Just like I said, another chapter. It's Monday! Boy was I good! Anywho, hope you like it. Don't forget, the poll is still up. It won't be up much longer because I have another poll I need to put up for something else, but that most likely won't be until next week. Anywho, here we go.
Thanks for reviewing:
TMNTluckygirl: Nah, I was thinking more something along the lines of Joseph. But decide quickly, my dear! And if I don't get a chance to say it later, though I'm pretty sure I will, happy birthday!
QueenAnju: Thank you, I have written it down! And I'm very happy you liked it. :D
Guest: Thank you, I have written you vote down as well. And that is a very interesting way of looking at it. Thank you for sharing. And I'm very happy you'd still read it anyways. That makes my day. I hope you like this one.
pokemonjkl: And here it is! Hope I didn't leave you waiting too long.
16: Yeah, I don't like ending things on a sad note...though I end up doing that a lot...But it was important stuff to get out and it had to be done. Anywho! I'm glad you liked it.
Chapter 15
"Rogue in the House"
Part 1 & 2
Meditation. It had been a while since Alex and Master Splinter had gotten in some alone time to just meditate together. Back when Alex had first started hanging out with the guys and even more so when she was living with them, Alex had meditated with Splinter on a daily basis. However, with everything that had been going on lately, Alex had had to do it on her own at April's. The company was just more comforting.
Alex was internally fighting the things she usually fought. The thought of her brothers, her once best friend and the Shredder all plagued her thoughts. However, there were new things lingering in her mind.
Rudy and Phoebe also wondered around in her mind. Alex wanted to be their friend, but there was so much going on and there was too much that could happen. What happened if Alex got hurt and they started asking questions? What would she tell them? What if they got hurt? She couldn't have that.
But that also brought up what she had been talking about with Officer John Blake, who she had also gotten rather close to, despite her mental protests. He reminded her of her brothers and some parts of her parents. And he brought up a lot of things to think about. She didn't like to think about them, but she couldn't help but do so. And that she really didn't care for.
"There are rumors in the station about ninja interfering in investigations…Know anything about that?... I feel like you know more than you ever let on, Alex….That sounds like a lonely way to live…. But it's not good for you….People need human interaction. Otherwise we lose ourselves. We lose our minds….Your aunt told me that you always put others before yourself…..That's not always healthy, Alex….You can't always protect everybody, Alex. That's life. Things happen that are meant to happen. You can't save everybody from getting hurt."
There was so much to think about. She knew that their presence and actions weren't going unnoticed by the authorities, but she didn't know what to do about it. It wasn't like they were breaking the law. That was the Foot. And Alex knew that. So John wasn't completely wrong about her know things that she wasn't letting onto.
Alex had the guys, but they weren't exactly normal. She needed human contract every once in a while, so perhaps she was lonely.
And putting herself before others? She couldn't. She had always been taught the opposite. She couldn't go against everything her parents taught her. If there was something she could do, then she was going to do it. Though she had been more careful as of late, due to her injuries – though now fully healed – and her promise to Raph.
"Something is not right," Master Splinter said.
Alex opened her eyes to see that Splinter was standing up. He had a very worried look on his furry face. The young girl stood up and looked at the rat curiously. "Master Splinter?"
"We need to fine my sons," he insisted.
"All right," Alex said. She started to follow Splinter out of the Lair, however, forgot her sword. "I'll catch up with you, Master. I just need to grab my sword."
"Please hasten your movements, Alexandra. I fear something is very wrong," Splinter said very seriously.
Whoa, Alex thought, watching the rat hobble away. He's even more serious than usual. He must sense something really bad this time. The girl ran back in and grabbed her weapon before leaving the Lair once more.
Alex had no idea which way Master Splinter was going, but she had to take a chance. If they were really in danger like Master assumed, then she had to try something. She turned left and ran down, her sword in hand just in case she needed it.
When Alex finally found the others, she deduced that it was a very strange sight to see. Master Splinter was right. There had been a problem. However, it was already taken care of. There was a little robotic rat that looked like Master Splinter that had been taken down by a Triceraton that seemed to be on their side.
"What I want to know is where did Robo-Splinter come from and who sent it?" Raph asked.
