CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
EIGHTEEN YEARS AGO
Authors Note: Italics represent Splinter's flashback narration.
The moon beamed brightly above the blanket of night and a breezy evening. Outside a warehouse guarded by a heavily fortified gate and patrolled by two security guards, a large carrier truck was stationed nearby, amongst its cargo were several thousand tiny canisters bearing the initials "T.C.R.I" on the front. The canisters contained a green liquid.
"My master, Hamato Yoshi, was tasked with great burdens in his final days, but he never forgot to include me in his routine"
Inside the van, a man nursed a large bowl. Inside it was a rat of small height and build, standing upright on both legs. It raised his right leg up and kicked high into the air, throwing a punch with its left hand, it twists its body around and delivered a spinning kick with its other leg.
Observing the rat's behavior was an Asian man of middle age, wearing a cream jumpsuit and baseball cap. He beckoned over to a beutiful Asian woman that he could see approaching, dressed in the same gear, she was holding something in her hand
"Teng-shen. Come see" Yoshi said. The woman walked up to the van, opened the door, and clambered inside. The man shook the bowl ever so slightly.
"Come on boy, show her" he said. The rat performed the same trick as before.
"He's perfected the technique I see" Teng-Shen realized.
The man noticed she was holding a tightly-wrapped plastic bag filled with water. He noticed something moving inside
"Where were you anyway?" he asked
"Pet store down the corner" she revealed
The man got a better glimpse of the bag, he noticed five tiny baby Turtles floating about in the water
"You got another one didn't you?" he said
"The other four needed a bit of company" Teng-Shen explained, "I thought I'd add a female to spice it up"
"And are you going to apply your 'skills' to that one too?" the man asked
"I work better with females. Besides, your star pupil has to be starved for competition by now" she said
"If you think I'm going to have my pet spar with yours, you're sorely mistaken" the man spoke
"Oh come on Yoshi, why ever not?" Teng-Shen moaned like an unsatisfied child
"They don't mix" Hamato said, "Who ever heard of a Ninja Turtle anyway?"
"I'll have you know they've been taking instruction very well" Teng-Shen insisted, "...Though it does take them a while to get the hang of the reflexes"
"Even so, they're incapable of swift, consistent movement, they can't conceal themselves in the wink of an eye. Next you'll be telling me Rabbits can be samurais and Frogs can be archers" Hamato said.
The rat observed the four Turtles from his bowel, it got a little excited and let out some squeaks.
"Aw look, he's curious" Teng-Shen observed.
The two soon noticed a second man, dressed head to toe the same as them, with a long mullet at the back of him, approaching the van
"Come see, Yoshi taught his pet the technique" Teng-Shen said to the man, who came over.
"Have you taught him how to apologize yet?" the man said
"What for?" Teng-Shen asked
The man lifted up the lower part of his ear to reveal a visible, blood-red nick.
"How'd you get that?" Teng-Shen inquired, stroking the nick delicately with her finger
"Blame your little Splinter" the man said, pointing accusingly at the rat/
Outside the gate, the two guards remained vigilant. Suddenly, a small dart with tiny blades sticking out of it cut through the throat of one. The other went to check on his partner as he slumped dead to the ground, but was caught in the forehead by another dart. He too was killed instantly.
The commotion was enough to make Tenng-Shen and Yoshi's friend turn around. His face froze. He noticed the corpses beyond the fortified gate, and, just as quickly, was face to face with something directly in front of him
"Yoshi...'Shen...look" he said
All three of them stared out. There, standing as still as statues, were three hooded figures in black jumpsuits, a "Foot" symbol etched on their masks, their mid-section each displaying a black and purple belt, on their backs were pouches containing swords and smaller handheld weapons.
The ninjas quickly spread out, one remained in front of the truck, while two of them covered the left and right doors of the vehicle.
"Call security. Now" Hamato ordered.
One of the intruders, seemingly the leader, produced a small device from his pocket and activated it, he held it high aboe his head, it produced a flickering red light. Hamato's friend reached for his walkie talkie and spoke into it.
"Control...control, come in" he said, but all he could get was static
He turned to Yoshi, "Nothing" he said
"I'm sure that device is to blame" Yoshi deduced
"Yoshi, I'm frightened" Teng-Shen confessed, putting her free hand on Hamato's shoulder, Hamato gently placed his own right hand on hers and stroked it lovingly.
One of the ninjas opened the door on Hamato's end and dragged him out, Hamato held on to Splinter's bowl, taking it out with him. As he was thrown from the truck, he let go of the bowl, it crashed to the ground, freeing the rat, who scurried behind the back wheel of the vehicle.
