May 27, 2013
The Champions for the Foot Clan stalked towards the pile of battered and beaten Hamato Champions. Karai and the turtles had crawled towards each other soon after Leo caught Karai.
Rahzar chuckled darkly as his claws gouged out the dirt floor of the area. "Bludgeon - I hope you're hungry! We're about to serve up some fresh turtle meat."
Bludgeon blinked through his one bloody eye. "Hammerheads don't eat turtles, you twit." He grumbled.
"Whatever!" The wolf growled. He quickly recoiled at sudden lazer fire.
Donnie struggled to his feet, his tech bō still firing. "He's right, dog-breath. It's important to be accurate. And here's a fun fact for you…" Leo, Raph, and Karai pushed themselves up, standing strong behind Donnie. "We didn't come to lose!"
Everyone jumped back as the tech bō let loose a torrent of fire. Rahzar, Fishface, Koya, and Bludgeon were driven back by the flames.
Donnie turned to face Leo. "There's not much fuel left. What's the plan, Leo?
"It's obvious we can't beat them with strength," Leo tapped the flat of his katana blades against his shoulders in thought.
"Then what?" Raph huffed. "We out think 'em?"
Karai rotated her stiff neck. "That shouldn't be too hard."
Leo nodded. "That's what we do. Be swift, everyone; think things through."
"Let's start now! The flamethrower's out of juice!" Donnie winced as the flames petered out. With a final battle cry, the four rushed back into the fight.
Raph slid between Rahzar's legs, his momentum allowing him to easily slice the wolf's inner thighs.
Donnie switched his tech bō back to its lazer function and continued to fire at Fish Face. The carp was forced back from his prey.
Leo darted about the arena, flinging throwing stars at Koya. A few managed to nick some feathers from the falcon's wings.
Karai steeled herself as a roaring Bludgeon charged towards her. At the last moment, the girl leapt over the hammerhead. His momentum carried him into the far wall of the area.
Mikey whooped from his place on the sidelines. He excitedly shook April's arm. "Dude! She totally jumped the shark!" The boy's grin faded when April didn't respond. Her face remained neutral and unresponsive. "April? April!" He continued to shake her arm.
Even though April had been drawn deep within her own mind, she remained wary of her dark surroundings. "What do you mean a home with you? I already have a family! And I can protect myself!" She shivered, feeling a cool sensation playing with her hair.
"Does your family know that?" The voice purred. "This ritual is for a master's most talented students, is it not? I can understand choosing between the five warriors you've raised from infancy, but to completely sideline a talented kunoichi for relational favoritism?"
April frowned. Her gut was telling her that something was wrong, but these words struck a hidden nerve. "What're you-"
Her view shifted from inky blackness to what was happening around her. Her eyes found Splinter. Instead of mediating like he said he would be doing during the first round, his worried gaze lingered on Karai more so than the others.
"Clearly your 'Papa' values his real daughter's skills more than your own."
April shook her head as the darkness returned. "That's not true!" She fiercely denied. "Papa loves all of us! He trusts all of us to hold our own in a fight!" The shiver returned as the cool sensation settled right next to her ear.
"Then why aren't you out there?"
When April blinked again, she felt herself being violently shaken. She pushed the shaker - Mikey - away. "How long was I out?"
Mikey sighed, relief flooding his face. "Not even five minutes. You gotta stop scaring me like that, girl!" He shot a quick glance at their surroundings. "Did something trigger a vision?"
She ran a shaking hand through her hair, combing out her ponytail. "Not exactly…" She turned back to face Mikey. "How's everyone doing?"
He shrugged. "Better than before."
April flinched as Fish Face lunged for Donnie amidst the lazer fire.
Donnie jerked his tech bō up to lodge between the mutant's teeth. He recoiled, knowing that if one of those jagged shards scratched him, the venom would incapacitate him. Donnie wrenched his head around, trying to find something to get Fish Face away. His eye caught Raph barely making a dent in Rahzar's defense.