"It does not matter," Splinter replied. "Whoever they are, I will not stand by while they use my likeness to attack my family! We must strike back immediately!"
"Never seen him so steamed," Raph said to Leo. "I'm kind of enjoying it, actually."
"I don't," Alex stated, joining the group as she put her sword away.
"Well, thanks for finally showing up, Princess," Raph retorted.
"Call me "Princess" again and you'll be sorry you did," she said casually with a smirk and a wink at the red bandana turtle. She walked over to Donny and bent down to look at the robot. "Whatcha got there, Don?"
"Hey, a remote control module. If this Splinter was remote controlled, we can trace the signal. You guys stay with the robot, I'll be right back. I need some equipment from my lab." Don ran over to his vehicle and road off."
"Hey, Mikey?" Alex asked.
"Yeah?" he asked turning to look at the girl.
"Who's your big orange friend?" she asked, slowly walked up to him and the Triceraton.
"This big guy is Zog," Mikey answered.
"And why do we have a Triceraton friend named Zog? Last time I knew, we didn't have many friends that were Triceratons. And the ones we did have aren't on Earth," Alex pointed out.
"We found him," Leo said. "He's been breathing in our air, which messed with his head. He thinks we're his Commanders."
"Okay," Alex said, nodding her head. "He could come in handy."
A little while after that, Donny returned with a tracking device. Alex hopped on the back of Raph's vehicle and clung onto him. As she listen to Donny say, "A direction finder which seems to be pointing that way!" With that, they were off.
They road for what seemed to be an hour through the sewers until Donny finally stopped and got off. They all climbed out of the sewer to reveal that they had come to the ports. The ninja moved quickly and quietly while Zog tried to move like they did. Tried being the opportune word.
They took cover by a building, but there was an open view of a ship with a Foot symbol on it. It was the Foot. Alex knew that weren't gone. If her brothers weren't back, the Shredder wasn't gone. It would always be like that.
"This is it," Don said. "The signals are coming from inside that freighter."
"So then it was the Foot that sicked that Splinter Robot on us," Raph said.
"But Kurai leads the Foot now and she gave us her word the Foot would leave us alone," Leo protested.
"I don't trust anybody who's name means darkness," Alex muttered. "If she was really all that, have her let my brothers go. She could be my best friend then."
"I thought that was my job," Mikey said.
"Of course it is, Mikey," Alex laughed.
"I am sorry, my son. But in this case, we must believe what we see," Splinter said.
"Something tells me we're going to be really, really outnumbered," Don said.
"What we need is something to help even the odds," Raph said.
"Boys," Mikey started to say, but Alex cleared her throat, making her presence known, "and Alex, meet Zog, the equalizer!"
They moved closer and took cover behind some crates. "Okay, here's the plan," Leo started to say. "We'll recon order the ship; see what we're up against."
"Ready for action, sir!" Zog said, saluting. However, in doing so, he knocking a crate with his arm. Leo was quick enough to catch it before it crashed to the ground.
"Quiet soldier!" Leo hushed. "This is the recon part of the mission. We need stealth."
"Sorry, Sir!" Zog said. "But stealth is not one of my strong points."
"No duh," Raph muttered, making Alex giggle, but lightly hit his arm.
"Be nice," she insisted. "He's helping us, despite how much it doesn't seem so now."
"Whatever you said, Princess," he muttered with a smirk, knowing very well that Alex didn't want to be called that.
"We obviously can't take him in there for recon," Leo stated. "Mikey, you stay here and watch Zog. Don, you stay here and watch Mikey."
"Hey!" Mikey protested.
Leo ignored that and said, "Be ready to move. We'll contact you as soon as we know what the Foot are up to."
Raph, Leo, Splinter and Alex all ran in the shadows to the ship. They waited until the coast was clear before running up the thick ropes that kept the ship in place. Once aboard the ship, Leo and Raph took care of two Foot ninja before taking cover with Alex behind a crate. Master Splinter took out another who found them.
Leo looked around and then pointed to an air vent before saying, "Looks like our way in."
They forced it open and crawled in. Alex was last to enter so it was her job to put the vent back on before she followed. They crawled for a while before coming to another air vent. They looked down it to see several Foot scientists, her brothers and Fred, and the Shredder.
"The Shredder?" Leo stated, surprised. "Not again."
