This has been a scene within OUADN's outline from Day 1! I am so excited to finally bring this to life!
Legal stuff: Lyrics from "Defying Gravity" are by Idina Menzel from Wicked. Just adding some musical flavor to this world; I don't own it.
June 9, 2012
Karai threw herself across the rooftops, tears streaming down her face. Was what Leo said true? Was Splinter actually her father? She needed to know.
As the moon began to sink in the sky, Karai used her hidden tunnel system to retreat back to her room. One look at the entact dummy still lying in her bed told her that Rahzar had fallen for the ruse. She pried up one of the floorboards to pull out her secret laptop and private internet router. Karai knew that finding anything about her true parentage would be difficult, but browsing the dark web would be far safer than confronting the Shredder about the issue. She reclined amongst the pillows on her bed, ready to dive in.
She found the site after two hours of searching. A researcher from Japan had taken the time to scan and upload a backlog of wedding and birth announcements from his home town from the past several decades. Karai scrolled through the birth announcements until she hit the mid 1990s. Her breath caught at the sight of a familiar face.
It was definitely her mother. In the one photo Karai had of her, her hair was down, but she could recognise the proud gleam in the beautiful woman's eyes as she held her tiny daughter. Karai's eye was then drawn to the man in the picture. He was dressed in traditional Japanese dress and a stern look about his features; however, Karai could see in his eyes how much he loved the child held between him and the woman. She quickly scanned the paragraph accompanying the photo. "Hamato Yoshi and Tang Shen are overjoyed to announce the birth of their daughter, Miwa."
"I'm Miwa…" Karai whispered. "Hamato Yoshi… is my father…" She traced his face on the screen. The girl already knew how much she looked like her mother, but never really thought about how she resembled her father. Karai had Splinter's nose, maybe the shape of his eyes. How else am I like my father? Karai thought. My father! She lurched out of her bed at the thought. I need to see Splinter! I… I need to get out of the Foot.
Karai started throwing random possessions into a duffel bag before realizing that she didn't have to leave alone. Returning the dummy to her bed, Karai took the tunnels to where she knew Tiger Claw's room was. She knocked on the trapdoor above her, using their secret knock. Hearing the whistled reply, she opened the door into the cat's sparse room.
"I thought you would have been here sooner, cub." Tiger Claw offered a paw to hoist her out of the hole. "Xver was boasting of how your father made an example of you." The man growled as he caught sight of the bruise still developing on Karai's cheek. "There is no honor in striking a child so."
"He's not my father." Karai mumbled, flopping into the beanbag Tiger Claw kept there for her use.
He paused the cleaning of his blaster. "Come again?"
"Oroku Saki is not my father. Splinter is." Karai's hands ran through her hair. "He lied about everything."
Clearly shocked, Tiger Claw moved to sit on the floor next to her. "How did you come to discover this?"
"It's kind of why I didn't come to see you right away. I- I called Leo and we met up. We talked about… stuff…" She blushed. "...and somehow ended up on the topic of mothers. He said something about Splinter being married before the lot of them were mutated and that he… lost his wife and baby daughter in a fire back in Japan." Her eyes swam with tears. "Stuff just started clicking, so I came back here to do some research. I found a website with my birth announcement. Hamato Yoshi- Splinter is my true father." The girl blinked, several tears spilling down her cheeks. "I… I need to get out of here, Takeshi. If Shredder finds out that I know… who knows what he'll do." Karai placed a hand on Tiger Claw's furred arm. "Will you come with me?" She begged.
The mutant sighed, glancing up to the ceiling. Karai could tell he was struggling to hide his own tears. "I have remained with the Foot since Shredder and the Kraang took my eye only to ensure your safety, cub. If you are looking to leave this life behind, then I will go with you." He stood, digging an old rucksack out from the bottom of his footlocker at the end of the bed. "Years ago, I escaped the Kraang homeworld, Dimension X. I was an orphaned mutant teenager with nowhere to turn. I stumbled upon a city hidden underneath what the humans call New York. It is filled with wondrous and mysterious creatures who call themselves Yokai. I still have friends down there who took me in as a child." Tiger Claw paused his packing to turn to Karai. "Prepare for our journey, cub. We leave within the hour."
xXx
Karai returned to her room to finish throwing what few personal items she had into her one duffel. Her magazines could be replaced; she could get by with one or two changes of clothes as space in the bag was limited. She carefully set her cactus between her makeup bag and the framed torn photo of her mother.
She wiped away several beads of sweat dotting her brow. Her breathing increased as she continued throwing things into her bag. Karai knew the signs of a developing anxiety attack. She'd been able to hide them from the Shredder and deal with them over the years, but not once Tiger Claw had arrived. He'd somehow bribed one of Shredder's newer mechanical engineers into creating a pair of wireless earbuds for the boss's daughter. He helped her find music to put her mind at ease and focus on breathing when an attack struck.
Karai jammed one of the earbuds into her ears, hitting shuffle on her playlist. She took a minute to sit on the floor in an attempt to slow her breathing. A new song began as she felt a knocking from her trap door leading into the tunnels. She whistled, alerting Tiger Claw that it was safe to emerge.
"Are you prepared, cub?"
Something has changed within me,
Something is not the same,
I'm through with playing by
The rules of someone else's game…
The girl stood to zip up her duffel."Yeah. I'm ready."
