Hope you guys had an awesome Thanksgiving! Gobble! Gobble! LOL!
NOTE: There will probably be grammar mistakes which I will fix later.
"KAL! KAL! KAL!"
The mutants cheered and chanted their champion's name as the meerkat stepped into the battle arena of the Death Dome. Seated among the spectators on a platform, Shadow watched as he smiled and waved at his fans. Again, she was baffled at how calm he was acting, considering that he was about to fight to the death.
A mutant roadrunner, who was the announcer, spoke to the crowd with his microphone. "My brothers and sisters, may I present to you our undefeated champion: Kal the Killer!"
The crowd immediately went into an uproar and applauded the meerkat, who pumped his fists in the air. Shadow, herself, clapped for her new friend while also silently praying for his safety.
"And in this corner," the announcer pointed to his left, "the new challenger for tonight's battle, the terrible, the mighty...Bear Jaw!"
On cue, a massive mutant grizzly bear stepped from one of the entrances and let out a terrifying growl. He wore spiked steel shoulder pads, black leather pants, and a chest harness. There was a mixture of boos and cheers coming from the audience, while Shadow stared wide-eyed at the beast that was ten times Kal's size.
The meerkat showed no fear and went to the weapons wall, picking out the flail.
Bear Jaw chuckled darkly. "I don't need a weapon to beat you," he said in a deep, gruff voice. "I'll tear you apart with my bare hands! Ha! Get it? Bare hands?"
"Genius," Kal deadpanned, twirling the spiked ball of the flail around.
"And now may I present our almighty king," the announcer pointed to a raised roofed platform that overlooked the entire arena, "who has blessed us with his presence tonight!"
"PRIDE! PRIDE! PRIDE!" The crowd cheered and chanted his name as the white lion marched up the steps leading to the platform, dragging Mikey behind him by a chain that was wrapped around his waist. Shadow gasped as she saw the elderly Turtle, relieved that he was okay.
Pride, who was wearing his muzzle, sat down on a throne, while Mikey was left standing, as there were no other seats.
"What, no seat for me?" Mikey huffed. "Shouldn't the husband-to-be of the king get a seat, too?"
The lion responded by roughly dragging Mikey down to the floor on his butt. The elderly briefly glared up at him before secretly pulling out a nail file from under his tunic and began to work on the chains.
"Gladiators, FIGHT!" the announcer shouted as a loud buzzing sound went off.
Immediately, Bear Jaw charged at Kal with a mighty roar, pointing his massive claws toward the meerkat. Kal leapt over his head and hit him in the face with the flail in the process. The bear snorted and rubbed his injured nose before he turned and charged at him again.
Kal ducked as Jaw swiped at him with his claws...then kicked him hard in the groin. Jaw squeaked and covered his injured privates, and before he could have time to recover, Kal hit him twice in the face with the flail. The crowd went wild and cheered on for the meetkat.
Growling in anger, Jaw lashed out at Kal and broke the chain of the flail in half with his claws. Kal stumbled backwards in shock and tossed the handle aside. He dashed for the weapons wall, but Jaw blocked his way and began to swipe madly at him.
After digging a few swipes, Kal slid under Jaw through the gap in between his legs and grabbed the spiked ball that lay on the ground. As the bear charged at him, the meerkat threw the ball at him with all of his strength.
A sickening crack was heard as the ball collided with Jaw's face and he fell backwards. With a loud thud, he landed on his back and groaned in pain as his nose bled.
The announcer scurried over to the fallen warrior and checked his condition. "Bear Jaw is unable to fight! The winner is Kal the Killer!"
The audience cheered and chanted the meerkat's name as he pumped his fists triumphantly in the air. Shadow stood up and clapped her hands, overjoyed that her friend won the fight.
Then the crowd quieted down as Kal approached Jaw, who was kneeling on the ground and holding his bleeding nose. The bear looked up fearfully at him, waiting for him to deliver the finishing blow.
But to his surprise, Kal offered him a hand with a friendly grin. "Good fight," he said as he helped him up. The other mutants cheered even louder at his act of mercy. Shadow smiled as she watched Kal pat Jaw on the back.
Only Pride was not applauding. Instead he growled disapprovingly and shook his head. Mikey was too focused on cutting his chains to notice Pride standing up and walking toward the stairs. He yelped as his chain was yanked and he dropped the file.
