Song: Release the Panic - Red

As soon as I'm sure that Lucy is secure, I march straight for Tiger Claw. My limbs flood with rage and a desire to end this battle one and for all. He is going to pay for starting this war and almost costing Lucy her life. Not to mention that he isn't to lay another paw on my brothers.

I leap on Tiger Claw's back and stab my sai into his shoulder, tugging him backwards. The tiger mutant hisses in agony and spins sharply, forcing me to remove my weapon from his flesh. Blood gushes out of his wound as he raises his paw and takes a swipe at me, catching me on the cheek.

I let out a gasp as the tiger mutant slits a layer of my skin open. I slap his claws away, panting to make up for my racing heart. Regaining my concentration, I retaliate by sticking his paw with my sai. In addition to my attack, Leonardo and Michelangelo start beating the tiger down with their own weapons.

Tiger Claw lets out roar and spun around, smacking the weapons out of the turtles' hands. The he goes for his laser gun stored in a holster on his belt.

"Oh, no you don't!" I shout as I snag it from him. I drop it and kick it, sending it flying right off the rooftop edge.

"No!" Tiger Claw curls his lips back threateningly as he rises to his feet. He towers over me, his good amber eye flashing with hatred. "You fool!"

"BOOYAKASHA!" Michelangelo bellows as he crashes into Tiger Claw. He hits the tiger with so much power that the mutant crashes right onto his back, groaning in pain.

"That's for hurting my bros!" Michelangelo snaps, pointing his finger accusatively at the mutant. He twirls his nunchucks around, preparing for any retaliations that the mutant might make.

Tiger Claw only grunts, before he passes out.

"Yeah, boy!" Michelangelo cheers as he begins his victory dance. "We knocked the tuna right out of Tiger Claw!"

Leonardo and I doesn't have time to rejoice with him. Suddenly, a flash of gray goes by and rams right into the young turtle. Michelangelo soars over the edge of the rooftop and heads straight for the ground below. A loud thud tells me when he reaches his destination.

"Mikey!" Leonardo and I yell in unison as we charge over to the edge. I strain my neck to peek down at the street, and I'm relieved to see that Michelangelo is in one piece.

"I'm fine, dudes! Just bruised my butt!" The orange-clad turtle calls up to us.

Unfortunately, he isn't as safe as we first thought. The sound of his crash attracts the attention of the zombant mob. All of the creatures started hobbling towards Michelangelo, moaning and groaning obnoxiously.

Michelangelo lets out a girly scream and holds his nunchucks in front of himself. "Stay away, zombants! I named you! You should at least show me some respect!"

As Michelangelo tries to negotiate for his life, I glance around to check the rest of my team. Somehow, they managed to knock out the rest of our enemies. They dust their hands off and approach us, looking quite satisfied. That is, until they see Michelangelo.

"I'll go help him," Donatello volunteers as he takes off down the staircase on the side of the building. April darts after him, her tessen at the ready.

"Come on, they can't take them all on by themselves," Leonardo says as he turns and bolts down the stairs as well.

"Wait up!" Casey yells as he races after the blue-clad turtle.

I haven't forgotten about Lucy. I turn around to find her already walking up to me. She holds my sai out to me, looking disturbed that she has to be so near to it.

"Here," she offers, but I push it back into her hand.

"You're gonna need it down there," I tell her with a shake of my head. She has to learn to defend herself.

"But-"

Lucy starts to argue, but a slap on my face sends me rolling across the roof. I skid to a halt just in time to stop myself from plummeting to the road below. Fueled with anger, I jump back onto my feet to see who assaulted me.

Tiger Claw stands over me, his eye glaring like a psycho. His whole body quivers with lack of balance, and his bloody wounds give the impression that he is about to pass out again. But the rage on his face proves that he isn't going down without a fight.

"I will end you, turtle," he hisses as he unsheathes his claws.

"You first!" I shoot back as I raise my sai up to meet his blow.

The fighting begins again, one-on-one this time. I could easily call for backup, but my pride won't allow me. I need to defeat him by myself. I have to know that I am myself again, that Charlotte has no negative affects on me anymore.

I whole-heartedly spar with the tiger mutant. The battle from earlier has left
me worn out, and I become winded within mere seconds. But I press on, returning Tiger Claw's blows with full power.

Tiger Claw manages to stick me a few times, which causes my wounds to reopen. Blood drips out of them, draining me of my focus. My tongue lolls out to the side as I struggle to stay alert, determined not to give in that easily.

"You can do this, Raph!" Lucy shouts encouragingly. "Unlike him, you're fighting for a moral purpose!"

