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Chapter 04

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Donatello had engineered an invaluable accessory to all of their cell phones – a 'panic button' when, in case of danger, any one of them would be able to signal the others quickly. It caused a loud warning signal to go off on the other 3 phones, alerting the rest of the group. Also, each phone was equipped with GPS, so finding the person or persons in danger would be a snap.

All three phones were going off simultaneously now. Mike snorted awake, falling out of bed in the process. "Uuugh… what –" he scrambled, reaching out towards the source of the noise, knocking over several items on the nightstand with a loud crash. "Aww jeez… where's the fire…" Groggy, Mike flipped open the phone.

One word stared back at him – Raphael. Uh-oh, he thought, guess we all knew this was going to happen eventually. He was certainly awake now. He grabbed his nunchakus and flew out the door.

Leo and Don were already there. "I got a fix on him, let's go," Don said as he ran, peering into his phone, "He's not far. We should be able to get there in a few minutes."

"Just great. So here it is, exactly what I said was going to happen. He doesn't listen to reason, and now here we are, having to rescue his stubborn ass. If he's still alive by the time we get there, that is." His voice was bitter. Leo was pissed, but the thought of anything happening to Raphael made him feel sick to his stomach.

"I'm sure he's alright Leo, Raph can hold up pretty well on his own." Donatello reassured him. They ripped through the sewers for a little while, before Don slowed his pace. "We're getting close. Better get topside here." Don made his way up the ladder to the manhole cover and lead them out.

"Dude, I'll bet he just pushed it on accident," Mike said, as he scrambled up onto the street.

"They're not designed like that, and you know it. I specifically set that button in a protective rim, so that very thing wouldn't happen," Don almost sounded offended by the comment.

"Well, he and Casey are prob'ly just drunk and playing a prank on us," Mike continued, "he's gonna get it back pretty hard though. I was fast asleep! And having the most wonderful dream… there were ninjas in it!"

"Mikey, you're a ninja. You live with ninjas, you fight ninjas everyday in real life. What would make you so excited about dreaming about ninjas?" Don sighed. "Besides, I don't think Raph would pull that kind of prank. The panic button is nothing to mess around with, so don't get any ideas yourself. It's only to be used when you're in life-threatening danger, and Raph knows that." He cringed and looked over at Leo as the last sentence came out. Leo's face was stone. Great. Me and my big mouth.

"Well, I'll tell you one thing, after tonight, this recklessness is going to stop. He's gone too far, putting himself in danger like this, risking all of our lives with his pigheadedness… mark my words, he's going to regret this night for a long time to come." Leo clenched his teeth with those last words, he was fuming now. Yeesh, thought Donatello, I don't remember the last time I saw Leo this angry. Remind me to avoid the two of them for a couple of days.

"Oh, did I forget to mention that all the ninjas in my dream were… LADY NINJAS!? Oh yeah, that was the best part. They were all jumping around, and they had these huuuge -"

"OKAY Mike, I don't think I want to hear any more. Besides, I think we're here." Don looked up as he said it. There were sounds of battle coming from the rooftop above them. No doubt about it, then. It was a good sign actually; battle sounds most likely meant that there was still a living turtle up there, helping make all that noise.

"Formations." Leo gave his orders, leading the way up the fire escape. "My lead, Don, follow after me and head for the right, Mike, you bring up the rear then bear left. Whatever you do, stay close and don't stray too far. I'll advance on Raph myself, you guys flank from your positions east and west and move with me."

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Raphael was taking a lot of hits, but nothing too serious yet. Considering the sheer numbers he was up against, he was actually keeping it together pretty well. He wasn't stupid though and it was obvious he wasn't going to be able to maintain this for very long. Well, I ain't goin' out wit'outta fight. He grinned through clenched teeth.

One arm extended and tightly gripping a sai, Raphael flicked his wrist in two short bursts, beckoning the next attack. "Let's dance."

They came. He was getting attacked from all sides. Hey, if I gotta go out, might as well take a few of the bastards with me. Leo wouldn't have been happy about that attitude. He could hear Leo in his head now, "In an unwinnable situation, you have no other choice. If you ever find yourself overwhelmed, enter a defensive stance and stay in it. Concentrate less on attacking outward and focus your attention more on a means of retreat." Feh. Where was the fun in that? Better to go balls out, die with glory. He sent a Foot soldier flying with a roundhouse kick.

For all of his bravado though, Raphael was still using quite a bit of restraint. He knew what it meant to his family if he got himself killed. He wasn't about to let them find a corpse when they arrived. A small blade swished by, narrowly missing his bicep. He spun around with a sweeping kick and managed to push the mob back a few feet. Hm… they betta' get here soon, tho'.

He had to get to a more secure position. Fighting his way to the wall, he eventually managed to get his back up against it. Good, that'll cut down on the attacks from behind, at least. He grabbed an enemy and threw him into another. Two more attacks came from his left, another from his right. He dodged and thrust a sai into one of the attackers, twirling around just in time to parry the next attack. An enemy leapt forcefully onto his back in an attempt to bring him down.

