Sing To Me Your Darkest Secrets
Part II
Chapter 8:
We've Had Enough
Joey and Koko both agreed that a hike up the side of the mountain would be best. It was the easiest way for them to get there with all of them in tow - Koko's magic was strong, but it took a lot out of a mage to transport so many so far. Therefore, Leo was in no position to argue - he didn't know much of the logistics anyhow and he would take what he could get, so long as they got to wherever Raph was. He was one step further as he had taken their suggestion by leading the party with his katana hacking through the thick Japanese underbrush. With each and every whack that could be heard of metal against plant, Leo's rage and fear was unleashed as he was consumed by thoughts of Raph. His brother was in trouble and for it, he was worried - but he was angry at Raph too for having brought them into this situation in the first place. The only thing he could take that frustration out on, as Raph wasn't there, was the Japanese foliage.
"I was thinking something a little less scenic and a little more urban. A bungalow by the bay, lit up with those fancy paper lanterns and maybe a few Japanese masseuses - a little less Raph hunting. He'd be there - ya know, slapping me and telling me to 'Shut up Mikey!' Ya know, the usual. What kinda vacation is this?" Mikey commented more to himself than anything as he was one to often talk to himself. He was trudging behind them, with Don beside him, as they were kicking off some of the brush after Leo had hacked it free. Lingering in the back of Mikey's mind was how he had destroyed Raph's chances at survival - how, while Raph made this decision, Mikey blamed himself. However, he also figured now, between the magic-girl Koko and Joey, they might come up with a way to save him. To right these wrongs so they could figure out how to get Raph better. He was hopeful, trusting of them even, that they could find a way to save Raph all together, despite his own mistakes. Therefore it gave him a little bit of free reign to be himself and to show off for the girl.
Leo was too focused to notice Mikey's antics and instead was focused on the breezy Japanese that Koko and Joey were yapping at one another. He was doing his best to hear them over the sound of his work. "This way was more dangerous?" He stopped and snapped around at something he heard Joey hiss at Koko. He looked displeased by their words, if not entirely aghast as he had trusted them and therefore trusted they offered the safest, fastest route.
"I didn't say that. Where is your courage these days, Leo?" Joey respond with a tiny jeer and taunt in her voice as she moved passed him. Leo was left looking at Koko, almost begging for answers as he was hardly in the mood right then to tease and taunt Joey before getting a real response. She did give him a small pat on the shoulder as she passed him though and Leo merely sighed.
"All paths are dangerous, Leonardo-san. All of them. If we forge a way that's not often taken, we have an advantage over our enemies. However, these woods are heavily guarded. That's all Joey meant. We have only been traveling for two days and we are nearing the compound. The Flight is more prone to protect their boarders, just as we are." Koko told him. "We have long been in Flight lands. It's just that now we come up on their outlying holds."
"Guys?"
The second Joey's questioning voice came out, cutting Leo off before he could answer Koko. Alll four sprinted forward, having instantly been called forward by Joey's uncertainty. Just beyond the next bit of bushes, the area opened up into a gap in the forest. It was seemingly misplaced for how dense the forest had been and how suddenly a grassy field appeared.
"That's weird - its not normal, right? What is it?" Don asked, having stepped up beside Joey first. He was pointing to a web of branches that bubbled up from the ground in a massive circle right in the middle of the open area in the forest.
"It's the arena." Koko's tone was stoic as silence fell around them.
"Uh...the what?" Mikey finally broke the silence. "Like for basketball? Doesn't look too scary from here - more like a hill." A hand came down on Mikey's shoulder and he jumped from being startled. It was half out of fear and half out of reflex as a smack to the back of the head often followed a comment like his.
"You mustn't go forward Michelangelo-sama." Koko's voice hit his ears, so soft and airy in her eloquent Japanese. He had the overwhelming urge to show off to this woman, to offer up his own grace and beauty though it was more likely said grace would be hardly as alluring. That desire to impress, however, was what made him take several bold steps forward. He wanted to prove he was brave enough, even if she told him not to go. He even strut as he moved, puffing up his chest and squaring his shoulders like the courageous, graceful warrior he was trained to be. Later he'd ask Joey if Koko was watching.
