A/N: Psych! Here's the end of the real climax. ;D

CHAPTER 34: TRIBE (PART 1)

Agent Rook's plasma rifle seared Leonardo's temple, and the mutant growled. Did the agent expect his captive to plead? To falter or convince Coyolxauhqui to accept the deal? All to save Leo's life? Not a chance.

Rook's bloody smirk grew. "Bishop wants you alive," he said. "He mentioned no other requirements."

Leo's glare spoke for him: better ensure there was no chance he'd fight back because the Jonin had several punches reserved for what the bastard did to Yolotli and Coyo.

"Ooh, scary," Rook added.

"Do not hurt him!"

"Dios mio." The gray-haired man craned his head towards Coyo with a scoff. "Remember what happened last time you spoke too much?"

The tribeswoman froze in Agent Vance's hold, her expression only half as pained as what Leo sensed through Mozallo. She looked at Yo's limp body then her nausea worsened. The mutant bit down bile as Coyo's jaw trembled and tested his limbs. They were still numb from the tranq dart Vance had shot him with, and Agent Barrett kept him pinned with inhuman strength.

'I need an upper hand,' he thought. 'I could force myself up, but the guns need neutralized first.'

They were a liability. The Jonin had seen too many tragedies from misfires, and the K'ekchi had suffered enough losses. But what could—

"Puneta!" Rook hissed when he stumbled backward.

Leonardo lifted his head to see why, but a whining pop and bright light left him half-deafened and flinching. He turned aside, watching EPF soldiers all around drop their exploding weapons.

Were those shuriken lodged in the guns' neon-colored barrels?

"Jeez, you guys really are international, ain't cha?"

Was that Mikey? Leo struggled for a glimpse of the jokester, only for Agent Barrett to push down harder.

"Oi, stronzo, hands off my brother!"

Leo didn't recognize who spoke next, let alone understand why she called him 'brother.' The pressure on his carapace lifted after he heard a thud and when he sat up, he was greeted by a twig-framed blonde in a white catsuit decorated with black plates.

"Come va?" she asked. What did that even mean?

"Oi, ya just gonna sit there, Fearless, or are ya gonna help?"

"Raph?"

"You're wasting our surprise!"

"Donny?"

The Jonin's chest swelled with hope and relief. At his sides, his brothers fought to immobilize the EPF soldiers before they took any hostages. And they succeeded. For a moment, it felt surreal. Were they there? How had they found him? And who the hell was the blonde?

"Figo!" the blonde screamed. Or maybe that was her usual tone; she seemed casual. "Does he normally look this spaced out?"

"Naw, Hoshi!" Michelangelo replied. He back-flipped over a soldier then swept the human's legs before knocking him out cold with his nunchucks. "Must be the jungle heat!"

"It's a rainforest, Mike," Donatello interjected, bō staff whirling, "not a jungle. How many times must I tell you?"

The youngest Hamato shrugged. "It's green, it's hot, and there're vines and bugs everywhere. Tomato, toe-mah-toe."

"There're numerous differences between a rainforest and jungle!"

"Save the science lesson for later, Brainiac!" Raphael huffed, and Leo dodged sideways when the hothead tossed a body beside him.

"Raph," Leo said. The red-masked Chūnin kneeled, rested a hand on his brother's shoulder. There was something different in his amber eyes, a shift that made him seem more mature than when the Jonin had left over a year ago. "You came."

"We'll talk about that later. These natives friends 'a yers?"

"Quema. Uh, y—yes."

"Thought so. Got these back. Figured ya could use 'em."

Leo accepted his Aynnite katanas with a relieved sigh.

"They feel lighter," Raph continued.

"Them and me both."

"That mean ya ready ta fight?"

The blonde clicked her tongue as the Jonin nodded. "You two always talk like a bunch of ragazzine?"

"Who are you?" Leo asked her.

The blonde scrunched her upturned nose then smirked. "Ciao," she said, juggling a star staff from her left to right hand. "Name's Sophia Moretti. I'm Figo's girl."

Leo stared at her offered hand. "Figo?"

"She means Mike," Raph explained.

Hold it. Mikey got a girlfriend?

"Lots of merda has happened," Sophia added while taking back her hand. "I'm just the tip of the iceberg."

Raph stood, saying, "Again, we'll fill ya in later. For now—"

"Coyo!" Leo jumped up then scanned the chaos around him. He spotted the Chieftain curled near where Donny directed K'ekchi outside Tlahcoyan's center. Her feet bent inwards, dirtied and bubbled, and she cradled something bright blue as Izel and Huitzi stroked her shoulders. "Coyo!"

"Cazzo, go to her already," Sophia said. She shoved the Jonin's shoulder with a force that tipped him sideways then giggled. "Scusa. I forget the SHELL's power."

Leo sent Raph a look then shook his head, saying, "Find Rook."

"Ya mean that old guy who almost bested ya?"

