Ripples: Part One: Sacrifices

**

Wow, it's been so long since I've written a fic, I feel kinda rusty.

This is my first time doing a story in this style, posting short parts directly onto the forum. So some small introductory notes: This story takes place with certain NT:TNM characters, female turtles, and religious themes. If you do not read this story for those reasons, I’ll understand. If you read this story and complain about those points, I’m going to hit you with a rotten mango.

This story is also directly related to one (or more) of my other stories, though there really isn’t any need to read them before hand.

There are going to be illustrations posted throughout that I’m not posting elsewhere for a long while.

** So we begin...**

Xin smirked as her human guide jumped in reaction to a loud clap of thunder. So amusing, these humans, one of the few reasons Xin, and others like her, bothered with them at all.

Another human appeared in the torch-lit hallway, disturbing the soft white glow with its dark shadow. "The Goddess will see you now."

Xin strolled into the room as if she were casually walking to the corner store. But she didn’t fool herself by thinking this was a casual encounter. As superior as Xin felt in the presence of humans, she felt almost weak-kneed in the presence of a power this strong.

"Your information concerning the turtle-beings," a soft, demanding voice ordered from the shadows. Xin could just make out the outline of the figure sitting on the cushioned stage.

"I have kept track of Mei-Pieh Chi, in the terms of our pact. I know she has found others of her kind."

"They must come here."

Xin bowed. "As you wish."

**

"Please stay in bed." Venus had to once more push Leo back into a reclining position. "You’re still healing."

Leonardo waved her off. "Yeah, but you don’t have to baby me. My leg’s not even broken!"

Venus tightly gripped the bandages she was holding. "But it was my fault you got hurt. Because my spell didn’t work right… Because I got it wrong…"

Leo tried to reach for her hand to comfort her but she was sitting too far away. "Vee, it’s not your fault. It was the Dragons we were fighting. If you hadn’t done something, things probably would have ended up worse."

"If I was any kind of a mystic, this war would have been over long ago." Venus slammed her fists into her knees in frustration. She closed her eyes to fight back the tears.

"Vee-" Leo started again.

At that moment, Don walked into the room to check on Leo. He quickly glanced at Leo, then walked over and took the first aid kit away from Venus. "Venus, why don’t you go rest, you look like you could use some sleep. You’ll make yourself sick if you keep this up. I’ll look after Leo."

Venus nodded and stood up. When she was gone, Leo sat back and sighed in relief. "Thanks, she was starting to get on my nerves."

"Starting?" Don joked. "Wow, you’ve got it real bad if you’ve tolerated all that."

"She’s been on edge lately," Leo said, folding his arms behind his head. "I wish I knew why…"

**

Illustration 1:

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v159/kaligargoyle/ripples1.jpg[/IMG]

Why do half the drawings I do of Venus have her crying?

**

Venus shut her bedroom door sharply. It wasn’t so much a bedroom as a moderately disguised antique subway car. That simple fact stood out to her more than ever. She missed her old life so badly. Her old room, her home, her father…

"Poor, poor child."

Venus snapped her head up. "You!"

Xin sat elegantly on the edge of Venus’ well-made bed. Her pure white skin stood out in stark contrast with the black of her hair and clothing, making her seem like a black and white movie star transported into the colorful world of Venus’ room. She stood up and stepped lightly across the room. "Dear, dear Mei…"

"What do you want?" Venus demanded, her voice shaking, backing away as best she could.

Xin reached out and brushed her long, thin fingers against Venus’ cheeks. "The Goddess has summoned you. You must come."

Venus pulled away in disgust, her self-pity transforming into courage. "I’m not going anywhere just because you say so!"

Xin smiled. "I would consider it a… personal favor."

Venus stood firm. It was just her luck that Xin would call in her favor at this time. Venus couldn’t leave right now, but postponing only added interest…

Xin took advantage of Venus’ wandering mind to step up and take hold of the turtle girl’s chin. She was barely as tall as Venus, and practically half her size, yet her grip was like iron. "But I think… I have a better motivation."

**

Illustration 2:

 [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v159/kaligargoyle/ripples2.jpg[/IMG]

Again with the crying… I swear, she’s not always like this.

**

"I’m leaving." The day after Leonardo was declared healed enough to use his leg again, Venus made this sudden announcement to the family.

"What?"

"Are you nuts?"

"What do you mean, ‘leaving’?"

"How’d you come to that decision?"

The four voices bombarded her with questions until Venus was forced to push them back with an energy wave. "I have made my decision and nothing you can say will change my mind. I’m going to a place where I can study magic and increase my abilities." She looked around at the five people who had become family for her. "I will be back. When I can live up to what my father wanted for me, and I can call myself a true shaman."

There was nothing but silence for several moments. Then Leonardo stepped forward again, cautiously. "Look, Vee, I know you’ve been feeling a little overpowered lately, but we all have. You aren’t in this alone, we all have to just take it up to the next level if we’re going to come out on top."

Venus sighed. "Yes, but while you and your brothers can study here, with your sensei, I cannot. I have to find someone else I can learn from."

"I guess we have no choice…" Leo relented.