The crowd hushed again as the king made his way down the stairs and toward the arena. Kal and Jaw both bowed their heads to him as he approached them.
"Congratulations on your victory, Kal," Pride said to the meerkat. "But what I can't understand is why you don't finish your enemies off like the other gladiators."
Kal lifted his head. "Well, I don't believe in killing for sport...sire." He struggled not to sound disgusted at the last word.
Pride grunted and nodded. "I see. Let me lend you in on a secret, Kal: mercy is a weakness. How do you think I became desert warlord? There are only two kinds of people in this world. There are winners and there are losers. And the losers..."
With one massive hand, he grabbed Jaw by the throat and squeezed until a crack was heard. The crowd gasped as Jaw fell to the ground dead. Shadow about threw up into her handkerchief. Mikey clamped a hand over his mouth in horror. Kal began to breathe heavily, anger coursing through his veins.
Pride glanced over at Kal with his red eyes, sneering under his muzzle. "You and I are winners, Kal. We must remain hard and unfeeling and show no mercy."
Kal sighed and bowed to him once again. "Yes, my king," he said in a low voice.
Shadow watched the king drag Mikey away by the chain, cursing under her breath. Rescuing the Turtle wasn't going to be easy.
No one cheered or chanted Pride's name as he walked out of the arena, and the king smiled proudly to himself as he soaked in all their fear. After all, fear was what made him ruler over the canyon city.
"So if you never kill, why are you called 'Kal the Killer'?" Shadow asked Kal as the two headed back to the mole technician's shop later that night. Several mutants who were passing by congratulated the meerkat on his victory, praising him. One kid, a kitten, even asked him for his autograph, which he gladly wrote on a small piece of paper.
Kal chuckled as he ruffled the kid's hair and waved to him as he ran off. "It was a catchy title, so they decided to call me that."
"You were awesome out there, Kal. I can see now why you're so popular around here."
"Heh, thanks."
"But I guess Pride was the only dissatisfied fan tonight."
The meerkat frowned at the mention of the lion's name. "He always wants to see blood, even if he has to spill it himself."
"You said that he destroyed your village. What happened to your family?"
Kal sighed heavily and his ears flattened as he remembered his lost, beloved family. "He killed my parents right in front of me and my older brother. I didn't know it at the time, but Mira was the only one to have escaped. Instead of killing us as well, he forced me to fight in the Death Dome as a gladiator while he made my brother his fifth husband."
Shadow looked over at him surprised. "Wait. Fifth husband?"
Kal nodded. "Every couple of years, he picks out a new husband and keeps him for a while until he's bored with him."
"So now he's chosen Mikey as his sixth husband. Great. So...what happens after he's bored with them?" Shadow gulped, dreading the answer.
The meerkat closed his eyes in sadness. "He kills them."
Shadow's green eyes widened and her face paled. "Are you serious?"
"My brother used to be strong and full of life, but...the last time I ever saw him alive, he looked so broken and dead inside. I could hardly recognize him. Needless to say, Pride grew tired of him and...hung his carcass in his garden with the others. At least that's what I heard from the servants, and I believe them."
Kal snarled and suddenly punched the nearest wall in rage, causing Shadow to flinch and back away from the meerkat a bit.
"I wish I could rip his black heart right out of his chest," he growled, clenching his bleeding fist. "One of these days..." He took a deep breath to regain his composure and cleared his throat. "Anyway, let's check on your robot friend."
...
When they arrived at the shop, Donnie was fully repaired with his head back on and sitting at a table with the mole technician...having tea? They both turned when they heard Shadow and Kal walk into the shop.
Donnie's rabbit ears perked up in excitement at the sight of his teen friend. "Shadow! You're okay!"
"So are you!" Shadow ran up to the robot Turtle, looking him over. "You were almost made into scrap metal. How do you feel?"
"For someone who got his head whacked off his shoulders, I feel great," Donnie said. "Good as new."
"I must say," the mole adjusted the glasses on his long nose, "your robot is amazing. Unlike anything I've ever seen. It's almost as if it has a mind of its own."
Donnie looked over at Shadow and shrugged. The mole had no idea how right he was. He noticed Kal standing behind Shadow. "Who's that?"
