Chapter 8: Rescue
A/N: And here's chapter eight. Only two more chapters to go after this one, and the story will be finished. I hope you've enjoyed the story so far. Thanks to all who have read and reviewed it thus far. It's because of you that I'm continuing this story. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own the Turtles or any characters associated with them. I own the plot and The Hamato Sisters.
Karai sat in her office thinking about all that had happened so far. She couldn't believe the police had the nerve to investigate her and ask her questions about Kaia. Luckily, she had a lot of influence within the city and was able to send the police away. Still, she was very upset about it. No doubt the Turtles' friend April O'Neil had been behind it. She knew the Turtles would stop at nothing to rescue Kaia, which was why she had to send Kaia to Japan. If she was gone, the Turtles would have a harder time rescuing her.
Suddenly, one of her assistants came bursting through the door, a panicked look on his face. "Mistress Karai, we have a security breach!" he cried.
"The Turtles!" she hissed, her green eyes flashing with anger. "Send all available Foot Ninjas to the entrance! Make sure they do not pass!"
"Yes, Mistress," the assistant said, bowing low. Then he hurried out of the room to carry out her command.
Karai knew there was no time to waste. She had to get Kaia away from them. Picking up the phone, she made a call to the airport to request a flight that would leave for Japan tonight. The receptionist said that the only flight available was for nine in the morning. Karai really didn't want to take that flight, but she knew it was the only way to get out of the city.
"All right, I will take that one," Karai said. After she hung up the phone, she decided to join the Foot Ninjas in fighting the Turtles. They had been thorns in her side long enough.
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Kaia sat alone in her room, thinking about the training session she'd had earlier with Karai. She really hated these lessons which were so different from the ones Master Splinter had with them. One of the things Kaia hated the most was how Karai would slap her if she did a move wrong and order her to do it again. Splinter never did such a thing to them. He would sometimes hit Mikey with his stick if he was goofing off, but he wouldn't hit anyone if they got a move wrong. Instead, he would gently correct them and ask them to perform the move again. Why didn't Karai do this instead of hurting her?
A wave of determination swept over Kaia. She couldn't stay her any longer! She needed to get home quickly.
But how was she to escape? She went to the window and opened it. No, that was out of the question because it was too high, and she could fall.
Then her eyes fell on the vent. If she could open it, there'd be a way for her to escape. It would be dark in there, but Kaia knew she had to maser her fear just like Leo did. She kicked open the vent and made her way inside, making sure to replace the vent so no one would know how she escaped.
Then she set out to find her way home.
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Leonardo was flipping through channels to take his mind off things. But even though he tried not to think of Kaia or his brothers, they would keep entering his thoughts like a persistent fly who wouldn't stop buzzing. He just hoped that Kaia could be rescued without any complications.
Just then Splinter came out of his room. "Leonardo, have you seen Lisa and Destiny?" he asked.
"No, Sensei," Leo replied. "I thought Destiny went up to her room and Lisa went with her."
"I shall go and see," Splinter declared, and he went upstairs. A few minutes later, he came back down, a look of anger on his face. "They are gone," he reported. "Are you sure you did not see them leave?"
"I'm positive, Sensei," Leo answered. "I would have heard them if they left in the elevator or out the front door."
"Then they obviously found another way of leaving," Splinter said. "I am going to look for them, and when they get home, they will be grounded for a month." He put on a brown trench coat and hat he used whenever he went topside. Leo wished his father good luck and watched him leave the Lair in a very angry mood. He had a feeling that Lisa and Destiny would never live this down when they got back.
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The Battle Shell roared along as it made its way to Foot Headquarters. Tension was high as they all thought about how they were going to rescue Kaia. It seemed impossible, but they had to try it. There was no other alternative.
Donatello was filled with anxiety. He had never been in the role of leader before, a role that his blue-clad brother filled with such pride. Don knew he could never fill his brother's shoes and was worried about this mission. If it failed, Kaia was lost to them, and Don would be responsible for it.
