Leo's pulse thudded angrily in his ears as he watched them approach. Xever and Bradford hung back at a distance, but Karai and the Ronin kept moving forward.
The Ronin laughed lightly as he walked up to the three turtles. "Turtles who fancy themselves men. Delightful. And here I thought that you had gotten me something valuable, like the Kuro Kabuto."
"The turtles took Shredder's helmet when they killed him. I'm sure we can use them to find it."
"Tell me, Karai, how did you manage to catch them? I heard that they were more than the Shredder himself could keep contained for very long."
"The Shredder was never Hamato Yoshi's daughter," Karai said, her voice glossy with confidence. "I told them what you told me, and told them that I was ready to defect. That was how I lured them here. It's amazing how stupid and gullible they are." She looked right at Leo.
Karai! I trusted you! Even with the duct tape, Leo couldn't keep himself from yelling at her.
"They foolishly assumed that blood was more important than upbringing," Karai continued, her voice colder than ice. "I brought them here so that I can prove to you that it is not."
"Interesting," Ronin said. "So these turtles are not your allies? The fact that they are your true father's disciples means nothing to you?"
"They are my enemies."
"I see." The Ronin drew his katana. "So then…you don't mind if I perform a little experiment."
"Kill them if you want. I don't care."
Despite his boiling blood, Leo didn't strain against the ropes the way that Raph did. He was going to save his energy for the crucial moment.
And when it came, he was going to make Karai pay.
Ronin hovered his katana blade over Leo's throat. Leo just glared back up at him.
Then, Ronin did the same to Raph. Leo tensed up, and noticed that Ronin glanced back at him.
What 'experiment' is he doing?
Ronin hovered his blade over Mikey's throat next. Mikey whimpered slightly. "Interesting," he whispered.
Leo tensed up even more, his heart racing. Next to him, Raph tensed visibly.
"Very interesting," Ronin said. He lightly dragged the tip of the blade along Mikey's face, leaving a long red line behind it.
Mikey!
Leo couldn't help it. He fought against his restraints, yelling obscenities against the duct tape. Raph did too, thrashing even more fiercely than before.
The Ronin laughed and sheathed his katana. "Ah, a favorite. The little brother, perhaps? How delightful." He stared at Karai, then kicked Mikey's face.
He's testing her, Leo realized. That was the experiment. He was checking to see if she would have a reaction when he hurt any of them.
Karai didn't even act like she'd seen it. "Have I proven myself to you?"
"It's a start. You see, Karai, I have been given a glorious sign from the gods."
Karai raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"Yes. The day I heard that the Shredder died, the heron lighted on my windowsill."
"The…heron?"
"The gods have sent this heron to me before, when he took one of my arrows and flew out over Hakata Bay. I acted then – I engaged the Mongols in glorious battle, and then the gods sent the divine wind to drive their armada away. Ah, my sweet Nihon was safe then. So imagine my dread when I woke centuries later and saw that my nation was safe from without…but rotting from within." Ronin kicked Mikey again.
Karai didn't flinch. Leo clenched his jaw.
"I dedicated my life to purifying my nation. I have spent years destroying the Hamato clan, and to my knowledge, all of them are dead save two: you, and your father." He walked around the turtles, pausing in front of Raph. "And…whatever these things are." He kicked Raphael, watching Karai carefully.
Karai's complete non-reaction made Leo want to scream. These were his brothers she was hurting. Her brothers.
"So imagine my surprise when I learned of the Shredder's demise and the heron showed itself to me the same day. I realized then that I needed to find the divine wind that could drive all the remnants of the Hamato clan from this entire planet. And it has come to me – not in the form of a typhoon, but access to a power no one ever thought possible before. A power which – thanks to the Shredder's actions here in New York, is now available to me." He took a few more steps.
Pain temporarily blinded Leo as the Ronin's foot swiftly kicked his head.
"The Kraang."
Karai's mouth fell open. "The Kraang?"