Shadow smiled and gestured to the meerkat. "This is Kal, Mira's older brother."
"What?" Donnie's ears went straight up again. "Her older brother? But I thought her family was-"
"They were," Kal said with a sad look. "Mira and I are the only ones left."
"Wait," Donnie looked over Shadow's shoulder, searching for something. "Where's Mikey?"
"He's with Dominan Pride," Shadow told him with a grim look.
"Who?"
"He's the ruler over this city. He..." She shuddered and gagged. "He wants to marry Mikey."
"...What? He is aware that Mikey's not a...you know? I mean, I can understand with the long hair and the attire-"
"He knows, Donnie. He likes men."
"Oh. Well, even so, how could anyone fall for...eugh...Mikey?"
"Mikey's in trouble, Donnie. That Dominan Pride guy is nuts."
"He must be if he finds Mikey attractive."
"I'm being serious here! He's a murderous psychopath! And we need to rescue Mikey and get out of this city ASAP!"
Kal glanced over at the technician then back at Shadow. "Uh, let's discuss this outside," he whispered to her. "Somewhere more private." He placed several golden coins in the mole's hand as payment for his services. "Thank you, Mr. Tera."
"Raph. Raph, wake up."
The hotheaded Turtle woke up to somebody nudging him. He was still chained to a chair and he was still in the Hooks' tank. Leo was looming over him and Raph became fearful for a second, but then he noticed that there was softer look in his eyes than earlier.
"It's time to go," his older brother whispered to him.
"Wh-What...?" Raph looked up at him confused. He was even more confused when Leo suddenly broke his chains, freeing him. "Leo, what's going on?"
Leo flashed him a small sad smile before he walked toward the controls of the tank. "Sorry I was so rough on you earlier, but I had to make it look convincing."
Raph blinked. "Wait. You mean you were faking it?"
Leo nodded. "I picked up Donnie's distress signal about half an hour ago. Something happened to them and we need to hurry. We'll use this tank to find them."
Raph got up from his chair and stomped over to where his brother sat. "Leo, you really had me worried," he said angrily. "I thought we lost you again."
"I know," Leo said with remorse in his voice as he prepared to start the tank. "And I'm sorry that I deceived you like that, but I had to do something, or else they would've killed you."
Despite being angry with Leo, Raph smiled a little. His former leader always looked after his bros and did whatever he could to protect them, no matter what the extremes. H wasn't going to let Leo live this down, though. "So you're planning to steal this tank from those Hook punks? How are we gonna do that without waking them up? They'll come after us with a vengeance."
Leo smirked. "They can't if their other tanks are without fuel." He gestured to the back of the tank and Raph followed his gaze. There were several tin containers which were apparently filled with fuel. "We shouldn't have to worry about running out for a while."
Suddenly the side door opened and Raph jumped, preparing himself for a fight. But to his relief, Mira stepped into the vehicle with another container in her arms. "That's the last of them, Leo," she grunted as she set it down with the rest.
"Good," Leo nodded at her. "We're ready to go then."
"Leo, wait," Raph placed a hand on Leo's seat. "Before we go, there's something I have to do first."
Leo looked up at him. "What?"
BAM!
He grunted when he felt Raph's fist collide with his right cheek. After rubbing it for a moment until the pain somewhat dulled, he looked back up at Raph in surprise.
His brother smirked and crossed his arms. "Now we're even."
Leo chuckled weakly and winced at the stinging in his cheek. "Yeah, okay. I deserved that."
...
The Hooks slept in a big circle surrounding the now smoking campfire, and they all woke up with a startle as Leo's tank turned on with a loud rumbling and hiss. They all turned to see it speeding away from the camp.
Killer Orca growled as he quickly stood back on his feet. "We got duped! After them!" he barked to the others, who rushed to the other tanks. But as they turned the keys to the ignitions, nothing happened.
"What's wrong?!" Orca demanded as he jumped into one of the tanks. "Why aren't we going after them?!"
The skunk looked at the fuel gauge and pointed to the limp needle that rested at the E. "There's no fuel in any of the tanks! We're stranded!"
Orca's red eyes widened before he narrowed them and roared in fury. "RRRRRAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
...
They drove for several hours in the desert wasteland before they spotted something large in the distance. As they got closer, they could make out a spiked turtle shell.
