“So here I am. Betrayed. All my brothers, and our sensei, nowhere to be found. And from the looks of it, I might not live to find out what happened to them.” – Raphael
I guess I should start this at the beginning. One night, I was walking through the sewers blowing off some steam ’cause Leo, being our “fearless leader”, decided we weren’t training hard enough. He kept saying, “At this pace, we won’t be able to keep up in battle against the Shredder,” or something like that. Who cares? It had been over a year since the Shredder had last been seen. I figured he ain’t comin’ back. Anyways, while I was out, I met up with another mutant turtle. A long lost brother, maybe. At first I thought it mighta Leo or something, considering he was carrying a katana or two. He said his name was Slash. Whatever. We talked for a bit. He told me he had been living in the sewers for about 16 years or so, which is about how long we’ve been down here. So I invited him back to the lair. Figured he could use a place to stay. Maybe have the family he never could.
So we went back to the lair. I introduced him to the guys. Master Splinter said something about “sensing something impure in him.” We didn’t listen. Over the last few months, he became like a fifth brother to us. He was especially close to me and Casey, considering he was just another hot-head. Then it happened. The same thing Master Splinter warned us about. He turned on us.
It was another night I decided to get out of the lair for a while. I came back to find the lair trashed with everyone missing except for Slash, who was waiting for me.
“Slash, what happened?” I asked.
“The Foot came in and attacked. There was nothing I could do.”
I grabbed him and slammed him against the wall.
“Whadda ya mean there’s nothing you could do? I want some answers now!!” I yelled, drawing a sai.
“I refuse to betray my clan.”
“What? Whadda ya me ‘your clan’?”
“Idiot. All this time I’ve been here, I’ve been working for the Shredder. Spying. Learning your secrets. He knows all you routines. All your secrets. Your friends. Your hiding places. Everything. Nothing is safe.”
“No. I won’t believe it!!”
“You fell right into his trap.”
“Alright, pal, you asked for it!!”
I charged at him, but he knocked me flat on my shell with one punch.
“By now he’s probably gotten to your friends April and Casey, too. And there’s nothing you can do because I’m going to destroy you myself!!”
He drew his katana and tried taking a swing. Barely missed me. What the… Damn!! Didn’t see that hit comin’, but I definitely felt it. One hit after another. I can’t even land a blow.
“Give up, Raphael. The Shredder created me in his image. You have no chance at defeating me in combat. I'm stronger, faster, and better trained. Everything I know, I learned from the Shredder, including how to eliminate my foes.”
OK. We’re caught up now. I’m bruised, beaten, and about to face my death at the end of a katana. Things ain’t looking too good right now. In fact, they're looking pretty ugly.
“Goodbye, Raph. The others will join you soon enough,” he said as he raised his katana over his head.
I gotta make it outta here alive. It’s the only chance I got to save my family. But how?
As the katana came down, I managed to spring up and kick Slash away. Slash was right though. He is stronger and faster than me. I gotta get outta here and warn April and Casey.
I took the elevator up to the surface and hopped on my bike. Casey can hold his own. I should get to April’s first.
I took off outta the garage. Forget Master Splinter. There’s no time to stick to the shadows.
I started heading to April’s apartment. Then in the rear-view. What the… Is that the Battle Shell? How? Slash!! Damn!! Gotta out maneuver him. Shouldn’t be too hard. Small bike versus big ol’ van. This alley should be good. Yes!! Barely enough room for my bike, let alone the Battle Shell.
Here I am. April’s apartment. I ran up the stairs and knocked on the door.
“Who is it?,” I heard April say.
“It’s me Raph!! April, you gotta let me in!!”
“Raph, what’s wrong?”
“Slash. He turned on us. You gotta get outta here before…”
Then the door was smashed open.
“Miss me, pal?” Slash said.
“April, get outta here now!! I’ll hold him off!!”
April ran out the door as I fought Slash. I gotta think of a way outta here to warn Casey. Window looks good. Here I go. As Mikey would say… “Cowabunga!!”
