Song: Nightmare - NateWantsToBattle

"I ain't going back in there, dudes," Michelangelo is saying as I step outside.  "Dead people are more disturbing than Raph in underwear."

  Raphael's electric gaze flashes irritably.  "I don't even wear underwear, idiot," he snarls as he thumps the shorter turtle's head.

Michelangelo is suddenly pale with more horror than he was inside the haunted house.  "That's even worse!" he whimpers, his blue eyes wide with utter alarm.

  "C'mon, Mike!  Don't be such a bummer," I complain as the chilly air swirls around me.  There is something ominous about the way it kicks up the decaying leaves on the sidewalk.  A taste of mystery always seems to linger in the atmosphere on Halloween, regardless of the circumstances.  It makes me feel free for once.

  "No way!" Michelangelo insists as he backs away from the haunted house.  "You couldn't' get me back in there for a billion comics!  I wanna go home," he adds desperately as he spins around to face Leonardo.  He wears his famous puppy eyes, the ones that none of us can resist.  "Please," he begs as he grabs onto his older brother's shoulders.

  "Quit being a baby," Raphael snaps and crosses his arms impatiently.

  "Leo, please!" Michelangelo whines louder.  He dives toward the ground and wraps himself around the blue-clad turtle's leg.

  A cloud of fog catches my eye and strays my attention from the argument.  Just as my vision settles on the haze, it fades to reveal an arched sign.  Engraved in dirty, rusty iron reads the name, "West Avenue Cemetery."

  Immediately, I put my hand on April's back and point towards the sign.  "Look!  A graveyard!  Nothing's better than being surrounded by ghosts on Halloween," I say in a spooky voice, wiggling my fingers for effect.

  April doesn't look pleased with my suggestion, but Michelangelo is the first one to disagree.  "Bro were you even listenin' to me?  No dead people!  They're gross and they only wanna possess bodies!"

  "That's not true," Donatello puts in.  "Paranormal life are simply attempting to-"

  "No," Leonardo decides with a shake of his head.  "Sorry Case, but we aren't going there tonight.  I promised Mikey that we'd go trick-or-treating after the haunted house, so we need to do that before everyone goes to sleep."

  I purse my lips and lean on my hockey stick like a cane.  "Fine, be a bunch of wimps!  I'm gonna go find some adventure," I announce. I head for the graveyard entrance while spinning my weapon through my fingers.

"I know it'll be hard for you, but don't do anything stupid!" Raphael calls after me with a mocking tone in his voice.

  As I walk into the cemetery, I am greeted by a gloomy scene.  The fog is much thicker here, eagerly reflecting the moonlight into my face.  Tombstones and dead flowers spot the decaying grass.  A musty scent haunts my nostrils and threatens to send goosebumps on my spine.  The lack of sound is so nerve-wracking that I start when April speaks.

  "I have a bad feeling about this place," she mumbles, the blue depths of her eyes betraying how anxious she is.

  I quickly recover from the initial fright and scoff.  "You've been saying that about everything you see tonight," I remind her as I resume my pace.

  "But it's true," April insists as she rushes after me.  "I could sense something earlier, and I sense something now."

  I roll my eyes.  "You're just paranoid, Red!  Halloween is making you crazier than normal.  Learn to just chill out."

  "'Crazier than normal'?" April echoes with a frown engraved into her pale lips.  "Casey, you know I wouldn't-"

  "Shh," I interrupt her as a soft thump catches my attention.  I narrow my eyes as I peer through the fog, and I can just make out a pair of blue eyes.  They are similar to April's, but they have a more unnerving glow to them.  The eyes are accompanied by the outline of a human figure whose feet don't seem to be touching the ground.

  Just as my mind begins to register what I'm seeing, a familiar robot ninja plops down in front of me.  It's gleaming, mechanical eyes fix on me as it grows several arms, each holding a different weapon.  Five more Footbots quickly drop in around it to surround April and I.

