Song: Savior - Skillet
Being sandwiched between Tiger Claw and zombants is more than nerve-wracking. It claws at my stomach and dissolves my common sense into nothing more than a puddle of illogical ideas. Panic is only a catalyst for the reaction of perturbation engulfing my mind. I don't know where to go or what to do. I am trapped in the depths of my own mind.
Tiger Claw, who somehow forced himself beside me, curls his lip at me. Before I can register the gleam of his sharp claws, I feel them sink into my arm. I cry out in agony as he removes his claws, leaving blood dripping out of the wound and onto the pavement.
Either the blood or my scream is an attractant for zombants, because the majority of them turn towards me. They snarl and screech as they close the gap between us, gazing hungrily at my open wound. They start to scramble desperately for a hold on me.
"Don't touch me, you freaks!" I snap at them as I step backwards.
Fortunately, the approaching mob has its advantages. It doesn't just go after my team and I; it moves towards our enemies as well. They seem to want to take down anything that isn't like them. Which frankly, that shouldn't surprise me.
"You're bleeding!" Lucy gasps, putting her hand over my wound to stop the blood flow.
"Yeah, thanks for the useless information," I reply, cringing at the searing pain she causes me. I pull my arm out of her reach and drag her behind me, shielding her from the zombants. "A plan would be nice right about now, Leo!" I yell to Leonardo as the creatures close us in. My sais are the only things keeping them from getting at me.
Leonardo scans our surroundings before pointing out a nearby rooftop. "Up there!" he announces. "We've gotta get closer so we can grapple up there," he adds as he swats a zombant away with his katanas.
"Tell us what we gotta do!" Casey says as he sends smoke bombs into the depths of the swarm. It smothers out a few zombants, but not enough to make much of a difference.
"Donnie, Mikey, come with me. We'll clear out a path," Leonardo orders my brothers. "Raph, stay with Lucy. Casey and April, back him up."
"Right," I agree as I continue fending off zombants. I pant heavily as I stab, jab, and repeat. I have to ignore the constant gasps of horror leaking from Lucy's mouth, though. She still doesn't understand that I am trying to save her life.
At least I don't have to worry about Tiger Claw and his minions anymore. The crowd of zombants has completely cut us off from them, leaving them to fight for their own lives.
Suddenly, the gap that my brothers left behind for us gets swallowed up. There's no way to get to them; we're trapped as they wade towards the rooftop on their own.
With a jolt, I realize that the scene looks all too familiar. The way the buildings lean and the haunting faces of the zombants jog my memory.
My dream has come true.
Something peculiar happens that distracts me from my fight. There, on a rooftop several feet away, is the unmistakeable shape of my biggest enemy. The sharp edges of his armor and his set of blades jut out at the clouded night sky, making my stomach churn with apprehension.
My chest grows hot with rage as I think about the pain he brought on my family. He killed my father and Charlotte. There's no amount of agony, no amount of torture I can put him through that would justify his actions. Even if I rip his heart out and feed it to the zombants, it still won't make me feel any better.
I rapidly find myself drowning in a riptide of hatred. I want to drag my sais through my arch-nemesis' head; I want to make him pay for all that he had done, even if it won't help me feel better. I just need to know that he can bleed.
Suddenly, a scream from Michelangelo jerks me out of my sideways thoughts. I blink and the figure on the rooftop dissolves into the atmosphere, leaving me confused.
Just over the heads of the zombants, I can make out my three brothers getting closed in. They have no escape route, no way to grapple to a rooftop with the creatures towering over them. They are going to turn if I don't do something.
I let my gaze wander back to where I had seen the strange figure. I could have sworn it was real, but there's no way it could disappear that fast and be human.
Remembering Charlotte's words of letting go, I take a deep breath to help myself recover. This is the moment she prepared me for. I have to accept that Charlotte is gone, and no amount of anger is going to change that. I have to save my brothers before they end up dead as well.
"Guard Lucy," I tell Casey briskly. Without giving him a chance to protest, I squeeze passed Casey and start to clear a path to my brothers. Slowly but surely, the groaning zombants move out of my way and allow me to reach my brothers, who are desperately trying to keep themselves alive.
