pair made their way to the lunch hall. They were silent, the two of them deep in thought about different things. It seemed like only a few seconds had passed before they arrived at their destination.

They both got their food and went to sit at one of the tables. Foxglove was sitting at one with Laurence, though neither were talking to each other. Blossom sat with them, so Raph did as well. Foxglove glanced at them coldly, before lowering her gaze and continuing to eat her bowl of cereal. Laurence was a lot friendlier and gave them a warm smile.

"Hullo, you two. Where were you?"

Foxglove muttered something that Raph didn't quite catch, but it caused Blossom's cheeks to darken and Laurence to cough into the back of his hand.

"We were in the dojo," Blossom told them, emphasizing 'dojo' very heavily. "Raph was just showing me some katas."

"Katas?" repeated Laurence, confused. "What are they?"

"They're like... " She tried to find an easy way of describing them. "They're when you practice fighting techniques and stances. Raph's ever so good at them."

"We've all seen him during our practical lessons," Foxglove snapped. "We're fully aware of his level of talent. I mean, he does show us up every lesson."

Laurence chuckled, looking at her. "You don't have to be so cranky. You know Raph's the best in those lessons. You don't have to be jealous."

"Jealous? I'm not jealous," she grumbled, before smirking slightly. "We'll see whose laughing when the Lord gives the announcement."

"What announcement? He only gives them on Monday or if he has something important to tell us ."

"Good morning everyone," boomed Warumagi's voice cheerfully. "I hope that you all had a great day yesterday. Wol has informed me that many of you have signed up to take part in the talent show, which delights me to no end. However, I now have to tell all of you something very unfortunate." His voice's tone became grave. "First of all, there will not be any more lessons for the remainder of this week. Wol became dangerously ill overnight, so he cannot teach you. Besides, I think you all deserve a break. However, detentions are to go ahead as scheduled. They will be run by me, and I expect all fifteen of you to be there tomorrow. Let us hope that Wol makes a full recovery. Also, I am positive that you all know Charles, or you have at least heard of him. I'm sorry to say that he will no longer be at this school due to recent events that have forced me to exclude him. I'll remind you now that my office is out-of-bounds, as well as marked doors. He will be sorely missed, and I hope that all of you stay out of trouble. That is all."

The room vibrated as an explosion of voices erupted out of the stunned silence.

"Did you hear what he said? Charles got expelled!"

"Uh, it was pretty hard not to hear."

"Ha ha, fail!"

"What, did he go into the Lord's office?"

"I heard he tried to punch the Lord in the face."

"Wow, I wouldn't even dream about going in there."

"That's not fair! Foxglove and Raphael went around the school in the dead of night and they didn't get expelled."

"Why couldn't Charles have been in isolation for a month?"

The students turned to face Raph's table, all wearing a mixture of expressions. He felt slightly uneasy having all this attention on him, but he didn't show it. Instead, he scowled back at them.

Blossom mumbled something but obviously didn't have the confidence to say it loudly in front of everyone. Laurence nodded and turned to the rest of the school. "Hey, they didn't ask for their punishment to not be expulsion. The Lord gave them it and they're grateful for his kind-heartedness."

Raph flinched. He wouldn't call it Warumagi being kind as such, but he wasn't going to correct him any time soon. It was better they think that than them knowing Foxglove had kind of blackmailed Warumagi into giving them a non permanent punishment.

The silence that followed this statement developed into a quiet murmur, and the rest of the school soon looked away and began talking to each other. Raph sighed, turning away from them and eating his breakfast. Foxglove had finished hers and was leaving the table, while Laurence was nibbling his third piece of toast. Blossom was leaving the table with what seemed to be her untouched bowl of cereal. Raph quickly wolfed down his food and chased after her. She was about to leave the lunch hall when she felt him grab hold of her shoulder.

"Hey, Blossom," he said. "Ya didn't eat much. Are you alright?"

She blinked, prior to saying, "Oh, I'm fine. I'm just not hungry, that's all. I had a big dinner last night."

"Ya ate as much as the rest of us," he told her. "What's botherin' you?"

"What makes you think that something's wrong?"

"Just an instinct," he shrugged. "Ya don't usually eat so… little."

"I'm just watching my weight. I don't want to be all fat and lumpy when I dance on Sunday. I don't want to look silly in front of everyone."

"Ya won't look silly 'cos ya ain't fat, and even if ya were no one would care. Eatin' a good meal won't make ya fat and ya'll dance just as well, if not better. Look, at lunch yer gonna eat all yer food, got it?"

Blossom smiled and saluted. "Yes sir."

"I… I just don't want ya to get sick or anythin'. I... I care about ya, you know dat?"

"I know," she assured him, "and I care about you too. So... now what do you do? We don't have any lessons for the rest of the week."

"Uh… We could..."

"We could read through some of our class notes," suggested Blossom thoughtfully. "I think it would be a good idea, seeing as you don't really listen in class."

Raph held up his hands. "Hold it right there, Blossom. We have the week off. I think we should just… relax, ya know? Take a break from all those math problems, essays and... whatever else we're meant to do durin' lessons."

Blossom narrowed her eyes, considering what he had just put forward. "We could, I guess. I mean... Yeah…" The more she thought about it, the more appealing it sounded. "A break. I haven't had one of those for ages. Do you want to go outside, Raph? It'll be nice and warm, and I'll have plenty of room to dance in. I could show you what my dance looks like when I'm not all cramped up in my room."

"Sure," he said, following her out of the lunch hall. When they were both out of it, he walked a bit faster so he was by her side. The other students were going off in different directions, all eager to go find somewhere to hang out and chill. It didn't look as though they got many weeklong breaks during the year.

The two turtles walked towards the door leading outside in silence, though it wasn't an awkward one that made Raph squirm uncomfortably. When they reached it, Blossom opened the door, letting in the gentle morning sunshine. The pair of them escaped into the fresh air, breathing it in and sighing. Blossom looked around, trying to find a good place to dance.

"There!" She pointed at Raph's favourite spot next to the lake. "You can sit in the shade while I show you my dance."

They sprinted against the still air and came to a stop a few feet away from the tree. Blossom pointed at it, raising a finger to her beak. "Sh… Look who's there!"

Raph looked. A small girl was leaning against the tree, sitting up but fast asleep. Her small face was mostly covered up by her tangled blonde hair, but it was still visible. She was wearing a dull black dress that had a white trim, and her foot garments lay on the grass next to her. Her eyes were closed, but he didn't need them to be open in order for him to know what colour they were. Her mouth was slightly ajar, and she looked like she was hugging herself. Raph smiled like a father does to their daughter when they've fallen asleep in front of the television.

"Her name's Katrina, isn't it?" said Blossom, resisting the urge to hug her. "The servant girl. Aw… doesn't she look sweet, sleeping like that?"

"Simply adorable," answered Raph emotionlessly, sitting down next to her. "Hey, are ya goin' to show me yer dance?"

"But won't she-?"

"Katrina ain't gonna stop ya dancin'," Raph interrupted. "We have as much right to be here as she does."

"Okay…" Blossom said uncertainly, starting her routine. She was a bit rigid at first, and Raph could see her glancing anxiously at Katrina. However, within twenty seconds, she had forgotten about her and was dancing as calmly and elegantly as normal. Raph watched, the morning's warmth and her dancing nearly stopping him from noticing that Katrina was stirring next to him. He forced himself to take his eyes off Blossom and look at her. Despite looking like she was in another world, Blossom stopped dancing instantly and peered at her as well.

"Rise and shine," murmured Raph, seeing Katrina's eyelids flutter.

"Oh!" She widened her eyes. She stared at Raph in horror, getting to her feet and backing away from him drunkenly. "I… The Lord is expecting me now… I will…"

"What the shell is the matter with you?" asked Raph, getting to his feet angrily. "What have I done to-?"

Katrina's left foot touched the air before stepping into the lake. She wobbled, flapping her arms wildly… and fell backwards into the body of water.

Raph heard Blossom start to scream, but she was cut off when he dived in after Katrina. She was sinking downwards, back first. Raph ducked his head and kicked his legs. The lake was surprising deep and he thought he could see a dark tunnel near the bottom, but he didn't have the time to contemplate about what it contained. He could see bubbles erupting out of her nose and her mouth. He pushed himself forwards and reached out his arms.

