A/N: - And here is the seventh instalment. As always, thank you to all my loyal reviewers who are sticking with this story and reading every chapter. I would also like to say hi to everyone who is reading this and, for whatever reason, not reviewing and I encourage them to review! Anyway, this chapter explains a little more about Ramakha, Roshiri, Reginald and Ronald – please let me know what you think of these four – and also gives you an idea of what will happen next time…enjoy…
"Will ya at least tell me which of my brothers you got?" Raph snarled desperately. He'd heard the celebrations of Shredder's brothers and was getting madder by the minute, knowing that they had captured another of his brothers and yet not knowing which one.
"Why should we?" hissed Ramakha.
"Because if you even think about killing any of them then not only do I want to know who it is you're killing but I'd kinda like to say goodbye."
"We ain't killing anyone…yet…but we do want to know why you were snooping around here when you know Shredder's dead…"
"Because we want Marcie dead as well – she has betrayed us when we trusted her. She led your brother to us. If it wasn't for her, he wouldn't have found us!"
"And why should I believe you?" Ramakha's eyes were dull and suspicious.
"Think about it – if you helped us kill Marcie then both our families would have their revenge."
"But you killed my brother…how can we help you when you were responsible for the death of a family member?"
"The same way I can offer our allegiance, even though you nearly killed my brothers multiple times…" Raph said softly, sounding sober and burdened. Never before had he bargained with an enemy, but he wasn't prepared to let them kill his brothers. They'd all put those days behind them, "Look, put it this way; if you kill my brothers then I kill you…and I won't hesitate you do it, believe me,"
"We shall see – I will speak with your brothers and then I shall speak with mine before we determine a further course of action."
"RAMAKHA! WE GOT THE OTHER TWO!" Roshiri's excited voice called.
"BRING THEM IN HERE!" Ramakha yelled back. Roshiri, Reginald and Ronald appeared, dragging Leo and Mikey along between them. Mikey seemed to be out cold while Leo was struggling to break free.
"Hurt them and you're dead," growled Raph to Ramakha.
"Let the leader up – but lock the other one away with the purple-clad one. Then I want Roshiri to stay here while Ronald and Reginald go and guard the others."
"Why can't we stay?"
"This is for the two eldest of each clan to decide. We will keep the other two turtles as a sort of…deposit…if these freaks keep their art of whatever deal we arrange then we will return their brothers to them. However, if they do not comply then we cannot promise the safety and lives of your precious brothers." Ramakha finished, watching as Ronald and Reginald dragged Mikey off and Roshiri stepped forward to stand with the others.
"What have you got us into, Raph?" sighed Leo under his breath as Raph's hands and feet were untied and he was allowed to go and stand next to his older brother.
"You are extraordinary creatures…" Ramakha trailed off, "but I feel you do not know the full story regarding our origin and where we were through all the time you fought the Shredder."
"I know you were the Foot Elite, if that's what you mean," Leo's voice shook.
"Then, if you know about us, maybe you should tell us your story – it may help us to come to an arrangement a little easier. It may also help us to understand why you hated our brother so." Roshiri gazed at Raph and Leo, who both seemed to shift uncomfortably at the mention of the past.
"We want to know what exactly happened at the final battle where our brother died…" Ramakha added quickly. Raph looked quickly at his older brother, who had sub-consciously raised his hand to his left shoulder, where the scar from Shredder's katana blade remained. There was also a small scar where the bullet had been shot into his side. Raph, too, still bore the scar of the gunshot wound to his leg, and he knew that telling the whole story would be difficult, for both him and Leo.
"You two will stay here under our guard until our brothers are finished," Reginald spat as Mikey was thrown roughly into the cage by Ronald to join Donnie, who was sat miserably in the corner, "so don't try anything funny."
"Or what?" Mikey piped up, rubbing his arm where he'd landed on it.
"Or I can't guarantee the lives of you and your brothers will be spared…" Ronald snarled menacingly.
