A/N: Still pretty violent but this should be the last with this level of intensity

…

"He loves deep . . . hates hard . . .

All great warriors are such men." –Forrest Carter, The Outlaw Josey Wales

Chapter 14 – Difference Between Heroes and Villains

Donatello leapt over the downed bodies, crossing the room to April, but four soldiers replaced the three he just cleared. His toes dug into the mat below his feet as he was forced to come to a stuttering, sliding stop. He swore under his breath in frustration. He needed to get to her. See if she was hurt. They only paused a heartbeat; then they rushed him. He jabbed at them with sweat-soaked hands and spun the staff defensively to the left then to the right.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Casey make it to her side first. Anger and a bolt of jealousy flashed through him. Great. Feeling blades bite into his thighs and shoulders as they swung short handled kamas and katanas at him; he swore. A katana swept just over his head as he ducked. He needed to focus here before they made him a foot shorter than he already was. He bit back the knot frustration rising from his chest into his throat. Sweat flew in long strands from his jaw and shoulders as he weaved and ducked again; bringing his bo up to block first in front of him then left and right; spinning it with aching wrists and burning shoulders. He pushed back the creeping exhaustion and clenched his jaw as he brought the end of his bo up into a ninja's chin. The man's head snapped back and he went down.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Casey wrap his arms around April. Dammit. With newfound fury, he brought his bo around in a clean sweep. The three left standing suddenly straightened. They backed up and scattered. His face shot to April as she nuzzled into Casey's neck as he lifted her; his heart constricted and plummeted. April. With a racing heart, he shoved away the jealousy and told himself the most important thing was she was safe. He started in their direction when Mikey's voice called out.

"No! Stop!"

Donatello twisted around just as the loud pop exploded above him. In what seemed to be slow motion, he saw his younger brother lunging towards him; twisting around; using his body to shield Donatello. Then Mikey falling back; nun-chucks flying out to the sides as both hands came up and clutched at his face; his mask split into a floating orange ribbon as blood sprayed in a wide arc following him as he fell, crashing into Donatello. Time resumed its normal pacing as together they tumbled to the floor. Michelangelo groaned as he rolled off of Donatello's chest to one side and lay trembling before becoming still. Stunned, Donatello looked down to see his chest covered in blood. Mikey's blood.

"No! Mikey!" Raph's scream erupted from somewhere behind Donatello. "Mikey!"

Donatello's unbelieving gaze rose to see a blonde woman standing; legs spread apart; a smoking gun in one hand on the second story balcony; sneering down at him. She raised the barrel; taking aim for Donatello's head. He sat frozen in numb shock; unable to move. One thought reverberating through his horror-stricken mind, She shot Mikey! Before she pulled the trigger again, he saw a man with close-cropped hair rush up to her from out of the office door behind her. He pointed to the ceiling and shouted something about the helicopter. She turned and swiftly fled; followed by wounded ninjas streaming away in retreat. Donatello turned to Michelangelo, with shaking hands, he gently grabbed his shoulder to turn him; a pool of blood spread from beneath his head.

Raphael ran, sliding and slipping across the blood streaked floor left by Leonardo's rampage. Blue-clad ninjas scattered in every direction as they fled from the bulky mutant; following their leader in retreating. Panting heavily, Raph dropped to his knees next to Donatello and Michelangelo. Red stained sais fell from his hands. His trembling fingers clutched at the floor near Michelangelo's shell as if he were afraid to touch his brother.

"Mikey! Mikey are you okay? Bro? Is he okay, Donnie? Is he? For Christ sake, Don, tell me if he's okay!"

Saki, trembling and shaking, tore his gaze from the laptop where the soldiers were tearing into his daughter like a pack of starved wolves. He stared at the woman sitting on the bed, watching the screen with a tired look of boredom on her face. Clenching his jaw and forcing his sluggish body to accept and carry out the frantic commands his brain was screaming, he lurched to one side. His fingers fumbled at the sleeve on her kimono as she jumped up from where she sat.

"Oh!"

Annabelle turned away from the window.

"Seems like he needs another dose. Anna, I thought you told me that would keep him immobile for several hours," Lena said, a hint of worry lacing her words.

"I . . . I was sure it would."

"I'm doubling the dose this time. We can't risk him attacking us."

The sound of several vehicles pulling up to the front of the house had Annabelle spinning around back to the window. She gasped and Lena froze in her tracks. Saki raised his head from the mattress. On the screen Karai fought on as April tackled one of the men assaulting her and rolled out of the view of the camera on the lap top in the room.

