Disclaimer: I don't own the TMNT

A/N: Sorry it took so long to get back! We've been bustling to and fro at work. On top of that a dress uniform inspection is coming up and my orders are now, ah, open for negotiation so to speak. Let's all pray that my promotion goes through so I can go to Japan. Also, please ignore any discrepencies about the following chapter. I have not seen a single episode of season four. The last I saw is Hun on the Run. So I don't know how the foot is operating right now under new management! Many of the details will appear to be vague, muddled, and somewhat confused. This is intentional, I'm trying to help grasp Splinter's current mental state. I'm trying to point more to that than the sheer carnage in this chapter, so action will tend to be short. Hope it's still up to parr for you guys. On to the story!

Chapter 5

Infiltration

So here I am, standing in the main formal room, blood dripping from my paws, staring down the witch who is responsible. She has her ninja, her elite guard, and her advanced weaponry. I have nothing but my will and the precious weapons of my fallen sons. It was a long and hard battle to get this far. I would do it again ten times over just to be as I am right now. It hurts. I do not care. Surely the fates would not have allowed me to get this far only to stumble now.

I discovered that it was somewhat easier to infiltrate the foot building than I originally expected. Perhaps it was simply because I had only myself to worry about. This option puts a damper on my heart when I think of why. Or it could be that the new Shredder is simply running things differently now.

Of course the assistance of Ms. O'Neil could have something to do with it as well.

I had not expected to run into her or Mr. Jones after leaving them on the barge. I'll admit that I may have treated them a bit coldly, but I did not care at the moment. The one who perpetrated the murder of my sons was in that skyscraper.

They both had immediate worry over the blood splattering my fur. I told them rather shortly that the blood was not mine. They looked at each other in an odd way at my response. It is a look that I do not care to describe or have them repeat. No, I do not care if they repeat it. Why should I care? All that matters now is avenging my sons.

They must think that I've gone mad. I know that's what they think. She tried to take my hand, supporting my shoulder as though I were an invalid. I jerked her away. One glare had her looking at me nervously. Even Mr. Jones failed to speak, which is rather unusual for him. They were both silent for a moment before Ms. O'Neil spoke.

She had asked me my plans, what it was that I wanted to do. I could not answer. Instead I simply looked the other direction, looked towards my next goal. I could feel thier eyes on me. She spoke quietly when she offered help. She knew what I was doing, I could tell by the tone of her voice. So she should know what she was getting into.

I knew that I should just leave them where they stand. The humans. They have nothing to do with the battle to come, it is my vendetta. My quest. My right.

Yet I found that I could not do this. Despite the way that I felt right now, the pure turmoil boiling and churning inside of me, I could not turn them away again. They were my friends, in a way. But more than that, they were family to my sons. They assisted them before, perhaps...perhaps it would not be so profane to let them offer assistance now. I did not care if I died, but it would be no use to my family if I died before achieving my goal, would it? Perhaps they could be of some positive assistance. They were so when I rescued my sons from Bishop, were they not? Perhaps. Perhaps...

Softly she asked who it was. Just as softly I told her. They both nodded. She suggested that we use some of the technology in the Lair. At that I refused without hesitation. That was Donatello's equipment. Not mine. His hands were the last to touch it, to caress the metal and care for the parts. I could not use anything of his in such a violent manner. Not now, not ever.

Besides that, I wanted to do this my way. The way that the ancient warriors in Japan would have centuries ago. The cleanliness of my skill. The strength of my steel. The sharpness of my mind.

I'm not sure if she understood completely, but she understood enough to know not to push the issue. I had agreed to enough. I had agreed to thier help.

It was then that Mr. Jones spoke up. With an idea. It was difficult to conceal my shock, yet still I looked at him warily. I was becoming increasingly nervous around him. He reminded me too much of my son Raphael. They were such close comrades, their personalities meshed so evenly without them even knowing it. They used to love going topside, to vent their anger and frustration on the criminal element of the city. They did this so often, I think it might have even been an excercise for them. Tinkering with their motorcycles, riding through the city...

Ms. O'Neil had to get my attention at that point. I was startled. Had I drifted off? I refrained from shaking my head to clear it. She was asking me what I thought of the plan. I nodded quickly, too ashamed to admit that I did not know the schematics of it. I had allowed my mind to cloud, to drift. I never do that. Or I never did do that. My shame drenched deeper. How could I be so cloudy now, at such a vital moment! No! Things like that cause mistakes to be made. I must make no mistakes. None whatsoever. They would be detrimental to the mission. I have shamed my sons.

I was surprised to feel tears welling up from inside of me. Furiously I shut my eyes, as though in doing so I could shut out the feelings inside. It did not work completely but was adequate enough to keep them from spilling down my cheeks. My hands trembled slightly as I smoothed the fur on my cheek. That particular bead of moisture surely must be from the night.

Hurriedly I followed the two humans. Along the way I learned the details of the plan. I was still surprised that such a thing could come from a mind like that of Mr. Jones.

Luckily teamwork was not relied upon. I could not do that at this time. I know it. My thoughts would be soley on the mission at hand, not on helping or protecting anyone fighting around me. Besides that, this is a task which must be accomplished alone. Perhaps Mr. Jones knew this or simply couldn't think of something with more teamwork, either way I am grateful. This way they are responsible for their own fates, and they do not rely on me for any such thing.

It was a relatively simple plan involving distraction. They would be the distraction while I got in from behind, so to speak. It was actually a compartment, left over from the building plans before everything was revamped at her coming. I would in fact be in a different are entirely as the attack took place. This was good. As dangerous as I might have felt, I knew better than try to plow through a mass of ninjas on my own. After all, I needed to be alive to greet the witch. Ms. O'Neil would use her own electrical devices in the attack. I did not care. As long as they were not Donatello's.

