Chapter 17-Turtles Vs The Big Cheese
After finishing their business with the Merchant, the turtle brothers continued on with their travels.
As they walked, however, Leo started to feel a bit uneasy. In fact, something had been nagging him since after Mikey was found to be infected with a Plaga.
"Hey, Mikey?" He called his youngest brother over.
"Yeah, Leo?" Mikey asked as he walked towards him.
"Could you go ahead a bit and do some recon for us, please? Raph, Donnie, and I need to double-check our supplies before he continue on…" Leo requested.
"Err, sure…Yeah, I can do that…" Mikey accepted the request, despite feeling a bit confused since the group had already restocked on a lot of things from the Merchant's shop.
"Don't go too far, though; just head over to where that tree is near that rocky wall ahead of you…We'll only be a few minutes, and we'll catch up with you when we're done…" Leo told him.
"Alright, got it!" Mikey replied in understanding before he headed over to the large tree up ahead.
As soon as Mikey was far away from the others, Leo knelt down and took out his items before placing them on the floor and spoke to Raph and Donnie.
"Guys, we need to talk…Pretend we're checking our supplies, so that Mikey doesn't get suspicious…"
"What is it, Leo? I already have a feeling that this isn't about doing a supply check…" Donnie questioned as he and Raph knelt down and played along with the ruse.
"You're right, Don, it's not; it's about Mikey's 'condition'…" Leo confessed with a sigh.
"What about it?" Raph questioned.
"We all saw him cough up blood earlier, but he wasn't the only one; last I checked, I've also had the same thing happen to me back on that large lake ages ago…" Leo explained in a serious tone.
"Wait, Leo…Yer not tellin' us dat-"
"I am, Raph…There's a possibility that I've somehow been infected with a Plaga too…" Leo confirmed, already knowing what Raph was about to say.
A stunned silence fell for a moment before Raph and Donnie's eyes and mouths slowly widened.
"What!?" "But how!?" They hissed.
"I've got a feeling that it happened whilst we were unconscious after being knocked out by the village chief shortly after finding Luis in that cellar…" Leo theorised.
"You may be right, Leo…I don't think it was a coincidence, but just to confirm, can I take a quick look at your neck…?" Donnie agreed before looking at Leo's neck after being given the go-ahead by Leo himself.
Sure enough, Donnie paused and his eyes widened again when he spotted a small but visible injection mark on the left side of Leo's neck, confirming Leo's suspicions.
"Oh, no…Leo, you're right; you've definitely been injected with something in your neck…!" Donnie told him grimly.
"A plaga…There's no mistaking it…" Leo corrected.
"Great…Not only is Mikey infected, but you are too! If Mikey finds out-" Raph exclaimed in disbelief.
"I know, Raph, but we're not gonna tell Mikey about this…Not right now…" Leo told him abruptly.
"Why not?" Donnie asked in confusion since the turtle brothers were known to always talk to each other if something was bothering them.
"He's already been through enough as it is emotionally, so finding out that I have a plaga inside me too will only make things worse for him…We'll tell him about it when the time is right…" Leo answered him in concern for Mikey's mental health.
"If ya say so, bro, but ya know dat we won't be able ta keep yer secret hidden fer long…" Raph warned.
"I know that, Raph, but our first priority right now is to keep Mikey calm and safe until we find a cure and get the shell out of here, so no-one must say a word to Mikey about we have just discussed until further notice…Understood?" Leo told him firmly.
"Yeah…" Raph and Donnie answered in understanding, even though they didn't like keeping secrets from their youngest brother.
"Good…Now, come on, let's get back to Mikey before he starts wondering what's taking us so long…" Leo replied.
Raph and Donnie nodded before they all gathered their supplies and headed over to the tree where Mikey was doing recon. The orange-banded turtle saw them instantly and smiled.
"Hey, dudes…! Everything ok?" Mikey greeted after jumping down from the tree.
"Yeah, all our supplies are fully stocked and ready to go…!" Donnie confirmed.
"Did you see or find anything, Mikey?" Leo asked in a slightly more serious tone.
"Nothing so far; I've checked the area from here 3 times now, and there's no signs of any bad dudes lurking around…" Mikey reported.
