My arm lowers from my face as I fully step out from the portal. Cool, New York air brushes my skin and I can't help but shiver as I glance around. The moon is high in the sky, illuminating the rooftops. The sound of metal clashing and wood smacking flesh fills the air and I frantically scan the area.
"There! Come, Michelangelo!"
I jump when Master Splinter suddenly calls out and I swiftly follow my father's gaze. My heart swoops as I spot Leo and Don within a sea of maroon. My brothers are shell to shell, doing their best to keep the mass of Fist ninjas at bay but even I can see that Leo and Don are wearing down. How long have they been fighting? Just how soon after they got done speaking with the doc did the Fist ambush them?
We should have gotten here sooner!
My heart pounds as Chichi and I leap to my brothers' aid, my nunchakus spinning and Father's katana gleaming in the moonlight as he yanks it from his staff. My left nunchaku smashes into the back of a Fist ninja daring to try to sneak up on Leo as his katanas are blocking two other attacks from his front. My lips purse as the ninja falls without a sound.
Serves you right. Trying to attack MY brothers.
A grunt from Leo pulls me back out of my thoughts and I duck under a swinging fist aimed at my head.
"Mi-Mikey!?" Leo grunts out, finally shoving the two ninjas away and then landing a firm kick to both of their guts. "What the shell are you doing here?! It's…oof…too dangerous for you to be here!"
I twist to my right, just barely missing the tip of the enemy's katana to the shoulder and I lash out with a flurry of blows from my precious babies. As Leo talks, I roll my eyes as two more Fist ninjas take their fallen comrade's place.
"Ya know, most people say, 'THANK YOU' to the people who are trying to save their shells," I say, deflecting a handful of throwing stars. "And like SHELL am I just gonna sit back and watch my brothers get ambushed. Besides," I flash my brother a smudge grin. "Sensei let me come."
Leo cuts down another ninja, eyes wide when I nod over to where Donnie and our father are currently knocking foe after foe onto their butts. The corner of Leo's eye twitches as his lips form a thin line, obviously warring with himself over the need to lecture me and hold his tongue due to the fact that it was our sensei and father who allowed me to disobey his orders. My big brother's face scrunches up for a split second before smoothing out as he turns as a Fist ninja attempts to creep up behind him. His fist crunches into the other ninja's face causing him to drop like a lead balloon. The other Fist ninja directly behind him trips over his fallen comrade and Leo brings the hilt of his right katana down on that foe's head, knocking him unconscious.
My body tingles and I leap up, performing a split kick to knock two more Fist ninjas away from me. I hear them land hard on the rooftop but three more Fist ninjas take their place and I groan.
"Serious? Don't you guys know when to quit?" I wrap the chain of my left nunchaku around the shaft of a bo staff. "You guys are only gonna get your butts kicked and bruised if you keep this up."
Donnie grunts from somewhere off to my left.
"Don't bother trying to reason with them, Mike. Leo and I have been fighting with them the last seven minutes. HEYA!" Wood smacks flesh. "I doubt they're gonna let up anytime soon."
My snout wrinkles as I roundhouse kick another maroon ninja into a group of three, knocking them down. Panting, I turn toward my brainiac brother.
"Where do they even find so many people to recruit?" I ask, resisting the urge to shiver as beads of sweat roll down my neck and into my shell. "There's just no WAY people are stupid enough to believe ANYTHING Hun or Tiger Claw have to say."
"It is because most of these enemies are not people," Master Splinter states, sliding to a stop from his backflip out of a swarm of maroon.
Before I can ask what he means, the words die on my lips as Sensei lashes out with his katana. The blade glides directly through a Fist ninja's skull causing him to drop his staff. My eyes widen and a sick pit starts to form in my gut when my father yanks his blade back. The maroon ninja drops to the roof top. However, instead red pooling beneath the fallen figure's head, inky black liquid spills out and the body twitches unnaturally.