"Yeah, um, anyway, we'll just shut up now…"
"We?" Donnie hissed wearily, "you're the one digging us deeper into this mess, Mikey, not me,"
"Yeah, well I'll shut up then."
"Good."
"Hey!"
Raph and Leo between them managed to relate the entire story as it was to Shredder's brothers, leaving no little detail, however small, unsaid. Once they had finished, Leo bowed his head and Raph held his breath, waiting for the response. Roshiri and Ramakha let the honesty of the turtles' story sink in. It had been told truthfully and no lie had been conjured in the process.
"You tell the truth?" Ramakha asked. It was an obvious question that easily broke the silence.
"Every word was honest," Leo replied, voice slightly hoarse from all the talking they'd done.
"And you can ask our brothers if you don't believe us," Raph added.
"I do not think that will be necessary. However, we need some time to think about this…"
"You can't just make us talk! We want to know what part you played in Shredder's plan to dominate the city. And I also want to know why you do not seem to feel any guilt about all the times you've nearly killed us!" Raph was beginning to raise his voice. He started to stand up but was pulled back down into his seat by Leo, who was looking a little pale.
"Why should they feel guilty?" he sighed, "they were merely trying to help their brother fight his way into success. Besides, they have no warmth in their hearts if they cannot see the scars they have inflicted on us, both physical and mental. Therefore it is impossible for them to feel any remorse."
"Leo…"
"I'm going to get Mikey and Donnie and we will discuss this as families. We cannot make a sensible and rational decision regarding this matter without their opinions." Leo stood and left the room. To Raph's surprise, neither Ramakha nor Roshiri dared to follow the blue-clad turtle.
Returning a few minutes later, Leo re-entered the room flanked by Donnie, Mikey, Reginald and Ronald.
"As families we will discuss this…then we decide what is to be done," Roshiri announced.
"Agreed," the four turtles chorused once they had all taken a seat opposite the four human brothers.
"I'll make you an offer," Ramakha said softly, looking thoughtful and less vicious than he usually did, "you help us kill Marcie and her children and then we will spare your lives."
"Her children?" Mikey's face froze, "you can't kill a few young children that have simply been brainwashed by their evil and vindictive parents…"
"Then you help us kill Marcie and send her kids to an orphanage or something. After that, we become enemies again and we will avenge the death of our brother."
"Can we have a little while to think about this?" Leo asked.
"If you're willing to think about it in a cell…"
"So, what do we do?" Raph growled, "If we help him kill Marcie and her kids then we'll be safe but we'll have the deaths of the kids on our consciences."
"But if we take the other option then our lives are forfeit," Donnie stressed the point.
"How about we ask our fearless leader?" Raph smirked, "Whaddaya think, Leonardo?"
"I think we should do the honourable thing."
"Which is?" urged Mikey.
"We gamble our lives and let Marcie's children live."
"How did I know you were gonna say that?" Raph muttered to himself. Coming down the stairs to the cell door was a murmur of voices. The four human brothers shortly appeared in front of the turtles.
"Have you made your choice?" Roshiri asked solemnly.
"Yes," Leo stepped forward, "we will help you kill Marcie – but after that our lives will be forfeit."
"You have honour, I'll give you that – but you are fools," Reginald scoffed, earning a sharp whack from Ronald.
"You understand that we will be enemies from the moment the breath leaves her wretched body?"
"We understand…now, let us out of this dingy cell!"
"First we must swear an oath…"
"An oath? What for?" Raph questioned impatiently.
"To bind our agreement; after the oath is made, anyone who breaks it will be killed. Put your hands in the middle," Roshiri instructed. Everyone put one hand in the middle of the circle, half of which was inside the cell, and Roshiri continued, "We must all swear to be allied until the last breath is released from Marcie and her body is condemned to hell. After that, we shall be as we were before; bitter enemies,"
"I swear," everyone chorused. This was followed by a long silence, broken only by the turn of the rusty key in the cell door as the turtles were released.
