Note: Some elements in this chapter are from my earlier fanfic 'A Secret Friend' also, Sonia, Freya and Loki belong to Tyroth Darkstorm.
Chapter Thirty-One
Can you Hear Me?
At the Foot Headquarters, Kemeko still sat in her locked room, still feeling terrified as well as guilty and helpless.
She had looked around the room wondering if there was any way out, she had even checked if there were loose floorboards under the rugs, but there wasn't, and after looking at the bedsheets, even if she had tied them together it would be too short to use as a rope to climb down as she was a very long way up, and too far for her to swing to the next building.
Kemeko wanted to scream and shout, but she knew that wouldn't help her, except maybe exhaust her and let out her anguish, she had to think of what else to do, if there was a way she could escape, or in a way make her family know of her whereabouts at that a clone had escaped with Pandora.
As she sat on the bed racking her brains, she then remembered the meditation sessions she did with her family, as well as the private ones she did with her father and grandfather, and she also remembered the stories her father spoke of when he was able to learn an even more advanced way of meditation, so advanced, one could find the answers to the most difficult of questions.
"I will one day teach you this meditation Lotus." He had told her one day "Once you are an advanced ninja and have been experienced more in your life, but for now, you must enjoy your childhood."
Kemeko remembered that well, and she had felt disappointed she wasn't ready to learn yet, and she had felt the same feeling Pandora had when the hybrid had been denied what she craved most, and that was to join her family in the field.
Yet as she thought of that memory, she then had a brainwave.
"What if there was a way I can get through to my father?" she thought "I don't know, but I must try! I have been training for this my whole life! It is worth a shot!"
She crossed her legs on the bed in the lotus position, pushed aside her belongs, and rested her hands on her knees and put her index fingers and thumbs together.
She then began to breath slowly and deeply trying to clear her mind and soul of everything, which wasn't easy given her fear and stress level.
She kept on breathing as calmly as she could and focused on her father, and her grandfather knowing them to be the ones who tended to meditate more than the others.
"Father, Grandfather, please hear me! This is Kemeko!"
Meanwhile, back at the lair, Leonardo had wanted to speak with Kemeko, but he wanted to meditate on how to speak to her, as he still felt angry at her actions, but he knew how fragile she was after being in the hands of the Shredder, even if she had managed to escape.
He sat in the Meditation room, surrounded by candles and burning incense.
He too sat in the lotus position and took soft slow deep breaths to clear his mind and should so he could find the answers to the questions he had.
As he cleared his mind, he found himself in a blank room, almost like he was standing in a deep dark cave, and he could hear or see nothing.
Yet the blue masked turtle's mind wasn't blank for long as he soon saw glimpses of scenes from the past dance before him, like a distorted film.
As he watched, he realised they were memories of him and Kemeko, yet some were ones he didn't recognise, as he hadn't been there at the time.
He then saw Kemeko's face appear in-between scenes, her face pale, frightened and tearful.
"Father, Grandfather, please hear me! This is Kemeko!"
"Lotus?" Leonardo asked as he looked at his adopted daughter's face, tears streaming from her grey eyes.
"That girl…. that girl!" Kemeko's face spoke.
Leonardo narrowed his eyes as he listened, and he blinked several times as the many scenes flashed before his eyes, almost chaotic and it made him feel sick.
"The girl amongst you! She's not me! She is not one of you!"
Leonardo shook his head as he tried to keep up with the many distorted memories as well as Kemeko's frightened desperate face appearing before him.
"She is not one of you! She is not me! She's of the Foot! She's trying to trap you!"
"Kemeko?" Leonardo asked again.
Yet the images kept flying at him, all distorted like the blipping of an old TV screen then Kemeko's face appeared again in between.
"She's not me! I'm at the HQ! Shredder has me trapped! I'm trapped!"
Kemeko then screamed and Leonardo felt himself get knocked back almost like he was blown over by a large gust of wind!
It was then, Leonardo opened his eyes to find himself in the meditation room, his head was aching, and he was sweating all over, yet it was cold.
"What the shell was that?" he asked as he looked around "I…I never felt anything like this before." He narrowed his eyes as he thought hard about what he had seen in his meditation.
"I heard Kemeko…I saw Kemeko and her memories," he leaned forward pressing his fingers to his forehead and rubbing his mask.
"What? How can I be seeing this?"
He then thought of Kemeko in her room and how she had acted, as well as refused to look at him or even speak of what happened, and how she had let Pandora do all the talking about what happened.
His eyes narrowed and he stood up looking towards the door.
In the Playroom, Pandora laughed as she and Kemeko (Or rather, the clone of Kemeko) played their video game and she punched the air as her character Sonic the Hedgehog knocked Kemeko's character Wario off the screen.
"Oh yeah baby!" she cheered "I win again!"
She looked over at Kemeko who stared at the screen, and she saw she was just staring at it, not even fazed she had lost.
"Hey? Kem?" she asked, "You okay?"
Kemeko looked over at Pandora.
"Oh yes." she smiled "I'm good, I'm glad you won, I guess my heart just isn't into this at the moment, you know after all that's happened."
Pandora paused the game and turned to Kemeko, her eyes narrowing.
As she looked at her cousin, she still didn't feel that Kemeko was acting how she was, and her suspicions were growing.
Even looking at the face of the Asian girl before her, something seemed very off, but she didn't want to confront her with it, but rather try and get it out of her slowly.
