A/N: Hi guys! You see, it's exams week recently, and I had a hard time in trying to insert some time for typing this thing, so please, bear with me and I hope you understand!
To make it clear, this story is set before 'Wormquake', wherein the turtles haven't met Tiger Claw so if you'll read it, they still don't know who is he.
Kay dudes, enjoy! (maybe..*evil smirk*)
Chapter 6
Earlier the same day...
It is still morning, about 9 a.m. where the sun shines brightly outside and the temperature is quickly rising. Inside a room, probably called the training dojo inside Shredder's lair is completely different. There is no sign of any bright light from the huge ball of hot gas. Every window in the lair are heavily tinted, so any kind of light won't pass through it.
Inside the same room as what Karai sees as her father's office, some kind of conversation or rather business talk is heard. Shredder is sitting on a chair, and is talking to a person in a phone.
"I know I should have personally picked you but today, I urgently need your ability in a very special mission. I know that you brought your own army, don't you?" The villain tapped his fingers on the table.
"I understand, Master Shredder. And yes, I have my units with me. My ship will depart on New York Port within half a minute. You'll expect me to bring that turtle's shell within an hour" From the other line, a male voice replied.
" I want him alive. You may do whatever you want to him, but let him live" Shredder clenched his fists. "Find the turtle in the sewers. Bring him alone" "Hai, Master Shredder " The foot clan leader smirked behind his Kuro Kabuto.
The time for his lies is getting shorter. As the time goes on, the events are getting more complicated; some are out of the line. That includes Karai's infatuation towards the enemy. He knows that he cannot stop this to happen, but he knows a way how to control it; by showing his 'daughter' who is the most powerful. By doing something unexpected.
-'":;!?,.
Somewhere in the sewers... Present time...
The blue banded turtle narrowed his eyes. "Who are you!" He asked the unfamiliar figure that suddenly appeared from the shadow and hit his brother with an arrow. He looked at the new enemy from head to toe. A mutant tiger? Shinatta! What's next? Lion?
The tiger, seemingly a mutant, wears a blue scarf around his neck and looks like a hired assassin. Bullets for hand guns and other things to kill a certain being are also on his gear. He is holding the bow that was used to shoot the arrow. His eyes are clearly merciless. No doubt he is strong; a highly trained warrior.
Leonardo looked at his back, where he placed Raph. Don't worry Raph. I got this. I'm here to protect you. He returned his gaze to the mutant tiger. "What did you do to him!" His anger is coming out little by little, but he is still trying to hold it in. This is the same kind of rage he had released the last time; and he won't let that happen again, not when his brother is counting on him. He breathed out to relax himself and calm down his thoughts.
"So you're the one they are talking about. Leonardo, the feared leader of the clan. So you are indeed a teenager. How did your team beat Shredder's henchmen?" He did not wait for the turtle's response. The mutant tiger took a step forward and cracked his neck. A pretty overconfident young ninja. Let's see how the noble Hamato Yoshi taught you.
The turtle's breathing becomes more rapid. His aggressiveness is rising uncontrollably. He glared furiously at the bigger foe. "You haven't introduced yourself, tiger" He gritted his teeth and remained his stance.
The new enemy is obviously experienced. He could see that on the way he stands and the fact that he was able to sneak a shot from them. Not a pretty good sight. If he won't be able to beat this big guy, probably, he will be able to attack his family and perhaps, hurt them. He will never let that happen.
He did hurt his family once, but one is enough. Two is too much. He cannot bear another pain like that.
"Call me, Tiger Claw," The new mutant, who called himself as Tiger Claw, raised a hand and signaled the ninjas at his back to attack Leo. "Let's see what you can do"
The ninjas who charged Leo are those who had a very special training with Tiger Claw himself. In fact, those ninjas can survive a kick from a galloping horse. Not a pretty good sight again.
A ninja is never been unarmed, Master Splinter always tells them. You are a master of your surroundings. Sensei's voice is very clear, as if he is beside the teenage ninja. That was perfectly right. They are a master of their surroundings. Leo grinned, as if he formulated a plan that would destroy the whole world.