"What's the plan again?" Mikey asked for the fifth time in half an hour. They were on their way to where they believed Marcie's headquarters to be but the four human brothers had not accompanied them. They would go by a different route so that they could get into Marcie's HQ without being detected; the turtles were the distraction.
"We find Marcie – we kill Marcie. We throw the kids in some orphanage somewhere and have done with them." Raph summarised, eyes gleaming with almost a hint of madness in them.
"Correction to make to that," Leo interjected, "we find Marcie's hideout, catch the kids while Roshiri and the others get Marcie. We take the kids to an orphanage and then meet back at the old Foot HQ to kill Marcie. We then have thirty seconds to get out before they turn all the traps back on and chase after us again."
"Nothing's ever simple, is it?"
"I'm afraid not – are we almost there, Don?"
"Nearly – the building is just up ahead and down a small lane on the right."
"I still don't get it…once again we're involved in something that we shouldn't have to be involved in. I don't understand why we're the ones who are being hunted when we got rid of the most dishonourable man on the planet!"
"Uh…" Mikey contemplated Raph's comment, his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth as it always tended to do when he was in deep thought.
"We're involved because we didn't get a choice in the matter. This isn't something we can escape, Raph. We've got a gory history with the Shredder and, however dishonourable he was, his family are entitled to the right to avenge his death. What we think doesn't matter when a family is involved."
"I don't care!"
"Well, you should!"
"Why should I, Leo? Why should I care if Marcie is out to kill Ramakha and his brothers? Why is that our problem? Looking back on it, I wish we'd said no to their offer of allegiance…it's putting to much strain on us."
"Too much strain? No, Raph – you are the one putting strain on this family with your constant need to contradict me!" Leo spun round to face his brother. The two glared daggers at each other while Mikey and Don shifted uncomfortably.
"Guys, we need to keep moving or the plan will go wrong!" Donnie whispered to them urgently.
"If we make it out of all this alive, can we get some pizza on the way home?" Mikey suddenly piped up.
"Sure, Mikey, if we aren't dead or busy trying to escape a bunch of madmen who double up as Foot Elite!" Raph mumbled sarcastically.
"I said if we made it out of this alive," whined Mikey, "Aw, why is it always me?"
"Because you're the one always causing trouble, that's why!" retorted Raph venomously.
"There was no need for that," pointed out Leo, laying a hand firmly on Raph's shoulder once more.
"Don't touch me, Leo!" Raph growled, shrugging off his elder brother's hand.
"Let's go," Leo said stonily, turning back to the road again. They had come to a right-hand turning. They walked a little way down the lane before they came to a small cottage.
"Do you think this is it?"
"Don't be stupid, Mikey, this is a cottage!" Donnie scoffed. The turtles continued along the lane but there were no other buildings. Turning back, they trudged back to the cottage. Creeping up to it and peering in through the window, Donnie gasped.
"What is it?"
"It's Marcie's lair – full of high tech gadgets and gizmos – we found it!"
"Now all we have to do is wait for the signal…" Leo trailed off, looking around for any sign of the human brothers.
"What's the signal?"
"When a shruiken lands between my katana," Leo replied, laying his katana out so they were parallel to each other before leaning back against the wall. If the plan worked then they would have one less enemy to worry about. However, they would still have Shredder's brothers and cousins to deal with – although they were confident that they would be able to successfully beat them in any battles they fought in.
"I hope this works…" Raph sighed, looking slightly afraid but trying not to show it to his brothers. If Leo saw that he was afraid then he'd never hear the end of it; so he improvised by staring down at the floor.
"We all hope it works, Raph," responded Leo quietly, seeing his brother's downcast gaze and knowing deep down that it was Raph's way of dealing with his fear. They had all known it would be risky from the start. Nobody quite knew exactly what Marcie would have in store for them. She could have an army, robots, poison, deadly assassins – anything! But they would just have to be patient until the signal came. Suddenly, a shruiken landed between Leonardo's katana, "and action," he smiled to himself.
