A/N: - Next instalment here and ready to go, but I'm now extremely busy withno free time. I might beable to update soon or I mightnot– I'm not going to ramble on this time so just relax and enjoy the chapter!

"So, where do we go from here?" Raph asked, looking round at everyone as they sat miserably in Casey and April's apartment that night. They had spent the afternoon eating, playing with Casey's deck of cards and sleeping. Normally they would've jumped at the chance for a quiet afternoon but today the circumstances that had led to the quiet afternoon were not particularly glamorous ones.

"We go and look for our friends," Donnie said in answer to Raph's question, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world (which it probably was).

"I know that, you brainiac, but which crime spot do we go to from here?"

"The old Foot HQ…it's our next best bet for finding clues seeing as there's obviously none here," Leo replied to his brother and stood up, making his way over to the door of the apartment. Peering cautiously outside, he checked the coast was clear, "ok, everyone, there's no-one about – let's go!" he stepped out and checked the corridor briefly before beckoning his brothers. They crept silently along the corridors and down three flights of stairs until they were out of the block. Then they made a break for the nearest alleyway, where they sunk down and relaxed, breathing heavily. It was always risky going topside but at the moment they felt as though they had been hurled backwards to a couple of months before when they'd been fighting Shredder and nowhere had been safe. Mikey shuddered as he remembered the last battle with him – looking round at his brothers; he suspected that the events of that night also frequently pushed their way into their minds also.

"It hasn't changed a bit, has it?" Raph snarled as his eyes wandered over the shining white building that was the Foot HQ. There were hundreds of steps leading up to it and, to be safe, they thought they'd take them. If any enemies were there then they wouldn't expect the turtles to take the steps.

"Not a bit," echoed Donnie as they walked up the many steps to reach the top.

"Guys, we need to be quiet," hissed a nervous Leo. There was something wrong with this place. It was the same feeling he'd had back at the construction site when Mikey had found the pizza, "there could be traps anywhere…"

"Whatever," Raph waved a hand dismissively in his older brother's direction.

"It won't be whatever if we're killed, Raph!"

"We won't be killed, Leo!"

"You can't say that for certain! There's no evidence that this place is safe!"

"THERE'S NO EVIDENCE THAT IT ISN'T!" screeched Raph, hastily clamping a hand over his mouth as soon as the words had left his mouth. There was a loud rumble, "oops…" Raph grimaced.

"Oops indeed, Raph – judging by the amount of noise that's making, and by the frequency of the waves, I'd say that a large solid structure is headed this way – possible some sort of----"

"Gigantic boulder?" Mikey interrupted.

"How…?"

"It's headed straight for us!"

"RUN!" yelled Leo. And for once all three of his brothers were happy to obey him!

"Crud, why does he always have to be right?" Raph muttered under his breath as he ran faster than he'd ever done before. Leo smirked as he heard the remark – that was another little event to use against Raph in the future. He knew he was maybe a little too paranoid at times, but in situations like this is was a real asset to the team.

"Damn, I don't think this thing's gonna stop chasing us!" Mikey screamed.

"Gee, ya think?" retorted Raph, breathless from running. The boulder was gaining speed while the turtles were losing it and they had about thirty seconds before it would get enough speed to squash them.

30

"Donnie! What do we do?" yelled Leo, panic beginning to show in his voice.

29

"I don't know! We need to find a way to stop it or get out of its way!"

28

"Dudes, what about over there?" Mikey pointed to a short drop over the side of the staircase.

27

"Mikey, by the time we reach it the boulder will have squashed us!" Leo called above the thunderous rumbling of the boulder.

26

"Unless…" Donnie began "…Raph, there's a booby trap there,"

25

"A booby trap? What the shell are you on about?"

24

"Tread on the trigger button as we run over it and the spikes should slow the boulder,"

23

"Got it!" Raph stamped on the loose stone which triggered the spikes.

22

The spikes shot up out of the ground and the boulder could be heard crashing its way through them as it continued its relentless pace.

21

"It's not slowing down!"

20

"We have to jump over the side now," Leo barked to his brothers, "we have more chance of surviving the drop than we do trying to outrun this boulder!"

19

"Ok, but the walls up the side are too high!"

18

"They get lower on the next flight of stairs…we have to hold out until then!"

17

"Crud, we'll never make it!"

16

The only sound the turtles could hear was the rumbling of the boulder and their own ragged breathing.

15

"One day, we will break into an HQ without all the traps!"

14

"I wouldn't count on it, Raphy," laughed Mikey nervously.

13

"DON'T call me Raphy!" spat Raph, his breaths coming in short and desperate gasps now, his legs turning to jelly.

12

"We're nearly there!"

11

"Ok, guys stop and climb over!" Leo shouted as he and his brothers skidded to a halt.

10

They began to climb over the wall.

9

The boulder was still getting faster.

8

Donnie and Mikey were on top the wall, helping up Leo and Raph.

7

They made it to the top of the wall and checked the position of the boulder.

6

Surveying the drop anxiously, they spared a quick glance at each other.

5

"Good luck, everyone," whispered Leo, letting himself drop.

4

"See ya all on the other side," Raph saluted, following his brother's lead as he launched himself off the wall.

3

"We should survive this…" Donnie performed some last minute calculations in his head, wondering if Leo and Raph had hit the ground yet.

2

"Man, I hate choices like this! Oh well – COWABUNGAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Mikey turned his 'Cowabunga' into a screech that would wake the dead as he jumped off the wall.