He wrapped his arms around Katrina, embracing her in a hug. He looked at her briefly before shoving his mouth onto hers, sharing his air. Then, he twisted his body around and began swimming back up to the surface. As he got closer, he started to see a blobby dark figure. He swam even faster, wrapping more of his arms around her frail body.

The moment he felt the top of the lake shatter against his head, he removed his mouth and gasped for breath. Blossom, who had been kneeling over the lake's edge, immediately began to help him out.

He lay on the grass with Katrina on his plastron, who was breathing very faintly. Blossom turned her over, so she was facing upwards, and began pressing her hands against her chest. Raph felt this and twitched, before lifting his head so he could see what Blossom was doing.

Katrina spluttered, curling up into a ball and falling sideways off of Raph. After a slight coughing fit, she raised her head and stared into the distance, confused. Blossom fell to her knees so she could see her better.

She placed a hand onto Katrina's shoulder, concerned. "Are you alright?"

Katrina remained silent, dropping her head and resting it on the grass.

"Hello?" Blossom rested her head against the ground and looked into Katrina's unfocused eyes. "Are you alright?"

She didn't answer.

"Are you dead?" asked Blossom, smiling slightly.

"If she was dead... she wouldn't be able to... to answer ya," Raph pointed out, not seeing her facial expression.

Blossom giggled silently, sitting up after she saw Katrina's eyes open for a second. "She's okay. Well... she's not, but I don't think she's injured. It looks like she's just in shock. We should take her to the Lord."

"Yeah," agreed Raph quietly. Breathing loudly, he gently brushed his hand against the servant's right cheek. She shivered as he did so but didn't do anything else. He doubted that Warumagi would feel sorry for her, but the turtle was sure that the headmaster would make sure she was alright.

"You were amazing," complimented Blossom, "diving in after her like that. I mean, you didn't even think. You just went straight in. Your reaction time was amazing, and I saw you giving her your air. That was so… selfless and... stunning and..." She frowned when she noticed that Raph was breathing noisily. "Are you alright, Raph? Your breathing sounds very irregular."

"Just… gettin'… my breath back," he told her.

"I think I know a good way of getting it back," she said quietly.

"I'm all ears."

Suddenly, he felt her beak press against his. Raph, surprised, lurched backwards. This caused the two of them to fall into the lake, shouting and splashing wildly.

Raph re-emerged, gasping. Blossom's head bobbed up a bit after his, her eyes squinting slightly. They climbed back out of the water and sat on the grass.

Blossom stared at him, dripping. "Why did you fall back like that? I didn't need a bath."

"You… you…" Raph didn't know whether Blossom had intended her action to be what he had interpreted as, or whether it had been an innocent gesture. He gulped, before saying, "Uh… when ya put yer mouth on mine like dat… what were yer tryin' to do?"

"I was trying to help you get your breath back." She tilted her head to one side, blinking rapidly.

"Oh," he mumbled. Instead of feeling relieved, he felt somewhat put out.

"You sound disappointed. Why? What did you think I was doing?"

"Uh… It doesn't matter."

"Come on, I won't laugh." She looked so sincere he decided that he might as well tell her.

"I thought ya were kissin' me," he blurted out, feeling stupid and crossing his arms. He waited for her to emit a series of giggles and to hear that it had been a big misunderstanding.

Blossom blinked, her face creasing a bit. "Oh."

She sounded hurt so Raph held up his hands. "I ain't sayin' dat ya were tryin' to. I mean, I wouldn't have anythin' against ya kissin' me… I mean… I just thought dat…"

"I understand." She blushed, bringing her legs up to her chest and resting her chin on her knees. "We can forget it ever happened, if you want. I'm sorry… It was so silly of me. I should have known that you wouldn't want to. I got caught up in the moment and didn't even pause to think that it could ruin our friend-"

"Hang on, ya knew you were kissin' me?" he exclaimed. "I thought…"

"Yes?"

"I just thought dat it was one of those times…"

"What times?"

"Those times when I thought ya were flirtin' with me, but ya weren't and it was just me jumpin' to freaky conclusions. Like when ya passed me dat note sayin' ya wanted to show me yer moves… and when ya leaned towards me to move my mask tails… I thought ya were gonna kiss me… and now…"

Blossom stared at him, before bursting out laughing. Her legs shot out in front of her, and she put her hands on either side of her body. She threw her head back and began giggling manically. Raph stared at her wordlessly, very bewildered and confused. He wondered whether she had suddenly lost her mind.

She stopped after a minute and said in a cheery voice, "Oh… Silly you!"

"Wha'?"

"You weren't jumping to freaky conclusions at all," she told him. She paused, before saying, "Did you like… it?"

He knew what 'it' was, but he wasn't too sure what the answer was. It had been too sudden and short, but still… the feeling hadn't been too bad. It had been different, but he wouldn't have said that was a bad thing. In fact, he had sort of enjoyed it, while it had lasted... he thought. He couldn't think straight, so he just nodded at her.

"If you were to need air again…" She rolled her eyes playfully. "Would you… ask me to give you some?"

He grinned at her, his mind a little clearer than before. "You will be the first person I ask, each time."

"Do you need any air now, or have you gotten your breath back?"

He pretended to consider before saying, "Maybe... I could do with some more though."

"What about Katrina? Will she be okay?"

Raph looked at her. He could see Katrina's eyes were open. "She'll be alright. We should let her get some of her energy back before takin' her to Warumagi. 'Sides, the Sun will dry her clothes a bit. He wouldn't be too pleased if he saw her soakin' wet."

Blossom tapped his beak. "Then how about I give you some air in the meantime?"

They leaned towards each other and the kiss, this time, was much more enjoyable. They didn't fall into the lake or flinch. It wasn't as romantic as the kisses were in Master Splinter's soap operas, but that didn't make it any less pleasant. While they were kissing, Raph hoped that his breath didn't smell too bad, and Blossom was worried that she would accidentally bite him or something.

Katrina looked at them for a moment before averting her gaze. Her heart was thumping loudly, and she hoped that this wouldn't draw attention to her. She gulped, prior to looking back at them nervously. She felt uncomfortable watching them, but she felt unable to not observe them.

TMNTNMT

Lord Warumagi leaned forwards on his chair, staring intently at the computer screen in front of him. He lifted his finger and pressed it against the virtual Raph, trying to block him out. Unfortunately, he took up a fair amount of the screen, meaning he could still see him. Warumagi rested both of his hands against the monitor's face. Then, he span around on his chair so that he was no longer facing him.

He got up and swiftly crossed the room, stopping at his workstation. He turned to face something that was in one of the room's shadowy corners, his rage filled expression vanishing. Whatever it was, it made a low growling sound.

He smiled slightly.

"Don't worry, darling. I've been working all day for years, trying to find the solution to our problems. I think I've found out how to get them to the state you're in. Then, I can get to work on finding a way of reverting you back to your original state."

It growled again.

"Darling, I know it's been a long time, but you don't understand how hard it's been for me. Once I discover what the antidote is, I can get make you normal again. After that, I can get revenge on those who shunned me and made our lives the way it is. It's their fault you're like this."

It growled again.

"Yes, doing it on a large scale will cost a lot of money. I mean, there are more than six billion people on this planet. But I can get the money. Thank goodness I came across Katrina, or else I would never have found out about Leonardo's bounty. It will be more than enough to fund my plan. I just have to get hold of him. It shouldn't be too hard, seeing as I have his pathetic brother."

It growled again.

"Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about her. I will fix her too."

It growled again.

Warumagi winked at it and beamed. "I knew you'd be pleased."

It growled again.

He turned his head and looked at the television screen. "I know you don't like it, darling, but what else can we do?"

It growled again.

"Well… I didn't want her to 'graduate' until we knew-"

It growled again.

"But darling!"

It growled again.

He sighed, bowing his head. "Whatever makes you happy."

***

Warumagi is crazy. D8

I want some air too Raph! LOL
This chapter was completely amazing and I think that Warumagi´s not crazy, after all, he´s talking to his...well, I´m not gonna say who it is but I have a slight idea.