"Robots," Leo growls as he lands next to me. He lifts his katana and I nearly gag as the head of one of the Fist ninjas rests upon it, Leo's blade sticking out of one of the black bugeye lens. The only thing stopping me from losing my lunch is the wires, sparks, and black liquid dripping from the ninja's neck. Unease swirls in my chest as Leo flicks his wrist, the head flying and smacking another Fist ninja in the face. The ninja falls over the ledge it just tried climbing over and I faintly hear the CRUNCH of his body hitting the cement below. Flinching, I flip a Fist ninja over my shoulder and strike the junction where his neck and shoulder meet. The ninja remains where he lies.
"Where the shell are they getting these robos from?" I wonder aloud, wincing as Don's bo smashes down on another ninja, the head concaving. I really hope that one was a robot.
"My guess? Baxter Stockman," Donnie states, huffing as he twirls his bo over his head then sending it backwards into the gut of an approaching ninja. "He's the only one I am aware of, outside of that red-headed scientist, who worked with the Shredder." A thoughtful look appears on Donnie's face as Sensei slices down three ninjas sneaking up on my purple-cladded brother. "It would explain why those Mousers were down in the sewers. If Baxter is back in the good graces of Hun and the others, he'd have the resources he needs to make new robots."
Leo kicks his opponent away.
"We'll worry about that later." He grunts as he narrowly misses a kunai to the eye. That ninja loses his arm. "Right now, we need to formulate a plan. For all we know, these robots will be never ending. And we still need to reach Raph and the others."
My throat tightens at the thought of my red-cladded brother. Raph may be strong and he may be with Slash, but if he's going through what we are currently going through. I wince as a kunai suddenly flies out of the shadows and scraps my cheek as I just narrowly twist out of the way. The flash of steel from behind me zooms over my shoulder and a Fist ninja falls out of the shadows with a kunai stuck between his eyes.
"Are you okay?"
I jump as Leo turns me, his brown eyes landing on my cheek as something warm rolls down to my chin. Something dark flashes in his eyes and I quickly use the back of my hand to wipe at the blood.
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little rusty, ya know?" I chuckle weakly. Leo's hands tighten on my shoulders as I start to turn away. I cock an eye ridge at him. "Uh, Leo? Dude, it's fine. It's just a scratch but more Fist ninjas are coming and I can't really fight with you hanging on me, dude."
Fingers flex and for a single moment, I'm afraid that Leo might throw me over his shoulder. Instead, Onii-san lowers his hand and twirls his katana before sheathing one. He holds out his hand.
"Let me see that bracelet."
My eye ridges furrow in confusion, briefly wondering how Leo even KNEW that Rockwell gave me a bracelet before shoving it from my mind. It's LEO. His perception is off the CHARTS. Pretty sure it's a natural 20 or something. Shrugging, I reach into my belt and hand it to him. Leo nods but before I can ask him what he's doing, Leo twists around and cuts down a ninja trying to sneak up behind him. Huffing, I turn back to my own opponent, eyeing the mass of ninjas climbing over the edge like weird large spiders. Flicking my nunchakus into motion, my eyes narrow as a playful smirk forms on my lips.
"All right, dudes. Who's ready to party?"
Without waiting for an answer, I launch myself forward, swinging as I speed by. The wood of my nunchakus find purchase each and every time, dropping ninja after ninja. My chest heaves and my body burns as I continue moving, not daring to pause as more ninjas spill onto the rooftop.
Shell, I think as I twist, slamming the heel of my foot into the side of a maroon body. My body's crashing.
Frustration bubbles in my chest and I punch an approaching Fist ninja. My fist throbs as something gives under my knuckles, something a little harder than bone. Hissing, I leap backwards as another ninja tries to cut me down with a katana. Panting, my legs tremble as I sidestep another attack.
Okay. So, maybe I didn't think this entire thing through. I haven't trained in who knows how long and I'm pretty sure my chi isn't where it needs to be either. But I'm not going to just sit by and let my brothers get attacked when the U.P. was willing to warn me about it! No. I might not be at a hundred percent but there's a reason I'm the Battle Nexus Champion two times over. Nobody messes with MY FAMILY and gets a way with it.
