A/n: Ah, this chapter, the one I thought I would have difficulty with simply because it involved Karai and Shredder. Then, I started editing, Mikey injected himself into the story, and took me on a whirlwind. He knew what he was doing before I did, and I'm pretty happy with it.
"You swore!" He shouted, now angry. I stared at him, my smile gone. I felt a little cold for a moment as I remembered what he meant, but I didn't even need to glance to remember why I broke my swear.
"I lied." I murmured quietly.
He looked at me for only a moment longer, and then he turned around. There wasn't an option to jump him, the Foot Soldiers around us took his turn to mean the fight continued, and I bounced back away from the blows. I took the other half of my sword back when Leo gave it and shifted my weight into two-handed fighting. Leo flexed his hands around the single katana he now had, not trying to reach for his own weapons in various parts of the room.
"What took you so long?" He asked chipperly, eyes never moving from his opponents while I circled around him to find his brothers.
"Elevator troubles," I muttered, pressing my back to Leo as I took in the oncoming problem. Raph, Mikey, and Don were taking care of each other pretty well, even with the Foot Ninjas better than before. In fact, Mikey and Raph looked like they were enjoying themselves. "You got this handled?"
"If I don't, I'll shout," Leo answered easily. I took a deep breath, shaking the tiredness out of my arms from the elevator ride. And with mostly fine legs, I jumped into the fight with Don.
Don didn't see me come, nevertheless, his bo stopped inches from my face. We stared at each other for a half-second, and then he swung in the opposite direction, swooping his bo to the ground to knock opponents off their feet. I swung my katana up, catching them on the blunt end of my blade. For the sake of the turtles, I won't kill anyone they threw at me. As soon as I was apart from them though, blood was spilling.
"You were gone for a long time," Don grunted, jumping over someone trying to crack his knee. He kicked his leg up, hitting the Foot Soldier square in the chest. I couldn't be sure, but there was probably a crack that came from the impact. Don didn't stop though, and he landed back to back with me. I had his back and he had mine. How sweet of him.
"I thought taking the elevator was a smart idea," I muttered, easily blocking the onslaught that tried to get me.
"Before or after the power came back?" Don asked conversationally. I laughed, amused by the moment. Casual conversation while fighting for our lives, god what is my life.
"Before. I wanted to cut it down." I answered honestly.
"You cut the elevators down?" Don asked, surprised, though that surprise didn't go into any physical movement, because he never stuttered in his steps. I ducked his blow when he swung over my head and stabbed around his side at one of my smaller Foot Soldiers.
"Not both of them. There wasn't enough time. Plus, they only go one way at a time. The one going up will never go all the way up, so-" I stopped talking as my arms strained to hold the sword down when someone tried to stab Donnie. They weren't full-on attacking me, which made me think they still thought I was on their side. That was good for me, but that meant more people were getting the turtles. The Foot Soldiers attacked the most threatening, and the more disperse the people they needed to attack, the less danger they were. They would swarm if given the opportunity.
"The one going down can never come up." Don finished for me, and he smiled brilliantly at me. I smiled back at him, and moved away from his side to take to the ceiling again. I jumped up and into the rafters, finding the most light so I could hide easier. I was helping the turtles, but I was also hiding from the Shredder. Leo had Shredder currently and they were always in my peripheral view so I could help at a moment's notice, but Shredder was smart and quick. If I gave him the chance he'd hurt me.
I tried moving to Raph's side, jumping carefully over a fight between three Foot Soldiers who were squabbling over each other, but something grabbed the sheath of my sword and pulled me back. I landed on the ground on my feet, stumbling backward as the person continued to drag me. I spun on my heel and brought my sword down to try to stop them. There was a loud ringing noise as my sword connected with Karai's, and I paused.
"You betrayed your master." She hissed, bringing her foot up and kicking me in the stomach. There wasn't a long wait for me because I slammed into the wall very quickly. A shock of pain from the impact went up my sensitive spine, and I blinked a couple of times to shake it off.
Before I could move, a sharpened blade pressed at my throat, and I dropped my swords to press against the crossguard and blade of the sword so it didn't get to my neck. Karai's face swam in my vision, her appearance completely void of emotion as she pressed the sword closer to my throat. I tried shifting my hand to grab the dagger, but she was pressed in just a way that if I moved, I was gone.