Thank you. ^.^

I don't want to give anything away, but who/what he is talking to... it's not nice. XD

I have a pretty good idea as well...and it fits with the bounty on Leo's head XD

It's a shame Raph doesn't know about it... yet.

Foxglove was in a bad mood.

Well.

A worse mood than usual.

She was sitting in the library with Laurence, tapping her fingers against the table. They had managed to sneak past the librarian and settle themselves at the back of the room. The lemur hybrid was reading a book about something she didn't care about. She didn't even know why she was there, at first. Then, she stared into space and was reminded of why she was with him.

She had nothing better to do.

Blossom and Raphael had gone off together after breakfast. She could have gone with them, but she was sure that if she had done, she would have been a third wheel. She could picture it all too clearly. They would be chatting, playing and joking around while she sat there with her arms crossed. Somehow, that wasn't her idea of a day well spent.

Normally, she would have hung out with Fang, but he had graduated and was no longer there. However, now that she thought about it, she wasn't sure that she would want to be with him. The more she thought about him, the more disgusted she was. She wondered whether she was even thinking about the same person. The Fang she now knew wasn't tall, cool and handsome. He was scruffy, a jerk and had taken advantage of her crush on him. She covered her face slightly in shame. She didn't want to acquaint herself with him ever again.

"Something wrong?" asked Laurence.

She shook her head, glaring at him. What made him think that she would tell him?

Laurence, for similar reasons, had found himself in the company of Foxglove. Charles had been expelled, so he didn't really have anyone else to be with. He would have liked to have gone with Blossom and Raph, but he didn't know where they were.

He tried to read some more of the book he was holding, but he was so distracted that he couldn't take any of the words in. Giving up, he left his seat and returned it to the shelf he had found it on.

He went back to the table but didn't sit down. He stood over it, trying to think of something better to do. He tried to ignore Foxglove, who was glaring at him, but had no success. She was making him feel really uneasy.

"So…" Laurence exhaled, looking at the exit. "I might… go do some homework. Then, I can relax for the rest of the week."

"What do you plan on doing?" she asked, sneering slightly. "Pretending to read like you were just now?"

He reddened. "I was reading."

"With your book upside down?"

He coughed. "Oh… was it upside down?"

"Yes."

"I see." He sat down and groaned.

"Is there something bothering you?" she queried, not sounding like she cared whether he gave an answer or not.

"No... I'm just bored. If Charles was here, he would have lots of things for us to do. He always knew how to making things exciting and fun. But no... I had to get him expelled."

"Why don't you go get yourself expelled? That way, you can have as much fun with him as you want," she retorted.

Laurence ignored her, instead getting to his feet. "I'm going to go find Raph and Blossom..." He willed himself to say the next bit, so he didn't sound like a complete jerk. "Are you coming?"

"I suppose." She shrugged her shoulders, getting up from the table as well. They left the library only to nearly get ran over by a dozen students or so. The two students watched them, seeing other students come out of various doors and go in the same direction.

"Excuse me…" said Laurence, but they ignored him.

Frowning, Foxglove grabbed a penguin hybrid's wing as they passed. "Where are you all going?"

"Apparently, the servant girl fell in the lake," he told her excitedly, "so Raphael dived in and rescued her. They're taking her to the Lord right now. We're going to go and see."

"Cool!" grinned Laurence. "Do you have any idea where they are?"

"They just entered the building. They're on their way to the Lord's office," the penguin hybrid answered, breaking free of Foxglove's hold and running away. "Come on!"

Foxglove raised her eyebrows, putting her hands on her hips. "What's so exciting about seeing someone carry a servant?"

"They want to congratulate him too." Laurence began to edge into the hallway, so he could join the trickle of students running down it. "I think we should too. After all, we are his friends."

"He isn't my friend," grumbled Foxglove, going after him. "Or yours, for that matter!"

They didn't know where they were going; however, the people in front of them seemed to have a vague idea, so they just followed them. After a while, their pace quickened. Laurence began running faster, but Foxglove continued moving at the same speed. She looked over her shoulder and saw that more students were joining them. She smirked, thinking how sad they all looked. Then she remembered she was one of those students and felt even more pathetic than before.

"There they are!" someone exclaimed. The clump of students spread out before rejoining a few feet ahead. Foxglove went onto her tiptoes and could just see the green heads of Blossom and Raph. She pushed her way towards them, leaving Laurence to hop up and down in an attempt to see what was happening.

She got to the front and studied them closely. Raph, Blossom and Katrina were wet, small droplets of water dripping from their bodies and onto the floor. Raph was holding Katrina in his arms, supporting her head with one and holding her below the legs with the other. She was facing away from everyone and was too still to be asleep. Blossom stood next to the two of them, answering the questions of curious students.

She caught sight of Foxglove and went up to her. "Hello! I didn't expect everyone to gather here like this."

"Neither did I," agreed Foxglove bitterly.

"I know, though I think that Raph deserves all this attention, not me. Katrina fell into the lake, and he went in after to her. He let her have some of her air and… and…" She sounded like she had something else she was desperate to say but didn't want to say it.

Foxglove, who couldn't care less, shrugged. "Whatever. Anyone would and could have done that, given the chance."

"But he did," Blossom told her. "He's amazing, isn't he? He's so brave and amazing. You should have been there, watching him dive into the pool and disappear from view. He's a fantastic swimmer. He was in and out in a minute or so."

"He's a turtle. Of course he's a good swimmer."

"Hey, Raph," someone bellowed. "What were you and Blossom doing near the lake in the first place?"

Raph narrowed his eyes in their direction and replied, "We were just enjoyin' the sunshine and Katrina was there. She made to leave but slipped, and fell into the lake."

"They were kissing," mumbled Katrina.

Raph flinched, wondering whether the others had heard her. They didn't seem to, but Foxglove's ears quivered slightly. Blossom said something inaudible in the noise, pointing to him. Foxglove shrugged her shoulders, before pointing at Katrina. The female turtle hybrid looked over her shoulder and waved at them. Raph waved back half-heartedly, before looking down at Katrina. He could feel her breathing and had the feeling she was awake, but he wanted to be there when she went to Warumagi.

He wanted to make sure she didn't get hurt.

He pushed through the crowd of people, Blossom following him from behind. He turned his head and saw Foxglove shoot him a short, satisfied look as he rounded the corner. Raph faced forwards again, trying very hard to forget about Foxglove. There was a small chance she had heard Katrina and an even smaller one that she believed her. But still… Raph wondered what the chances were of her not using this against him later.

Very slim.

Unsurprisingly, the door to Warumagi's office was locked. Blossom pulled on its handle frantically, but it refused to budge. Raph shook his head at her. "It ain't gonna open if ya use force. Trust me on dat one."

Blossom gently rolled Katrina over in his arms so she was facing her. "Excuse me, Katrina, but where is your bedroom? We can leave you there to rest until we can find the Lord."

Katrina shook her head. "I don't have a bedroom."

"So where do ya sleep?" asked Raph.

"I have a small ro- I don't have one," Katrina murmured. She closed her eyes and wiggled, her bony elbows making impact with his plastron. "Mm… I'm so tired."

Raph frowned. "What's a small ro?"

"I… don't know what you're talking about."

"You were about to say ya had a small room. Where's yer room, Kitty?"

She began breathing gently.

"Kitty, I know ya ain't asleep. I ain't an idiot. Where is yer room?"

She murmured something and wiggled again.

"Don't make me drop ya!" snarled Raph, shaking her roughly. He wasn't in the mood to play silly games with her.

Blossom widened her eyes. "You can't drop her! She'll probably break if you do, she's so fragile."

"Hear that, Kitty? You will smash into a thousand pieces if I drop ya... Hm... or maybe I can talk to Warumagi about this and say what really happened at the lake. I could say dat we were hangin' out together and..."

Katrina decided not to chance his bluff and miraculously woke up. Raph put her down gently, keeping a firm grip on her wrist. She shook it a bit, seeing that she wasn't going to be able to make a break for it. She slowly dragged her feet across the ground as she headed towards her small room. Raph would have preferred it if she had sped up, but he supposed that walking slowly was better than being a thousand pieces on the ground.

Eventually, they reached the door of what Raph had always assumed was a closet. She opened it slowly, revealing what was inside. There was barely enough room for the three of them to get in, but they managed to squeeze in.