My knees wobbly slightly as I sidestep another katana, grunting as the ninja continues his pursuit. He doesn't give me a chance to counter, his blade gleaming and singing in the moonlight as I do my best to keep one step ahead of this enemy.
Wouldn't that be great? Getting sliced open while trying to rescue my big brothers? Not only would Leo and Don freak out, but more training sessions would be in my future. Which means less time playing video games and movie marathons.
A sharp pain flares up from my shoulder causing me to hiss and stumble backwards. My eyes narrow as I glare down at my left shoulder where the tip of the Fist ninja's blade caught me. The cut isn't deep but it's long and small drops of blood are already forming.
Welp, so much for not getting caught by his blade.
My lips twitch, almost forming a frown before I smirk at the ninja in front of me.
"Is that all you got? It's gonna take more than a scratch to take me down, ninja-dude."
The Fist ninja adjusts his hold on his katana as he holds his attack.
"We are not here to kill you, turtle freak," a nasally voice answers back from behind the maroon mask. "We were ordered to capture all of you."
My smirk doesn't fall but my eyes narrow as I shrug.
Over my dead body.
"Eh. Been there, done that, dude. Zero stars. Not worth my time."
The ninja lowers his stance and his legs twitch, readying himself to lunge.
"We shall see about that, turtle freak."
The Fist ninja rushes forward and I quickly drop back into dodging his attacks. I move away from the ledge, weary of having more Fist ninjas scampering over and coming up behind me. A flicker of movement is the only indication I have that my opponent has a friend when a hard blow to my side sends me hard to the roof.
"Mikey!"
"Mike!"
"Michelangelo!"
I wince, pressing my palm against my burning side and glance up as two shadows fall over me. The maroon ninjas start reaching out for me when two blurs of green, blue, and purple appear. Don dispatches of the Fist ninja on the left while Leo stabs the ninja on the first in the chest. Master Splinter materializes behind me, helping me sit up. A hard look is in his eyes as he studies me.
"My sons. We need to retreat and return back to the station," Master Splinter states, voice calm but the tension in his shoulders tells me he is anything but.
"The Fist ninjas broke our Dimension Bracelet," Donnie says over his shoulder as he blocks and parries three different attacks.
Leo kicks his opponent away, into Donnie's attackers, and thrusts the D.B. that I gave him earlier into our brainy brother's hands.
"The doctor gave Mikey a different one," Leo states as Don stares at the device in his hands. "Get us out of here, Don."
Master Splinter helps me up as Don frantically studies the screen to make sure the coordinates are correct. I swiftly pull out my ShellCell and shoot the doc and LH a text just to make sure that they're not also gonna be heading back now too. The doc said that would be bad, didn't he? If we all tried to open the portal at the same time?
Me: Hey doc LH we r gonna head back to TS
Hitting send, hoping that either they're already back at the station or getting ready too. When no response come back within the next few seconds, I shove my cell back into my belt.
"Okay, here we go!" Don exclaims as he turns and presses the green button on the bracelet. The light blinks to life and starts to shoot out to create a portal. Movement catches my eyes and my heart sinks when I spot a Fist ninja sneaking up on my immediate older brother.
"Don! Behind you!" I cry out, hand outstretched. Trying desperately trying to conjure up some chi to shield my brother with. It works for me, why not my brothers?
But no warmth comes forth.
Luckily, Donnie shifts to his left just in time, missing a bo staff to the skull. Unluckily, the bo connects with the hand holding the bracelet. A cry of shock and pain leaves Don as he drops the D.B. before he turns and kicks the Fist ninja away.
My eyes widen as the D.B. lands at my feet and I quickly scoop it up.
"Donnie?!"
My purple-cladded brother shakes his head, cradling his injured hand to his plastron as he pulls a kunai from his belt to catch the blade of a Fist ninja as he tries to slash down on my brother's head.
"I'm fine! Just reopen that portal, Mikey!"
