"Cerberus? That looks nothing like an aardvark!" Mikey cringed as it stood before them. Donatello rolled his eyes.
"Not Cerebus the comic, 'Cerberus': a three headed dog from Greek mythology."
"History lesson: over!" Raphael shoved in between them. He unsheathed on of his sais and used it as a finger. "Time to make that thing history." He pointed. Chapelin unveiled an unmarked can. Finger on the trigger, he smiled as he began to press down the top. He reached for the side of his hip and hand a tab of duct tape. He pointed the red air away from his body as he taped the trigger down. Then, he chucked it down at the mutants below. They were on the defense, moving away from whatever it was. They moved away from it, but the constant spray travelled in all directions as it came into contact with scales and shell.
"What the shell was that?" Raphael coughed, trying to keep himself from breathing it in. After observing the chemical's properties upon touching them and how the color came out red, Donatello had a hunch and took a swift breath. He took a second to soak it in and assess the situation.
"It's not poisonous." With that, everyone took a breath. Leonardo pulled out both of his katanas.
"Just a distraction." He claimed. However, as they contemplated on what happened, the Mouser roared and charged at the family.
"Split up!" He ordered as it came barreling in. Every single head lurched at someone, wishing to take a bite from them. From its first calm demeanor, they couldn't see something as fast and responsive as this thing. "We need to hit in on all sides." That's just what they did. Each mutant looked for a way in by bashing its side or getting a lucky hit on the head.
"How do you hit something that won't dent?" Mona asked in shock after repeated offenses with the ball end of her naga surujin did nothing to its body. Instead, a head targeted her. When it lunged, Mona was quick to roll underneath it and come out on the other side.
"Dig deep, my ninja family." He spoke low after he had to retreat from trying to get between the bases of a pair on the necks. Leo caught himself on a single knee, leaning forward to catch his breath.
"The trick to inspire is without sounding like a fortune cookie." Raphael quoted as he was dancing with the left head. "Okay, chief?" Alas as he fought it, it lunged, causing him to double back. Mikey came in time before it could strike again. He ran in front of it and gave it a rather pathetic tap on its nose with his nunchuk ( and also telling it 'no') like a dog) and pulled Raphael to safety with Venus' help.
Leonardo kneeled there for a second. His eye caught his tallest brother who was failing to tap it with his bo staff. When he failed, the purple banded terrapin retreated to Leonardo's side.
"Can you shut it down, Donnie?" He asked of him. Donatello looked up to the rafters to see Chapelin smile down. When his eyes met the turtle's, the smile faded and he took a step back.
"You insult me." He smirked. "But I need a distraction."
"Just thinking of a strategy." Leonardo smiled under his uncertainness. But, his brother needed a distraction. Leo got up and began to charge the creature back. Donatello went to work and ran away from the scene.
"Look at him run." Chapelin laughed. "He's the smart one!" Man, did they all want to sucker punch him after belching that out. However, they were a little busy trying to keep alive.
They've fought people, they've fought people in armor, they've fought magic, but fighting a machine… this was a first. How do you eat something up that barely dents and will break bone if kicked? Venus was the first to ask the obvious question after many failed attempts to at least slow it down with her might had no effect on it.
"How do you fight that?" She shrieked as it chased her. Leonardo, on the other side, rushed it and gave its side a slash . Only one katana made contact. The contact gave him an uncomfortable jolt, but it brought him hope. Before it turned around to see where the assault came from, he noticed a white cut on its hide.
"Slice and dice." He did it again when the nearest head came about. He repeated the procedure again, this time it only scraped the top of its 'muzzle'.
"Oh, you guys have fun while I fan it to death." Venus was able to get rid of the snide remark as she continued dodging the creature by jumping behind poles and inanimate machines. Each time it went for her, she jumped in which it would only harm what she was just on. Mona came around, swinging her naga surujin and releasing it. The ball smacked the head away, in which Venus was able to make her escape.
"Set the toaster up for Raph and I to hack it." Leo furtherly explained.
"Yes! Stabbing!" Raphael pumped his elbow and fist in excitement. "I never get to do that!" Running behind him, Mona remarked:
"Then today's a really good day for you." She smiled before going back out there.
"Focus on the heads!" It was Donatello. During the time, he made his way up to the rafters where Dr. Chapelin was. Mikey was a little nervous about the questionable tactic.
"If we cut off one of its heads, will it grow back?" He called up. The mouser was charging the herd of the family, in which he had to dodge.
"No, that's a Hydra." Donnie called back. That's all he needed to hear to set it off.
