Chapter Text
All you have to do is lose them.
You groan, trying to get over the soreness that buries itself deep into your legs, a very bruised, aching, and most-likely twisted ankle attempting to slow you down.
But you need a way out, so you push through the all the uncomfortable stings and sharp pains and continue to run all while trying to keep your breath.
You can still hear them just slightly behind you, unfortunately, and huff as your eyes eagerly scan around this mess of alleyways and thin streets you've been chased into.
You suggest a right turn, following through the plan and darting that way, into another alleyway. Shouts trail after, and you duck as quickly as you can between two garbage dumpsters and an ugly brick wall.
You hold your breath seeing as it's currently far to erratic to keep silent. You watch, hesitant, as they run right pass you.
Instantly you scramble onto your feet, almost tripping as you skid in the complete opposite direction.
Panting, your stomach drops when you accidentally kick the thin metal lid of a trash can, and the muffled voices are enough to let you know that they're now aware of the trick you tried to pull.
"You serious?" You grumble under your breath, frustrated, and exhausted. You can't keep running forever, you know that, but you can't just give up either.
You haven't been spotted yet, but you can hear them getting closer, and a mix of dread and awful hopelessness sinks into your gut.
No way. You aren't losing today.
You try and think of some sort of a plan, sneaking into a dead end and mentally cursing at the tall wall ahead of you. There aren't even any fire escapes, no random miracle latter, nothing. No way over it.
You freeze, uncertain but determined to get out of here. Then, there it is- for some reason- a way straight into the sewers.
You mentally gag, but it seems to be the only escape. You bite your lip, taking a deep breath before animatedly jumping as their loud voices called only a little bit behind. Down to the underground, it is.
You rush, lifting the circled plate up and scrunching your nose, lowering a foot down to the latter with a bit of evident reluctance traced on the features of your face.
But it'll be worth it- if it works.
Which it will, you tell yourself, finding secure footing and quickly pulling the lid back over yourself.
With as much speed but quietness you can manage at the same time, you make your way down, and you can hear them just above the surface.
"This way!" One shouts, making you duck away even though they can't see you. You sweat nervously, chest tight as they all seem to enter the alleyway.
Then, after a moment of silence,
"What?"
They sound very upset.
"How? How? How!?" You can hear something being kicked, even more being thrown. Or vice versa, who actually knows. You clutch your bag to your chest, heart pounding far too quickly, a loud thumping in your ears as you tiptoe three feet further.
"Go! Search up there! All of us, now!"
Oh thank god.
You sigh loudly, slouching against the sewer wall before slowly wiping your forehead with the back of your hand.
Then you push off the wall, still on edge, and creep away, walking backwards with an anxious expression before turning around and eyeing the dark tunnel before once again starting backwards.
Inching further into the system of tunnels, you bite your cheek and keep your eyes focused on where you entered.
You take a step back, shoulders raised and a hand near your face, moments away from nibbling at your own finger.
Another step back, heart finally getting some downtime before it spikes and you frown instantly, the feeling of your back bumping into something hard. You are ready to pull out your knife that was unfortunately all you had left-
Wait no you lost it too. Darn. You laugh weakly and nervously as you quickly whip around, now holding nothing as you turn to face them- wait hold on- what?
Upon turning around your not met with the group that was just chasing you moments before, instead, some sort of strange creature turns around. A mutant thingy maybe? You swallow heavily, and it looks like they were just caught, as if they were sneaking too.
Of course, not knowing what to do or how the hell to now get out of this one, you yelp and wack at it, then step back as it screams back in response, a flash of a blue mask and wide eyes coming out from the mass of shadows for a moment as the two of you stand there, expressing the panic and fear that drags out before you see a messy blur of green hands waving and something coming your way-
Then it goes dark.
Your eyes are heavy, hard to open, as your body groans tiredly with pain. Your neck is strained, and when you try to lift it, it takes far too much work so you just let your head hang before registering the sudden burst of pain. Who the hell hit you on the side of your head?
