"Wait…" said Laurence slowly. "You're saying King and Blossom are… monsters?"

"And who's to say it ends there?" asked Foxglove, pacing. "Suppose every graduation… every expulsion are just excuses to… to… dispose students? Everyone we used to know could be like… like them!"

"How do we know it's the Lord doing it to them?" he piped up, his face slightly creased. "Suppose it's someone else. I mean… The Lord wouldn't do that… would he? That's…. that's just wrong."

"Oh sure, the Lord isn't doing it. It's someone else that's keeping them at the school and mutating them. Get real." She turned to Raphael. "We need to do something! Anything! We need a plan."

Raph didn't say anything. He was rarely the one who came up with plans. Usually, back in New York, the plan making was left to Leonardo. He always had some sort of plan up his metaphorical sleeve. He never panicked. He could be tied to a raging moose that was heading towards the edge of a cliff, and he could think of a way out of the predicament before he hurdled to an untimely death. He had the ability to assess the situation and choose the right course of action.

Raph, however, did not. He often did whatever his head told him to do without considering other options. Sometimes this was a good thing, because it made him react quickly. On the other hand, it meant that sometimes he didn't do the best course of action.

He groaned, looking around desperately. There had to be something they could do. Anything would be better than just standing there.

"Well, well; it seems you managed to avoid what I had planned for you," a voice suddenly said over the speakers, chuckling.

"Warumagi…" Raph raised his fist, his face hot. "I have a bone ta pick wit' ya. What the shell do ya think yer doin'? Are ya some kinda lunatic?"

"I don't think he can hear you," Laurence told him. "He's talking to us through the speakers."

Warumagi's voice laughed. "I can hear you very clearly, thank you. And no, I am not a 'lunatic'."

"You didn't do that lockdown to keep those creatures out," Foxglove shouted. "You did it to keep us out. You tried to kill us! You are a lunatic! You're a delirious, raving, psychopathic lunatic!"

"Such big words from such a small, insignificant thing," his voice remarked. "How sad. How very sad. Well, I congratulate you on escaping your fate. But now, alas, you have about… ooh… fifty of those creatures to escape from? And when the other students have 'evacuated', you'll have about one hundred to hide from. Don't worry; they like food that puts up a struggle. I will have the pleasure of watching you become lunch, thanks to the chips in all my students' brains. They let me see what they see on a lovely little screen. Goodbye. I hope you have a nice afterlife."

Apart from the scratching sound originating from the door near them, the corridor was silent. Very slowly, they dared look at each other and saw mirrored expressions of terror.

"They're… going to eat us?" squeaked Laurence, his body shaking uncontrollably. "W-We're going to die?"

"Looks like it," said Foxglove, crossing her arms. "Who would have thought it? I'm going to die as an appetizer."

"No one's gonna die," Raph snapped. He might not have had a plan, but they were looking at him for one and he wasn't going to let them down. "As long as ya do as I say, none of ya are gonna die. There's no way I'm lettin' anyone else get hurt. Ya have ta trust me."

"I trust you," replied Foxglove automatically. Raph raised his brow, so she elaborated, "I haven't died yet, and I don't see what I've got to lose."

"Yeah… me too," agreed Laurence, though he didn't sound too sure.

"Okay." Raph began jogging away from them. They followed him, wondering where he was going. He couldn't think of a way to stop Warumagi, but he had an idea as to how he could keep his promise. He continued, "I got an idea dat might help us stay alive. Okay, ya know he said dat all the students have chip things dat tell him where ya all are and what yer doin'?"

"Yeah, it explains how he caught me and Charles out on all of our pranks," commented Laurence. "So?"

"I don't have one of those in me. Now, the Lord's probably listenin' to this conversation, and I can't risk bein' caught. What I need yer to do," said Raph, "is close yer eyes when I tell ya to. No matter what ya do, don't open them."

"What?" Laurence gasped. "But suppose… suppose a monster comes and finds us? We can't defend ourselves if we can't see."

"If he doesn't know where ya are, he can't find ya… easily," explained Raph, grabbing both of their wrists tightly. "Now close yer eyes and don't open them no matter what."