"Good…Nice work doing the recon for us, little brother…!" Leo complimented proudly.
"We still need to tread carefully, though; there may not be enemies around now, but there may be some hiding in unexpected places…" Donnie reminded.
"Yeah, we already know dat, bro…Let's hurry up and get goin'…!" Raph replied after rolling his eyes in annoyance.
Nodding in agreement, the turtle brothers resumed their walk until they came across a large solid gate. Leo and Raph opened it and walked through first to look out for any signs of a threat, which there were none.
"Come on…" Leo commanded to Donnie and Mikey, who were waiting for the all-clear before they could follow their older brothers.
But just as Mikey was about to enter through the gate, someone grabbed his arm and kept him from moving.
"Wha-? Aaahh!" Mikey screamed in terror as he soon as he saw a tall scary man before he tried to break free from the man's grip.
"Mikey!" "Let go of him!" Leo, Raph, and Donnie shouted whilst the two older turtles charged towards the tall man and stabbed him with their small bladed weapons to make him release Mikey, who ran over to Donnie shortly after.
Everything and everyone was still for a moment before the tall man looked up, revealing himself to be the village chief from earlier.
"Shell, it's him again!" Donnie said fearfully.
"Again?" Mikey questioned.
Then, as quick as a flash, the chief pulled his arm back and knocked Leo and Raph flying towards their younger brothers before landing hard on the ground.
"Leo!" "Raph!" Mikey and Donnie cried out as they ran to their older brothers' aid. They then looked up to see what the village chief was doing.
"Your souls require cleansing…" The Chief said eerily as he turned to the door and bent the handles around each other, keeping it closed.
"Come, child…" He then said to Mikey before he started walking towards them.
"Everyone, run!" Leo shouted.
The younger turtles didn't need to be told twice; they ran as fast as their legs could carry them, but they were soon confronted by incoming hostiles ahead of them.
"Shell! We've got company up ahead!" Raph alerted.
"Forget about them, just keep running!" Leo told him as he dodged an attack from one of the infected villagers and continued running until the quartet approached a bridge.
"Hurry, get across that bridge!" Leo commanded before he and his brothers started running across the bridge.
But suddenly…
SNAP!
"Waah!" Mikey cried out as his whole foot broke through a weakened piece of wood and got stuck.
"Mikey!" The older brothers shouted before they hurried to their youngest brother's aid.
"Argh! Shell, I'm stuck!" Mikey exclaimed as he struggled to get his ankle freed.
"Donnie, help Mikey! We'll hold them off!" Leo commanded.
Donnie hurried over to a struggling Mikey and worked to get his foot freed, whilst Leo and Raph covered them and took out any hostiles that were heading their way.
Suddenly, the bridge started to shake before it began to slowly break from underneath the turtle brothers' feet.
"Oh, shell…" "Ya gotta be kiddin' me…!" Leo and Raph exclaimed.
A moment later, Donnie was able to help Mikey get his foot free from the hole in the bridge.
"Ok, we're good to go!" Donnie alerted Leo and Raph.
"Then, RUN!" Leo shouted before he and his brothers ran and landed on solid ground roughly but safely just as the bridge collapsed altogether.
"Shell, dat was a close one…" Raph exclaimed after catching his breath.
"Yeah…" Mikey agreed.
The turtle brothers looked over at the other side to see the chief staring at them with a stern expression before slowly walking away, making the quartet sigh in relief.
"Is everyone alright?" Leo asked his brothers.
"Yeah…" "I'm fine…" Raph and Donnie answered as they stood up straight.
"And you, Mikey?" Leo asked the youngest.
"Y-Yeah…My ankle's a bit grazed, but I'm ok…" Mikey answered whilst rubbing the sore spot on his ankle.
"Good…" Leo replied in relief.
"Here, Mikey, put this ointment on the grazed area; it'll help it heal faster…" Donnie replied as he handed him the medical cream, which Mikey gratefully took and used it on the grazes on his ankle.
"Listen, Mikey, you're the one who that guy is after…If you see him again, you run…" Leo instructed his youngest brother firmly.
"B-But what about you guys?" Mikey questioned anxiously.
"We'll protect you from him, no matter what…" Leo answered with fire of determination burning in his eyes.
