Let Me Save You (A TMNT fanfic)

Chapter 19 - Preparation

I do not own 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' nor any characters affiliated with the series.

Chapter 19 - Preparation

*Dani*

After we had come back to the lair, I asked the brothers and Sensei if Casey could join us, and instantly Sensei took Casey into the dojo to speak with him. April watched anxiously as they disappeared and was now pacing back and forth, her arms crossed. I had taken a seat on the couch and crossed my legs. I had been watching April when Leo took a seat next to me. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Raph puff up and turn away. I frowned slightly, then turned my attention back to Leo.

"What are you planning, Dani?" he asked simply.

I shrugged and shook my head. "I'm not planning anything. April convinced me we should consider accepting Casey into Team Turtle."

Leo looked away and sighed heavily. "Raph isn't happy about it..."

"What about the other two? What about you? Just because Raph is upset doesn't mean you, Donnie, and Mikey can't decide on your own." I said in annoyance.

"Look, we don't know this kid, we don't know what he could do to us."

I placed my hand on his shoulder and softened my expression. "Leo, it's going to be okay. April trusts him, and I'm sure we all trust April, so we should give him a chance."

Leo nodded in response and opened his mouth to speak, but the door to the dojo opened and Sensei walked out with Casey trailing behind. Instantly everyone in the room stopped, Leo and I stood up and April stopped her pacing to stare nervously at the two.

"Casey may join us in our battle, I am still hesitant towards his joining, but we need all the help we can get to battle Shredder." Splinter said calmly.

I could see April's shoulders sag in relief and I was surprised to find myself relieved as well. Splinter nodded to us all and then disappeared back into the dojo. Once the door was shut Raph was instantly on Casey. Raph held his Sai's in hand and had one raised at Casey's throat. April squeaked in surprise and I felt myself move forward a few paces, my eyes trained on Raph's knives.

"Listen, buddy," Raph spat angrily, "I don't trust you even a little. Master Splinter allowed you to join us in our fight, but I swear, if you do anything that puts any of the people I care about in danger, I won't hesitate to-"

"Raphael!" I exclaimed in horror. I moved quickly towards the two and put myself between them. Since Casey was quite a bit taller than me, the Sai Raph held was pointed at my nose. I stared angrily up into Raph's green eyes and I frowned. "Back down. Now."

Raph tore his gaze from Casey and looked down at me. He pulled his Sai away from my face, but didn't put it back in his belt. His eyes softened towards me, but his body and face remained stiff. "I do not trust him, Dani." He said quietly.

"I know, and neither do I, Raph." Casey grumbled behind me and I quickly shot him a frustrated glare. He lifted his hands up in surrender and back up a few inches. I sighed and with a shake of my head turned back to Raph. "But we're going to have to for now. We need his help."

Raph stared down at me, as if searching for something that I didn't say. He scoffed, nodded, and put his knives back into his belt. I relaxed slightly knowing that Casey wouldn't be leaving in pieces. Raph backed away and gave me the smallest smile, and I knew it was because he didn't want Casey to see it.

"Donnie," Leo suddenly said, "take Casey to the dojo and see what weapons Sensei will give him."

"I don't need any." Casey said with a smirk. He gestured to the floor nearby with his thumb and kept his cocky smirk on his lips. On the floor was a bunch of hockey sticks and a baseball bat laying in a heap, and his mask was sitting on top of the pile.

Leo scowled slightly, but ignored the arrogance of Casey and turned to the rest of us. "Then I guess we all better get ready. We have a villain to defeat."

*Eric Sacks*

Sacks reached up a wiped away the sweat from his forehead. His eyes stared unblinkingly at a computer screen as he typed furiously. He barked out orders to the other scientists and they too worked quickly. His gut churned with pain and he gulped painfully. Why wasn't the chip working? What happened? He'd worked tirelessly day and night since the moment he received the warning. He had no choice but to notify Master Shredder of the happenings, and never had he felt as much fear as he had then. His Master expected him to get the chip back online, but whatever caused it to go off in the first place was blocking him from bringing it back.

A sudden hush fell across the lab as the door slid open and Shredder walked in. His eyes bore into every worker and Sacks felt his heart leap into his throat at the sight. His breath quickened and he felt another trickle of sweat trickle down his temple. The scientists all bowed as Shredder passed then immediately went back to work once he passed. He stopped at Sacks and Sacks immediately bowed stiffly.

"Sensei," he said shakily.

"Have you brought the chip back online?" Shredder asked coldly.

Sacks straightened back up and hesitantly shook his head. "No, I have not."

Shredder instantly slammed his hand down on a nearby table and Sacks did everything he could not to flinch. All the other scientists stared in horror and some even backed away from where they stood so they could be farther away from the rampaging man.

"What caused it to go offline in the first place? Have you at least found that cause?" Shredder asked, again in his cold tone.

Sacks took a deep breath and shook his head once again, but this time Shredder did not have an outburst like before. Instead he got up close and personal with Sacks and stared down angrily at him.

"If you do not find the girl or figure out a way to get that chip back online, I will make your suffering slow, and extremely painful." Shredder said quietly.

Sacks' stomach lurched and he felt as though he was about to throw up. He nodded quickly and Shredder backed off. Shredder scanned the entire lab then turned and left the lab. Sacks let out a trembling breath and leaned against the table, his entire body shaking heavily. He needed to find the girl, and he needed to find her soon.

*Dani*

A dull ache had started up in my temples and I rubbed them gently with my index fingers while I sat on a bench. The ached subsided a little and I sighed heavily before I finished tying my boot. I had changed into a simple black t-shirt, a pair of beige cargo pants, and some black combat boots. I stood up from the bench in the weaponry room and approached the wall that held all of our weapons. I put a few ninja stars in each of the pockets at mid-thigh, I placed two throwing knives in each of boot and then considered the weapons again.

"Don't forget to put your hair up," a familiar voice said from behind me as I felt a light tug on one of my curls.

I turned around and gave Raph a smile. "Thanks for the reminder." I gathered my curly locks and secured them tightly with the rubber-band I had around my wrist. "How are you doing?" I asked as I let my arms drop back down to my sides.

Raph shrugged. "I'm okay." He said simply. He let out a sigh when I gave him a questioning look. "Fine, I'm...worried about you. I don't want Sacks to take you again, or somehow get control over your brain again."

I smiled warmly and shook my head. "Raph, you don't need to worry about me. I have you and your brothers to help protect me, and I have the feeling Casey is going to step up and be helpful as well. I'll be fine. I can handle myself too. I'm not going to go as easy as I did last time."

He didn't say anything, he just stared at me, his eyes sad. I placed a hand on his arm and squeezed gently, trying to reassure him. Then Leo walked in and we knew it was time to go. Raph and I walked quickly to catch up with him. We followed him to the kitchen where everyone stood.

"Now that everyone's here, let's go over the plan." Leo announced. Everyone gathered closer together and I could feel the nerves radiating off everyone. "When we arrive at the Sacks building Raph, Donnie, Mikey, and I will go and find Shredder. While we do that, April, Dani, and Casey, you three will go and get the mutagen from Sacks and make sure he can't do anything to help Shredder while we take care of him."

We all nodded silently and I sucked in a deep breath. This was it. We could finally defeat the Shredder, or we could doom the entire world to suffer.