The Adventures Of Azure Turtle

One Fateful Day

Chapter 2: Voices In The Dark

By: Azure Turtle

Disclaimer: Azure is my own created character. Please do not use him without my permission. All TMNT characters belong to Peter Laird, Kevin Eastman, and Mirage Publishing.

I’m just a fan who wants to express my enthusiasm for the TMNT through fanfics. Please don’t hurt me.

I felt warm. Strange, since I thought I was dead. Something cold touched my forehead, but I didn’t know what it was. My eyelids bore the weight of the world, and I couldn’t open them. I was surrounded by darkness. The feelings of warmth and cold lingered on. Maybe this was hell. Darkness, loneliness, hot, cold, and devoid of everything else. But something caught my attention. I strained to listen; the sounds were faint and emanated from a distance. I wanted to move towards the sounds, towards the comfort of knowing that I wasn’t alone in the darkness. I couldn’t move, but I struggled to listen. Without warning, the sounds became louder, as if they were approaching me. I soon realized that they weren’t just sounds, they were voices. I couldn’t make out what they were saying. It was as if they were babbling in a different tongue. "Perhaps that black-clad freak has friends after all," I thought, " and they’ve surrounded me, wondering what to do with me next. If I’m not dead already, then I’d be meeting my creator soon. If that’s the case, then maybe I could ask him why he decided to create me and finally get some answers."

"Geez, what happened out there?"

If I could have gasped, I would have gasped. The voice was clear, and I understood every word. "What’s happening? Who are these people?" I silently wondered.

"I was on patrol, and I came across a Foot Soldier kickin’ this poor dude’s shell in."

"So what’d you do?"

"I made sure that soldier wouldn’t be picking on any more turtles. Duh, what’d you think I’d do, Raph? Invite him for tea?"

I clearly heard a chuckle. "So, someone saved me from that…what did he call it? Foot Soldier? What kind’ve of name is that?" I thought.

"Shut up, Mikey. So, how’s he doin’, Don?"

"Well, he’s been beaten pretty badly. No broken bones, but several cuts and bruises here and there. He might have a slight concussion."

I wanted to cringe at hearing this. "A concussion? Great, never had one of those before." I wasn’t too thrilled about hearing that diagnosis. "Wait a minute, who are these guys? Why’d they save me?" I came to a sudden realization. If this voice had examined me for injuries, then I wasn’t wearing my cloak any more. "They must know that I’m a freak of nature. Why are they helping me? Any normal person would’ve run away from me, screaming bloody murder. I hope they’re not scientists working for the FBI. They’d probably perform an autopsy on me, even though I’m still alive. Hell, I saw them do it to an alien on TV, what would stop them from doing it to a mutant turtle?"

"So…"

"He’ll live, if that’s what you were going to ask, Leo."

"Hey, what’re we gonna do with him?"

"Looks like we’ll have to keep him in the lair until he gets better."

"Leo, how do you this isn’t one of Shredhead’s plans to capture us? What if he’s working for the Foot? We can’t keep him here."

"Raph, look at him. He’s been badly hurt. I doubt he’s working for Shredder, if he was almost beaten to death by a Foot Soldier. And we can’t throw him out into the middle of the sewers. He’ll stay here. We can take turns watching him, if that makes you feel better."

I was even more confused now. "Me? An enemy? And who’s Shredhead?" I wondered.

"Okay, fine with me, fearless one."

"Raph, would you stop for once?"

"Dudes, I think you’re missing the bigger picture, here. He’s a mutant turtle, and a blue one to boot. What’re the chances of that happening?"

"Way to state the obvious, doofus."

"Hey…."

Someone chuckled.

"You do have a point, Mike, about how strange it is to find another mutant turtle, let alone a blue one. The chances of discovering another one running around the sewers of New York are quite low. Even the probability of finding the rest of Van Gogh’s ear is higher."

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. "Did he just say another mutant turtle? No, I must’ve heard it wrong. Could it be? Was that hooker telling the truth?" I wanted to open my eyes and see for myself, but they still felt like a ton of bricks.

"Don, how do you think he mutated? And why’s he blue?"

"I don’t know. I think his skin color may be a side effect of his mutation, but I don’t know how he could have mutated. He may have come into contact with the same ooze we did. We’ll have to ask him when he decides to wake up. It is kind of exciting to know that we’re not alone after all."

"I know whatcha mean, dude."

