Chapter 18-Invading The Castle
After leaving the burning house, the turtle brothers followed a path that they had discovered on the other side of the building. They continued walking until they saw a large castle ahead of them.
"Wow! Look at this castle…! It's huuuuge!" Mikey exclaimed in excitement with his hands in the air.
"Yeah, it must be hundreds of years old, judging by its current condition…" Donnie agreed with his curiosity building up inside him to see what might be inside the castle.
"Dis ain't a field trip, you two…Ya do know dat dis castle is da only place we can go to since da bridge is down, and dat it might be filled with more creeps inside?" Raph reminded his younger brothers, dampening the mood a bit.
"We know that, Raph, but there's nothing wrong with having a bit of excitement now and then, especially when it comes to discoveries like this…!" Donnie told him in a mockingly hurt tone.
"Yeah, come on! Lighten up and have some fun, Raphie…!" Mikey said in agreement.
"Grr…I'll show ya fun…!" Raph growled before he started chasing after Mikey who was running away from him whilst laughing.
"Ha, ha…Ok, guys, let's calm down and head inside…" Leo told his younger brothers before they all walked across the drawbridge to the other side.
Suddenly, the drawbridge was raised for an unknown reason, surprising the turtle brothers.
"What the shell!?" Mikey exclaimed.
"Err…Who raised da drawbridge just now…?" Raph questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, at least we won't have to worry about being followed…That's something positive, anyway…" Donnie pointed out.
"Yeah, I guess you're right, bro…Still, I've got this feeling that we're being watched…" Mikey agreed before he shivered when he felt an ominous air around him.
"Me too, Mikey, but it'll be ok…Come on, let's go inside for now…" Leo replied before he and his brothers walked towards the castle's entrance.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Leo's communicator suddenly started ringing, so Leo answered it.
"Hola, Leonardo! Are you and your brothers still around?" Luis' voice was heard on the other line, surprising Leo and his brothers.
"Luis!? How did you find a connection with me?" Leo questioned in confusion since he thought that it was April calling him at first.
"Hey, I know how to use a radio…" Luis answered in a cocky tone.
"Well, to answer your earlier question…Yes, we're still around…" Leo replied, getting straight back to the point.
"We wanna go home, but Donnie and Mikey wanna check out dis castle first…" Raph told the human male through his own communicator. Donnie and Mikey glared at him in annoyance.
"Perfect, because I have a present I want to give Leonardo and Michelangelo; it's medicine that will help to suppress the progress of their…problem…" Luis replied in a serious tone.
"That's great! Where do we go to meet you?" Donnie asked in relief through his own communicator.
"Let's see…Come to the courtyard inside of the castle. We can all meet up there. Adios, amigos!" Luis instructed before ending the call.
"Alright, guys, let's head over to the courtyard…" Leo said to his brothers.
"Right!" Raph, Donnie, and Mikey replied with a nod before they followed Leo as he started walking further into the castle.
They walked up a set of stone stairs before they stopped when they saw more of the outside of the castle through a gap in the wall in front of them. Leo, Raph, and Donnie decided to take a closer look through their binoculars.
"See anything, bros?" Mikey asked.
"I see a gate up ahead. It must lead into the courtyard…Though I don't think our hosts are gonna roll out the red carpet for us…" Leo answered first when he spotted a large gate and watched as it opened and a red-cloaked worshipper walked through it before it closed behind him.
"Yeah, and I've got a feelin' dat these creeps have been waitin' fer us; there's a catapult on top of a tower up ahead…!" Raph agreed when he spotted a few men with a large wooden catapult on top of a tower on the left side.
"You may be right, Raph; there's some cloaked men holding crossbows behind the middle wall of the castle…" Donnie agreed when he saw a small group of people standing by a wall in the middle of the castle.
"W-What do we do now, then?" Mikey questioned nervously.
"We keep moving as planned…Everyone, stay sharp and keep quiet…" Leo answered firmly.