The second of the group opened up Teng-Shen's end of the truck and motioned to skirt past her friend and grab her. The man took exception to this
"Get away from her" he yelled, and hurled himself at the intruder, grabbing him, both tumbled on to the ground, the man threw rapid punches into the Ninja's face, but his foe reversed their positions with a well-timed roll, he began to choke the man, tightening his grip on his throat.
Hamato, in the grip of the other Ninja, managed to break free and fiercely jabbed his opponent in the face with his two fingers, he then delivered a high knee to the ninja's chin. He ran to his friend's position, leaping into the air and bringing down a strong chop on to the ninja attacking his partner. Despite being on the ground, Hamato's friend joined in on the attack by unleashing a knee-deep kick to the Ninja's groin.
As the Ninjas staggered away, Hamato extended his hand to his friend, who elected to pick himself back up
"I was doing just fine" he said
"Yeah, you were going at 'break neck' speed" Hamato joked.
Hamato and his friend stood united as the Ninjas regrouped and encircled them.
"What now?" the man asked
Hamato spotted the device in the lead Ninja's hands
"That's a scrambler of some kind. We take that out, we can call in reinforcements" he said.
The Ninjas unsheathed sharp blades from their back pouches.
"This just got complicated" Hamato's friend remarked
"Weapons are a last resort of those who know they have met their physical match" Hamato commented
"Do you seriously believe all that movie lingo you absorb?" his friend asked
"Belief is all you can be..." Hamato replied, and looked back at the van, glimpsing the concerned Teng-Shen.
"...Love is all you can afford" he concluded
The man looked at the truck, and turned to Hamato. Of all the things to understand in the heat of battle, this was something he felt needed to be kept in mind the most. He nodded in agreement.
The battle was joined.
Hamato's friend went for the head Ninja while Hamato back-flipped all the way over to the truck with two of the others in pursuit, swinging their blades trying to cut through him as he did this, but he was able to succesfully avoid these attempts at dicing him. He clambered onto the bonnet of the truck, turned around and surprised the Ninjas with ferocious kicks. Recovering quickly, the second of the two ninjas again swung at him, but Hamato ducked, jumped off the bonnet, landed behind his foe, tapped him on the shoulder, and smashed him with a closed fist as he turned to meet him
Watching the battle unfold behind the wheel was Splinter.
"Until then, I had never seen my master truly fight, aside from training with his sparring partner, who now was his ally in the fever-pitched conflict. I stood by, watching, in many ways taking this in as another lesson. In many ways it was"
Meanwhile, Hamato's friend remained locked in combat with Ninja holding the scrambler device, they exchanged punches and kicks, each equally matched. Hamato was distracted by the third Ninja, the second had disappeared without trace
"I learned the notion of courage, the necessity of combat in the name of preservation…"
Teng-Shen emerged from the truck, holding her bag of Turtles, mesmerized by the battle unfolding before her.
Then, suddenly, brutally, a blade passed through her stomach. The second Ninja had reemerged.
And he had claimed a victim
"…And the swiftness of tragedy"
Teng-Shen released her grip on plastic bag, now split open as a result of holding it too close to her mid-section. It hit the floor. The five baby Turtles emerged from it.
Hamato spotted what had transpired, and yells out Teng-Shen's name in dread and shock. He rushed over to her, blood pouring from her lips and mid-section. He shook her, gently sobbing There was little he could do.
"Speak to me. Please." he begged. Teng-Shen's eyes rolled up over, her body went limp. In a span of seconds, she was still and silent.
Hamato's eyes were awash with tears, he gritted his teeth, he stared upwards, there was the Ninja, blade in both hands, raising it high above his head, prepared to strike.
"It is said that in times of war, the laws fall silent. Laws that maintain peace, and balance. My master was always of this mentality…until this moment. I understood then and there that he had never experienced, in all his days of preparation, be it with me or with himself, the realities of mortal combat"
Hamato Yoshi steeled himself, and as the blade came down, he grabbed it with both hands, he rose up, still clasping the blade, he stared into the black featureless face of his masked opponent, and lets out an emotionally charged, primal yell, he released his grip on the blade and kneed the Ninja in the stomach, he threw a series of punches at the Ninja's face, rocking him back and forth.
These were not the well practiced moves of a martial arts pro, but the physically dominant blows of a man pushed to the edge. This was no longer a movie for Hamato, there was nothing to over-romanticize.
