A/N: So I thought about making this longer and adding another scene. Only, in the end, I think that scene's better off left in the next chapter. And anyway, I like how this ends. Raph takes the chapter as his own, so enjoy a healthy dose of his POV.


Sacrifice

Raphael allowed Donatello's voice to fade into background noise. He peered through the small window in the door, not surprised to see armed guards on the other side. They were the only ones left standing when Raphael forced his way through them. Some were sporting the evidence of that encounter, the sight spawning a smirk on the turtle's face. The fact that they were so desperately asking for more was a little surprising, but he didn't mind. If they wanted more so badly, all they had to do was wait.

Raphael turned away, casually leaning back on the door, and found his brother busily working at the desk opposite him. The original residents of the room were cast aside in a disgraced pile of limbs, both sporting a lump courtesy of Donatello's bo staff. Getting to the room may have been difficult, but now that they were inside, his brother shinned in his element. He couldn't understand the figures flying past the middle screen, but he knew Donatello did and that's all that mattered.

"Ya done yet? Those bozos outside ain't gonna wait around forever." Raphael growled out. He lazily spun a sai as he listened to the struggle going on behind him.

"That should be a clear shot," Donatello concluded to the others. He caught Raphael's gaze. "How's it looking out there?"

"Like a shootin' gallery jus' waitin' fer its target." Raphael glanced back at the window as the heat of the door intensified against his unprotected skin. "They're gonna get in at this rate. Ain't there a back door or sum'thin'?"

"I have a better idea planned for that eventuality." Donatello's mischievous grin shinned through his voice. "I just need to finish up in here and then we're out."

"What else ya gotta do?" Raphael walked over to his brother's 'work station', sending a cursory glance at each monitor's feed until they landed on one featuring Leonardo and Michelangelo.

"The data transfer's almost complete. Once it's all uploaded onto my tablet, the CCTV feed will filter straight to me from the cameras, locking Bishop out. Then we'll be truly invisible."

Raphael barely acknowledged his brother's words. Something had caught his attention on one of the feeds: Bishop. The federal agent was busy typing away on a monitor in some random hallway. "Is there a zoom on this thing?"

"Hmm?" Donatello looked up from his gadgets and found the screen Raphael pointed to. "Yeah, it should. Gimme a sec'."

"How about sound?"

"Huh…I don't think so. There're no speakers for it to come out of, so…" Donatello fiddled with the control panel until the image of Bishop grew to fill the screen in its horrendous glory. "That shouldn't be there. That operating system doesn't appear on the building's schematics. It must be a hidden security measure only accessible to select parties."

The image centered on the object in question. "What's it for?"

"I…don't know." Donatello moved closer to the screen.

Before either could learn more, their answer came in the form of blaring alarms. The turtles quickly jumped into attention as a pop sounded in their room, shortly followed by a suspicious hiss. "What did he do?" Raphael demanded.

"Oh no." Donatello's thick fingers stumbled over the control panel's small keys. The monitors flickered before going out one by one, leaving only the primary still functioning. "He's flooding this room with carbon dioxide! It'll reach capacity in only a matter of minutes." Donatello cursed.

"Let's get moving then!"

"No, wait!" Donatello waved him off. "The transfer's almost complete. If it's stopped now, this whole mission will be for nothing. I need to finish this."

Raphael grabbed hold of his brother's arm. "We don't have time!"

"Raph, trust me." Donatello turned imploring eyes on his brother. "I'll make it. Just give me one minute." He held up a small device Raphael couldn't identify. "Here, press this against the door and I'll be right behind you."

Raphael let out his breath in a steamed huff. "Fine, but if you don't make it, I'm coming back to kill you myself." He snatched the device and stomped off to do as his brother told him.

"Don't forget to back away as soon as you do so," Donatello called back, the relaxed tone of his voice grating on Raphael's nerves.

He was already feeling unnaturally tired. He took a stubborn big breath of air before slamming the device into the door. The effect was almost instantaneous. He took cover by his brother as a small explosion rocked the room, sending the door off towards the unsuspecting guards. Half of them fell prey to the burning metal as their comrades looked on in stunned surprise. They didn't have a chance to recover before Raphael was on them. He easily took them out in a flurry of attacks, the hard metal of his twin sai amplifying the sheer strength behind his fists.

"Raph! We have a problem!" Donatello ran out of the security room, pausing only a few seconds to catch his breath. Raphael turned to catch the fear on his brother's face. "We weren't the only ones targeted by whatever Bishop just did. The basement floors…the feed is gone!"

"What? What does that mean?" He took out the last guard left behind with a backwards jab of his elbow.

"I can't reach Leo or Mikey!"

Raphael's eyes widened as his own fear welled up beneath the surface. He flipped on his headset, fearing what he would hear on the other side. "Mikey?! Leo! Come on, someone answer the damn call!"

