Episode 8: Vengeance of the Foot Clan – Part 1
A makeshift map sat in front of Ethan. He had created it out of his old school supplies that he didn't need anymore. Pencils bordered one another, creating a box that represented Shredder's lair. He had put erasers where the windows were according to their best memory. Master Hamato watched from afar, lighting candles to help the meditative process that he would soon be resuming in the dojo.
Ethan had taken this advice to heart – it was time to go on offensive. "So," Ethan began, "The plan is to wait, stationed outside. We are going to move in and see if we can locate Shredder, Karai, Tigerclaw or any of his other henchmen. Then, we build a strategy to move past the weakest targets and from there, we will move down the floors until we find the mutagen crates. Then we smash them."
"This is awesome!" Jess said with a grin on her face, pumping her fist in the air. "I like this!"
Kaela looked nervous as she slowly tied her hair back behind her head. Jess had already put on all her gear, her kama's tucked into their side holsters. Master Hamato looked down at Ethan's crude diagram and nodded. "Remember, planning is crucial, but equally important is your ability to adapt that plan. Prepare to make adjustments, Ethan."
"Hai, sensei." Ethan said, determined. He then turned to Jess and Kaela, lowering his voice to be less audible to Master Hamato. "And if Karai appears, I'm leaving her to you two. I'll go on to the mutagen." Jess and Kaela looked to one another, Jess suppressing a smile and then turned back and nodded affirmatively.
Ethan straightened himself, gathering the school supplies on the floor back into his arms. "Kaela, you finish getting ready and then we'll leave."
"Can do." Kaela said, struggling to take the tremble out of her voice, but her face was determined. Ethan couldn't help but feel a little frightened himself. He walked to the room as he thought about the worse case scenario – namely dying. If they had a confrontation with any single person, they would soon be facing an army of people. Ethan dumped his school supplies on his bed and then turned back.
Kaela finished tying the yellow around her face and strapping the ribbon dart to her side. The three then strode to the genkan eagerly and opened the sliding door. Master Hamato waved a hand to them, a smile on his face. "Good luck, my children." Ethan turned to smile back at his Sensei who now sat amid large candle brackets, ready to meditate. "I am proud of you."
"Thank you," Ethan replied as the three bowed respectfully, "Father."
They then vanished out into the alleyway, the door slowly closing behind them. The last image they saw was of Master Hamato closing his eyes and placing his hands in meditative position, at his center.
Then the excitement began.
They sped up the side of the wall and Ethan noted that they were getting quicker every single time they did so. Jogging turned to sprinting quickly as they threw themselves forward in full ninja run, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, the city zooming beneath them as they did so, the people on the streets ignorant of the ninjas above them. Ethan finally felt like he was getting used to his body. Every blade of his fur he could feel moving, his tail he had become conscious of, finally. "You look adorable when you run!" Kaela cried, clearly trying to diffuse the tension.
Those kind of comments, Ethan wasn't used to yet.
He desperately hoped Karai was out on a mission or something – while in his heart of hearts he hoped that she would find him the second he walked in the door. Why was it that someone who was so good and ready to kill him had to be so awesome.
Her fighting style was edgy.
Her armor looked awesome on her.
Her smile was exiting.
Ethan halted those thoughts quickly, as they skidded to a halt on the lip of the building that overlooked Shredder's lair. The glass roof gleamed against the night sky. The front door was guarded with five Footbots. Ethan had never seen that before.
"Why do you think they have it more defended than usual?" Kaela asked, vocalizing Ethan's own concern.
Ethan shrugged and motioned to the building, "Let's take a look through the roof."
The three jumped, Ethan first, then Kaela and finally Jess. Crouching down, and as quietly as possible, Ethan moved to the window, landing on his knee by its edge and he glanced through the smooth glass. Automatically his eyes went to the stone chair that Shredder had sat at, but it was empty. The room was dark, although Ethan could see a the zombie wolf that had been called Bradford lying on the ground, eyes closed, his chest rising and falling slowly. He was asleep.
Ethan shook his head. "Nobody in there." He whispered.
Jess looked bummed and Kaela, relieved.
"Let's head down to the bottom." Ethan said. "Kaela, do you think you can take out the Footbots before they notice us?"