"Don, are you there?" April asked, snapping the purple-clad Turtle out of his thoughts.
"Yeah, I'm here," Don said. "We're getting close to Foot Headquarters. I'm going to park the Battle Shell in the alley, and we'll make our way on foot."
"Roger that, Don," replied April. "Let me know when you get in."
"Will do, April," said Don.
"So, what's the plan, Donnie?" asked Raph.
"You and Casey are going to distract the Foot on the ground," replied Don. "Mikey and I are going into the ventilation shafts to see if we can find Kaia's location. It's the easiest way to find her."
"Sounds good to me, Don," said Casey.
"Good," replied Don. He parked the Battle Shell into the closest alley, and they headed to the tower on foot. When they approached the place, they didn't see any guards there, which was weird. However, Don knew that they were probably waiting inside for them.
Sure enough, as the Turtles and Casey entered, they were surrounded by a swarm of Foot Ninjas, katanas drawn. Without hesitating, the Turtles and Casey jumped into the fight. As Don fought five Foot Ninjas, his eyes searched for the ventilation shafts. Once he spotted them, he signaled to Mikey who nodded in understanding. The two of them pulled smoked pellets out of their belts and threw them on the ground, enveloping the Ninjas in smoke. When the smoke cleared, Mikey and Donnie were nowhere to be seen.
"Nice work, Don," Mikey whispered from their hiding place.
"Thanks," Don whispered back. "Now, let's go find Kaia."
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Lisa and Destiny were running through the streets trying to find Foot Headquarters. They looked for a sign of the Battle Shell, but they didn't see it at all. Lisa figured that the Turtles would make sure the Battle Shell couldn't be seen by people who would get suspicious.
"Where do you think they are?" Destiny asked.
"Probably at Foot Headquarters," Lisa replied. She scanned the street for signs of something familiar. "I can't find anything!" she complained. "Let's just go back."
"No way," Destiny declared. "We didn't sneak out of the Lair for nothing." She took Lisa's hand and led her down the street until they spotted Foot Headquarters. Destiny led Lisa into a clump of bushes.
"Okay, now what?" Lisa asked.
Destiny shrugged. "I don't know," she said. "What do you think we should do?"
Lisa sighed in frustration. "This was your idea!" she replied. "You should have a plan."
Destiny was about to say something back, but she was interrupted by someone clearing their throat. The two girls turned to see Master Splinter standing behind them with an unhappy look on his face. He was lashing his tail, a sign that he was angry with them.
"Oh, hi, Master Splinter," Lisa said. "Um, I bet you're wondering why we're here. Well, Destiny wanted to help, and I knew I couldn't let her come alone, so I came too. I know you told us not to leave the Lair, but you need to know that our intentions were good and not pointless. We're sorry we've upset you, and we'll take whatever punishment you give us."
"I understand, my daughters," Splinter said firmly. "You know I am disappointed that you went against my orders. Both of you are grounded for a month, and you will also be writing an essay on how you should always obey your father's orders. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Sensei," both girls replied.
"Good," Splinter said. "Now, you will be coming with me."
"We're going back to the Lair, aren't we?" Destiny asked.
Splinter smiled at her. "No, we are not," he told her. He led both of them to the alley where the Battle Shell was parked. "You will both wait here where it's safe," he said. "I am going to assist your brothers. You are not to leave the Battle Shell, and if you do, I will increase your grounding to three months. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Sensei," said both girls.
"Be careful, Master Splinter," cautioned Lisa.
"I will be fine, my daughter," said Splinter. He gave them each a hug and left to help rescue Kaia.
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"Man, they just keep coming," panted Casey as he blocked a katana with his hockey stick. "Makes you wish we had some backup, huh, Raph?"
"No kidding," grunted Raph as he took down a Foot Ninja with a roundhouse kick. "I dunno what Don was thinking when he decided to ditch us like that."
"Neither do I," agreed Casey. "There's no way we're gonna be able to defeat these guys. Maybe we should retreat."
