Episode 9: Love Among the Dragons – Part 2

"Jess have you freaking lost your mind?"

"Told you." Kaela sighed, sitting down one on of the less damp stones of the sewers where they were now living.

Ethan slapped his forehead with his hand. It made a less resounding sound that he was used to with the fur padding the blow. He could hardly believe that Jess was planning on going on a date with Mako that night. He knew something was up by the odd expression Kaela had given him when the two returned to the sewers and climbed down the ladder – but this was by far the last thing he would have suspected. He shook his head, still not opening his eyes, his palm still on his face, dragging down it, bunching his fur in tuffs in every direction. "Jess, why the heck would you say yes to him?"

Jess grumbled under her throat and rested her forehead on the sewer wall and then wrenched it away, rubbing slime off it, making her look only more angry. "Look, I never do anything for myself and this week has been horrible for us. I just want a chance to do something that would relieve some stress."

"For who?" Ethan protested, "Because I feel like this is stressing Kaela and I out even more!"

Kaela nodded affirmatively.

Jess seemed to be only getting more and more angry as the conversation went and Ethan was feeling the same thing. He felt his tail move more rapidly, his skin getting hot, his face flushing and his whiskers twitching from anger. "Look," Jess said, "I get that you're leader and all – but I'm going and there isn't anything you can do about it."

Ethan and Kaela exchanged looks. Ethan could hardly feel his face he was so angry, but he wasn't about to lose his cool. He closed his eyes and tried to picture Master Hamato in his mind. He knew that he would be disappointed if he raged on her and so he shook his head and lifted his hands up in the air in surrender. "Fine." he said. "Do what you want."

"Good." Jess walked over to the rungs of the ladder and began to climb them again. "I'm going to go wait for him."

"For three hours?" Kaela asked, looking up at Jess as she went.

Jess didn't answer, but slammed the manhole cover behind her, leaving Kaela and Ethan in darkness again, light filtering through the tiny holes above him and resting on the top of his head. "Well," Kaela said slapping her hands together, "That went exactly the way I predicted it would go." her smile was fake.

Ethan sighed, "I think we're all just high strung from . . . y'know . . . what happened." he still couldn't let the words form in his mouth.

"So," Kaela said, her voice getting quiet again, "What are we going to do? I mean – I know that Mako isn't a serial killer or anything – but it does feel like a bad idea. Are we just going to let her go?" She fidgeted on the balls of her feet and watched Ethan expectantly.

Swallowing the words "Let her learn her lesson" he said instead, "Yeah, we better think of a plan." saying that sounded like he was giving up as leader, but he had to suppress that as well. Ethan had never felt more like a ticking time bomb, ready to explode. "We need to find the turtles too, though."

Kaela nodded in agreement. "Yeah. You know the sewers better than Jess and I." she said. "Maybe you should keep looking for the turtles. I can go after Jess and follower her and her creeper boyfriend. That way I can make sure she gets back safely."

Ethan liked that idea and nodded back to say that he was okay with it.

"Maybe this is good for Jess!" Kaela offered enthusiastically – but Ethan heard the fakeness in it. Kaela nodded and then slowly walked up the ladder towards the manhole, but then she paused and slowly went back down. Ethan watched her curiously. When her old shoes touched the ground again she walked across the waterway to Ethan and placed her hand comfortingly on his shoulder. "We're going to get through this." She said quietly. "I know that we will." She sounded more certain than she had all week.

"I know." Ethan agreed quietly, not wanting to look at her as it made him feel sick again – memories of Master Hamato in the alleyway, dead, still burned on his mind. He shook his head as if trying to remove the thought from his brain by force. Luckily, Kaela was nice enough to not say anything about how weird it was to see him fling his head around like a crazy.

"Good luck finding the turtles." Kaela said.

"Good luck keeping Mako away from Jess."

Kaela chuckled and stuck her tongue out – acting more like her old self and then walked back to the ladder and walked up and pushed the manhole away and vanished into the blinding light. Then with a resounding slam that was becoming very familiar, Ethan was alone again in the sewers. He stood silently for a few moments and then he turned and followed his usual route in the sewers that he took. Hopefully this time it would lead to the turtles that Master Hamato wanted them to find so desperately.

