Disclaimer: Yes, I am one of those sad individuals who makes no money whatsoever (off TMNT or any other thing). Ergo, I don't own them.
A/N: Ahem. I can tell you now, this isn't going to be one of those perfect LoTR battles. It's rather rushed. I can simply not do battles! Which is ironic, considering most of the time they're fighting against tyranny! And, good news! I am now, officially, a high school freshman! (does a dance) Which is kinda odd, considering my quirks.
6.
Sor raced franticly down the hill as a black wall in the distance charged, roaring in grating voices. A lightning bolt from the thunderhead snaked down and cracked on the middle of the company, incinerating at least a score of orcs. The griffin in the front screamed and took flight, laboriously flapping its wings. Just as Sor arrived at the bottom of the incline, Knami gave the order for pike men get down in the trench. Almost fifteen elves hopped down, bearing long iron pikes, and ran toward the trench in the middle of the field. With quick movements, all of the pikes were set deep in the hard soil. The elves darted back to take their place amongst the archers.
Mikey and Kiara were stationed with the infantrymen, as was Aireilei, who looked like she was out for blood. A crack of thunder boomed overhead as Sor arrived by Mike. "Hey, Sor, ya just missed Knami's pep talk by about ten seconds," the turtle said with a wink, saluting the panting gunghir.
"And that's good," Kiara muttered, pulling out a sword to check its sharpness. "They're really stupid," she said, pointing with her blade at the orcs in the distance. "They only brought one griffin, and the commander's on it. Morons. If they'd brought more griffins, we'd be open to aerial attack."
"You want them to attack us?" Aireilei asked, turning her head to stare.
"I'm just criticizing." The dragon mumbled some elvish word and turned back around to watch Kiyo at work.
The water mage, Folla, was glowing with a blue aura. Rain came down in sheets upon the charging enemies, drenching them to the bone and wetting the dirt, turning it to mud. The grass was flattened. Narii the fire mage was currently standing by. Both were white male rukits with red eyes. Kiyo had his forearms up, controlling a steady gust of wind that kept the storm clouds at bay.
Sor whistled appreciatively. "Wow. That's pretty cool," he added, hearing a crack of thunder overhead. "For such a tiny – er, I mean small guy, he's got a lotta punch." Kiara nodded and shifted her weight uneasily.
Aireilei suddenly brought her gilded bow up, already nocked. "Here they come!" she bellowed, blowing white fire on the crystal arrowhead and loosing it. The artillery exploded on impact with the frontlines of orc infantry, scattering them into their comrades. Simultaneously, the elf archers released their deadly barrage. The orcs wilted like delicate flowers in a winter gale. Kiara growled as when they found the pikes, impaling many on them and coating them with slick blood. Corpses, their faces twisted into agonized grimaces, littered the pike lines, some trampled.
"CHARGE!" Knami thundered, holding his broad sword out. Hundreds of yelling rukits and elves smashed the orc army, the sound of clashing metal ringing out. Mikey whooped a loud "COWABUNGA!" and bounded toward the fierce melee, pulling out his 'chuks and taking down a slinking enemy that had slipped by the battling races. Kiara bolted for an orc, whipped out her other sword, and took him out with a swift double stroke, neatly removing his head. Sor reached behind his back and drew his massive sword, planting himself next to Aireilei. Gunghir were only useful for rearguards because of their wings; they were large targets.
Iwansi could be seen diving from above, going invisible, and spraying the left flank with yellow dragon fire. Her sensitive ears picked up a crackle and she banked hard to the right to avoid a bolt of lightning that smashed the orcs below with its fury. "YEEHAW!" the little dragon cheered, spitting more fire. Bima darted in from the right flank, doing her best to delay their march by flaming at their toes. She grinned with satisfaction as pained howls of rage rang out from the seared orcs as they clutched their tootsies.
Mikey went at it like a demon, smacking left and right with both or one 'chuk. "Outta the way, you big uglies!" He ducked a sword and sent the owner flying and into a bare pike with a powerful kick. The turtle jumped over a circle of the fiends to land in the middle next to Kiara, who was holding her own quite well against them. "How's it goin', girl?" he yelled, whapping one that dared come too close in the head.
"Just…FINE!" she grunted back, slashing furiously, hacking through a helmet and cleaving the head inside in two. "But I could do without…the BLOOD!" Kiara sliced cleanly through another orc, whirling to hew down a sneaker that had almost caught Mike off guard. They both perked up their ears as Aireilei shot by overhead, spewing flames everywhere. Some stuck the orcs around them, lighting their tunics on fire. Kiara took this time to end some of the distracted orcs' lives.
Mikey halted his assault, panting like crazy. "Can't avoid that stuff, Ki!" he chuckled. "Uh-oh, duck!" He pushed her down to avoid a set of sweeping onyx talons that barely missed her head. "Duck again!" he cried when she started to stand. Aireilei zoomed by again, roaring her fury, as rivulets of rain ran down her scaly armor. She twisted in the air, belched ivory fire at the griffin she was pursuing, missed, and shot after them.
