Chapter 14: Rickshaw Chase
Leonardo, Po, Tigress, Raphael, Donatello, Viper, Mantis, April O'neil, and Casey Jones stood in the cell arena as the Boss Wolf and two other wolf soldiers stood across from them.
Po glanced up at the upper deck. "Guys!" He complained to them for not giving the signal.
Monkey glanced over the balcony with a sheepish look. "Ka-caw…"
Shaking his head, Po then turned to the Boss Wolf. "You! You're mine!" The panda declared.
"I'll tell you what's gonna be yours," The Boss Wolf retorted, "My fist in your plushy cuddly, super-soft face!"
The two other wolves were about to advance when Monkey and Crane leapt down from the balcony above, taking down the two wolves as they landed on them.
The Boss Wolf went pale as he quickly realized he was now greatly outnumbered. "Uh oh…" He murmured.
The Boss Wolf then turned to flee when Mikey leapt over the railing descending down below.
"SNEAK ATTACK!" Mikey shrieked before tackling the Boss Wolf to the ground, holding him long enough for the others to rush over and tie him up with some spare rope they had.
Before the Boss Wolf could even yell for help, Donnie quickly took out some tape from his belt and quickly used it to cover the Boss Wolf's mouth.
Leo sighed in relief. "That was close."
"Nice work, Michelangelo." Tigress complimented the orange clad turtle.
"Aw, yeah!" Mikey cheered, pumping his fist into the air. "Nothin' stoppin' the great 'Doctor Sneak-Attack-Enstein'!"
"So… now what?" Po asked, shifting around awkwardly.
"Well, we're not gonna be going much of anywhere by just standing here." Mantis said.
"We should probably take him with us, though." Viper pointed out, gesturing to the bound and gagged Boss Wolf. "He could have some useful information."
Leo nodded. "Alright, Raph, Mikey, you take him. We're heading out."
"But…" Donnie trailed off, glancing back at the two masters in the cell. "What about Ox and Croc?"
The others glanced at the downcasted masters who refused to look up at them for a good long moment.
"They've chosen to stay here." Tigress said solemnly. "And if that's what they want, then we can't force them to leave."
The others hesitantly nodded in unanimous agreement. With that over with, Raph and Mikey quickly picked up the Boss Wolf.
"Dang, this sucker's heavy." Raph grunted as he and Mikey struggled to hold him up (to which the Boss Wolf let out muffled angry yells of protest).
Raph and Mikey then accidently dropped the Wolf Boss, causing him to fall to the ground and crash into the wall with a heavy thud.
"Sorry." Mikey said to the wolf, who simply let out a muffled groan in response.
"Don't apologize to him." Raph said.
"I-I mean… sorry I didn't drop you harder!" Mikey yelled.
"There you go." Raph grinned before he and the party turtle picked up the Boss Wolf again.
Heading out of Gongmen Jail, the group quickly made their way back up to the rooftops (while taking the tied-up Wolf Boss with them).
Leo pulled out a spyglass from his belt as he spotted the Tower of the Sacred Flame in the distance.
"Not too much farther from the tower." Leo said, putting the spyglass away.
"Don't see how we're really gonna get in there with those guys watching." Mantis pointed out, gesturing to several patrols of wolves riding through the streets on horseback.
"We could always just fight our way through." Raph said, twirling his sais in his fingers.
Viper gave the red clad turtle a flat look. "Do you always resort to violence?"
Raph shrugged. "You'd be surprised how much it works."
"Hate to burst your battle-hungry bubble, Raphael," Tigress said, "but I doubt it will be that easy."
"Boy, I could sure go for some pizza and noodles right now, huh?" Mikey piped up, wandering over from where he'd been guarding the Boss Wolf.
Leo, Po, Tigress, Raph, Donnie, Viper, Crane, Monkey, Mantis, April, and Casey all stared at the orange clad turtle incredulously.
"What?" Mikey asked, a little bewildered. "I can't be the only one who's hungry."
"Where's the Boss Wolf?" Crane questioned, already dreading the answer.
Mikey gasped, turning to where the Boss Wolf had been sitting, only to find him gone and the sound of footsteps fading away. "Oh geez…" He said, cringing.
"Get him!" Leo yelled, and the group took off after the Boss Wolf.
While Mikey had been distracted, the Boss Wolf had managed to use his claws to cut through the ropes restraining him, which then led to his quick escape as he leapt down into the streets below jumping onto a rickshaw cart being pulled by an antelope.
"Get me outta here!" The Boss Wolf yelled.
