Soulbound (TMNT '16) ❪✓❫

On My Way

2:00 pm

It was very obvious that the leader was going to be guiding the group up the hills as they walk deeper and deeper into the thicket. Just two hours passing by made everyone feel a bit better because the mountain looks like it was just... An inch closer.

Mikey felt that his arms and legs were going to fall off, Raphael thought his back was going to give out, and Shado was still full of energy. She was chasing small butterflies on the trail and discovering new things with the other three animals by her side.

A deer or two showed up just yards away from the trail and presented themselves proudly. It reminded Michelangelo of the Disney character Bambi yet it was sad when his mother died.

Raph coughed due to lack of water in his system, so he sat down on a thick log laying on the edge of the path. Kri stopped as well with Mikey and Shado.

Leo halts in the middle of walking to see four members of the group stopped to take a rest. "Guys." He says to them. "We can't rest or we won't get to the top of the mountain in time."

Donnie stared at the very top of the pointy rock sitting in the earth. He and his brothers are very fit and exercise daily back in New York but today is not the day. All four mutants understand that they had to reach the top because at exactly midnight the transformation will take place. And if the animals are not there by then, then they stay the way they are forever with no conscience of a human. Donatello just had to push his brothers to keep going, it wouldn't be fair to the quads if they stopped. "Okay, guys, we got to keep going. We can't stop here and risk the time. If we were in the same situation as the quads then they wouldn't stop for us. I'm sure they would want to keep going."

The grizzly bear itching her back on a tree trunk nodded. "He's right. A mountain like that could take ages to climb." Her snout pointed to it. Donnie smiled. At least someone agreed.

"Thank you." Leo said. "Now get up." He kicked Raph's show lightly.

Everyone plastered their eyes on the tall jagged rock and exhale deeply. Raphael stood up and hoped that he wouldn't need to take another break later on. After all, this is for the animals and not the mutants. But the mutants do need to keep their lives as well as the quads.

Kri stretched and yelled out a wide yawn. "Then let's go. I would like to see my family again." She started the walk.

"And I want to see Sensei again." Leo added as he walks behind her. Everyone follows.

Mikey is left behind wondering something that he always questioned. He throws his arms in the air and drops them at his side. "Why do things always have a deadline at midnight?"

****

Media ^^^

Hawk did feel that this journey was a little bit boring and tiring. She was glad that she heard the rushing river on her right. And she knows that this isn't the time to play around but there has to be some kind of fun in this business. Her idea of fun as a playful wild dog is to run to the river and have a splash.

Leonardo called after her. "Hawk!! This is no time to play around!" He groaned looking at everyone smirking, think it was a good idea. Mikey and Shado had a crazy look in their eyes. They bolted too. So did the others except for Leo himself.

Leo ran after his crew at the river and watched Donnie and Griz dive in with the tiger and Raph. Mikey whooped happily and Shado leaped in the rumbling water, swimming with the currents and splashing water in faces. It was quite the surprise when large amounts of Sam and we're jumping out of the water from such large bodies invading their space. Griz and Hawk laughed inside their heads when they were able to catch a few fish in their mouth.

Leo didn't want to be cast out by his brothers and friends so he had no choice but to join the amusement. The straight-faced he had seconds ago had changed to a very exciting expression.

Cold water isn't a problem, neither is the rocks on the river floor. These brothers are great swimmers according to their looks and abilities. Griz is a natural born swimmer even if she wasn't born the way she is. Kri swims swell, so does Hawk and the spotted cat.

It's like a new world to them when nature's animals joined the fun. Deer jumped by the water's edge, geese honked overhead, a fox crossed a log bridge over the water with a yowl, and a skunk squeaked from its den.

This ride of a lifetime gave the turtle brothers a flashback in front of their missions from a few years ago. They didn't mind this because this was something fun and exciting. Their main focus is to have fun while reaching their most needed location.

While they were back in 12-year-old land, the group completely forgot about the evil that was chasing them. And all inside their hearts, Leo, Raph, Donnie, Mikey, Hawk, Kri, Griz, and Shado felt that they had the power of invincibility. That's when all eight of them had fallen down the waterfall and laughed together. It's like a rollercoaster ride only there is no track and screams. No fear.

2:30 pm

At the bottom of the waterfall is the calm pool that leads to another path to the main trail. Leo is the first to walk out drenched, ringing out the loose cloth of his pants. Donnie cleaned off his glasses, Mikey dried what he can of his mask, and Raph remained courageous about jumping in rough waters.

Leo looked at the time on his watch and shook his head. "Alright that was fun, but it's 2:30." He tapped the device.

"Oh, please," Hawk said shaking off the water. "We got time. Although I am tired for some reason. I've felt this way since this morning." She ignored it and went on about her day yet it still bothered her.

Suddenly the king cheetah sounded like she took some sort of drug... "Hey..." Shado looked up at bright blue sky showing off its glorious white clouds. "Do you see stars? Because I am..."

Mikey grew concerned, pressing his fingers to his temples. He felt an unconrtsble pressure on his head. "Shado? You good?"

She says nothing but stares at the atmosphere. All eyes yell in shock when she collapsed to the ground like a tipping tower.

Michelangelo felt Shado lose consciousness, he nearly felt too but he caught himself. He rushed to Shado's side, scooping the cheetah's body into his arms. He looked at his brothers and friends. "W-What happened?" His eyes began to water. "Something is wrong!"

"We gotta...go." Hawk says weakly. "We're---" and it went silent to Leo. He couldn't hear Hawk in his head anymore.

"Hawk?" He stepped forward. The wolf just whimpered. The voice she used to talk with went on and off whenever she spoke. This isn't all fun and games anymore. "They're losing the ability to talk to us. We need to leave now."

****

**Fun Fact: Did you know that some bears will travel long distances just to get to their favorite tree to scratch their back on?**