"Lena," Annabelle said as she gripped the gauzy curtains in her fists. Her voice was low but the words were laced with fear. "Get out of here. Now. Go out the back and use the bike. Go into the mountains. Get as far away as you can."

"What? B…But how? How could they have . . . No. I'm not leaving until I finish this." She crossed the room, picking up a dagger laid on the dresser across from the bed. "I will have my son's revenge!" Lena, blade positioned in one fist, lunged onto the bed as Saki rolled to his back with a pained grunt. He brought his hand up in time to catch her descending wrist. They struggled. Pain lanced through his chest and side. The bandages around his torso turned pink then a deep red as his wounds reopened.

"What are you doing? Get out of here, sister!" Annabelle screamed.

"You bastard! You deserve death," Lena, her eyes bulging, snarled in Saki's face as she pushed down with all her might on the blade aimed for the middle of his chest.

"You must leave now-" Annabelle's voice was cut short as the window exploded behind her. Her body jerked. Glass scattered in a spreading, glittering eruption around the woman. The tip of a blood covered arrow burst from the front of her chest. Her mouth hung slack with surprise and pain. She coughed once as blood bubbled up and out of her open mouth then dropped to the floor.

Lena reared back, distracted by her sister's scream and gruesome death. As she did, her hold on the dagger slackened. Saki brought his other hand up and tried to grab the woman by the throat. She jerked and pulled back hard enough to slip free from his fumbling fingers. With an inhuman snarl, Lena pulled her arm back and plunged the blade down into Saki's upper right chest. A blaze of white pain went through him. His body bucked and his head was thrown back in agony.

"Monster!"

She pulled the knife out and he hissed in pain. She reared back and moved to plunge it again into his chest when her body went rigid; face thrown up to the ceiling; the dagger fell from her stiff clawing fingers. A black clothed arm came around from the back of her body. Saki saw the flash of steel as a blade was swept cleanly across the woman's throat. A spray of blood blanketed his legs as Lena collapsed forward. A lone Foot ninja stood next to the bed. The figure moved swiftly to ball up part of the blanket and pressed it into Saki's wound.

Soldiers streamed into the room, followed by Doctor Tsuneo, barking orders at them in Japanese. They immediately began clearing the room and sweeping for any further danger.

"Saki . . . Saki, are you all right?" Doctor spoke quickly as he opened his medical bag and then turned to bark out more orders at the men around them.

As the doctor worked on him, Saki laid back on the sweat soaked bed. Silent and still, he endured the pain as well as the hands wiping the sweat and blood from his face and body. He ignored the doctor's mutterings as he cleaned and stitched the knife wound and unwrapped the bloody bandages around his torso. His eyes drifted to the screen. Though he did not want to see what was happening to his daughter, he couldn't help but lock his sights on it. He braced himself for the worst possible scenario.

But what he saw instead shocked him to his core. His burning eyes stared at what was happening, hundreds of miles away like a vision from a surreal dream borne of madness. The brutality and ruthlessness employed to stop the men from attacking his daughter matched only what he'd expect from his own hands.

And even as his mind reeled with the implications of what he was seeing, immediately the beginning of an answer to the question of the Foot Clan's break down became apparent. It was Karai. And this one, the one butchering the men who were hurting his daughter; Leonardo. The recording of them together. It was the source of the fracture within the clan. He continued to stare at the scene between his daughter and her rescuer. Of course. It all became clear. Whether he liked it or not, what he saw was the truth. And Oroku Saki never fled from truth, no matter how much it burned. And right then his very soul was on fire.

As he stared at the screen, he knew with certainty. There was only one choice left for him. A choice that he would offer this creature to make in exchange for saving his daughter from a dishonorable death at the hands of his enemy.

"Have my plane readied."

Doctor Tsuneo's face shot up. "Y…You are in no condition for travel! Saki, as your doctor, I forbid this."

Saki levelled a look at the doctor. They held each other's eyes locked for a moment before Doctor Tsuneo dropped his away. He grumbled under his breath but knew it was futile to try to talk sense into the stubborn young man.

Moments before Saki's rescue, Leonardo raced into the room where they had Karai. All he saw was the two men on top of her; one holding her down and another trying to rape her. All he knew was he would make them stop.

Make them . . .

With a snarl, Leonardo drove his twin blades through the man's back that was positioned between Karai's legs just as he reared up and moved to twist around. The ends of the swords burst through the ninja's chest. The soldier made a choked sound as he pulled the gleaming swords free.

Stop.