As you start to gain back your senses, you faintly hear a voice. It's distant, and it's fast, nonstop muttering that only worsens the throbbing pain you feel.
Eyes slowly blinking, somewhat of a skewed vision coming into place as you try and regain total consciousness. You squint, it's far too bright, which is unfair seeing as whatever is making that noise is perfectly hidden right at the reach of the light, effectively hidden.
You groan, trying to figure out where the hell you even are right now as you blink like it'll make your eyes focus. It semi-works, and you can see grey walls and concrete flooring all around you, along with an assortment of junk you can't identify from one another, it's all a mess, and there's a huddle of posters in the right corner. Then, right ahead, there's that looming figure in the dark, loud and insistent.
Slowly, you can start to comprehend what they're saying.
You nearly laugh at the mantras of "what do I do" that seem to keep occuring, and huff with a light smile that quickly fades as you realize that you are indeed, tied up and hanging from rope attached to the ceiling.
"Yuv-" You instantly close your lips, pride deflating at your attempt at speaking. Your voice is not yet ready, not even when saying 'you' so you clear your throat instead, whole body freezing with anticipation as the figure stills and it shuts its mouth.
Then, it slowly turns around, and you can't really see much but you do remember the moment of a glance you got earlier as your memory kicks back in. That's right, you were running and hid in the sewers and bumped into this.... thing.
Wait a minute-
Fuck. Your heart picks up as you eye the room desperately for your bag. "Were-" You try and say, once again dismissing the idea of talking before you can clear out the odd and gross feeling in your throat. You clear your throat again, focusing this time, and swallow it down. "Where's my bag?" You shout, and the figure jumps even further into the dark.
"Uhhhh." It drags out, making your eyes light up with interest at the male's voice, tilting your chin up slightly as you watch, and it he steps closer, a foot slid into the light, and a single hand with three fingers making dramatic gestures.
"What does this bag look like, fellow human?" He asks, lowering his voice and you give a very unimpressed glare as he gives a thumbs up.
"You're not a human," You say simply. The hand clenches before he stills again, and then a long sigh rings through the room.
He waves his hand around, it's weird, and you pout. "Now, my bag?"
"Ah yeah, totally didn't forget that." Another thumbs up and a mess of odd gestures that don't even mean anything and you grimace with annoyance creeping up your face.
"Can you stop with the hand." It's not really a question, though it does work as the hand is instantly drawn back and he's completely hidden by the dark again. "If I know you're not human there's really no point in hiding," You tell him with an unamused face, voice plain, and if you could you would cross your arms right now. Then grab your bag. Then leave-
You can practically feel the hesitancy radiating from him for a long couple of moments before he finally steps out.
Your eyes widen, taking in the green... turtle holy shit he's a turtle. Duh. How did you not guess that?
He's got blue accents throughout his outfit, a blue mask, one that all those ninja comics had, and a blue strap across his plastron, and a long sword peeking out from behind his shell, facing you with a curious look.
"So..." He rocks on the balls of his feet and gives a half smile. "Check the fit." He turns on his heel, and places his hands on his sides. Oh so humorous.
"Awesome, now, could you release me from this rope of yours?" You smile sourly back at him, flexing your feet and frowning at the fact that you can't reach the ground. You glance down, sadly it seems you're about two feet above the concrete, and you squirm around with a grunt, sparing him another fake smile. "I'll just grab my stuff and leave."
At your sudden act to get out, he waves his hands dramatically as to say no. "Wait, wait, wait," He repeats, holding his hands out in front of him, then glaring at you with disproval.
"Why is this bag so important to you?" He asks, all of a sudden very nonchalant as he animatedly leans back and forth before raising his hand and inspecting his nails. He presses his lips into a thin line and hums, looking up at you. "Huh?"
