Song: Drown - Bring Me The Horizon

As we get ready to fight off the enemies, I overhear Leonardo whispering to Karai. "This is going to get ugly," he is saying. "If you move fast, you can escape before the fighting starts."

   Karai, however, surprises me. "I... Stay... And... Fight..." she hisses softly, her snake tongue slipping out of her mouth after each word.

   Leonardo's blue gaze suddenly trains itself on me. It takes a minute to realize he is waiting for my permission.

   "Do you trust her to be on our side, Lizzy?" Leonardo asks gently, his eyes never wavering from mine.

   I swallow. I don't want to trust her. She tried to kill me so many months ago, yet it still bothers me. However, she has already proven she's on our side by trying to help us sneak in. Getting ambushed had been Casey's doing, not hers.

   I nod respectfully to Leonardo. "If you trust her, then so will I," I reply.

   Leonardo gives me a tiny smile.

   Casey's loud, challenging cry brings us out of our conversation. "GOONGALA!" he shouts, raising his bat to start off the fighting.

   "Stop," Shredder's voice echoes throughout the room, making the ground shiver. "I didn't order you to attack."

   Casey immediately lowers his weapon and takes a few steps backwards. The scowl on his face betrays his thoughts; he's going to hurt us the very first chance he gets.

   On the track above us, something glowing catches my eye. I look closer and realize it's a swirling pink and purple color, almost like...

   "A Dimension X portal!" I whisper. I nudge Leonardo with my elbow and nod towards it.

   Leonardo's eyes narrow when he sees what I'm gesturing to. "What are you doing with a Dimension X portal, Jersey?" he asks, an edge to his tone.

   Dr. Jersey glances around the room, admiring all of the Footbots surrounding the walls as he steps away from Shredder. "I suppose you may know, since you won't be making it out of here alive," he muses, with a dark look at me. "Stockman, enlighten them."

   I wrinkle my nose in disgust as the fly mutant buzzes out from behind my dad and up to the portal. How did he arrive here so fast? Then again, he can fly; maybe there are different questions I should be asking myself.

   Stockman presses a button on the side of the portal, and to my absolute horror, a huge spider crawls out of the portal. With a jolt, I recognize it as my mother glowing in those beady eyes.

   "Another spider mutant?!" Michelangelo complains. "Come on, man! That's so unoriginal."

   "That's my mom, Mikey," I say softly, and the turtles all exchange horrified glanced.

   "That is-zzz correct," Stockman buzzes. "Only this-zzz time, her zzz-spider DNA was enhanced in the Kraang's-zzz dimen-zzz-sion for a more... respected domination here."

   "Uh, what?" Michelangelo asks, tilting his head almost completely sideways.

   "He made her stronger," Donatello explains to him impatiently.

   "Correct again. But you miss-zzz-ed one detail," Stockman continues proudly. "She is-zzz less-zz human and completely under my control. She will do whatever I tell her to. And courteous-zzz of Elizabetta, I obtained the knowledge of creating life from the innocents-zzz that she killed."

   I stared in horror at the spider before me. I se what he means; her multiple eyes are glazed and unfocused. She looks like a mutant that moves completely by commands from her superior. My stomach feels sick.

   "Mom," I whisper sorrowfully.

   Staring into the mutant's eyes, my stomach knots up even further. My fear of spiders has not disappeared in the slightest bit.

   I suddenly feel very woozy. I take a step back and smack right into Raphael.

   "Hey, you don't look too good," he comments, scanning my face.

   "I-I think it's the spider," I groan, rubbing my forehead. I really don't like spiders. Just the sight of my mother makes me feel nauseous.

   A circular platform rises out of the floor underneath my father. It lifts him, Shredder, his mutant henchmen, and Casey well out of our reach. They leave us with hundreds of Footbots surrounding the floating platform. It's their form of a perfect comedy show.

   And they have the best seats in the house.

   I pull out my daggers, exchanging a glance with Karai. If she's on our side, I want her on my team first. She seems to sense my thoughts, because she takes up a position beside me, her venomous teeth glinting in the artificial lights. She hisses threateningly at my mother.

   "No, Karai," Leonardo warns her. He turns himself so that everyone looks at him. "Don't hurt Lizzy's mother. Just try and knock her out. If we can take her back to the lair, we'll be able to get her back to normal. Right, Donnie?"

   Donatello nods, though he doesn't look totally certain. "I'll do the best I can."

   All of us spread out into a line of defense. Our weapons are drawn and our hearts beat out of our chests. I gather my thoughts just in time before my dad gives the order.

   "Attack!"

   Footbots and my mother charge at me. If I get scared of the spider and back up, I am a goner. If I face my fear and let one of the spiders fangs sink into me, I am also a goner.

   I need to be swift and precise.

I take a deep breath to steady myself. I can not let my arachnophobia get the better of me. I am in control, it's my life. I just need to concentrate.

Focusing on those thoughts, I grip my daggers tightly. I race forward, battling with the spider's sharp front legs. My daggers clank against them like her legs are made out of metal. Weird.

I battle my mother as if she's a regular ninja enemy, though my heart tells me not to. I dodge and strike when I can, but I make sure not to leave any permanent damage. She is mother, after all.

I have a hard time fighting her with Footbots on my tail, however. I have to keep fending them off and risk getting smacked to the side by my mother.

That's when Karai comes in handy, however. Her snake-speed helps her get in several sharp bites, bringing several Footbots down. After a moment, however, I realize the viper venom isn't actually affecting the 'bots. Only her vicious strikes are.

