Chapter 19: Battle for Gongmen City
Leonardo, Tigress, Michelangelo, Viper, Crane, Monkey, Mantis, April, and Casey awoke with a bright red torch in their faces. They also found that their bodies were heavily chained together.
"Such sad, sad faces." Shen spoke with a mock sympathy as he stood in front of the Boss Wolf and Ch'rell. "But now is a time only for joy." He then leaned in closely to the group, almost whispering. "You are about to be part of something beautiful."
Tigress snarled as she and the others glared hatefully at the peacock.
It was beautiful that he was going to ruin thousands of lives?
It was beautiful that he had taken their friend away from them?
Tigress continued to growl. Sinking her claws and fangs into his body was an even more beautiful thought.
Shen leaned back at the feline's snarling. "Once we reach the harbor, in front of all the world, you and your precious kung fu will die." He chuckled as he turned away from them. "Then China will bow before me. Set sail!"
At the peacock's order, Leo, Tigress, Mikey, Viper, April, Monkey, Casey, Crane, and Mantis were hoisted up high above the ships, being displayed among the fleet like they were trophies… or martyrs were more like it.
It seemed like a peaceful night for the citizens of Gongmen City, children enjoying puppet shows, people enjoying their dinner, or others going on a nice nightly stroll.
But that was all shattered as a huge fleet of ships sailed down the canal of the city, the red torches lighting the vessels like they were emissaries from hell.
At the largest ship at the back of the fleet, Shen stood on a podium above his largest cannon, with the Boss Wolf and General Ch'rell standing behind him.
Further down the line, Leo, Mikey, April, Casey, and the Five were hung by chains, suspended above the wolves and Kraang, helpless to do anything.
"Honestly, guys, I never thought I'd die like this." Mantis lemanted from his small cage. "I always thought I'd meet a nice girl, and settle down… and then she'd eat my head. So sad."
"Yeah, man. I was supposed to go out in a blaze of glory, with like giant transforming robots frying me with lasers. Not like this!" Casey said solemnly.
"We can't give up, dudes!" Mikey exclaimed, trying desperately to lighten the mood a little. "Raph and Donnie will come back for us!"
"That's right." Monkey agreed. "And Po would want us to remain strong, hard-core. Right, Tigress?"
Tigress remained silent. She wanted to agree with Monkey and Mikey. Raph and Donnie would come back to rescue them, and Po would want them to remain strong, but it was too late for that. She wanted to try and smile, try and say something to her friends in an attempt to comfort them. But how could she when the pain of failure plagued her so?
The thought of the panda made her press her lips together and close her eyes tightly to hold off the inevitable tears that would come soon again while all the others could do was gaze upon her sympathetically.
As they sailed, several citizens came out of their homes, watching the armada sail from a small bridge stretching across the canal in front of the fleet.
"Lord Shen, what about the bridge?" The Boss Wolf questioned.
"Nothing stands in my way…" Shen whispered heartlessly. "Fire!"
Within moments, the dragon-shaped cannon on one of the ships at the front of the armada fired, completely obliterating the bridge as the citizens of the city screamed and fled in terror.
Leo, Mikey, April, Casey, and the Five could only watch this destruction in horror and disgust.
"YOU COWARD!" Tigress shouted angrily, squirming in the chains to glare at the peacock, who simply smirked, impassive at the victimization of his people.
Leo, Mikey, Viper, Crane, Monkey, Mantis, April, and Casey wanted nothing more than to stop this terrible destruction as well, but what could they do? They were chained up without any weapons or any way of escaping, so as much as they all hated it, there wasn't anything they could do.
As the cannonfire ceased, Tigress ceased her struggle, seeing that it was useless. She was on the verge of giving up when something in her heart told her to look up.
Listening to it, Tigress glanced up towards the roofs… and spotted three figures standing on the highest roof, illuminated by the moonlight.
One of them was a tall and lanky turtle with a brown shoulder strap holding a bo-staff and a purple bandana tied around his eyes, the tails of the mask flowing in the wind.
The next figure was shorter and stockier turtle, with a red bandana tied around his eyes and a lightning bolt shaped chip in plastron.