He ran through the details in his mind. Karai had been looking for them. Shredder had been looking for them. Ethan gripped his naginata tighter at the thought of Shredder and pulled it from his holster, holding it at the ready even though no enemies could be heard down in the sewer.

He twitched his nose, the horrible sewer stench was still not familiar to him – and he assumed it never would be. His feet splashed through the water and he decided, to make himself feel better, to think about Karai instead and imagine what it would be like if she wasn't always trying to kill him. Maybe they could have hit it off. Just the thought of that made him smile. As he walked, his thoughts reeled over everything that they had ever done. Meditation was going to be the best idea for figuring out his past as well as figuring out what the Heart of Darkness was.

But with the smell and the noise and the darkness, meditating in the tunnels had proved to be impossible. Up ahead on the lip of a nearby tunnel, he could see the mark he had put there. Ethan turned to the right and continued to follow his marks. Within another half hour, he would be in new territory.

Jess could hardly believe that she had marched out on Ethan and Kaela like that. She sat on the steps of the High School, her elbows on her knees and her head in her palm. She felt bad about it – but she equally felt upset that Kaela and Ethan were so determined to rule her life.

Yet, she knew she had been out of line.

They were all hurt – and doing what she did wasn't helping.

She sighed as the night came on. She wished she had a change of clothes and a chance to take a shower – but she hadn't and now she felt incredibly self-conscious as she waited for Mako. At exactly seven o' clock, his car pulled up. He was sporting a black car, sleek as if it had been newly waxed and with a strange purple design around it's side. She didn't have to think about it too much because the car parked and Mako appeared, his purple highlights appearing first over the head of the car in the light and then his smug smile, hands in his pockets, a studded, black leather belt around his waist and a silver chain around his neck.

Her heart beat faster.

"Hey Mako!" she said nervously and he flashed that usual smile at her.

He walked up to her and leaned in like he usually did, as if he was expecting something and then with a wink said, "You came right on time, girlie."

"W-well yeah!" Jess said, "Did you think I was going to stand you up or something?" she couldn't help but smile back him. Did he ever actually frown?

Mako leaned back again and motioned to the car. As she joined him to walk together, he said, "Well, no, but I figured your sister might chain you to the wall or something. She doesn't seem to like me very much."

"Ah, right." Jess wasn't quite sure how to answer that. He definitely wasn't wrong. She shrugged her shoulders, "Nah, she probably thinks you're alright. We have just been really busy and I think she was worried I would . . . uh . . . fall behind in some stuff." She pulled open her own door as Mako made his way around to the drivers side. For a horrifying moment, as Jess slammed the door, she thought she saw a shadow up on one of the rooftops. Now all she could think of was how awkward it would be if she was attacked by the Foot clan on date. She swallowed that nervousness quickly, not wanting to hold onto that thought the rest of the night. That would definitely ruin it.

She realized too late that she had left the kama's in the sewer with her backpack, along with her green bandanna. Not that she needed either to kick people's butts. Her heart went sour at that thought. Green – the symbol of life. She was the lifeblood of the team, as Master Hamato had called her. Now she felt a little less than that and she slumped in her chair as the car started back up. "What is it?" Mako drawled a bit and gave her a sideways glance, that amused smile still on his face. This time it felt a little less attractive.

"Nothing!" Jess quickly recovered, "I've just been thinking a lot is all. A lot has happened to our family."

Mako nodded, showing that he was listening as he pressed on the gas and moved them out into the darkness, only his white headlights shining the way down some back alley streets. "Like your brother moving?" Mako asked, "I overheard you and Kaela talking to Mr. Randall." He added when he saw her surprised expression.

Trying to keep track of where they were, Jess agreed, "Yeah. It's been hard."

They were silent for a few moments and then, realizing that she was not accomplishing her mission of distracting herself from depressing thoughts, Jess turned to Mako, "So, where are we going?"

"A restaurant." Mako said, his smile still on. "It's by a warehouse that I hang out at a lot. Nobody goes there. But the restaurant district nearby had a lot of cool stuff."

