"Hold still!" His breath was hot and musty against her face. Rough hands grabbed her legs, fingers digging into flesh, trying to hold them down as she squirmed in protest.

"Please..." Her voice was little more than a whisper, and barely audible above his ragged breathing. "Let me go..."

A smile cracked through the angry lines in his face. "Playing hard to get again, huh?"

"Please..."

"I'll let you go when I'm good and ready. But first, we have a little date with destiny."

One hand moved down her thigh, attempting to pull her jeans down the rest of the way. The other clamped over her mouth, stifling her protests. Her voice came out as a muffled whimper from behind his fingers, her entire body squirming beneath his weight.

In a last ditch effort for freedom, she sank her teeth into the flesh of his hand and bit as hard as she could. Cursing, he pulled it back quickly, cradling the fingers where she'd broken the skin. Blood had already begun to trickle down his hand. He stared at her in fury and disbelief.

He reached up and grabbed her by the hair, twisting her head at an awkward angle. His fingers weaved through the strands tightly as he brought his face close to hers, his eyes reflecting anger and hostility. Without a word, he lowered his mouth to hers again, kissing her so hard it was painful.

"Please..." she gasped in between kisses. "Stop..."

But he wouldn't listen. Instead, he only continued more forcefully.

A muffled sound of fabric behind him startled him from the attack. But he had no time to react. Without further warning, he felt a pair of hands grab him suddenly. Before he knew what was happening, he was thrown away from the cage and up against the wall. The force of the impact caused him to hit his head, and a dull pain flared up behind his eyes.

He blinked rapidly, trying to clear some of the haze. Through blurred vision, he realized he had come face to face with his biggest nightmare. It's eyes penetrated deep into his soul, a look of rage and determination lighting them from within.

"I believe the lady said to leave her alone."

Curtis stifled a scream, his heart pounding. The rat was moving toward him, its intentions clear. He scrabbled back into the wall, his legs kicking furiously. He remembered clearly the way this thing had attacked him the last time. He still had scars...and pain. It had hurt to breathe for several weeks, and he'd had a hard time seeing for a few days, his eye had been swollen shut so tightly. He raised a hand to the side of his face, running his fingers lightly over the deep grooves Splinter's claws had left behind. The rat had been angry then...but nothing could compare to the look in its eyes at that moment.

Curtis was terrified.

"Perhaps you would enjoy a taste of your own medicine..." The rat moved swiftly, sending a sharp blow into his abdomen. He doubled over, gasping to catch his breath.

"There is a lesson you are greatly in need of learning." Its voice was strained, low, and tinged with malice. "It is dishonorable to show violence toward women."

Curtis gasped, rolling away quickly as Splinter charged him again. His head spun wildly as he rose to his feet, balling his hands into fists. He wasn't going to let this creature steal what he felt was rightfully his. No, not again.

Splinter's entire sense of being was one big ball of fiery rage. Curtis had been forcing himself on the woman he loved. He'd hurt her. She would probably have irreversible scars, both physical and mental. He'd been extremely lucky to find his way to her when he had. But what if Curtis had already had his way with her? He couldn't think about it now. All he knew at the moment was that Curtis would pay for what he'd done.

Foolishly, instead of running, Curtis stood his ground and executed an attack of his own. Splinter was much faster, however, and ducked it easily, returning a kick so forcefully, it knocked Curtis flat on his back and sent him skidding over the floor.

Winded, Curtis had no choice but to lay there and accept whatever punishment the rat dished out. Splinter wasted no time. In seconds, he was on top of him, punching and clawing. His breath was ragged, his heart racing. He couldn't let Curtis get away with this. He couldn't control himself...

"Master Splinter...?" Loving hands gently touched his shoulders. "Master...please, stop."

He shuddered, his entire body growing limp as he stared at the unconscious man beneath him. His face was smeared with crimson, his body bruised and lifeless.

He is dead...I have killed him!

But soon, and with relief, he realized he'd only managed to knock him out. His shoulders began to shake at the realization of what might have been. Two pairs of hands grabbed onto his arms, firmly but gently, and hoisted him up. He could barely stand he was trembling so badly.

Donatello and Leonardo led him to Holly's cage, where Michaelangelo and Raphael were already entering to try to unlock the shackles at Holly's wrists.