I reach over and stab a zombant just before it manages to attack Donatello. I twirl around and swat another creature away from Leonardo, giving him enough leverage to fight for himself. Then I shove Michelangelo out of the way just before vicious claws sink into his face.
"Thanks, Raph!" Michelangelo breathes, while my other brothers shoot me grateful glances.
It's good to be appreciated, but they're speaking too soon. "We're not out of this yet," I remind them, casting a glance upwards. "Think we can get up there now?" I ask Leonardo, panting from my exertion.
"Yeah. Cover me," the blue-clad turtle orders, aiming his grappling hook and shooting it. It hooks itself on the edge of the roof, making it sturdy enough to lift up any turtle. "Now, first we need to get Lucy-"
Just as he speaks her name, I hear her let out a shrilly scream. I turn sharply to see that Casey and April aren't doing a very good job protecting her. They let the zombant mob overpower them, and they are beginning to get closed in as well.
"Go," I tell my brothers. "Get to safety. I'll help them."
Leonardo nods to Donatello and Michelangelo. "You heard him. Get your tails up there."
I don't stick around to see if they obey. Instead I start slaying my way through the crowd, slicing and dicing any creature that comes between my friends and me. I reach them a lot faster than I expect, throwing Lucy over my shoulder as soon as I am close enough. Then Casey and April take up positions to cover me as we head back to my brothers.
By the time we return, Leonardo is the only one still there. It's good that we show up when we do, because the blue-clad turtle isn't defending himself very well. These creatures are too strong for our own good.
"Here, take these." Leonardo puts grappling hooks into the hands of Casey and April. "Donnie and Mikey said you could use them. But they want them back once you're up there," he adds, as if it is a very important detail.
"Sweet!" April says happily, knocking a zombant to the side before she uses the grappling hook. She pulls herself upwards with ease and climbs to safety.
"Alright! I've always wanted to use one of these," Casey exclaims, aiming the grappling hook around as if it's a gun. "Where should I go with this baby first?"
Leonardo and I, who are struggling to keep ourselves alive, aren't in the mood for his idiocy. "How about the roof?" I suggest drily as I bat yet another creature to the side, dodging furious claws in the process. "And take her," I say as I push Lucy into his arms. She doesn't look too fond of the idea, but she doesn't protest.
"Right." Casey shoots the grappling hook and lifts himself up into the air, Lucy clinging onto him. I don't realize I am holding my breath until they're both in the clear. I let it out, relieved.
"Karai!"
Leonardo's voice suddenly snaps my attention away from the pair. I follow his gaze and spot the serpent mutant just in time to see her getting attacked by the creatures. She sinks into the sea of them, nowhere to be seen in a matter of seconds.
"We have to help her!" Leonardo tells me, his blue eyes flashing desperately.
I give him a look that says he is crazy. "Look around, genius! She's gone. We can't dig her out of there!" It's harsh, but it's the truth. We need to go before we receive the same fate.
Leonardo hesitates, so I snatch his grappling hook out of his hand and grab him. We ascend into the in the most uncomfortable position until we drop down on the roof. I release Leonardo and hastily return his grappling hook as I glance around for Lucy. I find her, but she isn't as safe as I thought she would be.
There, right in front of me, are Tiger Claw and his henchmen. They have our friends in headlocks, each pair of eyes gleaming dangerously.
I narrow my eyes as I stare Tiger Claw down. He has his nasty claws curled around Lucy's neck, applying just enough pressure to stop her from slipping away. I can practically see the rumbling of a purr in his throat, clearly gleeful to have me at a disadvantage.
Glancing at the rest of his minions, I see that they have my team under the same conditions. Casey and April are being crushed by Bebop and Rocksteady. Donatello is off to the side, pinned against the rooftop by Fishface's foot. Michelangelo isn't much better off, trapped in a chokehold by Rahzar's boney arms.
I only have Leonardo left. However, glancing at him tells me that his mind is still with Karai. He is too distracted by what he witnessed to recognize the problem in front of us. Great.
"Now," Tiger Claw growls as he raises his claws in front of Lucy's face. "Let us continue where we left off."
"No!" I shout, leaping towards Lucy. Instead of saving her, however, a sharp blow hits me on the head. I get sent skidding sideways across the rooftop on my shell, only just stopping myself from dropping over the edge.
