Jazz felt her world fog over as another blow smacked her into a wall.
The blood…it was getting to be too much…
She was on her hands and knees as she vomited, the sickening feeling in her stomach worsening when she saw blood mixed into the bile.
'This isn't good…'
She felt someone pick her up by her shell, and she struggled slightly against the hold, the gashes, bruises, and burns tightening.
"Any thoughts of changing your mind, princess?"
She brought up the last of her courage and spit in his face.
"…N-No…" She replied defiantly, weakly…
"Your choice."
Her broken leg was crushed below her as she was thrown to the ground, a heavy foot stomping on her shell.
She only whimpered in pain, too lost in her foggy world to do more.
'They'll come…they'll come…'
With her loss of focus came distracted thoughts, memories rolling around her mind's eye like a broken film.
She faintly heard sounds like something hitting metal, but her brain wouldn't focus.
Her head knocked into a wall, giving her another bout of dizziness.
"D-Daddy…" She forced out weakly, like a small puff of air leaving her throat, but she coughed up blood, only small drops escaping from the small force.
She felt herself slipping away…like the chains holding her soul to her body were starting to break…
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Joss moved through the shadows, Violet and Rose behind her.
If she was looking for muscle, she had the best.
Violet, though only violent when provoked, had inhuman strength and fast reflexes, while Rose, violent as she was, could be fast and deadly.
Joss stopped, hearing sounds behind a metal door beside her.
She listened to it a moment, and heard the undeniable sound of a shell hitting the wall.
"Here!" She whispered urgently, giving her best friend and cousin room.
Violet nodded, and pulled back a fist, landing a powerful punch on the door.
It started breaking in as she kept bashing at it.
'We're so close! I won't let a stupid metal door keep me out!'
The door crumpled in, and the sight made all three turtles sick.
It was a small room, all metal, and very dark.
That wasn't what caught their hearts…
Blood was splattered on the walls, making them look like a sleek crimson, though smeared into dents and scratches on the surface. In the corner was their cousin, covered in bleeding wounds.
Gashes, cuts, scrapes, bruises, burns…
Her equipment was stained with her blood, her mask torn and nearly crimson, and Joss saw the bloody bile on the floor not too far from her.
'She went through all that…her blood, her pain…just to protect us…'
Violet's eyes snapped on the hulking form still towering over the nearly unconscious body, and the purple almost died as her pupils narrowed.
"You…You BASTURD!!!!" She snarled savagely, pulling out her sai and charging.
She hit him harder than a boulder could, making a dent in the wall.
Joss was at her fallen cousin's side in a moment, tears of fright, of pain in her eyes, as she felt for a pulse.
It was there, weak but steady, fluttering under her fingers.
"Oh my God…Jazz, stay with me! Come on!"
Rose was there, and pulled off her mask to start wrapping up the worst wounds.
Joss pulled out her Shell Cell, flipping it open hurriedly.
As it rang, she looked up to see Violet seemed to be holding herself pretty well against Hun.
"Joss? What is it?"
"Uncle Donnie, we found her!"
"What?! How is she?! Is she okay?!"
"Uncle Donnie…I don't know if she'll make it…"
She heard the silence, felt the weight of the despair it brought.
"I'll be right there."
"Yeah…"
Joss stood up as footsteps came from outside.
"Rose, get Jazz out of here."
"But-!"
"Call the others! Just GO!"
Rose saw no reason to argue, and helped support her weak cousin before starting her run, putting the headset for the Shell Cell on her head as it rang.
"Rose? What is it?"
"We've got Jazz, but Joss and Violet got caught up in a little fight."
Leo's voice was full of worry.
"We'll be right there!"
"Okay."
"…R-Rose?"
The voice was soft, hardly audible, and Rose skidded to a stop.
"Jazz!!!"
Red/purple locked with hazy, pained pink-tinted hazel.
"Are ya okay?"
"…R-Rose…I-I can't…c-can't really…f-focus…"
"Jazz!"
Rose started to waver, her arms and legs not up to the strain of holding up another person's body, when what sounded like footsteps caught her attention.
Her head snapped up, eyes narrowing as she scanned the hallway.
She shook her head slightly, tightening her grip around her cousin's shell.
"Come on, Jazz…We need to keep moving…"
"You're not going anywhere."
The normally dark red-banded turtle looked towards the wall, seeing Karai for a moment before Jazz used her weight to knock both of them to the floor, shuriken flying past where their heads had been…at least, where Rose's had been…
When the weight on her shell didn't shift, the thirteen year old panicked.
"Jazz?!"
Rose hardly felt the soft breathes that escaped the older turtle, blood still coming out in small drops when a weak cough wracked the equally weak body.
"Jazz?"
