Part 13
At first Raphael stood still, enthralled by Leonardo's duel with Karai. He'd practiced with his brother for years and knew his moves, but Leonardo showed a calculated viciousness that had only been present when his mind struggled between turtle and monster. Twice he nearly sliced off one of Karai's arms, and even though she whirled away in time to save herself, he left deep gashes on her shoulder and her side. But he didn't escape unscathed, always coming back with new cuts across his shell. They both moved in perfect compliment to each other, and every tiny misstep cost them another cut.
A loud clang surprised all of them, although neither Leonardo nor Karai spared a glance at the door that Michelangelo slammed, spinning the lock shut and tightening it as hard as he could. Glancing at the two fighters just long enough to make sure they weren't nearing any of the other doors, Mike headed for the next one and started to close it as well.
The sound was enough to jolt Raphael out of watching the fight. Quickly realizing that his brother was sealing off the exits both to keep the monsters out and Leonardo and Karai in, he put a hand on Donatello's shoulder.
"Think you can turn off Stockman?"
Donatello nodded once with a grin that startled Raphael. "It'll be a pleasure."
Whipping his bo around in his hand, he started towards the huge monitor displaying Stockman's face. Staring at the plastic casing around the exposed brain, he raised his staff high and brought it down as hard as he could. The plastic didn't shatter as hoped but small pieces chipped off.
"You'd better work fast," Stockman laughed, not frightened in the least as the computer hummed in furious activity. "The door locks of this room are wired to my computer. In a few moments this room will be crawling with my creations, and I'm the only one safe from their teeth."
"What?" Karai gasped. She turned to face him but Leonardo's swords forced her to focus. "Stockman, call off your monsters!"
"Sorry, Karai, but I'm breaking off our deal. You can't help me anymore and--hey! Cut that out!"
Not answering, Donatello continued his assault on the casing and smiled in grim satisfaction as Stockman's voice turned less confident with every tiny crack and chip.
In the center of the room, although he was aware of his family moving around him, Leonardo felt in a strange sort of limbo, emotionally distant from his siblings. Somewhere along the way he knew he'd screwed up, but he couldn't tell exactly where. He winced as the constant static changed frequency, turning higher and drilling into his head. The induced hunger didn't go away but it grew more urgent, telling him that he was in danger of starving.
Not until he heard the scratches and screeching rushing closer did he realize what had happened. When he half-turned to look toward the only door still open, Karai took the opportunity to break away, choosing to retreat while she was outnumbered. Neither April nor Splinter tried to stop her, too busy keeping the doors closed as Stockman's computer tried to turn the locks open. She beat Michelangelo to the last door and raced into the corridor.
"No, don't--!" Leonardo yelled after her.
Too late. In the dim reddish light, Karai came to a halt, her eyes widening as hundreds of screamers fresh from ravaging New York charged towards her, spilling from around the corner like spiders. She looked back the way she'd come, but it was too far. They would be on her before she even made it halfway. Setting her mouth in a firm line, she raised her swords and faced the onslaught.
Before Leonardo saw her first slash connect with the nearest screamer, the door slammed shut. Like a marionette with its strings cut, he collapsed, his swords clattering out of his hands. He felt like he couldn't breathe as he looked around. Every door was shut. He knew he couldn't unlock them fast enough to escape. Trapped.
He blindly felt along the floor and found the hilt of one of the swords. Why was his hand shaking? It took him two tries before he managed to grasp it, adjusting his grip so that he was holding it backwards. If there was no other way, this would be how he kept his family safe from himself.
A gentle hand fell over his and forced his fingers open. In his state, it was as if he gave up willingly. A choked gasp escaped from him. Someone put their arms around him and held him close, not giving him a chance to reach for his sword again.
"You have to let me," he whispered raggedly. "It's so close--"
"No," Michelangelo answered. "Never."
"Mike..."
"You've taken care of us for years. Now it's our turn."
It would've been so easy to give in. Exhausted and hurting, he wanted nothing more than to close his eyes in his brother's arms.
