AN: Muffinmilk317 and Savvywolf: You're right, this is suspicious… Hmm… Thanks for reviewing!
Donut-Sama: Thank you so much! I'm glad you like this story!
yukio87, Techno Dawn, tmntsurviver and the mysterious Guest: Look, an update!
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Pancake: Thanks a lot for your kind and detailed review!
Fight
Leonardo watched their enemies approach. In his world, the Purple Dragons presented no real threat – at least they hadn't since a long time. Even Hun was no match for him. But the figures gathering around them were far more numerous than the three measly people who formed the street gang of his world.
And there is the problem of the exoskeletons, Leonardo added in his head. I guess Hun really is in league with Baxter Stockman.
"I'm so glad to meet you again, Donatello," Hun almost purred. "Our last meeting was interrupted so rudely."
The gang leader glared at Raphael before turning his gaze back at Donatello.
"We hadn't even begun to properly get to know each other."
Donatello gritted his teeth. He was grasping his bo staff with such strength that his joints were blanching. He seemed ready to launch himself at Hun, without consideration for the fact that the man was encased in a two meters high and heavily weaponized exoskeleton.
Maybe he would have if Casey hadn't come to a sudden realization.
"So that's why there were so few of them in the streets! They were preparing for a full-scale attack!" He exclaimed. "And what's with the robot parts, guys? You didn't feel confident enough with your usual trinkets?"
His remark efficiently diverted Hun's attention.
"You little fool," the man disdainfully spat. "You were so engrossed in your vigilante game that you didn't even notice that my men had followed you! My partner will reward me greatly for this!"
Casey and Raphael paled. Leonardo cursed under his breath. If he hadn't been too busy enjoying Raphael and Donatello's argument, he could have heard the Purple Dragons coming sooner. Maybe they would have had time to escape. But now they were surrounded.
Hun turned his attention towards Leonardo.
"And the little brat is here too! Still willing to fight alongside your brothers? You should have learned by now that you're no use to them! Where is your scaly sidekick, by the way?"
He thinks I'm Mikey, Leonardo realized. Which means he probably has nothing to do with my arrival here. The blue-clad turtle put that piece of information aside for later use.
Hun was swaggering now. He was obviously having a lot of fun. With this exoskeleton, he really looks like a peacock, Leonardo registered in the corner of his mind who wasn't focusing on the upcoming battle.
None of them had attacked so far, but the tension was increasing. It was only a matter of seconds now.
Who is going to attack first? Leonardo wondered. Raph is usually the one to begin a fight, but Donnie seems pretty upset. The blue-clad turtle knew it would be better if they waited for their enemy to attack first. However, he also knew that he couldn't just order them to wait. His heart was aching for his own brothers and the formidable team they made together.
"Brag all you want, I'll still beat you to the ground," Raphael shouted defiantly.
The gang leader tilted his head and smiled viciously.
"Before or after I beat your brothers to the ground? But after all, at least one of them is used to it." He indicated Donatello, still smiling.
Both Donatello and Raphael roared and launched themselves at the gang leader. Hun emitted a ridiculously high-pitched battle cry. He swirled his metal arms and sent the two turtles to the ground. They picked themselves up, ready to attack again.
The Purple Dragons rallied their leader and the battlefield quickly became a mess.
After a few minutes of fighting, Leonardo was grateful that the purple Dragons were so numerous. Half of them had exoskeletons, though not quite as weaponized as Hun's. The other half had the usual gear: chains, pipes and knives. They obviously weren't used to fight in an ordered fashion and they frequently got in each other's way.
Leonardo was jumping on satellite dishes and chimneys and was sending arrows and shuriken with deadly precision at the articulations of the exoskeletons. The Purple Dragons inside shouted their anger at him and tried to take him down, with no success. The blue-clad turtle was moving too fast for them.
Raphael and Donatello were circling around Hun, who was apparently enjoying himself immensely. Leonardo couldn't hear what he was saying, but it was efficient: the two turtles were trying to take him down by sheer strength and they were tiring quickly. Go on like this and Hun will just have to pick you, Leonardo thought with irritation. He watched the distant fight with concern. Raphael and Donatello weren't exactly getting in each other's way, but their attacks weren't coordinated either.
Leonardo's attention was diverted by a more pressing matter. At the other side of the rooftop, Casey was doing a fair job of sending Purple Dragons over the edge of the building with his hockey stick. However, the teenager was getting quickly overwhelmed. Leonardo shot his last arrow and rolled in Casey's direction, taking hold of a Purple Dragon's knife in the process. The owner of the knife shouted his indignation and Leonardo kicked him in the chest, sending him in the direction of another Purple Dragon. Both fell on the ground.
Casey looked at him with appreciation.
"Dude, you sure know some fighting. I'm beginning to believe that you really could be Raph's brother."