"MIKEY!" It was Don's voice that came to him in shrill panic. The purple clad turtle had sprung forward as he spotted a black feathered dart shoot forward from one of the gathering of trees on the fringe of the opening. Don twisted in the air and deflected the dark with the thick of his shell to protect Mikey's front, having caught Mikey's shoulders for leverage as he went. Both went rolling to the ground a moment later, the roundness of their bodies aiding in their trajectory. They both, however, came up in immediate fighting stances just as gracefully as if nothing had happened.
In a second, there was a rain of darts all aimed at the two turtles. Don's bo came up and caught a trio of them down the length of it, lodged into the shaft. Mikey, who had sprinted one way, skidded to a halt a second later. He was kicking up the dirt as he went, creating a thin cloud of dust around his feet, making it harder to see where he was going next. He immediately shoot off the other way as to keep on the move, never giving much time for aimed darts to hit him.
"Leo!" Joey caught his wrist, though it did nothing, as he'd already lunged forward. If his brothers were fighting, he was fighting with them. Leo's teeth were barred and he ready to fight along side his brothers. In fact, as he threw himself into the opening, he sliced through perfectly aimed darts. Their lengths were cut in half as they were stopped in the middle of the air and fell directly to the ground. With the faces of his katanas, he was able to deflect others as their sharp tips collided with the metal.
"They'll be killed." Koko slipped back a little bit, horrified.
"Or worse - captured!" Joey barked as she reached out and caught the nearest tree truck to stable herself - to think of a plan. "They have no idea what will happen if they're thrown in the arena - and sure as shit they will be!" Joey moved to follow, not fully thinking it through as there was hardly any time. She'd be damned before she'd let those three turtles fight alone. She figured Koko would be right behind her, with her magic to aid her. Leo was still fighting the invisible adversaries boldly as they came from all directions. Meanwhile, Don was swatting the darts as they came and Mikey had tucked most of his body into a little dancing ball so they all deflected off from his shell.
Joey only made it one step when she felt herself jerked backward. "You'll want to stop." She heard a voice say behind her. As she'd already moved to jerk free, it was successful but only because Koko was wrapped up in the strong arms of a black winged Asian man. The little American woman fell into the dirt and scrambled back. The man who was holding Koko held up a hand to stop the other man - with wings too - who'd moved to grab up Joey as she slipped from his fingers.
"Now who's trespassing, chancellor?" The man leaned over, the same tall one that Koko had run off before - Atsu had been his name. He spoke very close to her cheek that his lips muffled some against her skin.
"You have something that belongs to us. We'll leave when we have it." Koko snapped, her voice strong and her eyes set forward on where the turtles still danced their awful dance with the darts.
"Ah yes I heard about Mia, your brother. Of his death and Kenshin's doing...Kenshin's pet as it were, I can only assume that's what you mean. Mia was taken from us...he was a friend of Tokyo, we've heard nothing but how that vampire will pay."
"Tokyo has no friends." Koko said, though her face showed terror as she was facing the four brothers. "I remember him well, when he visited our home and when he attacked Shiki-sama unprovoked to see what his reaction would be. Yes I remember the maniac that you keep in your ranks. He treated Mia kindly, but they were never friends." She only went silent when his grip tightened. "You will give us Raph back to us, where he belongs."
"He belongs to us now. The vampire paid his debt with the life of a turtle. So you see, you won't be leaving with him." Atsushi explained. "You won't be leaving at all. Move any closer and she'll be dead." The Corvidaethrope warned when Leo's barred teeth gritted and prepared his katana in his hand. The darts had ceased and left the turtles all huffing and puffing in their adrenaline, Leo's katanans held high up and ready to attack. However he didn't move, not when he was so clearly threatened and the innocent life of the mage chancellor was in danger. He was not a murderer.
"Then we are at an impasse." Leo challenged, flicking a hand slightly so that the katana reflected some of the sun's rays.
"Not entirely." He nodded his head a single time. With it, as if a signal, a blow gun dart pierced the air. It was silent before, with a soft thud, it hit Joey in neck, right under the chin. Leo didn't have a chance to fully glance at her, to realize what had happened, as it all went so fast. She was already sitting so with it she blinked hard, several times as the substance on the end entered her body.
"Leo..." she mumbled, almost begging him, before she collapsed with the same sort of thud that struck her neck, flat on the ground and unmoving. Her hair was spread out around her and the dart stuck up out of her neck like an ugly flag of victory, one that made Leo's heart pump fast and rage overcome him. With a bite to his tongue, he kept himself from jumping on Atsu in attack.
