To Just a Random Stronger: (if you still read this) When I center Dragan more during the chapter, it's only because I have no way to bring Kara into said chapter. Plus, I want to give the spotlight to both of them equally. I don't want Dragan to be just another side character but don't worry, Kara is still the main character to the story :p. On with the story!
The chime of a bell rings through their ears.
"Focus."
"Do not let your attention flutter away from you. All random thoughts are transitory, like dreams."
The bell chimes once more as everyone, including Casey Jackson and Kara, join in on the guys and April's training.
"Bask in the emptiness of the void." Master Splinter's voice spoke to them.
The room was quiet and Kara was beginning to get the hang of it when she heard Splinter's rapid breathing and opened her eyes, noticing he seemed nervous.
"That is enough for today."
"Really, Sensei? Cause we only meditated for, like, ten minutes." Donnie questioned while Raph woke a snoring Mikey by smacking him.
"Yes. I am not..feeling very well."
"Are you ok, Master Splinter? You seem worried about something." April asked as he stood.
"My dream last night, it was very powerful. I fell into a vast pit where I fought the Shredder. My memory is hazy, but I..did not survive."
Kara stared at him in surprise, remembering what happened when the Earth was destroyed. "Could he have dreamt about that?...No way, he didn't fight in a pit..so..what could this mean?"
"But it was nothing. Just a dream. Right, Sensei?" Leo asked with a hint of worry.
"Do not fret, my family. Dreams are often symbolic, not literal. I am not going anywhere." Master Splinter placed a reassuring hand on Leo and smiled at his sons and April.
Kara and Casey stood.
Kara walked away to the living room with her head lowered in thought. Casey watched her and soon followed behind. "Hey, everything ok?"
"Just thinking. At the mention of the Shredder I can't help but grow nervous. He's been gone so long..I know he's planning something big. And with Master Splinter's dream..it just makes this bad feeling worse."
Casey stared at her a moment and nodded. "Then it's best to prepare for whatever may come. You should head back home."
Kara nodded but stopped for a moment. "Are you going to be ok by yourself?"
"Come on, it's just teenagers. I've hung around you so I have practice." Casey chuckled before placing a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, is Dragan ok? She's usually here with you and the guys."
"I'm not sure. She hasn't really told me anything." Kara shrugged thinking nothing of it and left. He let out a sigh and went back to the Dojo.
-Later-
"Soo..this is what you guys do during your spare time?" Casey asked, leaning back against the couch with his leg crossed over his lap staring at the cartoon they were watching in surprise. "Wow, this cartoon is old.."
"Hey, don't diss the Bradford cartoon. He may be a villain but his cartoon is great! The action is so real!" Mikey comments as he, April, and his brothers minus Donnie were watching a marathon of Bradford and his 2-Ruff Krew. Casey rolled his eyes and looked over at a magazine pile and began to read instead. In the back of his mind he wondered where the two girls were at but knew they could handle themselves.
Hearing Mikey groan he lowered the magazine to see Splinter blocking the TV from the teenager's eyes.
"Aw, Sensei! You're ruining our cartoon-a-thon!"
"We're missing the best part!" Raph adds in.
"No, the best part is when you get your lazy shells off the floor and do something! Too much television is a poison that ruins both body and mind."
"We already cleaned our rooms and took out the trash. What do you-"
Everyone blinked when the power suddenly went out.
"Oh, great. Now what?"
"It's like the whole universe hates TV!" Mikey yelled, falling on his back dramatically.
"Nothing ever gets boring around you guys, huh?" Casey chuckled and stood to his feet.
"Ah, I bet it's Donnie messing with some kind of experiment. Come on." Everyone stood up and went to Donnie's lab.
"I didn't do it." Donnie glared at them some but looked down when his phone went off and answered it. "Hello?"
"Hey, Donnie, did something happen? The power in our whole neighborhood went out."
"Hold on, I'm checking the grid now." Donnie used his shoulder to keep the phone to his ear as he typed in his computer. "There's a pretty big power outage over ten square blocks, all the way up to..Shredder's old lair."
"...Of course.." Kara sighed. "I know you guys are gonna check it out. We'll meet you there." She hung up the phone and looked over at Dragan, both of them carrying their weapons from space. "Well..my stomach feels like it's on a roller coaster."