"We’re going with you!" Mike exclaimed, breaking the solemn atmosphere of the moment.

"Michaelangelo-" Venus started.

"I think it’s a good idea," Don said, causing everyone in the room to stare at him. "What? Our last battle wasn’t exactly a victory, but we stopped whatever it was the Dragons were planning. It might be a good idea for us to get away for awhile instead of waiting for the next nutjob to show up while we’re waiting for the Dragons’ next attack."

"You wanna check out a magic school?" Raph chuckled.

"It might be… interesting," Don replied sheepishly.

While Mike and Raph continued to poke fun at Don’s growing interest in "magic", Leo turned back to Venus. "We can’t let you journey on your own, at the very least," he told her.

"I’m perfectly capable of traveling on my own," Venus told him. "And I’m not sure if they’ll let you stay at the temple."

"If we aren’t allowed to stay, we’ll just return home," Leo smiled. "We’re going on a road trip!"

"Great," Raph grumbled, having gotten bored with teasing Don just in time to hear this wonderful announcement.

Splinter, who had remained silent this whole time, was glad that his children had come to a decision on their own, without a fight. He smiled at them, "I’m afraid I will not be taking this trip with you all. I trust you’ll be able to take care, and behave yourselves."

"Of course," Raph grinned. This might be a good idea after all…

**

The drive was rather uneventful. It took most of the night, but they never got lost, despite the fact that they weren’t quite sure where exactly they were going. Venus just gave Donatello directions from the passenger seat of the van they’d borrowed from April. The others were in the back, playing cards as well as they could on the bumpy dirt roads.

"Are we there yet?" A sharp slap was the response.

Suddenly, the van turned sharply. They swerved, fishtailed, and barely managed to stay upright at the van skidded to a stop.

"What the hell, Don?" Raph yelled, picking himself up from where he had been flung against the back doors.

Donatello was shaking badly, and gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles had gone pale.

"Donatello, what’s wrong?" Venus asked, shaking his shoulder. His eyes were wide, sweat dripping down his skin, his face a mask of terror.

"Something’s wrong. Something bad is going to happen if we keep going. We have to go back! We have to!"

"I’m kinda feeling not-so-good, too," Mikey moaned.

"Not in here!" Raph snapped, shoving Mike towards the back door.

Leo made his way up front. "Relax, Don. What is it?"

"I think…" Venus’ voice got quiet. "Yes, I can feel something. I think it’s a protective barrier, to keep out people who aren’t supposed to come here. If we keep going, it should subside by the time we reach the temple. It must be nearby."

"No!" Don screeched. "We can’t go there!" Leonardo undid the belt and pulled Don from the driver’s seat, trying to avoid the blows and block out the screams. He handed him over to Raph, who held him against the floor near the corner where Mike has huddled.

Leo sat in the driver’s seat and restarted the van. He put them back on their original course and floored the gas. Venus grabbed for any kind of handle. "Leo!"

"I have to get them out of this! Good thing all of us weren’t effected."

Venus decided that the only way she’d survive the rest of this trip was the keep her eyes as tightly shut as possible. "Yes. I know I’m supposed to be here, but why you and Raphael?"

"We’ll ask when we get there."

**

Illustration 3:

 [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v159/kaligargoyle/ripples3.jpg[/IMG]

For some reason, I really, really enjoy this one.

**

When Leonardo stopped in front of the temple, he sat in his seat for awhile, trying to figure out what he’d gotten all of them into. He looked over his shoulder at the others. Don and Mike looked like they were doing better, though they were both still a little pale. Leo looked through the windshield and saw two people walking towards their van. From the way they were dressed, in long, simple robes, they were obviously from the temple, and he got his first wave of doubt. They were human, and his first instinct was to not reveal themselves.

"Vee, are you sure about this? Vee?"

Venus had already gotten out of the van, holding on to the door until her legs felt solid again. She managed a bow to the two temple attendants. "My name is Mei-Pieh Chi."

"We have been expecting you and your friends," one of the attendants said, gesturing for the Turtles to follow them inside.

"How’d they know we were coming with her?" Raph whispered to Leo, helping Mike out of the van.

"They’re a magical school, what do you expect?" Leo shrugged. Inside, he wasn’t quite so sure. If he had hairs on the back of his neck they’d be standing up. He’d have to keep his senses alert.

"Please come with us," the attendants urged the stragglers. Raphael made a comment about pushy monks while he and Leo helped their recovering brothers inside.

**

Up in a tower of the temple, the Turtles’ arrival was being witnessed by others.

"Very interesting," the man said, pushing up his blue-tinted glasses. "However, I still believe you are truly one of a kind, my Goddess."

The woman with him turned from the window, the gold of her jewelry flashing in the sunrise. "Of course I am. Their appearance changes nothing about me." She moved off down the stairs. "I will meet with Mei tomorrow night concerning her duties and tasks. Put her in an apprentice chamber. Put the others in guest quarters."

"Hmm, I’m not sure if they’ll approve of being separated…" the man replied, pulling gently on his goatee.

"Toshiro!" The woman snapped.

Toshiro shut the window. "Of course. Your will is reality, my Goddess."