"Take out the unpredictable ones first." Atsushi said. Before Leo could ask what he meant, the winged man had brought up an identical dart and jabbed it into Koko's neck. "Who needs to hear them complain anyway?" He asked rhetorically, as he dumped Koko's limp form onto the winged man next to him.
"You will pay for that." Leo pointed his katana at Atsushi, fire and rage a kin to his red-brother's. Mikey piped up from behind in agreement with a "Totally!" while Don had ducked down next to Joey, pulling the dart from her neck. It had a red stripe around the belly of the wood. He remembered speaking with Daichi about his poisons and the ones blotted on the end of his various darts. There was a set up for it, traditional and age-old for the Flight. Red was not deadly, but blue - blue was meant to be the final dart that could, in ideal circumstances, kill an enemy in less than sixty seconds. Daichi had no blue darts and no intention to make any. Don noted that there were no blue darts on the ground either, only red with an occasional yellow.
"Joey?" Don asked, holding her head lightly. "Joey, can you hear me?" The soft mumble and bob of her head let Don breathe easy, but not entirely as he felt a prick of his own on the back of his neck. It was fast acting, like a warm bucket of water was being dosed across his entire body so that he floated above his own consciousness. Joey's body in front of him went blurry, like a muddled rainbow of colors and he weaved in his spot before collapsing on top of her.
"I think you'll see that there are more of us than you and you can fight all you like but we will bring you down." Atsushi explained calmly.
"Don, no!" Leo's teeth ground together and he glanced over his shoulder as he heard the rustle of the bushes and trees around them. They were suddenly surrounded, nothing but high standing black wings blocking their view of the rest of the forest. Leo bowed deeply. It was a retreat, Leo knew that they would go with Atsushi as he wished. This way, he could go awake and aware - so he could see where he was taken; and formulate an escape plan. "Put your weapons down, Mikey. Put them down."
"Wha?" Mikey slurred out his word but when Leo held up a hand, Mikey did as he was told. He trusted his brother blindly - Leo could guide Mikey to his death and the orange wearing turtle would be none the wiser.
Leo had watched the two girls, their unconscious bodies, as they were taken in a different direction. He and Mikey were chained and pushed off in the same direction while Don was dragged by one wrist. It took all of Leo's strength not to shout at them to have the decency to carry him, and to check for broken bones on Joey's smaller frame as she'd been crushed under Don's dead weight. He bit his tongue hard as he and Mikey were led underground, he could only assume into what was called 'the arena'. He had to do his best to ignore the scraping sound of Don's shell, no doubt shaving off layers, while Mikey whimpered a few times at the horrific sound.
They were taken underground, though a door near the huge woven, branches. As they got closer, Leo could see that it was a huge structure built into the earth. There was a ring of graduated seating that led almost to ground level. But a huge pit, circular and deep, with the same mesh grate to separate it from the seating area, was depressed as the point of interest for the ring of seating. The arena. Above it all was the dome that protruded from the ground, pushing up into the field, and covered with thick, woven branches. The stench of death and blood lingered on the walls. Mikey, he knew, smelled it too, but his brother, uncharacteristically, kept his mouth shut. He wasn't sure if Mikey's silence was due to his fear or if it was because he was following Leo's lead, or both. it added to the eeriness of the arena as it was currently empty, though there was a chill in the air as if the screams and shouts of its previous occupants still hung in suspension. He didn't have much of a chance to look himself though, as he was smacked in the heels with the blow gun of one of the birdmen who brought up the rear, instigating him to move forward.
It was only after they'd been taken down many flights of narrow stair ways that they were forced into small cells. It would be a lie to say that Joey wasn't on his mind, but she was mixed in with his worry about Raph and Koko and now Don as his unconscious brother was pitched into the cell haplessly next to his own. Mikey was on the other side of Don, the three of them separated by surprisingly thick and strong woven bars.
This must have been what Master Splinter was talking about - these horrid creatures. It must be why he dismissed Shiki at first, Leo thought, recalling the cold and cautious demeanor his sensei had put on when meeting the raven man. The Corvidaethrope were brutal and unbending, that much seemed clear. But, at least this way he might be able to learn what became of Raph and if his brother was getting sicker from the curse that was still with him. Even more importantly, if he was to be a 'contestant' in this arena as it clearly was not a place he should be.
