Chapter 11

Caught

The time had come for Tyroth to once again head out on a midnight jog, and meet the Foot's 'super ninja' for the second time. He was very clear on what to do, if he couldn't get the information he wanted this night for whatever reason, then the next night, he wouldn't hold anything back during the fight. He would kill the ninja and get in in the Foot HQ.

After telling the others that he would be heading out, like he had done the previous nights, he exited the lair and jogged to the first turn to the left. When he rounded the corner, Tyroth was surprised to see April and Casey further down the tunnel, walking towards him.

He figured that they were going to visit the turtles, so he continued jogging to keep up appearance and greeted them as the three passed each other. April and Casey were a little confused, but thought nothing of it, as Monalisa and the turtles goes skating in the sewers sometimes.

When the couple entered the lair, they saw that the mutants piled themselves into Donatello's lab. Curious, they too walked to the lab to find out what that was going on.

"Hey guys." said April. "What's happening?"

"We're spying on Tyroth." Michelangelo said, pulling up a few chairs for him and the others.

"Spying? On Tyroth? Why?" said Casey with a raised eyebrow.

"It's not because we're bored." said Raphael.

Sephie sighed and began telling them what had been going on these last few days, and how she was worried that something was wrong. The clue that Donatello had found was the most disturbing.

"If the Foot is involved, this could be very bad." said April.

"Yeah," Casey agreed. "but why wouldn't Tyroth tell you?"

"I don't know, but we got a bead on him right now." said Donatello, pointing at his screen where a red dot moved on a map of the city. "That's Tyroth's shell-cell, he's moving above ground right now, and I don't like where his trajectory is pointing. If he keeps this course, he'll arrive at the Foot Headquarters."

"What?! Why is he heading there?" Monalisa asked.

"You don't think… that he's working with them." Michelangelo said a bit hesitant. He hadn't more than said those words, when he was smacked hard on the back of his head. Expecting Raphael to be the one behind the smack, Michelangelo was very surprised to see that it was in fact Sephie.

She looked very angry.

"Don't you dare say that! He would never betray us!" she said sharply.

"Sorry. I wasn't thinking when I spoke."

"Like usual, shell for brains." Raphael retorted.

"Pipe down, guys. I'm trying to work here." said Donatello. "He's stopped a few miles south of the HQ. Let's hear what he's up to." Donatello typed a few commands on the keyboard and the speakers gave of some static noise before the transmission cleared up, after which they could hear Tyroth talking.

"… the last time! Answer me!"

The group listened but couldn't hear any reply, only the sounds of the city.

"Still going with this silent act, huh? Let's see if the loss of an arm will loosen your tongue!" they heard Tyroth say, and right after there were the unmistakable sounds of battle. Metal blades clashing.

"That doesn't sound promising." said Monalisa.

"We must help him! Who knows what kind of foe he's fighting!" said Sephie, clearly worried about her mate.

"We will, don't worry." said Leonardo. He remembered that when Tyroth was captured by the Foot last time, they could hardly stop Sephie from storming the HQ. They were lucky that night, it was easily one of the most gruesome fights they had been through. "Grab your gear and head out, we got many miles to cover."

"I'll monitor the situation and tell you if anything happens." said April as she took Donatello's place by the computer.

"Thanks April."

"Good luck, my children." Splinter called out as the six reptiles collected their equipment and left for the surface.

While the turtles and lizards hurried through the sewers and across the rooftops, Tyroth and the ninja fought violently. The roof had fresh scorch-marks and cuts all over, evidence of the fierce battle.

The ninja was the only one that had scored any hits so far, but those were little more than scratches for the though dragon. Tyroth wasn't going all out against his foe, wanting to keep him alive, but he had stepped up his game since their previous battle, and obviously, the had done so as well.

Sparks flew when Tyroth parried the ninja's attacks and countered with a swipe of his onw, that forced the ninja to jump away. Tyroth didn't waste any time, charging at his foe, slashing wildly at the ninja. But not a single attack hit, the ninja was able to dodge all of them, albeit with very little margin.

Jumping backwards to avoid the ninja's counter attack, Tyroth noticed something off in the distance behind the ninja. Taking a second to get a better look, he saw six green figures heading towards him. And he knew who they were.

'What are they doing here?!' he thought. 'If this guy sees them, my family will pay the price! What am I gonna do?!'

To Tyroth's horror, the ninja noticed that he was looking at something and took a swift glance in that direction, spotting the six mutants as well. Quickly sheathing his weapons, the ninja rushed to the edge of the rooftop and jumped to the next one over, and continued towards the Foot Headquarters.

Tyroth was about to pursue hum, but halted himself when he remembered that he couldn't get too close to that building.

"Tyroth!" he heard Leonardo call out and cursed himself. It didn't take long before the turtles and lizards arrived to that building.

"What are you guys doing here?" Tyroth asked.

"We could ask you the same thing. What's with this solo vigilante jig?" said Raphael. "And who was that guy?"

"Some goon of Arashi's no doubt." the dragon responded.

"Honey, please, enough with the lies." said Sephie pleadingly with sad eyes. "We know that you have been keeping things from us. We don't know what or why, but you can tell us, we're here for you just like we've always been, like I've always been. Please darling, trust us, trust me."

Sephie's words and her sad eyes touched Tyroth deeply. His heart ached greatly, as if it was pierced by a spear. Being at his emotional limit, he couldn't hold it in any longer and tears began to fall. Sephie embraced him and held him close, comforting him with her presence.

"I'm sorry…" he said. "I never wanted to lie to you, but… I didn't have any choice..."

"It's alright, hun. We will help you, just tell us what's going on." Sephie said, wiping away a tear from his cheek.

"I will, but not here and not now. Once we're back at the lair, I will tell you everything."

Looks like the cat's out of the bag now (who thought that expression up?). The team have discovered that Tyroth has been lying to them, and want some answers. But, the Foot's champion has seen them as well, will that spell danger for Tyroth's parents?