And the final figure… was a certain big fat, black and white furred panda bear wearing a bamboo coolie hat on his head. A panda that Tigress instantly recognized.
"... Po?" Tigress murmured, almost not believing her eyes.
"Raph? Donnie?" Leo said as he, Mikey, Viper, April, Crane, Casey, Monkey, and Mantis looked up to the roof as well in surprise.
The citizens of the city came out of their hiding places as they, along with all of the soldiers and the Kraang, gazed up at the panda and the two turtles almost in awe as the full moon casting its light down on them gave the three figures an almost divine aura.
"How many times do I have to kill the same stinking panda?!" Shen spoke, sounding both astounded and furious.
Up on the roof, Po, Raphael, and Donatello gazed down at the armada as it sailed through the canal, analyzing the fleet.
"I see thirteen ships, counting the big one." Donnie reported.
"So how are we supposed to stop them?" Raph asked, already ready for a fight.
Po smirked slightly as an idea popped into his head. "You guys head down. I've got this."
Nodding, Raph and Donnie both silently leapt down off the roof unseen while Po put his plan into motion.
"SHEN!" Po shouted as loud as he could. "A PANDA AND A COUPLE OF TURTLES STAND BETWEEN YOU AND YOUR DESTINY!"
Down at the canal, however, the panda's lines could barely even be heard because of how far away he was.
"What?!" Shen called, just barely hearing what the panda was saying.
"PREPARE YOURSELF FOR A HOT SERVING OF JUSTICE!" Po continued. "YOUR REIGN OF TERROR COMES TO AN END!"
"What?" Shen said, still not hearing Po as he turned to the Boss Wolf and Ch'rell, who both simply shrugged in reply.
"AND NOW, FREE THE FIVE AND THE GUYS!" Po shouted before taking off his hat. "Disk of destruction!" He then pulled his arm back, eyes narrowing on his target of the chains.
With a mighty heave, Po threw the hat like a frisbee… only for it to flutter down pathetically and bounce down on the rooftops before hitting someone below.
"Oh…" Po said, clearly embarrassed as he tried to childishly hide his face with his paw.
Everyone down below, even Leo, Mikey, April, Casey, and the Five, gave the panda deadpanned looks that straight up said, 'are you serious?'
"Oooookay." Shen said, very perplexed at this point. "Take aim!"
Almost immediately, one of the wolves on the frontal ships adjusted their cannon in Po's direction, much to Leo, April, Casey, Mikey, and the Five's horror. Po stiffened as the cannon was aimed right up at him, he had felt what it was like to be shot by that thing, and he really didn't want to experience that again.
"Ready?" Shen said.
Po began to panic as he looked around desperately. Maybe being the distraction wasn't the best idea.
So just as the wolves were about to fire, the panda leapt from the roof and began quickly scaling down, forcing the wolves to adjust the cannon.
Every time the wolves finally seemed to lock onto Po, the panda would move in a completely different direction, forcing the wolves to adjust the cannon again.
While that was happening, nobody noticed Raph and Donnie quietly sneaking onto the ships before retrieving Leo, Mikey, April, and Casey's weapons.
Ch'rell growled in frustration. "Don't just stand there, you fools!" He shouted to the Kraang-droids. "Open fire!"
At his command, all of the Kraang on the boats raised their blasters and fired at Po as he reached the street.
Po yelped as he crazily dodged the blaster fire that came his way, kicking up the lid of a barrel and using it as a shield.
Avoiding the cannons and shielding himself from the Kraang blaster fire, Po leapt onto one of the boats, right between two cannons.
Both cannons were aimed at the panda in seconds as a wolf lit the fuse on his cannon.
"No, no! Don't shoot!" The wolves on the opposite ship cried as Po dived out of the way of the cannons.
The wolves with the lit cannon panicked, trying desperately to put out the fuse while Po laughed, now seeing he had an advantage with the soldiers being disorganized.
"Don't shoot! Crossfire!" The Boss Wolf shouted.
"Attack!" Shen ordered.
