(Change is) Inevitable

I'm still alive! And so is this story. I'd like to take a moment to thank everyone who has reviewed, read, and messaged me about this. I've come out on the other side of a pretty rough patch and you guys helped me to see my way back to the story. So this one goes out to you, reader. And not just because it's got some stuff in here that's been a long time coming. ;)
Now, finally, at last, it's time to sit back and enjoy the ride

The chains grew taut, the bolts that held them fast to the prison wall strained under the pressure. Traximus smiled. His strength had returned.
Footsteps echoed in the hall outside. Meal time. The Triceraton warrior wrapped himself in the thin blanket and prostrated himself on the dirty straw. As the door opened, he let out a weak cough. The guard sniffed, holding a handkerchief over his face to ward off the supposed contagion as he dropped a dish of runny gruel on the floor. Traximus reached out for it, but his arm fell to the floor, his limp hand nearly tipping the bowl over. The guard looked upon him with disgust and gingerly kicked the dish closer to the prisoner. "Won't be long now." He muttered as he slammed the door.

Traximus picked himself up off of the floor, licking the nasty excuse for food off of his fingers. His grin was positively feral as he shed the blanket to reveal the muscular bulk he had been hiding.

"No indeed." He growled, "It won't be long now."

"Thought I'd find you out here."

Leo looked up in surprise at the voice of Raphael's friend Casey peering at him through the bushes.

"I just needed to get away to think. Your camp is very nice, but I haven't lived in anything so closely resembling a town for quite some time." Leo explained, returning his attention to the blade he was cleaning. Casey laughed out loud.

"That's a good one!" he proclaimed, pretending to wipe tears from his eyes when he was finished, "First time I've ever heard our camp compared to a town. What, were you a hermit or somethin'?" The outlaw teased.

Leo smiled both at the joking and at the memories of both his childhood and the time he'd spent in training, "Close, but not quite. Did you seek me out expressly to poke fun, Casey, or is there some purpose to this conversation?" He asked.

The vigilante grew silent. Leo paused and looked up. Casey was rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"Is something wrong?" Leo asked, growing concerned. He knew that Raph had taken Donatello with him to visit some hidden sanctuary that morning. Had something gone wrong on the way back?

"No, not really. I just wanted to talk to ya is all." Casey replied awkwardly. Leo scooted over. Considering that he was sitting on the ground, it was the best he could do towards offering the man a seat. Casey lowered himself onto the ground and let out a big sigh as he built up his nerve.
"You found us 'cause of that poster, right." It wasn't a question but Leo nodded anyways. "So you read everything they said about us." Not a question either.

Leo shook his head. "Neither of us believes a word of it, if that's what you're worried about. Yes, what you do isn't exactly legal but what Oroku does isn't exactly right."

"Yeah." Casey agreed, "Everything they said about your brother is bogus. And most of the stuff they said about me too. But I'm a little surprised you never asked about it, especially the bottom of my list."

Leo tried not to visibly wince. Offences were always listed by level of severity, least severe at the top and the worst at the bottom. He had, of course, read through both Casey and Raph's lists.
"My brother trusts you. The least I can do is give you the benefit of the doubt." He explained.

"I appreciate that. But I don't deserve it. Raph knows and I told him that if he didn't tell you that I would: that piece of the poster is true. I am a murderer."

It was an unconscious movement, but Leo found himself in a subtle defensive stance.

"I did it once and I don't plan on doing it again." Casey continued, oblivious to Leo's reaction. "I ain't sorry though." His hands curled into fists. "One of Hun's men killed my Dad. It was an accident. I coulda tried to find forgiveness or somethin' if he hadn't tried to hurt Angel too. He won't be hurting anyone ever again."

"Why are you telling me this?" Leo asked.

Casey shot him a look that appeared to be more of a grimace than the flippant smirk he was trying for.
"I just figured you had a right to know before trusting me with your family."

Leo nodded. "I appreciate your candor." He said, "But I trust Raph's judgment. If he trusts you, then I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt." That didn't mean that he wouldn't be watching the man.

The wagon rattled along, drawing curious looks from passers-by.

"You'd think Sir Leatherhead would have chosen someone a bit more… subtle." Mikey commented.

Renet elbowed him in the side, "Don't mention him. We're supposed to be on a secret mission."

"I'm just saying. Your wagon isn't exactly the spy-mobile." Mikey shrugged, earning himself a glare. He held up his hands, "Hey now, I was just saying that the bright colors aren't exactly likely to go unnoticed."

"Relax," Renet reassured him, "We don't have to go unnoticed, we just have to be inconspicuous."

They looked at each other and both of them started laughing.

"No," Mikey replied, wiping tears from his eyes, "No really. How are we going to do this?"

Renet shrugged. "I figured we do what we normally do while traveling. Being a performer is enough, isn't it?"

"I guess we'll find out."

April trudged up the mountain pass. The donkey's lead-rope felt heavy in her hands. She watched enviously as Shelly shot ahead of her, tongue lolling and ears flapping. Up ahead the path joined up with a small stream to meander through a meadow. A number of people had already set up camp there. After a quick calculation regarding the amount of supplies she carried, April decided that she would do the same.

"Shelly!" she called. The Labrador was already meandering through the makeshift camp, begging affection from any willing to dote on her. April quickened her pace as her dog disappeared among the tents of the makeshift camp.
"Shelly! Don't bother the people!" she shouted, then sighed in resignation and began to run.