"It's pulling at me," he murmured. "A little higher and I won't be me anymore."
"Just hang on a little longer," Mike insisted. "All we gotta do is destroy Stockman and you won't have to worry about--"
"What's this I hear?" Stockman said, a wide smirk spreading over his digital face. The look of horror on Michelangelo's face was all the confirmation he needed. "I never would have expected it, but in retrospect, I see I should have. Of course your mutant genetics would render you more susceptible to my own unstable creations. Let's see...perhaps I don't need to unlock these doors so quickly after all."
They all felt the static increase in the small room, but Leonardo's stifled groan confirmed their worst fears. He twisted in Michelangelo's arms, straining to break free and crying out when his brother kicked the swords far from reach.
"Mike, I can't--it's slipping--"
"A little higher, perhaps?" Stockman said, his features flickering as Donatello's efforts became more frantic. The plastic case cracked down the middle and a corner flew off, but the brain still lay protected within.
Leonardo fell silent. The whole room paused, looking over their shoulder at the eldest brother. Everyone knew something had happened, but there was no way of knowing what.
"Leo?" Michelangelo held him a little tighter, tilting his head trying to see his brother's face. He wondered if his brother had fainted, but no, his breathing wasn't deep enough. Tightening his grip just in case, he tried again. "Leo, are you still with us?"
"Oh, honestly," Stockman said with a roll of his eyes. "I don't have all day--"
"That's it!" Raphael was used to dishonorable enemies, but Stockman's ego was just too much. He stomped over and pushed Donatello away, putting the tip of his sai at the broken corner.
"What? No--!" Stockman yelled.
"Go to hell, you bastard!" Raphael punctuated every syllable with a thrust of his sai into the exposed brain that he could get at, chopping deep into it and angling his strikes to hit as much as possible. Blood flew up and splattered the casing, and with each thrust, Stockman's face on the screen jerked until all emotion left his eyes. His face went flat and flickered a few times until the screen finally went dark.
Not noticing his enemy's death, Raphael kept stabbing, turning the brain into little more than paste. Finally Donatello grabbed him and shook him once.
"Raph, enough!"
With shuddering breaths, Raphael growled and stared at the screen, then blinked. He looked back at the mess that remained inside the case, then looked up at Donatello. He wondered why he didn't feel satisfied and as he caught his breath, he realized why he was still on edge.
"If he's dead, why do I still feel it?"
Donatello frowned. The computer itself was still broadcasting signals calling all the monsters. If he could have accessed the mainframe, he probably could have stopped it, but there were no keyboards or buttons. The brain itself had been built into the machine. He looked around the back for a power source and found several cables hooked into the wall, but even after breaking them free, the computer kept humming.
"I think it's got a back-up power source," he sighed. "We're gonna have to destroy the whole thing."
"Don, you couldn't even get through the little plastic box," Raphael said. "How're we supposed to break through the whole thing?"
"You don't have to," April called from the other side of the room. "You've cut out part of the brain, so the inner machinery is exposed. If we sink the ship, it'll flood."
Raphael looked at Donatello and tilted his head.
"It could work," Donatello said. "But we'd have to get out of here to do it. Right now there are four doors and all of them lead to monsters. We're trapped."
Taking a deep breath, Raphael leaned against the computer and shook his head. "Listen. Can you hear it?"
They all paused. In the still air, beyond the thick metal doors, the screams and scratching of claws on steel gave way to the wet sounds of ripping skin and teeth crunching bones. April looked down and grimaced. Blood trickled in from a crack in the bottom of the door.
"We can wait here for a few minutes," Raphael said. "With any luck, they'll eat enough of 'emselves to give us a chance to break out."
Mike looked up at him. "But what about Leo?"
Raphael winced. The whole family was safe for the moment except for Leonardo, but if he tried to move them, then everyone would be in danger. Had his big brother ever faced this kind of dilemma? Probably all the time, he thought.
He walked over and knelt beside them, touching Leonardo's shoulder. Hissing as if the touch hurt, Leo curled closer into Michelangelo's arms. Raphael drew his hand back.