**

Illustration 4:

 [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v159/kaligargoyle/ripples4.jpg[/IMG]

Not too happy with how Toshiro turned out. I should just keep his hair down.

**

"You four will stay here."

The Leonardo stepped into the room, looking it over carefully. It seemed like a normal room. He looked back to see Venus being guided away by one of the attendants. "Hey, where are you taking her?"

The remaining attendant blocked Leonardo from following. "She is being taken to apprentice quarters."

"Why can’t she stay here? When can we see her again?"

"Not until she is fully conditioned," the attendant told him.

Raph narrowed his eyes at the human. "What do you mean, ‘conditioned’?"

"It is part of her training. All student here must go through it, to open their minds and bodies to the knowledge and energies they are about to receive." The attendant stepped past them. "There are four separate rooms off this main one, and a toilet. If there is anything else you need that you cannot find yourself, don’t hesitate to ask."

"What about food?" Mike asked. He seemed to have recovered from the trip already, although Don still looked a little shaken up.

"Meals are provided whenever you wish."

"Do we have to stay in this room?" Raph asked, obviously not impressed with the place.

"Not at all. The entire temple is open to you. You are our guests. There are places you are not allowed, but you will not be able to get there, so do not worry about stepping over boundaries." The attendant bowed. "You have had a long trip, and I’m sure you are tired."

After the attendant left, Leo looked towards the others. "Why do I get the feeling that Venus is in one of those places we won’t be able to get to."

"Relax, Leo. You always freak when anyone interrupts your training, just let Venus do what she came here to do. Then we can leave." Raphael took stock of the four rooms, and claimed the one he thought was best. Unfortunately, this is also the one Michaelangelo thought was best. Leonardo sighed as Mike stumbled past him having just been forcibly removed from the room.

**

The Turtles awoke to find a full breakfast sitting in the main room of their quarters. Confused at first, the others held back as Michaelangelo dived right in. After a minute, Raph shrugged and sat down to eat. It tasted better than almost anything he’d ever eaten, though considering that Mikey did most of the cooking in their house, that wasn’t hard.

As soon as they’d all had their fill, the four of them decided to explore this mysterious place. As they walked the long hallways, Donatello kept commenting on the architecture, about the practical yet elegant design. Trying to figure out from the decorations and tapestries exactly what this was a temple for.

When they’d been walking for an hour, Don suddenly stopped. "This isn’t possible."

The others turned. "What is it now?" Raph asked, having grown irritated with Donatello’s voice.

"We’ve been walking for a long time, but we haven’t changed direction." Don looked around. "There’s no way the temple’s this long."

Mikey shrugged. "We probably have. Your interior design lecture was just so riveting we all lost track." Mike suddenly grinned. "You should become an interior designer. You’d be perfect."

"Shut up."

"Hey, look, a library."

Raphael had opened a door along the hallway and sure enough, there was a library. Filled floor to ceiling with full bookshelves. Donatello shoved his way in and looked around in awe. "Wow…"

"They’re probably all magic books," Mike said. "But there are a lot of them. Venus definitely picked a good place to study."

"Guys," Don said. "Go on without me, I’m gonna stay here awhile."

"You sure?" Leo asked.

"Just don’t go summoning a demon or anything like that," Raph warned, smirking.

"If I do, I’ll be sure to send it your way," Don replied dreamily. He was still entranced by the seemingly endless number of tomes.

"Don’t make a mess," was Leonardo’s parting warning as he led the others off down the endless temple. After several more minutes, they paused again. "This seemed like a good idea at first, but now I’m wondering if there’s actually anything to do."

"Yeah," Mike added. "Wandering long halls full of locked doors is only fun for so long. We need to find our way back to that hall with the nude paintings…"

Raphael smacked him on the back of the head. But the comment made Leo look around at the paintings and tapestries that lined this part of the hall. They all depicted magical arts and rites and battles. He stepped closer to the painting. Yes, he definitely recognized some of the martial arts. "I wonder if they teach martial arts here…"

"Yes."

The three of them jumped as an attendant appeared out of thin air. Leo laughed nervously. "I see. I’d like to check that out, if I could."

"If you wish." The attendant turned and walked away. Leo looked back at his brothers quickly before following. "Coming with?"

"Hey, I came on this trip to get away from training," Mike said.

"Have fun," Raph told him. As Leonardo disappeared into the darkness, a grin spread across Raph’s face. "Come on, Mikey, it’s time to find something fun…"

**

Soft chanting filled the air of the circular room, causing the smoke from dozens of candles and bowls of herbs to dance towards the ceiling.

Venus stood in the center, her old clothing removed and replaced with a single black blindfold. Although she couldn’t see them, she could sense the attendants present to witness the ritual. She supposed they were also there in case she lost her nerve and tried to flee. A sudden flare of power in front of her made Venus stand taller, bracing herself.

"Mei-Pieh Chi. Do you willingly give yourself to The Great Power and devote yourself to Its emissary?"

"I… give… and devote myself… willingly."

The figure stepped forward and raised her arms to cup Venus’ face. She leaned forward and kissed the turtle girl on the lips.