He swept his dripping blades back and then to the side, freeing the man's head from his shuddering body. He kicked the body back and away from his love.

Stop.

Leonardo took a step and with a strangled cry plunged both blades into the ninja's stomach just as he was jumping to his feet. He grabbed the blades with his bare hands. The hands that were holding her down.

STOP.

Leonardo pulled out the swords and swept them down and through the man's wrists, severing both hands. The man howled in an animalistic scream of agony that was cut short as he was beheaded. He kicked the body in the chest. It fell back and laid still as Leonardo, chest heaving, arms shaking, turned to Karai.

STOP.

His swords fell from his numb hands. They clattered to the ground, the sound shattering the deafening silence around them. The adrenaline drained from his body in a sickening rush. He saw her and yet could not accept what he saw. She lay with her face turned to the wall; knees up, pressed together; her mussed hair obscured her features; unmoving. He paled as he took in the blood covering her chest from what he thought was a long gash across her throat. His shining eyes dropped and widened as a memory of a nightmare returned to him. One of Karai, screaming for him, her throat cut, blood spilling over her naked body. His knees gave out; he dropped.

What have they done?

A soft moan slipped from her lips. For a moment, he was frozen in place; unsure if he really heard her make a sound. He was shaking from terror and exertion; looming over her; afraid to believe she wasn't dead; dripping in gore; looking himself like something out of a nightmare. The sound came again and this time he saw a tremor run over her body. With a small wordless noise, he hurriedly yanked the leather strap off his shoulder with his thumb and pulled his torn and blood spattered black t-shirt over his head and off his body. He covered her with it.

He slid a small dagger from his belt and for a moment hesitated, but then lifted her arm as gently as he could and cut through the tape binding her wrists. With a clenched jaw and unshed tears blinding him, he pulled the tape from her raw wrists and threw it to the side. His breath hitched and caught as he carefully lowered her arms down, noting the deep finger-shaped bruises where the men had gripped her and held her.

Her face turned to him then and his breath was stolen from him as their eyes met and locked. She blinked slowly. Her eyes were glazed over with pain and exhaustion. Her lips parted.

"My . . . hero," she whispered and her eyes rolled up into her head and she passed out.

A wordless cry erupted from him as he collapsed onto her and gathered her in his arms and pressed her to his chest. He nuzzled his face into her hair; holding her and rocking her; losing all his composure as tears spilled out from his clenched eyes; painting his face in light green streaks. Moving quickly, with shaking but ever gentle hands, he pulled his shirt over her head and gently moved her arms through the large sleeves and pulled the hem down to where it fell just below her hips. He pulled her back into his arms where he knelt at the edge of the mattress on the floor.

He pressed his cheek onto the top of her head. His frantic mind raced. He needed to take her somewhere safe. Somewhere where he could care for her. His mind scattered. Then his room rose up in his mind. The lair. Yes. He'd take her to the safest place in the entire world. His room. His home. They would never be able to find her there. Not this rival clan, not the Foot soldier, not her father. And he would never let her leave without him by her side. He would never let her be harmed again. Not as long as he lived. He would keep her safe. Safe in his room. Forever.

Outside in the main expanse of the warehouse, where now most all of the ninjas had fled, two brothers huddled together over their fallen younger sibling as Casey moved towards them, still carrying April in his arms.

Chest tight with fear, Donatello rolled Michelangelo carefully over, cradling his head on his lap. His face was a mask of red. His left eye was a mess of blood and gore Raphael made a strangled sound in the back of his throat when he saw the damage. Donatello ripped his own mask off and pushed it into the wound. Michelangelo's body jumped; he mewled softly in pain.

"Wh…What are you doin'? You're gonna hurt him!"

Raphael grabbed at Donatello's arm, squeezing it hard, shoving at him, yanking on his elbow. The motion bumped and jerked his arm; knocking his hand around that was putting pressure on Michelangelo's eye. Donatello roughly shrugged him off; his cold eyes, flat with fury, locked on him.

In his scratchy voice, Donatello shouted, "Back off! I have to stop the bleeding, you fucking stupid lummox!"

Raphael fell back, stung and shocked at Donatello's foul language and cruel words. But it seemed to snap Raphael out of his panicked state. "R…Right. Sorry."

Donatello jumped as he felt Michelangelo's hand grip his forearm. He opened his mouth.

"'M okay," he breathed then groaned out, "Massive headache, though."

"No, save your strength, buddy," Raphael murmured and grabbed his hand from Donatello's arm and gave it a squeeze.

