Chapter Thirteen ~ Awaking the Past
Sarah sighed as she stared out of the window and watched the rain fall. Casey had gone to get them take out and she needed a moment to think. She had seen April this morning before she had gone to work and had helped her newly found cousin buy some essentials - like clothing.
She looked down at her steaming mug and took a sip. It was bitter with a nasty aftertaste, but it was neccessary. She needed to heal and fast. She was drinking dried Neem tea. It was a good all rounder - something that would help the aches, pains and bruises fade.
She had not slept too well. She had stayed at the apartment while Casey had gone home. The dream she had - it worried her. She feared for Jesse. Something bad was about to happen she just knew it.
Sarah was slow to react as Casey walked in, plonking the pizza boxes down on the counter.
"C'mon man, do ya really have to drink that stuff? The smell's toxic!" Sarah ignored the comment.
"Did ya get half vegetarian?"
"What's the point of having pizza if it's not loaded with meat?"
"It's healthier and I don't do meat on pizza. Gotta problem with that? You should really try before you buy!"
"Um... no thanks"
"Oh... kay" she said as she crabbed a box and headed over to the window seat and continued to look out the window as she ate in silence.
"Mmm, it's not bad" Sarah finally said.
"Told ya. You know, I should introduce you to Keno, I think he'll enjoy some good competiton"
"Excuse me?"
"Sparing, he's into the martial art scene"
"I'll consider it" she answered abruptly. Casey walked over to her.
"Ok, spill it"
"Huh?"
"What's up?
"Nothing, I have a lot on my mind"
"C'mon Sarah, what's up?"
"Do ya really wunna know?'
"I wouldn't have asked it I didn't" Sarah paused for a moment.
"Ok, here's the deal. I had a dream about Jesse, I'm worried about her, the idiot's in the Foot."
"Jesse?"
"Didn't I mention it to you?"
"No" Sarah paused for a moment before getting into the story. Casey listened as he ate and waited for her to finish.
"So you have two brothers - step brothers here, right?"
"Yeah"
"Man your family is just so...."
"Unusual?"
"Yeah, are you sure you don't have anyone else that might pop into the scene"
"No, not that I know of"
"So this dream you had, why should you worry about it? I mean everyone dreamz strange stuff"
"You don't get it. I have this insight.... and sometimes these things happen... this is one of those things. It usually happens when I'm meditating, but not always."
"You meditate?" Casey asked doubtfully.
"Yeah, it helps to maintain my focus and gather my strength, you should try it some time. It also helps me to relax. I have some music tapes if you're interested"
"I'll give it a miss"
"Ok, your call" Casey looked around. They had finished eating without even realising.
"C'mon we only a few more hours upstairs before we can start to make it liveable" Sarah nodded as she slid of the window seat and ran upstairs.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~
The day had been uneventful and April had sounded chirpy when they had spoken. Casey had not yet come back from seeing Andrew and Kyle. Sarah took the chance to check up on injuries. She stared at herself in the downstairs bathroom mirror. The herbal tea she had been drinking over the past few days was working. The bruise on her cheek was already fading and the one on the lip had faded altogether. Her strength was returning and she generally felt well. Her leg and arm were doing well and the pain had eased. She sighed to herself. The progress upstairs was steady. The trash had been cleared and the undercoat on the walls was still drying. As she finished applying more transluclent powder to her face, to cover her bruises, the silence in the apartment was broken by a flurry of urgent thumping on the front door.
"Sarah? Casey?" A voice called "Anyone there?" Sarah ran to the door recognising the voice.
"April, what's wrong?" Sarah looked at her extremely worried cousin.
"Is Casey here?'
"No, not yet. He should be soon, come in"
"It's important I speak to him, how long will he be?"
"I don't know..." she was interrupted as the door she was about to close was pushed back on her.
"April what's wrong?" Casey asked. April paused for a moment. She knew Sarah knew.
"It's the guys" she blurted out "I'm so worried for them. They're falling into a trap and there's nothing we can do about it"
"Trap what trap?" Casey asked, closing the door behind him.
