Jewel's P.O.V.
Sighing, she nestled deeper into her luxurious, queen-sized bed. The soft, silky fabric of the eggplant colored sheets cooled her warm skin, releasing the tension off her back. She released a breath of relief, closing her eyes in content. Folding her hands behind her head, she snuggled deeper into the soft, soft bed. "Oh yeah. I could definitely get used to this."
A quiet, amused laugh was heard in the room, "Comfy?" asked a male voice.
Peeking one eye open, regarding the boy in her room, sharpening a knife, she nodded once, "Comfy." she affirmed. Comfy. It felt so strange coming from her own lips. Considering the circumstances, she was lucky to be only with a bruise. And she was expecting more than that. But she'd rather enjoy her temporary stay, wanting to live and all that. Plus, she had a test tomorrow morning.
The room was dark, dimmed with minimal lighting; just the way she liked it. She didn't like bright lights. It hurt her eyes, stinging like bees. But she also didn't like no light at all. She still needed to see. Neutral. That was what was in her taste. Not too bright, can still see, and it sent a calming aura around, bringing what little comfort she had left in her.
"Okay, I gotta ask," drawled the nonchalant guest in the room, his knife and sharpener discarded on the table. He crossed his muscular arms over his broad chest, lips twitching, "are you planning anything on us?" he asked curiously with caution,"'Cause, at first, you were all 'I hate Shredder and I'm gonna destroy him'" he mocked in a squeaky, high-pitched voice, causing to raise an unimpressed eyebrow, to which he responded with a shrug. "And now you're all in with the Foot. What changed your mind?"
Nothing, she thought bitterly in her head. She didn't change her mind about any of this. Not in a million years. She hated the Foot Clan. They were dishonest, vindictive, and had no sliver of honor. Fitting considering who their leader is.
But it she had a plan. A pretty good one, if she did say so herself. Tricky, yes, but it might just do the work. She just had to play her cards right. Nothing could be out of place. She had to go in the same direction. One wrong move and she was done. And popular to contrary belief, she happened to like living. Despite all the setbacks in her short life. But she couldn't say any of this to him.
Without sparing him a glance, her eyes still closed, she shrugged into the bed, "I got bored. Tired of living on the streets." she coolly answered without a hint of dishonesty in her voice, like telling a parent that school was good. It was the same tone she used during her little...squabble with the man himself. That hadn't been fun. She knew he suspected something, a lie from her. But she wasn't gonna let him or anybody else figure it out.
"You got bored?" he repeated, face painted in bemusement, tone baffled and disbelieving, "You mean to tell me that you were getting bored living on the streets?" he asked again, seemingly detecting for any type of fib.
She scoffed, almost laughing; too easy, "Um, yeah." she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "Wouldn't you get tired of living in a dumpster for all your life?" she asked, her eyes now opened as she slowly sat up, arching her back, cracking the stiff joints in her neck. She was fully paying attention to him, now. And she had to restrain a smirk at his somewhat embarrassed expression.
"Uh, well - I just thought -"
"Thought what?" she interrupted, examining her nails.
"Well, you know!"
She looked up at him again, raising a brow, "I do?"
The boy scoffed, fighting off a laugh. "Yeah! I mean, aren't you a kunoichi or somethin'? From what Tin Head told me, you guys are supposed to be masters of deception." he curled two fingers on both hands in air quotes, chuckling a little.
Tilting her head, a small smile snaked its way to her lips, "You think I'm lying." it wasn't a question, she was stating it. He licked his lips, looking almost frustrated, and he threw his hands up in exasperation. Just like she'd hoped.
"Of course I think you're lying! Why wouldn't I?!"
She bit down her smirk, shrugging one shoulder, expression laid back and uncaring, "Because you trust me." she said simply, igniting a flame on her hand, maneuvering it into a ball and tossing it in both hands, something she learned a while back.
"Jewel, I trust you about as far as I can throw you."
Leaning back into her bed, feeling the soft cushiony pillows, Jewel chuckled lightly. "You trust me, Sam." her fingers combed through the bright, crackling fireball, stretching it now a bit. She saw Sam shake his head out of the corner of her eye. He scoffed again, "No. I don't." he argued.