"Karai," I muttered, looking into her black eyes. She narrowed them at me, and her force on the sword got more pronounced. She was getting close to the cloth, and that was not a good thing. I remembered something when I saw a flash of white and green from the corner of my eye, and I realized I could finally ask Karai about the turtles. "Leo told me you were smart about Shredder."
"He is my father and my master," Karai said flatly even while something sparked in her eyes. Ah, Leo was right. How... morbid. "And you should follow him, too. He spared your life, and he gave you a home."
"If he had it his way I would have killed innocent people. All he wants is to be more powerful. He wants to kill the turtles just because they didn't want to follow him and oppose him. That is everything I stood against before amnesia." I ground out, kicking my leg up to try and get Karai. She expected my attack and side-stepped my leg. I growled to myself.
"He will not kill those who follow him. The turtles knew that and still chose to go against him." Karai responded. I stared at her dully and looked over her shoulder to see how things were going. She wasn't getting closer anymore, which I hoped was a good thing.
"Until they can't complete something he wants to be done." I shot back, my words born from experience of seeing it happen. The turtles were actually doing very well against everything thrown at them, and I relaxed a little knowing that. "Then it's off with their heads."
"You were valuable to him. Just like me, he would never kill you." She murmured. Her glare returned, and she pressed against the blade once more. "I should off your head. Connect those scars you're hiding under that collar."
"You don't share Shredder's honor code," I said, looking at Leo. We never discussed her past the one time the first night I showed up, but I've watched her ever since. "I've lived with you for several months now, I know your honor code is similar to Leo's."
"Don't compare my honor to that mutant." Karai hissed. I swung my knee up, but Karai blocked me yet again.
"His name is Leo," I snapped angrily, and then tried to calm myself. I sighed, looking at Karai's surprised face. "And he believes in the same thing you do. No killing, unless absolutely needed. You know Shredder is corrupt."
She looked at me for several long seconds, and then she looked down at my collar to think. Whatever answer she could have had was halted as Mikey swept her legs out beneath her, freeing me from the wall. He put a foot against her back to keep her from getting up and I reached down to grab her sword and mine before she could grab one of them. I put hers in mine and then jumped where Mikey led me. As soon as I was free of the situation he removed himself from her vicinity and returned to the fight, this time back to back with me.
"Leo likes her because she sometimes listens to him," Mikey told me, letting me know he heard our conversation. "She doesn't like when others try the same."
"Why does she like Leo?" I muttered, annoyed by the entire encounter. The Foot Soldiers seemed to finally understand I was against them, and their attacks on me increased. I groaned at that, but I wasn't going to drop my arms. I had Mikey's back to protect now.
"Dunno. Mutual ninja respect? It could be that Leo is the only one who's ever fought Shredder and won." Mikey answered. From the corner of my eye, I saw his nunchuck come up and hit someone in the face while also deflecting a blow from a different person, and I was partly impressed by his ability. "He has a way with words when he wants too. Maybe he wooed her."
"Ew," I muttered. Mikey laughed, surprised.
"I'm sorry, who's dating the ugliest of my brothers?" He asked. I reached behind and jabbed him with the butt of my katana, not hard enough to jostle him, just hard enough he felt it, and then I was back in the game.
"Watch yourself, Mikey," I grumbled quietly. Mikey tapped my calf with his heel in response, his way of jabbing me back. He didn't press hard enough to fold my knee, which I was happy about, and I smiled in good nature.
"Or you'll what? Stab me?" He asked teasingly.
"Try me," I grumbled with no real heat. Mikey hummed for a moment, and then I felt him turn around. I almost turned to look at him, but I was still facing problems of attacks
"Don, cover Liza's back," Mikey called out into the air. My brows furrowed, and I waited for Don to inevitably appear. He did a few seconds later with a long sweep of his bo and I turned around, letting Don protect me in a great show of trust. Now that I faced him Mikey turned his attention to along with those around us. "Liza, fight me."
"You're kidding," I said, dumbly. Mikey threw a fist at me, not giving me the option to say no. I blocked it with a glancing blow of my handle, and when he tossed his next one I fought back.
"Trust me. I have an idea." He murmured in one of the moments he was close enough to whisper. I gave him an up-down look before I raised my eyebrow. He grinned cheekily, reached for me, and then threw me nearer to Raph. I landed low to avoid any stray swings, and then I was back up to fight Mikey.
"Care to clue me in?" I asked. I turned to deflect a blow from a Foot Soldier, only for them to stop partway to me as they noticed I was, in fact, fighting a turtle. They pulled away to attack Mikey with me, but I stopped them with a quick slice.