But the sudden turn to a barbaric, aggressive take on combat blinded Hamato to his surroundings. As he threw a firm uppercut and knocked the Ninja to the floor, he grabbed the mask fixed to the face of his foe and tore it up, revealing a bloodied Asian man, coughing violently.
Hamato raised a clenched fist, ready to inflict another devastating blow on Teng-Shen's killer, when out of nowhere, his hand was severed by a swift of swing of another sharp blade from the second on the dangerous trio, who had successfully sneaked up on him
Hamato let out a blood-curdling scream, which drew the attention of his friend, still locked in combat with the lead Ninja
"Yoshi" he screamed
Hamato Yoshi, near-helpless, refused to die, and, almost as if losing his hand ignited a second wind, resorted to again using disciplined martial arts tactics. Yoshi's friend tried to find an opening and help him, but his own foe would let up.
The lead Ninja bellowed out instructions as he kept the man at bay with a surprise headlock
"We're wasting time here. Take the truck" he yelled.
The unmasked Ninja headed over to the front of the truck, and got in on the driver's end, preparing to drive the truck out.
"Yoshi, the canisters" the man yelled
Hamato nodded in understanding. He attempted to approach the truck, but the second Ninja tried to thwart him at every turn. Hamato struggled to fight back with his one remaining hand and a few meek kicks, but his strength was rapidly fading. He only succeeded in backing up against the side of the steadily moving truck. His foe closed in.
"Then…in a moment I would struggle with for many a year, my master made his boldest, and most final, act in this world, one that would change mine, and others, forever…"
The Ninja raised his blade, Hamato spotted how close he was to the canisters. In a final burst of energy, he tried to tackle the Ninja, but his foe threw him back and lunged at him with his blade. Hamato threw himself onto the blade, and as it passed through his body, it pierced the row of stacked canisters. The slimy green liquid poured on to the ground.
"No" his friend screamed. The first of the Ninjas was enraged.
"You fool, you've compromised the cargo! We dare not drive this out of the compound, we'll leave a trail all over this stinking city" he screamed.
Suddenly, a fire lit up under Yoshi's friend and he too manifested his grief into brutal combat. Breaking out of the headlock, he gained the upper hand, blinding his foe in the eye and delivering a chop to the back of his neck. He grabbed the scrambler from the Ninja's hand, dropped it the ground, and crushed the device with his right foot. He then gave the Ninja a firm kick square in the behind. The man picked up his walkie talkie from the ground and spoke into it.
"Control. We have a breach outside, I repeat, we have a security breach" he said.
The three Ninjas regrouped. The man approached the three.
" You're not going anywhere" he said
"My friend. We are anywhere and everywhere" the lead Ninja revealed, "We shelter in this world's undergrowth. You would have to evolve all manner of matter to seek us out, and you would have to ignite a greater fury to awaken this sleeping world to us"
"I'll remember that" the man replied.
The ninja looked to his defeated, exhausted disciples.
"Ninja, vanish" he said, taking out a small capsule and throwing it down. Upon impact, the three Ninjas were surrounded by smoke.
The man ran through the thick smog produced by the capsule, trying to prevent their escape, but he could find no trace of them. He was left befuddled by their disappearance
His mind turned to other matters, and he rushed over to Hamato, his body was a dismembered mess. The man knew checking for a pulse was futile, but he did so anyway.
He spotted something lying on the ground nearby, the tattered remains of the mask ripped from one of the ninjas. He picked it up and examined it, looking closely at the Foot symbol atop it. His hand tightened around the mask, visibly shaking with rage.
The doors of the warehouse swung up and several armed men swarmed out. Security had arrived. And they were too late.
Elsewhere, the sheltered rat emerged from behind the back wheel of the truck and scurried through the murky puddle of green liquid, past the five Turtles, who were also playing about in it, and towards Hamato Yoshi's corpse.
"I could not fully comprehend what had transpired, all I could think then and there was unspeakable loss, perhaps it was this sense of confusion that compelled me to take my next action…to flee, to make sense of what this world had inflicted on my present days, I needed to spend my future learning why it worked the way it did"
The rodent, now covered head to toe in the green substance, began to move away from the corpse, when he noticed one of the baby Turtles was following him
"It was probably my first clue…fate had arranged the end of one journey, and with one single step, another journey began. One was followed by another, and another. These creatures, whom I had heard my master described as "slow", were quick in choosing a path to follow. Impressed, I took my time in leaving my old world behind, so they could continue to follow"
Splinter slowly lead the way, the four Turtles followed him out of the hole in the gate. The fifth, which hadn't been covered in the substance, also followed at the urging of the fourth, who waited up for it, keeping it in with line with the others.