Sewers. The place that serves as their home for almost 16 years.
The whole scenario is clear to him. They are not here for my family. They are here simply for me. Smart move, Metal pants. He knows that they won't hurt Raph again. Even if he leaves his brother for a while to wipe out these ninjas.
He grabbed something from his side. I still got one. Perfect. Donnie's ninja smoke bombs, created for an emergency like this one. He held Raph using his free hand and dropped the egg bomb with an enough force. The two of them vanished with the purple smoke.
The foot ninjas stopped. Tiger Claw coughed and wiped out the dirt that entered his eyes. His ears twitched, finding the presence of the escaped turtle. "He's not far. Find him!" He yelled. The ninjas simultaneously nodded and went at different directions. This is quite a challenge. You want a game, turtle? Then you got one.
-'":;!?,.
Leonardo runs through the sewer tunnels, while carrying his unconscious brother at his back. While running, he placed a hand on Raph's forehead to check his temperature. The thing Master Splinter does when one of them gets hurt. Not too warm. But not too normal. He need to get back to the lair and have Donnie to check on Raph before anything else happens to him. He looked at the red banded turtle's right arm where the arrow pierced through. The bleeding stopped, leaving a trace of dried blood.
He continued to run as silent as possible. There is no enough time to go to the lair. Tiger Claw may find them across the way. Especially that the lair is very far from where he is right now. Instead, he chose the other option. The alternative is too horrible.
He headed to their secret hideout. He slowed down a little and stopped right in front of the vehicle. "You'll be okay Raph, I promise." Leo whispered through his ears. His younger brother groaned shortly, as if he heard his brother's voice.
The blue banded turtle removed the bandage from his left hand and tied it on Raph's injured arm. He used the part that wasn't stained with his own blood. His eyes narrowed. Someone is coming. He must better be out here before that someone reaches this place.
He turned his head at the back and saw a silhouette. He ran towards it, with an unknown speed and pummeled the ninja on the floor. He raised his head and grabbed the foe's katana. I can use this. He left the unconscious ninja and headed straight to find more enemies.
He felt excitement. Is this what Raph feels when he cracks some skulls? He considered the excitement as an adrenaline rush. He stopped at a corner and waited for the wandering soldier. His eyes turned into pure whites, as he swiftly locked his arm around the enemy. The poor ninja struggled for air, but gave up easily. Leo dropped the beaten foe, and went into another sewer tunnel.
He was stopped by the five soldiers in black, all are twirling chains and aiming their shurikens at the teenage turtle. They all surrounded Leo.
The blue banded turtle rolled his eyes on all opponents, as if checking their weak points. The five soldiers threw their shurikens expertly with calculated speed and accuracy. Leo unsheated the borrowed sword and deflected every piece of the shurikens, leaving them dropping on the ground.
One of the foes was able to launch his chain and wrap it on Leo's right leg. The others took this opportunity and threw their chains also from different directions.
Using the katana, Leonardo deflected the first chain, and then the second, but he did not managed to counter the last two. The third chain wrapped his left hand, which holds the blade, and the last one on his neck. His eyes narrowed. Uh oh. This is not good.
Quickly, he pulled the chain on his left hand with a strong force to make the foe lose his grip on him. Unfortunately, the chain on his neck was pulled also, knocking the air in his lungs. The katana he was holding fell on the ground. He dropped from his knees and coughed for air.
At the back, three ninjas are holding the chain tied on Leo's neck. The two others are on the chain around his leg.
He grabbed the metal around his neck and tried to take it off. The two ninjas in black pulled the chain, making him stumble on the ground. Panting, he turned his head to the right and grabbed the katana. He swiftly used the sword to cut the chain holding his neck.
Leo raised his head and stood up. He pulled the chains on his leg, leaving the two ninjas to crash on the floor. He sheathed the blade and grabbed the chain. He twirled the metal and threw it to the three ninjas and tied it around them.
