Author's Note: Finally...bout' time I got off my lazy butt and updated. Well, this huge chunk of an update's got loads of drama and action. There's even a special surprise in tha last chapter I updated. Hope you guys enjoy it and feel free ta review.

Chapter 26: The Animal I Have Become

Three days later...

Me, Melody, and tha guys were up on tha rooftops trainin'. Leo thought that tha fresh air would do us some good instead of practicin' in tha sewers. It was me and Melody against tha guys and of course, we kicked some shell.

"I hate bein' on tha losin' team," said Mikey. "Can I fight with them?"

"No way, Mikey," said Melody. "You'll only slow us down." I couldn't help but laugh at her statement.

"Fine, then could we at least do somethin' else," he asked.

"What did ya have in mind," I asked while twistin' my hair around my finger.

"How about a game of ninja tag," he suggested.

"Sounds good," said Melody.

"I'm game," I said.

"Okay, ninja tag it is," said Leo as he stood himself up from tha ground. "We'll split into three teams of two."

"I'm with Renee," said Raph. I flashed a slick smile at him for chosin' me ta be on his team.

"Fine, then I chose Melody," said Leo pointin' at her.

"Fine with me," she said.

"No fair, why am I stuck with Donny," whined Mikey.

"Hey, shell for brains, I'm right here," said Donny as he slapped Mikey at tha back of tha head.

"Don't feel bad, Mikey," said Melody with an evil smirk on her face. "You didn't even stand a chance of winning against us anyway."

"Says tha girl who will be followin' our dust trail," said Raph.

"The only way that will happen is in your dreams, Raphael," hissed Melody.

"Okay, guys, are we gonna play ninja tag or are we just gonna stand here at fight like lil' old grandmas," I said as I got between tha two of em'. They gave each other evil glares before turnin' away from one another.

"Alright, the finish line is the coca-cola billboard at the top of that building," said Leo as he pointed toward tha ending point. Everyone nodded in agreement. "Ready..., set...,...GO." With that, tha race was on.

Mikey and Donny took an early lead in tha race. "Haha, too slow, guys, too slow," said Mikey as he and Donny ran ahead of us. I examined my surroundings and noticed a ramp leanin' on a chimney. I grabbed Raph's hand and led him to it. "I've got an idea," I said. When Raph noticed tha ramp, he immediately caught on to what I was plannin'. Unfortunately, so did Leo and Melody. We ran up tha ramp and leapt into tha air. We all did a summersault before we landed a couple of feet in front of Mikey and Don.

"No fair," yelled Mikey.

"You guys cheated," said Donny as he and Mikey tried ta catch up with us.

Me and Raph were nose ta nose with Melody and Leo. We were comin' to a tall building. Tha guys ran ahead of us and readied themselves ta catapult us up to tha roof of tha building. I stepped into Raph's hands as he gave me a boost to tha roof. Me and Melody landed on tha roof at tha same time. I looked down ta see that Leo was already climbin' tha wall. I needed ta hurry up and get Raph up here. I closed my eyes, took in a deep breath, and levitated Raph to tha roof. "Hey, no magic," said Leo as Raph flew pass him. Once Raph was safely on tha roof, we made a mad dash toward tha billboard.

"Yeah, baby, that's what I'm talkin' bout'," said Raph.

"Ya know it," I said.

We were almost at tha finish line, when I suddenly tripped on something. I looked ta see that I tripped ova, or should I say, tripped a wire. Three arrows were headed right for me. I shield my face with my arm and waited for tha arrows to hit me, but they never made contact. I lowered my arm ta see Raph blockin' me with his sais.

"Are ya okay," he asked in a worried tone.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied as I stood myself up. Next thing I knew, Foot soldiers began ta surround us. "Don't you scum bags eva die," I asked.

"Unfortunately, these guys neva read tha obituaries," said Raph as he got into his fightin' stance. I did tha same.

"Destroy them," said tha lead ninja. Two ninjas ran toward me and tried ta attack me, but I used my powers and threw them aside. They fell to tha ground unconscious. "Get that witch," yelled tha lead ninja. Another foot soldier tried ta attack me with his katana, but I blocked him, leapt into tha air, and kicked him in tha face.

