Crossroads

By: Riley

Full Summary – They boys have reached a crossroads in their lives where they must decide whether to move on and leave childish things behind. With his senior year starting soon, everything all comes down on Rocky at once, making the normal pressures of life almost unbearable. When Jack Harding is released from prison Rocky, Colt, and Tum-Tum are initially wary. Soon they learn they aren't Harding's target rather than the whole city of Los Angeles. A revenge plan that's been in the process for years. The boys know they have to do something to save the city, but they may not be able to come out on top this time.

Chapter One

There was a full moon that night. Rocky only knew because he'd watched it rise through the small window in the back of the pizza parlor where he was up to his elbows in sauce, cheese, toppings, and pizza dough.

With a heavy sigh, he drew his arm across his forehead. When that didn't stop the sweating, he leaned away from the food in front of him and shook his head, splattering droplets along the floor. It wasn't sanitary, and probably broke a few of the food handling rules, but after a long, eight hour shift he was done caring.

Rocky looked out the window again. A better way to tell time than by staring at the clock all night. Not that he didn't like his job at the pizza parlor, it was a job, he couldn't complain. He just wished it wasn't the same pizza parlor that he and his brothers had to work in after destroying it while trying to defend their friend, Jo Lightning, from some goons.

All because his boss never stopped reminding him about it.

Rocky couldn't even begin to count how many times he'd ask for his paycheck or would be counting the money in the register at the end of the day and his boss would make a comment about wanting to keep him around so he could 'beat up the guys who want to rob me'. Or mention the Mega Mountain amusement park and laugh. Or the time they helped the Indian Reserve. It didn't help that his boss put newspaper clippings of all the adventures Rocky and his brothers went on behind the counter for the whole world to see.

It was embarrassing, but Rocky understood. A lot of the local businesses had done the same, proud to have the '3 Ninjas' there to save them when needed.

Hometown heroes and all that.

How many times had their father and grandfather tried to remind them not to let their achievements and successes go to their heads? Rocky smiled, remembering the lesson he learned about the flowers on the Indian Reservation just outside the city. It was funny how so many people said he had an ego or that he was a 'showoff' about the whole thing when, in actuality, he wanted to move on and keep living.

It was fun to talk about sometimes, but all the attention embarrassed him. Lately, his brothers were starting to feel the same way. Embarrassed by the attention but willing to talk about it when asked. Things had been quiet around their city for a long time, to the point that their mother had finally given in to Rocky's question of the boys having their own rooms. At least he deserved one, he was the eldest and needed some time away from his brother's constant nosiness. Well, their moves were a part of it, sure. What self-respecting parent would have their house broken into and their children kidnapped and not move? The first time had been because of Snyder's goons, the second time had been simply because his father got a promotion, a raise, and a new house. Still, it was good to see their mother didn't feel the need to continuously check up on them.

Besides, how many high schoolers had a curfew? Or at least a curfew that didn't extend around a job.

Rocky's job was a good place for time to himself…until Colt and Tum-Tum came in to order. They liked to make things a little difficult for him sometimes. But the night was slow. Which was unusual for a Friday. Usually there were teenagers all over the place, talking and laughing with each other as they celebrated the start of the weekend. Usually, his best friend, Jason, would be working the night shift along with him. But it seemed like everyone had something better to do that night. There might've been something about a party going on, he wasn't really sure. Parties weren't always his thing but he did drop by them every now and then, usually when Emily asked or made it known she wanted him there.

It was funny how things managed to change as they got older while other things continued to stay the same.

At least I only have to worry about some takeout orders, Rocky thought. Enough to keep his mind off the remaining minutes in his shift. Rocky continued to knead the pizza dough in front of him. Once it was flattened enough, he made quick work of putting on the rest of the toppings—of which he could now do with his eyes closed—before using a large spatula to stick it in the oven. He had just taken two more out and was cutting them when the bell over the door rang.

"I'll be with you in a minute," he called, quickly boxing the pizzas in front of him.

"No worries, mate, take your time," the accented voice replied.

Eyebrows coming together, Rocky looked up to see a girl about his age looking around the pizza parlor. She turned to face him, smiling as she did so. "Hi."

