Cursing silently, Mike thought about the skills Splinter had been teaching him since childhood--concentration, determination, focus. Gripping his trusty weapons, he hit his enemies like a ton of bricks, scattering them in every direction. He fought with a skill unmatched, knowing only one thing--he had to save Raphael's life.
Distracted by their new foe, and presuming Raphael already dead, the Foot left him behind and focused their attention on Michaelangelo. Mike was good, there was no doubt about it, but he was beginning to tire. There were too many of them. How could Raph have possibly thought he could defeat them all by himself, especially in his condition?
The chucks delivered a deadly blow to the Foot nearest him. Without hesitation, he turned to his right, sending a kick into another one's stomach, along with a blow to the head. The ninja fell to the ground. Mike whirled around, and was met with a punch to the shoulder. He staggered back, but quickly found his footing, and delivered a roundhouse kick to the man's jaw. As that one went down, eight more quickly took his place. It was getting to be too much. He couldn't possibly handle this entire group alone.
A katana came flying toward him. He ducked just on time, barely missing the deadly blade as it whizzed over his head. These guys meant business. He could only wish that Don and Leo were there with him, or even Splinter, but he was alone. Knowing that he was severely outnumbered, he decided to try to reason with them.
"Look guys..." He held up his hands, trying to show them he meant no harm. "I don't want to fight you."
The Foot weren't buying it. They drew in a little closer.
"This is all just a big misunderstanding. I was just trying to protect my brother. You know, the one down there." He pointed toward the ever-growing puddle of blood. "He didn't mean you any harm, he's just not in his right mind right now. He's sick and--"
"Kill him!" one of the ninja shouted.
Michaelangelo swallowed and readied himself again as the entire group began to swarm in.
He was met with kicks and punches, more swift and severe than he'd encountered before. Obviously, the Foot too, decided they had a score to settle. It seemed that tonight, their life-long dissension was to be concluded once and for all.
Mike lashed out a chuck in an over-hand maneuver, but as his hand came down to break bone, it was met with a swift kick, knocking the weapon away. Mike pulled in his hand, gripping it tightly. Pain shot down his finger and into his wrist. He knew right away that one of his knuckles had been shattered. Having only one good hand, and one weapon left, he continued to do his best to fight them off.
He concentrated on using his feet. He kicked one in the shin, then knocked him out as he bent over. Another attacked from behind, chipping off a piece of Mike's shell. He yelled in pain, and turned on his assailant, punching him in the face. As the ninja staggered back, more swarmed in to take his place.
Mike was tiring quickly, and the pain in his hand made it worse. He knew he couldn't keep this up much longer. A sai came at him, and he blocked, but as he did so, his other chuck was wrenched from his hand. Left to fight without weapons, he was easily subdued. The Foot closed in, trapping him within a circle of bodies and weapons.
Raphael gasped, his chest aflame with pain. He could hardly breathe, let alone move. He heard the sound of the battle, still taking place nearby. Mustering all of his strength, he pushed himself up into a sitting position and took stock of the fight. He saw Michaelangelo now. He was surrounded entirely by Foot ninja. It appeared as though he had been disarmed. He was doing the best he could, but he was drained of energy, and appeared to be doctoring his right hand. Raph knew that Mike needed his help, but he wasn't sure if he could even stand up, let alone fight.
Mike punched and kicked, knocking a few more of his enemies unconscious. Still, the group seemed to grow before his eyes. For each one that Mike knocked down, three more seemed to materialize in their place. One of the Foot crept up behind Michaelangelo, his sword raised for the kill. Raphael tried to scream out to warn him, but found he had no voice. As Mike turned to face the silent attacker, the world seemed to slow down. He watched in horror as the sword came down at an awkward angle, slicing into Mike's neck and down toward his shoulder.
"NOOOOOOO!" Raphael had finally found his voice, but it seemed, it was too late.
Donatello watched in horror as Michaelangelo slumped to the ground at his enemies' feet. Tears streamed down his face, his entire body shaking with grief. "I don't want to see this...God, I don't want to see this..." Still, he didn't command Chet to freeze the program. He kept his eyes on the scene, gritting his teeth against the pain that threatened to consume him.
In an instant, Raphael was on his feet and rushing toward the mob of Foot soldiers. Deadly rage contorted his features, rendering him almost unrecognizable. Don cringed as he watched him literally tear into the bodies that surrounded him. Blinded by fury and rage, he continued to knock them down, killing one after the other, until the pain in his chest became too much to bear.