"I tried that already…" Donatello sighed before his hand found his brother's arm. "I'm sure they're okay. It…It could just be jammed."

Raphael heard the detached quality of his brother's voice. He knew what it meant. Donatello didn't believe his own words. He knew it wasn't just jammed. Something had happened down below. Without another word, Raphael darted forward. He had to see it for himself. He had to know if his brothers were alright.

"Raph, wait up!"

He could hear his brother's footsteps close behind him, but he didn't slow down. His mind was made up.

"Do you even know where you're going? I said wait! I have a map, you dingbat! You're going the wrong way!"

Only then did he slow his pace, but only just enough for his brother to take the lead. "Yer not stoppin' me."

"As if I could," Donatello scoffed. "Don't worry; I'm not going to stop you. I'm worried too."

"Do ya know what coulda happened? And don't give me that shit about jammers. I know ya bettah than that."

"My guess? Some kind of explosion." Donatello glanced back at him. "The readings I got before it went black lead me to believe Bishop used it to seal off the only access to the upper floors. It's why we're not going straight there. A ventilation system opened up right around here. It supplies water to the lower floors in case of a fire. There should be a maintenance entrance to it just up ahead."

As Raphael followed one turn after another, it became more blaringly obvious he would never have found his way there on his own. "This place is a goddamn maze."

"Probably another security measure."

"All the better to stop intruders like you two."

Raphael didn't slow at the sound of Bishop's voice. In fact it had the opposite effect on him. He raced around the final corner towards his enemy, stopping only when Donatello grabbed his wrist to pull him back.

"Bishop," Donatello addressed their enemy without emotion tainting his tone.

"What didja do?!" Raphael growled.

"About what exactly?" Bishop's calm response only irritated Raphael more.

"Get out of the way." Donatello's words brought their location to light. Raphael finally took note of what he initially took as a dead end behind their enemy. They had reached their destination only to find Bishop waiting for them.

"I knew you would come here as soon as you discovered my little trap." Bishop smirked. "Why don't you stay a while? I'm sure you have a lot of questions for me."

A click sounded behind them, alerting the turtles to the trap they had walked right into. Raphael glanced behind him to confirm his suspicions, hardly surprised at the newly placed wall blocking the corridor behind from view. They were trapped. The only exit left was the one behind Bishop. He growled in frustration before turning back to his enemy. "Where's Splinter?"

"Ah yes. The reason you're here in the first place, I presume?" Bishop pushed his sunglasses further up his nose. "It must be disheartening to hear as it is for me to admit, but you are too late. Splinter isn't here."

"Don'tchu lie ta me! We know he's here!"

"The NYPD handed him over to you by your request." Donatello added. "I read the report."

"I'm sure that acquiring that report wasn't even a challenge for you, Donatello. As for my personal records, you still have much to work on. As it happens, I did have your father; for almost a month, in fact. But my time was wasted. The venom in his system would have killed him before I could have gathered anything worthwhile. I couldn't have that. I can only gain so much from a corpse."

Raphael charged him in a rage that left him blinded to anything but the enemy before him. He twisted his sai in his hand, placing the handle between the fingers of his fist, and threw a wild punch towards Bishop's smug face.

His attack never made contact. Bishop yanked off his tie and whipped one end around Raphael's wrist, easily using the turtle's momentum to flip him over his shoulder. Raphael landed on his back, his head bouncing off the hard floor. Stars erupted in his vision, leaving him dazed as Bishop finished with securing his left wrist to the first with the other end of his tie.

Donatello was next. Bishop yanked Raphael to his feet, using him as a shield against his own brother's attack. The red-masked turtle was faced away from his brother, but he heard Donatello flipping away to avoid hitting him. Raphael roared as his aimed his knee at Bishop, only to miss again as the agent threw him away to avoid it, sending him plowing into his brother.

"I don't have time for this game of yours." Bishop huffed as he fixed his collar. "Donatello, I know you have access to most of my security systems. If you check them you will find I am telling the truth. I have no knowledge of where Splinter is now."

Donatello stood after untying his brother's wrists. He threw the tie at Bishop's feet and pulled out his tablet.

"You're lying!" Raphael rubbed his right wrist, absentmindedly. "Where else would he be, huh? He was here!"

"…No, he's telling the truth." Donatello spoke up, hesitantly. "I noticed it before, but I thought the information was just hidden. These documents say otherwise. Apparently Master Splinter was last visited by a Doctor Elvira Cartwright before he disappeared."

Raphael almost missed the dark look that flashed on Bishop's face at the name. "Who is that woman?"

"A brilliant part-time veterinarian that I hoped would help with my small dilemma. You'll find she also disappeared that night. Maybe they killed each other." The flippant remark barely hid the rising rage behind Bishop's normally stoic nature. "It's a shame though. Her studies in snake venom could have cured Splinter. Then I would still have your father."

