A/N: Well, this chapter turned out long...too long! I've ended up splitting it in two to make for easier reading. I was planning on waiting a few weeks to post the next instalment, but I guess I could be persuaded to publish it earlier if you'd like… (hint, hint, wink, wink!) Also, I'd better warn ya that there's some swearing in this one.

Many thanks to CPQ for beta-reading, you do a great job chica. Many thanks too for the reviews from artykidd, The Incredible Dancing Betty and virtual wenrog. I do love getting 'em!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the TMNT, or any related characters (much to their relief, I'm sure!) If there is anything else in this story you recognise from somewhere else, then I don't own that either.

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Racing through the gardens in the direction of Aprils' scream, Don almost lost his footing; the ground dipping unexpectedly as he rounded some bushes. Before him, in the bottom of a dell, lay Casey nursing his right thigh; a handgun with a silencer on the ground to his right and a punk wearing Caseys' toy chainsaw broken over his head slumped to his left. There were two other guys out cold on the ground already, one close to Casey and one on the other side of April.

There were still five goons moving about the hollow. April stood defensively beside Casey, but was struggling with a punk as they wrestled with a length of pipe they both had a hold of. The other four were closing in, one creeping up behind April with a long knife. The scorpion shaved down the back of his head made a great target for Dons' bo. The loud 'crack' as it connected, along with the battle cries from Don and his brothers distracted the punk April was fighting, enough for her to feint to one side. The large mans' bulk caused him to stumble a step past her as the resistance on the metal between them disappeared. April didn't let go of the pipe however, twisting it from her assailants' hands to spin in a well-practiced move and bring the pipe down on the back of his head before he could right himself.

Even as April and Dons' adversaries crumpled to the floor, two others joined them; falling prey to sai and nunchaku. The last goon, standing on the far side of the hollow, pulled a small switchblade on the ghost that approached him. His relief as the ghost paused in response faded fast as with a 'Tch' and quick shake of his head the apparition produced a far larger blade from under his sheet. A moment later the goon was joining his comrades, unconscious on the cold, dew-damp grass.

"Oh my…" breathed Tau, taking in the scene as she skidded awkwardly down the slope. Raph stepped up to wrap a steadying arm about her waist before she barrelled into Casey.
"Heh, you're gonna have to do better than that if ya want in on the action!" he teased. She treated him to a mock-scowl in return.
"Yeah, well you try running in heels on wet grass and see how well you do!" she retorted, pushing past him to join Don and April kneeling next Casey; Leo and Mike stood close behind.

"I can't believe it…" muttered Casey, sounding like he might be in shock. Don looked up from his inspection of his friends wounded leg.
"It isn't that bad Case, the bullet only grazed you. It's more of a burn than a puncture woun…."
"Damn fuckin' no good punks!" interrupted Casey irately, struggling to sit up.
"Whoa!" Don tried to sooth his patient "You should still take it easy Case. Just let us get you home, Splinter has a salve that should…"
"They broke it! Damn it, now I'm gonna have ta find another one!" Casey exclaimed. Taken aback, and starting to worry his patient was delirious, Don patted Casey down, looking for other wounds.
"What's wrong Casey? Did you get shot anywhere else?" Don asked as calmly as he could, trying to ignore Aprils tears and keep his mind on the job.
"Huh? Nah, but this is wrecked!" moaned Casey, picking up the remains of his plastic chainsaw.

"Oh Casey!" cried April, grabbing him in a hug that almost knocked him flat on his back "You're ok, that's all that matters!"
"Yeah dude!" agreed Mike, leaning over the huddle around their wounded friend "Priorities, huh?" he teased.
"What? It took me ages to find this thing!" retorted Casey. Don ran a slow hand down his face, trying to resist the urge to throttle his patient in relief. He looked up in response to a hand on his shoulder. Returning the commiserate smile Tau gave him helped dispel the last of his anxiety.

"Looks like these guys were having a fairly successful evening before this." commented Leo, nodding to a large pile of handbags and wallets partially hidden under a bush, as he dragged the last of the punks over to be bound with the rest.
"Yeah, but these Scorpion scum are gonna have ta learn to fight better 'n this. Otherwise we might get bored!" Raph joked.
"Criticism noted." came the droll reply. The whole team turned to see who had spoken, shocked to see another large group of punks starting to appear around the rim of the hollow. The leader, who'd spoken, sported a scorpion crawling up the side of his neck as well an eagle on his bald head. He and his troupe looked a lot more street-wise than the young hooligans the turtles had just defeated.