"Because it's mine." The ever-growing annoyance is clear in your tone, brows furrowed as you try to sway closer, it doesn't work, and there's still a good five or six feet between you and the turtle. You grit your teeth and roll your eyes. "Don't you care about any of your possessions?"
"That I do," He says with a pointed finger tipping your way before he crosses his arms behind his back and closes his eyes with a smug grin. "But I don't really let people knock me out and take them. Sooo..." Then he leans forward, placing his hands on his knees. "I guess you don't actually care about this bag, then, huh?"
"What?" You're baffled, arms trying to wrangle yourself out of here as you think about how much you wish looks could kill because man the glare you're giving him right now would leave him to drop on the ground. "No! The hell is wrong with you? That's not how it works."
"Oh, it isn't?" He turns back after somehow spinning around during that amount of time. "Well maybe you'll get it back if you can tell me what you were doing in the sewers?" He crosses his arms stubbornly, seemingly offended by the fact that you hid here as if you wanted to. You stick your tongue out at that and shake away any unwelcomed thoughts about gross smells and substances that you might have tiptoed past.
"Uh, you first?" You offer and he gives a deadpanned look at that, shoulders dropping. "What were you sneaking away from?"
He shoots up, standing straight and sweats. "Sneaking? No, no. I wasn't sneaking. Who said that-" He cuts himself off, fisting his hand and coughing into it, then stops and glances at you before smiling and dusting off his hands. He looks down, considers something, and seemingly his nervous energy from not even a second before is gone as he points an accusing hand your way. "Now tell me what you're doing here."
You press your lips into a thin line, you're sitting here wasting time and who knows if they'll run back around and figure out you went into the sewers. You huff. "Looking for a shortcut, duh." You lie, well, sort of. "The walk home is too long, and it gets dangerous at night."
His eyes look you up and down with doubt, as if your words meant nothing, like he knows you're not letting the full story on, and he sighs, plopping to the ground and sitting crisscrossed. Seriously?
You groan, tired of this. "Can't I just go?"
He scoffs, placing his hands behind him and looking up at you. "Nope. You gotta tell me the truth." He slows down and looks around the room. "And what's in the bag."
"Don't you have it?"
He puffs his chest and dismisses your anger with a wave of his hand. "Perhaps. Why does thou ponder?"
You purse your lips, a brow arched with confusion and slight amusement. "But ya didn't open it?"
"Nah," He adds noncommittally, switching to tuck his lower legs underneath his thighs, momentarily striking a pose, then as if he's bored, he moves to another seated position, legs bent at the knees with both hands on his ankles, smiling up at you. "I'd rather use my unmatched- and I mean totally impeccable- integration skills." He emphasizes the last bit, swiftly lifting to his feet with a hand held victoriously in the air.
The light in the room flickers and you look away from the turtle, wondering just how long he can drag this out for.
"Uh, well, that's great and all but I've really got to get going." You tell him, once again straining on the rope and he beams with confidence as you fail, stepping closer and lifting his head.
"Oh yeah?" His voice lifts up, once more daring to come closer as he reaches an arm and lazily swings the rope, sending you swaying back and forth as he watches, acting all disinterested. "Where to?"
Well that begs the question of what the hell you're even meant to do. See, you escaped to the covers of the sewers, but how long up on the surface before you're tracked down again?
You worry your bottom lip, the thoughts hit you, you didn't really have a solid plan. Still don't. You were too focused on just getting out. Now what? Panic slightly creeps over as you hope they just don't know where you live. You'd rather still have a house to come back to.
Once you manage to slide out of this turtle's hands, that is.
"Somewhere." You growl, eyes scanning over the room for any possible item to use as leverage. But then he stops the rope, and you huff at the sudden impact as the rope pushes against your stomach. He leans down, and glances up at you.
"That doesn't sound super convincing, you know?" He says with a hint of utter arrogance, paired with a revolting smugness that makes your face shrivel up with resentment that he doesn't even see as he flexes his arms and spins you, laughing a little. "In fact, it doesn't seem like even you know."
