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Chapter 21

Riana pulled herself to her feet, leaning heavily on a cage. Raphael's angry roar drawing her attention. She watched as the impressive turtle exchanged blows with the larger furrier version of Bigley, unsure of what to do or how she could help. She scanned the ground for her axe. To her disappointment it was on the other side of the struggling duo.

Bigley lashed out at the angry turtle his claws sinking into the flesh of Raphael's blocking arm.

Raph hissed but let the force of the strike add to his momentum as he ducked down and spun into to a sweep kick catching the man-dog off balance and knocking him to ground.

Riana took the opening and ran for her axe. Picking it up as she spun around ready to lend Raph a helping hand. Her eyes widened and her breath caught in her throat, for poised at the top of a cage was a sleek, beautiful terror. A green and brown "dragon" mutant rolled it's shoulders as it prepared to pounce.

"Raph." Riana choked out as she tightened her grip around the handle of her axe.

Raphael slammed his fist into the man-dog's gut before sparing Ray ray a glance. The terrified look on her face caused him to follow her gaze to the lizard lion cross. Raph let go of the hand full of fur letting Bigley fall back to ground as two more dragons climbed up on the cage. One sleek like the first the other larger, all sported mains but not like the third one. The male was almost twice the size of the females.

Raph would have continued his slow retreat taking carful steps backwards, had Bigley not taken the opportunity to sink his teeth into the distracted turtle's arm. The act, however, was very possibly also his undoing.

Raph let out a surprised yelp and yanked his arm away dragging Bigley back with him as the mutant man-dog refused to let go!

The first dragon pounced. It was only when the great creature bit into Bigley's shoulder and sank it's long claws into his sides that he let go of Raphael's arm with a pained scream as the dragon proceeded to tear at him.

Raphael scrambled back, grabbed Riana by the arm and began to run. The two unoccupied dragons snaked after them quickly gaining.

He stumbled as his head began to fuzz and his breathing became labored, Raphael's heart fiercely pumping the venom, from Bigley's bite, through his system. Fighting the foamy substance that bubbled up into his mouth and nose, he Squeezed Riana's hand tighter as he forced his legs to keep moving each step hitting heavier than the last.

Riana could feel the bones in her hand slip painfully under Raph's grip, but she didn't cry out. She just kept moving. Her role changing from following to pulling as she desperately tried to keep Raph on his feet.

The two dragons moved up on the crates and cages on either side of them.

Raph hit his knees, foam dripping to the floor as his eyes rolled back. Riana's fingers slipping from his hand as he hit the ground with a deafening crack.

"Raph!" Riana cried out as she tried to stop, sliding into a crate just a breath away from the snapping jaws of one of the dragons. She brought the head of her axe up knocking the dragon in the tip of its snout. She didn't wait for the creature's reaction as she spun and hurried to Raph's seizing body bringing her axe down into the shoulder of the other dragon.

"Leave him alone!" She screamed at the creature as it retreated back a couple of steps and hissed. She widened her stance and raised her axe again, tearing up at the pain in her hand and the desperate situation. "You can't have him!"

Getting the garage door open had been the easiest part, dodging the stamped of venomous canines and flocking, flying monkeys being chased by fire and directed by an armored van, driven by a hooting and hollering Michelangelo, was not the easiest not. Casey did not hold back his complaints.

"Heads up would have been nice." Casey griped as he smacked his hand down on the hood, the scared animals scattering among the cages behind him.

Mikey opened his mouth to give back some quick thought quip but was cut short by Riana's cry. The fear in her voice…and it was his brother's name she screamed.

"Don, come on!" Mikey yelled, the desperation in Riana's voice driving him as he jumped out of the van and into the mess of cages and crates.

Don and Casey followed close behind.

Riana swung her axe at the scaly monsters cornered, scared, and unable to spare even a second to check on her lover, as he lay on the ground behind her.

Out of the corner of her eye she could see the third dragon slinking up on her right. He hissed as he flared out his great golden main, blood dripping from his jowls. They weren't getting out of here. Not this way.

Canines could be seen and heard making their way down the isles and through the cages.

Riana took a step back to put some distance between her self and creatures only to trip over Raphael. The dragon in front of her lunged. In a last ditch effort to hold off death just a moment longer, Riana brought her axe up, flinging it at the creature. The ax cleaving into the dragon's scull as its cohorts moved in with their jaws agape and ready.

To avoid the canines that now wondered the isles, Mikey, Donnie, and Casey had kick flipped their way onto the crates, jumping the isles and moving quickly. They saw the lion, lizard hybrids moving in for the attack, they saw Riana's ax bring down the middle one.

Mikey leaped first, out to the right, his nunchucku landing soundly on side of the male dragon's head. To his glee, blood began to gush from broken skin. This creature was not as thick skinned as the Rihnogator's had been. Mikey didn't love the fight like Raph did, he didn't strategise like Leo, or think his way through it like Don, he just moved. Strike, dodge, strike. Each movement, each block and attack, every whip of his weapon just… instinct. Instinct to protect his family.

Don took on the last female lizard-lion cross, choosing strikes to vital organs to effectively slow the creature down, while Casey lifted the limp body of Raphael, Riana helping him to drag the large turtle further from the fight.

Monkey's preened their wings and watched from the rafters as canines scattered further into the ware house running from the armored vehicle that now pushed its way through the cages and crates. As soon as he saw his brothers Leo slammed on the breaks while simultaneously cranking the wheel and laying on the horn swinging the van around. "Open the back!"

Liadin, and Emily pushed open the back doors and reached out to help pull Raphael into the vehicle.

Donatello laid another debilitating blow into his dragon then took advantage of the opening to make a break for the vehicle. "Come on Mike let's go!"

Mike didn't hesitate, dodging the dragon's next strike and landing one of his own before following Don to the vehicle slamming the doors closed behind him. Leo punched the gas driving back out towards the large garage door.

"Do you have the detonator?" Donatello asked Riana as he made his way to Raphael, placing a finger on his brother's jugular looking for a pulse. It was faint but to Don's relief, it was there. "What happened?"

"Bigley bit him." Riana whipped away her tears, her worry for Raph weighing too heavy on her to keep it in. "Bigley had been mutated into something like one of those dogs."

"Here." Mia moved from her seat to the ground next the red banded turtle and pulled a syringe from her lab coat pocket.

"Its and anti-venom." Mia explained as she injected it into Raph's arm. She then looked up at Riana and the others, "I don't know if it will work, there may be too much damage done."

There was a moment of silence as this muddle of fear and hope was processed.

The heavy thump of Leo crashing through a crate brought everyone back to the task at hand.

"The detinators?" Don asked again.

Casey dumped four detonators from his golf bag and handed them out to Mikey, Don, and Liadin. "Give us the all clear, Leo."

Leo put the pedal to the floor and soon as the van burst through the large door way shouted, "Clear!"

There were four initial explosions followed by many more as munitions and chemicals exploded. Causing the support beams to shatter and the roof and walls to fall in the building and every monster with in ablaze.

The armored vehicle didn't slow as it blew through the surrounding flames and fence. It's escape covered by thick black smoke and booming explosions.