"I'm not surprised anymore," Alex muttered.
"I see he still gets his suits at the hardware store," Raph mumbled.
"Look, more robots," Leo pointed out.
"They are manufacturing deadly assassins," Splinter said. "They must be stopped. This facility must be completely and utterly destroyed."
"Don, here's the plan," Leo said into his head set.
Why do Leo and Raph get a head set, but Master and I don't? Alex thought. I'm always the last one to get the cool toys!
"We need to blow the ship sky high," Leo said. "To do that, we'll have to get it out into open waters away from the city. Raph, Alex, Master Splinter and I will take the bridge and get the ship moving. Mikey, you and Zog cast off the mooring lines and meet us on the bridge. Don, can you sink it?"
Alex didn't know what he was saying because she couldn't hear him, but she assumed he could. They were on a boat filled with gas, after all. If he couldn't, he had completely lost his touch.
The two turtles, rat and human made their way to the bridge and walked up to the controls. Alex placed herself in front of the controls and started to work. She wasn't an engineer, but she could most likely figure out how to get the ship moving. It wasn't just because of April that she had managed to get that internship at Stocktronics.
"Sheesh," she heard Raph said. "Not one of them says on."
"Well duh, Raphie boy," Alex muttered, flipping on various switches to get in the process of things. "That'd be too easy, wouldn't it?" However, she froze when the lights suddenly turned on. I didn't do that…She turned, just like everybody else, to see Hun standing across the room.
"Welcome aboard, freaks," he said.
"Hey, I resent that. I'm human," Alex protested.
He ignored her and continued. "I'll be your cruise conductor for the trip and I'm happy to tell you, you'll be experiencing pain. Lots and lots of pain."
"No thank you," Alex said, continuing on with the switches. "I've experienced enough of that lately. I'm all set."
Her work stopped once more due to the Elite breaking in through the front windows. Oh boy, Alex thought. Why can't any of this ever go easy for us? "Don't hold back on them, guys!" Alex yelled to her friends. "They may be my brothers, but this isn't them!"
"Uh, Mikey?" Alex was just able to hear Leo say. "Now would be a good to bring in our friend; our secret weapon? Mikey, come in. Mikey, come in!"
Master Splinter, Raph and Leo were busy fighting the Elite while Alex stood at the controls. "Would you like some assistance?" Splinter ask, walking up to the girl.
"Help is always welcome," she said. "Flip that switch and then jam your cane into it. That should get us underway." She was still working with some buttons, but from the corner of her eyes, she could see Splinter do as she instructed. The ship moved and started to make its way out to open water.
However, Alex lurched forward as the ship halted, as if it had hit something or something was holding it back. The mooring lines, Alex thought. Mikey and Zog didn't get their job finished. If they didn't get it finished, they had to have run into some trouble. Oh, they better be okay. Master Splinter had done exactly what Alex told him to, which put the control so that they were flooring. It was going as fast as it would go, so there was no way for her to get it to break the line.
Without anything else to do at the controls, Alex moved to aid the guys. She jumped over the controls while pulling out her sword and landed next to her two friends that were surrounded by her brothers and once best friend. However, she didn't get a chance to fight before Hun held up Master Splinter wrapped in chains.
"Hun, if you harm one hair on Master Splinters body, you're gonna wish you were never born!" Raph threatened.
"That's big talk for such a puny reptile," Hun laughed. "Now, put down your weapons before the rat gets exterminated."
"No my sons," Splinter said.
Hello! Alex thought. Okay, I know it's not the time, but seriously! Why am I always left out!
"Do not give up your weapons!" he finished.
Before Leo spoke, she already knew what they were going to do. There was no debating. "Master Splinter, I'm sorry." Alex, Raph and Leo all put their weapons down.
"Good boys," Hun said.
"Dude!" Alex yelled. "Seriously? Does this -" she pointed to herself – "look like a guy's body to you?"
"No it does not," Raph mumbled under his breath.
Alex blushed at the compliment and ignored the dropping feeling in her stomach as she said, "Thank you!"
The Elites tied Alex, Leo and Raph up. They were placed on the ground with Master Splinter; Alex between the two turtles. Leo was to her right and Raph to her left while Master Splinter was one the opposite side of Leo. They waited for a couple minutes before anything happened. Finally, the doors opened and Kurai walked in.