"That would be an unwise choice, Mr. Jones," said a voice. Both of them turned to see Master Splinter leap into the fray, taking out three Foot Ninjas with his walking stick.
"Master Splinter, what the shell are you doing here?" asked Raph.
"Two of your sisters decided to try to sneak off and assist you," replied Splinter. "I followed them to stop them from making a big mistake."
"Are they okay?" inquired Casey.
"Yes, they are safe," said Splinter.
"Well, now that you're here we can get this done faster," said Raph. "Let's kick some Foot butt."
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"Dude, are you sure you know where you're going?" asked Mikey.
"Of course I do," snapped Don. "Why would you even doubt me?"
Mikey held up his hands in a diffensive gesture. "Whoa, hold up, Donnie," he said. "I was just making sure."
"Well, stop it," begged Don. "I'm under enough pressure as it is. Let's just keep going. We're bound to find her soon."
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Kaia wasn't sure which way to go. Everything had been going smoothly until she reached a fork in the vents. Both paths looked promising, but Kaia knew that either one of them could produce a dead end. She sat and thought about her choices. It she went left, that would probably take her up further rather than down, but if she went right, it would take her down to where she needed to be. If she ran into a dead end, she would just retrace her steps and go the other way.
She turned right and kept on crawling. So far, so good. There didn't seem to be any obstacles blocking her path. Kaia knew she shouldn't think like that, but with the Foot you never knew what might come up. She remembered Leo telling her about the traps they'd encountered the first time they had entered Foot Headquarters. It was best to be careful.
Just when she thought things were looking up, she came to another fork. Okay, now what was she going to do?
"Dude, my shell's starting to cramp up," said a voice.
"Mikey, stop complaining!" snapped a second voice. "I'm trying to get my bearings."
Kaia's heart gave a leap. She knew those voices. "Don! Mikey! I'm over here!" she called.
"Kaia, is that you?" Don called back.
"Yeah, it's me," Kaia replied. "I don't know which way to go!"
"Turn left," Don told her. "We're at the end. You'll be able to see us."
Kaia did as he said and saw both of them waving at her. She hurried over to them and gave them a big hug. "Thank you for coming," she said. "I was afraid you wouldn't come."
"We'd never ditch you, Kaia," Mikey told her. "We're a family."
"Okay, we need to get out of here," Don said. He turned on his headset. "April, we found Kaia," he reported. "Can you find us a quick exit so we don't have to retrace our steps?"
"Yeah, hang on," April responded. There was a pause as April scanned the schematics. "Okay, I found one," she said. "Go back a few paces and make a right. Keep going to the end, and you'll see a vent that should lead you out to the roof. It's not a huge drop, but you'll still have to scale down."
"Thanks, April," Don said. He led Mikey and Kaia to the vent April had indicated. Don kicked it out and made his way onto the roof. Mikey came after him carrying Kaia. Don took out a grappling hook and attached it to the roof making sure that it was securely on. Before he went down, he turned the headset back on. "Raph, we have Kaia," he reported. "We're on the roof and are going down. Meet us at the Battle Shell."
"Roger that, Don," Raph replied.
Don started descending making sure to go slow. Mikey waited to make sure Don made it down to safety. Once Don was down, Mikey made his way down with Kaia on his back. The orange-clad Turtle knew about Kaia's fear of heights and whispered soothing words in her ear until they reached the ground.
"Going somewhere?" a voice asked them. They turned to see Karai flanked by a few Foot Ninjas.
Don gaped at her. "How did you know we were here?" he asked.
"I could hear you in the vents," replied Karai. "I knew that you were coming to this location. Perhaps you should be more discreet when talking to your allies. Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. The choice is up to you."
"We're not giving you Kaia," declared Don, pulling out his bo staff and taking a fighting stance. Mikey pulled Kaia behind him and pulled out his nun chucks.
"Then it will be the hard way," said Karai, pulling out a katana. The Foot followed her, closing in on the Turtles and the girl. Karai felt the adrenaline coursing through her veins. This was her one chance to defeat the Turtles and reclaim what was rightfully hers. "Foot Ninja, attack," she ordered.
