Two years later…
I slipped through the metal doors, towering above my head. I could hear voices. Voices I wasn't familiar with. The urgency in the voices proved, to be more than just talking. The younger, shriller one, I detected was full of cracks clearly audible, even to untrained ears, yet the deeper voice, of a man I realised, rose with anger.
I was called in by the Shredder, told that it was something to do with a change of rank. And everyone knew that changes of ranks were rare, because the Shredder normally turned a blind eye on his favourites, should they fail, unless it was extremely important, so it was rare for this unexpected change of ranking. Rare enough to spread rumours.
Rumour had it, I was getting a promotion by any standard, circulated from the class that I had taught last, well the remaining people of the class, I know full well that most people, who have entered, my personal teaching and training room have never came back. Sliding the door open, I take, a moment to appreciate the frequent oiling of the ever-present iron slate door.
My ears pricked up at the sound of fearful sobbing, her words tangled. Lost in her sea of tears. Something akin to pity filled me, but I pushed it away with grim knowledge that it would do no good. As I opened the door fully, words became clear, no longer just mumbled voices. "Please! Let me explain! I can do better! Just give me another chance father! I won't hesitate to kill the turtles again." So it was Karai, now that was an interesting thought, I nodded to myself, storing the knowledge away for later.
My thick black boots thumped in rhythm, through the darkening archway. The metal heels of my boots, clinked on the cold marble floor as I entered the room. I shut the door carefully behind me, composing myself before facing the scene in front of me. Sobbing on her knees, Karai looked more unlike herself than I had ever seen. Gone was the sarcastic, confident girl, that I knew, a petrified, shell of herself was the sight that greeted me. This was been more serious than I suspected, I thought. Turning slight to get a better view of the Shredder, I was immediately confronted with "silence! I have no more time for your excuses Karai, though I must say I had higher hopes for you. But it is clear now, you have no idea what you were expected to do. You're too soft to dispose of the enemy. I need someone cunning, ruthless, and that my dear daughter isn't you" Maybe I should be quiet for the moment, I think, feeling slightly sick, at the cruelty that I was currently witnessing. But as with the pity, I get rid of it, hating the stupid weak emotions. Knowing that I am stronger, than my emotions, I stand. Stoic.
Venom laces his words, and the girl who I know all too well, takes the sting of it badly. In my wide eyes, I take in Karai's face distraught with an overflowing amount of tears. Looming over her, a strong, solid man who wields a thick steel blade, attached at his wrist, ready at his disposal.
"No my dear Karai, you are not the person, I raised you, taught you, trained you to be. Alice is, and with a fraction of the attention you have been graced with!" The man's heavy words shoot out at his daughter like bullets. I could sense that he felt my presence. Suddenly, I felt exposed, moving closer towards the door in response, although stifling my fear.
"Now I don't want to do this. You know that. But you also know that this is your punishment. This is the price you must pay, for disobeying orders." Kari's words had left her by now, and she continued to stare down at the floor, having nowhere to look but her distorted reflection.
"You want to disrespect me? You want to through away the life I've built for you, for all of us! Fine! But I will have you know, that I will put my blades through those turtles, the rat and even you if, and only if, it has to come to that!" he snarled, standing over his daughter, a cliff towering above her, threating to kill her at any second.
"Father, I" Karai could barely begin her broken sentence before I witnessed a blade slash against soft, delicate skin. I just managed to hold back my gasp of shock, frozen, although, my hand was instinctively drawn towards my knife. I watched the Shredder glance at me, His eyes following my hands as I lowered them from their spot of hovering, directly above the knives on my waist. My face a cold mask of indifference, at the horror, of what I've just witnessed, keeping my fear locked inside, where nobody was allowed to see.
Karai trembled, as she got her feet, taking a few shaky breathes as she headed out, with me doing the best I could to avoid her look of pure humiliation. One heavy door was shut behind me, and that was that. "Alice." I snapped to attention at that, taking extra care to keep my eyes level with his, as I made my way forward
"Yes, Master shredder" I replied with as much authority as I could produce, which at this moment of time was huge. Knowing that what I had just seen was not just punishment, but also intimidation.
Later that night….
I listened to his heavy footsteps thump closer, my eyes fixated on the grim satisfaction, that was face. "Now. Despite what you just saw, I do love my daughter." The oddness, of how genuine he sounded, of what he just said, as if his daughter hadn't just left the room, horribly scared, at his hand, had me raise an eyebrow.