"New, eh?" A dirty face peeked between the bars at Leo, his songish Japanese piercing the silence. He didn't seem alarmed to see a massive turtle.
Leo merely looked at the man. He was, like the majority of them, Asian. He, however, had the big black wings that the Corvidaethrope did, overshadowing his little body. The other man who was shoved into the tiny cell with him, lingering in the back, also had the classic signs of the birdmen. He was tucked in the corner though and barely looked over at Leo from where he was wrapped up in his own arms with his head tucked down as far as it could be.
"I'm Tanjiro and this is Hani-san. The man who occupied your cell before never came back. I'm assuming he never will."
"Why?" Leo had glanced away but snapped his head back to the other prisoner. He was unsure if he actually wanted to know the reason why. "Why are you here? Why wouldn't he return? You're one of them, aren't you? Your black wings say so. Why would they cage you too? What will they do with us?"
Tanjiro glanced sideways at his cell mate who had lifted his head curiously when Leo began asking questions. "Because he's dead. Seung. His name was Seung." Hani, the one further away, said in a deep voice that reverberated in his narrow yet long chest. He was very obviously a tall man from the way he hunched. It was accentuated by the fact that he was lean and that made him look all that much taller. "Because you are now in the hands of monsters who will stop at nothing for brutal entertainment and domination in their own way. We disagree with their ways and therefore we are enemies of the Flight - our own people. Not all of us are villains." Hani, as he spoke, was soft and gentle. He wasn't angry for what had happened, and Tanjiro seemed to have energy, hopeful as he nodded to the gentle man's words. "I will not fight for their amusement. They'll drag out me there and they'll have to kill me instead. I will not be a toy."
"Hani's right. We're not all like them and when we aren't we have to be...disposed of. And what better way than to be branded as a traitor and forced to fight and be killed in their arena." Tanjiro explained. "They will make you fight too - you'll be new and fun. I don't think I've seen a turtle visiugo before. Have you Hani?" The tall man merely shook his head and mumbled something about never having seen any others at all.
"I'm not a visiugo." Leo answered simply. He wished Don was there to better explain what they were as he didn't know quite how to make it make sense to anyone else. Furthermore, he just wished Don was awake and could contribute at all. He could hear, in the cell over, as Mikey was trying to get to Don's hand and had finally taken it through the bars. He figured Mikey couldn't understand them as he could and therefore was more focused on Don than the other prisoners. "Though I know of them now. I'm a...mutant. A mutant turtle. It's a long story, one I don't tell that well. But its not natural, not like you two. It's a science experiment gone wrong, really." Leo sighed. "Has anyone ever broken free?"
Tanjiro's eyes lit up, though he had been particularly intrigued with Leo and his story of being a mutant. He had put it aside to ask more about later. "Yes!" He beamed. "Or so the story says...yes."
Hani's hand came down on Tanjiro's shoulder and he leaned forward a little. His face was also marked with dirt and filth against soft, pale skin. "It is merely a rumor and has only said to have happened once. Some years ago when the Flight was in turmoil, Akira's father, led with a more realistic view and had plans to change their ways, slowly. Do not mistake me, he still ruled with an unfair dictatorship. But change was on the air. However, he was bringing up a group of young ones who were all hopeful for the throne. All violent and all blood thirsty. Among them was his own son - Akira. Tokyo, Atsushi, Yoshiki and Rinji were but a few of the hopefuls. And they fought as they held a guise of friendship. Akira's father, the true Flight leader, did this to distract them.
"He had chosen his disciple without their knowledge. An orphan who had come from nothing and therefore had nothing to lose. He also showed something Akira's father had not seen and thought needed to be granted the Flight for them to change. Compassion. He was younger at the time and while the boys tried to determine who was dominate Akira's father took this orphan, Daichi Yoshida was his name, under his wing. He taught the boy about pride and honor. He taught him how to fight and planned for him to ascend the Flight throne in his stead, for he knew that Akira - his own son's - heart was too black for the changes he'd tried to set into motion.