It was very much like a closet. It was a metre wide and roughly two metres long. There was a small mat in the corner that was her bed, as well as a metal rail where her other servant outfits hung. Attached to the ceiling was a light bulb that swung violently at the slightest amount of breeze, which created strange patterns of light and shadows on the walls. In the other far corner was a box that was crammed full of papers.

They lay Katrina on the mat. Blossom began fussing over her, saying that she needed an extra pillow and a blanket. Raph examined the room with a disgusted look on his face. There were so many things it lacked. There wasn't a window or a radiator, and he could only imagine the range of temperatures it got at various times of the year. When he was younger, he hadn't had a fantastic range of stuff until Donatello had fixed up their lair, but Raph had had his family to keep him company. Together, they had been bright enough to keep each other warm… or something mushy like that.

Raph did a double take when his eyes drifted over the box of papers. He could have sworn that he had just seen his name on the one on the top. He looked over his shoulder and, seeing that the other two were distracted, pulled it out gently and read the sentence. Then, recognizing the handwriting, he read all of it. His face burned red as he read more pieces of paper.

These weren't hers. These were letters from his family. There were more than ten of them. He mouthed their pleads for him to write back, to give them a sign that he was still alive. His eyes stung as he read how they wouldn't even mind one sentence that said he was okay. He lifted his head and held the pieces of paper against his chest. He crushed them, wanting them to sink through his plastron and go inside of him.

They hadn't forgotten about him after all. It was the complete opposite. He was the one who they thought had forgotten. He sniffed, determined to keep his posture.

Blossom heard him and looked at him in concern. "What's the matter, Raph? You look sad."

He turned around and showed Katrina the pieces of paper in his hands. She stared at them, shivering. She was cold, but there was another reason why her body was shaking.

Not getting a good enough response from her, he whispered, "Why?"

Her eyes welled up with tears. "I'm so sorry… I… I didn't want to. I wanted to give them to you but… he said I couldn't. The Lord told me to hide them here."

Blossom slipped out one of the letters from under his arms and read it. Realizing who they were from, she curled her fist and scrunched it up. She glared at Katrina. "That was a horrible thing to do."

Katrina whimpered, "I know. I'm sorry."

"Why did ya listen to him? Why didn't ya give 'em to me secretly?"

"You don't know what he's like. He said I had to."

Raph gave her a look that wasn't anger but disappointment. Katrina found that this was worse, and her eyes watered even more.

"I've missed my family so much. I thought they were in serious trouble. I thought they had forgotten me. But… they hadn't. Ya made me think it was their fault."

He resisted the urge to punch her in the face.

"Why would the Lord want her to hide them?" asked Blossom, confused. "What would he gain from making you worry about them?"

Raph lowered his head, realizing. "That ain't what he wants."

"What?" Blossom blinked. "But… what then?"

He raised his head and settled his gaze on Katrina's tearstained face. "He wants them to worry about me."

"Why would he want to do that?"

"'Cos it's part of his plan," he explained, not taking his eyes off Katrina. "He's up to somethin', isn't he, Kitty? I've heard you and him talkin', and I've gotten some info outta Foxglove. She took me from New York 'cos she knew Warumagi wanted a giant turtle. She told me dat she hadn't intended to take me, as I'm not the one he wants. He wants one of my brothers."

Katrina shook her head in protest, but Raph didn't want to hear her out. He raised his voice, all the anger he had tried to hide consuming him now.

"He wants one of my brothers. What's he gonna do? Make 'em so desperate dat the brother he wants will give himself up for my safety? Is he gonna draw my family here so he can capture them? Kitty, tell me what he wants. I'm supposed to be yer friend, and this is my family we're talkin' about. If ya don't, I'm gonna..."

He moved his hands towards her neck.

"I-"

"Katrina? Where are you? I have a job for you…"

The sound of footsteps got louder.

"Are you in your room?"

She sat up, staring down at her damp clothes and hair. Afterwards, she looked at the pair of students in horror. They all knew whose voice it was, and it was the last one they wanted to hear.

"Close your eyes and move behind there," she hissed, pointing to her rail of clothes. The turtles didn't quite fit behind it and various bits of their body could be seen. Blossom closed her eyes instantly, but Raph kept his open, suspicious, until he saw that Katrina was undressing. She stuffed her clothes into one corner and took some dry ones off the metal rail. She quickly put her new clothes on and staggered outside. It was obvious that she had not fully recovered, because she swayed as she walked, but she had to leave before Warumagi came in and came across the two students.

She closed the door behind her and they could hear her mumble something to Warumagi. There was a loud smack and Katrina began sobbing quietly. He mumbled something in response and their mumbles soon faded away.

Raph breathed heavily, not moving out of his crouching position. The light bulb above them flickered, so the room changed from pitch black to dimly lit and back again continuously. He glanced at Blossom, who was staring at the door with wide eyes.

The silence settled onto their bodies, and they could feel it pressing against their skin. Raph wiggled uncomfortably. Blossom stretched her arms out in front of her.

"Is it safe to go out?" she asked quietly.

He listened.

"Yeah, I think so."

They got to their feet and pushed the door open. It creaked loudly, causing them to flinch. Raph stuck out his head and looked both ways. The corridor seemed deserted. He stepped out with Blossom practically on his shell, closing the door behind them. Then, they exhaled loudly.

"He... he hit her!" Blossom gasped. "He... he actually hit her!"

Raph nodded. "Yeah, but she's tough. She'll be alright."

Well... he hoped she would be.

"That was too close," remarked Blossom, her chest heaving. "I thought the Lord was going to come in and find us."

"Yeah," agreed Raph. "Good thin' he didn't. I don't think he would be very happy seein' us hangin' out in his servant's room, especially when she has all those letters in there."

"You could go retrieve them now," she suggested, pointing at the door, "in case the chance doesn't arise again."

"I read most of 'em when I was in there," he assured her, the thought of reading them again making his stomach churn. "I'm gonna find a way to contact them. My family. I need to tell 'em not to come here. I have to tell 'em dat I'm alright."

"But how? Katrina won't deliver the letter if the Lord doesn't want her to," she reminded him. She sighed sadly. "I can't believe it. How can the Lord be such a… a…"

"Jerk?"

"Yes. A jerk. I mean…" She began playing with her fingers. "... From what I've seen of him, he's really nice. He's never been horrible to me. How could he be a… cold-hearted… jerk? And what's this plan you mentioned? Is he trying to capture one of your brothers?"

"Yeah," nodded Raph, seeing that he couldn't not tell her now. "I heard him say dat he has a plan involvin' one of my brothers. I dunno which one he wants though. I have a one in three chance of guessin' which one correctly."

"We should tell everyone," she told him passionately, clenching her fists. "We can't just let the Lord do as he pleases and get away with it."

"Blossom." He looked her in the eye. "It's easier if they don't know. We don't want this info to spread, in case it gets back to Warumagi. Promise me you will keep yer mouth shut about it."

"But-"

"Blossom," he snarled. "It ain't a question, okay?"

Hurt, she lowered her gaze.

"I don't mean it like dat," he told her quickly. "I meant dat..."

"I know what you meant," she murmured, beginning to walk away. "Look, I've got homework to do and I... I need to rest. See you later."

Raph slapped himself in the face, furious at how he had handled the situation, and called after her, "Can I at least give ya a goodbye kiss?"

As planned, she walked back to him. She gave him a tiny smile. "... Okay, but make it quick."

Raph chuckled, kissing her on the mouth. She clung onto his neck, trying to keep him there for as long as possible. He put his arms around her back, feeling her hands rest on his shoulders. They stood there, two dark figures in the murky corridor, lighting it up slightly with their newfound happiness. After a minute or so, they separated, grinning. The only sound present was the non-existent ticking in Blossom's head.

"Bye!"

He watched her run off until she rounded the corner. Raph grinned, going into his room.

He was about to go to bed when he decided that he had to do one more thing first. He got out a piece of paper and a pen. He began to write.

Guys,

I know I haven't written back for ages, but it's not my fault. It's a long story, but basically-

He scratched his chin, trying to find a nice way of putting it.

-I didn't receive your letters because Katrina couldn't get to them. Something went wrong with her teleporter.

