Episode 8: Vengeance of the Foot Clan – Part 2

Ethan tried to conclude who was better at fighting – Karai or Ashina – he was starting to lean towards Ashina. She had a deadliness in her that Karai didn't have. As she moved through the air as fluid as the air itself, her fur blew around her, her katar striking through the air, cutting it to ribbons and nearly him. Ethan blocked another vicious attack with the side of his naginata and spun it behind his back to gain force to then swing it back out, striking at her center.

She moved, her teeth clenched from the effort and swiped again with Katar, dicing off the tips of Ethan's whiskers. "Who the heck are you?" Ethan snapped as the fight paused momentarily, her figure crouched the ground near the boxes of mutagen. "Why are you even here?" he ranted his frustration and confusion out more readily than his weapon.

"You obviously haven't done your research." She said slyly, straightening, a smile playing on her face. "I'm in the Shinotomo Clan." Ethan had never heard of this – yet it sounded somehow familiar. Maybe he had heard of them. "And I'm here mostly because I'm bored." She flung forward, her katar piercing the air and Ethan let it glance across the blade of his naginata and it slid off the other side.

He jumped back to avoid getting sliced across the stomach. "Well, I sure hope we are entertaining enough for you."

"Oh, for sure!"

Ethan dodged several strikes again – she was so quick it was difficult to get a chance to fight back at all. Suddenly, from behind her, the second Dracodroid reared back it's head, the glow of green mutagen spilling over it's metal plating and it's silver thorns. It opened it's massive maw, showing it's bladed teeth and it lunged forward to bite Ashina in half.

Ethan jumped forward and grabbed her by the wrists. She wrenched at him, trying to get away but Ethan flung themselves back, falling onto his back, Ashina falling on top of him as the huge metal mouth shut closed where she was standing not a second earlier.

Her katar and his naginata slid across the ground. Ashina spun her head around to see her new attacker, her hand sitting uncomfortably on his chest. "Can you get off me?" Ethan asked. She glared down at him, growled and spun back to her feet, moving fluidly over to her katar and snatching it back up.

"You're welcome." Ethan shouted after her.

She turned, her eyes now focused on the Dracodroid.

Ethan jumped for his naginata but then a blast of pink singed the floor towards him and he had to retreat again. Ashina snatched up his naginata with her foot and kicked, launching the staff toward him. Ethan caught it. "Thanks." Ethan said.

Ashina nodded, "Now help me kill this monster, so I can kill you."

"Mm. I feel so passionate about this fight now." Ethan said, his voice leveled with dull sarcasm and he ran forward, weapon at the ready as the Dracodroid twisted around to attack, knocking the mutagen above him and rumbling the building.

Blades danced, casting shadows across the walls and the floor, the sound of clashing metal ringing in the room, bouncing off the walls. Master Hamato had expected his student to be powerful – but never had he imagined the violent storm that would fuel his energy. He moved his katana through the air expertly, tucking it close to his side as he spun around Shredder's most recent attack, the blades puncturing into the tatami, blades of the dried herb flying into the air, some of it falling into the tiny flames of candles and vanishing into smoke instantly.

"You are weak and tired!" Shredder shouted, his arm swinging in a wide arc, followed by his leg to try and slam Master Hamato on his back. But Master Hamato could hear the panting behind Saki's words. His pride would be his downfall. Crouching down, he slid the handle of the blade forward and slammed it into his chest, knocking him backward before expertly drawing back in, flipping the weapon to reveal it's blade again.

Shredder laughed, holding the armor on his chest and he crouched down to attack again. "Pathetic! How do you expect to stop me when you refuse to use the only part of that weapon that can kill?"

Master Hamato jumped forward, the blade glancing off of Shredder's shoulder and he moved out of range of attack as Shredder lunged to stab him in the stomach. Moving around, he following the flow with his foot, bringing it up and slamming Shredder away again, throwing him towards the kitchen. He twirled his katana in his hand again – mostly out of habit.

The blade had become his extension – even more than a familiar friend – a part of him.

"I may fall tonight," He said quietly. "For it is not my destiny to destroy you. It is not even in the hands of my three students to end your life."

"What?" Shredder spat. "You do not have much confidence in yourself, old man."