"Hi," Rocky replied. He rubbed his hands on his apron, trying in vain to get the pizza sauce off his fingers. "Sorry…I'll be with you in a minute."

"You already said that," the girl pointed out.

"Right, yeah, uh, I guess I did…" Rocky replied. He stepped back from the counter, squinted. "Are you new around here?"

The girl leaned counter and rested her arms on it, still smiling. "What gave it away?"

"Your accent," Rocky replied.

The girl's smile melted into a confused frown almost instantly. "What accent?" She asked. Rocky paused for a second, unsure of what to say. Then she smiled again. "I'm just messing with you. My family and I just moved here a few days ago. We're still trying to get settled in."

"Hence the pizza," Rocky said.

"Hence the pizza," she agreed.

"When I got the order, I thought it was going to an army."

"No, just a very hungry, very big family. Is it any good?"

Rocky shrugged. "I eat here as much as I work here." Unfortunately, he silently added. "So I'd say so."

"I reckon I'll take your word for it." She pointed to the three boxes sitting next to him. "Are those mine?"

Rocky turned his head and stared at the boxes for a second, almost forgetting hey were there, then nodded. "Two large chicken and bacon and a large pepperoni and bacon?"

"That's it."

"Then that'll be fifteen dollars."

"Ace." She fished into the pockets of her jean shorts and pulled out a wallet. She rifled through it, giving Rocky a glimpse of colorful paper inside, before finding the correct bills and pulling them out. Showing off the dragon tattoo that stretched along her arm. "Here you are."

"Thank you."

"It's alright." Rocky looked at her in confusion for a moment, but quickly put the money in the register. Then he handed over the boxes of pizza. She took them, taking a minute to check the contents inside, then smiled once more. "Thanks. Have a good night."

"You too," Rocky said. As the bell dinged over the door, signaling her leave, Rocky turned to the clock on the wall and let out a sigh of relief. Time to close. He and the owner, Lincoln, cleaned off the counters, tossed out the expired food, cleaned out the ovens, and counted the money in the register before Rocky was given his pay and able to leave.

Finally, he pulled off his apron and his baseball cap, balling them up in his hands as he walked to back to his car, rolling down the windows as soon as he got in. The job was fine but he didn't particularly like smelling like garlic all the time.

"The infamous Jack Harding—known for his hand in the pollution of the Indian Reservation—was released from jail earlier this afternoon. Harding is well known for his numerous lucrative businesses as well as the toxic landfill that poisoned several of the Indian community's elders. Since having been sent to prison, Harding lost all of his assets and what has been attached to his estate. As with the case of Hugo Snyder and Medusa, FBI agent Samuel Douglas's three sons were among those who took down Jack Harding. He has fully served his term in prison before his release."

The heading of that day's newspaper read Harding Released from Prison and it was all the news stations would talk about. It wasn't every day a businessman not only conned people out of their money, but endangering the lives of those on protected land for his own gain was harder for people to wrap their heads around. Especially when it was sacred to those that lived there. When it came out that Jack Harding had also been working with city officials with bribery and corrupt dealings, the scandal was busted wide open.

Rocky, Colt, and Tum-Tum even had to stand trial to explain the things they'd seen as well as explaining their hand in taking him down. All the while Samuel Douglas Sr. sat back and watched from the audience, wondering what it was that would let his boys would have a normal teenage life. Normal went out the window a long time ago, Sam, get over it, Sam thought. Ever since his father-in-law started teaching them martial arts the worst kinds of people were attracted to them like magnets.

Sam had gotten a healthy dose of fear when he'd returned from a night out and found Hugo Snyder had hired someone to kidnap his boys. All because of his dealing with the FBI. After that, his boys found trouble themselves.

Now Harding was released back on the streets. Sam made sure he had the newspaper with him that morning, just in case one of his sons found it and panicked. He didn't expect them to panic, if he were honest, they had grown up too much for that, seen too many things that other kids their age wouldn't have. But none of them had spoken about their past experiences unless the conversation turned to that topic. They stopped having nightmares, they didn't have panic attacks when left in small rooms, nothing. They still went to their grandfather's house to learn more about martial arts and were still planning on going that summer, even if Rocky was about to go into his senior year.