Nodding, my hands tremble a little as I fumble with the bracelet. A slim, warm hand lands on my shoulder and Master Splinter nods at me, eyes flickering around for any approaching enemies. I bite my lip as I stare down at the device, wincing as the broken screen flickers for a moment. Some of the numbers are blurry due to the cracks but the first couple numbers are correct. My stomach clenches as I press the green button, desperately hoping that this portal is the one that we need for the train station. The light flickers and, for a moment, I'm afraid that the bulb is damaged. After a second, I relax when the light remains on and beams. The bright blue light bleeds out morphs into a large, wiggling oval. Master Splinter grabs my bicep as I turn toward Leo and Don.
"Dudes! Let's go!"
"My sons! Fall back!"
Sensei and I are rush for the portal before four Fist ninjas land in front of us. Master Splinter steps in front of me, katana in hand when Don suddenly backflips toward us and lands just beside the portal, kicking two of the Fist ninjas away. He moves to engage with the other two ninjas.
"C'mon, Leo!" I shout when I spot my eldest brother still engaged with another Fist ninja.
Not responding, Leo merely flips backwards, throwing three throwing stars at his foe before landing behind me and Sensei. I glance over my shoulder at him and smile. Leo glances at me, a ghost of a smile on his face as he gestures toward the portal. Donnie kicks another two Fist ninjas away. He turns toward us, chestnut brown eyes flashing with determination.
"Mike. You and Sensei should—"
"Donnie!"
"Don!"
My heart leaps into my throat as Don hits the roof a few feet away from us. He barely rolls out of the way as two Fist ninjas try to land on him.
"Shell!"
I twist around just as Leo catches a blade with his own from one Fist ninja and is kicking away another Fist ninja trying to approach on his right.
"Leo!" I cry out as he nearly slips his hold on the blade. Leo shakes his head.
"Get through the portal, Mikey. Don and I will be right behind you."
My chest constricts and I glare at my brother's shell.
"Are you crazy?! Sensei and I came here to help YOU and DON. I'm not going through that portal until the TWO OF YOU do as WELL!"
My chest stutters as I pant. Sensei catches my shoulder and shakes his head.
"I shall get your brothers and then the three of you shall go through the portal. I shall be right behind you."
"O—"
Air catches in my throat when a dangerous energy sparks through the air. Both Master Splinter and I tense while Leo curses and Don grumbles. My eyes widen as we turn toward the rooftop to our right. My stomach rolls as a familiar silhouette stands proud against the moon.
"Saki," Master Splinter growls, tugging me close to his side.
I swallow thickly as I turn toward my brothers.
"Leo! Don! We really gotta—"
My words catch in my throat when Leo suddenly lands in front of me and he stares at me. There is a gleam in his eyes that fills my gut with dread.
"I'm sorry, Mikey."
My eye ridges shoot up.
"Leo? What do you—?"
Air rushes from my lungs with Leo suddenly kicks me in the gut. HARD. Master Splinter grunts as I collide with him and the two of us fly backwards.
"LEO!" I manage to cry out, fear clawing at me, my hand outstretched for my brother. Leo stares after me for a second, a sad smile on his face. The last thing I see is a mass of Fist ninjas leaping at my big brother before a blinding light engulfs my vision.
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Hello everyone!
Hope you all are doing well ^.^ Sorry that this chapter was kinda short but I am hoping that chapter 23 will be quite a bit longer. It's already in the works so hopefully the wait isn't very long.
And, to everyone who has commented here on , I deeply appreciate you and I do read them! I haven't found a good way to respond back to them, but I do read them. This story is also on AO3 (which also has more edited chapters, so the grammar is a little better on there), so I can answer any comments on there if you have any questions 😊. Also, to everyone who has favorited and followed this story, thank you! All of you have helped me continue on with this story (which rarely happens for me, too many ideas floating around in this noggin) and are giving me the motivation to reach the final battle (which I've had in my head long before I started to write this out) and the end (which I already have in mind 😉).
Thanks for reading and I'll see you all in chapter 23!