As soon as Kiara got to her feet, she saw a group of orcs heading for the mages on the hill. "Hurry, Mike, we've got to help Sor protect them!" she shouted urgently, leaping up to land on an orcs head. She used it as a springboard to vault from one head to another until she landed on the outside rim of the battle. Barking out a war cry, the black rukit charged furiously, slashing down the front orc. Narii sent a few fireballs to help drive them off, but it really only succeeded in making very nasty barbecue meat that stank like rotten eggs. "Ew, Narii, I hope you're eating that stuff." He wrinkled his snout and burned grass to make ashes, giving the storm fuel.
Sor looked like he was struggling with a mob at his end. Kiara could already see Mikey dashing toward them, and knocking them away like bowling pins. They flew everywhere. A bolt of lightning snaked down from the raining thunderhead, and snapped only yards away from the griffin, who was still being chased by Aireilei. Then a blue dot and a yellow dot flew up by Aireilei and appeared to be consulting with her. Apparently some agreement was reached, because Iwansi and Bima shot ahead to cut off the griffin's escape route.
"Look out!" Kiyo warned, sending a gust over her head. It hit the slinking orc with staggering force, dazing him. Kiara jabbed her sword into his stomach and he fell with a low moan of agony.
"Funny, I had no idea they could feel pain," she muttered, yanking her sword out of the fallen enemy. "Can dish it out but can't take it."
"Kiara!" Kiyo bellowed over the wind. "Knami is in need of assistance! Can you see him?" She spotted his almost snow-white pelt in the melee, surrounded by enemies and nowhere near an elf.
"Yes!" The rukit sped down the incline at demon speed, smashing the filth with her powerful strokes. Kiara's swords seemed to take on an eager, bloodthirsty color as she hacked and twirled her way through the band of orcs. When she finally caught sight of Knami, the rukit looked like he could barely defend himself and was on the verge of collapsing. He was covered in blood, though she doubted it was all his, and several cuts riddled his arms and legs. Kiara vaulted inside the ring just in time to block a fatal blow with the flat of her sword. "What's the matter, grandpa? Getting arthritis?" she growled, dealing a double slash that parted an orc head from an orc torso from orc legs. The decapitated body fell to the bloody grass as Knami chuckled wearily.
"Grandpa? No, girl, I ain't a grandpa!" He swung his broadsword around to connect with screaming flesh. "I'm feelin' just great!" Another orc met its doom at the hands of Knami. Kiara parried a strike, kicking the owner hard in the stomach, and beheading him once he had doubled over with pain. The general growled a curse and smacked an enemy with the flat of his broad sword, knocking the filthy imp nearly ten feet. "But this is getting rather repetitive! Block, slash, duck, block, slash, duck!" he chanted sourly, following the rhythm perfectly. Another orc fell victim to his sword's thirsty bite.
Kiara lunged at a particularly large orc chieftain who had parted the mass of his followers, slashing hard at him with both rapiers. She missed and sprawled past as he brought up his scimitar to end her life. The rukit rolled aside, narrowly evading his jagged black blade with inches to spare as it chopped the flattened grass. Snarling and snorting rainwater, she flipped up, dodged his comrade's spear thrust, and kicked backwards. The spear's shaft broke upon impact with her foot paw. As he stared, perplexed, at his shattered spear, Kiara rolled away from another slash by the giant chieftain. The spear bearer got maimed, taking her intended spot. The chieftain yanked his scimitar out, face contorted in a dirty sneer, showing off his lovely, yellow, decaying teeth (A/N: Sarcasm here guys.). "Who's your dentist?" Kiara jeered, blocking an angry strike and throwing it back. "He must not get paid much, because you look positively terrible!"
That did it. Roaring, his face the very picture of rage, the chieftain feinted a slash downward, punching Kiara with his giant fist when she dodged the "attack". She rocketed back into the filthy gathering, her swords removed by the chieftain's followers as he stepped forward. Sneering triumphantly, he raised his wicked weapon as Kiara struggled wildly in their grasp. He cackled, hacking down. The rukit closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. But what came instead was a loud roar of fury.
Bima was clawing his pig-like eyes, exercising no restraint in her pure anger. "You beast!" she screamed as he howled and slapped at his face, dropping his sword in panic. "You wretched pile of teela feces!" Coupled with insult and pain, she even managed to get in a few searing flames that licked his face before being swatted off. She lay in the dirt, growling. "You dare…" Kiara saw it coming long before the fuming dragon had even released the sentence. Bima got up amongst a throng of orcs, throwing them back as if they were feathers. "I should have known (A/N: Censored. :) like you wouldn't even exercise honor!" She seemed to glow with an aura in her absolute wrath.
An agonized shriek came from the chieftain's throat as magma temperature blue flames smote him in the face. Bima showed no mercy as she continued to incinerate him where he stood. Kiara took the distraction as an opportunity. She wrenched powerfully out of her captors' arms, picked up her swords, twirled on her toes, and slashed, bringing down at least four orcs. The orc chieftain was finished, that was sure. All that was left of him were ashes now. Bima snarled as the other followers backed off slowly, but one of them squealed the phrase 'Strength in numbers' and the two found themselves surrounded again.