Averting her attention from the fireball she was stretching it out, she looked at him, the smallest of smirks curling on her lips, "You trust me." she agreed in a gentle tone, looking back down at her flame, now stretching it into a flat square, poking one hand through, curling her fingers into a fist.
She heard Sam protest at the back of his throat, frustrated and confused, until finally, he rolled his eyes and grumbled, "Don't forget you have patrol tonight with Karai." and then he slammed the door shut behind him, and his footsteps faded into her ears.
Leo's P.O.V.
"Yeah, you never know what could sneak up on you!"
All four turtles froze, eyes widening as they shared a startled glance with one another. That voice, Leo thought to himself. He's heard it before. It replayed all the memories on repeat all over again. Funny. Felt like a lifetime since the last time he's heard her voice. Dismay was simmering at the pit of his gut.
All eyes darted to the dreadful source of the voice, only to find, much to his dismay, the tall armor clad figure of Karai herself. She was standing confidently on the roof of a water tower nearby. A smirk poised her rouge lips, and she leapt off the tower with an elegant flip, landing in a crouch just meters away from the turtles. Straightening, the girl shifted her weight to one side and planted one hand on her hip, regarding them all indifferently even as they drew their weapons, eyeing her with caution.
"Real cute, Karai," Leo muttered flatly with a humorless chuckle. "But I'm not in the mood."
Her smirk unwavering, his only warning, she charged straight for him, her short sword drawn and aimed for his throat. With an annoyed scowl, Leo parried her blow with an X on his swords, metals clinging together, Karai grinning all the while as they fought.
What was her deal? Was she enjoying this? Did she thought that this was some sort of game? Well, he certainly didn't think so. And he does not need any more girl drama on his plate right now.
He backed up a few feet, scowling. "We don't have time for this. Guys!" he called.
His brothers were already on Karai's tail, Mikey jubilantly yelling as he swung his Kusarigama, "Booyakasha!"
The young woman hampered a swing of Donnie's Bo staff, leapt her knees to her chest as she hopped herself up on his shell. With a graceful backflip off his shell, she leapt over their heads, inches away from them with an incredulous look on her face that they had never seen before.
"'Booyakasha'?" she repeated with a snicker, no hint of malice or mockery Leo noted as his brothers blinked confusedly at her, "What does that even mean?" Weird. She sounded generally amused. Something Leo usually hears when she's talking to him.
Mikey shrugged, "I dunno. But it's fun to yell!"
Unwinding the chains of his kusarigama, Mikey flung it at her with with the intent to trap her. However, before any of their brains could process it, a mysterious figure landed in front of Karai, using their own short blade, catching his chain as they brought it up their leg and stomped it down to the concrete, tugging Mikey towards them. Once he was close enough, they swung their other leg and kicked him straight into the harsh gravel of the roof as he yelled in surprise.
Leo's sapphire eyes widened to dinner plates as he stared at their newest company, nonplussed, at the wielder of the short and razor sharp blade, piercing eyes cold and flat behind the black mask covering their features.
"Jewel?!" he barked.
The three brothers all wore similar expressions as they all gaped at their friend, appearing out of thin air in the blink of an eye, hardly batting an eye in their direction.
The corner of the girl in question's eye took a glance of Leonardo. She tipped her head once in acknowledgment, expression behind her mask. Without warning, she swung her foot squarely into Raph's gut, hardly giving him any time to put all the pieces together.
Jewel slid her eyes over to her so-called companion behind her. "Mind telling me what we're doing here?" she asked with snippy and deadpan tone, and Leo could clearly tell she was irritated.
Blinking at her once, Leo saw Karai shrug, her red lips quirking up as she seemed to be fighting it, "Our mission, of course. They look like they're doing something pretty important, don't you agree?" Karai simpered. And in response, the young mercenary let out a frustrated groan, slightly muffled by the mask, as well as her voice.
Rolling his eyes, Leo groaned with a shake of his head, a migraine brushing through his skull. "Oh, I so do not have time for any more girl drama right now." he mumbled irritably, readying his sword once more.
Time to end this.
No One's P.O.V.
Both girls ran down the streets as if their lives depended on it - which it did - before stumbling down into a dark alleyway, pressing their backs against the wall just as the ship's detector casted its florescent lights upon the road, scanning for any sign of them. Luckily, it hasn't seemed to notice them, and it moved on to track the turtles down.