  A rush of adrenaline overtakes me.  First, a party with a mysterious girl.  Second, a haunted house with my scaredy-cat best friends.  Then a spooky graveyard with creepy fog.  Now, Footbots that I can beat the snot out of.  There is no way this Halloween can get any better!

  April, however, seems intent on ruining my fun.  "We need to get out of here," she says as she takes a step back, only to be stopped by a Footbot's sword against her throat.

  "Are you kidding?" I cackle as I lift my baseball bat into the sky.  "This is the best way to end the night! Kicking some Foot butt!"

  April looks horrified.  "We're outnumbered!  Use your brain for once, Casey.  You're just being reckless."

  I smirk.  "Whatever it's called, I love it!" I announce, before switching gears.  I swing my bat through the air and smack a Footbot clear in the face.  Its cheek dents in like it's made of aluminum and it stumbles to the side.  I capitalize on the opportunity to whack it again, but another Footbot yanks my weapon backwards.  It steals my bat and snaps it in half like a mere tree branch.

  "Hey!" I snap as I glare at the thief.  "That was autographed!" I uncover my taser and thrust it at my enemy.  And electric current courses through the Footbot until its fried body collapses to the ground, useless.

  This gives the other Footbots time to advance on me.  The dented Footbot and a new one attack in unison, shoving swords towards my abdomen.  I dodge just in the nick of time before my intestines spill everywhere.  I put my taser away and whip out my hockey stick to meet their weapons.

  "Watch where you put those things," I warn the robot ninjas with a good-humored sneer.  "They're sharp."

  The Footbots aren't amused.  Both of them unveil more weapons hidden under their robes.  Each one is sharper than the next, made with tough iron and ragged steel.  If I don't focus, I'll be chopped up and sent to the nearest packaging factory for shipment.

  Instead of taking it head-on, though, I quickly put together a plan.  I switch to my roller skates and skirt around the Footbots, leaping and ducking to stay away from their attacks.  Once I have enough space between my enemies and I, I start firing hockey pucks at them.  Each one is aimed for different body parts, first towards their weapons and then at their heads.  Within a few seconds, the Footbots are nothing more than dismembered robot parts littering the cemetery.

  I blow the air over my weapon as if I'm cooling it off.  "Pain 101 is dismissed," I declare as I gaze around my defeated rivals.

  April catches my eye and she flips by me, a Footbot on her tail.  She took down a couple already, but this one is persistent.  She flicks her tessen across the robot ninja's face, only for it to dodge.  She grunts as she dodges its blow and aims for it again.  It catches her again and forces her to stumble sideways.  She lets out a yelp of surprise as she gets distracted by her balance.

  "April!" I exclaim as I rush to her aid.  I launch a few puck bombs at the enemy, exploding as they come into contact with the 'bot.  I advance on it immediately, getting some well-intended slashes in before the smog clears.

  "I got this," April interferes as she jumps in front of me.  She lunges at the Footbot with some fancy footwork and swift scores.  A final, nasty lash of her gleaming tessen is enough to bring down the last Footbot.  It gets decapitated and drops to the ground, along with its unusable body.

  "That was like having a video game stuck in easy mode," I comment as I put my hockey stick away. I glance at a cut that a Footbot left on my lower arm, but it was too small to require attention.

  April straightens up as she makes eye contact with me.  "That's because they didn't have a leader," she points out.  "There were no orders for them to follow, so they had no incentive to win."

  "Then why were they fighting us?" I ask, slightly confused by her logic.

  April shrugs, a flash across her face revealing how unsettled she is.  "I don't know," she admits.

  "Tiger Claw might be lurking in the fog somewhere with his embarrassing nub for a tail," I reply with a snicker.

  A visible shudder passes up April's spine.  "Maybe we should head back to the streets where there are more people," she suggests with a mistrustful glance over her shoulder.

  I'm tired of trying to convince April to let loose, so I accept her idea.  "Let's go," I say as I start towards the graveyard exit.

  At least Nyleve knew how to have a good time.