It was a lie, but he didn't want to put down the whole story. He couldn't let them worry about him. He couldn't make them want to rescue him. If Warumagi wanted one of his brothers, he refused to help him in any way.

I'm fine.

He sighed. He didn't have the best vocabulary in the world, and it certainly didn't help him know what to put next.

There's a talent show and Blossom's entered it. She's going to dance. I'm not the sort of turtle who likes dancing, but she's really good at it. If I don't write back for a while, don't freak out. I'm completely safe. I'm just really busy and they need me.

Miss you loads,

Raph

He shuddered. He hated what he had written. It was a giant lie, but he could have written a thousand different versions and he still wouldn't have been satisfied. He hoped his family would believe he was okay and not do anything crazy in an attempt to find him. He didn't know how he would send the letter to them, but he would think of a way in the morning.

Hopefully.

This chapter was so...wow. Poor Katrina. Warumagi´s a really big jerk! I love the fact that Raph and Blossom are together.

Yep. But it doesn't mean that they get along ALL the time. XD

Ooh, I hope Raph gets away from there soon!!

There shouldn't be too many more chapters now, so he will... if he survives.

Just wanted to let you know how amazing this story is! Please don't ever stop writing!

Aw, thank you. :3 I'll keep writing until my hand falls off. XD


Blossom walked along the white corridor and went through the door at the end, before entering the room behind it. Then, she went through that room and entered another. It was dark as she slowly crept down the stairs. She had nearly reached the bottom when she became aware of what she was doing.

'I know what's going to happen next,' she thought to herself. She was glad that she had read all those books about how to be aware of when you were dreaming, because it meant that she could try and avoid what she knew was about to happen. Without turning around, she began to walk backwards up the stairs. She had nearly reached the door when a low, growling sound filled the room.

She jumped. She didn't know what that noise was, but it didn't sound nice. She ran up the stairs, hearing loud foot steps behind her. She escaped through the door and ran away as fast as she could, not daring to look back.

Her face hit against something hard. At first she thought it was a wall; however, when she opened her eyes she discovered that it was made of glass. She tried to step away from it, but her feet felt heavy. She looked down in order to find out why.

Around her feet was ten inches of sand and the height of it was increasing rapidly. Glancing upwards, she noticed a stream of sand pouring out of a small hole in the glass box she was now in. Blossom blinked, trying to understand what was happening.

Tick, tock, tick, tock…

She tried to see where the noise was coming from, but she couldn't find the source.

Tick, tock, tick, tock…

She banged her fists on the glass, desperate to escape. The sand had reached her torso by now.

Tick, tock, tick, tock…

She realized what she was being contained in. She was in a giant sand timer. She tried to scream, but no noise came out of her mouth.

Tick, tock, tick, tock…

She looked forwards in horror and saw two figures in front of her. One of them was Warumagi, who was smiling cruelly at her.

"Your time is almost up, Blossom."

He was holding out a pocket watch, its chain swinging from side to side like a metronome, ticking.

Tick, tock, tick, tock…

In his other hand was a piece of rope, which was attached to the other figure's wrist.

The other person was Raphael.

"Raph!" she managed to shout. "Help me!"

He continued looking forwards with a blank expression on his face. He clutched tighter onto the small plushie he was holding in his hand.

Tick, tock, tick, tock…

She managed to get a brief look at it before the sand swallowed her up. It was a turtle that resembled Raphael greatly, but it didn't have the same colour mask as him. Instead of a blood red piece of material, it was wearing a blue one...

Ring ring ring ring!

She sat up suddenly, gasping for breath. She was in her bed, safe and sound. She turned the alarm of her clock off, and it resumed its gentle ticking sound. She leaned forwards and gripped her knees tightly, breathing shallowly. She wanted to mull over what had happened, but she knew it was time for her to get out of bed. Raph would be wondering where she was. Thinking about him made her feel a bit better and gave her the energy she needed to leave her room and go to the lunch hall.

She was the first person to arrive, probably because everyone else was sleeping in and taking advantage of the week off. She collected her breakfast and sat down at one of the tables, though she didn't eat her food at first. She was thinking… thinking about her dream.

There was every chance that it was just a dream and nothing more. It could have been a dream that didn't mean anything. Why would it mean anything?

Deep down, she had the feeling that it was more than a mere dream. It meant… something; something that she couldn't quite put her finger on. Her first instinct was to ask Raph about it, but something inside of her told her not to. She didn't want to worry him. It was probably just a normal dream like the other ones she'd had before. The new bit was probably the result of the day before. Yes… She didn't need to bother Raph with her silly dreams.

She had to pretend everything was alright. If she did, then maybe things would be alright.

"Hey."

She looked up. Raph was standing in front of her, a tired but big grin on his face. She smiled at him as he walked around the table so he could sit next to her, placing his tray of food in front of him. They faced each other, not quite knowing how to greet each other. After a small pause, Blossom leaned forward and kissed him gently on his right cheek.

"Hey," she said, tilting her head back and admiring him. "So… how was… your sleep?"

"Alright," answered Raph, his smile fading noticeably. "I was up all night, thinkin' about what happened yesterday with Katrina… and I have an idea."

"Oh?" She forced the ends of her mouth to stretch upwards as she thought about the dream she had experienced the previous night, before picking up her mug of milk tea. "Really? What is it?"

He slowly studied the lunch hall, searching for any students that may have entered without them noticing. There were a few, but none of them were sitting at their table. He leaned forwards. "Well, you see-"

"Hi there!" Foxglove suddenly popped out of nowhere, causing Blossom to spray tea all over her food. She sat opposite the couple, peering at them over the dark sunglasses she was wearing. She had an unusually bright smile plastered onto her face.

Raph gazed at her warily while Blossom gave her a big smile. "Hello, Foxglove! You're up nice and early."

"It's like they say... The early bird captures the worm. Dunno who 'they' are though," she replied, adjusting her glasses. "Don't mind me; continue any conversation you were having before I came here this fine day."

"Uh… it can wait," said Raph. He picked up his spoon. "I'm starvin'."

"Oh, I'm sorry, am I disrupting something?" queried Foxglove, frowning sadly. "I thought I was your friend, but I guess…"

"You are our friend!" Blossom hastily reassured her. She didn't know why Raph didn't want to talk about his idea in front of Foxglove, who she considered a close friend, but she wasn't going to pressure him into doing so. "And a very good friend at that. It's just… um…"

"Don't worry," she told her, putting a hand on her forehead. "I understand. I'm not as close to either of you as you both are to one another. Hey, that brings me to what a little birdie told me. Apparently…" She shifted her body forwards. "You two are…"

She held up her hands and raised a finger on each one. Then, she crossed them and smacked the palms of her hands together, dragging them across her chest before laying them on the table.

"... Going out."

"We are!" Blossom said gleefully, not giving Raph any time to think about what to say in response. "Oh Foxglove, isn't this lovely news?"

Raph examined Foxglove, trying to figure out what she was going to do next so he could brace himself for it.

"It's cute," she commented, her eyes slowly transferring from one to the other. She chuckled. "Two mutated turtles… brought together by me bringing one of them here. Do you know how privileged I feel at this moment? How… honoured I am? Oh yes. I'm brimming with the stuff."

"And I thank you so much for allowin' this all to happen," stated Raph. "I give ya all the gratitude in my body."

"See? You both can get along if you try," said an oblivious Blossom, ignorant of the testy looks her two friends were giving each other. "Anyway... Raph, why don't you tell us that idea you have."

"I thought you didn't want me to know about it," commented Foxglove, "or have I finally proved my worth?"

"Ya don't need to prove anythin'," Raph answered sweetly. "Besides... Maybe ya can help me. Okay, so I was thinkin' last night about stuff and I thought of somethin'. Ya know the teleporter Warumagi has?"

Blossom gasped. "You're going back to your family?"

Raph hesitated. For so long, he had yearned to return home... but now, what with Blossom… Katrina… Warumagi… the school… the desperation within it... it was withholding him from leaving. He loved his family more than anything; however, he couldn't just leave and forget about it. If Warumagi wanted one of his brothers for something, he was going to make sure that when he left, his family was safe from the headmaster.

"No." Raph shook his head. "Not yet, anyway."