The young women both released a sigh of relief, heads fall back against as they panted with exhaustion, adrenaline slowly fading away from their systems. Karai turned her head to look at her companion, raising a brow as she tried on a smile, "Having fun?" she tentatively asked with a hint of hope and nonchalance.
Instead of one of Jewel's witted comebacks she was hoping for, she was rewarded with an eye roll, and an annoyed huff, "Yeah, 'cause almost getting burned alive is such a party," she droned, voice coated with sarcasm, and Karai frowned in disappointment. So much for forgiveness.
Not long after, police sirens rang out quiet loudly, and Jewel bit back a grunt, gingerly rubbing her ears. And Karai immediately remembered with guilt that her ears tended to be a little sensitive ever since...that night. Black and white vehicles drove down the streets, followed by bright lights of the helicopters flying overhead. Someone must've reported a disturbance in the area already, and now all authorities were on high alert.
Jewel forced the ringing in her ears to drown away, and she pushed her ears to catch for any gunshots or megaphones. After about a minute or so, she wagered that both the Kraang and the turtles had long since made their escape. Good. The guys were okay. Well, hopefully. But she had to press that down for now. Emotions couldn't get in the way. But she and Karai had to leave before they were spotted.
Gently - okay, maybe with a little force - she tugged Karai's arm closer to her, shuffling deeper into the alleyway, both girls sharing a look. They nodded in silent agreement, though Jewel seemed a but hesitant to agree with Karai.
They had to tell Shredder about this. Now.
After about a half hour, Julia and Karai were kneeling before Shredder, the man in armor himself seated upon that stupid throne. He regarded both girls impassively as usual as they reiterated the events of the night prior to their plight. He didn't look the least bit convinced at their so-called thrilling tale, even with the helmet coating most of his features.
"It's true!" Karai pressed firmly. "The Kraang are plotting an invasion, we saw the ship ourselves! They've got some serious hardware. We've gotta do something before it's too late!"
Jewel restrained the urge to bite in a plea from the heathen of the man. She had to pull it all back. As part of their little deal, Jewel had to keep Karai and the soldiers in check, come to training sessions on time, and she couldn't go out unless he said or necessary circumstances. A bit restrictive, but she had to stick to her plan.
But she prayed to the gods that Karai'd managed to get something through that thick, stubborn skull of his. The very world they lived was ending as they knew it. Even Shredder could allow such a dire threat to their very existence to go unheeded, right?
Well...that was her hope talking. Her logic, however, knew better.
Shredder said nothing in response at first. The odds seemed to be already stacking against them the longer he remained silent, and it was killing to both girls expense. "...Father?" Karai probed a moment later, slight hope shining in her golden brown eyes.
Finally, finally, after what like an eternity, he said, "We shall proceed as planned."
Called it! Jewel said in her head.
Karai felt her jaw drop to the squeaky clean floor, staring up at her father incredulously. "But -"
"Tomorrow night," her father continued, abruptly interrupting whatever argument Karai had began to conjure up, "we'll receive a shipment of new weapons. These shall help us put an end to the turtles and Splinter."
Are you crazy?! Jewel wanted to say, a burst of anger blooming within the very pit of her chest as she grounded her teeth behind her snarling lips, biting back unintelligible curses. Her eyes were blank. Blanker than any of the soldiers mask.
He's not serious, is he? Linda asked, dubious. This is a freaking alien invasion you girls are talking about. Can't he just put his revenge plan on hold for a couple of weeks? This is a real life apocalypse we're talking about! Jewel, you must do something. Something to make him see reason. He's a business man for crying out loud!
Behind the mask, Jewel worried on her bottom lip, wishing she can just burn away all her troubles. Linda was right. She has to do something. The world was about to end soon. Ruled by aliens. This felt like they were in some kind of sci-fi movie. Can't Shredder see the true danger they were about to face anytime soon?
"We can deal with that later!" Karai argued, just as outraged as Jewel was. Why can't her father just listen? "Didn't you listen to a thing I -
She was further silenced as Shredder pounded his fist on the armrest of his throne once. Karai jumped, a knee-jerk reaction, but Jewel on the other hand didn't show any signs of intimidation, other than a subtle twitch of her head.
