Ch.12: Final Showdown

Before the large turtle knew it, it was already to late. With combined force, both Fishface and Raphael lunged out hard kicks to Slash's side, sending the dangerous turtle stumbling a few feet across the floor.

Green eyes narrowed in rage, Slash focused his deadly gaze upon Fishface and Raphael. He couldn't believe Raphael was fighting against him with an enemy at his side. Just what was this twist to his former master's life?

Mace held at the ready, Slash stood his ground in order to face a new attack. Raph lunged in first, charging Slash with his sais.

Slash swung his mace down, which Raph caught with barely inches to spare. As he continued to put pressure on the mace, Slash kept one eye out, scanning for his other target, but Fishface had disappeared.

"Where did he?" thought Slash, before the answer came bursting out behind him.

While Slash had been distracted by Raph's attack, Fishface had jumped into the huge water tank Shredder kept under his throne room, and snuck up from the other side. With a smug grin, Fishface kicked Slash hard, while Raph ducked, sending the huge turtle just inches over the red-masked turtle's head.

Raphael had managed to hook his sais around the mace as Slash was sent flying, and the deadly weapon now lay just a foot from where he stood.

Green eyes glared at each from black and red, as Slash extended his claws and pointed his gaze at Raphael. Raphael twirled his sais in response, saying he was still ready to fight.

"I got it from here Xever," said Raph to Fishface, and then charged Slash again.

A multiple blow of kicks and punches were exchanged in fierce stabbing fury, as Raph and Slash busted through the entry way and started facing off in the confined corridors of the hall.

Neither bruiser gave an inch as they continued fighting tooth and nail. Raphael managed to get in a few lucky hits, but even they weren't strong enough to take down Slash entirely.

"Grrr" Raph thought in his mind, as he lunged again " What am I going to do?"

Swiftly dodging the lunge, Slash gripped Raph's arm and flung the red-masked turtle straight towards the ceiling. Luckily for Raph, Shredder kept his ceilings high, so was plenty of time to recover, before you were forced to meet shell first with an incoming wall.

Now completely upside down, Raphael thrust out with his sais in his deadly, pointed missile attack, which no bad guy ever seemed to fall for. Slash was no different. Knowing the attack that was coming his way, the black masked turtle stood just an inch or two away from where Raph's arm would start to appear, and then jabbed out with his finger, striking the same pressure point that Raph had used to defeat him.

The reaction was instantaneous as Raphael started twitching, and landed painfully hard upon the stone floor. His left shoulder wretched with pain, and the sais slid away from his hands.

"Now you know just how I felt when you pulled that move" said Slash, hovering over Raphael " Painful isn't it when things are turned around?"

Unleashing a harsh kick to Raphael's chest, Slash sent the red-masked turtle painfully sliding away further down the corridor, making his sais harder to reach.

"I wish there was another way" said Slash, approaching Raph slowly " but it seems like you are to far gone,"

From his position on the floor, Raph watched worried as Slash approached, claws out and ready to slice. This was going to be the end for him if he didn't figure something out soon.

Brushing his belt for options, Raph realized there was some strange, round bulk there that didn't feel like the extra supply of shuriken he always carried around. Pulling it out, Raphael realized it was some kind of small, metal disc with serrated teeth on the edge, meant to dig into opponents or armor.

Unaware of what this device did when he used it before on the Shredder, Raph decided that it was his best chance for defeating Slash.

Claws out, Slash stepped close ready to deliver the final blow, when Raph struck out attaching the strange device to Slash's leg. The reaction was instant as Slash fell prey to the electric arcs and ended up collapsing on the floor.

His eyes were half-lidded with pain, as Raphael pushed himself up with his right arm and looked down at Slash. Through the pain of the electric arcs Slash growled out to speak.

"Ha" said Slash " you win Raph. I guess you don't need me. You've proved you loved your brothers more than hanging out and fighting with me. Now that I'm no longer your pet, I'm disposable,"

"You're wrong Slash" said Raph " I love you just as much as my brothers, but I will not stand for what you thought should happen to them. I can't ever forgive the things you've done. But I'll always love you Spike, and hopefully, one day, when you realize what a true brother can be, maybe, just maybe, you can come home,"


Later, when Raph walked back into Shredder's throne room, he found his family bruised but standing on their feet. Fishface was over by Shredder and Karai, making sure his two masters were alright.

His gold eyes encountered Raphael, just as the red-masked turtle stepped through the door, and he shot a thumbs up with one of his fins. Raphael returned the gesture with a thumbs up of his own, then smiled and walked over to his family and friends.

After making sure each other was okay, Raph and everyone else started to return back to the lair, in order to recover from their long fight.

When they finally reached the sewers, Raph couldn't stop himself from thinking about Slash, and wondering just when the dark turtle could return.


Back inside the Shredder's fortress, the Shredder was sitting back in his throne, recovered from the shock that had plagued him earlier that night. Fishface had taken away a still unconscious Karai into the infirmary, to be joined later by an injured Rahzar and Tiger Claw.

Slamming down his fist in rage, Shredder growled in fury. He could not believe just how wrong things had gotten tonight. That traitorous Slash, and Raphael, no one had come closer to beating him than Splinter in the past, and now these turtles had almost taken him out with one swipe!

"They will be destroyed!" thought Shredder evilly " and Slash will pay! No one back stabs me and gets away with it!"


Meanwhile, up in the cold night air, sitting on a sturdy rooftop miles above the streets, a black-masked turtle sat silent, staring up to the stars, mind filled with the thoughts of recent events.

There was nowhere for him to go now, neither home or back to hideout where Shredder sat. He was an outcast now, not wanted on either side.

"Well maybe" thought Slash " that's not true,"

An image of Raphael suddenly flooded through his mind, as he started to wonder about all the strange things he had missed while observing Raphael's life. There was more to Raph than meets the eyes if even an enemy like Fishface, could even forget his hate for moment and fight with the turtle side by side.

"I love you Spike. Maybe, just maybe, you can come home,"

"Someday Raph" Slash thought in his mind " someday,"

The End