"Well, Shredder, who's not dead by the way, has made them go to that construction site by the water, you know that one a few blocks away?"
"And they went?"
"They had to, Shredder was going to release Tokka and Rahzar into Central Park if they didn't go"
"Tokka and Rahzar?" Sarah asked.
"Two new mutants created from the T.G.R.I ooze that mutated the guys" Sarah stared at her for a moment, a feeling of dread filling her. She knew something they didn't. T.G.R.I. was the very same ooze that had mutated the girls.
"Sarah, what's up?" Casey asked.
"Huh? What?" Sarah mumbled, realising she had drifted off.
"What's wrong Sarah? Do you know something we don't?"
"Now's not the time" she stated. "Well, what did you want us to do?"
"Please, I want Casey to go along and keep an eye on them. Keno and Splinter stayed behind but I had to come here and ask you for help. This time I think they might be in trouble. Tokka and Rahzar are huge animals and very strong." Casey and Sarah looked at one another then into April's worried face.
"I'll go" Sarah stepped forward.
"You? What can you do?" April asked, not knowing Sarah's martial art background.
"The same as Casey. I'll blend in better with my smaller frame" Casey looked at her and said nothing, knowing all too well if he had, he'd be wasting his breath.
"Is there anything you need from me?" He asked.
"You can't be serious Casey! You can't let her go, it's too dangerous!" April pleaded.
"She'll be fine Ape, trust me, it's nothing she can't handle"
"When do I need to be there?"
"Soon, they've left already"
"Let me just make one call and Casey, the duffle bag in the closet, could you get it please?" He nooded as Sarah turned to the wall phone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~
Fifteen minutes later Sarah was standing infront of April, Casey and Danny partially in all black.
"Are you sure this is their combat dogi?" Sarah asked.
"Yeah one hundred percent. Whatcha need if for?"
"I'm doing some recon on the guys and I need to blend in" she looked at the head piece "you're kidding right? It looks like fly eyes"
"Hey I didn't design it okay, I scored it as a reminder of which path I didn't follow" Sarah smiled at him.
"Have I said thanks yet?"
"No"
"Oh, ok, thanks. You're a life saver" she said as she ramaged through the bag. She finally came to what she was after. She pulled the pair of jutte out of the bag and spun them between her fingers as she tucked them into her belt.
"Reckon the hanbo will be too much?" She asked Casey and pulled it out of the bag.
"You're there to watch, not to fight. Leave it here" Sarah nodded as she put it back in the bag. She smiled as she pulled out a small pouch and tied it to her belt. April finally came to her senses.
"What is that?" She asked.
"Like the Foot, I too work in concealment"
"Whoa, hold on minute, work in concealment? Who... are... you?" Sarah didn't answer as she headed to the kitchen window.
"The guys can tell you, I gotta go" before April could say anymore, she opened the window and climbed out onto the fire escape.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~
Sarah looked around the construction site. The place was empty and she figured that she had missed the inital confrontation.
"You're here a little late don't you think?" A voice came from behind her. Sarah tensed a little and remained silent. The guy grabbed her by the arm and spun her around.
"Who are you?" He demanded. Sarah went into a high side kick and watched as the scout hit the pavement out cold.
"Someone you don't wanna mess with" she hissed as she stepped over the now unconscious scout. Keeping to the shadows, she started on the bottom and worked her way up to the second floor. She peered into the Dockshore Club as she could see into the club from her elevated position. She sensed someone and turned to her side.
"I thought I might find you here" said the male voice. Sarah recognised the voice but it had been a long time since she had heard it. "Make it look like I"m giving you instructions" he added in a hushed voice" so bow every now and again" Sarah tilted her head slightly in agreement.
"It's been a long time Sarah. I take it that you haven't seen or heard from Jesse since that episode in the alley?"
"No" she answered. "What do you want?"
"I came here to warn you. I know about your past... our past and the Foot. They don't know who I am or my assocation with you and I'd like to keep it that way"
"Josh?"