I can’t believe I just said that. Mikey. I hope he and the others are alright. Gotta get to Casey. Hmmm… Shell Cell. Why didn’t I think of that before? I dialed in Casey’s number.
“Yo, what’s up?” Casey answered.
“No time to talk. Just meet me at the corner of Eastman and Laird ASAP.”
I took the Battle Shell to meet Casey. Twenty minutes later, he showed up.
“What’s going on, Raph?”
“Slash. He’s bad news. He’s with the Shredder. They kidnapped my brothers and Splinter. I…”
“Shredder’s back?”
“I guess so. And if I’m gonna get Splinter and my bros back, I’m gonna need some help.”
“I’m with you all the way, bud.”
“Good.”
“Well, well, well!!” I heard a voice say from the shadows, “If it isn’t my good friend Casey Jones. Raphael, you’ve just made my day. Two kills for the price of one.”
“Slash? Not again!!”
“And I brought another friend to play with us,” Slash claimed.
I looked behind him. It was April. Tied, gagged and beaten.
“Make that three kills for the price of one,” Slash said, licking the blood off his claws. “I plan to fully enjoy this.”
“If you laid one filthy hand on her I’ll… Goongalaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!”
“Casey, don’t…” Slash pulled out a sai and thrust it into Casey’s abdomen.
“One down, two to go, brother.”
“I’m gonna wipe that ugly smile off your face, Slash.”
I pulled out one of my sais and threw it into Slash’s face. Slash was vulnerable for a moment. I went to get Casey so we could make our escape, but he was gone. Then I saw his truck comin’ full speed towards Slash. I grabbed April from behind him and jumped out of the way.
“Eat this, freak!!” Casey yelled as he floored the gas. He rammed Slash straight into a wall. His truck started burning. Then it exploded. Casey sacrificed himself to save us. At least that’s what it looked like for a moment. April started to cry. I hope Slash burns in Hell for all this pain he’s caused.
“Hi, April. Ya miss me?” It was Casey’s voice.
“Casey?” April questioned, “Casey, you idiot!! You scared us half to death.”
“There’s no time for arguing right now. Casey needs to go to the hospital and I need a plan to get into Shredder’s place.”
“Raph, I’m fine. Just bandage me up and I’ll be all set. I’m in this to the end.”
“You sure, Case?”
“Yeah. Positive. You guys are like family to me.”
“April, you in?” I asked.
“Yes. I’m not exactly sure what I can do.”
“Alright. Casey, we’re gonna need more back up. And I think I know where to go.”
An hour later, in our old place.
“Keep digging. It’s gotta be around here somewhere.”
“Greetings,” a voice said from behind us, “May I be of some assistance?”
April screamed. Casey busted out a golf club. I knew who it was right away.
“Leatherhead. Just the man, I mean alligator, I was hoping to see!!”
“It is good to see you again, Raphael.”
“You too, gatorbrain. We need some help.”
“Ummmmm….” April said, “Aren’t you going to introduce us?”
“Greetings, I am Leatherhead.”
“Uhhhh… I’m April. Uhhhhh… Nice to meet you.”
“The name’s Casey Jones.”
I explained what was going on to Leatherhead. He agreed to join us. Anything to stop the Utroms most hated enemy.
“Okay. Leatherhead, Is there any chance you could rebuild that turtle robot?”
“Possibly. I’ll need a few hours.”
“Good. Tonight, the Shredder goes down for good.”
It’s been a few hours now. Leatherhead and April should have the Turtlebot up and running soon. Leatherhead came into the room.
“Friends, I present Turtlebot Version 2.0,” he said. “His memory fortunately saved all of your fighting data from the last fight. I also added some upgraded weaponry. Laser cannons, missile launchers, etc.”
“Good. We’ll need it.”
Then we heard a loud crash down the hall. It can’t be Slash. He’s…alive?
“Why won’t you die?!!” I screamed.
“What a nice little toy you have there,” Slash stated. “Mind if I play with it?”
