"SO…Who's up for dinner?"
Cat dove away from a lashing tentacle.
"Depends. Who's dinner?"
"Probably us, Mikey…"
Cat grabbed a tentacle, using all her strength to toss the monster over her shoulder.
"But there's a good chance it'll be him…"
The roar of the crowd and the 'sport announcer' voices were loud and deafening, and Cat loosened up her arm.
"…Nice throw…"
"Thanks, Donnie."
Leo turned to the rising monster.
"Let's see if we can give this thing some indigestion!"
Trying to land a jump kick, Leo was smacked onto his shell.
"…That's GOTTA hurt…" Cat muttered.
Sharing a knowing look with her brothers, a smile lit up her face.
"Ready?"
In a dash, the five turtles jumped at the creature, getting grabbed by tentacles, though Mikey and Cat were thrown against a wall.
"…Ow…"
Standing up, she helped up her youngest brother.
"Hey! You living slimeball! Put my brothers down!"
Both ran up the monster's back, one hitting it as the older terrapin grabbed a couple tentacles, pulling back harshly.
Raph was released as the large creature reared, though Mikey flew off.
Once Don and Leo had freed themselves, Cat pulled sharply to the right, forcing the monster to fall before jumping off.
"SO…Did we win?"
Cat shrugged, feeling exhaustion begin weighing on her.
"Maybe, Mikey…"
When the creature stood with a screech of anger, Cat smiled sheepishly.
"…We didn't beat it, Mikey…We didn't beat it…"
As they knocked away the attacking tentacles, Cat saw what she called 'Leo's Thinking Face'.
He looked so focused that the tentacles didn't get close to hitting him.
"We've got to run!"
Surprised confusion spread across her face.
"What?! NOW?! You can't be SERIOUS!!"
"Just follow my lead!"
With only the slightest hesitancy, Cat followed her blue-banded brother, pulling Raph behind her.
"On my order, jump!"
They neared a far wall, the monster right behind them.
When they'd reached the wall…
"JUMP!!"
Cat ran up the wall, back-flipping off when the creature crashed into it.
The statue above it fell roughly, crushing the monster.
"…DAMN…THAT'S gonna hurt tomorrow…" Cat stated with a flinch.
"…At least that's not US." Mikey stated with a grin.
"True, true…"
The crowd roared, and Cat smiled.
"Looks like we put on one shell of a show…"
Cracking her neck and giving Raph a loving smile, she quirked an eyeridge at the guards.
"…If it's because of the statue, it was HIS idea!" Mikey stated, pointing at Leo.
Lasers blasted at the ground before them, and Cat jumped back.
"Hey! Watch where your aiming those things!"
A hole opened in the ground behind the five turtles, and Cat stopped.
"Guys-!"
They fell in, and she smacked her forehead.
"Great ninja skills, guys…"
A guard flew down to her, grabbing her arm.
"Hey!"
"Hope you make it a good show, girlie."
Before a sharp retort could escape her, she was thrown in, landing on someone shell-first.
"Kitten…Get off…"
Cat smiled sheepishly, rolling off him.
"Sorry, Raphie…"
Looking around, she sat up in the strange hay.
'Like another prison…'
Stretching on her shell to release the stiffness, she only sat up straighter when a Triceraton came in, brandishing an electric whip.
'…Oh great…An angry fat alien with a whip…'
Standing up to join her brothers, she glared at the demeaning words that left his mouth.
'I'd like to kick HIS butt to the moon and back…'
"Now we just need some dummies for practice. You, turtles! You'll be the dummies!"
"Hey, are you calling me a dummy?"
"Wouldn't be the first time, Mikey." Don joked.
Cat giggled, covering her mouth with her hand, when the crackle of the whip met her ears.
She grabbed hold before it hit Mikey or Don, maybe both.
"…You know, this doesn't really hurt…" She mused, seeing the electricity dance across her light green skin.
