Chapter 8
For a moment, the stinging in his eyes distracted him from examining the situation. Raph clenched his eyes shit, effectively halting the pain from getting any worse. Listening to Shredder's roar of frustration and pain, Raph caught the sharp ting of his foe's blade hitting the floor beside his head. Glass shards rained down around him, making soft clinks as they hit the floor. The daze cleared up as Shredder's boot left his chest and he could pull in a proper breath that wasn't full of smoke and powder. Someone's hands grabbed hold of his shoulders and helped him up. The three fingers told Raphael that it was family taking off his chains, and relief flooded through him, though it was quickly followed by annoyance and the same frustration Shredder must be feeling.
"Do you mind? That was a little bit close." Raph growled, climbing to his feet and rubbing his arms to get the blood flowing again. His shoulders felt like they were going to ache for days, but there was nothing he could do about that until they got home. He heard Donnie's amused snort from behind him. Opening his eyes once the smell of the blinding powder vanished from the air, Raph glanced around at his brothers. Michelangelo and Leonardo were facing the Foot, keeping their injured brother behind them. Donnie wrapped his mask around the bite on Raph's shoulder before handing him a pair of kunai.
"You'll have to make this work until we can get you some sai."
Raph nodded. He could use these just fine.
Snapping his attention up as Shredder recovered from his loss of vision, Raph took up an offensive stance behind his brothers. He was well aware that he was the one being protected, and as much as he didn't enjoy it, he wasn't about to protest. Sometimes being the one with three trained ninjas defending you wasn't so bad, and he certainly appreciated it. The Foot were quickly flooding into the room, blocking off exits as they entered. Rahzar had shifted to one side, ready to attack at the slightest order. Facing Shredder with a glare, Raph shifted his feet, leaning close to Leo while the silent standoff continued.
"Plan, Fearless?"
"Uh…"
"You don't have a plan?!"
"Just give me a second!" Leo snapped, shooting him a look. "We ran in here blind, I'm running as we go." Taking a moment to look around and access their options, Leo gave a sharp nod towards some extension cords hanging from the rafters. "We'll swing ourselves out the same way we got in. There's enough cracks in the walls to support us and help us climb. Mikey, Donnie, you go first. I'll send Raph right behind you, help him out. I'll cover your shells."
The two youngest nodded together, shifting around and readying themselves on either side of their older brothers, ready to rush off and make their escape. Before they could put their plan into action, Shredder stepped forward with a growl on his breath. Raph caught the light flick of his hand and only just braced himself in time before the first wave of the small army attacked. His brothers responded more ferociously than he expected, lunging forward and meeting the onslaught without hesitation. He didn't get to see much, but he could hear the metal weapons clashing together. A Foot bot stabbed towards his side, raking his attention to the fight instead of his brothers. The already injured turtle hissed and blocked the attack with millimeters to spare, stabbing the kunai he held into the side of the bot's head. Satisfaction snapped through him at the sound of crunching metal. It obviously wasn't the same sound or sensation of a knife going through bone, but of course, if he drove a blade into the side of one of his brothers' heads, he could always just compare the similarities tha—
What the hell? Raphael stumbled as he struggled to control his thoughts, pulling the knife out of the bot's head as a chill went down his spine. Why was he thinking like that? Giving his head a shake to clear the thoughts, Raph returned to focus on the fight, trying his best to keep himself together. I must've lost too much blood. I'm getting delirious.
Jerking back as Mikey was sent flying past him from a well-aimed kick, Raph wasn't fast enough to avoid Rahzar's attack. He was sent right after his brother, nearly landing on top of him. A quick twist of his body righted himself enough to kick off of the wall above Mikey and land in front of him instead of on top. Facing Rahzar's charge with a yell, Raph leaped up, slashing a clean cut across the mutant's cheek. A kick followed right after, pushing the dog back. The hotheaded turtle whipped around to help Mikey to his feet. His baby brother was sporting some new bruises, but he looked well enough as he took the help and climbed to his feet.
