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goldenavenger02 · 8 months ago

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hope the skin heals where the pain enters

(Happy Dragons Rising season 2 part 2 release day! For those asking "how did you get this written SO fast", I watched the leaks when they came out but waited to post this UNTIL it was out officially. Friendly reminder to support the official release if you can! And now, on with the story!)

There were pieces of steel still in his hair.

As he gently pressed his hand against Lloyd’s body to help maneuver him onto the awaiting stretcher and blood seeped from his skin into his glove, all he could focus on were the stage lights catching on the flecks of shards tucked into his blonde hair.

There were pieces of steel still in his hair.

As he gently pressed his hand against Lloyd's body to help maneuver him onto the awaiting stretcher and blood seeped from his skin into his glove, all he could focus on were the stage lights catching on the flecks of shards tucked into his blonde hair.

Cole knew that it was because focusing on how ruthless and bold Zeatrix had been with her blow or the shallow breathing coming from the still bleeding chest of his teammate would result in tears that he didn't want anyone to see.

When the security bots lifted the stretcher and he heard a sharp inhale coming from Lloyd, he couldn't stop himself from reaching over and pulling one of the shards out of his loose, green headband, holding it tightly in his palm.

He couldn't bring himself to move until a familiar titanium hand rested on his shoulder, forcing him to look up into bright, artificial blue eyes that were full of the same worry he could feel wrapping around his chest.

"We should return to our quarters," Zane's suggestion was gentle as he prodded Cole's shoulder gently to move him away from the bloodied ground under their feet, "I am confident that the medical bots will alert us when they have an update on Lloyd's condition."

He wordlessly led the way to their sleeping quarters, unable to stop himself from walking over to the shrine Nya had made before she had left and looking up at the pictures of Kai and Jay as he knelt down, setting the shard on the table.

He knew that if Kai had been here, he would be the nervous wreck; he would be the one nearly ripping his hair out with worry, even if it was after he had gone to Zeatrix and delivered her a piece of his mind; with all of the trouble that they had gone to in order to stop Wyldfyre from fighting Cinder, Kai would have been unstoppable against Zeatrix.

But if Jay had been there, he would have lightened the air of dread with some sort of really bad joke or teasing at anyone's expense; it wouldn't even have to be that funny, but it would be something to break the tension.

The last thing he wanted was to put Lloyd's picture in between Kai's and Jay's, but that fear didn't stop him from pulling his lighter out of his pocket and gently pressing the flame to one of the sticks of incense until it caught, the warm smell of smoke slowly starting to fill the corner he was kneeling in.

"Cole?"

Cole turned his head, feeling his guard drop when Geo knelt down beside him and pressed a water bottle into his palm before letting his hand rest on his shoulder.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Geo offered and as much as Cole wanted to, the angle of his turned head allowed him to see Wyldfyre, Sora, Arin and even Zane with the same looks of worry on their faces that told him that he wouldn't be able to break right now.

"I can't," he admitted as he took a sip of the water before looking away from the others and back into Geo's eyes, "I gotta take care of these kids."

With that, he started to pull himself to his feet, only to be stopped briefly by a gentle hand on his wrist, "take care of yourself too."

"I will." Cole insisted before fully standing up and walking towards Sora, keeping his voice low as he approached, "hey, Sora."

Her loud sniffle, followed by her wiping her face on her arm, before she made eye contact with him pulled at his heart painfully, "hey, I just…I'm trying to figure out tomorrow."

"Your next fight?"

"There aren't a lot of people left in the competition. Frack's powers are all correlated to his abilities and Nokt is incredibly powerful, not to mention the fact that they are both helping Ras; if Lloyd is able to continue competing and they put me against him…" Sora sighed as she looked down at her feet, "I don't even know how I got this far in the tournament."

"Besides the fact that you're a badass?" Cole offered, waiting until she looked up at him with a raised eyebrow, "you doubt yourself a lot, Sora, but you have gotten further than all of us except Lloyd, which is saying something since we've been in a tournament like this before."

"Really?"

"Yeah, except this one has rules that the host actually follows," Cole elaborated, "my point is that if anyone is going to win this thing, it's you. If you have to go against Frack, I know how the workarounds to earth based powers and if it's Nokt, we'll come up with a strategy with Zane."

"And Lloyd?"

"I already had to watch two of my best friends fight on opposite sides, I really hope Roby doesn't pit you two against each other."

"I've been thinking about that since we returned to our quarters," Cole nearly jumped out of his skin by the sudden intrusion of Zane's voice as he sat between the two of them, "and I have run the possible scenarios through my database. There is a sixty seven point nine percent chance that Lloyd and Nokt will be pitted against each other, due to their very powerful skill sets at their base level that has only been amplified by the addition of elemental powers which will result in a twenty percent increase in audience entertainment levels."