"Not yet? What does that mean?"

"I dunno, Blossom," Raph mumbled. "I can't stay here forever, can I? I'm gonna find out what Warumagi's up to and stop him. He wants my brother… I can't leave here with dat piece of knowledge in my mind. I'm gonna set thin's straight and then…"

"Go home?"

Blossom's face sagged momentarily, but she was soon wearing a brave, sad yet happy face. "I'm being selfish. Of course you have to go home. Your family are sure to be fretting about you."

Raph smiled at her warmly. "Thanks. Ya know, once I find out… if ya want… ya can come wit' me. I mean, my home isn't exactly ideal, but…"

"It can be in a hole in the ground and I won't care," she told him excitedly, acting as though they were leaving the next day. "If your family wouldn't mind, I would love to live with you! I've always fancied living in New York! It sounds so nice."

Raph blinked. "Wait, how do ya know where I live?"

Foxglove waved at him. Raph sighed, unsurprised.

"Anyway," he pressed on, lowering his voice so the other two had to lean in closer in order to hear him. "My idea… I need ta get a message to ma family. I need them to know dat I'm fine and dat they can't come here. If they did, Warumagi would have a field day. I need someone to give them a letter. Dat's where the teleporter comes in. We can use dat to go to New York and deliver it."

"But… isn't the teleporter in the Lord's office?" asked Blossom worriedly. "That'd involve sneaking in and… and…"

"Charles is the perfect example of what happens when you get caught," finished Foxglove, but she didn't sound turned off by the idea. She tilted her head to one side. "Though it's not like you have much choice in the matter. You have to tell your family fast, before they act rashly."

"But Charles…" whimpered Blossom feebly.

"Get a backbone," retorted Foxglove. "His plan B was to get caught. That, however, is not even our plan Z. Well, I hope so." She gazed at Raph curiously.

"We need a time when Warumagi ain't anywhere near his office," said Raph, a pensive expression on his face. "Anyone got his daily schedule on dem?"

"No, but I know for a fact that he's going to be supervising detention this evening," said Foxglove. "He said so on Monday. That would be the perfect time to get in there and take it."

"Cool." Raph nodded, liking how things were in his favour for once. "So, I just gotta sneak in and take it so I can go-"

"You can't go back to your family!" exclaimed Blossom.

"Why, in case your boyfriend decides to do a runner?" smirked Foxglove, hiding her mouth with her hand and gazing at Blossom sidelong.

Blossom blushed, looking at Raph. "No! I'm just thinking… What if they see you? I know you don't want them to, but they might catch sight of you accidently and go after you. It's unlikely they'll see you, but it could happen. And then… suppose they try and stop you from coming back? Or demand to go with you? I mean… going so close to them… Raph, don't you think that you might be tempted to… go back to them, even if your intention is to only check on them? To let them know you're okay?" She lowered her gaze, her mouth slightly ajar. She looked up and settled her gaze firmly on his face. "Besides, do you even know how to operate the teleporter?"

Raph, who had gone into a trance-like state during Blossom's rant, started. "Wha'? Oh… No. I ain't gotta clue."

Foxglove jabbed her chest, a smug grin on her face. "Luckily, I do. I've used it to sneak out at least five times. Silver taught me all I need to know about it. Give me your message, a place to give it to them and I'll be on my way."

Raph sighed. His other option was Blossom, but he doubted she would like breaking a massive rule. "It looks like I ain't got much of a choice… I have a letter in my room dat I wanna give 'em. Would ya… give it to 'em? Don't read it though."

"Please," added Blossom, making his command seem more like a plea.

"No sweat." Foxglove shrugged. "Give it to me and I'll do it in the evening. It shouldn't take me too long."

"Thanks." Raph smiled, looking at Foxglove with something that wasn't irritation.

"No problem." Foxglove smiled, looking at Raph with something that wasn't hatred.

The three of them shared grins as Laurence approached their table, sitting next to Foxglove. He looked at them. "Am I… missing something?"

"Oh, no," said Blossom quickly, while Foxglove adjusted her sunglasses and Raph coughed into the back of his hand. "We were just talking about… what we're going to do today."

Laurence nodded, excited. "So what are we doing today? I haven't got any plans myself, so I'm all ears."

Foxglove spoke before the other two could. "Raph and Blossom are going to go on a little date. Did you know they are going out? Two whole months! You wouldn't want to be there while they snogged, would you?"

"What?" His eyes darted between the two in surprise. "For real?"

"It is very real." Blossom nodded, beaming and ignoring the 'two months' part. "I'm so happy."

Laurence turned to Raph, as though he needed him to say it before he could believe it.

"Yeah." Raph glared at Foxglove. "But I don't need da whole school knowin'."

Foxglove waved her hand. "Oh well, rumours spread like the plague at this school, you know? Anyway, while they're off doing 'happy lovey-dovey couple' things, I'm going to have a nice long nap in my room. I'm very tired, you know?"

She yawned loudly.

"Oh." Laurence frowned, seeing that he wasn't wanted. "Okay then. I have things to do as well."

'Like nothing', he added darkly.

"Cool." The others got up from the table, picking up their barely touched food. The evening's event had filled them up far more than food ever could. Foxglove added, "See you later, Laurence."

"Yeah," he mumbled, watching them leave. "See you later."

Foxglove pulled Blossom out of the lunch hall, for she looked as though she was going to continue standing there, talking to Laurence. As soon as the door closed behind them, Blossom swatted her hands. "What's the matter? Why did we have to leave so suddenly?"

"If we stayed much longer, he'd want to hang out with us for the rest of the day," she explained, "and we can't have that, what with our plan and all. He'd ruin it, like he did with Charles' one."

"He didn't mean to. He just panicked."

"And suppose he panics again?" retorted Foxglove, putting her hands on her hips. Her sunglasses fell down her snout slightly. "We can't risk it. We'll have to avoid him until we've done it."

Blossom looked at Raph imploringly. "Don't you think we're being a little bit mean to him?"

Raph scratched the back of his head, a troubled expression on his face. "Shell, Blossom, we can't exactly tell him what we're doing. He'll wanna know why and can ya imagine explainin' it to him? 'Oh, we're just doin' what Charles did ta get expelled so Foxglove can break another rule and sneak out'. Oh sure, he'd totally support us." He grabbed her hands and squeezed them, drawing her eyes into his. " My Sensei said dat sometimes ya have to be cruel ta be kind. This is one of those times."

"I hate to break up this happy moment, but can we arrange a time to meet outside the Lord's office?" asked Foxglove loudly, making them jump apart. "I was serious when I said I wanted a nap."

"How about six o'clock?" suggested Blossom. "Detention starts at half past five, and that gives you one hour to get there and back."

"Piece of cake," said Foxglove. "Six. Got it. Be there on time, because there's no way I'm hanging around there waiting for you."

[At half past six]

Foxglove rounded the corner. She was wearing the same sunglasses as before, but she was also wearing a lucid yellow scarf around her neck. She was wearing a navy blue vest and dark purple trousers that slightly concealed her grey sneakers. She grinned at them, pretending that she couldn't see the irritated expression on Raph's face.

"Ya took yer time," remarked Raph coldly.

"I can't help it if these pants take ages to put on," she told them, picking at one of the legs. "So tight… I think I'll need to go on a diet."

"Now you have less than half an hour to deliver the letter!" moaned Blossom, hopping up and down. "Quickly, use your hair clip to get in."

Foxglove glowered at her but did as she was told. After a few minutes, there was a gentle click and the door creaked open. She straightened up and beamed proudly, holding out her hand for the letter.

Raph pressed it into her hand. "Don't read it. Got it?"

"I'll be a good girl," she told him, tucking it under her arm. Raph wasn't too reassured. "Where should I leave it?"

"Ya know where ya found me? Near there, there's a place called '2nd Time Around'. Go there and put the letter through the mail box. If ya see a redheaded woman or a dark haired man, deliver it and run."

"Okay." She went through the door and Raph could see the lump in the back of her trousers, which was caused by her tail. "I'll see you whenever."

"Make sure you don't get hit by a car!" said Blossom as the door closed. "I heard that they go really fast!"

The remaining two students looked at the door for a bit more, before looking at each other.