"Can do." Kaela said with a smile, pulling the ribbon dart from her side. Jess and Ethan watched from the ledge above as Kaela made her way down, balancing herself between two pillars. She flipped her legs up to hold her weight on one, leaning her back against the other and swung the ribbon dart out. It twirled around her wrist and then with a flick and a swing, the bolt went down, slamming through the head of one and into the second, both falling to the ground with a screech before going silent. The other three looked up, with their large red glowing eyes, to see Jess and Ethan descend on them.
Ethan landed on one with his naginata which pierced through it, pinning it to the ground.
Jess' kama's cut through the neck of the second while another dart strike smashed the third to the ground just as it raised its weapon.
Removing his naginata from the silenced Footbot, Ethan turned to the other two with a smile at their accomplishment. "That was a good coordinated attack for once." Ethan commented with a note of pride.
"Good job! Now try it while you simultaneously flirt with Karai!" Jess said with a grin.
Ethan frowned at her.
Looking at the nearby Footbots, Kaela looked up at them and Ethan could tell that the gears were working overload in her mind. "Do you think maybe they added extra security because the Shredder isn't here?" she asked.
"Let's not make any assumptions." Ethan said. "We need to avoid Shredder at any cost."
Kaela nodded.
"I hate talking. Let's do this!" Jess slammed the doors open and Ethan winced at the booming sound that it made.
He slapped the back of her head. "Are you an idiot!" he hissed.
The three then stepped into the room while Jess shoved Ethan back. Luckily, the hallway just inside was totally empty of life. Ethan sniffed at the air. He could smell metal machines working – a strong odor of the oil they used on the machines wafted from down the hallway. "Follow me. Quietly." Ethan ran down the hallway, white passing behind him. Pillars surrounded them on either side, torches hanging from them giving off a shadowy light.
Ethan kept inhaling as hard as he could as he ran, until he finally turned them a sharp right through the pillars and down a pair of stairs. He slowed again at the bottom. He could hear voices inside this room. Or rather – one voice. He peered in cautiously and his mouth dropped open.
Inside was a huge, open lab – at least several stories deep.
Glass cages the size of full rooms bordered each of the walls, and the centerpiece to it all was a huge giant glass bowl filled with mutagen that glowed brightly across the glass, reflecting back at itself. A control panel stood two stories down from them where Stockman sat, his wings folded behind him, his claw pressing a nearby button that flashed red. Next to him was a pile of three crates, filled with mutagen. The only ones that apparently hadn't been dumped into the humongous glass bowl. Stockman was talking to himself, his voice echoing off of the walls. "Only a little longer and then I ssssshould have my own sample of retro mutagen!" he lifted up a nearby vial full of purple liquid and swished it around eagerly, staring at it with his globe-like eyes.
Ethan nodded to the others to signal to them that they had made it to the mutagen. Together the three stepped quietly out from the archway and looked down at the mutagen. Kaela and Jess' eyes grew wide, the green light reflecting in them. "Kaela," He said, as quietly as possible. "Take out Stockman. Jess and I will get rid of the mutagen." Kaela nodded, she knew the drill now. She was by far their greatest asset in taking enemies from afar.
They slowly scooted around the huge circular path, their backs pressed against the wall. Kaela moved quicker than the other two, her feet making little to no noise. Jess and Ethan paused by the corner and Kaela flung down her ribbon dart. For a single moment it flew through the air, and anticipating the impact with Stockman's face, Ethan jumped over the edge, Jess right behind him and landed just behind him, crouched against the ground.
He turned, his wings fluttering and the ribbon didn't make contact.
Ping!
Ethan glanced up. A shurikan had lodged itself in the silk and had stuck it to the side of the wall. Kaela's mouth dropped open in surprise and she looked up, bewildered.
Karai. She perched a level above them – she had been watching them the whole time. "Why, hello again." She said smiling. Her eyes were on Ethan the whole time, even though Kaela was clearly her closest target. "I'm happy you made it here."
"No need to interrupt, Karai." Stockman buzzed happily. He slammed his claw on a huge red button on the control panel and with a sound like a tornado siren, the top of the container of mutagen slammed shut. Then, more metal began to move. Ethan's eyes darted to a huge metal tube that he hadn't seen until now, about ten feet directly underneath the tank of mutagen. Several flaps of metal began to retract and a deafening roar rang through the air.
Jess looked at Ethan, panic in her eyes as she drew one of her kama's and flipped it through her fingers. "That didn't sound good." She said.