Immediately, Po was set upon by thousands of wolves and Kraang. It was obvious that he was heavily outnumbered as they all began to overwhelm him.
Good thing he wasn't alone.
Right when the wolves and Kraang were about to dog-pile him, Raph and Donnie came out from their hiding spots and kicked the pile off of him before helping the panda up.
"Eat it, wolves and Kraang!" Raph said, throwing several shurikens at the soldiers on the other boats.
"Guys! Yes! Go ninja!" Mikey cheered happily while the others smirked and smiled at their arrival.
"Catch of freedom!" Po shouted, grabbing a discarded axe and tossing it towards the others.
Monkey caught the axe with his tail and used it to slice the chains holding them. Now that they were free, they flipped over to where Po, Raph, and Donnie were.
"Heads up!" Donnie shouted, tossing the weapons towards them, Leo his katanas, Mikey his nunchucks, April her tessen and tanto, and Casey his sports gear.
"Aw yeah! Time for some payback, yo!" Casey said, eagerly gripping his hockey stick as they landed together on the same boat.
"You guys, alright?" Donnie asked, batting away a wolf with his staff before quickly taking the Kraang inhibitor collar off of April.
"We're fine, Dee." April replied with a smile as she rubbed her throat slightly, already feeling her powers returning to her.
"Impressive, Dragon Warrior!" Tigress complimented Po as she punched a Kraang-droid away. "What's your plan?"
Po shuffled a little awkwardly. "Uh… um… hey, Leo? You want to take back the lead?"
Leo glanced at Po slightly as he kicked a wolf soldier away and sliced a Kraang-droid in half with his katana. "You know what, Po?" He said with a grin. "Why don't you take the lead on this?"
Po smiled back, a new wave of confidence surging through him. "Alright! Step one, free you guys!"
"What's step two?" Viper asked.
Po faltered a little. "Honestly, I never thought I'd get this far." He admitted.
"Po!" Tigress lightly chided him.
"Er… stop Shen before he reaches the harbor!" Po yelled.
"Booyakasha!" Mikey cheered as they charged forward.
Together, Po, the Turtles, the Five, April, and Casey dove into action, leaping off of the boat they were on and onto the next one, fighting off the dozens of Kraang and wolves on the ship with ease.
Po grabbed a wolf soldier and threw him to the floor before picking him up and using his massive belly to bump him into several more soldiers, knocking them down like bowling pins. He then blocked the saw of a Kraang blaster before grabbing the Kraang and kicking it into another Kraang-droid. One wolf attempted to bring an axe down on Po, only for the panda to catch the blade in his paws before punching the wolf away.
Leo raced forward, blocking the sword of one wolf with his left katana before using the right one to knock him away. He then blocked the electric sticks of two Kraang-droids, letting them slide down his blades before jumping up and slashing the two Kraang. One of the wolves then attempted to stab Leo in the shell, but the blue clad turtle leaped over the blade, landing on his hands and kicking the wolf in the face. With the wolf stunned, Leo hit the wolf with a high kick to the head with his left foot. Another wolf attempted to stab at his leg, but Leo was faster as he pinned the blade of the wolf's sword under his foot before leaping onto his back. Flipping forward, Leo slashed at two more Kraang-droids with his katanas before blocking two wolves with swords with his katanas. With minimal effort, Leo pushed them away before slashing at them with his own swords.
Mikey leaped over one Kraang-droid, whacking it in the back of the head with his nunchucks. He then flipped forward, catching the head of a wolf soldier in between his feet, shifting his weight towards the ground, balancing on his hands and throwing the wolf into the water. Pushing himself back up to his feet, Mikey twirled his nunchucks as he flipped over a Kraang-droid, grabbing it by the shoulders and throwing into more of the soldiers as the orange clad turtle landed on his feet. A wolf soldier tried to punch the party turtle, but Mikey swiftly dodged the punch, knocking the wolf aside with a spinning kick before going through the crowd as he unleashed his hot nunchuck fury on them.