"The sooner we find out the better."
Kara nodded and both of them made their way to Karai's hideout.
Kara looked around, adjusting the bandana over her neck. "Typical. We got here before them."
"We shuild keep a tally o' how often that happens. At the end, the loser has tae treat the winner tae dinner."
"That's the best idea I've heard all day." Kara grinned as she went to climb down from the roof but Dragan stopped her.
"Wait, someone's comin' out from the front." Dragan pointed, Kara following where she was pointing to see a large, sharp mutant with Karai in chains followed by Tigerclaw and Rahzaar. Kara leaned forward, squinting her eyes when she suddenly gasped and took a step back. "No way..it's..it's Shredder.."
"No..that can't be!"
Dragan and Kara slid down the ladder and ran at the end of the alley to get a better view. "Shredder!" Kara yelled and when he snapped his head in their direction she gasped softly. "What..what have you done to yourself.." She whispered in disgust. She saw a light coming their way and both her and Shredder looked to see the Shellraiser come into view.
Dragan immediately dialed Leo's phone. "Guys! Be careful. We think it's the Shredder."
"It is the Shredder himself." Donnie confirmed typing into his computer.
"Don't just stand there. Ram him!" Kara yelled into the phone.
Leo nodded his head and set the phone down before slamming his foot onto the gas and sped towards Shredder. Just when they were close enough Shredder grabbed the sides of the Shellraiser and lifted the front wheels up. "Tell your Master I have my daughter back. If he desires to see her one last time, come to where I last defeated him." With a grunt, Shredder threw the Shellraiser and it landed a few feet away on it's side.
"Guys!" Kara and Dragan yelled as they ran towards the van just as Shredder sliced the concrete with his blade, the sparks igniting a fire in the gas line. Dragan helped them out while Kara opened the nearest manhole cover and they all soon escaped.
Donnie helped lay April down on the couch as she groaned in pain from the crash.
"I can't believe what we just saw.." Kara twiddled with her necklace and glanced over at Dragan worriedly but noticed she seemed to be staying as far from April as she could.
"What happened?" Master Splinter went over to the to see April in pain.
"It was Shredder..."
"He used mutagen on himself, Master, he's...even more dangerous than before." Kara and Dragan looked at each other nervously.
"He turned into some kind of Super Shredder! He's got huge muscles and blades everywhere, like a buff cheese grater!" Mikey explained.
Leo came into the room with an ice pak for April and gently handed it to her. "He has her, Sensei.."
"Miwa." Master Splinter said softly, closing his eyes.
"He said he wants to meet you in the last place that he beat you. The sewers."
Kara's eyes widened remembering Splinter's fall and the aftermath of it all, clenching her ring tighter in her hand.
"..Then let us make haste." Master Splinter opened his eyes, looking at his sons and friends.
"On it." Kara pulled the bandana over her eyes and nodded, the others stood as they exited the lair and made their way into the maze of the sewers.
"Up ahead. It's not far." Donnie said in a whisper.
"Stay diligent. The Shredder is clearly baiting us into a trap." Master Splinter said as they made their way forward.
Mikey slowed down, looking around the area. "I get the feeling we're being watched." When he noticed the others hadn't stopped he followed after them but Kara stayed behind and turned her head up in Stockman's direction, seeing him twitch nervously. She said nothing, running to catch up with the others.
April grabbed her crystal, closing her eyes. "No one's inside."
"Even so, be ready, ninja." Master Splinter lead them towards the mouth of the sewer and blinked when he noticed large pictures hanging from the ceiling.
"What the heck is this?" Raph asked, staring at the pictures. Kara lowered the bandana unable to see what they were and blinked in surprise.
"Ok, this is weird..." Mikey began to grow nervous.
"Psycho is more like it." Leo commented.
"That's..Karai..as a baby an.."
"Tang Shen.." Kara finished with a soft whisper.
"Gaze upon these images, rat. First, you take Tang Shen away from me, and then you steal my daughter!" In front of them, an even larger picture of Shredder before his mutation and Karai now.
Kara went to place a hand on her now nervous teacher when the sound of slamming metal reached her ears and she snapped her head back to see their entrance and possible exit had been cut off.