Somehow, he's got enough strength to really push this thing, sending you in repeated circles that leave your already slightly messy head all titled as the world blurs. "You're-" You start as soon as you see a flash of green and blue, but it's gone in a second as you spin at what should be an impossible speed. "An-" And he's gone. Then he's back. "Awful." You lose him again, feeling sick. "Turtle."
Suddenly the breaks are hit on the tortuous ride and dizziness washes over you like an unforgiving wave. You shake it off as best as you can and grimace.
This annoying pesky turtle is clearly an amateur and is striking your last nerve. You didn't have time for distractions and useless sidequests. Breathless, you still find the strength to try and break out again, gritted teeth chomping at his hand that he recoils back just in time with a surprised yelp.
"Oh my god it bites!" He squawks loudly, holding his hand to his chest before his eyes go wide and he slams his other hand over his mouth and quickly moves to look out of the room into a literal void of darkness. Of course, you know there's just more sewer, but it's far too dark to actually see. So void of darkness it shall be. When his shoulders sag and he turns around with an only ever so slightly nervous chuckle, the gears in your brain turn. After examination, your assumption is that he, for some unknown reason, would rather be silent and not to give away his surroundings. At least most likely.
The very ends of your lips curl up into a hardly noticeable smile, you try your best to shrug when he asks 'where were we' through the ropes before clearing your throat and exaggerating your words with high volume. "I don't know." You shout at him, each word slightly punctuated and spaced from the next. Not even a second later he's eyeing you with a lost look, confused and head tilted.
"Wait why are you so loud?" He hums. "I could hear you perfectly why do you have to start-" And then it clicks and he gasps, shoulders raised with a very urgent look on his face as he wiggles a finger left and right to say no. "Don't, don't. Shush now. Whisper-level voices only."
"Why should I listen to-" The rest is muffled into his hand, he's at your side within a blank of an eye it startles you a little. In retaliation, you do only what you must, and only what you can, as you lick his hand and send him flying back into the middle of the room with an assortment of disgusted and pained noises like it physically harmed him.
"Ugh- agh- oh my god!" He holds his hand up by the wrist, like it's not even attached, before hunching over with his shell facing you. Then, with a much more serious look on his face, he whips around with a sharp finger pointed in your direction, hand shaking with dramatized anger. "You."
"I'll never let you get that bag if you don't stop all of your little shenanigans this instant." He tries to demand, but his choice of words leaves him scrambling to make up for it in his tone, but he sounds more worried about his personal agendas, trying to stress how important they are. "You have to be quiet."
"Or what?"
He blinks at you, a growing frown pulling at his lips before he groans, head thrown back before he heaves his body forward, practically folded in half. "Come on." He complains, defeated, and a little annoyed as he stands back up. "If they find us, they'll find you- duh, which means that they find out I was trying to leave." He explains, motioning with his hands to add to the invisible weight of the situation that only he sees. "You catching on so far?" He doesn't even wait for an answer. "Okay great," He says sarcastically. "But we don't want that."
"You don't want that." You correct.
He glares at you. "We don't want that because then you don't get your bag and I'm dragged back and have to come up with a whole new way to leave. Mkay? Okay. Now shushie shush or that bag is as good as mine." He smiles with a 'hmph', momentarily holding a finger up to his lips.
You mentally debate over his explanation. It sort of makes sense, and honestly you're too tired to continue yelling, and you really need to hurry up with this escape process you are currently stuck in.
"Who are you hiding from?" You question curiously and he gives you a suspicious look.
"Nobody." He assures, then sets two hands on his chin to seem deeper in thought than he is. "But based on the very not-so-subtle tone in your voice it seems you yourself are in fact hiding from whatever the hell, I don't care. Now, others will deny it but I'm actually the smartest, so just be awed at my knowledge, alright? Your inflections are so easy to read, I deserve a PDHE."