Jess had never heard anybody describe food as cool before. Nor had she met someone who hangs out at abandoned warehouses. But, then again, if anyone would – it would be Mako. He turned sharply to the left back another dark alley and Jess wished again that she had brought her kama's. What if the Kraang or Shredder attacked? She turned to look at Mako. He had rolled down his window and the chilly air rushed through his hair and made the sleeve of his jacket bounce against the car. "So, uh," Jess said nervously, "You hang out at warehouses?"

Mako smirked and looked at her from the corner of his eye as he turned down a lighted alleyway. A huge three level warehouse appeared, along with the glowing lights of a restaurant called: Dragon Brew. "Yeah," he replied, "With my crew."

Jess raised an eyebrow and smiled at him.

She loved his smirk. He began to slow the car in front of the glowing, red building, decorated with the coiling serpent that ran around the letters of the sign, his eyes glaring.

"The Purple Dragons."

Jess felt like she was about to launch into the wind-shield.

"The P-Purple Dragons?" she spluttered.

Mako didn't seemed phased by her reaction and put the car in park, slumping his arm up on the window sill. "Yeah," he said. "You know us?"

Jess's mouth fell open as she stared at her high school crush. "Do I know – Mako – the Purple Dragon's attacked the school a few weeks ago and stole Winter's giant diamond!"

"Oh right." Mako said dully as if he had forgotten. "That's why I like you, Jess." He added with a wink, "You've got stuff. I think you'd make an awesome recruit on the Purple Dragons." He leaned forward like he usually did when he was being coy, "We could work together, it'd be fun."

A mixing bowl of feelings stirred inside Jess. Half of her wanted to agree – the other half was screaming red alert at the top of their lungs. "Y-yeah?" she finally got out, "What about Hun? He's a criminal! He breaks laws."

"That's 'cause he's an idiot." Mako said shaking his head, "We could totally beat him and own the Purple Dragon's together!" Without waiting for a reply from her, he opened his door and went around to open hers. She sat in the dark car for a few moments, slapping herself in the face for not realizing it sooner. He has a freakin' dragon tattoo on his arm – and it's purple! He opened the door and she stepped out, feeling like her legs were jello. "Sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to mess with you or anything. I really think you're awesome Jess. Ask me any question you have about the Dragons. After you get to know us more – you'll be happy you joined."

Kaela had to wait forever to finally find his car again. Jess and Mako had wound through some extremely creepy alley ways and for a few moments, Kaela had her ribbon dart out and was about ready to smash his wind-shield in, but eventually they had parked and Jess looked unharmed when she stepped out of the vehicle. The Dragon Brew Kaela read. She had heard a lot about this side of town – Purple Dragon territory. Suddenly, things clicked. Didn't Mako have a purple dragon tattoo? Kaela slapped her forehead as she paused, looking down from the top of one of the nearby buildings. Mako had to be a Purple Dragon!

Which meant bad news.

"Jess, what have you gotten yourself into?" Kaela mumbled under her breath. She made a mental note to slap Jess when she saw her next. Or maybe she would just tell Ethan that she had been going out with a Purple Dragon and sit back and watch.

Taking one last look up and down the streets, Kaela jumped, spinning through the air and then she reached out and caught one of the black ladders on the side of the building and flipped off of it, softening her landing on the pavement. Kaela paused by Mako's car and seriously considered slashing his tires with one of her shurikans. But that's mean. Kaela thought to herself. And after all, it didn't look like she was kidnapped by him or anything. Suddenly, in Kaela's mind's eye, she saw Mako bursting from the restaurant with Jess tied up, aided by several other huge burly Purple Dragons and driving away at high speed into the night, never to be seen again.

Well, if it's a safety precaution . . . She pulled out several shurikans from her belt and slammed one into each of his tires. Kaela smiled to herself – she had actually rather enjoyed that. She dedicated the shurikans to kids she knew he had beaten up in the school and then turned into one of the dark alley's by a Asian style, circular window. It reminded her of the window they had in their old home.