Donnie dashed forward, raising his bo-staff above his head and bringing it down on the head of a Kraang-droid. He then brought his staff back up, swatting away two more Kraang-droids, one in front of him and one behind him. He nearly yelped as a wolf soldier attempted to stab him in the face, forcing Donnie to fall onto his shell, catching his staff on his feet and using it to block the sword. Shifting his feet, Donnie expertly twirled his staff on his soles, knocking the wolf away before the smart turtle leapt to his feet and caught his staff in time to parry the chainsaw of a Kraang blaster. Shifting the chainsaw away, Donnie brought his staff down on the Kraang-droid, twirling his staff before using it as a balance pole to kick a wolf soldier in the gut before bringing his staff down on the wolf's head.
Raph charged ahead as a wolf soldier lunged at him with a sword in paw, forcing the red clad turtle to parry the blade with his sai. Shifting the blade away from him, Raph used his free arm to smack the wolf in the snout. With the wolf stunned, Raph grabbed the wolf in a headlock, throwing his sai into the gun of Kraang-droid about to shoot at him before throwing the wolf into the Kraang. Retrieving his sai, Raph narrowly avoided being stabbed by another wolf before wrapping his legs around the wolf's ankles and sweeping his feet out from under him. Getting back up, Raph used his foot to punt away the blade of another wolf before stashing his sais in his belt and grabbing the wolf's arm and pinning him down. Another wolf tried to stab him, but Raph caught the wolf's wrist and shoved it down before pulling back and punching both wolves in the head.
April blocked the sword of one wolf with her tanto before smacking him across the face with tessen. A Kraang-droid then tried to grab her, but April was faster as she grabbed the Kraang's arm and threw it to the ground. Just then, she was grabbed from behind by another wolf who tried to pin her down while another wolf came to finish her off, but April kicked the wolf in front of her before grabbing the wolf behind her and flipping him over her shoulders. Turning a large group of Kraang-droids, April put away her tessen and tanto, placed her paws on her head and let out a blast of golden psychic energy that blasted the Kraang off of the boat.
Casey skated forward on his roller skates, smacking two hockey pucks forward, hitting two wolf soldiers. He then rammed into a Kraang-droid, knocking it over before using his hockey stick to smack the Kraang's head towards another Kraang, knocking it into the canal. Casey spun around to quickly block the sword of another wolf before zapping the soldier with his taser glove.
Tigress punched a wolf soldier in the face, sending him flying into a crowd of wolves. She then rapidly dodged a Kraang's blaster fire before kicking the Kraang in it's robotic head. Unsheathing her claws, Tigress slashed at two more wolves before performing a split kick on two more Kraang-droids. One of the wolves then rushed towards her with a yell, his fist pulled back and ready to throw a punch. Instead of moving out of the way, Tigress stood still and caught the punch in her paw, the impact sounding like a thunderclap. There was a brief moment of silence as the wolf's face comically scrunched in pain before he fell to his knees whimpering as he held his most likely broken paw. And with a smirk, Tigress lightly poked the wolf's head with her finger, letting him fall down.
Viper snapped her tail at one wolf soldier like a whip, hitting him in the nose before throwing him over the side of the boat. She then slithered and dodged out of the way of a Kraang's chainsaw before wrapping herself around the Kraang-droid and using her 'puppet of death' technique, turned the Kraang-droid against it's own army as it began firing it's blaster, hitting several wolves and other Kraang-droids.
Monkey wrapped his tail around the arms of a wolf before rapidly punching the wolf in the snout. With the wolf stunned, Monkey then landed on his hands and used his feet to throw the wolf into two Kraang-droids, knocking them all into the canal. He then leapt forward, grabbing two Kraang-droid heads and smashing them together before spinning the two droids around and tossing them over the side of the boat.
Crane swooped down through the crowd, swiping and kicking the wolves and Kraang with his long spindly legs, using his wings to send a wave of wind that sent all those coming his way flying.
Mantis dove between the wolves and Kraang-droids so fast he seemed like a green blur. Within seconds, the wolves fell to the ground while the Kraang-droids collapsed into pieces, the little brain squids crawling away.
But while all of them fought well, they were still heavily outnumbered by the sheer amount of wolves and Kraang.