Mona spun the ball end over her head. With each swing it gained tremendous momentum. When it felt right, she threw it, letting it wrap around its left neck. The machine was strong, immediately jerking her forward. There was no balance to gain by standing still and pulling back, so the lizard girl went for it by charging it. Eventually, the machine's neck rose, causing her to rise and swing with it. Since it would try to take a bite out of a fighting mutant, her toes would drag along the ground as she tried to escape its gaping maw. With sharp observance, she noticed the neck's flexibility. Although robust, it could not bend in sharp positions but in fixed, rounded positions. The girl took a gamble and shuffled to stay directly beneath its neck. The specific head could no longer sense her for she was out of its range, but it wasn't to say that the other heads may catch a glimpse of her.
"Help me hold it down!" She shouted to whomever could be useful as she tried to pull the neck still. Her efforts were meager. Michelangelo had been trying to time the machine while trying to keep out of its sights. When the time was right, he made a bold decision to slide underneath it. Leg first, he slid to the next base and stopped just before he could go past the mutant girl. By her feet, he used his strength and weight to contain the machine.
"We got him! We got him!" Mikey hollered joyfully as they wrangled the beast. With that code, it gave Raphael his time for his early Christmas present. Currently being chased by the middle head, he had to devise a plan to ditch it and get the contained one without it getting him or his siblings down below. While pondering that thought, he was caught off guard. The right head wound up to the side when he was not paying attention.
"Raph, look out!" Leo shouted. Too late. Wound up, the head swung hard at the terrapin, taking his body with it as it pushed him aside like a rag doll and flying. He hit the floor hard and rolled for some time. During the action, the left head lifted to get out of the range of motion, thus picking up the two mutants trying to hold it down. They watched as their brother flew just underneath their dangling legs. Up in the air, Mona pulled herself until her legs were wrapped around the wide tubing. She reached down to grab one of Michelangelo's hands and strained to pull him up until he was hugging the machine.
"I'd kill for a knife right now." Mona expressed as she stared at the mechanic. Michelangelo then began to swing his legs back and forth. Gaining momentum, he swung them up to straddle the neck of it just under Mona Lisa, Then, he used a single arm to reach the back underneath his sweatshirt around his waist. He grunted and strained until he pulled out two pieces of silver. With an extended hand, he asked:
"Would a shuriken do instead?" Mona smiled and took one. Both began vigorously by using its sharp edge to saw into the metal. It would take a while, but at least they were able to do something. In the meanwhile, Raphael was ready to lay some hate. He was up on his knees. His legs were shocked, but he was too far gone to notice. With an animalistic glare, he wiped the good sized cut on his arm, smearing the blood with it.
"You're mine." He muttered before getting up. In a flash, he charged it. Both sais were concealed in his grips until he flipped them into a position to do some real damage. The Mouser was mainly focused on Leonardo and Venus who were dancing with it and finding ways to get in it. The red banded turtle kept quiet until he leaped up. His back arched back with his arms up high. With brute strength, he gave it his all when the tips of his sais sank into the hot metal. The other heads were too busy with the blue bands and the offended head's optics did not pick up on the turtle who sat just above the sensitive area. Angry, he stabbed it over and over, making sure it was in places to get the head cut off from the neck but as well as leaving random spots just for the fun of it. Mona and Michelangelo's efforts were meager, but no one seemed to care as the job was getting done.
"Help!" Raph called to the two. He sat on the head, putting his foot at the edge of the neck and pushed off with his leg. Mona and Mikey snaked up until they could get a comfortable grip around the overheating and sparking contraption. The three made a group effort to pry the head off with slow success. Pulling and pulling, they gave one last heave until the last of the wires snapped from its core. The ones on the neck were hanging upside down like monkeys as they no longer had a grip on the now falling head. A shower of sparks began to flow from the cut, in which the two began to retreat and jump off. The head took Raphael with him. It did indeed land in him, but it was not heavy for the most part. With a smile, he pushed it off of him and smirked at it.
"A little help, please!" It was Leonardo. He was working on the far right head. With katanas drawn he was looking for a way on the inside to destroy it. Meanwhile, Venus was standing just behind him. With her arms and hands out towards the beat, Leonardo acted as a protector as she stood there, eyes closed. From her hands came the usual blue glow. What came off where two blue rays that shot at the machine's body. With each blast, and invisible force pushed her back. She strained to keep herself up.
"It's too strong!" She cried. Her magic was not working. Shurikens, she can stop, but this, nope. After the call, Raphael jumped in with Leo. The middle head saw the large red banded turtle slip underneath it. The beast roared, catching Raph's attention. Then, it came at him, jaw fully unhinged. Jumping over him, Leonardo got in the way with both of his katanas in an 'x' formation before him. The action stopped the mouser from biting, but with the swords caught on the surface of its jaw, the mouser continued to push. Its forced sent Leonardo back and knocking Raphael out of the way. The leader struggled to keep up his strength as the machine knocked him down and kept pushing him back. Mona and Mikey hung on for dear life as it made the leader slide against the floor. The wall and his shell brought a shock to his back. He gasped as the machine kept putting pressure on him. Leo was trying to hard to fight back that his arms gave out to its power. Now its sharp teeth were inches away from his head. However, he could not see the next thing coming. The right head came it and pushed him from the wall, hitting him from the side. As his body flew, the head caught him by the straps of him back. Like a dog, it swung him around and shook his body cold. Raph picked himself up in horror as he could only watch Leo become a rag doll to the machine. He wanted to do something about it, but was then busy fighting with the middle head.