"Kemeko." She said, "I really am concerned about you, you know, I know what happened was traumatising, and I still feel hurt within, not just via my physical wounds from the torture."
Kemeko looked back at her.
"What makes you say that?" Kemeko asked.
"I just got a feeling." Pandora said, she reached for a drink on the tray and took a sip before looking at Kemeko.
"Kem." She said cocking her head on one side, "What are the names of our cousins?"
"Sonia, Freya, and Loki." Kemeko answered.
The clone had been worried when she had seen Pandora's look and she thanked her lucky stars she had learnt about Sonia, Freya and Loki beforehand.
But the hybrid still looked skeptical, and she narrowed her eyes at Kemeko.
The clone saw the hybrid's look.
"Shit." She thought "She knows!"
"Kemeko." Pandora spoke, her tone more serious and she took another sip of her drink.
The clone felt worried, yet she kept calm should her snake features give her away.
"Yes?" she asked.
"What was the name of the baby Green man we found near Uncle Casey's farmhouse?" Pandora questioned.
"Jade." The clone replied, "Her name was Jade."
"Okay." Pandora said, yet she still didn't feel convinced, as she knew there were pictures of said Green Man cub, as well as pictures of her cousins in Mutopia in frames and in albums and she knew very well how Kemeko liked to keep diaries.
She had to think of another question, one only the real Kemeko knew the answer to.
"What did I say to you when I begged you to come back after I found you in the city and I pulled you into the alleyway before Hanako and her ninjas found us?!" she demanded.
The clone was silent for a moment.
"You said…You said…" she paused.
Pandora narrowed her eyes, and she glared baring her teeth.
"I knew it!" she shouted pointing at the Asian girl before her, "You're not Kemeko!"
She jumped to her feet and clawed her hands as well as positioned her tail like that of a scorpion.
At the same time, the clone glared and her eyes flashed like those of a snake and she hissed showing her teeth that had gotten sharp and pointed.
Pandora was shocked but she glared harder.
"I should have known from the start you were a fake!" she snarled then she crouched and got ready to fight "You're not my cousin!"
Watching the hybrid get ready to fight, the clone smirked.
"I had you fooled for a while, didn't I?" she jeered.
"You did, but the games up now! And I won't let you leave here alive!" Pandora snarled.
"Wanna bet?" the clone snapped and before Pandora could move, the clone picked up the glass of soda near her and threw it in Pandora's face making her recoil, and at the same time, she kicked her away and into a shelf of DVDs making them topple onto the floor and all over the hybrid!
Pandora was stunned and covered herself as the DVD's fell around her and she saw the clone run from the room.
"No!" she cried, and she leapt up, grabbing her weapons she had left by the door, and running after the clone who was racing for the entrance of the lair!
"Oh no you don't!" Pandora growled and she instantly ran after the clone just as she disappeared around the corner!
At the same time, Leonardo was leaving the meditation room and he saw Kemeko running out of the playroom nearby, and he also saw Pandora run out as well!
The blue masked turtle was alarmed as he watched, and he blinked a few times.
"The shell?"
He then saw Kemeko run to the entrance of the lair, Pandora following close behind and he narrowed his eyes.
"Guys!" he shouted, "Master Splinter!"
No sooner did he yell than Michelangelo looked over the sofa, Donatello standing up from an armchair nearby, Monalisa and Raphael appearing from the upper level and Splinter from his quarters.
"What is wrong my son?" Splinter asked.
"Look!" Michelangelo called seeing Pandora and Kemeko run out of the lair, and he pointed towards them.
"What the shell's going on?" Raphael demanded.
"Come on guys!" Donatello shouted as he grabbed a bag of supplies as well as his bo staff.
The others quickly followed suit and they ran towards the exit of the lair.
Meanwhile, the clone of Kemeko was running as fast as she could out of the lair, and she had taken the tracker out of her pocket.
As she ran, she tried to activate it but still couldn't get a signal!
"Come back here!"
She could hear Pandora shouting after her and she kept on running.
"Come on! Come on!" she shouted then before the long when she was about half a mile from the lair, the tracker activated so she could send the co-ordinates!
Yet as that happened, the clone felt something wrap around her ankle and she tripped over falling flat on her face and the tracker fell from her hands and bounced a couple of feet away!
"NO!" she cried reaching for it!
"Gotcha!" the clone turned to see Pandora walk over holding the chain of Mr Swinger, and she kissed the ball end.
"Did you really think you'd get away, Fake?" she asked, glaring at the clone.
The clone snarled and kicked the chain off her ankle.
"You're finished!" she snapped leaping up and facing the hybrid, yet she kept her back to the tracker hoping Pandora wouldn't see it, then she could move back towards it to alert the Foot Ninja to her position.
"Finished? Me?" Pandora snarled as she brandished her clawed hands "I believe it is you who will be finished! After I've made you talk!"
"Come on and try, you filthy crossbreed bitch!" she spat getting into a fighting stance….
So the clone has been caught out!
Leonardo has seen Kemeko's calls in his meditation! Almost like she was calling to him! And Pandora has managed to find out directly this Kemeko is not her cousin! Now they're both in the sewer ready to begin combat!
Anyone hear Shao Khan from Mortal Kombat call annouce 'Round one! Fight!'?
Will Pandora managed to subdue the clone before she's able to activate the tracker? Well find out in the next chapter!