"But we can hardly see as it is!" piped up Laurence. "Surely it wouldn't make much of a difference?"

"Ya can still see though. It ain't completely dark. Besides, suppose we go somewhere light? Close them. Now."

They reluctantly closed their eyes.

Seeing they were firmly shut, Raph led them down the corridor, his heart thumping. He studied each door and corridor they passed, trying to find the one he wanted. It was harder to recognize where he was without a nearby light source, but he was just able to not get lost and go in the right direction.

He stopped when he came to the one that he thought was the right one… only it didn't have the notice it usually had on the door. He didn't think about that as he opened the door and swung his arms forward, causing the two Human Hybrids to stumble into the room.

"Okay, both of ya have ta stay here 'til I return. I'll be back soon, all right? Just… just keep yer eyes closed."

"Where are we?" Laurence asked, his hands covering his face.

"I can't tell ya dat. Just… just wait for me to come back," Raph told him. He had started to close the door when Foxglove grabbed hold of his arm.

"No," she said. "You're not going anywhere without me."

Raph stared at her angrily, moving his arm out of her grasp. "Ya can't come wit' me. It's too dangerous! There's every chance a monster will come and attack ya!"

"So? I trust you to keep me safe," retorted Foxglove, taking hold of him again. "You said you would and you will. I'm coming with you. The end."

Raph unwillingly gave up. He didn't have the time to argue with her. He walked out of the room with her. "Lezz go, then. Laurence, ya can stay. It'll be safer if we all don't go."

"You're leaving me all by myself?" asked Laurence. "With a group of monsters?"

"Do ya wanna come with us?"

"No! I'll stay. I mean, it's not like I would be able to help."

"Yer right. I'll be back; just stay there and don't open yer eyes," he told him, closing the door and running back down the corridor with Foxglove. He felt slightly bad for leaving Laurence like that, but he didn't really have much of a choice.

"Raph…" Foxglove started.

Raph shook his head before remembering she couldn't see him. "I don't think this is a good time to-"

"I need to tell you something."

He paused. "What?"

"Keep running. I'll tell you on the way."

He did so, his heart racing. For a terrifying moment, he thought she was going to confess an undying love for him.

She bowed her head slightly. "I'm saying this now, because I might not have the chance to later."

She lifted her head, her eyes still shut.

"…Thanks… for everything."

"Oh…" He grinned. "You too."

"No. There's more." She shifted her hand and gripped his tightly. "Ages ago, I told you I went to the toilet and overheard the Lord talking to the servant about your brother. I... didn't let on as much as I said. We're going to die soon, so I might as well tell you all of it."

Raph grunted.

"One of the students had dared me to go into the room we're not allowed to go into. It's... the Lord's wife's room. The student... Fang... dared me to, so a stupid part of me said yes. He told me if I did the dare, people would like me more. I snuck in and waited a bit before leaving. I didn't want to tell you in case you told the Lord and I got into massive trouble. Anyway, I... I heard the Lord talking to the servant and hid..."

"Is there a point to this story?"

He felt her whack the back of his head.

"Fine! I'll leave out the bit where he said... your brother's name."

"Ya knew who he wanted the whole time? Who is it?"

"Oh, now you're interested. I didn't want to tell you in case you left... but he wants Leonardo."

Raph stopped running and stared at her. "You serious?"

"I'm positive. What, you think I'd lie at a time like this? He wants Leonardo. What for, I don't know. He has a blue mask like yours and-"

"I know what he looks like. I have lived with him all my life."

"Do you know why he wants him?"

"... No. Now let's get movin'."

They resumed their journey.

They came to a stop outside their destination- Warumagi's office. Raph put his hand around the door handle and pulled half-heartedly, not expecting it to open. He wished he had thought ahead and thought of a way to open it before going there. However, to his surprise, it opened very easily. Or, as Raph thought to himself suspiciously, too easily.

Behind the door was a large, ferocious creature with brown fur and a pink tail. It growled, its whiskers trembling as it breathed loudly. Everything about it was dirty, from the tip of its large claws to the end of its snout.