Slash entered our old lair, horribly burned with spikes covering his body. Sticking out of his shell, arms and shoulders. His claws were a lot longer than before and he had an even more psychotic look in his eyes than before.
“Go ahead, creep!!” I yelled. “Hope you don’t mind that this toy packs some heat!! Leatherhead!! Now!!”
“Turtlebot, stun ray, now,” Leatherhead commanded.
Turtlebot armed the stun ray and fired.
“Yo, handbag,” Casey said, looking at Leatherhead, “it didn’t work!”
“We’re gonna need something heavier!!” I yelled out.
“Set stun ray to paralyze!! Fire!!”
Slash fell to the ground. I knew he wouldn’t stay down.
“We gotta take this whole area down around him,” I ordered.
“How?” Casey asked.
“Turtlebot, target main support beams.”
“Targeting,” the Turtlebot coldly said.
“Launch remote spike bombs.”
With that command, the Turtlebot launched four bombs that stuck into the beams.
“Everybody out, now!!” Leatherhead yelled.
As we escaped, Leatherhead detonated the bombs and dropped the ceiling on top of Slash.
“That won’t hold him down for long.” I said. “We need a new base. Somewhere Slash won’t know.”
“We can go to my new lab,” Leatherhead offered.
“We’ll do it,” I said.
Forty-five minutes later, at Leatherhead’s lab.
“This is the plan,” I said. “April, you’re gonna be tech support from the Battle Shell.”
“Just like last time?” April asked.
“Exactly. Me, Casey, Leatherhead and Turtlebot will head into Shredder’s base and launch our assault. We’ll work our way up. When we reach Shredder, he’s mine. Agreed?”
“Agreed,” the team responded.
“Let’s do this!!”
1:00 am. Shredder’s hideout. Time to pay a visit to a certain Utrom in a metal suit. Luckily Shredder’s security system isn’t as good as the last time we infiltrated his hideout. No laser sensors or anything. Ventilation shaft is always a good choice. Level 18. The road stops here. We drop down to find what appears to be another Foot Genetics lab. But instead of Shredder “clones”, we find several mutant turtle clones, each one more deformed than the last. There’s enough here to make a small army. An army of Slash. I don’t even want to think of that.
“Fascinating,” Leatherhead said.
“No time to browse,” I said, “We got more important business.”
The next thing I know, something burst out of the ground.
“Prepare to die!!”
I shoulda known it was Slash.
“I see you’ve met my brothers,” he said. “Let it be known that none of you shall leave here alive.”
With that being said, he pressed a button on a nearby control panel. Suddenly alarms started going off.
“What did you just do?” I asked him.
As the stasis pods holding the turtle clones opened, I got my answer.
“Brothers, attack the interlopers!!” Slash commanded.
Damn. This day just gets better and better.
“April, we need an exit fast!!” I yelled into the headset.
“I’m working on it.”
“We don’t have much time to wait, Raph,” Casey said.
“Turtlebot,” Leatherhead said, “Blast a whole in that ceiling.”
The Turtlebot launched a missile at the ceiling, clearing our escape route. Using a grappling hook, we climbed up to the next floor. Another lab wish more turtle clones. But these ones looked different. Sick. Dying.
“They appear to be suffering rapid cellular degeneration,” Leatherhead stated.
“In English,” Casey said.
“Their cells are basically falling apart.”
“Find a computer and see what’s going on,” I said to Leatherhead.
Leatherhead started hacking into the Foot’s database.
“Find anything?” I asked.
“Not yet. Wait…”
It was a folder labeled Project: Mors Terrapin.
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“Turtle Death,” Leatherhead answered.
“I want more information.”
“Apparently the Shredder has found a way to specifically target any DNA altered by the waste of the Transmat device, an anti-mutagen,” Leatherhead said. “In other words, he has created a chemical harmless to humans, but very deadly to you, your brothers, your sensei, and myself. The turtle clones were created to test this chemical and it’s effects.”
“Anything else?”
“Apparently Slash was given the first version of the anti-mutagen. A weaker version. It’s effects don’t show for approximately 5 months. Death within eight.”