The Foot leapt into action, but Don and Mikey were ready for the fight. They parried katana blows and managed to take out at least three of the Ninjas. Throughout the fight, Karai just stood by and watched. She wanted to witness her enemies' defeat before she claimed Kaia as her own. She had no reason to join the fight because her ninjas would finish the job. Then she would move on and defeat the others when she found them.
Meanwhile, Kaia was watching Karai to see if the woman would try to go for her. When she saw that Karai wasn't going to budge, Kaia focused on her brothers. She had seen them fight many times in practice, but this was very different. There was desperation in their movements, a desperation to protect their sister and bring her home safely. Mikey wasn't smiling or making jokes, a sign that he was keen to get out of there soon.
Then Kaia noticed that one of Don's pouches was open. She watched as one of the smoke bombs fell out of the pouch and to the ground. The only reason it didn't activate right then was because Don had made sure the bombs wouldn't go off if they fell on the floor. This modification was made after he accidentally knocked one off his desk, causing smoke to fill his lab and the Lair. It had taken them four days to get rid of the stench.
Kaia rushed forward and picked up the smoke bomb, waiting for the right time to throw it. She didn't want to hurt her brothers, but she knew they had to get out of there soon. She watched as her brothers took down the rest of the Foot Ninjas and exchange a high three. But just when they thought they'd won, the Foot Elite appeared in a puff of smoke, causing Mikey to let out a groan.
"You did not think I would let you escape that easily, did you?" laughed Karai. "If you can defeat the Elite Ninja, you may leave with the girl. If you fail, you will be destroyed, and the girl will go with me."
Don considered what she was saying. He knew for a fact that it was impossible to defeat the Foot Elite. They were too fast and way too strong. Plus, there was Kaia, who would be put in danger. There was no way he'd allow that. But how would they get out of this?
Out of the corner of his eye, Mikey saw Kaia holding one of the smoke bombs. He nudged Don and pointed this out to him as discreetly as he could. The purple-clad Turtle responded and started backing toward Kaia until he was right next to her with Mikey beside him.
"I'm sorry, Karai, but we have to decline your offer," he said. "Kaia, now!"
Kaia nodded and threw the smoke bomb down, obscuring their view of the Foot Elite and Karai. Then they ran for it while Donnie kept throwing smoke bombs so they wouldn't be seen. Don told Raph where they were and told him to bring the Battle Shell to their location. In no time at all the armored van arrived, and the three of them got in. Raph jammed his foot on the accelerator while Don looked back to make sure they weren't being followed.
Lisa gave Kaia a big hug. "I'm so glad you're okay!" she said.
"Thanks for coming to rescue me," said Kaia.
"No problem," replied Destiny. "That's what family's for."
When they arrived at the Lair, Kaia was greeted with many hugs. Kaylee was crying and apologized for not staying with her. Kaia told her that it wasn't her fault and that she didn't blame her for anything. April and Casey decided to go home but promised they would come back the next day for a celebration.
"I suggest that we all go to bed," suggested Splinter. "It has been a long day. Leonardo, you are welcome to sleep on the couch if you would like to."
"Thank you, Sensei," said Leo.
"Can I sleep down here, too?" asked Kaia.
"Yes, you may," replied Splinter. He felt it would be a good idea for Kaia to have some company considering the terrible ordeal she had been through.
Kaia went upstairs to get her sleeping bag and brought down a blanket for Leo. As she spread out her things, she couldn't help feeling glad that she was home. It had been horrible at Foot Headquarters with no one to talk to. She tucked Leo in and then settled down to sleep. Before she closed her eyes, she looked around the room with a sigh of contentment. She was home and safe at last.
A/N: Whoo Hoo! Another chapter is finally done. Don't forget that there are two more chapters left and then this story is complete. Feel free to leave a review after reading this chapter. And, as always, have a shell-tastic day!