After nodding in understanding, though Mikey's nod was a bit shaky, the younger turtle brothers followed Leo further into the castle.
They had approached an area where there was a large metal barred gate ahead of them, and they suddenly ducked for cover when they heard chanting and a group of robed people walking past on the other side of the gate.
"W-What the shell are they-" Mikey gasped before Raph covered his brother's mouth shut with his hand.
"Shh! Keep yer voice down, Mikey!" Raph hissed before he slowly removed his hand from Mikey's mouth.
"S-Sorry…" Mikey said shakily and quietly.
As soon as the coast was clear, the turtle brothers continued on with their exploration of the castle. Just as they had turned round the corner, however, they were spotted by a masked man, who alerted the others, on the rampart above them.
"Here we go…!" Leo alerted his brothers as he reached for his gun.
Shortly after they grabbed and readied their weapons, the turtle brothers encountered their first two hostiles who were coming down the stairs with crossbows. Donnie quickly used his own crossbow and fired an arrow straight into the hostiles' chests before Leo and Raph shot them in the head with their handguns, killing them instantly, before the quartet continued on.
Suddenly, Mikey spotted something big and fiery shooting towards him and his brothers from the air before he realised what it was; a large fireball that was thrown by a catapult!
"Incoming!" Mikey alerted his brothers, who saw it with widened eyes.
The quartet immediately dodged out of the fireball's range just as it landed and smashed against the wall near them. Luckily, it didn't destroy the wall due to being made out of strong stone, but it had caused the wall and floor to be engulfed in flames for a full minute.
"You weren't kidding about the catapults, Raph!" Leo said in surprise.
"Ya dang right I wasn't…!" Raph replied strongly.
"Keep clear of their firing range; they can't reach us that way!" Donnie told his brothers before they all backed away slightly to avoid the catapult's aim.
Then, at the corner of his eye, Mikey spotted a cannon in the room through a metal barred window next to him and his brothers.
"Bros, look! A cannon!" He alerted his older brothers.
"Well spotted, Mikey! We can use it to our advantage!" Leo praised proudly.
"How da we get to it, though!?" Raph questioned.
"Look! The platform underneath it is attached to a chain that's being weighed down by a heavy bag! If we can disconnect it, it'll surely allow the cannon to be raised up to the top level!" Donnie pointed out.
"Alright, then let's shoot at the chain and cut the platform loose!" Leo commanded.
His younger brothers nodded before Donnie stepped forward and used his handgun to shoot at the chain. Thanks to his high accuracy in his aim, the bullet snapped the chain before everyone watched as the platform underneath the cannon immediately rose up to the top.
"Great shot, Don!" Mikey complimented, giving his purple-banded brother a high-three.
"Ok, let's hurry and get to that cannon!" Leo told his brothers in an urgent tone.
As soon as the flames had died down in front of them, the turtle brothers rushed ahead and towards another set of stairs whilst avoiding more catapulted fireballs, but then they encountered more castle hostiles at the top of the stairs.
"Grr! Get out of our way!" Raph shouted angrily before he fired his handgun at the hostiles, clearing the way for him and his brothers to access the top level of the castle.
They looked around to see where the cannon was until they had spotted it on the left side of the castle. They hurried their way over to the cannon, with Mikey being at the front, but then another fireball was shooting straight towards them.
"Mikey, watch out!" Raph shouted as he rushed over to his youngest brother, grabbed him, and dove to safety.
BOOM!
"Raph! Mikey!" "NO!" Leo and Donnie cried out in horror when the fireball landed in front of them.
A moment later, when the flames died down, Leo and Donnie held their breaths for any signs of their brothers until they saw the duo standing back up; Raph stood up first before helping Mikey stand up seconds later. They instantly ran over to them to see for themselves if they were alright.
"Are you both ok!?" Leo asked in concerned.
"Y-Yeah…" "We're fine…" Mikey and Raph answered reassuringly, despite feeling a bit shaken.
"Thank shell…" Donnie breathed a sigh of relief as he hugged Raph and Mikey, both of whom accepted the hug.