As far as he knew, Rocky was still going to visit his father after graduating high school. None of them talked about it much but Mori was getting up there in years. Even he had started to take things a little easier than years before. More lines and wrinkles were evident in his face, his hair was grayer than it had ever been before, and his limp was more prominent than any of them had ever seen, especially when he got up after sitting down for too long. There were too many things that were starting to change and it wasn't long until they had to acknowledge it.

Sam continued to study the newspaper, despite knowing exactly what it said. He had it memorized. Suddenly, his phone rang, making him jump so badly that he knocked over his cup of pens and pencils. Pathetic. How pathetic was it that one of the past villains as Jessica dubbed them, was released from prison and he was immediately turned into a mental case. These guys had caused so much trauma it was already starting to get to him again.

"Douglas here," Sam said, answering his phone.

"Sam, you're still there?" His partner, Jerry Curl asked. Both men held tension in their tones, but didn't want the other to hear it. Even as he sat in his seat, Sam could feel his muscles starting to tense, one by one, top to bottom.

"Yes, unfortunately," Sam sighed. He tried his hardest to relax. "Just thinking about the boys."

"There's nothing you can do about this Sam," Jerry pointed out. "He's an innocent man. He did his time, he's walking free."

"He may be free but he's hardly innocent," Sam pointed out. Released on good behavior. What a bunch of bullshit. Sam could practically see Jerry shaking his head as he said, "Don't dwell on this, Sam. It's just going to make things harder. The only thing you can do now is move forward. You know that."

"What do you expect me to do, Jerry? Ignore it? We just moved and got settled down, everything is perfect now. I don't want to have to move everyone again. Not when the only thing we could do is move from the city and I can't do that to Rocky in his senior year."

"No one said you have to. No one said anything about him coming back after your kids. It'd be a bit pathetic if he were to get out of prison and then go straight back because he wants revenge on a couple of kids that took down his business dealings. The entire city was against him, not just your boys."

"I know, I—" Sam let out a long breath. Jerry was a great guy and one of his best friends, a good partner to have…but he didn't understand. Didn't understand what it was like as a father to know that his job was one of the main reasons his sons continued to get themselves into trouble. Jerry had a wife he loved very much but never ended up having kids. His job was enough to sustain his happiness, but Sam's was his children. No matter how much he worked, no matter the promotions and raises nothing satisfied him more than seeing his children grow. "I guess my nerves are kinda shot," he finally admitted. "I'm telling you Jer, my kids are running me ragged and driving me crazy all at the same time."

"That's fine, Sam. I think we all understand. Just…make sure you get some rest, relax a little."

"In our line of work, I don't think that's possible."

"You're too right. I'll talk to you later."

"See ya."

Sam put the phone down. He stared at the newspaper in front of him for a long moment. Then he reacted violently, slamming his hands down on the desk top and yelled out a curse. Things were supposed to be looking up for them, how big of a setback was it going to be knowing that Harding was now back out?

In his experience, they never went quietly.

"Hey Sam!"

Having just gotten out of his car, Rocky turned around when he heard his name called. More people were starting to call him by his real name. Sometimes it confused him, he'd gone by Rocky long enough.

Rocky grinned and threw his head up in a short nod when he spotted Jason leaning out the window of his car, idling in the street in front of the Douglas house. Rocky slammed his door shut and grabbed his bag, slinging it over his shoulder before taking long strides to meet him. He winced and brought a finger up to his ear, the loud music already starting to rattle his brain.

Jason grinned and lowered the volume of his stereo. "Hey man, what's up?"

"Another long night at the pizza parlor," Rocky replied. "What's up with you?" He took off his hat and ran a hand through his hair, closing his eyes as the summer breeze blew around him. "How'd you get out of your shift?"

The first week of summer was over and already he was ready to have some fun. He had a lot of shifts to work through, let alone getting the reading done for school, then going to spend more time with their grandfather to further their ninjitsu studies.