"Funny. You know the reason I couldn't move."

"Hence the shuriken barrage. Where'd he go anyway?"

"Probably to get Xander."

"Who?"

"Someone we don't wanna fight. Trust me."

"Please." The hothead snorted. "How bad can he be?"

Leo bit back his answer; odds were high the other Hamatos would see for themselves, and the Jonin was determined for the tribe to reach safety before then. "Huitzi, Izel, can Coyo move?" he yelled across the battlefield. He let Sophia and Raph down the soldiers who tried to stop him then kneeled before Coyo.

The tribeswoman met his gaze. "He lives," she whispered.

"Really?" Leo ran a finger along the Macaw's chest. The poor thing laid rigid, round eyes glazed and right talon contorted from the plasma blast. A line of singed feathers blackened the yellow vanes from his right leg to his left wing, but his chest expanded with shallow breathes. "You were brave, Yo," Leo said in Nahuatl.

"Stupid," Coyo corrected. She shook, hugging the McCaw.

"He could turn his back on you as much as I could."

"Hey, Leo, Leo, Leo, Leo!" Mike screamed from behind. "I bet I can take on more goons than you!"

"This isn't a game!" Leo shot back. Yet he smiled, standing. "Get to safety," he told the K'ekchi.

"Leo—"

"You're injured, Coyo. Huitzi is sick. Izel doesn't fight. Best you can do is be with your people."

"Tlaloc is unconscious. Huemec and Coatl are too frightened. Coaxoch is missing. And the others are dead. I have no warriors to offer."

Leo's smile morphed into a smirk. "My clan thrives against those odds."

"And they may not be as alone as you fear, Teicu." Huitzi shook his sister's shoulder then pointed inside Tlahcoyan.

Dark-skinned natives marked with red tattoos descended from the straw roofs with battle cries. Their spears were crude compared to Ayannite, yet they cut just as fiercely through Yaoqui necks and never faltered.

"Pesto Warriors," Izel whispered.

"See?" Leo asked. "We aren't alone. Now go."

With one hand, the mutant helped Izel balance her best friend then transferred Yo into Huitzi's waiting arm. The three tribesmen spared a look before leaving, and Leo admitted how horrible it felt to let the gimping group leave without him.

'It's up to us now, no matter what Rook and Xander have in store,' he thought, Ayannite blades whirling. The Jonin inhaled with purpose. Then, he charged.

Rook had no idea what to expect at the mountain crest where he tracked Agent Hyde's GPS location and was unprepared for both the quantity and certainty of over three dozen Languu corralled inside a domed containment field. The IgR Disrupter hummed with an effort to keep its captives incapacitated, yet the Hispanic's morbid fascination outweighed his caution. He approached the prison, ignoring all other subordinates that advised against the proximity.

"So these are the Jinchos," Rook said while kneeling.

What nasty beasts. Their elongated, gelatinous bodies resembled Slenderman folklore, and their demonic eyes were as dark as their future. The smallest alien reached from where it writhed against uprooted grass then retracted its clear fingers when they crackled against its prison wall.

"Shit, ya'll are ugly with a capital 'U'," the Hispanic added with a laugh. "No mouths. No nose. How do you breathe? Eat? Talk? Guess those are questions our brains on The Island will figure out. How exciting!"

"Sir?" the closest agent interjected.

"Yes, Rodgers?"

"Th—there's something I need to ask." Agent Rodgers' voice shook with his standardized weapon that clicked against his vest. "Agent Hyde ripped the aliens right from their city like...like some vengeful god."

"Point?"

"He leveled buildings, Sir, tore through walls. Is it safe to keep him with us?"

"Nothing in our line of work is ever safe," Rook countered.

"But he's psychic! He's already turned on us once, and that was before you acti—"

"You doubt I can handle him?" Rook's tone adopted an edge so sharp, he needn't face the junior agent to know he cringed.

"No, Sir," Rodgers answered.

"Good. And what about you, Jinchos? Think he'll turn again?"

The Languu struggled for balance, silent sans the pebbles and twigs their lethargic limbs disturbed.

"Agreed. Hey, mind if I steal Hyde for a while? He has a new job. Eh, Mano?"

Agent Hyde turned from his post at the IgR Disrupter core. He gave no response. Not with his lips, anyway. His dark gaze screamed in their place—screamed for control, release, and another chance to crush his superior, even though the rest of his facade remained impassive.

"I warned you," Rook said. "All ya had to do was listen. Sucks being trapped in your own body, huh?" The older Hispanic pulled a remote from his uniform's breast pocket and waved it, knowing Hyde lacked the free-will to snatch it away. "Told ya I own you. Now, it's show time."

By the time the fights spilled into the streets, the Pesto Warriors had decimated most EPF forces, including the few war tanks scattered throughout the village. Leonardo welcomed the cut back in opponents, although he and his brothers continued to struggle against Agents Vance and Barrett.