The remaining two enemies got up and ran to him. He saw them from the corner of his eyes. He stretched his left hand, and concenrated the muscles on his arm, leaving the force on the tip of his fingers. The blow made the foes literally fly away and crash onto the nearest wall.
He wiped the sweat dripping on his forehead. His breathing became rapid because of the exhaustion from the battle. Leo turned his back and continued to run. Time is very important at this moment. Every second is a drop of blood.
Leo felt a slight sting on his neck. Those chains left me a bruise. Great. He looked around to find more enemies to take down. Let me see... There are twelve morons beside Tiger Claw, which means, I only need to find the remaining five. He thought, while rolling his eyes around and checking every sewer tunnel. "For Ryan's sake... I hope they won't decapitate me this time," whispered Leo.
Something landed behind him which made him halt. But someone makes it more accurate. A single unit of Tiger Claw's finest soldier is the one who made the noise. So much for a ninja.
He heard the unsheathing of swords from the foe. He turned back and unsheated his borrowed katana. This particular ninja is much different from the others. Based on his stance, this ninja probably uses the same katas Leo is performing.
"Look. I know that you are looking very good in terms of sword fighting, but I guess, you must use that skill in more useful ways rather than following that Shredder, right?" Leo smirked at the foe. He was ignored by the ninja. The smirk faded on Leo's face. "I am warning you. I'm way better than you, freak!" The foot ninja answered, grinning behind his mask. "Really? Let's see."
The quite older ninja, based on the sound of his voice, launched himself forward with his twin katana. Too bad. The fight is unfair. I only got one blade. Leo thought. He raised his arm that holds the katana to shield the attack. "I have no time for this game, foot ninja" The clash of the swords on each other created a spark and a sheer sound.
The two swordsmen exchanged blows on each other, trying to prove on both sides who's a lot better. The two of them uses the kata from a legendary samurai. The method is called, Niten-ichi Ryu by the ancient Japanese. The term can also be used on the name of the katanas used by Leonardo, but at this moment, he is not using it. He is now stucked with a simple-built katana which is a lot heavier than his own.
"What's wrong, Leonardo?" The foe said, putting a playful tone on Leo's name. "Having a hard time on using that sword?" Leo raised a brow. "Don't be so proud of yourself, foot." He smiled a little by realizing the other meaning of what just he had said. Foot. A little proud foot. They both deflected each other's attacks while circling around.
"I'm getting bored with this kind of fight. Do you know any kind of other katas aside from slashing your knives in the air?" I sound like Karai. Getting bored about sword fighting. "Like using these on you to spill your guts?" "Come on. I'm serious. You're a ninja, right? So it means, you probably heard about Sayonagi" "Huh?" The foe suddenly stopped and bit his lips. "What? You don't know anything about it? Okay. Let me show you."
The turtle grinned and took a step backward. He sheathed the blade back. "Of course, you must first place a foot at the front and then..." Leo looked at the corner of his eyes and spotted the ninja carefully watching and listening to his instructions. "...then..." The teenage ninja quickly raised his knee and hit the foe straight into his face.
The hit created a force, enough to drip some blood from the foe's lips. "What was that for?!" "I'm your enemy, right? So you're also my enemy. Sorry I didn't play fair." He smirked. "So if that's what you want then!" The foot soldier jumped behind Leo and kicked him on the back of his head. "I know some basics"
The blue banded turtle was dragged forward by the kick.
"Basics? I don't think that will-" All of a sudden, Leo felt a strong sting from his head. He winced in pain, and his vision became blurry. He kneeled, and placed a hand on his head. "What's wrong, little one? It's a simple kick! Why couldn't you absorb the pain?"
He ignored the enemy. All he cares for now is the extreme pain breaking his head. No. Not again. This is the same pain he experienced during his capture inside the Kraang lab, and his fight with his brothers by the control of Shredder.
The enemy took his advantage to attack. He kicked Leo again on the same spot, believing that it's the turtle's weak point. The hit made the blue banded turtle's face to crash on the ground. The unnamed ninja became confident that he could beat the turtle at this time. He's greatly wrong.