"Sometimes, Alice, and I hope you can understand this, you have to do certain things even if you don't want to. Even if it means the people you love, hate you for it". His face remained calm, although I could detect a trace of sorrow. Standing tall, the Shredder looked down on my small frame. Small from years upon years of too much exercise and not enough food, and sleep. Small, but hardened from years of loss, with losing Felix, being my last memory.
"You will take my army out. From tonight onwards Alice, I have put you in charge of the night patrol. Do you understand?"
"Yes Master Shredder, I'll try to help out in anyway I can" my face was steady enough to register a solid look. apparently, it wasn't enough. "You need to do better than 'try'" he commanded before raising his hand as a dismissal.
Time skip until the night.
Groups of us are teaming through the blackened sky, boots are clinking and clacking, colliding with the cracked concrete, continuous leaps and landings, the night only growing darker with every building we, the concealed figures leap from. I couldn't resist the self satisfied smile that threatened to inch its way onto my face.
'Three hours, no more' were the words rhythmically repeating themselves in my brain, my watch being strapped tightly to my wrist, the only sense of time I have. 'This should be far enough, besides, I've already pushed my luck with managing to be in the cool night air. No need to ruin the opportunity' I think before I yell a command, into the cold night air, my army obeying me instantly. Taking the opportunity to still my beating heart, the rasping of breaths of the foot, are the only audible sounds in this witching hour of darkness. I stand effortlessly silent, standing tall amongst my army. Feeling peaceful I smiled. The brief moment of peace however, once again alluded itself from my presence. "Raph! We need to fall back, dammit, listen to my orders. I'm ordering you Raph, fall back!" the unfamiliar voices started out as mere whispering, grew louder and louder as they got closer and closer.
My eyes come into contact with blackened shapes, undistinguishable shadows, painting themselves on the alley. Typical gangs and related groups were the only ones low enough to spend time down in the gritty filthy streets of hollow lane, most likely the dullest of them all, those bloody purple dragons.
But oh, how I was wrong.
In the distance I could vaguely make out three- wait, no, four shapes dressed in what appeared to be, large green armour? Their appearances were so bizarre to me, I almost fall of the creaky railing of the building.
Running, jumping, displaying a dance of shadows were the four creatures in the night, rhythmically spinning and flashing what could only be weapons, not only for show, with the obvious fact of the clashing of metal, wood and screams of battle. The alley had a dark and dreary feel to it as a thick lock of hair as black as coal fell from my loose plait, covering one eye against the figures whist the other saw the full scene that played out in front of it. Blue eyes shone luminously like the moon against the blackened sky was what I kept seeing. He caught my eye and held it there, imprisoning it for seconds that felt suspended in time. Up until the others began to notice, the other three creatures now turned directly in front of me, even the culprits, who did appear to be the purple dragons draped in chains slumped against the ground, the ones who were still conscious stared into my ocean blue eye, the other remained hidden beneath the coarse mane that I call hair.
I should have moved, but that was impossible. A unseen force pinned me back, taking my breathe away, frozen in time.
The one thing, however the one thing that caught my eye, the one thing that held me helpless in my place of hiding the moon revealed to me that the 'turtles' were not just another stupidly named group. Oh no, for you could see they were turtles, even the blind could tell, even the most senseless could know, these were In fact creatures, and I didn't have a clue how on earth I should respond to such a thing, such an oddity.
It was one in a blue coloured mask, the tail reaching long past what I could identify as shoulders, that spoke first, his voice an odd contrast of youth and seriousness.
"come out of there, we can see you!"
He yelled into the still black sky, my hands shook lightly while I silently lowered them getting my weapons into position. Before anything could have a chance to reply however, he added a quick:
"we're not going to hurt you, I promise"
With that the turtle with the blue mask, strode purposely towards my weapon clad body. I stood there, gathering my nerves in short quick breaths, forcing the fear away, I sheathed my bow and arrows, well aware that they would be virtually useless from this ever-shortening distance. The others started walking towards me, following who I assumed to be the leader, an animal leader, but a leader none the less. Grappling my knife, stood still, waiting silently. My fear was replaced by a sinister thought. 'But I'm going to hurt you.'
"Yeah sure, that's real convincing Leo. As if freaking out is the last thing she would do- we're not exactly the friendliest looking group." A different voice breached the silence, this time from the short one with a barely distinguishable red mask, the colour drowned in the black abyss.
My grip tightened, my ragged nails digging into the soft cloth covered handle. I could feel my knuckles whiten as I. re-tightened my grip on my knife, a nervous habit, only hidden by the dark sky. Raising my knife, I was about to attack, when my thoughts struck.
'No need to rush this.'
Whatever this turned out to be.