"Raph! Mikey in the Middle!"
The hot-headed turtle squinted for a moment before realizing his brother's plan. He worked to maneuver his fight with Rahzar closer to Donnie.
Donnie shoved Fish Face back as far as he could, then leapt back till he felt Raph's shell against his own. He could see the rage burning in the carp's eyes, blinding him to Rahzar so close by.
RIght as Rahzar and Fish Face lunged for their respective prey, Raph and Donnie launched themselves into the air. The oversized mutants collided like a clap of thunder. Rahzar howled in pain and rage, his claws catching on Fish Face's breathing apparatus. Now devoid of a way to breathe, Fish Face flailed. His teeth latched around Rahzar's leg as the two struggled. Both mutants were done. Foot soldiers ran out onto the field to drag them back to their clan's area to receive medical attention.
Meanwhile, a corner of the area filled with smoke. Leo deployed a smoke bomb to quietly slip up into the rafters. Koya flapped her wings harder to dissipate the smoke screen.
"Where are you?" The falcon hissed.
"Right HERE!"
Leo leapt from the rafters, pinning Koya's wings to her sides. She shrieked as the two crashed. Leo held fast, leaning in close.
"Tap out now." He whispered harshly. "I don't want to hurt you, but I will do what I must." The boy pulled back as Koya tried to nip him with her beak.
"You're just like him!" The bird spat. "You don't care about who you have to step on to get what you want!"
The turtle grit his teeth. "That's not true! I saw the looks you and your friend gave Shredder before things got started. Why do you fight for someone you have no respect for?"
Koya hesitated. "We - Bludgeon and I - we were simple creatures before Master Shredder and the Kraang mutated us. He claims that because he blessed us with humanity, we must fight for him." The mutant craned her neck just enough to look Leo in the eye. "I never wanted humanity."
Leo took the risk to lean in closer. "There may be a way to get your old life back."
"Not possible!"
"Listen," Leo readjusted his grip on Koya's wings. "My brother has been working on something that could make it possible. It's still a ways off, but we would all need to make it out of here alive." Leo saw the hope in Koya's eyes as he felt her relax. I've got her.
That hope shattered as both heads whipped up at the sound of a horrific scream followed by a blinding light.
Bludgeon was holding his eyes, stomping about in a blind rage. "I CAN'T SEE!" He screamed. "KOYA! HELP ME!"
In an unexpected burst of strength, Koya bucked Leo off her back.
"YOU LIAR!" She yelled. "You seek to cripple us, not help us!"
Leo stepped back, not even thinking to draw his weapons. "No! That's not true-" He leapt further back as Koya swiped at him.
"I will get my friend to safety," She snarled. "And then… I'm coming for you, Blue."
Karai dodged the rampaging Bludgeon's fists and tail. She hadn't meant to go this far, but slashing the shark's eyes then using the flare cuff Donnie had given her was the only way for her to finish the fight that he had started.
His tail whipped about uncontrollably. It clipped a distracted Karai's shoulder, which sent her spinning into Koya. Karai couldn't stifle the scream as she was once again lifted off the ground by her hair.
"HE. IS. DONE." The mutant snarled as she threw the girl behind her.
Leo raced to catch Karai before she hit the ground. He helped her to her feet.
"I know this is a fight," He muttered wryly. "But did you have to blind the guy?"
"We're down to one, aren't we?" She grunted.
While Koya assisted the blinded Bludgeon to the Foot sidelines, Karai and the turtles took the advantage to regroup.
"I almost got Koya to surrender, but now she's out for blood." It took every ounce of Leo's willpower to not glare at Karai.
That didn't stop her from whirling on him.
"And that's my fault?"
Raph shrugged. "Yeah, kinda." He winced as Donnie smacked him upside the head.
"Koya's not going to think rationally anymore." The analytical turtle frowned. "We need to do what Leo said earlier: strike swiftly. We won't have any more chances."
