Another chapter! Yes, this author is still alive! (complete shock, right?) However, regular updates might not be as frequent. Not because I'm giving up on this story, it is more like Life just got a little too crazy for daily updates. Sorry folks, but my studies take precedence!

CHAPTER TEN

Raph laughed to himself as he ran down the sewers.

"C-come find me Unca Donnie," he chortled, and then stopped to hide behind a corner. He couldn't help but chuckle as he stood there.

A shadow turned the corner and stood in front of him.

"Gotcha," said a rough voice, and the owner of the voice grabbed Raph firmly by the shoulders.

All Raph could see was the Dragon tattoo on the person's arm. Something was very, very wrong. What was this guy doing here in the sewers? And what was he-oh no.

Donnie stopped in midtrack as the scream echoed down the sewer.

Raphael was in trouble. Again.

Racing towards the sound, Don turned the corner and spotted the Purple Dragon holding his brother over his shoulder. Raph was kicking his feet as hard as he could, but that did nothing to release the man's grip.

"LET ME GO!"

"PUT HIM DOWN!" Don cried, springing forward.

"Get back!" the Purple Dragon called, noticeably tightening his hold on Raph and motioning to the knife in his belt, "Or he's as good as dead!"

Donnie froze, but his face hardened.

"Stay back," said the Purple Dragon, inching backwards, "You just stay back, freak!"

"DONNIE!" Raph cried out angrily, kicking a little harder.

"Shut up!" the man chastised, then turned his head to face Don, "My pals will be here soon. If ya follow us, he's a gonner!"

Don was not going to stand for this. He was a ninja, for Pete's sake! Snarling, he burst forward to tear his brother from the man holding him captive.

A small sound saved his life. Turning, he barely caught the Purple Dragon sneaking up behind him in time to hit him with his bo staff. Knocking him out of the way, he then swung his staff at the man's head and knocked him out cold.

He turned back to the man holding his brother, but he was already gone. A quick burst of light down the tunnel, coupled with a muffled shout from Raph, told him that they had just left up a manhole around the corner.

Don raced down the sewer and climbed up the ladder that they must have taken. Throwing off the manhole without any regard for caution, he instantly spotted a large, unmarked van speeding down the road.

Instantly, he raced down the street, disregarding anything in his path.

"RAPH! I'M COMING!" he cried out, ignoring the stares of a couple walking down the road.

"Think he's in a play or something, with that costume?" the woman asked.

"Nah," said the man, "These New Yorkers are crazy. Come on, we'll be late."

Donnie tried his best, but after a block or two-maybe three-he still hadn't caught up to the van.

It was too far for him to catch on foot. And he was getting tired.

Donnie carefully gauged his options. He needed to slow them down, or follow where they were going. Taking a few throwing stars from his belt, he took a few seconds to judge the wind and then threw the stars are expertly as he could.

All four found their mark, and Don smiled. Even from his great distance away, he could see the four tires flatten. The car swerved, and crashed into an overhanging light post.

Don began running to catch up to it, not caring for the moment if anyone spotted him.

Because his brother was in danger.

Raph growled, only to be rewarded by an elbow jabbing into his side. It was squished in here. He had counted twelve people, before he lost his patience when he realized he had counted the same human at least twice. So there probably were less than twelve people here. But it was still crowded.

The man who had grabbed him seemed to have melded into the crowd of other people who were already in the van, and they all apparently considered that the best way to control the young turtle was to sit almost on top of him.

Come to think of it, they were probably more afraid of Uncle Don than himself. More than likely, they thought that the closer they were to Raphael, the less danger they would be in. Because, you know, they could use him as a shield, or something.

Didn't they realize how stupid they were? Don was going to hurt the people holding his brother captive. And that meant that they should stay as far away from him as possible.

At least, he hoped Donnie was coming after him.

This was going to be a long ride.

"Ow!" Raph cried out, dazed. His head had just banged against the side of the van.

Why would that happen?

Wait, had the van just stopped?

Had they crashed into something?

"Grab the turtle and let's get out of here!" someone cried out.

"Hey! Watch it!" Raphael snapped as someone picked him up and held him under one arm like an American football.

The back doors of the van opened, and Raph had a glimpse of a turtle, his own Uncle Donnie, running down the street after them before his capture turned and began running the other way.