Something was uncoiling form the darkness of the huge hole in the ground. At first, all Ethan could see was bladed metal, forming huge, sharp spines that glittered green in the light. Then, two heads appeared, shovel shaped, thousands of sharp teeth visible below solid silver gums. The usual Kraang pink glowed from under the metal plating like burning fire and the two heads roared together again, shaking the whole room.
Ethan felt his body turn to ice as he stared the colossal hydra. "Do you like our Dracodroid?" Baxter Stockman asked, buzzing out of the way, against the wall, so as not to be in the way of the two heads.
Jess turned to Ethan and patted his shoulder, "Well, I promised that I would go after Karai, so good luck." She zoomed off.
"Seriously?" Ethan cried after her, but she had already jumped up to the second level and was sprinting at Karai.
With a sharp wrench, the ribbon was released, the tiny shurikan tinkling through the air and vanishing into the dark below. Kaela ran, her arms behind her to throw her force forward towards Karai. She watched her two opponents with amusement.
Ethan wasn't sure if he was grateful or not that he didn't even have time to think about Karai as suddenly, huge mouths were opening wide after him, teeth the size of knives coming at him. He jumped just in time as the head came crashing down and he let two shurikans fly towards Stockman who squealed and hid behind the lip of the wall.
Landing, Ethan felt his feet touch the head of the Dracodroid, but he didn't stay on their for long as it roared again, like an ancient dinosaur and tried to throw him off with a flick of it's massive head. Ethan hung on for dear life, and, clearly annoyed, it slammed it's own head into the wall. Ethan felt their impact and slipped off, landing hard on the concrete floor near the control panel. The Dracodroid was unphased. Clearly being made of metal had it's perks.
The second head moved quickly, eager to make up for the action it just missed. It's jaws snapped, but Ethan had moved out of the way again, his naginata twirling in his hands. He slammed the butt of his naginata against it's neck.
It didn't even blink, but turned and snapped again, nearly biting Ethan's arm off. "I'm never having you guys promise me anything again!" he shouted furiously up at Jess and Kaela.
Kaela got to Karai first, the experienced kunoichi's blade sung as it sped a hair away from Kaela's face. She quickly moved out of the way, swinging her dart and forcing its quick movement by stepping on the blue of the ribbon. Karai flipped up out of the way just as Jess joined the fight. "I'm sick of you messing with my brother!" Jess snapped, flipping out her second kama and letting it spin in her hand menacingly. She lunged forward, Kaela following her movement. Jess' kama's were intercepted by a well timed block from Karai. Jess immediately ducked, moving behind Kaela as she swung her dart again. Karai kicked it out from the air with her foot and then before she managed to strike Kaela, Jess had moved in front again and took the brunt of the blow with her kama's, moving them in defensive 'X' formation.
The Dracodroid roared and both heads opened their mouths eagerly, but this time, rather than leaping forward, a soft pink light began to glow in their throats and Ethan knew what was coming a few seconds before it did. Long tendrils of sporadic light blasted form their mouths, burning away huge ash colored trails on the ground. Ethan leaped out of the way and skidded across the length of the cement platform, glass hitting his back. He was cornered.
The two heads writhed in delight and sped forward, likely to split Ethan evenly between their two mouths, when suddenly a blade came singing through the air and struck the Dracodroid, plummeting through the metal and with a shriek, one of the heads dropped and stopped moving, it's pink light flickering out. Ethan stared in stunned silence and looked up expectantly at Jess and Kaela. They were frozen where they stood too, Karai even had stopped to look across the platform at the entrance to the lab.
Ethan glanced in the same direction to see that several new figures had joined in the fray. One he didn't recognize at all – the second he did. It was the Hyena mutant that had saved them weeks ago when they had first encountered Shredder. He wore his usual baggy black pants, his chest bare of any shirt, but flooded with spotted, spiky fur. His yellow eyes glinted down at them and in both his hands he carried his tonfa he had threatened Shredder with. He looked miffed to be there again.
The second was a woman, but a mutant nonetheless.
A wolf.