The rain poured in torrents now, smothering the smoke coming from the chieftain's smoldering remains and plastering Kiara's fur down even more. She and Bima stood back to hock as the orcs jeered. "Thanks for saving my butt," Kiara whispered, taking a defensive stance.
Bima puffed smoke, and flattened her ears. "You're welcome, but we're not out of the woods yet, pardner!" Lightning snapped down as Knami leapt into the fray.
"I thought I'd lost you, girl!" he panted, wearily raising his sword.
Kiara slashed at a cocky orc who'd charged too early. "I just missed my target, that's all."
The Roc stopped its descent toward Don's face about two inches away, and turned to be tackled by a roaring Raphael. The red-clad turtle pinned the bird against the tree, only to be thrown back next to Don. He, however, wasn't stunned and got back up, snarling his fury. But then, something odd happened. Something very strange and peculiar. The bird rattled off an indignant sentence, though you could call it more of a hot complaint. "Will you guys knock it off?" he squawked at the panting Raph and paralyzed Don. "Coulda sworn Saesha over here told me you weren't the type to fight without reason!"
Obviously not comprehending the fact that speech had come out of the Roc's beak, Raph growled angrily, "You attacked first!" and threw a gleaming Sai at the bird. In a split second, he disappeared, and the turtle's trajectory missed, burying the tip into a tree.
Rijinn squeaked, "What the…where'd he go?"
"Still here, dolt." A small, cat-like creature sat on the loamy soil, snout twisted into a cynical, Cheshire grin. "Now, to correct your mistake, I did not attack first," he meowed, licking a paw daintily as Raph and Rijinn gaped in disbelief, letting their long red ears lie flat simultaneously. "I merely came to ask your oh-so friendly, toe-whacking brother here a question or two." Don turned pink at the very mention of his sudden aggressive action.
Kyrunir knelt beside the cat curiously. "How'd you go covey? I thought you were a Roc before!" he asked hesitantly as the gray tabby covey slunk to his knee.
He yawned, revealing rows of small white teeth. "Oh, I might as well tell you lot. Don't look like Pasty material anyway," he muttered, flicking his long tassel-ended tail. Saesha hopped off the rukit's shoulder to land next to the questionable creature on the ground. "Ah, Saesha, lass! How're ya doin'? Been a while, hasn't it?"
The dragon puffed some black smoke. "I'm afraid I haven't a clue who you are," she said, narrowing her eyes.
"Really?" He frowned and put up a paw to scratch his chin. "Well now, that's a bit of a dilemma! I'll just have to jog your memory then." He shrank in a blink of an eye, this time a sparrow.
"You're kidding," Saesha grumbled, turning slightly pale and snorting.
"Do my eyes deceive me or are you less than happy to see me?" he asked, preening his feathers. "I shall answer this lad's question first, as you seem to be too preoccupied with staring at the ground." Raph and Don both took a step closer. "First of all, I am a shape-shifting mage, and can therefore assume the form of any mammal I want." Raph looked ready to snort, but swallowed his words when the sparrow gained height, grew a shell and plastron, and lost the feathers. "And you sir," the cloned mutant turtle growled, poking Raph in the chest, "had better watch your tongue."
"But what are you doing here?" Saesha asked, craning her neck because he had grown considerably since being a sparrow.
"I suppose that should be explained too. But first, I shall change. Your form is too hard to get used to, Raphael." He changed into a covey again. "Ah, much better! Now, lass, I can also do a tad of portal magic, but not the kind where you travel from town to town. No, that's tiring indeed."
"Am I right in assuming that you are Lharom?"
The covey grinned and flicked his tail. "Ding ding ding, give the little dragon a prize!"
Saesha wrinkled her muzzle. "Then why are you talking differently?"
Lharom sneezed and shook his head, flopping long, fluff-tipped ears. "I bet you'd believe me if I told you my head is wanted in this realm and others because I've helped worlds get rid of usurpers and the like. Tyrants, you name it. There's a reward for me, so I disguise my regular tone with some obscure accent."
Raph cleared his throat. "Guys, I've got somethin' kinda urgent."
"And what would that be?"
"Ukeera got caught by orcs," Rijinn finished flatly, flicking his tail sullenly.
Kyrunir jumped up, nearly screaming his worry. "Why, how…"
The turtle shut his muzzle with a hand. "'Kay, know how she went ahead of me? I found her tracks and wagon ruts near a big ol' willow tree, white'n ugly."
His tail drooped as Raph let go. "The Old Bone." He rattled off a list of curses, growling his wrath.
Lharom licked a paw. "Well, she's not getting rescued with us just sitting here all morning. Shall we go then?" he inquired, eyes flashing. Raph and Kyrunir looked ready to cut off a head. "Alright then, hold on a minute while I think of something." He appeared to be pondering. "Hmm, let's see…no, teelas are too unprotected…covey's too small…Ah! I've got it!" Seconds later, a massive wolf-like creature stood before them. "Mmm, yes, love those wolfena!" he growled through bared, sharp teeth as he stretched and yawned. Lharom's back was up to Don's mid-torso. Huge onyx claws in the wide forepaws flexed, grasping and piercing the dirt. "Everybody on the carnivorous express!"