"There's a party over at Dalton's," Jason explained. "Emily and Laurie are already on their way over there. You coming or what?" The noise of the car suddenly silenced and Rocky smiled when Jason let out a low curse and started to turn the key in the ignition repeatedly. It clunked around but didn't turn over.

"Having a bad day, Jase?" Rocky sled with a chuckle.

"You don't know the half of it/ This piece of crap car is always breaking down and I can't get a new one without my job and I can't get to my job if the car keeps breaking down. And you and I both know that Lincoln is doing his best to cover for me until I can get there."

"You mean I'm covering for you," Rocky reminded him. Not that the extra money was so bad. At least he was stashing some of it away for his own purchases. "As for your car, you know your mom and dad will pay for it," Rocky pointed out. "They're like, what, the richest family in the city?"

"Tough talk coming from the son of an FBI agent."

"And yet I'm the one who is continuously taking over your shifts."

Jason's dark eyes roved towards him. A smirk was on his lips. "I'm telling you, dude, with all of those freaky ninja powers you've got going on, you could put on a side show and make whatever money you want. Instead of working at the pizza shop." He rolled his eyes. "But we all know Samuel Douglas Jr. would never want to show off like that, especially not for monetary gain. You know, other than to Emily or any other girl that grabbed his attention."

Now Rocky rolled his eyes.

He'd heard enough of it time and time again. How many times was it going to be thrown in his face? Not that it really upset him. It was more of a minor inconvenience. An irritating, minor inconvenience.

"Don't remind me," Rocky muttered. He let out a long breath, tilting his head back. He twisted his hat in his hands. "I still haven't decided whether or not I'm going to continue with my ninja training after this summer." He paused. "It's not that I don't want to see grandpa, but I'm going to be eighteen soon what else can he teach me?"

As the words came from his mouth Rocky felt guilty. It was habitual now, all because he knew his reasons weren't entirely the truth. Every year he was asked if he would be going back to his grandfather's cabin he had to think long and hard about it. He loved martial arts and he loved learning the ways of the ninja, but he liked being able to hang out with his friends when he got the chance. Sometimes it was embarrassing to be seen hanging out with his grandfather so much, but the experiences he was exposed to were things he knew he'd never get anywhere else.

Besides, with college looming in the future it was only a matter of time that he would have to give it up, right? And it wasn't like he was turning his back on his grandfather, it was just growing up and moving on. He wouldn't be with his brothers much longer and they could decide what to do when the time came. Tum-Tum had asked him recently; if he would come back during his breaks from school to continue to practice ninja with him. The question had stopped Rocky in his tracks much like Jason's statement. So he decided to do what he always did when faced with the topic of conversation and his guilt.

He ignored it.

Restrained himself.

Put a pin in it to think about later.

"Coming from the guy that got in so much trouble when he was young," Jason replied, raising an eyebrow. "Now am I mistaken, or was it you and your brothers that helped that Indian reserve?"

"You're on the internet too much," Rocky said.

"It's not my fault the city likes to talk. And I didn't have to go on the internet for this one." Jason looked at him and Rocky looked back, his eyebrows rising.

"What are you talking about?" Rocky asked. He was already starting to get a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. A lot of people said he was so serious, so perceptive, but he was sure it was actually his ingenuity—or ninjanuity. He learned to understand and anticipate his surroundings and his surroundings. Even in front of his house, they were telling him that something was going on he didn't know about.

Something big.

"Nothing, man." Jason shook his head, looked away, did his best to appear as nonchalant as possible. A bright smile came to his face, looking at Rocky with wiggling eyebrows. "So, are you going to hook up with Emily, or…?"

"Why do you always have to smile at me when you do that?" Rocky shot him a slight scowl. "And, it's none of your business."

His and Emily's relationship had been and always would be a touchy subject with him. Not only had he dealt with years of teasing and sly smiles from his family, but everyone around him and Emily had always teased them about being together.

Did he like her?

Yes, he liked her a lot. She liked him, too. There was just something that was keeping them from trying things out. No, not 'something' they'd tried numerous times. She had always been a little bit more into him than he to her and they both knew it. She tried to push things forward but he'd always back away. Emily was nice and open with her feelings and always hinted that she really wanted to be Rocky's girlfriend but…honestly, he didn't know what it was that was stopping him.