"Show yourself, Saki!" Master Splinter shouted.
"Save your strength, you two. Ye won't be able tae break the bars anytime soon."
"Oh no. Everyone look out!" April turned towards them and they saw a flash of light at the end of the sewer and blinked when it raced towards them. Realizing it's fire everyone dove into the water. When they resurfaced they could see the photos now in flames.
Donnie swam towards a large pipe and began to climb it. "This way. Hurry." Donnie helped Kara and Dragan up onto the pipe and towards a service ladder, telling them to climb faster.
When they made it out they ran towards the train tracks and blinked to see even more photos. "Look. More freaky photos." Raph observed, climbing in after Donnie.
"This is the same station Kara held us captive. Remember? When she-"
"Poisoned you.." Kara finished Donnie's sentence, her eyes wide in pain and clenching her fists tight. "And where I..I.."
Donnie gasped softly and held her close. Kara closed her eyes and took a deep breath, gently pushing him away. "He's trying to psyche us out. He's trying to get into your mind, Splinter. We can't let him win."
"That's right. We can take anythin' he throws at us." Dragan narrowed her eyes as she placed her hand over the hilt of her sword just as the photos engulfed in flames.
"Oh, man, this is totally horror movie style right here. What's next, a photo of Splinter with his eyes X-ed out?" Mikey turned around to see exactly that and gasped. "Oh, snap. That's crazy, yo!"
"You turned her against me." Shredder's voice echoed around them. "You brainwashed her! Karai is my daughter!"
"How many lies can you tell yourself, Saki?" Splinter called out.
"Aah! Just wait until I get free, Shredder!" Karai's voice followed.
"Karai!"
"Miwa!"
Splinter immediately ran towards their voices and the guys blinked in surprise but followed after him. "Sensei! Sensei, hold up!"
Kara lifted the bandana over her eyes and could see where he was going and soon followed after him. "This way, guys!"
Dragan and the others took a step to follow but stopped when they heard a noise.
"Train!" Dragan yelled as she and the others tried to outrun it and jump out of the way. "Darn it! We lost Kara! I hope she can handle herse-"
"Oh noo!"
Dragan jerked her head in the direction the yell came from to see Rahzaar had grabbed Mikey from inside the train. She narrowed her eyes and pulled out the grappling hook Donnie made her and she and the others latched onto the train, climbing to the top. There to give them an ice cold welcome was Tigerclaw with his weapons aimed at them, grinning evilly, and began to fire.
-With Kara-
"Master Splinter, wait!" Kara called out, running to catch up with him. When she finally caught up with him she looked up able to see Karai dangling from the ceiling in the middle of the room.
"Father! Kara! It's a trap!"
"I will not leave you!" Splinter yelled up at her.
"Splinter..he's here." Kara placed her hand on his arm, clenching his sleeve. She groaned in pain hearing the screeching of metal against cement and covered her ears. When he stopped she lowered them and took a step back as Shredder towered over them both.
"Saki?..What have you done?"
"I have molded myself into perfection, rat man. Look upon me, and know fear."
"You must be proud. You are finally a monster, both inside and out."
"I want her to see you fall. Then, finally, your brainwashing will disappear, and she will remember that it was I who raised her, it was I who made her who she is. I sacrificed everything for her. Out of absolute love!"
"No. No, you did not. I know the love of a father and that love would not put their daughter in harms way or mutate them! This. This isn't love, this is crazy obsession!"
"Father is right. Your transformation into a monster is complete." Karai glared down at him.
Shredder lowered his head, closing his eyes for a moment before opening them again, blades coming out his knuckles. With a yell, he turned around attacked them.
-With Dragan-
Donnie, Mikey, and April were fighting off Rahzaar while Dragan, Raph, and Leo were fighting Tigerclaw.
Dragan and Leo attacked in the front together, Tigerclaw deflecting Leo's sword with his own, and firing his pistol at Dragan. She took a step back and brought out her shield. She gritted her teeth in annoyance, her sword lighting up and sliced downward, sending a shockwave at Tigerclaw, Leo diving off the train and stabbing his sword into the side. Tigerclaw let out a yell in pain and slid backwards. His ears perked up hearing a yell behind him and turned around to see Raph charging at him and sending a kick across his face, knocking him off the train.