As they fought, the group suddenly heard the sounds of punching and kicking from behind them, causing them all to turn around out of curiosity.
To their surprise, the waves of wolves and Kraang behind them were taken down by a certain Master Storming Ox.
"Master Ox!" Po exclaimed happily while the others grinned.
To add to the surprise, Master Croc leapt out of the river performing a split-kick on two unsuspecting wolf soldiers.
"And Croc!" Po added.
"Vengeance is served!" Croc said with a grin.
"But why did you..?" Leo was about to ask.
"We would rather die on our feet, than rot away in a cell." Ox answered, with him and Croc giving a smile particularly at the blue clad turtle, to which Leo smiled back. "Besides, your friend there is very persuasive."
Curious, the group paused in their fighting, looking past Ox and Croc to see a small familiar figure rapidly approaching them, flinging the wolves and Kraang into the air like nothing.
From the crowd, Master Shifu emerged, kicking away several wolves and Kraang-droids before landing perfectly on the tip of Oogway's staff.
"Master Shifu!" Po, Leo, Raph, Donnie, Mikey, Tigress, Viper, Crane, Monkey, Mantis, April, and Casey all exclaimed in a mixture of shock and happiness.
Leaping down from his staff, Shifu moved in a pure blur, swiftly dispatching of the wolves surrounding the group.
"Quickly! Use their boats to block the way!" Shifu yelled before he turned to the Turtles. "And Leonardo? I brought along a few people you and your brothers may recognize."
Before any of them could ask who the red panda was talking about, a loud yell from above drew their attention to the rooftops.
Leaping the roofs onto the boats with them were two figures; one, a tall rabbit samurai with a blue kimono, black hakama pants, and geta sandals on his feet, all while wielding a katana in his hands. The other was a short and stumpy pug dog child carrying a large heavy-looking axe, his black hair reaching his shoulders and being tied back with a red rubber band in a ponytail at the top, and dressed in red cloth with a yellow japanese kanji for 'gold' on his chest.
The Turtles all collectively gasped upon seeing them. "Usagi! Kintaro!" Leo exclaimed with both shock and joy.
Usagi kicked a wolf soldier off the boat before slicing a Kraang-droid in half with his katana. "It is good to see you and your brothers again, Leonardo-san." Usagi said with a slight smile.
Kintaro swung his axe of power at a random Kraang-droid before grabbing a wolf soldier and throwing him into a group of oncoming wolves. "We came here as soon as we could." The holy child stated.
While Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey grinned at the two, Po, Tigress, April, Casey, Viper, Monkey, Crane, and Mantis couldn't help but look bewildered at the sight of the samurai rabbit and the pug child.
"Is that a… rabbit?" Viper questioned.
"Huh, didn't know they could get that tall." Mantis shrugged.
"And is that a kid?" Monkey added, pointing to Kintaro.
"Well, he seems pretty awesome!" Po said with a grin.
April furrowed her brow before she came to a slight realization. "Wait, I remember the Turtles told me and Casey about these guys. They, uh… said they were friends from Japan."
"I suppose if they're allies of the Turtles, they're allies to us too." Tigress nodded.
"And they're not the only ones here!"
The group snapped their heads up once again to the rooftops as a female Asian golden cat leapt down onto the boats, swatting two wolves away, with her being dressed in a black vest and a blue scarf.
"Mei Ling?" Crane said in surprise.
Mei Ling smirked slightly, twirling her staff in her paw. "It's been a long time hasn't it, Crane?" She said before looking at Po, the Turtles, the Five, April, and Casey. "I see you've made some new friends."
Crane glanced at his friends, chuckling as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah..." He said, a light blush adorning his cheeks.
"Hey, is this a fight or a romantic comedy?" Raph asked sarcastically. "Let's get to work!"
Moving fast, Tigress sprinted on all fours over the heads of several wolves and Kraang-droids, rushing towards one of the ships at the very front. With a strong kick, she knocked the cannon on that ship over, causing it to topple onto the bow of the boat. With so much weight at the front, the ship began to sink, the stern of the ship flipping upwards. With practiced ease, Tigress perfectly balanced herself on the stern as it lurched forward towards the bridge above the harbor gate, stepping off nimbly as the boat came to a rest, partially blocking the gate to the open sea.
