Chapter 1

She let out a breath as she took a slight rest. The blood dripped slowly from her sword. "What are you doing here?" She asked the creature in front of her.

It roared in anger. She watched as it curled through the air, its thirty foot length restricted in the cramped space. Its long serpentine body coiled, its dog-like head let out another roar. Cat-like claws flexed in anticipation of an attack. "Hmmm I see, well then, I still insist you tell me what you are doing here, and perhaps you could give me the name of your Master, that would be ever so helpful." She said sweetly as she dodged razor sharp claws.

"AAARRRGGHHH!" Raphael shouted as he threw his sais at the training dummy in front of him. "I am so bored! With the shredder gone there isn't anything to do in this joint!"

Leonardo looked up from the book he was reading. "Raphael, you know Master Splinter wished for us to take this time to relax, train and recover from our battle with the Shredder."

"Yeah, more like he didn't want us getting into any trouble while he was gone." Raphael said bitterly. "I still don't see why he had to go back to Japan so soon after we came back."

"Raph we have been over this. Now that the Ancient One has joined the Tribunal someone has to fill in as Master until a new Ancient One is found." Leonardo replied, his attention returning to the book.

Sensors began to blare. "Donny please tell me I get to bust some heads." Raphael pleaded as he jumped up to where Donatello was working on some new invention. Donatello slid his chair over to the bank of security monitors.

"Sorry Raph, looks like it's probably some sort of animal or something. I'm not seeing anything on the screen." Donatello said as he slid himself back to his work.

"Typical, just typical!" Raphael raged as he kicked one of Donatello's machines.

"Hey, watch what you're kicking Raph!"

Leonardo looked at Raphael. "You had better go check it out, blow off some steam before you break something."

"Finally, even if it is some tiny animal, at least it will get me out of this place." Raphael growled as he stalked out of the lair.

Donatello had equipped the new lair with top notch security. He wondered what it was that could have broken through. Even if it was something small like a rat, there were some serious security measures put in place. He walked down the tunnel that led to one of the few emergency exits out of the lair. The tunnel would hit a buried underground chamber that looked like a building that had sunk into the ground. It was made of crumbling brick about two stories high. Most of the second floor had collapsed and there was part of a staircase left, but most of it was gone. Donatello had reinforced the sections of the building that looked to be unstable, but had left the structure intact. Past the building was a short tunnel that led to the forest that surrounded the new lair. Donatello had installed cameras, sensors and an entrance that looked like a bricked up sewer opening.

Raphael emerged into the sunken building and stopped. "Donny you really have to get those cameras fixed." The serpentine creature that was coiled near the top of the building was right in front of some discreetly placed cameras. There was no way that they could have missed the thing that had its claws dug into the ceiling.

Raphael followed the monster's gaze and saw a woman standing on what was left of the second floor. She seemed to be talking to it, but he couldn't seem to understand what she was saying. She held a sword in each hand, a black cloak swirled around her, the hood obscured his view of her head and face.

Raphael couldn't make out anything else as the woman moved dodging the monster's attack.

Raphael scanned for a way to get up to where the battle was happening. He looked over to where the crumbling staircase made its way around the far wall. From there he would be able to make his way to where the woman was.

The monster seemed to have her cornered. Her foot slipped as a crumbling piece of stone cracked, falling to the ground below. She recovered quickly, looking over her shoulder she stopped, and looked at him. All he could see of her face were dark pink lips contrasted against skin so pale it looked carved from the purest piece of white marble.

The monster, seeing an opening, reacted to her distraction, claws swiping at her defenceless midsection. She managed to dodge out of the way but the claws hit her shoulder. She screamed as her sword was knocked from her hand. "Hey big and ugly, why don't you pick on someone your own size and leave the lady alone." Raphael said as he charged towards the crumbling stone staircase.

"Dunai!" The woman screamed. Run! The word ripped through his head.

Raphael made it two steps before the creature that had been crawling on the roof moved. He didn't even see it coming. One minute it was crouched on the roof the next it was right in front of him, claws slashing him from shoulder to thigh. Razor sharp claws ripped through soft flesh and hard shell, tearing internal organs to shreds. Raphael realized a moments pain, and then his world went black.