Frowning, I decide I have to take them out the old-fashioned way. Jumping onto a Footbot's back, I curve my hand around its throat and slice it open. Several sparks shoot out of its wound and nearly singe my skin.

That's when a thought strikes me. Of course; they aren't made with real organs! They're made with robotic ones! That's why Karai's venom isn't hurting them.

Two Footbots leap on me and tug me backwards. I escape their grasp and spin around to face them, glaring at them. I hook my arm around one of the 'bot's neck and twist back. The 'bot body goes flying and knocks the other one out.

I put my hands on my hips and smirk. That was fun. I finally understand why Raphael loves to fight.

Something hard whacks me on the back of the head. I fall and slideacross the floor, wincing. I roll over to see my mother towering over me, her many eyes darting around maniacally.

I swallow hard as my fear of spiders takes me over. My breathing comes in short gasps as I begin to panic. My whole body paralyzes as the creature's fangs inch closer and closer towards my face.

Suddenly, a shape whizzes by. Spinning nun chucks knock the head of the spider away, and she lets out an angry shriek as she switches her attention to her new attacker.

Michelangelo hooks his nun chucks around the front legs of my mother and brings her down quickly. He backflips out of the way of her fangs just in time. He grabs my arm and pulls me behind her, out of her eyesight.

"Thank you, Mikey," I gasp gratefully.

"Just keeping a promise," Michelangelo replies with a grin.

Donatello flips by, fighting off three Footbots at once. He's bleeding from several places and he seems to be growing tired.

Michelangelo and I help him fight off the 'bots. As soon as we disable them, more take their place immediately.

"We can't keep fighting like this," Donatello pants. "We need a plan."

"Agreed," I grumble as I decapitate another Footbot.

"If only we could find a weakness that the Footbots share," Donatello says thoughtfully as he dodges a sword.

"Bros, that pipe looks ready to burst," Michelangelo comments, looking upwards.

I follow his gaze and realize he's right. A huge water pipe is leaking heavily, creating a puddle on the floor. If someone were to cut it open, the whole place would flood within a matter of seconds.

I gasp as a thought strikes me. "They're all robots!" I exclaim. "If they got covered in water, they would all malfunction!"

Donatello's brown eyes glow. "That's brilliant! Let's tell the others!"

He runs over to Raphael and pulls a Footbot off him. The purple-clad turtle destroys the 'bot with the blade of his bo-staff and tosses it aside.

"Raph! We have a plan to get rid of all these 'bots!" he says.

"Good," Raphael growls as he fights off two more Footbots. "I'm getting real tired of these guys real fast."

April overhears the exchange and makes her way over, a Footbot battling against her every step. Leonardo follows her, trying to shake a 'bot of his own. Karai is at his side, biting and hissing their enemy. Master Splinter is there as well, holding his staff at his side.

Donatello quickly explains his idea to Leonardo as we defend ourselves.

Leonardo glances around at his companions, settling his gaze on Karai. "If we back you up, do you think you can get up there and break that pipe?" he asks.

Karai turns and immediately starts slithering her way upwards.

"I'll take that as a yes," Leonardo mumbles. He cuts a Footbot off from attacking her. "Team, don't let anyone stop her!" he yells over his shoulder.

We continue to fight against the Footbots. With every victorious swipe at my mother, I feel my phobia lessening its hold on me. By the time Karai breaks the pipe, I'm not completely free of my fear, but it has decreased greatly.

Suddenly, the spider turns and skitters up the side of the wall. That's when I realize that the pipe is finally releasing its liquid contents.

Water begins to cover the floor. Michelangelo uses his grappling hook to dangling himself off of the track above us. He scoops me up and we hang over the flooded room, gasping for breath. Near us, Master Splinter, Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and April are hanging in the same manner.

The plan works. The robots electrocuted themselves and burn out, sinking below the flood waters, never to return to the surface.

We cheer and high-five. "Way to go, Karai!" I congratulate her as she peers down at us from the track. Her eyes sparkle in reply.

Maybe she isn't so bad after all.

"Time to clean up this mess," Donatello announces. He whips a grenade from his belt and removes the pin. He tosses it at the farthest wall from us, creating a large hole. The water begins to flow out, taking robotic parts with it.

All of a sudden, I feel myself slipping. I open my mouth to warn Michelangelo, but it's too late. I scream as I drop out of his arms and plummet towards the water.

"Lizzy!" he gasps as he gropes for me, and misses.

I land with a loud smack in the liquid. I try to break the surface, but the current tugs me down. I struggle against it, hoping to overpower it, but I'm not strong enough.

I am already exhausted from the days' events. My muscles protest against every movement I make. Eventually, I give into the aching and stop swimming, letting myself be swept away.

The oxygen in my lungs is fading. My chest tightens and my vision gets blurry. My life flashes before my eyes just before they close.

But a hand grabbing my arm stops all of that. Faintly, I feel myself being dragged against the current and out of the water.

Air fill my nostrils and I break out into a coughing fit. I inhale and exhale desperately, clutching onto something in my hands. "Gotcha," I hear Leonardo's voice close to my ear.

When I recover from my scare, I look to see what's in my hands. It's another hand; a turtle hand, to be exact.

I look up at Leonardo. I've never realized it before, but he has very beautiful eyes; the kind that soothe after a long day. They cast a relaxing spell on me, but at the same time they make my heart race.

Before my mind registers what's happening, Leonardo's lips connect with mine.