"How ya holdin' up," I asked Raph. He just got finished punchin' a ninja in tha face.

"Are ya kiddin'," Raph said. "I could do this all night."

Soon, more ninjas began ta show up. Me and Raph were standin' back ta back as tha Foot soldiers closed in on us. "Careful what ya wish for, Raphy boy," I said.

"Looks like you guys could use some help," said a familiar voice. I looked up ta see Melody, Leo, Mike, and Don join in tha fight.

"Bout' time ya got here," said Raph.

"Hey, we didn't have magic on our side to help us up here," said Leo as he fought with a ninja.

"Unfair advantage, dude," said Mikey as he smacked around a couple of ninjas with his nunchucks.

I continued tryin' ta block and attack tha ninjas comin' at me, but there were too many of em' and more of em' just kept on comin'. The lead ninja finally was able ta hit me with a series of attacks. He finished his on slaughter with a powerful kick in tha gut. I was sent flyin' to tha edge of tha buildin'.

"RENEE," I heard Raph yell.

I could taste blood in my mouth from a gash on my cheek and my busted lip. I had scratches on my arms and legs and I began ta cough up blood. The lead ninja walked toward me.

"Don't come any closer," I hissed.

"Sorry, witch," he said menacingly. "Time for the lights to go out for the dark princess."

My green hair suddenly turned jet black and my green eyes began ta glow blood red. "I warned you," I hissed. I could suddenly feel myself levitate off of tha ground. A dark aura surrounded me and my hair rose on end. The dumb ass ninja started at me in fear and I liked it. The battle suddenly stopped as everyone looked ta see what was happenin'. Everyone stared at me in fear, even my friends.

A fire ball appeared in my hand as I threw it at tha ninja. He barely dodged my attack. "Come on, tough guy," I said in a demonic voice. "Let me be your witch." I used my power to control tha building and moved tha ground beneath tha ninja's feet. I trapped tha sorry jerk in tha ground. "As for tha rest of you," I said as I looked toward tha army of ninjas. I lifted my arms and a huge gust of wind began ta blow them off of tha roof. Raph and tha others did all they could ta keep themselves from flyin' off with them. Once they were all gone, I turned my attention back toward my trapped ninja. I began crushin' him in tha ground.

"No, please, I beg you, stop," he begged.

"Not until I splatter your blood all over this rooftop," I hissed.

"I beg you, don't do this," tha ninja cried.

"That's it, scream, cry," I said. "I won't be truly happy until I'm feasting on your flesh."

"RENEE, STOP," yelled Leo.

"RENEE, DON'T DO THIS," yelled Raph. I couldn't hear them. All I could hear was my prisoner screamin' in utter pain and torment.

Suddenly, I felt someone grab my foot. I looked down ta see that it was Raph.

"Renee, not this way," he said. "Even this scum bag doesn't deserve this."

My hair began ta turn green again and so did my eyes. I stopped crushin' tha guy and released him from tha ground. Afterwards, I fell into Raph's arms barely conscious. The ninja jerk ran away with his tail between his legs. Leo, Melody, Don, and Mike made their way towards me and Raph. They stared at me with terrified expressions on their faces.

"We better get her back to the lair," said Leo in a stern tone. Raph picked me up bridal style and we were on our way to tha lair. I slowly began ta lose consciousness as I laid in his arms.

Three hours later...

I woke up once again in Donny's lab. But this time, I woke up with a machine hooked up ta me. My breathing was a bit unsteady and my head was killin' me. Man, what tha heck happened ta me.

I looked out of tha corner of my eye ta see everyone standin' around Donny and his computer. "G...g...guys," I managed ta say. Everyone turned around and looked at me. Raph walked toward me and helped me sit myself up. "What's goin' on," I asked as he removed tha oxygen mask from my mouth.

"You mean, you don't remember," asked Leo.

"Remember what," I asked in confusion.

"You used your magic and a lot of it," said Raph.

"Yeah, but I only used my magic ta shield myself from some ninjas and ta move some of em' away from me," I replied.