"Then, my child, be free of the confines and blindness of your past. Prepare to see what is truly there."

Venus felt the blindfold fall from her eyes. Even though the light was dim, it hurt after the pitch darkness. Her eyes fluttered open, seeing what was in front of her for the first time. Her soft brown eyes met a set of deep blue. "You’re… you’re…"

The Goddess smiled. "Welcome, Mei-Pieh Chi."

Venus’ eyes unfocused, The Goddess’ face turning into a blur of green and gold. Then all went black.

"Take her to her quarters," The Goddess ordered those surrounding them. "Her training will begin when she has rested and adjusted."

**

Illustration 5

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v159/kaligargoyle/ripples5.jpg[/IMG]

And our first vision of The Goddess. I put a lot of work into the little differences between them.

**

Raphael and Michaelangelo eventually found themselves in the main room of the temple, where they had first entered.

"Guess we’ve been everywhere," Mike pouted. "Hey, you think that if I ask for a hot tub someone will show up and take me to one?"

"Get real. And we haven’t been everywhere. When we got here I could see that this place has at least three floors, but we haven’t seen any stairs."

"They said there were places we couldn’t get to," Mike reminded him. "Maybe they fly. Or walk through walls. Or teleport. Vee came here to study magic, so they have to be a lot better at it than she is."

"I’m no expert, but I don’t think that’s hard." Raph ran his hand over one of the walls, knocking occasionally to check for hollow spots. "I still wonder what the hell they worship. It better not be an evil blood-sucking goat or something."

"Don’t be silly."

Raph and Mike jumped as yet another attendant appeared out of thin air. "I’m getting’ real tired of you people doing that," Raph growled.

"I’m not telling you to stay, your van’s right outside."

Raph glared. This guy wasn’t like the other attendants. He wore different clothes, or rather, less. He gave Raph a creepy feeling. "So what do you worship?"

"The Great Tortoise, and of course, his emissary." Toshiro smiled brightly. Yeah, definitely creepy.

"Great Tortoise?" Mike repeated. "Like the one that holds the whole world on its back?"

"That’s stupid," Raph snapped, turning back to inspect the walls.

Toshiro laughed. "It’s all symbolism and metaphor, for the power the Great Tortoise lends to us."

Raphael remained skeptical. "Whatever. How do you know it’s a tortoise? Why not a dog? Or a monkey?"

"The Power appeared to grant its first followers with its gifts. The Tortoise is simply the form it chose. It could have easily been a monkey." Toshiro grinned. "But if it was, you wouldn’t be here."

"What’s that supposed to mean?" Raph demanded. He really wanted to smack that arrogant smirk of this pretty-boy’s face.

Toshiro shrugged casually. "Is there anything else you would like?"

"Got a hot tub?" Mike blurted out.

"No, but we have a hot spring. I was just about to enjoy a soak, would you like to join me?"

Something about his tone of voice and expression made Mike nervous. He raised to his hands as a shield. "That’s okay. Really. I’ll get around to it later."

"Suit yourself." Toshiro and smiled and bowed. "If you need anything at all, don’t hesitate to ask." He strolled out of the room through a door neither Turtle had noticed before.

"And I thought we were freaks," Raph sneered. "And what was all that ‘you wouldn’t be here’ crap? He talks like some fruitbowl saw us in a vision."

"Maybe someone did." Mikey bounced on the balls of his feet. "Maybe we’re ‘Chosen Ones’ and we’ll get cool powers and weapons!"

Raph just stared at his brother for several seconds. "When we get home, I’m askin’ Donnie to block Anime Network."

**

Illustration Six:

 [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v159/kaligargoyle/ripples6.jpg[/IMG]

Wish I could draw Toshi as pretty as he really is.

**

Later that evening, Leo returned to the room and found his brothers already there, eating dinner. He frowned. "Doesn’t this place creep you out?"

"Not anymore," Mike replied, stuffing more food into his mouth.

"You get used to it," Don shrugged. "When I was in the library I read that these people worship a turtle god."

"Yeah, some creepy monk told us the same thing," Raph said. "What happened to you, Leo? Did you enjoy your training?"

"It was… unique. Not much I could use, I ended up doing more exploring." He tapped his fingers against his leg for a few seconds while his brothers stared at him expectantly. "They won’t tell me anything about where Venus is!"

"She’s in training. You know how important it is for people to stay away from distractions while training," Don pointed out. "I couldn’t get my mind around half the stuff I was reading about, but it all sounds impressive."

Leo paced around the group. "But I’m worried. No one will answer the simplest questions. I kept getting double talk and repeat answers."

Raph laid back on the floor. "I’m all for storming the fort and getting all five of us out of here as soon as possible. I don’t care if we are destined to be here, if one more person pops out of nowhere to grant my shallow whims, I’m gonna hurt somebody."

"Good," Leo said. "This is what we’re gonna do…"

**

Early the next morning the Turtles came together in the main room of their quarters to put their plan into action. Breakfast was sitting out for them, but Leo kicked the table over.

Immediately, an attendant appeared in their doorway. "Was the food not to your liking?"

