Myths Become Reality - A TMNT Fanfic

Chapter 8: The Search

It was raining as we ran over the rooftops of New York. We followed patches of green blood. The good thing about the rain, the marks would be gone by dawn. The bad thing, they'll be gone before we can find the end of the trail.

"Donnie! How old is the blood? That might tell us how close we are!" Leo called to me from an adjacent rooftop.
"Good idea!" I call back. Why didn't I think of that? I stopped at the next patch and began to scan it. The rain wouldn't make it easy to tell how old, but if I did some calculations, deduct the amount of moisture... "It's about ten minutes old," I told my brothers, who had gathered around me.
"Good job Donnie. C'mon guys, let's go," We follow after Leo as he continues in the direction we had been going before. We were heading towards a bunch of abandoned and demolished buildings. They used to be a family-friendly apartment complex, some of the older ones even had fireplaces on the ground floor.

As we drew nearer, the patches had become sparser, then were gone altogether. There weren't any new patches in the nearby vicinity either. Mikey had taken it upon himself to explore some of the buildings. "Hey dudes!" I heard him shout. "I found another handprint!" We all found the building Mikey was in. It formed a straight tunnel into a large empty area, possibly once a large garden. We wandered into the large open space.
"Well, now what?" Raph grumbled.
"We look," Leo said. And so we did. We searched the large space and nearby buildings. Not finding anything, we gathered and discussed a search pattern. Until I heard something.
"Hey guys?"
"What?" Raph snapped.
"U-um, do you hear that?" I ask. They stopped and listened.

A haunting melody drifts around the buildings. Mist gathers around our feet and the rain lightens a little, enough to hear the song better. Raph had shifted uncomfortably when the mist gathered. Maybe he's scared of ghosts? Hehehe... Mikey wasn't looking too comfy either.

I stopped focusing on my brother's discomfort and listened. The voice was soft, and yet held power and presence. It almost seemed like the voice commanded the rain and mist. It curled around the walls and twisted through the fog. "This way," I whispered. My brothers followed me as I led them to the source of the melody. The single floor of this building was barely standing. We had somehow overlooked this one as we searched. It was right on the edge of the garden space. Soft dirt shifted under my sandals. I crept close to a wall, and used it for cover. I pulled out my bō staff, just in case. I heard my brothers unsheathe their weapons also. We crept inside.

The first room was barely there. There were two walls and barely a quarter of ceiling. The next used to be a kitchen. There were pots and pans with barely any rust. It amazed me, considering this place was abandoned over eight years ago. With the rain falling on them they should have rusted a long time ago. There were two rooms left to check. We searched the one on the right first. It used to be a bedroom. A half-rotted four poster bed sat in the middle. A bookshelf that used to be full of books was on its side, books strewn everywhere. There were many torn areas on the covers. A dresser was smashed, against the far wall under the only section of roof. We left to check the next room. The melody, which had stopped before, now began again.

"Go home to your love, go home to your fam-i-ly.
Watch them grow old, and listen to their pleas.
Don't ever forget, always remember, never leave, and return to your an-cest-ors.
They will always remember, like you will remember, to always whenever, remember your love...
Fa lon dayun doskshun yun, I will always remember you,"

We crept into the living room. A demolished fireplace was set into the far wall. There was a little ceiling above the doorway and the remains of a couch. A small, curled up figure sat in the furtherest corner. Clutched in clawed hands was a scrap of cloth. The melody stopped when the wooden floors creaked.

Her head snapped up, nostrils flaring, catching our scent. A snake-like tongue whipped out to confirm it. Her ears had swivelled towards us, then pinned themselves back against her head. Sharp fangs were revealed and a low, terrifyingly threatening growl escaped. "Who are you?" She roared. Within milliseconds, she had leapt to her feet. Her legs were strangely angled, and her shoes were gone. Three taloned toes tightened against the wood floor. Claws slid out of her fingers with a soft shick. Her tail whipped side to side and her wings flared slightly. She looked at us expectantly with incredibly vivid, slit-pupiled, green eyes.

"I-I'm Donatello. Donnie for short," I stutter. I looked back at my brothers. Leo was on guard, Mikey was hiding behind Leo and Raph was somehow pale.
"Leonardo," said the blue-masked turtle.
"Um, hi dudette," Mikey began. Her glare shot to him. He gulped. "U-uh, my name's Mikey. Uh, short for Michelangelo," he hid behind Leo some more. Her gaze softened the slightest amount, and so did her stance. Raph stepped forwards. Her guard came up again. Her eyes watched him carefully.
"My name's Raphael, Raph is easier though," To everyone's surprise, he held his hand out to her. She locked eyes with him. After a moments hesitation, she took it. Raph stiffened a little, then relaxed.

She smiled sadly at us, and beckoned us to the last unchecked room in the house, a little girl's bedroom.