My thoughts had almost become muddled once more at the thought of my brainy son, but luckily the first explosion jarred me out of it. Swiftly I ran to the garage door and slipped my tiny frame through the slight gap on the floor just as a second explosion rocketed into the air. Alarms were going off everywhere. My two assistants were at the opposite end of the building and everyone was heading in that direction, save the skeleton crew left to man the posts.

This was a garage similar to the one my sons and I used on our first attack on the Shredder, only then it was the battle shell being driven in. Not one small rat.

There was only three ninjas in the large space. My biggest risk would be the sprint across the open expanse of floor to reach my quarry. Luckily the foolish humans were still distracted by what was going on in the other end of the building. They were talking excitedly amongst themselves. Their first mistake was their last mistake.

Weilding a sai and a nunchucku, I flew across the floor. Spinning the wood I struck their heads from the back, hard enough to make their skulls crackle like tin foil. I managed to dispatch all of them in one clean motion, getting the first two on the first swing and striking the third in an upward draft, smashing between the temples. They slumped in their seats as though sleeping. I looked at them a moment, wondering, before dashing forward, heading for the nearest ventilation duct. I knew from our last attack the quickest way to the top, and I was going to utilize all of them.

After a mere fifteen minutes of climbing and crawling I realized that this must be a side ventilation shaft and not connected to the main one. It ended too soon, forcing me to find another way. I knew where the elevator was, I could use that to reach the top.

Quickly I scanned the nearest opening. It looked like an armory of some sort. I could see many of the spaces for weapons empty. Apparently Mr. Jones and Ms. O'Neil were putting up a very good fight down there. Slowly I determined that I must thank them for that crucial distraction if I was to make it out of here alive or in working order. There was a rather small batch of ninjas milling around that I must contend with before I reached the other room where I knew the elevator was located.

Although it had been rather unweildy before in the infiltration, I felt that Donatello's bostaff would be best for the long range combat.

I tried to unlatch the vent quietly but the object was not in good order and was rusted in a few places. It fell away before I was finished and clattered loudly to the floor before I could manage to catch it. Naturally it immediately attracted the attention of the ninjas. No sooner had the metal touched the floor than I leapt out of the enclosed area and attacked them.

Luckily the first two ninjas were rather close by. I struck the first one on the side of the head, below the temple. Keeping the momentum in the bo I jabbed the end into the other's throat, crushing the windpipe. Still keeping it in motion I charged the other group. One came at me with a katana. I have a longer reach. I struck his hands hard enough to make him drop the weapon. Swinging the staff, I hit him on the back of the knees and brought the bo into an arc only to have it come crashing down on his nose as he fell.

The others came at me and I'll admit that for a moment I simply lost it. With a gutteral sound of pain and rage I ravaged through the pack, striking this way and that. I felt several things brush my body, but I ignored them. These were enemies of the sort which my sons had been battling for years. The ones who caused so much pain and frustration in their lives... I could see their faces as I struck them down in my blood rage.

Of course, as I have instructed before, you cannot lose focus in an attack and hope to escape unscathed. As it was for me. All my warning was the whistling of the warm up before the weapon struck me solidly on the back. With a small grunt I stumbled forward and fell to the floor. Stars danced and hazed my vision. I had to blink several times to clear it. I could smell my fur burning. I could tell right away that the damage was slight. The curses and smacking behind me attributed to it. The machine must have malfunctioned. I only had a burn to the skin.

Not moving I groped to my nearest fallen enemy where I had seen them pull ninja stars from countless times. My fingers closed around the cold metal. Listening to the voices behind me I whirled on my elbow, flinging out the projectiles with my free arm. My ears were correct in their positions. Each one struck true.

Staggering slightly as I got to my feet, I headed to the other room. Groping with one hand I felt my back. Whatever it was burned through my kimono and a large patch of fur on my back, but no further damage. It was also then that I noticed that the things 'brushing' against me earlier weren't so innocent either. My body was littered with minor cuts, stabs and bruises.

I would live.

I will not at this time go into detail with all of my battles to the top, but after those initial two there weren't many and the opposition was slight. Or at least in my eyes. I'll admit that part of it was seen through a haze on my part. I felt numb and cold inside. I knew that this was not the way that I would have felt before all this occured, but heaven help me it was how I felt now. I did not know what could be done other than to beg forgiveness of my sons for the atrocities that I am committing this day. My fur is speckled with blood that is not only not my own, but belonging to many others. Too many others. Between battles I had time to wonder what kind of creature they were turning me into and if my sons would even recognize me on the other side. Oh, I hope they would. I hoped and I prayed that I was not too far gone...

As you might have guessed from this description, reaching that last elevator was not as cut and dry as I would have hoped. I had misjudged the layout and had to travel several floors to reach the one that I knew was the one. I'll admit that I was beginning to tire. Thinking back now, I cannot remember the last time that I had eaten. I believe it was some time before all this had happened. On top of that, my body was being put through non stop action, something it was not used to. My bones were reminding me of my age as well. All of this worried me greatly. What if I was not able to complete my task? My revenge?

I tried no to think about that.

But I could not help but think it as I entered the room and saw the elite guard standing there, waiting for me.

A/N: I had originally intended for the fight with the elite guard to be in this chapter, but it was going on just a tad bit too long for my tastes so I ended it here. Ther SHOULD only be one more chapter after this. I'm actually going to try for tears from you guys, something I hadn't actually sought before, so it should be interesting! Don't forget

Toodles!