Ch.5: To Know A Father

Back in Japan, the tide of battle had gone sour for the Kitsune, and a weary Ninjara found herself limping in the afternoon's tide to the Temple of the Elders. There was no doubt in the Elders' minds that they would see Ninjara had failed in her guardian quest. She had been assigned to that particular region of Japan because of her excellent work during the Phoenix affair. How would this tragedy make her suffer?

"Alopex" thought Ninjara angrilly "such a skillful and clever foe, but what is she doing with the Foot?"

After the white fox had pinned Ninjara down in the temple treasury, Alopex placed the necklace on her neck and then exploded out to help the Foot in their fight. Ninjara only lay stunned for a moment before racing off after her. By the time the golden kistune made it to the entrance however, a big blast occurred, knocking her down again, and causing the temple to collaspe.

Ninjara was buried under the various pressures of several wooden beams, and blacked out before being awakened to see the battle's end. All of the warrior kistune were severely injured, and Alopex and her Foot Clan were gone.

The Elders' Temple was finally in sight, and Ninjara sat down in sight of the three nine-tailed kitsune, their coats shining ruby red, deep blue, and violet rose. All three of them had gold eyes.

"Ninjara" spoke the red kitsune, sitting in the middle of the other two " you have failed. Now, the Cursed Charm lies in the claws of Alopex,"

"I know Master Chidan" said Ninjara in shame " and I am truly sorry for my defeat. I swear before you and the entire council that I will do everything in my power to bring the Cursed Charm back."

"Be sure that you do" spoke the blue kitsune, Master Jodin "Masakodo cannot be revived. He is a disgrace to the entire essence of Japan,"

" Yet also one of our great heroes" said the violet kitsune, Master Sacoya "Leave Ninjara, and go retrieve the charm. We shall keep watch over the land until you return,"

"Origato," bowed Ninjara, and left to pursue her new quest.

Sniffing over the mess of the battle scene, Ninjara picked up the faint scent of Alopex's fur and followed it over to a warehouse in town. The old factory district to be precise. When she arrived, Ninjara took entrance through a broken window and hid herself in the shadows, sneaking until she saw Alopex and a small legion of Foot paused before a computer screen with the familiar image of Karai taking up the space.

"Alopex" spoke Karai through the monitor "What is your report?"

"The necklace is obtained" said Alopex " I once again wield the power of the first samurai. Are you sure this new warrior Shredder is making is really up to the task?"

"He will be" said Karai " once Stockman is complete, otherwise we will have no other reason to value his life. The turtles will fall and our conquest will be assured. And you, my dear Alopex, shall finally get what you've always wished,"

"I am counting on that Karai," grinned the white fox.

With that said, the monitor blinked off leaving Ninjara to wonder over the strange conversation she had just heard. So, Alopex had stolen the necklace so she could power up some kind of warrior, but what warrior? And what this have to do with her friends back in New York?

"It sounds like America may need me to return" thought Ninjara " but for what cause? What is the Shredder planning? And more importantly, can it be stopped?"

Back in New York, Shredder and Karai were now standing inside Baxter Stockman's lab, observing his creation floating silently inside a long, glass tube. A small grin lit up beneath Shredder's helmet as he observed the beast before him.

"Excellent" said Shredder, then turned to Stockman " Release him from the valve!"

"Father are you sure that's wise?" asked Karai " What if he can't be controlled?"

"I have taken precaution in that" assured Stockman "while genetic, I implanted a chip in his brain that will make him immune to anything but Shredder's commands. No one else can control him. And it is wired to self-destruct if anything goes wrong."

Typing in a few buttons on a control panel, Stockman lowered the water levels keeping the massive turtle afloat, and lifted up the huge glass case. The tortoise landed on the ground woozy and dazed, before his eyes opened up to confusing surroundings, gazing at Shredder and the others with a bit of alarm.

"Who…who are you?" the turtle stumbled.

"I am the Shredder" said Shredder " and you now work for me,"

Meanwhile, down in the sewers, Leo had just finished making his way through another kata when Donatello stumbled by with a stack of electrical equipment in hand. The load proved to be to heavy for the purple-masked turtle to handle, so when a few pieces dropped, Leonardo found himself rushing over to help out, picking up the discarded items on the floor.

"What's all this Don?" asked Leo, curious "Quite a lot of tech for evening don't you think?"

"A lot, but necessary" said Donatello with a grunt " Now I've quit that horrible IT Support job, I'm ready to tackle all the updates on all the projects I've laid off. I was just making my way to increase the security to our lair. Care to join me?"

Leo thought over his answer for a second. With Raph and Mikey gone on their 'special' patrol, the blue-masked turtle needed something to keep him occupied until they returned. Donnie's option wouldn't have been his first choice, but he agreed to help all the less. Besides, Donnie might need a hand if he dropped his equipment again.

Hours later, the two turtles found themselves busily at work in the tunnels, replacing every security system that had been left unmaintained during Leo's two year vacation to South America. It was surprising to Leonardo just how much work there was to be done.

"Did I put to much pressure on Donnie by making him leader in my absence?" thought Leo concerned.

Donatello never really spoke that much on what it was like to be a leader, especially when his only job was to assure that no one disobeyed the laws of Splinter's fighting ban. Raphael had managed to sneak the whole Nightwatcher thing right from under his nose, and he did little more than isolate himself from the hope they could ever go back to being crime fighters. Yeah, Don's short term as a leader was definitely not one of his proudest moments.

"Okay" said Don, closing up another circuit box " that's one more done. Just a few pieces to go and this will all be…,"

His sentence was suddenly interrupted when a massive roar exploded off of the tunnel walls, shocking him and Leo where they stood.

"What was that?!" asked Leo stunned.

"I don't know" said Don " think we should check it out?"

"Yeah" said Leo, nodding " but let's be extremely careful,"

With that said, both Leonardo and Donatello creeped up to where they had heard the sound, and peered around the corner, into a tunnel, with their eyes locking onto a massive, shadowy form. From its appearance alone, they could tell it wasn't human.

"Another mutant?" whispered Donatello stunned.

"Or monster," Leonardo guessed, his eyes never moving from the form.

Slowly, the shadowy shape of the mutant turned, his green scales flickering fiercely as he gazed towards the turtles. His yellow eyes flashed with rage at being discovered, and another revolting roar escaped from his mouth.

"Um Leo" said Don, suddenly worried " I think it's time we… RUN!"

And with that shout, the alligator charged.