Rose felt worry rip at her heart as she shifted, and said organ was lodged into her throat when she saw the unnatural angle of the light pink-banded turtle's shin.
"Oh my God…"
Suddenly, something lifted the dangerously injured turtle into the empty air.
"HEY!!!"
Before Rose could lash out at the air, invisible hands grabbed hold, pulling her back and twisting her arms behind her shell.
A violent struggle, sending quite a few of her captors flying around as her feet smacked into others struggling to hold down her ankles.
She bit down on a hand she felt on her arm, tasting blood and fabric on her tongue as someone yelped in pain.
With all the struggling, it took Rose a while to realize Karai was heading towards a weakly struggling Jazz, panic in the pain-filled eyes.
"Stay away from 'er!" Rose growled, her struggling growing more violent.
"You're in no position to give orders." Karai replied calmly.
"I DON'T CARE!! I WON'T LET YA HURT 'ER ANYMORE!!"
A blade to her neck caused her to resort to a deadly glare, eyes a swirling red.
"How can you do that if you're dead?"
Realization, cold and foreboding, welled up in the young turtle's chest.
'I can't die! Not here!'
The sword pulled back for a strike.
'I've gotta protect Jazz!'
It came down in a powerful arc, and Rose closed her eyes.
"MOM!!!!!!!!"
Metal crashed on metal, and the thirteen year old opened her eyes in surprise.
"Mom…"
Cat gripped her blades tighter, eyes a demonic red.
"You've sunk lower than I remember, Karai…"
Cat spat out the name with such venom that Rose flinched.
"It seems you're as quick as ever, Caterina."
Rose felt the pressure holding her back dissipate, and saw Leo, Raph, and Gio fighting invisible enemies.
"Rose, go get Jazz…"
Karai was thrown back by a burst of chakra.
"We'll take care of these guys…"
The young turtle nodded, heading for her cousin, when Joss and Violet flew through the air, smacking into her.
"…Ow…"
Joss groaned in pain, slipping off the pile-up.
"Man…anyone get the license of the thing that just hit us?" Violet mumbled as she lay on her side.
"Hey, I was the one hit with three hundred pounds of turtle! OW!!!!!"
Rose glared lightly at her sister.
"I am NOT fat!"
"Me neither!" Joss added.
"Yeah, yeah…"
Joss stood up shakily, grabbing her katana.
"Get Jazz…"
Violet nodded, picking up the younger turtle.
"Jazz? Jazz, can you hear me?"
Pink-tinted hazel eyes fluttered open for a moment, but the pain seemed to be too much…
"V-Vi?"
A forced smile.
"Hey, bud…everything's gonna be okay…"
"V-Vi…b-behind…y-you…"
But the sixteen year old didn't move fast enough, and a Foot Tech ninja kicked her in the chest.
She flew into a wall shell-first, but shielded Jazz from the force.
'Shell!'
Rose landed on the ninja, knocking him out cold, and smirked at her sister.
"Thanks for the save, sis…"
"No prob. What are little sister's fer?"
"…Being annoying…"
A mock pout.
"Don't need ta get defensive…"
Joss slashed at a Foot ninja.
"You guys could HELP me, you know!"
Rose smiled like their orange-banded uncle.
"I know."
A smack upside the head.
"OW!!!! What was THAT fer?!"
"Being a little idiot! Now HELP!"
"Yeah, yeah…"
Rose pulled out her blades, and slashed a ninja behind her.
There were far too many…
"Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Flame jutsu!"
They jumped back as the fireballs struck the ninja, shuriken, hidden in the flames, striking vital points.
"Aunt Rach!"
Ben and Theo jumped into the fray, laughing and taunting.
Violet stood up, and met Don's worried eyes.
"Is she okay?" He asked as he relieved her of the weight.
"She's alive and somewhat conscious…"
Don nodded, pulling out bandages from his duffel bag.
Violet stood up straight, pulling out her sai.
'All this pain…the worry, the frustration, the rage…'
Her eyes lit up like red stars.
'…These basturds are gonna pay…'
She turned to the fight, seeing Hun had decided to join the party.
'Big guy first…'
Her sai flew fast, cutting the very air, and dug into Hun's arm.
She ran forward, grabbing the handles and twisting the metal weapons.
She dodged a massive fist, pulling her weapons free and jumping back.
Cat moved to block Karai's strike when she noticed something.
'Where's Rose?'
Her heart sped up…
NEVER a good sign…
"HEY!!! LET ME GO!!!"
'ROSE!!!'
Rose spat and cursed, her arms restrained to her sides by massive hands.
Violet glared, but when Rose cried out as her ribs were crushed, the purple/white-banded turtle put away her weapons.
She smirked at the red eyes her own locked with.
"Don't try anything or the freak gets it."
'Wrong damsel in distress, bub…'