You fumble to keep up with his ranting, then pause at the last thing he said as you blink. "What's a PDHE?"
He flicks something off his shoulder. "You know, the degree thing. That doctors get."
You can't help but laugh, bemused by his answer. "You mean a PhD?"
You almost miss the flash of embarrassment that flickers onto his face for a single second before disappearing.
"Yes, that. I just should have so many of those things."
"You're funny." You add, slight mockery and tease dipping at the curve of your tongue and the stretch of your smile. It must go unmissed, or the turtle doesn't really care, as his eyes widen with a jubilant look and he throws his hands up.
"Hah! I am funny!" He points at no one and everyone, whooping with his new win. "You said it. You mean it. No takebacks. I am funny!"
"I meant to insult you." You try to tell him over his short-lived celebration, making him yawn.
"Pretending like I didn't hear that." He mumbles, opting to move over so he can lean on a wall. "Now hurry up and tell me what you were doing in the sewers, who you're hiding from, and what's in the bag." He counts off, using all three fingers before resting them on the wall and doing exactly two wall push-ups before wiping his forehead and blowing out hot air. "Go on with it." He urges with a wiggle of your fingers.
Fuck maybe just telling the truth for the first time in months will actually help you speed up the process.
You sigh, devasted with your defeat as you hang your head with a very unhappy pout. "Fine." You grunt. "I went in the sewers because I cornered myself and it was the only way out. They didn't follow me. But I still have to hide from them." You then look up at him knowingly, already sensing his question. "And to answer that second one, well I don't know. Okay? Just cus' they're onto me doesn't mean I actually know them. But they want my- they want what's in the bag." You look down at the ground. Then grumpily roll your eyes. "Which is total bullcrap because it's mine!"
Glancing over at the turtle doesn't really seem to help the situation. His expression is unreadable, eyes only a bit widened like he's actually listened. hope stirs for only a second as he wipes it off his face and gives a very unimpressed look. "Wow. Uh-huh. Real nice. Can't believe you couldn't just say that, it was so boring you should've told me like, yesterday."
Your face drops with a displeased frown. "Does this mean I can go now?"
He pushes off the wall with his arms outstretched and shuts his eyes. "Nope." He pops the p and you watch as he walks to the other side, sparing a glance at you. "It means I get to see what's in this bag and figure out the dealio."
He stops in front of a mess of trash bags full of discarded items, fabric and plastic sticking out, a single chair, and a laundry basket which you mentally curse yourself for as he pulls your bag out of it. You should have guessed. He holds it up with a grin. "Look at my new gem. Ha-alright." He adjusts the flimsy strap on it and throws it over his shoulder and lifts a hand to whisper to you. "Not that I actually saw you wear it, but I definitely pull it off at least one hundred times better."
"Okay, open it, get your free preview, and let me go." You fuss. "With the bag."
"Ay, patience-" Before he can finish a third voice carries out from the darkness and he shoots up with panic, waving his arms around and tossing the bag, turning off the light, and darting away.
Great.
Now you're alone, tied up, and in the dark. Oh and in the sewers.
Which was totally how you planned this night. You sigh, looking around to see nothing but blocks and weird shapes of shadows.
You hear the turtle's voice getting further. "Oh hey... Donnie." He says and you absently wonder who that is. It doesn't really matter though, as your eye catches something that glints, and you snap your head towards it.
Oh hell yeah.
In the dark, you can still make out the lines of his sword. That he had left there while so rudely spinning you. A plan finally started to formulate in your head. Maybe if you could just swing yourself enough and maneuver it so your hands could reach any bit of it. If you can grab onto it, that's ideal. But if you have to take a risk and catch it between your feet, that's also one way.
You grunt, hearing the voice of the other, Donnie, rise up with a suspicious tone that leaves you rushing for escape.
