Ancient Legacy

Chapter 21

Leo and Mikey ducked as Tyroth swung his sword at their heads. This didn't make any sense to them, Tyroth was their friend, he wouldn't attack them. Dashing past him on both sides, the turtles instinctively drew their weapons as they turned around.

"What the shell has gotten into him?" Mikey asked.

"I'm not sure." said Leo, his mind trying to figure out Tyroth's behavior. Remembering what he read when they researched the demons, the possibility of this being a shapeshifter was rather high, however, it had to be a very powerful demon to take down Tyroth without causing any damage to the surroundings, and such a demon would have had no problem of taking care of the two turtles quickly.

Not having any more time to think about it, Leo had to focus on defending himself and Mikey.

Turning around, Tyroth glared maliciously at the two brothers and simply stood there for a while. Mikey took the opportunity to reach for his shell-cell and press the emergency button as discretely as he could, but it did not go unnoticed.

As if waiting for them to signal the others, once Mikey had activated the beacon, Tyroth charged at the turtles. Leo jumped to avoid a slash of the large sword and slashed at Tyroth's back, hoping to keep his attention away from Mikey. While Leo's swords left two shallow cuts on Tyroth's back, that quickly healed, Tyroth's sword left a large gash in the wall of cars. One hit would be all that he needed to end the battle.

Leo was not sure what to do. He would fight to the end in order to protect his family, but against Tyroth? Had he been fighting one of the enemies he and his brothers had encountered over the years, the choice would have been clear, Leo would be willing to kill his opponent, but now he was locked in a deadly battle against one who were a very close friend. A friend who nearly gave his life for them.

On top of it all, there was Tyroth's healing ability. Most other foes could be incapacitated relatively easily, but Tyroth could recover from such crippling wounds and continue to fight while they are healing. That meant that the only way to stop him if he can not come to his senses, is to kill him. Despite how much Leo wanted to protect those close to him, he had never been in a situation where he would have to kill one of them to do so. But he would not falter, he would find a way to end this battle without someone dying, if he only could hold out until then.

Mona and Raph hurried across the rooftops as they headed towards the signal of the emergency-call they picked up a few minutes earlier.

"I hope we're not too late." said Mona worried.

"Don't worry babe, we'll make it in time." Raph assured Mona.

"Hey!" the couple heard from their left. Looking in the direction of the call, they saw Donnie and Sephie moving towards both them and the source of the signal.

"Any of you guys that knows what happened?" Sephie asked once the two groups had met up.

"We were hoping you might have had some idea." said Mona.

"Then that leaves Leo, Mikey and Tyroth. Let's hope that they can hold out until we get there." said Donnie.

"They will. Now come on, let's pick up the pace!" Raph urged the others.

Moving as fast as they could, it still took them almost ten minutes before they arrived at the scrapyard. A short time later they came across something they wasn't expecting. In a clearing ahead of the, Leo and Tyroth were fighting each other so fierce as if they were mortal enemies.

"Dudes! Am I glad to see you guys!" they head Mikey call from his cover behind an old wreck. Moving to Mikey's location, Raph immediately demanded to know what was going on.

"I don't got a clue. Tyroth just attacked us, it's like he's gone nuts. He's trying to kill us." Mikey answered.

"He would never do that!" Sephie interjected.

"I'm afraid that what we're witnessing now says otherwise." said Donnie. "But I agree, he wouldn't fight us like that. Something here is wrong."

"It's like he's possessed." said Mona.

"He might just be. Regardless, we need to help Leo now." said Donnie.

Leo slashed his katanas at Tyroth like crazy, keeping the pressure up and forcing Tyroth to defend more than attacking. Even though Leo was more agile, one missed dodge could cost him a limb or more, and trying to parry Tyroth's attacks would only result in the loss of his own swords, Ryujin could easily cut through Leo's katanas with its significantly larger mass and equally sharp edges.

Still, Leo was getting nowhere with this battle, he needed to find a way to defeat Tyroth without killing him, he needed to get Tyroth back to his old self again, but most of all he needed help.

And he got it.

Raph delivered a fullbody tackle to Tyroth's chest, the two fighters had been so focused on each other that they failed to notice that the other mutants had arrived. Before Tyroth managed to recover his balance properly, Donnie did a pole-jump and kicked him in the chest again, knocking him on his back, if only for a few seconds.

"About time that you got here." said Leo.

"New neighborhood." Raph replied with a smile. "Now let's see if we can't knock some sense into our friend here."

"One or more, it doesn't matter. Your blood will still flow for Vexuhn." Tyroth said with an evil grin as he surveyed his former comrades.

"Who?" Donnie asked.

"Oh dear. It seems like my little pet has said to much." said a disembodied female voice with a seductive undertone to it. Behind Tyroth, black smoke appeared several feet above the ground. Materializing out of the smoke, a woman now hovered in the air. Her skin was pale and her body slim, yet both curvy and busty. She had long crimson colored hair, knee-high leather-boots and a short medieval-like dress, that was quite revealing and seemed to emphasize a very seductive look, the clothes were colored crimson as well. Her lips were dark red, her fingernails as well, while her eyes were deep purple.

"And I thought that I had completely bent him to my will, guess I was wrong. Then again, he did resist for quite a while, so he is powerful, I will give him that." the woman said, now floating beside Tyroth.

"And what a hunk. Maybe I will keep him, when he is done with you, as my personal plaything." she said, running her hand over Tyroth's chest.

"Keep your hands off him, you witch!" Sephie yelled, her grip on her daggers tightening out of anger and disgust.

"Oh, sounds like I struck a nerve. Tell me, what is he to you, hm? Not a brother, right? A lover then, perhaps? Yes, that must be it. Well, I hate to break it to you, but you have just been replaced."

Sephie couldn't take it any more, angry beyond words, she threw a dagger at Vexuhn, aiming for the throat. The dagger flew fast through the air towards its target. It struck flesh and blood was spilled, yet it never hit Vexuhn. Tyroth had blocked the path of the dagger with his left hand. The blade pierced the palm and a small amount of blood dripped onto the ground before the wound started to heal.

Poor Sephie was shocked, not only had she hurt the man she loved, but it happened when he defended that witch. Even though Sephie knew that he was brainwashed, she still couldn't believe it.

"Some girls just can not accept being dumped." Vexuhn taunted. "If you want to get to me, you will have to go through your friend here first. I wonder though, just how far are you and your friends willing to go to defeat me? Are you willing to kill one of your own, or will you simply let him kill you?"

"Big words coming from someone hiding behind someone that's been brainwashed! Why don't you fight us on your own, you cowardly bitch!?" Raph shouted.

"If that is what you want, then I will not disappoint." Vexuhn sneered. Flicking her right hand at the mutants, a whip of purple fire materialized in it and struck the ground where Raph had stood mere seconds before dodging the attack. The whip left a nasty looking burn-mark on the ground and Vexuhn simply smiled devilishly.

Well that straightens things out, a bit at least, maybe, let's hope things get better in the next chapter.