Episode 2: The Animal Agenda – Part 2
Sensei sat outside, Indian style, his eyes closed even at 11:33 PM. If Ethan had learned anything over the years, it was that when he went into one of his deep trances, nothing was going to break him out of it, outside of slapping him upside the face. Not that Ethan would ever try that. Master Hamato could probably break him in half if he felt inclined. And Ethan liked his spine the way it was.
In their bathroom, Ethan inspected the long purpling bruise that spanned the side of his upper rib cage. Black and a traumatic red could be found at the wound's edges. Tigerclaw had hit him with the force of a bowling ball.
Ignoring the pain in his side as much as possible, he took his fated white bandanna and placed it over his eyes reverently. Working his hands this way and that, feeling each motion of the cloth against his fingers, he tied it tightly. Purity. Strength. Devotion. The words were imprinted on his mind.
He snatched up the long leather belts he had used on last patrol, metal buckles gleaming in the lamplight. He pulled them over his middle and across his shoulder,. They pressed uncomfortably on one of his bruises. Hoping for at least a brief relief from his guilt for leaving, he grasped his naginata firmly and drew it close to him before he tucked it in it's holster on his back. Jess and Kaela did their hair up in front of the mirror, tying it tightly to the back of their head and placing their weapons in the holsters on the sides of their belts.
After Kaela and Jess nodded to show their readiness, Ethan pushed their room door open ever so slightly and peaked back out towards the window that faced the backyard garden. 11:42 PM and Master Hamato had not moved from his spot, his eyes closed, his wrists rested calmly on his knees, the palms turned up. "Okay," Ethan whispered, "We stop at the zoo and investigate and that's it."
The other two nodded in agreement. "If we find something, then maybe we can check it out tomorrow." If Sensei lets me. He mentally added. As silently as they could, they tip-toed out of the room, closing it so slowly behind them that when Ethan checked, another minute had passed. They moved as quickly and silently as they could across the dark room. Tatami mat was appropriately silent to tread on. Ethan's eyes kept drawing back to Master Hamato, but his shadowy self didn't move from that spot. If Ethan didn't know better – he would have thought him an intricate, religious statue.
Jess slid their front door open slowly. They rushed out as quickly as they could, the sound of passing cars, honking diesels and loud voices shut up quickly as they slammed the door. "Move!" Ethan hissed, worried that the brief moment of intense noise had snapped their Master out of his meditation. Their feet scampered across the ground, their arms behind them to build momentum.
The moment their foot touched the bright lights and they saw the copious crowds of people running to and from night clubs, they froze. Kaela pointed up at the tops of the buildings, "Let's go from above again!"
Ethan nodded, approving her suggestion. He couldn't imagine running through the crowd of city folk with weapons and adorned in full ninja garb. Following behind Kaela back into their alleyway, they grappled up the side of the wall, pushing themselves off loose brick until Kaela's hands were able to catch on to the bottom rung of the escape ladder. The rest was easy from there. Ethan followed behind her, hoping he wouldn't fall from the pain in both his side and his palms from the cool metal. Jess would be taken out below him. Finally, he rolled up behind Kaela and winced, his side reminding him with a painful jab that he was supposed to be inside asleep.
Hopping up behind him, Jess emerged over the lip of the old, rusty roof. "You okay?" Kaela asked gently, turning back to Ethan, concern in her large blue eyes.
Ethan smiled back, "Of course! Not a problem." He lied. Without letting them have time to reply, he straightened up and sprinted past Kaela, taking the lead. Together the three jumped from roof top to roof top. Water began to sprinkle down on them as the clouds gathered above in large gray bunches. Ethan could feel the tiny drops tapping gently against his face and shoulders, seeping in, cool and refreshing against the heat of his physical activity.
Once they passed the Dragon Gate, Ethan knew that the zoo was close. As they approached, Ethan realized the strange quietness that distilled through the streets. Only the pitter patter of tiny rain droplets broke the silence. "Odd," Kaela said, coming to a stop at the edge of the six floor building they had hopped to. "There aren't even any cars here."
Ethan squinted down at the broken gates that had been bound shut with yellow tape. Besides that, as Kaela had said, no vehicle zoomed down the empty street. The street lights changed color in a lonely sort of way, as if asking for someone to pay attention to them. "Yeah," Ethan said quietly as he scanned the area, "Weird." He pulled his naginata from his back and pointed the tip of the blade down at the gates. "Let's go full ninja mode and get in there quick."
Silently, they jumped down. They climbed down stairs from the building's fire escape and then dived over the railing down below. Ethan stumbled on his landing, but recovered quickly. He had to ignore the pain that he was feeling and just keep moving. It was as if the drizzle was making his wound more painful. He belt around his middle hugged the long bruise on his side in such a way that he had to bite down on his tongue sometimes to ensure he didn't grunt in pain. Even worse, his clothes were slowly weighing him down. Jess pulled out her kama's, letting them spin between her fingers and with a few quick swipes, the yellow tape fell away, limp, as if she had killed them. "Very stealthy." Kaela chuckled.
