Some more plot progression and a bit of angst :0
May 25, 2012
The silver of the risen moon shone through the broken stained glass of Shredder's throne room. The man inspected his lieutenants kneeling before him, having returned from their operation empty-handed. He beckoned his daughter to take a step closer.
"Karai. What were my last words before sending you out tonight?"
The girl visibly trembled. "Don't disappoint me."
"Well…" Shredder rose from his throne. "I am disappointed, daughter." He moved towards her, but Tiger Claw slid directly into the tyrant's line of sight.
"The mission was under my charge, Master Shredder. The fault lies with me."
This gave Shredder pause. He narrowed his gaze. "Are you certain, Tiger Claw?"
"I am." One of the mutant's ears twitched.
"Very well." Shredder did not miss how Karai tensed as he gestured to the Foot Bots standing behind Tiger Claw. "Take him away."
"Father NO!" Karai lunged forward, only stopped by a single shake of Tiger Claw's head. She could feel the tears burning behind her eyes as the stress of the night was finally taking its toll. The robotic beings led Tiger Claw away.
"Bradford, take Karai to her room." Shredder turned to leave, clearly dismissing them all.
Rahzar merely grunted his acknowledgment before grabbing Karai's upper arm. She shook him off, holding back the growl that had earned her the nickname 'the Tiger's Cub' over the past month.
"I can walk by myself, thanks." She snarled.
"Just making sure you get where you're supposed to go, Tiger Cub," The skeletal wolf sneered.
Karai was safely shut in her room before her torrent of emotions exploded. She crumbled into a ball, letting go of all she'd been holding in all day. Not only did she not know what happened to Leo, Tiger Claw took what punishment her father clearly had in mind for her. Was Karai destined to lose everyone who cared about her?
Her waterworks abated as her burner phone buzzed from its secret nook. Only one person had the number to that phone…
"Leo!" She gasped. Karai crawled to where her phone was plugged in. She frowned at the message waiting for her on the screen.
L: if this is who i think it is, he's fine. Just got his shell knocked loose. You two might need to cool it on the lovey-dovey messages for a while until things calm down.
K: Which bro is this? Were u lookin thru our conversations?
L: it's the red one. Not my fault I can see the last thing texted while I'm trying to tell you your bf's fine
K: … he's not my bf…
L: whatever. He wouldn't lay down & rest until we sent you something. Just… lay low for a bit. For his sake at least?
K: … fine. Just… tell him I'm srry 4 what happened.
L: he doesn't blame you. Dude's always looked out for others more than himself. However, the rest of us might need more convincing. You'd better have a good excuse the next time we cross paths.
xXx
The basement of the old church had been utterly transformed by the Kraang into their new laboratories. Shredder stood off to the side, hearing a deep guttural scream coming from one of the nearby machines.
"Shredda."
"Kraang Subprime." The armored man reluctantly bowed his head towards the creature within one of the suited 'Norman' bots. "Is Tiger Claw being dealt with appropriately?"
"Yeah, yeah." Subprime sneered. "The guy that screwed up is losin' his eye, just like ya wanted. I thought the girl was supposed ta be the one in the chair?"
"It appears that my daughter has found a protector," Shredder grunted. He gestured to the long line of glass cells along one of the walls. "How go your experiments? Are my volunteers from the Foot proving to be reliable subjects?"
Shredder and Subprime strode along the cells. To their credit, neither male flinched at the rattling of glass as large jaws snapped at their approach. The creature growled as its eyes turned into slits at the sight of the Kraang.
"The volunteers… eh, yeah. They're fine. We did have to go and pick up extras to run some smaller level experiments."
"Were they successful?" Shredder inquired.
"Well…" Subprime shrugged, indicating the next cell. "They're hit or miss."
"Hi new friends! Care for a glass of my internet famous lemonade?" The mutant in the cell shook a glass pitcher full of the yellow liquid.
"He's absolutely pathetic." Shredder ground out.
"Like I said, it's hit'r miss. There's only so much we can do with the mutagen from the blood sample of that O'Neil girl." Subprime led Shredder over to a command center full of chemical equations on the screens. "Sure, it's stabilized now, but we're almost out. Diluting the stuff will make it less effective. Most of these guys aren't behaving the way we originally programmed."
"JUST WAIT until my lawyer gets a hold of you, squishies!" A large multilegged mutant banged on his cell. "He's gonna rip you to shred-" He was cut off as the glass solidified.
Subprime sighed. "Do you have any leads on the girl? We can't build you a mutant army without mutants and we can't make mutants without mutagen!"
Shredder stroked the mask covering his face. "It seems impossible, but the O'Neil girl appears to have vanished since she escaped from your previous facility three months ago. Everyone remaining in the Foot has received her name and physical description. We will have eyes everywhere."
xXx
Tiger Claw bit back a moan as the Kraang threw him into his room. They had no regard for if they injured him. He lay still as the door slammed shut.
"Tiger Claw!" Karai emerged from her hiding spot, having snuck out of her room again to check on her friend.
The tiger grunted, slowly pushing himself to his feet. "I am alright, cub. Just help me to the bed."
As Karai settled Tiger Claw onto his military issued bed, she noticed something different about his face. "Wait, they took your eye?"
"Better mine than yours." Tiger Claw gently ran his paw over her hair. It moved to wipe away a tear that had snaked its way down her cheek. "Why do you weep for me, cub?"
"Why?" Karai choked out. "Why did you protect me? We both know that Father meant this punishment for me." More tears poured from her eyes.
Tiger Claw sighed. "I could not protect my sister, Alopex. I will not fail again. I may need to reconsider my position with your father after this incident, but rest assured," He tilted her chin. "I will not abandon you, cub."
Karai, overcome with emotion, crashed into Tiger Claw's side. She wept into his vest as he stroked her hair. They sat that way for a time, both relishing in the other's presence.
"Tiger Claw?" She murmured.
"Hm?"
"You weren't always a mutant. What was your name before… this whole situation?"
The tiger chuckled, trying to not scratch the stitches holding together his now empty socket. "My name was Takeshi. My sister used to call me Taki."
Karai leaned back, a confused look on her face. "Taki? Like the chips?"
"Hm. I did not realize there were chips named after me." Tiger Claw tsked. A side glance at the girl next to him revealed that he had succeeded in his mission. Tears still streamed down Karai's face, but now there was a small smile playing at her lips.
She snuggled deeper into his side. "Thank you, Takeshi-san."
Guess what, guys? I have now developed more of a back log of chapters, so I will be posting regularly on Fridays. I've got it down in my calendar so IT WILL HAPPEN!
See y'all next Friday and STAY CREATIVE!