If you haven't read 'The Walls We Build' you'll want to go back and read that now.
This will start off right where that story ended.
Don't own TMNT… Just borrowed for the sake of entertainment.
The Roads We Walk
Prologue:
(9's: POV)
I felt my fear slip away as Yoshi held me tightly in his arms. Somehow he just made me feel like nothing bad would ever happen again. So long as he was there.
However when I felt him crying. I struggled to find the reason. 'Was he hurt?' 'Was he sad?' I didn't want him crying for me.
But when I looked up at him, I realized that they were tears of joy. I was floored. This was something I had never experienced before. It was hard imagine someone needing the comfort of tears when they were already happy.
Curious. I tried to touch them. To find out if they were different from the tears of pain? But I came up short, when I realized that my hands were still held together. And I glared at the offending metal cuffs.
However it seemed that Yoshi had come to the same realization. As he took my hands gently in his and tried to pry them apart. I knew that wouldn't help, but let him try anyway.
When he failed, he turned my hands this way and that. Trying to find a way to free me. I could understand his frustration. When I had attempted to remove them, I had done everything I could think of. But no matter what I did, they would not release their hold.
2 had even tried smashing his. But to no avail. That's when I remembered. 2! I quickly looked over to where he had been laid, to find that he hadn't moved. When I started to struggle to get to him, Yoshi seemed to remember as well and carefully put me down, to walk on my own.
I ran to my brother's side, with Yoshi right behind me. He immediately leaned down to gently check 2's pulse and gave me a nod, to reassure me that he was alright. Sighing quietly, I leaned down and placed my hands on 2's shoulder, to shake him a little.
I saw the wound on his head and checked to make sure the bleeding had stopped. Yoshi carefully used a clean rag to wipe away the blood and proclaimed his distinct fascination, with our quick healing ability.
It only took another minute for 2 to open his eyes and give a slight groan in protest of his, no doubt, substantial headache. I leaned down so he could see me and smiled. He smiled back, then he seemed to realize that Yoshi was there and nearly jumped out of his skin.
I quickly caught his shoulder and explained that Yoshi had been the one to save us. Though he'd obviously already known this. Sometimes 2 just needed to be told things before his instincts took over completely.
"It is alright, young one." Yoshi explained, giving my brother a smile. "You are safe." When 2 had calmed down. Yoshi started focusing over his cuffs as well.
Yoshi signed dejectedly when he was once again, disappointed. "Don't worry." He told us. "We'll find a way to get them off." He then helped 2 stand up again. Before saying. "Let us return to April. I'm sure your brothers are concerned for your safety."
He allowed us to go first. Carefully watching us, so we did not falter. It only took about five minutes to get back to the tunnel. But we could already hear April's enraged yelling.
Yoshi rushed forward to see what the commotion was about. But never got the chance. As rounding the corner, put 2 and I directly in the path of one tiny light-green missile, affectionately known as 5.
Though he couldn't hug us, as he was still cuffed himself. He still somehow managed to crush the life out of us. It was, by far, one of his strangest abilities.
8 rushed up a full half a second later. Making a big fuss about making sure that we were alright. Before punching 2 in the face, for scaring him. It seemed he had missed the memo to; 'Not injure the people he was thankful were unharmed.'
As we tried and failed to untangle ourselves from the death grip of our two other brothers. We became aware of April's voice filling the tiny space.
"Who are you?" She insisted of a White Coat that had been trapped under the rubble of our shelter. "Are you the ones that hurt them?" She demanded again, before he had even had chance to answer her first question.
"I – I was just –" The man started, completely terrified of the women baring down on him. "They were just."
"They were just what?" April growled, lifting the man out of the rubble and getting right up into his face. "What did you do to them? Why are you here? Who do you work for?" We unconsciously shrank back from her anger. Glad that it wasn't directed at us.
"April." Yoshi said suddenly laying a hand on her shoulder. "We won't get any answers, if he is not allowed the chance to give them." He stated truthfully. April looked at him for a second, before dropping the man unceremoniously and folded her arms in a huff.
Yoshi looked back at the White Coat, with no amount of care or understanding and asked in a quite but dangerous voice. "Who are you?"
"Scott Perry." He answered and I realized that I recognized his voice. He was the White Coat who had been in the room when we had met Shredder. He had also been associated in multiple other events. "I'm the Head Scientist in charge of making Solders for The Shredder." He explained.
"Shredder?" Yoshi repeated and April looked at him with a worried expression. "What does Oroku Saki have to do with this?" Yoshi asked quietly. But the answer was lost on us, as we couldn't help looking at him in shock. 'He knew Shredder?'
…
(Yoshi:)
Yoshi kneeled down to the man's level when he did not respond and repeated his question, quietly. "What does Oroku Saki have to do with this?"
Perry shed away from him unconsciously, but answered. "He – He ordered us to use a drug to make Super Solders for his army."