"Wait..." Splinter commanded. Mike and Raph froze and turned to look at their sensei, whose eyes were a mixture of shock, guilt and fear. He spared a glance at the silent form of Curtis, then turned to the turtles. "Thank you, Leonardo, for stopping me when you did. I fear I would have...that his death would be on my hands."

Leo nodded to his sensei, realizing the anguish he must have felt at seeing Holly in such distress. He understood Splinter's feelings for her. Holly was a wonderful woman. He'd convinced himself from the beginning that he wasn't interested in her in that way, but he couldn't be sure if that was more intuition, or out of respect for his sensei. In any case, he couldn't deny that given the opportunity, he wouldn't mind a relationship with someone like Holly. And he'd noticed long ago that his brothers held a special place in their hearts for her as well.

"While I am not sorry for my attack, I must apologize for my loss of self control." Splinter was looking more and more guilty now. It wasn't that he had never killed before, but this death would have clearly been an act of violence. While it was true that Curtis had hurt Holly, he was unable to defend himself against such a strong opponent. And Splinter didn't believe in mindless killing of others. The deathblow was only to be used as a last resort. But more so even than that was the way he'd seemed to lose himself. Never before, not even after the death of his own master, had he felt so lost...so out of control. It was shameful to have gone into such a state of disarray, especially in front of his students.

"Hey, Master, don't worry about it." Raphael said gently. "That bastard was gonna hurt her. You only did what you could." He knew in his heart that, had it been him, he would have ripped the guy's heart clean out of his body.

"Yeah..." Don added. "The important thing now is that we get her out of here."

Although a little crude on Raphael's part, Splinter did appreciate the gestures of comfort. He took a breath. "Thank you, my sons."

The others watched in silence as he approached the cage. The site he was greeted with was not a pretty one. Holly was leaning up against the bars of the cage, her arms still fastened securely above her head in metal shackles. It appeared as though one of her arms had been yanked brutally out of the socket. The flesh was raw and bruised where the edges of her bindings had cut into her wrists. Her knees were drawn up to her chest, head hanging low. He could see that her face was streaked with tears, and one of her eyes was black and blue. There was a crust of blood in her tangled hair, and her clothes had been all but ripped clean off her. The shirt had been unbuttoned, exposing her bra and skin beneath, some of the buttons torn clean off. Her jeans had been ripped from the zipper to the crotch, and pulled halfway down her thighs.

He sucked in a ragged breath and approached her warily. He could only be glad that she didn't have to suffer the humiliation of hanging there completely naked. Not that it was much of a comfort, considering.

"Holly...?"

The only response was a wave of sobs that shook her forcefully.

He moved closer to her, stooping down on his haunches to wait. Seeing her like this sent hurt throughout his entire being. For a moment, he was reminded of Tang Shen and the night Saki had attacked her for vengeance. She'd been in a similar predicament--beaten, bruised, clothes ripped...and he'd been forced to witness the entire act, watching helplessly from the confines of his cage.

He swallowed, pushing the memories aside. Holly was what mattered now. And he would NOT sit idly by and watch them hurt her. They would have to pay for their actions, one way or another.

"Holly...it is alright now. I am here." He stretched out a hand, gently touching her side. She gasped, pulling her legs tighter to herself and flinching away from him.

"It's bad." Michaelangelo spoke softly behind him. His voice was coated with concern. It sounded almost as if he was going to cry.

Splinter too felt that pain. He felt as if his entire world had come crashing down on him. He wanted to scream, to curse, to kill every one of these men who had broken her spirit. But he maintained his dignity. He breathed deeply, trying to clear his head enough to think about where to go from here.

One thing was for sure. They had to get Holly out of there.

The purpose clear now, he moved quickly, gesturing toward the others to help him with the shackles. Holly remained in place, curled so tightly, she would have been in a fetal position if not for the positioning of her arms. She continued to sob softly as the turtles and Splinter approached.

Each of them felt the pang of hesitation. Holly had been through a great deal. They didn't want to frighten her or upset the situation any further. Enough damage had already been done. Michaelangelo wanted to reach out to her--to put his arms around her and tell her everything would be okay. But she had made it clear that she didn't want to be touched, and he understood completely why not.

Donatello was lost in thought. He was trying desperately to come up with a plan to ensure a quick escape, but his mind kept drifting toward Holly's condition. How awkward it was to see her that way. How much more embarrassment was Holly facing, being the one under observation by him and his brothers?