Raph leaned over and said, "Hey Leo, it's your buddy."
"Not the time, Raph," Alex muttered back.
"It's never the time, Princess," he said back.
"Really? What's up with the Princess thing all of a sudden?" she whispered harshly.
"Leonardo," Kurai said. "I wish you had never come to this place. Now it has fallen upon me to slay you all."
"So much for your word of honor," Leo spat.
"I-I am sorry," she said. "But I must follow my Master's orders." She pulled out her sword from her back.
"Face it, bro. She's just as bad as the Shredder," Raph said.
"I have to agree with hothead," Alex added.
"I should have known better than to trust you, Kurai," Leo said.
She raised her sword over her head and was about to strike, but stopped once Hun spoke. "Wait," he said. "Let's make this a little more interesting." He had Leo's swords. He walked over to them and cut the bindings on Leo. He stepped back and threw the swords up in the air as he said, "Now show us what you've got, sword boy. Take her out and I just might let the rat go free."
Leo caught them and turned to Kurai. "I can't let you do the Shredder's dirty work without a fight, Kurai."
"I am honor bound to serve him," she replied as they circled each other.
"As entertaining as this is, I'd rather be out there fighting," Alex mumbled. Alex had managed to shift herself enough so that she could pull out her tanto. She had been working on cutting the ropes on her wrist the whole time.
Raph looked behind her and saw what she was doing and smirked. "I'm with you there," Raph said back.
They attacked. "If you serve the Shredder, then you have no honor!"
"You are wrong!"
"I was taught that honor, Bushido, was everything to a true worrier!" Leo kicked her away and said, "I was raised to live by that code. Can you do that?" He put his swords away. "Can you live with honor? Show me. Here's your chance."
No!
She got up and went to strike Leo in the head, but stopped only centimeters before hitting him. A moment later, she put her sword down on the ground, dejectedly. Hun clapped as he said, "So the Shredder's little pet doesn't have the guts to do her job. Move over, girly. Watch how things get done New York Style!"
Hearing that, Alex started to work faster on her bindings. "Trust me, this is going to hurt you a lot more than it hurts me," Hun laughed.
A loud knocking noise came from the door. A moment later, a couple Foot ninja flew through the door. Zog charged in and punched Hun right in the face. Mikey came in a moment later yelling, "There's no need to fear! Michelangelo's here!"
"Mikey!" Leo exclaimed. Don then jumped through the already smashed window. "Don!" Leo then ran over and cut Raph's bindings along with Master Splinter's. Alex had managed to get through her right then, so Leo didn't have to cut through her's.
"All right!" Raph exclaimed. "For a minute, I was afraid I was going to have to sit this one out. I could've joined sooner if Princess here had gotten through her ropes faster!" he teased. He picked up his sai and threw them at Zack
"Dude!" she protested.
"What? He was going after Donny!" Raph defended.
"No not that," Alex said. "I was protesting the comment!"
Splinter turned to their left and hit Nathan. Alex flinched. Sure, I told them to not hold back against my boys, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. It pained her to know that her brothers were getting hurt by someone of her closest friends. It hurt to know that she sometimes did it too. And it hurt even more knowing that it was her fault that they were still stuck on the wrong side.
Alex did not go into battle, despite the fact that she could have done a little bit of help. She just couldn't make herself do it. The guys have it under control. It's all good. She just didn't know how useful she'd be against her brothers and Fred. So when the fight was over, Alex walked over to Raph, Leo and Splinter who were standing in front of Kurai.
"I have failed my Master," Kurai said.
"It is all right," Splinter said. "You could not do your duty because it went against your honor."
"Uh, guys!" Don exclaimed. "We've got about five minutes before this trip buys a one way ticket to the bottom of the ocean."
"Time to go! Zog, we're moving out!" Mikey exclaimed.
Their little marry band of misfits ran out of the bridge and down the stairs. Once down there, they all froze. Before them stood the Shredder. Oh great. Just what we needed. Another stall.
"Well, well, well," Shredder said. "Quite a manajura (sp?). A rat, four turtles, a mere human girl, and a Triceraton, if I'm not mistaken."
