Pleasant Dreams, Waking Nightmare
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Chapter Five
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Splinter walked slowly past the sleeping forms of his sons. He paused at Leonardo, who was sitting up against the far wall, his chin resting on his chest.
He sighed and placed his hand on top of Leonardo's head. "Oh, my son..."
He could feel the presence in Leonardo's mind, as he could with all his sons, still in the outer levels. Even if they did not realize it, his sons had strong mental shields, but he could feel they were beginning to wear down. He'd have to work quickly.
"Splinter?"
The old rat turned at the sound of April's quiet call. She was walking slowly through the infirmary door, looking at the turtles with a worried and confused expression on her face. "Splinter, what happened? Are they-?"
Splinter gently took the bag she was carrying from her hands and guided her over to an empty chair. "It is difficult to explain. Their minds have been attacked, and whatever it is it's draining them of their life force. Some type of psychic vampire."
April covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes widening to the size of dinner plates. Splinter continued to remove the items from her bag, setting them next to the things he had already set out.
April's eyes moved over the four still figures. "Shouldn't they be... fighting back, or something?"
"This is a very cunning adversary," he told her. "As well as very powerful. A dangerous combination. The demon is using the turtle's dreams to get past their defenses, as Don theorized. They probably don't even realize they are in danger."
April swallowed, with some difficulty due to the lump in her throat. She turned to say something to Splinter and her words froze in her throat. He looked like he had aged years since she'd seen him last, just a few days ago. As focused as he was on his task, the worry still showed in his eyes.
Splinter turned to her, confidence flashing in his dark eyes. "I have a plan, April, but I am going to need your help. Listen very carefully, I do not have time to repeat myself..."
***
Splinter felt the serene landscape of his preferred astral "getaway" flow around him. His homeland as he remembered it stretched out before him. Here, he was safe, secure, defended.
The last thing he wanted to be.
He had to lure the entity attacking his sons into the open. And for that, he had to appear weak enough to be worth attacking. He kept many defenses up, and was still very aware, as he started walking through the tall grasses.
The landscape changed, becoming darker, more industrial. New York. His old home melted away to his new home, but before long the darkness became so complete he could no longer see where he was going. The darkness didn't worry him; he simply switched to his other senses.
He could hear only his own footsteps, and there wasn't even a breeze to ruffle his fur. But the smell... He followed the smell, even though it was unpleasant, because it was all he could do. His mind couldn't even sense another presence. Perhaps the entity was smart enough to know a trap...
Splinter suddenly stopped a few feet from where a shaft of light appeared on the floor before him. He was about to see if he could find the source of the light when something else caught his eye. The light had fallen over two people, fallen over each other, a pool of blood spreading over the floor.
He was in his Master Hamato Yoshi's apartment, the night Oroku Saki had come to avenge his brother's death. He could see his empty cage over in the corner. He backed into another corner, repeating to himself that this was all in his mind, and that he had a malevolent entity to be weary of, he couldn't drop his guard.
A shadow was cast over the bodies. Splinter looked to see a small child standing in the doorway. He squinted and could just make out that it was a young girl. He recognized her as one of the children in the apartment complex, one of the ones Shen watched while their parents worked. This one had also been one of the few Yoshi had taken on as a student. Akako, that was her name. She'd always brought him treats and table scraps, and played with him, and saved him when the other children got too rough. He had a sudden urge to rush over and hide the horrible sight from her innocent eyes.
He watched in amazement as she began walking towards the bodies, aging with ever step, until she was the age she would be in the present. She knelt down, and Splinter realized that Yoshi and Shen's bodies had vanished, though it did not concern him. He focused on listening to Akako's small voice talking in rushed Japanese. Splinter's eyes got wide and couldn't stop himself from leaping forward and grabbing her wrists as she raised the dagger in front of her.
"Akako, no!"
Splinter managed to wrench the weapon from her hand and she just sat there looking down at her empty hands. After several minutes of silence she leaned over and began sobbing into Splinter's shoulder. This caught Splinter by surprise, and he brought his hand around to pat her back.
"It's all right, child. There was nothing you could have done."
"I... I never avenged them. I let their honor die with them."
Splinter tilted her chin up. "Their deaths have been avenged."
He saw relief seep into her eyes and her self-hate flow out in the form of tears. He wiped those tears away.
Akako sniffed once and placed her small, pale hand over his. "You have a very comforting spirit." Before Splinter knew what was happening she was leaning towards him.
Splinter started as the sound of a loud bell rang through the room. Akako pulled away from him with her hands over her ears, screeching in pain. He felt concern for her, wondering why she was in pain, the ringing was rather pleasant...
He pulled back the hand reaching for her and clenched it into a fist. He stood up, bringing Akako's dagger up with him. "Release my sons."
Akako glared up at him. The ringing had stopped, but it had done its job. "They say rats are intelligent creatures, but you're too smart for your own good." She leapt at him, her hands turning into claws, the rest of her morphing in mid air.
Splinter ducked, raising the dagger up as she flew past him. It sliced a long gash on her arm, which dripped a thick black liquid. She turned, her long black hair blowing around her as if it had a life of its own. She had skin of deep green, and eyes that were nothing more than empty spaces in her skull. She clutched one viciously clawed hand over her wound as she hissed at Splinter.
"I said, release my sons."
The creature that was previously Akako snarled, fog rolling in past her feet. Splinter focused on her, determined not to fall for any more of her tricks. But he found himself growing curious when the fog swept upwards, creating oval-shaped swirls of color. His attention was fully drawn away from the feminine creature when the pictures came into focus.
