Ninja Falls

Traveling

I looked in the backseat to check on everyone. We took the party wagon on our way out of town, and since we knew New York wasn't safe anymore, Casey and I came up with a plan that was starting to get everyone on each other's nerves. I caught Donnie's eye and he smiled, and I smiled back at him and the other's. I looked at Leo and he still hasn't woken up. Raph was going through rotating rounds of anger at Shredder, grief for Splinter and concern for Leo while constantly comforting Mikey, and Mikey was hugging his teddy bear and asking questions we could and couldn't answer. It had been a rough trip so far, and Casey and I only stopped to get gas or switch drivers. We also went through a few drive thru's for pizza. But now our money was running low and so was the pizza.

Casey and I both had family in Gravity Falls, Oregon, so we decided the smartest thing to do was head there and wait until Leo heals up. At this point we weren't too far away from where my cousin's live, and I gave Casey directions to their house in Gravity Falls.

"Shoulda known." He muttered with a smirk on his face.

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, red, just that you and the Corduroy's are, well... redheads, with attitude." I decided to take that as a compliment when he laughed for the first time since we left New York.

"And your family? McGuckit? Northwest? Valentino? Pines?" I rattled off the few people I could think of. He stayed quiet after that, which intrigued me so much that I kept bugging him. "Well? Tell me Casey, I'll find out anyways."

"Pines." He said as he clenched the steering wheel tighter and sped up a bit more. I looked at him in confusion. Did I hit a nerve or something?

"Careful Jones! Mikey just got back to sleep and you almost knocked Leo out of this pool. We don't have enough water to keep refilling this kiddie pool and keep all six of us hydrated."

"Sorry!" I glanced over at everyone, and it looked like the only one who was awake still was Raph. The three of them had been taking turns on watching Leo in a kiddie pool we grabbed and filled as Donnie instructed to help keep him hydrated. None of us knew enough about what happened to Leo other then being attacked by Shredder to help him. Leo knows more about healing though. Splinter used to teach him how to heal poisons and wounds. He worked on Raph with his temper and self control and let Donnie make things in the lab. Usually we would work on a retro mutagen together. And Splinter would help Mikey with, well, Mikey's a different case. Either way, Raph took the longest shifts watching him and the shortest breaks sleeping. I knew how guilty he felt when I saw a tear slide down his face every now and then. Mr. Tough Turtle was such a soft shell when any of his brothers were hurt or in danger.

Donnie watched Leo second most longest and checked the kiddie pool so he could say that Leo was going to be alright. I knew in his eyes that he had no idea if he was going to wake up again. And we had just lost Splinter. I knew the brothers were hurting badly, but all we could do right now was focus on finding a safe place for us all. We had to believe Leo was going to wake up. He had to.

Mikey was completely devastated by all these changes. It was just terrible to see him crying so much and constantly staring at his brother with those sad, heartbroken eyes. He was cuddled up with Donnie and Raph, and they just let him sleep whenever he managed to. He sobbed a lot, and we couldn't reassure him that everything would be alright because none of us were sure. He would talk to Leo, telling him that he'd never disobey his orders again and that he'd even clean his room, but only if he woke up before he said Booyahkasha. He tried to be hopeful, but everyone saw how broken he was. It was heartbreaking to see the four of them like this.

I took out a map, then told Casey which road to take.

"Wait a second, that's to the Mystery Shack!"

"And it's closer than my uncle's house. We're almost out of gas, Casey, what's the big deal?" He didn't answer me as he drove to the shack, color leaving his face. When he finally pulled up with the headlights off, he turned to me and explained.

"My dad's dad died here. Stanley Pines. His brother lives here, so we made a few trips over the years, and every time we see my great uncle Stanford, I just have a feeling about him. Like he's lying about something."

"That's twisted logic," Donnie said as he suppressed laughter. I glanced over at him with a glare then sighed. I can't really get mad when he's actually trying to make light of things.

"No, twisted logic is the silent motto of Gravity Falls." Casey said as he scanned the shack. It looked like a costume party was going on.

"Trust no one." I muttered. "We have to pay to get in to this place?"

"I think we can get around it. That's your cousin Wendy, right?" He honked the horn and her head shot over to us. I would recognized her and her new pinetree hat anywhere.

"That's her! I'll be right back, you guys stay here." I jumped out of the van to go talk to her when I realized I was still all dressed up in my Kunoichi outfit. Running up to the ticket stand, we both squealed happily.

"April! Long time no see! Where's Uncle Kirby?" That caught me off guard. This whole time I tried to think of something to tell my family, but I felt the tears sting my eyes when she asked.

"Wen, you're not going to believe me."

"Did you two get into a fight or something? Dad and I fight all the time, but we get over it."

Then there was a whisper. I was looking at my shoe's when I heard the most familiar voice talking to me. But-But this wasn't possible!

"We saw you die!"

"You saw me fail April. Getting Leonardo to a safe place is more important now. Find a way to keep my sons safe. Please, April, don't let me down. Like I have my son. Don't let him—"

"He won't die! Raph won't let him." When I opened my eyes again, Wendy was staring at me like I've gone crazy.

"What was that? Chinese?"

"Huh? Oh! Was I speaking in Japanese? I guess that would make sense."

"You're going to have to explain everything to me later. In the meantime, why don't you and your friends come in and enjoy the party? I'll cover the money."

"That's actually why we're here. Things in New York are insane. And one of my friends are hurt very badly. Jones and I need to hide the four of them in case we were followed by Shredder or the Kraang." Her reaction surprised me.

"Give me five minutes and then I might have a solution for you and your friends."

"Wen, I don't think you understan-" and she was gone. I started back to the car when she returned with two old men and two kids dressed as pirates.

"This is Stan Pines and his brother Ford. And the buccaneer's here are Dipper and Mabel Pines. I asked them if they could help you out."

"Who's hurt, and why do you need to hide?"

"I'll show you. Please just... don't freak out."

I started walking again, my heart pumping faster at the idea of what I was about to do.

But then again, we were just about all out of options.