"…Th-That's not possible…" Don muttered in awe.
Tossing down the whip, Cat glared at the fat Triceraton.
"Try that again, and I won't warn you a second time…"
The spark of defiance in her eyes seemed to make him dislike her more, but Cat couldn't care less.
"If I do something I know is right, why should I care if people hate me for it?" She'd always say.
Soon, 'practice came, and the 'slaves' were given electric bokken-like weapons, while the turtles couldn't even use their hands.
"…Like you guys can even hit me." Cat mocked playfully, hands behind her shell.
One swung, and she easily side-stepped the weapon, smiling like a child.
"Look!"
She kicked him in the face, knocking him back.
"No hands!"
The Triceraton she'd threatened didn't seem happy about it though, and proposed weapon's training.
"…I wish I had MY weapons…" Cat muttered.
She dodged an ax blade, grinning at the large Triceraton playfully.
"Ha-Ha! Can't touch me!"
He swung in a horizontal arc, and she ducked as Leo got two swords and blocked the blade.
Back-flipping away, she kicked the Triceraton in the chin, sending him flying back.
She jumped onto his chest, and he grimaced, even though she was light.
"Finish me. It's your right as victor."
There was a moment of silence, then she shrugged.
"No thanks. I'm not the kind of person that kills for a game like this…"
Cat got off, and offered a hand to help him up.
"Why didn't you…?"
"Honor and Bushido are more important than such rules, as is my own heart." She answered with a smile.
Helping him to his feet, she turned to see Don get knocked to the floor, and she went to his aid when Raph saved his shell with a naginata.
The electric whip wound around the blade of the weapon, shocking Raph.
"Gladiators don't help each other!"
Cat was beside the alien, and twisted his wrist.
"We look after our own."
With a swift kick, the Triceraton flew into a pile of purple muck.
He pulled himself from the pile, and Cat giggled.
"Hope you like the muck mask." She teased.
"GUARDS!!"
Her glare could cut stone as the guards gathered behind her, wary of her past temper.
"Don't hurt my family again, or I'll do worse than throw you into a pile of muck…"
She turned to follow her brothers.
'I won't let anything hurt them…not if I have anything to say about it…'
"Look! Grool's serving gruel!"
Cat giggled, patting her youngest brother on the head.
"So he is, Mikey…so he is…"
Though the five were at the end of the line for food, Cat didn't really care.
She might've been starving, but she wasn't about to willingly take food from an alien she hated.
Apparently, he 'ran out of food' when the first turtle reached him, which turned out to be Don.
"Well, we'll be fine." Cat stated, pushing her brothers out of the line.
"Fasting kinda makes it impossible to ear anything, you know."
"If that's true, then why get in line in the first place?"
Cat shrugged.
"Thought it would be fun to give you the hope that you could actually hurt me."
Smiling innocently, she followed her brothers.
Raph smirked, discreetly grabbing hold of her hand.
"And I began wonderin' why I loved ya so much…"
Cat smiled brightly as he whispered in her ear.
"Guess I reminded you that I've got spunk…"
"Yep."
With a secret little kiss, the two rejoined their brothers and sat down, Mikey complaining that he was hungry.
Traximus, the Triceraton Cat had decided not to injure further, and other gladiators shared their portions, but Cat only took a bite or two before the thought of fighting entered her head.
'Weaponless against opponents who won't be…Just great…'
Mikey seemed eager for seconds, and Cat rolled her eyes, pushing her plate towards him.
"But, Kitty-."
"I'm not hungry. I'm fasting, remember?"
Rolling her eyes as Mikey jumped on the food like he was starving, Cat settled on her seat more comfortably, leaning slightly on Raph's arm.
Once they were done there, they headed for the arena.
The other gladiators were given weapons, and Cat put her hands on her hips.
"This is when I hate this galaxy the most…"
As the platform went up, Traximus pulled a bundle from his back.