“So now Shredder wants to play God, huh?”
“There’s more. Tests show that the latest version of the anti-mutagen kills within 48 hours.”
“Is there an antidote?”
“I’m not quite sure yet.”
“If he did anything to my family, I’ll kill him with my bare hands.”
“RAAAAAAAAWWWRRR!!”
“It’s Slash!! Battle positions now!!” I ordered.
“Raphael, I have a better idea!!” Leatherhead said. “Try to reason with him.”
“Whatever you s…OOF!!”
Nailed by one of Slashes punches.
“Turtlebot!! Paralyze!!”
Slash was down for a moment.
“Listen to me, Slash,” Leatherhead said. “Shredder has used you. You’re dying from the effects of an anti-mutagen he gave you.”
“No. You’re lying,” Slash said.
“It’s all right here in this computer file.”
Slash read the file. He became understandably angry.
“Slash,” I said, “Join us. We can help you get revenge on the Shredder.”
“Very well. I shall join you in this fight.”
“Okay. Now where are the others?”
“They are in another lab, a couple of floors above us.”
“Alright, let’s get ‘em!!”
“Shredder has them heavily guarded. He, Hun and I are the only one’s allowed to enter.”
“Then you enter. We’ll follow.”
Level 21. Slash is in. Time to join him. We silently took out the Foot ninjas guarding the door. I couldn’t believe the next thing I saw. Master Splinter and my brothers in stasis pods. Electrodes attached to their bodies. They were bruised, broken, wounded. The Foot must’ve overpowered them. Leo. I haven’t seen him in this bad of shape since the time the Foot attacked him and burned down April’s apartment. They all looked like that. Shredder. He’ll pay for this. He’ll pay with his own blood.
“We gotta get ‘em outta there,” I said.
“I’m working on it,” Leatherhead said. “Done.”
The stasis pods opened.
“Casey, Leatherhead, I’m trusting you guys to get ‘em outta this building,” I said. “Understood?”
“Got it.”
“The rest of us have business to attend to.”
Slash, the Turtlebot and I fought our way to the top until we finally reached Shredder’s throne room. This was it. No holds barred. It’s about time the Shredder paid for his crimes.
“This is it. No turning back,” I said.
We entered. Shredder was waiting for us, with Hun, the Elite Guard and an army of Foot ninjas by his side.
“I’ve been waiting for you,” Shredder said, “but you will not leave here alive.”
My first instinct was to charge at the Shredder. He jumped out of the way and kicked me in the back of the head.
“Sloppy,” Shredder said.
“Well it’s gonna be even sloppier when your blood covers the floor!!”
I grabbed a katana from a fallen Foot soldier and attacked Shredder. He blocked every hit. Damn. Then he started running away. I ran after him, only to be confronted by two of his Elite Guard. Dodging every hit I could, I managed to impaled one Elite through the back of the head with a sai. One on one. Much easier. For the second one, I thrust a katana into his stomach and brought it up to his throat. Blood gushed everywhere. The Shredder won’t have it as lucky. Slash and Turtlebot seemed to be doing alright in battle. Slash had already claimed one Elite and about 20 Foot soldiers, while Turtlebot was holding a pair of katanas and easily taking out more Foot. I looked over to find Hun lying in a pool of blood, with a pair of the Turtlebot’s sais sticking out of his chest. This meant only one Elite left, and the Shredder, of course.
“Shredder’s mine!!” I yelled, chasing after him.
Finally we found ourselves on a heliport, face to face. This was it.
“Tonight, you will not be as lucky as you and your meddlesome brothers have been in the past.”
“Don’t bet on it, Tin-grin!!”
Jumping at Shredder, I threw a sai in his face, disrupting the visual sensors on his exosuit. My next step: cut open the suit and pull out the ugly little alien inside. With the Shredder’s true face revealed, I grabbed my other sai and pinned him down by one of his tentacles.
“Alright Shredder, I wanna see you beg for your life.”
“Never!”
Grabbing the katana I stole from a Foot soldier, I chopped of one of his tentacles.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!! You won’t get away with that!!”