"Defensive circle guys…" instructed Leo, his brothers gaining more from his cool, level tone than the directive they were already implementing.
"Bro, you have got to stop complainin' after we bap a few goons." Mike chastised Raph as the opposing groups sized each other up "You always jinx us!" Raph gave his impudent brothers' shoulder a light cuff in reply, before cocking his head at the one taking up a defensive stance on his other side.
"What d'ya think you're doin'?" he demanded brusquely.
"Getting 'in the action'." Tau explained dryly.
"No."
"But…" Raph cut her off with stern finger before pointing her way back to the centre of the circle with a sharp jab.
"Stay with them." an order not to be argued with. Tau glared at him in indignation for a moment, but didn't utter a word as she stalked back to where Casey was attempting to get to his feet, Don and April trying to dissuade him.

"I knew I shoulda brought my golf bag!" grunted Casey.
"Don't worry about it Case, just relax and let us handle this one. The best thing for that leg is for you to sit and rest it…"
"Actually Don," interrupted Leo "it may be better for Case to be on his feet." Looking up from his patient Don quickly understood Leos' point; the hollow was now surrounded by at least twenty punks. Given their poor position on the lower ground it was impossible to tell if there were even more waiting beyond the rim. Don recognised quite a few, including the leader, from previous scuffles they'd had with the Red Claw gang. They hadn't been a large group before they'd joined the Scorpions, but they did boast some of the better street fighters around.

"Damn straight!" exclaimed Casey, getting his balance on his good leg with a hop "Besides, there's no way I'm just gonna sit on my arse any longer than I have to while my girl's in danger!" He flashed April a cocky grin, getting a relieved one in response, before he muttered "Shit, I wish I had a weapon… Nah, April, you keep that." he declined the metal bar she offered.
"Here!" called Mike; giving Casey just enough warning for him to catch the light chain he'd embellished his costume with. Casey eyed the metal links dubiously for a moment, trying to figure how he could use them without causing more damage to himself and his friends than their enemies, before he hit on an idea.

A last couple of punks had taken their places around the top of the hollow, the leader giving the order to attack as soon as they were in position. Casey just managed to finish wrapping the chain about his fist, creating a make-shift knuckle duster, as the first few punks clashed with the turtles. Despite being hindered by the sheets they were wearing, the turtles still made reasonably short work of most of their adversaries. Only a couple, already a little dazed, managed to make it past for Casey and the girls to finish off.

As the number of punks still standing began to dwindle Leo began to guide his team up the shallowest side of the hollow. Just before he reached the top he was accosted by the punks' leader. The mans' bulk made him relatively slow moving, but he still used it to good effect to force Leo a short way back down the slope. As Leo managed to slowly regain his headway, Casey, being aided in his hobble by the girls, caught up to him so that all four crested the slope together.

Casey wasn't too sure how he felt about April and Tau 'helping' him out. Sure they'd let him finish off one goon, but not before they'd softened up the thug first. The second hoodlum April had managed to catch in a headlock with her bar, forcing him to bend over backwards whilst Tau administered a solid kick to his gut, putting him out of action before Casey had even managed to limp over. It kinda made him feel like he was being usurped; and Raph ordering Tau to stay with him made him wonder briefly if his friend had doubts he could look after himself and April. The younger girl seemed to know how to handle herself in a fight, and obviously would have preferred being on the front line. With a quick shake if his head Casey dismissed his qualms, figuring it was because she didn't have a real weapon handy that Raph had sent her back.

As the trio stepped out of the dell, Leo was locked using both katana to ward off the battle-worn 'No Parking' street sign the large thug was trying to clobber him over the head with. Try as he might Leo was finding it hard to pull off his usual trick of drawing his blades apart, forcing his opponents weapon away; the punks' bulk adding too much weight behind the metal bar for Leo to shift it. The impasse was broken as something coiled like a snake fell on their heads. Leo, reassured by the bright orange end, recognised that it wasn't anything dangerous. The punk, on the other hand, leapt backwards with a high pitched scream before the mostly black cord landed, lifeless on the grass. It only took him a moment to realise the ruse, quickly bringing his makeshift weapon up to block Leos' blades enough to keep him in the fight, though it cost him a bad cut to his shoulder.

Seeing how well her costume whip had helped out, Tau took a moment to stand triumphantly, hands on hips as she surveyed the combat drawing to a close around her. To Caseys' surprise, the next instant she was ducking to hide behind him with an "Eep!" The whole battle seemed to freeze as everyone else sensed what had made Tau cower. A short distance away stood yet another punk. With his green top-knot and distinctive tattoo up the left side of his face he was easy to recognise, although his eye within the depicted dragons' mouth had been replaced with a dark purple glass prosthetic since the last time any of the turtles had tangled with him. Behind Dragon-face a virtual army of Purple Dragons were gathering amongst the trees.