"Unca Donnie!" Raph called out, "Beat these bozos to a pulp!"

"Quiet ya twerp," someone told him.

Raph was certain that Don heard him, because he heard Donnie's voice over the ruckus; however, he couldn't make out what that voice said.

"Boss, he's after us!"

"I know, I know! Give me time to think!"

"The Subway, over there!"

"Good idea!"

Before Raphael knew what was happening, they were taking him down some stairs heading for the subway.

"Clear the car!" someone shouted.

A Purple Dragon ran in front of the one holding Raph and took out a gun.

"Everybody out!" he cried, and stepped into the subway car.

Raph didn't exactly see what happened, perhaps because he was still dazed from hitting his head, and maybe because the overcoat of the guy holding him was kind of in his eyes. The next thing he knew, he was being held to the floor of the Subway car, now empty, and the doors were closing.

"Heh heh," said a Purple Dragon somewhere in the car as the doors closed, "That'll teach 'im!"

As soon as the doors closed, Raph dared to look up and see what was happening around the car.

For one thing, they were moving now. The station was already left behind. For another thing, there were about ten Purple Dragons. Some of them were stationed at the doors, and the rest were all standing around him. They had placed him in the middle of the subway car.

"Keep your head down," someone told him, and roughly pushed his head to the floor.

"Ow!" said Raph, "What d'ya want with me, anyway?"

"Wow he is a feisty one," said another Purple Dragon, "Listen, creature. They want ya back at headquarters, alive and unharmed. We can do very well if we just give ya to 'em alive, so don't do anything unless we give ya the say-so, or else you might get hurt. Understand?"

"N-no," said Raph, confused, "What are ya talking about?"

The Purple Dragons all looked at one another.

"He means," said one, "That if you don't behave, we're going to-woah!"

There was the sound of metal wrenching, and someone threw something like a blanket over Raph's head.

"Get down!" someone commanded, and Raph simultaneously felt pressure on his shell, telling him that the command was meant for him.

"Surround the smaller one!" someone called out, "Use it as a shield!"

The metal sounds continued.

"Don't let him get in!"

"Small Joe, look out!"

There was a terrible sound, as if a giant metal something had been ripped apart.

Suddenly someone screamed.

"He's in, he's in!"

"Aim for the head!"

"Look out! He's got a-ooomf!"

"Ow!"

"Ugh…"

"I've got 'im!"

The sounds of a battle filled the air. Raph dared to hope.

"Unca Donnie?" he cried out timidly.

"Shut yer trap!" someone cried out, clamping his head to the floor. Hard.

"Hang on, Raph!" came the sound of Donnie's voice.

Raph remained quiet, listening to the sounds of the fight. He was feeling a little dizzy, maybe because his head was just punched to the floor, and maybe because the subway was still moving back and forth, back and forth.

The fight seemed to last forever.

Suddenly, the pressure on his shell was gone, and silence filled the air.

"Raph, are you alright?" Donnie asked, and the blanket was lifted from Raph's face. Well, apparently it was not an actual blanket. It was someone's jacket.

"Donnie!" Raph cried out, hugging his brother by the neck, "You're alright! I'm so sorry! I'll never leave the lair like that again!"

"It's alright Raph," said Don, sounding relieved, "Now we've got to hurry and get out of here, before these guys wake u-"

"Get them!" said a voice, albeit weakly.

"-up," finished Donnie, lifting Raph into his arms.

Raphael followed Donnie's eyes to see that several of the Purple Dragons were getting up and already advancing towards them.

Donnie looked around. The Subway had left the tunnels and was now traveling on an elevated track.

"Raphael," said Donnie, looking towards the car door, which looked as if it had been torn off its hinges or something, "Hang on and trust me, okay?"

Raph didn't like the sound of this.

"Here we go!" Don called out, and he ran out the open door, jumping at the last second.

While he was freefalling with his brother, Raph briefly looked down. He then closed his eyes, and all he could hear was the funny whistle that the Subway made as it burst past them.

He didn't want to see when they landed, because he knew that the only thing below them was solid concrete.

For some reason, the only thing that Donatello could think of when he jumped was that if they survived this night, Master Splinter would never let him babysit again.