Ch 34. Fighting to Save a Life

The three brothers made their way into TCRI looking around cautiously as they went in. "They said they were going to ship Leo to Japan," Donnie whispered as they walked toward the elevator.

"Yeah, like a piece of equipment." Raph muttered angrily. He let out a huff, "Any idea where they might do that Don?"

Donnie rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Well, their mail room is on the third floor but that would be just envelopes and small packages." He pulled out his cell phone and started pushing buttons. "According to the building's blue prints, they do have a loading area in the back of the building where they load and unload boxes of equipment so I'd say we should check there."

Mikey shrugged, "Works for me."

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At the back of the building, Saki watched Stockman, Bradford and Xever gather equipment and put them into different size shipping boxes. "These machines will help to manufacture the drug once we get everything to Japan and have them set up." Stockman was saying as he numbered the boxes and checked off the inventory.

"Where is the crate for Leonardo?" Saki asked as his eyes wandered over to where the turtle lay on the floor, unconscious.

Bradford walked over to a long crate; he removed the lock and opened the lid. Saki walked over and inspected it, paying specific attention to the small air holes on the lid. "Perfect." He looked back over at his son. "Make sure you secure him tightly within the box, we don't want him getting any cuts on the ride over." He turned and walked out of the room.

Meanwhile, Raph, Donnie and Mikey walked down the hallway keeping their eyes and ears open for signs of Saki or any of his goons. As they made their way; footsteps could be heard coming toward them and they quickly ducked inside a utility closet. They peeked out and held their breath as Saki walked by heading toward the elevator.

"Must be on his way to his office," Donnie muttered as Raph slowly opened the door and looked cautiously around.

"Okay guys," Raph said as he led the way, "Let's take it slow and easy, we don't want to let Saki's men know we're here."

The others nodded and followed his lead, walking over to where loud voices were coming from behind a large door. They walked up to it and placed their ears against the door, listening intently to what was happening on the other side.

"Be careful with that!" A loud voice yelled, "That box is filled with a variety of chemicals and if they are spilled it could cause this place to go up in fiery blaze!"

"That sounds like Dr. Baxter Stockman," Donnie whispered, "I remember hearing him give a lecture at the high school once."

"He is in cahoots with Saki," Raph said and slowly pushed the door open, cringing as a small creak could be heard. They peaked in and surveyed the room. They watched Stockman go from one crate to another verifying the equipment inside and giving last minute instructions to both Xever and Bradford.

"Make sure you secure those chemicals in separate boxes, they…ackk," Stockman was suddenly grabbed around the throat by Bradford who growled down at him angrily as he picked him up.

"You don't give us orders you insignificant bug," The bearded man told him as he pushed him away and onto the floor, "When Saki's not here, I'm in charge,"

"Think again Bradford," Xever stated walking over to him, "You are nothing here; I am in charge when Saki is not in the room."

Bradford brought his fist up as Stockman quickly backed away from them, "I ought a smash you into next week," Bradford threatened with raised fist, "For going behind my back and alerting the master you skinny backstabbing ingrate!"

"You were losing sight of the goal Bradford," Xever stated, "Now stop being childish and help me get this turtle into his crate before the boss gets back."

From the door, the three turtles watched as Xever and Bradford picked Leo up and callously dropped him into the crate. Donnie, who was directly behind Raph, noticed the green-eyed turtle growl and clench his fist in anger, he placed a hand on Raph's shoulder to steady him and motioned to both his brothers to move away from the door, the three stepped back and quietly shut the door.

"What's the plan?" Mikey asked.

"Only plan we got," Raph said twirling his sais, "We rush the place.

"But what if Saki comes back?" Mikey asked fearfully, "We'd be outnumbered."

"I'll take care of Stockman," Donnie said, "He's a scientist so he's nothing to worry about when it comes to fighting; the other two, however are definitely going to be a problem." He looked over at Raph, "Especially if Saki gets back before we can take them down and get Leo out of there."

"Then let's take them down before he gets back." Raph said clearly getting agitated. "On the count of three," The others nodded and readied their weapons, "One, two, three!"

They rushed the door and kicked it open. The three humans turned in surprise to see the three turtles run in. "Get away from Leo!" Raph screamed as he rushed toward Xever and Bradford with Mikey following behind him.

