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Phoenix
Chapter 1
...
"My Lords we must form an alliance, the Shredder's threat is beyond imagining."
Hamato Yoshi implored the immortal's to come to the aid of the Utrom's; hoping the combined strength of the Guardians and Tribunal would defeat the alien menace. But it seemed hopeless.
"This alien bug imposter you call the "Shredder" is nothing to us; he is not the real Shredder." Chikara's green eyes glowered behind her mask plate,displeased by the mere thought of the "bug".
"Do not underestimate him, he may even channel the evil of the one you fear." The young Guardian pointed to the council staring them down with eyes lit by fire, determined to reason with their ignorance.
" A distraction! We must remain vigilant against the return of the one true Shredder." The Silver eyed Kon flicked his hand at the idea, as he would swat a nat from the air. Juto and Hisomi looked on with the same stonewalling indifference that their fellows projected.
Coming to his sons defence the Ancient One pleaded with his elders. " Masters please reconsider!"
"We have spoken. Go now and trouble us no more." Kon swiftly cut off their old students plea.
Seeing no further pressing would benefit them, father and son left the throne room. Not seeing the golden eyes watching them depart from the rafters above.
…...
Only after passing the gates of their home did Yoshi let his full anger show.
"Arrgh" Grabbing his twin katana's from his back he attacked a nearby tree, slashing the oak into two.
"You know I planted that tree there when you were a boy, it grew up alongside you only to be cut down in the last ten seconds," The Ancient One playful jibbed, hoping to break the had no effect
"How can they be so blind, so oblivious, so uncarring about the suffering of all who cross this present Shredder's path." Yoshi asked facing away from his master and adoptive father. He just couldn't get over the cold callous response to his proposal; weren't these the great legendary men and women that he had been hearing about since he was a child.
"What about your path Yoshi, if you would become an acoloyte of the Tribunal you may one day become as powerful as they, you could join the council and petition them again." The round old ninja implored.
"No. I am a Guardian, the Utrom's need me." Yoshi had had enough of this same fight, his father had been planning out his future since the day they had met on the street when he was just a boy. The Ancient One always thought he knew what was best for Yoshi, but the young man had thoughts and dreams of his own.
"Your destiny is here in Japan, your family is …." realizing that that family was now just him and Yoshi, he paused midsentence.
Tears misted in the guardians eyes as he envisioned the face's of his dead loved one's. Tang Shen's beautiful black hair and innocent smile, Mashimi's black beady eye's and smirking expression; no matter what he still thought of him as a brother.
They resigned themselves to a long mourning silence pondering the events of the last few days. The death of the young woman they both cared for, the betrayal of one they had trusted, Yoshi gainning vengeance over the death of Tang Shen, and the rejection of the Tribunal; it was all just a bit overwhelming.
Yoshi turned to smile sadly at his master. "….. I'm sorry father but this is the path I choose, it may not be the right one but… it seems right to me."
A look of dejection passed across the Ancient Ones face, he nodded silently and shuffled his stumpy legs in the direction of the tree that now held Tang Shen's grave.
Yoshi turned from watching him go and glanced toward his childhood home, feeling whistful and lonely. As he was lost in his melonchaly memories he didn't notice a small rat belining straight toward him. The nimble rodent climbed up the usually alert ninja and found a perch atop his left shoulder.
The Guardian brightened at the site of Tang Shen's pet, and stroked him behind an ear.
"Thank you my little friend, I needed to be reminded that I am not alone."
The rat nodded as if he understood, and maybe he did, this world was full of mystery's.
Yoshi gave a grin at the amusing creature. "I have a mission that I need to complete; it will be a long journey from here but your welcome to come along." The rat seemed to gleam from the invitation and began fervently bobbing his head back and forth, in affirmation.
This enthusiasm brought a chuckle from the ninja's throat, "I'll take that as a yes."
Looking away toward the fleeting sun, Yoshi's heart sank with it.
"You and I will have to carry on, for her…."
…...
After the doors had closed on the two retreating ninja's, the council members turned their heads to the ceiling where the creature was eavesdropping.
"Phoenix we know you're there, please come down." Kon intreated it.