"Y-yes sir!" The antelope fearfully replied, pulling the cart down the street just as the group leapt down from the rooftops.
"He's getting away!" Casey yelled.
"Oh no, he's not." Donnie said as he spotted some horses off to the side.
While Tigress, Viper, April, Casey, Monkey, Crane and Mantis took off after the Boss Wolf either on all fours or in the air, Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey quickly hopped onto a group of horses, one for each of them.
Leo, Donnie, and Mikey quickly rode their horses after the Boss Wolf, though Raph was proving to have trouble with his horse.
"Oh man, easy girl!" Raph said as his horse kicked and neighed about. "Why do horses hate me?!"
Eventually, Raph was able to get his horse under control as he rode it after the others leaving only Po.
Po glanced around for something he could use as there was no way he was going to be able to keep up with them on foot, and didn't see any more horses around.
Looking around, Po spotted another rickshaw cart off to the side.
With a grin, Po grabbed the cart before riding it down the street, using his hands to roll the wheels faster and faster until he caught up with the others.
"Lose them!" Boss Wolf yelled to the antelope as he noticed the group was catching up.
"Yes, sir!" The antelope cried, taking a sharp left into a tight alleyway in an attempt to lose the group.
"Viper!" Po called as his cart rolled past the tight alley.
"Hang on!" Viper yelled, coiling herself around a nearby pole while Po grabbed her tail, using the momentum to swing him round and into the alley.
Crane flew over the alley while Tigress, April, Casey, Mantis, Viper, and Monkey sprinted through it, and the Turtles each rode single-file on their horses through the alley.
Eventually, the alleyway panned out into a large market area, giving the group more room to fan out.
However, out from other parts of the market emerged several wolves riding their own horses as they rode up next to the group, attempting to box them in.
"We'll handle them!" Leo yelled to the others, referring to himself and his brothers. "You guys go on ahead!"
Po and Tigress nodded before they, along with April, Casey, Viper, Monkey, Mantis, and Crane sped ahead, leaving the Turtles to deal with the wolves.
One of the wolves rode up alongside Raph's horse, carrying two long swords in each paw. He then leapt into the air with a yell, landing onto the head of the red clad turtle's horse before attempting to take the hot-headed turtle's head off.
Raph quickly pulled out his sais and blocked the wolf's strikes, still riding his horse before shoving the wolf off and regaining the reins.
The wolf tumbled on the ground before being crushed under Donnie's horse as he rode by, deflecting the sword of another wolf before knocking him off his horse with one swing of his staff.
Another wolf then rode up along the left-hand side of Donnie's horse, carrying a large spear. The wolf then swung his spear at Donnie, only for the smart turtle to block and retaliate with his bo-staff.
Donnie attempted to thrust his staff into the wolf's face, which the wolf quickly blocked. The wolf then jabbed at Donnie several times with his spear, but the purple clad turtle blocked every thrust.
"Heads up!" Mikey yelled, coming up from behind and smacking the wolf who was engaging Donnie in the back of the head with his nunchucks.
From behind them, several wolves carried bow and arrows as they rode their horses, quickly taking aim and firing at the four ninja turtles.
Leo blocked the sword of one wolf, shunting the blade away with the kikyo flower shaped round guard of his katana before using his sword to knock the wolf off of his horse.
Hearing the familiar sound of arrows coming his way, Leo quickly turned around, batting away several arrows with his katana before throwing several smoke bombs back.
The smoke bombs exploded in the wolf archers faces, causing them to be engulfed in a cloud of purple smoke, making them cough and wheeze loudly and lose their focus as some lost balance and either fell off their horses or crashed into one of the markets.
Those that didn't were quickly taken out as Mikey reached into his belt and threw several shurikens at them, hitting them in non-lethal points like their shoulders or arms hard enough to knock them off.
"Faster, guys! Yah!" Leo yelled, snapping the reins on his horse as they started to go faster and faster, quickly gaining distance away from the pursuing wolves. "We're losing them!"
Far up ahead, the Boss Wolf then grabbed the antelope pulling his rickshaw cart. "Watch out!" He cackled, throwing the antelope in the path of Po's cart.
Knowing he wouldn't be able to stop in time, Po shifted his weight to swerve the cart around the helpless bystander before getting back on the main street.
"Very uncool!" Po yelled angrily, rolling the wheels faster.
"Try this!" The Boss Wolf then knocked over several crates and citizens as he rode by, forcing the Five, April, and Casey to pull the citizens out of the way of Po's cart while the panda continued the pursuit, however, this resulted in them falling behind in the process.