"CHOMPY!" Raph yelled as he instantly recognized his pet space turtle even in the dark.
The poor thing had been tied down with long ropes that had been drilled deep into the ground and was left to starve to death. Once the tank pulled over and Raph jumped out, Chompy began to wag his long tail in excitement and whimpered.
"Chompy!" Raph ran to his pet's side, checking him over. "Oh, man. Who did this to you, buddy? Hang on, I'll cut you free." With his battle knife, he cut the ropes that held Chompy down. Once the turtle was freed, he began to lick Raph's face in both love and gratitude.
Mira inspected the tire tracks in the sand that led to the east. "These were made by trucks," she told the others. "Whoever was driving them must've been the ones who kidnapped the others and did this to Chompy."
"Great," Raph muttered as he gently pushed Chompy away. "More desert gangs to deal with. This never would've happened if I hadn't have picked up that girl. Everything was fine until she showed up. And now our brothers are in danger."
"Raph," Leo scolded him, "this wasn't Shadow's fault and you know it, so quit being so hard on her. We need to follow those tracks if we're to ever find our brothers. Let's get going."
"Goodnight, Chalupa."
Pride roughly shoved Mikey into a cage that was next to his bed and locked him inside. He patted the bars and took off his muzzle, revealing his noseless lower face. "Tomorrow night, we shall be wed, and I will obtain immortality after I consume the pure human's flesh. Oh, what a night. What a lovely night it will be." He turned off the kerosene lamp on his drawer and climbed into his luxurious comfy bed, falling asleep within minutes.
In the cage, Mikey was provided with only a pillow and scratchy blanket. Sighing, he fluffed his pillow as much as he could and pulled the blanket over him, although it didn't cover his feet and he started to shiver from the cold. "Man, this sucks," he muttered as he slowly closed his eyes.
"Psst!"
Mikey's eyes popped back open and he looked up through the bars. To his surprise, Donnie was standing over his cage and waved at him. He smiled widely at the sight of his now repaired brother. "DON-!"
"Shhh!" Donnie harshly shushed him and put a robotic finger over the slit that was his mouth. "Mikey, be quiet!" He knelt down and pointed a finger at the lock. A tiny purple laser emitted from out of his finger, and as he worked, he'd occasionally look back at the sleeping Pride, who continued to snore loudly. The lock was finally burnt in half and the door slowly creaked open. Very carefully and quietly, Donnie helped Mikey out of the cage and they tiptoed out of the bedroom.
...
"Ah! Good to have my old poncho back!" Mikey laughed as he quickly slipped his garment back on.
"We have to hurry before the whole city wakes up," Kal quietly told the others as they hurried toward the monster truck station. "This will be our ride," he pointed to the biggest one of them all. It was black and painted with red and yellow flames that covered the side doors. The roof was adorned with spikes and the front bender had a large silver skull on it. And best of all, the back of the truck was covered with a cap that could hide them as they traveled.
"Whoa, sweet ride," Shadow looked up in awe. "Can I drive?"
"Do you even have a license?" Donnie asked her.
"I do...sorta. I have a permit."
"Sorry, Shadow," Kal chuckled as he climbed to the driver's side. "I'm driving this baby. She's mine, after all."
...
That morning, Pride woke up expecting to see Mikey in his cage, but to his shock, the Turtle was gone. "What the...?!" He hopped out of bed and quickly put his silk robe on. He stormed down the halls and barged through the doors of the throne room, alarming the servants. "WHERE IS THE HOLY CHALUPA?!" he roared, terrifying the other mutants. "I woke up this morning and he wasn't in his cage! If any of you know where he is, speak NOW!"
A weasel slowly and nervously approached the king, bowing her head and tucking her tail between her legs. "M-My lord, w-we were betrayed."
The lion leaned down closer to her and sneered. "By who?" he hissed.
"B-By Kal the meerkat. We-We just received word that he took off with the Turtle and-and the pure human late last night."
Pride's red eyes became large at the mention of the meerkat's name, before he snarled and clenched his fists. "Kal..." he whispered venomously. "I should've known that he'd be nothing but trouble." He turned back to his servants, who immediately stood at attention. "Prepare my battle armor and tell my best warriors to get ready! We are going after the traitor and taking back what belongs to me!"
Next chapter will be epic! :D