Ethan tried to ignore the nervous apprehension that chilled him more than the rain. What are police going to think when they see that? Every second, he was regretting this decision more and more. Not allowing himself to pause and think about it, the three ducked under some of the lower hanging bars and into the darkness of the zoo.
Expansive sidewalks criss crossed this way and that way. The shapes of dark bushes sat along the pathway, normally filled with families and dates running to see all of the cages that stood in all shapes and sizes both to the right and to the left. Some were pits, sunk into the ground. Others, large glass boxes. Although the lights of nearby decorative lamps glowed bright yellow, the shadows that moved in the cages nearby unnerved Ethan. Bars gleamed and outlines of the rocks in the cages could be seen, but the animals lurked in the darkness, either preparing to strike or hiding from the three teenagers, mistaking them for the animal-nappers.
"This place is so spooky at night." Jess said, "I like a lot better in the day when – y'know – you can see the animals." she chuckled nervously, but Ethan could see that she had tightened her grip on her kama's. Ethan tried to imagine a tiger or a gorilla getting out and attacking them. It wasn't very comforting. The drizzle of rain began to taper off, and Ethan could hear their feet splash in the puddles so loudly that he winced each time, fearing that security would turn the corner of one of the large gift shop buildings or pop up from behind a bush, flashlight in hand.
Security! I didn't think about that!
"Guys." Ethan whispered, "Security guards are probably patrolling – be silent."
Jess scowled at him, as if he was specifically reprimanding her. Kaela nodded in agreement. As they made their way down the large sidewalk, passing a pit that held a sleeping gorilla and a series of glass cages with huge snakes coiled on themselves snoozing, Kaela suddenly stopped. She held up her hand, flattening herself against the wall of a nearby bathroom stall. Ethan and Jess froze. They slowly tip toed over to to her side and Kaela pressed her finger to her lips and then motioned to a corner of a large bathroom stall area.
Before Ethan looked, he could hear the whirling sound of mechanical devices. j
He slowly craned it neck around the corner of the bathroom stall.
Kraang.
Ethan could see them as clear as day.
Violet glowing eyes, metal faces blank of any expression, long spindly robotic legs and arms. Their artificial fingers held the trigger of their large black weapons. The bottom of the gun looked like a buzz saw had been strapped to it, but the barrels were pointed at a man. He wore a white jump suit and a walkie talkie sat on his hip. It was clear he was trying to reach at it, his eyes filled with fear. He was whimpering, held by both arms by two other Kraang droids, making it three total. "Leave me alone!" He cried, "What are you guys? Aliens?"
"Tell – us – in – this – place – where – to – find – that - which – is – know – as – 'a lion' – or – you – will – be – vaporized – in – this – place."
That backwards talk was familiar to Ethan. He had heard the Kraang talk like this before. The glowing lines that made up their fake mouth would sporadically begin to blink in and out as they spoke.
Kaela turned to Ethan, "Well, do we just take them out?" she asked.
Ethan nodded, "This time, new plan. Kaela, you sneak around back. Jess and I will charge them. You take them out when they are distracted. Got it?"
Kaela shrugged, "Sounds like the same plan as before."
Ethan frowned.
"No offense."
"Go."
Kaela patted Ethan on the head condescendingly and then vanished into the darkness, pulling out her ribbon dart as she went, her yellow bandanna flapping in the wind behind her. Ethan turned to Jessica who grinned. Ethan couldn't help but smile back. This is what he was made for. The pain from his injury that Tigerclaw had given him seemed to fade in the anticipation of battle.
"Let's crush some Kraang."
One of the Kraang droids grabbed the walkie talkie. He seemed to have noticed that the man was grappling for it. Ethan could see now in the light from one of the glass cages the little pink brains resting in the chest of the robot body, eyes closed as it used it's energy to power it. He let the walkie talkie drop and then stomped on it promptly, the device smashing into tiny black pieces that scattered into nearby puddles.
Ethan whirled out from the darkness, his feet moving nimbly against the wet ground as he burst forward. He could hear Jess right behind him. The man gave a scream when he saw the two charging teenagers and the three Kraang peered over, their glowing eyes piercing. Before they had managed to raise their guns, Ethan had ducked down and with a single solid stroke, cut one's legs off. The two pieces of metal clanged together against the ground and the shriek of the actual Kraang echoed into the wet night. With a sucking sound, the brain looking blob burst from the robotic suit and fled into the night, it's tentacles flailing every which direction, like a frightened wad of gum, it's eyes wide.
"It – is – the – ones – known – ninjas." The sound of the other two figures gun's powering up could be heard right next to Ethan's ear. They had let go of the man who screamed, collapsing on the ground and crawling away towards the gift shop. The sound of hooting monkeys could be heard – likely angry from the Kraang waking them up from their nap.
