"Commander, orders?" Raph stood ready in front of Traximus, the rest of the unit behind him.

"We continue on foot. Recent enemy activity has been spotted along the main trail, so we will derail our path into the desert. It will save us time for arrival. I expect to reach our destination before twelve-hundred today. Understood!?"

"Yes, sir!" The troop answered in unison. It would be a rough trek but they were all looking forward to put this odyssey behind them and receive a hot meal and decent shower.

Everyone fell into their march pace. Raph kept close to Trax. "Eyes open, Raphael. We are in Lacerta territory." Trax spoke in a low deep voice. He knew those words would stir Raphael's stomach.

Cerebrum Lacertas, or Skull Lizards, where horrible monstrous creatures that the turtle despised more than anything in the world. They were the protagonist of all his nightmares; it was a hoard of them that murdered his family many years ago. Where they came from was a mystery that plagued them all. These large reptiles had once been peaceful herbivores that shared the land with all the small villages, but they had turned into agile, blood thirsty predators, killing sometimes for mere sport, leaving a trail of devastation wherever they passed trough. Their thick, blue skin was impenetrable to most weaponry. An almost diamond-strong exoskull covered their craneal surface. No one could quite explain how these massive cow-like creatures were able to move at tremendous speeds and attack in organized patterns.

Raphael hated them to his core. He looked back at Casey, words weren't needed for his friend to know what was going on. Casey's frown was tense... he opened his mouth to try and give Raph some reassuring words, but he was interrupted by a low screeching voice that send a chill down his spine. "Hey, Jones! I heard your woman is stationed at the main base..."

"Not now, Lag..." Casey growled at the cadet walking behind him, a thin lizard-humanoid called Lagdora.

Lag cackled and slapped the back of Casey's shoulder. "This mean ya gonna be getting some, Jones?"

"Let it go, Case." Raphael warned him in a hushed voice.

"Heard you got yourself a nice red-headed broad..." Lagdora continued his teasing.

"That's it!" Casey turned to face the scaly reptile. "One more word about my April and I will pound that cheesy grin off yer mug!" Casey threw a punch at Lag who dodged it almost effortlessly as he stuck his tongue out in mockery. Casey growled, the other soldiers started to giggle around the two, knowing Lagdora had a pretty tasteless sense of humor and enjoyed teasing others to the point of instigating fights. Casey was an easy target, and even though Raph was very hot-tempered, he was rarely bothered by Lag's mischief. Some would say he sometimes even enjoyed it.

"I said can it, ya muscle-head!" Raph stepped in between the two, the dragon-lizard standing behind him as he flicked his tongue between his fingers, again mocking Casey and his girlfriend. "You too, Lag! I know you guys are tired, but if we don't keep pace we won't make the deadline and stay stuck in this god forsaken desert one more miserable night. So either both of ya can it, or I'll make ya limp the rest of the way ta base!" Raphael's rumbling voice was as strong as Traximus', and everyone in their unit knew better than to push him further. As much of a jokester as Lagdora was, he respected his superior very much, and his admiration for the turtle was such that he would follow him to hell and back.

"Sorry, boss. I was just bored, is all... I'll behave from now on." Lag gave Raph a small bow of his head, Raph nodded lightly, then turned to Casey who was still baring his teeth, but he also bowed his head lightly, getting back in line.

Raph took a deep breath, and continued to march.

"The men respect you greatly, Raphael." Traximus had not been oblivious to the small altercation, but he knew his second in command had it under control.

"Bone-heads..." Raph mumbled.

Traximus chuckled. "They all trust you with their lives... So as I. You have developed into a formidable soldier. Your father would be proud."

Raph's golden-colored eyes widen for a quick second, a knot was felt in his throat. "Thank you, sir."

They all continued to march at a steady speed. Once in a while, Raphael would send scouts up ahead to survey the area before proceeding. Once off the main trail, everyone grew wary. They were in Lacerta territory, and the smallest mistake could cost the whole unit their lives.