"No." Mikey chirped. He pushed me back several feet until we were nearer to Raph, and the big turtle caught our close proximity to him now. He smiled at me, utterly fine and nowhere near out of breath, and I wanted to roll my eyes and groan at the same time. "Hey, Raph!"
"Busy, Mikey. If ya say somethin' it better be important." He responded instantly.
"Make me bleed," Mikey told him. I ducked a blow from Mikey, caught off guard by his comment. He turned briefly to Raph and pointed at his mouth. "Right here. I need to bleed."
"What the shell..." Raph breathed, utterly confused like me. He glanced at me for help and I shrugged. I didn't know what was happening either. I turned around to protect Mikey's back while he and Raph sorted themselves out, and a few seconds later Mikey stumbled back into my line of sight. I caught his hand instinctively, not letting him fall, and he regained his balance. He stood up with a grimace and looked at me.
"How'd he do?" Mikey asked stiffly, and he showed his teeth in a pained grimace. I saw they had a thin layer of blood along them, with more covering his lower teeth as he waited.
"Gross," I answered honestly, and Mikey grinned. And then he was back to fighting me with his mouth shut tight. "What are you doing, Mikey?"
"Giving Leo an opening." He muttered quietly, trying to keep his mouth closed now that he was bleeding. "Cover your sword in blood."
"What the fuck?" I whisper-shouted, and promptly turned around to stab someone since I was basically given permission. I came back to Mikey and held it aloft, using the other blade to fight so I didn't remove any blood.
Mikey grabbed my wrist once again, and this time, tossed me towards Leo and Shredder. I ducked once more to avoid any hits, and then I popped up just as Mikey appeared next to me. And we were back to fighting.
"Ok, Mikey. What gives?" I asked, now concerned instead of confused. He had a hard, focused look on his face now, and while he was fighting me and those around us he had his eyes over my shoulder. I glanced for a split second to see what he was looking at, and I saw Leo was staring back in the moments he could. When I looked back at Mikey his eyes dodged between several different items, then back to Leo, and around again until I assume Leo agreed. And then Mikey put his attention back on me.
"Stab me." He ordered, completely serious. I blanched, and almost stopped fighting right then. "Not for real. Fake stab me with your bloody sword, but make it look real."
That must have been what he was silently telling Leo. Don and Raph couldn't know though. Their reactions to me stabbing their brother were going to be genuine, and I couldn't say for certain I wouldn't have a sai thrown at me on the spot. But maybe the fact they wouldn't know was the point, the genuine reactions. Mikey asked Raph to punch him, we had to trust he remembered that. I had to trust that Raph would think first and act second... I had to trust Donnie would think first and act second, and right then, Don felt like the scarier opponent.
I pulled back for a second, pinpointed a location to stab between Mikey's arm and torso, and I looked back at him. Mikey stared back, a maturity I didn't like in his eyes. He nodded once, quick and sharp, and I inhaled slowly. I nodded back and thrusted.
"Liza!" Mikey gasped dramatically, the chain of his nunchuck wrapping around my sword in a false attempt to hold me off. He guided the blade with me, up high on his body, just inches below his armpit. His, very loud, exclamation of pain was enough to catch anyone's attention, and people turned to look.
Mikey looked at me, the picture of absolute betrayal on his face. I fought to keep my face impassive, to not express how much I hated this. It wasn't real, I knew it wasn't, Mikey knew it wasn't, Leo hopefully knew it wasn't, but Mikey's expression made it feel real. The blood on my sword from moments prior fed into the realism, and Mikey was really good at pretending to falter where he stood while impaled on something.
Mikey finally relaxed his mouth enough to let the blood Raph created fall. His head fell forward to let the blood drop to the ground, and he wobbled on his feet.
"No!" Don shouted from wherever he stood. I heard his thunderous feet, a testament to how angry he was that he didn't stay quiet, and then Raph's grunt as he stopped Don. "What are you doing, look at her!"
"Liza," Mikey whispered. He coughed a few times, and more blood fell. I glanced at Leo and Shredder, who were equally surprised at the turn of events, then back to Mikey. His voice dropped so low I almost missed it. "Throw it."
I tilted my head, confused about what he meant for only a moment. The situation was so strange and mind-numbingly horrible I forgot what we were doing. We were getting Shredder.
I pulled the blade from Mikey, who fell to the floor now that I wasn't holding him up, and turned towards Leo and Shredder. I aimed, and threw it.