1

The boulder rolled past at an alarming speed, scraping against the wall they had been stood on several seconds before and shattering it without mercy.

Mikey cried out as he hit a canopy of trees and fell through the branches, eventually hitting the hard ground.

"Ow!" he moaned, dragging himself to his feet, "how the shell did I survive that?" He got shakily to his feet, clutching at the trunk of a tree for support as he tried to clear his vision. Man, where the shell are the others – I'm in real trouble if I can't find them – what if they didn't get such a generous amount of trees where they landed…eugh, turtle pancakes! That's enough to put anyone off food, even me! Mikey looked round at his surroundings, bewildered, this tree, that tree, the other tree…they all look the same! Damn, how am I supposed to find the others if there's nothing spectacular to give away their position? Whoa, what was that?! He whipped round sharply, hearing a rustle in the bushes behind him, "Raph?" he asked nervously, "Is that you? If it is then this isn't funny! I'll tell Leo you were chasing me and threatening to pulverise me if you don't come out! I'll…I'll tell Sensei!" he threatened. But no-one emerged from the bushes. There was another rustle on the other side of him and several large, well-muscled men stepped out, sinister grins on their faces as if they had been plastered there.

"Hello, freak…word is you killed our brother…"

"Uh-oh…you just wait until my brothers arrive!"

"Would these be them?" the largest man clicked his fingers and one of his companions pulled on a set of ropes, dragging Leo, Donnie and Raph out of the bushes. They were gagged and unable to move, giving Mikey desperate looks.

"Let them go!" Mikey pleaded feebly.

"Why should we?"

"Because they didn't kill your brother…assuming your brother was Oroku Saki, of course."

"Remove their gags…which of you killed our brother?"

"It was me," Leo stepped forward bravely.

"And me," Mikey piped up, grinning broadly at Leo.

"And we had a part to play too, even if we didn't deal out the fatal blow…" Raph stated resolutely, determined not to let his brothers take the sole blame for Shredder's death – he wanted a little credit too!

"Yeah, we are certainly to blame for his death as much as they are. We may have been unable to fight him in the last battle but we wanted him dead and rotting in the pit of hell as much as any of my brothers." Donnie added, grinning innocently.

"Then you are all to die!"

"Wait! You cannot kill us without honour, surely – do you want to end up like your brother, without any wisdom, honour or bravery?" Leo dared to speak his thoughts aloud, knowing that this would be their only chance of survival.

"You are right, freak. There are four of us and four of you – one on one combat. I am Ronald," Ronald bowed, "and my brothers are Reginald, Roshiri and Ramakha."

"I'm Leonardo and my brothers are Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo." Leo introduced each of his brothers in turn and all four turtles bowed to their opponents.

"I challenge you, Michelangelo," Ronald stared at Mikey and drew out a long thin sword and a short staff of about arm's length.

"Meep…" was Mikey's only reply.

"Raphael, I wish to be your opponent," the vicious looking Ramakha strode forward. Raph's eyes lit with a deep anger and he growled menacingly as he drew his Sais. Ramakha drew the same weapons as Ronald had drawn and the two stood opposite each other.

"Leonardo, I believe," Roshiri reached Leo in three powerful strides; "I challenge you to a fight."

"Challenge accepted," Leo's mouth twisted into a strange smile, half mocking and half thoughtful.

"And that leaves me to kill you, Donatello," Reginald laughed harshly and he stood opposite Donnie with a longing look in his eyes. He was hungry to see the blood of someone else stain his weapons. He had to fight – it was part of him. And he had not had a serious fight for a long, long time. Sparring with his brothers had been fun but he was never given the chance to reveal his true colours. And now, against this turtle creature, he would show his true potential as a Ninjitsu master…

Splinter was meditating in the lair when he felt a tug in the pit of his stomach. His sons were in danger. Great danger: he could sense their situation and tried to connect his mind with one of them. He pushed his way past the barriers and into Raph's mind. He felt Raph's emotions: his anger at the capture of Casey and April, his jealousy of Leonardo's leadership, his annoyance with Michelangelo's constant joking around, his admiration and curiosity for Donatello's work, his love of all three of his brothers, and his self hate for seeing only their faults in his times of rage. His hunger for revenge was unquenched. Killing the Shredder had not been enough for him – he longed for something more. He wanted to turn back time and make Shredder scream for what was done to his brothers and his entire family. Splinter pushed his way through all the feelings and memories until he reached his son's sub-conscious.

My son, listen to me,

Sensei?

Beware of these enemies – I fear they have back-up waiting.

How do you know about----?

I have been focussed on your mind's energy in my meditation.

Why didn't you speak to Leo?

Because I wished to speak to you – do not feel forced to act rashly, my son. Do this and you will be sorely defeated. And keep a look out for any enemies. Make your escape as soon as you can, regardless of whether you want to run or not.

I understand, master Splinter.

Good luck, my son. And do not allow your brothers to do anything stupid either.

Splinter sighed and came out of his meditation. His sons were in grave danger and there was nothing he could do. If he left the lair then he wouldn't reach them in time and if the lair was under attack then there would be no-one there to protect it. But if he stayed then he felt helpless. Suddenly, a hope dawned. He would send his strength to whichever of his sons needed it most when it came to the battle. He was almost certain no-one would be killed but he had to be ready, just in case.

A/N: - Please review for me and make me happy – that is all I am going to say!