"But what if they pit me against Lloyd?"

"The likelihood is much lower, it's a thirty two point one percent chance, but including the fact that Lloyd is your master and the engagement from the fight between Nya and Jay, the audience entertainment levels could increase up to eighty percent."

"So it could really go either way." Cole sighed in defeat that was only added to by Zane's nod followed by one word.

"Precisely."

"I hate this," Sora shuddered, tears falling down her cheeks faster than she could wipe them away, "Nya and Riyu are gone, Arin won't talk to me, and now Lloyd is really, really hurt. I just want all of this to be over."

"Yeah, me too, kiddo."

"I know everyone says that ninja never quit…" she trailed off in order to pull a sniffly inhale, "but I really feel like quitting right now."

"I know that you feel hopeless but forfeiting the tournament now, especially if Lloyd is unable to fight tomorrow, would be catastrophic to our reasoning for coming here."

"Zane's right," Cole agreed, reaching over to gently squeeze Sora's shoulder, "we have to find out who is killing the matriarchs and what they are using their horns for."

"This isn't helping me feel bet-" Sora mumbled, but was effectively cut off by the sound of the door opening followed by two of the security bots making their way into the room.

"Can we be of assistance?" Zane offered as he stood with Cole and Sora doing the same and Cole's feeling of unease returned just as quickly as it had been momentarily forgotten.

"We have been given orders to ensure that Zane and Cole follow us to the medical wing in order to receive information about the injured member of their team."

"What about the rest of us?" Arin's question was the first time Cole had heard the teen speak in hours, briefly making him wonder if Sora wasn't the only one on the receiving end of his silent treatment.

"I apologize, but the only ones allowed inside of the medical wing are adult team members. You will have to wait here for the information to be relayed to you."

Cole waited for a protest from the three teens, but was instantly relieved when Geo spoke up instead, "let's get you three some dinner ordered. I don't know if you've had it yet, but the Merlopian spring rolls are to die for."

As the two security bots led Cole and Zane outside, he couldn't stop himself from looking back at his boyfriend and the three distracted teenagers, but the wink that Geo gave was enough for Cole to allow himself to focus on the task at hand.

Making sure Lloyd was okay.

…

In a way, he was thankful that Arin had pulled him away from the arena after Sora's fight.

Cole would be more than happy to go the rest of his life without seeing another person he loved deep within a coma and even though he was quickly swept up into yet another fight, it prevented him from going back to the room filled with tense silence and suffering.

In fact, it was that adrenaline that he found himself engulfed in, that kept him realizing that Lloyd was 'awake and alive and standing' until after he had pulled Bonzle into a very tight hug, unable to stop himself from muttering "thank the master you're okay" just loud enough that she could hear it.

Which made the calm he settled into after failing to find Arin all the more unsettling; in any other circumstance, he would have gladly taken the chance to just relax on the couch with Geo's head on one shoulder while he firmly wrapped the other one around Bonzle as Fritz and Spitz recounted everything they had been up to while they had been staying at the monastery with Frohickey.

He so desperately wanted to keep his focus on the elaborate but more than likely exaggerated story he was being told, but his mind kept going back to Lloyd.

The sword shattering on impact, knocking him off of the high platform from several feet onto the ground with a thud. The harsh coughing and his eyes fluttering open with a squint before they closed with a groan. Geo's hand resting softly on his shoulder as he watched over Lloyd and gently wiped away the blood and sweat with a sponge, his stomach twisting painfully as he listened to the sharp, painful breathing escaping from Lloyd's battered chest.

Standing over his teammate, the teammate he had known since they were sixteen and nine, and once again unable to do anything to help, feeling as though he was thirteen again and slowly watching his mom deteriorate until she too fell into a coma.

'Lloyd woke up,' he tried to reassure himself when he felt a squeeze on his left hand from Geo that brought him back to the two yawning storytellers, 'Lloyd's going to be okay.'

But when Bonzle got up with an "alright, you can talk our ears off tomorrow," as she ushered Fritz and Spitz to their room, Cole wasn't able to shake the unsettled feeling in his gut.

"When was the last time you checked on him?" Geo prodded, using the opportunity to sit up and brush some of the raven-black hair behind Cole's ear.

"Before Sora's fight. After that, everything got really chaotic; now Arin's gone," Cole stopped to rub a hand over his face before turning to Geo with a sigh, "and I don't know how I'm going to even approach that."

"In my personal experience, starting with a hug tends to work."

"Yeah, yeah, you're right," Cole muttered as he stood, only stopping to turn around to hug Geo quickly along with a quick kiss on his cheek, "I'll be back, okay?"

"Just make sure he's okay."

And with Geo's insistence, he walked out of the living room and into the hallway of the monastery to start looking for Lloyd.