Leonardo was concerned, both for Holly and for his master. Seeing Splinter in such an unstable state of mind was something entirely new to him. Never had he seen Splinter lose his temper so completely. And the site of Holly certainly wasn't helping matters. When he looked at her, all he could feel was hurt and regret. He knew he shouldn't blame himself for any of this, but he couldn't help but wonder how different things might have been if only he hadn't fallen asleep on watch.

Under normal circumstances, Raphael would have reveled in the chance to see a half-naked woman. But this was just...sick. It made him ill to think about what that disgusting creep Curtis may have done to her. His heart ached when he looked at her. He cared about Holly probably more than she would ever know. Anger filled him as he picked at the lock of a shackle with his sai. Someone was going to pay. They were going to pay dearly.

"Hey! You there!" A voice called. The others turned to see a thin, dark haired man rushing toward them. Splinter recognized him at once. "What do you think you're--"

Jim froze in his tracks, realizing the grave mistake he'd just made. The mutants--all five of them were standing or crouching before him, their faces feral masks of anger and hate. Each set of eyes seemed to glow in the dim light, determined and threatening. He glanced around the room quickly, searching for something to defend himself with. His eyes fell on the motionless form of Curtis. He was spread out on his back on the floor. It appeared he'd been attacked. Swallowing hard, he returned his site to the mutants. Two of the turtles stood guard outside of the cage while the others had been struggling to free Holly.

He didn't know what to do. He wasn't sure what these...animals were capable of. He'd only witnessed the rat's wrath once. It had proven much more powerful than he'd given it credit for, yet it had left him relatively unharmed. Too bad he couldn't say the same for Curtis. And now, it seemed Curtis had been dealt an even more feral dosage of the rat's revenge.

Raphael stood slowly, a sense of deliberateness to his step. He turned so he was facing Jim straight on, a look of hate lighting up his eyes so intensely, it held Jim frozen in his tracks. For a full five seconds, he couldn't move an inch, and that was all the time Raphael needed to explode into action.

Before he could react, all the power of a freight train crashed into him, knocking him down. Pain raced through his chest, and he gasped for air, his heartbeat swelling in his temples. An enraged snarl tugged at the corners of the mutant's mouth, and he could almost envision poison-spiked acidic saliva dripping from the clenched teeth. Jim was completely terrified...and Raphael reveled in that fact.

With one smooth motion, he pulled one of his tri-tipped daggers from his belt, and held it up, where the dim light glinted off of the sharp tip just enough for impact. Jim felt a shudder run through him. He hitched his breath and swallowed hard, waiting for the sharp, nauseating pain that was sure to come.

Raphael's grip on the sai tightened, his teeth clenched so hard, he could hear them grinding together. He knew nothing but revenge in that moment. This guy was going to pay for what they'd done to Holly. And he was going to pay in blood.

"Raph...wait."

Something grabbed him from behind. He tried to shove it off, but whatever it was, it had anticipated that move and dodged out of the way of the blow.

"Raphael...come on..." It was his brother's voice. Leonardo.

"Leave me alone, Leo! I'm gonna take this guy out!"

"No..." Leo's hand closed around his, pulling his arm back just enough to keep a safe distance between the sharp prongs of the sai and Jim's head.

"What the hell are you doing, Leo?" He spared a glance at his brother, annoyance replacing the hate. "Look what these guys did to her!"

"I know..." Leo's voice was solemn and gentle. "I know, Raph...but what is it going to accomplish? Think about that. What good is it going to do her?"

As Leo spared a glance in Holly's direction, so did Raphael. Splinter, Don and Mike were still struggling with the locks. Maybe Leo was right. Killing this man would help him feel better for a while, but what would he do when the hurt returned?

"There's no time." Leo said softly. "We have to help her. She's our main goal."

Still, it would feel so good to off this guy...

"Fine." Raphael mumbled. He resheathed the sai in his belt. "But I'm not letting him run off either."

The last thing Jim saw was a big green fist coming his way before all went black.

"Raph, you okay?" Michaelangelo knelt next to his brother and laid a hand on the back of his carapace trying to calm him. Leo and Don stood next to him, exchanging looks of concern. It had taken all three of them to pry Raphael off of Jim's limp body. Like Splinter, the fury had taken over again, and all he could do was pound the guy to release his frustrations. Once they'd gotten him pried away from Jim, he'd broken down, and on one of the rarest occasions in their lifetimes, they'd actually seen Raph cry.