"I still have friends on the inside…"
He unraveled it to show their weapons, and Cat jumped for her blades.
"My blades! My babies! Oh, how I've missed you so!"
The white hilts and silver designs reminded her of her father, and she traced her name on the blades.
'…We'll get back, sensei…and save you…'
Putting the blades into her belt, she smiled at Traximus.
"Thanks. I've missed these things."
"Are they really that important to you?"
She nodded slightly.
"…They're a gift from my father…"
The platform reached the arena, and Cat looked around to see the audience and the 'Prime Leader'.
When it was announced that ALL the other gladiators were going to fight the five of them, Cat smacked her forehead.
Traximus raised his ax, and she tensed, hands on her blades.
When his blade sunk into the ground instead, understanding flashed across her face.
"Traximus…"
He nodded, turning towards the Prime Leader and shouting that they would no longer fight to entertain him.
The guards were getting closer, and Cat turned to him.
"You're protecting us…"
She smiled.
"I'd be proud to call you 'brother'."
The guards blasted, and she was forced to jump back.
The gladiators were forced out, and five Triceratons came in from another entry.
Apparently, they were the best the planet had.
"…Yeah, I'm shaking in my shell…What are they gonna do? Sit on me?"
Mikey grinned, a laugh escaping him as he high-threed his older sister.
"You go, girl!"
Pulling out their weapons, they met their opponents head-on.
Cat ducked under a heavy thirty pound weight of a Meteor Hammer, and jumped out of range.
"Scared, girlie?"
Anger flared in her eyes.
"Excuse me? You did NOT just say that to me!"
He smirked.
"What? Scared I'll hurt you?"
"You'd better be scared that I'll hurt YOU!"
The weight flew at her, and she grabbed hold with both hands, much to the Triceraton's surprise.
"Round we go!"
Using her hold, Cat started twirling on her heels, sending him flying in the air thanks to his connection with his weapon.
"Guys! DUCK!"
Mikey looked around.
"Duck? Where?"
As he looked around for the bird, he saw the Triceraton flying towards him.
"AHH!! DUCK!!"
The four turtles jumped to the ground, and the Triceraton flying through the air smacked into his comrades, knocking them out.
As she gained momentum, Cat flung him through the air.
When he hit the wall, Cat flinched slightly, an innocent look on her face.
"Oopsy daisy! Did I let go?"
She turned to her brothers, who glared at her lightly.
"What? He called me girlie!"
She pouted.
"And I told you guys to duck…"
"A little more warning would've been nice…" Leo stated, standing up.
"It's not MY fault you guys have slow reflexes. When I tell you to duck, you duck, NOT look for water fowl."
She glared lightly at Mikey as she said the last little part.
Mikey smiled sheepishly.
"It was the first thing that came to mind?"
"…I can't believe we're related…"
Cat rolled her eyes, turning amused violet eyes to the Prime Leader, seeing Honeycutt beside him.
When he gave a thumbs-down, she guessed that meant something bad.
The chant "Let them live! Let them live!" from the audience only confirmed it.
Strange pods, cameras on the front, hovered around them.
"I don't think they're going to let us live." Leo noted.
"I say we don't give 'em the choice." Raph remarked.
A camera pod came closer, and Don turned to his youngest brother.
"Ready for some sling-shot action?"
"Yep!"
Don jumped up, removing the Triceraton from the 'vehicle', and zoomed down.
Jumping on, they held on as tight as they could as the guards shot at them, making their temporary transportation explode against a column, though they jumped down, surrounding the Prime Leader.
Pulling out her blades as the guards came closer, her reflex was to put a blade at the strangely smaller Triceraton.
"Put your weapons down before I decide to make you look for a new leader!" She threatened, her blade pressing dangerously on his jugular.
Guards surrounded them, and Mikey moved closer to his sister.
"I hope they REALLY like their leader. I mean, REALLY like him!"