As I look up to see who my attacker is, my gaze meets Fishface's ugly purple face. He glowers down at me as he kicks me up into the air like a soccer ball. I come crashing back down and land on my head, groaning in pain.
"Already given up, turtle?" Fishface remarks with a smirk, his eyes flashing.
Enraged by his mocking, I attempt to get back onto my feet. Unfortunately, my head is aching and it makes me lose concentration, causing my opponent to get the better of me. The world blurs before me as Fishface pounds me into the rooftop with his robotic legs.
By the time a short pause comes between my beating, I can barely think. My chest feels as if it is about to cave in and my headache has increased into a migraine. I have bruises covering me from head to toe. Luckily the only trace of blood is coming from my cut lip- disregarding the old scratch on my arm, at least.
Despite the agonizing fire burning in my body, the sound of Lucy screaming renews my energy. "Lucy!" I gasp involuntarily as I leap back onto my feet. I wiping the blood from my mouth, ready to face Fishface, but he's gone.
"Raph! Over here!"
I spin around to see that Casey is cornered by Fishface. Though he fights the fish mutant as best as he can with his hockey stick, he isn't succeeding. He is barely one step away from being pushed right off the edge, straight into the grasp of the zombants below.
Seizing the opportunity, I body-slam into Fishface with all my strength. The fish mutant collapses to the ground, dazed. His legs spaz out, having hit a vital circuit on the way down. He loses control of his actions and flops around helplessly across the rooftop.
"Let's knock him out once and for all!" Casey trills, situating his mask onto his face. He glances at me for my assistance, and I nod.
As one, Casey and I kick and punch the snot out of Fishface. We mirror each other's movements, falling into our old reckless routine. Fighting our common enemies brings back the feelings of revenge Casey and I used to explore together. We aren't just best friends, we're partners in crime.
"Alright, I think we got him," I announce once Fishface stops struggling. He lies there unconscious, the slow rise and fall of his chest the only way to know he is alive. We only beat him enough to knock him out, however, so his injuries aren't too serious. I want to save my team, not become a murderer.
Of course, I did kill an innocent man a while back. I shudder at the remembrance and push the thought away. This isn't the time to drown myself in regrets. This is the chance for me to redeem myself after grieving for so long.
Suddenly, a laser soars by and nails me square in the plastron. I cry out in pain and double over as my body vibrates with suffering. I cough up a few drops of blood, splattering the foundation below me.
"Hey, get away from my best friend!" Casey roars as he charges at my offender.
I lift my gaze up just enough to witness Casey dueling with Bebop. The punk teenager dodges laser after laser until he is within a few inches of Bebop's rang. Then, whipping out his baseball bat, he scores a hit on the warthog's side.
"Back off, G! That's not right!" Bebop squeals as he trips over his own foot. He recovers quickly and slyly avoids another blow from Casey. He slips right behind the teenager and, retracting a transparent pink blade from his armor, cuts straight down Casey's arm.
"Ahh!" Casey yells as red liquid stains the ground around him, quickly pooling into puddles.
"Casey!" I shout in rage, my fire of anger consuming me. I turn on Bebop, my face heating up beyond normal temperature.
Bebop's eyes seems to widen behind his shades. He tries to fire more lasers at me, but his belt has become jammed. Instead, he resorts to throwing his hands up in surrender, his legs quivering slightly.
"Hey, turtle man, I'm sorry about this whole misunderstanding," he babbles in a panic, his voice high-pitched and unnatural. "You're a nice, uh, logical guy. Could we possibly come up with some neutral terms of agreement? Maybe?"
I'm not in the mood for peace treaties. He injured my best friend! Unable to contain myself any longer, I extend my sais and charge at the warthog mutant. I let out a battle cry as my sais graze over the mutant's arms, giving him a pair of his own wounds. I elbow him into the ground, ignoring his squeals, and rear my fist back. Releasing all of my anger into one effort, I punch him right in the jaw.
He goes out like a lightbulb.
Panting, I shakily get back to my feet. The scratch on my arm has been reopened and it's leaking blood, but there doesn't seem to be anything else wrong with me. Well, besides my bruised organs and throbbing skull.
