TMNT- The Lost Danger

Return of the Dark tears

Ash shifted slightly, and Raph grunted, his arms tightening around her. She whined softly as he lifted her and placed her on his plastron. She squirmed, until she ended up sprawled out across his plastron. She instinctively snuggled towards the warmth of his neck, where she rested her head. Raph inhaled sharply, bright green eyes snapping open. He peered down at the sleeping form of his girlfriend. 

The tension drained from him as the memories of what had happened earlier that day flooded his mind. Relaxing, he gently placed a hand on the pale green lizard's neck. He frowned when Ash shivered and released a soft whimper. 'Guess it is a little cold down here...' With a soft sigh, the hothead carefully lifted the blue and orange blanket and pulled it over the mutant lizard's shoulders. He watched, a rare, loving smile etched into his fine features, as  Ash seemed to relax, and wiggled slightly, as if in satisfaction of the sudden and welcoming warmth the blanket provided. Raph mentally scoffed. He was warm, was his warmth not enough? 'PFF! I am not, jealous of my own blanket...'A pause then, 'Okay...maybe just a little...Not a lot-but a little, yeah...'

ASH'S POV~

Warm.... Comfortable... Safe... For the first time in a long time, Ash felt...safe... 

She was awoken when Raph had moved her to rest on his plastron, but when the handsome hothead had pulled the blanket up to her shoulders, the warmth had sent her back into the realm of sleep. She slept, and for a time, her dreams were peaceful.... 

But then... 

A cold, dark presence, reached out, and tore her from her peaceful dreams. 

Darkness... Then, a light, dim, weak, light... 

False light.... Voices... 

Suddenly, the voices increased in volume, the gray light increased in size, then...

The clashing of blades. A cry of pain.... 

Ash remembered this... It was a memory.... Training.... A day of training...with her mas-the Shredder... He was no longer her master, she reminded herself, but the dream-memory gripped her concisness even tighter, forcing her attention back to the horrid scene unfolding before her eyes...

Ash winced as she locked blades with Liz, the impact jarring her entire arm. Liz noticed her pain, and attempted to separate blades with her half-sister. Then, their master's cold voice had frozen the them in place. "What do you think you are doing Phantom?" His tone, as always, was sharp, and bone-chilling...

"Phantom" had been the name that Shredder had given Liz.... She'd hated it... They'd all hated it... Yes, she was silent, almost alll the time. Yes, she was naturally stealthy.... But he used the name because he wanted her to be a silent killer.... It was the name of  someone who Liz was not... It was a false name... The trio hated false names... They hated anything that was false..... 

"Master Shredder.... I... Ash is in pain..." Liz spike. She could not whisper, their master would punish her for it...but she really wanted too.... Ash could see the (ear, lol) fear in her half-sister's eyes... Shredder growled and moved forward, Liz and Ash cowered back. "Stand up, shoulder's back!  Look at me whe  I speak to you, scum!" Behind them , Mariah stiffened, and paused in her punching of the large black punching bag. The bag was dotted with holes and viscouse gashes from the mutant's weapon. 

What looked like iron knuckles with long, poisin laced spikes were resting on her knuckels. Ash barely supressed a yelp of fear as her master lifted her by her neck, his armored fingers digging into the soft green flesh of her neck, drawing small driblets of blood, amd alarming the other two mutants, who both took casiouse steps forward. Fear for their half suster clear on the faces. Long, slender green fingers clawed at the muscular arm that held her suspended, choking, in the air. 

Two cold, grey eyes burned into her memory, staring back at her, utterly emotionless... "You claim to be tired? I can easily arrange your permanent sleep, here and now... BRAT... Or," his cold eyes swept across the room, "you can fight both you sister's till first blood, loose your dinner, and receive a beating from me. as punishment for your weakness..." Ash's amber eyes filled with tears, and she nodded, as best she could. Shredder scoffed, and tossed her to the side. 

"Fight, or die..."

Ash remembered loosing that fight... The beating that had followed after had left her with numerous deep tissue bruises, a broken rib, three gashes, and twenty lashes from her master's whip... The hunger she experienced that night only made matters worse... Mariah had been the first to try and give her food the Ash, Liz following suit, but she'd refused. There had not been enough. 

Then again, there never was. Liz had also suffered for her showing empathy towards Ash. A beating. Ash had lain in her cage that night She remembered the bitter cold... The twisting hunger in her stomach...

The agony in her side with every breathe that she took... Wishing for death to take her...to end her suffering... The guilt for such thoughts...thoughts that meant abandoning her half-sister's to their master's cruel ways... 

Ash woke with a starlthed crie. Raph instantly sat up. Arms wrapped tightly and protectively around her. She trembled. Breatheing hard, she leaned back into Raphael's gentle touch.  Raph showed his soft sode to her almost all the time. She knew how much trust he was putting in her by doiing so, and it was about time that she started returning it... "What's wrong? Another dream?" Ash nodded weakly, her throat tight. Seeing Mariah in her dreams. The shoulder-length, jet black hair, the yellow streak that glowed in her hair.... Framing her face, with lit up when she smiled, reminding Ash of the sun. The pale jade skin that shimmered.Her soft, melodic voice, that whispered soothing words to her and Liz as they'd sleep...

Choked whimpers escaped her as she cried. Raph-alarmed at her tears, turned her to face him and cupped her face in his large hands. She looked up at him. Large almond shaped eyes watering, lush lips parted slightly as she was about to speak, when Raph gently brushed her crystal tears away with his thumb, and he kissed her. She relaxed, and as Raph pulled away, he spoke. "I'm here now, and I'm not about to let anyone hurt you Ash, you're mine... I'll protect ya..." Ash shivered slightly, and Raph promptly wrapped the blanket around them, and they sat there, huddled together, embracing one another.... 

One last thought echoing in Ash's mind as she began to doze off again... 'But who will protect you?'