"Hold it." Mikey dodged Barrett towards Leo. "Weren't you just in New York?"

"Keep hittin', Mike!" Raph screamed, blocking Vance's punch.

"I swear, you look exactly like a super-chick I've fought before," the jokester continued.

"Who cares? Hit the damn broad!"

"Your name tag even says 'Barrett.' You sisters?" Mikey gasped, rolling sideways to avoid the brunette's boot. "No way! Same pasty skin. Same cold eyes. You're totally clones, aren't you?"

"Mikey!"

"But clones, Raphy! Ain't that totally—yikes!"

The orange-masked Chunin flinched when Barrett's heel almost made contact with his eye. Sophia stopped the woman before Leo could respond, making a crunching noise when she squeezed Barrett's foot. With a smirk, the blonde spun in a tight circle to hurdle the agent into a collapsed hut like a rag doll.

"Man, I love that woman!" Mikey cheered,

"Focus," Leo and Sophia said together. They exchanged a look then returned to battle.

"So how many more goons do you think are left?" Mikey added.

Raph scoffed somewhere near. "There'd be a lot less if ya quit runnin' yer—"

The hothead stopped short as if deprived of oxygen. Leo knocked out a random agent with his katana hilt then spun to where he last heard his brother's voice. The red-masked Chūnin arched several feet off the ground, face strained dark green and limbs shaking.

"When'd you learn to fly, Raphy Boy?" Mikey asked.

Raph glared down at his baby brother before the invisible force flung him across the street. Don raced after him with impressive speed, but Leo had no time to comprehend how fast the genius moved. He attention fixated on a short-shaven Hispanic with dull, black eyes.

"Xander," Leo breathed.

"You know him?" Sophia asked.

The blonde flanked Leo's left side while Mikey guarded the right. They formed a line in the street, serving as a wall between an EPF quartet and where the K'ekchi scrambled for safety near the rainforest. Rook nodded at Barrett and Vance before directing a smirk at the Jonin. How Leo wished to cut it off the agent's talon-marred face.

"Did I warn you or did I warn you, Tortuga?" Rook started, arms spread. "I don't understand you kids. Are death and slavery such a preferable choice?"

"It would've been slavery either way," Leo replied.

"That's over-thinking it. You could've retained your freedom. Now, most of you will end up like Hyde. Go on, tell them what that's like, Mano."

Xander remained unchanged from his void expression to his lifeless form.

"Oh, right," added Rook, "you can't."

"What has he done to you, Xander?"

"Contingency protocols. Marvelous, no?"

"You're awfully mouthy for a man hiding behind an attack dog," Sophia spat.

The older Hispanic studied her with furrowed brows. "You look familiar. Ah." His brows rose. "Agent Rizzo's girl. Palermo's heroine. The Island's care package will be brimming with interesting subjects, won't it?"

The blonde growled as she stepped forward, but Mike caught her arm when Don and Raph took his spot on Leo's right.

"What is he?" the hothead asked through pants.

"A telekinetic," Leo answered under his breath.

Don gasped. "Really?"

"Yeah, and he's not a bad guy," Leo added.

"You sure?" Mikey half-laughed. "Maybe someone should tell him that!"

Xander's hands raised then pushed downward. With them, came a force that made Leo inhale ash when his face hit the ground. He struggled to move as his lungs burned, but he couldn't so much as cough under the immense gravity.

"Why make things more difficult?" Rook's voice carried as if he spoke through a door. "If you surrender, I'll make sure Xander doesn't crush all your bones. Sound fair?"

The gravity lifted long enough for Leo to suck in quick breathes between his coughing fit. He glared at Rook, and the older Hispanic sighed.

"I'll find your Madame Chief instead," he said.

The mutant snarled, body braced for the gravity's return. It hit suddenly and stung Leo's nerves, yet his locked muscles held strong. He kept his chin lifted, his glare steady. His heartbeat thumped faster when Sophia stepped ahead, one step after the other as the pressure increased.

"Fifone," the blonde hissed.

Rook chuckled. "You got a SHELL? Thought those were destroyed."

"Call me lucky."

"A thief, more like. Inspired by your boyfriend no doubt."

"Ex-boyfriend, actually," Mikey wheezed.

"Now's not the time for corrections," Leonardo told the jokester. He joined Sophia at half her speed and his vision whitened as the duo inched closer to the psychic until they stood within striking distance.

"Bingo," Sophia whispered.

She jutted her weapon forward, pushed a button that shot out the star in her staff's head on a chain. The star's points snagged Xander's neck like barbs, and when the blonde pushed another button, the area's gravity lifted with a faint crackle while the agent convulsed. Leo dove in for a snap kick during the reprieve. His foot sole tingled when it met Xander's chest, and Sophia wasted no time in retracting her star to swing the staff head at the agent.

"Keep him disoriented!" Leo cried while the psychic rolled though ash and cinders.