He paused for a moment. Not confirming nor denying his identity." Listen carefully. There are a few things you need to know. They are suspicious about Jesse. You must get her outta here, this is where the other thing comes into it. The Foot is spliting into several factions after what happened last week. There's only so much Tatsu can do. Some of these groups are dangerous, some are not so. The Foot mainly deals with protection rackets and stolen goods on the black market. The B.D's are the ones we need to worry about"
"The B.D's?" Sarah asked.
"Yeah the Black Dragon. I know it sounds like some gang outta Chinatown but these guys are ruthless. They are made of Foot Elite. They are the muderous ones. I'm worried about Jesse.They are the ones who are suspicious. I'm concerned for her safety. Get her back to Julie" Sarah bowed as a member of the Foot walked past.
"This concerns you. There is a group from Japan arriving here by the end of the week to sort out the mess that the Shredder left behind. They include his highly trained sister Maki and a bunch of scholars"
"Scholars?" Sarah quired. That was unusual.
"There's a rumor about a scroll and a prophecy. They are coming to investigate. I have recently come into possession of some of my mother's things. There's something there that is very interesting and was well hidden. I don't even think she knew it was there...." he paused as a Foot member approached them and whispered something into his ear. Sarah remained silent.
"Gather who's left and make a retreat. We can't afford those left to fall into the hands of the authorities. It is clear we have lost the battle for now." The member bowed deeply and left.
"Now go, your friends have won this round" Following the member's bow, she did the same then retreated into the darkness.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~
From her vantage point, Sarah watched as the four turtles broke into a dance routine. She shook her head in disapproval. They didn't need that kind of exposure.
She watched as they left the club and headed into the shadows. She watched as they stopped to talk to each other. Could they sense her? Sarah shook her head. Impossible. She was too far away. Nobody is that good. She waited for them to continue walking, followed them for a few minutes, then decided to let it go. Knowing that they were safe she headed toward the abandoned building she was told she owned.
From across the street she watched as a steady flow of Foot members poured into it from the shadows. She took a deep breath trying to control her anger. Then it hit her. This would be to her advantage. She now knew their location and decided that she would take full advantage of her new founded knowledge.
~Chapter Fourteen ~ Up Soon!
Sarah sighed as she stared out of the window and watched the rain fall. Casey had gone to get them take out and she needed a moment to think. She had seen April this morning before she had gone to work and had helped her newly found cousin buy some essentials - like clothing.
She looked down at her steaming mug and took a sip. It was bitter with a nasty aftertaste, but it was neccessary. She needed to heal and fast. She was drinking dried Neem tea. It was a good all rounder - something that would help the aches, pains and bruises fade.
She had not slept too well. She had stayed at the apartment while Casey had gone home. The dream she had - it worried her. She feared for Jesse. Something bad was about to happen she just knew it.
Sarah was slow to react as Casey walked in, plonking the pizza boxes down on the counter.
"C'mon man, do ya really have to drink that stuff? The smell's toxic!" Sarah ignored the comment.
"Did ya get half vegetarian?"
"What's the point of having pizza if it's not loaded with meat?"
"It's healthier and I don't do meat on pizza. Gotta problem with that? You should really try before you buy!"
"Um... no thanks"
"Oh... kay" she said as she crabbed a box and headed over to the window seat and continued to look out the window as she ate in silence.
"Mmm, it's not bad" Sarah finally said.
"Told ya. You know, I should introduce you to Keno, I think he'll enjoy some good competiton"
"Excuse me?"
"Sparing, he's into the martial art scene"
"I'll consider it" she answered abruptly. Casey walked over to her.
"Ok, spill it"
"Huh?"
"What's up?
"Nothing, I have a lot on my mind"
"C'mon Sarah, what's up?"
"Do ya really wunna know?'
"I wouldn't have asked it I didn't" Sarah paused for a moment.
"Ok, here's the deal. I had a dream about Jesse, I'm worried about her, the idiot's in the Foot."
"Jesse?"
"Didn't I mention it to you?"
"No" Sarah paused for a moment before getting into the story. Casey listened as he ate and waited for her to finish.
"So you have two brothers - step brothers here, right?"
"Yeah"
"Man your family is just so...."
"Unusual?"