He should have known it wouldn't take long to find him; even in the short period since he had returned to the monastery, it wasn't lost on him just how much time Lloyd spent outside deep in meditation.

But when he got closer and noticed what Lloyd was holding, he couldn't help but swallow nervously: he knew when he went to check on him that his worry and regret for how that final battle went being at the forefront of his mind was a strong possibility, but being face-to-face with it still made him aware that how he approached the green ninja would have to be very careful.

"Hey, buddy," Cole settled on, trying his hardest to keep his demeanor calm and collected in order not to further set him off despite the instant jump and turn that his voice caused, "you doing okay?"

At first, he didn't get an answer as he looked down at the stone floor; but the look on Lloyd's face, which was twisted tightly with guilt and worry, spoke for itself.

And when he finally managed to speak, the crack in his voice made it very clear to Cole that he was using all of his remaining energy to stay composed, "he's gone. I don't know why he believed Ras, but he did. Now he's gone, all because I failed him."

"Lloyd-"

"And I don't know what to do. Sora, Riyu and Wyldfyre, they're all looking to me for answers that I don't even have. I don't even know where to begin looking for him or if I want to bring everyone into that or just go-"

"Lloyd, take a deep breath," Cole cut off his rambling, "it has been a really long couple of weeks and I know you want to find Arin so you can make things right, but all of us need a couple of days to breathe and to rest."

"Y-you're right," Lloyd stuttered as he looked down at the photo frame clutched tightly in his palm, "I know that, but at the same time…I want to find him before Ras has a chance to further manipulate him. We saw what he did to Jay."

Cole swallowed down the memory of Jay's glowing red eyes after he used Shatterspin, not wanting it to cloud his judgment, "you have to finish healing, Lloyd. That hit and the fall, it was a lot."

Sure enough, Lloyd's hand drifted upwards to his shoulder over the bandages that had been wrapped tightly around him in the aftermath of his fight against Zeatrix.

"Come on," Cole offered, holding his hand out for Lloyd to take, "let's get you checked over and in bed. It's been a long day."

"I thought I was the master of the monastery." Lloyd said with a light chuckle as he put down the picture frame before taking Cole's hand so he could get down the step before he gently wrapped his arm around him.

"You are, but even masters need someone to look after them," and for a brief moment, Cole was reminded of watching with worry at every unexpected movement that Wu would make after he had been found, "now let's get those bandages changed."

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phoebepheebsphibs · 9 months ago

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Double-Mutated Mikey

Chapter 42: Artificial Intelligence

Continued from the short story written by @boots-with-the-fur-club

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"Raph, I'm fine!" Mikey argues as he looks up at his older brother. "Really! You don't need to hold my hand..."

Raph nods, but doesn't look down at him -- instead opting to keep lookout, glancing back and forth as they walk down the halls.

Raph's usual pace has always kept Mikey struggling to keep up, his longer legs causing his steps to be wider than the average ninja mutant turtle teen. But even now, he's speed-walking. Mikey's forced to jog in order to keep up and not be forcefully dragged by his older brother, who is keeping a deathgrip on his wrist. They turn a corner and Raph raises his hand to signal him to stall -- though he raises the one he's holding Mikey with at first, causing the little brother to dangle in midair for a moment before Raph hears him clear his throat and frantically sets him back down and silently apologizes.

Mikey glances down at Raph's ginormous hand enveloping his own. It's enormous, strong, and covered in calluses and rough skin -- and yet it still manages to be gentle and sweet, the kindest hands Mikey has ever known.

He glances back up at Raph -- the eldest brother's face is stone and serious, a grim expression of sternness hiding the obvious fear and anxiety underneath. His Raph-chasm is deep-set, his eye twitches, his teeth grit and grind as he stares down the hall for incoming dangers. Mikey glances back down at their fingers interlocked and gently squeezes Raph's hand twice.

For a moment, Mikey's chest fills with a familiar anxiety as he feels the difference between his fingernails and Raphael's. As rough as Raph's hands are, they're nothing compared to Mikey's palms now. His crooked claws threaten to pierce Raph's skin, the sharp talons scraping against his knuckles.

But Raphael's face lightens once he feels Mikey's squeeze, a signal that was made between all four brothers when they were little. A signal to show that they were present, that they cared. A tiny gesture that represented a specific phrase to help when all other words seemed to fail.

I love you.

Raph stares down at the two hands. He squeezes back twice.

The anxiety in Mikey's chest drifts away immediately. But he can still sense the lingering fear in his brother...

"Are you okay, Raph?" Mikey whispers softly, looking up at him. "We're gonna be alright, y'know... Now that Chaplin's gone, no one's going to be coming after us once we get out!"

Raph gives a weak and pathetic attempt at a smile. He wears his heart on his sleeve, he has no poker face whatsoever. Mikey can tell he's scared.