"Come on, let's get this cannon working!" Leo told his brothers after a moment of silence.
After regaining their composures, the three younger brothers followed Leo's lead and gathered near the cannon.
"Ok, how are we gonna do dis?" Raph questioned.
"We need to take out the catapults first before we can take down the door! Otherwise, they'll never stop trying to blow us to pieces…!" Donnie strategized his plan.
"Donnie's right; let's take out the catapults first!" Leo agreed before he turned to Mikey.
"Mikey, stay inside the shelter and keep watch for any incoming attacks!" He instructed as he pointed at the shelter behind the group.
"You got it, Leo!" Mikey replied before he hurried into the shelter.
"Alright! Raph, you load the cannon! Donnie, you and I will take care of the aim and firing!" Leo commanded.
With their orders given, Raph loaded the cannon with its first cannonball before Leo and Donnie aimed the cannon at their first target; the catapult located on the north-west of the castle.
"Fire!" Leo shouted before he fired the cannon, and the turtle brothers watched as the cannonball struck the catapult and destroyed it whilst taking out the hostiles controlling it.
"Yes!" "One down!" Leo, Raph, and Donnie cheered.
"Bros! Fireball at one o'clock!" Mikey suddenly alerted his brothers as he pointed at the incoming fireball.
"Take cover!" Leo shouted before he, Raph, and Donnie hurried into the shelter with Mikey.
Shortly after doing so, the fireball struck near the cannon, creating a large puddle of fire that lasted for a whole minute.
"Hey! Looks like we've got some volunteers fer target practice!" Raph alerted when he had spotted a few hooded hostiles coming towards the group.
Since the hostiles were coming towards them in a single line due to the path being narrow, the turtle brothers decided to use the cannon to take them out all at once. Raph reloaded the cannon before Leo and Donnie aimed it towards the oblivious hostiles.
"Fire!" Leo shouted before he fired the cannon, striking down the hostiles in one blow.
"Another fireball at three o'clock!" Mikey alerted again.
Hearing that, the older turtle brothers immediately took cover in the shelter with Mikey again. As soon as the fireball struck and the flames had cleared, the older trio resumed their control of the cannon, which they had now pointed at the catapult located on their right.
"Fire!" Leo shouted before firing the cannon again. The cannonball smashed into the catapult and took out the hostiles next to it.
Now that all of the catapults were taken out, the older turtle brothers focused their attention on the gate. They reloaded the cannon and turned it towards the gate.
"Ok, one more time…Fire!" Leo shouted before he fired the cannon once more.
The cannonball made it mark and completely smashed the large gate into pieces.
"Whoo! Bullseye!" Raph cheered with a fist pump.
"Well, that's one way to open a door…!" Donnie said proudly.
"Nice one, dudes…!" Mikey complimented cheerfully as he gave them each a high-three.
"Now that the door is opened, we can go further into the castle…Let's go…" Leo said before he and his younger brothers left the cannon behind and headed towards the now destroyed gate.
They walked through the remains of the gate and opened the double doors. They then walked up a small set of stairs that lead towards a large hall filled with stone pillars and lit candle stands.
"Whoa…look at this place…! I thought it would look a bit older, like the outside of the castle…!" Mikey exclaimed in awe.
"Yeah…I'm guessing the main owner of this castle must still be around and looking after it well, despite its age…" Donnie agreed as he looked around the room.
As they walked further into the hall…
"A most warm welcome to my castle…"
The turtle brothers stopped and looked around when they heard an ominous male voice echoing nearby. They then looked up and saw a small well-dressed man with white-coloured hair standing on a balcony above them.
"Such a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, turtle men…" The man greeted as he looked down at them eerily.
"Who - da shell - are you?" Raph questioned with a suspicious glare.
"Me? I am the Master of this magnificent castle…but, please…call me Ramón…" The small man introduced himself before he spoke again in a firmer tone.
"And allow me to get straight to the point. I would like you to hand over your brother in orange to me…Now…"
"Not a chance, Ramón…! Our little brother's just fine. With us!" Raph refused.