"Yes." The Ronin walked away from the turtles and headed up to the throne that Shredder had fashioned for himself. "The Kraang are specialists of genetics, yes? This is how they make the mutants?"
Karai's face was uneasy. She glanced at Leo, almost as if she was asking him for help.
Leo glared back at her. She was on her own for this.
"Yes, I guess they are," Karai said. "I know they specialize in technology."
"And you have a rapport with them, do you not?"
"Yes, though it is a bit shaky."
Ronin sat down on the throne. "Excellent. I still have your unwavering allegiance, and you will be my hand in New York City?"
Karai strode over to the dais and knelt. "You do, and I will."
"Then I want you to go to the Kraang. You will work with them to develop the technology to locate anyone in the world who bears the genetic markers of a Hamato, as far as the fifth generation. And then, we will slaughter every last one."
Leonardo's stomach froze. This was practically genocide.
"But Master Ronin, you said that Hamato Yoshi and the turtles were the only ones left."
"That I know of. But you must understand, we thought Hamato Yoshi dead for over a decade. It occurs to me: how many others were able to survive? How many fled for sanctuary in other countries Or how many left Japan decades past and now have descendants in America? As long as the Hamatos exist, this world will be blighted and my sweet nation cannot be safe. So, we must kill them all."
"All except me, right?" Karai asked, a hint of fear in her voice.
Despite his anger, Leo felt a pang of sympathy for Karai. She was so lost and confused – she had done this to guarantee her own safety, and it was starting to look like this would not help her at all.
Why didn't you trust us to keep you safe, Karai? Why didn't you trust us the way we trusted you?
"That depends," the Ronin said. "Are you willing to help me kill them? Are you willing to betray your own blood? Are you willing to bring me Hamato Yoshi's head on a pike?"
"I am," Karai said firmly. "I have no loyalty to them. All of my loyalty is to the Shredder, to the Foot."
"Excellent. How long do you think it will take the Kraang to develop the technology that we need?"
"I'm not sure. It takes the Kraang a while to do anything. Besides, I'm still…mending fences with them. I don't know how long I'll need, but…I suppose eight weeks is a good estimate."
"Eight weeks. I've waited this entire life to fulfill a purpose as glorious as my last's. I can wait eight weeks more."
"It's only a guess, though. It might be more or less."
Eight weeks? The Kraang could develop technology way faster than eight weeks. Why would Karai want that much time?
Unless…
"…to prove my loyalty to you and to the Foot."
Was it possible that she hadn't actually defected at all? By the time eight weeks were up, Aunt Mei would be out of the wheelchair. Was this all part of an elaborate scheme on Karai's part to keep the Ronin temporarily at bay?
It didn't matter. If it was, she should have told them – or him, at least, before she put his brothers in such danger. Mikey's face was still bleeding, and any shot she had ever had at gaining Raphael's trust was gone now.
Leo knew for certain that he would never be able to trust Karai again. The damage had been done, and it became irreparable the instant that the Ronin had drawn Mikey's blood.
"Very well," the Ronin said. "I plan return to Japan to manage affairs there. Eight weeks from now, I shall return, unless you have the solution sooner, in which case you will alert me immediately."
"Of course, Master Ronin."
"In that time, you will devote all of your energy to finding Hamato Yoshi. I do not want him alive. I do not even want all of him. I just want his head. If you happen to procure it before my return, you may store it in the freezer for me. Understood?"
Leo's stomach somersaulted. This guy wasn't just crazy, he was loopier than a Coney Island roller coaster.
"Understood," Karai said.
"Oh, and Karai? You may start your participation in the purge now." He gestured toward the turtles. "Kill them."
Karai bowed. "Yes, Master Ronin." She rose from her kneeling position and walked purposefully toward the turtles. "Xever. Bradford. Retrieve the turtles' weapons."
The Ronin leapt up from the throne. "Stop. What are you doing?"
"Killing them in honorable combat," Karai said, her voice hesitant.