"Karai!" Shredder snarled, his deep voice bounding off the walls of the room and ringing in their ears. "You have shared your piece. Now, do as I say," he added with a threatening growl, daring his daughter to go against him.
Of course, Karai wasn't stupid enough to challenge her father's authority more than once, and so she and her former friend bowed their heads, with a little reluctance from Karai.
"Yes, father." Karai muttered under her breath bitterly.
"Understood, Master Shredder," Jewel said in a monotone voice, something Karai was confused about. Didn't she hate Shredder? Why would she listen to a direct order such as that?
Implying to take their leave, both girls stood up as they turned to leave the throne room in silence. Both undoubtedly felt Shredder's eyes following their every move, as if his gaze was scorching very holes into their turned figures, vanishing through the automatic doors.
Once the doors slid shut behind them, Jewel let out a feral growl, spun on her heel and threw a mighty and solid punch, putting some of her enhanced strength as the walls shook and creating a rather large hole in the concrete. Panting with anger, she jerked her hand from the deep hole she had created, flexing her fingers as her hand started to steam and ignite in a small blaze in her palm.
Karai, quite awestruck from the scene she'd just witnessed, whistled, "Wow. That's, um, that's quiet the fist you have there." she commented, pretty impressed, "How does it work? The fire thing?" she asked with genuine curiosity, stretching her neck as she stared at the hand on fire.
Without giving her a second glance, Jewel shrugged indifferently, her temper flaring, "No idea." was all she said. Her tone was quiet with a hint of vexation, colder than ice.
Nice to know you never changed, Karai thought sarcastically to herself. Least she wasn't the one with a hole in her body. Actually, she was surprised Jewel hadn't melted her or strangled her to death so far. Maybe she was slowly forgiving her?
Yeah. Not possible.
Crossing her arms, burying down her rage, Karai huffed. She wanted to know. She needed to know how bad it was.
"So, um, how does it work?" she slapped herself for stammering. She was a kunoichi. A top-notch assassin. Shredder's daughter. It was her job to be nonchalant and confident.
"Didn't I just say I don't know?" Jewel snapped irritably, glaring at Karai, who noted the smoke starting to form around her, but it was hardly noticeable.
Wrong question to ask. Differnt approach.
"I meant about the, uhh..." she trailed off, and she searched for a million ways to say this. But what? Craziness? Electrocution of the brain? What's it like being a looney bin? Those just sounded ridiculous.
Jewel continued to look at her, eyes expectant, her brow raised behind the black mask. She narrowed her eyes slowly in suspicion and realisation took a while to finally dawn on her.
Oh. Karai wanted to know how her mental capacity worked. Easy.
Nodding slowly, Jewel let out an exhausted sigh, running a hand through her hair, "Well, if you must know, it's a bit complex." she answered, searching for the right words. Karai nodded, waiting patiently.
"Nothing permenant," except for Linda, but she wasn't telling Karai that, "my hormones just kicked in earlier. And for a few months I've had some...very odd desires. Like eating a cat. But it kinda...I don't know. I got a handle on them now. And it faded away. But my extra hormones come every once in a while." she explained, finishing off with a shrug, "So I'm basically healed." she smirked.
Karai nodded, pursing her lips. She hummed in thought. She didn't really know what else to say. A million words hung off her head. There was just so many of them. And it weighed heavily on her guilty mind. And her conscience wasn't clear enough. Not for her. But she didn't know what freaking words she could use.
She should've done something. Should've. What a word. A simple contraction. The forming of the two words, should and have. She could use it for any sentence. It was a word she would regret. And she lost a valued friend because of it.
She didn't realize she was so deep in thought that she didn't notice that Jewel was saying something to her. With an abrupt pause, her eyes narrowed, Jewel snapped her fingers in front of her face, "Yo? You still with me?"
Karai flinched in surprise and glanced back at the no doubt frowning girl, tapping a finger against her bicep impatiently with dull, flat eyes. "Uh, yeah." she cleared her throat forcefully, "Yeah, I'm still with you. What were you saying again?"
Eyes looking up and down, Jewel repeated her words, "I said you gotta be up early on Saturday for training." she sounded a bit irritated, "Your daddy said you gotta help me train some new recruits."
At the mention of her father, Karai felt her anger boil over again. And she glared fiercely at Jewel, "How can you think about training at a time like this?!" she yelled, appalled.