Slowly Leo and his opponent disengaged their weapons, an unspoken agreement between them to put their current conflict aside to deal with this common, and much larger, foe. As seasoned warriors they both understood that standing together in this circumstance would increase their chances of survival. The rest of the two groups followed their leaders' example, some more grudgingly than others.

"Well well now, aint this an interesting development?" smirked Dragon-face "I almost didn't believe it when I was told you Scorpion scum had the nerve to work here tonight. 'The Park' is Dragon territory, and you all know what happens if you fuck with us. But here I find not only are ya'll stupid enough to try it on, but you an' the freaks are busy softenin' each other up for us already! Aint that a nice little treat for me an' my crew on Halloween?" he got a swell of whoops and jeers in agreement from the mob behind him.

As the Purple Dragons started to fan out, working themselves up for the imminent skirmish, the turtles regrouped into a close circle around their friends again.
"Options?" Leo asked, matter-of-factly, busy surveying the terrain and their new enemies for himself; at least they'd gained the flat of the land once more. After a few moments however the only answer he got was,
"Fight."
"Gees Raph, think outside the square will ya?"
"Sorry Mike, I think that's pretty much our only option right now." Don warned. Leo nodded grimly in agreement. In the next instant they were fighting off the first wave of Purple Dragons.

Within the chaos of the melee, the turtles still managed to make it seem easy. Mike was laughing, playing 'peek-a-boo' with his 'chucks' from behind his sheet, catching many a punk unawares. Leo pulled his costume off in the first few moments of the battle, freeing him up to move more cleanly through his opponents, though he did managed to grab it once off the ground to knock a few of them off their feet.

Don allowed his first three attackers to come in close, flicking his sheet over their heads to confuse them before he bopped them into unconsciousness. He managed to repeat the tactic another couple of times before the sheet was too wrecked to utilise. Raph twisted his costume into a rope, using it to good effect as a whip and garrotte until it too disintegrated.

However, despite their best efforts, they still became separated from each other, and their friends, in the throng. The arrival on the scene of a troupe of mounted police didn't do much to help matters, merely causing the horde to swarm forward, forcing Casey and the girls back into the hollow again, separating them further. Leo noticed the cops didn't last long; many were quickly pulled from their mounts by the gang. He knew the NYPD would send serious reinforcements pretty shortly, and he wanted his team out of this situation before that occurred.

In the confusion and darkness in the hollow Casey managed to lose sight of Tau, though he kept his back hard up against Aprils'. Suddenly something flew over his head, landing nearby to emit a white vapour that filled the depression. Unable to move quickly enough to escape it Casey and April, along with a fair number of punks, succumbed to the tear gas.

As the Dragons started to scatter to escape the fumes the NYPD riot squad greeted them with, Leo desperately tried to reassemble his team. To his relief none of his brothers had been seriously injured enough to impede their mobility, and they quickly gathered to him. However, they were all looking about frantically for their friends.

Hurriedly scaling a tree, Mike spotted Dragon-face and some of his cronies over-powering a lone police van that had made the mistake of arriving on the far side of the hollow, April and Casey being forced into the back of it, before the truck skidded away over the grass. Mike didn't even finish reporting what he was seeing before his brothers raced after the vehicle. Jumping down he ran to catch up.

Leo had a slight lead on Raph, and they both made a valiant effort to catch up with the truck that was struggling to maintain a grip on the slick grass. However, it soon become obvious they didn't have any real hope of catching up with it. Slowing his pace Leo gripped Raph by the arm as he tried to pass, forcing him to a halt as well.
"What the…? Leo, let me go! Fuck it! We can't let 'em get away!" Raph protested, almost in panic.
"We're not going to catch them on foot Raph. We need the Battle-shell." Leo explained, trying to calm his brother with his voice.
"Shove that! By the time we get to it they'll be long gone! I'm not gonna lose her Leo, not like this!" Raph was desperately trying to tear Leos' hand off his arm, Don and then Mike catching up with them.

"No, bro." gasped Mike, trying to catch his breath "She wasn't with 'em."
"WHAT?" Raph and Leo demanded in unison.
"I didn't see her, anyways…" Mike ducked his head at the expression on his brothers' face. Raph worked his mouth in shock briefly before he exploded.
"THEN WHERE THE FUCK IS SHE?"
"We can track them on their Shell-cells, we just need to…" Don put in coolly; his phone already in hand. Raph broke Leos' hold to grab his brainy brother by the shoulders, jerking him beak to beak.
"Tau doesn't have a fuckin' Shell-cell, moron!"

