This is one of my shorter stories, so we are coming up to the end.
Rescue time!
Leo, Donnie, and Mikey squat above the river tunnel entrance. They are all keeping a watchful eye on the whole area for any sign of Slash. Even Mikey, because he wants his brother back more than anything else he can put his mind to. "Okay, review of the plan. When he comes out, Donnie puts a roach on his shell and then we follow him back to Raph."
"I hope the dudes okay," Mikey says, flicking his chucks.
"When, exactly, is Spike going to come out?" Donnie asks.
".. I don't know. But if he doesn't soon, then we'll find a way to lure him out."
"We'll need a big worm." Mikey's brothers look at him, threatening every form of Splinter's punishment if he doesn't stop talking. "Right, beak sealed."
"I was hoping you'd keep talking Michelangelo." The three brothers jump and turn around to see Slash, "I would have found you sooner."
"Spike!" Mikey screams.
"It's Slash!" The giant tortoise picks him up and brings him close to his face, "I'm Slash now. Got it?"
"Yeah I got. Slash! Great name! Now please put me down..!" Mikey screams. Slash turns.
"You got it." He throws Mikey at a large dirt pile with random sharp objects on top.
"Mikey!" Leo charges at Slash's shell. But his katanas are picked up in Slash's giant hands. Leo struggles, but can't let release them. His hands are also stuck under the grip. Donnie twirls his bo staff and hits Slash. But it barely does anything. He jumps on his shell and places the cockroach before Slash rolls on the ground, bruising Donnie's body with the spikes on his shell.
"Ow..." Donnie says, losing grip. He goes to Mikey and helps him. "Leo! Mikey's injured!"
"Little busy here!" Leo yells back as he struggles. He pushes his katanas apart, pressing the sharp edges into Slash's palms. The tortoise yelps and drops the swords and Leo. Leo takes this advantage and flips over him to his brothers. "Let's get out of here." He throws a smoke bomb and they vanish.
"Ow.. ow.. ow ow ow," Mikey whines as Leo and Donnie share the burden of carrying him back.
"We get it Mikey it hurts!" Donnie yells. He had them pause briefly a few tunnels back to get the sharp glass and metal out of Mikey's shell and limbs. Leo's hands have bruises forming and Donnie has a few cuts where the spikes crushed him. Plus, he feels a broken rib or two.
They reach the Lair and go directly to the lab. "Master Splinter, we're back!" Leo yells on the way. They lay Mikey on his plastron and Donnie starts to help him. Splinter enters and goes to Leo.
"Leonardo, what happened?" He asks, having the teen sit down so he can look at his hands.
"Slash saw us coming. He attacked us, threw Mikey and-" Leo looks down, "and we didn't find Raph."
"I did get a cockroach on his shell though. He'll lead us to Raph when we can find him." When Donnie is done helping Mikey is when he allows Splinter to look him over.
"Rest, my sons. One cannot-"
"Wait," Leo says, feeling his belt, "My apologies, Master Splinter, but I feel like something is off." Leo checks all of his equipment, ignoring the pain in his fingers. "My t-phone. My t-phone! It's gone! I must have dropped it when he was swinging me around."
"It's okay Leo. We'll get it and Raph by the end of the day," Donnie says encouragingly.
"As much as I want to see Raphael home again, I cannot ask you to go out tonight to save him when you yourselves are not fit to fight. Wait a night, then you may go."
"Hai, sensei," the turtles say.
Slash holds his hand carefully when he walks back to the room in the sewer. He pushes a wall over and steps through, shutting it behind him. 'Stupid turtles.' He walks through the hallway and then enters Raph's room after turning a corner.
Raph stares at him, just like all the other times he had entered the room. Slash focuses on his hand. Raph sees it and concern flickers for a moment on his face. 'No, Raph. Slash isn't Spike anymore. He wants to kill your brothers.' He inspects the two red lines on Slash's palm before smirking. Leo did that. Raph chuckles, only to cough at the sandpaper feeling that surfaces.
"Keep laughing Raphael, but, as you put so many times after coming back from a battle, you should see the other guys." Raph glares at him again. His brothers are hurt. His brothers could be dying. "I didn't kill them, not yet. They are only wounded. So much they may not be able to leave their Lair tomorrow night." Slash wraps his hand with a cloth from another room in his 'sewer home.'
Raph looks for other signs that the guys had nicked him, but saw a bit of blood on a spike on the back of Slash's shell. But there is no way his own blood could get there. It must be from his brothers. His eyes trail up and see a movement of brown along Slash's shell. Raph freezes; a cockroach. A cockroach! Before he can scream like a little girl, not that he'd ever admit to doing that, he sees the equipment on his back.
'It's Donnie's spy roach,' Raph watches it as it jumps to the wall as Slash walks past it. 'Don, you are a genius.' The roach hides in a crack between two stones. 'They'll find me,' Raph tells himself, 'They may be hurt, but they'll find me. No matter the cost.'
"It's near morning, so you may want to sleep. After all, tonight is going be very busy." Slash walks out of the room. The roach comes out of hiding and climbs down the wall to Raph.
"Hey..." Raph tries to whisper scream. The roach stops because of his coughing. 'Just because you are here to save me, doesn't mean that you can be right next to me.'
"Raphael, are you alright?" Raph hears Slash coming back. The roach looks up expectantly at Raph.
'Go back, go back to your hiding place,' Raph gestures. But instead, the roach continues on its course and hides behind Raph. He groans with disgust as he feels it crawl on his shell.
"Raphael?" Slash comes back. Raph pushes the fear of the roach away and glares at Slash like nothing was different. Slash just walks away, not noticing anything wrong. The roach comes out from behind Raph and looks up at him.
'You are so lucky you are here to save me, cockroach,' Raph mutters in his head. It finds a crack in the wall and stays there. Raph situates himself so he can sleep. Not because Slash told him to. He decides to do that because he needs to be rested when the guys find him, or when he may need to protect them from Slash.
*cough* not really *cough* Sorry, I felt like it.
So, everyone ready for a final showdown? Because it'll be here in about, I don't know.. one chapter? Maaaybe two?