Finally, sorrow and defeat overtaking him, he slumped to the ground next to his fallen brother. "You bastards" he said softly. He knew it was over. They would kill him now and end this torment. But surprisingly, as he gripped Mike's arm with a clammy hand, the ninjas began to move away. Confused, he glanced up, finally noticing the figure of a woman, dressed in the armor of their old enemy, the Shredder.
"Do it." He told her. "End it now. Do it quickly."
But the figure didn't move. It just stood there for a long time, watching him in the darkness. No longer caring, he allowed the tears to stream down his face. All of his pent up anger, all of the rage dissipating as he cradled his fallen brother in his arms.
The figure reached up and removed the helmet, allowing the shoulder length black hair to cascade down and frame her face.
"Karai?" He breathed in fascination.
A look of sorrow filled her features as she looked at him. "I'm sorry." She said softly. Those were the only words she spoke before she turned and walked away. The rest of the Foot followed her, leaving Raphael alone.
"We could never be sure just what Karai meant by her apology that night, but Raphael told me later that it seemed as though she was saddened by what had transpired between our clans. I don't think she would have let her ninja hurt my brothers had she been there when the fight began, but by the time she called them off, it was already too late. Raphael had never known it was in fact she that had taken the Foot Clan from him. He'd heard several years previous that she'd lost leadership with the Japanese Foot, but only now was it starting to make sense."
Raphael was kneeling next to Michaelangelo. Donatello got a distinct sense of deja vu as he watched him fumble helplessly, unsure of what to do for his fallen brother.
"Mike..." He had a grip on his shoulders and shook him gently. "Mike, come on...wake up. It's over."
Michaelangelo's eyes slowly opened, and he gazed up at Raphael incoherently.
"Oh thank God..." Raphael whispered. "Listen Mike, I--"
"Raph, you're okay..." Mike wheezed.
"Yeah, I'll be all right, and so will you. Do you think you can walk?"
Michaelangelo coughed, blood spurting from his mouth. "You...gotta go...gotta get home...before... you make it worse."
Raphael glanced down at his bloodied plastron, no longer caring what happened to him. The only thing that mattered now was Mike. "Don't worry about me, okay? Come on, we gotta get you up..." He laid his hands under Michaelangelo, struggling to get him into a sitting position. Mike coughed up some more blood. Raphael knelt there silently, watching as it coated the pavement.
**He's bleeding internally. Shit, this is bad...**
"Mike, I'm sorry...I'm so sorry I did this to you..."
His brother just stared at him in confusion. It was a very rare occasion when Raphael apologized.
"Raph, it's...not your fault..." Mike's eyes were fighting to close.
"Don't fall asleep, Mike, come on." Raphael smacked Mike's cheeks, just enough to keep him awake. "We gotta get you home."
"No...Raph...not gonna make it...you go..."
"Come on," Raph said gently. "That's foolish talk. Of course you're gonna make it. Look at me. I pulled through, didn't I? Now come on, you gotta try to stand."
Mike shook his head gently, coughing up more blood. His eyes closed and Raphael shook him firmly. "I...Raph?"
"Yeah, Mike...what is it?"
"Make sure...Donnie and Splinter know..."
"Mike?"
"Make sure...they know that...I love them..."
"Mike..."
"Make sure that Damien..." He went into another coughing fit. "Keep him...safe."
"You can tell them all of that yourself, Mike. Now come on. We gotta get you out of here or we'll freeze to death."
"Raph...?"
Raphael knelt in closer, searching Michaelangelo's deep brown eyes. They seemed shallow to him, like they were missing that usual sparkle. He felt something hot on his cheeks and realized he was crying again.
**He's not gonna make it...shit...what do I do?**
He swallowed, and mustered his courage, trying not to show Michaelangelo his fear. "Yeah?"
"I...love you."
Raphael gripped his hand, squeezing it tightly. "I love you too, buddy."
"Chet...freeze program." Donatello said softly. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he stared at the frozen forms of his brothers.
"Michaelangelo died right there in Raphael's arms, away from the rest his family, and everyone else who'd ever cared about him. It wasn't right. That's not the way it was supposed to be." His voice rose to an agonizing cry. "Dammit! He wasn't supposed to die! Not like that." He lowered his eyes, allowing the tears to fall at his feet. Sobbing, his voice grew quiet again. "He deserved so much more. My little brother...it's so unfair..."
