Raphael's Angel

Raphael's Angel: Hold Me Now

                                                   # Raphael's Angel #

                                          Chapter 9: Hold Me Now

Raph's POV:

Imagine how it would feel to know that your one true love's life depended on you. What would you do? How would you go about the situation? Knowing me, I'd go crazy.

I never meant to drag her into this. I warned her that sticking with me would only hurt her. I told her! Why didn't she listen to me?! She swore she'd stay out of trouble, that she was capable of protecting herself.. I should've known this day would come. She was always so stubborn. Maybe that's why I fell for her. She was just like me...

As I drove recklessly through New York City, I felt something cold and wet land on my forearm. I was eventually enveloped by rained, but it didn't slow me down the slightest bit. Although the rain did blind my visor a bit, I ignored it as best I could. The clock was ticking, and time was running out.

A view of the docks started peeking through in the distance, and my heart began to race. I was so close. All I'd have to do was fight a few bad guys and bring Myou home. That would be the end of it. No one would bother us again, and she would never leave my side.

I pulled my bike up beside an old rusty building at the front of the docks then made the rest of my way on foot. The rain was giving me deja vu, reminding me of that fight on the rooftop between Leo and I. But now this was a fight between me and whoever took Myou. I now stood at the center of the docks, surrounded by old buildings and dead silence beyond the rain. I looked around in all directions from where I stood, but no one was in sight.

"Hey," I called out into the night. "I'm here! Where ya at, huh?!" What was this? Some kind of sick setup?

I was close to deciding to look around some more until an all too familiar voice finally answered back.

"Raphael... Long time, no see." Shredder stood high above me on the roof of one of the buildings, staring down at me through the slit in his mask. He jumped down from the roof and onto the pavement, leaving cracks in the rubble from the impact.

A growl escaped my throat as I unsheathed my sais and twirled them in my hands. "Shredder, if it's a fight you want, then let's settle this between you and the Hamato family. Leave Myou out of this!"

The once dead man chuckled at my remark. "But you see, it was the only way I could lure you out of the rat's nest you call a home. You and your family follow one another like a domino effect. Soon your brothers will be here to join your fate."

"I've defeated you once, and I can do it again."

"How foolish," Shredder said. He then snapped his fingers and a group of Foot soldiers emerged from the shadows and surrounded me. There was one female Foot soldier at the front of the group, but it was Karai. She seemed... different. "Soldiers, attack!"

The first to charge was the group of three to my left. They attacked as one, but they seemed to be the weakest. They came in waves, and I didn't notice the only female soldier watching and circling around me until I turned around and stabbed a Foot soldier and threw him over my shoulder. Who was she? Was she Karai's replacement when Shredder rose to power again? My thoughts were interrupted when I saw her running towards me, her sword swinging for my chest. I stepped back to avoid her strike and shielded my face with my sais as her blade came slicing through the air. I tried twisting her sword out of her hands, but it seemed like she could tell my every move from just how easy she was able to block it.

"Raph!"

I pushed the soldier away before I looked up above me. Shredder was right. My brothers came to help me, but how they were able to find my exact location was a question for another day. Leo was the first to attack new Foot soldiers that arrived. Donnie and Mikey went after Shredder. I was left to fight off the female soldier, but somehow she managed to put up a good fight. She wore a mask that had a slit just big enough to see her eyes, but the rain and dim moonlight did nothing to help see any other feature.

She managed to get a kick in and cut me here and there, but I never let my guard down. I had to keep on fighting for Myou, even if it was the last thing I did.

Then Mikey screamed. I turned around just as soon as Donnie fell to the floor, unconscious.

"Donnie!" Mikey yelled before turning back to attack Shredder. Leo was at Mikey's side in a matter of seconds, fending off any Foot soldiers that dared to come near him.

I turned back to the female soldier, ducking just in time before she was able to cut my head off with her sword. I had to get away from her, buy myself some time to help the others out. If we defeated Shredder, I would save Myou.

I tightened my grip around my sais and swung with all the power I could muster within myself. And within that split second before I struck her, I saw something within the soldier's eyes.

I'm sorry...

My sai punctured through her abdomen as easy as cutting a stick of butter. She stumbled back almost as if she were in a daze. Blood started seeping from her wound, getting washed away by the rain on the pavement beneath our feet. She held a hand to her stomach and looked at her now bloody fingertips before looking up at me. She fell against me, and that's when I realized how her body seemed to fit into my arms like two connecting puzzle pieces. And it all made sense.

"No," I muttered, quickly removing the soldier's mask with shaky hands. And there it was: the familiar strands of hair I used to stroke with my fingertips, the soft lips I used to kiss goodbye everyday, and the large beautiful eyes that I always got lost in every time I looked into them.

"Myou," I pushed her hair from her face and undid my mask to use as a bandage for her wound. "Why didn't ya tell me? W-Why did ya put up a fight?!"

She smiled up at me weakly. "I'm sorry.. H-He was going to hurt you.. I'd rather it have been me instead.. I-I'm a bit tired. I think I should rest.."

A flash of lightning blinded us all, and I could hear my brothers yelling. "What the hell?! Where did he go?! Dude, Donnie's still knocked out! Tell Raph we gotta go!"

I crumpled up my mask and pressed it firmly against Myou's stomach to try to stop the bleeding. "No, don't close your eyes! Look at me, okay?" I gently tapped her cheek to keep her awake, but her eyes kept fluttering. "Y-You're gonna be alright, okay? Just hang on!"

"Raphael?"

I looked away from her wound to face her directly, tears streaming from my eyes now.

"I... love.. you..."

And at this moment I didn't see Myou... I saw an angel that had been in disguise all along. My angel.

"M-Myou?"

No answer.

"MYOU!"