“Beg, Shredder, and I might let you live!!”
Not really. He’ll die tonight. I just wanna watch him beg.
“I will not beg a worm like you!!”
A couple more tentacles gone. Blood started to cover the ground.
“Beg, you ugly blob!!”
“Never.”
“Alright!! You asked for it!!”
With those final words, I drove the katana down through the top of his head into the ground. I grabbed my sais and made a run for it.
“Slash!! Turtlebot!! Let’s move!!”
We began the escape, fighting our way through a sea of Foot soldiers. Then we reached the genetics lab. Several Slash clones all ready to kill.
“Do you have a plan?” Slash asked.
“Maybe,” I said. “Turtlebot, jump down that hole and arm all weapons.”
The Turtlebot opened fire, taking out several Slash clones, until it was torn apart by the remaining clones.
“The only way out is to jump down,” I said.
We now had to fight our way through the Slash clones.
“Raph!!” Slash yelled, “Get out of here now!! I hold them off!!”
“Slash, you sure about that?”
“Yes!! Go!!”
“If you make it out alive, you know where to go!!”
I ran out and escaped the building into the Battle Shell. As we drove away, I watched the Shredder’s hideout burst into flames. The Foot had fallen. The nightmare was over, or so I thought.
“Raphael, vital signs are failing,” Leatherhead said.
“What?”
“They appear to be suffering from the effects of the anti-mutagen.”
Gotta hand it to Shredder. Even in death, he knows how to stick it to us.
“April, get us back to the lair and step on it!!”
“You got it.”
Five minutes later, back at the lair.
“Leatherhead,” I said, “would you be able to create some sort of antidote or cure?”
“I don’t know, Raphael. By the time I create one, it may already be too late.”
“I don’t care!!” I yelled, “Just do it!!”
A couple hours passed. Leatherhead was still working on a cure.
“Raphael,” he said, “by the time I finish with this cure, it will be too late.”
“No. No.” After all that happened, I was still gonna lose ‘em. I started to cry. My whole family would be gone within 36 hours, according to Leatherhead.
“I am deeply sorry, Raphael.”
“You… may not have to… be,” a voice called out.
“Slash?”
“Yes.”
He was covered with blood. His shell had cracks in several places. He was missing a few teeth.
“I found a cure in the laboratory,” Slash said, “It’s too late for me to use it, but there may still be time for them.”
With those final words, Slash fell to the ground. April walked over to check his pulse.
“He’s dead,” she said.
We injected Splinter and my brothers with the cure. All we could do after that was wait. When my brothers wake up, we will give Slash a proper burial. It’s the least we can do for a turtle who died as a hero and saved all our lives. He may have been a traitor, but he definitely redeemed himself in the last few hours before his death.
Epilogue
Six hours later.
"What happened?" Mikey said.
"Mikey? Mikey!!" I said as I ran over and hugged him.
"Uh, Raph, what's going on?"
"Unh. Huh?" Donny said as he woke up.
"Anyone get that bus?" Leo asked.
"My sons, are you OK?" Splinter asked.
"Uh, dude, what's up with the reunion?" Mikey asked.
"It's been a long day, Mikey," I answered. "I'm just glad you guys are alive."
"Exactly what happened?" Donny asked.
I explained the events of the day to them.
"So the Shredder's finished?" Leo asked.
"Yeah," I answered, "He ain't comin' back."
"And Slash?" Mikey asked.
"Dead."
"If he was with Shredder the whole time," Mikey said, "then why did he decide to save us?"
"I don't know, Mikey," I said.
"Maybe it's because, in the end, he realized that we were the only real family he ever had," Donny answered.
"He deserves a proper burial," I said.
"I think he should be cremated," Leo said, "because if we bury him and his body is found, it may lead to others finding out about our existence."
Leo did have a point. We began to start the fire. As Slash's body burned, we said our peace. Slash, we may never know why you decided to help us in the end, but I think Donny may have been the closest. Whatever the real reason is, we still owe you our lives. May you rest in peace, my brother.