She watched as the Kappa fell. The Syna cut him down where he stood. The Syna's poison was already working its way through her system, but something felt different about it, her body wasn't treating the poison as it normally did. "Dunta!" She swore.

The Syna coiled up from its kill, she scowled at it. "You should not have done that. He is one of mine, and I will not let any who touch what is mine live." She looked again at the body of the fallen Kappa, she had to buy herself a few minutes before a Reaper collected its soul. Besides the Reaper she had to worry about timing. She only had 13 minutes from the first strike of death.

She muttered an incantation under her breath. "Water's Hatred!" She screamed as ice flowed around her hand. She threw the blast of ice at the advancing Syna, encasing the creature completely in Ice.

She had lost Cuthach Fuilteach, but she called it back to its scabbard as she leapt from the crumbling stone of the second floor of the building. She hit the ground and ran towards the fallen Kappa. She only had a few minutes until the ice that encased the Syna cracked and it would be free, but a few minutes was all she needed. She reached the Kappa's side and did a quick once-over. He was dead, torn from shoulder to thigh. Inspecting the wounds she realized that she would need more than a few minutes. The damage that the Syna had inflicted was massive. Dunta! She thought to herself. She needed time! She brought the sword she still had in her hand up. Grabbing the grip firmly with both hands she plunged Morte Morosus through his heart. No blood appeared as the blade went through shell and hard tissue. She noted as she did this that he, for she surmised that he was male, was not a Kappa as she had originally thought, but some sort of giant Kame. But underneath the smell of blood and death she could smell the distinct whiff of what made him one of hers.

She looked over his wounds again and despaired at being able to heal the damage and resurrect him before either the 13 minutes counted down, or the Syna broke from its icy cage. Also there would be a Reaper hanging around and she didn't want to have to deal with it.

She huffed out her frustration and watched as her breath crystallized with cold. Glancing over her shoulder she saw Death standing in the corner. His grey wings rustled in a slight breeze, faded black robes moving around yellow aged bone. His bony hand clasped his Scythe, while timeless empty sockets watched her from beneath his hooded cloak. Death himself had come for the Kame's soul.

"You shall not have him." She whispered as she began weaving a spell that would allow her to save the Kame.

Death knelt behind her. A voice that sounded like the low gong of a cemetery bell spoke inside her head.

A death happens in this place, at this time

"A death, not specifically his death.

Death was silent.

She relaxed slightly as she continued to work her spell. Death was talking with her within his time, the 13th Hour. The time where no time existed. As long as she remained suspended within this hour she couldn't act upon the Kame, but she would be able to continue to weave the spell, so that when the 13th Hour broke it would be ready.

As she pulled her magic she realized it was not coming to her as it should. It was sluggish, hard to pull and weave. She looked to the wound on her shoulder which should have healed already and found it to still be there. She cursed, this was not a good sign. She pulled faster.

"I vote for the death at this time in this place to be big, and scaly over there." She looked back over at Death as he watched her silently.

You have managed to take many a soul from my hand

"True, but look at it this way, I make your life...or I guess existence, interesting." She said with a smile.

Death watched her intently.

You have even managed to avoid my cold embrace

"Also true, not by my own choosing you remember. I quite welcomed your embrace, which for reference isn't cold, bony yes, cold, no. The only thing cold about you is the crossing into your domain, just the crossing though, your domain itself is quite a nice temperature." She paused in thought. "Why are you helping me anyway?" She asked curiously.

I am not helping, that would be against the Rules.

"Yes it would." She looked at the Kame again. "I need your name." She said to the Kame. "Why did you go and have to die before you introduced yourself." She looked at Death speculatively . "But really what fun is it to obey the Rules?

Your decided lack of adherence to the Rules is going to get you in trouble one day

"One day, but not today." She slowly reached out to Death her hand going beneath his robes.

That is against the Rules

"So many Rules to break, so little time." She said with a sly smile. She pulled the two Life Glasses from beneath his robes. Death only tried to stop her as she pulled the second Life Glass from beneath his robes..