I accept her words, but they don't stop my brain from pounding. My lungs scream for air and my aching heart beg me to stop. My bones cry out for mercy, but I have to keep going. I have to prove myself.

   As my vision blurs over, something like a miracle happens. I catch Tiger Claw on the arm and he trips, falling flat on his back. In his moment of hesitation, I dive on top of him and pin him down, staring into his eyes.

   "Your master killed Charlotte. Now, I'm going to return the favor through you," I snarl, my rage quickly changing to a desire to kill. It's the first time I've had him at a proper advantage, and I plan to use it well.

   I rear my weapon back, feeding off of the panic in Tiger Claw's good eye. He tries to wiggle out of my grasp, but my hold on his wrist is suffocating. He's trapped.

   I smirk as my sai comes close to his chest. Taking a deep breath, I prepare myself to listen to his screams. I tense my biceps up, push the sai down, and...

   "Raph, no!"

   I stop. Keeping Tiger Claw firmly against the rooftop, I look up to see Lucy staring down at me. Her gray depths overflow with terror. She's giving me that look again, the one that calls me a monster.

   "Don't do it," Lucy begs in her quiet, gentle voice. She fiddles with the sai in her hand as if she was scared to be associated with it. "Please."

   I blink, surprised. "Are you crazy? He tried to kill you a few minutes ago!" I exclaim, utterly puzzled. Why are girls always so confusing?

   "I know, but this isn't right," Lucy goes on in a shaky voice. "Doing this makes you no better than him."

   I just stare blankly at him. Doesn't she want revenge? Doesn't she want to give back at him for almost killing her?  And for being partially responsible for Charlotte? How can she just look the other way like that?

   Lucy's eyes tear up as they travel over the tiger mutant. "You don't have to be mean to everyone," she murmurs.  "Sometimes, you can afford to walk away.  Soldiers don't have to kill to win battles."

   My urge to finish Tiger Claw off is great. Every muscle in my body screams at me to rip his chest open and be done. That killing him will be the end of all my troubles.

   However, my common sense knows better. There will always be something that bothers me. Whether it's Michelangelo being stupid, or a different enemy being a pest. It's never going to end, so why have someone else's life on my hands? I've already murdered once.  I can't do it again.

   I cave into Lucy's speech. Instead of killing Tiger Claw, I put my sai away and punch his jaw. He falls unconscious, assuring that we can escape safely.

   As I rise to my feet, Lucy seems skeptical of me. Knowing I have to win her trust back, I offer my hand to her. I put on the kindest expression I can manage, stowing my desire for revenge to the back of my mind. There are more important things in life than getting back at someone.

   Lucy cautiously takes my hand. The moment our fingers connect, I lead her over to the staircase. Peering at the view below, I see my brothers, Casey, and April completely surrounded by the zombants. They are fending them off, but their defenses are quickly wearing down. They need help before it's too late.

   "We can't leave them on the streets," Lucy says with a thoughtful frown, her light eyebrows furrowed.

   "I know," I respond promptly.  "We've gotta get my brothers and-"

   "Not them.  I mean the mutants," Lucy interrupts, something she rarely attempts.  She must feel confident about this decision if she's overstepping her own boundaries.  "We can't leave them roaming the streets.  We need to pin them up somewhere so that they can't infect anyone else."

   I gaze at her for a moment.  I understand her concerns, but the problem is getting the creatures all into one area.

   "I'll suggest that to Leo," I say, which satisfies the teenager.  Then changing the subject, I glance at Lucy. "We destroyed the portal and our enemies. This is the home stretch," I tell her. "Are you ready?"

   Lucy gulps and nods, her bright smile nowhere to be seen under all her anxieties. She squeezes my hand gently, as if it comforts her.

   I take one last inhale, before we charge down the stairs and back into chaos.

   The sky above me is peaceful for the first time in days. Shining silver stars break through the dissolving clouds, and a moon shaped like a beach ball splits through the night. The rain has loosened its hold on the city and it is no more than a distant memory.

   Unluckily, the scene on the ground rages on. The ocean of zombants fill the streets, stretching on for miles. The trapped victims are nearly pinned against the wall as viciously long claws curl and swat at them, hungrily trying to reach them. Weapons and well-aimed blows are the only thing keeping my brothers and friends from becoming creatures themselves; and their strength is quickly wearing down.

   The war continues around me as I stab a zombant in the shoulder. It fall back into the waters of the creatures, but another replaces it almost immediately. My single sai meets its claws just in time to keep them from touching me. With energy surging through my arms, I force the creature backwards and send it back into the crowd as well.