"It was when Daichi became a man, as he was taught - sometimes brutally - by other members of the Flight, that he became a threat to Akira. Daichi-san had the makings of a everything the Flight needed. Amid the fight and power struggle Yoshiki had retreated to live in the mountains alone - away from the Flight; but still as their medicine man. He answered when they needed him and kept him self when they didn't. Daichi was nearly eighteen when he made his final stop among the flight leaders in his 'training' at Yoshiki's home. Here, Akira's father, had hoped he would learn how to balance the struggle between his peers when he finally took that final place. Something, however, became more important to Daichi than changing the Flight and being a leader. Love.
"It was there that Yoshiki - a known gay Corvidaethrope, though they all ignored it as its frowned upon - took young Daichi's heart. Daichi, at that time, learned his true passion and found his spiritual wings. He planned, with Yoshiki's help, to take his place as the Flight leader. He wanted it but for change. After all, he had changed Yoshiki's mind about what it meant to be a Corvidaethrope. Now he just had to impress that on the people. Many of us were hopeful for it. But when Akira's father died unexpectedly Akira claimed it, no matter what his wishes had been. It was then that the Flight found themselves broken. Those faithful followers of Akira's father wanted to see Daichi rise as it had been his hope, those who were more inclined to the old ways supported Akira.
"Daichi had no intention of letting that happen. However it was Tokyo, and no one knows how to this day, that captured the strong and well trained disciple. Some speculate that it was magic, others think that he used Yoshiki, some think that Tokyo was just smarter. No matter the case he was placed in one of these cells. Just as we are now. He was placed in the arena, demanded to show his strength and Daichi, in turn, demanded to face Akira. He would fight no one but Akira himself. As Akira is a sly and manipulative man, not a warrior of any sort he had Daichi attacked by all the force he had and Daichi defended himself but killed no one.
"It was Yoshiki, however, having his lover stolen from him that gained help of others, outside of the Flight, and with his knowledge of the Flight, having once been part of it, set fire to the arena. Love drove him as Daichi had changed his mind about how the Flight should be run. If Daichi could change his mind - one of the former hopefuls, he could change anyone. They were never seen again. It's rumored that they died together in the blaze. Some say they escaped and will return one day. Whatever the case is about what really happened Daichi escaped this fate. Even if it was through death, it was on his own terms and not Akira's."
Leo had leaned into the bars as he listened raptly to what they no doubt assumed was a fable, some old folklore even. It sounded very much like the men he knew in so many ways but another part of him wondered why Daichi hadn't returned to take back the throne that should be his. He could stop all of this if he would just return, they might not even be stuck there if that was the case. Though in truth, it would be just as bad to fight a vampire. If there were those that still had hope in Daichi, like these two men clearly did, like Leo himself did, then he could make the revolutionary changes that this place needed. Leo was already considering how Kisho would support the man that Leo himself had looked up to. Leo, with such noble intentions and ideals, wondered how any man could choose self-satisfaction over the whole.
He couldn't imagine a world where Shiki was a barbaric like the rest of the Flight, but he also knew that the Shiki he knew was not the one these men spoke of in his youth. Shiki himself had admitted to his former violent streak and growth from it. Love clearly changed people and Leo was left wondering if he would do the same for Joey. Part of him thought he might, he certainly loved her enough. Yet was he was willing to disregard all of his morality and beliefs to be happy with her? That was possible too, and perhaps the most terrifying part of love - how far he was willing to go to keep it. Clearly Daichi would go to any length.
"Don't give up hope." Leo finally told them. "Don't abandon the dream that the flight can be or the one that Daichi-shi and Yoshiki-sama flew out of here on. We will need that hope ourselves to defeat this. To be the second ones to escape. It is not impossible and if they had the will power, we do too. It comes from within, not just a great leader but one inside ourselves too."
"That's what I was saying." Tanjiro beamed, a bright smile on his face as he looked excitedly between Hani and Leo. Leo smiled softly back at him, encouraged by the energy of the small Asian man.
"You haven't been made to fight yet." Hani told him softly. Tanjiro merely shrugged while Leo bit back a comment about how he had fought enough adversaries to probably hold his own against whatever monstrosity the Flight could throw his way.
"How long...have you been here?" Leo asked, worried for a moment that it wouldn't be a short journey. Not if they had been there so long and still hadn't been forced to fight.
"Weeks. But you will likely not wait that long. You are a novelty where as we are not." Hani added calmly. Mikey had glanced over to them, as if he was hearing bits and pieces but still pet Don's hand lightly. He was consumed by Don's well being and clearly was willing to give Leo the reigns in this situation.