Self-consciously, it was Kyrunir who scrambled on first, with the aid of two brawny turtles. He scooted up until he was right on the base of Lharom's furry neck. The wolfena sneezed, jolting him. "Eh, sorry about that. Got a bug in my nose." The rukit gulped nervously. Don vaulted on behind him with ease, until Lharom bucked him off. "Hey, getcher stick off your back, Toe-Smackin' whelp! Stupid thing stabbed me!" he grunted, watching the turtle get up. Don snorted, removed his staff, and tried again. This time, he wasn't rejected, which relieved his tension considerably.
Raph eyed Lharom's furry form and ground out, "I think I'd rather run."
The wolfena grinned maliciously. "Suit yerself!" And he was off like a shot, disappearing through the trees. The turtle grumbled something as Saesha landed on his other shoulder.
Rijinn tapped his skull. "Y'know, that probably wasn't the smartest thing to do, Raph."
"Yes, now I'll have to fly you over there telekinetically!" Saesha groaned, slumping wearily. "Just the thought of your weight weakens me!" Raph glared sullenly and trotted off, following Lharom's huge footprints.
When the trio arrived at the Old Bone, Lharom was sniffing the muddle of tracks furiously, looking as though his nose would fall off if he didn't keep inhaling. Don and Kyrunir were standing by the withered tree now, watching the wolfena at work. "Oh, drat them orcs! Why'd they have to make such a mess of things?"
Saesha looked bored. "Well, we can safely assume that since they haven't a clue where the Secret Caverns are, they didn't' go that way." He pointed down a muddy path. "And, there's oljis thorns down there."
"Your point, oh wise scholar?" Lharom growled, snout in the dirt.
"That they went left instead of right," Don said. Lharom had an obvious 'aha!' moment as he straightened and put his bushy tail in the air.
"Ah, right! Thank you, Toe-Smacker!" Don began turning pink again.
"Why can't you just call me by my real name?"
"Because, I want you to feel mighty miserable about your unwarranted actions against my neutral phalanges!" Lharom snorted. "Now, climb on. Raphael, I suggest you come along. It took you a near decade to arrive here."
Now it was his turn to snort. "Did not," Raph retorted, acidly glaring at him.
He growled. "Must I carry you in my mouth?" The disgusted look on Raph's green face told him otherwise. "Then get on!" Grumbling a defeated phrase of choice words, he climbed onto Lharom's broad back behind Don. "Hold on tight guys!" He leapt forward with a short yip, landing and bounding down the strange trail. The soil slowly turned into dark sand littered with weeds and the like. Lharom's long strides made the ride fairly smooth but Raph still found himself bored.
"I spy with my red eye…something green," Rijinn said.
"Bushes," Raph mumbled, rolling his eyes.
"Okay, okay. See if you can get this one…I spy with my red eye…something ugly."
The turtle chuckled. "Easy, that's Donnie!"
"Hey!" Don grouched indignantly.
"Nope." Rijinn smiled smugly. "Not even close."
"Oh, hey, I've got it!" Raph said. "Saesha, right?" He got a face full of black smoke and ash. "Whazzat for?"
Saesha peered down her muzzle at him. "For insulting me," she growled, nipping his ear and jumping to Don's shoulder.
"Ow, that hurts!" He rubbed his bitten ear and tried his best to clear the smoke off his face, but to no avail.
"Might I say that you look like a raccoon?" Rijinn chuckled.
"Not funny!"
Lharom skidded to a halt, throwing the unsuspecting Raph forward into Don's shell. This brought about the domino effect, which soon had all five riders in a tangled heap of limbs on the ground. "Shhh!" the wolfena hissed. "Be quiet, there they are!" Saesha was the first to get out, skittering up a tree trunk.
I see them, she communicated telepathically with Don. Ukeera's tied to a post in the middle of their camp. It looks like they'll be interrogating her soon, so we'll have to make this quick.
"Well?" Raph whispered.
"Ukeera's in immediate danger," Don replied softly, parting the fronds of a fern to see if he could spot her. "We have to get her out of there. Lharom, what's an animal that will make them scatter? Something big, scary, maybe even a spazmosaur." Raph groaned at the very mention of that tentacled monster.
"Aw, anything but that, Donnie."
Lharom crouched down in the sand, clearly thinking very hard. "Big…the only thing I can think of that's big would be…"
"How about a dragon?" Rijinn suggested.
"No way!" he hissed. "Last time I tried that, I looked like a crossbred wyvern! You simply can't take the shape of legendary creatures! Now, let me think." He brightened and grinned wickedly. "Ah, yes, that should do it!" He transformed into a sparrow and flitting high above the orc camp until there was only a black dot to show where he was. Then, that black dot grew enormous in a split second. They watched with gaping mouths as Lharom plummeted to the earth. He looked like a Roc, but for the lion-like body on him.