Raphael and Michaelangelo moved between the door and the attendant, so she couldn’t leave. Leo stood in front of her with his arms crossed. "We need to see Venus. Now."

"That is not-"

"Don’t tell me you can’t! Bring her here, or take us to her, or we will tear this place apart to do it ourselves."

The attendant looked panicked for a brief second. "In that case, I will retrieve her."

"Thank you."

Raph and Mike parted to let the attendant through. "What if she doesn’t come back?" Mike asked.

"Then we follow through with our threat," Leo said coldly.

They only had to wait a few minutes before Venus was led into the room. She was wearing robes similar to the ones the attendants wore. Leo hurried over to her. "Venus! We were worried. These people wouldn’t let us see you. Are you okay?"

"Of course," Venus replied in monotone. "This place is wonderful."

"If you’re satisfied…" the attendant began, and grabbed Venus’ arm. Leo swatted the woman away and forced Venus to look at him. Her eyes were unfocused and he couldn’t get a reaction out of her, no matter what he did.

"What the hell did you do to her?" Leonardo drew his sword.

Raph grabbed the attendant to prevent her escape. She showed no panic this time. "She is in service to The Goddess."

Don examined Venus. "She looks like she’s been brainwashed. Or hypnotized."

"That’s it, we’re leaving!" Raph shoved the attendant aside and took hold of Venus’ arm only to receive a huge shock. Literally. He was thrown back and fell to the floor. Don went to check Raph while Leo and Mike confronted the attendant.

"Please do not worry," the attendant said as Venus left the room, "she will suffer no damage. It is the price of partaking in our Power and Knowledge. The Goddess would never harm one of her servants."

"Who is this ‘Goddess’?" Leonardo demanded. "Take us to her! Now!"

"It’s not like it’s a real, living person, Leo," Don whispered. But the attendant surprised them all by saying, "I will forward your request."

Mike looked to Leo for their next move. Leo gritted his teeth but lowered his swords. "We need to be given answers. If you don’t give them to us, we’ll take them."

The attendant bowed, without taking her eyes off the Turtles, and backed out of the room.

**

Illustration Seven:

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v159/kaligargoyle/ripples7.jpg[/IMG]

I love drawing detailed eyes so much, but "soulless" eyes like this are cool too. (The weirdly shaped head, however, is not.)

**

Despite continuous searching, it was several hours before the Turtles found another person. Once again, the attendant appeared out of thin air. "Your request to have an audience with The Goddess has been accepted. Follow me."

The attendant turned and walked away. The Turtles hurried to follow her, not wanting to lose their opportunity. Before long they once again entered the entrance room of the temple.

"Okay, I know that wasn’t there when we got here," Don whispered.

On the far side of the room, opposite the front doors, was an elaborate archway. Beyond it they could see a stairway. Mike and Don glanced nervously at each other while Leo followed upward without hesitation. Raphael shoved his brothers forward and took up the rear. "Don’t lose her."

After several more minutes of climbing they exited onto a landing, once again facing an archway like the one downstairs. Only this one had a door.

The attendant bowed. "I must leave you now."

"But what do we-" But she was gone before Leonardo could finish the question.

With nothing else to do, Leo glared at the door for a second before walking over and grabbing the handle. "Looks like it pulls out," Don told him.

Despite its size, the door opened easily, and Leonardo stormed in with determination. The others followed a bit more slowly.

At the other end of the long room sat a figure on a cushioned stage, and Leo made beeline for her. This was the person who was going to give him answers. The one who was going to give Venus back to him. The one who-

Leonardo stopped in his tracks several yards from the stage. The others sprinted the rest of the distance, worried that this person had done something to their brother.

"Whoa."

They’d never seen this person before, yet she was eerily familiar. Although covered in human clothing, she obviously wasn’t human. Deep green skin sat in contrast with the ruby red of her dress, a large gold headdress surrounding her head like a halo. She stared down at them as if they were insects at her picnic.

"You’re a Turtle?!?" Mikey blurted out.

"Know your place," The Goddess spoke, her voice cold. "Your first warning for disrespect will be your only one."

Leonardo glared right back at her, but he bowed respectfully. "Goddess, we’ve come to ask for you to release our sister, Venus."

"That is not possible," The Goddess answered. Her voice was no longer cold, but not friendly either. "She must repay the debts for favors owed."

"What debt? What favors?" Leo demanded, trying hard to keep his voice level. The woman was acting like she owned Venus.

"Your first meeting with Mei was in your home, correct? I know this because it was one of my disciples that transported her there. An agreement she did make in desperation because normal methods would have caused her to arrive too late to save any of you." Her tone of voice sounded like she couldn’t have cared less if that had been the outcome. "Now, she wishes to increase her power and skill, again to save all of you. She is going through that path now."

"But why mind control? She came here willingly!" Leo was getting more and more angry at this… thing. Obviously not human, yet he refused to consider her like he and his family.

"Indeed, as do many others. It is an unfortunate side effect of testing. Having control of this much power cannot be taken lightly. An initiate must be tested to make sure their heart is pure and ready for the task. Fortunately, Mei’s heart is." Her face softened just a little. "It is not permanent. When her training is finished and her debt repaid, she is free to leave with you."

