Author Note: Apologies for the time it took to put this chapter up – I was struck down with the dreaded writers block and I also came up with another story that was screaming for my attention. The other story is 'Choosing Destiny' and is rated M. If you enjoy 'Blue' you'll love it, so go check it out! I compel you! Ahem. Anyway, this is the penultimate chapter, the next will be an epilogue and then this story will be done…not bad considering it was supposed to be a one-shot. Thank you as always to everyone who reviewed!

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nothing! Oh, except the narrator. But none of the good characters.

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My favourite Dragon hangout has always been a warehouse bang in the middle of our territory, one of several similar ones but this one is where all my best memories are stored. A makeshift fighting ring in the centre of the floor, benches around the outside, just a place to go and watch a fight, or get into a fight if there were any issues that needed resolving between any of us. In the time since I ran away from home for the first time, I'd spent many a happy night in there, a beer in one hand, a smoke in the other, laughing it up with the other Dragons, swapping dirty jokes or maybe conversing about jobs we'd done. One night I'd gotten so wasted that when Spike tried to drive us home in a stolen sports car and crashed it into a wall, I hadn't been able to stop laughing. It was the first place I went to announce to the other Dragons that I'd recovered from my shooting and was back in New York and they'd all welcomed me home, telling me how tough I was, what a credit to the Dragon moniker. Outside of my apartment, it was the place I loved best in the whole city.

Now I was there again, not laughing with the others, not drinking a cold one and waiting for the entertainment. It was daytime for a start and I'd never been there before nightfall. I was hurting, that was another thing. Not like when I passed my final initiation – I'd been hurt then but not too badly, some bruises and scrapes for the most part and I'd broken my little finger catching a chain with a pipe that had somehow caught a glancing blow to my hand. That had been a fight. This had been a massacre. There's only so much you can do to protect yourself when you're unable to fight back.

Dragon Face had got his posse to bundle me into a van outside my apartment and although I'd tried to make a break for it once we were on the street, I hadn't even managed to get free of my captors. If anyone had seen me being taken, they hadn't done anything about it. It had been on Dragon turf after all. When we got to the warehouse, I hadn't even tried to flee; the grip on my arms was too tight. I'd been taken into the building and through to a back room which might once have been some kind of office but was now bereft of anything save for a steel bracket embedded in the wall. A chain had been looped twice around the bracket and then cuffed to my wrists. There was no way I could pick the lock on the cuffs, couldn't break the chain, couldn't free the bracket from the wall. I was helpless, at the mercy of my former family.

That was when the questions had started.

Questions about the Turtles, where they lived, how much I'd told them, what their weakness was. I stuck to the same story – I'd found the shell-cell that night and taken it for a souvenir, I hadn't ever spoken to them except to hurl abuse during fights, I'd been planning just to leave New York and not turn the Dragons in. Instinctively I knew I couldn't change my story, no matter what happened. If I admitted what I did know, which wasn't much in any case, they'd assume I was still holding out on them. This way, they might just believe me. Not that I thought I'd get away with trying to run, but at least I might get through the night with my life. If I was lucky.

I didn't feel lucky.

Every time I gave an answer they didn't like, I'd receive another blow. A kick, a punch. At one point Dragon Face stamped on my left hand and broke three fingers. Still, I stuck to my story, not willing to give them the satisfaction of finding me out in a lie. I'd put my trust in the wrong people and I might have found out too late to do anything to help myself, but damned if I was going to break. So I kept insisting I knew nothing, snuffling through a nose full of blood and wheezing when one brutal kick ignited a fire throughout my ribcage. By the time I was left alone, I couldn't have stood up if they'd undone the cuffs, left the door open and told me to be gone in the next five minutes or else. I lay in a world of my own pain, tears leaking from the corners of my eyes, curled into a foetal position and wishing there was something I could do. I'd never in my life felt so powerless to help myself, not even when I was at the mercy of my bullying brother and the parents who looked the other way. Back then there had been something I could do – run. Now, I couldn't even do that.