Po couldn't help but gaze at Tigress with a love-struck smile. "Everything about her is the coolest thing ever." He whispered to himself.
Getting into action, Mikey extended both of his nunchucks into kusarigama chains and wrapped them both around the masts of the two ships near the front. "Heads up, Po!" He yelled, tossing the two chokon bu to the panda.
Po leapt in between the two ships, catching the two chokon bu in his paws, straining as he pulled the two boats together. "Crane!" He shouted.
Crane swooped up high into the air, behind the two boats' sails. "Wings of Justice!" He declared. "KA-KAW!" He then flapped his wings, sending a powerful gust of wind into the sails, propelling the boats forward and colliding with the upturned boat ahead, blocking the harbor gate completely and creating a choke-point which the fleet couldn't sail through.
Shen could only watch in stunned silence as all of the wolves and Kraang scrambled across the pile up of boats, with Ch'rell even going down to join them.
There was a light explosion of fireworks behind the eighteen warriors as they leapt into the air, the fireworks light and sparks giving them a dramatic display.
Suddenly, for Po, everything seemed to be in slow motion as he glanced to his right, seeing Leo, Ox, Monkey, Crane, Mikey, Usagi, April, and Kintaro. He then glanced to his left, seeing Tigress, Donnie, Mantis, Shifu, Croc, Raph, Casey and Mei Ling.
All of his friends were here.
All of them were by his side.
"I LOVE YOU GUYS!" Po shouted before time seemed to resume for him.
The wolves and the Kraang didn't stand a chance as the group proceeded to completely annihilate them. Leo, Usagi, Kintaro, and April slashed at them with their blades, Raph, Tigress, and Croc hacked and stabbed at them with their sai and claws, Donnie, Casey, and Mei Ling swatted them away with their staffs, while Mikey batted them away with his nunchucks and Monkey, Mantis, Crane, Ox, and Viper fought them off with punches, kicks, and tail lashes.
Eventually, the group made their way to Ch'rell.
"Looks like we've leveled up to the boss fight." Raph remarked, twirling his sais in his hands.
Ch'rell growled. "None of you will leave here alive!" He said before he charged forward.
Leo quickly blocked Ch'rell's fist with his katanas before pushing him away. "The rest of you guys hold off Shen! Me, my bros, Po, and the Five will go after Shen!"
Po, Raph, Mikey, Donnie, and the Five nodded, rushing past the Kraang general while April, Casey, Shifu, Usagi, Kintaro, Ox, Croc, and Mei Ling took on Ch'rell.
Po, the Turtles, and the Five bashed and slashed their way through the dozens of wolves and Kraang-droids that tried to stand in their way, quickly getting closer to Shen's own boat.
"Why aren't we firing?!" Shen demanded, sounding slightly panicked.
"They're taking out our gunners, sir! They're getting close!" The Boss Wolf reported.
As Po, the Turtles, and the Five got closer and closer, Po looked up and he and Shen locked eyes, the panda giving him a smirk and a confident wipe of his nose that said, 'I'm coming for you'
Shen's face contorted slightly. "Fire. Fire! F-Fire at them!" He yelled frantically.
Holding the torch close to the cannon, the Boss Wolf suddenly hesitated as he noticed the other wolves still down there in the war zone. "But, sir, we'll kill our own!" He protested.
"I said fire at them!" Shen shrieked, completely losing his composure. "FIRE!"
The Boss Wolf was silent, not even listening or paying attention to Po, the Turtles, and the Five getting closer and closer to them.
Instead, he turned around and glared at Shen stubbornly. "No." He said firmly, tossing the torch aside.
Frowning, Shen gave the Boss Wolf a look before sending a knife into the wolf's chest. The Boss Wolf choked as the knife pierced his armor, going into his chest, causing him to fall into the water, dead.
Shen then leapt onto the large cannon aiming it directly towards the group. Po froze as he realized the cannon was aimed right at him, something Tigress noticed as well as her amber eyes widened in horror.