"Yeah, are you sure you don't have anyone else that might pop into the scene"
"No, not that I know of"
"So this dream you had, why should you worry about it? I mean everyone dreamz strange stuff"
"You don't get it. I have this insight.... and sometimes these things happen... this is one of those things. It usually happens when I'm meditating, but not always."
"You meditate?" Casey asked doubtfully.
"Yeah, it helps to maintain my focus and gather my strength, you should try it some time. It also helps me to relax. I have some music tapes if you're interested"
"I'll give it a miss"
"Ok, your call" Casey looked around. They had finished eating without even realising.
"C'mon we only a few more hours upstairs before we can start to make it liveable" Sarah nodded as she slid of the window seat and ran upstairs.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~
The day had been uneventful and April had sounded chirpy when they had spoken. Casey had not yet come back from seeing Andrew and Kyle. Sarah took the chance to check up on injuries. She stared at herself in the downstairs bathroom mirror. The herbal tea she had been drinking over the past few days was working. The bruise on her cheek was already fading and the one on the lip had faded altogether. Her strength was returning and she generally felt well. Her leg and arm were doing well and the pain had eased. She sighed to herself. The progress upstairs was steady. The trash had been cleared and the undercoat on the walls was still drying. As she finished applying more transluclent powder to her face, to cover her bruises, the silence in the apartment was broken by a flurry of urgent thumping on the front door.
"Sarah? Casey?" A voice called "Anyone there?" Sarah ran to the door recognising the voice.
"April, what's wrong?" Sarah looked at her extremely worried cousin.
"Is Casey here?'
"No, not yet. He should be soon, come in"
"It's important I speak to him, how long will he be?"
"I don't know..." she was interrupted as the door she was about to close was pushed back on her.
"April what's wrong?" Casey asked. April paused for a moment. She knew Sarah knew.
"It's the guys" she blurted out "I'm so worried for them. They're falling into a trap and there's nothing we can do about it"
"Trap what trap?" Casey asked, closing the door behind him.
"Well, Shredder, who's not dead by the way, has made them go to that construction site by the water, you know that one a few blocks away?"
"And they went?"
"They had to, Shredder was going to release Tokka and Rahzar into Central Park if they didn't go"
"Tokka and Rahzar?" Sarah asked.
"Two new mutants created from the T.G.R.I ooze that mutated the guys" Sarah stared at her for a moment, a feeling of dread filling her. She knew something they didn't. T.G.R.I. was the very same ooze that had mutated the girls.
"Sarah, what's up?" Casey asked.
"Huh? What?" Sarah mumbled, realising she had drifted off.
"What's wrong Sarah? Do you know something we don't?"
"Now's not the time" she stated. "Well, what did you want us to do?"
"Please, I want Casey to go along and keep an eye on them. Keno and Splinter stayed behind but I had to come here and ask you for help. This time I think they might be in trouble. Tokka and Rahzar are huge animals and very strong." Casey and Sarah looked at one another then into April's worried face.
"I'll go" Sarah stepped forward.
"You? What can you do?" April asked, not knowing Sarah's martial art background.
"The same as Casey. I'll blend in better with my smaller frame" Casey looked at her and said nothing, knowing all too well if he had, he'd be wasting his breath.
"Is there anything you need from me?" He asked.
"You can't be serious Casey! You can't let her go, it's too dangerous!" April pleaded.
"She'll be fine Ape, trust me, it's nothing she can't handle"
"When do I need to be there?"
"Soon, they've left already"
"Let me just make one call and Casey, the duffle bag in the closet, could you get it please?" He nooded as Sarah turned to the wall phone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~
Fifteen minutes later Sarah was standing infront of April, Casey and Danny partially in all black.
"Are you sure this is their combat dogi?" Sarah asked.
"Yeah one hundred percent. Whatcha need if for?"
"I'm doing some recon on the guys and I need to blend in" she looked at the head piece "you're kidding right? It looks like fly eyes"
"Hey I didn't design it okay, I scored it as a reminder of which path I didn't follow" Sarah smiled at him.
"Have I said thanks yet?"