Tigress looked on as Po continued after the Boss Wolf while she set down a couple rabbits that she had caught.
"Get him, Po." Tigress murmured under her breath.
"We've gotta go after them!" April said.
Casey panted heavily, already out of breath as he leaned on his knees. "Okay, okay, just… give me a minute." He wheezed.
They were about to continue on when the Turtles quickly pulled up next to them on their horses.
"Hop on, dudes!" Mikey yelled. "We got a wolf to catch!"
April leapt onto the back of Donnie's horse while Casey leapt onto the back of Raph's. Tigress and Viper were pulled onto the back of Leo's horse while Monkey and Mantis got on Mikey's horse.
Further up ahead, the Boss Wolf a small pram full of bunny children before throwing them at Po. "How about something small?!"
"No, no!" Po cried as the bunny children hit him and clung to his face, laughing joyfully while the panda was blinded. "Cute bunnies off my face!"
While he was blinded, Po's cart rolled off the street and onto the scaffolding of a nearby building. Pushing some of the bunnies out of his face, Po's eyes widened when he saw the cart was about to go over the edge.
With a scream, Po slammed his foot onto the left wheel of the cart, creating tons of sparks and causing it to swerve over onto the rooftop next to the scaffolding.
"Fire!" The bunny children cheered as they slowed down slightly.
Po blinked before smelling smoke, glancing down to see that his left foot really was on fire.
Down below, Leo, Tigress, Raph, Donnie, Mikey, Viper, April, Crane, Monkey, Casey, and Mantis continued their pursuit of the Boss Wolf below on their horses.
"Where's Po?" Tigress yelled, noticing the panda was gone.
Just then, they all heard a scream and glanced up to see Po riding the cart down the rooftops while he put his foot out.
"Well... guess that answers that question." Leo commented dubiously while the others could only stare with astonishment.
Up on the rooftop, Po was unable to stop the cart this time as they went over the edge of the roof. As they came down, Po managed to balance the cart on two ropes stretching over the streets that connected to another building before he caught the bunny children and flung them into the seat of the cart.
Glancing up, Po saw that he and the bunnies were about to crash into the building opposite of them, Po swung underneath the cart and tossed the bunnies into the air.
"Crane, catch!" Po yelled.
Acting quickly, Crane quickly flew up and caught each of the bunny children in his hat, the kids cheering as they had most likely had the best time of their lives.
Po was not so lucky as he crashed into the building, the cart shattering on impact as he fell back down onto the street, hitting the ground with a bounce and balancing on a single wheel and a stick.
Far ahead, Po spotted the Boss Wolf getting further and further away, laughing tauntingly.
"Guys, guys, guys, guys! Give me a shove!" Po yelled as he tried to peddle the wheel, going very slowly.
Back on the horses, Leo turned to the others. "Tigress, Mantis! Go!" He yelled.
Nodding, Tigress and Mantis leapt off the horses as the feline ran on all fours and the bug hopped long distances along the road.
"Mantis, now!" Tigress said.
Nodding, Mantis grabbed Tigress by her finger and flung her forward as hard as he could.
Using her paws to gain some more momentum, Tigress leapt into the air and pulled her arms back before thrusting them forward into Po's back.
The very impact of her numb paws sent Po rocketing down the street, leaving a trail of fire behind while the panda clung to the stick for dear life as the Boss Wolf turned around, and his one eye widened in surprise just as Po crashed into the Boss Wolf's cart.
Now delicately balancing on the cart, Po and the Boss Wolf exchanged blows, punches for punches, kicks for kicks as they rolled down the street.
"Is that all you've got?!" The Boss Wolf taunted. "'Cause it feels like I'm fighting a big ol' fluffy cloud!"
Po smirked as he pushed the Boss Wolf's chin up with his foot. "Well this cloud's about to bring the thunder!" He said as the Boss Wolf got hit in the back of the head by several hanging signs.
"Your turn!" Boss Wolf yelled as he retaliated by grabbing Po's leg and pulling him up, causing the panda to hit several more hanging signs.
"Ow! Why… are… there… so… many… signs?" Po questioned, speaking each word each time after his face hit a sign.
Eventually the signs stopped as Po saw that he saw they were heading right a large gate sign that would surely take his head off if he didn't do something.
With a yelp, Po ducked his head under the gate sign as the cart went through the gate and down the stairs, the wheels bouncing on steps, which gave Po an idea.