"Griffin." The giant tawny lion-bird crashed down onto the ground, shaking the earth with the heavy landing. The orcs shrieked and skittered away as Lharom squawked and pawed the indent in the sand. They began to cautiously approach him again, spears out and arrows drawn.
"He's gonna need help." Raph pulled out his Sais in a fleeting moment and dashed out into the clearing, barreling through orcs and sending them flying, much to Rijinn's distress. The turtle positioned himself next to Lharom's left shoulder, taking a defensive stance as they jeered and teased in their shrill, grating voices. "I know some people who need singing lessons!" he yelled tauntingly. Arrows flew at him and he prepared to block them.
They stopped two inches from his face, glowing purple. "Are you mad?" Saesha growled, flying out from the trees and spitting amethyst fire at the orcs. Several went down, howling for their poor tootsies' sake. "They could've skewered you!" Don bounded out of the woods, smacking enemies left and right with his staff.
"No. But they seriously need a voice lesson. That, and maybe some orthodontia work." Spears rocketed at them, flung away by Lharom's long tail. Grinning wickedly, Raph darted at them, whirled, and smacked three in the gut with his tail, fending off the others' swords with his Sais. Don jumped in and blocked a blow with his Bo, one that could've cut Raph's tail off.
"Watch your back!" he growled, throwing the blow back at its owner.
"Isn't that what you're for, Donnie?" Raph asked innocently, grinning widely when he got thrown an exasperated glare.
Don thwacked an orc on the shoulder, kicking him in the gut. "I remember when you told me to watch my back! I suppose this is just an awkward moment?" Another filthy rat went down.
Lharom screeched loudly and bounded toward Ukeera. "I'm comin', girly!" He skidded to a halt before her pole and, using his long talons, cut the ropes. She fainted at the very sight of him.
"Man, I've experienced that for being a freak," Raph grunted, blocking a strike, "but you must be plain ugly if she fainted from one look!"
The tawny griffin picked up the unconscious rukit by the scruff of her neck, depositing her on his back and clawing out when a shrieking orc charged at him. The unfortunate little beast broke his neck when he hit a tree. "You hush, Raphael," he chittered, bounding toward the skirmish and swatting aside several opponents, all of which either A. broke their necks or B. broke their backs. That took out a majority of the enemies. The rest hesitantly stepped backward, threatened by mainly Raph's Sais and Lharom's huge paws. Finally, they threw down their arms and bolted screeching into the woods. "Well. That worked out nicely."
Kyrunir crept out of the bushes, a look of awe on his face. "That was incredible! How'd you learn to fight like that?" he asked Don and Raph. Don modestly blushed while Raph just stood there, spinning a Sai.
"We learned from our dad," Raph muttered, spinning the Sai more intensely.
Then the young rukit spotted Ukeera on Lharom's back. "Oh no! Ukeera! Is she alright?" Kyrunir ran up to the griffin and stood on his tiptoes to try and get a better look.
"She'll be fine, except for an undying fear of Lharom's ugly mug." Raph got a whiplash with the griffin's lion tail for that. "Hey, just tellin' it like it is!"
"They must not have had her for very long. She's only got a couple of cuts." Kyrunir carefully inspected her body, taking care not to steer toward the abdomen end. He'd learned his lesson the last time he ran into her.
"Don't complain. That's just going to make it easier to get to wherever… we're going," Don said, scratching his chin. "By the way, where exactly are we going?"
Lharom stretched and yawned, spreading his toes. "I don't know where you're going, but I'm on my way to an old friend's house. He lives near the coast around here."
"What's his name?"
"He might be gone. He's always on the move. Always finding other adventures. I think he left a while ago, but I promised I'd look after his house for him. Just gotta go check it."
"Again I pose the question: What's his name?" Don inquired again.
"Dakari. He's wanted by the Empire for various 'crimes' and rescues of villages that were fighting his control." Lharom snapped at a bug. "But, am I the only one who's hungry?" Raph raised his hand enthusiastically, as did Kyrunir and Don. Saesha simply rolled her eyes and hopped off the purple-clad turtle's shoulder.
"I'll find some rabbits then," she said, darting off into the forest.
Kyrunir blinked. "Wow, she's fast."
"There's telekinetic energy adding to that speed," Don supplied, switching to genius mode. "Her velocity would be sufficiently lowered if not for the psychic power jet stream coming off her. So that's why…"
"Ya just learn to tune out when he gets like this," Raph whispered to the frazzled Kyrunir, who nodded as Don continued to blabber in geek talk.
Leo crouched silently in the moonlit brush, cringing at a cracking twig. That should be Dakari, but why on earth was he making so much noise? Another rustle in the dry grass. He turned slowly around so as not to disturb the vegetation he was currently sitting in. Two watery brown eyes stared back. The turtle froze as a mournful wail broke out from the place where the irises were. What the...He grabbed the creature and, as he pulled her back to him, found leathery wings obscuring most of her arms. Hm, wonder what you are? The little winged thing sniffled and buried her face in the crook of his elbow. As far as he could tell, the only thing clothing her was a primitive loin cloth type thing. She hiccuped and clutched at him with two fingers on each wing.