"No"
"Oh, ok, thanks. You're a life saver" she said as she ramaged through the bag. She finally came to what she was after. She pulled the pair of jutte out of the bag and spun them between her fingers as she tucked them into her belt.
"Reckon the hanbo will be too much?" She asked Casey and pulled it out of the bag.
"You're there to watch, not to fight. Leave it here" Sarah nodded as she put it back in the bag. She smiled as she pulled out a small pouch and tied it to her belt. April finally came to her senses.
"What is that?" She asked.
"Like the Foot, I too work in concealment"
"Whoa, hold on minute, work in concealment? Who... are... you?" Sarah didn't answer as she headed to the kitchen window.
"The guys can tell you, I gotta go" before April could say anymore, she opened the window and climbed out onto the fire escape.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~
Sarah looked around the construction site. The place was empty and she figured that she had missed the inital confrontation.
"You're here a little late don't you think?" A voice came from behind her. Sarah tensed a little and remained silent. The guy grabbed her by the arm and spun her around.
"Who are you?" He demanded. Sarah went into a high side kick and watched as the scout hit the pavement out cold.
"Someone you don't wanna mess with" she hissed as she stepped over the now unconscious scout. Keeping to the shadows, she started on the bottom and worked her way up to the second floor. She peered into the Dockshore Club as she could see into the club from her elevated position. She sensed someone and turned to her side.
"I thought I might find you here" said the male voice. Sarah recognised the voice but it had been a long time since she had heard it. "Make it look like I"m giving you instructions" he added in a hushed voice" so bow every now and again" Sarah tilted her head slightly in agreement.
"It's been a long time Sarah. I take it that you haven't seen or heard from Jesse since that episode in the alley?"
"No" she answered. "What do you want?"
"I came here to warn you. I know about your past... our past and the Foot. They don't know who I am or my assocation with you and I'd like to keep it that way"
"Josh?"
He paused for a moment. Not confirming nor denying his identity." Listen carefully. There are a few things you need to know. They are suspicious about Jesse. You must get her outta here, this is where the other thing comes into it. The Foot is spliting into several factions after what happened last week. There's only so much Tatsu can do. Some of these groups are dangerous, some are not so. The Foot mainly deals with protection rackets and stolen goods on the black market. The B.D's are the ones we need to worry about"
"The B.D's?" Sarah asked.
"Yeah the Black Dragon. I know it sounds like some gang outta Chinatown but these guys are ruthless. They are made of Foot Elite. They are the muderous ones. I'm worried about Jesse.They are the ones who are suspicious. I'm concerned for her safety. Get her back to Julie" Sarah bowed as a member of the Foot walked past.
"This concerns you. There is a group from Japan arriving here by the end of the week to sort out the mess that the Shredder left behind. They include his highly trained sister Maki and a bunch of scholars"
"Scholars?" Sarah quired. That was unusual.
"There's a rumor about a scroll and a prophecy. They are coming to investigate. I have recently come into possession of some of my mother's things. There's something there that is very interesting and was well hidden. I don't even think she knew it was there...." he paused as a Foot member approached them and whispered something into his ear. Sarah remained silent.
"Gather who's left and make a retreat. We can't afford those left to fall into the hands of the authorities. It is clear we have lost the battle for now." The member bowed deeply and left.
"Now go, your friends have won this round" Following the member's bow, she did the same then retreated into the darkness.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~
From her vantage point, Sarah watched as the four turtles broke into a dance routine. She shook her head in disapproval. They didn't need that kind of exposure.
She watched as they left the club and headed into the shadows. She watched as they stopped to talk to each other. Could they sense her? Sarah shook her head. Impossible. She was too far away. Nobody is that good. She waited for them to continue walking, followed them for a few minutes, then decided to let it go. Knowing that they were safe she headed toward the abandoned building she was told she owned.
From across the street she watched as a steady flow of Foot members poured into it from the shadows. She took a deep breath trying to control her anger. Then it hit her. This would be to her advantage. She now knew their location and decided that she would take full advantage of her new founded knowledge.
~Chapter Fourteen ~ Up Soon!