"Stupid cat!" Raph turned, hearing Leo yell and saw Dragan trying to reach for him but was having difficulty. He went over to help her but was suddenly snatched from the train by Tigerclaw.
"Raph!" Dragan stood up, hearing him scream and threw herself into the train, the adrenaline helping her with her nervousness, and tackled Tigerclaw away, swinging her sword at him. When he saw an opening he fired at her hands, knocking her sword out of her hand. She clenched her fist and went to charge at him but he somersaulted over her and grabbed her head, slamming her into the door a couple times. She let out a yell of pain as he kicked the door out and held her outside the moving train. "Say goodbye, Dragan."
"Dragan!" Leo swung himself inside and sliced Tigerclaw's jetpack, causing it to malfunction. It jerked him backwards enough to pull Dragan inside where Raph grabbed her and Leo shoved Tigerclaw outside and in front of an oncoming train.
Leo helped the two up when the train suddenly jerked causing them to stumble some. "I hope that was Donnie stopping the train.."
"Dead end!" She heard Mikey say and sighed softly. "Nevermind."
"This is our stop!" Leo said as he grabbed Dragan's sword and ran to the end of the train, using their grappling hooks to get off the train safely just before it exploded.
"Leo!" Mikey and the others ran to them, Donnie helping Dragan up. Leo immediately stood to his feet, handing Dragan her weapon. "Come on, we gotta move." He brought out his blades and they all ran back to where Master Splinter and Kara were.
-With Kara-
Kara dodged an attack from Shredder and went to grab his arm to pull him down but bit down on her lip, the blades on his body scratching at her, so she switched to punching upward on his elbow to break his arm. She panted heavily, jumped backwards next to Splinter and lowered her bandana. "No matter what we do, he's returns unscathed.."
"You are deranged, Saki. But I can help you. We can end this fight." Master Splinter said as he and Kara dodged his attacks, keeping sure to stay away from the sharp blades.
Shredder swung at him and Splinter jumped to the side as his blades got stuck in the wall. "Now that I am your master, you'll do anything to stop this." Shredder smacked Kara out of the way, throwing her into a wall and went for Splinter, attacking him. When Splinter leapt into the air, Shredder grabbed his ankle and threw him into the wall then down below in a pit.
Kara narrowed her eyes as Shredder ignored her and took a step towards him, the ends of her blades glowing bright. "Leave. Master Splinter. Alone!" She yelled and charged towards him, slicing her blades over each other and sending a wave of energy at him. He yelled in pain was brought to one knee before he turned towards her. "You. You have been an annoyance to me for far too long."
"The feeling's mutual, Shredder. Now come and get me." She brought her fists close to her face, glaring at him. He stood to his feet and stalked towards her.
"No, Kara!" Master Splinter yelled seeing Shredder turn his back to him. "Face me, Saki!"
Both of them ignored Splinter as they both began to close the distance around them. When she was close enough Kara made her move and ran up to him, punching him in the stomach where there were no spikes. "You've tortured this family for far too long! Why can't you stop living in the past?!" Shredder grunted with each hit but didn't move a muscle.
"You have no right to lecture me, girl! You have no idea the pain I've been through! Having the love of my life taken from me by someone who I considered a brother!" Shredder grabbed her face and slammed her into wall a couple times, clenching his hand around her face. She squeezed her eyes in pain, biting down on her lip to keep herself from screaming and looked right at him. Since her bangs were pulled out of her face he could see her purple eye. His eyes widened, remembering only one other person who had eyes like that, the daughter of his old friends.
He immediately dropped her and went to pick her back up by the shirt when Splinter swooped in and stomped his foot against Shredder's and wrapped his tail around his ankle, pulling him down.
Splinter helped Kara to her feet and began to head for the exit on the other side.
Shredder regained his balance and growled at Splinter and Kara. "It is time my revenge comes to fruition." He yelled and charged for them both. Splinter glanced his way, pulling a smoke bomb from his sleeve and threw it at Shredder, it exploding around him as they made their escape. When the smoke cleared he saw none of them in sight. "Coward! Face me!" He yelled in anger, running after them.
