Love Never Lost

I, Monster: Part 3

Brooke's POV:

Mikey: "What's gonna happen to Splinter if we can't stop the Rat King? Which, by the way, lamest villain name ever."

Donnie: "Let it go already."

Raph: "We're gonna stop the Rat King, and Splinter's gonna be fine. Right, Leo?"

Before Leo can answer, we hear a rumbling from ahead of us. We look forward as a pack of rats barrels toward us.

Raph: "You gotta be kidding me."

We all leap to hang onto the pipes above us when a rat leaps up and bites Mikey on the head.

Mikey: "Oh, no. They've got the taste for turtle now."

Leo: "Come on. Just keep moving."

We all hold onto the pipes and travel across them like monkey bars.

Mikey: "I'm just saying, I can think of a million better names than 'The Rat King'. THere's 'Ratzilla', 'The Verminator', 'Lord Rattington'-"

Me: "Mikey, not now!"

The brothers jump at my sudden outburst before Leo verges onto another subject.

Leo: "The utility chamber should be on the other side of that wall."

Raph: "Uh, you mean that disgusting, furry, squirming wall?"

Donnie: "How are we supposed to get past that?"

Leo: "Raph, those barrels, ventilate 'em."

Raph: "You got it."

Raph throws a trio of ninja stars into two cans of liquidated chemicals, causing them to leak onto the rats.

Donnie: "Uh, Leo, you do realize those chemicals are highly combustible."

Leo: "You don't say."

Leo unsheathes his katana and slices an electrical wire to interact with the chemicals. An explosion goes off, and the pack of rats has been cleared out of our way.

Leo: "Let's move."

We hop down onto solid ground as I place a hand on Leo's shoulder.

Me: "Thanks for the save."

Leo: "No problem. We were all thinking it, and you said it. Besides, we're all worried about Splinter, and co-leaders need to have each other's backs."

I nod as we meet with the Rat King face to face. Whatever gave him his powers also blinded him and disfigured his face.

Rat King: "Ah, my turtle friends, we meet again. And you brought the girl with you as well. How nice."

Raph growls with a hand extended out in front of me in defense.

Raph: "Except last time, Falco, you weren't wearing a sad Halloween costume."

Rat King: "I am the Rat King!"

Me: "Yeah? Well, I'm the Queen of England, and I say, off with your head!"

The brothers chuckle as Leo adds on with a quip of his own.

Leo: "Sorry, we don't have any treats for you, but we've got a few tricks."

Suddenly, my T-phone rings.

Me: "April, again, this isn't a good time."

April: "Brooke, it's Splinter. He's gone."

Me: "Gone? Gone where?"

Splinter: "Here."

I end the call as we all turn to see Splinter standing before us, his eyes glowing red from Falco's mind control. Oh, this guy's so gonna get it!

Donnie: "It's like his brain is completely turned off."

Raph & Mikey: "You mean like Mikey?"

Mikey: "Dude, you are so predictable."

Leo: "Sensei, snap out of it."

Splinter: "You waste your words. This is where I belong, with my brothers."

Rat King: "He is mine now. Imagine my delight when I realized that controlling your master would not only make me invincible, but would also be the key to your demise. Splinter, destroy them."

Splinter steps forward to obey his 'master'.

Me: "Sensei, please!"

Splinter seems to be coming back before Falco puts more emphasis on his mind control, removing the cloth from his eyes.

Donnie: "Are we really gonna do this?"

Raph: "Remember, we did beat him once. Kind of."

Leo: "And we can beat him again. We can do this, guys. Do not hesitate. Take Sensei down."

We leap to attack Splinter with our weapons, but he jumps out of the way and tosses us into separate corners of the room.

Donnie: "I just had a horrible realization. He's been going easy on us all these years."

Donnie rushes to attack Splinter with his staff, but he grabs it, tosses it to the side, and elbows Donnie over to Mikey. Mikey whips his nunchucks toward Splinter, who catches them with his sword and flings him across the room.

Raph: "Nobody hits Mikey but me."

Raph swings his sais at Splinter, but he backflips and shoves Raph into Leo. Now, it's just Splinter and me. We lunge at one another, deflecting his swords with my kamas before he forces them from my hand and kicks me to the ground. He aims his sword directly at my ear before I can get back up.

Me: "Wait!"

Rat King: "Finish her."

Me: "Remember who you are, Hamato Yoshi."

I hold up his old family portrait to regain the Splinter I know. He hesitates, and the guys pile onto him, holding him down to the ground as Leo and I rise to stand before him.

TO BE CONTINUED