Raphael was secretly ecstatic that they'd been revealed, and that the real action could begin. Stealth and secrecy had its place in every operation, but he wasn't in the mood to step lightly. He didn't waste time waiting for any more warriors to join the escalating fight, throwing himself into frenzy in the middle of the pack that had just discovered them.
With the first bone-cracking connection his foot made with someone's rib cage, Raphael sensed himself on the verge of losing control. He ignored the sensation initially, feeding off the enraged energy to decimate another man that hadn't gotten out of his way fast enough.
The red-masked turtle laughed in the face of another man wielding a tanto in an ungainly manner, and easily brought down the prongs of one of his sai on the handle of his enemy's weapon. "You're gonna have to do so much better than that."
The man tried to twist his blade out from underneath Raphael's grip, and the turtle applied appropriate force to disarm him completely. He caught the warrior by the arm, and swung the man around as hard as he could, hefting him against another warrior that was inches from his left side.
Raphael looked around quickly for his brothers, and realized they'd huddled up closer to him when he hadn't been paying attention. He chided himself for leaving Leo and Mike out of the equation, and backed up further so that his shell was almost touching theirs.
"We've got this, guys, we've got this," Raphael proclaimed.
Leonardo gave him a short nod as he raised both katana in a ready stance. There were few things Raphael loved more than the sight of his oldest brother with his blades drawn, preparing to face down the enemy.
He grinned with satisfaction at the serious glint in his youngest brother's eyes too. As much of a jokester as Michelangelo was, when it came time to work, the orange-masked turtle was just as deadly as the rest of them.
It was a good feeling to be facing down the threat together, but the loss of Donatello was still weighing heavily in the back of Raphael's mind. He willfully shut down the temptation for grief, channeling the emotion into anger.
They'll pay for touching Donny and Bran. They'll all pay.
Raphael shuddered as the fury built to a crescendo, and more warriors began fanning out across the room. He had to laugh once more at their disorganized assault. Without a leader to direct 'em, they're like little lemmings following each other off a cliff. I'll be happy to show them the way down.
His instinct was to charge to meet them, but he followed Leonardo's example in remaining still. He waited along with his brothers for the men to get in range, not moving until the handle of a nunchuck flailed over his head.
Raphael shook his head as he darted out with his sai, rapidly capturing the chain of the weapon with which the man had been bearing down on him. "Aw, is this your first time using a real nunchuck?" he taunted. "My little brother mastered that move when he was about six years old."
"I looked better doing it too," Mike chortled.
Raphael yanked the chain of the nunchuck to draw his enemy closer. The startled man stared into his amber eyes, as though seeing him for the first time.
"Shitenno!" His enemy gasped.
"That's right, scum, you picked a fight with the wrong demon." Raphael delivered the disabling blow; a right hook to the surprised man's chin that sent him tumbling backwards several feet.
Raphael unhooked the nunchuck from his sai, but then lashed out with the handle at the next warrior within his reach. "Little variety keeps things fresh." He chuckled.
The man staggered as if stunned, and Raphael's right foot left the ground to finish him off. The red-masked turtle spun to carry his momentum through to the next man beside the one he'd just engaged, snapping the warrior's head back before he tumbled to the cement.
A strong grip on his shoulder nearly made Raphael fall into another attack pattern, but the touch was familiar.
"We're moving!" Leonardo directed. "Their numbers are limited. We need to get to Brandon before they do something with him!"
The thought sent goose bumps down Raphael's arms, and he eagerly followed Leonardo as the blue-masked turtle charged across the basement. Mike fell into position right beside Raphael, and they aggressively dealt with the assailants that remained in the darkened space.
Raphael chuckled as he watched Mike front-flip over a warrior. As the confused man jerked around to face the orange-masked turtle, Mike wrapped both nunchucks around the enemy's arms, flinging him out of the way with a quick turn and flick of his wrists.
Raphael bulled forward and rammed his elbow across the next man's jaw. He actually felt the bone shatter, but he didn't even take the time to watch the assailant fall. They wanna act like tough guys; let them go down even harder.
A cry of exclamation from Leonardo had Raphael spinning to see another man who was sprinting away from them. That guy is going the wrong direction. Kat already said those stairs were the only way in or out. Can't imagine where he thinks he's going, unless—
Raphael broke off as Leonardo dashed after the man, catching up to him in three strides. Rather than taking the warrior down, Leonardo yanked him around by the collar and pinned him to the floor, finally lowering a katana against his chin.
"Where is he? Where's Brandon?" the blue-masked turtle demanded dangerously.
"It was not our fault! We did as we were told, it was Daichi, he is the one! You must understand…" the man babbled under Leonardo's glare.
As much as Raphael wanted to watch the remainder of the encounter, he chose to assist Mike in taking out a couple more of the men that appeared to be trying to avoid notice. He grinned at the sight of two warriors who had arms locked, as though they were drawing strength from one another.
"Ain't that sweet," Raphael remarked. "The two of you wanna go down together. I can arrange that for you."