He slips his hand out from Raph's and reaches up, cupping his face gently. Raphael's hands reach up and wrap over Mikey's. He breathes in deeply, exhales slowly, closes his eyes. His fingers shake as he tries to form the words.

"...I'm just scared, Mike," he whimpers, tears pooling under his eyelids. "I can't help it. I'm... I'm scared a lot more than I let on. I don't want to lose you again..."

"You're afraid you'll lose me?"

"Why do you think I wanted to stay with you when we split up?" Raph whispers. "I... I know you forgave me. I know it wasn't my fault. But it was my responsibility, you were my responsibility, and I -- I --" Raph chokes down a sob before opening his teary, blurry eyes. "I can't lose you again. I'm not.... strong enough."

Mikey pulls Raph close and holds him tight.

"You're not Mr. Incredible, you know. You don't have to be the strongest one all the time. And you won't lose me!"

Raph whines softly, hands trembling against Mikey's as his tears drip down his cheeks.

"...Raph, I swear on my life that you'll never lose me again."

"Don't say stuff like that," Raph cries, squeezing Mikey against his quaking chest. "Don't say that, it makes it sound like you might --"

"I need you to know, though --" Mikey says, stroking his older brother's spiky shell in slow reassurances. "You'll never lose me again. I promise. Nothing in this world or any other could take me away from you. Or you from me." He pulls away to make sure Raph can see his face. "Not even death."

Raph's eyes glisten, his lip quivers.

"...But I don't want it to come to that, Mikey," he sniffles. "I know that... I know we have that Hamato ghosty-thing, and all the anatawa hitorijinai stuff, but... I don't want that. I want you to be safe and stay with me in this world. I want to make up for my mistakes and flaws, I want to make up for lost time. I want you to come home."

"Then I promise that I'll come home," Mikey smiles. "Easy. So why are you still scared?"

Raph shrugs before pulling Mikey back in again.

"I dunno. Just... just a feeling. I hate this place. I hate what it does. And I hate feeling scared for no reason. I know we'll get out, I know we'll be okay, and I know I'll never let anything bad ever happen to you ever again. But... that doesn't stop the scared thoughts from creeping in."

Mikey nods and sighs.

"Well... I can only tell you advice that someone told me once," he says with a smile. "Trust me. And remember that those thoughts are just lies. Right?"

Raphael smiles softly, squeezing Mikey in a hug one last time before letting him go.

"You're right. C'mon, let's find Bishop and Honeycutt and get outta here..."

The two meander down the hall carefully, even though it's mostly deserted. They check every room, though Raph elects to have Mikey be lookout in the hall to avoid getting triggered by anything unexpected. The floor they're on has a lot of medical equipment and rooms for surgery...

They're about to go searching on the next floor when they receive a text message from Leo, stating that he's found the professor.

"That means we can head out now, right?" Mikey asks, climbing up onto Raph's shell and perching on his shoulder.

"I think so..." Raph says, though the tone in his voice is unconvincing. "Casey just messaged us and said he found Bishop and April, and that they're going to look for something to use against the EPF and the TCRI."

"Use against? Like a weapon?" Mikey asks nervously.

"No, I think they meant like proof of illegal activity."

"Oh," Mikey sighs. "...Should we go help them?"

Raph takes a moment to think it over. Mikey knows that he wants to get out as quickly as possible, and he doesn't blame him. But not even the fear of this creepy lab could null Raph's loyal heart, nor his hero mentality.

"...Yeah, I guess we should," he mumbles, rubbing Mikey's head.

Mikey's pretty sure Raph did that just to be certain he was still with him. But Mikey doesn't mind. He's secretly pleased that just being a physical presence for Raph is enough of a way for him to help ground his older brother... and besides, Mikey's love language is touch, after all. Despite how much the TCRI tried to beat and sculpt and scrape that out of him, he still adores it when his brothers hug, or pet, or snuggle, or cuddle.

Raph messages the group chat and gets a few texts back in response.

"Okay, so -- we're all gonna meet up in the records room, where we'll come up with a plan on getting the stuff we need, and Dee will give us back our weapons. But we're not gonna stay for long; April and Casey will stick with Bishop and Honeycutt long enough to recover the files they copied. While they're up to that, Leo will portal us home."

"What about the others?" Mikey asks nervously. "How're they getting home?"

"Leo or Draxum will portal back for 'em," Raph explains. "But Leo wants to get you home quick. Plus, he took a lot of voltage. I think he needs to lie down for a bit..."

Mikey hums sadly, crouching against Raph's shoulder. The older brother feels his baby bro's vocal cords vibrate against his skin as he whines, and he instinctively reaches up to stroke the back of Mikey's shell.

"That wasn't your fault, and you know it, big man."

"...Yeah, I know," Mikey whimpers. "But I still feel guilty about --"

Mikey pauses.