The blue clad turtle remained immobilized, as if he is already unconscious. Hold it in. Hold it in. Hold...it...in... The ninja in black aimed the katana on Leo's right arm. He stabbed the teenage turtle on his arms, locking the blade on his flesh and creating a deep cut. Leonardo screamed of the pain, and blood from the wound rapidly flowed down.
The foot ninja's hand trembled, while releasing the blade from his hand. He left the katana on the turtle's arm and took a step backward.
The turtle raised his head and stood on his legs. He removed the blade from his arm. He opened his eyes. The azure glow is gone once more and replaced with glowing red. He is now standing on his own pool of blood. "You made a big mistake. Never underestimate the enemy" His now cold voice sent a chill running through the foot ninja's spine.
"What do you mean, huh?" Leo slowly turned his back and faced the ninja. "Y-your eyes.." The foot soldier pointed the teenage turtle.
With a blink of the eye, Leo is now holding the foot soldier's hand. The enemy's eyes narrowed and he became pale. Leonardo kicked his foe on the abdomen while still holding his arm. The turtle flipped the ninja and pummeled him on the sewer floor. He cracked the foe's arms, that made another painful scream. The broken arm will be left useless for all the ninja's lifetime.
Leonardo unsheathed the katana on his back and prepared a strike. He aimed it on the ninja's head. "Nooohhh!" The ninja in black shouted at the top of his lungs. Leo stopped and stepped back away from the foe.
He closed his eyes and ran away. He slammed his shell against the nearest wall and slid down. He hugged his knees and slipped the sword he is holding. What have I done?
His heart beat raised as his breathing went fast. The same rage was released once more. The worst thing that had happened was, he almost killed a human. He almost put a stain on his hands. He almost put his honor deep under the ground.
He turned at his right arm. The blood flow is almost unstoppable. The pain is unbearable. As the time goes on, his strength is depleting. He placed a hand on his wound and squeezed his arm, tightly.
Leonardo removed his bandage on his right wrist and tied it around his wounded arm. That will help stop the bleeding.
He stood on his knees as they trembled violently. Oh come on. Work with me. He took some steps forward, while still holding his right arm. Only if I brought my T-Phone.
A faint light bulb shone above his head. He remembered Raph. If his brother has his phone, then he could ask for a help from the others. He stopped for awhile and thought about the consequences.
If he rushes back towards Raph, more time could be wasted. And if Raph doesn't have the phone, then it's over. It's the end. We're gonna die in here.
He closed his eyes and breathes out. His heart skipped a beat when be heard silent thumps around him. He slowly opened his eyes.
The last four ninjas that is told to get him finally revealed themselves. Oh please.
-'":;!?,.
Somewhere in the sewers...
The red banded turtle's fingers twitched, a sign of him, regaining his consciousness. He groaned, and carefully opened his eyes. He blinked several times before his sight cleared.
Where the heck am I? He got up, and remembered everything. He was with Leo a moment ago when a stray arrow hit him in his arms, which contained some sort of sedative that made him sleep. His eyes narrowed, and he worried about his brother. He quickly turned to his arm. From there, he saw the bandage that is tied around.
Leo?! Where is he?! He quickly jumped out of the old tank and headed straight. He saw a fallen ninja, lying down with his face on the ground. He paused for a while. He did this.
As he continues to run throughout the sewers, he saw some more evidences that his older brother is in complete trouble. He saw some ninjas lying down, a badly cracked wall and three individuals chained around their waists. Clean work, fearless.
Raphael ran once more. From afar, he heard a scream. "Leo!," He cried aloud. The voice was followed by another scream, but the voice isn't familiar. "Hold on! I'm coming!" He ran, the fastest his feet could manage.
Raph finally reached the spot where the sound came from. The sight made his stomach twist. Blood. Blood everywhere. He spotted an unfortunate ninja, having an arm hanging like a useless thing.
He turned his head down. Below his feet is a pool of crimson liquid and a sword stained with blood on its tip.