He saw Michaelangelo, rolling through the waves on a beach with a young woman. Then Raphael and a rather voluptuous red head. These must be their dreams. How this demon witch manage to ensnare them... Donatello and a longhaired woman under a waterfall. Leonardo in the lair with his fantasy.
Splinter turned his focus back to the vampire causing all this. "What kind of evil creature would use the dreams of others to manipulate and destroy them?"
"What kind of monster would deny them those dreams?" Her voice hissed, and Splinter caught a quick glimpse of a forked, snake-like tongue. She turned and gestured towards the dream windows. "I've given them what they wanted. A chance to be accepted as they are, wanted despite what they are. Even because of it. A life you and the rest of the world has denied them."
Splinter casually glanced at the images, keeping one eye on the demon-woman. She was trying to appeal to him, confuse him. He would not fall for it. No matter how much his sons seemed to enjoy their little fantasies, they were just illusions. And those illusions would end when all their energy was drained, leaving them as nothing but empty shells.
The ringing came again and the witch clasped her hands to her ears again. A new fog rolled in, this one a brownish-gray, that combined with the dark gray of the dream windows, highlighting golden areas. Those golden strands led back to the demon. Splinter narrowed his eyes and twirled the dagger he still carried in his hand.
He brought the blade down on Michaelangelo's thread first, since he had been connected the longest, then moved to Raphael's. The portals evaporated when the links were cut. The demoness screeched as he moved to Donatello's.
"No!" She leapt towards him and managed to tackle him to the ground. They fought over the dagger, both struggling to get and keep a good grip. The blade sliced through the two remaining threads coming from the demon's chest. "NO!"
Splinter leapt back, having taken the dagger from her grasp. He watched her collapse to her knees, howling.
"I could have lived for centuries off their energy!" She looked up at Splinter. "I wouldn't have killed them, I need them to stay alive."
Splinter simply glared at her. "Leeching off others is no way to live." He shifted the dagger between his fingers. "And I cannot let you continue using others as you do."
The demon stood and screamed. "Do I not have the right to survive as much as you do!?"
Splinter let the dagger fly.
***
"Splinter? Splinter, can you hear me?"
Splinter let his other senses orient themselves before opening his eyes. He was back in the infirmary. He did a quick mental sweep. Yes, it was what he knew as real, and not another projection from the demon parasite. He tried to stand, but felt surprisingly weak.
"Don't more." That was April's voice. He looked up and focused on her face. She looked tired, but relieved. He heard movement and groaning in the background. The turtles...
"Are they all...?"
"They're all awake now, Splinter. You did it." She grinned, and Splinter couldn't help but return a smile. He looked past her to see Leonardo up and checking on his brothers. Michaelangelo was still lying down, rubbing his eyes. Raphael yawned, then fell back down on the bed and Leonardo started to lecture him about standing too fast. Donatello was up checking the vitals of the ones connected to machines.
Splinter sighed. They had won, they were all back.
"Sensei, are you all right?"
Splinter looked up at Leonardo, who was looking down at him with concern. "Yes, Leonardo, I will be fine."
"Wha' happened?" Mike asked, his voice still heavy from sleep.
Splinter managed to stand with help from Leonardo and his walking stick. "Some type of energy vampire was attacking you. It... She was non-corporeal, and entered your minds, your dreams, in order to secure a link to your life force."
"So... our dreams..." Donatello started to say, a light blush creeping up under the green tone of his skin.
"Were merely distractions." Splinter allowed himself a small smile. "What better way to distract four teenage males."
Donatello nodded, then his eyes widened and his blush got brighter. "You saw..."
Now Mikey was starting to blush, though not as brightly as Donatello. Leonardo looked down and Raphael just shrugged and stretched his arms over his head.
"I saw tricks, illusions placed in your mind by what was trying to destroy you." He looked pointedly at Leonardo, who seemed to feel ashamed he was unable to resist. "They were very convincing. The demon was very cunning, I too almost fell prey."
Leonardo looked up in surprise. The turtles looked at each other and Splinter, not sure how they should feel about that statement.
"If not for April," Splinter continued. "I would have fallen into the darkness as well."
April hugged the bell she was holding to her chest. "Glad I could help. I'm so glad you all are all right." She suddenly rushed over and hugged each of the turtles, and even gave a hug to Splinter. "Usually I'd say you would all need some bed rest..."
Raphael jerked his neck to the side, resulting in a loud popping of joints. "Screw that, I'm getting something to eat."
Mike agreed whole-heartedly and jumped up to go prepare a meal.
"We will call for take out, Michaelangelo," Splinter called before he could leave the room. "You have all had your energy drained away. You need time to replenish it. A good meal will help."
April grabbed a pen and pad of paper from the counter. She tore off the top page, a bunch of notes Donatello had scribbled down from his research. "I'll take orders and go get them. Just tell me what you want."
Four voices began to talk at once, then automatically fell into taking turns, each giving their orders to April, who quickly wrote them down. She bit her lip when she realized she'd probably have to go to at least three different places. Splinter gave his request last.
When she left, everyone migrated into the main room. The infirmary was not a place any of them wanted to stay very long. Splinter looked at each of his sons. They all were well, but something hovered around them he couldn't quite identify. Perhaps a side effect from the attack, which would pass with time. But he would have to watch them carefully.
"Hey, Donnie," Mike whispered quietly. "What'd yours look like?"
Donatello just buried his head in the TV Guide.
***