"You know of who I speak, Shredder. Hamato Yoshi and his disciples will finish the Foot Clan, once and for all."

Shredder twisted, his foot driving into Master Hamato who blocked it with the blade of his sword, his other hand flat against the blade. Sparks dashed across the tatami as they moved together, the sound of blades crashing against each other mingling with Shredder's panting. Master Hamato had yet to get to such a level. He was old, but all seventy years of experience were paying him well. He could feel each blow of Oroku Saki, but many of them were still incredibly familiar to what he had taught – other times, that pattern vanished into raw aggression – the typical symbol of the Foot Clan.

Shredder caught Master Hamato's leg and moved in. He swung both of his arms out and Master Hamato found that at last, he had been caught off guard. He felt his body move through the air, free falling for a single moment and then his back hit the ground. His body immediately shook like he had been hit with an electric volt, the pain tumbling through his limbs in terrifying droves. It had been a brutal hit.

The blade of Shredder's gauntlet appeared above him and plummeted down to his face. Master Hamato caught the ends with his hands and saw the panic in Shredder's face. Using his old student to help him up, he swung himself forward and Shredder's gauntlet back. The two points stabbed into the wall, crushing the stucco and lodging into it.

Giving a grunt of effort, Master Hamato wrenched the katana from the ground where it had fallen and slammed it into Shredder's abdomen who exhaled in a shout of pain and tried to wrench his arm free, but Master Hamato could not strike again – his shoulders were shaking and his legs felt like lead. "I am disappointed to see that you have grown so little, Saki." Master Hamato panted, holding his side. "If you were Yoshi, you have already defeated me in this fight."

With a wrench that sounded like it broke bone, Shredder slashed through the drywall, his blades poised to strike again.

Bloodmaw cut through air like a butcher knife cleaved meat. The edges of his lips foamed as he ripped forward, tonfa's spinning skillfully between his claws. Jess and Kaela backed away from the attack but Karai met it head on. She managed to slam one of his tonfa's out of the way, but the second spun and slammed her hard in the shoulder and she tumbled, falling through the air and then landing sharply on the mutagen tank. Luckily, the hole that led into the green ooze had been closed solidly. She glared up at Bloodmaw, a long, forked tongue flickering between two fangs as pointy as needles.

Bloodmaw stepped over the ledge to lunge at Karai again but Jess and Kaela had recovered. "We don't think so." Kaela said, flinging her ribbon. It wrapped around Bloodmaw's wrist, holding him back from Karai.

Bloodmaw's eyes flashed for only a moment and the tugged, reeling his arm in and throwing Kaela towards him. She yelped as he slammed his tonfa into her stomach. Kaela doubled over and fell to the ground. Jess sprinted the expanse to him and slashed with both of her kama's, throwing her hips into it to throw him over the edge.

And fall he did.

But just as quickly, he snatched at the ledge with his claws and flung himself back up, his second tonfa connecting with Jess, throwing her off balance and with a vicious kick and a hungry growl, Jess skipped like a stone against the cement ledge.

"Don't forget about me!" Karai jumped up and slashed at his stomach, but Bloodmaw, although overly vicious and sloppy, dodged the strike and combo-ed, his leg spinning in a kick, then the other followed, then his tonfa, then the other tonfa, forcing Karai back until she tripped over Kaela who tried to stand again, the air still not coming to her lungs.

Karai slammed to the ground with a grunt as Kaela straightened back up. Bloodmaw bore down on them.

Ashina moved like a dancer, spinning around beams of heated laser and snaps from the Dracordoid head. The katar waited dangerously in her hand for the perfect moment to strike. Ethan flipped behind the fallen first head of the beast to dodge a snapping bite that would have cut him cleanly in two.

"I'm getting sick of you." Ashina flipped into the air and for a moment Ethan couldn't believe she had made such a rash decision, but then she suddenly grabbed onto the monster's jaw, twirling up over his head and landing on top. She slammed the deadly katar weapon its side between two plates of armor and into the deep pink color. It screamed in horror and pain as Ethan burst forward, moving his tail to propel him quicker and she slammed the naginata point into the bottom of it's neck. It gave a second roar and then went still.