Leonardo stood silently, considering her words. It made sense, having to screen people like that, although he wondered what happened to the people who failed. If it weren’t for the fact that someone he cared for was trapped inside, he would have praised to procedure. But still, he couldn’t sit back and let Venus stay like that.

"Enough about Venus," Mike broke in. "Tell us about yourself."

The Goddess fought hard to keep from snarling. This one was as bad as Toshiro! She simply closed her eyes and raised her chin. "I am The Child of Power. Created on Earth to be a conduit for The Great Power."

"Doubtful," Don remarked, loudly to cover Raphael’s less-than-polite response. "You’re obviously a mutant like us. Let me guess, you were found around eighteen years ago?" He smirked, proud of himself for finding the logical reasoning after being bombarded with nothing that made sense to him the entire time he’d been here.

"No, twenty, as a small child." The Goddess ignored Donatello’s crest fallen expression as she stood and stepped from the stage. Standing in front of Leonardo, they could see she was slightly taller. "I believe I’ve answered all your questions."

"Hey!" Raphael yelled. "I don’t care what these nuts think, but you ain’t a goddess! Take off that shiny jewelry and fancy clothes and you’re a mutant freak like the rest of us!"

The Goddess’ head snapped around and Raphael was thrown back against the far wall by an unseen force. Her eyes flashed as she glared at him, a cold chill overtaking the room. "Every creature in this temple worships at my feet. If you do not intend to do the same, you would do best to leave."

She turned without another word and left through a small door near the stage. Leo glanced at his brother, then back only to see that the door had disappeared. "Good going, Raph."

"So what now?" Don asked. He watched Mike help Raph to his feet. Raphael really did know how to get himself in over his head, so Don didn’t feel too much sympathy. Besides, it wasn’t like Raph learned anything.

"We’re leaving!" Raph snapped.

"And how do we do that?" Leo yelled back. "We can’t get to Venus, and even if we could, she’s still under their control!"

"Maybe Splinter can help her," Mike suggested. Thunder rolled in the following silence, seeming to come from the walls themselves.

Raph shook his fist at the ceiling. "You haven’t won! You hear me? You haven’t won yet!" He stormed off back down the stairs before his brothers could stop him.

**

Illustration Eight:

Yay! for color! Flats, yeah, but it’s the best I can do with my sucky program. I can’t scan in color, but I had to do a color guide to her.

**

The Goddess threw her headdress against her bedroom wall. Toshiro casually picked it up and inspected it for damage. "Really, it has been awhile since you’ve gotten this upset."

The Goddess glared over her shoulder. "As I recall, I was upset at you, and it took a month for you to heal, even with your power. And help."

Toshiro sighed. "Such fond memories." Thunder echoed through the room. "Are they really that important to you?"

"They are nothing to me!" The Goddess spat, turning on Toshiro.

"Oni, Oni, Oni…" Toshiro shook his head.

"I have rescinded your permission to address me by that name!"

Toshiro smirked. "Skeptics have visited before, and you’ve remained your calm and collected self through it all. And while you’re beautiful when you’re angry, this really isn’t worth your energy. Leave it to me, my Goddess." He reached out to touch her face.

Oni snatched her headdress out of Toshiro’s hands. "You will do nothing, Toshiro. Nothing! Now, leave me."

Toshiro remained visually unaffected by her dismissal. "As you wish."

**

Illustration Nine:

A cookie for every physical detail difference between The Goddess and the other Turtles you notice. (This goes until the end of the story.)

**

Raphael was still in a horrible mood that afternoon, and his brothers tried to stay out of his way. They rest of them were in a sour mood as well, but the only one who came close to Raphael’s natural moodiness was Leonardo. But while Leo stayed in his private room, Raphael paced the common room, occasionally kicking inanimate objects.

"The little…" Raphael growled. "She’s gonna pay!"

"Good luck," Mike replied. "Maybe next time she’ll make you a permanent part of the wall. Like a trophy."

"I don’t know if there’s anything we can do," Don said. He sounded tired, like he’d been going over everything he could to avoid that conclusion. "We can’t fight them. We can’t get to Venus. And even if we tried to leave in the middle of this storm…" Lightning lit up the windows of the room, followed by a deafening clap of thunder. "…I don’t think it’s wise to travel in this."

"We can’t do nothing!" Raphael yelled.

"That may be our only choice," Leonardo told them, leaning on the doorframe of his room. "To trust that they’ll keep their word."

Raphael suddenly let out a cry of frustration and stormed out of the room. Mike and Don looked to Leo for an idea of what to do. "Leo, if he gets them any angrier…"

"It’s on his head," Leo said softly.

**

Raphael angrily stormed down the corridors. He’d smash things occasionally only to see them again when he traveled back that way, as if they’d never been touched.

Then he’d smash them again.

He stopped in the main hall, staring at the empty wall where the archway to The Goddess had once stood. He walked over and punched it. Definitely solid, he thought as he rubbed his knuckles.