"Shredder!" Leo exclaimed. "I should have known we'd meet again."
"Yes, but this will be the last time," Shredder replied. He ordered the assassin robots behind him to attack. It raised it gun hand and shot.
Everybody charged for the middle to attack, except for Raph who had been shot to the side. Alex ran over to see if he was okay. She bent down and touched his arm, making him look up at her. His brow was knit together in confusion and Alex wondered what he was thinking about, but they didn't have time to pause and contemplate that. There was too much going on. She'd just try and meditate about it later.
Raph looked over her shoulder and then yelled, "Look out!" He grabbed her bridal style and they dodged another blast directed at them. He set her down and then asked, "Do this together?"
"Wouldn't have it any other way," she said with a smirk.
They charged the robot, dodging blasts as they went. Raph grabbed a hold of the robot's gun arm while Alex went about behind and put it in a choke hold.
"Raph, watch out!" Mikey yelled.
Both Alex and Raph looked up to see a shot going over to flammable barrels. "Uh-oh!"
Explosions rang out in the middle of the ship. Everybody fell down into it. Some landed more gracefully than others. Alex had landed on her back with the robot on top of her with Raph on top of the robot. She screamed as the pain shot through her back. The Robot and Raph bounced off the girl, leaving her laying there, gasping for air. Just before she was about to roll over onto her side, a large beam fell over her, landing on her stomach. It didn't completely crush her though. She was just pinned. There had been an object to her left that had prevented that from happening. Another scream escaped her mouth.
Alex tried to get it off of her, but she still couldn't breathe properly from the fall. She was still gasping and the pain in her back and stomach shock through her like electricity.
"Oh no!" Alex heard Donny say. "We've got less than a minute to get out of here!"
"Where's Alex?" Leo asked.
"Crud!" Raph yelled.
"Alex!" Mikey yelled.
They all ran over to the girl and pried off the large rubble and helped her up. "Thanks guys," Alex said. Raph had been the one to pick the girl up. She expected to be put down on the ground, but he didn't. He kept a hold on her and ran with the rest of the group. They were forced to stop though when the Shredder popped out of the rubble.
"This is the end, turtles!" Shredder said.
Not a turtle, Alex thought.
"You will never get off this ship alive!" he added.
"This Federation worm is mine!" Zog yelled. He charged after Shredder and picked up a large pillar. He smashed it over Shredder's head and knocked him to the ground. He turned around and yelled, "Victory!"
"Zog!" Mikey yelled. "No!"
Shredder had gotten up and struck Zog in the back, causing him to scream out. He dropped the pillar and collapsed onto the ground.
"Triceraton fool," Shredder said. "All who oppose me as fated to parish. You mutant scum should know that better than anyone!" He started to walk towards them. "I have tolerated you turtles for far too long!"
Zog had managed to get up and grabbed a hold of Shredder. "Sirs, tell the Zog fought bravely for his comrades." He started to walk away with Shredder. "For the Republic! For victory!" He threw himself and Shredder into the blazing inferno.
"No!" Alex yelled. "Zog!" She squired in Raph's hold. "We have to save him!" She gasped as she moved in a painful way.
"Alex stop! You're going to hurt yourself," Raph told her.
"It's too late!" Donny said. "He's gone."
"My sons, my beloved Alexandra, he has given us out lives. We must not dishonor his brave sacrifice," Splinter said.
The ship made a loud noise. "Come on!" Leo yelled. "Let's go!"
"It's going to blow any second!" Donny told them as they made it out of the stairwell.
They all jumped off the side of the boat, landing in the water. Alex was still in Raph's rasp. She held her breath and felt the cold water wash over her. He helped her swim away from the boat as quickly as they could go. He was doing most of the work though. She felt bad for that.
They resurfaced to see the boat go down. However, they wasted no time swimming to show. Each one of them took turns helping Alex; letting her ride on their shells as they swam. They finally made it to the docks and Alex sat on it as the others stood.
"You know, it was a real honor having Zog as one of us," Leo said. "He was a great worrier."
Alex reached up and took Mikey's hand, trying to comfort him. She knew that, despite only just meeting Zog, he had become rather close to him. Plus, there was no bond stronger than those of comrades who fight together. The turtles, Alex and Splinter seemed to know that all too well.