Disclaimer: I don't own the TMNT
A/N: Hope that you guys liked the previous chapter. From the sound of the reviews, the Raph x Amuke interaction was a fave, though it seemed that my cliffie wasn't as dramatic as I would've liked it to be. Oh well...
Jessiy Landroz: I'm so happy that you thought it was hilarious, I felt so awful I thought everyone would hate it, but I needed to have a father/daughterviolater interaction there. And about what is going to happen in the palace, from what you say I'm confident that I will surprise you! Reijiro: Sai uppance butt? Love it. Thank you for the kind words. I'm such a pessimistic author. For some reason I always think people will hate it. If I was there for every time they beat the tar out of me for thinking such a thing I'd be in a coma right now! And thank you thank you THANK YOU! Your suggestions have given me an idea about what to do with the baby! I think that it may surprise you! Tewi: Thank you for reviewing! I don't know why I thought it would be boring, everyone is telling me vice wise. I'm also getting a lot of good words about the RaphxAmuke interaction. Thanx! moonie016: Will anyone be killed off? Read and find out! Will the go to Earth? Read and find out! Will the see Raph's brothers? Read and find out! Mwahahahahaha! Aren't I evil? artykidd: Thanx for reviewing! And thank you for the suggestion. I just need to figure out wether or not to take it. Never wrote anything like that before although I've read plenty... Silent Water13: Cherry bomb? That's a new one. Even for you...hahaha Thanx.
Chapter 19
Seeing in Red
Why did you like that! I got jumped, by a big-headed triceraton no less! It's not funny! It's not cute! What the hell do you silly people consider cute nowadays! Damn! (grumbles about empty headed females) Besides! I had an excuse. Remember the bookworm telling me that pregnant dudes sometimes get fatigue? Well there you go! Not like that's an excuse or nuthin... Ah, shut up! Anyway, you'll be wanting to hear some more, now, won't ya? Well, let me just warn you in advance that sometimes things like this happen. If you'll read half the stories on this thing you'd know that. Huh. Here we go already...
In an instant all three of us split up, tearing away from each other. The break away cuffs that she mentioned earlier worked beautifully.
A blast of white hot heat struck the floor where we were just bunched up just a moment ago. It took me a moment to figure out what it was; it was lightning! Is that an element? I suppose...it's in nature...
My thoughts were interrupted as she launched another barrage at Amuke. He gallopped away, lumbering like a rhino yet swift. With a snarl I whipped my sai into my hand and charged her.
She seemed busy delivering bolts of lightning to Amuke and Vivid, calmly standing there with one hand outstretched to control her attack. She had a small smile on her face and was standing completely still. This has to be my chance. I leapt at her.
Without even batting an eyelash her free hand shot up and a whirlwind struck me like a brick wall. It lifted me aloft, gently, almost as though it didn't want to hurt me.
Which she didn't.
She didn't want the guy carrying her child to miscarry.
So here I was, mad as hell, pinned hopelessly against a wall by wind from the Dame while she attacked my lover and Amuke. It's enough to boil your brains out. I didn't know how she kept it up, but she sent those lightning bolts after those two as though she had six hands to work with, though right now she was only using one. By now she was laughing hysterically as though it were some sort of grand joke or great game.
Vivid and Amuke were slowing down. They were getting tired of the constant sprinting and pivoting. A body can only keep that sort of pace up for so long. This had to be stopped.
Growling furiously in my throat, I struggled to break free of this air restraint. My arms were pinned down against the wall spread eagle and let me tell you that the muscles you use to lift it up like that...well you don't use those much in everyday life, that's for sure. I strained as hard as I could. Painful cramps sprung up in both arms but I ignored it as though it were a bug bite. I had to get free. I roared in frustration. This was never going to work...
Vivid was just a tad bit too slow. One of Honor's strikes caught her foot as she was springing away yet again. The blast was so powerful it sent her flying in the air, twirling like one of those figure skaters or something. When she hit the floor her momentum must have carried with her because she spun across the floor like a rag doll before coming to a stop. Hurriedly with a pronounced limp she scrambled to her feet, with Amuke already pounding away in her direction. She was going as fast as she could, but I could already see that it wouldn't be nearly fast enough...
With a roar I blasted through the wind barrier and came flying straight at Honor. She didn't see me until I was already on her.