The door was locked from the outside, but it made no difference. The chain was too short to reach that far anyway and there was nothing for me to use to free myself from it. And if I could by some miracle leave the room, I was a damn mess. There was no way I could get out of the warehouse undetected and then through blocks of Dragon turf. And if I did, then what? No money, no place to go, no one to turn to for help.

I had to face facts. I was screwed six ways to Sunday.

Lying against the wall, I fell into something that was closer to unconsciousness than sleep. There was less pain in that way, less fear. I knew what the Dragons had in store for me. I had betrayed them. Right now they would be going through the apartment, tearing it apart looking for evidence that I had colluded with their enemies. I had stuck to my story and they wouldn't find anything so maybe I would be put forward at the meeting that evening as a coward, willing to run out on them just to save my own skin. In that case it would be open season on me. Dumped in the middle of the ring in the state I was in, any Dragon who wanted to get a lick in would be able. None of the people I used to hang out with would argue my corner – hell, they'd probably be first in line. But if they said I was a spy for their enemies, as I suspected they would, then things would run differently. Taking me out would be an honour to be fought over and I would have a great view of what lengths my former friends would go to just to be the one to cave my head in. I had visions of my beaten, bloated corpse surfacing in the East River, scaring the crap out of some passing patrol boat…

This one's a Dragon for life and we'll find the corpse next week or next month or next year…

Dammit Red, why did you have to be right?

There was a noise outside the door, metal scraping against wood and a clang, as if the steel bar holding it in place had been removed. I turned my head to see who it was and instantly wished I hadn't. A huge shadow blocked out the light and I didn't need him to come into focus again to realise who it was.

Hun.

He smirked at me, cracking his knuckles. I knew that just one of those giant hands would enclose my face easily, that he could pick me up with just one of those muscled arms. I had a vision of myself dangling helplessly, moments before he snapped my neck like a twig, the other Dragons looking on and roaring their approval.

"I…I told Dragon Face everything I know," I said, knowing the fear was evident in my cracked voice. I didn't care. I just didn't want him to hurt me.

"It doesn't matter," he said in that gravely voice, sounding smug and satisfied. "I just wanted you to know – tonight, you're all mine. Those freaks have been a thorn in my side for long enough. If you are a spy, losing you should bring them out of hiding and we'll be ready for them."

"I just found it!" My voice was high and tearful. "I'm not a spy! I swear!"

Hun chuckled, the good humour in the tone somehow more chilling than the malice that was also there. "As I said, it doesn't matter. If you have no connection to the freaks, there's still sport to be had. You were running out on us. No one ever runs out on the Purple Dragons."

I didn't want to break down in front of Hun, but knowing I was going to die that night sent a bolt of terror through me. He didn't acknowledge my panicked face though, merely walked back out of the door and secured it behind him. His footsteps hadn't even died away before I snapped, yelling for help and dragging at the chain that fastened me to the walls with all the strength my beaten body could muster. I bit at the cuffs, shouting until I was hoarse, pleading and promising and begging. But no one came to the door and my teeth were no match for the cold steel circling my wrists. Eventually I collapsed into a heap on the floor, energy spent, tears flowing freely from my eyes. I was helpless, trapped and alone. And I was going to die in pain, watched by the people I thought I could trust most in the world while they yelled for my blood.

Oh Blue, why didn't I listen to you? Why did I wait until it was too late to realise you were right?

I'd attacked the Turtles the previous night, on the say-so of the Dragons. You'd think that was proof enough that we weren't allies, but it didn't seem to matter much now. All I could think was that it was another bridge well and truly nuked. Everyone I might once have turned to for help, I had managed to alienate. And this was how it was going to end.