Tiger Claw grunted. "Then let's be off."
Wiping her eyes, Karai took one last look around the room that had been her sanctuary for the past three months.
Too late for second guessing,
Too late to go back to sleep,
It's time to trust my instincts,
The girl took a deep breath, leaping into the tunnel system after Tiger Claw.
Close my eyes and leap…
She held onto the strap of his bag as they krept through the catacombs. While not many within the Foot knew of the tunnels that ran beneath their headquarters, it was better to not give them cause to investigate strange noises.
It's time to try defying gravity,
I think I'll try defying gravity,
Kiss me goodbye, I'm defying gravity,
And you won't bring me down!
I'm through accepting limits,
'Cause someone says they're so,
Some things I cannot change,
But till I try, I'll never know…
The dirt tunnels merged with the sewer system. They continued walking before emerging into an alley to put some distance between the old church and themselves. Tiger Claw motioned to the fire escape snaking up the wall of a nearby building. They would take the rooftops.
Too long I've been afraid of,
Losing love I guess I've lost...
Karai thought back to all the times she had craved her 'father's' love only to be rejected. Shredder had started her training at the tender age of three. By the time she was six, he was pitting her against the teen Foot recruits. More often than not, she would be beaten silly by the older students. Everytime she was knocked down, Karai got right back up; maybe if she won her first fight against someone bigger than her, her daddy would be proud of her. She could take down a 20 year old by the time she was nine.
That year she was gifted her first tanto blade. Karai practiced with it everyday, once again hoping to make her father proud. All she received in turn were criticisms.
Shredder then moved the majority of his operation to New York. Karai had been left in the care of various nannies and Foot lieutenants for the next six years, only visiting her father for brief periods. She had spent her 16th birthday by herself in her room with a single cupcake one of her caretakers had managed to scrounge up.
Well if that's love, it comes at,
At much too high a cost!
She shook her head. That was in the past. Karai leapt over a section of pipe running across one of the roofs. She came down awkwardly on her ankle, grunting.
"Having a hard time keeping up, cub?" Tiger Claw slowed to check on her.
Karai chuckled, knowing he was teasing her. "I was trying to take it easy on you, old man; since you're working with only one eye and no tail."
"Hmm…" The mutant hummed, quirking an eyebrow with the hint of a grin playing on the edges of his lips. "We are coming up on our entrance to the Hidden City. Typically, one would need a special device to open the doorway, but the city's magical barrier contains a weak point in the middle of the alleyway."
"Okay," Karai readjusted the strap of her duffel. "So we climb down-"
Tiger Claw shook his head. "No. Actually in the middle of the alleyway. We will be jumping into what appears to be thin air."
I think I'll try defying gravity,
And you won't bring me down!
Karai didn't miss the irony as the song continued to play in her ear. "Are you insane?"
"It is a literal leap of faith. Do you trust me, Karai?"
"Yeah…" She sighed. "I wouldn't have come this far if I didn't."
Tiger Claw squeezed her shoulder. "Very good. Come, we are almost there."
They resumed their running across the rooftops. While Karai was grateful for the mutant's help in escaping, she couldn't help but feel like there was someone missing…
Unlimited...
My future is unlimited...
And I've just had a vision almost like a prophecy,
Her mind was swarmed with images of Christmas dinners surrounded by four turtles, a red-headed girl, a tiger, and… Karai still wasn't sure what Splinter had been mutated into all those years ago, so she imagined him like he did in the photo she had found. Regardless of what he looked like, she would soon be hugging her true father.
I know it's sounds truly crazy,
And true, the vision's hazy,
But I swear someday I'll be,
Flying so high (I'm defying gravity)
Kiss me goodbye (I'm defying gravity)
The sky began to pink as the sun peeked over the edge of the horizon. Karai had never seen anything so beautiful before…
"Karai! This next alley is our destination!" Tiger Claw interrupted her reverie. "Prepare to drop in 3… 2… 1…"
So if you care to find me,
Look to the western sky,
She fought the urge to scream as they plummeted several hundred feet towards the ground. Karai shut her eyes as a tingly feeling swept over her entire body.
"We are passing through the magical barrier!" Tiger Claw shouted. "Be prepared to land!"
Karai furrowed her brow, but quickly understood what he meant. The portal they had passed through dropped them atop one of the tallest buildings within the city. She angled her body properly to tuck and roll along the roof instead of splattering onto it. Karai flopped into her back, taking a deep breath.
"Cub! Come and see the city. It is truly a sight to behold from up here!"
She waved him off. "Give me a second. That magic stuff felt weird."
Tiger Claw grunted, turning back and placing his hands on the edge of the building.
Karai pulled herself into a seated position, holding one of her legs to her chest. She was free; for now. It was doubtful that the Shredder could get to her down in this new magical world, but the girl knew better than to underestimate the man.
As someone told me lately,
Everyone deserves the chance to fly!
The girl ran a finger beneath her eyes. She knew that she had a group of brothers waiting on her, but she was still grateful for the older brother she had been blessed with. Karai didn't believe in destiny or fate or anything like that, but her life had changed for the better the night Takeshi had been forced into her life. She stood, sauntering towards where Tiger Claw stood against the ledge.
I'm defying gravity,
And you won't bring me down!
"You're right," She whispered. "It's beautiful."
Bring me down!
Bring me down!
Ah!