My fist connected solidly with her neck. I could feel the cartilage shift, crack and break. My second one clubbed her directly in the center of her face. I finished it off with a roundhouse kick to her torsoe, all without yet touching the ground.
She flew across the room as if she had wings, crashing into the nearby wally. Immediately the two guards sprang at me but I was ready. I met their steel weapons with some of my own, and sai are the best weapon for any occasion.
One had a battle ax and the other a broadsword. I dodged the heavy weight of the battle ax crushing down. I felt it brush against my shell. I deflected the broadsword through the prong of my sai, catching it in the groove and using it's own momentum to help throw it to the side. Without wasting a heartbeat I dove in close and plunged my sai into her belly. She tried to bring her weapon up again but faltered when I pushed at my sai, dragging it up her torsoe while still inside her belly. Warm blood sprayed on my arms. Furiously I yanked it out. Miraculously she was still alive.
Sensing the other guard attacking, I hurriedly ducked. The heavy battle ax came swinging through where my head just was...and right into her partners already wounded torsoe. Well, it wasn't exactly pretty. That heavy piece of steel cleaved right through her, and suddenly one was two.Blood and thicker things spewed on the fancy palace floor.
Still caught in her own momentum, I thrust the longest tong of the sai stright into her neck, right in the middle where the spine was. She had an easier death than her partner.
No sooner had I turned from those two than I heard Honor shrieking. She stormed out of the hole she made in the wall. Her hair was mussed up and her eyes blazed something I can't quite identify yet. With another shrill scream she pumped her hands in the air and suddenly I saw a wall of air coming at me, just like Glory did.
I don't know exactly what possesed me to do this, but I moved my hands up from the ground, like I was pulling out weeds. Suddenly the ground shifted and a wll of stone and dirt came up before me. The wind hit it and spewed in all directions like a thing gone mad, but I wasn't touched. I could hardly believe it.
"Raph!"
I whipped around to see Vivid standing with Amuke. I didn't know it, but only about ten seconds had gone by since I broke free. Without thinking I yelled at her. "Go! Get your family out of here! I'll take care of The B!t#h!"
She got a striken look on her face, but was distracted when she had to dodge another lightning bolt from Honor. My muscles tensed. With a roar of anger I made another yet unknown motion. Bringing my fists up like I was carrying a rock, I made a pushing/throwing motion at her.
Honor gave a shriek of surprise when the ground in front of her suddenly rose up, folding like a giant towel. It came at her and crushed her against the wall like a hand, effectively holding her in place. For a moment she was silent, but then she gave another banshee-like cry of rage and I could see her edges blurring. She was misting.
"GO!" I yelled at Vivid and Amuke, at the same time waving them away. I didn't want to get hurt. Well, I guess in my emotional state that waving was yet another sign. The ground rippled underneath their feet. They fell down, then the ground rolled like an ocean, and they were pushed away.
It stopped and they got back up, but they also got the message. Vivid turned and looked straight into my eyes. Were those tears? "We'll come back for you! Don't you dare die, Makkame, or I'll kill you myself!" With that, and prodding from Amuke, they fled down the hall.
Now it was up to me to deal with Honor.
The ground-hand-thingie was empty. She was nowhere to be seen.
With a slow breath I straightened up and tried my best to loosen my tight muscles. She was around here, somewhere. In the air. I knew it. And I had to be ready.
I felt an almost whispering sound, like a butterfly going by my ear, behind me. It was enough.
Spinning on the ball of my foot I raised both sais parallel to my shoulders, the already blood stained prongs facing downward. Honor's face appeared full of smiles...then full of horror. I brought both sais down, their intended target that soft area between the neck and shoulder on each side. The spot where it's real easy to pierce both lungs or a heart. The only problem was that she reacted to quickly.
With another puff of air she sent herself flying backwards away from me, zipping likea water bug. But she wasn't fast enough to escape uscathed. The tip of my sais caught the tender flesh just below the collar bone. Her backwards movement didn't let me plunge them down, but instead the skimmed her skin an inch or so below the flesh, eventually reaching that one area on a woman's chest they're always eager to show on porno magazines.
She clutched her chest in pain and shock and looked at me in horror. Then she stared down at the two parallel lines beginning at her collar bone, and ending at her nipples. Of course her shirt didn't survive the atack appropriatly and flapped open in places.