When Dakari had asked him to hide the teelas and wait here, he hadn't questioned. The samurai knew lots more than he did about villages under siege. So Leo had waited. For over half an hour now, it seemed, and Dakari showed no signs of returning from the encroached Lorra. The turtle blushed when the auburn-haired baby found his index finger and began sucking on it. Right now he was a little more concerned with the fact that he had a hungry baby in his arms and didn't know what to do. How do you care for a baby? he mused, scratching his chin with his newly freed, slobbery finger. Beats me.
Leo sighed. Alright, that's it! I should've known a samurai couldn't be quiet to save his neck! He stood, the baby girl still in his left arm, and traveled silently back to where he'd hidden the teelas they grunted excitedly when he arrived, but he hushed them. Tunali looked questioningly at him. Nuts, Dakari's not here… That meant he'd have to go in after him. But the baby. What to do with her? Leo rotated his ears, catching wolf-like howls on the air. No way he'd be leaving her here. Watishi and Tunali could defend themselves well enough, but with a burden, they were going to be in trouble.
Humming the theme from 'Mission Impossible', the turtle glided silently through the grass, back the way he'd come. If he encountered enemies, he'd have to find a way to keep the baby safe and fight at the same time. "I can't keep calling you baby," Leo muttered, looking at the bright-eyed girl. "You're pretty much a toddler, so how about…Todd?" Todd didn't make a sound, but kept staring in fascination at his rotating green ears. "Alright, Todd it is." Idiotic name, I'm sure, but it'll do. He crept over the rise that he had been hiding behind, and found himself feeling a weird sense of déjà vu.
Gathered in the rocky valley below were monstrous trees, towering above each other. Lights flickered from the trunks and the canopies of the trees, making the leaves look like little fireflies. Leo's farseeing eyes caught glimpses of bridges going from tree to tree. Platforms were doorways to the hollowed-out trunks. "Looks kind of like Manhattan's skyline," he muttered, cradling Todd when she started to sniffle again. "Doesn't look like anyone's out though…" At the bases of the trees were mobs of filthy creatures armed with torches. A cage sat next to a particularly large group of them. Leo didn't want to guess who was inside.
"Agoo?"
"Shh, Todd, you'll have to be quiet!" The baby giggled. Leo resumed looking for a way to get to the strange colony of trees. That must be Lorra. Looks like Dakari was right; it's under siege. The turtle spotted a scrawny tree to the far side of the forest. It was bent over, touching one of its taller neighbors with its branches. That could work. But there's no way he'd be able to climb a tree that size with a baby in his arms. His tail twitched irritably and he racked his brain for ideas. My tail! If he could get a safe grip on Todd, he could climb while she was in his tail. But it'd be easier if Todd were asleep. "That's right, you're hungry aren't you?" Milk would probably be best. And he knew where to get it.
He scampered back down the incline, veering toward the place where he'd put the teelas. Watishi gave a surprised moo when she saw him. Tunali raised his head from the ground on which he lay and looked askance at him. Leo quietly deposited Todd between his teela's legs before approaching Watishi. She snuffled his hand and calmed down. The turtle rummaged around in her saddle bags until he found an empty bottle. Ignoring her complaints, the turtle knelt to look for nipples. There they were. He nervously reassured her before attempting to grab one. She jumped away when his hand made contact. Cold hands. No duh.
A few minutes later, he had milk, but several large, purple, blotchy bruises to show for his work. Todd was whimpering now, reaching for Leo as he knelt beside her. He uncorked the bottle and tipped it to her lips so she could taste it. The few drips that made it to her mouth were sucked up rapidly. Leo angled the bottle down more as Todd snorted with pleasure. The milk flow waned until she had drank all of it. He deposited the bottle in his belt and picked her up when she started crying. Uh-oh, gaseous substances coming up! Franticly, he patted her back until a loud belch emerged. The baby made a satisfied noise and fell silent. Well, if I ever have a kid, now I know how to feed it!
He made his way back up the hill for the third time, going over and creeping down. About halfway down the hill, he turned right, traveling along the rim of hills that fenced Lorra in. The scrawny tree grew bigger as he got closer. Todd made awed noises and fearfully buried her face in Leo's chest when they got to the base of stunted thing. Up close, it was larger than it seemed at a distance. The turtle inhaled slowly to calm his nerves and withdrew his shuko spikes with his free hand. With his other, he held Todd out. His tail wrapped firmly around her waist, carefully avoiding her wing flaps. She giggled again and waved her arms around, creating tiny breezes.
Leo fought the urge to chuckle at her antics as he put the spikes on. Going up! He climbed up the scrawny tree with the agility and grace of a spider monkey, tail close to his back. Todd seemed to be mesmerized as they gained height, not even making a sound. He was at the top-most branch now, which was wiggling dangerously. He leapt off as it cracked, smashing his shuko spikes into the giant neighbor tree's bark. His newly healed ribs sent a warning as he painfully pulled himself up the tree. One arm after another. The stunted tree shrank significantly with every inch he gained. When he was hundreds of feet up high like this, it was impossible not to look around. Mountains stretched as far as the eye could see, covered in lush green vegetation. A shimmering ribbon of blue sparkled under the moon, also known as a river. It wound down through the valley and into the forest.