The red-masked turtle smirked as the men vaulted toward him as one unit. Raphael lowered his center of gravity and ducked his head protectively as he darted to meet them in the middle of the point at which their bodies were joined. His muscular arms leveled both warriors at the same time, as he plowed directly over them like a locomotive.
Raphael dusted off his hands as he looked around, searching for stragglers. He could see Mike scanning every direction, and assumed he was doing the same thing.
"Stay alert!" Leonardo called to them. "You, up!" he commanded his captive. "Take us to Brandon!"
"It wasn't me, I didn't have anything to do with him—"
"I don't want to hear it!" Leonardo was close to losing his steady tone. "I'm two seconds away from turning you into a pincushion, you follow me? Take us to Brandon!"
Raphael grinned as Leonardo picked the man up and shoved him in front of them, forcing the warrior to walk. The man shuffled forward on unsteady legs, heading for the far corner of the basement.
Raphael could see another shadow in the short distance, and hurried ahead to meet the human. The warrior didn't even attempt to resist him, instantly backing up against the wall.
"You just stay put if you know what's good…" Raphael started, trailing off when he saw what was under the lone light to his right. His heart skipped a beat at the sight of the pale figure that was strapped down to the table.
Raphael turned away from the warrior entirely, and walked in slow motion to investigate. The individual's face was hidden by a dark piece of material, but it was easy to see the deep lacerations that marred his bare chest.
The red-masked turtle swallowed hard as he removed what turned out to be a soaking wet towel from Brandon's face. He was relieved to see the man blink, and Raphael let out part of the breath he'd been holding.
"Brandon. It's gonna be okay now, Man, we got you."
The man didn't focus on him, and the grip Raphael took on his shoulder had the opposite effect of encouraging him. Brandon trembled so hard that the table vibrated beneath him.
"Bran, it's okay," Raphael repeated soothingly. "It's okay. We're here."
The man's unseeing gaze was almost as disturbing as the frigid temperature of his skin. Leonardo appeared suddenly on the other side of Brandon without any sound to announce his approach.
"He ain't with it, Fearless. I don't think he even knows it's us," Raphael faltered.
"We need to get him out of the restraints and take him to Doc," Leo said flatly.
As his older brother's hand strayed toward the first set of restraints, he took a sharp breath. "His right arm looks broken, Raph. Watch out for other injuries, but let's get him off this thing."
Brandon's body tensed, instantly curling into a protective position on the table as he was released. He brought his good arm up to shield his face as the turtles moved to lift him.
"Brandon, no one can hurt you now," Leonardo tried to reassure him. "We're getting you out of here. You're safe, Bran. You're safe."
A cry that sounded more animalistic than human left Brandon's mouth and Raphael immediately let go of him. The man's voice was raw, as if he was close to losing it entirely. Raphael wondered fleetingly if they should have brought him something to drink, and his eyes fell on a jug that was about half-way full of water. He was almost relieved, until he put the pieces together.
"They…they were torturing him, Leo." The realization hit Raphael like a sucker punch, but the shock didn't last long. With a bellow of rage he turned on the warrior who was still plastered against the wall.
"Raph, wait! Mike, don't let him—"
Leonardo's words hardly registered in Raphael's ears, as he tried valiantly to get to the man. Michelangelo struggled to hold back his advance.
"Dude, hang on, hang on! Listen to Leo, Bro, listen to him!"
In the state of uncontrolled fury, he was close to clawing his youngest brother's eyes out just for getting in his way. Leonardo wrapped his arms around his shoulders from behind, dragging him backwards a couple of inches before Raphael locked his legs and refused to be budged.
"Raph, stop!" Leonardo insisted. "You can't take him out. We need him alive!"
"What for?" the red-masked turtle shot back.
"If something goes wrong with Daichi, we'll have to get answers from one of them. We can't afford to lose anyone," Leonardo said smoothly.
"Leo, look at Bran! They tortured him; they tore him to shreds! They left Donny to die, and we're probably not gonna get him back! Let me at him!"
"No. Not that way, Raph. Never like that." Leonardo's voice was sharper than before, and his hold was unrelenting. "We've got to get answers. We have to find out what they're doing here. Cut this out so we can get Brandon some help. He needs you to keep your cool, Bro."
Raphael's breathing was still rapid as Leonardo slowly released him.
"I'm mad too, Raph, angry enough to destroy this whole place," Leonardo told him. "But we have to put Brandon first; we have to help him. He's alive, and that's the most critical thing at the moment. The docs can treat everything else."
Raphael shook as he fixed the terrified man behind Michelangelo with the most threatening look he possessed. "You've been touched by an angel, punk, but don't you worry. I ain't through with any of you yet."
"Raph, go get Doc, and tell Kat and Tim what's going on. All things considered, I don't want to try moving Brandon on our own yet. Mike and I will start tying the rest of these guys up."
Raphael strode fiercely off into the darkness, heading for the staircase on the other side of the basement. Leo wants me as far away from these guys as possible, and it's a good thing too. He drove his foot angrily into someone's back as he stepped over them. Nothing we do to them is gonna come close to making up for what they did to Don and Brandon. Nothing.