A/N: This is a request story from retro mania. After some thought and watching Turtles in Time and My Heart Will Go On from Supernatural, I finally managed to nail down the plot. I've discovered just how hard it is to concentrate on writing when I'm sick. Sorry for the delay retro mania. But, better late than never, right?
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Darkness pressed in all around. Ears strained to hear anything in the silence. There was a creak of a branch and the rustle of leaves. A darker shadow crawled down from the large tree in the middle of the room. It crept upon its target on all fours, tail swaying back and forth; nose and ears twitching. There was a slight scent of steel in the air. The target had a weapon drawn. No matter; he was going down, either way.
It was just the two of them. The others had been dealt with earlier. The shadow straightened to two legs, slinking closer to the target; arm stretched out to the side. There was no warning as the blade shot out of a wrist guard. The shadow raised his arm over his head. The target moved. The blade came down; the dojo rang with the sound of clashing metal. The shadow and target pulled away from each other.
A voice whispered somewhere in the dark. The smell of steel was close as a blade sung through the air. The shadow dodged to the side as the blade swept by. A hiss as the weapon shaved off a bit of hair. The shadow released a second blade and got in close. He swung the blades, but the target managed to block the strike with a second weapon. Metal groaned; the shadow and target grunting against the effort of pushing against each other.
"Yame!" came a sharp command.
The shadow and target pulled away as the lights shot on. A turtle in a blue mask faced off against an orange and white tabby cat. The cat was slightly shorter than the turtle, but his ears made him seem taller.
"Oh, snap. Tie," someone called from the sidelines.
"Thank you for the commentary, Mikey," the cat said.
The blue masked turtle sheathed his swords and held out his hand, smiling. "Good match," he said.
The cat shook his hand. "I'll beat you, yet, Leo."
Leonardo grinned. "You haven't beaten me, yet, Klunk."
They turned when someone started clapping. A black mutant cat with dark blue highlights through her fur stood off to the side with three other turtles.
"Well done. Both of you," she praised.
Leonardo and Klunk gave her a bow. "Thank you, Mistress Shard," they said in unison.
"So the almighty Leonardo remains undefeated," Raphael commented with a huff. "I thought for sure with Klunk's night vision he would be able to dethrone the king."
"You're just jealous because I beat you in the first round," Leonardo taunted.
Shard placed a hand on Raphael's shoulder before he could get to his feet. "Enough, you two," she said.
"Yes, that is quite enough for one night," the boy's sensei and father, Splinter agreed. "You boys are dismissed. Enjoy the rest of your evening."
The boys cheered with a hearty "Booyakasha" from Michelangelo. They hurried out of the dojo and disappeared out into the lair. Splinter and Shard smiled at their son's antics.
"They are growing up so fast," Shard commented.
"Indeed," Splinter agreed.
Shard's ears drooped and she sighed sadly. "Miwa would have been around their age, now," she said. "If she hadn't been..."
Splinter walked over and wrapped his arms around her. "Do not cry, Shen," he whispered. "We will find our daughter. She is still out there, somewhere."
Shard wiped a tear from her eye. "Yes. And we have five wonderful sons," she said. "I could not imagine my life without them."
Splinter drew Shard closer to him. She rubbed her face against his, purring lovingly. However, they broke away when they heard a commotion coming from the main area of the lair. Splinter sighed in frustration when Raphael's voice rose louder than the other's. There was a crash and a cat's shriek.
"Dude, that was my tail!" Klunk cried.
"Give me the controller, Mikey!" Raphael yelled.
"No way, man. You've been hogging the console all day," Michelangelo said. "Let someone else play."
Shard and Splinter looked at each other. She offered him a smile and he smiled back. Boys would be boys.
Golden eyes stared up through a storm grate at the sky far above. Klunk's ears twitched when he heard the sounds of a skateboard rolling down the sewer tunnel. He turned to see Michelangelo approaching.
"Hey, bro," the orange masked turtle greeted. "Thought I'd find you out here."
"Had to get away for a while," Klunk replied.
Michelangelo rolled to a stop, flipped up the skateboard and took a seat next to his feline brother. "Sorry about earlier. I didn't mean for Raph to step on your tail," he apologized.
Klunk shrugged. "It happens. But, that's not what I meant."
"What did you mean?" Michelangelo asked.
Klunk looked up at the starry sky. "It's not everyday we get to see the stars," he said. "And, the lair tends to get a bit stuffy."
Michelangelo nodded in agreement. "I hear that," he replied. "And, I highly doubt that Splinter and Shard are going to let us go topside. With the surface being too dangerous and all that."
Klunk tilted his head to one side. "Have you ever wondered why it's too dangerous?" he asked.
Michelangelo frowned slightly. "Something about an invasion, I think," he answered uncertainly.
Klunk hummed in thought. "One day I'm going to go topside and see for myself. We can't live our whole lives down here."
"Well, when you do, count me in," Michelangelo told him. "There's got to be some kind of world above the sewers."
"And, when we find it," Klunk said. "It's going to be Earth shattering."
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