Mikey and Renet had found come across a random assortment of people in their journey back through the mountains. The entire group of strangers had made the unspoken decision that the trip was safer in numbers. And, though they did miss their friends, the trip had become not too unfamiliar. They had decided to lend the use of their wagon to a very pregnant woman who, despite her husband's protests, was determined to make it back to her hometown in time for her sister's wedding. The entire party had come to a halt at around noon when the woman went into labor. Now her husband paced outside the wagon, ears flat against his head and his tail twitching. A few of the other women (including Renet) were inside the wagon trying to help. The men were outside boiling water and washing linens. There were a few taking the pooled supplies and making a stew, Mikey among them. Focusing on providing a meal gave him a distraction from the messy business going on inside the wagon. As he was gathering herbs to season the stew with, another distraction presented itself in the form of a happily barking dog. The golden retriever jumped up to greet him and, catching Mikey off-guard, bowled him over. He lay there in the grass as the dog licked his face.

"Hey!" he cried out laughing, "That tickles!"

Preoccupied with the dog, Mikey didn't notice the woman loping across the meadow towards him until the dog cocked its head and ran towards her. Mikey, having found somebody fun to play with, automatically followed.

"I am so sorry!" The woman apologized. "She's really a good girl usually. She just gets a little overexcited around new people sometimes…"

Mikey smiled at her, "No harm no foul." He reassured, "The stew is gonna have to go without the basil, but honestly, she was the most fun I've had all day."

The sound of Emma having another contraction ripped through the air and Mikey winced. The woman's eyes grew wide. "What's happening?" she asked, already following the noise toward the wagon.

"There's a lady having a baby in our wagon…" Mikey answered somewhat uncomfortably. The red-headed woman hurried her pace.

"I'm an apothecary. Show me the way and I can help." She said, already beginning to root around in her bag. As they reached the wagon she tossed a bundle of something at Mikey. "Make some tea with that." She ordered, disappearing into the wagon, leaving both Mikey and the dog outside.

"It was nice to meet you too." Mikey muttered bemusedly, then set about the task of making the lady's tea.

A loud crash woke Splinter from his fitful sleep. In the corner of his darkened cell, he turned his ears towards the door, trying to pick up the details of what was going on. The door to his cell squeaked, then groaned.

"I would move back, if I were you." A deep voice boomed from the other side. Splinter's eyes widened, and he pressed himself against the wall just as the door came crashing down. A Triceraton loomed in the doorway. Out of instinct, Splinter pulled himself up into a fighting stance.

"If you have come to kill me, I suggest you go to Lord Oroku. I am told that there is a line." He stated, leveling his gaze upon the intruder. The Triceraton's lips quirked upwards into a smile.

"And if I am here to free you?" he asked.

The babies were born in the wee hours of the morning.

"You did wonderfully." April told the new mother, handing her the two little swaddled bundles, one at a time. The rabbit looked up at her with a tired but perfectly content gaze.

"I have you to thank for it. For them." She pulled her children closer to her breast.

"I'm only doing my job." April said, "Now, let them eat and then I think all three of you could use some rest."
The woman nodded and April packed her bag back together just as the father burst through the door. She repeated her instructions to him and, with a sigh of relief, slipped out of the wagon.

"Here." A mug of tea was thrust at her. She looked up to see a pleasant-looking turtle lad offering her both a cup of tea and a bowl of breakfast. Wordlessly, she took both, nodding her thanks at him.

"Renet said that you'd be so tired that all you'd want to do is sleep. I mean, she's tired and she didn't stay up all night. But I figured that you might want something to eat before you crash. Also, I wanted to say thanks and all. For that." He nodded towards the wagon. "Nobody was saying it, but I don't think we had much idea what to do for her. Then you came along."

April was sitting down on the ground eating by this point. The turtle had joined her.

"Oh, and your dog is really nice. She really likes you. She stayed by the wagon all night. She's sleeping in the tent with Renet. What's her name? Renet wouldn't let me name her because she said that you probably already gave her a name, so I've just been calling her 'girl' and 'good dog'." He shrugged. April wondered if it was his increased lung capacity that gave him the ability to ramble on without stopping. Something was whispering to her from the back of her brain, but she was too tired to listen. The grain-mush actually tasted pretty good and the tea warmed her from the inside out. She told the boy so and he beamed at her.

"Is there someplace that I could get some rest?" she asked, badly suppressing a yawn.

The turtle started. "Oh. Yeah. Duh." He facepalmed, "That's why I was waiting for you. Except it took longer than I thought it would so I made some breakfast and I forgot that's why I was out here in the first place." He grabbed her by the hand and pulled her to her feet, "This way! You can use our tent. It's big enough, and your dog is already bunked there and we moved most of your stuff there too. Since you were busy and all." He led her to a plain, well-used, and slightly patched tent. "Here you go! Thanks again for the… that." He indicated the wagon again. Sleep as long as you like. We're probably going to stay here for the day. G'night. I mean morning." He finished.

Gratefully, April entered the tent, ready to collapse. Shelly lifted her head and wandered over from her place next to a soundly sleeping blonde. There was another bedroll spread out on the ground, likely belonging to the turtle boy (he had called it 'our' tent) and April sank down onto it. Shelly curled up next to her and April blissfully drifted off into the sound sleep of the weary.

I am so sorry that it took this long. To those of you who stick with me: Thank you. To those of you who are new: welcome to the madness.