"There isn't another turtle here then?" Leo questioned, frowning some as he was certain that Akira and his fellow would boast about their prize. Perhaps they were wrong...Kisho was wrong...they didn't have Raph, not anymore. At least not here.
"Not that I am aware of. They have been readying the arena all day though, I suspect there will be a fight soon. A show."
"How often do they fight?" Leo inquired, trying to piece together the possibilities. What if Raph had already fought? And, even worse, what if he had fought already lost? Leo had faith in his brother but he couldn't help the fear that flooded him in that moment. just as he heard Don groan behind him.
"There is no set time or day, but the whole Flight will come to watch the sport. Hundreds of squawking, blood thirsty birds just waiting for a good head tearing or limp crunching. Usually they hold until they have enough 'participants' for a series of fights or a star - such as Daichi or yourselves. When they have something or someone that isn't a bird to be torn apart Surely there's a reason you're here."
Leo's eyes narrowed. "I will fight only long enough to get my family and me out. Their sport is not mine and their games will not be played. I will come back for you if you haven't been taken first. I promise this to you."
Hani had not been lying, nor had he been a fool. Leo was jerked from his cage, but not before being lightly sedated along with his brothers. It was not even an hour after he'd learned the full history of the two Corvidaethrope who gave them sufficient warnings and helped try to save the turtles in their own way. From under the mesh vine and branch made ceiling, Leo could see that the rafters were full. There were people, all with big black wings, stuffed in the bleachers while there were even thick, full birds resting on the mesh and bars. He could seen see faces leaning over the secondary mesh that led directly outside, as if they had the worst seats in the house. It was like a second set of reinforcements. This was an ideal set up for the Flight leaders and he could see how difficult it would be to escape, if not entirely impossible.
There was a little box set up that had a larger opening, where Akira was situated with a few of his friends. Leo had never seen Akira but he assumed the man was in fact the leader of the Flight from his positioning. Furthermore the opening in the grate was curious. He figured it was for the leader to throw things down; of course it made him vulnerable too. There was nothing, no mesh, to protect that special VIP type viewing box. But Leo figured that he was arrogant enough not to care. He figured that Akira wore a front of fearlessness. The turtle wondered how fearless he truly was. The thought didn't linger as he was given a jab and pushed out into the pit ring. As he knew of the blood smell it also smelled earthy for the fact that it was dug into the ground and manufactured from the side of a mountain.
Mikey was looking toward Don, with concerned eyes as Don was standing on wobbly knees for the fact that he'd been sedated twice. The birds took no chances as they drew them from their cages, giving Don a second light injection. Mikey could tell his own coordination was off even if it didn't look it. Leo appeared to be unaffected but Mikey suspected it was a front as he too felt the effects of the sedation, it made him move slower. His eyes cut up to the opening in the mesh. Joey was there, on one side of the blond winged man, Koko on the other. Mikey looked to his brother, Leo noticed - Mikey was sure of it. He cringed at how much trouble they really all were in, down one man without Raph and nearly another with how weak Don was.
The packed arena was in an uproar, particularly as two katana, wrapped in blue, a bo staff with purple accents and orange nun chucks were all pitched into the arena through the hole. "Have you anything to say before the games begin? Bring in the other!" Akira barked and Raph was brought forth, dressed in nothing but his shell. The four brothers exchanged relieved glances, a smile even flickering on Leo's face at the sight of his brother. The flight leader forced Koko to her feet and made her drop Raph's sais through the opening as well.
Joey, however, had jumped up when Akira touched the chancellor. "No..." Leo moaned solftly. He knew she wouldn't sit idly by while Koko was being punished and he, and his brothers, were put in this arena she no doubt knew about. But he also didn't want her in danger, it might be the reason he was drawn to her - the fact that she wouldn't just let things happen - but right then he wished she would.
"Back off Akira," she snapped and the whole area, no matter the number of people, had gone silent and Joey's voice was clear. Leo's hands clasped on the hilt of his swords. The sun was setting and drawing long shadows on the ground from the opening above. The Flight leader didn't like being spoken to that way, that much was clear, as he swept around on her.