"Yeah, and why the shell would we do such a thing, anyway!? We would never hand our brother over to a complete stranger…!" Donnie questioned with a glare.
"Turtle men, turtle men…How noble…" Ramón said whilst softly punching the balcony with his fist and trying his best not to lose his temper before he spoke again.
"Nonetheless, you see, your brother must be ours…with his unique form and spiritual power as the very source, your United States, and then…the entire world shall overflow with his grace! For that is the iron will of my master, the most holy Lord Saddler!"
"Lord Saddler?" Raph questioned.
"He must be the leader of these people…We heard the villagers say his name earlier…" Donnie speculated.
"So then, you will comply, yes?" Ramón then asked with a Cheshire Cat grin.
"Never!" Mikey refused bravely with a glare, answering the question in his brothers' stead.
"You heard our brother…Now, leave us!" Leo demanded sternly as he, Raph, and Donnie stood next to Mikey supportively.
"How unfortunate…" Ramón sighed in frustration before he clicked his fingers, turned to his servants, and spoke.
"Make sure our guest's brothers feel at home…now that they have chosen death…"
As soon as Ramón and his servants walked away and disappeared through a door, the door on the bottom floor suddenly opened and several hooded hostiles appeared whilst armed with Scythes, spike balls on chains, and wooden spike shields.
"Guys…" Mikey hissed in fear.
"Stay close to us, Mikey!" Leo told his youngest brother as he, Raph, and Donnie moved closer to him and readied their weapons.
"This isn't gonna be easy, guys; two of them have spike shields, so we'll need to be careful!" Donnie pointed out cautiously.
It was then that Mikey remembered the flash grenades he had got from the Merchant sometime ago. He immediately took one off his belt, pressed the handle, and pulled the ring off it.
"Bros, shut your eyes!" Mikey shouted before he stepped forward and threw the grenade at the hostiles.
The turtle brothers quickly covered their eyes, and then…
Boom! Flash!
The grenade went off and released an intensely bright light in the middle of the fight zone. This resulted in the shield holders dropping their shields, which the turtle brothers immediately saw when they reopened their eyes.
"Now! Attack!" Leo commanded before he, Raph, and Donnie charged and struck the hostiles with their weapons.
Leo used his katana swords to strike down the scythe wielder on the left, whilst Raph used his shotgun to take out the chained spike ball wielders, and Donnie used his new explosive arrows to eliminate the two shield wielders and the remaining scythe wielder.
Once all of the enemies were defeated, the turtle brothers could take a moment to catch their breaths.
"Well, dat was unexpected…!" Raph said, breaking the silence.
"Yeah…Looks like they're starting to get desperate…" Leo agreed.
"W-What do they really want with me?" Mikey questioned anxiously.
"Not sure, Mikey, but it must be something to do with world domination with the way Ramón was talking a few minutes ago…" Donnie theorised.
"Which we won't allow ta happen…!" Raph instantly denied.
"Right! By the way, Mikey, that was a good call using one of your flash grenades to stun our enemies…!" Leo complimented proudly.
"Yeah, great job, bro…!" Raph praised whilst giving Mikey a head rub.
"Ha, ha…Well, the Merchant did say that these are great during a fight with a big group…!" Mikey reminded shyly as he held one of his flash grenades and looked at it before he remembered something important and spoke in a more serious tone.
"Anyway, we need to hurry and get to Luis; he's in danger too if that Ramón dude is after us…!"
"You're right, Mikey…Come on, let's get to that courtyard…" Leo agreed before he and his younger brothers walked over to the large door ahead of them.
However, when they had reached it and pushed it, the door would not budge.
"Huh!?" Da stupid door won't open!" Raph observed in confusion and frustration.
"Looks like our 'host' doesn't want us to go further in…" Donnie speculated.
"Well, I'm sure there's another way in…Let's look around…" Leo told his brothers calmly before they all left the door and started looking around for another way into the next room.