Jewel shrugged uncaringly, "Well, for starters, it's kinda important to teach the recruits about dis -"
"Screw the recruits! Don't you get it? Have you not been listening back in the throne room?!" she hissed, sharply gesturing to the door. Jewel rolled her eyes, huffing in exasperation, "Yes, I did, Karai. I was listening word-for-word." she mocked with a condescending tone, as if she was speaking to a five year old. And Karai did not appreciate that.
Growling, Karai gritted through clenched teeth, "Then you should know we can't just sit by and do nothing!" she seethed, knuckles paling under her gloves. Again, Jewel rolled her eyes, folding her arms over her chest, "I know that, you idiot." she deadpanned in a tone flatter than board. "But there's nothing we can do."
But suddenly, an interesting thought came to Jewel's mind. And a smirk curled her lips. "Well, there is one thing." she said with a certain mischievous tone Karai was all too familiar with.
And that brought her attention. She crossed her arms with a smirk, "I'm listening."
"I doubt Shredder would agree."
"Shredder is stubborn and short-sighted!" Karai snapped, rolling her eyes skyward. "He drives us crazy. His stupid vendetta is gonna take us all down. He may not be able to see it, but I know you do."
Beside Karai, Jewel nodded in reluctant agreement. "Come on, Lion Boy. You have more sense than anyone I know. Don't you trust me?" she pressed, gesturing to herself. And Leo's glare softened just a tad.
Of course he trusted Jewel. He trusted her with his life. Despite his brothers protests (Raph), he was trusting Jewel with this little plan of hers. He had to admit, it was detailed and thorough, but incredibly dangerous and at a high-risk level. But he trusted her even if she held a sword at his throat, feelings or not.
He trusted Jewel. He knew he did. But he couldn't trust Karai. Not anymore.
Unlike Jewel, who absolutely loathed being in the Foot Clan and made it clear she wanted Shredder dead with a passion hotter than her and her pyrokinesis, Karai willingly embraced her role as one of his little servants. Until now it seems. But even if she did, as leader of the team, he couldn't take the risk trusting her. He didn't know whether or not she would turn on them all.
"What do you say? Work together for now?" Karai asked him, holding her hand out for him to shake.
I can't trust you, he thought to himself dissapointedly.
Narrowing his eyes, he looked back up to the young women, awaiting his answer.
"Sorry, girls."
And he leapt off the rooftop, Karai and Jewel staring after him in obvious disappointment.
Leo's P.O.V.
"So, I should trust my instincts, unless my instincts are wrong," Leonardo clarified, sounding very uncertain as Splinter walked away, hands calmly clasped behind his back.
Pausing to look over his shoulder once more, his father nodded, "Correct." he said. Without another word - most importantly, no hint - he slipped back into his room, sliding the doors shut, leaving April and his sons staring after him in perplexity.
Leo processed and repeated Splinter's words over and over. Nope. He didn't get it. How was he supposed to trust his instincts and not trust them at the same time? Isn't that impossible? Jeez. Splinter gave the weirdest advice sometimes.
"...uuhhh...thanks, Sensei?" he shrugged, shaking his head as he furrowed his nonexistent brows.
"Whooooaaa...you know it's good advice when you're still confused afterwards," Mikey breathed in awe.
Can't argue with that logic, Leo wearily thought to himself.
"Guys, seriously," Raphael interjected firmly, "an alliance with Karai? No way! Why are we even talking about this?"
Turning to Raph, Leo raised a brow, frowning, "And what about Jewel?" he asked, "Don't we trust her already?"
Raph's eyes narrowed at his older brother, and he crossed his arms with a sour pout, "We can't take that chance, Fearless." he argued with his hardened edge tone. "Jewel's been lying to us since we met her. She didn't tell us she was a mercenary. She never told us she used to be an assassin. Oh yeah, and here's the other thing. She never told us she was in the freaking Foot!" he almost screamed, pausing in his rant to take a breath.
Leo continued to stare at his brother blankly, waiting for him to finish. He knew Raph wasn't done. Not yet.
Raph scowled, green eyes narrowed, "I'm sorry, Leo," he said, his voice losing its hardened edge. "I know how much you really like Jewel. I really do. But you're gonna have to face the facts. Whether you believe it or not, she's gonna turn on us. We can't trust her."
