The robots charged, and Angel's swords were soon cutting them apart, Aradion hissing as he ripped through their armor and bit wires clean through.
Andy and Lilly stayed back, Leonidas roaring as he ripped up the robots mercilessly.
Angel threw Lilly her Shell Cell, saying, "Call the others! There are too many!"
Lilly obeyed, praying they'd pick up.
"Hello?"
"Donnie! We have a problem."
"What kind of problem?"
"Evil robots and a crazy scientist seem like a pretty big problem…"
"We'll be right there!!"
"Thanks, Donnie-!"
A robot flew at her, mouth open, and she panicked. Anexa became a marten, jumping and tackling it in midair.
As she wrestled and hissed with the robot, Lilly didn't notice the Shell Cell had fallen into her shopping bag.
"Anexa!!"
The robot caught said daemon in its jaws, even when she became a porcupine and a hedgehog.
"Let her go!!"
Leonidas and Aradion jumped on the robot, ripping it apart, and Anexa ran to Lilly's open arms as a pine marten.
"Don't mess with a kunoichi, Stockman!!" Angel threatened, slashing the head off a robot with a swift flick.
"Don't mess with me, girl!"
She dodged three robots, glaring at the sheer numbers.
'This is ridiculous!!'
She winced as a robot clamped down on her shoulder, and stabbed it through the head.
"You can't defeat my Mouser's."
"I'll take that as a challenge." Angel retorted.
Three robots merged, getting bigger, and Angel cursed.
"Yer inventions are starting to piss me off!" Angel snarled, Aradion's hiss showing his agreement.
"AHHHH!!!"
'Lilly!!'
Angel turned to see a robot holding the girl's forearm firmly in its jaws, small drops of blood showing how ready it was to break it clean through.
Andy tensed, holding back liger Leonidas with difficulty.
"Let 'er go before ya lose yer head, Stockman…" Angel threatened, her blade reflected the light from the sun, making it look like gold.
Aradion hissed warning, arching his back and baring his fangs.
'If he could change, he'd probably be a Clouded Leopard or a tiger…'
"I'll let her go…on one condition…"
Angel nearly growled, but stopped herself.
"What?"
"I've learned that the energy released from separating a body from its daemon is enormous in size…you could make a bomb, or destroy a building…"
Angel did NOT like where this was going…
"I'd need a test subject of course, to make sure such a thing exists…"
Aradion stood next to Angel, looking offended and pissed, but Angel gave him a stern look.
"…So ya want me to be this test subject…"
"Exactly."
Angel tried to rein in the snappish refusal burning her tongue, and looked at Lilly.
The girl was younger than her, defenseless…she couldn't let her get hurt…
"…Fine…"
"Angel, DON'T!" Andy shouted, Leonidas roaring.
"What do ya want me ta do?!" Angel snapped, and Leonidas backed down at the frustrated rage in Aradion's hiss.
"Angel!!!"
Aradion relaxed, his eyes seeming to lighten, as Raph landed beside her.
"Hey, hun. What took so long?"
"Mikey had a cramp…"
"HEY!!!"
"Wh-What is this?!"
Angel smirked, sensing her other brothers nearby.
"What? A daemon is normal, but mutant turtles aren't? Ya ain't got an imagination…"
'Let's get outta here, Aradion…'
Her daemon nodded, and grabbed smoke pellets from Angel's pocket.
She squeezed Raph's hand, whispering, "Get ready to go…"
He nodded, and Angel heard a robot break, showing Lilly was now free, before Aradion threw the pellets.
They disappeared like the ninja they were trained to be, Leo and Don holding Andy and Lilly as they raced to the sewers, heading to the lair.
Lilly's arm was bleeding still, holding a hand to it as Anexa tried to stop the bleeding with her ferret paws. Once at the lair, Don raced with her to the lab, wanting to stop the bleeding as soon as possible.
It didn't feel right, feeling her warm blood on his skin, to see the pain in her eyes…
As he wrapped up her arm, Anexa sitting in a sink to wash off the blood, he looked at her questioning.
"What was all that about?"
"You mean the crazy scientists and evil robots? Well…I helped him build them…"
"What?!"
"I had no choice at the time…" She said defensively.
"…Test subjects for daemon's were taken at a young age, usually infants…after being separated, they were monitored…I was special…smart…Stockman made me help him…threatened Andy if I didn't…it ate away at her that she couldn't protect me from…"
Don saw her reluctance.
"What did he do?"
"…I…I can't…"
"Lilly…"
He put a comforting hand over her own, and she squeezed it for reassurance.
"…I-I can't remember…I never could…I just remember waking up and everything hurt…"
Anexa was a white ferret, grey underlying the purity.
"…Lilly…"
He felt a pain in his chest, like Mikey had tackled him full force…to see the vulnerable pain in her eyes…he couldn't, wouldn't, let that basturd take her away…
"It'll be okay…I won't let him take you…"
She looked up with teary silver eyes.
"…Why?"
He blushed, thinking over the answer forcing its way up from his chest, on the tip of his tongue…
"…I-I love you…"
A moment of silence, and Lilly smiled. Anexa became a white dove, landing beside her.
"I love you, too…"