"Why would you even need her help? Snake venom isn't too difficult to cure, no matter the snake behind it," Donatello challenged.

"It's a synthetic blend of rare and extinct varieties. Its properties make it difficult to synthesize an antidote. Theoretically, he should have died within hours of contracting it. I'd be surprised if he was still alive."

"He's alive, alright." Leonardo's voice reached them before his figure shuffled into view. Other than a few scattered burns on his left arm, he didn't appear any worse for wear. It was Michelangelo that instantly drew Raphael's attention. The orange-masked brother was limply slumped on Leonardo's carapace. Blood dripped down from Michelangelo's forehead onto his brother's shoulder, but any other possible injuries were hidden from him.

Leonardo carefully set Michelangelo against the wall before facing Bishop, unsheathing a single katana in warning. "My instinct is telling me you're holding back. Why does the mere mention of that woman send you into a rage? Are you furious that she stole your prize right out from under your nose?"

"Her work is priceless!" Bishop snapped. He collected himself before speaking again. "Doctor Cartwright was my prize. Her work in gene-splicing is unparalleled. But she didn't just leave. She took everything I had on Splinter with her and I'm going to get it back one way or another. Even if I have to make sure you'll return when you find him."

Raphael darted forward as soon as Bishop started towards Michelangelo's prone form. He wasn't the only one to realize what the agent wanted. Leonardo got there first as he was the closest. His katana shot upward, keeping Bishop at a distance. Donatello and Raphael's attacks came simultaneously. His genius brother spun his staff over his head before arcing downward at Bishop's side, while his own attack came on the agent's other side.

Bishop dodged all of them, though his roll was clumsy. He wasn't fighting at his usual par. Raphael easily recognized the kindred fire in the agent's features: rage had corrupted him. He was a different kind of enemy now; one that might be more easily beaten.

"You are not getting your hands on Mikey," Leonardo declared as he unsheathed his second katana to cross them before him. A smirk flashed across his face, "In fact, we're leaving right now."

Raphael couldn't deny he was surprised when April appeared out of the vent. She spared them all a small smile before grabbing Michelangelo by his arms. The orange-masked turtle made an audible groan. He didn't hear what she whispered to him, but whatever it was quickened his stumbling escape back through the vent. Leonardo stepped in front of the vent, his crossed blades challenging Bishop to try following them.

"Fine," Bishop grounded out. "I don't need an injured one anyway. I have three turtles right here to choose from."

"Not gonna happen." Raphael spun his twin sai in his own challenge. "Don, get goin'. I'll cover ya. Splinter's gonna need that head a'yers."

"…You better be right behind me. If you don't make it…" Donatello's voice trailed off in an echo of his brother's own words back in the security room.

"Don't worry about it. Leo'll back me up." Raphael flashed a look at Leonardo before they both charged Bishop. The agent was still deliberating who he would take with him, so he was a stationary target. If he had stayed that way, maybe the brothers' attacks would have succeeded in bringing him down. Only Bishop was never that easy, even fueled by rage.

The federal agent ducked both attacks, striking a foot out at Leonardo's chest. The leader stepped back from the hit and slashed a single katana down at him in rebuttal. Raphael shoved his knee against Bishop's thigh, aiming to force the agent into his brother's sword. It didn't work out quite as planned. Bishop did stumble from the kick, but he still managed to avoid any more than a nick from the katana. Raphael growled as he caught sight of purple fabric disappearing into the shadows of the maintenance tunnel. It was just the two of them against Bishop now.

Leonardo carved an arc out of the air with his katana and used Bishop's expectant dodge to get closer to his brother. "Now you go. I'll handle Bishop."

"No way, bro. I ain't lettin' you stay behind. You know whoever does might not be gettin' out," Raphael whispered back.

"Exactly why you're going to follow Donny out of here. Right now."

"Neither one of you are leaving." Bishop's interruption directed their attention to the vent. There he stood with a sneer on his face while the last and only exit began to close shut behind him. Raphael wouldn't have it. Before Leonardo could react, Raphael ran towards Bishop, his hand grabbing Leonardo's arm at the last moment before he used his momentum to send his brother through the gap before it sealed completely.

"Nope, wrong again." Raphael smirked. "Looks like it's just you and me now, Bishop."


A/N: Oh, Raphie. You know Don's gonna kill you when he finds out. XD I just love this unexpected twist. I never planned for a turtle to stay behind, just so you know. And him of all turtles, too! You'll see why that's funny to me later. As for the information gathered in this chapter...yeah, I gave you all a huge red herring in the beginning. Bishop really doesn't know where Splinter is. But why did Cartwright disappear with Splinter when she was hired to work for Bishop? That little tidbit will be saved for another chapter. ;) Now feed that review box while I finish up the next chapter!