Donnie quickly ran over to Stockman and, using his staff, forced the scientist away from a box he was currently packing up. "I don't know what's in these crates Stockman," Donnie said as he twirled his bo, "But something tells me Rockwell will be very interested in them."

"Who are you turtles!?" Stockman demanded, "And how did you get in here!?"

"These are those Hamato brats," Bradford replied as he brought his arm up and blocked Mikey's nun-chucks from coming down on his head. "They're also friends of Leonardo's."

"What happened to those idiots that were guarding the door Bradford!?" Xever yelled as he dodged around Raph's fist.

"They ran away with their tails between their legs after we gave them a beat down." Mikey yelled as he and Bradford started trading blows.

"So be it," Xever sneered as he and Raph began grapple, "I have been hoping our paths would cross again turtle."

"So have I!" Raph yelled back as he swung his said at Xever's head, "And we're gonna make you sorry you ever crossed paths with us!"

"Not half as sorry as we're going to make you." Bradford yelled back as he slammed his foot against Mikey's plastron hitting him full in the stomach. Mikey went flying and smacked against a small crate hitting it hard enough to make the small box tumble backward. Donnie looked at the box curiously as the sound of glass clanking together could be heard.

"Listen to me turtle," Stockman said as he attempted to plead with Donnie, "The experiments we've been doing are showing great potential in helping people," His eyes darted over to where Mikey was picking himself up and he watched in fear as the crate he banged into fell over, he breathe a sigh of relief when nothing happened. "We can do so much if you just let us continue with what we need to do." He attempted to make his way over toward the box but Donnie quickly blocked him.

"Are you actually expecting me to sell out my own kind?" He demanded in disbelief while swinging his staff keeping Stockman from running away. "Let alone believe what you're telling us?"

Stockman backed against another box and reached inside, "I expect you to be reasonable!" He yelled as his arm came out swinging and threw a test tube at the turtle's face.

Donnie ducked and watched as the tube went flying over his head, landing several feet away. "It doesn't matter Stockman, we already know the truth!" He said as he turned back to see Stockman coming at him holding the lid to the box.

For the next several minutes, the brothers continued to fight desperately against the humans, Donnie finally managed to get the upper hand against Stockman, knocking him against a wall temporarily stunning him. He ran over to where Mikey was currently being held down by Bradford.

"I'm going to rip you out of your shell!" The large human yelled as he pushed the chain of Mikey's nun-chuck against the smaller turtle's throat.

"Get off my brother!" Donnie yelled, barreling into Bradford and forcing him off Mikey.

Bradford rolled over and jumped up, smashing his fist against Donnie's jaw causing stars to light up behind the turtle's eyes. The tall turtle reeled backward and smacked into Mikey who had rolled over and was trying to get off the floor. They fell against each other as Donnie's bo went sliding across the floor.

Raph turned and watched as Bradford began to pummel his two brothers into unconsciousness, he kicked Xever away from him and rushed to help the others. But he never got far as Xever managed to quickly compose himself and rush toward the turtle before he could reach his brothers. With a loud yell, he shoved his foot hard into Raph's shell and shoved him violently toward Bradford who turned and smashed his fist against Raph's chest. Raph staggered backward and was quickly grabbed by Xever who pinned his arms behind his back.

""Now we will have a little fun." Xever whispered into Raph's ear.

"ENOUGH!" They turned toward the door and watched as Saki made his way inside. "What is going on in here?" He demanded, walking over to Xever.

"Thanks to those purple idiots, we had a little pest problem to deal with master." Xever said as he restrained Raph who was struggling in his hands while Bradford stood over the other two.

"We can't let these mutants go," Stockman said walking painfully over to Saki. "They'll alert Rockwell and tell them everything they've seen."

"Something tells me Rockwell already knows much of what we are doing." Saki muttered as he stared down at Raph with cold, hateful eyes. He slowly walked over to a long crate and pried the lid open. "I suppose your father will miss you if you are not home soon," He said as he removed a long katana. He began to run his hand along the blade. "So I guess I should send you back to him," He turned and smiled evilly at Raph, "In little, tiny pieces." He started toward Raph but stopped when he heard a small groan over by where Bradford was standing, he bend down and grabbed onto Mikey and forced him to stand.

