Pleasant Dreams, Waking Nightmare
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Authors Notes: Just to let you all know, since a couple people were wondering, in the last chapter, Mike was dreaming. Thanks everyone for the reviews.
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Chapter Two
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Raphael paced back and forth across the room. He kept passing by the foot of the cot that Mike was resting on. His poor brother, struck down by some unseen force. Although there was no sign of foul play, he knew that's exactly what had happened. And he was going to make them pay.
Leonardo pulled his eyes from his distraught brother and turned towards Donatello, busy rustling through books and papers. "Found anything?"
Don shook his head, not looking up. "Nothing matches. It would be great if there was some symptom other than 'he won't wake up'."
"All your tests came back negative?"
Don growled under his breath. "Yeah. I expected something. Poison, a virus, bad pizza! Anything!"
Raphael stopped in front of them and punched his fist into the opposite palm. "I say we go out and get the bastard that did this."
"And where do you suppose we started looking?" Leo asked, his voice raising slightly. "We don't even know who is behind this, if there's anyone behind it at all!"
"Of course someone's behind it! Stuff like this doesn't happen at random, ya know!"
"Raphael!"
Splinter stepped into the room and up to the cot Michaelangelo was resting on. He placed an aged, furry hand on the Turtle's forehead and frowned. "This is not the work of an outside force," he told his students.
They all exchanged glances, a bit confused by their sensei's cryptic answer.
"Not an outside force?" Donatello repeated. "Does that mean it's some sort of biological ailment?"
"No," Splinter replied, turning towards the group.
"Then there's someone causing it?" Raphael figured. Good, he was hoping to beat the crap out of whoever had done this.
"Perhaps."
Raphael frowned. "Perhaps? What the hell is that? There either is or there isn't!" he snapped.
Leonardo stood and shoved Raphael's shoulder. "Don't speak to Master Splinter like that!"
Splinter cleared his throat loudly, interrupting the fight that was threatening to occur. "Fighting amongst ourselves will not solve anything. I am not sure what is going on. When I tried to reach Michaelangelo through meditation I encountered... a wall."
"A... wall?" Donatello repeated.
"Yes, a wall. Something is blocking his mind, keeping him apart from the waking world. I could sense him there, but could not reach him. I also sensed another... presence in his mind."
"How... how is that possible?" Leo asked. "Is it dangerous?"
"Of course it's dangerous!" Raphael snapped. "Look what's it's done to Mikey!"
Splinter continued on as if he hadn't heard Raphael's outburst. "It may very well be. I sensed Michaelangelo's life force becoming weaker."
"No," Raphael whispered.
Leonardo glanced at Raphael, knowing the pain his brother must be going through at the moment. He was feeling it too, but he couldn't worry about Raph when it was Mikey in need of help. "Sensei, I want to... see this wall."
Splinter slowly shook his head. "I do not think that is wise, Leonardo. I do not know what we are dealing with."
"Which is why I think we should try and learn more about it."
Raphael growled under his breath and went back to pacing. Splinter sighed. "I need to rest," he told Leonardo. "Then I will guide you. I do not want any of you going alone, this is beyond anything you have ever dealt with before."
Leonardo wanted to convince Splinter that time was of the essence, but he had the feeling Splinter knew that all too well. "As you wish, Master." He left the room with Splinter.
Don stood up and stretched. "Hey, Raph. Could you keep an eye on things here while I go get some other books?"
"Huh?" Raph stopped pacing and looked at Don. "Yeah, okay. It's not like he's going anywhere."
Don patted him on the shoulder on his way out and Raphael took a seat in Donnie's chair at the desk. He looked over the papers before turning around in the chair to face Mike.
At least he didn't seem to be in any pain. In fact, he was smiling a little. The only movement was the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed and the movement of his eyes behind their lids.
Raphael crossed his arms over the back of the chair and rested his chin on them. He wondered what Mike was dreaming about. He hoped it was something good, and that when he did wake up he would snap at them for pulling him from a sweet dream.
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Raphael took another gulp from his drink as he scanned the dance floor. Vampires, witches, and mummies swayed and danced to the music along side princesses, celebrities, and angels.
Angels... one in particular had caught his eye earlier and had been passing through his line of sight all night. Just as a new song started up she came into view again and Raph smiled behind his cup.
She had put a Gothic twist on the angel idea, using black and red instead of the traditional white and gold theme. Her hips swayed to the music, causing the black satin of her long dress to seemingly float over the floor as she headed straight for him. He wondered how long it had taken her to weave all those black ribbons into her red hair... and how the hell were they staying up there? He couldn't figure out how her glossy black wings were attached either.
He admired her low cut top until she was standing right in from of him. A playful smile captured her dark red lips as she introduced herself. "I'm Seraphim."
"Raphael. Tell me, do angels usually fly this low?" he asked, meeting her emerald green gaze.
Seraphim gave a half eye-roll. "Smooth."
"Yeah, I thought so, too." Raph smirked over the rim of his glass. Man, the lecture Leo would give him if he knew what he was doing. Raphael's vision suddenly got fuzzy and he shook his head to clear it away.
He felt a hand on his arm. "Are you alright?" said a far-away voice.
"Yeah, M'okay."
"Maybe you should lie down..."
"Sounds..." Raphael felt himself falling backwards onto a soft surface. "Like a good idea."
"See?" Seraphim smiled as she leaned over him. "It's much nicer here." They were now in another room, although he could still hear the music. She ran her hand down his arm. "Feeling better?"
Raph nodded silently. Lying in bed with a beautiful woman, what could be nicer? Hey, maybe she had a friend he could introduce Mikey to. The headache suddenly came back, burning the backs of his eyes.
"I want you to stay with me," Seraphim whispered in his ear. She kissed his jaw, trailing down his neck.
Raph sighed contentedly. "I wasn't gonna leave," he mumbled. He felt the headache fading away, along with whatever he had been thinking about before.
"You're a stubborn one, aren't you?" Seraphim purred.
Raph smirked. "So I've been told." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his chest. The dress he was admiring earlier was now an obstacle standing in his way. Just as his fingers brushed against the lacings, the fabric seemed to disappear beneath his fingers, which moved roughly over her pale skin. Seraphim's fingers were busy curling underneath the bottom edge of his plastron.
Seraphim let out a quiet squeak as Raphael flipped her onto her back and pinned her wrists to the mattress. "Thought you could catch me by surprise, did you?"
Seraphim smiled up at him. "You can't blame a girl for trying."
Raph just gave her a half-smirk and lowered his mouth to hers. He decided that the time for conversation was over and that he'd let his body do the talking. He let go of her wrists and slid his arms underneath her.
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