Ch.7-Choices, Choices

The Krang had dragged the turtle about a hundred feet down the eerie white and purple hallway before his struggling finally died down. Even so, the Krang kept their guns pointed at the back of his shell and head.

Mona Lisa…No, Raphael focus. Where are they taking me? Okay no ideas on that one. What should I do about it? Ugh, my arm hurts. No, focus. The only way to escape is by attacking now while I'm out here. But, I won't be able to do much without my arms. Hm. If I could just…Raph jumped up of the ground and did a back flip, bringing his knees to his plastron as he brought his arms up over his head. Perfect. Now that I have my arms back I can—ah! Raphael screamed in pain as a powerful jolt electricity shot through his body. Electric cuffs. Dammit, I should have seen that one coming, he thought to himself while his body ached from the intensity of the shock. The Krang picked him up by arms and dragged him into the communication room. Raph stood slowly, his eyes examining the room carefully. It was a circular, one chamber room. With a Krang communication orb in the center, not unlike the one he had seen in the Technodrome when he'd been brain-switched with a Krang. The middle of the room surrounding the communication orb was three steps lower than where he was standing right now. Perfect, he thought, Time for a little bit of improv. He approached the communication orb and then pretended to stumble on one of the steps, pressing some of the buttons as he caught himself. Good thing I figured out how to do this last time, he thought as he 'accidentally' pressed the buttons he needed as he pulled himself up from his little 'fall.' Some Krang droids with guns told him to move away from the communication orb and he obeyed.

"Krang contact Krang Prime."

Krang Prime? Why would they be calling Krang Prime?

"Why have you contacted me, Krang?"

"The turtle called Raphael is now in the hands of Krang."

"Bring the one called the turtle before Krang Prime." Two of the Krang grabbed his arms and dragged him in front of the communication consol.

Donatello jolted upright in his lab chair when he heard a noise. The Krang communication orb! It had been almost a week since his brother was taken by the Krang. And to say they missed him was the understatement of the century. He jumped into his computer chair, changing the frequency so that he could better hear what was going on. Donnie gasped when he recognized the voice: That's Krang Prime!

"LEO, MIKEY, GUYS GET IN HERE QUICK!"

They were by his side in less than a minute with the addition of Master Splinter.

"What is it Donnie?" Asked Leo.

"It's the Krang communication orb. I'm getting a transmission. I've got audio, but if I could just find the right frequency I should be able to…there." An image of Krang prime appeared on the computer screen.

"Why have you contacted me, Krang?"

"The turtle called Raphael is now in the hands of Krang."

"Donnie they've got Raph! Can you pinpoint the source of the signal?"

"I'm working on it Leo!" Donnie shouted in exasperation, while simultaneously feeding the information to the computer.

"Bring the the turtle that is known as the one called Raphael before Krang." Two of the Krang grabbed his arms and dragged him in front of the communication consol.

Leo gasped. Raphael looked horrible. His emerald green skin was paler than usual and he was covered in bruises and cuts. His head had two really dark bruises and he held his left arm awkwardly, probably because it was in pain. Other than that he was alive and well, which comforted Leo, even if only for a split second. But what happened next would haunt him for the rest of his life.

"All of the ones who are turtles must be eliminated for interfering with the plans of Krang. Krang! Eliminate the one called Raphael, that which is known in earth terms as: immediately."

Leo, Mikey, Donnie and Master Splinter held their breath and could only watch helplessly as the Krang pointed guns at their Raphael's head and then all of a sudden the transmission went blank.

Raph threw his cuffed hands up, shielding his head and breaking the cuffs. Then he jumped upward, and the two Krang that had been holding him inadvertently shot each other when they missed. The turtle grabbed their weapons and proceeded to shoot every Krang that crossed his path as he ran back to the cell block as fast as his feet could carry him. When he reached the cell he shot the lock mechanism, which of course set off the alarm and the plasma shield dropped. "Mona? Mona Lisa?"

"Raphael!" The light green lizard ran over and hugged him. "Are you alright?"

"Alright as I can be at the moment. What about you? Did they hurt you?"

"It's just a little light head trauma, nothing to worry about."

"Good. Come on, we're getting out of here."

"Wait, you escaped?" She asked him as they ran side by side down the corridor.

"Yeah."

"Then, why did you come back?"

"I'd never forgive myself for leaving you behind." Their eyes met and for a moment they just stared at each other. But the moment quickly faded as the sound of mechanized footsteps drew their attention back to the current situation.

Mona Lisa hacked into a utilities closet that was just big enough for the two of them and shoved Raphael inside. They listened as a group of at least a hundred Krang bots began running towards the detention center they just escaped from.

Still, seems like a lot more soldiers than you'd think the Krang would need to combat a prison break. Raph thought. "Why are there this many Krang soldiers guarding a prison?" He said aloud hoping to catch Mona's attention.

Mona Lisa turned toward him her expression grave. "Because it isn't a prison. The Krang only began to use it as such because of the building's advanced security. The Preliminary was built around a central supercomputer. That computer is the main database for all of the Krang experiments, research, and invasion plans. The computer doesn't only store them but it creates them. Every tactic and plan down to the remotest little scrap of data that has to do with the invasion of Earth is made by that computer. If someone were to take out the computer…" Her voice faded when she saw the look in Raph's eyes.

"Mona, if we don't get out of here now we may never get another chance."

"It's worth the risk, Raph." Silence spread between them and Mona Lisa closed her eyes. "Go."

Raph's bright green eyes went wide. Dark brown eyes snapped open and met his gaze. He sincerely hoped that she hadn't meant what he thought she meant. "Go now."

"What? No! What are you going to do?" His only answer was an intense stare and for a moment he could see the fire burning in her eyes. She didn't have to say a word, he already knew the answer. "You can't do it alone."

She lowered her gaze. "Go home, Raphael. Go home to your brothers while you still can."

Raphael could hear Master Splinter in his mind as clearly as if he were standing next to them.

Do not forget your brothers, Raphael. They will always be there for you, my son, no matter what happens.

Choices are often difficult, Raphael. Chaos ensues when the mind and body disagree. That is when a choice must be made. Let your heart decide, Raphael, and you will never go wrong.

The red masked turtle snapped back to reality, with a newfound confidence. "I can understand why you feel you should do it yourself, but I can't let you go it alone."

"But your brothers, your family, if we…"

"I'll always be there for my brothers. Even if we don't make it back alive, they know I'll always be with them no matter what happens. Let's do this. For my brothers, my sensei, and the world."