Mikey didn't like the sound of that, but he didn't protest and decided to continue on with his brothers.
Soon, they arrived at a large storage house, but the front door was locked from the inside so they decided to use the stairs on the side of the house to access the top floor instead.
"Careful now, guys…" Leo told his brothers quietly before they all walked inside the building.
Then, suddenly…
BANG! "Waaaaaaahhh!"
Something burst through the wall and pushed all but Mikey off the upper platform, causing them to scream and land hard on the ground below.
"Bros!" Mikey cried out fearfully.
The three older brothers groaned and slowly raised their heads up to see the chief standing and looking at them darkly.
"Shell, he's back again!" Donnie shouted.
The chief then turned to look up at Mikey, who instantly became fearful towards him.
Bang! Bang!
Gunshots were fired and had struck the chief, who slowly turned and saw Leo now standing on his feet and pointing his smoking gun at him. This meant that it was the blue-banded turtle who shot at the tall man.
"Cease your pointless struggling. Abandon your body to the will of our God…" The chief demanded at Leo.
"You're not a good missionary, you know that?" Leo told him before he fired his gun at the chief again.
"Oh, Almighty! Grant me the strength to crush your enemies!" The chief prayed as he picked up his fallen hat and put it back on his head.
At the corner of his eye, Raph saw a fuel barrel and ran over to it before kicking it over. Leo and Donnie immediately rushed over to Raph's side when they saw this.
"Mikey, run! Get outta here!" Raph commanded.
"O-Ok…!" Mikey replied shakily before he took off to find somewhere safe to hide.
Once he knew that Mikey was out of the danger zone, Raph kicked the fuel barrel again, making it roll towards the chief.
"See ya, freak!" He said before he took a shot at the barrel as it reached the chief.
Boom!
The fuel barrel exploded in a ball of flames, which should've been strong enough to finish the chief off.
However, to the older turtle brothers' horror, it didn't.
"God, I thank you for your gift!" They heard the chief's now darkened voice within the flames before they watched as he walked out of the flames to reveal his newly mutated form.
His legs were still human, but his spine had grown in height and had become exposed, and it had centipede-like legs sticking out of it. His upper body now had four scorpion-like appendages sticking out of his back, whilst the nails in his hands became longer and turned into claws.
"Ok, I know ugly, but dis definitely tips da scales fer da ugliest freak I've seen so far!" Raph said in disgust.
"The plaga inside him must have grown to an advanced level for him to transform into this…!" Donnie speculated as he looked at the mutated chief in horror.
"Don't falter, my brothers…We can still defeat him! Get ready!" Leo told his brothers firmly in determination as he readied his gun.
"Behold! The Miracle!" The mutant chief bellowed before he charged towards the turtle brothers whilst preparing to attack them.
Leo and Raph managed to dodge out of the way, but Donnie wasn't quick enough.
"Ngh! Gasp!" The purple-banded turtle grunted and gasped when the chief grabbed him by the neck.
Fortunately, Donnie remembered the knife that he got from his first meeting with the Merchant. He quickly grabbed the knife and plunged it into the crook of the chief's neck, causing him to roar in pain and let the purple-banded turtle go.
"You ok, Donnie!?" Leo asked in concern as he reached him.
"Y-Yeah…" Donnie rasped after getting his breath back.
"Hey, scorpion freak! Pick on someone yer own size!" Raph shouted before he fired a strong gunshot at the chief with his Riot Gun.
The mutated man roared out in pain before he collapsed to his knees, revealing a large moving eyeball on his back.
"Look! On his back! Aim at that!" Donnie shouted as he pointed at the large eyeball.
Leo was the first to charge, take aim, and stab the eyeball with his katana swords. This caused the chief a great deal of pain before he stood back up.
"Heretics!" The chief shouted in anger.
"Dat did somethin'…!" Raph said in slight relief before he dodged a swipe from the chief and fired another shot from his shotgun at him, causing the mutant man to kneel and expose the eyeball again.
"Now!" Leo commanded before Donnie rushed over and stabbed the eyeball with his large knife.
The chief cried out in agony once again before his upper half grabbed onto the wooden beam above him as his lower half broke off, leaving him with just half a body and four extra scorpion-like arms. He then swung and grabbed onto the beam behind him.