Just that it didn't feel right.

And it was hard to figure out, especially when they would be leaving soon…

"Alert the media." Jason reached out and shoved Rocky's shoulder. "Everyone that thinks you two should get married will be very disappointed. Unless you're afraid that you won't get anything from her. I mean, you guys've known each other for how long?"

"Years," Rocky replied quickly. "And, again, my sex life is none of your business."

"Touchy, touchy." Jason flicked his black hair from his face. "One guy makes a joke and you freak. Didn't even know you had a sex life to joke about."

"Whatever." Rocky glanced back at his house then looked at Jason again, eyebrows coming together. He thought he saw some of the blinds wiggle back into place but couldn't be too sure. Maybe there was something in the air that night that was trying to get his attention. Something he couldn't quite shake. "You were saying something about the Indian Reservation?"

"Yeah, uh…" Jason snapped his fingers, trying to get the name back into his head. "That Jack Harding guy. He was released from prison today."

"What?" Rocky snapped his head towards his friend so fast that he heard something in his neck crack. "What did you just say?"

"You didn't know?" Jason's eyes widened in response to Rocky's sudden change in demeanor. Gone was the calm friend that he knew to rarely get riled up over anything, and now looked like he wanted to rip Jason's throat out. Calmly, of course. Blinking rapidly Jason continued, "It's been all over the news and in the newspapers…"

"I don't watch a lot of TV, you know that I'm too busy working," Rocky stated and then shook his head. When he focused his gaze on Jason once more, his blue-green eyes were ignited with a fire that Jason had never seen before. Otherwise his face appeared completely calm. It was kind of scary. "That doesn't matter, what are you talking about?"

"Hold on." Rifling through the numerous papers and fast food wrappers that festooned the stairwell of his car, Jason pulled out a folded newspaper. "It's from this morning-" He cried out as Rocky grabbed it from him. "Dude, paper cut!"

Rocky waved a hand at Jason, making a sound of exasperation and unfolded the newspaper. The heading jumped out at him.

Harding Released from Prison.

Rocky's lips moved silently as he read the headline and then the article. A calm washed over him as he read. Jo…if she knew about it she was probably getting her entire tribe together to wage war. But what else could be done? Harding served his time and now he was out. What was the point of beating a dead horse? Besides, none of the criminals he and his brothers had faced over the years had been dumb enough to try and mess with them again. If anything else proved it, their adventures had lessened over the years.

What would be the point of starting again?

Jason shook his head, licked his lips. "Dude, I'm sorry. I thought you knew. I mean, I figured that you saw it or that Emily told you-"

"I have to get inside," Rocky interrupted. "Don't worry about this. I'm not." He slapped the newspaper against his palm. "I can't make it to the party but tell the others I said 'hi'."

Jason snorted. "Yeah, and leave me to hear Emily's 'I don't care that he's not here' spiel when we know she cares."

Rocky quickly defended his friend. "She just wants to hang out, Jase. Don't tease her like that. I'll see you later, alright?" He waited until Jason managed to turn on the car before turning and going into the house.

As soon as he set food over the threshold, Colt and Tum-Tum grabbed onto his arms and dragged him to Colt's room. As Rocky was shoved inside, Tum-Tum dropped to the floor. Colt ducked his head outside the door, looking up and down the hallway. Then he ducked back inside and closed the door, leaning against it. He regarded Rocky with an expression Rocky was surprised to see wasn't one of anger.

Then again, Colt really did manage to curb his anger over the years. It still popped up every now and then, sometimes a lot quicker than others, but it usually had to be something that truly bugged him to get him there. Of course, that didn't keep him from arguing with their father on a near daily basis.

"Rock," Colt breathed. "Did you hear?"

"If this guy is back, don't you think he's going to come after us?" Tum-Tum added. He had a Twizzler hanging out of the corner of his mouth wedged firmly in the corner. He started to pick at his fingernails. "If it were me, I think I would."