He stiffens, his nostrils burning from a specific scent. His muscles tense, his lifts himself up slightly from Raphael's shoulders to sniffs the air once more, searching for something.

"Mikey? Mike, what's wrong?" Raph asks, noticing the obvious shift in his brother's attitude and stance.

"Something smells... wrong," Mikey answers, brow creasing as his head moves from side to side, still trying to locate the smell. "I smell something bad."

"Bad? Like what? A gas leak, or maybe a scientist??"

"No, nothing like that," Mikey murmurs, forehead wrinkling exponentially. "It smells... like a machine..."

"Machine?"

"Yeah, they all have a distinct smell here. They smell like oil and tar. And burning rubber. A-and a weird metallic scent, like nickel or... I dunno. Maybe even obsidian?"

"But I don't smell anything," Raph whispers, peeking back and forth down the hall as Mikey crawls all over him while he seeks to locate the source.

"I know I smelled something," Mikey whispers. "Something dangerous... and... familiar..."

"Familiar?" Raph asks, "Familiar how --"

Out of the wall, a hand suddenly thrusts itself in front of the two, almost punching Raphael straight in the face before he ducks and deflects, scrambling away while Mikey exclaims in shock.

Raph reels, Mikey clinging onto him desperately as his older brother struggles to regain his balance. The wall crumbles, dust and debris tumbling as a figure bursts their way through the drywall.

"WHAT THE HOT SOUP?!" Raph shouts, fists going up as he readies himself for a fight. "WHAT ARE THESE PEOPLE MADE OUT OF?!"

"Interesting query," the figure responds, voice soft and silky smooth. "While most of the people here are made up of flesh and bone..."

The figure smiles as she dusts herself off and straightens out her skirt.

"...I am made of more interesting materials."

Mikey growls from atop his perch, claws going rigid and trying very hard not to clench Raph's shoulders. His tail sharpens, the barbs and spikes sticking out.

He feels Raph's hand rest against his arm, gently reminding him to stay present and not let Instinct take control. Mikey forces his breathing to slow down and regulate, he grits his teeth to keep the fangs from forming, and curls his hands into fists to try and force the energy inside from coming out.

"Who... what ARE you?" Raph asks nervously, though he does a good job of hiding his nerves.

"I am Ms. Campbell," she replies with a sly smile. "Mikey and I have already met..."

Raph glances back at Mikey, who is having a difficult time keeping his seething fury in check.

"She's the one who captured me..." he growls. "She's not human, she's some kind of robot-thing..."

"She is?" Raph questions, his own face getting getting hot with anger as he turns and glares at the woman. "Oh. Then I guess it's clobberin' time, eh?"

Ms. Campbell tuts at them, clicking her synthetic tongue in disappointment.

"I know how skilled you are in combat. I've downloaded Mikey's training sessions, and pulled security footage of you and the others during the invasion and the two years prior. The four of you are quite impressive..."

"Thank you," Raph growls. "But we'll be heading out now."

"You ki̶l̶l̶e̵d Dr. Chaplin. I saw from the security footage," she says, practically spitting venom as she speaks. "You will pay for that. His work will be continued if it's th̷e̴ la̵st̶ thing I do̵̼̞͛."

Ms. Campbell dives at them, her fists ready. Raph jumps back and dodges the blows before returning fire and swinging his own fists at her. As he leaps forward, Mikey jumps off his shoulder and pounces on hers instead, clawing at her face and wrapping his barbed tail around her neck. Raph and Mikey simultaneously attack her, But even still she is a force to be reckoned with. Mikey's spiky tail cuts through her forged skin, as it tightens more and more. She screams in anger and grips his tail taut, trying to rip it from her neck. She pulls in two directions, the barbs and spikes cutting her palms. Mikey shouts in pain as she attempts to tear his tail in two. He releases his grip, and instead opts to bite his fangs deep into her neck. His teeth hit something hard, a metal tube or rod, and he nearly chips a tooth. Ms. Campbell screeches in pain, grabs him from under one of his scutes, and tosses him across the hallway. Raph catches him as easily as if they were playing a game of brother-ball. This gives the two an idea... Mikey nods and Raph instantly throws him back into the fray. As Mikey is flung through the air, he spins to gain momentum. Mikey slashes his tail and sending several projectile barbs flying ahead of him, stabbing the android woman in the chest and shoulders. As soon as he lands on top of her again, he pulls two out and stabs her in the temples, dragging the barbs down and slicing her face in the process. Sparks fly and oil spurts out as she gives a gutteral screech of agony. Mikey jumps off of her and lands on Raph as he barrels towards her, tackles her, and then swings her body like an oversized ragdoll all the way down the hall and into the farthest wall.

Mikey and Raph cheer and high five excitedly, celebrating their victory.