Leo finally arrived under the platform at the top of the tree. It would be hard to get on top of it though, because the planks stretched out over his head. He'd have to grab it with one hand of spikes while holding onto the tree and scramble over the edge on top. The moment of truth. Sticking out his tongue, the turtle shuffled up a bit higher before reaching for a plank. The spikes sunk in, taking grip. Just to be safe, he tightened his grip on Todd. What am I saying? We did this all the time when infiltrating Foot! Yeah. Except his legs didn't hang down like now. Lightning fast, he grabbed with his other hand, used momentum to carry him forward, and flipped up onto the wooden platform, panting for all he was worth.
Todd patted his leg as he sat down. "Agoo la phu ga," she reassured in her own language. Leo smiled, perking his ears forward. I wonder if she's got parents? The treetop he was on was eerily quiet. As Todd felt along his plastron making curious noises, he wondered if all the villagers were trapped in that giant cage below. He hoped not. The leaves overhead rustled in the breeze. Better get moving.
Leo stood, pulling Todd up from the planks with his tail. He decided she'd be safer that way. Creeping silently around the corner of the tree, he came across a hollowed out cave in the trunk. A candle burned inside, making the wood seem honey-colored and warm. The wax was almost spent, some of the wick in ashes on the box it was on. Leo ducked inside but no inhabitants were to be found. Before leaving the cubicle, he blew out the candle. Wouldn't want the tree burning down.
The turtle started across a bridge adjoining his tree to another. The results were the same; no inhabitants. This was beginning to get creepy. Leo went to approximately six trees, finding no one. Where is everybody? He grunted with frustration, leaning against one of the ghost trees.
"Halt!" somebody hissed commandingly. "Put your appendages where I can see them!" Leo turned around slowly and came face to face with an arrow. The thing behind the arrow was exactly identical to Todd, body wise. She wore black tunic over her (A/N: Needless to say well formed. Heheh…) chest. A leather pouch rested at her side, a quiver of arrows peeking over her left shoulder. Her legs were clad in leather shorts that reached to her knees. Odd boots covered her feet. "Who are you?" Confusion entered her voice, though the arrow did not move.
"One who would help," Leo replied quietly.
Her brown face hardened again. "I've never seen your race before. How do I know you aren't with the filth that hold our village captive?" she growled.
"I was brought here on accident. If I knew where Dakari was, he'd vouch for me, but I still haven't found him…"
Surprise again. "You're with the samurai?" Leo nodded. Her gray eyes looked him over carefully. "I know he travels with strange people, but you're a different story. Tell me, how did you get dragon limbs?"
Leo twiddled his thumbs. "I did a mind meld with one once." Her face showed she was about to accuse him of forcing that meld. "He was my friend," he supplied hurriedly. "But I've no idea where he is now. What I do know is that Aireilei did something wacky when she transported us here, because I got separated from my brothers…"
The one word that did her in was Aireilei. The bow lowered as her eyes widened with astonishment. "You've met Aieilei?" she asked doubtfully.
"She's a friend of mine, yes."
"I am sorry. I didn't mean anything." She put her arrow away and rested her arm in a relaxed position by her side. "Forgive me for my rash actions."
Leo bowed in return. "It's alright. I've gotten my fair share of accusations already. I am Leonardo."
"Anorr," she said in return.
"Anorr, do you know who this little one belongs to? I happened to find her on my way here." The turtle held out Todd with his tail.
Anorr shook her head. "I don't. I did hear that one of our people tried to escape but got shot down. This must be her baby." Todd giggled and held out her hands. "I thank you for keeping her safe. But there is one question that continues to vex me. You clearly don't possess wings or the power of flight. How did you get up here?"
Leo held up his shuko spiked hands with a smile. "I climbed."
"Ah. That explains it. And another thing. I barely heard you when you were walking. How is it that you remain so silent?"
"I was trained to become one with the shadows," he said, noticing the perplexed look on her face grow.
Anorr didn't get it. "Magic?" she suggested.
"No, it's a form of self-defense called ninjitsu." She nodded. "My turn to ask questions. Where is everybody?"
She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "You mean the ones who tried to get out of here? Shot down, tortured, killed, held captive. One of the four. I saw a skirmish take place a while ago, and somebody was being carried to the cage." Leo got a cold feeling in his gut. Dakari captive? "They're here because the rebel army recruits regularly at this location. Apparently Xetyphaes didn't like it and sent troops to put us under siege."
"Well, what about you? Why are you still here?"
"I'm trying to convince the council to fight them, but they're not doing anything about it."
Leo smiled as Todd hiccuped. "I know a way we can free those people, council or no. Where's your weapons supply, Anorr?" he asked.
For the next half hour, they lowered swords and spears down to ground level by pulleys and baskets. Leo was stationed on the ground to remove them without clattering the steel too much. They had a sizeable pile of it by now, and Anorr was just finishing the last basket-full. Once that was lowered, she glided down on her wings to the ground, landing stealthily.
