"Damned if I know. They ain't here."

I spat the words with a bitter, satisfied smirk when I saw the dismay twist across Karai's face. I bit back a broken chuckle when I saw her tilt her head to squint at me, with an ugly, triumphant smile. One of the Foot unceremoniously kicked me in the side of my face, and I grunted and slumped against the tight grip of Karai's lackeys. I couldn't block the blow, and it thudded against my skull with the force of a brick. I felt a dull trickle of blood slithering down my busted lip, and the world was blurred and smeared when I tried to squint out of my newly blackened eye. It didn't help much.

I heard Karai's hiss of pain as Splinter sliced into her arm, and snarled, "Do not strike my son again!"

Karai slid her eyes to Splinter, peering at him from the side, as she warily inched away as far as she could.

"Enough of this foolishness, rat. The only leverage you have is the sai to my throat, and I know that if you intended to kill me, you would have done so by now. But, perhaps, we can come to an agreement of sorts."

Splinter narrowed his eyes, and shook his head. "You are a cruel, and treacherous woman, Karai, and your word is worth nothing. If you wish to bargain for your life, here are the terms. Return Leonardo to me, alive, and I will spare you."

I heard Karai's icy little chuckle as she shook her head. And then, she leveled that calculating gaze at me.

"Raphael."

I flinched when somebody rammed a hand under my chin, dragged my head up, and forced me to look at Karai. I tried to jerk away, but I was still too woozy and weak to do much more than hang limp as a rag as I was hauled to my feet and dragged forward.

"Perhaps you are not as foolish as your father. I know that you were purposely distracting my men in the hopes of giving your two brothers more time to flee. Do not think me so stupid as to simply let them slip away. For all you know, I may have had soldiers posted in your filthy tunnels, waiting to ambush and kill them. For all you know, you might be the last one of your brothers to remain alive."

I felt the words sink into my very soul, laying in my gut like concrete as I started to tremble. I wanted to gut the bitch. I wanted to strangle her with my bare hands. I wanted her blood on my fingers, and I wanted to feel her last breath being heaved out in a scream.

"That's bull. If you killed Leo, you'd be parading his body around for us to see. Same with Mikey and Donny. I saw what you did to Leo, how you tortured him. You ain't the type for a quick kill when you can draw it out and rub it in our faces." I spat, as I tried to yank my good arm free.

One of the bastards who had my arm viciously hooked his fingers over my busted wrist, and squeezed, hard. The flash of pain hit like a wave, and I couldn't stop the wince or the small, choked sound that I couldn't swallow back. My knees buckled, and I sagged downward, held up only by the grip on my arms that I couldn't fight any more. Karai smirked at my groan of pain, and Splinter lurched forward, staring at my crumbling with tortured eyes.

"Raphael….." Splinter choked out, his eyes filling up as he watched the bastards drop me. I toppled into a humiliated, aching heap, and it took me far too long to uncurl myself from the useless attempt to shelter my busted limb.

I managed to inch up back on my knees, but there was no way in hell that I could drag myself into standing. I drew in a few shaking, cleansing breaths from my clenched teeth as I gave Splinter a glare.

"What in the hell are you waiting for?! Kill her already!"

Karai's mouth curled, as she sneered, "Your father does not have it in him to take a life, Raphael. Do you not see that now?"

I looked at Splinter. The tears were trickling into his fur, as the sai quivered in his shaking paw. He was quaking, as he whispered, "Let Raphael leave unharmed, and I will spare you. This is the last chance I will give you."

Karai spat back, "You will have to kill me first. And before I die, you will watch another son perish."

Karai opened her mouth, either to sneer out another insult, or another smart-ass remark, but she never got the chance to finish.

Splinter heaved the sai straight through her neck, and I heard the sick, squishing sound as the blade hacked through her quaking throat. I saw a stream of brilliant, fiery red fly from the huge hole in her neck, as her hands rose up, twitching in a spasm as her fingers curled over the wound. I saw her eyes grow huge and bewildered as she toppled You ever kill a cockroach, and watch its legs keep quaking after the head is crushed? That was Karai's fitting end.

I heard the cries of dismay, and the disbelief as Karai slithered to the ground, into a quiet, bloodied heap, as the red started flowing into a neat circle around her.

Splinter snarled again, rising as he bolted towards me, as he grabbed my good arm, and half-hauled, half dragged me as far as he could. I winced, and tried to scuttle forward, but I was useless and fighting to stay awake. I heard Splinter's jagged, hissing breath, as he let me go, and nudged me forward.

"Leave this place, Raphael."

It was stupid, and absolutely hopeless. I was too hurt to do much more than scrape the ground with my good hand, and lurch forward a few inches on my belly, slithering like a wounded snake. I heard Splinter's grunt of pain, and a few more screams, and I watched the shadows flicker as he stabbed and slashed and made himself a barricade between me and Karai's little foot soldiers. Don't get me wrong. Master Splinter held his own, and he was damn good at it. He left a bloodied, mangled mess of bodies, but it was hopeless. What the Foot lacked in fighting skills, they made up for with sheer numbers. I cracked open my eyes, and saw Splinter hunch over, and the weird, white flicker of a katana blade slice neatly through his back. I stared, dumbly as I saw it carve its way downward, shredding his robe, and I watched Splinter shudder and curl against the wound. I saw his bloodied robe, bloodied fur, wounds that were dark and scarlet and everywhere, and the puddle that was growing around his feet. I screamed when I saw him totter forward, and fall. His back was to me, I couldn't see if he was breathing, or dying, or dead, and I couldn't do anything but wail, a deep, tearing, agonized shriek that scraped the ceiling and tore from my throat. I couldn't do anything as the Foot soldiers inched towards me, warily, and then with glee when they saw aside from my noise-making.I was weaponless, wounded, and unable to put up much more of a fight. I managed to take one more swing, and I heard the deep, satisfying crack of bones snapping, before somebody came up from behind, and clubbed me in the head. It took two or three blows before I flopped forward, face down. I managed to cuss out a few more of them before the black fell all around me like a warm blanket. I lay there, blinking, numb, dumb and unable to do anything else but linger in that horrible moment, before my eyes slid shut, and I knew nothing at all.