Her stomach did an uncomfortable flip at the unexpected memory and held it close to her for a moment before letting it pass on. She glanced into the window. Inside there were Japanese tables, on the floor, with big poofy pillows as chairs. Decorative wall scrolls, mostly depicting dragons, hung from the walls in copious amounts. The colors were so vast and numerous that it was also nauseating. There were a few others. Several were undoubtedly Purple Dragon's, their sleeves cut off, tattoos coiling around their huge arms, switchblades at their sides. Jess and Mako were in one of the corners. She looked a little uncomfortable and appeared to be having a very deep conversation with Mako. Did he ever stop smiling? Kaela wondered accusingly. She realized a little too late that perhaps it was going too far to be mad at someone for being happy.

She loved smiling herself – she just hadn't felt like it in a while.

Glancing nervously around to make sure she couldn't be seen and with the horrible smell from a nearby garbage filling her nose, she slid against the wall, making herself more discrete. A waiter had approached them, looking just as scary as the other customers, a note pad and a pen in hands. The two turned to look up at him.

Mako did the ordering. Jess was more preoccupied in watching the two guys in the corner. She desperately hoped that they didn't stab her with that switchblade. Now she really wished she had brought her kama's. "I know the Purple Dragon's look kinda bad from the outside," Mako said, leaning in, "But you don't have to be so nervous. I wouldn't have brought you here if I felt it was dangerous." The way he said it so casually, leaning on his side at the table his head propped up on the palm of his hand, his elbow on the table.

Not wanting to look nervous or like a pansy, Jess smiled back and scoffed, "Please, you wouldn't even have the chance to ask me out if I felt you were dangerous." She commented back confidently. "I would have stopped you."

Mako laughed loudly, a few of the other Purple Dragon's glancing around to see who it was and then they returned to their meals without so much as a lingering look. "That's why I like you, Jess. You've got stuff."

Jess blushed as the waiter returned, carrying steaming bowls of broth and placing them in front of the two and then sauntering off. Mako took a long sip and then looked up. Jess had just taken a sip and nervously lowered her spoon. "Is there something on my face?" she asked nervously, wondering if some of the broth had flecked over her upper lip. She wiped hurriedly at her mouth.

Mako shook his head, "Nah, I just like looking at you." Jess tried to force another blush down, but it was impossible. Mako continued, "Y'know, tonight there's a Purple Dragon meeting. You should come! They'd love to meet you."

Coughing and nearly choking on her last gulp, Jess slammed her fist into her chest to keep her windpipe clear. "W-what?" she asked. "I dunno, Mako. I mean – that doesn't seem like a good idea."

"But, Jess," He leaned in, flashing his pearly whites, "You are so awesome. Just come this once. Like I said, we could own the Purple Dragons – you and me! Forget the crime stuff! We could stop crime!" He was speaking in a much lower voice now.

Jess imagined marching an army of Purple Dragon's against Shredder and was starting to like the idea. "Okay." She finally said, determined. "I'll go to the meeting, but just to check things out."

Mako nodded, satisfied. "Good enough for me. More time with you is a bonus."

"You're really laying this on thick, aren't you?" Jess said, hoping her words would stop the burning in her cheeks, but calling him out on it only made her more excited. Mako was too good at this game. Mako gulped down the rest of his soup, slammed a bill on the wooden table by his large bowl and then motioned to the door. "Let's go!"

Jess followed him outside and into the cool winds. They didn't go to his car, but rather, went straight down the street to the warehouse. Lights now glowed around it, the huge doors were opened. Talking could be heard from inside. It was nowhere near as empty as it had been when they first rolled up. Mako pushed the steel doors open a little more and motioned with a smile for her to join him.

Feeling like this was a terrible idea again, Jess hesitated. Mako reached out and took her hand in his and with a flutter of her heart, she was inside the big warehouse. Glowing light bulbs were strung up on long black cords to light the place. There had to be a crowd of about thirty people – mostly men. A few were women. At the head was the K-pop star wannabe that had attacked their school, the leader of the Purple Dragons, Hun. He wore his usual sunglasses even though it was already dark. The gold and silver spikes glittered on his fingers and his snooty look could be seen through the crowds of people.

But it was on either side of him that immediately tipped Jess off that she had made a mistake.

Footbots.

She surpressed a gasp and looked up at the rafters on the second and third floors to see more footbots watching with their LED red eyes, standing still.

Crap! Jess thought. The Purple Dragon's are working with Shredder!