With a piercing cry the large gold bird stretched it's swan like neck, from it's crown flowed long blazing red hair that flickered like a flame. It's strong wings stretched out at it's sides, long enough to cover the width of the room. With a leap of it's powerful legs it dove to the floor and with grace and glided to a stop right in front of the other immortal beings.
The chi master addressed the Phoenix again. "It is good to have you back at the temple, however we did not invite you to this meeting for a reason."
" You forget who I am, do not presume to tell me what I can and cannot do in my own home." A feminine voice was released from the bird; a warm, molten sound that echoed through the chamber.
The white haired immortal rose from her seat, heatedly declaring, "And you forget who we are, Phoenix, and you can't just fly in here after you've been gone for so many eons; as if nothing has changed."
Juto climbed to his feet, " Chikara is right you must respect us as the immortals we have become," The blue eyed master of weapons stood beside his female friend and the other remaining tribunal members flanked them on both sides.
Heaving a breath of steam the Phoenix relented, "Please forgive my disrespect, It's been a long time since we last spoke." She bowed her head before them in acknowledgment of their status.
"We accept your apology Phoenix and we are glad that you have come back. Now if you will excuse us we have other duties to attend to."
Before they could leave the throne room the Phoenix asked the question they had been trying to avoid.
"The warrior and the old man, they said that the Shredder had returned; is this true?"
The four mystic ninjas's eyed one another with exasperation; finally Juto answered her.
"There is a being, an alien, impersonating the Shredder, but he is not of this world and as so is no concern of ours. As we told the Guardian, this is a problem that will sort itself out in time. Either he will be destroyed by his enemies or he will find a way off the planet; whatever happens there is no reason for us to get involved."
"But he carries the same energy of the first Shredder. Does that not make him a threat to you?"
"Even if the insect has the power, he has no idea how to use it. No training to master the magic that squats inside him."Chikara growled arms crossed, visibly agitated by the way this subject kept creeping up.
The mythical bird pondered this new information, a part of Oroku Saki was alive! A piece of the man that she loved, was alive and on this earth again. After all this time.
"I believe I would like to see this for myself."
"No Phoenix. We cannot allow that. Immortals should not interfere with the work of man, or alien." Kon commanded.
Juto chimed in," Your place is here, you have responsibilities that have been neglected for long enough. You must choose a dragon to bond with.
Her anger spiked with that little reminder, "I have not forgotten, but it is for the Phoenix to choose the dragon; and I am still in mourning."
"The time for grieving has long past, you must decide; we will not wait any longer." Kon declared.
"You will wait, because you have no choice." And with that she flew over their heads out an open window and away from the temple.
They would soon find that the Phoenix would not be returning to them for many more years.
...
It didn't take her long to pick up it's eerily familiar chi signature, she knew this energy better than any other. Going past several towns she came across one dilapitated village after another , it seemed the evil of this incarnation of the Shredder was spreading its wickedness to those around him. Finally she felt it grow stronger and more pronounced once she came to a city that if she remembered correctly had once been a fisherman's village. She was lead further downtown to the slums of the city. The streets were filled with garbage and waste leaked from the open sewer; the buildings were falling apart and stores were boarded up or going out of business. People were scarce to be seen, but those who were out were either homeless, gangsters or prostitutes.
The Phoenix changed her appearance to that of a golden canary and glided onto the roof of a rundown restaurant. She could hear voices from below her and peered down into one of the many cracks atop the ceiling.
"Please lord Saki I promise I can pay the protection fee if you would just give me more time." The owner of the establishment pleaded on his knees before a man, though she could not see his face he seemed familiar to her.
"I will not hear excuses, you have had plenty of time to pay the fee. You know what the consequences of failure is." The man spoke with a ruff voice almost robotic in tone.
The man if possible paled even more; as two foot ninja came on either side of him. "Oh please lord Shredder NO!" He screamed as they dragged him away from view into a different room.
The gangster turned his back on the scene, and she saw him. Her eyes widened in surprise, she couldn't believe it, it was him; her love, her dragon, Oroku Saki! He looked as if he had not aged since the day that she lost him, but it couldn't be. It had been eons since the tribunal had destroyed him.
The firebird remembered what the council had told her, this was not the real Shredder; though he bared a striking resemblance to him in both form and energy.