Raph continued to struggle in Xever's hands as he watched Saki make his way over to the smaller turtle. "Tell me Raphael," Saki asked as he placed the blade against Mikey's neck. "Is your brother's screams worth your attempt at rescuing Leonardo?"

"Get away from him you monster!" Raph screamed out as he watched Saki draw back the blade. Mikey's eyes widen in fear and he let out a loud terrifying scream as he saw the blade coming toward him.

Saki swung the blade with all his might anticipating the feel of the sword slicing through cold reptilian flesh, but the only thing he ended up feeling was the edge suddenly smacking against metal as it hit the blade of Donatello's staff currently being held by Leo.

"Get away from my friends!" Leo yelled as he began to violently swing the staff over and over against Saki's sword forcing him to back away from Mikey.

"What the hell Stockman!?" Bradford screamed, "I thought you said the drug would keep him asleep for several hours, days even?!"

Stockman shook his head in bewilderment, "Must have been the enhancing drug," He muttered as he began to move away in fear, "It must have altered the turtle's immunity to the sedative I gave him." Realizing their project was quickly falling apart; Stockman ran toward the door and out of the room before anyone could stop him.

Taken aback by the sudden appearance of Leo, Raph felt Xever inadvertently loosen his grip on Raph's arms allowing Raph to quickly jerk himself to the side and kick Xever away from him. Xever fell to the floor and growled up at Raph. He slowly picked himself up and pulled out his butterfly knife. "You will pay for that turtle." He sneered threateningly.

Meanwhile, Donnie opened his eyes in time to see Leo defend his brother. Realizing Bradford was stunned by Leo's sudden appearance, he took the opportunity to wrap his leg around Bradford's leg and pull him back hard causing Bradford to fall to the ground bringing Mikey with him. The two turtle's quickly jumped up and Mikey ran to grab his nun chucks. Before Bradford could even attempt to defend himself or get up, Mikey, with a loud 'booyakasha' brought his chucks down hard on Bradford's skull knocking the large human into unconsciousness.

The two turned to see Xever jump up and begin swinging his knife at Raph who dodged and jumped back avoiding the blade. As he backed away, out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of his sais to the side of him, he quickly flipped to the side and grabbed the weapon, bringing it up and blocking Xever's arm before he could plunge the knife into Raph's stomach. As Xever leaned over Raph, the turtle brought his leg up and slammed the heel of his foot into Xever's kneecap. Raph heard the sound of breaking bone as Xever let out a pained filled scream and fell to the ground clutching his knee. Raph smirked as he stood and watched Xever groaning and gasping in pain as he held his knee. Raph looked down at Xever with a look of victory, he had found his mark and broke Xever's kneecap.

With Xever and Bradford finally out of the way, Raph turned and started over to where Leo and Saki were fighting but was held back by Donnie who had come up behind him with Mikey close behind. "He needs to do this by himself Raph," Mikey told him, "You know he does."

Raph nodded, "Donnie, go call the cops." He told him then turned to Mikey. "Keep an eye on those two," He said pointing to Xever and Bradford, he turned and gripped his sais tightly, "if Saki even looks like he's going to take Leo down, I'll slice him through."

As Leo and Saki battled back and forth, tears were streaming down the turtle's face as he put all his strength into hitting the tall evil human as hard as possible. "All this time!" Leo screamed at him, "You used me, and for what!?" He cried as he threw Donnie's staff down and started kicking and punching him. He managed to knock Saki onto the floor and jumped on top of him, his fist continuing to strike Saki's face over and over again in a heated rage. "To create some sort of drug to give to the military!?" He jumped up and panted hard, watching as Saki slowly got to his feet, "And now I find out you killed MY MOTHER!" As Saki stood, Leo threw his right foot out in a forward kick and caught the man in the jaw. "All this time I was nothing more than an experiment to you!" Leo stopped attacking and stood with his fist and jaw clenched and trembling hard. "SAY SOMETHING!" He screamed, "TELL ME IT'S ALL A MISTAKE AND I'M WRONG!"

Saki wiped the blood off his face and started laughing, "No Leonardo," He told him, "You, like your mother, were nothing more than mere puppets in a scheme to make me rich and powerful."