   Seizing the brief pause, I turn to see how Lucy is doing. She isn't exactly the best at controlling my other sai, and her blows barely grazed the enemies. Still, at least her attacks are keeping them away. They can't get close enough to scratch her before she is swatting them back.

   "Do you see Lilac anywhere?" Lucy asks hopefully, unable to see above the tall creatures.

   I strain my neck to see over the queue, but I can't see passed the first three rows. And even then all I see is human-like zombants. No dogs.

   "No, sorry," I tell her with faint sympathy, something I can never muster up.

   "Alright." Lucy is so quiet that I barely hear her. Then she goes right back to fighting as if our conversation never happened.

   Deciding she is alright for the time being, I look around for Leonardo. He is drenched in dried blood and his legs are wobbly. He has broken out into a cold sweat, probably a sign that his body is sinking into shock. He is barely able to hold himself up, yet he never stops fighting. His bandana is furrowed in concentration as he matches his attacker's movements, his pants in time with his efforts.

   "Leo, Lucy thinks we should trap the zombants somewhere," I inform him through my pants.  "She says it'll stop the infection from spreading."

   "Containment," Leonardo responds with a tiny nod, beads of sweat flicking off his arms as he swings them around.  "Good idea.  Donnie, you have any suggestions for locking these creatures up?" he calls to the purple-clad turtle.

   "The sewers might suffice," Donatello responds loudly, his voice cracking with the pressure he's under.  "Remember how Lizzy couldn't climb the ladder?  They can drop down the manholes, but they can't get back out."

   Michelangelo lets out a little whimper, as if the name of his best friend gives him physical pain.

   "How will we know if we got all the zombants in the city down there, though?" April speaks up from her fighting stance as she blocks and oncoming wave.

   "We won't," Casey pipes up as he wacks a zombant with a baseball bat.  "But we gotta try something, dudes. We don't have a choice."

   "What about our home?" Michelangelo whines, his sky-blue eyes wide with despair. "My comic book collection is still in my room! What if the zombants take them?"

"Somehow I don't think the zombants are going to care about comics, Mikey," April responds with a shake of her head.

"How will we get them down into the sewers?" Leonardo prompts Donatello again, his katanas blazing around him at top speed.

"We can use the Shellraiser door," Donatello responds immediately with a thoughtful gleam in his russet eyes. "We'll bait the zombants in there and flee through a manhole on the other end of the city. Surely that will be enough time for the entire herd to get inside. Then I'll use this remote to close it," he finishes his explanation by flashing a tiny device at us from one of his hands, while he occupies zombants with a bo-staff. "But we have to put this plan into play now, because this may be the only chance we get. Who knows how much more racket we'd had to make to attract all the zombants again?"

"Another fight with Tiger Claw outta do it," I grumble, but a glance from Lucy silences me. She is right about not shedding anymore blood tonight. We just need to focus on clearing out the city now.

"Dudes, can we hurry up and make a decision? My wrists are getting sore!" Michelangelo complains from the other side of the group, his nunchucks spinning like fury. Red liquid is plastered all over his green skin like paint, and bruises decorate him like glitter. To add to his terrible condition, he had a nasty gash on his thigh that was still leaking. It was only a matter of time before he collapses.

"Team, to the Shellraiser!" Leonardo announces with authority to his tone. Using his katanas, he sends a zombants flying back into the crowd. The turtle then begins to fight towards a familiar alleyway, determination flooding his blue eyes.

With all injuries forgotten, my team and I move as a unit towards the alley. We stick together in close quarters, our weapons lashing out to protect ourselves when needed. Even Lucy is defending herself a bit, which instantly catches my attention.

Lucy doesn't like fighting at all; that's clear by her delicate slashes with my sai. She isn't muscular, so that poses a problem to her attacks. Her short size is yet another issue, since it makes her easier to overpower. Basically, she's useless. But something about her movements and the flash in her eyes convinces me that she is not a waste of space. I bet I could make a ninja out of her if I tried...

Unfortunately, now is not the time to experiment. As we edge closer to the alleyway, the zombants mob becomes tighter. They close in around us until there's almost no room to retaliate against them. The zombants have no problem, because they get power in their blows from almost nothing. But my arms need extra space to get in good blows. Otherwise they're just feeble little taps.

"Keep going!" Leonardo shouts encouragingly above the chaos, clearly mimicking my issues. "We're almost there! Donnie, open the garage door on my word!"

"Got it," Donatello fires back restlessly, practically being sent into a panic. "Can that word be ordered now?!" he adds as a zombant narrowly scratches his cheek.