Thank god this turtle was dumb enough to leave his sword. You huff, trying to swing yourself. Building up any form of momentum seemed a lot easier in your head, but once you're breathless, your core and calves burning because you couldn't figure it out for a while, you've finally managed to effectively sway over and right back.
You let out a breath of air, sweat on your forehead as you hiss, trying to reach and stretch your fingers as far as possible, biting your lower lip in concentration.
That swing doesn't work, so you huff and try again.
"...No, I wasn't..." You hear the blue-themed turtle's voice again, making you tiredly groan with frustration that this plan of yours didn't work first try. You reach as far as you can, in the short time you have, and feel the tips of your fingers brush against the handle of his sword- yes, fuck yes.
But then it's gone as you unwillingly sway to the left. You grimace. You'll get it. You really have to, desperation jumping at you as his voice and the Donnie guy grow louder.
"Hey, do you know how old I am?"
"Scoff," Donnie says, which makes you squint in the dark. He really said it out loud. "Me oh my it's almost as if we are literal twins."
Huh. Information that you don't need, you shake your head and refocus yourself on your current mission to escape. Swooping back in, you make sure to be quicker and firmer on your hold.
You manage to wrap almost two whole fingers around the edge of the handle, mainly just cupping it with two joints, but it works, sending it falling as you are pulled away.
You only get one shot at this so the timing better be perfect. You shift your feet in your shoes and-
And catch the sword handle between your feet.
"Yes." You whisper to yourself victoriously, thankful for the length of the handle as you adjust your grip on it. This sure is the tricky part. You inhale sharply, holding your breath as the blade is lifted up towards you. You really didn't wanna just cut your lower back, so you try your best to be careful all while fast as their voices pick up again.
"If you're so adult and mature you can be honest with me..."
Oh no you gotta go.
You're absolutely gnawing at the insides of your cheek as you follow throw, nearly screeching out a noise of surprise when the blade of the sword reaches the rope that spans across your back. Thankfully, it's not your skin. Hesitantly, you try and figure out how the hell to cut this rope using the sword that you're holding with your feet. Wow this really wasn't how you imagined this night.
Their voices get louder, but not because they're closer this time, thank goodness, but because it seems that they're now just arguing. You almost want to be grateful for the turtle, keeping them both away long enough as the rope starts to loosen. Then even more. And more.
You squirm, making sure to tilt the sword down as you do so, you mentally praise yourself for your true genius as the rope starts snapping in multiple areas.
But of course, there's the evident fall that has you scrambling to remove the sword from your personal bubble so you don't impale yourself after just breaking out.
You slump onto the floor, glad the sound wasn't all too loud, especially with their angered conversation carrying on through the sewers. You squint your eyes and try your best to make out what you're seeing in the dark. You count for the general area he threw your bag into, and twist around to silently creep over there and just feel everything with your hands. Which probably isn't that smart, but you are begging to get out of here.
Finally, after bumping into a very hard and metal box and hitting your head on the wall, you find your bag.
Immediately you're troubled by the sight of the maze in front of you, a mess of dark tunnels, the underground sewer system that you unfortunately have found yourself now trapped in with zero knowledge of this place.
"Come on, L-"
"Can we talk some other time?" The familiar turtle voice asks and you fan your face with a worried expression as you contemplate which way to go. They seem to be somewhere over the right side of this mess, so you go left, hearing his voice fade out. "I know..."
You stalk away, further into the sewers, and sigh when you can't hear them anymore.
A minute later you beam at the latter just a couple feet ahead that, sure enough, guides you to the surface.
You climbed it with as much stealth one could when traveling up a rusty old latter, and grin as you lift the sewer plate, the regular old view of a black night sky and random buildings has seriously never been more welcoming.
Two awesome escapes in one night. Hell yeah.
Leaving the area as quickly as you could, you mentally reminded yourself to avoid any sewers and really annoying turtles that like the color blue.
Shouldn't be too hard, though.