When Karai was able to free herself, she landed on one knee and began to follow after them but stopped when she heard Leo calling her. "Guys, the Shredder, he's just too powerful. Splinter and Kara combined couldn't even fight him."
"We saw what Shredder's become. What if we can't stop him? It's gonna be, like, weeks before my latest batch of retro-mutagen is ready." Donnie explained.
"Wi all o' our strength's combined we can hold him off long enough tae think o' a plan tae take him down once an for all."
"I can sense him, somewhere, deep underground. I think I can track him." April nodded to them.
"Great. Then let's head down and kick some bladed freak butt." Raph grinned but looked up when the power went out around them.
"Well, that's not terrifying or anything.." Mikey said nervously as the silhouettes of the elite soldiers landed in the pillars on the ceiling.
"Ye wouldn't happen tae hae a plan, would ya?" Dragan whispered to Leo, stepping to his side with her sword drawn.
"Kara, I want you to listen to me carefully. Shredder will come after us but no matter what I want you to stay in hiding." Splinter said softly to her as they arrived in the catacombs where he last fought The Rat King.
"Until when, Splinter? I want to help you take him down. I can still help fight." She said with determination.
"...Until your gut tells you otherwise. No go, hide. He will be here shortly." Splinter let go of her, letting her find somewhere to stay hidden. She glanced back at him before heading into the foggy pillars, deciding to hide in the center, having a feeling that's where they'd end up.
Shredder burst through the doors they came through. "SPLINTER! Splinter! I know you're here." Shredder jumped into the foggy pillars, looking around. "It's not just muscle and blades the mutagen gave me. I can hear you. I can smell you." Shredder said as he walked forward.
"Can you smell a rock?" Splinter asked through the nothingness as a rock flew out of nowhere, hitting Shredder in the head.
"Grrr! Come out! Face me like a man!" Shredder jumped to where Kara was and looked around. Splinter was on a rock above him and jumped onto his back, sending a kick to him before jumping to another rock and fleeing back into the fog. "So you do not fear me. You were leading me into your own kind of trap."
Kara twitched as they fought, wanting to join him so badly but she listened to her gut and stayed where she was. She flinched hearing the sound of something slamming into the rock and Splinter's grunt of pain. "A pity Miwa is not here to see," He let out another grunt as Shredder punched him to the ground. "How evil you truly have become."
Shredder raised his arm to finish Splinter off once and for all.
Time began to slow as Kara took a deep breath. She brought out her blades and lifted her head up before coming out of hiding and running towards both of them.
Dragan and the others were fighting off the elite soldiers.
"Man, these guys are tough." Donnie commented, bringing out the blade end of his staff and stabbing it into the elite's face.
"Atleast thay don't copy your fightin' style like the footbots. Those were just annoying." Dragan answered to Donnie, sending a shockwave towards one and ended up bringing two down.
"Back off of me, chrome domes!" Mikey yelled, jumping away from a few but blinked when April helped him out using her powers to slice the Tessen into it's head. She brought it back to her and used it to slice the rest of the elite's heads off, ending the battle for them and returning the Tessen back to her. "I got a fix on Splinter. He's in the Undercity."
"That's where we fought the Rat King. Come on, I know a shortcut."
"The Rat who?" Dragan asked Donnie, running after them.
"Thaat's..a story for another time." Leo said, looking away.
"Do you hear that?" Donnie asked as they were getting closer. He closed his eyes a moment to hear Kara yelling. "It's Kara!" He yelled, running faster til he slid to a halt outside the door and saw Kara holding Shredder back from Splinter with her blades.
"Kara!" Donnie yelled noticing the scratches on her arms but he noticed she didn't seem to have heard him. He went to open his mouth again but blinked when Karai stopped him.
"Wait, she's saying something.."
Donnie blinked and looked over at them.
With a yell, Kara ran in front of Splinter and held her arms up, with the blades sticking out, and blocked Shredder's attack. Her knees began to bend from the pressure and weight but she held on. With a grunt, she spoke to him. "I...I was there!"
"What?" Shredder stared down at her, his eyes flashing with a hint of confusion before returning to their cold state.