Leo continued to shake hard, "She loved you, and you killed her!" He quickly picked up Saki's fallen blade and ran toward him. But Saki ducked and twirled as Leo ran past him. Leo turned and steadied himself, "Fight me you bastard!" Leo demanded. "Get a weapon and FIGHT ME!"

He watched angrily as Saki slowly walked back toward the box he had removed the sword from. The turtles watched as he pulled out an iron glove and place it on his hand. "Yes Leonardo, all this time I used you and your mother, all this time I have been lying to you, using the blood I got from you to further research for a new type of enhancing serum to make soldiers stronger, faster, able to go without sleep longer as well as become more immune to diseases." He made a fist and Leo's eyes widen as three blades slid out of the glove. "But it wasn't just for the military; it was also for my soldiers, my army of warriors."

Leo looked at Saki in confusion, "What are you talking about?" he demanded as he brought his blade up to defend himself, "Who are your soldiers?"

"All this time I've had you and your mother believing I was traveling to Japan for TCRI," Saki sneered, "But that was just an excuse so I could continue my work on building my army that in time would be as powerful as any other army in history!"

"You're insane," Leo told him as he shook hard.

""Am I?" Saki scowled at Leo, "In Japan I go by another name, in Japan I am known as 'The Shredder'," He brought his gauntlet up and made a fist, the three turtles gasped as they watched three long blades slide out, "A fierce samurai warrior that was born to conquer and rule the world!" He swung his blades at Leo who quickly brought his own sword up and blocked, they struggled for several moments with their blades locked. "Had I been proud to have you for a son I would pass on that heritage to you."

"I wouldn't want it!" Leo yelled as he pushed Saki off him.

Leo and Saki continued to battle back and forth swinging their blades and trading jabs and kicks. "Pathetic!" Saki yelled as Leo swung his blade missing completely. "You really think you can defeat me!" He taunted, "You are nothing compared to me," He swung his leg up and caught Leo in the cheek. He fell to the ground panting and gasping for breath. Saki kicked him in the stomach sending Leo sliding away from him. He advanced on the young turtle, blades out, laughing and taunting him. "You are weak Leonardo," He sneered as Leo stood, "You try so hard yet you are nothing like me. You and the rest of your kind are nothing but freaks trying to make it in a human world." He slid his blades in and threw a punch catching Leo in the jaw. Saki grabbed Leo by his collar and pulled him close. "This is why your mother was so easy," He smiled cruelly down at him, "So willing to let me use her."

Leo gritted his teeth and clenched his fist, "Don't you dare talk about my mother!" He screamed as Saki laughed.

Saki threw Leo against a box with a variety of equipment sitting on top, next to the box with the chemicals inside. "You think you can stop me from getting what I want?" He leered down at Leo, his face filled with hate.

Leo looked up at him, he felt the fire in his soul flare up to a boiling point, he clenched his fist hard around the hilt of the blade, he stood and shook hard in a purple rage, "SAKI!" He screamed and ran toward him, his blade up and ready to slice into him, "You are nothing!" He screamed as Saki dodged his strike, "You are the pathetic one! Only wanting to use and destroy! Trying to play God when you're nothing but a lowly worm! Command those around you with fear!" Leo swung his blade furiously forcing Saki backward eventually making him trip and fall to the floor. "My mother was good, kind and decent." Tears fell hard as he continued to scream at him while swinging, kicking and punching him. "What she saw in you I'll never know!" He punched and hit Saki in the face, "You could've had so much but you threw it away!" He threw the katana on the floor and jumped on top of him, pummeling him over and over again. "To think I wanted to be like you, wishing I could live up to your standards when all this time you wanted to use me!" Saki attempted to push Leo off him but the turtle held fast. "All this time I thought you cared about me when I nothing but a test subject to you!"

Saki turned his back toward Leo and covered his head as the blows continued to rain down on him. For several seconds Leo continued to beat him; letting every hurt, every bit of anger and hate pour out of him. He finally stood up and gave Saki one last kick to his back. He stared down at the evil man who slowly turned to look at him. "Is that it?" He asked, breathing hard, spitting and wiping the blood out of his mouth, "Don't you want revenge?" He looked at the sword that laid a few inches away from Leo. "Take up that sword and strike me down boy," He slowly got up and moved toward him, "Finish what you started."