"Ya heard dat cars were fast?" Raph asked her, raising his brow.

"I've never seen an actual car before. I've never left the grounds and there isn't one here," she explained.

They were silent for a bit.

"Now what?" asked Raph. He hadn't thought it would be over so… quickly. It hadn't occurred to him that getting in would be so easy. He guessed he had thought that something would go wrong and the rest of the day would have been set up for him by a very angry Warumagi.

Blossom smiled at him, taking hold of his hands. "We have the whole evening to ourselves now, so… we could… you know… go have our dinner… and then relax in the library… and we could go to the dojo for a bit. Though I personally think we should go sit by the lake, before it gets too dark. The day's coming to a close so quickly!"

"We have longer than just a day, Blossom," Raph told her. "We'll have plenty of time to do all dat tomorrow."

She nodded, before catching sight of something and freezing.

There wasn't just one person standing in front of her… now there were two people.

One of them was Warumagi, who was smiling cruelly at her.

"Your time is almost up, Blossom."

"Blossom?"

She blinked, the phantom Warumagi vanishing in a heartbeat. Raph gave her a gentle shake in an attempt to get a reaction out of her. She gazed at him, trembling slightly.

He stared at her, concerned. "What's the matter, Bloss? Ya just zoned out suddenly."

"I'm fine," she mumbled, averting her gaze. "I'm just tired… I thought I saw something." She paused, before saying, "Raph, do you know that I love you?"

Raph was touched. "Aw shell, Bloss. We've only been goin' out for… what, a day? Ya don't think it's a bit early for dat?"

"I know how I feel, and I know that I love you with all my heart," she told him, a lump in her throat. "Do… do you love me?"

"'Course I do."

They leaned towards each other and bumped beaks. The two chuckled, before leaning in again and kissing. It was by far the longest they had ever had, and the giddy feeling that Raph felt made his problems melt away. It was like they had all taken a vacation; the only thing there was him and her. After a few minutes, they broke apart and smiled at each other.

"Let's go have dinner," she told him, moving away from him and heading towards the lunch hall. "I'm starving."

As they ran, she could hear a clock ticking with every step she took.

***

Next time:

'... Deep down, I have the feeling that my time has come. This is
what last night's dream meant.

It was telling me that I would die
tonight...'

Huh....I so wanna know what that dream really means (I hope it doesn´t mean what I think it means). Anyways, this was another turtletastic chapter (I still think that Blossom and Raph look so cute together X3). Keep writing!

Oh crap! Don't let Foxglove leave the school! Does anyone else smell a double cross coming?

Thanks you two. I like Blossom and Raph together too. xD

I smell one too. >:]

Early update. :O

I open my door slowly and look both ways. It's silent and there's no movement whatsoever, seeing as it's late at night and everyone's in their room. Well, nearly everyone. I'm obviously not.

I should be in bed, fast asleep, but I can't settle down and rest. I had been sleeping earlier, but I had the dream with the sand timer again. I woke up all sweaty and hot, and I really needed the toilet. I tried to go back to sleep but I was too uncomfortable. I had decided to go to the toilet, hoping that a walk in the cold school and an empty bladder would help me go back to sleep. The lady's room is quite close to my bedroom and I don't think the Lord will be angry if I leave my room for a bit.

I creep down the corridor, flinching at every apparent creak of a door and every strangely shaped shadow. I think I hear some footsteps and quicken my pace, looking over my shoulder repeatedly at nothing before rounding the corner. I breathe loudly, hearing the thumping sound get louder. I look down and see my chest rising and falling rapidly. Then I realize that it wasn't footsteps I was hearing but my heart beating. I stand still, thinking of happy things. I think of the times when Raph and I are together, and I relax as I remember the wonderful emotion I feel when we kiss. A lot calmer, I start walking again.

The rest of the journey is in silence and I reach the girl's toilets in a matter of minutes. The lights are off and I want to turn them on, but I can't see where the switch is so I have to make do in the darkness. I'm done in about fifteen seconds and flush. It makes a loud whooshing sound, and I worry that it'll wake everyone up. However, by the time it is gurgling gently, the room is as deserted as before. I shake my head as I wash my hands. I'm sure it's not that loud during the day.

I leave, gently closing the door behind me. Now comes the simple task of getting back to my room and falling asleep. It should be easier now.

I tiptoe a few feet before hearing something move behind me. I continue walking, but then I hear the sound again. I gulp, turning my head and seeing something dark move swiftly across the corridor. I turn around completely, my mouth dry. I wait to see if it comes back. It doesn't. I slowly face forward again and shuffle along.

Stamp… stamp… stamp…

'It's your imagination, Blossom,' I reassure myself. It's just your heart thumping again. Think of happy things, and it will go away.

Stamp… stamp… stamp…

I close my eyes and try to blot out my surroundings. I'm dancing… I'm dancing… I'm dancing and Raph is watching me, spellbound.

Herph… Herph… Herph…

I open my eyes. It's breathing. I'm not imagining things. I look over my shoulder and spin around on the spot, so I'm facing whatever it is. I don't know why I'm scared. It's probably one of the other students.

Only…

It's not.

The only source of light is a window and it does a poor job of lighting the thing up, but it's good enough for me to be able to see it. The thing is large, way more than seven feet tall, with dirty grey fur all over its body. Its eyes are small slits, but from what I can see they're yellow. It is only about two metres away from me, and it is sniffing the air like crazy. It lowers its head and glares at me. I stay where I'm standing, not wanting to provoke it. If I run, it might attack me.

It approaches me slowly as if it thinks I might suddenly attack it. It stops when it's close enough for me to smell its hot breath. I barely let myself breathe because I'm too terrified.

I tell myself I have to move. I can't keep standing there. He... She… It… Whatever it is might attack me at any moment. I'm the perfect victim, standing still in the middle of the corridor, not making any attempt to get away. I shudder.

'Run. Go on, run.'

I jerk my body and begin running off. It stays where it is for a moment, recovering from the shock of me suddenly running, before going after me. It is very fast and it's only a matter of seconds before it catches up with me. I turn my head wildly, searching frantically for a way to escape it. I see a small corridor and run into it. The creature runs past it and has to reverse. This gives me a few extra seconds.

I reach the end and there is a door. Normally I would be able to tell where it leads to, but right now I can't think straight. The door doesn't open and I slam my fists onto it. I can't scream because my throat seems to have blocked up. I rest my head on the door, praying for it to magically unlock.

Miraculously, the door opens. I can't hear the creature anymore, but I still run in like it is right behind me. I'm in a new corridor now. There is another door at the end that lets me in straight away.

I fall into a bright room. My face is on the ground, so I can't see, but I hear the door close behind me. Slowly, relieved, I lift my head. I can't hear the creature.

So I must be safe.

I make eye contact with the Lord.

Ah.

Maybe not then.

I scramble to my feet and bow in front of him. I can't see his face now but a moment ago he didn't look very pleased. I blush, keeping my head down. "I'm so sorry! I… I…"

I straighten my back and look up, at a loss for words. He raises his left eyebrow, waiting for an answer. The clock on his wall ticks gently.

Tick, tock, tick, tock...

I cough, scuffing my left foot against the ground. Then, I build up enough courage to tell him what happened. "Sir, there was this… this creature. It chased me." I point to the door. "Did you see it?"

He nods slowly. "Indeed I did."

I stare at him with wide eyes before remembering my manners. "Um… Thank you for rescuing me." My desperation to find out what just happened makes me impatient, so I say, "What was that? Why was it here?"

He exhales deeply before looking at me. "We have a lot to talk about. Please take a seat."

I spot a comfy looking chair and sit down on it. He sits behind his desk, looking very severe. Normally I would feel very intimidated but I still remember what I found out about him: how he didn't let Raph have those letters from his family. This makes me angry at him and feel less frightened.

He leans forward and studies me, a pensive expression on his face. It's like he's wondering what he should tell me. I try and work out what's so difficult about doing that. I mean, he either does know or doesn't know how that creature got into the school. He's taking way too long to answer a simple enough question.

After a while he ducks his head slightly, though he keeps his eyes on me. "First things first. I'll answer your questions if you answer a few of mine. You have made good friends with Raphael, haven't you?"

I nod. "I guess so."

"How good friends are you two?"