Eventually I managed to stop my tears and sit up. I made up my mind that I was going to face my death with some kind of dignity, not as a snivelling wreck. I did my best to wipe my eyes and clean off some of the dried blood that had spilled from my nose and congealed on my face. I would have taken a few deep breaths but inhalation was the most painful thing for me right then – the fresh air made my nose feel like it was being attacked by a million needles and when it got to my lungs it felt like they were being compressed, sending stabbing pains into my chest. I settled for shallow breaths through my mouth as I tried to guess the time. Maybe about five. As if to send confirmation, my stomach growled. I managed a rueful grin. Here I was in the worst trouble of my life, probably dead within the next seven hours, beaten to a bloody pulp and I was wondering if the condemned gets to eat a hearty meal. Hell, I'd have settled for a glass of water.

I stayed that way for half an hour, trying to keep my mind away from the 'what if' scenarios. Instead I thought about the good times I'd had in my short life. There were depressingly few of them and many related to the Dragons, which I didn't want to think about for obvious reasons. But there were enough to make me think that my existence hadn't been a total waste. I was deep in a reminiscence from shortly before I ran away from home for the first time, having an illicit drink with friends in a public park and laughing so hard I thought I'd puke or pass out or both, when I heard the sound of the door being released. This time it was quieter than when Hun had been here and I might have missed it save for the fact I had been unconsciously waiting for the noise since I'd found out what my fate was to be.

The guy who walked in wasn't Hun, but then I hadn't expected it to be. Hun would be laughing it up with the other Dragons right up until the moment he took centre stage and annihilated me. Maybe I was to be paraded in front of the assembled Dragons – but no, it was too early for that surely. He was dressed in typical Dragon clothes, if a bit less punk than we – they – usually favour, baggy pants and jacket, a beanie pulled over his face and sunglasses. I've never understood that whole 'sunglasses at night' thing, but it's a look that a lot of them cultivated. I ducked my head before he could get a good look at my face. I didn't want to know if it was some one I might have once drank and laughed with come to lead me to my fate.

He closed the door behind him and approached me. My heart sped up. This was it. It was too late to change anything now, too late for escape or for pity. I clenched my right fist, the one without the broken digits, reminding myself to show no weakness. That would be hard later, but for now it was something to hold on to.

"Landed yourself in a mess this time, didn't you?"

My head shot up. "Blue?"

The figure in front of me raised his shades and sure enough, the exposed skin was green. He was trying to give me a reassuring grin but I could sense the tension he was feeling, written in the lines of his face. I couldn't believe it. Less than 24 hours before I'd attacked his brother with a pipe and now he was here in front of me – to help me? There was a seed of doubt in my mind that told me he had no reason to want to help me and he was just here to gloat, to tell me he'd told me so. Yet even as I thought it, I knew it wasn't true.

"I told you," he said patiently. "It's Leo, not Blue."

"Leo…" I swallowed, trying to get rid of the dry feeling in my throat. "What are you doing here? You can't let them catch you…"

"I'm hoping they won't," he said dryly, examining the cuffs that bound my wrists. "Hold your hands out as far apart as you can."

I did as he said; still not able to comprehend that he was really here. "You've come here to get me out? How did you know I…hey, watch it with that!"

Leo took out one of the giant swords he had strapped to his back and eyed the cuffs. "Just hold still. You don't want me to cut off one of your hands do you?"

I squeezed my eyes closed, trying to stop my hands from shaking. I had visions of the sword missing the cuffs altogether and skewering me somehow. Still, that was better than staying here until the Dragons freed me. I heard a swish and a metallic noise and suddenly my wrists flew further apart. I hadn't realised I was pulling against the restraints until just then.

I opened my eyes and looked in wonder at my hands, unable to believe I was free. The cuffs were still around my wrists but the links between them had been severed, the chain that attached me to the wall fallen to the floor by the same action. I was no longer trapped.

Glancing up at Leo, I tried to get my head around what was happening. "How did you know I was in trouble? How did you know where I was?"

"Saw you running from the cops and followed you back to the warehouse. We overheard your little tantrum and thought you might end up in this situation. It wouldn't be the first time someone has. We were keeping an eye on your apartment."