"Wait," Leonardo's voice booms around the alleyway and echoes to the starry sky overhead.

April and Casey are pressed back to back as they struggle to defend each other. Michelangelo screams inaudibly as he flings his nunchucks in random directions. Donatello, more shaken than ever, pants as he flips his bo-staff through his fingers. Lucy tries to help even out the score against the evil mutants. And me? Well, I'm about to lose my mind from claustrophobia.

"SAY THE WORD!" I finally shout at my leader over the groans of the zombants.

"Hit it, Donnie!" Leonardo commands as we reach our secret entrance to the sewers.

Donatello does as he's told and a wall moves before us. The garage door yawns wide open like a mouth, revealing a long tunnel of subway tracks and darkness. Without hesitation, we dart into the depths of the sewers.

   "Keep going straight!" Leonardo orders, his voice bouncing off the steel walls.  "Don't take any turns.  It'll only slow use down."

   "Whatever you say, Fearless," I call back to him.  I'm pretty sure he is wrong, but who am I to say anything different?

   The warm scent of home fills up my nostrils.  The smell of trash and dirty water may be disturbing to some people, but to me it's relaxing.  It reminds me of where I come from, and it assures me that I have more to do on this earth.

   A shift in Lucy's behavior says she thinks otherwise, however.  She wrinkles her nose and covers it with her free hand as she races beside me.

   "Oh, come on!" I complain as I shake my head at her.  "Don't be like that."

   Lucy eyes seem to be watering.  For a minute I get paranoid that I upset her, but then I realize it's from the stench of the sewers.  "But it doesn't smell good," she says in her quiet voice, which gets muffled more by the echo of the tunnels.

   I start to argue, but suddenly a vile scent washes over my tongue.  It's much more sour and sickly than the regular smell of the sewers.  It almost smells like rotting human flesh.

   "AHHH!" Michelangelo suddenly screams.  Just up ahead are Elizabetta and her mother, each in their zombant forms.  They spot us and start to limp in our direction, their black eyes gleaming hungrily.  Their skinny frames tell me that they're close to starving.

   My team and I skid to a halt.  We all look around frantically, hearts pounding and tongues lolling.  The stench grows stronger until it feels like it's going to melt my sinuses into a pile of goop.  My head spins, but I still hold my sai up defensively invade anything lunges at me.

   "We're trapped!" Donatello shouts as zombants close us in on either side.

   Michelangelo starts shifting side to side nervously.  "Uh, dudes.  If we're about to die, then I have to admit something.  Donnie, I'm the one who blew up your lab last year.  It was all me, and I blamed it on Raph!  I'm a filthy liar!"

   I glare at him.  "You WHAT?!" I snap angrily as I raise a fist at him.

   Donatello rolls his eyes as if Michelangelo's confession isn't a surprise.  "I already knew it was you, Mikey.  If it was Raph, he would have punched the wall.  Not blew it up."

   "Guys, focus!" Leonardo orders our attention back to him.  "We're not trapped.  Look."

   The leader points upwards.  A ladder dangles above us and leads up to a manhole.  All we have to do to escape is remove the cover, then we're free.

   "I got this," Casey says confidently as he hoists himself up the ladder.  Flexing an arm, he shoves the manhole cover off and pokes his head out into the night.  "All clear!" he calls back down, before leaping out of the hole.

   April climbs after him, followed shortly by Lucy. Then my brothers and I begin to file out one by one, fighting for our lives as we wait for our turns.

   Finally, it's my turn with Leonardo taking up the rear.  I leap out of the sewers and spin back around to make sure Leonardo is following.  He is, but I catch him casting a sad glance at Elizabetta.  I decide to give him a moment of silence, before I plunge my hand in to pull him out.

   "We'll get her back," I promise the blue-clad turtle, who merely frowns in reply.

   Just as Leonardo is reunited with us, Donatello lifts his remote into the air and presses a button on it.  "The door is closed.  Let's hope that was all of them," he announces with a frown that doesn't share any confidence.  He looks more disconcerted than relieved.

   As Leonardo and I rise to our full height, we gaze around the New York streets.  Everything is peaceful.  Almost too peaceful, especially for a night owl city.  I never thought I would, but I find myself longing for the loud car horns, blinding neon lights, and busy citizens.  Especially the busy citizens.

   I wish I hadn't taken the New Yorkers for granted.

   I feel arms wrap around me and tug me into a loose side hug.  I look down to see Lucy pressed against my side, her gray eyes scrutinizing my facial features.  She slips my sai back into my hand and lets out a soft sigh.  She doesn't have to tell me what she's thinking, because it's running through all our minds.

   What now?