Leo frowned, ocean eyes downcast lowering to the carpet floor. He stared into nothing but space, half listening to whatever babble excuse Donnie was making, no doubt fooling himself in front of April. But he hardly paid any mind.
Leo trusted Jewel. He did. But Raph did make a good point. She lied to them for weeks. Lied about being a mercenary. About the Foot. Everything. She used to sneak out of the lair. And whenever Leo woke up and asked her where she was going, she'd lie and tell him to some photo shoot. It was just too much for him and everyone else to get over.
A part of him didn't want to believe it. But that was the cold, hard truth. He shouldn't trust Jewel. But he did. And he didn't know whether or not he'd regret it.
No One's P.O.V.
Jewel had to admit. She hadn't seen any of this coming.
After the initial shock had worn off, she'd hurried over to where Shredder and Sam were to make sure both were alright. Shredder had hurried off, coming after for the turtles, and she had to fight back the urge. She couldn't protect them. Not for now.
Sam seemed to be fine. Apart from singed parts of his hair and clothing, and she wondered for a second if he was resistant to electricity or not, considering his powers. She didn't get burned from any type of fire. Just last week she had ran through a burning building back in Japan. And she felt fine. As if she was in the fresh air.
Karai had been, to put it bluntly, totally enraged. Mostly at Leonardo. And from what she would tell, someone was going to have a blade through them. And she didn't blame her.
A small part of her almost felt proud. Proud that Shredder's cruel reign was going to be put through an end. That she didn't have to serve in this sinkhole. She hated the ninja master with a passion. She wanted to strangle the living life out of him. Watch those cold, dead eyes fade away into nothingness. Burn him into nothing but a crisp. Watch his ashes float away like a bad dream...
Narrowing her brilliant eyes as she stared down at the brown, wooden floor, Jewel scowled deeply. Jewel's done some pretty shady stunts during her life. Skipping school, pranks on innocent classmates, sneaking in a snake into a teachers drawer. You name it. But the turtles? No way. Not in a million years. She would have never believed them of all people would stoop so low. She had thought everything was going to go according to plan. But now they had just sacrificed Karai's trust.
Just then, Sam stirred, groaning in pain as he sat up and rubbed his aching head with a hand. Averting her attention back to him, she placed a steadying hand on his shoulder. "Yo, Sam? You okay?" she asked.
Sam groaned as he rubbed his hand through his hand, wincing as he blinked the spots out of his vision, letting out what sounded like a sigh and a huff. "Think so." his hoarse voice answered. "What the heck happened back there?"
Grabbing his wrist as she helped him back to his feet, "The turtles," she answered with a bite, "they'd tried to take out Shredder from the shadows, I think. Karai and Tin Head went after them. And I had to save your scrawny butt." she explained with a certain tease in her voice, lips twitching.
Sam's eyes widened in surprise at the mention of the turtles, and his brown eyes narrowed in distaste, "Seriously?" he asked in slight exasperation.
Jewel nodded once, smirking under her mask, "Seriously." she confirmed.
"Father!" someone screamed from a good distance.
Blinking in surprise, the pair snapped their heads in the voice's direction. Before either could realize it, Karai wasted no time as she dived into the ocean after Shredder.
Sam and Jewel watched as Karai disappeared beneath the waves, and Sam visibly tensed, "I don't think they'll make it far. The water's too deep," he observed worriedly, concerned eyes darting to the waves.
He was right. Karai was a strong swimmer, but the waves were strong. Too strong. And as part of the deal, Jewel had to protect her and Shredder. And she had to stay on track. Though the thought of both drowning to their deaths was tempting...
Shaking the thought away, she sighed heavily, running to the edge of the dock, positioning herself to dive in, but then...she paused.
She turned her head, and stared at the form of Leonardo. Blue eyes stared into one another. So many emotions swirled into them. Their minds spun and reeled in each. So many things had to be said. But it didn't seem to be enough. A million letters bubbled in their brains. But the words couldn't come out and be said.
Frowning, Jewel slightly shook her head up at him, eyes lighting in disappointment, and she shrugged. And dove in after Karai and Shredder, her tall and slender form vanishing into the waves, the murky depths deathly silent with the cold wind. Like a bad dream fading away. Forgotten.