Their premature victory.

"Yo̸u̸ t̷h̵i̶n̵k�� t̶h̴a̶t w̷i̵l̵l̵ s̴t̸op m̷e̵?̴"̵ she growls, her voice garbled and strained. Mikey must've bit through her synthesized vocal cords. "̴I̵ am̵ n̷o̷t̵hi̵n̸g̷ l̴i̴k̷e̷ wh̵at̸ yo̵u̸ ̵h̷a̴v̵e̴ e̶v̷e̸r̶ ̷k̴n̵o̴w̵n̷.̸ I ̶am ̶n̷o̸t̶ ̷h̷u̴m̴a̵n.̴ ̷I ̷am̵ no̴t̴ ̴ma̵c̵h̵i̷n̷e.̴ I̴ am part of the KR̶A̴N̷G̶.̸ I ̴will̶ d̴e̵s̴t̴r̷o̷y̴ ̴y̶ou.̸"

She pulls herself from the crater in the wall, slowly cracking her neck and rolling her shoulders, dusting off the debris from the drywall. Her face is covered in oil splatters and ripped fake skin. She reaches up and begins to peel the faux flesh from her face, revealing the metal that is molded to resemble human muscles underneath.

Raph and Mikey retch at the sight, unaware of how much worse it is about to get.

Ms. Chaplin's joints disconnect, causing her arms to separate into pieces and elongate. Her face unbuckles and reveals a hidden metal skeleton with serrated teeth. She begins to grow, her dress rips around the stomach and reveals her chest stretching like a coil. She towers over the two terrified teens, becoming a horrific amalgamation of nightmare of machinery.

"Okay, so this is new," Mikey mumbles in a hushed tone.

"Albearto, eat your heart out..." Raph gulps.

Ms. Campbell roars at them, her shrieks nothing more than the grinding of gears and scraping of metal. Mikey and Raphael scream as they run away.

"Why didn't you tell me there was a killer lady robot on the loose?!" Raph yells as he slides down a turn and slams into the wall, regaining his footing and booking it as fast as he can.

"Well, because I wanted us to fail!" Mikey mouths back, his tail balancing him out as he bounces off the same walls, his enhanced agility allowing him to make the turn much more elegantly and with greater speed. "...OBVIOUSLY I DIDN'T KNOW!"

The two run as fast as they can, the horrible screeching sounds of deadly mechanics following fast behind them. Mikey glimpses back and sees a giant spider-like monster giving chase, arms and legs twice the size of her body and made of uncoiled cables that bend with utter flexibility. Mikey feels like he's living in a nightmare or one of those spooky video games Leo and Donnie would play late at night when they thought Splinter wouldn't catch them.

He rounds another hall before realizing he's no longer accompanied by Raph. He skids to a halt, scanning the hall behind him. Raphael is several yards behind, trying his best to keep up. Raph's walking pace may have been quicker than Mikey's, but Mikey blows him out of the water when it comes to running for your life.

"Raph!!" Mikey screams, lunging towards him as the mechanical monster catches up and nearly grabs him. "WATCH OUT!!"

Mikey pounces atop him, acting as a shield as Ms. Campbells hands claw into his arms, digging through his flesh and spilling blood as her coiled arms wrap around him, imprisoning him in her hold. Mikey screams in pain as she lifts him up and stares at him, her eyes burning and her twisted mouth grinning at him.

"̶Y̶o̷u̵r̴ ̶t̸i̴m̷e̷ ̶i̵s̷ ̶u̴p̴,̵ ̷l̷i̴t̵t̴l̴e̵ ̵m̷o̴n̵s̵t̴e̸r̷,̶"̵ she drones.

"HEY!" Raph shouts, leaping up and swinging his fist at her. "NO ONE DOES THAT TO MY BROTHER!!"

Raph's unprotected knuckles collide with Ms. Campbell's steel face, knocking her back and momentarily stunning her. Raph falls to the floor hissing as he grips his wrist, his knuckles scraped and already starting to bleed from the impact.

"What is she MADE OF?" he growls before going back in the fray, attacking her relentlessly.

Raph tackles her and manages to shove her through a wall, landing the trio in an examination room filled with strange exercise equipment that look more like medieval torture devices to MIkey...

The impact causes her grip on Mikey to loosen just enough for him to wriggle out. Despite the blood running down his forearms, Mikey forces himself to crawl all across the terrifying automaton. Ms. Campbell shrieks in irritation and sends one of her arms after Mikey. This gives him an idea...

Mikey jumps from one side of her body to the other, pretending it's Dee's jungle gym. Ms. Campbell's arms swerve back and forth, chasing after him as the the rest of her limbs wriggle around like frantic worms. With her limbs tangled, Mikey seizes his oppurtunity.

"Raph!" he shouts. "Get her legs!"