Raph was reminded of a seemingly quiet, giggling mouse hybrid.

"I can hear something…" Foxglove said loudly. "Don't tell me that it's what I think it is."

"I won't then," Raph told her, really wishing he had his sai right now. He should have gotten them before coming here, but now wasn't the time to think about what he could have done. He backed away, taking a confused Foxglove with him. The creature stepped towards them, scrutinizing their movement.

He turned to Foxglove. "Ya know how ya said earlier dat ya trust me?"

"Yeah…"

"Ya gonna have ta trust me even more," he said. "Remember the obstacle courses we did in those physical lessons?"

"The ones you did oh so well on?" she remarked bitterly. "Yeah, why?"

He grabbed both of her hands and pulled her onto his back. "Hold on tight."

He bent his legs and jumped over the creature, heading towards Warumagi's office. It roared, spinning around and hitting its tail against the door frame. Raph reached the end and shut the door firmly behind him, prior to frantically searching the room with his eyes. The brightness of the room contrasted with the darkness outside, and it took a moment for his eyes to readjust. His eyes fell upon the Lord's desk, and he spotted what he was looking for.

He picked up the teleporter and stared at it. It resembled a silver pocket watch though instead of numbers on its face, it had a series of buttons and a small, rectangular screen near the top. He held it at an arm's length, trying to make out what the screen was. Near him, he could hear what used to be Squee… no, it was still Squee… trying to open the door. He smiled, glad that she seemed to have difficulty opening them. However, it turned into a frown instantly when he looked back at the teleporter.

It was one of those times he wished that he was Donatello. It didn't take him long to figure out how to use a piece of technology. Don could find something at a junkyard and be able to work out what it used to be in seconds, before fixing it so he could use it. He was practically the internet in the shape of a humanoid. If it was him there, he would be able to function the teleporter in a matter of moments.

But it wasn't Don who was holding it; it was Raph.

He gazed at the unsuspecting Foxglove. She knew how to work the teleporter, but he didn't think that she would desert him. He doubted she would want to leave him in a school of ravenous monsters. Yet, he couldn't leave her by herself either. He looked back down at the teleporter.

"What are you doing?" asked Foxglove impatiently. "That... thing sounds like it's going to break in and kill us at any moment. And next time, give me a bit of a heads up before you take me for a ride. I nearly had a heart attack." She frowned heavily. "Where are we?"

He quickly examined the device. There were some co-ordinates on the small black screen. His eyes drifted down to the bottom of it, where there was a green button. He didn't know what they meant or what they did, but he was about to find out.

"Foxglove?" he said, holding onto it tightly.

"Yeah, what?"

"Ya know how I said I was gonna keep ya safe?"

"Yeah?"

He pressed the green button. In front of him, a strange doorway of colours appeared. He closed his eyes, throwing his arm forward as he did so. Foxglove let go of him and lurched into it. She shrieked in surprise before disappearing through the doorway. It melted away as soon as she was completely through it, meaning that Raph was alone.

For now.

He breathed deeply, staring at where his friend had been standing a second before. All he had to do was to go back to Laurence and get him out of the school. Then… then…

He didn't know what would happen after that, but he would figure out the rest of his plan later.

Squee managed to break down the door and came in, fuming. Behind him, he could hear the door on the other side of the room open. He turned his head and saw that more creatures were coming out. He growled, clenching his fists. Laurence could wait.

He was getting his sai first.

Raph leaped onto Squee's head and pushed off it, leaping out of the room. He ran down the corridor and closed the door behind him. His room was close by, thankfully. Not wanting to hang around, Raph tore down the corridor and rounded the corner. All was going well until he reached his room's corridor… and found two large creatures in it.

They turned to him as soon as he was in their line of sight. He stumbled forward a bit, before standing up straight and stopping in his tracks.

"Ooh… kay," he said, his eyes darting between them and his door. If he ran forward, they would attack him. He couldn't take down one large mutant monster, let alone two. This would take some thinking outside of the box.