He spoke again, this time to one of his foot elites. "I grow tired of this foolery, collect the rest of the towns fee's I will walk by myself for awhile." They bowed before him and vanished in a cloud of smoke. He exited the shop as it began to rain, producing an umbrella from his robes he strolled out of site.
The Phoenix was about to follow him but paused, what was next, she hadn't planned that far ahead. What did she even want with this strange yet familiar specter. Did she wish to talk to him, did she want to destroy him? The Phoenix couldn't make up her mind. One thing is for certain though, she was curious, how was he able to take the mantle and why was he dripping with Oroku Saki's essence.
As she was pondering her next step, a faint cough came from the alley bellow; peering down to the small enclosed area she spied a foot peeking out from behind the garbage compactor. It was a little girl wearing a red headband, the poor thing looked weak from starvation and on deaths door. The phoenix left the roof and landed on the garbage bin to get a closer look.
The child lifted it's head and gazed up with blurred eyes, jade with ember flakes, she seemed deliriously and whispered, "Hello little bird."
"It must be fate."
She landed down before the child, and changed before her eyes into all her celestial splendor; the girl stared up at her speechless at the "little bird's" transformation.
"Do you wish to live child?" The Phoenix asked.
For a moment the girl was silent, as if not sure how to answer or if this was an illusion from starvation, after a moment she replied, "Yes."
...
"Pathetic," he thought angrily as he walked down the strips of rundown establishments in this sewer of a city. "Simply pathetic, this is what I have been reduced to? Collecting minor protection fees from feeble, penniless humans. I should be half way to omega six by now if wasn't for those wretched guardians. I would have vanquished those blasted Utroms and finally shot off of this muddy little planet."
"Although my time on this planet has not been a complete waste, once I leave this will a cosy little hideaway once I've redecorated it." He smirked as he thought of all the "improvements" he would make to this world; raising it's temperature to about a 150 million degrees would make this a nice little tropical get away. He always did hate the cold.
But still once he did leave how was he supposed to keep order in the Foot. He had no successor, no protege to hand the reins to after his retirement as the Shredder. He could not trust any of his current subordinates with the power, they would overthrow him in his absence. He needed to find someone who would dedicate their lives to him, completely. Someone to mold into his image.
As he was pondering this he heard the sound of glass breaking coming from a boarded up building. Curiosity getting the best of him, he pulled back the cloth door to reveal a child. A little girl.
She was small for her age, pale and thin, from lack of proper nutrition. She sat on the dirty floor of the former shop, hugging her knees to keep warm from the cold. She wore tattered gray clothing that was too large and baggy around her frame. She had ebony hair and striking jade eyes that glowed in the dark.
She glared defiantly at him, probably wondering if he was going to hurt her. He may.
He didn't like children especially human children, they seemed helpless and stupid, they were loud and obnoxious.
But this child was dead silent... intresting.
"Where your parents?" He really didn't care but he was an inquisitive being.
At the mention of her creators her expression turned gloomy and she turned her eyes from him, to glare at the cement, "They left..."
He was secretly pleased; not wanting to deal with any mated pairs, the grown ones were almost as loud as the young ones.
"Do you plan to stay here all day?" He asked annoyed at himself for continuing to speak to it.
"I don't know, I'm waiting."
"For what?"
"I don't know." She spit out angrily.
He huffed a laugh the first one he had let out on earth. The little thing was funny.
"Would you like to come home with me?" The words flew from his mouth before he could process them. Why did he ask that? But it was too late to take it back.
She seemed surprised, and for a second he thought she would refuse, her eyes darted from him to the ceiling but his stayed on her. Finally she rose from her spot on the ground, and walked timidly toward him.
Taking her silence as an answer he turned and strode out the door back into the rain trusting that she would follow. The umbrella protected him from the rain but the sullen child was drenched. Though he noticed he did not offer to shield her from the down pour.
He never did notice the golden bird that followed them all the way back to his hideout.
Authors note:
Chapter 1 complete! Feels so good to type that. For people who have been waiting for an update from this series I'm sorry. I didn't like where I had started from before so I decided to do some revisions on top of that I have chronic migraines so I had days where I stopped and started, stopped and started. I also am changing the name from Road to Redemption to Phoenix. Thank you for sticking by and waiting patiently; I can't promise with my health issues I'll be a swift writer but I hate leaving things unfinished, so we'll get through this together.