Raphael, who had been slightly dazed and trapped under her flailing legs, comes to and grabs what he can, tying them all up into knots. Ms. Campbell shrieks, and her limbs start spinning out of control as she fights to regain stabilization.

"Whoah!" Raph manages to yell just before one of the tangled limbs throws him into a table.

Mikey dodges the limbs and grabs the first thing he can from a nearby desk.

It's a cattle prod.

He jerks as sparks fly once he presses the button, surprised by the power this thing has. He smiles as he realizes the karma he's about to pull, and slams the staff of electrocution into Ms. Campbells chest. Her tuned-up pitched screams fill the air and make Mikey's ears ring. Her eyes burst like bulbs after a power surge, and her body goes limp. Mikey pulls back, shaking as he looks her over.

"Is... is she, like... dead? O-or, deactivated?" Raph pants as he steps forward.

"I...I'm not s-sure," Mikey stammers, his arms going weak and wobbly as he recalls his injuries. The cattle prod falls to the floor with a loud clatter, and Raph rushes to Mikey's side.

"Here, let's get those taken care of," he whispers softly, removing his own wrappings from his arms and tightly bandaging Mikey's wounds.

Mikey hisses as the cloths touch the open wounds in his arms.

"We should look for a room with medical supplies, I'm sure they'll have some anti-bacterial spray or actual bandages."

"That sounds like --"

Mikey's words are knocked out of him as a coily limb once again slams into his stomach and throws him into a wall. Raph is also thrown as the opposite limb collides into his chest and sends him sliding several feet away.

"Mikey!" he shouts, getting up quickly and running over to him.

Ms. Campbell gives another robotic shriek before she manages to untangle her arms and grabs at Raphael, who momentarily wishes he was as small and agile as his little brother was.

But then he realizes that he's a tank, and smiles.

Raphael headbutts the metallic monster, shoving her into an observation room of glass walls and extreme exercise equipment. While she struggles to get back up, Raph grabs two heavy weights in each hand and activates his ninpo, turning the equipment into temporary sai and creating armor over his hands.

"̴W̴h̵a̷t̸ ̷d̵o̷ ̶y̵o̴u̶ ̸t̸h̴i̸n̸k̴ ̷y̸o̷u̴ ̷w̷i̷l̵l̸ ̵a̶c̵c̷o̵m̵p̸l̴i̵s̴h̴ ̵h̶e̴r̶e̷?̶!̶"̴ Ms. Campbell shrills, her voice distorted and glitching. "̴Y̶o̵u̵ ̷c̷a̶n̵n̵o̸t̸ ̴d̷e̶f̶e̸a̵t̶ ̴m̶e̴!̶ ̴Y̵o̷u̷ ̴s̶h̸a̷l̶l̷ ̶n̶o̸t̵ ̵d̴e̸f̵e̵a̶t̵ ̴t̵h̴e̶ ̶T̷C̶R̸I̵!!̵!"̷

"We'll see about that," Raph smiles smugly, creating two replicas -- so two of him can fight Ms. Campbell, and one can check on Mikey.

Two of the Raph clones begin to pelt the robot woman with dumbells and weights and other random equipment, doing their best to break her metal body into pieces. The third Raph slides up to Mikey, scoops him up, and carries him out.

"W-wait, what about the oth-thers?" Mikey stutters, the bloodloss starting to make his head spin and arms quiver.

"They'll be fine, they can handle her."

"But... which one is the real Raph?" Mikey asks, looking back frantically at the two clones that are still attacking her.

"You think I'd let a clone take care of you?" Raph winks. "Even if it was a perfect clone of myself -- I'm not letting you out of my sights ever again."

"So... y-you're the real Raph?" Mikey mumbles, clinging to his brother's plastron.

"Real as rain, bud," Raphael chuckles. "Now, let's find you some actual medical supplies while Springtrap back there is distracted..."

"H-her name is Ms. Campbell...?"

"Nevermind," Raph sighs. "Maybe someone else will get the joke..."

The two Raphs tag-team the fight, one smashing his fists into her alloyed countenance while the other tries to wrangle her weird limbs. Every time he gets one pinned, another comes loose and he has to wrangle the 'spaghetti noodles from hell' once again.

As the first clone swings his fist once more, Ms. Campbell's face opens up to the skeletal structure and serrated teeth, and closes around the mystic armor, chomping down hard and nearly piercing the hologram. Raph yelps and tries to pull his hand out, struggling to do so as she continues to rip him apart. The second Raph jumps behind her and puts her in a hibernator move, lifting her up off the floor and throwing her backwards towards a very terrifying-looking treadmill machine. One of her limbs gets caught in what seems to be a harness connected to the device. Raph clone #2 gets an idea...