If there ever was someone who thought outside of the box, it was Michelangelo. No one quite understood where he was coming from or his thought process, but sometimes this was a good thing. If his brothers couldn't figure out what he was doing then neither could his opponents. Granted, some of his ideas didn't work, but they always put a smile on their faces. A smile was all they needed to get that extra boost and hope needed to win. Also, he was great at avoiding fights. He knew exactly what ticked people off or distracted them, and could use this to his advantage.

Raph walked towards them, his hands behind his back. The creatures watched him guardedly, preparing themselves. He moved so he was standing in between them and grinned darkly. He curled his right hand into a fist and punched one of them in the face.

The creature snarled, lashing out at him. Raph dodged out of the way, watching the creature punch the other one by accident. It barked and jumped onto its comrade, clawing at its face. The two creatures started to have a mad fight on the ground, trying to rip each other's face off.

Raph slipped into his room and caught sight of his sai, which were sitting on his end table. He picked them up and attached the teleporter to his belt. Feeling a lot better prepared, he decided that it was time to get back to Laurence and teleport him home.

He left his room, the two creatures oblivious as they wrestled each other. Raph glanced at them, smiling, before heading to the room he had left Laurence in. He hoped he was all right. He hadn't been gone for very long, but there was still every chance a creature had slipped in and-

He shook his head. No. No. He had promised Laurence that he would make sure he wouldn't be harmed. He had promised him that he would be okay. Laurence had to be unharmed. He just had to be.

Raph rounded the corner and saw three 'students'. He quickly reversed before they could see him. They sniffed the air and left the corridor. When he was sure they were gone, he bolted down the corridor and looked around the corner. The creatures were still there, studying the area. Raph waited until they were facing away from him before going to one of the doors near him and opening it. Then, he shut it as loudly as he could.

The creatures jumped, turning around and running to the source of the noise. They began to beat the door with their fists, snarling viciously.

Raph, who was hiding around the corner, snuck past the distracted creatures and went down the rest of the corridor.

The next few ones were empty; however, the penultimate corridor that led to the room Laurence was in was occupying one of the creatures. Raph curled his mouth. It was standing right in front of the corridor that led to the one Raph needed to go through, like it knew he wanted to go there.

Raph narrowed his eyes and twirled his sai. It looked as though he was going to have to fight this one.

He ran forward. Now wasn't the time to be stealthy. Now was the time for a fast, surprise attack. He kicked the creature in the face, knocking its head against a wall. It howled, trying to grab him. Raph ducked, feeling it break the air above his head, and swung his leg at its chest.

The creature stumbled sideways, relocating its head so it was facing him. It tried to land a blow on Raph's face with its fist, but he caught its hand with his sai. Then, gritting his teeth, he used all his strength to twist the creature's arm. It looked upwards, screaming. Raph jumped back, waiting for it to try and attack him again.

The creature bounded towards him, bowing its head as it made to headbutt him. Raph turned around and sprinted towards the wall behind him. He ran up it before pushing off, zooming over the approaching creature's head. It crashed into the wall and got its head stuck.

Raph turned his sai around in his hands, so he was holding the blades. He went up behind the creature and slammed the handles into its back. It flailed wildly, failing to remove its trapped head. Panting heavily, Raph kicked its bottom, pushing it even deeper into the wall. The creature twitched, before jerking its head back and hitting the wall behind it. As soon as Raph saw the wall crumble and reveal its freed head, he kicked it with his foot and pushed it to the ground. The creature moaned before falling unconscious.

He watched it briefly before heading down the corridor towards Laurence. He reached it and walked into the room, putting his sai away and flicking the light switch. The room lit up.

"Laurence?" called Raph, his breathing slowly returning to normal. "Don't worry, I found a way ta get ya…"

The room was devoid of life.

"…Out."

He ran around the room, opening and closing things. Where had he gone? None of the creatures should have been able to find him. Warumagi shouldn't have been able to locate him. The only way Laurence could have been discovered was if he had opened his eyes, made lots of noise and attracted the creatures or… if he had left.

"Coward!" Raph shouted, punching the bed. The pillow flew into the air and landed on the ground, revealing a piece of paper that had been underneath it.

He picked it up and read it.