Seeing that the Boss Wolf was hanging onto the shaft tips and bouncing violently with the cart, Po extended his fist forward, letting the Boss Wolf's head hit his knuckles every time he bounced, which was a lot.
They eventually reached the bottom of the stairs and hit a wooden ramp, sending Po and the Boss Wolf flying into the air.
The two screamed, holding each other tightly as they soared over the city before gravity kicked back in and they began to fall.
Seeing that the pavement was approaching fast, Po quickly grabbed the Boss Wolf, pinning his arm behind his back as he forced himself behind him.
"ALAKASQUASH-O!" Po yelled as they hit the ground, the Boss Wolf taking the brunt of the fall as he landed first, followed by Po landing on him which nearly flattened him into paste.
"Yes!" Po cheered, getting off the Boss Wolf just as the Turtles, the Five, April, and Casey finally caught up with him, dismounting their horses and letting them go.
"Taste the defeat!" Po staggered back, about to fall over when Tigress quickly caught him, helping him stay on his feet. "Let me tell ya something, next time you mess with a panda, you'd better bring a whole… lotta…"
Po trailed off as they all looked up just now realizing that they were right outside the gates to the Tower of the Sacred Flame.
And standing at the top of the gates were not just several wolves armed with archers, but also several Kraang droids with readied blasters.
It was then that dozens of wolves and Kraang droids emerged from all directions, completely surrounding the group and totally outnumbering them.
The Boss Wolf smirked as he got up. "Guess nobody told you…" He said sinisterly. "You mess with the wolf, you get the fangs!" He then punched Po hard in the gut, causing the panda to double over.
Tigress felt a growl build up in the back of her throat when she saw that, and if it weren't for the hundreds of wolves and Kraang droids surrounding them, she would have wasted no time ripping that wolf to shreds.
"Now I've hit ya twice!" The Boss Wolf boasted. "What are you gonna do now?"
Po glared at the wolf while Leo glanced around at his surroundings as he gripped his katanas tightly. Just by simply looking, the blue clad turtle could easily see that they couldn't fight their way out this one.
But then an idea came to his head.
"Po…" Leo whispered, getting the panda's attention.
Curious, Po leaned in while Leo quietly whispered into his ear, speaking so quietly that not even his brothers or even Tigress could hear what he was saying.
When he was finished, both Leo and Po stood up straight and nodded to each other.
Turning his gaze back to the Boss Wolf, Po then threw up arms into the air. "WE SURRENDER!" He loudly proclaimed.
To add to this point, Leo dropped his katanas, letting them clatter to the ground while he folded his hands behind his head in submission.
"WHAT?!" Tigress, Raph, Donnie, Mikey, Viper, Monkey, Crane, Mantis, April, and Casey all yelled incredulously.
One by one, each of them were hand-cuffed by several pairs of heavy-looking cuffs while the Turtles, April, and Casey's weapons were all confiscated from them.
"You can chain my body, but you can never chain my-" Crane started defiantly before a cuff was slapped around his neck, slightly choking him. "Warrior's spirit!"
"Hey, don't forget the little guy!" Po said, pointing to Mantis.
"Did you just call me-" Mantis began but was cut off when Po grabbed him and shoved into a small cage.
"Po, Leonardo, what are you guys doing?" Tigress questioned, looking at the panda and the blue clad turtle like they had lost their minds.
"Yeah, what gives?" Raph questioned, not happy about having his sais taken away as a pair of cuffs was slapped onto his wrists.
"Don't worry," Po replied, "we've a pla-" He was cut off when a pair of cuffs was slapped onto him, making him yelp in pain. "No way… eight-point acupuncture cuffs? Just like the ones that held Tai Lung!" He said, letting his inner kung fu geek out.
Donnie flinched as a pair of acupuncture cuffs were snapped onto his wrists as well. "Yeah, the more you struggle, the tighter they get." He added, having read up on them.
Just then, a soldier then hooked both Po and Donnie's cuffs on a pole before dragging them both to the ground.
"These are the best cuffs!" Po and Donnie said at the same time before they were forced to their feet.
"Enemies known as the Turtles and the Furious Five, you have been captured by Kraang and will be destroyed." One of the Kraang droids said, speaking in that monotone robotic voice that the Turtles, April, and Casey were all too familiar with, but sent shivers down Po and the Fives' spines.
"So… those are the Kraang?" Viper asked, using her tail to gesture to the Kraang droids.
April nodded. "Yep. That's them, alright."
The group was then pushed forward as they were escorted towards the tower.
Things had just seemingly gone from bad to worse as they were now out of the frying pan...
... and into the fire.