He stepped back. "Hey, Goddess! I wanna talk to you! I wanna know where you get the idea that it’s okay to turn people into your slaves! You can’t keep us here like rats in a cage! We’re not here for your amusement! We’re not here for you!"

He stood panting for almost a minute. Then, in literally the blink of an eye, the archway appeared again. Raph straightened up. "Yeah, I thought so."

He once again traveled up the stairway. The doors to the chamber were already open so he stormed right in. He walked right up to The Goddess, who was standing before her stage. He glared up at her, very annoyed at the fact he did indeed need to glare upward.

The Goddess matched his glare with her be-honored-I’m-wasting-my-time-on-you look.

Bitch. Raphael pushed his chest out. If she was trying to intimidate him with height, he had the advantage of muscle. Goddess or no, he had to give off the impression that he could snap her in half. "We’re not your playthings."

"I could have left you wandering the endless halls of this temple," The Goddess reminded him. "I answered all these questions before. Your comrade will be returned when her training is finished, which is what she wanted."

Raph growled. "I think I know her better than you do and I know she wouldn’t allow this!"

The Goddess turned slightly, yet still retained contact through the corner of her eye. "She was told everything, and willingly gave herself to the power. I don’t understand why you’re so upset. One of the failings of your kind is that you can’t grasp the whole of the situation. This is far bigger than you’re aware and is more than capable of just swallowing you up." She gave him a long look before turning away. "But since you have no power to change it, all you can do is yell and complain, like all your kind."

"’Your kind’? I don’t know if you’ve looked in a mirror lately, but you’re ‘my kind’ as well."

The Goddess whirled around. "We are nothing alike! You are nothing but a pathetic mortal who should know his place and bow at my feet!"

The blow came so quickly that when The Goddess found herself on the floor, she was at a loss at how she had gotten there. She looked up to see Raphael standing over her.

"Funny, I didn’t know goddess’ could bleed."

Oni brought her fingers up to where he’d hit her. Her lip stung and she pulled back her hand. She could see bright red contrasting against her emerald skin.

"Now," Raphael said calmly, now in the comfortable position of being in control. "Venus."

"I still cannot. Hurting me will not change that. I am but an emissary, and her bond is truly with a higher power. I can influence it, but…" The Goddess stood again. "There must be a price paid."

"What price?" Now he was getting somewhere.

"Mei is paying for her training with her servitude. She will be released when the trade is equal."

Raph glared at her, but internally, his mind was working out the problem. "Does… Can someone else trade as well?"

The Goddess laughed, then abruptly stopped when a sharp pain shot from her cut lip. "You want to take her place? You’d still be without her."

"I’ll do it." He paused. "Wait. Can my brothers and I split the cost? We’d be out of here in quarter the time."

The Goddess stared at him in disbelief. "No one’s ever offered…"

"But can we?" Raphael pressed.

"I don’t know… I’ll try."

Raphael blinked, thinking he’d imagined the soft look on The Goddess’ face. "Good! You do that!" Raphael headed for the exit. "Now to convince the others…"

**

Illustration Ten:

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v159/kaligargoyle/ripples10.jpg[/IMG]

That looks like it hurt…

**

"Well?"

Raphael’s three brothers stared at him in complete shock. Finally, it was Leo who yelled out, "Are you insane?"

"How did you even think of this?" Don asked. "You’re the one who said we couldn’t trust them, now you want us to hand ourselves over?"

"We could end up like Venus," Mike added. "Forever!"

"Or we can save her and be out of here sooner," Raph argued back. "The goddess-wanna-be told me that Venus has to pay for her training. If we agree to help we could all be out of here tomorrow. Or we can sit around for who knows how long. I’d rather do something than just sit on my butt."

Leo stood up and walked over to the window. It was still storming very badly. "I wish Splinter were here."

"Well he’s not! So suck it up and decide for yourself! Sit around while Venus remains at the will of these people, forced to do whatever they want, or help her get her freedom back." Raph held Leonardo’s eyes in a silent battle of wills. If Leo backed down they others might just follow Raph.

Leonardo walked over to his brother. "This isn’t about what I want. I can’t sacrifice all of us for only a chance at rescuing one person. Not even her." They could all tell this pained him. "There aren’t any guarantees, Raph. If you trust they’ll let us go, trust that they’ll let her go."

"I will not let them treat any of us like we’re game pieces!" Raph yelled into his brother’s face.

Before the fight could continue, an attendant entered the room. They all stared at her expectantly. She simply pointed at Raphael. "The Goddess summons you."

"Wait, we haven’t decided yet!" Mike told her.

"That does not concern The Goddess."

Raphael glared back at Leo. "Fine, you three stay here."

"Raph…" Leo started.

"No, Leo, I have to finish this. Maybe you were right that I can’t sacrifice everyone, but I got myself into this. I can’t control you, but you can’t control me, either." He turned and followed the attendant out into the darkness.

They walked for several minutes before stopping outside a door Raphael had never seen before. The attendant turned and gave him a fierce glare. "Very few are allowed in The Goddess’ chambers. Be honored, and above all, respectful."

Raph shrugged when the attendant left him in the hallway. He grabbed the door handle and let himself in.