She had black fur that looked as smooth and silky as Ethan's own fur. White armor covered her defined chest and her shoulders. She wore similar black pants. Even from here, Ethan could see beautiful designs that traced the white in spirals and patterns of vines. Her eyes were stormy gray and clutched in one of her hands was a katar – a weapon Ethan had seen before. It was a long triangular blade, sharpened on both sides and had a wicked point for both slashing and stabbing. She held it from a horizontal handle, guarded on both sides with long lengths of metal that ran, twisting up her arm to her elbow. The way she held it was strong, but elegant.
"Look at that, we aren't the only ones out to kill that metal-headed fool." the wolf said. Her voice was smooth, calculated, filled with intent and mocking.
The Hyena mutant turned to her, "Those are the three that were here when I attacked Shredder, Ashina."
The wolf – Ashina apparently – turned to the Hyena, "These are the three that got to see your miserable failure, eh, Bloodmaw?" She chuckled and turned back to the crowd that watched her now, the second Dracodroid mourning the loss of it's fallen half. Ashina grinned, showing pointed teeth, "You three got a special treat."
Bloodmaw glared at her. "Do we kill them too?"
"Any enemy to Shredder is a friend of ours." Ashina replied.
Ethan was liking where this conversation was going.
"Who are you?" Karai snapped, turning with an angry glare, her serpent eyes flashing dangerously.
Ashina raised an eyebrow, "Ashina of the Shinotomo Tribe."
"You're with the Hamato Clan?" Kaela asked.
The black wolf turned her attention to Kaela and then down at the shurikan in Jess' fingers showing a glimmering Hamato Clan symbol. She then sighed, "I take it back. Any enemy but the Hamato Clan is a friend of ours." She looked directly at Ethan and winked, "Looks like your out of luck. I don't get to save you after all."
Karai flipped out a second blade from her shoe, twirling it in her other hand. "Stockman." She snapped, "Get the others, now."
The fly buzzed away, vanishing into the dark.
Ashina nodded to Karai, "Bloodmaw, you take on those three. I'll take care of him and that pink, metal dragon thing."
Ethan was no longer liking where this was going.
Ashina lunged toward him.
Master Hamato breathed in and out, feeling the heat of the candles against his skin. He was shaking – he was old. He could feel the lengthening shadow had finally reached him and at the sound of the sliding door, he slowly opened his eyes.
Candle light flickered across the solid metal of the Kuro Kabuto. Shredder stepped onto the tatami mat, his long cape hissing against the ground, his one good eye glaring at Master Hamato. He slowly closed the sliding door behind him and the wood tapped quietly.
Master Hamato slowly stood back up, picking up the katana that he had waiting at the side of the table in his hand. "Oroku Saki." he said slowly. "I did not know years ago, when I saw my old dojo turn to ash that the next time I would see you, you would be wearing that cursed artifact."
Shredder glared, "Nor did I think I would see you alive at all, Yuta."
Master Hamato's face did not change, his emotions still as calm as pond water and he slowly fingered the handle of the katana, feeling the leather working around the handle of the weapon he had used for the past seventy years of his life. "Do you have nothing to say to your once student, old man? Or have you just begun to realized that now I am your superior." Shredder hissed, the metal reverberating where his mouth was.
"There is much I have to say to my students – but you are no longer student or son of mine." Master Hamato said lowly. "You have given all of that away for the pretended honor of the Foot Clan. You will realize one day soon that you traded all that is good for nothing."
Shredder's shoulders began to shake and his fury permeated the room, the candles flickering to either side of him. "Honor?" Shredder spat, "I won't listen to a man preach honor who killed my father in cold blood!"
"Oroku Kaiji was a man stained with blood. If he had found a child of the Hamato clan as I had found you, he would have let the child die in the cold. I saved you from the darkness of the Foot, and yet still you choose to follow that path. It will only lead to destruction."
Shredder went silent and then the prongs of his gauntlet shot out, the points shining in the light. "Tell me where Hamato Yoshi is, that I may end him. Then, I will find your three disciples and cut them to pieces."
Master Hamato's face remained solid and with his thumb, he pushed the blade away from the sheath. "You may threaten my own life all you desire, Saki." With a solid stroke, he threw the sheath off and it slid across the tatami to the far wall, the steel of the katana glowing orange from the flames of the candles. "But threaten my children one more time and I will take away your second eye."
With a roar, Shredder burst forward, swinging his arm down.
Master Hamato kicked the tiny table out of the way and with a smooth stroke, blocked the attack, sparks showering in every direction.