Shen grinned evilly as he used his steel talons to light the fuse of the cannon, finally his nightmares of this panda's proud, leering, loathsome face would finally end!
"Po!" Tigress yelled, pushing Po aside and standing in front of her comrades as the cannon fired.
A tremendous explosion tore through the boats as the cannon fired, blasting everyone back, the blockage covering the harbor gate now completely destroyed.
Po, the Turtles, the Five, April, Casey, Shifu, Ox, Croc, Usagi, Kintaro, and Mei Ling were thrown back by the explosion of red along with several chunks of wood and Kraang parts, crashing into the deep cold water of the sea.
Po quickly surfaced above the water, grabbing onto a piece of driftwood as the remains of Shen's armada sailed through the gate and lined up in front of the harbor.
Seconds later, Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey emerged from the water as well, gasping for air and each carrying one of their fallen friends on their backs. Leo had Usagi, Raph had Casey, Donnie had April, and Mikey had Kintaro.
All of them were burnt and scorched from the blast, the cold ocean waters being the only thing keeping them all from passing out.
Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey all weakly swam over to a large pile up of driftwood, gently depositing the unconscious Usagi, April, Casey, and Kintaro.
Donnie lightly stroked April's ginger hair, savoring the feeling of her lioness fur, tears building up in his mahogany eyes as he lightly kissed her forehead before swimming back to rejoin his brothers.
As they looked around the Turtles glanced around, seeing all of their allies strewn about in the wreckage. Shifu looked barely conscious as he lay on a floating crate, Ox, Crane, Croc, Viper, Monkey, and Mantis all lay unconsciously on a large piece of driftwood much closer to the harbor.
And when Po finally spotted Tigress, she was probably the worst out of all of them.
Swimming up towards her, the feline lay motionless on a small chunk of driftwood, her fur was singed and burned as she had taken the brunt of the blast, her red kung fu vest was soggy and torn as were her black track pants.
"Tigress…" Po whispered sadly, his voice hoarse as he gently took her limp paw.
After a moment, Tigress weakly lifted her head, much to Po's relief. She could see his eyes filled with happiness and concern. She desperately wanted to tell him she was alright but nothing would come out, so instead she tightened her grip on his paw and gave him a small smile.
He was here.
He was alright.
He was with her.
And they were about to die.
Slowly, Tigress lowered her head as her breathing became heavier. Inwardly, she felt a strange sense of relief. Because even though they were going to die, they would at least be together in their final moments.
From off to the side, the Turtles gave the panda sorrowful looks as Leo swam over and lightly placed a hand on Po's shoulder.
Po, Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey looked up at the flagship in front of them, seeing Shen giving them a gloated smile from the top of his cannon.
Silently, Po, Leo, Raph, Donnie, and even Mikey gave the peacock a long, burning glare.
Po then looked at Tigress one last time before gently pushing her away. As he pushed her Tigress lifted her head, feebly stretching her arm out to the panda, her amber eyes filling with tears that silently scream, 'don't leave me again!' which only served to crack the panda's heart even more.
Po and the Turtles all slowly swam towards the center of the harbor, swimming over and slowly climbing onto one of the upturned boats before turning to face the entire fleet.
Shen gazed upon the five warriors on the upturned boat, taking their silence as an acceptance of death.
And Shen was nothing if not merciful.
"As you wish…" Shen whispered before turning to his remaining soldiers. "Let's finish this."
From the pieces of driftwood, Tigress, Shifu, April, Casey, Viper, Crane, Monkey, Mantis, Usagi, Kintaro, Mei Ling, Ox, and Croc could only watch helplessly as all of the cannons were aimed directly at Po, Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey.
Quietly, Po and the Turtles each took a deep breath before closing their eyes. Slowly, they each slid their right feet back, beginning to move in the manner of tai chi all the while the wolves held their torches above the fuses ready to fire.
As Po, Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey continued their movements, a single thought echoed throughout each of their minds.
Inner peace…
Five of the cannons fired, Po and the Turtles still continuing their movements as the five cannonballs rapidly approached them. And just as it seemed like the cannonballs were about to hit them, Po, Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey all reached out… and caught each of their respective cannonballs like drops of water… redirecting them away.