Raphael was taken, to his surprise, not to the meeting room of before, but to a more casual lounge room. I suppose even deities need a place to kick back.

"Raphael."

Raph turned and did a double take. The Goddess stood before him, but gone were the elegant clothing and heavy jewelry. Dressed in only a sheer white gown, he could clearly see the plastron and top edge of her carapace, which had both been covered before. Without her headdress, gold hair fell around her face.

Maybe she isn’t really a mutant like us, Raphael thought to himself.

"Do I no longer look like a goddess?"

*

Illustration Eleven

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v159/kaligargoyle/ripples11.jpg[/IMG]

Sheer is so hard to draw.

*

Raphael sputtered trying to find a response. "Huh?"

The Goddess smiled. "You once said that without all my dressings, I was no different than you. Well?"

Raph felt his mouth go dry. "Well, um, you’re not exactly the same…"

The Goddess smiled as she approached him. "As I am no longer a goddess to you, you may call my Oni, my given name. Not many people are allowed that knowledge."

"I’m honored." Raph frowned. "Oni? Who gave you that name?"

Oni cast her eyes aside while she let out a chuckle. "People I no longer concern myself with." She returned her gaze to him.

Raphael suddenly felt very uneasy here. In the chamber where he’d first met her there had been an almost business-like atmosphere. This room was her personal territory, beyond a doubt, and Raphael felt like he was intruding with no real reason. "G… Oni, why am I here? My brothers haven’t agreed to-"

Oni waved for him to be quiet. "Your brothers no longer concern me. I have been thinking about your proposal."

"Like I said, I was talking to my brothers. Give me a little time and I’m sure I can-"

"I said they no longer concerned me," Oni repeated harshly.

Raph narrowed his eyes. He’d let her new appearance alter his opinion of her for a moment. But she was still the same, arrogant and self-important. He guessed that being raised as a goddess had a tendency to do that to a person, but it still pissed him off.

"I have been in counsel," Oni continued. "There are many things I must consider, many people I must consider. Your brothers’ refusal to accept my offer calls for a compromise."

Raph frowned. "Does that mean we can’t help Venus? We have to continue to wait until you people get tired of her?"

"I did not say that," Oni responded, her voice changing to match his venom. "Is she that important to you?"

"Of course!" Raphael spat. "She’s family! She’s like a sister to me, and I do everything I can to help family."

Oni’s face slowly lost the harshness that came with her anger. "Sister?"

"Yeah, sister. Family," Raph replied, refusing to let go of his anger.

Oni stepped forward and leaned against him, catching herself on his shoulders. "You really don’t know how lucky you are. You must never get lonely."

Raph stood frozen. "Of course I do…"

"I don’t want to be alone…"

**

Illustration Twelve

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v159/kaligargoyle/ripples12.jpg[/IMG]

Sheer is still hard to draw…

**

"Leonardo, wake up."

Leo reached out without opening his eyes. "Mei, is that you?"

"Wake up, it’s time to go."

Leo’s hand touched something warm. He opened his eyes and sat up, wide awake in an instant. "Venus!" He grabbed her shoulders. She certainly felt real. He moved his fingers in front of her eyes, and she followed it with an amused expression on her face. "You’re back!" He pulled her into a tight hug.

"I told you they were a couple."

Leo spotted Mike and Don standing at his door and quickly pulled out of the embrace, his cheeks darkening. "But how…?"

"Get movin’!" Raph bellowed from the main room. "We’re out of here!"

Leo pushed past his brothers to get to Raphael. "Raph, what…?"

"Get your gear, Leo," Raph grumbled. "I ain’t stayin’ here any longer than I have to, you know that. We got everything, we can leave now."

Leo looked over his shoulder at Venus. She nodded that Raphael was correct. Leonardo looked out the window to see clear, bright weather where a raging storm had been when he went to bed last night. "This… doesn’t make any sense…"

"Nothing here makes sense, dork," Raph snapped. "Hurry it up." He left the room, the others following quickly after.

No attendants were there to bid them farewell. Don quickly looked over the van. "I can’t believe there’s no damage from that storm. It was practically a hurricane and the interior isn’t even damp!"

"I guess things turned out fine in the end, huh, Raph?" Leo pointed out. He didn’t waste an opportunity to prove to Raph that his rash actions never helped their situations.

"Yeah, yeah," Raph replied as he climbed into the very back of the van. The others piled inside after him.

"Should we say goodbye, or send a fruit basket or something?" Mike asked. "They were kinda nice…"

"For fanatical weirdoes," Raph finished.

"There’s no need, Michaelangelo," Venus said. "It’s all been taken care of."

"Let’s just go," Don said as he started up the van. "I want to put this experience as far behind me as possible."

"Agreed," Leo said, his attention on Venus. She seemed a little different somehow. He hoped it was simply confidence from her training and not something caused by her brainwashing. He didn’t want to come back here, but he would if he found out they’d hurt her…

Raphael used the excuse of adjusting his position to look out the back window. He could only see the faintest outline of the temple now, as if it, and everyone inside, were being swallowed up by the mists, never to be seen again…

***

TMNT Fan Fiction