Donatello wiped at his eye with a trembling hand; terrified of what he'd find beneath the gore. With heart stopping relief, he noted that the bullet had only grazed Michelangelo. It was deep and Donatello could see a bit of the white bone beneath the red. Starting from just above his snout across the inner corner of his left eye, up and just above the eye brow ridge, leaving a deep gushing wound that ended near his temple. Donatello bent down and kissed the top of Michelangelo's head as he held one of his bloody cheeks with his palm.

"Don't ever do that again," Don whispered as he pressed his forehead onto his brother's.

"Did we win?" he asked weakly.

Donatello sat up and flashed his now soft brown eyes to his older brother, "He's okay, Raph. He'll need stitches and probably has a concussion and his skull might have a fracture, but . . . he's okay."

With eyes closed, Raphael blew out a tremulous breath. He shot him a grateful look, then dropped his chin to his chest; closing his eyes again as he was filled with exhausted relief. Suddenly, Leonardo's cry of fury and anguish cut through the silence of the warehouse. Raphael snapped his head up. Donatello and Raphael exchanged quick glances as Raph came up on one knee, then pushed himself to stand. It didn't sound like he'd been hurt; at least, not on the outside.

"Leo. . ."

Donatello's face snapped towards the door where he heard his brother's cry then back at Raphael. "Raph," he choked out. "Y…You're not going to try to stop him. Are you?"

Raphael's eyes moved down to him. "'Course not," he said without moving his head.

After what he saw during the battle, he knew Leonardo wouldn't let anyone stop him. Not that he'd try. He saw the look on his brother's face in the lair. He saw his older brother lose himself in the melee in a savage way that he'd never seen him do before. He knew Leo would not leave Karai behind, no matter what Splinter had ordered.

Casey appeared next to them then, holding April tightly to his chest, her face buried in his neck.

"Is Mikey, okay?" Casey asked quietly.

Donatello's face shot up. Their eyes locked; blue and brown; one full of regret and fear, the other; only stone cold hatred. With effort, Don broke the staring contest to gaze at the woman held in Casey's arms. He couldn't tell if she was unconscious or merely sleeping. Donatello's eyes roved over her body; taking in the torn and filthy pajamas, the streaks of blood; her trembling bare feet. He pressed back the rage that rose with the bile in the back of his throat. On the edges of his reason, black fury loomed; poisonous and hateful; filled with visions of retribution; all of it aimed at the man before him. He should not be touching her right now. He should turn around and run out of here as fast as he could go. A tremor went through him. But he suppressed the anger with all the remaining self-control he possessed. Now was not the time.

He forced himself to drop his eyes away and concentrated on being gentler with Mikey, who was squirming and moaning in pain beneath Donatello's shaking fist; pressing into his wound. His body jumped and he turned his head to the side just as he retched and threw up.

"Oh, Mikey, I'm so sorry," Donatello murmured hoarsely to his brother; feeling like jerk for hurting his little brother over his misdirected rage at Casey.

Michelangelo coughed and reached up and patted Donatello's wrapped up wrist with one trembling hand. Carefully, Donatello eased him up and wrapped Michelangelo's arm around his shoulders. He grabbed his brother's hand and wrapped his other arm around his shell. Unsteadily, they rose to stand. Michelangelo groaned and swayed, but Donatello supported him.

"I think . . ." Casey awkwardly dug into his front pocket and produced a pair of keys that he tossed to Raphael, who caught them with one hand. "Leo's gonna need somewhere to go . . . uh, with with, um, Karai. He can use the motel room I've been rentin'. Up on fifty-fourth, near the railroad yards. It's secluded. Safe." He looked down. "It's the least I can do ta help. Since I got her in this mess in the first place."

Raphael glanced at the keys in his palm then at Casey; confused.

"You're, uh, gonna need to . . . probably, uh, drive 'em. Leo's a little . . . uh, um, well . . . out of it."

Raphael shot a look to the empty doorway that Leonardo went through then gave a curt nod. He got it.

"Don, get Mikey outta here," Raphael said, still staring at the open doorway, thinking. "Casey, take April to the lair. I'll meet up later." He turned a hard gaze back to Casey, freezing him in his tracks. "Hold up. Uh, Casey . . ." The tone in Raphael's low voice was full of warning, his face dark as he said, "I think it's only fair for me to warn you . . . as your friend. For your own safety - I think you'd better disappear for a few-"

"Days?" Casey offered feebly.