Jess had flung herself into one of the others and with an 'x' strike, cut it's chest wide open. The Kraang brain quickly popped out of it's shell and sped off into the night after it's comrade, it's metal body collapsing on the ground.
The third managed to blast at them but Ethan had twirled out of the way and slammed a little harder than expected on the ground, muddy water splashing up on him as the pain shook the side of his body, reminding him of his guilt in being here at all, but the rush of battle quickly overtook that feeling.
"Kraang – must - Capture – ninjas – for – presentation – before – Kraang's – glorious – leader."
Violet colored laser's burst around him and Ethan quickly tumbled out of the way again, using the blade of his naginata to block several of the more precise shots. A blue ribbon shot out from the darkness from above and wrapped around the Kraang droid's gun and with a wrench it vanished into the night. Kaela appeared from the darkness, lunging up from a nearby bathroom roof as she snatched the gun out of the air and with another spin and a rough landing, the dart smashed the Kraang droid off it's feet and into a nearby glass cage.
It smashed, cracks running up it's side, glittering glass bouncing in every direction.
"Heck yes!" Kaela cried in victory as she staggered to her feet. "Don't really get points for stealth, but we took care of them like they were nothing!"
"Told you the plan would work." Ethan said smiling and leaning against his naginata, his other hand on his hip. The man from the zoo had already vanished into the night.
The familiar sound of powered up Kraang guns filled the sky and the three spun around.
"Crap."
"It – is – the – ones – known – as – ninja's."
Ethan couldn't tell which of the thirty or forty Kraang droid's had said it.
They had popped out of the darkness from seemingly nowhere. Their eyes glowed in the night, menacingly and they raised their weapons, pointing them directly at the three. Ethan spun the other direction. They were surrounded on all sides. "Just kidding." Kaela said.
"What's the plan now, Ethan?" Jess asked nervously.
Ethan groaned, "This has to be the crappiest week of my life." Now he was stuck – worse he had gotten the other two stuck here as well. "I shouldn't have had us come. This was so stupid." he hissed.
Jess turned to look at him, holding her kama's up and ready as the Kraang droids began to close in on the three. "Well, we are here now – so do we attack or what?" She sounded just as frightened as him.
"Do – not – move – or this – is a place – that you will not be leaving from – but rather – it will be known as the place – of the vaporization – of those – who – are – called – ninjas."
They were completely circled in, multiple gun barrels pointed at them, and this time Ethan doubted that a random Hyena mutant was going to be there to save them. Once the crowd of Kraang droids had closed them in enough that there was not but two feet between them and the nearest gun barrel, one of the Kraang parted through the crowd, holding a strange silver panel, no larger than Ethan's palm. Three pentagon screens pressed against each other on the metal surface, glowing the same violet color as the Kraang eyes. The brains sat in their compartments, eyes closed, but their mental energy was channeling through the suit and was just as ready as a human would be, to vaporize them.
Ethan eyed the panel nervously as the Kraang finally reached them. The Kraang droid pressed all three of the pentagons, the light glowing more brightly and then he lifted his hand as if he were setting the device on an imaginary shelf and then let go. It hovered in the air.
"I don't like this." Kaela said nervously, "There is definitely something going on. We need to get out."
"No kidding." Ethan snapped back.
Jess was equally eying the strange device nervously, her brown hair, although done in a ponytail was drenched in rain that ran down her forehead and off the tip of her nose. Ethan tried to calculate a way out – but nothing was coming to him. There was no way to run with forty guns pointed at them. Fighting would be useless. He wished he had some smoke pellets, but all he had was his naginata and some shurikans – neither of which were going to be much use.
Two other Kraang had appeared from the crowd and grabbed the edges of the tiny silver panel looking contraption. The three pentagons glowed so brightly that the neon pink reflected in the nearby puddles and off to the gates of the zoo. Slowly the Kraang stepped backward, keeping the metal between their clunky fingers and suddenly, a large triangle appeared, held together by the three metal corners of the strange contraption they had. Ethan had seen this before, right before New York had been invaded before. Hundreds of these had popped up around the city.
They were portals.
Portals that led – Ethan assumed – to whatever strange dimension the Kraang came from.
"Fighting is starting to look like a good option." Jess whispered to him.
Ethan had the same thought. Rain drops had begun to splatter the road again, the sound mixed with the Kraang's robotic clunking sounds and the metal of their bodies gleamed, polished by the cool water. He began to calculate which Kraang to go after first. Any option he came up with ended in him getting shot. There was no way he could dodge a thousand laser blasts, let alone make sure that Kaela and Jess weren't subject to any of them.
This was their second failure. His second failure. A feeling worse than Tigerclaw's punch, or their defeat at the hands of the Foot Clan sank into him. It was the feeling of giving up. The Kraang behind them moved in and prodded them towards the gleaming, triangular portal – it's color, the standard Kraangy pink. They moved forward, still holding their weapons, yet powerless to do anything and before Ethan could protest or think about what they had just gotten themselves into, he was prodded into the glowing triangle.