Both Mike and Leo stepped forward, looking to defend their normally placid brother. But Don surprised them all, bringing his arms up between himself and Raph he broke his brothers' hold with enough force to make him gasp. Then, shoving him backwards a couple of steps, before Raph had a chance to nurse his bruised forearms, Don snarled back in his face.
"April and Casey do, or don't they matter to you?"
"Of course they do! Grrrah!" Mike managed to grab Raph around the shoulders before he threw a punch in outrage, pulling him further backwards as Leo stepped between his arguing brothers, a firm hand on each chest holding them apart as everyone started yelling incoherently.

The quarrel came to an abrupt halt as a horse leapt over the bushes beside them, almost into their midst, forcing all four to make a brief, swift retreat. Their differences instantly forgotten the brothers stood shoulder to shoulder, their weapons at the ready, as the beast circled to trot back towards them, the distinctive yellow NYPD brow band on the bridle showing clearly in the moonlight.
"Gees, for ninja you lot c'n be bloody noisy!" chastised Tau, reining in her large mount. When she didn't get an immediate response from the slack-jawed turtles she held out a hand to Raph, with a light scowl.
"You comin' or what? We'll have to bust 'em outta Dads' place at this rate!"

"Heck yeah!" grinned Raph, sheathing his sai to grab her hand and the back of the saddle, swinging himself to straddle the animals' rump.
"We'll track you, join you in the Battle-shell." instructed Leo.
"Yep!" acknowledged Tau over her shoulder; already urging the horse into a gallop. Losing his tenuous grip on the smooth ridge of leather at the rear of the saddle as the beast surged forward, Raph's arms pin-wheeled for a moment before he gripped Tau by the hips. He would have preferred to wrap his arms about her, but she was bent too far forward, leaning low over the horses' mane.

Raph found himself leaning over her back; sure it helped him keep his balance better. He wasn't afraid. Him? No way. He was exhilarated… and maybe a little nervous. He'd always wanted to ride a horse, thinking the way they moved on screen looked so graceful and powerful, like the Shell-cycle. But the feel of the huge muscles bunching under his thighs, the unfamiliar lurch of the beasts' stride and even the warm tang of its scent in his nostrils were all reminders that this particular ride had a mind of its' own. It wasn't that he doubted Taus' ability on horseback, from what she'd told him she was pretty familiar with this kinda thing. But she was so small and the horse was… huge! How much control could she really have over it?

They followed the tracks the police van had gouged out of the grass, emerging onto a road that cut through the parkland in time to see the van travelling away, Tau urging more speed out of the horse to catch up. Raph gripped even tighter, the sharp ringing of hooves on tarmac giving him unpleasant thoughts of what could happen to him if he bounced off the smooth hide.

As they drew closer to the vehicles' passenger side Raphs' stomach lurched coldly as he realised he had no idea what Tau expected him to do. Every cowboy film he'd watched flashed through his brain, till it fixated on one where a villain had mistimed and been run over by the wheels of the train carriage he'd attempted to board from horseback. The good-guys had always made it look so easy, and Raph had even leapt from the back of his speeding bike on occasion before. But his bike didn't pitch about like this!

Still, he tensed as he came level with the back of the truck, trying to pick his moment to leap. He'd just started to draw his legs up when the animal lurched to one side, a bottle thrown from the vans' window shattering beside them just where the horses' legs would have been.
"Bastards!" he heard Tau curse tersely, she continued with a murmur as she leant even further over the horses' neck "C'mon big boy, let's get 'em…" Despite their situation Raph couldn't help an indulgent grin. It quickly vanished however, as the van swerved sharply at them as they caught up. Tau managed to evade it, having to steer their mount up an embankment at the side of the road to escape. The driver of the police van misjudged the slope as he tried to follow them up it, almost causing the truck to tip before he managed to right it.

Raph yelled to Tau to keep on along the top of the slope they were on, following the line of the road. Once they were along-side the van again Raph took aim with a shuriken. A handful of the throwing stars later both the wheels on their side of the truck were flat, the windscreen was badly cracked, and the passenger window was shattered; the goon sat in the passenger seat huddled below the window frame.

"Stay here." ordered Raph, leaping off the slowing horse as the truck skidded to a halt, the back doors already flung open to eject half a dozen punks, weapons at the ready. As Raph drew his sai, leaping down the slope with a fierce battle cry, two of the punks broke and ran. The rest held firm as Raph ploughed into them, one dropping almost instantly as a sai found his midriff. Two others quickly succumbed, joining their comrade on the pavement. The last tried to make a run for it, Raph catching him before he made it to the trees, knocking him out with a blow to the back of his head with the wing of his sai.