"Okay, remember, Leo," Anorr whispered. "We want to free Tor first. He was in the war when Xetyphaes took over, so he knows a lot more about combat than you or I."
Leo grinned. "Try me. I've been trained for most of my life on fighting. I'll be fine." Todd clutched Leo's shell rim as he slipped away through the trees toward the cage. The waning crescent moon shed some light on things, so it was easier to see where he was stepping, but his eyes did most of the work. Ah, how I love dragon eyes! He slid through two trees, sighting a fire in the distance. The orcs' campsite.
He got out a katana silently, gliding over leaves and twigs like a ghost. The cage was getting closer. Inside he saw many winged people like Anorr and Todd, but the one to catch his eye was the little gray rabbit in the corner. Dakari looked like he was seething inwardly. Leo never saw him mad, so this was a bit of a surprise. The samurai seemed to be conversing with a winged person who chuckled every once and a while. The turtle finally arrived at the edge of the cage and made some hissing noises.
Dakari's ears flopped forward as he caught the glowing green eyes between the wooden bars. "Leonardo-san?" he whispered. "What are you doing here?" Leo made the 'shhh' motion and gestured for him to come closer.
"Where are your katanas, Dakari?" he asked softly.
"Those orcs have them, along with every other weapon the gunghir brought to fight with." Oh. That's what they're called.
"Be back in a sec!" Todd waved as he sank back into the darkness. Leo loved the feeling of the darkness enveloping him. He crept up to the fire, careful not to disturb the sleeping orcs. He rummaged through the pile of weapons until he found Dakari's katanas. The turtle, pleased with his success, jumped back into cover of the forest and sped back to the cage, where Dakari and his gunghir friend waited. Anorr was also there with weapons.
"Thank you, Leonardo-san!" Dakari took his swords lovingly and strapped them to his side. "Now, to get out of this wretched place."
The gunghir at his side put on a pouting face. "What, no sword for me?"
"Act your age, Tor," Anorr grumbled, handing him the requested item. Tor grinned and, taking the sword, slashed clean through the bars. Todd clapped and giggled some more as he hopped out of the cage.
"What fun is that, dear?" he asked sweetly as the other gunghir began waking up. One by one they scrambled out, got their weapons, and readied for a charge. "Can't I have any fun?"
"You're five hundred years old, Tor."
"So what?"
Dakari quietly called order. "Hush, people, hush! Be silent!" That did the trick. Everybody shut up. "Now, if we're to make this work, you must be silent. The orcs don't have many men over here, but their friends are by different trees. We'll have to hunt them down and destroy them. Leonardo will be leading a party of you."
Leo started with astonishment. "What?" The gunghir stared at him. "Oh, come on, Dakari! I—"
"You'll do fine. All who are willing to accompany him, step forward." Anorr and five others joined the stunned turtle. "All those who will be with Tor, go and join him." Seven made a group around the ancient gunghir. "I will lead the other party. But first, Leonardo, don't you have a question to ask?"
"Wha – oh, right." He held up Todd. "Does this little girl belong to anybody?" There was a joyful cry, severely stifled because it would've given them away, and a teary female gunghir ran forward.
"Oh thank you, thank you!" she wept, taking Todd from his tail and clutching her to her chest. "Thank you for rescuing my darling little Erori!" Erori, formerly Todd, hugged her mother and patted her reassuringly. "How can I ever repay you?"
The emotional lady struck Leo speechless. "I, um…I really don't want anything in return…" The mother hugged him fiercely, squeezing his breath out of him. "You're welcome," he wheezed finally.
Dakari chuckled as she let go. "Fyla, I think you should take young Erori back up to the treetops with you. You will get hurt if you stay down here."
Fyla's green eyes burned. "I will not return! I've a score to settle with those filthy rats!" she growled darkly, clutching Erori as she backed away from Leo, who was still fighting to catch his breath.
Anorr stepped up. "Fyla, please. For Erori's sake." Fyla gritted her teeth and let out an animalistic snarl.
"I can keep Erori safe," Leo said, rubbing his plastron.
Anorr sighed heavily. "Alright, but if Fyla says you may, you must guard her with your life." The mother gunghir nodded and gave the little baby back to Leo, who promptly wrapped her in his tail. "Now, Fyla, here is a bow for you. I shan't trust you with a sword, because you flail around like a dying fish." She took the bow handed to her and took her place among Leo's rag tag bunch.
Dakari cleared his throat. "Now, if we're all situated, I will assign you your trees. Leonardo, you and your party with attack the right end of the forest. Tor, you will take care of the filth that dwell right around this area." Tor made a mock salute and grinned like a naughty child. "I will attack the middle. Now, are we all clear?" A multitude of nods answered him. "Very good. Be off!" Leo melted into the darkness, his friends following behind.
Well, I'd say this was a pretty long chapter, wouldn't you? (grins) Rather proud of myself. And the plot thickens. Thanks to my reviewers for making me feel wonderful! Next chapter should be in the works soon. Until next time, bye!
LN