"Does a hunter kill his prey in 'honorable combat?'" Ronin descended the steps that led up to the dais. "No. Because a man does not fight animals. He simply kills them. All Hamatos are little more than animals – and in this case, quite literally."
"This goes against everything my father – the Shredder – taught me about honor."
"You are an animal too. Animals kill each other all the time. You have no need for honor."
Karai clenched her fists. "I am a member of this clan!"
"Whatever you are to this clan is only what I permit you to be. Now kill them, before I retract my generous offer to let you live."
Karai drew her tanto and strode over to Leo's side. She raised the blade and made to strike.
Now. This was the moment that Leo had been waiting for. Tying his ankles wasn't enough to make him defenseless.
He whipped up his feet as Karai struck downward. The blade of her tanto neatly sliced the cord that bound his ankles. Then, with a quick sideways kick, he knocked the blade out of her hand. He leapt up to his feet and did a sweeping kick, knocking her legs out from under her. She fell, and her head hit the floor with a painful clunk.
She didn't move. Apparently, he had knocked her unconscious.
That was just a little too easy…
He stomped on the handle of her tanto, flipping it up into the air. He stepped forward, just catching the blade in his hands. In a minute, he had sliced through the cord around his wrists. He ripped the duct tape off of his face and ran to free his brothers.
The sound of a katana being drawn made him turn around. The Ronin charged. Xever and Bradford were running to join the fray as well.
This was starting to look more and more impossible.
If I live through this, Karai, I swear…
Leo turned back to his brothers, sliced through the cord binding Raph's wrists and pressed the tanto's grip into Raph's hands. Then he whirled around just in time to face the Ronin. He dodged the blade and swept the Ronin's feet from under him.
Ronin had barely hit the ground before he launched up from the ground in what looked like a nearly impossible aerial flip. It was like something out of one of those ridiculously overblown martial arts movies. Within seconds, the blade was headed straight for Leonardo's face.
Leo had seen ninja masters stop blades with their bare hands before, grabbing the flat of the blade between their palms and using a twist to wrench the weapon from their opponent's hands. Not once had Leo ever successfully done this.
But it was his only choice.
He reached up and attempted the move. The blade sliced through the wrappings on his hands and cut a deep gash into his palms. He twisted his wrists anyway, trying to rip the katana from Ronin's grasp.
Ronin's grip was too tight. The blade was almost to Leo's face when a blur of motion was at his right. Raphael's kick landed right on the Ronin's elbow, finally knocking the weapon loose of his hand.
Adrenaline prevented the pain in Leo's hands from even registering. He quickly flipped the katana so that he was holding it properly. As he squeezed his hands around the grip, bright red blood ran from his hands like he was wringing out a washcloth. He was able to turn in time to deflect a strike from one of Rahzar's sharp claws.
The Ronin was sparring with Raph. He was landing way too many hits – Raphael was losing defensive ground. Xever came up behind them, swinging open his butterfly knives.
"Booyakasha!" Mikey cried. He spiked something. In an instant, purple smoke obscured the world from view.
Using the smoke screen as cover, Leo dodged Rahzar again and started running. He emerged from the cloud of smoke and saw Mikey already running for the exit. Raph emerged too, just dodging a volley of ill-aimed shuriken. The three of them made it out of the building before the smoke cleared and went for the nearest manhole cover.
"Leo, you're leaving a ridiculous blood trail," Raph said. "They'll know we've gone down here."
Leo looked down as his hands. 'Ridiculous' just about was the best term to describe the amount of blood running from them. He must have cut open an artery.
However, there was water flowing through this pipe. It carried the blood that dripped into it away.
"Yeah, but they won't be able to track us much further. And we'll take the pond entrance to the lair, just in case. They won't find us." He started running for what he knew was the closest sewer pond to this location. The sooner they could lose any trackers, the better.
Raph and Mikey followed him. "In that case," Raph said, "I'd just like to point out that this is all your fault, Leo!"
Leo felt too defeated to even reply.
Because, yeah.
Yeah, it is.