"But…I attacked your brother last night…"

"Yeah, a lot of people make that mistake." He helped me get to my feet, noticing the way I winced at the pressure his arm put on my ribs. "Are you going to be OK?"

"I'll live." I leant on him while my legs got used to standing up again. One of my knees was swollen up but didn't seem to be broken. "How are we gonna get out of here? I know it's early but there's bound to be a whole bunch of Dragons around."

"Thirty seven," replied Leo and I winced. Word must have spread about me being a traitor for so many people to be here so early.

"Dragon Face thinks I'm a spy for you guys. They're expecting you to show up tonight."

"Don't worry about it. We're employing the art of distraction."

"Distraction?"

"Usually we'd employ stealth, sneak you out of here, but you're in no shape to creep around unseen. If we can't get you out quietly, we'll have to make sure the Dragons are too busy to stop us."

"How will you know when that is?"

"We'll know." Leo shot a grin in my direction. "Donatello seems to have a trick for every situation. The shell-cell has a tracker and the tracker's programmed to explode if the right code's dialled in from one of the other shell-cells."

"Explode? Man, I hope it's in Dragon Face's front pocket when that happens," I said and was rewarded with a laugh. "And then what?"

"Then we get the hell out of here." Leo was listening intently at the door and I fell silent, hoping that his plan worked. Thirty seven Dragons against four turtles and an injured teen? Not good odds. And the Dragons were prepared for their arrival, as I tried to tell Leo when he walked in. Exploding cell phone or not, they'd have to be damn good to get us all out of here in one piece.

For several minutes there was nothing and I had to resist the urge to start questioning Leo again. I knew we had to wait, but I was so impatient to be out of there and as far away from the Dragons as I could get that every second that passed felt like hours. Then suddenly there was a bang and a panicked yell and I knew it was showtime.

A few seconds after that the door to the main area of the warehouse flew open and five of the Dragons burst through it, all armed. Leo jumped into action, felling the first two as they came in with a flying kick, his swords slicing through the weapons of the two behind as he landed. He sheathed one of the swords and knocked over the fifth with a punch to the face before turning his attention back to the two thugs still examining their drastically shortened weapons and knocking them off their feet by dropping low and sweeping their legs from under them. It took mere seconds, so quickly that I could barely believe my eyes.

"Come on," said Leo, looking through the door and checking to see if anyone else was heading our way. "We have to get out of here."

"Amen to that," I replied fervently, limping after him.

In the main area of the warehouse, all hell had broken loose. About two thirds of the Dragons were already down. Dragon Face was curled in a corner, nursing a burned hand – he must have had hold of the shell-cell when it exploded. Well, it might not have been his front pocket but at least it hurt him. In the ring I could see Red going ballistic, fighting six guys at once and it looked like he was winning. Orange – Mikey – was swinging those damn weapons around. I knew from experience that those damn things hurt when they connect to the head and I winced when he smacked three Dragons in the face with one swing. Donatello, the turtle who made the shell-cell go boom, was throwing those ninja stars at the Dragons, but every single one of them missed. I needn't have worried though, three seconds after they embedded themselves in the walls they exploded, showering the thugs with sparks and debris, forcing them to run.

"Move!" Leo put a hand on my back and propelled me toward the exit. I took the hint and hurried as much as I could to the doors. I had no idea what was going to happen when I got outside but at that moment all I could think of was that I had never expected to see the outside of the warehouse again and now freedom was within my reach…

Right up until Hun blocked the door.

I don't know where he was until then, but he walked in from the outside and I assume that he'd been somewhere and heard the ruckus from within. Whatever, his timing was lousy.

I tried to back up, but Hun shot out an arm faster than I would have thought possible and grabbed me by the wrist, yanking me toward him. I struggled against his grip but he was damn strong, his hand easily circling my wrist.

"I knew you'd lead them here," he said to me, his voice gloating. Then he raised his voice so that the turtles could hear him. "Drop your weapons! Now!"