"Army?" Yoshi repeated. "What army?"
"I don't know. Honestly." Scott proclaimed lifting his hands to defend himself. "All I know is what he told us. We didn't have a choice. He threatened our lives, our families."
Yoshi suddenly felt kind of sorry for the man. He could certainly see Shredder terrorizing innocent people to get what he wanted. "What do they have to do with this?" Yoshi asked, nodding to the children on the other side of the tunnel.
"They were created specifically to receive the drug." Scott explained looking worriedly at April as he did. "We – we made them by Mutating Turtle eggs and growing them in a Mutagen solution. When they were old enough, they were given the drug. They're currently our only surviving specimens. But –"
"Don't call them that!" April roared suddenly, causing the scientist to flinch away from her. "Their people. You had no right to do this to them."
"April." Yoshi said again, grabbing her hand before she could deck him. "No one agrees with that more than I. But violence will only beget more violence. It is fear and hate that have caused this pain. If we wish to cure it we must do so with compassion and understanding."
April looked at him like she was ready to argue. But when he nodded toward the little Mutants still clustered by the far wall, her expression softened. She nodded one, before getting up to check on them.
Yoshi turned back to Scott, noticing that the man was trembling quite terribly. "Please continue." Yoshi advised.
The scientist looked between him and April nervously before responding. "We were supposed to transport them to another facility a few months ago. But they had somehow managed to escape." He explained. "Shredder threatened to –" The man suddenly shuddered. Yoshi nodded to let him know that he understood and he continued. "He threatened to kill us if we didn't bring them back. He sent us with his troops to ensure their capture."
"How did you find them?" Yoshi asked, though he thought he already knew the answer.
"They've been outfitted with tracking chips in – incase something like this every happened." Perry explained. "The tunnels down here caused quit a bit of interference though."
"Can you turn off these – chips?" Yoshi asked and the scientist looked at him fearfully.
"No." He explained simply, but when Yoshi glared at him he explained further. "They can't be turned off. It's an insurance protocol."
Yoshi thought about that for a minute, before asking. "Can they be removed?"
"Ye – yes, but only by a skilled physician." Perry explained getting more and more nervous as the conversation continued.
"What about the cuffs?" Yoshi asked. "Can you remove them?"
"I – I can't." Scott muttered. "The – The Shredder, he – he'll kill my family."
"That is a problem." Yoshi admitted. Though he may not like this man and wanted desperately to protect the little Mutants that now looked to him for their lives. He could not risk the lives of innocent's. "Then I guess you're going to have to die." He said simply.
Perry looked like Yoshi had just slapped him. "Wha – what?" He asked shaking all over.
"The Shredder will have no reason to kill your family. If you are not alive to act on the threat." Yoshi explained. He knew this without a doubt. Shredder was not the kind of person who would waste his precious time killing people, when he would get nothing to show for it.
"Ye – yes. But –" Scott started to say, but before he could finish Yoshi brought his hand down on the back of his neck and he promptly passed out.
"April." Yoshi called as he maneuvered the man's dead weight onto his shoulders.
"What are doing?" She asked when she looked over. "We aren't taken him with us. Are we?"
"He possesses information that we may need if we are to free these Children from The Shredder's grasp." Yoshi explained. "But first we need to get out of the city." April looked at him, then down at the little Mutants around her feet worriedly.
"I haven't even been able to get them out of this tunnel. Much less out of the city." She stated.
"I am aware." Yoshi said leaning down to meet the eyes of the leader. He did not miss that they were looking at the man over his shoulder with distrust and fear. "I will not let him hurt you." Yoshi assured them and they all turned to look at him.
"I can protect you from Shredder. But we are going to have to leave the city." Yoshi explained kindly. "Do you understand?" The three younger Mutants all looked to their oldest brother, as he contemplated this. After a minute he returned the look, silent words passing amongst them, before he turned back to Yoshi and nodded.
"Good." Yoshi said with a smile. Before standing back up again and looking at April, who appeared to be quite miffed about all this.
"I've been trying to get them out of that box for months and you just convinced them to leave the whole stinking city in less than a day." She complained folding her arms in a huff. "I admit, I'm jealous." Yoshi just smiled at her. Catching the children out of the corner of his eye, reacting quite sheepishly to her remark.
"If there is anything you wish to take with you. Grab it now." Yoshi explained to them, nodding toward what remained of the little shelter. The littlest one seemed to suddenly remember something and rushed over to locate said treasure. After a minute the others followed and Yoshi turned back to April.
"We'll need transportation." He informed her and she looked back at him after watching them scrounge through the remains of their home.
"I know just the guy." She stated, before whipping out her cell phone, to make the call.
I'm going to have to cover a lot of angles from now on. So I might mix it up with the POV's quite a bit.
Let me know if it gets too confusing and I'll see what I can do.
R&R