"Guys, we’ve got more important things to discuss before talking about having another mutant turtle around."

"Ya, where’s he gonna stay? We can’t leave him on the couch for the next few days. Someone’s gonna have to give up his room."

I heard groans. "Am I in a house? That’s funny, the last thing I remember was hitting the floor of the sewers," I pondered silently. "And what the heck is this ‘ooze’ stuff they’re talking about? Better yet, are these guys really mutant turtles?"

"Yo, fearless leader, this was your idea. I say he goes in your room."

A growl. Someone was angry.

"Raph, do you always have to get in my face like that?"

The voices all began to speak at once. They were arguing. "I guess I’m not very wanted in this house," I thought.

"Okay, calm down, dudes. He can go in my room. I found him, after all."

The other three voices sighed in relief.

"Thanks, Mike. You’re the best."

"Hey, no prob, Leo. By the way, did I tell you guys what the blue dude said before he passed out?"

"What?! You mean he was still conscious when you found him?"

"Well, kinda. He was already on the ground and his eyes were rolling around in their sockets. I came up to him, and before he passed out for good, he called me ‘Saint Michael.’"

The other three voices laughed hysterically. They found this quite amusing for some reason.

"You a Saint? Sorry Mikey, not gonna happen anytime soon."

"Hey! Whaddya mean by that, Raph? I’ve been a good turtle!"

"Ya, right. So why did Splinter lecture you about playing with water balloons the other day?"

"Hmph. I wouldn’t have been in trouble if you didn’t duck when I threw one at you."

"Guys, enough of the small talk. We’ve got to get our visitor to Mike’s room."

"Ya, ya, don’t get your feathers ruffled, Leo."

I heard a sigh next to me. The voices sounded like they were close friends, maybe even brothers. I felt several strong hands gently grasp me. I had the sensation that I was floating before landing softly on what seemed to be a bed.

"Man, how’re we gonna explain this one to Sensei?"

"Well, you found him, Mikey. Why don’t you tell him the story of how you suddenly discovered his illegitimate son, who suspiciously turns out to be a different color then the rest?"

"Funny Raph, very funny."

I was curious as to what was happening and who these voices were. I wanted to know right then and there, but I couldn’t move. I felt trapped in the darkness. "Who are Sensei and Splinter?" I wondered.

"Okay, who’s going to do the first watch?"

"I’ll do it. I just finished tweaking my computer, so I’ve got nothing else to do."

"Thanks, Don. I guess I’ll go do some meditating before Master Splinter comes back from his walk."

"Dibs on the TV!"
"What! No way, Mikey! I was gonna watch VH1’s Behind The Music. They’re featuring Metallica tonight!"

"Yuck, total lamesville, Raph! I want to be entertained, not bored to death. Whose Line is gonna be on any minute!"

"If you even think about touching the remote, I swear you’ll have one of my sais sticking out of your thick head."

"Shya, right. I’m the master of the whirling nunchucks. You can’t even touch me with your dinky sais."

The voices continued to argue as they slowly faded away. I heard a small click, and I assumed that the voice who decided to stay with me closed the door. I had so many questions floundering around my mind. I felt like I was going to burst. I wanted to wake up and find out what kind of mess I got myself into. Suddenly, the coldness that I had felt earlier disappeared.

"Here you go. I brought another ice pack for that teeny concussion you’ve got."

The cogs in my brain started to turn once again. "So, that’s what the coldness was," I thought. I felt it again, when the voice placed the new ice pack on my forehead. I heard a chuckle.

"Looks like I bandaged you up pretty well. You look like Tutankhamen."

The cogs continued turning as the mystery of my feelings of warmth was explained. The voice sounded nice enough, and the others seemed to have no intentions of performing an autopsy on me. "Maybe I’m in safe hands after all. I guess I’ll find the answers I’m looking for when I recover from my injuries." I silently hoped.

"Sleep well, little blue one. You’re going to have a lot of explaining to do when you wake up."

I wanted to frown. "Great," I thought, "the voice wants some answers too. Looks like there’s gonna be a lot of explaining from both sides." At that moment, the darkness became silent. The feelings of hot and cold fizzled away. I felt the sensation of peace spreading throughout my body. No more pain, just peace. I slowly became a part of the darkness once more, as I drifted off to a place where unicorns roamed freely, dragons soared through the cerulean skies, and mermaids sang songs of joy.