"I was gonna say weeks." Raphael stared at Donatello's shell as he helped walk Michelangelo towards the exit then turned his gaze back to the door where his older brother still remained. Between Donatello's performance earlier when he learned Casey was responsible for April getting involved with Venom and now whatever Leonardo was finding left of Karai, he was sure his friend's life was in serious mortal danger. "But you better make it months. Capisce?"

Casey dropped his head down. The mask on the top of his head staring out at the room with twin black eyes.

"Got it," he said thickly. "For what it's worth," he paused, his eyes squinting; staring at his friend's feet, "I'm really sorry. About everything. See ya in a few months, pal." Not waiting for a response from Raphael, he bobbed his head and turned, hurrying after Donatello.

Raphael strode across the empty expanse of the warehouse that twenty minutes ago was crawling with men and ninjas. Casey's keys jingled loosely in his fist. He wondered at the efficiency of this clan, the Foot usually booked without a second glance at their fallen comrades. He huffed. These people even took the dismembered body parts with them. The only clue that anyone had fought in this space was the blood and the random weapon that lay abandoned and forgotten in their hasty escape.

Raphael stopped in the doorway, eyes widening as he took in the scene inside the room. His heart began to pound as his eyes drifted over the carnage of the room; then to his brother, kneeling and clutching Karai to his chest, muttering to himself and shaking his head. Casey was right, Leo had really lost it. Terror rocked him for a moment. But the tremor passed as Raph ground his teeth together and pulled himself away from the yawning abyss in his mind that was fear and panic. This was no time for hysterics. Mikey was wounded, April was saved, but he didn't know how badly she was hurt and Leo needed to be brought back to the land of sanity.

"Leo." Raphael pressed his mouth together. "Get yer ass up. Let's move it. We gotta go. Now."

When his brother made no move or gave no acknowledgement to what Raphael said, he entered the room. His eyes flitted over the remains of the men who were attacking Karai; not really wanting to see, but his mind took in every detail. The scent of copper and fear hung in the air like a heavy malaise. He had to swallow back the bile that rose burning in the back of his throat. Leo did this? Oh shit. He knew his brother was going to have some serious trouble dealing with all this later. But first he had to snap his brother out of this and get him out of here.

He crouched next to his brother and couldn't help but notice her bare, bruised legs and that Leo's shirt was now on Karai. He wondered what Leo had seen as he stormed inside this room. For his brother's sake, he hoped it wasn't too bad, but by the looks of the bodies, he knew it had to have been rough. He dropped his head down for a moment at a loss for words. He placed a hand on Leonardo's shaking shoulder. In the distance, sirens began to cry. He raised his eyes.

"Time to go."

Leonardo turned to look at him. Anguish filled his eyes. He nodded but then shook his head.

His voice was small and Raphael was unnerved by the sound of it. It seemed so unlike his big brother. Soft and full of despair and almost broken.

"B…But…Raph. I can't . . . I can't . . ." his voice cracked.

"It's okay, bro. I'll help ya."

Leonardo shook his head. "I can't bring her home."

The words were like a shock of ice water to Raphael's face. Bring her home?!

"Master Splinter . . ." He clamped his eyes shut tightly. "I don't know what to do," he whispered.

So that's why he's frozen to the spot here. Leo thought the only place to take her was the lair. But he knew Splinter would not stand for that and probably disown him for good if he showed up with her. Well, at least he could offer his brother a solution and maybe they could finally get the hell out of this nightmare. Raphael held his hand up. A set of keys hung from a key ring on the tip of one of Raphael's fingers. He jiggled them, and Leo opened his eyes at the sound. They moved from the keys to his brother. Their eyes met.

"C'mon." He patted Leonardo's shoulder and stood; Leo slowly followed, holding Karai against his chest. "It's gonna be alright, Leo. I've got some place safe where you can take her."

A/N: So I really wrestled with this baby here. It gave me a lot of trouble and I hope it came out okay. I dunno, things like; Donnie's reaction to seeing April in Casey's arms, the Don in my head wanted to attack the guy, but I thought, reason would overtake the brainy turtle and he'd save it for later and I had Leo's initial attack on the men with Karai much more violent, but I toned it down to fit the rating. The Leo in my head wasn't too happy. Raph and Mikey wanted bigger scenes and don't get me started with the ladies, they were pissed. eep.

Also, the title was a freaking beast to figure out. I'm trying to draw parallels between Saki and Leo - why you ask? Because love, in all it's forms, makes us do crazy things, people.

And I was worried about the smoothness of the transitions between scenes. SO much was happening all at once, I hope it came out okay. What do you think? No, really. How bad was it?