"Did he say anything before Stockman cranked that static up?" he asked.
"Not really," Michelangelo said with a shrug. "He said it felt like he was slipping, but he's been saying that ever since this all started. But we gotta get him out of here."
"We will," Raphael promised. "As soon as we got a chance of getting out alive."
A heavy metallic clunk interrupted him. Knowing better than to hope it didn't mean anything, he stood up and looked around, wondering if some kind of trap had been sprung. A few seconds later, the clunk was followed by what sounded like a loud clock ticking slowly.
"Oh crap," Donatello muttered. "I think I know what that is."
He ran to one of the doors and put his hand against the lock, groaning as he realized he was right.
"What is it?" Raphael asked.
"The computer must be tied into the locking mechanisms here. We were able to throw them manually, but now it's triggered its internal controls--"
"Don, the short version?"
Donatello twirled his staff and took a few steps back. "They're gonna open any second now."
"All of them?" Raphael whispered.
As if in response, the locks snapped open. April rushed forward to try to hold the door nearest her shut, but something heavy on the other side pushed it open. She stumbled back and landed on her rear, grimacing as half-eaten screamer bodies rolled up to her feet. A few feeders came into the room, but they were too busy flailing at screamers gnawing on their backs and legs that Splinter easily dispatched them before they reached her.
Only a handful other monsters came out of the other entrances, and Raphael edged close to one, curious to see why they weren't being overrun. Blood and torn flesh covered the corridor where Stockman's creations had gone into a feeding frenzy. The few survivors didn't look like they'd last more than a couple minutes as they devoured each other. He even spotted a screamer in the corner biting its own leg.
"What the hell?" he murmured. A quick glance at the others told him the other exits were much the same. "Not that I mind, but what happened?"
"I think I get it," April said. "It was when he tried to affect Leonardo. He maxed out the signal telling them that they were hungry. With all of them in one spot, it was inevitable that they attack each other."
"Efficient little eating machines," Donatello added.
"Okay," Raphael said, taking a deep breath. He couldn't help glancing once at Spinter, but for some reason their father didn't look like he was going to interfere with Raphael's decisions. "Then let's get going. But be careful. Just 'cause most of 'em are dead doesn't mean all of 'em are."
"Which way?" Donatello asked. "I don't remember which door we came out of."
"Um..." He tried to recall but shook his head after a moment. "Neither do I. Any suggestions?"
While everyone else conferred about how to get off the ship, Michelangelo gave his brother a soft shake. "Leo, time to get up. We gotta go."
The only response was a pained shake of the head.
"I know it hurts," Mike said. "But it'll get better the farther we get away from here. I can't fight and carry you at the same. I don't think you'd want me to carry you anyway."
When he didn't get a response, he sighed and tried one more time. "Stockman's dead, for real this time. The Foot clan's gone and I don't think that Karai chick made it. All you have to do is walk out of this ship and it'll be okay again. Can't you at least try?"
His brother sounded far away and underwater, but Leonardo understood everything. If his brothers were right, he was only a few minutes from escaping the pain, but he didn't think he could stand up, let alone walk. His right arm was too sore to move, almost numb from the re-opened slice near his throat, and his leg felt like dead weight. The static in his head made it impossible to hear more than his brother's voice, adding near deafness to his weakened eyesight. And although he knew his sudden ravenous hunger was induced by Stockman's computer, having his sibling so close made him want to throw up.
Worse, how could he face his family after everything he'd done? Better if they just left him here with the rest of the monsters.
"Please? We still need you, big bro'."
Leonardo sighed. "That's not fair."
Michelangelo grinned. Victory. When in doubt, just appeal to his brother's overdeveloped sense of duty. "No, but it's true. C'mon, you can lean on me 'till we get home."
"And then what?" Leo muttered. "We go back to the way things were?"
"Nah," Mike said as he stood, bringing Leonardo up with him and keeping one arm firmly around his waist both to help him walk and to keep him from running away again. "Then you can lean on all of us."
TBC...