He shook his head. "No. No. No! Please no!" He clenched his fists and turned in a tunnel.
Tracing his brother is not hard this time. He can just follow the drops of blood around and they can lead him straight to Leo.
He hurried once more. He can feel it. He is very near to Leo. He heard some thumps, not far from him. Finally, he saw his brother, surrounded by about four men. He panted, and clenched his fists.
"Leo!" Based on Raph's senses, any foreign being surrounding a member of his family is an enemy. Especially when these foreign beings are holding something sharp and are pointing out to his brother.
He literally gnarled as he run to charge his brother's opponents. After he landed the first kick on a foe, the other one also did a kick to Leonardo, making him fall on his knees.
Raph heard him wince, which created a cut deep within his heart. He growled at the one who did it, and angrily punched him on his face. "How dare you to hurt my brother!" He faced the others in a combat.
The red banded turtle is clearly outnumbered, by the head count. It doesn't matter to him, as long as these morons pay for what they did. In fact, the psudo-ninjas seem to be the ones who are outnumbered instead of Raph. His anger and concern are mixed, fueling him up.
After a few minutes of vigorous duel with the ninjas from the infamous Foot Clan, two of the units have been taken down by Raphael, leaving them unconscious. There are only two more left to battle.
Leonardo cannot stand the sight of watching his younger brother do this by himself. He need to get up, and help his sibling fight the enemy, even if his own body forbids him to do a thing.
He placed a force on his left palm and helped his body to stand up. He slowly crept and headed towards the weapon. Everyone is busy fighting, so cannot be noticed immediately. He grabbed the katana and held it tightly.
Raphael is left with one more opponent. They both exchanged punches and kicks to each other. From his back, he didn't notice that someone tries to sneak a stab at his back. "Raph! Look out!" From behind, Leo yelled, and used the katana to block the attacker. He gave this man a kick that sent him rollimg across the sewer floors.
Don't you dare do that again! He gritted his teeth and flashed a killing glare towards the ninja that he took down. The usual calmness of the leader is slowly disappearing. Anger is thoroughly consuming his mind; including his heart.
Raph took a peek behind his shoulder. There is something wrong with Leo. Something to do about that mutagen inside of him. This sent another group of chill running through Raph's spine. There must be no time wasted.
Raph sent a final kick to the last opponent. He quickly ran to Leo and placed a hand behind his shell. "Hey, are you alright?" Leo took several breaths before replying. "I'm fine. It's just this huge wound is killing me softly" He winced a little and squeezed his arm. "Let me see," Raph untangled the bandage that is stained with blood. He saw the deep cut with vast amount of crimson liquid that flows down. "Oh, man. I'm not a doctor. How did you get this thing anyway? " He tried to hide the nervousness behind his voice.
"By being so careless" Raph raised a brow and stared with a skeptical look. "When was the last time you've been so careless, huh? I thought you are the most careful." He looked back at the wound and tied another set of cleaner bandages. "Today's a lot different. I don't even have the answer about it." The blue banded turtle's azure glow in his eyes faded. His shoulders dropped of the thought. "What is it? " "I don't even know what's wrong with me." Raph's emerald eyes illuminated the dark abyss. "I'm sorry I can't help you" Raphael frowned. "Let's go home, then." "No we can't. Someone's still out there waiting for us. If we continue, we are also bringing him straight into the lair. We need to...fight him." Raph's eyes narrowed a bit. "Who is he?"
"It's Tiger Claw" From out of nowhere, the mutant feline emerged, with claws drawn out. Both of the turtles froze in their place. "He's the one, isn't he?" Raph clenched his fists, and stared sharply at the mutant. Leo nodded and gritted his teeth. "You'd better be ready" Tiger Claw smirked, his incisors exposed.
-'":;!?,.
A/N:Phew.. So that's it. The two of them will fight against Tiger Claw.
My recent exams will determine my future career that maybe I wasn't aware of! So I hope they will be alright! I wish! Pray for me, dudes!
"Dream on, Donnie. Dream on." - Casey Jones