"I see you have my Life Glass with you, and I know, also against the Rules to look at my own Life Glass." She said as she lifted it away from his reach. She studied her Life Glass then gave it back. "I always wondered what my Life Glass would look like. I guess it makes sense." She said as she glanced at the name engraved on the plate on the base. "RAPHAEL" She read. "No last name." She looked at the Kame. "Were you named after the artist or the Archangel?" She speculated to herself. She gave the Life Glass back and Death stood, tucking it back into his robes.

I do not believe you will make our chess game

She took in a deep breath, the spell was ready to go, with a slight caveat. "Alright Raphael, this is going to hurt me more than it is going to hurt you, let's just hope I can manage to survive this."

The 13th Hour broke, she placed her hands on his chest, blood ran down her arm, mingling with the blood of the Kame. Shoving the spell hard into his body his wounds closed instantly, leaving only vicious scars in their place. She looked at the scars confused, they shouldn't still be there. Ice cracked behind her as the Syna broke through. Leaving the puzzle of the scars till later she grabbed the grip of the sword that was keeping the Kame's soul pinned to his body and incanted the spell.

Spikes ripped through her chest as the Syna struck her with its tail. Her blood sprayed as the Syna pulled its tail from her body. Shock and pain threatened to break her concentration. Black spots flooded her vision as she tried to focus through the pain. She didn't move, blood ran down the glowing gore stained blade of the sword. "Resurrection!" She shouted as the spell vibrated through the sword, "Raphael!" She screamed, binding his soul back to his body. She willed her heart to beat, she needed her heart to beat even though it was now badly damaged. For her heart beat began his heart beat, her breath began his breath. His chest heaved. She pulled the sword from his body and dodged the gnashing teeth that whipped past her. She twirled, sword moving faster than the eye could even perceive, the Syna's head hit the ground, its blood spraying. She deftly avoided the spray of the creature's blood.

She sheathed her blade and stumbled over to the Kame. She dropped to her knees, gently patting him on the cheek.

Raphael groaned as he regained consciousness. "What happened?" he asked in a slightly slurred voice.

"Raphael listen to me. I am sorry about your scars, I don't know why...,I managed to bring you back, but I didn't have the time to heal you properly. I had to take your injuries upon myself." The woman who had been on the battling the monster said to him. He noticed that she seemed to be speaking in a different language, but he understood her. The words seemed to bypass his ears and instead whisper fully understood within his mind. She was kneeling over him, the hood still obscured her face.

"Who are you?" He asked, "And how do you know my name?" He said as he looked at the scars that ran through his body. He looked to her and noticed that she was badly injured. Most of her body was covered by the cloak she wore, and he noticed that the cloak seemed to be double layered a black leather one under a black cloth one. But he could see the blood running down her pale arms. A puddle of blood was forming beneath her. He wondered how she was even still moving and talking.

"Listen I don't have much time. The Syna is dead, you are safe, do you understand?" She asked as she winced in pain. "Raphael, you are safe, please rest." She took a breath and braced herself as four glowing blue vertical marks appeared on her body mirroring his own. They blazed brightly then cut spraying blood everywhere. Her eyes went blank as she fell to the floor. He reacted in horror as she was cut down in front of him. He managed to crawl to her, pulling her across to him. He propped himself up against a piece of broken wall. She lay cradled in his arms like a broken doll. He needed to get help, he needed to find someone who could help her. But her last words reverberated through his mind, his eyes closed and he sunk back into unconsciousness.

Death looked at the bloody scene before him. The death of the Syna would count as the death that was supposed to happen, but he would collect no soul at this time. The Syna's soul floated out of its body and disappeared. Death did not deal with the souls of such creatures. He looked down at the bodies at his feet. He pulled her hour glass from beneath his robes and studied it. After 4000 years of the sand in her hour glass remaining frozen in time, it now flowed gathering in a pile at the bottom. He tucked her hour glass back where he had held it since the day she had slipped through his grasp. He looked down at her body, knelt and gingerly removed her from the turtle's embrace. He was not really interfering, not really, he was just moving her to a place where mortals had less of a chance of finding her.

He hid her body behind some fallen rubble, stood and observed the blood that now coated his hands. This was a new experience for him. For as many deaths as he had seen, he never interacted with any on the mortal level, only through the 13th Hour, and in general he didn't interact with many of her kind.

Death took one more look at her fallen body and felt something. He turned, and walked away.