"I'm fine." Raphael insisted. "Just...leave me alone, okay?"

"It's okay, Raph, we're all hurting. Just let it out, alright?"

"Shut up, Don. I said I'm fine..."

Splinter's keen ears picked up on bits and pieces of their conversation as he finished releasing Holly's wrists from the shackles. He ignored it for the most part, however, allowing it to flow easily to the back recesses of his mind. He was concerned for his sons' emotional states, but the task at hand was more important for the time being. Holly's condition was treading on dangerous territory. She was what mattered right now.

Under any normal circumstances, Splinter would have sensed his presence with little effort. He would have heard the inaudible footsteps, smelled the sweat of his flesh, felt his body enter the room. But he was caught off guard. His worry and self-pity had won over him. And because of that, he was now in grave danger.

He felt something cold and hard press against the back of his head.

"Drop it and move away." A voice instructed. It was a familiar voice--one that brought back horrific memories of torture and violation. Larry...

"Master Splinter!" He heard Michaelangelo's voice somewhere behind him, but he didn't dare to turn around. Larry had a gun to his head, and he knew he was playing for keeps. Slowly, he set down the freshly opened shackle and rose to his feet. No sooner was he standing then Larry had him by the throat, turning him to face the turtles.

They stood huddled together, a mixture of shock and anger on their faces. Splinter secretly prayed that they wouldn't try to be heroic, but would obey whatever Larry instructed them to do. He wasn't worried so much for his own safety, but he was concerned for their well being, as well as Holly's.

"All of you..." Larry's voice was a ball of nerves, still he had the upper hand in this situation. "Drop your weapons. Now."

The turtles held fast. They'd been in similar situations before. Leonardo quickly surveyed the situation. There were four of them and only one of him...at least from what he could tell. But who knew if there were others hiding among the shadows? If they dropped their weapons, they wouldn't be totally defenseless. They were apt at using their bodies as instruments of attack as well. Still, this guy had a gun. And he had Splinter at close range. He couldn't risk it.

But just as he was about to surrender, Donatello called his bluff.

"Excuse me, but didn't you say you needed a live test subject?"

Larry was a little taken aback by the thing's use of speech. Even though Holly had told them what they were capable of, nothing could have prepared him. In all the time he'd held Splinter captive back at the lab, the rat had never once spoken to him. The clear, succinct verbiage of this creature...it was...remarkable.

He cleared his throat. "Yes. What difference does that make?"

"If you kill him, your test subject is dead. He'll be of no use to you then."

Larry considered this for a moment, and then a slow grin spread across his face. "Ahhh...but if he dies, I still have four more..."

The turtles didn't like the sound of that.

"And I will kill him if you don't comply. Now drop your weapons!"

All eyes turned to Leonardo for the briefest of moments, and then, without hesitation, their weapons dropped to their feet.

Splinter could see something light up in Raphael's eyes--something that told all that knew him he was in a very dangerous state. He closed his eyes briefly, hoping beyond hope that something miraculous would happen to save them.

Jim revived just in time to witness the turtles' capture. Larry led them to a metal cage, not much bigger than the one Holly had been kept in. Seeing the gun still pointed at their master's head, they had little choice but to obey and enter. Once inside, Larry slammed the door shut, and locked it tight with a key. He slid the key into a coat pocket and proceeded to lead Splinter to a metal table.

Splinter obeyed mindlessly as he was instructed to lay back on the table, his thoughts drifting to Holly. He glanced at her cage, noticing her stir just a bit. He felt the unforgiving cold of the chains as they were tied around him and secured to the table beneath him. He was seriously beginning to fear for their lives at this point. The turtles were locked up tight, their weapons had been seized, he was now immobilized, and Holly was in such a fragile state, he doubted she could fend for herself if need be.

He still couldn't shake the feeling of dread that crept up on him every time he thought about her. What had they done to her in this place? It must have been something horrendous to have been able to break her spirit in such a way. She was one of the strongest people he knew, and now, she had been reduced to a sobbing heap. It enraged him that they would dare to lay a hand on her, and it made him feel weak and helpless that he hadn't been able to better protect her. He was most angry with himself for betraying the trust she'd placed in him.

"Now..." Larry's voice broke Splinter's thoughts. He held up a strange colored vial, tapping it with his nail, as if for emphasis. "We're going to do a little experiment..."