Leo swallowed and shook his head, "You were right about something Saki," Leo told him as he began to back away, "I am nothing like you." He stared at him and forced himself to calm down. "I could never kill anyone, no matter how much I am always going to HATE them!" Leo shook with rage but held himself back. He turned his back from Saki and started toward Raph and Mikey who had been watching everything with open mouths. In the background, sirens could now be heard, "Those sirens are for you," Leo muttered to Saki as he slowly walked away from him.

Saki face contorted in an ugly purple rage, "Don't you dare turn you back on me turtle!" He jumped up and ran toward Leo, his blades up and ready to strike his son down, but Leo turned and struck his leg out sending Saki flying back against the box with the equipment on top, they fell off the box and landed into the box with the chemicals, causing a chain reaction of sparks. The three turtles watched as the sparks suddenly ignited and a loud explosion suddenly sounded throughout the room and within moments, the various boxes and equipment was on fire.

Before anyone knew what was happening, Saki quickly became engulfed in flames. Leo watched in horror as his father stood, screaming in pain and walking blinding about the room banging into other equipment and boxes. "Father!" Leo cried out, he attempted to run towards him but was grabbed by Raph.

"We need to get out of here!" he cried forcing Leo toward the entrance.

"I have to help him!" Leo yelled back as he tried to break free from Raph's grip. But due to the spilled chemicals, the fire was spreading quickly and Saki had made his way further toward the back. Mikey grabbed at Xever as he and Bradford sat up and saw what was happening. Bradford pushed the turtle away and made his way toward the entrance without hesitation while Mikey helped Xever, who was screaming in pain, make his way to the exit of the building.

As the two humans and three turtles ran out of the room, police came running in. "My father's still in there and the rooms on fire!" Leo screamed as he continued to try and get out of Raph's grip. "Let me go, I have to help him!" Tears fell from Leo's eyes. "FATHER!"

One officer turned to another, "Call for backup and the fire department," he ordered and ran inside the fiery room while Raph dragged Leo out the building.

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Almost an hour later, Leo sat on the steps of the building; a blanket had been placed around his shoulders and though he shivered lightly, he didn't seem to feel the cold of the early morning. People walked around him, speaking loudly barking out orders and cleaning up the scene, but he didn't seem to hear any of it. His eyes watched as Donnie spoke with Rockwell and Raph and Mikey spoke with two officers about what had happened while officers led Stockman and Bradford to police cars and Xever, on a stretcher, was being placed in an ambulance, but his eyes only seemed to stare right through all that was happening in front of him.

He was numb, his mind still filled with the horrific scene of his father engulfed in flames, his screams still echoing loudly in his head. His own voice yelled at him, telling him he had failed to save his father, and he had once again failed to save someone who he had cared about.

Raph came over to him and placed a tender hand on his shoulder. "Leo," he whispered, "The police are going to want to speak with you." Leo nodded numbly. "They couldn't find him," Raph told him. "The fire department searched through everything but there was no sign of a body or even traces of...anything." Raph muttered quietly as Leo again nodded.

"You're going to come home and stay with us Leo," Raph told him.

Leo turned and shook his head at him, "You shouldn't be around me Raph," He said, "Everyone I love tends to die when their around me."

"Oh Leo…" Raph began but was interrupted by a loud voice calling his name.

"Raphael, Donatello, Michelangelo!" The turtles looked up and watched as Splinter ran through the crowd and over to his sons. "Oh my sons, I was scared for you."

Leo watched with a lump in his throat as Splinter wrapped his arms around his three sons. After a few moments, Splinter made his way over to him. "Raphael has told me you do not want to come home with us?"

"I can't," Leo looked up at him with shimmering eyes,"I need to speak with my aunt first." Leo told him as he stood and started to walk away, but a hand on his shoulder held him in his spot.

Leo looked up into the caring eyes of Splinter, "You should come home with us….my son," He said, his voice a little more forceful. More tears rolled down the Leo's face as Splinter gently brought him into a hug.

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Wow another long chapter but again so much detail. This story will be wrapping up soon so please keep those reviews coming. Thanks again and Peace :)