"I was going to let you watch them die - but perhaps you'd like a better seat." he squawked. With a single hand, he reached out and gave Joey a hearty shove. The backs of her knees hit the railing and she pitched over the edge of the viewing box she'd been in and plummeted downward, toward the arena. It was at least a twenty-five foot drop. Leo was sure his voice opened up to shout, but he wasn't sure what he was trying to get out as time seemed to slow. Mikey and Don both moved to close the distance as if getting to Joey would make a difference, while Leo too moved to grab at her. Raph, from the other side of the arena, sprinted forward too. Tokyo, who had been in the box beside Akira, leaned over and looked down where Joey was falling. He merely sighed.
"That was a terrible idea, Akira." Tokyo commented as he signaled for the doors to be opened as not to waste anymore time.
No sooner had Tokyo's hand come down in indication for what he wanted to have happen did Joey's body come in contact with the shadow her falling body was making, closer and closer to the ground. None of the turtles were near enough to her to catch her, not that catching a body falling at that rate would be a good idea anyhow. Instead of splatting on the floor in a mess of flesh and Joey meat, she vanished into the dark spot that was her shadow. It was like it sucked her up, jumping into a pool of darkness so fast before she popped, at the same speed, out of the shadow cast at Leo's feet. The sheer amount of magic from the Corvidaethrope believers around them giving Joey's faerie magic the power to manifest at her will, to its fullest and strongest extent.
"How'd'you...wha...did you see that...?" Mikey started at her mouth agape as she breached a huge distance in her one movement. He was looking wildly around, Don's eyes widened and Leo's mouth parted half in surprise and half in panic. Though it wasn't in disbelief, it was in awe that Mikey said it. "That was so cool! Do it again, Joey! Do it again!"
"I told you," Tokyo hissed from inside the box, "that was a terrible idea."
One of the opened doors had let loose a tiger that was ready pounce on Raph. Joey winked at Mikey just as the tiger's feet sunk into the ground below it, where it was devoured by it's own shadow. It was like quick sand for how it sucked him downwards. "Cats love to chase birds right?" She grinned at Leo before sprinting forward and throwing herself into the tiger's side so they both disappeared into the shadow of the massive beast. An instant later, shrieks rang out and above black feathers started to puff up in the air as chaos broke out. The tiger was leaping up and around the different parts of the seats, chasing half morphed visiugo everywhere. Joey and Koko, a moment later, stepped out of the edge of a shadow drawn on the ground by Mikey. Joey had clearly taken a detour in her shadow jumping to collect the Asian mage.
"I can get you out of here, but you have to trust me." Joey said to them, to which Leo nodded a quick afirmative. He trusted her with his life, with all of his being. "Quickly, before they remember that we're here at all. The distraction will only last so long before they can stop the tiger." She bent low to the ground and reached into what should be solid ground but was, instead, a black void. She pulled her hand out and seemed to have the corner of the shadow - if one could hold the corner of a shadow - in her hand. She drew it the whole way up, as if turning the shadow inside out and - as she did it - made a door out of it. It stood freely, like an entrance way to nothingness.
"Wait - we have to get to the cells. I promised Tanjiro and Hani I would come back for them."
Joey urged the others through but nodded to Leo. Mikey was helping Don, having taken his arm to help him get to the 'door' in a timely manner. "I'll go with you. Raph, good to see you - in one piece and all." He merely snorted at her, shrugging his shoulders as he followed his brothers.
"Where will this lead us Joey?" Koko said as she touched Don's shell as he went through and then Mike's and then Raph's.
"The palace, you'll be safe there. We'll be right behind you. GO!" She pushed Koko through the threshold just as the shadow bled back onto the ground. A crack of lighting burned through the two mesh nets and right between Leo and Joey. It was hot and dangerous for its nature, like a storm was suddenly brewing in the arena and holding its place just above their heads. Both jumped back and away from each other just as hard, cold drops of sharp rain fell down in a wave of water. "ItsTokyo!" Joey had to shout over the sound of rolling thunder that could only mean the storm was extraordinarily close, right on top of them. "He can control nature, he has a gift for it! It'll only get worse as he gleans more from Her. We have to go now!" She shouted over the sound of the chaotic birds above and the shaking ground between them as well. She and Leo were both soaked by now, as Joey had to push sopping wet hair out of her eyes. "He won't let us leave alive if he can help it. COME ON!"