Leonardo ducked to avoid a swirl of Casey's hockey stick and kicked another Purple Dragon over the edge.
"Thanks, I guess."
Between the two of them, they managed to clear their way back to Raphael and Donatello.
Hun seemed to notice that his men were falling quickly. He roared and apparently decided that it was time to stop playing. He pointed a gun in Casey and Leonardo's direction. The detonation echoed and the bullet hit the cement.
It's not good, Leonardo thought. He had seen it coming and managed to get Casey out of the way just in time. Now he has enough room to shoot without risking his men's lives.
Raphael and Donatello desperately attempted to open Hun's armor. But it was better made than those of his men and they couldn't find an opening. Leonardo bit his lip.
Purple Dragons were regrouping in the background. Hun pointed his gun again and this time, it was Raphael who put Casey out of the way. The gang leader sent a metal fist in Donatello's direction and knocked the turtle, who let out a strangled cry.
"Donnie!" Raphael shrieked in dismay.
"I'm…okay…" Donatello managed to say, though it was obvious that he wasn't.
The blue-clad turtle quickly assessed the situation. They were tiring faster than Hun who had his exoskeleton to help him, and there were still too many Purple Dragons standing. The conclusion was simple: they had to get out of here, and fast. But they would make an easy target for Hun if they tried to jump over the rooftops. That's what smoke bombs are supposed to be for, he thought desperately. It's worth a try.
"Donnie! Do you have any smoke bombs in this jacket of yours?"
Donatello was still disoriented from the hit. He blinked.
"Do I have what?"
"Never mind," Leonardo replied, rolling to avoid another blow from Hun.
The gang leader seemed to rejoice seeing the purple-clad turtle on his knees. He whispered something in the turtle's ear, and Donatello clenched his fists and tried to kick him. Hun merely laughed.
Raphael and Casey were busy repelling the Purple Dragons. They fought efficiently together, in a brawling kind of way. Leonardo could tell that Raphael was desperate to reach Donatello, but he was being propelled in the opposite direction.
The situation is becoming desperate, Leonardo thought. We must end this now.
He needed a plan.
Don't fight the armor, fight the man within, the voice of his beloved sensei resounded in his head.
Leonardo pulled strength from the memory. He scanned the area, searching for a particular item.
Come on, they are a street gang. They're bound to have a few… Got it!
"Hey, Hun!" The blue-clad turtle shouted. "I must say that you're tougher than you used to be, but you're still nothing more than a gang member following orders!"
Hun turned over and took a closer look at him.
"What?" He exclaimed, narrowing his eyes. "You're not the orange one!"
Taking advantage of his surprise, Leonardo used the paint can he had just stolen from a Purple Dragon and sprayed the purple paint on the plastic screen protecting Hun's head, efficiently blinding him. The gang leader shouted in outrage.
Leonardo then jumped at Donatello's side.
"Donnie, come on! Let's get out of here!"
Donatello shook his head.
"No. I'm not leaving."
"What do you mean, you're not leaving?" Leonardo exclaimed, not believing his ears.
"You don't understand. He told me that he knew where she was. I thought she had been lost, but…"
"Who are you talking about?" Leonardo was having a hard time making sense of Donatello's sentences. Hun must have hit him harder than I thought, he supposed anxiously.
"I don't know her name! I just saw them take her, and I was unable to help… and then I couldn't find her again…" To Leonardo's dismay, tears were sliding on Donatello's green cheeks. "I tried to find her, I really tried, but all I could manage was to get captured. Raph and Mikey had to rescue me, and Mikey got hurt…"
This is not the time for a confession, Leonardo thought. He tried to get Donatello on his feet, but the purple-clad turtle was resisting. From the corner of his eye, he could see Raphael and Casey finally reaching them, and two Purple Dragons wiping the paint on Hun's armor.
"Donnie! Let's go!" Raphael shouted. He took his brother by the arm, but Donatello was remaining motionless.
"Donnie!" Raphael's tone became threatening. "I'll carry you if I have to!"
But you won't be able to defend yourself if you do, Leonardo thought. And we still have to fight our way through the Purple Dragons. Who could have guessed Hun was that good at recruiting people?
Donatello remained motionless.
"No! You should have seen the look she sent me. She was counting on me, and I failed her!"
Raphael sent a desperate look to Leonardo, forgetting to be mad at him in his distress.
"It took him months to recover from his depression. He was finally back to his old self, and now…"
Raphael shook his head.
"I wish he had never met that red-haired girl!"
And suddenly, the whole story made sense to Leonardo.
Oh, Donnie, he thought with compassion. He bent over Donatello.
"April. Her name is April," Leonardo whispered.
He closed his eyes for a second and made a promise he had no idea how to keep.
"And I'll help you find her."
And then Donatello was moving again, and the four of them were leaving behind a furious Hun.
What have I just gotten myself into? Leonardo thought not for the first time, before they disappeared in the sewers.