I have to admit, considering the position we were in, I found it pretty darn hilarious. For a moment I even forgot what I was doing and brought a blood stained hand to my sides as my mouth split into a grin and I guffawed uproarious laughter. Who'd of thunk it.
Obviously she possessed absolutely no sense of humor. Her face turned beet red with anger even as the blood oozed from the gashes and soaked her lovely pastel shirt. Poor thing. Pity, really.
With another one of those shrieks that were beginning to get annoying, she sent a lightning bolt at me. I raised my arm to block it, and a column of earth followed and took the blow for me. She sent another and another, but I did the same thing each time. I stepped forward with each attack, making her step back. I have to admit that it felt kinda empowering.
To her side was a small table adorned with fancy food and another witha huge bowl of water accompanied by neatly folded cloths, presumably for washing. With a flick of her wrist she sent this bowl of water hurtling towards me. I blocked it of course, after all, she couldn't hurt me. I'm untouchable.
I did get drenched in water, though. Using such a childish tactic amused me. She must be getting desperate. Does she think that I'll melt or something? Well, I found out her motives soon enough.
The water streamed off me and formed a sizable puddle on the perfectly smooth polished floor. She hopped back to avoid getting wet, then before I knew what she was doing, she sent another lightning bolt to the water on the floor...the water I was standing and drenched in.
The electricity siezed my body and I stiffened everywhere simotaneously. I couldn't even flick a finger. I lost all sense of time or what was even going on, my eyes just stared straight forward. I vaguely remember feeling a gush of wind on my plastron, sending me sprawling to myshell on the stairs leading to her throne. For a moment I twitched as my muscles spasmed here and there. Then with shaky limbs I tried to get up.
Tiny, yet steely hands clamped down on my shoulders like vice grips. Immediately I felt a familiar tingling sensation, then the also familiar feeling of pulling.
She was there, draining my energy, like she did so long ago.
I felt it pulling at my limbs, my torsoe, my hands and feet. It was like strings were implanted in my body and someone was slowly pulling them out one by one. It felt wierd. It also sapped my strength. My limbs felt like jelly and my body was crying out for food and sleep. I ignored it and tried helplessly to get up and at least push her away. It was like trying to convince a rubber band to substitute for my sai.
She leaned in my ear, snarling words at me between her teeth. "Now listen here, you SOB, I'll take no more of this shit! I want you, and my baby with me at all times! Might I add that technically you belong to me as well! That baby is going to grow, and be born healthy and full of power that I can absorb and I will find some way to force you to bond with me even if I have to kill someone! Not like I haven't done it before, punk! You were using your power right there, I just knew that you were The One! Especially with your use of Earth! You know Earth, Fire, and Metals are a male's strong elements, don't you? I've still never seen anyone use fire, before. No one has for at least a few centuries.Of course you don't, your an idiot. That's why you've probably only seen me use water and wind related elements. In fact..."
Then she paused, and out of the corner of my eye I could see enlightenment and joy light up her face. I didn't like it.
"In fact..." she continued. I continued my own struggle to break free of her grasp (you see how well I'm doing so far.) "I think that I've just realized a way for me to 'convince' you to go along with me." Yup. Definetly didn't like it. "You seem rather fond of that Larka girl your with, aren't you?..." She grinned. "Good thing I'm having her the 'first priority' capture for my guards!"
A familiar panic siezed my body when I realized she was talking about Vivid. I didn't know what to do! I couldn't even move! I HATED feeling this friggin helpless! HATE! HATE! HATE! HATE! More than that it friggin PISSED me OFF!
Abruptly Honor let out a painful scream. Her hands yanked themselves off of me like it was painful to touch me or something.
I managed to turn my head and look at her. What I saw surprised the hell out of me.
Honor was standing there, and both of her hands were on fire. She was looking at them in horror, screaming in pain. Quickly she started patting them on the ground with frantic haste. She rushed over to the mounds of earth, but it was mostly marble-like stone from the floor. Frantically she looked for something else to douse her cooking hands in.
I wondered briefly what in the world would cause such a thing. When I looked down I got my answer, and what I saw surprised me so much that the adrenaline kick-started my muscles into cooperating. What I saw was simple.
I was on fire.
Literally. My entire body was covered in flames. I reached my feet, unsteady even with my newfound adrenaline. Frantically I tried to pat it out until I realized that it didn't hurt. Not one bit. Curiously I looked at it. Flames licked every inch of my skin with their long yellow tongues. They curled around my bodly and danced in the air.