Rocky smiled a little. Even after going through a long bout with braces Tum-Tum wasn't able to give up his candy habit. He was smarter about his diet, now that he was on the wrestling team, but he couldn't completely kick his candy craving. As far as Rocky knew, Tum-Tum still had a jellybean stash somewhere. Rocky should've known stress would keep him chewing on the sugary stuff.

The eldest brother brought a hand up and rubbed his forehead, trying to think of the best response to the questions that had also crossed his mind. His first reaction was to calm his brothers down lest they jumped to conclusions—which was a habit that all of them seemed to have—and make things worse for themselves.

Rocky spoke slowly, "I don't think it's anything we need to freak out about. I mean, mom and dad haven't said anything either. They must have a good reason for it. This is dad we're talking about. It's his job to keep secrets. He can keep something that would be potentially upsetting a secret for a long time. Remember that time that Grandpa was in the hospital for a broken leg and he wouldn't tell us because he was afraid that we'd do something stupid?"

"Yeah, I remember." Tum-Tum snorted. "Colt did do something stupid. He skipped school just to go see how grandpa was doing and got caught."

"It's not my fault that I just so happened to have a calc test the same day." Colt smiled as he shrugged. But then his smile faded and he turned to Rocky, his blue eyes hardening. "So what are we going to do?" He crossed his arms, lips in a thin line as he waited for an answer.

Rocky looked at his feet, and then lifted his head, his blue-green eyes meeting his brother's. "Nothing," he said. "If Harding were smart he wouldn't try to get revenge or anything. He'd just lie low and live out the rest of his life." Rocky lifted an eyebrow. "I mean, he already lost all of his money, his assets, his companies…what else can he do?"

Colt grinned. "What all the other old guys do. Take up golf! With how angry he got after the hearing, I think he'd have a great swing." He and his brothers laughed at the idea of Jack Harding wearing golfing clothes complete with the big, floppy hat, and taking up the relaxing sport. "He'd probably use a shotgun for the club."

"Or a baseball bat," Tum-Tum said.

"Or a grenade for the ball." Rocky smirked.

The boys continued to laugh until their worries washed away. Good. That was good. It was Rocky's plan all along. The less they worried about it, when there was nothing to worry about, the better. Besides, it was his last summer before his senior year, there had to be at least one summer that could go by without it blowing up in his face. He winced, suddenly remembering his grenade joke. Probably wasn't the best idea, he thought.

"The same ol' Rocky," TumTum declared. He slowly shook his head back and forth. "He can never make a decision without having to think about all of the facts." He rolled his eyes at Colt, who snickered beside him.

"Yeah, I bet he even takes that long to think about what topic he wants to write for his papers," Colt added. "And then has to get an extension because he waited too long to write it. It'd explain why he always freaks out about homework even though he always gets straight As."

Rocky lifted an eyebrow. He worked his ass for those As, thank you very much.

Colt laughed and nudged TumTum's shoulder. "C'mon, Tum, let's get dinner. That garlic smell is making me hungry."

"Right behind ya," TumTum agreed, never one to pass up on food.

An evil grin slowly stretched across Rocky's face as he watched his brothers walk away. "You're going to pay for that!"

He whipped two pillows off the bed and flung them at the back of his brother's heads then dove on top of them. The three laughed as they rolled around.

It was always easy for them to get their minds off things when they were together.

And over the years Rocky figured out the best way to do it was by beating them up. Though he always had to restrain himself from doing so, it didn't mean the thought never crossed his mind.

A/N: Hello, hello! This is a re-write of my other 3 Ninjas story Quiet Apocalypse as well as the re-write after that; In The Face of Danger. Some things of the story are the same, yet others will be different. As you can see this story is inspired by the video game King of Fighters: Maximum Impact so there's going to be a lot of action/adventure in this story.

I know I haven't done a long story in a while, my sister and I having done a bunch of one-shots but we really love these movies and still watch them as much as we can. So writing for it again is fun. This is a Rocky-centered story, by the way and (to picture it) this Rocky is Michael Treanor but does have some points of Sean Fox's Rocky in there as well.

I hope you guys like it, let me know what you think.

Cheers,

-Riles