For a moment its head stood still and then slowly it slammed to the ground, shaking the whole place as Ashina rolled, moving through the motion and balancing back on her wolf-like feet again at the end. She smoothed the black fur around her ears and then turned to Ethan and let the katar sing through the air, a few solid, beautiful strokes, as if she were trying to impress Ethan. He prepared his naginata, remembering her promise that he was going to be next. She looked him up and down, "You impress me." She sad. "I also felt the Hamato clan were going to be failures to the name of ninjitsu and lacking any honor. I don't get that when I see you though." Her storm-colored eyes pierced into his own. She seemed to be inspecting him and then she shrugged and crouched low to the ground, extending one of her legs forward to move her energy in his direction and she lifted her katar above her head in striking position. "That doesn't mean I'm not going to kill you."

"Not very smart if you ask me," Ethan began, trying to match her own mocking tone as he spun his naginata into attack position, not daring to blink as he watched her, "For the Shinotomo to send out only two people to face Shredder's whole army. Any moment now Stockman is going to come back with everyone I the building – maybe even the Shredder himself."

"Yeah – I don't care." She said cockily with her usual smile, "I don't just sit around waiting to be given an order – I wasn't asked to come here tonight. I chose to. So, you had better get out of your mind the idea that I'm just some kind of lackey." Her smile had begun to fade as she spoke and Ethan felt a sense of turmoil inside her. As she spoke, her eyes flickered to the mutagen.

Ethan smiled. He felt he knew what she had come here for and he was going to take it away from her. He wondered how she would react but he slowly began to circle and Ashina followed. He inched his way the three boxes by the control panel that were filled with mutagen. "Well, Ashina," Ethan said, "I know exactly why you came here."

"Liar."

Ethan smiled, his own body now in between her and the mutagen. "Then you won't mind if I do . . . THIS!" Ethan spun and with a strong, powerful slam from his body, the crates tipped over the edge.

"NO!" Ashina screamed and with the sound of crashing glass, the bottles fell and slammed into the darkness below, specks of green glow ascending back up to them before fading away.

Kaela closed her eyes and tried to remember what Master Hamato had begun to teach her about close combat and tried to get rid of the fear as the horrifying image of the ravenous Bloodmaw closed the gap between them. Jess was still struggling to her feet. Kaela whipped out her ribbon and as one of the tonfa's descended to slam her on the head, she relied on her lesson.

Breathing in deep, the tonfa moving in slow motion, Kaela's eye snapped open and she strung blocked the attack with the ribbon. It was flimsy and the weapon continued to plummet down to her head – but that is exactly what it needed to do. She stepped out of the way in a fluid motion and with a yell, wrenched the ribbon close to her chest.

It brought the tonfa with it and the momentum from Bloodmaw's attack rebounded right back to him and his own weapon struck him hard in the sternum.

He yelled in agony.

"HECK YES!" Kaela pumped her fist into the air.

Bloodmaw turned, his eyes wide like burning coals in his head, rage scalding away her victory, his teeth clenched, drool dripping from the corner of his mouth. With a scream of rage he burst forward and this time, Kaela didn't have the time for a close range block – so she braced herself for agony. The wood contacted with her arm and she heard her bone give a sickening crunch and pain burst into her mind as she hit the ground with a scream of pain.

A second later, she was blinking tears of pain away as Bloodmaw stepped over her, his eyes still full of madness. "I'm going to rip you apart limb from limb!"

"Get away from my sister, creeper!" Jess jumped from behind and slashed a red 'X' across his back and he flipped, nearly landing on Kaela as he yelled again, spots of red blood pattering Kaela's face as she landed on the ground.

"JESS BEHIND YOU!"

Karai had stood back up and slammed her foot into a perfect crescent kick against Jess' face. She fell over the ledge with hardly a sound and then slammed into the mutagen canister below with a loud thunk! Karai turned to Kaela who still felt light-headed from the agony in her arm that had its own heart beat. "Shredder will be happy to hear that I got rid of you." she said pointing her blade in Kaela's face. Then, came the sound of shattering glass – the same sound that had been heard before Ethan was mutated and Kaela and Karai looked over the edge.

Ethan turned to face Ashina again, but she had already pounced and landed directly on his chest. Ethan hit the ground with a oof! His naginata spinning out of his hand. He could see shadows coming down from the entrance as well – they were going to be outnumbered – not that that mattered as he was dead now. He could feel Ashina's weight on his chest and he looked up with a gasp as she lifted the katar over her head to kill him, but she paused.