Everyone present, including Shen, Tigress, and Shifu, stared with wide eyes in pure astonishment as Po, Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey opened their eyes, standing up straight and strong…
… and quickly realizing that each of their hands were on fire.
"AH!" Leo, Raph, and Donnie cried before the three of them quickly stuck their hands into the water, steam coming up from the water as they sighed with relief.
"Wah! Waaaaaah!" Po and Mikey cried, dancing around on the spot, waving their hands around wildly in a vain attempt to put out the fire before they both stopped and stuffed their hands into their mouths, putting the fire out.
Meanwhile, Shen finally snapped out of his shock, just barely regaining his composure. "Again!" He ordered.
The cannons fired again as Po and the Turtles quickly readied themselves, all of them grabbing their own respective cannonballs like before, Leo, Raph, and Donnie quickly and rather sloppily redirecting the cannonballs while Po and Mikey fumbled and juggled their cannonballs before accidentally tossing them away.
"Yeah!" Po cheered in triumph before quickly sidestepping another cannonball aimed at him.
"Kill them!" Shen yelled to his soldiers. "Somebody kill them!"
Donnie grabbed another cannonball that was aimed at him, quickly throwing it back at the fleet in a moment of instinct. The cannonball rocketed back and hit one of the boats in the fleet, quickly causing it to sink.
This gave the smart turtle an idea. "Guys! Redirect the cannonballs back at the ships!" He said.
Po, Leo, Raph, and Mikey all nodded as they began redirecting the cannonballs and throwing them back at the ships.
"Return to sender!" Mikey quipped, throwing another cannonball towards the ships, hitting one.
Even the citizens of Gongmen City were now watching the battle from the edge of the city, cheering each time a ship was destroyed.
Shen, however, could only look on in horror as more and more of his ships were destroyed by his own weapons. "What?! No!" He then gazed forward as there was a brief pause in the cannonfire.
Po, the Turtles, and Shen locked eyes, with the panda giving Shen a look that said, 'you're next!'
Shen's eyes narrowed. "Keep firing!" He ordered. "KEEP FIRING!"
A Kraang bio-droid aimed the cannon on Shen's personal ship as a gorilla soldier lit the fuse. The dragon-shaped cannon seemed to let out a low growl before it fired a single large cannonball, one larger than all the others.
Po and the Turtles quickly realized this was one none of them could stop on their own.
"All together!" Leo shouted as they squared their feet.
"Remember, focus on inner peace!" Raph reminded as they all calmed their minds.
All together, Po, Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey grabbed the giant cannonball, grunting as the sheer force of it pushed them and the upturned boat back several feet, the ball still spinning in their hands like a wild animal trying to break free of its cage.
But Po, Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey refused to give ground as they were all spun into the air, still clutching the cannonball and taking a spiral of water up with them before they all landed back on the boat, spinning round and round in a full circle so fast that their after-images began to take a shape.
Po was the closest to the cannonball as they spun, his image morphing into that of a fiery black and white yin-yang symbol, with Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey on the outer part of the circle, their images being four streaks of blue, red, purple, and orange surrounding the black and white yin-yang symbol.
Shen stared in stunned silence at the sight as he recognized the shape immediately.
The symbol from the Soothsayer's vision.
Before long the five warriors dispersed from the symbol, Po still holding the cannonball in his hands while Leo, Donnie, Raph, and Mikey stood around him, waving their arms in a graceful flurry of motion as the air itself seemed to bend to their will.
They were fluid like the wind…
Vengeful like fire…
Strong like the mountain…
And calm like the forest…
"Skadoosh!" Po said, swinging his arm forward and launching the cannonball straight at Shen's own ship.
Drawing their arms back, the Turtles then thrust them forward all together, creating a powerful gust of wind that served to further empower the cannonball on its way back to Shen's ship.
And Shen knew he could do nothing but brace as the cannonball struck his ship, creating a bright explosion of fire, smoke, and sparks as his boat was split in half.
And that's the final battle! Hope you all liked it!