"RAAAaagggh…" Raphael growled, hurling the Foot soldier off of him. Well, I'm certainly gettin' a workout. A hard kick got him in the leg and caused him to fumble; to his left a dagger caught him on the arm just above the elbow. He whirled around and locked the dagger with his sai. With one quick twist, he shattered the howling Foot soldier's wrist. He turned back just in time to leap out of the way of a throwing star. He couldn't feel the dagger wound yet, but a quick glance told him that it wasn't bad. Deep, but it didn't look like it had punctured an artery. Just then, a nunchaku caught him off guard and cracked him in the side of the head. Arrrgh... that hurt. "Oh, you're gonna pay for that one, asshole." Both sais entered the foot soldier's stomach. Fluidly, Raphael ripped outwards, spilling guts everywhere.

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Reaching the rooftop, Leo found what he'd pretty much expected. "Sounds like a big group, maybe around thirty or forty guys," he'd told them on the way up. "Raph's probably trying to hold them all on his own, or Casey could be with him." The numbers were a little unnerving… why were there so many Foot soldiers out here? Leonardo's brain was hard-wired to look into their tactics. This was war after all, and understanding the enemy's strategy was essential to their survival.

He thought on it as the pushed onto the roof. Was Raph ambushed? Could all of them be walking into a trap? Knowing Raphael, he probably stumbled upon some Foot operation and tried to take it down himself. Getting in over his head as usual.

Raphael looked like he was struggling. Though there was an admirable pile of dead Foot around him, the remaining enemies were giving him a lot of trouble. Raphael's sais and forearms were stained with blood. He turned and caught a kick to his chest, knocking him off balance. Leonardo broke into a sprint towards his brother, shooting a quick glance left and right to see Mike and Don enter their positions.

Leo cut a fast path through the middle. He'd moved in so silently, the Foot never had a chance. He made it to where Raphael was standing just in time to block an oncoming katana blade heading for Raph's neck. He twirled, putting his own back to the wall.

The relief Raphael felt was absolute. Here comes the cavalry, he thought, as his three brothers came into view. Man, I'm glad to see you guys.

It was a short-lived feeling however, as Leo was by his side in seconds. Though Raphael was glad to see him, he quickly realized that there was another stern lecture coming his way in the near future.

"Oh, hey Raph, great to see ya. So I suppose you're now trying to get yourself killed on purpose, just to spite me." Raph rolled his eyes. Well, the future sure got here quick.

"I was doin' jes' fine wit'out yOU... AARGH," Raphael threw a Foot soldier backwards against a jagged metal protrusion in the wall, impaling him. "Certainly doin' fine wit'out yer mouth." The Foot soldier struggled for a moment and then fell limp, still attached to the wall.

"Sure. So fine, in fact, that you needed us to come to the rescue." Leo's blades were a hurricane. A foot soldier fell eviscerated to his right, the next unlucky enemy headless a moment later.

"Nah, jus' thought you guys might enjoy the party. Didn't want to have all the fun by myself." He turned, catching a throwing star in his shell.

"Arrogant, as ever, I see. Well, as usual you don't care squat about yourself, and we're here to bail you out. And thanks for putting all your brothers in danger, cleaning up your mess for you."

Raphael turned towards Leonardo, fuming. "Oh yeah, REAL danger. These idiots are nuthin' an' you know it." Raphael cracked one in the face, still looking at Leo, as if to prove his point. It was true that there were now only half the number of Foot soldiers standing than when Leo, Mike and Don had arrived. As a full team, they'd made pretty quick work of the mob. "B'sides, they jumped me. It's not like I went knockin' on their door, sayin' come out an' play." He decided he'd leave out the part about following the lone Foot soldier and walking into a trap. Leo didn't need to know that little fact.

So he was ambushed then, thought Leo. Something didn't feel right about this. Better stay on our toes, he thought.

"Yeah, so when you go out alone all the time, I suppose it's just coincidence that you come home all beat up. You seem to 'get jumped' an awful lot." Stubborn ass. Same old argument, he was never going to change. Leo poured his frustration into his next victim, spraying the pavement with a fresh coat of red.

"Yeah well, screw you. Ya don' havta' believe me, I really don' care. As a matter a FACT -"

"Raph, shut up." Leo cocked his head. Reinforcements. Damn!

Raphael opened his mouth to say more and then closed it. Now they were in sight. Dozens of Foot soldiers, pouring in from the adjacent rooftops on either side. More were climbing up from the street.

"Mike, Don! To us!" Leonardo looked at his two brothers on the other side of the mob, and realized that it was too late. The Foot were pushing them back. Dammit, if I hadn't been arguing with Raph, I would've sensed them coming sooner, he berated himself. While he and Raph had the advantage of fighting as a duo, his other two brothers did not have that luxury. Mike and Don were not only separated from each other, but the onslaught of new Foot soldiers was now widening the gap between them and the two eldest turtles as well. This was going to make it nearly impossible for them to fall into formation together, and of course they were much stronger as a foursome. Damn. Leo gritted his teeth and prepared for the next attack.

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