Leo tapped the flat of his katanas against his shoulder. "You don't happen to have a net feature in that tech bō of yours, do you Dee?"
"No…" Donnie snapped his fingers, smile widening. "But I've got an idea! It'll take some time, though."
Raph shifted, readying his sais as Koya returned to the field. "We'll get ya as much time as we can."
Donnie retreated to the furthest corner of the arena. He didn't have much time.
"Donnie, what're you doing?"
He didn't look up from inputting commands into his tech bō at the feeling of April's thoughts through their bond.
"Trying a Hail Mary pass." Donnie frowned. He sensed an aura of discomfort from April about an incident from earlier. He quickly found her face on the sidelines. "You okay?"
She rolled her eyes. "I'm fine." Though she tried to hide it from him, Donnie could feel that April was far from fine. "Focus on the battle! We can talk about it later."
"DONNIE! Where's that brilliant idea of yours?" Leo hollered.
"Go," She nudged him with her mind. "Love you."
"Love you too, April."
Koya had been swooping and scratching at Karai and the turtles, trying to grab them and drop them from a great height. She was so focused on the three before her that she missed Donnie running across the arena, dropping small pucks every few feet.
The bird made another run at Raph, talons extended. The turtle flung his sai. His aim was true as it embedded itself into Koya's leg. Koya's flight faltered as she struggled to remove the sai.
Donnie ran back towards the group. "Guys! Get her on the other side of the arena! Quick! Just don't get caught over there with her!"
Karai and the boys herded Koya in the direction they were instructed. As soon as Koya was past the line of pucks Donnie had laid out, he pressed a button on his tech bō. The pucks sprung to life, forming an electric fence that ran to the ceiling.
Despite the pain in her leg, Koya laughed. "You think this puny fence will stop me?"
"Maybe not…" Donnie shrugged. "But this might." Another button.
A massive drill burst forth from the ground, spewing chunks of earth and concrete everywhere. The velocity of the debris could not all be held back by the electric fence. Several pieces rocketed through the fence, slamming into Donnie's shoulder and Raph's head. Both turtles went down.
"NO!" April and Mikey screamed.
"My sons!" Splinter bellowed, leaping to his feet.
While Donnie's tech bō may not have had a net feature, his drill certainly did. It fired a massive net into the air, surrounding and encapsulating Koya. It quickly brought her to the ground. As soon as she was secure, the electric fence deactivated.
Leo stepped forward, crouching his defeated enemy. "Koya of the Foot Clan, do you yield?"
Koya ceased her struggling, knowing when she had been beaten. She sighed. "I do yield."
The Foot soldier from the opening ran back out onto the field. "Clan Foot is out of champions. Clan Hamato takes the first round!"
April, Mikey, and Splinter all bolted as soon as the battle was officially over. Neither Donnie nor Raph had moved much since the debris went flying.
"Donnie!" April frantically checked him over. She breathed a sigh of relief when he was able to sit shoulder hung limply by his side.
"I'm fine, April." He groaned. "I think my shoulder is dislocated. Could you-" He bit back a cry as April shoved the shoulder back into place. "Thank you."
She pressed a gentle kiss to his shoulder. "This was way too risky," She whispered.
"It's not over yet." Donnie used his tech bō to help him stand. He looked to his father treating Raph's head. "How is he?"
Sprinter continued applying pressure to the wound. "I believe it appears worse than it is. With your shoulder and Raphael's head, neither of you should fight in the next round."
While it broke his heart that he wouldn't be fighting by his father's side, Donnie understood that he would be a liability in his current condition. "April, Mikey and I can treat Raph."
All sentiment cut off as Leo and Karai took up defensive positions in front of their family.
Shredder approached.
"I grow tired of this delay. Drag your wounded off the field, rat. I will fight you and your remaining brats." Shredder glared at Leo and Karai. "I look forward to destroying you."