Heading back to the van, Raph was disappointed to find the front seats were empty; an odd thumping sound reverberating through the trucks body. Ducking to the rear he flung open the doors to find April and Casey sat along one of the benches, cuffed to the railing on the wall. Since they didn't seem too much the worse for wear, or to be the source of the hammering, Raph left them to investigate the other side of the truck.

"What the…? I told you to stay put!" he chided sharply as Tau stepped back from a goon, who slid slowly down the side of the van she'd been punching him against.
"And since when do I take orders from you?" she demanded hands on hips. The horse stood behind her blew air out of its nostrils at him, making Raph feel the beast was backing her side of the argument.
"Since it's for your own damn good!" he ground out in annoyance "What if one of these guys recognised you, and where the hell has Dragon-face gotten to?" he glanced about, worried the Purple Dragon was still skulking around close by.

"Hmpf, that coward ran for it as soon as the truck stopped. I think he was drivin'. I don't think this loser knows me," she toed the guy on the floor at her feet, making him groan lightly though he didn't uncurl himself "and I just couldn't let him get away with chucking glass at my horse!" Throwing her arms out to make her point Raph noticed the leather of her right glove was split, blood glistening on her palm.
"You hurt?" he asked bluntly, grabbing her wrist.
"It's only a small cut." she assured, failing to yank her hand free she yielded grudgingly to his inspection of the wound.
"Yeah…" he agreed, the scowl slowly leaving his face "It shouldn't need any stitches. Still, you shoulda let me take care of this guy."

Tau couldn't resist a smile at his earnest look.
"And let you have all the fun?" she teased softly. Thinking of a cheeky answer he felt the warmth creeping up his neck.
"Well, it would save me from having to do this…" he grinned, gently but firmly bringing her hand to his lips to press a light kiss next to her injury. She blushed deeply herself, her balaclava failing to hide it, opening her mouth to respond.
"Raph? Hey, Raph? You forgotten about us or what?" called Casey from inside the van. Rolling his eyes Raph dropped her hand and stalked to his friends' aid. Tau decided to keep watch, hoping the brisk night air would cool her cheeks before anyone else could notice.

April and Raph were helping Casey step out of the police van as the Battle-shell arrived, the three turtles hoping out almost before it had come to a stop. Within a couple of minutes Don was settling back into the drivers' seat, having made sure April and Casey were secure and as comfortable as could be in the back. Wanting to get out of Central Park as soon as possible Leo scowled as he approached Tau and his two brothers wasting time with the horse.
"C'mon you guys, this isn't a petting zoo; time to head home."
"But we can't just leave him here, not after all the help he's given us." petitioned Tau, returning her attention to rubbing the animals neck "Hey, big boy? We'd have been in a bit of a pickle without you, and you did a wonderful job. You are my big beautiful boy…" Raph looked a little surprised then scowled darkly for a moment as she continued quietly murmuring a sincere string of praise and nonsense to the animal.
"Yeah! Can we keep him?" chimed in Mike.
"No." Leo was taken aback as Tau simultaneously agreed with him; she continued "A horse costs more… well, almost as much, to feed a day than you do Mikey. And we don't have anywhere safe to stable or exercise him. It just wouldn't be fair. I was actually thinking of the police stables in the South-east corner of the 'Park'. We could just leave him in one of the outer paddocks, or something."

"Tau…" Leo shook his head "we have to get out of here."
"Iknow Leo," said Tau levelly "but if we leave him here he'd be at the mercy of any punks still hanging around; or he could get hit by a car, or be wandering the park for hours 'till the police find him again. He needs clean water, and a feed, sooner than that. Plus, taking him back to the stable will help him walk out the strain his muscles have been through galloping about tonight. It's the humane thing to do, and it won't take long. I think the stables are only a kilometre or so away through those trees, it'll only take 10 minutes max to ride it. You guys should be able to drive there in no time. I'll meet you there." To Leos' chagrin she'd swung herself back into the saddle before he could argue.
"Hey! There's no way you're goin' alone!" exclaimed Raph, quickly joining her astride the horses' rump again.
"But…" Leo futilely tried to intercede.
"Don't sweat it bro." soothed Mike, gently steering Leo back towards the Battle-shell by the shoulders "Ten more minutes won't hurt, and it is the 'humane' thing to do." Just before he followed Leo into the back of the truck, Mike glanced over to where Raph and Tau were slowly disappearing under the trees. He grinned as he spotted his brother wrapping his arms around the girls' waist.