Slowly as I stared at them and calmed down, the got shorter and shorter. Then they just vanished, like someone just flicked some switch and turned it off. Quickly I checked myself. No marks. No burns. Nothing.
Cool beans!
All this happened in a matter of seconds and it didn't take me long at all to realize two things: Honor was still there, and Vivid was in danger because of me.
As much as I wanted to finish, I really wanted to reach Vivid as well. When I looked around, Honor was darting towards a door, her hands still burning having found nothing to douse the stubborn flames. They were down quite a bit more. I could fix that. Think of it as a I'm-going-to-find-Vivid, here's-proof-I'm-thinking-of-you present.
With a flick of the wrist I sent a small gust of wind at her. Now I don't know if my wind just hit it at the right angle and I made the flames from her hands travel, or if fire was actually in this wind and I didn't know it...But what I do know is that when it hit her her skirt caught on fire. And that stuff must've been highly flammable, cause it practically exploded and suddenly her whole outfit was on fire. Frantically she started stripping as she reached the door and this was the last that I saw of her before I went on a search of my own.
Running was hard as hell with so much of my friggin energy drained. I think I managed in because of Master Splinter's training. Either that or my body was burning spit for feul, cause my mouth sure was dry. Don't ask me how, but somehow I made the right turns to reach Amuke.
The trail of chaos was an easy guide.
The entire family was there, though not a one of them were conscious. Instead they were on what I could only discribe as a bunk-stretcher. One with three stories. I immediately realized that two things were amiss: one Amuke was pissed at me for some reason, two; Vivid wasn't there. Amuke explained in the kind, thoughtful manner that was so his style.
"What the hell are you doing here!"
I glared at him, panting even though it was a relatively short run. "Gee whiz, I don't know Einstein. Duh, looking for you maybe? Oh yeah, and kicking Honor's ass!"
His expression didn't change at all. Instead he growled; "Vivid just left some minutes ago to look for you, idiot! Now where is she!"
Shitshitshitshitshitshitshitshisthitshitshitshithsitshitshitshitshit! I couldn't believe it!
I didn't even spare the dinosaur another glance I simply asked: "Which way?"
He pointed and I ran without another word. Who'd of thought? Raphael, the rebel, the devil-may-care. In love and feeling (dare I say it?) responsible. I know, it's crazy.
Here's where the part in the story comes that everyone hates. I'm sorry I have to tell it, but reall it's just the way it happened so I can't really help it.
I was running when I took a turn in the hallway when I came across a group of guards. Amuke had obviously been through there, because over half of them were lying on the floor, unconscious, broken, and maybe dead. The rest were obviously in the process of recovery; staggering to their feet, leaning against the wall rubbing their heads, or attending the wounded. The moment I appeared all heads turned and weapons went up.
"Shit I don't have time for this!"
Frustrated, I automatically assumed a battle stance, whipping out my blood-stained sai. I didn't even have time to charge.
I felt a tiny prick on my neck. Immediately I reached up to the back of my neck and plucked it out. What I saw in my hand made my heart stop. A dart. I turned around and saw three guards around the bend that I completely overlooked before. Or maybe they just got there. It didn't matter, the damage was done.
In my weakened, overworked, fatigued, pregnant, and energy sapped state it took no time at all and whatever drug began to take effect. I couldn't believe it. After all this work, after all I did, after all it means, this.
Despite the hopelessness of the situation, I struggled to stay upright. My vision was already fogged, and I could see edges of black creeping in where I didn't want it to be. My muscles relaxed and threatened to abandon me. Fierce dizzines struck and I began to stagger. I couldn't stay up any longer.
I couldn't believe it.
"Awwwwwww! Shit damn fu#k crap!"
I hit the ground and mumbled out before I lost sight of consciousness:
"SHIT!"
A/N: Sooooo...how was it? Did I surprise anyone? So far all guesses that I heard aren't exactly what I had planned, as you can see. I hope that you enjoyed it and that you don't hate me too much for writing this! All comments, predictions and questions are more than welcome!
Also, for all those of you who are interested, I have that story that I mentioned earlier posted. The one on the Iraq war veteran, called ironically enough Tales of a Veteran. I'd appreciate the input if you feel interested.
Remember, if you Read it, Review it! Toodles!