They looked at each other, each with stone faces, but Ashina did not let her blade come down to finish him off and he could see for a single moment a sense in her eyes that she didn't want to do it.

"WHAT IS THIS?" Tigerclaw shouted from the entrance. He had arrived. Stockman buzzed nervously next to him.

Ethan took the moment of distraction and grabbed Ashina's raised arm and threw her against the ground. Before she could react and get back for a counter, Ethan sprinted and grabbed his naginata. "TEAM, RUN!" he shouted into the air above him.

Karai turned back to attack Kaela, but Bloodmaw had lunged and she had to use her wicked blade and unending energy to block the attack. With the two locked, tonfa against blade, Kaela and Jess straightened back up and sprinted. Tigerclaw moved from the entrance right behind them. Ethan led them to the stairs and sprinted up them, three steps at a time. Kaela held her arm limply at her side as they moved.

Jess wasn't far behind, although she had had to get all the way up a second flight from the fall she had taken to the mutagen canister. "Let's get out of here!" Ethan called. As they ran, Ethan could hear the sounds of Bloodmaw and Ashina behind them as they continued the fray with Karai and Tigerclaw. The others would soon be coming including the wolf, Bradford and the fish, Xever. As they zoomed down the hallway, Ethan took one last look down the hall – his thoughts on Karai and then he slammed the doors open and the three disappeared into the cool of the night.

The flames that watched the battle from their candles flickered in and out as the wind from the blades brushed past them. The two masters continued to move quickly, Shredder with great amounts of anger and with shouts coming form his lips and through his mask. Maser Hamato remained silent, but he could feel his body fatiguing now and his breath came out in gasps and pants. Yet, his katana continued to block and strike back in long, fluid, solid strokes, intent behind each one of them.

Shredder seemed to have noticed his weakened state as he began to strike more frequently, throwing more aggression into each one. Master Hamato could feel his ability to move quickly from blow to blow fading and his arms shook underneath the heavy blows of his adversary – his student – once, his son. The man that now stood before him was a very different person that the one he had taken in years ago.

All the Hamato style had now vanished away and left, was the aggression, the hatred, the ferocity of the Foot Clan. Shredder's blades caught the edges of walls, slashed up the tatami, throwing it in every direction.

Master Hamato dodged another attack, but only just – as he felt the tip of the blade graze his skin and saw the tiny specs of blood fleck down his arm. The two paused, their shoulders heaving as they caught their breath. Master Hamato's katana sat at his side, ready to be employed again, it's edge had a red tinge to is as it tried to shine through some of the blood that had been shed. Shredder's arms and legs had small lacerations now, but they were small wounds – entirely ineffective in the eyes of such a skilled master.

Master Hamato's back was turned to the door, he could see the garden past Shredder's shoulder. Shredder slowly straightened his back, his breath evening out quickly. He still had too much energy – Master Hamato felt depleted. "Enough of this, old man. Tell me where Splinter and his turtles are and perhaps I will let you live long enough to watch them perish."

Flipping the katana in reverse so the blade ran along his elbow and upper arm, Master Hamato stared back at Shredder. "Give up your search for them, Saki. I have meditated on this matter and, if I am correct, they are in place that you cannot reach them."

Shredder jumped forward with the speed of a striking snake and his two blades connected with Master Hamato's katana and they each pushed at each other, locked in the middle of the room, weapon to weapon. Master Hamato could feel his knee's preparing to collapse, his hands shaking. Shredder pressed even harder.

Then came the sound of the sliding door behind him.

With a push of effort, Master Hamato threw Shredder back. He slid against the tatami, dragging his blades across them to slow himself.

"SENSEI!"

Master Hamato turned to see Jess, Kaela and Ethan had appeared. They stared, mouth's open in horror at the scene that they were witnessing. For a single moment that seemed to pause time itself, he looked into each of their eyes. "Go!" He shouted to them.

Kaela's eyes grew wider. "LOOK OU—!" she began to cry but, as her cry was choked by emotion, Master Hamato felt the two blades on Shredder's gauntlet pierce through his stomach. The pain lasted only for a few moments and the whole world went out of focus and then began to fade away as he slid to the ground.