Mona struggled to wind up her naga surujin as the machine moved them about. Due to the struggle of holding on, she knew they had to be more secured. It was hard to keep her arm in the correct position to swing the ball around. Each time the machine rose, she had to duck down so she wouldn't get clocked by her own weapon. Her arm followed when the chain was let go. The ball wound against the base of the neck of the middle head. Michelangelo took hold of her arm and climbed up the chain with her. However, one of them lost their footing, soon causing the two of them to hang on for dear life on the chain as they were swinging back and forth along its flat back.
While Leonardo struggled to keep alive as the machine shook him, it took a quick turn for the worst. Using its own momentum as it rolled its head around, when the peak of its nose got to the top, the mouser let him go. Leonardo was airborne. He had absolutely no control as he tried to gain anything to help him. Unfortunately, below him was the gaping mouth of the mouser.
"Leo!" The others saw another blue turtle jump in the Mouser's open mouth. This, however, did not stop the flying turtle to land in the mouser's mouth as planned. Careful positioning caused the machine to bite into two shells rather than touch a carapace. With the strong bone structure and the loss of force due to its widely opened mouth, the jagged jaws did not pierce into their shells. Rather, the pressure was on for the two stuck in the middle. The intense pressure limited their breathing as it tried to smash them in its mouth.
"Hi." He spoke in a hushed & hoarse tone as he was being pushed against her.
"Hi." She returned in an equal manner; both acting oblivious to their current situation of being in something's jaw. Being on top, Venus tried to create some relief. She pressed her hands on his shoulders and pushed herself up. Only minimal results returned, but Venus continued to push until a real solution would submerge. There was virtually no maneuvering room inside the mouth, making it hard to reposition his sword with a single hand. Then, he began to press down into the floor of its mouth. He could not stab it, but slowly he cut into its palette. Slowly, he whittled away at its jaw hinge. Finally, the hinge popped at the mercy of his katana and the corner of the bottom of its jaw hung. Along with it, the two turtles were halfway upside down. Because the other side of the jaw was holding nothing but smooth shell surface, they began to slip out of its mouth. With quick thinking, Venus purposely slid off. She grabbed a hold of his hand in which he swung her up and around to get on top of the head. Venus took a hold of one of his katanas. Although it was heavier than she would have imagined and was unfamiliar with how to carry it, she did her best. Wielding it over her head, she stabbed down at its neck. Machines could feel no pain, but the reaction of a roar came about. Opening its mouth, Leonardo took no time to climb out of the mouth and climb to the top with the female turtle. He gave her a quick smirk for her job well done before he used his remaining sword to stab into the side of the head and pull down. Then, he took the one Venus stabbed in and made it cut in the other direction. The action took the mouser's head clean off. Due to its spark-flying neck, both turtles jumped down and out of the way. Leonardo put his foot on the fallen head and pulled out both of his weapons.
Raphael did his little signature yell. Both sais drawn, he held them up high until they pierced the metal. The head moved around, but Raphael use his weight to hold it and himself down. To keep it from opening its mouth, Donnie came out of nowhere with his unsheathed bo staff that pierced the side of its jaw to keep it from opening. Furthering the precaution, Mona's naga surujin wrapped around its nose. Using Mona and the taut chain as a ladder, Venus and Michelangelo both jumped on the head. All the force brought it down to where it was an inch from touching the ground. Soon, Leonardo came in by stabbing it right at the base of the head and neck. With full force and both katanas, he evenly sliced the last head off.
"That will be enough from you." Leonardo remarked as he pointed the tip of the blade from the last head. The main machine still moved and sputtered sparks. Without its heads, the sensors could not tell the main frame what to do, in which the body was an utter wreck. Due to the danger of getting electrocuted or burned, they left it to Donatello to shut it all down. Now, their job was to keep out of the machine's way. To check on his progress and to confront Chapelin, the group climbed back up to the broken rafters. Upon getting there, they saw only Donatello. In his hands was a controller, in which he navigated to control the machine. He then sighed for he had figured out how to shut down the discording body. The machine was done, but Chapelin was not present. They all trotted towards him. They caught his eye in which he turned with a worried expression.
"He's gone?" Venus asked as she saw the frayed group of thick cable wires at the base of a pole.
"No he isn't."