"Ok, now dat's just sick…!" Raph said with a grimace.
"Careful; he's going to use his extra arms to attack us!" Donnie warned.
The turtle brothers readied themselves as the chief grabbed a bunch of burning planks of wood and threw them towards the trio like spears.
"Whoa!" Leo shouted as he and his brothers dodged the attack.
"Burn in His flames!" The chief shouted before he grabbed two fuel barrels and prepared to throw them at the turtle brothers.
"Quick! Shoot the barrels!" Leo commanded before he and his brothers aimed and fired at the barrels, causing them to explode in front of the chief.
"Right back at ya, creep!" Raph shouted.
By this time, almost the entire room was engulfed in flames, and the turtle brothers knew that if they didn't end this battle soon, they would end up either burned to a crisp or buried alive by the collapsing building.
"Shell…this heat is getting intense…We need to end this now…!" Donnie panted as he struggled to withstand the heat.
"There is no escape!" The chief taunted darkly as he got closer to the turtle brothers and started readying a pincer attack towards them.
"You're wrong! There's always a way out!" Leo countered before he aimed his machinegun and started shooting at him.
After being shot multiple times, the chief roared in pain before he fell from the beam that he was holding on to and landed flat on the ground.
"…Lord…Saddler…!" The chief cried out before he groaned and collapsed to the floor one last time and became still, indicating that he had died. One of his eyes then fell out of his eye socket and rolled slightly on the ground.
"Urgh…Gross…" Raph said with a creased face when he saw that.
"It's alright, Raph; it's a fake glass eye, so it's not real..." Donnie told him after taking a closer look at the eyeball.
Meanwhile, outside the house, Mikey had managed to find a way out before running towards a bottom floor window nearby.
"Bros!" He shouted, but the flames made it difficult for his brothers to hear him.
Mikey looked around anxiously to try and find something that could help get his brothers out spotted a stool, grabbed it, and threw it at the window. This caused a backdraft and flames to burst out through the window, but Mikey was unharmed. He then walked closer to the window whilst shielding his face from the heat with his arms before he shouted again.
"Dudes, hurry! This place is about to come down!"
"Mikey! Guys, come on, we can get out this way!" Donnie shouted after hearing the window smashing and his immediate little brother's cry first before he made a dash towards the window.
Leo followed suit, but Raph halted and looked down at the deceased chief with a glare.
"Give our regards ta yer God, freak…" Raph told him before he caught up with his brothers towards the window.
The trio climbed out of the window one at a time due to its small size, and it wasn't until Leo was halfway out when the wooden beam nearby collapsed and fell to the ground, causing embers to burst and land on Leo's shell after he had fully jumped out of the window.
The three younger brothers quickly helped to put out the embers on Leo's shell by patting on them before they helped him stand back up. They then took a moment to catch their breaths and reminisce on what had just happened.
"A-Are you all ok?" Mikey asked anxiously, breaking the silence.
"Yeah, thanks to you, Mikey…!" Donnie answered before he engulfed him in a hug, which Mikey greatly accepted.
"Yeah…Thanks, bro…" Raph agreed whilst rubbing Mikey's head.
"Heh…You're welcome…" The orange-banded turtle replied bashfully.
Donnie released Mikey from the hug before Leo walked over to the orange-banded turtle and placed a hand on his shoulder as he spoke.
"You did good, Mikey…But we should get moving; this fire is bound to catch our enemies' attention…"
"Yeah…you're right, Leo…" Mikey agreed before looking down with a scared expression on his face. Leo immediately noticed that.
"What's wrong?" Leo questioned.
"Erm…I-I'm not gonna turn into one of them…am I, bros?" Mikey asked nervously.
"No, Mikey…Like I said earlier; we won't let that happen to you…" Leo instantly answered in determination.
"Yeah, we can definitely promise you on that, Mikey…!" Donnie sworn in agreement.
"Right! We'll protect ya, no matter what, bro!" Raph agreed next with a fist on his chest.
"…Thanks, bros…" Mikey replied gratefully whilst trying not to lose control of his emotions.
"Now…let's get away from here before more enemies show up…" Leo told his brothers before they all hastily walked away from the now partially collapsed house of flames.