My aim was true, but Shredder caught the blade before it hit him. It didn't matter to him that it was sharp enough to make his hand bleed, he didn't want to get mortally wounded.
And that was when Leo moved. He changed from his (false) surprise stupor and shoved his sword through a distracted Oroku Saki, in from his right side and out his upper chest. Oroku's stare went from amusedly bored to utterly surprise, and he looked at the blade that pierced him. He turned to look at Leo, who was as serious as a heart attack right then.
"Well done," Shredder murmured. "You took my warrior and me."
Leo sneered and pulled his weapon from Shredder. Oroku shifted with the move, and he winced a little as the pain set in. He looked down at the red that was slowly covering his white kimono, and then up at me. He smiled, almost friendly, and that sent a chill through me.
"You'll pay for this." He continued and he turned to stare at the five of us, one at a time. He swayed a little where he stood and regrounded himself so he could fall on his own orders. "And I can't wait to see you then."
I flinched as he fell, so certain he was lying about the wound and he was going to bounce back up once our backs were turned. He didn't cushion his fall or move after he landed though, and after several long seconds to make sure he wasn't breathing, I relaxed. Oroku Saki, Shredder, the bane of our existence, was dead. Really dead. His blood now spread from his body, staining his white kimono and wooden floors.
"That was ominous," Mikey muttered, getting up now that his act wasn't required. He took my hand when I offered it, and once standing he wiped the blood from his mouth. He grimaced at the red against his hand. "Thanks, Raph."
"Yeah. Sure." Raph responded dumbly, and I turned to look at him and Don finally. I saw, behind them, the Foot Soldiers were slinking away, trying to escape notice. I was more worried about Don, who was looking between Mikey and I. He looked ill, and Raph's hold on him was now to keep him up and not to hold him back.
"I'm sorry Don. Mikey didn't tell me the plan until he told me to stab him." I murmured. Don nodded, hearing me, and he inhaled slowly. Leo came up beside me with my katana in hand, and I took it from him with a small thanks.
"Where's Karai?" He asked. I looked around for the woman who was always by Shredder, but she wasn't here. I didn't know when she disappeared, but she was gone. Or maybe she was one of the many Foot Soldiers we weren't fighting anymore because the job was done.
"Dunno," I answered. Last I saw her she was on the ground, weaponless.
"Is that it?" Don spoke up finally. He regained his footing and stood up, surer of himself again. He was still a little... Well, green, about the whole Mikey debacle, but he was slowly getting over it.
"Yeah," Mikey answered. We all looked at him, and he grinned at us, still a little bloody, but all cheery now. Don walked over to Mikey, and the orange turtle looked up at his purple brother expectantly. Don took a moment to look him over, and then slapped him so hard in shoulder Mikey stumbled to catch his balance. "Ow!"
"Don't ever pretend to die again," Don said, and when Mikey was standing again he pulled him into a hug. Mikey's face fell, and then he deflated.
"I'm sorry Don," Mikey whispered. Don drew himself up to respond, and then collapsed in Mikey's arms.
"I understand why you did it, I just didn't like it," Don whispered back.
"Where's Haley?" I asked. Now I looked at the ground around us, and for a moment I was stricken by the thought that she was among the bodies. I really, really hope she wasn't. That made the victory sour.
"Not here," Raph answered surely. He came up beside me, and I fell against him. Now that I didn't need to stay standing I could feel every ache in my body. The Advil I took earlier wasn't helping me at all. "She knew not to come up. She would look like everyone else."
"That would have sucked." Mikey agreed. Don finally let go of him, but kept a hand on his shoulder. I looked down when he glanced at me, a little guilty to cause him such strife. I'd done something similar to the same brother several months ago, he was probably back to not trusting me now.
"Come on. Let's go home." Leo murmured. There was a round of agreement between the brothers and I nodded against Raph's arm. He hesitated against me for a moment, and then he ducked down and swept me, literally, off my feet and into his arms. I almost complained about it on principle, but decided it wasn't worth it as my legs heaved sighs of relief. I laid my head on his shoulder now, and Raph pressed a kiss against my temple.
We made our way down the way the turtles came up, down some ropes I wasn't even sure how they managed to get this high. Raph's hold on me made sense now that I knew though, because the wind this high up was absolutely insane, and there was little to no way I could climb a rope down without getting tossed. At ground level we found Haley once more, guarding a manhole in the alley we came from. She took one look at us and smiled, knowing we were the ones that won.