I whipped my head around and saw Leo hesitate, his swords drawn. None of the others were in my line of sight, but I heard the sounds of fighting cease and I knew that they were weighing up their chances of getting to Hun before he did something to me even worse than the Dragons already had done.

Hun reached out with his free arm and grabbed me by the neck, squeezing tightly. I felt my vision begin to darken and my legs buckle. I wanted to tell them not to do it because he wasn't going to let me go either, that all they could achieve was for us all to die together…

"Last chance. Drop the weapons."

Another second of silence – and suddenly Hun released his grip on my neck, staggering forward and tripping right over me. I fell over and Hun narrowly missed squishing me like a bug, landing slightly to my right with a grunt. Coughing, unable to work out what had just happened, I rolled onto my back and saw a man standing above us, wielding a baseball bat and wearing a hockey mask. The vigilante.

"Oh shit," I muttered, hoping he didn't remember me.

"'Bout time I got some action," he said cheerfully. "I've been going nuts waiting out there!"

I scrambled to my feet and got out of the way in a hurry. Hun had the same idea and got up, more slowly but definitely a whole lot angrier.

The vigilante swung the bat at him again but this time Hun was ready and caught it. The two of them had a stare down for a few seconds before Hun managed to snatch it away. For a moment I thought that Hun might be able to get the upper hand.

"Hiii-ya!"

Leo hit Hun right in the back with both feet and the vigilante barely made it out of the way as he pitched forward. Managing to keep his feet this time, he turned and ran at Leo as he landed, fist raised ready to do some real damage. Leo leapt out of the way and Hun stumbled as his momentum carried him forward.

"Casey, get the kid out of here!" Leo barely glanced at me as he raced after Hun. I could see Red heading for the fray too – figured. He struck me as the type who thought he was missing out if he didn't get involved in the action.

Apparently the vigilante was the same. He grabbed my upper arm and pulled me toward the door, grumbling the whole time about them having fun without him. The Dragons who had apparently been guarding the warehouse were laid out on the ground, no interest in stopping us. I let the vigilante – Casey? – lead me off to a van a block over. Damned if I didn't recognise it. The last time I saw it, the Dragons had managed to capture the vigilante and the turtles had been there to free him too. I saw the van after getting a serious blow to the head from Mikey and then looking up to find the van bearing down on me. I don't think I ever moved so fast in my life.

Casey climbed into the driver's seat and I managed to get into the passenger side, in spite of having only one good hand to work with. I barely shut the door before he took off in a screech of tyres. No doubt about it, this guy was as maniacal behind the wheel as he was in a fight.

"Shouldn't ya take off the mask?" I said as he did a handbrake stop at the corner that threw my injured body into the door and throwing the van into reverse.

"Don't worry. I'm a really good driver." Casey put the van into forward again and sped up the street we had just exited, back to the warehouse. I was beginning to wonder if maybe I should put on my seatbelt.

Casey aimed the van straight at the doors of the warehouse and that made up my mind; I grabbed at the seatbelt and then realised I wasn't going to be able to fasten it with my broken fingers. Instead I braced myself for impact. Fortunately, the doors were wide enough for the van and made of wood. They gave with a crash and Casey hit the handbrake again, stopping right inside the building. Through the window I could see Hun lying in the centre of the floor, down and out.

The turtles ran to the van and opened the back doors, jumping in quickly. Before they could all get inside, I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and turned to my own door. Dragon Face was there, his face a mask of rage, reaching out to pull the door open. I beat him to it, throwing the door wide and smashing him in his face. He fell back with a groan and I grinned. Payback's a bitch, unless you're the one doling it out.

The back doors slammed and Casey put the van into reverse, driving us out of the warehouse. I had time to see the utter ruin that the building had become; the Purple Dragons lying about on the floor, the ring demolished, the walls charred and filled with holes. Then we were driving away and I leant back in my seat and stared at the sky through the windshield. I had thought less than an hour ago that I would never see it again and here I was, free. In spite of my breathing difficulties and the multitude of pains that were coming from my various wounds, I had never felt so good in my life.

I was alive.