"Very good friends."

"You like him a lot, don't you?"

I nod again, not seeing what he's getting at.

The Lord laughs coldly. I laugh under my breath, feeling uneasy. For some reason, I think that if I laugh then I'll see what's so funny.

I don't.

He stops and glares at me. "Very good friends indeed. I'm a little confused about how good friends you both are. I feel… like you have stepped over that line and become something more than just..." He spat the next bit. "Good friends."

I blush, beginning to see what he's getting at. I am willing to admit we more than just like each other, but there's something about the way the Lord is staring at me that makes me hold back this piece of information. "Oh, not at all. We're just… very good friends."

"I didn't know very good friends kiss each other and hold hands. So tell me, how good friends are you with him?"

I blink. He couldn't know about me and Raph kissing… could he? He hadn't been near us for ages… unless Katrina had told him about the time near the lake? But hadn't she been unconscious? Why would she tell the Lord? And why does he want to know this? It has nothing to do with what we are talking about. What if he spied on us? It's a creepy thought and I push it out of my mind.

I remain silent, biting my tongue.

"You're my brightest student, Blossom. You should know the answer."

I do, I do, I do. I just don't want to tell him. I try to weasel out of answering him. "I'm not, sir. If I was, I would have graduated by now."

He wiggles in his seat with a stern expression on his face, but I swear I can see some sadness in his eyes. "You are, Blossom. You're so very, very intelligent. It breaks my heart knowing I am about to see you go to waste."

"Sorry?" I reply, confused. What did he mean by 'go to waste'? I'm not going anywhere… unless… "Am I graduating, sir?"

"Something like that," he murmurs. He gives me a strange look that makes me want to hide under the desk. "You and Raph have been sharing a lot of secrets recently, particularly ones about me."

I give him the blankest expression I can manage. "Secrets? About you?"

"Oh please. Don't take me for an idiot," he growls. "I'm referring to Katrina hiding Raphael's letters. Does that ring any bells?"

Katrina had to have told him all this. I hadn't told him, and Raph would never tell him. I feel betrayed, but I know I could never feel as let down as Raph. I clench my fists and stare at the Lord furiously. "Yes it does. How could you do such a thing? He trusted her and you betrayed him."

He ignores me but I persist.

"How could you do that?"

He glares at me. I think he won't answer but he does. "I have my reasons. I… am searching for someone. I am sure he will try and come here in a matter of time... to make sure Raphael is okay. Then, I'll have him right where I want him."

I remember what I heard from Raph and murmur, "Raph was right… How could you want to do such a thing?"

"You don't understand. I have to capture him. I need to get revenge."

"Revenge on who?"

He ignores me and begins to pace. I watch him guardedly, raising my arms into a cross shape in front of my chest.

"They will regret turning me out… rejecting me… isolating me… It's their fault… They made this happen…" He punches the palm of his hand, rage exploding out of his eyes. "They ruined everything. They… I… My darling… You… I must... get… Leonardo… Then I can create… my revenge… a new life for us…"

He stops, looking like he has just said too much. He turns to me, a pained expression on his face.

"I'm so sorry. I wanted you to stay here for longer, but you've simply gone too far. Melissa doesn't want to see you with Raphael. It angers her. Anyway, you know too much. I can't let you go away with this knowledge in your head."

I don't say anything, my mind running at high speed. Who is Melissa? Why would she not want Raph and I to be together? Why does her opinion matter? I stare at him, but I don't think he is paying me any more attention. It's like he's gone into his own little world.

"You know far too many things for your own good. I can't risk having you know about things I must keep secret. But don't worry… I'm on the verge of finding an antidote. Soon all of my problems will be fixed."

What things do I know? The creature? The letters? The Lord's plan? This antidote I know nothing about? I don't know what he thinks I know, but I do know I'm scared.

I get to my feet.

He sees.

He smirks.

"Where do you think you're going?"

I stand dumbly, unable to come up with an answer. I don't know what I'm going to do. I don't know what I can do.

"We can do this the easy way, or we can do it the hard way," he says, walking towards me. He tries to grab me, but I dodge out of the way. I run towards the door of his office and open it. The creature doesn't appear to be there so I run out. I don't think the Lord's chasing after me, but I hear him yell, "You can run, but you can't hide."

I go through the corridor and another door. I look both ways before choosing to go left. I have to find Raph and tell him what is happening. He would believe me. He would be able to make sense of this. He would be able to protect me. Though deep down, I have the feeling that my time has come. This is what last night's dream meant.

It was telling me I would die tonight.

I sniff sadly but keep running. Maybe Raph can't help me this time. I think this but still want to see him. I want to tell him how much I care about him, and how I will always remember him.

I hear a snarling sound and turn my head. The creature from before is approaching me. I move away from it, walking backwards. I see the Lord walk out of the corridor and step behind the creature. It don't acknowledge his presence. My eyes dart between the two of them as I try to make sense of the situation. He catches my eye and smiles, walking to the creature's side and stroking it.

My blood runs cold.

They're friends.

The Lord points and the creature jumps at me. I manage to roll out of the way and get to my feet.

I run for my life. I can hear the creature chasing me. I allow myself to look over my shoulder for a brief moment to see the Lord returning to his office. I gasp and pick up my pace.

I stagger forward and lose my balance. I feel myself make impact with the ground. The creature takes advantage of this and jumps on top of me.

I scream, kicking its chest furiously. I don't seem to be making any effect on it. Frantically, I slide against the ground and slip out from beneath it. I sprint for all I'm worth with the creature following me from behind.

I enter a new corridor. There are a few doors in it but I go for the one at the end. There's a piece of paper on it. I don't have the time to read it now, so I rip the note off and go inside. I can hear the creature sniffing around the outside of the door, but after a while it stops. I don't know if it's because it's gone or if it's waiting for me to come out, but I'm not prepared to check any time soon. I find a light switch and flick it so I can see where I am.

The wallpaper must have been coloured at some point, but now it is white. I can feel the dust cling to my feet as I cross the room, looking around. There's a plain looking double bed in the corner and I notice a pair of slippers next to it, which is weird because I don't think this is anybody's room. I think about picking them up so I can examine them closely, but I remember the piece of paper I have in my hands. I glance down at it.

'Keep closed or face expulsion'.

I drop it in horror. I've just broken an important rule. Then I remember I have just about been expelled anyway. It's not like breaking another rule would make a difference. But still… I don't like the feeling. I stare at my hands for a moment before looking at the door.

I can't leave. Suppose the creature's still there? What is more important: breaking a silly rule or getting eaten?

I come to a decision. I'll stay here for a bit and then go straight to Raph's room. I sit on the edge of the bed. It groans under my weight. It's very stiff and hard, so I stand up and pick up one of the pillows. There's a piece of paper under it. I know it's rude to look through other people's things, but I'm curious.

I hold it in both of my hands and read it slowly. As I read on, my hands begin to tremble and vomit builds up in the back of my mouth. I swallow, slowly lifting my gaze.

I can't believe it.

I reread it, hoping I had read it incorrectly. I close my eyes and feel tears leak out of them.

It has to be a joke.

Tick, tock, tick, tock…

I hear a banging on the door, which is followed by a scraping sound. The creature knows I'm in here. My mouth goes dry, and I don't know what to do. I stuff the piece of paper back under the pillow and look around desperately.

I try to find a weapon to protect myself with. I attempt to open the drawer of a nearby vanity, but it's locked. I move away from it and search under the bed for a weapon. Unfortunately, all I discover is a box of makeup.

My body shakes as I realize there is no way I can fight it off. It wouldn't just drop dead if I put lipstick on it.

Tick, tock, tick, tock…

I go to the closet and open it. Loud piano music wafts out of it, each delicate note sending a shiver up my spine. There are dozens of clothes in it and when I take hold of one, I recognize it instantly. I recognize the music filling the room. I recognize the room, even though I don't remember coming in here previously. Though of course I must have been in here...

Tick, tock, tick, tock…

After all...

Tick, tock, tick, tock…

I am-

I hear the door rip off its hinges...

I don't turn…

I can't…

Then…

Ring ring ring ring!

Blossom's scream ran through the building.

woah...

That is one intense chapter, livi! XD Wow...I wonder what's gonna happen next?