Raph clone #1 gets the same idea and lunges outside of the glass room, rushing to a control panel and begins pressing buttons. The treadmill starts to whir. Ms. Campbell notices the movement, despite her eyes having been burst. Raph clone #2 takes advantage of her moment of distraction and begins grabbing the other limbs, wrapping them into several of the harnesses and tangling her up. She quickly catches on to what he's up to and begins to fight back, desperately trying to untangle herself. One arm clicks, the hand retreats into the cable and is swiftly replaced with razor blades. Raph clone #2 bends backwards as he dodges, the edges of his mask tails getting shredded as Ms. Campbell swipes at him. She manages to rip one of the harnesses and feels around for the rest, almost sawing her other limb in half as she does. Raph clone #2 ducks and dives at her feet, grabbing the tentacle limbs and shoving them towards the conveyor belt rotors.

Ms. Campbell swings her arm at him again, stabbing one of the scutes on his shell. The clone isn't bothered, he barely even registers the knife in his back as he smiles and watches the rotors and gears swallow her legs and begin to eat her up. Ms. Campbell pauses in shock as she realizes her imminent defeat and shrieks again, swinging her trapped arms as her body is pulled apart, half of it trapped in the harnesses and the other getting pulled into the gears and shredded in the process. Her pins and points pop, coils snap and springs fly. Her shouts are pointless as she's ripped apart, the circuits fry and her body falls limp as the robotics are flattened inside the mechanisms of the strangely deadly treadmill.

The two Raph clones smile at each other and give an exhale of relief before disintegrating into holographic pixels. The sai drop to the floor and almost shatter the tiles as they transform back into heavy weights.

Raph exhales softly as he covers Mikey's arms with salves before stitches. He might not be the official team medic, but Leo taught him a few things, and with as many unintentional injuries as he gave himself and the many years where he had to pick up the slack for his ailing father, Raph learned a few things about taking care of others and treating some serious injuries.

"Okay... we're safe now," he sighs with relief. "She's completely destroyed."

"You can tell that from way over here?" Mikey asks, forcing himself to look away from his arms. He still can't handle the blood, and even though it's Raph... he still hates the feeling of being inspected or operated on.

"Yep," Raph nods, being as gentle as he can while he stitches up the wounds. "My ninpo told me."

"Do you... c-can you see everything they see?" Mikey asks. "Or... how does your ninpo work? Are all of the Raphs connected?"

"Sorta," Raph chuckles, noticing the way Mikey is trying to distract himself from the situation. "My ninpo is kinda weird. I can sorta... tap into them whenever, but usually I don't know what's going on unless I purposefully connect with them. We mind-meld sometimes, but it ain't real necessary since we all have the same thoughts and junk in battle."

He ties the thread, snips it, then moves on to the second arm. Mikey holds his breath for a moment as he waits for the needle to sew him closed...

"...Sometimes I can see what they see. It's a weird out-of-body experience, but also... not at all? It feels kinda more like teleportation. Which freaks me out sometimes."

"How? Why" Mikey asks, glancing back momentarily before looking away again.

"I used to wonder if I'd ever get confused which me was the real me, and which one was a clone. Poking into their minds felt almost like... transferring my consciousness, if that sounds right. It probably doesn't. But I always wondered what would happen if a clone got wrecked by a villain while my mind was still connected. I spent a good few weeks trying to figure out if I had been replaced by a clone and the real me died while fighting the Shredder... it was a weird couple of weeks, and I couldn't focus on anything."

"I had no idea," Mikey sighs sadly. "...Do my powers do that? Or is it just... mystic chains?"

"It's a little more complicated than that," Raph sighs back. "Casey said your powers evolve and grow, but before he showed up we just thought it was only mystic chains. But during the invasion you learned how to open portals, which was cool. Dangerous, but cool. All done, by the way!"

Mikey finally gives a real and deep exhale as Raph snips the tied-off medical thread. He quickly bandages the injuries as well, so Mikey won't have to look at them and get squeamish.

"Thanks, Raph," Mikey sighs. "For everything."

"That's what big brothers are for," he smiles. "To make sure their little bros get back home in one piece, like they promised."

Mikey nods with a grin, slowly climbing back up onto Raph's shoulders as they make their way to their rendezvous with the others.

"Do you think... we could practice cool mystic powers once this is over?" Mikey asks.

Raphael desperately tries to hide the sheer excitement from the inquiry. For years, Mikey always loved following Raph and wanting to hang out and learn from him. But somewhere along the line, Mikey grew up and they grew apart. Raph could never stop seeing him as the baby, and Mikey had gotten sick of it. But now, here he was again, asking for his big brother to teach him things like he used to do oh-so-long-ago.

"Sure, Mike," Raph smiles, patting him on the back, and feeling his baby brother's tail swing back and forth in a highly pleased manner. "I can't wait to..."

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