"Get to the cords. I'll cover you." Raph ordered, shoving him towards their escape route. Mikey nodded and rushed off, unlocking his kusarigama chain. He didn't even need the cords, instead swinging his chain up to the rafters and pulling himself up without assistance. Raph glanced around, feeling a pang as he realized the state they were all in. Leo was separated on the far side of the room, taking on Shredder alone and actually managing to hold his own pretty well. Donnie was absolutely surrounded, struggling to keep a range that he could work with to use his bō effectively. Raph took a step to go help him, but found his path quickly blocked by the rapidly-becoming-annoying dog.
"Where do you think you're going?" Rahzar rumbled, growling roughly from his chest. "I'm not done with you yet, reptile."
"That's funny, cause I'm pretty done with you, mutt." Raph retorted, backing away a few paces. His ruse worked, drawing Rahzar back and away from Donnie's predicament. Instead, he was backing towards Leo and Shredder. If he could get Rahzar in the way, it might give him and Leo enough time to get out. Keeping his focus on Rahzar, Raph grit his teeth, ready and prepared to fight his way out if this didn't work the way he needed. Glancing over his shoulder, Raph mentally cursed as he saw the state Leo was in. Maybe he wasn't doing as well in his battle as Raph had originally thought.
A slight shift of his foot steadied his weight enough to prepare for Rahzar's lunge. Dodging to the side, the mutant's momentum brought him barreling past his target and in between Leo and Shredder. Unwillingly blocking Shredder's next attack, leaving Leo enough time and space to slip by to Raph's side.
"Lets get out of here." Leo hissed, rolling out of the way of the two Foot ninjas and rushing for their brothers. Raph followed along right behind him, his head feeling strange and dizzy. He'd felt like this before, when he'd gained a concussion from falling off of a rooftop, but he never enjoyed it. The turtle's steps began to stumble and slow as he rushed after Leo, falling a few paces behind. Raph swayed on his feet as his vision went blurry. Vaguely hearing Leo call his name, Raph paused in his tracks, unable to go any further without collapsing. Flailing his hand out to grab a wall for support, he found Leo meeting his grasp instead, his brother's arms wrapping around him to support him and keep him upright.
Raph leaned his weight on his brother, breaths coming in short gasps as he held his head. He felt ready to pass out. All he could hear was the blood rushing in his ears, the edges of his vision turning black. His arms were tingling and nausea was writhing in his stomach, but he couldn't do much to stop it. Barely aware that Leo was urging him to keep moving, Raph stumbled along with the help, shivers coming from his form.
What's happening to me? I can't have lost this much blood… did I? I dunno how long I was out… Maybe I did. God, my head…
"We're almost there. Hold on, Raph, I got you." Leo's voice broke through the rushing waters that he could hear in his ears, soft and comforting, but even in his strange fit, Raph could hear the stress underneath Leo's voice. "Just keep walking, alright?"
Footsteps were rushing up behind them. Raph looked over his shoulder to see who it was, but all he got a glimpse of was a flash of red. Two more steps and something slammed him from Leo's grasp, instead sending him tumbling to the floor underneath an incredible weight. Strands crisscrossed over his shell, keeping him pinned to the floor. Leo was still stubbornly holding tight to his hand, which Raph was grateful for, but honestly, they weren't kids. It wasn't exactly necessary. He should've just stabbed his hand. That'd make him let go.
…what?
No… No, he didn't want to do that. These intrusive thoughts were getting out of control. Raph squeezed Leo's hand for a moment to reassure him that he was still there, before wincing as the pain flared up again. His shoulder, his head, his side… He felt like he could barely move. Maybe he'd moved too fast after Donnie had untied him. That could be it.
Shaking his head after a short moment, Raph let go of a small groan, forcing his eyes to open. He could barely see anything, but he could just make out the metallic grey of the net holding him to the ground. Leo was squirming beside him, but the weight of the net was still too big for him. If he could just relax…
Relax. That sounded like a good idea.
"Raphael! Raph, are you okay?"
"Can you hear me…?"
"..Raph… -ld on!... -ou out… -omis-…"
Silence.