"No way, sis," said Mikey. "You went medieval on those ninjas. I'm talkin' about red eyes, black hair, freaky fire balls, and a sudden appetite for blood."

"I did what now," I asked in shock.

Donny got up from his computer and walked towards me. "All will be explained after we finish this test we're running on you," said Donny as he laid me back down. Donny took out a needle from his lab coat pocket. "Now, I need to draw some blood from you, is that okay," he asked. I nodded as he drew blood from my arm. "Melody, can ya hand me some test tubes," asked Donny. Melody walked over to a table covered in scientific equipment and grabbed two test tubes.

As she walked toward me and Don, Myrah accidentally (on purpose) nudged her in tha arm causin' her ta drop tha test tubes. "Oh, so sorry," she said innocently.

"Uh...sure, that's okay," said Melody suspiciously as she returned to that able ta get more test tubes. This time Myrah dashed in front of her, as if she was walkin' toward Donny, and once again nudged Melody. As tha second batch of test tubes fell to tha ground, Melody let out a loud grunt in rage. "What's your damage," yelled Melody.

"What are you talking about," yelled Myrah.

"Don't act more stupid than you already are," hissed Melody. "You know you did that on purpose."

"No I didn't," yelled Myrah. "I can't help if you got butterfingers. Here, Donatello, I'll get those test tubes for you."

"Oh, so that's what this is about," said Melody. "You just wanna look good in front of Donny."

"Melody, don't," said Leo, but she wasn't paying attention to him.

"No, that's not it," Myrah hissed.

"Look, princess, I'm not tryin' ta steal your man," yelled Melody.

"Then why do you always hang around him," Myrah yelled.

"Guys," I said.

"Because he's my friend and even if I did like him at least I would stand more of a chance than a stupid tramp like you," hissed Melody.

"Guys," I once again said as my voice tensened.

"Go to hell, you floozy," yelled Myrah.

"GUYS, STOP," I yelled. A huge gust of wind blew through tha lab and my hair began ta float on end. Raph grabbed my hand and I began ta calm down. Tha fighting stopped. "I'm sorry," I said as I laid my head on Raph's shoulders. Melody stormed outta tha lab and Myrah stayed where she was with her head held down. I looked toward Donny and could read tha awkward expression written all over his face.

"Donny, you should go on with the test," said Leo. "I'll go find Melody." With that, Leo left tha lab.

Donny put my blood sample under his microscope and studied it. "This is not good," he said. All of us looked toward Donny with worried expressions on our faces.

"Give it ta me straight, Don," I said solemnly.

"Well, it looks like your outburst of power activates whenever you are under extreme stress or anger," said Donny. "When it erupts, you gain tremendous powers that you would normally not be able to use at will..., but it comes with a price. The more power you use, the more it weakens your body physically. If you were to use too much...,"

"I could die," I finished Donny's statement. "Damn." Everyone looked at me with sadness in their eyes.

"Is there somethin' ya can do, Donny," asked Raph.

"Unfortunately, there's no way I could possibly cure this," said Donny. Raph walked toward Donny and began shakin' him.

"You're tha genius of tha family, there has ta be somethin' you can do," he yelled.

"Raph," I said. He looked towards me. "There's nothin' that can be done," I said. "Tha only thing I can do is neva use my magic again."

"But, Renee," began Rose. "You're going to have to use your magic at some point and your outburst happens when you're under stress or anger. You can't control it."

I yanked tha wires off of me and stood up from tha table. "Then, I guess means that I'm just gonna have ta be more careful, right?" I flashed a small smile at tha guys as I left tha lab and went upstairs to my room.

I ran to my bed and fell face first on my pillow and began ta cry. "I'm a monster," I whispered. "I could've killed my friends tonight and if I did...I would neva forgive myself for that." I could hear someone enter tha room and sit on tha bed. I looked up ta see that it was Raphael. "Please, go, I don't want ya ta see me like this," I said coverin' my face. He grabbed my hands and removed them from my face. I looked up into his dark brown eyes.

"You're not goin' through this alone," he said. "I'm right here and I'm not gonna let anything happen ta ya. I promise."

We embraced each other in a hug. As I cried on his shoulder, I could swear that I felt tears fall onto my shell.