"I was there when Tang Shen died! It's too long to explain how but I know what happened. Shredder, Oroku Saki, you may have had a past with her but she didn't love you. She cared about you, Saki, but she never loved you. She died protecting the one she loved! And that person is, and will always be, Hamato Yoshi! So why..Why can't you accept her choice and move on with your life?!" Kara glared up at him with tears in her eyes remembering the cries of pain from her beloved teacher.
"Lies..." Shredder whispered, his head lowered. "You speak LIES!" He yelled and used his weight to unbalance her and punched her across the face. "SHE LOVED ME! YOSHI JUST BLINDED HER WITH HIS TRICKS AND LIES!" He grabbed Kara and threw her into one of the rocks outside the pillar. When she began to fall a blade shot out of his hand, stabbing straight through her upper arm as she tried to climb to the top. Her eyes widened and she let out a scream of pain as she dangled from the rock by her arm.
"KARA!" Everyone shouted.
"We gotta go save her!" Donnie yelled.
"Come on!" Leo found a way to get to her.
As they moved towards her, Mikey looked up to see Shredder attacking Splinter. "Super Shredder's kicking Sensei's tail in!"
"Father!" Karai yelled out, distracting Splinter for a second, which gave Shredder plenty of time to trap him once more. "Now, finally, my nightmares of your proud, leering, loathsome face will finally end!"
"Finish me, yes." Splinter said softly. "But Miwa will live on. My daughter. Mine." Splinter looked straight into Shredder's eyes as he said this, no pain, no sorrow, but steely resolve.
Shredder yelled in anger and went to strike but his yells soon turned to pain as he arm began to have a seizure, bending in impossible ways and shrinking. "What? What is happening to me?!"
Splinter moved out of the way and stood onto a rock. "Saki. The mutagen. It is unstable. Out of control. You must listen, Saki." Splinter began to jump further away but Shredder followed non the less. "I need nothing from you!"
Dragan and Donnie were the first to get to Kara.
"Kara, take my hand!" Donnie yelled, reaching down as far as he could. Kara looked up at him with a pained expression as she held onto the blade tightly. Every inch she moved, the worse the pain. She took heavy breaths to prepare herself and immediately let go, reaching for his arm. When his hand wrapped around her, she let out a scream from not only the weight added onto the blade but from Dragan pulling it out quickly.
Donnie pulled her up and held her close while Dragan took the bandana around her neck and tied it around the wound as tight as she could get it. Donnie lifted Kara up in her arms but blinked when more elites came out of nowhere. Dragan brought out her sword and shield, standing protectively in front of them and charged, attacking the robots.
Kara's head jerked forward as she heard the painful cries of Splinter and she looked around for him.
After stomping on his foot, Shredder leaned close to Splinter, staring down at him. "You will die. And then all of your loved ones will be next."
Splinter turned his head over to his sons seeing them fighting off the robots alongside Miwa, April, and Dragan but he noticed reinforcements were coming and they'd be too much to handle. Splinter glared up at Shredder, bringing out a kunai knife and threw it behind him where a pile of explosive bombs lay. When they exploded, the bridge they were on began to fall with them still on it.
"Sensei!" Kara heard Donnie yell and looked over to see them falling. "Master Splinter!"
Shredder looked up and went to jump back onto the pillar but was stopped when Splinter jumped onto him, not letting go. "Saki! We die together!" He yelled as both of them fell.
"Father!"
"Nooo!"
Raph looked up as more elites with arrows began firing at them. "Everybody move!"
Dragan gritted her teeth as she made a path for Donnie and Kara. Seeing Splinter go down again..it just wasn't fair.
When the last of them made it through the door, Leo and Raph shut it behind them. "He...He has to be alive, right?"
"That drop is atleast a thousand foot drop. Even he couldn't survive a fall like that."
"Yes, he will.." Kara said through heavy breaths. "He will make it out of this alive."
"We have to keep going. For Splinter." Karai looked at them all til the door behind them exploded, causing them all to scatter.
"Oh, sewer apples.." Mikey looked up to see Beebop and Rocksteady along with an army of elites."
"Hold on tae your butts, everyone.."Dragan narrowed her eyes, lifting her sword up.
I can't believe it..We're so close to chapter 100! Can you believe it?! Ahhh! So much excitement! I hope you all continue to support my story. Rate/comment! All feedback is appreciated! See you when I see you! :D