Raph sent out three scouts ahead to comb the land. They proceeded with extreme caution, the terrain was dry and rocky. Stone formations rising from the ground stood about six to seven feet tall, forming caves between them in certain spots. Perfect area for anyone, or anything, to hide and stalk its prey.

He say went by and the group had gone out on their fifth surveillance run. The men where growing impatient as one by one they started to realize they where not coming back at their usual intervals. Something was wrong... "Sir," Raphael addressed Traximus. "The scouts..."

"Yes." Traximus raised one open hand over his head. The next thing that was heard were guns being cocked and laser canons powering up. Everyone waited anxiously for the last seconds to tick by in the stop watches assigned to the return of the scouts... once the timer hit zero with no sign of the swift men, they knew something had definitely gone wrong. Trax's hand was now closed in a fist, all the men's eyes on it, waiting for the signal. Suddenly, an eerie scream was heard from a few yards ahead. Trax's hand opened again and immediately pointed forward, signaling the first group of men to take position.

Raphael clenched his teeth, his golden eyes darting around the surroundings in expectancy of where the first Lacerta would show up from.

Another scream was heard, this time it was human, and disembodied. Traximus growled as his remaining hopes of having his scouts recovered alive left his heart. His hand went up with two fingers up, then immediately it was lowered back again. That was Raphael's squadron's signal to proceed. A quick glance at his superior was all he needed to wordlessly wish him luck.

"Damn it, this is all we needed, fucking lizards when we're so close to reaching base." Casey was next to Raph.

"Don't you worry, Jones. I'll make sure to watch that sweet ass of yours... And if you die I'll take it upon myself to console that red-head waiting for ya." Lagdora winked at Casey. He was also besides Raphael opposite to the human.

Raph looked at both his comrades, the adrenaline running through his veins as they took position in the periphery.

"Eleven o'clock!!!" Someone yelled. Raphael's cocked gun came up immediately aiming at the specified location. Night was upon them, but they could see clearly the inanimate object hit the floor next to them. Splattering blood as it made contact with the ground, there lied the body of one of their scouts. Complete silence fell upon the men, they were an elite unit, but they were not immune to fear.

Suddenly a cry was heard from behind them as another soldier was dragged away in mere seconds. Everyone turned to him, but it was too late. Then another cry broke the silence from yet another point in their formation as someone else was taken. The men took steps to get closer together. Confusion extending itself through the unit.

"Hold your positions!" Raphael ordered. His eyes and hearing trying to anticipate the next movement. The lizards where very swift.

Suddenly he heard a slight rasping sound above a nearby boulder. His eyes darted to the area, his 500 Smith and Wesson aimed and ready. The second he saw the flicker of color among the brown, he shot. A loud screech was heard right before the massive animal rolled from the top of the rocks, gunshot to its eye, one of their few weak spots.

"Over there!" A soldier called as he pointed out a Skull Lizard that stepped into the open. The large beast observed the men without making any movements towards them. "Another!" The lizards where making it clear that they had the squadron surrounded. These were some of the biggest Lacerta they had ever seen.

"Steady, men!" Traximus wanted to avoid any sudden movements that would trigger an attack. He needed everyone to be in position, taking down as many creatures down before the others could pounce.

"Steady!" Raphael repeated the order with his loud resonating voice, reaching all of his men.

The Lacerta chirped at each other as they communicated. That sound crept deep into Raphael's psyche; those were the same noises he heard right before his family was ripped away from his life. He shook his head, snapping himself back to their grim reality. "On the count of three, aim for the biggest four!" Traximus ordered.

"Biggest four on three, men!" Raph repeated, this time with a short delay, a clear give away that his mind was going through turmoil.

Casey looked at Lagdora, their eyes letting each other know they had noticed their friend's slip-up.

"One!" Traximus started to count. "Two!" Everyone re-cocked their guns, the tension so thick it could be cut with a knife... "THREE!"