As Casey comes to stand in front of me, though, my condition can't be compared to his. His hair is slicked back with sweat and one of his eyes are puffy. His nose is slightly crooked, along with tears in his clothes. Not to mention that there's a gigantic gash leading from his shoulder down to his hand. It's still bleeding, but the bandanas he wrapped around it seem to have stifled the flow massively.
"Do you need to lie down or somethin'?" I ask the hockey player. He does not look good at all.
Casey shakes his head, obviously trying to hide the wobbly addition to his stature. "I'm good, dude. I just gotta find someone else to fight now," he says as he pounds his fists together. "I ain't through with 'em yet."
Lucy's scream pierces my soul again, forcing me away from my conversation. I see that Tiger Claw is holding the short, blonde girl up by the collar of her shirt. With a nasty feeling in the pit of my stomach, I see that Lucy is covered in mounds of blood. Scratches coat her from head to toe. A particularly bad scar flows straight down the right side of her neck and barely curving around the front. By the looks of it, it isn't too deep; but that doesn't make it anymore appealing.
Lucy has tears rolling down her face, washing most of the wet blood from her cheeks. She thrashes around in the air, but her arms are too short to reach the tiger mutant holding her up. When her gray eyes meet mine, I see they are filled with a pleading expression. Her bottom lip trembles as she relaxes into Tiger Claw's grip, evidently relying on me.
Immediately, I storm towards the tiger mutant. "Let her go!" I snarl viciously.
"Halt." Tiger Claw holds out his paw to make me stop as he dangles Lucy over the edge of the rooftop. Below, zombants look up eagerly as they wait for their next victim to fall. I don't even want to think about what they will do to her.
Lucy screams in alarm and clings onto the tiger mutant's arm desperately, her breath coming in short gasps. Mini rivers wash over her cheeks as she fails to save herself. "Raph, please!" she calls out, though her voice is little more than a hoarse whisper. She's just too scared.
Overwhelmed with sudden emotions, I clench my fists tightly around my sais. "Give her back, you mangy pest!" I snap, feeling as if a vein in my forehead is going to pop.
"Oh, I will," Tiger Claw purrs, his gaze traveling over the rest of my injured team. The fighting stopped the moment everyone realized what kind of danger Lucy is in. "As soon as you drop your weapons."
"We won't," Leonardo replies, much to my surprise.
"What?!" I glare at him, my mouth dropped wide open. Is he really going to let Tiger Claw kill her?!
"We won't drop our weapons," Leonardo repeats, lifting his chin higher as he glances at me. The sternness in his blue eyes is enough to renew my vexation.
"He's going to kill her!" I shout, my chest tightening with emotion.
"We can't give in now," Leonardo states calmly, his gaze never flickering from mine. "If we do, we'll be captured and taken right back to their lair. Then we'll never be able to save New York. We have to risk one life for the safety of thousands."
I have heard enough. Leonardo is just trying to be a pain in the neck. He just doesn't care about Lucy. But I do. She's been there for me, helping me through the black clouds plaguing me for the past month. She was there even when I didn't want her to be. No unnecessary insults sent her away. She was my only chance. And now, I'm hers.
"Drop your weapons!" I order everyone around me, releasing my sais and letting them clatter to the ground.
"No," Leonardo speaks after me neutrally, his blue eyes as guarded as ever.
"DROP YOUR WEAPONS!" I yell over the top of him. My voice feels like thorns ripping my larynx out, making my head spin.
"No!" Leonardo shoots back stubbornly.
Despite Leonardo's clear orders, I hear a clanking sound over my shoulder. I glance over my shoulder and see that Casey had dropped his weapons, giving me a small nod of approval.
There's a short pause, then Michelangelo does the same. His nunchucks collide with the rooftop, becoming useless to him.
April follows in their lead. Soon after, Donatello's bo staff is on the ground as well. A warm, fuzzy feeling wells up in my chest as I realize they trust me again. Their support makes a small smile creep onto my face.
Realizing he is outvoted, Leonardo drops his own weapons onto the ground. The swords clash with the rooftop and lay still.
"Very good," Tiger Claw praises us mockingly as his remaining minions come to stand beside him. I expect him to put Lucy back onto the rooftop, but I receive a cold shock. He doesn't even try to pull her back in.
"Too bad it isn't enough to save her," Tiger Claw says with a dirty smirk.
Then he opens his paw, and Lucy plummets towards the ground.