Ch.21: Demons Rise

Fire spewed from Bishop's mouth as he charged, making the four turtles leap out of the way to avoid getting burned. Bishop's wild red gaze immediately went to the side where Raph and Leo had landed, ignoring the two turtles on his left. The moon reflecting fiercely off his sharp fangs as he growled.

Seeing that they were the beast's main targets, Leo yelled over to Mikey and Don.

"Don!" yelled Leo " me and Raph will hold him off! You and Mikey just get to work on letting those citizens free,"

"Got it Leo!" said Don " Let's go,"

And with that said, he and Mikey ran off.

Bishop laughed at their foolish decision as Leo drew out his katana, and Raph swung out his manriki.

"Come on Leo" said Raph " let's take this demon down!"

And with a yell, they charged.

Meanwhile, over at the cage, the humans recieved of surprise of their own once they spotted Mikey and Don. Their minds barely believing what they were seeing. Two gaint, man-like turtles. The Chief and the Mayor had to be the most stunned of all.

"Don't worry folks" called Mikey to the stunned townspeople " we'll get you out,"

Don immediately made his way over to the controls and set his magic fingers to work over the keys. After several seconds of combinations, the lock clicked on the cage door, letting it swing wide open.

The people trapped didn't rest a minute when they realized the time for freedom had come, and immediately rushed out towards safely. Only the Chief lagged slightly behind, looking strangely at their unusual savoirs.

"Who are you guys?" he asked.

Mikey rubbed the back of his head in embrassment, while Don just answered calmly.

" Well, let's just say that we're friends of the Nightwatcher's,"

The Chief was about to ask more when a sudden cry broke the silence, making the two turtles turn around. In a moment they shared a nod and burst towards the cry, weary of the fact that their two comrads could well be in trouble.

Shaking his head, the Chief too turned around, and followed after the frightened crowd he had left behind. His mind struggling to reel with all this random chaos flowing through his brain.

Just who was the Nightwatcher anyway? What were his friends? And why was Bishop, a guy he had known for years, a bloodthirsty monster?

The Chief begged for answers to all these strange questions as he ran. Wanting to figure out just what kind of wierd world was he in. But there was a part of him that never wanted to know. A part that wished that eveything could go back to the way it was.

However, the Chief's wish was far from being answered as Raph and Leo continued their bout with Bishop's fearsome demon half. Jumping and dodging hard to avoid the demon's sinister claws. No matter what kind of attack they made, Bishop always seemed to be a step ahead.

Raph growled. Well, now it was time to turn the tide.

Throwing out his manriki at the demon's feet, Raph did his best to tangle the beast up so Leo could jump in to attack. The first two attempts missed, but the third, luckily, was the charm and Bishop was snagged.

Leo grabbed his chance and jumped at Bishop, his twin katana bldes ready to slice. Only to be knocked away two seconds later by the fearsome whip of Bishop's tail.

The blue-masked turtle landed hard againist the ground, and was struggling to stand as Bishop stalked over, jaws hanging wide. Not wanting to see his brother getting turned into a midnight snack, Raphael pulled on his chains making the demon trip, before rushing over to Leo to see if his brother was okay.

"You okay Bro?" asked Raph, helping Leo up.

"Barely," said Leo, before Bishop released another growl.

"The Yomi shall rise!" he roared.

"Not today Scaly!" said Mikey, as he and Don charged in. Both of their wooden weapons making direct contact with the demon's skull.

Bishop roared in pain from the hits, and slammed his feet, astounding the four turtles with his incredible force. The floor beneath their feet cracked and shattered, until all five of them were falling into the familair dark abyss of the city sewer system.

"Whoa" said Mikey, as he slowly crawled his way out of the rubble " remind me to never go on that ride again,"

"Where are we?" said Raph " and what happened to Bishop?"

" I don't know" said Don, looking around " but none of these stuctures seem like they belong in your average sewer system,"

"Yeah" said Mikey " especailly that creepy looking statue over there,"

Following their brothers pointed finger, Don and Raph looked to see a truly evil-looking statue staring them right in the face. It's fangs poised as if to kill, and an eerie red haze surrounding its eyes. Raph could almost feel himself get hypnotized by the look, until his mind suddenly realized that one of their party was missing.

"Uh guys" said Raph " where's Leo?"

The question was soon answered in a flash of fire, as Bishop, still in his demon form, appeared clutching an exhausted Leonardo tightly in his claws. Raphael was immediately mad and reached for his sais. Don and Mikey tried to grab for their weapons too, only to be stopped in their tracks when the hands of the statue came to life and wrapped around their chests.

"Don! Mikey!" yelled Raph. He couldn't believe this was happening.

"Surrender yourself turtle" growled Bishop " surrender yourself to the Yomi,"

"No, I won't I...," stumbled Raph, unsure what to do. Just how in the world was he supposed to get out of this?

"Submit Raphael," whispered Bishop, his eyes glowing a sharp red.

Once again, Raphael felt himself hypnotized by those eyes, and barely felt his body slip as his sais dropped to the floor.

Flinging Leonardo up againist a wall, Bishop slithered over to the now unconious Raphael and began his ritualistic chant. Symbols engraved on the sewer floor began to glow bright, as Mikey and Don just watched and struggled with horror.

A bright beam of fire suddenly lit up the center of the room, and the two young turtles watched in terror as the body of their beloved brother discrigrated before their eyes, only to be replaced by the fearsome demonic form of a beast that looked exactly like the statue holding them prisoner.

"Yes!" laughed the Yomi " At long last, the Earth is mine!"